Shadow of the Wolf

Part VI

Rose managed to warm Sephiroth up enough so he wouldn't tremble anymore. Cloud kept showering the youth with blankies and plushes, worried. The heavy couch had been pushed nearer the fireplace, pillows and blankets ensuring him comfort and warmth. His sweaty forehead was constantly dampened by Rose's caring touch. Once in a while she would force some medicine through the pump Vincent had given her. His breathing, shallow and short, lifted his feverish body at each breath. The blond woman asked her son to come closer. She grabbed his tiny hand and closed his fist around the washcloth, guiding him to dab Sephiroth's forehead as she was doing.

"I want you to take care of him for a while, Cloud. Can you do that?"

"Yeah… Mom?"

"Yes, Sunshine?"

"When will Seph be better?"

"Soon, I am going to Doctor Kei's, to get some advice, and some medicine for him. Be a good son and take care of him, okay?"

Cloud nodded sadly. That meant Sephiroth was very ill. His mom never went to the doctor, and when she did, well, he was always forced to take awful pills. He felt suddenly very bad for his friend. He would be sick for a loooooooong time… As he was to bring the cloth up to his forehead, Cloud noticed that the silver haired youth had his eyes slightly open, and as soon as he saw Cloud, he tried to sit up.

"No!" exclaimed Cloud, "You have to stay put! Mom said you wouldn't get better unless you rest enough!"

"… Vincent… too much… hurts to breathe cough No more! Aaarghh!"

Sephiroth began thrashing in his fever induced delirium, scaring out his young caretaker. Cloud retreated at the bottom of the staircase, trembling. His eyes were big as saucers as he watched, helpless, his friend battle against an invisible enemy, shaking, coughing… Silent tears ran down in cheeks, he hugged himself, waiting impatiently for his mother to come back.

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Vincent wobbled his way to his room. He knew he should have fled with Sephiroth. He clutched his left arm; the pain had returned. For the past three days, all he remembered was the evil laughing of the Professor. The first thing he had done, though, when he told him he had failed in finding Sephiroth, was printed in his memory. Blinded by rage, Hojo had gotten out a gun from his labcoat and shot him before he could react. The next thing he knew, he was in pain, physically and spiritually, something happened, but he didn't know what exactly. Now that Hojo had had his fun with him, he was free. His vision went white for a moment, but he refused to fall into the trap and forced his body to reach his bed before collapsing. He shuddered, his injured arm throbbed, his head was about to explode; at least he had not tell anything. Or so he hoped. With those unsure thoughts, he drifted off, letting the Mako in his body heal his wounds.

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Rose ran upstairs with Sephiroth in her arms, Cloud on her heels. The child was burning up, moaning, constantly flailing his little arms, gripping with coughing fits that threatened to smother him. Dr. Kei had been kind enough to give her another pump for Sephiroth, stronger and adapted to his current state, which he believed to be a serious case of Mako poisoning. She also came back armed with knowledge, and she now knew what to do; Sephiroth's temperature was way too high, dangerously high, and he needed to be cooled down quickly. With Cloud's help, she carefully submerged his body in the cold water. After a few minutes, the silver haired child opened his eyes, the reddish tint on his cheeks finally reducing to pink. Rose smiled, still holding him, an arm wrapped around his torso while Cloud supported his head.

"Sephiroth, finally. Are you feeling better?"

The youth nodded feebly.

"He's gonna heal, now, mom?"

"Yes, Cloud. If he sleeps enough and take his medicine, like you, he will recover quickly. Now give me the towel, please."

Rose took the kid out of the tub, dried him off and carried him back to Cloud's room for the night. She was sure that if something happened, her son would be quick to come to her.

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Vincent slipped noiselessly into the house, his blurry vision searching for the room that held his child. He had to find him, quick, because whatever Hojo did to him, it was beginning to stir inside of him. His left arm was completely unusable, swelled and extremely painful. But as he was reaching the stairs, Rose spotted his hunched frame and ran toward him.

The Turk grabbed her arm, asking her to see his son. She refused for now, supporting him to the couch. She flipped a lamp on and immediately scolded him for being so stubborn. She left him one moment to get a towel, quickly immobilising his arm in a makeshift sling. Vincent tried to suppress a hiss. With a very motherly manner, Rose pushed the black strands out of his eyes.

"Vincent… What happened to you?"

"Hojo… he… he tortured me… He wants Sephiroth… I have to leave with him. Before he can…"

Rose handed him a glass of water that he accepted. The man looked like he had been stomped by a behemoth. Sighing, the woman helped him to stand, leading him upstairs, in the guest's room, with a soft lecture on how he should not have come before being able to take care of Sephiroth. Vincent winced as she accidentally brushed his arm, and she immediately apologised, asking him to show her more closely. The Turk let himself fall on the bed, tending his injured limb to Rose.

"Vincent! This is bad!", she said, horrified. "It's… oh my God… Vincent, I don't think your arm is salvageable… Get out of your shirt, I'll bring you some ice."

The Turk obliged, and deep inside of him, he knew she was probably right. He wearily kicked off his shoes, getting a little more comfortable by leaning against the headboard. He closed his eyes, feeling dizzy and nauseous all of a sudden. His breath became short as an excruciating pain sizzled between his shoulder blades, and he couldn't stop it. He thought he could hear a demonic laugh in his head and he screamed, grabbing his head with both hands. He bent forward, feeling the skin break in his back, the sickening sound of ripping flesh reaching his ears. He did not see Rose gasping in shock in the doorway, because all he could see was the bloody leather wings that had folded around him.

The woman did not let this apparent transformation scare her. Roman had told her that certain people, when reaching limits, could grow wings, or move faster than lightning or become engulfed completely in fire. Why was he reaching his limit /now/ was a mystery, and obviously, this transformation was very painful. She ran to him, placed her hands over his and screamed his name. The man was trembling, eyes continuously shifting from pupils to slits and once he got back his focus, the wings retracted in his back. His breathing was shallow and fast, eyes darting around trying to find the source of the voices.

"Vincent?" she asked a little hesitantly

And Vincent fainted.

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Rose kept taking care of Vincent and Sephiroth for the two next days. Cloud was very afraid of going into the Turk's room, because sometimes he would scream in his sleep. His arm was now extremely swelled, and the good woman was worrying over the fact that he was now nailed to the bed because of a fever. She wrung the cloth once again in the cold water filled basin she kept within reach, gently patting his overheated forehead, leaving it there after. She removed carefully the bandages covering his injured arm; the swelling had finally stopped, but it kept becoming darker, and where the skin was pierced, she could even discern a few streaks of purple. And they kept growing in size. She knew he would lose this arm because of the infection, and if she didn't act very fast, he could die from it. The diseased flesh almost reached the elbow. A feeble moan shook her out of her worried thoughts, as Vincent woke up from another nightmare, panting.

"Vincent…"

"Lucrecia… I-I failed…"

"You didn't fail, Vincent, if anything you are trying your best to save your son. Just hang on… Be strong for him."

And he closed his eyes once more. She finished changing the bandages, pulled the covers up to his neck. Something in him made her think of Roman. So alike, yet so different.

"Mom!"

The quiet, yet excited whisper turned her attention form the man lying in bed to the door, where her son was bouncing.

"What is it, Sunshine? By the look of it, you have good news."

"Yeah!", the youth said joyfully, "Seph is hungry!"

At least someone seemed to get better.

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Hojo was furious. First his project escaped, then the Turk. He was now sure something was going on between the two. He was beyond angry. The damn Turk would pay for the loss of his precious specimen. Following an intuition, he felt that they were both still around the village. In fact, he had made sure Vincent would not be in any shape to go very far. As for Sephiroth, whose Mako poisoning should already have caught him up. It would be easy to find them, so he still had time for his tests… He wanted to know why the Turk had somehow helped the specimen to escape. He would find it. And he would pay for it. If the specimen was lost, he would find it. And he would also suffer. He would never run away again, he was going to make sure of that. He had found Gast when he ran away with his precious Cetra, he would find Vincent and Sephiroth, too.

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Rose was at the item shop, buying the medication Dr. Kei had prescribed to Vincent. The good doctor had been kind enough to keep his visit discreet and had told no one that Rose was housing the escapees. When it would calm down, and they both prayed it would be soon, they would take him to Rocket Town to have his arm amputated. The gangrene was menacing the Turk's life, and it was spreading pretty fast. She sighed as she handed the money to pay for her prescription. It was the money for her groceries… The woman, Jenny, refused the payment.

"Dr. Kei called. It's already taken care of, Rose. Have a nice day."

Rose looked up and nodded, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. Although the Mayor has been cruel to her when her husband died, the other villagers kept helping her in secret. She was extremely grateful to them, she took the paper bag and walked out. She suddenly gasped as she saw the military truck; a dozen of SOLDIERS were around it, armed and accompanied with a few track dogs. She tried to look as if she didn't saw them, shutting the door of her house quickly, her heart racing.

Cloud was in the living room with Sephiroth, whose Mako poisoning was getting slowly better. He could now walk a little around the house, with a few coughs once in a while. The silver haired youth was very worried about his father, and seemed sad, even with Cloud's constant cheering up. Fear seized her; if the SOLDIERS found Sephiroth and Vincent here, Cloud and her would probably be arrested, too. Vincent could be killed for abduction. Sephiroth locked away in a cage and treated like an animal… Hojo, she was certain after hearing and seeing Vincent in that shape, could be able to do that. The Turk's life was in danger even if he stayed hidden… She had to tell him. They had to flee for Rocket Town before the SOLDIERS could organise a thorough search of the village…

She ran to her curtains and closed them, blocking the light, and locked the back door, making sure the yard was inaccessible for anyone. Then Rose climbed the stairs hurriedly to do the same upstairs. Vincent was awake, albeit very feverish. Once the curtains were closed, she helped him to sit, taking his good hand, supporting him to the window. They discreetly looked outside, watching the SOLDIERS. Although already pale, the Turk's skin turned completely white.

"Reinforcement…" he painfully whispered

"You have to flee for Rocket Town… Before they can find you and your son!"

"I will… Rose, I'll need help."

She immediately reached for the pills she had brought back from the item shop, giving him three with a glass of water.

"You can't go now, they'll kill you on sight. Tonight, the dark will cover you. Now, you should rest. I'll put Sephiroth to sleep, too. You'll need all the strength you can get."

Vincent nodded, and with Rose's help, returned to the bed. Strength was not the only thing they would need. To escape Hojo, they would need a whole lot of luck.

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Rose had had a very bad feeling upon closing the back door. Vincent looked even worse than when he arrived, but she had to let him try. For his survival, and his son's freedom. But Cloud couldn't understand that, yet. He was sulking in his room after throwing a tantrum and reluctantly saying goodbye to his only friend. She hoped the dark and the labyrinth of Mount Nibel would allow them to reach Rocket Town without being caught. For now, she had a son to console, once again.

Cloud was sitting on his bed, hugging his pillow.

"Sunshine…"

"He won't come back! He left me! I won't see him again! And /you/ let him go!"

Rose didn't know how she could explain that they had to go, for Sephiroth's safety and Vincent's life depended on it. Instead, she just took hold of his lithe frame and hugged him, saying that they would surely see them again, once everything would be better.

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Vincent ran, Sephiroth scooped in his arms. He should have known… the SOLDIERS had been deploying themselves during the previous night, and the military truck had been a lure. But he could not blame Rose for that. If he could just reach the first cave to enter Mount Nibel's labyrinth, they would have a chance. Behind him he could hear the snarls of the trained dogs and the shouts of the SOLDIERS, trying to keep up with him. As a Turk, he had received the same treatments that enhanced his abilities, but the Turk training itself was giving him an advantage, and he was relying on that to save his son.

Sephiroth feebly tried to grip his shirt, and Vincent willed his left arm to clutch him a little firmly. If he miraculously survived this trip, he would made sure his son was safe. His own health was of little concern, his priority was lying in his arms.

His ears picked a sound from the left, and he ducked to the right. He did not cared what he avoided; no time to check it out, as the salve of small needles hit the tree next to him, he continued to run. But he didn't have the chance to see the small wooden pick deep inside his right shoulder until it was too late. His strength left him and he collapsed on his side, and the last thing he saw was Sephiroth battling bare handed against a track dog.

Sephiroth clutched his leg in both hands as Hojo closed the cage. He was bleeding badly from a bite the dog had given him, and combined to his Mako poisoning, it was making him feel very faint. He crawled to the far end of his little prison, trembling, as he saw the scientist slap his father to wake him up. Apparently, he wanted him alive. Finally, unnatural red eyes slowly pried open.

"Well, well, looks like you and my so called ex-wife were more than just friends, isn't it?" Hojo said, leering closer to the Turk. "I appreciate, thought that you let me play with your child, it has been fun. But it seems that specimen will be of no use to me since it has seen the world. Things like freedom and people have corrupted him. You have corrupted him. I'll have to terminate him."

Vincent's eyes widened as he saw Hojo lift his gun and point it toward Sephiroth. The scientist pulled the trigger, the next second, he was between the two, taking the bullet in his shoulder.

"Father!"

Sephiroth screamed as Vincent backed off and hit the cage. Hojo sneered.

"Stupid child. Did you really think your so-called father would let me kill you? You are still valuable to me. I can undo the alienation he caused, after all, I am a genius. But you are to be punished, first. As for you, Turk, or should I say ex-Turk, the President had granted me the right to take your body as a payment for your misconduct."

He waved the SOLDIERS out, and let the assistants lock Sephiroth in a soundproof room, where, although hurt, sick and bleeding, continued to thrash and scream, and in a last attempt to save his father, he broke the cage, and if the door hasn't been in thick mythril, he would have passed through. This did not escape Hojo, and he nodded to himself. This child would become even stronger.

But for now, he had a new toy to play with. He had recently found out a way to extract a demon's mind, it would be a great occasion to see if he could transfer more than one in a human body. First, though, he grabbed a surgical scalpel, gesturing to his assistants to place his test subject on his test table.

"Put him there. And don't disturb me. Well, Vincent, let's remove that diseased arm, shall we?"

And under Vincent's terrified eyes, he proceeded. It was only the beginning of his own torture.

End

Author's notes

I said it wouldn't have a happy ending. Poor everyone… well, except Hojo. He's a prick. It was a little long to come up, but I wanted it to reflect exactly what I had in mind… I hope you liked it!