Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy Series.

A/N: Hopefully I got Sephiroth's and Lazard's personalities alright. There really isn't a lot to go on with those two.

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"Are you sure this will work?"

"For the final time, Yes! It will work! Trust me; everything will go according to plan."

"…"

"At least trust that I know what I'm doing. I've lived this life far longer than you my boy. I know how to work around Shinra." Hojo huffed.

Cloud sighed, the surrealness of their conversation didn't escape him. It had been a strange and stressful couple of weeks but somehow they've managed to develop a kind of working relationship. He didn't like the level of possessiveness Hojo seemed to have developed over him though. That he could have done without.

"Alright, I'm with you. It's just, he'll be there. I don't know how to act around him when we're not trying to kill each other." Cloud relented.

"I know my boy" Hojo said and patted Cloud awkwardly on his arm. "Just do what we discussed and you'll be fine. I don't know why you're nervous, you hate me and you're perfectly reasonable to work with."

"My feelings regarding you are simple; my feelings for him are a whole different matter."

Cloud sighed again and leaned against the back of the elevator that was taking them to Director Lazard's level. Cloud shifted again and earned an annoyed look from Hojo. He couldn't help it. He felt like he was going into battle defenseless. Hojo convinced him to leave his sword and armor back at the lab. The scientist apparently favored discretion. Unsurprising, given the man's love of under the table experiments. He was instead wearing his original army uniform, without any weapon. It was ill-fitting and uncomfortable. He felt naked and vulnerable and was about to be in the same room with Sephiroth. At least he didn't have to wear that near blinding helmet.

Cloud knew that Sephiroth was a part of the emergency planning for the Modeoheim mission, and Cloud would have to face him practically defenseless. Cloud knew that it was a necessary precaution; he was a little too 'trigger-happy' when it came to the lead First, and picking a fight would destroy his chance to get assigned to the mission. He NEEDED to be on that mission. Not for the sake of the world, this was more of a detour to the overall plan, but simply because Cloud missed his friend.

He knew it would be hard, read impossible, but if he got nothing else for himself, then by Hel! he would at least get the chance to meet him again. Hopefully, he will also be able to repay some of the debt he owes Zack as well. Hojo had been working tirelessly to modify the geostigma cure from his blood to repair the degradation. If it worked, and Hojo swore it will, then he could save Zack's mentor and friend, and stop Genesis from causing further harm.

That was the current plan anyways.

The elevator stopped with a ding that jolted Cloud out of his thoughts just in time for the doors to open. Hojo shot him an amused glance then led him down the hall. Cloud huffed and sneered halfheartedly at the scientist before following like the obedient puppet he was pretending to be.

The lights from the advertisements on Midgar's top plate were casting strange shadows through the windows as they walked. The eerie normality of the hallway set his teeth on edge. He could see all the ghosts that shouldn't exist anymore in the shadows. Cloud sometimes had a hard time shaking off the spectrals of his past; it was an ongoing problem of his. One that had annoyed his family more than once. Now instead of just remembering the shades of his past, he was reliving them.

Hojo paused just outside a door. He turned and quickly patted Cloud's shoulder twice again. Cloud didn't know why the doctor was so touchy with him, but he was learning to endure it. He nodded and Hojo opened the door.

-…-…-…-…-…-…-…-…-…-…-…-…-…-…-

Sephiroth turned at the unexpected sound then tensed slightly as Professor Hojo strolled casually into the room with an unknown infantryman silently following in behind him. The scientist had a smile on his sallow face that chilled him to the bone. Hojo only smiled like that when he was about to have someone under his knife.

Hojo's entrance had the dubious benefit of interrupting Lazard and Tseng's argument. They were both standing over Lazard's desk arguing over the same repetitive topics, while he had long since sat at one of the many office chairs, too worn to continue the posturing. He had long since stated his refusal to hunt down his only friends and nothing he said at this point would change his mind.

Pictures of Genesis and Angeal flashed on the main screen where he was sitting at the end of the half oval conference table. At the scientist's appearance though, he quickly got to his feet to face him. He would not expose his back to the man.

All three watched silently as Hojo slowly made his way to them while the infantryman stayed back to lean against a pillar near the door. The stranger's blonde hair was glowing like a beacon in the artificial lighting. For some odd reason Sephiroth had a hard time taking his eyes off of him and focusing on Hojo. It was a very dangerous distraction.

"Professor Hojo, what can we do for you?" Director Lazard asked with all the political politeness he could muster. His disdain for the scientist was second only to Sephiroth's.

"I understand you're going after Hollander's failures." The scientist stated as he strolled calmly to them.

"Yes" Tseng said, taking over from Lazard "but how did you hear of it? The kill order has only just been issued, as you can see we've only begun planning." He gestured to the conference table with Angeal and Genesis' files opened.

"Kill!" the Professor exclaimed with false shock "Don't you think that is a bit extreme?" Hojo glanced back over his shoulder as he spoke. The unknown man simply shrugged but kept silent. Hojo was definitely up to something, he only 'played' like this when he knew he had the upper hand.

"There's nothing we can do," Lazard sighed while rubbing his forehead, "the reports all say the degradation is too advanced, and if they won't come in willingly, there's no saving them."

Sephiroth snorted softly at that, then startled when the infantryman did the same. Apparently he wasn't the only one who didn't buy the party line. Whoever Hojo's new pet was, he knew what was happening. That alone intrigued him, Hojo wasn't known for sharing information.

"Is there?" Hojo asked calmly.

"What?" Lazard questioned.

"Is there really no hope for a happy 'reunion'?"

"What have you done?" Sephiroth asked when saw the stranger flinch out of the corner of his eye. Hojo turned to glance at the man; he looked down momentarily before catching the Professor's gaze and nodded slightly yet firmly at him.

Hojo turned back and stalked right up to him. Sephiroth felt the muscles in his back tighten fiercely at how close the scientist was. One thing he hated more than anything else was being on the receiving end of his ire. It only led to more pain. The infantryman also tensed as Hojo approached him before relaxing back again.

"You should have come to me the second you knew something was wrong Sephiroth. A Soldier's health is my priority, and with two firsts failing so dramatically I should have been brought in immediately. Regardless of the fact that they were Hollander's faulty products." Hojo scolded harshly.

Sephiroth couldn't avoid flinching. The Professor could still make him feel weak. He noticed that Lazard and Tseng were also not completely immune to Hojo's criticism. Lazard looked down at his desk as though it held the reason for cutting the Professor out. He knew there was something wrong before anyone else. Tseng stiffened further than was normal for the Turk. He probably knew how dangerous Hojo was almost as well as Sephiroth did. If the Professor so chose, he could make any of them disappear without a whisper.

The stranger didn't seem to care about what he said. If anything, he looked bored of the whole thing. It almost seemed that the man wasn't paying attention to what was happening at all if it hadn't been for that one little slip.

"As it so happens" Hojo continued, moving closer to study the monitor "I have a solution to their degradation."

"Why didn't you say anything sooner? If you knew they were failing, why didn't you come forward?" Lazard demanded. He sounded upset.

Sephiroth could understand that, he was irritated himself. Angeal and Genesis were his friends. He had been stressed since Genesis disappeared, and it was made worse when Angeal went with him and left him in charge of his 'puppy'. He wasn't good with puppies; they were far too hyper. However, he did make a good distraction from everything.

"You never asked me for it."

"You had it all along and said nothing!" Lazard was enraged. He moved past his desk and marched over to Hojo, his fists clenched.

Before Sephiroth could take more than a single step forward the unknown man had moved across the room and planted himself between them. He was still silent; he didn't say a word. He just stood there, his arms relaxed at his side with that same bored expression, blocking Lazard's path.

With him this close, Sephiroth could clearly see the mako glow in his eyes. That was a very disturbing thing. He made sure that he knew everyone in the Soldier program, and he never forgot a face, yet he had never seen this man before.

Lazard also froze under the stranger's icy stare. As a Director, to not know someone with mako enhancements should be impossible. His approval was needed for every applicant to receive mako treatments.

Even Tseng, who always appeared calm, tensed and reached for a hidden weapon. Though he made no outward sign of it except for his speed and glow, this unidentified man suddenly became a threat he knew nothing about. A Turk, who prided himself on knowing all the seedy underbelly of Shinra, knew nothing about this stranger.

The stranger, who ignored all the tension his presence suddenly created. He simply crossed his arms and stared Lazard down. There was an inherent threat in him that Sephiroth could sense. He could feel the itch in the muscles of his back forming and a strange static building in his head as he knew the man was prepared to strike and strike hard.

Hojo reached out gently to pet the man's shoulder. It was a move that spoke of familiarity that was in contrast with the stranger's newness. The man didn't break his stare from Lazard in the least as he calmly tolerated Hojo's touch. He didn't understand why, but Sephiroth didn't like Hojo touching him.

"It's alright my boy," he said almost affectionately, "He's not going to attack me."

The man looked back at his words and cocked his eyebrow at him. Sephiroth watched as they stared at each other for a minute before the man shrugged and that quickly, the sensation of danger left him. The infantryman relaxed back into his bored look and moved behind the Professor. He didn't go very far though.

Once the stranger was settled at his back Hojo turned to Lazard, "Save you dramatics for the board Lazard. They're wasted on us." He said imperiously.

"Why did you decide to come forward now?" Tseng asked, taking over again while Lazard got himself under control. The incident scared him more than the Director wanted them to know. Sephiroth wasn't paying much attention to the conversation. He kept his gaze locked on the man, there was something about him that called to him, and he could tell that even though he wasn't directly facing him, the man was watching him too.

"As you stated earlier, there is now a kill order. To wait any longer would make my work irrelevant. Besides, my new specimen needs field testing and this will be the perfect mission to send him on." Hojo told them matter-of-factly.

No one bothered to pretend they weren't staring at the man who shifted his weight under their gaze but otherwise ignored everyone. He seemed to be paying attention to the pictures still on the screen. He wasn't fooling anyone though. He didn't want to be there or he didn't want anyone to know about him, about what Hojo has done to him.

What has that mad man done now?

"Specimen?" Sephiroth asked softly, a dangerous lilt in his voice "Did you just grab some random infantrymen for your experimentation?"

"More of less" Hojo said dismissively, while the man tensed slightly behind him.

This was far worse than he thought.

Tseng sighed and Lazard proclaimed, "Professor Hojo, even you can't just experiment on whoever you want to. There are limits!"

Hojo smiled and said, "I can when I have the President's permission."

Lazard moved forward again only to be barred once more by the man. This time the stranger pushed him back lightly with a hand to Lazard's chest. He shook his head slowly at Lazard in a clear warning not to try again. Lazard relented slightly to the implied threat. It peaked Sephiroth's curiosity as to what Hojo could have said or done to the poor man to garner such loyalty. What lies or threats to ensure his obedience.

Tseng had moved over to one of the computers and pulled up the information on the order. It only took a moment to find it. "As of fifteen days ago the Professor Hojo had permission to try a new experiment on a volunteer." Tseng read out.

A volunteer was anyone who worked for Shinra. Hojo smirked gleefully at them as the stranger backed away, once more putting the Professor between him and them.

Sephiroth felt a tinge of pity for the young man. Yet, there was also something...odd in the way he interacted with Hojo. Sephiroth was a curious creature by nature, and he knew what it was like to be exposed to the scientist's experiments, yet this young man wasn't behaving like someone who was tormented by the doctor. Also, Hojo wasn't treating the young man like a specimen.

"What's your name?" he asked the man directly.

The man blinked at him for a moment. He opened and closed his mouth a few times like he was trying to find the words before saying, "Corporal Strife sir." His was soft and melodic. It was at odds against his cold exterior. It was surprisingly pleasing.

"It says here you had him transferred to your personal labs two weeks ago." Tseng spoke calmly despite his tension.

"Someone had to be tested on to determine if the antidote worked."

Sephiroth wanted to be the one to lunge at Hojo that time, before he caught Strife's eyes. The young man quietly warned him off. The fact alone that he was able to do such a thing was enough for him to completely back off.

"This isn't getting us anywhere Doc." Strife suddenly said, his lilting accent tickling the back of his memory.

In all his life Sephiroth has never heard of ANYONE giving the Professor a nickname. Nor has he heard of anyone ever chastising him. People who dared to rebuke the Professor had a history of disappearing. Not even the President dared do so anymore.

Hojo merely huffed then stated "I have a remedy, and a specimen that needs testing. I will relinquish it only if Strife is assigned to the Modeoheim mission and only to Strife to deliver it."

"I just can't put an unknown and untried enhanced person on a major mission like that." Lazard said, trying to calm down a bit.

"You already have a First assigned to it, put Strife under his command. He knows how to follow orders." Hojo stated arrogantly.

Sephiroth could instinctively tell just how very badly Strife wanted to roll his eyes. He had to commend the other man for his restraint.

"Soldier First Fair is relatively untried when it comes to team leadership. He might not be up to the task of handling an unknown on top of capturing or killing the renegades." Lazard said.

Sephiroth tensed noticeably at Lazard's slight against one of his Soldiers. Zack may be young but he was more than capable. Strife also didn't seem to like what the Director had to say either. Was he that eager to go into the field?

"You know how I hate to repeat myself Lazard. I personally know young Soldier Fair and he's more than capable of handling this mission and what he can't handle Strife will take care of." The implied threat in Hojo's tone couldn't have been more clear. Lazard caved immediately.

"If he were to fail we may never get another opportunity to stop or contain Angeal and Genesis." Tseng said, not giving up so easily.

Hojo almost-smiled at Strife, before stating in a possessively sweet tone "He won't fail, he's made too well." Strife glared at Hojo for that remark.

Lazard sighed again before he moved back to his desk and sat in it heavily. "Alright, I'll authorize it. Provided Tseng goes with to oversee his…testing"

"That won't be a problem," Tseng said, it was what they were arguing about before all this happened "I was planning on going anyways."

"Perfect then, I'll give Strife the remedy, and he will administer it to Hollander's strays."

Sephiroth glared as Professor Hojo turned to leave the room. Strife started to follow behind before Lazard called out, "Strife stay behind. I need to go over the particulars with you."

Strife paused but stared at Hojo waiting for orders. It said a very clear message just who he would follow and it wasn't Lazard. Hojo truly did smile at him this time.

"Go ahead my boy. Come back to the lab when you're done and we'll get you equipped." Strife nodded and slowly walked back to the three waiting as Hojo disappeared out of the room.

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Cloud really didn't want to stay alone in the room with these three. Without Hojo's distracting presence, to hide behind there was far too much attention on him. He didn't often try to hide his nature. It usually didn't serve a purpose. People before needed to know who he was for their own safety. Now, he had to hide just about everything he was and these men were not stupid. This whole charade was already almost too much for him.

Deception was never one of his strengths. – Except when it came to dressing in drag, but we don't talk about that.

Ever.

When Cloud reached them Lazard asked softly "Are you alright son? I can imagine these last couple of weeks must have been hard on you."

Cloud wondered what the Director was up to. What did the man hope to gain? He never met the man before, and he knew nothing of his personality or motives. Tseng and Sephiroth were both easier to for him to read. He understood them. They were…familiar.

"I'm fine sir. What is it about the mission you needed to discuss with me?" Cloud asked with military precision.

Cloud had a hard time keeping his attention on the Director and not on Sephiroth. He may no longer be a living puppet but he was still as drawn to the man as ever. The Silver Soldier was so much a part of his psyche he couldn't separate them no matter how much he once tried. Sephiroth would forever be a part of him and Reunion would always call.

He also couldn't ignore Tseng. If there was any man that could see through his ruse, it would be him. He wouldn't eventually become leader of the Turks for nothing after all, and someone he once called brother. After geostigma and Deepground, Cloud worked closely with Rufus and his remaining Turks. He and Tseng spent many nights together hashing out plans to try and stop the spread. The bond only grew when he managed to save Tseng's blood family from the plague.

It hurt far more than he expected it to, being so close to someone he was once so close to and not have that connection anymore. If it was this bad with Tseng what would it be like with Zack or Tifa, with Aerith?

"If there is anything we can do for you," Lazard tried again "you can let us know. We can try to help you. I can petition to have you removed from Professor Hojo's labs and into the Soldier program."

This was getting him nowhere. Cloud didn't know if Lazard was genuinely trying to help him or if he wanted to manipulate him for his own means. Either way it didn't matter. Cloud had a job to do and nothing was going to distract him away from it. Cloud glanced briefly over to Sephiroth, he hoped anyway.

"There's nothing. It was a necessary sacrifice. What was done needed to be done. If there is nothing to be discussed about the upcoming operation, I'll take my leave. I still have a lot to do to get ready."

Cloud was ready to jump out of his skin. He could feel Sephiroth's gaze. Why wasn't he doing anything? He was just standing there, observing. He wanted to run away or fight something. He wouldn't, but he wanted to.

"Strife." Tseng said harshly.

"Sir." Cloud returned his tone.

Lazard and Cloud locked into a stare, each trying to force the other to yield to their will. Unfortunately for Lazard, he was used to far more powerful entities trying to bend him.

"Fine, we'll do it your way, for now. Dust off is at 04:00. You'll be under Soldier First Zack Fair, and as you know Turk Tseng will be there as well. Your orders are to follow First Fair's orders, find and subdue renegades Soldier Firsts Angeal and Genesis, and administer the cure. Understood?" Lazard was clearly ready to be rid of him since he wasn't cooperating. It spoke of him wanting Cloud for his own ends rather than trying to help him.

"Sir, yes Sir."

Cloud turned to leave once again.

"Strife," Sephiroth's voice called out to him for the first time since Hojo left.

He stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn around "When you return, I want to discuss your new situation with you." Cloud swallowed hard, then gave a quiet "yes sir" before leaving the room and quickly made his way back down to the lab. Euphoria filled him as he traveled, he did it! He was on Zack's mission. He was also on Sephiroth's radar dread swiftly replaced his momentary elation.

It was too soon. He wasn't ready to confront Sephiroth.

This could complicate things.