Chapter Seventeen

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Several days earlier:

.

"He comes here every night."

Cloud didn't bother stopping the grimace from forming on his face. It didn't take a whole lot of concentration to hear the criticism in his friend's voice. It was hard not to try to shift under the weight of it. He knew Vincent didn't approve.

"I can't stop him from coming." Cloud rasped out tiredly.

The strain from Hojo's work was getting to him. It was a long process infusing Mako with the cure in his bloodstream and harvesting it back out again. It had long since taken its toll on his body. It's only been a week with who knows how much longer to go. Who knows how much of this stuff that damn quack wanted to drain out of him.

Cloud felt more than heard the movement as Vincent adjusted his position next to him. His skin was too sensitive anymore. So much Mako in him that he was becoming aware of everything around him even though he couldn't see anything at this point in the procedure. Losing his sight was a blessing in disguise as he was sure he wasn't a pretty sight.

"Perhaps, but you want him to come." Vincent continued "You call him."

"I'm a mentally and emotionally scarred, genetically modified yet failed copy of him from the future. Literally every cell in my body craves to join his. Yes, I want him to come." Cloud exhausted himself with his little rant.

As he lay panting he felt the slightest brush in his hair. It was the only touch he could tolerate in his state. Even that was excruciatingly painful to him.

"I understood that Jenova was no longer in you. You shouldn't be able to feel the call."

Vincent never understood that it was never Jenova that called him. No one did. He never told them. He never wanted them to know just how tightly the Professor bound Cloud to Sephiroth not Jenova, before giving up as a failure. Jenova was simply one of the keys Sephiroth used to call him. As Sephiroth became Jenova's puppet, he was Sephiroth's. It took years before Cloud himself fully understood just what Hojo tried to do to him.

Or what he did do to him.

Hojo initially wanted to make a direct one to one copy, but it wasn't stable. To create a perfect copy, he needed to completely wipe out the existing personality (the soul if you will) of the host body. The problem was the host body couldn't survive long enough for the transfer. Hojo didn't want to graft Sephiroth into a host that wasn't perfectly empty; it would infect his perfect specimen.

The trick was to split Sephiroth into many mostly empty bodies and force them to merge at a set time. It would in theory call just the parts that were Sephiroth and junk the rest. All it needed was a Reunion. It worked in theory, but when it was done, instead of one whole Sephiroth, it left fractured versions of the man. It was a case of split-personality that beat Cloud's own version with room to spare.

Jenova was only a catalyst to him. It was always Sephiroth that he was drawn to. It was always there, buzzing in the back of his head. When Sephiroth was dead, it felt like there was a hole in his mind. A missing piece that ached when he was gone and burned when he was there. Always, he longed to be closer, to…connect with him.

He hated himself for it.

Jenova was only ever supposed to be a binding agent in the call for Reunion but she proved to be more powerful than any of them expected. And it cost him everything he loved.

"It was never about her." Cloud whispered.

Pain wrecked his body as he started convulsing. At this point, there was more Mako in him than blood. He could feel his body shutting down around him. He didn't even have the energy to panic as the Mako warped his reality again. He felt Vincent place the breathing mask over his face. The pressure from it made him want to scream. The powerful narcotics that were pumped into the air quickly gave him a small amount of comfort before they put him out entirely.

Now:

Green…

Green tubes…

Green tubes hooked to machines…

Green filled tubes hooked to machines that were sticking out of every orifice and into every major vein of Cloud's body…

His completely naked and exposed body…

Zack starred in abject horror at the pincushion his new friend had become. Giant tanks of mako surrounded him, filling him and draining from him at a pulse rate. Sticky condensed mako oozed out of his pores to slide burning trails down his skin and into a drain built into the table. The beeping of the machines and the hiss of gas were the only sounds echoing in the nightmare Zack waltzed into.

From out of nowhere Vincent fell onto the table Cloud was strapped to. The wires and tubes posed no hindrance for the man. With a flash of red, he covered what he could of Cloud's body with that tattered cape Zack never saw him without. He balanced perfectly over Cloud's torso ignoring all the hoses and wires, and turned his baleful blood-red eyes on the repugnant scientist that followed him in.

"Leave and secure the door behind you." He hissed menacingly.

The asshole, who had been gloating just seconds before, all but pissed himself as he scurried out. Zack barely noticed.

Tseng walked slowly forward as Vincent watched silently from his perch. Zack didn't know how he could move, he felt as though he was rooted to the ground. As though he would never be able to move again.

"That's close enough." Vincent said. His voice was softer than Zack has ever heard it. Not that he heard it a lot.

"What happened to him?" Tseng asked in a whisper.

Vincent shifted his position, pulling the cape off of Cloud's face. Zack absently wondered how he was maintaining his balance on the edges of the table without stepping on the blonde or pulling something out of him.

Seeing Cloud's face allowed Zack to stumble forward on leaden legs to see his friend up close. His skin and hair was coated in a thick film of green slime. The stench of it burned his nose and eyes. He reached out to check his pulse needing to know his friend was actually alive and not able to believe it in this condition. His hand was just inches away when Vincent caught it with his claws.

"Don't touch him." Vincent cautioned.

Zack stared at the golden claw that held him captive. The razor edges of the fingers pressed lightly against the vulnerable skin on his wrist in the most unsubtle threat in the history of threats. Zack locked eyes with the demon. It felt like the ruby gaze was once again piercing into his soul and determining his worth. He wouldn't blink. Not this time. He would show that he was worthy of Cloud's trust. That he was strong enough for whatever burden his friend carried.

"If you two are done with your little dominance display," Tseng interrupted "can you tell us what that was about?"

Vincent released Zack, turning to focus on Tseng. "He's covered in condensed Mako leaking out through his pores. Were anyone to touch him with their skin, it could kill that person. Also it would cause him no small amount of pain." Vincent ran his claw gently through Cloud's hair. "His skin has been over sensitized by the amount of it coursing through his veins."

"What! But…Why?" Zack cried out.

"Sshhh…" The demon shushed him. His normal hand bringing a finger to his lips in the universal signal to be quiet.

Zack opened his mouth but Vincent suddenly focused on something behind them. His glare intensified into molten lava. In all his life, Zack had never seen so much hate in one person.

"Because it was necessary." An unpleasant voice said from behind.

Zack spun around to face the newcomer. He noticed Tseng do the same thing, reaching into his jacket at the same time. Zack knew the Turk was reaching for his weapon. Zack wished he'd thought to bring one with him too. He stopped when he recognized the person standing at the entrance.

Hojo.

It had to be Hojo.

The scientist meandered calmly towards them. He paused as he came next to Zack and studied him like a specimen on a slide. It was an uneasy feeling but Zack didn't let it show. It was unfortunately something he was used to from the Professor. He'd been under it often enough.

"Soldier Fair; you're not authorized to be down here." Hojo told him.

"I brought him down Professor." Tseng stepped up "We're both aware of Cloud's situation."

Zack glanced at Tseng in shock that the Turk would be so open in admitting they knew he was from the future, then it occurred to him that Tseng did no such thing. He belatedly realized that Tseng was playing for information out of Hojo, trying to find out just how much the Professor knew. Zack felt a small sliver of embarrassment for not realizing it immediately. It was a trick he used all the time himself.

"Interesting." Hojo hummed thoughtfully without giving anything away as he walked past them to stand at Cloud's head.

Vincent, still crouched over Cloud's prone body, glared at the scientist. The demon was watching Hojo like a snake waiting for the right time to strike. Hojo returned his glare with a contemptuous one of his own. These two clearly didn't like each other. Yet they seemed to be working together.

"How long has he been out?" Hojo questioned Vincent as he pulled on a pair of thick rubber gloves he pulled out of his coat pocket.

"Less than half an hour this time." Vincent answered.

'Just barely missed him.'

He carefully moved closer to Cloud. Mindful of Vincent's tolerance of his presence, what little of it there was. The tubes were even more horrifying up close. He watched closely as Hojo took readings from the machine nearest Cloud. He watched as Hojo pulled Cloud's eyelids open. Zack could see the entire eyeball was covered in Mako. All there was, was green. He looked down to the mask that covered Clouds mouth. Every breath he took sprayed more green mist coating the inside of the mask with every exhale. Vincent shifted further down Cloud's body and revealed the thick black hose that pierced just under Cloud's ribs and lowered underneath the table, pumping loads of Mako directly into him.

"What are you doing to him?" Zack choked out.

Vincent and Hojo shared a telling look. Zack couldn't decipher what they weren't saying. He looked to Tseng to see if he knew what was going on, but if the Turk knew, he wasn't sharing. Finally, Vincent nodded once.

"Do they really know?" Hojo asked Vincent caustically.

"He told enough." Vincent replied.

"Foolish boy."

"His choice."

"Have it your way then." Hojo muttered "How much did Strife tell you about the cure?" He questioned.

"That…it would wipe Jenova out and something called…" "Geostigma." "Yeah… and that he trusted the source." Zack answered with Tseng's help.

"How interesting." Hojo mused almost gleefully "I can't inform you on some things, but I can tell you the reason Strife 'trusted the source' is because he is the source."

"Huh?" Zack glanced at Tseng again and he could almost see the wheels turning in the Turk's mind. He waited for Tseng to spell it out because it couldn't mean what he thought it meant.

"You're mining him." Tseng stated. His voice was ice cold and sharp.

"Harvesting would be more accurate."

The Turk stepped forward to study the machines ignoring Vincent's graceful dance within the tubes to keep them all in his vision. The bottom of his cape now coated in the toxic Mako leaking out but the demon paid no attention to it.

"Strife's body produces the serum naturally. It cannot be manufactured artificially, I tried that first. It has to come from him." Hojo stated coldly as he continued checking Cloud over.

He moved from Cloud's head and was now checking the needles that stabbed his neck and arms. Hojo didn't pay any attention to Vincent as he continued to glare at the Professor. He continued going around Cloud adjusting needles and replacing the Mako soaked bandages with fresh one.

"What we're doing currently is infusing as much concentrated Mako through his body for as long as he can survive it. Some of this will go to the current Soldiers in their next injection. Most will go to the reactors and open Mako pools to infuse the lifestream."

Zack couldn't say anything as he stared at the horror that was happening to his new friend. That he was doing all for them, that he HAD done it already for them. That cure now ran through his veins. Did Cloud have to endure this so he could have the cure? So that Angeal could be cured?

"How much longer will this take?" Tseng questioned.

"Oh, not much. No more than a couple of days I would imagine. He's been here since he returned from Nibelheim."

"Why aren't you using the mako showers or the body tubes? I would imagine they would be less invasive than this?" Tseng asked gesturing harshly to Cloud's body.

"Strife won't tolerate either. Believe me or not, but this option was his choice."

"Why…I don't understand. Why is this happening to him?" Zack had a hard time wrapping his head around it. He turned to Vincent, who still hovered there like the demon he often called the man in his head. "Are you going through this as well?"

"No. This is not my task. I couldn't do what Cloud is set to. My purpose is different."

"What is your purpose?" Tseng questioned.

Vincent shifted again, almost guiltily.

"I cannot divulge it at this time."

"When can you divulge it?" Zack Demanded.

"…"

Zack waited, glaring at the man. Hojo was seemingly ignoring the new drama at he took new samples and checked the readings.

"When Cloud is finished with his tasks, then mine will start. I can talk more freely then." Vincent reluctantly answered.

"When will that be?" Zack pressed.

"…unknown." Vincent would talk no more on it.

Zack was getting frustrated again. He wanted answers. He wanted Angeal to wake up. He wanted Cloud to wake up. He wanted something to do. He was a man of action and all this intrigue was beyond him.

Most of all, he wanted to know that the people he cared about were safe.

"Okay…okay. What...can I do…to help…with anything." Zack forced out through gritted teeth. Vincent was watching him now with an almost soft expression.

"When Cloud is finished here, he is going to be mentally…fragile. He is going to need someone to help keep him…stable."

"Fragile?" Tseng questioned.

"Mako…messes with his head when he's exposed to it in large quantities."

Zack nodded and ran his hands through his hair. "Two days?" he confirmed.

"Two days if I'm not constantly interrupted." Hojo snarked.

"Alright then."

Zack turned and walked to the doors. He turned again and saw Tseng was still by the machines. The Turk was having his own silent conversation with Vincent. Whatever it way, Tseng clearly didn't like it. Without a word Tseng turned and walked past Zack and out the door. They didn't say anything as they got back onto the elevator they had left just moments ago.

Back in the room, Hojo continued puttering around Cloud as Vincent watched over him. The ebb and flow of the lifestream pulsed through him, forcing an awareness no human was ever supposed to feel.

Cloud's Mako filled eyes closed releasing a lone green tear to fall down the side of his face.