~ Watch Me ~
Variables
Rose and Sephiroth walked to Shinra's Science Department in silence. Despite Sephiroth's lesson on emotional control, Rose's nerves had gotten the better of her as soon as they'd left the training room. She was afraid that if she were to speak, her insides would make a quick sharp exit via her mouth.
They arrived, and Hojo's laboratory was a large metal room of pipes, tanks, and screens. Ominous glowing windows contrasted strangely with the sounds of a busy work floor, the two worlds entirely seperate, and even enduring the battle of nerves inside of her, Rose found herself curious of the place's going ons.
Utterly distracted, Rose almost walked into Sephiroth, as he stopped to hail down one of the eight Shinra scientists.
"We're looking for Hojo." He said, giving the room a fleeting glance. "He's expecting us."
The woman, looking a little flummoxed, nodded, her spectacled gaze falling on Rose. "Yes, I think he did mention you. Miss Hewley, isn't it?"
Rose managed a nod.
"Of course." The female lab coat turned back to Sephiroth. "There was no mention of you though, I'm afraid, but... I can't see it being a problem." She gestured across the room to a caged off eleavator. "Take that elevator up to the next floor, you'll find the Professor up there. You're in luck, last I heard he was in quite a good mood."
With that she turned away, returning to the screens she had previously been so invested in.
Sephiroth glanced down at Rose, as if to say 'lets go', but her boots suddenly felt as though they were made of lead. Her stomach did a sickening flip.
"I think I'm going to pass out." She mumbled, only half in jest.
Sephiroth tittered, not unkindly, and she felt his hand press gently on the small of her back. "Come on."
Despite herself, the gesture conjured heat, and desperate for him not to notice, she spurred forward across the room, hitting the button of the elevator with perhaps a little too much force. They got in, and suddenly Rose noticed – to her horror – what was in the tanks.
"Are those monsters?" She gasped, crouching to get a better look as the floor suddenly slid from view. She shot up. "Why does he have monsters locked up in there?"
"Why does Hojo do anything?" Sephiroth replied cryptically, his face suddenly unreadable. The elevator lurched to a halt. "Here we are."
He stepped off, and Rose followed, her question left unsatisfactorily answered, as she entered yet another lab floor. The room was darker than the one before, but thankfully empty. Her gaze was drawn to a cylinder glass tank, sitting open almost expectantly. She looked at it with open mistrust, considering the contraption's purpose, and shiver shot tellingly across her spine.
"Wait there, I'll be down in a moment." Hojo's bored voice suddenly rang across the room via a telecom system. Rose looked up to find him stood in some kind of surveillance room.
She glared, but was grateful she'd be spared his presence at least a few minutes more.
"Don't rush." She muttered.
"Rose." Sephiroth murmured warningly.
Not looking at him, she crossed her arms. "I know, I know, play nicely."
He sighed. "It's for your own good."
"Then why does it feel like standing in the centre of a highway?"
He had no answer for her, and she rocked nervously on her toes, flinching as she heard the sound of doors opening. Hojo entered with a lazy stroll, but Rose had to admit, his face did look happier than the last time she saw him. Excited, in fact. He regarded her briefly as he made his towards them, but his interest was ultimately held by Sephiroth, a knowing smile twisting his leathered features.
"I didn't expect to find you here." He sneered, his gaze now darting hungrily between them both. "Are you here for my protection or hers?" He wondered mockingly, that awful laugh of his tearing at Rose's ears. He grinned. "So chivalrous of you, Sephiroth. Tell me, where have these feelings suddenly crawled out from? Don't tell me you have been hiding them all this time?"
Sephiroth didn't dignify him with a reply, but Rose's eyes narrowed hatefully, and she couldn't keep her disgust bottled. "You really are a vile human being, aren't you?"
"I'll take that as a compliment, my dear. The lazy, pathetic creatures that they are."
Rose felt her face darken, but he turned away, moving to bring up a file on a nearby computer screen. Rose's file, to be exact.
"So," He began, his eyes moving speedily over her information. "Not quite the pointless hunk of meat I thought you to be, are you? The planet does move in mysterious ways." He opened a draw. "Arm."
Rose frowned. "What?"
Hojo sighed, irritated. "This will all go quicker if I don't have to keep repeating myself." He presented a small blood syringe and string of elastic from his desk. He looked at her pointedly. "Arm."
Realising what he meant, Rose felt herself blanch at the sight of the needle's edge. She grimaced, but grudgingly did as he asked.
It pinched as Hojo tied the elastic to the top of her bare arm, she hated him being so close. Pulling her wrist forward, he inserted the needle sharply into the exposed vein, forcing her to bite down a wince. Her blood began to flow eagerly into the attached tube, and he told her not to move, as breathing heavily, he replaced and bottled four more from his pocket. It was a relief when the elastic was removed, and a small band-aid was laid across the skin that had been broken.
Hojo held a tube of her bottled blood up to the light. "Lets see what you're made of shall we, Miss Hewley?"
He moved again, this time to a machine Rose had never seen before. She threw a confused look up at Sephiroth, but he merely gave a subtle shake of his head, his focus moving back to Hojo. The professor had placed some of her blood into a storage fridge, but the other he dropped into the machine, the metal box suddenly whirring into life. Lights flashed, and the mechanics inside it hummed thoughtfully, before a gentle 'Sample Analyis Complete', sounded knowingly across the room.
Hojo moved back to his computer. "Hmmm." He murmured, mumbling softly to himself. "Well that is interesting, strange that such a thing could occur... What would cause such an event? An unknown variable obviously... but... yes... that would seem to be the crux of the matter..."
Rose listened to his insane murmurings for as long as she could take. Her patience wasn't the greatest at the best of times, but when he'd so clearly found something it was almost unbearable. She cleared her throat. "Er, care to share?"
Laughing softly, Hojo slowly looked up from his screen, his gaze focused on her a little too intently. "My dear, you are a creature of many layers, it seems."
She frowned, unsettled. "What do you mean?"
Hojo tilted his head, considering her. "Had I not known about the disappearing antics, and little tricks that have followed you, I would have said this information," he gestured dismissively to the computer screen, "was factually impossible."
Rose swallowed hard. "Why, what's wrong with it?"
"The report is telling me that you are a subject that has been exposed to extremely high levels of Mako. Such levels would be consistent with those who are usually comatose or deceased, and yet you clearly are – "
"Not." She finished for him, her heart fluttering strangely in her chest. "And this means?"
"Nothing yet." He scoffed, as if she were a child asking how the sky stays up. "More tests will need to be carried out, though it would be a strong hypothesis to presume that this is the source of your powers..."
He leapt forward suddenly, and Rose fought not to flinch as he began circling her, his gaze feverishly inspecting the parts of her he could see. "Such levels would normally cause mutations, and yet there is nothing. Perhaps a closer inspection of the subject's body..."
Rose felt his hand graze her waist and she leapt back, not realising she'd shifted until the last possible second. She reappeared at Sephiroth's shoulder, her subconscious obviously needing some reliable back up. He didn't even flinch.
Hojo was laughing again. "Marvellous, marvellous, such an exciting phenomenon to witness! My dear, you will be a most excellent addition to my work. Together we will unlock your secrets, I can assure you of that."
Rose glared. "I wouldn't get your hopes up." She snapped, but Hojo had already moved back to his computer, his fingers drumming furiously away.
"We will do your Mako infusion tonight, then we will test the results. While you're under I can do a full inspection, blood, tissues, bone marrow... All will be in hand."
Rose felt that shiver again across her spine. Hojo clearly wasn't listening any more, he was a man possessed. Out of sheer survival instinct, her fingers curved readily around the hilt of her sword, fearful of what might follow once he'd finished his task.
"Easy now." Sephiroth murmured suddenly, his fingers curving pointedly around her wrist, easing her grip gently away. "The President won't take kindly to you killing his top scientist."
Rose gave a frustrated huff, but reluctantly nodded, allowing her arm to fall impotently to her side. She watched as he stepped forward.
"If Rose already has high levels of Mako, then why is the SOLDIER infusion necessary?" He asked softly, his tone measured.
Rose held her breath.
"There is something missing from her formula." Hojo mumbled, refusing to look up from his screen. "A necessary variable that needs to be added... I shall be interested to record it's effects in such a specimen."
Huffing, Rose was really getting irritated with being referred to like she was some creature in a science lab... the truth of the matter hit her not two seconds later.
Oh... I am some creature in a science lab – wonderful.
She shook her head. "What variable?"
"All SOLDIERS have it. It stabilises the infusion."
Why did Rose feel like that wasn't entirely true?
"You're not putting anything in me that I don't know about."
Hojo sighed, and suddenly he stopped his typing, his gaze levelling at her coldly over his small round spectacles.
"It matters not what you say, Rose. I have been given a task, and I have been given complete freedom to achieve that task." He moved away from his desk, his head tilting. "The quicker I can carry out my tests, the sooner you can return to your pathetic little life as one of Lazard's lapdogs. If on the other hand, you choose to be difficult, I can advise that your power is too unstable to be allowed back into the public domain, ultimately ending in your life long imprisonment, or permanent neutralisation." He smiled that horrifying smile of his. "So you see, my dear, your life really does lay in my hands. I would suggest you play along."
Rose's mouth had gone dry, a healthy dose of fear bridling her ever building anger. She didn't look to Sephiroth to help her, if she couldn't even handle singular death threats from Hojo, then what kind of SOLDIER would that make her? Every bone in her body screamed for her to lash out, but that would just give Hojo what he wanted, and she had a sickening feeling her being imprisoned for life would be only too helpful to him. So instead she'd do as he asked, play along, as he put it. What other choice did she have? Hopefully he'd blow himself up in the process.
Sensing her resignation, he grinned, gesturing her towards a hospital ward-like side room to his left. "Shall we, my dear?"
Saying nothing, Rose moved forward slowly, risking a small glance over her shoulder at a silent Sephiroth. Once again his face was unreadable, and she wondered quietly whether the real reason he'd offered to come along, was merely to ensure that she didn't cause a scene. The thought was an unsettling one.
She turned back, walking as indifferently as she could ahead of Hojo into the room.
She guessed for now she wouldn't know.
R&R!
Sorry for the delay with this. Been a manic week at home. I'll try to get the next chapter out Sunday/Monday – pinky swear. Hope you're all well! Thank you for my fav/follow adds, and reviews! Hope you like this chapter – let me know – it took a while to write, ha.