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Chapter 8

"Mommy? Mommy you look sick…"

"If only we'd known…We could have saved him…why didn't he say anything, why…"

"Mommy…"

"Pass me that bottle Meia, you're such a good little girl"

...

Darkness. Am I dead? Is this the lifestream? What happened to me…I hardly remember who I am any more. I feel cold. I feel…alone…am I dead…?

…

Meia had been in a coma now for three days. She was stable but very weak. The gash on her back wasn't closing properly; mako was stopping the body's normal healing function. Each time the nurses changed her dressings, the bed sheets had to be changed as well. Discoloured patches of dried, putrid blood stained them. She showed no signs of regaining consciousness; the doctors said she was poisoned so badly she may never come round.

Sephiroth sat outside her room in the corridor, simply staring at the door. He couldn't bring himself to sit inside with her. But he didn't know why. Her wounds wouldn't bother him. He's seen people barely clinging to life before. He'd seen so many terrible things he was certain that wasn't the reason. He came to her every day.

Sitting.

Waiting.

He would ask the doctors flitting in and out of the room; was she getting better? Only solemn head shakes were offered as answers. He held his head in his hands, it was the third day now and still he couldn't go in to see her. His phone rang; it was Angeal,

"How is she?"

"Not good…"

"Have you seen her yet?"

"…no…."

"Damn it Sephiroth, get in there and see her. You may never….." Angeal paused, "Just suck it up and do it ok?"

"Do what? What could I possibly do to help her?" Sephiroth was getting frustrated now but again he asked himself; why?

"Listen Seth…you may not understand what you feel now, but she needs someone. I asked the Turks; she has no family. No one to stay with her. Put aside your feelings and think of Her. She needs you…and it will help you understand"

My feelings, Sephiroth thought. He hung up and turned the phone off. He didn't want to be disturbed again. He stood up and walked to the door.

My feelings…

He placed his hand on the metal handle and pushed down gently. The door clicked open and he moved inside carefully. Inside was Meia, hooked up to a plethora of machines and lines. An IV bag shared a stand with a blood bag that was halfway depleted. The heart monitor showed a weak flicker of life.

Sephiroth stepped closer; he was used to seeing things like this but for some reason, he was disturbed. The incident in the reactor flashed through his mind and he had to look away. An unfamiliar feeling was swimming in the pit of his stomach. Was he going to be sick? Feint?

He looked back at her face; she had deep dark hollows under her eyes. Her usual glowing complexion was waxy and sallow, her lips so white they were verging on grey. He moved to her side. A few bunches of flowers sat on a table, along with some get well cards. She couldn't breathe very well on her own; a large tube was inserted down her throat to supply vital oxygen to her mako infested lungs.

For the first time in his life, Sephiroth felt helpless.

He looked round as the door clicked open again and his face drained of emotion. Hojo. What did he want?

"Hello boy" He drawled as he was joined by a team of doctors.

Sephiroth simply beheld him, a look of suspicion and contempt on his face.

It was no secret that Sephiroth had little respect for the scientist. His dislike for the man started almost as soon as Gast had disappeared. The fact he was here visiting Meia honestly alarmed him. He knew what the man was like.

The door opened again and admitted the overweight form of Professor Hollander, wearing his usual apple T-shirt and unkempt ragged beard. The team ignored Sephiroth and examined Meia's broken body, taking readings from various instruments and muttering among themselves,

"Her body…starting to reject the blood…." He heard one say,

"She's already halfway there…." Said another. Sephiroth backed off as they moved around her, blocking her from his sight.

What did they mean?

After a while the team backed off into a huddle, leaving the leering form of Hojo alone to examine her. Finally, he nodded to the team,

"Proceed. Her data suggests she could prove…interesting" Sephiroth looked up,

"Proceed with what?" He asked, taking a step forward. Hojo pushed his glasses up and looked at the tall SOLDIER,

"Were going to give her the SOLDIER treatment. It's the only way she can survive now" His replied, his lips contorted into a sadistic smile. Sephiroth's eyebrows drew together.

"Her body is already infested with mako; the…" He paused, " treatment…will give her body the strength to fight back. Of course, it may well kill her" Hojo concluded with a small, twisted chuckle.

Sephiroth clenched his fists, his expression darkening once again,

"Now now Boy, do you want to injure her further?" Hojo hummed, examining a few more instruments and not even bothering to maintain eye contact with Sephiroth anymore.

"She needs more blood as well" Hollander piped up, "The bank is short as it is. If the treatment takes, she'll start retaining it again but she's in desperate need now"

"Take mine…" Sephiroth stated before he even paused to think.

Hollander held his hand up to object, but Hojo cut him off,

"No….let the boy donate…"

"But Hojo, his blood is…it won't"

"It will be fine. Hook him up" Hojo insisted, dismissing all but two doctors. Sephiroth looked at Hollander; he wanted to know what the man meant when he tried to stop him. The larger scientist averted his gaze, not willing to face the intimidating SOLDIER.

He didn't understand any of it; what were these two up too? He hurried and removed his pauldrons and coat and sat down beside Meia's bed, where one of the remaining doctors had wheeled in a direct transfusion machine,

"You want a shirt? You might be sitting here a while" The doctor asked him. He simply nodded.

The two doctors exited the room again and came back a few minutes later. One had a blue cotton shirt which Sephiroth pulled on, the other wheeled a trolley with a large variety of instruments and solutions adorning it.

As his arm was tied up with a tourniquet and a needle inserted into a vein in his elbow, Sephiroth watched Hojo prepare a large syringe full of a strange solution, flicking it to remove the air bubbles and squeezing out the pocket of air at the top. He looked away before the scientist jabbed Meia's arm with the gigantic needle, preferring not to watch. It conjured up memories he'd rather not recall.

The doctor had finished setting Sephiroth up with the transfusion machine and he watched as his own deep red blood began to inch its way towards the main bulk of the device, where it would be cleaned, filtered and passed on to Meia via another IV.

Hojo had finished injecting her with the solution in his syringe, seemingly satisfied with her reaction. He turned to leave but paused and addressed Sephiroth,

"As you're going to sit in here with the girl, you can monitor her. If anything abnormal happens, call someone"

"I'm not your lab hand you-"

"If you want to watch her suffer then go ahead. Don't call anyone" Hojo stated, cutting him off.

Then he left, Hollander scurrying after him. Sephiroth watched the scientist leave, his mood still dark and obviously showing on his face because the doctors were nervous. He sighed and closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down. Finally, they summoned the courage to ask him if he felt ok and tell him if he needed anything, he just needed to call. Then they left too, gently clicking the door shut.

…

"Why is mommy still so sad?"

"She…she's not very well, Meia"

"Because Granddaddy died?"

"Yes"

"He wouldn't want her to be sad…"

"…I know Meia"

…

I'm still here. In this nothingness. Who am I? Meia…is that me? why couldn't I help Mom? I can't remember…

What is this…? I feel strange. I feel…something inside of me, it's not me…it's something else. It feels wrong…it feels…

Alien

Ah, it hurts! Its violating me, Help…someone help! Help me please! No, I don't know you. Stop saying my name I don't know you! Get out…get out!

…

Sephiroth watched as Meia's body twitched slightly, her face flickering with signs of pain and discomfort. He knew the treatment was causing it, he'd seen it before. He sighed; he knew she wouldn't be happy when she woke up. But at least she would be alive. That was why he didn't try to stop Hojo.

Would she hate him? He hoped not. Sephiroth was still struggling with his emotions; they were harder to hold back in the last few days. Plus a flood of unfamiliar feelings had surfaced also. He felt so confused. Angeal told him that he was feeling regret and anger for not acting faster. He said it was normal to feel like this.

It didn't feel normal. Why is it so uncomfortable? Why does it hurt. Angeal simply said that was up to him to work out.

…

I'm trapped. It won't leave me alone. I can't run anymore, I just can't. I can feel it taking over. Changing things. There's something else here too. Something similar but not the same. It's keeping me safe. Keeping me alive.

…

The doctors visited again in the evening. Apparently Meia was showing significant improvement. Her heartbeat was stronger and steady and they even removed the respirator as she was doing well enough to breathe on her own now. Sephiroth agreed to stay through the night; she still needed blood albeit not as much. And she needed someone to stay with her.

After the final doctor left, he watched her face. It was at peace again now. Some of the colour had returned and she was looking a lot better. Normally he'd look away, but he wanted to keep watching her. What was the harm?

It was in the early hours of the morning when Meia regained consciousness. She opened her eyes slowly; they felt bruised and puffy but at least they opened. She lay there a while, letting her body catch up with her mind, taking in her surroundings. It was dark, but the glow from various devices and machines illuminated the room, giving it an eerie atmosphere.

She turned her head and watched the heart monitor blip along to her body's rhythm. She tried to re-call what happened to her but the memories were foggy, distant. She gave up before she got a headache; there was plenty of time for remembering later.

She wiggled her toes and fingers; all working. She was aware of a dull ache in her right arm and she looked at the IV inserted in her hand, noticing the line for fluids and the line for blood. Had she almost bled to death? She then became aware of a growing pain in her back and the memory of the dragon came back. Ah yes, that was quite a nasty gash.

But she had survived somehow, and had been put back together in a hospital bed. She looked over to her right again. The eerie glow was illuminating something there, not a machine or a piece of furniture, something soft and organic. She blinked several times. It was a person. The gentle rise and fall of its chest suggested the figure was asleep. She noticed a blood line coming from the figures arm. A donor? They'd got a blood donor to sit with her?

Meia cleared her throat gently, noticing it felt raw and unused. She called out softly, trying to wake the person, and their eyes opened. She knew because in the dark…they glowed. A soft, green glow illuminated their irises as the person's head turned to look at her…

"I know you…" She croaked quietly.

Sephiroth sat up and stretched his legs out. He'd drifted off again, but the sight of Meia awake pleased him. The funny feeling in his stomach was back, but it was different. More confusion, he thought. He looked at her; she had the tell-tale mark now. Her eyes were like icy disks, glowing gently in the dark of the room,

"How do you feel?" Was all he could think to say. Meia smiled,

"Never felt better," she said sarcastically, "How long have I been here?"

"Four days now. You've been in a coma"

"I have? What happened to me?"

"You received severe mako poisoning…but you're fine now"

"Mako poisoning? I should be dead…shouldn't I?" She peered at Sephiroth who couldn't return her gaze. How could he tell her that he didn't stop them? After she confided in him?

"Sephiroth…?"

"I'm sorry Meia. The only way they could save you was to administer the SOLIDER treatment" He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, noting how difficult that was to admit and what it did to his mood.

Meia said nothing. Her heart skipped a beat when the confession left his mouth, an icy wooziness flowing through her veins. She couldn't believe it, how could he let them do that to her?

"There must have been another way…?"

Sephiroth shook his head, "There wasn't"

She lay in silence for a good few moments, trying to digest this bombshell. Part of her wanted to scream and shout at him; part of her knew there probably was no other way. He only did what he had too, right? If there was another way he would have told them to use it.

"So now…I'm a SOLDIER…?"

"That's right. Third class rank 7…"

"Everything I've worked for…" She stopped, her voice was cracking, "why did you let them do this, why…" She asked feebly.

"To save your life" Sephiroth replied simply, lowering his head once more. Why was everything she said cutting into him like a knife?

"I'm going to try and get some sleep. Goodnight Sir"

Sir. Never before had such a small word caused him so much anguish.

Meia was discharged from hospital a few days later. Sephiroth was gone before she awoke the morning after she came out of her coma and she hadn't heard from him since. Her Turk uniforms had already been collected from her room, replaced with the generic light blue uniform of SOLDIER. She was to attend an initiation first thing in the morning so she retired to bed early.

Quite a few Third classes stood with her, lined up in three neat rows awaiting the arrival of whoever was addressing them. The helmet she was wearing felt stuffy and uncomfortable. I'll get used to it, she thought. She had no choice.

Meia's feelings by now had died into a grey void inside of her. She felt neither anger nor sadness; happiness nor despair. She simply felt nothing. Like the life had been sucked out of her body.

She was back to square one again. everything she'd worked so hard to achieve was gone. Her position as senior, her rank, her expertise. She was a teenager, fleeing her past all over again.

A figure approached and the SOLDIERS snapped to attention; it was Angeal. As he lectured them on the trials they would be facing, Meia thought about Sephiroth. She wanted to see him, to ask what had happened, why there was no other way but she felt something was different now. Maybe he felt guilty. Maybe he thought she was mad at him. But did Sephiroth feel anything, she asked herself bitterly.

She thought a friendship was forming but now it just felt like before; harsh and cold. She felt like crying; the fear was creeping up again. The regret. And the pain at realising she may have lost a new friend already,

"…and above all else; protect your SOLDIER honour"

SIR! They all cried in unison.

As they all broke ranks and dispersed, Meia began to weep. She should be happy. She would get to train with SOLDIER again. But she was so sad; her body felt different, she felt lost and alone,

"Hey…arrre you ok?" A chirpy sounding SOLDIER asked her, stooping down so he could see under her helmet. She quickly sniffed up her tears and wiped the wetness from her cheeks,

"I'm fine, just…moving speech huh?" She lied,

"Aha! You bet! Why dontcha take that bucket off your head and show me what you look like?" The tall boy chimed, winking a blue eye at her.

Meia removed the helmet and ruffled her hair.

"Wooow, you sure you used the right application form? This is the dirty, sweaty, hardworking job. Not the job for pretty ladies like you"

Meia smiled, "I'm sure"

"The names Zack! Zack Fair, pleased to meet you"

Last edit; 18/04/2016