Siren groaned quietly, stirring within the confines of the blankets tightly wrapped around her. Her throat was scratchy and her mouth completely dry. She coughed lightly a few times and Zack immediately jumped up.
"Siren?" Sephiroth asked softly. "Are you alright?"
Siren cleared her throat a few times before shaking her head lightly.
"W-water," she coughed out.
"I'll get it," Zack mumbled, racing into the kitchen.
The brunet returned and handed the glass to Siren, who immediately gulped it down. She set the glass on the coffee table in front of her and tried to sit up.
"What…? Why am I all wrapped up?" she asked, peeking under the blanket. "Why am I naked?! What the hell happened?!"
"Wait, just lie down for now," Sephiroth said. "Let me explain…"
After being retold the events, Siren's face scrunched in confusion.
"So Hojo doesn't even know why that happened? He told me before he gave me the injection that he'd never given to a female before. I wonder if that has anything to do with it…" Siren murmured.
Sephiroth looked at her pensively before shaking his head. "I don't think it does at all. But, he's going to have to run more tests on you."
Siren visibly shuddered and looked away.
"Would you prefer it if someone went with you?" the general asked.
Siren shrugged. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."
Sephiroth smirked and looked at Zack, who was frowning.
"Siren, it's not that we don't think you can take care of yourself. You've made it quite obvious that you're a force to be reckoned with. But, dealing with Hojo is different," Zack said, climbing up on the couch and sitting next to Siren.
"Actually, I think I'll go with you," Sephiroth said.
Siren's eyes darted over to the general and she regarded him curiously. "Why?"
"Hojo is one person that can never be trusted, no matter what the circumstance is. I would feel more comfortable if I was there to watch you while he worked."
"If you doubt him that much, why weren't you there before?" Siren quipped.
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. "I had important meetings to attend by order of the President. Plus, it was just a routine Mako injection, and I never thought something like that would happen. So, I'll go with you to make sure that everything goes according to plan and that Hojo doesn't try any new experimentation on you. Now, will that be a problem?"
Siren shrugged and shook her hair loose. "Nope. No problem, sir."
Suddenly there was a crisp knock at the door. Sephiroth nodded for Zack to get it, and the brunet leaped over the couch, and ran to the door. He opened it, and Genesis and Angeal walked in.
"To what do we owe the pleasure, Gentlemen?" Sephiroth asked.
"We caught word of Siren's…incident today and Zack took the liberty of texting me and asking me to bring some clothes for the young lady. Here you go, Siren," Angeal said, handing a new uniform to Siren.
She mumbled a quiet thank you and tried standing up from the couch. The blanket was still tightly wrapped around her and she grunted in frustration.
"Zack? Can you help me stand up? I can just hop to the bathroom, but I can't get to my feet right now," she said, face pinking.
Zack grinned and hoisted her to her feet. All 4 SOLDIERS chuckled lightly as the young girl hopped to the bathroom. When she shut the door behind her, Angeal and Genesis sat down on the couch.
"What do you think happened, Sephiroth?" Angeal asked softly.
"To be honest, I have no idea. I've never seen anyone have that sort of reaction to the injections. It was almost like she's allergic or something…" he trailed.
"Well, who knows what the hell Hojo mixes in those things. The President doesn't even know," Genesis said, shuddering lightly.
"And I doubt he will be revealing it anytime soon. Not even if it will help determine what caused Siren to have that reaction," Angeal added.
Zack glanced over to the bathroom door and sighed. "Well, even if she can't get all the of the enhancements, it's not like she really needs them anyway, right?"
The other three officers looked at Zack with equally quizzical looks.
"I mean, the enhancements are mostly for physical strength and stamina, right? Granted, she might not be as physically strong as us, but her magic usage blows all of us out of the water. Including you, Seph," the brunet said, pointing at Sephiroth.
"I will admit, I've never seen a better magic user than Siren. I'm still curious as to how she can use it without materia," the general mused quietly.
"I think she either truly doesn't know, or she just doesn't want to tell. But it's her place to open that can of worms, and not ours to try and pry it out of her," Angeal said.
Siren leaned against the bathroom door, eavesdropping silently. She was listening intently to the conversation happening in the other room.
"Why would she feel the need to hide something like that?" Genesis asked. "I mean, unless she's some sort of alien or something, I don't understand why she wouldn't tell anyone how she can use magic with no materia."
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed slightly and he pursed his lips in thought.
"What are you thinking Seph?" Zack asked.
"I have my suspicions, but I'll keep them to myself for now," Sephiroth said simply.
Siren sighed and stepped out of the bathroom, returning to the living room with the 4 SOLDIERS. She sat down on the arm of the couch next to Zack, and diverted her gaze to the floor.
"I just want to let you all know that I'm not hiding anything from you. I honestly have no idea how or why I can use magic without materia. All I know is that I can, and I've been able to for the past few years," she said quietly.
"Were you able to when you were a child?" Sephiroth asked.
Siren kept her gaze on the floor and shrugged. "I don't know. I don't have any memories past the last…5 years or so."
"None? At all? You don't remember your childhood at all?" Genesis asked disbelievingly.
Siren shook her head and sighed.
"Well do you know why you don't have any memories?" Sephiroth asked. "Were you in some sort of accident or—"
"Can we please stop with all the questions? I'm sure I look like the biggest liar right now, but I'm not! I basically don't know anything about myself, okay?! If I knew, I'd tell you, but I don't!" Siren hissed, storming out of Sephiroth's apartment.
The 4 SOLDIERS looked at each other with bewilderment.
"What the hell was that?" Zack asked.
"That's call dealing with women," Genesis huffed.
Angeal rolled his eyes lightly at his redhead lover.
"That was her defense mechanism. She pushes people away when they probe too deep about her. I think she's afraid of people knowing who she really is."
Genesis snorted. "You should start a new profession."
Angeal smirked and shook his head. "Like I said before, I think we should just leave the subject alone until she's ready to open up about it. But it looks like that isn't going to happen anytime soon…"
--
It's stupidly short, I know. I literally needed to get this out, or it might not ever have seen the light of day. This is basically just a filler chapter until I figure out what the hell is going on with this story. Next chapter will be up…whenever I get to it. =P
Please review!