Chapter Nine: Scientific Miscalculation

When she awakened, she was on a steel table, her head in a brace and her ankles and wrists in steel cuffs, binding her firmly. A mask covered her mouth and nose, assisting her in her breathing, but the gas it gave her smelled funny and tickled her nose. An IV was in her arm; she could only tell by the feel of the rough medical tape.

She groaned, reluctant to expose her eyes to the harsh light but anxious to see where she was. When she finally attempted, she was blinded not only by the light, but its reflection against silver machinery and mirrors. Her eyes watered and she clenched them tightly together.

"Get her something for her eyes," a feminine voice said. "She's coming around."

"Right."

Something was slid over her face, and when she opened her eyes, she found that a dark film had been draped across them. She blinked, her eyes focusing to reveal the face of a nurse, half covered by a surgical mask.

The nurse's eyes crinkled in a smile. "Hey there," she said warmly. "Is that better?"

She wanted to nod, but her entire head was surrounded by the brace. She had to speak if she wanted to communicate. "Yeah," she said. Her voice was hoarse, as if she had just woken up after a long night's sleep. "Where?"

"The operating room," the nurse answered. She must have looked alarmed because the nurse smiled and gave her hand a pat. "But don't worry, it's over. You're all done."

"What's done?" she still was only half coherent, and she had a feeling that the funny smelling gas wasn't meant to help that.

"Hey, I need to test you a little, is that okay? It shouldn't hurt."

Aralyn knew that the nurse was avoiding the question, but she wasn't feeling like putting the effort into questioning further. "Is Sephiroth here?"

"Would you like to see him?"

"Yes, please," Aralyn said softly.

The woman sitting above her addressed another nurse who had wheeled a cart over to her side. "Joyce, get Sephiroth. Chances are he's in his quarters."

"He shouldn't be in here!" the other replied. "She shouldn't even be conscious in here!"

"Sephiroth's been in here more times than we have," the nurse replied. "He won't mind another visit as long as he's not the one strapped to the table."

The second nurse sighed in defeat and left.

The metal band around her left wrist was removed. "Can you lift your arm, Aralyn?"

She tried, she honestly did, but her arm may as well have been carved out of lead for all the good her efforts did. "Well, try to at least wiggle your fingers," the nurse encouraged, sounding a little worried.

After minutes of frustrated attempts, Aralyn let herself go limp and accepted that she no longer had any control of her arm.

"Oh dear," the nurse said. "Hojo needs to see this…"

"What happened?" She struggled harder than ever against the head brace, trying in vain to catch a glimpse of her no longer usable arm. "What did you do to me?!"

"It's all right," she soothed. "We'll fix it. Hojo will know what to do…"

"Aralyn!"

Sephiroth's footsteps were rapid and soon his emerald eyes were peering up at her, the bottom half of his face blocked by the table. "Are you okay, Aralyn? What did they do to you?" His voice was quick and frantic.

"Sephiroth, you'll have to leave. We're going to have to get Hojo to fix her arm." The nurse put her hands on his shoulders and tried to guide him away, but he would have none of that. He flung her hands off his shoulders.

"No! Don't get Hojo! Let me get Gast!"

"Sephiroth, don't be silly. I know Gast is your favorite but this isn't his specialty. Joyce, will you go and get Professor Hojo?"

"No!" Sephiroth shrieked, his voice cracking and the blood rushing from his already pale face. "No! He'll make it worse! She's fine," he insisted. Quickly and decisively he shimmied up the table, ripping the gas mask from her face. He placed a hand over her mouth to ensure that she breathed properly before tossing the mask aside. "See? She's just fine!" He then quickly began to unwrap the medical tape, pulling the needle of the IV free of her arm.

"Sephiroth." Only that voice could quench Sephiroth's fire. The boy stopped abruptly, his hands frozen in the middle of his next mission, which had been attacking her restraints.

"Sephiroth, get down," Hojo said.

Sephiroth seemed to compose himself, and he sat up straighter. "No." But the word was whispered, and the color had not returned to his cheeks.

"Sephiroth, go, please," Aralyn pleaded. "He'll make you."

"No. I won't leave." There was a fire in his eyes that Aralyn hadn't seen before. "He'll do to you what he did to me. I won't let that happen."

The formidable doctor approached the boy, taking him roughly by his collar as if he were a disobedient puppy. "Learn your place, Sephiroth," Hojo hissed, dropping him unceremoniously on his feet.

The nurse picked up the mask and removed the film from Aralyn's face. The girl clenched her eyes shut against the light as she felt the nurse press the mask firmly against her face. "Be at ease, Sephiroth." The gas started flowing again and Aralyn felt her resistance dissolve into drowsiness.

"Now get out of here before I change my mind," Hojo snapped.

Sephiroth turned and quickly moved, anxious to escape Hojo and spare Aralyn from whatever the implied alternative was.

"Why was he…so…worried…?" But her lips were hard to move and her tongue was like cotton.

Hojo scoffed, cutting off any reply the nurse might have given, and that was the last thing she heard before the darkness took her.