Author note: Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter start


The basement was dark, and admittedly disgusting. If we'd thought the main levels of the Shinra manse gross, this was nuclear. Reno was grumbling, cursing as he slid in something on the floor. Cloud had actually slipped, only his grip along the wall halting a spectacular slide down the remaining steps. His flailing foot caught the back of my knee though.

I yelped as I stumbled down the last few steps. Before it could be seen if my body would catch balance or plant face first into the ground, Tseng grasped me around the middle, my back landing harshly on his chest. My eyes met his, wide while his remained stoic and casual.

"I- I'm sorry," Cloud rushed out. He paused to check if I was okay.

"Do be more careful on the way up." Tseng gave a light scolding as he wandered off with his flashlight, looking for the breaker boxes with Reno.

"It's okay," I murmured to Cloud.

I took a few cautious steps, feeling the heels of my boots sink a tad. The floor wasn't concrete or tile. Not even wood. Actual hard packed earth. It wasn't like the family didn't have all the gil in the world, so this was pure laziness. Considering the lazy stair work, I guess I wasn't too shocked or off put.

The lights flickered for a moment, piercing the darkness before they burst into permanence. Reno whooped happily, and we glanced over to see him pocketing his own flashlight, wiping his hands on his pants.

It looked even worse in the light. There wasn't any ignoring the way it lit the area a dingy orange, no homey comfort to be found. Random boxes and crates littered around, most broken or rotten. Cobwebs, thick and droopy, lazily drifted through the air from the ceiling. Perhaps worse was the smell of mildew and stale air, aided along by the puddle caused by a slow drip from the ceiling.

Weren't underground, hidden torture… oh, sorry… labs, supposed to be hygienic and clean? Hojo missed the fucking memo.

"Isn't this just cozy," Reno cooed sarcastically.

I ignored the way my boots stuck in the ground, heading forward. Like in the game the basement was a basic straight line, with a few doors. I paused at one, curious. What was I to do with Vincent?

Would he stay asleep with us stomping around down here? Or would he awaken, angry and controlled by Chaos? I had tons of faith in Tseng and Reno, but not against Chaos. But would he help Sephiroth, if he was aware and functioning, that was the real question I needed to uncover.

Curiously, I touched the knob and twisted it. Of course, the damned thing didn't budge. It was then I remembered that the key was in some safe on the second floor. Guarded by a weird looking monster. An abandoned science experiment, no doubt, and yet… would it be like that in reality, or would it be as easy as breaking the safe open.

"Kind of hard to believe this is what's down here," Cloud murmured. It caught my attention, giving him a look as I went deeper into the basement. Vincent could wait, for the moment.

"Why? I figured the towns kids would have been all over this place."

"Hardly. It's a running dare, to see how close someone can get to this place. Everyone in town thinks it's haunted, or that a monster lives in here."

I snorted. "Imaginative. And what's this big scary monster look like?"

Cloud hummed. "My mom used to tell me about when she was a kid. All sorts of experiments went on. Lots of screams, and what sounded like monsters being tortured."

Claudia was probably in her late thirties or early forties, despite harsh reality aging her in the face too quickly. It lined up, maybe, to when Hojo and Lucrecia were here. I imagined beyond her experiments on Vincent's body, she hadn't been involved in anything torture related. Hojo on the other hand… yeah, I was fairly certain he got his rocks off to blood, gore, and an unhealthy dose of insanity.

There it was. My body stiffened naturally as I heard Reno whistle in near appreciation. He'd opened the door to the lab. Cloud paused to wait for me, and I forced a smile at him.

"Chocobo is chivalrous. Love it."

His eyes narrowed as he huffed in agitation. Still, he let me grab his arm, ignoring how tight my grip really was. Maybe he thought I was scared of the dark, or spiders, or maybe bugs in general.

The rotting wood gave way to grimy tile. Even the lighting was better in here, every single corner lit up.

"A doctors office?" Cloud sounded equal parts confused and dissatisfied. For all of the stories and rumors circulating, this wasn't it.

"Not quite. Shinra scientists once made this mansion temporary home. This was their lab" Tseng offered it casually.

"Why in a basement? Surely it's cleaner up on the first floors."

"And more accessible to prying eyes, ya know." Reno ruffled his hair, making Cloud bat his wriggling fingers away. "This here was a private affair. Not for villagers."

"And now?" Cloud asked. "I'm a basic villager too."

Reno smirked lazily. "Nah, you're a Sophie pet. Just like the rest of us poor souls."

"Reno!" I snapped at him, chucking a glass vile I'd absently picked up. He caught it, cheerily cackling.

"There are experiments that could be hazardous if they are not contained. It was protection of both the experiment, and also the town itself." Tseng glanced over the room, settling on the computers lined up to one wall.

His PHS started ringing. Before he could react, I smiled. "Oooh service in the deep underground! How lucky."

He held the device to his ear, giving me a small smirk. "Fortunate indeed. Reno, remember what I said."

"You got it, boss man!" Reno saluted, clapping a hand on Clouds shoulder.

Tseng left the room, his footsteps receding. Briefly, I wondered what Rufus wanted. He was the only one Tseng answered the phone for with some prompt responses. Really, I did wonder sometimes. They were certainly friends, as well as loyal beyond the scope of Turk and Shinra. The only time Tseng was away from my brother was when I was involved.

That would change, one day, perhaps. When Hollander betrayed Shinra, and Zach has to chase him and the SOLDIER firsts.

I left Reno and Cloud to their playing… or more like, Reno and his teasing while Cloud alternated between reacting and ignoring the tenacious red head.

The door that led to the study swung open with a loud creaking, prompting a wince. Once again, the rotted wood of the outer corridor gave way to broke tile. I couldn't help but wonder at the absolute laziness of whoever made this design.

My fingers trailed over the lines of books, wondering at how many there were. This was my goal, all contained here. Only now that it was before me, I felt sick. I could hear Reno and Cloud, playing around further from me, and it made me irritable. How could they play around when this room was nothing but a trap? A place where Cloud would one day be tormented?

Claudia flickered in my head, too. I didn't care particularly that this town became a pile of ash. The bulk of these people were close minded and seemed somewhat repulsive to my eyes. But Claudia didn't deserve to die. Cloud didn't deserve to have his mind broken. And personal feelings aside, neither did the townspeople.

I took notice that some of the books had been left on the ground, others poked out enough to draw the eye. The desk already had some piled up as well, and some folders just messy enough to look natural. Naturally, that screamed staged to me. The lab had been dusty and obviously not used, but it had been neat, everything in a set location. And this library seemed to be alphabetized, by genre, and which scientist wrote it.

Hojo wasn't messy. Despite my hatred, I had to acknowledge that the scientist was meticulous, and this wouldn't be how he left any area he'd been forced to call home.

The first folder caused me to hack, as opening it blasted me with dust. Once that was done, I decided against the chair, no matter how plush it looked. I dusted off the desk and hopped onto it, ignoring the way the desk creaked at the added weight.

I'd been right. The first folder was the information of where Professor Gast had been approved to excavate the Northern Crater. What I assumed were rudimentary soil sample reports, and some local folklore that the people around the Crater mentioned. Gast seemed to have been very thorough, not just going about his experiments. He also deconstructed people's lives, to see the effect things he researched had locally.

I wasn't sure if that was admirable or disgusting. Contrary to him though, Hojo was far more cut throat. He never referred to any person as more than an acceptable or useless subject, most legends were disregarded. Hollander was, oddly enough, the least repulsive in terms of his writings, neither going beyond the scope of his goal but also not showing over callousness.

Regardless of who wrote it, it still was sickening how wrong they'd been. Jenova, as Gast lovingly named his frozen lady, was toted as an Ancient, the greatest scientific discovery of his research. The projects were green lit in short order, project S and project G. The genetic material was harvested and split between the two lesser scientists, Hojo and Hollander.

President Shinra has agreed to allow us to attempt to breed a new species of the Cetra. Of course, my two subordinates have differing ideas of how such can be accomplished. As such, they have requested to be allowed to examine the cells individually, and to formulate their own methods. I granted the permission, of course. Healthy competition never harmed anything, and should thusly grant us results. Even failures can be worked upon to create something informative for the future.

Hojo has chosen to make his labs in the mountains, sharing with Doctor Crescent. An exchange of aid, I believe. I believe this is also due to the fact he wishes to slander her hunt for Omega and Chaos. It could be good, to have his trained eye mixed with her naivety for both experiments, regardless. Though she is not finished with her final tests, her youth may aid in other ways.

Hollander has chosen the Hewley couple to serve as his partners, relocating to Banora for the experiments. So far, neither has produced any viable results, reporting only that the cells overtake whatever they are mixed with, inevitably causing death for the subject involved, or a mutation of violent nature.

I dropped the folder, realizing Gast interjected a lot of personal opinion crap into his reports as well. He'd been hopeful Lucrecia would bond with Hojo. What a sick fuck. Maybe he didn't know how twisted the scientist was really, but he'd known something. Seriously, this world didn't seem to have a single decent human being working to better understand the planet, except maybe those from Cosmo canyon.

I huffed, picking up the next folder. If it was possible, I would say my blood froze, heart stopping. This one appeared to be just from Hojo, detailing the false Jenova as Sephiroth's mother, omitting Lucrecia. Reading it almost made it seem he'd been created from a test tube. Not a woman's womb. Graphs detailing the growth pattern of the fetus, an astounding absorption of mako needed to keep the fetus "viable". They labeled Lucrecia as his "container", Hojo lamenting the weakness of it. Of her. They'd had to find ways to strengthen and fortify her.

Jenova may have wanted Sephiroth, but Lucrecia was just a barrier. The calamity had devoured her, body and mind, only mako keeping her alive to the end of the pregnancy. A calamity couldn't know how fragile a human body really was, and maybe hadn't known that by being so malevolent she'd nearly lost her miracle vessel. Or maybe she'd at the time not cared about Sephiroth, perhaps wanting to corrupt Lucrecia into a puppet.

There were reports made my Lucrecia herself, hidden between the ones Hojo created for his trap. She'd been so afraid. So guilty. To her credit she hadn't hidden anything, her earlier entries full of excitement that her and Hojo's baby had been chosen for the experiments. The tone gradually changed. The pregnancy, for her, had been the usual fare, up until a week of being injected with Jenova cells.

Violent nausea had begun to plague her, causing a rapid weight loss that Hojo had taken notice of. She'd been unable to hold down even water by the third month. She lamented how sickly she'd become, detailing that she was alive only by the nutrition and fluids Hojo administered twice a day, detailing how her body absorbed it all, that her bodily waste had stopped. Her baby, she wrote, was always hungry. And she couldn't provide for it. Baby, not fetus.

The betrayal when she realized Hojo was mixing mako into the IV fluids, that he hadn't told her. Violent nightmares started, a formless voice constantly whispering in her ears how special her son was, how he would burn the world to the ground. And it was all thanks to Lucrecia. She descended further into near madness, constant dizzy spells and visions plaguing her. Hojo's detached reaction when she'd had one so violent they'd had to strap her down in order to halt her from carving the baby from her swelling stomach herself.

Guilt had ate at her, and shame. What kind of mother tried to gut herself? Yet better they returned to the lifestream together, before Jenova sunk her poison further into her baby. How else could she protect her baby?

More guilt piled, when she collected the corpse of her Turk friend, Vincent. She'd used him to stabilize herself, a goal. Saving his life kept her sane. She could keep herself together for him and her baby, so long as she had both. Hojo had essentially abandoned her as a woman, only interested in his precious experiment. She was an incubator, nothing more now.

It was seriously tragic. By the end she'd been scared, broken, and impossible to repair. Maybe if Vincent had still been conscious…

There were times when one was unbearably aware of things. Such as the way a heart pounded along the rib cage, blood pulsing through a body to make it too warm. I had never liked Lucrecia. I didn't have any interest in children, but neither would I be so callous as to offer one up for the sake of science. Especially dirty science. Dirge of Cerberus hadn't helped the opinion, making her seem whiny and weak across the board. Her writings though… It was hard not to feel badly for her.

Without much thought I dug my PHS out from my hidden pocket, dialing a number from memory. It was picked up after the third ring, while I studied the bookcases in front of me.

"Is everything all right?" His voice came through somewhat grainy. PHS wasn't near as advanced a cell phone, but at the least I heard him. Heard the concern well hidden by his tone.

"Hey there, Sephy." I leveled my own tone, pushing cheer. "Have you missed me as much as I've missed you?"

"Don't ask questions with only one answer." He sounded a tad bit sullen. I heard the TV cut off in the background, his way of devoting everything to me. All his attention.

"You've neglected to answer my question. Are you alright, Sophie?"

"I'm fine. Just… more homesick than I thought I'd be."

"That is to be expected. This is your first time away from Midgar."

"Were you homesick, while in Wutai?" We didn't usually talk about his time deployed. None of the SOLDIER firsts talked about it.

He was quiet for a long moment. The sound of his breathing settled me, and I held onto the edge of the desk hard enough to make my fingers ache. I badly wanted to blurt things out, foolishly and stupidly. Things like, Sephy your mom might have been an idiot, but I think she really did love you in the end. Your dad's a piece of shit.

"I missed you," he murmured finally. It caused me to jolt, though I'd asked him. "While in Wutai, I thought of you often. And of Aerith. I wished for both of you to be safe."

"I'm glad," I said softly. Like it would fade away if I used my regular tone.

What had been my plan? A part of me wanted go burn this library to the ground, to the point I felt the flame materia orb start to burn. I hissed under my breath.

"What is it," He asked.

"Nothing. The materia is a tad overwhelming."

"Ah, yes. Genesis gave quite the scolding over my exchange of the materia. He said it would be difficult to control. I merely…" He trailed off.

"Wanted me safe," I finished. He hummed in agreement. "I'm glad you care. I have pieces of you with me. Although, I'll definitely take my materia back when I get back to Midgar."

"Ah, about that…"

"Tell me you haven't already mastered them," I groaned.

"To do so would be a partial lie."

"Sephy!" I whined his name again.

"It matters little. I already have replacements for you, to make up for my blunder."

I hummed. "And a date to the slums?"

"You know I'll escort you there, however… Rufus will most likely not allow you to go below plate. From my understanding, he is already quite irate with his staff today." There was a touch of amusement in his voice.

"It's hardly my fault if he has a sister complex," I murmured.

"Is it not? You used to cling to him so earnestly," Sephiroth stated.

"I was a child," I cooed. "And you all used to be so adorable. Now you're all control freaks."

"I'm sure you've called us worse."

"Oh, I have."

Hearing his voice soothed me. The materia faded back to its usual temperature, and I sighed with relief. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I wanted to tell him, but I wanted to do it timely. Would there even be a good time, ever? How do you tell someone that their whole existence was an accident, and then twisted?

But he'd been loved, however brief. He was loved now, definitely. I didn't know if hearing that Lucrecia had wanted him would effect him. I wasn't certain how he would react to hearing Jenova wasn't his Mother. Instead was something that had taken his real Mother from him.

I had to move carefully. But for now, all I wanted was to hear his voice.


End chapter

Review responses:

JOSHIRO99: Oh OG Cloud… I don't think would know how to handle Sophie. Although part of me thinks he'd treat her similar to how he treats Jessie in remake. He let's her get away with things to a degree. Most definitely Sophie is showing more of herself than ever. She's a tease at heart, and she feels safe with her Turks and away from Midgar. Glad you enjoyed!