Who is MAKO RED EYES? Well, me for one...well, sorta. The story of a girl who gets kidnapped by Hojo, thrown into SOLDIER, and essencially turned into the freak she didn't exactly ask to be. The story of my rather lame OC. Shameless self insertion! NOT ROMANCE! (get it straight)...Rated R for extremely vulgar language.
DISCLAIMER: (oo...usually forget these, lol) I don't own ShinRa (hehe, that'd be fun...) Or Sephiroth (funner...) Or anyone else, for that matter. Except Alexia, and her 'look'. Mine! Mine mine mine mine! Hands off! (lol) Hojo's for sail as a beat-bag, though, lol Nah, its' all SQUARE's. cries
Chapter 1
-Wasn't Planning On Company-
"No! Let go, you goddamned greasy-haired freak!" Alexia wasn't too keen on being kidnapped. Especially by some greasy old man with an unnerving smile and evilly glinting glasses that somehow always reflected light, hiding his eyes. She twisted, yanking her arm skillfully out of his grip. Years of martial arts training made Alexia quick to avoid the smallish man. She wasn't too worried about having to fight him. He was frail looking: Old, skinny and short, and had the weakest grip of anyone she'd ever encountered. She stepped back out of his reach. She didn't know who the old bug was or how he'd gotten into her house, but he held a disturbing resemblance to a character from one of her video games…. Laughing dryly, he made another lunge at her. Alexia frowned and simply punched him squarely in the face. He staggered back, holding his now bleeding nose. "Go away and I won't call the Cops." Alexia suggested angrily. The man scowled.
"Fucking brat…" He muttered, pulling out what sort of looked like a pager from his coat pocket. Alexia scowled as well, standing back cautiously.
"Creep." Eighteen, brash and tomboyish, though usually far better natured than this, she wasn't afraid of much. The would be kidnapper pushed a button and leered through his glinting glasses at her. There was a loud bang as several men in blue uniforms, well armored and burly came bursting in, charging right at Alexia. Dark brown eyes widened in alarm. "Damnit!" She dodged one man, tripped a second before a third grabbed her firmly from behind in a crushing bear-hug. Alexia grinned, relaxing like she'd given up. Some of the tension went out of her attacker's grip, and she swung her elbow back, right into his regrettably unprotected groin. He let go right quick, doubling foreword, and she grabbed his arm, pulling up hard up and over her shoulder into a vicious throw. He let out a yelp, crashing through a hard oak chair that happened to be sitting out from the matching kitchen table. Alexia grimaced. "Damn… Mom's gunna kill me for that. She muttered. By now, her secret out, Alexia was hard pressed to defend herself against the remaining four men. Unable to fight now that the obviously-warriors knew she could fight back, she spent her energy on dodging them, racing through the house, hoping over the large table, knocking over furniture to slow them down. They were fast and very strong, however, and caught up with her quickly as she ran outside in an attempt to escape. Alexia did have the satisfaction of putting an elbow full force into one of the thug's temples before the others (the first that she'd taken out was back on his feet and alarmingly fine) pulled large, vicious-looking guns on her. Defeated, Alexia gave in. The little man that she'd originally encountered came sauntering out of her own house to where she was being restrained in a muddy lawn. Alexia panted, sweat-drenched and knuckles bleeding from all the punches to very hard skulls she'd dealt.
"Feisty, aren't we?" The man leered. "Just what I need." Alexia spat.
"Need for what?!" She was thinking hard on an escape, since her first two tries hadn't worked so well. What now, Sensei?She thought mournfully. She'd been taught all forms of self defense: grappling, throws, kicks and punches, even some knife defenses. She'd also been told that once someone pulled a gun, you're fucked. Just not exactly in those words….
"All for science, my pugnacious little specimen." Alexia glared. At just an inch over a runt-ish five feet tall, she didn't like being called 'little'. She didn't like the way he'd called her 'his specimen' either.
"Leave me alone and go 'science' somewhere else." She spat, kicking against her captor. The man frowned darkly.
"I've had enough lip." He waved a hand and Alexia received an earth shattering blow to the back of her head. Her world promptly went black.
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Chapter 2
-Rude Awakenings (I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto.)-
Alexia woke blearily to the sound of machines - medical monitors from the sound of it. Fuck.She hated hospitals. She'd had her share and then some of heavy surgery, and didn't appreciate any sort of medical attention. She opened one eye, looking around. Strange machines and rows of microscopes and tubes, screen monitors, computers and a very eerie green glow from another corner filled her vision. Not a hospital…Her eyes narrowed. …it's a lab…Another look around told her she probably didn't want to be here. Sitting up… she paused, struggling. She wanted to sit up, but she couldn't. A moments' examination told her it was because she'd been tied down by heavy leather straps, securing her to a large stainless steel table. She struggled for a moment, then gave up.
"Done fighting yet?" Alexia jumped, snapping her head around to glare at that same man. He was now dressed in a white lab coat, long greasy black hair tied back neatly. He smiled wolfishly. "I see you're awake." He said cheerfully.
"No shit, Sherlock." Alexia noticed with a nasty shock that there was already an IV drip gently pushing liquid into her arm. She wished she could move to rip it out. It scared her that she didn't know what it was. Even through all the IV's she'd gotten from her surgeries, the nurses and doctors had always told her exactly what they were giving her, even if she didn't understand what it was, or care. The scientist laughed.
"Oh, don't worry. They're just pain killers. I'm not poisoning you… yet. You'll be thankful for them in a while…" He chuckled again. This did not reassure Alexia in any way. She stared over at him sourly.
"Thanks." She said flatly. "Who /are/ you, anyway?" She asked. He laughed. Alexia thought he was laughing too much.
"Of course! Indeed, where are my manners--"
"--I think you might have left them at my house." Alexia interrupted, glaring.
"Impudent little shit…" he muttered, glaring back. "You may call me Professor Hojo." A spark of confusion and alarm went through Alexia. You're not real!Her mind insisted. You're just some sleazy video game extra!It briefly crossed her mind that this was a joke, but she somehow didn't think so.
"…Can I call you Professor FuckFace instead?" He ignored her.
"You have a strong will" He went on. "You should be proud. You're exactly what I needed." Alexia listened, trying to hide her sudden fear. He'd lifted a large syringe filled with a glowing green liquid. "Do you know what this is?" He asked. "It's called Mako--"
"I know what the fuck it is, Hojo!" She snapped. Oh yes, she knew, now. Hojo frowned.
"You shouldn't… I traveled to an entirely different dimension to get you… hm…" Alexia squirmed. Hojo shrugged carelessly. "Oh well! I suppose my reputation would precede me so far!" He laughed again, moving up to Alexia "Now then. I suppose you know what will happen to one exposed to mako?"
"Death, severe illness and or comostasis, or increased strength… normally. I don't think mako was meant for the living, Hojo." She said, voice low. Hojo laughed.
"Very true. Small doses is all!" He raised the syringe. "You might want to brace yourself. As you likely know, it tends to sting a bit." Alexia swallowed a scream as he plunged the needle right into her heart. It took all the will she had. Even with her own high pain threshold enforced with the painkillers, Alexia nearly blacked out. She watched distantly as he plunged the glowing liquid right into her.
"Stings a bit, my ass, you sick fuck." She said through gritted teeth. Hojo smiled.
"If you live, you'll be a prodigy to SOLDIER. You should be proud…You're tough, you know. Of all the men I've given mako treatments, there has only been one who refused to cry out in the same fashion as you…Obstinate boy…He's rebelling against me, the fool, I can feel it! My own son!" Alexia, despite her deep agony, smiled darkly.
"Maybe if you were a father instead of a fucking scientist he would have been more apt to following your will…" She grit out. She could barely see now, every fiber of her being on fire. She had been talking just to keep her focus on something else, but the mako demanded every ounce of attention.
Finally, Hojo withdrew the needle, blood pooling lightly around the tip and the puncture wound. Alexia felt her head spin at the sight of her own blood, swirling red against the acid green of the mako. Hojo chuckled humorlessly.
"I have been a wonderful father. I have given my boy everything he wanted: Power, strength, luxury, the world's finest education!" He paused. "And what does he do, the ungrateful prat! Throws it all back in my face, ignores my words of valuable wisdom!" Hojo smiled darkly. "You're to be his replacement." He added, glasses glinting. Alexia felt a cold stab go through her even through the chilling burn of the mako traveling through her blood. She had a pretty good idea of who Hojo might be referring to, and she didn't want to be anyone's replacement, let alone /his/. She had to be careful. Play along… SMILE, dipshit!She gave Hojo her patented evil smile. Much to her amazement, he bought it. It was her practiced smile to scare her friends. Apparently, it came in handy… "Haha! You like that, eh? No one can resist power. You know the power of ShinRa and SOLDIER! Brilliant Child!" Alexia nearly gagged. Class A mother fucker…She grinned eagerly, then let out a startled cry as a wave of nausea hit her. Hojo chuckled. It was the last sound she heard before she passed out abruptly.
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Chapter 3
-Chaos Cells-
Alexia awoke with a start, and immediately screamed, a burst of greenish white bubbles bursting out of her mouth, but no sound following. She was suspended in a large tube of glowing mako.. She clamped her mouth shut, fearing she would drown, but then relaxed. She wouldn't drown, but her lungs burned as the fluid spilled into them. Beyond the green haze, she could see Hojo's lab, dark and empty. There was some relief in that. She curled her knees up to her chest, hugging them, floating. She noticed dully that she was completely nude, but dried not to care. It was all part of Hojo's breaking tactics. She knew it could be worse if she didn't play along, though it was still bad. She clamped her burning eyes shut against the green, dreaming of home. She winced. That hurt more than the mako. Resigned, Alexia tried to empty her mind, and simply rest, eventually sleeping through her adverse situation.
A week passed into eternity, Alexia never being released, the mako sustaining her. Hojo came in and bustled about, mostly ignoring her, every morning.
Alexia's eighth day in captivity brought change as Hojo approached her tank, pushing a few buttons on a nearby control panel. The mako quickly drained away, leaving her collapsed in a heap on the damp floor. She looked up blearily at him, mind hazed from a week of complete inactivity.
"Get up." He said. She wobbled to her feet weakly, body even number than her mind. She had lost another twenty pounds from her already slight frame and he simply lost patience, yanking her up easily with one hand.
Alexia was half dragged back to the cold table. She shivered, burning, vaguely aware of how sick she was. She watched hazily as she was strapped firmly to the table once again. Hojo raised a syringe, but this one wasn't filled with mako, but with what looked like blood. He brought it down, right into a pulsing vein in her neck.
She screamed.
Whatever Hojo had given her felt more unnatural inside of her than the mako. It didn't burn like the mako, in fact, only the injection itself hurt, but it made her skin crawl and her stomach churn. She turned her head, vomiting abruptly onto the floor. Hojo scowled.
"Messy wench." Alexia cried softly, wanting to crawl out of herself, wanting to tear her own flesh off, bleed whatever it was back out. …Which is probably why she was strapped down. Relaxing against the awful feeling, she looked up to see another syringe, filled with more glowing mako. "That last injection was from another being to help keep you alive and make you physically stronger." Hojo explained gleefully. Please, don't be Jenova…don't be Jenova… please…She had the clarity of mind to know that was one thing she DIDN'T want inside of her.
"What is it?" She croaked. Anything but Jenova….Hojo was smiling like that was just what he'd wanted to hear.
"They are cells, drawn directly from a demon I'm using in another experiment as well." He began. Alexia felt a sharp shock go through her. She swallowed. "It's called Chaos…Very powerful, vicious creature. I doubt there will be much that will be able to take you out with his strength behind you. Of course, you're not /invincible/ so don't get any ideas. Alexia gagged, then grinned darkly.
"Only ideas of leading SOLDIER." She said oily, smirking. Inside her head, the demon's name was still rolling in her head like a ball of tar. At least I don't have the actual demon, like….She trailed off as he stuck the new syringe right back into her heart. She made a choked sound, gasping at the sudden pain.
"Stay awake, damnit." Hojo snapped as her eyes started to roll. "You're tougher than that!" Alexia gasped, peeling her eyes open. "This is important. You're special now… All men going into SOLDIER have mako treatments, some heavier than others…" he paused, grinning. "…but most are relatively light. You will become our newest war machine. With the Chaos Cells in you, you have a regeneration rate of two hundred percent, and a higher tolerance to foreign substances, such as the mako. Eventually, I plan to replace your bloodstream completely with the mako." He finished with one of the syringes, and pulled out another. Alexia choked on some rising bile, and spat it out quickly before he brought down the next injection. "For today, however, I will be stopping at about… fifty two percent. True, it will leave you with some adverse side effects for a while, but with that aside… You will be thirty-nine percent higher saturation than even our precious General." He watched for a flicker of recognition in her face, but she kept it passive. She would not throw him this bone. She winced dully at the last injection, her body already so lit up that she barely felt it.
He left her there for a while, until there was a knock at the door across the lab. Hojo grunted, and unbuckled the straps holding Alexia down. He tossed her a rough blanket and pushed her roughly off the table, ushering her into the corner by the now empty tube she'd been in for a week. She collapsed, wrapped in the blanket, shivering, against the cold glass, watching vaguely as Hojo went to the door, opening it.
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Chapter 4
-Hello, Stranger.-
Alexia shivered, barely conscious enough to pull the blanket draped around her shoulders tighter. Hojo went to the door, letting someone in. She watched the scientist vacantly. Hojo paused, turned and stared at her, and she stared right back, unresponsive. Hojo shrugged and stepped back, making way for a tall, irritated looking man with long flowing silver hair and an ominous looking trench coat . Alexia averted her eyes. She'd felt a shock go through her at the sight of Sephiroth -everyone did- and it had pulled Alexia out of her stupor. She was careful to hold her vacant stare, but watched carefully as Hojo led Sephiroth over to the table she'd just been on. Sephiroth sat down, and glanced over at her.
"Oh! Don't mind that!" Hojo said offhandedly, noticing his gaze. Sephiroth yanked his stare away and Alexia went back to breathing.
"You're giving her mako treatments?" Sephiroth asked flatly as he shrugged off his coat. Hojo was preparing another needle.
"New experement." Hojo said, bustling about. Sephiroth grunted.
"Where'd you kidnap this one from?"
"Who said I kidnapped her?!" Hojo exclaimed. Alexia had a hard time not snorting. Sephiroth did though. He turned to face her.
"Did you volunteer for this?" Alexia didn't blink.
"Don't bother. She's too far gone." Hojo muttered. Hojo looked back at her. He was onto her. She carefully caught his eyes. He remained blank-faced.
"You nearly killed her."
"She's fine." Hojo paused, and Sephiroth's small gasp could be heard as he received the painful mako injection. "You seem interested." He smirked. Sephiroth grunted.
"You shouldn't torture women, Hojo."
"Like I said, she volunteered." He insisted. "Though as nails, though, this one." He added, smirk growing. Sephiroth snorted humorlessly.
"I see that. How much have you given her?"
"More than you." Hojo replied, sneering. Sephiroth's face darkened, mako eyes flashing.
"You're a bastard, Hojo."
"You can't prove that."
"Fuck you." Hojo laughed.
"Such an obstinate prat! Fine. If you're so concerned about the waif, you take care of her!" Alexia blinked. Oh hell, /this/ could get interesting…Though she was the subject of conversation, both men seemed oblivious to her. All the better, she was having trouble hiding her façade of incoherency just now. Sephiroth glanced over at her, and she stilled her face. He was looking paler already from the injection.
"And if I refuse?"
"There's more I can do than just mako treatments, my boy."
"You don't own me, Hojo." Sephiroth growled.
"I MADE YOU, DAMNIT!" Hojo spat. With a snarl, Sephiroth stood, and started towards Alexia. "Bring her back in a week. I'm not done with her yet." Hojo ordered. Alexia barely heard him, she was slipping back into the mako haze, desperately wanting to know what was going to happen to her now, but unable to hang on. She managed a grateful glance up at the tall man before blacking out as he dragged her off the ground.
"She needs medication." Sephiroth said flatly, looking down at the unconscious figure in his arms with a mix of sympathy and detest. He didn't need extra baggage on his already hellish life.
"She's fine, damnit." Hojo snarled. "Get her the fuck out of here."
"Where are her clothes." Sephiroth asked icily. Great he was stuck with a sick, naked science experiment that his fuckup of a father had managed to get his hands on.
"Dunno."
"Damn you to hell, Hojo."
"See you there." Hojo chimed cheerfully as Sephiroth stormed out, trying to manage a very limp, pale body over one shoulder while still keeping it discreetly covered in the lone blanket.
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Chapter 5
-Bitter Moments-
Sephiroth groaned as he slipped into his private apartment, carefully setting the girl down on a couch and crawling into his own bedroom, and sprawling out on the bed, shaking. He swore Hojo had given him a double shot of mako just to make sure he'd be sick from it. Often, regular mako treatments didn't bother him very much. Now he felt like vomiting, and could barely see. Forgetting the half-dead person in his living room, he passed out.
Alexia woke blearily, feeling sicker than ever, and now disoriented as well. She was no longer in Hojo's lab, but in a lushly furnished room, wrapped firmly in her not-exactly comfortable blanket, shivering on a cold leather couch. Leather. Huh. Better than steel…She looked around best she could, which wasn't much. So much as breathing hurt, and she still had that sickening feeling of something foreign and greasy going through her body. She lay still, blinking up at the white ceiling, shadowed in darkness at the moment, wondering where in hell she was. Literally. She knew she was somewhere in hell, also known as ShinRa property, but she didn't know where she was exactly. She could guess, though, and she wasn't sure whether she liked the notion or not. She tried to sit up, and collapsed, head spinning. She felt sick, but fought back the lurch in her gut, not wanting to puke all over the apparently expensive couch, or the carpet below. Hojo's lab was one thing, somebody's home or living space was another. Unless this is Hojo's apartment, in which case, I'll make sure I pee on the furniture and puke every chance I get.She thought bitterly. Footsteps made her lurch her head sideways to look up, making her head spin again. She let out a breathy gasp, clutching at the cushions as if she'd fall. Her whole world was spinning.
"Take it easy. I'm not some fucked up scientist here to torture you." Came a cold, irritated voice. Alexia didn't relax much. She turned her head more slowly to look up at the blurry figure standing over her. She blinked once, twice, but still couldn't focus her eyes. The figure crouched over her, face only feet away from hers, but still she couldn't make out anything but a blur of shadow and light. A large hand came down over her forehead suddenly, startling her. "…Shit…" It was a mildly distressed, mostly irritated hiss that made Alexia wonder if she hadn't leapt out of the pan and into the fire. "the fuck did he do to you?" Alexia opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out at all. "Don't bother trying to talk. Stay still." With that, he was gone. Alexia sunk deeper into the couch, clamping her eyes shut, fighting back tears. Lovely. Just motherfucking lovely…She wanted to go home. Her eyes were still clamped shut when she was lifted into a sitting position. "Here." A pill was shoved into her mouth, followed by a glass of water being pressed to her lips. She took both the pill and water without question. He'd already insulted Hojo, so he had to be more trustworthy than the scientist, which was an improvement. She drank the water, though it took every bit of assistance offered. "Stupid of you not to even open your eyes to look and see what I gave you. I could have just poisoned you.
"Better than the mako." Alexia murmured hoarsely. A wry snort was her answer.
"I'm guessing you didn't volunteer."
"Noo. I /wanted/ to be taken from my home by force, stripped of all dignity and poisoned day in and out for two weeks straight only to be tossed out by one sick fuck into the quote, 'care' of probably one of the coldest people I've ever met!" Alexia cried, bursting into tears. She didn't care who she insulted now. She inwardly wished he /had/ poisoned her, though from the way her pain was ebbing away slightly, she guessed that it had merely been pain killers.
Sephiroth leaned back, blinking in shock as the girl burst into tears suddenly. Sephiroth knew he could be an asshole, cold and hardened, and with good reason, but no one had ever said it to his face so bluntly. It was almost refreshing. Below him, Alexia sniffed.
"Sorry…" She apologized. "That wasn't fair. You're an improvement to Hojo at any rate. I'm sorry he dumped me on you." Sephiroth blinked again. Now he was really stymied.
"What's your name?" He asked, trying to ease some of the chill out of his voice. It didn't work very well.
"…Alexia. I'm not from your world, you know….Where I came from, you, Hojo, ShinRa…all just fictional things from a cute little story… Hojo crossed into my world and proved to me that you're as real as I thought you weren't."
"Then you know who I am?" Sephiroth asked, intrigued.
"I can hardly see, but I could very well guess, yes." Sephiroth raised an eyebrow.
"Peculiar. Your eyesight will return in a bit. Rest and we'll talk more, perhaps." He turned to go. Alexia tried to sit up, only to collapse with a grunt.
"You're Sephiroth, right?" She asked after him. Sephiroth paused without turning around.
"Yes." He left.
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Chapter 6
-Transformation-
Alexia had slept off another several hours when Sephiroth returned with more medicine and water, and clothes as well for her. She took all gratefully, blinking back her suspicion as she slipped into an overlarge pair of boxer shorts and a shirt that hung down to her knees. Neither said a thing about the offered clothing.
Alexia could see better now, though her vision was still slightly blurry around the edge, and she managed to sit up on her own, curled in a corner of the couch with a glass of water cradled in both hands, barely able to lift it without dropping it. She'd never felt so weak in her life, and it embarrassed her. For the most part, Sephiroth remained quiet, barely even acknowledging her. Alexia didn't mind. She guessed it was simply in his nature.
She'd been sitting through one of their on stretching silences when her vision blurred and her world spun. She dropped the glass of water, which was caught instants later by Sephiroth's lightning-quick reflexes, without spilling. He was about to berate her for her carelessness when she collapsed clean off the couch with a thud, crying out and writing on the floor in seizure. Sephiroth, alarmed by the unexpected spasm, had only picked her up and replaced her on the couch when she screamed, ear splittingly high and agony-laced. Startled, Sephiroth leapt back.
Screaming again, wracked with seizure, Alexia arched, grinding her knees and elbows into the leather couch, shuddering. Blood began to seep through Sephiroth's shirt around her shoulders, and he yanked the tail back, revealing two black nubs slowly tearing through pale flesh just below her shoulder blades. They pushed further out in a gush of blood, and Alexia screamed even more, then broke off abruptly, now in too much pain to scream.
Sephiroth watched in awe and helplessness as the wounds stretched, something pushing out from under the skin. It took a good ten or fifteen minutes, but finally, two large leathery black bat wings broke completely free from their fleshy confines, sending a shower of blood all over Sephiroth and Alexia, and Sephiroth's couch, to stretch, quivering, towards the ceiling.
Alexia was sobbing, face buried into the cushions, trembling.
"Oh my god… oh my god…" She panted, crying. "What…happened…." The wings shook delicately with her sobs, twitching with new life. Sephiroth hurried into another room, coming back with a towel and bandages. Alexia was still sobbing when he returned. "What…happened…." Sephiroth began carefully dabbing the blood away, soaking the towel and went to work bandaging the large rips in the skin along her back. Even as he began cleaning the wounds, however, the skin was already beginning to knit together where it was not separated. He froze, watching in awe.
"What are you….?" He breathed. Alexia's sobs became more choked.
"…Sephiroth?!…" Alexia didn't care if he was the ice god or not, she needed some sort of comfort. "What happened…?! I can't see….!" Sephiroth quickly bandaged the wounds all the way up her back and around the joints of the newly grown wings. He used the towel to wipe away some of the blood from the quivering wingtip closest to him.
"Can you feel that." He asked as he did so. Alexia jumped, gasping, in response.
"What happened?!?!" She sounded panicked.
"…You sprouted wings." He said flatly. Alexia choked.
"…Chaos…" The word barely came out as a whisper.
"What?"
"Hojo put the cells of a demon called Chaos into me to help me fight the mako treatments."
"Its physically changed you…"
"I don't think this was supposed to happen…" Alexia whispered. She tried to sit up, but winced, gasping.
"Sit still while I get you cleaned up. You're a mess."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. This wasn't your fault."
"Thank you."
"No one believes this, but I do have a heart." Sephiroth said, a tinge of hurt in his voice.
"I know. I don't blame you for hiding it, either. This world is dangerous." Alexia whispered, wincing as he began cleaning off the other wing, causing it to cringe away from his touch. Finishing, he let her sit up again. The overlarge shirt hung in a bunch around the base of the wings, but kept her covered and she turned to face him.
"…Sweet fuck!" Sephiroth's eyes widened in surprise. Alexia's eyes began to water. She knew she wasn't ugly. Had her face changed as well…?
"What?!" She demanded, voice rising in pitch to a squeak in her distress.
"Your eyes…" Alexia jumped up, not caring how much blood she'd lost, or how badly mako poisoned she was, and charged into what she hoped was the bathroom. Her house sense had been right, and she stumbled into the cool, clean little room, leaning heavily against the marble sink as she gazed into the mirror. Her face was unchanged save for a few splatters of blood and tearstains… Except her eyes. Her eyes were glowing brilliantly, much brighter than Sephiroth's, and were no longer her natural shade of deep brown, but a brilliant, glowing crimson. She let out a startled cry, stumbling backwards. Further away from the mirror, she caught sight of the large, black and red leathery Chaos Wings sprouting from her shoulders. They'd been partially folded but spread in a gesture of alarm as she noticed herself. She focused on their presence, and managed to get them to move by her will, adjusting to their existence. They were indeed a part of her now, and moved with her just like any other limb might, though they seemed to express her emotions the way one did when they talked with their hands-strongly.
They were folded tight against her back as she stumbled back out into Sephiroth's living room, as if she were trying to hide them. Alexia was miserable, hurting, sick, and now she wasn't even fully human. She didn't even look at Sephiroth as she sank back down into the couch, burying her face against one of the back cushions and crying.
Sephiroth sat in silence, bewildered and slightly alarmed. He felt sort of sorry for the girl: He knew what it was like to be set apart, both physically and emotionally, from the rest of the world. Still, he had no idea how to comfort her. He'd never received an ounce of comfort in his life from another person, nor had he given any. He reached out a hand to her shoulder carefully. It made her jump, but she turned, not shoving him away.
"Do you think I'm going to change more?" She asked, eerie crimson eyes boring up into his, swirling with fear. Sephiroth shook his head.
"It would have happened with the rest." He assured her. Alexia nodded, leaning back, going silent.
"…You know what I just realized?" She said after a long time in silence. Sephiroth glanced back over at her. "…I can't go home now. Not like this. I'm not human, and I don't belong in my own world any more… No one would believe what happened, because you're not supposed to be real, and I can't hide this… The eyes, maybe… but…." She trailed off, choking. Sephiroth heaved a sigh.
"Life will lead you where it will. You can't change that. Hojo said you're tough as nails…"
"He's going to put me in SOLDIER." Alexia choked, wiping her tears away angrily with a blood-smeared arm. Sephiroth sighed.
"That figures." The phone in the corner rang. Sephiroth growled, standing and striding over to it, snatching up the receiver before it could ring twice. He listened quietly for a moment, lips twisting in anger, and without replying, hung up again.
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Chapter 7
-It just figures…-
Alexia watched Sephiroth's face darken as he listened, and winced when he hung up sharply without reply. He turned back to her, face easing a little.
"Lemmie guess: Professor Fuckface, right?" She said dryly. The pain was subsiding already and her wings were folded neatly at her back, barely noticeable from where they were tucked against her shoulders. Sephiroth's lips twitched into a cold smile.
"I like that."
"Thought you would."
"You're to start training tomorrow." He added, voice cool. Alexia sighed.
"Figures."
"At six A.M."
"Fuck!"
"Get used to it."
"Goddamnit…." Alexia muttered, rubbing her eyes. "Can you call him back and told him I died?" Sephiroth frowned.
"Don't be a coward. You'll just get flattened if you try to pussy yourself out of everything." He said darkly. Alexia scowled.
"You know something?" She asked, drawing his attention. Sephiroth raised a pale eyebrow with a certain pompous elegance. "You really are an asshole." She said flatly. His eyes flared in their green glow for a moment, betraying his flare of anger, then turned a cold jade as they narrowed to slits.
"You don't like it?" He hissed, stalking towards her angrily. "How about I just kill you here and now and send your corpse back to Hojo to mutilate further…" Alexia stared coldly up at him. He was only feet away when he got a face full of pillow, sending a few tufts of delicate chocobo down flying with the force. Alexia sat cross-legged, wings spread halfway, a small smile on her lips. "Prat!" Sephiroth snarled, snatching the pillow before it fell and casting it aside angrily. Alexia stuck her tongue out at him, making a rude noise. In a flare of anger, Sephiroth drew a knife from his hip and stuck it deeply into Alexia's shoulder. She didn't wince.
"You know," She said calmly, eyes locked onto his. "Hojo's made me to be your replacement. He's going to off you as soon as he can. I know how he's going to do it too. He didn't tell me this, but I can guess pretty accurately from what I know about your story in my world. Tell me, is there a young cadet here named Cloud Strife?" She smiled. "You'd notice him, I'm sure. Small, scrawny, spiky blonde hair and startling blue eyes. Completely useless." Sephiroth's lip twitched lightly. "You have a mission to Nibelheim soon?" She pressed. Sephiroth's eyes widened.
"That's top secret." He hissed. Alexia shrugged.
"I don't count." Sephiroth glared. "Anyway… You'll find something in that reactor. Something you won't like. Hojo's betting on your emotional instability, that you crack. Tell me, what's your mother's name?" Sephiroth's glare darkened. "Hojo has told you. Jenova, right?" Sephiroth lunged backwards, hissing, eyes wide now. "Listen to me." Alexia went on, dead serious now. "Jenova is not your mother. Hojo's just fucking with your brain. Jenova isn't even a woman. Your true biological mother is a woman named Lucrecia, a scientist that worked with Professors Ghast and Hojo. Hold that secret in your heart, Sephiroth. If not another thing I ever say even reaches your brain, because every word I utter is so inconsequential to you, hear this: Jenova is not your mother: You are human. Don't let Hojo win." She stopped abruptly, letting her words sink in. Sephiroth sat in silence, blinking. He was deeply disturbed by her words, and wanted to deny their validity, but somehow he couldn't avoid believing her.
"And if I ignore you?"
"You'll die a horrible painful death under the control of a foreign being in about…five years. You'll never know the truth, you'll never be loved or understood, or really even respected. You'll die alone and hated by the world. I don't exaggerate." Sephiroth stood frozen in silence. The seriousness in this girls' voice unnerved him, and her words, while irritatingly cliché struck a chord. Sephiroth rubbed his forehead.
"I have to think alone for a while…" he wandered off, leaving Alexia alone.
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AN...
yeah.... its kinda stupid. lol. I dun care though. Don't worry, I'm not that big of a bitch in real life. I do swear a lot though (which is prolly why I like to write for Cid so much, lol) And my real name isn't Alexia either. you can tell it doesn't fit, lol. :) But...anonymity is something I'm keeping for now...
And no, this isn't going to be some stupid -INSERT MY CHARACTER INTO A ROMANCE WITH SEPHIROTH /HERE/- fic. he's hot, sure...but in my opinion, the poor blokes' gay as they get. No luck, gals. sorry, lol :) That and its just supid. He's just someone for 'me' to bitch at. hehe. (it could get intersting later, lol.) Anyhow...r & r... or not. I don't really like how this is turning out, but I thought, again, that I'd give it a try, lol :)
DISCLAIMER: (oo...usually forget these, lol) I don't own ShinRa (hehe, that'd be fun...) Or Sephiroth (funner...) Or anyone else, for that matter. Except Alexia, and her 'look'. Mine! Mine mine mine mine! Hands off! (lol) Hojo's for sail as a beat-bag, though, lol Nah, its' all SQUARE's. cries
Chapter 1
-Wasn't Planning On Company-
"No! Let go, you goddamned greasy-haired freak!" Alexia wasn't too keen on being kidnapped. Especially by some greasy old man with an unnerving smile and evilly glinting glasses that somehow always reflected light, hiding his eyes. She twisted, yanking her arm skillfully out of his grip. Years of martial arts training made Alexia quick to avoid the smallish man. She wasn't too worried about having to fight him. He was frail looking: Old, skinny and short, and had the weakest grip of anyone she'd ever encountered. She stepped back out of his reach. She didn't know who the old bug was or how he'd gotten into her house, but he held a disturbing resemblance to a character from one of her video games…. Laughing dryly, he made another lunge at her. Alexia frowned and simply punched him squarely in the face. He staggered back, holding his now bleeding nose. "Go away and I won't call the Cops." Alexia suggested angrily. The man scowled.
"Fucking brat…" He muttered, pulling out what sort of looked like a pager from his coat pocket. Alexia scowled as well, standing back cautiously.
"Creep." Eighteen, brash and tomboyish, though usually far better natured than this, she wasn't afraid of much. The would be kidnapper pushed a button and leered through his glinting glasses at her. There was a loud bang as several men in blue uniforms, well armored and burly came bursting in, charging right at Alexia. Dark brown eyes widened in alarm. "Damnit!" She dodged one man, tripped a second before a third grabbed her firmly from behind in a crushing bear-hug. Alexia grinned, relaxing like she'd given up. Some of the tension went out of her attacker's grip, and she swung her elbow back, right into his regrettably unprotected groin. He let go right quick, doubling foreword, and she grabbed his arm, pulling up hard up and over her shoulder into a vicious throw. He let out a yelp, crashing through a hard oak chair that happened to be sitting out from the matching kitchen table. Alexia grimaced. "Damn… Mom's gunna kill me for that. She muttered. By now, her secret out, Alexia was hard pressed to defend herself against the remaining four men. Unable to fight now that the obviously-warriors knew she could fight back, she spent her energy on dodging them, racing through the house, hoping over the large table, knocking over furniture to slow them down. They were fast and very strong, however, and caught up with her quickly as she ran outside in an attempt to escape. Alexia did have the satisfaction of putting an elbow full force into one of the thug's temples before the others (the first that she'd taken out was back on his feet and alarmingly fine) pulled large, vicious-looking guns on her. Defeated, Alexia gave in. The little man that she'd originally encountered came sauntering out of her own house to where she was being restrained in a muddy lawn. Alexia panted, sweat-drenched and knuckles bleeding from all the punches to very hard skulls she'd dealt.
"Feisty, aren't we?" The man leered. "Just what I need." Alexia spat.
"Need for what?!" She was thinking hard on an escape, since her first two tries hadn't worked so well. What now, Sensei?She thought mournfully. She'd been taught all forms of self defense: grappling, throws, kicks and punches, even some knife defenses. She'd also been told that once someone pulled a gun, you're fucked. Just not exactly in those words….
"All for science, my pugnacious little specimen." Alexia glared. At just an inch over a runt-ish five feet tall, she didn't like being called 'little'. She didn't like the way he'd called her 'his specimen' either.
"Leave me alone and go 'science' somewhere else." She spat, kicking against her captor. The man frowned darkly.
"I've had enough lip." He waved a hand and Alexia received an earth shattering blow to the back of her head. Her world promptly went black.
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Chapter 2
-Rude Awakenings (I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto.)-
Alexia woke blearily to the sound of machines - medical monitors from the sound of it. Fuck.She hated hospitals. She'd had her share and then some of heavy surgery, and didn't appreciate any sort of medical attention. She opened one eye, looking around. Strange machines and rows of microscopes and tubes, screen monitors, computers and a very eerie green glow from another corner filled her vision. Not a hospital…Her eyes narrowed. …it's a lab…Another look around told her she probably didn't want to be here. Sitting up… she paused, struggling. She wanted to sit up, but she couldn't. A moments' examination told her it was because she'd been tied down by heavy leather straps, securing her to a large stainless steel table. She struggled for a moment, then gave up.
"Done fighting yet?" Alexia jumped, snapping her head around to glare at that same man. He was now dressed in a white lab coat, long greasy black hair tied back neatly. He smiled wolfishly. "I see you're awake." He said cheerfully.
"No shit, Sherlock." Alexia noticed with a nasty shock that there was already an IV drip gently pushing liquid into her arm. She wished she could move to rip it out. It scared her that she didn't know what it was. Even through all the IV's she'd gotten from her surgeries, the nurses and doctors had always told her exactly what they were giving her, even if she didn't understand what it was, or care. The scientist laughed.
"Oh, don't worry. They're just pain killers. I'm not poisoning you… yet. You'll be thankful for them in a while…" He chuckled again. This did not reassure Alexia in any way. She stared over at him sourly.
"Thanks." She said flatly. "Who /are/ you, anyway?" She asked. He laughed. Alexia thought he was laughing too much.
"Of course! Indeed, where are my manners--"
"--I think you might have left them at my house." Alexia interrupted, glaring.
"Impudent little shit…" he muttered, glaring back. "You may call me Professor Hojo." A spark of confusion and alarm went through Alexia. You're not real!Her mind insisted. You're just some sleazy video game extra!It briefly crossed her mind that this was a joke, but she somehow didn't think so.
"…Can I call you Professor FuckFace instead?" He ignored her.
"You have a strong will" He went on. "You should be proud. You're exactly what I needed." Alexia listened, trying to hide her sudden fear. He'd lifted a large syringe filled with a glowing green liquid. "Do you know what this is?" He asked. "It's called Mako--"
"I know what the fuck it is, Hojo!" She snapped. Oh yes, she knew, now. Hojo frowned.
"You shouldn't… I traveled to an entirely different dimension to get you… hm…" Alexia squirmed. Hojo shrugged carelessly. "Oh well! I suppose my reputation would precede me so far!" He laughed again, moving up to Alexia "Now then. I suppose you know what will happen to one exposed to mako?"
"Death, severe illness and or comostasis, or increased strength… normally. I don't think mako was meant for the living, Hojo." She said, voice low. Hojo laughed.
"Very true. Small doses is all!" He raised the syringe. "You might want to brace yourself. As you likely know, it tends to sting a bit." Alexia swallowed a scream as he plunged the needle right into her heart. It took all the will she had. Even with her own high pain threshold enforced with the painkillers, Alexia nearly blacked out. She watched distantly as he plunged the glowing liquid right into her.
"Stings a bit, my ass, you sick fuck." She said through gritted teeth. Hojo smiled.
"If you live, you'll be a prodigy to SOLDIER. You should be proud…You're tough, you know. Of all the men I've given mako treatments, there has only been one who refused to cry out in the same fashion as you…Obstinate boy…He's rebelling against me, the fool, I can feel it! My own son!" Alexia, despite her deep agony, smiled darkly.
"Maybe if you were a father instead of a fucking scientist he would have been more apt to following your will…" She grit out. She could barely see now, every fiber of her being on fire. She had been talking just to keep her focus on something else, but the mako demanded every ounce of attention.
Finally, Hojo withdrew the needle, blood pooling lightly around the tip and the puncture wound. Alexia felt her head spin at the sight of her own blood, swirling red against the acid green of the mako. Hojo chuckled humorlessly.
"I have been a wonderful father. I have given my boy everything he wanted: Power, strength, luxury, the world's finest education!" He paused. "And what does he do, the ungrateful prat! Throws it all back in my face, ignores my words of valuable wisdom!" Hojo smiled darkly. "You're to be his replacement." He added, glasses glinting. Alexia felt a cold stab go through her even through the chilling burn of the mako traveling through her blood. She had a pretty good idea of who Hojo might be referring to, and she didn't want to be anyone's replacement, let alone /his/. She had to be careful. Play along… SMILE, dipshit!She gave Hojo her patented evil smile. Much to her amazement, he bought it. It was her practiced smile to scare her friends. Apparently, it came in handy… "Haha! You like that, eh? No one can resist power. You know the power of ShinRa and SOLDIER! Brilliant Child!" Alexia nearly gagged. Class A mother fucker…She grinned eagerly, then let out a startled cry as a wave of nausea hit her. Hojo chuckled. It was the last sound she heard before she passed out abruptly.
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Chapter 3
-Chaos Cells-
Alexia awoke with a start, and immediately screamed, a burst of greenish white bubbles bursting out of her mouth, but no sound following. She was suspended in a large tube of glowing mako.. She clamped her mouth shut, fearing she would drown, but then relaxed. She wouldn't drown, but her lungs burned as the fluid spilled into them. Beyond the green haze, she could see Hojo's lab, dark and empty. There was some relief in that. She curled her knees up to her chest, hugging them, floating. She noticed dully that she was completely nude, but dried not to care. It was all part of Hojo's breaking tactics. She knew it could be worse if she didn't play along, though it was still bad. She clamped her burning eyes shut against the green, dreaming of home. She winced. That hurt more than the mako. Resigned, Alexia tried to empty her mind, and simply rest, eventually sleeping through her adverse situation.
A week passed into eternity, Alexia never being released, the mako sustaining her. Hojo came in and bustled about, mostly ignoring her, every morning.
Alexia's eighth day in captivity brought change as Hojo approached her tank, pushing a few buttons on a nearby control panel. The mako quickly drained away, leaving her collapsed in a heap on the damp floor. She looked up blearily at him, mind hazed from a week of complete inactivity.
"Get up." He said. She wobbled to her feet weakly, body even number than her mind. She had lost another twenty pounds from her already slight frame and he simply lost patience, yanking her up easily with one hand.
Alexia was half dragged back to the cold table. She shivered, burning, vaguely aware of how sick she was. She watched hazily as she was strapped firmly to the table once again. Hojo raised a syringe, but this one wasn't filled with mako, but with what looked like blood. He brought it down, right into a pulsing vein in her neck.
She screamed.
Whatever Hojo had given her felt more unnatural inside of her than the mako. It didn't burn like the mako, in fact, only the injection itself hurt, but it made her skin crawl and her stomach churn. She turned her head, vomiting abruptly onto the floor. Hojo scowled.
"Messy wench." Alexia cried softly, wanting to crawl out of herself, wanting to tear her own flesh off, bleed whatever it was back out. …Which is probably why she was strapped down. Relaxing against the awful feeling, she looked up to see another syringe, filled with more glowing mako. "That last injection was from another being to help keep you alive and make you physically stronger." Hojo explained gleefully. Please, don't be Jenova…don't be Jenova… please…She had the clarity of mind to know that was one thing she DIDN'T want inside of her.
"What is it?" She croaked. Anything but Jenova….Hojo was smiling like that was just what he'd wanted to hear.
"They are cells, drawn directly from a demon I'm using in another experiment as well." He began. Alexia felt a sharp shock go through her. She swallowed. "It's called Chaos…Very powerful, vicious creature. I doubt there will be much that will be able to take you out with his strength behind you. Of course, you're not /invincible/ so don't get any ideas. Alexia gagged, then grinned darkly.
"Only ideas of leading SOLDIER." She said oily, smirking. Inside her head, the demon's name was still rolling in her head like a ball of tar. At least I don't have the actual demon, like….She trailed off as he stuck the new syringe right back into her heart. She made a choked sound, gasping at the sudden pain.
"Stay awake, damnit." Hojo snapped as her eyes started to roll. "You're tougher than that!" Alexia gasped, peeling her eyes open. "This is important. You're special now… All men going into SOLDIER have mako treatments, some heavier than others…" he paused, grinning. "…but most are relatively light. You will become our newest war machine. With the Chaos Cells in you, you have a regeneration rate of two hundred percent, and a higher tolerance to foreign substances, such as the mako. Eventually, I plan to replace your bloodstream completely with the mako." He finished with one of the syringes, and pulled out another. Alexia choked on some rising bile, and spat it out quickly before he brought down the next injection. "For today, however, I will be stopping at about… fifty two percent. True, it will leave you with some adverse side effects for a while, but with that aside… You will be thirty-nine percent higher saturation than even our precious General." He watched for a flicker of recognition in her face, but she kept it passive. She would not throw him this bone. She winced dully at the last injection, her body already so lit up that she barely felt it.
He left her there for a while, until there was a knock at the door across the lab. Hojo grunted, and unbuckled the straps holding Alexia down. He tossed her a rough blanket and pushed her roughly off the table, ushering her into the corner by the now empty tube she'd been in for a week. She collapsed, wrapped in the blanket, shivering, against the cold glass, watching vaguely as Hojo went to the door, opening it.
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Chapter 4
-Hello, Stranger.-
Alexia shivered, barely conscious enough to pull the blanket draped around her shoulders tighter. Hojo went to the door, letting someone in. She watched the scientist vacantly. Hojo paused, turned and stared at her, and she stared right back, unresponsive. Hojo shrugged and stepped back, making way for a tall, irritated looking man with long flowing silver hair and an ominous looking trench coat . Alexia averted her eyes. She'd felt a shock go through her at the sight of Sephiroth -everyone did- and it had pulled Alexia out of her stupor. She was careful to hold her vacant stare, but watched carefully as Hojo led Sephiroth over to the table she'd just been on. Sephiroth sat down, and glanced over at her.
"Oh! Don't mind that!" Hojo said offhandedly, noticing his gaze. Sephiroth yanked his stare away and Alexia went back to breathing.
"You're giving her mako treatments?" Sephiroth asked flatly as he shrugged off his coat. Hojo was preparing another needle.
"New experement." Hojo said, bustling about. Sephiroth grunted.
"Where'd you kidnap this one from?"
"Who said I kidnapped her?!" Hojo exclaimed. Alexia had a hard time not snorting. Sephiroth did though. He turned to face her.
"Did you volunteer for this?" Alexia didn't blink.
"Don't bother. She's too far gone." Hojo muttered. Hojo looked back at her. He was onto her. She carefully caught his eyes. He remained blank-faced.
"You nearly killed her."
"She's fine." Hojo paused, and Sephiroth's small gasp could be heard as he received the painful mako injection. "You seem interested." He smirked. Sephiroth grunted.
"You shouldn't torture women, Hojo."
"Like I said, she volunteered." He insisted. "Though as nails, though, this one." He added, smirk growing. Sephiroth snorted humorlessly.
"I see that. How much have you given her?"
"More than you." Hojo replied, sneering. Sephiroth's face darkened, mako eyes flashing.
"You're a bastard, Hojo."
"You can't prove that."
"Fuck you." Hojo laughed.
"Such an obstinate prat! Fine. If you're so concerned about the waif, you take care of her!" Alexia blinked. Oh hell, /this/ could get interesting…Though she was the subject of conversation, both men seemed oblivious to her. All the better, she was having trouble hiding her façade of incoherency just now. Sephiroth glanced over at her, and she stilled her face. He was looking paler already from the injection.
"And if I refuse?"
"There's more I can do than just mako treatments, my boy."
"You don't own me, Hojo." Sephiroth growled.
"I MADE YOU, DAMNIT!" Hojo spat. With a snarl, Sephiroth stood, and started towards Alexia. "Bring her back in a week. I'm not done with her yet." Hojo ordered. Alexia barely heard him, she was slipping back into the mako haze, desperately wanting to know what was going to happen to her now, but unable to hang on. She managed a grateful glance up at the tall man before blacking out as he dragged her off the ground.
"She needs medication." Sephiroth said flatly, looking down at the unconscious figure in his arms with a mix of sympathy and detest. He didn't need extra baggage on his already hellish life.
"She's fine, damnit." Hojo snarled. "Get her the fuck out of here."
"Where are her clothes." Sephiroth asked icily. Great he was stuck with a sick, naked science experiment that his fuckup of a father had managed to get his hands on.
"Dunno."
"Damn you to hell, Hojo."
"See you there." Hojo chimed cheerfully as Sephiroth stormed out, trying to manage a very limp, pale body over one shoulder while still keeping it discreetly covered in the lone blanket.
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Chapter 5
-Bitter Moments-
Sephiroth groaned as he slipped into his private apartment, carefully setting the girl down on a couch and crawling into his own bedroom, and sprawling out on the bed, shaking. He swore Hojo had given him a double shot of mako just to make sure he'd be sick from it. Often, regular mako treatments didn't bother him very much. Now he felt like vomiting, and could barely see. Forgetting the half-dead person in his living room, he passed out.
Alexia woke blearily, feeling sicker than ever, and now disoriented as well. She was no longer in Hojo's lab, but in a lushly furnished room, wrapped firmly in her not-exactly comfortable blanket, shivering on a cold leather couch. Leather. Huh. Better than steel…She looked around best she could, which wasn't much. So much as breathing hurt, and she still had that sickening feeling of something foreign and greasy going through her body. She lay still, blinking up at the white ceiling, shadowed in darkness at the moment, wondering where in hell she was. Literally. She knew she was somewhere in hell, also known as ShinRa property, but she didn't know where she was exactly. She could guess, though, and she wasn't sure whether she liked the notion or not. She tried to sit up, and collapsed, head spinning. She felt sick, but fought back the lurch in her gut, not wanting to puke all over the apparently expensive couch, or the carpet below. Hojo's lab was one thing, somebody's home or living space was another. Unless this is Hojo's apartment, in which case, I'll make sure I pee on the furniture and puke every chance I get.She thought bitterly. Footsteps made her lurch her head sideways to look up, making her head spin again. She let out a breathy gasp, clutching at the cushions as if she'd fall. Her whole world was spinning.
"Take it easy. I'm not some fucked up scientist here to torture you." Came a cold, irritated voice. Alexia didn't relax much. She turned her head more slowly to look up at the blurry figure standing over her. She blinked once, twice, but still couldn't focus her eyes. The figure crouched over her, face only feet away from hers, but still she couldn't make out anything but a blur of shadow and light. A large hand came down over her forehead suddenly, startling her. "…Shit…" It was a mildly distressed, mostly irritated hiss that made Alexia wonder if she hadn't leapt out of the pan and into the fire. "the fuck did he do to you?" Alexia opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out at all. "Don't bother trying to talk. Stay still." With that, he was gone. Alexia sunk deeper into the couch, clamping her eyes shut, fighting back tears. Lovely. Just motherfucking lovely…She wanted to go home. Her eyes were still clamped shut when she was lifted into a sitting position. "Here." A pill was shoved into her mouth, followed by a glass of water being pressed to her lips. She took both the pill and water without question. He'd already insulted Hojo, so he had to be more trustworthy than the scientist, which was an improvement. She drank the water, though it took every bit of assistance offered. "Stupid of you not to even open your eyes to look and see what I gave you. I could have just poisoned you.
"Better than the mako." Alexia murmured hoarsely. A wry snort was her answer.
"I'm guessing you didn't volunteer."
"Noo. I /wanted/ to be taken from my home by force, stripped of all dignity and poisoned day in and out for two weeks straight only to be tossed out by one sick fuck into the quote, 'care' of probably one of the coldest people I've ever met!" Alexia cried, bursting into tears. She didn't care who she insulted now. She inwardly wished he /had/ poisoned her, though from the way her pain was ebbing away slightly, she guessed that it had merely been pain killers.
Sephiroth leaned back, blinking in shock as the girl burst into tears suddenly. Sephiroth knew he could be an asshole, cold and hardened, and with good reason, but no one had ever said it to his face so bluntly. It was almost refreshing. Below him, Alexia sniffed.
"Sorry…" She apologized. "That wasn't fair. You're an improvement to Hojo at any rate. I'm sorry he dumped me on you." Sephiroth blinked again. Now he was really stymied.
"What's your name?" He asked, trying to ease some of the chill out of his voice. It didn't work very well.
"…Alexia. I'm not from your world, you know….Where I came from, you, Hojo, ShinRa…all just fictional things from a cute little story… Hojo crossed into my world and proved to me that you're as real as I thought you weren't."
"Then you know who I am?" Sephiroth asked, intrigued.
"I can hardly see, but I could very well guess, yes." Sephiroth raised an eyebrow.
"Peculiar. Your eyesight will return in a bit. Rest and we'll talk more, perhaps." He turned to go. Alexia tried to sit up, only to collapse with a grunt.
"You're Sephiroth, right?" She asked after him. Sephiroth paused without turning around.
"Yes." He left.
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Chapter 6
-Transformation-
Alexia had slept off another several hours when Sephiroth returned with more medicine and water, and clothes as well for her. She took all gratefully, blinking back her suspicion as she slipped into an overlarge pair of boxer shorts and a shirt that hung down to her knees. Neither said a thing about the offered clothing.
Alexia could see better now, though her vision was still slightly blurry around the edge, and she managed to sit up on her own, curled in a corner of the couch with a glass of water cradled in both hands, barely able to lift it without dropping it. She'd never felt so weak in her life, and it embarrassed her. For the most part, Sephiroth remained quiet, barely even acknowledging her. Alexia didn't mind. She guessed it was simply in his nature.
She'd been sitting through one of their on stretching silences when her vision blurred and her world spun. She dropped the glass of water, which was caught instants later by Sephiroth's lightning-quick reflexes, without spilling. He was about to berate her for her carelessness when she collapsed clean off the couch with a thud, crying out and writing on the floor in seizure. Sephiroth, alarmed by the unexpected spasm, had only picked her up and replaced her on the couch when she screamed, ear splittingly high and agony-laced. Startled, Sephiroth leapt back.
Screaming again, wracked with seizure, Alexia arched, grinding her knees and elbows into the leather couch, shuddering. Blood began to seep through Sephiroth's shirt around her shoulders, and he yanked the tail back, revealing two black nubs slowly tearing through pale flesh just below her shoulder blades. They pushed further out in a gush of blood, and Alexia screamed even more, then broke off abruptly, now in too much pain to scream.
Sephiroth watched in awe and helplessness as the wounds stretched, something pushing out from under the skin. It took a good ten or fifteen minutes, but finally, two large leathery black bat wings broke completely free from their fleshy confines, sending a shower of blood all over Sephiroth and Alexia, and Sephiroth's couch, to stretch, quivering, towards the ceiling.
Alexia was sobbing, face buried into the cushions, trembling.
"Oh my god… oh my god…" She panted, crying. "What…happened…." The wings shook delicately with her sobs, twitching with new life. Sephiroth hurried into another room, coming back with a towel and bandages. Alexia was still sobbing when he returned. "What…happened…." Sephiroth began carefully dabbing the blood away, soaking the towel and went to work bandaging the large rips in the skin along her back. Even as he began cleaning the wounds, however, the skin was already beginning to knit together where it was not separated. He froze, watching in awe.
"What are you….?" He breathed. Alexia's sobs became more choked.
"…Sephiroth?!…" Alexia didn't care if he was the ice god or not, she needed some sort of comfort. "What happened…?! I can't see….!" Sephiroth quickly bandaged the wounds all the way up her back and around the joints of the newly grown wings. He used the towel to wipe away some of the blood from the quivering wingtip closest to him.
"Can you feel that." He asked as he did so. Alexia jumped, gasping, in response.
"What happened?!?!" She sounded panicked.
"…You sprouted wings." He said flatly. Alexia choked.
"…Chaos…" The word barely came out as a whisper.
"What?"
"Hojo put the cells of a demon called Chaos into me to help me fight the mako treatments."
"Its physically changed you…"
"I don't think this was supposed to happen…" Alexia whispered. She tried to sit up, but winced, gasping.
"Sit still while I get you cleaned up. You're a mess."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. This wasn't your fault."
"Thank you."
"No one believes this, but I do have a heart." Sephiroth said, a tinge of hurt in his voice.
"I know. I don't blame you for hiding it, either. This world is dangerous." Alexia whispered, wincing as he began cleaning off the other wing, causing it to cringe away from his touch. Finishing, he let her sit up again. The overlarge shirt hung in a bunch around the base of the wings, but kept her covered and she turned to face him.
"…Sweet fuck!" Sephiroth's eyes widened in surprise. Alexia's eyes began to water. She knew she wasn't ugly. Had her face changed as well…?
"What?!" She demanded, voice rising in pitch to a squeak in her distress.
"Your eyes…" Alexia jumped up, not caring how much blood she'd lost, or how badly mako poisoned she was, and charged into what she hoped was the bathroom. Her house sense had been right, and she stumbled into the cool, clean little room, leaning heavily against the marble sink as she gazed into the mirror. Her face was unchanged save for a few splatters of blood and tearstains… Except her eyes. Her eyes were glowing brilliantly, much brighter than Sephiroth's, and were no longer her natural shade of deep brown, but a brilliant, glowing crimson. She let out a startled cry, stumbling backwards. Further away from the mirror, she caught sight of the large, black and red leathery Chaos Wings sprouting from her shoulders. They'd been partially folded but spread in a gesture of alarm as she noticed herself. She focused on their presence, and managed to get them to move by her will, adjusting to their existence. They were indeed a part of her now, and moved with her just like any other limb might, though they seemed to express her emotions the way one did when they talked with their hands-strongly.
They were folded tight against her back as she stumbled back out into Sephiroth's living room, as if she were trying to hide them. Alexia was miserable, hurting, sick, and now she wasn't even fully human. She didn't even look at Sephiroth as she sank back down into the couch, burying her face against one of the back cushions and crying.
Sephiroth sat in silence, bewildered and slightly alarmed. He felt sort of sorry for the girl: He knew what it was like to be set apart, both physically and emotionally, from the rest of the world. Still, he had no idea how to comfort her. He'd never received an ounce of comfort in his life from another person, nor had he given any. He reached out a hand to her shoulder carefully. It made her jump, but she turned, not shoving him away.
"Do you think I'm going to change more?" She asked, eerie crimson eyes boring up into his, swirling with fear. Sephiroth shook his head.
"It would have happened with the rest." He assured her. Alexia nodded, leaning back, going silent.
"…You know what I just realized?" She said after a long time in silence. Sephiroth glanced back over at her. "…I can't go home now. Not like this. I'm not human, and I don't belong in my own world any more… No one would believe what happened, because you're not supposed to be real, and I can't hide this… The eyes, maybe… but…." She trailed off, choking. Sephiroth heaved a sigh.
"Life will lead you where it will. You can't change that. Hojo said you're tough as nails…"
"He's going to put me in SOLDIER." Alexia choked, wiping her tears away angrily with a blood-smeared arm. Sephiroth sighed.
"That figures." The phone in the corner rang. Sephiroth growled, standing and striding over to it, snatching up the receiver before it could ring twice. He listened quietly for a moment, lips twisting in anger, and without replying, hung up again.
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Chapter 7
-It just figures…-
Alexia watched Sephiroth's face darken as he listened, and winced when he hung up sharply without reply. He turned back to her, face easing a little.
"Lemmie guess: Professor Fuckface, right?" She said dryly. The pain was subsiding already and her wings were folded neatly at her back, barely noticeable from where they were tucked against her shoulders. Sephiroth's lips twitched into a cold smile.
"I like that."
"Thought you would."
"You're to start training tomorrow." He added, voice cool. Alexia sighed.
"Figures."
"At six A.M."
"Fuck!"
"Get used to it."
"Goddamnit…." Alexia muttered, rubbing her eyes. "Can you call him back and told him I died?" Sephiroth frowned.
"Don't be a coward. You'll just get flattened if you try to pussy yourself out of everything." He said darkly. Alexia scowled.
"You know something?" She asked, drawing his attention. Sephiroth raised a pale eyebrow with a certain pompous elegance. "You really are an asshole." She said flatly. His eyes flared in their green glow for a moment, betraying his flare of anger, then turned a cold jade as they narrowed to slits.
"You don't like it?" He hissed, stalking towards her angrily. "How about I just kill you here and now and send your corpse back to Hojo to mutilate further…" Alexia stared coldly up at him. He was only feet away when he got a face full of pillow, sending a few tufts of delicate chocobo down flying with the force. Alexia sat cross-legged, wings spread halfway, a small smile on her lips. "Prat!" Sephiroth snarled, snatching the pillow before it fell and casting it aside angrily. Alexia stuck her tongue out at him, making a rude noise. In a flare of anger, Sephiroth drew a knife from his hip and stuck it deeply into Alexia's shoulder. She didn't wince.
"You know," She said calmly, eyes locked onto his. "Hojo's made me to be your replacement. He's going to off you as soon as he can. I know how he's going to do it too. He didn't tell me this, but I can guess pretty accurately from what I know about your story in my world. Tell me, is there a young cadet here named Cloud Strife?" She smiled. "You'd notice him, I'm sure. Small, scrawny, spiky blonde hair and startling blue eyes. Completely useless." Sephiroth's lip twitched lightly. "You have a mission to Nibelheim soon?" She pressed. Sephiroth's eyes widened.
"That's top secret." He hissed. Alexia shrugged.
"I don't count." Sephiroth glared. "Anyway… You'll find something in that reactor. Something you won't like. Hojo's betting on your emotional instability, that you crack. Tell me, what's your mother's name?" Sephiroth's glare darkened. "Hojo has told you. Jenova, right?" Sephiroth lunged backwards, hissing, eyes wide now. "Listen to me." Alexia went on, dead serious now. "Jenova is not your mother. Hojo's just fucking with your brain. Jenova isn't even a woman. Your true biological mother is a woman named Lucrecia, a scientist that worked with Professors Ghast and Hojo. Hold that secret in your heart, Sephiroth. If not another thing I ever say even reaches your brain, because every word I utter is so inconsequential to you, hear this: Jenova is not your mother: You are human. Don't let Hojo win." She stopped abruptly, letting her words sink in. Sephiroth sat in silence, blinking. He was deeply disturbed by her words, and wanted to deny their validity, but somehow he couldn't avoid believing her.
"And if I ignore you?"
"You'll die a horrible painful death under the control of a foreign being in about…five years. You'll never know the truth, you'll never be loved or understood, or really even respected. You'll die alone and hated by the world. I don't exaggerate." Sephiroth stood frozen in silence. The seriousness in this girls' voice unnerved him, and her words, while irritatingly cliché struck a chord. Sephiroth rubbed his forehead.
"I have to think alone for a while…" he wandered off, leaving Alexia alone.
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AN...
yeah.... its kinda stupid. lol. I dun care though. Don't worry, I'm not that big of a bitch in real life. I do swear a lot though (which is prolly why I like to write for Cid so much, lol) And my real name isn't Alexia either. you can tell it doesn't fit, lol. :) But...anonymity is something I'm keeping for now...
And no, this isn't going to be some stupid -INSERT MY CHARACTER INTO A ROMANCE WITH SEPHIROTH /HERE/- fic. he's hot, sure...but in my opinion, the poor blokes' gay as they get. No luck, gals. sorry, lol :) That and its just supid. He's just someone for 'me' to bitch at. hehe. (it could get intersting later, lol.) Anyhow...r & r... or not. I don't really like how this is turning out, but I thought, again, that I'd give it a try, lol :)