Test

The temperature began dropping at a fast pace, catching the boy by surprise. He flinched as his body tried to become accustomed to it.

But how could his body get used to a temperature that was constantly decreasing?

His heart-rate sped slightly and he ignored the growing cold, focusing now only on slowing his heart beat. He closed his eyes and concentrated, breathing in and out slowly. Soon his heart was back to it's normal speed and he allowed his mind to acknowledge the other things going on around him.

It was ten times colder than before and still getting colder. He opened his eyes slightly and breathed out slowly. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the cloud of mist that appeared before his mouth.

He wasn't worried. He knew that if it got too cold for him to handle they would warm him up again and get him out. They only wanted to know how much he could handle, so he was confident with the information that he could make it stop whenever he wanted. He just had to tell them it was too cold for him.

He lay quietly, allowing the cold air to sting his skin slightly as it constantly changed. He felt himself starting to shiver, but ignored it and focused on bringing warmth from inside his body closer to the surface.

He had no idea whether this was actually possible, but it helped him to think that he was doing something other than just lying down waiting for it to become unbearably cold.

Besides, the longer he could stand the cold the happier they would be when he got out.

So he waited, counting the seconds in the back of his mind and acknowledging each minute as it slipped past.

Ten minutes.

Sephiroth reached a hand up and knocked on the roof of the glass capsule he was in. He turned his head to the side so he could see the scientists that stood in the room, all watching his reaction to the cold.

They continued watching. Not even one of them reached for the switch to open the capsule.

Panic began rising in the back of his throat and he knocked again, louder. He saw their eyes flick towards his face, then back to observing the pale colour of his skin and then down to the clipboards in their hands as they wrote something down.

Hojo was standing by the switch, a smug look on his face as he had his arms folded.

It was too cold. Sephiroth squirmed, trying to warm himself up with movement, but his limbs ached and refused to move quickly.

"Hey, open it!" Sephiroth called out, his voice sounding scratchy to his own ears. "Let me out!"

He banged on the side of the glass capsule and winced as tiny slivers of icy pain shot through his hand and up his arm.

Shifting, he realised suddenly that his heart had slowed down considerably and he tried desperately to make it speed up again.

"He's doing well."

Sephiroth's mako hearing picked up on the words which were spoken by Professor Hojo and he turned his head to look at the man, fear and anger in his eyes.

Which, come to think of it, were beginning to glaze over.

He blinked a few times to try to clear his vision, but soon realised that there was nothing wrong with his vision and that the glaze he could see were actually icicles on his eyelashes.

"Please! Let me out!"

Hope stirred within Sephiroth as he saw Hojo shift, but the Professor simply walked over to the capsule and bent down to his level.

"Don't you think you can go a few more minutes?" Hojo asked in his thoroughly annoying voice.

"No! Let me out!" Sephiroth pleaded.

"Sephiroth, try." Hojo ordered.

"I can't!" Sephiroth blinked and a tear wormed it's way out of the corner of his eyes, freezing solid on his skin. His lips were purple and he was shaking quite heavily.

"You're a SOLDIER, Sephiroth. You can do this." Hojo straightened up and began walking back over to where he had been standing before. He turned to look at Sephiroth again, their eyes connecting, and said, "I decide when you come out."

Sephiroth felt his head bang against the capsule a few times during his convulsions, but refused to look away from the man who had raised him; the man who had betrayed him.

What kind of person could watch someone freezing to death and not care?

Sephiroth felt his shudders slowing and for a moment thought that it was becoming warmer, but then realised that he was slipping.

He was slipping into unconsciousness.

He was going to die.

He fought to keep his eyes open so that he could see the look on Hojo's face when he realised he'd killed his subject, but he knew he wouldn't win the fight.

Slowly, he succumbed to the feeling and let his eyes close.

But not before seeing the look of frustration pass over the cruel man's face.