Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Ashen Skies ❯ Chapter 16

“Ashen Skies”

Chapter 16

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Warnings:

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*Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix. This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can't get enough of this world and the characters.*

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Aerith regained full use of her body again when she woke up late the next morning. Zack was asleep in the chair beside the examination table she lay on and she stretched the stiffness out of her muscles and admired him quietly for a few minutes, grateful that he and the others had come on time to stop Hojo. She reached under her blouse and gingerly felt the spot where the professor had cut her. They must have used a cure materia or healing potion on her, because there was only a fresh, paper-thin pink scar to mark the experience. It would probably fade to near invisibility as it healed. She swung her legs over the table and touched down on the floor softly, bending over her husband's sleeping form.

 

"Zack," Aerith murmured, kissing him softly on the lips.

 

He snorted and woke up, blinking at her in disorientation for a moment before gathering his wits. "Hey there," he said with a relieved smile as he reached out and stroked her hair. "You're up and about! How do you feel?"

 

"A little queasy and weak," she answered, "but I'm alive, thanks to you."

 

Zack shook his head. "Thank Cloud, not me. We wouldn't have found you if it weren't for him."

 

She recalled the nightmarish events and frowned. "I don't remember seeing Cloud with you when you came for me."

 

"That's because the poor guy was under some sort of hypnosis Hojo put him on." Zack explained what happened to lead them to Hojo's hiding place and he told her they were investigating to find out who else he'd ensnared and what else he'd done. "Now that you're awake, maybe we can check on him and see if he's snapped out of it."

 

Aerith nodded in agreement, amazed at how much trouble one single man had caused. "I think I need to use the bathroom first," She said with a grimace, putting her hand over her belly.

 

Zack gave her a sympathetic look and got up, putting an arm around her supportively. "Maybe you should just lay down in our bunk after that while I go see Spike."

 

"I want to see how he's doing," Aerith insisted stubbornly. "Zack, I knew something wasn't the same with him when Hojo finished treating him for his lung infection that day. I thought I was just being paranoid but now..." She sighed.

 

"It isn't your fault," Zack told her gently. "We all thought we had that deranged freak under control. There was no reason to think he'd find a way around security to pull this off, Aerith. What's important now is fixing the damage Hojo caused."

 

"Maybe I could help," she sighed. "I can try to communicate with Cloud's spirit and find out what control word Hojo used on him."

 

Zack scratched his chin. "You know, I hadn't thought of that. I guess it's worth a try if you're up to it."

 

~***********************************~

 

Sephiroth was still in the examination room with Cloud when they arrived after taking care of Aerith's needs. The General was sitting in the chair in the corner of the room with his arms crossed over his chest and his head bowed. He appeared to be dozing at first but he lifted his head as they walked in and looked up at them with tired green eyes.

 

"Hey," Zack greeted softly. "How's he doing?"

 

Sephiroth looked at the blond, who still lay there quietly. The occasional blink was the only sign of animation Cloud gave. "Nothing much has changed. He does respond to simple comments, though."

 

"Really?" Zack approached the examination table and looked down at his friend. "Hey Cloud, can you hear me?"

 

Cloud nodded.

 

"Uh, do you know who I am?"

 

"Zack," answered Cloud in a soft, dreamy voice.

 

Zack looked at Sephiroth. "Have you tried asking him what Hojo's been doing to him? Maybe when he's like this he can remember."

 

"I attempted that," Sephiroth answered with a nod. "He doesn't seem able to give complex responses. All he's told me is that he has an 'appointment'. He asked when Hojo would be here earlier."

 

Zack shivered. "That's downright creepy. Have the investigation teams found anything yet?"

 

"They found research logs detailing the treatments Hojo was giving him." Sephiroth frowned tiredly at Cloud. "All evidence indicates that he was trying to accomplish an improved version of what he did to Angeal, Genesis and I."

 

Zack shut his eyes and swore softly, while Aerith approached Cloud and gently stroked his hair. "How far into it did he get?"

 

Sephiroth shook his head. "That's still up for debate. It's possible he didn't do enough to cause alterations. He may have only gotten as far as the prep work before his demise, or like you, Cloud may prove resistant to the experiments. We won't know until they can run some tests and I'm not willing to allow that until after he's come out of his trance. Can you recall what you were doing when Cloud became afflicted?"

 

Zack scratched his head and mentally reviewed the events from earlier. A lot of it was blurry because he'd been so anxious to find Aerith but his training helped him to focus better than average. Soldiers were taught to be aware of their surroundings and stay calm, so that they could debrief after missions with as much accuracy as possible. He used this training to his advantage and retraced his footsteps from the time he arrived back at Modeoheim to the moment when Cloud went into his trance.

 

"Cloud and I were looking for Aerith and we ran into Vincent and Reeve," he reviewed with a frown of concentration. "Reeve told us he'd searched through Hojo's personal computer files to see if he could find anything useful but I don't think he got a chance to scan very deep. Uh, maybe something he said set the trigger off because that was about when Cloudy zoned out."

 

"Try to remember what Reeve said," insisted Sephiroth. "Did he use any long or unusual words? I don't think Hojo would choose a common phrase and risk someone triggering Cloud by accident and discovering something wasn't right."

 

Zack wracked his brain but he couldn't think of a single thing Reeve might have said that was particularly unusual. "Sorry man, he just talked about computer files and information. I don't remember him using any unusual words. Something else must have done it." He looked at Aerith, who was gazing pensively into Cloud's blank, sapphire eyes. "How about it, babe? Do you think you can get a clue for us?"

 

Aerith chewed her lower lip and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "I'll try." She gave Sephiroth a wary look and the General gave her a nod.

 

"I've been aware of your heritage for some time now," Sephiroth informed her. "There's no need to worry over revealing it to me."

 

She nodded and Zack remembered the day she'd used her powers to heal him and Sephiroth advised him to stick with the story he made up. Aerith cupped Cloud's face and gazed deeply into his eyes as Zack and Sephiroth watched and waited. To the eye that didn't know any better, she appeared to be doing nothing more than staring into his eyes. Zack had almost expected to see green tendrils of energy or some other visible sign that she was using her powers but he supposed it was better this way, in case anyone happened to come in and check on Cloud. After a few moments, Aerith spoke.

 

"I'm getting something," she said with a frown of concentration. "Something about...butterflies?"

 

"Butterflies?" The word nudged Zack's memory and he thought back to the conversation between himself, Cloud, Reeve and Vincent just before the blond went into his trance. He remembered the woman that was reading the book to her son while they were talking and he snapped his fingers. "Maybe it wasn't something we said that set him off. This one lady was reading a children's book to her kid while we were in the den. Something she read out loud must have done it."

 

"A children's book?" Sephiroth asked dubiously. "What word could possibly be in a children's book that Hojo would use as a trigger?"

 

Zack shook his head and concentrated. "I'm trying to remember what she was saying. Uh...the book had to do with how caterpillars turn into butterflies."

 

"What about a cocoon?" Aerith suggested, looking at Cloud hopefully. He didn't respond.

 

"The process of change," Sephiroth mused aloud, looking at his lover thoughtfully. "Metamorphosis, perhaps?"

 

Cloud blinked and his gaze focused on Aerith abruptly. His eyebrows hedged and he looked around the room in confusion. "Er...guys?"

 

"Cloud?" Zack asked with an excited grin. "You back, kiddo?"

 

"I didn't know I even went anywhere," answered Cloud in a bewildered tone.

 

Sephiroth stood up and regarded the blond with veiled relief. "What's the last thing you remember, Cloud?"

 

Cloud lowered his eyes and furrowed his brows. "We were looking for Aerith and talking to Reeve and Vincent. Next thing I know, I'm here." He raised his eyes to regard Sephiroth. "What's going on?"

 

"Cloud, you've been given a subliminal suggestion by Hojo," explained Sephiroth. "You happened to hear someone speak the trigger word while you were looking for Aerith and it put you into a hypnotic trance. Hojo has been experimenting on you, probably since the day he tested you for Mako enhancement candidacy."

 

Cloud stared at him in bewilderment. "How? How could I not remember any of that?"

 

"The hypnosis he used on you," Sephiroth told him. "It inhibits your memory when you're in your trance. We've just discovered the code word."

 

"Well, what is it?" Cloud asked.

 

"Meta-" Aerith quickly covered Zack's mouth with her hand before he could finish saying the word.

 

"If we say it out loud, you'll go into a trance again," explained the Cetra in a rush.

 

"Oh, right," Zack muttered, feeling stupid.

 

"Where is Hojo now?" Cloud asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

 

"Dead as a doornail," answered Zack with a little smirk. "Vincent took care of him when we found Aerith. Hojo lost whatever marbles he had left and he was trying to carve up my girl, here." Remembering something he heard Vincent say just before he killed the professor, Zack's eye shot to Sephiroth.

 

"You killed Lucrecia and experimented on our son. Rot in hell."

 

Zack tilted his head and studied Sephiroth closely. Maybe he'd heard Vincent wrong. Then again, the General did look a lot more like Vincent than Hojo.

 

"Why are you staring at me, Zackary?"

 

Zack cleared his throat and looked away. Saying anything about what the thought he remembered hearing might not be the best idea right now. He couldn't even be sure he'd heard Valentine right. His emotions had been high and Vincent hadn't been in the most rational state of mind, either. "Sorry, just thinking."

 

"What now?" Cloud asked.

 

"Now that we know the trigger word, we can work on reversing the conditioning," answered Sephiroth. "You'll need to cooperate with the medics and allow them to run some tests on you, Cloud. We need to know what Hojo did."

 

Cloud nodded and Aerith patted his shoulder supportively.

 

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"We've discovered a list of everyone Hojo's manipulated," Lazard informed Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal later on that day. "We'll begin reversing the triggers immediately." He looked up at Genesis. "I'm afraid your name came up on the list, Rhapsodos."

 

Genesis' eyebrows shot straight up in the most open expression of surprise he'd shown in a while. "Surely, there must be some mistake. When would he have gotten to me?"

 

"By the looks of it, Hojo's been doing this for years, now," answered Lazard. "According to the records we retrieved, he implanted your conditioning a little over two years ago while you were recovering from wounds you received on a mission."

 

Genesis crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. "Pardon me Director, but I think that's bullshit. I recall the mission in question and I had no contact with Professor Hojo before, during or afterwards." Beside him, Angeal also looked doubtful.

 

"Oh?" Lazard looked at Sephiroth. "You should draw your sword, General."

 

"I beg your pardon, Sir?"

 

"Trust me," Lazard coaxed grimly.

 

Sephiroth shrugged gracefully and exchanged curious looks with Genesis and Angeal before drawing his masamune. Lazard looked at Genesis and scooted his chair back against the wall before speaking.

 

"Htoripes," Lazard said.

 

Genesis' eyes snapped to Sephiroth and his pupils dilated. In a swift, lightning movement he drew his crimson blade and attacked Sephiroth with it. Metal clashed as Sephiroth instinctively blocked the rapid blows with his own blade and he grunted a curse of surprise as Angeal shouted Genesis' name in shock. There wasn't a lot of room to maneuver and Angeal wrapped his muscular arms around his lover's waist and tried to hold him back, calling his name all the while.

 

Lazard repeated the strange word and the attacks abruptly stopped in mid-swing. Genesis stared wide-eyed and blinking at Sephiroth, then at the broadsword in his hand. He lowered the weapon and Sephiroth warily did the same with his masamune. Genesis dropped the sword on the floor unceremoniously and cast a wild, bewildered look around Lazard's office.

 

"What in icy hell just happened?" the poet demanded.

 

"Your trigger is still active," Lazard informed him. "It seems Hojo had some concerns that Sephiroth would become a serious problem, eventually. As an added security measure, he implanted a suggestion in your subconscious that will prompt you to try and assassinate him when the right word is spoken. Given how often the three of you are near one another, I suppose his logic was sound."

 

Genesis licked dry lips, visibly shaken despite his attempt to hide it. He looked down at his sword as if it were a snake ready to bite him and Sephiroth calmly bent to retrieve it. He handed it back to the redhead hilt-first with a confident nod of encouragement and Genesis slowly took it and replaced it in its sheath.

 

"That word you spoke," Sephiroth murmured, "It was my name, said backwards."

 

"Yes," agreed Lazard. He took his glasses off and wiped at them with a handkerchief he produced from his pocket. "The odds of anyone accidentally speaking your name backwards are unlikely enough to prevent any premature triggering of Genesis' directive."

 

"Did any more of us make it on that list?" Angeal questioned in a low voice.

 

Lazard's eyes went to Sephiroth and he nodded. Genesis and Angeal both looked at the General with faint dread and Sephiroth frowned. "And what's my programmed objective?" inquired Sephiroth.

 

"To kill your father."

 

Sephiroth didn't think the situation could get any more insane than it already was. Before he could respond to that ridiculous premise, Genesis beat him to it.

 

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," the redhead muttered, rubbing his forehead with a gloved hand. "Hojo implanted a suggestion in my mind to prompt me to attack Sephiroth, while implanting a suggestion in Sephiroth's mind to kill him? Goddess, the man was even more deranged than I thought!"

 

Lazard hesitated. "I'm afraid I can't say anything more. I may have said too much already."

 

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at him. "Interesting."

 

The Director sighed. "Once we can be sure the trigger is removed, I'll explain further. It's best that we just leave it at this, for now."

 

"Do you know what my trigger word is?" Sephiroth asked.

 

"Your trigger is a condition, not a code word," answered Lazard.

 

"And how long can we expect to have this threat of puppetry hanging over our heads?" Sephiroth asked.

 

"We have experts working on it now," assured Lazard. "We'll begin with the most severe cases and work our way down. Half of the list of people Hojo manipulated aren't even among the living any longer. Most of them are current hospital staff and military operatives. Just be patient."

 

Genesis glanced sidelong at Sephiroth. "Well, at least with Hojo gone, your implanted suggestion is probably harmless. Strife simply does a doll impression and so long as I'm not near you, mine is probably harmless too. We'll just have to refrain from saying your name backwards when we're near one another for a while."

 

Sephiroth nodded but Lazard's hesitation earlier made him think there was more to his mental suggestion than killing Hojo. He'd said his "father" and his reluctance to say more about it was very suspicious.

 

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Later that afternoon Reeve stood in his workshop with his shirt unbuttoned and his back pressed against Chaos' powerful, preternatural body. The demon ran his claw over Reeve's chest and stomach, purring with delight as he familiarized himself further with his flesh.

 

"You made me wait," chastised Chaos. He flicked open the button of Reeve's trousers and dragged the zipper down. "I feel...cheated."

 

"Wouldn't you prefer that I be at full energy?" argued Reeve softly. "I was rather exhausted by the time things settled."

 

"I'm feeling generous," Chaos murmured, brushing his lips over the facial hair lining Reeve's jaw. "And I've worked up a healthy appetite. I might be persuaded to leniency if you cooperate with my desires, engineer." He bumped his armored pelvis against Reeve's backside and rubbed the bulge of his desire against the cleft between his buttocks.

 

"So I take it feeding isn't your only intention," commented Reeve in a low voice.

 

Chaos again admired the human's resolve. He could sense the underlying anxiety that Reeve couldn't quite hide, but the man wasn't allowing his fears to rule him. "I think it's time to stake my claim."

 

Reeve didn't argue. Of course, Chaos hadn't been ambiguous about letting him know that this day would come soon. The engineer's breath quickened but he didn't try to stop the demon's exploring hands as Chaos opened his pants and eased his erection out. Chaos stroked up and down the length of Reeve's cock and murmured a husky command for him to turn his head. Reeve obeyed and Chaos claimed his lips and began to feed while he kissed him. He made sure to do it sparingly so that he wouldn't drain him too quickly. He tugged the engineer's pants down over his hips, exposing his ass and groin to the cool air before resuming his stroking.

 

Reeve hastily reached into his pocket and dug out a tube of lubricant, making Chaos smile with amused delight. The demon took the object out of Reeve's hand and paused his actions long enough to squirt some out onto his fingers and smear it over them.

 

"Don't worry," Chaos assured his captive in a low, purring voice as he slipped his human hand down and stroked the fingers between Reeve's buttocks, "I had no intention of taking you dry, engineer."

 

"Thank goodness for small favors," Reeve said dryly.

 

Chaos smirked at the cocky response. Deciding that his pet needed to be a bit more demure, he eased two slick fingers into his body without warning. Reeve groaned and Chaos cupped his jaw and forced his head to turn for another kiss. Chaos muffled the engineer's exclamations with his mouth and he lanced his tongue in to dominate the kiss. He gripped Reeve's swollen erection with his claw hand, mindful not to scratch the velvety flesh and damage it.

 

"Your cries please me," Chaos murmured against the parted, gasping lips. He thrust his fingers rhythmically inside of Reeve's body, noting how tight he was. "It's been some time since you've shared your body this way," he guessed. "That pleases me as well."

 

"Happy to stroke your...ego," Reeve muttered. He grunted softly as the demon stroked the gland inside of him.

 

"I believe you're confused about which of us is doing the 'stroking'," commented the demon before claiming his lips again.

 

He drew deeply on Reeve's spirit energy, delighting in the taste and feel of him. A husky moan reverberated in Reeve's throat, quickening Chaos' pulse and enflaming his desire further. He hadn't participated in the delights of the flesh for decades and Reeve's responses to his actions tried his restraint. Reigning in his lust, Chaos stroked and thrust with patient care, preparing the human in his arms for what he so desperately needed. He was careful to feed sparingly, mindful of the fact that despite the strength of Reeve's spirit, he was vulnerable like any other mortal.

 

When he had Reeve trembling and panting in his arms and the resistance against his penetration was minimal, Chaos decided he'd waited long enough. He turned his companion around to face him and began to remove his clothing. "Assist me," he ordered the human in a husky drone. His garments were composed of tight leather and body armor, making removal of them somewhat of a chore.

 

"Definitely a two person job," Reeve murmured with a crooked smile. "How do you even breathe in this, Chaos?"

 

"I somehow manage," Chaos replied, amused. There was something pleasant about being treated as a lover by this man. Reeve was endearing himself to him little by little, despite the demon's effort to see him as an attractive source of sustenance. The talented, circuit-embedded fingers worked quickly to help relieve him of his clothing and he realized for the first time that Reeve wasn't just giving himself to him because of obligation. The warmth in those dark eyes was real and Chaos marveled over Reeve's ability to not only overcome instinctive fear of him, but care for him in his own way.

 

Reeve wasn't the only one in danger, here. Chaos could easily tear the engineer in two and suck the marrow from his spine if he chose to, but Reeve was utterly fearless and he treated the demon with affection that Chaos found disarming and slightly odd.

 

"Tell me something, Reeve."

 

The engineer paused in the action of dropping another piece of spiky armor to the ground and he raised his eyebrows. "What's that?"

 

"If Vincent had never woken up again, would you still be doing this?"

 

Reeve seemed to consider the question. He looked utterly irresistible, with his shirt hanging open and his pants partially tugged down. Another man might look undignified in such a state but Reeve pulled the look off marvelously, appearing more like a romantic hero than a put-upon victim. Handsome, intelligent, refined...Chaos couldn't imagine anyone not wanting him.

 

"You're both two sides of the same person, to me," explained the engineer thoughtfully. His gaze swept Chaos from head to toe and he resumed his task of removing the demon's clothing. "Vincent lives in you and in turn, you live in him. I would be lying if I said I didn't want you."

 

The answer was complex, as Chaos expected of Reeve. The demon smirked, somewhat confused by the explanation though understanding of it. "You truly are a brave one, Tuesti."

 

"Some would argue that I'm foolish," chuckled the engineer.

 

He finished removing the last piece of body armor and moved on to the task of unfastening the leather clothing. He was meticulous about it and his circuit-grafted fingers moved with skillful patience. Chaos silently watched him, neither helping nor hindering his actions. Again, the demon was struck with the sense that Reeve was treating him as a lover. Before he realized what he was doing, Chaos reached out and ran his claws through Reeve's dark hair. The engineer paused and looked at him with a faint smile...which only served to confuse and frustrate the demon more.

 

"Careful," Reeve murmured, "you might start to like me."