FFVII FIC -Prologue
Feb. 8th, 2017 09:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hawkeyesprimeTitle: Untitled
Fandom: FFVII
Disclaimer: I don’t own FFVII. Never have, never will. FFVII is the sole property of all related producers and distributors. I make no money off this work of fiction.
Summary: A new SOLDIER First enters the scene and the Turks have a new Director. Hojo will never know what hit him.
~*~
Prologue
~*~
“So I hear there is to be a new generation of SOLDIERS created from a new serum,” Genesis Rhapsodos said casually as he leaned against Angeal Hewley’s desk.
The other SOLDIER First gave his old friend a dirty look as he stabilized a stack of folders that had nearly been knocked off the desk. “Yes, Genesis, we all got the memo,” he responded dryly.
“It’s only the one,” Sephiroth said blandly from his seat across from Angeal. “The Science Department wants to see him in action before using the new serum.” The silver haired General’s lips quirked upward at the corners and he added in a slightly lighter tone, “Hojo was not pleased about it.”
The door slammed open. “ANGEAL!!!” SOLDIER Second Class Zachary Fair slammed into his mentor’s office, “Angeal! Did you see? Did you see?! The new First just arrived, and he has a crazy sword. It’s almost as big as the Buster Sword! How do you think he fights?”
“Puppy!” the normally patient SOLDIER barked, “Squats!”
~*~
In another room, two blondes, one wearing a bastardized SOLDIER uniform in blue and the other wearing a suit under a white over coat watched the grainy security feed from the offices of the three Holy Trinity of Firsts, as fondly dubbed by the public in general when referring to the friendship of Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal.
“I’d almost forgotten that he did that,” Cloud said.
“How do you almost forget?” Rufus ShinRa asked incredulously, “You thought you were him for the longest time, and you still revert to his mannerisms when stressed!”
Cloud gave the man a wry look, “When was the last time you saw me doing squats because of excess energy?”
Rufus paused to think. Honestly, other than the first year after he’d arrived in Midgar convinced he was Zack Fair after escaping Hojo, when had the other blonde showed any sign of having to work off an excess of energy? The fact was that he hadn’t. Unlike his long dead friend, Cloud’s energy went into his training and into his brooding, not unlike a certain silver general before his name became synonymous with Monster. Which reminded him…
“Are you sure you can do this? You’ll have to face Sephiroth knowing that he’ll eventually become the man that burned down Nibelheim.”
“He hasn’t become that man yet.”
Rufus gave his fellow blonde an unimpressed look. “How long did you have to fight yourself to come up with that?”
There was a knock at the door. “Come in!” Rufus barked.
Tseng strode into the office, face blank. “President ShinRa has called for a meeting with the Company Executives and the SOLDIER Firsts. Doctor Crescent is waiting to escort SOLDIER Strife to the conference room.”
Cloud sighed as he shifted his shoulders under First Tsurugi’s harness and strode toward the door. “I guess it’s time. The things I do for this planet.”
“More like the things you do for Zack Fair,” Rufus snarked. “This entire endeavor might have been dreamt up because the planet was dying and nothing any of us did was going to do anything but slow and prolong its death, but the only reason why you agreed to take part was because of the opportunity for you to save Zack Fair.”
Cloud paused at the door. “I owe Zack everything,” he agreed, “But you’ll also get control over ShinRa Power & Electric Company out of this. Isn’t that why we woke Lucrecia Crescent and got her to modify the Mako treatments for SOLDIER so we wouldn’t be using J-cells? So, tell me, ShinRa, who is being more selfish here?”
“You know full well there is no good answer to that question, little brother.”
“Would the President even allow his own son, illegitimate or no, undergo the type of experimentation necessary to make a new form of SOLDIER?” he wondered idly.
“If it benefited him, yes,” Rufus replied. “It’s not as if he really much cares, considering how many bastard children he has.”
“Point.”
~*~
The man who entered Lazard’s office trailing after Doctor Lucrecia Crescent was of moderate height and willowy in stature. Between his fair skin and golden hair, it gave him the illusion of fragility and innocence, and were it not for the telltale glow of Mako in his eyes, there would surely be worry from outside parties that the massive broadsword on his back would squash him flat.
Genesis felt chills run down his spine when he looked into the newcomer’s eyes. A cursory look would lead one to describe his eyes as beautiful, a blue as distant and fathomless as the sky, but a closer look would show that those same blue eyes were flat and dead. Much like Sephiroth had been when he first arrived on the fields of Wutai.
He exchanged a quick glance with Angeal, whose features had turned grim. The red SOLDIER inclined his head slightly. He’d come to the same conclusion. Strife’s upbringing was likely no better than Sephiroth’s had been, and it looked like he’d been in the labs for much longer. Planet help them. They had enough trouble getting Sephiroth to open up even now and now they had to deal with another one? Genesis didn’t get paid enough for this shit.
“This is Nibel Strauss,” Lucrecia said. “He is the subject of Project Nibel, which is the basis of the new Mako treatment for creating SOLDIERs. The new treatment is meant to remove the side effect of physical and mental degradation that tends to appear in SOLDIERs treated with the old serum after several years.” She smiled at the President, “It also lowers the cost of creating SOLDIERs as they will not require as many Mako shots to maintain their Mako levels as with the old serum. SOLDIERs treated with the new serum will require only one Mako shot a month compared to the current biweekly shots needed under the current serum. You’ll get the same levels of performance from SOLDIERs for only a fraction of the cost!”
“So you claim,” Hojo barked, “but your project is merely a pale copy of mine, no better than Hollander’s failures. My specimen is perfect! His performance is the pinnacle of Soldier abilities, the result of years of in depth research!”
“Research that is still ongoing,” Lucrecia shot back, “because you have to keep pulling him back into your labs for maintenance; a problem that Project Nibel will not have. We’ve kept him as close to the original specifications as possible, while still maintaining the top level performance expected of a SOLDIER. Project Nibel will not require the constant tuning of your precious Project S.”
Genesis felt sick as he listened to the two scientists argue about Sephiroth and Strauss as if they were mere possessions. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Angeal discretely press a shoulder against Sephiroth’s in silent support and Sephiroth’s tense shoulders relax slightly as he leaned just a little bit into Angeal. Genesis glanced over toward Strauss who stood alone and stoic; he may have been carved from stone for all the reaction that he showed. Sephiroth had friends in Angeal and Genesis, but who did Strife have?
“…At least Project Nibel never had to be brought to the labs by force!” Lucrecia screeched, “How much money has to be spent on repairs over the years because of your Project S’s lack of discipline?!”
“He is more than sufficiently disciplined!”
“You coddle him too much! All that attention has led to the flawed creature that he is today!”
“And just how have I coddled him excessively, huh?”
Lucrecia scoffed, “You pull him into your labs whenever it takes your fancy, don’t you? Aren’t you paying him too much attention? He’s gotten spoiled as a result; what will you do when he starts thinking he’s entitled to that attention? Weapons are not people and should neither need nor seek out human contact. Who knows what they would do to real people if you let them get in the habit of thinking they are people?”
Genesis swallowed around the bubble of fury in his throat when he saw Sephiroth shy away from Angeal as Doctor Crescent spoke. Hojo was going to be so much harder on Sephiroth now that he thought someone saw him as inadequate. Damn the twisted competition of the Science Department!
President ShinRa laughed, “Well then you’ll show us how it’s done then, won’t you, Doctor Crescent? Send your SOLDIER to Wutai. Let’s see what your SOLDIER can do.”
“Understood,” Lucrecia responded sharply, “Strauss! Prepare for departure!”
The blonde SOLDIER inclined his head. “Yes, Ma’am,” he responded and turned on his heels and brushed past the Three Firsts on his way to the door.
~*~
Once they left the conference room, in the relative security of the passages used primarily by the Turks, Cloud murmured to Lucrecia, “You realize you’ve just made Hojo very angry and he’s going to take it out on Sephiroth, right?”
Lucrecia smiled sadly, “This is what it takes to survive ShinRa’s Science Department.”
“I’d prefer it not to be at Sephiroth’s expense,” Cloud replied grimly. “No need to push him any further into Jenova’s arms. Hojo did a good enough job there.”
“Then you’d best put on a good showing, Cloud.”
~*~
A month after that meeting, they were sent to Wutai. Genesis worried a bit about the state of the new SOLDIER. Strauss slept as little as he ate, spending time on mission after mission after mission, sometimes spending long nights with sniper squads rather than sleeping. He spoke no more than necessary, and was more likely to be found seated in some obscure corner tending his equipment or staring into the distance with a placid expression during off duty hours.
“You’re working yourself into an early grave, Strauss.”
Cloud blinked slowly as he looked up at Genesis. He cocked his head slightly, the movement barely visible, the most expressive the carefully crafted persona of a man reared as a lab experiment would allow him.
“You don’t eat, you don’t sleep; you do realize that you are only mortal?”
Cloud blinked slowly at the Red Mage, a silent inquiry as to what gave him the impression he thought otherwise.
“Planet,” Genesis sighed, “Even Sephiroth knew to use his words back when Hojo first let him out of the lab. Use your words!”
“What words would you like me to use, sir?”
Genesis paused and stared at him incredulously. “Did you just make a joke?”
“I do not understand how a simple inquiry could be humorous, sir.”
“Planet help us,” Genesis muttered, “You’re just like him.”
“Understandable. Part of the Professor’s methods involved splicing the General’s genetic material with my own, sir.”
Genesis stared at Cloud, aghast.
~*~
“He said they did what?” Angeal’s voice, though tinny and distorted by the PHS, was equal parts shocked and furious.
“Spliced Sephiroth’s genes into Strauss.”
“And you believe him?”
“I don’t know what to believe, Angeal,” Genesis sighed, “but considering ShinRa’s Science Department, I wouldn’t put it past any of them. Look into it, will you?”
“I doubt that would be information that would simply be left in the open, Genesis.”
“Your Puppy is friends with a Turk, isn’t he?”
Angeal sighed. “I’ll talk to Zack. No promises Gen.”
“Thanks Angeal.”
~*~
Tseng strode into Angeal’s office; several files tucked under one arm.
“Tseng,” Angeal said warily.
“I hear you’re looking into Strauss’s medical files,” the Turk said calmly.
“Is there a problem?”
“You won’t find it on any open servers. The files are kept on paper in the keeping of the Turks.”
“And you’re not just going to give it to me.”
“That boy has suffered, Commander,” Tseng said flatly, “If you want his medical files so you can hold what Hojo did to him over his head, Commander; then I think you should be aware that Doctor Crescent is petitioning the President to take control of Project G from Hollander.”
“Is that a threat?”
“A warning,” Tseng placed the files on Angeal’s desk, “Doctor Crescent is very protective of Strauss.”
“Possessive, you mean.”
“Protective,” Tseng corrected mildly before he left.
~*~
Genesis watched as Strauss’s PHS rang, and the blonde pulled it out to glance at the message. The blonde SOLDIER’s eyes gleamed as he shut the PHS and tucked it into his inner pocket.
~*~
Documents dropped.
Operation Lazarus is Go.
-R
~*~
TBC
Fandom: FFVII
Disclaimer: I don’t own FFVII. Never have, never will. FFVII is the sole property of all related producers and distributors. I make no money off this work of fiction.
Summary: A new SOLDIER First enters the scene and the Turks have a new Director. Hojo will never know what hit him.
~*~
Prologue
~*~
“So I hear there is to be a new generation of SOLDIERS created from a new serum,” Genesis Rhapsodos said casually as he leaned against Angeal Hewley’s desk.
The other SOLDIER First gave his old friend a dirty look as he stabilized a stack of folders that had nearly been knocked off the desk. “Yes, Genesis, we all got the memo,” he responded dryly.
“It’s only the one,” Sephiroth said blandly from his seat across from Angeal. “The Science Department wants to see him in action before using the new serum.” The silver haired General’s lips quirked upward at the corners and he added in a slightly lighter tone, “Hojo was not pleased about it.”
The door slammed open. “ANGEAL!!!” SOLDIER Second Class Zachary Fair slammed into his mentor’s office, “Angeal! Did you see? Did you see?! The new First just arrived, and he has a crazy sword. It’s almost as big as the Buster Sword! How do you think he fights?”
“Puppy!” the normally patient SOLDIER barked, “Squats!”
~*~
In another room, two blondes, one wearing a bastardized SOLDIER uniform in blue and the other wearing a suit under a white over coat watched the grainy security feed from the offices of the three Holy Trinity of Firsts, as fondly dubbed by the public in general when referring to the friendship of Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal.
“I’d almost forgotten that he did that,” Cloud said.
“How do you almost forget?” Rufus ShinRa asked incredulously, “You thought you were him for the longest time, and you still revert to his mannerisms when stressed!”
Cloud gave the man a wry look, “When was the last time you saw me doing squats because of excess energy?”
Rufus paused to think. Honestly, other than the first year after he’d arrived in Midgar convinced he was Zack Fair after escaping Hojo, when had the other blonde showed any sign of having to work off an excess of energy? The fact was that he hadn’t. Unlike his long dead friend, Cloud’s energy went into his training and into his brooding, not unlike a certain silver general before his name became synonymous with Monster. Which reminded him…
“Are you sure you can do this? You’ll have to face Sephiroth knowing that he’ll eventually become the man that burned down Nibelheim.”
“He hasn’t become that man yet.”
Rufus gave his fellow blonde an unimpressed look. “How long did you have to fight yourself to come up with that?”
There was a knock at the door. “Come in!” Rufus barked.
Tseng strode into the office, face blank. “President ShinRa has called for a meeting with the Company Executives and the SOLDIER Firsts. Doctor Crescent is waiting to escort SOLDIER Strife to the conference room.”
Cloud sighed as he shifted his shoulders under First Tsurugi’s harness and strode toward the door. “I guess it’s time. The things I do for this planet.”
“More like the things you do for Zack Fair,” Rufus snarked. “This entire endeavor might have been dreamt up because the planet was dying and nothing any of us did was going to do anything but slow and prolong its death, but the only reason why you agreed to take part was because of the opportunity for you to save Zack Fair.”
Cloud paused at the door. “I owe Zack everything,” he agreed, “But you’ll also get control over ShinRa Power & Electric Company out of this. Isn’t that why we woke Lucrecia Crescent and got her to modify the Mako treatments for SOLDIER so we wouldn’t be using J-cells? So, tell me, ShinRa, who is being more selfish here?”
“You know full well there is no good answer to that question, little brother.”
“Would the President even allow his own son, illegitimate or no, undergo the type of experimentation necessary to make a new form of SOLDIER?” he wondered idly.
“If it benefited him, yes,” Rufus replied. “It’s not as if he really much cares, considering how many bastard children he has.”
“Point.”
~*~
The man who entered Lazard’s office trailing after Doctor Lucrecia Crescent was of moderate height and willowy in stature. Between his fair skin and golden hair, it gave him the illusion of fragility and innocence, and were it not for the telltale glow of Mako in his eyes, there would surely be worry from outside parties that the massive broadsword on his back would squash him flat.
Genesis felt chills run down his spine when he looked into the newcomer’s eyes. A cursory look would lead one to describe his eyes as beautiful, a blue as distant and fathomless as the sky, but a closer look would show that those same blue eyes were flat and dead. Much like Sephiroth had been when he first arrived on the fields of Wutai.
He exchanged a quick glance with Angeal, whose features had turned grim. The red SOLDIER inclined his head slightly. He’d come to the same conclusion. Strife’s upbringing was likely no better than Sephiroth’s had been, and it looked like he’d been in the labs for much longer. Planet help them. They had enough trouble getting Sephiroth to open up even now and now they had to deal with another one? Genesis didn’t get paid enough for this shit.
“This is Nibel Strauss,” Lucrecia said. “He is the subject of Project Nibel, which is the basis of the new Mako treatment for creating SOLDIERs. The new treatment is meant to remove the side effect of physical and mental degradation that tends to appear in SOLDIERs treated with the old serum after several years.” She smiled at the President, “It also lowers the cost of creating SOLDIERs as they will not require as many Mako shots to maintain their Mako levels as with the old serum. SOLDIERs treated with the new serum will require only one Mako shot a month compared to the current biweekly shots needed under the current serum. You’ll get the same levels of performance from SOLDIERs for only a fraction of the cost!”
“So you claim,” Hojo barked, “but your project is merely a pale copy of mine, no better than Hollander’s failures. My specimen is perfect! His performance is the pinnacle of Soldier abilities, the result of years of in depth research!”
“Research that is still ongoing,” Lucrecia shot back, “because you have to keep pulling him back into your labs for maintenance; a problem that Project Nibel will not have. We’ve kept him as close to the original specifications as possible, while still maintaining the top level performance expected of a SOLDIER. Project Nibel will not require the constant tuning of your precious Project S.”
Genesis felt sick as he listened to the two scientists argue about Sephiroth and Strauss as if they were mere possessions. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Angeal discretely press a shoulder against Sephiroth’s in silent support and Sephiroth’s tense shoulders relax slightly as he leaned just a little bit into Angeal. Genesis glanced over toward Strauss who stood alone and stoic; he may have been carved from stone for all the reaction that he showed. Sephiroth had friends in Angeal and Genesis, but who did Strife have?
“…At least Project Nibel never had to be brought to the labs by force!” Lucrecia screeched, “How much money has to be spent on repairs over the years because of your Project S’s lack of discipline?!”
“He is more than sufficiently disciplined!”
“You coddle him too much! All that attention has led to the flawed creature that he is today!”
“And just how have I coddled him excessively, huh?”
Lucrecia scoffed, “You pull him into your labs whenever it takes your fancy, don’t you? Aren’t you paying him too much attention? He’s gotten spoiled as a result; what will you do when he starts thinking he’s entitled to that attention? Weapons are not people and should neither need nor seek out human contact. Who knows what they would do to real people if you let them get in the habit of thinking they are people?”
Genesis swallowed around the bubble of fury in his throat when he saw Sephiroth shy away from Angeal as Doctor Crescent spoke. Hojo was going to be so much harder on Sephiroth now that he thought someone saw him as inadequate. Damn the twisted competition of the Science Department!
President ShinRa laughed, “Well then you’ll show us how it’s done then, won’t you, Doctor Crescent? Send your SOLDIER to Wutai. Let’s see what your SOLDIER can do.”
“Understood,” Lucrecia responded sharply, “Strauss! Prepare for departure!”
The blonde SOLDIER inclined his head. “Yes, Ma’am,” he responded and turned on his heels and brushed past the Three Firsts on his way to the door.
~*~
Once they left the conference room, in the relative security of the passages used primarily by the Turks, Cloud murmured to Lucrecia, “You realize you’ve just made Hojo very angry and he’s going to take it out on Sephiroth, right?”
Lucrecia smiled sadly, “This is what it takes to survive ShinRa’s Science Department.”
“I’d prefer it not to be at Sephiroth’s expense,” Cloud replied grimly. “No need to push him any further into Jenova’s arms. Hojo did a good enough job there.”
“Then you’d best put on a good showing, Cloud.”
~*~
A month after that meeting, they were sent to Wutai. Genesis worried a bit about the state of the new SOLDIER. Strauss slept as little as he ate, spending time on mission after mission after mission, sometimes spending long nights with sniper squads rather than sleeping. He spoke no more than necessary, and was more likely to be found seated in some obscure corner tending his equipment or staring into the distance with a placid expression during off duty hours.
“You’re working yourself into an early grave, Strauss.”
Cloud blinked slowly as he looked up at Genesis. He cocked his head slightly, the movement barely visible, the most expressive the carefully crafted persona of a man reared as a lab experiment would allow him.
“You don’t eat, you don’t sleep; you do realize that you are only mortal?”
Cloud blinked slowly at the Red Mage, a silent inquiry as to what gave him the impression he thought otherwise.
“Planet,” Genesis sighed, “Even Sephiroth knew to use his words back when Hojo first let him out of the lab. Use your words!”
“What words would you like me to use, sir?”
Genesis paused and stared at him incredulously. “Did you just make a joke?”
“I do not understand how a simple inquiry could be humorous, sir.”
“Planet help us,” Genesis muttered, “You’re just like him.”
“Understandable. Part of the Professor’s methods involved splicing the General’s genetic material with my own, sir.”
Genesis stared at Cloud, aghast.
~*~
“He said they did what?” Angeal’s voice, though tinny and distorted by the PHS, was equal parts shocked and furious.
“Spliced Sephiroth’s genes into Strauss.”
“And you believe him?”
“I don’t know what to believe, Angeal,” Genesis sighed, “but considering ShinRa’s Science Department, I wouldn’t put it past any of them. Look into it, will you?”
“I doubt that would be information that would simply be left in the open, Genesis.”
“Your Puppy is friends with a Turk, isn’t he?”
Angeal sighed. “I’ll talk to Zack. No promises Gen.”
“Thanks Angeal.”
~*~
Tseng strode into Angeal’s office; several files tucked under one arm.
“Tseng,” Angeal said warily.
“I hear you’re looking into Strauss’s medical files,” the Turk said calmly.
“Is there a problem?”
“You won’t find it on any open servers. The files are kept on paper in the keeping of the Turks.”
“And you’re not just going to give it to me.”
“That boy has suffered, Commander,” Tseng said flatly, “If you want his medical files so you can hold what Hojo did to him over his head, Commander; then I think you should be aware that Doctor Crescent is petitioning the President to take control of Project G from Hollander.”
“Is that a threat?”
“A warning,” Tseng placed the files on Angeal’s desk, “Doctor Crescent is very protective of Strauss.”
“Possessive, you mean.”
“Protective,” Tseng corrected mildly before he left.
~*~
Genesis watched as Strauss’s PHS rang, and the blonde pulled it out to glance at the message. The blonde SOLDIER’s eyes gleamed as he shut the PHS and tucked it into his inner pocket.
~*~
Documents dropped.
Operation Lazarus is Go.
-R
~*~
TBC
