Chapter Text
Rufus looked at the child in front of him, its luminous gaze locked onto his. Neither of them spoke a word while Hojo and his father talked about the new training regiment Sephiroth would be subjected to. He’d never liked Hojo, had always struck him as too much of a loose cannon that swore no allegiance to anyone- uncontrollable and far too eager to dispose of test subjects in the case something went wrong.
He would be the first person Rufus would get rid of when he became president.
“I would recommend altering the boy’s training. Increasing the duration, for one. Hmm, maybe even superior robots? I mean, you see how weak the boy looks! He’s going to get beat up by a couple trained soldiers with no problem. He would be useless then, and we can’t have that happening, not when he’s got the potential to be the best weapon we have. Don’t you agree, President Shinra?” Hojo ranted, a crazed smile plastered on his face.
Sephiroth watched Hojo, his face possessing a look of boredom. His eyes were glazed over somewhat, almost as if he was disconnecting himself from the torturous treatment awaiting him. A twinge of sympathy flared up in Rufus for a brief second, before he squandered it. Compassion is weakness, it is unneeded. Even less so in situations like these.
“Is that something you’re willing to do, boy?” Father asked.
“It makes no difference to me,” he replied without looking up.
“Good. You will get started immediately.” Rufus startled slightly when a heavy hand was placed on his shoulder, gripping him tight enough to almost bruise. “My son will be joining you. If he is to become the president of Shinra one day, he will need to know how to protect himself. As is, he doesn’t even know how to throw a proper punch.”
“So I have to teach him how to hurt someone?”
“No, no, I wouldn’t put such a burden on you. He will just watch and learn from a better.” Rufus could feel the tips of his ears burning from embarrassment. How was he going to be respected by anyone if his father undermined him in every way whenever it was around?
Sephiroth glanced at him momentarily then silently nodded, turning towards the elevator that would take them to the training simulator. Before Rufus could follow him, his father hunched over to whisper into his ear, hand clenching his shoulder like a vice. “Learn something from him, son. You need to control him.” His father finally released him and stood back up to full height, walking away with Hojo. Control him? Why would I need to do that? He’s just a child who’s good at fighting, isn’t he? He wanted to ask him what he’d meant, but he held his tongue. He couldn’t afford to have his father think any less of him than he already did.
Turning back to the elevator, he met Sephiroth’s gaze again, looking a strange mix of agitated and bored while he stood in front of the door. Straightening his posture, Rufus walked over to it and pressed the button, getting in without saying a word to the other boy.
Rufus couldn’t help but sneak side glances at him, trying to get a read on his emotions. Usually, he was able to read people like books, deduce their intentions and figure out their thought process. It came from being surrounded by smiling socialites and power-hungry men who were all, at their cores, the exact same; selfish, greedy bastards demanding respect they hadn’t earned.
Of course, he should’ve known better than to assume Sephiroth had anything in common with them. Rufus doubted he was even human.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal the lounge; the training simulator only being a couple feet away. As they walked out, Rufus looked to his left, drawn by the view of the city the floor to ceiling windows provided. It was nearing nighttime by now, the sun tinting the horizon pink and orange as it set. From up here, everything looked peaceful, uncorrupted. The filth beneath the plates and in the cities wasn’t visible from this high up, no evidence of the crimes being committed just out of sight. Once I become president, I’ll make sure this view becomes more than a beautiful illusion. I’ll make it the reality for everyone. With a small smile settling on his mouth, Rufus looked away and faced Sephiroth, who was just about to go into the training simulator.
“Are you going in or are you waiting for me?” Rufus asked, voice lilting up slightly. He didn’t answer, instead gesturing towards the simulator. “Waiting for me, then. How kind.”
As he stepped in, the world morphed around him immediately. Slightly startled, Rufus glanced around for Sephiroth, hoping he hadn’t been thrown in by himself. He hadn’t activated it, and didn’t see Sephiroth do it either. Then, the sim settled around him and he came face-to-face with four 2nd class SOLDIERs, all equipped with swords, all ready to fight. One of them lunged towards him and Rufus just barely managed to roll out of the way in time before a blur of black and white charged past him. He heard a cut-off scream close to him, only to see the SOLDIER disintegrate.
Sephiroth had killed him in less than a second.
The other SOLDIERs followed soon after, leaving only Sephiroth standing in front of him. Rufus managed to school his features before he turned to look at him, his face the same blank mask he’d been wearing the entire time.
“You should warn me before turning this on. I could’ve gotten hurt!” Rufus scowled, picking himself up off the floor and quickly dusting himself off.
“Then you should be more aware of your surroundings. In a real battle, an enemy would take advantage of your weakness, no matter how fleeting it may be,” Sephiroth’s monotonous voice replied unperturbed.
“As if you would know what a real fight’s like. You’re only nine, and-“
“I will know soon enough.” Rufus paused, taking in how Sephiroth’s hand tightened around the grip of his sword and the strained quality in his voice. The boy was focused on the floor, eyes obstructed by his shoulder-length hair. He could almost swear he was trembling, but why would he? Was it possible Sephiroth was privy to information not even the higher-ups knew about?
“Why do you say that?” Sephiroth shook his head briefly, as if clearing away unwanted thoughts. And in an instant, the moment of tension was gone.
“The next round is starting. All you have to do is get good at dodging and watch me. When this is over, you’ll be the one fighting.”
Over the course of the next few minutes, Rufus did exactly that. He managed to weave between Sephiroth and the VR opponents without getting hit. It seemed as though his only asset in the field was his agility.
As he rolled away from a Sahagin’s trident, Sephiroth sliced its head clean off. Rufus had admired the grace and fluidity with which he moved, thinking it similar to a grim reaper performing a dance of death. And although he tried to focus on not getting hurt, his mind kept wandering back to what Sephiroth said earlier. Would he be deployed to battle? If so, which one? Shinra would never send out Sephiroth for something as trivial as keeping the public in line, they had the grunts for that. But there wasn’t any kind of war going on since Shinra had nearly the entire world under their thumb, no one would dare rebel. Wutai was the only nation they didn’t yet have control over, but what could they do? Their technology paled significantly when compared to Shinra’s, and so did their army. So what else would call for battle?
“Watch out!”
Rufus muttered the few curse words he knew under his breath, narrowly avoiding a strike of lighting. Now is not the time for monologuing. Focus on not getting killed.
Before soon, all the enemies had been defeated and Rufus was left a mess. His breathing was coming fast, hair falling into his face and his once perfectly ironed shirt and slacks were rumpled and ripped. At this point, he had long given up on the pretense that he wasn’t struggling. It was far more trouble than it was worth.
“You’re not very strong. Seems like you don’t have much stamina either. I’m surprised you’re still standing.” Sephiroth, by contrast, had nary a hair out of place. He had the same bored look on his face as earlier, and Rufus was starting to wonder if that was the only expression he knew how to make.
“I… didn’t… even have a weapon. I didn’t even know… I’d be thrust into a battle immediately either,” Rufus tried to growl out. Though his words came out far too breathy to be anything other than pathetic.
“I suppose you’re right. I am supposed to be teaching you something instead of admonishing you. I made a mistake by assuming you’d be able to dodge and watch me at the same time,” Sephiroth sighed, furrowing his eyebrows ever so slightly. “We’ll call it a day for now, because you look too exhausted to keep going.” Rufus bristled while he watched the other boy walk out. He knew the words were true, but it didn’t make them any less unpleasant to hear. Perhaps the very reason he hated hearing them was because he was reminded of how weak he was in comparison to everybody around him. His father was a beacon, a symbol is his own right. That was something Rufus could admit, no matter how much he loathed him. He’d made Shinra into what it was today by himself, something Rufus would inherit without having done anything to be worthy of it. And Sephiroth, despite being three years younger than him, was a prodigy in fighting who had accomplished far more than he had. Where had all that strength come from? It was simply impossible-
Rufus paused.
It wasn’t possible. Not unless he had some kind of modifications made to him.
Suddenly, it all made sense. Why Hojo was around him so often, why he was monitored so closely, why he had been referred to as a weapon. Sephiroth had to be some kind of lab experiment engineered specifically for the sake of fighting. If that really was the case, then there should be a case file in Hojo’s laboratory regarding everything they’d done to make him. As Rufus exited the fighting sim, he started formulating a plan to sneak into his lab. There had to be a time Hojo wasn’t around; the perfect window of opportunity.
__
That opportunity came several days later. There was a board meeting scheduled for 11:00 to 2:00, lengthy even for Shinra. From the tidbits Rufus had heard from the other workers, it seemed like the topic of discussion was Wutai. The relations between Shinra and Wutai had always been strained, since they were the only ones still unwilling to join Shinra. Rufus suspected it was just a matter of pride and stubbornness, resistance that would prove futile in the end. If they were foolish enough to keep denying Shinra, there wasn’t any question that a war would start, a war Wutai would undoubtedly lose due to their inferior technology and weaponry.
For now, it was no concern of Rufus’. His current objective was getting to Hojo’s lab, a place that should be empty while Hojo was preoccupied with other matters. The scientist only allowed others to be in there when he was present, something about making sure everything was done properly.
The elevator dinged, the doors sliding open to reveal the 65th floor. Prior to coming here, Rufus had managed to disable the cameras inside. Currently, all that was being displayed on the screen monitor was frozen footage from hours ago. It wasn’t the best solution, but there shouldn’t be any problems considering Rufus wasn’t planning on stealing anything. Predictably, there wasn’t another soul in sight, something that would make his task a lot easier. Of course, there was the issue of unlocking the door. He supposed he could guess several combinations and hope one of them worked, but that would be time-consuming and could cause an alarm to go off, should he fail too many times. With a slight frown, Rufus glanced around. Besides some boxes and random materials, there wasn’t anything of- oh. Vents, several of them. There were two in the wall by the door, both of which looked big enough for him to fit into. For the first time, Rufus was grateful he was of such small stature. Crouching in front of the one closest to him, Rufus grasped the bars and pulled with all his strength, but it didn’t budge.
“Tsk, surely there has to be a screwdriver somewhere amidst this mess.” Rufus’ eyes fell onto what looked like one hidden underneath a ladder and several buckets. Counting his lucky blessings, he rushed over it and moved the boxes to the side before trying to pick the steel ladder, only to drop it almost immediately. It was much heavier than it looked, and Rufus doubted he could lift it using only his arms. He hefted the ladder onto his back, stretching as much as he could until he felt his fingers wrap around the screw driver. Got you. I didn’t think it’d be so easy. Smirking in satisfaction, Rufus drew back quick enough for the ladder to slip off his shoulders and suddenly, there was agonizing pain blazing up his leg.
The pain racing up his leg made Rufus’ head swim, he just barely remembered to muffle his scream before it could ring out in the hallway. Panting, he managed to drag himself away from the ladder and place the boxes back where they belonged. “Fuck. That hurts,” Rufus growled out lowly, trying to pull himself together. Twisting his leg around proved to be painful, but not impossible; meaning it probably wasn’t broken. Exhaling a long breath, Rufus crawled back over to the vents and started unscrewing it.
Once it was off, Rufus got in and took the screwdriver with him just in case. It never hurt to be prepared after all.
Rufus wasn’t sure where the files were, exactly, but he guessed it was on the level above this one. That level didn’t have an elevator or staircase leading to it, the only way in was through the front door Rufus snuck around.
After creeping through the vents and searching for the perfect place to drop down, Rufus saw something in what looked to be the center of the second floor of the lab. He pressed his face close to the opening and squinted, trying to make out what was in the large tube. I’m too far to see it properly, but I can’t just drop out right here. It’s too far down. Lips pressing downward in contemplation, Rufus realized the only way out was to look for a different vent, one not too far from this one. Of course, there was the possibility he would encounter a specimen of Hojo’s- or, Shiva forbid, several- that would be more than willing to tear him to pieces. It’s a necessary risk, he reassured himself.
It didn’t take long to find another vent, one that was on the lower level but had ramps leading to the upper level Rufus had seen previously. Steeling himself, he opened the vent and emerged into the laboratory. He hadn’t been prepared for what he saw.
The small, square-shaped openings of the vents hadn’t been able to capture the horrid place well enough. There were testing tubes lined up along the walls, going far above Rufus and below him, filled with unidentifiable shapes and liquid. Peering over the edge, he was shocked to see even more of them. At the very bottom, there were cracked tubes. The things down there looked like monsters, things mutated beyond recognition. Chills rushed down his spine. Were they humans at one point? Rufus shook his head violently. Now was not the time for this. He had wasted enough time getting in here as it was.
Rufus walked up the ramps, trying to ignore the strange shapes in many of the tubes and what their true origins might be. Was that thing on the platform just another failed monstrosity or something more important? If it was the former, Rufus was back to not knowing where to look at all.
Stopping in front of said thing, Rufus was left staring at it in both awe and shock. The creature vaguely resembled a woman, with long hair, a round face and mounds on her chest akin to breasts. Her eyes glowed an unnatural purple, mouth fixed into a permanent smile. Tentacles sprouted out and around her, green like the rest of her skin. It looked alien.
His eyes wandered lower, landing on a plaque labeled ‘Jenova.’ Jenova. Rufus had heard the name mentioned over and over by nearly everyone in Shinra. Hushed whispers amongst Ghast and Hojo’s assistants, other employees high enough up the ladder to hold influence over the decision of what should be done with an extraterrestrial. Mindlessly, Rufus reached out his hand, aiming to place it on the glass encasing the figure before he caught himself. What am I doing? Why do I feel as though it’s calling to me? He rubbed at his temples, trying to soothe the sudden headache. Groaning in mild discomfort, Rufus thought there might not have been anything here after all. All he got out of his exploration was a severe head-ache and an injured leg, but no additional information about Sephiroth or anything else. “This was all kinds of pointless,” he muttered dejectedly.
“What a waste of time! Oh, I’m sure the other useless executives were glad to be there, but that’s because they don’t do anything except for mooch off the benefits of working for Shinra. But unlike those uneducated swine, I have more important things to do! What’s more-“ Before Rufus had fully processed the voice of who had stepped into the laboratory, he was already sprinting back to the vent. From the corner of his eye, he saw Hojo’s slumped over figure walking towards the platform he’d been on moments ago. Just as he was closing the distance between him and the vent, Rufus felt his leg give out. A loud thud sounded out as his body made contact with the floor.
Shit! He bit his lip hard enough to prevent a shriek from bursting out of his chest. Rufus cursed himself for being clumsy enough to let that ladder fall on him earlier. If he’d just been more careful-
“Hmmm? Is there somebody else here?”
No. This wasn’t the time for that. Not when he could hear Hojo’s footsteps coming closer and closer.
He bowed his head as much as he could, frantically looking for any place to hide. There had to be a box or a pile of rubble like the one outside. But there was nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing at all. I can’t let myself get caught now. If father finds out about this-
“Hellooooo? I said, is anybody there?”
No, Rufus corrected himself. There is a way out. Sucking in a breath as quietly as he could, he pushed himself under the gap in the railing, heart coming into his throat as he fell before catching onto the metal railing of the floor underneath. Ignoring the pain blossoming in his rib cage from the impact against the platform, he tilted his head back to look at Hojo. He was inspecting the place Rufus had been only seconds earlier, his brows knitted together and mouth pulled down in a deep frown.
“I could’ve sworn I heard something…” he muttered, turning away and retreating back to ‘Jenova.’ Rufus allowed himself to sigh in relief, managing to hoist himself up and slide under the railing. The good thing was he wasn’t in danger of being discovered anymore, but the bad was that he didn’t have a way out. In his panic to get away, he’d left behind the screwdriver and the door required a password to open, much like the one upstairs. On the other hand…
Rufus turned his head, surveying the multiple other doors. Doors which no doubt led to whatever monstrosities Hojo spent millions of gil on. Every fiber in his body was telling him to wait for Hojo to leave, but he knew he didn’t have that luxury. It was just a matter of time until the other employees returned, and there was no guarantee Hojo wouldn’t stay here. Rufus pressed his lips together. No matter how much the thought of encountering experiments irked him, he didn’t have another option.
Walking with a confidence he didn’t feel towards the nearest door- marked with a red number that made it seem even more foreboding- he mentally thanked the Shinra maintenance staff when it didn’t make a sound as it opened. Gliding through, Rufus felt his heart jump into his throat again. It was just him here, no father, no men or women in pressed black suits to protect him. He refused to name this feeling, even in his own head, but he hated it. Loathed it, even. There’s no going back now. Stop being a coward and move.
Rufus was in a small hallway, at the end of which there were two doors: one in the opposite wall and one to the left of it. Upon getting closer, he saw the one at the end had dents all over it, completely smashed in at some places and unable to open. The one at the left slid open easily.
At first there didn’t appear to be anything unusual in the darkened room. For a moment, Rufus naively thought he could simply take a quick detour and be on his merry way out of this hellhole.
How foolish of him.
His eyes adjusted to the darkness, and once they did, he wished they hadn’t. There were strange shapes moving around in cages, eyes glowing faintly. Strangely enough, though, they didn’t growl or make any noise. Some paced restlelessy in their confined space, but most were hunched over miserably. Their glimmering eyes barely flickering up to look at the person intruding upon them. Just like with Sephiroth, there came a violent -and unnecessary- pang of what Rufus assumed was sympathy. Feeling sympathy for monsters. Foolish indeed.
Shaking his head as if it would clear his thoughts, he trudged onwards through the halls, discovering new kinds of horrid looking creatures along the way. A few of them had been violent, clawing relentlessly at the bars of their cages and growling deeply at him. Those sounds had ignited terror unlike anything he had experienced before, the blinding kind one only felt when they thought their lives were in danger. The kind which prevented a person from thinking logically, prevented them from realizing the ‘experiments’ couldn’t escape from their cages. Once Rufus realized that, the place didn’t seem so scary anymore. Instead, it just seemed sad. Other than the few making noise, most of them laid still as if defeated. Rufus thought the ones still fighting must’ve been new, not yet aware of how futile their efforts at escape were.
He didn’t know how long he’d been wandering around. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, because there would’ve been others by now. But it felt like hours . It felt like if he stayed any longer, he’d be consumed by this place and its relentless despair.
Passing through yet another door, (he’d lost track of just how many he gone through,) Rufus expected more of the dark shapes and glowing eyes slumped over helplessly in the dark, but he got something else instead.
This room was still dim, but bright compared to the previous ones. And it wasn’t silent.
Sobs were coming from somewhere. Hushed ones. Had Rufus not been so alert, he might’ve missed them entirely.
As silently as he could, he ventured further in. The room looked similar to the others, but the cages were replaced with a flat, white carpet, a small wooden table, an arm chair and a wooden chair in the corner. Further off to the side, he saw a smaller room connected to it, the place where the sobs sounded they were coming from.
Rufus crept closer, the sound of sniffles and harsh breathing increasing in volume. Once he rounded the corner, he stopped dead in his tracks. There on the floor sat Sephiroth with his face buried in his knees, hands grasping at his silver hair. Bandages covered his shins and arms, disappearing beneath the fabric of his shorts and t-shirt. He looked so helpless there, every bit the nine year-old everyone forgot he was.
Before he could register what he was doing, Rufus’ mouth was moving and causing words to spill out without his permission.
“Sephiroth? Why are you crying?” At the sound of his voice, the child sat straight up, snake-eyes tearful and full of panic, as if he’d been caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to.
“I-I’m not!” The boy scrambled to his feet, no doubt trying to look intimidating by drawing himself up to his full height, though it was undermined by him being several inches shorter than Rufus. Rufus felt that strange mixture of sympathy and pity curl in his gut again while he watched Sephiroth attempt to pull himself together. In a way, it almost reminded him of himself when he’d been younger and his father had walked in on him crying. He remembered the fear of disappointing his father, of getting called weak, worthless. Sephiroth must feel the same way.
“Is it because of what’s under the bandages?” His voice had gone so quiet and tender that it shocked even him, but he tried to keep the surprise off his face. He knew it wouldn’t look very reassuring.
Sephiroth stared at the floor, fists clenched at his side while his lower lip wobbled. “O-of course n-not. I’m f-fine, so just l-leave!” His whole body was starting to spasm, bordering on the verge of going into hysterics. Sephiroth backed up against the wall, hands settling back over his face like a shield. Rufus knew words weren’t going to get him anywhere, since Sephiroth was unwilling to admit anything was wrong even when there wasn’t any point in telling such an obvious lie. So he did the only thing he could think of.
He wrapped his arms around him.
For a moment, Sephiroth stilled. But then he was immediately thrashing against his hold and Rufus had to use all his strength to keep him in his grasp
“What are you doing?! Let go of me!” His mouth was right next to Rufus’ ear, and he grimaced at the loud noise next to his ear. Despite that, he held onto him. He knew this was instinctual, must’ve been ingrained into him by Hojo that affection and crying were for weaklings; like his own father had taught him. So he squeezed him harder until Sephiroth squeaked out in pain, allowing him a few blessed seconds of silence.
“You’re allowed to cry, Sephiroth. It doesn’t mean you’re weak.”
“Yes it does!”
“No. Sometimes being strong means accepting help from other people when you can’t take it anymore.” At his words, Sephiroth finally stopped struggling. Sephiroth looked into his eyes, mouth slightly agape, tears and snot running down his face. Then, suddenly he slumped against him, burying his head in Rufus’ shoulder and bunching up the fabric of his shirt while he let out hopeless sobs and hiccups.
“Shhh, I’ve got you,” Rufus combed his fingers gently through the child’s hair, distantly marveling at how soft it was. “You can let it all out. I promise I won’t tell anybody.”
As Rufus sat on the cold floor, knees undoubtedly bruising, a thought popped into his head. This child was already turning out to be a soldier stronger than even most adults were, and he was only nine. There was no doubt left in Rufus’ mind that he was also getting experimented on, being made stronger by whatever chemicals Hojo pumped into him. Eventually, he’d grow up and get even more powerful, maybe even to the point of being physically unstoppable. To boot, he was intelligent. Making him someone who excels in combat as well as strategies and tactics. But it seemed his emotions were a weak point, possibly his only one. That and he didn’t have anyone to rely on. Both parents were out of the picture and no siblings to speak of. Hojo certainly wasn’t providing him with emotional stability either. If I become the one he confides in, I can control him. He’ll listen to me and no one else. The corners of Rufus’ mouth started pulling up, turning into a smirk he was grateful Sephiroth couldn’t see. He’ll be my weapon. Mine and only mine.
“This will be our secret.”