Loveless

Chapter 31

"Here."

After everything she had been through over the past few years, Eloise felt exhausted in a way sleep could not fix. Hojo had too many plans, most of them involving Zack and Cloud, and for some twisted reason he had decided to explain them to her in detail. He intended to make them part of the Jenova Reunion Project, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She didn't have the authority, the power, or the freedom.

There was always someone stationed in the laboratory at Shinra Manor, usually young assistants rotating through shifts. That day, one of them looked particularly inexperienced. Eloise noticed him watching her with cautious curiosity.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked suddenly.

The boy straightened at once. "Eloise Fair. SOLDIER, Second Class."

She nodded slowly. "Then do you know what I am?"

He hesitated, clearly unsure how to answer, and eventually shook his head.

Hours later, the same green-eyed assistant approached her again. He placed a cup of tea on the table in front of her and pushed it forward carefully, as if afraid she might reject it.

"You've been here for days now," he said softly. "Don't you get bored?"

It had actually been a week. A full week of watching machines hum, listening to footsteps in the halls, and waiting. Waiting for something to change. The only thing she truly felt was guilt. If Zack and Cloud ended up like her, it would be her fault. Hojo had injected them with Jenova cells, not enough to turn them into monsters yet—but enough to make her afraid of what came next.

"No," she answered quietly. "I just want to watch over them. I want to keep them safe."

"They're here, and Professor Hojo is treating them with mako and Jenova cells," the assistant replied, completely sincere. "They're safe."

Eloise let out a short, bitter breath.

"You don't understand what kind of place this is," she said. "Everything Hojo does is for himself. Sephiroth is his experiment. I'm sure you haven't read the documents in the manor."

As she spoke, her eyes began to shift in color, the faint glow returning. The boy took an unconscious step back, unsettled.

"What... what happened to you?" he asked quietly.

"I'm a vessel for Jenova cells," she answered without hesitation.

The young scientist stared at her in silence for several seconds, unable to find a response. Then he turned and left without another word.

Eloise sighed and pressed her fingers to her temple, exhaustion finally catching up to her.

"I can't stay here forever," she murmured to herself before looking toward the room where Zack and Cloud were being kept. "Just wake up, Zack. Wake up... and let's go home."

Eloise was asleep when she felt something cold against her hands. Her eyes fluttered open just enough to see a bulky man fastening restraints around her wrists. She jerked instinctively, panic surging through her body. More men rushed in, securing chains around her ankles and even around her neck.

Hojo entered calmly, as if this were routine, and stopped in front of her.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, her voice shaking.

"You can't stay here anymore, Eloise," he replied flatly. "Your dear mentor may or may not be dead, and I cannot continue my work with a ticking bomb in my laboratory. The Turks will be taking you into custody."