Cutting Water

1

cloud was a relatively normal trooper, he was from Niblheim and admittedly that led to a culture shock and he was mostly quiet and timid until it was action time.
so he seemed to be on the normal track to trying out for solder until he shared an elevator with Dr Hojo by accident.
at first, the cranky scientist ignored him,  which all cadets cloud included preferred.
so when the man glanced at cloud and did a double-take then stared at the blond cadet for the rest of the ride, Cloud was unsettled.
he scuttled away the moment he reached his floor.
so cloud shouldn't have been surprised when he was kidnapped, he was frankly terrified!!!
he blacked out and he could remember bits and pieces from waking briefly every now and again.
he couldn't see but there was pain everywhere short stabbing, numbness in his legs, shooting pain in his waist.
when he woke next he was sore all over but it wasn't sharp pain.
he panicked when he saw he was submerged in a large fish tank.
he held his breath until he almost passed out.
cloud eventually gasped getting a lungful of water and sweet relief.
he looked around confused.
lungs happily filtered the water, several scientists stared in at him, most writing on clipboards.
Hojo then proceeded to tell him to try wiggling his tail.
the blond looked down and saw glowing blue scales and he gasped wiggling the new stunning appendage, it was beautiful, obviously decorative.
why are you doing this to me?!"
the man looked like cloud was a pet that just did a cute trick.
"because i have never seen anyone who embodied the aspects that sephiroth desires and the temperament to fit with the experiment."

the blond was floored.

"What experiment?"

Hojo took on a superior tone and started to sput crazy talk.

"my experiment changing species, making warriors that can take over the waters, create a workforce to mine the wealth of the sea, my prize experiment already went through this change but he is throwing a fit and I then I saw you, his ideal type, you catch more flys with honey, he has been resistant to forming a pod and rejects them, once his mate instincts are triggered he will make a pod and then he will have to listen, he is a general after all"

"...people don't work like that he won't just latch onto me because I'm his type!"

Hojo snorted.

"shows what you know, sephiroth has been hand-grown by me in my lab he doesn't react like normal people, I raised him in the perfect lab conditions, he will latch onto you and form the pod when we open the gates, they are his friends after all."