My Hero

Three

It was probably  fair to say that every SOLDIER was familiar with hell. Not to mention, they were modified to be able to endure hellish pain. Cloud knew what he signed up for when he turned himself in. He didn't ever intend on willingly returning to the lab, but it was better him than Tifa, or Marlene. Hojo wouldn't care. They were all just numbers and meat to him.

The professor didn't take him very far, just down the hall from where those tubes were. It was good that Marlene wouldn't have to witness whatever was about to happen, because he knew for a fact that it would be extremely unpleasant.

"Right this way, come along." Hojo was smiling as usual, pressing a few buttons on a small keypad in the wall. Cloud let his eyes follow each key press subtly, tucking the code away in the back of his mind for possible future use. Moments later, the door slid open, and the blonde silently followed the scientist inside, only to pause once his gaze fell upon a metal table in the center of the room.

Just looking at it made his pulse spike, and he swallowed thickly, willing himself not to wear his heart on his sleeve.

No, he didn't have a heart. He was a SOLDIER- No, Ex-SOLDIER, he didn't work for Shinra anymore. He didn't, but he was there, in the lab, with Hojo. Hojo was going to hurt him, but he wasn't scared of Hojo. Hojo didn't scare him. 

"Place it on the table please, make sure it is secure. I'm going to run a few tests and I don't want any interference."

The feeling of hands grabbing at him startled Cloud out of his spiraling thoughts, and a sound fell unbidden from him, a low whine. His instinctive response was to wrench his arms free and reach for the sword that wasn't there.

"Perhaps I should bring that darling child in here after all. I'm sure she's bored in that tube all by her lonesome.."

Ah.

Cloud cast a look to the professor, but ultimately kept his mouth shut. He'd managed to forget so quickly. He was doing this to keep Marlene safe. The sooner he let it happen the sooner he would be returned to her. She was probably panicking worse now that he wasn't there.

So, the SOLDIER allowed himself to be manhandled onto the table, and he didn't so much as twitch as he was restrained, his wrists, ankles, and torso fastened securely. The bright light overhead made his pupils shrink, and it burned to a degree, but he stared directly at it. The white light completely took up his vision like an endless void of nothingness. If he stared at that light, eventually, it would be all over.

"Now then," Professor Hojo stepped over to the table after a few minutes, blocking the light with his figure. He loomed over Cloud's face, examining his expression. He didn't appear to be showing any emotion at all at the moment. He'd blinked a few times to readjust his sight, but that was all. "It looks like the Mako in your eyes has receded somewhat. Fascinating.. That shouldn't be possible, but then again, the possibilities are endless when it comes to failed experiments." 

Cloud said nothing, and pushed any and all feelings to the back of his mind. He was unable to suppress his wince of discomfort as a needle pricked the side of his neck, and a familiar feeling flooded his senses. 

Mako infusion.

He didn't want to go through that again. He'd only recently come to understand that what he went through was wrong, he didn't deserve to suffer so much.

But, that wasn't true. The very thought of Tifa being in his place, he wouldn't ever forgive himself if she had to suffer like that. If there was one thing he got out of all his pain before it was that he knew he could handle it.

Suddenly, a searing pain shot through every vein in his body, and he jerked, his eyes swimming with green and a recurring thrum of pain in the back of his head. It felt like several bolts of electricity were going through him, tearing him apart from the inside. He didn't scream, because compared to other things, this wasn't all that bad. he would be just fine. He could handle it.