Mirror Image

by T'Shael

Chapter 18

"C'mon!" yelled Barret. "Let's get this show on the road. There ain't no telling what the hell Hojo is doing to Aeris!" From the looks on his companion's faces, Barret knew they were thinking the same thing. Were they already too late? He looked at Sephiroth. The silver haired man was trying to remain expressionless, but there was a touch of strain on his face. Barret realized his friends were right. There was more to Sephiroth's relationship with Aeris than he realized. Where did that leave Cloud? And what about Tifa? She was trying to be a real trooper but there was pain in her eyes every time she glanced at Cloud. Barret hurried to the Highwind. Why was love painful sometimes?

With everyone aboard, Cid set course for Midgar. Sephiroth took up a position on the observation deck. His eyes scanned the ground below. He hadn't had much to say to anyone since he got up that morning. Sleep had given him a brief reprieve but the first thing he felt when he woke up was cold dread. Whatever Hojo meant to do to Aeris would happen this morning. Who was the other person with Hojo? Sephiroth was sure he wasn't just there to keep Hojo company. Hojo. His father. He still had a hard time accepting it. He had grown up hating Hojo and his "treatments." Hojo had ruined his first life, his second life and now he was about to ruin his third. If he hurt Aeris . . . for one heart beat, madness touched his soul. If was possible, he wanted to kill Hojo with his bare hands. It would be a pleasure to rid the world of such a man.

"Sephiroth?" He turned to see Tifa standing behind him. "Don't worry Sephiroth. We'll find her."

"But will we get there in time?" Sephiroth Mako eyes were dark with worry. "What if our unavoidable delay last night gives Hojo time to complete what he has in mind?"

"You have to have to believe we will get there in time. I do." Tifa's voice was firm.

Sephiroth studied the young woman. How could she be so willing to risk her life for Aeris when that meant she was going to lose Cloud? He wished he could understand the complexities of human relationships. He had so little to go on. Maybe he would have learned about it with Aeris. Maybe they could have . . . he forced his thoughts away from that. He would do his job and die. That was the only thing required of him. Tifa was waiting for a response. "Thank you," he said. "I will try your suggestion."

Tifa smiled at Sephiroth and walked away. Sephiroth turned his thoughts back to Aeris. He closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm coming Aeris. Hold on."

Aeris lay thinking with her eyes closed. What was Sephiroth doing right now? Where was he? Did he think she was dead? Maybe her friends had already had a memorial service thinking a monster had eaten her. That's probably what she would think if a riderless chocobo came back with a weapon still strapped to it. Maybe Sephiroth had already gone back to the City of the Ancients thinking he was no longer needed because she was dead. Had the Cetra already granted his wish to have his essence scattered to the winds? She hadn't heard the Planet since the night she shared Sephiroth's bed. She couldn't hear the Cetra. She had never felt so alone in all her life.

She opened her eyes. The lab was still dark. She had no idea what time it was. Hojo was going to experiment on her this morning and no one would stop him. No one alive knew he was back. He would be able to raise his army with no fear of discovery. What chance did the Planet have against an army of Zephiroth clones? They would be able to master materia straight from the pod and there was plenty of materia laying around the city. Who would come here with all the monsters lurking around? Hojo had the perfect hiding place. I came back to save the planet, she thought, but because of me, Hojo has the means to destroy it. I wish I had gone on to the Promised Land. My people chose the wrong person for the job. You had to come back, said the voice inside her. There was no one else.

But look what a mess I've made of things! Aeris held back the tears that threatened to fall. If Hojo didn't have me . . . he would have found another way, said the voice. But he's using me! She thought. I'm the one he'll use to create his army. She looked toward the examining table and thought about what would happen when Hojo returned.

A bright mist appeared in from of the examining table and began to take shape. Aeris sat up in surprise. The mist began to solidify. Professor Gast stood smiling at her.

"Daddy?" She slid her feet to the floor. "Daddy, is that you?"

She was startled by the sound of Hojo laughing. She hadn't even heard the door open. The light came on. Hojo stood in there with Zephiroth looking over his shoulder. "I'm not your Daddy, but he'll make a good daddy, don't you think?" He jerked a thumb back at Zephiroth.

Aeris blinked. There was no one standing in front of the examining table. Professor Gast was gone.

Her voice quivered. "Is it time?"

Hojo laughed and rubbed his hands together as they came into the room. "It's time, my dear girl, it's time!"

Zephiroth sauntered up to the cell, a look of anticipation on his face. He locked eyes with the trapped girl. "Are you going to open the door now?" he asked Hojo.

Aeris drew back against the wall and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

"Not yet," answered Hojo. He ignored the disappointed look on Zephiroth's face. "We have to get everything prepared first. I need to mix the chemicals for the cloning pods and prepare the petri dishes for the eggs we'll harvest. Wash your hands. You can help me."

Zephiroth blew a kiss at Aeris and went to the sink to wash his hands. Aeris sat against the wall and trembled.

Hojo whistled while he worked. Zephiroth sent a feral smile in Aeris' direction whenever he caught her watching him. The smell of chemicals began to seep into her cell. The smaller vent tried circulate the smell out of the small room but it couldn't quite keep up. Sometimes Aeris felt like fainting but the thought of Hojo or Zephiroth using that to their advantage kept her alert. There was nothing she could use as weapon. Aeris found herself wishing she had asked Sephiroth about hand to hand techniques. She hoped it would take Hojo a long time to mix his cloning solution but all too soon he was finished. They began filling the tanks above the cloning pods.

When they finished that task, Hojo turned on the computers and activated the pods. The machines begin to hum. "I am going to prepare the culture dishes now," said Hojo. He gave a sealed container to Zephiroth. "I need your contribution now."

Zephiroth's silver black eyes were positively glowing. He grinned at Aeris and reached for his belt. Aeris' face went white.

"NOT HERE!" Hojo snapped at him. "Go to your room!"

Zephiroth scowled and left the room. Hojo shook his head and looked at Aeris. "He'll settle down after today. Don't worry about it."

"But you're going to let him . . . let him . . . " Aeris' words came out as a hoarse croak.

"After I'm finished with you, you're going to keep him busy while I get the samples prepared for the cloning pods," said Hojo indifferently. "You'll have to forgive his youth and inexperience. He'll develop a little class about these things in time."

"Not with me!" cried Aeris. "Don't you dare let him in here!"

"Well I can't very well send you to his room!" said Hojo impatiently. "I can't risk you getting away from him. He learned military skills through his learning tapes, but he has no experience with feminine wiles. I can't risk it. It's best I simply open your door and let him in there with you."

Aeris screamed.

Startled, Hojo jumped, then he grinned at her. "What good is screaming Cetra? There is no one here to hear you and Zephiroth won't care."

"You're insane!" shouted Aeris. "You're crazy! You can't do this to me!"

"I can and I will." Hojo put his hands on his hips and looked at her in annoyance. "You're taking a bad attitude about this young lady. You are about to be part of the greatest scientific experiment ever performed on this miserable chunk of rock. Your name will be recorded in history as the most famous mother of all time! Your children will bring about great changes. I'm proud to be a part of it all and you should be too."

"I don't want to be a part of your twisted history." Aeris tried to control the tremor in her voice. "You treat others as if they were on this planet for the sole purpose of being used in your experiments."

Hojo smiled at her patronizingly. "Well . . . why not?"

Aeris buried her face in her hands. There was no use in trying to reason with Hojo. He was utterly mad and totally dedicated to science as he knew it.

The door opened. Zephiroth entered the room with a haughty swagger and leered at Aeris. He gave a full container to Hojo.

"Thank you, my son," said Hojo.

"It was easy," said Zephiroth staring at Aeris.

Hojo turned back to his work. He filled each petri dish with solution and added the contents of Zephiroth's jar to each one. When he finished, he went to the sink to wash his hands. He went back to the instrument stand and began to fill a syringe. He smiled at Aeris brightly. "And now my dear, I'm ready for you."

Aeris cringed in terror as the mad scientist approached the cell door with Zephiroth in tow. "You are to grab her and hold her still," Hojo told Zephiroth sternly. "Nothing else. It's my turn now. You'll get yours later."

Zephiroth grinned. "As you wish father."

Hojo stared at Zephiroth until he looked away from the keypad, then quickly punched in the code. The door clicked and Zephiroth snatched it open. Aeris pressed her body against the wall, hiding behind her pillow. Zephiroth reached for her. She thrust the pillow at him. He slapped it out of her hands and grabbed her arms. Aeris tried to get her legs into position to kick at him, but he pinned her with his weight. She couldn't move. Hojo swabbed her skin, then plunged the needle into her arm. Aeris cried out and they laughed at her.

"Release her," Hojo ordered. Zephiroth stepped back.

Aeris crawled back against the wall. "You monster!"

Hojo smiled.

Zephiroth smiled.

A strange sensation came over Aeris. "What did you do to me?"

"You're going to sleep for a little while," said Hojo. "You won't be out too long. I don't want to ruin Zephiroth's fun. You'll be out just long enough for me to get what I want, then you and Zephiroth will be on your own."

"Hojo, please don't do this to me," pleaded Aeris in a weak voice. "This isn't right and you know it." Her eyes wouldn't quite focus on his face.

"In the name of science," said Hojo smugly, "Everything is right."

Aeris wanted to speak but she couldn't move her mouth.

"Pick her up and put her on the examining table," Hojo said.

Aeris felt Zephiroth's hands sliding under her body. She wanted to push him away but she couldn't control her arms. He carried her to the examining table and laid her down. The light above was so bright it hurt her eyes. This was wrong and she couldn't do anything about it. She could barely make out Hojo's silhouette. From the bottom of a well, she heard Zephiroth ask if he could help. Hojo declined the offer. He told Zephiroth to go to his room until he was needed. Aeris faded into darkness.

The Highwind landed in the desert outside Midgar. Everyone was eager to get off the ship.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah!" shouted Barret, "Lets go kick some Hojo ass."

"Hojo is mine," said Sephiroth.

"I have a grudge against Hojo too," countered Cloud.

"If you guys start get rowdy again, Red and I are going to start tossing lighting bolts," said Cid.

"What's that?" asked Yuffie pointing.

Racing toward them was a group of Behemoths.

"Those ugly bastards don't run in packs!" said Cid.

"They do here," said Vincent.

"Get ready!" warned Red XIII.

"Let me at 'em!" shouted Barret.

"I'm on it!" called out Tifa.

"Let's rock!" yelled Cloud.

"Gee whiz, I thought we'd at least make it to the city first!" moaned Yuffie.

Sephiroth pulled the masamune out of its sheath.

The creatures brought a cloud of dust with them. Half-hidden, they spread out and attacked. Yuffie ducked and one of the beasts sprang over her head. She tracked it and threw her Confomer. The weapon sliced through its neck and returned to her. Cid used his Venus Gospel and killed a monster in mid-flight as it sprang for Yuffie's back. It crashed to the ground at her feet. Cid finished it off with a fire spell.

Vincent dodged to one side, rolling over in the sand. He came up firing his Death Penalty. He didn't miss his target. Another creature was out of the fight.

Barret riddled two of them with his Missing Score.

Tifa's attacker came from behind. Cloud shouted a warning and she dropped and rolled safely out of harms way. She used an ice spell to slow the beast then gave it a taste of her Premium Heart. One more down.

Sephiroth sliced through two monsters with his masamune.

Cloud took down two more with his Ultima Weapon.

Red XIII used his Cosmo Memory on the last three.

"And that takes care of fucking that," said Cid.

"Let's go." Cloud led the way.

They barely reached the city walls when a flock of Valrons dived out of the sky.

"How the hell did those things get here?" yelled Barret. "I thought they lived near Nibelheim!"

"Maybe they migrated," replied Red XIII. "No one has ever done a study on the creatures Hojo created. We don't really know what Valrons are capable of."

The fight was fast and furious. The rescuers were obliged to used physical and magical attacks against their enemies. Just when it seemed they had the upper hand another flock swooped in. They had their hands full.

Aeris would be waking soon. Hojo placed another egg cell in a petri dish. Yes, he would definitely have to clone the Cetra too. He would send Zephiroth to the nearest town to snatch a healthy young woman. He would harvest eggs from her then let Zephiroth kill her when he was finished with her. He'd implant the donor eggs with Aeris' DNA. Hojo laughed out loud. This was going to work even better than he'd hoped. He would rule the Planet soon. What better army could a dictator have than one composed of the sons of his son?

He would wait until the first batch of clones hatched. If Sephiroth would not come willingly, he would send all ten to bring him in by force. Sephiroth was strong but that wouldn't save him from ten of Zephiroth's sons. Sephiroth would live in the cell next to the Cetra. Hojo frowned. Sephiroth would never submit to being a lab specimen again. He would have to rig up something in the air-conditioning ducts that would knock Sephiroth out whenever he wanted collect samples or give injections. Hojo decided he would hold onto Sephiroth until he was no longer needed, then he would let his grandsons kill him. Hojo smiled at Aeris. He would never let go of the Cetra. She was too valuable. Even when Zephiroth lost interest in her, she would have her uses.

Aeris moaned in her sleep. Hojo glanced at her. It would be uncivilized to turn her over to Zephiroth while she was still unconscious. He would at least give her a sporting chance. Hojo laughed. Aeris didn't have a chance against Zephiroth's strength and she knew it. Still it might make her feel a little better if she was able to put up a little protest. He reached for a new dish. Aeris' moan was softer this time. Hojo decided he'd call Zephiroth in when she was alert to handle but not enough to cause a problem. After all, Zephiroth would have to put her back in her cell. Hojo didn't want any of his precious petri dishes broken. He turned back to his work humming a merry tune.

Some of the flock survived to fly away. Most of them lay dead on the ground. The winners entered the city.

"This is terrible" said Tifa looking around. "I never thought I'd ever see so much destruction."

Sephiroth expected Barret to make a snide remark but Barret surprised him. "Jenova left her mark everywhere."

They stood in silence looking around. A monster roared somewhere nearby.

"I wish we could walk two steps without something attacking us," said Yuffie as the sound of heavy footsteps moved in their direction. "We'll never get to the Shinra building at this rate."

A herd of Elfadunks lumbered around a ruined building.

"Now how in the hell-" began Cid.

"Migration," said Red. They raised their weapons.

Back in his room Zephiroth was getting angry. What was taking so long? Hojo should have been finished by now. He thought about the girl. She would be his soon. Zephiroth smiled to himself. He knew Hojo's plans. He also knew Hojo wasn't aware of HIS plans. Hojo was depending on Zephiroth to train and lead the new army. He would lead it all right. He would lead it against Hojo when the time was right. Zephiroth had every intention of making sure the new army was loyal to him alone. He would wait six months then introduce Hojo and his new clone to his sword. By then he would know how to operate the pods himself and he would make sure one of his sons knew too.

HE would be the new ruler of this world. He would expand his army and HE wouldn't need petri dishes to do it. There were more than enough women around to force into the service of his troops. Using the cloning pods, he could accelerate the growth of their offspring. Zephiroth grinned to himself. He would keep the Cetra clones for himself. There would be no trouble from Sephiroth over her. If Hojo hadn't ordered Sephiroth's death by the time he made his move, he would see that Sephiroth died himself. He paced the floor impatiently. What was taking Hojo so long?

Having killed off the Elfadunks, the group continued on their way.

"Was it this bad when you came through here?" Yuffie asked Sephiroth.

He shook his head. "There seems to be more damage to some of the buildings then there was when I was here last."

"What do you mean, more damage?" asked Cloud.

Sephiroth pointed to the wall of a house. "I would remember if I had seen claw marks that large. They were not here before."

Everyone paused to examine the marks. Whatever had made those marks had to be at least as tall as a four-story building. Whatever it was, it had clawed its way through the homes or knocked them off their foundations as if they were playthings. A trail of destruction lead to the west.

"I sure hope we aren't going in that way," said Yuffie.

"We're not," said Cloud. He pointed. "We're going that way."

The next creature they met was a Smogger. Yuffie was delighted as she watched Vincent make short work of the creature. "Yeah! I wouldn't mind if all we met was just these little guys!"

They managed to make progress for nearly ten minutes before a group of Blood Tastes attacked from behind. Barret wanted to take them on alone.

"Yeah!" yelled Yuffie.

At the sound of her shout a pair of Dark Dragons raised their heads from behind a crumbling wall.

"Nice work Yuffie," said Tifa dryly.

Hojo finished the last of the petri dishes and put it aside. He studied the first dish under a microscope. The fertilized egg was dividing. All he had to do wait a bit, then put it in one of the newly reprogrammed cloning pods. He had already made sure it was going to be a boy. Everything was going according to plan. He looked at Aeris. She seemed to have gone into a deeper sleep. He checked her pulse. She was more sensitive to the injection than he thought. He'd have to use something else next time.

He reached into the cabinet for another bottle and filled another hypodermic that would counteract the first injection. He'd wake her up manually. Zephiroth was waiting. He swabbed her arm and stabbed the needle into her skin. He pushed the contents out with the plunger and pulled the needle out. He checked her pulse and looked into her eyes. She would come around now for sure. He put his petri dishes in a temperature-controlled cabinet and shut the door.

Sephiroth was impatient. They were running into too many creatures. Midgar was definitely a monster haven. He was glad when the battles finally trickled off and they were able to walk longer distances.

When they caught their first sight of the ruined Shinra building there was a collective sigh of relief. "We're going to make it," said Yuffie.

The ground shook under their feet.

"You had to say something didn't you?" said Barret. "Everything was going fine and you had to say something."

"Would anyone like to take a guess as to what that is?" asked Tifa.

"I sure hope," said Red, "that isn't what made those claw marks in that house back there."

The ground shook again.

"I don't think you're going to get your wish Red," said Cid. "Dammit!" He tossed away his cigarette and reached for another.

"Well," said Vincent, "Here we go again!"

They could hear the sound of rending metal and collapsing walls. The ground was vibrating under their feet. Everyone braced themselves for a fight. When the creature finally made its appearance, it was something none of them had ever seen before.

It was humongous, covered with long red fur. It had black leathery wings and the head of an eagle. When opened its mouth to scream at them a long whip-like tongue snapped within several feet of their positions. The huge fore claws were dripping a pinkish liquid. The large rear claw punched holes in the ground whenever they landed. The huge red eyes were glowing. It screamed and twin lasers flared from its eyes and just missed striking Vincent who dodged to one side. The street melted where the beams touched. It jumped forward landing on all fours. They barely had enough time to get out of the way. Tifa dived behind a wall. The tongue hit and punched through, but she rolled clear.

"It's got poison claws!" yelled Cloud. "Don't let it touch you!"

"Black Cauldron!" shouted Red XIII. The summon swirled into life and fired a blast at the creature. It bellowed. It barely staggered.

"What the hell is that thing?" Cid scrambled behind a pile of rubble.

"Shut up and fight!" Barret fired into the mid-section of the creature.

Aeris stirred at last. Hojo smiled as she opened her eyes. He waited until they found him. "Well Miss Cetra, it's nice to finally see you awake!"

Aeris struggled to focus her eyes. Her head was spinning. "What? Huh? Where am I?"

"Don't you remember?" asked Hojo. "You're in my lab in the Shinra basement. You're going to meet Zephiroth in a few minutes. Don't you want to pretty up first?"

Zephiroth? Memory flooded back. Aeris tried to get up and failed. "What's wrong with me?"

"Just the end results of a little something I gave you," replied Hojo. "Lie still. It will pass in a moment."

Aeris followed his orders because she had no other choice. Just as Hojo said, the dizziness began to fade. He was watching her. She pretended she was still groggy. She sat up slowly. "I don't feel so well," she said.

Hojo chuckled. "Zephiroth will take care of that." He went to the door. "Zephiroth! She's ready now!"

He must have been hovering right outside the door, Aeris thought as Zephiroth came into the room. Except for his eyes, he looks so much like Sephiroth. What did Hojo do to make him this crazy?

She didn't have time to give it further thought. Zephiroth walked up to the table, seized her by the hair and gave her a rough kiss. Aeris fought the urge to shake him off.

"It gets better," he told her. "It gets much better."

"Take her to her cell," Hojo was saying, "Enjoy yourself, but I don't want any major damage. No broken bones or lacerations. Do you understand me?"

"Yes father." Zephiroth's eyes were dancing with glee. He grabbed Aeris by the arm.

"Oh," said Aeris swaying a bit. "I feel like I'm going to be sick."

"Get her to her cell quick!" ordered Hojo.

"No wait!" Aeris cried and made a gagging sound. "I don't think I'm going to make it!"

Zephiroth looked at Hojo in panic. Aeris' gagging increased. Hojo looked around quickly. His eyes were frantic. He snapped his fingers, reached into the cabinet and pulled out a silver organ dish. Zephiroth let go of Aeris so she could take the dish and lean over it. She coughed and gagged. Her hair hid her face. Hojo backed away. Zephiroth was torn between backing away and standing close enough to take possession of her again. He chose to stay.

Aeris swung the silver bowl and struck him in the face. Before he could recover, she jumped off the table and hit him three more times in quick secession. Zephiroth staggered backwards. Aeris heard Hojo's cry of outrage. She shoved the staggering Zephiroth to one side and ran for the door. His arms flailed the air as he howled in pain. Hojo rushed after Aeris. She turned at the door and threw the silver bowl at him. He ducked. She ran.

She heard Hojo's angry voice. "Go get her! GET HER!"

Aeris kept running. She made it to the end of the hall and ran up the first flight of stairs. She reached the first platform and started up to the next. On the second platform, she was almost tempted run into the darkness above the third platform but she didn't dare. She would be in complete darkness on the next floor and who knew what was hiding up there?

Zephiroth's voice came to her. "You're mine!" You hear me Aeris? You won't get away from me!"

Aeris opened the door and ran out into the hallway. She looked both ways. She was about to run in the direction of the front doors when she heard the distant roar of a monster. It sounded far bigger than the monster from the day before. Aeris stopped. She couldn't go that way. Stifling a cry she turned in the other direction and hoped she could find another way out of the building before Zephiroth found her.