Wake-up Call [Completed]

[alone-by-choice.livejournal.com]

Character(s): Ansem, Hojo
Content: Ansem has some grunt work for Hojo.
Setting: The Fortress of Darkniss™
Time: Tuesday morning
Warnings: None (for once)

All alone in the vast bed without even his Guardian in the chamber to stand watch, Ansem did not sleep deeply nor for very long.

In truth, he did not require sleep at all. The preceding day, however, had been a long one, and trying on several levels, to varying degrees. He blamed the boy's body for connecting the resulting fatigue with a need for sleep.

When his unceasing cycle of thoughts would let him lie dormant no longer, Ansem rose and spent the early morning hours perusing the cyber-community which seemed to exist in the city through the network of electronic journals, as he slowly formulated a plan to obtain the raw materials he would need for his experiments.

He also made arrangements to meet with two mercenaries into the bargain, a useful resource so long as these two proved more amenable to his purposes than the last two had.

Thoughts of his pet were unpleasant just now, and Ansem slid out of bed to perform his morning ablutions rather than think on that subject again.

It was still early when, dressed and in a somewhat better mood he made his way down to the laboratory to assign the scientist his tasks for the day. With Mr. Hojo temporarily out of the way, Ansem would be able to check on his special subject undisturbed. Perhaps he would even have time to begin his research this morning.

In the laboratory, there was no sign of his assistant. For now, Ansem decided to humour the illusion of autonomy and knock.

"Mr. Hojo, there is something I require of you," he called.

Comments

mnrf. sleepy. x3

[walking-complex.livejournal.com]

Hojo made a strange sound as he pondered, blearily, whether it would be worth it to actually get up or not. Fixing up Cloud had taken more time than he'd originally assumed and by the time he'd actually gotten to sleep the sky was grey with dawn, though there were no windows in the lab so he didn't know the exact time. What it amounted to was him waking up more exhausted than he'd been the 'night' before.

Deciding after a few seconds that it would probably be a better idea to comply, Hojo felt around on the floor for his glasses, which he'd dropped there without paying much attention. He located them after another couple seconds of fumbling and stood, wavering a little bit as his blood adjusted to his new center of gravity and made colored spots dance in his vision. Once he could see again he walked over to the door and answered it as he pushed his glasses on. He'd only bothered removing his shoes and shirt before sleeping anyway, so he was decent and there was no need to bother finding anything else. He wasn't even sure if he was awake enough to get dressed properly.

[alone-by-choice.livejournal.com]

At the sight of his assistant, Ansem had to resist the urge to merely walk away shaking his head.

Saying he looked like Death warmed over would have been a kindness.

What had the man been doing all night?
...
On second thought, he thought not knowing was preferable.

Ansem despised that he had been reduced to this: two servants only, and one of them practically useless.

Because he had no choice, he simply gave the orders as if Mr. Hojo looked perfectly capable of performing them.

"There is a mercenary in the city who I wish to hire. He will be arriving at the city gates some time this morning."

Ansem cast a disapproving look at the scientist's rumpled state. "I suggest you dress so that you will be ready to escort him here."

[walking-complex.livejournal.com]

Hojo just blinked while he processed that information and he just nodded when he figured it out. Wonderful, so he had to walk back to the city... hopefully it wasn't raining this time.

Without another word he turned to go back inside, wondering what the consequences would be if he just went back to sleep.

[alone-by-choice.livejournal.com]

Either sleep deprivation had dulled the particular, argumentative nature Ansem had witnessed in the man yesterday, or seeing the state of his pet last night had sobered him into obedience. Whatever the reason, Ansem was surprised when the scientist merely complied.

Remembering that he had looked ill the night before, as well, Ansem moved to the large computer in the corner of the laboratory and synthesized a potion while he waited for his servant to make ready.

By the time Hojo returned, there was a warm parka, gloves, and fur-lined boots waiting for him at one of the research stations. Ansem turned away from the monitor at the sound of his footsteps.

"Ah, I just received a message from your contact. He is already waiting at the gate."

Either the mercenary was desperate for work, or he was unusually punctual and efficient.

[walking-complex.livejournal.com]

Hojo clearly wasn't sure how to deal with his hair now that it was longer, because he'd brushed it about halfway before giving up and pulling it back into a ponytail. He nodded again, hiding a yawn behind the back of his hand. He looked a bit more awake, but not much.

"Mm. Kay. The close ones? Uh... the, uh..." He didn't know the name of the gate he'd gone through. "The fire-looking ones."

[alone-by-choice.livejournal.com]

Ansem could not help shaking his head this time.

"The Muspelheim gate, Mr. Hojo. I am not asking you to walk halfway to Timbuktu."

He thumped the potion on the desk by the outdoor clothing, annoyed. "Here. Drink this."

[walking-complex.livejournal.com]

"Mm?" Hojo either didn't notice or didn't care about Ansem's clear irritation. "What is it?" Really, he figured he wouldn't have to walk further than that, but still. He was sleepy, so thinks were hitting him a bit slower than usual. He walked over to the desk, picking up the bottle and inspecting it curiously.

[alone-by-choice.livejournal.com]

He did not object to walking four miles in unpleasant weather, but he was questioning Ansem's aid? Truly a perverse individual.

"It is a potion, Mr. Hojo. It will replenish your health and energy.

I trust you know what these are," he said, indicating the warm clothing with one hand while the other was clenched at his side to keep from slapping the jester in the back of the head.

[walking-complex.livejournal.com]

"'Course I do," he said dismissively, uncapping the bottle and sniffing at it before drinking the liquid inside.

It worked quickly, in any case; though he was still quite sleepy at least he wasn't in danger of falling over any more and he could think a bit more clearly. He set the bottle down when it was empty.

[alone-by-choice.livejournal.com]

"Very well then." The man began to look better the moment he drank the potion, and Ansem gained a bit of confidence that he might be able to complete this assignment.

"I leave you to your task, then," he said. "I shall give the contact your description so that he may find you. If you have trouble, use your journal to send me a message."

With that, Ansem left the room lest he become more annoyed. It was the perfect excuse to return to the upper levels and look in on how his sulking peacock was doing.

[walking-complex.livejournal.com]

Well, that was painless. Hojo went back into his room to get his bag, which had the journal in it, and after a moment of consideration he pulled out one of the green Materia spheres and pressed it to his chest. The sphere rippled, then sank into the skin, glowing dully under his shirt. Whether it was sleepyness or something else that was the source of his paranoia was hard to tell, but he didn't think too much of it. He turned to go.