And yet he still questions, stood with wonder.   Praytell   what believed he to have   AUTHORITY   to ask such? She did not share with many, and certainly nothing that could be   exploited.   She takes a moment to think. Though he does not appear of   immediate   threat, she wouldn’t  CHANCE  what could be an awful situation for her to be  v i c t i m  to. 

“ I don’t feel comfortable discussing what I may or may not know. But what I    would    ask in return, is what caused for you to seek? To find me on this night of all I have been present for in my life.”

Briefly does he raise burned and scarred hands in silent defeat, evidently his questioning touching upon a nerve; though, what need did she have to trust him? None. He was but only a stranger posing questions that were unwanted, after all. 

“Then please ignore my curiosity.” He utters, “My own drive caused me to seek you - curiosity is my lifework.”

The idea of working for Ruben was an enticing one, but Leslie knew he couldn’t take it up just yet. On the other hand however, the don would not be opposed to Leslie leaning forward to help the scientist in whatever he needed. Keeping good relations up with those the company worked with was under Leslie’s purview after all. 

“If we have another live one in due time, I’ll be sure to send word. People like these make the mistake of crossing the don at least once every few weeks,” he noted as they walked through the quiet pathway. It didn’t seem to be very used, but it was well-maintained, save for a few seemingly bottomless gaps that seemed to be left there intentionally. 

“Be careful with this one,” Leslie advised as they came across a particularly large hole, over three quarters of a meter across. He cleared it then turned back to offer the scientist his arm should he need it, before turning to help the ones carrying the body.

“They do. People make mistakes. Perhaps his time might come sooner, rather than later,” Leslie grinned in reply. “The don always needs to watch his back, and I’m sure ShinRa keeps close tabs on him.”

Within minutes, Leslie was pushing through a door and they were exactly where they were supposed to be. 

“If you’re looking for work in-between---”  Ruben began, rummaging through a pocket to discover a business card, offering it to the male. All it held on it was his phone number - nothing more; “Drop me a message - I will likely have something for you.” Business was business, after all; and he would pay well. Always. 

Quietly, he did well to keep up; eventually drawing in a deep breath when fresh air met his expression. With a glance over his shoulder does he regard Leslie once more, the wind lapping at his hood; 

About to speak, perhaps even about to tell her leave or say a parting word. Or perhaps not. She’d never know for that interruption had pulled his attention back across the room. She waits patiently but watches curiously all the same. He pulls back the sheet to reveal the already dead body, provided by the hospital. How tired she was of hunting down subjects for Hojo, luring people who may not be missed off the streets of Midgar no matter how much she hated it inside. He had a good system going here, but the only problem being they were dead.

“Hm…not bad.” She muses when he turns back to look at her. “What about live subjects?” She was curious to ask. Did he know of a more reasonable way to obtain those? “I personally prefer to fix and cure people myself, but you know the Professor.” She states. 

@cerebrumphysicus​

“A neuroscientist? That’s pretty cool.” Noctis didn’t think he had the brains to be a neuroscientist – he was smart, smarter than people gave him credit for, but he wasn’t that smart. He was always liked to think about what he’d have gone on to do if he wasn’t a Prince. He’d liked his time working in the sushi bar, but he wasn’t sure he’d have taken it on as more than a part time job. He would have probably continued with school – marine biology had always caught his attention due to his love of fish.

“Replicate it? In humans or something? Sounds a bit morally grey.” It wasn’t far off what Niflheim did with creating MTs – mindless machines who didn’t question orders, only followed them. After a few more steps, he paused and frowned. “I don’t mean to be rude but…are you okay without shoes? The terrain isn’t exactly smooth.”

“All science starts as morally grey - until a breakthrough helps with day-to-day life. Then it is simply accepted. One has to be brave enough to approach the grey area for any progression to be made.” But the youth wasn’t far off - Ruben didn’t just study epilepsy or other problems, but also developed things for the Empire - and replicating loyalty was one of those things. 

“A reward?” Hmmm, granted he was an ordinary being then perhaps that would have enticed him to do more of a good job then normal but since he wasn’t normal and was in fact an immortal being, he would have to think on what he potentially wanted. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Still, before he could take off to go do the job and potentially save the scientist and his crew, the blade observed how……regular this lab was compared to Hojo’s. Where there would be so many tubes running everywhere with the potential to trip over and hurt yourself or tumble into one of the specimens, here…..it was so simple. Guess the blade was used to the life or death situations of Hojo’s lab that he felt more relaxed here which wasn’t normal.

“So different from Hojo’s……which means you must have different ideologies from him correct?” Okay, he needed to go kill the monsters but this made him even more curious, that’s all.

Ruben enjoyed CLEANNESS. He liked his spaces to be ORDERED and sleek. No showing wires, no trip hazards, nothing of that sort. He liked everything to have its place, everything to sit exactly where it was supposed to and then did he know where all was without agitation. 

Isrieal rocks on her heels for a moment. He wasn’t a man of many words nor did he exactly seem to want to share much. Her brows do go up when he makes the comment on the happenings in this department. It was of no surprise to her. There were many people that wanted nothing to do with it after all. “I’m just surprised that you chose these labs to work in of all places. Were there no others around that had the proper equiptment you needed…or were there no others that would turn such a blind eye to your experiments…” There certainly was a lot that one could get away with here.

“It seems you have a good handle on everything here. Well then. If you don’t need any help with anything I’m sure you would prefer me to leave? As long as you don’t interfere with anything of mine I really don’t care what you do here.” It was probably better than whatever Hojo was doing and wasn’t that the truth. If he wasn’t in need of anything there wasn’t really much that she could do. She had seen what she had needed to see, she supposed.

@cerebrumphysicus​

Ruben glanced sickly eyes upward - intending to speak as he opened lips but the door on the far side opened in interruption. It seemed as if his DELIVERY had arrived early and for but a moment did he leave his company so to view the two in which had been left. A raised brow, a simple glance over a shoulder toward the female and then did burned fingers pull back the covering upon one of the cadavers. 

A crash victim, by the look of his wounds. While Ruben was a scientist, he was also qualified as a mortician and could take many notes simply through glancing. Arms folded, once more turning his gaze behind him; 

“Nice to meet you.” Whether that was true was yet to be seen but it was the polite thing to say – manners had been instilled in him since he was born. Years of being surrounded by fakes – most being politicians – had made him good at saying one thing and meaning another. Truthfully Noctis wasn’t all that bothered about the man’s identity outside having a name to call him. He ran a hand through his hair before starting off.

He doubted they’d have to walk far and he certainly didn’t think it worth hiring chocobos for what would be a short trip. After a few minutes of silence, Noctis dropped back a little so he was walking at the other’s side rather than in front of him – there wasn’t any danger around, after all.

“So…why the coeurl fluid?” He asked as they walked in an attempt to strike up conversation to break the silence. “What sort of research do you do?”

Simple manners - Ruben knew that, certainly; he had to be much the same of a daily basis but REGARDLESS, he shrugs a single shoulder as bare feet began to pace upon the ground, following. Hands found themselves into pockets as they walked, eyes briefly glancing around surroundings, having not been out very much at all;

While he wasn’t happy about it like the other was, an order was an order that he needed to follow no matter what……even if the said place did creep him out from how sterile it was. It was almost like the lab, all clean and ready for it’s next victim though this place was lacking the gallons of mako tubes the professor had so that at least was a plus in his book. Honestly the other could order him to keep out of his way and the blade would gladly oblige by standing guard outside, away from anything science like. However as the other being spoke up, Masamune tilted his head a small bit, raising an eyebrow at what he was saying about the monster enemies nearby and keeping them at bay. Giving a smile since that was more his style anyways, the silver nodded as that managed to get him to relax. 

“That I can most certainly do. Murder them before they even have a thought or chance about murdering your team that’s here. In what direction are they since I’ll get to them as quickly as possible.”

“I am happy to reward you well for your efforts, regardless of what that may be.” Money? Fine - requests? Just as well. Whatever the other desired, then so be it; Ruben had far more IMPORTANT things to be careful around - the carrying and moving of equipment detrimental to the laboratories success.

He steps into the light and she is able to see whom the voice belonged to. She unsure how to proceed, but remains cautious. “Curiosity?” Did he believe she would honestly tell him what he sought with knowing NAUGHT but his name.

The Turk had seen some shit, that was a fact. But he still grimaced at the swathe of shiny, discolored skin and milky eyes and gave a soft whistle. “No, you are…correct,” he said, the faintest hint of pity in his voice. It was gone in moments. “Still, seems like an odd place to hide, yo. A lab. Surprised you don’t have a disliking for labs after no doubt being stuck in a hospital for a while.”

He hummed, looking thoughtful. “Unless you’re from the slums?” There wouldn’t be a possibility of a hospital in that case, but the chance of surviving something that could cause that amount of damage was also much lower. “Or outside of Midgar…”

Yes  -  of COURSE he was correct; Ruben had lived with the hideousness of his burns for a damned long time and the very HAPPENING in which caused it haunted his every dream, every sleep, every rest. Even when he had gotten out of hospital, the jeering and whispering among other children toward his appearance had been awful enough to force him inside. 

“Alive…?” Leslie asked with a raised eyebrow. “I believe that can be arranged. I’ll… avoid drugging him in that case too, so he can come to you as clean as possible.” 

The lackey took the scientist’s cue, understanding what he meant and dipping his head with gratitude. When the don was out of the picture, perhaps he could look forward to employment under Ruben. 

When the couriers came, he pointed them to the bags, asking if they’d need anything else to assist in their transport, but it didn’t seem as though they did. 

Leslie joined Ruben outside the room, ushering down a different corridor than the one he had come by. “It’ll be quieter to leave by this way. This leads directly outside of Wall Market, to the ruins by the stream between us and the next sector,” he explained, “I’ll walk you out until we reach the water and you have your bearings.” The mansion was rife with secret tunnels, entrances and exits that connected everywhere from as near as the Colosseum to as far as the midpoint between Wall Market and Sector 5. 

“He is,” the man agreed. “It took effort building up the persona and reputation he has. He comes off as callous but it’s mostly a ploy. Underneath it, he’s a cunning person.” 

LIVE Subjects meant that theories fathomed and perfected over years could be TESTED; if the male managed to alter the subjects brain then he would prove the possibility of forcing loyalty. Imagine how EXCITED Shinra would be at such a concept - especially after the failures of... well... never mind. 

The offer of EMPLOYMENT remained, though silent - should the fellow ever find himself in a place where he could truly contemplate something, then Ruben would confirm his interest. A very specific skill set was needed when moving... corpses; and gaining them in the first place. Not something many would dare, much less have the stomach for - hence why Ruben had to come HIMSELF. Dangerous.

Such a gentle nod was given once guided, preferring silence and quiet over loud; secretive much better. His men were quick enough to gather what was needed and followed behind, seemingly blending rather well despite their LATE nature and their apparent INABILITY to think on their own. Not one of them would have thought to query to a potential BETTER way. 

Reno snorted. “Right.” He put his phone away, but his eyes were narrowed in thought. Well, whatever. He could hack into the system or get permission to bypass and hook it up to his phone on his own time.

Brains. A chill went down the Turk’s spine, but he hid it behind a shift of weight. The meaning behind neuroscience was the same, but something about the way Ruben worded it mixed with Reno’s knowledge of the sketchy department was discomforting.

“Hide?” he echoed. He was interested in the other’s reluctance to expand on what he meant. “You a criminal?”

      eyes traced along the shape of him as he spoke, soaked in the details of the new face she was certain she’d become more acquainted with during this particular stay. “ forcing loyalty? do you think it’s possible? do you think it’s smart? ” perhaps it wasn’t smart of her to press questions so freely, to expand in the space he gave her after and between explanations. but it wouldn’t be aerith gainsborough if she didn’t seize an opportunity in some fashion. even if the words of said explanation gave her an unsettled chill.

      “ and … will i be fitting into your research? ” would he be sticking her with syringes? plugging receivers against her forehead and temples to measure brainwaves, slicing off little pieces to peer at under a microscope, or worse? she could ask it as politely as she liked, the answer would always be something she needed to face whether or not she was ready for it. though the mention of personal research had her shifting, perking if only just for a little bit. something that seemed … human.

       “ that’s good — a cure, even if it’s only potential. is it a passion project of yours? ” 

“It is CHEMICALLY possible-” Forcing loyalty would be simply forcing something that ALREADY existed - there had to be a way to influence the brain to do what he so demanded from AN OUTSIDE perspective - thus his research continued and grew stronger each and every day. He was getting CLOSE, and he damn well knew it. 

“No-” Using her? No. While she most DEFINITELY posed an interest to many of those in the department, Ruben was not one of those. While there was definitely, no doubt, differences between her and the rest of the population, he needed a WIDE ability... not something so SELECT. 

“...my mother suffered horribly with it.” Epilepsy - hideous, horrible - it had withered away at his mothers consciousness for years and eventually she had perished from complications. She had always been the one to support Ruben, and thus he had taken the loss very hard - he had no contact with his father from that point onward. “...It is... important.” If only as a legacy for his mother. 

A long pause, a furrowed but HAIRLESS brow; 

“Hm, that’s rather horrible to have gone through. I’m sorry.” She offers but can tell he’d rather change the subject. “Mm…well you aren’t wrong to want nothing to do with It. Most people do lose their minds, but not all. I figured maybe isolating a few genes that help contribute to the trait may help, but you could use my own if you wanted?” She offers.

Did she count as Jenova? She liked to think that she didn’t. She refused to even acknowledge Jenova as anything more than a ‘thing’. The sooner it was gone, the better, but she knew she could never convince Hojo to get rid of the damn thing. Though it seemed to be a scientist trait, this man was turning out to be quite stubborn as well.

“Well, I’m sure if anything Heidegger would praise and help fund your research. He leads the Soldier army here after all. I think what you are seeking to establish may prove to be of use to him. Just be careful around here.” He made a bold move wanting to work in these labs of all places and Hojo could be quite merciless even with his own employees. “Some radars are best staying off of.”

@cerebrumphysicus​

Ruben is very secretive and PERSONAL when it comes to his research - POSSESSIVE and uncomfortable when ANY other attempted to help, be it in the simple form of uttered words or literal interference. It truly did force him into a state of discomfort - antisocial discomfort. Nothing is said for the time being - he simply stares toward his paperwork, scrutinised his scrawled handwriting. 

“Heidegger has shown interest.” Ruben admits, though he had yet to follow any such funding. Why? Lack of interest, for the most part. Ruben found his OWN WAYS around  his problems, some perhaps more underhanded than others, but it was scarcely ANYTHING compared to some of the stuff of which happened in the department. 

“I am aware.” Hojo was not someone Ruben wanted anything to do with - in fact, he kept largely to himself for a great many reasons - his loneliness often fuelled his work - any distractions would have been detrimental. He often wondered if his terrible accident was MEANT to be simply so he could never marry or follow THAT route of life - no distractions of the sort. 

In all his time working for the don, Leslie had seen countless monsters clad in human skin, vulgar inside and out. Ruben, however, was far from that, in his opinion. He had survived an indeterminable amount of pain and anguish through his youth, and now he was working towards helping people with his research. 

“Thank you,” he nodded gratefully. “We should be done with that guy you just heard by tonight, so I’ll need to trouble your courier to meet me halfway tomorrow, if you’d like someone…uh… fresh. If not, we can still set him aside for your guys till they come again next week. This arrangement is weekly, yeah?”

“Changing career?” He enquired with a shake of his head and a smile. “I don’t have knowledge or skills beyond running this place, I’m afraid.” Growing up in and around Wall Market, Leslie didn’t have much by way of a formal education. Thankfully, he was always willing to learn and adapt, and had picked up all the tricks of his trade from scratch. “That and… I doubt Corneo would ever willingly let me go alive,” he chuckled.

“If you are able to keep him alive -  I can pay double.” A live subject would be ENDLESSLY VALUABLE to the scientist; he was only able to properly test his theories on those of whom were alive, after all. If not - he would try other ways. 

“A shame.” Then did he reply, casting his eyes toward the door when he heard movement; “...My men are haphazard at best -” Though he said nothing more on the matter - a silent offer made should the youth ever change his mind. 

Ah - his couriers; stepping back, he allowed them to collect everything in which was needed and the male made it easier for them by stepping OUTSIDE of the room itself;