Chapter 2: Running in Circles
I woke up sometime later, and realized I was in some kind of laboratory. But unlike the first time we were caught, I found myself inside of something filled with strange green liquid. Shocked, I realized I was in some kind of test tube or stasis tank. I was very angry; words couldn’t describe my fury now. Hojo tricked us, pretending to give us a quick flight to the north so we could regain the Black Materia, and had us captured by enemy troops on the spot. I couldn’t believe it. It was hard to make out my surroundings outside, but I saw a lot of machinery I didn’t recognize and a large computer that looked high tech on the other side of the room. I couldn’t see Hojo anywhere, but Kadaj and Loz were also locked in similar tanks nearby, still unconscious. I reached for my revolver, but it wasn’t there. So I decided to bust my way out, seeing as there was no other possible escape. However, I badly hurt my hand trying that, as if it wasn’t glass I was looking through “Oww! What in the world..?!” Now I could only assume my powers were disabled as well. I sighed, my rage growing even stronger “Just perfect. No powers either.” I saw Hojo enter the room and sit down at the big computer on the other side. I studied the area thoroughly, and gasped in fear at what I saw: several linings of pipes connecting directly to the strange devices me and Kadaj and Loz were trapped in “Ahh, shoot…! What’s he gonna do..?!” Now I really couldn’t stand just staying put and letting him do whatever he pleases. I was able to somehow make out Hojo’s words as he spoke to another person that also seemed to be a scientist “With a simple push of their powers combined, we should have no trouble returning JENOVA’s will to her body. All it takes is one simple Reunion to return her consciousness.” The scientist protested “But sir, if you use their JENOVA cells to return her and Sephiroth’s consciousness all at once… they could perish! President Rufus wants them alive!” Hojo snapped at the man “Silence! Great reward comes at great price—do it!” The scientist stepped back fearfully “Ahh... y-yes, sir..!” He scurried away and got to work somewhere else. I couldn’t see where he went. Hojo started working at the big computer “Besides… the President can use Sephiroth and JENOVA for the same purpose anyway. It wont matter if all three specimens perish from the experiment.” I hardened my expression “Shoot… if I don’t act fast, he’s gonna kill all three of us! If that happened, Mother would be… oh god…” I studied the tank’s interior that I was locked in, hoping to find something that would let me cut the circulation connecting the machine to Hojo’s computer. I saw some small panels on the floor of my tank, and managed to work my way to them. Without thinking any further, I put my face to them, and bit down as hard as I could with the goal of damaging them enough to stop Hojo’s experiment. They sparked mildly a couple times, then tore from my gnawing. I stopped, and looked at Hojo’s computer to make sure I succeeded “This better work… it has to!” Hojo was still typing, as if entering some kind of complex command. I kept watch silently, waiting for him to have a fit about any possible error messages that I relentlessly hoped for. Hojo worked for a long several minutes, and I saw a faint image of the three tanks me and my unconscious siblings were held in on his screen. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, and I grew tense with fear. Hojo said “It is time…” he snickered and pushed one more button on the keyboard, but I didn’t feel anything happening. Hojo pushed more buttons and seemed confused “Hm? Whats this?” He worked some more and slammed his fist on the keyboard “Circulation error?! Impossible! I checked all three before putting them in!” He kept going “Fine then. I’ll just have to use the remaining two remnants for the experiment!” He kept going, and I began to panic “No… I cant do anything..!” Suddenly, I heard a loud crashing sound nearby and studied the area. I heard a familiar female voice threaten “I wont allow it.” I saw Mother bust out of another tank nearby and she turned to Hojo angrily. Hojo was suddenly in a panic and turned to her “What?! How did you…?!” Mother drew her hollow silver bar that had its sharp edges and drew closer to him “I wont allow such a vile creature to sacrifice my children.” Hojo panicked further “But you… you were..! How did you break through another dimension so miraculously?!” Mother answered “When my young are in peril, I answer. That is absolute. Not even the greatest seal you can think of will breach this. Release them, or suffer the consequences!” Hojo frantically went back to the computer and hastily typed away again, and the glass went down on my tank on its own. I fell out and rushed to Mother, but I fell again from being too weak. I looked to my side and realized Kadaj and Loz were also freed. Hojo quickly ran, but Mother caught him and knocked him away before he got far. Mother threatened “I ordered you to help them… Yet you dare defy me, simply because I was locked away elsewhere? Ive never seen greater foolishness.” Hojo scooted away, his expression hardened “Gah… to think her power is so great that she can return to life so suddenly…! This woman is more powerful than I had initially thought!” Mother gazed angrily down at him “Im not done with you. You’re coming with us.” Hojo tried to escape again, but she grabbed his sleeve and stopped him. She came over to us after throwing him at a nearby wall, and she healed us, returning our powers. Mother helped me and my siblings stand, and asked “Are you all ok?” Kadaj and Loz nodded, and I said “Yeah. But Mother, how did you…?” Mother turned to me and said “When you three are in danger, I will be right here. Until you grow old enough to fully defend each other, and yourselves.” I nodded and managed to smile “But, what about Sephiroth..?” Mother stared off and said “Im afraid… he’s not coming back. But in a future far away, we will see him again.” Kadaj suggested “its about the Promised Land, right? Then of course we’ll see him again… we have to.” I realized Kadaj had feelings for Sephiroth. At first, she really seemed like a free spirited girl who just wants to smile and have fun, but somehow, I had a feeling there was a lot more to her that we hadnt learned yet. I nodded silently, and Mother led us out of Shinra Headquarters once again. The place was strangely vacant on the way out though. I began to figure they knew Mother bolted free again and decided to make off before she could get them. But I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered to me right now was that we were all ok; even Sephiroth might be ok. That’s what I hoped. Mother ended up taking us to the forgotten city again, far away from Shinra’s clutches, where we seemed to be safe. Hojo was unconscious the entire time from being hit too hard by Mother’s strength. I knew she didn’t kill him because she said she wasn’t done with him. And she wouldn’t bring him with us if he died, either. That didn’t make sense. Sometime later, he woke up moaning and managed to sit “Oww…. Where am i?” Mother replied “Look around and see for yourself.” Hojo obeyed and managed to stand up, then studied the area “This is… ah..?!” He quickly went from shocked to angry and turned back to Mother “What is the meaning of this?! Why have I been taken all the way out here?!” I commented “Tch, do we really have to answer that? You captured us and tried to do an experiment. More than that, you played us just to attempt it all. Did you expect Mother to ignore all of that and let you go?” Hojo groaned and tightened his expression “Hmph…. Frivolous things. As if I am going to obediently stand by and do your bidding.” Hojo started to walk away, but Mother blocked him holding her sharp edged metal bar in a threatening way at him. Hojo shook his head “Oh, JENOVA… I see you leave me little choice.” Loz laughed “Looks like youre stuck with us again!” Hojo turned around and groaned looking at Loz. Mother said “There is only one reason I didn’t slay you in Shinra HQ. You’re the only person who retained your memories after the incident with Zeta Weapon. You know how to stop that thing. My three children before you have also retained their memories despite the unfortunate events caused by this creature.” Hojo turned back to her and panicked “What?! Are you mad? I don’t have a clue how to defeat that specimen! It’s the strongest subject yet!” Mother replied “Then I suggest you find out how to kill it. Because until you do, we’re not going to release you. You arent going anywhere without being supervised by me until you find a confirmed way to take that creature down.” Hojo sighed “Fine. But it wont happen overnight. The research for a subject that powerful takes years. I will do what I can, but its impossible to promise miracles.” Hojo grumbled and crossed his arms before turning away angrily. I asked “Mother, are you sure we can trust him after the stunt he pulled in the north? I just cant bet on him willingly after that…” Mother answered “don’t worry. If he so much as tries to do another thing like that, he’ll pay the price and have to deal with me this time.” Kadaj said “Alright, if you say so…” Remembering what we were intially supposed to do, I asked “But Mother, what about the Black Materia?” Hojo commented “Forget about looking for it. Its been thrown away where you will never find it.” I cried “What?!!” Loz suspiciously said “How do we know youre not cheating us here?” Kadaj shook her head sadly “He’s telling the truth… I can tell.” I sighed sadly “Great, so we’re already screwed. We cant finish the mission without the Black Materia.” Kadaj asked “What do we do? We cant give up…” Mother said “There is one other way to finish the mission… but if the tools for this one are lost, we truly are doomed.” I asked “How does it work?” Mother explained “Its an S-Class mission and its very long. Far more out of the way than simply using the Black Materia to summon Meteor. Unless Sephiroth is reborn quickly enough, there’s no way we can summon Meteor now…” Loz complained “Man, don’t tell me we’re too young to do it. Cause that isnt gonna cut it! This is too important! You have to let us try, Mother… please!” Mother sighed and put a hand on her chest. She seemed hesitant to respond. I had to admit that Loz was right this time. Sure, he could be a real whiney baby and big pain in the neck with his complaining and all, but he knew when things were too serious to act childishly. Had to hand it to him for realizing we had no choice but to attempt this crazy mission Mother mentioned. If we didn’t attempt it, we’d be out of a job; literally. After a long silence, Mother said “I suppose I have to assign you three this job, then… but we’ll wait until you’re old enough to manage the mission.” We all nodded in understanding, and from that point forward, Mother focused all of her time on training us and helping us grow strong enough to manage each other on our own. She also kept strict eyes on Hojo to make sure he didn’t do anything crazy or try to cause trouble, and made sure he wasn’t acting strangely in any way.
A few years later…
Once again, we were old enough to drive and travel on our own. All three of us were teenagers again, and we spent all of our time driving around on our motorbikes to travel and get stronger. We returned home to the forgotten city to meet up with Mother, and were just on time for our next brief. I asked “What’s the next mission, Mother?” Mother explained “I want you three to attack and fully neutralize Shinra forces. If we can completely eliminate Shinra, that leaves a large open window for us to progress smoothly with our plans. The first thing I want you children to do is shut down and destroy all of the mako reactors, starting with the main 8 reactors in Midgar. However, do not obliterate the Nibelheim Reactor. Leave that one be. If the enemy attacks it, chase them with vicious haste and stop them. The best way to start this mission is by eliminating as many of their mako reactors as possible. That is a major source of their company’s income and weaponry. Once that is done, they’re nearly as good as dead.” Loz nodded “So just destroy them all? Too easy!” Loz laughed. I corrected him “Not as easy as it might sound. Do you remember how fortified the security of those things is? Remember when we broke into one trying to find Mother and nearly got caught?” Loz stopped, then grumbled “Ohh man, no way… and is it gonna get worse each time we destroy one reactor?” I nodded “Of course it will. You think they’d just sit back and watch after seeing a reactor obliterated?” Kadaj understood what I was thinking and shook her head “Oh no… this one’s gonna get ugly fast.” Loz suggested “Then we’ll just have to hurry up, right? So we don’t get caught?” Mother nodded “You have little choice. Eliminate any who attempt to stop you or slow you don’t with haste. Loz, you’re the best member of JENOVA SOLDIER to overwhelm the enemy with brute force and great speed combined, so take the front position during a head on battle with enemy forces. Yazoo, you have the skills needed to set the time bombs in each reactor. I know you can hack through the security surrounding each of the reactors as well.” I nodded in understanding. Mother continued “Kadaj, you’re a very powerful Cetra, and your strong intuitive abilities should keep you and your brothers from danger as well. I know you will also have little trouble obliterating enemy forces on the way.” Kadaj smiled and happily nodded “Of course! I wont disappoint you, Mother.” I decided “Then I guess we’re off now. We’ll give this one everything we’ve got, Mother. But…. What about Hojo? He was a former Shinra scientist, right? He should know Midgar inside out.” Kadaj agreed “Good point. He could act as great Intel for us!” Hojo grumbled but didn’t speak. Mother seemed to like the idea “Your suggestion is noted, my children. Hojo, we’re going to the isolated laboratory, and I expect you to track my children’s locations and keep Midgar on your radar as much as possible. You’re more familiar with the city than the rest of us are, so that’s your job for this mission.” Hojo protested “What?! But I… not the reactors! Why would I do that?” Mother narrowed her eye at him and put the sharp end of her metal bar to his throat. Hojo panicked “Aiyee…! Ok, I’ll do it! No questions!” I tried not to laugh when I saw him run off after that. He was just to easy to push around when you threatened him. He probably knew he was no good in a fight against us. Me and my siblings set out on our motorbikes for Midgar that night, and had our radios on us so Hojo could contact us and provide information as Mother ordered. This was going to be our most difficult mission so far. And most likely, it was bound to get a lot worse as progress is made.
To Be Continued…
I woke up sometime later, and realized I was in some kind of laboratory. But unlike the first time we were caught, I found myself inside of something filled with strange green liquid. Shocked, I realized I was in some kind of test tube or stasis tank. I was very angry; words couldn’t describe my fury now. Hojo tricked us, pretending to give us a quick flight to the north so we could regain the Black Materia, and had us captured by enemy troops on the spot. I couldn’t believe it. It was hard to make out my surroundings outside, but I saw a lot of machinery I didn’t recognize and a large computer that looked high tech on the other side of the room. I couldn’t see Hojo anywhere, but Kadaj and Loz were also locked in similar tanks nearby, still unconscious. I reached for my revolver, but it wasn’t there. So I decided to bust my way out, seeing as there was no other possible escape. However, I badly hurt my hand trying that, as if it wasn’t glass I was looking through “Oww! What in the world..?!” Now I could only assume my powers were disabled as well. I sighed, my rage growing even stronger “Just perfect. No powers either.” I saw Hojo enter the room and sit down at the big computer on the other side. I studied the area thoroughly, and gasped in fear at what I saw: several linings of pipes connecting directly to the strange devices me and Kadaj and Loz were trapped in “Ahh, shoot…! What’s he gonna do..?!” Now I really couldn’t stand just staying put and letting him do whatever he pleases. I was able to somehow make out Hojo’s words as he spoke to another person that also seemed to be a scientist “With a simple push of their powers combined, we should have no trouble returning JENOVA’s will to her body. All it takes is one simple Reunion to return her consciousness.” The scientist protested “But sir, if you use their JENOVA cells to return her and Sephiroth’s consciousness all at once… they could perish! President Rufus wants them alive!” Hojo snapped at the man “Silence! Great reward comes at great price—do it!” The scientist stepped back fearfully “Ahh... y-yes, sir..!” He scurried away and got to work somewhere else. I couldn’t see where he went. Hojo started working at the big computer “Besides… the President can use Sephiroth and JENOVA for the same purpose anyway. It wont matter if all three specimens perish from the experiment.” I hardened my expression “Shoot… if I don’t act fast, he’s gonna kill all three of us! If that happened, Mother would be… oh god…” I studied the tank’s interior that I was locked in, hoping to find something that would let me cut the circulation connecting the machine to Hojo’s computer. I saw some small panels on the floor of my tank, and managed to work my way to them. Without thinking any further, I put my face to them, and bit down as hard as I could with the goal of damaging them enough to stop Hojo’s experiment. They sparked mildly a couple times, then tore from my gnawing. I stopped, and looked at Hojo’s computer to make sure I succeeded “This better work… it has to!” Hojo was still typing, as if entering some kind of complex command. I kept watch silently, waiting for him to have a fit about any possible error messages that I relentlessly hoped for. Hojo worked for a long several minutes, and I saw a faint image of the three tanks me and my unconscious siblings were held in on his screen. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, and I grew tense with fear. Hojo said “It is time…” he snickered and pushed one more button on the keyboard, but I didn’t feel anything happening. Hojo pushed more buttons and seemed confused “Hm? Whats this?” He worked some more and slammed his fist on the keyboard “Circulation error?! Impossible! I checked all three before putting them in!” He kept going “Fine then. I’ll just have to use the remaining two remnants for the experiment!” He kept going, and I began to panic “No… I cant do anything..!” Suddenly, I heard a loud crashing sound nearby and studied the area. I heard a familiar female voice threaten “I wont allow it.” I saw Mother bust out of another tank nearby and she turned to Hojo angrily. Hojo was suddenly in a panic and turned to her “What?! How did you…?!” Mother drew her hollow silver bar that had its sharp edges and drew closer to him “I wont allow such a vile creature to sacrifice my children.” Hojo panicked further “But you… you were..! How did you break through another dimension so miraculously?!” Mother answered “When my young are in peril, I answer. That is absolute. Not even the greatest seal you can think of will breach this. Release them, or suffer the consequences!” Hojo frantically went back to the computer and hastily typed away again, and the glass went down on my tank on its own. I fell out and rushed to Mother, but I fell again from being too weak. I looked to my side and realized Kadaj and Loz were also freed. Hojo quickly ran, but Mother caught him and knocked him away before he got far. Mother threatened “I ordered you to help them… Yet you dare defy me, simply because I was locked away elsewhere? Ive never seen greater foolishness.” Hojo scooted away, his expression hardened “Gah… to think her power is so great that she can return to life so suddenly…! This woman is more powerful than I had initially thought!” Mother gazed angrily down at him “Im not done with you. You’re coming with us.” Hojo tried to escape again, but she grabbed his sleeve and stopped him. She came over to us after throwing him at a nearby wall, and she healed us, returning our powers. Mother helped me and my siblings stand, and asked “Are you all ok?” Kadaj and Loz nodded, and I said “Yeah. But Mother, how did you…?” Mother turned to me and said “When you three are in danger, I will be right here. Until you grow old enough to fully defend each other, and yourselves.” I nodded and managed to smile “But, what about Sephiroth..?” Mother stared off and said “Im afraid… he’s not coming back. But in a future far away, we will see him again.” Kadaj suggested “its about the Promised Land, right? Then of course we’ll see him again… we have to.” I realized Kadaj had feelings for Sephiroth. At first, she really seemed like a free spirited girl who just wants to smile and have fun, but somehow, I had a feeling there was a lot more to her that we hadnt learned yet. I nodded silently, and Mother led us out of Shinra Headquarters once again. The place was strangely vacant on the way out though. I began to figure they knew Mother bolted free again and decided to make off before she could get them. But I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered to me right now was that we were all ok; even Sephiroth might be ok. That’s what I hoped. Mother ended up taking us to the forgotten city again, far away from Shinra’s clutches, where we seemed to be safe. Hojo was unconscious the entire time from being hit too hard by Mother’s strength. I knew she didn’t kill him because she said she wasn’t done with him. And she wouldn’t bring him with us if he died, either. That didn’t make sense. Sometime later, he woke up moaning and managed to sit “Oww…. Where am i?” Mother replied “Look around and see for yourself.” Hojo obeyed and managed to stand up, then studied the area “This is… ah..?!” He quickly went from shocked to angry and turned back to Mother “What is the meaning of this?! Why have I been taken all the way out here?!” I commented “Tch, do we really have to answer that? You captured us and tried to do an experiment. More than that, you played us just to attempt it all. Did you expect Mother to ignore all of that and let you go?” Hojo groaned and tightened his expression “Hmph…. Frivolous things. As if I am going to obediently stand by and do your bidding.” Hojo started to walk away, but Mother blocked him holding her sharp edged metal bar in a threatening way at him. Hojo shook his head “Oh, JENOVA… I see you leave me little choice.” Loz laughed “Looks like youre stuck with us again!” Hojo turned around and groaned looking at Loz. Mother said “There is only one reason I didn’t slay you in Shinra HQ. You’re the only person who retained your memories after the incident with Zeta Weapon. You know how to stop that thing. My three children before you have also retained their memories despite the unfortunate events caused by this creature.” Hojo turned back to her and panicked “What?! Are you mad? I don’t have a clue how to defeat that specimen! It’s the strongest subject yet!” Mother replied “Then I suggest you find out how to kill it. Because until you do, we’re not going to release you. You arent going anywhere without being supervised by me until you find a confirmed way to take that creature down.” Hojo sighed “Fine. But it wont happen overnight. The research for a subject that powerful takes years. I will do what I can, but its impossible to promise miracles.” Hojo grumbled and crossed his arms before turning away angrily. I asked “Mother, are you sure we can trust him after the stunt he pulled in the north? I just cant bet on him willingly after that…” Mother answered “don’t worry. If he so much as tries to do another thing like that, he’ll pay the price and have to deal with me this time.” Kadaj said “Alright, if you say so…” Remembering what we were intially supposed to do, I asked “But Mother, what about the Black Materia?” Hojo commented “Forget about looking for it. Its been thrown away where you will never find it.” I cried “What?!!” Loz suspiciously said “How do we know youre not cheating us here?” Kadaj shook her head sadly “He’s telling the truth… I can tell.” I sighed sadly “Great, so we’re already screwed. We cant finish the mission without the Black Materia.” Kadaj asked “What do we do? We cant give up…” Mother said “There is one other way to finish the mission… but if the tools for this one are lost, we truly are doomed.” I asked “How does it work?” Mother explained “Its an S-Class mission and its very long. Far more out of the way than simply using the Black Materia to summon Meteor. Unless Sephiroth is reborn quickly enough, there’s no way we can summon Meteor now…” Loz complained “Man, don’t tell me we’re too young to do it. Cause that isnt gonna cut it! This is too important! You have to let us try, Mother… please!” Mother sighed and put a hand on her chest. She seemed hesitant to respond. I had to admit that Loz was right this time. Sure, he could be a real whiney baby and big pain in the neck with his complaining and all, but he knew when things were too serious to act childishly. Had to hand it to him for realizing we had no choice but to attempt this crazy mission Mother mentioned. If we didn’t attempt it, we’d be out of a job; literally. After a long silence, Mother said “I suppose I have to assign you three this job, then… but we’ll wait until you’re old enough to manage the mission.” We all nodded in understanding, and from that point forward, Mother focused all of her time on training us and helping us grow strong enough to manage each other on our own. She also kept strict eyes on Hojo to make sure he didn’t do anything crazy or try to cause trouble, and made sure he wasn’t acting strangely in any way.
A few years later…
Once again, we were old enough to drive and travel on our own. All three of us were teenagers again, and we spent all of our time driving around on our motorbikes to travel and get stronger. We returned home to the forgotten city to meet up with Mother, and were just on time for our next brief. I asked “What’s the next mission, Mother?” Mother explained “I want you three to attack and fully neutralize Shinra forces. If we can completely eliminate Shinra, that leaves a large open window for us to progress smoothly with our plans. The first thing I want you children to do is shut down and destroy all of the mako reactors, starting with the main 8 reactors in Midgar. However, do not obliterate the Nibelheim Reactor. Leave that one be. If the enemy attacks it, chase them with vicious haste and stop them. The best way to start this mission is by eliminating as many of their mako reactors as possible. That is a major source of their company’s income and weaponry. Once that is done, they’re nearly as good as dead.” Loz nodded “So just destroy them all? Too easy!” Loz laughed. I corrected him “Not as easy as it might sound. Do you remember how fortified the security of those things is? Remember when we broke into one trying to find Mother and nearly got caught?” Loz stopped, then grumbled “Ohh man, no way… and is it gonna get worse each time we destroy one reactor?” I nodded “Of course it will. You think they’d just sit back and watch after seeing a reactor obliterated?” Kadaj understood what I was thinking and shook her head “Oh no… this one’s gonna get ugly fast.” Loz suggested “Then we’ll just have to hurry up, right? So we don’t get caught?” Mother nodded “You have little choice. Eliminate any who attempt to stop you or slow you don’t with haste. Loz, you’re the best member of JENOVA SOLDIER to overwhelm the enemy with brute force and great speed combined, so take the front position during a head on battle with enemy forces. Yazoo, you have the skills needed to set the time bombs in each reactor. I know you can hack through the security surrounding each of the reactors as well.” I nodded in understanding. Mother continued “Kadaj, you’re a very powerful Cetra, and your strong intuitive abilities should keep you and your brothers from danger as well. I know you will also have little trouble obliterating enemy forces on the way.” Kadaj smiled and happily nodded “Of course! I wont disappoint you, Mother.” I decided “Then I guess we’re off now. We’ll give this one everything we’ve got, Mother. But…. What about Hojo? He was a former Shinra scientist, right? He should know Midgar inside out.” Kadaj agreed “Good point. He could act as great Intel for us!” Hojo grumbled but didn’t speak. Mother seemed to like the idea “Your suggestion is noted, my children. Hojo, we’re going to the isolated laboratory, and I expect you to track my children’s locations and keep Midgar on your radar as much as possible. You’re more familiar with the city than the rest of us are, so that’s your job for this mission.” Hojo protested “What?! But I… not the reactors! Why would I do that?” Mother narrowed her eye at him and put the sharp end of her metal bar to his throat. Hojo panicked “Aiyee…! Ok, I’ll do it! No questions!” I tried not to laugh when I saw him run off after that. He was just to easy to push around when you threatened him. He probably knew he was no good in a fight against us. Me and my siblings set out on our motorbikes for Midgar that night, and had our radios on us so Hojo could contact us and provide information as Mother ordered. This was going to be our most difficult mission so far. And most likely, it was bound to get a lot worse as progress is made.
To Be Continued…
