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Destiny JENOVA IV-2: Reverse Crisis (Chapter 22: The Predicament)

Chapter 22: The Predicament

(This section will focus on Sephiroth as the speaker) We arrived at Mako Peak, where Mother was sitting in her throne. We also had Hojo still with us, who seemed to be sleeping in Cloud’s arms the entire way here and still hadn’t awakened when we came. Mother took immediate notice to me, keeping a calm gaze on me. She seemed to be feeling hopeful, and I began explaining things “I have brought you good news, Mother. The mission was successful, however, Cloud suggested we not kill Hojo, which is why you see him in his arms. I apologize for the inconvenience, Mother… but he explained something to me, and he had a valid point. I’m sorry…” Mother replied “There’s no need for apologies, my son. You did what was smart, and that’s what I expect of you. Even if you listen to someone else’s words. As for Hojo… I see he has become a cetra. May I ask for an explanation?” I nodded and answered “I’m afraid I lack intel on how he obtained these things, but he injected himself with JENOVA cells and obtained fragments of Seffi’s bladework wings, and then used the foundation’s fusion device to make the powers of these gifts his own. I wanted to go help Father JENBU, but due to Hojo’s critical condition and our need to keep him alive, we were unable to get around to it during the mission. I’m very sorry for that news…” Mother closed her and said “Fear not. You wouldn’t have found him anyway. He broke free and escaped the facility to evade Hojo’s biological abuse. He got away before you and Cloud showed up. Do you remember the foundation troops you were attacked by?” Cloud answered “Yeah, but… what does that have to do with JENBU?” Mother opened her eye and seemed to stare off into space “Those troops were expecting JENBU to return and neutralize the entire company. That’s why they attacked you two with such haste. He killed everything that stood in his way. I don’t like my family fighting each other, but I cant be angry at him considering Hojo’s reckless behavior and instructions he has given members and employees of the JENOVA Foundation. What he did was only an act of self-defense which is excusable under these circumstances. This is little different from the day Sephiroth attacked the Shinra company and killed everyone he found in order to free me from their custody…” Cloud grumbled “Ugh… that was a mess…” Sephiroth added “I know it was messy, but I only did what was right… and what I had to. Mother wasn’t as powerful then as she is now, and back then she needed my help to escape. So, I waited for the perfect time and caught their organization off guard. If I couldn’t do that, none of us would be standing here right now…” Cloud sighed “And just make all those people pay for it who weren’t involved with the experiments they did on her?” Mother turned to Cloud “Sometimes you have to do things the hard way. Given the hostility there already was towards us during that time, using force was the only choice Sephiroth had.” Cloud shook his head “Cant say that’s not true…” I nodded “Right, but at least we know he’s safe. That’s what matters. I imagine he fully recovered then?” Mother nodded “He’s well. Why, he even got his wings back! I was so happy to see him flying again…” She smiled, and so did I. I decided to get back on subject to explain everything else “But, back to the mission… something happened during our battle against cetra Hojo, Mother. Cloud cut right through Hojo’s bladework like it was nothing in an attempt to help me when I couldn’t hold him off… and the same thing happened to me too. Cloud got pinned down to the point where he couldn’t even get up, almost completely boxed in by Hojo’s bladework wings, and I cut right through them when I overcame my fear of the bladework wings… but neither of us know how we did this. I know when we don’t have answers, you always do, Mother.” Mother nodded “I can explain that, but I’m not certain you will believe it, my son. The only way to cut through the legendary bladework wings is with the power of a strong friendship. Otherwise, the only way to stop them is by attacking the user from behind and attacking the base.” My expression turned hard “What? No, that cant be it… I don’t care about him… Why would I?” I turned to the side, gazing at the large city below that seemed endless over the horizon. Mother sighed “I knew he would respond like that… Cloud, I don’t think he realized it himself, but I have a feeling Sephiroth does in fact care about you. He wont admit it, but that’s just how he is. That’s the only reason you and him were able to break Hojo’s bladework wings. Nothing else has sufficient potential to even scratch them with a direct hit alone.” I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned around to see Mother. I asked “Yes? What’s wrong, Mother?” She giggled “Nothing is wrong, but I need you and the others to go to the Forgotten City and check on the Reunion Prince for me. Can you do that, my son?” I nodded “Of course. I’ll do anything for you, Mother.” I approached everyone else and led the way downstairs, but Cloud didn’t follow. I noticed, and turned around “Cloud, come on. What are you doing?” Cloud replied “Oh, um… JENOVA told me to stay here.” I understood and continued leading Tifa and Loz downstairs.

(This part will move to Cloud as the speaker) JENOVA told me to stay behind, and that there was something very important she needed to discuss with me. I asked “But Hojo… what do we do about him?” JENOVA replied “The man will learn from his errors, do not worry. Moreover, since he is a cetra now, he is bound by my legacy and its laws. So when he awakens, he will no longer be a menace.” I said “So when he transformed in JENOVA Foundation Headquarters, do you mean..?” JENOVA nodded “Correct. The transformation was incomplete. But if he remains this close to my lifestream, that will allow the transformation to complete itself. With the powers of my Infinite Reunion right above us, he will be as my children in no time.” I felt relieved “Phew, glad that’s over at least… Hojo was a crazy man.” JENOVA laughed, and I smiled “I’ll bet he didn’t even realize that when he used that stuff on himself.” JENOVA calmed down and nodded “You are in fact correct. With the one track mind he has, he didn’t realize that becoming one of us would make him bound by my legacy. He thought he could have my powers and keep the same mind, but with a full transformation, that’s impossible. If he used weaker JENOVA cells in that syringe though, he might’ve had a shot at a half-cetra transformation, but not when adding the bladework wing fragments. Those will make you pure in even small amounts due their high power.” I nodded and asked “But… why did you want me to stay here?” JENOVA sat down in her throne and began “Do you remember what I explained about the JENOVA cell vortex in the sky long ago?” I replied “Yeah. You said I wasn’t strong enough to destroy it though… I don’t think I am now, either. If even you cant approach it without burning away, there’s no way I’m strong enough…” She shook her head and continued “No, don’t jump to conclusions, Cloud. That is why I needed you to stay here and talk with me. The destruction of that vortex, which in truth is called the Divine Vortex, is a mission only you can attempt. The Divine Vortex is immune to damage caused by the power of my cells. It’s only weakness is the life energy—or mako energy—that courses through humans like you. The other thing you need to do the mission is a strong connection with a member of the cetra race, or a friendship in simpler terms. He might not show it very much, but during the infiltration mission you and Sephiroth went on, Sephiroth really warmed up to you. He has respect for you, but being the kind of man he is, he wont admit it easily. Especially given the rather negative history you two share and that has bound you both in its own ways, and torn you apart for countless years… that’s why he refuses to show it. He was happy at the very thought that you chose him out of my four children in JENOVA SOLDIER to accompany you on the mission.” I nodded in understanding “He did smile at me a couple times, that’s true… but then he’d just act tough and display a negative demeanor as if he didn’t care one bit about what happened to me. And yet he still saved my life when Hojo pinned me down and had me trapped… I was suspicious he had a change of heart, but there was nothing I had to confirm it.” JENOVA shook her head “Yeah, that’s just how my son is with people who had a bad past with him… everything that happened in Nibelheim did that to him. That part of him still hasn’t changed… I’m sorry if he made the work difficult for you, Cloud. The mission already had high risk as it is, and poor cooperation doesn’t help that. Fortunately for you and him, JENBU cleaned most of them out when he escaped.” I remembered how vacant and quiet it was “So that’s why it was so empty…” JENOVA nodded “Correct. But all of that being said, you have what you were missing to destroy the Divine Vortex. Until it is obliterated, we cant send the Reunion Prince back to the Reverse World where he needs to be. You and Sephiroth must approach it tomorrow when it will reveal itself once again, at dawn. Only when it detects the life energy of a human will it remain open instead of locking up on its own as it does otherwise.” I felt nervous “No way… its made purely of JENOVA cells, right? If I get too close, I’ll die!” JENOVA shook her head “No, you wont burn away like that. You have high protection against its radiation, as you are infected with level 2 Geostigma. The transformation the level 2 Geostigma grants you also increases your resistance to the intense radiation of the Divine Vortex. And the friendship you restored with Sephiroth grants you the only power capable of damaging it. But for the ability to be usable, Sephiroth and you need to be in close proximity, or it wont activate.” I felt confused “What do you mean?” JENOVA explained “It’s a line in an old legend, but it reads as follows: when human and cetra reunite, the blade of the Divine will reveal itself. What this means is by forming a friendship with Sephiroth, you have the power to destroy the Divine Vortex with your sword. This particular passage describes a special power that can only be granted by the friendship between a cetra and a human being, the very same power that allowed you and Sephiroth to cut through the legendary bladework wings. The Divine Vortex is made up the exact same way that the bladework wings are, immune to all damaged except that ability. However, unlike the bladework wings, you have to destroy the barrier in the center of the vortex in order for the core to be accessible. When the core is fully exposed, it only takes one hit to completely destroy the Divine Vortex, and seal it away forever. And to do that, this power is necessary. It’s impossible by other means.” I had a mental image of Sephiroth withering away and worried “But what about Sephiroth? If he burns away, it’s all pointless…” JENOVA answered “The connection you two share will grant him a special kind of protection during a crisis. Given the gravity of this threat, that protection will doubtless trigger in him so he isn’t disintegrated by the vortex. But if he’s up there too long… he might not make it…” I saw tears in JENOVA’s eye and I put Hojo’s body down, and placed a hand on her shoulder “No, stop it… don’t say that. He’ll make it. I promise. And if he’s in a pinch during that fight, I’ll tell him to turn back.” JENOVA argued “But if he is separated from you when youre that close, you’ll be vaporized! Without you, we cant do anything to the vortex. If you fall, its all over. If he does, at least my kingdom is safe… but…” She began crying, and I tried to comfort her. I thought I cant fail this one… and Sephiroth can’t either. JENOVA will never recover if he doesn’t make it through… I’ll do whatever it comes to, for her sake… She’s been nicer to me than she was at first, she’s trying not to get angry at me. I should do the same in return… I said “JENOVA, I said I’m gonna help you. And I’ll help Sephiroth and everyone else too, ok?” She calmed down, and I let go of her “I know, it’s just… he was the first one to hear my voice, to hear me crying out… humans couldn’t, they didn’t have that power… he was the first one to even love me. He risked so much, died so many times… just to make me happy. I don’t wanna lose him…” I nodded “I know… I heard him talking to you during the mission at the foundation, but I couldn’t hear you talking. I knew he heard you. It was obvious. But I’ll save him and the rest of us, so don’t wear it out. I can keep my promise.” She nodded, and relaxed more “Ok… its almost night, though. You better meet up with him and explain the situation. Given his devotion and fierce loyalty to me, I doubt he will give you trouble with cooperation. He takes protecting my kingdom very seriously. You must be on time for this, Cloud. If you and Sephiroth go too late, it could be even months before the vortex reveals itself again. And if it isn’t attacked when it opens at dawn tomorrow, we might have another WEAPON class cetra in the kingdom, or something much worse could happen.” I asked “Like what..?” JENOVA answered “Worst case scenario, it could pull this Planet into oblivion with a powerful gravitational force. And since the Divine Vortex is an unstable borderline between my Planet and countless other worlds and time-space dimensions, there’s no telling where we will end up if that happened. It could even crash my world into another one which would mean death for all of us.” Out of the blue, I asked “But JENOVA… how do you know all of this?” She paused in silence, then said “Because the endless and vast expanse of space… is where I spent nearly all of my years. So I can foretell what is to come, and I have a great understanding of how the fabric of space and time functions, and I have knowledge of its destructive potential as well. That vortex, for instance… it has a mind of its own. I came from a Planet faraway from this one, where there were many highly intelligent extraterrestrials such as myself. My husband JENBU, and my younger Sister YUROVA… we come from the same place. However, there was terrible accident, and my home planet was destroyed, and my people nearly went extinct… me and YUROVA, along with JENBU, were the only surviving members of our species.” I suddenly felt bad for her “Oh my goodness… that’s awful… did someone… destroy your home Planet?” She nodded “It was awful… the last-minute evacuation order barely saved our kind. There were too many of us for the entire race to possibly survive, and too many enemies coming our way. That’s why I travelled for years upon years, to find a world suitable to rebuild my kind. And I came to a decision that this was the one to save my race from extinction. And during those endless years of travel, I became a master of interspatial travel and breaching the fabric of space to go from one world or dimension to another. That’s why I know all about the Divine Vortex and how it works.” I shrugged “Well, I guess if you spent your whole life in space, you know everything about it, then. But more than that, I’m glad you were able to have a family and rebuild your kind… even if they aren’t exactly the same as the original generation.” JENOVA nodded silently. I continued “So that’s why you care so much about Sephiroth… he was all you had left after coming here and losing your home… I’m sorry, JENOVA… I never even bothered to think about it… and I should have.” JENOVA replied “Don’t blame yourself, Cloud. Humans don’t have the reasoning ability to even consider things like this, especially when they have no recon concerning where an unidentified visitor came from. Very few would have bothered to think anything about me, not knowing where I came from or why I came.” I understood her point “Youre right… you certainly don’t hear things like that every day, or even every year. But I still feel awful…” JENOVA stepped down from her throne and placed her hands on my face “It’s ok, Cloud. Just put it behind you, alright? What happened to my home Planet isn’t your fault. You had no way of even considering something happened to me out there; no evidence, no signs of anything, really. Just the meteor I crash-landed in, and the light traces of my cells in its shattered fragments. How much could even the Shinra intelligence assume about me just by examining that?” I managed a smile “Not much of anything, really… You’re right. I’ll go get Sephiroth and end the crisis, ok? I’ll make sure you don’t lose your home again.” I heard someone moan, and JENOVA let go of me. I saw Hojo wake up and get on his feet “Ungh… what the..? What am I doing here? Where am I?” I turned to Hojo and explained “You blacked out at the JENOVA Foundation Headquarters after challenging me and Sephiroth. Do you remember anything?” He paused to think, then said “Hmm… there a project I was supposed to be working on, what was it now?” JENOVA giggled “I guess he hasn’t lost his enthusiasm and dedication to science. No surprise there, he was quite ambitious about it, even being arrogant.” Hojo seemed confused “Hm? Your Highness? Why am I here? I was in the main laboratory at the top floor of the foundation headquarters, but then something happened and…” He suddenly remembered something “Oh my, I am quite behind schedule! I’m supposed to be preparing and organizing the weapon you ordered. Forgive this inconvenience, Your Highness… something must have gone wrong while I was on the job. I’ll be on my way, then…” He walked away and went downstairs to leave. I smiled and watched him leave “I guess he forgot about the fight we had, but at least he seems focused now.” JENOVA smiled “And he grew a new set of bladework wings too… I have a feeling there’s a lot more promise in him now. He seems more mellow somehow…” I smiled, and said goodbye to JENOVA, and hurried downstairs to leave and find Sephiroth.


To Be Continued…
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