Chapter 3: For the Future
(This section will focus on Sephieroth as the speaker) I had been searching the kingdom by foot to find Yazoo for what felt like two hours now. He didn't seem to be anywhere, and I wondered if something may have gone wrong while he was patrolling the kingdom "I hope Brother is doing alright... I haven't heard from him, and he doesn't seem to be anywhere. Aeris can't keep this from our kids forever... how will they feel if they hear he disappeared?" I decided to try calling him before I search from the sky, but I immediately got static. I was confused "Impossible... what could possibly interfere now that Shinra is dead?" I thought I heard someone coming, and lowered my hand, quickly turning around. I drew my masamune and demanded an answer "Show yourselves! I know you're there!" I heard some laughter that sounded like multiple people, but not a person could be seen "Get out here, cowards! I'll destroy you all with my own power!" I lifted my right arm, preparing to use my materia and force the unseen beings to reveal themselves "All it takes is one hit, and you're done for." I began to concentrate my JENOVA cells and charge my attack, but something got hold of my arm before I could complete my attack "What the?!" I tried to look behind myself to see who got me, but once again there appeared to be nothing there "Why can't I see them?! This doesn't make any sense!" Then something else got hold of my other arm, and I dropped my katana. I tried to pull myself free, but something was jabbed into my back, and quickly pulled out; before long, my vision got blurry and I began to black out "What is going on...?" Then, I passed out; all without a chance to fight back at whatever attacked me.
Meanwhile, at JENOVA Foundation HQ....
(This part will focus on Yazoo as the speaker) I couldn't believe what I just saw on the monitor's video feed; some invisible presence ambushed Sister, and put something in her that knocked her out within a matter of seconds "What.... how...?!" Hojo turned back to me and snickered "See? I know what I'm doing. And you thought I was such a fool." I quickly turned demanding towards him "Hojo! Tell me how your team went invisible like that, now!" Hojo shrugged "It was easy, really. Because many of my employees have limited combat abilities, I decided to give them a little present to account for the issue. It took me some experimenting, but I found a way to mass produce a new materia that allows my workers to ectoplasm themselves. That, my specimen, is what just happened." I kept my expression hard at him "Why didn't you tell Mother about that project? A materia like that can save lives!" Hojo shrugged again "I thought it should be available only to foundation employees since the rest of the cetra seem plenty strong enough. Is there something wrong with that?" I replied "Obviously there is. If Mother doesn't know about that, you can expect her to be suspicious of what happened out there. That's common sense, Hojo. As a scientific genius you know you are, it's only expected that you would consider this. Unless you want to make Mother uneasy. I wouldn't do that if I were you." Hojo snickered "Well maybe I did know that, and maybe I didn't. Do forgive me, Yazoo; we all make mistakes, do we not?" I didn't believe any of his words "Shut up, Hojo. Don't play stupid with me; we both know you did that on purpose. I know the kind of man you are." Hojo laughed "Oh well, it's too late anyway. What happened out there is done, and can't be changed. I already got permission to study her powers, and now that my people got her, it's case closed." I added "I doubt Mother would have allowed you that if she knew you would be sneaky like that. Unless she knew already and decided to pass permission for a different reason..." Hojo laughed under his breath "Oh, is your prima donna losing herself all of a sudden? I'm terribly sorry. But we all grow old and age, nothing can change that." I punched him at that "Watch your mouth. I won't have you refer to Mother that way. Do have anything else to spit out?" I grabbed him by the collar of his lab coat, and he nervously smiled without speaking. I gazed hard at him, keeping silent to ensure he wouldn't insult Mother any further. After a while, I let go of him "Sephiroth was right. You really are an idiot. Talk the talk about how important you think you are, but your behavior shows us the truth. You've got a long way to go, President Hojo. I'd rather have Rufus than be stuck with you. At least he knew how to show respect." Hojo shook his head and turned back to the computer "Hmph... say what you will. But I will prove you wrong one of these days, Yazoo. I am the most brilliant scientist to ever exist... and I will find a way to prove I'm right. No matter who I need to do it. What better way to make my own legendary name, than unlocking the secrets of the family hero's potential so future cetra have the same extent of power?" I argued "Hojo, you're forgetting something important in what you're thinking. Even if you did achieve that goal, who's to say future family will be capable of handling that intense power? If a member of our race and family had the power but lacked ability to effectively contain it, you don't know what might happen. They could go berserk and be powerless to control anything they do, feel limp and weak from their body not being stable enough to handle the high JENOVA cell concentration, or even die from exceeding safe JENOVA cell levels for their physical being. Most likely, these things will be how most cetra would end up with this unilateral 'solution'. Long story short, your plan has death written all over it. It's too risky, Hojo." Hojo laughed "You never give up, do you? Have you forgotten that I never lose a debate? After all, no pain, no gain." I sighed; this man had a one-track mind. Reasoning with him was impossible. I decided to end the useless argument "Fine, Hojo. Do what you will, but if you make a mess of the legacy, you'll be the person who pays the price for it all; and so will your employees who chose to cooperate. You won't be smiling so much if Mother's giving you an angry stare in person." I hurried out of the building and ran through city, going as fast as I could to find Loz and get help together. Even if he caught Little Sister, Big Brother was still safe which left us with at least one of the winged angels. Family members who had a black wing were said to be at the top of the ladder when it came to supreme strength and potential overall. If Hojo somehow caught Sephiroth too, we were in big trouble. "I have to warn Mother about what he's trying to do. I can't let him do this! We've been through enough crisis; we don't need a new one."
To be Continued...
(This section will focus on Sephieroth as the speaker) I had been searching the kingdom by foot to find Yazoo for what felt like two hours now. He didn't seem to be anywhere, and I wondered if something may have gone wrong while he was patrolling the kingdom "I hope Brother is doing alright... I haven't heard from him, and he doesn't seem to be anywhere. Aeris can't keep this from our kids forever... how will they feel if they hear he disappeared?" I decided to try calling him before I search from the sky, but I immediately got static. I was confused "Impossible... what could possibly interfere now that Shinra is dead?" I thought I heard someone coming, and lowered my hand, quickly turning around. I drew my masamune and demanded an answer "Show yourselves! I know you're there!" I heard some laughter that sounded like multiple people, but not a person could be seen "Get out here, cowards! I'll destroy you all with my own power!" I lifted my right arm, preparing to use my materia and force the unseen beings to reveal themselves "All it takes is one hit, and you're done for." I began to concentrate my JENOVA cells and charge my attack, but something got hold of my arm before I could complete my attack "What the?!" I tried to look behind myself to see who got me, but once again there appeared to be nothing there "Why can't I see them?! This doesn't make any sense!" Then something else got hold of my other arm, and I dropped my katana. I tried to pull myself free, but something was jabbed into my back, and quickly pulled out; before long, my vision got blurry and I began to black out "What is going on...?" Then, I passed out; all without a chance to fight back at whatever attacked me.
Meanwhile, at JENOVA Foundation HQ....
(This part will focus on Yazoo as the speaker) I couldn't believe what I just saw on the monitor's video feed; some invisible presence ambushed Sister, and put something in her that knocked her out within a matter of seconds "What.... how...?!" Hojo turned back to me and snickered "See? I know what I'm doing. And you thought I was such a fool." I quickly turned demanding towards him "Hojo! Tell me how your team went invisible like that, now!" Hojo shrugged "It was easy, really. Because many of my employees have limited combat abilities, I decided to give them a little present to account for the issue. It took me some experimenting, but I found a way to mass produce a new materia that allows my workers to ectoplasm themselves. That, my specimen, is what just happened." I kept my expression hard at him "Why didn't you tell Mother about that project? A materia like that can save lives!" Hojo shrugged again "I thought it should be available only to foundation employees since the rest of the cetra seem plenty strong enough. Is there something wrong with that?" I replied "Obviously there is. If Mother doesn't know about that, you can expect her to be suspicious of what happened out there. That's common sense, Hojo. As a scientific genius you know you are, it's only expected that you would consider this. Unless you want to make Mother uneasy. I wouldn't do that if I were you." Hojo snickered "Well maybe I did know that, and maybe I didn't. Do forgive me, Yazoo; we all make mistakes, do we not?" I didn't believe any of his words "Shut up, Hojo. Don't play stupid with me; we both know you did that on purpose. I know the kind of man you are." Hojo laughed "Oh well, it's too late anyway. What happened out there is done, and can't be changed. I already got permission to study her powers, and now that my people got her, it's case closed." I added "I doubt Mother would have allowed you that if she knew you would be sneaky like that. Unless she knew already and decided to pass permission for a different reason..." Hojo laughed under his breath "Oh, is your prima donna losing herself all of a sudden? I'm terribly sorry. But we all grow old and age, nothing can change that." I punched him at that "Watch your mouth. I won't have you refer to Mother that way. Do have anything else to spit out?" I grabbed him by the collar of his lab coat, and he nervously smiled without speaking. I gazed hard at him, keeping silent to ensure he wouldn't insult Mother any further. After a while, I let go of him "Sephiroth was right. You really are an idiot. Talk the talk about how important you think you are, but your behavior shows us the truth. You've got a long way to go, President Hojo. I'd rather have Rufus than be stuck with you. At least he knew how to show respect." Hojo shook his head and turned back to the computer "Hmph... say what you will. But I will prove you wrong one of these days, Yazoo. I am the most brilliant scientist to ever exist... and I will find a way to prove I'm right. No matter who I need to do it. What better way to make my own legendary name, than unlocking the secrets of the family hero's potential so future cetra have the same extent of power?" I argued "Hojo, you're forgetting something important in what you're thinking. Even if you did achieve that goal, who's to say future family will be capable of handling that intense power? If a member of our race and family had the power but lacked ability to effectively contain it, you don't know what might happen. They could go berserk and be powerless to control anything they do, feel limp and weak from their body not being stable enough to handle the high JENOVA cell concentration, or even die from exceeding safe JENOVA cell levels for their physical being. Most likely, these things will be how most cetra would end up with this unilateral 'solution'. Long story short, your plan has death written all over it. It's too risky, Hojo." Hojo laughed "You never give up, do you? Have you forgotten that I never lose a debate? After all, no pain, no gain." I sighed; this man had a one-track mind. Reasoning with him was impossible. I decided to end the useless argument "Fine, Hojo. Do what you will, but if you make a mess of the legacy, you'll be the person who pays the price for it all; and so will your employees who chose to cooperate. You won't be smiling so much if Mother's giving you an angry stare in person." I hurried out of the building and ran through city, going as fast as I could to find Loz and get help together. Even if he caught Little Sister, Big Brother was still safe which left us with at least one of the winged angels. Family members who had a black wing were said to be at the top of the ladder when it came to supreme strength and potential overall. If Hojo somehow caught Sephiroth too, we were in big trouble. "I have to warn Mother about what he's trying to do. I can't let him do this! We've been through enough crisis; we don't need a new one."
To be Continued...
