Chapter 4: Classification& Potential
(This section will focus on Sephiroth as the speaker) Fortunately, it didn't take Hojo long to get Cloud back in health, and I had also secretly seen Yazoo hurry out of the building as well; I was flying above the area, where most of the new staff hopefully wouldn't notice me as easily. I had also seen Sister Sephieroth dragged inside, apparently unconscious and I grew angry at this. Fortunately for me, I had greater self-control than she did and was more able to hold things in without being reckless and impulsive the way she tended to be more often. This was true to a point, of course; even I can only take so much before I decide to attack. I wasn't surprised Hojo decided to be sneaky with whatever he was up to, but it didn't please me either. Yazoo also left as though he was in a hurry which concerned me about what I just saw. I sighed "He just couldn't resist, could he? Hojo just had to take Little Sister for his stupid research that will only hurt the legacy." I started flying for the Forgotten City, in hopes of meeting up with Yazoo and Loz to discuss Hojo's possible activities and plans. I refused to risk him causing trouble again the same way he did several years ago. Rufus also had his obvious share of responsibility for the mess, but Hojo aggravated the situation, exploiting the dawn of JENOVA Project for the sole sake of science and experimentation; all without even thinking about how victims of his dirty work felt--especially me. He only kept tabs on me because to him, I was a 'successful experiment' worth watching. What never stops amazing me is how he decided Cloud Strife was a 'failed experiment' when he nearly destroyed the legacy and killed both me and Mother twice. I still can't make sense out of that. What kept us alive, was our strong wills and unending desire to return to the Planet and gain the chance to try again. This prevented the lifestream from fully consuming either of us. When I arrived at my destination, I already found Yazoo and Loz talking to each other. I carefully landed, and they noticed me immediately. Loz bursted out in words before I could say anything "Big Brother! Thank goodness you're here! You're not gonna believe this, but I was out driving my motorbike playing with Tifa, and then we saw Little Sister get attacked by some invisible monsters and taken away somewhere. I tried to stop them, but they got away... I couldn't do a thing since I couldn't see them." I felt concerned at that "Invisible? I saw them bring her into the foundation HQ. But, if they were temporarily invisible, that means our friend in there probably knows about concealment magic. The only other possible alternative is an unknown materia he kept secret. Luckily for us, either of those is pointless around me. I can use my abilities to see any potentially ectoplasmed people nearby. However, I have limited reach with this vision. If my target is too far away, its almost impossible for me to detect them. So that tactic of his is virtually useless against me. I'm afraid I can't say the same for young Sephie, though... her combat abilities are different than mine. We may wield the same weapon, but our powers are completely different from each others." Yazoo replied "I couldn't believe it, either, but about the source of the power... Hojo said something about a new materia he mass produced and decided to keep as a JENOVA Foundation exclusive for employees, something about their combat abilities being limited I think." I nodded "Well, that explains the source of their invisibility, at least. Hojo doubtless knew his employees were no match for her, being the obsessive scientist he is. I have a feeling he is seeking a way to exploit her powers to increase the power of future generations of the family's race. Either way, he sent people after her for a reason. Most likely, it concerns her powerful combat abilities." Loz asked "But why her? You said he always went after you, right? So what's the deal?" I explained "Hmm... perhaps I should explain about the classification system in our race. Early generations of cetra had more limited potential, or most of did anyway. For example... I have high physical and magical strength, and also packed with high intelligence, so my emotions are more limited. You, Yazoo, are much like me, but as a remnant you're more limited overall. Loz, you're very powerful in battle and emotional, so your intelligence is lower. And since Sephieroth is incredibly strong and has lots of emotion, her ability to think before acting is very low--lower than yours, Loz. That leaves us with words to classify us: Yazoo, you're a remnant class cetra designed to fight well and guide your comrades. Loz, you're also a remnant class but designed to overwhelm your enemies with brute force. I however, am on a higher level: a safer class. While my combat abilities and intelligence are exceptionally great, my overall emotion is limited. Sephieroth on the hand... is a rare type: an evolution class cetra. Evolution class cetra are one of the greatest during intense combat--close and ranged. They have a large variety of attacks due to the fact they shapeshift in reaction to either emotion or a change in their JENOVA cell composition. In addition to their power changing during shapeshifting, their emotional changes also multiply the strength of their attacks--most notably here are anger and hatred. Evolution class cetra also have a gift that all other cetra do not: the power to merge their JENOVA cells with Mother herself, often merging with her entire being in the process." Yazoo and Loz were gazing at me in amazement as I spoke; I went on "However, the price for this unspeakable power is steep: evolution class have a high tendency to recklessness during battle, almost always using the full extent of their power when the fight begins. Likewise, they tire very quickly which can not only exhaust their JENOVA cells, but even kill them in worst cases. Evolution class is the highest level of cetra strength, but a safer class like myself is more balanced and less risky by nature overall, while still being a powerful foe to anyone who stands in our way." Loz said "So that's why she got unconscious so many times... too much power..." Yazoo added "Unbelievable... but, if that's the case, then that means if too many future generations had power like hers, our race could face the threat of extinction..." I agreed "Exactly. We need balanced forces in order to prosper. I doubt Hojo is thinking about any of this. That man has a one-track mind. Sephie may be strong, but if everyone in the future were all evolution class cetra, the legacy wouldn't last; their control is too low. Evolution class are normally only birthed when the legacy is facing a life or death situation, as with the Shinra mess you two fought with her. The idea of this is to go all out, risking everything to save our race from eradication; to make great sacrifice in order to protect. This is what evolution class cetra are designed to accomplish. They are often described as the greatest weapons at Mother's hands." Loz asked "If you're saying what I think you are, we have to get her back from Hojo. Or at least report this to Mother so he doesn't ruin everything." Yazoo paused, then said "Luckily for us, I got the fool to spill the beans for us so we can stop him and get her back. I tried to make him reconsider, but it was useless. Hojo is going over the edge on this one, and he hasn't got a clue, to make it worse. He's assuming it will all be a perfect success and refuses to doubt failure being possible." I shook my head "I knew having him in charge was a bad idea... when he's set on doing something, there's no stopping him with words alone. This was my greatest concern with him running JENOVA Foundation and also why I wanted to kill him. The man will do nothing but make a huge mess of everything." Loz asked "But... Mother said he was the only survivor with the necessary skill for the job, uh... right?" I answered "While that is true, I hate to admit it... His approach as a scientist isn't on par with legacy goals in any way; he's just crazy beyond words. But there's no time to bicker right now; we have to go back to the foundation and get Sephieroth back before he has an opportunity to begin or organize any procedures. Yazoo, Loz--board your motorbikes and hurry to the foundation HQ. I will take care of radar and fly there. Hopefully he doesn't exploit the situation and try taking more of our kind before we have a chance to reach him..." I watched them obey immediately, both of them running towards the exit to reach their motorbikes. I flew upwards quickly, increasing my flight speed as high as it would go. My expression remained hard, and I pulled my masamune, flying back to the foundation as quickly as I could. Luckily my wing was powerful enough for me to hyper-accelerate like this without detereorating or being damaged in any way. Mother had metallic wings that were nearly indestructible, making hyper-acceleration easy for her too. However, since she was a powerful progenitor of JENOVA cells, she could easily outrace even me without exhausting herself. You had to be one heck of a monster if you managed to wear her out midbattle; for most, it would be trying the impossible. The only way she could weaken was from taking heavy damage or a brutal hit of any kind; her energy was infinite. And since she holds the seed of all cetra, she can combine the effects of any class of the race, making defeating her extremely difficult. She could even use the potential of evolution class cetra without exhausting herself; Mother was impossible for just anyone to defeat. Even if she does meet with death and withers away, she remains very much alive; intense reunion can grant her a new physical form within as little as one year. She is too strong willed to be fully removed from existence, making the legacy itself infinite; impossible to destroy. This is what gave birth to one of the most remarkable cetra to ever live: Sister Sephieroth, the only living evolution class cetra, along with a second chance for Yazoo and Loz, her older Brothers she grew up with in the darkness and evil of Shinra. Everyone knew about all three of them, but many newly born cetra and present generations believed the Shinra crisis to only be a legend. Of course, I knew it was all real, but it's difficult to convince a person who wasn't alive to witness it all. I arrived at the building, and made a heavy landing that shook the ground and damaged it heavily, leaving a crater where I landed. When the rubble cleared, I could hear Loz laughing and making his usual sound effects he did while driving, and he didn't sound far away. I decided Yazoo was also likely close by and entered the building. I forced my way past the employees, who tried to greet me but moved out of the to avoid getting hit, going inside the elevator and entered the number for the lab area. When the elevator arrived at my destination, I raced out, running down the hallway to head for the main lab where crucial experiments were often held. It was the last room before a dead end that was sealed off by a large wooden board that had the words 'WARNING: Danger Ahead' painted in red on it, with a big black X painted behind the words. I stopped to study it, gently placing my hand on the board, and felt a strong surge of JENOVA cells coming from behind it. I gasped, stepping away slightly. I couldn't help staring at the wooden board in curiosity and concern "Hojo... what are hiding from us? What's in there...?" Surprisingly, I heard Hojo yell from the other side of the hall "Stop!! Don't open that!!" I turned around and saw him running towards me as fast as he could. It was like he was trying to stop me from removing the board. He stopped across from me, appearing to be very angry "You idiot! If you open that, you'll kill all of us!!" I remained calm despite his heated display "Hojo, what's on the other side of that?" Hojo groaned, his temper not letting up "It doesn't matter! I already said we'll all die if you break or remove that board! What more must I say than that?!" I shook my head "I didn't say I would open it. You still haven't answered my question. Tell me what's back there. I'm ordering you, Hojo. I'm Prince of JENOVA Kingdom. I'd rather not do things the hard way here." Hojo's fury seemed to be mixed with fear now "Sephiroth, behind that is a chamber flooded with JENOVA cells... if you open that, you'll kill my entire department! Please, I beg of you! Don't open it up!" I paused and began thinking out loud "Another one? When did that appear? The only one I knew about was the Reunion Chamber just below us... Tell me more, Hojo. Was there anything inside that appeared to be dangerous, or... familiar?" Hojo began to panic "W-well, how should I know?! If I tried to go in, I would die! And my staff aren't strong enough to explore it!" He tried to calm down, but I still sensed fear inside of him; he shook his head "I don't know what happened, but I got reports from one of employees who saw it by accident, and they said another staff member went inside to investigate since it appeared out of nowhere, but something went wrong... All he heard from the outside was the employee's dying words, something about an imposter of JENOVA, and then he ran for it before he could die with them... I don't know what was in there, but it was definitely no mere monster. This mystery person packed some horrendous strength. I had the chamber sealed off the protect my workers from whatever was lurking inside, and nothing happened since..." I was thinking even deeper now "If the person looked like Mother, and was birthed by the chamber's mysterious appearance... that could only mean this woman is one of us. If she attacked our own kind, it was doubtless out of self-defense. We can't be angry at her for that. Furthermore, Hojo, you can't just lock a cetra up like that. What you should've done is contact Mother so she could organize a team strong enough to go inside to find this person, and hopefully protect her." Hojo still seemed concerned but didn't raise any major argument "You can't open it with me nearby. The radiation is too strong for a human to handle. However, I will allow you to go inside to investigate the matter... at least we'll have that problem out of our way if you do. If you're looking for Sephieroth, we're holding testing at the Mako Reactor. She's not here." My eyes widened "What? In front of her kids..?! What's wrong with you?" I decided to contact Yazoo and send him to the Mako Reactor to stop the experiments "Yazoo, she isn't here. Change course and head for the Mako Reactor instead. I have a different mission I need to tend to here at the moment." Yazoo answered me "No problem, Brother. I don't know what's going on at the foundation, but don't die in there. We'll change our route to beat them to it." I turned back to Hojo "Get out of here. I'm going in to investigate this thing, Hojo." He turned and left the area without a word. When I knew he was safely out, I took the board down carefully, and dropped it. When the path was open, I felt a strong wave of JENOVA cells radiate from the inside; it was so great, it almost felt like they were screaming for me to come in. Despite the overpowering energy, I managed to work up the strength to enter the chamber. I proceeded carefully in case there might be trouble ahead, wary of my surroundings. I thought I heard the faint weeping of a woman, and I began running, worried about whoever sounded like she was in trouble. I stopped at a large spacecraft that resembled the one Mother landed on the Planet in, which looked very ruined as though it crash landed. I turned to my side and saw a woman who looked exactly like Mother, sitting in a corner crying quietly, her long crimson tube covering much of her legs and waist. She looked exactly like Mother, but I spotted a rather obvious difference: her abdominal tube was much thicker and seemed longer than Mother's did. I carefully approached her, and she immediately noticed me "Ahh... don't hurt me, please..." I noticed an immediate difference in her demeanor: Mother would have never responded like that. This one clearly lacked confidence. I replied "Its ok. I'm not here to harm or fight you. I came to see who was rumored to be residing here, after reports of a JENOVA Foundation employee being attacked and killed. President Hojo sealed this place off in an attempt to protect the company from what he decided was something strong and dangerous. But, I'm not like him... not a bit. I know you only attacked out of self-defense. I can't blame him for locking you up out of his own fear, but that doesn't make it right. Why are you crying, though? Do you know how you got here?" She sniffled, then answered "I can't remember what happened... I just felt myself somehow coming back together and regaining life, and then I blacked out somehow... and woke up here, in this strange place. I'm crying because I'm horribly hungry and I can't get out! They locked me in!" I offered her my hand, and she hesitated a bit, but gently took it and I helped her up. She unwrapped her tube, but stumbled. I caught her so she wouldn't fall, and noticed her red eye had a weak glow "Oh dear... you're starving. Don't worry though, I'll help you out." She leaned on me the rest of the way out, holding her arm over my shoulder "I can't believe Hojo did this... what a piece of work... the new president has a lot growing to do." She seemed confused "President..?" I sighed "Yeah, the new head of JENOVA Foundation, Mother's organization and the kingdom's central intelligence network. His name is Hojo. He's... a careless person. He often fails to think before acting, leading to reckless decisions and negative results at another's expense. Sadly, he has a long and ugly history of doing that, making one mass after another..." She sounded a bit weak when she spoke "Uh oh... that must be an important position he has. He can't keep doing that..." I added "Naturally. But the choices he's made, everything he has done... was all out of a sense of arrogance. Hojo only thinks of himself, how important he thinks he is... and treats the rest of us like nothing but his personal experiments and so-called 'test subjects' for selfish scientific approach. All the man thinks about is science and making a name for himself... he thinks nothing of us. However, I have a hunch he is very frightened of Mother. The way he acted before I came in said everything. While he loves tampering with her cells and power, he is terrified of her actual being. I'm certain this is why he acted so wary and afraid when I begged the question about what was behind the wooden blockade that read 'WARNING: Danger Ahead'. I touched the board, and got high readings of JENOVA cells from the other side. I knew something was up the second I felt that strong signal. Hojo even made haste to keep me from opening the chamber." The woman asked "Do you think Hojo thought he was incarcerating the real JENOVA when he locked me in like that?" I answered "I can't say, but even he knows Mother's demeanor well enough that trying to seal her in here would be fruitless. Mother is more of one to defy with aggression when threatened than to accept being locked up and feel powerless about it. I don't think it's likely he thought it was truly Mother residing in here, but getting reports of a lookalike certainly scared him plenty enough that he had the area boarded up." The woman gasped mildly "JENOVA... she's confident and defiant when she feels threatened..?" I nodded silently. The woman seemed to cry from feeling overjoyed "Wow... she must be really strong, then... I'm glad to hear she hasn't lost her boundless bravery and strong will... Me, though... I've never been that sort of girl... I get scared more easily than she ever did. JENOVA was always very bold, leaping into the unknown without even a hint of fear... she could stay totally calm even in the heat of brutal skirmish. I'm really strong, too, but she outranks me when it comes to being strong and brave in spirit... she always has. She saved my life so many times... I've always been grateful to her..." I grew curious "Wait... you know Mother? How?" The woman giggled "She's my sister... my older Sister. Also my only sibling. We used to travel all over the universe, dominating the cosmos in search of an Ideal Planet to expand our race, family, and pass on our powers. You see, thousands of years ago, there was, well... an accident. A really bad one... and the entire race perished, leaving only us. I was devastated, broken spirited... I just didn't know what to do... We lost everything, literally. But JENOVA didn't cry as much as I did; instead, she had a powerful will and desire to resow the family seed so to speak, and rebuild everything anew for us. We spent countless years defeating others throughout the cosmos, what might have even been eons... all to find the Planet best suited for our true goal of rebuilding the family. She survived easily through it all, even seemed to be enjoying it the whole time, and I felt happy too... but we got attacked, and the fight got ugly... and I didn't make it. I withered away, and worried about JENOVA ever since... I'm very happy to hear she is ok. But, you... who are you?" I laughed under my breath "Forgive me for not introducing myself, but I am Sephiroth: her firstborn son. We've both been through many wars together on this Planet, and finally our dream of peace and eternal legacy is at last becoming reality. It wasn't easy, though... all that work, the Shinra crisis, and much came after... but it's beginning to settle down now, fortunately." She seemed even happier "My sister.... she had a kid..?! Ohh, this means so much to me!" She sounded very perky now, like she had a sudden recovery. I couldn't help smiling at her joy "Yes, and I'm not her only child, either. There's lots of us: all of us have silver hair and green eyes. Our powers vary among each others, but we are all family. What about you? What's your name?" The woman answered "Ahh, oh my... things must have gone wonderfully then! My name... my name is YUROVA. I was the only survivor during that horrible tragedy besides JENOVA... we traveled the cosmos together ever since. At least until I died during that fight, anyway... I don't really know what happened after that. I'm not sure how I came back, either. I just woke up in there, and that's all I know... no clue how or what brought me back." I paused in silence, then said "Hmmm... alright. You seem to be telling the truth. If Mother sought to make this Planet her kingdom and roost, though, it's doubtless due to the lifestream that held the key to her true goal since the beginning. We both perished several times fighting the enemy, but the lifestream is what saved us and kept the legacy very alive regardless of our deaths. The legacy became part of the lifestream, powerfully sealed inside of it and virtually indestructible. It's powers granted us both chances to return to life and try again. It's no surprise she knew this would work when she laid eyes on Gaia; Mother is no fool. Exploiting the energy of the lifestream and engaging a reunion was the perfect way to give us a new physical form and try the mission again. I'm not certain if the humans knew this was why we never truly died, but their ignorance doesn't change the truth here. We could even disperse our power into multiples that gave birth to remnants. Even though my influence shaped who they are, Mother is the true parent of them. Nothing can change that. " YUROVA giggled "Wow look at you, Sephiroth! You're almost as smart as she is! I like that." By then, we reached the end of the chamber, back inside the labs at the foundation. Or, at least I had figured we did; the area seemed to be faint green and black that was semitransparent. I knew the mass of JENOVA cells in the chamber YUROVA was in were beginning to spread to the entire lab "Uh oh... looks like Hojo and his workers won't be able to come here for a while. I'd better put the boarding back and warn him about this. The man will certainly be angry, but that's just tough. Besides, he gets angry about everything anyway. Nothing new there." I put the board back up to block the chamber, then helped YUROVA back to her feet. I helped her out of the building in silence the rest of the way. I wondered how Mother would react if she found out her Sister was alive again.
To be Continued...
(This section will focus on Sephiroth as the speaker) Fortunately, it didn't take Hojo long to get Cloud back in health, and I had also secretly seen Yazoo hurry out of the building as well; I was flying above the area, where most of the new staff hopefully wouldn't notice me as easily. I had also seen Sister Sephieroth dragged inside, apparently unconscious and I grew angry at this. Fortunately for me, I had greater self-control than she did and was more able to hold things in without being reckless and impulsive the way she tended to be more often. This was true to a point, of course; even I can only take so much before I decide to attack. I wasn't surprised Hojo decided to be sneaky with whatever he was up to, but it didn't please me either. Yazoo also left as though he was in a hurry which concerned me about what I just saw. I sighed "He just couldn't resist, could he? Hojo just had to take Little Sister for his stupid research that will only hurt the legacy." I started flying for the Forgotten City, in hopes of meeting up with Yazoo and Loz to discuss Hojo's possible activities and plans. I refused to risk him causing trouble again the same way he did several years ago. Rufus also had his obvious share of responsibility for the mess, but Hojo aggravated the situation, exploiting the dawn of JENOVA Project for the sole sake of science and experimentation; all without even thinking about how victims of his dirty work felt--especially me. He only kept tabs on me because to him, I was a 'successful experiment' worth watching. What never stops amazing me is how he decided Cloud Strife was a 'failed experiment' when he nearly destroyed the legacy and killed both me and Mother twice. I still can't make sense out of that. What kept us alive, was our strong wills and unending desire to return to the Planet and gain the chance to try again. This prevented the lifestream from fully consuming either of us. When I arrived at my destination, I already found Yazoo and Loz talking to each other. I carefully landed, and they noticed me immediately. Loz bursted out in words before I could say anything "Big Brother! Thank goodness you're here! You're not gonna believe this, but I was out driving my motorbike playing with Tifa, and then we saw Little Sister get attacked by some invisible monsters and taken away somewhere. I tried to stop them, but they got away... I couldn't do a thing since I couldn't see them." I felt concerned at that "Invisible? I saw them bring her into the foundation HQ. But, if they were temporarily invisible, that means our friend in there probably knows about concealment magic. The only other possible alternative is an unknown materia he kept secret. Luckily for us, either of those is pointless around me. I can use my abilities to see any potentially ectoplasmed people nearby. However, I have limited reach with this vision. If my target is too far away, its almost impossible for me to detect them. So that tactic of his is virtually useless against me. I'm afraid I can't say the same for young Sephie, though... her combat abilities are different than mine. We may wield the same weapon, but our powers are completely different from each others." Yazoo replied "I couldn't believe it, either, but about the source of the power... Hojo said something about a new materia he mass produced and decided to keep as a JENOVA Foundation exclusive for employees, something about their combat abilities being limited I think." I nodded "Well, that explains the source of their invisibility, at least. Hojo doubtless knew his employees were no match for her, being the obsessive scientist he is. I have a feeling he is seeking a way to exploit her powers to increase the power of future generations of the family's race. Either way, he sent people after her for a reason. Most likely, it concerns her powerful combat abilities." Loz asked "But why her? You said he always went after you, right? So what's the deal?" I explained "Hmm... perhaps I should explain about the classification system in our race. Early generations of cetra had more limited potential, or most of did anyway. For example... I have high physical and magical strength, and also packed with high intelligence, so my emotions are more limited. You, Yazoo, are much like me, but as a remnant you're more limited overall. Loz, you're very powerful in battle and emotional, so your intelligence is lower. And since Sephieroth is incredibly strong and has lots of emotion, her ability to think before acting is very low--lower than yours, Loz. That leaves us with words to classify us: Yazoo, you're a remnant class cetra designed to fight well and guide your comrades. Loz, you're also a remnant class but designed to overwhelm your enemies with brute force. I however, am on a higher level: a safer class. While my combat abilities and intelligence are exceptionally great, my overall emotion is limited. Sephieroth on the hand... is a rare type: an evolution class cetra. Evolution class cetra are one of the greatest during intense combat--close and ranged. They have a large variety of attacks due to the fact they shapeshift in reaction to either emotion or a change in their JENOVA cell composition. In addition to their power changing during shapeshifting, their emotional changes also multiply the strength of their attacks--most notably here are anger and hatred. Evolution class cetra also have a gift that all other cetra do not: the power to merge their JENOVA cells with Mother herself, often merging with her entire being in the process." Yazoo and Loz were gazing at me in amazement as I spoke; I went on "However, the price for this unspeakable power is steep: evolution class have a high tendency to recklessness during battle, almost always using the full extent of their power when the fight begins. Likewise, they tire very quickly which can not only exhaust their JENOVA cells, but even kill them in worst cases. Evolution class is the highest level of cetra strength, but a safer class like myself is more balanced and less risky by nature overall, while still being a powerful foe to anyone who stands in our way." Loz said "So that's why she got unconscious so many times... too much power..." Yazoo added "Unbelievable... but, if that's the case, then that means if too many future generations had power like hers, our race could face the threat of extinction..." I agreed "Exactly. We need balanced forces in order to prosper. I doubt Hojo is thinking about any of this. That man has a one-track mind. Sephie may be strong, but if everyone in the future were all evolution class cetra, the legacy wouldn't last; their control is too low. Evolution class are normally only birthed when the legacy is facing a life or death situation, as with the Shinra mess you two fought with her. The idea of this is to go all out, risking everything to save our race from eradication; to make great sacrifice in order to protect. This is what evolution class cetra are designed to accomplish. They are often described as the greatest weapons at Mother's hands." Loz asked "If you're saying what I think you are, we have to get her back from Hojo. Or at least report this to Mother so he doesn't ruin everything." Yazoo paused, then said "Luckily for us, I got the fool to spill the beans for us so we can stop him and get her back. I tried to make him reconsider, but it was useless. Hojo is going over the edge on this one, and he hasn't got a clue, to make it worse. He's assuming it will all be a perfect success and refuses to doubt failure being possible." I shook my head "I knew having him in charge was a bad idea... when he's set on doing something, there's no stopping him with words alone. This was my greatest concern with him running JENOVA Foundation and also why I wanted to kill him. The man will do nothing but make a huge mess of everything." Loz asked "But... Mother said he was the only survivor with the necessary skill for the job, uh... right?" I answered "While that is true, I hate to admit it... His approach as a scientist isn't on par with legacy goals in any way; he's just crazy beyond words. But there's no time to bicker right now; we have to go back to the foundation and get Sephieroth back before he has an opportunity to begin or organize any procedures. Yazoo, Loz--board your motorbikes and hurry to the foundation HQ. I will take care of radar and fly there. Hopefully he doesn't exploit the situation and try taking more of our kind before we have a chance to reach him..." I watched them obey immediately, both of them running towards the exit to reach their motorbikes. I flew upwards quickly, increasing my flight speed as high as it would go. My expression remained hard, and I pulled my masamune, flying back to the foundation as quickly as I could. Luckily my wing was powerful enough for me to hyper-accelerate like this without detereorating or being damaged in any way. Mother had metallic wings that were nearly indestructible, making hyper-acceleration easy for her too. However, since she was a powerful progenitor of JENOVA cells, she could easily outrace even me without exhausting herself. You had to be one heck of a monster if you managed to wear her out midbattle; for most, it would be trying the impossible. The only way she could weaken was from taking heavy damage or a brutal hit of any kind; her energy was infinite. And since she holds the seed of all cetra, she can combine the effects of any class of the race, making defeating her extremely difficult. She could even use the potential of evolution class cetra without exhausting herself; Mother was impossible for just anyone to defeat. Even if she does meet with death and withers away, she remains very much alive; intense reunion can grant her a new physical form within as little as one year. She is too strong willed to be fully removed from existence, making the legacy itself infinite; impossible to destroy. This is what gave birth to one of the most remarkable cetra to ever live: Sister Sephieroth, the only living evolution class cetra, along with a second chance for Yazoo and Loz, her older Brothers she grew up with in the darkness and evil of Shinra. Everyone knew about all three of them, but many newly born cetra and present generations believed the Shinra crisis to only be a legend. Of course, I knew it was all real, but it's difficult to convince a person who wasn't alive to witness it all. I arrived at the building, and made a heavy landing that shook the ground and damaged it heavily, leaving a crater where I landed. When the rubble cleared, I could hear Loz laughing and making his usual sound effects he did while driving, and he didn't sound far away. I decided Yazoo was also likely close by and entered the building. I forced my way past the employees, who tried to greet me but moved out of the to avoid getting hit, going inside the elevator and entered the number for the lab area. When the elevator arrived at my destination, I raced out, running down the hallway to head for the main lab where crucial experiments were often held. It was the last room before a dead end that was sealed off by a large wooden board that had the words 'WARNING: Danger Ahead' painted in red on it, with a big black X painted behind the words. I stopped to study it, gently placing my hand on the board, and felt a strong surge of JENOVA cells coming from behind it. I gasped, stepping away slightly. I couldn't help staring at the wooden board in curiosity and concern "Hojo... what are hiding from us? What's in there...?" Surprisingly, I heard Hojo yell from the other side of the hall "Stop!! Don't open that!!" I turned around and saw him running towards me as fast as he could. It was like he was trying to stop me from removing the board. He stopped across from me, appearing to be very angry "You idiot! If you open that, you'll kill all of us!!" I remained calm despite his heated display "Hojo, what's on the other side of that?" Hojo groaned, his temper not letting up "It doesn't matter! I already said we'll all die if you break or remove that board! What more must I say than that?!" I shook my head "I didn't say I would open it. You still haven't answered my question. Tell me what's back there. I'm ordering you, Hojo. I'm Prince of JENOVA Kingdom. I'd rather not do things the hard way here." Hojo's fury seemed to be mixed with fear now "Sephiroth, behind that is a chamber flooded with JENOVA cells... if you open that, you'll kill my entire department! Please, I beg of you! Don't open it up!" I paused and began thinking out loud "Another one? When did that appear? The only one I knew about was the Reunion Chamber just below us... Tell me more, Hojo. Was there anything inside that appeared to be dangerous, or... familiar?" Hojo began to panic "W-well, how should I know?! If I tried to go in, I would die! And my staff aren't strong enough to explore it!" He tried to calm down, but I still sensed fear inside of him; he shook his head "I don't know what happened, but I got reports from one of employees who saw it by accident, and they said another staff member went inside to investigate since it appeared out of nowhere, but something went wrong... All he heard from the outside was the employee's dying words, something about an imposter of JENOVA, and then he ran for it before he could die with them... I don't know what was in there, but it was definitely no mere monster. This mystery person packed some horrendous strength. I had the chamber sealed off the protect my workers from whatever was lurking inside, and nothing happened since..." I was thinking even deeper now "If the person looked like Mother, and was birthed by the chamber's mysterious appearance... that could only mean this woman is one of us. If she attacked our own kind, it was doubtless out of self-defense. We can't be angry at her for that. Furthermore, Hojo, you can't just lock a cetra up like that. What you should've done is contact Mother so she could organize a team strong enough to go inside to find this person, and hopefully protect her." Hojo still seemed concerned but didn't raise any major argument "You can't open it with me nearby. The radiation is too strong for a human to handle. However, I will allow you to go inside to investigate the matter... at least we'll have that problem out of our way if you do. If you're looking for Sephieroth, we're holding testing at the Mako Reactor. She's not here." My eyes widened "What? In front of her kids..?! What's wrong with you?" I decided to contact Yazoo and send him to the Mako Reactor to stop the experiments "Yazoo, she isn't here. Change course and head for the Mako Reactor instead. I have a different mission I need to tend to here at the moment." Yazoo answered me "No problem, Brother. I don't know what's going on at the foundation, but don't die in there. We'll change our route to beat them to it." I turned back to Hojo "Get out of here. I'm going in to investigate this thing, Hojo." He turned and left the area without a word. When I knew he was safely out, I took the board down carefully, and dropped it. When the path was open, I felt a strong wave of JENOVA cells radiate from the inside; it was so great, it almost felt like they were screaming for me to come in. Despite the overpowering energy, I managed to work up the strength to enter the chamber. I proceeded carefully in case there might be trouble ahead, wary of my surroundings. I thought I heard the faint weeping of a woman, and I began running, worried about whoever sounded like she was in trouble. I stopped at a large spacecraft that resembled the one Mother landed on the Planet in, which looked very ruined as though it crash landed. I turned to my side and saw a woman who looked exactly like Mother, sitting in a corner crying quietly, her long crimson tube covering much of her legs and waist. She looked exactly like Mother, but I spotted a rather obvious difference: her abdominal tube was much thicker and seemed longer than Mother's did. I carefully approached her, and she immediately noticed me "Ahh... don't hurt me, please..." I noticed an immediate difference in her demeanor: Mother would have never responded like that. This one clearly lacked confidence. I replied "Its ok. I'm not here to harm or fight you. I came to see who was rumored to be residing here, after reports of a JENOVA Foundation employee being attacked and killed. President Hojo sealed this place off in an attempt to protect the company from what he decided was something strong and dangerous. But, I'm not like him... not a bit. I know you only attacked out of self-defense. I can't blame him for locking you up out of his own fear, but that doesn't make it right. Why are you crying, though? Do you know how you got here?" She sniffled, then answered "I can't remember what happened... I just felt myself somehow coming back together and regaining life, and then I blacked out somehow... and woke up here, in this strange place. I'm crying because I'm horribly hungry and I can't get out! They locked me in!" I offered her my hand, and she hesitated a bit, but gently took it and I helped her up. She unwrapped her tube, but stumbled. I caught her so she wouldn't fall, and noticed her red eye had a weak glow "Oh dear... you're starving. Don't worry though, I'll help you out." She leaned on me the rest of the way out, holding her arm over my shoulder "I can't believe Hojo did this... what a piece of work... the new president has a lot growing to do." She seemed confused "President..?" I sighed "Yeah, the new head of JENOVA Foundation, Mother's organization and the kingdom's central intelligence network. His name is Hojo. He's... a careless person. He often fails to think before acting, leading to reckless decisions and negative results at another's expense. Sadly, he has a long and ugly history of doing that, making one mass after another..." She sounded a bit weak when she spoke "Uh oh... that must be an important position he has. He can't keep doing that..." I added "Naturally. But the choices he's made, everything he has done... was all out of a sense of arrogance. Hojo only thinks of himself, how important he thinks he is... and treats the rest of us like nothing but his personal experiments and so-called 'test subjects' for selfish scientific approach. All the man thinks about is science and making a name for himself... he thinks nothing of us. However, I have a hunch he is very frightened of Mother. The way he acted before I came in said everything. While he loves tampering with her cells and power, he is terrified of her actual being. I'm certain this is why he acted so wary and afraid when I begged the question about what was behind the wooden blockade that read 'WARNING: Danger Ahead'. I touched the board, and got high readings of JENOVA cells from the other side. I knew something was up the second I felt that strong signal. Hojo even made haste to keep me from opening the chamber." The woman asked "Do you think Hojo thought he was incarcerating the real JENOVA when he locked me in like that?" I answered "I can't say, but even he knows Mother's demeanor well enough that trying to seal her in here would be fruitless. Mother is more of one to defy with aggression when threatened than to accept being locked up and feel powerless about it. I don't think it's likely he thought it was truly Mother residing in here, but getting reports of a lookalike certainly scared him plenty enough that he had the area boarded up." The woman gasped mildly "JENOVA... she's confident and defiant when she feels threatened..?" I nodded silently. The woman seemed to cry from feeling overjoyed "Wow... she must be really strong, then... I'm glad to hear she hasn't lost her boundless bravery and strong will... Me, though... I've never been that sort of girl... I get scared more easily than she ever did. JENOVA was always very bold, leaping into the unknown without even a hint of fear... she could stay totally calm even in the heat of brutal skirmish. I'm really strong, too, but she outranks me when it comes to being strong and brave in spirit... she always has. She saved my life so many times... I've always been grateful to her..." I grew curious "Wait... you know Mother? How?" The woman giggled "She's my sister... my older Sister. Also my only sibling. We used to travel all over the universe, dominating the cosmos in search of an Ideal Planet to expand our race, family, and pass on our powers. You see, thousands of years ago, there was, well... an accident. A really bad one... and the entire race perished, leaving only us. I was devastated, broken spirited... I just didn't know what to do... We lost everything, literally. But JENOVA didn't cry as much as I did; instead, she had a powerful will and desire to resow the family seed so to speak, and rebuild everything anew for us. We spent countless years defeating others throughout the cosmos, what might have even been eons... all to find the Planet best suited for our true goal of rebuilding the family. She survived easily through it all, even seemed to be enjoying it the whole time, and I felt happy too... but we got attacked, and the fight got ugly... and I didn't make it. I withered away, and worried about JENOVA ever since... I'm very happy to hear she is ok. But, you... who are you?" I laughed under my breath "Forgive me for not introducing myself, but I am Sephiroth: her firstborn son. We've both been through many wars together on this Planet, and finally our dream of peace and eternal legacy is at last becoming reality. It wasn't easy, though... all that work, the Shinra crisis, and much came after... but it's beginning to settle down now, fortunately." She seemed even happier "My sister.... she had a kid..?! Ohh, this means so much to me!" She sounded very perky now, like she had a sudden recovery. I couldn't help smiling at her joy "Yes, and I'm not her only child, either. There's lots of us: all of us have silver hair and green eyes. Our powers vary among each others, but we are all family. What about you? What's your name?" The woman answered "Ahh, oh my... things must have gone wonderfully then! My name... my name is YUROVA. I was the only survivor during that horrible tragedy besides JENOVA... we traveled the cosmos together ever since. At least until I died during that fight, anyway... I don't really know what happened after that. I'm not sure how I came back, either. I just woke up in there, and that's all I know... no clue how or what brought me back." I paused in silence, then said "Hmmm... alright. You seem to be telling the truth. If Mother sought to make this Planet her kingdom and roost, though, it's doubtless due to the lifestream that held the key to her true goal since the beginning. We both perished several times fighting the enemy, but the lifestream is what saved us and kept the legacy very alive regardless of our deaths. The legacy became part of the lifestream, powerfully sealed inside of it and virtually indestructible. It's powers granted us both chances to return to life and try again. It's no surprise she knew this would work when she laid eyes on Gaia; Mother is no fool. Exploiting the energy of the lifestream and engaging a reunion was the perfect way to give us a new physical form and try the mission again. I'm not certain if the humans knew this was why we never truly died, but their ignorance doesn't change the truth here. We could even disperse our power into multiples that gave birth to remnants. Even though my influence shaped who they are, Mother is the true parent of them. Nothing can change that. " YUROVA giggled "Wow look at you, Sephiroth! You're almost as smart as she is! I like that." By then, we reached the end of the chamber, back inside the labs at the foundation. Or, at least I had figured we did; the area seemed to be faint green and black that was semitransparent. I knew the mass of JENOVA cells in the chamber YUROVA was in were beginning to spread to the entire lab "Uh oh... looks like Hojo and his workers won't be able to come here for a while. I'd better put the boarding back and warn him about this. The man will certainly be angry, but that's just tough. Besides, he gets angry about everything anyway. Nothing new there." I put the board back up to block the chamber, then helped YUROVA back to her feet. I helped her out of the building in silence the rest of the way. I wondered how Mother would react if she found out her Sister was alive again.
To be Continued...
