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Destiny JENOVA IV: Revolution (Chapter 21: Bounce Back)

Chapter 21: Bounce Back

(This section will focus on JENOVA as the speaker) I made my way to Shinra HQ to confront Rufus and anyone else on his side that was left after dropping Cloud's body off at the Forgotten City with Loz and Sephiroth, who was still unconscious at the time. I didn't like putting more weight on Loz than he already had, but there was nothing else I could do about it with the rest of my guard working elsewhere to restore the kingdom. I wasn't so sure he would concern himself with Cloud, either. He didn't like him anymore than the rest of my children did. I too have held anger towards him for many years, but I knew he was being serious when he apologized to Sephieroth. What I could hardly believe is that he didn't realize how much he really hurt her when he killed Yazoo and Loz until he fought her in her perfect state on that tower. I began to question if he realized it but did all he could to deny that truth. I arrived at Shinra Headquarters, and landed in front of the entrance. I created a strong forcefield around the building to prevent anyone from escaping. I went inside, and took the elevator to the top level where I expected Rufus to be. However, when I reached my destination, he was nowhere to be found. Instead, I saw Professor Hojo working at the control system. He appeared frustrated, trying to use the system to tap outside the building and monitor what was going on around the kingdom. Several screens appeared, all of them fuzzy indicating no signal. He hit the keyboard "Gah! Rufus you idiot! Where are you?!" He pulled a phone from his pocket, but stopped when he noticed my presence. He quickly turned around and laughed nervously "Ohh, JENOVA... It's uh, so good to see you..." I drew closer and asked "Where is Rufus?" Hojo replied "How would I know? He left here not that long ago, but his signal went out seconds ago, along with everyone else's. I tried tapping into their electronics, but as you can see that didn't work. All the cameras are broken. Nothing's working... cameras, phones... all of it fried out seconds ago. I can't do anything about it, so dont ask me to. If I have no staff alive and present to help, finding a fix is impossible." I narrowed my eye at him and went towards him until he was right in front of me. He was nervous as I approached and smiled, trying to cover up his fear. I put my hand underneath his chin and looked him in the eye "You can do something about it, and you will. Find Rufus and bring him to me with your computer. You of all people know you're lying to me and how to fix the problem." He asked "And what if I refuse?" He turned firm, but I still sensed fear building up in him. I spread my metal wings as far out as they'd go, and held my arms behind my back, preparing to use the power of my lifestream "If you refuse, I will defeat you where you stand. Do as I say or suffer the consequences. Make one wrong move, and it's all over, Hojo. One warning is all you get." He grumbled but didn't respond. He turned back to the computer system, and reached for his phone. After dialing some number, he waited for an answer "Rufus, where are you?" He heard a response and seemed to reply "What's going on where you are? It sounds like somebody's trying to blow up the area!" I secretly listened in and heard Rufus's voice "I don't know. I left HQ to escape JENOVA and Sephiroth, and avoid JENOVA SOLDIER. Me and my few remaining troops got away, but then we got here and this big light filled the entire sky, almost looking like a supernova... and then these molten rocks started raining all around us for no reason, and we got trapped. I got away, but my last few men didn't make it.... there's fire and brimstone everywhere. I think I'm trapped. And the rocks are still coming down... it's like there's an endless supply; they just keep coming." Hojo cried "What?! But that means you were caught anyway! Someone or something saw you, Rufus. How else would that happen?" Rufus replied "Hojo, this really isn't the time to speculate. Get out of HQ and run as far away as possible. I have a hunch JENOVA has somehow been revived during all of this. If she sees you, you're dead. Just forget about me and save yourself instead. I'm not going to make it and I know it. Too many hazards." Then he broke up and a strange static sound made it impossible to hear him. Hojo lowered the phone from his ear and sighed "This is just great... I'm the only Shinra survivor." He turned back to me and shrugged "Well, Rufus isn't going to make it alive, so now what do you want?" I paused, then replied "I suppose I have little choice, then... Allow me to explain my reason for coming. My family had a science company dedicated to protecting my Planet and legacy, known as JENOVA Foundation. It served its purpose well for defending my kingdom and maintaining our kind, however.... early this year, an unfortunate incident took place. I sacrificed myself to save the life of my youngest child, who was also one of the strongest warriors in my kingdom. Yazoo and Loz tried to stop me and make me change my mind, and made haste to the foundation's HQ. Loz learned I was dead upon arriving, and was deeply hurt by the news. Blaming Rufus, who was one of us at the time, he lashed out and attacked him to exact revenge. However, since Rufus escaped before he could be hurt, Loz decided to destroy the foundation and take Rufus and its entire staff with it. Ever since then, we have lacked a central intelligence network and research facility, as JENOVA Foundation acted as both of these things for us. The destruction also cost us much of our overall backup and defenses. So, I came here after my return to find Rufus, but I found you instead... and since Rufus isn't going to make it, that leaves me with only one possible choice: you, Hojo." He had listened with deep interest during my explanation. When I was done, he asked "Hm? What do you mean?" I continued "Rufus was the only one capable of effectively running JENOVA Foundation prior to this crisis. And since he is unavailable now, you are the only possible subject for the job. Rufus had enough scientific potential to run and oversee everything at the foundation. But with him dead, now you are the only one equipped for the job. I may not like you or be fond of you, Hojo, but you're my best bet for rebuilding my foundation. And if you're up for it, that would mean very much to me as Mother of this kingdom and family. Even if you did cause a lot of trouble in the past. If I kill you, rebuilding the foundation would likely be impossible." He crossed his arms and looked away "After you just threatened to kill me, I'm expected to believe that?" I lowered my arms and relaxed my wings "Either do it, or dont. But if you decline, you're out of job: completely. All others associated with Shinra Company are dead. And since your combat abilities are low, there's little else left for you." He sighed and lowered his arms, turning his gaze back to me "I suppose you're right... if Shinra Company really is kaput, there's nothing else left for me to do. I don't even have anywhere else to stay. I guess I have to say yes, then." I approached the elevator, and Hojo followed. We both went inside, and he entered the number for the first floor. He spoke when we began to descend "While I have endless passion and ambition for advanced science, with your remnants everywhere, I'm awfully susceptible to Geostigma. Before I start anything else, a project for a vaccine is a must if you want me in charge of your foundation. Until then, I can't do anything else." I replied "You are in fact correct, but I have the power to bestow immunity for you in this case. Do you remember how Vincent could approach the stigma plants and be unaffected by its mass concentration of my cells?" Hojo looked at me "I certainly couldn't forget it. He roamed the whole city without even a scratch from exposure. Ever since I got word of that, I've kept my eyes on him and spent months studying in order to find the source of his immunity. However, I never summed up anything. I lacked the necessary DNA for a successful project and couldn't convince the others in the company to bring him to me for what I had in mind. They were all too preoccupied with the mass of remnants to consider the importance of what I was so relentlessly trying to accomplish. Had more given my work some thought, I could have made genuine progress. But as you can see, I didn't get far. I lacked needed support." I added "I'm not surprised that got your attention so much. It's only expected that something like this would hold your interest. Luckily for you, I have the answers to what you spent so long trying to understand. Vincent was also one of us in the past, but exile ripped my power from him and left him without the magic of my cells... or so, that would normally be the case. There are rare instances where one can retain a small amount of my cells even through exile, which normally pulls all my cells housed in that person away completely. Even a slight retention like this can cause the individual to remain immune to the stigma. This is most likely the answer you've been seeking." Hojo said "Hmm... interesting theory. But may I ask how this pertains to finding a vaccine?" I replied "I can use my cells to grant you that same immunity, Hojo. It's my power that nullifies infection. This is why Kadaj, my youngest one, and her Brothers, Yazoo and Loz, were unaffected by the plague during the third Shinra-JENOVA War. I'm not certain you know them, but they most certainly know you. They aren't very fond of you, I'm afraid. And neither is Sephiroth." Hojo reacted in surprise "Sephiroth?! He's still alive?!" I nodded "Yes, but he's in bad shape... he won't wake up. He was barely breathing when Loz took him..." I felt tears fall from my eye, and Hojo placed his hand on my shoulder "Hey, don't cry. I didn't spend so much time on that project for nothing!" I looked at him and he was smiling at me. My tears slowed "You mean.... you can save him?" Hojo laughed under his breath "What else would I mean? I've got a better shot at saving him than Rufus ever would. I know what I'm doing, JENOVA." The elevator stopped, and we got out. Hojo stepped some ways ahead of me, and turned back to me "All I have to do is get my equipment and the job is easy. Just lead the way and I'll take care of him. I'm not about to lose my greatest masterpiece just because of a big mess in the world." I wanted to smile when he went to get his stuff, but I couldn't. I felt both angry yet slightly happy at the same time, and didn't understand it. I couldn't smile, but I couldn't sneer angrily either. What I did know was how happy I felt that he would help my first son. After he came back holding a black box that seemed rather full, he turned back to me "Alright, where is he? I don't know why, but I think we'd better move fast. I don't think we have long." I replied "Follow me. I can cut through a spacial dimension as a shortcut." Hojo seemed curious but didn't speak. My wings glowed silver, and a large and dark wormhole opened in front of us. I grabbed him, and warned "Hold on tight. It's going to be full-throttle beyond this point." Hojo mumbled "So this is the extent of JENOVA's power... if she can open unseen dimensions, her power has grown immensely. I wonder what other new powers she has..." I flew off the ground, then into the wormhole. My flight speed accelerated uncontrollably the entire time we were inside. Hojo seemed overwhelmed but tried to hide it "Is there any way you can slow down? We're going pretty fast... fast enough to crash right into something and die." I answered "I can't slow down. Maximum acceleration is a must when I breach dimensional boundaries unless we want to run into danger lurking inside. If I slow down, we could easily be caught by dangerous creatures--ones that exceed strength you can imagine. It doesn't take much to fall to them, Hojo. I can't take that chance, especially since you can't fight. I wasn't the only life form in the cosmos." Hojo was confused "Wait, we're in space? JENOVA... how..?" I ignored his questions, approaching the white space that appeared ahead "We're approaching our exit route. The white hole ahead of us will put us in the Forgotten City where Sephiroth is clinging to life. Everything is up to you from there, Hojo. I'm counting on you to save my son's life." Then we passed through the white space and ended up in the Forgotten City, the wormhole closing behind us. I stopped and landed carefully, releasing Hojo. He studied the area before turning back to me "Where is he?" I replied "Deeper inside, with Loz. Cloud is also unconscious and with them. I will wait here at the entrance and act as backup to prevent enemies from reaching them. I expect you to head further in to help Sephiroth. This might sound odd coming from me, but please help Cloud as well if you can. I have plans for him later. But you must help Sephiroth; that's an order." Hojo groaned "First you save you life, and now you want me to stroll in without any backup? You're awfully strange, JENOVA." He didn't wait for me to respond; he simply turned and went out of sight, going deeper inside. I sighed "This one's not going to be an easy guy... what a piece of work..."

To be Continued...
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