I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(
Chapter Nine
You're…alive?
Hojo stood before the tube that Aerith was standing in. The look on her face was full of fear as she stared back at the man in the lab-coat.
"Aerith!" Cloud cried out. That brought their attention to the five that stood to the side.
"Cloud!" The woman in pink cried back happily.
"Aerith?" Hojo tested it. "Oh, is that her name? What do you want?"
Jeanne took a step forward, her eyes not once leaving the man with glasses. "Hojo," She growled, balling her fists. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Claire jumped in front of her.
"We're taking Aerith back!" She claimed.
"Outsiders…" Hojo glanced back at the woman in the tube.
"Shoulda noticed it earlier, you…" Barret started to scowl.
Hojo ignored him. "There's so many frivolous things in this world." Cloud ran towards the man and Barret pointed his gun-arm at him. "Are you going to kill me? I don't think you should. The equipment here is extremely delicate. Without me, who could operate it? Hmm?" He chuckled.
"Ugh," Cloud groaned.
"That's right. I recommend you think things out logically before you make any rash moves." The man laughed again. "Now, bring in the Specimen!"
The machine started and they all watched as the red beast from below was brought into Aerith's tube. The woman in pink began to beat on the glass, calling for Cloud's help.
"What do you think you're doing?" Claire demanded as they all watched.
Hojo pulled a sly face. "Lending a helping hand to an endangered species…Both of them are on the brink of extinction…If I don't help, all these animals will disappear."
"Animal!" Tifa demanded. "That's terrible! Aerith is a human being!"
"You're gonna pay!" Cloud growled.
"Ha!" Jeanne shoved her way past the others and stopped ten or so feet away from the Scientist. "What makes you think that I care what happens to the Cetra, hmm? You can kill her for all I care, Hojo. I just want my revenge on you," She narrowed her eyes, ignoring the others as she stared at Hojo. "I'm going to make you regret ever doing those tests on us!"
Hojo stared at her for a moment before his face lit up. "It's you…no wonder you looked familiar. Just like your sister." Hojo smirked. "Your attitudes are just the same." Hojo took a step forward. "Have you come to return being a Specimen of mine, Jeanne?"
"What?" Claire turned to stare at Jeanne. "What does he mean?"
Jeanne ignored her as Barret began to shoot at the tube that held Aerith and the red beast. "Don't kid yourself. I'm here to return the favor, you bastard!" She went to draw her sword but the bright light from the tube that Barret had been firing at grabbed her attention and made her turn.
Hojo ran forward. "Wh…what are you do-Oh! My precious specimens…" The man groaned and opened the door to make sure the two inhabitants were okay. The light fell and the red beast jumped out onto Hojo, ripping at him.
Cloud ran in and grabbed Aerith and they ran back out. Claire had a firm grip on Jeanne, keeping her from jumping on Hojo. Jeanne went to shrug her off, but she paused.
"The elevator…" She turned to look at it.
Hojo began to let out a laugh as he claimed something about the red beast being ferocious. The beast then jumped off of him and began to growl at the elevator.
"He's rather strong," It said. "I'll help you all out."
"It talked!" Tifa gasped, eyes wide as she slapped a hand over her mouth.
"I'll talk as much as you want later, Miss." It told her.
"Cloud, Claire, you stay with me and him," Jeanne drew her sword as she and Claire took positions. "Barret, and you Tifa take…" She gave Aerith a look to see that the woman in pink was shaking. This was her fault. She was the one that had sent Tseng after her in the first place, so of course she felt responsible; even if she did hate her. "Take her somewhere safe."
"On it!" Tifa grabbed Aerith's hand and Barret led the two women out of the room.
"What's your name?" Cloud asked as he took his place between his sister and Jeanne.
"Hojo has named me Red Xlll. A name with no meaning whatsoever to me. Call me whatever you wish." He told them.
"All right, Red," Jeanne watched as Hojo's creation ran at them. "I hope you know what you're doing."
The creature seemed to be a mix between a plant and a large man with claws and sharp teeth. Cloud moved quickly and chopped off an arm as Red Xlll attacked the creature's feet. Claire shot some lightening Magic at it and Jeanne rushed forward, stabbing her sword in its abdomen. She locked eyes with it for a moment before Genesis' sword heated up and fire went off inside it.
The creature fell and Jeanne puller back her blade as the three that hid ran back to them.
"Aerith, are you all right?" Cloud asked.
"She seems all right," Tifa answered him. "In many ways."
Jeanne ignored them and turned to Red Xlll. "Thank you," She grinned.
The beast nodded. "I have a right to choose, too. I don't like two-legged things."
"What are you?" Barret decided to ask.
"An informed question, but difficult to answer. I am what you see. You must have many questions, but first, let's get out of here. I'll lead the way." Red Xlll told them.
"All right," Cloud's sister began to introduce everyone. "I'm Claire, that's Jeanne, my brother Cloud," She continued as Aerith turned to Cloud.
"Cloud…" She stepped forward. "So you did come for me."
Cloud had a slight flush on his cheeks as Red Xlll turned to the woman in pink. "I apologize for what happened back there. I was merely acting to throwing Hojo off guard."
"Speaking of which," Jeanne glanced around the room again but the man was gone. She would of loved to have gone and chased the man down but the Turks and whatnot were probably all ready informed and on their way there.
"Let's get the hell outta here!" Barret had apparently been thinking the same thing.
"If all seven of us go together, we'll be noticed," Claire said. "Let's split up. Since Jeanne knows the ShinRa building, Cloud and I will go with her. Barret, Tifa, take Aerith and go with Red Xlll. We'll meet up at the 66th floor elevator."
The four of them took off and Jeanne paused a moment longer, glancing around the room. Hojo was gone, as were the others that had been there in the room with them. They were going to be in trouble if they didn't get out of here soon. They had to take it carefully and stay out of sight.
"When we meet back up, we should take the stairs back down. It will take a while but we'll be safe and get out without being caught." Claire offered up her opinion.
Cloud gave the two women another look before leading the way out of the room. "Good idea."
It didn't take long for them the reach the elevators on the 66th floor. They were surprised to see Tifa standing there outside it, waiting on. Then Barret backed out; and Red Xlll, and Aerith. Then a man in a black suit followed them.
"Crap. It's a Turk," Claire groaned as the man in the black suit stood before Tifa and the others. It wasn't just any Turk, either.
"Rude," Jeanne's voice calling out his name made the Turk turn around. She couldn't see his eyes due to his sunglasses but she knew, she could tell, that he was surprised.
"You…" He said. "You're…alive."
"Rude, what's the hold up?" A second Turk appeared.
Jeanne smirked. "Well look at that. It's Tseng, too."
The man followed his companion's gaze and his mouth dropped open, but just for a moment. "Jeanne," Tseng cleared his throat. "So, it was you."
"You know these two?" Barret demanded.
"Of course." Jeanne put her hands on her hips. "I was a SOLDIER for five years." She turned back to the two Turks. "So, how have you been?" She asked. "Still wiping the President's butt when he does something wrong?"
"Jeanne," Rude took a step forward.. "Where have you been all this time? Jena's been-"
Tseng took his own step forward, cutting his companion off. "Jeanne; you know what I have to do."
The woman smirked as guards encircled them. "Taking me to go see the Prez again, eh?" She scowled. She didn't like the thought of seeing that man again, but there was nothing that she could do at the moment. Guns were pointed from them and though they were on the opposite side, Jeanne didn't want to hurt Rude or Tseng. 5 years of friendship was still in her mind. She held her hands out to the long-haired man. "Don't worry. I'll try not to bite him. Not yet, anyway. My time for revenge will come."
Jeanne continued to wear a scowl. She was back in the President's office. She hated coming here all those years ago and found out that as she stared at the smirking man behind the desk that she still did. Something in her told her not to struggle and so Jeanne let them take her sword and put cuffs on her and the others. They had taken Aerith off somewhere else, though.
"Where's Aerith?" Cloud demanded.
"In a safe place," The President replied, standing. "She's the last surviving Ancient." He stepped to the side. "They called themselves the Cetra, and lived thousands of years ago. Now they're just a forgotten page in history."
Jeanne sighed. "If only that were true. Yet here you fools are; chasing after her."
The President stepped towards Jeanne and paused inches from her. He stared at her for a moment and then smirked as she glared. "I almost didn't believe it when Tseng told me that you're the one that gave the Ancient's whereabouts to us," There were gasps and 'what's' in the room as Jeanne closed her eyes, trying to ignore them all. "I never thought I'd see your face again, Jeanne."
"I was hoping that I wasn't going to be given your ugly-ass face to look at again, either." She sighed. "But it looks like I can't always get what I want." She shrugged.
"I must thank you, Jeanne. Though you're no longer a SOLDIER, your final actions still helped us. Now with the Cetra, we will be shown the way to the 'Promised Land'. I'm expecting a lot out of her."
For some reason that made Jeannne were more mad than she was before. "If Sephiroth and Sienna couldn't make it to the Promised Land," She snarled. "Then neither will that little brat!"
Cloud and Claire didn't know what to think. Jeanne had been the one that told the Turks where Aerith was? That explains why she didn't want to come with them to save Aerith. She's the one that gave her in the first place and the reason why they were now there! Did she also tell ShinRa that AVALANCHE was in Sector 7 as well? No, the twins didn't believe that. Jeanne wouldn't have gone that far. All those people were killed. Jeanne wouldn't do that, no matter what. Right?
"The Promised Land?" Red Xlll asked. "Isn't that just a tale?"
"Even so it's just too appealing to no pursue. It's been said the Promised Land is very fertile."
"Then there's gotta be Mako!" Barret screeched.
"Exactly," Shinra nodded. "That's why our money sucking Mako Reactor is necessary. The abundant Mako will just come out on its own. That is where Neo-
Midgar will be built. ShinRa's new glory…"
~oh, so that's what that was~ Jeanne told herself.
"Quit dreamin'!" Barret scoffed.
"Oh really, don't you know? These days all it takes for your dreams to come true is money and power. Well, that is all for our meeting," He sighed and turned back to Jeanne. "Hojo has asked for your return to his labs," He informed her as Rude forced the others away.
Jeanne scoffed again. "What you do to the Cetra, I really don't care, but I won't be a test subject ever again." She took a breath. "The day you have a sword in you is the day I'll be pleased."
"What the hell, Jeanne?" Claire glared at the woman. "You were the one that told the Turks where Aerith was? Why?"
Jeanne, eyes still closed as they were led to the cells, sighed. "It doesn't concern you, Claire."
"The hell it doesn't!" Claire wasn't mad that Jeanne had given Aerith to the enemy; infact she didn't care. She was mad because she hadn't been involved in the plan.
"Were you the one behind…Sector 7?" Barret's voice was full of anger.
Jeanne came to a halt and turned; the guards hand still on her arm. "The fact that you even believe that makes you just as annoying as ShinRa. When you all calm down, things will go back to the way they were before." She turned and continued down the path with her guard trailing behind her.
Barret and Red Xlll were in a cell together. Aerith and Claire were in another one, Cloud and Tifa were between the two of them, and Jeanne was across the hall in one of her own. All their weapons had been taken; even Barret's gun arm had been taken off and now rested in the room on the other side of the room towards the front of the Cells. Everyone stayed silent, neither of them wanting to talk in the feel of the uneasiness traveling between them all. Finally, Tifa couldn't handle it anymore and turned to look at Jeanne.
"Does the Promised Land really exist?" She asked.
It was Aerith who answered, though. "I don't know." Aerith shook her head. "All I know is…the Cetra were born from the Planet, speak with the Planet, and unlock the Planet. And…then…The Cetra will return to the Promised Land. A land that promises supreme happiness."
"What does that mean?" Tifa asked.
"More that words…I don't know." Aerith answered.
"It means that the Cetra will all die and return to the planet to reside in the Promised Land when their time is up," Jeanne called from across the way in her own Cell as she stared up at the ceiling. "Everyone will end up in the Promised Land when their time is up."
Tifa nodded her head and Cloud looked back at the wall Aerith was behind. "Speak with the Planet?" He asked.
"Just what does the Planet say?" Claire asked.
"It's full of people and noisy. That's why I can't make out what they're saying."
"You hear it now?" He questioned.
"I, I only heard it at the Church in the Slums. Mother said that Midgar was no longer safe. That is…my real mother."
"Ifalna," Jeanne mumbled to herself, glancing at the woman in pink.
"Someday I'll get out of Midgar…Speak with the Planet and find the Promised Land. That's what Mom said. I thought I would stop hearing her voice as I grew up, but…"
Jeanne took a breath. "I thought that I'd stop hearing my Mother's voice as well," She decided to say. "But I'm glad that I didn't. It lets me know that she's still there with me; watching over me."
"I thought you were an orphan." Barret decided to join the conversation.
It stung like a slap and she glared at the black man. "Sienna was my Mother; due to birth or not, it doesn't matter." She growled.
That was when everyone decided to settle back into a sleep. Jeanne had started to drift off until-
"Jeanne?" The woman lifted her head at the young man calling her name. She looked across the way through the two sets of bar doors. Cloud stood there, looking at her. Everyone else was asleep, so it was just the two of them.
"What?" She asked. "I'm not going to tell you why I did it. The answer is…personal."
"I understand," He called to her. She raised an eyebrow. "You and Aerith have met before. What you do is your own business, but I just wish that the next time you do something like that you'd tell me so that I know and don't feel like an idiot when what you do has been revealed, ok?"
Jeanne looked at him. She had not been expecting that from him. She thought Cloud would have been upset like his sister was. She gave a small smile. "All right. I'll keep that in mind…but now that we're involved, you won't have to worry about me letting them take her again so easily."
Cloud nodded and they were silent for a few more moments. "So, what was it that Hojo did to you? The tests." He asked.
Jeanne glanced at him again. Cloud still didn't know the truth. He and his sister both thought that the incident in Nibelheim happened three years ago, not truly seven. She wanted to tell them, she wanted to tell them everything, but her conscience told her not to. "I'd rather not talk about that." She whispered.
He nodded. "Then…who's your sister?" She looked back at him. "Hojo says you look just like her. Was she a test subject as well?"
Jeanne never told the two of them about Jena, and they never mentioned her. It seemed that the Mako-addiction that the twins had endured erased everything about Zack and Jena; almost a lot about Jeanne until she refreshed their memories. How would she explain it all to them if their memories were to return? Would they understand why she didn't say anything?
"Jena is my sister," Jeanne looked at him again. "She's the Turk that Claire fought in the church."
Cloud raised his eyebrows. "The one with the long braid?"
"Is that how she's wearing her hair now?" Jeanne asked herself with a small smile. "At least she's okay. I haven't…I haven't seen her since the incident at Nibelheim. Since you saw her, she must be okay."
Cloud still stared at her for a moment. There was a lot of things that Jeanne hasn't told him, wasn't there? But of course, Cloud didn't need to know everything. Things happened in everyone's life that they'd rather not let others know about. It was natural. If it was important, Jeanne would tell him, wouldn't she?
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