A/N: This chapter's shorter than the ones I've been writing. That's just how it's going to be, I suppose. Some chapters will be much longer than the others.
Shout-outs:
Greatazuredragon: That's a fairly accurate way to describe the Shinra.
badnephilim: I'll do my best not to cause too much carnage. :P And the dinner scene was actually my favorite part to write, next to Gabe's outburst with the picture book. ^_^
catxangel: Aerith helping Genesis may open up a whole other can of worms. Stay tuned!
Ardwynna Morrigu: One of the shittiest things about Aerith's death in canon is that the Cetra are never expanded upon. But, it does give me LOTS of room to get creative. :)
JazzQueen: Prepare to see many Shinra characters in these next few chapters.
Chapter 4: All That Awaits
Several days before Genesis Rhapsodos flew off into the clouds, President Shinra sat in his office with Professor Hojo, and a bearded, broad-shouldered man wearing a white lab coat similar to Hojo's.
"I'm sure you're both wondering why I've called you here," said the president, "What's more, you probably wonder why I'm meeting with the both of you, given the history between you two. Oh, I may not have been actively involved with the science department, but I do my research all the same, and I have my eyes and ears. I know there's no love lost between the two of you. However, you now both know the bitter taste of disappointment and failure…"
Both men glared at him, while avoiding each other's gaze.
"Dr. Hollander…" the president said as he stood up from his desk, and walked over to where the bearded man sat. "It is rather unfortunate that due to budget problems, Project Gillian was abruptly cut short all those years ago. Had both sides of the Jenova Project been allowed to co-exist up until now, perhaps things might have turned out differently. Perhaps, had young Sephiroth been kept in the company of your two test subjects, he might not have entertained the idea of running away. I had no idea he was so unhappy that he decided to escape the way he did."
"Perhaps if he had not been allowed to befriend the Ancient, she might not have poisoned his mind into doing what he did," Hojo said acidly.
"Sephiroth should have been socialized with other children besides a little girl eight years his junior," the president acknowledged, keeping his tone brisk and friendly for the sake of the discussion. "He was probably given way too much time to think. I often look back and wonder why I never introduced my own son to the boy, given their relative closeness in age. They would have inevitably worked together, anyway.
"But it's all water under the bridge. Time to put the past behind us, which I'll start by explaining why we're here right now: SOLDIER, despite its progress, is simply not enough to win the war. Our recruitment program only nets so many qualified applicants. I was thinking about expanding the program to include females."
"That will not work," Hojo said immediately, while Hollander shook his head silently in agreement. "All of the hosts in Project S and Project G suffered emotional…difficulties. Gillian Hewley left Shinra with severe depression, beyond typical post-partum. Lucrecia Crescent committed suicide by jumping out of a helicopter into a lake when we left Nibelheim, and let's not get into what happened with the woman who bore the failure that was injected with Hewley's recycled Jenova cells…"
Hollander stared at Hojo in disbelief. Not only did the man casually toss about the subject of his fiancée's suicide as if it were the weather, but he had dared to mention the third woman involved to the president himself…
President Shinra stared coldly at the frail middle-aged man. "Despite that…" he said icily, "…there is no conclusive proof that no woman can ever be injected with Jenova cells. Many seemingly perfect males chosen to take part in the SOLDIER program were discharged due to problems, both physical and mental, but we've had more successes than failures. We should test the waters further and see if that may be the case with women. After all, we pride ourselves in being progressive. Many women's rights groups have pushed to allow women into the army. Why not oblige them, finally?"
"It takes years to train a good soldier," Hollander pointed out. "Increasing the number of SOLDIER candidates won't turn the war around in Shinra's favor- certainly not right away."
"Obviously, that is not the only solution I have in mind," said the president, "And my dear Dr. Hollander…I truly wish you hadn't fallen off the face of Gaia. I did, after a few years, consider continuing your research, but since I was unable to locate you, there was no point in bringing in your two boys…especially since you are the one who kept all of the notes."
"I still have them," Dr. Hollander said dryly.
The president nodded. "Good, good. You see…I believe they would be the perfect additions to a secret organization I had created back when I was still vice-president. I am putting a lot of trust in the both of you to keep quiet on the information I'm about to reveal." His face darkened. "I would hate to be either of you should you decide to betray that trust…"
"I understand," said Hollander, "I've kept secrets before…"
The look on the bearded man's face said it all. The president nodded somberly.
"And this secret?" Hojo asked impatiently, wanting to get back to his specimens.
President Shinra smiled a sinister smile. "Professor Hojo…right now, I'm feeling nervous. I've felt nervous for the past twelve years, ever since your son set free your specimens, who killed half the people in the science department; and then drove off into oblivion with the two last known living Ancients, after killing an entire security team. I have this feeling that one day, he will pop up out of nowhere and make things very difficult for me. I want you to be able to promise me that such a thing can never happen…that wherever Sephiroth is, he best remain there, and stay out of my way. Ideally, I would have loved to have him fighting for our cause, but he won't. And forcing him is too risky. Should we mess up in the slightest, he would slaughter us all. If he interferes, Sephiroth needs to die."
Hojo nodded impassively. "As you wish," he said.
Hollander looked at Hojo finally. "Your own son…" he said contemptuously.
"The father/son relationship can be a tricky one," Hojo said, looking back at his rival. "You will one day, understand that for yourself, should your recovery efforts succeed…"
Fuming, Hollander looked away.
"I do wish you luck in your little 'family reunion'," Hojo continued to taunt him.
"If you're finished with your little pissing match, I'll get to the point," the president said impatiently, "I intend to call for a truce with Wutai. We have bigger fish to fry, so to speak. Build up the army, locate Sephiroth, locate the two children of Project G, and the Ancients. We have the army concentrate on crushing Avalanche. We start secretly experimenting on injecting Jenova cells into strong, young, healthy girls. In fact…I have the perfect one in mind as the prototype."
Knowing that the president's knowledge of science could fit in his coffee cup, Hojo was not impressed with him offering scientific suggestions. Still, he forced himself to ask: "And who would that be?"
"The half-Ancient would be about seventeen by now, wouldn't she?" the president asked.
Hojo suddenly looked thoughtful. Maybe the president wasn't as brain-dead as he had assumed. "Well, honestly, I believe a younger girl would have been more ideal," he pondered aloud, "but…yes…I would be fascinated to see how she would endure the cells, considering her own innate restorative abilities."
President Shinra frowned. "I specifically mentioned that girl because she's no longer a small child. You've tested my limits many times with both Sephiroth and the half-Ancient in the past. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I will not stand to see a child tortured."
No, you just prefer to torture them yourself, Hojo thought dryly, I suppose we should all be thankful that your sick habit doesn't extend to girls, scientific specimens who can kill you, and your own flesh and blood…
"I've given you chances due to your brilliance," the president went on, "but this is your final chance, Hojo. Disappoint me again, and you are through. Your fellow co-workers in the labs can handle SOLDIER maintenance just fine without you. You've taught them well over the years…perhaps too well…"
Hojo bristled at the president's warning. How dare that man threaten to push him aside, after everything he had done for the company over the twenty-seven years he had worked for them?
"And this 'secret project' you want me involved in…?" Dr. Hollander pressed.
"Yes," the president said, suddenly cheerful. "Come to the front desk Monday morning, and I will send someone to escort you to the facility. In the meantime, consider yourself to be an esteemed guest of the Shinra corporation. Should you desire anything, just ask." He then turned back to Hojo. "You, Hojo, will simply report to work as usual. I will keep you in the loop, and notify you immediately once either Sephiroth or the Ancients are located. However, I want you to start scouting for other potential females. As ideal as the half-Ancient would be, we can't afford to put all of our eggs in one basket.
"And that…" he said grandly, "…concludes our meeting."
Both Hojo and Hollander stood up. As Hojo headed for the door, the president approached Hollander with his hand extended. The bearded man hesitated for a moment before shaking the CEO's hand.
"I'm delighted to have you back with us, Dr. Hollander," he said excitedly, "I'm looking forward to seeing amazing things from you." He clapped the man's back and walked him to the door of his office, opening it. "Have a pleasant day, gentlemen."
The two scientists left the president's office, walking to separate elevators. Hollander's arrived first and he stepped in, never casting a single glance at Hojo.
Once the elevator began to descend, Hollander smiled. Finally…after twenty-five years of living in bitter disgrace, his chance to right all the wrongs he had suffered before had come at last.
Everyone would see who the true genius was.
"What is this?" Hojo asked as he walked over to the back of one of the labs, where a recently-hired intern sat, writing notes with one hand while clutching a Support materia in the other. The two of them were the only people in the room.
"My thesis on the potential abilities in humans, resulting from fusing materia onto them," the intern answered, not looking up.
"Very interesting…" Hojo marveled, "I once experimented with that many years ago."
The intern looked up. "Did you?"
Hojo nodded. "Unfortunately, the experiment was a failure. Perhaps you should choose another subject for your thesis."
"Was every kind of materia used in your experiment?" the intern asked.
"No," Hojo admitted, "I suppose another scientist would have gone down the line of different types, but I'll admit I often don't operate in that manner. Many times, I am interrupted in my projects by new ideas for even more enticing experiments."
"A brilliant man such as yourself doesn't have a team to finish your experiments for you?" the intern asked, looking somewhat surprised.
"Shinra's budget is stretched to the last gil on the military," Hojo snorted derisively, "Had they given more funds to our department, we might have actually been winning the war. Now…" he recalled the meeting he had just come from, "…I wouldn't be surprised if we start hearing about surrender and peace treaties. It had all better be worth it...but to answer your question: no. I need someone with good organizational skills, and even tactical abilities, to arrange the right kind of team. I truly cannot be bothered with such things, but good luck getting the higher-ups to understand that."
The intern frowned. "You're the greatest scientist in the history of Shinra. How could they ignore your needs like so?"
Hojo smiled bitterly. "The same way they re-hired one of my greatest rivals. Shinra doesn't believe in letting people get too comfortable. One has to really work to maintain themselves in this company. As much as they desire my rival's brains, I'm sure they hired him as a proverbial kick in the ass, as far as I go."
"I thought your greatest rival was dead," the intern said, scowling. "Professor Gast?"
Hojo burst out laughing. "Now that's a name I haven't thought of in a long time. That man still causes me trouble from beyond the grave, but the rival I was referring to is Doctor Hollander."
The intern frowned. "Never heard of him."
Hojo laughed again. "Of course you haven't. But had things happened differently, it could have been him you would be standing here talking to, rather than me. Many years ago, something happened that set the course of Shinra, making its army everything it is today…which unfortunately, isn't much…though it could have been something amazing…"
He trailed off, staring wistfully into space, before snapping out of it. He regarded the intern carefully. "How much do you know about my work?"
"I've been told bits and pieces about one specific project from many years ago," said the intern, "That it was the project that eventually led to the creation of SOLDIER."
Hojo looked at the clock. "Come with me to the coffee shop and I'll explain to you the details," he said, "Don't worry about your materials. Since no one else is here, I'll lock the door so no one disturbs your things. I know how stupid the janitors can be when it comes to touching one's belongings."
The intern stood up. "Thank you, Professor. I'd be honored…"
Twenty minutes later, Hojo and the intern sat in a corner of the small café, each with a cup of black coffee in their hands, The intern sat, spellbound as Hojo told him about the Jenova Project, and all of the people involved.
"He might have won out, had he not decided to bite off more than he could chew," said Hojo, "You see, I focused everything I had on Sephiroth. Hollander? He decided he could turn our old friend Gillian into a new host of cells. We were only allotted so many Jenova cells to work with from the head of the science department.
"You see…when they decided to create yet another child…that's when Project G shot themselves in the foot. Recycling Jenova cells isn't going to give you the same results as using fresh ones. What's more…the vessel who carried the child was also injected with recycled cells. She managed to last eight months…the baby was born one month premature via C-section, and the mother died, leaving a gruesome-looking corpse behind. Had this been any other woman, Project G might have still been able to cut its losses. However…the woman, a young intern new to Shinra's science department, also happened to be the president's little sister: Jennie Shinra.
"Just before the president took over, he and the entire Shinra family discussed, and agreed to letting young Miss Shinra participate in the Jenova Project."
The intern nodded. "That makes sense. I could see how the Shinra would want one of their very own being bestowed the 'powers of the Ancients', even though it turned out that Jenova was no Ancient."
Hojo grunted in agreement. "I knew better than to get involved with that, but as I said before, Hollander was greedy enough. Had he been smart, he would have given the fresh cells to Miss Shinra, but he was also selfish. You see…he had fallen in love with Gillian. So he gave her everything, and probably made it look like young Jennie was getting the priority treatment. Hollander only concentrates on what he believes to be the right thing. Casting aside the daughter of the then-president was a very stupid thing to do, considering it's the president who has the final say over your paycheck.
"To make a long story short: it's a wonder the Shinra family didn't have Hollander's head after Jennie's supposedly agonizing death. But, Hollander's disappearing act may very well have saved his life, as it likely gave the Shinras enough time to get over their initial fury. But all the same, I can't help but wonder what our president has planned for Hollander after his work is done?"
"Hmm…" the young man said thoughtfully, "If Hollander was so disgraced back then, the question may indeed be: what does he have planned for the Shinra after his work is done?"
Hojo smiled and nodded. "Indeed, he's only one of many people who will shake your hand and stab you in the back. Times are going to become quite interesting, lad. You couldn't have come to work here at a better moment."
The intern smiled back, adjusting his glasses. "I'm glad to hear that, Professor."
"I'll admit, I'm not very good with names, but if you'll indulge an old man and tell me yours, all the same?" Hojo asked, "You're at least smart enough to motivate me to remember yours."
The man chuckled. "As you wish, sir. My name is Fuhito."
Hollander sat at the bar on the very top floor of Shinra Headquarters, sipping away at a rum-&-cola as he thought about how much the place had changed over the years. The last few floors of the building were still under construction when Project G had been unceremoniously canceled. Everything had been going so smoothly beforehand. Then Jennie Shinra's fiancée, a young colonel in Midgar's old army, had been killed during the siege of Junon, when the large port city was taken over by the Shinra. She had been weak enough as it was, but the death of her beloved was the final straw. She went into labor upon hearing the tragic news, and died giving birth to a healthy, but seemingly ordinary baby boy.
Hollander doubted that the child could have been a failure. Surely there must be something about the boy that could have been worked upon. Had the project not been canceled, he would have been able to find out for certain. Now, all he had to go upon was that the child had been given to a wealthy landlord from Banora.
When the Shinra woman had died, Hollander had been shocked that such comparatively weaker cells had done so much damage. However, he was able to blame her demise on the mysterious Jenova cells, which as rumor had it, were driving Lucrecia Crescent mad during her own pregnancy. He had given Miss Shinra the lesser of the cells in secret, because he had been absolutely sure that the Shinra family would intervene if they knew, and grant an injunction allowing the fresh Jenova cells to be used on her. After all, it wouldn't have been the first time that the Shinra had bent the rules to suit their needs.
As for the other boy…Angeal…he knew that was what Gillian had planned to name the child, but he had no idea what had happened to him, or Gillian. No notice, no goodbye…she had simply disappeared with the child. Maybe she had moved on and found someone else…somebody else that the child would grow up calling "Daddy", or "Papa". It was probably for the best. God, what the hell did he know about being a father?
He finished his drink, and took out his cell phone. It was time to move to the next part of his plan: find that lost Shinra child and convince him to help. Seeing how his own biological family had cast him aside upon birth, it would be relatively easy to make him resent them. The rest, would depend on the boy…no…young man, himself.
It was time to go back to Banora…back home. Hollander opened up the phone and began to dial.
Cissnei vaguely knew the two men who stood next to her in Veld's office. The man with the wild red hair was Reno. While he was good at his job, he was also notorious for being very anal when it came to acknowledging whether he was "on-duty" or "off-duty". He was also rumored to be a high-functioning alcoholic, and was an outspoken, flippant young man in general. The bald man with the goatee was Reno's work partner Rude. He was serious, and rarely spoke, except when spoken to. One would think that he and someone like Reno would not get on well together, but theirs was a working relationship that had been successful for over two years now.
As for Cissnei herself, she had been working for the Shinra since the tender age of thirteen…the same age that many young boys were when they set out to join SOLDIER. However, SOLDIER was a cake-walk compared to Shinra's Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department…or Turks, for short. The strange nickname had come about as the result of a pun in the Wutain language, having to do with the word "assassin". Ironically, though Wutai had been at war with the Shinra for years, many Turks had once been ninjas hailing from Wutai, who had been unable or unwilling to live by the ninja code.
Cissnei was the youngest person to have ever joined the Turks, and while there were now a couple of kids younger than her in the organization, both had been older when they had first joined. She had now been a part of the organization for the past six years, having just celebrated her nineteenth birthday only days before. Those six years had been good to her, and she would not have changed a thing.
"Good morning," Veld greeted the three Turks, "I've called you in here because the science department has recently acquired an addition to their research team. Tomorrow, that man, Dr. Hollander, will be traveling to Banora on business. You three are to escort him, and Reno, you'll be piloting the helicopter."
"Yes, sir," Reno said with a nod.
"This is a straight-forward mission," the leader of the Turks went on, "and I don't expect any twists. However, one of course, can never be too careful." He picked up three folders from his desk, and handed one to each of the three other Turks. "Here's his file. You will read it tonight, and report to the roof of Headquarters at six a.m. tomorrow morning. You're dismissed."
"Thank you, sir," the three Turks chorused before they turned and left.
"Hey," Reno called out as Cissnei walked ahead of him and Rude, "You busy?"
Cissnei held up her folder. "Yes," she answered.
Reno opened his folder. "I see three pages of info, and with pictures, no less. We've got fourteen hours until we have to be up on the roof to head out. Reading this shit'll take half-an-hour, tops. Why don't you come with me and Rude to the Wall Market Pub?"
Cissnei looked at her folder reluctantly.
Rude spoke up: "He can be quite insistent at times. When it comes to grabbing a drink, he rarely ever lets up."
"Yeah, just one drink!" Reno urged with a grin, "Come on! Y'know, I've heard about you, but we've never really hung out or anything. I won't even complain if you get some lame girly drink."
Cissnei sighed. If it really was one drink, it would certainly be out of her system by the time she had to report for work. There was also certainly no harm in getting to know a couple of her co-workers. After all, if there was one thing she had learned during the last six years, it was that not everyone was a potential enemy. That would include Reno and Rude.
"One drink," Cissnei emphasized as she walked over to the two men.
"Yeah…!" Reno said enthusiastically, "That's what I'm talking about!"
Cissnei had been almost certain that Reno would try to push more than one drink on her, but to her surprise, the man had been true to his word. She had ordered a hard lemonade that had given her a pleasant buzz, which would long since wear off by the time she had to report for work in the morning. After spending two hours playing pool in the back, and getting to know the two men she would be working with, she realized why Reno had been so accepting of Cissnei having only one drink: Reno had drank enough for the three of them, and now needed help in getting home to dry out. She and Rude helped the belligerent, stumbling redhead home, nearly getting into three fights along the way, as the foul-mouthed man shouted obscenities at anyone who looked at him the wrong way. That was nothing compared to having to help him up the five flights of stairs leading to his apartment, since the elevator in his building was broken.
Once Reno was tucked into bed, still wearing his uniform, no less, Cissnei and Rude left the apartment, walking down the stairs in an awkward silence, finally leaving the building, where they said goodbye and parted company.
Cissnei finally entered her tiny studio apartment half-an-hour later. She removed her jacket and grabbed an apple off of her kitchen counter. Sitting down at the table to eat, she loosened her tie, opened the folder, and began to read the files.
A/N: It was never really explained specifically what happened to Lucrecia after Sephiroth's birth, so I decided to fill in the gap in a way that would explain how she wound up in that cave behind the waterfall. Also, there's absolutely no information on Genesis' birth parents, so I had some fun with that. I honestly see some resemblance between him and Rufus, so it wouldn't be so far-fetched to make them cousins. ;)