Chapter Fourteen: Arrogance Breeds Negligence

Tiffany couldn't believe this was happening. She'd only just got her partner back, and now he was working with the enemy. Her voice was a shaky mess. "I've only just got you back... Why the fuck are you doing this, Hollander?!"

The scientist folded his arms and grinned. "It's simple. Your ever-loving is needed for the greatest experiment in the history of the Planet! He is the vessel to my eternal greatness! I will go down in the history books. Professor Hollander, the man who changed the face of existence! You know the Makonoids you all fought, all the monsters you battled to train yourselves? You are looking at the creator! Think about the Nibelheim Reactor! The Makonoids in those capsules? I put those members of SOLDIER there! When I'm finished with this vessel, he'll join them! If you all play your cards right, so will the whole of AVALANCHE! I'll make you all my Makonoid warriors! Nothing will stand in our way!"

Tiffany was in a state of disgust. She was going to use this to fight with. She couldn't bear to harm her lover, but she'd do what she had to for the safety of the Planet, and to bring her partner back to where he belonged. She clenched her fists and glared at the scientist, the monster responsible for all of this. "You can't defeat all of us, Hollander. We won't give up. You may as well give up right now!"

Hollander released a booming laugh from his diaphragm, Tiffany's words had no effect. "Is that reallythe best you can come up with for a threat? You're more pathetic than I thought! You know, it baffles me..."

Tiffany sneered. "What baffles you? The fact that you're going to pay?" Hollander shook his head. "No, how easilyI managed to bring your lover under my control! When we first began the experiments in the old cells, he was much more resilient. I guess everyone has a breaking point. Well, that's what I'm here for, to break people, to shape them into greatness!"

Tiffany never kept her eyes off John and Hollander. The SOLDIER remained perfectly still, not a fragment of him moved, except for one of his eyes, though Tiffany thought she was imagining it when she caught a wink from the man she loved eternally. She was banking on this, she was absolutely certain that John was in control. She kept her stern gaze focussed on the two, though a message in her stance told John everything he needed to know.

Hollander, suspecting nothing, retained his grin and outstretched one of his arms, preparing to issue the command. "Specimen A-1, kill." John smirked evilly and in an instant, spun one-hundred and eighty degrees and slammed his lance into Hollander's chest, piercing the scientist's evil heart. "Gladly." Hollander cried out in agony, his whole body was slowly degrading. "Why...? The... The experiment... My... My everlasting... Greatness..."

John twisted the lance and glared into the scientist's eyes, his trademark smirk present. "You were always destined for greatness, Hollander. The failure. That was always to be your greatness. Did you honestlythink that you'd be able to ruin the Planet? No. Not while AVALANCHE is around. We may seem like a rag-tag band of rebels, but we're fighting for Gaia, our home. We won't rest until every piece of scum is erased from existence. You are presently at the top of that list. We don't like killing, but with myself, Angeal, Zack and Sephiroth, it's become second-nature. Our first nature is LIVING. We'll live to protect the Planet. OUR PLANET."

Hollander's skin turn a deathly shade of grey. He didn't have much time left on the Planet. John wanted the man to suffer. "How... How did you escape my control...?" Gazing down at his chest, John then looked back into Hollander's eyes.

"It's simple. While you were practising your newly-mastered Control abilities, Doctor Lucrecia Crescent had found a way to break that system. See this ring? Resistance Materia. I never leave anywhere without it. Every single member of SOLDIER has one. In fact, Professor Hojo supported and aided the great Doctor in her research. Oh, but you knew that Professor Hojo wanted to help Shin-Ra with experiments to SAVE the Planet, that's why you ordered that assassination attempt on him. Well, the Captain had beaten you to it. It's a crying shame that he died, but I'll personally make sure that his name is kept in the history books. It's time for you to go, Professor Hollander. Close your eyes and accept the sweet release."

Hollander's eyes closed beyond his own control. He was fading fast. "Remember one thing while you face Minerva's judgement. AVALANCHE."

With those final words, Hollander's body went limp as he succumbed to death. John removed his lance and cleaned the tip, smirking as he turned around to face Tiffany, who was in a locked state of awe. "So, do I get a hug, or are you going to stand there, grinning like a beautiful idiot?"

In a flash, Tiffany had leapt into her lover's arms, kissing him hungrily. "I missed you..." John clipped his lance to his back and held onto his lover, smirking as he kissed her. "Not as much as I did, Tifa. Come on, we've earned a holiday. Home?"

Tiffany Lockhart grinned and gazed into her partner's glimmering eyes. "Home."

Zack folded his arms and grinned, about to make a sarcastic comment when his mouth was covered by Barret's gloved hand. The giant grinned as he spoke. "Dun' even think about it."

End Of Chapter Fourteen