::Chapter 5 - Fragile Discovery ::
The emergency vehicle was waiting back at the entrance to the Sector. Vincent was placed in the back immediately. Cloud fell to his knees and gasped for a breath of air. He had accomplished the impossible. The man who'd been soaked in Mako had recovered the lost member of the crew. He wasn't sure if Vincent would live through it. He wasn't sure why he fell so far behind so quickly. None of this seemed to matter now, as he stood up and fell into the vehicle. Barrett and the rest climbed aboard and tried to dust themselves off. Cid pulled the files on Red out of the folder and looked at them. "That $!&@* Hojo, what a maniac!" Everyone turned to him, waiting for an explanation.
Cid kept reading while trying to keep calm. Hojo specifically stated in the report on Red XIII, which Hojo had code-named "Experiment 13-421," that he spent several months evaluating Red, and devising a possibility to produce another of the same species. He stated that the required items he needed were all in hand, and that he had begun to put the mixture of life into its own test tube. The log continued on a day-by-day basis stating new events and discoveries. He stated in one entry that he'd placed the experiment off Shinra grounds, meaning he'd placed it somewhere outside of Midgar. The details of the entry didn't describe where, but only gave a clue that said. "Remember its location near the Village of Gongaga." Cid closed the file and looked at Aerith's. Hojo had less time to experiment on her, therefore there were only a few entries. One that stuck out, dated hours before the rescue, stated "Test subject Cet-01 didn't respond well to death reversal drug. Subject convulsed and vomited, passed out at 00:23 and became conscious again at 01:55. Other side effects included slurred speech, shaking, and insomnia." The entry below it, dated three hours before the rescue stated "Subject has attained normal status. Drug side effects have worn off. Safely tested drug usefulness. Subject was confirmed dead at 06:21 and reanimated at 06:33, thirteen minutes after poison injection. Next test will determine reanimation based upon fatal injury."
Cloud looked away from the report. Aerith had died once before they rescued her? This seemed impossible. No mere Phoenix Down could bring a person back from death. If these reports Hojo had written were true, the visions Cloud had been seeing would be more believable than before. He understood now, why Aerith and Red had been contained in that same chamber upon their arrival. Red was to maul Aerith and kill her, to test the effectiveness of the injected drug. Hojo created a scheme so evil, even he himself ended up becoming a subject. He wanted Aerith, the last of the Cetra to live forever. This may have not been true for death upon injury. Hojo was never theoretically able to test that theory, since Cloud and the others had broken in and saved the two.
Cid tapped Cloud on the shoulder and shoved the report at him. "Read this line here." He pointed to the first entry in the line of few. Cloud looked at it and read it aloud. "I have safely devised another toxin for death prevention. The first successful test was on a member of SOLDIER who went by the name of Sephiroth. He is the son of a Turk whom I killed and tested on years ago. The Turk has been stored away in the old Shinra mansion at Nibelheim. He was the second to receive the treatment. Aside from lack of physical aging, he should be living still to this day. The mother was an assistant of mine who had cheated on me. She tricked me into loving her and then attempted to kill me. I was forced to administer the drug into myself. I was the third test." Cloud stopped reading. "This has to be fake, we killed Hojo AND Sephiroth." Red shook his head. "I pulled this from the very shelf I witnessed Hojo pull it from every single day he'd experiment on me. Everything you find in it is one-hundred percent truth." Cloud's jaw slightly dropped in terror. He finished what was written on the paper. "I'll test on the girl tomorrow. She is the last of the Cetra, and important to the balance of this world." Hojo was trying to prevent Aerith's death from this world? Cloud though. "It couldn't have worked, for Sephiroth made his way North. He needed Aerith dead to accomplish the task." He said, throwing the report back at Cid. Red shook his head. "No, it just means that it took longer for Aerith's body to react to the drug. While she was in death, Sephiroth planned out his attack on this world and nearly completed it." Cloud looked around. "So does this mean, that Aerith, Vincent, Hojo, AND Sephiroth are still alive somewhere?!" Barrett pointed to the back. "Well, we know where Vincent is." Red shook his head yes. "Yes, this means that the other three are out there somewhere. Hojo is mostly likely in the ruins of Shinra Tower. The falling steel could have dismembered him, and actually killed him. The formula for reanimation could not have worked if he had been beheaded." Cloud looked around and then put his head in his folded arms. "I don't know what to do anymore." Tifa put her hand on his shoulder and rubbed it. Cloud leaned in toward her and whispered something and then went back to check on Vincent.
Vincent lay still on the gurney he was put on. He was bleeding from the abdomen, arm, leg, and head. The blood had soaked into the red cloak he was wearing and appeared as if he wasn't even bleeding. His gun lay on the counter near him. The few bullets it contained were thrown into a bowl, to ensure the gun wouldn't fire inside of the vehicle. He appeared to still be breathing, slowly, as if he were in a coma or perhaps asleep. Cloud stared at him for a minute and thought about everything he'd read. If all those things were true, Vincent's body should react to the drug any time now, he thought. What if the drug's effectiveness wore off after one death situation? He'd been killed once already. This brought to Cloud the thought of Aerith. She apparently had died once before as well. He wasn't sure if this was real or not, but Hojo's log explained it rather well. "Dammit Vincent, why did you go back for this WORTHLESS GUN!? Look at you! You got yourself DAMN near KILLED because you played around! Cloud took a vial out of this pocket and poured it onto Vincent. "This better work, dammit, this is my last potion. Yuffie looked at Cloud. She was sitting with Vincent and holding his hand. "What are you still doing back here?" Yuffie smirked and responded, "I'm waiting till he dies so I can take his Materia, jeez, what do you think I'm doing here? I'm staying by his side." Cloud shrugged and walked out of the room. "Good. Stay here."
The vehicle soon arrived back at Kalm. Many workers gathered to hear the story of how they'd survived the collapse of Shinra Tower. Upon hearing the story, the innkeeper gave everyone individual rooms for the night. Vincent was transported to the nearby medical station. Yuffie stayed with him at all times, it seemed. Cloud returned to the Highwind and picked up his Golden Chocobo from the stable. He wouldn't sleep tonight, for he had a long journey ahead of him. He needed answers to many, many things. The time had come to search for the meaning to his visions. If Aerith and Sephiroth were both still alive, how could he save Aerith, and prevent Sephiroth from finishing his plot? He looked at Kalm and then rode off towards the City of Ancients.
The emergency vehicle was waiting back at the entrance to the Sector. Vincent was placed in the back immediately. Cloud fell to his knees and gasped for a breath of air. He had accomplished the impossible. The man who'd been soaked in Mako had recovered the lost member of the crew. He wasn't sure if Vincent would live through it. He wasn't sure why he fell so far behind so quickly. None of this seemed to matter now, as he stood up and fell into the vehicle. Barrett and the rest climbed aboard and tried to dust themselves off. Cid pulled the files on Red out of the folder and looked at them. "That $!&@* Hojo, what a maniac!" Everyone turned to him, waiting for an explanation.
Cid kept reading while trying to keep calm. Hojo specifically stated in the report on Red XIII, which Hojo had code-named "Experiment 13-421," that he spent several months evaluating Red, and devising a possibility to produce another of the same species. He stated that the required items he needed were all in hand, and that he had begun to put the mixture of life into its own test tube. The log continued on a day-by-day basis stating new events and discoveries. He stated in one entry that he'd placed the experiment off Shinra grounds, meaning he'd placed it somewhere outside of Midgar. The details of the entry didn't describe where, but only gave a clue that said. "Remember its location near the Village of Gongaga." Cid closed the file and looked at Aerith's. Hojo had less time to experiment on her, therefore there were only a few entries. One that stuck out, dated hours before the rescue, stated "Test subject Cet-01 didn't respond well to death reversal drug. Subject convulsed and vomited, passed out at 00:23 and became conscious again at 01:55. Other side effects included slurred speech, shaking, and insomnia." The entry below it, dated three hours before the rescue stated "Subject has attained normal status. Drug side effects have worn off. Safely tested drug usefulness. Subject was confirmed dead at 06:21 and reanimated at 06:33, thirteen minutes after poison injection. Next test will determine reanimation based upon fatal injury."
Cloud looked away from the report. Aerith had died once before they rescued her? This seemed impossible. No mere Phoenix Down could bring a person back from death. If these reports Hojo had written were true, the visions Cloud had been seeing would be more believable than before. He understood now, why Aerith and Red had been contained in that same chamber upon their arrival. Red was to maul Aerith and kill her, to test the effectiveness of the injected drug. Hojo created a scheme so evil, even he himself ended up becoming a subject. He wanted Aerith, the last of the Cetra to live forever. This may have not been true for death upon injury. Hojo was never theoretically able to test that theory, since Cloud and the others had broken in and saved the two.
Cid tapped Cloud on the shoulder and shoved the report at him. "Read this line here." He pointed to the first entry in the line of few. Cloud looked at it and read it aloud. "I have safely devised another toxin for death prevention. The first successful test was on a member of SOLDIER who went by the name of Sephiroth. He is the son of a Turk whom I killed and tested on years ago. The Turk has been stored away in the old Shinra mansion at Nibelheim. He was the second to receive the treatment. Aside from lack of physical aging, he should be living still to this day. The mother was an assistant of mine who had cheated on me. She tricked me into loving her and then attempted to kill me. I was forced to administer the drug into myself. I was the third test." Cloud stopped reading. "This has to be fake, we killed Hojo AND Sephiroth." Red shook his head. "I pulled this from the very shelf I witnessed Hojo pull it from every single day he'd experiment on me. Everything you find in it is one-hundred percent truth." Cloud's jaw slightly dropped in terror. He finished what was written on the paper. "I'll test on the girl tomorrow. She is the last of the Cetra, and important to the balance of this world." Hojo was trying to prevent Aerith's death from this world? Cloud though. "It couldn't have worked, for Sephiroth made his way North. He needed Aerith dead to accomplish the task." He said, throwing the report back at Cid. Red shook his head. "No, it just means that it took longer for Aerith's body to react to the drug. While she was in death, Sephiroth planned out his attack on this world and nearly completed it." Cloud looked around. "So does this mean, that Aerith, Vincent, Hojo, AND Sephiroth are still alive somewhere?!" Barrett pointed to the back. "Well, we know where Vincent is." Red shook his head yes. "Yes, this means that the other three are out there somewhere. Hojo is mostly likely in the ruins of Shinra Tower. The falling steel could have dismembered him, and actually killed him. The formula for reanimation could not have worked if he had been beheaded." Cloud looked around and then put his head in his folded arms. "I don't know what to do anymore." Tifa put her hand on his shoulder and rubbed it. Cloud leaned in toward her and whispered something and then went back to check on Vincent.
Vincent lay still on the gurney he was put on. He was bleeding from the abdomen, arm, leg, and head. The blood had soaked into the red cloak he was wearing and appeared as if he wasn't even bleeding. His gun lay on the counter near him. The few bullets it contained were thrown into a bowl, to ensure the gun wouldn't fire inside of the vehicle. He appeared to still be breathing, slowly, as if he were in a coma or perhaps asleep. Cloud stared at him for a minute and thought about everything he'd read. If all those things were true, Vincent's body should react to the drug any time now, he thought. What if the drug's effectiveness wore off after one death situation? He'd been killed once already. This brought to Cloud the thought of Aerith. She apparently had died once before as well. He wasn't sure if this was real or not, but Hojo's log explained it rather well. "Dammit Vincent, why did you go back for this WORTHLESS GUN!? Look at you! You got yourself DAMN near KILLED because you played around! Cloud took a vial out of this pocket and poured it onto Vincent. "This better work, dammit, this is my last potion. Yuffie looked at Cloud. She was sitting with Vincent and holding his hand. "What are you still doing back here?" Yuffie smirked and responded, "I'm waiting till he dies so I can take his Materia, jeez, what do you think I'm doing here? I'm staying by his side." Cloud shrugged and walked out of the room. "Good. Stay here."
The vehicle soon arrived back at Kalm. Many workers gathered to hear the story of how they'd survived the collapse of Shinra Tower. Upon hearing the story, the innkeeper gave everyone individual rooms for the night. Vincent was transported to the nearby medical station. Yuffie stayed with him at all times, it seemed. Cloud returned to the Highwind and picked up his Golden Chocobo from the stable. He wouldn't sleep tonight, for he had a long journey ahead of him. He needed answers to many, many things. The time had come to search for the meaning to his visions. If Aerith and Sephiroth were both still alive, how could he save Aerith, and prevent Sephiroth from finishing his plot? He looked at Kalm and then rode off towards the City of Ancients.