ShinRa
By GQ and Zhak
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Chapter Fifteen: Meeting Hojo
"It's late."
Tiffany turned to Cliff with a weary look on her face and stared curiously at him as he sat down beside her. She had been sitting in the living room for hours already just watching TV and looking at old photographs of her mother and father from old photo albums. "Why? What time is it?" she asked.
"Fifteen minutes before midnight." He told her. "Aren't you tired?" he asked.
She just laughed light-heartedly. "Fifteen before twelve? It's still early! Well, at least for me, it is…" she said softly before switching off the television and put the remote down on the coffee table. "I am used to staying awake and working late at night and would just go to bed at around 3 in the morning… or sometimes never."
"Isn't that unhealthy?" he asked, making a face.
"Well… I know it is, but I have no choice. I'm the President and I have to do a lot of things for the company and for the Planet." She said with a mediocre stare, like she did not really feel like saying those things… like she was regretful that she was ever the President.
Cliff easily noticed it by looking into her eyes. "Do you like being President?" he asked frankly.
She was silent for a while and just looked away, bowing down her head in contemplation. She suddenly looked disappointed. He felt ashamed. "I'm… sorry, did my question offend you? I mean, I'm not questioning your abilities as the President but…"
She cut him off by saying, "I'd be a big fat liar if I say yes, I like being President."
He blinked. "So you don't like being President?" he asked.
She just swallowed hard and turned to look at him again. "Who likes doing executive stuff at this age of mine? Isn't that abnormal? I should be having fun! I should be studying in a private school in Sector 1 or in Junon, but instead, I was stuck with private tutors ever since I was a toddler and graduated college at the age of 15! Isn't that ridiculous? And my friends… well, if you can call them friends… they're a bunch of old people who had been of service to ShinRa ever since before I was born! And I don't like talking to people I do not even know that Reno and the others refer to as clients and business associates and partners because I really have nothing to talk about with them except for business and… more business!" she sighed heavily. "I'm sorry if I'm blabbing… you're surprised, huh?" she asked miserably.
"Poor girl…" he thought to himself silently before smiling kindly at her. "It's okay. You should let it all out… all your frustrations in life." He told her.
She just leaned back on the couch, "I know that my dad was the perfect President for ShinRa… but… I am not my father. I'm different from him but those executives want me to be like him… to act and work like him. And I'm really doing a very mediocre job at it. I'm tired of acting like I love what I'm doing…" she placed her hands on her lap. "Sometimes I really wish that my parents were there to support me, then maybe I could get some inspiration and work harder for them." She said softly.
He looked down to the floor. "It must be hard growing up without parents, huh?" he asked.
She nodded sadly before turning to him again. She forced a cheerful smile, but he still saw in her eyes that she was hurting inside. "Wh…what about you? What are your frustrations in life?" she asked casually.
He was amazed at her sudden change in mood and tone. "Wh…what?" he asked in confusion.
"Aw c'mon! I've told you mine. You should tell me yours, otherwise, it would be unfair!" she told him with a playful grin on her face.
Unknown to them, Vincent and Barret were listening and observing them from upstairs on the second floor. Barret smiled slightly. "She's just like Teef… sad and miserable but she still tries to be cheerful…" he thought to himself.
Cliff smiled at the fact that she was finally warming up to him. "Well… alright…" he said as he shrugged.
Tiffany waited for him to speak up, but he was still hesitant to tell her. "Well?" she asked.
He hesitated for a few more moments before finally telling her, "I wanted to join SOLDIER… but…" he trailed off when he saw the way she was looking at him. She was really listening attentively to him. "But what?" he asked.
He suddenly lost his words. He was happy deep inside that he finally got to meet her. He had adored her from afar for a long time already but didn't know how to let her know… although he knows that at that moment, he couldn't tell her, still. It would be too soon.
"Uh-oh… the darn foo's got that lovesick stare on his face." Barret muttered to Vincent.
Vincent just shook his head in disbelief. "Young love…" he mumbled.
Tiffany's smile faded as she stared back at him. She frowned slightly. "But what?" she asked, making her voice louder to make him snap out of his trance. "What's wrong with him?" she thought to herself in confusion.
Cliff jerked slightly. "Oh… uhm… what was I saying?" he asked, losing track of himself.
She stared unbelievably at him. "Are you alright?" she asked as she reached out a hand to him and touched his forehead. "You seem feverish…" she said.
He moved away from her, feeling his temperature rising further because of her touch. "Well it's just… warm in this room tonight. Haha!" he laughed lightly before he got up. "I'll just go outside for a while for some cool air." He told her before rushing to the door. She got up and went after him. "I'll go with you," she said.
Cliff blushed. "But… isn't it dangerous for you to… just go outside at this time of the night?" he asked.
She laughed at what he said. "You're kidding me! I can defend myself. And besides, you're here right? An aspiring SOLDIER should know how to protect the President. Tell you what, if you can do a great job tonight, once we get back to Midgar, I'll take care of your application to SOLDIER and make sure you're in." she told him reassuringly.
He wanted to melt. "R…really?" he asked in awe.
She mindlessly got his hand and led the way further into the streets. "Come on." She said with a sweet smile on her face.
Barret and Vincent watched as the two walked away hand-in-hand.
"Shall I follow them?" Vincent asked.
Barret nodded. "Yeah. We have to make sure Tiffany is alright. I just received a text message from Cloud that he and Rufus are comin' here." He told him.
Vincent just nodded and just took off, unseen by the two young people.
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Tifa opened her eyes when she heard purring from a large cat. A pair of green catty eyes stared down at her in wonder. "Meowr!" a panther-like animal greeted her happily.
Tifa smiled in relief. "Oh… Dark Nation," she said softly as she reached out a hand to Rufus's pet and stroked its fur gently. She saw that an I.V. is attached to the back of her hand. Slowly, the events came back to her. But she was relieved. She was home and she knew she had nothing more to worry about.
"You're awake," Aerith began. Tifa turned to her friend who was just seated on the couch beside the bed. "Hey, Aerith," she greeted wearily.
Aerith giggled. "You had us worried back there. But not to worry, I helped heal you." She told her. Tifa smiled. "Thank you, Aerith." She said softly. "What time is it?" she continued. Aerith glanced at her watch and said, "It's 2 in the morning." She replied.
Tifa just sighed heavily. "Where's Rufus?" she asked softly as she turned her head to the other side, scanning the room. It sure was nice to be home.
"He and Cloud went to Nibelheim to pick up Tiffany and bring her back here." Aerith told her. Tifa turned back to her with a pleased but tired smile on her face. "I'm so happy to be here again… and I'm happier to know that Rufus is alive. Tell me, did you know something about this all along?" she asked.
Aerith bit her lower lip and just chuckled lightly. "Well… yeah. But Rufus told me and the rest of the gang not to let you know because he really wants to know what's happening around here in ShinRa and in Midgar and how they're treating you and Tiffany." She explained. "You should've been there all those years that you had been apart from him. He was so… miserable. But he knew he had to do that for his own family's sake." Aerith leaned forward to her. "Tell me, Tifa, you seem so different." She whispered.
Tifa just blinked. "What do you mean I'm different?" she asked with a slight frown.
Aerith just kept on looking into her eyes. "You seem… different. When you were living alone, you became distant… and you never even bothered to keep in touch with Cloud and the rest of us." She told her.
Tifa just stared blankly at her. "I guess it's normal for a person to feel this way especially when she feels that life had given up on her because the only two things that mattered to her had been taken away." She replied flatly.
Aerith held her hand gently, "I don't like you being like that, Tifa. What happened to the happy girl I used to know?" she asked with a sad smile on her face.
Tifa stared at her friend for a few moments with a cold look on her face before smiling. "Well, she's back." She replied simply. But at the back of her mind, she was already devising on how she could get even on the sole person who tried to take everything away from her.
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Tiffany and Cliff stopped by the well and looked up at it with curiosity.
"This is where you get your water?" she asked curiously.
"Well… not really. It's just here as a landmark and as a symbol… and only its neighboring houses make use of it nowadays especially when it's dry season when water becomes scarce sometimes." He explained.
She continued to stare at it for a few more moments before deciding to come nearer to it. He wondered what she was going to do, and to his surprise, she just climbed up. "Hey! Be careful!" he told her.
She did not listen. She just continued to climb up, and when she reached the top, she was amazed at the lovely view. Cliff followed after her and joined her up there.
"It's lovely in here," she said softly.
Cliff had to agree. He nodded with a soft smile on his face.
"What are you doing up so late?" they heard someone say from below.
Tiffany and Cliff both jerked up in surprise as they turned to look at who it was. They were surprised to see their fathers.
Her mouth dropped open and tears welled up in her eyes as she saw her father with a soft smile on his face. She instantly got down from the well and ran to him while laughing heartily, her tears streaming down her face. But she stopped when she got to stand before him. "Father," she said softly.
Cliff got down and joined Cloud. "Hey dad," he greeted. Cloud nodded at his son as a greeting before turning back to Tiffany and Rufus.
Rufus was staring in awe at his daughter. It was the first time that he heard her call him father and he felt so happy deep inside. "How did you know?" he asked with his usual poker-faced expression.
"Silly, father. Uncle Barret told me!" Tiffany told him before finally giving him a hug.
Cloud smiled calmly at the father-daughter scene. "Well… at last they're together again." he heard Cliff said softly. Cloud just nodded. "But it's not yet over." He said, frowning slightly when he sensed that someone was lurking from behind them. He instantly turned around to look, but there was no one there. "What's wrong, dad?" Cliff asked with a frown on his face.
Rufus also sensed movement and he instantly shoved his daughter behind him as a move to protect her. "Father, what's wrong?" she asked nervously.
"Just stay back…" he told her.
The whole area was quiet.
They heard gunshots from behind them and they instantly turned around to look at who was firing. It was Vincent moving in a swift motion to shoot someone a few meters away from them. "Get away from here!" Vincent told them.
"Vincent," Rufus began.
"Rufus, Tiffany. Get away from here. Hojo is here." Cloud told them.
"What?" Rufus asked in awe.
"Hojo? So that's him?" Vincent asked in surprise.
"I think so… I think I saw him move from that house to the other one…" Cloud told them before he got his Ultima Weapon and rushed off to the houses.
"Dad, wait up!" Cliff said, going after his father, but Cloud stopped him, "No. You go with Tiffany and Rufus. Make sure they're alright." He instructed. Although hesitant, Cliff just nodded and went back to Rufus and Tiffany. "Let's get you guys out of here. It's dangerous for the two of you." He said.
Vincent followed after Cloud.
Cliff, Rufus and Tiffany went the other way.
"Where are we going?" Tiffany asked her father.
"We're going back to Midgar. You're safer there." He answered. And then he just fell down to the ground, bleeding.
"Father!" she cried out as she supported him. He had a bullet wound on his right shoulder. "Bloody hell, where did that come from?!" he cursed in anger. They froze when they noticed someone approaching them. Rufus's eyes widened in shock when he recognized who it was: Hojo.
"Did you like my new invention, Rufus?" Hojo asked, referring to his gunarm. "It shoots bullets quietly." He explained. "Interesting reunion. And I'm quite surprised that you are still alive. I thought you died several years ago." He continued.
Rufus just stared coldly at him.
Hojo smiled evilly at them.
"Who is he?" Cliff asked with a frown on his face.
Hojo stared at him. "Ah… judging from your features, you are Cloud Strife's son, aren't you?" he asked with a pleased look on his face.
"Damn hell, you're right." Cliff said before he got his Buster Sword that once belonged to his father. "A sword against this weapon of mine? Isn't that foolish?" Hojo mocked.
"It's not foolish if you know how to use it properly." Tiffany said with an arrogant tone as she got her shotgun. "I don't know who you are but I don't like you." She sneered.
"That's Professor Hojo, one of ShinRa's former scientists. He's the mastermind behind all of these; he controlled Reno and used him for his own plans. He was the one who tried to harm you and your mother and not Reno." Rufus explained to her.
"I see…" Tiffany hissed, getting angry at the last sentence.
Vincent and Cloud finally joined them but they were behind Hojo. "So this is where he went. He's too fast." The latter said.
"Indeed. I don't know what he did to himself but…" the former stopped himself when Hojo turned to look at him. "Ah. Vincent Valentine. How nice to see you again after all these years!" he greeted.
Vincent just frowned at him. "You're more of a monster than what you have made me into right now, I must say," he remarked with a mocking tone. Hojo just laughed at him. "I know, but who got the girl?" he asked mockingly. Vincent cringed.
"Enough of that bullshit," Tiffany snapped impatiently before shooting at Hojo. Since the man was caught off-guard, he instantly got shot through the heart.
But to their awe, he was still standing. He did not even bleed.
"Are you a zombie or what?!" Cloud asked in disgust.
Hojo was angry now and he began to shoot at them randomly.
Rufus forced himself to get up to dodge the bullets. The rest of them tried to get close to Hojo and probably try to paralyze his gun-arm or cut it off, but none of them were successful in their attempts.
Hojo just laughed at them. "I am so amazed at you… especially at your daughter, President Rufus." He said with a pleased look on his face. Tiffany narrowed her eyes on him. "What is it that you want, you old bastard?" she demanded with an angry look on her face.
"I just have one simple wish: to be able to take over your company. I need the money for my experiments… and to continue the JENOVA project too." he replied.
"You're sick!" Vincent aimed his gun at him. "I never liked you and you know that, Vincent… so don't make me kill you right here, right now!" Hojo warned him with an angry look on his face. Vincent just smiled slightly at him, "Fine. Do whatever you want. Once I lose my life here, guess who'll be with Lucrecia in the afterlife?" he asked.
Silence.
"You…" Hojo began in rage, ready to shoot Vincent's brains out. It was a good distraction that Vincent made, because it let Tiffany, Cloud and Cliff get the chance to attack him.
Vincent signaled for Rufus get away, but Rufus insisted that he wanted to stay and fight. "I am going to make your journey to hell a horrible one…" he mumbled.
"I will take you and your revolting daughter with me if you insist," Hojo said maliciously. Sneering, he reloaded his gun-arm and shot at Cloud, who was at that time, charging at him full-force. "Same goes for you and your seed, failure."
A bullet grazed the surface of Cloud's skin. A wound began bleeding. Cloud didn't stop trying to slice him with a sword, but Hojo didn't stop either. A second bullet tore through Cloud's abdomen. Cloud yelled in pain. The grip on his sword weakened as he stumbled on the ground.
"DAD!" Cliff yelled. Taking the opportunity while Cliff is distracted, Hojo shot him at the leg.
Tiffany saw Cliff stumble. But, unfazed, she continued shooting at Hojo. The scientist remained standing. "No use, Madam President. The experiments I have done on myself… they have made me immortal." To demonstrate further, he dug two fingers through his flesh and picked out one of the bullets from her shotgun.
Tiffany's eyes widened.
"Shocked? Amazed? You should be. I did not get into the ShinRa Laboratory Team because I am an idiot… I have discovered that you, Mr. Valentine, are immortal… inhuman… because of the modifications I did to your body."
Vincent frowned deeper. He, Hojo, Rufus and Tiffany all stopped attacking… waiting for the other party to move, to use it against them. A tension hung in the air. "It took me a while to discover this… but eventually, I found out what made him immortal and performed those modifications on myself."
After a brief silence, Vincent asked, "I am immortal?"
Hojo tilted his head mockingly. "No." He shot at Vincent, but the Turk dodged.
"Then you aren't." Tiffany sneered. She shot at Hojo's forehead. No blood came out of the hole in his head. Hojo laughed. "For the moment, I am, President. There is something special with my bullets… there is, as you ignorant fools would say, poison… but it's actually a virus I have created that is designed to attack abnormal cells in the body. Once it enters through Mr. Valentine's blood stream, it will kill all JENOVA-infected cells in his body; more specifically, the JENOVA-infected cells that stops his aging and regenerating processes. His defences will diminish, and he will die eventually like any other mortal. So don't get your hopes up, Mr. Valentine. I will enjoy sending you to hell," Hojo began shooting at Vincent. Vincent rolled on the ground, dodged, jumped, and hid behind rocks to avoid getting hit.
Tiffany, in desperation, continued shooting at Hojo, but none seemed to hurt him. "Dad… what do we do?!" she whispered to Rufus.
He narrowed his eyes. "I'm aiming…" he mumbled. Blinking to clear his vision, he began aiming at a round orb attached to Hojo's gun-arm: the Materia that was powering it up. He fired. Hojo flinched. "AIE!" The gun-arm flailed wildly… a stray bullet headed towards a random direction…
"Urgh…"
"YOU CUNT!" Hojo yelled, charging at Rufus, ready to beat him to death if he needed to… but Tiffany stepped up. Her red eyes flashing, she mercilessly shot Hojo in every vital organ she could fire at. With the Materia… no, now that the orb that was continuously supplying Hojo with the liquid his body needs to take all those bullets is ruined, every hole embedded in his body by bullets started gushing out blood.
Hojo started choking. Dark red liquid began flowing out of his mouth. Before he reached Rufus, he fell on the ground, writhing, choking, bleeding, until he finally lay down unmoving.
Vincent peeked out from behind the well he was hiding. Cliff and Cloud, who were helping each other out, froze in anticipation. Rufus stood in awe of his daughter.
They soon crowded around Hojo. "He's dead, right?" Cloud grunted.
"He is… finally…" Vincent said coldly.
Rufus smirked. Proudly turning to Tiffany, he said, "Well done… Tiffany?" He looked at her strangely, surprised that she's suddenly quiet. Then he saw it… a dark red staining her white jacket.
She wanted to say something, but all that came out was a croak. She was smiling when she collapsed.
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Tifa gleefully waited on the roof of the ShinRa building, watching the chopper from Nibelheim carrying her long-lost daughter and husband land. "Aerith, I'm so happy… My daughter is finally able to see me after all these years…"
"There, there," Aerith handed her a handkerchief. "Nothing is going to go wrong now…"
The first figure to come down from the helicopter was Vincent Valentine. His face was solemn, and his aura was that of grief or mourning. Instantly, Tifa and Aerith's happy faces fell. "Vincent? What's the matter?"
Aerith ran to her husband and son as soon as they came out of the chopper, being supported by a few men. "Oh my god! What happened to you two?!"
"Mom…" Cliff said softly, his eyes red. A Paramedic stopped Aerith. "Ma'am, they've been hit by bullets. We're taking them to the hospital… come this way." Panicking, she left Tifa behind and followed the paramedics inside the building.
Rufus came out next. "Rufus…?" Tifa asked softly. She ran towards him. "Where's—
Three men came out of the chopper carrying a stretcher. "Easy there…"
Tifa gasped. A figure covered with a white blanket was on the stretcher. "No… don't tell me…" When she was about to lift the cover, Rufus held her wrist to stop her. "Tifa…"
"No! Let me see her!" Tifa yelled. The paramedics stopped. Gently, she used a delicate hand to lift the blanket off the figure…
Tiffany's lifeless face was exposed.
Tifa froze. Rufus and Vincent, watching her, could not say anything.
"Ma'am… we have to take her away now…" one of the paramedics said softly.
Tifa sniffled. A singular tear slid down her pale cheek. "Why… how… how did this happen?" she asked, her voice cracking.
Vincent looked at Rufus, wondering how to explain what happened. Rufus put a hand around his wife's shoulder.
Nobody said a word.
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