Chapter 8
Zell was looking around the lower section of the bridge of Garden. Every face had a sombre expression. Dr. Kadowaki had just given her report about the disappearances. The main casualties were Squall, Rinoa, Seifer and Selphie but that was not the only problem, many SeeD members had been admitted to the infirmary with mild insanity. The Doctor had been hard pressed to deal with them all. Despite the fact that Zangen, Vincent and the other Cid had appeared there was a shortage of manpower to deal with Esthar's distress call.
Cid (The headmaster) spoke up "Thank you, Dr Kadowaki. Until Irvine and Cid get back, we don't know what the current situation is, until then I want Zell and Fiona to call as many able-bodied SeeD members as possible, gather them in the quad, then pick two teams of eight. I'll assign them to the squads, tell them to go to their rooms and get some rest for the morning. That will be when you leave." "Will that be enough, headmaster?" Fiona asked "And why tomorrow morning? We don't know what's going on and the extra time will give them time to fortify." "Been reading up, I see." Fiona blushed as Cid continued "I'm hoping that it will be enough. We need to co-ordinate our attack with President Laguna and his parties attack, plus we only need to go for the main places. The palace and the laboratory, they're the two nerve centres, whoever is running the show will be at one of them two places." Zell accepted his assignment with the customary salute, knowing it was usually better to go along with the headmasters plans "Okay, come on Fiona, lets go to the comm."
………
Vincent looked on as Zell went up a lift to the main control section.
Cid called his name and got his attention "Vincent, I would like you to lead a squad." Vincent just stood there "Why me?" "I believe that we may be up against an opponent from your world. We may need your experience against him or her." "We're not going 'til morning, so I'll give you my answer then. I need to sleep on it." "Sure, but do think about it." "Of course. You never know, I might even be able to give you an idea of who your up against as well."
Vincent turned with a grand wave of his cape and walked from the room leaving Cid, wondering what he meant, behind him.
………
Irvine jumped down from the ramp of the Ragnorok and ran around the side and stopped suddenly. There in the armour was a large hole. Cid came round and joined him.
"Selphie's gonna kill me!" Irvine cried out
"Irvine," Cid said "Let me deal with this. You need to go see Cid, remember?
"Err, oh yeah, see ya later."
As Irvine left, Cid turned to a couple of kids talking by some crates "Hey, you two. Get over here!" The two looked at him then each other and walked over to him cautiously "Yes, sir?" "Do you have any armour panels for this ship here?" "…Yes, but we don't have the expertise to fit them." Cid stood patiently "Don't worry about that, I can fit them, but I'm going to need help holding it in place. Can you show me the panels and we'll bring them over." "Well…" "Come on, Irvine needs this done today." At the mention of Irvine's name, they nodded "Okay, follow us."
………
In the room, a number of machines were working. Inside a capsule, there was a large woman. The capsule was filled with a thick mist. As it cleared, the woman thrashed and twisted in pain.
Outside, there was a man. A man in a white scientist coat. He was laughing.
The door of the capsule opened. The woman stepped out and stretched. She loomed over the man. She said something and turned to the capsule, she had come out of. A ball of energy left her hands and destroyed the machine. The man ran to it and examined the wreckage. He turned to the woman, but she shimmered and disappeared.
Through a door, the other side of the room, another woman appeared. This time a lot smaller but she had an aura about her, which showed off her power. She started to say something, but stopped and looked around.
The man started talking but the woman held up her hand and he stopped. The woman concentrated and suddenly it all went dark.
………
Vincent woke up, the darkness that had ended his dream was new. It was as if the dream was blocked. But how?
He looked at the time 5am, time to get up.
He got up and dressed, stopping quickly to remember his dream. The man in the white coat… Hojo! Vincent smiled, revenge would finally be his.
………
Ultimecia walked in the lab "Not going the way you wanted, Hojo?" Hojo looked at her "What was…" She stopped and looked around.
"What's going…" Hojo stopped when Ultimecia raised her hand.
After a moment of concentration, Ultimecia spoke again "Someone was spying on us."
Hojo was surprised "How? There's nowhere for spies to hide in here."
"I'm not sure how. The mind was elusive and passive. I think it was asleep. But that makes even less sense to me."
"Asleep? How can someone spy on us while… asleep… Jenova Cells!" Hojo shouted triumphant.
"Jenova Cells? What are they?" Ultimecia was intrigued.
"They're the cells of an alien body which fell on my world thousands of years ago. The cells give off a spirit energy which when combined with a human being or animal, can create an exceptionally strong creature."
"Interesting. Is the process painful?"
"Thinking of having it done to yourself?" Ultimecia just looked at him "You probably saw it. That's what Adel was put through."
"What? I thought you was reactivating her sorceress powers."
"How? The sorceress powers from what I've read can only be passed on from another sorceress. Trust me, she's got Jenova Cells inside her now, not the sorceress power."
Ultimecia was shocked at the realisation of it "So, how did she do that?" She pointed to the wreckage of the machine.
Hojo was as calm as possible "The abilities are different for every person. But I've found out from my experience. The longer the powers take to develop, the more powerful the person."
"So, what does that make her? She accessed her powers almost immediately"
"More powerful than a normal person with training. But no match for either of us."
Ultimecia had a look of thought on her face.
"Do you have any more? Jenova Cells, that is. I only need a small amount. I would like to have my people examine them."
"Sure." He went over to a small cabinet and took out a small glass tube. He walked back and handed it to Ultimecia.
"Thank you, Hojo."
"You're welcome… By the way, when do you expect these SeeD people to arrive?" Ultimecia smiled evilly "Soon. My purpose for coming here, to this time, is almost complete. I will be leaving as soon as Adel is destroyed."
Ultimecia laughed and left. That left Hojo alone in the lab. He wondered what this purpose was that Ultimecia had come for.
