At last, Katy had things set up relatively well enough. She just needed a fricken translator to go between herself and her posse. That, seemed to be a bit harder to come by than she'd anticipated, but at long last, she'd managed to figure out that Japanese WAS pretty close to the language these people spoke and she'd allowed one more other-worlder to join them. This girl was Jessie. She wasn't anyone Katy knew, or had even heard of, which wasn't surprising, considering that Jessie was a Japanese-American who'd lived in Kyoto- until two weeks ago that was. She had a somewhat bad accent, but Katy could get the point across to her fairly well and she HAD played FF7. Her favorite was Vincent.
"Don't worry, honny, you can have Vinny to yourself," Katy had promised. "Soon as we find him again."
Jessie's dark almond shaped eyes had gone larger, "He is in Nibelheim, right?"
Katy shrugged, "Last I saw yes, see- I woke him up to help with Sephiroth," she shook her head, looking down at her hands as she sat on a crate in the shack that served as their new HQ. "I still failed Seph... at least this time, but I'm not going to wait around for him to show up- see... I can't wait five years to clean up this mess. If Jenova wins this, not only is this world toast, but ours as well!"
A delicate little hand lifted to Jessie's mouth and a soft gasp was given. Japanese girls were always so tiny and pretty, Katy thought. It made her just sick with envy- no, it wasn't just the morning sickness. "I have not thought of that," the girl replied, then tucked her straight black hair behind her ear. In the two days Katy had known her, it was never out of place, never frizzy. That too was disgusting. "But can we not wait till she comes again to kill her?"
Slowly, Katy shook her head, her own somewhat frizzy hair falling in her face. Awkwardly, Katy shoved her hair behind her shoulders, then finally removed the scrunchy from around her wrist and tied it back at the nape of her neck. "No," was the firm statement as she pulled her hair back and forth through the rubber band, finally leaving the last twist unfinished in a loop. "Because that will give Jenova the time she needs to regroup and twist Seph's mind. I nearly had him- nearly saved him, but he hadn't quite gotten the idea that he was WANTED through his fucken thick skull." Katy clenched her hands on her knees, took a breath. Mood swings... bloody mood swings. "I'm sure that if I see him again, I'll be able to get him to latch onto me and that'll be one card out of her hand and back into ours."
Taking a breath, Jessie nodded. "Yes. But how?"
Giving a wicked smile, Katy turned her hazel eyes towards her new friend. "I'm getting to that." Lowering her lifted finger back to her lap, she continued, "This is where you come in. They don't understand English, I can't tell them what I've got planned. They DO however, understand Japanese, and you understand both and have played the game, know what's going to happen and how it's supposed to turn out. I asked you to join us because you seemed... trustworthy... steady."
Pausing, Katy took a breath, glancing around the dark little shack. It was dusty, cluttered, lit by a single light bulb hanging from a bare wire tacked to the wall and swinging from the center of the ceiling. Aerith was off to the side, desperately trying to clean the place up a bit by stacking things out of the way, Zack helping her, both straining their ears to figure out what was being said on the other side of the room. Jessie gave a slow nod in answer, swallowing. "Yes," she replied verbally, "Thank you. It will be fun. I hope." Her smile was hesitant, but she took Katy's hand when it was offered.
"Thank you. Now..." Taking a breath, Katy looked towards the other two, "Zack, Aerith," she called, gestured for them to come. Blushing and unable to help it, Katy forced herself to look into Aerith and Zack's eyes, then into Jessie's- she hated looking people in the eyes. It seemed... intrusive, she felt she didn't have the right to do such things. Lack of confidence in herself, she supposed. This time, it wasn't just a minor social duty to look at them and actually see them. It was a duty to her unborn child and his father and the two who knelt before her on the floor and the rest of the people in both worlds. Heaven help them all! "Jessie, could you translate while I speak? I'll take it slow, okay?" The girl nodded.
A steadying breath that didn't seem too substantial for the cause was taken, her body was shaking. "Aerith, Zack, I'm pregnant- and it's Sephiroth's." There, that was out of the way. She waited till Jessie finished and the reaction had worn off. Half of her wanted to grin at the shock, the other wanted to look away in fear. Aerith's hands had gone to her mouth, Zack... Zack was grinning mischievously. Sick minded boy, of course he thought about the sex that involved first. He'd probably had his own theory about Katy and Seph's nightly activities. "My- my pictures haven't quite been enough to get the whole point across. You two are part of a much larger plot- one which I screwed up by interfering in, but I think it was for the better," she paused, listening to Jessie finish. The girl's dark eyes glanced over. "Seeing as how we haven't lost our two main fighters to Hojo's experiments, I think it wasn't a complete failure... though I do wish I could have saved Sephiroth too."
Gasping for breath, Katy was so very glad she was seated. She would have passed out if not for that. Cold sweat was trickling down her back and she desperately hoped her armpits weren't stinking. "You've both seen this picture," she lifted the one showing the way the game was supposed to progress, "This was what was supposed to happen. Yes, Aerith was supposed to die by Sephiroth's hand, she was supposed to use the White Materia to stop Jenova from destroying the world. Jenova- is a parasite." Her thoughts were horribly scattered and it was all she could do to not say 'um' every five seconds, though it hardly mattered if she did. Jessie wouldn't translate that, hopefully.
Jessie's fluid gibbering became background noise to Katy and she felt as if she were speaking to the two directly, that she was finally getting her point across. Good! "But I only just realized that this isn't some stupid game anymore. This is real and we can't lose Aerith to that fate. She's important, just as you're important, Zack. And Sephiroth is important. This world and my world- and Jessie's world are at stake. More and more people are disappearing from here, more people from my world appearing here. That could very well mean that Jenova could cross to my world as well and if we lose the battle HERE, then my world will fall as well. They don't HAVE magic there, they wouldn't have a chance. Hell! It'd be like stomping on a bug!"
Lifting her hands, she rubbed her face, trying to rub the vision from her eyes, this action dislocating her glasses and she had to perch them atop her head. All the better, she didn't want to really see their faces at the moment anyway. Sometimes, she had far too good of an imagination. "But we CAN NOT let that happen. Not just this world, but the next depend on us... and I have a plan."
Now, for the hard part; she firmly closed her eyes for a second, hearing Jessie finally come to a stop. Scrubbing the heels of her hands into her eyes, Katy took a breath. "But I'm not a strategist nor do I know everything about how this world works, so if you've got suggestions, please make them, Jessie is here to translate. Now, for my plan.
"Jenova intends to return in five years, in the- in the future that was supposed to happen," Katy paused, figuring she'd better explain what she'd screwed up before telling them what was supposed to happen next. Quickly, she gave a recount of what was supposed to happen in the Nibelheim incident in the game, Jessie hesitated a moment before proceeding to translate, perhaps elaborating with some of her own ideas. Katy didn't know.
Jessie finally stopped and Katy took a breath, "Now, what happens next. Cloud, Barret- the rebel leader, and Tifa start messing things up for Shinra and meet Aerith. Aerith gets caught by Hojo and the group breaks into the tower to save her. They get caught, but freed when Sephiroth returns and runs through the tower murdering everyone and takes the rest of the body of Jenova with him. The group starts after Sephiroth as he goes on a journey across the world searching for a place called 'The Promised Land' which Shinra wanted because he assumed it was full of Mako, Sephiroth seems to think it's a place of supreme happiness or something like that, and Jenova wants it because it's not exactly a land or place, it's the planet SHE wants, and everyone seems to think only Aerith knows the way there, being Cetra and all."
Zack gasped softly, turning his eyes towards Aerith. The girl in pink looked down, picking at her fingernails. Her eyes slid to Zack, but only briefly before she swallowed and looked back up at Katy. Her mouth murmured softly when Katy didn't say anything for a few moments.
"She says 'go on'," Jessie translated, looking determined.
Drawing a breath, Katy scratched the side of her neck, her hair tickling her. It felt uncomfortable to have it tied back, but it was in her face when let loose. "Cloud and company chase Sephiroth all over the place and meanwhile Rufus has the Turks chasing them." Zack swallowed nervously. He knew what kind of trouble having the Turks after you meant. She continued from there, recanting what was supposed to happen in the game, never mentioning where she got her information. IF they were smart, they wouldn't ask her.
Both the natives to the Planet were pale at this point, barely breathing. Aerith seemed about to pass out from it, but sheer will had her clinging to consciousness. This was much more serious than just her death! "Now for the fun part," Katy said sarcastically, but the tone of voice and meaning didn't really seem to quite make it through translation. Zack turned a bit green, looking... worried, terrified, horrified, and scandalized at her last five words. "Jenova is a parasite. She's not Ancient as Hojo thinks, or, she IS ancient, but not AN Ancient, not Cetra. She's an alien- something else that landed on this world, hops from one world to the next, sucking the life from them like a tick on a dog, leaving the world dry and dead then hops on to the next and the next. She's tired of this place, probably figures she's been here too long. Jenova intends to summon Meteor to wound the planet, and once she does, she'll be right there as the world's lifeblood wells up and she'll start sucking. She's promised Sephiroth Godhood, but he's too enamored to realize that you can't be a god without anyone to be worshipped by. He's just a tool to her. Jenova is the one we have to kill, and it's not going to be easy."
Sucking a breath between her teeth, Katy rubbed her stomach. This talk was making her sick. The stress of telling them ... almost everything was making her queasy. Aerith's lips moved, she coughed and tried again, speaking softly, but Jessie translated clearly, "She asks what we're going to do." Katy knew she was rambling, but she had to get all this out now, hiding it from them would only make things worse later. She needed their trust. How did SHE get put into the position of leadership here?
After licking cracking dry lips with a just as dry tongue, the words squeezed from her stomach, Katy continued, "We're going to break into the tower and destroy the corpse Jenova halfway inhabits. She can't go anywhere without someone hauling her around- Sephiroth, in other words. So, we destroy everything but a hand, or something small that only we control. Since our group isn't infected with her cells, other than perhaps Zack..." with a shock, Katy realized something even more terrifying. At last, she put her glasses back on, forcing her hands into her lap. Zack looked sick at the thought. "and maybe myself, certainly my child." Firmly, she swallowed stomach acid, her throat feeling raw. "With the only bit of her that's left, she'll have to send Sephiroth out to retrieve it. That's when we'll bag him."
Zack interrupted shakily, speaking through Jessie, "But can't we just destroy the whole body and be done with it? How do I have a connection to her?"
Katy shook her head. "Your second question first: you're a First Class in SOLDIER, you've been showered in Mako, that was done by Hojo. Hojo fucked Sephiroth up with Jenova's cells. Now, your first question: No, because she'll have Sephiroth- she'd only have to boot his soul out completely and take over. We don't want her to do that- I don't want her to do that. I love him, more than I've ever loved anything before and... and I gave him everything- all of me. I WILL NOT let him go!" Zack winced back at the strength of her voice. Aerith gave a faint smile of understanding.
Tucking errant strands of bangs behind her ear, Katy continued. "We have to make her use him now, before she'd ready to, before she thinks to just kill him totally. She seems to have some reason for not really killing him in the first place. Besides, we need his fighting skills, and I'm fairly sure the last battle is going to be his, in mind, not body. She's a parasite that's been sucking on this planet for ages, half sleeping, but she's been there. Maybe she doesn't have the power to kill him, or maybe she doesn't understand the workings of this world enough to operate with just a husk. But I do know one thing for certain, her power is in energy, not physical strength, and we need to keep it that way." Giving a smile she didn't really feel, Katy took another steadying breath. "And we've got a Cetra on our side as well. Or at least a half one, and Jenova definitely wants you dead. I know that- which means you pose a threat to her."
Aerith shook her head, her braid swaying, she spoke, but Jessie hesitated before translating. The Japanese girl turned her dark eyes towards her new friend with awe. "She said you're Cetra."
"What?" Katy paused. Oh yes, she'd forgotten about that.
"Huh..." she muttered, just short of a grunt. "In any case, we've got Cetra, and we can figure out how to manipulate the Lifestream to squash this parasite before she gets too out of hand."
This time, after translation, she got a nod from all three. "When do we start?" Jessie asked, then translated.
Scratching the back of her head with both hands, Katy sighed. "As soon as possible, before I get slowed down to a waddle." Jessie giggled softly and translated once more. "Now, we'll probably need Cloud too- he's got more ability than he lets on. He's just too wrapped up in self-doubt to put everything he's got into it. We'll have to break him of that, of course. Otherwise he'll just be a liability. Zack, don't humor him, start beating some of your personality into him. It's what made him the hero in the other version of events, and he needs to be a hero now too."
Zack nodded and stood, "I assume you're done now?" he paused, then added, "I'll see if I can get a map of the tower for us to plan our attack while I'm out as well." Katy nodded, then blinked with sudden realization that she'd just understood the words coming from his mouth instead of hearing Jessie translate.
Aerith watched him go, swallowing nervously, her large green eyes wide with fear. "I'll go get groceries," she said and got up as well, following a step after the dark haired young man.
"You're a Cetra?" Jessie asked in astonishment, then pouted a bit.
Katy shook her head slightly, "That may just be Hojo's delusions or something. I don't know. I've had some weird stuff happen at Nibelheim- summoning without the Materia for it and whatnot. I certainly don't feel special. I feel... I feel like a gamer girl trying to run a war." Katy lifted her hands, rubbed her own shoulders and scrunched forward over her knees. "And that is exactly what I am. God- you realize we could die? I could get a LOT of people killed by doing this!" tears slipped from her hold, "This sort of stuff is supposed to happen in movies, not real life. This kind of thing is what makes books and stories and fanfics, not... not reality. Reality is where mistakes get people killed and where pregnancy happens from unprotected sex- even if the guy is the love of your life and hot as hell... Damn it! I'm sorry. I need a nap." Katy, being unable to get to her feet, fell to her knees and crawled across the floor to her bed, which was merely a pile of blankets.
Katy rubbed her forehead, feeling rather sick after getting the full story of Chris's death from Aerith- through Jessie. It only served to prove the point that this was reality, not fiction. She didn't have that infamous Hero Shield to keep herself alive. She could very well be killed, by Sephiroth even. But she needed to keep going. She couldn't look back, or down, she'd lose her balance and fall and then both worlds would fall after her. Oh sure, others would take her place, and gladly, but they'd be just as stupid, or even more stupid than she. Some might even think they had five years to wait around. Katy didn't. Even if she weren't pregnant, she knew that something needed to be done about the two worlds currently mixing together.
Though she hated TV and the news, she had asked Jessie to translate a broadcast that seemed to involve geography and people screaming in English. "So, Hawaii's slipped over," Katy muttered, rubbing her face somewhat. "Of course, probably no one would have noticed it if it hadn't popped in right off the coast of Wutai."
Jessie, who had confessed to thinking of herself as rather fat and ugly, was a rounded young woman with breasts that were probably a B-cup. Her face was round Asian face, nose a bit flatter than that of the Europeans. She favored her mother obviously. Standing at five foot two, she was two inches shorter than Katy, which was something of an ego trip, but Katy tried to suppress that. Poor girl, at least being short was alright for girls. Jessie stared down at her rough cloth pants in a pose that reminded Katy painfully of Michelle. "I don't know if we can make the worlds come apart..."
Slowly, Katy shook her head in agreement, "I don't know either, but if I'm Cetra... maybe more people from our world are Cetra and we'll have the power to push them apart..." Katy swallowed her words, but after a second of thought, she continued. "The question is: do we want to push them apart? Sure, it'd be easier to go back to the way we were before, but... but... Change and all that."
Rather unexpectedly, Jessie grinned mischievously.
Well, that was a vote for 'leave it like it is' if Katy ever saw one, but she was undecided- or at least under the impression that she was. She dearly hoped that there wasn't a way to fix the problem as it seemed to imply that she'd have to make a choice to live with Sephiroth or her parents. She took a shaky breath. "I wish... I knew how my parents were... if they were alright or not." Giving a shiver, Katy wrapped her arms around her stomach. "In any case, one step at a time." Forcing herself to sit up, she took a breath and let it out in a half-whistle. "Courage. Is cowardice a sort of courage? Does running away take bravery? The lines between one and the other always end up getting drawn long after the fact in history books. Will anyone remember me after this? If they do, will I be only known as 'The One Who Screwed Up'?"
Jessie shook her head with a smile touching her lips, "I don't think so," she replied kindly.
Katy gave a smile, though it felt plastic to her. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. One step at a time here." She stood. "Don't look down, don't look back." Jessie seemed confused by this statement, but Katy shoved her hair back out of her face, then went to the bucket of water they'd collected, dunked her hands in and tried shoving her hair back again, then tied it firmly with her scrunchy in a looped over pony tail on the back of her head.
Heart beating fast and knees slightly weak and she hadn't even started on the journey yet. This night... would be their attack. They were going to try and keep as few people from dying as possible, Katy couldn't stand the idea of more people being dead because of her. She'd already killed several. No. She wouldn't have more deaths on her hands.
She sat on her bedding, pulling her shoes on, lacing them on firmly, then belted her new pants into place. Picking up the bracers Zack had gotten for her with two slots for Materia in each, she pulled them on, strapped them into place and filled the slots. An All, definitely, paired with a fire and on the other side an Ice. Now. What to fill the last slot with? Did she even need Materia? No, she didn't, she realized only after the fact, but it was a good tactic to pack some just to make them think that she was stuck using it just like everyone else. At last, she decided on another attack Materia and popped a Lightening in. She pulled her sleeves down over the armor.
Going to battle with only bracers... Oh well, she could always cast Shell and Reflect. The door opened, causing both girls to look up with a start, but it was only Zack leading Cloud in. "Is he briefed on the plan?" Katy asked, Jessie immediately hopping into the role of Translator.
"Yes," Zack replied, or more, he said 'Hai', but Katy understood that. Jessie continued for him. "You should stay here though."
"No!" Katy stated immediately upon hearing the translation and got to her feet. "No," she repeated, moderating her tone. "If Sephiroth shows up, I'll have to be there."
He sighed, shaking his head, but didn't say anything more and Cloud looked from one to the next to the next, finally settling on Zack and asking a question of a sort. Jessie, being silly perhaps, translated, "He asks why I'm here repeating what you say."
Katy smiled, "Cause," was all she replied and shrugged. "Ready?" she asked directly of Jessie and swallowed, looking the girl's battle gear over. She'd worked with the girl on use of Materia and found that she had just as much ability to overpower things as Katy had, but wasn't quite so much of a pyromaniac as Katy. Thankfully. Aerith seemed more than a little relieved as well. Jessie nodded, not having to be reminded that she could get seriously hurt in this. "I'm Sorry" certainly didn't make bullet holes in the head disappear.
The question got repeated in Japanese to Zack and Cloud and the two nodded. Of them all, Aerith seemed the least needed, but she refused to be left. At last, she stepped in from outside, packing some rather heavy duty guns, which she handed to Katy and Jessie, she had her staff, Zack had his sword, Cloud had been equipped with another sword. She took a breath, looked at them all, then looked down at the floor. Lips moving in a softly mumbled prayer, Aerith lifted her eyes and smiled. "Ready," she said. Katy had found that occasionally, she'd be able to understand them as if they'd spoken English, it happened with Aerith most often, but it was always unexpected when it did happen and thus Jessie was still needed.
Sliding her gun into her belt under her shirt, she watched as Jessie- dressed just nondescriptly as the rest of them did the same. "Let's do it then." At last, they were on their way. It would still be an hour before they moved into attack positions. Hojo would likely be on edge after Chris's attack, so they needed to move fast and furiously, going in from an odd angle. Chris had likely come in from the bottom. Well, Katy had suggested going in from the top. Going down wasn't quite so far a ways as going in from the top.
Katy shook her head at herself. Dwelling on the trivialities before she was even in position... Yes or no- she needed to figure out if she should start planning for What Ifs or if they'd drive her crazy. Perhaps taking it as it came would be the best idea, except that... well... she always lost at Chess because she never noticed the other pieces moving before they'd trapped her. No. Her problem in Chess was that she was always on the defensive after the first few moves. She couldn't let that happen here. She had to attack, and keep on attacking, throw her enemy off balance before they knew what was going on.
First thing was first. They let Aerith off first in a sector unrelated to the area they were heading to. Her hair was dyed with washout color, currently pitch black. It was the best they could do on short notice and Katy hoped the girl's hair would be alright afterwards. It was such a lovely shade and too long to just let grow out. All else failed, they could use permanent die to color it brown again. The girl was dressed in something a bit less pink than she usually wore, Hojo wouldn't recognize her right away certainly, and that was all they needed. Aerith started off swiftly into the night as the rest of the party started towards their position.
As any attack, this one would happen during the night when there were the fewest people loitering around. Their car finally stopped and Zack turned it off, sliding out, looking around. Cloud followed from the other front seat of the car, taking up a position on that side, then after a tap on the window from both sides, the girls stepped out, wearing their- admittedly stolen- long fancy coats over their more practical clothes. Jessie latched onto Cloud's arm with a charming smile and Katy took hold of Zack's. The doors closed and they moved towards one of the helicopters on the pad. Swallowing, Katy forced her expression out of its habitual scowl into a bright and cheerful smile, clinging to Zack's arm and giggling frequently.
The fine late afternoon sunlight shimmered down from above, glittering in Zack's eyes and on his prim and proper SOLDIER uniform. He spoke with the pilot of the helicopter they'd approached quickly, cheerfully and she heard her fake name stated and she was gestured to. "Konnichiwa," she murmured demurely, which got a long look from the man, an appraising look and finally the guy nodded when some money passed between Zack's hand and the pilot's. At last, they were in the copter and taking off into the sky after the pilot had a quick talk into his radio. Jessie had taken up the conversation with Cloud while Katy did her best to pretend that Zack was Sephiroth and snuggle on him. She couldn't get past his smell though. He didn't smell bad... he just didn't smell like Sephiroth.
At last after checking the time for the millionth time, Zack leaned over to ask the pilot something, having to shout to do so. More money changed hands and finally Zack was given the controls. On cue, Cloud reached over with a hypo spray and after a squawk and reach for the controls, the pilot passed out. The helicopter switched hands without a hitch, turned towards the Shinra Tower, though at a rather leisurely pace as they needed to get there without arousing suspicion.
Katy and Jessie removed their coats and Katy pulled her hair out of its ponytail once again to braid it and leave it like that. Jessie gave a shout, "Look! They're coming out-" she switched to Japanese, "Zack! Mimimi mimi mimimimi!" and from there, their pace picked up and they landed on the pad just outside Shinra's office just after the president was bundled out of it and hauled off in his own helicopter with his son. Probably bitching about the fire alarm suddenly going off. Good. They left the helicopter running, the pilot in it with their coats as they leapt out and headed into the building, having to shot a few bullets through the window to get in and headed down the stairs.
Her heart was really in her throat now as she thudded down the stairs and Zack used his stolen key card to get the door open on Hojo's floor. Katy ran towards the elevator that led down to the first level of Hojo's lab, Zack following, the other two destroying everything they could get their hands on in the lab. Jessie's excited exclamation of "Nanaki!" revealed that they'd found him locked up there and the following crash of glass was probably them letting him out. Katy gripped her gun between both sweaty hands as the elevator took forever to come to a stop and the gate to open.
She didn't see anyone, but that didn't mean they weren't hiding. The gate opened, Zack shoved her back behind him as he stepped out first. Hastily, Katy cast... well, haste and shield on him, then did the same for herself. A few steps in, he stopped, then gestured for her to follow.
No one... nothing. Where was Hojo? Had he fled with everyone else? She hoped so. But he'd never let Michelle out in public. Breath was so hard to catch at the moment, her knees felt wobbly, she wished she could sit in the back and direct everything. "Go- go- go- don't look down, don't look back," she muttered to herself. Time was everything here and she moved closer to elbow Zack into motion. Scurrying through the dim interior of the lab, she headed towards the corner half hidden behind boxes that Hojo had no doubt moved Jenova to. She hoped he had by now anyway.
The light was on in the porthole. The body within visible- twitching vaguely. Did she know? Ha. "Let's see you get out of this one." Zack, once again using his filched key card opened the lock on the door while Katy had the inspiration to turn and watch the rest of the room. The hair on the back of her neck crawled as a sudden though occurred to her. Heroes never looked UP.
Instantly, her eyes snapped upwards, her hands were a bit slower to follow, but her shot rang out and the bullet ricocheted off the metal ceiling as the creature fell to the floor, coming towards them at full tilt. God it was fast!
Katy's first instinct was to stumble back in fear- she tripped and fell into the canister as Zack spun around to face the demon creature coming towards him, sword lifting into place. Breath caught in her throat as terribly cold arms lifted up from behind her and took hold of her neck. Desperately, Katy pointed her gun back and started firing and it was only luck that just one bullet bounced back and hit her in the thigh. Shit- That left one thing, "ICE!" she squeezed out through the slowly shrinking throat she still possessed. Aiming her hands back towards what had her, she only succeeded in freezing the main body, the hands continued to squeeze.
No- the world was fading to black. She could see Zack and- Oh God, Michelle- fighting a duel of Claw Vs. Sword, and Claw was winning. Lifting her last defense, remembering something her dad had taught her, Katy grabbed hold of one of the flaxen fingers gripping her neck and twisted it backwards, dropping her gun and focusing her strength on one finger alone. The hand was loose. Great! She spun around, sweeping up her gun again, watching as flames licked the bottom of the ice, a puddle was forming. Jenova was melting herself free. Swiftly taking out the bag she'd stuffed in her pocket for this task, she pulled the knife stuffed in it. Gritting her teeth and hacking at one of the hands, she finally had one piece. It came with a lot less resistance than she'd thought it would and it was disgusting that the rotting thing had the nerve to flex and wiggle and attempt to come at her without anything attached to it.
Backing towards the exit, she ran into the door as it was closed on her. "No!" Katy shrieked, turning towards the door and slapping her hands against it, the bag with Jenova's hand writhed in delight and the heat within continued to rise.
Oh Yesssss... a voice whispered in her ear. You've been a constant source of distraction for my little pet. I had better put you to rest before he gets any... ideas.
Katy would have said 'over my dead body' except that it would have been a bit too true for comfort at the moment and instead of uselessly banging on the door, distracting Zack while he was busy, she focused her will, called upon her power. "Gravity!" she called, casting the spell on the door- bending it down- in- until it crunched small enough for her to wiggle under it. Once she was out, she made a firm decision to take a good long bath when she got back to somewhere she could. Getting to her feet, she reached a hand in, watching as Jenova's top half came lose from the ice finally. "FIRE!" Katy shouted, throwing as much power into it as she could.
The force of the explosion rocked the building, blowing the corpse to pieces and atomizing those. Katy flew in the other direction, sailing across the room to slam into the far wall and topple down among piles of boxes. They weren't what Katy would have preferred to land on if she'd had her choice. She lay stunned among them and the clash and shout of sword and claw beyond showed that Zack was too busy to call and see if she was alright.
Slowly, she found the strength to pull herself up and over the boxes, finally able to see what was going on, she focused her will, "Slow," she cast on Michelle. The spell slid off without effect.
"Stop!" Katy cast this time, again with the same result. No- this wasn't how it was supposed to happen. None of this had been what she'd planned for. Don't look down, don't look back... She swallowed and finally cast a low level lightening spell. This paused Michelle's deformed body for a moment- though in all respect, Katy did have to admit that if Hojo had planned for her to look like that, he had some good tastes when it came to making things look Badass. But this was Michelle. Zack darted forward, slapping his sword on the back of the girl's head. Michelle toppled to the floor.
"Naomi!" a voice wailed from the side and two sets of eyes turned towards Hojo as he stood in the door.
His hand lifted a gun, but Katy was quicker with more power behind it this time, "Lightening!" it bounced off- hit her. With a scream, she toppled back into the boxes again.
"Katy!" Zack shouted at the same moment the gun went off, slamming into his thigh. More soldiers came in behind Hojo, lifting their guns. The choice came- run, or die- Zack was fairly sure they weren't going to tolerate a traitor. They'd execute him immediately, without trial. With a glance towards the boxes, he turned and ran for the elevator. Bullets erupted around him, most missing, a few slapping into his unprotected surfaces, but he kept his head down and legs pumping, trying to justify his actions with the mantra that Hojo wouldn't kill Katy- she was Cetra, he liked Cetra. He dived into the elevator and jabbed the button for the next level numerous times. The gate closed at last and started to rise, the gap between the soldiers and himself closing. They couldn't get him- at least not for now.
Zack dived from the elevator, "Retreat!" he gasped at the two- and red dog-cat looking creature. They headed for the stairs.
"Where's Katy?" Cloud HAD to ask that... just had to.
Not even wasting the breath to explain, he grabbed Jessie's arm and hauled her with him towards the stairs and up them, his haste spell still in effect. They were up and in the helicopter and heading out of the city as planes started towards them. "WHERE'S KATY?" Cloud shouted over the sound of the engine.
"Captured. We'll get her later. She destroyed most of Jenova though," Zack replied, licking his blood-covered lips. He felt faint. He didn't want to talk. He'd failed. Was this what Katy had felt before? This horrible sinking feeling of despair... Failed. Or at least a majority of defeat. They'd succeeded in narrowing down their enemy to one controllable piece. That was enough for now, wasn't it? Wasn't it! His eyes were stinging and he didn't realize that he was crying until he happened to look over at Cloud and see the drops reflected in the slightly younger man's large blue eyes. "We'll get her back. For now, she's safe. Hojo won't kill her. She's Cetra- and pregnant with Seph's kid. He'll really like that one, I bet." Biting his lips together, he continued their heading, starting to do evasive maneuvers with the chopper as the forces of Shinra finally got their asses in gear and headed after them, even though they had no idea what the group had tried to steal anyway.
Cold- so cold. Katy shivered and rolled over, pulling the blankets closer against herself, curling into a ball. Blanket? No it was hardly more than a sheet it seemed and the air around her was so frigid as to be sharp. She was sweating despite this, heart pounding in fear.
Fear? Oh yeah!
Her eyes snapped open and she came to look upon Hojo where he stood over her. She wasn't in a bed, but laying on the floor, "Ah," he said softly, then degraded into yammering. Katy closed her eyes, pulling the sheet over her head. He said the name 'Lucrecia' several times, which somewhat confused Katy, but that wasn't unusual. Finally, after wiping her face with the sheet, she looked around the room.
Alas, she was still in the lab, Hojo crouching beside her, looking superior and egotistical. Michelle- she was in one of the specimen tanks, stripped naked and hooked up with wires and tubes. "Sicko," Katy muttered, interrupting Hojo's babbling.
For a second, he paused, then continued his monologue, perhaps unaware that she couldn't understand him and didn't think she wanted to understand him. It was when he reached towards her that she reacted, though, slapping his hand away roughly. "Don't touch me." Katy tried to put as much malice and anger into her voice as she could. It wasn't all a front, but she didn't have the energy to put actual force behind her words. Not now at least. She'd been stripped of her weapons and Materia, but that hardly made a difference. She could cast whatever spell she wanted to without it. Hah, had they fallen for her ploy?
Better questions distracted her, however. Questions like: Did Zack get away? Where are the others? Will they come rescue me? Where's the Jenova Bit? Where's Sephiroth? All these questions and she couldn't even trick Hojo into answering them. She'd just have to wait. Don't look down, don't look back- she was losing momentum. Attack now? No, there were guards standing all around the room, cleaning up the mess that Cloud and Jessie had made. Good, there was nearly nothing left. Just hope that Hojo didn't keep his important files elsewhere. He probably did, the damn bastard.
Hojo hesitated a moment before reaching for her again, this time grabbing her arm and hauling her to her feet. She felt hardly more than a kitten in his grasp. Tiny claws that could pierce flesh, but only if she got a grip on him first... Not fair. She had no strength to stand on her own, but he seemed inextricably pleased when she staggered and fell against him, his arm going around her shoulders. Seething with impotent rage, Katy suffered his touch, feeling tears prick at her eyes as she realized that Hojo smelled somewhat like Sephiroth- or he smelled close enough to remind her of Seph. Where was he? Where was the hand?
His arm supporting her, Hojo turned them towards the door, moving her along and out, taking her to the elevator and down, then out of his lab completely and to the elevator once more. She wasn't fighting him, which was surprising, but Hojo wouldn't take it for granted, it was probably only because she'd used all her energy blowing up his Jenova sample. She'd left a piece though, and it intrigued him. Lucrecia, however, seemed immune to questioning and only muttered incoherently at him, looking angry and defeated. "What had you been trying to do, my dear?" he murmured to himself for the most part as he took her down to the first floor. His lab was ruined, there was no where to store her there... besides, he finally had his wife back, and so wanted to keep her with him, soak in her presence as much as he could. Even if she was pissed at him for ruining her little plot. Had she come back from the dead to get back at him for what he did to Sephiroth? Perhaps, and he deserved it. He couldn't have saved her, he knew now, and neither could have that bloody fool Valentine.
Not doing the experiment at all would have been the only thing that could have saved her, but that had been out of the question. Not when Ghast had his pet Cetra. Ghast... always one step better- until the end. A sneer curled his lips as he gazed out the glass. "For a raid, your little group did a surprisingly little amount of damage. Was I your target then?" he asked her once more. She said nothing, as if she hadn't heard.
"Are you deaf then?" he asked, wondering if he could test her hearing somehow. She didn't answer. Well, if one didn't count spitting in his face an answer of any sort. Lifting a hand, he wiped the slime away, grimacing. Lucrecia's jaw clenched tightly. "Not going to cooperate at all, I see. Fine. I'll have answers from you eventually, my dear."
"Fuck off," she told him, the only intelligible thing she'd said thus far and even her words had a rather strange effect of sounding... dual. As if she weren't really saying the words the way he heard them. It gave him a headache.
She tried to push him away, but he reached into his coat, pulling his gun once more, pressing it against her side as the door opened, leading out into the empty lobby. "Now, now, you behave, Lucrecia and I won't have to shoot you. It was a pain in the ass pulling that bullet from your thigh right there on the floor and I'm surprised you didn't break anything when you hit the wall- you always were built sturdy." He looked her over appraisingly taking in every detail he could. She was cute, well proportioned, her limbs delicate and daintily designed in a heavy boned frame that had the potential to gain a lot of weight if she didn't watch what she ate and how much of it. Her hips were wide, thighs strong and legs appearing long on her five foot four inch body.
Her hair was slightly longer than he remembered, falling down to just above the bottom edge of her shoulder blades, wavy and flame red, the barest hint of roots beginning to show. She had the skin complexion to carry red rather well. It looked natural on her. At the moment, though, she was pale from exhaustion and blood loss, and pain more than likely. She limped heavily as he pulled her along, heading for the parking lot where his car waited.
Hojo didn't much like using his apartment. Too many memories there. His first days as a husband were spent there. Lucrecia still haunted the dusty rooms. She always seemed happy wherever she was- except for the spiders. She wanted those killed. Her clothes still remained in his closet, though he'd packed them away, not wanting to see them, but too attached sentimentally to throw them away. His failing perhaps? Hojo had always prided himself on being clinical and an essentialist, but Lucrecia's vivacity had stirred up his boring life. She'd always wanted excitement- something he could never really give her. Valentine could, though. Maybe she complained to him about wanting something steady? She'd always been somewhat contradictory in her views, but never dishonest and when she made a promise she did her best to keep it.
Shoving Lucrecia into his car was a task that required all his attention and she did not go gracefully. In the end, she was gasping in pain from the new bruises he'd had to give her and by the time he got the car started she'd passed out. All the better. He didn't think he could have fought her off if she'd tried something while he was driving. Was she suicidal? Hojo didn't know, and wouldn't know until observing her for a time. The drive across town to his apartment was long and winding, but that was mostly his attempting to avoid the notice of her friends if they still lurked nearby.
At last, she woke, but was groggy and unable to support herself when he pulled her from the back seat of the car. Forced to put his gun away and half carry her, he made his way up the steps to his door, fumbled the key out and unlocked it.
Hojo... maybe he wasn't as crusty an old man as she'd thought... in the game... well let's just say that PS1 graphics aren't the greatest in the world and leave it at that. She watched as he hauled her up the stairs and to a door. Katy stared at him, lips set in a line. His brown eyes returned her gaze. He was tall, taller than she anyway, but frail. How could anyone love such a harsh man? She was dizzy and sick, her head throbbing from the pain and legs without strength to hold her up. Why had he brought her here?
He didn't bother saying anything now, which was fine, she didn't want to waste the energy talking at him either. Katy entered what appeared to be Hojo's apartment, it was in essence nothing like a bachelor's apartment should look like. She could see the carpet for one thing. The walls needed painting and they were cracked and there was plastic covering the only window in the living room/dining room. It had a single couch facing a TV, which was against the right wall. The left side was the kitchen alcove with a table upon which was a computer. The lights had been off, but apparently there was some sort of motion sensor, for they turned on when they stepped into the room.
At least he was being... almost gentlemanly. Or maybe that was her pain-filled interpretation of his actions? She couldn't tell, the walls were crawling, the floor kept dropping out from under her, and it was all adding up to make her rather sick and glad she hadn't had the stomach for anything before her mission.
He supported her, half dragged her into the bedroom, and her unfocused eyes wandered around at the tidy room. Belatedly, she realized that her glasses hadn't cracked from the repeated beatings they'd received. Heroes weren't supposed to wear glasses... There was a closet on the right side, the left was the outside wall of the building, against which was the full size bed with a dresser directly across from the door. The room was decorated in 70's brown-yellow and other dull colors, the forty-watt lights didn't help much either. On the same wall as the closet door was another door, leading into a bathroom.
Katy didn't get to see anything more of the place as he slid her down onto the bed, crouched and removed her shoes. She hadn't the strength to fight him when he started taking her clothes off, setting her glasses aside. Her mind wailed with rage and embarrassment- ha... at last she'd found modesty. Or maybe it was something else? She'd felt nothing when walking past her guy friends in nothing but a towel and wet hair. Hojo's hands were firm, prodding her bruises and down her legs and arms, across her ribs. The pain from that area made her stomach clench and she dry-heaved. He picked her up again, bridal style this time, hauling her into the bathroom and kneeling her over the toilet as she tried to puke up her toenails. His hands held her hair back, or one of them did, the other prodded her skull, revealing more bruises she'd forgotten. Gee, thanks Hojo.
At last, her stomach stopped rebelling and he left her a moment, returning to pick her up and carry her back into the bedroom, laying her down and carefully wrapping her chest in bandages, he propped her on her side, sitting behind her with a bag of ice to her head after pulling the blankets up and around her. He said nothing, even as she found the strength to pull her knees up into a fetal position, shivering from the cold on the back of her neck. The pillow was getting damp.
The first sob shook her- startling them both, but after that, she couldn't stop and clutched the pillow frantically to her face, trying to staunch her tears with it. Failed! Failed again! Hojo was saying something to her, petting her hair, but she didn't want him to touch her and tried to slap his hand away again. She succeeded in hitting his face at least. He withdrew momentarily, but returned with a glass of water and some pills. She tried to spit them back at him, but he shoved them down her throat and forced her to swallow.
It seemed an eternity, but the pain began to slide away into numbness, and exhaustion caught up with her.
Time seemed nonexistent to her now. She wavered in and out of a haze of pain, broken periodically by bathroom breaks, meals, and pain pills. At least, though she was fully naked in his presence, he never touched her except in brief examinations of her wounds and left her alone otherwise. She hoped anyway. Katy didn't know what went on after the pills took effect.
She wanted strawberries with chocolate sauce.
That was what woke her finally, pulling her from her numbness with a final groan of accepting reality. Not the need to relieve herself, but the overwhelming desire for strawberries with chocolate sauce. Hojo was not in the room. At last, Katy became aware of how grimy she felt. Her body was slimy from sweat and unwashed grease, her hair grubby from her battles and the time spent between Aerith's house and the attack. She wanted a bath now, more than strawberries. Slowly, she slipped out of bed, the ground swaying out from beneath her questing feet as she sat up. Beside the bed, on the night stand was her glasses, carefully folded, and only after putting them on did she realize that they'd been cleaned thoroughly at least. Huh. Slowly, she slid to her feet and found her legs had more strength in them than she though they should have and cautiously, she toddled across the room to the bathroom.
Stepping in, Katy had a careful look, finding a linen closet, opening the door, she found towels. Reaching in, she claimed one. Shutting the door, then turned towards the door leading into the bedroom. She closed that one too, and locked it.
Hojo stared at the door to the bedroom, having been thoroughly distracted from his work on the computer that had a permanent home on his kitchen table even before he heard the water come on and the thumps of someone looking through the cabinets. His lips pulled back slightly, though it was no smile... or even frown that habitually marred his face. He swallowed and turned his eyes back towards the screen that had fallen pray to his bouncing Shinra Logo screen saver. She would find nothing to kill him with in either of those rooms. The only weapon in the apartment was the one he carried in the breast holster under his lab coat, though admittedly that was laying across the back of the couch at the moment. Precautions...
Exactly like Lucrecia, down to every glance and even the timbre of her voice when she chose to speak. It hurt... to see her alive... and a Cetra... and she'd had contact with Sephiroth. Hojo shook his head, lifting a hand to move the mouse and revive his screen, but his attention still wandered. The sound of the shower water gnawed at the edge of his perception.
He lifted his hands to the keyboard and typed in a few words, his hands fell to his lap again, eyes shifting towards the bedroom door once more, his attention caught again. Closing his eyes, he bowed his head, pressing his lips together. Yes, she was singing... He listened, feeling his heartache as the song became familiar. Hojo pushed the keyboard aside, putting his arms on the table in its place, laying his head atop them.
Had this look-alike been sent to punish him? Or had Lucrecia actually returned from the dead? How silly it was to think that such paranormal things could actually happen. The planet wasn't a living entity and there was no proof that any god existed... yet here she was. Hojo closed his eyes and bit his lips together.
Katy peeked out from behind the shower curtain first... just to make sure Hojo had not found a way to enter. Next, she pulled the towel in with her, wrapping herself up in it before pushing the curtain aside and eyeing the bathroom. The toilet remained crammed between the bathtub and the sink, the linen closet door was still shut. Just in case, as it was something she had done to her older sister once or twice, she stepped out of the tub and went over to it, opening it and peering in. Nope. No one hiding there. She checked the bathroom door- still locked.
All was in good order.
She sighed, working on drying herself off, patting her bruises gently. Putting her glasses back on, she inspected visually what she'd found physically and even moved to the mirror to take a further look. She'd really done a good job on herself. Even one of her breasts was bruised. Would it work after that? She'd heard of guys going infertile after squarshing their balls or something like that. At least she would still have one if not the other. And then there was formulas she could use for the baby. Oh god- that was still looming over her. She wished she could put her child on hold till things got sorted out- till she was twenty-five and safely married to Sephiroth. Closing her eyes, she clutched the edge of the sink's counter top, swaying with despair.
One thing at a time, she reminded herself.
How surprising it had been to find female paraphernalia lurking in the dark corners of the cupboard. Scented soap, woman's deodorant, a woman's razor, and hair conditioner- a half filled bottle of it in fact, shoved into the back of the cupboard under the sink, lurking there like something within a guilty conscience. Katy snorted. Served him right if it was a guilty conscience. She wrapped her body in the towel again and dared to unlock the bathroom door.
Peeking out into the room, she was surprised to find nothing. He wasn't there. He hadn't been waiting. Maybe Hojo wasn't as much of a pervert as she thought? Okay, so he'd just gained one point. One that made not a shred of difference when compared to all the points he'd lost by doing what he did to Lucrecia and Sephiroth, and Aerith and her whole family. Swallowing, Katy stepped out of the bathroom, looking around the bedroom. Where would a guilty conscience that couldn't even throw away seventeen-year-old soap and conditioner put a dead woman's clothes? Eew. Now that was a rather disgusting thought. Finally deciding, Katy opened the closet. The light didn't come on automatically in there. She fumbled around beside the doors, finally hitting a switch.
A few coats and pants were hung on the bar on the right, the left was empty, but on the shelf above the bar were some boxes. Reaching up, she managed to grab hold of one, pulling it down without dropping it on herself. Setting it on the floor she hesitated before opening it. If she could help it, Katy wasn't going to wear any of Hojo's clothes, but hers were currently AWOL.
Luck was with her. Hojo had once again retained the female paraphernalia. Clothes that were for all occasions had been folded neatly as if care had been given to each item, as if the one who had put them there either a: didn't expect to wear them again, or b: had been put there as some sort of ritualistic masochism reveling in every memory the items of apparel brought forth. They were somewhat dusty, but still in good condition. Katy picked out a pair of pants and a loose shirt to wear, then put the box back where it was. Underwear would be nice too, but Katy doubted she'd be that lucky, but... she hadn't checked under the bed yet.
Taking the clothes out into the bedroom, she hit the light switch on the way, shutting the door with her foot, as it was one of those older model ones that actually had hinges. It made her wonder what had happened to jump only a portion of the world so far ahead of the rest, what discovery had been made? Alien technology? She peeked under the bed, finding another box. "Wow... how predictable," she muttered to herself. What was surprising was that it all fit. Every last piece of clothing fit, even the shoes she found hidden fairly far under the bed. They didn't even feel like they were someone else's though Katy knew quite well they weren't hers. "Lucrecia's?" she murmured, looking toward the curtain covering window. Reaching out, she pulled it back briefly, taking a peek. It was just a view of the back of another building, but the light at least said it was day.
Letting go of the curtain, she turned away and wasn't going to dare climbing out of that to get away from Hojo. No, someone more flexible and daring and, well, heroic could try something like that, but Katy had no illusions about her current state of health. A fall from three stories up would kill her. Her eyes trailed to the dresser, specifically to a wooden box set upon the dresser. Drifting over to it, she opened it, finding inside... a ring with a midsized diamond and a wedding band. Carefully, Katy tried them on, finding them to fit perfectly as well.
A frown came to her lips. How deeply she wanted to have someone to love... perhaps Lucrecia had felt the same? Perhaps when Hojo came along, she was desperate for someone to belong to... belong with. Maybe she thought that if she had a child that everything would be alright. Removing the rings, she dropped them back into the box, which seemed empty otherwise, but that was merely the top layer. She pulled that out, setting it aside. Beneath, was a necklace with a beautiful cross with a rose engraved on it. Picking it up, Katy fingered it gently, finally clipping it around her neck. She planned on visiting Lucrecia's cavern, she'd return it to Lucrecia when she got there.
Finally, shaking her head, she found up Hojo's comb and opened the door of the bedroom, working on her hair, which was only partially dried. Better to brush it now while it was wet so it would behave later.
Hojo was seated at the computer, head on his arms, though he sat up when she came out, stared at her in... shock? He said nothing, but it wouldn't have mattered if he'd started reciting the Gettysburg Address, Katy couldn't understand him anyway. She moved over to the couch and flopped down, working on her hair. Hojo stood, staring at her with a fearfully haunted expression, watching as she slowly pulled the comb though her hair. Slowly, he came closer, reaching out his hand and catching hers. Revulsion shivered up her spine but she still didn't have the strength to do anything to him. Katy would just have to bide her time for now. He pulled the comb from her fingers and with shaking hands gently continued the grooming.
Katy sat in shock, staring straight forward as he untangled knots and eventually settled his arms around her shoulders, kneeling behind the couch, his face pressed against her shoulder and neck... he... was crying. The crazy bastard was crying!
She had yet to say a word, but she didn't push him away... at least she wasn't reacting to him the way she had in the lab. But that was little comfort. She'd known... she'd know exactly where he put everything. She'd found all her things- things he'd hidden from sight... hidden from himself.
So close to her, he could smell the shampoo she'd used, the soap... the combination that he'd gone to bed with every night. How he missed the feeling of her curled against him! Sniffling, he stood, moving around the couch and carefully pulled her to her feet. She stared at him, but didn't protest- simply pressed her lips together in a look of disgust. She was stiff as he maneuvered her into the bedroom and laid her on the bed, then kicked off his shoes and pulled off hers, curling up beside her.
Katy was about to cry herself. The light had gone out a while ago and she lay on the bed next to Hojo- of all people. And he wasn't doing anything to her. Simply laying there, breathing softly against her hair. It was so nice to be held like this. Another thing going for Hojo, he knew how to hold a woman... which was quite surprising. But she wanted Sephiroth. She only had to bide her time and behave... until someone rescued her or she could get away. How long would that be? How long would it take? Not months, hopefully. She had to get away before then. She didn't want her stomach to be a beacon for anyone who wanted to hurt her. She wanted the baby, even if she wasn't ready for it. Sephiroth needed it as well, and he needed her to beat some sense of compassion into him.
One night spent with Hojo turned into a week. At least he'd stopped being so suspicious, and had kept his hands mostly to himself- the few times he'd tried anything had resulted in his being punched in the stomach or kicked in the jewels. He had a hard time remembering that she wasn't Lucrecia- for that was what he always called her. She understood his few commands, but always took her sweet time obeying them when she had no choice but to, and she refused to play along with his game of House. Katy didn't cook, clean, or wash dishes. He was left to do them for himself, and she just put up with having nothing in the house to eat. Hojo was always watching, not taking notes like the good little scientist, but like someone prodding a toothache with their tongue. He couldn't just leave it alone or let her go.
She had the same expressions, same way of blanking out from time to time, and same eating and bathing habits... same song she sang in the shower. That was about the only time he ever heard her voice. At least she sang nice, he'd always loved Lucrecia's voice. He talked at her from time to time, trying to see if she really didn't know the language or if she was just making a fool of him but understanding never lit her eyes unless it was minor things like 'come here' and 'dinner'. Hojo also wanted to hear the language of the Cetra. After all, Sephiroth had said she was quite talkative- and that too reminded him of Lucrecia. It hurt, so very badly, but she seemed to know that too, and no matter how she changed her ways around him, it wasn't helping. It was exactly like Lucrecia no matter what.
He sat at his computer, laboriously typing with his lips locked in a scowl, trying desperately to get some work done but he was becoming increasingly aware that the girl was staring at him. She was perched on the couch, facing him, arms folded on the back of it. Hojo lifted his head and returned her gaze. She sighed, sliding over to the side and flopping down on the couch out of sight. "Damn... you've REALLY got no life!"
Slowly he stood, waiting for her to say more. Finally he asked, "And what would make you say that?"
She sat up again and stared at him. "Mimimi mimi mi mimimimi mimi mimi mi" she replied, giving him an evil look then flopping down again. This mood... so much like Lucrecia! Had he really heard her speak in his language or... had he simply imagined it? Perhaps he had, it sounded exactly like something Lucrecia would say when she was bored. She'd gotten bored so often around him. Unless she had a book- one of those silly fantasy novels about heroes saving the girl and getting rich and famous. He'd tried reading one of them once. The improbability of it all was so mind-achingly irritating that he couldn't get past the first chapter. At least he'd tried; she'd given him that with that sad smile of hers and tilt of her head.
Slowly, he moved around the couch and crouched near her head, taking her face in his hands, though he knew she didn't like it when he touched her. "You're bored, aren't you?" he asked, unable to truly detach himself from her as he had before... but he'd only been able to do that when he found out about that damn Vincent Valentine. Now... now he realized how Lucrecia had actually helped him. Moving his hands, he took hers and pulled her up, moving off and getting her shoes... Lucrecia's shoes actually, but they looked so natural on her.
She stared at him as if her brain had shut off. He finally had to sit down on the floor and put her shoes on for her. She continued to stare at him, though now she looked confused. Once he'd finished, Hojo got up and grabbed her hands again, pulling her towards the door... neglecting to bring his gun. Stepping out, he locked the door behind them, looping his arm with hers and guiding her down the hall and to the steps. Still bruised and sore from her escapade in his lab, Hojo was careful about where he placed his hands, but she'd done a rather thorough job of covering herself in purple splotches that he could hardly touch her anywhere without eliciting a yelp. That and her obvious distaste for his touch in general kept his pants on, though he desperately wanted to burry himself in her.
It was dark outside, but the lamps had come on, and the old woman who owned the apartment complex looked towards him and the young woman he walked with as she made her way toward the door they'd just stepped out. "Professor," she said respectfully, blinking in the dimness, "Dr. Lucrecia?" Hojo didn't stop, but the young woman stared at her seemingly in confusion... and pleadingly?
Leading her to his car again, Hojo politely opened the door. Setting her jaw, Katy sat down and pulled her legs in, making sure her long coat wouldn't get shut in the door when he closed it. Her eyes followed him as he walked around to the driver's side and got in, having to try several times before getting the car started. "I know," he said softly, "It was old seventeen years ago and hasn't gotten any better, but it's paid off."
Ah, he was understandable again, "It's older than I am then," she replied, to his astonishment. He hadn't pulled out of the parking space when she'd spoken, hadn't let off the clutch yet, so his shock was no danger to them.
"And how old are you?" he asked, finally, hoping that she would continue speaking to him.
Her eyes fell half-lidded, "Seventeen."
"Eighteen come next week," he murmured with astonishment.
Still, she didn't look at him, "Oh, is that what day it is. I've missed a whole half-year of school. My parents will be pissed. I'm pissed."
Hojo eyed her. She looked like the pictures Lucrecia had shown him of her younger years. "So your birthday is still the twenty-first?"
She took a breath, chest expanding beneath the loose fabric of her shirt, "It was never anything else. I'm Not Lucrecia." She seemed distant, as if not paying attention to what was being said. He put the car in gear, it died, he started it again and pulled out of the parking space. It died again. "What a piece of shit," she stated absently. "Even my Pontiac was better than this. You get paid enough, you've got no one dependant on you, you should buy yourself something better. Toyotas are reliable."
Hojo winced, saw her witness the wince. "You say you're not her, but you nag like her."
Her lips quirked, "Then let me go. You don't know what you're dealing with. This is beyond your stupid experiments, beyond just this world, it's mimimimi mimi," her words degraded into gibberish. She shut her mouth when she realized this and took a breath. Silence fell for a time and he took that time to concentrate on manhandling the car out into the road. "It's my world too, you know. That new set of islands off the coast of Wutai is from my world, it's called Hawaii. Can you imagine the chaos going on right now? So many people lost on another world, and lunatics running loose on both. It's a mess that needs to be sorted out as soon as possible, without that bloody tick Jenova sucking both planets dry."
"So that was what you were after?"
"Condensing Jenova into something manageable? Yes. Then you screwed things up," she replied sourly. "If you ever loved Lucrecia, you'd either support me in this or let me go to finish what I started, before it's too late."
Hojo's jaw clenched. "The hell do you know?" he growled, fingers tightening to white knuckles on the wheel. Taking a shuddering breath, he tried to find something near calm, but Lucrecia- this Lucrecia apparently knew more about him than he knew and had the viciousness to prod old wounds just to get what she wanted. What DID she want? She pretended it was to save the world, but was it really?
"RED LIGHT!" she hissed suddenly, foot stomping on the floor desperately. Blinking, Hojo looked back towards the lights and slammed on the break just before hitting the car ahead of him. Lucrecia had gone pale, clutching the door of the car desperately, unable to let it go even after it was over. "Watch the fucken road you blasted idiot!" The light changed and Hojo put the car back into first gear. It died. He restarted it and headed on.
Pressing his lips together, he focused his eyes on the road, but his mind continued to wind back and forth through the maze she'd presented him. "What's in all this for you?" he asked sourly.
"Peace of mind? The chance to play Hero, if I live, that is. Look, I don't like to think about it. Too many things could go wrong and I'm already stressed out. Too many things have already gone wrong. Let me go."
The words slipped from his hold before he could stop them, "I made that mistake once before..."
She turned towards him fully now, her words degraded into the babbling language they seemed to fall into whenever she was paying full attention to what she was saying. Though he couldn't understand them, her tone of voice, the look in her eyes, on her face, position of her body all said what her words did not. She was cursing him to the nine pits of hell and back and back down again. Unable to stop his reaction, Hojo winced and hunched his shoulders. Even at nearly eighteen she held that Wifely power over him.
Throwing herself back into her seat, she picked at the fraying edge of her seatbelt. "You're a bloody fool, Hojo, I hope you know that. I hope you die a horrible death and suffer in hell." She sounded calm at least, her words still stung. Her lips pressed together on anything further she may have said on that subject, but apparently she couldn't stay quiet for long and spoke again. At first, she wasn't understandable, but halfway through the sentence she fell into it again, "Mi mimimi mi mimimi Sephiroth away from her. Before she destroys him. He could very well kill everyone on both worlds, easily. He's nearly indestructible after all."
"Sephiroth is dead."
"Idiot. He fell, yes, but isn't dead."
This was news to Hojo. Here he'd thought his son killed by combined monster and fire in Nibelheim. What a disappointment... "What do you mean?" he looked at her swiftly, "He set Nibelheim on fire, didn't he?"
The girl nodded faintly, "I managed to put it out before too many people died, managed to stop him from reading those bloody books, but Jenova's still poisoning his mind and I can't stop that unless I can get close enough to convince him that being a god requires subjects to worship you." Her lips quirked, "he can be my god any day."
Dizziness welled up in Hojo, and illness, "He's your SON!" he gasped.
"No, he's not. I'd know if I had any kids, Hojo," she bit her tongue, stopping some further comment. "Where are we going anyway?"
He wasn't too sure anymore. He'd planned on taking her to the Karaoke bar she'd visited so often during their marriage, dragging him along more often than not. Now, he didn't know. Things had twisted in his mind. Nothing was clear-cut anymore. Deciding not to answer, he just kept driving until he reached the edge of the upper plate, overlooking the increasingly barren landscape beyond Midgar. He shut the engine off, listening to the silence within the car and the strange swishing noise he always heard whenever it was too quiet. Lucrecia had always been a loud personality to live with. He liked it that way but could never make such noise himself.
"Oh, how romantic," she said sarcastically, unlocked the door and got out. The lock clicked into place automatically after it was shut, auto safety feature as he still had the keys in the ignition. Hojo reached for his gun- winced when he didn't find it, and tumbled from the car as well, throwing the door closed behind him. She hadn't gone far, just to stand at the edge of the plate, arms folded beneath her breasts. Swallowing, he stepped up beside her, looking down at her uncertainly. "I'll ask you one more time, Hojo, let me go, or help me. After this, your death is your own fault. It's gotten to that point, I don't want to kill people, but this has gone on long enough. Its dangerous enough without you muddying the water with your inconsistencies and guilty conscience." She turned towards him suddenly, looking up into his eyes, hers far too serious behind her shining glasses. "She might even forgive you if you help fix what you broke. I know I'd seriously consider it, and if I'm so much like her, then she might as well. Might, after all, you did steal her son from her." One of her hands slid down to her stomach, an involuntary gesture apparently.
It made sense now. The frequent bouts of illness she displayed in the mornings and when she encountered certain foods, her eating so much. Hojo felt... chill. Pregnant... By who? He swallowed. "No," he stated, no, he couldn't let her hare off if it was as dangerous as she said while she was pregnant. She had to rest and- and she was Cetra, he finally remembered. Whatever kid she was pregnant with would be Cetra as well. His new test subjects. Why did the thought make him so ill? She'd said it herself, she wasn't Lucrecia. She could never promise something for Lucrecia- and Lucrecia was definitely dead!
"On your head be it," she stated softly, no anger in her voice. She sounded... frightened. Her shaking breath was more proof of her fear.
"Who's is it?" he asked, trying not to blurt the question.
She looked preoccupied and his answer was long in coming and rather enigmatic, "You guess." That fat boy Cetra's? Certainly not! He seemed about the same age as she. Who's then? He was distracted from his thoughts by her movement, her hand lifted, tucking her stray bangs behind her ear as she turned away from him, heading towards the car. Past the car.
He made to go after her, but a flash of green and she was running faster than he could catch up with. "Shit!" he hissed and came to a stop as she rounded a corner, kicking a lamppost. "She won't get far," he muttered, "and I've still got that piece of Jenova." He frowned. Did she actually want that still? Probably, the bag had been tied to her wrist when he finally pulled her out of the wreckage of boxes in the back corner.
This was not the last time he'd see her, Hojo was sure. With determination, he returned to his car, pulled at the door handle- only to realize that both doors were closed and his keys were hanging innocently- tauntingly from the ignition.
