Chapter 7. Disclosure - Part 1.
Sephiroth's POV
That hideous, disgusting smell of vomit accompanied me until the next chamber, where a white-coat had the decency of spraying my coat and boots with a cleaning, disinfecting jet. I was already familiar with physiological reactions resulting from stressful events...the battlefield can be very harsh, breaking the will and strength of mind of the most strong-willed men… but I had to admit that no one had vomited on me. Until now.
I guess there was a first time for everything after all.
Professor Medina remained on the hall, with a chart on his hands, eyeing me with a censoring gaze. And worry flowed from his form – albeit I had a hunch it wasn't exactly directed to me but to the woman who had puked all over me instead.
Aren't we protective... my mind mocked, while I met him again in the hall. We remained silent for some seconds, and he was the one interrupting the thick silence. There was no one around us, the whole personnel had purposely hidden from us and now resumed to their labs.
"What were you thinking." Medina's tone was sharp, as he barely whispered his words to me. The man was excessively annoyed for my minor intrusion.
Okay then, the least I could do was justify myself.
"I was just asking-"
"And couldn't you wait just a few days?" Medina snapped, interrupting me. Well, wasn't that rude for such a brilliant scientist like himself. "Did you have to-"
"I simply asked her from where she knew me."
Now I was the one interrupting, making my point and staring at him with authority. He could be the responsible for the case, but I was responsible for it too, even if our roles were different.
Medina's hard features and soft brown eyes informed me of much more than I needed to. His insistence with the woman didn't have only scientific purposes. He, clearly, though of her in a very particular way. He was obviously testing all his theories on her – and I wondered, what could have been the conclusion after all.
"Behave with tact, General. Or I'll have to limit your access further on."
His declaration confirmed my suspicions. He didn't have her all secured for nothing. He considered her something precious, something important. And I was willing to bet it had something to do with the research Professor Gast Faremis had done years ago – a research that inevitably had let him to death, under very odd circumstances. In fact, the report on his deceasing hadn't convinced me completely.
"Would you do that?" I said, irony imbibing my words. "Are you that certain the woman might be an Anc-"
The sound of my cell phone interrupted my own speech, as Medina stared at me with apparent neutrality on his face.
Saved by the bell.
Right, he was trying to hide his emotions from me. Too bad, he wasn't aware my profiler innate abilities could be so handy. Categorically, he felt relieved my attention was otherwise solicited.
Slowly, with my stare still on him, I answered the phone call.
"Yes?"
Veld's worried voice and his whole speech on the other side of the line made me focus on something else entirely.
"I'll be on my way."
And, as I closed the phone and made my way towards the exit security doors, I left words of warning towards the troubled scientist.
"I'll deal with this issue later."
-/-
I didn't have much time to gather my sword and walk towards the heliport. When I reached the building's top, that huge, black machine was already waiting for me, its propellers raging furiously.
I went in and the man behind the controls informed me quickly without taking his eyes of the panel.
"I assume Veld informed you about the mission status, Sir."
"He did."
"Let's get going then."
And swiftly we traveled towards Junon.
-/-
Once we landed, a Turk was expecting me. The poker face that man wore told me more than I expected. Something was going extremely bad.
"Report, Turk." I ordered, as we made our way towards a transportation van.
"The President was shot, but he's okay, considering the circumstances."
"Is it bad?"
It was the last thing I needed – the President getting shot in a regular mission like this one. AVALANCHE sure was gaining advantage on us.
"No. He'll survive. The President was transported to the medical facility." The Turk declared, which relieved me. The President's security and survival had to be guaranteed at all cost. "Now, there are important things to take care of." The Turk added, his stare meeting mine. Okay. So the real bomb was about to drop now.
"Such as."
"AVALANCHE seized the Mako Cannon."
Bastards.
"Purpose?"
"Destroy Midgar."
Well, that would be stating the obvious.
"The control room. Is it secured?" I asked, knowing the control room was the most important place to take action now.
"As last reported, there are Turks and AVALANCHE members down there."
Not a good thing.
"Take me there now." I ordered. "And secure the President's position. I don't want it compromised at any level."
"Yes, Sir."
A minute passed by in silence, until the van finally stopped. The doors opened and the Turk directed me to very specific part of solid ground.
"This underground passage will take you there."
I left swiftly the van and made my way towards the thin passage. Before diving into that dark place, I eyed the Turk with decisive eyes.
"I'll contact you when this is done."
All would be done indeed, very soon. And victory would be on my side.
The travel headed to the control room was silent. I was used to precarious war scenarios filled with a stench I had learnt to ignore. My focus was one and one only. Get in that control room and kill whoever was inside. Those petulant idiots from AVALANCHE would learn, the hard way, that they shouldn't mess with SOLDIER. They had attempted to murder the President. And they were going to pay for it. I would make sure of it.
It didn't take me much to start listening to grunts. Someone was fighting. And, judging by the smell of blood, someone was severely hurt.
Once I reached the control room, the scene couldn't be more decrepit. A Turk, badly injured, was laid on ground, while someone was preparing one hell of a blow. A deadly one. That sword wouldn't be merciful considering the man's loss of blood.
Time to play.
"You! Terrorist." I said, my tone loud.
The person above the injured Turk stopped immediately, and slowly turned to face me. To my surprise, the motivated attacker was a she.
"Well, well, well. General." Her tone was ironic and victorious. How smug. "They sent you to take me out. I'm flattered."
Blah, Blah, Blah. You're so dead, woman.
"Leave the Turk." I said, stepping towards her and grasping my sword tight. "And raise your sword."
The terrorist seemed a little taken aback at first. But then, after an un-dignifying kick at the injured Turk laying on the floor, I saw how her grasp tightened on her sword as well.
"With pleasure." She declared, positioning her sword towards me, as I smirked with satisfaction.
Finally, I was going to have some fun.
John's POV.
I didn't realize someone was actually inside Eleanor's room until my eyes casually landed on the monitors I had carved on a wall inside my office. Her stable, even vitals had been the norm, until… until something started to change.
My intuition led me immediately to her chambers. And once I got there, my eyes were rewarded with the most disconcerting scene: the General, grabbing her. His hand on her arm, touching her in that military way he had, cruelty and coldness all over him. And then, her face. Her panic. Her… despair.
An angry toss of words invaded the room, as her stress intensified. And then, just like a sudden convulsion, she just… threw up. Surprise was all over us, her included, followed immediately by embarrassment.
Categorically, it had been a visceral reaction to the General's presence and threats. Which confirmed part of my theories. She had knowledge of things she wasn't telling. Her sudden, natural reaction was part of something… big.
Eleanor Stevens was something… vital. Key.
She must know so many things…
Somehow lost in thinking, I resumed watching her sleep, while I stood in the pre-chamber, her breathing now even and her apparently human features soothing my mind. How normal and regular she looked. How easily she could be lost in a crowd, mingling with the most ordinary citizen.
It's time…, I thought, my mind fierce with purpose.
-/-
"Eleanor."
I called her name, while I remained inside her chambers. She was sleepy, and it smelled like disinfectant.
"Hum…"
Sleepy and drugged. Well. I had to consider lowering the dosage, obviously.
"Eleanor?"
"Professor."
Finally, a reaction. She recognized me, as I remained standing next to her bed. That white pajama she wore gave me the creeps. Hojo also used the same thing in his… experiments. Okay, not a good thought.
"How are you feeling?" I asked, trying to make her feel at ease. After the General's performance so vivid in her mind, she must have been having a hard time. I didn't blame her. The man sure was spooky.
"I'm okay." She said, as she sat on the bed, her eyes meeting mine.
Are you?, I asked, silently, in my mind.
Her stare was expectant. She couldn't anticipate what I wanted from her – and that made her feel uncomfortable. I could get that.
But it was time to press other matters.
"May I ask you something, Eleanor?" I asked, while I sat in a chair.
She nodded in response.
"Did the General scare you that much?"
Her answer consisted of a long, deep sigh, while her eyes searched for the comfort of the plain wall ahead her.
"I'll take that as a yes." I whispered, somehow regretting bringing that issue up. So I focused on what was pounding inside my mind for so many days.
"Tell me about you. Where did you come from… how you ended up here."
Her face changed as she processed my words. Anxiety grew on her again and her face didn't deny the complexity of the issue I was bringing up. Her feeble words surprised me.
"I expected you to enlighten me about that last part."
Okay, not the answer I was expecting. My face must have mirrored my disappointment, because she was the one talking again.
"I told you everything. I'm not making it up."
I believe you. But…
"Listen, Eleanor." I started, thinking about what I should disclose to her, how I was crossing the barriers here. "I've tested your genetic profile. Several times. And… it's completely different from ours."
Smooth. Nice way to rephrase "You're an alien.". In the silence around us, her eyes locked on mine, all I could see there was… panic. She didn't know what to say, what to think of my words, it was pretty obvious.
Until she finally spoke.
"You wouldn't believe it." She said, her voice trembling. Was she afraid of something? "I don't actually believe it myself, so…"
"I'll try." I said, not actually believing I had said it. How blindly devoted I had become only to try and understand this woman and her… origins? "You have my word."
More silence followed, as she seemed to be very focused on thinking. And as I wondered about the contents of her muted thoughts, her voice resonated again.
"What do you research on?"
Not exactly what I was expecting, but I would answer her anyway.
"Life forms. Ancient and new ones."
Her face didn't seem relieved.
"Like… Hojo?"
The way she said his name revealed more than I would like to.
"No." I said. "He's in charge of the experimental section. He has his own team."
"So, you're a total different kind of… researcher?"
What was her point with all this questions? It almost felt like she wanted badly to confirm I had nothing to do with Hojo's staff than anything else.
"I have my own personnel. It's still a small team, but we'll grow eventually."
Confronted now with her silence, I had a hunch where this conversation was going.
"I do follow by the rules of Ethics."
And… bingo. Her relieved sigh was a more than a confirmation.
"That's… a relief." She said, meeting my eyes once again. And it was there, in that exact moment, that I realized she was preparing her speech. She was going to try… and tell me what she knew. She was going to share it with me.
It was difficult to hide my apprehension. I didn't know what she was going to tell me… but the possibilities were unlimited.
"Back where I come from…" She started, playing nervously with her fingers. "…this reality belongs to a very specific… platform."
Whoa. What?
"Platform?" I quoted, a little lost.
"In that virtual platform I know everything of this… reality. How it starts and how it ends…"
And the "Who lives and who dies." went by unsaid, flowing uneasily between us. It was so obvious now. She had to be-
"I'm not an Ancient, Professor. I'm not clairvoyant and I don't have powers." She said, interrupting my thoughts. How did she know that I… "The last ancient died years ago. Along with Professor Gast."
Oh. What? The last Ancient? Gast? The Gast Faremis? Okay, this was too much information to process at once.
"First of all, how do you-"
"I told you, I know." She said, with such a tender voice it was impossible not to believe her. "As well as I am pretty certain that if your colleague finds out about this… he will do anything to get his filthy hands on me."
"You mean Hojo."
Yeah, how obvious was that, ha?
"His greed knows no limits. No kin. No boundaries at all." She said, her face serious. "Trust me on that."
Silence followed once again. I had to gather myself, think about what to ask her first. She had told me the most… unsettling things. I didn't expect this… disclosure, not by a long shot.
"How did you know… I considered the Ancient hypothesis?"
"Because… It's only logical you did so if you're desperately trying to find the origin of your kind but..."
Her slight hesitation weighted tons in the silence that followed.
"What day is this?"
"February the 30th, 0001."
And then, after a couple of breathings that seemed to last years, she finally whispered, her eyes on mine:
"The President was shot."
What in the Planet was she talking about?
"Junon. That's where the General was headed to, right?"
With my mouth half-opened, all I could think was… no matter her origins, this woman held a potential… that bordered the hazardous.
A/N - Okay, I decided to make this gradually. Or there was going to be cardiac arrest (lol). Definitely. Information will flow on time with the timeline. I think it fits the fic better. There is no need to rush things.
Not a very enthusiastic chapter but entertaining, nonetheless :)
Let me know your opinion, R&R, I need your strenght! University abducted me for the last 2 weeks and had been keeping me away from my PC, hence the lack of updates... but liberation is close! :D Ah! Share your opinions with me, tell me what's on your mind :) I absolutely adore your feedback!