CHAPTER 6 - INTENTIONS

Hojo's POV.

I heard the woman for almost two hours. Me and Tseng remained sit, as she told us everything that had happened in the last months. Tears fell as the words forced themselves out of her. It was impressive, how her faithfulness towards the General made her behave so defensively.

I was perfectly aware she was only confessing the whole thing because the General had been extremely harsh with her when they reunited hours ago. She expected something else entirely - not an angered man in the verge of sticking his hand in her belly and destroy the child growing inside.

I didn't know exactly what was going on but I had to admit I was impressed - something that rarely happened to me. Very few things had the ability of impress me.

For instance, see my main experiment behaving unusually possessive over a woman was one of those things.

I tried to gather my thoughts as Sora resumed to silence. Tseng was strangely resilient as the woman described the encounter where the trio had argued and where guns, swords and a lot of beheading had taken place.

I was the one interrupting that uncomfortable silence.

"So, what you are trying to say is that Jenova was actually speaking to you both."

Sora gulped dry at the obviousness of my declaration.

"Yes."

So, Jenova had a clear purpose in all this. I narrowed my eyes and resumed to think out loud.

"She guided you to find him first, made you abort afterwards-"

"I'm not sure about the last one. I dreamed she had done that to me, but I don't know if-"

"Tell me more about the General's panic attack."

Sephiroth's strange behaviors in the last months were disturbing to me. It was not typical of the man I had brought up to be superior and basically the best of all kind. Panic was not an emotion he had been taught to feel.

Sora made an effort to describe the scene, and judging by the face she made, it must not have been nice to watch.

"We were… talking and then he just started panicking with… noises and with someone being out there. Outside." Her stare perspired terror, and I wondered, for a moment, how terrible that moment must have been to her. "He freaked out a lot with it. You don't imagine how crazed he looked like, how he acted. Holding that huge sword, flying towards the forest, shouting…"

The woman gulped dry, a stubborn tear falling as she played with a humid Kleenex. Tseng was the one talking after Sora was obviously out of words to say.

"And after the dream and the abortion he calmed down."

"Yes. He got home a couple days later apparently… sane."

Sane. Right.

I smirked, relaxing against the comfy chair. The possibilities were immense and right now… a very true and real opportunity of working with Jenova was at hand.

Jenova. Having fun with two puppets and considering God-knew-what. Well, I had my theories.

And none of them were remotely pleasant. Or peaceful.

Sora's fragile tone woke me up of my reverie.

"What are you thinking?"

"Most likely, it was the baby." I stated. "The one Jenova removed from you. He was probably listening to the fetus move inside you. Just like he did now."

It had to be. If one got to think coherently, both attitudes were very similar and there was a very good reason for the General to snap like he did. Think was, the why's were still doubtful.

"What? God."

Sora's shock was genuine and I felt a little overwhelmed at how in the dark this woman was. She didn't have a clue of her role, of the seriousness of the whole thing since the beginning, since the day Jenova appeared to her.

However, considering the last line of events, there were things that needed immediate attention.

"Tell me about your dream."

Sora's eyes met mine in disbelief.

"But I already told you-"

Impatience ate me on the inside.

"The one you had last night."

"Do you believe in me?" Her despair was immense, as she purposely avoided my question. That made me wonder… why hiding that specific information from us in this point. Now that she had disclosed basically everything, there was no need for being shy. "Please, I'm not making this up. All this really happened. Jenova really-"

In that moment I realized the fright was directed to Tseng. He kept doubting, claiming she wasn't well in her head.

"I do. Jenova's behavior is of our great interest."

I had to make her believe in me - us. The scientific staff and the Turks had to be on her side or our chances would be doomed. After so many time remaining clueless and guessing up things about Jenova, destiny had rewarded us with live, real information. Flesh and bone guinea pigs that would be very, very useful to understand a little more about our beloved 'Calamity'.

My insides stirred at the thought.

"What do you think of all this?"

Sora's question was now directed to me. Tseng's stare shifted from me to Sora, as an occasional bystander. Although, I knew he was in fact very aware of everything.

That little mind of his was always conjuring. Turks. Ha.

"It does not surprise me." I admitted. "The General is part of Jenova, it's only natural She would use him to her purpose."

The disgust in Sora's face was obvious.

"You make it sound like it's normal."

"But it is. To Her, it is absolutely normal." I smiled. I was the only one in good spirits inside this room.

"You need to help me."

I was prepared to strike back but Tseng got ahead me in a no time. And he sounded impatient and angry.

"With what?"

"Save him. The General. You know he is innocent."

"I'm afraid we cannot do that."

"Why?"

"This won't be a valuable proof in Court. Jenova does not exist out there. She is a secret matter in the company."

"Isn't there any way of-"

"No. The General has no-"

Tseng was interrupted by a phone call. Silence followed in the next five seconds before the head of Turks turn to me with a frown of seriousness all over his face.

"Hojo."

"Yes?"

"We are needed in the General's cell."

And in that moment I knew something very serious had happened.

Sephiroth's POV

The ache I felt inside me seemed to burn. There was nothing capable of taking away this pain, nothing at all.

I didn't recall feeling this anxious in life. Ever. The stress, the heart beating like crazy, the energy changing inside me and flowing outside leading to the destruction of my prior cell and then - it was then, in the moment I saw her, that everything seemed to fall apart.

I didn't hear it first. All I saw, all I felt was her, standing in the middle of that chaotic hall, staring at me with hope and elation. The love she felt for me warmed me on the inside. Her presence, her attention soothed me - it always had been that way, since the first time I laid eyes on her.

But then, that noise startled me. That juicy noise coming right from inside her womb seemed like something was actually alive inside her. Moving. Craving my attention.

Eventually it caught my attention all right. And not for the best reason.

Seconds were all I needed to make that reasoning.

The dream, the whole imaging sequence I had been rewarded with made all the sense. The calamity child, the one destroying everything and everybody… was my own. And Sora's.

She did this, I concluded.

Yes, Jenova had been the responsible for everything.

My renewed capacity of getting a woman pregnant hadn't been a miracle or sorts. It had been a poisonous gift, a way of condemnation since I wasn't 'necessary' anymore… and Sora, would be just an asset to deliver what Jenova actually wanted.

Power. Energy bathing lifestream like no one had ever seen before. A whole planet inhabiting lifestream would be ideal… for someone as Jenova to rule.

Parasitizing planets, one after another. Destroying kinds as a walk in the park.

I sighed, as I made the same reasoning over and over again.

I was doomed, I knew it.

And I abhorred that I had her cells inside me as well.

Anger flared and the wall subsided with my flux of energy. How I hated to be what I was, played the way I had been.

How dare She!?

And as I punched the wall again, I screamed in agony, fury and helplessness. This feeling of impotence was too much for me to bear. Crazed as I felt, I didn't hear the cell's door open.

"Calm down!"

Hojo. I blinked as my reasoning shifted. I turned to face him and stepped towards the man - in flesh and bone. He was real, right in front of me - no hologram this time. I wondered why.

"Listen to me!"

My speech came out excessively rude and impolite, but the way my mind screamed at me didn't let me stay calm as I usually was.

"I will listen to you when you calm down and BEHAVE!"

Man, I had no patience for this. Time was precious and there were things needing his immediate action.

"You're wasting precious time, you worthless human! You need to have that thing out of her, NOW!"

Our faces were almost leveled but Hojo didn't flinch. I wondered if he had a hidden weapon somewhere beneath his vest - only weapons would turn Hojo so smug.

"Calm the hell down!"

I breathed out loud and made a consistent effort to do as he said. I had to convince him to remove that calamity baby from inside Sora… or I would do it myself.

"Now… Tell me what happened. Smoothly."

I muttered a couple of nasty words, considering what to say to the man. Good God. In the middle of the dilemma I was in, Hojo was dead calm! Really? How could he!

"Don't curse."

I stared at him, hard, ignoring his stupid order. Okay, if I needed him to do something for me, I had to be smarter than this and not give in to Jenova's threats. So I started.

"I was warned. You have to take it out of her or we'll all be doomed."

"Jenova warned you of what, precisely?"

"She needs a vehicle. I wasn't adequate for her to assume an earthly form. But the child is. The child growing inside Sora."

Hojo blinked at me, and I realized he knew what I was talking about. Jenova's doings weren't news for him.

"Jenova's vehicle… for what?"

"To take over."

"How do you know that?"

"She showed me. Everything, from the beginning to the very end. If that child is born, we are all doomed. The Planet will die. I saw it… exploding into millions of pieces."

There. All resumed in a sentence. Hojo seemed overwhelmed.

"The calamity is finally showing herself… How wonderful!"

Oh, for the Planet's sake!

My reaction to Hojo's speech wasn't the most adequate. Impatient as I felt, listening to the man talking about Jenova as the most amazing thing in the world made me snap. My right hand met his throat and I squeezed. Hard.

I needed to kill something.

"Take that thing from inside her, Hojo."

My words came out strangled and pained, mixed with the chocking sounds Hojo was making. I only wanted to threaten him, give him a little lesson and, deep down inside, make him pay for all he had made me go through… but the barrel of a gun met my head before I could think further.

Damn Turks.

"Let him go! NOW!"

It was a woman's voice. But of course, my cell was now partially destroyed and the locks as well. Hojo had gotten inside without problems and the Turks as well. Since I had used energy blasts, the whole electric system was messed up. Deep down inside my mind, I wondered when they were going to realize this kind of cells wouldn't stop me anymore.

I snorted at my own thought.

"Do it." I murmured, gazing upon the Turk woman's eyes. "It won't make any difference."

"I mean it, General!" Her voice was harsh and her stare warned me. She wanted me to comply and that was it. "Leave the man be! Right fucking now!"

My hand and fingers gradually softened against Hojo's neck but never left the place. Doubt was all over me and I wondered what would fit better this moment. Death? Mercy? Any of it? Hojo's voice, clearly affected by my harsh treatment, was the only sound resonating inside that cell.

"She needs you General." Hojo's stare met mine and I waited for him to continue. The barrel of the gun against my scalp didn't quaver. And I couldn't care less. "And she needs me as well."

I took my time considering Hojo's words. I really did.

Sadly, he was right. Sora needed him - he was the only one capable of dealing with something as serious as the baby orchestrated by Jenova itself. He was the one… that knew Jenova the best… maybe better than I.

My grasp on the man softened and I left him be with a final warning.

"Remove it from her. At least do something worthy of your skills as a scientist."

Tseng's POV

Things had been boiling inside that damned cell again.

When I got there I thought Sephiroth was going to strangle Hojo to death, my team was on him right that moment but the whole situation had been hard to solve. Guns all over with Elena jumping on the General like a cat. Her nervous fingers almost doomed the moment.

Gladly, Reno and Rude had been there, as well as the rest of the cavalry. I remained outside, listening to Sephiroth as he came to his senses.

And the sad stare of Sora Sukiru haunted me, as she as well listened to those words. She had been a by-stander two times in a row, all in the same day.

It was upsetting to see how Sephiroth's words hurt her every time he spoke. It was like torture. And yet she loved the man with all her will. Bore his baby inside her. Endured God-knew what in the solitude of the north, alone with him. The mere thought gave me nausea.

And that made me snap in that exact moment.

"I want Sora out of the building, now!"

Reno stared at me, surprised with my reaction. Hojo remained inside the cell and Sephiroth was now restrained. I would have to reconsider a special cell for the man, a place where he wouldn't endanger the building's consistence.

"She's planted at the door, Sir! I can't-"

"Figure out a way. If the General sees her, he'll kill her. He's out of his freaking mind."

I gave sign to the rest of my team to escort Reno. I wanted Sora out of Sephiroth's sight permanently. This whole nonsense romance thing had to end - now.

And besides, an idea was popping up inside my mind. I narrowed my eyes and searched for the man I wanted to talk with.

"Is Hojo okay?"

Elena was the one answering me.

"A little shaken, I suppose."

I snorted. Right. Shaken.

"Get Sephiroth to the Underground Labs." I whispered at Elena's ear. "The structure there won't quaver, he'll feel at home."

Elena nodded.

We all knew the underground labs had been a place of experimentation. Sephiroth had grown there. Hojo had run the place for ages before re-assignment.

Several Turks loitered around the area, the cell a complete mess. This whole destroying thing was stopping right now. Sephiroth had to calm the hell down for good.

Fifteen minutes later I found Reno, apparently back from Securing Sora Sukiru in some place inside the building.

"She's at level 8. Two of our men are with her, Sir."

"Good. I'll be right there."

"What on Earth happened with Sephiroth?"

I sighed and stared hard at Reno.

"This looks like a psychiatric ward." I declared, annoyed. "I have a psycho scientist all turned on with the latest events and an ex-General going nuts."

Reno widened his eyes, not saying a word.

"Seal the level. No one gets in or out. And get Strife here. He has to know of all this nonsense."

"Yes, Sir."

-/-

An hour later, the place was finally clean. Still, a lot of construction work would have to be done there. Damn Sephiroth and his strange powers.

Hojo remained there the whole time, lost in thinking. I took the hint.

"Are you okay?"

"I'll survive." The man took his time staring back at me. "You look disappointed."

"Don't be ridiculous. What did Sephiroth say?"

I had listened to part of their conversation, but I needed to know the whole thing. I didn't particularly liked Hojo, but I had to come to terms with the fact he was crucial in all this. This mess we were all in - wasn't a job solely for Turks. This needed team work. So, the whole scientific division, Turks and SOLDIER were now involved in this.

"Our worries need to be confirmed. I am willing to bet the woman will confirm the whole story."

I couldn't believe the man's words.

"Dreams. We're talking about a 180 degree turn in this whole company over a shared dream."

I couldn't help but to sound extremely sarcastic.

"Short of sight, aren't we Turk?" Hojo's tone was ironic and I averted my stare from his. "This is no ordinary dreaming, Tseng. This is Jenova speaking through someone we have in custody. You don't imagine how amazing that is."

"No, I don't." I stated, annoyed. "All I know is that I have a pregnant woman who wants back the man she loves at all cost and a supernatural entity involved messing up with their psyche. How do we know this isn't just pathological, Hojo?"

"That is why we're here for, Turk. To do all the thinking for you." I blinked at Hojo, at the smugness all over his face. For moments, I wished Sephiroth had squeezed his throat until his neck broke.

"You must believe my words, Sephiroth almost strangled me… to have me do something for him. That isn't like Sephiroth at all. Only Jenova has the power to mess up with him. After all, She is part of him. And what She is doing to him, to them… is absolutely wonderful to watch."

Seconds of silence followed. I didn't know what to think - if Hojo was really out of his freaking mind or if he was merely hallucinating.

And, considering the lack of objective answer, I decided to change subject.

"I'm calling an emergency reunion with the four of us - me, you, the woman and Cloud. We must decide what to do about this right freaking now. Gather all the information available and meet us in the conference room, level 8."

Sora's POV

I remained in the conference room under surveillance after red-haired man shoved me out of that place.

That hall - that led to my General's cell, a cell now destroyed, a chaos of men, guard and scientists gathering to see and hear everything. Namely, hear the General talk about me like a piece of trading meat.

Tseng and Hojo had been summoned to the place right there in the middle of our conversation. They left in a rush - and I followed them.

I wish I didn't. In that moment all I wanted was to see him again, who knew, maybe hold him for a while and say… say that I loved him, no matter what.

But then, his words were like pins hammered right there on my heart. Each word killed me a little more on the inside. Each word made my throat constrict and tears started brimming at once.

Man. How I hated being so weak over a man.

I stayed sat in that comfy chair for two hours. I didn't know why, but I didn't feel like moving. Gradually, I recalled the whole day - how horrible it had been. The dream, then seeing the General again… it all made my chest ache terribly.

I gulped dry, my mouth dried out. I was hungry, thirsty and sad. I hadn't eaten a thing since dawn.

A male presence surprised me right out of nowhere. Blue eyes met mine and I recognized the man at once.

Cloud Strife - the new General. Ha.

Confronted with my lack of reaction he handed something right at me. The smell of ham and cheese illuminated my senses and the feeling of hunger became more intense.

"I figured you were hungry."

Right, you're a know-it-all.

"Thanks."

Cloud sat right next to me and stared until I blushed. Man, he sure was making me feel uncomfortable. Really, I didn't enjoy having someone staring at me while I ate a sandwich. Gladly, he started speaking at me - trivial things only meant to distract me, but a door opening noisily interrupted him.

Thank God, I thought. I didn't have much patience for Cloud's small talk. I knew what he thought about me, about Sephiroth. He didn't take me seriously and that - that messed up with my nerves.

Tseng and Hojo made their way inside the conference room and I knew something serious was coming up.

Tseng's frown of disgust was proof enough of that.

"We need to talk. All of us."

An uncomfortable silence emerged as all eyes fell over me. Inevitably, my voice came out weak.

"What is it?"

"Let's talk about your dream." Hojo started and I felt a pang on my chest. Oh dear, not the dream thing again. I gulped dry and Hojo realized the thought depressed me enough. "It's okay, the General confessed his visions as well and Cloud must be informed. You have nothing to hide."

Right. He had got to be kidding me.

"I don't trust any of you." I declared, annoyed. "None of you wants to help me."

"But you should trust us. You dear Sephiroth is not going to make it-"

"Strife." Tseng's deadly stare shut Cloud up at once. Tseng's eyes met mine and I felt a little more at ease. "There are things in motion, Sora, very serious things that we have to have knowledge of. You must understand that… Jenova is actually making contact with you both and we need to know exactly what She is disclosing."

Tseng's words were true… and soft. I considered all he said, and decided to confess what I had dreamed last night. Eventually, I resumed the whole thing to a sentence.

"It's… It's all death. A female's face bringing disgrace to the Planet."

"What did you see, specifically?"

"It's basically Jenova. The only difference is that she's not mist and fog. She walks the Earth."

"That's because that's not Jenova, Sora."

Hojo was the one speaking now. All eyes were now on him and in that moment I knew a bomb was about to be dropped.

"What do you mean?" I had to ask.

"It's your child, in the future."

WHAT?

"My… child?"

I quoted the man, even if the thought wasn't exactly new. I suspected this was actually true, but having it confirmed by someone else was a total different thing.

"It's a girl, Sora. The testing arrived just recently."

Man. So much information was overwhelming me. My heartbeat peaked and deafened me for moments.

"Then that was why She…" I talked as I recalled concrete episodes of my latter pregnancy. The bleeding, those words I didn't understand. It all had a point. A goal. The whole damned thing. "…Back then, when I was with a boy-"

"She made it happen. For some unknown reason the child you were with wasn't ideal for her so She solved the issue quite effectively. Then, you got pregnant with the exact specimen for her to use as a vehicle."

Hojo's words were not only shocking. They were true, I felt it. And that hurt me more than ever. My God. What was I supposed to be in this miserable life? A puppet, the whole time? How was this fair in any way?

I resumed to quoted the man, wanting more. I wanted more information, I wanted to know all of it.

"Vehicle?" My voice came out weak, barely a whisper.

Hojo took his time making things clear as water for me. His brown eyes focused on mine and I knew he was not going to be merciful.

"She wants to use your child to take over and destroy the Planet, Sora. You… are her salvation."

I widened my eyes, not knowing what to say to that. I had no words to offer. All I wanted was out of this damned looney house.

Damned the moment I got here for help…

I got up the chair, slowly and silently and whispered the only sentence I knew I could say without snapping. I needed out right in that moment.

"I need to go."

I turned, wishing to reach the door as fast as I could. I only wanted my legs not to falter. The last thing I heard, as I walked that hall, was Tseng's voice.

"Strife."

"I'm going."

"Keep her safe. You have now the greatest of responsibilities… General."

"I know."

I didn't care I had Cloud Strife on my tail.

All I wanted was to leave that damned place.

A/N - Sorry for the delay, I got married in the meantime and as you well imagine, it steals a lot of quality time :) Preparing a wedding is consuming! :)

So, I'm on Dreamchaser + PORTAL for good, I will not be making such long intervals 'cause I lose track of the events and have to re-read the whole thing again.

I'm back for good, people!

Read and review as you so well do! Can't wait to read your thoughts and comments! YAY!

Oh and check my profile - my FB and GOODREADS page - I'm promoting Giveaways on my original fiction AND I'm offering, for FREE, my new e-novella ENGEL!

Give it a try :)