Disclaimer: Kit Thespian does not own Final Fantasy VII or the characters therein. And she is not making money off of this.
Chapter Eleven
Something Unheard Of
"It doesn't seem to have enough effect," Dr. Gast said to Hojo, two weeks later. He had a slightly annoyed look on his face as he looked through the microscope.
"What do you mean?" Hojo rolled his sleeve back down. He had a secret hope that Gast meant that the effects were wearing off, that he wouldn't have a stamp of immortality.
"Your cells are still showing signs of agelessness, don't get me wrong. It wasn't the cells I was talking about. You don't seem to be showing any other properties of a Cetra. The Cetra could talk to the Planet, supposedly."
Lucrecia, who was standing by Hojo's side, said, "What are we going to do? The President..."
"I know what the President wants, Lucrecia," Gast spoke, "a person with the powers of the Cetra... Hojo's cells are too mature to take in any further properties of the Cetra's cells. The cells in his body will not be easily influenced by an outside force."
"Oh...Well, what stage of life would we have to inject cells in?" Lucrecia asked.
Hojo shrugged, "A child, I suppose."
Gast said, "Even further than that, I'm afraid. We'll have to find a fetus. In that stage, the cells would fuse with the fetus' genetic structure with ease."
Considering Lucrecia's news a few days earlier, Hojo and Lucrecia both froze at that statement. Hojo, for a brief moment, was amazed at the convenience. But then he thought that he couldn't ask that of Lucrecia. The risk was too high. What if the cells damaged their child permanently? However, on the other hand, what if the cells turned their child into some sort of superbeing? What would his or her life be like? A stream of curiosity filled him.
"Are you two all right?" Gast queried.
Lucrecia nodded and said, "Isn't that dangerous, though? Subjecting a child in pre-natal stages of development to that sort of invasion?"
"I don't see why. The serum have had no negative effect on Dr. Hojo so far. And it's been weeks. They would have done harm to you by now if they were going to. In fact..." a spark of interest appeared in Gast's eye, "if you two were to have a child, that would be perfect. We already know that the cells are compatible with Hojo. The serum we injected into him would work very nicely."
Lucrecia gasped, "Uh...er...I don't know..."
She almost put a protective hand on her stomach out of instinct, but Hojo grabbed it and held onto it, silently telling her not to give any indication that she was already pregnant; not until he had decided what they were going to do. The prospect of the experiment sounded fascinating to Hojo, but he didn't want Gast to know about the baby until Lucrecia was willing to go through with it.
"What she means, Dr. Gast," Hojo said, "is that we are not sure that we would be willing to take that risk, if we did had a child."
"I see...Well, think it over."
"We will," Hojo kept a firm hold on Lucrecia's hand.
"I'm going to write to the President and see what he has to say about it..." Gast started.
"Oh, don't do that!" Lucrecia almost wailed, "If you do, the President has a right to...to..."
The look on Gast's face was firm, "I'm going to write to the President. Good day." And he walked to the back room before Hojo could say anything.
Lucrecia knew as well as anyone did that Shinra's government was a dictatorship, and the President's hold on his people was an iron grip, even more so on the employees of the Shinra company. His power went so far that he could order Hojo and Lucrecia to have a baby simply for the use of the experiment if he thought that it would assist him in attaining his ends. Hojo didn't want to see his wife forced into anything, much less something that she thought would hurt their baby. But he was already thinking about the greatness involved. The cells had shown no sign of hurting him, have they? What damage could they do?
Lucrecia bit her fist, suppressing a sob. Considering her condition, Hojo knew that she would need to have a good cry before he could fully calm her down. And he didn't want her to face the humiliation of crying in a place where Gast would easily hear her. Hojo quickly led her out of the laboratory into the dark hall and up the stairs, before her tears could fully unleash. They went to their bedroom and Hojo shut the door. There, like he expected, Lucrecia started to weep hysterically.
"Hojo, what are we going to do?" she cried, "What if something happens to our baby...?"
"Nothing will happen to our baby!" Hojo said, taking her by the shoulders, trying to calm her. He sat her down on the bed and settled beside her. "You know," he said, "this may be a good thing..."
"A good thing?" Lucrecia gaped at her husband in horror, "putting some...thing's cells into our baby?"
"The serum is perfectly safe. If he or she could speak with the Planet, think of the things we would learn. Our baby could be...could be..."
A great warrior or diplomat...
"A great warrior or diplomat..."
Someone to bring peace...
"Someone to bring peace... The greatest man or woman ever to live." Hojo couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. But then it occurred to him that to get the cells into the baby, they would have to inject the cells into Lucrecia. And if they reacted the same way to Lucrecia that they did to him, she would be ageless as well. He wouldn't have to face a prospect of life without her, or their child. The thought lifted a weight from his shoulders, and his heart.
"If this experiment succeeds," Hojo said, "who knows what kind of possibilities there could be?"
He will be the greatest... People will worship him, almost as a god.
That last thought was a little ridiculous in Hojo's opinion, and he brushed it off. Why would he think that anyway?
"But what if it fails?" Lucrecia asked, brushing away a tear, "What if...?"
"We're scientists, Lucrecia," Hojo answered, "risks and 'what if?' are part of our job. But the risk factor isn't as high as you would think. The cells may not react at all."
"But this is our baby we're talking about! How can you be so cold about this?"
"Have I ever failed you before? Have I?"
"No, but..."
"Then trust me..."
"...Can we sleep on it?"
"Of course."
Despite her worries, Lucrecia did trust her husband completely. If he thought that this was the right course of action, then it must be. And he was right; the cells had done nothing to him but provided benefits. Who knows? The child could have wonderful powers, like an Ancient.
"Do you really think it'll be all right?" Lucrecia said, that night before they went to bed.
"Of course, I do," Hojo answered, "stop worrying about it. Try to sleep."
Late that night...
Perhaps I shouldn't go through with it... Hojo thought in his dreams.
You know it is the right thing to do... An alien voice seeped into his subconscious.
What do you mean?
How can you refuse this chance? You are a scientist, are you not?
Yes...
This is the greatest scientific mission that man has ever endeavored. To be able to speak with the Planet...To be one with the Planet...
One with the Planet?
The most powerful being on earth...That could be your child, you know. He or she would be revered by all... No harm will come to the child. With the Cetra's blood running through its veins, how could it be harmed? And your wife can be with you always because of this injection. Think about it... You'll never be lonely again...
And the voice stopped. Hojo's eyes opened. He didn't feel like he had just awakened from a dream; the voice had been so real. But there wasn't any way that a voice could be in his head, unless the Planet were speaking to him, like it would an Ancient. But that was ridiculous; in the legends the Planet would speak to the Cetra in several voices, not in one overpowering voice. He decided that it had been a dream.
The Next Day...
"Are you sure about this, dear?" Lucrecia walked slowly with her husband down the hall, with him holding onto her hand, "After all, you were the most cynical one about Jenova at the start."
"And it will be the same as last time. Nothing will happen to our baby. The serum is refined to a point that the chance of negative effects is almost nil."
"Almost?"
Hojo sighed, "They're nil, all right? Does that make you feel better?"
"No."
"Lucrecia..."
"I just don't want anything bad to happen..."
Nothing bad will happen...
"Nothing bad will happen," Hojo repeated what he assumed were his thoughts.
"Happen to what?" Vincent was coming up the stairs to go the laboratory to get a new book when Hojo had said that.
"It's a new experiment, that's all," Hojo answered.
"Are you two headed for the laboratory?" Vincent asked.
"Yes."
"Great, I'll join you. By the way, Dr. Gast went into town. He'll be back in about an hour," Vincent looked at Lucrecia's pale face, "Are you all right, Lucrecia? You don't look so good."
"I'm okay..." She threw a questioning glance at Hojo. Hojo knew that she was wondering if it would be all right to tell him about the baby now. She had been itching to tell someone for weeks now, and since they were going to tell Gast, they might as well inform their bodyguard of Lucrecia's state. Lucrecia didn't seem as happy, though, in light of the coming experiment.
He said, flatly, "Go ahead, tell him."
"Are you sure it's all right with you?" Lucrecia asked.
"Of course, tell him."
Lucrecia turned to Vincent and said, "You're going to be an uncle."
Vincent almost tripped over himself in his tracks and looked at Lucrecia, wide-eyed, "Oh... You guys are going to have a baby?"
"I believe that's what she just said," Hojo spoke, with a twitch of a smirk. Vincent looked almost endearing with that look of complete shock on his face.
"Oh..." Vincent murmured. In a moment, he regained enough wit to spout out half-heartedly, "That's great! Congratulations, you two..."
Lucrecia rolled her eyes, "You don't have to sound so excited, Vincent."
"I'm happy for you two, really," Vincent spoke sincerely, "it was just a shock. How far along are you?"
"Almost three months."
"That's good...So, are you going to have the baby here or go back to Midgar?"
"Truth be told," Hojo said, "the baby will probably be born here whether we like it or not. But it's better because of the fresh air."
"Whether you like it or not?" Vincent raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?"
Lucrecia bit her lip as she was reminded of her and Hojo's decision. Hojo thought for a moment about whether or not he should tell Vincent of the experiments. But he knew that Vincent would want an explanation of the strange things going on. And, though he would never admit it, Hojo was starting to like his half-brother. They were getting along better now, and Vincent was no longer setting eyes on Lucrecia.
Hojo explained, "Remember when we went to the reactor a few months ago?"
"Yes," Vincent answered, "but I wasn't allowed to go in."
"Vincent, you mustn't breathe a word of what I'm about to tell you to anyone," by this time they were in the secret stairway down to the basement, "understood?"
Secrets were a vital part of a Turk's life, and Vincent had more than one that he knew he would take to the grave with him. It was part of his work. This would only be another one to add to the list. Since Gast was in town, he wouldn't have to know what Hojo had told Vincent.
He assented, "Understood."
Hojo then explained everything that happened. Vincent listened with a grunt and a nod every once in a while. But his eyes widened with what seemed like horror when Hojo described how he had been injected with the Jenova cell serum. He kept his peace, though.
As they were entering the laboratory, Hojo had finished saying that they were planning to inject Lucrecia with the serum so that the baby would be infused with the cells. At this, Vincent could not keep silent.
"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" the Turk protested, "Are you saying that you're going to give the baby this stuff?"
"It's perfectly safe..." Hojo said.
"Don't give me that 'perfectly safe' junk!" Vincent started to turn red, "First, you tell me that you allowed yourself to be Gast's lab rat, and now you're going to let your own baby be experimented with? I'm against this! Why experiment on humans anyway?"
"She and I are both scientists!" Hojo seethed.
"Lucrecia, you don't want to go through with this, do you?" Vincent spoke.
Lucrecia looked at the floor, not wanting to look at her brother-in-law.
"Stop it, Vincent," Hojo said, "you're frightening her needlessly!"
"Needlessly?" Vincent's jaw dropped, "It doesn't take a moron to know that this is not a good idea!"
"Vincent, please!" Lucrecia pleaded, tears forming in her eyes, "It's all right... We know what we're doing."
"Do you?" Vincent gave her a hard look, and then he turned to his brother, "Do you? Oh, forget it! Since you two are so bent on ruining your lives, I'll just leave it at that!" He marched to a bookshelf and snatched a book before leaving the library. "And don't worry," Vincent's voice echoed in the passageway, with a sneer in it, "I wouldn't tell a living soul what you're doing. I wouldn't wish knowing that on anyone...!"
Hojo immediately went to Lucrecia's side and held her close, "Don't be scared. He's not a scientist. He doesn't know..."
"But I am scared," Lucrecia was crying now, "What if he's right? What if...?"
"He's not. He's only a Turk. How would he know? Come and sit down; you don't look well."
"I don't feel well, Hojo."
"Do you want something to eat or drink? I could run up and get something..."
"No, no, it's all right..."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
Hojo knew that she was only saying that so not to inconvenience him, "...I'd better get you some water anyway."
"All right, but I'll come with you. I don't like to be down here by myself..."
Hojo smirked. Every time Lucrecia walked into the kitchen these days, she would always end up snacking on something. And he wanted something to calm her nerves right now. That idiot Vincent hadn't helped at all; rather, he made it worse. Maybe they could scrounge up some chocolate from one of the cabinets. It was one of Lucrecia's favorite things.
He said to her as they walked up the stairs, "Don't worry; I feel perfectly confident that things will turn out all right. You'll see."
Lucrecia managed a smile, "I trust you, sweetie."
Author's note: For once, they should've listened to Vinny. But we will find that it really wouldn't have mattered. Stange things are happening to Hojo right now. Hey, I actually made Vincent look good in this chapter. Three cheers!
Review Response:
Sulphurya: Since Hojo has already used himself as a "lab rat," the amount of qualms he would have had with infusing the cells into the baby probably went down a little bit. And you know he had to be curious. And there was also the agelessness factor. Go figure.
Crystelle: Great to have you back! I try to keep the storyline along with the game as much as possible.
Mistress of the Shadows: I try to be as nice to Vincent as I can...which isn't much I'll admit. But I try! I really do!
Shale 101: Hojo's not the sort to think about that kind of thing. He's very busy with his work, you know.