A NOTE FROM THE AUTHORESS
Just to let you know this chapter comes with a bit of a health warning. Yeah… you can tell I've been watching Advent Children: Complete; this chapter is a bit more gruesome. It's like up to now the novel has been AC level, and now it is ACC level. My nightmares finally come in handy! So if you have a nervous disposition and don't like reading a bit of gore, I advise you skip this one.
Final Fantasy VII [3rd Instalment]
Emerald Princess of Vernea
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The storm over Midgar was growing stronger with each passing moment. The clouds, tinted red by Meteor's burning light, cast eerie red shadows over the city. The five mako reactors currently active continued to glow as more and more mako was forcibly sucked from beneath the planet's crust. Alarms rang out in warning, and every so often the city was shaken by strong tremors as the planet protested.
In the streets, the panic had grown out of control. The citizens had given up trying to fight their way past the soldiers and now flooded the streets, trying to find other ways to escape the doomed city. Some had given up all hope of escape and turned their fear and rage upon the city, using sticks and bats to smash up cars, windows, anything they could lay their hands. Overwhelmed by fear, there was nothing else that they could do. Their actions were pointless, but to them it was better than sitting and waiting to die.
The soldiers protecting the Shinra Building had also abandoned their posts at this point, choosing to save themselves and their families now that everything else seemed hopeless. With nobody left to guard the doors, numerous terrified employees quickly made their escape and ran out into the blowing wind and pouring rain, hoping to find some means of escape amidst the panic.
High up overhead, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. Just like the clouds, the bolt was also tinted a deep red. Its light lit the Sister Ray in a flash of crimson light, and anyone looking up at that moment could just make out, in that flash, the terrifying battle that was ensuing above them.
Helletic Hojo—the bizarre, deformed monster created by the mutation of the Jenova's cells—was the fiercest opponent the companions had ever faced. After the almost trivial clash with the Poodler and the Bad Rap they had felt confident in their ability to win. They did not believe that Hojo could be any worse.
They had been utterly, horribly wrong.
Despite his malformed body, Hojo was monstrously strong. The cells that he had injected into his body had granted him unbelievable strength that was equal to or greater than of any member of SOLDIER… almost like Sephiroth himself. And as well as being granted great physical strength, Jenova's cells had also given Hojo great magical strength. Yet it was his physical strength that Hojo preferred, and used to great effect against the companions.
Helletic Hojo raised his right arm, which was swollen and shaped like a hammer, and swung it across him, aiming to strike Tifa as she charged in for an assault. The fighter ducked down, letting the arm sail overhead, but when she rose to continue her charge the arm suddenly swung back and caught her in the chest. The fighter cried out, her breath escaping her, as she was flung to the side. She slammed hard into a water container, denting the metal, and slumped to the floor.
With his attention elsewhere, Cid ran in from the other side and thrust out his broken spear. Without even turning his head Hojo lifted his three-pronged left hand to block the attack. The broken ends of the spear fell sank deep into the flesh. Black-green blood seeped out of the wound, but Hojo did not seem to feel it. Cid, cursing, tried to yank the pole out again, but found that it would not move.
Now Hojo's head turned, moving erratically, and looked at him. As those sightless, empty eyes fell on him the pilot froze in fear. Hojo's long, open mouth twitched and saliva dripped hungrily—a hunger the professor would never be able to satisfy. With an angry roar Hojo swung his right arm and knocked the pilot aside. Cid hit the ground and rolled, leaving his spear stuck in the monster's hand.
Cloud was running up behind. When he neared Hojo he jumped into the air, raising his sword above his head. Mercilessly he brought it down on Hojo's right shoulder, hoping to sever the swinging arm. The blade hit the flesh and sliced through, sinking in about five inches before stopping and becoming stuck in the flesh. Cloud yanked on the blade, but like Cid's pole it would not budge. He then noticed a black-green, bubbling liquid was seeping out of the wound, sticking to the blade like glue and holding it in place. Even the Hellatic's mutated blood was a weapon.
Sensing the annoyance behind him, Hojo started to reach behind with his left arm to give the swordsman a painful, magic-enhanced jab. Red XIII leaped over Cid and pounced on the arm, pinning it to the floor and pulling Hojo down on one side. The pole snapped again. Red XIII closed his jaws around the arm. Black-green blood filled his mouth and he gagged, but he refused to let go. Now Hojo was leaning precariously over to his left, with his right arm still swinging in the air. Chaos swooped down from above and fired, ripping a hole through the hammer's flesh.
Following Chaos's lead, Barret opened fire and unleashed a volley of ice bullets at Hojo. The Helletic raised its right arm and used it to shield his face from the bullets. The ice bullets ripped through the flesh but could not pierce it all the way through, and the thick blood running through Hojo's veins stopped the ice from taking effect.
When Barret paused to reload his gun, the Helletic thrust out its arm. The skin and muscles stretched like elastic, reaching out for Barret. Barret saw the arm approaching and quickly jumped back just as the hammer-like fist smashed into the ground. It smashed right through the metal grating, leaving a giant hole in its wake, before slowly retreating back to the main body. Barret skidded to a stop, finished reloading his gun, and opened fire once more.
There was a blur as Yuffie darted past him, determined not to be left out of the action. She had a shuriken in each hand, and when Barret paused in his assault she leaped into the air and hurled the Conformer away from her. The shuriken made a loud whistling sound as it zipped through the air. It struck Hojo in his right arm right next to where Cloud was still struggling to free the Buster Sword. The Conformer cut through the sticky strands of blood and Cloud pulled his blade free.
Yuffie landed on Hojo's outstretched arm, which was sliding slowly along the grating. She ran along the arm, her boots bouncing slightly on the stretched out skin to the shoulder. Whipping out her second shuriken, she swiped it across Hojo's face. The shuriken's blades sliced easily through the flesh, moving so fast the blood that spurted out did not have time to stick. Yuffie whipped her shuriken back, grinning.
Movement caught her eye. On Hojo's other side, the Helletic began to drag its left arm up to strike her, with Red XIII still attached. The ninja held her arm with the shuriken behind her back as jumped out of the way, flipping up and over. Red XIII lost his grip as the arm moved over and dropped down behind Hojo. Yuffie landed on Hojo's other shoulder, dropped down low and sliced her shuriken again. She caught Hojo on the other side of his face, and more blood shot into the air.
Hojo screamed. It was a terrifying, high-pitched scream. It resonated in the very deepest recesses of the brain, making it almost impossible to blot out. Yuffie clamped her hands over ears. Her foot slipped and she fell backward, landing in Cloud's arms as he reached out to catch her. The swordsman was also on his knees, eyes shut tight as he tried to ignore the terrible sound.
At that moment Tifa was just struggling to her feet. She took a few uneasy steps forward, her head pounding. When Hojo screamed she put her hands over her ears and dropped onto her knees. Her vision swam and she feared that she might pass out. Her thoughts reeled. What was going on…? What was that awful sound?
A pair of hands closed over her ears. Tifa lifted her head and saw a black and white cat with a golden crown on its head standing in front of her.
"Tifa," a voice was saying, and the cat's mouth moved. "Tifa, hold on! Don't listen!"
Tifa blinked. She shook her head again. Her head ached painfully, as though she had hit it hard. A dull, fuzzy sensation washed over her. She looked up at the cat again. Who was this cat…? Was it her enemy?
The cat's head turned away from her and shouted something over its shoulder. The horrible scream had stopped, but Tifa could still hear it ringing inside her head. Her eyes flitted back and forth warily. There were more figures nearby, all of them moving. There was the clash of metal and the dull, droning sound of gunfire. Tifa realised then that she was surrounded by enemies, all of them fighting amongst themselves. If she struck quick, then maybe she could…
The cat still was not watching her. Cautiously, she drew back her fist. The cat turned back… and she punched him right in the face. The cat cried out, his paws over his nose. He staggered back and then fell to the floor, stunned.
Tifa took her chance. She climbed to her feet and rushed into the fray. Her head was pounding as she moved, and there was a nagging voice somewhere inside that was telling her something was wrong, but she ignored it and carried on forward. She had to destroy these unknown enemies before they destroyed her.
She ran to the nearest of the unknown figures—all she could see was a blur of blue and yellow—grabbed him by his shoulder and spun him around to face her. She punched, caught the foe on the chin and sent him hurtling backward.
Without waiting for him to recover, Tifa dived onto the figure. She pinned him down and began to punch him repeatedly, her dark eyes blazing. Over the sound of the gunshots she thought she heard someone call her name, but in her confusion she could not understand. The figure below her tried to stop her by grabbing her hands, but Tifa just wrenched her arms free and kept on punching.
"Tifa! Snap out of it!" Another voice, followed by a grunt and a thud as something large and fleshy in the corner of Tifa's vision swept it aside.
Cloud rolled onto his knees, dodging another hammer-blow from Helletic Hojo. He looked over at Tifa. Hojo's terrifying scream had caused the fighter to become Confused: a terrible state where the victim was no longer able to distinguish friend from foe. As he watched Cid tried once more to grab her hands and stop her onslaught, and Barret called out her name, trying to snap her out of it. Eventually the big man was forced to stop firing at Hojo and ran over to her. He hooked his arms under hers and dragged her off.
"Tifa!" called Barret. She turned to face him, her fist raised to strike him across the face. Quickly Barret raised his gun-arm, and her fist thudded hard against it. Holding her by the arms, he gave her a shake. "Snap out of it, Tifa!" He shook her again.
Tifa stared at him, her expression fuzzy. Then she blinked repeatedly and shook her head. The ringing scream faded, and her thoughts finally cleared. She looked up at Barret, who was relieved to see recognition in her eyes. "Barret…" Tifa said, now confused on another level. "What happened?"
"You almost beat me to a pulp is what happened," Cid groaned, struggling to his feet. He touched his jaw, which was sore. That was going to bruise.
A guilty look passed over Tifa's face as she remembered. "Oh, Cid! I'm so sorry!"
Cloud's voice cut through their exchange. "Get down!"
Hojo had seen the three standing together and had thrust out both of his arms. The elastic-like skin of his arms stretched, reaching for them. Barret grabbed Tifa and pulled her aside, and Cid dived out of the way as the two hands crashed into the ground where they had been standing.
The fists smashed through the grating and also through the pipes that ran along underneath. Clouds of hot steam, thick with the stench of mako, billowed into the air. Helletic Hojo howled in agony as the piping hot steam burned his hands. He pulled on his arms, trying to draw them back, but they were caught on the grating. So instead he howled in pain.
Cloud rose to his feet and heaved his sword onto his back. A glancing blow by one of the arms had left him winded, and he was only just getting his breath back. There was no time for him to rest, however. With Hojo's arms temporarily immobilised, they had a chance to strike. He held his sword level before him, and then charged.
Cloud slashed the blade in an upward arc and struck the underside of Hojo's left shoulder. Following Yuffie's example he kept the blade moving, not allowing it to slow lest the glue-like blood caused it to stick in place again. He pushed and the blade eventually cut right through. He saw the stretched out muscles of the arm snap with a loud 'twang' and the arm jerked forward. It was attached only by a thin layer of stretched out skin. Cloud swung his sword once more and severed the arm completely. It shot forward a few feet, like a released rubber band, before dropping onto the floor.
Hojo shrieked and turned to Cloud. He started to shuffle forwards but stopped as Red XIII landed on his back, dug in his claws and sank his teeth into his neck. Hojo finally managed to detach his right hand from the floor and brought it back, raised, to knock the hound from his back. Red XIII saw it coming and nimbly leaped out of the way. The arm, however, was moving too fast and swung over Hojo's shoulder, striking him in his own misshapen back. Hojo lurched forward.
Cloud saw his chance. He raised his blade over his head and brought it down on Hojo's head. The Helletic pulled its head back at the last second. Unwinding his arm he swung it at Cloud, who jumped back. As he did with Tifa, Hojo tried to swing his arm back and catch Cloud off-guard, but was stopped as Yuffie ran in and met the oncoming fist with a punch of her own. She added to her punch the strength of the Earth materia, and its strong vibrations caused the hand to stop in its tracks.
A shot fired from above as Chaos finally saw his opening. With an absolutely perfect aim he fired three shots into Hojo's remaining arm. Muscles were severed and blood shot into the air. But the arm was still moving, even with half the muscles severed.
While Hojo screamed in rage Tifa, now recovered from her confusion, rushed in and gave Hojo a punch in his jaw. There was a crunch as the bones were crushed beneath her might, and Hojo's was thrust backward. Just as he was heading back Red XIII leaped onto his back, sending Hojo careening forward again until he was within range of Cloud's sword. The swordsman swung his sword, but even through the blood and pain Hojo was still aware and pulled his head out of the way. The blade crashed into the floor, damaging only the grating.
Barret fired round after round. The Ice materia was all used up so he was forced to use ordinary bullets, but these were enough. They tore through Hojo's swinging arm, completing the job that Chaos had started and severing the last of the muscles that allowed the arm to move. The arm fell limp at Hojo's side, swinging loosely.
Once again Hojo shrieked as both of its arms became useless. Cloud ran in front of him and slashed his sword, cutting a long and bloody gash across Hojo's chest. The Helletic reeled backwards, rasping for breath. Yuffie, behind Hojo, swiped her shuriken along the base of Hojo's spine. The flesh here was tougher and she could not cut completely through, but it was enough to send Hojo toppling forward… and straight into the arms of Chaos.
Chaos had descended from the sky and caught Hojo as he fell forward. Hojo slowly raised his misshapen, elongated head and looked at Chaos through sightless, hollowed eyes. Chaos stared back at him, his face cold and expressionless.
Chaos then gripped Hojo by his neck and held him up at arm's length. The two continued to stare at each other. Around them, Cloud and the others held back, letting the silent exchange continue.
Hojo tried to speak, but Chaos silenced him by tightening his grip around the deformed professor's throat. No, Hojo was not a professor anymore. He was just a monster, plain and simple. Chaos raised his gun and pressed the barrel lightly against Hojo's forehead. His lips closed into a firm, steady line.
He fired.
The bullet went straight through Hojo's head and came out the other side. The force threw Hojo's head back, wrenching it from Chaos's hand. A small spray of black-green blood burst from the wound. The monster's body went flying back, carried by the force of the shot. The companions quickly separated as the Helletic's body slammed into the floor. Its head rolled onto one side, dead.
Chaos glowed white, and Vincent returned to his normal form. He spun the gun once and then placed it back in its holster.
"It's over," he said and then turned away. He started to walk across the platform towards the stairs, leaving the corpse behind.
"…Not… …quite…"
The voice was rasping and guttural. Vincent stopped. He looked back over his shoulder. His friends were staring at the corpse in horror and drawing steadily back.
Hojo was still alive. Even though the shot had ripped a hole through his brain, the Jenova cells inside of him were so strong that they refused to let him die so easily. The Helletic's body shuddered and began to rise up off the floor. The bullet wound in its head rippled and closed. The head snapped up with a crack, staring at Vincent.
The wounds that had been inflicted upon it bubbled blood. The flesh stretched and then split open with a sickening riiiiip. Bones cracked apart, and organs dripped onto the floor. Tifa screamed and clung to Barret's arm.
A bulge appeared at the bloodied stump of Hojo's left shoulder. It swelled and burst open with a spray of black-green blood. The spray narrowly missed Red XIII, who sniffed it and then growled menacingly. The scent was tainted and disgusting, like something rotting from the inside.
A tentacle emerged from the burst swelling. It wiggled about before sliding out fully with a slurping sound. It slid until it touched the floor, dripping liquid. A second bulge appeared above the shoulder of the immobilised right arm. This too burst open and the right arm dropped down onto the floor, severed. A second tentacle, shorter than the first, slid out of the opening. The Helletic's rear end broke away and a tail slid out, waving back and forth eagerly.
Cloud lowered his sword and stared in open-mouthed horror as Hojo then leaned far back. The flesh of his chest split open further and unfolded like a jacket, slipping off the shoulders and falling into a bloody, messy pile on the floor. What was left behind rose up, shaking itself free of the remains.
This new Lifeform showed no resemblance to Hojo at all. If anything Hojo was all but gone. The mutated Jenova cells he had injected into his bloodstream had taken him over completely, leaving nothing but a monster behind. This monster looked very much like a ghoul out of nightmare with skin that was a dark, lifeless grey, but with bands of yellow around its waist and over its head. It had no hands or feet, just two smooth, long tentacles for arms and a thick tentacle that was its tail.
The Hojo Lifeform raised its head. Its face was smooth and almost featureless, covered by what looked like a thin layer of metal. Like the Helletic it had no eyes; just empty, flat eye sockets. Yet some malevolent was peering out at them; they could feel its cold stare moving over them. It chest rose, and a deep growl rumbled from inside its throat. The Lifeform paused, taking them in, and then attacked.
The Lifeform moved at surprising speed—far faster than they would have expected it to—and slammed its body hard into Vincent, who was directly ahead. The gunman fell back onto the grating with the Lifeform on top of him. His gun slipped out of its holster and clattered across the floor.
Red XIII turned to Barret, who was just raising his gun. "No, don't!" the hound called to him in warning. "You might hit Vincent!"
The resistance leader stopped, hesitant. The Lifeform was so close to Vincent, it was possible he could miss, or a bullet could ricochet and hit the gunman instead. Barret waited, his gun-arm raised, keeping his eyes peeled for an opening.
Tifa had no such restrictions, and as such she darted in. She only managed to land a couple of punches before the Lifeform flicked its tentacle tail and knocked her off her feet. As she fell, the Lifeform wrapped its tail around her ankle and with a single effortless flick sent her flying backwards. Cloud ran in to catch her. She slammed into him hard, winding him. He staggered back and fell against the mainframe, winded. Tifa, in his arms, pushed herself onto her knees.
Vincent meanwhile, struggled beneath the monster. The Lifeform had wrapped its two tentacle-like arms around Vincent's wrists, and had used its own weight to keep the gunman pinned and unable to escape. Now that the monster was up close Vincent could see that it did have a mouth, small and thin, across the middle of its smooth face. This mouth opened up now as the Lifeform leaned in close, hungry.
Vincent tried to reach for his gun but it was too far away—his fingers could not reach it. Giving up Vincent turned back to the Lifeform, which was now just centimetres from his throat. A shot suddenly fired and the Lifeform jerked back with a cry—Barret had forsaken safety and fired a round into the Lifeform's side.
The diversion did the trick. The tentacles around Vincent's wrists slackened, allowing the gunman to break free. He wriggled upwards, just enough to bring up his book and kick the Lifeform in the chest. The monster fell backwards, and without waiting for it to recover, Vincent pushed himself backwards and rushed for his gun.
He scooped up the gun. Luckily it was already loaded, so all he had to do was turn and fire. Unfortunately in his panic the shot missed—a rare occurrence—and the Lifeform, now recovered from its initial shock, lunged at him again.
The gunman jumped back. He tried to reload his weapon, but the bullet got stuck in the barrel and would not come loose. He then looked up as Cait Sith leaped in front of him. Holding Cloud's Lightning materia in his open palm, the cat called upon its power and released six bolts of energy at the Lifeform. Two of these bolts hit the ground, but the remaining four struck home. The Lifeform reared back and screamed in agony as its body was became a mass of electrified energy. Its tentacles quivered, and its tail thrashed against the floor.
Cait Sith lowered the materia and looked back at Vincent, giving him the thumbs up. While his back was turned the Lifeform, its body still crackling with electricity, lunged forward and struck the cat with the tip of its long left arm.
The blow sent the cat flying through the air, though something strange had happened to his body. The instant the Lifeform's arm touched him Cait's body froze solid and became completely immobile. Even when Cait hit the ground he did not move, and so he was completely helpless as he rolled over and over. He rolled dangerously close to the edge of the platform. Red XIII, seeing this, leaped across and snatched the cat up off the ground, held him gently in his jaws, and then jumped to safety.
Seeing that it had failed to eliminate Cait, the Lifeform screeched and lunged again in the direction of Red XIII. It did not get far before it stopped and screeched in agonised pain. Its torso then split open and the tip of a large, flat blade pushed its way out. The Lifeform glanced over its shoulder and glared at Cloud, who was standing right behind it, the Buster Sword embedded in its back. As the Lifeform moved Cloud pushed the blade in further, causing it to stop again.
Intending to stop Cloud as it had done Cait, the Lifeform started to swing one of its tentacles. This time it was stopped by Tifa, who rushed in and grabbed hold of the arm before it could reach Cloud. Grasping it firmly she pulled it away from him, ensuring at all times that the tip could not reach her. Before the Lifeform could react, Yuffie ran up on its other side and grabbed hold of its other arm. Now both arms were immobile and unable to move.
Only the tail was still moving. This Cid solved by running up beside Cloud and thrusting the remains of his broken spear through the tail's tip. The spear lodged in the grating and held there.
With his blade still stuck in the Lifeform's back, Cloud shouted: "Vincent, use Ultima! Finish him off, quick!"
Vincent rose to his feet. The Ultima materia was in the gauntlet around his left wrist. He unhooked it and held it in his palm. The materia was deep green with a black centre, with small waves of colour passing through it. Ultima was a risky materia; its effects were varied. Right now, however, it was brimming with power. The gunman closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then hurled it at the Lifeform.
The materia clattered onto the floor beneath the Lifeform. It glimmered brightly. At the same time Cloud withdrew his blade and leaped backwards along with the rest of his friends. The Lifeform started to turn. The Ultima materia grew hot… and then exploded.
The Lifeform shrieked as a wave of burning white light erupted around it. The heat radiating from the light was intense; it burned and purified. The Lifeform's body shuddered violently as the light burned its way all the way down to the cells. The Lifeform raised its tentacle arms to shield its face, but the arms were already bubbling and melting, turning into liquid. Its tail followed suit, and the Lifeform dropped to the ground.
The light from Ultima continued shining in waves tinged with glittering colour. Its light was so bright that Cloud and the others had to shield their eyes, lest they be blinded by its intensity. The heat burned their skin and made it prickle. All the while they could hear the Lifeform's terrible, pained scream.
Cloud tried to lower his arms and peer through the light. But he could see nothing: just a wall of white with a wavering shadow trapped inside it, writhing and thrashing in agony. The light grew brighter still, and he had to shield his eyes again.
The light continued on for a few moments more, and the Lifeform's scream gradually faded away. Moments later the light too, faded to nothing, and the world returned to its normal dark state. Thunder rumbled overhead. In the heat of the battle, they had totally forgotten about the storm. The rain was still falling heavily; they were soaked.
Vincent was the first to lower his arm and approach the centre of the platform. The Ultima materia was lying on the ground. It was dark inside; its inner light had gone.
Lying beside the materia… was Hojo. Hojo… in his normal, human form. The power of Ultima had caused the Jenova cells to recede, leaving only the human body behind. The professor was lying facedown on the grating. He was not moving. Vincent stood over him, his expression unreadable.
Cloud joined him. He also looked down at the unmoving body lying before him. Hojo's eyes were wide open, locked in an endless stare.
Yet Cloud could not feel any sympathy for him. Because of this man… there had been many deaths. So many tragedies… Lucrecia and Vincent, Nibelheim, Sephiroth… all of these could have been prevented if people like Hojo did not exist. Cloud bent down and picked the materia up off the floor. It was cool.
"…" he muttered silently.
"Hojo…" said Vincent. "Rest in peace…"
Cloud looked away. He could not wish such things for this man. He turned away from Hojo and walked over to the mainframe. Cait Sith was already there; the Stop magic had apparently worn off. The cat was in the middle of deactivating the reactors. As he turned a dial the reactors all gave a loud 'whoosh' and clouds of steam rose into the air from the open roofs. The green glow faded, and the tops began to close. Midgar was safe.
Tifa bent down beside Hojo and closed his eyes.
"How said…" said Yuffie. Barret looked at her. She shrugged. "For him…" she added.
Vincent was still watching Hojo. He was filled with… mixed feelings. For years he had longed for this moment and yet… now that it was over… Vincent could not help but feel that somehow it was not quite over. He found it difficult to relax and accept that Hojo was gone. The anger was still there inside of him; it had not gone away.
Vincent felt Cloud's eyes on him. He looked up and met the swordsman's gaze. In Cloud's eyes Vincent saw the same troubled anger. Cloud held the same hatred and anger for Sephiroth that Vincent did for Hojo. Looking at him, Vincent had to wonder: would Cloud find some peace once he defeated Sephiroth. Or would he, like Vincent, continue to feel things were in some way… unfinished?
Vincent pushed those thoughts aside. It was not his business. He sheathed his gun, turned his back on Hojo, and walked away.