Chapter Seven

Readying the armies

By Kal

"So, Captain Starford, have you got all you need?"

"Yes, sir. We just have to find a couple more members, but soon the group will be complete."

General Powers was in his office, talking with a young man. He had short black hair, and he was tall. His slimness hide the power his blue Mako eyes, hided behind black glasses, hinted at. Dressed in blue sweat pants and an equally blue shirt tucked inside them; the only thing that hinted him as a soldier were the metallic chest plate he used and the long double edged sword he carried in his belt sheat.

"Great. I have complete confidence in your abilities. It´s a shame President Shinra didn´t share it."

"Well sir, I must excuse myself. I have to arrange some details before the team is ready to go."

"I understand. You´re dismissed."

The man left, and as soon as the door closed, the General picked up the phone.

"Tell Professor Hojo I´ll be in his lab in twenty minutes."

At Junon

13:00 hrs.

Cid had forgotten how hot was that damn city in the day. Being constructed principally of metal, it was a real pain to walk through the streets in the afternoon. But luckily, Reeve had arranged that a limo picked them at the airport. Cloud was trying to figure out what button did what, and Vincent stared through the window at the endless sea. Shera was drinking a soda from the limo´s minibar.

As they parked in front of Reeve´s company, Cloud´s eyes widened. Reeve, the former head of urban Development, now had a company that looked as wealthy as the Shinra. He hoped that, unlike President Shinra and his son Rufus, he didn´t let that kind of power corrupt him.

Reeve was tired of talking with mayor Juliani. Altough he knew that, given his company was the most important in the city, he would have to deal with the politicians, he prefered to use that time to run his company. He just nodded as the mayor told him another of its speeches.

"...and as you know, thanks to my government, the poor have become part of our society thanks to the social programs your company and many others fund..."

Reeve´s phone rang. He secretly wished it was to say a giant moster was attacking the city. Again.

"Excuse me, Mr. Juliani. Yes, Janine?"

"Sir, your guests have arrived."

"Thanks, Janine. Mr. Juliani, I´m afraid I must end our talk, but I´m sure that if you arrange a meeting between my people and yours, we both will find a way to help us each other." he said, as he accompanied the mayor to the door. Outside it were Cloud, Vincent, Cid and Shera.

"Hello guys! Long time no see you. How all have you been?"

"Hi Reeve. It´s great to see you again." Cloud said.

"Hello, Reeve." Vincent said, dryly.

"Damn! Why the hell did you make your whole building a "no smoking" area?" Cid reclaimed him.

"Cid! Reeve is our friend. At least say hi to him!" Shera said, as Cid muttered a "Hi."

Reeve invited them to his office. There they told him of what had happened in the last days.

"So Reeve, since many people from Shinra came to work with you, is it possible one of them had something to do with Hojo´s research?" Cloud asked. Vincent felt uneasy when he heard Hojo´s name.

"Well, one of our scientists, Dr. Rotschild has been conducting research regarding the few papers Hojo left at Shinra. We suspect some of them were stolen before we could get there."

"By who?" Cid asked.

"Scientists, scavengers, employees taking everything they could... who knows?"

"Then, let´s go see him." Cloud suggested.

Reeve made a brief phone call, and then he conducted the others to his private elvator. After a couple of minutes of going down, the elevator halted. A bald man with glasses and a lab coat was walking in circles, obviously impacient. He almost ran to them when he saw them.

"President Reeve, are those the subjects? The blond one obviously is a SOLDIER, I can tell by the eyes. An the quiet gentleman is also gave away by his red eyes too. But the blond one with the spear... he is obviously one of Hojo´s experiments, I can tell from a mile away."

Cloud, Reeve and Shera had to reprise the laughs when Cid began to curse against Dr. Rotshcild for calling him an "experiment". Vincent just smiled.

"Dr. Rotschild, I can assure you that Mr. Highwind, as far as I know, has nothing to do with Hojo´s experiments." Reeve said among laughs.

"Well, my mistake. But you two, come with me, let´s start the tests. Until now I had nothing but Hojo´s writings to aid me in my research of the Jenova cells." he said, as he guided them to his lab.

"What´s your interest in Jenova cells?" Vincent asked. One Hojo had been enough for the world.

"It´s purely theorical, I assure you. I don´t have any interest in experimenting with them, even if I had samples to work with."

As they came to a door, Dr. Rotschild let Vincent and Cloud get in. Reeve and the others waited outside, until, two hours later, Cloud and Vincent came out of the lab. Rotschild was obviously excited, reading and writing in the many pages he carried with him.

"Well, Doctor, any good news?" Cid asked, impatient.

"This is incredible! I never dreamt of something like this!"

"Please, explain to us all. In simple words." Reeve asked him.

Rotschild stared at Cloud and Vincent.

"I don´t know if you want to share the results..."

"Tell us all. We are a team. We can handle everything." Cloud said.

"Well, first, I made tests to determine how many Jenova cells your bodies had in them. It seems that both of you have unexpectedly high levels of them."

"What do you mean?" Vincent asked.

"In normal SOLDIERS, they had a radius of 1000 Jenova cells for each million of normal cells. The man named Cloud seems to have a radio of 30 Jenova cells for 1000 of his. The man named Vincent has the highest radio ever recorded: 46/1000!"

"Is that bad?" Shera asked.

"A normal human can handle a low level of Jenova cells for an undetermined time, thanks to Mako. The Jenova cells sustain in the Mako. You two have also high levels of Mako." Rotschild said.

"But, is that bad?" Reeve repeated the question.

"From a practical point of view, no. More Jenova cells and Mako means more power. I guess you two enjoy an abnormal level of strength; and it also allows you to heal very quickly and resist more magic attacks. And the changes Mr. Valentine described are also a result of his high level of Jenova cells. As you know, the Jenova cells allow a person the power to change its physical appearance."

"I remember, when we were chasing Sephiroth, it resulted we were chasing one of his clones who used that power to look like him." Cloud added.

"Exactly! As I have gathered from Hojo´s notes, those individuals had a large amount of Jenova cells in them. They could pass for anyone thanks to the morphing powers that accompanied them. The power was so strong, they could also alter their clothes to look like they wanted them to."

"So, it´s because of the cells, I change into those monsters?" Vincent asked.

"Yes. And a detail you may have missed. When you told me how Hojo changed you... When you locked yourself in that basement, how were you dressed?" Rotschild asked Vincent.

"In a blue suit, like the Turks use. But I don´t see..."

"Ah, but there´s an important point to my question! You also told me that, when you were found, you were clad in this red and black suit."

"Yes..." Vincent didn´t know where this questions lead to.

"Did you put it on yourself?"

"I always thought Hojo had put it on me somehow..."

"Was your Turks suit made of cotton; right?"

"Yes..." Vincent wa beginning to think this was pointless.

"And your claw? Did Hojo did that too?"

"I don´t remember it..." Vincent said, confused.

"Let me do a little demonstration. Miss, could you come here, and touch his claw?"

"It´s all right Shera." Vincent said.

Shera walked to Vincent. She was hesitant to touch his claw, but when she did, her eyes opened with surprise.

"It´s warm!" she almost screamed.

"Yes. At first, I thought it was artificial, but after some tests, I found the truth. It´s not a claw, it´s his arm." He said triumphant.

"What does this mean?" Reeve asked in shock.

"The high level of Jenova cells allowed this gentleman to change his appearance. The Jenova cells can alter the appereance of anything organical: bones, hair, and even organic materials like this man´s clothes. A true case of the body matching the mind."

"Do you mean, Vincent wishes to look like that?" Cid said, bewildered.

"Maybe not consciounsly. Maybe it´s your mind´s way of reminding you what happened when Hojo changed you." Rotschild ventured.

"Can Vincent look different if he wishes?" Cloud asked.

"It seems so. You all have seen him changing into the beasts under high stress situations. But it seems everytime he does, it´s out of his control. I don´t know how could you control that power, but it´s not out of the question that someday you could regain your normal appeareance."

Vincent thought about this news, as he stared at his claw. Did he really wanted to look like that? Was his conscience way of reminding him of his sins?

"But, what about the weakness we have experienced recently?" Vincent asked.

"As I have collected from the few notess Hojo made regarding his experiments, it seems he used two different proccesses with you two. He described in his notes that, regarding Mr. Strife, or "Proyect C" as he called him, he tried to find a way to make even more powerful SOLDIERS. That´s the reason you have such high levels of Mako and Jenova cells in you."

"What about me?" Vincent asked.

"There are a few notes here and there regarding a "proto-experiment V". It seems you were the first adult person he injected with both the Mako and the Jenova cells. As I have read his notes concerning the experiments he made in the Nibel reactor, he had found that too many Jenova cells transformed the subjects into monsters. It seems he wanted to see what would happen if he used less Jenova cells in an effort to discover what transformed these people. It seems he found that too many Jenova cells transformed the individuals. An army of monsters would had been useless for the Shinra. Years later, the process was refined to make the SOLDIERs."

"So, you say too many Jenova cells are bad?" Cloud asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. The cells need high amounts of energy to survive, that´s why the SOLDIERs were infused with Mako. In both your cases, the Mako level is decreasing because there are just too many Jenova cells in your bodies. To make it short, they´re devouring your normal cells to sustain themselves. As a result, you both will become older, as there will be no new cells for your bodies to sustain on. I´m sorry."

"Wait a damn minute! You say they will become older with each passing day? Then why Vincent still looks young?" Cid asked.

"It seems that, even in such weak state, the Jenova cells can sustain that illusion of youth. Very simple, if you compare it to the transformations in such monsters. But, as they grow weaker, your appeareance will grow more according to your real age..."

"How many time do we have left?" Cloud asked.

"Well, I have good, and bad news regarding it. The good news is, that with Mako-based treatments, you will be able to live longer. But it would be like throwing gasoline into the ashes. It still burns bright, but..."

"When the gasoline is burnt completely, the fire also ceases. Unless you add more gasoline." Vincent ended.

"Yes. But eventually, more and more gasoline is needed. It´s a one side equation. Eventually, you would still die."

"How much could we still live with those treatments?" Cloud asked again.

"Around 10 to 20 years. It seems a lot, but that would mean the most you could live would be enough to celebrate your fortieth birthday." Rotschild concluded.

Suddenly, Cloud felt the need to seat. 20 years at most. It sounded a lot, but to him, it was almost his whole life. How could he tell this to Tifa? Vincent just remained silent.

"We could start right away. I have a small research reactor at my lab."

"Just... Give me a minute, Doctor..." Cloud said, his face buried in his hands.

"Of course."

Barret was furious. He readed the note again, then he called Marlene to come.

"Yes, daddy?"

"Marlene, your teacher says ya argued in front of da class with her ´bout a theme you were studyin´. What was that theme?" Barret asked.

"She told us about those big battles called wars. I told her my daddy had been in one. She said "Really? Tell us." and then I began to tell everybody the stories you tell me before going to sleep. Everybody began to laugh, and she told me "You shouldn´t say those lies, miss Wallace." Then I told her those weren´t lies, and I told her that word you said when the toaster wouldn´t work, and then..."

"Enough! Marlene, daddy will go talk with dat woman who doesn´t know what she´s talking ´bout!" he said, banging his fist in a nearby table.

"She told me to say to you to go see her after class is over."

"I´ll be there!" Barret ended.

The man was sitting quietly in a clear in the Ancient Forest. Covered in wolf hides, his bare skin painted with ritual paints, and with a human skull in his face as a mask, he clearly was waiting for something.

A helicopter descended in the clear, not far from him. The man opened his eyes in time to see the pilot walking over to him. The pilot talked him about the civilization his ancestors had told him about, how he would be rewarded if he came with him. He just stared at the man.

Then the pilot showed him a photo of his dreaded enemies and offered him a chance of revenge against the N´chaka, The Ones who Talked, as the visions had told him. The man grabbed his spear, adorned with bones and feathers, and followed the man to the helicopter. Once, his people had been almost exterminated. It was time to get what was rightfully his.

The General saw Hojo go through his notes, as the scientists he had hired ran from one place to another, checking lectures in machines. Hojo was ecstatic. Soon, his greatest achievement would live again.

"Professor, how much time will be until he comes back?" Powers asked, as he lit up a cigar.

"Anytime now. And I trust my new specimen is on its way here." Hojo said.

"It´s in its way. It was the biggest they could capture, trust me. And I hope you can assure me the experiment will be a complete success."

"Don´t worry. The DNA sample is one I got before he took Wutai and was named Great General by President Shinra."

Then a scientist got close to Hojo and showed him some papers. Hojo readed them, excited.

"Yes! Prepare, everyone! Decrease the Mako in a 97%, and make sure the pulsations are over 70 at every moment." Hojo said, as he ran to where the silver container was. Connected to various machines and tubes, the light on it suddenly went from red to green. Hojo smiled as he saw a hand opening the lid. The General approached to salute his old friend.

"Colonel Sephiroth, is a pleasure to welcome you back."

Sephiroth´s eyes took a moment to accustom again to light. He saw Powers and Hojo, standing in front of him, before dismaying.

The Seventh chapter, and so much goodness! The return of Sephiroth, explanations on Vincent´s past and a couple new threats in the horizon. Can you wait for the next chapter?

-Explanation on the DNA thing: Some researches point that memory is stored in DNA. Since it would be illogical that anyone wanted a mad Sephiroth, they would have to use DNA prior to Sephiroth´s trip to Nibelheim.

-Who is "Captain Starford"? And the man in wolf hides? Are you ready for "The Unknow Soldiers"?