Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ I Know What Lies Beneath the Snowfields ❯ Chapter 68 ( Chapter 68 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"I Know What's Beneath the Snow Fields"
Chapter 68

If ever a presence evoked such dread, Hojo's well exceeded any other. All
around, ghosts and ghouls crowded the shadows to behold their king, a devil
worst than Satan himself. The creature stood poised at the very end of the
side-bridge. His lanky frame could barely be distinguished from the
darkness. Yet his round specs, like two brilliant flashlights, gleamed
yellow malice from one side to the other; from Vincent and the boy, over to
Davoren.

Nobody knew when or how Professor Hojo had crept here, nor did the scene
require much to understand: just the sight of the gunman, with his weapon
flung upon the floor, explained it all.

Apperently, the sly Professor had foreseen such treachery. Indeed, that
peculiar "resentment" he caught in Davoren's eyes had long played upon his
suspicions. So strong, Hojo hadn't persued Aeris as believed (he could
capture her anytime), but instead, lurked the shadows while observing the
battle from afar.

And much to his displeasure, his suspicions proved correct.

"I might have expected you'd eventually betray me, Mr.Davoren," Hojo
hissed severely, "But never had I dreamed it would be for THIS!"

The monster, already fuming rage, emerged from the darkness, out where
everyone could feel his odious aura. His hard glare warned of dire
punishment. From his place, however, the gunman only gazed back in a
mixture of indifference and fatigue.

"You are mistaken, Professor. I am still your slave. You can kill me if
you want, or spare my life," Davoren's eyes strayed far into sorrow as he
added tiredly, "..it never mattered to me. Ever since I lost him..it never
mattered."

Beyond that, he could say no more; the words got caught in his throat.
Gone that smiling confidence and brutality. All drowned by lonesome
despair. As he appeared now, even breathing seemed a heavy burden.

In the end, nothing had changed. Davoren may have succumbed, but he still
considered himself Professor Hojo's property; a lowly dog who simply did
not care how his master treated him.

Unfortunately, the Professor was neither amused nor pleased. He regarded
this as outright treason, and would not forgive. For by discarding his gun,
Davoren had openly defied orders. Hojo could take his life, but he could
never make him fight again.

He could never make him kill the boy.

For a long moment, Hojo stood there arrogantly posed while pondering this
problem, never once lifting his glower off the traitor. Irritation crumpled
his whole face. Even his high forehead pinched over into a tight knot. He
may have appeared wasted: his clothes, especailly the labcoat, were ragged;
his raven-black hair dangled all about in chaos. But no one dared demote
the eeriness this withered creature emanated. That alone seemed to hold
this entire scene in aching suspense.

Whatever verdict Professor Hojo reached, it certainly would not be
merciful. He tied his two scrawny arms behind, then paced forward. His slow
footsteps drummed the beat of Death. All eyes followed.

"Honestly, Mr.Davoren," he snorted with enough venom to poison the man, "I
always thought you were a sentimental idiot, even back then. I cannot
understand why everyone admired you so much. The 'great' leader of the
Turks, more prone to petty emotion than reason!"

A dreadful premonition spiralled up through the air. Vincent remained
stern in place. Anticiaption darkened his demeanour, more so as he gripped
the gun tighter. To be honest, he knew not what he'd do if the Professor
tried to harm Davoren. Rufus lingered tensely behind. Quite obvously, he
feared for the gunman.

To contrast, Davoren showed the least concern. Let Death take him, or may
he lived forever in contempt. Either way he didn't seem to care. He stood
slouched up upon two weak feet, still clutching his injured arm even though
he hardly noticed the pain; the mental anguish felt far more bitter.

Since he lost "him", it never mattered. The loss had carved a wound deep
into his heart, where everything drained away: not just strength, but
emotion, will, and integrity.

The side-path merged into the main bridge. It led upon the wide space
separating Vincent and Davoren. The callous Professor stepped here, so that
between them, both men could see him in full view. Hojo confronted the
traitor straight out, almost pouncing on him. For now, he ignored the two
men in the background.

"And this only proves my point! Look what you betray me for! A bumbling
lunatic!" snarled the scientist, gesturing indignantly towards Rufus, "That
you would develop such a pathetic...'soft spot' for this wretch! UGH!"

His open brashness outraged the listeners more than Davoren himself. Rufus
scowled. His fists tightened to restrain his anger and rising anxiety.
Though Vincent's visage remained stone-hard, inside boiled deep hatred.

Nevertheless, they remained silent. Davoren let the brazen scientist snub
him to the dirt; the experience certainly was not new. He accepted it all
with vaccant eyes cast downwards.

Hojo could have killed him there and then, However, the slimy-skinned
monstrosity, after another violent oath, suddenly wheeled half-way around
to face the other two men.

Events brought them to a second encounter. He returned Vincent's glare
with twice the spite: this stubborn man was rapidly becoming a thorn in his
side. Only two ways to remove him: Death or relinquish Aeris. (And since
Hojo would never even consider the second option, that left Death for
Vincent). Not only had he won the battle, he also reduced Davoren to this
incompetent state.

His attention then flashed onto Rufus, who though a bit shaken by that
viciousness, still maintained a firm stand. It flustered Hojo to know his
henchman dared betray him for this "lunatic", when in fact he had only been
assigned to keep him alive. However, the Professor's fury slowly abated to
contemptuous thoughtfullness. Indeed, those reptilian eyes seemed to hone
in on a secret deep within Rufus; somewhere beyond the boy's reach.

"Yes..this wretched boy," he mused aloud, "He suffers from severe
emotional trauma and amnesia, with occasional mental instabilities. In any
case, it is quite unlikely he will ever recover."

He added, rather mockingly, "Such a shame. He would have told you some
interesting facts. This boy is actually an accomplice to my experiment."

At fisrt, Vincent thought he had misheard the word: an "accomplice"? As in
a partner in crime? He glanced quizzically towards Rufus. The confused boy
only gaped back at the Professor; he didn't understand either.

"Feh! Don't go dragging him in too, Professor," spat Davoren restrainedly.
He cared nothing about his own fate, but wouldn't allow anyone to involve
the boy, "Rufus wasn't even born when you started this mess."

"No, of course not."

Hojo haughtily adjusted his specs, tilting his chin up for added effect.
Upon his lips hovered a mysterious smile, "But you will soon discover, Sir,
both father and son have much to do with this experiment."

His riddles stirred more dread. Vincent's sharp gaze narrowed upon this
devil in search for answers: what did he mean? How could two ShinRa
generations have any share in this madness? On the other side, Davoren
waited in anticiaption. Obviously, the same questions pestered his mind.

But most anxious of all was Rufus. For some reason, that strange word
troubled him to the core.

It amused the cruel Professor to torture his listeners with suspense. He
strolled over to the iron balustrade at perfect ease. There, he gripped the
railing with one hand, and whimsically gazed into the black abyss below as
if into the distant past.

"JENOVA Project consists of two parts, the first being Sephiroth's birth,"
he spoke deliberately into the pit, "That part, as you recall, was
conducted in Nibelheim. Old President ShinRa fully supported it. Oh yes, he
provided us with all the necessary equpiment, safety, and funding."

Nothing new, but the tension grew so heated, it burned their nerves.

"And..he also supported the second part...*my* experiment...
'Genesis Retrial'. It was a secret only he and I knew: I would take the
Project to a higher level, and he provided me with everything I needed,"
Hojo's smile widened as he peered askance to Vincent,
"...even human test subjects."

It spelled one word: conspiracy.

The sudden revelation struck both Vincent and Davoren harder than
lightening. They gaped amidst a whirl of pure shock, having heard the
Professor, but failed to fully comprehend. They'd been locked in darkness
for an eternity, and now a burst of light had exploded full into their
eyes. They've only just begun to see.

"Then..President ShinRa..*knew* you'd alter our bodies?" Davoren blurted
in astonishment, "He sent to us Nibelheim...on purpose??"

"It was a set-up," breathed Vincent sternly. His pulse raced to absorb
this blow.

"Quite so. President ShinRa..heheh..'donated' you both to science,"
chuckled the Professor at their conternation, "He then had all your records
destroyed, all traces erased, and you became the experiment's property."

The truth stood out bare and ugly,, yet nobody could grasp it. Vincent's
mind rushed back thirty-one years. There, President ShinRa greeted him with
a cheerful guffaw, between his fingers a cigar. The uncouth, corpulent man
would waddle around excitedly, always busy, always scheming.

Scheming ways to strengthen his empire. If sucessful, "Genesis Retrail"
would spawn a creation far superior than any Sephiroth...just the power
President ShinRa would love to control. He had always lusted for money and
power, as much as Hojo lusted for science. So, they'd combine their
interests: he provided Hojo with the means, and Hojo provided him with
results.

Hojo had needed human test subjects, and President ShinRa sent him two
subjects. Both Vincent and Davoren had long fallen victims to a conspiracy.
Only now did they realize it. Thirty-one years ago (such a long time!),
they walked into Nibelheim: two men unwarily delivered to become
"correcting fragments". All Hojo had to do was receive them.

Vincent still remembered that day ShinRa bid him farewell before his
departure. No, he didn't see what ulterior motives lurked behind those
piggish eyes. Human life was cheap to ShinRa, and now they truely realized
how cheap.

It took Vincent another moment before the truth finally sunk in. On
looking across to Davoren, he found the man at a complete loss.

"Time passed," the Professor resumed. He strolled along, running his
fingers over the railing in smug confidence, "I became busy testing and
analysing Sephiroth, as well as accumulating data on the Cetra. I was
preparing for 'Genesis Retrial'. But shortly before I finalised my results,
the President was murdered. Then as you know, Rufus ShinRa assumed
presidency."

When he stopped, it was a short distance away from Vincent. However,
Hojo's shrewd eyes dwelt upon the boy behind, "We held a secret meeting. I
fully revealed the details of my experiment to Rufus: theory, results,
data, and the ultimate outcome. As I expected, he became much interested."

First came the father. It was the son's turn next.

"He provided me with everything I needed to take this experiment to its
final stages. In fact, Rufus ShinRa granted me full use of this secret
laboratory and all other services the company could offer."

Rufus' face paled. He stared speechless at the Professor, his
"accomplice", as he heard this dark piece of *his* past unfold.

"Without him, I could never have come this far," the amused scientist
admitted. He looked around between the two men for a reaction, "Hehee...I
even showed him the files on you gentlemen. It listed all your
abnormalities, my personal observations, relevant data and analysis. He saw
and knew everything about the experiment!"

At fisrt, Vincent could not guess how Rufus had known the experiment's
name or why he'd feel he had seen his face before; they had never met. Now
it made sense. While that scanner-machine searched for some 'information',
it had spilled vague memories upon his mind: his past, the explosion, and
the experiment. Endless texts, photographs of the specimens, complex
diagrams...all memories of 'Genesis Retrial'."

Hojo scoffed outloud, with an arrogant gesture obviously meant to deride
Davoren, "Any pity on Rufus would be wasted; he showed none for you. He
could very well had terminated my experiment..possibly had me charged for a
string of nonsense. But no. Instead, he supported me. It didn't bother him
what I had done to three men in the past or how I used them, just as long
as I achieved success."

Rufus would have spoken out had he the strength. He struggled to
comprehend this atrocity which now lay at his feet. He tried so hard to
remember. Nothing. That memory was forever lost.

But, his sad face admitted this somwhow to be true. If he could not
recall, he certainly felt the smudge on his consciousness. Just like
Davoren had said: it didn't matter whether he remembered or forgot. He was
like them, guilty of so many crimes, even this one. No doubt those truthful
words stung him now, more bitter because Davoren himself was standing
there. Perturbation, anger, and shame all overwhelmed this boy. For once,
couldn't he see himself for what he truely was?

Perhaps Davoren too felt the sting of his own words upon Rufus. He watched
the boy in a solemnity tinted by gentle concern. Vincent studied Rufus a
moment, then returned to Hojo. He felt a keen revulsion sicken his stomach.

Father and son think exactly alike, Vincent thought to himself, they're
both greedy jackals.

The second President had merely sought to finish what the first President
started, and reap the rewards for himself. Power and wealth held such
allurement to the ShinRa's. Both generations were accomplices to this
experiment.

However, something strange suddenly caught Vincent's attention.

"..'three'?"he echoed in puzzlement.Hojo had said "three men"

Davoren too noticed the mistake, "There were only two. I was the first,
Vincent the second."

"No," argued Hojo. He smirked over his shoulder at the baffled gunman,
"You weren't the first. Another man was before you."

His riddle mystified the listeners in an air of premontion. They waited as
though for a time-bomb to explode. Hojo, still focused on Davoren, turned
to face the confounded man. His aura reeked of something heinous. Everyone,
especially Vincent, discerned its foul stench.

"I couldn't perform such delicate alterations fresh upon the human test
subjects," spoke the monster to Davoren alone, "I needed a specimen
to..'practice' on first, just to make sure I get the all the procudures
right."

Indeed, a cold, sinister meaning played behind those words. Vincent tensed
as he felt it crawl up his spine. For some reason, he didn't want Davoren
to hear the rest, as if it would destroy him to dust. But by then, it was
already too late. The perplexed gunman said, "I was never told of this."

"And for a good reason," replied Hojo, "That man was your brother."