Crisis Core: The Female SOLDIER

21

Zack and Sera both rushed out of the elevator when it had finally stopped, coming to a stop when they saw Hojo standing in front of a control panel.

"Professor...?" Zack called out, moving towards him as Sera stayed back. "Ah, you're safe."

"Shh! Please, be more quiet..." Hojo told Zack, looking at his clipboard.

"The building is under attack by the Genesis army. They may be after you, Professor Hojo," Zack announced.

'Please, feel free to kill this man,' Sera mentally implored. 'It would do the world a lot of good if he's dead.'

Hojo gave the two a glance, his eyes lingering on Sera a bit more. "And you're my protection?"

'Unfortunately, yes,' Sera thought.

"In any case, we have to evacuate. Will you come with us?" Zack asked him.

Hojo let out a disturbing chuckle. "Degrading monsters are nothing to fear." Sera scowled angrily when he said those words.

"Are you talking about Genesis...?"

Hojo turned to faced the two of them and Sera looked away, but she knew he was staring at her. "Indeed. A memento from an unenlightened era, when men could deem any unclassified form an Ancient."

"Unclassified life form?" Zack repeated, confused.

"Jenova, the calamity that fell from the sky." Sera narrowed her eyes at that.

"Uh..."

"The files, Zack," Sera spoke up then, heading towards him. "Didn't you read the reports?"

Hojo turned and walked away from them. "Your ignorance is of no consequence. SOLDIER's duty is not to think-- it is to protect men who think for them, like me."

"I would prefer to kill you than to protect you," Sera muttered lowly to herself.

A few minutes of silence later, Hojo looked back up from his clipboard. "Did you not say I may have unwanted company? Are you prepared to defend this brilliant mind with your life?"

"Of course I'm prepared! Come and get it is what I say!" Zack brought his hands to his hips. "I'll show them the power of the next generation SOLDIER 1st Class! Right, Sera?"

Sera just sighed but nodded slightly at his words.

"Heh heh heh... Most encouraging," Hojo laughed creepily as he commented. "I won't abide any losses to some second-rate scientist's monster creations."

Suddenly Sera snapped and moved forward to grab the front of Hojo's shirt, slamming him against the railings as she glared at him in rage. "Now listen, you pathetic excuse for a human being! The only monster I see here is you! Not Genesis! And certainly not Angeal!" Sera yelled, no longer able to stay silent any longer. "And should I hear you call them that again, you won't need to worry about Hollander and his army coming, I'll kill you myself." She hissed, shoving the man away from her before she decided to act on her words.

But the despicable man just smiled, "So vicious. And this is coming from the one who is meant to protect me? What would the higher-ups say?"

Sera growled and Zack made to pull Sera back before she could grab the scientist again when black feathers decided to fall all around them. "Well, look who's here!" Hojo announced, turning to glance behind him to see Genesis standing a few paces away from him. Sera reached towards her gun but did not take it out even when Genesis had pointed his sword at Hojo. "Hollander sent you, correct? You think that if you obey Hollander, he'll stop your body from degrading, is that it? Pitiful...just pitiful, I say." Hojo shook his head in mock sympathy.

"Genesis," Zack growled as he drew his sword at the black winged SOLDIER. Hojo chuckled, the two of them looking towards him. "A second-rate hack like Hollander couldn't cure a cold!" Hojo crowed.

"Genesis, that's enough!" Angeal suddenly appeared, having flown in from above with his pristine white wing. Sera still did nothing, mainly content to just watch the scene unfold.

"Ah, what do we have here?" Hojo asked, glancing at the new addition.

"My friend, the fates are cruel, There are no dreams, no honor remains," Genesis quoted. "The arrow has left the bow of the Goddess."

"The entire cast of Hollander's freak show!"

"Shut up, you!" Both Sera and Zack shouted, unknowingly at the same time.

"LOVELESS, Act IV," Genesis continued.

"Where the two friends challenged each other to a duel," Hojo summarized, and the two winged SOLDIERs, Sera, and Zack looked to Hojo in surprise. "An ancient epic," Hojo stated. "I read it thinking it might aid my research, but... pure drivel."

"How does the duel end?" Angeal asked the scientist.

"Unknown. The last act is missing, and yet to be discovered."

"There are various theories," Genesis interjected, walking past everyone else. He stopped in front of the large glass tube which was used to hold experiments, in the center of the room, and turned to face them. He raised his hand, magic gathering into it and blasted it at the tube, causing it to erupt into a shower of glass as the blast went through into the wall behind, creating an opening, exposing the outside. "The mysterious gift of the Goddess... What is the meaning behind it? For us, at least." He then turned and flew off through the opening.

"Sera, stay here and guard Hojo, just as a precaution," Angeal ordered as he picked up Zack and they flew off after the man in red. Before Sera could protest, the three SOLDIERs were already gone.

She sighed heavily. 'Great, I have to guard this sick freak. Just my luck,' Sera thought as she turned to look at the laughing man. She glared. "I hope you know that I will turn a blind eye should any of the copies or machines come over and kill you. That is the extent of my hatred towards you." She informed the scientist.

Hojo laughed even more. "I'm sure you will. And your hatred will grow even more so should you find out the truth."

"The truth?" Sera repeated, eyebrows raised.

"They have it all hidden..." She could hear the man mumble to himself. "No one knows... I've always said tell them, but no one wants to hurt the feelings," the man's laugh grew even more manic. "As if Sephiroth has feelings!"

"What are you talking about?" Sera demanded. Hojo knew something, something related to her mentor, and she wanted to know what. "What about Sephiroth?"

"Your mentor is not who you think he is. I wonder... what would he do if he learned the truth?"

"What truth?"

"About his origins."

"His origins?" Sera grew even more confused. And it irritated her to no end. "What do you mean? Stop speaking in riddles, Hojo!"

Hojo gave her one of his disturbing grins. "That he is-"

"Sera," They both turned to see Tseng and a young woman wearing a Turk uniform, one Sera recognized from her shoulder-length wavy red hair to be Cissnei, another person she had befriended from her missions with the Turks, standing behind them. "Good work, we'll take it from here now. You can go and assist the other SOLDIERs."

"Wait, he hasn't answered my question yet," Sera turned back to the laughing scientist. "What does he not know? What are you talking about?"

"Don't worry about it, Sera," Cissnei interjected. "It's not important."

"How can it not be important? This is my mentor we're talking about here," Sera demanded, then her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What are you all hiding?"

"It's not something that you need to be concerned about," Tseng answered, his voice suspiciously monotone. "Now go."

Sera frowned but decided not to press further, knowing it would be futile. With one last glare towards the cackling scientist, Sera turned and left.

Now there were even more questions when some had already been answered. Just what was going on? What were they hiding? And last of all - What did Hojo mean about Sephiroth's origins? Sephiroth's human just like her and everyone else... wasn't he?