Don't Play with Fire (Turks FF7)

27) Confronting Hojo

After seeing people fall off the Sister Ray earlier, I'm not too thrilled about having to get up there, but I leave the Shinra building anyway. I remember seeing a staircase in Sector 8 when we were outside this afternoon and jog to the location, looking up at the massive structure and take a deep breath. Don't freak out now, Kat. You've only just gotten here.

"This is stupid," I say to myself as I begin my ascent, forcing myself not to look down. The stench of burnt mako fills my nose, the heat of Meteor making my forehead break out in a thin layer of sweat. It's getting so close. I shake my head and check my rod, making sure my Lightning materia is equipped and tuck it back where it belongs, already positive that my gun is loaded. The dagger in my boot feels less comfortable than usual, not that it's something that feels comfy there anyway.

My shoe looses traction on the slick surface of the metal, a short gasp escaping me as I catch my balance quickly. I remember Reno comparing me to a cat once because I used to be able to climb up the smoothest of walls and land on my feet just as easily when I jumped down, hence the name Kitty Kat. I look down at the ground and swallow hard, trying so very hard to breathe evenly and just keep going. I was too busy dealing with Corneo last time I was up this high, but trust me, looking back makes me want to vomit. Almost there. Something catches my eye and I notice a band of people falling from the sky. What the...? Then something white billows out and I understand. Avalanche is here.

"Hey Cid," I mumble, watching them all descend from a distance before turning back to my job. I need to hurry. Sighing, I speed up. This sure is a long way up, Hojo. With a frown, I think about my next move. There's one more piece of the puzzle I need answered for me to remember the rest of those last three years. Obviously not everything has come back, but what all I needed to know is there. Except for one thing.

The problem: Reeve, Midgar, Amelia, the Turks, maybe even Tyler, they're depending on someone to even be alive tomorrow. If I learn the answer to my last question, will I be able to kill the man who took care of me for three years, despite what he did for science, and despite what he's done to others? He was there to give me hope. No one expected Hojo to even have a softer side. By now, I know it's gone, but back then, no one could deny how close we we're. That's why I didn't kill him when the asylum burned. I couldn't do it. I wasn't strong enough. What would have changed that since then?

I shake my head. I need to know. By the time I reach Hojo's location, I've grown so nervous that my palms are coated with sweat and my stomach has worked itself into a tight knot. I walk up to where he types silently, freezing when he does. I don't move a muscle, not even when he turns and pulls a gun on me.

"Do you know what I did to the last Turk that meddled "

"I, uh, yes?"

"What do you want?" He narrows his beady eyes on me. "I have work to do."

"I just wanted to ask you a question about my past. Well, not really my past. It's sort of now too?"

"I haven't got all day."

"You remember me from Sector 2, right?"

"Of course. Daughter of Jonathan McGee."

"Good," I exhe heavily. "Um, so the voices? I've been regaining my memory for a few months now and I feel like this is kinda the last thing I need to know. I just... Who is it that's in my head, controlling me all the time? Talking and stuff?" Hojo frowns, straightening.

"You really should check the history of your father before approaching his nemesis, I must say." A loud bang echoes through my head, hot metal tearing through my chest, the burning still there when I drop to the ground, clutching the bleeding wound. "The voices, hm?" Why didn't I kill him when I had the chance? "Before you were born, conceived even, Professor McGee working in the same laboratory as I did. When I discovered what Jenova cells could do and concocted an injection, a rough draft of sorts, for SOLDIER that was much stronger than before, one meant for Sephiroth only. Your father stole a vial out of jealousy and injected himself to prove that it wouldn't work." He turns back to the keyboard, setting his weapong down within easy reach.