Faithless Memories

Cold Hard Truth

Chapter 59

It was only a matter of a few minutes before Tseng returned. By that time, the rest of the room had settled back into a semblance of calm. Genesis' parents were both back on the other side of the room, but he was no longer glaring at them every time his gaze passed over them. When Kris noticed it the first time, she smiled. It was a step in the right direction at least.

She also had a better handle on her temper. Or she hoped she did. No one had said anything to her after Tseng left. Genesis had wrapped her in another embrace and held her there until the Turk's return.

Tseng sent her a glare when he walked back in, but his voice was far calmer than it was when he walked out. "Now that you have us all on edge, why don't you start from the beginning, and let's not skip around this time. I don't want you to leave anything out."

Kris sighed at his implied threat, as well as his unspoken question. Unfortunately, she still had no intention of telling him how she knew. The rest, she could roll with. She motioned to the chairs. "Have a seat. This is going to take a while."

Once everyone was seated again, they all turned to her with various looks, ranging from curious to angry. Kris sighed and put her head in her hands. They had already touched on the Jenova Project, but only the basics. There was so much more, and so many more levels that she wasn't even sure Hollander knew about. Plus, it was all interconnected. In the end, everyone in this room was affected by the Science Department in some way, except Zack. At least not yet, thankfully.

Tseng had said to start at the beginning, but how far back was that? She sighed again as she looked up and purposely avoided looking in Hollander's direction. She knew she needed to keep herself under control if they were going to get through this, and seeing his face would not help.

Her voice was strained when she spoke. "Fine, from the beginning. You were already told that Professor Gast started the Jenova project because he believed her to be a Cetra. It ended up being Professors Hojo and Hollander that ultimately carried out the two separate projects that produced children. Like Genesis explained, they were different, but you all have Jenova's cells imbued in your bodies and have had since before you were born."

There was grumbling at her statements, but no one asked further questions. They all knew Tseng had been correct and wanted to get to the bottom of this. It helped that so far, what she had said had been confirmed by Genesis, and indirectly by Hollander himself.

She shook her head and continued. "As heinous as those experiments were, they were just the beginning. Hojo still hasn't stopped." Several people started talking at that point, including Hollander, but a glare from Kris shut the man up. A glare from Tseng quieted the rest of them.

Kris looked over at Genesis and squeezed his hand. "I know this is hard, but no matter what, I love you."

It was the first time she had said those words in front of anyone else, and despite the circumstances, Genesis found himself reassured. He knew they were only words, and words only held meaning when actions backed them, but he knew Kristobel was not one to use them lightly.

Neither of them had noticed the shocked look from several of the others in the room, or the very disturbed Puppy, much less the glare from Tseng when Genesis leaned over and brushed his lips against hers before he responded. "There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the Goddess. I have seen it first hand, so have no doubt that I know you will be steadfast."

Tseng had already seen enough. "I said no interruptions."

Kris glared over at him. "Don't get pissy with me because you don't have someone here to hold your hand too. I know it sucks." Part of her regretted her lack of control of her tongue when he started to stand, but only almost. She took a deep breath and motioned him to sit back down. She knew things were going to get harder for him shortly as well, so she couldn't afford to antagonize him. They all needed her help.