The Reason

Chapter 10

“I’m afraid.” Jexebel said to Vincent. They were stopped outside the lab.

“Of what?” Vincent asked.

“Of what they will find. Finding out that I really AM the bad guy like you think I am.”

Vincent sighed. “Jexebel. You are NOT the ‘bad guy’. I am sorry that I’ve made you feel that way. Look, it’s not what’s in your past, okay? You remember what I told you a few days ago? I was a Turk even before the Jenova war. I WAS one of the bad guys. That doesn’t mean I have to be now, though. The woman that runs this lab; she was a Tsviet in the Deepground crisis, but she made the decision to help us instead. Whatever we discover, you are Jexebel Strange. You are beautiful, caring, talented, intelligent, and absolutely amazing. Nothing in your past can change that. It IS the past. Our past actions don’t matter. Only our present.”

Jexebel smiled at him. “You know, I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you say voluntarily.”

He pinched her arm. “Get in there.” He ordered softly, pulling her into the lab.

“Vincent Valentine.” Came a soft voice from his left. He turned.

“Shelke.” The young woman had changed considerably sinse the last time he saw her. Her body had finally overcome the effects of the mako, and she had aged rapidly. She now looked her age, instead of being trapped in the form of a ten-year-old girl.

“It’s been a while. Who is your fr-” Shelke cut herself short when she got a look at Jexebel’s face.

“Quietus . . .” She whispered.

“Excuse me?” Jexebel asked, confusion evident in her voice.

“Vincent Valentine, this woman is-”

“As innocent as you are, Shelke. We need to find out who she is. Can you give her a scan?” Vincent interrupted.

“No need. I can tell you who she is. Quietus. The Finishing Blow. She was our back-up plan.”

“Back-up plan?” Jexebel asked.

“You really don’t know, do you?” Shelke said. “You were one of us. A Tsviet. You were Hojo’s favorite toy. When Weiss began attempting to wake Omega, he knew we had to have a back-up plan. A safety net, of sorts. Have you transformed yet?”

Vincent’s heart stopped beating. He looked at Jexebel. She wore an unreadable expression.

“Transformed?” She asked, her voice shaky.

“Yes. Quietus is a Cetran demon, not too different from Chaos. Here,” Shelke gestured for Jexebel to follow her to a large scanning machine. “Let’s find out why you don’t remember any of this.”

Jexebel lay on the table, her eyes closed and her breath held as the lasers scanned her brain.

Why were her fears always justified?


“There.” Shelke pointed to a large dark spot on the scan of Jexebel’s brain. “It’s Mako. Lots of it. I’m surprised that she’s not comatose. It looks like someone tried to kill her. That’s why she doesn’t remember who she is, and why she knows these things. It’s small portions of her brain trying to eliminate the mako.”

Vincent looked haggard. According to Shelke’s earlier assumptions, if the Mako was not treated, Jexebel would eventually go crazy. “Can you fix it?” He asked.

“Well, yes. But it will take time, and when it’s done, she will remember everything. She’ll still be the same person, it won’t make her switch sides or anything, but knowing who she was and what she’s done may be hard for her to accept. She would probably have some depression issues.”

“We can work through that. When can you start?”

“Shouldn’t you ask me what I want to do?” Jexebel asked from behind the two.

She had gone to the restroom, returning to find Vincent and Shelke looking over her scans and talking about her.

Vincent turned around. “Do you WANT to go insane?”

“No, of course not. But I would like to have the opportunity to say for myself what I want done to my brain. Thank you, Shelke, I would be very grateful if you could do what you need to. Help me get rid of this.”

Shelke nodded and made to leave the room. “Let me get the things you’ll need to prepare.”

“Wait!” Jexebel said. Shelke stopped. “What about my mother? Is she even my mother? If not, why did she act like she was?”

“Chances are, she WAS your mother. You – like me – were taken from your family as a child. When you survived the poisoning, the person responsible dumped you somewhere. You awoke, and had forgotten about everything that happened and went back to the place of your birth.”

Jexebel appeared lost in thought. “My mother did seem surprised to see me. What about Milo?”

Shelke went to her computer and typed in the name. “Milo Strange never existed. When your mind couldn’t access that area of your brain, it probably supplied a reason that you had been gone for so long. It might have something to do with the chip in your back.”

“Chip?” Now Jexebel sounded exasperated.

“Yes. When people were taken into Deepground, they were inserted with chips that are linked to the mainframe. If a person escapes, or is captured, that link is severed so that he or she cannot tell our secrets. When you were disposed of, they probably deactivated the chip, and in the self destruct sequence, some of them provide ‘lives’ for the soldiers.”

“So . . . this Hojo . . . is it the same man that-” Jexebel started.

“Yes.” Vincent interrupted. “It is the same man.”

Shelke left the room to gather supplies. Just as the door closed, Vincent’s phone rang.

“Valentine.” He said.

“Valentine. Have you found anything yet?” It was Rufus.

“Yes.”

“Good. Come to my office and report what you have learned.” He hung up, giving Vincent no time to argue.

“I have to go.” Vincent said, leaning down and placing a chaste kiss on Jexebel’s forehead. “You’ll be okay. Call me if you need anything, alright?”

“Okay. I will.”



Oh she needed him, alright.

Shortly after Vincent left, Shelke returned carrying a large bag. She zipped it open to reveal three very large syringes. That was fine. No problem. Then, Shelke retrieved one of the syringes and started towards Jexebel.

Something inside her snapped. Jexebel rolled backwards off the table and threw the metal slab between them. She backed away, into the corner, looking very much like a chocobo pinned by a red dragon.

“Relax, Quietus, you won’t even feel it!” Shelke said, once again advancing.

“NO!” Jexebel said. She picked up a tray of sharp tools and flung it at Shelke. She ducked, sighing. She pushed a button on her watch and spoke into it.

“Kisaragi?”

“Yeah?” Came a woman’s voice.

“I require assistance in the lab, please. Bring Valentine.”

“VINCENT’S HERE?!” The voice screeched.

“Later, Kisaragi. He’s with Rufus. Tell him there is an emergency in the lab and his assistance is required immediately.”




“So she was a Tsviet, then.” Tseng said after Vincent’s explanation.

“Yes, but Shelke has assured me that nothing we do to revive her memories will change her temperament.”

“And they are currently starting the process that will cure her?”

“Yes.”

“What does it involve?”

“I’m not sure, Sir. You called before they st-”

“Vincent!” A woman burst through the door with Reno and Rude draped across her body, as if trying to stop her.

Vincent instantly recognized her.

“Hello, Yuffie.”

“Save it, Valentine! This isn’t friendly. Shelke needs you. She says there’s an emergency in the lab.”

Vincent flew from the room before Yuffie even finished her sentence.

He burst through the doors of the lab with Tseng, Reno, Rude, and Yuffie hot on his tail. The sight he found was interesting indeed. Jexebel was standing in the corner of the lab throwing everything within reach at Shelke. Shelke was hollering, trying to get Jexebel to calm down and let her administer the injection.

“Jexebel!” Vincent said, stepping closer.

All the panic left Jexebel’s eyes when she heard his voice. She looked around the room.

“What happened here?” She asked, awe in her voice.

“Apparently you didn’t want that injection.” Reno said.

“Apparently not.” Vincent agreed.

He didn’t know exactly what had happened to Jexebel at Hojo’s mercy, but damn did he wish the madman were still alive.

He REALLY wanted to kill him again.