Chapter Twelve

Punished with Eternal Life

It is a punishment to live forever. To not be able to rest in peace and live alone for all eternity was a horrible life to Jessi. The years passed so slowly for her and her hope for finding her sister and Vincent passed as well. So much happened in so little time and it astonished Jessi. She stayed in the church for a long time and eventually this young girl with long brown hair dressed in pink had become to come often and made it her church. Jessi was thankful the girl never came into the rafters and she was able to live in peace, until one day a young blonde boy crashed through the roof and startled her to wit end.

She had looked down and smirked when he landed in the flowers; that would disappoint the young woman. She decided that had been enough so she left Midgar and journeyed around the continent. A long time had passed before she would hear about the young boy again. When Meteor was threatening to destroy the planet, the boy had somehow stopped it. Jessi asked how he had done it and many people had different versions of it.

Some said he used a strong Materia that was hard to use while others said he had done impossible things. One person had told her that he had killed Sephiroth to stop it, but she knew that could not have been true. She had read in the Shin-Ra news headline that Sephiroth had died about five years ago in a Mako reactor accident.

Jessi had been extremely upset when she had read this, but she knew that he would be with his mother in the Lifestream. Whatever the boy had done to stop Meteor was a mystery to Jessi. After the Meteor Crisis had ended, Jessi had given up on trying to find her sister and Vincent. After she had left the church, she went back to the Shin-Ra mansion to ask Gast if Sephiroth found out the truth before he had died, she found nothing but monsters roaming around the place. She explored the big empty mansion and found no trace of anybody being there for a long time. The scientists she had known were long gone and the villagers were strangers to her. She knew then that there was no reason for her to return to that place ever again; but she felt a longing to be there. It was, after all, the only place she could call home since her grandparents were long gone. Her parents had died when she was very young and Lucrecia, her brother as well as herself left to live with her mother's parents. Her brother Jeremy left when he was sixteen and neither Lucrecia nor herself heard from him ever again.

Finally, after four years of avoiding the place she was killed and reborn, she transformed to her Harpy form, which had become much stronger while gaining new abilities, then headed for Nibelheim. She noticed something was very different about the town as soon as she got there; She perched on the highest part of the mansion and looked down. She was confused when she seen many people entering and leaving the mansion throughout the day. She didn't understand why they were not afraid of the monsters as they went in and out. When a large group of people exited the mansion, Jessi noticed the blonde boy was one of them. The young girl in pink was there as well. The rest of them she didn't recognize…wait. She looked down at a tall man with long raven black hair and an even longer red cape around his neck.

She peered at him more closely and inhaled his scent. Her eyes widened and she gasped. Is… is it really him, could it really be him? She transformed back to normal and leapt off the roof, her cape flying gently on the wind behind her. She gracefully landed a few feet in front of them and kept her head bowed. The group stopped in their tracks and looked at her surprisingly.

"What the…Where the hell did she come from?" An older blonde man with a cigarette in his mouth said. While keeping her head down, she spoke.

"After so many long years of searching, I have found you."

"Who, us?" A young girl around Jessica's age asked.

The man in the cape placed his hand over his gun. Why does she sound familiar? He thought to himself.

"It's been a long time…"

Jessi looked up and the group gasped. Her appearance was uncannily like that of…

" Hasn't it Vincent…"

The man in the cape opened his mouth in surprise. That voice, her scent… it couldn't be…

"…Jessi?"

She smirked, "The one and only."

Vincent lowered his hand from his gun holster and was utterly shocked; which surprised him because he was not surprised by anything. She should look different now, but she still seemed so young.

"You don't look as old as you should be."

"Nor do you…" She clenched her fists and looked at him hurt, but angry.

"Why did you not search for me Vincent? Why did you just leave Nibelheim?"

Vincent gawked at her. "I never did leave…"

"Liar!" She screamed, "You stole my sisters body and left me…"

"I did no such thing! How can you accuse me of such terrible allegations?"

Vincent began to get angry, which was also rare for him. Why did she think he stole Lucrecia's body?

"How else could she have disappeared? You were obsessed with my sister, I wouldn't be surprised if I find out you did take her!"

"I did not take her body, I loved Lucrecia and I will not put up with your accusations!"

The group was startled when Vincent let out a furious growl and transformed into the Chaos beast. Jessica's eyebrows raised a moment, no fear crossing her face as he transformed.

"I see… then I am not the only one…"

"What do you mean?"

Jessi closed her eyes and grinned.

"What I mean…"

She opened her eyes and began the transformation while the group watched in horror.

Jessi cried out when she emerged into her Harpy form and brandished a large sickle with a long, linked metal chain attached to it. She picked the weapon up at a small shop not to far from the Gold Saucer. The owner had a wide variety of rare weapons and sold her the sickle for only 1500 Gil. Chump change, she thought since she had so much more from fighting so many thieves and other monsters and mugging them. The blonde boy unsheathed his sword and the girl in pink ran inside the mansion.

"…We share the same power." Jessi said, she wondered how Vincent could transform like her but she wasn't concerned about it at the moment.

The boy was about to attack when he heard Vincent spoke up.

"Stop. Sheathe your sword Cloud, this has nothing to do with you."

Jessi watched as the boy looked up at them then put away his weapon.

"You are fortunate to have made friends that would fight for you Vincent."

Jessi threw the Sickle at him and he flew up in the air, then towards her. She yanked the chain and the weapon changed course and headed back to her. Vincent had tried to tackle her then roared furiously when the sickle cut his shoulder. Jessi caught the weapon and lashed out at Vincent with her claw.

"This is a senseless battle Jessica, we are friends, not enemies!"

"No! You neglected our friendship all those years ago when you left!"

Jessi cried out as Vincent did his Chaos Saber attack.

"Don't be foolish! I didn't leave, Hojo killed me!"

"That's not what Doctor Gast said!"

"He was unaware…"

"Stop your lies Vincent, you are just like Hojo!"

Jessi lashed out at him with her claws and he dodged, then pinned her to the well.

"Don't ever compare me to that madman again…"

Jessi growled and threw him away from her. She flew towards the mansion and Vincent followed. When he was about to tackle her again, Jessi lashed out at him with her claw. Vincent howled in pain then lashed out at her, she dodged easily and smiled when Vincent started to fly around dizzily.

"What the hell..."

"You just got a taste of the poison from my claw, you cannot fight anymore!"

Jessi was about to finish him off when she heard someone she recognized.

"…Jessi?" A young male voice asked in disbelief.

She froze, holding the weapon in her hand; the voice that spoke couldn't belong to whom she thought of. She looked down and opened her mouth in disbelief. "Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth was looking up at her in incredulity with the young girl in pink at his side; she returned the look, chills running through her body.

"Bad move, you are unguarded."

Vincent took the opportunity to do his Satan Slam attack and Jessi turned to him in shock, how did he attack, her poison should have paralyzed him. She cried out in pain as the attack did it's damage and Sephiroth yelled, "No!"

Jessi reverted back to normal as she fell towards the ground. Sephiroth ran to catch her, but Vincent did it for him. He transformed back as well and cradled Jessi in his arms.

"Is she alive?" Sephiroth asked and Vincent nodded.

"She's just knocked out, that's my most powerful attack. She should be out for a while."

Jessi groaned and opened her eyes, much to Vincent's surprise. She pushed him away and went back into her fighter stance.

"You stupid jerk! That was Un-called for!"

Vincent raised his eyebrows and grinned. She reminded him of Yuffie when they first met. "It's not my fault you were unguarded."

"Don't smile at me smartass! You should have been paralyzed; my poison…"

"Has no effect on me in that form, Hojo threw that little bonus in. I felt the attempted attack and acted like I was poisoned to throw you off guard."

"No effect…acting my foot, you were flying like a drunk…Hojo? What does…"

Jessi opened her mouth and felt like an idiot for not noticing it earlier.

"He altered you!"

Vincent nodded, "He shot me in the heart and made me this."

He held his arms out and Jessi noticed for the first time that a golden claw replaced his right arm. She also noticed that his eyes were blood red, much like her own.

"I… I'm sorry. I thought…"

"It was an understandable mistake."

The man with the cigarette interrupted. "I hate to break up the reunion, but will somebody please explain what the hell is going on here!"

Jessi smiled and nodded. "Sorry, let's go find somewhere comfortable to sit, my story is going to take a while. And I am sure you have much to say as well Vincent."