Chapter Summary:
Hojo had a lot of fingers on a lot of pies, and he wasn't afraid to mix and match now and then. Not only that, but the man's ego drove him to record every little thing he did in one way or another. Thanks to this, Vincent finally has some answers as to why Hojo and Lucrecia used him as Chaos and Galian's host, as well as how his existence became tangled with those in the Jenova Project. Not only that, he finds out the role his father played in the whole thing. In the end, will the truth be too much for Vincent to bear?
Chapter Notes:
So, this one's a little different. A lot of present tense because of Hojo's journals, for one. I also went a little insane making calculations about people's birthdays and all. If you have any comments about the format, do let me know—this is highly experimental for me.
**More notes at the end of the chapter**
FAIL-SAFE
Human Resources Personnel File
[Stamped in red ink over file's first page: KILLED IN ACTION]
Full Name: Vincent Shougo Valentine
Date of birth: 13/October/1941
Place of birth: Wutai
Blood type: A+
Height: 6' (180cms)
Weight: 165lbs (75kgs)
Particular signs: None
Father: Grimoire Valentine /Deceased February 1963/
Mother: Maeko Muramasa /Deceased February 1954/
Other family: None
Known medical conditions: None
Applied for: Investigation Division of the General Affairs Department (Turks)
Date of application: 18/November/1962
Date of acceptance: 3/May/1963
Assigned to: Investigation Division of the General Affairs Department (Turks)
Supervisor: Ken Ono
[Added at the bottom of page, handwritten:
Date of decease: 22/June/1969
Cause of death: Gunshot wound to the heart.]
[The following journal was originally handwritten by Hojo and was, therefore, nearly illegible. I typed it up for ease of reading. – G. Faremis]
PROJECT CHAOS-V
SUBJECTS: VINCENT S. VALENTINE & CHAOS WEAPON *LATER ADDITION: GALIAN*
15/November/1968
The HR file on Vincent VALENTINE is inaccurate on one regard. In spite of what his father would have everyone believe, VALENTINE's genetic makeup is anything but ordinary. The boy was born with a feeble constitution and was prone to numerous infections and illnesses. With the approval of the boy's mother, Dr. Valentine conducted extensive experiments on his son and other subjects, eventually coming up with a compound that allowed Vincent's immune system to strengthen well beyond the parameters of a healthy young man. According to Dr. Valentine's notes [Appendix G, attached in case you want to review it], after five rounds of inoculations and low-level mako treatments, Vincent became invulnerable to all deceases known to the scientific community and never fell ill again—not even a with a cold or a mild fever. His recovery rate from minor wounds also increased exponentially but no experiments were conducted to determine the limits of the boy's new abilities.
Vincent was the only subject to receive the treatment—all other children served as donors.
Dr. Valentine kept this information a secret from everyone but his wife and his two aides. Even Vincent was unaware of the true nature of the procedures he underwent between ages 3 and 8.
Before passing away at the Crystal Cave, Dr. Valentine entrusted the notes of his experimentation on his son to Professor Crescent. It was his belief that someone like Vincent could be a viable host to CHAOS, allowing him to interact with the WEAPON and experiment on it directly given its rather inconvenient natural state. While Dr. Valentine intended to find a volunteer on which to replicate the procedures he put his son through, it is my belief that simply using Vincent is a far more viable option. For one, it eliminates the possibility of another subject rejecting the treatment, while allowing us to start research almost immediately.
This is why I will request him to be assigned to our security detail when we move to Nibelheim to research CHAOS/OMEGA as an extension of the JENOVA PROJECT.
12/January/1969
It appears that VALENTINE shares the same taste in women as his father. He has fallen in love with Professor Crescent, just like Dr. Valentine. Hopefully this will allow us to manipulate him into joining the project.
4/March/1969
VALENTINE has found out about Dr. Crescent's pregnancy. He knows the child is mine and that we intend to use it as part of the JENOVA PROJECT. Quite unlike his father, he is stubbornly opposed to human experimentation. I wonder what he would do if he ever found out what his father did to him in order to lengthen what would have otherwise been a ridiculously short life.
I have caught him snooping around on numerous occasions, but so far I doubt he knows the full scope of what we're planning to do. I am certain he has no idea that we have our sights on him to continue the research his father left unfinished nearly six years ago.
The time for subtleties will soon pass. I am determined to acquire him as a test subject by any means necessary.
1/July/1969
I shot VALENTINE over a week ago.
He spent the last few months trying to convince Dr. Crescent that our plans to use our son as the main subject in the JENOVA PROJECT were inhuman and morally wrong. She is, however, a true scientist and refuted his every argument.
In a last effort to bring things to an end, he came to talk to me. He made the same childish, unscientific pleas he tried on Dr. Crescent with similar results. He tested me to the limits of my patience and even threatened to report what we were doing to the Company. I know there is no way they will ever stop me but I would really prefer to be spared the red tape VALENTINE's whining could cause. This, amongst other things ((like the knowledge that Dr. Crescent does have feelings for VALENTINE (even if she has no intention of acting on them due to the guilt she still feels over Dr. Valentine's death) and the fact that it became clear that he would never agree to help us with the project even if he learned the truth about his father's treatments)) led me to lose my patience with the insolent brat and I shot him. Right in the chest, the bullet went. It was quite unexpected, as I had merely intended to incapacitate him long enough to sedate him and take him to the labs.
But there is something to be said about Dr. Valentine's treatment of his son's weak disposition. A wound that would have been fatal on anyone else did severe damage to his cardiac muscle but did not instantly kill him. This gave me enough time to call Dr. Crescent and transport him to the labs. We placed him in one of the mako conservation tanks and managed to slow down his metabolism to the minimum required to keep his brain functions going.
As I write this, Dr. Crescent is preparing the protomateria she and Dr. Valentine found ten years ago. The plan is to graft it unto Vincent's body to prime it to receive CHAOS.
15/August/1969
VALENTINE has proven to be a most useful test subject. The combination of his body's enhanced resilience plus the protomateria's intrinsic abilities have allowed his body to fully recover from the damage caused by the gunshot wound. This has allowed me to test what his father did not: the limits of his body's powers of regeneration. So far, he has been able to completely heal all manner of wounds, from cuts and slashes ranging from shallow to life-threateningly deep, to third degree burns—chemical, by fire, and materia-induced.
21/August/1969
At one point, I thought the experimentation had killed him. His heart certainly stopped beating for a prolonged time. Thinking I had pushed him too far, I decided to perform an autopsy. To my surprise, he woke up in the middle of the procedure, screaming and lashing out. He had to be sedated before I could close the autopsy incision.
It took him less than a day to recover.
We haven't even added the CHAOS gene to his body.
28/August/1969
The CHAOS gene has been introduced in VALENTINE's body. The results are nothing short of amazing.
The first couple of days were harrowing. It seemed as though the subject's body was rejecting the new genes, although we soon found out that the host was fighting for dominance over his body with the foreign creature. Eventually, VALENTINE's resilience drew strength from the protomateria and he was able to best the WEAPON, just like Dr. Valentine and Dr. Crescent had predicted in their research.
I allowed for a short period of adjustment (36 hours) before testing PROJECT CHAOS-V's body again. Broken bones now take mere days to mend, and it has even regained sight on both eyes after being burned with acid. Not only that, but its eyesight seems to have been greatly improved. VALENTINE gained himself a reputation as an expert marksman amongst the Turks, but I daresay now that PC-V could break that record without the aide of a sniper scope. Tests show that it is able to regulate the size of his pupils at will depending on the task provided.
Its body has ceased to generate scar tissue after open wounds have healed. There is the faintest discolouration of the skin in the affected area but no scarification per se occurs. However, all scars the subject had before the introduction of CHAOS remain and do not heal as new wounds even when reopened.
I would very much like to continue experimenting on it, but the birth of JENOVA PROJECT S is just around the corner and preparations still need to be made. I will not be getting rid of such an interesting test subject anytime soon, though.
20/September/1969
I moved PROJECT CHAOS-V to the catacombs in the basement. I placed it in a coffin with a time-release mechanism programmed to douse it periodically with enough mako-diluted sedatives to keep it in an induced coma until I have time to continue experimenting on it.
18/March/1970
I found PROJECT CHAOS-V wandering around the basement late last night. I am unsure how it was able to wake up given the high amount of drugs in his system, although I suspect the time-release mechanism failed at some point.
This gives me new data to work with, but I cannot risk the subject's escape. Its raw strength would find no opposition in the lab personnel and explaining the mayhem it could cause in the village would be too troublesome. To avoid further problems, I have installed a backup mechanism in the coffin and a barrier on the main entrances and exits to and from the basement. It's a simple compound stemmed from a sample I took from the protomateria before implanting it into VALENTINE. I'm almost hoping PROJECT CHAOS-V will try to escape again, just to prove my theory.
30/April/1970
PROJECT CHAOS-V broke free of the coffin again but was unable to get past the barrier in the entrance to the tunnels leading to the secondary lab. It took thrice the amount of sedatives to knock it out in order to return it to the coffin. I took a blood sample to determine the cause of this increase in resistance but there is nothing to indicate a significant change in the subject's makeup.
The only variable I can think of is JENOVA PROJECT S. He had an adverse reaction to the new mako/JENOVA cocktail we tried to boost his strength. He was also recently weaned due to Dr. Crescent's poor health and the fact that it is simply inconvenient to work with a lactating subject. All of this contributed to the subject crying for several hours the night in question. The acoustics of the tunnels and basement enhanced the sound, carrying it all the way to the manor as loudly as if the subject were there and not in the labs below.
It is possible that PROJECT CHAOS-V heard and responded to JENOVA PROJECT S's anguished cries. It is unclear what its intentions were when it escaped the coffin again but it leaves several possibilities open. I will have it moved to the JENOVA PROJECT laboratories to keep a closer eye on it and do a little multitasking between both projects.
05/June/1970
Dr. Crescent passed away this morning. Her body was unable to cope with the effects of the JENOVA cells still in her body after JENOVA PROJECT S's birth and her systems shut down one by one until her heart failed. I have to wonder what the difference between Dr. Crescent and Gillian Hewley is, given that Gillian is still alive and shows no signs of her health failing. However, this is of little consequence. I am certain JENOVA PROJECT S is superior in all regards to the other JENOVA PROJECTs. Whether or not their biological parents suffer adverse effects because of the JENOVA cells is irrelevant. All that matters is that the final product remains strong and continues to evolve favourably.
In this regard, Professor Hollander has agreed to a joint experiment involving the cells of our subjects. It will have to wait a few more years until my subject and his are at least four years old and their cells become apt for our purposes. I have already discussed this with the President and we have our pick of the orphaned children currently under the company's care.
06/July/1970
PROJECT CHAOS-V has been moved to the JENOVA PROJECT laboratories and placed in a conservation tank filled with a mixture of mako and the protomateria distillate that has proven to be so effective in containing the subject.
The subject spends the vast majority of its time asleep and only seems to wake up when JENOVA PROJECT S is in some kind of distress. While JPS remains asleep or calm, PC-V does not stir. But on those occasions where JPS starts screaming or crying, PC-V invariably opens its eyes and scans the room from the tank, looking for the infant. So far, it has not tried to escape the tank to come to the other subject's aid but it has moved as if with the intention to go to JPS's side.
Perhaps once JPS is older I will allow them to interact directly.
01/December/1970
The research team we sent to the Northern Continent some months ago has finally returned. They did not find any more samples related to JENOVA, but they found something related to the CETRA.
According to a book the team found in the Forgotten Capital of the Cetra, the creature they discovered is called GALIAN. Once numbering in the thousands, it is clear that they have now gone extinct. The reason seems to be the confrontation between JENOVA and the CETRA, in which the GALIAN race had a major hand. Another book found in the same library explains that the GALIAN had always been wary of JENOVA, even when the CETRA trusted it implicitly at the beginning. When it became clear that JENOVA's intentions were vastly different from what it had originally stated, the CETRA sent GALIAN after the intruder. They were able to weaken it considerably, but the cost was high—they all perished in a most brutal fashion.
The state of the sample the team brought to me (which appears to be a cub) is a clear testament to that: the remains amount to little more than half of the creature's head, almost the entirety of its brain, its left arm and leg, part of the hind leg, and a mess of internal organs that include the heart, half a lung, most of the digestive system, and little else. Its DNA has been highly damaged by the subzero temperatures of the Northern Continent, but I may yet be able to work something out. After all, the creature is remarkably similar to the behemoths we are used to, so filling the gaps in the DNA sequence with a close relative is entirely viable.
PROJECT CHAOS-V will come in handy for this. If I manage to reconstruct GALIAN's DNA and implant it on PC-V in the same fashion as the CHAOS gene, it will not matter that the original creature's body is too damaged. PC-V will become its host, allowing me to study GALIAN as if it were a prime specimen.
05/May/1971
I was finally able to reconstruct GALIAN's DNA to an acceptable level. Additionally, in order to test the regenerative abilities of PROJECT CHAOS-V, I rebuilt the original GALIAN specimen with samples from three different breeds of behemoth found all around the planet and then introduced a serum synthesised from PC-V's blood into the specimen. Within a few hours, the amalgamation of GALIAN and behemoth woke up and it remains alive to this point.
I have yet to decide whether to use GALIAN's reconstructed DNA when implanting it unto PC-V or if I should take a sample of the revived specimen. The former would guarantee a purer form of GALIAN when PC-V mutates, but the latter would probably ensure a less problematic melding of PC-V and GALIAN.
Decisions, decisions…
06/May/1971
I decided to implant the revived specimen's DNA (which I have labelled NEO-GALIAN) unto PROJECT CHAOS-V. Unlike the previous time, when CHAOS was introduced to VALENTINE's body and the reaction was immediate, nothing has happened so far.
09/May/1971
Still no change in PROJECT CHAOS-V after the introduction of NEO-GALIAN's cells.
01/June/1971
The situation with PROJECT CHAOS-V remains the same after three more rounds of NEO-GALIAN's genes. At this point I would normally use the original GALIAN's reconstructed DNA but I must leave for Midgar indefinitely. I am locking up all labs and leaving two of my aides in charge. All projects are suspended until my return.
16/August/1976
I am finally back at Nibelheim. JENOVA PROJECT S has been placed in advanced courses back in Midgar and the first steps have been taken to instate the SOLDIER PROGRAM to which JPS, JPA, and JPG will be attached when they turn thirteen.
My prolonged stay at Midgar was tedious but not without its uses. For one, Hollander found the perfect test subjects for our wager. Three brothers, all close in age to JENOVA PROJECTS S (6), A (7), and G (7). Their names are Kadaj (SUBJECT SB), Loz (SUBJECT AB), and Yazoo (SUBJECT GB), no registered parents or other relatives.*
* [SUBJECT SB is six years old; SUBJECT AB is eight years old; SUBJECT GB is nine and a half years old.]
I will keep the subjects in the JENOVA PROJECT laboratory along with GALIAN, PROJECT CHAOS-V, and two more samples I procured while in Midgar that I intend to implant unto PC-V once I manage to implant GALIAN successfully unto it. After reviewing my previous notes on this journal, my curiosity about PC-V's reaction to JPS has been reawakened. I'll start my observations by keeping it and the three new subjects in the same laboratory and then take it from there.
[At this point, I suggest you watch the video tape labelled CCTV-JPL before continuing with Hojo's notes. – G. Faremis]
CCTV-JPL
CCTV – CAMERA 1 [JENOVA PROJECT Lab]
Date: 1976/10/13
Time: 05:10:09
((The video is in colour but there is no audio.))
Eight tanks appear on the camera's range along the left side of the screen. In order, they are labeled PROJECT SB, PROJECT GB, PROJECT AB, GALIAN BEAST, CHAOS, HELL MASKER, DEATH GIGAS, and JENOVA.
The first three tanks are occupied by young children, all with silver hair and pale skin, all of them dressed neck to toes in black leather. These tanks are filled with a pale green substance that glows faintly—it is likely a mako solution. The children float in the substance, apparently asleep.
The next tank harbours a small behemoth-like creature made up of several different tissue samples. It floats in mako, twitching occasionally but otherwise unmoving.
The fifth tank is occupied by Vincent's body. The substance he floats in is a murky shade of green and, while it glows like mako, it is clear that it's something else. Unlike the children, Vincent appears to be awake, although his eyes are golden and not crimson, suggesting Chaos is in control of the body he now shares with the gunman. His right hand is pressed against the tank's wall but he doesn't appear to make any effort to break the material.
The Hell Masker and Death Gigas tanks are filled with mako but appear otherwise empty [Vincent zooms in and realises that there is a small tissue sample inside each tank].
The last tank, bigger than the rest and filled with a substance that is not mako, holds Jenova's body, its only visible eye closed. There is a helmet on its head with several tubes and cables attached that go up into the tank's lid and leave the laboratory through the roof.
At first, everything appears to be calm. If not for the soft movements of those inside the tanks, the image could be mistaken for a photograph.
About a minute into the recording, Project AB opens his eyes and starts pushing against the glass with his whole body: he is leaning against the glass behind him with his back and arms while he braces his feet in front of him. It takes about fifty seconds of this before a crack appears on the glass between his feet; another thirty seconds and the crack extends all around the conservation tank, mako trickling through the fissures. A minute later the tank bursts, sending glass flying everywhere while mako leaks all over the floor.
AB manages to avoid the broken glass and lands safely on the floor. He is drenched in mako and is breathing heavily but appears unharmed. He looks towards his right and realises a piece of his conservation tank has embedded itself on GB's tank, allowing mako to trickle out of the crack. GB is still either asleep or unconscious inside his tank. AB walks around to SB's tank and sees he is awake. They look at each other for a moment without saying anything. After a few seconds, AB nods and goes to GB's tank. He examines the crack on it for a moment before punching next to the piece of glass sticking out of the tank. This causes the tank to burst, sending glass flying in all directions. Most of it misses both AB and GB but some shards reach AB, embedding themselves on his arms as he tried to cover his face. He seems not to notice as he reaches forward to catch GB before he collapses on the jagged edge of the tank.
While AB is helping GB out of the tank's remains, SB has managed to escape his tank in the same fashion as AB did before. He goes to his brothers' side to help them but stops on his tracks. He stares at Galian's tank with a confused look on his face [Vincent pauses the video for a moment to try to figure out what caught SB's attention; he realises Galian is ramming himself against the tank's walls, apparently trying to escape]. He shouts something at his brothers as he summons a double-bladed katana out of thin air and jumps in front of them. He is barely in time to deflect a swipe of Galian's claws that was apparently aimed at GB. He shouts again, frantically motioning for his brothers to move back while he continues to block Galian's attacks.
AB half carries GB away from the struggle but their going is very slow. GB is barely able to walk by himself so AB ends up carrying him on his back. They disappear from the shot at this point.
While Galian and SB continue to fight all over the place, Project Chaos-V is pressing both hands against the glass, watching the fight intently. His skin ripples for a moment; he then closes his eyes and the tank empties before opening. Chaos-V opens his eyes: the left eye is red, the right eye is golden. He makes his way to the centre of the room where SB and Galian are still fighting; his movements are slow and hesitant at first, but he quickly recovers and nearly glides as he approaches the struggle. His right arm transforms into Chaos's claw and he extends it towards Galian, apparently calling his name. Galian stops moving but he's still baring his fangs to SB. Seeing an opening, the boy doesn't hesitate before attacking Galian, aiming for his throat.
In a blur of movement, Chaos-V flings Galian out of the way with his left arm and parries SB's swing with his right claw. SB recovers swiftly and redirects his blade, cutting Chaos-V's abdomen. The angle of the camera does not allow the viewer to see the extent of the damage done to Chaos-V but SB's triumphant expression quickly changes to confusion and panic. Chaos-V doesn't flinch or sway; his only reaction to the attack is to snatch SB's katana and to toss it out of the boy's reach. As he does so, SB takes two steps back and brings a hand to his forehead. He appears to scream before doubling over and bringing his other hand to his head. He is shaking and crying. Chaos-V takes a step forward, his right claw returning to its human form as he reaches forward towards SB. Chaos-V stops all movement when a single, large black wing sprouted from SB's right shoulder blade. SB falls to his knees and topples over under the weight of the wing. He quickly recovers, standing up and fully unfurling his wing. Chaos-V blocks most of SB from view but SB's arms are visible as he extends them; there is a greenish black vapour surrounding him.
Chaos-V tenses up and transforms into Chaos, attacking SB. The first attack seems to fail and Chaos-V jumps back, knocking over several carts and the trays on them. SB follows him, either floating or flying. The fight quickly becomes a blur of green/black and red/black to the camera but it ends less than forty seconds after it started. Chaos-V has several open wounds on his arms and back that are healing as he stands over SB's limp form. SB's wing is gone and he's covered in blood, curled up on his side. It is unclear whether the boy is alive or not. Chaos-V's looks at the boy for a moment without moving. A few seconds later he returns to Vincent's form, his eyes back to red. Again, he looks at the boy for a moment as if he's not sure of what just happened.
[Vincent rewinds the tape. After all three boys are out of their tanks, the liquid Jenova that is floating in begins to bubble and its eye opens; it glows a pinkish shade of red. When Galian attacks the B subjects, Jenova jerks in the tank before opening its mouth in an apparent scream. One of the tubes comes off the helmet when SB confronts Chaos-V. At this point, Jenova is trashing about in the tank, and only stops when Chaos-V returns to Vincent's form. There is no more movement in the tank afterwards.]
In the upper corner of the recording, GB is visible again. There is a rapier in his left hand and he's trying to get to Chaos-V. AB is holding on to his right arm, trying to stop him and drag him back. GB's body is disintegrating and turning into something akin to ashes; there is a greenish black vapour surrounding him, too. By the time he arrives to the centre of the room, his legs are completely grey and he collapses on the floor. He tries to crawl the remaining distance but he is unable to, although he is still holding on to his sword. AB kneels next to him and tries to carry him but GB's body simply crumbles away wherever AB touches it. AB is crying and panicking. GB's eyes eventually close and he stops moving. AB tries to hold him but ends up with only ashes in his arms. In the end, all that is left of GB is his head and part of his torso.
Chaos-V has looked on with disinterest, still standing next to SB's body. When AB just stays put after GB's death, Chaos-V looks at him and says something. AB shakes his head while Chaos-V speaks but eventually he dries his face and stands up. He picks GB's rapier and it transforms into a broadsword in his hands. He takes a last look at SB and the remains of GB on the floor before running out of frame.
Chaos-V returns his gaze to SB. He kneels next to the boy and nudges him. SB stirs weakly and tries to move away from Chaos-V; he stops moving after a couple of tries. Chaos-V carries SB and walks towards his tank. He slumps against it and slides to the floor, cradling SB in his arms.
((Video cuts to CCTV2.))
CCTV – CAMERA 2 [JPL Control Room]
Date: 1976/10/13
Time: 05:17:43
((The video is in colour but there is no audio.))
AB comes running into the control room, sword in hand. There is no one in the room. He goes around the console and towards the door but quickly jumps back. Two armed technicians come in and back AB against the console. He is shouting and using his sword as a shield. An argument seems to take place and it ends when one of the technicians starts shooting. AB is hit twice—once in the shoulder, once on his thigh—while the other bullets smash the instruments on the console and the items on the shelves. AB dashes forward and kills both men. Limping, he tries to exit again but Hojo comes in and shoots him between the eyes. AB falls limply to the floor and the sword disappears from his hands.
Hojo takes out a radio and speaks to it briefly. He shoves the radio back into his lab coat as he stares at AB's corpse. He shakes his head slowly before walking towards the lab.
CCTV – CAMERA 1 [JENOVA PROJECT Lab]
Date: 1976/10/13
Time: 05:20:55
Chaos-V is still cradling SB's body with his right hand over the boy's chest, which is now visible to the camera [Vincent pauses the video and zooms in; there are tears on his (Chaos-V's) face]. Five long gashes have rent open SB's chest cavity and Chaos-V is apparently trying to keep the flaps of skin together. His hands are stained with SB's blood. A minute later he presses his ear to SB's chest. A ragged sob wracks him as he shakes his head and leaves the body on the floor by his tank. As soon as the boy's wing touches the floor, it dissolves, leaving behind a lot of long, black feathers.
Chaos-V's skin is rippling again as he stands up and walks towards Jenova's tank. His eyes turn red as he stops in front of Jenova. The creature inside the tank retreats towards the back, shaking violently. Several tubes and cables detach from the helmet and Jenova's body, leaking fluid into the substance filling the tank, clouding it.
Chaos-V slowly transforms into Chaos. His wings are still unfurling when Hojo comes into view and calmly goes to a cabinet on the far right of the room, extracting a syringe and vial from it. He prepares it even as Chaos is finishing his transformation and Jenova continues to trash about in its tank. Chaos opens his right claw and a bright sphere of light begins forming between his fingers. He bares his fangs at Jenova and draws his arm back as if to hurl the sphere at it but he just collapses. The sphere disappears and Chaos curls up, folding his wings around him as protection. There is a syringe stuck between his shoulder blades.
Hojo approaches Chaos slowly, prodding him with his foot a few times. Chaos doesn't move and, a few seconds later, he returns to Vincent's form. Chaos-V turns his head and glares at Hojo before losing consciousness. Hojo is smiling as he removes the syringe from Chaos-V's back; he then takes out a notepad and begins scribbling away on it.
((Video fades to black.))
HOJO'S PROJECT CHAOS-V JOURNAL—CONTINUED
18/October/1976
The laboratory is a mess and the joint experiment with Hollander has come to an abrupt end. However, last week's events have provided a valuable insight into the future of the JENOVA PROJECT and the alternate uses of PROJECT CHAOS-V.
Initially, SUBJECTs SB, AB, and GB responded favourably to the introduction of the original subjects' genes. Their physical strength increased but they continued to show signs of stress and depression brought on, presumably, by their confinement to the conservation tubes and their isolation from each other (the subjects were remarkably close to each other, with SUBJECT GB displaying a strong sense of protection and responsibility for his younger siblings).
However, as it is further detailed in the JENOVA PROJECT JOURNAL, the subjects began displaying the same adverse characteristics as the originals, only exponentially, both in speed and severity. SUBJECT SB began hearing JENOVA's voice in his head and was unable to tune her out, leading to debilitating headaches that rendered him nearly useless. SUBJECT GB's system began to degrade, weakening him to the point where even walking was an insurmountable chore; four weeks after the implant, his coagulation factor became nearly non-existent and he began to shed skin and hair like a feline. Although, for some reason, his skin and hair renewed sufficiently fast to keep him from going bald or leaving his flesh exposed, his coagulation levels continued to decrease. SUBJECT AB's symptoms were less obvious and far more intriguing. As Hollander intended, JENOVA PROJECT A is able to pass on his genetic information to other subjects, effectively creating copies of himself. However, the copies never last more than a few weeks. SUBJECT AB has outlasted all of the copies Hollander has made thus far, although he is ageing faster than he did before the gene splicing and is unable to pass on his traits to other subjects. On the other hand, he seemed able to ease the side effects of SUBJECT GB's degradation, at least temporarily. There was not sufficient time to test this link further, but there was enough tissue left from all B SUBJECTS to continue the research even after their death.
The CCTV footage will further illustrate what happened, so I will dwell little on the incident itself and focus on what it means in the long term.
The B SUBJECTS seemed to have developed a telepathic link that allowed them to come up with an escape plan, which they implemented at a time of day when security was minimal. Whether they were aware of the fact that SUBJECT GB's stress levels would make it impossible for him to get out alive or not is still up to debate. Perhaps they decided to push their plan forward because of his deteriorating condition. The fact remains that even if NEO-GALIAN hadn't escaped its conservation tank and attacked them, triggering the ensuing disaster, SUBJECT GB would not have made it out of the mansion alive. Analysis of his remains shows that he would have crumbled away on his own within days; the attempted escape and N-G's attack only accelerated the process.
Without any of the B SUBJECTS to explain it, I can only theorise as to the nature of JENOVA's intervention. The B SUBJECTS had been in the same laboratory as JENOVA, NEO-GALIAN, CHAOS-V and the other two samples for two months without any reactions, negative or otherwise. It is very likely that JENOVA was trying to aid the B SUBJECTS in their escape, perhaps hoping to influence them so they would set it free. If this is the case, it certainly falls in line with the JENOVA REUNION THEORY I have described at length in the JENOVA PROJECT JOURNAL.
[I have transcribed a fragment of the journal Hojo kept for the Jenova project that explains his thoughts on the Reunion Theory. - G. Faremis]
HOJO'S JENOVA PROJECT JOURNAL
JENOVA REUNION THEORY
After observing JENOVA's cells during the past few months, I have detected an interesting phenomenon that I will henceforth refer to as the JENOVA REUNION THEORY. When JENOVA's cells are separated from the main body, they will invariably and instinctually seek to reunite with their parent soma. This "REUNION INSTINCT" is not limited to pure JENOVA cells, but to any living organism that has been injected with JENOVA's cells and is capable of conscious movement. Even if for some reason they try to refuse this impulse, JENOVA's main body will call to them until they comply.
We have observed this phenomenon on individual and grouped cells within petri dishes and test tubes: when left alone, they will always move or shift in the direction of JENOVA's main body whether the cells or JENOVA itself are moved to a new location. We will look for the same reaction in the three children used for the JENOVA PROJECT.
HOJO'S PROJECT CHAOS-V JOURNAL—CONTINUED
18/October/1976
After communicating the incident in the labs to Hollander in Midgar, he told me that on the day in question, JENOVA PROJECTS S, A, and G reported feeling anxious. When checking the timing of their distress, we concluded that the episode coincided with the beginning and ending of the incident at the Nibelheim lab. Furthermore, JPG reported ghost pains all over his body while JPS heard JENOVA's voice. According to him, JENOVA was angry and frustrated and, at one point, scared.
After examining N-G, I have concluded that its reaction to the B SUBJECTS was spurred on by JENOVA's unusual activity and the presence of SUBJECT AB's blood after the glass from SUBJECT GB's tank injured his arm and face. Perhaps the fact that N-G's DNA was mixed with a behemoth's precluded it from reacting to JENOVA's proximity. It is strange, however, that it reacted to a subject without pure JENOVA cells in its body. Further experimentation with GALIAN will need to be done to determine exactly what triggers its instinct to attack JENOVA.
As for JENOVA's involvement in the incident, I believe it recognised N-G as a threat and tried to goad SUBJECT SB into killing it. The fact that SB was able to summon a sword out of nowhere seems to be an inherent ability of those injected with JENOVA cells (the video doesn't show it, but it is safe to assume SUBJECT GB summoned his weapon in the same fashion; that SUBJECT GB reshaped the rapier into a broadsword instead of summoning his own weapon suggests some sort of sentimentalism associated to his deceased brother, while also supporting this theory). This is another phenomenon that we will look for in the original JENOVA PROJECT SUBJECTS, along with the appearance of wings and the presence of the mysterious black-and-green miasma surrounding the bodies of SUBJECT SB and SUBJECT GB*. It is also of some importance to note that SUBJECT AB did not present this miasma at any point during the events at the lab and control room, not even after his death.
{*Hojo's annotation: This could be a manifestation of LIFESTREAM tainted by JENOVA. Further experimentation should be able to clear this point.}
JENOVA's reaction to PC-V's transformation and attack was clear: JENOVA feared PC-V's power and was trying to escape, limited as its movements were. PROJECT CHAOS-V did not appear to react to JENOVA itself until after SUBJECT SB's death; furthermore, PC-V seems to have reacted strongly only to SUBJECT SB's demise, completely ignoring or simply not responding to SUBJECT GB's attempted attack and subsequent passing. Since PC-V refuses to communicate with me or anyone else on staff, it is impossible to determine what it was he told SUBJECT AB before he (AB) left the laboratory*. The simplest explanation would be that PC-V told AB to leave before security arrived but it clashes with PC-V's previous disregard towards SUBJECTs AB and GB.
As far as JENOVA and CHAOS are concerned, it is not clear whether their apparent enmity is a natural occurrence or if PC-V somehow became biased due to VALENTINE's feelings. As stated before, PC-V and JENOVA had been in close proximity at the labs and neither had shown signs of acknowledging the other's presence, let alone becoming hostile towards the other. Even during the incident, PC-V only sprung into action when N-G attacked the B SUBJECTS, going as far as trying to stop it. However, PC-V also seemed to be protecting N-G from SUBJECT SB's attack. It would be interesting to know the reasoning behind PC-V's actions but, again, the subject refuses to speak. Sometimes, however, myself and some of the aides have noticed that the subject's eyes change colour between their natural red and a glowing gold. My current hypothesis is that, somehow, CHAOS is sometimes in control of the body it shares with its host. Why it does not try to escape or at least lash out at those times is a mystery that I would very much like to clear up.
{*Hojo's annotation: After reviewing my notes and all footage pertaining to PC-V, I realised that this incident was the first time since the introduction of the protomateria or the CHAOS gene that PC-V has spoken or willingly interacted with anyone.}
I will attempt to graft the original GALIAN's DNA to PC-V in the next few days. I tried it three days after the incident but the subject was more aggressive and uncooperative than usual so I decided to give it time to calm down before trying again. In the meantime, I have moved it and all other samples to the first underground laboratory, as it was easier to do than trying to clean up and fix the JENOVA PROJECT laboratory.
22/October/1976
I have implanted the original GALIAN's DNA unto PROJECT CHAOS-V. Unlike last time, the subject absorbed and assimilated the new DNA without problems. I am unsure if CHAOS's presence in the host eased the process, but there was far less resistance than when we introduced the CHAOS gene and the adjustment time was of mere hours compared to the three days it took for the host to contain CHAOS.
As a precaution, I will wait a few more days before taking PC-V to the Mt. Nibel cave system to attempt to trigger its transformation into GALIAN in order to extract tissue samples and observe its behaviour.
30/October/1976
We took PROJECT CHAOS-V to one of the caves along Mt. Nibel three days ago.
As it is detailed in VIDEO PC-V 2 [Attached as stated—G. Faremis], the procedure allowed us to recreate GALIAN almost perfectly through PC-V's body. The creature is strong and highly feral, but the host was able to claim control over it in less than three minutes, rendering GALIAN mostly harmless. One of the aides was injured when he tried to approach the subject to take a hair sample for testing, but he will survive.
The test results on the sample are encouraging. More than 80% of the DNA belongs to GALIAN. It seems that, with help from CHAOS and the host's own altered biochemistry and genetic makeup, GALIAN was able to reconstruct itself making use of the behemoths' genetic information.
4/November/1976
After keeping PROJECT CHAOS/G's (PROJECT CHAOS/GALIAN) under observation the last five days, I have decided not to implant the DEATH GIGAS and HELL MASKER genes on PC-V.
Apparently, adding the GALIAN gene has taken its toll on PC-V's mental stability. Initially, it seemed that GALIAN was easy for PC-V to keep under control, but the past two days it has managed to overrule and take over its host's body several times—always briefly, but it is a matter of concern, all the same.
Most interesting, however, is the fact that PC-V has been asking questions about JENOVA PROJECT S and Dr. Crescent. Out of scientific curiosity, I explained to it that Dr. Crescent passed away and that JPS is back at Midgar. When I asked if it remembered last month's incident involving the B SUBJECTS, PC-V denied all knowledge of the event. Even when I supplied it with clues it claimed not to know what I was talking about. Some other aspects from the near past seem to be completely gone from its memory, as well, while details of VALENTINE's life appear to be intact. The subject also appears to be aware of GALIAN's presence in its body. Finally, I inquired about JENOVA and the subject's eyes flickered rapidly between crimson and gold for a few seconds before settling back to crimson. The subject hasn't said anything since.
This case of retrograde amnesia seems to have been caused by the introduction of the GALIAN gene, which seems to have taken up space in the areas of the host's brain that retained the memory of the incident at the laboratory. Whether this is a chance occurrence or not is impossible to determine, but I will say that I do not believe in such coincidences.
6/November/1976
I have tested the response of PROJECT CHAOS/G's (PROJECT CHAOS/GALIAN) cells to pure and hybrid JENOVA cells at a cellular level.
In all instances in which I introduced PC/G to hybrid JENOVA cells (a sample each taken from the B SUBJECTS' remains), JENOVA's samples reacted violently as soon as PC/G was added to the petri dish; PC/G attacked immediately, too. The results varied as to which sample overtook the other, but whenever PC/G managed to neutralise JENOVA's cells, it would only last for a few minutes before degrading or dissolving entirely. This corroborates the data we have about the GALIAN race's confrontation with JENOVA at the Northern Continent ages ago. Whenever JENOVA managed to defeat PC/G, it attempted to assimilate its opponent's cells but failed every time. SUBJECT GB's samples deteriorated faster afterwards, while SUBJECT AB and SUBJECT SB's samples showed no change.
For some reason, pure JENOVA cells do not react to PC/G's presence at all. I repeated the experiment several times with the same results: JENOVA would just sit on the petri dish, making no attempt at defending itself or attacking PC/G, and every single time it would be defeated. In turn, PC/G would invariably degrade and die within minutes of absorbing JENOVA.
From this I can only conclude that JENOVA's main body knows it is physically weaker than PC/G and doesn't even try to stop it from killing it because it knows that, somehow, its cells are poisonous to PC/G. This is perhaps how JENOVA managed to decimate the GALIAN race in the Northern Continent—a sort of biochemical war tactic, as it were. Hybrid JENOVA cells appear to be influenced by their host's survival instincts and thus put up a fight that they can win 2/3 times.
I also had pure JENOVA samples interact with PROJECT CHAOS-V in petri dishes and the results mimic what happened at the lab: JENOVA tried to escape while PC-V always found a way to quickly exterminate it. Afterwards, PC-V's cells remain intact and healthy. I replicated the experiments with small animals from the region and the results were invariably the same. This leads me to believe that PC-V may be the only creature in the Planet capable of defeating JENOVA without incurring in serious physical injuries.
However, PC-V did not attack hybrid JENOVA tissue from any of the B SUBJECTS. I had Hollander send me tissue samples of all three JENOVA PROJECT SUBJECTS and ran the tests again with the same results. When adding PC/G to the mix, PC-V stood between JENOVA and GALIAN as if trying to stop the conflict; when it failed to rein in GALIAN, PC-V chose to attack JENOVA rather than the other creature. This falls in line with Dr. Valentine and Dr. Crescent's theory that CHAOS is meant to protect the Planet's soul (the LIFESTREAM) from alien invasions in order to preserve its purity and integrity to the end of its days.
9/November/1976
I received a call from Hollander last night about an incident involving JENOVA PROJECT S back in Midgar.
During JPS's training, the subject lost control of his body as he heard JENOVA's voice. When questioned later, JPS stated that JENOVA wanted to be freed and was asking him to release it from its tank here in Nibelheim. The subject tried to ignore the voice but it resulted in the most vicious telepathic attack from JENOVA thus far. In the time it took Hollander and the aides to locate the necessary sedatives, JPS killed two of his sparring partners and injured three more.
Usually, the sedatives we use with the JENOVA PROJECT SUBJECTS take less than twenty seconds to take effect. This time, however, Hollander has reported that it took three rounds of sedatives and ten minutes for JPS to become unconscious. Hollander is currently conducting a series of tests and analyses on JPS but I believe I know what the overall results will be: an increase in the JENOVA cell count for subject JPS and the other two, as well. At the time, this is something we can absolutely deal with by mixing better and stronger sedatives that target JENOVA faster and more efficiently. However, I am afraid that our attempts to clone JPS, JPA, or JPG will bear nothing but abject failure. The best we can do in order to deliver the army President Shinra wants is to come up with an enhancing mako- and JENOVA-based serum to boost optimal individuals' inherent abilities rather than breed an army in laboratory test tubes.
As for the JENOVA PROJECT SUBJECTS, we will exploit them to the best of our (and their) abilities. It is clear, though, that we need a way to deactivate the subjects should JENOVA become a threat to everyone involved.
To this end, I have begun the development of my next idea: PROJECT FAIL-SAFE.
11/January/1977
In the past weeks and as part of PROJECT FAIL-SAFE, I have been able to create a compound based on SUBJECT AB's remains that, at least in laboratory experiments, has proven to be an effective 'cure' for JENOVA PROJECT G's cellular degradation. However, given the unstable situation within the Science Department and my recent disputes with the President, I will keep this compound stashed here in Nibelheim. I intend to use it to undermine Hollander's reputation in the future, should the need arise.
While it seems impossible to revert or even stop JENOVA PROJECT A's ability to create copies of himself (or to keep these copies from degrading within days or weeks), I did manage to come up with a stabilising agent for the subject's accelerated metabolism. Since the subject is in relatively good health and there is nothing to be gained by keeping this serum with me, I have sent it to Hollander to be administered at his leisure. If nothing else, I expect him to think of it as a token of good will on my behalf, which might encourage him to tone down his underhanded attacks against me.
As for JENOVA PROJECT S and finding a way to deactivate him and the other two subjects without killing them, things are far from over.
My first thought when tackling the possibility of shutting down the project was to find a way to remove JENOVA's cells from the subjects that had been injected with them. After many experiments, I have determined that this is impossible. Every single organism that became host to JENOVA's cells died after said cells were removed. It is clear that JENOVA replaced too much of the hosts' DNA with its own, effectively becoming a parasite without which the host cannot hope to survive.
The alternative to this is to somehow deactivate JENOVA without removing it. I thought it would be a matter of replacing JENOVA's DNA with healthy human DNA, preferably the host's or a close relative's, but this has proven impossible, too. JENOVA viciously attacks the new DNA, causing a myriad of side effects on the hosts that have led to their death in more than 75% of the recorded cases. Survivors are left with an extremely weakened immune system, which allows JENOVA to take over more and more of its host's DNA until it completely overruns them. In these cases, all subjects have mutated into highly aggressive specimens, most of which had to be terminated because we were unable to properly contain them.
{It is worth mentioning that I am close to coming up with the correct proportions of mako-to-JENOVA cells to use as the base for the SOLDIER COMPOUND thanks to these experiments.}
Right now my biggest lead is JENOVA PROJECT S. With the exception of JENOVA's occasional psychic attacks, the subject exhibits no adverse physical side effects to JENOVA's cells. His hybrid DNA might hold the key to a deactivating compound.
20/March/1977
I have been reviewing the files and journals I've kept on all on-going projects hoping to find a way to deactivate JENOVA. I think I found it within PROJECT CHAOS/GALIAN-V and JENOVA PROJECT S.
The first thing I had to do was to give up the idea of coming with an universal deactivating compound for JENOVA. Because of the creature's innate ability to mutate not only its own DNA but that of its hosts', as well, it is impossible for any one compound to work on all subjects. This being the case, I have concluded that the only subject that poses a real threat at this point (or in the future) is JPS, given that he is the only one of the three subjects that is susceptible to JENOVA's influence. As it were, JENOVA PROJECT G was conceived with a fail-safe of his own, while JENOVA PROJECT A seems to have inherited all the benefits with minimal disadvantages, particularly now that Hollander has reported that the serum I provided him with has successfully stabilised the subject's metabolism.
After weeks of trial and error, I have finally found a compound capable of muting JENOVA's influence over its hosts—this has proven effective in over 95% of the samples I have tried it on. However, this is only a palliative solution. I fully expect JENOVA to adapt to and eventually override the serum, rendering it ineffective. For the time being, though, it should minimise the frequency and strength of JENOVA's attacks on JPS and perhaps aid in slowing down JPG's degradation rate.
Additionally to this, I have decided to use JPS as the ultimate bargaining chip in a doomsday scenario for myself. For this, I also need PC/G-V.
The tests I conducted after last October's events made it clear that CHAOS is the ideal opponent for JENOVA: it is capable of eliminating the alien organism without having to sacrifice its own life. However, it does not target hybrid JENOVA cells of its own accord—it only did it to defend GALIAN who, on the other hand, attacks JENOVA instinctually whether the target is pure or hybrid. My plan, then, is as follows:
I will alter GALIAN's gene within PC/G-V to turn it more aggressive and get it to try to gain control of its host's body at a predetermined time by breaking whatever restraints CHAOS and/or VALENTINE might have created around it. Should this fail, the programming would provide GALIAN with the necessary tools to influence CHAOS to act adopt GALIAN's directive. In either scenario, PC-V would be compelled to find JPS through the JENOVA cells in his body and attack it. In scenario a), CHAOS would have to take over again at some point to try to protect GALIAN, killing JPS in the process, while in scenario b) any misgivings PC-V might have about attacking JPS would be rendered invalid by GALIAN's programming.
Ideally, I will be able to trigger and deactivate the FAIL-SAFE PROGRAM as I see fit/necessary. However, in the event of my untimely death, I will also alter JPS's DNA to emit a mating call for GALIAN to lock on to when he (JPS) turns 30 years of age—the prime of his abilities, both physical and mental. If I'm not around to see my most important project reach the peak of his abilities, no one should have the privilege, either.
As for why a mating call… Other than the undeniable power of pheromones, I'm hoping VALENTINE will be able to figure out what's going on in the final moments of his beloved Lucrecia's son's life. The anguish that would cause him is incentive enough to resort to such a crude solution.
I have not come up with a way to deactivate FSP yet, but I should be able to figure it out soon.
3/April/1977
I have finished altering GALIAN's DNA and I implanted it on PC-V yesterday. There are no external markers of any change in the subject yet.
6/April/1977
PC-V seems to have readjusted to the new GALIAN implant without problems. I will conduct a series of experiments in a few days to determine if GALIAN's new programming took.
12/April/1977
GALIAN's programming took but PC-V is somehow deteriorating. When we took it to the cave system to see if it would react adequately to the presence of hybrid JENOVA tissue, GALIAN had little trouble taking over its host's body and it took PC-V a significantly long amount of time to regain control after the garget had been neutralised. Stress tests show that PC-V's endurance and strength have decreased since the last reading. Its mental stability seems to be at risk, too—more and more we have noticed that the subject's eyes switch between their natural red, a bright gold, and a murky orange. For some reason, the subject has lost some of its ability to dominate the creatures within it. The only explanation lies in some problem with the protomateria which will have to be tested.
20/April/1977
The protomateria appears to be decaying due to the stress we have put PC-V through in the last few months. The fact that about 10% of it is missing because of the samples we took is also a contributing factor.
The sedatives I concocted based on the protomateria should be enough to keep PC-V stable for many years to come. Should they run out or become insufficient, the only alternative would be to recharge the protomateria at the Crystal Cave. Currently I will solely rely on the sedatives because I have to return to Midgar soon to start working on the programming for JENOVA PROJECT S's side of FAIL-SAFE while the trials for the SOLDIER PROGRAM and the serum I designed for it begin.
28/May/1977
I have to be back in Midgar on the first of June so I'm sealing the laboratory today. PROJECT CHAOS-V has already been moved back to its coffin and all the necessary precautions have been taken to prevent its escape. I will live one of the aides in charge of the manor just in case, and I will be leaving everything pertaining to PROJECT CHAOS-V and PROJECT FAIL-SAFE here, including all the compounds stemmed from those researches. Hopefully they will remain a secret until I have use for them.
Any further research will be documented in the JENOVA PROJECT JOURNAL.
[This letter was in the original binder of Project Fail-Safe. The envelope, as you can see, was opened a long time ago, but the wax seal remains intact. I have not read it, but I have no doubt that Hojo did, at some point.— G. Faremis]
13/October/1960
Dearest Vincent,
Clichéd as this may sound, if you are reading this letter, then I am most likely dead and I never got a chance to explain to you the truth behind all the strangely coloured drinks and painful injections I gave you when you were a child. I will do my best to explain it now in hopes that you will understand why I did it and will find it in your heart to forgive me. You have always been a kind man thanks to your mother's influence, but I am afraid that you inherited my uncompromising disposition when it comes to ethics. I am hoping that, at least in this case, nurture trumps nature.
The easiest way to start is by saying that you were, in spite of our best efforts, a rather sickly child. No matter what we did, no matter how much we tried to shield you from anything that could get you ill, you always wound up with severe flues that turned into pneumonia, stomach bugs that led to extreme dehydration, mild fevers that escalated into life-threatening pyrexia. You spent most of your second year of life in the hospital, and more than once we nearly lost you to one infection or another.
Unwilling to lose you at such a young age, I endeavoured to find what it was that made you so susceptible to illnesses. What I found was a severe deficiency in your immune system, one that would not be easily remedied by bone marrow transplants or anything else the medicine of the time could had in stock. Knowing this I talked to your mother and together we decided that it would be best if I dedicated all my time, efforts, and resources to finding a way to strengthen your immune system so you could grow up like any normal child. To this end we left Wutai and moved to Midgar permanently. Your mother was saddened by this, given that she had never been away from her homeland and her family, but she was determined to make that sacrifice if it meant giving you the chance to live a healthy, normal life. You were not happy about the change in scenery, either, but you adjusted quickly enough to life in the big city, although the move took its toll on you and you were bedridden for the first few weeks.
The first thing I did was find the healthiest children in the largest Shinra-sponsored orphanage and analyse their genetic makeup to compare it to yours. As it turns out, a genetic mutation from my side of the family was responsible for all your hardships. I had to find a way to replace the mutated gene with a normal one that would not alter your genetic makeup beyond boosting your immune system but it was impossible. When combined with your DNA, every single sequence I found resulted in altered states that were unconscionable at best, horrific at worst. I was about to give up when I found a sequence that would not only boost your immune system and bring it to a normal level for someone your age, but that could render you impervious to almost every decease known to the medical community at the time. It would also greatly expand your pain threshold and enhance your healing abilities well beyond the human limits. (I will not bore you with the technical details in this letter, but I am attaching your real medical file in case you want to go over it for whatever reason.)
Again, I consulted with your mother before administering you the serums that would make your recovery a reality. Together, we decided that it would be best not to tell you what I was doing. We also decided that we wouldn't tell anyone about my research or the results of the experiments I carried out on you. She feared that Shinra would try to recruit you from an early age and that my research would be used to breed an army that President Shinra could use against her homeland. I shared her fears on both accounts so I conducted everything in secret, relying on no one. I'm not sure if you remember those times, but your mother and I lived in constant fear that someone would find out what I was doing and the Turks would come to get you in the middle of the night.
Thankfully, this didn't happen. It took nearly five years for the treatment to be completed but it was the most successful scientific endeavour of my life. Your health improved remarkably, you started gaining all the weight you had failed to put on in your first years, and your body became strong, flexible, resilient. Your mind didn't lag behind and you excelled in all of your academic courses. Your mother and I couldn't be more thrilled, although fear never left our lives. Even if no one could know that your prowess stemmed from genetic experimentation, you could still stand out and catch Shinra's eye, which is why we always kept you in private schools that were not supervised by the company.
All this being said, I know that it is very likely that you are angry and maybe even disgusted at the course of action your mother and I took. From our conversations after her death, I know you are against experimentation on humans in order to lengthen our lives. I know you firmly believe in the flow of energy that sustains the life of our Planet, and that you found solace in that notion when your mother fell ill and it became clear that nothing would stop or even slow down the arrival of the inevitable end.
I still remember the argument we had over the experimental treatment I wanted to try on her. It saddened me that we never found the time to try to fix the enormous rift that grew between us because of it. It wounded me deeply to have you so close and to know that, emotionally, you might as well have been a million miles away.
I am sorry, Vincent. I am sorry that we had to hide the truth from you. I am sorry that I was always so inflexible, but especially at the time of your mother's illness and passing. You were only twelve years old but could argue your points better than most adults I know, which led me to forget you were a scared child about to lose his mother and that you needed your father's support, not his criticism or anger. I should not have taken my frustration out on you, and I shouldn't have buried myself in my research in order to leave my pain behind. I know you may not be able to forgive me but I need you to know how sorry I am. If I had only known how, I would have made as many amends as possible.
Lastly, you should know that I love you. You are my son, and I have always been proud of you.
With love,
Your father
Tapes and files littered Vincent's desk. He read most of the files but didn't go through any of the additional tapes Gast sent him. After reviewing his medical record and underlying the names of the children his father enlisted for his research, Vincent took the letter with him to his room. He read it several times, trying to picture his father sitting at his desk back at their house in Sector Two, doing his best to explain to him things that Vincent wasn't sure he wanted to know.
I know it's not how you wanted it to be, but you have your explanation and the apology you wished for all those years.
You're right. This isn't how I wanted it to be.
Vincent held the letter in his hands and debated whether to tear it up or not. In the end, he put it back in the envelope and locked it in his night table's drawer. Then he went around his apartment locking the door and windows and turning all lights off.
Vincent? You need to call Gast.
Vincent didn't reply. He just kept on moving through the apartment listlessly.
Vincent, snap out of it. I know what you're going to do and you can't. You promised Cloud that you wouldn't shoulder this on your own.
I did no such thing.
You didn't say the words, but you hugged him. It's the same thing.
With a scoff, Vincent went to his studio and dropped all the files and tapes back on the cardboard box Cloud had delivered them in. He kicked the box under his desk and then locked his studio. Back in his room, he took a cold shower, brushed his teeth, changed into this pyjamas and slipped under his covers.
You have to call Gast, Chaos repeated. Or at least Tseng.
Vincent grunted and reached for his phone.
Messages
To: R. Shinra, G. Faremis, Turks (Group)
Exhausted. DND unless someone is dying or needs to die.
— VV
You need to at least check up on Elena and Kunsel.
Tseng or Rufus would've called already if they'd taken a turn for the worse again. No news is good news.
He pulled the covers over his head and curled in a foetal position, trying to sleep.
You're being ridiculous. What happened to leaving the past where it belongs?
Vincent curled tighter.
I get that you don't want to see anyone right now, but we need to talk about all the stuff you just read and saw. Don't think for a second that you're the only one that's disgusted by all of it. I was there, too. I was used just as—
Vincent shut Chaos out and threw the hypothetical key through the hypothetical window. He was asleep within minutes.
Greetings, lovely readers and followers! First of all, I want to apologise for the ridiculously long wait—if you've read my bio, then you'll know that I was without my computer for a long time. I've had it back for a couple of weeks now, and that's basically how long it took me to get this chapter ready. It's still kind of "hot off the press", so if you find any gross mistakes, don't be afraid to let me know. I know I found a lot of typos in the previous chapter but I'm not going to go back through them yet. I think I'll leave all editing until I'm done with the story, which might not be any time soon.
I had initially hoped to update this once a week, but given the amount of other stuff I have to do, that's not feasible anymore. I'm thinking that I'll end up updating once or twice a month. That will allow me time to develop the story as it deserves to be developed and to work on other projects so that I'm not swamped in work all the time.
Again, I apologise about the long wait and I thank you for your patience. Also, thank you very much for all your comments and favourites and follows (and kudos over at AO3). I think I have replied to all of you, except for the two guest comments over on , which I'll tackle here:
Guest 1: Thanks and happy (belated) (Vincent) Valentine's day! As for the seme/uke thing, I'm thinking that in the beginning it'll be seem!Vincent/uke!Sephiroth, but it doesn't mean that it'll be that way ALL the time :P
Guest 2: I have! And I will continue to do so! I just had technological issues D:
Once again, thank you very much for all your support! Hope to see you again soon!