It was a month after the events of DeepGround as Shelke sat on one of the many new benches in the remodeled WRO headquarters. She was visiting Reeve for her daily dose of mako but was forced to wait on a bench by one of the operating rooms due to an unscheldued meeting that he had to attend. Though, she didn't mind the wait. It gave her some time to think about how much her life had changed within a course of a month. She had gone from an elite member of DeepGround, a member of the Tsviets and being forced to live beneath the ShinRa building in Midgar; having no emotions towards anyone around her due to her decade of torture and brainwashing she had to endure...to having an adoptive family who looked after her and people who cared about her well being. So much had changed. Looking back now, she was glad to finally have found her sister, even though the timing did not go well and she returned to the planet before she could patch things up with her.

Shelke closes her eyes as she leans her head against the wall, blinking back tears. Though her sister was in a better place, resting in peace with her mother, Shelke still missed her. But even though all of her blood family was gone, she wasn't alone, not completely. A smile smile tugs at her lips as she realizes the truth in that statement. Even now, while she waited in the hallway for Reeve Tuesti to return from his meeting, she felt the emotions and could relive the memories of Dr. Lucrecia Crescent within her mind. She had uploaded most of her information up to the WRO data base but there was a portion of Dr. Crescent's mnemonic data fragments remaining within her own neural network. Every so often she could project the doctor when she was alone from her mind and have a minor conversation every so often with her.

"Shelke...what are you doing here?"

The young ex-DeepGround female opens her eyes as she turns her head to the male voice beside her. A tall male with long black hair, a black outfit, a red tattered cape and gold metalic bracers on his left arm and boots. But she didn't need to see him to know who he was. The dark voice he had triggered numberous memory fragments to react. She gives him a court nod.

"Vincent Valentine...It has been a while." she says with a small smile. "I'm waiting for Reeve Tuesti. Apparently he had to attend a meeting of some sort."

Vincent gave her a nod before taking a seat beside her on the bench. He looked at her for a moment before giving her a small smile as well. "The outfit you are wearing...did Yuffie pick it out for you?" he asked with a slight hint of curiosity.

She looked down to herself and shook her head. Since living with Tifa and Cloud on 7th Street in Edge, both Tifa and Yuffie took it upon themselves to take Shelke shopping every so often to not only get out of her old DeepGround uniform, but to give her a sense of individuality. Today she was wearing a pink top with a grey skirt and pink shoes to match. Not many people knew, but pink was her favorite color. Now that she had more of a choice to wear what she wanted, she wore pink as often as she could.

"No...I actually picked it out. But...I do feel a little guilty wearing it though." she says as she tugged the hem of the skirt down, stretching out the material.

Vincent tilted his head at her. "Why?"

"When Tifa took me shopping the other day...I saw the outfit and fell in love with it, but the price was a bit much. She insited that I get it though and not to worry about the cost. Still...I find it strange that she would be willing to spend so much gil on an outfit for me."

He gave a small chuckle as he leaned back in the bench. "I think the reason she said that is because she wants to make you happy or at the very least, comfortable in your new lifestyle. But I can't speak too much on Tifa's behalf."

Shelke looks up towards the neon blue lights above them with a thoughtful glance. " To make me happy..." she repeated with a distant smile. "Well, it does make me a bit happy to be free from having to wear a uniform everyday." she says with a firm nod.

Vincent turns to offer a retort to her comment but reframe from doing so as a set of automatic doors down the hall a bit open. On the other side of the door was Reeve Tuesti. He gave both Shelke and Vincent a slight nod. Though as Shelke saw Reeve, she could tell that there was something troubling him. Shelke removes herself from Vincent's side as she approaches him.

"Is there something the matter?"

Reeve gave her a nervous laugh, shaking his head. "Oh goodness no. You have nothing to worry about. Come with me and I'll get you set up." He then looks to Vincent. "Will you be staying here a while?"

Vincent have him an absent nod. "Why?"

"I need to speek with you about something. But it can wait a few moments. Do you mind meeting me in my office?"

He shook his head before pushing himself up off the bench and giving Shelke a light pat on the head. "See you later, Shelke."

She smiled up at him, nodding. "Until we meet again, Vincent Valentine."

With that, they parted ways as he went up the stairs to Reeve's office and Shelke followed Reeve to one of the containers that were hooked up to metal tubs that stored mako. As she leaned against the back of the container, the glass seal closed over her and began to fill with mako energy. Shelke was then pulled into a deep slumber as her body absorbed the mako it so desperately craved. Reeve then assigned two of his WRO guards to look after Shelke and to radio him the moment she woke up.

Vincent leaned against one of the many tables in Reeve's office as he waited for the commissioner to return with his arms crossed over his chest. Much like Shelke, he noticed that haunting look in his eyes. There was certainly something up and Reeve was hiding something. A tired sigh escapes his lips as he closed his crimson orbs. He was undoubtedly going to be given a task for Reeve; which he didn't really care for. But to be fair to Reeve, he had to hear him out atleast.

As if on que, the commissioner enters the room through the automatic doors. Vincent opens his eyes as he looks towards Reeve.

"Alright, what is it you want this time, Reeve?" Vincent asks, not wanting to beat around the bush. Better to get whatever Reeve wanted out of the way before being dragged into something that he had little desire for and had to be begged to help.

Reeve rubs the back of his head before letting out a deep sigh. "As you are well aware, Shelke has come here every so often to get her daily dose of mako. Due to the experiments and such that were done to her while in DeepGround, her body takes an eminence toll when she uses her abilities, enhance the need for the constant need for mako. I wanted to see if there was a way that we could repair the damage done to her body and maybe even reverse the state she is in so she would be able to mature properly. But to do so I had to find the old files within the ShinRa data base for the SND Project..."

Vincent gave Reeve a nod. "Did you find anything?"

"Not much. I did find out that she was not the only one that was tested for the project. I found a list of other people who were tested the same way but were discarded when they didn't give the desired results from the ShinRa company. apparently they needed someone of a young mind to be able to contain the effects of using a Synaptic Net Dive. According to the reports, the younger the test subject, the better. At the time, Shelke was the youngest recorded, being at the age of nine. When they finally perfected their desired goal it was recorded that they were going to use the SND project in a new form of warfare. If they were successful in creating a small army of people similar to her abilities, they would be able to create a digital war that could create illusions and be unstoppable. But in order to do keep up the physical state of the one test subject they did have; they had to use a certain chemical compound to keep their subject at a certain age for the SND to be successful. There was no listing of the chemical that they used but I wasn't going to stop my search for answers and what I found out wasn't too pretty.."

Reeve took a seat by his desk and made a few clicks of his keyboard before pulling up the document. Vincent pushes himself away from his location and glances at the computer screen beside Reeve. As he scans the document he notices a few names listed, members of the Turks that he trained with before becoming a body guard for Crescent. Reeve then takes his computer mouse and highlights the names of those that were in charge of the project.

"Do you recognize these two?"

Vincent gave him a short nod. "I know of them, yes. Why?"

"It seems that these two were listed as missing after the explosion at ShinRa. After the fire was put out there, a search team was sent to look for any survivors but came out empty handed. It was then decided that they were declared as dead..or so we thought. There have been reports that they were sighted by Midgar about a week ago. I used 'you-know-who' to see what was going on there and by the looks of things, it seemed that a lab was being built near the ruins of the ShinRa building. I didn't see the two scientist that were missing but I did see that there was indeed someone living there and many of the documents that were in the ShinRa data base were in hard copies, spreading over several notebooks on tables. There were also several new metal cages in some of the old rooms with chairs and medical equipment in the rooms. I don't want to jump to conclusions here but I get the feeling that the lab there is no coincidence. "

Vincent narrows his eyes at the thought. "So you think someone wants to pick up where ShinRa left off with the project Shelke was involved in?"

Reeve gives Vincent a slow nod. "Exactly. More importantly, I worry for Shelke's safety. I know she is capable of defending herself but I don't want her to have to worry about having to fight anymore."

Vincent crosses his arms over his chest as he gave Reeve a thoughtful look. "Shelke knows how to defend herself. She should know about this. I am sure she could give us a little more information about the project and those involved than the documents could."

Reeve rubs the back of his head with a sigh. "I had a feeling you would say that..." He closes the files and pulls away from the computer. "We can tell her when she wakes up."

Reeve goes towards the door to return to Shelke's room when his phone rings. Pausing, he reaches from his back pocket and answers it.

"Hello?...Understood. I'll be there in a few moments." Reeve closes his phone and looks over to Vincent. "I have to attend another meeting with the WRO commanders. Appearently they found something. Do you mind looking after Shelke until I get back?"

Vincent shakes his head. "No, I don't mind."

Without another word, both Reeve and Vincent leave the room but heading towards different directions. When Vincent reaches Shelke's room he dismisses the WRO soldiers as he leans against one of the walls as he watches over Shelke. As he watched her through the glass he could see how peaceful she looked..and how young she was. It was hard to believe that she was actually nineteen but was trapped within the form of a child. She surely didn't act like one. Above all else, he was surprised that she was even still alive. After all that was done to her, and what she was made to do while she was in DeepGround, it was a amazing that she was even before him today. But at the same time, he was pleased to see her. Every so often he would catch glimpses of Lucrecia from her eyes. He tried to tell himself that seeing his beloved Lucrecia through Shelke was the only reason why he cared for her but he would be lying if he said so.

Not only was that reason wrong all on its own, but he genially cared for Shelke. He envied her strength to move on from the past and to make amends with what she had, something that he could admit that he was unable to do on his own. Much like Shelke, he had the assistance of Reeve and the others to help him move on from the past. However, as much as they helped him feel welcomed, it was Shelke that guided him from the darkness and when he strayed too far off the beaten path. It was ironic really. He was nearly double her age, if not more so, and she was looking after /him/. Though...after hearing the news that Reeve shared, he would have to do the same for her. Yes, Shelke could defend herself. He fought her himself when she was still a legit member of DeepGround. But now that she was slowly getting used to a civilian life, he didn't want her to miss out on having a normal life. Not when she had already lost her childhood to a greedy power company through torture and brainwashing. No..he would do everything in his power to make sure that she was away from harm.

Letting out a deep sigh, he glances at a nearby clock. It was still somewhat early in the day that she could have a 'normal life'. About a half hour passed before Shelke's eyes slowly opened as she looked around, seeming to be filled with more life than she had earlier. Upon seeing her awake Vincent goes towards the control panel near the container to release Shelke. Once the mako energy drained, the doors slowly opened as she walked out with a small smile on her lips.

"Vincent Valentine. It seems everywhere I look I am seeing you today." She tilts her head at him curiously. "Are you following me?"

He shakes his head. "Reeve just wanted me to look after you until he got back."

Shelke rolled her eyes as she brushed off her skirt with a sigh. "I don't need someone to look after me. I /look/ nine years old, not act it. I can take care of myself."

A small smile forms over Vincent's lips as he tilted his head at her. "Hmn, that may be so but it was still a request to look after you."

She slowly looks up to him. "Are you acting as my guard then?"

He gave a shrug, not thinking too poorly on the thought of being her guard. "I guess so."

Her plain expression altered to an amused one. "Well, I can't say that I mind too much. Being around you is always interesting. There is never a dull moment." she admitted.

She goes towards the other side of the room where she placed her cell phone and started going through her contacts to find Tifa's phone number. It was an everyday routine for her to wake up, take a shower, go to the WRO headquarters for mako, then get picked up to do whatever was planned for the day.

"What are you doing?", she heard Vincent ask from across the room.

"Calling for Tifa to pick me up. Why, is there something the matter?"

Letting out a sigh, he took a step closer towards her. "Reeve needs to speak to you."

She nods. "So..there was something up. I had a feeling. Very well. Where is he?"

Vincent looks out the small window for the room, seeing the various WRO soldiers do their rounds through the halls. "He's at another meeting but he should be here shortly."

Her eyes narrow at the news. "He has been attending many meetings these days. That does not bode well..." she spoke softly.

Right then, Reeve comes through the door and offers Shelke a slight nod. "How are you feeling, Shelke?"

She turns her attention towards the commissioner. "I am feeling better, thank you. Vincent tells me that you wish to speak to me?"

He nods, crossing his arms over his chest as he gave her a thoughtful expression. "I do hate to ask this of you but, do you remember anything about the SND project you were a part of?"

Shelke could feel her entire body freeze as her eyes went wide from the mention of the project. She slowly averted her gaze to hide the wave of emotions and memories that flooded her at the mention of the hell she went through. "Yes...but...why do you need to know?" she uttered softly.

"There have been sightings that the scientists that were involved with that project may have survived and are around Midgar. I don't to assume information that we don't have on file and the only other source we have is someone who has been through the project first-hand."

Her hands fisted at her side as she tightened her grip on her cell phone. "For a decade, I was tortured into expanding my mental capacity and having the physical ability to project myself into a virtual reality by connecting myself with pre-processed data. So many years I endured the mental and physical pain of the many tests that were done to me. For the first couple of years, the days came to me as a blur. I was too young to understand that they used narcotics to numb my mind and body as they attached me to several chains of machines, testing my potential and slowly, my sanity. But I know I was not the only one. There were many others that were given the same treatment as me. I vaguely remember the room I shared...it was with four other girls, all older than me. When I was a little kid, I always wondered what happened to them. But I know better now that they did not survive the many tests."

She shakes her head with her eyes closed for a moment. Images of the past were starting to surface and she wanted nothing more than to push them away.

"Anyways...I was the only one from the hundreds that they tested on to survive, making me one of the elite in DeepGround, a supposed jewel to the many experiments done in DeepGround. But to stay alive I was told that I need to have mako injected within my system each day for the data I contained would over-ride the enzymes within my body if I didn't. I can't say I remember the name of the scientist that worked on me nor those that were around me during the testings. So I cannot be of any help there. Like I said, that time period of my life is nothing but a blur."

He gave her a nod. "Is that all you can remember, Shelke?"

She looks up to him, her eyes narrowed. "Yes. If your reports of those scientists still being around is true, it would be my pleasure to dispose of them myself."

Reeve shakes his head. "That won't be needed. Thank you for your information though."

Shelke nods before looking towards Vincent. "If he will not allow me to seek them out, would you care to walk me to the front? I should really get going."

Vincent gives her a nod as he follows after her. He pauses at the door, looking back to Reeve. "I'll keep an eye out for her. You don't even need to ask."

Reeve nods, pleased to know that Vincent already knew what he was going to ask of him. As Vincent caught up to Shelke he saw that she was towards the main door and was leaning against a wall with her cell phone in her hand. She had a grim look about her before she hung up.

"What's wrong?"

Slowly, she slipped the phone back into the side pocket of her skirt before looking back to Vincent. "When I tried to call Tifa...I didn't get her phone..and it said that the phone line was out of service. She always answers her phone. Something...doesn't feel right."

Narrowing his eyes, he pulls out his own phone to see if it was just her phone or the fact that Tifa's phone was indeed non-operiatable. He scrolls through his contacts and attempts to call Tifa, only to get a busy signal before it clicks to having a message that the phone number that he dialed was no longer available. "Hmn...that isn't right."

Shelke nods in agreement. "I would call Cloud but I don't think he answers his phone anymore."

"Hmn..maybe not." He scrolls down his contacts, seeing Yuffie's number. As much as he loathed having her number on his phone, it did come in handy every so often. "But I know someone who does." With a sigh, he dialed her number and held his phone up to his ear as he waited for the Wutai ninja to pick up. He only had to wait until it rang twice for her to pick up.

"Hey Vince! Fancy you calling me.~ I was just about to call you!"

He lets out a sigh. "Really? Why is that?" Sometimes he just wondered where the woman got her over a abundance of energy.

"Well Tifa has gone missing, so has Denzel and Marline. I just got a phone call from Cloud saying that the kids and Tifa weren't home. The place seemed to be a mess too, from how Cloud described it. If I didn't know better, it seemed like someone was looking for something there..."

Vincent's eyes narrowed as he looked towards Shelke, who gave him a concerned glance. "Did Cloud mention where he was?"

"Hmn..I think he mentioned something about looking for Tifa and the kids, but he didn't give me any leads or anything. But he did want me to let you know that he wanted you to look after Shelke. With their place as a mess and those three gone, that place is obviously not safe. You don't mind, do ya' Vince?"

"No...I don't mind. Thanks Yuffie."

"Hen..not a prob. I'll keep ya' updated if I hear anything else. Well I gotta go. Talk to you later Vince!"

Vincent flips his phone closed as he looks to Shelke. "Looks like you will be staying with me for a while, Shelke. It seems that Tifa and the two kids are missing and her bar was ruined in the process. Cloud is out looking for them now but he requested that I look after you."

Shelke gives him a troubling look, shaking her head. "I get the feeling that this is no coincidence. I fear what may happen to them. If the sightings of those responsible for the experiments I was put through and those three missing are connected then I have a strange feeling that Tifa may not survive. She may be physically capable of defending herself but an adult that has not been bred to tolerate psych battles in their mind may undo her sanity." She shakes her head. "No...I need to have hope that Cloud will find them before it is too late for them, right?"

He gives her a slight nod before tilting his head towards the door. "Come on. We should get going."

Nodding, she takes her place beside him as they walk outside to one of the WRO Shadowfox cargo trucks. Vincent talks to the driver, requesting that they give them a lift back to Kalm, where he lived. Once they agreed, both Vincent and Shelke hopped in the back. Through out the whole ride Shelke kept to herself as she sat on the metal bench across from him. She couldn't help but think about what could be happening to Tifa, Denzel and Marline. As far as she was concerned, they were good people and didn't deserve the same torture she had to endure. She hoped with all her being that they would be alright. Seeing that she was scared, Vincent quickly moved across the moving cargo truck and sat beside Shelke as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. As if it was an instinct, she found herself around his protective embrace as she leaned her head against his chest while his tattered cloak covered her. She clung to him tightly like a frightented child would to a parent when they were terrified of a thunder storm. For the entirety of the drive they remained silent as he held onto her.

Through bluryr eyes Tifa found herself in a small room and unable to move. She tried shifting her arms and legs but neither would budge. It was then that she felt the tight leather bindings around her legs and arms. Her mind felt so groggy. Where was she? Looking around, she saw a dim light above her as well as bars around the room she was in. What the...? Her eyes went wide as she remembered all that happened.

'She was washing the dishes from breakfast and was getting ready to go pick Shelke from the WRO headquarters when there was someone coming through the door. Naturally, she paused in what she was doing, thinking it was a customer. But when she turned around she saw a male figure in a black coat sit at the bar and requested that she tell her where Shelke was. Curious, she asked why. Apparently he wasn't in the mood to divulge information and pulled out a gun, threatening to kill her if she didn't disclose Shelke's location. Tifa had glared at him and demanded that he leave her bar before she threw him out. From that point on, she remember that she fought him, trashing the bar and called to the kids upstairs to stay put, as they watched in fear at the staircase.

But with her back turned for a moment to care for the orphans, he took advantage of her and shot her in the shoulder with something that felt like a lightning bolt and shocked her. As she lost her conciousness, she saw a glimpse of both of the kids being dragged off by the male in black before darkness over took her.'

"M-Marline...Denzel..." she uttered softly, unable to speak louder.

A dark laugh sounded at the other side of the room as keys and metal clinked as a door was opened then closed. "If you are worried about the children, then don't. You will be joining them soon enough, assuming that they live through the night."

"You bastard...where..are the kids?!" she demanded within a hiss.

The male, keeping himself in the shadow for now, gave a gleeful sigh. "They are being good little lab rats, if you must know. " His eyes narrowed. "But as for you, I have something very special that I wish to test."

"You won't get away with this!" she snarled, slowly regaining her strength, but not quick enough to escape from her bindings. "People will come looking for me and the kids!"

"Oh I am counting on it. Nothing is better than live bait." It was then that he showed himself. He was a male who had short black hair with green eyes wearing a white lab coat. Under his coat he wore all black. But the most obvious thing she notice from him was the scars his bore across his face. There were many of different sizes and angles. It seemed that he went through hell and came back with more than enough battle scars. "The moment we have Shelke back here, we can continue where we left off. Now I will only ask you once more. Where is she?"

Unsure of the current time, Tifa shook her head. "I don't know...but even if I did, I wouldn't tell a creep like you."

Shaking his head, he reached for one of the smaller containers that was by the metal table beside Tifa's chair. He lifted one of the many thick needles beside the containers and filled it with a clear liquid. "I am afraid that was the wrong answer I was looking for." he said, though his facial expression said otherwise. He had a sadistic look about him. "I shall teach you to uphold information from me." he says before holding down her right arm with a firm grip, injecting the needle into her, making Tifa scream out in pain from the sting of both the needle and the chemical compound he gave her, causing her to blank out once again...

[To be continued...]