Chapter 2

Yuffie cursed her rotten luck. What started out as an easy job had turned into a nightmare. All the same, she was glad that Vincent was okay, although he looked moody as ever. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she climbed on top of the iron maiden and peered down at this mysterious woman that had such a power over him. To her disappointment, Lucrecia's face was hidden by the folds of the hooded cloak.

"Drat!" she hissed.

"This is an outrage!" bellowed Dio dramatically, "How dare you sneak in here like a common thief!"

Yuffie gulped guiltily and hid again.

"I'm not here to steal anything," stated Vincent dryly as he pointed the gun at Lucrecia, "But she must not leave with that sword."

"I've paid dearly for this," countered Lucrecia. He shook his head slowly.

"Forgive me," he admitted, "I wanted you to be free."

"I am free, thanks to you," she replied taking a step closer, "And I am now yours."

"Not as long as you belong to him," said Vincent sadly, "And he stands for nothing but destruction."

"As does your true self," she said placing a hand on his arm and gently pushing the pistol in his grip down.

"Chaos," whispered Vincent darkly. Already he could feel the darkness stirring in his blood; the faint yet always insistent voice of Jenova calling for vengeance.

"We can all have what we want," she said as reached out to touch his face, "Don't be afraid."

"No," he protested raising the pistol to her heart, "I have sworn to protect the Planet." As much as it pained him, he had to resist her. Lucrecia didn't look afraid, merely resigned.

"Pity," she sighed.

At that two small metal orbs landed between them and immediately gray acrid smoke poured out of the vents on the sides, rapidly filling the room.

"A smoke bomb!" coughed Dio. He felt a slight breeze as a blurry figure jumped over the iron maiden and brushed passed him. "Stop, thief!" he yelled after Yuffie; but she was long gone.

"I see we're not alone," observed Vincent turning back to Lucrecia who was also no longer there. He quickly ran out of the smoke-filled room down the corridor, and found himself face to face with Elena.

"Boss!" she gasped as she reached for her pistols.

"Get down," he said as he raised his gun. She only had a second to hit the floor as he peeled off a few shots at the vanishing figure at the far end of the corridor. Elena saw his golden pointed boots as he stepped over her and down the hall. She quickly sat up with a frown: first the ninja girl, then the ghost woman, and now this.

"Stop them!" yelped Dio appearing behind her.

"Yeah, but which one?" she wondered.

When Vincent reached the open air, his black chocobo was already waiting for him. Penumbra seemed to be able to sense whenever he needed her. He leapt up into the saddle and patted her neck.

"Good girl," he said. The ebon chocobo ran up the wall and over the roof of the pavilion; from there he scanned the horizon. He quickly spotted Lucrecia riding on her own mount toward the Chocobo Racing square. Penumbra quickly took off in pursuit and leapt off the pavilion to the racetrack below. There was a collective gasp from the crowd they made their way up the course, backwards. Teioh streaked past them, the jockey looking shocked. It was almost enough to make Vincent smile.

"What the heck is this?" shouted the announcer, "Two intruders are on the racetrack!"

Vincent snapped the reins awkwardly with the pistol in the grip of his only usable hand. Penumbra streaked up a crystal ramp suspended in a starry void filled with orbiting planets, then into a cave filled with pillars and giants oysters. Another flock of multicolored chocobos raced past, some having to jump into the grandstand to avoid a collision.

"Hey buddy, wrong way!" shouted one of the jockeys irritably.

It was only when he reached the checkerboard ramp spiraling down that he caught sight of her. Lucrecia was riding a snow white chocobo, which he only seen owned by jockeys or shopkeepers in Mideel. She was clutching Masamune close to her heart. When she glanced back and saw Vincent was gaining, she ran off the track up the stairs in the grandstand. He plunged ahead after her over the roof and out onto the edge of the giant pavilion. She was waiting for him, on the edge looking uncertainly out across the vast trackless desert that stretched out far below them. In the distance they could hear the crowd going berserk.

"Give up Lucrecia," he stated flatly, "I don't want to hurt you."

"Are you sure I can't change your mind?" she replied. He shook his head slowly and she gave a faint helpless smile that he had known from long ago. It was only when she was completely exasperated with him that she looked that way. She shrugged and snapped the reins and her chocobo leapt off the parapet. Vincent ran forward to stop her, but saw that her mount had spread its wings and was gliding gracefully down into the desert far below. His shoulders slumped; she had won for now. Vincent heard a faint squawk and felt a beak nuzzling his shoulder. He reached up and patted Penumbra's head.

"Don't worry, we'll catch her," he vowed.

Back in Midgar, Pandora nearly spilled her second cup of tea when her cell phone rang angrily. She flashed an apologetic glance to Elmyra and Rude as she flipped her phone open.

"Hello?" she inquired tentatively.

"There you are Princess!" barked Reno on the other end, "Grab Rude and haul ass back to Gold Saucer!"

"Why, what happened?" she wondered. Rude saw her troubled expression and stood up.

"Thanks for your hospitality Ma'am," he stated stiffly to Elmyra.

"Lucrecia and Vincent showed up at the auction," raved Reno, "All hell is breaking loose!"

"Vincent?" echoed Pandora eagerly, "Is he all right?"

"Ask Elena when you get here," he snapped curtly, "And hurry up!" Pandora snapped the phone shut and turned to explain to Rude but saw he was already standing by the door.

"Tell me on the way," he intoned.

"Be safe dear," said Elmyra and she gave Pandora a kiss and hug.

"I will Mom," she promised and quickly headed out the door. Rude was about to follow when suddenly Elmyra took his hand and squeezed tightly.

"Please look after my daughter," she begged.

"I will," he said firmly. He would make sure that the fate that had befallen Aeris would not happen to Pandora. Elymra released his hand and smiled bravely up at him.

"A man of few words," she observed wryly, "But I will trust in them." Rude couldn't say anything to add to that so he turned and walked out into the night.

Reeve was pacing in Dio's vault impatiently.

"Please understand Mister President!" protested Dio, "That materia was unique!"

"Frankly your materia can go hang," stated Reeve coldly, "Shinra has bigger fish to fry."

"We know who stole it anyway," added Elena, "We can pressure Sir Goda to have his daughter return it."

"However, the sword was legitimately purchased!" whined the manager, "I am only upset over the disruption they caused to my business."

At that Reno strode in, followed by Rude and Pandora.

"Good, you're all here," began Reeve, "We have two separate incidents here."

"Speedo Boy got his materia swiped by Ninja Girl," explained Reno helpfully, "Then Scary Lady bought a sword and was chased by Gloomy Gus."

"Did you understand that?" asked Elena to Pandora, who giggled behind her hand.

"Sad to say I did," she replied. Reno shot her a miffed glance.

"Not just any sword," said Reeve darkly, "It was Masamune."

That caused a chill to fill the room. It could only mean one thing; that Lucrecia wanted to find Sephiroth.

"So what's our next move?" asked Elena. Reeve rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"What's her next move?" he mused, "That's the real question." They fell silent and then Pandora was struck by a thought.

"How did Vincent bring back Aeris?" she asked.

"Well, she was cloned," began Elena hesitantly, "Which was you…."

"But that was just her body," countered Pandora, "Her true essence was contained in the white materia."

"So you're saying Lucrecia plans to clone Sephiroth?" wondered Rude. She nodded.

"She'd need access to a lab and cell cultures," said Reeve, "Which only Shinra could provide."

"Who was the Shinra scientist that created my body?" wondered Pandora.

"Oswald," replied Rude, "Shall we pay him a visit?"

"Good place to start as any," instructed Reeve, "He's vacationing in Costa del Sol." He gave a brief nod and the Turks filed out of the room, followed by Dio. Elena paused at the door, hesitating. "What is it?" inquired Reeve.

"If Lucrecia and Vincent are both after him," she mused, "He'd better pray that we get to him first."

The sun was setting across the golden beaches of Costa del Sol, a favorite resort town for swimming and surfing. A series of whitewashed buildings with orange roofs formed a backdrop, while a footbridge led to the docks and helipad. Most of the sunbathers had gone in for the evening to the bars and restaurants, but a lone man sat on the beach, reading under a large umbrella. His blond hair was arrayed into long spikes that almost everyone he met felt they had to comment on, while his cobalt blue eyes almost glowed behind the sunglasses he wore. He was dressed in a black swimming trunks and a grey sweatshirt.

"Cloud, come on in: the water's fine!"

Cloud Strife looked up to see a woman with long brown hair and crimson eyes that registered amusement. She wore a white two piece swimsuit that accentuated her curves and long legs. Tifa Lockheart was his childhood friend and a staunch ally in his crusade to defeat Sephiroth. He guessed they could have been more than friends if fate hadn't intervened. Then Aeris came along. His failure to save her had breached a hole in his soul; and yet it was starting to heal, after he had been able to meet her briefly under the plunging wreckage of Neo-Midgar. Perhaps now he could open his heart to Tifa.

"I'll burn into a crisp in the sun," he explained softly, "Wait until nightfall."

"A moonlight swim sounds nice," said Tifa as she picked up a towel and dried with it. She then slumped into the chair next to him with a soft sigh. "Thanks," she added.

"For what?" he wondered as he set the book down.

"For suggesting a vacation here," she replied, "We definitely need one."

"Don't mention it," he said and found himself simply staring at Tifa's profile. It took her a moment to notice.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

"Sorry," he apologized hastily, "I was just thinking how good you look in a bathing suit." She blushed and pulled the towel around her shoulders.

"You dummy," she chided gently. They sat in silence together for a while and then Cloud felt a chill go up his spine. He half turned and saw a woman wearing a white cape making her way past the stalls and shop counters to a red tiled patio.

Lucrecia paused for a moment before going inside the inn. She had to be ready for the coming battle. The fools would try to stop her, as they did before. But she wanted him back; she had suffered long enough alone and cold. The bell on the double doors jingled merrily as she swung it open. Inside was a small parlor along with an elderly woman with wire rimmed glasses.

"Just one guest?" she inquired, "It'll be 200 Gil, dear." Lucrecia nodded and handed over the money. The innkeeper gave her a room key and she went down the hallway, ignoring the room she had just rented and went to the next one. Even through the shut door, she could make out the sound of a man's voice.

"You sound delusional Mister President!" he was saying, "That woman has been dead for more than a decade." He's more right than he knows she thought with amusement as she knocked lightly on the door. "Hold on a minute," she heard him say. The door swung open and she saw a man with silver hair and horn rimmed glasses wearing a white shirt and black slacks. Even on vacation the man looked dressed for work.

"Hello Alistair," she said pleasantly, "You haven't changed a bit." He stared at her in numb shock. The cell phone fell from his grip and clattered onto the wooden floor.

"Oswald?" shouted a tinny voice, "Are you still there?"

"Let me get straight to the point," she explained evenly, "What did you do with my son's cell culture?"

"Lucrecia…," he stammered, "But you're dead!" She smiled sadly and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"His name was Sephiroth," said Lucrecia, "Where is he?" He glanced nervously up at the ceiling at the sound of a helicopter passing close overhead. She was running out of time. Oswald tried to back away but her grip on his shoulder was firm.

"I don't know!" he whined, "They were last stored in the Junon reactor, but that accursed Valentine blew it up!"

"Thank you Alistair," she said briskly as she released him, "Make sure to stay somewhere I can find you."

"Find me?" he gasped as he slumped to his knees, "Why?"

"I'll need your services again soon," she stated simply as she left through the door. She made her way back outside and walked down a back alley, where her white chocobo was waiting patiently. "We'll be a family again Paladin," she murmured to the giant bird.

"You're that woman from the cave!"

She turned to see Cloud standing there with a long cloth-wrapped bundle. Tifa was next to him, wearing a towel wrapped around her waist.

"You're friends of Vincent," said Lucrecia with an indulgent smile, "Did you see Sephiroth as well?"

"Sephiroth?" echoed Tifa in shock, "Well…."

"What are your intentions?" demanded Cloud coldly, clutching on the hilt of the bundled sword tightly. She merely closed her eyes and shook her head. This was going to be difficult.

"Cloud, wait!"

They turned to see a woman running up to them in a dark blue suit, followed by the rest of the Turks.

"Aeris," whispered Cloud.