By a Fraction of a Degree

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Part III: Demons

Chapter 60, Argento's Work and Lucrecia's Legacy.

June 19th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 1:00 AM

Zack made his way across the grassy plains outside of Kalm, with Kunsel at his side along with Veld, Elfe and Shears. It had been about two hours ago that public com channels had been reestablished outside of Midgar, and about half an hour ago that Zack had received a near frantic call from Tifa. Right now, he felt like he had entered a sort of twilight zone where everything had been stood on its ear. Rufus had authorized the Turks to pick up Tifa, Cissnei, and Freya, and now the President of the Shinra Electric Power Company was demanding a meeting with him over neutral ground.

They had parked their van a short distance away behind the cover of a hill, leaving Rod to watch over it a couple of minutes ago. Right now, he could see the headlights of another vehicle up ahead of him shining a barrier beyond which none of them could see very easily in the dark. The only thing he could see very clearly, was Rufus standing directly in the headlight beam, his white suit standing out like a beacon in the dark. Upon coming closer, he could see several SOLDIERs along with Tseng and Elena.

He was almost to the vehicle in question when he saw someone running towards him. "Zack?" It was Tifa and Freya and Cissnei were following after them at a walk.

"Hey, are you girls all right?" he asked as they reached him. "Where's Cloud and Vincent?"

"Cloud… he gave…" Tifa started, but that was when Rufus cleared his throat.

"I hope you'll see this as a token of good will," the President said smoothly.

Zack looked at him suspiciously as the three women joined Kunsel and the others standing just behind him. "And why would you want our good will when you made it pretty clear you wanted us dead?"

Rufus smiled. "It's a reasonable question, though I assume you saw the ultimatum our friends in Deepground delivered this morning. Situations change. I'm sure you understand that much."

"That they can," Veld agreed. "At the drop of a hat."

"Which brings us to the situation at hand," Rufus finished. "We have conceived of a plan to deal with the Restrictors. Unfortunately, that plan requires resources you currently control."

"I'm listening," Zack said.

Tseng stepped forward. "We are unaware how much you know, but we have determined through contacts within the city that the person who is currently in charge of Deepground is none other than Professor Hojo."

"What?!" Freya exclaimed and then seemed to come to a realization and groaned. "That idiot!"

Zack looked back at Freya curiously. "Is there something I'm missing?"

"Cloud," Cissnei said softly. "The reason he and Vincent are not here with us is because they gave themselves up to one of the Restrictors so they'd let us go."

Zack looked from the two renegades to Tifa, and then back to Tseng and swallowed hard. Finally he took a deep breath, deciding that if Cloud and Vincent made it back alive, he was probably going to kill them for the heart attack he was threatening to have right now. To think of either of them in that madman's clutches again... It was all his worst nightmares come true.

After a moment, he turned his attention back to Tseng. This was more important. He could be upset later when he wasn't in the presence of what remained of Shinra. "Keep going."

Tseng nodded. "As I was saying, even though the Professor is nominally in charge, he has delegated most of his control over the Deepground soldiers to the Restrictors, otherwise known as the Lost Force. Most of them are believed to have been remnants of the 14th SOLDIER division, but there are a couple that we have unearthed through the recent decryption of some of the former President's files that one or two may have been Tsviets themselves at one time or another and were promoted. Regardless, they control the Tsviets through a series of microchips that have been implanted in their brain stems. The way they managed to get it to work, is through a series of corresponding chips within their own bodies."

Zack saw Elfe and Tifa visibly shiver at the thought, and he resisted the urge to do the same. "So what does this have to do with us?" he asked.

"We have determined through our research over the last few hours that these chips also contain tracking devices. Normally, we could use our communication towers to locate them, with the right equipment, however, as long as the Restrictors are in Midgar, they're under a communications blackout, making this impossible. We were discussing the possibility that this could be circumvented using a piece of experimental technology." Tseng looked behind him, clearing his throat.

To everyone's surprise, a morbidly obese old man appeared next to Rufus, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet like a child who had a secret. "Hey hey everyone!"

"Palmer…" Freya whispered.

Zack had never met the man, but he'd heard he was something of an idiot. He looked like he was rather advanced in years too but even so, when he spoke, he sounded unusually confident. "Back before Shinra gave up on the Space Program, our scientists were working on a potential use for it. We came up with an electronic device called a 'satellite.' We built a prototype for it to launch during the first space mission, in order to gather information about what space was like. It seemed like it could be a lot of fun!"

"And this is supposed to do what now?" Zack folded his arms as he started to get impatient.

Tseng continued, while Palmer wandered off, apparently attracted by a chocobo that was grazing in the distance. "We theorize that if we can get this satellite into a matching orbit above Midgar, we may be able to use it to circumvent the communications blackout, enabling us to locate the Restrictors wherever they are so that a strike team could conceivably take them out, neutralizing them, and Hojo, entirely."

Zack suddenly realized what they were getting at. "And you need the rocket to launch it, don't you…"

"Unfortunately, we lost control of it due to your little war," Rufus said with a nod. "However, if we can get this satellite into the air…"

"You've got it," Zack said, reaching for his PHS. Argento's words were still echoing in his thoughts. He had to admit, he wasn't entirely sure what the Tsviets' goals were, or if doing what they wanted was even a good idea, but with Cloud and Vincent in Hojo's clutches, and Midgar's population held prisoner, there was no time to be worrying about strange alliances. There was a proviso or two he wanted to make however. "We can arrange to let any technicians you want on the scene flown there from Junon by tomorrow morning, but we'll be watching them, and I want one of our guys behind the controls. There's only one man I want in that pilot seat, and I'm calling him right now."

Rufus nodded. "Due to the severity of this situation, I think we can make allowances."

Cloud's return to wakefulness was about as rude as his forced descent into unconsciousness. The first thing he became aware of was a needle being painfully jabbed into his arm. His eyes opened blearily trying to make them focus and when he succeeded, he immediately regretted it. Standing over him, stood a familiar sallow-skinned man who was looking down at him coldly. It was a face he barely remembered, yet he instantly knew to whom it belonged.

"Hojo…" he growled out the name as though it were the filthiest of slurs and he would have sat up but that was when he discovered the restraints.

The man leered at him as he withdrew the syringe and Cloud could see it was now filled with his blood. "So you remember me Specimen C. I have to admit, I had completely forgotten what you looked like until just recently. I'm not usually interested in reminiscing about failures."

"My name is Cloud," he spat.

"Whatever you call yourself doesn't matter," the scientist replied. "I have more important things to think about." He walked over to what seemed to be a centrifuge and placed the sample into a test tube.

Cloud glanced around the room. He had no idea where it was, but if he had to venture a guess, he seemed to be in a lab. He spotted Vincent near a large tube, also bound to a gurney. Thankfully, he looked unharmed. He heard the whir of the centrifuge and watched as the professor extricated the sample, pouring the newly separated liquid into a new syringe. "Like what?" he asked after a moment.

"I would have thought that would be obvious, you moron." He paused, and then continued. "Hmm… actually, you might make a good scientist." He turned away from him, carrying the syringe across the room. "It's because my son needs my help." That was when Cloud noticed the woman bound to a chair across the room. In spite of the restraints, she seemed to sit in it as regally as if she were sitting on a throne. She was wearing a tank top, leaving her arms exposed, but her dark hair didn't hide that her right eye was obscured by an eye-patch. She remained silent as he approached, watching him with cool disinterest.

Hojo continued speaking. "He never knew, of course. In fact he still looks down on me. But I offered the woman with my child to Professor Gast's Jenova Project. When Sephiroth was still in her womb…"

"We know what you did to Lucrecia," Vincent said. "It was all there in Dr. Rayleigh's research for everyone to see."

"It was my desire as a scientist," Hojo said, his lips curling up in a sadistic smile.

Vincent's eyes narrowed. "The one who should have slept, was you Hojo…"

Hojo cackled. "I doubt you'll have any success before Sephiroth summons Meteor." He jammed the syringe directly into the woman's arm.

"But he's dead," Cloud interjected, trying unsuccessfully to sit up again.

"Not as much as you think, Specimen C," Hojo released the woman's arm. "He's been working on his own within the Lifestream for quite some time trying to resurrect himself using what remains of the active Jenova cells in the world, but once he saw that I had a better plan. Well, even he can recognize a shortcut when he sees one."

"What sort of shortcut?" Cloud asked. Perhaps if he could keep the scientist talking, maybe they could find a way out of this. He had no idea how much time had passed since he'd been knocked out, but maybe they could still get back to the girls and get out of Midgar.

Hojo smiled in self-satisfaction as he warmed to the story. "After you destroyed my attempt to test my Jenova Reunion theory, I was taken to Deepground, but you can't stop progress. It was only a matter of time before I gained enough control over Sector 0 to get me what I needed. Your defeat of Sephiroth at the crater caused him to withdraw into the Lifestream not in death, as you suspected, but to gather his strength for a new attempt. Resurrecting him earlier than he'd planned required a number of items these bottom feeders could not provide, but as you can see, we managed." He walked over to another table and Cloud was surprised to see two objects sitting there. One was an unusually long odachi, and the other appeared to be some kind of small tank, inside of which sat something he hoped he'd never see again. Jenova's head. His eyes widened.

Seeing his recognition the professor nodded. "Of course it wasn't easy. Not only did I have to circumvent a coup among Deepground's own specimens and get the Restrictors under my control and away from those buffoons, Scarlet and Heidegger, but then I had to arrange a mission to the Northern Crater to retrieve these items. I was lucky to be able to find Argento here, among the Tsviets. She was stolen from me a good while ago but fortunately, unlike some failures, she still had potential." He walked away from the table to place a hand almost fatherly on the woman's shoulder.

Argento looked up at him, not even bothering to hide her contempt. "You do realize," she said icily, "If not for the restrictors, I could easily snap your neck."

Hojo simply laughed at that, and continued on as though she'd said nothing. "But there was one thing missing. Her preparation for my own experiments was interrupted and her body had been polluted by Deepground's experiements with G-cells. I needed a pure source of untainted S-cells in order to make her a suitable vessel, which I have just acquired." Having made his point, he walked over to a computer on a desk nearby and started typing something into it.

Argento raised an eyebrow. "So this is why you had such an interest in Strife. I thought it was because Sephiroth would be drawn by him."

"I could have created the optimal conditions for Sephiroth's revival without him," Hojo said. "After all, your genetic attributes were perfectly in line with my needs, not to mention Sephiroth was in love with you, but having that extra incentive certainly helps. It's a pity you were taken from me before he could produce some offspring. Otherwise I could have simply carried on with the child. But with your incomplete preparation, there was little I could do…"

At this point Argento started laughing. At first it was a low chuckle, but it slowly grew louder until it echoed across the room.

"What's so funny, Specimen?!" the Professor demanded.

Argento continued to laugh, her previously stoic demeanor making it all the more unnerving. "H-Hojo, you are a fool!" She finally exclaimed. "The only reason he would suffer my body as a vessel for his rebirth into this world is because I crafted the Masamune!"

There was complete silence at this statement before Hojo finally seem to get his voice back. "It's not nice to lie my dear. I know very well the effort it takes to make swords of that caliber. You had to have folded the steel of that blade for weeks, making it sharp enough to cut a leaf if it was dropped upon it, and then you turned around and gave it to him as a gift, even though war was threatening your own country."

Argento was unmoved by his rebuttal. "Clearly you do not understand the concept of simply being impressed with skill. And I fail to see how it would be relevant now. The only thing he loves more than his sword, is the one he calls his 'mother'." She chuckled again darkly. "I never would have pegged him for a mama's boy, but it always is the ones you least suspect I suppose."

"How can you be sure that is what Sephiroth wants?" Vincent asked.

"An excellent question," Hojo smiled. "And the answer is quite simple. As soon as I was able to retrieve Jenova, I injected myself with her cells. As a result, I can hear Sephiroth quite clearly."

Argento's mouth quirked up in a barely perceptible smile. "I might have known. But then, why are you not resurrecting him now? You have what you need to win, so why not accomplish your goal?"

"Impatient aren't we?" Hojo said. "The truth is, there are still a few more things we need to take care of." He signaled to a couple of assistants who were standing in the shadows, their faces masked, and they walked up to the chair Argento was secured to in order to unbind her and suddenly Cloud discovered the gurney on which he lay was being moved.

June 19th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 2:00 AM

After leaving Hojo, the orderlies had taken Cloud down to the 49th floor. He had found himself left just outside a room that looked like it was half constructed of tempered glass. It was only after he'd been there for a while that he remembered this was the SOLDIER floor. Somehow through the fog of his memories, he did recall having been here a time or two to run errands, but he had never been near this room before. He seemed to remember Dr. Rayleigh saying she used to work here too. But that was neither here nor there, he decided.

He was more worried about what was going on back up at the lab. Vincent was still up there, and as he'd been taken out to the elevator, he'd noticed that Shelke had been called in and that the Deepground scientists were helping her set up equipment for something, but he hadn't gotten the chance to see what before he'd been wheeled out into the hall and into the elevator. Not that the guard who'd been put in charge of him seemed inclined to engage in conversation. He simply stood in the corner waiting while Cloud remained bound to the gurney. What where they planning?

At last, his question was answered, as Argento walked into the room, her commander's coat was back in place as was her forehead protector that resembled a tiara. She waited patiently for the orderly that accompanied her to type in the combination on the door and then she strode in. At a signal, the guard that had been keeping an eye on Cloud wheeled him into the room, and left him there. He watched the man leave before he heard the door lock behind him, and he found himself alone with the Tsviet.

She regarded him with a disinterested expression that reminded him far too much of Sephiroth prior to his destruction of Nibelheim, before approaching the gurney and reaching to undo the straps. "I expect you're quite tired of being stuck like that," she said. "But unfortunately they have few other ways to control you since there hasn't been enough time to give you the chip."

Cloud sat up. "Chip?" he asked.

The woman nodded as she walked away. "All Deepground operatives have a chip implanted into their brain stems to prevent them from being able to harm the Restrictors. I doubt they consider it worthwhile for you, since it's a time consuming process and Hojo probably thinks you won't live much longer once Sephiroth returns."

Cloud found himself silently relieved that Hojo had so little faith in his survival. "And why are they putting us in a room together when Hojo thinks you're his best chance to get Sephiroth back?" He asked.

Argento didn't seem put off in the slightest by the veiled threat, simply lifting her broadsword and taking a stance before giving it a practice swing a short distance away. "It's irrelevant if I live or die," she said softly. "It just means my body was not prepared properly, and he'll have to find a new host. That's all I am to him after all. It's so tiresome." She looked annoyed. "I really have better things to do than playing doctor with that self-absorbed egotist."

"More like a psychotic hack if you ask me," Cloud murmured as he stood up. He didn't feel like anything in particular had been done to him aside from being jabbed with that needle. He probably would have known it if Hojo had decided to try any other experiments given his tendency not to care about anesthetics, or Cure materia for that matter.

He looked around the room and discovered that his switchblades had been left by the door. Curiously, he went over to take a look, and then checked his pockets. This was followed by a sigh of disappointment. Apparently even though they had seen fit to return Tifa and Cissnei's materia, their lax standards had not extended to him.

As he picked up his blades he looked curiously over at the swordswoman, who didn't seem to mind him retrieving his weapons while she continued with her sword drills. He could see she was highly skilled, perhaps almost as good as Zack in terms of form, though before his injury he'd also had raw power backing him up which was always a factor one needed to consider when going up against an opponent. Part of what made Sephiroth so difficult to face was his proficiency in both. Argento looked like she relied more on speed and accuracy than brute force. "So what does he think putting us in here is supposed to do?" he asked.

"He wants us to spar," Argento took a step and thrust the sword forward while continuing as though it were a normal, and boring conversation. "He wants to see if he was successful in reinforcing my body to withstand Sephiroth's power." She parried with an invisible opponent. "The only way he can truly test that is with an opponent of strength and skill comparable to Shinra's most powerful SOLDIER himself."

"That's a mistake he's going to regret," Cloud said.

"You plan on killing me?" Argento asked, her back turned as she sheathed her sword at her hip.

"Not if I don't have to," Cloud replied. He considered the swords he had at his disposal and the glass that stood in front of him. It was possible he might be able to break through it. He concentrated his energy calling a limit from within himself and raised one of his switch blades in front of him.

Argento paused to watch as Cloud brought the sword down in front him, sending a Blade Beam directly into the glass in an attempt to shatter it, however, he was surprised when a field of energy he had not previously noticed suddenly appeared to dissipate the power of the attack. "A valiant attempt," Argento said. "However, this room was built to withstand even Sephiroth's training regimen. It's highly unlikely you'll be able to break the containment field when it was designed to contain his limit breaks." She walked a few paces to the center of the room before continuing. "That is of no consequence though. I believe if we don't get started they might start shooting at us." She indicated a tinier rectangular window that looked out over the place from a control room where several Deepgrounders stood with rifles pointed at them, and it looked like they were getting impatient. The Tsviet walked away from him to the center of the room and assumed a fighting stance.

Seeing he had little choice in the matter, Cloud followed her, holding the two switchblades at his sides. "What happens after this?" he asked.

"We go back to the lab," the Tsviet answered, and with that, her face hardened in concentration, and she came at him with a lunge. Cloud had to quickly bring his sword up to block. His opponent's strike wasn't nearly the same as Sephiroth's, not by a long shot, however, as he had predicted, she was simply using the lunge as a distraction, quickly breaking off the attack to bring the sword around and slash at his side. She was definitely fast, but her strikes did not seem nearly as powerful as the silver terror they had chased a few months ago.

He deflected with his second switch-blade before thrusting with the first, forcing her to back away. As they began their dance across the room, matching each other blade for blade, he could tell she too was watching him with an evaluating gaze, measuring his foot falls, observing his form for weakness. He soon turned his attention to the area around him, testing the power of the field by running up a wall and flipping over his opponent after letting her drive him in too close, checking out of habit for any blind spots from the Deepgrounders' rifles and searching for any sign that their guards could be neutralized.

"Are you still thinking of escape?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts as she spoke over their locked blades. "Make no mistake, I am no ally of yours in that regard. Not so long as the Restrictors are still alive." She pulled back and lifted her sword for another strike.

"Then what are you?" Cloud asked, dodging out of the way and preparing to go in for one of his own.

For a brief moment, he caught sight of a faint smile, but it disappeared just as quickly into the hardened mask of before. "Unless things change," she said. "I will be Sephiroth." Her next swing was stronger than any she had yet delivered. He could feel her blade reverberate against his own, making his switchblades sing. The feeling of it almost gave him the illusion he was looking into a green cats eye for that split second instead of her single grey one.

"I believe you've heard me named as Argento the Lustrous," she continued, pushing forward and moving again to slash at his side which he barely managed to block before coming around with a counterstrike towards her shoulder which she evaded by simply stepping out of the way. "But the truth is, I never had a title until Hojo came to Deepground. My strength has always been said to be held in the guise of weakness, for I spent more time working in the depths of my forge and teaching others. But I am by no means weak. Come at me as though I am 'him', Cloud Strife. Unless you wish to die here either by my hand or those soldiers', it would be best not to hold back." For the next few minutes, the training room was filled with nothing but the sounds of clashing swords, as Cloud was forced to defend himself and the two combatants began to move faster.

June 19th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 2:15 AM

For the last hour, Vincent had been watching as the technicians across the room worked with a set of strange equipment, curious as to its purpose, and Shelke's presence here. Where they had taken Cloud, and why, he wasn't sure, but this was equally disquieting. Hojo continued working nearby at a keyboard. He never was one to let late hours stop him from his experiements, the ex-Turk reflected.

While Shelke supervised the goings on, a reclining chair had been placed across the room. The computers that surrounded it were hooked into the main lab computer before he noticed another series of wires being hooked into more equipment near where he lay.

Finally Hojo finished what he was doing and joined the Tsviet near the central specimen tube, leering at the Turk as he did so. "You're probably wondering what all this is about," he said.

"It did cross my mind," Vincent admitted.

"It's quite simple," Hojo continued. "Specimen C wasn't the only one of my failed experiments I need something from."

"Is that so?" Vincent murmured.

"You see, Sephiroth needs the Black Materia, and for myself, there's another item in your possession that I need. But the Protomateria can wait until later." Seeing that the technicians had finished their work he nodded to Shelke who walked over to the reclining chair and sat down on it, putting on a special helmet that had been wired into the other equipment.

Vincent looked up at the scientist. "No amount of torture will get you what you want," he said. He was certain he had endured every sort of pain the scientist could unleash upon him; had unleashed upon him; and he knew he could again. "As to this 'Protomateria,' I don't know what you're talking about."

Hojo gave the man a knowing, almost paternal smile as he placed a hand on the man's arm. "The truth is Vincent, as far as torturing you is concerned, I don't need to, at least, not yet. You'll be telling Shelke about the Black Materia's whereabouts in your own words, or should I say, data?" He took hold of the gurney and pushed it across the room to a couple of waiting technicians who put him in position underneath a bell shaped apparatus that seemed to be tied into the computer system. At a guess he assumed there was some mako-enfused element to it, but he couldn't begin to guess how it worked. The last thing he heard was Shelke's voice saying in a monotone "Engaging Synaptic Net Dive in three, two, one…" And then consciousness was violently yanked from his grasp…

...It seemed like it was dark for a long while, and he could feel the beasts within him stirring uneasily. He wasn't sure he believed it but there was no denying it. There was a foreign entity here. The person or being was approaching him and he couldn't see it coming. At first there was nothing but shadows, but then he felt something, almost as though someone had reached out to touch the very core of his being and then the images rushed forth…

"Is it true…?" Vincent stood in Hojo's office on the ground floor of Shinra Manor, looking in disbelief at the Professor.

"Is what true?" Hojo seemed merely bored with the question as he answered.

Vincent's brow furrowed in concern. "That Lucrecia… that Doctor Crescent is to take part in this project?"

"It's true." The two of them turned to see Lucrecia enter the room as she answered Vincent's question."Why are you so surprised?" she asked, her voice accusing.

"But using your own child… for an experiment?" Vincent demanded. Surely they knew how dangerous this was!

"Ha!" Hojo let out a humorless laugh before saying dismissively "I don't know what you're implying. But both of us are scientists. We know what we are doing. You are the last person to have any word in this! Now, leave us at once, boy!"

Vincent stared at the ground, unsure of himself. "But…"

"But what?" Lucrecia snapped. "If you have something to say, say it!"

He finally worked up the courage to look up and try to meet her eyes. "Are you…" He took a step forward. "Are you sure? This is what you really want?"

For the first time in the conversation she faced him. "Am I sure?" She repeated, her voice rising in agitation. "Am I sure?! If this only concerns me, then yes, I am sure!"

"Oh… I just." Vincent was at a loss. She turned away from him as he tried to explain himself but the words would not come to him.

The memory faded away to be replaced by memories of Lucrecia as her health started to fail. All he could do was watch. He hadn't even tried to stop her… "That was my sin…" He thought, remembering the day he had awakened in Hojo's lab to see for the first time the monster he had become. "And this was my punishment…" He could still remember his own screams echoing in his ears…

He heard the sounds of birdsong, and slowly his eyes opened to see Lucrecia looking down at him. It had been earlier in his time at Shinra Mansion, before Hojo had taken her from him… "Fall asleep here, and you might catch a cold," she said with a smile. They were under a tree at the crest of a hill surrounded by grass and wildflowers and down at the base, he could see the manor house and Nibelheim beyond.

It was then that he remembered he was supposed to be keeping an eye on the scientist, not napping, and jolted up to a sitting position.

Lucrecia chuckled. "Why are you so surprised? Is my face that hideous?"

Vincent tried to apologize. "No, I didn't… I'm sorry…"

"And how are you supposed to be my bodyguard if you're up here sleeping?" She asked in mock accusation.

"Uh… the warm breeze… I was only going to rest my eyes for a minute," he said, his eyes meeting hers.

She hummed at that, glancing around at the view of the surrounding mountains. "Well, I have to admit, the breeze is quite comfortable. However, I think you're in my seat," she teased, bringing out a picnic basket with what seemed to be a bottle of wine peeking out from under the cover. "Care to join me?..."

"What does that have to do with anything?" The presence that did not belong sounded somewhat frustrated even in monotone. "Diving deeper."…

He found himself walking into Lucrecia's lab at the mansion. "Lucrecia? Hello…! Anybody here?" He glanced around the room filled with old computers and the mako tube behind them, and that was when he saw the file up on one of the screens. He knew the image, it was that of his own father, Grimoire Valentine. He had also been in Shinra's employ, but Vincent had never known specifically what he was researching and he had disappeared some years ago.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Lucrecia walk up behind him. "Who's…?" She paused as she saw what he was looking at.

Vincent turned his gaze to her, asking for an explanation. "Lucrecia, this file…"

"It's… it's none of your business…" she said, moving to turn off the screen.

"But it is," Vincent argued. "Why didn't you tell me you worked with my father?"

To his complete surprise, she looked as though his words were a physical wound. "Stop it! Just stop it!"

"Lucrecia!"

She turned away from him for a few moments, warring with herself over what to say before finally turning to face him, tears falling from her eyes. "It was all my fault…" she said. "I… didn't mean for your father to die… I couldn't… I'm so sorry!" With that, she ran from the room.

"His data is continuing to resonate with Dr. Crescent's fragments that you uploaded into my network Professor… it could take some time to sort it out." He heard the other presence's voice echoing through his thoughts far more loudly than was comfortable.

"Well, have it done by morning. I have other preparations to make…" Hojo… Something happened within him at the moment and he knew deep within his being that the presence was getting close to finding the truth… He felt his muscles strain against the restraints even if it felt distant like it was happening to someone else. No… this girl… he would not let her find it… he wouldn't! He pressed back with all his might, feeling the monsters within him fuel his resolve and as he resisted, he momentarily felt the presence back off, and he pursued until he found himself within a memory that he knew was not his own…

"Is this… is this the place you spoke of?" It was Lucrecia's voice. Vincent recognized the place she was standing in. It was the cave where he had found her.

Then another voice spoke, one he had not heard for a long time even before his years of slumber. "Yes, deep within this grotto is where Chaos is destined to awake."

Father?

Lucrecia ran ahead of the man in excitement and he laughed. "Wait!" he called after her.

She seemed happier than he'd ever seen her as she gestured his father follow her. "Come on Dr. Valentine!"

His father paused at the entrance to the cave, taking in the beautiful crystal formations. "The fountain isn't going anywhere!"…

The scene changed, and he found himself back in Lucrecia's lab. A mass of dark energy floated in the mako tube in the center of the room as Lucrecia worked at a computer. He could feel the presence of his father looking over her shoulder. "Don't you think you're taking things a little too quickly?" he heard his father ask.

"And why not?" Lucrecia replied. "All those people at Shinra who laughed at my thesis! I have to prove them wrong!"

His father's next words were thoughtful. "Rushing into matters will get you nowhere, doctor." He turned his attention away from his fellow scientist and Vincent heard a tremor reverberate through the glass of the tube. Lucrecia stood up at that point and he could now see the dark energy in the tube expanding until the glass shattered and it seemed to strike out at her. His father knocked her to the ground, only to be hit with the blow in the process. He grimaced, clearly in pain as his arm was covered in a dark residue.

Lucrecia picked herself up and took a closer look. "Are you all right Dr. Valentine?"

"I'll be fine…" he tried to reassure her, but at that point the damage had already been done. He soon collapsed to the ground, the life energy in his body already being driven from it by its contact with the negative source of mako. "Tell my son, I'm… sorry…" he said. The last thing Vincent heard of the scene was Lucrecia screaming in grief…

"You would do well to stay in your own head," the presence spoke as he was pulled back into the dark.

"How do you have those memories?" Vincent asked.

"That is irrelevant. Where is the Black Materia?" He felt the assault on his own mind increase in intensity and flashes of the area around Lucrecia's cave came and went before suddenly, he felt the beast within him start to stir. Chaos in all its fury suddenly broke loose of his control with a roar and he vaguely felt his body contorting against the restraints back in the real world as Chaos was angrily forcing its way past the foreign presence's defenses a final time…

Shelke was standing in an unfamiliar laboratory, facing Hojo. "This data you wish me to upload into my personal network will lead us to these materia you seek?"

"That is correct," Hojo answered…

Another memory flashed into existence, this time he saw a battlefield from the viewpoint of a man who had collapsed to the ground… and then another flash, this one of a little girl screaming "Big bro! Save me…!" The feelings attached to that memory didn't feel natural at all, but as Vincent watched, he could have sworn the girl looked familiar…

Then he saw an image of another man in a Deepground SOLDIER Uniform, with a Deepground Rifle over his shoulder. For a moment he could have sworn the man was Kunsel, but his eyes were a different color, his hair red and a different style, and the lower half of his face was obscured by the collar of his SOLDER turtleneck. "You know where this is, right?" the man asked. "This is Deepground…" "Oh yeah, I haven't introduced myself yet. The name's Usher. Pleased to meet you while you're still alive…"

Another memory… Shelke standing in front of a familiar looking man, lying on the floor. It looked to be that SOLDIER Kunsel had rescued near the reactor. "You have memories from before you came here, don't you?" She was pointing at another man in a familiar black cloak. A restrictor. "Do you remember that man? Restrictors will use any means to gather new candidates. You had something important taken from you before you came here, didn't you?" Her words were interrupted when a contingent of Deepground Soldiers surrounded them.

"So Shelke, it was you and the Tsviets' plan to use a recruit who hadn't yet been chipped to kill the Restrictors was it?" Professor Hojo's voice echoed over the scene. "Tsk tsk… those cave dwellers should really have done a better job taking care of their pets…"

"You won't find out anything from this one," Shelke said, indicating the man in front of her, "As soon as I terminate my SND, it's only a matter of time before his mind breaks completely…"

"That's enough." The presence seemed to be barely holding on…

Vincent said nothing. This girl had tried to intrude on his memories, his very inner being. She should have recognized the risks.

"I know my capabilities better than you think Vincent Valentine. You've seen the results when I've done my job correctly. What do you think would happen if I tried to make you break?" Shelke's voice echoed through his thoughts.

For the last time, the scene changed, and Vincent found himself once again in Lucrecia's laboratory, and to his surprise, he saw himself, unconscious within the mako tube.

"Vincent. Just a little longer. Then I can let you out," a familiar voice said. He saw Lucrecia standing outside the tube before turning around to walk away, before collapsing on the floor. It must have been after she'd carried Sephiroth to term. "What's… wrong with me lately?" she wondered aloud. "Maybe I've been working too hard…"

"Ha! I thought I heard a rat down here!" Hojo's voice echoed triumphantly across the room and Lucrecia turned to see the Professor had just entered. "And just what do you think you're doing with my failed experiment?" His emphasis on the word 'failed' was impossible to miss.

"Get out of my lab!" Lucrecia yelled as she picked herself up off the floor.

"Silence!" Hojo thundered back. "I'm the one giving orders here!" The professor glanced at the computer and came closer, his lips curled up in a humorous smile. "Ah… hahahahaha… Omega? And Chaos?" He laughed a little louder. "I see. Another experiment!"

Lucrecia drew a breath as the Professor continued. "You're using this fine specimen to finish your thesis, aren't you, doctor?"

"No! You're wrong!" Lucrecia yelled, almost hysterically.

"Am I?" Hojo drawled. "Once a scientist, always a scientist. I must say, how happy this fellow must be, helping his beloved, even after he's begun rotting away!" He left the room, his laughter rising in volume until it echoed throughout the halls of the Manor…

"Lucrecia…" Vincent felt as though he were paralyzed. The woman he'd cared so much for had simply used him as a vessel for Chaos? The way Hojo was planning to use Argento as a vessel for Sephiroth? A series of new images flashed through his mind. The moment when he'd looked outside the cave… when he'd left it… was walking along the edge of the cliff. The entrance to the cave was coming close… no… he tried weakly to fight it, but at that point Chaos and the other monsters within him took over completely and he could feel Shelke's hold on his mind being ripped free before he was surrounded by darkness once more…

Zack had just taken a moment to shut his eyes on the couch in the living room of the safe house when his PHS went off again for what seemed like the hundredth time tonight. He hadn't really been asleep so much as letting his thoughts run rampant through his subconscious while his eyes tried to rest, but even so, he jerked upright and put the PHS to his ear. "Yeah?"

"It's Cid. Just reporting in Zack, we picked up Nanaki just now and we're headed to Rocket Town. We should be there in about three hours."

"Great, keep me posted, Rufus's technician should be there shortly after you. Make sure you keep an eye on them," he replied, rubbing a little sleep out of his eyes.

"Barret's already on it," Cid confirmed. "Just leave it to us! Highwind out."

His mind went back to Cloud and Vincent. He hoped they would be okay until they could get in there. In the meantime, Reeve was on his way to provide tech support to the joint command center he and Rufus had authorized. They had put Veld in charge of that since he seemed the most neutral choice. Most of the renegades had arrived by now and had returned from their investigations on potential entry points. Shalua was still missing, but overall, things were well under way.

"Zack?" He looked up from where he was sitting to see Aerith leaning over the railing on the second landing.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's Luxiere," she said, and he noticed she was trying not to cry. "The Planet doesn't seem to think he has much longer…"

Zack was up the stairs in a heartbeat and as he walked into the room, he saw Freya standing behind Kunsel as he sat by the bed, holding Luxiere's hand in his. The man's blue eyes were open for once and they seemed to be directed at Kunsel's.

"It's all right," Kunsel said, "What's the matter?"

"Had a dream…" Luxiere answered. "My sister… she's gone… never coming back… he killed her…?"

Kunsel sighed. "I don't know…" he said at last. He had apparently given up on trying to reason with him in favor of keeping him comfortable.

"Usher… why are… you still here?" His question was barely above a whisper.

"Because we're your friends," Zack interrupted. "If we'd known what was going to happen, we never would have let it…"

The SOLDIER's eyes turned to look at Zack and for a second, he wasn't sure if the man recognized him or not. "Not a… dream…? I'm… sorry for…" He paused for a moment before looking up at the ceiling. "Sis… is it… all right… for me… to… return…?" His eyes slowly closed as he spoke and then he drifted into what seemed to be a peaceful slumber.

Another minute passed in complete silence, and then at last Zack looked over at Kunsel and noticed Luxiere's hand had gone slack in his and his chest no longer rose with the rhythm of shallow breathing.

Aerith came up to Zack and he held her close as he felt tears starting to fall down his face. Freya gently put her arms around Kunsel, and he leaned into her embrace as the body of their friend and former comrade dissolved into the Lifestream and dissipated from view.

A few moments after the last of the green mists vanished into the darkened room, he heard Kunsel stand up. "Zack?"

He looked up from where he was comforting Aerith to see the other swordsman was looking at him with a grim expression, his hazel eyes piercing out of the dim light. "When we rescue Cloud and Vincent... I'm coming with you. I don't care how long it takes. Ravens, SOLDIER, Deepground, whatever they call themselves, we have to make this stop." His fist was clenched at his side.

Zack nodded, reaching out to put his good hand on his friend's shoulder.

"We will. That's a promise."

Poor Luxiere. Next week I'll be taking another break week in order to try and add an extra chapter to my backlog. But the next chapter will be online Thurs May 23/Fri May 24th at Midnight EST.

I can finally confirm for anyone who may have suspected. Luxiere was also the Player Tsviet from the Online Content.

See ya in a couple of weeks!