1-8. Top of the World
"I don't understand it, Elly. I just don't."
"What's not to understand? You like him. He likes you. That's all there is to it."
"But why?" Lucrecia threw her hands in the air, the phone cradled against her shoulder. "He's so...smart, and considerate, and...he takes me seriously, and he's good to talk to, and..." She dropped into a chair by the table, giving up the search for descriptions.
"Cute?" Elmyra suggested.
"Yeah, but... well, I wouldn't call him 'cute,' he's too serious for that, 'handsome' is more like it, but anyway that's not the main thing!"
"No, but it helps..."
"Will you please listen to me for a minute?!"
"Sorry."
"Thank you," Lucrecia sighed, aggravated.
Elmyra went on, "Think about it, Luce--you just gave me a great list of reasons why you like him. So what's the question?"
"I said, my question is why? Why on earth is this man interested in me?"
"Awww, Lucie...you can't mean that."
"I do, I don't understand it at all." She rested her face in her hands, her elbows propped up on the table. "Nothing like this has ever happened to me, Elly, and I just...I don't know why it's happening, and I don't know what I should do."
"Well...as for what you should do...I'd say...keep your wits about you, but follow your heart. And as for why...come on, Luce, you're a great person."
"But I'm not..." She looked up at the mirror on the wall across from her for a moment, then closed her eyes. Same as always. Long, pulled-back dark hair, glasses, plain and functional clothes. Mother used to call me mousy, though she didn't mean it to hurt...Elly was never 'mousy'... 'Kitten', maybe, but... "I'm just not..." I'm not pretty. I'm not enthralling. I'm not you. "I'm not...obsess-able."
Elmyra chuckled quietly on the other end of the line. "Nobody said he had to be obsessed with you, hon. He just...likes you, he probably thinks you're fun to be around, or maybe he's too serious and just thinks you're interesting to be around. He probably thinks you're pretty, or could be if you tried a little. I mean, you have a lot of stuff going for you, if you think about it. You're very dedicated and honest and all. And you're like a genius, for crying out loud! Some guys really go for that."
"Sure they do," Lucrecia muttered.
"They do! Or they would if you wouldn't be so cold to them. I watched you in high school, Luce, and I saw how the guys acted. They were scared, or they just gave up because you were too busy with studying and work and all. They probably didn't think they could steal a minute of your time unless they tied you to a chair and forced you to talk to them."
Lucrecia smiled at the ridiculous image, in spite of herself. "I never noticed anything like that."
"Of course you didn't. You were too busy being a super-student. But now, see, I think you have a little more time for other stuff too. I mean, you're working, but now you know what you're doing and everything. I think this is a great opportunity."
"For what?"
"For seeing what else life can offer you."
Lucrecia was quiet for a moment, shocked by the statement. Elmyra continued, "Think about it, then. Just don't think too much."
"All right," Lucrecia answered slowly.
"And if all else fails I'll talk to the mystery man myself and work a little matchmaking into the picture," Elmyra said slyly. "Oh, hey, speaking of which, did you hear about the Corporation's winter ball? They're holding it out your way this year."
"Really? No, I haven't heard anything."
"Probably hasn't reached that far yet. Well, the news is out in Midgar. There's a new little mountain resort kind of place not too far from Nibelheim that they're going to hold it in. The Crystal Room?"
"Right, the Nibarel Crystal Room. It's about halfway between here and Corel. That's where the ball is this year, huh?" The Shinra Corporation winter ball was the only company-wide social function of the year, and usually ranked as the most lavish, most talked-about party in the world. It was hosted by different Shinra property holdings, year to year--apparently this year's honor went to the Crystal Room, a joint venture with an up-and-coming entertainment mogul.
"Yep. So Reece and I will be out that way...and I can finally meet your Turk," she added pointedly.
"He's not my Turk."
"Not yet," Elmyra smirked. "I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya. Talk to you later, lucky girl."
"Right, you too. Goodbye." Lucrecia hung up the phone and rubbed her temples. The ball...Vincent... It would be nice to see Elmyra again, and see how things were going with her new fiancee. Reece Logan was a soldier in the Shinra army, a straightforward, friendly young man, and though he and Elmyra were still young--he was only twenty, and Elly nineteen--their parents had all agreed they were mature enough to at least stay engaged for a year or two and see how things went. Lucrecia liked him well enough. It was promising.
The ball, though...she'd end up going with Vincent, no doubt about that. She wasn't sure whether he'd hear about it and ask her, or if she'd break down and ask him, but it was more or less inevitable that they'd go together. She'd never done those kinds of things--balls, dances, banquets--because it had seemed like a waste of time. But not now...
Lucrecia opened her notebook again to plan the next week's experiments. She couldn't forget why she was here, no matter what else happened...
Lucrecia had thought of it before, but it was Vincent who first brought up the idea of climbing Mount Nibel on one of their days off. They were walking in the town two weeks ago when a small group of hikers headed toward the path, sparking his imagination. They could do it, he'd insisted; why not? They'd have a guide. It looked beautiful up on the mountain, he'd said as they walked, away from all civilization. Lucrecia had agreed that it would be an adventure...
Shielding her eyes against the glare of the early-morning sun, Lucrecia looked up at the path. It was cold at this hour of the day, though even on the higher slopes of the mountain there was little snow. They were fully suited up for the climb in rented gear. She remembered her odd mental image of the Turks climbing in uniform and smiled to herself: not this time... Ahead of them on the path knelt their hired guide, a young villager, who was now rummaging through his own gear, tightening straps and rearranging various implements among the pockets of his knapsack. The three of them were just starting out, at the bottom of the first twisting path that would take them through the foothills. Despite the chill and a trace of drowsiness from being up at such an ungodly hour, Lucrecia felt the humming excitement of facing a new challenge.
She noticed Vincent watching her and looked over; he was smiling, faintly, and although it was still difficult to tell, he seemed to anticipate the climb as well. He reached out a gloved hand toward her, and she took it and held on with a new surge of excitement. She tried not to grin like a fool, though she half suspected he wouldn't mind.
"All right, people," the guide called. He turned to face them, both thumbs hitched under the straps of his knapsack. "My name is Jonathan and I'll be your guide for today. Listen to my advice, or you're likely to end up in interesting patterns at the bottom of a ravine. The weather looks good today, not much snow, so we should have a pretty good time of it. There aren't many aggressive animals on Mount Nibel either, as far as we know. Just follow me, stick to the path, and don't do anything stupid. Are there any questions?" He paused for an instant, a formality more than an actual request for feedback, and wheeled around to face the path. "Move out."
Jonathan hiked on, apparently oblivious to their presence, and Vincent and Lucrecia walked a short distance behind. Vincent had shown no signs of letting go of her hand. He hadn't forgotten about it either, though; he even swung their hands a little as they wound up the first twisting, gently sloped section of the path. Lucrecia studied him, surprised. There was no mistaking his expression now. Lucrecia squeezed his hand, and he looked up. He quickly looked away again, embarrassed, but in that instant she'd seen all she needed to see. Anticipation for the climb--but more than that. If I didn't know better I'd swear he was...happy. "Glad to be out in the open air for once, instead of stuck guarding a bunch of mad scientists in their stuffy old mansion?" she teased.
Vincent chuckled. "That...and the way the sunlight looks this morning, and the promising start of this little adventure...but mostly..." His voice dropped, so that only she could hear him. "Mostly glad that I was so lucky as to talk one of the mad scientists into coming with me." Lucrecia stared, as excitement and nervousness fought for control of her mind. Vincent looked up at her, noticing her stunned silence. "Are you glad you were talked into it?" he asked, in that same tone, which sounded much less serious than it actually was.
"Of course I am," she answered immediately. "And I...well, I didn't really have to be talked into it."
"I thought you might not. But I didn't want to flatter myself..." He added something under his breath, which she only half heard; she could have sworn it was ...or hope too much.
What does that mean...? she thought. It couldn't be...
Vincent sighed, looking up at the trail; it had straightened a bit and was beginning to slope upward much more steeply. "Whether or not anyone was persuaded, we're here, with a mission to accomplish." He squeezed her hand a little, then let go of it, the better to keep his balance on the rockier ground. "It's better for me now than it could ever be if you hadn't come," he said quietly. "That's all."
Now that Lucrecia didn't have to fear that her shaking hands could be discovered, excitement won over nervousness. She had a sudden, crazy impulse to hug him, to charge up the trail as fast as she could, to shout into the cold morning air. "Thank you. That's so nice of you," she admitted. "And I'm glad you came, too."
"Really?" Vincent paused, looked back at her. The doubt in his eyes faded away, replaced by an excitement to match her own. He reached out and grabbed her hand, and charged up the hill, pulling her along with him. Lucrecia gasped and then laughed in delight. She caught her balance and ran with him, feeling silly and light and powerful, feeling elated, feeling young....They dashed past Jonathan, the guide, almost knocking him out of the way. "HEY! What do you think you're doing?! Stay behind me!"
"Keep up, then!" Lucrecia shouted back. Vincent was already slowing down, though, and the guide caught up, red-faced and furious.
"Why do you bother hiring a guide if you won't listen to a word I say?" he demanded. Lucrecia was too out of breath to answer. She leaned against the rock wall behind her for a minute as Vincent apologized to the guide.
"Are there any dangerous spots ahead of us?" he was asking.
"No, not any more than the rest of this part, but you're likely to get lost or fall if you don't watch out. Besides, coming up is the overlook over the new Reactor--you could have run right off the edge."
"Somehow I doubt that."
"Yeah, well, it could've happened. I'd've been fired, and you'd've been dead. And for no good reason. So just listen to me, all right?"
"Fine, fine. Go on ahead."
"Good," said the young guide, a little sulkily. "Follow me."
For the next hour they hiked up the path, as the pale morning sunlight grew brighter and warmer. Vincent asked Lucrecia about the reactor the guide had mentioned, which had opened on the upper slopes of Mount Nibel less than a year before. As they walked, Lucrecia explained what she knew of the Reactor Projects and the future of Shinra Inc. in the power industry. Vincent asked a great deal about Mako power--how the reactors worked, what impact they had on the health of the people nearby, how long the energy source was expected to last. Lucrecia told him what she knew, and debated the points with him at length. He was about to ask another question when the guide stopped suddenly, warning them back from the edge of a cliff.
Lucrecia walked up behind the guide and looked down off the cliff. It overlooked the side of the mountain, where the ground flattened out--or had been flattened out--into a small plateau. Built into this plateau was a small, functional-looking building, which hummed quietly in the still air: the Nibelheim Mako Reactor.
The three of them gazed down at the reactor from the cliff edge. It seemed so official, unassuming, businesslike...so inert. Lucrecia shaded her eyes and studied the scene more carefully. The ground around the reactor, and the rock faces around it, seemed different from the breathtaking peaks they had traveled through so far. Around the Reactor it seemed...grayer. Harder.
Less natural.
Tired of the sight, the guide turned back toward the path. Lucrecia heard the low, reptilian growl just before the guide started screaming.
Lucrecia and Vincent wheeled around. Lucrecia froze. Behind them on the top of the cliff crouched a beast so huge, so menacing, that it seemed to have crawled out of a nightmare. Its batlike wings beat at the air for balance as its muscled limbs propelled it forward, toward the three intruders on the cliff edge.
In the insane fear of the moment, Lucrecia could not even remember the beast's name. It was not until the guide screamed it, in a barely recognizable wail of panic, that the word clicked into her brain. "Draaaaaaagooooooooon!"
The guide lunged down the downhill path, running as fast as he could and throwing off his pack as he did so. The dragon whipped around after him, turning its side to the cliff edge. And in that instant of hesitation, the world turned upside-down.
She felt herself slammed against something, almost suffocated. Whatever suffocated her also muffled a rhythmic sound that reverberated against the rocks like thunder. An unholy screech rent the air from somewhere high above as the explosions went on and on. When the explosions stopped, the hold around her head loosened for a moment, and Lucrecia fought to escape. She slipped out into the daylight to find that Vincent had grabbed her and held her against him to protect her and muffle the sound; he was efficiently reloading his service pistol as the dragon, bleeding from its ribs and chest, reeled back in pain. Vincent saw her staring and barked, "Get down! Cover your ears!"
Too stunned to argue, Lucrecia crouched on the ground at the cliff's edge and pressed her hands over her ears, intently watching the fight. As soon as the new cartridge clicked into place, Vincent started firing again, with perfect aim and almost metronomic regularity, into the dragon's throat. The beast's dark blood gushed over its scales as it lunged forward, raking its claws across Vincent's body. Lucrecia gasped, but the Turk barely reacted, still firing the rest of the round at the beast. The dragon's other claw swiped at his legs, and he was wrenched off his feet. "Vincent!" Lucrecia cried--he couldn't die, not now, not here like this...
"Stay back, I'm fine!" Vincent snapped. He climbed to his feet, reaching inside his coat for another cartridge of bullets. The dragon stared at him hatefully through its small, glittering eyes, and its sides bulged slowly, menacingly as it breathed in.
The dragon's neck snapped back into a serpentine curve, and it opened its mouth wide. The third cartridge clicked into Vincent's pistol, and he took aim directly into the dragon's mouth. The beast fell, a blaze of flame billowing from its mouth; Vincent jumped back, automatically adjusting his aim, and traced the path of the dragon's head as it fell. The flame shot into the air, tracing an arc into the empty space above the Reactor. The ground shook when the body of the beast hit it. The flame trailed off and died. Bullets spent, Vincent lowered his gun. The head of the beast hung off the edge of the cliff into space, pointing toward the Reactor. Lucrecia slowly took her hands away from her ears.
Vincent took off his heavy pack of climbing gear and dropped his pistol on top of it. He knelt beside her, gathered her shaking hands in his. "Are you all right?"
She would have pushed him away, but she could not move, paralyzed by disbelief. This man--a killer--a trained, efficient killer--but he was so--is so--not two hours ago we were running up the hillside like children--five minutes ago he was asking me about Reactors! How can someone be so...change so... And yet to me...he tried to help me, he saved my life...but how...
"Lucrecia..." She felt him pull her close again, this time not to shield her--was it possible he was afraid? "Lucrecia, are you hurt? Speak to me. Please."
A killer. This is his job. This is what he does. Only most times it's not monsters, it's people. He's so good at it...so cold...so professional... This man, whom I was beginning to trust. Can I trust him? Am I safe? "Lucrecia, please. Speak to me." No...no, he was helping me, his first thought was to help me...he wouldn't hurt me, he was trying to protect me...I don't need it! I don't need this killer's help, I never asked for it, I never asked for any of this... She felt his hand on her face, cupping her cheek. He'd taken his gloves off. "Lucrecia?" She looked up, into his eyes, and the confusion whirled and cleared; she could move again and see clearly.
Lucrecia swallowed dryly, tried to wet her lips. "I...I'm fine," she stammered.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Yes, I'm all right."
Vincent gave a wordless sigh of relief and hugged her tight, almost too tight. "I thought the flame had hit you...I thought that monster would..."
"No." Her mind was racing, torn between two sensations: this, the feeling of his embrace, the relief in his voice; and the sight of him standing against the dragon, cold, calculating and utterly mindless. "I'm all right, Vincent, are you? It clawed at you..." She pushed him back to get a better look at him, and he collapsed back, wearily, on the ground. His coat was slashed apart, and his pants were torn and soaked with blood. "You are hurt! I have to get you back to town..."
"No, don't worry about that now. Please...could you...hand me my gun? It's on top of my hiking pack."
"What?!"
"Just do it, please. I'm not going to shoot anything."
Lucrecia was about to ask why he wanted it, then, but seeing the pain on his face, she picked up the pistol from the top of the pack and handed it to him carefully. He removed a small object from the handle and slipped the gun under his coat, under his left arm--is that it? she realized suddenly, they must carry them right there, that's why it upset him in the lab... Vincent clutched the thing he'd taken from the pistol, concentrating, and a green aura slowly coalesced around him. It grew stronger with an eerie whistling sound, forming a ring of bright green light around him. A sparkling white light raced over his body, and the green aura vanished. The slashes on his legs had disappeared. Vincent relaxed, breathing deeply. Noticing Lucrecia's stunned expression, he held up the object clutched in his hand: a small, green, faintly glowing sphere. "Materia," he said. "Standard issue."
"They issue you materia in the Turks?!" Lucrecia yelped, reaching for the sphere. Vincent sat up and handed it over. She cradled the jewel in her palm, barely daring to breathe. "I haven't seen one of these since college, when the Intro to Natural Sci professor brought one in to show us," she explained. "But it wasn't as bright as this one."
"They're mastered," Vincent explained. "Very rare and astronomically expensive. The Turks only get four of them each, just the basics, and only when we're out on assignment. And that was only after two years of persuasion, after the Turks first opened. Even now we have to pay insurance on them out of our salaries. Materia at all are so rare right now, especially after the war, that Shinra keeps a tight grip on the few it still owns."
Lucrecia gave the materia back to Vincent, and he pulled his gun out for a moment to replace the green sphere in the gun's stock. "That won't last," Lucrecia said. "People find more of them all the time, out in the wilderness, and there's talk that Shinra is working on a Mako condenser--or that the reactors can be converted to condense Mako into materia. In a few years, you'll be able to buy this stuff off the street instead of on the black market."
"That sounds dangerous," Vincent said, half smiling. "I wouldn't want to be a policeman in Midgar when that happens."
Lucrecia took a deep breath. The chaos was still dying down in the back of her mind. She looked over her shoulder at the flank of the beast, at the claws sprawled out across the ground. The rock under its corpse was dark with its blood. The guide--wherever he was--had said that there weren't many aggressive creatures on Mount Nibel. Where had this thing come from?
Vincent was looking off toward the Reactor. "I just remembered what I was about to ask you," he said.
"All right, ask then."
"I was about to ask you whether the reactors had any negative effects on local wildlife."
Lucrecia looked around at him; he looked as she felt, half serious, half joking, and almost ready to collapse. She burst out into helpless laughter. Her head fell onto her arms, crossed over her knees; she giggled, insanely it seemed, until tears ran from her eyes and the sound became a jagged sob. Vincent moved over beside her, alarmed, lifted her head gently, wiped her face with his sleeve. "Are you sure you're all right? Do you want to go back?"
Killer or not, at that moment she wanted to bury her face in his coat and let him comfort her until he couldn't stand it anymore. But the impulse passed as the tears passed. She let him dry her eyes one more time and stood up, offering a hand to help him stand with her. His head barely cleared the top of the dragon's back; she couldn't see over it at all. She looked around, at the corpse of the beast, at the cliff edge, at the Reactor far below, at the slashes in his clothes and the two discarded hiking packs. She looked up at the path, twisting up into the unknown, to the peak of the mountain, to the top of the world. She turned back to Vincent. "We're going on."
