Author's Notes:

Congratulations, you've made it to part two! Well, don't worry because the storyline will become more interesting!

*insert legal B.S. here*

"Sors immanis-

Et inanis"

"Gast, this is amazing! Wherever did you find it?" A young, attractive woman looked at Gast, then at the specimen. It was so...so elegant. Gast had finally found one of the Cetra!

"I found it in the ice fields near North Crater...it must be very old. The geological strata near it spoke of millennia, not centuries, like near the other artifacts we found..." Gast looked at his assistant. She was so beautiful, his specimen...not in the physical sense, but the mental. Here was one of the ancestors of every person on Earth!

"Already, they've started their SOLDIER program..." drawled a slightly older man, to Gast's left. He was a little taller, and had black hair, tightly pulled back in a ponytail, and emphasized his high forehead, and, unfortunately, his receding hairline. He had small spectacles perched on his nose, and was hunched forward from years of sitting at a microscope, examining the cellular structure of the being they had named Jenova. He had an unholy fascination with his work, spending days at his stool, not stopping to eat or even sleep. "They plan to inject the cloned cells of Jenova into their recruits, then shower them with Mako, and they think they can create the ultimate soldier..." He elaborated, "It certainly made the rats more vicious to those without the enhancement..."

"Hojo. I really don't know if their using Jenova cells on humans after only two years testing is safe...Jenova is astoundingly complex, and the cells replicate so easily...almost as if she's a virus..." The woman turned and looked nervously at the tall man, and then looked back at Jenova. "So hideous...why does Shin-Ra want better soldiers, anyway? Are they planning a war or something?"

'Lucretia, I'm not a member of the higher councils. They only ask me to come up there when they want some little bits of our friend, here..." Hojo tried to put Lucretia's fears at rest. "And if they were having a war, who would they have it against? The only people the Shin-Ra don't like are the people over to the west who're against Mako energy...what was the name...oh, yes! Wutai! And I'm sure that Shin-Ra understands. There are people in Midgar, and they don't like Mako either, and they haven't been killed, have they? Everything is perfectly fine, Lucretia." Lucretia seemed to accept Hojo's explanation, and she started looking at a small screen attached to a cable that had been inserted into Jenova's body. She evidently saw something that concerned her, for she looked up at Gast with surprise. "Gast! She's...she's...alive! She's not dead!"

"What?! That's impossible! She was frozen in ice for eons! She must be dead! Nothing we know of can withstand that kind of punishment!" Gast stared at Jenova, perplexed and amazed.

"Indeed. Nothing we know of can live. But Jenova is an anomaly to all of us. She is the only example we have of the Cetra. That is why we were sent here to study her. To find more about her. To see if we can improve the bodies of our soldiers. To extend our knowledge of the Earth, into the distant past. That is why we are here. Now. Let us go and have our dinner. We have been down here half the day, and I for one am hungry!" Hojo then turned and left the room. Lucretia and Gast followed him, and as they passed through the doorway, a tall, dark man clad in a navy blue tuxedo came after them, without a look into the chamber of Jenova. His eyes were fixed on the slender form of Lucretia.

*****

How fascinated they were with her! Their little probings and samplings kept them engrossed for hours! Obviously, they were trying to learn as much about her and the time she had lived as possible...but still, they thought she was one of the Cetra! Amazing, to think that she who had endeavoured to destroy that pesky race should now be thought to be one of them...

Already she felt the first stirrings of life in the pieces of her that the humans had injected into their soldiers...soon she would be able to manipulate them whenever she desired. For now, she would continue on with her masquerade, let them think she was dormant, and allow them to take as many samples of her as they wished. She felt that the one called Hojo was enamoured of her, and he clearly spent more time around her than the others, often sneaking to the Reactor late at night, to conduct a further study. This perplexed her, as she had not exerted any force upon the being's mind to summon it to her.

Now that she was in clear surroundings, she was able to feel an enmity towards her from the north. She attempted to do a scan, but could not get a clear reading. Curious, she looked into the minds of those who studied her, but they seemed to know nothing of this new menace. What if it was one of the Cetra? She had felt their presence fade over the aeons, until a small amount of them were left. Fortunately, the few that still existed could pose no large threat to her. She did a more detailed survey, and found that only one of the Ancients was left, and was alone in the northern wastes, near the crater she had made, doing its best to heal the grievous wound the Planet had received. Let it wait. Soon, when she slew all these wretched humans, or held them all under her power, she could go and eliminate this last pitiful remnant of the Cetra.

*****

A year passed. Jenova felt another being's anger, and aroused, investigated, seeking the source. She found a growing enmity between Hojo and the one assigned to guard the scientists. Strange. This tiny conflict seemed to revolve around the female, Lucretia, concerning an emotion Jenova had ever felt. Of course, the only emotions she had ever felt were hate, longing, and desire, but this new one...love, it was called. Like what Hojo felt for her. Jenova settled in to watch this struggle.

*****

Vincent Valentine of the Turks, stared at Hojo behind the shelter of the truck, monitoring him and Lucretia. How dare he! How dare Hojo lure away she who had made his life so fair, and bring back the darkness that had consumed him! As he watched, from the meager shelter of the abandoned truck, he felt stirrings of jealousy, hate, and desire. He would stop Hojo...eventually. Anger is a dish best served cold, and Vincent knew that when he was least expecting it, Hojo could be the victim of a very nasty accident. What if a heavy piece of laboratory equipment fell on him? Lucretia would be disconsolate, and she would need a shoulder to cry on. And when she did, Vincent would be waiting.

Notes:

Ooohh! Romantic intrigue! How will things work out with Vincent, Lucretia, and Hojo? What's going ON with Hojo, anyway? Why is he visiting Jenova in the dead of night? How can he think about food when Jenova is actually alive? When the hell will Sephiroth arrive in this damn fic?

Answers in the next chapter!