"You want me to what?"

President Shinra regarded the angry man in front of him. There weren't many people he would tolerate this kind of outburst from, but Vincent was one of those few. He valued the Turk's opinion and had learned to trust Vincent's instincts, having been proven accurate on countless occasions. As a rule, the leader of the Turks obeyed each order he was given to the letter, only questioning anything when he felt that it presented a danger to any of his colleagues, so the President allowed him the occasional lapse in protocol. He'd also over the years, learned the best way to deal with Vincent.

"I want you to go to Nibelheim" Shinra repeated smoothly, "where you will be placed in command of security for our highest level project."

Vincent scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. "No. You're asking me to babysit" he stated flatly. "I've been to Nibelheim before, I know what it's like there. Population is approximately six farmers and a dog. A very old dog. With a limp." He shook his head. "With all due respect, a rookie could do this job, or one of SOLDIER. I don't see why it requires my presence."

Leaning back in his chair, the President folded his hands in his lap. "This project is of key importance to the company" he explained. "It is also top secret and must be protected at all costs. If any of our rivals were to hear about this, as I'm sure they eventually will in spite of everything, they will no doubt try to sabotage the project and steal our technology." He raised an eyebrow. "I've decided that nothing less than a Turk presence is acceptable."

"But why me?" Vincent walked over to the desk and leaned on it, resting his gloved hands against the polished mahogany. "Send Preston. He's almost fully recovered from that incident in Wutai, it's nothing he wouldn't be able to handle."

A slight snicker crossed Shinras' face, hastily concealed and replaced with a look of concern. "Ah yes… How is Mr Drake?"

Vincent's expression darkened noticeably. "He's fine. Which is a lot more than can be said of General Freeman when I get my hands on him." This time the Presidents smirk was most definitely visible.

"I heard that the General has been avoiding you."

"He's stupid, not suicidal. He should never have sent one of my men into that situation without consulting me first. Especially when it's Wutai, right now." Vincent fell silent for a moment, indulging in concocting painful forms of retribution in his head, before returning to the subject at hand. "But getting back to my point, Preston could look after this mission, no question. Linden and Deacon are both in the middle of an operation, and so am I."

The President nodded. "Indeed, I'm sure Mr Drake would perform admirably" he acknowledged. "However, I simply cannot take any risks with this project. I need my best man on this, and you are he." Vincent's stance didn't alter, though Shinra hadn't expected it to. The leader of the Turks was all but immune to flattery of his work, but the President always had another trick up his sleeve. "There is also the matter that the project leader has asked for you personally."

Vincent looked up, surprised. "Personally?"

"By name" confirmed Shinra. "He was most insistent, in fact."

The Turk's brow furrowed slightly as he sorted through the small amount of people influential enough to have this kind of pull. "What's the project?" he asked, some of the anger leeching out of his tone.

The President stifled a smile. Yes, he knew exactly how to deal with Vincent Valentine. "Have a look for yourself" he said, handing over a manila file to the man in front of him. "Though I believe you're already quite well acquainted with this one."

Vincent glanced down at the folder on the desk and read the name typed across the cover - 'Jenova Project'.

"Gast" he concluded immediately. "This is Professor Gast's project, about the Cetra."

Shinra allowed himself a smug feeling of satisfaction. "Correct. The project has grown beyond the facilities this building has to offer. As a result, the team is re-locating to Nibelheim for the duration."

The Turk mulled it over. "Now I see why Nibelheim has been chosen" he murmered. "It's so out of the way with a tiny population and access to a Mako reactor…" Picking up the folder, he began to speculatively leaf through it.

"We've already converted the basement of the Mansion to suit their needs" Shinra went on. He could tell now that he'd won over his prize Turk. Vincent was almost certain to chafe a little at some of the restrictions that would be placed upon him, but he would accept the mission. To take his mind off those, the President still had a couple of sweeteners left in reserve.

"It's only a small team, so they should have everything they need." He waited as Vincent skimmed through the file's contents. As suspected, when he reached a certain page, his eyebrows shot up. "And I think you're also on good terms with more than one of them."

Vincent could hardly believe his eyes as he read through the document detailing the participants in the project. 'Professor Gast… Doctors Keirnan and Hojo… Doctor Crescent'. Crescent? Lucrecia Crescent?

"When I told Gast that I wanted a Turk to oversee the security of the Project, he instantly thought of you" said the President. "He said that you came highly recommended by the young lady of the team…"

Doing his utmost to suppress his surprise and joy, Vincent tucked the folder underneath his arm. "Very well" he said, "I'll go to Nibelheim. But I want access to the entire Mansion."

"Granted."

"And I want to remain in close contact with the rest of the Turks." Vincent was suspicious, this was a little too easy for his liking.

Shinra waved his hand nonchalantly. "Of course."

"And we'll need another recruit." He didn't see the harm in pushing his luck while the going was good. "If I'm stationed out in the sticks then three won't be enough to cover."

"Whatever you need, Vincent my boy" replied the President with a reassuring smile. "Now I'm sure you'll have a lot of things to organise before you depart."

"Yes sir." Vincent gave a slight inclination of his head in acknowledgement and started to leave.

"Oh" called Shinra just as Vincent reached the door. "Could you send in General Freeman for his meeting? He's waiting just outside."

The President watched with amusement as a darkly murderous smile crept across the Turk's face as he opened the door and stepped out. All in all, a most successful meeting. He'd known from the start that Vincent wouldn't take kindly to being asked to, as he put it, 'babysit' the scientists, especially as the project was open-ended with no fixed completion date. But as he'd discovered, if you piqued the man's curiosity and offered him a few well disguised incentives, then he could be brought round to the right way of thinking.

He was broken out of his contemplation by a pained scream from outside his office. Once more, his mouth turned up into a pleased smile. It sounded as if Valentine had discussed his issues with the General in his own inimitable way.

Calmly the President picked up his phone and dialled. "Lina? Send a medic up to my office please?" He replaced the receiver and settled back into his chair.

A few seconds later, the double doors burst open and Freeman staggered in. His hands were clutched to his face, and Shinra watched in mild irritation as the General spurted blood onto the pristine carpet and complained as best he could.

"By dose! He broke by bloody dose!"

oOo

It was late that night when Doctor Hojo finally stopped his work. He was pleased with what he had seen so far. He had a number of experiments on the go, all of which seemed to demand his constant attention. This one in particular was most interesting, a collaboration with some of the Biology Professors in Corel. Working in hospitals, some of the doctors had come up with potential ways of fusing flesh and technology, to try and help workers injured in the Corel mines. Of course, none of his sidelines were anywhere near as important as the Jenova Project, but…

Hojo…

He looked up, confused. Had he just imagined that? Shaking his head, he glanced back down at his notes. "Bah" he muttered. "Just been looking at these too long…" Returning to his papers, he scribbled down a few lines.

Hojo…

No, there it was again! Just a whisper, barely audible, but it was there. Putting down his pencil, he stood up from the desk and looked around. As he thought, all of the other workers had gone home. Curious, he began to walk in the direction of the noise, puzzled. It sounded almost female, but there was something not quite right which he couldn't put his finger on.

He noticed that his glasses had slipped down his nose again, and he pushed them back with a sharp jab. He reached the door to one of the labs - the lab where Jenova was stored. Pushing against the door, he opened it and stepped inside.

The room was dark, but he didn't bother turning on the light. On the opposite side of the room, the tank that contained the Jenova specimen glowed with an eerie turquoise light, providing the only real illumination. Small lights flickered on and off on the control panels, and a machine steadily ticked out readings next to it.

Hojo…

The voice was stronger now, and the next thing the Doctor knew, he was standing next to the container, a hand pressed against the glass. Looking up, he could see the still form of Jenova herself, floating serenely in the preservative.

"So beautiful…"

He didn't realise he had spoken the words aloud, until his voice shattered the peace. Strangely, they seemed jarring against the quiet in which the Ancient resided. He moved his face closer to the tank. He could have sworn the thing was smiling at him.

This time when the voice spoke, it was with a definite undertone of possessiveness.

Hojo… My Hojo…