The Nibel mountain range was one of the most awesome natural spectacles in the world. Vincent meandered along the paths leading through the huge hills, his arm around a slightly more breathless Lucrecia, taking in the scenery.

"Do you have to go so fast?" she asked. "Not all of us are as used to this physical exertion as you are."

Pausing for a moment while she recovered a little, Vincent stared out over the cliff. The incredible view was, in his opinion at least, marred by the Shinra Electric Company power station, situated in the pass. A new development, the corporation had decided to tap into the large resource of Mako in the area. Stark and metallic, it didn't fit in with the natural beauty surrounding it. Lucrecia heard him rumble something to that effect under his breath.

"What is it?" she enquired. Vincent pointed towards the building.

"That" he said. "It just doesn't… go here. Shinra shouldn't have built it."

A quizzical smile spread across Lucrecia's face. "Don't you normally kill people for saying things like that?"

"Just because I work for them doesn't mean that I approve of everything they… we do" he answered levelly. He saw the scientist open her mouth and cut her off before she could start. "Oh I know, there were lots of sound reasons why the power station was built. But still…" He gestured to see if she had caught her breath yet. Lucrecia nodded, and they carried on walking. "Maybe it's the Wutai in me, but I just don't like it."

The matter dropped, the pair continued the trek through the paths chatting amicably, until without warning, in one fluid motion Vincent swiftly darted his hand to the back pocket of his suit, withdrew a small black revolver and fired off a shot directly behind him. The scientist nestled in his other arm jumped a clear foot into the air with a loud curse.

"Shit! Vincent! What the hell…" She trailed off, following the path of the still smoking gun. A large, grey, doglike animal was slumped about 10 feet away on the track behind them. Vincent's bullet had caught it square between the eyes.

She turned her eyes up at the man next to her and suddenly became aware of just how much like a Turk he seemed at that moment. Strong, powerful and more to the point, lethal. His own gaze was even now scanning the nearby terrain, looking out for any more predators. She hadn't even heard that first one, how on earth had he?

Satisfied that they were safe for the time being, Vincent moved his attention to the tense Lucrecia standing rigidly in the crook of his left arm. "Sorry" he said apologetically, "I didn't have time to warn you."

"How did you… I mean, I didn't…" She struggled to construct a sentence that conveyed her exact meaning and eventually gave up. "Well?"

He shrugged with indifference. "I heard it creeping up on us" he said simply, as if that explained everything. "It's been following us for a while, but from a distance so I didn't do anything about it. Then it suddenly decided to make a break and come right for us. There wasn't enough time to get you to safety before it attacked."

"What?" Lucrecia frowned, more at herself that anything else. She wished she felt up to forming coherent speech, but her brain wasn't co-operating right now. It was too busy replaying the last minute or so over and over in slow motion. She'd thought she was over this, that she had accepted the nature of Vincent's work, but to see it firsthand like this was a whole new reality.

The man himself seemed blissfully unaware of her misgivings. "Nibel wolf" he clarified for her, oblivious the fact that she seemed to have been rendered mono-syllabic by the experience. "I read about them on the way here. They live in the mountains, usually preying on other animals, but have been known to take a chunk out of tourists." He paused to consider this for a moment. "I'm still surprised this one tried us though" he admitted, "a tired and starving hiker is one thing, but we're another…"

Giving another slight shrug, he spun the revolver round in his hand, before holstering it to its hiding place in his pocket. Lucrecia followed the weapon, her frown deepening. "Hang on, I thought I said 'no' to that?" she enquired pointedly, some of her normal composure returning. Vincent's face took on a very guilty expression.

"Ah."

Lucrecia raised an eyebrow. "Of course" she said archly, "that is the only one you sneaked past me, isn't it?" She watched as Vincent appeared to take a very sudden and deep interest in a spot about a foot away from his shoes.

"Ah."

A second eyebrow joined the first. "Vincent" she said in a warning tone. "Just how many of those things do you have on you?"

"Aside from that one?"

"Aside from that one."

The Turk thought about it for a moment. "I have another revolver in the left hand pocket" he replied. "There's a rifle strapped to my right leg, a dagger to the left, a small but extremely useful knife concealed in my jacket, a couple more built in to the caps of my shoes, my belt buckle doubles as a zip wire and my biro fires an explosive projectile device."

Lucrecia stared at him open mouthed. "You're not serious."

"Yes. No. Well, mostly." The Turks' eyes were still riveted to the ground. "I was kidding about the biro."

"Thank Shiva for small mercies."

"It actually houses poison darts. I picked up the wrong one this morning."

The small scientist stared hard at Vincent. His voice was deadpan, but he still had that hangdog expression plastered over his face and it was impossible for her to tell if he was joking or not. It was also increasingly difficult for her to remain scared when he reminded her so much of a lost puppy, though wild horses wouldn't have made her make that comparison out loud.

"Well" she capitulated, "you did save me from that creature I suppose." Vincent's' eyes tore themselves off the ground, suddenly hopeful.

"So I have my uses then?" he asked expectantly, that slight tugging at the corner of his mouth threatening to start up again. Lucrecia gave a long suffering sigh.

"You do" she agreed at length. "Now… Now what are you doing?"

The Turk had disengaged himself from her, and was walking over to the rapidly cooling corpse of the wolf, pulling on his gloves as he did so. "Burying it" he answered. "It's not just wolves that live round here, and some of the other inhabitants have a very acute sense of smell." Lucrecia's own nose crinkled as he almost effortlessly picked up the creature and headed towards a clump of trees. "This will attract monsters for miles if I don't cover it up."

She waited patiently while Vincent went about the task. It didn't take him long to emerge from the trees. "Better" he pronounced. "But it might be a good idea to head back to the town." Pulling off his gloves, he dropped them into his jacket and returned his arm to Lucrecia's shoulders.

oOo

Gast is old and pliable, but the woman may be difficult.

Hojo nodded his head thoughtfully, but didn't reply. He didn't really need to. By now, she knew his thoughts almost before he did.

She will succumb. They always do.

Jenova's 'voice' did not sound arrogant or overconfident; she was simply stating facts as she saw them. No-one could stand against her might. The doctor stroked his chin in contemplation. "She's a stubborn one" he warned aloud. The centuries old being made a noise that could have been a laugh.

She will succumb.

Hojo smirked. For all her wilfulness, Lucrecia wouldn't be able to hold out for long against the mental insinuations of Jenova. Anyone who spent a lot of time around the being became susceptible, to a greater or lesser degree. He himself had never experienced the full power of the Ancient, only the outskirts, and he couldn't imagine even the petite scientist putting up too much resistance. He gazed up at the fabulous creature, floating serenely in the vast specimen tank. No, Lucrecia wouldn't pose a problem. His train of thought suddenly hit an obstacle.

"The Turk."

For two such small words, Hojo managed to fill them with plenty of venom. He disliked the assassin as it was, and since he had discovered that Lucrecia was actually dating him… He doubted that Vincent would agree to the plan he and Jenova were hatching. It wasn't even any of his business, but Hojo guessed the hitman wouldn't just sit by amicably, he'd start interfering…

"Can you 'persuade' him too?"

The question was asked innocently enough, but Jenova's presence seemed to loom larger in his head instead of offering the reassuring answer he wanted to hear.

"Can you?"

For all her show of superiority, Jenova hated to admit that she had any form of weakness and Hojo had just highlighted one. Her ability to influence others did have limitations. Close contact with the target was a great help to her, and the Turk simply wasn't around her often enough. There was also the problem of his mind. Most humans were pitifully easy to control. Hojo for example, not that he was aware of it. All that had been required there had been a few subtle pushes in the right direction and he was devoted to her. The Turk however… From the few glimpses she had caught of his mind, it was disciplined, closed away from her probing. He would be exceptionally difficult to turn.

This time, her mental voice thundered in his ears.

Of course I can!

Hojos knees buckled underneath him and he staggered against a desk, as the Ancient sent a crippling wave of energy crackling through his brain. He gripped the table edge, murmuring repeated apologies under his breath as Jenova leaned on him. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the pressure was gone. The Ancient's tones returned to normal.

Leave them all to me, assured Jenova smoothly. I'll take care of everything…

oOo

"So how do you do that thing? With the gun?"

Lucrecia and Vincent were seated underneath the shade of an immense tree, on an outcropping that overlooked Nibel town. Vincent, his back leaning against the thick trunk, shifted his gaze from the magnificent scenery.

"Hnn?"

"You know, that thing." Lucrecia tried to demonstrate with her hands. "When you put it away, you sort of twirled it round. How did you do that?"

Vincent smiled. "Oh that… It's just a little trick I learned a long time ago." Twisting his arm somewhat awkwardly, he reached behind him and once more removed the small revolver. Easily he sent it spinning round, flipping over and around the knuckles as Lucrecia watched, fascinated. "It's all in the hands" he offered by way of explanation, catching the dancing firearm in mid spin before placing it on his lap.

"It is?"

"Yes. Quick fingers." He flexed the aforementioned extremities. "I used to do a few magic tricks as well when I was a kid." That sent Lucrecia into a small fit of hysterics. "What?" he asked reprovingly.

Lucrecia stifled another giggle. "Come on…" she laughed. Her voice dropped to as deep as she could manage as she declaimed "I am the Great Vincent! Tremble before my awesome magical power!" A new fit of laughter overcome her. "I can just imagine you turning up at children's birthday parties in a cape and pointy hat." For his part, Vincent managed to look suitably offended as she lapsed into sniggering.

"I did!" he protested. "Look…" He reached out his free hand to her ear, and pulled out a Gil piece with pride. "See?"

Lucrecia looked at the coin in surprise before beaming in delight. "Alright, I believe now" she conceded, plucking the Gil from his fingers. "Never knew you had it in you." The scientist pocketed the money with a grin. "So who taught you?"

"The magic tricks or the gun tricks?"

"Either or. But mainly the gun one, I'm curious."

"My father." Vincent picked up the gun again and started turning it over in his hand. "He was a weapon's manufacturer. Made ones very similar to this, as it happens."

Lucrecia's ears perked up a little. The leader of the Turks was normally very close lipped about himself, and especially his family. She knew now that his parents had been killed in an accident, but that was really all he had disclosed. She also knew better than to press the issue unless he was feeling particularly talkative, so had never taken it further. That didn't stop her native curiosity though, and she was always eager to find out more about her sometimes mysterious lover.

"It was my grandfather that taught me the coin trick" Vincent went on. "Did it on me once, and apparently I demanded to know how it was done so he showed me. He was the one who said I had quick fingers. He must've been the one who told my father, because soon after that he started teaching me how to do the one with the gun."

Lucrecia looked at the small weapon on his lap. "How old were you?" she enquired.

He gave a slight shrug. "Nine I think, or thereabouts." His hand closed round the gun. "He asked me if I thought I could do it, so I tried." He gave a small laugh. "The first time it flew out of my hand and smashed a vase. The next few times I still failed abysmally and dropped it on my foot, but it wasn't long before I pulled it off."

"Didn't it scare you though?" the scientist was warming to the topic now, especially since Vincent was in such a loquacious mood.

"Didn't what scare me?" he asked, not quite getting her meaning.

"The gun" Lucrecia clarified. "I mean, so young and handling firearms and all… What if it had gone off?"

Vincent shook his head. "Oh it wasn't loaded. And the safety would have been on anyway, so I couldn't have accidentally fired it." Lucrecia made an 'ahhh' noise in understanding. "Besides" he went on, "I'd pretty much grown up with guns. He used to bring them home all the time and show me how they worked. I could take them apart and put them together again by the time I was six."

Lucrecia was grudgingly impressed. "I guess it's not surprising that you turned out to be so good with them" she said. "I never did anything like that. I was too busy with my nose in a book."

He leaned over and kissed her hair gently. "Look where it's got you though" he answered. "Working with Gast on Shinra's most valued project."

"Yes… But I'm not where I want to be yet." Lucrecia's eyes lit up. "I want to do something… Something groundbreaking. Be at the cutting edge of science; be recognised for what I've done." She glanced at her watch and her face fell. "Damn. We'd better get back soon, before they start missing us."

Vincent acknowledged her with a slight sigh. "Probably." He looked around. "I'm convinced that the area is secure, anyway."

She laughed and pulled herself up to her feet. Extending a hand down to the still reclining Vincent, she waited for him to grasp it before hauling him up to join her. He took advantage of the assistance by pulling her into his arms once more. "Though…" A wicked smile crossed his face. "That's not to say there's no predators left."