Vincent hauled himself over the mountain ledge and immediately reached down to clasp his companions' hand. Lucrecia eagerly grasped the proffered limb, grateful for the assistance. Next to them, the thundering Nibelheim falls cascaded into the lake below, a deep blue expanse of water stretching through the valley.

Pulling the scientist up to join him on the ledge, they paused for a moment to admire the view. Spray from the waterfall settled on his face and hair, something he found particularly refreshing after the long climb.

They had found this route purely by luck on one of their little walks through the mountains. The couple had been walking close to the lake when Vincent had spotted some local wildlife taking too much of an interest in them for his liking. He had chased the creature away, only to return with news that there was a small pathway leading up the side of the cliff. On the off chance that it led to the falls, they decided to try it out.

As fortune would have it, they were correct. The path was steep, slippery and barely used, but took them right up close to the water, up the side and, to Lucrecia's delight, behind the waterfall itself. There, they were amazed to discover that some traveller before them had hollowed out a cave in a nook of the mountain. The young scientist immediately fell in love with the place, and with the addition of a few blankets, it had become their favourite spot to escape to.

She laughed, and set off on the final portion of the journey, the narrow ledge that disappeared behind the falls.

"Come on, hurry up!"

Vincent rolled his eyes and tried not to look down too much. He'd never had much of a problem with heights (his job found him sneaking over rooftops just as often as through streets), but something about the tremendous drop into that bottomless lake unnerved him. Or maybe it was that his feet just barely fitted onto the ledge, whereas the more delicate Lucrecia had no such difficulty.

"For Shiva's sake Lu, be careful!" he called, as she skipped along the path, loosening a few stones along the way, sending them tumbling down into the depths of the lake.

Lucrecia laughed again as he plastered his back to the cliff and edged along in her wake. "I am!" she trilled back, quickly reaching the cave mouth and darting in. Vincent risked a glance down and wished he hadn't. Sternly he reprimanded his stomach for lurching and cautiously continued until he too was safe inside the cavern. Running his hands through his now damp hair, he realised that he'd been unconsciously holding his breath for about the last five minutes. He hoped Lucrecia hadn't noticed.

"Oh it's not that bad, is it?" she asked. Rats, he thought. She noticed.

He exhaled, blowing away the strands of hair that were still dangling in his face. They immediately flopped back in front of his eyes. "Damn."

The scientist giggled, walking over to him. "Here, let me" she offered, gently tucking the offending black locks behind his ear. He took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her, resting his chin on her head when she had dealt with his fly-away hair. She settled into the embrace, until she discovered that his jacket she was nestled in was soaked through.

"Did you go swimming or something when I wasn't looking?" she asked, indicating the garment in question. "This thing is drenched…"

Giving a melodramatic sigh of despair, the Turk released her from his grasp and shrugged off his jacket. "That better?" he asked. She gave him the once over.

"No" she decided. "That shirt is wet as well." Vincent raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter so much as a word, the little scientist had covered his lips with her own and was pulling him further into the cave.

- - -

Taking advantage of a lull in research, the 'Crackpot' had locked himself in the laboratory whilst Gast and Beck had gone out for an afternoon coffee. Seated at the desk nearest to the Jenova specimen, he furiously scribbled down equations on a notepad, crossing out parts he found wrong, double-checking those that were left. Behind him, the Ancient floated in her tank, watching over her puppet closely.

"You know" muttered Hojo as he scratched through another few algebraic symbols, "this might just work." To the outside observer, he appeared to be talking to himself; only he could hear Jenova's reply.

"Of course it will" the creature assured him. "The procedure will produce a perfect hybrid imbued with my power…"

"…The ultimate soldier" finished Hojo, an evil smile spreading across his face. "A fusion of human and Cetra." Making the final touches to his equations, he looked down at them, satisfied. "I'll present these calculations to Gast" he decided. "He won't be able to find any flaws in them; we can go straight ahead with the experiment…"

A wave of emotion emanated from the Ancient. In any other being, Hojo would have called it worry, but Jenova wasn't any other being, she was… Jenova. "Gast may have to be removed" she stated. "I doubt his willingness to see this through to completion."

The feeling that came over Hojo was worry, without question. Much as he liked to build up his own part in the Project, Gast was undeniably the lynchpin that held it together. If he started having misgivings about what they were doing…

"If he starts to falter…" Jenova pressed, massaging Hojos mind with her own. The scientist caved in to her insinuations without pause.

"Then he will be dealt with accordingly." A scowl creased his features. "And that Turk." There was no disguising the hatred with which he filled the one little word.

Jenova assumed a soothing tone. "Do not worry about such minor concerns" she told him. "The Turk will be out of the way soon enough, and then the woman will be free of his interference."

Hojo looked up. "He will? What have you done?"

"Trust me" purred the Ancient. "It's all been taken care of…"

- - -

Lucrecia found Vincent in one of the small rooms downstairs. Once they had returned from their trip to the waterfall, she had gone back to the basement and he had gone about his own duties. She had been looking for him for a while now though, hoping that he could help her move some of the lab equipment which was too heavy for her to manage on her own.

Peering round the doorway, she saw him perched on the window ledge. His head was resting against the glass, chin cupped in one hand. That arm was propped up on his knee, while the other hung over the edge of the windowsill. He looked exhausted. Lucrecia was worried; she'd never seen him look so tired before.

"Vincent?"

He looked up, drawn out of whatever thoughts he was engaged in. He didn't reply, just started at her with worn out eyes. Immediately, she could tell something was wrong.

"Vincent? Vincent, what is it?"

It was a few moments before he answered, and when he did it was with a single word. "Preston."

A lump began to form in the petite scientist's throat. "What about Preston?" she ventured, not really sure she wanted to hear the answer, even though she had a nagging feeling she already knew what it was going to be.

Vincent's eyes dropped to the floor, and he rubbed his temple with his fingers. "He's dead" he stated simply, no emotion pulling at his voice.

Lucrecia couldn't bring herself to answer. In the year since she had first met the other Turks, she had grown to like them, and considered them if not friends, then good acquaintances. To hear that one of them was dead…

"He was assassinated in a bar in Midgar" Vincent went on in a monotone. "Linden and Deacon found him, but they were too late."

"Assassinated…?" It was difficult for to reconcile this information. She knew that the job was dangerous, but the men had always seemed so full of life, so competent, so… unassailable. This reminder of their mortality served to make her realise that none of them were untouchable, even her Vincent. Perhaps especially her Vincent. What if he were taken away from her…?

"As far as we know there was no motive for it. They located the assassin, but he had a cyanide cap in his mouth. Committed suicide before he could be questioned. ID said he was from Nibelheim."

Lucrecia bit her lip, anxious. "So… What are you going to do?" she asked. Vincent dropped his hand away from his head, and leant back against the window with a sigh.

"They're calling me back to Midgar for a while" he explained. "We can't function with only two Turks there and we have to get to the bottom of this soon in case we get hit again." Pushing himself up to standing, he walked over to the door to join her. "We need at least one new Turk, and I've got to get everything straight. Shinra's going to send some First Class SOLDIERS here while I'm away. Odin alone knows we can't spare another Turk…"

Lucrecia's heart welled up in sympathy. Gone was the happy, carefree man of only a few hours ago. In his place was a Turk who looked as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. "How long will you be gone?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Impossible to say… Two months? Three?" He noticed her crestfallen expression and attempted a smile, half-hearted as it was. Reaching out he cupped her face in his hand. "I don't want to leave you Lu. I just don't have any choice… It won't be long, and then I'll be back."

She tried to return the smile, but failed as tears brimmed in her soft brown eyes. Devastated that he had made her upset, Vincent leaned down to kiss them away. "I promise Lu, I'll come back as soon as I can." He enveloped her in his arms, holding her close.

"I know" she sniffed. "I guess I've just got used to having you around most of the time." She briskly wiped her eyes and made a concerted effort to regain her composure. "When do you leave?"

Vincent's eyes dropped to the ground once more. "This afternoon" he replied. "They're sending the chopper for me right now."

Lucrecia pulled her self upright and adjusted his jacket collar where she had been leaning on him. "Well you just take care of yourself" she ordered. "Make sure you pack everything, and eat well, and get plenty of rest and don't you dare get yourself killed, Vincent Valentine, or so help me Odin, I'll…"

In spite of everything he couldn't help but smile at her. "I promise" he said softly. "I love you, Lu. I'll come back and everything will be fine…"

- - -

"He's leaving?"

Hojo could barely contain his surprise and elation as Gast imparted the news to the small research team. Being head of the Project, Vincent had informed the Professor first, so that he could tell the others. Of course, Lucrecia already knew, a fact for which she was glad. She didn't know how she would have reacted to have heard it from Gast in front of everyone else…

It was all Hojo could do not to break into a broad grin. Instead, he stood there with a contented smirk on his face as Gast outlined the enforced change in security.

"…Only for a few months. After that, Mr Valentine will resume his duties here in Nibelheim."

Jenova's pleasure oozed its way into the Doctors' mind. He could feel her joy at having the meddlesome Turk removed, even for just a couple of months. Trying to keep his expression fixed on Gast, Hojo retreated into the back of his mind where the Ancient resided.

"You did this?" he asked incredulously. Jenova allowed the impertinence to go unpunished; nothing could ruin her good mood, even brainless puppets asking stupid questions.

"Did you doubt me?" The words immediately set Hojo mentally groveling, which pleased her even more. It was one of her more devious ploys, she had to admit. Although she hadn't been able to control the female scientist like she had Hojo, she had been managed to skim off a lot of details from her memory - places, people, data, friends… Turks. Pushing herself quickly into the mind of a grocery man as he made his weekly delivery, she had taken over his thought processes and sent him to Midgar, intent on assassinating one of the Turks taken from Lucrecia's mind. It seemed that the puppet had not failed her, and now the Turk here was being removed. By the time he realised what was going on it would be too late. Without his influence over her, the woman would give herself to the Project wholeheartedly.

Then no-one would be able to stop her.