Ryuu was running down the path frantically while his head turned to every space across the meadow, hoping he'd be able to spot the white-headed girl. He tightened his grip on the katana hilt until his knuckles throbbed when his leg halted right at the first boulder of the temple he spotted. He drew a deep breath and exhaled slowly, recollecting his calm back for some minutes.

He finally reached the sacred place. But he hadn't caught any sight of the brat yet. Earlier, when they were just stepping out of the car, they were attacked by the assailants. He for sure had been fighting alongside her. But when he turned his back, then spun around again, she'd vanished with no trace. Ryuu could manage to overcome them alone. He hadn't had a single scratch on his skin. Yet, he couldn't remove the dreadful feeling that tore his whole stomach.

He didn't have any clue where she'd gone. But, since he'd already arrived here, it'd be best to ask the deity first. Ryuu brought his feet, climbing the marble stair carefully. The dreary night welcomed him. And through the alley entrance, it was fully dark, with no light besides the shining moon, which made an eerie picture of his skin color.

It was only his second time here, but he didn't like his last visit either. It was as quiet as a graveyard, yet at the same time, he had the feeling of being watched by a thousand eyes of the invisible crowd that lived here. Perhaps it was the free spirit who didn't have any interest in showing their presence, but once he decided to run a fraud, he'd undoubtedly be wretched.

Ryuu barely stood before the altar when the air around him shifted. The ambiance became cold, and goosebumps pricked at the back of his neck. He realized he wasn't alone anymore as a thrilling shiver ran down his spine, a voice as subtle as the wind greeted him.

"It's been a long time, the descendant of Protector of The Sea. The dirty offspring of my sister's rapist," she said, "what's brought you here?" Her voice was still the same as he remembered, beautifully soft yet uncanny.

Ryuu grimaced at her insult. "Euriale," he said, his head turned to the source of the voice behind the altar where she stood. "Your niece's gone. Do you know where she is?"

Ryuu watched her pretty face twitch. Though her expression was smooth as alabaster, he could tell the deity knew something. "Hmmm, gone?" Euriale walked closer to him. The lights from the moon passed through the beds of the cloud. They playfully moved against the stony features of her human form. "How?"

"Once we got here, she disappeared as we were attacked by them. She wanted to ask you about her experience." His eyes followed how she moved. With no footsteps to be heard, she almost seemed to fly. Her white floor-sweeping dress seamlessly flows like wave ripples.

"What experience, exactly?" She tilted her head gracefully as if she was dancing. Elegant, also daunting at the same time.

"She thought she traveled to another world."

Euriale, unblinking, but somehow the shadow under her lips made an illusion she was smiling. She said, "Ah, I see."

Ryuu's eyes narrowed despite him trying to push aside his uneasiness. "Is it true? Do you know where she is?"

"Well, well, there's always price in every knowledge." She purred. Now she was actually smiling. Her smile should be captivating. If only it made his uneasiness grow bigger.

He wearily stared at her. "She's your niece. And I don't bring anything for you."

Euriale sighed with exaggerated disapproval. "Hardly, I can say," she said, "but since she's the beloved one, even though you didn't offer me any sacrifice, I'll grant you one piece of wisdom." She waved her pale hand across his face. "Wait here until she returns, and if you want to know the answer, the Hesperides have it."

And with that, she was gone, eaten by the darkness.

Sephiroth turned into a stone at the time she'd finished talking. The embossed creature distinctively resembled the dragon he killed. He hated to admit it, but she could be right. This was more than a coincidence. However, according to their speculation, he didn't understand why it seemed he was the chosen one who could activate the Materia. Why did the planet choose him to meet her, to become her summoner? What did Gaia want to say that has to do with him? And as clueless as he was, apparently, everyone didn't have an answer either.

He met her eyes. And for the first time, he found the girl's gaze was unstable. Her face muscle was tight with every deep breath she took. This whole situation must be a train wreck for her. Yet, he said nothing. Her pure terrified expression also stunned him.

At last, after their silence, Sephiroth's hand slowly extended to ask permission to observe the pendant. She handed it to him, her eyes following his finger that brushed the creature's shape. He said, "This Ladon, and your ancestor. Were they wield any magic to do such things? Teleportation and time-traveling?"

Lucka displayed thoughtfulness mixed with a troubled face. "The world I lived in is different from yours. Among the men, the magic is...no longer exists. The type itself was also different. And I've been cut off from the bloodline, so I don't know. Though, thanks to someone. Suddenly I came back here when I was searching for the answer."

Her statement only raised more questions, so he asked, "Being cut off?"

"Yeah, it's a long story." She locked her gaze at him with wavered eyes. In a flash, her face became blank as if trying to cover something behind that mask. Yet her sudden calm posture was screaming defensiveness. Perhaps this was more sensitive than he thought.

"You were on your way to finding the answer," he said and inclined his head to a pile of her weapons, then to her bloodied hands. "What kind of way do you need to be well prepared like that?" In the corner of his eyes, Angeal and Genesis shifted. They took a look at the weapons too.

"It's a family business." Lucka glanced down at her hands. She grabbed some tissues from his desk, wiped them off, and stared at him. He realized she wanted to avoid the topic, but instead, she was purposely acting calm to dodge the suspiciousness.

Tseng stepped in, his expression was impassive, yet the words stung like poison. Sephiroth knew the Turk was on duty when the man said, "What kind of family business do you have to bring full weaponry, Lucka?"

Lucka stared up at him, Sephiroth taking her expression intently. Every slip would count. She'd been good at being honest when he pressed on her several times, but would she be any good at lying to them?

"Certainly a high-risk one," she said with a level tone, yet her eyes sharply narrowed when she met Tseng's eyes.

"Do you mind elaborating?" Tseng's expression didn't change. He strolled to the end of Sephiroth's desk, his hand brushed as light as a feather on the flat edge. Though his posture was relaxed, he reminded him of a wild jungle cat patiently prying on its target, waiting for the right time until it was ready to bite its neck.

Lucka followed his motion as though she could read the situation so well. Her body became visibly tenser when she talked between clenched teeth. She said, "It's not related to this particular cause, and I assured you my family and I wouldn't harm the company if it's your concern."

She lies. But Sephiroth let it slip, she had another point, and it was undoubtedly something that bothered him. He had an inclination to assume whether Lucka would be a threat or not to Shinra, despite him being the one who summoned her.

Tseng's eyes narrowed. In fact, they knew that'd be his concern, but he hadn't brought the subject yet. But she'd already jumped to that conclusion. "And how can I trust your words?"

"You can't." She admitted because all of them knew he was a Turk after all. (He'd put any suspicion until he could confirm the truth himself). "Let's put aside your fanaticism for Shinra. This whole thing is bigger than that." She took a wary glance at Sephiroth. She said, "We should find the reason why I came here. In my world, there is one person as old as the ancients that might know something, but since you called me here, can you unsummoned me, or ..." She trailed off as if trying to recall her own words, her eyes froze as she came across some kind of a revelation.

Lucka glanced back at Tseng. Her eyes pierced into him, along with sparks that crossed her eyes. "Or we can ask another certain person on this planet," she added as a whisper, "in sector five slum's Church."

Tseng's eyes widened a little by her hint. He responded in a stern tone, "How do you know that?"

"As highly classified as it is, yeah, I might know something I shouldn't know." She admitted in a vigilant posture.

Tseng's blank mask was back to his face, but something mischievous flashed in his eyes. "As high as it is, the Shinra intelligence is in your hand. In other words, you're a liability,"—Sephiroth's eyes darted at Lucka as he noted her face fell. He glanced back at Tseng when he continued—"so we need to ensure you wouldn't leak any inf—"

"Don't you dare!" Lucka erupted from her seat, her mask breaking into a complete mess when he saw her hands clenched so tight it almost crushed the knuckles. Her tone turned as sharp as a blade, curt with intense heat.

Lucka realized she was too late to cover her earlier mistake.

Sephiroth raised his eyebrows while Tseng's eyes grew into fascination. He said, "Let me finish."

"I don't want to hear, and I'm not interested! Please just unsummoned me." She stomped her feet aloud towards her abandoned weapons.

"Lucka, calm down. We haven't finished here. And I don't intend to unsummoned you anytime soon." Sephiroth cast her a fierce look. His tone sounded as cold as a geyser at the Northern Crater.

Lucka's eyes narrowed with disgust under her messy locks as the bridge of her nose wrinkled. She stared at him, then her death glare was drilled onto Tseng, and if it was possible, her tone became more aggressive. "Forget to ask the person in the Church Tseng. I knowyour ploy."

Sephiroth and Tseng exchanged a knowing look as a cue, then the Turk said, "If General unsummoned you, by any chance, will you be one hundred percent positive that the person you wanted to ask can provide you the entire solution?"

"Yes." She snapped. The response came too fast.

She Lies. Sephiroth wouldn't let her pass this time. He said, "Lucka, please sit back."

Lucka didn't move immediately. "There is an easy way, as you may know." She seethed while half-heartedly obeyed to sit back in her seat. Her body slumped down harshly. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and shifted her legs to one another.

"Guys, aren't you too hard on her?" For the first time in this entire conversation, Angeal spoke to take her side. Sephiroth gave him a sidelong glance. Nonetheless, he and Tseng wouldn't back down.

"Not quite, Commander Hawley. I'm proposing the most tactful approach if only Lucka willingly participates," Tseng said to Angeal.

"Never heard blackmailing is tactful, Tseng," she replied with a low restrained voice, "you prevent me from going back, and if I refuse, you will put me in the cell."

"It's the last thing I want to do." Yet, every word he said was empty with no integrity.

Lucka went silent for a long time to gather back her poise. She still sat in that position, taking a deep breath in a calculated rhythm. They watched her with patience and would wait forever. They had plenty of time for her. Then, in the end, a deep sigh escaped from her mouth. At least the rage on her tone decreased a little when she said, "Fine. If you insist on keeping me here as long as you like, go ahead."

Tseng's eyes flickered with a glorified triumph. He was mastering this field. It was just a matter of time until Lucka would give in. He said, "Now we come into union. To make our term more convenient, I'm offering you to join the General Affairs Department of Shinra company." He finally said it as he inclined his head with a professional gesture.

"Surely what an efficient way to keep an eye on me," she said, biting back, "like, I don't have any option in the first place."

Tseng smirked. "I'll prepare the contract," he said and went to the door.

Lucka flumped at her seat when the door opened and closed in a second with a mild click. "God. No wonder the Turks got a higher salary than the rest of you," she said with a haggard face, her voice weakened as though she was going to faint.

Genesis raised his eyebrows and sat on the edge of Sephiroth's desk. "I don't like you with the Turks, but I guess I'll start visiting the floor more often." He gave her a playful smirk.

Lucka studied him for a brief moment. She looked still torn in her leftover lousy mood when she said, "No need if you stop hitting on me."

Sephiroth let out a choked sound.

Angeal laughed. He tapped Genesis' shoulders teasingly and said, "You heard the lady."

"My charm's too blinding to see." Genesis, unaffected, then stood and shuffled to the door. "I'll catch you soon."

"I hope you will do well." Angeal sounded genuine, yet his voice grew wary when he said, "The job is...not the most pleasant thing to do."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Angeal," she mumbled. Angeal nodded and followed Genesis to the hallway.

Then, only the two of them stayed in the room.

Eventually, after taking another good minute, Lucka managed to keep her restraint. Her face smoothes back to a relaxed impression. She reached out to take back her necklace, and the General handed it silently.

"So, you wouldn't unsummon me?" She wore her necklace and tugged it under her neckline t-shirt.

"Sadly, no." He leaned back on his chair, his left hand resting casually on the desk.

"Can I unsummon myself?" she said and uncrossed her legs. Her fingers played the hem of her skirt in slow turns. There was a hint of hope in her tone, her eyes searching for him.

"I never heard it can be done. The chance is slim," he said, "but in normal circumstances, if the summoned creature is defeated in battle, it'll go back to its Materia."

"Will it also work on me? Or will I die?" Lucka sighed. Her eyes glanced up at the ceiling before she stared back at him. "Well, the last time I went back to Earth, did you unsummon me on purpose?"

General frowned, his finger drummed on top of the desk, causing a rhythmically gentle knocking sound. "No. You just disappeared."

"But I can't unsummon myself, as you've said." She raised her eyebrows in confusion.

It took him a moment to reply, then he said, "It appears my mana was worn out."

"You mean when you get tired?" Lucka suggested. She raised her hand mid-air as a questioning gesture.

"Apparently. Even if you're a mundane, the Materia itself is still eating my mana."

She nodded in acknowledgment and brought forth a thoughtful expression. She said, "Can you tell me how long you can keep me here?"

"You were staying here for two days, but that's because I just came back from a long mission. Possibly, I can keep you another day or so in my full power."

"That's impressive." Her mouth was rounding into a little 'O,' then she averted her gaze to the windows. She added, "You know. I only disappeared forty-eight minutes in my timeline. If you can keep me longer, maybe, it'll pull out several hours." Lucka threw her gaze far away outside the window. It was bright, whereas the last time she fought with Ryuu, it was a pit dark.

She was back to Earth and summoned again on the same day, in a short range of time. This early change of events was still easy to track, but she'd undoubtedly be messed up if she frequently went back and forth between the two planets.

His frown deepened, concluding her clarification. "So, the time is longer here."

"Yeah, probably because our planet's rotation time is different," she said.

He only hummed back at her. They took the silence to look at each other. She noted how lax his posture was, then a thought crossed her mind. "When I disappeared...did it happen to you—if you'd noticed because I didn't notice it at first. That I can feel there is an invisible thread. And its energy was kinda cut off? Between us?"

General brought his other hand to his temple, his eyes narrowed in deep thought. His lips pursed into a thin line. "It's faint. I almost missed it."

"True. Is it because I'm mundane?" Lucka raised her eyebrows, her hand resting loosely on her chin.

"Perhaps, but I consider it can be sharpened over time," he said with a nod.

"Like a Bloodhound, huh," she said with a smirk, "or a living GPS. You can't hide from me, now that I own you." she stared at him in amusement and noticed how his lips lifted up into a vicious smirk.

He said, "It should be the other way around."

Lucka was not the General captive anymore, but she hadn't signed the contract to become a Turk. So let's say her status would be contemporary become a visitor. That's why the General brought her to another cafeteria in the building for lunch. To her relief, there was no reason to get her back to the SOLDIER floor to become the center of attention among the male cadets.

The food court was located on the 63rd floor inside the Recreation Facility, adjacent to the Urban Planning Administration. The place had an immense two-level facility linked by a spiral staircase with an atrium containing a tall tree in the center of the room. Lucka was raptured by the enormous wall made by large windows that provide a view of the entire city. And thanks to them, the room was so bright because of the daylight sun shining on the whole space.

After they bought the food, The General led her to a rounded-donut-shaped table near the window. There was an indoor palm tree in the center of it. They sat across from each other. He ate his food while she busied herself gawking at the city view.

Intrinsically, Lucka had always been a country girl. Ranging over the forest behind her house backyard in Samarina most of the time was a daily activity. It was rare for her to visit the capital city of Greece. Since they should minimize exposing themselves in public areas. Moreover, standing far from the ground inside a skyscraper building was magnificent for her.

Once she was satisfied staring at the view, she said to him, "It's beautiful here, though a little bit crowded," she added, "it must be romantic during the night."

General displayed an apathetic look as he responded. "The building also has Skyview Hall that presents the same view, with a more private area."

Lucka perked up. "Would you show me the place?"

"No."

"You're no fun, General." She stabbed a piece of salmon meat and sighed. "A girl can dream."

They were eating in silence when a huge warm hand rested on her shoulder. She nearly choked, gasping in surprise. Lucka looked up to find Genesis' confident smile.

"Genesis! you creep me out!" Lucka snapped and glanced at the General, who stared back impassively. "Did you tell him we're here?"

He shook his head as he replied, "No, why would I?"

"I have good intuition." He slid down beside her as he drank a bottle of apple juice in his hand.

"Didn't see that coming," she replied flatly and continued her half-eaten meal. "What brought you here, Genesis?"

"Well, since you'll be staying here, why don't we see downtown?"

It took her a few moments to figure out how she wanted to respond and try to level her tone as neutral as possible. She said, "That's really considerate of you, Genesis. But if it's a date, I'm sorry I'm busy. And if not, I'm still busy. And I don't have any Gil yet."

Genesis chuckled. "Who said I'm asking you for a date? I want to buy a book tomorrow night, and since I notice you like to read, you may find something more interesting than a war strategy book," he said, glancing at Sephiroth and putting on a smirk, "and don't worry about the Gil. I can get a whole library for you." He finished with a wink.

She considered the offering. It was appealing. Besides, she'd always been curious about Midgar city life. What did it look like in real life? Would it be much different from the city she lived in on Earth? Though the wink irritated her. And she just couldn't hold her wit. She said, "You sound like a sugar daddy, you know."

"Sugar daddy?" Genesis raised his eyebrows. His tone was annoyingly cheerful. "I know I'm pretty sweet, but I don't have any kids yet."

Lucka couldn't resist rolling her eyes. "In my world, it's a term for a rich older man who lavishes gifts and money on younger girls or boys. In return for their company or sexual favors," she replied monotonously. However, in the corner of her eyes, she was aware the General was giving her a look.

"Well, I kinda like the term. When do you want to sign up?" He said with a cheeky grin.

"Genesis stops!" She let out an infuriated sigh. "I'll think about it after I'm settled with the Turk's stuff. I'll let you know soon."

"Great. Can't wait to hear from you," Genesis said, then shuffled his way to the exit door.

Lucka shifted in her seat when she noticed the General had finished eating. She asked, "Say, General, which one will bully me first, the Red Leather or the Study Group, if they find out I go to the bookstore with Genesis?"

The General smirked as if the idea was humoring him. He said, "Both."