I love you...

Vianca sighed, staring at the pendant resting in her palm. Those words echoed in her head, yet she couldn't remember much else. Who was it that told her that? And why? What did those words mean? She'd been asking herself that for days. Clutching the pendant hanging from her neck, she closed her eyes briefly. She was forgetting something --- something important. Everything from before her slumber was a blur, she only remembered bits and pieces. In the last few weeks, she'd questioned each of the Tsviets, but none of them had answers for her.

Opening her eyes, she looked over at the youthful girl in her seat with her headset on. "Hey, Shelke?"

"What?"

Vianca hesitated. She wasn't supposed to be asking about the subject anymore. Nevertheless, she couldn't help herself. "Would it be possible to use an SND to find data about me?"

"It's possible," she answered, "but I'm not authorized to do so. It would serve no purpose in our search for the protomateria."

Vianca hung her head a bit. "Right. Sorry for asking."

Heavy footsteps caused her to turn her gaze up to the large man. "Still eager to dig up the past, are you?" He frowned in disapproval. "Weiss awakened you and gave you a purpose. Is that not enough for you? Are you not happy to be a part of the Tsviets?"

Vianca was quick to shake her head. "That's not it. I'm indebted to Weiss, and I'm thankful to be a Tsviet." She looked down at her lap. "I just grow...curious at times."

Azul pointed a large finger threatingly at her. "Know your place, Vianca. Don't let your curiosity get the better of you or you might find yourself at the mercy of Weiss the Immaculate."

"Right. I know." The girl took a deep breath, erasing the thoughts from her mind. "Do as I'm told. That is my one and only purpose."

Azul backed off, satisfied by her resolve. He didn't particularly like her, or even Shelke for that matter, but Weiss had a use for them. That was good enough for him, as Weiss was the only person he respected the strength of. The room grew silent, and Vianca started watching the various monitors in front of her. She grew a bit uncomfortable by the scenes playing out in front of her.

The monitors were hooked up to Shelke's headset, which was connected to the helmets of the Deepground soldiers. She could see what they were seeing. The village of Kalm was under heavy attack. People were being slaughtered without mercy, and others were being captured. It was going according to plan. Capture the pure while killing off the tainted. There was fire and blood, gunfire and screams. A sudden pang in her chest made her hunch forward, placing a hand over her heart. But after a few seconds, the painful jolt was gone. The sight of death had never bothered her in the last few weeks, so why now?

"Vincent Valentine," Shelke's dull voice brought Vianca's attention back to the screens. The younger girl pulled off her headset. "We've found you."

Vianca stared at the red-cloaked male that appeared on the monitors. His long hair was messy and black as night. His appearance was odd to say the least, compared to most people anyway. Something about him intrigued her, but she didn't know why.

"Is this the one?" Azul asked, wanting confirmation.

Shelke gave a firm nod. "Yes."

Azul looked between the two females. "Then let's go pay him a visit."

Vianca tore her eyes away from the screens, and instead, stood to follow behind the two Tsviets. Alongside a bunch of troops, the trio traveled outside to Kalm via transport vehicles. Though for Vianca, it was her first trip outside of Deepground, at least as far as she could remember. As soon as she stepped out of the truck and saw the sky, she was enraptured by it. Her eyes widened, and a smile appeared on her face.

"It's so big...and blue...and beautiful..." She spun in circles just taking it in. "How is it so massive? How does it even exist? I would like to know."

"Focus on the mission," Shelke interrupted. "We came to retrieve the protomateria, remember? You can marvel at the sky later."

Vianca forced herself to keep moving, still occasionally glancing up at the sky. "Right. I'm sorry."

As they walked into the village, utter chaos ensued around them. None of it concerned them, for they had a single target to find. Gunfire went off around them, so Vianca created a thin layer of crystal around her body in the shape of a cloak and hood. Stray bullets clinked against the tough barrier she'd made, bouncing off like pebbles.

"Quite the war zone," she calmly stated. "Is all this truly necessary?"

"Weiss ordered for the pure to be retrieved," Azul answered firmly. "The rest, exterminated. We don't question why."

Shelke looked back over her shoulder at the pale female. "You've been awake for less than a month and you already have too many questions for my liking. What drives you to be so inquisitive?"

Vianca gave that question a moment of thought, then answered honestly, "I don't really know. I suppose it's because before a few weeks ago, I'd never been outside, I'd never seen a battleground, and I'd certainly never been given such important tasks, at least I don't remember anything of the sort. I'm experiencing a lot of firsts lately."

She glanced up at the sky with a quiet sigh. She couldn't help but wonder if that was the path she was meant to follow, or if there was any purpose to her life at all. Her power set her apart from everyone else. She wasn't an ordinary person, and she wasn't a true Tsviet either. If only she could remember her past, then perhaps she'd have some form of answer. For the time being, all she could do was follow orders.

~~~~~

Vincent had battled his way through countless Deepground soldiers, saving the innocent people that were targeted. He wasn't interested in getting involved in a war, but he also wasn't one to stand by while defenseless people were in danger. He didn't know who the enemy troops were, or what their reasons were, but he had done well in saving numerous citizens.

He was currently checking nearby buildings for anyone trapped and in trouble. Entering an upstairs room, he scanned the interior. No sign of life. That was a good thing. He was about to turn and leave when a crackling sound caught his ear. Jerking his head toward the nearest window, a layer of what appeared to be crystal was spreading over the exterior of the building like ice. A sudden impact on the opposite wall made him spin around to look. Rubble crumbled to the floor, and a cloud of dust was stirred up. But three figures stepped through the hole in the wall. A tall, muscular man, a young girl that didn't even look to be in her teens, and a white-haired girl.

"The protomateria. Tell us where it is." Shelke wasted no time in demanding.

"We know you have it somewhere," Vianca added in her soft but firm tone.

Vincent remained silent, staring them down. He had no idea what they were talking about. He studied their appearances instead. They had matching outfits, just like all the soldiers he'd faced. The man looked to be the only real threat of the trio --- tall, well-built, and with a challenging look in his gold eyes. The child was exactly that --- a child with short, red hair and blue eyes. Then there was the girl with ivory skin. She looked as delicate as a flower, though looks could be deceiving. She was certainly pretty compared to her comrades.

Azul began to step forward upon earning only Vincent's silent stare. "Then I'll have to beat some answers out of you." Vianca went ahead and began forming crystals on his body to act as added protection, but the Cerulean was quick to snatch her arm. He lifted her right off the floor, scowling as he held her up in front of his face. "Don't interfere!"

Vianca dangled helplessly, her arm squeezed a bit too much by the strong man. "I was trying to help! I'm sorry! I just wanted to assure your victory!" In a panic, her free hand pulled at his large one.

"I don't need your help to win!" he shouted at her. "Stay out of my way!"

Vincent almost felt bad for the poor girl. She looked so scared. The female held her free hand toward Azul, balling it into a fist. The crystals shattered in an instant, scattering like glass. The large man then tossed her roughly to the floor, causing her to whimper softly at how hard she landed on her back. Shelke suddenly collapsed, weakened from the data overloading her mind. There were also shouts and rapid footsteps coming up the stairs. Vianca had only crystalized the top floor they were on, allowing reinforments, or in that instance, enemies, to come in. Azul looked from Shelke to the doorway.

"Luck is on your side," he told Vincent. He reached down, his large hand wrapping around the small girl, picking her right up. He turned to leave.

"I'm...sorry..." Shelke muttered.

Azul paused, ignoring the girl to, instead, look over his shoulder at Vincent. "I am Azul. We will meet again."

He left without another word. Vianca was still on the floor, clutching her aching arm. She looked up, her pained gaze meeting Vincent's for a moment. He started to take a step toward her, but that only made her hurry to her feet. She held his gaze for another few seconds, her expression shifting to one of curiosity. Finally turning away, Vianca hurried to follow the Cerulean, still holding her arm. For some reason, Vincent got a strange feeling from her. It was like she had a different vibe from the other foes he'd encountered.

It was then that Reeve rushed in through the doorway, looking distraught. "What happened here?" He paused, looking at the red-cloaked male. "Vincent Valentine. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Vincent replied simply, looking over the blue-suited man. "Reeve. Nice to see you again. Not a very interesting outfit though."

Reeve laughed lightly. "It took me a while to decide what costume to put on today. But enough of this small talk. Who were those soldiers that left just now?"

"I don't know. The large one called himself 'Azul'."

Reeve looked shocked to hear that. "Azul the Cerulean?! Of the Tsviets? Then that could only mean..."

"Commissioner!" a soldier cried, interrupting their conversation. "Enemies are closing in!"

"We'll discuss this later," Reeve concluded. "WRO troops have arrived and commenced rescue operations. We could use your help, Vincent." He turned and began to leave.

"Reeve." The man stopped, turning partway to look back at his friend. Vincent sighed. "I don't know what you're up to, but I want absolutely no part of it."

"But..." Reeve looked desperate. "You fought alongside us three years ago! We need your help once mor-"

A gunshot rang out. Reeve crumpled to the floor, revealing an enemy soldier in the doorway behind him. Vincent's eyes widened with worry for a moment. He was quick to draw his gun, shooting down the foe in the blink of an eye. He then put his weapon back in its holster, rushing to his friend's side.

"Reeve!"

He kneeled to help Reeve up off the floor, but to his surprise, the body fell to pieces as soon as he lifted it up. An object rolled right out, and the man's concerned expression quickly twisted to an unamused one. The black and white ball of fur sprang to life. It was Cait Sith.

"Ha ha! That was a close one! Never was good at fightin'. Luckily, I came out wearing 'Reeve'." He looked up at Vincent with that usual jolly expression. "You're really not a bad bloke, are you, Vincent? Ahh, you pretend not to care, but you always come through in the end, ha ha!"

Vincent gave another sigh. He knew there was no escaping it now. "Alright. What do you want me to do?"

"Let's run those lads outta town! When you've tidied things up, meet me in the square in front of the East Church."

Vincent wasted no time. He left right away. But in the back of his mind were many questions. Who were those enemy soldiers? What purpose did they have? And why were those three he encountered so different from the rest? And what were they looking for? He had to admit, they had piqued his interest. But first thing's first, he had work to do.