Vincent slowly peeled his eyes open. He was in a tank of water, completely submerged. He'd been through that experience before, a long time ago. He could almost imagine Lucrecia standing outside his tank, peering in at him. But this time, it wasn't her, it was a certain redhead behind a desk.

"Well look who's awake," Shalua said, her single blue eye gazing at Vincent from behind her glasses. The male looked around in confusion. "Hold on, I'll release you."

She stood, going over to press a button to drain the tank. Once the water was gone, it opened, allowing Vincent to step out, still dripping with water. He didn't recognize his surroundings.

"Where am I?"

"Safe inside the WRO Headquarters," the woman explained. "I carried you back here from Edge after you collapsed during your fight with Deepground. It seems like the beast inside you went a little wild back there. This happen often?"

"Went wild? Do you mean...Chaos?"

Shalua looked shocked to hear that. "Chaos? Your body harbors the Chaos gene? Oh, so that explains your relationship with Dr. Lucrecia Crescent. Were you the product of one of her experiments?"

Vincent looked away in thought, hearing that for the first time. "Lucrecia's...experiments?"

Shalua only just realized she probably sounded a bit insensitive. "I apologize. That wasn't what I meant."

Vincent wasn't easily offended, besides, he had other questions. "Wait. Lucrecia...was researching...Chaos?"

"Don't tell me you didn't know," the woman said with surprise. She went to her computer and opened a file on the scientist. "Lucrecia Crescent. General Class A scientist specializing in biotechnology. In her research thesis, 'The Planet's Pulse', she refers to Chaos as one of the sentient xenoforms residing among us. However, the theories she presented were so abstract and..." She was pacing as she spoke, reciting everything she'd studied on Dr. Crescent.

Vincent was staring absentmindedly at the computer screen, Lucrecia's last words echoing in his head. I'm so sorry... Awaken... He still didn't quite understand why she was so apologetic, but he was starting to piece things together, little by little.

"Are you alright?" Shalua asked, noticing the man wasn't paying attention to her ramblings.

"Can I see that thesis?" he abruptly asked.

"Unfortunately, no. On top of being obscure, it was never even submitted to the Shinra database. All I know is what I saw going through the company's archives."

The automatic door suddenly opened and Reeve walked in. "Vincent! Have you recovered already? Great! We have things to discuss, starting with what happened in Edge."

~~~~~

Vianca sat quietly on the desk nearby while Shelke typed away on the computer. Her pale violet gaze went from the gold materia laying beside her to her crystal pendant. I'm doing this for you, she told herself, trying to justify her actions and decisions. Whoever you were, I will remember you...I have to. It was as if the desire to know who she was before her slumber was eating away at her.

"Shelke..." She spoke up, earning only a hum in response from the redhead. "You haven't found anything about me, have you?"

"I haven't looked yet," the younger girl answered simply, her blue eyes not once leaving the screen in front of her. "I've been far too busy. You should really just forget about these ridiculous pursuits. Knowing the past is irrelevant to what our mission is now."

"I know. It's just hard...to let go."

Vianca sadly smiled and clutched the pendant. She had a feeling the person who gave it to her was important --- special in some way. She was determined to find out who they were, and if Weiss was telling the truth, the Protomateria was all she needed. Sorry, Vincent Valentine, but I must have the Protomateria. If I have to take it by force, then so be it.

Heavy footsteps broke her from her thoughts, and she looked up to see Azul approaching. "What is the status of our keeper?" he asked.

Shelke continued typing as she replied, "His location remains unchanged since the confrontation. We can assume that this is the WRO's headquarters."

Azul smirked. "Good. Two birds with one stone." He set his golden gaze on the Diamond. "I hope you won't get in the way this time, for your sake."

"You don't have to worry," Vianca told him with confidence. "My resolve is unwavering. I will not fail or hinder any of you."

The Cerulean gave a nod of approval before walking away. Vianca slid off the table, and Shelke got up to retrieve her materia. They both followed after Azul to prepare to leave.

~~~~~

"So," Reeve spoke up, looking at Vincent, "Rosso the Crimson told you that Protomateria is the key to controlling Omega."

Vincent nodded. "Yeah."

The Commissioner looked to Shalua seated at her desk. "Any ideas?"

The woman thought back on all she'd studied. "Soul wrought of terra corrupt, quelling impurity, purging the stream to beckon forth an ultimate fate. Behold mighty Chaos, Omega's squire to the lofty heavens." The two men stared at her inquisitively. "A passage from Dr. Crescent's thesis. But that's all I know. Unfortunately, I only saw a fragment of the document. However, Chaos...Omega...and..." She glanced up at Vincent. "All seem to be connected to Dr. Crescent in some way. I think we'll need to gather more data on her to get anywhere."

Vincent didn't want to dwell on that woman any longer. He actually had questions on another certain Tsviet he'd met. "There was another Tsviet in Edge. A strange one. Calls herself Vianca the Diamond."

"Vianca..." Reeve repeated. "Yes, she was the newest Tsviet who mysteriously appeared about a month ago."

"She said she'd been sleeping before she joined them. And back in Edge, she turned on Deepground soldiers to save a kid who lost his parents."

Shalua hummed. "She sounds...familiar somehow. I know I've heard her name before." She started typing on her computer, searching through documents until she found something on the girl in a certain scientist's file. "Here. This file is all the company's got." She skimmed it, the two males leaning over her shoulders to see.

"This file is on a man named Nestor Hauke," Reeve summarized. "Like Dr. Crescent, he was a scientist in biotechnology. He was researching a variety of similar aspects under his mother, Dr. Larissa Hauke. Their greatest project was the breakthrough in their research and experimentation of their test subject, Vianca Callidora." His eyes widened upon seeing something else. "The date on this is...over thirty years ago?!" His jaw dropped and he looked to Vincent. "How old did this girl look to you?"

Vincent slowly shook his head. "In her early twenties." He leaned forward to look over the report once more. "But according to this report, she's much older than that."

"If she underwent experimentation, perhaps it's some form of anti-aging," the woman suggested. "Clearly it's not impossible." She eyed Vincent before sighing. "Looks like we've got a lot of research and data to dig up."

An alarm suddenly went off, alerting the trio to trouble. Looking to one of the monitors, they could see countless Deepground troops approaching the front gates through the security cameras. Among them was Azul, he looked up at one of the cameras before a gunman shot it down.

"Damn!" Shalua exclaimed, slamming her fist down onto a large button.

Throughout the building, sturdy security doors closed off parts of the headquarters. Hopefully, that would minimize the conflict and bloodshed. Vincent didn't wait around to watch, he darted out of the room in an instant to lend a hand and stop the Cerulean. Reeve left as well, having work to do to help in the inevitable battle. Shalua stayed at her desk, typing away still. But she happened to catch a glimpse of two figures in the monitor from a busted security camera. Shelke and Vianca.

She leapt out of her seat with a gasp. "What?! It couldn't be!"

She had to be imagining it, right? Was her little sister really alive with Deepground? And the other young woman was the same one Vincent had described. Shalua rushed to join the fight, eager to seek out Shelke.

~~~~~

Vincent fought hard alongside WRO troops to protect the headquarters. Reeve had gotten to safety, and the Deepground soldiers were being taken down little by little. He had yet to see the Tsviets though, which was concerning. He was currently on his way back to check in with Shalua, unaware that he had an invisible foe tailing him. He found the scientist already awaiting his arrival in the corridor. But to his surprise, she pulled a gun on him. He tensed up, but a voice behind him made him realize that he had been followed.

"Very perceptive of you."

Shelke appeared before them, stepping out from behind the tall male. Vincent was genuinely stunned that he hadn't noticed her presence. He was quick to move over to the doctor's side.

"I knew it," Shalua spoke. "Skelke." She lowered her gun.

"I have no acquaintances in the WRO," the Transparent coldly responded.

"We... We both changed so much. No, you...you haven't changed at all. Not in ten years." Shelke gave a quiet gasp. "Shelke, it's me! Shalua." Her sister turned her head away, as if unable to face her. "I've been... I've been searching for you for so long."

Shalua went to approach the girl, but Shelke got into a battle stance immediately. Drawing her sabers, they lit up along with her eyes as she pointed one at the woman's face. Vincent grew tense, his hand close to his gun in case a fight ensued.

"Don't take another step," Skelke warned. "It doesn't matter who I am or who you are. My current mission as a Deepground soldier is all that is relevant."

"No!" the doctor argued in desperation. "It does matter! Even though ten years have passed,you're still Shelke, my only sister!"

Shelke depowered her EM sabers and turned away. "Ten years. Has it been that long? The day they came to take me away I was told I had potential. But those words were nothing but a precursor to a decade of suffering. They manipulated my mind until I was a shadow of my original self. The pain... The fear. For ten years I lived in a hell far deeper than any you could imagine. But look at me --- I should be nineteen this year. If I don't recieve my daily dose of mako, this body wouldn't last a day. However, I don't consider myself the least bit unfortunate. Except..." She looked at Shalua. "That for so long, I held on to a foolish thread of hope --- that someday, someone would come to save me."

Her older sister fell to her knees, devastated. Tears started pouring from her one good eye, and sobs racked her body. "I'm sorry, Shelke. I'm so sorry..."

Shelke's eyes glowed gold, and her weapons powered up in response. "It's time to put the past behind us."

The sound of footsteps interrupted the confrontation as Reeve came rushing in, out of breath. "Stop this!"

Shelke's gaze landed on him. "Reeve Tuesti."

"So, you are Shalua's younger sister."

"Excellent. Now I can terminate you both at once-"

"Look at her!" Reeve yelled, causing Shelke's glowing eyes to flick toward the crying woman. "That's the price Shalua has paid fighting Shinra for the past ten years. She has given more than her arm. More than her eye. She has put her life on the line time and time again. All to find her lost sister. More than half her organs have been reconstructed. Not a day goes by when Shalua doesn't suffer the pain of a thousand souls. But still, she..."

"Enough." Shelke readied her weapons again. "I've... I've heard enough."

Vincent was quick to grab his gun and aim it at the Tsviet. With his own gun in hand, Reeve pointed it up at a sprinkler above them. With a single shot, the sprinkler started spitting water. At the same time, Shelke was moving to strike Shalua, and Vincent was quick to kneel and grab her shoulders to try and pull her out of the way. Fortunately, the water raining down on them put out Shelke's weapons, which missed the doctor's head by mere inches as she swiped at her. The Transparent froze, as if the unforseen circumstances left her processing the predicament.

"Vincent," the commissioner said to get his friend's attention.

With only a nod in response, Vincent pulled Shalua away, getting both her and Reeve to safety, leaving Shelke standing there. Once they were in a safe spot, Reeve gave Vincent a few narcotic bullets so that he could tranquilize the Tsviet. He loaded his gun before going to face the girl.

Rousing from her shocked state, Shalua panicked when she saw the red-cloaked man head out toward her sister, gun in hand. "Shelke...? Shelke?!"

She was about to get up and go after the male, but Reeve's hand on her shoulder held her back. "Don't worry. The bullets will only sedate her. Let Vincent handle this."

A battle ensued between the two. Shelke proved to be swift and light on her feet, keeping Vincent on his toes. He expertly dodged her swings, letting her tire a bit before countering. With his gauntlet-covered arm, he hit Shelke in the gut and threw her back into a wall. She was stunned for a brief instance from the blow, and that's when Vincent took the shot. A narcotic bullet punctured the Tsviet's thigh. With a soft groan, Shelke collapsed, losing consciousness within a minute.

"Shelke!"

Shalua sprinted over, falling to her knees to hug her little sister. She couldn't help but cry and hold her tight, just cradling the dear sibling she thought she'd never see again. Vincent and Reeve glanced at one another, touched by the scene. They decided to make themselves scarce and let the doctor tend to her sister.

"Reeve, mind if I hang onto the remainder of these bullets?"

The commissioner looked at his friend, puzzled. "Sure, but why do you need them?

"In case another Tsviet or two decide to make things difficult." He hurried away without another word. He knew full well he couldn't rest yet. Not until Azul and Vianca were taken care of.