Balthier and Lucrecia had been friends since childhood. As they grew older, each began to develop an attraction towards the other, and they became romantically involved. Eventually, Lucrecia left, disappeared without a word, leaving Balthier confused and alone.

Years later, Balthier, having never gotten over his love's disappearance, finds himself in her lab, which hasn't been touched since she left. In the midst of reminiscing, he is disturbed by footsteps, and looks up. It's... Lucrecia? She looks to the floor, avoiding eye contact.

"I thought you'd left for good," he says, trying to cover up his shock.

Lucrecia, trying nothing of the sort, replies, "I couldn't," and bursts into tears. After she's calmed down, the two spend a while catching up, though things are a bit awkward between them.

Later, Lucrecia goes back to her lab, for the real reason she returned: The Vincent Project. Hojo selected her from a list of experts to be in charge of the project. She was never one for human experiments, but this was a very prestigious, once-in-a-lifetime type of thing, so she was unable to turn it down. In fact, she was quite eager to get started.

A few days later, while Lucrecia is working in her lab, Balthier comes to visit her. He's been thinking about her reasons for returning, and he wants to ask her about it in person. "So you came here, hoping to find something out, and got yourself caught," he muses.

She stands to address him. "No, you're wrong!"

Balthier just smirks, knowing hes figured it out. "Right."

As the two spend more and more time together, they find that it's easy to fall back into their old pattern. And Balthier realizes that he's falling for her again.

Soon, things start to go wrong. Lucrecia becomes distracted, and she messes up some of her experiments. Somehow, Vincent has changed. He's turned into some kind of monster, and it's all her fault. She panics and breaks down, finding that there's nothing she can do to fix what she's done.

The next time she sees Balthier, he can tell there's something wrong. She tells him what happened, and the only thing she can do to fix it. He's shocked. "How could you do this?" She gasps, unsure of what to say. He presses further. "How could you fall this far?"

"Why are you so surprised?" she retorts, fighting back.

"Hard to say."

That night, Lucrecia sneaks back into her lab, knowing what she has to do. But, before she has the chance, someone walks in and catches her. Hojo corners her, and asks what she's up to at such an hour. Lucrecia panics and lashes out, forcing him to leave. She spends a few more hours there, alone, thinking about nothing and everything all at the same time.

When Balthier comes to look for her, he finds her outside. "Stop running!" He reaches for her, but she's already leaving.

"I'm so sorry!"

The next day, Balthier finds her in the field, under the trees, where they used to go when they were younger. She senses his presence and turns around. "Are you sure?" he asks, concerned.

Lucrecia flies off the handle. "Am I sure? Am I sure?!"

Later, when she returns to her lab yet again, the rest of the conversation plays in her mind. "If this only concerns me, then, yes, I am sure." She's determined this time. The mako energy flies effortlessly from her fingertips, but, when she is finished, her strength has been drained and she falls to the ground. When she finally stands again, she looks to Vincent. He's no longer a monster, but he's also no longer alive. Ashamed, but also relieved, she flees to the cave.

Balthier sighs. He's been waiting for her, and he knows what she's done. She runs toward him, but he stops her and tells her that he knows what's happened. Lucrecia cries out and bursts into tears. Balthier leaves, not knowing what to say to her.

Outside, Balthier weighs Lucrecia's deeds against his feelings for her and, when she finally comes out to find him, he's come to a decision. What's done is done, and he still loves her. Resigned, he asks, "Was there no other way?"

"No," she breathes.