Rain beat down on the streets of Midgar. Thunder growled after lightning streaked across the blackened sky. Midgar pulsed with life despite the cold, wetness, and oppressive darkness from above that forced itself down on the city. There was one building that was more alive and vibrant than any other, especially during the black hours of the night, past midnight. Vincent stepped out of the Shinra helicopter and waved to the pilot as he took off again. Ignoring the rain and not quickening his pace, he strode toward the door at the edge of the roof, pausing for only a moment to gaze eastward, towards Nibelheim. By some mysterious deeper awareness he could almost feel the loneliness that ached from the part of his heart he’d left behind. From experience he knew Lyria was curled up on the window seat of the bedroom they shared, cup of coffee on the windowsill, blanket spread across her knees and a book, open, yet unread, in her lap. He knew her gaze was fixed westward toward Midgar and she was wearing a white men’s dress shirt, far too large for her, and toying with the fabric idly. With a reluctant sigh he pulled open the door into the hustle of Shinra Headquarters.

“Mr. Valentine!” a secretary with his arms full of papers called across the room. “So glad you’re here, sir! Reeve’s been waiting for you, you’re rather late…”

“The storm held up the chopper.”

“I see. There have been a bunch of messages since midnight…”

“How many?” Vincent asked suspiciously, aware of exactly how many memos could arrive in the mere ten minutes that had passed since midnight.

“12:00: From President Reeve, asking you to report upstairs.” The secretary handed Vincent a slip of paper, which he immediately crumpled and tossed over his shoulder.

“Ah…12:03: From President Reeve: asking why you haven’t reported upstairs yet.”

Vincent sighed and crumpled the second memo.

“12:05, 12:07, 12:08: From President Reeve: I’ll quote directly here, ‘Why the hell isn’t Valentine here yet?’”

“What’s the rush?”

“I’m not sure sir; there have been rumors of a new recruit…”

“Really? I hadn’t heard anything…”

“No one had sir. Reeve was keeping it quiet because this new fellow is supposedly ‘too good to be true”.”

“Hmm…” Vincent’s cell phone rang and he answered it. “Valentine…I’m on the seventieth floor sir…I’ve been working on it, I had to sort through all the memos you sent first. What’s this I’m hearing about a new recruit?…that’s a big deal, sir, I’m surprised we weren’t informed sooner…Reeve…Reeve!…sir, with all due respect, shut up and let me get to your office.” Vincent clicked the phone off. “He seems excited.”

“I know, sir. He’s driving Reno and Rude up the wall.”

“I can understand that. I’ll be heading up then. If my wife calls, tell her I’ll get in touch with her as soon as possible.”

“Very good, sir. Have a good evening, sir.”

“Thank you.” Vincent headed for the elevator and pressed the down button, glancing at the screen and seeing a number only in the mid thirties he decided the stairs would be easier. He headed for the stairwell and jogged quickly down several flights of stairs. Just as he reached the door of Reeve’s office his phone rang again. With a sigh he opened the door and entered Reeve’s office. The Shinra president was sitting at his desk, cradling the phone with his shoulder and shuffling through some papers with his hands. Reno was lounging comfortably with his chair tilted back and feet propped on Reeve’s desk, playing with a paperweight he’d found. Rude, as usual, stood stoically at attention in front of Reeve’s desk. Standing beside him, looking rather apprehensive, was a young man with untidy blond hair and big blue eyes. He was no more than twenty and smiled when Vincent entered, in sort of a hello gesture, which Vincent did not return.

“Dammit! Why isn’t he answering?” Reeve complained, having not yet noticed Vincent.

“I’m right here, Reeve.” Vincent held up his still ringing cell phone.

“Oh.” Reeve sheepishly hung up the phone. “Well, then…have a seat, guys.”

“Already done,” Reno said with a wave of his hand.

“I’ll stand, thank you sir,” Vincent answered.

Rude said nothing and simply remained standing. The new recruit looked a little confused, torn between going with the silent majority and obeying his first order. The phone rang again and Reeve sighed and answered it.

“Sit your ass down, kid,” Reno offered congenially.

“Yes, sir!” the young man responded, sitting down stiffly in the chair next to Reno.

The red haired Turk chuckled. “First time I’ve ever seen anybody sit at attention…”

“You wouldn’t know, would you Reno?” Rude commented.

Reno laughed. “Nope. You can relax a bit, kid, this isn’t SOLDIER and I’m the last person on earth you should take orders from.”

“God forbid,” Vincent added quietly.

“Yeah. How’s Lyria doing?” Rude asked.

“She’s fine. How’s Elena?”

“Good, I guess. A bit moody…”

“Typical,” Reno snorted, still playing with his paperweight.

“What about you Reno? How’s ‘the-blonde-in-accounting’?” Vincent asked with an arched eyebrow.

“How’d you know about that?” Reno demanded.

“There’s lipstick on your collar.”

“Oh. She’s great.” Reno grinned.

“Sorry to keep you all waiting.” Reeve hung up the phone and smiled at the young man in a fatherly manner. “By now you all know why you’re here.”

“Reeve, get to the goddamn point,” Reno said.

“I’m working on it, Reno.”

“All right then, continue.”

“Anyway. Shinra Corporation is proud to welcome Mr. Daniel Fletcher to the Turks. I should introduce you to the three you’ll be working with. This is Reno.” Reeve pointed to Reno who was still playing with his paperweight and not paying any attention to Reeve.

Rude idly reached out and tipped his chair over all the way. Reno yelled a few choice swearwords and kept his balance at the last second. “Christ! All right, already, I’m listening!”

“The big guy who just tipped over Reno’s chair is Rude.” Rude looked at the young man and gave him a rare, but still very slight, grin.

“And the tall fellow is Vincent. He’ll be your squad leader.” Daniel turned to Vincent and smiled again. Again, Vincent didn’t return the gesture.

“Stand up,” he ordered curtly. The young man complied nervously. Reno exchanged a worried glance with Rude. This was a new side of Vincent.

“Full name.”

“Daniel Joseph Fletcher.” Daniel stood at attention stiffly as Vincent circled him, brown eyes calculating.

“Last name, then first.”

“Fletcher, Daniel Joseph,” the young man hastily corrected.

“Age.”

“Twenty-one.”

“Weapon of choice.”

“Whatever you want to give me, sir. I’m very versatile.” Daniel smiled again.

“I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

“Hey, Vincent, lighten up,” Reno chastised. “He’s a kid and he just came up. Remember your first time? It’s hard being new.”

“ Reno, I’ll run this squad how I want. I don’t need your input.”

Reno blinked and glanced at Rude again. His partner had lowered his sunglasses and was staring at Vincent with a look close to disbelief.

Vincent backed off and leaned against the wall, not taking his eyes of Daniel. The young man started to sit down again. “I didn’t tell you to sit.”

Daniel froze and stood up again. Reno grabbed his arm and jerked him into a sitting position in the chair next to him. He glared defiantly at Vincent and was met with an icy stare.

“Ahem…ah…well…tonight I think we’ll send Daniel for a bit of a run with you three, it’s a simple mission, you won’t even have to leave Midgar for it.”

“Why are you sending us, if it’s only a simple mission?” Vincent asked, finally removing his gaze from Daniel. “What about the threat of revolution in Costa Del Sol? That’s supposed to be some pretty heavy duty activity…”

“Elena’s squad is handling that.”

A dreamy look came into Reno’s eyes. “Once again sir, I ask for a swap with Elena. She can have Rude and Vincent and I’ll take the little brunette vixen and the big red head she’s got in her squad. Hell, we’ll throw in Danny boy here for free.”

“ Reno, I happen to know that the ‘little brunette vixen’ could kill you six times before you even made a pass at her.” Rude snorted. “I’d hate to think what the redhead could do.”

“Elena has that squad for a reason,” Reeve said dismissively. “Back to this mission. You’ll be heading to the Ruins of Sector Seven and taking out a small group of activists.”

“How small?” Vincent asked.

“Four, maybe five members…”

“That isn’t worth sending your three best Turks.”

“My four best actually.” Reeve smiled at Daniel. “And it’s just so Daniel can get used to a new system.”

Vincent didn’t answer.

“Let’s go.” Rude opened the door. “Have you got a gun yet, Vincent?”

“Not yet.”

“Ok, you can show Daniel the armory.”

Vincent cast a cold glance at the recruit again. “Come on.” He headed through the door and down the hallway, not waiting for Daniel to catch up. The young recruit froze for a moment and then scrambled after Vincent. Reno caught his arm.

“Listen, kid, don’t take an instant dislike to Vincent; I think there’s something bugging him. He’s not usually like this. What’re we gonna call you anyway? Danny is sorta stupid sounding, if you don’t mind my saying so…”

“My old squad used to call me Fletch, back when I was in SOLDIER…”

“Ok, then, Fletch it is.” Reno grinned.

“Umm…where did our squad leader go?” Daniel glanced up and down the empty hallway.

“We’ll show you.” Reno led the way down the corridor to a thick metal door. He swiped his keycard in front of the scanner by the door and there was a beep.

“Welcome, Charles Reno. Stand by for retinal scan,” a computerized female voice commanded.

“Aww…come on…I think we can let it go, just this once…” Reno protested. “Come on, doll, for me?”

“Step up to the screen, Charles Reno.”

“Hell. There’s a rumor these things make you go blind.” Reno glared into the small computer screen. There was a blinding flash and Reno flinched.

“Retinal scan complete. Have a nice day, Charles Reno.”

“Goddamn computer bitch,” Reno grumbled, rubbing his eyes. “I can never see for five minutes after that stupid scan.”

Rude grabbed his arm and stopped him from walking into the not yet open door.

“What the hell? Lemme go!”

“Fine.” Rude released Reno’s arm and he strode forward, straight into the metal door.

“Ow! The hell you let me do that for?” Reno whined, rubbing his nose.

“You said to let you go.”

Daniel grinned and walked through the door to the armory. There were a large assortment of swords, whips, gloves, throwing stars, and an entire wall of guns. Vincent was standing near that wall, sighting down the barrel of a shotgun. He didn’t look up as Daniel entered.

“Hey, isn’t that rather heavy artillery for tonight?” Reno asked as his vision started to return.

“I don’t think so.”

“Is there…do you have any recommendation of what sort of weapon I should use, sir?” Daniel asked Vincent nervously.

“You need to ask me? Make your own decision.”

“Umm…” Daniel made as though to take one of the guns from the rack Vincent stood by, but stopped when he saw the cold glare he was receiving.

“Do you really think a party needs more than one long range fighter?”

“W-well…I just thought…”

“What was your specialty in SOLDIER?”

“I tried to be widely specialized…sir…I can use a gun, sword, and I’m fairly proficient in martial arts…”

“Take a sword, let Rude handle martial arts. A squad doesn’t need doubles.”

“Y-yes sir…” Fletch hastily picked up a blade from the table and slung it across his back.

“Let’s go. This shouldn’t take long.” Vincent left the room and Reno caught up to him.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Reno hissed. “He’s a kid and you’re treating him like trash. Is there something bugging you?”

“No.”

“Hey, come on. We’ve known each other…what, like thirty years now, I think you can tell me…”

“First of all, the majority of the thirty years we were both locked up somewhere, not even aging and half the time we were out and about we were technically enemies. Secondly, there’s nothing wrong.”

“Nothing?” Reno asked skeptically.

“No. Nothing. Now, go hold Junior’s hand and make sure he doesn’t fall in the mud on our way to Sector Seven. I also suggest you head back and check that his shoelaces are tied.”

Reno stopped dead in his tracks, watching Vincent head for the elevator. He waited for Rude and Fletch to catch up. “Well, there goes my ego, shot to hell.”

“What’d he say?” Rude asked.

“He blew me off. Wouldn’t tell me if anything was wrong and made some rather caustic remarks about Fletch.”

“He did?” The young recruit looked slightly injured.

“Don’t take it seriously. He’s probably just in a bad mood…Rude, you go talk to him,” Reno suggested.

“I’ll try. I’m not good at talking.”

“You can say that again.”

Rude didn’t answer and headed for the elevator Vincent stood in front of. When the doors slid open he followed his leader in and pressed the button to close the doors.

“Not waiting for Junior? Or does Reno want to have a chat with him?”

Rude rather firmly placed a hand on Vincent’s shoulder. There were only a few inches of difference in their heights; Rude was slightly taller, but by far bulkier and better built. “What’s eating you?”

“Nothing.”

“Come on.” Rude tightened his grip. “Tell me.”

“There’s nothing bothering me,” Vincent answered, gritting his teeth. Rude couldn’t tell whether it was in irritation or in pain.

“There has to be something.” Rude strengthened his hold until Vincent flinched and angrily pushed his hand away.

“Fine. Don’t tell Reno and especially don’t tell the new kid.”

“What?”

“I don’t…I don’t trust him. There’s something off about the way he acts.”

“He’s new.”

“Yeah, but it’s not that.”

“Are you sure you aren’t just paranoid?”

“I know what I’m feeling.”

“Whatever. I think you’re wrong.”

“Just keep an eye on him.” Vincent stepped out of the elevator as it stopped at the bottom floor and waited by the door.

“Well?” Reno asked, coming up behind Rude.

“I didn’t get anywhere, but I may have broken his shoulder.”

Reno sighed. “Rude, violence is not always the answer.”

Rude looked at him with a perplexed expression. “Are we even allowed to say that?”

“Don’t tell anybody,” Reno joked, pulling out his nightstick and waving it in response to the curt gesture Vincent made.

*

“May I see your ID please?” a uniformed guard politely asked Vincent as the squad approached the only train that still ran to Sector Six. The slums were now basically deserted and very few people ever found need to go down. Unfortunately, the treacherous alleys, lack of light, and abandoned shops full of weaponry and old machine parts made it ideal for illicit activity. Most of the time petty criminals and drug dealers haunted the lower sectors and gang wars ravaged the underside of the city. Reeve had wisely decided to leave the situation to boil down to nothing on its own, rather than risk the lives of soldiers exterminating the people causing the problem. Once in a while though, some groups would grow restless and start trying to stir up trouble on the upper plate. Reeve had drawn the line at the bombing raids and killing sprees that the terrorists would incite. At that point, the Turks were sent in to take out the leaders of whichever groups were causing the problem.

Vincent glared at the man and the other guard nudged his partner sharply in the ribs.

“Blue suit, shotgun, and about two seconds away from killing you dead. By now you oughta be able to recognize a Turk! Go right ahead sir, sorry about him, he’s new…”

“New blood is always trouble,” Vincent remarked absently, entering the lavish car reserved only for Shinra members. Unlike the other cars on the train it was plush and well maintained. There were comfortable benches running alongside the car and a bar at one end.

“Hey!” Reno exclaimed, coming into the compartment and noticing the bar. “That’s new! Anyone want a drink?”

“You drink on the job?” Fletch asked incredulously.

“Yup. Helps to be a little plastered when you’re going after terrorists with semi-automatic machine guns with only a stick.” Reno waved his nightstick. “Scotch and water Rude?”

Rude just nodded and stood near the door of the compartment examining a map of Midgar.

“You want anything Vincent?” Reno asked, handing Rude a glass.

“No.”

“How ‘bout you Fletch?”

“Don’t give Junior anything.”

“Hey, come on, it’s his first mission…”

“And if you give him anything he’ll be too smashed to even remember his first mission because he’s too young to handle the hard stuff you two keep in here.”

“Aww…”

“It’s all right, Reno. I don’t need anything,” Fletch interrupted helpfully.

“What, you think you can handle this on your own?” Vincent asked, staring out the window.

“Umm…”

“You’ve been out in the field when you were in SOLDIER. It’s different in the Turks. In SOLDIER, you were fighting ‘monsters’, the enemy, the creatures outside Midgar who are giving the workers out there problems. Now we’re in Midgar and the game is different. These ‘monsters’ have machine guns, machetes, grenades, and an inane sense of superiority. They think they’ve got the artillery to stand up to Shinra.”

“We’ll show them,” Fletch said confidently.

Vincent turned from the window and looked at Fletch with cold eyes. “This sense of superiority gives them an overabundance of confidence. They don’t care that they’re facing Shinra’s elite. There’s so much adrenaline flowing they’ll be doubly as hard to bring down.”

“Oh…”

“In SOLDIER, you watch each other’s backs, right? There’s like a buddy system, you watch his back, he’ll watch yours. We don’t have that. I can’t be looking out for Reno and Rude all the time. I need to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they can take care of themselves. If one of us has a spare moment and can risk a glance at the others and see there’s trouble we can maybe shout a warning, but other than that, you’re on your own.”

Fletch glanced at Reno and Rude to see if Vincent was serious or if he was just hassling him because he was new. The grim expression on Rude’s face and the way Reno sighed and polished off the last of the glass he’d poured for himself told him otherwise.

“Don’t worry about it, kid. There’ll only be like fifteen of them,” Reno said in a comforting tone.

“Fifteen?! But…Reeve said…”

“President Reeve,” Vincent corrected sternly.

“P-President Reeve said there would only be five…” Fletch looked nervous now that he knew they would be outnumbered about three to one.

“Five who are officially members of whatever this group calls themselves,” Reno snorted. “Cheap bastards always round up others.”

“You…you said this was an easy job?” Fletch turned to Vincent.

“On a hard job you can expect about fifty.”

Rude shifted uncomfortably.

“Hey, Rude, don’t worry about it,” Reno said, glancing at his partner. “Elena can take care of herself better than the both of us. Tseng’s little pet, taught her everything he knew.”

“Tseng was a character.”

Reno laughed. “He sure was. You know what, Vincent? There were only two Turks that weren’t shot by their squad leaders when they were first selected. You and Tseng.”

“Really?” Vincent’s tone was disinterested.

“Yeah. Tseng didn’t like his squad leader halfway through the mission and shot him in the back. We’d heard that you beat the shit out of yours when he punched you in the ribs.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Vincent smiled slightly. “I’d almost forgotten about that…”

“The Elite never heard about it, but a lot of you were like legends. You were popular, so was this other guy named Butch.”

“Fascinating.”

“Scared the hell out of me when I found out my first field mission would be with you.”

“So you responded by promptly making an idiot out of yourself,” Rude commented.

“I did not!”

“Yeah, you did.”

“Nuh uh!” Reno folded his arms and stuck his tongue out at Rude.

“Grow up Reno.”

“Go to hell.”

The train jolted to a stop and Vincent headed out one of the doors. Abruptly there was rapid gunfire and shouting from outside.

Fletch jumped and ran out the door after Vincent. “What…” He stopped and stared about at the three men who were sprawled on the ground. Vincent’s gun was still smoking from the barrel. “Haven’t…didn’t all that shooting alert the terrorists?”

“Would you rather attack a startled terrorist who’s liable to do anything or one that’s ready and has a ‘strategy’ planned? Keeping in mind their ‘strategies’ usually fail miserably.”

“Oh.”

“Secondly, no, all that shooting did not alert anybody. There’s enough gunfire down here to cover the entire SOLDIER firing squad.”

Fletch gulped and waited for Reno and Rude to catch up.

“Don’t worry about it. Reeve wouldn’t have put you with us if he didn’t think you could handle it,” Rude said.

“Yeah. And there’s something getting under Vincent’s skin, he’s not usually like this, I swear,” Reno added.

“We better catch up.”

The three hurried to where Vincent was crouched on some of the twisted wreckage near the entrance to Sector Seven. “Rude, give me a hand.”

Rude obediently went forward, nimbly negotiating the broken slabs of concrete and twisted sheet metal to where Vincent was waiting. He helped his leader pry up a manhole cover, barely visible beneath the debris.

“We’re going down there?” Fletch asked, shifting his sword nervously. “Into the Mako tunnels? What about the radiation and the mutants?”

“Has your mother been telling you bedtime stories?” Vincent asked scornfully. “Of course we’re going down.”

Fletch blushed as Rude pulled the cover all the way of the manhole and looked down. “Who’s going first?”

“It’s black as night!” Fletch exclaimed. “Shouldn’t we bring a torch or something?”

Vincent sighed. “Stand back.” He pulled a book of matches from his pocket and struck one. The flame glowed brightly in the semi darkness of Sector Seven. Before it burnt out he tossed it into the hole. There was a faint rushing noise, and then a roar as a column of fire shot up from the pipes. “No, I don’t think a torch would be a good idea.”

Fletch gulped and nodded. “What are you going to do for a weapon then?”

“Not much I can do. We won’t be in the sewers long.” Vincent dropped down through the manhole and landed lightly in the darkness below.

Rude followed, then Fletch. The young recruit looked around. It wasn’t quite as dark down here as it had seemed, but the only light came from green liquid dripping from the pipes that ran across the top.

“Heads up!” Reno yelled as he dropped, landing awkwardly and stumbling a bit. “Damn! Vincent, it stinks down here. Burnt Mako. Sick. I haven’t smelled burnt Mako since the reactor in Sector Seven blew.”

“Blame Junior, for being less then knowledgeable about sewer gases. Let’s go.”

Reno shrugged and followed Vincent as he wove his way through the tunnels. There was an oppressive silence broken only by the plunking of water falling from above. The Turks came to a ladder leading to another manhole, above which they could hear voices yelling and talking angrily.

“Is this it?” Rude asked. “I hear about twenty people up there. If this is our objective, it would be best if we could wipe them out in one fell swoop.”

“How though?” Reno asked.

Vincent was silent, considering the options. “We don’t have much of a chance going up there from here…”

Fletch looked hesitant for a moment, and then spoke up. “I might have a way…”

“What’s your idea?” Reno asked, before Vincent could make any stinging remarks.

“I have a couple hand grenades…if I tossed one up there…” He pulled out a small explosive and held it up.

“Boom. Bye-bye terrorist threat. Good idea, kid…”

Vincent didn’t answer and looked at Fletch expectantly.

“Umm…sir?”

“Well, go already. I want to get back.”

“Yes, sir.” Fletch climbed carefully up the ladder and slowly lifted the cover. The arguing voices grew louder and Fletch quickly tossed the grenade into the middle of the argument. There was sudden silence. Fletch dropped from the ladder.

“Let’s get the hell outta here!” Reno yelled, taking off down the tunnel. The others followed quickly, just as an explosion rocked the corridor. Screaming and splashes echoed and there was suddenly gunfire.

“Shit. They fell through…” Rude grumbled. “Get down, flat on the ground, and don’t get up for anything.”

Fletch didn’t answer and pressed himself down against the hard cement of the tunnel floor. He suddenly felt a rush as fire flew over him and fizzled out as abruptly as it had erupted.

“Come on.” Fletch didn’t know who said it, but all of a sudden they were up and running again, Vincent hesitating and firing into the fray of pursuing terrorists before following the others. Bullets whizzed past Fletch, but he kept running, reaching the ladder before the other three. There was a muffled yell and he heard Rude swear. He turned to see Rude bending over to help Reno up and watched Vincent loose more ammo behind them.

“Ok, I got him,” Rude helped Reno stand and ran past Vincent to the ladder. He boosted Reno up and Fletch helped him up the steps. He climbed to the top and hauled Reno out, followed closely by Rude. After a few seconds that seemed to last forever Vincent pulled himself out and backed away from the edge of the entrance.

“Fletch, if you have another grenade get it out, fast. Rude, get Reno out of the way and help me get something over this cover,” Vincent ordered, scanning the area for something heavy to pull over the manhole top.

Rude lifted Reno up and helped his friend stumble several feet away and collapse to the ground again.

“Ready!” Fletch shouted, standing above the opening, poised to drop another grenade.

“Ok, drop it,” Vincent instructed, helping Rude drag a heavy looking piece of metal over to the breach.

Fletch obeyed and leapt back as Rude and Vincent dropped their load with a crash.

For a few seconds there was silence then an explosion rocked the ground. Dust fell from above and clouded the air for a second. There was muffled coughing and a groan from Reno.

“Hey, Reno, you all right?” Fletch called nervously, waiting for the dust to clear.

“ Reno?” Rude echoed.

“Goddamn those rat-ass bastards straight to *&$%#@ hell…” was the weak response.

The dust settled and Fletch could see Vincent kneeling by Reno who was still sprawled to the side. At first glance there didn’t appear to be anything wrong with him, until Fletch got a look his white shirt and saw the blood blossoming from his left side.

“What happened?” Fletch asked anxiously, reaching out to help Reno sit up.

“Got &*^$^& shot…” Reno mumbled.

“Take it easy, ok Reno?” Rude scolded.

“Let’s get out of here. Fletch, give Rude a hand with Reno, I’ll go ahead.” Vincent reloaded his gun and hurried ahead to scout for enemies while Fletch helped Rude pull Reno to his feet.

“Hang on, Reno, you’ll be ok…” Fletch promised, supporting the red head as he stood up.

*

Vincent quickly entered a code on the keypad beside the sliding door of the train and it slid open. He beckoned to Rude and stepped out of the way as he helped Reno into the compartment. Fletch followed and aided Rude in laying his partner on one of the benches.

Vincent banged on the door at the forward end of the car. “Get this thing moving!”

“Right away sir!” a voice called. “Is there an emergency, sir?”

“Yes, get back up to Midgar as fast as you can.” Vincent turned around. “Is he all right?”

“I dunno. I’ll ask. Hey, Reno, you all right?” Rude questioned.

“I’m fine…”

“Are you sure?” Vincent asked.

“Yeah. Can I have a drink?”

Rude grinned in relief and Vincent smiled slightly. “Hell no.”

“What? Why not?”

“If there’s one thing Lyria’s taught me…”

“I don’t care what Lyria’s taught you, I wanna drink! Something stiff.”

“Not happening.”

“*&$^! Come ON! I just got shot!” Reno whined.

“Nope.” Rude firmly laid a hand on Reno’s shoulder and pushed him back down as he tried to sit up.

“Aww…hey, Vincent, you’re bleeding too…”

“Hmm? Oh. I didn’t notice…” There was a small gash running across Vincent shoulder, but it didn’t look deep and it wasn’t bleeding too badly. He idly pressed a hand against it to try and stop some of the blood flow, but only succeeded in getting his gloves stained. “Oh well. I’ll take care of it later.”

*

Vincent wearily entered the lobby of a large hotel near the Shinra headquarters and walked up to the front desk. “Turks. I have a reservation.”

“Uh huh…” the man at the desk rapidly keyed in a few numbers. “Vincent Valentine?”

“Yeah.”

“Could you sign here sir?” the clerk asked, handing Vincent a sheet of paper and a pen.

Vincent readjusted his hold on the shotgun slung over his shoulder and quickly wrote his signature where the clerk indicated, ignoring the blood on his hands that made the pen slip. He handed the sheet of paper back to the man who took it gingerly, avoiding the spots where it had been stained red and dropped a key card into Vincent’s outstretched hand. Vincent turned to head upstairs, but stopped and made to hand the clerk his pen.

“You keep it, sir. Compliments of the hotel,” the man said, cringing at the sight of the blood that covered writing instrument.

“Oh. Thanks.” Vincent headed for the elevators.

“Sir! I’m sorry, but the elevators are out of order…”

“Where’s the closest flight of stairs?”

“Just down the hall, sir. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

Vincent sighed and didn’t answer, walking down the hallway to the doorway at the end. He glanced at the number on the card in his hand. “Oh damn…just my luck I’d get a room on the twentieth floor…” Sighing again he jogged up the first set of stairs. After what seemed like fifty flights he reached the top and opened another door. The hallway was silent and seemed dim after the bright fluorescent lights of the stairwell. Vincent swiped his card in front of the scanner of room 2013 and pushed the door open. The lights were on and glowed warmly and the bedding was already turned down. He threw his gun in a corner, followed by his jacket, ammo belt, dress shirt, and shoes. He walked over to the far side of the room where a wall-to-wall window dominated and pulled the blinds shut. Idly he sat down on the bed and picked up the phone. It was about four in the morning and he wasn’t entirely sure what time it was in Nibelheim, but decided to take a chance and call home. He dialed the number, ignoring the blood that got on the keypad and waited for Lyria to pick up the phone.

It rang once, then twice, and by the fifth ring Vincent was considering hanging up, when a familiar voice answered.

“Hello?”

“Hi.”

“Vincent! Oh darling, how are you? I miss you so much!”

“I miss you too…”

“What’s wrong? You sound tired…” Lyria’s voice was concerned.

“That stands to reason.”

“How was your night? Are you ok?”

“I’m fine. Bit of a cut on my shoulder, but it’s nothing. Easy mission tonight.”

“Are you sure? It’s not deep, is it? Did you put a bandage on it? It’ll get infected if you don’t…”

“It’s fine, Lyr. Some nurse looked at it when we dropped Reno off at the hospital…”

“What? What happened?”

“He had a bullet graze his side, but…”

“Oh! Is he all right?”

“Yeah, he’s fine. How’d your shift go?”

“Quiet…”

“Wish I could say the same. Hang on a minute, Lyr, I’m gonna lie down.” Vincent moved the phone so he could stretch out comfortably on the bed.

“Better?” Lyria asked.

“Yeah.”

“I wish I was with you…no, actually, I wish you were here…”

“The feeling is more than mutual.”

“I’m sorry you’re tired…”

“Not your fault. It’d be worse if we’d had a real mission tonight.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“New recruit. I don’t like him.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just…something about him rubs me the wrong way…”

“Well…maybe you just have to get used to him. I know it took everyone at the hospital years to get used to me…”

“Hmm...”

“Well, I don’t know. Oh! I just remembered, Tifa came over today and she brought Aeris and it was so cute, she…Vincent?” There was no answer, but she could hear her husband’s heavy breathing. Lyria smiled to herself. “Good night, I love you…” There was a soft click as she hung up, barely audible in the dark room.

*

Vincent woke to a pounding on the door of his hotel room. With an irritated groan he rolled over and looked at the clock by his bed. It was just past six in the morning. The banging on his door persisted and he became dimly aware of a high-pitched whining noise. “What…” He noticed the phone lying on the ground off the hook and replaced it on the cradle.

“Vincent! Open this door! You aren’t dead are you?” Rude yelled, pounding on his door.

With an exasperated sigh Vincent got up and opened the door. “Rude, what the hell do you want?”

“Reeve wants to know why you didn’t report last night.”

“I didn’t report last night because it was goddamn four in the morning.”

“Shall I tell him that?”

“Yeah. And while you’re at it, tell him I’m not running a daycare center and I don’t want a five year old in my squad.”

“Someone’s in a bad mood.”

“Someone only got two hours of sleep.”

“Reeve wants you down at HQ.”

“When?”

“Two hours ago.”

“I don’t want to go…”

“Reeve doesn’t care what you want.”

“This isn’t fair,” Vincent grumbled, pulling on his shoes and grabbing his jacket and rifle.

“Reeve doesn’t care if it’s fair.” Rude held open the door.

“Does Reeve care about his new lapdog, Rude?”

“My, my, my, we are harsh this morning, aren’t we?”

“Why are you in such an infuriatingly good mood?” Vincent asked, heading down the stairs.

“Elena came back last night.”

“Oh. Joy and rapture, Elena’s back. Does she need a puppy in her squad? Of course, she can’t have you; you seem to be Reeve’s pet all of a sudden. Maybe we’ll give her Junior. Of course, that’s only if she promises to feed him and take him for walks.”

“What do you have against the kid anyway?”

“I told you, I don’t like him.”

“Sheesh.” Rude fell silent the rest of the way down the stairs.

“How’s Reno doing?” Vincent asked, as they approached the counter.

“Dunno.”

“Good morning, sir,” the hotel clerk greeted Vincent pleasantly.

“Like hell it is.”

“Ah…will you be checking out?”

“Yeah.”

“May I have your key card and how will you be paying?”

“Bill it to Shinra.”

“To Shinra?”

“Yes.” Vincent held up his shotgun and suit jacket, neither of which he’d bothered to do anything with. “Turks. Bill it to Shinra.”

“Yes, sir. Have a good day, sir.”

“Not the way it’s shaping up so far.” Vincent headed out the door with Rude following. “Where’s your car?”

“Didn’t take it. I walked.”

“Walked? It’s like eight blocks!”

“I thought you liked walking.”

“Who in god’s name likes walking?”

“I assumed you did because you took the stairs instead of the elevator.”

“You mean it’s working?”

“It was when I got here.”

“Damn it. I’m having a bad day.”

“Oh well.”

*

“Good morning Vincent,” Reeve greeted the dark haired Turk as he entered the office.

“Not really.” Vincent sat down in one of the chairs in front of the President’s desk.

“Why didn’t you report last night?”

“I was tired…”

“Oh. That’s understandable, but I was rather worried. I thought the four of you had been killed until Elena reported and said she was looking forward to spending the night with Rude.”

“Hmm.”

“What’s eating you?”

“I’m sick of telling everybody, there is nothing bothering me!”

“Rude says you’re not taking well to having Daniel in your squad…”

“Rude should get back to keeping his mouth shut.”

“So should you.” Reeve leaned forward in his desk chair. “Come now. I understand you’ve been through a lot of changes recently, but there’s no reason to be so abusive.”

“I’m having a bad week.”

“Lots of people are. I know Daniel is, and it’s mostly your fault.”

“God, Reeve. Just leave me alone.”

“No. I think we’ll try an experimental procedure with you and Daniel. It’s new, developed quite recently by the inter-company relations board.”

“Bunch of sappy morons.”

Reeve sighed. “Vincent, you’re being childish. Precisely what are you rebelling against?”

“I’m not rebelling against anything.” Vincent looked away. “You want to know what it is?”

“Please.”

“What sort of a history does this Daniel kid have? I mean, I get the impression he was fairly high ranking in SOLDIER. First Class, right?”

“Well, yes. He made it his second week being a member…”

“When did he join?”

“At about age twenty.”

“Highly specialized in weaponry, and only in SOLDIER for a year?”

“It seems like it…maybe he’s gifted.”

“What was he doing before that gives him so much experience?”

“According to his file he was in med-school.”

“Reeve, do you seriously believe all this? I heard last night that people were calling him ‘too good to be true’. If there’s ever going to be a cliché that hits the mark it’s that one.”

“Well, what do you think could possibly be wrong? His credentials are spotless.”

“I’m following a deeper instinct here. There’s something telling me I can’t trust him.”

“How accurate would you say this instinct is?” Reeve asked dubiously.

“I was right about Hojo, I was right about Lewis…”

“Anyone could tell Hojo and Lewis were insane. You’re taking a dislike to a clean-cut, boy-next-door type of character who seems like he’ll be one of the best this company’s ever had.”

“I don’t know…it was my initial impression and I have to stick with that.”

“Well, I think I’ll send you on this training exercise. It’s simple. I’ll explain it when we get to the training floor and maybe it’ll soften your attitude towards Daniel.”

“The training floor?” Vincent asked skeptically. “With all the weightlifting equipment and stuff?”

“It’s been modified a bit.” Reeve pressed a button on his phone and instructed his secretary to send Daniel to the training floor. “Come along.”

“What exactly do you want me to do?”

“Not just you, it’ll be a team effort.” Reeve led the way down a flight of stairs to the training floor. “Now, here’s the change.” Reeve opened the door and let Vincent have a look at the lush jungle that had been created in the former gym.

“This must have cost you.”

Reeve shrugged. “It’s a part of the Human Resources Budget and that just gathers dust year after year.”

“Oh. So what am I supposed to do here?”

“Wow.” Vincent turned to see Daniel standing in the door, sword slung over one shoulder.

“Now, you two will be working together to exterminate all the monsters on this floor. There are a total of five and they each have a computer chip implanted in them that emits a signal when they die, so when you’re done you’ll be released.”

“Released? What the hell are you…” Vincent looked down as he heard a click from Reeve snapping a pair of handcuffs to his left wrist and firmly securing Daniel hand as well. “Oh no…Reeve, don’t you dare…”

The president smiled and exited the room. Vincent quickly turned to try the knob only to find it locked.

“Simulation begins now. Welcome Mr. Valentine, Mr. Fletcher.” A computerized female voiced echoed throughout the room from a small loudspeaker high on the wall in the corner.

“Damn…” Vincent stood in silence for a moment, considering his situation.

“Sir? Should we get started?” Fletch asked tentatively.

In response Vincent pulled out a handgun and stretched his left hand out in front of him, forcing Daniel to do the same.

“What are you…?” Daniel was cut off as Vincent fired and snapped the chain on the handcuffs.

“Now we can get started.” Without another word, Vincent strode into the heart of the artificial jungle and fired into the air. There was silence for a moment and then more gunfire. Animal screams of pain followed and moments later Vincent exited the small patch of jungle he’d entered. As he was leaving a wounded creature lurched out of the forest and made to pounce. Before Daniel could shout a warning, Vincent had whirled around and fired, striking the beast point blank between the eyes.

“Simulation complete, well done Mr. Valentine, Mr. Fletcher. It is the hope of this company…” The voice was cut off as Vincent fired another shot and blew the loudspeaker to pieces. Without waiting for Daniel, Vincent opened the door and headed upstairs to Reeve’s office.

He didn’t knock and just walked right in. The President was sitting at his desk going over some contracts. Vincent laid his hands on the desk in front of Reeve.

“Vincent! You finished already?” Reeve asked, startled.

“Yeah, I finished. Don’t do that again. I’m going now. I haven’t slept properly in forty-eight hours and it’s starting to show. Unless there’s another mission, I’ll be at the hotel on Shinra Avenue.”

“Vincent, what am I going to do with you?” Reeve sighed.

“Hopefully, you’ll let me sleep.”

*

“Hey, kid. You wanna come visit Reno with me?” Rude asked, entering the employee lounge where Fletch was sitting in a chair, reading a manual on proper maintenance of rifles.

“Sure…” Fletch hesitated for a moment. “Is…Vincent coming?”

“Nope. He’s at the hotel on Shinra, getting some sleep.”

“Oh. Ok, I’ll come.” Fletch got up and stretched then followed Rude to the elevator. “Why does he hate me so much?”

“He doesn’t hate you,” Rude answered. “He just trusts you about as far as he could throw you.”

“But it seems like it. Am I doing something wrong?”

“No…” Rude leaned against the wall of the elevator. “It’s just Vincent has sort of a sixth sense about people that he seems to have gotten from his years as a half human science experiment. Of course, in the past year he’s had those abilities removed and I don’t know if he can still tell whether or not someone’s liable to put a bullet between his shoulders. He had a fairly good grasp of that back in Mideel, but that was just before…it’s a good thing I’m not thinking this out loud or I could be in major trouble…”

“Well? What is it then?”

“I don’t know,” Rude answered honestly.

*

Fletch headed down the hallway to the hospital room where they had been told Reno was. For some reason the clerk at the front had nearly gone into convulsions upon seeing Rude and ducked behind the counter. Rude had politely asked for the room number and the man had told him in a quavering voice. Fletch had pressed for an explanation as to why the clerk was so terrified of him, but Rude had simply shaken his head and said it was complicated. Fletch dismissed his thoughts and pushed open the door to Reno’s room, only to find him very occupied…with a nurse. Fletch blushed and shut the door quickly, hoping neither had noticed him. He didn’t think it was terribly likely; they’d been quite busy.

“What’s wrong?” Rude asked coming up behind the young Turk.

“I…umm… Reno was…is…ah…maybe we should come back later…” Fletch scuffed his shoes on the floor and avoided meeting Rude’s eyes, painfully aware of the fact he was blushing a deep red.

“Oh. He does that from time to time, you’ll get used to it.” Rude entered the hospital room and cleared his throat. “Ok, Reno, playtime’s over.”

There was a shriek from inside the room and the nurse ran out, past Fletch.

“You can come in now, kid.”

Fletch entered the room slowly, still blushing, to see Reno sitting on the bed, pouting and Rude standing near the window examining a black bra he’d found with detached interest. “Hi, Reno…”

“You got some sense of timing kid,” Reno growled, folding his arms.

“Sorry, sir…”

“Nah, s’ok.” Reno shrugged. “I get the impression you’re sorta sick of apologizing.”

“Yeah…” Fletch sighed. “I’m sorry I interrupted…”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“You losing your touch Reno? You’ve been here for like six hours and you were only to second base?” Rude asked.

“Yeah, right. That was kid’s stuff, you shoulda been here at around five when this little blonde came in to do a blood test.”

“Whatever, let’s change the subject. Are you gonna be outta here soon?”

“I can leave whenever I want.”

“Your doctor said that?”

“Nope. But I’m not staying if I’m capable of getting up and moving around.”

“I see. So you think you’re all right?”

“Yeah. It’s just a scratch.”

“Then you wanna go?”

“Sure…hey, is that guy from when Vincent was here still around?” Reno grinned wickedly and sat up in bed, wincing slightly.

“Yeah. Don’t expect much fun with him though, he’s scared to death of me.”

“Why was Vincent in the hospital?” Fletch asked.

“It’s a long story…and I doubt you’ll believe half of it,” Reno said.

“I wanna know. Maybe I can figure out why he hates me so much and try and do better.”

“Well…I’ll tell you, but don’t tell him I did,” Reno cautioned.

“Ok.” Fletch seemed eager to hear and listened attentively as Reno related what he knew of Vincent’s history, with Rude adding things in from time to time.

“Whoa. No wonder he’s in a bad mood.” Fletch had listened openmouthed to the story Reno told, not interrupting the entire time from when they left the hospital, got in Reno’s car, headed to a bar downtown and ordered drinks.

“That’s the thing. He shouldn’t be. Most of the time he gets along well with others and is fairly easy going. As a person, mind you, not as a Turk. He’s very serious as a Turk,” Reno answered.

“He’s showed me that…”

“He’ll lighten up.”

“Yeah, and if not, you’ll probably just get transferred.”

“It would’ve been nice to work with you guys…you’re supposed to be the best, but if I’m throwing that off, maybe I should just leave…” Fletch sighed and looked miserable.

“Hey, you’re good too, it’s just a compatibility issue. Rude and me aren’t compatible with anybody except Vincent. Probably because of the whole age thing. Maybe that’s why you don’t fit. We’re all about three times as old as you are.”

“Yeah…it sure doesn’t seem like it though. Vincent looks only…what, about seven years older than me?”

“Probably closer to nine.”

“I’ll give one more mission a shot, and then I think I’ll get a transfer. It’s probably for the best…”

*

“Are you all good and rested up?” Reeve asked the four Turks gathered in his office once again. He glanced meaningfully at Vincent who shrugged and looked away.

“Yeah we’re good, Reeve. Where’re we going?” Reno asked.

“Wutai. I’m sorta lending you out as a favor to Lord Godo. He’s having some problems with renegade shinobi who have moved into the mountains and are making raids on the village. Godo thinks they’re stealing materia too.”

“Probably just Yuffie,” Rude snorted.

“Who’s Yuffie?” Fletch asked. “Is he an enemy?”

“Yuffie’s a girl. Godo’s daughter. Cute body, but she’s got a thing for stealing materia,” Reno commented.

“Oh. Will she be helping us?”

“She might if she wants to. She’s a stuck up little brat. Probably about your age now.”

“More than likely she’ll just tag along and be annoying,” Rude added.

“I see. Are we leaving now then?”

“Yeah. Let’s go. Are you all outfitted?” Vincent asked in a distant tone. Since the previous evening Vincent had grown less hostile towards Fletch and Rude had surmised some of his suspicions had started to die. After all, Fletch seemed a very good Turk and his record was pristine.

“Uh huh.” Reno waved his nightstick and then grinned, giving Rude a quick jolt. He was rewarded with a solid smack in the back of the head. “Ow.”

“Why’d you shock me? You knew I was just gonna hit you…”

“Yeah, well…”

“Cut it out. You’re ready to go, Fletch?”

“Yes, sir,” Fletch answered, a bit wary of Vincent’s new attitude.

“Let’s hit the skies then.”

Fletch followed the others to the helipad in silence. It was odd not to be on the defensive, but he didn’t drop his feeling of uneasiness. “Can’t lower my guard, he’s still a bit edgy, doesn’t quite trust me yet.”

*

“Hi!” Yuffie screamed, running towards the clearing and tackling the first Turk who jumped out of the helicopter, which, unfortunately, was Fletch. The young ninja knocked him to the ground and threw her arms around his neck.

“Um…hi…”

“Yuffie, that’s our new recruit, Fletch. I’m glad you two seem to be getting along so well,” Reno said, grinning as he followed Rude out of the helicopter.

“Oh! Umm…oops…hi…” Yuffie stood up and brushed herself off, then tackled Reno.

“Can I speak with your father?” Vincent asked, stepping out of the sliding door on the side of the chopper.

“No hello, Vinny?” Yuffie greeted Vincent with a hug, but, due to her slight figure, her arms only reached around the middle of his chest.

“Hello.”

“That wasn’t very sincere.”

“Sorry. Let me see your father.”

“Oh fine. Come on, you guys’ll be staying at my place, unless you wanna go to the inn or something…”

“We don’t want to impose…” Vincent began, but Reno interrupted.

“Sure we’ll come. We stayed at the inn the last time we were in Wutai…you remember that Yuffie? You and Elena got nailed by Corneo and he was gonna…”

Yuffie turned around and kicked Reno hard in the chest, sending him flying backward into Rude. Rude grunted as his partner slammed into him, but held his ground.

“Damn! What was that for?”

“I don’t need to be reminded of what Corneo was gonna do to me,” Yuffie answered hotly.

“Jeez…sorry…” Reno grumbled.

“So…you’re Fletch? I’m Yuffie, pleased to meet you.” Yuffie caught up to Fletch who was walking a little ways ahead. She held out her hand and he took it politely and smiled.

“Same to you. How old are you?”

“I’m twenty. You like materia?”

Rude rolled his eyes and Reno grinned as Yuffie began chattering about her passion for materia. Surprisingly it seemed Fletch had interests along the same line and fairly soon the two were talking animatedly as Yuffie led the way to her father’s pagoda.

Upon entering the lavish mansion of Lord Godo, the Turks were greeted by a number of servants who relieved them of their weapons and led them into the interior of the house. Lord Godo waited in a large room, ornately decorated, with pillows spread out on the floor for his guests to sit on. Yuffie sprawled out on her stomach on the floor next to her father. Fletch and Reno sat down clumsily and tried to get comfortable. Vincent somehow managed to sit down with a moderate amount of dignity and Rude remained standing.

“Rude, sit down,” Vincent ordered quietly.

“I’d really rather stand.”

“Sit.”

“Fine.” Rude sat down next to Reno rather stiffly.

“I should like to begin by thanking you all for coming. The situation is rather tense and a bit out of the hands of the local militia. These traitors to the order of monks who work in Wutai are causing us many problems. There have been raids on the weapon shops and there are random beatings of citizens in the streets at night. I cannot sense their motivation, unless it is to invoke trouble in our peaceful town.” Lord Godo’s voice was strong and he got right to the point.

“Reeve stressed that the situation was to be handled delicately,” Vincent remarked. “Is there a reason why?”

“Yes. The political state of affairs in Wutai is tense right now. There is a petty young nobleman who wishes to take the leadership of Wutai and we believe he may be behind the attacks on the city, trying to create insurrection…”

“But we aren’t gonna let him! This town has thrived under my father’s rule!” Yuffie leapt up and stomped her foot. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting this Lord what-the-hell’s-his-face try and overthrow my father! I’ll go stuff my shuriken up his…”

“Calm down Yuffie,” Lord Godo said sternly. “You aren’t to be involved.”

“But, father!” Yuffie wailed. “I can help!”

“It’s probably best just to let us handle it. For your own safety,” Vincent added.

“My safety?! What about the four of you? You don’t know the mountains of Wutai like I do and that’s where these bastards are hiding!”

“We’ll hire a guide in town.”

“How the hell are you gonna know which side he’s on? What if he’s a spy for Lord what’s-his-face?”

“We’ll take our chances,” Vincent said firmly.

“Fine! Don’t take me! I’ll help out on my own!” Yuffie stormed out of the room and down the hall to her chambers.

“She’s still as zealous as always, isn’t she, my Lord?” Reno asked. “Although…if I remember correctly, she used to be rather rebellious.”

“Yes…sometimes I wonder if it’s a blessing or a curse.” Lord Godo sighed. “I’ll finish briefing you tomorrow. It’s nearly five in the morning and there’s no need to start until at least noon tomorrow. I’m sure you’re all tired. The servants will show you your rooms. Vincent, if you could stay for a moment…”

“Of course, sir.”

“G’night, Lord Godo. See you in the morning,” Reno called.

“Good night, sirs…” Fletch added, heading out the door.

“Now, Vincent, I’d like to talk to you about the particulars of this mission…”

“Yes, sir. I gather there’s more of a reason to why Reeve sent us then as a favor?”

“Quite right, my boy. Now, there’s a lot of tension in the village right now and people are starting to take sides. The debate comes down to whether or not to remain tied to Shinra like we are. After the signing of the treaties at the end of the war most people were ready to forgive and forget, but some still harbored hatred to Shinra. Now, we know the company has changed greatly for the better since Reeve’s initiation as president, but some people are set in their ways.”

“You need our help taking out this threat before it can get out of hand?”

“Correct. Now, the main problem seems to be a man by the name of Lord Yukio, who wants to, as my daughter said, overthrow my rule.”

“I’ll be blunt. Do you want him shot?”

“If it comes to it, but I’d rather he was taken prisoner.”

“All right, so a standard kidnapping?”

“Hardly standard. He’ll be guarded by some of the best shinobi in the world…”

“Can any of them stop bullets?”

“No…”

“We’ll call it standard then.”

“Very well. I bid you good night, Vincent Valentine, may your dreams be less troubled then your thoughts of late.”

“Thank you…” Vincent left the room and headed down the hallway, rather perturbed about how easily Lord Godo had sensed his discomfort. There was laughter coming from Yuffie’s room and he heard Fletch making jokes about the huge materia and Yuffie giggling insanely. He moved on down the corridor and heard Reno’s preliminary to his usual nighttime activities.

“You’re a pretty thing aren’t you? You know, Turks get in to a lot of pretty big scrapes, why, just two days ago I got shot in the stomach.”

“Oh! Did it hurt, Lord Reno?”

“Nah, I’m tough…”

“Let me see, perhaps I can make it better. Would you mind taking off your shirt?”

“Only if you take off yours.”

There was a breathless giggle. “You seem tense, my Lord…”

“You know what’d help loosen me up? A bottle of wine, d’you think you could manage that, doll face?”

“I suppose I could try, Lord Reno…” a giggly voice answered.

“Lay off with the ‘Lord’ title, angel…well, actually, keep it up, makes me feel special…”

Vincent shook his head and headed past Rude’s silent chamber to his own room. Thankfully, Lord Godo had respect for the fact that not everyone in the world shared the Wutain custom of sleeping on the floor. There was a comfortable looking bed in the corner of the room and a small lamp on the table beside it. Vincent sat down on the bed, but after a few moments stood up again and decided to go for a walk. He made sure the small handgun he’d decided to bring was still tucked in his holster and left the mansion, opting for a walk near the mountains. He didn’t plan to go too far, he just wanted to clear his head. It had distressed him profoundly that his first instinct about Fletch was apparently incorrect. With a heavy sigh he wandered towards the mountains, intent on exploring a little and confident he could handle anyone who had the guts to attack a Turk. He turned sharply as there was a crunching noise behind him and crouched behind a rock, well hidden in the darkness. It was still early in the morning and the sun would not rise for yet another hour. Tensed and ready for a fight he watched as Fletch came up the path he’d been standing on moments earlier. His eyes widened then narrowed as Fletch strayed from the trail and ducked into a cave. Vincent followed silently, getting as close as he dared to the entrance of the cave and crouching down to listen.

“Ah, Daniel. Good to see you were able to report,” an oily voice greeted the young Turk as he entered the cave.

“No problem, my Lord Yukio. It’s a simple matter to throw off the employees of Shinra, Reeve’s hunting dogs; they’ve no sense at all. Save for one, who seems to be too suspicious for his own good. I think I’ve fooled him though.”

“Good, good, have you managed to get close to Lord Godo’s daughter?”

“Yes. Foolish creature, easily preoccupied by shiny objects. She calls herself a materia hunter. I feign some interest in that direction and all of a sudden she’s fawning all over me.”

“I know, she’s a naïve, spoiled brat. Will you be able to have her in captivity by tomorrow evening?”

“Easily.”

Vincent resisted the temptation to enter the cave and blow the brains out of one of the two men, but only because he wouldn’t have been able to decide who to shoot first. He crept quietly away from the entrance, planning to head back to Godo’s pagoda and warn Reno and Rude.

“Halt!” a shinobi suddenly stepped from the shadows, katana raised and ready to jump Vincent. The Turk rolled to the side and dodged the blade as it wedged itself into the ground. He fired a single shot, striking the man in the chest, but alerting the others inside the cave, Daniel ran out, sword at ready.

“You!” the young man was clearly angry and prepared to do away with Vincent. “I thought…”

“You were wrong.” Vincent didn’t hesitate to raise his weapon, but some strange force knocked it from his hand.

“Valentine, correct?” Lord Yukio asked, striding out of the cave. He was fat and reminded Vincent strongly of Don Corneo. There were two more ninjas standing beside him, one of them holding a pair of throwing stars. “Daniel said you gave him problems.”

“Oh really? What else has Junior told you?”

“Don’t call me that!” Daniel bristled and tightened his grip on his sword.

“You call the Turks Reeve’s hunting dogs…look who’s standing here taking orders from a tub of lard who probably can’t even remember what his feet look like.”

“You shut up!”

“I tire of this. Daniel, you may kill him,” Yukio said dismissively. “I’ll be inside, come back when you’re finished.”

“With pleasure, sir. There’s been nothing I wanted to do more since I got accepted into this bastard’s squad,” Daniel growled, lowering his sword.

Vincent scooped his gun from the ground, not taking his eyes from Fletch who was still circling him like a shark. “Are you going to go first or shall I?”

“I’ll go first.” Daniel leapt forward and swung his sword in an arc that would easily have sheared a man in half. Vincent avoided it and fired twice at the two shinobi who stood poised to attack.

“What’d you do that for?”

“Upset that your back up is gone? Lowlife coward, you should’ve expected that.”

“I’m going to kill you!” Daniel leapt forward again, but Vincent moved out of the way.

“I have to go, sorry to cut this short.” Vincent turned and took off like a shot, heading up the path instead of back down, hoping to lose Daniel and find another way back to Wutai. The young man swore and hurried after him. Once in a while Vincent would turn and fire at Daniel, but otherwise he kept running, darting down pathways and around corners. Daniel cursed again and pulled out a grenade. When he next got within throwing range of Vincent he hurled the explosive, not at his quarry but at the cliff above him. There was an earth-shattering explosion and Vincent froze, turning to see the cliff collapse above him. A cloud of dust obscured Daniel’s view for a moment and when it cleared there was no sign of his target. With a grin he hurried to the edge of the cliff and slid down, there had been a gentle slope created when the landslide had occurred and he made his way to the bottom easily.

“Are you around here somewhere, sir?” Daniel called. There was no answer, but his eyes caught a slight movement to his left. “Oh, there you are…” Daniel strode over to where Vincent was lying, on his back, left leg pinned under a large boulder. He blinked a couple times and lifted a hand to his forehead, staring at the blood that stained his fingers with a slightly dazed expression. “Did you fall down, sir?”

“Go to hell.”

“You shouldn’t be using such language around a ‘kid’ like me, sir.” Daniel’s tone was mocking and he kicked Vincent viciously in the ribs. “Now, I have to get going; don’t want to disappoint my real boss.”

“ Reno and Rude will…”

“Your lackeys will believe what I say when I tell them you were out for a walk and there was a landslide. I tried to help, but it was too late…”

“Bastard…” With an obviously painful effort he tried to pull his leg from beneath the rock that held it, but it stayed firmly stuck.

“Don’t do that, sir,” Daniel scolded, looking up from rubbing dirt on his suit. He pulled out a small pocketknife and made several small cuts in the material and one or two in his flesh, a shallow gash on his forehead and a slightly deeper cut on his arm. “Your leg’s most likely broken and you’ll just make it worse. Now, I’m going to be leaving and telling everybody you were killed in a landslide. You think these little injuries will generate enough sympathy? Godo’s daughter ought to be fooled by them…”

Vincent didn’t answer and closed his eyes. “Ok, I’m in a rather significant amount of trouble…and I don’t know how much longer I can stay awake…”

“Hey, are you dead? I’m sorry I can’t speed up the process, but a stab in the heart is sorta hard to conceal. You’ll die eventually anyway. Bye now, sir.”

Vincent opened his eyes as Daniel started up the cliff and met the young man’s gaze. “I will kill you…” For a second it almost seemed like doubt flickered in Daniel’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by self-confidence and malice.

*

“Morning Rude!” Reno said cheerfully as his partner entered the dining room.

“Yeah. Which one, Reno?” Rude asked, glancing around at the various young women who stood around the room serving breakfast. A young woman in a pink kimono blushed furiously as Rude’s eyes fell upon her.

“You guessed it. Seen Vincent yet?”

“No. Do you know where Fletch is?”

“Nah…maybe…no, stupid idea…”

“What?”

“Well…maybe…” A wicked grin lit up Reno’s features. “Maybe Yuffie knows.”

“Maybe I know what?” Yuffie asked, coming into the room and flopping down on one of the pillows on the floor.

“We thought you maybe knew where Fletch is, because neither of us had seen him all night.” Reno grinned again and Yuffie kicked him in the stomach.

“Get your filthy mind out of the gutter. Fletch was the perfect gentleman last night…more that I can say for you, we heard your activities all the way down the hall. Honestly, Sen, you can do better than trash like Reno,” Yuffie said, addressing the girl in the pink kimono who blushed again and scurried out of the room. Suddenly there was a scream from the hallway and Yuffie dashed after the young woman.

“What was that?” Reno asked worriedly.

“It sounded like a scream, Reno…of course it’s different then the noises you’re used to hearing from women…”

There was another scream, this time from Yuffie. “ Reno! Rude!”

“We better go…”

Reno wolfed down a piece of toast and nodded, following Rude into the hallway and towards the main entrance of Godo’s mansion. In the front hall, sitting on the floor with Yuffie beside him and covered in dust and blood, was Fletch. The servant girl stood wide-eyed and unmoving, hands pressed against her mouth.

“Fletch, what happened?” Yuffie asked, wiping some of the blood off his forehead with her sleeve. Reno couldn’t help but notice she was holding him very tightly.

“Th-there was a landslide…” he stammered.

“Where?” Rude asked.

“Sen, go get a cloth and some water,” Reno instructed the servant girl.

“Yes, Lord Reno…” the girl bustled out of the room.

“On the side of the mountain, I don’t know exactly where. I followed the lights back to town…”

“What about Vincent? Have you seen him anywhere?” Reno demanded, slightly concerned.

Fletch lowered his head and didn’t answer.

“What’s the matter?” Yuffie hugged Fletch tighter.

“Fletch, what happened to Vincent?” Reno asked again, more firmly. “Is he all right?”

Without saying anything Fletch shook his head.

“What are you saying? He isn’t…dead?” Yuffie gasped, looking Fletch in the eyes. The stare she was met with was remorseful and there were tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

“I tried Yuffie…I did my best, but…I was too late…”

“Are you sure?” Rude firmly took hold of the young man’s shoulder. “Are you absolutely positive?”

“I couldn’t get to close to him…the landslide made it difficult…but…he was pinned under a rock and he didn’t answer when I yelled at him.”

“But…he might still be alive?” Reno pressed, pleading note of hope in his voice.

“I don’t know…do you think…maybe he is?” Fletch asked, echoing Reno’s tone.

“We have to go look for him,” Rude said with a touch of finality.

“Look for who?” Godo asked, entering the hallway. “What has happened here?”

“There was a landslide and Fletch says Vincent…” Yuffie began.

“Oh no…you wish to look for him?”

“Of course we ‘wish to look for him’! He could be hurt or dying…” Yuffie exclaimed. “What if…”

“I’m afraid it is impossible for you to go now. A storm has come up rather quickly and you know how the storms are dangerous here…”

“What? You’re saying we just leave him out there? If he isn’t already dead this’ll kill him!” Reno yelled.

“You wouldn’t last ten minutes on the mountain in this rain. It comes down in torrents, and thunder, lightning, and wind tear at climbers and hurl them off cliffs.”

“But…” Reno started to protest.

“It is not worth it to risk the lives of four for the sake of one who may yet be dead.”

“How can you say that?!” Yuffie shouted. “You’re just going to let him die?”

“I didn’t say that. But all that will be gained by you searching for him is four more potential deaths.”

“But father!”

“He’s right Yuffie,” Fletch sighed. “It’s my fault…if I hadn’t just dismissed him as dead, maybe I could have…”

“No! Fletch, don’t say that! This wasn’t your fault. Vincent…there was no way you could have known about the landslide.”

“But…god, Yuffie, I feel like…”

Yuffie didn’t let him finish and hugged him tightly. “It’ll be ok…”

“When will this storm stop?” Reno asked.

“It shouldn’t last any longer than noon.”

“We’re leaving at noon, storm or no storm,” Reno answered firmly.

“You don’t know where he is. I’ve got a general idea and if Yuffie acted as my guide I’m sure I could find him again…” Fletch said.

“Yeah! Please, Father. You and Rude don’t have to come, Reno. The mountains are treacherous and it’s hard for more than two people to travel safely.”

“Yuffie the mountains are dangerous. Yukio’s people are distributed all throughout the caves and…”

“And we’re leaving Vincent alone up there to die?”

“I swear Godo; I’ll take care of your daughter. I’ve let one person down; I won’t let it happen again. Give me the chance to fix my mistake,” Fletch pleaded.

*

A drop of rain fell from above and splashed on Vincent’s forehead. Not opening his eyes he reached up and touched his fingers to his temple. Another drop hit his forehead and he opened his eyes. The first image that came into focus was that of his own trembling and bloody fingers, and past that a dark canopy that rain seemed to be thudding against.

“Am I still…outside?” The ground beneath him was hard and cold, but whatever the dark object above him was seemed to keep out the rain fairly well. He turned his head to the side, to try and get some sort of an idea where he was. To his left there was an opening and he could still see rocks and gravel scattered about and rain came down in sheets, lightning forking across the sky from time to time. “Rain…lots of it…but…I’m not wet, just cold.” Another drop fell and splashed his face. “That’s getting annoying. Wherever I am, they’ve got a hole in their roof.” He looked up, searching the ceiling above him for signs of a leak. What he saw shocked him. Chaos. Vincent had never seen the demon with his own eyes, but by some deeper impulse he knew what he was facing. Naturally, his first instinct was terror and he rolled to the side to get away from the demon, forgetting his broken leg was still caught and wrenching it sharply. The weak groan he tried to hold back alerted the creature and it firmly placed a large hand on his chest, forcing him back down.

“Stop it.”

Vincent struggled again, despite Chaos’s order. He was shivering and his mind was racing in panic and disbelief. “It’s back…how…god, Aeris, I thought it was over…”

“Calm down.” Chaos easily held Vincent pinned to the ground. “I have no intention to hurt you, if that’s what you are thinking.”

“W-what are you doing here? You’re gone; Aeris said you wouldn’t come back…leave me alone…” Vincent could see the wings above him now, sheltering him from the rain. He didn’t consider the rationale behind the fact that the demon didn’t seem to want to injure him in any way and was actually making an attempt to help him.

“I won’t harm you. Stop moving or you’ll hurt yourself.”

“What do you want? I thought you were gone forever and never coming back…”

“Who says I ever left?”

“What do you mean?”

“We are separate in body. I am still bound to your soul. Your spirit cried for help and I responded. That is my fate.”

“I don’t…understand…”

“Consider me a guardian. The Cetran girl told me to watch you, so I shall.”

“You take orders from a flower girl?”

“I have great respect for the Cetra.” Chaos answered stiffly.

“This is just great. I’ve got Satan for a guardian angel. Just my luck…god, I’m having a very bad week. This whole damn time I’m right about Daniel or Fletch or whoever the hell he is and no one listens to me. And now I’m in Wutai, stuck under a rock, in the middle of a rainstorm, and talking to a demon…Maybe…am I delirious? That would explain a lot…”

“You talk too much.”

“I shouldn’t go to sleep again; I might not wake up…so…keep talking.”

“You’re the one who’s supposed to talk.”

“I need someone to talk to. I can’t talk to myself.”

“If you are delirious and hallucinating, then in essence you are talking to yourself, are you not?”

“I don’t know…stop making me think so hard, it makes my head hurt.”

“It isn’t my fault.”

“It is so.”

“How is it my fault?”

“Argh…I don’t know…you’re making me think again…”

“It isn’t my fault.”

“Didn’t you say that just a few minutes ago?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. I didn’t remember.”

“It was only a few seconds ago.”

“See the big cut on my head? That’s sort of affecting my mental capabilities at the present.”

“You seem awfully touchy.”

“I’m stuck under a rock.”

“I could move it.”

“Hmm?”

“You heard me. I could move it.”

“You repeat yourself a lot.”

“Could you focus for just one moment?”

“On what?”

“On the issue at hand.”

“Which is?”

“Your being stuck under a rock.”

“Oh. What about it?”

“Would you like to get out from under the rock?” Chaos growled quietly, trying to keep his temper. He knew it wasn’t Vincent’s fault that he couldn’t pull together enough of his consciousness to hold his concentration in one place but he was still feeling slightly exasperated.

“Sure.”

“Finally…”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I didn’t mean anything.”

“Oh. I thought you did. You sounded sort of sarcastic.”

“I’m not familiar with the term.”

“It’s when you say something, but you don’t really mean it.”

“A lie? I don’t lie…”

“No, not like that…people aren’t supposed to think you mean it.”

“What is the purpose of telling someone something untrue if they aren’t to believe it is the truth?”

“Umm…it’s like satire.”

“Which is what?”

“Making fun of something serious.”

“Why?”

“Humor I suppose. Of course, humor is my main concern right now…”

“Why is that?”

“That was sarcasm.”

“What was?”

“When I said humor was my main concern.”

“Why did you say that?”

“I forget.”

“Oh.”

“Where were we?”

“I believe I was going to get you out from under that rock.”

“Oh yeah…are you still going to?”

“No.”

“What? Why not?”

“I will. I was being sarcastic.”

“You aren’t very good at it.”

“It’s a new concept to me.”

“Keep it that way. There’s sort of a tone of voice you have to have to be sarcastic and I don’t know if you can manage it or not.”

“Do you want me to move this rock, or not?”

“Go ahead.”

“You’ll get a bit wet and it will probably hurt.”

“Ok.”

Chaos folded his wings and grasped the edge of the boulder that pinned Vincent’s leg to the ground. With a small effort he lifted the stone and rolled it to the side. Vincent gasped in pain and flinched visibly.

“Are you all right?”

“Not really…that hurt…”

“I told you it would.”

“I didn’t…think…” Vincent trailed off and closed his eyes.

“Are you still awake?” Chaos spread his wings again and sheltered the now inert form beneath them. There was no answer. “Oh. At least you aren’t talking as much anymore…”

*

“Are you sure you’re all right to go?” Yuffie asked Fletch for the hundredth time.

“Yuffie, I’m fine, we have to hurry,” Fletch insisted.

“Yeah, calm down, the storm just let up. If you aren’t up to it, I could take Rude…”

“I don’t know where we’re going,” Rude commented quietly.

“See? I have to be up to going. Reno can’t do it…”

“What’s wrong with Reno?” Yuffie asked, loading materia into her weapon.

“He’s plastered. Didn’t take long.” Rude shook his head. “It’s probably not the best way to relieve stress, but he does it anyway…”

“Oh. Well, we’ll be back, hopefully with Vincent…”

“We’re bringing him back,” Fletch said firmly.

“Yeah. Let’s go, Fletch…” Yuffie led the way out the door and headed for the mountain. The storm had lasted several hours longer than expected and it was getting late. The setting sun cast strange shadows on the features of the faces carved in the mountain. “Which way did you go from here?”

“Basically he headed up and I followed. Didn’t want him being on his own if he got in trouble…”

“Good thinking, but from what you’ve told me, he would’ve just resented it.” Yuffie shook her head. “I don’t get it. He’s usually not so hostile. It takes a lot to get him really riled. Except…once, when this guy wouldn’t let him leave the hospital, Vincent got slightly irritated and broke the guy’s jaw.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah…” Yuffie silently followed Fletch as he wove his way down pathways and trails. “You don’t think he is dead, do you?”

“I don’t know, Yuffie…to be honest; I can’t hold very high hopes. I took a couple years of med school and the odds of a person surviving a night of cold wind and exposure to the elements after a fall off a cliff are pretty slim…” Fletch sighed, but inside he was nearly giddy. “That’s what I’ve been counting on…”

“Vincent could do it.”

“Are you sure? I just don’t want you to get your hopes all high that he’ll be alive and then be crushed if he isn’t…I doubt even Rude could have endured a night like last night with an injury like what Vincent must have had…”

“I really don’t want him to be dead…”

“Neither do I, Yuffie,” Fletch said sadly. “Not! I’d like nothing better than him to be dead.”

“I didn’t know you went to med school…”

“I don’t think I told you. I quit because I didn’t think I’d be good enough as a doctor.” “Yeah, right. I quit because I got offered double the payment as a mercenary.”

“I don’t know what I want to do with my life…d’you think a materia hunter gets paid a lot?”

“I never looked into materia hunting as a serious career, I always thought it would be great though…getting paid to go on adventures and find materia.” “What a little moron…”

“Yeah…hey, Fletch! Me and you should go into the materia business! We could have soooo much fun!”

Fletch let Yuffie ramble for a while until they drew near to the spot he knew he had left Vincent. “We’re getting close…maybe I should go first.”

“No, you don’t know how to get down a mountain safely, I’ll be ok. You actually should maybe hold back for a bit. It’ll be easier for me to get down the place where the landslide was, and we don’t want to risk starting another avalanche.”

“If you’re sure…” “Good. No sense in me risking my neck just to see if the bastard’s dead or not, which he is, so I don’t have to worry about it.”

“Around here?” Yuffie asked, looking around at the obvious evidence of a landslide.

“Yeah…can you see him?” Fletch questioned as Yuffie looked over the edge.

“Nope…I guess I’ll have to go down.” Fletch watched as the young ninja carefully lowered herself down, finding footholds and jumping from rock to rock. She reached the bottom, skidding a bit and looking around. “Oh god…maybe Fletch is right…this was a pretty bad slide…” She caught a hint of dark blue out of the corner of her eye and sighed. She started walking slowly towards Vincent, then walked a bit faster, broke into a jog, and finally a run. She stopped about two feet from where the Turk lay, unmoving. Yuffie bit her lip. When she’d first met Vincent he had honestly terrified her. Of course, it was nothing to how she’d felt when she’d first seen him transform. They’d been fighting a large dragon up north and Vincent was in rather rough shape, Yuffie had considered casting Clear Tranquil on him to maybe give him a hand, but when she turned to cast the spell, she found herself face to face with a Galian beast. As expected, Yuffie had screamed and taken off, leaving Cloud and…whatever that thing was…to take care of the dragon. They’d found her in a tree, clinging to the uppermost branches and refusing to come down until Cloud came up and threatened to hack the limb she clung to off and send her plummeting to the ground. Again she felt fear, but more for Vincent’s safety. She really, really didn’t want him to be dead. The thought that he’d had such a rough life and just when he was starting to enjoy living it, it had been taken away from him was too much for her to handle. With a mixture of hope and dread, she knelt by the body on the ground and carefully pulled him into her arms. He was pale and cold and there was a deep gash on his forehead, but he was breathing. Yuffie grinned, silently thanking the gods for sparing her friend. “Fletch! Hey, Fletch! He’s ok!...Well, maybe not ok exactly, but he’s not dead!”

“What?” Yuffie caught the note of disbelief in Fletch’s voice. “He’s alive?”

“Yeah! Vincent! Hey, wake up…” Yuffie shook him gently, but got no response. “Hey, come on…” She reached into her pack with her free hand and pulled out her canteen. With a small pause she opened the cap and poured some of the water on to the sleeve of her denim jacket. She’d dressed a little more warmly to go up on the mountain and wore jeans, a sweater and a jacket. Yuffie brushed her soaking wet sleeve against her friend’s forehead, washing away some of the blood. He stirred slightly and groaned.

“Hey Fletch! Get over here quick, he’s coming around!” Yuffie yelled to the younger Turk who was still navigating his way through the debris of the avalanche. “Vincent?”

His eyes half opened and tried to focus on whoever was holding him. “Yuffie?…wait…there’s something about Yuffie…something bad…why can’t I remember?”

“You all right, Vince? You scared everybody pretty bad…”

“Yuffie…”

“Hang on, it’s ok. What happened? Fletch said you were stuck under a rock.”

“I…Chaos…where’s Chaos?”

“Hmm? You aren’t making any sense, Vince. Chaos is gone; he’s not coming back. Hey, Fletch! I think there’s something wrong, hurry up, will ya?”

“Fletch?…Daniel…Yuffie, Fletch is…”

“Right here, sir.” Fletch came up behind Yuffie and smiled at Vincent. It wasn’t a friendly smile. It was more like a “don’t-worry-I’ll-kill-you-when-I-get-the chance” smile.

“Oh god. This is very, very, very bad…”

“What are we going to do, Fletch?” Yuffie asked.

“I’m not sure; I don’t think we’ll be able to head back tonight. It’s getting pretty late and we can’t be going down in the dark with Vincent in the condition he’s in.”

“Yeah. What exactly is wrong with him? He’s not making any sense.”

“Exhaustion, hypothermia, and he probably hit his head pretty hard at some point.”

“What? Oh yeah…maybe I did. God my head hurts…”

“Where should we stay for the night?” Yuffie questioned. “I know some caves we could probably stay in that have enough ventilation for a fire. I think we should probably keep Vincent pretty warm.”

“Warm? That would be nice…I’m very cold. It’s a good thing Chaos didn’t let me get wet or it’d be worse.”

“Good idea. Do you think you can stand, Vincent?”

“Can I what? I don’t understand.” “W-what?”

“What’s wrong with him?” Yuffie asked again.

“Delirium I think, probably from the hypothermia. He’s not going to be saying anything coherent, so it’s best not to listen to him.”

“Oh. Ok.”

“What’s he saying? I know what I’m talking about…he’s…Yuffie! That was it, he’s after Yuffie!”

“Ok, give me a hand. Is there a good cave nearby?” Fletch carefully lifted Vincent to his feet and forced him to put almost all his weight on his broken left leg. “Hah! That’ll show the bastard who’s running this show!”

Vincent groaned as his leg gave out and he dropped to the ground. “Hey! Careful!” Yuffie exclaimed kneeling at Vincent’s side.

“Damn. We’ll have to splint that before we can get him anywhere. I need two sturdy pieces of wood.”

“Ok, you go look for them, I’ll stay here.”

“Are you sure? It might not be safe for you to be alone…”

“You sayin’ you don’t think I can take care of myself?” Yuffie bristled and stood up.

“No, but I don’t know where I’m going as well as you would…where should I look?”

“Go back up and to your left, there should be a small clump of trees that you could find some wood in, get enough for a fire too.”

“Ok…” Fletch headed back up the trail. “This little brat is giving me orders? Oh well, she’ll be easier to get to Yukio if she’s docile about it.”

“Yuffie?”

“Yeah, Vince?”

“What’s going on?”

Yuffie sat down again. It was very out of character for Vincent to be asking her questions or not to know what was happening. “It’s ok, don’t worry. Fletch is just going to get some stuff.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause you’ve got a broken leg and we can’t move you until it’s splinted,” Yuffie explained, more than a little concerned.

“Oh. Yuffie, could you do me a favor?”

“Sure.”

“My gun’s around here somewhere. When Fletch gets back, could you shoot him?”

“What?!”

“Could you shoot Fletch?” Vincent repeated.

“Why in god’s name would you want me to do that?”

Despite his present state of mind and body Vincent looked exasperated. “Because he got me thrown off a cliff, Yuffie. I told you that.”

“What? No you didn’t…”

“Oh. He got me thrown off a cliff.”

“Vince, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Yuffie shrugged off what he was saying as merely delusional raving.

“Yes I do. Ask Chaos, he knows.”

“No, you don’t. Chaos is gone, Vincent. Remember? Aeris got rid of him.”

“She did? He came back.”

Yuffie sighed. “No, he didn’t. Stop talking, Vince. You’ll give yourself a headache.”

“I already have a headache.”

“See what you did? So shut up. It’ll make it go away. You should probably try and go to sleep too.”

“No…you aren’t supposed to if you have a head injury…or maybe you are…I can’t remember. I’m tired…so I should go to sleep, but what if that’s why they tell you not to go to sleep? Because you feel tired and you want to but you’re not supposed to…”

“I think it’s maybe a good idea.” Yuffie was fairly sure Vincent had no idea what he was talking about, after all, he’d accused Fletch of trying to kill him and Yuffie knew that couldn’t be true. “Go to sleep.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, I’ll still be here.”

“You won’t leave?”

“No, I won’t leave. Go to sleep.” Yuffie could tell he was uneasy, something also way out of character, and she carefully moved to let him lie with his head in her lap to offer some comfort. “See? I’m right here, I won’t go anywhere.”

“Ok. Are you sure you wouldn’t reconsider shooting Fletch?”

“No.”

“All right. I guess I’ll have to do it myself. Wake me when he gets back…” Vincent closed his eyes and Yuffie could feel him starting to relax.

“Hey, I’m back…he fell asleep?” Fletch came down the cliff, carrying a pile of wood in his arms.

“Only like two seconds ago. He’s really out of it.”

“Yeah? What’s he saying?” Fletch knelt down and selected two of the straighter looking sticks from the pile.

“Not a lot…mostly about Chaos…” Yuffie answered guardedly, not wanting to upset Fletch by telling him what Vincent said.

“Oh. Nothing that made any sense?” Fletch carefully splinted Vincent’s leg.

“Nope.”

“Oh. Well, we’ll keep an eye on him. Get him back tomorrow and have a real doctor look at him.” “Yeah, right. Tomorrow Yukio’s men are coming for Yuffie and I can finally get rid of our dear Mr. Valentine.”

*

“Wake up.”

“Hmm?”

“Wake up.”

“I’m tired…”

“I don’t care. You’ll die if you don’t wake up.”

“I am awake.”

“Open your eyes.”

Vincent obeyed and blinked a couple times as his eyes focused on Chaos. “You’re back. Where am I?”

“A cave.”

“Oh. Great. Of all places, why a cave?”

“I don’t know. Caves are usually dry and safe, perhaps that’s why.”

“It was a rhetorical question.”

“Another new word. What does it mean?”

“It’s a question that’s not meant to be answered.”

“What is the purpose of a…”

“Hey, Vincent!” The new voice was louder and higher in pitch and made Vincent’s head hurt as it echoed.

“Ow. Stop that. What do you want?”

“What’s wrong with him?” another voice asked.

“Nothing’s wrong with me…”

“I dunno. Vincent, wake up! Come on, snap out of it…”

“Snap out of what?” Vincent started slightly as cold washed over him.

“Fletch!” Yuffie yelled as Vincent stirred. “Christ, all our water! Scared the hell out of him too…”

“Don’t…yell…” Vincent mumbled, opening his eyes.

“Sorry. Are you all right? I think you were having a nightmare…”

“Chaos…”

Yuffie sighed. “Not that again. He’s gone, Vince.”

“He was here a minute ago.”

“No, he wasn’t. Stop talking nonsense.”

“I’m not…”

“Yes, you are. Just calm down, ok?”

“I am calm. Why don’t you believe me? Chaos was here. I know he was because I saw him. Maybe…it was a dream? No, he was here before…not here, but outside when it was raining. That’s the only reason I didn’t die of hypothermia or pneumonia or whatever it was, because of Chaos. So…he must have been here. I wish Lyria were here, she’d believe me…wait…what am I thinking? I don’t want Lyria here, there’s a sword-wielding maniac just on the other side of this cave. I wish… Reno and Rude were here…but they don’t believe me either. Maybe…I don’t know. Someone who isn’t Yuffie.”

“Hey, Fletch…earlier you said he had hypothermia, right?” Yuffie asked.

“Oh. So it was hypothermia. No wonder I’m so cold.”

“Yeah, it would’ve been serious if we hadn’t showed up.”

“Oh. Well…I think we should try and help him warm up a bit more. I mean, the fire’s doing a lot, but I think I have a blanket in my pack we could give him…”

“Good god. Why are you just mentioning this now? I’m cold!”

“Sure, Yuffie, if you think you’ll be ok without it…” Fletch said hesitantly.

“Of course, Yuffie will be ok without it. She’s got like three layers on. And she doesn’t have hypothermia and she doesn’t seem to be in the corner furthest from the fire…Christ…does he want me to die or…oh yeah…”

“Vince?” Yuffie gently shook his shoulder.

“Hmm?”

“C’mere, we’re gonna move you a bit closer to the fire and you can sit with me, ok?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re cold and we want to get you warmed up, ok?”

“All right…” With an effort, Vincent sat up and let Yuffie help him over to the fire.

“Good. Ok, lie down, I have a blanket right here.” Yuffie let Vincent lie back and gently spread her blanket over his body. “There. Is that better?”

“Yes…thank you…” “Well…if there’s one thing good about Yuffie…she’s warm…”

“Are you gonna go get some more wood for the fire, Fletch?”

“Do you think we need it?”

“Yeah, it’s just if you go now, then you won’t have to go later when it’s darker out…”

“Ok. Good idea.” Fletch got up and exited the cave, leaving Vincent and Yuffie alone.

“Yuffie?” “Ok…I have to try and tell Yuffie again…maybe she’ll believe me this time…”

“Yes, Vincent?” Yuffie prepared herself for another of the semi delusional tangents Vincent had started to go off on, telling herself that it was just because he had moderately severe hypothermia and wasn’t quite thinking straight.

“Is Fletch gone?”

“For the moment.”

“Oh…so he’ll come back?”

“Yes.”

“Damn.”

“What exactly do you have against him, anyway?”

“He’s trying to kidnap you.”

“Vincent, go to sleep.”

“But…”

“You’re tired. You’ll feel better when you wake up.”

“No, I can’t…in the morning, he’ll come with others and…”

“That won’t happen.”

“Yuffie, why the hell won’t you listen to me?”

“Just go to sleep, ok?”

“No! Yuffie, this is important!” “Ow…I really shouldn’t be yelling, but why doesn’t she understand?”

“Don’t yell, just close your eyes, ok?”

“No…”

“Yes. Go to sleep.”

“But, Yuffie…”

“Vincent, I can make you go to sleep. It’s a shinobi trick and I’ll do it if I have to…”

“I can’t…” “She wouldn’t really…I need to tell her…”

Yuffie sighed and laid a hand on his forehead, channeling her energy and forcing it to overwhelm Vincent’s.

“Yuffie, stop…please…” Vincent pleaded, trying to fight off the waves of darkness that were ebbing at his consciousness.

“It’s for your own good.”

“Please…” “Why? Why is she doing this? I need her help…”

“Just sleep Vince, stop fighting it,” Yuffie scolded, frowning.

“Yuffie…”

*

“ Reno?” Rude called, knocking on the door of his partner’s room and pushing the door open a crack.

“Mmph.” Reno was sprawled face down on the bed of his darkened room.

“Wake up, jackass.”

“Huh? They back?” Reno pushed himself up, and promptly groaned and lowered his head back onto the pillow. “Oh god…”

“No, they aren’t back, but I’ve been thinking…”

“That’s a first.”

Rude frowned at his partner and flicked the light on.

“Augh! Rude…that…wasn’t nice…” Reno pulled a pillow over his head. “I’m sorry, turn the light off, for god’s sake…”

“Are you gonna listen to me?”

“Yeah…is there any coffee in this hellhole?”

“Shut up and listen.”

“All right.”

“I’m worried about Vincent.”

“Oh really? Gosh, why on earth would you be worried about Vincent? He’s just stuck on a mountain after being buried in a landslide and a massive rainstorm and in all probability he’s dead…”

“ Reno, shut up. I’m beginning to wonder if maybe he was right about Fletch.”

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever seen him that edgy? I know him well enough to trust his instincts as well as my own. Maybe even more.”

“And? What should we do about it?”

“I think we should go after Fletch and Yuffie. Even if Vincent was wrong, they’ll need our help.”

“It’s almost ten at night and it’s pitch black out there.”

“So? We’ve worked in the dark before…oh…hang on, I get it. You’re too hung over to go anywhere…”

“I am not!” Reno stood up and staggered a bit. “I’ll be fine after I have some coffee…”

“So let’s go.”

“Yeah. How the hell are we going to find them?”

“It’s Yuffie. Do you really think it’ll be that difficult?”

“Whatever, let’s just go…”

*

“I’m back,” Fletch announced, coming into the cave and dropping a pile of wood on the ground.

“Oh, good…umm…can I step out for a moment? I…umm…have to…umm…”

“Go ahead Yuffie,” Fletch said and grinned.

“Thanks Fletch, I won’t be long…” Yuffie scampered out the door and down the pathway to a secluded clump of trees. After finishing her…business…Yuffie headed back for the cave. As she was walking towards the entrance a strong arm grabbed her around the waist and clamped a hand over her mouth. She struggled fiercely with the beast, biting and kicking as hard as she could.

“Stop it.”

Yuffie didn’t listen and kicked harder. “Lemme go!”

“I won’t hurt you. Stop fighting.”

Again Yuffie ignored the command and felt herself lifted off the ground and heard the beating of a pair of wings. “You let me go you big ugly flying bastard!”

“If I let you speak, will you promise not to scream?”

“The hell I will…” Yuffie thought.

“I won’t let you go unless you promise.”

“Oh…fine. I won’t scream, I promise.”

“Good.”

“Who are you?” Yuffie demanded of the unseen force holding her above the air. Yuffie looked down at the ground, some fifty feet below her, thankful she wasn’t afraid of heights.

“You know me.”

“I don’t know anybody who flies around, abducting beautiful ninjas.”

“Think Yuffie. You do know me.”

“Just tell me for god’s sake.”

“Chaos.”

“Tch. Yeah right.” Yuffie felt the pair of arms turn her around and hold her out at arms length as though she were a child. “Oh my god…”

“You are faithless, believing only that which you see.”

“So…Vince wasn’t lying…”

“No, he was not. Have you ever known him to lie before?”

“Well…I don’t believe what he was saying about Fletch…”

“You believe he’s seen me, but not what he says about this Fletch character?”

“I can see you for myself.”

“You believe only what you see?”

“It sure helps convince me of stuff.”

“Very well. I will show you something that will make you believe.” Chaos swooped down, wings stretched out and gliding soundlessly. Yuffie gulped and closed her eyes. This was too much like a ride on the Highwind. She was thankful when Chaos touched down outside the mouth of the cave. She tried to break the demon’s grip so he would let her go back in and see Fletch and Vincent, but he held her tightly. “The others must not know what you have seen. Do not speak; think what you wish to tell me.”

“You can hear my thoughts?”

“Obviously.”

“Sheesh. What do you wanna show me?”

Chaos wrapped his wings around Yuffie, the color of his skin blending with the rocks and hiding her from view as he moved closer to the entrance of the cave. “Be silent and watch.”

Yuffie did as she was bid and peered into the cave. Fletch was kneeling by Vincent who still lay asleep by the fire. “What’s the big deal here? Fletch is just making sure Vince is warm enough…”

“Do not judge what you have seen until it is complete.”

Yuffie watched in silence as Fletch glanced over his shoulder and then roughly grabbed Vincent’s collar, shaking him awake.

“What…?”

“Shut up. I’m asking the questions now,” Fletch growled.

“Where’s…Yuffie?”

“The little ninja brat isn’t here right now. So she won’t be looking out for you.” Yuffie bridled at Fletch’s words and gritted her teeth.

“What do you want?”

“Answers. How the hell did you survive a night in the cold and rain of this mountain?”

“Chaos…”

Fletch glared and delivered a hard blow to Vincent’s chest. Yuffie gasped as her friend flinched and groaned. “Don’t give me that. You might fool the shinobi with your little act, but you don’t fool me.”

“I’m not…”

Fletch hit him again and Yuffie tried to break out of Chaos’s grasp again. “Just watch.”

“What the hell do you mean, ‘just watch’?! He’s hurting Vincent!”

“That is nothing compared to what he’ll do if he knows you’ve seen.”

Yuffie fell sullenly silent, furious for not having seen what Vincent had been trying to show her.

“Now, we’ll try this again. What happened last night?”

“I…told you…”

“Listen, you’ll tell me the truth one way or the other. Tomorrow morning, when Yukio’s men show up for the shinobi brat, I’ll have more effective ways of getting the truth out of you.”

“Yuffie will…”

“Yuffie won’t do anything. She’s a stupid, selfish, little monster and she’s not going to figure out what’s going on in time to save either of you.”

If Vincent answered, Yuffie didn’t hear him as Chaos launched himself into the air. “What do I do?”

“Is there any way you can get in touch with the other two?”

“Yeah…if Vincent has his cell phone and if Fletch didn’t smash it…”

“Try that. Neither of them must know what you have seen, Yuffie. It’s obvious Fletch can’t know, but it’s best to keep it from Vincent as well.”

“Why?”

“To convince Fletch there is nothing going on. Vincent isn’t quite rational at the moment and he might let something slip. You may have the rest of the night to last, any measure of protection you can achieve is worth the effort.”

“So I pretend I still don’t believe him?”

“Yes.”

“That’s gonna be hard…I feel so bad already…”

“You must do it. For both your sakes.”

“I’ll try…”

“You need to do better than to just try, you need to succeed.”

“Fine. I’ll succeed. Lemme down.”

“Very well. Good luck, shinobi.”

Yuffie rubbed her arms as Chaos lowered her to the ground and winged off into the night. “Poor Vincent…I can’t believe what I’ve been doing to him…” She shrugged off the feeling and hurried back to the cave. “Fletch!”

She saw him hastily stand up and turn from Vincent to face her. “Yes, Yuffie? What’s wrong?”

“There was a monster! He followed me! Go kill him Fletch, I’m scared of monsters!”

“All right, where’d you see him?”

“Back there…” Yuffie jerked a thumb over her shoulder.

“Ok…I’ll be back soon.”

“Don’t let him bite you…” Yuffie cautioned, going and sitting down beside Vincent.

“Don’t worry, Yuffie. I’ll be fine…”

Yuffie waited until she was sure he’d gotten far enough away before carefully lifting Vincent off the ground and holding him in her arms. “Hey, Vince…” Yuffie noticed a bruise on his cheek that had definitely not been there before. “God…if I didn’t know…I’d have just blown that off as something that happened in the landslide.” “Wake up, Vincent…”

“Yuffie?”

“Yeah, I’m right here…how are you doing?” Yuffie asked, trying to keep her tone cheerful.

“Bad…very…very bad.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be ok…”

“No…no, it won’t.” Yuffie flinched as she met his eyes. “Yuffie, please…Fletch is…he’s trying to…please believe me…”

“Vincent…” Yuffie began, trying to break away from his gaze.

“I’m not lying, Yuffie. I promise…you don’t have to believe me about Chaos, or about the landslide or about anything else, just believe what I tell you about Fletch.”

Yuffie didn’t answer, still trying to sever the invisible connection she’d unintentionally made when she looked in his eyes. “He wants nothing more than for me to believe him…but…I can’t let him know…I’m sorry Vincent.” “You’re delirious. We’ll get back to Wutai tomorrow and…”

“We aren’t getting back to Wutai tomorrow. I’m going to get killed and you’re going to get used as a bargaining chip in this big political thing.”

“Vincent…”

“I know, I know, go to sleep.”

“I’m sorry, Vincent, I can’t believe you…you don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Yes, I do. You’re the one who doesn’t.”

“Just sleep.”

“Fine. I give up.”

Yuffie sighed as Vincent closed his eyes. She felt so bad. Telling herself that it was for his own good hadn’t kept her from feeling sick when she watched the hope that had flickered in his eyes fade and die. “I’m sorry, Vincent…but…me knowing is better than me not knowing, right?” Remembering the words of Chaos she carefully reached into Vincent’s breast pocket and pulled out his PHS. She glanced over her shoulder, mimicking Fletch’s earlier gesture and selected Reno’s number. She held her breath as the phone rang, negligently laying a comforting hand on Vincent’s shoulder.

“This is Reno and I have a goddamn hangover so I’m very mad at whoever the hell this is because having my PHS ring makes my head hurt.”

Despite his acid tone, Yuffie had never been happier to hear Reno’s voice. “Hi, Reno? It’s Yuffie…”

“Yuffie? Hey, are you ok? Did you find Vincent?…well, obviously you did, because only his phone, Reeve’s and Rude’s have my cell number, but Rude’s standing right next to me so it can’t be him and I don’t think your anywhere near Reeve so…anyway is Vincent all right?”

“ Reno,