To Heal a Shattered Heart

by EagleHeart

My first piece of FFVII fanfiction and the first piece I ever submitted to FF.net. Romantic Drama, centered mainly around Vincent Valentine. First of a series of three. 139 pages in length. Hope you enjoy :) Note: I don't split my work into chapters.

To Heal a Shattered Heart

Chapter 1

"Wow, it's really coming down out there," Tifa commented, gazing out the window of the two-story house she and Cloud shared. A heavy curtain of rain obscured the darkened streets of Nibelheim. Cloud was stretched out on the sofa in his stocking feet, idly watching the fire and eating popcorn.

"Oh, bar mistress? I'm running low on popcorn…" Cloud teased his wife playfully, picking up the near empty popcorn bowl and shaking it so the un-popped kernels rattled.

"And? What do you want me to do about it?"

"Well, I…"

"I mean short of punching you upside your spiky blonde head so you go get it yourself."

"I just thought you would want to know."

"Hmm. Well now I know and I don't care…go get your own popcorn."

"You aren't very nice, you know that?" Cloud sighed and got up from the couch, heading for the kitchen to make more popcorn. Tifa watched him leave as she sat down on the couch and pulled her housecoat around her tightly. Cloud had changed in the two years since their defeat of Sephiroth, he was no longer as indifferent and he was beginning to open up more about his feelings. Everybody had parted ways after their journey was over and were trying to return to their normal ways of life. Barret had moved to Kalm with Marlene while Corel was being rebuilt and had bought a small house. Cid and Shera were living comfortably in Rocket Town and working to rebuild Cid's rocket. Cait Sith had been more or less returned to storage and Reeve was working for ShinRa, which had slowly begun to recover from its massive financial losses with Palmer at the head. Yuffie had returned to Wutai and was hailed a hero while Red XIII had taken up his grandfather's work in Cosmo Canyon and was trying to map the heavens. Vincent was…for all Tifa knew Vincent was dead. He'd been the only one of the group to break off all connections before leaving. No word of where he was going or what he planned to do with the rest of his life. When Tifa and Cloud had finally tied the knot, they had debated searching for him, but decided it was best to leave him alone. Her reverie was broken when Cloud returned and dumped a handful of popcorn on her head.

"Cloud! You're getting butter in my hair!" Tifa said angrily, brushing several of the kernels from her long brown hair. "Have you got any idea what it takes to keep hair like this in the condition it's in?"

"You're in my spot," Cloud said, shrugging. "Think of it as a hot oil treatment or something."

"What would you know about a hot oil treatment?"

"I dunno." Cloud flopped down on the sofa again and put his head in Tifa's lap.

"Whatever." Tifa idly laid a hand on Cloud's chest and began tracing circles with her finger.

"Don't do that, it tickles."

"Oh? My big, strong, mercenary doesn't like being tickled?" Tifa poked her husband in the ribs and he smiled. Suddenly several gunshots rang out above the beating of the rain on Nibelheim's cobblestone streets. Cloud sat bolt upright as Tifa stood up and went to the window.

"What was that?" she asked, peering into the gloom.

"I don't know…maybe I should go check…" Cloud stood up and went to the hall closet to get his sword.

"Don't be stupid, you haven't touched that thing in two years."

"Once a mercenary, always a mercenary," Cloud answered, hefting the sword easily.

"We'll wait until morning to find out."

"I think I should go find out what it was."

"Cloud, it's probably dangerous. Please just stay here…" Tifa pleaded.

"Oh…all right…but if it's something I could help with…"

"You already said you wouldn't go." Tifa went back to the couch and sat down again. "Come lie back down."

"Yeah…I guess I prefer the option of curling up in front of a fire with you to wandering around in the pitch darkness, in the rain, looking for someone with a gun…" Cloud tossed his sword aside and lay back down on the couch, his head comfortably in Tifa's lap.

"Damn straight you do." Tifa scooped up a handful of popcorn and began popping kernels into Cloud's mouth. The couple sat in the relative silence of their living room, each comfortable in the other's presence, blissfully existing in a tranquil state of inertia. Tifa was fairly certain she could drop off to sleep and let Cloud carry her up to the bedroom later at night if he took a mind to it, when a rapping on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"So much for a peaceful night," Cloud grumbled, half sitting up.

"You stay there, I'll get it," Tifa said, standing and pushing Cloud back down.

"Thanks beautiful, I owe you one. How about another hot oil treatment?"

"Very funny." Tifa rolled her eyes as she opened the door. She was shocked at who she found leaning weakly against the doorframe. His normally blood red cloak was soaking wet and appeared almost black in the meager light from the fire that radiated through the doorway and he looked even paler than he had first joined their party in the basement of ShinRa mansion. His gun was held loosely in his right hand and the look in his eyes was haunted.

"Vincent! What are you doing here?" Tifa cried.

"Vincent?" Cloud said getting off the sofa, as their old ally stumbled into the room and collapsed weakly on the floor.

Tifa shut the door quickly as Cloud leapt over the couch and knelt by Vincent's still figure, carefully turning him over. Tifa joined him and gently shook his shoulder.

"Cloud!" she gasped as she pulled her hand away. Her palm was stained bright red, the color of blood. The blood blended perfectly with the rain-drenched cloak and Tifa noticed a patch of the material that seemed almost darker. She pulled away the fabric and found the source of the bleeding. "No bullet hole…" "I'm going to call Lyria, she might make a house call if I tell her it's an emergency…here, help me lift him…"

"It's late, are you sure she's on duty?" Cloud asked as he gently helped Tifa lay Vincent on the couch.

"She always takes the graveyard shift…she says it's usually quieter." Tifa pulled an afghan from the back of the couch and carefully tucked around the inert figure. "Cloud, build up the fire, his skin feels like ice.'

"Gotcha, go call the doctor."

"Right." Tifa went into the kitchen and dialed the hospital number that was scribbled on the pad beside the phone. She noticed her hands were trembling and unconsciously wiped her bloody right hand on her housecoat.

"Nibelheim emergency room, how may I help you?" a bored sounding male voice asked.

"I need to speak to Dr. Lyria Kindred."

"This line is for emergencies only, ma'am, not personal calls."

"This is an emergency!"

"I can't put you directly through to the doctor ma'am."

"Please! It's urgent!"

"I can't redirect calls ma'am, it's against protocol."

"Listen buddy, either you get me through to Dr. Kindred or I'll come down there and do several very painful things that are most definitely against protocol…and several that I'm not certain are anatomically possible, but I'm just dying to find out." Tifa threatened in a tone she hoped got her message across.

"Ah…I'll see what I can do…"

Tifa held the line for a few minutes, glancing at the clock on the wall. Quarter after twelve…Lyria was certain to be on duty.

"Hello, Dr. Kindred speaking. I assume this is Tifa, judging by the emergency operator's description of your threats."

"Hi, Lyria. Could you come down here? We have a bit of an emergency on our hands."

"I don't know Tifa; this is supposed to be a fairly busy night."

"It's an emergency."

"What, did Cloud cut himself with that big butter knife of his?"

"No…"

"I've got three autopsies to do tonight. There was a triple homicide."

"What?!"

"I don't know all the details. From what I understand, someone was attacked in a back alley by some massive winged creature. Two others heard the commotion and came out to investigate, both were slaughtered, but one managed to get off several shots with a handgun. So now we have a murderous winged creature flying around our city, at least it's been wounded though, hopefully the police can find and dispatch it."

Tifa's knuckles were white from gripping the phone so tightly. "Lyria…it's important…"

"What's the emergency? I don't know if I want to risk my life if there's a bloodthirsty murderer roaming the city."

"He's not roaming the city anymore, he's at our house."

"What!?"

"He's here…just trust me, it wasn't his fault…"

"I don't get it."

"Just come over, ok? Surely three dead people can wait longer than someone who's dying…"

"He's dying?"

"Well…no…not exactly…he's hurt."

"All right, I'm coming."

"Thank you, Lyria."

"Don't thank me yet. It's probably going to be my duty to turn him in."

"No. You won't do that. Not after you understand what happened."

"I'm putting my reputation on the line for you Tifa."

"You won't regret it, I promise."

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Dr. Kindred hung up the phone with a sigh, pulling her long brown hair back into a ponytail. While only in her mid-twenties, Lyria Kindred was the only female doctor in Nibelheim. She received a lot of censure from her older male colleagues for her attitude towards patients. Time and time again she'd been told to be objective, not subjective to each case. A doctor who took everything personally would break down or be snuffed out like a candle. They said it was because she was a woman. A weak, sentimental, overall emotionally unprepared woman. She took the night shift because then there was no one to mock her. On a rare occasion, she did take the day shift, but only if there was a case in the maternity ward that none of the men wanted to dirty their hands with or a particularly difficult patient. She spent her breaks in the nurses' lounge rather than the larger, more opulent doctors' quarters, not because she didn't have the status to, but because the nurses understood her problems. None had the guts to go through with getting the medical qualification needed to become a doctor and had opted for nursing to help take care of the sick and injured. Lyria had wanted more. She knew she was smart enough to be a doctor, she knew that she lived in a world of sexual equality, she knew there were more and more female doctors, why couldn't she be among them? She was a good doctor. She knew she was. But, still, her coworkers labeled her as inferior. She had to concede that younger male doctors she'd met and worked with had not always shared this sentiment. Unfortunately, the entire Nibelheim medical staff was comprised of doctors in their fifties and sixties who were set in their ways. Numerous times she'd been approached by friendly, fatherly looking older physicians who wished to offer her a bit of helpful advice.

"Don't take each and every sick little boy or pregnant young woman who comes here to heart. If you form an emotional attachment to each one, sooner or later, one of them will slip away and you'll be left in the dust."

"So you want me to approach these people with a heart of stone?" Lyria asked the senior doctor coldly.

"Goodness no! Go in with a friendly demeanor and try to cheer people up but, for god's sake, don't get to know them! Especially critical condition patients. Let the nurses hold hands. That's what they're here for. If you want to do that then take a dive and become a nurse."

"But I can do so much good as a doctor and a surgeon! I'm sorry, but this is where you fall short. You're supposed to be compassionate and warm and caring. Not distantly friendly and cordial like you are. It's like you aren't even human."

"Years of watching children die and knowing nothing can be done will strip some of the humanity from your soul. We're down here trying to play god and sometimes god'll get irritated and send a curveball at us, just to remind us that we're only human. It hurts when you lose your first patient. It hurts when you lose your second and your third and your fourth and so on. It doesn't stop hurting, but you do learn to numb the pain."

"Profound words from a heart of stone."

"Listen to me Lyria; I'm trying to help you. You'll lose your reputation as a competent doctor if you don't stop trying to leave a mark on everyone's life. You're young. Don't lose your heart in your work. If you give everything to your patients then eventually they'll be nothing left. A pretty young thing like you, fresh out of college, should go meet a handsome young man and settle down. Then you'll understand that there's more to your life than tending the sick."

"Don't tell me how to live my life. I entered this profession because I felt there was enough dignity and worth within the medical world for a woman to be considered equal with her colleagues."

"Well…you are equal…but…you deal with things differently. Medically you're one of the best, but emotionally…"

"What the hell is wrong with my emotions? Don't you understand that there's more to healing a person then patching up their body? What about a person's heart? What about their mind? What about their soul?"

"Medical doctors don't heal minds and souls. That's what shrinks are for."

"It takes so little though…a shred of understanding for five minutes can bring tranquility to a troubled mind. A lighthearted laugh with a sick child can heal a frightened heart. An embrace for a mere ten seconds can soothe a broken soul."

"It takes more than that. We can't have doctors running around laughing and hugging people, it just doesn't work that way."

"Why can't it work that way?"

The question had plagued her since her entrance into the medical profession. Why couldn't it work that way? Lyria sighed and hefted her backpack full of her medical supplies. Another unorthodox way of approaching her job, Lyria often made house calls. She'd found that showing up in the traditional long white lab coat, carrying a black bag and with a stethoscope around her neck only lent to the anxiety of whomever she came to see. Casually dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt with an umbrella in one hand, Lyria didn't want to draw attention to herself as a doctor.

Her thoughts returned to Tifa as she headed out into the rainy night. Tifa. When Lyria's family had moved to Nibelheim, Lyria's family had become close to Tifa's. In a strange sort of way, Tifa brought her into medicine. Years ago when Tifa had landed herself in the hospital, in a coma, Lyria had come to visit. Lyria had been introduced to the whirlwind of activity and action in the hospital. She wandered the hospital and watched paramedics whisk a pregnant woman to the maternity ward; she saw doctors consulting and nurses bustling from room to room. Lyria had found her calling. The excitement, the rush, the feeling that she could be doing good for humanity sent her out of high-school a year early with medical university's begging her to grace their campuses. Eight years of life in heaven, class to class, lecture to lecture, paper after paper of such superior quality that every professor on campus was convinced she had been born with a scalpel in one hand and a caduceus for a birth mark. She'd had friends on campus. Aspiring paramedics, pharmacists, pediatricians, gynecologists, and Mako radiation therapists, all like her, all young and wishing to contribute to humanity. Lyria's aptitude led her friends to joke that she'd been delivered by the first Cesarean section performed from within the womb.

Now, two years after graduation, where was she? In a small mountain town, on a rainy night, going to give medical attention to a murderer who a friend from childhood had picked up. She wasn't even sure her patient would be human. She knew little of what Tifa and her friends had done to save the world. She did know that Tifa had some odd friends who had shown up at her wedding. A big black man with a gun for an arm, a pilot with his head in the sky and his mouth in the gutter, a cat riding an animated stuffed moogle, a member of the ShinRa hierarchy who apparently was with the cat, a talking dog, and a seventeen year old ninja had escorted Tifa and Cloud down the altar. Lyria shook her head as she approached Cloud and Tifa's house. Perhaps now was time for some of that objectiveness she so terribly needed. She took a deep breath and rapped sharply on the door.

--------------------------------------------

"Oh good, that'll be Lyria," Tifa said, obviously relieved as she opened the door. Standing with the thumb of her right hand looped through one of the belt loops of her jeans and her other hand carelessly holding the strap of her backpack; Lyria looked like she'd stepped right out off campus. Nothing like a doctor should.

"Hi, Tifa," Lyria's casual tone matched her appearance, but Tifa knew her old friend Lyr was capable of handling any medical emergency with skill and decisive reasoning.

"Thanks so much for coming Lyr. I knew I could count on you." Tifa warmly embraced her friend. "Please come in."

"Yeah. Where's my patient?"

"Here…he was an ally of ours, back when we fought Sephiroth." Tifa led Lyria to the couch, where Vincent lay asleep.

"You say 'ally', why not 'friend'?" Lyria asked, kneeling down beside the sofa and beginning to unpack her bag. She looked at the young man with evident curiosity. Long black hair, dark clothing, there was obviously a long story here. She glanced up at Tifa, waiting for an answer as she almost subconsciously reached for his left hand to take a pulse. Lyria gasped when her fingers touched cold metal and she looked in alarm at the gold colored claw where she had expected to see a forearm.

"We say ally because we know too little about him to consider him a friend," Cloud answered. "We'll explain it later, once we're sure he'll be ok, all right?"

"Fine with me. I have to admit I am curious." Lyria rolled up her sleeves and carefully unbuttoned Vincent's shirt. Her eyes first assessed the gunshot wound in his shoulder, but she could see it was only one scar of many. "So this is our murderer? I must say he certainly looks the part…"

"He looks almost more like a corpse then he did when we first met him," Cloud commented and Tifa elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"Shut up, Cloud…"

"Yes, do shut up," Lyria agreed. "Why don't you go boil some water? And put lots of salt in it and make sure you boil it at low heat, not high."

"Why?"

"So I can clean the wound. Honestly, don't you know anything at all?"

"Salt water, boiled on low heat?"

"Yes, go already."

"Wouldn't high heat make more sense?"

"No! Not high heat, for god's sake, then the salt molecules will ionize too quickly and…"

"All right, all right, low heat, just stop with the science crap…ok?"

"Go boil my water."

Cloud left the room in a huff, shutting the kitchen door behind him.

"I didn't know the 'go boil water' standby was still effective," Tifa said.

"Sure it is, the modern woman just has to adapt it a bit. Nowadays, it's simply easier to tell them to do the near impossible. Boiling salt water on low heat will take him at least an hour."

"Assuming he doesn't get impatient and turn the heat up."

"So what if he does? We'll be done by then."

"We?"

"Yes. I can't do this alone. He's got a bullet in his shoulder and it needs to come out soon. Normally I would do this in a hospital in sterile conditions with the proper tools and lighting…but, since we have a potential murderer on our hands, I have to make some allowances. Now, there's a bottle of alcohol in the front pocket of my bag, hand me that, a couple sponges, and a pair of tweezers."

Tifa complied and Lyria applied a generous amount of the cleanser to a cloth. "Ok, this is the part where we encounter a slight risk, this is going to hurt a lot, but it's necessary…hold him down while I get this slug out," Lyria instructed.

Tifa nodded and braced her hands gently, but firmly on Vincent's other shoulder and chest. Lyria didn't know half the risk they were running. Tifa knew Vincent changed if he was angry or hurt, but she didn't know how hurt he would have to be before Chaos attacked.

"Ready?" Lyria asked, carefully dabbing the area with the alcohol to clean away some of the blood.

"Yeah, I guess…" Tifa closed her eyes and prayed that in a few seconds she wouldn't have a Chaos demon to deal with.

"Ok, here goes." Lyria took a deep breath and Tifa suddenly felt Vincent's body shudder and tense.

"How long will this take?" Tifa asked, eyes still closed.

"Not long…there…got it…"

Tifa reopened her eyes to see Lyria pressing a bandage tightly against Vincent's shoulder with one hand and holding out a small bullet for Tifa with the other. "Take this and clean it off…make use of Cloud's water."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Unless you want me to send him," Lyria said, gesturing at Vincent.

"Oh ok." Tifa left the room, holding the bullet gingerly in one hand.

Lyria returned her attention to bandaging Vincent's arm. "Sorry about that," she half whispered. "I know it hurt, but it had to be done." Lyria carefully taped her bandage down and rummaged in her bag for a second. "Here, at least I can give you something to help you relax." Lyria removed a syringe from the front pocket of her bag and inserted it into his arm. Almost immediately she felt his muscles relax and his breathing become deeper.

"What are you talking about? Is he awake?" Cloud asked, coming into the room with Tifa.

"If he were awake, wouldn't he answer?"

"Well…I dunno, maybe not, seeing as it's him."

"I'd like to know what's going on here."

"We'll tell you what we know. Come into the kitchen and we'll have coffee or something," Tifa offered.

"Coffee? This late? Sorry, one cup and I'm up all morning…although that might not be a bad idea." Lyria picked up her bag and followed Tifa and Cloud into the kitchen. Cloud plopped down on one of the chairs while Tifa rushed about making coffee.

"I'll tell you what I know, which is really very little…" Cloud took a deep breath. "We met him a couple years ago, when we were fighting Sephiroth…" Cloud continued the story, trying to include as many of the rather sketchy details he knew about Vincent's past.

"I have to admit I find this rather difficult to believe," Lyria said, sipping her coffee. "You're telling me that lying on your couch in your living room you have a sixty year old, shape changing ex-Turk, who doesn't look a day over twenty-seven, carries a rifle, and has a gold claw for an arm?"

"It's sorta difficult to understand…Red XIII would have explained it better…"

"Red XIII the talking dog? Why? Did he have some sort of rapport with our friend in the living room?"

Tifa could tell by the hint of sarcasm in Lyria's voice that she didn't understand. "Red just always understood things better, that's all…I wish Vincent would wake up so we could find out what happened to him."

"Yeah…until then, d'you wanna stay here Lyria?" Cloud offered.

"I would like to, I'm very curious too. But I probably can't, I do have three autopsies scheduled for…" Lyria glanced at her watch, "for an hour ago, so by now I think they've probably called in one of the senior doctors and he's taking care of it…though I'll probably get a nasty dressing down tomorrow. On second thought, I think I will stay here."

"Thanks, I'd like you to be around if he needs any more help. Despite what he looks like…he's not a bad person, he's just sort of dark, or maybe cold is a better word…"

"Sure, glad to do it. If nothing else, I'm intrigued…" Lyria stood up and hefted her bag. "I'll stay up for a while and keep an eye on him and then hit the sack tomorrow morning. You know me; I'm a creature of the night."

"Oh, you're going to like him then." Cloud muttered.

"Hmm? What'd you say Cloud? Didn't quite catch that…" Tifa said, though it was obvious she'd heard. She grabbed her husband's ear between her thumb and forefinger, causing him to wince in pain. "You leave Vincent alone; he's had a hell of a life."

"Christ, Tifa, all right already." Cloud attempted to pull her hand off, but she held firm.

"Come on, now. Bedtime." Tifa pulled Cloud along by the ear. "G'night, Lyria."

"Good night Tifa, Cloud," Lyria answered, entering the living room and collapsing comfortably in an armchair. She fumbled in her bag for a moment and pulled out a medical journal. Casting a final glance at the still form on the couch, she buried herself in her book.

--------------------------------------------

"For god's sake, Tifa, let go!" Cloud whined as Tifa pulled him up the stairs and into their bedroom.

"Fine. But how can you be so insensitive to poor Vincent?" Tifa released Cloud's ear and slipped off her housecoat.

"I don't know, I didn't mean anything by it…"

"Honestly, even after you went through the same thing, knowing Hojo had used you for his twisted experiments."

"Good lord…he's not even conscious, how can I offend someone who's out cold?"

"It's not nice anyway."

"I doubt he'd care even if I told him to his face he looks like a goddamn corpse…"

"Let's just go to bed." Tifa crawled under the blankets and turned her back to Cloud.

"Fine…I'm sorry Tifa…"

Tifa squirmed for a second, hearing the sincere regret in his voice. "Oh, damn you, Cloud. I was almost sure I could go to sleep mad at you."

"I'm sure you tried. I'll lay off the jokes, ok?"

"I'd appreciate it. I can't help feeling bad for him…"

"I guess I sorta do too."

"Of course you do, you aren't heartless."

Chapter 2

Lyria stood at the window, watching the early morning sun bathe gray light over the empty streets of Nibelheim. It was eerily peaceful, Lyria's favorite time of day…or night…or whatever it was. The whole world was etched in the same shade of gray. It seemed there were no shadows or dark corners; everything was the same, equal, safe. Lyria could scarcely believe that the darkness of the evening before in this same, tranquilly neutral stillness, three people had been viciously, bloodily murdered. From the brief description she had been given the evening before, over the phone as the autopsies were scheduled, she had the impression that the wounds the killer inflicted were horrible, almost inhuman. She had yet to fully embrace the concept that she was standing in the same room with the murderer. Lyria was in no way close to understanding the situation. Cloud's information from the previous evening was meager at best. She looked pensively at the sleeping form on the couch.

"How in god's name do you kill three people by accident? I don't try to judge by appearances, but he doesn't look like exactly the type of person one could see being a good addition to society." With a sigh, she decided the matter was a bit beyond her, at least until she could find something else out about Vincent. Licking her lips she headed for the kitchen to get a glass of water. She opened a couple cupboards, looking for a glass. Finding one, she filled it with water and took a pensive sip. It might have been the magnitude of the situation, but she couldn't get Vincent off her mind. She had no idea what it was about him that she found so alluring. Dumping the rest of her water into the sink, she returned to the living room. She was a little disappointed to find Vincent still asleep, but shrugged her feelings off. Idly she dropped into an armchair, closing her eyes and thinking. After a while, her thinking turned to a bit of a half-doze, and she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the man on the couch stir.

She paused to consider the logical course of action. "Tifa's friend or not, he's still a murderer and it might not be in my best interests to let him know I'm awake…"

Cautiously, she watched Vincent through nearly closed eyes, long, thick lashes blocking the view of her eyes and head tilted at such an angle as to make it impossible to tell she could see. She heard him groan softly and, still feigning sleep, shifted a little to get a better view. Suddenly the whole house was silent and still and she could feel he was watching her.

"This guy doesn't mess around…" A few seconds passed. Through half closed eyes, she watched him half sit up and look around, studying his surroundings. She followed his gaze with her eyes, falling upon the short-barreled rifle that lay about half a foot from her chair, about two feet from where he was.

"Ah hah. So that's his game. Take the gun, and take off, with nary a word to his beautiful young savior. Well, not if I have anything to say about it…" Mumbling an unintelligible phrase, Lyira let her hand drop from her side, fingers hitting the barrel of the rifle. She smiled to herself as she heard a muttered curse and closed her fingers around the slim barrel.

"Ok, very good. Now what?" Her question was answered as she felt a very gentle tug on the weapon she held loosely in her grasp. "Mmm…" She heard the dead silence that indicated he'd frozen, watching her intently for any signs of her "waking up". Feeling a tiny movement of the gun in her fingers she grasped it tightly.

"I could be digging myself a very deep grave…" Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt a light touch on her fingers. Intrigued, she didn't respond, wanting to see what the change in tactics was. Touch still careful and almost delicate, she felt her fingers being slowly pried from the barrel of the gun. Throwing caution to the winds, she decided it was do or die and opened her eyes, closing her fingers around his. "And just what do you think you're doing?" For a fraction of a second she caught a glimpse of something resembling surprise in his eyes before he jerked his hand back and made as though to get up and away from her but winced and pressed a hand to his shoulder, falling back against the pillows of the couch with a groan.

"Look, now you've gone and hurt yourself," Lyria scolded, sliding out of her chair and sitting on the floor beside the couch. "Lemme see." She reached towards his shoulder, only to have her hand intercepted halfway.

"Who are you?" Lyria was a little startled by the gravity of his quiet voice, depth of meaning hidden within it almost equal to the depth of pain in his eyes.

"My name's Lyria." She smiled warmly and twisted her hand so her fingers grasped his in a handshake. "Dr. Lyria Kindred, MD, actually, so will you please let me take a look at your shoulder?" She moved her hand again, but he caught her wrist.

"Where am I?"

"Cloud and Tifa's house."

"Cloud and Tifa?"

Lyria rolled her eyes. "Uh huh, Cloud and Tifa. You see, when two people have had the hots for each other since childhood, things like that tend to lead to marriage. Now, let me go, I need to see if you hurt yourself or not."

"They're married?"

"I thought I said that. Lemme go, now."

"No."

"Why not?"

Lyria felt slightly satisfied when he didn't answer, reasoning he hadn't been able to come up with a good response. Feigning a frustrated sigh, she stood up then sat down again, squarely on his stomach as though he wasn't even on the couch.

For the second time in the space of a morning, Vincent looked startled. "Precisely what are you doing?"

"Lemme see your shoulder."

"No."

Lyria looked exasperated, moving her leg to between his torso and the back of the couch. "You're making this hard for both of us…actually, no, you're making it hard for yourself. I could do this all morning."

Vincent looked away and refused to answer, succeeding in looking both irritated and confused at the same time.

"Fine. Be that way." Lyria idly drummed her fingers on his chest, in spite of her impatience; impressed at the taut muscle she could feel.

"Don't do that."

"Hmm? Oh this?" Lyria pointed to her fingers, still tapping their rhythm on his chest. "Don't do this? No, I don't think so. I'm enjoying myself. Fascinating muscle group, the pectorals. Did I mention I'm a doctor?"

"Yes."

"Did you know you got shot in the shoulder last night and if you don't let me look at that it'll get infected and you'll get sick and die?"

"I was not aware of that."

"Don't patronize me," Lyria answered playfully. "Please?" Once again she reached for his shoulder, exalting silently when he didn't stop her. "Ok! Good, consent is won; half the battle is over and done with! Now, would you be a dear and open your shirt, or should I do it myself?"

"What?"

Lyria rolled her eyes again. "I can't see through fabric, silly. Oh, I'll do it…" Her nimble fingers quickly unbuttoned his shirt and pulled the fabric away, revealing a bloodstained square of gauze. "Oh dear…"

"Where did that come from?"

"Last night. I didn't anticipate you moving around a bunch so I didn't take the necessary steps to hold it in place."

"What happened last night?"

"I dunno." Lyria shrugged innocently. "Now, back to the matter at hand. That," she gently poked Vincent's shoulder, "needs to be re-bandaged. But as soon as I get up, you're gonna bolt, aren't you?"

For the first time, Lyria met his eyes for a significant period of time. She could sense he was summing her up, cold scarlet eyes calculating. "That was the plan."

Lyria nodded. "I thought so. I feel like I've got a wild animal cornered, just waiting for me to drop my guard so it can make a run for it. Ah well." She leaned forward, propping her chin her hand and resting her elbow on his chest. "Then it seems we are at an impasse. I can't go get my bandages without letting you go, and you can't get up as long as I'm sitting on you."

"I think you should get off."

Lyria laughed. "I'm sure you'd like that. Nope. Sorry, don't trust you. You're way too tensed up, I can feel it. Besides, I've got the advantage here. Your center of gravity is right there," Lyria poked a finger at the center of his chest. "As long as I stay here, you can't get up. It's physically impossible. I like having the advantage."

"What good does it do either of us for you to stay there?"

"No good for you. I'm enjoying myself."

"And I'm bleeding to death."

"Don't be silly. You wouldn't bleed to death. Besides, by the time you'd lost enough blood to require serious medical attention, I'd be able to get my stuff because you'd be too weak to go anywhere. So I can just stay put until then."

"I don't like you."

"Oh come on," Lyria scoffed. "You scarcely know me! Maybe you'd like me if you got to know me better…Hmm…let me think…well, I'm twenty six and I graduated med-school two years ago…my favorite color is green and I like Wutain food and walking in the rain…"

"Lyr, what're you doing?" Cloud asked, halfway down the staircase.

Lyria turned to Cloud with a bright smile. "Good morn…"

She was cut off as she felt a hand firmly slide around her waist and shove her off the couch.

"Youch!" Lyria exclaimed as she landed hard on the floor. "Guess who's awake…"

"Morning, Vincent," Cloud said, coming down the stairs with Tifa close behind.

"Cloud."

"How are you doing?" Tifa asked.

"I don't know."

"Hold still, 'k? I have to look under that bandage…" Lyria carefully peered under the square of gauze. "So how are you doing?"

"I just answered that question."

"No, you didn't."

"I said I don't know."

"That's not an answer."

Vincent deliberately ignored Lyria who looked mildly chagrined for a moment, but then shrugged. "What happened?"

Cloud looked slightly startled. "I was going to ask you the same thing."

"I don't know what happened."

"How can you not know?" Tifa asked, slightly puzzled. "Don't you remember?"

"What I remember leaves much unaccounted for."

Cloud waited expectantly for him to continue, then sighed and decided he should have known better. "What do you remember?"

"I woke up in an alley, with a terrible pain in my shoulder and I dragged myself to the nearest house."

"That's all? Nothing…nothing with Chaos?" Tifa asked, even more confused.

"Chaos?" Lyria and Vincent spoke at the same time, though Lyria's tone was one of curiosity while Vincent's was sharper, almost worried.

"No…not Chaos…why?"

"Because…" Cloud was hesitant. "There were three people murdered last night…supposedly by a winged demon…"

"What's Chaos?" Lyria asked though everyone seemed to ignore her.

"Are you sure you don't remember?" Tifa persisted.

"N-no…I always remember Chaos…it can't be…I didn't…"

"You must have," Cloud insisted.

"What's Chaos?" Lyria asked again, a little louder than before.

"Come with me, Lyr, we'll make breakfast…" Tifa said, casting a worried glance at Cloud. A sort of silent exchange seemed to take place and Tifa nodded and beckoned to Lyria.

Once in the kitchen, Lyria voiced her feelings. "Tifa what's going on? What're those two talking about?"

"I'm not sure myself…Lyria; do you know exactly what this creature from last night looked like?"

"No, I only heard about it over the phone when they scheduled the autopsies…I just heard about a winged demon creature…"

"Are you sure? There were no details, nothing specific?"

"No. Should we get started on breakfast?"

"You can…I have to make a phone call…"

"Who are you calling?"

"Just…a friend…"

"Friend, not ally?"

"Both."

Lyria sighed and began looking around the kitchen for different cooking utensils. She pulled a carton of eggs from the fridge and found a frying pan.

"Hello, Red?"

"Red? As in their talking dog friend?"

"Yes, it's Tifa…I'm fine, how are you?…that's good….umm…listen…we have a problem…"

"Do they ever…"

"Thanks Red, I know you're always willing to help…listen…have you any idea what Vincent's been doing for the past while?"

"Doesn't she know? I mean, you'd think people who'd saved the world together would keep tabs on one another…"

"No? Do you know if any of the others have seen him?…I see…well, he… umm…he showed up last night…"

"She's awfully calm about this…"

"I think there's something really wrong, we think he went Chaotic last night, but he doesn't remember it…"

"Went Chaotic? Chaos again? What's Chaos?"

"I know what you mean…he's not one to lie, is he?"

"At least I'm finding out something about him…"

"I hate to impose…but could you come down here and help us out? I mean, you've always been the most knowledgeable out of all of us…d'you think you could help?"

"Help? From a talking dog? Well, if he's a knowledgeable talking dog…"

"Oh thanks so much, Red…when can you be here? Great…see you soon…thanks again. Bye-bye." Tifa hung up the phone and turned to face Lyria. "Red's coming."

"I gathered. Tifa, can't you explain this to me? What's Chaos? What did you mean when you said something was wrong?"

"Chaos is…Cloud told you about Vincent's…abilities…Chaos is the demon he changes into."

"Oh my god…so last night…he really was the one…"

"No. Not Vincent. Chaos. Vincent has only partial control over Chaos."

"But he usually remembers what happens when he does turn into Chaos, but for some reason he can't?"

"Right. And it seems he didn't even have partial control this time. Usually he doesn't…change…unless he's injured or angry and when he does he's never attacked an innocent person. He's never done it unprovoked."

"What if he was provoked?"

"But by who? No one in Nibelheim even knows he exists. It's my best guess he's been in the basement of ShinRa Mansion for the past two years."

"The ShinRa Mansion? God, that place is creepy…so he lived there?"

"Well…sorta…he was living in a coffin…"

"A coffin?"

"There's more to the story, but he never really told anyone. Red might know, but I doubt it."

"When will Red be here?"

"Around noon, he's calling Cid to get a ride from Cosmo Canyon."

"Oh. Ok…"

"Are you gonna stick around?"

"Yeah…yeah, I think I will…my life is dull anyway. The other doctors at the hospital don't appreciate me and it'll tick them all off if I disappear for a couple days…"

Tifa giggled. "Sure would, wouldn't it?"

"Yup. All those old bastards are gonna have to start waking up earlier…and staying up later…I think I'm going to bed now, seeing as you and Cloud are up."

--------------------------------------------

Nanaki entered Nibelheim to several stares from townspeople walking the street and headed up the road to Cloud and Tifa's house. He ignored the whispers from the villagers, but when a small child of about three toddled away from his mother and patted him on the head he smiled and sat down on his haunches.

"Hello, little one. How goes life in the world of the two legged?" Nanaki casually asked the child in the ancient words of his tribe for greeting humans.

The child giggled and babbled some nonsense words while tugging on one of Nanaki's ears.

"I see…forgive me child, but I am needed elsewhere…" Nanaki stood and nudged the child in the direction of his mother who was chatting with several other women.

The child bid Nanaki goodbye with a few more unintelligible phrases and toddled back to his mother. Nanaki smiled to himself and continued towards Tifa and Cloud's house, flaming tail swishing idly. When he reached the threshold of Tifa's old home, he pondered how he would alert the couple of his presence. In the midst of his musings, Tifa opened the door.

"Red! I'm so glad to see you again!" Tifa knelt down and wrapped her arms around Red's neck.

"I share your sentiment Tifa, it has been some time." All of Nanaki's old allies called him Red, mainly because it was shorter and seemed less formal than Nanaki.

"Come inside and say hello to Cloud and…Vincent…"

"Certainly. How did you know I was at the door, Tifa?"

"I just waited until precisely noon; you've always been very punctual."

"I see."

Red followed Tifa into the house and into the living room where Cloud was sitting, sharpening his sword (for lack of anything better to do and because it helped calm his nerves) and Vincent was leaning against the wall, arms folded so that his right was covering his left, partially hiding the claw from view. He appeared to be staring at nothing, obviously deep in thought.

"Hello Cloud," Red greeted the mercenary.

"Hey, Red! C'mere, sit down! Been quite a while since I've seen you." Cloud shoved over and Red leapt over the couch to sit next to him. In a friendly sort of gesture Cloud scratched him behind the ears.

"It's good to see you too." Red stepped gingerly off the couch and sat down before Vincent. "Hello, Vincent."

"Red XIII," the answer was distant, almost cold.

"I smell blood. Is that you?"

"Yes."

"Why do you smell of blood?" Red continued his questions, unperturbed at having to ask for an answer every time. Cloud was thankful Red had the patience to accept Vincent's nature.

"Because I have the deaths of three innocent people staining my hands."

"I don't smell that. I smell your blood."

"Some is mine."

"I smell only yours. Not the blood of others. Your hands are clean."

"No, they aren't."

"What of Chaos?"

Vincent finally met Red gaze, eyes conveying a haunted fear. "I do not know. I don't remember Chaos."

"I see…"

"Morning, everyone," Lyria said, coming down the stairs and pulling a sweatshirt over her head.

"Good morning, Lyr," Tifa said.

"How'd you sleep?" Cloud asked.

"Good I guess." Lyria entered the living room and walked up to Vincent. "No good morning?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Vincent didn't answer.

"Be civil," a voice, unfamiliar to Lyria, admonished. "I can tell you're worried, but there's no cause for insolence."

Lyria spun to face the voice and was rather startled by the creature sitting before her. "Oh…hello…"

"Greetings. I'm Red XIII," the creature introduced himself.

"Dr. Lyria Kindred. I'm pleased to meet you."

"Lyria Kindred, best doctor to come out of Midgar University?"

"I hadn't heard that…" Lyria blushed.

"You're one of the few who haven't. There are many of your essays in my medical books from the university. It's an honor to meet so great a physician."

"Oh, I like you, Red," Lyria said happily. "At least you talk to me." Lyria looked rather pointedly at Vincent.

"I barely know you."

"I barely know Red and I like him already. I think you owe me some acknowledgement at least."

"Maybe."

"You know, you're impossible. I'm going to make lunch."

"Do you mind working alone? I should probably stay and hear this…" Tifa said apologetically.

"No problem. What does everyone want?" Lyria asked, unsure of what Red would want to eat.

"I wouldn't mind a sandwich," Cloud said.

"Me too," Tifa added.

"Would it be a problem for you to make me a salad?" Red asked. "I'm a vegetarian."

"No, not at all, I was thinking of having one myself," Lyria answered, liking Red more and more by the minute. "Do you want anything Vincent?"

"No."

"Fine." Lyria left the room in a bit of a stormy mood. "I pull a bullet out of his shoulder and he doesn't even talk to me. I'm trying to be nice; I want to help him…why won't he let me?"

Lyria sliced some bread for Cloud and Tifa's sandwiches and momentarily deliberated making a third for Vincent. "He said he didn't want anything. Maybe…no…I shouldn't…" She took some lettuce, cucumbers and fresh tomatoes from the crisper and tossed them together in a salad, adding a thick ranch dressing and some grated cheese. She continued working for another ten minutes, alone with her thoughts and idly humming.

"Dr. Kindred?"

"Just call me Lyria, Red," Lyria answered, not looking up from her cooking. "Your salad's done." She turned and held the bowl in one hand, uncertain whether Red would eat off the floor or the table.

"Just set it down, thank you."

"Did you come to talk to me?" Lyria sat down at the table and started eating her salad.

"Yes…"

"What about?"

"We've decided to go the ShinRa Mansion. I believe that something triggered Chaos and that's probably the best place to start looking…"

"I'm coming too."

"Why?"

"Because I want to."

"I see…you want to stay with Vincent."

"Why do you say that?" Lyria asked sharply.

"Your mannerisms betray you. Just little things, small movements you make. All humans do it."

"You're being foolish."

"I can see you're attracted to him. You might not even realize it. I have to suggest you stop trying to reach out to him."

"Why?"

"Because you won't get anywhere. His heart has been torn in too many places to be restored by kind words and a pretty face alone."

"I don't think that's true. There's always potential for healing, it just takes different methods sometimes."

"Sometimes the cure is more painful than the disease."

"Red, I've lived a life of controversy as a doctor. I've been criticized in many different circles because I try to heal more than the body. I know I'm a good doctor; the fact that people use my works in textbooks is proof of that. I want to be a good human being too."

"You are, Lyria. The light of compassion shines from your heart…but sometimes the darkness in a person's soul overcomes that."

"Darkness is merely the absence of light."

"I must say, you argue well for one so young."

"How old are you?"

"About fifty, but were I human I would be the equivalent of twenty."

"Can you explain something to me?"

"I will try."

"How old is Vincent?" Lyria asked, ignoring the fact that her curiosity confirmed her interest.

"About twenty seven."

"But, Cloud told me he was…"

"He was born sixty years ago."

"You just said…"

"Age and maturity are two different things. He was born close to sixty years ago, but he's only lived for half that time."

"He's been dead?"

"Not physically, but emotionally and mentally. If a child of four is taken from the environment of learning and growth for fifty years when returned they will still have only the experience of a child of four."

"But he doesn't look sixty…"

"He isn't."

"I've heard of people being locked in stasis…does that defy the aging process?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"I don't get it."

"Then perhaps this is a path of knowledge you shouldn't follow."

"It doesn't sound like a well worn path. I'm going to try and find my way down it."

"You'll either hurt him or yourself in the process."

"I think we've both been hurt enough to handle it once more."

"I wish you luck, not because I approve, but because you'll need all the help you can get to deal with what you learn on this path."

"This has been a very…metaphorical conversation, Red. I hope you don't think any less of me for my beliefs."

"I assure you I don't. Souls such as yours could heal many with a mere touch…but sometimes it requires infinitely more than that."

"When an infinite soul is required, I'll know I've met my match." Lyria picked up the plates with Cloud and Tifa's lunches on them and stood up. "I should feed the other two…do you think I should make something for Vincent?"

"He won't want anything."

"Why not?"

"I don't think he's concerned with eating right now. He's got more to worry about."

"Like what?"

"Do you understand what has happened to him? The ending of an innocent life weighs heavily on a person. I know he seems awfully dark, but he's human just like anyone else. Maybe even more."

"Tifa said it wasn't his fault."

"It wasn't, but when a patient dies from an inescapable complication you still feel the blame."

"That's an awful feeling…"

"Then perhaps you understand what he's going through."

"Yeah, I guess I do. Thanks Red, you seem to understand him a lot better than everyone else."

"I understand most humans, save the crazy ones."

"That's reassuring."

Chapter 3

"So we're going to the ShinRa mansion?" Lyria asked, entering the living room and setting a plate of sandwiches in front of Cloud and Tifa who sat on the couch.

"We?" Surprisingly, Vincent spoke first from where he had moved to the corner by the window and resumed his aimless staring.

"Yup. I'm coming too."

"No. You aren't."

"Yes, I am."

"No."

"Yes. Don't bother arguing with me. You're not going to make me stay unless you tie me to a pole and leave me to starve."

"Cloud, have you got any rope?"

Lyria blinked. "Is he serious? Or is this an uncharacteristic joke?"

Tifa smiled. "I don't mind if you come. It could be helpful to have a doctor along."

"I'm not against it either. What do you think Cloud?" Red asked.

"Fine with me. Sorry, Vincent…" Cloud turned to the corner of the room where Vincent had been standing, but he was gone. "Aw, hell. Where'd he go?"

"Probably the ShinRa mansion," Red said.

"He doesn't take well to losing arguments, does he?" Lyria commented.

"I don't think he gets into many arguments in the first place." Tifa pulled a pair of gloves onto her hands and smacked one fist against her palm. "I'm ready."

Cloud picked up his sword and slung it over his back. "Me too."

"Let's go," Red said.

--------------------------------------------

"This place is creepy…" Tifa and Lyria whispered in unison, staring up at the stern visage of the tumbledown mansion.

"The gate's open, Vincent's here," Red noted, leading the way up the path to the ivy-covered mansion.

"How can he stand being here alone?"

"It's not the sort of thing that bothers him. Being here with other people is what would make him uncomfortable."

The group entered the foyer, dimly lit by the grimy windows.

"So where do we go?" Lyria asked.

"We'll check the basement first," Red answered, loping up the stairs. The others followed, Lyria nervously glancing around. She could almost feel the presence of other beings in the mansion, and the place was musty and stuffy with age. There was a heaviness atmosphere that seemed almost weighted with sorrow. If these walls could talk, what stories would they weave?

"Why are we going upstairs to get to a basement?" Lyria asked.

"It's a secret basement."

"Oh. Typical. Freaky haunted mansions always have secret basements."

"Usually."

They entered a room and Lyria looked around curiously. "Where's the staircase?"

Cloud walked over to a wall and began prodding it in various places. "It's behind here, I can never find the goddamn…" he was cut off as the door suddenly swung open and knocked him to the ground.

"Good job, Cloud, you found the goddamn switch!" Tifa congratulated her husband and helped him to his feet.

"If it wasn't already open, does that mean Vincent didn't go down?" Lyria reasoned.

"Maybe." Red stepped through the doorway and proceeded down the staircase.

Lyria made as though to follow him, but stopped when she saw the rickety boards spiraling around the inside edge of the tower. "Oh god. I can't go down those."

"Come on Lyr. It's not that bad." Tifa jumped up and down on the makeshift staircase to demonstrate her point.

"Tifa! Stop that! If you fall then I'll have to figure out a way down because you'll break your stupid neck!" Lyria backed away. "I'll just stay up here…"

"Are you sure? There are monsters…" Cloud cautioned.

"I'll be ok; I'll stay in this room."

"If you're certain…"

Cloud and the others disappeared down the staircase, the secret door swinging shut behind them. Lyria paced the room for about five boring minutes, then abandoned her promise and walked down the hallways of the mansion silently. Her mind saw past the dingy, tattered furnishings into the far past, when the mansion must have been beautiful and full of light. Even with age the old place had held up extraordinarily.

"I'd love to have lived here when it was beautiful…"

Lyria continued down the hallway, eventually wandering into a ballroom.

"Oh wow…this is…" Lyria gazed around the room with wide eyes. Through the veil of her imagination she saw chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and couples waltzing daintily. The piano in the corner was repaired and a delicate minuet floated through the room. The scene flickering before her mind's eye was suddenly marred as a freakishly writhing creature stumbled forward, hands extended for her throat. Lyria's mouth dropped open and she was about to scream when gunfire erupted from behind her. The creature lurched backwards from the force of the bullets entering its body. Lyria clamped her hands over her ears and closed her eyes tightly as the shot grew louder and more powerful. When she next dared to open her eyes, the creature was slumping to the floor. Lyria turned to see Vincent, gun still smoking in one hand.

"I told you not to come."

"Well, I came anyway, now didn't I?"

Vincent didn't answer, but instead came forward and prodded the body in the middle of the floor with his foot. Lyria, ever curious, came forward and examined the creature. Without warning it suddenly twitched and wrapped a sinewy undead hand around her ankle. This time Lyria did scream and backed into Vincent who, apathetic as always, raised his gun and blew the creature's entire head off. The hold on her ankle was released and she hurriedly backed further away from the now immobilized beast.

"Th-thanks…" Lyria stammered, rubbing her ankle in an attempt to alleviate the feeling the cold, clammy hand had left. She laughed nervously and walked to the piano, eying it with mild interest. Vincent watched as she approached, almost cautiously, and peeked inside, perhaps looking for more monsters. Apparently satisfied with the relative safety of the instrument she sat down at the bench and ran her fingers over the keys.

"Do you play?" Vincent asked.

"Do you care?" Lyria answered. She played a few random notes, fingers skipping lightly over the keys, and then a simple melody took shape. She winced as she hit a sour note then got up, kneeling on the bench. She reached in and started to toy with the strings on the piano. She struck the out of tune key several times after each adjustment until she was satisfied. "Do you play?"

"I used to. I can't anymore." He held up his left hand. "I can barely do anything with this…there's no feeling in it."

"You know, I've never heard you say that many words consecutively. Come sit down…there's some music here, I'll play the left hand part and you can play the right."

"I haven't played in years."

"Neither have I."

Vincent didn't answer, but, somewhat to Lyria's surprise, he came to sit beside her and placed his fingers on the keys. He glanced at the music and Lyria saw a flicker deep in his eyes. A memory resurrecting itself.

"I wonder how long this piece has been here." Lyria murmured studying the music.

"A long, long time…"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had taken Vincent all of almost two days, but he'd done it. The ballroom was more or less immaculate. Well, not really, but it was a hell of a lot better. The room's trash had been taken out. He'd cleaned the windows, and repaired the piano. The floor and walls had been rid of dust, cobwebs, dirt, and bat droppings. He'd fixed the chandelier, so it lit up. It didn't look professionally cleaned; not in the least, but the room was much better. Best of all, none of the others knew! He looked over the room one last time, with the proud expression of a successful labourer on his face, and went to get the scientists...and Lucrecia.

He walked to the lab, and gently knocked on the door. A muffled exchange of muted tones came from the other side of the door. "Come in, Mr. Valentine." Gast said softly. "Do be careful."

Vincent lightly opened the door, and looked inside. Lucrecia was sitting in an office chair, a DNA strand model spinning on a computer screen next to her. Gast was next to a small tube, studying whatever was happening inside of it. Hojo had completely ignored Vincent, and was looking through a microscope, in another world. There were small wires meshing the floor, and multiple tabletops were covered with notebooks and sample jars. "Have I come in at a bad time?" he asked mildly.

"Not at all, Vincent," Lucrecia said with a slightly tired smile. "It's just patience from here, for a while."

Vincent nodded slightly. "If you could, I have something to show you. I figured I'd give you a break, if you wanted one." He walked off, back towards the ballroom.

The scientists traded glances, and both Gast and Lucrecia left the room. Hojo lifted his eyes from his studies, and, sighing with irritation at the interruption, followed his colleagues out the door.

Vincent's usually serious, passive face shone with pride as he opened the ballroom door. Lucrecia gasped, and clapped her hands in delight. "Vincent! It's beautiful!" She walked into the room, and circled, taking it in.

Gast calmly entered the room, and studied it. "I'm impressed, Vincent. It looks great!"

Hojo's comment was as Vincent suspected. "Wonderful. I'll be in the lab if you need me." He left the room. Vincent shook his head, and walked into the room. He had hosting duties.

"I never knew we had such a nice view of the mountains." Lucrecia breathed. "We missed a lot getting straight to work." Beyond the filthy panes of glass had hid a picturesque view of the Nibel Mountain Range. Between two trees, standing like a living picture frame, was a sweeping view of the lower mountains and cliffs. Despite the town's ambient light, stars sparkled above, a finishing touch on the majestic view. "I've got to see this at sunrise...The sun will light up one side of the mountains inch by inch, until the entire range is a shimmering tower of snow and stone." She turned as the sounds of rain and water came into focus in her mind. She turned towards the sound, and laughed.

"Vincent! You play?"

"I'm rusty. I haven't played since..." Memories of Kalm filled Vincent's mind...When his mother had taught him how to read music...Making his little sister laugh so hard as he played that they'd thought she would bust...Playing during the holidays... Duets with his mother, while his sister had sang with her nightingale voice... A tear welled in one eye. He shook his head, his brown eyes hardened. "...Not for a long, long time."

Lucrecia sat down on the repaired piano bench, next to him. "You play beautifully."

Vincent never knew just why he opened his mouth next. Was it her eyes? Her compliment? Had the hard work let down his guard? Had the memories truly cut him so deeply?

"You...You are beautiful, Lucrecia," he said softly, his voice cracking. "You... You've always been beautiful."

A tear shone in Lucrecia's eye, and she kissed him softly. Their eyes widened in surprise, and closed as they kissed again, and again...Stopping only because they suddenly realized that Professor Gast was in the room.

Vincent approved. If looks could kill, Lucrecia's stare could have killed Gast more times than Vincent had killed at all. Gast disappeared, half running, half growing wings and flying for dear life out of the room.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You start," Vincent said quietly, breaking out of his memory. There were too many memories in this cursed house. At least the memories in this room were warm, almost tender. Not like the memories from the basement, where the nightmares were not mere dreams, but the rebirth of reality.

"What?" Lyria asked, slightly confused.

"You start. The left hand plays first."

"Oh. Ok…" Lyria began the piece, introducing the chords with the perfect volume and depth. As Vincent began to play Lyria's right hand twitched to the side and touched his left. The cold metal made her shiver slightly and she glanced at him to see if he'd noticed. Vincent was still absorbed in the complicated melody that dominated the upper measures as Lyria's hand moved once more and she curled her fingers around his. A strange tingling feeling ran up her spine and she returned her attention to the piano. The left hand part was getting to be more than simple chords, as she started to echo Vincent's part. Vincent spared a half glance at the lower measure. It was unlikely that Lyria could keep up with the melody now that it had become swifter and he deliberated slowing down. To his surprise Lyria kept perfect pace with him and even looked at him questioningly when his tempo almost slowed. On a sudden impulse, he increased his speed, Lyria grinned and did the same, fingers blurring as she mimicked each bar he played. She reached up and turned the page with her free hand and in the momentary lapse she missed a note and their hands suddenly collided. Lyria laughed out loud and Vincent's eyes almost registered mild amusement.

"Oops. Well, it was your fault for speeding up." Lyria giggled again.

"It wasn't my fault, you hit a wrong note."

"Only because I was turning the page."

"Why didn't you let me?"

"I didn't think you would turn it in time, I was looking at my part, not yours…"

"Oh."

"Quiet all of a sudden? What, did your voice give out from talking to me so much?"

"No."

"Hey, c'mon, a minute ago, you wouldn't shut up…"

"We should go find Cloud and the others." Vincent stood up and stepped away from the piano, towards the door.

"If you say so." Lyria stood up and tripped over the bench in her haste to catch up with Vincent.

"Graceful."

"I believe the phrase is 'damn clumsy'." Lyria corrected, standing up and brushing herself off.

"That would have been rude."

--------------------------------------------

"Well…I don't think Vincent did this…" Cloud remarked, looking around the room full of coffins, all of which were lying in splinters with bits of corpses scattered about.

"No…it looks to be the work of Chaos…meaning when it struck he was sleeping and he immediately left the room afterward," Red said, sniffing the air distastefully.

"So where do we go from here?" Tifa asked.

"I think we should look in the lab for Hojo's notes…perhaps there'll be something pertaining to Vincent there…"

"Good idea."

Red headed down the hallway to the lab. Once there he began searching the lower shelves for titles that looked relevant. Tifa and Cloud joined him and scanned the shelves above his range of vision.

They searched in silence for a while until Tifa finally spoke, "Hey, Red? D'you think this might be something?" She pulled a dusty volume from one of the higher shelves and opened it on the floor in front of Red. Hojo's spidery script laced the pages of an old log, recording all of the scientist's progress. Red opened to a random page and hit pay dirt.

…of course, he won't be my main project, just a sort of hobby. Once Lucrecia gives birth I can begin to relax and perhaps tinker with him some more. Worthless fool, standing in the way of Jenova…he has paid dearly. Maybe I can have some fun with the control device; once it's activated…I could cause such havoc without risking any harm to myself. Dear Vincent, even in a state of inhumanity you shall be my servant, far better behaved now that I have better control of you.

Red stopped reading; he could take no more of Hojo's madness. Even from beyond the grave Hojo was managing to instill pain in the lives of those his insanity had touched. Red sighed and continued with the next entry.

We'll be returning to the ShinRa headquarters soon. The one thing I regret about the loss of Vincent is that we can no longer carry out our operations without his protection. Hopefully the other Turks will not be suspicious of his loss. They're a closely-knit organization surprisingly enough, perhaps because all Turks seem to have their families slaughtered when they're drafted or join because they've nothing left. Ah well, the journey there should be interesting. I believe I shall leave my logs here, perhaps with a note giving hints to the resting place of my creation. I think on the ride to Midgar I'll fully chronicle my experiments with the Turk; it's always nice to have notes to look back on. Lucrecia doesn't know half of what I did to him. Not only can he transform, but, to a degree, I can trigger his transformations, I'll include the rest of the details on the way to Midgar. Here ends this log.

"It ends there…" Red murmured. "We were so close…"

"What does this mean?" Tifa whispered, horrified.

"I'm not certain, but the part about controlling Vincent has me worried," Cloud said, picking up the book. "Let's get out of here."

"Yeah, I hate this place…" Tifa agreed, almost running out the door and down the hallway. She ran up the staircase to find Vincent at the top attempting to coax Lyria down the stairs. Lyria was crouched at the top hugging her knees to her chest and refusing to move. Vincent looked mildly irritated, but not yet to the point of giving up and leaving Lyria alone.

"Tifa! Are you guys done? I don't have to go down there, do I?" Lyria cried, noticing Tifa.

"Yeah, we're about finished…"

"Did you find anything out?" Vincent asked.

"Yes…I don't think you're going to like it though…"

"I've never liked anything that's come out of this house."

"This is a bit worse…"

Vincent's laughter was hollow, almost mocking. "Worse? I didn't know this could get worse…"

"Trust me, it can and it has…" Tifa handed Vincent Hojo's log, holding her finger at the crucial page.

"What do you mean Tifa?" Lyria asked, chilled by Vincent's reaction.

"Let's head back to my house and we'll explain what we found there…" Tifa looked at the pair curiously. "What were you doing up here anyway?"

"Nothing," Lyria answered. "I was just wandering around a bit." She glanced at the spot where Vincent had been standing moments earlier. "He did it again…back to your house?"

"Yeah probably…"

--------------------------------------------

Tifa, Cloud, Red, and Lyria arrived at Tifa's house, and to their collective surprise found Cid, unsuccessfully attempting to converse with Vincent.

"Howdy all! Just droppin' by to pick up Red! Been quite a long time!" Cid yelled even though the four were well within earshot.

"Hello Cid," Red greeted the pilot.

"God, it's good to talk to somebody! Been standing with him," Cid jerked a thumb at Vincent, "and he don't say two words."

"We've got a problem Cid," Red informed him.

"Yes. Me." Vincent said quietly.

"Heh. Look at that, he said two words." Cid saw everyone was serious and forgot his joke. "What's the goddamn problem?"

"This is the problem." Vincent handed Cid the book he'd been holding.

"#$&%! We got trouble…" Cid said as he finished reading and almost unconsciously took a step away from Vincent.

"Yes, we're all agreed that '#$&%! We got trouble'," Cloud said sarcastically. "What do we do about it?"

"Well we sure as #$&% are gonna need more information than this."

"Would you mind laying off the gutter mouth? You seem to be forgetting you're in the presence of ladies," Lyria chided the pilot.

"The hell? Who're you?" Cid asked, noticing Lyria for the first time.

"Dr. Lyria Kindred, sailor. Watch your mouth."

"Friggin' hell! You don't tell me what to do!"

"Cid!" a sharp voice from above scolded. "We agreed when we got engaged that you were going to lay off the swearing!"

The group looked up to see Shera on the deck of the Highwind, beaming and waving down.

"Engaged, Cid?" Tifa asked mildly.

Cid flushed slightly and muttered something. "It was Shera's idea…"

"I see."

"You all get up here on the airship! We've got catching up to do!" Shera shouted.

Chapter 4

Later, when everyone was relaxing comfortably on the Highwind, they began to discuss the issues at hand.

"First off, we're getting' Barret, an' Yuffie, an'…Reeve, I suppose…" Cid said, propping his feet up on the table in the meeting room and sipping a cup of tea Shera had prepared for him.

"Why do we need to alert the others?" Vincent asked, he was the only one of the group who had remained standing.

"'Cause we're Avalanche and we always stick together," Cid snorted. "We should at least get Barret. He's big enough to handle Chaos if…"

"I can control it if I have to." Vincent shuddered. "But…it's very, very hard."

"If you can stop it why don't you do it more often?" Cloud asked.

"Cloud, you have no idea how painful it is, just changing is agony, slowing the transformation down and stopping it is…" By some strange twist of fate, or perhaps by the hand of an unseen entity, Vincent was cut off and sank to his knees on the ground.

"Vincent!" Lyria cried, kneeling beside him. "What's wrong?"

Cloud grabbed her arm and pulled her away. "Get back, he's changing…I don't know if he'll be able to stop it…"

"Let's get out of here!" Cid directed, ushering the others out the door. Lyria lingered for a moment, still spellbound by Vincent's transformation until Cloud grabbed her again and dragged her out of the room

Cid and Cloud both slammed the heavy doors to the meeting room and Tifa pulled a large barrel in front of them.

"What are you doing?" Lyria exclaimed, broken out of her fascination. "You can't just leave him there!"

"If he changes while we're there, we'll have to take him down or be killed. This way at least we've bought some time…" Cloud looked at the doors, which now seemed very flimsy with the prospect of Chaos ripping through them in the other room. "It's not a heck of a lot of time though…"

"So we just wait?" Lyria asked, glancing worriedly at the doors.

"Yeah…that's about all we can do…" Tifa sighed and sat down on top of the barrel.

"How long?" Shera asked, speaking for the first time.

"I'm not sure…What do you think Red?" Cloud asked.

"I do not know. I wasn't even aware he could stop his transformation…"

Everyone waited in silence, Red swishing his tail nervously, Tifa examining her shoes as she dangled her legs over the side of the barrel she sat on, Cloud pacing and Cid lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. A muffled and very weak sounding moan interrupted the silence and they all jumped as though a cannon had been fired. Tifa kicked aside the barrel and Lyria rushed into the room. Vincent was slumped against the wall and he shuddered as Lyria knelt and gently laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Vincent?" she half whispered, slipping an arm around his shoulders and helping him sit up. His breathing was shallow and uneven, almost ragged and Lyria lightly pressed a hand against his chest to feel for a heartbeat. "Oh, Vincent…" Tears of sympathy welled in Lyria's eyes. "I'm so sorry…"

"For…what?"

"I don't know…because there are people out there who would inflict this sort of pain and suffering on another human being…" One of the tears fell from her emerald eyes and she rubbed it away with her free hand.

"It's not your fault…this is…my punishment…"

"No one could do anything to deserve this…oh god, Vincent this is horrible…" A choked sob escaped her lips and she closed her eyes. "Are you going to be all right?"

Vincent awkwardly patted her hand in an atypical attempt to comfort her. "Yes. I'll be better after I rest a bit…"

"I…Cloud, you help him…I have to go…" Lyria carefully slipped her arm from around Vincent's shoulders and ran out of the room.

"What's her problem?" Cid muttered. "Shera, go talk to her."

"Right, Captain." Shera gave Cid a mock salute and headed out the door after Lyria.

"Do you think you can stand?" Cloud asked Vincent, offering him a hand up.

"Yes…" With Cloud's help Vincent managed to rise and Cid helped him to one of the rooms Shera had insisted be made up for living quarters.

"So now what?" Tifa asked when Cid came back.

"I dunno. I guess we call the others."

"You do that and I'll go find Shera and Lyria," Tifa decided.

--------------------------------------------

"Lyria?" Shera called softly, peeking into the small stable room. Lyria was perched on a crate, crying softly. The Chocobos who stood in the room were warking quietly from time to time in response to Lyria's sobs.

Lyria wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "H-hi Shera…"

"What's wrong?" Shera sat down next to the young doctor and wrapped an arm comfortingly around her shoulders.

"I just…I…I feel so bad for Vincent…it's not fair…" Lyria sniffed and dabbed at her eyes with the handkerchief Shera gave her.

"It's terrible isn't it? But you mustn't let it get you this upset…"

Lyria managed a strained laugh. "Yeah. I guess the other doctors are right…I am weak and sentimental…"

"Oh no! Honey, don't you ever say that!" Shera exclaimed. "I bet others mock you for your feelings and the passion you put into your job, even though you know in your heart that your way is right…"

"Uh huh…" Lyria sniffled again.

"And even when you feel like giving up and being a cocktail waitress or something else that will make people appreciate your femininity, you stick to it because you know that your way makes peoples lives better…"

Lyria giggled, this time for real. "Yeah…"

"That is what makes you such an incredible doctor…you let your heart mix with your work. You take the time to make friends with your patients and that gives you the motivation to go all-out to pull them through."

"Oh, Shera, I didn't think anyone would ever understand…" Lyria said gratefully.

"I do, Lyria, believe me…I know what it's like to get your heart so tangled in your work you forget everything else…or…if you get your heart tangled up with your patient…" Shera looked meaningfully at Lyria who blushed.

"I didn't think anyone else would notice…" she whispered.

"Don't worry, hon, I know what it's like." Shera smiled. "I cost Cid his entire space career because I loved him…" Shera hesitated. "No, let me rephrase that…Cid cost himself his entire space career because I loved him and he loved me back."

"Wasn't he mad?" Lyria asked.

"Mad as hell…but he had to decide which was more important to him, his dreams or me…I feel bad that I cost him so dearly, but I'm glad he chose me."

"I think he's glad too…" Lyria stood up. "Thanks Shera, I feel so much better…"

"Hey, did I miss the cheering up?" Tifa said, entering the stable. "Hi, Lyria…are you ok now?"

"Yeah. I was just so horrified that there are people out there who would willingly do…that…to someone…"

"Hojo wasn't sane. He couldn't have been," Tifa declared.

"Thanks for helping me…how's Vincent doing?" Lyria asked.

"He's asleep. He meant what he said about halting his transformation being difficult. He's pretty much physically and mentally exhausted himself."

"Oh. I think I'll go to bed too. It may be early in the day for you people, but it feels like midnight for me. Is there somewhere I can sleep?"

"Sure, follow me," Shera instructed, leading Lyria down the hallway to a plain looking door. "Now, be quiet here…that's Vincent's room…"

Lyria tiptoed past and entered the adjacent room where Shera was pointing. "Thanks. I'm sorta tired…Good…umm…morning you guys, I'm going to bed."

"Have a good sleep Lyria," Shera said as Lyria shut the door behind her. She undressed and pulled her nightshirt over her head (she'd run home to her apartment before they'd left and packed her things in another backpack). Crawling under the blankets of the surprisingly comfy bed, she let her mind drift to the man in the next room.

"I want to help you Vincent…please…just let me try…"

--------------------------------------------

"Lyria."

Lyria froze in her tracks; she was almost certain she had been silent coming up onto the deck to get a look at the stars. And yet Vincent even with his back to her and seemingly absorbed in the movements of the heavens still knew she was there. "Hi, Vincent…"

"It's late. Why are you awake?"

"This is like mid morning for me. I worked the night shift; back at the hospital…you make an adjustment after two years."

"Oh."

"Are you feeling better?" Lyria asked, coming to stand beside him and leaning against the rail.

"Yes…I'm sorry I upset you." His statement was toneless, more something to say than a genuine apology.

"It's…it's all right. Really, it was my fault. I'm too sensitive sometimes…"

Vincent didn't answer instead he continued staring out at the stars.

"Where are we?" Lyria asked, looking down at the ground for some sort of landmark.

"Wutai area. We're picking up Yuffie Kisaragi tomorrow."

"Who?"

"A friend of Cloud and Tifa's."

"Not your friend?"

"I can't remember the last time I called someone a friend."

"What about Cloud and the others? You could even call me a friend...if you wanted…"

"My friendship would be a burden."

Lyria sighed. "Vincent…I don't understand you…"

"What?"

"I mean…when we were in ShinRa mansion…you were…well, almost kind. When we were playing together, you nearly smiled…now you seem so cold…"

"Memories in that place…make me let my guard down sometimes."

"Memories? Or is it me?"

"You? No…"

"Are you sure it can't be me? Just now you let something slip. You said memories of ShinRa mansion make you drop your guard. Why?"

Vincent remained silent; Lyria hadn't really expected an answer anyway so she continued. "I wish you would talk to me. It's sort of a habit for me to get to know my patients; I'd like to know you."

"You still consider me a patient?"

Lyria punched him lightly on his wounded shoulder and he flinched. "If that still hurts, you're still a patient. If you aren't going to talk to me, I'll have to tell you my life story…"

"I'm sure it's better than mine."

"If you say so. Umm…let's see…where should I start? Well, I was born in Mideel…my parents were Laura and Dawson Kindred and I had a big brother named Lore…" Lyria smiled sadly. "We lived in Mideel until my brother was about fifteen and I was around six. Then my father was transferred and we moved to Nibelheim. I'm lucky I had my brother, I know I used to annoy him sometimes, but I don't think he really minded…"

"Hey, Lore!" Lyria shouted, running down the pathway leading from her house. "Where're you goin' Lore?" Lyria managed to catch up to her brother who was walking down the sidewalk, but caught the toe of her sneaker in a crack and tripped.

"Lyri!" A tall youth with sandy blonde hair and gray eyes knelt down beside his sister. "I told you not to run with your shoelaces untied."

Lyria's lower lip trembled as she stared at the scrape on her knee. "Lore…I got a cut…" She sniffed and tears slipped down her cheek as she examined the tiny wound. The salty water landed on her cut and she gasped. "Lore, it hurts…"

"Don't worry kid, I'll make it better." Lore pulled an ordinary marble from his pocket. "Know what this is Lyri?"

"W-what?"

"It's a healing materia. D'you want me to make your cut get better?"

"You can use materia? I thought only ShinRa soldiers got t'use materia…" Lyria stared wide-eyed at the marble. It didn't really look all that magical, but if Lore said so, it must be true… "You gonna make it better Lore?"

"Of course, Lyri. Just hold still…" Lore rolled the marble around his sister's knee while she watched breathlessly.

"Is it working Lore? My cut's still there…" Lyria sounded slightly disappointed, but didn't consider for a second that her brother had lied to her. "Is the materia broken, Lore?"

"It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"No…"

"Then it worked."

Lyria examined her knee again. A childish imagination deduced that the cut was even starting to look better and she hugged her brother. "Thank you Lore! I love you!"

"No problem kid, that's what big brother's are for."

"You would have liked Lore, you sorta remind me of him sometimes. When you're really quiet and you're just thinking, Lore used to do that…he always looked so funny, because his hair would fall in his eyes and he wouldn't even notice because he was thinking so hard." Lyria smiled. "I remember I used to ask him what he was thinking about and he told me I wouldn't understand. But I kept asking and then one day he told me he was thinking about life and how it was all stretching out in front of him and he had so much to do with it he didn't know where he would find the time. I told him he should go start doing things instead of spending all his time thinking about the future…"

"Did he?"

"Yes. He went out and he tried to do it all. Everything he was looking forward to. I loved Lore so much…" Lyria said, half to herself.

"What happened?"

"He…died…Mako poisoning from when he joined Soldier. He was only eighteen…" Lyria said softly.

"I'm sorry. I lost my little sister when I was young…after I was drafted."

"Drafted?"

"Not everyone joins the Turks willingly."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vincent gasped for air as he ran through the alley. They were on his tail again. He jumped onto the flight of stone steps, and shot up them in a second. He needed to get to the tower, and fast. He climbed onto the General Store's roof, and calmed his nerves. Once steadied, he spread his arms, and leaped onto the old tower's closest battlement. He could hear the dark suited men below him, having finally noticed him. If only the sun had gone down! They might not have noticed him in his dark clothes. Yet in the half-light of dusk, he could still be seen easily. He clambered up into the tower, and began to fumble with the lock on his chest.

Why had he gone into the tower, though? Now those people knew where he lived! Angrily, he ripped open the chest, and picked up the Peacemaker. He had made one mistake, but he wouldn't make a second. He would end this right here, right now...

A sharp pain went through his back, and he collapsed. The gun in his hands fell back into the chest, and the box clicked shut as the dark-suited man pulled him up.

The man's eyes glowed with interest, even through his sunglasses, as he holstered his tranquilizer gun. He pulled out his phone. "It's me. The Kalm target, Valentine, is captured. We'll be back at HQ in a few hours. Turks out."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"That's terrible…so ShinRa killed someone you care about too…"

"ShinRa killed everyone I cared about."

"Like who?"

Vincent didn't answer, but this time Lyria didn't mind. "All right. If you don't want to talk anymore, I understand, but at least I've learned something about you…Good night Vincent, thanks for listening." Not waiting for the response she knew she wasn't going to get, Lyria turned and went back downstairs into the galley of the Highwind to look for some food.

Vincent's answer was quiet, perhaps not even something he meant to say out loud and certainly not something meant to be heard, "Good night, Lyria."

Chapter 5

Cid awoke to the smells of frying bacon and eggs drifting into his room from down the hall in the galley. "The hell?" he mumbled, swinging his legs out of bed and pulling some of the blankets away from Shera in the process.

"Hey! Cid!" Shera tugged her blanket back and snuggled under it. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry, stardust."

Shera giggled at the use of her pet name. "If your going somewhere put on a housecoat, it's cold up in the air like this."

"O' course, darlin'." Cid pulled a pair of pants on over his boxers and knelt to give Shera a kiss, only to discover she'd fallen back asleep. He kissed her gently anyway and stumbled sleepily down the hallway. Approaching the galley he could hear a lilting soprano voice, exalting to the skies the wonders of life and love. Lyria was casually dressed in jeans with holes in the knees, a t-shirt with a faded symbol on the front, and a sweatshirt tied around her waist. The galley was a large room, with a hardwood floor, oak cupboards, and top of the line appliances. A huge domed window dominated the far wall and the purples, pinks, oranges, and muted golds streaking across the sky lent a beautiful image to go with Lyria's song. Cid watched from the doorway as Lyria moved quickly and easily through the large kitchen preparing breakfast. There were eggs frying in a pan on the stove, bacon and sausages sizzling, steaming pancakes heaped on a plate that Lyria tucked into the oven to keep warm where Cid also caught a glance of a bowl of hash browns. There was a pitcher of fresh made orange juice on the counter and a bowl of fruit next to it. Lyria hadn't noticed Cid, who was standing in the doorway and Cid had yet to notice Vincent who was standing behind him.

"She has a beautiful voice," Vincent commented.

Even though Vincent's voice was quiet as always, Cid jumped and exclaimed a few choice swearwords.

Lyria looked up, even more startled, and blushed. "I…I didn't think anyone was up…"

"Your cooking woke me," Cid said, looking around the kitchen with wolfishly hungry eyes.

"Cid. Get out of my kitchen."

"Your kitchen? My airship, meaning it's my kitchen." Cid reached for a fresh baked cinnamon bun that was cooling on the counter, but Lyria smacked his hand with a wooden spoon.

"What the…hell?" Cid switched words at the end of his sentence, remembering his promise to Shera. He rubbed his hand and glared his special, now-you've-made-the-big-mean-pilot-mad-glare.

Lyria arched an eyebrow and coolly returned his glare. She picked up an egg from the counter, walked over and circled Cid. "You know, in some places, I think Wutai might be one of them, they say that eggs are very good for the hair. Let's try out a bit of local tradition, shall we?" Lyria didn't wait for a response before smacking her hand on Cid's head.

"The HELL?! What's your problem?!?" Cid touched the top of his head and his fingers came away gooey and sticky.

"Right now, you're my problem. Get out of my kitchen."

"You got egg in my hair!"

Lyria rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. "You catch on quickly Cid. Go take a shower; you probably haven't had one for a while, judging by your smell…"

Cid stormed out of the room, not bothering to hold back his cursing.

"Would you like me to leave as well?"

"No…you can stay if you want, Vincent…as long as you don't try and swipe any of my cinnamon buns."

"I won't." Vincent sat down on one of the stools at the island running the length of the large kitchen.

Lyria continued working and began idly humming the song she'd been singing earlier.

"What song is that?"

Lyria blushed again. "I forgot you were here. It's called 'Melodies of Life', my mother used to sing it to me when I was little."

"Oh."

"I took voice lessons for a while, but I quit when I realized I wanted to be a doctor, not a singer…"

"You wanted to be a singer?"

"Sort of. Doesn't every little girl wish to be a star at some point in her life?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Oh…what's Wutai like, Vincent?"

"Quiet, I suppose."

"Surely you can give me a better answer than that?"

"I didn't spend much time in Wutai."

"Well…what's Yuffie like?"

"I didn't spend much time with Yuffie either."

Lyria giggled. "Not your type of person? Her name sounds rather outgoing."

"It suits her."

"I see…well…do you think the others will be up? Breakfast is about ready…"

"Cid's swearing probably woke Shera up."

"What about Cloud and Tifa?"

"I don't know. Tifa might be awake."

"Hmm…well, I'm going to start putting plates on the table for breakfast…they can come down if they're hungry."

--------------------------------------------

Shera opened her eyes to see Cid stomping into the room, egg yolk dripping from his hair.

"Cid?" Shera giggled. "What happened?"

Cid muttered something that sounded distinctly like "The goddamn bitch in the kitchen, that's what happened…"

"Cid! That was an awful thing to say!" Shera chided him, slipping out of bed and putting on her glasses.

"She smashed an egg on my head!"

Shera gave up and laughed out loud at her fiancée as some of the egg yolk dripped onto his nose. "Cid…you…hee hee…you have egg on your face…"

"Oh shut up Shera…" Cid grumbled and entered the bathroom to have a shower.

--------------------------------------------

"Cloud, wake up!" Tifa nudged her husband in the ribs sharply. The former waitress was already fully dressed and wanted to go look for Lyria.

"Tifa…leave me alone, I'm sleeping…" Cloud mumbled, pulling a pillow over his head.

"Oh get up. It's almost eight in the morning and we have to head to Wutai."

"Eight? Eight in the morning? God, Tifa, just lemme sleep…"

"Just get up Cloud."

"Argh…fine…I'm getting up."

Tifa went into the bathroom to brush her hair as Cloud got dressed and then came into the room behind her.

"Nice hair," Tifa commented.

"Yeah, whatever…" Cloud's hair was always unruly in the morning, and throughout the rest of the day, because he didn't do anything with it except spray it with hairspray and let it do what it wanted. Tifa often wondered how it was humanly possible to have hair like Cloud's.

"Let's go find Lyria," she suggested, laying down her brush and taking Cloud's hand. Pulling him out the door and into the hallway they met Shera.

"Morning, Cloud. Morning, Tifa," Shera said cheerfully.

"Hey, Shera. Have you seen Lyria?"

"I think she's in the kitchen. I was just heading there to make myself some breakfast."

"I need to talk to her, so I think I'll come too." Tifa followed Shera, still leading a half-asleep Cloud. Tifa entered the kitchen to find Lyria bustling around setting plates at the table at the end of the room where Vincent was sitting.

"Good morning…are you all hungry?" Lyria pulled a plate of blueberry pancakes from the oven.

"Lyria! This is incredible!" Shera exclaimed, looking wide-eyed at all the food Lyria had prepared.

"I was up early so I figured I might as well make breakfast…" Lyria looked curiously at Cloud, who had turned about three shades paler. "What's the matter Cloud?"

Cloud didn't respond, but instead turned and ran out the door as though he hadn't heard her.

"What's wrong?" Lyria asked, confused at Cloud's behavior.

"He has motion sickness," Red answered, entering the kitchen. "He nearly flattened me running down the hallway."

"Oh…well, I'll go deal with that, you guys can start on breakfast." Lyria left the room and everyone began heaping food on their plates.

--------------------------------------------

"Cloud?" Lyria came out on deck to see the mercenary kneeling by the railing, sick as a dog.

"H-hi…no offense or anything, I just can't even stand the sight of food on trips like this…even just the thought…" Cloud weakly turned back to the railing.

"Oh. Well, I can probably help you out there…" Lyria pulled a small bottle of white pills from her pocket and displayed them proudly.

"What are these?"

"They're a cure for motion sickness…an old doctor I know invented them. He was an incredible man…Dr. B. S. Levi, remarkable the sorts of drugs he came up with…"

"They really work?"

"I swear it on my medical diploma. I'd be having the same problems as you if I wasn't taking these beautiful white gems." Lyria looked fondly at the bottle and handed it to Cloud.

"You're giving them to me?" Cloud took the bottle and examined the label. "Don't you need them?"

"You think I only have one bottle? I've got at least six…"

"Thanks a million Lyria…"

"No problem." Lyria turned and headed back below decks, smiling to herself. She reentered the kitchen and noted that Cid had finished his shower and was eating with everyone else.

"Hiya Cid. I see you got all the egg out of your hair…" Lyria greeted the pilot.

Cid glared at Lyria while he took a bite of toast.

"I see…you're mad at me? Well, I prepared a peace offering, just in case." Lyria went to the fridge and removed a bottle of beer. "Here, Cid. Forgive me?"

Cid's eyes lit up and he laughed. "How could I stay mad with someone bearing alcohol?" Cid stood up and took the bottle from Lyria. "Beautiful, just beautiful…"

"The beer or me?" Lyria laughed.

"Both of ya', darlin'."

Just then Cloud came into the room grinning and sat down at the table next to Tifa.

"Cloud! Aren't you sick?" Tifa asked as her husband kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"Not anymore, thanks to Lyria…" Cloud beamed at the young doctor.

"It was honestly no problem, Cloud…" Lyria glanced at Vincent who was looking at her with an arched eyebrow. She smiled a rather guilty smile and winked.

"So we're heading to Wutai?" Red asked.

"Yeah, who's all coming?" Cloud asked, taking large helpings of everything on the table.

"I'd like to come…" Lyria said.

"Me too," Shera added.

"Cloud and I are definitely coming."

"I think you'll need me too…what about you and Cid, Vincent?" Red asked.

"I'd rather stay."

"I got work to do with the engine, I'll stick around here."

Lyria looked a little hesitant when she heard Vincent was staying, but decided it might be for the best for her to get out and stretch her wings. Her biological clock was already starting to slip back into normal time.

"We better be leaving soon then, if we're going to get to Wutai and back," Cloud said, through a mouth of eggs.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Tifa scolded.

"Sorry."

--------------------------------------------

Vincent stood at the railing of the grounded Highwind, watching the five who had decided to go pick up Yuffie disappear over the horizon.

"Gonna miss 'em?" Cid asked.

Vincent didn't answer, as usual.

"I'm gonna miss my Shera, she's never been out in the field before, I shoulda made her stay."

"Would she have listened to you?"

"Huh?" Cid's tone was mildly confused.

"If she was doing something that put her in danger and you really didn't want her to, would she do it anyway?"

"What the hell is wrong with you? All of a sudden you're talkin' to me…"

"Never mind…"

"Whatever. You gonna come help me in the engine room?"

"No."

"Tch. You know what your problem is?"

Vincent evidently didn't care what his problem was, but Cid continued anyway. "You're #$&%--------------------------------------------$ antisocial."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I dunno…I thought maybe there was an outside chance that you'd care."

"I don't."

"You should. There are people who are worryin' about you. Like it or not, they all care enough to wanna help. Even Lyria. She's hardly known you three days and she wants to help more than any of us."

There was no answer, Cid knew well enough not to expect one so he sighed and headed back down the stairs to the engine room.

--------------------------------------------

Lyria's eyes widened as the group entered Wutai. The towering mountains, the beautiful old buildings and the sparkling river flowing through the village took her breath away. "What an idyllic setting…"

In contrast to Lyria's statement there was a sudden commotion as a young girl with short hair and a shuriken in one hand burst out of one of the shops and sprinted for the town's entrance.

"Stop! Thief!" the shopkeeper yelled, pointing at the girl.

Cloud unsheathed his sword and stood in the girl's way. "Yuffie!"

"Aw, hell!" Yuffie skidded to a halt and looked about frantically for a method of escape. Cloud walked forward and firmly held onto her arm while the shopkeeper caught up.

"Cloud, lemme go…c'mon, I'll go fifty-fifty with you on this stuff if you lemme go…" Yuffie pleaded in a whisper.

"Yeah right, Yuffie." Cloud held her a little more firmly as the shopkeeper approached.

"Young lady! I can quite firmly assure you your father will be hearing of this!" the shopkeeper scolded Yuffie.

"If you'll excuse me, sir," Red interjected smoothly. "Perhaps we can help straighten out this mess?"

"Yeah, we'll pay for the stuff Yuffie took and any damages she may have caused if you don't press charges…" Tifa added.

The merchant looked tempted and nodded his head. "Fine. Now get the little ruffian out of my sight."

Yuffie glared daggers at the man as Cloud handed him some money and dragged her out of town. "You're more trouble than you're worth Yuffie. Come on, we gotta get back to the Highwind."

"What the hell d'you think you're tryin' to pull here? You can't just abduct me! I was…"

"You were in the middle of skipping town," Tifa finished for her.

"Yeah, well…"

"Yuffie, we need your help," Red said and explained the entire situation.

Yuffie was silent for a while after Red finished. "Soooo…you need me?"

"Yes."

"Well…I guess I could help you out…you people are always getting yourselves into scrapes and ol' Yuffie has to come along and save the day."

"Can we hurry back? We have more people to get…" Tifa said.

"Sure. Just one question…who's this?" Yuffie jerked her thumb at Lyria.

"I'm Lyria Kindred, me and Tifa are old friends…" Lyria extended her hand and Yuffie shook it amiably.

"Yuffie! Give it back!" Cloud scolded sharply, noticing Yuffie palm one of the rings Lyria had been wearing.

"Aww…Cloud, you are absolutely no fun." Yuffie handed the ring back to Lyria.

"Thank you…I'll have to keep an eye on you…"

"You're damn straight you will… 'cuz I'm YUFFIE! BEST DAMN MATERIA HUNTER EVER!!!" Yuffie shouted the last few words and took of at a run, tossing her shuriken high in the air and catching it as it came down.

"She's quite…extroverted…" Lyria remarked.

"Trust me, it'll get irritating within the hour," Cloud promised.

--------------------------------------------

Vincent pulled himself from the ground and leaned heavily against the wall. Again Chaos had tried to take him, and, again, he had resisted. He even managed a weakly triumphant smile as he stumbled to the door with the intention of going back to his room. Hand inches, from the doorknob he froze. No. Not again…it couldn't happen again…Vincent could barely summon the strength to try and fight. He could feel Chaos. It was coming. He fought. Even sinking into the darkness he tried. And failed. And begged forgiveness from whoever would fall prey to Chaos.

Chapter 6

Cid heard a noise and reached out to grab the Venus Gospel. The familiar weapon almost tingled in his palm as he closed his fist around it. Tugging a cigarette from the box he had tucked in the strap of the flight goggles he wore on his head, he stuck it in the corner of his mouth and lit up. After taking a couple minutes to enjoy his smoke he decided to go investigate. It was probably just a small enemy who had managed to slip aboard the Highwind. Cid would make the creature pay. No one, but no one, would hurt his precious baby. He looked at the Venus Gospel fondly. It was his third most prized possession, after Shera and the Highwind. Cid examined the weapon and wondered if he could perhaps fit a picture of his bikini goddess on it somewhere. Cid forgot about his musings and crept down the hallway. He heard another noise behind the door to the main part of the ship and tightened his grip on the spear as he prepared to run it through whatever waited behind the door. Cid decided there was no sense in risking his own skin and shoved his spear forward right through the door. He felt it strike tough muscle and twisted it viciously. There was a low growl from the other side of the door and Cid suddenly had an awful feeling. Jerking his spear back, he bent and peered through the hole the spear had left. "Oh shit…" Cid whispered as he saw a powerful torso with blackish purple skin, stretched tight over rippling muscles. Cid took off down the hallway at a sprint as a clawed hand tore through the door. Chaos ripped the door all the way off its hinges, red eyes glowing with a maniacal light. Cid knew his chances of outrunning the beast were slim to nil as Chaos was rapidly gaining. He felt a rush of air as Chaos slashed at his back with a claw. Cid quickly realized his situation was near hopeless when he did finally feel needle-sharp claws rake his back. He tripped forward and rolled to the left, just barely fitting underneath one of the engines. The pilot squirmed as far back from Chaos as he could, pressing his bleeding back against the wall. He closed his eyes tightly as Chaos growled again and swiped his claws in an attempt to reach him. Thankfully they fell short, though it was still close. Cid reached into his pocket and pulled out an orb of materia. Bolt would probably do it. He wasn't sure what element Chaos was, but he prayed to his bikini goddess that the lightning wouldn't strengthen it.

"Sorry, Vincent…" Cid muttered as he unleashed Bolt 3. There was an almost blinding flash of light in the confined space and the thunder from being this close to the bolt nearly deafened Cid. Above the ringing in his ears he heard a roar of rage and pain. He thought he heard a leathery flutter of wings and half hoped that Chaos had left for good. Cid started to crawl out from under the engine, but then decided it would probably be better for him to stay where it was relatively safe to await the return of Cloud and the others.

--------------------------------------------

"I wonder where Cid is…" Shera said, glancing around the deck of Highwind. "You'd think he would be done in the engine room by now."

"Well, maybe he ran into some complications," Cloud suggested.

"Come on, Shera, we'll go down to the engine room and get him…" Tifa ran ahead down the stairs to the lower level with Shera close behind.

"Red, come help me find Vincent," Lyria instructed, leading the way down the same staircase Tifa and Shera had taken. At the bottom it split off into two hallways and Lyria headed left. Red followed a ways behind Lyria at his own sedate pace. Out of habit and perhaps an innate cautiousness Red lifted his muzzle and lightly sniffed the air. He caught the scent of blood. In a wave of panic he breathed deeper. It wasn't human blood.

"Lyria!" Red raced down the hallway in the grip of sudden, deathly fear for his friend's safety.

--------------------------------------------

"Tifa!" Shera screamed, staring horrified at a small trail of blood in the middle of the floor.

"Shera? What's wrong?" Tifa skidded to a halt behind the scientist and looked where she was pointing a trembling finger. "Oh no…"

Shera ran down the hallway towards the engine room. "Cid!"

"Shera, wait!" Tifa called after her friend, fighting down a momentary fear and entering the main engine room. To her extreme relief Shera was kneeling down on the ground next to one of the engines where Cid was just pulling himself out.

"Cid!" Tifa cried, helping the pilot out from under the machine. "What happened?"

"Chaos. I guess Vincent couldn't control it…"

Shera gave a soft scream when she saw Cid's back. "Oh no! Are you all right?" She brushed her fingers against the bloody tatters of what was once Cid's flight jacket.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a couple scratches, Lyria'll patch me up and I'll be fine…" Cid looked slightly worried for a moment. "Speaking of patching up, has anyone seen Vincent? When he came after me I sorta stabbed him and hit him with Bolt 3…"

"Uh oh…" Tifa looked around in sudden fear. "We better go find him…two of the last things we need are a badly wounded Vincent or a mildly wounded and angry Chaos…"

"Let's hurry, come on, Cid." Shera helped Cid to his feet and the three rushed to the upper decks to warn the others.

--------------------------------------------

"Ergh…just being on this stupid ship turns my stomach…" Yuffie whined.

"I know how you feel, I wasn't sure I could handle it, being on this flying tub after two years of having my feet firmly on the ground. And to make things worse, the morning after we got on the airship, Lyria made this huge breakfast…" Cloud looked slightly green at the memory of the food.

"Ooooh, evil creature…" Yuffie muttered, making a mental note to avoid Lyria at all costs.

"That's where you're wrong. She's a wonderful person." Cloud's face nearly shone with gratitude. "She gave me these." Cloud produced the small bottle of white pills from his pocket.

"What're they?" Yuffie looked curiously at the rather plain looking pills.

"They're gold, Yuffie. You've been wasting your time with materia. These are worth more than all the materia in the world."

"Why?"

"Yuffie, they cure motion sickness! I've been eating and sleeping and even reading!"

"No way! They can't!" Yuffie exclaimed, though her voice sounded excitedly hopeful.

"They do. Look at me, I've been taking them for a day and I feel so good."

"Can I have a couple?"

"Sure, spread the wealth I always say, I'll give you two to take now and you can ask Lyria for another bottle later."

"Thanks, Cloud. I think I'll go worship the ground Lyria walks on now…"

--------------------------------------------

"Vincent?" Lyria half stepped into the darkened room.

"Leave," the voice was quiet and strained.

"What? Vincent, what's wrong?" Lyria stepped all the way in and opened the door fully. Vincent was sitting on the bed, pressing his claw against his bloody right side and holding his gun loosely in the other. "What happened?"

"Get out."

"No. Are you hurt? Let me help."

"I'm serious Lyria, stay away from me…" There was an insistent note about his tone now and Lyria almost felt compelled to leave. Her eyes fell to the gun he held in one hand and the fearful, yet icily determined look in his eyes.

"Vincent…" Lyria's eyes widened as she realized what his plans were. "Vincent, no…"

"I killed an ally, Lyria."

"What?!"

"I don't know how it happened…Chaos hit once and I stopped it…but it hit again and…" Vincent closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"Maybe you didn't…"

"I woke up covered in blood."

"In case you haven't noticed, you're bleeding…maybe it's yours…"

"No. No one attacks Chaos and lives. I must have…"

"You don't know that for sure."

"Just leave me Lyria. I'll end it. I'll make it stop…"

"No. Please, Vincent. Your life may not mean much to you…but…it's becoming very important to me…"

"What?" This time Lyria could hear confusion and disbelief in his quiet voice.

"I…I don't know…this has never happened before…" Lyria took the opportunity to walk forward a few steps.

"What's never happened before?"

"I've never…felt this way…" Lyria closed the gap between them and sat down on the bed next to Vincent. "I don't understand it…I barely know you…"

"Lyria…"

"Just…listen…" Lyria gently touched his right hand. "This is a new feeling to me…I don't know why, but I just never allowed my heart to lose itself to someone. That or the right person never came along, but…now…I think…I think I love you, Vincent Valentine." She gently tugged the gun from his hands and to her surprise he made no move to stop her.

"You…shouldn't…not me…"

"Why not?'

"No. It's not worth it. I'm…I'm not even human."

"So? I don't care. I can't help it. I've tried to stop, but I can't. You're more human than you believe. This is stronger than Chaos."

"Please Lyria, for your own sake…" Vincent stood up and walked away from her. "Just…don't…"

Lyria stood up and moved beside him. "Don't what?" she asked softly. "Don't love you? I'm sorry, but it's too late. I want to be with you. I want you to let me close and hold me and tell me what life has done to make you so hardhearted."

"My life, my sins, and my pain aren't something I can burden someone else with."

"It's no burden." Lyria gently slipped her arms around Vincent's neck, ignoring the feeling of warm blood soaking her t-shirt as she embraced him tightly. "Please Vincent. What is it you need? If it's within my power I'll give it to you. Is it comfort? If it is I'll listen, or I'll talk, or I'll just be with you."

Vincent didn't answer, but Lyria felt it was more because he didn't know what to make of the feelings Lyria was revealing than the usual cold indifference he often demonstrated. "Tell me Vincent. Do you want passion? I'm more than willing. If I wasn't so worried about the wound in your side, I would be yours right here and now." Lyria looked up into Vincent's eyes. She could feel hot tears threatening to fall from her eyes and down her cheeks. "But, most of all, I just want you to know…whether I've known you three days or three years and whether you return the feeling or not…I do love you."

"Lyria, I…"

"No…don't say anything…please…I don't want to know right now…ever since I first saw you, things have been going so wrong, but right here and now, for even just a few more seconds, everything's perfect." Lyria pulled closer and closed her eyes, trying to seal away this memory for eternity. She was surprised when she felt a trembling hand gently stroke her hair, and the tears she'd tried to hold back earlier spilled out and she reluctantly returned herself to reality.

--------------------------------------------

Red quietly walked back down the hallway, making as little noise as possible. He realized he'd just witnessed a very tender moment between two people. Two hearts, brought close enough to reach out and touch one another, one that was cold and damaged almost beyond repair, the other brimming with so much love and compassion that it flowed freely and warmed the hearts of others. Reluctantly he decided it was probably best for him to interrupt the couple. Even though Lyria was at the center of a healing he had not even thought possible, there were more important matters to be dealt with. Vincent needed medical attention and, somewhere on the ship, so did Cid. Red felt fear tug at his heart again. "No one attacks Chaos and lives…" Red prayed it wasn't true. He went back down the hall, entering the room quietly. To his surprise, Lyria glanced over Vincent's shoulder and caught sight of him. Her expression was not surprise, or anger, or embarrassment, but rather a look of almost smug triumph. "I told you so," her eyes seemed to remember her earlier testament, back in Cloud and Tifa's kitchen. Red shook his head and rolled his eyes. Lyria smiled and her eyes grew serious. She breathed deeply once more and gently broke out of the tight embrace. Red heard her whisper something and Vincent nodded. Still staying as close as possible, Lyria helped him over to the bed.

"Lie still, 'k? I have to get my bag, so I'll be right back…" On a last, sudden impulse, Lyria softly kissed him, before pulling away and slipping out of the room.

"Lyria, what happened?" Red asked, following the young woman as she rushed down the hallway.

"You saw what happened, Red." Lyria smiled. "I told you I could do it…"

"Yes, that's very nice, but aside from that, what happened? Is the wound in his side serious?"

"It's not too bad; I can take care of it easily…but…" Her look of elation faded and she suddenly looked apprehensive. "I'm afraid for Cid…"

"I'll go look for him; if it's serious I'll come get you. I assume you want to be with Vincent right now."

"Very much. It seems like all these emotions have been weighing on my heart for so long, I feel so much lighter it's making me dizzy…"

"Red, Lyria!" Shera called, coming down the hallway with Lyria's backpack in one hand. "Are you two all right? We found Cid and he's ok…but we don't know where Vincent is…I brought this, in case you might need it…"

"He's down the hallway in his room…could I have my bag?" Lyria took her supplies and headed back down the hallway.

Reentering the room, she knelt beside the bed next to Vincent, who had fallen asleep or passed out, finally overcome by loss of blood. Lyria began work, remembering Shera's words and letting the love in her heart flow into her hands and give her the gentle touch of a true healer.

Chapter 7

Yuffie happily bounced on the bed. "Oooh! It feels so good to be able to be on this ship!" The young ninja jumped off her bed and did a cartwheel.

"I'm glad you feel better…" Lyria said, there was a rather wistful note about the young doctor's voice. After firmly admonishing Cid for attempting to clean the scratches on his back with beer, she'd bandaged the pilot up and headed to bed.

"You sound sorta down…you wanna talk about it?" Yuffie managed to stand still and sat down on the edge of Lyria's bed, where she was curled up with a book in her lap.

"I don't know…"

"Well…if you need cheerin' up…I'll invite Tifa and Shera in here! We'll have like a girl's night! It'll be so awesome! It's the least I can do…after you gave me those pills…" Yuffie looked at Lyria, eyes sparkling with something bordering hero worship.

"I'm not sure, Yuffie…" Lyria looked to the wall that their room shared with Vincent's. "We shouldn't make too much noise…"

"We can go up to Tifa's room, we'll kick Cloud out. There are four of us, so we can handle him…"

"Oh…all right…" Lyria abandoned her book; she hadn't really been interested in reading anyway, and followed Yuffie to the door. Yuffie wound her way through the hallways and up a flight of stairs to Shera and Cid's room.

"Hey! Shera!" Yuffie yelled. "Come on out! Me an' Lyria wanna talk to ya'! Unless o' course, you and Cid are in the middle of each other or somethin'…then we're just gonna leave…"

"Hello Yuffie…" Shera sighed, opening the door. "What's the matter?"

"Lyria's just feelin' a little down…I figured we could cheer her up. We're goin' upstairs to kick Cloud outta Tifa's room."

"Technically, they share the room…I'd love to join you, just let me tell Cid…" Shera turned and called softly to her sleeping fiancée. "Cid?"

Cid was snoring loudly and didn't answer.

"Cid!" Shera's voice was a little louder this time.

Yuffie walked into the room and bent down next to Cid. "HEY CID! WAKE UP YA' LAZY OLD FART!"

"What the hell?" Cid mumbled sleepily. "Yuffie? Get the hell outta my room…hell, can't a guy get any sleep?"

"Shera's comin' up with us to Tifa's room 'cuz we're havin' a slumber party."

"G'night Shera, see you in the morning…" Cid rolled over and resumed his snoring.

"Have a good sleep," Shera said, grabbing her housecoat and following Yuffie out the door.

"Next stop: Tifa's room!" Yuffie crooned, dashing down to the end of the hallway. "Now, this is the end of the line, but we gotta get Cloud out…"

Shera giggled and Lyria smiled. "Ok, Yuffie, you knock on the door…"

Yuffie banged her knuckles sharply on the wood and Lyria called out. "Tifa? Can I come in?"

"Sure, Lyria, me and Cloud were just getting settled in for bed…"

Yuffie burst into the room and jumped on the bed. "Hiya Tifa! We're having a slumber party and we wanna use your room 'cuz we can't use me an' Lyria's 'cuz we don't wanna wake Vincent…" The young ninja was wearing a pair of shorts and a tanktop with a couple shuriken tucked in her ever-present headband.

Tifa giggled. "Sounds like a great idea…I guess you want us to kick Cloud out."

"Yup," Shera said, sitting down on the bed and making herself comfortable.

"We don't necessarily have to kick him out…" Tifa grinned evilly. "If he stayed we could paint his nails…"

"Not happening, ladies," Cloud said firmly, scooping up his pillow and heading for the door. "Where should I sleep?"

"You can go back to me and Lyria's room," Yuffie instructed.

"Gosh, thanks. I hope you four have enjoyed usurping my room and my wife…"

"Enough with the chitchat, get out already." Yuffie pushed Cloud out the door. "G'night, spike."

"What did you just…" Cloud was cut off as Yuffie slammed the door in his face.

"So…whaddaya guys…I mean, gals wanna talk about? Let's not forget why we're all here, which is to cheer Lyria up…" Yuffie flopped down on the bed next to Shera.

"What's the matter Lyria?" Tifa asked, curling up on the bed with her back to the wall.

"I'm…confused…Tifa, what did it feel like when you first told Cloud you loved him?"

Tifa sighed dreamily. "It was heaven…I'd had these feelings for him for years, but I never realized what they were so strong…and when I told him, he said he felt the same way and we've been happy ever since…"

"What about you and Cid, Shera?"

"I liked Cid right off, when I first met him. He just had such a warm heart and free spirit. I couldn't help myself. That's why I was prepared to give up everything so he could get to space, I would have died in that engine room, but I couldn't stand the thought of crushing all the dreams the man I loved had worked so hard to accomplish. I was really scared, but I think I knew in my heart that Cid would come through for me."

"You guys all knew right off? That it was the real thing?"

"I had my doubts from time to time, but deep down I was always sure of it…Why are you asking, Lyria?" Tifa said, cocking her head at the young woman.

"I think I know…" Shera looked at Lyria curiously. "Did you tell him?"

Lyria nodded. "I don't know how it slipped out…I just…I came into his room and he had his gun. I knew what he was thinking…he said he didn't want to kill any more people and that he would end this…I couldn't handle it. It dawned on me how much I care about him, even if we barely know each other. I didn't want to lose him…there was so much more I wanted to find out. So…so I told him how I felt…"

By now Tifa had caught on and she prompted Lyria for more answers, "And?"

"That's it…"

"What do you mean 'that's it'? Wasn't there anything else? Did you hug? Or kiss?" Shera persisted.

"Well, yeah, but…I think it was just because I was caught up in my fear of losing him forever and he was confused and neither of us really knew what we were doing."

"Lyria there must have been more to it than that! Give me details, did he do anything?" Tifa asked intently.

"Like what?"

"Did he just stand there and let you hug him? Or did he hug you back?"

"Well…I started crying and then he started stroking my hair…"

"Ohhh…" Shera sighed. "I think you may be on to something, honey."

"Really?"

"Of course!"

"You don't think he was doing it just because he was confused and he didn't want to hurt my feelings?"

"Nuh uh. If he was confused he wouldn't have done anything," Tifa said.

"But…does this mean he feels the same as I do?"

"Well, he certainly doesn't hate you."

"I don't know if I can face him again…I'm so embarrassed that I let my feelings go like that…"

"It'll be awkward, especially because we're on our way to Kalm tomorrow to pick up Barret…" Tifa agreed.

"Why will that cause a problem?"

"It's gonna be getting more and more crowded on this ship. Barret'll probably end up bunking with Vincent, 'cuz he's probably gonna be able to handle Chaos better than anyone else will, just in case he changes…" Tifa said.

"And I moved into your room, so it's not really private in there anymore…" Yuffie added.

"Maybe you should lie low for a while, until we get this whole thing straightened out and get the both of you back to Nibelheim," Shera suggested.

"That seems so far off though…" Lyria murmured. "Where are we going after Kalm?"

"Midgar. We have to get to ShinRa headquarters to find Hojo's old notes and this control device."

"How're we supposed to get into ShinRa headquarters? They've got tight security…"

"We aren't sure yet. We might be getting inside help though, from a man named Reeve who used to work with us through a mechanical cat and a big stuffed moogle."

"Will wonders never cease?" Lyria said sarcastically. "I actually think I might go back to bed…I've got a lot to think about…"

"Me too," Yuffie agreed. "This is all making my head hurt…"

"I think I'll go back with Cid, I hope he kept the bed warm."

"Could you send Cloud up when you get back to your room? I hate to sleep alone…"

"Sure. Good night guys, thanks for listening…"

--------------------------------------------

"Hey, Vincent," Cloud said, climbing onto the deck of the Highwind. "Are you sure you should be up?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Oh. I know that feeling." Cloud joined Vincent at the railing. "Nice night, huh?"

"I suppose…"

"Hard to believe that only two years ago Meteor was hanging up there, ready to fall and kill everyone…"

"Yeah…What was it like to be controlled by Sephiroth, Cloud? What did it feel like knowing that any moment you could lose control and…hurt someone?"

"It was frightening, but I guess you understand because you're sorta going through the same thing, huh?" Cloud was puzzled at Vincent's tone; it no longer seemed as cold and distant as it usually was. He thought he could hear a note of confusion. For once it almost showed that Vincent was little more than a young man, lost and alone in a game other people had decided to play with his life.

"Yeah…"

"Don't worry about it, we'll pull through. We always manage it."

"I wish I had your faith in life."

"Blind stupidity is probably more accurate than faith. Too many hairspray fumes over the years." Cloud pointed at his head.

To his extreme surprise Vincent smiled slightly. "Whatever it is, I envy you."

"I have a lot of people who support me…you do too, I just don't know that you realize it yet."

"I may be starting to."

--------------------------------------------

Lyria crawled under the blankets of her still made bed. Apparently Cloud hadn't decided to go to sleep right away and Lyria had met him coming up the stairs and heading back to his room. Lyria felt a stab of jealousy toward Tifa. "I hate to sleep alone…well; I always sleep alone, so this is no change for me…" She remembered Shera's words. "I hope Cid kept the bed warm…" Lyria shivered at the feeling of her own cold sheets and curled up tightly to try and warm up. Yuffie was snoring, oblivious to any of the deeper thoughts that Lyria might have been having.

Chapter 8

"So who's coming to Kalm tomorrow?" Cloud asked, wolfing down a piece of toast.

"I think I actually might stay this time…" Lyria said, avoiding Vincent's eyes and instead glancing at the floor. "I can make a big dinner for all of you when you get back…"

"You gonna stay and help Lyria, stardust?" Cid protectively embraced Shera.

"Sure, it'll be fun…right Lyr?"

"Yeah…"

"I think it's a good idea, Barret usually warms up to people with food," Tifa joked.

"So everyone else is coming?" Red asked.

"I guess…" Cloud said, looking around at the group. "Let's get going then…"

"Come on, Shera, we better get started…" Lyria hurried down the stairs to the galley. "Bye everyone, take care…"

--------------------------------------------

Shera walked into the kitchen to find Lyria scouring a cookbook. "Hard?"

"I couldn't even look at him…"

"He kept glancing at you."

"Probably because I made such an idiot of myself…"

"I don't think so. I think it's because you're pretty, compassionate, and funny and maybe he likes you back."

"Wishful thinking…let's just get to work…what do you think we should make?"

--------------------------------------------

"Where's Barret's house?" Tifa asked, glancing at a scrap of paper with his address scribbled on it. "Number Twenty-Six, Diamond Lane…"

"This way." To everyone's surprise, Vincent took the lead and headed down a quiet looking street with small houses lining either side.

"Does he know where he's going?" Cloud asked.

"I think so. Maybe he's been here before…" Red suggested.

"Well, why the #$%# hell didn't he tell any of us about it?"

"Stupid question Cid. He's barely told us anything about his life, never mind which towns he knows well enough to find his way around," Tifa scolded.

Cloud thought back to the previous evening, wishing he'd asked some questions about Kalm.

"So is this it?" Cid asked when the others caught up to Vincent, who was waiting in front of a small house.

"There's a twenty six on the door, isn't there?" Vincent's tone was just barely sarcastic, enough for only Red to notice and smile.

"Well, $%&! I didn't look at the number…"

"Watch your mouth Cid, Barret has a little daughter, remember?" Tifa reminded him.

"Well, let's go knock…" Cloud suggested.

"Maybe we should have called first…" Red asked as Cid rapped sharply on the door.

"Are you coming in…" Cloud glanced around. "Where's Vincent?"

"I don't know. He was here a moment ago…should I go look for him?" Red asked.

"Sure, it probably isn't safe for him to be wandering around on his own…"

"I'll be back when I find him," Red said and loped off down the street.

--------------------------------------------

"So yer sayin' you wan' my help in keepin' a tight rein on Chaos?" Barret asked.

"That's pretty much it…just until we can figure out a way to get into ShinRa HQ…" Cloud said.

"Well…I'd be all for it, if I didn' have t' take care o' Marlene…" Barret scratched the back of his neck. "Can't jes' leave the kid again…"

"Barret, we really need you…isn't there anyone Marlene could stay with? What about Shera? She and Marlene got along really well…" Tifa looked pleadingly at her old ally. "Please Barret? No one else will be able to handle him…he already killed three people and raked Cid's back up pretty bad…"

"I guess so…Marlene honey? You gonna be stayin' with Auntie Shera, down in Costa Del Sol, k?" Barret yelled up the stairs to his daughter's room.

"Yay! Auntie Shera! We can go to the beach, right daddy?" Marlene ran down the stairs and hugged her father.

"Now, Marlene, we got guests. Say hello to Cloud and Tifa and Mr. Highwind…"

"Hi, Cloud! Hi, Tifa!" Marlene grinned at Cloud and hugged Tifa. "Hello Mr. Highwind."

"Just call me Cid, squirt. Shera'll take you on a ride down to Costa Del Sol and you can stick with her for a while."

"Really Mr. Cid?" Marlene's brown eyes were glowing with excitement.

"O' course kid."

"Oh boy! I gotta go pack Daddy!" Marlene hugged her father and ran back up to her room.

"So where are Vincent and Red?" Barret asked, sitting down on the couch and propping his feet up.

"We don't know where Vincent went, Red's out looking for him…" Cloud said.

"You got a tickin' time bomb of a man wanderin' around the streets of a quiet little town?"

"He just sorta went off on his own. He's been acting sort of weird lately…I can't understand why…" Cloud said, thinking about Vincent's attitude from the previous evening.

"Weirder, you mean…" Cid added.

Tifa just smiled to herself. She had a fairly good idea of what was on Vincent's mind.

--------------------------------------------

"You shouldn't wander off like this," Red chastised Vincent, after climbing the spiral steps to the tower overlooking Kalm.

"Sorry." Vincent was leaning against the wall of the tower and staring out the single window.

Red sat down on his haunches. "So what is it about Kalm that prompts you to wander off on your own?"

"I used to live here."

"I didn't know that."

"Not many people do."

"It's dangerous, you know…"

"I can take care of myself."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that. I can't take care of myself, and I'm older than you are."

"No, you aren't."

"Yes, I am."

"I'm nearly sixty."

"For how many of those years were you stuck in a coffin in a locked room in the basement of an abandoned mansion?"

Vincent didn't answer and returned to staring out the window.

"Truth be known, I've walked the earth for nearly twice as long as you have…you're still young, in reality."

"I don't feel like it."

"Why not? Not because you've been alive for longer than it seems, but because you've had more than your share of suffering, correct?"

"I don't know."

"Age and maturity are two entirely different things. I've the age of a human of fifty years, but the maturity of one just coming of age in my tribe." Red chuckled to himself. "I said almost the exact same thing to Lyria."

"Why?" Vincent glanced at Red, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

"She was asking about you. She's got a very inquisitive nature."

"Oh."

"Of course, you knew that already."

"She asks a lot of questions."

"She's young too. The young always ask many questions. I had a great deal I wanted to find out from my grandfather, but I was never given the opportunity. Well, there were many opportunities, but I just never took them. That's the funny thing about life, it's so easy to let people you care about slip away…"

"Let's go back."

"Why? Because I'm making you think too much about her? She's a very special person, if you paid her a bit of attention, maybe you'd notice that."

"What makes you think I haven't been paying attention to her?"

Red smiled at the young man's slip. "So you have been?"

"Yes…no…not that way…leave me alone."

"You don't know how to admit it, do you?" Red was rather pleased that he'd managed to find at least one sensitive spot in Vincent's nature. Something about the young doctor made him incredibly nervous, almost frightened, and most definitely confused.

"Admit what?" Vincent asked, sounding almost terse.

"That you care about her." Red was smiling now, convinced he'd effectively backed Vincent into a corner.

"I don't."

"That was an out and out lie."

"Why won't you leave me alone?"

"She cares about you," Red pressed, hoping to provoke Vincent into admitting something that resembled human emotion. Red could tell Lyria liked Vincent, very much, but he'd decided Vincent maybe needed a bit of a nudge in the right direction.

"She should stop it."

"Why?"

"Because…leave me alone. Why are you intruding upon affairs which do not concern you?"

"Intruding?" Red echoed, sounding offended. "I'm not intruding, per se, I prefer to think about it as giving a friend helpful advice."

"Assuming the role of a friend, I'm requesting you keep your pointed nose out of my business."

Red continued as though he hadn't heard. "And it does concern me. There's a beautiful young woman who is in love with you, and you don't seem to care. Are you really as apathetic as that?"

"Red, drop it, before I assume the role of 'homicidal maniac' or 'inhuman monster' and make you shut up permanently," Vincent threatened.

"Mmm hmm. I'm sure. Is that some of your old nature showing through? The 'do things my way or I'll kill you' approach that's oh-so-delightfully reminiscent of the Turks?"

Red met Vincent's icy stare with confidence, even mild amusement. If one thing about the ex-Turk's nature was resurfacing, it was that he was fiercely stubborn. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"About your previous employment? Very well, let's get back on track…now, about Lyria…"

"I don't want to talk about her either!"

"Someone's getting vehement," Red smiled.

"I am not!"

"Come on. She's pretty, she's intelligent, and she's got such a charming sense of humor. I've rarely met a more adept sparring partner. If I were human…" Red chuckled. "Well, let's just say it's a good thing I'm not."

"Maybe, were I human, it would be a concern, but I'm not, so the topic is closed to discussion."

Red snorted. "Oh please. You already know Lyria doesn't care. That's why she's so special, she sees past what's on the surface and even what's just beneath the surface. You scare a lot of people. We both know that. The fact that she'll face that fear is reason enough for you to at least talk to her."

"About what?" Vincent asked wearily, switching tactics once again. All he really wanted was for the conversation with Red to end. He made the decision to try and tune out the guardian of Cosmo Canyon's voice.

"I don't know, try yourself. She doesn't understand you, but she wants too. We all see that you exist in a lot of pain, but we're all powerless to help because you won't let us. Perhaps we made the mistake of accepting that as reality. Now you face a young woman who is not only fiercely determined to get to know you, but wants you to be close to her too."

"I don't want her to…" Vincent answered, cursing himself for responding and wishing Red's voice didn't permeate his consciousness so easily.

"You're afraid to let her close, aren't you? Why?" Red coolly met Vincent's eyes, half expecting to see anger, but instead perceiving a kind of pain. "Has someone hurt you before?"

There was no humor in Vincent's laugh. "That is, without a doubt, the stupidest question you've ever asked."

Red sighed. "You know I didn't mean it that way."

Vincent felt Red's sedate golden eyes on him, but he kept silent. He didn't know what would happen if he answered and he didn't want to chance an overflow of the emotion he'd kept such a tight rein on over the years.

--------------------------------------------

Lucrecia sat in her room curled up on the bed with a book on comprehensive biology in her lap. Idly she stretched and laid her book aside. Theoretical ecology only held so much allure. Reaching, she picked up a jar from beside her bed. Inside the bottle floated a pale purple tentacle, a fragment of Jenova. She studied the feeler closely. Such a helpless looking appendage, floating dismembered in the formaldehyde, but it was such a central part of her life. Lucrecia had been thrilled when Hojo had presented her with the small piece of the specimen for her to study on her own. The polite, reserved part of her had protested modestly, saying it was far too great a responsibility, but the scientist part of her wanted to take the specimen and examine it's every asset until she knew it as well as one of her own limbs. She'd thrown her arms around Hojo, holding the jar carefully. Had she not been so wrapped up in the moment she might have given more thought to the way Vincent had winced when she lightly kissed the senior scientist's cheek.

"Lucrecia, dear, I don't like that one," a voice in the back of her mind declared.

"Oh, stop it. He's not so bad," Lucrecia mentally defended the Turk.

"What about Hojo? I thought you liked Hojo."

"I do…but Vincent's different."

"Hmph," the voice replied. "They're all the same. Breeding stock."

"I don't think so," Lucrecia disagreed. "There's far more to it than that."

"Biological attraction, based on little more than physical appearance and the likelihood of a partner to be a good producer of offspring."

Lucrecia shook her head, still disagreeing with the voice.

"Well, if you don't believe what I say, which do you like better, the Turk or Hojo?" the voice taunted.

"I can't compare them; they're two very different people."

"I don't t think that has anything to do with it. Tell me, which do you prefer?"

"There's a world of difference between Hojo and Vincent."

"So? What's good about Hojo, tell me that."

"Well…he's such an incredible scientist…and he's clever and witty, and he pays such generous compliments…but…Vincent is…" Lucrecia paused and sighed a little as she thought of Vincent. "Vincent's so sweet and charming. And he's cute too."

"There you go. You're looking at the physical," the voice proclaimed triumphantly.

"It's not just that! There's…something about him. He seems so cold, but I think it's just because of his training. I'd really like to get to know him; just talk to him for a bit."

"Would you really?" the voice sounded strangely amused, but Lucrecia was prevented from further thought, as there was a knock on the door. She set the jar aside; she'd been stroking it with her forefinger the whole time and had scarcely noticed. "Come in!"

The door opened a bit. "Are you busy?" Vincent asked, half entering the room.

"No, not at all," Lucrecia replied, delighted that her wishes had been answered. "Come on in."

"I won't be long; Hojo just wanted me to deliver some computer printouts." Lucrecia noticed how he said Hojo's name, with a trace of disgust and even malice. "I've no doubt you'll understand them, but they make no sense to me. I better get back, see if the master has any more work."

"Oh, do you have to?" Lucrecia asked, looking up from the printout as he turned to leave the room. "Stay a minute, if you can…of course, if it'll be called disobeying an order or some other such nonsense, I won't stop you."

Vincent turned around, regarding her with cool brown eyes. "That depends. Are you ordering me to stay?"

"I could if you wanted to," Lucrecia answered, smiling. "What happens when you have to conflicting sets of orders?"

Vincent shrugged. "If neither is superior by the authority of the one who gave them to me it rests on my own judgment."

"You sound like a textbook. Very well, Mr. Valentine, whose orders do you choose?"

"Yours."

"Oh joy and rapture. In that case, sit down and stay a while." Lucrecia indicated a chair in the corner."

"I'll stand, thanks."

"Unless ordered to sit."

Vincent smiled faintly. "Of course."

"Can you talk while standing?" Lucrecia questioned.

"I'll do my best. I am, after all, only a lowly Turk, favored by the presence of such a charming scientist."

Lucrecia laughed. "You see why I like him?" she asked, but the voice didn't answer.

"What's this?" Vincent picked up the specimen jar from where it sat by the bedside, examining it disinterestedly.

"That's my sample of Jenova," Lucrecia answered proudly. On a sudden impulse she gently took the vial from his hands, cradling it lovingly.

"Precisely what are you people doing with that thing?"

Lucrecia smiled and began explaining the various experiments the scientists performed and the hypotheses that fuelled them. "It's all called the Jenova Theory," she finished.

Vincent was silent and Lucrecia prompted him for a response. "Well, what do you think?"

"I…I don't know…to be honest, I think it's all wrong."

"Wrong?" Lucrecia asked, a false smile playing about her features. "Whatever do you mean 'wrong'?" Deep down, Lucrecia felt like the words she spoke were springing to her lips unbidden.

"I mean, I don't think it's…well, right. I think you might be fooling around with stuff that should be left alone."

Lucrecia felt rage bubbling within her. Dimly she wondered why, Vincent wasn't saying anything that would normally make her mad, she'd often questioned what they were doing herself. "Who are you to debate right and wrong?"

"Well, I…" Vincent looked slightly taken aback by her tone.

"Aren't you a Turk? I don't think 'right or wrong' is a question you people normally raise," Lucrecia said spitefully.

She watched him flinch and reveled in the pain she knew he felt. It was so odd to be swept up in emotions she knew were immoral. She grasped the jar in her hand tighter, stroking it with one finger.

"Lucrecia…what's wrong? Why are you so defensive all of a sudden? You used to joke about your work and how you wouldn't let your life be run by a little chunk of a long dead space mutant." In spite of the situation, Vincent smiled, remembering the remark.

"Well, maybe I've got a better grasp of where my priorities lie," Lucrecia answered haughtily, tossing her hair.

Vincent bit his lip and didn't answer. Lucrecia sensed his concern and smiled to herself. "Fool."

Out of the blue, she voiced another question. "What do you think of Hojo?"

Vincent lowered his eyes. "You know full well what I think of Hojo," he mumbled.

"Refresh my memory."

"I'd rather not."

"That wasn't a request. Tell me," Lucrecia ordered, usually sweet voice sounding slightly harsh.

"Fine." Vincent met her eyes, hatred stirring in the brown depths. "I think he's an insane, inhumanly cruel, black hearted, son of a bitch and I hate him."

Lucrecia's eyes blazed and she almost felt someone laughing inside her. "How dare you!"

"I've told you all this before, and before you almost agreed with me…"

"Well, I don't anymore!"

"Why not?"

"Dr. Hojo is a great man and you've no right to question his actions! Honestly, sometimes you are so blind to what greatness is."

"I don't understand…" Vincent looked thoroughly confused at the tone Lucrecia was taking.

"Hah! Why am I not surprised? You aren't half the man Hojo is when it comes to comprehension," Lucrecia spat. "Hey! Whoa, why am I saying this? I don't mean it…"

"Hojo? You're comparing me to that…that bastard?"

"Don't call him that!"

"I thought better of you, what has he done that makes you so unwilling to see what he really is?" Lucrecia felt his eyes staring right down into her heart.

"You…I…I hate you!"

The statement fell on dead air and she could feel her own heart beating in her chest. There was a strange rushing feeling in her chest, half wild ecstasy that she'd inflicted such pain, half shock and horror at what she'd just said. The voice was laughing manically and, inside, Lucrecia screamed, trying to block out the wild laughter.

"Lucrecia, I…" She looked up from her thoughts and could see injury hidden deep in his eyes. For a brief moment, her heart softened as the good part of her soul regained control, but the wave of compassion didn't last long.

"Stop talking to me. Get out of my room," she ordered, pointing at the door.

"I'm sorry…I didn't…"

"Get out!" Lucrecia whirled around. She heard him hesitate and felt an intense anguish tearing at his heart. There was a soft breeze as the door opened and a quiet click as it shut again. And Jenova laughed while Lucrecia's breath came in ragged gasps as she tried to take in what she'd done.. Jenova was almost crying with laughter, Lucreica was crying tears of sorrow. Jenova collapsed in a fit of hysterical laughter as Lucrecia collapsed on the bed, sobbing.

--------------------------------------------

Hojo smiled, stroking the glass jar he held in one hand sensually. "Oh, my Jenova, you are a masterful puppeteer."

"Come to me Hojo. I've taken the girl's body, she's mine. And I'm as good as yours."

"Soon, my pet, soon. I've a touch of work to finish, and then I'll be there," Hojo promised, lightly pressing his lips against the cool glass.

"I look forward to it."

--------------------------------------------

Gast slowly pushed open the door to Vincent's room. It was well past midnight and he expected the Turk to be asleep as usual. Stepping into the room, he noticed a shadow cast in the oblong square of moonlight that usually came through the window. Too late, he noticed Vincent standing by the window, leaning against the side and staring at the moon. Hastily he backed up, accidentally stepping on a creaky floorboard. He froze, wondering whether or not the Turk had noticed.

"I know you're here, Gast. Don't bother skulking around. You've been getting better at avoiding that board, but you nailed it this time. And I oiled the hinge on the door to the secret basement so it doesn't squeak so much when you open it."

Gast shook his head ruefully. So he'd known all the time. "I should have had better sense than to try and sneak past one of Shinra's elite. I trust I haven't been disturbing your sleep too much?"

"Not at all."

"Is something troubling you, boy?" Gast asked kindly, sensing pain in Vincent's voice.

"Yes."

Gast waited a few moments, expecting Vincent to continue. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"What's the trouble?" Gast asked.

Vincent didn't answer, staring up at the full moon.

Gast sighed. "Come on, tell me what's bothering you. It'll help to get it off your chest."

"I've never believed that."

Gast rolled his eyes. "Don't make me order you to tell me."

"Do what you have to."

"Vincent, you are, without a doubt, one of the most exasperating people I've ever met. Tell me what it is, now."

"If I disobey an order directly, are you going to report me?"

Gast shook his head. "I'm asking you as a friend. What's the matter?"

"A friend?"

"Aren't Turks allowed to have friends?"

"I'll check the rulebook."

"You seem awfully cynical this evening. It's Lucrecia isn't it?"

Gast felt a hint of satisfaction as Vincent turned to face him, but it faded when he saw how deeply it was affecting him. "Yeah."

"What happened?"

"Lots of stuff."

"Yes, I realize that. What sort of stuff?"

Vincent was silent for a moment, then seemed to change the subject. "Gast, what do you think of Hojo?"

"Honestly?" Gast hesitated, unsure whether he could trust the young Turk. "I think…he's a very devoted scientist."

"Enough with the goddamn science. What do you think of him as a person?"

"I…shouldn't judge people based on my emotional standings," Gast answered awkwardly.

"Please, Gast, spare me your diplomacy. I don't give a damn whether it's 'right or wrong' for you to judge Hojo, I want to know what your opinion of him is."

"Well, I…I think he's a bastard."

Vincent sighed. "Yes, it's a commonly held belief that Hojo's a bastard. What else?"

"He's arrogant and cruel and…umm…" Gast was unsure what Vincent hoped to gain from the conversation.

"Do you hate him?"

Gast didn't hesitate to answer this time. "Yes." His voice was flat and he clenched his hands into fists.

Vincent looked at the senior man curiously. "You do?"

"Is it so hard to believe? My soul is not near as pristine as it's made out to be."

Vincent sighed and laid his forehead against of the cool glass of the window. The glass was like ice, but he didn't feel it. "Why do you hate him?"

"I have my reasons," Gast replied shortly.

"What are they?"

Gast smiled coldly. "You tell me yours, I'll tell you mine."

"That's not fair."

"What is fair in your terms? When you get your way?"

"Sounds about right."

"Sorry, my boy, life doesn't work that way."

"No, it sure as hell doesn't," Vincent sighed.

"Come on, what's bugging you?" Gast hesitated for a moment, and then laid a fatherly hand on Vincent's shoulder.

"Lucrecia hates me."

Gast winced at the gravity of pain in the young man's voice. "Now, why would you say that?"

"Maybe because she told me so." Vincent sat down on the bed and held his head in his hands.

For a moment Gast thought it was rather ironic that one of the most deadly assassins in the world was in his room, sulking like a little boy. The feeling didn't last as the realization dawned that this may have been the first time the Turk had been confronted with a situation such as this. "Get some sleep, boy. It's late and it'll do you no good to stay up brooding."

"It won't do me any good to sleep either. Nor will it help to eat or drink or breathe."

Gast rolled his eyes again. He could sympathize with the young man, but he wished he didn't have to be so poetically melodramatic. "Oh hush. Trust me, son, you aren't the only boy in this world nursing your wounds. Across the country there are kids just like you sitting in their rooms, sulking and composing bad poetry."

"Do not call me a kid, I am not sulking, and get the hell out of my room."

"Sorry, my boy, I've experiments to tend to." Gast felt a flash of hope at the anger that flared in Vincent's voice, but it didn't last long.

"I don't even care anymore. I'm staying here for the rest of the week, tell Hojo if he has any errands for me to run he can stitch together some monstrosity from the spare body parts he's collected and give it life. I'm sure the pitiful existence it lives will far surpass mine."

Gast bit his lip as he slipped into the passage that led to the secret basement. In the morning he planned to have a little discussion with Lucrecia and expose the anxieties he felt, but didn't show.

--------------------------------------------

"Good morning, Lucrecia," Gast politely greeted the young scientist. She had entered the kitchen with a strangely dreamy look on her face and a lock of hair curled about one of her fingers.

"Good morning, Gast," Lucrecia smiled. "Lovely day isn't it?"

"It certainly is." The older scientist handed her a cup of coffee.

"Why thank you," Lucrecia smiled again and took a small sip.

Gast poured another mug of the steaming brew. "Would you be a dear and bring a cup up to Vincent? The boy's feeling a bit under the weather and I told him it was best that he stay in bed for the day." It wasn't entirely a lie. After all, Vincent was feeling lousy, and Gast did think it best that he be left alone for a while.

"No," Lucrecia answered flatly.

"Why ever not?"

"Because I'm not talking to Vincent."

"I repeat my question, why not?"

"I don't like him."

Gast felt Lucrecia didn't have any real reasons as to why she refused to speak to the Turk. "Why not?"

"He's…he…he said he hates Hojo!"

Gast arched an eyebrow. "I don't think his personal opinion of his employer is reason enough for you to hate him."

"He thinks what we're doing is wrong!" Lucrecia groped for another argument.

"Does he now? Frankly, so do I." Gast shook his head.

Lucrecia's eyes narrowed. "You defend him quite willingly, old man…"

"That I do. I don't know what you told him, but upstairs is a young man who you've hurt deeply…"

"You're making it sound like he's the victim!"

"Isn't he?"

"Ah…he…he's nothing more than a common murderer!"

"Now, Lucrecia…"

"You know it's true!" Lucrecia's voice was slightly shrill as she continued her tirade. "Well…maybe he isn't common, more like a very expensive murderer…"

"We can't help the vocations ShinRa has given us…"

"He kills with no feeling at all!"

"Stop it, Lucrecia. I can't believe you're saying this about another human being," Gast said sternly. "Having the blood of another stain your hands…is not something one forgets readily…" Gast clenched his hands into fists as he remembered the man he had slain. How the soldier had lain there unmoving, how Hojo had smiled, and how Iflana had subconsciously lifted a hand to cover Aeris' eyes.

"Well, he does!"

Gast shook his head again. "Lucrecia, I don't think you realize how innocent he is."

"Innocent?! You call him innocent? He's killed more people than he can remember and…"

"I don't mean it that way, though it may be a godsend he's seen as much pain and death as he has. Do you know the sort of training a Turk goes through? Often they see their families butchered before their very eyes. As though that isn't enough, then their training starts. Only half the recruits graduate. Most often their teachers kill them during lessons if the lessons themselves don't kill them first. The greatest lesson they learn is not openly taught, but by the end of their training all Turks have very finely honed survival instincts."

"How does all this contribute to poor little Vincent's innocence?" Lucrecia asked sarcastically.

Gast gave her a warning glare. "Imagine that, from the time you were eighteen, you knew no one would ever take care of you except maybe ShinRa. Naturally, all Turks relate to each other as comrades, but there's almost a family type fellowship. And yet they're all alone. No one to go home to, no one to really talk to, and no one who really cares whether or not they die the next mission. Of course, no human could take such neglect without a little retaliation. A common attitude is 'No one cares about me? Fine. I don't care about anyone else either.'"

"How do you know all this?"

"I originally studied to be a psychologist for ShinRa. It gave me the opportunity to sit down and talk with someone these young men. A lot of the time the response was less than cordial, along the lines of: 'I don't care who the %# your trying to study, keep outta my face or I'll strangle you with your own intestines!' Typical. They aren't a very trusting bunch. Once or twice I got a boy to bear his heart and soul to me. The anguish and heartache these kids go through is unbearable."

"I still don't understand what all this has to do with Vincent." Lucrecia stifled a yawn.

"Don't you understand? I know you see the way he looks at you. The way he hangs on your every word when you speak. How confused he is about what he's feeling. How your very presence in his life contradicts everything he's been taught over the past ten years. For once he sees someone who maybe, possibly, despite everything he believes is true, could care about him."

"Well, I don't."

Gast looked at Lucrecia with sad eyes. "You used to."

"I have to go see Hojo now." Lucrecia smiled brightly as inside Jenova laughed at the pains of a foolish human, while Lucrecia wept for what she had failed to see.

--------------------------------------------

"Let's go back."

"Not until you answer me," Red said firmly, blocking the stairway as Vincent made to leave.

"I sincerely hope you aren't counting on an answer."

"I sincerely hope you weren't looking forward to getting back to the airship." Red sat down, glancing back over his shoulder, just as Vincent jumped agilely out the window. Red rolled his eyes and ran down the stairs again. As he exited the building Vincent landed lightly on the ground in front of him.

"I'm taking that little stunt as a 'yes' unless you'd like to tell me otherwise." Red followed Vincent as he headed back towards Barret's house.

"Take it however you want."

"You're extraordinarily childish sometimes. There are more conventional ways of getting out of a four story tower."

"What's the matter, Red? Or is it simply that the old fear change?"

"Hey!" Red sound slightly offended. "You just insulted me!"

"How terribly observant."

Red chuckled. "No, not at all. Were I observant, I'd have noticed what a cynic you are. To my credit, I did catch on to just how much you seem to like Lyria."

"I thought that subject was closed to discussion."

"Is that how you refer to her? 'That subject'? It sounds like an awfully touchy matter," Red snorted. "Will you admit that she's gorgeous? Hair like silk, skin soft as rose petals, eyes of jade with more depth than the ocean. Honestly, one doesn't come much closer to perfection."

"Fine."

"Well, it's a step in the right direction. What about that she's intelligent?"

"Yes, all right, fine, she's brilliant." Red disregarded the note of impatience in Vincent's voice.

"What about that she's in love with you?"

"When did she say that?"

"That got you interested, didn't it?"

"No."

"Those weren't her exact words. Although…you have heard her say exactly that, haven't you?"

"How would you know?" Vincent asked suspiciously, turning blood red eyes on his companion.

Red smiled. "I know a lot of things."

"One thing however, that you seem grossly misinformed about, is when to shut up."

"I think you should tell her how you feel," Red advised, ignoring Vincent's insult.

"I don't feel anything!"

"Adamant aren't we?"

"Can we just leave?"

"Fine. We better head back; we need to get to Midgar before sunset anyway." Red bit his lip, deliberating whether to take one last shot at Vincent. He decided to throw caution to the winds. "I bet Lyria missed you…"

"Shut up."

--------------------------------------------

"Good evening Lyria," Red said politely, joining the young physician on the deck. "Lovely night, no?"

"Yeah…" Lyria sighed, looking out over the skyline of Midgar. The airship was hovering above the city, until the next morning when the team planned to head into Midgar.

"You sound troubled," Red commented, sitting down on his haunches and regarding the young woman curiously.

"Do I?" Lyria smiled sadly. "I'm sorry."

"Not at all. May I ask what's on your mind?" Red asked, though he knew the answer already.

"Do you need to? What's been on my mind ever since we met? What keeps me up every night? What is it that everyone knows about, except the one person who I've come out and born my heart to?"

"Such melancholy thoughts should not burden the mind and trouble the countenance of one so pretty," Red responded.

"Red, why doesn't he like me?"

"He does."

"It's a terribly cruel way he has of showing it."

"It's a terribly cruel existence he's lived," Red pointed out. "What do you see when you look at him?"

"I'm not sure…I see…he needs someone. I can tell that somebody has hurt him very badly and the scars still burn in his soul. I think, deep down, he wants to tell someone what's happened, but he doesn't know how."

Red nodded. "That much is correct. What else?"

"He's not afraid of anything. I feel as though he could stare death in the face with as much emotion as he shows me."

"Here, your thinking goes awry."

Lyria cocked her head to the side. "How so? If one isn't afraid of death, what is there to be afraid of?"

"Life." Red held up a paw when she opened her mouth to protest. "Consider before you argue. He's had a lot of people hurt him very badly. What other reason is there for him to shy away from people? Even among allies, he's cold and distant. The moment someone, namely you, tried to reach out to him, he all but ran away to his little dark corner to try and puzzle his way through what you did and come up with a logical explanation as to why you're baiting him."

"I'm not baiting him!" Lyria objected. "I care about him, I really do!"

"He can't understand that. In his own mind he's too different from humanity to be accepted as a part of society, let alone a friend or lover. I feel he's faced rejection before and it affected him more harshly than he'd admit."

"But he's so wrong!"

"Thirty years in a coffin can warp your perspectives."

"I could fix it…if he would let me, I could make it all better…"

"I don't doubt it."

Lyria looked at Red curiously. "I remember you told me I should leave him alone."

"I did," Red chuckled. "And, like a child, you ignored me and went right on, forcing your nature on him."

"Why are you encouraging me now?"

"Because you're right. You know what he needs, better than I ever could. And you can deliver it."

Chapter 9

"These are the slums of Midgar?" Lyria whispered, staring about in open-mouthed shock at the hellhole around her.

"Yup. Home sweet home," Barret said, sweeping an arm around grandly. "This is as close to hell as you're going to get…"

"People live here?"

"People survive here. Or they try to. You can't call this a life," Tifa said sadly.

"I'd heard the slums were terrible, but I had no idea…" Lyria looked near tears as she watched a little girl in a tattered pink dress playing in the area between the worn down buildings, amidst broken glass and chunks of twisted scrap metal. "I…I used to go to school at Midgar University…I wrote a paper on the condition of the slums and how medical standards were so primitive there. I'd never even been to the slums and I made up most of the content of the paper, figuring I could make up for the grade I would get later…I got full marks…no one on the upper plate is aware of what it's like down here…"

"We all feel the same way, Lyria…but, even if we defeated Sephiroth and stopped the usage of Mako energy, we didn't cure every blemish on the surface of this world…not even Holy could have done that…" Cloud said, sighing.

"Let's get outta here, this place is depressin'. I'm glad Shera stayed with Marlene on the Highwind…they're probably down in Costa del Sol…soaking up sun and having good times…" Cid sighed. "Where're we supposed to find Reeve?"

"I might have an idea…" Lyria said slowly. "Could I borrow the PHS for a moment Cloud?"

"You know his number?"

"I think I'll phone one of the professors at my university…he's the head medical professor and I think he might be willing to help…" Lyria closed her eyes for a moment, remembering the number. "Ok, here goes…" Lyria dialed and held the phone to her ear.

"Well?" Cid pressed.

"It's ringing…Hello, Midgar University Reference Desk? Hi, could you put me through to Dr. Gabriel Lewis please? Just tell him it's Lyria Kindred calling…sure, I'll hold…"

"What sorta fruitcake has a name like 'Gabriel'?" Barret whispered to Cid, who grinned.

Lyria glared at them and then suddenly exclaimed. "Dr. Lewis? It's me, Lyria…it's lovely to hear from you again too, sir…I can't talk long…I don't want to waste the battery on my PHS…I'm in the slums of Midgar actually…What?...Thank you sir…I did enjoy working on that paper, it opened my eyes to a whole new world down here…" Lyria glanced at Tifa and rolled her eyes. "I'd love to get together with you some time…we won't be in Midgar long though…huh? Well…umm, yes I'm still single…"

"What on earth would he want to know that for?" Red whispered.

"I'm sorry to hear that, sir…Yes, I'm sure she did…Uh huh…" Lyria was silent for a few moments. "Oh would you sir? That would be lovely…three o' clock…" she glanced at her watch quickly. "Dear me, that's only forty-five minutes from now…no, we can probably make it…the usual method, then?…I'm not sure where the nearest station is, but we'll do our best. Thank you very much sir…I'll see you soon…Bye." Lyria handed the PHS back to Cloud. "We have forty-five minutes to get on the next train to the upper plate."

"That'll be in Wall Market…but it's heavily guarded to prevent slums people from getting up there…" Cloud said. "It's not far really, but how will we get up?"

"Leave it to me."

--------------------------------------------

"Ok, now…you four…" Lyria gestured at Cloud, Barret, Cid and Vincent, "Will be my bodyguards." The group stood outside the dress store of Wall Market, waiting around for orders.

"What?" Cid asked puzzled. "The hell you need bodyguards for?"

"A woman like me shouldn't be wandering the slums alone…I need some protection…just look like you'll kill anyone who looks at me cross-eyed."

"Goody." Cloud unsheathed his sword.

"Red, I hate to demean you like this, but would you act like a pet?"

"If it'll help us get to ShinRa, I'll do it…" Red said dubiously.

"Thanks…now, Yuffie and Tifa, this is where I need your help…come with me…we've got to get equipped."

Yuffie and Tifa followed Lyria into the dress store and Cloud uneasily shifted from one foot to the other. "I've got a really bad feeling about this…"

--------------------------------------------

"It's been fifteen minutes…what the hell are those three doin' in there?" Cid grumbled. No one took any notice when three women in short skirts and high heels exited the building and walked over to their group.

"Cloud?" The tallest woman said, she was wearing a short black skirt and a red halter-top. Knee high leather boots and a chain link belt completed the outfit. She wore only light makeup and her hair was swept into a ponytail high on her head and was held with a diamond clip. The only other trace of jewelry she wore was a jeweled temporary tattoo in the small of her back in the shape of a rose. "We're ready."

"Lyria?!" Cloud exclaimed.

"Us too Cloud!" Tifa giggled. "Recognize this dress? The shopkeeper remembered, bless his heart. He wanted to know if you were interested in any of the latest spring fashions…"

"The hell? What you talkin' about Tifa?" Cid asked.

"Long story, Cid. I'll tell you later…" Barret grinned wickedly at Cloud, who was blushing furiously.

"I feel like such…a girl…" Yuffie whined. The ninja's one-piece green dress was tight and strapless. She had a naturally fit figure and her short hair was spiked so it stood up and curled slightly.

"We have to get going. Let me do the talking when we get to the station…" Lyria set off with Red at her heels, chatting amicably with Tifa and Yuffie. The others followed quickly and caught up just as a slouching man with an unmistakable look of wanton lust in his eyes approached the three girls. Red was growling deep in his throat as the man strode closer.

"Hello ladies…anyone of you lookin' fer a good time? Hell, why not all three of you?" the man laughed insanely.

"You know, we're always up for good times," Lyria batted her eyes naughtily as the four "bodyguards" approached, "but we're on business, and these four here…" Lyria casually laid a hand on Vincent's shoulder, Tifa slipped an arm through Cloud's and Yuffie jerked at thumb at Cid. Barret looked menacing enough with his gun arm leveled at the man's head. "These four like to stick to business."

The man yelped and took off at a sprint. Tifa, Lyria, and Yuffie giggled and continued on their way to the station.

--------------------------------------------

"Excuse me? My name's Lyria, Dr. Lewis told me to come here…" Lyria shyly approached the guard at the entrance to the train.

"Dr. Lewis eh? So he's scouting for a new plaything already…dear me that was quick…" The guard glanced at Lyria's entourage. "Who're they?"

"Bodyguards, my two best friends, and my precious baby, Reddikins."

"Oh. Ok, well, you can get on the train. It should take you straight to Midgar U. Good luck, pretty lady. If he turns you down, there are welcome arms for comfort here…" the guard winked roguishly.

"Thanks. It'll cost you though…"

"How much, angel face?"

"More than you could afford," Vincent threatened.

"Ah…I'll just be letting you through then…" the guard gave the party a last, terrified glance and stepped aside. The compartment they entered was not well maintained, but it was empty. Cid and Barret stood at the doors at opposite ends of the car, to ensure it stayed that way.

"So what's this Dr. Lewis like?" Red asked. "Why did he ask if you were still single?"

"From what Lyria's told me, he sounds worse then Don Corneo…" Tifa said.

"Worse? Than that #&#% bastard?" Yuffie exclaimed. "Oh greaaaaaat…I want my shuriken back."

"Don't worry. He won't lay a hand on you. It's me he's been after for the past ten years," Lyria assured her. "He's a bad tempered, lecherous old man with only one eye and it's strictly reserved for women. But he's the best doctor in the world so the university keeps him on staff."

"This is the man we're getting help from to enter ShinRa headquarters?" Red asked.

"Yes."

"Isn't he going to want something in return?"

"Probably. But he isn't going to get it."

"Well…why will he bother helping us then?"

"He's a sporting old fellow, despite his temper. He likes the thrill of the chase. He'll let me go and try to catch me later. Of course, later, we'll be long gone."

"Are you sure? This sounds like a terrible risk…"

"I'll be fine…girls used to do this all the time if they wanted to get passing marks on their exams."

"I don't like the sound of it."

"You don't have to Reddikins; we've got to do it anyway, so we might as well make the most of it…"

--------------------------------------------

Lyria knocked on the door to Dr. Lewis's office. "You wait here. I'll signal you when to come in…"

"Come on in, if it's who I think it is…" a grating old voice called.

"Doctor?" Lyria entered the room and closed the door behind her, but not all the way.

"Lyria! So good to see you, pet! So you finally gave up, huh? Well that's lovely…come here my darling, no sense wasting time." There was a ruffle of paper heard outside the door as Dr. Lewis swept the documents off his desk.

"Could we address a rather pressing matter first, sir?"

"Quickly my dear, quickly…"

"Well…I need to get into ShinRa headquarters…"

"Do you, darling? That's lovely…there's a ball going on this evening to initiate the new head of Sciences at the company…and I have a couple extra invitations…"

"Do you? Do you think you could get me and a friend in?"

"A friend?"

"Please, doctor…" Lyria's voice had taken on a cajoling tone. "I promise, if you help us out, I'll let you catch me…"

There was an audible click in the hallway as Vincent flicked off the safety of the small revolver in his hand.

"All right angel, but remember, you promised…and what better time to keep a promise than now…"

"Sorry, doctor…" Lyria clapped her hands and everyone entered the room, weapons leveled at Dr. Lewis. "Not right now."

The doctor was squat and had grizzled gray hair and a patch over one eye. He laughed raucously as the team entered the room. "Good show Lyria! Brought a few toys for me to play with?"

Tifa wrapped her arms around Cloud's neck and Yuffie yelled a long string of expletives that should most likely not have been in her vocabulary.

"Ho, ho, ho…I like the young one, she's got spunk…but you remember your promise, Lyria…" Dr. Lewis handed her two cards with a stylized version of the ShinRa logo on the front.

"Of course, sir."

"Now, who's the one coming with you?"

"I am."

Every eye in the room turned to Vincent.

"You? This is a classy party, young man. You can't show up looking like a cadaver."

"I'm going."

"Not looking like that, you aren't. A pretty thing like Lyria on your arm? Unlikely my boy, highly unlikely."

"I do want him to come, Dr. Lewis…" Lyria said, finally glancing at Vincent.

"If your pretty little heart is set on it…" the doctor rummaged in his desk for a moment and tossed Lyria a roll of bills. "Go buy some nice looking clothes."

"Doctor, there must be over four thousand Gil here!"

"Buy some really nice looking clothes."

"Sir, I can't accept this…"

"Just go, my dear! The salary of a doctor and a professor allows for a lot."

"T-thank you sir…"

"Take him," Dr. Lewis jerked his head at Vincent, "to the tailor on ShinRa Avenue. Tell the manager I sent him."

"Lyria, could we go to Chez Elle to get you a gown?" Tifa asked excitedly. "It's a gorgeous place…it's where I got my wedding gown…"

"Let's go then, the party's tonight, so we don't have much time…"

"All right, Cid, you go get rooms at an inn near ShinRa Avenue so we have somewhere to get ready…"

"How many rooms?"

"Three should be enough…maybe four…" Tifa answered, grabbing Lyria's arm and pulling her to the door. "Come on, Yuffie."

"Right behind ya' Tifa!"

"Hey! Wait a minute! You took all the $#%$& money!" Barret shouted.

"Oh, bother…" Dr. Lewis pulled out another roll of bills threw it to Barret. "Don't let your women run off with it this time."

"We won't…" Cloud assured him. "Let's get going too…"

Chapter 10

"Are you ready yet Lyria?" Cid yelled up the stairs. "How #$%&- long does it # %&&% take a woman to get ready?"

"Yeah…you were about good in an hour, right Vincent?"

"Around that."

The team had met up about three hours later, after taking taxis to various stores around Midgar. Lyria, Tifa, and Yuffie had depleted the four thousand Gil they were given, spending atrocious amounts on shoes, getting Lyria's hair and make up done, buying various accessories, and jewelry. Tifa had sheepishly phoned in the middle of their shopping to ask Cloud if they were done and if they had any money left, could they possibly have it? Cloud had sighed and obliged, transferring the money to the couple's bank account so Tifa and the other two could polish it off. When they had finally arrived at the hotel they had immediately run straight up stairs to the room they'd designated as theirs, with the cab driver in tow, carrying all the boxes. Barret, Cid, Vincent, Cloud and Red had returned after an hour and decided it was probably easiest to relax at the bar for a little while, as Lyria got ready. Now, two hours later, they were still waiting.

"Well, what's taking so long?" Cloud asked.

"Why don't you go up again and check? Unless of course, you're still recovering from when you tried to get up last and Yuffie pushed you down the stairs…" Red smiled, remembering Cloud's attempt.

"Shut up, Red…I have an idea…let's go rent a car…"

"Why?" Vincent asked. Cloud surmised that Vincent's appearance was probably similar to what it had been when he was a member of the Turks, except now in a black suit, instead of a dark blue one. At Tifa's firm insistence, he'd had his hair cut, far shorter than it had been and several locks in the front always fell in front of his eyes, lending a charmingly boyish appearance, until one got a look at his eyes and noticed their icy look and blood red color.

"So Cid can go too," Red answered, guessing Cloud's thought.

"Huh?" Cid glanced up. "What're you talkin' about?"

"As a chauffeur. You could get them in unnoticed and then wait in the chauffeurs' lounge in the parkade…"

"For how %&#% long?"

"There'll be drinks, Cid," Vincent assured him.

"Oh. Ok, that's different then."

"Just make sure you have your PHS on in case we need you."

"Okey dokey."

"So you know what to do?" Cloud asked Vincent.

"How many times have you asked Cloud? Six?"

"All right, all right…sheesh…"

"What's the time?" Red asked.

"Almos' eight…" Barret glanced at the clock on the wall. "Considerin' it's starts at eight thirty you better go get that car Cid…there's a rental place jes' down the block though, so you can get it fast…an' rent a uniform too."

"I'm not stupid Barret…well, not as stupid as you…"

"Shut up, fly boy."

"Fly boy? Better than bein' a mangy dog…"

"Excuse me?" Red said indignantly.

"Er…at least I got both arms…"

Vincent drummed the fingers of his left hand on the table, making a metallic ticking noise.

"Argh…" Cid grumbled.

"You gonna call him spiky headed, Mako-eyed moron now?" Cloud asked sarcastically.

"Who's a spiky headed, Mako-eyed moron?" Yuffie asked curiously, entering the room with her hands in her pockets.

"Cloud," Vincent answered quietly.

Yuffie laughed out loud. "Yup, he sure is, isn't he? Lyria's ready, but she's kinda nervous…she's waiting in the lobby."

"That's to be expected. She's surprisingly shy sometimes," Red said.

"Come on already, she wants to go…" Yuffie said impatiently, leading the way into the hotel lobby.

Lyria stood near the reception desk, chatting with Tifa. All traces of the brash makeup, hairstyle and clothing she had worn were gone except for the rose tattoo. She wore a black sleeveless and backless gown fastened at the neck in a similar halter style with a jeweled red rose. The gown reached to the floor and let the tips of her opened toed red shoes peek through. Ruby earrings, black gloves with red embroidery lacing up the wrists, and a strange choker type necklace that appeared to be a seamless gold ring with round red jewels in it every few inches completed the outfit. Her hair was flowing down her back, slightly curled, with streaks of gold offsetting the deep chestnut color and her skin almost seemed to glow in the warm light of the hotel.

"Hi everyone…" Lyria said shyly, turning around and letting the slightly flared hemline of her dress twirl. "How do I look?"

"We told you already, Lyr, you look incredible," Tifa told her. "It wouldn't hurt to hear it from you four too though…" she added critically.

"I wish I wasn't married…" Cloud murmured, earning a smack in the head from Tifa.

"You look real nice Lyria…" Barret added.

"A vision," Red pronounced.

Lyria glanced expectantly at Vincent, shy smile lighting up her delicate features.

"Are you ready to go?"

Lyria's eyes registered slight disappointment. "I suppose so."

"Cid should be around in a few minutes with the car…" Red glanced out the window at the streets of Midgar. "There he is…good luck you two, don't get in trouble."

"Don't worry about us, Red. We'll be fine," Lyria promised, exiting the hotel and holding up her dress as she walked down the stone steps.

"Here," Barret handed Vincent several clips of ammo. "I'm assumin' you got a revolver with you?"

"Yeah. Is this nine millimeter?"

"You think I'm stupid too? I know what t' put in a revolver…"

"Thank you." Vincent pocketed the bullets and headed out the door after Lyria. He caught up to her as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Cid held the door of a stylish luxury car open and helped Lyria in. The pilot was wearing a slightly rumpled uniform and a rather sour expression. "Get in already, we're gonna be late…"

"Not bred for a life of service, are we Cid?" Lyria teased as Vincent sat down next to her.

Cid grunted and slammed the car door. A few moments later he took his place behind the wheel and the vehicle roared to life and sped down the highway.

"Christ, Cid! You're going to get us killed!" Vincent exclaimed.

Lyria tilted her head to the side. "You know, that's the first time I've ever heard you sound startled before."

"It doesn't happen very often."

"Why not?"

Vincent shrugged. "Training, I guess. Turks aren't supposed to show emotion."

"That's so different from the life I know…"

"It didn't say it was any better."

"I know you didn't."

"You two talk too much," Cid snorted, swerving around a corner and down a ramp into a darkened parkade.

"And to think I worried about our safety inside the ShinRa building. I didn't know getting there would be half the fun…" Lyria said, kicking the back of Cid's seat.

"You kids behave or I'll turn this thing around and we'll go straight home," Cid answered sternly.

"Is that materia in that necklace Lyria?" Vincent changed the subject and examined the choker Lyria wore closely.

"Uh huh. Yuffie lent it to me; I've got quite a few here, actually."

"Charming."

Lyria giggled. "Well, if you've got a gun or two, I can't be totally defenseless."

"Something like that."

Chapter 11

Cid pulled up in front of a gray door. "End of the line. Get out of my car."

"It's not yours, Cid," Lyria reminded him.

"It is for tonight. Now out."

"Touchy this evening, aren't we?" Lyria assumed a superior look. "Very well then, driver, we'll be off for the night…do try not to get too terribly drunk."

Vincent half smiled as Cid scowled and stuck his tongue out at Lyria.

"Hmph. No tip for you." Lyria took Vincent's arm and the couple entered the doors.

"Good evening," A red uniformed guard politely greeted them. "May I see your invitations?"

"Here." Lyria handed the man two gold embossed cards and smiled whimsically. "My husband and I are just dying to join the festivities…"

"This seems to be in order…Enjoy the evening." The guard stepped aside as the elevator door opened.

"Husband?" Vincent asked as the elevator doors slid shut and the digital numbers on the screen began to climb.

"What's wrong with that?"

"I didn't think…"

"No, you obviously didn't. What did you think we were going to be? Brother and sister? Not on your life, it was either married or engaged…except…I don't have a ring…"

"You're wearing gloves."

"What about you?"

"Wedding rings are customarily worn on the left hand, correct?" Vincent held up the metal claw. "Where would I put it?"

"Oh, all right…but we're still married."

"Fine."

"What about names? I think mine is ok, but won't people recognize yours?"

"Maybe. It's been a long time."

"We should think of something different."

"Like what?"

"How about Dawson? After my father."

"If you want."

"Come on, you have to give me input one way or the other…"

"Fine. It's a good name."

"So Dawson and Lyria Kindred?"

"Yes."

"Ok, good."

There was a soft chime and the elevator doors opened into a brightly lit ballroom. Lyria and Vincent stepped out, Lyria still resting a hand lightly on Vincent's arm.

"It wasn't like this when I worked here…" Vincent murmured.

"No? Does that mean the rest of the building is different too?"

"Probably not…they may even have just redone this floor for tonight…"

"Sorry. I'm nervous…"

"Don't be. Nothing will go wrong. We'll slip away to one of the lower floors after asking around a bit about where Hojo's records would be…"

"You seem so confident…" Lyria's tone was almost envious.

"I know what we're supposed to be doing and I used to work here."

"So shall we go mingle?"

"I guess."

"I want to meet people who are Turks like you were."

"Anyone in a blue suit is a Turk…"

"There aren't all that many of them are there?" Lyria glanced around the large room, spotting only a handful of ShinRa's special forces.

"It wasn't always like this…there used to be far more…"

"Well…I'd like to meet one of them…"

"Why?"

"Maybe it'll help me understand you better."

"I doubt it."

"I think it'll help." Lyria pulled Vincent over to a large buffet along the wall where two blue suited men were standing. One was tall, well built, and bald with dark glasses and the other had flaming red hair and a rather rumpled appearance, as though he'd slept in his clothes.

"Lyria, this probably isn't the best idea…"

"Why not?"

"Because…" Vincent trailed off and looked hard at the two men. It was impossible…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I can't believe it. I never expected you to be promoted to Second Class. My congratulations, Vincent."

"...Thank you, Professor."

"Quite welcome. It's just that... How did you do it? When it comes to diplomatics, your only real talent is stopping the conversation. As quiet as you are, it almost seems that people can feel you coming up behind them. No matter how undercover you go, people stay away from you. Mind you, I've never seen such a good shot with any firearm; but..."

"I suppose they saw what the new recruits looked like, and decided to show them who was on top of the mountain."

"Indeed. Two of them show a great deal of potential though. Er... A Charles Reno, and a Rutford Kevins."

"They're the ones I was talking about. If Mister Reno wasn't so good with his mouth, that open shirt and busted up jacket would have kicked him out already. And the other one... He has the personality of a brick. Talks about as much as one, too."

"Indeed. But he hits as hard as one, or so the trainers say."

"True. I called him Rutford, and he was about an inch away from giving me a black eye in a second. He refuses to answer to anything but Rude. Fitting nickname, I say."

"Hmm. Quite right, Mister Valentine. Now, I want to ask you a favour."

"..."

"Volunteer yourself with those two, and go out for a bit. I have a target, which will be a great help for our research. Would you be so kind as to help us get it?"

"Why not?"

"Excellent. Join me in my office, and I'll show you the pictures. Her name's Ifalna."

"I'm right behind you, Professor Gast."

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Planetary Year- 1904 --- 7/6 60° N, 30° W, somewhere above the Gaea Mountain Range

"So... Let me get this straight. You drag our rumps halfway across the world, to the coldest goddamn point on the Planet, to capture a girl who Gast wants to use as a guinea pig?"

"..." Vincent said nothing. How many times did he have to tell them?

"..."

Rude's silence made Reno even more uncomfortable than Vincent's did. He shrugged. "Okay, okay. Just making sure. Don't want to screw up my first field mission, that's all."

The helicopter zoomed over oceans and wastelands, through freezing winds and small blizzards. Reno and Rude shivered in their suits. Vincent calmly removed his midnight blue cape from his pack, and threw it around his shoulders.

"Why do you wear that? It can't make you that warm. It just makes you look like a freak." Reno said.

Even through the rookie's sunglasses, Vincent could feel Rude's embarrassment at his partner's brashness.

Vincent lifted one eyebrow, and drew his gun from its holster. He pulled the corner of his cape around the barrel, and pointed the gun at Reno through the cape. He pulled the trigger. Reno flinched. The bullet harmlessly bounced off of the cape, onto the floor.

"If it can hold a bullet, shouldn't it be able to hold the wind and snow?"

Reno gulped, and nodded.

Vincent said nothing for the rest of the flight to the Icicle Inn.

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Planetary Year- 1904 --- 7/6 Icicle Inn, Gaea Mountains

The snow burst up in giant clouds as the chopper slowly lowered itself to the ground. Three midnight blue clad gentlemen stepped out of the chopper. The tallest one, with wild, black hair, said something to the pilot. The chopper returned to the sky, and flew southward, towards the wastes beyond the town. The men split up, and began walking from home to home. A woman stepped out of her cabin, and waved to the tall one. "Over here!"

Vincent saw the women, with long brown hair. It was her! He whistled sharply, signalling to his fellows, and began to walk towards his target.

"I am Ifalna," she said. "I will not go with you."

Vincent balked in surprise and anger, and was about to argue with the woman.

"But," The woman held up her hand, to keep him from arguing, "I will allow Professor Gast to come here. If he wishes, I will allow him to set up his lab here, in my home."

Vincent was surprised. How had she known? He paused. "..." Finally, he reached into his pocket, and pulled out his PHS. (Personal Handheld -communication- System)

"Gast? It's Vincent. We have a proposition. How would you like to take a little vacation?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Because what?" Lyria asked.

"I'm not sure…I don't know why I didn't see it sooner…I think I might know the both of them…"

"From where?"

"They gave us a lot of trouble recently…two years ago, I mean. I didn't pay much attention to either of them, probably because I didn't care at the time…but they seem awfully familiar…"

"From where? Did you know them when you were a Turk?"

"It feels like it."

"But…that would mean they'd both have to be at least in their fifties…the red head doesn't look much older than you, maybe even younger…"

"I know…"

"Odd…oh well. Can't let a mere coincidence stop me…" Lyria slipped away and walked up to the pair of men. She picked up a plate and reached between them for a slice of fruit that was sitting on one of the platters on the table. "Excuse me…"

"Any time, gorgeous. I must say, the view is nicer with you in front of me instead of Rude." The red haired man grinned mischievously. "Name's Reno. I know a charming little broom closet on the floor just above this one…wanna come get to know me better?"

Lyria looked coolly at the Turk. "I'd have to ask my husband first…"

"Oh, dammit. Husband, eh? And I take it you aren't one of the delightfully sinful vixens who sees a husband as a mere misunderstanding, to be overlooked when he gets old and boring?"

"Sorry, no."

"Well, I tried…who's your husband? Maybe I know him…"

"Ah…I don't think so…we're from out of town…Dawson…my husband, Dawson Kindred and I. I'm Lyria, by the way."

"Pretty name for a pretty lady. This is Rude." Reno pointed over Lyria's shoulder at the man in sunglasses. "He doesn't talk too much."

"Pleasure to meet you, Rude…rather an odd name, though, isn't it?" Lyria held out a velvet-gloved hand. The grip she was met with was surprisingly firm, even though she could tell he was trying to hold her hand lightly.

Rude didn't answer, but Reno interjected. "His real name's…" Reno was cut off as Rude covered his face with a large hand. Reno struggled for a moment and banged a Rude's forearm with a fist. Rude held on for a little longer, and then released Reno who choked and gasped for air.

"That isn't very healthy…" Lyria admonished.

"Heh. It's ok. If Rude doesn't kill me, it'll be drinking, smoking, or a bullet somewhere…personally, I think I'd prefer Rude's methods. I'd rather have a friend kill me than someone I don't know."

"That's an odd attitude…"

"I suppose. Just a different way of looking at things really…"

"Lyria? Why'd you wander off?" Reno glanced up as a tall man with black hair came up and casually wrapped an arm around Lyria's slender shoulders. "Who are these two?"

"Sorry, darling, I just wanted a bit of something to eat…this is Reno," Lyria pointed to the red head. "And this is Rude."

"Charmed, I'm sure."

"Nice to meet you too, Stretch," Reno grinned.

"Hey Reno! Who're you talkin' to?" A young blonde woman in a navy blue suit pushed her way through the crowd over to where Reno and Rude were standing.

"Just some people." Reno shrugged. "You talk too much, so we didn't mention you…"

"Reno! That wasn't nice! I'm Elena." The blonde Turk gave a little wave and smiled at Lyria. "What's your name?"

"Lyria Kindred, and this is my husband, Dawson."

"Oh. So…where're you from?"

"Kalm," Lyria answered, glancing at Vincent.

"Never been there. What's it like?"

"You've never been? I thought the Turks were better traveled…"

"Turks are. Elena isn't." Reno gave Elena a playful shove.

"What do you mean by that Reno? I'm as much a Turk as you are!"

"I've been a Turk longer than you."

"Not much longer."

Reno ignored Elena and instead looked past her at a fat man who was waddling his way over to the small group. "Oh damn…watch it Elena, here comes Corneo…you watch yourself too, Lyria…"

"Hello, ladies…" Don Corneo sidled up to Elena and gave her a lecherous grin. "How you doin' sweetie?"

"Leave me alone…" Elena said, hiding behind Rude.

"Not in a playful mood, kitten? Well, what about you?" Corneo turned to Lyria. "You're a lovely creature…wanna have some fun?"

"Touch me and I'll kill you."

"A delicate little thing like you?" Corneo laughed.

Vincent reached out his left hand and closed it firmly around the collar of Corneo's shirt. "You think she might be able to kill you. You know I can."

"In a room full of people like this?" Corneo laughed again.

Vincent slipped his gun out of its holster and pressed the muzzle against Corneo's forehead. "Yes. In a room full of people like this."

"You wouldn't…" Sweat beaded on Corneo's forehead and trickled down onto the barrel of the handgun. "Not…not in a room full of people. I'm a respected citizen…"

"Are you really? Do you see one person here who would care if I shot you between the eyes?"

"But…that's murder…"

"I say it was in self defense. You three saw it, right? He attacked me."

"Yup. Plain as day. Don't know what came over you Corneo, jealousy of Lyria maybe?" Reno said, shaking his head in mock disapproval.

Rude nodded his agreement and Elena smiled wickedly.

"Now, leave my wife alone and if you come back you can pretty much expect a bullet in the forehead."

Corneo stumbled off, trembling like a very fat leaf.

Reno laughed. "I like your style, Dawson. Reminds me of our old boss. You'd make a good Turk."

"I'm sure…joining the Turks…shooting people for fun and profit…"

Reno laughed again, Elena giggled and even Rude smiled slightly.

"Stop joking, Dawson. Would he really?" Lyria asked.

"Sure. We need more recruits lately, since our forces started getting whittled down."

"How so?"

"Well, after the Wutai war we were pretty well half what we'd been, and a lot of Turks have been switching to SOLDIER now that ShinRa's got pretty much exclusive control of business and industry. We just sorta dwindled down until we were only used as special forces in raids and spy jobs and the like…"

"Wasn't that what only the Elite members of the Turks were capable of?"

"That's the thing; the only members left were the Elite. Once in a while a recruit with potential comes along, like Elena, and we get a new member, but other than that, it's pretty sparse. We aren't even needed any more…well…we're needed, but not used."

"Why not?"

"Because of the tub of lard that's become the head of a once proud and dignified corporation," Rude finally spoke.

"Palmer," Vincent guessed.

"Right. He sits in his office all day; afraid to leave…President ShinRa was the best this company ever had. Even Rufus was better than this. He was an arrogant little bastard, but he was damn intelligent and he took action. When the Promised Land was mentioned, Rufus went looking for it, when Sephiroth got to be a problem, we were sent after him, when Weapon rose outta the ocean and was gonna level Midgar, Rufus fired Sister Ray at it."

"So you're saying that without a leader who'll take decisive action, there's no heart left in this company?"

"That's about it."

"What about Reeve?"

"No one ever really thought about him. He's kept his job, but only because Palmer's too timid to have him removed. Even if he did, a fair number of ShinRa workers support what Reeve did. Whether we understood why or not, Reeve stood against a company that he knew was massively powerful because he knew what was going on wasn't right. I don't know whether the Hierarchy was blinded by power or just corrupt, or what…but they all ran themselves into the ground except Reeve and Palmer. In reality, I guess Reeve came out on top, but because there're a couple extra zeros on the end of Palmer's paycheck he took the lead."

Elena and Lyria had long since fallen out of the discussion of politics and ethics and were conversing about Lyria's shoes and gown. Suddenly Lyria gave a little cry of delight and clapped her hands. "Oh Dawson! They're starting the music…can we go dance?"

"Lyria, we're talking…"

"Oh please? You said we could…" Lyria's big green eyes pleaded shamelessly, despite her blatant lying.

"I don't know how."

"That's ok…we'll start slow…" Lyria grabbed Vincent's hand and tugged him towards the dance floor.

"All right…nice talking to you…"

"Likewise."

Rude just nodded as Vincent and Lyria made their way through the crowd to the center space that had been cleared for dancing.

"Now what?"

"It's simple." Lyria slipped her arms around Vincent's neck and pulled closer. "I hold you, you hold me. And that's about it."

"Sounds too easy."

"It is."

"Easy is never good."

"Are you saying this isn't good?"

"Well…no…I guess not…"

"I think it's a good thing."

"It's not why we're supposed to be here."

"We'll do what we're supposed to after this…I'm happy right now. I was really scared coming here…but I feel safe now. Even if I know you're just pretending and you can't really feel the same way I do, I feel like no one's going to hurt me."

"Why?"

"I don't know…because I'm close to someone I care about…but…I already told you all this…anything I add will be pointless…I do love you though."

Vincent didn't answer and Lyria sighed, laying her head on his shoulder and wishing he would at least show some emotion.

"We have to go."

"I don't want to…"

"We can't stay."

"Why not? Please, even if you don't feel the same way I do, let me have a few more moments, so I can at least pretend you love me back."

"I'm sorry."

Lyria sighed again. "No, you aren't. You say it, but you don't mean it."

"We have to go."

Lyria nearly burst into tears as he moved away, but shook her head and hurried after him, grabbing his hand to at least maintain some semblance of their disguise as a married couple. She felt like she was holding him back, more than he was bringing her along. "Doesn't he care about me at all?"

"Come on." Vincent opened a door on the far wall, near the elevators and away from the crowd of couples in the middle of the floor.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A man in a dark suit stepped up to the podium at the head of the room. "May I present, the President of ShinRa, Thaddeus Palmer!"

All eyes in the room turned to an enormously fat man in a mustard yellow tuxedo. Palmer was pale and sweating under the bright lights as he climbed onto the small stage and stood before the podium. "G-good evening, my good friends!" Palmer wiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve. "It is with g-great pl-pleasure that I welcome our guest of honor for this evening, the new head of ShinRa's Science Department…we welcome a man who has worked long and hard for his goals…"

"A man of his size is sure to have cardiac problems…" Lyria commented, glancing at Vincent. A moment ago he had seemed relaxed and calm, but now his eyes were suddenly intent on the President. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure…I have a bad feeling, let's get out of here…" Vincent slipped an arm around Lyria's waist and the couple made their way towards the staircase. "We'll take the stairs to the floor above, the library. Hojo's records might be there…"

"S-so now, without any further ado, I present Dr. Gabriel Lewis!" Palmer's final words echoed in Lyria's head above the polite applauding of the audience.

Chapter 12

Lyria froze as Dr. Lewis's voice resounded throughout the room. "Thank you! Now, as a child my mother taught me that one should never go anywhere without a gift for the host or hostess of a party. Therefore, I wish to present to you, Mr. Palmer, a small token of my esteem for this company and contempt for those who stand against ShinRa. As we all know, renegade Turks are punished severely for their lack of fidelity to their mother company. What would one do with a renegade Turk, turned Avalanche member?" there was a murmur of dissent from the audience and Dr. Lewis smiled as he continued. "Here is my gift…" Dr. Lewis was cut off as Vincent pulled Lyria through the door.

"Was he talking about you?" Lyria asked fearfully as Vincent loaded a clip of ammo into his gun.

"Yes. We have to go."

"But…"

"Now. We're both in over our heads."

"What about you? We can't just leave without…"

"We have no choice. Come on, we're wasting time."

Lyria followed as Vincent headed quickly down the staircase, stopping as he did to look around the corner. With a sigh he turned to face her. "You have to get out of here."

"What?" Lyria was thoroughly confused.

"Go. There's an elevator just down that hallway." Vincent gestured down a long hallway of offices with his handgun.

"You can't stay here!" Lyria exclaimed in a whisper.

"They aren't after you. Or at least most of them aren't, if it's a choice between you or me, Lewis will take me."

"You could be killed!"

"So could you. Get out of here; it's dangerous for you to be around me. If it'll help him track me down, he'll make me change."

In spite of herself, Lyria started to head down the hallway he indicated. "Please…don't get hurt…"

"Don't worry, just go."

Lyria turned and ran down the hallway, tears in her eyes. She reached the elevator and turned to look for Vincent, but he had vanished. Almost in a daze she pressed the button and the doors opened, revealing Elena.

"Lyria! Hey, are you all right?" Elena asked, seeing the tears streaming down her friend's cheeks.

"Oh Elena…no, no I'm not…" Lyria sank down on the floor and Elena crouched down beside her.

"What is it? Is it about that guy who was pretending to be your husband? Don't worry, Lyria, we'll catch him. He had absolutely no right to use you like that…"

"No! No, Elena it's not that…don't you understand?" Lyria pleaded. "I…I love him, Elena. Now…all of a sudden everyone wants to hunt him down and kill him…"

"But…he's a renegade," Elena said the last word with a trace of revulsion. "He joined Avalanche and…"

"And helped stop Meteor and kill Sephiroth. Elena, please…haven't you ever loved anyone and lost them?"

Elena fell silent, trying to stop the painful memories Lyria's words resurrected.

--------------------------------------------

"Hello, Reno?" Elena's voice crackled as a wave of static interrupted her phone call.

"Hey, Elena. What's up?" Reno asked casually, waving away the confused look Rude gave him over his glass of brandy.

"Umm…is Tseng with you?"

"Are you nuts? We're on our break, we're drinking, and we're trying to pick up women. Does that sound like the sort of thing Tseng would be joining us in?"

"Oh…do you know where he is?"

"I thought he'd be with you."

"He's supposed to be…he said we could go out for dinner after he was done at the Temple of the Ancients…"

"Bet that pleased you."

"Shut up Reno, this is serious. I've called him six times and he's not answering his cell phone, or his office phone, or his home phone."

"Maybe he has caller ID. That would explain it."

"Reno this is serious! I'm worried."

"Elena you worry too much."

"C'mon, can we please just go to the Temple and check on him?"

"Elena, we're on our break…"

"Please Reno? I promise I'll never bug you ever, ever, ever again…"

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Then you'll come?"

"Yeah, yeah. Where are you? We'll be along in a bit with the chopper."

"I'm at my apartment."

"We'll be on the roof in about fifteen minutes. Be ready, ok?"

"All right, thanks Reno."

"He's going to resent it if we show up and he doesn't need us. Tseng is perfectly capable of taking care of himself."

"I know. I'll take full responsibility."

"You bet you will." Reno hung up the phone. "Come on, Rude, we have to hurry."

"Why? You didn't make it sound like that big a deal."

"I didn't want Elena freaking out. I've got a really bad feeling about this one…"

"You think he's in trouble?"

"He wasn't answering his cell phone, he didn't meet Elena for dinner, and he hasn't reported to headquarters on his mission. Does that sound like the dedicated, responsible Turk we know and love?"

"No…I guess not…let's go then." Rude quickly downed the last of his drink and stood up. Reno dumped a handful of bills on the counter and wove his way through the crowd in the ShinRa lounge to the elevators. He punched the button for the top floor and anxiously drummed his fingers against the elevator door. Rude came up behind him and pointed to the digital panel that indicated the elevator was only at the fifth floor.

"Oh damn it…" Reno muttered. "Come on Rude, we'll take the stairs." Reno pushed back through the people to the stairwell and ran up the first flight of stairs with Rude close behind. When they reached the top floor where the helicopter was waiting Reno was breathing heavily while Rude was barely winded.

"Getting soft?" Rude asked as Reno climbed into the helicopter.

"Lay off, I've been drinking and I don't spend half my breaks in the training room, beating the crap out of punching bags."

"Maybe you should start," Rude suggested mildly.

"Go to hell."

--------------------------------------------

Elena waved to the helicopter pilot from the roof of her apartment building on Midgar's upper plate. The late evening darkness was deeper than the perpetual gloom that normally covered Midgar due to the smoke and smog that blocked the sky. There was an answering wave and the chopper swerved around towards the top of the high-rise. The helicopter hovered above the roof and suddenly a rope ladder dropped down. Elena grabbed one of the rungs and climbed up even as the helicopter began to rise again. She reached the top easily and Rude offered her a hand up.

"Thanks. Couldn't you have landed?" Elena asked, sitting down beside Reno.

"I thought you would have appreciated that we didn't, what with the rush to get to the Temple and all."

"Oh. So are you worried too?"

"Nah. I just want to get this over with and get back to happy hour," Reno answered, maintaining a calm attitude.

"You're selfish."

"Am not! If I were selfish, I wouldn't have come at all."

"Fine…do you think Tseng's ok?"

"Yeah, probably."

"He wasn't answering his phone…"

"Maybe there are enemies in the temple and he's got it turned off because he's trying to avoid battles," Reno said, casually buffing his nails on the front of his jacket. He was thankful that Elena was such an airhead or she might have come to the logical conclusion that Tseng could very easily have switched his cell phone to vibration mode.

"We're almost there, sirs…and ma'am," the pilot said, glancing back over his shoulder.

"Thanks, Dale. After you let us down, you can just circle for a bit, if we aren't out in an hour, send for back up," Reno instructed, pulling out an extendable metal rod with several buttons on the end.

"Yes, sir." The pilot brought the helicopter down in front of the temple and the Turks jumped out. Rude had pulled on a pair of black gloves with steel knuckles and Elena had a small handgun.

"All right, let's go, and don't let your guard down," Reno said, heading across the rickety looking bridge to the temple. Elena and Rude followed, both wary and ready for a fight. Reno looked distastefully at the steep flight of stairs at the other side of the bridge and sighed. Elena smiled and raced up the stairs ahead of Reno, with Rude close behind.

"Hurry up, Reno!" Elena called jokingly as she neared the top of the stairs.

"Shut…up…Elena," Reno panted, stopping to rest near the middle of the staircase.

"Why don't you come up here and make me?"

"Because they're too damn many stairs!" Rude grinned and turned to wait for Reno as Elena continued on.

"Oh, all right." Elena reached the top of the temple and decided not to wait for Rude and Reno to catch up. She carefully loaded her gun and held her finger to the trigger, unsure what to anticipate when she entered the temple. For a moment she deliberated waiting for Reno and Rude, but instead half stepped into the light from the doorway, holding her pistol in front of her. Her eyes swept the room from right to left before coming to rest on the body slumped against a pillar in the dark corner of the small room. Elena's hand shook and the gun fell from her grasp as she ran forward.

"Oh no…" she whispered, stopping a few feet in front of the pillar. "Rude! Reno!" she yelled over her shoulder, kneeling down and shaking Tseng's shoulder. "Come on…wake up…please…don't be…"

"Elena? What's wrong?" Rude asked, coming through the doorway. "Oh god…is he…"

"No…no, he can't be…Tseng, wake up…please…" Tears were streaming freely down Elena's cheeks as she kept up her fruitless attempt to wake her colleague.

"What is it?" Reno said, gasping for air as he got to the top of the stairs. "Oh no…"

"Reno, do something!" Elena ordered, gently slipping an arm around Tseng's shoulders and holding him tightly.

Reno crouched down beside her and touched the back of his friend's hand. "Forget it Elena, we're too late," Reno sighed, shuddering at the feeling of Tseng's lifelessly cold body.

"No…no, please Reno, you have to do something…"

"I can't do anything!"

"Rude? Rude, help me…" Elena pleaded.

"He can't do anything either. Nobody can do anything. He's dead, Elena." Reno stood up and looking sadly at his friend.

"Who? Who would have done this?"

"Isn't it obvious? Look at the goddamn hole in the middle of him. Who do we know with a sword big enough to run right through a guy and kill him like that?"

"Cloud…" Elena gasped. "How could he?"

"Keep in mind we've been running around for the past while trying to get rid of him…" Rude said.

"We'll worry about this later, we have to get back to headquarters…god…I don't know what to do…" Reno said, anxiously running his fingers through his hair.

"Elena, run outside and signal the helicopter…" Rude ordered Elena who had started weeping hysterically.

"Oh great…Elena! Snap out of it! Get the helicopter!" Reno shouted. Elena deliberately ignored him and held the inert form in her arms tighter.

"Rude would you…" Reno sighed.

"Yeah, hang on." Rude ran out the door, pausing for a few seconds to pick Elena's gun off the floor. As Reno turned to lay a comforting hand on Elena's shoulder there were three shots fired in succession and the whir of the helicopter blades got louder. Rude re-entered the temple and stood uneasily by the doorway.

"Rude, gimme a hand." Reno gently pulled Elena away from Tseng's body and she sat down on the floor and buried her face in her hands.

"With what?"

"We can't just leave him here. We're taking him out to the chopper."

"Oh, all right…"

"Come on Elena, it's going to be a hard ride back."

Chapter 13

Gunfire suddenly erupted from down the hallway and Lyria stood up. "No…please…oh god…"

"Lyria wait!" Elena exclaimed as her friend ran down the hallway. "Oh dammit…" Elena took off after her, darting down corridors. The gunfire suddenly stopped and Elena heard a cry of anguish from a passageway to her left. Reluctantly she un-holstered her gun and ran down the hallway. Lyria was kneeling on the ground cradling Vincent in her arms and crying quietly. Elena stopped, hesitant to interrupt the couple. Several ShinRa soldiers lay dead or dying at the end of the hallway, evidently having fallen prey to Vincent's marksmanship. She could see blood starting to soak through his white shirt and decided one of the soldiers must have gotten in a lucky shot.

Lyria gently laid her hand on his, pressed against his side though blood already seeped between his fingers. "Lyria?"

"Shh…" the young doctor murmured gently.

"What…why…get out of here…"

"Don't be foolish," Lyria whispered.

"No, you don't understand…please, for god's sake…"

"Stop talking, you're making the bleeding worse."

"Am I…the only thing holding you here?" Pulling his right hand away from the wound in his side with a grimace, he grasped his gun from where he had let it fall. Fingers slipping slightly with the blood that coated them, he pressed the weapon into her hand. "If it's only…my life…kill me and leave."

"No!" Lyria gasped, refusing to take the gun. "Vincent, no…"

"It would be…better than what Lewis has planned…"

"There is nothing in this world that would make me spill your blood. We'll figure something out…" Lyria promised, trying to sound reassuring.

"Please…"

"How touching," a voice remarked sarcastically from behind Elena. "Pity I have to break it up." Dr. Lewis came forward, flanked by Reno and Rude who had both drawn their weapons and were looking grim. "Oh joy, I get you both at once. I was worried I'd have to hunt one of you down…"

Lyria felt Vincent shift slightly and without warning he had pulled the gun from her hand and was a few seconds from firing when the doctor pulled out a small black box and twisted the dial on it viciously. Lyria gasped as she felt him tense and struggle for a few moments before going limp and dropping his head onto her shoulder. "Vincent!"

Reno looked startled and glanced at Rude. His partner was frowning and staring hard at Vincent. "Sir, what…" Reno began.

"Silence!" Dr. Lewis barked. He strode forward and grabbed Lyria's arm. "Thought you could get away from me, eh, pet?"

"Let me go! What did you do to Vincent?" Lyria jerked her arm away and tenderly placed her hand on Vincent's chest.

"It's simple really. You see this little black box?" Dr. Lewis held up the device. "This is the control that Hojo built to trigger Vincent's transformations. It's genius the things that Hojo came up with. For example, he noticed that when ShinRa wanted to torture prisoners they were often too seriously injured to torment effectively and not kill them. So he created a way to simulate intense agony in a person's body, without actually causing them physical harm. This dial here," Lewis indicated a knob on the center of the gadget in his hand, "controls the level of pain you want that person to feel. A little twist to the right…" Lewis spun the dial slightly and Lyria saw pain flicker for a second across Vincent's features. "Or a large twist to the right." Lewis viscously turned the dial further and Lyria felt the body in her arms shudder violently and struggle for a moment with an unseen force before going limp again.

"How could you?"

"Oh please, Lyria," Lewis snorted. "Don't tell me you feel affection for this monster?"

"How could you ever understand?" Lyria demanded.

"Lyria, don't you know what he is?" Dr. Lewis said in that tone Lyria so hated. The fatherly, wise tone that older doctors always used when they spoke to her. "He's scarcely fit to be called human."

"You…you're the one who's inhuman…how can you willingly inflict such torture on another human being? What has he ever done to deserve this?"

"You don't understand, do you? He's not human. You've never seen what he really is. Well, I'll show you." Lewis grabbed her arm a bit more forcefully and jerked her to her feet. "Come with me, pet, we're going to do a little science experiment. You three," he turned to address the Turks. "Bring him up to my lab."

"Yes, sir…" Reno answered distantly, still looking hard at Vincent. Lyria burst into tears as Lewis pulled her roughly down the hallway, but Reno didn't seem to notice. Instead, he knelt down by Vincent, still with an indecipherable expression on his face. "Rude, do you think it's him?"

"Couldn't be."

"Just thinking about it…he looks almost exactly the same…"

"An Avalanche member though…"

"I don't remember him being in Avalanche…unless he was that scary dark haired guy."

"Yeah, but it's not him, so let's just get him up to Lewis's lab." Rude bent down and carefully hauled Vincent off the floor.

"I bet you five hundred Gil it is him."

"Sure. Why don't you give it to me now because a.) Vincent is dead, b.) Even if he weren't he'd be like sixty years old, and c.) If it is him and he's not dead and he just looks really good for sixty, the Vincent we knew would never have joined Avalanche."

"Rude, shut up."

"Whatever."

"What're you two talking about?" Elena asked.

"It's a long story, Elena…" Reno sighed. "Too long."

"Are you gonna tell me?"

"Nope."

--------------------------------------------

"Like my laboratory, angel?" Lewis asked, forcing Lyria to sit down in a chair behind his desk. The laboratory was cluttered with several surgical tables and a wall of drawers that reminded Lyria of those at a morgue. There was a table of shiny metal instruments and tools, and along the far wall were pairs of manacles.

"How'd you manage to land a job like this?" Lyria asked, looking with revulsion around the lab.

"It was simple, darling," Lewis answered happily. "I used to be the assistant to Dr. Hojo, the old head of ShinRa Sciences. Brilliant man, Hojo was…"

"Hojo…he was the one who…" Lyria remembered Tifa telling her about Hojo and what he had done to Cloud and Vincent and tried to do with Aeris and Red XIII.

"I helped!" Lewis protested. "He couldn't have done it without me. In fact, your boyfriend was the one who popped my eye out…I never did properly repay him for that…"

Lyria shuddered and bit her lip to keep from crying. She felt bad for being so weak. She felt bad for not being able to help Vincent when he needed her. She felt bad for getting them all into this big, stupid mess. Lyria bit her lip so hard it started to bleed, but it wasn't stopping the tears any more. She buried her face in her hands and wept, feeling a comforting hand on her shoulder and, for a fleeting second, wishing it were Vincent. Angrily she pushed his hand away and stood up, facing Dr. Lewis with a look of pure hatred. "I admired you. I admired what an incredible physician you were."

Lewis laughed. "I don't let morals and ethics cloud my sight. So what if it's 'wrong' to experiment on humans? Who cares if people need to get killed in order for me to reach my goals?"

Lyria sank down on the floor in despair, when the Turks suddenly entered the room. "Oh!" Lyria cried and held out her arms. Rude looked almost apologetic as he gently lowered Vincent into Lyria's arms. As he turned to leave the room, Lyria caught the sleeve of his jacket. "Thank you…for not hurting him…"

"Very good. You three can leave now," Lewis instructed with a wave of his hand.

Reno looked a little offended at being dismissed so abruptly, but complied anyway. He turned to follow Elena and Rude out the door, but managed to catch Lewis's last words.

"Oh come now, Lyria. He's fine; he used to be a Turk…" The door swung shut after Reno with a loud bang, but he didn't notice.

"Rude!" Reno yelled down the hallway. "Get your ass back here!"

"What is it?"

"It's him, Rude, I swear to god. Lewis just said he used to be a Turk…"

"Maybe it's a coincidence."

Reno glared at his partner. "Same name, same mannerisms, and he's a dead ringer for our old boss. And he used to be a Turk. And Hojo's old lab assistant knows who he is. And Hojo was the one who told us he was dead."

"I guess it makes sense…if the same thing happened to him…" Rude said slowly. "Maybe…it's possible…"

"It's very possible!" Reno shouted. "Come on, I have an idea." Reno ran down the hallway and ducked into a room adjacent the lab. It was a cluttered looking storage room full of various specimen jars.

"Reno can we get outta here?" Elena whined. "It's creepy…"

Reno jumped when he heard Elena's voice. "Elena? Are you still here?"

"Uh huh. What're you guys talking about?"

"None of your business."

"Aww…c'mon, you guys. Don't be mean…"

"We'll tell you later, Elena, but you have to be quiet," Reno said firmly. "Rude, help me move some of these jars away from the door."

"Ok." Rude started shifting various boxes and bottles away from the door connecting the storage room and Lewis's lab. When the door was clear, Reno slowly pulled it open a crack and peered into the laboratory.

"Well?" Elena whispered.

"I dunno, just be quiet and listen."

"Ok." Elena fell silent and looked through the door above Reno as he started to catch snatches of the dialogue in the other room.

"Do you understand why you're still here, Lyria? Why I haven't killed you yet?"

"I don't want to know," Lyria answered sadly. "I just want you to leave us alone."

"Why do you speak as though you two are a couple? You aren't, you know, and you never can be."

Lyria didn't answer and held Vincent closely. Reno felt something wet drop onto his nose and looked up to see Elena crying silently. He rolled his eyes, but had to admit there was a certain tragedy about the situation.

"Well? Do you know why I haven't killed you yet?"

"Because you want to rape me first?" Lyria asked bitterly, causing Lewis to laugh again.

"I'd thought about it, but I don't have the time. If I were to rape you I'd want to have as much fun as I could, but time is money and I can easily find some street whore to amuse me. But then I came up with something better. I thought to myself, 'Is simple death really enough? And is there no way I could make it painful for Valentine as well?' Then it came to me. I was thinking of merely making him watch your death, but why not have him kill you himself?"

"Vincent wouldn't hurt me…" Lyria declared, tenderly kissing Vincent's forehead. "He might not love me, but he would never cause me harm. I've learned that much about him."

"Really?" Dr. Lewis said dryly. "What makes you think I couldn't force him to?"

"H-he wouldn't…" Lyria persisted, though it seemed she was a little less sure of herself.

"Let's test that theory." Lewis grabbed Lyria's wrist and pulled her away from Vincent. He led her to the far wall and locked her wrists into the shackles that were bolted to the wall. "Now, if your theory holds true, when I make our friend here transform, he won't hurt you. If, however, you were wrong, he'll tear you to pieces."

Lyria pulled at the chains holding her hands above her head. They didn't give and she hadn't expected them to. "Let me go!"

"Nope. Nothing doing, precious. I'm sorry it had to come to this, me killing you and all, but you know how it is…" Lewis turned around and strode to the middle of the floor where Vincent still lay, unmoving. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small black device. "Up and at 'em, wretch." Lewis spun the dial and Vincent suddenly groaned and tried to break away from whatever the strange force was that put him in so much agony.

"Vincent!" Lyria cried as he opened his eyes.

"Lyria?" Vincent blinked a couple more times and started to sit up, but Lewis firmly planted a foot on his chest.

"Now, where do you think you're going? We're going to have a little fun. Stand up," Lewis ordered, shifting his foot.

"Where's Lyria?" Vincent half pulled himself into a sitting position.

"Right there." Lewis pointed to where the young doctor was chained, tearful eyes watching Vincent.

"Let her go."

Lewis laughed and turned the dial on the controller again. Vincent flinched visibly and pressed a hand against his already wounded chest. "Why should I?"

"She has no part in this, let her go…"

Lewis looked at Vincent with an air of bemusement. "Are you trying to say you don't want her hurt? That you care enough for a human being to reduce yourself to this outright pleading?"

Vincent lowered his eyes and nodded silently. Lyria gasped, unsure whether to cry for joy or for sorrow.

"You can never have her, you know. All your devotion would do is curse an innocent woman because of the beast you are. Already she is caught up in the belief that she 'loves' you. Would you like to show her exactly what the price of her infatuation will be?"

"W-what?"

"Let's see if she still holds her feelings when she gets a look at what you really are. When she understands how you tear people to pieces and savor in the anguish of humanity. Let's see if she'll still love you as you spill the life from her body."

"No!"

"Oh, yes. I was going to do it myself, but I decided I'd allow you the pleasure." Lewis pressed down on the dial and Vincent cried out and dropped to his knees.

"No…I…I won't hurt her…"

Lewis frowned. "Stop fighting it. I have a deadline, you know…"

In the closet, Elena kicked Reno hard in the ribs. "Do something!"

"Like what?" Reno asked, racking his mind for ideas.

"We can't just…Lyria's going to die if…"

"Never mind. It's too late," Rude sighed as he watched Vincent slump forward and saw his body flicker and fade. In his place a winged demon, nearly seven feet tall, rose and spread his blood red wings.

Lyria screamed and Lewis grinned manically. Chaos turned to face the scientist, pointed teeth gleaming, and reared back to tear out his throat with dagger sharp claws. Before Chaos could complete the stroke, Lewis had pointed the controller at him and spun the dial. The demon howled and backed away from the scientist. Lewis relaxed and pointed at Lyria. "Go on, kill her."

The demon's glowing eyes narrowed as they focused on Lyria.

"Yes, that's it…" Lewis encouraged as Chaos advanced.

"Vincent, don't…" Lyria pleaded, eyes filled with fear. "Please…"

Chaos almost seemed to hesitate, but shook off whatever confusion he had felt.

"Go on…" Lewis breathed.

The demon extended a claw, slowly, hand almost trembling as though he struggled with an inner power. The tips of Chaos's claws touched Lyria's neck, just below her jaw line, lightly, not even enough to draw blood.

"I love you, Vincent," Lyria whispered softly, closing her eyes and trying to prepare herself for the end. But the end didn't come.

"What are you waiting for? Go! Tear her throat out! Kill her!" Lewis shouted, turning the controller on Chaos and wrenching it as far as it would go. The demon roared and whirled towards Lewis, poised to attack. "Oh no, you don't." Lewis frowned and found he couldn't force the knob on the controller any farther. Chaos could obviously take a lot more punishment than Vincent could. "Stubborn, eh? Well, we'll fix that…" Holding the handle as far as it would go, he pushed down on the button. Chaos howled in rage and pain, clutching his head while his wings folded and he collapsed heavily to the ground. The demon's now inert form wavered and faded away, Vincent reappearing in its place.

"You! Worthless creature!" Lewis shouted, striding forward and kicking Vincent as hard as he could. "Damn you!" He whirled around to face Lyria. "Well, now, pet…"

The glint in Lewis's eyes frightened Lyria, even more than Chaos had. "W-what do you want?"

"If he won't kill you, I'll do it myself…he'll pay for his defiance later…" Lewis picked up a scalpel from the table. "How would you like to die, angel? Actually, now that he's going to be down for a while, we might as well have a little fun…you remember the promise you mentioned earlier? You owe me, Caddy, and I'm calling in your debt."

"Ok, Reno, now you do something!" Elena whispered urgently.

"I don't know what to do!" Reno exclaimed. "We can't exactly go barging out there…wait…Elena; give me your gun…"

"Reno, you can't hit the broad side of a barn," Elena groaned, grudgingly handing Reno her handgun.

"I can't. Vincent can." Reno opened the door a bit wider and slid the gun across the floor. It spun slightly as it crossed the hard linoleum floor and stopped when it hit Vincent's hand.

"C'mon…" Rude muttered, hopes rapidly fading, as Vincent didn't move.

"You don't think…maybe he's dead?" Elena whispered.

"Shit…" Reno sighed, giving up.

"Wait!" Rude said softly, pointing at Vincent. His fingers curled around the handle of the gun and his eyes flickered open, coming into focus sharply. Slowly he pulled himself off the ground.

"Yes!" Reno and Elena exalted in simultaneous whispers and Rude just smiled.

"Now, Caddy, I've been waiting for this for a long time so don't disappoint me," Lewis said softly to Lyria, slowly lifting the knife he held to cut away the strap of Lyria's dress.

"Hey, Lewis," Vincent's voice was cold and intense with an immeasurable hatred. Lyria looked up, undisguised hope in her eyes. Lewis whirled around to face Vincent who had his handgun leveled at the scientist's forehead. "I hear Hell's quite nice this time of year. Give Hojo my regards." One shot, point blank, and before Lewis had even changed expression from shock to anger he was dead.

There was silence in the lab as Lewis slowly sank to the floor, blood running down his face from the bullet hole between his eyes. Vincent strode forward calmly and nudged the body with his foot, picking up a pair of keys from his pocket and looking strangely detached.

Lyria's eyes shone with tears of relief and happiness. "Vincent!"

He didn't answer as he unlocked the chains that bound her hands.

Lyria felt the hold on her wrists relax and threw her arms around Vincent's neck. "Oh, Vincent…"

"I'm sorry, Lyria. I can't believe I put you through all this…" Lyria felt his hold tighten as he whispered his apology.

"No, it wasn't your fault…"

"Yes, it was. I shouldn't have let any of this happen. I shouldn't have been stupid enough to let you come…" Lyria sighed as he let her go and turned away.

"What you mean is you shouldn't have been stupid enough to let me so close."

Vincent flinched and Lyria could tell he was frightened that she could read him so easily. "Fine. That's what I meant. I shouldn't have let it happen."

"But you did."

"I know I did! I…wish I hadn't…"

"Do you really? There was absolutely no conviction in those words. Can't you admit it? That maybe letting someone close to you wasn't such a terrible mistake?"

"But it is…I'm not…"

"Look at me, Vincent," Lyria commanded gently, sitting down on the ground. He didn't answer and she could sense him struggling with something inside. "Come on, sit down." She reached up and grabbed his hand, pulling him gently.

"Stop it…" Vincent reluctantly sat down anyway, but wouldn't meet Lyria's eyes.

"I can't. And even if I could, I wouldn't."

"You don't understand…"

"No, I don't. I don't understand why you won't accept one of the most joyful aspects of life."

"I don't deserve it."

"Everybody deserves love; some people just need it more than others. You for example, need it very badly, but for some reason refuse to accept it."

"I'm not…you saw what I am…"

Lyria heard the sheer depth of sorrow and shame in his voice. "Oh, Vincent…" Lyria smiled gently and touched his hand. "I see what you are. I always have. From the first moment I saw you, I could tell you needed someone. I'm might not be quite who you have in mind, but won't I do?"

"Please stop…"

"There you go again, absolutely no conviction. I love you Vincent, I'm getting sick of having to keep telling you. Don't you care about me? Even the tiniest little bit?"

"Lyria…"

"I know you must. That's why you didn't let Chaos hurt me. You even admitted you do." Lyria moved over and wrapped her arms around Vincent's neck. "Come on, let me close again."

"I can't…I don't understand why you insist on doing this…"

"Stop trying to understand. You can't understand love because it's not tangible. It's not even perceptible enough to be called a concept. It just is. Stop thinking, just for a minute, and let it happen."

"You honestly believe this could work?"

"Of course I do." Lyria hugged him tighter, feeling his defenses starting to crumble. "I'll believe in anything."

"We can be together?"

"We're together already."

"That was fast."

Lyria laughed and let Vincent hold her tightly. "You do love me, right? You aren't just playing along?"

"Of course, I love you. I'm just sorry it took me so long to realize it."

"Oh yeah!" Elena exalted, jumping in the air "I'm so happy!" Reno quietly pulled the door shut and grinned.

"That was damn lucky," Rude commented. "It is him, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is my friend!" Reno punched Rude's shoulder then pulled his hand back, swearing and rubbing his knuckles. "You owe me five hundred Gil!"

"Yeah. And you just broke your hand, didn't you?"

"Probably."

"You guys…" Elena said, halting her celebration and biting her lip. "Umm…we just witnessed the murder of the head of Sciences…if we don't arrest the both of them, we're all gonna get shot."

Reno's eyes widened. "Oh shit. Elena, for once in your life you're right about something and it's going to get us all killed."

"What're we gonna do Reno?" Elena asked.

"I dunno…" Reno scratched his head. "Umm…shit, you guys, I really don't know…"

"I think we should go let Vincent know we're here…" Rude commented.

"Ok, that's a start…then what do we do?"

"Let's take this one step at a time, ok Reno?" Rude said, opening the door. "Are we interrupting something?"

"Yes," Lyria answered, glaring at Rude over Vincent's shoulder. "Take a hike, baldy."

"That wasn't nice…" Reno remarked, following his partner. "Hiya, Vincent."

"Hello, Reno."

"Long time no see, eh?"

"Not really."

"Well, long time without knowing who each other were…was…whatever…"

"Yes."

"Umm…so…how've you been?" Reno asked congenially. Rude sighed and smacked his partner in the back of the head, just as Elena kicked him in the shins.

"What the hell was that for?" Reno whined, rubbing the back of his head. "I was just being friendly!"

"Being friendly…is that what they call idiocy nowadays?" Rude asked sarcastically. "What the moron meant to ask was, 'What in the hell happened to you that you can be dead for thirty years and all of a sudden be back, in perfect health and looking only twenty seven?'"

"Not quite in perfect health…" Lyria said, looking at Vincent with a slightly concerned expression and gently touching the blood-soaked fabric of his shirt, feeling for a bullet hole, but finding nothing. "Hey! I thought…you were injured…"

"It got better. Don't worry Lyria, I'm fine."

"Excuse me? My question?" Rude looked at Vincent over his sunglasses. "Answers please."

"Rude, be nice," Elena scolded. "I don't mean to butt in, but could I have my gun back?"

"Of course." Vincent handed Elena her weapon and she tucked into its holster.

"Thank you."

"Ahem. Sometime tonight, I'd like to find out why you aren't dead," Rude commented.

"Fine. I'll tell you what happened to me and you can tell me what happened to you. Is that fair?"

"I think that sounds reasonable," Reno agreed. "Start talking."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hojo! You bastard! What did you do to Lucrecia!"

The scientist turned from his work with an enormous smile on his face. "Oh. You found out."

"How could you?"

"How could I what? If you'd just be patient, Valentine, I'll explain."

"I don't need explanations! You drugged Lucrecia, and raped her! How could you?"

"I hardly raped her, for one thing. She was more than willing." He laughed, making Vincent's blood boil. "And it isn't her child. It's Jenova's."

"What?"

"Jenova is in Lucrecia, you see. She took the girl over. Lucrecia will have child, and that child will be a vessel for Jenova. All will be well."

"You aren't making sense!"

"No, you aren't listening. Oh well, I have work to do. Go away now."

Vincent's eyes blazed. He ripped his gun from its holster. "YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT TO DO!?"

Hojo grinned. "Yes."

The shot fired. A blaze of light leapt from the gun's barrel. As though moving at a snail's pace, Vincent heard and felt every part of the shot. The magazine unloading the bullet, the hammer striking the shot, the recoil of the gun, moving deliciously in degrees upward, more and more every instant.

The bullet stopped in midair, just in front of Hojo's glasses. With a small breath, Hojo "blew" the bullet to the ground.

"How? What?" Vincent stuttered.

"Blessed be Jenova, who cares for her own." Hojo sniggered. "Since you can't kill me, I'll... Just have to kill you!" Hojo produced a handgun. Vincent took off like a shot. He ran not through the mansion, Hojo in close pursuit. Vincent had no doubt that Hojo was a good shot.

He remembered, one night, a loud, heavy sound from his room. He could of sworn that he'd seen motion against one wall of the room. He'd found the entrance, and Gast downstairs. He'd told Gast the chamber was his, no sneaking around was necessary, as long as Gast didn't mind having another occupant in the room. Gast had agreed. Vincent prayed that he'd be safe. He leapt through the door frame, and slid the passage open the slightest crack, which he slid through. He closed the door, and leapt down the space between the stairs, rather than risking a creaky board alerting Hojo to his presence. He entered the library, and sighed with relief. He was safe.

That's when he saw the table, covered with medical equipment that hadn't been there before. That's when he saw Hojo, his handgun pointed dead at Vincent's chest.

"You lose, Turk." Hojo sneered.

"How?"

"Jenova does amazing things, Vincent. You'll see that for yourself. You're next."

The shot fired. Vincent blacked out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"NO! I won't do it!"

"You must. Without you, he will die."

"But..."

"He tried to kill himself, Lucrecia. Thank god, somehow, he's still alive- though barely."

"Vincent wouldn't..."

"Vincent did! If you want him to live, help me!"

"Okay...I will."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"My god! Look what it did!"

"Damnit! That was the wrong sample! That is pure Jenova! His hand is all but ripped clean off!"

"We'll need to transplant."

"No. Biological material will be eaten away. He'll need a mechanical graft."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Vincent awoke, he wasn't the same. He had gone through a delirium. He was no longer sure of the facts, the happenings, of the blame.

His anger manifested. He changed. His inner demons were exorcised... By becoming his reality. "This body...It is my punishment...I wasn't able to stop them... Professor Hojo and Gast...and...Lucrecia...I could only watch...This...Is my sin."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lyria snuggled closer to Vincent, laying her head on his shoulder, glad to be able to get so close.

"Now, you tell, Reno."

"Umm…well, lemme see…about a week after you got…umm…"

"Shot," Rude supplied helpfully.

"Umm…yeah. Well, me and Rude got sent to investigate. Hojo said you'd killed yourself. But we didn't believe him."

"I believe Reno's exact words were along the lines of 'that ain't the truth you goddamn %$# ass bastard!'" Rude added.

"Uh huh…anyway, all I remember are shots being fired and then I blacked out. Next thing I knew it was thirty years later and I'm being hauled out of storage in the basement."

"Yup," Rude agreed.

"It was like a time warp, you know? Not that I've ever been in a time warp, but you get what I mean. It didn't feel like any time had passed and neither of us were any older. All our friends were dead or in their late fifties and we were stuck being bossed around by kids whose parents we used to work with."

Rude nodded, acknowledging Reno's story.

"Can we go home?" Lyria asked. "Well, not home, but can we go back to our hotel?"

Reno scuffed his shoes on the floor. "Umm…you see, this is where we have a bit of a problem…now, whether it was for the good of humanity or not and despite that fact that we did sorta supply you with the weapon, you did kinda shoot the head of Sciences and umm…"

"ShinRa Charter says that the punishment for not reporting a crime is death?' Vincent finished.

"Yeah…" Reno sighed. "Is Icicle Inn a good place to hide out while ShinRa hunts you down? Or maybe Gaea Mountain Range…"

"If ShinRa wants to hunt you down, who will they hunt with? The three of you are the best, correct? And who else has Palmer got to send, if he even has the guts to send anybody?" Vincent asked.

Reno's face lit up. "Hey, yeah! Hot damn, we're in the clear!" He was still grinning as he answered his PHS. "Reno here. What? Oh…that's terrible…well, no, it isn't really is it? Closer to excellent than terrible really…we'll be right up…thank you sir…no, it's no problem…we've got the situation under control, sir…my congratulations by the way. Oh…umm…we sorta ended up witnessing the shooting of Dr. Lewis…oh good. I didn't like him either, sir. We'll be awaiting orders, sir…and, by the way, we've sort of run across Vincent Valentine, I know how you were sorta allies during that whole Sephiroth thing so would you be adverse to letting him go?…No?…Oh good sir, thank you sir. Bye."

"Who was that?" Elena asked.

"Mr. Alexander Reeve, new president of ShinRa Corporation," Reno said proudly. "Palmer's just died of a heart attack and we've just been promoted."

"Really? Yeah!" Elena clapped her hands delightedly.

"Can we leave yet?" Vincent asked.

"Sure, get the hell outta here. We'll be in touch, Vincent," Reno said with a wave of his hand.

"Bye!" Lyria called, waving as she followed Vincent out of the lab and to the elevator. "Thank you all so much!"

"No problem Lyr! Call me sometime!" Elena shouted.

"Of course, Elena." Lyria smiled and laid her head on Vincent's shoulder. "I love you…"

"I love you too." Vincent fell silent as the couple entered the elevator and began the descent to the bottom floors. "Lyria?"

"Yes?"

"Why did Lewis call you 'Caddy'?"

Lyria giggled. "It's from when I was in school. Back in university all my friends used to joke that I had a caduceus for a birthmark, because I was so good at the whole medical thing. Anyway, one night we were in a bar downtown and someone dared me to get a real caduceus tattoo. Of course, we'd all had a couple drinks and I thought it was a great idea. So we headed for this little tattoo parlor on ShinRa and Third and I earned my nickname."

"Precisely where is this tattoo?"

Lyria smiled archly. "It's right above my heart. I'll show it to you some time…"

"All right…"

Lyria didn't answer and looked up as the elevator doors slid open. "Let's go home."

"Ok." Vincent led the way to the car they had rented for the evening and sat down behind the wheel. Lyria joined him sitting down in the passenger seat and relaxing a bit as he pulled out of the parkade and up the ramp. Lyria closed her eyes and tilted her head back, trying to take in the events of the evening.

"Lyria?" Vincent said quietly.

"Yes?" Lyria opened her eyes and looked at Vincent.

"Did we forget Cid?"

Lyria opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again and looked in the backseat. It was empty. "You know, I think we did…" Lyria smiled and then burst into a fit of giggling.

"Should we go back and get him?" Vincent asked, smiling as Lyria wiped tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Nah, he's probably drunk out of his mind right now, so we can pick him up tomorrow."

"Oh good."

Lyria giggled again as Vincent pulled up in front of the ShinRa hotel. She climbed out of the car and felt Vincent slip an arm around her waist as they headed up the stairs and into the hotel.

"You two are late…" Red XIII commented, stepping out of the shadows of the lobby. "Are you all right, Vincent? You're almost covered in blood…"

"Hi, Red. You didn't have to wait up, we're fine," Lyria smiled. "We forgot Cid."

"I see. I guess we can get him tomorrow…how did things go?'

"Can we talk about this later? I've got a terrible headache…" Vincent answered.

"Of course, of course…Lyria, I believe Yuffie's already asleep in your room so you might want to be quiet heading up."

"I'm not going to my room," Lyria answered, glancing at Vincent. "Good night, Red."

Red chuckled. "Good night Lyria, good night Vincent."

Chapter 14

Lyria felt something warm touch her face along with the sensation that bright light was shining through her eyelids. With a whimper she opened her eyes and was rewarded with a brilliant beam of sunshine, shining directly through the slit in the curtains of the hotel room she was in. Irritated she tried to move her arm and pull the blanket over her head, only to find her wrist stuck, pinned against her side. Now more puzzled than irritated, she tugged her arm again, attempting to get it free. "What on earth…" She gave her arm a vicious jerk and heard someone sleepily mumble something behind her and pull her close, grip that held her arm to her side tightening as she registered the feeling of a hand on her stomach. "Never mind 'what', who on earth…oh yeah…" Lyria carefully rolled over to face the side of the bed still bathed in shadows, not wishing to wake Vincent. "He still looks so serious, even when he's sleeping…poor thing, he must be exhausted." Lyria reached up with her now free hand and gently touched Vincent's cheek, glancing over his shoulder at the glowing red digital numbers of the clock beside the bed. It was quarter after six. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep, managing a sort of half doze until the sun started creeping across the bed again and shone in her eyes. With an irritated moan she snuggled closer to Vincent, laying her head against his chest. Even though the movement was very slight, Vincent winced and opened his eyes. "Lyria?"

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

"A little, just in the ribs a bit. It's all right."

"I'm sorry. He was kicking you really hard last night; I wouldn't be surprised if he broke bone…"

"Don't worry about it. What's the time?"

"Umm…about quarter to seven."

"Do you think anyone else is up yet?"

"Nope. You aren't getting up either."

"Why not?"

"Because it will be dreadfully cold in this bed without you."

"I need a hot shower, I'm very stiff…"

"There are other ways to get rid off stiffness," Lyria answered, gently moving her hands and massaging the tense muscles she could feel in his upper back and neck.

"Point taken."

"Did you sleep ok? I was asleep before my head hit the pillow, so I wouldn't know…"

"Same here."

Lyria fell silent, then asked a question that had been weighing on her mind. "Vincent, what are you going to do when we get back to Nibelheim?"

"I honestly don't know. There aren't too many places I can go…"

"Maybe…only if you want to, that is…maybe you could come live with me…" Lyria hesitated, unsure of how she could expect Vincent to react. It was a very big step, having only met each other a few days ago, and even though there were mutual feelings of affection between them, Lyria didn't know that he would want their relationship to move as fast as it seemed to be.

"I'd like that."

"Really? My apartment isn't exactly huge and I work nights, so I'm not going to be there from about midnight to seven, but…" Now that Vincent had accepted her idea, she was starting to think of various shortcomings.

"It's all right."

"The thing is, I'll be sleeping during most of the day…unless…you know…I don't really enjoy working nights, I only do because no one teases me since I'm like the only one on call…"

"Why do people tease you?" Vincent interrupted, hugging Lyria protectively.

"No reason…no good reason at least. It's just some of the senior doctors who think that just because I'm a woman I can't handle the job as well as they do…" Lyria sighed.

"You tell me if anyone is anything but civil to you and I'll…"

"I don't think you need to do anything, it's probably my fault for not asserting my rights…"

"Well, you could start by working during the day."

"I'm way too shy to tell any of the older doctors…"

"If you don't, I will and I guarantee my methods are a little less passive then yours."

"Do you think I can do it?"

"Of course. Can I have my shower now?"

"Umm…maybe…how long are you gonna be?"

"No more than ten minutes."

"Only if I get a kiss for every minute," Lyria answered playfully.

"In that case I'm taking a longer shower, but I don't think there's any clock that counts that high…"

"We'll give it a shot and see how far we get," Lyria suggested.

--------------------------------------------

"May I help you?" a rather sleepy looking clerk at the front desk of Hotel Noir de Midgar asked the pair of blue suited men.

"Turks. I need to know what room I can find Vincent Valentine in." Reno flashed an ID badge at the man and Rude did likewise.

"I'm afraid I'm not allowed to divulge…"

"Listen, we're on special orders from President Reeve himself. It's imperative that we talk to Mr. Valentine…"

"Well…" the clerk said slowly. "I suppose it's all right…he's in room four thirty two."

"Thanks." Reno tossed a handful of slightly crumpled bills on the counter and jogged up the stairs with Rude close behind. Reaching the appropriate room, he knocked sharply on the door. A few moments later it opened and he was surprised to see Lyria, in a rather short red satin negligee with her hair tied back in a loose ponytail and a cup of coffee in one hand.

"Good morning, Reno," Lyria greeted the Turk pleasantly. "I didn't expect to see you back so soon."

"Sorry, I thought this was Vincent's room," Reno apologized.

"Who says it isn't?" Lyria asked archly, impish smile lighting up her features.

"Ah…could me and Rude talk to him?"

"I suppose…come on in." Lyria opened the door and allowed Reno and Rude to enter the surprisingly neat hotel room. There was a pot of coffee bubbling in the coffee maker in the small kitchenette and the television was on and broadcasting the ShinRa news with the latest information on the death of Palmer.

"You've got guests, Vincent!" Lyria called, sitting down on the leather sofa and pulling her dressing gown over her slender legs. "You'll have to excuse me, I haven't yet taken a mind to get dressed yet…want some coffee? It's rather early in the morning, you know…"

"Not for Turks, Lyria," Vincent said, coming out of the bathroom. Even though it was only about seven in the morning, his hair was damp and he was fully dressed in black pants and a crisp white shirt.

"Morning, Vincent," Reno said, pouring himself a cup of coffee and sitting down. "How's life?"

"Take a guess, Reno. Take a wild guess." Lyria smiled at the Turk and took another sip of her coffee.

"That reminds me…" Reno reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, noticeably battered black device and handed it to Vincent. "Forgot to give this to you last night."

"What happened to it?"

"Me and Rude accidentally backed over it a couple times when we were getting out of the parking lot." Reno grinned. "Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. Is that the only reason you came?" Vincent sat down next to Lyria.

"Actually, no. Reeve sent us. He wants to know if you'd be interested in rejoining the Turks. He's going to totally reform this company, fix up the slums and…put ShinRa's money where its mouth is, so to speak, but he's worried about resistance from some of the wealthier business men who make a living exploiting the common people."

"And he wants the Turks for protection?"

"Yeah. As a small force that's meant to be specialized, like we are. He's got big plans and a surprising amount of support, but it's not universal."

"Is this dream of his possible?" Lyria asked.

"I think it is. He started teams researching the possibilities of getting coal for power from Corel, harnessing solar energy, and perhaps looking into expanding Midgar so that the people of the slums can get out from under the plate and live in the area around the city. The area under the plate would be used for storing power producing equipment. Of course, all this new activity will create new jobs so people in the slums who have a rough time can sign up to work for ShinRa and get paid for building houses for their families and friends."

"He came up with all this in…" Vincent glanced at the clock on the wall. "In eight and a half hours?"

"I believe he's been planning it for a long time. Some of his ideas are far too complex to have evolved in a single night."

"Back to the point," Rude said. "Are you rejoining?"

"I'm not sure…"

"Come on. It's a hell of a career," Reno said. "We need a leader. It's hard to find Turks that fit together properly and make a good team. Elena has been assigned the head of another group, so it's just me and Rude. We were sorta passed from squad to squad after we were removed from storage and we only found one leader who fit. And he got killed. And now we're on our own again. You've got more experience…we really need more people too…"

"I'll get in touch with you when I get back to Nibelheim. All of a sudden there's a lot of my life that needs to be sorted out."

"He means me," Lyria giggled. "I need a lot of sorting."

"But you'll think about it, right?" Reno asked.

"Yes, I will. Very seriously."

"You were a really good Turk."

"I know."

"When are you going back to Nibelheim?"

"We're leaving later today. I'll have him call you when we're all settled in again," Lyria said.

"We?" Rude asked.

"He's living at my apartment. You don't really have anywhere else to go, do you darling?"

"Not really, no."

"We'll be looking forward to hearing from you," Reno answered, standing up. "Been nice talking, but we really have to go…hope you two are happy together…"

"Don't worry, Reno, that's already taken care of," Lyria assured him, waving goodbye to the Turks. "See you later." Reno and Rude slipped out into the hallway and started to head back to the lobby.

"Well, that turned out rather…" Reno was cut off as a strong arm grabbed him from behind and pinned him hard against the wall.

"Don' move, Turk…" Barret growled, pointing his gun arm at Reno's head.

"%$! Easy there, big fella!" Reno yelled. "Rude?"

"Don't look at me for help, the little ninja freak's ready to cast Ultima…" Rude muttered, holding his hands up and nervously eying Yuffie who was holding a bright green sphere in her palm.

"Now, jes' what the hell do ye think yer doin', breakin' into our hotel? Gonna slaughter Avalanche in their sleep? I don' think so…" Barret growled, leaning more of his weight into pinning Reno to the wall.

"Cut it the &$ out! God, you're breaking my ribs! We're here on business, not to exterminate your stupid little ragtag gang of terrorists!"

"Ooh, he just doesn't know when to quit, does he Barret?" Yuffie snickered. "Lemme at him, I'll teach him a lesson…"

"Keep the shinobi brat away from me!" Reno protested, even though he knew it was probably just going to earn him a couple more broken ribs.

"That's it!" Yuffie yelled, stomping her foot. In her momentary lapse of vigilance, Rude grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. She yelped, dropping the Ultima materia and it rolled under the door of the hotel room Lyria and Vincent shared. "Lemme go!"

"&%$! Yuffie, you little moron!" Barret swore. "Now we got a stalemate…"

"Let Reno go," Rude ordered.

"Yeh, right," Barret snorted. "You let Yuffie go."

"Don't listen to him Rude!" Reno yelled and Barret smacked him in the back of the head with his gun arm, not hard, but enough to give him a warning. "Jesus Christ! Ok, never mind! You heard the man, Rude! Let the ninja freak go!"

"Not on your life, Reno," Rude shook his head.

"What?!" Reno exclaimed, slightly panicked at Rude's rather literal sounding statement.

"Sorry, figure of speech. Listen, tall, dark, and ugly, I'm not letting Yuffie go until you let Reno go."

"Tch. I can have Cloud and the others here in a minute."

"We've got a company of ShinRa soldiers waiting outside!" Reno put in.

"Didn' think the two o' ye could handle Avalanche alone? Well, you wuz right. We'll whup your arses hardcore!"

"Yeah! You tell 'em Barret! When I'm through with the two of you mangy Turks, you'll kiss the moon!" Yuffie yelled and then swore as Rude twisted her arm a bit harder.

"You shut up, ninja-brat!" Reno yelled. "I could take you any day, but I don't fight schoolchildren!"

"What the #%!? You callin' me a kid, freak ass?" Yuffie kicked and thrashed around and Barret smacked Reno in the head in response.

"Well this is just great…" Rude sighed.

"Yeah, I'm callin' you a kid! Are you outta diapers yet Yuffie?"

"You're damn lucky this big lug is holdin' me or I'd…"

"Bring it on!"

"I would if I could!"

"Goddamnit stalemate, that's what this is…and the others are all out fer breakfast…" Barret muttered.

"Hah! You don't really have back up!" Reno shouted.

"Yeah, well neither do you, freak ass!" Yuffie yelled. "You think we believe that shit about ShinRa soldiers?"

Lyria poked her head into the hallway. "Hey, keep it down…oh…umm…oh dear…Vincent! We have a small problem…"

"Yes?" Vincent joined Lyria at the door. "What are you four doing?"

"Hah! Yer outnumbered, Turk! Let Yuffie go!" Barret instructed triumphantly.

"No way! You're the ones who are outnumbered! Vincent, arrest those two! ShinRa Charter, section four, paragraph six A. Assault of high ranking ShinRa employees!" Reno interjected.

"What in the hell're ya talkin' about? Did I hit you too hard or somethin'?" Barret growled, smacking Reno again. "There. Izzat better?"

"Precisely why are you holding each other hostage?" Vincent asked mildly.

"Precisely why didn' you come out until now!? We been shoutin' like hell!" Barret answered angrily.

"I was in the shower and the TV was on. We couldn't hear over the noise," Lyria explained, pointing to her damp brown hair.

"They're tryin' t' kill Avalanche!" Barret accused, leaning harder on Reno.

"For the…love of…stop it, I can't breathe, you…goddamn…ox…" Reno pleaded, starting to see stars.

"Barret, lay off. Rude, let Yuffie go," Vincent directed.

Barret sullenly shoved Reno once more before backing off and letting him slump against the wall, gasping. Rude sighed and shoved Yuffie forward, sending her sprawling and landing flat on her face in front of Reno. Despite his lack of oxygen, Reno laughed and jabbed Yuffie in the small of her back with his nightstick.

"Frickin' hell!" Yuffie swore, pulling out another chunk of materia as Reno started to stand up. "Let's try this, freak ass! See how you like Bio 2!" Yuffie squeezed the orb and suddenly a thick cloud of purplish green smoke erupted from it and engulfed Reno.

"G-god…" Reno choked. As quickly as it had appeared the smoke dissipated, leaving the hallway clear and the only remnants of the poison lingering in the form of a very ill looking Reno.

"Yuffie!" Lyria scolded, crouching down beside Reno as he slumped to the ground again. "That was a terrible thing to do!"

"Yeah, well…he deserved it…" Yuffie growled.

"Do you have a healing materia?" Lyria asked.

"Yeah…but I'm not using it on scum like him!"

Lyria held out her hand. "Give it to me, Yuffie," she ordered sternly.

"Aww…" Yuffie grudgingly tossed the materia to Lyria who promptly pressed it against Reno's chest and squeezed it. A fragrant smelling cloud of whitish blue smoke flowed out of the materia and floated down the hallway.

"Thanks…god, I hate Bio spells…" Reno glared at Yuffie as Lyria helped him to his feet. "I feel like I've been turned inside out."

"It'll get better pretty soon," Lyria promised.

"You're meanin' t' say they're on our side now?" Barret asked incredulously as Vincent finished his brief account of the previous evening's events.

"Sort of…Reeve's president of ShinRa now, so they aren't working for an enemy…"

"Too much talk, me and Yuffie were jes' gonna ask ye if you two wanted to join us for breakfast…explain it again upstairs because I didn' understand any o' that…"

"Sort of like how you didn't understand the concept of the Cetra?"

"What in the hell is 'Cetra'? Is it like ShinRa?"

"Never mind," Vincent sighed.

"I have to get dressed first. Will you wait for me, Vincent?" Lyria asked.

"Of course. Would you and Rude like to join us for breakfast, Reno?"

"I guess…if we aren't going to get your whole posse trying to kill us…"

"We'll explain it to them; I'll just be a minute getting changed…" Lyria ducked back into her room and reemerged moments later, dressed in jeans and the halter-top she'd bought upon their arrival in Midgar. "Ok, all ready!" Lyria hurried down the hallway to catch up with Yuffie and Barret.

"Damn…" Reno murmured, appraising Lyria's exposed back with poorly concealed interest.

"Reno…" Vincent threatened in a warning tone.

"I know, I know, but…damn…you lucked out, she's got a hell of a figure…"

"Reno, I'm not kidding."

"Yeah, I heard you; even so…you know who she sorta reminds me of? You met Lucrecia, right? She was a scientist who worked for Hojo…I guess you musta met her eh? You were working with them in Nibelheim…anyway, she's a doctor, she's got a similar hair color, green eyes, and the cutest little…"

Before Vincent had the chance, Rude smacked Reno in the back of the head. "Shut up now."

"Hey! I was just saying…" Reno rubbed the back of his head ruefully.

"You keep up your 'just saying' and Vincent's gonna shoot you."

"Damn straight."

"All right, already…you guys are no fun…" Reno grumbled as they reached the elevators where Lyria, Yuffie and Barret waited.

"Did you know they had a restaurant on the top floor, Vincent?" Lyria asked. "Yuffie was just telling me about it, she says it's really nice…"

"I didn't know that." Vincent casually slipped an arm around Lyria's waist, casting a threatening glance at Reno.

"It's a revolving restaurant; I've never been to one of those…"

"Me either!" Yuffie piped up. "I didn't think I could ever handle it, what with my motion sickness and all, I probably couldn't even be on this elevator if it weren't for those pills you gave me…"

Reno rolled his eyes and glanced at Rude with an exasperated expression.

"It was no problem Yuffie." Lyria stepped out of the elevator as a soft chime sounded, still with Vincent holding her close.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen," a well-dressed man with several menus greeted them. "Are you with the Highwind-Strife party?"

"Yes," Vincent answered.

"They said they were expecting four more, but there are six of you…would you like two extra chairs?"

"Please."

"Very good, sir. Please follow me." The man wove his way through various tables and to the revolving ring that surrounded the stable middle part of the restaurant to the long table where Cloud, Shera, and Cid were sitting with Red curled up on the floor beside Cloud's chair.

"Good morning!" Cloud called. "Hey! Look out you guys! There's a pair of Turks behind you!"

"Oh, very funny," Reno said sarcastically, sitting down next to Shera who sat beside Cid. Cloud was at the head of the table and there was an empty space to his right, between him and Cid.

"When did you get back, Cid?" Vincent asked, sitting down across from the pilot.

"At &$#$ four in the morning! Ever walked eight blocks at four in the morning?" Cid growled, glaring at him.

"Cid!" Shera scolded. "Be a little more sensitive! How did it go last night, dear?" Shera asked Vincent in a kind tone.

"It was terrifying!" Lyria interrupted, taking the chair beside Vincent.

"What happened?" Shera asked. "Oh, wait, maybe you shouldn't start quite yet, Tifa's just in the washroom…"

"She'll be back in a minute. In the meantime, you four order something to eat," Cloud directed. "Yuffie and Barret ordered before they went down."

"Ok…" Lyria scanned the menu quickly. "Umm…Shera, what are you having?"

"I thought the Eggs Benedict looked good…"

"Ok, what are you getting, Vincent?"

"I'll have what you're having."

"Reno?"

"I dunno…hey! Wine list!"

"Reno it's only eight thirty!"

"So? I'll have something light."

"That actually doesn't sound like too bad an idea…you wanna split a bottle, Turk?" Cid asked.

"Why not?"

"Tifa!" Cloud yelled, noticing his wife creeping up behind Reno, holding a chair above her head and poised to break it over his back.

Reno spun around to face Tifa. "Eagh! Cloud, call off your dog!"

Cid and Barret laughed while Tifa set her chair down and thumped Reno hard on the top of his head with a fist. "What's the bastard doing here?"

"I'm joining you for breakfast, that's what," Reno answered indignantly.

"What's the world coming to?" Tifa sighed, sitting down beside Cloud. "Oh. Hello, Vincent. Hello, Lyria."

"Good morning," Lyria answered pleasantly, smiling and giving Tifa the tiniest wink when her eyes flickered between her and Vincent.

"Excuse me, sirs and madams, are you ready to order?" a smartly dressed waiter with a pad and paper asked.

When everyone had given their orders and the waiter had left, Cloud spoke up. "So what happened last night and why are two of our archenemies joining us for breakfast?"

"Cheers, Cloud!" Reno grinned and held up his wine glass.

"Whatever. Who's gonna tell?"

"I will," Lyria volunteered, launching into an account of the previous night's events, with small interruptions by Rude, Reno, and Vincent, stopping for a bit as the waiter came and gave everyone their food, and glossing over the more personal details. "…and then we came back to the hotel after we remembered we forgot Cid…"

There was a silence as everyone took in the story and Lyria took the opportunity to lightly lay her hand on Vincent's knee. He glanced at her briefly, then pulled out a pen and grabbed one of the brochures that sat at the edge of the table, promoting the ShinRa hotel. Is that your hand?

Lyria smiled and took the pen from him, admiring his handwriting for a moment, it was bold but at the same time neat and elegant. Yes…would you like me to move it?

She saw it took him a few moments longer to read her writing, as it was a bit messy and uneven. If you wouldn't mind.

Lyria smiled and moved her hand. Is that better?

I actually meant "off", not "around", but yeah, this is better.

Lyria giggled. Oh good.

"What are you giggling about?" Yuffie asked, snatching the paper from Lyria.

"Hey! Give that back!" Lyria protested, reaching for the note.

Yuffie held it out of her reach and quickly skimmed it then burst out laughing. "Oh jeez…"

Lyria blushed as Yuffie waved the note around.

"Lemme see!" Reno asked, trying to snatch the paper from Yuffie.

Lyria flushed a deeper pink as Vincent leaned over and quietly whispered something. A wicked grin suddenly spread over her features. "Hey Yuffie?"

"Yeah?"

"You know those pills I gave you? For motion sickness? They're fake."

"W-what?" Yuffie paled slightly. "What're you talking about?'

"You heard me, they're placebos. They aren't real. And you know what? Right now, you spinning around about twenty-three stories in the air and you just finished a southwestern omelet. How do you feel?"

Yuffie didn't answer and clamped a hand over her mouth, eyes bulging and ran out of the restaurant.

"L-Lyria? D-does that mean the little white pills you gave me are…" Cloud was turning even paler than Yuffie had.

"Cloud, it's psychosomatic! If you don't think you'll get motion sickness you won't!" Lyria explained as Cloud stood up and ran after Yuffie.

"It's all in your head, Cloud!" Tifa called after her husband.

"Oh well, I tried…" Lyria shrugged her shoulders. "Can we go home soon, Cid?"

"Sure, why not? O' course, we'll have a hell of a time gettin' Cloud an' Yuffie on the airship…"

At Cid's comment everyone laughed, even Vincent. Lyria smiled and squeezed his hand, feeling that the happiness he expressed was genuine for once.

--------------------------------------------