Title: Let Love Bleed

Rating: T, may go higher later.

Description:Post DoC. New discoveries lead to Vincent's nightmares of Lucrecia resurfacing. he thought he could begin life anew, but there was still one last thing to settle. He seeks help from his friends, but will they be able to bring him back from despair.

Pairings: CloTi, OneSided Yuffentine(Yuffie has a crush on Vincent), plenty of others later on.

AN: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

Chapter 1 - Dreams Fade Into Nightmares

A woman stood inside a stone room filled wall to wall with bookcases holding hundreds of ancient books, reports, and theses. A tall man with a cold demeanor and black hair that hung over his right eye stood across from the woman. "Hello, Ma'am, I have been assigned by President Shinra to be your personal bodyguard." The man said this with a cold stiffness, as if he could care less about this woman. He was only here because Shinra made him, and the only reason he worked for Shinra was because he had nothing else. He reached out his hand to shake the woman's. "My name is Valentine. Vincent Valentine, that is."

The women offered her hand in response to his. Her gentle skin warmed his cold flesh as he shook her hand. She smiled lightly and her bright blue eyes gleamed. "I'm Dr. Lucrecia Crescent." His red eyes met hers, and they were filled with warmth he hadn't felt ever in his life. It was then that something inside him changed forever.

A man suddenly awoke from his deep slumber in the Kalm Inn. His pale skin was sweaty, and his crimson eyes were filled with both a serene peace and a strange fear. 'It was a dream? No, another nightmare.' The room carried the fragrant smell of red wine. 'They seem even more vivid now. Now that…' He stopped himself in mid-sentence, not wanting to utter those words. He got up off of the bed, and threw the red cloak that had been draped over the chair over his body. He buckled the belts that held it on his shoulders as he turned to look out the window. The sun was starting to rise. Stooped, as though he carried the weight of the world, he whispered, "I thought I said goodbye forever." He sorrowfully stared at a pile of papers that sat on the table. 'But now that I know that…' He still couldn't bring himself to say it. As he pulled his long black hair behind his ear, he picked up the stack of papers and proceeded to exit the room.

He had decided that it was time that he turned to his friends. After years of fighting it, he realized that he truly had some friends in this world that cared about him, and as much as he didn't like to admit it, he was able to find some comfort in his friends. He decided that he wanted to be happy again. He couldn't remember the last time he had even truly laughed, or smiled. 'Lucrecia… Why did this happen to us? It seems as though Shinra controlled our lives. And Hojo. He was in on it too. Damn them all! Hojo turned me into this… this monster.' He stopped for a second and looked at his golden claw. 'To die… I would give anything to be able to finally rest. But I cannot. I need to help the others restore the planet to what it was before people like Hojo and President Shinra ruined it.'

Vincent took out his phone and opened it, greeted by a look of disgust as he read the words that sprawled across the screen: Yuffie was here. He ignored it for now and scrolled through his contacts until he came to the name Shelke. He started to send his message as he continued to traverse the plains.

--

"Tifa," said a small, somewhat monotonic voice as a girl walked down the stairs. Her khaki skirt floated slightly as she made her final step on the landing. There was a woman in the kitchen behind the bar washing dishes in a boringly domestic manner.

"Yes Shelke," Tifa replied in a humming tone. She wouldn't admit it, but she was a bit bored of having a normal life. It had been a while since her last adventure and it seemed like it was time for something new to happen. She has not had this normal of a life in quite a while. She was opposed to her thoughts though, saying that the bar and practice were enough for her. There was one thing she wanted however.

"I have received a message from Vincent Valentine saying that he will be here soon. Should I prepare a room for him?" She asked this in her normally calm manner, but on the inside, she was a bit excited. She had always enjoyed Vincent's presence, and she felt as though she owed him something. After all, if it weren't for him, she wouldn't be here now. Her only regret was that her sister- she didn't like to think about her sister. It made her sad, and that is the one emotion she has had enough of.

"Of course," Tifa said turning to the girl. As soon as she replied, Shelke turned around and walked back up the stairs. Tifa was starting to feel like she should just turn the bar into a boarding house for former AVALANCHE members. After all, two of them were already staying there. Yuffie had also been there since the beginning of the week. She has been playing games with Marlene and Denzel. Tifa loved having kids around. She hoped that someday she might have some her own. If only, well, if only some people were a bit smarter, no names mentioned. Here she is, twenty-three years old, tending a bar in Edge, and it seems like he doesn't even have a clue.

Some nights Shera would call and ask if Tifa and Cloud would like to come to Rocket Town and join Cid and herself for a meal. Sometimes the answer was yes, sometimes no. Shera would always ask how Tifa and Cloud were doing, with a specific meaning in mind. And as always, the answer was 'okay.' Tifa had a sigh in her spirit, and a hope in her heart. 'What do I have to do to get through to him!' She looked down at her watch. 'Oh, I almost forgot!' She suddenly remembered that Cid and Barret were coming to the bar tonight. 'Seems like it will be a group reunion tonight.' Tifa laughed to herself at the coincidence. The only ones missing would be Reeve and Red. No one has heard from Red in a while. He has been missing for weeks. Probably off doing some research in the canyon. Reeve was busy working with the WRO trying to restore the planet to what it once was before Meteorfall and Shinra. For that matter, they would take restoring it to what it was before the Deep Ground incident. Oh the sins that Shinra committed against the planet. "Huh, I wonder," Tifa began to trail back into her thoughts after she had finished the dishes. She put down the dishtowel, and hung up the apron that was once tied around her waist. She began to wonder what Rufus and his Turks were up to. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door open. "Oh, hey you!" She shot a big smile at the man standing in the doorway.

--

Vincent walked the streets of Edge, on his way to the Seventh Heaven. The city was surprisingly empty, which was odd for a Friday evening. He wanted to just collapse there where he stood, but he knew that if he rested now, he would find no solace in his dreams or his nightmares. He wondered if his struggle would ever end. 'Am I doomed to walk this path for eternity?' He started to hear a faint set of footsteps. They were the only ones on the street. They were light, but rushed. A woman most likely, but she was running for some reason. She turned the corner and started to run towards Vincent. She was looking down at the ground, and suddenly ran into him and knocked him to floor, spilling the papers she was carrying. As he fell to the ground, his phone fell out of his pocket. "I'm so sorry," she said with a jerk. Normally he would've dodged her, but he was too buried in his thoughts to even notice she was coming right at him.

"It's alright," he said as he helped her pick up the papers. He started to read the documents he was holding. "Gast's work. Interesting." He gave her back her papers. "Are you a scientist?"

"Hardly," she said as she gathered the rest of the papers. "Well, yes and no. It's more of a hobby of mine. I enjoy learning." She was a beautiful woman. She had auburn red hair that was pulled into a ponytail, and her green eyes examined her scattered paperwork. Her fair skin seemed to glimmer in the rising moon's light.

After he finished looking her over, he gave her the last of the papers. "I see. Well if you would excuse me, I must be going." He gathered himself and continued on his way. He had many other things to worry about.

"Thank you," she said as he walked past her. She looked around and noticed a phone on the ground. "Hey, wait, you forgot," but before she could finish her sentence, he was already gone. "Huh." She picked up the phone and opened it. She read the words 'Yuffie was here' and became very curious. She continued on to look through the contacts. Barret Wallace; Cid Highwind; Cloud Strife; Reeve Tuesti; Tifa Lockhart; Yuffie Kisaragi. "It can't be! I recognize all of those names! There is only one missing!" She thought for a second. "Oh my-" She cut herself off as she ran in the direction that Vincent headed.