Chapter One
A World Gone Mad
I'm a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world…and I am getting along.
That had been over a year ago. Yuffie stepped out of the shower and twisted a towel around her hair and perched it on her head. Wrapping another towel around her body, she shivered at the cool air. Quickly drying her skin, she then pulled on clothes and over her clothes placed a simple, short pink dress. Looking in the mirror, her heart knotted – it looked like Aeris's dress. The wound caused by her death, despite it having been inflicted over a year ago, was still fresh. Little things pricked and poked at the old scar, making it bleed anew. Yuffie shook her head, one hand on the towel, and pulled on her matching pink heels, sighing at herself. Popping in blue colored contacts, she blinked a couple times to let them adjust to her eyes. Finally she unwrapped the towel and tucked her hair under the long, blonde wig in a practiced manner.
She sighed at her reflection and shook her head. The wig was very realistic, not one of the cheap Halloween ones, and had she been someone else, she wouldn't know who she was. Not that a Wutain would ever naturally have blonde hair, but it looked as though the long, belly button length hair was actually hers. So she bundled her clothes in a towel and made sure there was no trace of her presence before she left the house she'd broken into. Heading out to the alley, she went over to a metal trash bin that was surrounded by sleeping bums, and dumped the clothes inside. Next to the trash bin was a tiny can of oil the bums used for fire starting, and spilled the oil all over the clothes. Lighting a match, she tossed it into the can and walked away, leaving her old identity behind and emerging blonde, blue eyed and hopelessly pink.
Of course, any unnatural looking Wutain was greeted with suspicion, so she whipped out her pink razor phone and babbled away to a no one. People didn't glance at her then, so after a little while she finally snapped it shut.
Turning, she stared into the window of an electronics store and her eyes focused on the multiple TVs stacked in the windows. They were all turned to the same news station. Her heart plopped into her stomach as the newscaster's words met her ears. "And as usual," the newscaster said, a new sharpness to his tone. "Auhncore pleads the public to stay on constant alert. Though nearly all the members of AVALANCHE have been apprehended, Vincent Valentine-" A picture of a dark man looking away from the camera slid onto the screen, "and Yuffie Kisaragi, heir to the Wutain throne," her own, year old picture flashed, "are both on the loose. We beg you to stay on alert. Recent sightings, though not yet confirmed, include a claim of the gunslinging Valentine near the roughlands of Mideel."
Then a video of the President of Auhncore appeared on the screen, apparently answering a question at a press conference. "Yes, it is true that Mister Valentine and Mis- Princess Kisaragi are two very dangerous members of AVALANCHE –thus why they have eluded us so long. However, we don't believe either are posing an immediate threat to the public, but we beg any sightings to be reported. The other members of AVALANCHE, as you know, are in custody and we are taking every effort to find the other two."
"This is Channel 13 News from Midgar."
Yuffie kept walking. As she pretended to answer her phone, she gave a fake little gasp. "Oh my god I know! I just saw a TV with that news people-guy on it and he was all 'oh my god that creepy Valentine dude and Princess chick are on the loose still.' Ew. He's like, a rapist or a vampire or something, right?" Yuffie gabbed, sending a silent apology to Vincent. Well, on the rapist part. The vampire part was yet to be proven wrong. And vampire till proven innocent, Yuffie always said. Well not always. Well, she'd probably never said that. But that wasn't the point.
She walked on, and her eyes landed on a man coming out of a café. Her lips slid into a smile and she pretended to dial a new number and jabbered away with 'Mandi' having finished talking to 'Candi' and will next dial 'Sandi.' People on either side of her rolled their eyes and she acted in typical dumb blonde fashion, constantly giggling and acting confused. Purposefully she kept dropping her purse and bent to pick it up, knowing full well the skirt was riding up to a dangerous degree, her eyes slipping behind her a couple times. Finally, when she spilled her makeup, a man knelt by her side and flashed smile. "May I help?"
She picked her phone up and tucked it in the purse, and smiled. "I'm just so clumsy…" she said, shaking her head and giving a hopeless sigh. He smiled.
"Are you going somewhere?" he asked.
She sighed. "I was going to go dump my boyfriend and I'm just so nervous. After all, I don't have anywhere to go. …And I, um, don't know why I'm telling you this. Thank you, so sorry…"
"It's no problem," he smiled winningly. "I always have time. They say a stranger is just a friend you having met yet, right?"
She laughed. "That is what they say."
"Don't you have family?"
She shook her head and answered, "Orphan."
The man grinned, and though someone else might miss it, Yuffie saw the wickedness. "I'm Daniel Powd."
She gave a smile. "Lili Launders."
"Well Lili Launders – why don't we go to lunch, and you can tell me all about your boyfriend?"
Yuffie reached into her pocket and punched in a text. "I'd love to," she grinned and linked her arm through his, letting herself be led down the street. She hit send.
Got him.
And in another place, a cell phone buzzed quietly. A small hand reached out and flipped it open, and the seven year old read the text message received. A small smile appeared on soft lips, and the message was erased, cell phone put on the table. "We're coming Daddy," she whispered, kissing a small picture tucked in her pocket. Her eyes rose to the ceiling above, where greenery spread through dark cracks. "We're gonna get you saved."
And so he was caught.
Yuffie surveyed the bound, gagged and sweating man with a look of contempt. The knots that bound him were small and tight, leaving no room for movement as they cut into his skin. His breathing was frantic, and he looked up at Yuffie with bewildered eyes. After she reached down and removed his gag, she sat down on a chair next to the deep bathtub that contained him.
"Lili?" he asked, but then after staring at her, a chuckle came to his lips as well as a seeming revelation. "Hey babe, I didn't know you were into bondage but-"
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Listen," she said sharply, her false voice and attitude disappearing down the drain. "Auhncore hired you, secretly, to locate a certain Vincent Valentine."
His eyes widened. "Is that was this is about?"
"What else?" she glared. "Now, you can answer my questions and I'll be a nice little blonde. Or, you can refuse, and I'll have to torture on your ass. It will not be fun."
"They'll kill me."
Yuffie laughed a laugh not her own and leaned forward, voice dropping to a whisper. "Auhncore should be the least of your worries."
Bleary, red-rimmed eyes stared at her, trying to understand, disbelieving. "And what exactly, is it to you?"
Her lips drew into a line and she stood again, turning to face the mirror. She stared at her reflection. "…Everything."
At last, his eyes widened in understanding. "Whoah, whoah, do you mean you're-"
Yuffie laughed and shook her head. "Don't be stupid. Why would a wanted person go parading around in public? Let's just say I'm interested in such affairs."
He was stuck between mistrust and the truth of her words – even if they were false. Then, he looked at the ceiling, thinking. Staring past the tiles, eyes at last flicked over to her. "I'm not getting out of here alive, am I?" he whispered.
She tilted her head down, in shame, and shook her head. "Probably not," she said quietly. "Not if you don't tell me what I want to know. So what have you found out a bout the whereabouts of a certain Mr. Valentine?"
He said nothing.
Yuffie sighed. "Listen, Dan-Man. How bout this? If you tell me, I'll let you walk. How does that sound? But if you go running to the authorities, I'll come back, and kill you. Or get someone else to do it. And the people I'm thinking of will hardly be gentle. Even if you do tell the authorities, you will have no proof."
"You're not superhuman. People saw you with me."
"And that's about it. Plus, no one who would remember saw. And you have a girlfriend who would, in a second, vouch you were with her, because she is so in denial of your cheating habits."
His eyes narrowed. "Just how long have you been watching me?"
Yuffie shrugged. "A while. And boy, you sure do know how to pick him. How's that Josy, anyway?"
Daniel glared, but when she met it evenly, he sighed. "Still contained."
"Boy oh boy, even when a chick is crazy you never expect them to actually wind up in the asylum." Yuffie laughed sharply before switching topics. "So there is no escape. Tell me what you know."
Daniel paused, and then nodded. "Could you at least sit me up?" Yuffie shook her head, and he glared, but spoke. "Investigating with Vincent has been slow, but already I have more information that most people have gotten in months. But believe me, that isn't much. I spoke to a little girl in Icicle Inn who swears she saw a man with red eyes, but her parents also say that she claimed to have seen the Window Washer serial killer when the man had never been near the town in his life."
"Don't compare Vincent with the Window Washer," Yuffie said quietly.
Daniel shot her a glare. "Oh, so you're one of those AVALANCHE-sympathizers?"
A fierce glare that could rival the heat of Ifrit was shot back at him. "AVALANCHE saved your life!"
He snorted. "AVALANCHE was at the heart of the trouble. They worked with Sephiroth only to turn against him, so the world would think them heroes."
"They are Heroes!" Yuffie growled.
"AVALANCHE turned an amazing general to evil and insanity and made the world believe it!" Daniel cried, "And your Mr. Valentine is as bad as it comes! He killed Lucrecia Crescent and-"
More quickly than he could blink, Yuffie Kisaragi had drawn a gun and laid it to Daniel's forehead. Cold, unforgiving metal pushed against his hot, sweaty skin. Her muscles shook and her jaw was clenched with a white-hot rage and passion. "Vincent Valentine did not kill Lucrecia Crescent," she hissed fiercely, "and we've spent a good time convincing him as much."
Leaning in close, she put her lips next to his ear and grinned a little. "I am Yuffie Kisaragi, heir to the Wutain throne, proud member of AVALANCHE and wanted fugitive of the law. May you burn in hell, Daniel Powd, and when you get there, say hi to Sephiroth for me."
One last gasp was taken before a single squeeze of a trigger made thunder erupt in the room. Crimson bloomed on his forehead, and Daniel Powd lived no more. Spitting with rage, Yuffie dropped the gun and eyed it with distaste. She didn't and would never like guns. Ever. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a picture that had worn down edges and housed 9 people – well, 8 people and a robot.
"The world's gone mad," she whispered to her friends, running fingers over the ruined edges of the picture, "and now they hate their heroes."
It had started soon after they landed in Midgar. The world had cheered and the people had cried with joy, and they clapped and patted their heroes on the back. But AVALANCHE knew that though they'd saved the world, the world was far from saved. They plunged into the rebuilding effort, though at first it was a search. Rubble was moved as people searched for their loved ones, hoping to find them alive, even beneath the rocks. Too many mothers cried over lost children and too many children found themselves alone. Too many lovers cried for their missing half, and far too many friends found themselves friendless. Still, they dove in, leading the way, a beacon in the night.
They found out more about ShinRa than anyone could have wanted, from the sick experiments of Hojo to the horrible corruption in the upper ranks. But then, from the ashes, a corporation rose anew. Auhncore.
They had been so stupid. They should have known that ShinRa would never leave without their last bow.
They should have known ShinRa would take its Encore.
And so Auhncore rose, little by little, deceiving the people into loving them and trusting them. Auhncore isn't Shinra, they thought. Auhncore will help; order, organization, even if just for this brief time of panic. It was to supply the things needed until a government could be made. But ShinRa had left too dark a mark in the people's lives, and not all could forget. During a time of post-crisis such as this, the people needed someone to cling to, to depend on. And they found this in AVALANCHE; their saviors. Their heroes. So they let AVALANCHE lead the way, watching as each member was right along with the people in digging through the rubble. AVALANCHE weren't just their heroes, they were real; they were people like everyone else. If they could be heroes, anyone could. Auhncore, unfortunately, saw this. They saw that the people were clinging to AVALANCHE, and how much they admired their heroes. But they also saw that AVALANCHE members were people, just like the rest, and they knew one crushing fact; people aren't invincible - people can be brought down.
Auhncore's first major blow happened fast. When they were working in a section of Midgar, a tired mother was holding her baby as she searched through the rubble. The baby started wailing, but the mother was fresh on her duty and didn't want to give up. So Tifa had walked over and kindly took the baby into her arms. A person in the crowd – they later discovered he was a plant from Auhncore, waiting for something like this – sprang up.
"Don't give her your child!" the man yelled, standing in a high place on the rubble, pointing an accusing finger down at Tifa. He was the picture of a holy punisher, light shining behind him as he stood on his mountain of rubble, eyes blaring. Tifa looked up at him, bewildered and confused as she gently bounced the cooing baby boy in her arms.
The man marched down, arm still outstretched and single finger pointing. The mother looked as startled as everyone else. "What are you talking about? That's Tifa Lockhart, you know!" the mother smiled at the fistfighter. When the man marched next to them, the mother looked at him as though he wasn't the brightest bulb. "Sweet girl, part of AVALANCHE."
The man glared fiercely. "I know who she is, probably even more than you do!" Everyone had turned to see the commotion, and gathered around the stubborn-chinned man, whose brows were knitted closely together. He turned to the crowd. "I thought 'You know, all this AVALANCHE stuff is kinda fishy! Appearing just when ShinRa falls.' So I looked into their background." He now turned back to Tifa, white-hot glare not reduced in the slightest. "Did you know that she was tour guide to Sephiroth himself? She met the man, and she hardly looks unhappy here!" he reached into his pocket and whipped out the picture of Tifa, Zack and Sephiroth.
The baby sniffled. "Sephiroth was famous then. It was an honor." Tifa said, making a face. "We didn't know what he would become."
"But isn't it true!" the man screeched, "that during that very same trip he burnt down Nibelheim, and 'coincidentally' you not only got out alive, but sustained no injuries at all?"
"That isn't true!" she protested.
By this time, the other members of AVALANCHE had marched over. "What's going on?" Cloud asked, wiping dust and dirt from a ruddy face.
"And you!" the man yowled, turning his condemning finger to Cloud. He looked at the crowd. "You've maybe heard of the tragic death of Aeris?" Some nodded, and others tutted in sympathy, and others merely looked confused. The man turned back to Cloud with his eyes blazing. "Isn't it true that before Sephiroth murdered her, you yourself, Cloud Strife, turned your sword onto her and tried to slaughter Aeris Gainsborough?"
The crowd turned to Cloud as though they watched a ping pong match. Their eyes were wide, condemning. Cloud's head dropped, eyes devouring his shoes. "It won't deny it," he said quietly. The crowd gasped and erupted in talk.
"Ah-Hah! So what makes you so much better than Sephiroth, hero?" he spat, the last word a curse in his mouth.
"You wait right there!" Tifa shouted, glaring as she handed the baby back. Silence rang throughout the area. "You weren't there," Tifa's voice quivered, fists clenched as her muscles shook with white-hot rage. "You weren't there to see how her death killed him, broke him."
"But why haven't you told the world, AVALANCHE," he roared, "that each one of you are far less than honorable than you make yourself out to be!"
Arguments and shouting broke through the area, filling the air until one bellow broke though it all. "STOP!" The cry pierced the air and cut through the noise until all was silent, and everyone looked around for the source of the loud noise…and found it in 5 feet and 2 inches of sixteen year old.
Yuffie was fuming; actually, she was beyond fuming, boiling and stewing in rage. Marching forward she met the man's eyes directly, and to everyone's (including her own) surprise, the man shifted uncomfortably. "We didn't set out to be heroes," she said, her slow whisper fierce enough for all to hear. "But somewhere along the way, it happened! We didn't ask for any of this!"
"Really Princess?" he asked sleekly, barely hiding a cruel smile. "It seems a lot of 'accidents' have happened in your life."
No one could miss Yuffie's immediate tenseness; as soon as his words were uttered she became as stiff as a board, jaw clenched and legs rooted firmly into the ground. "I don't know what you mean," she muttered rigidly.
He gave a conniving, close-lipped smile. "So you have never committed murder?"
Yuffie was even tighter, and her fingers looked as though they itched to go to a shruiken. "…" Not even Yuffie laughed when Cid, in the background, whispered, "She's pulling a Vincent!"
"So you deny that you killed your mother?" the man asked smugly.
The crowd stared, and worse than the chatter from before, was completely silent. Their eyes bored holes into her, trying to peer past her skin into her very core. Yuffie looked as though she was battling to hold back rage and tears; and she was losing. "Do not judge lest you be judged." Yuffie shot back, jaw clenched. "And don't you cry witchcraft unless you're prepared for those you love to hang."
The man gave a slow, tight-lipped smile. "Oh don't worry Princess. I'm ready."
At first it was hard for anyone to accept. But the first stone was cast, and more kept being thrown. On TV, breakthrough news reports were announcements of their deepest secrets, such as Dyne's death. The exception was that the stories were all twisted to cast the AVALANCHE members in a bad light. They said Barret killed Dyne so he wouldn't take Marlene back; Yuffie's refusal to deny that she killed her mother was blared from the rooftops. They said that Vincent was an adulterant who killed Hojo out of jealousy and because Hojo was 'in the way.'
The worst part was that they had proof.
They dug up a journal of Lucrecia's; they found a letter Yuffie had written at age 7. They salvaged a security camera that had part of the encounter with Dyne; of course, they only played the parts that made Barret look bad. They portrayed Red as a savage beast, showing a tape of Nanaki when he was trapped with Aeris; only they left out the part Nanaki admitted he had been pretending. They saved their weakest arguments for when the public was nearly convinced and thus they claimed Cid hadn't cared if Shera had died during the space mission, and had to be near wrestled to be forced to stop the mission; and they dug up an old crew member to give his version – Auhncore's version – of the event.
Then they brought up false evidence and strung together a story. They said that AVALANCHE had been the original creator of the plot to destroy the world and that Cloud had turned Sephiroth into an evil maniac. Auhncore claimed that AVALANCHE had turned Sephiroth evil in the eyes of the world so that they might gain glory. Auhncore made it seem as though Sephiroth had been running from AVALANCHE and his attempt to end the world was the last attempt of a desperate man; an attempt to stop AVALANCHE from chasing him that merely got out of hand.
The people were convinced. Auhncore rose up, having successfully discredited the heroes of The Planet. Now the people clung to Auhncore, leaned on Auhncore for support. Auhncore had risen, but AVALANCHE hadn't completely fallen. Then came the day of the Great Edge Riot.
AVALANCHE had been adamant; even with all the charges the public was forcing on them, they still marched out every day, their dignity shredded and pride wounded, and kept helping clean Midgar. People gave them a wide berth, but still they plugged on, working just as everyone else and fighting to keep their heads held high. They continued on, never mind how Tifa's chin quivered when the children shied away from her; never mind the glares people gave Vincent, whispering to their friends of how he 'took advantage of a woman' and 'killed her and her husband in the end.'
Auhncore had risen in power to the extent that they were gathering people under them, thus beginning to form a twisted company-government just as ShinRa had. They even had a justice system, hiring people from Midgar so it was all the more believable. The Turks were employed, though very few knew it – AVALANCHE being one of these few.
Finally, just as before, an Auhncore plant in the crowd shouted out his protests. "I refuse to work alongside of murderers and rapists!" he cried, pointing at Auhncore. Never mind that the charges against Vincent had been adultery, not rape. It made the crier all the more believable, since the gossip of the public warped opinions.
People roared their consent, grateful someone had at last spoke up. Yuffie stopped her work, wiping grime from her face and propping her hands on her hips. On the other hand, Tifa, Cloud, Reeve, Vincent and Red kept working, heads bowed. Cid, however, stopped as well. He leaned on his spear as Barret stood behind Yuffie, a giant, bear-like shadow. Yuffie glared around, chin held high, however brokenly. "Yuffie," Cloud muttered. "Barret, Cid…"
"No Spike, I ain't takin' this shit no more." Barret growled.
The crowd buzzed. "AVALANCHE isn't safe!" a woman said, clutching at her boyfriend's arm – the man who had shouted out his protest. More shouts of protest and anger started, until the crowd began to jostle AVALANCHE. Closing in, they jeered insults and cried out their discomfort, until more people began to gather. Soon, a large crowd had gathered with AVALANCHE at its center, everyone forming a circle around them with a wide berth, as though they didn't want to get too close to them. Cid cursed, Yuffie glared, Barret growled and Tifa stared around at the people with a broken hope in her eyes.
Then a shining knight appeared – well, for the people, anyway. A voice cried out from the walkways through Midgar. "I have here a warrant!" the head of the SP cried. SP was the nickname for Auhncore's investigative police, though no one was sure what it stood for. Some said 'Secret Police,' but the vast majority agreed that the name stood for 'Snow Patrol.' The chief SP stood, stoic officers behind him in a row, and he paused for the crowd to turn. "For every member of AVALANCHE's arrest!"
The crowd gave an approving roar, and AVALANCHE stared at each other. But staring in disbelief would not help their plight, and the crowd was closing in. So at the same time, the mouths of eight people opened, and eight pairs of eyes met.
"Run," Cloud whispered.
A flash bomb was dropped, most likely by their ninja, and along with the flash was a sound like an eruption. The people drew back and clutched at their ears while the eight members of AVALANCHE split into eight different directions and ran for their lives. By the time the shock of the flash bomb had worn, AVALANCHE was already shoving, elbowing and kneeing their way through the vast crowd. "Get them!" The Chief SP roared, his amber eyes sparking with a deadly rage. But with a roar of an engine, and the rising of an airship, AVALANCHE was gone. Guns rattled off shots at the departing motorcycle and airship, but all efforts were in vain. AVALANCHE was gone.
The hunt was on.
A/N: Yes I know 'ugh, another Yuffie-centric?' Well, yup. Pairings are yet to be decided (though I do have some general ideas) so your input is needed. Want to know what I'm thinking? Well, it will most definately have CloTi moments, but if that will work out, who knows. Maybe Yuffentine, maybe Reffie. Possibly ReevexMinorOC, definately CidxShera. Thoughts? Opinions? On parings or (well, preferably) the story.
I don't like leaving just the prologue, so that is why the first chapter is up the next day.
I realized the beginning might sound like it is referring to the quote being blah blah time ago, but it's referring to the prologue. I thought it was a little obvoius, but you never know.
Hope I haven't disappointed, and hope you enjoyed.
