A/N: I'm just going to point out again that this takes place in an alternate universe. Main plot wise, the two universes are similar, but events from the past and from this point onward may be completely different. Likewise, many minor characters are reimaginings, some with little to do with their cannon counterparts. Be warned.

Vincent spent the next month searching for a clue on the explosion. His normally tidy apartment was strewn with notes he had crossed out and photographs he hadn't found anything of value in. The once undecorated walls were plastered in lists, diagrams, receipts, news articles - anything that might help him uncover the truth. He had spent every waking hour - every hour that is, since he'd hardly been sleeping – interrogating and investigating.

Well… almost every hour. It was a few days after the explosion when he had to face something he desperately didn't want to. The funerals. He stirred from a half sleep he'd fallen into, looking up at the digital clock on his wall. Four hours. Vincent stood, walking over to the miniscule bathroom in his apartment and twisted the knobs on the shower.

He stood in the steam for a while. He could tell it was too hot, but didn't bother to adjust. It wasn't as though it would burn him anyway. The metal of his gauntlet made an odd clinking noise as water droplets hit it. Vincent briefly entertained the notion of ripping the metal claw off, letting the scalding water burn into the flesh underneath.

In the end, he decided he wasn't quite that masochistic.

He passed by the dingy cracked mirror, trying not to look at the multitude of scars across his body. He glanced back at the clock on his wall. Three hours. His wardrobe already consisted of mostly black, but he found a nicer looking suit and pulled it on. It was loose on him, not at all like his leather pants and belts he normally wore. Vincent looked at the suit, wondering if it was good enough. Not for him but…

Barret wouldn't care that he looked absurd. He really wouldn't. Vincent walked back to his bathroom, trying to get a brush through the mess of tangles he called his hair. Two hours. He looked over his notes for a moment, but quickly realized he wouldn't be able to think about the mystery at hand when… Vincent turned from his work and walked towards the door. He still holstered Cerberus to his hip… not that it had done anything last time.

Vincent walked to the edge of town. There was a slightly pensive air about Edge, but perhaps that was simply the guilt Vincent felt. 'Don't blame yourself.' But that was like asking Cid not to smoke. He ignored the passersby as he made his solo journey towards what would become his friend's final resting place.

Tifa glanced up at him. Her eyes seemed at once dull and empty and incredibly pained. Vincent couldn't even imagine what she was going through. He silently looked away from her, away from the two children that held her hands.

"Tifa… are they sure daddy is…?" he heard Marlene's shaky whisper. Vincent could tell she was holding back tears… no. He heard a tear fall onto the ground.

"Tifa," Reeve said, approaching her. His injuries from the explosion hadn't quite mended yet. "I… I'm so sorry, Tifa."

"…Reeve, has there been any word on Cloud yet?" she asked.

Reeve swallowed, looking down. "No."

In the end, it was a ceremony fit for a hero. That was a small comfort. Elena and Barret deserved that much. Especially Barret. "We ask that Mr. Wallace's daughter Marlene steps forward to receive a metal in honor of his bravery." Marlene took it, staring at the cold silver and ribbon that comprised it, as though if she concentrated enough it would make things okay. After a few seconds she burst into sobs, shoulders shaking, tears streaming down her face.

Though it was hard to tell, Vincent was fairly certain he heard the phrase, "Give him back," leave her lips.

"…You too, Vince?" Tifa asked. Vincent, confused for a moment, touched his cheek, finding it was wet.

"…I'm…crying." It sounded idiotic the second he said it. He couldn't care.

A monument, a small one, was erected. A statue of the gunman, looking up as though in hopes of a better tomorrow, graced the Edge cemetery. It was beautiful, but it only served as a reminder that Barret was gone. Now… now he was nothing but a memory.

Some time after that, Vincent visited Tseng in the hospital. He still hadn't regained consciousness. Many of the doctors were unconvinced that he ever would. Vincent looked over his still form, silently wishing the Turk would open his eyes. After nearly an hour of nothing, Vincent stood and walked towards the hospital door.

"You idiot!" Vincent paused at the shout from the hallway. He looked down it to see the old doctor he recognized from the aftermath of the explosion. Another man in his twenties, tall with ginger hair, held up his hands in defense.

"Father, look. It'll be okay, I'll fix this. Really," the young man said.

"You'll fix it? This can't be fixed. I cannot believe you had the audacity to-" the doctor stopped when he saw Vincent in the doorway. "Forget it. …Gods. Sometime I wonder if you were actually worth keeping alive at all." He walked away, leaving the younger man, for a moment, slack jawed and hurt. His features quickly shifted, eyes narrowing in anger as he glared at Vincent.

"And what are you looking at?" he asked.

"…Nothing. Just leaving," Vincent replied. As he left the room, he noticed something about the man's eyes. They were a bright orange… almost glowing.

Cloud was still missing. At this point, Reeve told everyone to assume Cloud was dead. Yet, as long as he hadn't been found, there was hope. "Don't give up," Aerith had told Vincent. Is this what she meant? I need to keep looking for Cloud? Either way, Vincent continued his search for answers. He had asked the others to help, but they seemed to think it was a lost cause.

"Cloud is probably still out there. You know how hard he is to kill…"

"Vincent… I don't want to give the kids false hope," Tifa said. Marlene and Denzel were starting to move on by then. It wasn't surprising that Tifa wanted to protect them from further grief, but still, Vincent needed her help if he was ever going to find Cloud and avenge Barret's death.

"What about your hope?" he finally said.

"I don't want to talk about this right now."

Tears had rolled down Tifa's cheeks. Aside from Marlene, the impact of the explosion was probably hardest on her. Yet she was still trying to keep everyone else moving. That was how she had dealt with Aerith's death, too. Keeping the group together kept her together.

After Tifa, Vincent moved to speak with Cid, who was still staying at the Seventh Heaven. He had been given his own room, simply because he seemed incapable of moving. Cid and Barret were a lot alike; it wasn't surprising that they were close. Shera had come to visit a time or two, with no results. Cid just stayed in his room, except to get more cigarettes and beer.

"Cid," Vincent started.

"What? What d'ya want?" Cid's speech was slurred, and he clutched a glass in his hand.

"…"

"You just gonna stand there like a $%&^ing statue? Or are ya askin' me to help you on your damn quest?"

"…Cid, how long have you been drinking?"

"None of your $%^&ing business."

"Don't you even care that Barret's dead?"

"…I don't wanna. That's the point."

Cid would rather search for the bottom of a bottle than for the bottom of the problem. You did the same thing once, hiding in that stupid coffin.I know.…Hypocrite.I'm not saying he's wrong or I'm right, okay?Seems like you're in denial, just like Reeve.I wish Reeve would at least side with me.

Reeve was, true to Chaos's words, in denial. In his mind, he believed the explosion was the result of a faulty pipe, or power grid problem – something that could be fixed, rather than a threat.

"I already told you, what's important now is finding the source of the explosion," Reeve said.

"That's what I told you," Vincent said cooly.

"Well I've got people looking into it, we'll fix whatever it was." Reeve started to walk away.

"It's not 'whatever' it's 'whoever'," Vincent said. Or is it 'whomever'? Ha! Or 'whichever?'Ha ha! Or is it… Stop.Or maybe 'whyever?' Hahaha!STOP!Seriously Hellmasker, shut up. …Oh fine boss. Ha ha.Great, so he'll listen to Chaos, but not me? Figures.

"And why do you think that?" Reeve asked.

"Huh?" Vincent forgot he had been talking to Reeve.

"Who would plant a bomb, anyway? Why do you think someone did this?"

"…"

Why do I think that? Who would plant a bomb in the middle of a city?AVALANCH would. In fact, they did, not too long ago, now they're heroes, apparently.Not the point. I mean who would try and kill us?Lots of people. Sephiroth, anyone with Shinra…hmm probably an inn keeper or two.Sephiroth has been dead for years now. Anyone with anything to do with Shinra is dead, imprisoned, or working with WRO. Unless, there is a traitor within WRO? Someone on the inside would know what Reeve was doing, and they might even have access to explosives. But if their aim was to kill Reeve, why haven't they struck again? Are they biding their time?What wonderfully slippery logic, Vincent. I'm starting to see how you reasoned that the coffin was a good idea. My logic makes sense!Yes…of course it does.

…So if this was an inside job, how would I get proof? I'd need something indisputable to change Reeve's mind. But what is the best course of action?The best course of action would be to kill everyone at WRO, and then the rest of Edge while you're at it so you can be sure whoever is guilty is dead. But you won't do that, will you? Stupid human that I'm stuck with. Stupid morals…It's not just morals, your plan is completely pointless, if I… I'm not having this conversation.

"Exactly, there's no reason to think this was done on purpose, right?" Reeve continued.

"…What? No… no. There are a lot of facts that don't add up to your explanation."

"So, what evidence supports yours?"

Vincent sighed. "I'm working on that."

"Well, good luck, Vincent Valentine," Reeve said. That had been over two weeks before… the last time he'd last seen one of his "friends."

Cross referencing WRO employees with surveillance photos taken that day was taking up a lot of Vincent's time. Even after two weeks of work, the only matches were a boy with blue hair, an blonde older woman, wearing a violet dress that brought out the purple tones in her eyes, and the old wizened doctor Vincent recognized from after the explosion. Oh, it's the rude guy! I rather liked him.Of course you did. Three suspects…what would he be able to find out about them?

I really don't want to do this… Vincent thought while dialing the dreaded number. Then why are you?Chaos asked. Because, it's the only way to find anything out about these people… Here it goes…

"Vinnie! You're actually calling ME for once? How sweet! You finally realize how great I am, right?" Oh boy…

"…Hello, Yuffie. There's something I need your help with."

"YOU called ME and you're asking for MY help? This is crazy! You don't have a fever or something, right? This is real, right?"

"…"

"So what can I help you with, Vinnie?" she asked, perky and cheerful as ever.

"Information, and possibly spying, if need be."

"Spying huh? I'm pretty good at that you know. All my ninja training really paid off."

"I know that. That's why I'm asking you and not Cid. Could we meet at my apartment, tomorrow at noon, maybe?"

"Noon…Okay! One condition though, we have to get lunch first." Really?

"…Really?"

"Yup! You're paying, Vince."

Vincent selected a small restaurant - The Chocobo Kitchen – as the new meeting place. Chocobos weren't actually on the menu, thankfully. Vincent had never been there before, so he wasn't altogether sure what they served, not that he planned on eating anyway, but the restaurant was far away from the Seventh Heaven. He didn't want to run into Tifa again just yet.

"HEY! VINCE!" Yuffie had just arrived, and was now waving at Vincent from across the room.

Vincent gritted his teeth; it must have looked a bit like a smile, because Yuffie was grinning ear to ear.

"Hiya, Vinnie," the young ninja said as she sat down.

"Didn't I ask you to stop calling me that?" Vincent asked, rolling his eyes.

"Hmmmmmm, maybe. But it's just too fun, Vinnie!" she laughed.

Ha ha, Vinnie! Vinnie, Vincie, Vinnie, dear. Ha ha ha!Hellmasker laughed at the nickname.

Viiiiiinneee?The deep slow voice of Death Gigas, chimed in as well. Vincent ignored both of them.

He pulled the three photographs out of his pocket.

"What can you tell me about these-"

"Business later! Let's just have lunch first, okay?"

This is going to be a long afternoon.

Back at the apartment, Vincent finally got Yuffie to tell him about the three photographs. The Blue-Haired-Youngster was first up.

"Him? Really, you suspect him?" Yuffie said incredulously.

"I suspect anyone who was there that day."

"Well this guy wouldn't hurt a fly. Heck, he's even a vegetarian." She acted like that proved something, somehow.

"So…who is he then?" Vincent asked, still studying the photograph."

Yuffie sighed, "You really won't let any of this go, will you? Not until you're sure."

"…"

"Well the guy's name is Zul, of all things. It might be short for Azul, or something, never asked. I've never talked to him personally, but I hear he's some sort of child prodigy. Thirteen years old, but he's a frickin' genius with computers. He does a lot of programming and data base type work, plus a ton of engineering and inventing stuff. I don't really know the specifics of his job, but I assume if I did, you wouldn't understand, anyway."

"Are you making fun of me again?"

"…No, no, not at all," Yuffie smiled. "Anyway, he might - MIGHT – be able to get his hands on explosives, but honestly, he's just a kid. Just a hardworking little guy, you know? He doesn't really have a motive."

Vincent paced back and forth behind his couch. He held out the second photo, the one of a middle aged woman in a purple dress. Yuffie glanced at it, narrowed her eyes, and plopped onto the sofa.

"This one's a longer story. Want to sit?" Yuffie asked. Did she just invite me to sit on my couch, in my home?Yes, she did. I wonder if she's still trying to be funny or if I'm just overanalyzing everything.

"I'll stand thanks," he decided.

"Suit yourself…think you can grab me a drink while you're up?" Yuffie asked.

"You were 'up' just a moment ago," Vincent pointed out.

"Yeah, but now I'm not… Whatcha got to drink?"

Vincent thought for a second. "Water," he said.

"Water? That's it? No soda? No juice? No tea? Forget that then," Yuffie said throwing her arms into the air.

"…So the information…?" Vincent was starting to get impatient.

"I'm too thirsty! You sure you don't have anything else? Maybe you have some ice-cream?"

"Ice-cream is not a drink."

"It is if you let it melt some. And I know you have some left over. I checked the freezer for materia when I got here." Typical Yuffie.

Vincent got the last of his ice cream - left over from who knows when – and gave it to Yuffie, along with a spoon. She ate several bites, then glanced up at Vincent.

"Okay, now we can talk about purple lady, "She said.

Vincent sat on the couch to get a better look at the photo. "First thing first; who is she?"

Yuffie looked a bit worried; she bit her lip and asked, "Do you remember Scarlet?

"She was in charge of the weapon division, right?"

"And Tifa got in a HUGE slap fight with her." Yuffie laughed as she remembered.

"Yeah, I remember," Vincent said. The incident in question would have been pretty funny if they hadn't been trying to rescue Tifa from her execution. The others tended to forget that bit though.

"Well, this woman," Yuffie said as seriously as she could, "is her sister."

"Really?" Now this might be a lead.

"Yeah, and I've run across her a few times. Let me tell you, bitchyness runs in the family," Yuffie said, smirking.

"So, what does she do at WRO?"

"Well, she's actually just a secretary. Reeve didn't want her anywhere near weapons, after what her sister did, you know?"

"Why did he hire her?" Vincent asked.

"Well it wasn't her personality or good looks. I hear it's because of some favor she did, or she's keeping a secret in exchange, or something like that… it's all very hushed up, so it can't be simple."

What sort of a mess did Reeve get into?

"Anyway, she knows Reeve's schedule, obviously, so she might be in on the whole bomb thing…if she has an accomplice."

"Hmm…that might be it…so what about this man." He held up the photograph of the old doctor.

Yuffie looked at the photo nearly jumped off the couch.

"Vincent! Do you know who this is?" she asked - eyes wide.

"I know he's a doctor…an inconsiderate one," Vincent replied. He hadn't expected this sort of reaction from Yuffie.

"He… he is a doctor, but that's not… You really don't know?"

"No, I have no idea who this guy is. Could you please tell me?"

"H- His name is Dr. Weiss Tsviet. He… he worked with Hojo, a long time ago. He was his right hand man, really. You don't remember him?"

"No."

"Maybe he started working with him after the whole…" Yuffie made a weird gesture, "the whole…thing… with you…was over."

"…"

"Any way," Yuffie cleared her throat," Dr. Weiss is a nasty piece of work. I heard he had a lot to do with early SOLDIER prototypes – ones that no one heard from afterwards. Some say he does weird experiments on corpses, even today. Like he's trying to revive them or something. Creepy, huh?"

A revived corpse… more than a bit too familiar for my liking. "Creepy. So why on earth did Reeve hire this guy?"

"No one knows. I mean, don't get me wrong. The guy knows more about biology than anyone alive, I imagine. He's good, but to say he's shady would be an understatement. No access to explosives, of course. So, does any of that help?"

Vincent sighed, "Not really. I'm right back at where I started. I have no definitive leads."

Yuffie and Vincent sat on the couch for a while. Staring straight ahead and not talking. Each tried to think of somewhere to go with the case, but there weren't many leads.

"We could try following them, finding more about them," Yuffie suggested.

"If any of them had to do with the explosion, they'll be twice as careful now," Vincent said.

"Yeah."

"…"

"…"

(Riiiiiiing!)

"Ah!" Yuffie jumped. Vincent pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello?" he said.

"Who is it?" Yuffie asked. Vincent waved her away.

"Vincent? Oh thank – arhg! Vincent!" It was Reeve, he sounded panicked and out of breath.

"Reeve, what's going on?"

"WRO HQ is being attacked by these… things! We're being over whelmed."

"I'll be right there." Vincent hung up. "Yuffie, come on, we need to go, I think we just found our lead."

"Really? What's happening?" she asked.

"WRO is being attacked. Get Tifa on the phone; see if she and Cid can help. I'm going over to the WRO headquarters now."