Chapter 2 - There's Not Enough Alcohol in the World.

Cloud looked through the kitchen window and out into the plains of grass surrounding Kalm as the blades swayed with the passing breeze. Tifa and he had purchased a home in a rural area of Kalm, preferring the gentle setting to the hectic city. He took another slow sip of his coffee before smiling at the appearance of Tifa in the door, standing there in her housecoat and rubbing half-closed eyes. The couple had returned from Rocket Town late last night, managing to get very little sleep. Cloud had awoken a little earlier than Tifa to make the coffee, which she poured herself a cup of.

"Morning Cloud."

"Good morning, love. Did you sleep well?"

Tifa grinned at him. "Next to you, who wouldn't."

Cloud let out a sharp bark of laughter at that. "I can't believe I had actually said that to you."

"I don't know, it was kinda cute. Even if I was worried at the time that you weren't exactly...well, you."

Cloud smiled once more before staring down into his mug. Tifa blew on her drink before taking a sip. She noted the faraway look her companion's eyes.

"What are you thinking so intently about?" Tifa asked before playfully shoving him. Cloud rocked with the push and grinned.

"I don't know. Nothing important I guess. It's just that I never did quite understand what Hojo did to me. Or to Zack."

"I wouldn't worry about it. It's too late to stop it now, and Hojo's gone. You're alright now, aren't you?"

"Yeah. But sometimes I can't help but wonder." He winked at her. "Plus, I'm all better thanks to you." Despite the jovial sound of his voice, Tifa still thought he looked a little distant.

"Anything else on your mind?"

"Yeah..." he hesitated. "I was just thinking about what Yuffie was saying last night." Tifa nodded in understanding.

"You're worried that she's not being careful enough around the Turks."

"Yeah, kind of. But something else she said bugged me too. Remember how she was talking about all of the Turks victims being drug lords and the like." Tifa nodded again. "Well, that just doesn't sound like the Turks to me. I'd almost expect them to be helping the other criminals, as long as they got paid for it."

"So you think she was right about them having changed?" Tifa asked, trying to gauge where Cloud's head was at.

Cloud looked away in thought. "That's the thing. I don't know. I want to believe Yuffie. But she wasn't there at the pillar. She didn't see Reno push that button. Or Tseng hit Aeris..." Cloud trailed off at that, his hand clenching tightly on the table. Tifa laid her hand onto of his and felt it relax.

"I want to believe her too," she said, shifting her hand onto his forearm, "but I find it very hard to believe that any of the Turks have changed. Or that they would want to. Unfortunately, we just don't know for sure." This time it was Cloud's turn to nod in agreement, and began to talk about the day's schedule. The two sat there for another hour chatting with one another before being interrupted by a phone call.

"Hello? Yes, this is Cloud Strife..."

Yuffie stepped over the footbridge and across the creek, tossing a piece of materia back and forth between her hands. The way the sun hit the green of Ultima captivated the young ninja as she idly wondered how something so beautiful could hold so much destructive force. Pocketing the materia again, she wandered down the path to settle down beside a small pond and closed her eyes. She started thinking about the previous nights' events. It bothered her that AVALANCHE, the people she truly considered family, didn't trust her judgment. Even during the Meteor incident, Yuffie didn't personally experience any of the Turk's supposed maliciousness. Any of the battles they fought in didn't seem too serious to her. Reno never lost that damn smirk and the only time it could have been a fight to the end was underneath Midgar. 'And they let us go without any trouble. Never mind that they helped save me and Elena from Corneo.' At that thought, Yuffie sat up and looked towards the Da-Chou Mountains. It didn't matter to her. All she knew was that the Turks seemed to be her friends. Or at the very least, certainly not her enemies. Elena always had a kind word. Rude kept to himself, but it wasn't snobbish. Reno was an asshole. But sometimes he could be alright. She remembered when she first ran into them in Wutai.

The streets were just beginning to turn dark when Yuffie stepped out of her home. The entire city of Wutai was still celebrating the destruction of Meteor, and she finally decided to join the fun. Reaching the main strip, the Lady of Wutai was quickly immersed in people. She pushed along, passing the many bars and lively establishments that were going to be open into all hours of the morning. She was about to settle on entering one that didn't seem so crowded when a giant bald man across the road caught her attention. And it was the fiery red hair beside him that held it.

"Turks?" she spoke to herself. "Why are they here?"

She watched the pair enter the Turtle's Paradise and, against her better judgement, followed them in moments later. Reno and Rude were waved over by Elena who already had a table ready for them. By the time they had sat down, Yuffie was already on her way over to stir up some trouble. She was speaking before she stopped moving. "What the hell do you want here?" Yuffie demanded.

Reno looked up at her with an amused look, before turning to his companions. "Pretty shitty service here." He looked back to Yuffie. "I'll take a double of Jack." Before Yuffie could question, Elena tapped Reno on the shoulder. He turned his head slightly.

"I don't think that's the waitress. Actually, I think we know her."

Reno took a better look at Yuffie before turning to Rude. "Dude...Is that the ninja chick? The one with the legs?" Elena buried her face in her hand and shook her head. Rude simply shrugged. "Ah, you're no help." He looked back to the flabbergasted Yuffie, before looking down. Then up. Then down again, before reluctantly raising his eyes back to meet hers. "Definitely the ninja chick with the legs. How's it goin?"

Yuffie composed herself. "The name is Yuffie. And I asked you a question. What do you want here in Wutai?"

Reno smirked at her. "Needed somewhere to go. I guess I could tell you about it. But you'd have to join us for drinks first," he added with a wink.

"Reno," Yuffie started. "There's not enough alcohol in the world." Reno seemed unfazed, but Elena laughed before speaking.

"Go ahead, take a seat. It'll be kind of nice to have another female at the table." The warm smile seemed inviting, and Yuffie had already lost most of her anger when they hadn't simply stood up and tried to shoot her. She pulled up a chair, and got lost in the conversation.

Yuffie had been walking as she'd been thinking to herself, and found herself in the general area of the Turks' main office. Shrugging, she turned down a side street and headed directly there.

"Are you certain you can't complete the project without Hojo's notes?" Alexander stood in the lowest lab of A.E.C. surrounded by research equipment and computer banks. A specimen tube filled with mako cast an eerie green glow across the head of the science department's face, adding an effect to the smile that made it seem all the more inviting.

"Of course I'm certain. Hojo was no Gast, but the creature had his moments. That information is essential to the success of these experiments." Alexander smiled at his personal scientist as she spoke. He couldn't help but be attracted to the woman. Intelligence, beauty and a personality to her he'd never seen before in a woman.

"Wonderful, Dr. Howari. If you're almost done tonight, I don't suppose I could interest you in dinner?" The charming smile was back again as he invited her out with him. To Corin Alexander, there was only one thing she didn't have.

"I don't think that would be a very good idea." She had no interest.

"Still caught up on that old husband of yours? Some times you need to let sleeping dogs lie. Dead ones too." Alexander entered the elevator a moment after the bitter words had been spoken. He was gone before an answer was given.

"You may be right, Mr. Alexander. On the other hand, if this works, even the dead ones won't need to lie for much longer.

"No Cloud, I'm sorry, Lady Yuffie isn't in right now," Shake spoke into the receiver of the PHS. Cloud was on the other end of the line in Kalm.

"Has she gotten home from Rocket Town yet?" Cloud was mildly concerned.

"Yes, she returned early this morning, before heading back out."

"Do you know where she went?"

"Unfortunately, no. She's not one to give details on her whereabouts."

"No, I guess not. Ok, thanks Shake. You'll tell her to call when she gets back?"

"Certainly. Good day."

"Bye." Cloud closed off the connection, pocketed the PHS and turned to Tifa. "She's not home right now. Shake said he didn't know where she was, but he'll get her to call as soon as possible."

Tifa's face showed her own worry clearly. "I guess we'll have to wait and see. Odin, I hope that call was wrong," she said, drumming her fingers on the kitchen counter. Cloud wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed her.

"Me too."

Yuffie silently opened the window and crawled through. The ninja made it her goal to try and surprise the Turks in their own homes, offices, bars, wherever she could find them and at every opportunity she could. She knew she had it this time though. Her entry had been flawless and she hadn't made a sound. All she had to do now was open this last door and drop down on Reno's desk. Then hope they didn't shoot her. The door opened with no protesting squeaks or groans, she pleasantly noted, and she stepped through the door to face three gun barrels pointed at her head.

"It's just the fucking pest." Reno already had his gun re-holstered and was on his way back down to the lower level of the room. Yuffie pouted.

"How'd you guys know I was here?" she asked, genuinely confused.

Rude shrugged and pointed to the window she had come through. "Silent alarm." He too returned to his desk leaving Yuffie with Elena. The blonde spoke up first.

"C'mon, let's grab you some coffee. I need a break anyway." The two women headed over to the kitchenette set up in one of the back rooms. Elena pulled two mugs from the shelf and poured her and Yuffie equal amounts of the black liquid. Elena handed one to the younger girl and propped herself up against a counter. "So what brings you out today?" she asked, blowing into the mug.

Yuffie sat down and grabbed the sugar. "I found myself in the neighborhood, and thought I'd try my luck at sneaking in. Reno didn't seem very happy to see me. A little more annoyed than usual anyway."

"Don't worry about it. You know how irritable he gets before going on a trip. I swear it's like PMS for him." The two laughed together before a voice yelled out to them from the other room.

"Would you two shut the fuck up in there?" The girls quieted down and the laughter faded off quickly.

"So where are you guys going anyway? Looks pretty dangerous from the hardware you had laid out on the table back there."

Elena looked over at her apologetically. "Sorry, Yuff. You know I can't tell you that." Yuffie crossed her arms. Elena held her hands up and immediately defended herself. "Not my rules."

"Yeah, I know. Big, bad Reno doesn't trust me."

"It's not that. Well, maybe a little. But it has a lot to do with protecting the Turks reputation of confidentiality."

Yuffie stood from her seat at the table, a grin crossing her features as she started off into the other room. "Well, let's see what I can do anyway." She walked up to Reno's desk before sitting on the corner and smiling at him sweetly. "Reno?"

"Brat," Reno deadpanned. Yuffie continued, ignoring the insult.

"Where are you guys going?" she asked playfully and Reno rolled his eyes. Yuffie leaned a little closer. "You know you can trust me."

"No."

Yuffie feigned confusion. "No, what?"

"No, I won't tell you where we're going. No, I don't know that I can trust you. And no, you can't come," he said simply without looking up from his desk.

"I wasn't going to ask if I could come." Reno gave her a skeptical look. "Really, I swear. I'll have you know I have very important work to do around here. I was just curious."

"You're an idiot."

Yuffie seemed to take great offence to the uncalled for verbal assault. "Asshole."

Reno smirked before leaning up to Yuffie's ear. Once again curious, Yuffie pulled herself closer to his mouth. "You're cute when you're mad." A blush crept over the ninja's face as she pulled back in surprise. Reno winked at her before leaning back in his chair and laughing to himself. "Now would you get going already? We have some details to work out." Yuffie pushed herself off of the desk and stood in front of him.

"Fine. When are you guys leaving anyway? Or is that information top secret too." Again the red head rolled his eyes.

"In a couple hours actually. So if you'd be so kind," Reno pointed to the door as he spoke.

"Jerk," Yuffie said under her breath before following the direction he indicated. She spoke a little louder to Reno. "I hope you shoot yourself in the foot." Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him while he flipped her off, before turning to Elena. "Bye 'Lena. Good luck." Yuffie opened the door and waved to Rude, who nodded slightly in response. The AVALANCHE member stepped out of the building and into the Wutai streets.

Yuffie returned home a couple hours later to find a note sitting by her PHS.

'Lady Yuffie,
Cloud Strife called earlier from his home in Kalm looking for you. He seemed to have something to speak to you about very urgently. I suggest you reply once you receive this note.
Shake'

"What could Cloud want? I just saw him last night," Yuffie spoke to herself. She couldn't help the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Picking up the PHS, she dialed quickly waiting for a response.

"Cloud? Yeah, it's Yuffie. Yeah, I know where it is. No, they're gone..." Yuffie face blanched as she listened. "They went where?"