Well, I know I'm far later than usual and I guess these two chapters are my apology for that. I'm going to leave a short gap between posting the second, as I have a few last minute little edits to preform. Honestly I've been reworking them both a lot and I'm sort of in love with them now. Also, out of me being a picky perfectionist, I'm working on editing the earlier chapters, sprucing them up and such. There's a few things that, rereading them, I don't like or I believe could have been done better.
Anyways, I think you guys will really enjoy this chapter. A lot happens in it and most is really quite important...plus there's plenty of action...you like action right?

Last Chapter: Zack and Tifa went out for a bite to eat and to talk a little. But they had an unexpected visitor...


Lie awake in bed at night
And think about your life
Do you want to be different?
Try to let go of the truth
The battles of your youth
'Cause this is just a game

It's a beautiful lie
It's a perfect denial
Such a beautiful lie to believe in
So beautiful, beautiful lie makes me

It's time to forget about the past
To wash away what happened last
Hide behind an empty face
Don't ask too much the same
'Cause this is just a game

Everyone's looking at me
I'm running 'round in circles
Plagued with a quiet desperation's building higher
I've got to remember this is just a game

~A Beautiful Lie, 30 Seconds to Mars

Tifa's lyrical Theme


"Now listen," Said the untidy redhead holding the blade tightly at to Zack's throat. "You're going to do everything I tell you to nice and slow like. Or else."

Footsteps. Tifa didn't even have enough time to spring to her feet before a knife was pressed to HER throat as well. She struggled for a moment, trying to at least glimpse the man, but the most she achieved was a shallow cut across her throat as the man standing over her grunted apologetically. The blood streaming down her throat was enough to effectively halt her struggles. She got the sense that the man over her was huge, a giant looming over her.

Her eyes flicked to Zack. His were slightly wide but he kept the rest of his expression schooled and controlled. She eyed the blade in the man's hand. He held it in a looser manner than he should have, but perhaps that was the point. He was exerting power over Zack. He could get out of the hold the other man had on him, but then he would have to contend with Tifa's captor as well. If this man wasn't so big, Tifa would think she could too.

"Stand up," The redhead barked. Tifa started, but the guy shook his head. "Not you sweetheart. Your sweet ass stays in the chair."

Zack slowly rose to his feet, towering over the red-haired man, yet somehow the other managed to keep the dagger at his throat. He looked defiantly into the man's eyes.

"Zack Fair, wow. Haven't had the pleasure for a while. Not since you ditched us in the desert." The smile on his face made Tifa sick. She had to restrain herself from spitting on him.

"'fraid you have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I don't remember yours." Zack drawled. The other man's eyes flared.

"Why you," The man hissed, "It's Reno. This time memorize it, porcupine."

"Okay, now that we're on a first name basis Reno, how about you put away the dagger and tell me what this is all about?" Zack proposed. Reno just laughed.

"As if you don't know, Fair. You're coming with us." He sounded a bit less smug about it though. Who the hell were these guys?

"No, I actually don't know," Zack pressed. "Now, why don't you put that fucking dagger away and let me and my friend get back to our meals."

"Sorry Pup, I can't—AHHHH!" Reno yelled as Zack plunged a dagger of his own into his leg. Zack moved fast after that. He broke Reno's grip on him and dropped to the ground, narrowly dodging Reno's furious strike at him. With a couple practiced hits so fast Tifa wasn't even sure where they landed, Reno slumped to the floor unconscious. Zack angled his body toward Tifa, his mouth pressed in a thin line.

"Stop or I'll cut her throat." Her captor all but growled. He had dragged her to her feet some time during the fight and was now edging away from Zack slowly. He made his promise more real by cutting Tifa a little bit more on the throat; a fresh trail of blood trickling down her ashen neck, joining the dried stream from earlier. Zack studied the other man wariliy for a moment and there was a short, tense stand off. Finally, he raised his hands submissively, but there was a glint in his eyes that only Tifa caught.

Then there came a loud 'BONG.' The big man fell against Tifa's back, his head caught in her hair. She quickly pulled herself out of his grasp and let him join his partner on the floor. The heck? Someone hit him? She turned around and was pleasantly surprised to find Kemma there, a big iron frying pan in her hands still high in the air poised for another strike. Tifa and Zack just stared at the portly woman for a moment.

"Kemma, you're awesome." Zack offered, a big, very Zackish grin on his face.

"Enough time for compliments later chickies." Kemma answered, but she did offer a half-smile the compliment. "Why didn't you tell me you were into something with the Turks? I would have told you to go elsewhere…"

"I didn't know…" Zack answered honestly. Kemma looked doubtful.

"The Turks have made this their latest hang out. Luckily none of them are in the room at the moment, but that'll change. They probably heard that," She hissed under her breath.

"Crap, we gotta go." Zack replied.

"No kidding." Tifa replied. She didn't exactly want to get caught by Turks.

"You can go out the skylight." Kemma gestured upwards. "There's more than one reason why I have this here."

Tifa was on the table before Kemma even finished her statement. The plates and glasses they'd been using were sent crashing to the floor, but she had no time to do more than utter a quick apology. She leapt upwards, easily catching the rim. She pulled herself up with then turned and extended her arm to help Zack up, but he sprung straight upwards, landing beside her with a heavy thunk. The two glanced at one another briefly then rushed off across black shingles, trying to keep as light on their feet as possible. They had to be quiet, so any Turks below wouldn't find them.

Tifa had no warning, no heads up. A bullet just suddenly shot up between her legs. She leaned back last second, her arms flailing as she tried to regain her balance. Another peppering of bullets cut through the roof and she lept to the side. Zack had already leapt straight up, unto one of the struts securing the upper plate. He scurried amongst them like a monkey, easily getting a good distance away before gesturing at her to follow. Tifa smirked. It was a good plan.

Tifa took a running leap at one, catching it easily and pulling herself up with cat like grace. She locked her eyes on Zack, following him through the gloomy series of pipes. The SOLDIER seemed at ease, pausing every couple seconds to glance back at her and make sure she was keeping up.

The loud report of gunfire announced that they had company. Tifa cussed as a bullet sailed past her left ear, missing her by inches. She spared a short glance down. One black-suited blond Turk stood with her legs splayed and her hands on a cold steel magnum gun. She was accompanied by a couple infantrymen, who seemed to be trying to help the rest of their small troop up, hopping with their arms flailing almost comically.

Tifa leapt to the next rafter, knowing she was now out of range for the gun, but that wouldn't last. She quickly righted herself on the rafter then jumped for the next. Zack was ahead of her, shimmying up one of the posts for an extended arch to his next jump. Beneath them they heard frustrated shouts, but she didn't stop again to gawk.

She could hear…someone… catching the pipes and struts just behind her with the deft ease. The blond was following them. Well, she would have a helluva time catching up. Tifa picked up her own pace. She had experience with escapes…being in AVALANCHE made that a guarantee.

At least with all the weaving they were doing it was near impossible to get a clear shot. Some of the struts were also less than stable, rusted out by oxidation. It might hold someone's weight, but if some idiot shot through it…well, a ton of metal would, likely as not, come tumbling down indiscriminately.

Luckily Sector Eight, like all other plates, was under construction, so there were plenty of cracks in the upper plate, where construction workers were trying to repair such broken struts or properly strengthen the plate. There was one such opening maybe 50 feet away.

Adrenaline shot through her system like a drug, making everything crisper and sharper. She could hear the metallic ring as she caught the next post; smell the sweat building on her skin. Her clothes caught on several of the rusted out struts, ripping with a resonating tearing sound. Yet she didn't stop to acknowledge them, even when one of the jagged edges cut through her thigh, cutting a gash across her mini skirt. Keep going. Keep jumping. Her abdominals screamed with effort, but she was so close! Ten feet then she had a straight shot up to the top. Five feet. One more catwalk. Her feet hit the walk with a dull thud and she pounded across it as quickly as possible. Her heart hammered so hard in her chest she was certain it was going to burst into a bloody mess. Then all of the sudden she fell, flopped right on her face as one of her ankles stopped all of her momentum.

She tried to crawl forward. She was so close! But her damn ankle was caught. She tried to tug it free but it wouldn't give. Then she saw just what it was that HAD her ankle. No metal ensnared her foot, but rather something biological…human. A hand, clasped tightly around her thin ankle. The blond Turk used Tifa as a sort of lever to fling herself onto the catwalk, while slamming Tifa to the floor. Tifa was quick to jump to her feet, but the other woman was on her the next instant. But she wasn't particularly experienced. Her fist sailed past Tifa's face as the elder woman dodged and then caught her overextended arm, smirking. She tossed the Turk in the air with ease that clearly shocked the small girl, flipping herself with the momentum and both her legs caught the young girl in the stomach. The blond shot through the air in a blur of black, skidding to a halt on the strut. Meanwhile Tifa caught her own landing easily.

The girl was persistent, Tifa would give her that. And resilient too. She got to her feet looking rather frayed and scuffed up, but no worse for wear in the end. With a yell, she rushed Tifa, kicking out at the other girl's feet in an attempt to knock her back over. Tifa danced around the other girl and threw a punch of her own. It didn't make contact with the other girl; she caught it just in time. But it did distract her long enough for Tifa to slice the air with a powerful kick.

The blond hadn't the strength nor speed to stop Tifa or evade. The blow slammed into her, nearly knocking her clean off the walk. She caught the railing with her hand and swung back toward her enemy. But Tifa wasn't there. She'd jumped back, escaping the Turk's reach by swaying backwards.

Tifa didn't wait for the girl to regain her footing. She rushed forward, her fists flying. The girl barely blocked, sliding backwards several feet before managing to regain a proper stance. But Tifa's next uppercut connected harshly with the girl's jaw. It crunched loudly and the girl winced in pain. That was when Tifa first noticed just how young she was. The girl couldn't be over 17… And while Tifa herself was only 20, this girl was set more petite. It felt…wrong to fight with her but Tifa had no choice. Turks were Turks, young or old. They were notorious being coldhearted assassins…yet how could someone be like that barely out of high school?

The girl collected herself in Tifa's hesitation and launched herself in a reckless assault, her limbs flailing madly but leaving far too many openings. The ease which Tifa dodged her was almost embarrassing. She sent a strike of her own, feigning an attack to her torso before plunging her fist into the girl's abdominals instead. The air rushed out of her lungs in a hurry as she crashed into the ground. Wryly Tifa recalled Zack's lessons…he always said to protect your stomach, not your chest. And now this Turk was definitely paying for it. Yet the blond didn't seem to get the hint. She staggered to her feet, near drunk with pain, continuously gasping like a dying fish. But the kid still was trying to come at her. Clearly out matched, yet she pressed on. Gotta admire that kind of guts. It was either very brave or very stupid…perhaps both.

Either way, Tifa had enough. She felt like she was beating up Marlene…going after this kid. It wasn't a pleasant experience. But even so, she wouldn't quit...Tifa saw it in those big brown eyes of hers. Better to put her down now before she really got hurt. She slammed her fist into the girl's head...a single practiced blow. It did the trick and Tifa stood victorious though not proud.

Much longer and the girl could have actually hurt herself. She might possibly have a concussion and a few bruises tomorrow, but both were better than broken limbs or even death. And, Tifa reflected, had she been wearing braced gloves, that was more than a possibility, it was a pretty high likelihood. The girl was alive...a quick check revealed a steady pulse.

She wiped a little gob of slightly-bloody spit from her mouth. Kid or not, Tifa didn't escape unscathed either. A few decent sized bruises and a shallow cut across her calf. Nothing really serious, but still painful.

She knew she had to get moving and fast before things got tricky. Down on the roof below, the soldiers were milling around nervously, their fingers twitching on the triggers as they kept glancing skywards at where Tifa stood.

They wouldn't risk hurting the Turk, she knew. But chances were high that the other Turks were right behind this girl. Turks who could manage the climb and were probably much older and more experienced her. They would pose a much greater threat than the kid rookie.

Tifa turned leapt straight up, catching the next bar. Zack stood, already to the top, watching her with a rather amusing expression on his face. She thrust her mass upwards, toward the glittering light overhead. It was easy goings for her the rest of the way up and Tifa scaled the entire thing feeling somehow refreshed. The left over adrenaline was doing wonders for her.

She reached the top and shot a weary grin at Zack, who extended his hand down to her with a wolfish grin of his own. She gratefully took it, happy she didn't have to pull herself up after that fight. They were home free now. It would be a simple matter of navigating through the barren districts then crowded streets. They would be back at Seventh Heaven before dinner. She felt so relieved that they had made it.

Nothing could prepare her for the extreme rush of fiery pain that engulfed her abdominal. Not even the loud bang moments before. The smile crumpled from her face first then Zack's. Her vision fogged and her limbs went lax as shock overwhelmed her senses. She heard a voice and felt something yank her arm from its socket and saw shapes and colors but her brain could not make a lick of sense of any of it. The only thing she could really comprehend was the familiarity of the face and the voice hovering over her.

"Z-Zack..." She drawled then she blacked out.


Cookies to everyone who guessed it was Reno. I quoted him exactly from Crisis Core haha. The next chapter will be coming at you quicker than Thursday. But of course, how quickly will be up to you guys...

Next Chapter: Zack's on a race against time with little to go on to rescue Tifa. But with monsters and Turks proweling around, can he manage it?