A/N: *bows low* Forgive me, my dear readers for taking so very long to update this. I just sat down and pounded out this chapter and its a bit short, but its better than nothing, right? Also forgive me if Elmyra seems OOC, I don't know much about her, so I tried to keep her short and sweet. I hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter and hopefully I will do better with updating in the future. *gives brownies to all*

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in this story except the random no name people that pop up here and there. Squeenix owns them all. Sadly.

Chapter 10

Angeal glanced at the clock again for what seemed like the fiftieth time and sighed.

"Is there anyone I can take you to Marlene? I don't want to leave you here while I go search..."

Marlene pulled herself away from the window and to were Angeal was sitting, then nodded up at him,

"Elmyra can watch me!"

"Elmyra?" he questioned, picking Marlene up and sitting her on his lap. Even in the short amount of time that he had been there, he was already very fond of the little girl.

"Mhm, she's a friend. I've stayed with her before."

Angeal thought about it for a moment and drew the conclusion that if Tifa and Cloud had trusted Marlene with this woman before, then he could as well.

"Alright. Do you have a bag or something?"

She nodded.

"Go put some things in it for overnight, just in case you have to stay and I'll take you, then go look for Tifa, ok?"

Marlene nodded and slid off his lap, "Okay." she walked away, then turned and looked back at him. "Angeal?"

He raised his eyebrows and gave her his full attention, "Yes?"

"I know you'll find Tifa." she chirped, then turned and ran upstairs to pack.

Angeal couldn't help but chuckle and wonder at the faith of a little girl.

A short while later found them outside Elmyra's home, Marlene holding Angeal's hand and Angeal knocking on the door, his make-shift sword on his back. The door opened and Elmyra blinked in surprise at the large man who Marlene was clinging to, then glanced at the little girl for an explanation.

"Marlene...?"

Marlene detached from Angeal and gave the older woman a hug, "This is my friend, Angeal."

Angeal dipped his head in greeting, "Ma'am." he said politely. "I hope you don't mind the intrusion...Marlene needs a place to stay."

"Please...come in. Where's Tifa? Is everything alright?" Elmyra asked, stepping aside from the door to let them into her home.

"Tifa's missing..." Marlene said woefully, before Angeal could stop her. "Angeal's going to look for her."

"Oh I see...I see. Well, you're always welcomed here Marlene." she said, hugging the little girl and turning to Angeal, "She can stay as long as necessary. I hope you can bring Tifa back to us.."

"Thank you for your hospitality. I must be on my way...time is running out." Angeal replied, stepping back outside, "Be good Marlene...good day Ma'am."

"Bye Angeal.." Marlene whispered, watching the door close.

Once outside, Angeal stepped back onto the street and pondered his first course of action. First, he would have to head back to the bar and close it and possibly he could get a number from phone that would help. He was certain that the phone call she had received before he had left had been the start of the current situation. Then he would have to call Cloud and inform him of what had happened...he knew his way around better than Angeal did at the moment, although the ex-SOLDIER was learning fast. He turned down the street and moved into a light jog, there was no time to be wasted and he had memorized the route from the bar to Elmyra's as they were walking it. It wasn't long before he was back at the bar, shutting the door behind him and locking it.

He moved upstairs into the office where the phone was and after a moment of playing with it, found the 'last call received' function and quickly scribbled down the number that the mechanical voice told him. Once done, he found Cloud's number and dialed, looking calmly out the window as it rang...and rang...and rang before finally the voicemail came picked up.

"Cloud. This is Angeal. Tifa went missing today. Marlene is at Elmyra's. I am going to start searching, return as soon as possible." With a nod, he hung up, brows furrowed. The man really should answer his phone.

Two tasks out of the way, Angeal set to his third and final task; changing his clothes. He had noticed the looks he got from the older population and credited to his uniform. Shin-Ra wasn't a welcome thought and no doubt seeing the SOLIDER uniform brought up bad memories. He was thankful he had been able to find and retrieve some of his old clothes...they were a bit dusty but that didn't matter. Quickly, he took off the weapon and unhooked his shoulder paldrons and leather suspenders, shed his shirt and pulled on a black tee shirt, then unbuckled his pants and changed them for a pair of loose canvas pants. Then he reattached the suspenders and paldrons and replaced the weapon, along with his boots. Moments later, he was out the door, locking it as he left and heading down the street to start his rather vague search.

Edge Desert

Cloud pulled to a stop next to Zack's grave and pulled his phone out. It had ran as he was leaving the city but he hadn't felt like picking it up. His deliveries had all been in Edge that day and with them all done, he had found himself heading out of the city. With a sigh, he put the phone to his ear and grimaced at the sound of an annoying telemarketer...quickly he deleted it and moved onto the next, his eye brows lowering, then eyes growing wide as he listened to Angeal's short and to the point message. As soon as it ended, he closed the phone and pocketed it, hurriedly turning Fenrir back on and preparing to take off, glancing at Buster Sword for a moment. It seemed to call to him, in the poor shape it was in.

'Take it Spiky. Angeal would want his sword back.'

"Zack?"

'Take it. I don't need it...'Geal does.'

"But...Zack..." Cloud whispered, glancing up at the sky for a moment, before reaching over and pulling Buster Sword out of the ground. He remembered that Angeal had been Zack's mentor and that the sword had been given to Zack by him...Yes...Angeal should have his sword back.

He put it across his back, grunting at the weight; Tsurugi wasn't nearly as heavy, then turned Fenrir and sped back towards Edge, his heart in his throat, cursing himself for not being there. Tifa wasn't the type of person just to vanish...she would put up one heck of a fight if someone tried to hurt her or take her. She must have gone out, he reasoned. If something had happened at the bar, Angeal would have been there and even though he had never seen the man in action, he could sense he was a force to be reckoned with.

The wind whipped his hair around and blew dust in his face as he pushed the bike for more speed, the engine whining in protest. The city limits were soon passed and he slowed down to a civilized speed, maneuvering the streets and people to the bar. The bar was, as he had figured, empty and locked. Finding Angeal was the next course of action but it wasn't hard. He asked a few people if they had seen a man of his description and had pointed him in the right direction. Several blocks later, he found Angeal striding purposely down the street, heading in the direction of the slums.

Downshifting and applying the breaks, Cloud slowed and pulled up beside Angeal, who at the sound of the bike had turned and stopped. His eyes, however, were not on Cloud. They were fixed on the lichen covered, dented, dull edged Buster Sword on Cloud's back. At the look on his face, Cloud wanted to crawl under a rock.

"My...sword."

"Yeah...I...thought you'd want it.." Cloud murmured, handing it over and keeping his gaze averted.

Angeal gently took Buster and ran his palm down the flat side, brushing dirt off, a mournful expression on his face which turned angry after a moment. He turned on Cloud.

"Who is responsible for this disrespect? I told Zack to take care of it."

Cloud carefully kept his eyes lowered, "I...I am..."

"Look at me." Angeal said and Cloud did.

"Zack, I presume left Buster Sword in your care. How did it end up in this state?"

"I...left it...to mark where Zack...died.." he replied softly, struggling to keep his eyes on the older man's face.

"I see." Angeal simply said, training his finger down the blade to test the sharpness and found it painfully dull with chips in the once smooth and perfectly honed edge. "We need to keep moving..."

Cloud nodded in agreement and listened quietly as Angeal briefed him on the situation, a plan forming in his mind, mentally putting together a list of people who would want to hurt Tifa or would hurt Tifa to get to him.

"You said you have the number that called Tifa?" he asked, once Angeal was done speaking.

Angeal handed Cloud the piece of paper that he had written the number down on and watched him as he dialed it, absently running his hand up and down his beloved Buster sword, lecturing Zack under his breath.

Somewhere in the Lifestream...Zack giggled.

Cloud snapped his phone shut with a small sigh, "Not picking up. I suggest we try Shin-Ra. If anyone is doing something dirty around here...they know about it...or are involved in it."

"What reason would they have for taking Tifa?" Angeal asked, having his own ideas, but wanting to see if Cloud understood them.

"To get to me...or you."

"I agree. Shin-Ra it is." Angeal replied.

Cloud sighed, "Easier said than done...I'm not sure where they are..." he looked at the ground.

"I see. I believe however, if we start looking, they will come to us."

Shin-Ra

Rufus looked up from his desk as Tifa entered with Rude behind her. She looked ticked off, understandably so and she skewered Rufus with her wine colored eyes.

"Such an expression does nothing for you, Miss Lockhart." Rufus said, steepling his fingers together.

"What do you want so badly that you would go so far as to kidnap me, Rufus?" Tifa carefully kept the anger out of her voice but not off of her face.

"Now now...I tried reaching you the nice way." he motioned with one hand to Reno who was standing by the wall. "But I believe you told him to leave."

"Answer the question."

Rufus smirked. "I've been hearing things...and seeing things. Ghosts from the past."

Angeal.

"Then maybe you should see a good shrink." Tifa spat, already sick of his games.

Rude cracked a smile for a second and Rufus gave them both a deadpan expression.

"How is it that a dead SOLIDER came to be at your little...establishment? I know both he and Cloud went to the old Shin-Ra building...broke in, in fact."

Tifa crossed her arms over her chest, "I don't have to tell you anything."

"Don't you care about Marlene? You wouldn't want anything to happen to her...would you." Rufus purred.

Tifa gave a little start but quickly regained her composure. "You don't have Marlene. You're bluffing." she stated.

"Do you know that for sure?"

Truth be told, Tifa didn't know for sure. "She's safe. No one can harm her."

Rufus could see that he wasn't getting anywhere...yet, and he sighed softly, waving his hand to the door,

"Take her to solitary."

Rude's eyes widened behind his glasses and he wanted to protest, but couldn't. Tifa gave Rufus a defiant look as Rude placed his hand on her shoulder and lead her away, Reno bringing up the rear.

"Reno."

"Yo." He turned back to Rufus.

"Find the girl."

"Sure thing."