Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters depicted in this story. All rights for the Final Fantasy series are reserved by Square Enix.

I'm sorry about the delay. I was really questioning if I wanted to write this chapter, or just focus on Rio and Vincent. In the end though, I decided that a bit of a detour wouldn't hurt and so gave this a shot. No worries Vincent and Rio are still the main focus!

Without further ado, I give you:

Chapter 10

Circa 2018

Somewhere between the Junon Area and the Migar Mountain Range

"The Search was hell..."

"Calm down, Yuffie. This is Vincent we're talking about. I'm sure he's-" The weary man tailed off as he suddenly found himself with a face full of prickly ninja, "Can you guarantee that? Where's your proof?" Yuffie Kisaragi was not a girl to mess with.

Reeve Tuesti gave her a long exasperated stare, "You're the one in charge of information gathering. So you should have any information that we need… It is what I pay you for, remember?"

Her big chocolate brown eyes narrowed menacingly before she spun on her heel and continued walking. Reeve let out heartfelt sigh and followed after her resignedly.

"So remind me why I, the president of WRO, am trekking through the slums of country side on foot?" Yuffie didn't even bother to turn around to shoot back her retort, "Because you're the one who lost our Vincent." Reeve frowned, "I didn't lose him …Besides that doesn't explain why we couldn't have brought the car, it really would progress matters a lot faster."

Yuffie gave a rather ill-natured smile, though Reeve being behind her didn't see it, "Because this is the way I work. Tracking cannot be done properly from a car."

Reeve was too much of a gentleman to accuse her of avoiding vehicular transport because she was a sissy when it came to getting motion sickness, so he instead tactfully changed the subject, "I concede your point. Onto the matter at hand: the last contact we received from him, he'd just left the grasslands and was headed north."

Yuffie stopped and looked back at him "North? North of the grass lands is the Midgar ruins right? Maybe he stopped off in Edge?"

Reeve frowned again, noting Yuffie's hopeful expression and knowing its cause. He really didn't like being the barer of bad news, "I've already contacted Tifa. She hasn't seen hide-nor-hair of Vincent since the date of his disappearance. She promised to contact Cloud and brief him on the current situation, and to get back to us if she heard word from Vincent, but so far we've had no luck." He watched as the spunky woman's shoulders drooped, her face visibly showing her distress.

The self proclaimed 'White Rose of the Wutai' had always had a propensity towards favoring the red clad gunman. No one had ever pinpointed the exact reason why but Cloud often pointed out that next to him, Yuffie was always the one most paired up on missions with the dark haired enigma. A sort of bond had formed between the two, though to be honest Yuffie was the only one who showed it visibly while Vincent remained as evasive as ever.

They continued walking for a few minutes before Yuffie spoke up again in a moment of rare vulnerability, "He's okay isn't he?"

Reeve knew no such thing but considering who they were discussing could still answer truthfully, "I'm sure he's fine."

It was Vincent Valentine after all. If anyone knew how to surpass the ages, it was him.

Three weeks. Three weeks they'd been searching and Reeve was beginning to lose hope. Every hour that slipped by without success, every person who shook their head unable to help, made the possibility of his survival of whatever incident less and less likely. He didn't say his suspicions out loud. He suspected that his companion already knew. She wasn't a child after all, and there'd been so much blood.

Reeve sighed and thought back what they'd found not long ago.

A day and a half before hand they two had found a place in the canyons littered with the bodies of both guard and crimson hounds. There'd been possibly over a hundred, which wasn't surprising since Reeve knew there'd been several reports to the W.R.O of an increasing amount of accidents due to a population increase. He'd been meaning to send a team in but hadn't been able to find the time. After seeing the carnage back there, Reeve knew he'd have to reevaluate the situation. If they were now attacking in such large groups, it was too dangerous to ignore.

The moment Yuffie had seen the first gunshot wound she'd known. Somehow, without a plausible reason she'd known who was responsible. The shots were too accurate and few. Vincent had been here. She'd insisted on her theory, nearly to the point of desperation, but Reeve had been inclined to doubt it. He was a man of science. There was no way to prove that it had in fact been Vincent. Not only were gun a popular weapon, the gunshot wounds in the corpses, if they were in fact from a gun, were so deteriorated they couldn't go off on just a 'feeling' or mere surface evidence that it had been Vincent's work. Yuffie had stubbornly remained firm but had also agreed that they needed concrete proof.

So they'd searched the surrounding area thoroughly, Yuffie going off to check for physical evidence, while Reeve examined the bodies.

Even though Reeve couldn't claim to be an expert on the topic of decomposition, luckily he was able to confirm that the cause of death had indeed been at the hand of a gun and just from a glance he'd been able to tell bodies had been well into the fourth stage. This was good news; it gave them a general time frame of when the obvious battle had taken place. The fourth stage takes place 10-20 days after death. Meaning they were more or less approximately two weeks behind their friend.

If it had in fact been Vincent.

Yuffie found their proof halfway through the graveyard. Lying in what had once been a pool of blood, she'd discovered a familiar black and red cell phone. It was badly cracked, blood stained, and broken, but it had been too close in resemblance to Vincent's to be a coincidence. She'd lead Reeve too it and his expression had been grim when he saw the dark read stains in the dirt. Yuffie insisted that the blood wasn't necessarily human but even her voice shook. They did remain hopeful though since the blood wasn't excessive and there was a scarce drip trial leading away. That meant what ever had been injured had gotten away, and had been bleeding very slowly.

After that Yuffie'd become like a woman obsessed. She had to find her friend. He was alive. She could feel it in her bones. But every time she had to look into Reeve's eyes and see that damnable expression of someone who was preparing for the worst, it broke her heart. But she wouldn't… couldn't give up. Not on Vincent. Not on one of their own.

The next day and a half had been murder. She'd wandered aimlessly, blindly searching for any sign of their missing friend. It'd taken that long to convince Yuffie to give up the search long enough to rest, but finally Reeve had managed. He'd succeeded by telling her that since it'd been a few days since he last talked to Tifa that they might have heard something by now. So with heavy hearts the two had set off toward Edge.

This brought him back to the present. He sat on a stool listening to Marlene and Denzel talk animatedly about how Cloud had recently brought home gifts- Marlene more so than Denzel. The boy was a lot taller now, but still didn't speak much, preferring to leave that to the cheerful Marlene. Reeve believed that was Clouds influence there. Marlene didn't seem to mind the boy's silence though, filling the long gaps with smiles and laugher. Both had grown so big. It was hard to believe that Marlene was already a teenager and that Denzel was only a year or so away from becoming an adult man on his own. They talked a bit longer before the two excused themselves and Reeve didn't miss how protectively close Denzel stood next to Marlene as they left, nor did he miss the light blush on her cheeks. It brought a half hearted but genuine smile to his lips. It was good to be young.

He snuck a glance toward Yuffie as she huddled over a piece of paper scribbling something with a single minded intensity. Deciding to leave her to her own devices, Reeve leaned back in the worn but comfy wooden chair and glanced around the room. It hadn't changed much over the years. The tables scattered around for customers to enjoy a meal were perhaps older and a little more scared on the surface, but each bore a shiny sheen, evidence of being scrubbed ruthlessly clean on a regular basis. The bar still stood, its chairs lined neatly in an even row, waiting for someone to walk through the cheerfully decorated door, and ring the chimes hanging from the ceiling. Behind the bar, glasses hung, and a shelf displayed the house spirits, their contents both dark and light. It was comfortable in its sameness. Though there were new touches here and there that had accumulated since his last visit. A bottle of flowers here, a colorful knick-knack there, what surprised him the most was the amount of photo frames littered behind the bar. Denzel and Cloud Fishing. Barret strong arming the stubbornly scowling teenager into a head lock/hug with his little girl sat happily on his wide knee, Tifa and Cloud up on the roof doing repairs. Marlene and Denzel at various stages of their childhood grinning happily into the camera, together, single shots and sometimes with Cloud and/or Tifa, Cloud sitting at the bar sleeping with his head resting on his arms while a young Marlene giggled as Denzel drew swirls on his cheek, and Tifa making flower chains for everyone's hair. There were dozens more, and in most of them, Cloud was found. Reeve felt his heart warm at how peaceful they all looked. It was great that Cloud had kept his promise to hang around home more. Good for you, Tifa, he thought with a gentle smile.

As if his thoughts summoned her, Tifa breezed in from the kitchen with a food laden tray, her red ballet flats treading lightly on the worn wooden floor. In contrast to the younger occupants of 7th Heaven who'd grown like weeds, Tifa hadn't changed much. Her hair was perhaps a bit longer and she'd developed a habit of wearing it up out of her face and off her neck but it remained as jet black as always. She'd long ago traded in her black leather vest and dragging apron for soft jeans and blousy sweater combos. Comfort rather than battle ready. There were laugh lines at the corners of her eyes, and because of a slight accident a couple of years ago she had a slight limp but little else about her had changed. She still, and perhaps always would, wore a red ribbon tied around her left upper arm. Her serious black eyes could still bore straight through to your soul and her temper ran just as hot when provoked.

Tifa remained as steadfast as always.

Trying to lighten the mood she set the tray down with a grin, "I hope you guys are hungry! Cloud says I always make enough for an army."

Yuffie grunted but remained bent over the piece of paper she'd been fiddling with over the last hour. Reeve lit up visibly at the site of food, "You're an angel, Tifa. It's been days since we've eaten a decent meal."

Tifa scoffed at the compliment but answered looking pleased nonetheless, "Thanks. I hope it tastes okay."

Reeve took a bite and wasn't ashamed to admit nearly melted on the spot at the heavenly warmth that filled his mouth, "It's wonderful."

Tifa looked doubtful, "Really? Our produce hasn't been fairing well due to weather conditions, so I know it's not much. Luckily, it's off season so the only people I've had to feed lately are this bunch. Denzel always eats in silence, Cloud says anything's good, and Marlene's too nice to say if it tastes bad, so you need to be honest!"

Reeve laughed as Tifa gave him the evil eye, "Rest assured we've been on the road so long that we're grateful for anything you have to offer."

She gave him a droll stare, "That's not exactly a compliment...in fact I feel like it's the opposite." Waving off any apology the sheepish man might offer, Tifa plopped down on the chair next to him, "So...Any word?" the teasing went out of her tone in the face of her worry. There was no doubt as to what she was asking.

Reeve sighed and shook his head, "None I'm afraid. Except-" Resting his elbows on the table he began filling her in on what they'd found in the mountain range. When he got to the part where they'd discovered the cell phone, Tifa paled a bit but otherwise her expression didn't change. It didn't really tell them anything except that he'd been there and when. It didn't indicate which direction he'd gone, nor from which direction he'd come from. Finally Reeve got to the ending point, "The amount of blood was a bit troubling, so worst case-"

"He's not dead."

Tifa and Reeve looked over at Yuffie's big brown eyes that looked determined but suspiciously wet. Her face was a bit pink from over exposure to the sun, and there were deep shadows under her eyes from lack of sleep. Reeve looked away feeling guilty while Tifa smiled brightly, "Of course he isn't. And like you pointed out, there's no proof that any of the blood was human!"

Though Tifa's voice was optimistic, in her heart she held doubt. Vincent was strong there was no doubt of that, but from Reeve's reports the number of beasts in that clearing had been vast. Even Vincent might have fallen under so many. They all had their limits... Had their friend found his? A chill ran down her spine as she turned to meet Reeves dark sad eyes. The prospects were beginning to look a little grim. Yuffie went back to her paper, and the three of them sat in silence before Reeve cleared his throat awkwardly, "After we left the mountains we decided to head off this way in hopes that...that he might have come this direction after the battle?"

Tifa shook her head, voice gentle, "I'm afraid not. At least not while we were home." her eyes looked sad "He's as bad as Cloud at answering his phone, and now he's become as bad as him at losing it as well it seems." Reeve smiled faintly at the attempt at humor. It'd been over a month since they'd heard from the man. But they at least now had evidence that he'd been on this part of the continent in the last couple of weeks. Sadly he could still be anywhere but...they now had a place to start.

"FINISHED!" Suddenly Yuffie jumped up and the two broke out of their serious contemplation to stare up at the spunky young woman. She waved a piece of paper wildly through the air. Reeve and Tifa both stared at her in confusion.

"Finished what exactly?" Tifa was the first to venture for clarification. Reeve stared at the paper with a fair amount of wariness. With a triumphant rather smug smile Yuffie slapped her palm on the table and leaned toward them dramatically, "One of the main problems with the search is that we only had a verbal description of Vinnie. Now thanks to my brilliant artwork," Yuffie thumped her chest proudly, "Alls we have to do is show them this cutting out time in half!" to emphasize her words, Yuffie once more waved her newly completed flier.

"Oh? I didn't know you could draw, Yuffie." Sitting forward with un-hidden curiosity Reeve tried to glimpse the picture.

This time it was the dark haired bartender who looked skeptical. She'd seen one too many of Yuffie's harebrained schemes to get overly excited.

Grinning like the cat that drank the cream, Yuffie thrust her artistic masterpiece forward for their perusal. Reeve's jaw dropped open comically while Tifa placed a hand to her mouth. Both were utterly speechless. There was a long moment of pause before either could speak. "Its...ah...what...is it exactly?" Tifa floundered for the right words, while clearing his throat Reeve endeavored to regain his composure. Yuffie looked at her drawing then back at them with a confounded expression, "What do you mean what? It's Vinnie!"

Reeve's shoulders began to shake with mirth as he turned watery eyes away from the 'portrait'.

Tifa stared utterly flabbergasted. What part of it looked like him? "It's...I'm sure that it'll definitely...um lend a...a certain something to the search." Knowing Yuffie's feelings could easily become wounded Tifa tried her best to smile and sound positive.

Reeve snickered until Tifa mercilessly slammed the heel of her foot on his toes underneath the cover of the table. He hissed silently, the tears in his eyes now for an entirely different reason. He should have known better. Didn't Cloud always warn people that Tifa's overly sweet nature hid a temper forged in the fires of Ifrit's cavern?

On cue the 7th Heaven's door swung open Cloud ambled through with Marlene clinging to his back like a gangly monkey and Denzel at his side with several duffle bags.

"Cloud!" Standing quickly with a grin of welcome, Tifa left the suffering Reeve with his bruised toes and a confused Yuffie behind to help him through the door with his things. Turning from the odd jumbled family chatter in the doorway, Yuffie set her picture down to get a better look, "Is it really that bad?"

Reeve turned to look at the girl before letting out a breath and smiling in a sad portrayal of amusement, "I'm sure Vincent will appriciate it." Yuffie seemed pleased with the answer and beamed happily for the first time in days.

A wide strong hand fell on his shoulder, and Reeve started slightly to find the others had joined them. Turning he looked up at Cloud, and there he found determination. He gazed at the others. Tifa's resilient dark eyes as well as the calmer steady blue of Cloud's, neither wavered. Marlene picked up the roughly skteched photo, and Denzel stood quietly beside her, his arm around her shoulders. They'd help continue the search. Seeing they as well were lending their support, his weary heart felt buffered. Turning back to the man behind him, Reeve nodded at the promise he found in Cloud's gaze and Yuffie beamed when Tifa reached out and in a gesture so like her, covered one of the younger girls hands with her own. She squeezed those strong fingers and Yuffie squeeezed back with a relieved expression.

"We'll find him. No matter what it takes."

TBC...

Chapter 10! Yay! Quite honestly since this story was supposed to be a one-shot poem format type piece the fact that its run out of my hands this far, is somewhat...surprising? Not quite the word that I need but it'll work for now.

So what do you all think? Do you like this peek into what the rest of the cast has been doing in dear Vincent's absence? Or would you rather I just focus on Rio and Vincent? Your opinion as the reader means a lot to me so please say something of it in the review! If you all like this I might peek into their doings in a future chapter, or if you don't like it I'll endeavor to just focus on our unlikely pair.

As always I self edit, so if there are any horribly embarrassing mistakes, by all means I plead that you point them out so I can do away with them. I wrote this chapter fairly quickly, which makes me more prone to mistakes but I've already scanned it 4 times, so I hope I caught most of the mistakes. No ones perfect right? Haha

Till next chapter!

And as always~

Reviews fuel an Authors love for writing! ; )