Hey everyone! Here's Chapter Ten just like I promised. I'm not sure how long it'll take for Eleven, but it'll come! Thanks again for the reviews, and you guys can give me constructive criticism and all, you know. I'd really like to hear some ideas on how I can better my writing.

So I'll stop talking now...enjoy the Reeve/Shalua-ness! I laughed my head off while writing it...(laughs)

Cheers!

Kyyrin

Chapter Ten

Vincent barrelled into the hallway that led to the command center.

"Mr. Valentine!", came the frightened call of a WRO member.

"A sizeable enemy unit is headed straight for the command center. Please, sir. You have to help the Commissioner!"

Vincent sighed. Reeve had made it clear that he didn't want to speak to him anymore. But it had been Vincent's fault after all. The least he could do now was see to it that Reeve came to no harm. He gave a curt nod, and hurried down the hallway.

Killing the enemies he came upon as quickly as he could manage, he hightailed it towards the command center, praying that nothing had happened to Reeve.

He screeched to a halt in front of the entrance, when he heard a, "Take that!"

A DG soldier flew through the open door, hit the wall, and dropped to the ground lifeless.

Seconds later, Cait Sith walked out, followed by an unharmed looking Reeve. Vincent sighed in relief.

Both Cait and Reeve jumped in surprise when they saw him standing there.

Reeve averted his eyes angrily, making Vincent painfully aware that he was still furious with him. It wasn't as if Vincent wanted to keep his friend angry on purpose, he just wasn't good at apologies. And at the moment, he didn't think that even an apology would help.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine here", Reeve muttered, and Vincent could hear the anger bubbling just below the surface of the statement.

Vincent nodded, shame-faced, and turned to go. But Reeve had more to say.

"The Tsviets…Azul is still on the loose."

Vincent glanced back at him, before Reeve looked at Cait Sith and the two of them made their way back inside the command center.

Azul. Well, if it helped make up for the cruel things he'd said to Reeve, then he supposed he'd go find Azul and gun him down.

He turned and left in the direction he had come.

Reeve sat down hard on a chair in the command center.

He was livid.

Vincent could have at least apologized for what he'd said. How could he say things like that so shamelessly after Reeve had offered him his care with open arms? If it hadn't been for Vincent's stubborn nature, Reeve would probably still have been able to keep the man in bed. The situation was serious, but fact was that Vincent was far to ill to even be standing, let alone fighting. He had helplessly stood by and watched as Vincent had practically pleaded with Shalua to give him the medicine that would numb his symptoms for a while. She had obliged. It was Vincent's decision. All in the name of protecting him and the WRO.

He shook his head. He owed so many things to Vincent. But he wasn't sure he was quite ready to forgive him for his earlier comment.

"Enough. Don't baby me, Reeve. You're a grown man, as am I. I have more important things to do than to lie in bed because you think I am too weak to fend for myself. I will go fight. It is my decision, after all. And at the present moment? I frankly don't care what you think."

Is that really what it had looked like? "Babying?"All he wanted was to see his friend healthy again. His friend. Was Vincent still his friend?

His eyes started to burn. No. He had more important things to worry about now than an asshole named Vincent Valentine.

He supposed he would still have to help Vincent, in case of something unexpected. He hadn't meant it when he'd said that he wouldn't assist the man. It had been an impulsive outburst. But he would think of that when the time came.

Getting up, he looked down at Cait, and stated,

"Stay here. I'm going to find Shalua!"

Vincent burst out the hallway door, and into the main building, wheezing slightly. He knew Shalua had warned him not to exert himself, but in the current situation, he had no choice.

Looking over the railing, and down to the bottom floor, he spotted his target.

Azul walked to the middle of the room.

He gazed up and around, yellow-eyed stare resting on Vincent. His features twisted into an insane grin, as he turned and walked towards one of the open doors on the ground level.

Vincent's eyes strayed to the elevator to the left, and he began to move.

Making his way to the ground floor and running through the same door Azul had used, Vincent helped any surviving WRO members he came across and killed dozens of Deepground soldiers.

He saw Shalua standing at the end of it.

As he neared, he saw her eyes widen slightly.

Then, to his horror, she pointed a gun at him, and stated,

"Don't move".

His shock was replaced by surprise, when, she aimed the gun at the nothingness beside him.

"Very perceptive of you", a vacant voice rang out.

Vincent stared as a brown haired girl, of not more than ten materialized beside him. He quickly moved to stand beside Shalua.

"I knew it", Shalua remarked in awe, gazing at the girl almost lovingly.

Vincent quirked an eyebrow at Shalua.

The younger girls eyes widened.

"Shelke………", Shalua trailed of with a look of passion on her face, and sighed.

The girl stared at her confused, and then apprehensively.

"I have no acquaintances in the WRO", her empty monotone declared.

"We've both changed…..so much", Shalua continued as if she hadn't heard her. "No. You haven't changed at all."

Vincent stared at Shalua, a rare look of concern on his face. Had she gone mad?

"Not in ten years."

This remark produced a strange reaction from the young girl. She gasped and stared at Shalua wide-eyed.

"Shelke, it's me!", Shalua went on, almost pleading now. "Shalua!"

The girl named Shelke turned away, almost in sadness.

"I've been searching for you for so long", Shalua whispered, eyes downcast. She made to move towards Shelke, but the latter suddenly donned one of her energy sabers, and pointed the energized weapon directly at Shalua's head. She looked up slowly, and Vincent saw that her eyes were glowing an unnatural orange color.

"Don't take another step", the girl commanded.

Vincent instinctively laid a hand on his Cerberus.

"Shelke", Shalua started, as if trying to reason with her, but the smaller female interrupted her again.

"It doesn't matter who I am or who you are. My current mission as a Deepground soldier is all that is relevant."

"No! It does matter!" Now Shalua was distraught. "Even though ten years have passed, you're still Shelke…….my only sister!"

Vincent's eyes widened. This was her sister???

Shelke gazed at Shalua for a moment longer, before dropping her weapon, and hanging her head.

"Ten years. Has it been that long?……..The day they came to take me away, I was told I had…..potential. But those words were nothing but a precursor to a decade of suffering. They manipulated my mind until I was a shadow of my original self. The pain. The fear. For ten years I lived in hell far deeper than any you could imagine."

Shalua had now hung her head as well, in what Vincent detected as shame.

"But look at me", Shelke continued. "I should be nineteen this year. If I don't receive my daily dose of mako, this body wouldn't last a day. However….."

Shalua looked at her sadly, expectantly.

"…..I don't consider myself the least bit unfortunate", Shelke turned to look at Shalua. "Except that for so long I held on to a foolish thread of hope that someday, someone would come to save me."

At this comment, Shalua broke down. She started to sob, falling to her knees.

"I'm……sorry……Shelke. I-I'm……… so sorry."

If the girl was at all moved by Shalua's display of emotion, she didn't show it. In fact, she did just the opposite. Raising her sabers once again, and pointing them at Shalua, she stated,

"It's time to put the past behind us."

Then, to Vincent's utmost surprise, he heard a familiar voice.

"Stop this!"

He stared at Reeve, who had run in and now stood beside Shelke.

This probably had the effect Reeve had hoped for, for the girl was momentarily distracted from Shalua, and rounded on him.

"Reeve Tuesti", Shelke stated.

"So you are Shalua's younger sister", Reeve began, looking at her calmly. Vincent did have to admit, Reeve had a lot of guts to be standing in front of a dangerous looking Deepground soldier seemingly unarmed. All for the sake of protecting his………friend. Well, possibly more than a friend, but still. Damn.

If Vincent hadn't noticed it before, he certainly did now. Reeve hadn't pushed him to stay in bed because he had wanted to annoy the hell out of him; it had been because he wanted to protect him. Because he cared. Vincent cursed himself for being so impulsive. He would have to suck it up and apologize to Reeve when he got the chance, even if Reeve never spoke another word to him again.

Vincent was torn from his thoughts, when Shelke spoke.

"Excellent. Now I can terminate both of you at once."

Vincent tensed, drawing his Cerberus at once, but replacing it in its holster when Reeve spoke again.

"Look at her", Reeve gestured to Shalua, who knelt broken on the floor. "That's the price Shalua had paid for fighting Shinra for the past ten years."

Shelke's eyes ceased glowing as she looked down at her sister, almost sadly, but catching herself, she turned back to Reeve, irises orange.

"She has given more than her arm, more than her eye. She has put her life on the line time and time again", Reeve continued, voice rising. "All to find her lost sister."

Shelke had lowered her weapons now, but Reeve didn't stop.

"More than half her organs have been reconstructed. Not a day goes by when Shalua doesn't suffer the pain of a hundred souls. But still, she------"

"Enough", Shelke cut him off. "I've…..I've heard enough." At this, she hefted her sabers with renewed vigour, pointing them at Reeve.

Vincent had also heard enough. He drew Cerberus just as quickly, and pointed it at Shelke's head. Threatening someone he cared about was like threatening him.

"Stop!", Reeve yelled suddenly.

He proceeded to pull out a gun he had been hiding, and shot one of the fire extinguishers on the ceiling. "You're a smart bastard, Reeve", Vincent thought with a small smirk, as water poured out, soaking them all. Reeve obviously knew that water would have a merciless effect on Shelke's sabers. It would shut them down.

Shelke looked around, confused, and then she moved. Sabers raised, she swung at Shalua's head.

Vincent's heart skipped a beat. Shalua. He had grown to like her. Cre for her. She had made him feel……..wanted. And her break down. She reminded him so much of………..He couldn't let her die. He had to save her.

Acting quickly, he raced to her hunched form, and wrapped his arms around her, shielding her from the blows he expected would soon follow. They didn't. Before the sabers touched Shalua's head, the water extinguished them.

Vincent breathed his relief, and held the now only partially conscious Shalua in his arms.

He looked at her for a moment.

"Vincent."

He looked up to meet Reeve's icy glare, which was then abruptly averted. Vincent's chest felt hollow. Reeve was still pissed.

He nodded at the barely noticeable motion of Reeves head in Shelke's direction.

Vincent helped Shalua stand, and gently led her out of the room, following Reeve's lead.

They managed to escape before the water stopped running.

Shelke was left standing in the now soaked chamber, weapons in hand, staring after them pensively.

They only stopped running once they were safely out of Shelke's reach.

Crouching, Reeve put an arm around Shalua in an attempt to comfort her.

He glanced fleetingly at Vincent, before pulling something out of his pocket and handing it to him with a quiet, "Use these". Vincent gazed at the tranquilliser bullets he now held in his hand, and then back at Reeve and Shalua. Reeve was making it quite obvious that her cared for her well being, and that of her sister.

"Reeve, I……", he began, wanting to tell him he was sorry for being an ass.

"No, Vincent. Not now", Reeve muttered icily, and motioned back the way they had come.

Vincent stood, and loading his gun, walked off to face Shelke. Well, at least Reeve had said "not now", instead of "never".

He was stopped short by a whimper from Shalua.

"Shelke? Shelke!", she cried in horror as she the gun toting Vincent walk off to face her sister.

"Don't worry", he heard Reeve murmur reassuringly. "The bullets will only sedate her. Let……Vincent handle this."

Hm. That was a start. At least Reeve still had faith in him.

He retraced their steps and made his way back into the room where Shelke stood, as if expecting him.

He cocked his gun, and she powered up her sabers.

Words had no place here.

They fought.

Reeve and Shalua huddled together against the wall of the dead end corridor.

Reeve had convinced Shalua to wait here at least a little until they could be sure that Vincent had taken care of Shelke. He didn't want to put her in danger. And Reeve trusted Vincent that much to know he would treat Shalua's little sister kindly.

Looking down, he gazed at Shalua's shuddering form, and pulled her closer into a protective embrace, stroking her hair. He hated to see a person he loved so dearly in this sort of anguish. She was still in shock after seeing the lost sister she had been searching ten years for, working for Deepground. He knew she felt guilt at the fact that her beloved sibling had been through hell and back and she had been powerless to save her.

"Shalua……..", he murmured soothingly. "Calm down. She'll be fine. Vincent won't hurt her. Shhhhhhh………relax."

He felt her shaking subside, and her hand gently envelop his.

"Reeve………..are you still angry at him?"

He hadn't been expecting that question.

"Wha----? I mean….you mean...who?", he tried timidly, knowing full well he was beating around the bush.

Shalua sat up straighter, and looked him straight in the eye.

"Don't give me that, Tuesti. You know very well who I mean, so don't try and avoid it. I'm not deaf. He wanted to apologize to you and you brushed him off. I know what he said to you was cruel, but you should at least hear him out! If he was trying to apologize, it must have taken all his willpower. You've known him long enough to realize he didn't mean those things. So why are you pushing him away?"

Reeve looked at the floor. Shalua was right. She was always right. And now he was thoroughly ashamed of himself. He gulped back the lump in his throat.

"W-Well, what he said was pretty harsh. Aren't I allowed to give him the silent treatment just for a bit? I just need some space………"

He glanced back up at Shalua, only to avert his eyes once more at the glare she was shooting at him.

"What….?"

"Reeve. Stop acting like a six year old! Ok, I agree, it was harsh. Give yourself some time, but just a little. You know just as well as I do that he's broken. And fixing him won't be easy if you ignore him."

Sighing, he relented.

"I guess you're right…….I'll…..I'll let him apologize soon. But it probably won't be easy……."

"Nothing is ever easy, Reeve."

"Yeah. Yeah I know, but-----"

Shalua cut him off by placing a gentle, passionate kiss on his lips.

Reeve looked at her in disbelief.

"W-What was t-that for?"

His question was rewarded with a mischievous smile, and a smug reply.

"To make that envy I saw in your eyes earlier disappear for good. I'm yours. Did you forget that already?"

He just gawked at her. He hadn't even realized she had seen that fleeting emotion. Obviously, she could read him better than he thought. He hadn't really been jealous of Vincent when Shalua had held him in her arms. Well, maybe a little. All right, a lot. Shit, he was such an idiot. He knew Shalua. She wouldn't have just---------

His train of thought was stopped abruptly when Shalua pulled her hand back, and slapped him none too gently across the face.

Eyes wide, and mouth hanging open, he stared at her indignantly, holding a hand to his stinging cheek.

"Well, what the hell was THAT for?!?", he stuttered in shock.

"That, Reeve Tuesti, was for not being a man and standing to our relationship when Vincent rather embarrassingly made you aware that he knew about it."

And with that, Shalua gently closed Reeve's mouth and planted another kiss on his lips before standing and walking in the direction of her sister.

Smiling softly to herself, she left the latter sitting on the floor in a rather undignified manner staring after her, seeming not yet fully to comprehend what had just occurred.

Stay tuned for Chapter Eleven...and yes, I can imagine Shalua slapping Reeve...ha, ha, ha...