During their trek toward Bone Village, Vincent found himself focusing on the words of his mentor, Datsun.
Concentrate on your objective. Everything else is a distraction.
He repeated them over and over in his mind until it came a litany… and then repeated it some more.
Reno would occasionally make a sloppy attempt at conversation, but his words rang hollow in the forest. Vincent heard nothing, saw nothing. There was only the mission. What came after that, he would not allow himself to ponder.
Even when Reno pleaded for a short rest after six hours of fast-paced walking, Vincent did not respond. At last Bone Village came into sight. Reno dragged himself the last few yards to the inn, then turned to Vincent. There was a lifelessness in his eyes that was more than a little disturbing.
"Coming in, Vincent?" he panted.
Vincent turned without answering and headed back into the forest, where he would spend the night.
The inn was small and quaint and Reno found himself sharing a room with five other men, mostly tourists come to the village in search of buried treasure. While the hobby-excavators snored, Reno's mind wandered. Had he made a mistake?
The tears in Yuffie's eyes when she had boarded the ship back to the mainland had struck something deep within him. Only hours before, he'd be so certain of his plan. He had known Yuffie had feelings for him and was sure, in time, she would realize it. Now, he wasn't so sure.
What if she never forgives me? he thought as he tossed and turned in the bed. What is she really is in love with Vincent?
When he finally did sleep, Vincent tortured him in his dreams.
He awoke before the dawn in a cold sweat. Climbing out of bed, he shuffled into the wash room and splashed cold water on his face. Looking in the mirror, he did not like what he saw.
"You… asshole," he muttered, splashing his reflection with water before stomping his way out of the inn.
The sounds of night creatures filled the air and, as he squinted toward the forest, he pictured Vincent among them in one of his demon forms, howling and thrashing through the trees. The image made him shudder.
"Dammit," he grumbled, heading for the tree line. He had to find Vincent, and confess.
It was even darker in the forest and the sounds of nocturnal life haunted him as he made his way carefully through the black.
"Vincent!" There was no response. He walked a bit further and tried again. Nothing. For a moment he considered heading back to the inn for a few more hours of sleep.
Yeah, right. As if I could sleep now.
And so he ventured further into the forest, calling for his wronged companion. At last Vincent appeared. Like a ghost, he approached without a sound.
"Vincent! You scared the crap out of me."
Vincent made a sound in his throat. "Hmph."
"Listen, man, I have to talk to you."
"Not now. While you were sleeping, I discovered something."
"Huh? What is it?"
"Come with me. Try to keep up." At that, Vincent burst deeper into the darkness. Reno sprinted after him, straining his ears to hear the sounds of foot fall in front of him.
When he could go no further, Reno called out. "Wait," he panted. "I can't run anymore."
Vincent reemerged from the shadows. "No need. We've arrived."
Reno looked at him questioningly as Vincent gestured with his arm. They had come to the edge of a steep bank, below which lights could be seen. Voices echoed dimly throughout the canyon.
"What is it?" Reno whispered hoarsely.
"I believe it is the New-AVALANCHE headquarters."
Reno gasped. "No way. All the way up here?"
"I've been listening all night. I believe their commander is here. If we can-"
"Wait, hold up a minute. Our orders were clear: go to the Forgotten Capitol, find the artifact, and bring it back."
"There is no artifact," Vincent said sharply. "Don't you see? Reeve sent us here knowing we would locate this base."
"You're crazy."
"Am I?"
"Yes! Look, just because Yuffie dumped you doesn't mean you need to jump into some suicide mission. Grow a pair, Valentine, and get over it!"
Without warning, Vincent's hand came around his throat, pinning him against a tree with a force that nearly knocked the wind out of him.
"You couldn't leave it alone, could you?" Vincent growled. "You saw something you wanted, and you had to take it."
"Vince… ugh… you're choking me…"
"Shut up! I could kill you… right now. Nobody would ever know. I could easily pin it on the rebels."
"V… Vin…"
Suddenly his grip loosened and Reno dropped to his knees in a fit of coughing.
"Vincent… I'm sorry. I-"
"Hold it right there!" A pair of lights flashed to life then, one landing upon Reno and the other shining on Vincent. "Who the hell are you?" The voice was deep and gruff. Several feet shuffled around them, surrounding them.
"Spies!" Another voice hissed. "We should kill them now."
"No. We'll take them back to camp. The commander will decide their fate."
Reno felt his wrists being bound and waited for Vincent to leap into action. And waited… and waited…
"Vincent, what are you doing?"
Vincent stood cooperatively as the New-AVALANCHE sentries tied his wrists. Reno watched in horror as the ex-Turk was led away from the scene. Soon, he was dragged to his feet and shoved into Vincent's wake. Without speaking the sentries took them down a steep path which brought them to the center of their camp. Weathered tents spotted the landscape, most of them glowing from the lanterns inside.
As the prisoners were marched through, people came out to watch and whisper. Reno spotted the face of the young boy they'd captured in the forest days earlier. No doubt he had alerted his commander of their coming. I knew we shouldn't have let that little worm go, he thought angrily.
At last they stopped in front of the largest tent.
"Wait here," a large man – the one with the deep voice – ordered, pushing his way into the tent.
"Commander True? We captured two spies in the forest."
Soon he reemerged with a young woman whose long dark hair and scanty outfit was clearly no coincidence. She was a vision of Tifa Lockheart from four years ago.
True spoke with youthful enthusiasm as she looked them over. "I know you," she said, addressing Vincent. "Come to pay your respects?"
Vincent kept silent.
"Ah, yes. I'd always heard you were the silent type, Mr. Valentine." She smiled, then turned to Reno. "How about you? Do you have anything you'd like to tell me?"
Reno grinned foolishly. "Yeah. I love a woman in costume."
Like a whip, True's exceptionally long leg swung out, striking Reno in the mouth. "Watch your step, ShinRa. I'm only going to give you one chance to cooperate. If you thought AVALANCHE was tough, you've got a rude awakening ahead of you. My forces are ten times what theirs were, and they've all had military training.
Reno chuckled even as the blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. "What military is that? The Podunk Army?"
A fist this time, square in the nose. Vincent watched the violence unfold before him with an unnatural calm.
To her sentry, she asked, "have you searched them?"
"Uh, no, Ma'am."
"You idiot! Do you have any idea who this is?" She swung an arm toward Vincent.
"Of course, Ma'am. It's Vincent Valentine, formerly of AVALANCHE. Currently under the employment of ShinRa, Inc."
"Correct, Brutus. Now collect his weapons before he decides to turn you into stew meat."
"Yes, Commander."
Brutus and the other sentries set about removing several concealed firearms and several material orbs from Vincent's person. From Reno, they took his shock rod and a small knife concealed at his ankle. When Brutus tugged on Vincent's claw, he succeeded only in slicing his own finger on one of the sharp points.
"You idiot," True grumbled. "The gauntlet cannot be removed."
Silently, Vincent wondered how this woman knew so much about him. The matter of his gauntlet, or 'claw' as it was often called, was still a topic of much discussion among his fans. It had been amusing at one time to read the articles speculating on this conundrum. Some fans – particularly women – preferred to think it could be removed. Most of his male fans argued it was part of his altered physiology. The latter was correct.
True approached Vincent cautiously. "One last chance, Mr. Valentine – and only because I respect you. Why were you spying on my camp?"
Vincent bared his teeth at her, causing her to flinch away. It was strangely out of character, he knew, but it felt appropriate.
"Lock them up!" True shouted, brushing back her hair casually.
Brutus gave Vincent a hard shove in the back but, as he did so, something fluttered to his feet.
"What is that?" True demanded, pointing a sharp finger at the object. Brutus lifted it and handed it to her.
"Nice photo," she mused. "This gives me an idea…"
Vincent was suddenly flooded with the senses he'd been repressing since Yuffie's departure. If True were to go after Yuffie… No, these rebels would not be able to catch up with her ship. He tried to reassure himself she was in no danger, even as he was led away from the commander's tent. Making a scene would only worsen the situation and put Yuffie in danger.
At the north eastern edge of the camp, an old mineshaft had been converted into a bunker for housing food stores and weapons. Further inside, they came to what appeared to be an ancient cellar. It was lined with iron bars and reinforced in most places by thick wooden boards. Here and there, holes had been punched or kicked through the wood, but still the bars blocked the way of escape.
Vincent stepped into the cell without any hesitation, but Reno struggled with the sentry called Brutus. Twice the Turk's size, Brutus served a swift kick against Reno's backside, and the troublemaker spilled into the cell on his face. With a loud CLANG, the cell door was slammed shut, then locked securely. Brutus gave the order for a guard to be posted, then left them.