A/N: Ooh, lookie. I've got time to update! Here we go. :)

Angels Will Carry Me Home

Chapter Thirteen:

Saviour

I should have known something was up.

I should have seen it coming.

I was mentally slapping myself for it, realizing my mistake was going to cost me.

Zack was struggling with the men that had crowded him, and despite my best efforts, I was getting tired. They came at me with knives, guns, fists. The ones with the pistols were too afraid to start shooting yet, not wanting to injure their own men in the process as they danced with me. The one I was facing was trying to jab me with his knife, and I had to keep reading his movements while being keenly aware of the others who were trying to get at me. At one point, I'd dropped my guard, and someone had grabbed me from behind, keeping me in a chokehold. I struggled, taken by surprise, and the Don's grunt with the knife smiled at me maliciously, a bead of sweat slipping down the side of his head.

Just as he came at me, I lifted my legs up, using the man behind me for leverage, and kicked him in the chest as hard as I could. Then, I threw my head back, colliding my skull with the nose of the one who was holding on to me. My head spun, but I saw the knife and knocked the arm away, watching the silver blade skid across the marble tiles. They kept coming.

My breathing grew laboured.

It had been too long. I hadn't kept in practice.

I grabbed him by the arm, spun him around, and kicked him to the ground.

The sound of a gun going off.

I glanced at Zack, and saw that he was cornered. I had to get to the gunmen first. If I didn't, they'd take us out before I could even consider helping Zack. I ran to the knife that had been dropped onto the floor, picked it up and threw it like a dagger right at one of the men pointing his gun at Zack. It hit him in the head, and he fell backwards. The other of Don's men, noticing his fallen comrade, took aim at me.

I made a dash towards him as he fired. I felt a sharp, searing pain in my side, and knew that the bullet had torn through my flesh. I tackled him to the ground before he could release another round, using all of my weight against him. Once I had him pinned to the floor, the gun knocked out of his hand, I punched him hard in the face. Once, twice, three times. He stopped moving.

"Uh, Tifa? A little help here?" It was Zack's voice drawing my attention.

Quickly, I grabbed the gun from the floor and pointed it at the group of three men surrounding Zack with knives and brass knuckles.

"One more move, and I shoot all of you in the head," I threatened, my hands steady as I took aim.

They stopped, and turned to acknowledge me.

"Back away from him," I stated, motioning with the gun as I stood up.

They did as I asked.

"Now," I started, "Drop your weapons and kick them over."

They stared at me.

I cocked the gun, "Do it."

Zack had made his way next to me. The knives were dropped and kicked towards me. The men raised their hands up in surrender.

"Please, we don't mean nothin' by it. It's the Don! He said to do it. He said to do whatever it took to kill you!" One of them shouted.

"The knuckles, those too." I replied, not caring for their words.

Zack picked up a knife, admiring it. I got the brass knuckles. I would do more damage with them, anyways. I didn't really know how to use a knife, or anything pointy.

By the time we'd gotten away, and I'd knocked all three of the Don's men out with the butt of the gun and the knuckles, Zack found his voice, "Close call back there, huh? Good thing I've got me a jack of all trades. Martial arts, knives and guns? Are you a secret agent or something, Tifa?"

He chuckled.

"Actually," I interjected, "I have no idea how to use a gun. I was bluffing. I probably would have shot you instead of them, had they risked the chance. As for the knife, let's just say that Aerith was dart champion until she met me."

Zack paled, and said, "You're joking...right? That some kind of joke, Tifa?"

I shook my head no, and confirmed his fears, "Nope. Not a joke. Why would I joke about that?"

He muttered under his breath, "Couldn't you have at least lied about it, then?"

I figured it best to change the subject to a more impending danger.

"I knew it was strange that the alarm didn't go off. The lack of guards outside, the ambush inside," I commented, scanning the next hallway for any more thugs.

Zack stared at me, perplexed.

"They knew we were coming," I explained.

Zack's mouth became a tight line, and his brows furrowed. I didn't need to ask to know he was worried about Cloud. If they had known about us, then surely they'd known about our trump card. That would indicate that he was in serious trouble, once Sephiroth got a hold of him.

"We've got to find him. I can't let him go through with this, not after all those years we spent getting him away from that lunatic," Zack whispered against my hair.

"No matter what, no matter what happens, you get Aerith out first. Don't worry about me until you've got her," Cloud had said, staring me right in the eyes, his face so close to mine as he gripped me by the shoulders.

He searched my face, before stating, "If you come for me first, you will lose her."

I expected him to have been scared, like he had during that last encounter. But he was determined, brave even. It solidified my own resolve to get my sister out of there. What he had said had been all that I needed to hear to establish my priorities.

I shook my head, "We have to get Aerith first. We need Sephiroth preoccupied for as long as possible. Cloud knows what he's doing, he's dealt with that monster before. Besides, if we do encounter him, I'm not exactly in the greatest shape to be taking him on," I explained, clutching at the blood seeping through my clothes from the bullet wound that had grazed my side.

Zack's eyes widened, and panic settled into his usually calm features as he cried, "You're bleeding! Tifa, we need to get you to a hospital, you can't go on like that!"

I gripped Zack's arm and looked him dead in the eyes when I said, "We both know that I can't do that. He was a bad shot, I got lucky, but I'll be fine."

Zack didn't look like a believer. Instead, he looked a lot more skeptical.

Running a hand through his messy, jet black hair, he said, "You do realize, that somewhere in here, we've got Reno and the gang to deal with, too, right?"

I could feel the blood drain from my face at the mention of that.

I remembered Reno, the red haired man I'd met at the club. Even now, he still worried me, with his intense gaze and nonchalant attitude. But the pain from my wound was getting substantially more unbearable as time passed on, and I knew that it was only going to get worse. I had to move quicker, I had to find Aerith, and there was only one way I could do that effectively.

I looked at Zack, trying to mask the cringe from the shooting pain, and finalized my thoughts, "We need to split up."

-.-

A/N: Basically, this is more Tifa kicking butt. And proving that, even though she's a tough cookie, she's not flawless. So yes, she's injured. And that will not be a good thing considering what she'll have to face in upcoming chapters. Cloud's still in some possible danger, no idea on where Aerith is, and Reno and the Turks are probably wandering around somewhere nearby. Things are going to get ugly from here on out, folks. Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews!