Wewt. I'm pleased with my reviews, but may I ask you to tell your friends about this?

-laugh-

I'm getting a little greedy. Or maybe I'm just worried about future flames.

Once again, sorry about the delays between updates. I have school, this fanfiction, and a webcomic to keep up with. Oh, joy. Enough ranting.

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Raye uncomfortably stretched her legs as she and Aeris waited for the rest of AVALANCHE to sneak from the bustling airport to the quieter city. She leaned against the railing and looked out from the golden-painted bridge, where they were waiting, to the sea in the near distance. The sun shone unendingly and there wasnt a cloud to be seen anywhere. It bothered Raye. As stupid as it sounded, it wasnt the same sun that illuminated her home so beautifully. It just wasnt. She felt so small, alone. She was so far from Arainiel now, and she was caught up in something she didnt quite understand. It scared her thoroughly. What did she have to do with Sephiroth? Or the Planet, for that matter. A few days ago, she didnt know any better and wouldnt have lost a moment of sleep over any of it. Now she slept with nightmares of a faceless figure, destroying the Planet, setting a town aflame...

"Raye?"

She stopped inspecting her nails and looked up at the sound of Aeris' voice. Stepping back, she answered, "Yeah, I'm coming."

"Are you alright?"

Please stop asking me...

She flushed, feeling as though she was being treated like a glass doll or something similar. She nodded quickly and folded her hands behind her back.

"So, um, what now?"

"Someone said somethin' about Hojo being on vacation 'round here," Barret answered. He crossed his beefy arms across his chest and glared at the floor. "We'd better find him."

There was a collective nod in agreement, but no one made any movements to go anywhere. There was an uncomfortable silence, and Raye felt stupid for not understanding it. It must have had to do with Sephiroth being on the same ship and making a grand appearance.

"Um, shouldn't we go?" her small voice broke the silence, and started the group in motion.

They walked together down the stairs, past a villa for sale, until they stood in front of a bar. The door stood open, inviting anyone in, to go down the stairs, have a few drinks, then maybe into a back room. If you had a lot of cash on you, of course. They all looked around them independently. Girls in skimpy bathing suits were everywhere. Raye couldnt decide whether she wanted to blush and turn away or yell at them for wearing such revealing clothes. The worst part was that they swished their hair and flirted mercilessly. Tifa, Aeris, and Yuffie had to remind the guys to get their heads out of the gutter on more than one occasion.

"Where are we going now? There are a lot of places to check. Cloud?" Raye snapped her finger in front of his face and his attention snapped back to her irritated expression.

"Could you stop looking at the girls for one minute, please?" she grumbled. "We should split up, now pick your team!"

He distractedly called Aeris to come with him and told the others where he would be.

"I'll go check out the beach."

You sneaky little...

Barret and Red XIII didnt seem to notice as they left to search the other part of Costa del Sol with Tifa and Yuffie.

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Raye trailed behind Cloud and Aeris, staring at the gorgeous villa-style buildings. They were all painted the same golden-yellow color, with large windows and stone walls. She felt a wave of nostalgia come over her again. Crossing her arms, she continued forward while staring at the ground. When the smell of salt water finally wafted toward her nose, she looked up. There was a great expanse of white sand and clear, blue water. Except for the sunbathers and surfers, Raye felt at home. It was nearly the same as the beach, which she so often went to, to escape from paperwork and lessons.

"Isnt that Hojo, over there?" Aeris asked, pointing. She was right. The creepy old man was the only one on the beach wearing a lab coat. Raye shuddered at the very thought of why he might still be dressed in full scientific garb. Worse yet, he was surrounded by giggling girls in bikinis. Another shudder went through her as they approached. A blonde, with large breasts that werent sufficiently covered, stopped them.

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk with that man," Cloud answered, keeping his composure,

"Professor, that scary man says he wants to talk with you," she sighed to him. Hojo, on the other hand, didnt seem bothered. He adjusted his black sunglasses, stretched, and said, "I'm busy right now."

Annoyed, Raye kicked sand onto his face, causing him to cough and sputter. He returned her unfriendly look with one of his own.

"No, I remember you all now…… Yes, yes. I remembered now. It's been a long time, Cloud."

"……What are you doing?"

"It should be obvious, I'm getting a tan."

"Answer me!" Cloud sounded dead-serious.

Hojo wasnt scared, "Hmm! I believe we're both after the same goal."

"You mean Sephiroth?"

"Did you see him? I see…… Ha! Ha! Cloud: What is it?"

"Nothing. I just remembered a certain hypothesis…… Haven't you ever had the feeling something is calling you? Or that you had to visit some place? ……" Hojo seemed to be in a very dreamy state while Raye mentally questioned his sanity.

"I'll go anywhere Sephiroth is at! To beat him and put an end to all this!"

"I see…… This could be interesting. Were you in SOLDIER? ……Heh heh heh!" he laughed strangely and turned to Raye. "Would you like to be my guinea pig?"

Cloud drew his large sword instantly and placed it threateningly between them.

"Stop, Cloud! I know how you feel, but you mustn't fight now," Aeris placed a hand on his shoulder ans squeezed it gently.

"……Say aren't you the 'Ancient'?"

"I'm Aerith. The least you can do is remember my name, Professor Hojo… I know I'm an Ancient. My mother told me."

"Your mother? Oh, you mean Infalna. How is she?" he spoke as though it were a casual conversation between two friends who had not seen each other in a very long time.

"She died."

"Hojo… Is Jenova an Ancient? Is Sephiroth an Ancient? Do they all have the same blood?" Raye broke in, trying to piece together the information she had.

Hojo sighed, replaced his glasses, and stretched out on the chair once more. "…head west……"

Feeling that they weren't going to get anything else out of him, Cloud motioned for the girls to leave with him.

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Within minutes, they caught up with the other AVALANCHE members and revealed what little information they got from Hojo.

"Maybe we should go west," Yuffie mused. "I mean, there's no where else to go from here. There are mountains, and if we go west, we'll find the path to cross them."

"Yeah. Before we go, I wanna check for mail," Barret said in a slightly embarrassed tone.

Tifa and Aeris nodded in understanding, while Cloud growled, "Hurry up."

"I'll go, too."

Raye followed the large man to the end of town, where a small beach shack stood, labeled 'Shoreside Inn'.

Behind a desk was a fat man, in a stupid Hawaiian-pineapple-print shirt. He smiled as they entered.

"One room or two?"

"We're wondering if you have any forwarded mail?" Raye asked. "For Barret or Raye?"

"Lemme check," the man grumbled and went into the back room.

Raye looked up at Barret. The man who previously towered over her, now stood at the counter slouching with an unreadable expression.

"I hope you have some mail from Marlene," Raye said softly.

"Yeah. Me too."

Something passed between them. Something that Raye didnt know how to label. It could have been 'understanding', like Aeris and Tifa felt. Or maybe something closer, that might not have a name... Just the feeling of hope. Hope that loved ones were safe. Hope that there would be something in the ink and paper that would help them go on in a mission that had no clear path or end.

The innkeeper returned, shrugging. "Nope. Nuthin. I'll make sure to send it to the next town if I get any."

Raye thanked him and walked out with Barret. He moved slowly, as if his entire being felt heavy. She, too, felt remorse... but couldnt imagine what it was like to not hear from your own children. She gently patted the gun-arm that was at his side.

"She'll be fine."

Raye certainly sounded determined, but really, she had no more of a clue than Barret did. It was just hard to watch a strong man's entire stature crumbled before her eyes. Barret was silent for a moment, looking at her squarely. Then he stood to full (huge) height and grinned.

"I thought you were scared 'o me."

Raye returned his smile and laughed, "No reason to be."

They laughed weakly as they returned to the bridge where the others waited. This was the first time that she spoke to Barret, and even though it wasnt much, she felt like she understood him a little better.

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No surprise, but Cloud made another decision without the consent of the entire group. A woman at the information booth convinced him that 'he was tired' and 'he needed a break.' He'looked like he had some money to spend', so he was going to make everyone make the trip across Mt. Corel, to Corel town, then finally to the Gold Saucer. Raye was too excited to be annoyed. The Gold Saucer! Joel had told her a few (dirty) stories about he trip there. Without the sex and drinking, it seemed like a great place to finally see. She couldnt contain her excitement and let out a strong 'whoo-hoo!' The stares turned to her and she laughed nervously.

"... I wanna see the Gold Saucer," she flushed and they laughed.

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Short Chapter... I know!! XO

Don't hurt me!

Reviews and Love appreciated.