Tifa paced back and forth and worry; unaware of the stares she was receiving from her companions.

"Tifa," Cloud ventured, starting towards the brunette woman, hand outstretched. "I'm sure that Yuffie and Vincent are fine . . . it'll take more then that to get rid of the two of them - you know that."

"Do I? Do I know their okay?" Tifa yelled, stopping her pacing, hands balled into fists. "Vincent, yeah, we all know he can handle himself; but Yuffie's a child! A child, Cloud! She was weaponless, her phone's no longer in service – she might be dead. It's been nearly a week!"

"Yuffie's going to be fine, she was on her own at sixteen, remember? She's probably just trying to stay put, she's probably wherever Vincent is."

"But –"

Cloud shook his head, pulling the bartender to him, resting his chin atop her head. Tifa sighed in defeat, drawing her arms around Cloud, burying her face into his shirt. Cid smirked at the two before looking back at Red and Shera, talking to one another. "You sure she'll be safe here, Red?"

Red nodded, his golden eye fixing onto Cid. "They will be fine here. Deepground won't come to the Cosmo Canyon – we have no reactors or anything affiliated with ShinRa. Unless they wish to destroy knowledge of the past, Cosmo Canyon will remain standing."

Shera nodded in agreement, leaning down to scratch Red's head. "We'll be fine here Cid, I don't feel any fear in staying here. But, please be careful out there- we need you to come home afterwards; do let me know when you find Yuffie though, I worry about her."

Cid nodded. "Be careful."

"I will," Shera said with a small smile.

"Marlene," Barret said, ruffling his daughters' hair. The little girl looked up from Red, smiling at her father. "I have to go away for a little while. I want you to stay here with Shera and Aleria, okay?"

Marlene nodded, pouting as she drew her hand away from Red. "How long are you going away for?"

"Not long, I'll be back soon and we'll go home together."

"You promise?" she asked, her voice muffled by Cait.

"I promise," Barret murmured, pulling his daughter onto his lap. "You know I love you."

Marlene nodded giving her father a hug. "I love you too."

Keeping his grip on Marlene, he cast a glance up at Shera. "You'll look after her for me, right?"

"I will," Shera said, smiling down at Marlene. "Just promise me you'll come back here, Barret. You aren't supposed to die out there/"

Barret grinned ruefully, shaking his head. "I've heard that speech before; Elmyra gave that speech out when we were just starting out after Sephiroth. I wonder what ever happened to her."

"I heard that she was living in . . . Kalm," Tifa piped up and then gasped. "You don't think . . ."

"She'll be fine, Reeve said she ran a flower shop around Cost de Sol now; makes her feel closer to Aeris, what with the sun and all."

"Do you think we should get going now?" Red asked, stretching.

"I think so," Tifa agreed, smiling over at Cloud. "Leader?"

"Let's go."

"Be careful," Shera commented as Cid ruffled Aleria's short hair.

"Be good Marlene! Listen to what Shera tells you." Barret said, hugging his daughter goodbye.

Marlene nodded, casting her brown eyes down to Red. "Do you have to go too?"

Red nodded, moving away from the smaller girl, following after the others.

Shera moved closer to Marlene, grasping the girls' small hand. "They'll be back before you know it, sweetheart."

Marlene nodded, watching the small group descend the staircase.

---

"It feels weird there being so little of us . . . we hardly all fit in here before," Tifa commented, climbing into the passenger side of the small red car Dio and given them years ago.

"Yeah," Barret agreed, climbing in the back with Cid and Red. "Who knew making the brat sit on Vincent's lap would make them like that."

"I hope their alright . . ." Tifa sighed as Cloud started up the vehicle, heading in the direction of Cost de Sol.

"They'll be okay – hey, Tifa, can you grab that?" Cloud added as his phone started to vibrate in the cup holder.

Tifa nodded, picking up the sleek device, opening it quickly. "Hello?"

"Is that you, Tifa?" the voice crackled.

"Yeah . . . is that you Reeve?"

A chuckle came through the receiver. "That it is/"

"It's Reeve," Tifa called to the others. "Hey, hold on a second, alright?" Tifa said before passing the phone into Cloud's waiting hand.

Slowing down on the gas, Cloud glanced at the phone, pressing a button, passing it back to Tifa. "You're on speaker, Reeve."

"Ah, Cloud, you're their too," came Reeve's crackled voice. "Where are you and Tifa; have you found any of the others yet?"

"We have Cid, Barret and Red here with us, Shera and the kids are staying at Cosmo Canyon." Tifa said, the Golden Saucer coming into view. "Where are you?"

Reeve jumped over the question. "Yuffie's not with you?"

"Haven't seen her since Kalm," Barret called from the back.

"Since Kalm . . ."

"We think she's with Vincent though, her phone's not in service though."

"She can't be with Vincent though . . ." Reeve trailed off, frowning.

"Yuffie is not here with us – we believed she was with you," came Vincent's flat voice.

Tifa paused, falling silent. Yuffie was missing . . . she definitely didn't want to tell the gunslinger the ninja had disappeared. "How'd you get there, Vince?" Cid called from the back, breaking the heavy silence.

"We connected with each other in Kalm," Reeve stated. "Vincent had managed to get himself cornered by Deepground after taking down one of their Dragonflies."

Cid let out a laugh from the back. "Only Vince would take down one of their ships – no surprise."

"And, Yuffie wasn't there?"

"I haven't seen her since the festival; I believed she was with you."

"She was . . ." Tifa trailed off, taking a deep breath. "She was with us until Deepground attacked the main square . . . she said she wasn't leaving without her Conformer or you, she was heading back towards the hotel you were staying at."

"She never arrived there," Vincent said; his voice edgy as he spoke.

Tifa froze, blood draining from her face. Had Deepground got their hands on the irrational ninja?

"Where are you guys now?" Reeve said, silence creeping into the conversation once more.

"We just past the Golden Saucer, we should be to Junon soon – that's where you are, right? – well, I suppose it depends on the boats."

Reeve laughed. "True, they are rarely on time. In the meantime, watch out for Deepground, they are looking for something . . ."

"What're they looking for?"

"I don't know for sure," Reeve said. "I uncovered some of their old documents – currently Shaula is looking over them as it is more her expertise then mine. Vincent mentioned Azul the Cerulean was at the siege of Kalm, they are looking for something called Protomateria."

"Why would they confront Vincent about it?"

"Like he'd have this thing," Barret grumbled. "He locked himself in a coffin for thirty years."

Tifa shook her head, looking over the headrest at Barret. "They were around thirty years ago, Yuffie heard that from Vincent; she knows a little bit about Deepground . . . she wouldn't tell it all to me though . . . said she promised you she wouldn't, Vincent," Tifa said, remembering that Vincent was with Reeve.

"Maybe that's why she disappeared," Barret broke in again. "She knows too much, so Deepground went and got rid of her before she told, and now they're targeting Vincent."

"How would they know Vincent and Yuffie were together though?" Tifa challenged. "I doubt they read the gossip column."

"Guys –" Reeve cut in.

"How would I know?" Barret shrugged. Reeve sighed, falling silent as he waited for them to finish. "All we know is that Yuffie is gone and she knows almost as much about Deepground as he does – definitely more then Reeve knows."

"I don't want to think of her dead," Tifa sighed, shaking her head. "We already lost Aeris to Sephiroth . . . no way do I want to be the last girl! Besides Yuffie was – no, is – young; she won't go down without a fight."

Barret shrugged, rolling his eyes as he leaned against the backrest.

Reeve started up as the silence dragged. "Listen, just keep an eye out for Yuffie then – she does tend to appear out of nowhere; for all we know, she could be waiting in Junon for us," Reeve let out a chuckle. "I've got to go through, see you later," and with that, Reeve disconnected.

---

Green eyes watched the petite black haired female lying on the makeshift bed across the abandoned room. Rushing brown bangs out of her eyes, she sighed. Who knew she'd end up exactly like her brother – saving the planet! Granted, the WRO weren't as renowned as those of AVALANCE had been, but this time, she wasn't going to sit back like the twelve year old she was before.

"You see big brother," she smiled, fiddling with the silver necklace beneath her clothes. "I'm finishing what you started, I'm just sorry you couldn't be here as well – calming me down with all your stupid jokes."

The occupant on the bed stirred, drawing the green eyes across the room to her. She watched as the occupant let out a groan, bringing a hand up to their eyes to block out the morning sun.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the brunette spoke out, causing her newly awoken companion to jump. She let out a grin as she saw the petite girl wince. "See, I told you. Anyways, I'm glad you're awake – it's not much fun watching you sleep!"

Storm grey eyes blinked at the girls' words and childish laughter. Her mind catching up with her senses, Yuffie quickly sat up, springing from her makeshift bed, eyes narrowed as she reached for her Conformer.

The girl laughed. "Are you looking for this?" In her hand was Yuffie's dagger. "I won't hurt you – I'm with the WRO."

Yuffie relaxed slightly, slumping back down onto the makeshift bed, wincing as a pain flared up in her arm. "WRO – then you should be good . . ."

The girl grinned again, pushing her bangs away from her eyes before fixing her red hat. "I only joined the WRO a couple months ago to avenge my brother's death. My name's Bridget, by the way. I used to live in Sector Seven slums of Midgar. And you're Yuffie Kisaragi of AVALANCE."

Yuffie raised an eyebrow. "You . . . lived in Sector Seven? Tifa said the plate crashed . . . how'd you survive? There weren't any known survivors . . . "

"I was in Sector Four at the time when the plate fell – they had a really good market there. I came back when I heard about the crash . . . but I was too late. My brother and everyone else who lived there were dead. When I saw Tifa and Barret on the Midgar news during ShinRa's attempt to execute them . . . I . . . I was happy they were alive – I thought my brother might be with them . . ."

"Who was your brother?"

"His name was Biggs, he was doing all that stuff for me, you know? He wanted to make the world free of ShinRa's grip for me to grow up. ShinRa won unfortunately . . . I just want to do something good for the planet."

Yuffie sighed, holding her right arm tightly to her body. "How old are you – you don't look that old/"

"I just turned fifteen three weeks ago. I'm almost as old as you were when you defeated Sephiroth," Bridget shrugged with a grin.

"Yeah, but I was trained as a child – you weren't."

Bridget shrugged. "Maybe not, but I'm doing my part; for my brother. But, Mr. Tsuti and Dr. Rui want me to train with the handguns and look after you, currently. They don't think that I'm ready for combat," Bridget let out a sigh, frowning as she swung her legs back and forth in boredom.

Yuffie silently had to agree with Reeve and Shaials, the girl was just a teenager wanting to take on the world . . . foolish in combat, a hazard to her own teammates."

"What's wrong with me? Where am I?" Yuffie said suddenly, looking around the room.

Bridget grinned widely. "You were shot! Deepground for you from behind the Impression Inn; you fell from the fire escape. One shot to your arm, the other to your leg, you owe Dr. Rui one . . . if she hadn't been there, you'd be . . . well, who knows where!"

Yuffie blinked. "What does Shaula have to do with this? She wasn't even in Kalm . . ."

"She was in Kalm! She saw the helicopters from the edge of Edge's remains and then she got a call from Mr. Tsuti about the attack – I wish I'd be called though! She was following the Deepground soldiers and then she heard you scream. She took down all kinds of soldiers and brought you here. You were very boring to watch you know? You've been out cold for at least four days!"

"Where are we?"

" . . . this is all that remains of the Chocobo Ranch."

Yuffie perked up. "Is Chocobo Billy here then?"

Bridget shook her head. "It's been abandoned for some time, rumor has it they left when all this terrorism began . . . but, others say Deepground got a hold of them first. They were never found though – the Chocobo's are long gone and wild now."

Yuffie paused, her eyes closing. She'd never get to ride of Starlight again – the Chocobo had taken her so many places! –and Chocobo Billy and his grandfather had possibly met up with Deepground . . .

"Um, do you have a change of clothes?" Yuffie asked, noticing she was still in the outfit Tifa had made her wear.

Bridget let out an airy laugh, pointing to a stack of material on the counter. "I thought you'd say that, so I had someone bring in a change of clothes when they past by here; lucky them off on a mission!"

Yuffie nodded absently, standing up slowly and tested the strength of her leg.

"It just grazed you," Bridget put in, indicating Yuffie's leg. "The most damage was to your arm – good thing you were out cold for that."

That's reassuring, Yuffie thought as she grabbed the pile of clothes from the counter.

Sighing, Yuffie leaned against the rooms' door as it closed behind her. Thank goodness for Heal and Cure materia . . . she thought. But, where was everyone else now? Had they gotten away? Had Vincent . . . where had he gone? Spotting the clothes she had thrown onto the dusty bed, Yuffie unfolded them, lying them out. She frowned, not bad. A black and purple tank tope, a yellow belt and cargo shorts. Her nose curled up, yuck! She'd stick with her shorts, thank you very much.

"Say Bridget," Yuffie called, unzipping her dress, the material falling to the ground. "Do you know where everyone else in AVALANCE is?"

"Nope, Bridget sighed. "I haven't seen anyone for a couple days now."

"Oh," Yuffie's voice was muffled as she pulled the black and purple top on. "Where do you think they'd be?"

"Perhaps Junon, eventually, it is headquarters. Mr. Valentine might not be there though, but surely you'd know where he's go."

"Where would Vincent be?" she frowned, pulling on her knee socks. Lucrecia's cave, Nibelheim . . . maybe Rocket Town.

"Miss Yuffie, can I come in?" Bridget asked, knocking on the door.

"Only if you don't call me miss."

Bridget grinned, opening the door. Yuffie saw the other girls' look, raising an eyebrow at her. "Did Barret or Tifa ever mention my brother? Or Wedge and Jessie for that matter?"

"That was before I joined up with them," Yuffie shrugged. She didn't even consider joining up with Cloud and the others until they opened the coffin in the ShinRa basement, the crimson eyes and dark atmosphere looking deadly back at them. His cold, brooding voice asking they why they were there before demanding them to get out.

"Yuffie. . ."

"Huh?" Yuffie snapped out of her thoughts, the brown haired girl staring at her. "No, they never mentioned them, Tifa did talk in her sleep sometimes though. She said someone's jokes were never funny but too keep trying –"

"That'd be my brother."

"And having computer lessons."

"Jessie."

"That was it though," Yuffie said. "We soon got wrapped up in chasing Sephiroth that they forgot. I didn't meet them till Junon though, a lot had already happened."

"Oh," Bridget sighed. "You look good anyways – are you leaving soon?"

Yuffie nodded, pushing herself off the old bed. "I have to, I have to find my friends and . . . I can't stay here."

"Here, let me help you with that," Bridget said, seeing Yuffie trying to tie her armguard one handed.

"Thanks," Yuffie nodded, flexing her arm when Bridget was done. "Now, do you know where my Conformer is?"

Bridget sighed, folling Yuffie through the house. "No doubt it's still in Kalm, I'm sorry. No one can get near there now, Deepground controls most of his continent, all that's free is Junon. They won't bother with this place though, no one stops at an abandoned ranch," Bridget added at Yuffie's look of concern.

"Hmm, okay . . . I'll get my Conformer back later . . . can't really take down Deepground weaponless. It better be there when I get back there," Yuffie grumbled, opening the ranches door. "I guess my path is set, I'm going to Junon. Reeve's got some of our old weapons from Meteorfall. I suppose I'll just use my Four Point Shuriken," Yuffie frowened, looking back at Bridget. "You know what, you should –"

The lights in the small ranch flickered, the television flickering to life, the radio's dial spinning through the stations before suddenly stopping. Yuffie froze, eyes narrowing as she reached for her Conformer, letting out a curse when it wasn't there. Bridget had quickly drawn her gun, tossing a knife from the counter to Yuffie. The television screen, only showing static, came to life, a blue tinge creeping through the room as a man appeared, sitting it what looked like a metal throne – somewhere.

Yuffie and Bridget exchanged a glance, eyebrows raised.

Then, the man spoke in a cold, dead voice, bordering on glee.

"At last, the time has come to cleanse this word. The pure will be spared for the cause, while the tainted will be hunted down and exterminated. They shall be slashed, straggled and slaughtered. Beaten, stabbed and crushed. Garroted, impaled. Shot and executed without mercy. The time has come to cleanse this world." With a final harsh laugh, the link cut out, the television showing static and then silence.

Yuffie shivered, her knife dropping to the ground. That man, those words . . . they . . . she shook her head. Their laugh echoed in her head, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. That laugh reminded her of Hojo, but no way could that be him . . . NO way. She didn't remember him looking like that anyway . . .

"What was that all about? Where was that broadcasted from?"

"I don't know," Yuffie stammered, breaking out of her thoughts. "But this is worse then I thought. Deepground . . . they're serious . . ."

"You think he was Deepground?"

"I think so," Yuffie said. "I doubt it was made for us."

Bridget shrugged, nodding in agreement. "Are you still going to Junon?"

Yuffie nodded. "I absolutely have to now, if anyone will know anything about this it'll be Reeve. And with all those disappearances lately . . ."

"Well, then, I'm going with you!"

Yuffie stopped. "What? No. You should get out here, yes. But, not follow me."

"Miss. Kisaragi, I'm a WRO agent, in times like this I should be at headquarters. Especially since this broadcast came out, all WRO agents should return to headquarters for new orders."

Yuffie sighed, rolling her eyes. "Fine."

"Besides," Bridget said conversationally as she closed the front door. "You have a knife, I have a gun. If you run into Deepground, you'll need the help."

Yuffie said nothing, she hated being proven wrong!

---

Tifa paled; eyes wide at the end of the transmission. Blinking back her surprise, she turned to look at her companions. By the looks on their faces, they had heard it too. "What . . .?" was all she managed to get out.

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this," Cid grumbled.

"Yo, Red," Barret said, glancing at the beast. "Is Cosmo Canyon safe?"

"For the time, yes," Red replied, his golden eyes going from Barret to Cid and back again. "If the planet is their hunting ground, then no where is really safe. As I said before though, the Canyon has no mako reactors or ties with ShinRa, so it's safe for the time being."

"Marlene better be safe."

"Cloud?" Tifa asked, looking to the blonde. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure," Cloud muttered, eyes narrowed. "If only we knew where that transmission came from . . ."

The phone ringing made Tifa jump, staring at the vibrating phone in the cup holders; Cloud glanced at the phone, picking it up swiftly. "Hello?" Tifa recognized that tone, Cloud was in his safe-the-world mode. Cloud nodded at the phone before pulling it away and putting it on speaker. "It's Reeve."

"Hey Reeve," Tifa breathed. "Did you hear that message?"

"I did," Reeve said. "I fear for the planet, something worse is going on, something worse then we thought."

"Do you have any ideas about it?"

"Hardly, just what the man looked like –"

"Wait? You saw him? We just heard him on the radio."

"Hmm," Reeve paused, no doubt thinking quickly. "We're almost to Junon now, we're just getting into Cost de Sol, where are you?"

"It's this button Tifa," Cloud commented, pointing to the zero button.

"Oh, thanks Cloud." Tifa said, pressing the button and bringing it to her ear. "We should be there in about an hour," she said, hoisting her backpack onto her back, grabbing some of the things from the truck: the first aid kit Shera had run around making during their escape from Kalm to Cosmo Canyon, and her small green bag of mastered materia, shoving it quickly into her pocket.

"That'll have to work, it'll have to," Reeve commented hurriedly, rustling heard through the speakers before he disconnected.

"He disconnected," Tifa frowned, handing the phone back to Cloud.

Cis slammed the door, a cigarette between his teeth. "That's Reeve for you, always in a hurry."

Tifa nodded, following the guys down the windy path into Cost de Sol. "That message, it seems to have really unnerved people."

The usually busy city bull of scantily clad beach bums was deserted, the cobbled streets empty and the music from the streets speaker boxes falling silent. Tifa felt on edge walking through the city, feeling eyes looking out of shutters and drapes staring at them. Subconsciously, she moved closer to Cloud, hands into fists, glancing around. On the horizon, the launching docks came into view, the ticket booth before them.

"Four for Junon," Cloud said, approaching the ticket booth.

"What?" The person jumped as they looked over their shoulder, blinking when they saw Cloud. "Ah, AVALANCE it's only you. Everyone's been so worries since that broadcast was sent out half an hour ago. The ferry's on its way back from the Northern Continent, it should be here in half an hour."

Tifa sighed. "That's fine, I guess. Nothing should happen to Reeve in that time, besides, maybe Yuffie will show up . . ."

---

As Reeve disconnected, throwing the phone deep into his pockets, headquarters on the horizon, did he hear it; a whirling sound. Careful not to alert the WRO agent driving the large vehicle, he saw it - a single helicopter heading for Junon. Narrowing his eyes, he took a closer look. It looked like a Dragonfly, but with the WRO symbol on the side.

Shaula, he thought. Only the female scientist had a helicopter.

Reeve shook his head. Shaula . . . all the crap that she'd been through and organs she had recreated, she still sought her meaning to live. Her younger sister, no doubt hadn't survived Meteorfall . . . even if she had Deepground would have destroyed her . . .

Snapping out of his thoughts as the vehicle came to a stop outside the headquarters. Opening the door, Cait jumped lightly to the ground, and following after the robotic cat, Reeve closed the door and started up the steps after the cat. Pushing the main doors open, Reeve was met with a nearly empty hall – that hardly ever happened – and a young girl running down the corridor.

"Commissioner!" she called, saluting him as she came to a halt. "Dr. Rui just got back with Mr. Valentine; she'd like to talk to you immediately. She's down in the labs."

"Shaula's here with Vincent?"

The girl nodded, watching as Reeve past her, Cait waiting at the end of the hallway.

"Shaula and Vincent?" Cait pondered as Reeve caught up with him, pushing the door open. "It must be serious if she brought him . . . not one for partners, she is."

Reeve let out a laugh, nodding. "That must mean one of them found something out."

Their footsteps echoed against the metallic stairwell, Cait's metal steps louder then Reeve's. Two floors down, Cait finally spoke. "What could they have found; a survivor that knows something?"

"I'm not sure," Reeve shook his head. "Tifa said all no one in Edge knew anything, the odd one claiming to hear screams coming from Midgar . . . but that was when Edge's population was over 10,000, no more then 500 are hiding there."

"Maybe they found Yuffie?"

Reeve pondered the question and shook his head. "Why would Yuffie be in Edge? But, knowing Yuffie . . . she could be anywhere, she does tend to pop out of nowhere."

Cait laughed, coming out on the landing. "That's our girl."

"That is," Reeve nodded, opening another door to a small corridor. "But, to be down in the labs, something must have gone wrong in Edge."

The nearest lab door whirled open, the clack of Shaula's high heels giving her away before she emerged. "Reeve, just in time – we need to chat."

Reeve nodded, following the auburn haired woman into the lab, the door whirling shut behind them. "What happened in – is that Vincent?"

In the middle of the room were a line of tanks, a substance of the Lifestream coursing through it. In the tank closest to Reeve, was Vincent, his red cloak fluttering from the Lifestream. "What happened in Edge, Shaula?"

Shaula sighed, sitting down at the computer chair. "They're out and moving. Reeve, the Tsviets are free as well."

Reeve blanked. "You don't mean –"

"I do," Shaula nodded. "The Tsviets are putting the strings here; Rosso the Crimson, Azul the Cerulean, Nero the Sable and their egmatic, nameless leader."

Alongside her, Shuala thought back to Scarlet's charred notes. Shelke the Transparent.

Reeve jolted her out of her thoughts. "What happened to Vincent?"

Shaula looked over at Vincent, and sighing looked back at Reeve. "He ran into Rosso the Crimson – there are no survivors in Edge – and she did that. They're looking for something called the Protomateria – whatever that i – and they believe he has it."

"Protomateria?" Reeve repeated. "What could that be?"

Shaula shook her head. "I'm not sure, it could be anything. Most likely though, it's some kind of materia . . ."

Reeve smirked. "Then they should hunt down Yuffie, god knows she owns half the planet's materia."

"Kisaragi?" Shaula questioned. "She might have, but she didn't have it in Kalm though."

Reeve paused. "You've seen Yuffie?"

"She was at Edge's festival, I found her behind the hotel she was staying at with Valentine. The room was empty thought, except for the Conformer – it's in the helicopter. Deepground got her when she was climbing the fire escape it seems; they caught her in the arm and grazed her leg. She must have fallen from the fire escape to the pavement. After I dealt with Deepground, I dropped Kisaragi off at the Chocobo Ranch, Bridget's looking after her," Shaula shrugged. "No doubt she'll come here when she wakes up."

"Bridget? Bridget Addams?" Reeve rolled his eyes/

Bridget liked nothing more then to be in the center of everything; talking before speaking, not to good at the gun or any weapon. How her and Yuffie could get along . . . he wouldn't know.

"She was the only one around," Shauls read his mind. "Kisaragi will be fine. I'm going to look up the Protomateria . . . if Valentine has it, no doubt it's in Dr. Crescent's papers."

Especially after seeing Chaos . . .

---

Tifa let out a sigh as she leaned on the railing, Cost de Sol disappearing from view as the ship left the harbour. She had a bad feeling about this; they weren't going to make it to Junon in time, they were missing something . . .

"You seem deep in thought, Teef."

Tifa smiled up at Cid. "We're missing something; I can feel it."

"Hmm, I think we have everything," he leaned against the railing.

Tifa laughed. "I don't mean what we packed, I mean we'll be late . . . or something will go wrong . . ."

"You worry too much Tifa," Cid commented, laying a hand on the bartenders' head. "Everything will be okay."

Tifa bit her lip, watching the pilot walk away. "Cid!"

The pilot stopped, looking back at her. "What?"

"What'd Vincent say to you and Red and on Sierra?"

"That one of the big cities will be attacked next; Junon or Wutai probably," Cid shrugged. "Why?"

"No reason." Tifa shook her head, smiling. Cid nodded with a wave and disappeared around the corner. Wutai or Junon; the resort town and the WRO headquarters . . . the WRO headquarters! Blinking, Tifa turned on her heel, running down the deck, before throwing a door open to the cargo bay, flying down the stairs. "CLOUD!"

The blonde paused, the door to where they had fought JENOVA half open to look at the brunette. Tifa stopped in front of the surprised blonde, who placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "What's wrong?"

"I have a feeling that we're not going to make it in time. Something going to go wrong, and what Cid said confirmed it!"

Cloud grinned. "What'd Cid tell you?"

"It's not what Cid said; it's what Vincent told him. Vincent and Cid were talking about Deepground's attack patterns. With Kalm gone, theirs hardly any of the smaller cities left. Vincent told Cid they'd start with the larger cities next, either Wutai or Junon; a tourists trap of the headquarters of the WRO. I think their going to attack Junon, and we're not going to make it in time!"

Cloud grinned. "Don't worry Tifa, it'll all be fine."

Tifa sighed, nodding. That's what everyone's saying though, she thought, starting back up the stairs. She knew something was wrong, she let out a sigh as she opened the door, leaning against the wall. "We're doing something wrong," she muttered. "If only Aeris was here . . ."

No doubt, had the flower girl been here, she'd have been able to convince Cloud of Tifa's doubts and Aeris would have believed her in the first place. Although the blonde didn't blame himself for her death anymore, he still loved her, which made Tifa curious: had Aeris ever loved Cloud? Tifa wasn't sure. Aeris always seemed more interested in the love triangle between herself, Cloud and Tifa, and when questioned about it, she'd just laugh and say she liked Cloud, but Zack would always be her first love. If anyone was knew Aeris' feelings, it'd be Yuffie; the two of them were connected, knowing each other secrets – no doubt Yuffie knew more about Aeris then the rest of them.

Yuffie. . . where had she disappeared too?

Her musing was interrupted as the ships' intercom sprung to life. "We'll be arriving in Junon harbor in five minutes. Please grab your belongings and make your way to the exit. Thank you for riding with us today."

Having her backpack with her, Tifa repositioned it on her back, before heading back to the cabin to meet up with the others before docking. If they waited until the other passengers got off the ship, there'd be less chance of getting separated when thy left the ship, wasting time trying to find each other.

---

"Hurry up, Kisaragi!"

Yuffie gritted her teeth together as she glared across the stream that separated Fort Condor from Junon. Jumping from large stone to large stone, Yuffie rolled her eyes. Oh sure, now that they were so close to Junon, Bridget decided to get all business like by calling her Kisaragi and telling her to hurry up.

But not earlier – of course not.

When they were crossing the Midgar Zolom's territory on foot, Bridget had screamed bloody murder when the shadow came close to her, and raising her gun, shot the sand. That hadn't angered the Zolom at all . . . Granted, then her scream had made their presence known to the group of Deepground soldiers on the mountaintop. That had been a nasty surprise, and an even nastier battle – armed with only a knife and a girl who didn't know hoe to use a gun. Needless to say, they used up a lot of potions. She'd been all 'Oh, sorry Yuffie, I must be slowing you down . . .' So what if she was slowing Bridget down now?

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here," Yuffie grumbled, jumping onto the grass, her sandals all wet.

"Good," Bridget nodded. "Then, let's go! Junopn and the HQ are right in front of us!"

Yuffie rolled her eyes as she followed after her. What a drill sergeant she could be when things were going her way – annoying girl.

Running across the Junon plains, the two girls approached the expanding city, passing into the city limits within no time. As they made their way swiftly through the lower level, Yuffie slowed to a walk then a stop. Bridget, not seeing Yuffie stop, kept running and disappeared around the corner. Yuffie's storm grey eyes looked around her surroundings. She didn't have a watch on her, but it couldn't have been anymore then four in the afternoon. Where was everyone? The houses all looked intact . . . so Deepground couldn't have been here . . . but what? Not seeing any movement from the houses, Yuffie continues forward slowly, ears straining for a sound, eyes roving the streets, feeling very vulnerable with only a small knife and no potions.

She cursed Bridget in her mind.

Footsteps on the cobbled street made her stop.

She turned on her heel, the footsteps coming from behind her, around the corner.

Grasping her knife tightly, Yuffie held her breath as she crept towards the buildings' edge, she could hear voices.

"Is that what he told you?"

"Nearly 12,000 gone, not the reported 500."

"Stupid damn reporters – they blow everything out of proportion."

Yuffie nodded at their words, leaning heavily against the building. Trying to control her breathing, Yuffie listened to the approaching footsteps on the street.

"I just hope Reeve's here."

Yuffie's ears perked up at the mention of Reeve, so they were after him . . .

Pausing, holding up her knife, Yuffie pushed herself off the wall and around the corner, knife in front of her.

Her knife clattered to the ground. "Tifa? Tifa!"

Smiling at the surprised bartended as she quickly made her way towards Tifa, throwing her arms around her.

"Yuffie . . ." Tifa said, patting the younger ninja on the shoulder before giving her a hug. "Where have you been?"

Yuffie smiled as she let go of Tifa; she sounded just like a mom. "I've been at the Chocobo Ranch since the Kalm incident."

"The Chocobo Ranch; why were you there?" Tifa asked, pushing her hair out of the way.

"Hate to break this up, but we've got to get moving," Cid said, stamping out his current cigarette while fishing out another from his coat. "Hey Yuffie."

Yuffie waved at him. "Did you guys hear that message? That was really creepy!"

Tifa nodded in agreement. "We heard that too, do you know what they meant by that pure stuff?"

Yuffie shook her head, frowning. "No idea, I tried to figure it out, my partner wasn't any help though."

"Your partner, you mean Vincent?"

"I have no idea where Vincent is, I never made it to out hotel room . . . I got shot."

Tifa stopped, eyes narrowed. "Yuffie, you got shot? Did Vincent . . . ?"

"NO!" Yuffie shouted, whirling around, her eyes blazing. "I haven't seen Vincent since he left the festival early. I was shot climbing the hotel's fire escape by two Deepground soldiers. One shot my arm, the other grazed my leg. I assume I'm lucky they didn't hit any bone."

"Oh my . . . Yuffie!" Before Yuffie could blink, Tifa had already grasped Yuffie's shoulder, holding the ninja at arms length, wine coloured eyes looking her over.

"I'm okay Tifa," Yuffie murmured, trying to push the bartenders' hands away.

"How are you okay? You don't have any Cure materia . . . was someone with you? How'd you get to the Chocobo Ranch? Were –" Tifa was cut off as Cloud laid a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head when the bartender looked at him.

"You better tell us or Tifa will keep after you – but, tell us as we walk."

Yuffie smiled at Cloud, linking her arm with Tifa's as they started through lower Junon. "From what I understand, Shaula found me and dragged me off to the Chocobo Ranch before she went off to do whatever it is she does."

"She left you alone?" Tifa cut in with a glare.

Yuffie laughed. "She left me with this girl named Bridget. She came here with me after that broadcast was transmitted, but I lost her somewhere. Good riddance thought, jeez, she was a hell of a lot of trouble. She tried to shoot the Midgar Zolom through the sand and then screamed bloody murder – which alerted Deepground and they attacked us from the rocky overpass. Oh, she says hi Tifa; turns out she was Bigg's sister."

"Oh really?" Tifa blinked. "I haven't seen her since she was twelve. What about you, Barret?"

"The larger man shrugged. "I thought she died when the plate fell."

"That's mean," Yuffie scrunched her nose up, glaring at Barret as they got onto the lift for Upper Junon. "What happened here, where is everyone?" Yuffie asked, absently scratching Red's head.

"You don't know?"

"Obviously not."

"They all disappeared four months ago," Cid said, dropping his cigarette over the lifts' edge. "Reporters said it was only 500 and they moved on, but it was really 12,000 and Deepground's doing."

"12,000?! That's insane!" Yuffie yelled as the lift came to a stop. "What's Deepground doing with all those people?"

"We don't know," Tifa said, frowning.

"Hey! Do you think that has something to do with the broadcast, all the pure, unpure stuff?" Yuffie asked, piecing everything together.

"It might," Cloud shrugged. "You should ask Reeve." Loud footsteps sounded against the cobbled floor, making Cloud's eye narrow. "Someone's coming, be on your guard."

"Someone's coming?" Tifa asked, drawing her hands into fists.

"Damn," Yuffie grumbled, reaching for her knife.

Tifa's glance flickered to Yuffie. "Here, just give them back," Tifa grinned, dropping a couple balls of mastered materia into Yuffie's hand.

"No problem Tifa," Yuffie said, placing the glowing orbs into her arm guard.

Holding their various weapons out, they blinked when a WRO agent came running around the corner; hands on their knees and out of breath.

"Bridget?" Yuffie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's Bridget?" Tifa whispered, eyeing the girl.

Bridget looked up, brown hair covering her eyes. "Yuffie – they . . . Deepground's attacking headquarters!"

"What?!"

"The Commissioner, Dr. Rui and Mr. Valentine are trying to hold them off –"

"Vincent's here?"

"Take us there, " Cloud commanded, stepping forward.

Bridget nodded and turning on her heel, ran quickly back the way she came, disappearing around the corner. Storing their weapons back where they got them from, the group started after Bridget.

---

Okay, so Bridget's actually a character seen during Chapter 8 of DoC. When your fighting DG soldiers with a bunch of WRO soldiers, a girl tells you about her brother and the plate falling. I decided to use her as Biggs sister, so there.
Secondly, I'm working on what should happen during Chapter 8, since I'm not novelizing the game, any ideas what do with the other characters is cool, I don't know what to do yet. Chapters might be slow to come out, as I have had lots of interviews lately, and might have landed a super busy job, so bear with me, kay?