Ventus was unable to hide his smile as he made his way through the bustling streets of Twilight Town during the sunset hour, hand-in-hand with his favorite person on the way to dinner.

He gave Jasmine's hand a squeeze as the pair weaved their way through the crowds. "Hurry up," he teased. "I'm starving, it's chilly outside, and you promised me dessert."

Jasmine felt her face begin to tingle and her cheeks turn a light shade of pink. Though she had been used to Ventus' affectionate nature (the handholding, forehead kisses, the hugging) it held a different meaning now that they had this new arrangement. And while they generally kept the PDA to the bare minimum when they were on Radiant Garden and the Destiny Islands, whenever they took a trip to Twilight Town or other places outside of SOLDIER's (or Noctis') reach, Ventus took full advantage of their seclusion and treated their relationship as if it were that:

An actual romantic relationship.

"Ven," Jasmine called out, "are you sure we should be open like this?"

The blond stopped dead in his tracks once they reached a crosswalk, causing Jasmine to bump into him with a heavy thud. When he turned around, Jasmine was caught off guard by Ventus staring down at her, his bright blue eyes locked with hers, and a mischievous smile that left her breathless. He laughed and pulled her close so that they were chest to chest.

"What? Are you embarrassed of me?" He teased, relishing in one of the rare moments where he was able to catch THE Jasmine Valentine off guard.

Jasmine's face turned an even brighter shade of red. "No! It's not that," she insisted, noticing the stares and attention she and Ven were getting from onlookers. "I-It's just – "

Ventus cut her off. "I know we can't do all this back home so, if you're okay with it, we should have a little fun here. Besides, you SHOULD be spoiled out in the open."

Jasmine was speechless and could only muster a small smile in response to Ventus' flattery.

Even though the pair maintained that their relationship was purely physical in nature, sometimes Jasmine had a hard time deciphering what was real and what was for show. There were some days where she knew they were just friends who casually hooked up, but there were others where she felt that maybe it was something more. And while Jasmine was good at keeping herself in check by not allowing herself to fall for Ven and his charming nature, she couldn't help but give in to Ven when he was like this and let her imagination take her elsewhere.

"Fine," she relinquished, looking away quickly in an attempt to gain some composure. Jasmine inhaled sharply before she turned to face Ventus again. "We can have some fun."

Just as the crosswalk light turned green Ventus leaned forward and stole a kiss from Jasmine. Flustered from the spontaneousness of the action, Jasmine felt delirious by the time Ventus pulled away from her. She linked arms with the blond and followed closely as he guided her across the street and through the throngs of people out on this bustling, late summer's eve.

"You know," Ventus began casually, "I kinda like it here."

"Really?" She asked, surprised by his statement. Twilight Town was no different from the Destiny Islands or Radiant Garden save for the fact that it wasn't as affluent as those islands. Jasmine had always known Ven to like places that were unique, different, and even less modern as it were. After all, that's why he stayed as long as he did in Traverse Town.

"Yeah really," he replied with a smile. "This city has its own energy. It's really peaceful here."

Jasmine smiled warmly at the thought of her hometown. If it weren't for the fact that she moved to the Destiny Islands because of that scholarship, there was a strong chance that she would've never left Twilight Town. In fact, before everything that happened with Vanitas, she thought about applying to the university out here. But with the history of her time with Riku, her entrance into SOLDIER, as well as her nearly dying in her childhood home, Jasmine thought those days of coming back to Twilight Town were just a distant memory.

"I agree. I miss it sometimes," she admitted.

Ventus squeezed Jasmine's hand, excited to see that the restaurant was getting closer and closer into view.

"I've been thinking," Ventus began slowly.

Jasmine waited anxiously for Ventus to go on. "Yes…?"

Ventus pulled Jasmine closer to him as they walked, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I was thinking, once your mission was finished, maybe we could move here. I know SOLDIER has a branch here and we could always go back and forth between Twilight Town and Radiant Garden."

Jasmine's heart skipped a beat.

While Ven had joked about the idea before in the past, this time he seemed more serious about it.

"The university here is great," he added. "If you wanted, you could take a leave of absence and finish off your degree and we could make the move here. Or if you wanted to, we could stay in Radiant Garden, you could finish there, and then move this way. It's up to you really."

"Ven…" Her heart fluttered at the idea. "That's crazy."

Ventus paused when he and Jasmine reached the restaurant, pausing when they got to the entrance leading up to it. "I know. But there's gonna be life after SOLDIER, at least this part of it. You're good at what you do, and I know they'd love to keep you around. But even if you chose to leave, there are other options for you besides SOLDIER."

Jasmine laughed and turned away from Ven. "Don't let Noctis hear you talk like that. He'd kill you."

Ven placed his hands around Jasmine's waist and pulled her close, staring softly into her bright hazel/gold eyes. "Do I look like I care? I just want to be with the person I care about most. Whether we're just friends or doing what we're doing now or something else. It doesn't matter."

Unable to place her feelings, Jasmine shifted her gaze away from Ventus.

These were the moments that threw her for a loop.

While they had both been adamant about squashing any and all thoughts of romance, it seemed that as time went on Ven became more flirtatious than he had been in the past. And even though Jasmine had long ago killed the idea of pursuing anything romantic with Ventus (due to his lingering feelings for Aqua), every now and then the idea would creep back up and she would wonder "what if?" for the boy.

Ventus noticed the concerned look on her face and offered a rueful smile. "Too much?"

Jasmine laughed awkwardly. "Not exactly," she answered carefully. "I guess in a way I'm not used to thinking about the future anymore. I kinda just live day by day," she finished.

"As I said before, you're going to get through this," Ventus reassured her. "And when you do, you've got someone here that's always gonna have your back. Even on the hard days."

"Aww," Jasmine said, trying to stifle the wave of emotions that flowed through her. "You really are the best person I know."

Ven chuckled. "I could say the same about you."

"You'd give up your traveling ways to settle down in Twilight Town with me? Weren't you the one who told me you didn't want to stay in one place for more than a year?"

"I guess I did say that," Ventus mused. "But things change. Besides, And if I have to settle down anywhere in a new place, what better person to do that with than my favorite person. As long as we go together, nothing else matters."

Jasmine was once again without words, this time she was unable to find anything to say in response to Ventus' declaration.

Instead, she stood up on her toes and kissed Ven, right in plain view for all to see.

"You're right. As long as we go together, nothing else matters…"

End of Flashback

Jasmine's body ached as she ran through the Third District plaza, swearing that she'd get Xigbar back for throwing her off the bridge and stripping her of her sole means of blocking out the smoke.

She weaved her way through the overcrowded and chaotic Third District plaza, hoping to find a set of stairs or a ladder that could get her to higher ground.

While she ran she tried to focus on escaping but she couldn't completely block out everything going on around her. She saw grown men and women attacking and brutally murdering each other with common household items, children screaming out for their parents, and dozens and dozens of dead (or presumed dead) bodies lying about on the floor, the cause of death either from murder or smoke inhalation or burns.

She barreled through groups of people she recognized, her heart aching all the way.

This was a far cry from the peaceful town she'd come to know and love.

Covering her face with the sleeve of her coat, Jasmine tried her best to not inhale the fumes. She knew that being exposed to the gas was starting to wear on her and even if she could only barely cover her face, she had to do it. At least until she got to higher ground.

Just when Jasmine thought she found a fire escape ladder, she was yanked back and yelped out in pain as she was tossed to the ground.

When she came to, she spotted the accessory shop owner from the First District standing over her with a look of anger and bloodlust in his eyes.

"YOU!" He roared, his wild expression screaming bloodlust. "I'm gonna kill you!"

Jasmine's eyes widened when she saw a machete coming at her and ducked and rolled out of harm's way. She teared up as she pulled out her gun and backed away from the shop keeper. This man was one of the first people she met in Traverse Town. He gifted her with various trinkets specific to the town, had offered her a place to stay the night she arrived, and even had his wife cook her dinner. Now he seemed to be a completely different human who had no idea who she was or what was going on.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she fired a shot and hit his thigh away from any major organs.

The man howled in pain as he went down and Jasmine ran back towards the ladder she found earlier.

It was then that Jasmine realized from this point forward, she'd have to fight her way through.

Lucky for her she knew exactly where to shoot if need be.

But the truth was, she didn't want to shoot any of them at all.

Just when Jasmine was close, she saw another one of the townspeople fly towards her with a kitchen knife in hand. Remembering her combat training, Jasmine sidestepped the woman and knocked her in the back of the head with her gun, knocking the woman unconscious indefinitely. She secretly hoped that the woman would be alright, but kept it moving.

Jasmine yelped when she felt something slice through her left shoulder. She whirled around and saw a huge rip through her jacket and blood slowly soak through the many layers of clothing she had on. When Jasmine spotted her assailant, a frail elderly man, she gripped her gun but hesitated to shoot him as she'd recognized him as well.

He was the owner of a restaurant near the middle of the plaza that she and Ventus frequented often whenever they spent time in Traverse Town. He was always so kind to her. He even nicknamed her the "Pretty SOLDIER Girl" after she'd stopped a group of boys from shaking down the old man and his young daughter.

She didn't want to hurt him.

But she knew she'd have to if she wanted to escape.

Just as she raised her gun, a woman flew in between them and he wildly slashed his knife to protect himself. Before Jasmine could get away, the old man sliced the young woman's throat, sending her blood flying all over himself and Jasmine.

Jasmine froze cold on the spot, unable to process what just happened.

Not only had this man killed a woman with a knife, but now they were both covered head to toe in her thick, warm blood.

Jasmine had to stifle her urge to throw up on the spot.

Instead, she fired another shot and hit the main in his right leg, causing him to fall. Once he was down she kicked the knife out of his hand and pressed on.

The raven-haired girl immediately recognized the girl as his young daughter and felt her heart twist into a thick knot. Fighting back tears in her eyes, she knocked the elderly man out by striking him in the back of the head. She just hoped that if he woke up from this with his senses regained, that he wouldn't remember any of this.

Jasmine hoped that if this all stopped that no one would remember their actions.

In cases like this, not knowing exactly what happened would be the saving grace for everyone here.

Even if it didn't seem like it at the moment.

Jasmine wiped the blood from her face with her sleeve and winced, forgetting a second that the restaurant owner injured her. Fortunately, it was just her left arm and not her right (as she primarily shot with her right hand) but she was now at a slight disadvantage. Being hurt while trying to make her way through the city only made her job harder and as time went on, it was becoming harder to breathe and see. If she didn't get out of here soon, there was a very strong chance that she wouldn't make it.

A pair of hands grabbed the back of Jasmine's shoulders and she shrieked, immediately shoving the person away. When Jasmine drew her gun, her eyes widened in shock when she found herself staring directly into a familiar pair of clear, bright blue eyes.

"Ven," she breathed, immediately bursting into tears at the sight of her friend. Jasmine wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight, forgetting for just a moment where she was.

Ven pulled back first and kissed Jasmine's cheek, looking like he was about to tear up himself.

"Are you hurt?" He asked as he looked her over.

"Just a bit," she admitted. "But I'm fine. Are you safe? Where's Terra?"

Ventus' expression darkened and Jasmine felt her stomach drop.

"They took him," he announced.

Jasmine's face paled. "That was their plan," she explained, watching his eyes widen in horror. "They're gonna take all of us. You, me, Aqua, Axel, Terra…I don't know exactly what they're gonna do but Xigbar said that they're gonna turn us into something."

"Dammit," Ven swore. "Well, that's not gonna happen. We gotta move. Now."

Ven took hold of Jasmine's hand and raced towards the escape route away from the townspeople.

Elated, Jasmine couldn't believe that Ventus had managed to find her in all this.

He kept his promise.

He said he would find her.

Jasmine stared at the back of his head, struggling to keep up with the blond.

Though Noctis was often regarded as the strongest next-generation SOLDIER member, Ventus was the fastest. No one could beat him in terms of speed, not even the prince. After all, his name literally meant "wind", a name quite fitting for his talent. When he fought, he was fast and agile, making him extremely dangerous. The few times she'd watched Ventus spar with other SOLDIER members, the fight was always over just as quickly as it started. That's what made Ventus such a stand-out, capable member.

Even now, Jasmine knew Ventus was holding back for her sake.

A fact that she hated.

"Up ahead," Ventus told her. "Axel is waiting for us. We just have to get up to the second level."

"I found them!" A shrill voice called out, stopping Jasmine and Ventus in their tracks.

The pair looked up and saw Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo staring down at them from a platform overhead. The trio, like the other SHINRA members, all donned black cloaks from head to toe, only pulling up their gas masks slightly to get a good look at Ventus and Jasmine. The group stared at them menacingly with Loz holding something suspicious in his hand.

"Too bad about your friend Terra," Kadaj cooed, aiming that comment towards Ven. "Don't worry. You guys are coming with us and you can have a little family reunion."

Ven pushed Jasmine behind him in an attempt to protect her. "That's not gonna happen," he snapped.

"Is that the little Valentine?" Loz called out, eyes fixated on her. "She lasted longer than we thought she would."

Kadaj stepped forward, taking a good look at her before smirking. He noticed her heavy breathing, blood-soaked clothes, and poor color in her face. She would be a much easier target now that she'd inhaled the smoke and fought off the townspeople.

Just like they thought she would be.

"You really do look just like your parents did that day," he said mockingly. "I bet you wish you had joined them, don't you?"

Jasmine narrowed her eyes and fired at Kadaj and the others, only narrowly missing the three and grazing the ground they stood on.

"Nice try kiddo," Kadaj laughed. "No matter what, you're still the same little kid from all those years ago – guns and all."

Before Jasmine could reply, she saw Loz hurled the item he was holding (which greatly resembled a bomb) towards the pair. She grabbed Ventus by his arm and tried to get away from the area, realizing that the danger they were in. But once the "item" hit the floor, the same gas that had hung over the town flooded from the device and immediately took hold of both Jasmine and Ven.

The pair of SOLDIERs fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for breath. Jasmine, having taken in a great deal of the gas from the beginning, felt her vision start to blur and her body weaken significantly. She could barely make out the world around her, with the only thing she could make out being Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo's laughter as well as Ven's haggard coughs.

Knowing that there was nothing she could do Jasmine sank to her knees and closed her eyes.

There was no way she was going to get out of this.

She couldn't see.

She could barely breathe.

She was injured.

She and Ventus were surrounded.

Ven was most likely incapacitated as well, or on his way to being so.

Axel and the others were nowhere to be found.

It was hopeless.

As she let herself slip into the darkness, she found herself wrapped in a familiar, warm embrace.

She smiled as the tears began to stream down her face.

Even though Jasmine was almost unconscious, she would know Ventus anywhere.

"I'm sorry, Ven," she apologized, her voice becoming much more strained. "I don't wanna fight with you anymore."

Ventus, who was succumbing to the gas himself, held onto Jasmine for dear life. She looked so weak like the life was being drained from her with each passing second. She was straining to stay awake and alert but she wasn't going to last much longer.

"I don't wanna fight either," he whispered sadly. "I'm sorry. None of this would've happened if I didn't pick a fight with you."

Jasmine rested her head in the crook of Ventus' arm, finding peace at the moment despite the danger they were in.

Then, the reality set in.

There was a strong chance that they might actually not make it out of this one.

They'd always been lucky but this time, their luck might have just run out.

"Don't apologize," she said in a raspy voice, "at least we get to go together."

"Jasmine," Ventus stressed, "don't talk like that," he pleaded.

Jasmine's head began to spin and she clung to the front of Ven's shirt, feeling the little charm necklace they'd often fought over underneath it. "I already told you," she inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and finding herself slipping into darkness. "I don't care anymore. Remember what I said to you?"

Ventus gave Jasmine a hard shake. She was fading fast and Kadaj and the others were on their way. "Jasmine," Ventus begged, "you have to stay up! Please!"

"I can't," she argued weakly. "But it's okay. As long as we go together, nothing else matters. I meant it."

As Jasmine slipped into unconsciousness, Ven's heart ached. He knew that the two of them weren't going to get out of this.

Not this time.

Ven wiped the tears from his eyes and stared at Jasmine's face.

He sank to his knees and held Jasmine against him with one arm. With the other, he tore off the necklace he was wearing and stashed it into Jasmine's coat pocket. He smiled to himself, kissed her forehead, and squeezed her tightly as if this time would be the last.

Ven's eyes widened when, behind Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo was a familiar redhead speeding towards them in the distance.

'Axel,' he realized.

Ven stole another glance at Jasmine.

There was no way Axel could make it out of there with the both of them. After all, Jasmine had collapsed and Ven was on his way to being right there with her.

He smiled ruefully and reached for the gun he had in the back of his pants.

'I'm sorry, Jasmine,' he thought sadly. 'We won't be going together. You're going home.'

Just as quickly, Ventus was knocked off balance when Jasmine was ripped away from him by Loz and Yazoo.

Ven fell back but swiftly drew his gun. His eyes darted to Axel, who was now close enough to rescue Jasmine from Loz and Yazoo. He smiled, trusting that Axel knew what to do, and fired two shots. One aimed at Yazoo's arm, wounding him, and the other shot directly hitting Loz in the skull, killing him on the spot.

Ven smirked at the chaos he'd just caused.

While Ventus hated the idea of taking a life, Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo were terrorists and had been at the top of SOLDIER's kill list for many years now. He and the others had been given instructions that, if engaged, they were to kill all three of them on the spot. He was just following orders.

And, to top things off, those three were the ones who killed Jasmine's parents and set her house on fire with her inside. If it meant getting rid of at least one of them and stopping them all from potentially harming her in the future, then that was something Ventus didn't mind having on his conscience.

It was, as her friend and ally, the very least he could do given that he couldn't completely protect her.

Ventus' gun was kicked out of his hand and he found himself being dragged away from the scene. He looked up and saw Xigbar and an enraged Kadaj dragging him off but smiled in satisfaction as Axel overtook a weakened Yazoo and carried Jasmine to safety. Now that his friend was in good hands, he allowed himself to fall into unconsciousness himself.

'Noctis,' he thought before drifting off into the darkness, 'you'd better take care of her.'


Author's Note: Hey guys! I hope you're doing well and staying safe. 2021 is off to a wild start but I'm hopeful that you are all still safe and healthy despite all of the actual chaos going on in the world.

I wanted to thank all of you for 1. keeping up and 2. continuing to support me and the story. I was thinking about it the other day (about fanfiction as a whole) and the whole landscape changed so much in the past ten plus years I've been on the site (I even started earlier under a different name for those of you who remember THAT embarrassing period) and I'm still shocked that you guys are still hanging in there. It's appreciated, that's for sure.

hopefuldreamer1991: Thank you for that. Sometimes it's hard to sit down and write but it's nice to have others like you who support me. Here's hoping that all of us feel/experience love, happiness, success, peace and so much more in 2021. And yes, Ven does have a habit of doing things that really could stand to wait a bit. But then again, he is impulsive. We still love him tho and Axel lol.

rawrrbreee: I did actually! I took a mini-vacation at home and honestly it was everything I needed. And thank you for extending a hand/listening ear. Honestly, you and others have been some of the main ones to help me keep my head on straight last year because it was a hot mess on so many levels and it definitely reflected in my writing for sure. In regards to the honesty thing, you speak the truth. If all these characters just sat down and were open, we wouldn't have all these communication issues. But it's realistic and it makes for great story fodder so here we are haha.

ME: I hope you liked the chapter :)

meyoume: Of course! Thank YOU for continuing to read and support this story.

I wanted to know what you guys thought of the last chapter. Reading all your messages and responses is truly one of the highlights of my day and I appreciate all of you. This is FOR SURE the last of the Panic portion and we've headed into a different story arc altogether. Like I said, idk if this will have to be a four-series story (we'll see how that goes) but we shall see. Anywho, let me know what you guys think and I'll be working on the new chapter tonight. I have pieces written of the next three chapters (honestly I was so excited to get to this part that I wrote out sections months ago) and I hope you guys enjoy.

Take care and see you next time!