"Sir, it appears they all disappeared without a trace."

"Without a trace? Nothing left behind?"

"No sir, the bar appears to be abandoned."

"Very well, you are dismissed, soldier."

"Yes, sir."

As she heard footsteps nearing the door, Jessie rushed back to her desk, arriving in her seat just as Caleb Hatcher walked out of the room.

"Well, well, if it isn't the prettiest gal in all of Junon. How's it goin', Grace?" With a cocky smile, Caleb strode self-assuredly over to her desk.

"I-I'm good, how are you?" Argh! Why do I always sound like a geek when I talk to him?!

"Fine and dandy. So how come you never came by? I mean, it's been at least three days since I saw you." Jessie couldn't help but look down as she felt his eyes skimming over her.

"Oh, umm…well I've been pretty busy here with the General. He's trying to decide whether to go help General Strife track down Avalanche or stay and lead the next attack on the Wutain forces." He's looking at me, oh dear, he's looking at me on his own free will.

"Oh, right. I hope he decides to come help us at the battle. It's gonna be a bitch."

"Y…you're going to be fighting in it?"

"Yup!"

"Oh…" No! Don't feel sorry about him! He's the enemy! He's scum! Don't worry about him!

"Ah…don't worry, I'll be sure to come back alive just to see you." At this she did look up and catch his eye, which he winked at her.

"I- I'm not worried! I mean, I am worried, but not specifically for you! I'm worried for anyone that has to fight in this battle!" Good move, you've got the hottest guy you've ever seen talking to you, and then you say you aren't worried about him. What would your mother say…

"Oh," his voice sounded almost downcast. "Well then, I better be going, I don't want to keep you away from your work. See ya, Grace." With that, he slowly left the room, leaving behind a speechless, and rather embarrassed Jessie.

"YOU IDIOT!" Throwing down the papers she held in her hand, she smacked her forehead. Hard.

"Grace? Something the matter?" In all the excitement of another visit from Caleb, Jessie had failed to notice that General Zack Briggs had entered the room.

"Oh, no, sir! Nothing!" Her arms flailing, she tried to resume a position that made it at least look like she was working,

"Well then, Grace, pack your bags. We're leaving."

"Sir?"

"You and I are going to Wutai, along with a few soldiers. President Shinra believes it would best if I meet with Lord Godo to discuss plans for a peace treaty."

"A peace treaty? Does that mean the President wants the war to end?"

Then, for the first time in all the months that Jessie had known him, General Briggs chuckled. "Oh, dear, no. It'll be good for Shinra's reputation. We have no intention of ending this war before we've thoroughly thrashed those dirty Wutains. Now hurry up, our plane leaves in two hours. I expect to meet you at the air base in no less than an hour and a half." Then, with a nod, he strode out of the room.

"An hour and a half? I don't have enough time!"

***

The girl in room 783 of the Midgar Plaza Hotel was sick of the ringing. She had been trying to sleep, and she was doing a pretty darn good job at it, until her cell phone had begun ringing of the hook. It was getting rather irritating, and it obvious that she wasn't going to get any sleep until she answered it, so she did just that.

"H…"yawn. "Hello?"

"Alli?"

"Oh, Rufus, what do you want? I was sleepin' you know!"

"Sorry," her cousin's voice sounded a little uncertain.

"So, did you want anything?"

"I…I just wanted to make sure you're taking care of yourself."

"Ah, ain't that sweet. Well, I', taking damn good care of myself. Got myself a nice hotel room, and I already made a new friend. So, if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to sleep. Goodbye Rufus."

"No, Alli wait!"

"What is it?" She tried hard to put the infamous Shinra ice tone in her voice, but she felt it sounded a little silly coming from her.

"Please, I just want to talk."

"So talk."

"Well…I guess I want to apologize for my behavior the other day. I was having an extremely tense day and I didn't mean the things I said to you."

"Mm-hmm."

"Seriously! And well, I thought, maybe we could meet up sometime. Discuss maybe you coming to work here?"

"Working? At Shinra? Ha! Don't make me laugh."

"Well excuse me for trying to be nice. Besides, why shouldn't you work at Shinra? After all you are a Shinra."

"Well, no offense Rufie, but your company is evil."

"Oh really? Alli, don't tell me you're siding with those Avalanche losers, are you?"

"No, I'm siding with the innocent victims of the pointless war that you insist must go on. Tell me, what are you gaining from this war?"

"Well, when we win-"

"How do you know you will?"

"Will what? Will win? I guess I don't know, I'm just being optimistic about it."

"Yes, you always were the optimist. Well, if you don't mind, I'll be hanging up now. Goodbye Rufus."

***

It was a sunny day in Junon, and Yuffie couldn't help but smile at all the busy pedestrians that swarmed the downtown area. She looked down at them from the safety and comfort of her hotel room on the fifth floor of the Château Royal. It seemed that everyone was shopping for the holidays today.

She sighed at the reminder of how close it was to Christmas. It just didn't feel like it, and she was so far from home. She couldn't help but wonder if she would even be home by Christmas, if she would be alive at Christmas.

Argh! Don't think like that! Gawd, you are such a pessimist. You are going to be home and alive for Christmas. You are going to be home and alive for Christmas. You are going to be home and alive for Christmas. You are-

"Hey Yuffie!" Tifa's voice interrupted her thoughts, as the older women bounced into the room she shared with Zoë, Yuffie and Aeris.

"Hi Tifa," she smiled the brunette as she always did. She couldn't help it; Tifa's cheerful disposition was contagious.

"So, me and some of the others are going out to check the place out; wanna come?"

"Oh…I dunno Tifa, isn't it kinda dangerous? I mean, we are in Junon after all."

Tifa waved her hand in front of her face as if that were nothing. "Nah, we're far enough into the heart of the city that they won't notice us. Please?"

"Well…"

"James is coming."

"…what's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing. So you in or out?"

"Hmm…" she thought for a moment longer before replying. "In."

"Yea!"

***

"What is it with you girls and shopping?" Reno asked the three females that were dragging him into yet another shop.

"What is it with you boys and not shopping?" Tifa countered, grinning at the Turk.

He merely shrugged and stated, "We have better things to do."

"Such as?" She pulled open the door to the shopping center, with the others following her in.

The 'others' included the Yuffie, Aeris, Reno, James, and Biggs. For the past hour, they had walked around the city, trying to pick up pieces of conversations that may give them a hint as to what was up.

After about forty-five minutes of that, the girls had gotten bored and decided to check out some shops, dragging the guys along with them.

"Such as…checking out girls. Watching football. Eating. Stuff like that."

"…ok Reno." Rolling her eyes, she ran to catch up with Yuffie and Aeris, who had gotten a lead on the group.

Reno looked over at the two other guys and shrugged. "Why're we letting them drag us around on a leash? C'mon, let's go to a bar or something."

***

Jessie hurried about her small apartment, throwing clothes and such into her suitcase that lay open on her bed.

"Gawd! Its not like he didn't know about this ahead of time, so why did he just now tell me? An hour and a half? To pack? That man is so irritating!"

A few minutes later, she actually had everything packed. Although she was positive she had ruined her new sweater in the process. Hesitantly, she checked her watch. Only fifteen minutes to spare.

"Crap, I better get a move on!"

***

"Hey, I think Jessie's living somewhere around here," Biggs said aloud, not really caring that none of the others were paying attention to him.

He, along with Reno and James, were wandering aimlessly around the city of Junon after ditching the girls at a store. Reno and James were deep in conversation of some sort, and Biggs was getting very bored very fast.

"Do you guys know how to get back to the hotel?"

The other's conversation halted immediately.

"You don't?" James's voice was a little shaky.

"Hey, I'm following you two."

"Uh-oh…"

***

Jessie was in a bigger rush than she could ever remember being in before. Quickly looking both ways before crossing the busy intersection, she continued her sprint through downtown Junon. She had considered taking a cab, but at this time of day at this of year, traffic was practically at a stand still.

I didn't even have time to try and contact the others! I hope their- DAMN IT!

Before she could finish her train of thought, she slammed into an unsuspecting pedestrian.

"Damn it!" That two-word phrase was quickly becoming one of her favorites. "Doesn't anyone watch where they're going in this town?"

"Sorry Jess, I doubt Reno meant any harm." Quickly, she looked away from the spilled contents of her suitcase, and saw the familiar, cocky grin of Biggs looking down at her.

"Biggs!!!"

"Hey Jessie-girl." He out-stretched his hand to her, helping her up. "Where are you off to in such a rush?"

"The militaries air base. I'm going with General Briggs to Wutai for a peace talk."

"Peace talk?" Reno stepped over to the two, curiosity painted all over his face.

"Um…it's not what you'd think. Shin-"

"Shinra's just trying to make their appearance look better, right?" She nodded. "Bastards. Oh, I'm Reno by the way."

"Hello, I'm Jessie. You're right about Shinra, how'd you know?"

"I'm sort of a Turk."

"Oh." She turned to the last member of the group. "And you would be?"

"James. Nice to meet you miss."

"Just Jessie. So where are you guys going?"

"We're just wandering around trying to find our hotel again. You know the rest about where we intend to go."

"Right, well I have to hurry, so maybe I'll see you in Wutai. Bye!"

***

"Guess who we saw," Biggs stated as soon as he entered the hotel room he shared with Wedge and Barret.

"Who?" Wedge asked rather uninterestedly from where he lay on his bed.

"Jessie."

"Really?" Suddenly, he seemed interested. "Where? What'd she say? Where is she now?"

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down there buddy. We rain into her, well, Reno ran into her on the street. She said that she was headed towards the airbase because she had to accompany General Briggs on some trip to Wutai where they'll be conducting some bogus peace talks."

"Bogus?"

"Yeah, Shinra's just trying to get the image looking better."

Barret, who had remained silent through all this, finally spoke up. "Damn Shinra."

"Yeah," Biggs swore lightly. "Damn Shinra. Hey are the girls home yet?"

"…they didn't come back with you three?"

"No…"

***

"Ok, we are officially lost!" Aeris shook her head from her seat on the street bench while Yuffie and Tifa frantically ran around.

"No," she replied to the Avalanche leader's comment. "We aren't lost. We're in Junon. Do either of you two remember what street our hotel was on?"

Yuffie, exasperated and rather annoyed, turned to look at her. "If we knew that, do you think we'd still be out here in the cold?!"

"Yuffie, I was just asking, And its not at all cold out here."

"Sure, maybe not for you! You've got a long dress on! I've shorts and a tank top over here! Let's just go and ask someone where the hell we are!"

"Yuffie!" Tifa interjected before the Cetra could make another comment. "I'm sorry that we're lost. I know its cold out, but standing around complaining isn't going to do us any good! Come on, let's go find a pay phone." With a word more, she began walking down the dimly lit street.

Yuffie and Aeris followed suit, falling into step a few paces behind Tifa.

"What goods a phone gonna do us if we have no idea where we are?" The ninja asked the Cetra, not caring that she didn't receive an answer.

A few moments passed before any of them said anything else, and it was Aeris that spoke up. "Have any of guys noticed the buildings that we're passing look an awful lot alike…"

"So?" Tifa asked from ahead.

"Hey! Now that you mention it, these buildings look a lot like the soldier's barracks back in Wutai."

That halted all three of them.

"Wait, soldier's barracks? Wouldn't those be on the military grounds though?" Tifa asked.

"Well, yeah."

"But then how come we didn't come across any big fences or guards or things like that?"

"Well, it takes time to build a base, especially in a city. They probably just have night watchmen."

"Which, what, were on a coffee break when we some how stumbled in here?"

"Well they don't have enough men to form a full circle around the place! Maybe we got lucky and crossed when they were out of site."

"So then," Aeris interrupted. "What's to stop us from getting found? I mean our luck has to ran out sometime."

They just stood there, looking at each other, until suddenly a voice hollered out, "Hey! Who are you? You shouldn't be here!"

Yuffie immediately turned to Aeris. "You just had to say it!"

All of a sudden , a swarm of six soldiers had them surrounded.

"Well, well. What do we have here? Say how'd you get up here anyway?" The man who had previously yelled at them asked.

"Um…we got lost. We were trying to find our hotel," Tifa answered for them.

"You can say that again, you're pretty far out you know."

"Well then, I don't suppose any of you boys would mind showing us back into town, would you?"

The soldier faltered for a moment, then glanced around at two others, before nodding. "Alright, you don't seem like much of a threat."

"Thanks." She turned to the other two, who stepped forward, then went to meet the soldiers, their heads turned toward the ground.

"Hatcher!" The leader barked at one of the others, who perked up immediately.

"Yes sir?"

"Why don't you escort these," his head turned back to the girls, "ladies back to town."

"Yes sir."

"Thank you, I hope its not too much trouble," Tifa, her head still turned away from them, replied.

"No problem," The soldier that the leader had called Hatcher said as he stepped forward, his eyes flashing in the moonlight.

"Ok then," the leader started, "everyone back to their posts!" Then, as quickly as they had come, all but Hatcher and the leader dissipated onto the grounds.

"Ladies, this way," Hatcher nodded forward and began heading the way they had come in. After a moment, he paused and waited for them to catch up.

"Thank you for doing this um…Hatcher was it?"

"Call me Caleb." He caught her eye and grinned at her, then faltered slightly. "Um, excuse me miss, I need to go…ask my commander something." Turning, he shot back off towards the leading officer. Tifa gave the others a worried look, which Yuffie returned ten fold.

After a few moments of quiet conversing, Caleb, along with the leading officer both came back to the girls.

"Um, it seems there's some trouble," the commander slowly started. "Would you mind staying on the base a moment longer?"

"Actually, yeah. We would mind."

His eyes narrowed and before she could blink, he had reached out and grabbed her wrist tightly. "Well, Miss Lockheart. I guess there's nothing you can do about that."

"The young woman's eyes widened before yelling to her companions, "RUN!"

***

It was well past midnight and Reno was starting to panic.

"I shouldn't have just run off on them!"

"Reno," James rationalized, "it wasn't just you. Biggs and I went as well so don't put all of the blame on your shoulders!"

They were all gathered in the room that Biggs, Wedge, and Barret shared. They had been for a few hours.

"But it was my idea! If something happens to them, it will be my fault!"

"Reno!" Reeve jerked the young Turk's arm and brought him closer to him. "It's not your fault, and nothing will-"

Before he could finish he sentence, the door burst open and a rather worn Aeris and Yuffie popped into the room.

"Hey!" Reeve, along with Barret, Biggs, and James, rushed over to the door to meet them. Before the two girls could get a word in, questions and comments were being hurled at them left and right.

"Hey, hey, hey! Guys, let them breathe!" Reeve made the others back off a little and let the two into the room.

"Yuffie, Aeris," Reno kneeled down in front of the bed he stood before. "Where's Tifa?"

There was a lull in conversation as the two looked at each other, then towards the ground.

"Gone," Aeris answered finally.

"Gone? What happened to her?"

"We were walking around, looking for the hotel when we accidentally stumbled onto the military grounds. They found us but didn't realize who were until we were already leaving with someone to show us the way back to town. Tifa got captured. I'm sorry, there's was nothing we could have done, there was too many to fight."

***

General Strife, flanked on each side by a Turk, stepped into the military compound, listening to what the soldier with them was saying.

"They literally just wandered on here, it was a stroke of great luck."

"If it was such great luck, why didn't you capture all three of them?" Elena asked, an icy tone to her steady voice.

"Now, now, at least they got one," Strife scolded her, then turned back to the soldier. "Who was it that you captured?"

"Um, Tifa Lockheart, sir."

"Excellent, good work soldier."

"Th-thank you sir!" It was a rare thing, being praised by General Cloud Strife.

"That's all we need for now, dismissed." They had reached the holding cells, and Strife was anxious to see the prisoner.

As soon as they were in the long corridor of cells, another soldier strode up to the group. "You're here to see the Avalanche prisoner, sir?"

"Yes."

"Right this way, sir." He showed them to a cell near the end of dreary hall. He fumbled with a ring of keys for a moment, then unlocked the cell and showed them in.

"Here she is, just holler when you're done!" With a nod, he left the room.

Strife's eyes immediately locked on the girl in the center of the room. She was small, very petite, and her chocolate brown locks of hair spilled out onto the floor next to where she lay. Her head was turned to the floor, and she didn't even seem to realize that was no longer alone.

Slowly, he stepped forward, nearing her. As he drew closer, her head came up, and her eyes locked on his.

"I'm not going to talk, so you might as well just shoot me now," she muttered, almost under her breath.

"Talk?" He questioned her. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm not going to tell you where the others are." Their eyes remained locked.

"Oh, we didn't expect you to. We believe it is safe to assume that they will come for you. And when they do, we will be ready." Breaking eye contact, he turned Elena and Rude. "Alright, let's go."

He waited a few seconds after they had left before he made a move for the door. Once he got there, he turned back around, facing her. He gave one last look in the eye before leaving, whispering one last question so low she almost wondered if he actually asked it.

"Who are you?"

Author's Notes: Yea! Finally finished this chapter. Sorry it was so hastily written, but I felt as though I had goofed off long enough and wrote most of it yesterday. I know I had the one scene laid out for a nice little action sequence, but I can't write action yet. Maybe by the end of this I will, but not yet. Oh, I hope you liked it!