What if I missed you?

You got caught in the sun.

What I did something

Never to be undone?

Caught in the Sun- Course of Nature

You could be the devil in my bed
You could be the angel in my head
You could be the voices that I hear
I'm singing along because it sounds just like you're near

Beautiful- Flickerstick

            Yuffie was humming cheerfully at the commands of the small sub, ecstatic at the prospect of returning home after so long. They'd been in the sub for several hours, and James couldn't help but hope that they would reach their destination soon, the smallness was seriously beginning to weigh down on him.

            "Erg...Yuff? Are we almost there?"

            "Hey, you wanted to come along, so don't start complaining!" She paused briefly. "But to answer your question, yes we are. It shouldn't take more than a half-an-hour to reach port."

            James raised his a little at the last word. "And where exactly is port?"

            "Well," the young girl shrugged. "It's not really a port per say, more like...a secluded beach!"

            "A beach?" His voice was bordering incredulous. "A beach? In this weather?!"

            "Hey, what did I say about complaining? Besides, the real storm hasn't even picked up yet! I bet we'll be safely inside in the military compound before the winds even hit 100!" Her tone was becoming disturbingly chipper.

            "100?"

            "Miles per hour."

            "Ah. I see you've suddenly developed a death wish."

            "Suddenly?"

***

            "This...this is your place?" Tifa was understandably nervous. Well, perhaps nervous wasn't exactly the right word...more like, terrified.

            "I suppose you could call it that." For someone who wanted to talk, Strife certainly wasn't doing much of it.

            "Oh."

            A small smirk drove through his features. "You can stop with the petty attempts at small talk. That's not why I brought you here." He walked across the spacious room, turning on a few lamps and gesturing to the sofa. "Have a seat, Miss Lockheart." She still couldn't get used to his...politeness.

            "...alright," tentatively, she stepped forward and gently lowered herself onto the piece of furniture. It was made of some sort of wood, lightly stained and covered with black cushions. It must have been imported, Tifa thought to herself, because she'd never seen any form of native furniture that looked like it.

            Unconsciously, a smile drew across the general's face as he sat in a matching chair opposite the couch. The girl was very obviously afraid. He wondered if she was aware that she wore her emotions so openly for the world to see. In the Shinra military training, they'd always been warned against showing emotion. It was potentially dangerous.

            "So, Tifa, er, may I call you Tifa?" He tried being polite with her, Cloud knew from experience that enraging a prisoner, even if there on their own will, never helped the situation.

            "Um...sure." Tifa shifted uncomfortably her seat. She couldn't remember Cloud ever being this well spoken. It must have come with the title.

            "Well then, Tifa, I believe you know me," she nodded hastily as he paused. "Then tell me, who am I? How do I know you? Do I know you? Did I have a family? Tell me everything."

            "Everything?" She sighed. "I don't know everything. But...I'll tell you what I can."

***

            Aeris sighed from the comfort of the Highwind. She'd been released from the small jail close to two hours prior, and had been glad to leave. The Cetra didn't think she could take the heavy glance of the general any longer.

            Shera had been the one to let her out, and the one to franticly tell her that James and Yuffie were no where to be found. They could only hope that the two had left on their own for some unknown reason, and hadn't been killed in the obliteration of the Imperial armada.

            After an hour and a half of fruitless searching, Shera had given in and decided to head on to help those at Costa del Sol. A small number of the air force would stay behind in case of a second wave, but it was doubted. The Empire would now most likely focus all it's efforts into the attack on the resort town. The ground troops alone were expected to be tripled.

            For the first time in quite awhile, Aeris felt alone. While there were people milling around all over the airship, weaving in and out of the rooms and workspaces, there was no one for her to talk to. She knew it wouldn't be any better in Costa del Sol, at best she would be shoved out of the way until the battle was over and she was either swept up in victorious crowds or taken back to Shinra. It didn't take much thinking on the Cetra's part over which she would more enjoy.

            When it came down to it though, Aeris knew she'd feel much more comfortable locked away in some closet, hiding from the battle rather than being in the middle of it. It might have been a bit cowardice of her, but even the small role she had in Gongaga was enough to give her trouble sleeping. All in all, the half-Cetra couldn't but feel melancholy, and wishing the whole invasion ordeal would be over soon.

***

            "WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!"

            "Biggs, calm down! We need to be thinking straight!" Jessie, patience worn out for the day, wasn't usually one to snap at her friends, but Biggs was being incredibly nerve-wracking given the circumstances.

            It hadn't been more than five minutes since Strife and Tifa had left the building, the former acting as though it was the most natural thing in the world and the latter not meeting any of their eyes. All hell had broken loose, to put things in perspective, once the faint sounds of their footsteps had died off.

            Wedge had immediately began taking his anger out on a wall, not unlike Yuffie when she was angry. Vincent sunk down into the couch, holding his head as though in deep thought, though, that was to be expected from the man. Alli had merely sat down next to the raven-haired rebel leader, eyes wide and every now and then voicing disbelief, and Biggs had taken to the situation much the same, only much louder and standing.

            Reno, of course, was taking it the hardest, having slid down the wall Strife had had him pinned to prior and staring into nothing. Nothing anyone said seemed to get through his catatonic-like state.

            "What can we do?" Alli was staring at them all, still wide-eyed, all previous anger towards certain members of the faction now lost. "I mean...that is...are we going to do anything?"

            Vincent's head came up from the cage of his hands. "No. Not yet," then, as Biggs vaulted into another loud outburst, he continued. "Strife promised all of us that we would not be harmed. That goes for Tifa. I know he's one of the most dangerous persons we're going to face in this, but I've heard from everyone that he is a man of his word. Until we're positive that she is in some sort of danger, we stay put and wait."

            "By the time we find out, it may be to late!" Wedge came up to stand next to Biggs, his arms crossed in much the same fashion.

            "That, is a chance we are going to have to take. I know its disconcerting, but it's all we can do." Leaning back against the couch's back, the man sighed.

            "I don't care what you've heard," Biggs spoke once more. "I don't trust him not to hurt her."

            "No," Caleb, to the surprise of everyone, spoke up. "General Strife really is a man of his word. He won't lay a hand on her unless she for some reason gives him word."

            "So," Jessie was hopelessly confused. "He took her...just to talk?"

            No one seemed to have an answer.

***

            "You're...Cloud Ethan Strife. You were born in Nibelheim and lived next-door to me until you decided to try and become a SOLDIER for Shinra. You were...what? 12? 13? Maybe even 14, I never have been good with ages.

            "We weren't the best of friends...I actually don't think we were friends until you were about 8. We got steadily closer as we got to know each other though. You were a bit of a loner, I suppose would be the term. You didn't really get close to anyone so I felt rather honored to be considered special by you.

            "You used to like to listen to me play the piano. I never knew why, I always hated to. My mother played though, and wanted me to learn it. So after awhile, you would come over while I had my practice time and keep me company, though you usually didn't say much.

            "About your family...you had a mother. I'm sorry I can't remember her name. I just remember calling her Mrs. Strife...although I don't recall ever knowing a Mr. Strife. I was always told your father was killed in an accident. There were never specifics about what kind of accident, and I've always had my doubts on whether it was true, or just a story to hide a child from a darker truth. Divorce was a bit frowned on in Nibelheim. You didn't have any siblings.

            "I...I really didn't know too much about you...we were friends, and at the time, that was all that mattered. You were quiet, very quiet. I always did do most of the talking between the two of us, but you were very sweet...at least you were to me. You were always a little stand-offish to others.

            "I don't know why you left. You never gave me straight answer. I'm sure it had something to do with your mother. You loved her to no end, and she was sick. The doctors said it was only a matter time if she couldn't get better treatment, but she didn't make too much money, so you were always grumbling about getting a job. My mother had died from a similar disease two summers ago, and you didn't want it to happen again.

            "Your mother died two days before you finally left, though you'd been talking about for several weeks. We had a very short and awkward goodbye. You promised to write me all the time...you didn't though. I got two letters from you when you first arrived in Midgar and that was it. Finally, after my father died too in a fire at work, I left for Midgar as well. I was only fifteen at the time, and was lucky that I didn't get killed. I suppose there's…really nothing else to tell. You're simply…Cloud."

***

            "Hey! There's the Highwind!" A young man pointed up to the sky over Corel. "Captain! Somebody get the Captain!"

            After about ten minutes, the large airship had landed safely outside of the barren town and several people were heading for it.

            "Shera!" Cid was rushing at top speed for the people, having spotted his wife walking beside Aeris.

            "Cid!" After a brief hug, the pilot led the two women towards a small house.

            "C'mon, we're staying here until it's time to leave," the man consulted his wristwatch. "Which will be pretty soon, but we've got time for a quick briefing."

            Inside, the house was revealed to be sparing on much furniture, but quite cozy nonetheless. Reeve and Barret, the latter of whom appeared to be indescribably uncomfortable, were seated in what appeared to be a family room of sorts. They stood in greeting, both happy to see Aeris again, but an obvious look of confusion was on them.

            "I bet you're wondering about Yuffie and James, huh?" Aeris glanced down at the ground, a worried look on her face.

            "Uh, yeah," Reeve nodded as they all sat down once more. "Where are they?"

            The Cetra shrugged. "Well...we don't exactly know..."

***

            "YUFFIE! THIS IS SUICIDE!!"

            "WHAT?!"

            "I SAID- WHOA!" James stumbled to grab hold of something, anything as another forceful gale of wind bound them up in a tango.

            "CAREFUL JAMES! DON'T WORRY, WE'RE ALMOST THERE!"

            The girl's words were, however, lost on the wind, and the Cetra never heard her. He was inwardly wondering how she was keeping her balance in the storm. She was twig, for goodness sake! Why wasn't she being blown off towards the sea? Not that James wanted that to happen of course...

            Suddenly, Yuffie halted in her tracks, feeling with her hands along the trunk of a large tree as though searching for something, though what it could be, James had no idea.

            "Ah," she said so softly, she couldn't even hear herself over the howling of mother nature. "Here it is. Hope it's not caved in." Then, with the slightest flick of her naked hand, an open doorway appeared in the base of the great tree.

            "...why does this not surprise me?" James, though at a loss for other words, hurried in through the door behind Yuffie, finding himself creeping down a spiral of rusty, squeaky stairs. The opening in the tree closed, leaving the two of them in semidarkness and mind-numbing silence. "Er...Yuff? What is this?"

            "Its...sort of like an escape tunnel only...not. Let's see, what's the best word for it...shelter! That's it! You see," she was moving along swiftly, James barely able to keep up with her, and talking as though it was the most normal thing in the world. "Wutai gets a lot of heavy storms like this, and since there's really nowhere to evacuate to if they get too bad, this shelter-tunnel thing was built. It's nothing enormous, like the caverns underneath Rocket Town and Gongaga. Just tunnels and..." she slowed down, now trailing her hand along the wall, "ah-ha! Telephones!" Sure enough, about four feet from the dripping Cetra was the dim bulk of an old phone. Very old. And looking out of order.

            "Er...Yuffers? Do you really think that thing works?"

            "Don't see why it wouldn't," with an indifferent shrug, she picked up the heavy and dust-laden receiver, pressing it to her ear with a triumphant, "yes!" After a few seconds of dialing on the rotary, she stood in silence. Soon, there was an muffled voice over the line.

            "Shake! It's me! Yuffie!" Another round of muffled voice, though this time decidedly much more enthusiastic. "I'm fine, I'm fine! Me and a friend are in the storm shelter-tunnel things. Is there anyway you could meet us somewhere?" Pause. "Ok! Yes, of course I know where that is! Are you sure no one will see us?" Another pause. "Alright, see you!" Hanging up, she turned back to James, who could only assume she was grinning from ear to ear. "Let's go!"

            "Go where?" Despite the pitiful amount of light coming from...somewhere in the tunnel, the Cetra felt as though he were stumbling around in the dark.

            "We're heading up to Shake's mother's shop. He's my cousin, by the way. His mother's family has had this antique shop for generations, and it's directly connected to the tunnels!" It was hard not to smile, James reflected, at her childlike gleefulness that infiltrated her voice.

            "Somebody's happy," James stated in singsongy sort of voice, coming to walk right next to Yuffie.

            "Of course I'm happy! I'm home! Home!" If she had had the room, he fully expected the Wutain to begin dancing in the middle of the narrow tunnel.

            The rest of the walk was much quieter, and it took about a half-an-hour to reach the right outlet. Staircases and junctions lay everywhere in the tunnels and James was glad to finally be leaving.

            Boxes lined the ground around the stairway, this one straight, rather than winding, and James assumed these were from the shop above their heads. Up the stairs they went, both grateful to be leaving the coldness of the shelter tunnels. Once inside the shop, they were immediately accosted by a young man who resembled Yuffie to several extents.

            "Yuffie!" He enveloped her into a tight embrace. "We've been so worried about you!" Releasing her, he nodded to James. "You must be James Archer, sorry I never got a chance to meet you before."

            "So, where are we going?" Yuffie was practically bouncing up and down.

            "Well, you want to meet up your friends and the Underground?"

            "Yes! And then kick some Shinra ass!"

            "Right, well, one step at a time dear. The Underground's not meeting until this storms over, most of them have to make sure their houses to blow off into the ocean, though I don't know how they plan on doing that. But, anyway, I have been to their meeting place several times, and I can lead you there. I believe your friends are staying there for the time being."

            "Well then, wait are we waiting for? Let's go!"

***

            Jessie, having given up all hopes of sleep, lay sprawled out on one of the sofas, glancing at Caleb every now and then, who had conked out almost forty-five minutes before. The bleached blonde was tempted to unbind his hands, but knew Biggs, who was sleeping a few feet away on the floor, would throw a fit if she did.

            Alli, Wedge, and Vincent were all gathered in the sitting room, talking quietly amongst themselves, and Reno...Reno was still sitting on the floor in the hall, staring into nothing. At least...Jessie thought he was, until she turned over onto her back and realized he was leaning against the wall in the opening of the doorway.

            "Reno!" Sitting up, she cast a hesitant look on him. "Are you...ok?" He shrugged and came to sit by her on the couch.

            "So...you think he'll keep his word?" Was all he said, staring down at the floor.

            She shrugged, pulling herself up into a sitting position. "Vincent and Caleb seem to. I don't really see what other option we have at this point though. There's no way we can leave in this weather. I wonder how they were going to get clear across town in this wind."

            "That's real comforting," the man grumbled, sinking down into the couch. Silence ensued for almost an hour, broken only briefly by small sounds from Biggs in his sleep.

            "How do you think the others are doing?" Reno inquired of her suddenly, turning to look her in the eyes.

            She shrugged once more. "Couldn't begin to tell you."

            "No," a new voice to the conversation began, "but we could!"

            A small scream erupted from Jessie's mouth as she jumped at the voice, waking Biggs and Caleb and sending the others rushing from the sitting room.

            "Yeesh, I didn't mean for you to scream," from the hallway opposite the one Strife had entered stepped three figures.

            "Hey!" Biggs was the first to react rushing up to the three. "Yuffie! James! Person I don't know! What are you doing here?"

            Yuffie laughed. "This is Shake, my cousin. And we're here because...er...we got bored back on the Central Continent."

            James nodded as well. "Very bored."

            Vincent was frowning, as though he wasn't too keen on the idea of them leaving simply for being bored. But, he didn't say anything.

            "Well," Biggs spoke once more, "our party seems to grow larger every day, come sit down!"

            There wasn't enough room for everyone, so Biggs and Wedge both took seats on the floor. No one seemed to notice Alli desperately trying to avoid Yuffie's eye.

            "Hey," James frowned, glancing at the number of people. "Where's Tifa?"

***

            General Cloud Strife eyed his "company" with slight…disappointment.

            "That's all?"

            "What? Were expecting some long, elaborate tale of childhood love and promises? Well, I'm sorry but we were just your average kids. Boring." The words tumbled from her mouth before she realized what was happening, and when she did, she clamped a hand over her lips. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean-" But she didn't bother finishing her sentence. She was amazed at his reaction to her outburst. He was laughing. And very heartily.

            "Well," he drew out finally, "it's good to know that I was normal at one time in my life." He stood from his seat, gesturing for her to follow him. Hesitantly, she did. She found herself being led down a short hallway.

            "I'm terribly sorry about this, but I fear I must make an appearance to the Emperor." Seeing the fear in her eyes, he continued. "Don't worry. As I said, I'm a man of my word. As long as you are here, no harm will come to you or your friends. No matter how much I dislike some of them." Strife halted outside one of the doors and pushed it open. "You will be staying here until I tire of you. Don't feel obligated to lock yourself away in here, however. Now, I really must go. Please make yourself comfortable, and I shall see you soon, Tifa."

***

            It was midday in Corel. Almost everyone was gone, marching off to battle. Almost everyone…Aeris and Reeve happened to be among those staying in the town. And neither could say they weren't grateful for the fact. Aeris hated the thought of blood being shed and Reeve had never been one of the most skilled fighters…

            "So they just disappeared?" Reeve still had trouble with the thought of James and Yuffie nowhere to be found. "That's so strange. I hope they're alright…"

            "I'm sure they are," Aeris always seemed to find herself speaking optimistic words, even if she herself didn't necessarily believe them. "Yuffie's a lot tougher than she looks, and James has a pretty good head on his shoulders. If they're together, I'm sure nothing'll happen to them."

            "Yeah…I suppose you're right," he lost himself in thought for a minute as he stared out the window into the sunny day. "Hey Aeris?"

            "Yeah?"

            "Do you ever feel…I dunno…a burden?"

            "A burden? No…not really a burden. Sometimes I feel out of place and in way over my head, but I've always felt welcome with all of you. Why do you ask?" She stole a glance over at the man.

            "Oh! No…no reason," Reeve found himself shaking his head.

            "Reeve," Aeris smiled knowingly. "No one thinks you're a burden. You've always seemed to be quite helpful in my eyes."

            "Helpful?" He scoffed. "I hardly call worrying too much helpful."

            "Oh stop! Someone has to worry! If they didn't, we'd all probably be dead now! I can't even count how many times you're worrying pulled us out of what would have been a dangerous situation on the road. You need to give yourself more credit, Reeve. You're a very important asset to Avalanche."

            He didn't answer, just sat there with a small frown on his face, looking at her for awhile before speaking up. "Thanks Aeris."

            "Hey, I was only stating the truth." The Cetra shrugged a little, still smiling, which in turn led the man across the room to grin slightly.

            "Still…thank you."

***

            "You're late," Rufus didn't even bother glancing up from the papers on his desk as he addressed the general.

            "I'm sorry the storm blew me a little of course." Each word was spoken careful, almost as though he'd thought about the answer long before hearing the question.

            "I didn't ask for an excuse. Sit." Strife did as he was told, glaring lightly.

            "What did you call me here for, sir?"

            "Avalanche, what else? I was told you were staying here to take care of any fires they might start."

            "Yes, sir."

            "So have you heard anything of them today?"

            "…no, sir."

            At this delay, the young Emperor did look at the general, his icy blue glance interlocking with the Mako glow of Strife's. "Are you sure about that?"

            "Yes, sir. Why wouldn't I be?"

            "I don't know, you tell me." No response. "Well, I want to hear the second you do. They're sure to try something with most of forces gone, and this hurricane would provide them with the perfect cover. Keep your eyes and ears open."

            "Yes, sir. Is that all?"

            Rufus seemed to be sizing the other man up for a few seconds. "Yes, General. You may be on your way."

            "As you wish sir."

Author's Notes: Haven't had these for two chapters! Well, I just thought I'd warn you, don't be expecting a lot about the battle in Costa del Sol. Why it is important to the storyline, it's not important enough for me to take a whole chapter out to write about in detail. Everything will basically be focused in Wutai/Vector now. I've gotten some emails from a few worried fans asking "You're not hooking Aeris and Zach up are you?!" Don't worry! I'm not! I doubt Miss Aeris will be paired up at all. She's still adjusting to "normal" life people, she's not ready for a lovelife just yet! Oh, and I realize it might seem like I'm kind of making Cloud seem like a good guy, but I'm trying not to. The thing is, he's not necessarily a bad guy either. Well…you'll see next chapter! Oi, I'm starting to regret all these characters. They keep running amuck and confusing me! ^_^ Many thanks to those of you who have been emailing me comments!