A/N:

Alright, I'll be honest. I'm seriously slacking on this right now, cuz I got this other fanfic I'm doing in a joint project with Too Human Lately. Eventually I'll put it up. And as soon as I'm inspired, I'll do a Trigun fic. That has gotta be the BEST anime I've seen in a while. Don't even start ratting on me about "Oh no! DRAGON BALL Z is SO much cooler!" cuz to be honest, DBZ is the most moronic and crappiest anime I've ever seen. I'd rather watch Pokemon. Moving on, here's the fic. ^_~ (BTW Incase you guys didn't notice already, there's a bit of Yuffie-bashing. Not serious though. ^_^)

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Sighing, Tifa sat back in the black swivel chair as she stared at the concrete ceiling.

'Well this is pleasant.' she thought dryly. 'I'm stuck in a concrete building with Reno and Yuffie.' at the thought of the young ninja, the brunette shuddered. Yuffie had done nothing but shout, eat, and sleep. If it weren't for Reno getting to her with his smartass comments, everyone in the building would freak.

'Don't we have a reason to be here?' Tifa wondered idly. She remembered that they came to the island for something specific, but she had forgotten. Suddenly, a loud clang and a screech sounded out side. Jumping up, the red-eyed woman ready for combat; and then remembered where she was. With a disgruntled sigh, she plopped back down into her seat.

Tifa then heard a quiet chuckle behind her. Turning her chair, she saw Cloud, his sword drawn and ready.

"I guess we're both so used to fighting, we kinda forget there's ever time when we don't need to."

Scowling, Tifa stared at the blonde. "I can't stand it. This is so boring, that I'm considering yelling along with Yuffie just to get a good reaction out of everyone."

Cloud smirked. "I know. But with monsters like those out there-" he jerked his head towards the wall. "We can't do a thing."

Scarlet eyes glared into glowing aqua ones. "It used to be that we would take on anyone, and anything. Now we're being held in with Reno because of some dragons? We took out so many when we were searching for Sephiroth and now we're too afraid to go out an face a few! Come one, Cloud!"

Cloud glared right back at the young woman. "Tifa, you have to understand. Do you remember the dragon we met along the way to this facility?"

Tifa looked at her red shoes. When Cloud had attacked it, the sword screeched against the scales like metal on metal. Enraged, the dragon had reared and attacked. It hit Barret on full force, nearly killing him. No matter how many times they attacked, and no matter how many times they scattered to avoid the vicious beast, it never seemed to tire. Finally, seeing no way to defeat the dragon, they retreated.

The blonde nodded. "That's what I thought. But until we find a way to beat those monsters, we're stuck here."

Tifa rolled her head. "It's not so much the fact that we're stuck here, it's just that-"

"YUFFIE GET BACK HERE WITH MY NIGHTSTICK!"

Yuffie came charging into the room giggling, throwing Reno's nightstick up in the air like a baton.

"YUFFIE! I'M NOT KIDDING!"

Reno flew past Tifa with such speed that it surprised her that he hadn't caught the ninja already.

Still giggling, Yuffie turned and said, "No way!"

Growling, Reno sprang forward and tackled the thief.

"EEP!"

Reno gave the teen a lopsided grin. "I'll take that." he plucked his nightstick from Yuffie's dazed grip, straightened, and walked off whistling. Cloud stared for a moment.

"Uh, did I miss something?"

"I think we're better off not knowing."

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A bored young woman, no older than twenty, reclined against the trunk of the tree she sat in. She was at least thirty feet above the ground, on a sturdy branch. She toyed with a gem the same piercing blue color of her eyes.

"Hmph. So this is the stone." she thought aloud. "Doesn't seem so great. I doubt it's part of other key to the Spire." Sighing, she began to toss the jewel in the air, catching if deftly. "But if things don't start to speed up around here, those guys from Wutai are gonna stop us before we can even begin." She sighed once more, and stood.

"Oh well. At least I get a little more time to enjoy life." With two fingers the woman stroked the trunk of the tree fondly. The place where she touched the tree glowed blood red, and then turned into a pair of burns. Turquois eyes glared at the scars her touch had left. "Well, isn't that great. It's already starting and I've only got part of the next key." swearing violently, she jumped down from the tree and disappeared in the shadows.

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The red-headed Turk muttered as he worked on one of the computers in the Data Room. Yuffie had had a little too much fun with his nightstick and broke the main computer. Luckily for Reno, Roger was planning on updating it with new parts, and bumped all of the data to the next machine over. He swore as a tiny spark electricuted him.

"Dammit, I dunno how that stupidass girl did it, but she totalled this comp!" Growling, he continued to replace the old parts with updated ones. "For once Roger did something smart and left the new parts out to finish..." the Turk jumped as another ear-piercing shriek sounded outside. "Geez! Do those things EVER shut up?!"

"Talking to yourself?" looking up, Reno saw Vincent standing in the doorway. He gave the dark man a grin. "Well, you're the last person I'd think say anything to me. Or say anything to anyone for that matter."

The former Turk turned his head away, watching Reno out of the corner of his eye. "I have nothing against you. I wasn't with Cloud and the others until after their fight with the Turks and Shinra. And I heard that you were fixing a computer."

"And?"

The red-caped man shrugged and turned to look at Reno again. "I had a feeling it'd be more interesting to watch than Yuffie's being right now."

"Shut up." Aqua eyes snapped back to the computer parts.

"...Do you need help?"

"Why would I need *that*?"

"Because you're putting the hard drive back where the floppy drive should be."

"Ah."

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'Oh, NO!' Tifa thought. 'It's almost dinnertime!' Her picture of Barret, Cloud, Yuffie, Red XIII, Vincent, Cid, and Reno all at the same table was not a pleasant one. She couldn't help but groan. Miserable scarlet eyes stared up at the clock. 'PLEASE stop. Or at least slow down! I'll mop the floors, wash the dishes, clean the entire building if you would PLEASE stop!'

Of course, it didn't, and dinnertime rolled around faster than ever. Seven beeps from every clock in the facility signaled food, and Tifa could feel the earth shake as seven pairs of feet came charging to the table.

"Aw, shit."

"What's for dinner?"

"I'm starved!"

"I hope it's as big as my stomach right now!"

"Where's the *@#$^%! tea?!"

"Where's the food for that matter?"

All sound stopped. Then, everyone turned and pointed to someone else. "It was YOUR turn!" The room got so loud with argument, Tifa covered her ears and shouted, "QUIET!" when she finally got everyone's attention, she straightened. "Look, there's enough food, okay? You're all just gonna have to wait! It's not finished yet!"

After a moment of silence, Reno looked at Tifa. "So it was YOUR turn?"

"ARGH! It doesn't matter whose &*^%#@! turn it was, Reno!"

"Okay okay. Sheesh, aren't we bitchy."

Cloud glared at the redhead. "She is NOT bitchy. Can you blame her for being stressed?"

"Well now, I see another crabby person today. No wonder you guys like each other." both Tifa and Cloud blushed furiously. Reno grinned in victory. "We DO have some extra rooms, just say the word and-"

"ENOUGH Reno." Nanaki's tail twitched. "You should quit while you're ahead."

The Turk shrugged. "Alright. I'm just sayin', whenever they-"

"Stop it Reno!"

"Hey, it's perfectly natural. I-"

"C'mon Reno, just cut it out!"

"What? I mean, there's no shame in-"

"Reno!"

"Well, you know how it goes-"

"FOR GOD'S SAKE RENO, JUST SHUT UP!"

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Nanaki sighed and put his head on his paws. He was exhausted. Dinner was a complete catastrophe, and a memory he would be glad to forget.

'First they duct tape Yuffie's feet to the chair, then Reno starts up. I don't think anyone'll survive the next few days. Not to mention the cleanup after the food fight...'

The fire-red beast scratched his ear. 'I really hope we figure out how to get past those dragons. I don't know what's going on, but something very bad is about to happen. I can feel it.'

No sooner had Nanaki thought those words than did his crimson fur stand on end. He bared his teeth as the ear-splitting screeches of many dragons were heard outside. Then, he felt the ground rumble. A low growl ascended to a powerful, air-shaking roar that sent a shiver down his spine and instilled terror in his heart. Nanaki's blood ran cold as the battle cries of the dragons stopped completely, as though cut off by something. The sudden silence bore down on his ears. At first, he thought he had gone deaf. After a few minutes, he could hear the night sounds slowly return outside.

Shakily, the beast lowered himself to the ground, attempting to sleep. But everytime he closed his eyes, he heard the menacing growl in his mind, denying him any rest. When Nanaki finally closed his eyes in exhaustion, he could faintly hear a whisper in his thoughts.

"Beware."

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A/N:

I hope it was okay. I sure had fun writing it though! It got ME edgy. ^.^ Regardless of the loss of readers, I'm gonna keep writing this story until it's done! This is my first fanfic ever, and I think it deserves a chance to be finished! Wouldn't you feel the same abot your works?...maybe not. ^_^* But anyway! I'll try to get the next chapter up when time permits. I should get it up soon since the weekend's coming up. Maybe a few reviews would get me going. *wink wink, nudge nudge* ^_~