Disclaimer: me no ownie

A/N: I'm undermining my reviewers. I can't be discouraged by the lack of reviews if I start writing before anyone has a chance to review! So, two minutes after uploading chapter 6, chapter 7 is on its way.

Chapter 7: Frightening Revelations

It had been forty-five minutes since ALALANCHE left Midgar, but Vincent was still on route to Kalm. He didn't run into any trouble, and Maria wasn't some out of shape bird, but he had wanted to take his time. He barely pushed the Chocobo past a leisurely trot. He knew what Red must've told Cloud and the others in the buggy. Vincent could tell the canine was very suspicious of him. He wanted to give Cloud and the others ample to time decide what to do.

But it didn't matter to him what they would do. If they decided to attack him, Vincent would simply defend himself. He could handle them – he'd fought far worse forces before. He'd fight his way out of the building and leave, making sure to leave no one behind him with a serious injury. It didn't matter to him whether he had their help or not – he had to find Lucrecia.

During his trip, the ex-Turk's mind wandered, but not to the woman he lost two weeks ago. Instead his thoughts centered around the five men he had killed earlier. Men? No, they weren't men. They were only boys. I can't believe how young they were. Who would do such a thing to someone so young… He was utterly disgusted by what had been done to them. When he laid his eyes on those boys, none which were a day older than 19, he perceived something no one else had. To Yuffie and Red, Vincent had killed five armed enemies. To Vincent, he had put five poor, lost boys out of their misery.

Barret paced anxiously around the bar. He couldn't hold his anger. That freak had turned his gun on Yuffie. Yuffie was only 10 years older than Marlene for Christ's sake! How he could he threaten such a little girl! "Where da hell is dat one armed bastard!?!"

"That's it!" Cloud had had enough. His stress was high enough as it was. Reeve was missing. Reno was being a pain in the ass. He had a hunch Vincent was going to tell him something he didn't want to hear. He wasn't about to sit back and listen to Barret and Cid start arguing again about Vincent's whereabouts. "Everyone to your rooms. NOW!" Cloud's sudden anger quieted the rest of the group and sent them on their way.

Yuffie didn't bother to hold in her mutters as she ascended the stairs heading towards her room. "What's he complaining about? He didn't have some creepy vampire holding a gun to his head…"

Cloud simply shook his head at Yuffie's rant. If only she knew how high Vincent's tensions were… As far as Cloud knew, he and Tifa were the only people that knew of Lucrecia's disappearance. He was shocked more by how well Vincent had been keeping his emotions in check. He had expected a lot more of a reaction from the disturbed man. He didn't want to tread on the thin ice he was going to when Vincent arrived, but he knew he had to. No matter how sensitive Vincent was about Lucrecia, Cloud needed to find out if the man posed a threat to him and his companions. Where is he anyway?

On cue, Vincent stepped through the door. The water left on him from the fresh rain rolled off of his cloak onto the floor. Had he been in the mood to speak, one could be sure Vincent would've apologized for the mess.

"Vincent, we need to talk." Cloud wanted to get this over with as quickly and painlessly as possible. If he waited too long into the night that had snuck up on him, he might lose his ability to defend himself adequately if Vincent took what needed to be said the wrong way.

Cloud waited a moment more before assuming that silence would be Vincent's answer. "Red told me what you did. I'm not going to jump to conclusions. I know you know how to keep your head in battle. So, I'm just going to cut to the chase: did you see something that he and Yuffie didn't."

Another few moments passed by in silence. Vincent didn't seem too inclined to speak, but Cloud stood his ground well – he wouldn't continue until Vincent answered him. "I found, or rather, remembered a route that was hidden in the area. It is likely that the kidnapper has been coming and going freely through it."

Cloud was caught a bit off guard. He was expecting a much more dreadful answer. "Wait, what do you mean you remembered a route?"

Vincent was not in the mood to give any sort of speech, but he knew Cloud would want details as to what he was about to say. He figured he'd save his breath and get it over with off the bat and avoid the twenty questions game. "When I was a Turk, Shinra was in a silent war with Junon. They held the prime spot on our continent for a port. The President wanted the town under his control. Negotiations with the mayor didn't go well, so he instructed the Turks to take care of the situation. Junon's military was formidable, and they strongly covered their exposed boarder. I ordered a free-lance construction crew to build an underground tunnel into the town. From there, we snuck in and 'pursuaded' Junon into giving in to Shinra's demands."

"Shit!" Cloud's mind raced at all the new possibilities. If the kidnapper could freely move from Midgar to Junon virtually undetected, that meant he could easily walk straight out of Junon with Reeve next to him without having anyone give him a second glance. Neo-Shinra had relinquished its hold on the cities under its command, Junon included. Neo-Shinra once again became a company only concerned with Midgar. That meant that few people outside of Midgar would recognize Reeve as Neo-Shinra's President.

The kidnapper's access to Junon also meant his access to a cheap boat ride over to Costa del Sol – access to the whole western continent. This certainly was not good news, but Cloud sensed Vincent was still holding something back. "OK, I realize that this is terrible news, but that would give you reason to act towards Yuffie and Red they way you did. What were you doing?"

"…"

Cloud would not accept silence as an excuse. Vincent might not have liked his actions being called into question, but Cloud needed an answer. Plus, Cloud already had a hunch as to why Vincent had acted the way he did. "Vincent, were you protecting them from something?"

Crimson eyes locked on to Mako-Blue/Green eyes. Those eyes… "Cloud, the men we encountered, their eyes had a glow to them…"

Cloud's face expressed a great deal of shock. "Mako? Were they SOLDIERs?!"

"No." Vincent's eyes slipped shut. He was afraid of what he was bout to say, as if keeping it silent would keep his statement from being true. "There was Jenova living in them…"

"Shit! Laney, are you sure you read that fucking print-out right?" Reno was tired, and this new revelation wasn't going to help him sleep at night. They had searched Hojo's lab top to bottom at least 10 times and still weren't ready to admit that the kidnapper had taken what they couldn't find.

"Listen, Reno! I don't want to believe it anymore than you do, but they're gone! Stuff like that doesn't just up and leave!" Elena stared at her check list. Everything on the inventory Hojo had last signed a year ago was present except for two very important items: an animation chamber and a large container of Jenova samples. The Turks had eavesdropped on too many conversations – they knew exactly what this meant. The rest of the needed supplies could be acquired easily, but these two items were crucial to a very twisted idea. Whoever took these things were probably planning on creating something VERY dangerous…

"Fuck, we need to find Valentine."

Rude kept quiet almost the whole day, but Reno's sudden interest in the former Turk sparked a bit of curiosity in the big bald man. "Why Valentine?"

Reno gave his partner a What-Do-You-Mean-"Why-Valentine" look. "Because Valentine's the only person still alive that has any fuckin' clue about the shit Hojo used to do. He knows all the ingredients and shit. He was there when they made that silver hared psycho bastard!"

After a few more minutes of Reno exclaiming that he couldn't believe this, the Turks were on their way back to Kalm. "Cloud's gonna shit a brick when he hears this."

Cloud jumped with surprise as the front door of Tifa's bar flung open violently; Vincent didn't seem phased. The Turks had returned. Reno wasted no time – he got right to the questions. "Valentine – what do you know about all that Jenova bullshit?" His demeanor seemed much more serious with his navy suit turning a darker shade of blue from the rain that had soaked into it.

Vincent fought the urge to roll his eyes. He just got finished explaining what he knew to Cloud, and now he had to answer to Reno. This was far too much talking for him in one day. "I know far more than I should."

Reno was flustered by Vincent's answer, but he held his anger to himself. Can't that freak just gimme a straight answer? But, since his answer was the least of Reno's reasons to be pissed off, he wouldn't take his aggressions out on Valentine. If you're going to make someone an innocent victim, make sure you'll be able to victimize them without them blowing a whole through your head. "Well, what do you think a shit head could do with a bunch of Jenova cells and one of Hojo's animation chambers?"

"Without a human specimen, or at the very least a colony of cells, next to nothing."

"Mother fucker! If that ass clown thinks he's going to use my president as a specimen, he's got another thing coming." Reno couldn't help but smirk at the confused look on Cloud's face, but he decided to spare the terrorist from his confusion just this once. "That's the shit the kidnapper took from Hojo's lab. We only have him on tape taking the cells, but we're assuming he's responsible for the missing chamber as well."

Cloud sat on bar stool with his mouth wide open in sudden realization. The men Vincent fought. Could someone have used that stuff to do that to them in only a day?! Holy shit… "Reno, could you do me a favor and get everyone from their rooms for me?" Cloud rotated, still suffering from a bit of shock, in his stool to face Vincent. "Vincent, I think it's time to tell everyone what we know. Everything that we know."

A/N: Wahahaha! Two in one day! Albeit, there's only a few hours left in the day, but it's still the same day none the less. While writing this chapter I received two, that's right TWO, not ONE review for the last chapter. Once again, thanks to the ever present Reno Spiegel and also to my newest reviewer Mewie9! Now I have two votes for the romance section of this fic. Anyone else care to throw their two cents in? It would be much appreciated. Sorry for the lame attempt at suspense, but I thought it was as good a place as any to cut off the relatively short chapter. Don't worry, I will throw in the upcoming conversation – I know I already put in everything that would be said in the story, but some might need a refresher course.