Chapter Three



The faint signal on the heart monitor sank lower and lower, finally settling into a straight horizontal line, accompanied by a long, continuous beep, which ended as the monitor was switched off. The young doctor looked at his watch and said, "Time of death: 10.07."

The nurse gently pulled the bed-sheet over the patient's head. Poor Mr Jackson, she thought sadly. He'd been so nice and polite; he hadn't complained once, even when it was obvious he was in terrible pain. He'd been a brave man – she wondered what he had done for a living. Probably a soldier or a fire fighter, she reckoned. He must have been injured during the Weapon attack on Midgar. It was strange though, that he'd shared the same rare blood type as President Rufus.

* * *



Cloud and Tifa had spent the night at Barret's house, taking care of Marlene until a foster family could be found. They'd broken the terrible news to the little girl as gently as they could, but it was still too huge a blow for one so young. Tifa had been up most of the night comforting Marlene, who couldn't sleep and wouldn't stop crying. So many times she had watched Barret go off to risk his life for the Planet's sake, and must have wondered many times whether he might not come back alive. For him to die now, when he had renounced combat and begun a peaceful life, was a particularly cruel irony.

Marlene had finally dropped off to sleep through sheer exhaustion, and Tifa now joined Cloud in the front room of the house, sitting by the fireplace, the flickering flames piercing the darkness of the early hours of the morning.

"She's gone to sleep at last," Tifa said, unable to keep the tiredness out of her voice. "That poor kid. Why'd they have to kill Barret, of all people? This traitor is one heartless, cold-blooded…"

She trailed off, unable to think of suitable expletives to describe the way she felt. Cloud glanced up, "I feel the same way. I just can't believe a member of our party is doing this. We, all of us, gave our lives for what we thought was right. One of us must have been faking it all along, working for somebody else."


"I can't think who it is. I trust all of them - all of us."

Cloud gave a deep sigh and closed his eyes, as if he might wake up and find the whole terrible thing had been a dream,

"Well, we know one thing. It isn't you or me. We were together when we heard Red get shot."

"And we were with each other in Cosmo Canyon when Barret must have been killed," she added.

"Yeah. That leaves four: Cid, Vincent, Yuffie and Cait Sith."

"I don't see how it could be any of them. They all gave far more than they had to, in order to help us save the Planet."

"It doesn't make any sense to me either. We'll have to consider them one by one. Okay, let's start with Cid. He's got the advantage of having his own transportation."

"Right. We can call Shera and ask her if he's been using the Highwind recently."

"Apart from that, there's nothing. No motive. It can't be Cid. Let's try Vincent."

Tifa nodded, "Red XIII was shot, so that points to Vincent right away, even if it is a bit too obvious. We've got no idea where he's living or what he's doing, so there's no way we can check up on his movements."

"I don't think it can be Vincent. He just doesn't seem like the kind of person."

"None of them do."

"True. Let's do Yuffie. She's untrustworthy and she's deceived us in the past."

"But she's only a child. And again, there's no motive. Yuffie's not a murderer. She might kill for Materia, but Red or Barret or the rest of us don't have any Materia that she doesn't have herself."

"That leaves Cait Sith," he said. "Well, he's certainly deceived us in the past. He was in the pay of Shinra."

"Yes, but he left Shinra for us when we went to fight Sephiroth. There was no need for him to do that if he was still their spy."

"Yeah. Okay, it can't be Cait Sith. Tifa, this is pointless. We've just gone through all four of them and stated categorically that it can't possibly be that person."

"It has to be one of them. We should concentrate on trying to find out who it isn't. That's a lot easier than finding out who it is."

"Right," said Cloud. "I'll call a meeting and get all of us together. We'll talk it over and find out which of them it is."
"Don't you think that's risky? Bringing all of us together with the traitor?"

"It's risky. But I don't think it's any more risky than being apart. Being apart didn't keep Red and Barret safe. Having us all gathered together means the five of us who are true can defend each other."

She nodded her agreement, "Let's do it. Before there are any more killings."

* * *


Cid Highwind sat in his workshop, under the dim light thrown off by the single electric bulb that hung from the ceiling. Outside the building, Rocket Town was shrouded in the dusk, and the cries of wolves in the wilderness sent the village's children hurrying indoors, but Cid was thoroughly engrossed in his work. He took a long draw on his cigarette as he considered the map in front of him. It was old and worn, but the most reliable one he had. Downing a cup of
tea, he bent over the map once more and began carefully measuring distances and angles, determined to find the exact spot where the Shinra rocket had hit the ocean. Once he was certain of the co-ordinates, he would set out to 'borrow'
the submarine from Junon, and begin a salvage operation. If he could rebuild the rocket - he had a brilliant new design for the engines - he might make it into outer space again.

He glanced round, distracted, at the sound of a noise outside. Silence ensued.

"Huh. Thought I heard something," he said to himself.

He listened carefully in case the sound repeated itself, but he was disturbed by the ringing of his PHS. Cid looked round, and swore when he heard the ringing coming from underneath the pile of junk on his workbench.
"Dammit, I thought I told Shera to tidy this place up," he muttered, pushing aside various objects and empty beer cans, giving a satisfied grunt when he finally unearthed his PHS.

"Y'hello?" he answered it.

"Cid? Cloud here. We have a situation. Red and Barret have been murdered."

"You what?!" Cid yelled, spitting out his cigarette. "What happened?"

"We don't know. But it gets worse. The murderer is one of us, one of the party."

"Are you serious?!"

"I know, it sounds crazy, but there's no other explanation. We're getting everyone together to work out what's going on before it happens again."

"Right. Where, when?"

"We're at Barret's place in Kalm just now. We'll be here until we find somebody to look after Marlene. Get here as soon as you can. Come alone. Don't meet up with any of the others on your way. We don't know who we can trust."
"Got you. I'm on my way."

Cid hung up. He clipped the PHS to his belt, and grabbed the Venus Gospel from where it was leaning against the wall nearby. Lucky for him that he'd just finished repairing the Highwind, and it was good to go. Cid was heading for the
exit when he heard the sound from outside again. Normally he wouldn't have worried, but with what Cloud had just said, Cid was on his guard. He raised the Venus Gospel protectively, and crept silently towards the exit. Listening
carefully, he thought he could hear the sound of light, padding footsteps from outside. There was definitely somebody there.
"&*% this," Cid whispered to himself.

He kicked the door open and leapt outside, holding his spear in front of him, yelling, "Who's there?!"

There was nothing. Just the sound of the wind, the wolves howling in the distance…and something else. There was definitely somebody else there. Cid looked around, peering into the shadows. He needed some light. Fumbling in his
pocket for a box of matches, he swore under his breath as he realised he'd left them inside.

Something crashed into him from behind, sending him sprawling on to the ground. Somehow he managed to keep a grip on the spear, and raised it defensively against his attacker as he got into a crouching position. In the
darkness Cid could see something coming towards him, then a fist connected with his jaw, knocking him backwards again. He saw stars, but forced himself to remain conscious, and flailed blindly with his spear. A satisfying thump and a
gasp of pain told him he'd hit his assailant. Cid got to his feet and thrust the point of the spear in the direction he judged the attacks to have come from. He hit nothing. There was nothing.

Only the sound of light, padding footsteps running off into the darkness. Cid considered giving chase, but he couldn't navigate well in the dark, though his attacker clearly could. Instead Cid turned around and ran towards the Highwind.

* * *



Five of them sat around Barret's living room, none of them willing to speak or exchange eye contact, but occasionally glancing towards the window to see if the sixth party member would arrive.

"How long are we gonna wait for him to show up?" Cid said impatiently.

Cloud glanced at the clock, "Let's give him another hour."

Yuffie sighed and rested her head against the back of the seat, "Fine, let's sit here for a whole hour and stare at the wall."
"I think it's only fair we give him a chance. He might have been delayed," said Cait Sith.

"Perhaps," said Tifa. "Then again…well, I hate to say it, but it looks as if Vincent is the traitor. He must have decided we were on to him, so he didn't show up."

"He is aware of this meeting?" Cait asked.

"He didn't answer his PHS," Cloud shrugged. "I left a message."

"Maybe he's been murdered too," Yuffie suggested. "We should go check his house. Where's he living, anyhow?"

"No idea," said Tifa. "He disappeared after Aeris' funeral. I haven't seen or heard from him. How about the rest of you?"
The others shook their heads, and silence fell once more. Half an hour passed, with none of them willing to break the uneasy silence that permeated the room like a thick fog. Eventually Cid flicked his cigarette stub into the fireplace and sighed, "This is such a waste o' time. He's never gonna show up. I might as well come out and tell you my news right now."

"What news?"

"I was attacked outside my house, earlier tonight."

The others looked at him. Tifa said, "What happened? Are you all right?"

"Did you see who it was?" asked Cloud.

Cid shook his head, "Nope. But it was somebody who could see well in the dark."

Yuffie's head drooped, "Vincent has perfect night-vision. It's because of the things Hojo did to him. I still don't believe he's a traitor though! Vinnie wouldn't kill Red or Barret!"

Cait shrugged, "One of us did. He's the most likely suspect."

"I wonder who he's working for," said Cid. "Or do you reckon he's lost his mind and gone on a killing spree?"

"Difficult to say," said Tifa.

Cloud fingered his Escort Guard absent-mindedly and declared, "We've got to track him down and bring him to justice!"

Yuffie got to her feet angrily, "Now wait a minute! You can't sit there and accuse Vinnie without any proof! All right, he looks guilty on the surface, but I know he's innocent!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because…because…no, I can't tell you…"

"Can't tell us what?"

Yuffie hung her head and looked at the floor, "I know he's innocent. I know Vinnie would never murder anyone. I just know it."

"Sorry, Yuffie, but that's not enough," said Cloud. "You'll have to give us some evidence. Do you know where he was during the time of the killings?"

"No," she sighed. "I haven't seen him since Aeris' funeral."

"He must have had us fooled all along," said Cid. "He pretended to be emotionless so that he could hide that fact he was a traitor."

"He isn't a traitor!" Yuffie screamed, jumping to her feet once more. "He isn't! And he isn't a murderer!"

She turned away and stormed out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Cloud asked.

Yuffie made no reply, slamming the door shut behind her. Cloud stood to go after her, but Tifa shook her head, "Leave her. Let her sort herself out."

"She seems pretty convinced of Vincent's innocence," said Cait Sith. "I wonder if she knows something we don't."

Cid exhaled cigarette smoke and shrugged, "Possibly. But I reckon she's just a crazy mixed-up kid. She obviously likes Vincent and can't bring herself to believe that he's not what she thought he was."

"What we all thought he was," Tifa sighed. "I don't want us to get carried away with thoughts of vengeance. Killing him won't bring back Red or Barret. We have to – "

"Look!" Cid yelled, jumping out of his seat. "At the window!"

The other three turned to look where he was pointing. There was a flash of crimson as a figure darted out of sight.

"Vincent!" Cloud exclaimed. "He was watching us!"

"Probably deciding which of us was gonna kill next," said Cid, picking up the Venus Gospel. "Come on, let's go after him!"

He hurried to the door. The others got up and followed him. Cid pushed the front door open and the four of them left the house, looking around to see where Vincent had gone.

"No sign of him," said Cloud. "He must have gone around the side of the house. Come on, we'd better hurry!"

"Where's Yuffie?" asked Tifa.

"She'll be somewhere around. Our priority is to catch Vincent!" Cid exclaimed.

They ran around to the back of the house, looking for any sign of their quarry. Barret's house backed on to a large forest, and they caught a glimpse of his red cloak just as Vincent slipped into the cover of the trees.

"Careful. It might be a trap," said Tifa.

"No time to be careful! We can't let him get away!" Cid retorted, brandishing the Venus Gospel and running towards the tree-line.

"Wait! Wait for us!"

After a moment's hesitation, Cloud and Tifa hurried after him, with Cait Sith close behind them. They reached the trees, but neither Cid nor Vincent was in sight. Both of them had disappeared into the dark interior of the forest.

"They could be anywhere," said Cait.

"Cid? Where are you?" called Cloud.

There was no answer. Cloud stepped into the forest, scanning for the ground for any indication of which way the two men had gone. Unfortunately the ground was hard, and covered in pine needles, leaving no footprints or anything else they could use for tracking. They pressed on, hoping that Cid hadn't gone too far.

"Gosh, it's dark in here," said Tifa, as they walked further into the woods. "I can hardly see a thing."

"Me too. Say – where's Cait?"

Tifa looked around, "He was right behind us…where's he gone?"

"You don't think that he – that Vincent – "

"We'd have heard something if that'd happened – wouldn't we?"

"I dunno…keep your eyes and ears open."

She nodded, and they continued to make their way cautiously between the trees, stopping every now again to strain their ears for any noises that might tell them where the others were. Neither of them knew how they'd managed to lose Cait Sith, but the forest was dark enough that Cait might have taken a wrong turn and not noticed he had lost them.

"I still can't see where I'm going," Cloud said. "Watch where you put your feet."

As luck would have it, at that very moment, Tifa caught her foot in a rutted patch of ground and went sprawling forwards. Although they hadn't noticed it in the dark, they were walking on the edge of a small embankment. Tifa rolled off the edge of the embankment and disappeared into the darkness.

"Tifa?!" Cloud yelled, going down on his hands and knees to see where she gone. "Where are you? Tifa?"

If she made a reply, he couldn't hear it. Cloud stood and looked around him. He was alone, and Vincent could be anywhere. He hoped the others were safe. Surveying his options, Cloud decided he had three choices: head back to the house and safety; try and find Tifa; or hunt down Vincent. Trying to stalk Vincent in the dark, silent forest would be near-suicidal, given Vincent's vastly superior senses of sight and hearing. Nor did Cloud wish to beat a cowardly retreat while leaving his friends in danger. He decided to go after Tifa, then try and find some trace of Cait or Cid.

He cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, "TIFA?"

The cold emptiness of the forest swallowed his voice, and silence descended once more like a blanket. Cloud knelt down and peered around again, but the meagre light that peeked through the trees overhead, was not enough to see anything more than a few inches in front of him. He stood up once more and retraced his steps, trying to find a safe way down the embankment. He had to find Tifa.

* * *

Cait Sith began to worry. How had he managed to lose Cloud and Tifa when they had been right in front of him? He must have turned round to look behind him, then bounced on in one direction while they had taken another. He had no idea where any of the others were now.

There came a sound from behind him, and he whirled round in terror. Had it been footsteps, or was he imagining things? Perhaps it had been an animal or something…or maybe it was Tifa or Cloud?

"Hello?" Cait called nervously. "Cloud? Tifa? Are you th – "

He was taken completely by surprise as something heavy crashed into the back of his head. Cait slumped forward on top of the big stuffed moogle's head, his skull smashed flat, his megaphone falling from his dead fingers on to the ground.

The traitor threw aside the heavy tree branch and walked on. Now only four targets remained.