Chapter 3

Cloud opened his eyes and sat up. The group had stayed the night in his villa to avoid wasting money on the hotel rooms. He walked out of the bedroom door and growled. "I forgot to go wake up the others down in the basement!"

He turned around and saw a blue envelope taped to the door. "What the…?" Pulling it off, he broke the seal and pulled out a yellowed piece of thick paper. He looked positively revolted as he gazed at the blood drops scattered across it. "What sick person would do this?" He opened it and read:

Ah, my dear Cloud,

I see you've gotten the others involved. How like you. You could never really handle anything on your own now could you? Even to the very end of the journey, you needed your so-called friends to help you. Even now, you need your lovely wife Tifa by your side. You haven't discovered the bliss of loneliness. But I can tell you; I know it all too well. At times it envelops me, depriving me of life and happiness. Yet, it brings me great joy. Do you know why? Of course you don't. You wouldn't understand even if I told you, now would you? No, of course not.

Did you forget me, Cloud Strife? Did you forget what you did to me? No, you haven't, have you? You could never forget your meaningless victory, could you? Ah, Cloud, if you could only see me now. How ironic life is, eh? I'm sure you are wondering exactly what I've been talking about. Don't worry. Soon, you will know. You will know everything. I shall show you the happiness of loneliness. I shall show you the truth that lies deep in every man's heart. Only I, a man who was devoid of everything, including my own body, can truly understand happiness. Don't you want to understand, too? Don't you want to join me and your first love? Of course, the decision is yours. Make sure you choose the right one.

He crumpled it up and growled under his breath, "Vincent…" He couldn't fathom what had caused Vincent to become utterly insane like this. "What drove you over the edge?" he wondered allowed, stepping through the door to his bedroom where his wife still slept. "Tifa, get up!"

She slowly opened her eyes and pushed herself off the bed. "What is it, Cloud?"

"I'm going down to get the others. I'll tell you the same time I tell them." He ran down the stairs and woke up the rest of AVALANCHE, telling them he had important news. They grudgingly went to the living area and listened to Cloud as he read the contents of the letter.

"That sick bastard!" Cid yelled. "What the hell does he think he's doing righting *@#$ like that in a #*&# letter? When I get my *#*&@* hands on him, I'm gonna *!*&#$% him!"

Cloud shook his head and said calmly, "I don't think it's Vincent doing this."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Barret yelled. "Who else could it be?"

"Oh, it's Vincent's body, alright," the mercenary pondered, "but I don't think he has control of himself."

"How d'ya figure?" the fowl mouthed pilot asked.

"Well, it says that he was once 'devoid' of his body. Vincent's never been dead. He's been in a coffin and experimented on, sure, but who hasn't? I mean, I think maybe, just maybe, somebody else who was once dead has taken over Vincent. The clues in the letter all point to that conclusion."

Tifa sighed and replied, "Well, how did they get Vincent, then?"

Yuffie gasped and yelled, "Oh! I should've said this!"

"What is it?" Reeve inquired.

"Well, remember how Vincent or I wasn't there after Sephiroth died?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that's cause he fell off into the Mako. I tried to save him, but I couldn't. You guys just left without me. I'm just lucky I stole - err - borrowed the Bahamut materia. I summoned him and made him fly me to Wutai."

Cloud growled and shouted, "Why the hell didn't you say that earlier? Damn it, Yuffie!" He was so mad that he almost couldn't see strait. "How could you hide that from us?"

"Well, you deserved it for leaving me! I bet you'll think twice before trying that stunt again!"

He clenched his teeth and stomped outside. He just couldn't believe how stupid the teenager was. She had no concept of the real world whatsoever.

He took in a deep breath and started to think. "So, Vincent fell into the Mako. So that person must've taken over there. It could be anybody that's died, though." He sighed and slammed his fist against the hard wood of the rails, shattering them. "It could be anybody, damn it! Anybody at all!"