Marlene had jumped off of the chocobo and had been wandering around the fields when saw a rather strange sight. In the direction Tifa had walked off to before, there was now a rather large dust cloud rising into the air. Sounds of howling followed by explosions were quickly added to the mix.

"What in the world could she be up to?" Marlene wondered aloud.

The jarring racket continued on for another five minutes before everything fell silent once more.

"Miss Tifa?" Marlene called out experimentally.

"I'm here," came a rather exhausted reply.

Marlene looked and, just coming over the last hill was a rather bruised and bleeding Tifa.

"Miss Tifa!" she exclaimed as she ran over to help her walk. "What happened?!"
"Pest control," Tifa replied, laughing at her own joke until a sharp pain jabbed her ribs.

"You need to rest!" Marlene said firmly. "Come on, I'll get something for you to drink."

"No...I think that...now would be a good time to cross the dunes. Y'know," she added, "before they all come back."

"Who is 'they'"?

"Oh, never you mind," Tifa soothed as she valiantly struggled to pull herself onto the chocobo.

Marlene wasn't nearly satisfied with that response, but she let the matter be for now.

The chocobo made quick work of the dunes, and they crossed without further incident. Upon arriving at the entrance to the cave, Tifa dismounted once more and slowly made her way to a grassy knoll where she could rest.

Her eyes jolted open as she heard a scream fill the air.

"Marlene!" she shouted as she bolted upright. "What's wrong?!"

Marlene could only point at the object of her fear.

"Oh..." Tifa said dumbly once she saw what had frightened the girl. There, upon a rather large pike were the bony remains of a Midgar Zolom. "It's all right, Marlene, it's dead. It can't hurt you."

Though fear still shone in her face, Marlene did her best to hide it. "W-Who did that to it? He must've been really strong! That thing is huge!"

"Well, I just killed about half a dozen of the darn things," Tifa fussed to herself. But she'd promised herself a long time ago that she would never let Marlene see her fight anything or anyone. "He was a hero," Tifa said in response to Marlene's question.

"Oh? You wanted to marry a hero, didn't you? That's what you told me before!"

Tifa smiled down at the little girl. "This hero lost his way, Marlene," she explained sadly. "He was looking for the answer to a question, but when he found it, it wasn't the one he was looking for."

"What did he end up doing?" Marlene gasped, totally entranced by the story. "Did he eventually find the answer?"

"Urm...uh," Tifa stammered. Upon retrospect, he certainly did do some horrible things. All it boiled down to, though, was his own inability to accept who and what he was. In that sense, maybe he wasn't such a lunatic after all. Everyone had difficulty finding themselves in life. But where others found the answer and, even if it was a bad one, accepted it...Sephiroth allowed it to consume him. He allowed it to motivate his actions for revenge- revenge against the world, and against his father, who had warped that very existence into something other than natural.

Was that all he was really after? An identity? Hojo had given his son an identity, but maybe he was simply trying to make one for himself?

She would never forget the look on his face. As Cloud dealt the final blow, Sephiroth's face was a mixture of anger, frustration, and desperation all melded into one. Anger at those who'd defeated him, frustration at his inability to realize his dream, and desperation...for he would not find the answer in his lifetime.

But in the lifestream, perhaps he'd finally been able to find peace. That was all that mattered, wasn't it?

"In the end," Tifa remarked softly, "I think he found the answer." Tifa smiled down at Marlene. "I mean, we can always hope he did, right?"
"Uh huh!"

"Good. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep."

Just as she nestled down to rest, she was disturbed once again by a cheery "Hello!" from Marlene.

"Marlene, I'm sorry, but could you please keep it down?" she asked, opening one eye to look at the girl.

When she did so, what consumed her vision was a large, cloaked figure staring down at her.

"Wha!" she shrieked, leaping up to her feet quickly, albeit ungracefully.

"Greetings," the figure said simply.

"Vincent!" Tifa smiled. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly. "It's been too long! Where have you been?!" She released her hold and looked him over. He still sported that same red headdress and coat, as well as his poor taste in hairstyle. At his hip was his beloved gun, complete with a new holster. His overall demeanor, although similar, revealed a subdued quality. Two years ago, he'd been constantly at odds with the inner demons he carried within his very being. It seemed now that there was no longer an internal war raging within him. Had he finally conquered the specters of his past?

"I have been keeping busy," he replied briskly. "Odd that I would run into you out here, though. Do you mind if I ask why you are here, and with a child, no less?"

"Well, I've been trying to find Cloud," she replied hurriedly. "I was on my way to Nibelheim to see if he was there, and I found out that you were headed in that same direction."

Vincent found an ideal spot on the ground and sat down, motioning for Tifa to follow suite. "I can already tell you that he's not there."

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked. "I was at Kalm and the innkeeper said you were there looking for me."

"I was, because there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Vincent replied. "I had assumed that you would be there, since it was where Marlene was staying."

Tifa shook her head. "I brought her back to Midgar with me," she confessed. Seeing Vincent's puzzled reaction, she hurriedly added: "It was always more of a home to me than Kalm."

Vincent shook his head. "Then my instincts were wrong. Midgar was the last place I expected to find you. That is why I was headed to Nibelheim next, to see if you were there. I have been leaving messages at all the inns I've visited so far, just in case you happened to run across any of them. Looks like my foresight paid off."

"Then...Cloud's not at Nibelheim?" Tifa asked, returning to their original conversation.

"No, and that's what I wanted to speak to you about. I have already met with Cloud."

"You WHAT?!" Tifa bellowed. "Where is he? You have to tell me!"

"Calm down," Vincent ordered firmly. "It's not what you think. He isn't the same person he used to be."

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked cautiously.

"He has become isolated, shutting himself away for the time being," Vincent explained. "When we met, there was a heavy tension in the air. Before I left he told me that I must not seek him out again, and that if I should see you or anyone else that I should tell them the same thing."

"That doesn't sound like Cloud at all!" Tifa exclaimed.

"No, you're right, it doesn't," Vincent agreed. "But it is what it is, and right now contacting him is a very bad idea for everyone involved."

"But I saw him!" Tifa said while pulling out the note she received from the church at Midgar. "He gave me this note, see?"

Vincent pulled out a similar one from his own shirt pocket. "I see then, that I was not the only one to have received an anonymous note."

Tifa's eyes began to water. "Then...Then if it wasn't Cloud, who the hell was it?! I could've sworn it was him!"

"Please, mind your language in front of the child," Vincent chided.

Tifa glanced over at Marlene, who was intently listening to their conversation. "Yeah," she said to Vincent, "Who the hell was it?"

Tifa gasped and covered her mouth. "Marlene! Don't use language like that! Now go over by the cave and wait for Mr. Vincent and me to finish talking!"

"Yes, ma'am," Marlene grumbled as she slowly made her way to the cave entrance.

"If it wasn't Cloud," Tifa whispered softly but fiercely, "then who was it?"

"I don't know," Vincent confessed, "but someone other than Cloud is obviously trying to get our group back together again."

"Then why wouldn't they just come out and reveal themselves?" Tifa countered.

"I was only a Turk," Vincent replied coolly, "I'm not omnipotent. For the moment, I suggest you put off your search for Cloud and accompany me while I pull together the rest of our party."

"You know where everyone is?" Tifa asked. "Well, I guess you were a Turk," she sighed when she saw her friend giving her a weary grin.

"When we all have a chance to converse we may come up with some idea of what's going on."

Tifa nodded wearily. "I guess that would be the best thing to do. So, where's our first destination?"

"North Corel."

"I see." Tifa leaned back onto the ground and closed her eyes. "Mind if I rest a bit before we move on?"

"About that..." Vincent paused. "If you don't mind my asking, what happened to you?"

"Don't even ask," Tifa groaned as she rolled over and attempted to go to sleep.

FFVII

When she finally awoke, Tifa saw that it was in the early hours of the morning. Bolting upright, she scanned the area for her companions. She needn't have worried however- Vincent had pitched a tent and set up a fire all while keeping a close eye on Marlene.

Slowly getting to her feet, Tifa wandered over to the warmth of the fire. "You should have woken me," Tifa chided. "I didn't need to sleep that long."

"If you'll pardon me, Tifa, you actually did. I took the liberty of applying some ointment to your wounds while you were sleeping," Vincent told her. "Besides, traveling with injuries like that would only slow us down."

"I'm sorry if you were in a hurry, then," Tifa apologized as she sat down next to her friend.

"Quite the contrary. I've been spending the evening chatting with your little accomplice. Although she's quite the chatterbox, it wasn't an entirely unpleasant experience."

Tifa peeked inside the tent and saw the brown-headed child resting peacefully on a sleeping blanket. "Marlene's a sweet little girl," Tifa agreed. "She's got her moments, but then so does everyone else."

"Indeed."

His lackluster reply gave Tifa the impression that their short conversation was over, so she turned her gaze to the flickering fire at the center of their campsite.

"Is something the matter?" Vincent asked out of the blue, causing Tifa to jump slightly.

"No, of course not. Why do you ask?"

Vincent shrugged. "You look sad. I think I already know the reason why."

Tifa quickly recalled their earlier conversation, which riled her emotions all over again. "I just don't get it," she said abruptly, her voice heavy with emotion. "If it wasn't Cloud, then who gave me the note?"

"Someone actually gave it to you?" Vincent queried.

"Well, not directly. I found the note, and I assumed the figure in black was the one who'd given it to me since he was right there. How did you get yours?" Tifa asked, pointing to the tiny slip of paper.

"I merely found it lying on my dresser," came his response. "The thing that troubled me the most was that there wasn't any sign of entry- from neither the window, nor the door."

"So you didn't actually see anyone," Tifa said mostly to herself. "Why would he show himself to me and not to you?"

"Perhaps," Vincent said slowly, "there was no reason for him to. The unobtrusive way in which the letter was given to me was more than enough to spark my interest and take up this journey. For you, well...considering your obvious attachment to Cloud, the best way to make you leave Midgar would be to let you think you were following him."

Tifa furrowed her eyebrows at his remark but decided not to take offense. She couldn't deny the fact that she did have feelings for the warrior. "But who could possibly know us that well?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea," Vincent shook his head. "That's why I believe it's best that we settle this matter with our other comrades present."

Tifa agreed. Noticing now that the sun had finally risen, she spoke up: "Should we get started, then? I'll wake up Marlene and you can get our rides ready."

"Of course," Vincent said bowing lowly.

Not five minutes later (along with one very unhappy little girl at having been woken up so early) and they were on their way through the Mythril mines. The birds proved to be versatile not only on top of the planet, but underneath it as well. With their help, the small party managed to clear the mines in just a few short hours.

Emerging into the heat of the afternoon sun was refreshing after having been underground for so long, but they didn't take the time to enjoy it. Now out in the open, Vincent and Tifa pushed their chocobos at a steady pace until dusk, where they once again set up camp.

This process continued for two days before the tip of the city of Junon finally began peeking over the horizon.

"Thank goodness!" Tifa whined. "My whole body feels like it's going to fall apart!"

"When was the last time you rode a chocobo?" Vincent asked humorously.

"Probably that time I begged Cloud to let me ride his at the Golden Saucer," Tifa remarked. "It was fun, but I never really had a desire to ride them for transportation."

"Well, we're almost there," Vincent consoled, "so you'll get to take a break then."

"Miss Tifa!" Marlene said, pulling at the back of Tifa's shirt. "Is that city over there Junon?"

"Yes, it is!" Tifa said sharing Marlene's enthusiasm. "That's the city where we'll catch a boat to the Eastern Continent."

"How's it gonna get across the ocean without mako energy?" Marlene queried.

"Well, it's gonna...er...that is, uh-" she broke off and looked at Vincent. "Say, just how do they move these things now?"

Vincent let a hollow laugh escape his lips. "What they're doing now isn't that different from mako. Once a ship reaches port, they remove enormous electric generators from the vessel and recharge them on land using solar energy. Then, once the ship is ready to leave they reinstall them. It's very tedious and hardly efficient, but it gets the job done."

"If they're using solar energy, why not just charge them while they're still out at sea?" Marlene asked.

For a reply, Vincent pointed to the sky.

"Solar energy is very unpredictable," Tifa explained. "We can't predict what the weather will be like, so if it gets stormy and the ship runs out of power, then we're stuck out there in the middle of nowhere until the sun comes out again."

"Ooh," Marlene nodded.

"For generators that size the solar plates would have to be quite large," Vincent added. "As it stands, it just isn't feasible to put them on any ship directly."

"Enough about solar this and that!" Tifa chimed. "We're finally here!"

Slowing their chocobos down to a brisk trot, the group ambled into the city and quickly made their way to the stable.

"We walk from here," Vincent said as he grabbed Tifa's suitcase along with his own.

"That's really not necessary," Tifa gushed as she made a move to take her case back.

"Please, I insist. I am more than capable of carrying a lady's bag for her," Vincent scoffed.

"Well, if you insist," Tifa shrugged. His kind gesture, though unexpected, was very much appreciated.

"So," Vincent spoke up, "now all we have to do is check onto the boat and wait for the departure."

Having been to the town many times before, Tifa and Vincent both quickly located the harbor and made their way to the loading station.

"How many?" the woman behind the counter asked, not even glancing up as she did so.

"Three," Tifa replied.

"One thousand, three hundred gil, please," the woman replied.

Vincent stepped forward and tapped his metallic claw on the counter to get the lady's attention. When she glanced up, her eyes nearly bulged out of her head and her back stiffened.

"Would it be possible," Vincent said smoothly, "for us to get a cabin near the gallery?" He merely stared back at her gaping eyes, patiently awaiting her reply.

"Y-Yes, of course!" she stammered. Pulling the tickets from her drawer, she quickly laid them on the counter and pulled a metal barrier down between them.

"Miss?" Tifa said as she knocked on the plate softly. "What about the money?"

"Just leave it on the counter, dear!" came her muffled response. "Thank you for your purchase, and have a nice day!"

Tifa flashed an irritated look at Vincent. "I don't know why it works, but it does," he deadpanned.

Dropping the gil on the counter, Tifa took hold of Marlene's hand boarded the boat with Vincent following up the rear.

"Let's see," Tifa said quietly, "cabin number...3? That's almost at the bow!"

"Looks like she delivered after all," Vincent chuckled. "I wasn't actually expecting her to react that way."

"Well, let's face it," Tifa grinned, "you just have a certain way with people."

Soon they arrived at the third cabin and, after setting their things on the beds and inspecting the room, Tifa exclaimed: "Now, who wants to go and get something to eat! I'm starving!"

Marlene was the only one who volunteered a raised hand.