The devil inside

By FFomni

Chapter one

"Just my luck," came a petulant retort from the driver's seat. "Trust that little bitch to ruin my vacation. I could be in Costa but no, here I am in Junon."

This comment earned Cid a smack on the back of his head. He turned to the back of the car to growl an unintelligible response at Tifa but the sudden turning of the car made him think twice.

"What was that for?" he yelled.

"That's for insulting Yuffie. And this," she smacked him again, "is for yelling at me."

Cid dropped his ever-present cigarette on his lap. He swatted his legs until it was put out.

"Damn it woman, I'm driving here."

A forced laugh erupted from the blond beside him.

"You call that driving? Even Reno drives better than this. And quit bitching. It's not our fault the brat's missing."

Elena watched the falling rain hit the window beside her and sighed. She made a mental note to remind herself to ask Reno why they were working with Avalanche. Sure, Godo paid them well enough, but Avalanche? Two years ago if someone said they would be working with Avalanche, she would laugh in their faces and shoot them for making such a ridicule suggestion. Funny how fate works.

A week ago they had received a call from Godo saying that Yuffie was missing. She was in Junon for about a month before her father lost contact with her. As usual , Godo didn't know what she was doing there, only that she was helping a friend. He had also contacted Avalanche, who naturally, performed to the goody-two-shoes status and came to the rescue. So now, Elena, Cid and Tifa were going to check her apartment, Reno and Rude (she still wanted to know why those two went together while she babysat the twerps) went to a bar where she used to hang out and Barrett and Nanaki went to check out… the local materia stores. It was a stupid idea but with Yuffie, they never knew.

Only Cloud and Vincent were missing.

Vincent left shortly after the destruction of meteor and Cloud didn't wait much longer. He tried to stay with Tifa for a while but it just wasn't in his blood to stay in the same place for a long time. Perhaps it was an effect of spending five years in a trapped jar, on a dusty cellar. He became a mercenary, just like Zack wanted to. Every month he stopped by Kalm to visit Tifa, until about three months ago.

He went to her house, stoic as usual and didn't speak a word. They had dinner, she tried to speak to him and finally she gave up. She woke up in the morning to find the blankets in the same place she had put them the night before, and his Ultima Sword leaning against the wall. She also found a note that read:

Take care of her. She helped us out once and I may need her again.

I'm sorry for hurting you

Cloud

They never heard from him again.

Reno's eyes surveyed the room as his partner questioned the barmaid. After a short "persuasive conversation" one of Yuffie's old acquaintances told them she used to hang out on this bar whenever she stayed in Junon.

Godo would surely have a heart attack if he saw this place. Reno grinned.

Leaning against the bar he looked at his surroundings. It used to be a fishermen-bar a few decades ago and almost nothing had changed. Rickety chairs and wooden tables that were placed on a disorganized manner, the few fishing trophies and old photos that lined the beat-up walls and the two light bulbs that hung unprotected by the roof gave it a somewhat vintage look.

Almost every patron was over fifty, had long beards and a rotund beer-belly. Cups seemed to be banned from the place as every drink was served on an obscure jug.

As it seemed the only thing that changed since the old fishing days was the conversation. Since Shinra established its offices in Junon, the water had turned from crystal blue to foamy green, which did not go well with sub aquatic health.

The only thing that caught Reno's attention was a figure by the back door covered by a hooded black coat. Usually, since it was raining, that wasn't enough to catch his attention. However this figure seemed to be intent on watching them yet, careful enough to divert his gaze whenever he was looking.

Reno stared a little longer at the figure until he, or her, stood up. He dropped a few coins on the table end exited the bar through the back doors. Reno shot a glance at Rude, but the man didn't see him.

After a moment of hesitation Reno left the bar searching for the other man.

The rain fell heavily on him, swiftly turning his blue suit on a shiny black. He looked around and saw the hooded figure walk in the direction of the bridge. The waves loomed furiously below the old bridge. Only the occasional thunder let Reno see where his prey was.

"Hey pal!" he called.

The figure kept walking towards the middle of the bridge.

"Hey you! Wait up!"

Reno ran to catch up but carefully enough to avoid slipping on the wet concrete. He was about to put his hand on the stranger's shoulder when he spoke for the first time.

"Touch me and that hand will never touch anything ever again," he said without turning around. (1)

Reno stood astounded, his left arm high in the end, but the look on his face turned to one of anger.

How can a street thug dare to challenge me! Bun that voice sounded strangely familiar. He thought.

So he took a step back and as he pulled his wet mass of red hair back, he pulled his nightstick out with his right hand and charged it.

"Why don't you turn around now?" he said after making sure the man had heard the high hum of his nightstick.

The man turned around with a small dagger on his right hand.

Damn, I still can't see his face.

"How's that little kitchen knife gonna protect you against this?" he grinned as he waved his weapon a little.

"It won't. This will," the stranger raised his right arm a little and the sleeve of the black hood fell down revealing a shiny blue Bolt Armlet rimmed with materia.

Fuck! This is gonna complicate things a bit.

His musings were suddenly interrupted as the stranger shot towards him. Reno managed to dodge just in time. He tried to hit his opponent in the head but he just dodged. After a few minutes in which none successfully hit the other, Reno thought he had enough. Charging his nightstick he lunged forwards. His opponent saw an opening and went for it.

As Reno felt the blade make a shallow cut on his shoulder he spun around, taking the knife he always carried on his nightstick holster and went for the other man's neck.

Expecting to feel the blade slicing through flesh, Reno was a little surprised when he heard a clang of metal against metal. Golden metal knives blocked the way of his knife. Five of them to be accurate. Backing away, Reno saw that the knives weren't knives at all. Instead of a hand the stranger had a golden claw attached to his left arm. A name rushed suddenly to his head.

"Valentine?"

The stranger chuckled.

"I'm afraid we have to part now. If you are wise I would leave the matter alone. Yuffie is our matter not yours. I heard the Turks were doing fine so you shouldn't need Godo's money." The stranger backed away to the railing of the bridge. "Tell Godo that Yuffie will be home soon."

And he jumped off the bridge.

Reno ran to the railing but as he looked down, only the black ocean greeted his sight.

"Fuck, that guy pisses me off," he grunted and leaned against the railing. He let his head fall back as the rain stroked his face. His PHS rung.

"Yeah?"

"Where the fuck are you?" Elena's whiny voice complained.

"Taking a sun-bath," he tried to sound nonchalant. "Why?"

"We've had some company. Vincent Valentine was in her apartment and ran off as soon as we got in."

AN: I know it's a crappy chapter but it's my first fic so bear with me. Reviews would be greatly appreciated as well as constructive criticism. Also forgive me for the bad spelling or grammatical errors but English is not my first language.

(1): my humble way of paying homage to a great movie. That was Trinity's line in Matrix: Reloaded. Mail me ffomni(at)hotmail(dot)com

FFomni