Author's Note:

Reno: Haha!

Reeve: Shut up. Now.

Reno: I knew you were Cait Sith!

Reeve: Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

Reno: But... it's funny!

::Reeve stabs Reno in the face with a broken beer bottle::

Reeve: Face-stab!

Reno: ... ow...

Reeve: Ownings the rights to Final Fantasy Tyramir is not having.

Reno: You know, just because you're now a small puppet doesn't mean you have to talk like Yoda.

Reeve: Face-stab!

Chapter Ten

Homecoming

The news of Vincent's unknown fate rippled through Avalanche like a small wave of sadness. No one had been particularly close with him, but he was still missed. It was not on the same level as Cid's death, or even Reeve's unfortunate fate, but everyone in the group still felt lessened. Cloud felt a fellow warrior depart, and knew it had to do with the Planet's warning that not everyone in the group would survive the troubles to come. Aeris felt pity for him, and hoped that if he were dead, that he would feel peace with his return to the Planet and not bring tainted thoughts of his horrid past with him. Yuffie merely shrugged off the Turk's disappearance, acting like it didn't matter, when everyone could tell that in some measure it did. Red XIII understood all too well the conflict that Vincent Valentine had been forced to go through day in and day out, fighting an animal inside of him, and sighed, hoping that the beast within had not consumed him. Other than Cid, Tifa had been the closest to Vincent, knowing what it had been like to be so close to the one you loved and to not have them. She hoped he found some form of peace, or at the very least, a painless release. While Rude had not know the Turk personally, he had moved through the ranks idolizing him, having heard of the legend that Vincent Valentine had been in the ranks of the Turks. And lastly, Barret, who felt he barely knew Vincent at all showed the most frustration at his disappearance.

"I hate it!" he said, bellowing to the entire room filled with members of the small rebel group. When he had formed his loose company, he had done so expecting to save the Planet from Shinra. He had never foreseen Avalanche turning into a group that fought against would-be Gods, enemies from the sky, Weapons of the Planet, or Meteors. And he had never expected to lose people along the way. Jessie. Biggs. Wedge. Aeris, even if she did come back. Cid. And now Vincent.

"This is all fucked up," he continued. "We save the damn Planet not once, but twice, but we keep losin' people. This shit is messed."

He was tired of it all. Tired of having to be the hero, having to fight on while others seemed to drop away. When was it going to end? When was he going to get a break?

"It's okay, Barret..." Tifa started, but he cut her off.

"No, dammit. It's not okay! It's never okay. I didn't know him too well, hell, none of us did. But he was one of us. I respected him for that, even with all his damn secrets. And now, he's gone."

"We don't know that for certain," Aeris said.

"Like hell we don't. Red said he found blood, and Vincent's cape and gun. That's more'n enough for me."

Red XIII quickly disagreed. "I did find what you say, but I didn't find his body, or any other remains. It's entirely possible that he still lives."

"Maybe," Barret said grudgingly. "But we don't know that. Not for certain. And I... uh... I been doin' some thinkin'."

"What kind of thinking?" Cloud asked.

"Aw hell. It's just... Sephiroth's dead. Jenova's gone. Rufus is still out there, but it's not like we're gonna be able to stop him any time soon, right? So I been figuring... we been through a whole lot. And.... I think we need some time off."

"No," Cloud said.

"What?" Barret exclaimed. "What do you mean, 'no'? It's a perfectly reasonable request! Get yer damn spiky head out of your ass for a minute an' hear me out!"

Cloud was already shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Barret, but... I've had a visitation. Some part of the Planet spoke to me."

"Ah hell, here we go again. You're goin' crazy all over again."

"Let's listen to him," Aeris said, walking across the inn room and stepping between the two. "This may be important."

"Thank you, Aeris. I don't mean to sound heartless, Barret, but this is important. The Planet came to me. It looked like Cid. Even spoke like him. But it wasn't him. It warned me that something was coming, something that would threaten the Planet. And that we have to stop it."

"Was there anything else?" Aeris asked.

Cloud hesitated for a minute, as if he were about to say something, then shook his head. "No. Nothing else. Nothing that mattered."

"Aw hell," Barret said. "Did it say how long?"

"Soon, but that's it." He seemed to be thinking, and then looked Barret directly in the eyes, holding the larger man's gaze. Barret saw some sort of inner conflict in there, but he wasn't sure what it was. "I've changed my mind, Barret. I think we have long enough. At least a week. Take Marlene and go to Corel or something. Spend some time with her before anything bad happens."

"You sure about this?"

Cloud nodded, looking away.

"All right, man. But if you need me, you just call me up on the PHS, okay? In the mean time... I want you to hold onto somethin' for me. Just to prove I'll be back. And so I can leave this fightin' behind for a little while."

"What is it?"

Grabbing onto his gun-arm, Barret pressed down the release button, accompanied by mentally triggering the neural link in his brain. The weapon came off with a snap, and he handed Missing Score to the Soldier. "I just wanna spend some time with my girl. Don't wanna be weighted down by no weapons."

"But what if some sort of monsters attack you?" Tifa asked. "Or whatever the Planet warned Cloud about happens?"

"I'll take my Materia with me," he said simply. "I'm no good with it, but it's something, right?"

"And I'll accompany him," Red XIII said. "That is, if Cloud allows it. I wish to see Cosmo Canyon for a little while. I miss home. And since Corel is fairly close to the Canyon, I can travel with him for most of the way."

"And I wanna go see Wutai!" Yuffie interjected.

Cloud nodded. "I think we all need some time off. But we have to all agree to meet here in one week. This is important."

Everyone made murmurs of agreement, not speaking too loudly. They gathered closely together, all of them embracing in some form or another. Cloud even shook Rude's hand, and then rounded on Barret. The two looked at each other for a long while, and then roughly hugged, patting each other's backs. They awkwardly separated, and then each member of the group went their own paths.

Author's Note:

Not much of a chapter, mostly just prep. Action will pick up soon. Next, Rufus and the Turks, probably followed by Reeve. After that... well, we'll see.