Chapter 9

Danis put Vincent in her room before going to get Cloud from Reno. He had already taken Cloud to his room from last time. The same room where Reno beat him up and almost killed him.

"Reno!" Reno turned away from Cloud.

"What are you doing here Danis?"

"Let him go."

"What!"

"You heard me."

"You're on their side now?"

"That's right, and if you don't do as I say I'll be forced to hurt you."

"You can't make me do anything, especially let Cloud go. I'll let Krad deal with you."

"Who's Krad?" Reno didn't reply. Someone grabbed Danis' shoulder and turned her around.

"I am."

"I've never seen you before."

"I'm the new Turk." I forgot about Rufus' program, she thought.

"So Rufus recruited you?"

"Yeah. So what kind of trouble is she causing Reno?"

"Just get her out of here," Reno told him. Krad grabbed her shoulder and dragged her out.

"You can't be causing too much trouble. You're too cute for that."

"And you're an idiot," Danis told him. "Let go of me." He released his grip. "How long have you been at Shin-Ra now?"

"Only a couple days. But I already know everything I need to."

"Right. I think you forgot something."

"What's that?"

"Don't let a good looking girl break your concentration." She rammed the butt of her gun into the back of his head. He slumped to the floor. She walked back into the room with Reno.

"Where's Krad?"

"On the floor outside." Reno glared at her. "Now let go of Cloud before I lose my patience." Reno turned back to Cloud, but instead Cloud hit him with his sword.

"Thanks for the distraction."

"No problem. Let's get out of here." Cloud followed her to Vincent, then outside in the direction of Yultown.

"Let's see what Squall has gotten himself into this time," Vincent commented.

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It had been over two hours. Squall and Tseng were still arguing, and Litta had had enough.

"You just can't stand her being close to anyone but you," Tseng was saying.

"And you can't stand the thought that she doesn't really want to be a Turk!" Squall shot back.

"Both of you SHUT UP!" They both looked at her. "I have been listening to you two argue about the stupidest things. I've had it up to here," she held her hand above her head. "If you two don't start getting along, or at least tolerating each other, I will personally kill you both with my own two hands!"

"You could have just said something," Tseng said.

"Stop. Don't talk. Don't say one more word, or I'll lose it." Tseng sat down, and it remained quiet for some time. After another hour and a half, Squall heard something moving outside the cave. Litta heard it too.

"I'm going to see if they can hear me," Tseng said. He began yelling at the entrance, but nothing happened.

"I'll check the cave," Litta told them. Neither knew what she was talking about, so looked amazed when she was able to squeeze through the hole again. "HELLO!" she called. The voices stopped. She held her breath, waiting for an answer.

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Vincent and Cloud had been leading the group around in the snow.

"You never know if an avalanche hit them while they were up here. They could be buried in the snow for all we know," Cloud was saying.

"Quiet," Vincent said. No one spoke. They heard a faint voice. It was calling 'hello'. "Did you hear that?" Everyone nodded.

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Litta called again, but this time there was an answer.

"Who's there?" came the faint reply.

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"It's Litta," Vincent told them. "They have to be buried under the snow right below us." They began clearing away the snow until they hit some rock.

"Danis," Cloud turned around, "use your gun and fire at the rock."

"No!" Vincent yelled. "That's probably what caused the avalanche in the first place, a gun shot."

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"Squall, Tseng," Litta shouted through the hole, "it's Vincent and the others." Squall was thrilled. Tseng was dismayed. "Tseng, at least we're getting out of here." Tseng agreed with that.

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"Keep digging!"

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Litta heard them digging above. If only I could help. Wait, if they fall through, they'll fall right into the hole in the ground. I'll have to be prepared to catch whoever comes first. She got herself ready.

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"We're there!" Cloud exclaimed. "I'll go first and see if they're all right." They made an order for who went next. He jumped through the small hole, feet first. Had he looked down, he might have seen there was no ground waiting to catch him, just Litta.

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"Got ya!" Litta breathed when she grabbed Cloud's arm. "Give me your other hand." She pulled him onto the ledge.

"Is everyone all right?"

"No. Squall's leg is busted. I don't know if it's broken, but he's doing okay. Who's coming down next?"

"Vincent." Seconds later, Vincent appeared through the whole. Litta and Cloud grabbed him in time. They caught Danis and then moved into the cave.

"Squall!" Cloud checked his leg, then noticed Litta's jacket. "Litta, you should have kept your jacket."

"I'm still here aren't I? It's fine, and the only thing I could find to hold together the brace."

"So if you all are down here," Tseng pointed out, "how are we supposed to get out?" Vincent looked at him.

"We can get through the rocks and ice easier with more of us working." Tseng said nothing, not having enjoyed being humiliated. It only took a half hour to get through, and Tseng was the first one out. Litta came second, helping Squall. Everyone else followed.

"It's good to see the sun again," Squall commented. "It may have only been a day, but it was a long one." Litta laughed.

"It was a long one," Litta commented. And an awkward one. She noticed Tseng standing in front of them. He turned around with his gun out. Not again.

"Litta, put Squall down and get over here," he told her softly.

"Tseng, you know what will happen if you fire that gun. Don't try it."

"I said put him down."

"No. He needs help, and you can't do anything with that gun. I took out your ammo when you were sleeping and dropped it down the hole inside the cave."

"You lie." He fired his gun, but there was no ammo. Nothing happened.

"I didn't lie. Now put it away." He did so, but pulled out another one.

"Don't tell me you took the ammo out of this one."

"You're right, I didn't. But please, this isn't the place. We should get out of here while we can." Tseng thought for a second, then lowered his gun.

"Let's finish our trip to Yultown." He moved ahead.

"Why are you pretending to be a Turk?" Squall asked when Tseng was out of hearing distance. Cloud and the others were a little distance behind them, giving them some privacy.

"What makes you think I'm pretending?"

"Litta, if you were really a Turk, you wouldn't have helped me. Nor would you have stood up for me."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Squall sighed.

"Will you ever open up to me again?" Litta faltered in her steps only a second, but Squall noticed. "Are you ever going to tell me how you feel?"

"Turks have no emotions."

"Turks may not, but you do."

"Even if that were true, I wouldn't tell them to you." Not when you never told me how you felt. She didn't realize that she had been thinking out loud, but Squall didn't tell her. They reached Yultown and Litta put Squall in a hotel room. When he was comfortable, she left him to get a doctor.

"I already got the doctor," Vincent told her.

"Oh, thanks." She waited outside. She looked around for Tseng but didn't see him. The doctor came out a few minutes later.

"He seems to be doing well. Whoever made that brace did a decent job. He's cured up now, but he might still be a little sore." The doctor left and Litta went in.

"How are you doing Squall?"

"I'm good. My leg's even better. Here's your jacket back." He handed it to her. "It still has some blood on it, so you might want to wash it soon."

"Thanks." Litta walked out the door and almost closed it.

"Wait!" She peeked back in. "I want to talk to you about something." Litta opened the door, but was pulled back.

"You're a Turk Litta," Tseng told her. "You will remain a Turk or you won't be able to save him the next time."

"Goodbye Squall." She shut the door on him. Hopefully you can tell me some other time, when I'm not keeping you alive. They turned a corner and ran into Cloud.

"Let her stay Tseng."

"She's a Turk Cloud if you didn't know. She will be coming with me." Cloud pulled out his sword and blocked Tseng's path.

"She's not going with you."

"Cloud," Litta said, "I'm going with him. Don't stop us." Cloud sighed and let them pass. Tseng led them to Sans' apparent winter home.

"Sans, open up." Tseng knocked on the door. Sans opened the door, but tried to close it again when he saw Tseng. He was pushed back by Tseng opening the door.

"What do you want?"

"Rufus wants you back."

"I still have vacation left."

"He needs you for some work. Are you coming?"

"What's she doing here?"

"She's a Turk."

"A Turk? Is she going through with his plan then?" Tseng nodded.

"What plan?" Litta asked.

"Of course you don't know," Sans said to himself. "I'm afraid you've come at a bad time. I'm a little busy with some things, but maybe in a week I'll come."

"Rufus wants you now," Tseng told him. "I'm not in the mood for an argument."

"Tseng, you and Rufus know I can't just pick up and leave like this. I need some time to get my things together."

"If you don't come, I have orders for what to do with you." Sans actually looked scared. He stood there for a minute considering his options and then bolted out the door. Litta and Tseng ran after him, but he knew the town better.

"Why did he run?"

"He wasn't going to come. He knows that I am supposed to kill him if he decides not to come."

"Why do you have to kill him?"

"He knows too much. If he talked to the wrong people, Rufus could be in some big trouble."

"What kind of information does he have?"

"That's classified information."

"Don't I qualify to know classified information?"

"Not yet. Right now we should concentrate on catching up to Sans."

"Where do you think he went?" Tseng thought for a minute.

"He's probably still in the town. He won't leave until tonight because he doesn't want to risk being seen."

"So are we going to stay up tonight to see if anyone leaves in the middle of the night?"

"Yes. If you want, you can rest now and we'll switch off through the night."

"Sure, but I'll take first watch."

"Fine, I'll get some rest then." He went to sleep, but Litta kept an eye on anyone moving about outside.

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"So why are you on our side?" Cloud was asking Danis. He had been asking her questions since Litta and Tseng left.

"Vincent was asking me questions the other day, and got me thinking. I decided the Turks weren't helping me and I didn't like who they were changing me into."

"So what will you do now?"

"...well, I was hoping to stay with your group. You seem to have the most contact with Sephiroth."

"There's a reason for that though."

"And that would be?"

"How much do you know about Litta?"

"I know Rufus thinks she's very important and that she's a Turk."

"What about her past?"

"That's classified information. Only Tseng or Reno can look at that information, besides Rufus of course." Perhaps I should wait. If she's just out to kill Sephiroth, and she doesn't know that Litta is his daughter, it might be better to not tell her yet.

"Sephiroth just has some unfinished business with us." Danis shrugged.

"Whatever it is, I want to be here when he shows up again." Cloud left so Danis could rest, and went to his own room. He shut the door, then stepped back in surprise.

"Please, stay calm. I'm not here to hurt you."

"Then why are you here?"

"I have information that may interest you." Cloud locked the door and shut the window.

"Sit down Sans." Sans sat on a nearby chair, a bit timidly. "What is this information?"

"It's about Rufus and his plans for Litta." Cloud listened closely. "As you know, he's been running a program designed for finding and training new Turks. Danis was the first recruit. Litta was next, and now Krad. Besides creating an army, he hopes to use Litta to-" Vincent picked that moment to knock on Cloud's door.

"Cloud?" he called. Cloud quickly let him in. "What is he doing here?"

"He claims to have information concerning Rufus' plan for Litta." Vincent said nothing, but sat in a chair close to the door. "Sans, you realize you aren't safe here. Tseng and Litta must be looking for you."

"They are. Perhaps I should leave and try contacting you later."

"Fine, but wait to leave until after dark." Sans did as Cloud suggested, and left just after midnight.