Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Note: Wow, I didn't think this idea would be so popular! Thanks to all my reviewers, I guess I have to keep the story going now, eh?

Second Note: No, Vincent's not evil, he's just fed up. And yes, I do like Cloud. Sorry if the fic's moving to fast!

Chapter 2: Cloud's Anger

The morning came swiftly enough for Cloud, who, at the moment, had no clue of what had happened during the night. He crawled sleepily off of the couch he had slept on (he had to share a room with both Cid and Barret, knowing everyone would rip his throat out if he claimed a room of his own) and ran a comb through his hair.

The comb didn't do much good—it was still as spiky as ever. No matter how much he insisted he had never used hair gel in his life, no one had actually believed him.

His two roommates were still snoring in their beds, so the spiky-haired leader went down to the lobby, the desire to wait for them not very great.

As it was morning and not the middle of the night, a few people were awake. Most of the footsteps taken were quiet because of the carpet, but every now and then a kid or two would run down the hall, their feet crashing against the ground. The noise wasn't too loud, but it was still noticeable.

"Hi, Cloud." Yuffie slid out of the not-so-creaky chair she had been in and left Red to shake the braids he had begrudgingly allowed the ninja to put in his mane.

"…Yuffie," he greeted. Still being slightly tired from just waking up, he didn't have the enthusiasm that Yuffie seemed to lack today.

Wait…Yuffie, not hyper…something is wrong here, he thought. He scanned the lobby and saw various other traveling people, but not Tifa, who was usually the first one to wake up.

"Where's Tifa?" he asked, scanning the room several more times to make sure she was really absent and not just standing behind a large group of people or something similar.

"She's…gone," Yuffie sighed. "She went to take a walk with Vincent last night, and I fell asleep while she was gone and when I woke up she wasn't there and so I thought maybe she was down here and when I woke up she, like, wasn't and so—"

"I get the picture," Cloud interrupted.

Red trotted over, cringing slightly as the dark-haired ninja attacked his mane once again with braids. "Vincent hasn't returned, either."

Cloud couldn't think of anything to say, so he went back to his room. Apparently his two roommates were no longer in there, as the room was basically void of any type of life, but he didn't care too much. That's when he noticed a small sheet of paper on the table next to the couch.

It was addressed to him, so he read it.

That's when Yuffie and Red ran into the room to see what he was screaming about.

Tifa wasn't really sure where she was. The room was cold and as she opened her eyes, she noticed that the room was dimly lit and her breath made small, puffy clouds in front of her face. There was a thin blanket over her, and she realized that she must have been lying on some sort of old couch. Her hands were shaking, both with cold and fear. Another blanket, this one much warmer, was suddenly tossed over her and she looked up.

"Vincent?" she muttered. The crimson eyes staring back at her, covered slightly in longish ebon hair, were easily recognizable.

The man said nothing and began to exit the room.

"V-Vincent," Tifa stuttered, sitting up as she pulled the warmer blanket tighter around her. Then she realized it wasn't just some red velvet blanket she was clutching. It was Vincent's cape.

She'd never seen the ex-Turk without his cape before. Garbed entirely now in black (besides his golden claw and headband), he looked just a little bit different.

Vincent turned his head over his shoulder, his breath puffing warm clouds in front of him as well. However, he appeared to not be bothered by cold.

"Yes?" he muttered.

"Where are we, and what the hell is going on?" the brunette demanded, standing up. She thrust the cape back onto the couch and yanked the sheet off of it, wrapping it around her, desperate for some warmth.

Vincent stared lightly at his captive, and moved towards the door. "We're here, and that's all you need to know." Did he feel bad about this? Yes, but no one would ever know unless he told them.

Cloud,

I assume you are aware that neither Tifa nor I (Vincent, in case you didn't know who wrote this note) are present this morning. She is with me. If you wish to search for her, go ahead. However, she will not be in your hands again if you do not let me return to my solitude. Yes, my reasons for doing this may be slim, but allowing me to join your group with the knowledge that I am a former Turk appeared to be a risk you were willing to take.

I can assure you that my hand will not take Tifa's life. That, though, is all I can completely assure you. Have a good day…

—Vincent

"That's just damn messed up," Barret observed. Cloud had begrudgingly let the rest of the team (minus Aeris for obvious reasons, Tifa, and Vincent) read the note.

"You think?" Cloud snapped irritably.

"Uh. So what do we do?" Yuffie asked, her voice frighteningly cheerful, considering what was going on.

"How should I know?" the spiky-haired blonde growled.

"You ARE the &$! leader for a reason," Cid muttered.

Cloud snatched the note from whoever had it at the time and crumpled it viciously. "I am going to KILL him," he snarled to no one in particular.

The brunette martial artist observed the tiny room where she was. It didn't have any windows, so she had no clue as to where her location was. Vincent had been gone for at least half an hour, and there was little to do in the miniscule building. There were three rooms in it: one bathroom, one bedroom with a small bed and a couch, and a third one that must have been the kitchen/dining room as it only contained a couch, a table and three chairs, and an old-looking refrigerator. There wasn't even a microwave, at least, not one that Tifa could see.

The door to the outside world was also in this room, although it was heavily locked from both the outside and the inside. She couldn't figure out how to work the interior locks, so if a murderer who knew how to unlock the outside locks came to this house-type place, she was, in short, screwed.

Just as she thought that, there was a noise from outside the door.

Yumesuta: Sorry it took so long to update! And sorry this chapter wasn't as good/as long as the last one. Eh. Well, anyway, REVIEW! Please…?