They traveled in relative silence.

Tifa was content to ride behind Vincent and watch the scenery pass them by, thoughts raced through her mind faster then the Golden Chocobo could cover ground though and she was always feeling eyes on her back no matter how many times Vincent assured her they were alone.

Tifa hated this feeling, she hadn't felt this powerless since she'd looked up into the sky and seen Meteor on the horizon, a looming promise of death that had been growing closer with every passing moment, it was only by taking comfort in Clouds presence had she made it through that turbulent time in her life...in all their lives.

But Cloud was gone...dead for all she knew.

She hugged Vincent tighter, her quiet lover didn't seem to notice at first, he was surveying the ground behind him, they were a day and a half out of Nibelhiem and heading for the water where Vincent had said travel to Rocket Town would be safer and quicker then a journey by land, Vincent turned his gaze on her after a quick sweep and gave her a quick nod.

"They're out there...they're quick...but we're half a day ahead of them...if we can get to the boat ahead of them we will be out on the open water where they can't follow, we'll make Rocket Town in another day or so"

Vincent's calm assured tone of voice reassured her and made her feel almost silly for her fears, but still Tifa couldn't fight that feeling of unease, Meteor had always been on the horizon, their mission had always been clear, find Sephiroth, stop him, save the planet from Meteor as impossible as their task had always seemed they had always been together...united as a team.

Now they were separated, and a threat was lurking in the Shadows striking out at them and if it was reaching out to them then there was no reason to assume that their friends were safe.

Tifa closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for the safety of her friends, Vincent watched her recognizing what she was doing he kept a respectful silence, he'd long ago given up on prayer, but looking back on Tifa he smiled...if he did believe in prayer surely Tifa would have been the answer to that prayer, when she finished Vincent took her hand in his good one and gave it a squeeze then without another word he urged the Golden Chocobo into motion and they were back on course moving towards their destination with all the speed the loyal bird could muster.

--

"No word from Nibelhiem sir..."

"Shit..."

Reeve cursed pounding his fist into his open palm venting his frustration.

"What about Cid in Rocket Town?"

"Nothing Mister President, we've been trying all morning" the guard said with a helpless shrug

"No Vincent...No Tifa...and No Cid...do you have anything positive to report?" Reeve asked from behind his desk his frustrations just about boiling over.

"Erm...Mister Wallace is ready to depart...and he's grumpy as hell waiting for your clearance sir...oh and he also stressed to me I was to make it very clear that you kept your er...Fat Ass Mog with you...and just sent Cait" the Soldier cleared his throat as if fearing some sort of verbal backlash from the President for speaking in such a manner

"Erm...his own words sir" the Soldier quickly added

Reeve chuckled and it felt good, the sudden break in the tension was even enough to bring a smile to his face.

"Let Mister Wallace know that he departs at Midnight...and his trip will be...Mogless as I promised"

The Soldier saluted Reeve and left hurriedly to report the message to Barret, Reeve sighed deeply and stood up from his desk, he paced about the room trying to put his worried mind at ease, his only contact in these last few weeks had been with Barret and Nanaki...The Guardian of Cosmo Canyon had confirmed Reeves worries that something wasn't right...The Planet was restless...and hadn't been this restless since The Meteor Crisis, Nanaki had agreed with Reeve that the team needed to be assembled immediately and Reeve had taken it upon himself to sound the alarm.

Reeve knew he had Barrets help no matter what the situation and that was a tremendous relief, but he hadn't been able to contact anyone else from the Team and this troubled him greatly, communications with Wutai were strained and Reeve knew he had to tread carefully there, he knew he had Yuffies support but she had her own problems to attend to...Godo was growing old and soon Yuffie would be taking her place as the next leader.

Unable to Contact Vincent, Tifa, or Cid that left Cloud.

And Reeve knew Cloud was beyond Contact...the young man had simply vanished off the face of the planet and Reeve didn't have the resources to track him down, Reeve knew though that if Cloud hadn't shown up by now then he was dead...the young man had a habit for being able to put his personal demons aside and come to the rescue when he was needed...if he hadn't made his presence known by now...then he was dead.

In his weaker moments Reeve even wished he could have tracked down the Turks and enlist their aid, but they'd simply vanished after the fall of Midgar, Reeve presumed they were dead as well, in other words he was knee deep in shit and he was pretty much slogging through it alone.

Rubbing at his temples Reeve decided to call it a day, nothing more could be accomplished sitting in the office worrying, he could do that just as well at home where at least he had a soft bed.

Glancing around at his office Reeve sighed, hopefully tomorrow would yield some good news for a change.

--

It was shortly after Midnight when Barret boarded the Helicopter, though he was no stranger to these kind of trips he still didn't enjoy them, he usually got a sinking feeling in his gut during take off and landing that he could have dealt without, but this mission was crucial and any minor discomforts he endured would be well worth it...except maybe seeing Yuffie again.

"If that brat even thinks about stealing from me...we gonna have ourselves an international incident!" the large man murmured to himself

"What?"

Seated across from him Cait looked up at him.

"Nothing..." Barret muttered "Better buckle up Cait...don't want anything happening to yo ass during take off or landing" Barret said reaching across the gap in-between them and pulling the seat belt across Cait and buckling it in, the fact that the belt effectively muffled the little robot by covering his mouth was merely an added perk.

"Shaddap!" Barret said with a wave of his hand "An wake me when we get there" he said leaning back and gritting his teeth as the helicopter took off, Caits protests were muffled and in Vain.

Barret sighed watching Midgar growing smaller in the distance, suddenly he felt a sinking feeling in his gut that had nothing to do with the bumpy ride.

"Got a bad feeling about this..." Barret said to himself before closing his eyes and grabbing what sleep he could.

--

"Master all is in place"

The cloaked figure gave no response that the words had reached his ears, he was gazing out at the full moon, Lotus shuffled his feet and looked around the room, finally when he was pondering repeating himself his Master turned and spoke regarding him with those twin red eyes that made even Lotus shift nervously.

"The Captive?"

The masters voice was snakelike and unpleasant to listen to, but Lotus swallowed and responded knowing he would earn his masters ire if he remained quiet for too long.

"She is being treated well enough...as were your orders" he spoke hesitantly

The masters eyes examined him as if peering into his very soul, Lotus shifted again.

"You doubt me..."

It was more of a statement then a question but Lotus knew that if he did not respond he would most likely be punished.

"I have...concerns Master" Lotus said hesitantly

"Speak them..." the voice hissed without hesitation as if challenging him

"The Pilots woman...the captive...we've captured her...surely he will come after her...and once Lockheart and Valentine unite with him they will make a formidable force, should they unite with more of their friends...it is just...I ponder if we are ready for such an attack"

The cloaked figure nodded.

"A good General always knows the shape of the battlefield...know this! The shape of the battlefield has not yet been set my loyal servant, you've played your part well but there are many battles left before the final battle begins...and when it does begin...we will hold the upper hand!"

Lotus watched as his Masters hands shook in anticipation of what was to come, hearing the passion in his voice it was impossible not to be swept up with him and share in his vision of blood and destruction.

"Now...I believe you have a job to do my General"

"Wutai..." Lotus grinned

"Yes..."

Lotus turned to leave feeling he'd been dismissed but his Masters voice followed after him

"Before you go...My faithful servant...Bring me the captive"

"As you wish Master..."

His Masters words followed him out into the hall making him smile...he didn't envy the poor woman in the slightest.

"I hunger..."

AN: Well it's been awhile hasn't it? But here's Chapter 7 up for all of you, I've been struggling with this one for a long time, it's fairly tame in the grand scheme of things but it serves to thicken the plot a little more before the next chapter in which I will bring it to a boil...or if you prefer...when the shit hits the fan! ;

-Lotuss