Chapter Six: Descending

Well everyone, do you know what time it is? Its boring Disclaimer time!

Disclaimer: Casseh does not own FFVII or any of the FFVII Games…although she wishes she did.

Yuffie and Vincent crouched behind a tree from out of the sight of the main road. The Mansion loomed over their head like a deadly shadow. A man had just entered the foreboding house. All this sitting and waiting for the guy to come out again was making Yuffie anxious. "C'mon, Vinnie! Are we gonna get in there and kick some major butt or are we gonna just sit here and wait?" Vincent nodded. "Yes, Yuffie, we came all this way just to sit and wait." The shinobi got her weapon ready. "So like, when are we going in?"

A light flickered on in the right most window of the house. "We go in now." He stealthily jumped from shadow to shadow with Yuffie following after. "So…we're just walking right in? Gawd, where is the fun in that? I think we should…," Yuffie stopped. Someone had put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump. She brought her weapon right under the felon's chin while Vincent put the Death Penalty to the man's head.

"RENO?" Yuffie and Vincent gasped at the same time. "What the heck are you doing here, Reno? Are you the one that has been hanging out here? Cause if you are, I'm gonna find a place to stick my Conformer…" Reno waved his arms warily. "Whoa, take it easy, Princess. We're after the goons that have been camping out here."

Vincent snarled. "How come I find that hard to believe?" Yuffie stood in-between the Turk and the Ex-Turk. "Dang Vinnie, give the guy a brake! Let's hear what he has to say, m'kay?" Reno made a painful snicker "Yeah 'Vinnie', would this face lie to you?" Vincent tightened his grip on the gun and spoke coolly. "It might. Tell us what you know and what you are doing here."

Reno sighed and held his shoulder. "Hey, I can't talk right now. I had to leave Rude out in the woods while I ran for medical supplies. I'm heading back now." Yuffie gasped. "What happened to Rude? Are you okay?" For the first time, Vincent and Yuffie noticed dried blood on his shoulder. "I'm fine compared to Rude. He's at the Inn. These goons jumped us on our way here. He took three bullets to the leg… Yo, man…I've got to go." Vincent shook his head. "First you give us an explanation real quick. Who has been staying in this house?"

"You see, the Shin-Ra building has been kept under lock and key for a couple of years until the President decided what to do with the important documents there. When Shin-Ra crumbled to its knees after Meteor, we were sent to retrieve the documents. When we came to get 'em, there was a man in the basement. His name is Ashton Talbot. Apparently, he had been searching for the files hidden there."

Yuffie nodded. "So, why are these old crumbly pieces of paper so important anyway?" Reno lowered his head and spoke low. "Because…anyone that got a hold of them might be able to continue Professor Hojo's work."

Vincent's eyes flashed when the old professor's name was mentioned. "Are the Turks involved?" The red-headed man shook his head. "Naw, the Turks have disbanded…we just carry the name. All that's left are me, Rude, Tseng and Elena." Reno continued. "Tseng has been on vacation for the past month. I don't know much more to tell you guys. Now…I've got to go get back to my buddy. See you later, hopefully."

The red-headed Turk waved in the darkness as he ran off to the Inn. Vincent made his way around the side of the Mansion and looked at Yuffie. "This may get dangerous from here. There isn't a chance of going through the front." He made a gesture toward the tree beside him. "We'll climb this. Yuffie, you go first and look inside the window to see if anyone is there." Yuffie protested. "Hey, why should I go first?" Vincent picked her up and helped her onto the first branch that was quite a ways off of the ground. "You are a ninja, aren't you, Yuffie?" The shinobi stiffened. "Of course I am, Vinnie! Now step aside!" She hopped gracefully from branch to branch, finally reaching a bough close to the window. The glass was dirty from its years of abandonment, but a small panel was broken, just enough for her to see inside.

From what she could tell, this was the room that led down into the basement; the same basement they had 'saved' Vincent from years ago. No one appeared to be moving in the house. Not a soul stirred. "Vinnie, the coast is clear. Come on up-!" A man stood behind her with a gun pointed to her head, his hand on the trigger. "Yuffie!" Vincent cried. The Death Penalty was already in his hand. The man fell to the ground with a bullet in his skull.

"Yuffie, are you okay?" The girl didn't answer the gunman. She was already opening the window and climbing in. Vincent jumped up into the tree with one bound. Climbing in the window, he saw Yuffie clutching her Conformer, looking about for anymore intruders. She pointed to the basement's secret entrance. "Ready to go in?" Vincent nodded. He leaned on the trap door which easily opened. Gawd, I expected it to be harder than this…but man…is this place freaky as mess! I had hoped we'd never have to come in here again. The first time was bad enough…having Vincent float out of his coffin all crazy like…

Yuffie followed Vincent down the winding make-shift staircase. It creaked under their weight as they neared the bottom.

Human, draw your gun.

Chaos! What is the problem?

Someone is ahead. He knows you are here.

How could that be possible?

It is all apart of his plan.

How am I involved with this plan?

Scheming…an elite force of demons…he does not seek you…

I grow tired of your riddles. Who does this Ashton Talbot seek?

He seeks what you possess….or…heheh…what possesses you…

Vincent drew his gun, vaguely startled by Chaos' words. "Vinnie…is there something down here?" The girl readied her ninja weapon. "Talbot…he's down here. He is waiting for us." Reaching the bottom, they stood face to face with a large metal door. "I don't recall this door being metal…" Vincent said mostly to himself. He turned the handle. It was unlocked. He stepped in with his gun ready and Yuffie by his side in a Wutai fighting stance.

"Hello, Vincent Valentine. It is pleasant to see you too, Lady Kisaragi. I have been expecting you…"

Author's Note: Hiya everyone! Hope that this chapter was satisfactory. If you see any spelling errors or contradicting issues in the plot…please let me know so I can fix it! Remember to review! MAJOR thanks to Anarchy's Ashes and Beatrix Ravenclaw for pointing out a terrible typo type thing…appreciate it. Oh, and Reno isn't always grammatically correct. That's just him and his sorry drunk behind. Many thanks! Oh! And remember to check out my new FFVII Parody called 'Sephiroth Went Down To Nibelhiem'! Yuffintine if you squint real hard. Gah.