Just one note before we start, if anyone finds spelling mistakes, wrong grammer or somthing i screwed up in, tell me please. It always helps!

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Chapter 3:- Death penalty

"GRAAAAAAAHH!"

That's all Cloud heard before he crashed to the ground from being pushed by the same pack of black wolves that rejected him time and time again though it looked like they had been beaten up quite a bit and were missing a wolf. They went straight for Vincent ("Great, they rejected me again!" Cloud Thought) but the dark grey wolves intercepted.

Were they protecting him…

The black wolves had easily overpowered them and thrown them aside but Vincent lunged at them, preventing anymore harm.

…Or was he protecting them?

Vincent and the pack surrounded the cubs, making a protective shield around them. Four little pairs of eyes peeked out from under the cloak, looking completely terrified.

…No…they were both protecting the cubs…

The black pack-leader charged forward at the alpha wolf, who was distracted by another rival to notice. Fortunately Vincent had noticed and took the strike for her. He let out a pained cry and dropped to his knees. The alpha wolf snarled viciously and jumped in front of Vincent, her teeth puncturing the flesh on the pack-leader's neck.

…And each other.

Cloud watched silently, amazed at how well they fought together. They couldn't have known each other long, yet they could match their attacks perfectly and before long the battle had been won. The black wolves hobbled away, whining and with deep injuries. They wouldn't be back again. The cubs crawled out from under Vincent's cloak and ran to their mother. They gave Vincent a concerned look as their mother licked his wound clean. Vincent gave each of the cubs a scratch behind the ears as if to say his wound wasn't that big of a deal. When the bleeding ceased Cloud decided it was time for him to return to the Sierra. Vincent was happy here, and Cloud didn't want to ruin it for him.

As Cloud left, Vincent heard a rustle of disturbed leaves and saw Cloud briskly walking away from them.

"Had he been watching us that whole time?" He thought as he fastened his cloak around him.

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"Cloud should be back soon." Tifa said as she glanced at the clock while serving breakfast to Avalanche and herself. It was quarter to nine, early for some, late for others.

"Where did the lad say he was going?" Cait asked. He was sitting on top of Nanaki (who was eating a salad) and because of having a stuffed body, didn't need any food.

"Uh…he didn't…" She lied. It wasn't a total lie. Technically, Cloud didn't say exactly where he was going, just to look for Vincent, but she couldn't them the whole truth. If she did, Avalanche would probably go out and kill him before Cloud had a chance to find him.

"Whatever you say, Tifa" Yuffie said though her voice was muffled from the pancakes that where stuffed in her mouth. She always gorged herself with food when they weren't moving but when they were she'd hardly eat a crumb. Everyone knew it was because of her motion sickness.

"If I ever get my hands on that #!&$)(#," Cid cursed, "My spear's gonna taste his blood!" He took a mouthful of toast.

Barret swallowed the eggs in his mouth and claimed "Yeah? Well not before his blood tastes my bullets!

Tifa's fists clenched. She couldn't believe they were speaking of Vincent in this way.

"You're both wrong!" Yuffie stated, still with a mouthful of pancakes, she brandished her large shuriken, "I'm gonna kick his ass first!"

Tifa slammed her fists on the table and stood up. The room suddenly went quiet.

"That's enough! How can you say this about our friend?" Tifa shouted.

Cid finished off his toast and calmly said, "Tifa, he's not our friend. He betrayed us and now he's gonna pay the price."

Tifa's heart fell to her gut and her blood boiled. Her eyes narrowed and focused on the pilot.

Then, taking in a deep breath, she screamed, "YOU COLD HEARTED BASTARD!" and ran off to her room. Cid choked on the second piece of toast he was eating.

"Chew before you swallow, Cid." Cloud mocked as he walked in. Cid coughed and whacked his chest with his fist a couple of times.

"Did you hear what she jus' called me?" Cid screeched, standing up from his seat.

"Yeah, I did. Whaddya do?" Cloud asked in a bored tone.

"Nuthin'! We was jus' talking about Vincent."

Cloud's eye's narrowed. Knowing Cid, he probably said something upsetting.

"What did you say, Cid!" Cloud said slowly. His tone was vicious and Cid almost seemed afraid of him.

"I…I……………………………………………………………………..Gotta go!" Cid ran off, abandoning his toast. Cloud glared at the rest. Yuffie continued shoving pancakes in her mouth and pretended not to notice, Barret twiddled his thumbs while whistling a familiar tune, also not pretending not to notice, and Nanaki was being his usual calm self. Cait was just sitting there; obviously Reeve did not want to get involved. Cloud sighed.

"I better go see Tifa."

He made his way down the hallway and knocked on her door.

"GO AWAY CID!"

Yep. Cid screwed up big time.

"It's me, Tifa." Cloud called. Sounds of fabric being tossed and shuffled could be heard through the door. Tifa opened the door, only a few centimetres though, and made sure Cid wasn't anywhere around. When she was certain he wasn't there, she allowed Cloud to pass through. The door shut after him with a soft click.

"Did you find him?" She asked eagerly, wiping away a few tears in her eyes. Cloud nodded.

"And…" She pestered, wanting answers.

"He seems a lot happier. His injuries have somehow healed and he's made some new…'friends'" Cloud explained. Tifa looked confused.

"Come. I'll show you."

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"There! Do you see?" Cloud whispered to Tifa. They had sneaked out of the Sierra without alarming the others and were now sitting up a tree watching Vincent with the pack of dark grey wolves. He was sound asleep, probably exhausted from the recent battle, with the cubs snuggled comfortably in his blood red cloak. The alpha wolf had her head resting in his lap while the three younger wolves were curled up near her. They seemed so peaceful, just laying there, sleeping the early hours of the morning away.

"That's Vincent?" She looked surprised. She hardly ever saw Vincent sleep and was beginning to think he was an insomniac. If she looked closely enough at the sleeping form, she could see the slightest of smiles across his lips. It was as if he finally found where he belonged.

"But he's not an animal," Tifa thought, "He's a human! He doesn't belong in the wild, he belongs with us, and…Avalanche…" There was doubt in the last word as she replayed the conversation at the breakfast table in her mind. They wouldn't really kill him if they found him…would they? No! She wouldn't allow it! If she had to, she would beat some sense into their thickheaded skulls.

"Hey, what's wrong with him?" Tifa heard Cloud say. She returned his gaze back to Vincent. He was still asleep, but he had a pained expression on his face. His claw had moved from lying limp at his side to gripping tightly on the right side of his body. The alpha wolf sensed his discomfort and rubbed her head against his stomach. His grasp loosened but as another wave of pain swept over him, he was forced to grip even tighter. The alpha wolf awoke and tried to calm him by licking his face.

"Something's wrong! I'm going to help him!" Tifa stated. Before Cloud could protest, Tifa had clambered down the trunk of the tree and was tiptoeing silently towards Vincent. At first the alpha wolf hadn't noticed.

SNAP!

The alpha wolf snarled. Tifa looked down at her foot and saw a stick crushed beneath it.

"DAMMIT!"

Before she knew it, she had four vicious-looking wolves alerted at her presence and ready to pounce. One did, a younger wolf. In an instant, Cloud jumped down from the treetops. Vincent's trained ears picked up the sound of a heavy blade cutting the air and soon realised Cloud was about to harm the wolves. His eyes snapped open and he bolted in front of the wolves.

CLANG!…………

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You guessed it, another cliffhanger. I felt guilty for not updating for 2 weeks (i usually go for 1 update a week) and then throwing a cliffhanger at you guys, so i updated again...with another cliffhanger. Go ahead, throw stuff at me, but you can't denie the truth that we all need cliffhangers.