AN: Well, 5th day, Thank you for all the reviews and help, it is so encouraging!
Pairing: RufusxVincent
Warnings: Violence, bad language

The helicopter blades cut the air as it headed down to the ground, whirling up clouds of dust. It landed on the ground, a short distance from the manor. Reno had chosen a spot that was out of sight, and that therefore should enable them to have the element of surprise over the kidnappers. The team slipped closer to the mansion, Rufus stroking the cold barrel of his shotgun. He would get Vincent back, and he would make them regret ever trying to take Vincent from him.

Tseng led the way towards the manor, noticing the single guard stationed outside the door. Without the smoke, they could see him clearly, but he was yet to look at the small group. The lead Turk calmly raised his dart gun and fired, nodding once as the man fell backwards, dead, with the poisoned dart embedded in his neck, and no noise. The group continued forwards, slipping the door open with no difficulty.

Rufus looked around, a shiver going down his spine. It was the first time he had been here since his father's death, and he had always detested the building. It was falling apart, unclean, and he had been planning to demolish it. He watched as Tseng headed up the decaying stairs, seeming to know which bits of the rotten wood to avoid. He didn't want to be here, but his resolve strengthened when he heard a cry of pain from upstairs. No one could take Vincent from him. Vincent was his, no one else's, and anyone who tried to take him away would suffer.

Vincent lay curled up on the floor, trying to resist the burning agony coursing through his body. He was in a pool of his own blood, and almost all of the bones in his body were broken. The demons within his body were overstretched, and could barely try to keep him alive, let alone worry about healing the wounds. He used his tongue to check his teeth. They were loose, but not as loose as they had been, and he tried to tell himself that was a good sign. These madmen couldn't hold him here forever. He was immortal, and they weren't, and Hojo was dead. Sometimes, that simple knowledge was the only thing that he could use to block out the demons' screaming.

Vincent closed his eyes tightly when he heard footsteps on the stairs, followed by shots and screams. He wanted to call out for help, but he couldn't make a sound other than the occasional cry of pain. He could feel tears slipping down his face. He didn't want anyone else to suffer, not again; he had already caused so many problems.

"She'd be alive if it wasn't for you." He whimpered louder, trying to make the voice in his head be quiet, to stop tormenting him. He hadn't meant for her to die, but he hadn't been there when she needed him. From then on, he had been trying to save lives. Cloud's, Tseng's, Elena's, and now Rude's. All it had bought him was more suffering, and no sense of redemption or forgiveness. He could remember Hojo telling him he deserved this, and now he had no choice but to agree. These people outside were fighting, and he couldn't move to help them. He couldn't stand let alone fight with them.

"VINCENT!" He sat upright, gasping in pain. Someone out there was calling for him. Someone had come to save him. His prayers had been answered. Maybe thirty years too late, but they had still been answered. He closed his eyes as a burst of light hit them, the door being flung open.

Rufus and Tseng had proceeded up the stairs, leaving Rude and Reno to deal with the remaining elements of the revolutionaries. They may have been SOLDIER, but years of civilian life had slowed their once lightening reactions to little faster than the Turks own, and without the element of surprise on their side, they were overpowered. Reno and Rude managed to stun all the rebels they found in the downstairs compartments with little difficulty. What they hadn't realized was that the leader was in the room above, supervising the prisoner.

Rufus spun around in surprise as the door slammed shut once he had entered the room. He had seen a red-caped figure in the corner which had to be Vincent, and was now facing the man who had shut the door, the man who had masterminded the whole operation.

"What d'ya think yure doin'?" He snarled, staring at the white coated president in sheer disgust and shock. He had never expected him to come here. This wasn't how the plan was meant to go, but it would just make his task of killing the man even easier, screw all the ideas of blackmail.

"Rescuing Vincent." Before the young president had even had a chance to think he had buried his fist in the other man's face, shattering his nose and causing a cascade of blood to pour down. He kicked out at the other's shin, moving him away from the door so that he could pull it open and Tseng could come in, and once the Turk had taken over, he was able to run to Vincent. The state the other man was in sent shivers down his spine. He looked terrible, but he knew that Vincent had healed from worse. "Vincent, it's alright, I'm here…" He whispered, stroking the ebony hair and murmuring soothing words. His heart skipped a beat as Vincent's eyes opened in hope and relief.
"Rufus…"

Rufus stayed with Vincent whilst the Turks returned the insurgents to the Shinra cells. After a few hours Tseng returned, and he helped Rufus to carry Vincent back to the helicopter. The wounds were beginning to heal, and Rufus assumed this was a good sign, though Vincent seemed to be suffering under a kind of delirium. He was tossing from side to side, murmuring names. The two that Rufus could pick out were Hojo and Lucrecia. He kept stroking Vincent's hair, waiting anxiously for his strength to return and for him to wake up.