All But One

One Last Chase

Darkness was all that greeted his wakening. Darkness, and the sweet fragrance of shampooed hair.

He shifted his head and strained his crimson eyes in the black void to see a bundle of shoulder-length hair, dark and soft, pressed gently against his shoulder. Vincent wasn't used to having company during his sleep, but for some reason, he didn't mind too much having Yuffie watch over him as he slept through his recovery. He inhaled another whiff of the shampoo, and couldn't help but wonder how her hair could still smell so good after all that fighting.

She was actually not all that bad when she was sleeping. She was quiet, for one thing, which wasn't very much Yuffie at all.

Vincent flexed his muscles slowly, stretching out his limbs and wincing at the sores on his chest and shoulders. Getting shot was something he had gotten used to, considering his former reputation with the Turks, and not to mention his previous "death" at the hands of Hojo. But he sure as hell didn't ever expect to take bullets from Barret Wallace.

The wounds were all healed now, though he could still feel the irritating sores where they had torn through his skin. Some people would envy him for this ability, this immortality. Personally, Vincent felt that he had cheated death too many times.

He returned his glance to the slumbering girl that was leaned onto his bed. A portion of her hair was draped down onto her lips. Vincent reached out his human arm and brushed it away, feeling the soft texture of her skin beneath his fingers. He was a little startled when she winced at his touch, shifting in her uncomfortable position and smacking her lips a few times before returning to a deep slumber.

She had told him about Barret's victimization under the influence of that strange materia, which made him ponder. Earlier today (or was it yesterday now?), when he and Elena had uncovered the newly condensed materia from the ruins, he had noticed a strange presence within the red materia. It was as if something was inside. Something strangely familiar.

Vincent was no expert on the study of the Lifestream, or the condensation of Mako energy, but he knew a little thing or two about demonic presences within a contained form. Didn't Yuffie call it the Blindsight materia? Whatever it was, there was something unnatural about it. For one thing, red materia usually possessed summoning properties, not the ability to suck out emotions.

Vincent rose, and gently lifted Yuffie from her chair, placing her carefully onto the bed and pulling up the sheets that he had kicked down, and tucked it over her shoulders. He needed some fresh air after all that sleeping.

His eyes had adapted to the darkness, so he didn't have too much trouble finding the heavy red cloak that hung limply from the doorknob. He placed the new weight over his shoulders, brushing off some of the stains and dust he saw on it.

The hallway was dark and silent, except for Reno's snoring, which he could hear from three doors down. Vincent made his way through the corridor, glaring through the inky black void and placing his hand on the wall so he wouldn't run into anything.

That's when he heard it.

The entire facility rumbled violently at the loud explosion from the surface, causing Vincent to tumble a few times before regaining his balance. Well, what the hell was that?

Vincent turned to check up on Yuffie, and ran back to the room. She was awake now, eyes wide and confused.

"What was that?!"

Vincent shook his head. "I'll go check it out."

Barret's voice called out from the hallway.

"Hey! Where the hell's Tifa?!"

Vincent quickly exited the room and saw that Barret, too, had risen from his sleep.

"Oh, damn. Long time no see, Vince."

"Good to see you, too."

"Hey listen…um…sorry about shooting you and everything."

Vincent grinned. "Just glad it wasn't the other way around."

"Hell, man, that gun of yours would've blown my damn head off."

Reno and Rude came out from their rooms, soon joined by Yuffie and Elena.

"Anyone know what the hell just happened?!" the red-headed Turk yelled, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Sounded like a god damn Mako explosion!"

Elena shrugged. "I don't know. Your snoring seemed a lot louder than that."

"Hey, where's Tifa?"

"Where's the chief?"

Vincent shook his head. "I'll go check it out."

"Hell no, you ain't goin' alone! I'm goin' witchu!"

Yuffie nodded. "So am I!"

"Listen, ya bastards," Reno cut again. "We're all going! Now everyone get your damn weapons and gather the useable materia from Barret's room. I call dibs on the Contain and Deathblow!"

Rude scowled. "You don't even need Deathblow!"

"Oh, shove off!"

Vincent and Barret hastily made their way into the medical room, grabbing two or three of the materia that Elena had deciphered a few hours ago, and applying them into their systems. Vincent felt his muscles expand and contract as the Speed Plus boosted his mesomorphic build, as well as decreasing his lactic acid production, allowing him to run for a much longer time span. The HP Plus thickened his skin, and increased the effectiveness of his immune system and regeneration process. That was all he needed.

He pulled out Cerberus from his holster and cocked it with a movement of his thumb, and led his teammates back out into the hallway after they had finished retrieving their equipment.

Tifa and Tseng were still missing, though Vincent had a feeling they had something to do with that last explosion.

"Is everyone ready?" he asked bluntly, loading his gun with more bullets.

"No offense, Valentine, but…" Reno walked up, tapping his metal rod against his shoulder. "Don't be expecting too much action when you're on the same side as me. I'll try not to hog all the fun!"

"Oh shut the hell up! How many times did you guys even beat us when we were against each other? None! Zero! Nada!" This was obviously Yuffie speaking.

"All yaw shut up! Quit the damn talking and let's go!"

Barret led the way down the hall, heaving his massive gun arm, while his human one radiated multiple colors from the materia.

Reno couldn't help but grin widely. Finally, some frikkin' action!

-xXx-

Tifa felt her hands trembling.

It was really him. After an entire month of searching, after all the worrying, the confusion and the fighting, she finally found him.

They stared at each other for a while, Venge's groans of pain still echoing from the back.

But she couldn't remain still or silent for long.

Tifa ran up, embracing the man she loved with all her strength, letting the tears run freely as she finally reunited with Cloud Strife, the person she'd devoted all her love and attention to for the past four years, no, longer than that. All the fighting had been worth this moment. All the confusion and anger, all the pain and worrying, it had all been worth it. The past month had been too long, every passing hour and day had felt like an eternity without Cloud. But now, finally, she was with him again. It didn't matter what was going to happen next. It didn't matter if Venge had her killed. As long as she was with Cloud, she was willing to take anything.

"I missed you," she whispered, strengthening her embrace.

But Cloud only responded with silence.

-xXx-

Vincent knew something was wrong. He could tell by the expression on Tseng's face. Something had happened. Someone had been here.

"Chief! Where's Tifa?!"

Tseng remained silent, still glaring into the cloudless void above.

"Tseng. We need to know what happened."

"Chief! Did you see the boss?! Was the president here?!"

"They took her."

Vincent lowered his brows. "Who took her?"

Tseng closed his eyes, letting his long hair flow freely with the wind. "It's over. They have her, and I don't know where they're going. It's all finished."

"What the hell are you talkin' about, chief?!"

"The president. Cloud. Tifa. They're all as good as dead."

Barret stepped forward, grabbing the Turk by his collar and glaring at his face through cold, angered eyes. "Listen to me, ya son of a bitch. I don't give a damn what you think. Cloud and Tifa are not going to die. Now tell me what the fuck just happened."

Tseng lowered his eyes, pulling free from his grasp and straightening out the tie around his neck. "Why can't you understand what I'm saying? It's useless! Nothing we do can stop them!"

Yuffie hissed. "I knew you Turks were just a bunch of bastards working for another paycheck! That's what this was all about, wasn't it?! You thought if you saved the president, you'd get a raise! Well guess what?! Those bastards have Cloud and Tifa, and if you don't help us find them, we'll kill you as well!"

Elena and Rude grimaced.

"I swear to God, Turk," Barret growled, his glare still fierce. "If something happens to Tifa, I'm blaming you. Now if you don't tell me what just happened up here, I'mma shove this fuckin' gun up your ass."

Vincent's gaze was just as piercing.

With a deep sigh, Tseng began to tell them of his brother, and his unquenchable thirst for vengeance.

-xXx-

"Cloud, say something. Why aren't you—"

"He's got nothing to say to you," Venge snapped, pressing the towel against his nose. "He doesn't give a shit about you anymore."

Tifa ignored him. "Cloud! Cloud, it's me! Tifa!"

"Your presence means nothing to—"

"Shut up!" Tifa yelled, still clutching Cloud's wrists.

She could see the strange emptiness in his eyes, and it discomforted her. But she what she didn't see was the red glow emitting from his arm under the dark sleeve.

"Cloud, talk to me!"

The blonde man merely stared back, a little irritated at her endless ramble.

"Everyone was looking for you, Cloud." Tifa felt another tear roll down. "Everyone was so worried. Even the Turks…"

Cloud felt his finger twitch.

"What's wrong with you? It's me! Tifa!"

"I told you! He doesn't care!" Venge shrieked, wincing at the pain on his face.

"Cloud. They put that thing in you, didn't they? Here, give me your arm, I'll take it out."

Cloud pulled back, shoving her away and glaring.

"Cloud! You have to get that thing out! They put it in Barret, too! Come on, Cloud, let me—"

Tifa tumbled backwards, falling to the hard floor. Cloud now had his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"What are you doing?! Wake up, Cloud! Wake up!"

Tifa watched in horror as he slowly pulled out the katana from the scabbard.

-xXx-

Reno cursed, slamming his metal rod onto a large boulder and causing small sparks to fly out in response. "Well how the hell are we s'pposed to find them?! Where the hell would they take them?!"

"That's what we're trying to figure out, here, idiot," Yuffie muttered, rolling her eyes.

Barret was sitting on the rubble, his arms placed over his knees. There was no way they could track down the bastards. On top of that, they didn't even have a damn plane or anything to chase them. Maybe Tseng was right. Maybe it was over.

He cursed, smashing a rock with his prosthetic and shattering it into dust. If there was one thing he hated most, it was being absolutely helpless. It was a feeling all too familiar to him. He had been helpless to save Corel from ShinRa, he'd been helpless to save his wife Myrna, and he'd been helpless to save Dyne. The anger began to boil up again, and Barret could feel another scream welling up under his throat.

"What the fuck are we supposed to do?!"

Vincent stepped forward, reaching into his cloak and pulling out his phone. It had been out of service most of their time in Midgar. Cid was their only hope in locating their enemies, but even now, the damn phone wasn't working. They really were helpless.

Barret shook his head. "I can't believe I didn't see this coming. I can't believe I let that bastard take me!"

"Barret, you didn't know—"

"Tifa's gone now! Cloud is fuckin' gone! And all we can do is just sit around like a bunch of helpless fools!"

"I told you," Tseng muttered. "Que'd had this whole damn thing planned out from the beginning. But why didn't he take anyone else? He could've taken me if he wanted."

"Well you said he wanted to watch Tifa die at Cloud's hands," Yuffie said, crouched low near Vincent. "So since you read his mind and everything, what exactly does that Blindsight thing do, anyways?"

Tseng sighed. "Que'd didn't know much about it, only that it wipes out the host's emotions."

"I know what it does," Elena cut. "I scanned Barret's with the MD before we all went to sleep."

"Well what does it do?"

"Like Tseng said, it takes away emotions, but not all of them. It leaves one. The one emotion that dominates the person's mind. When Barret had the materia in him, he was so angry at the lie that Marlene and Tifa had been killed—that's why he attacked Yuffie. He was blinded by the one emotion he had left: anger."

Vincent nodded. "I see."

"Well that doesn't really help much in this damn situation," Barret growled.

"Actually. It does." This was Vincent again. "Let's just hope that Cloud's single emotion is his love for Tifa. It's the only thing that would keep her alive."

As they continued to speak through the night, Rude noticed the distant hum of a helicopter approaching from the sky. He pulled off his sunglasses, straining his eyes and beckoning his companions to watch.

"Look! Look, there!"

Vincent raised his brow. It was definitely a helicopter.

"Get ready!" Reno shouted, raising his rod. "It's probably the rest of them, coming to finish us off!"

"Let the bastards come," Barret scowled.

"No, it's not them."

Vincent strained his eyes.

He could see the small form of a man waving his arm from inside the chopper.

"It's the WRO Commissioner. Looks like we're going to save Tifa after all."