Author's note + disclaimer: Thanks for the awesome responses! You really made my day! Now, on to the next chapter about people that I don't actually own!

[ II ]

Cloud blinked several times in quick succession and winced. He had not fallen out of bed since he was a little boy so he felt a little embarrassed all to himself. His blankets, the dusty-blue one and a thicker slate-colored one beneath, were tangled between his awkward legs. He kicked then off and was in the process of straightening himself out when there came a knock on his door.

"I'm fine," he answered, knowing well that he couldn't possibly admit about the nightmare that sent him whirling over the bed.

He also knew that as promised, it was time to talk yet a part of him wasn't so sure he should share information that he wasn't quite privy to just yet. The left arm that took the brunt of the fall throbbed and he rubbed the sore area. It wouldn't do if the pain morphed into bruises. He'd really have to suffer a load of ridicule then.

Cloud shivered. If there was one other thing he didn't warm up to, it was the cold. He'd always been vulnerable to it. Snow was a beautiful sight to behold yet, his body told him it could do without. In his mind, snow always gave him the impression that anything it touched, turned into something more pure. He smiled forlornly to himself. Why am I thinking like a child? Even while snowboarding away from Icicle Inn, he recalled trembling in his boots at the sheer dry coldness. It made him shake like a terrified mouse cornered by a ravenous cat. Did cats eat mice? He didn't think so. Cats were sadistic killers who played with their prey and clawed them to death with no other specific purpose than to appease the desire to spread death.

There was undoubtedly a draft in his room and he looked to his window. It was shut and locked down. Maybe it was about time he really put some insulation over it. And under his door. Even the wooden planks below his feet felt like standing on blocks of ice.

Still in his full-on black sleepwear, he mused aloud that t'is the season to begin sleeping in the old attractive sweats. Cloud stretched his back and cracked his spine audibly before he swung the bedroom door open. It was a morning routine that helped jump start his blood circulation so if he didn't do it, something felt incomplete.

The smell of sausage and eggs mingled with the sweet alluring scent of pancakes wafted into his nose. It was in that moment that he realized his hunger. The last thing he had eaten was ice cream and cookies yesterday morning with the kids. Even he knew that those two things weren't exactly a healthy meal, much less a breakfast. His stomach churned noisily at the prospect of a delicious breakfast and with a lighter gait, he made his way downstairs.

Vincent was at the breakfast table along with Marlene, Denzel, Tifa and Barret. Nanaki was staring intently at the eggs before him and with one swipe of his tongue, the plate was sparkling clean. Both of his fluffy pups giggled and imitated him. Neither were quite as skilled, leaving egg yolks spilled over their plates and onto the tabletop.

"Good morning, Cloud," Tifa greeted as she set a fresh plate of sunny-side-up eggs before the small pack of red-furred tigers. "Pancakes?"

"Sure."

"Did the Turds find you?" Barret asked with a mouthful of syrupy pancake.

Cloud pulled out a seat and sat at the end of the table closest to where he'd walked in. Marlene and Denzel were busy watching in awe as Vincent sliced perfect pancakes into fun strips with his golden claws.

"Yeah."

"So?" Tifa egged on.

Cloud glanced at the children who were still enchanted by Vincent's little game. "There's been an accident at the Gold Saucer and they want me to go check it out."

"Accident?" Tifa set a plate of freshly made pancakes, sausage and eggs before Cloud. His stomach growled audibly and he quickly scarfed down one of the two cakes. He felt their eyes on him, waiting for him to continue. Tifa handed him a tall glass of orange juice as well and he gulped that down in one go.

"Anyone seen The Edge lately?" he asked after wiping his lips with a blue napkin.

The Edge, as simple and uncreative as it sounded, was Edge's main news paper source. Unsurprisingly, it was run by Shinra Corporation, which Rufus had been slowly rebuilding over the few years that had gone by. His Turks were loyal to him and the reorganization of their empire didn't take as long as one would hope. Midgard had been the most populous and prosperous city in all of The Planet and even after it's downfall, just the mention of Shinra had normal people spinning around in paranoia. After all, they did medically, scientifically create the monster known as Sephiroth…

"You think I'd subscribe ta that stinkin' paper? Why would I willingly hand a Gil ta that damned Shinra?"

No one else seemed able to respond positively to his query so Cloud decided to keep it vague for the sake of the young ones. "Seems someone out there got Dyne's idea."

All the adults froze; even Vincent paused for a millisecond in the middle of slicing up a Teddy bear pancake. Marlene and Denzel cheered excitedly which grabbed the furry pups' attention and they clamored atop the table to join in on Vincent's carvings.

"Who - " Nanaki began, but a knock disrupted their conversation. Cloud stood raking his chair back and went for the door. The little hairs on the back of his neck prickled softly so before he even opened, he
knew who was behind the door.

"Time to go." Rude announced monotonously. The red-head was preoccupied in the background, looking as jittery as a coffee-addict gone too long without caffeine.

Cloud tilted his head. "We didn't agree on this yesterday."

"The Boss will beat the juices out of us if you don't hurry it up!" Reno tapped his beating stick irritatingly across his shoulder, glancing left and right nervously.

"I need a minute." He shut the door on the Turks and went to his room. Cloud really didn't care about Turk business or Shinra for that matter but he couldn't allow himself to be responsible for Reno and Rude's demise even if it wasn't his fault to begin with. Sometimes his softer side got the better appeal.

The rest of the gang sat curiously in the kitchen waiting for Cloud's return. Just as Vincent decided he'd see what was happening, Cloud reappeared in the kitchen doorway, halting Vincent mid-step.

"I'm headed to the Gold Saucer with Reno and Rude." He turned in his boots and paused as a thought crossed his mind. "Don't follow me."

He left the group blinking after him with the ever-inquisitive voices of the children asking the others where he was headed. The three men walked to the open main square where Kadaj had once ordered Bahamut SIN to destroy the Shinra monument, believing that Rufus had hidden their Mother somewhere inside. Cloud faintly wondered if at the time it made any sense if Bahamut had shot their poor Mother into oblivion if it had indeed been hidden there.

The steel black helicopter with the red diamond sat quietly awaiting Reno's return while surrounded by analytical commoners peering into the seating areas.

"Ah! My poor, lonesome baby is safe!" Reno breathed a sigh of relief.

It was now obvious to Cloud that Reno had been uncomfortable leaving his "poor, lonesome baby" at the mercy of gawking common folk.

"Show's over, folks!" Reno tapped and parted the crowd with his metal rod and opened the pilot's door.

Rude slipped into the open back seat followed by Cloud. Most of the people recognized the men getting into the helicopter as Turks and the "delivery guy". It wasn't too complicated to pick out which was which when two of the three wore sleek, black suits and the blond was a familiar face. Reno picked up his communications earphones and looked over at the two in the back. "Clear out these people, Rude. I really don't want blood on my precious."

Rude poked his head at the adoring congregation and reached into this suit jacket's pocket. It didn't take a rocket scientist (such as Cid) to see what tactics Rude would use so Cloud turned to the people.

"Step away, please. We're taking off."

Obediently, the citizens swayed back like grass in an open field. Rude cleared his throat and sat back when Cloud returned his attention to the Turk. Reno laughed amusingly and powered on the switches; the blades spun to life with a high-pitched whir. Rude tossed an earphone onto Cloud's lap and placed a set over his own ears.

"Where's Rufus?" Cloud spoke into the little padded microphone.

"The Boss doesn't deal with Turk business," Reno replied.

"He's your boss. You're a Turk. That makes him in charge of your business." Cloud wanted to roll his eyes but stopped. "What happened to his wheelchair?"

Rude leaned forward. "You could say that the Lifestream healed it."

Cloud pondered the idea. Was that true? He was sure there were other people who could use the miracle instead of Rufus, such as...

Cloud looked to the ones In the distance. There was an elderly woman in a wheelchair being ushered by a young man, trailed by a toddler. It wasn't his place to judge though. As his thoughts continued, Reno lifted the party off and they were on their merry way.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence save for a few comments here and there from Reno which didn't fall on Cloud's deaf ears. He was busy wondering what he should expect when they land. When had the event occurred? He didn't subscribe to The Edge either. It'd be just like Shinra to clean up the space seconds after the matter. What was expected of him at the scene anyway?

The blinding neon lights of the Gold Saucer were still flashing, the blaring music was still ear-splitting and from where he sat, he could see that the many rides were still at it. Apparently, all power was still up and running, and one wouldn't have suspected anything abnormal had occurred from the outside. Reno pulled into a helipad at the very top that Cloud never knew existed. Then again, how would he have known? Another thought crossed his mind. What about the prison? Was it affected by the massacre?

"Oh, I almost forgot, yo. We also need to check out the prison."

Reno read his thoughts on cue. He shut off the plane's engine and the three stepped out with the propellers gradually slowing. Reno led the way, Cloud followed and Rude followed him. They stopped before a rusted steel door in front of the landing with the Shinra logo. Reno put his right hand over an electronic palm reading device and unlocked the door. The hallway inside was brightly lit like the rest of the Gold Saucer that Cloud had seen. The stairway leading down was bland and grey, but wide enough for the three men to descend side by side, and then some. Waste of space, he thought.

Several more flights lead them through another door in which Reno held open for the party. There must be some kind of security to that door because as Reno held it open, it buzzed and beeped with each passing body. A red light flashed as each one passed. Cloud wasn't surprised to find an equally long bleak hall that led to another door and through that, they were finally standing at the main tram entrance with a large brightly colored flag that simply stated, "Station Square".

Contrary to his prior imagination about the place being spotless, they were greeted by several dead bodies. Cloud's throat tightened.

"And here we are," Reno spread his arms wide.

"I'm not an investigator. What do you expect me to find here?" Cloud inquired.

Rude stepped forward and bent to his knees to examine a dead woman who looked awfully familiar to Cloud. In her beautifully manicured right hand were entrance fee tickets smeared with blood and in her left was a fairly insane sum of Gils. After all, the entrance fee was ridiculously overpriced if he recalled correctly. Her eyes were frozen open, the blues of her irises had dulled from the dilated pupils.

"See what you can find. Thats all," Rude replied.

Reno knelt beside Rude and prodded the dead woman's back with his stick.

"All I see are a few dead bodies. I'm surprised Shinra hasn't kept on top of it," Cloud stated, "and respect the dead." He nudged the two men with the toe of his heavy, black boots.

Reno swatted at his leg and stood. "So, let's begin."

"How are we going to do this?" It was Rude. The man rarely ever asked questions. It was more miraculous than him speaking out of turn when Reno was mouthing off.

Cloud placed a hand on his hip and looked around before peering down the entrance hall. "Let's split up. I'll take the Event Square."

"What? Hey, hey now. Don't go trying to pull something on us, you hear?"

Cloud gave Reno a shake of his head and started down the entrance hall. It wouldn't do to waste time trying to convince the red-head otherwise. There wasn't far he could go in the place anyway. He didn't know how to fly a plane nor did he savor memories of being down in the desert prison. Right as Reno was to protest, they heard voices coming from the door behind them. The party froze, ears as keen as fresh pressed iron blades.

"Are we going the right way?" A female voice.

"Look, this is the only way the hall leads."

"Shh! They might hear us!"

"You shush! You're the loudest one here!"

A gruff male voice responded heatedly, "What? Why I oughta -"

Cloud inwardly smacked his forehead. His two companions, if one could call them so, were slowly readying their weapons to surprise the intruders. Cloud sighed loudly and walked to the door that they had come through. The door swung open and Cloud crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Ahh!"

"What is it, Yuffie?"

Behind him, Cloud heard Reno curse under his breath at the shameless group of misfits. Nanaki gulped and backed away when he saw Cloud, revealing the entire crew. "What are you all doing here?"

Cid scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. "Following you?"

"And what did I say before I left?"

"Not to follow you..." Tifa replied meekly from Vincent's side.

"So what are you all doing here?" Cloud put on his most stern expression. He suddenly felt like a father disciplining a bunch of children who had too much candy on Halloween.

"Following you?" Cid responded again.

"We've got work to do, yo!" The impatience in Reno's voice was clear. If Rufus thought Cloud was impatient, he couldn't imagine what Rufus thought about Reno.

"Wait," Cloud began. "Since they're all here anyway, let's put them to use. We can cover more ground with more pe -"

"Eek!" Yuffie let out a high shriek. Everyone turned to follow her gaze, which landed on one of the dead bodies, a man partially suited as a Chocobo mascot. The costume head was several feet away exposing the balding man's lolled tongue and the drying blood pooled under his neck.

"What happened here?" Nanaki broke the silence, weaving into the open.

Yuffie covered her eyes dramatically. "It must be the Gi tribe! Oh no..."

"That's not well appreciated, Yuffie," Nanaki defended, "They may really pay you a visit for that uncalled for accusation."

"Could someone have set loose an uncontrolled summon?" Cid who chimed in thoughtfully.

"We don't know for sure, but what we do know is, it's time for work. Let's split up." Cloud resumed, "I'll take the Event Square as I said before."

"B-but I don't want to work! Y-you can all go and I'll just sit right here and - "

"Stare at the dead people?" Vincent finished for her.

"Rendezvous in one hour!" Reno called over his shoulder as he walked alongside Cloud through the tunnel.

"No! No, no, no, no! Someone, pair up with me?" Yuffie put on her puppy eyes. The large group dispersed, each headed in their own direction, ignoring her plea.

"Please? Cloud? I'm too young to die!"

Cloud was already halfway down the hall, ready to take his chute ride to the Event Square.

"Barret? Vince?" Yuffie wailed.

Tifa sighed. "Let's go to the Chocobo Square, miss."

Yuffie lept with joy, gigantic tears threatened to spill from the corners of her large, brown eyes.

"Yay! Thank you, Tifa!"

Reno stepped into the Round Square. He remembered the last time he was there. It wasn't a pleasant memory when one has Elena next to Tseng, practically drooling all over the poor man's suit. For the longest time, he had thought Elena was chasing after Rude but was told otherwise during one of their trips to Gongaga. He had to give Tseng some long-due respect for keeping calm while an annoying, idiotic, blond chick practically undressed him with her eyes. Had he ever seen Tseng lose his cool? He couldn't recall.

There were corpses of employees and visitors littering the floor every which way. The smell of rust mixed with an unidentifiable odor invaded his nostrils. In the distance was the gondola ride, still operating happily. As he approached, he took notice of several dead men and women, children as well, slumped lifelessly on some of the carts. One of the carts slowly passed and showed him a teenaged boy hanging over his seat, a large gash running from the top of his left shoulder down to his right hip.

"Just like the rest of the bodies," he thought to himself.

There was a control box to his right where a middle-aged, overweight man was slaughtered over. Reno walked to the box, took one quick look and shoved the man off. He fell into an echoing thud and splat as Reno pushed the red button - one of only two buttons. The ride slowed to a stop and he stepped to the car that halted at the platform. He unlocked the door, apologized under his breath and pushed the dead man to the far side and sat on the unstained portion of the seat. Using his magnetic rod, Reno smashed the green button and the ride jerked into motion again.

As far as Reno could see from the top of the ride, things looked no different except for the ant-like bodies sprawled in different areas in the wee distance. One thing he definitely noted in his quick observations was the fact that all the victims seemed either impaled by something thin and sharp, or were slashed by something thin and sharp. A sword, perhaps? After all, that was the conclusion reported to the Turks and with a scale of death this high, it was plausible that a demon was at work - a demon named, "Sephiroth". Was he really back? Sephiroth had sent failed clones to do his bidding before and empathetic remnants the last time. What was it this time? And more importantly, how exactly was a square round?

Never being the gentleman, Cid, the ex-Shinra engineer roughly overturned a dead man onto it's back with his shoe. Like the others, it was evident the man was sliced with a clean sweep of something sharp. Above him and to the right, a game with a snowboarder that looked oddly similar to Cloud, was paused on screen with red letters flashing at the motionless boy that the game was over and to press any button to continue. Unfortunately, the boy wouldn't be pressing anything for a long time, Cid thought woefully. The boy's sanguine had splattered over some parts of the controls and some were splashed on the screen, having now dried. He stood and made his way to the back, noting a dead child, probably Denzel's age, in the 3D battle ring with his opponent waiting to counter the next move.

An unhappy Mog stared at Cid from one of the games in the back. He remembered playing the silly, somewhat watered-down dating game when he had been here with Cloud and Co. some time in the past. A teenage girl and her friend both lay dead - the brunette slumped over and stuck uncomfortably between the seat and the game, and her friend, an artificial ebony-haired girl to her right was sprawled face-down over the slumped friend's chair. A fancy, pink, genuine diamond studded cellular phone was tossed carelessly beside their equally Gil-draining heels. Cid wondered how much Gil he could fetch if he sold off the diamonds individually but Cloud's unimpressed face overrode his greed.

"Fucking conscience," he swore, averting his lustful gaze off the sparkles.

Cid wrinkled his nose at the stench of iron and metal. It was doubtful any person were still alive in this horrid nightmare and if one were, he or she may have been scarred for life. Normal beings weren't used to such a disastrous sight. If he had one obvious guess, Cid would bet his beloved Highwind on the fact that the only person who walked out of there alive was whoever did the killings. Or, a group. He couldn't say for sure if it were the dealings of one insane murderer or the work of a radical team.

Concluding that there was really nothing he could do aside from gawking at the dead in Wonder Square, Cid turned on his heels.

The sound of a roller coaster speeding in the near distance reverberated into Barret's ears as he trotted under the spinning blue and yellow sign that blinked, "Speed Square". Immobilized corpses were scattered here and there, leading to the ride entry. A pile of dead ladies and gents formed what he supposed was once a line for the thrill ride. How ironic it was that their thrill did arrive and it was to die for. The rails to his immediate left rattled, signifying the coaster was approaching and as anticipated, it swished past him in a blur. Though it flew by in a flash, he definitely didn't miss the full train of more hapless victims to the murderous spree.

Barret clenched his fist and pounded the control's top angrily. The expired employee sitting propped against the machine slid onto the ground from behind. An image in the back of his mind was itching to display itself but there were more crucial things he had to take care and so, he pushed that scenery aside.

He took a step back to take in the full view and gasped when his attention fell over a stroller. "Oh god, please don't tell me..."

With shaking hands he hadn't acknowledged, Barret walked toward the lacey pink and purple stroller and swore silently, praying to a higher power that there was no dead baby. He took hold of the sun shade and drew in the deepest breath he had ever taken, closed his eyes, counted to three in his head and flapped the shade open.

"Sweet Mother of Gaia!" he panted heavily along with his erratic heartbeat. The seat was empty. His body flooded with relief yet he knew that only meant the infant was elsewhere. In the mother or father's arms? Maybe crushed under an adult? Perhaps with a parent at a different area? Or probably...

Barret didn't want to finish the thought as he stared over the roller coaster's metal and wood rails, then, beyond into the vast openness that laid below the ride. His stomach churned, sending bile up his esophagus. The last time he felt this sick and angry had been when Shinra burned Mount Coral to the ground and sacrificed his town.

That was it! That was the image yearning to come to his mind!

His once shaken hands of fear became furious. "Fuck you, Shinra!" he bellowed, rage seeping through his words.

He didn't know if Shinra were behind this catastrophe and feigned ignorance for face value or if it were completely unrelated, all he knew was that he needed to get the hell out of there and find living beings before he started shooting the damned building down.

Marlene's cherubic face flashed across his mind, dispersing the fire and served to sooth some of his anger. No, he didn't want to become like Dyne. He couldn't afford to take his self-loathing to Dyne's level. Marlene was his life and he'd sworn to protect her. He refused to soil the hands that kept his best friend's daughter - his daughter - alive and innocent of her biological father's twisted justice.

The endless roller coaster ride swished past him again as he faced the tracks. They were nothing but shells of what were once living beings however, he felt the people deserved their rest. He depressed the red button and walked away. As he exited the area, he heard the clacking of the train finally coming to rest at it's platform.

After everyone had walked away, Nanaki took it upon himself to guard the Station. Vincent had poked fun at Yuffie about the entrance, but Nanaki knew that someone had to keep an eye on things there when all else was chosen. There wasn't much to do other than stare at the structures of the building, randomly meet the dead eyes of soulless people and muse about what the others may have come across. For a short moment, Nanaki caught himself hypnotized by all the flashing lights. Was it unwise to stare so long at such bright, unnatural light? He shook his head, clearing the still-blinking lights behind his eyelids.

"I may be wrong, madam, but may I ask, have we met before?"

Nanaki sat on his hind legs as he questioned the dead ticket seller. She neither looked at him nor responded. Of course he knew she was long gone and probably halfway around The Planet in the Lifestream but he had to find some way to stave off his boredom.

"Perhaps that wasn't the brightest idea," he shivered lightly, the red furs on his back standing on end. "I'm creeping myself out."

He stood on all four paws and began to circle the Station for the nth time. The stink of death and blood were hard on his sensitive nostrils and he opened his mouth. Marlene had taught him that, "When something smelled too horrible, breathe through your mouth." The only downfall to that was he could now taste the scents on his tongue. Nanaki contorted his snout in disgust and exhaled loudly.

"What shall I do while I wait? I'm fresh out of ideas." He laid down and sighed, his breath fogging up the shiny marble floor beneath for a few seconds.

Just then, an idea hit him. Using his teeth, he unclasped the cellular phone from his left paw and set it on the floor. The soft thud echoed around the room, bounced off the walls and startled him. He hadn't realized how quiet it all was. That must've been the reason behind his restlessness. He jabbed at the phone artfully and soon enough, it was dialing out. Maybe he shouldn't be gabbing on the job but it didn't mean his eyes were closed. He could also listen independently with each ear too.

After several rings, the line finally connected.

"It's dad! Hi, dad!"

"I wanna talk too. Hi dad!"

It was the familiar, chirpy voices of his pups. "Hey boys! Holding up the fort?"

"Yet bet! Guess what dad?"

"I'm not sure. What?" Nanaki twirled the unoccupied ear around, listening to his surroundings while entertaining the children with the other.

"A nice man gave us some huge marbles!"

"Yeah! They're shiny and taste like nothing!"

Nanaki roared into laughter. His two children were always fighting to speak and always talked over one another at the speed of light. It felt like they were always in competition over who would speak and say what. "Really?"

"Yeah!"

"I like him!"

Oh boy, he thought. I'd better get to the speech about talking to strangers. "Was it the funny man?"

There was a middle-aged man who lived a few spaces down that loved to play ball and tell jokes with his kids. The "funny man" had two young boys that perished when the plate was released over Sector 7. Every now and then, the man would give them small gifts for reminding him of the times he shared with his own beloved sons.

"Nope," replied the first.

"Nope," echoed the second.

Nanaki furrowed his brows. "No?"

"It was a man we've never seen before."

"Never."

"Hm…" Nanaki mused briefly. "You'll have to introduce him to me when I get back."

"Yessir!"

"Yessir!"

"How are Denzel and Marlene?" He hadn't heard either of the two other children in the background. In times such as these where none of the adults could watch them, Denzel was in charge of keeping everyone safe and knowing where each child was. It was a large responsibility that Tifa and Cloud had placed on him so that the boy would realize that he was trusted. It gave Denzel a strong sense of duty and worth.

"They're playing a bored game."

"Board game!"

"That's what I said!"

"Nuh-uh! You said bored. B-o-r-e-d."

"I said board! B-o-a-r-d!"

The very faint sound of movement overhead yanked Nanaki out of the conversation. He craned his neck up, trying to follow the source. In his other ear, the boys were still bickering. Another weak brushing akin to the sound of clothes moving echoed into his ear. That sound was definitely not there earlier.

Vincent thought it was rather ironic and partly comical that he chose the Haunted Hotel. He hadn't done it on purpose but it was the first thought to come to mind and he simply verbalized the choice. The place was as he remembered: made for children. It wasn't the least bit "spooky" but they did have some interesting toys, such as the puppet receptionist. He looked to the creaky, wooden overhead beams. Artificial webs hung from the hole-riddled ceilings, strung across the beams and ended at certain wall planks. A variable size of plastic, black spiders were placed here and there in the webs.

He looked up the double staircase. The dramatic effects of lightening flashed, revealing an open set of double doors and a long carpeted hallway. Beyond that and from where he stood, Vincent could see more doors. Must be the hotel rooms, he told himself. As he made his way across the unnecessarily grand foyer, a fact suddenly struck him – it was quite odd that there were no dead bodies – real dead bodies. He had suspected he'd find some in the ironically tagged hotel.

The upstairs hallway however, reeked of death the moment he reached the top of the staircase. Vincent lowered his head to hide his sensitive nose behind his high-rising cape collar. The door to the immediate right of the hall was ajar and he assumed the strongest scent must be wafting from that room. With a light nudge, the door swung open on it's squeaky hinges. The first thing that caught his eyes were the dead couple lying in their own pool of blood having been soaked into the deep mattress. Both their bodies were skewered and atop a royal purple comforter. Dried blood had been running off the man's leg and onto the silver colored carpet. Vincent debated whether or not he should make his way in or avoid trampling over evidence. Having once been a Turk, Vincent opted for the latter and turned to the next room.

Each room that he swung open had the same vulgar death. The only ones that seemed halfway decent were the unoccupied rooms that had yet to be remade before the next customer.

"What devilry has come through here?" he worded aloud.

A part of him was at a lost for words at the cruelty at hand. Who could be heartless enough to slaughter so many innocent victims? Was it done by deranged hands or was there a specific purpose? Maybe it was a deranged person or group harboring a warped sense of purpose?

He turned away from the ruby and black themed room and glanced at the T-intersection of the hall. More rooms led down both directions and the stench of blood was slightly fresher.

"It smells a miniscule more fresh on this end," Chaos articulated.

Vincent nodded at Chaos' insight. "We'll have to check all the rooms."

Chaos snorted. "It's all the same. Why take the time?"

"Because you'll never know what secrets may lie just beyond the next door."

His demon didn't respond for several seconds. Vincent thought his other half had agreed but instead, he spoke in his usual tease. "You'll find nothing that will change what's been done."

"Can't change what's been done, yes, we know that."

"Then, we should be regrouping, Vincent."

"What you are trying to tell me?"

There was a pause. "What makes you think I'm hinting at something?"

Vincent weighed the two sides of the coin. Chaos could be hinting at something the way he had before in the Midgard ruins, or he could simply be stating an opinion. Sometimes, he wished he could simply allow Chaos to take over so he could strangle Chaos from behind the scenes and see if the monster liked being on that end.

He didn't want to give Chaos the satisfaction of winning so instead, Vincent chose to do an in-between by quickly doing a survey of the remaining rooms on that floor and the rooms down on the main level, before he decided it was time to head back. After all, he did have survival instincts.

The Battle Square hadn't changed much since Rude last saw it in action a number of years ago. He remembered that he and Reno had decided to try it out for the sake of being mischievous and found themselves in the pinchiest of pinches. If it hadn't been for Rufus' coincidental walk-through, the pair might have been pushed into the prison under the Saucer. Rufus definitely wouldn't like the idea of "bargaining" for his little worker bees.

Rude eyed the scattered bodies of contestants and audiences alike. It was apparent to him that none were spared and the person or persons behind the assaults were quick, clean and thorough. Many of the bodies were sprawled side-by-side as if they never even saw what their fate was literally holding. He pictured the rambunctious crowd cheering from their seats as fighters competed against one another and the next thing they knew, their world was spun off course and the life drained from their warm bodies.

He crossed the large room, stepping over spread limbs here and there. One man was lying face down in the center of the arena wearing what appeared to be a simple, red battle underwear – or speedo, Rude didn't stare long enough to decide.

The sand-colored stone floors were sleek with fluids; blood and… Rude shook his head. He'd like to think of it as blood and sweat but there seemed to be more than that in the mix. He'd seen enough to know what happens to humans when they've expired long enough. He made a face and pinched his nose with one gloved hand as he eyed from one lump to another. The man in the middle of the whole area caught his attention again.

"Must be the red garment," he muttered under his breath.

Curiosity got the better of him and he ended up walking around to the far side so that he could see more of the man's features.

"No good," Rude simply commented.

There wasn't much else to say. Dio, manager of the Gold Saucer himself, was dead. Of what he knew about the man through files from Shinra, the man had few friends and many enemies. Those that loved him, served him well but those that didn't like him, well, he'd try his best to send them into prison with the power he had as an "employee" of the infamous Shinra Corporation - or at least in his personal views, renowned. But was one person capable of this much destruction? No, there had to be more than one person involved. Perhaps a unification of Dio's enemies?

Rude made a mental note to himself that he'd have to dig up some information on Dio again. It had been ages since the time Dio was hired and the time of his death. Perhaps his scale had finally been tipped and the sands of time had run out. He also made a mental check off of the obvious damages to the bodies.

"I really don't like how this place is nothing like my memories," Yuffie whined, clinging onto Tifa's arm. Why did she have to come back to such a happy place filled with fun memories and have them literally be sliced and diced into a bazillion pieces by some psycho?

Tifa kept her demeanor calm but her heart was racing. She'd seen a lot in her years but it just didn't quite measure up when her mind was racked with death every direction she turned, coupled with the pungent odor of blood, guts and more that invaded her sense of smell. "Just keep an eye out for anything suspicious. We'll need as much information as we can provide for Cloud."

"Alright."

"Pun aside, look on the bright side, Yuffie. At least it's vibrant and cheery in the background."

Yuffie understood that Tifa meant the insanely colorful display of rainbows and lights and sparkles that illuminated the race track. She tried keeping her attention on those colors to keep her mind from wandering from the job at hand.

"Tifa, that wasn't quite the reassurance I was hoping for. I'm getting distracted by all the colors and not focusing on finding clues," she admitted, then, "Ah! Materia!"

Before Tifa could stop her, Yuffie dashed into the distance and procured something shiny and green. From where she was standing, Tifa could tell that the lanky kunoichi was correct, someone had had possession of a Materia. But who? Everyone she'd seen so far didn't appear to be magic users but there really was no way to categorize who did and didn't either. It wasn't as if people wore signs that stated their battle abilities.

Yuffie was still admiring and polishing the semi-dull Materia when Tifa crouched by her side. She watched Yuffie hold up the marble to peer through using the bright lights of the race track. "What kind of magic is it, I wonder?"

Tifa shrugged. "Well, green Materia are usually more helpful than – "

-CLANK!-

Tifa instinctively somersaulted back, skidded to a halt and looked at Yuffie. The younger girl had a sheepish grin on her face behind a barrier. "Yuffie…"

"I… got curious so I activated it. Sorry."

The taller girl eased on her defense and straightened out. What was a Barrier Materia doing in the Gold Saucer? "Well Yuffie, I think you've food something of value."

"Of course Materia are valuable!"

"That's not what I meant." Tifa walked back over to the smiling girl and placed an arm around her shoulder. "Make sure you keep that safe. Cloud will be glad to see that evidence."

Yuffie's lips pouted as Tifa led them on again. "I can still keep it, right?"

Tifa wasn't sure if she should lie to Yuffie about keeping the evidence but she supposed that'd be all up to Cloud and the rest of the party. Suddenly, Yuffie let out a yelp and slid from Tifa's arm, landed on her bottom and bounced flat onto her back. Yuffie whimpered in pain. She had slipped on a small pool of blood from a victim's body. Tifa chuckled and reached down to help Yuffie but before the younger girl could reach for Tifa's helping hand, her eyes averted to the high ceilings above Tifa's head and she let out a blood-curdling scream.

"S-s-Sephiroth!"