The sun was rising slowly, and pale light began to streak the concrete landscape. The wind had stopped blowing violently; now it was nothing more than a breath, ruffling the hair of the five people standing motionless in the alley.

Sitting miserably in a mud puddle, Aerith clutched her knees to her chest. She dared not move, even as those people advanced upon the man standing in front of her. Water soaked through her dress and chilled her already cold legs. The red cloak of her strange companion stirred slightly in the breeze. She glimpsed gold metal peeking out from the black pants he wore, a perfect match to his arm. What had happened in his past to bring him to this state? Aerith wondered. Her thoughts were interrupted – he was speaking.

"And is your compassion so limited that you would strike down even a former comrade before hearing his account of the matter?" A stone would have spoken with more emotion. The blonde woman's lip raised in a snarl. Gesturing with the barrel of the gun, she stopped walking and shifted her weight to lean against the featureless grey wall beside her.

"So, talk," she said.

"What is the nature of my supposed betrayal?" he asked.

The blonde – Elena – rolled her eyes and gestured to the black-haired man beside her. He produced a sidearm, seemingly from nowhere, and clicked off the safety. The "pop" echoed loudly in the sudden silence.

"You," Elena said, "are supposed to be telling us that."

"Why would you believe such lies?" The stone façade had finally cracked and Aerith could hear desperation in his voice. "Do you actually think me capable of desertion? Elena, listen to me. I didn't leave – I was captured."

She shook her head. "Vincent, you're a terrible liar. Who in the world would ever be able to take down a Turk?"

Aerith jerked suddenly. This man was a Turk?

"Elena, we're not invincible…"

"There you go again. We." She heaved a gusty sigh. "No. We're talking about you."

Vincent nodded. "Very well. I'll talk about me. I was guarding the hatch in the reactor, as you very well know, since you were doing the same thing. I decided to go check on the President's son. Rufus apparently decided that I would be payment for that madman who calls himself a scientist. I woke up in a laboratory, strapped to a bench after being subjected to the replacement of my limbs and an injection of liquid Lifestream. I…have… not…betrayed…you." The last words were bitten out as if they burned his mouth. "They want to ensure my demise before word of failure ever reaches the President. And they called you to do it."

Elena's eyes were hard slits now. Her hand clenched on the gun, the veins bulging. "Nice story, but it's full of bullet holes," she growled. "Just like you will be."

Aerith's fingers found the smooth outline of the materia nestled against her side.

"They want assurance of your demise," said Elena. "And that's exactly what they're going to get." She pulled the trigger.

With a cry of terror, Aerith leaped to her feet and thrust her arm forward, palm first. A blinding flash of green light exploded from her hand. The resulting clear wall of light rippled as a bullet impacted and bounced off. Aerith sank onto her heels, blinking spots from her eyes.

"A Barrier materia," Vincent said, turning around. "I won't ask how you got it." He extended a hand. Aerith grasped it and he pulled her to her feet. She stumbled, still weak from the aftereffects of adrenaline, and he caught her, holding her close to his chest. She looked up. Nearly hidden behind the fall of raven-black hair, his crimson eyes glowed with an inner fire. He caught her looking, and a curtain dropped over his eyes as he steadied her and moved away.

"Wait," Aerith said. She felt her face turning red and berated herself for imagining things that could never be. She continued, trying to control the unbridled emotions running through her. "Where are you going?"

He did not turn. "Away, before the barrier falls and I get shot." Now he did turn, fixing her with the full intensity of his gaze. "And I would suggest that you do the same." With a whisper of his scarlet cloak, he grasped a drainpipe and darted agilely up to the roof.

Aerith was left alone, standing in a dirty puddle with four Turks standing ready to kill her on the other side of the barrier. She whispered to the empty space where Vincent had stood. "I'm coming with you. Whether you want me to or not." With that, she hiked her dress to her knees and clambered up onto the roof.