We are finally getting to some action! It's been pretty boring working up to this, but I hope it's been worth it! Also, after rereading this, it's crazy to see how open Vince was in the first chapter with trying to keep Yuffie happy. It's like, dang, Vinnie.

I'm sorry guys, but I'm a little POed right now, because I just went through and edited all of this, and when I clicked save, my internet connection freaked and shut down. So, if I miss something, please please please put it in a review, because I doubt I'll catch it this time around, and frankly, I'm too peeved to really give a Hojo.

Like what I did there?

Also, I can't concentrate because my dog has this weird obsession with wet towels, and she just dragged one out of the bathroom and is proceeding to burrow and nest in it, her collar jingling all the while.. Sigh.

I'm also temporarily half blind. My contact ripped inside of my eye. It hurtz.

Valkera: Thanks! I didn't know if that scene was over the top or not, but the reception was pretty good :) Thanks!

CupofTea: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the scene! ^-^ And I do so love a faithful Vinnie!

Disclaimer: Noperrrs, I don't own or profit from FFVII! Shocker o.o

"Excuse me?" Yuffie snapped, her voice bitter and her eyes narrowed. Nails bit into flesh as her fists constricted, extracting little dots of crimson blood. She could feel the rage within her growing, bubbling up.

She did not deny for a minute that Chaos was affecting her emotions.

"How do I feel about who?"

"How do you feel about 'whom,' mortal. It is obvious that they teach nothing useful in your little human schools. When I was a fledgling, my first ability acquired ability was the proper way of hiding a body. We were told that once on Gaia, all other skills would be rendered useless if at first we could not destroy the evidence —"

"What a charming story, Chaos. NOW BACK TO THE SUBJECT!"

There was a lengthened sigh in Yuffie's mind, making the ninja's eye twitch. Finally, Chaos indulged, "As I was once a piece of your lover—"

"Oh, please do not say it like that."

"Useless mortal. As I once embodied your host—"

"I think that might be worse."

"For the love of Jenova — shut the hell up, you heathen!"

Yuffie rolled her eyes and cursed under her breath, which did not escape the demon within her mind. "Fine, whatever, Death-breath. Go on with your stupid story."

"I cannot get a word in edge-wise when dealing with the likes of you… As I was saying, I have some cognitive connections with Vincent Valentine, formerly of the Turks. It seems that he and Miss Crescent have met up within the Lifestream. She is accompanying him, the Cetra, and the SOLDIER. Oh, and your child."

Yuffie's veins felt like ice and her face drained of color. Truly, she couldn't (shouldn't) be angry. It wasn't like Chaos had told her that Vincent and Lucrecia were getting it on in some void-like dimension.

"No, I didn't tell you such things, but I didn't say they weren't."

Yuffie nearly jumped, hissing, "Get out of my head, you stupid demon!" She stuck her lip out and pouted, upset with Chaos. "Wait, on second thought — stick around, I'd like you to clear this little matter up for me."

She'd bet money that Chaos was pinching the bridge of his nose at the moment.

"Simply, it means my ex-host and his ex-lover are joined within a dimension that excludes the living, and subsequently, you. It is not unreasonable for his affections to return to the scientist. You and I both know how lovelorn he was for her fair grace and womanly body, the exact opposite of you, my dear, though I mean no disrespect — or at least, not much.

"And let us not forget how much he adored his dearest Lucrecia, even after all she had done to him. I hesitate to inform you — oh, who am I kidding? I know for a fact that at this very moment Lucrecia Crescent is vying for your gunslinger's affections and attempting to convince him that since you do not exist in the realm of the dead, he would be better off without you. She's very… sensual, that woman."

"You lie!" Yuffie screeched, her head throbbing and her heart wrenching. She felt the little pricks of salt water behind her lowered lids. No, she could keep it together. He was a demon, and they lied, right? She didn't think she could hold on much longer if she had to add, 'Dead Vincent sleeps with Dead Lucrecia,' to her list of reasons to have a mental breakdown. "Vincent wouldn't!"

"Wouldn't he, my dear?"

Yuffie shook as she begged, "Chaos, you have to help me! Tell me, what can I do!?" She knew she was giving him exactly what she wanted, but at the moment, she'd tango with this demon if it meant keeping Vincent away from that witch.

Chaos cackled, replying serpentine-like, "You and I are going to find Shelke Rui and use her to access the summon materia."

Yuffie ceased her crying for a moment to sniffle and ask, "What good will that do?"

Nonchalantly, the demon answered, "Her life shall be forfeit in favor of access to the Lifestream. To take one from the Lifestream, you must sacrifice another."

Yuffie blinked. "Really? That's really — you're going with that? Wow, people these days are so unoriginal…"

In her mind's eye, she could almost sense Chaos' eye twitching in vexation as he seethed, "I. Am. A. DEMON! For Jenova's sake, treat me as you would treat an elder!"

Yuffie snickered. "Okay, Grandpa, so we sacrifice Shelke to the Lifestream and the summon will open to reveal whatever soul we're looking for? Awesomesauce! Wait — this sacrifice thing, is it like some crazy ritual?! Ooh, ooh! Do I get to cut out her heart and hold it over a green fire as I dance around and chant things in demonese!?"

"My patience is wearing THIN, little girl! No, you do not get to dance around a green fire and act like a silly child!—"

"So I do get to cut out her heart? Sweet!"

"Foolish mortal! Silence! No, simply kill Shelke, since she was the one to kill the soul you're trying to release. At the moment you do, you will produce the materia and call upon Vincent's soul, understood? No more, no less!"

"Aye, aye, captain!" Yuffie saluted, grinning. She could sense Chaos' presence leaving her and exhaled lowly in relief. Leviathan, that demon is annoying! I'd like to sock it to 'em!

"Brat!? What're you doin' over there? You look like you're havin' some psycho fit! Are you talking to yourself?" Cid tilted his head and grinned at Yuffie in amusement.

"Boy, Cid! You sure missed a lot when you took that smoke break! Damn, I'm gonna have to do a recap, you old geezer!" The sigh that left the ninja's lips revealed that she really didn't want to discuss what had happened, but the pilot shrugged it off.

"What'd I miss!?" Cid demanded, his blue eyes curious. "Ah, brat, don't tell me I missed something good!"

"Cid, if by good, you mean I had a run in with Chaos who told me how to get Vincent back through some crazy sacrifice of Shelke, and then Cloud woke up from his coma after all this time and joined the land of the living — then ya, you missed a helluva lot!"

Cid grumbled, "Damn, why do I always have to miss the good stuff?"

Yuffie shrugged. "It's those cigarettes. You should stop smoking them before you get lung cancer."

The pilot waved at her dismissively and grinned wider. "Is there anything else I've ever missed?"

Sticking her bottom lip out in concentration, Yuffie admitted, "Well, you were there to take me and pick me up when I went to Wutai and was disowned — oh, but you completely missed Hasonsuru, I think. I think only Cloud, Tifa, and Vincent really knew about him. Oh, and Reeve."

"Hasonsuru? Who the hell is he?"

"Someone Vincent took care of," came a voice from behind. The pilot and ninja turned and face Cloud, whom leaned casually on the wall. With a frown, Yuffie wondered how he always seemed to pop out of nowhere, joining conversations at the randomest time, acting like some sort of all-knowing wise-guy.

"Someone Vincent took care of." The nod and narrowing of the ninja's eyes signaled that the discussion was very much over.

Yuffie skipped past the two men, and Cloud merely bowed slightly to the pilot and took his leave. Cid watched them go and cried, "Hey, wait! What the hell kind of answer is that!?"

Vincent rocked his daughter softly, his voice humming an old Wutain melody he had once heard Yuffie sing. The song, one of his favorites, reminded him of his mother. At a young age, long before Vincent even learned to shoot a gun, his beloved mother died in childbirth. He had longed for a childhood companion and was so excited to know he'd finally have someone to play with, to share his fondest memories and his secrets with. In the end, he lost a potential friend and his mother. The tune he hummed carried a bittersweet chord, one that seemed achingly similar to his own childhood, one that seemed achingly similar to his own daughter's.

"Vincent?"

The gunslinger turned, narrowing his eyes slightly as he faced the setting — or was it rising? — sun. The scientist smiled back at him, her eyes appearing melancholy.

"Yes, Lucrecia?"

"If you could escape this place, would you?" Lucrecia's brow furrowed as she waited for his answer. Vincent considered the question thoroughly.

If he could leave, would he? Would he be able to bring Valencia with him, or would she once again remain without her family in the Lifestream with only Zack and Aerith to keep her safe? But, if he could leave, it would enable him to return to Yuffie and his other child, and not leave them without a man to take care of them; not that Yuffie needed a man to baby her. He simply believed a child should not be fatherless.

Fatherless…

Vincent's head snapped up as he inquired, "Why are there no other people here? Why is it simply people whom I am tied to?"

Lucrecia blinked at the question. "I — I am not sure. I theorize that because the Lifestream is such a vast place, the strings of lives are twisted together, and we are like the beads. One string may attach to many, with various beads adorning it. I assume that by 'unraveling the strings,' so to speak, we might find everyone we've been associated with here in the Lifestream."

It seemed plausible to Vincent. Obviously, the scientist had had a lot of time to think since she'd let go after Omega. "Thank you, Lucrecia, that was very… insightful."

The smile she awarded him tugged at his heart.

With a shaky breath, Vincent continued, "Then it is possible that I might find my father?"

Pursing her lips as though she tasted something foul, Lucrecia replied, "I suppose… Though, I'm not sure why we wouldn't have seen him yet."

There was an obnoxious yawn before a peppy voice interrupted, "Aaaannndd the Lifestream's back to being boring again."

If looks could kill, Zack would've dropped dead from the glare Aerith was shooting his way. After making sure her boyfriend wasn't going to say something stupid again, the flower girl added, "That is a very good question, Vincent, and a very good theory, Ms. Crescent. I suppose we could try to… unravel, as you said, the strings of our lives."

Mako-blue eyes blinked. "Uhhh-huhhhhh. And uh, how do we do that?"

Scrunching her nose up, Aerith snipped, "You start by shutting up for once!"

They all stared at her, blinking. Zack was grinning from ear to ear in pride.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her cheeks red.

It took a while to catch Cid up. Eventually, they filled in the details each other had left out, straightened out some questions, and all arrived at the same one.

"So where do we start?"

In answer to Yuffie's question, Tifa offered, "How about with what those doctors were up to?"

Cid bellowed, "Hello, we start with my dad-gum wife!"

Reeve suggested, "The situation regarding the Tsviet Regime seems pretty dire."

Cloud supplied, "I think it's best we try to figure out what's going on with Chaos and the Shelke thing."

Yuffie sighed and rolled her eyes. "How about we all take turns? We can divide into groups and each can research its own situation. Reeve, Nanaki, you're on the political aspects. Try to see if this is government based or personal. Cid, Barret, you guys do some recon and see who that son of a Hojo was, and just where he might've taken Shera. Cloud, Tifa, you guys take the Healen Lodge and the Highwind attacks, 'cause there's no way those were two separate incidents. It's just too coincidental."

Raising an eyebrow, Cloud inquired, "When did you become leader?"

Grinning and sticking her nose in the air, she replied, "When I found out I'm carrying a demon-baby, and when you clocked out on us, mister!"

With a slight chuckle, Reeve stood and addressed, "Alright, you heard the lady. Everyone, commence."

Cid and Barret were the first to leave, the former flying out of there like hell on wheels. Tifa and Cloud followed after, deciding to begin their searching along with the two, since both events occurred together. Nanaki left, leaving only Reeve and the ninja.

"Something you need, Reevester?"

"You're planning on tackling the Chaos problem alone." It was a statement, not a question, and the tone of his voice clearly stated, 'My name is Reeve Tuesti, and I disapprove of this message.'

Flicking her hand as though she were swatting a fly, the kunoichi shrugged and responded, "It's not a big deal, Reevey. I promise."

The answer appeared to appease the commissioner, though not much. After a moment, he accepted, "Fine, you do this. But the first time things go wrong, I will not leave you alone for a second."

Cackling, Yuffie gasped, "Alright, alright! Go on and do your thing, Mr. President. I'll be a good little ninja!" She saluted, still laughing, and watched him shake his head and walk out the door, his blue robe swishing as he walked. When he was out of sight, Yuffie sighed and leaned forward, crossing her arms on the desk and laying her head down.

She'd only sent everyone else away because she did not feel like telling anyone, not even Tifa, that Vincent was back with Lucrecia. It hurt too much to consider it, and it felt all the more real to speak the words to someone else.

After wallowing in pity and making herself sick from acting like a victim, Yuffie stood up and straightened her clothes.

"Okay, what to do first…"

Bending over the computer keyboard, Tifa brushed the long, dark hair out of her eyes, ignoring the way Cloud's breath fanned her neck as he leaned over to look at the monitor behind her. She shook off the feeling, concentrating on pulling up the files that Reeve had sent her in the lab.

"Right there," Cloud spoke, sending another shiver through the barmaid's body. He reached across her, pointing at a file that had a picture of Rufus ShinRa and the Healen Lodge faculty. Clicking on the link, a file opened and a long block of text appeared, explaining how the Geostigma incident had affected the President and he'd converted the lodge into his private medical clinic. After the Geostigma, Rufus had left and returned to Midgar, enrolling as an aid to the staff assigned by the W.R.O. to help restore the old city. When he'd left, the head of the medical staff reverted the lodge into a standard hospital once more, hiring and firing as he saw fit.

"Do you remember what your doctor looked like?" Tifa asked, her wine-colored eyes scanning the screen. She could recall hers and Yuffie's doctor, but she hadn't seen Cloud's or Cid's. Apparently, two doctors had been in charge of the fiasco.

"A little," Cloud replied, rubbing the back of his head. "But I was really out of it. I'd hit my head during the crash, and they drugged me up. The only thing I remember is… This guy, he wasn't the doctor… He was just... there... And… ugh… his eyes…"

"Hmmm…" Tifa moved the cursor, clicking on a link that led to Rufus ShinRa's information. When it popped open, Cloud narrowed his eyes and peered closer. Resting a hand on his shoulder, the barmaid watched in wide-eyed concern as the swordsmen cringed and slid a hand into his hair, tugging at blonde spike almost viciously.

"Cloud!" Tifa cried, grabbing his hand and prying it from the hold on his hair. The harder she attempted to calm him, the more rattled he became. In seconds, Cloud was doubled over, his teeth grinding against each other and his knuckles white as he gripped the desk of the computer lab. Tifa jumped from her seat, tears springing to her eyes as she watched in horror.

"Cloud! Cloud, what's wrong?!" Her voice was panicked, her hands shaky as she attempted to push him into the seat she'd previously been occupying. When he didn't respond, Tifa screamed, "Help! Someone, call for the medical crew! Please, I need help!"

Gazing down at the swordsman, Tifa cradled his head to her chest, rubbing his back with her other hand as little sobs began to rock her body. His eyes had gone hazy, his teeth still gritted, and his limbs still tense. For the life of her, Tifa couldn't figure out what was wrong, and it scared her immensely.

"Cloud," she beseeched, "talk to me, please!" There was no response, and the blonde's eyes rolled backward. Feeling helpless and afraid, Tifa screamed, her voice straining with fear and vulnerability.

"Tifa, it's alright! We got Spikey, you go sit down."

Cloud was pried from her hands, and a strong hand pushed her into the seat, holding her steady as she took large gulps of air to calm herself. What had happened to Cloud?

"Barret?" Tifa whispered, her voice quivering. The older man dropped to his knee in front of her, patting her head affectionately.

"Yeah, Tifa?"

"What's happening?"

Shaking his head, the gun-armed man replied, "I don't know, sweetie, I just don't know."

Though she no longer felt compelled to work further on her assignment, Tifa knew that the only way to help anyone, including Cloud, was by sucking it up and pressing forward. With a sigh, the barmaid turned back to the computer, wiping furiously at the tears that were gathering on her lashes. When she could see properly, she narrowed her eyes a little at the picture on the screen.

"Hojo…?" After reading the synopses, Tifa gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. Shaking her stupor off, she pulled out her PHS and dialed Reeve's number, her fingertips dancing on the desk in anticipation. Barret watched her in mild curiosity.

"Yes, Tifa?" answered Reeve.

"Do you have Cloud in the infirmary?"

There was a pause, and then, "Just a moment, Miss Lockhart. I'm just now receiving the news. May I call you back?"

With a start, Tifa cried, "No!" She tried settling herself before she added, "This isn't about Cloud, I only wanted to know if you'd heard. This is… This is bigger, I'm afraid."

"Bigger?" The deep voice resonated with an air of worry. Tifa could almost picture her friend stroking his goatee like an executive.

"Vincent mentioned his father once, but I never really heard his whole story. I only knew that he worked with Dr. Crescent for a while, you know? But just now, when I was going through some of those old files you uploaded, I came across something that's… well… a little shocking, to say the least."

"Yes, Tifa?" Reeve prompted, his tone betraying his excitement.

"I need to take a trip to ShinRa Manor to confirm it, but I think that…"

"Go on…"

"Well, there's no easy way to say this…"

"Yes, Tifa?"

The inn-keeper kept throwing Yuffie odd looks, and her patience was wearing thin. Obviously, this chick had no idea what Yuffie had been through in the last two years, but she was about to show her, and it involved her fists.

"So can I have the room or not?"

The woman blinked, glanced down at the blue glow of the computer at the check-in counter, and then back up at Yuffie. In a very condescending tone, she inquired, "Can you pay for the room?"

Was this girl for real?

Growling in the back of her throat ('Oh, hey Chaos! Nice time to show up, ain't it?'), Yuffie leaned forward and hissed, "I am a member of AVALANCHE. My life is crap right now. I may not look like I can afford your over-priced-crappy-lump-you-pass-off-as-a-mattress , but I sure as hell can pay for it. Now give me the room."

The keys slid across the counter rapidly, and the check-in lady avoided Yuffie's eyes as she stuttered, "Have a nice day!"

"Oh shut up."

When she reached her room, the ninja kicked off her shoes, jumped into the bath, and added copious amounts of bubbles. Vincent used to hate that. It would make the tub slippery, and he'd fallen on more than one occasion if he landed the shower slot right after her.

As Yuffie leaned over the side and reached for her rag, a searing pain slammed into her abdomen like a bolt of white-hot lightning. She howled in pain, clutching at her stomach and crumpling to the bottom of the tub. The sensation was something akin to a wrench twisting her insides and a branding-iron scalding her skin, causing a wave of queasiness to well up in her. When the pain grew more intense and wouldn't subside, she tried to scream for help.

No sound would come from her throat.

Leviathan, what's wrong? Please, please Leviathan, don't let it be my baby! Don't hurt my baby!

With her eyes squeezed shut and her teeth clenched, Yuffie buried her head in her arms, resting them on the edge of the tub as water sloshed over the side. Minutes felt like hours as the agony continued, making the ninja feel like she'd caught fire.

Finally, the pain throbbed dully and faded away to nothing more than an ache in her core. It left her drained, however, like a tank of gas running on empty. She choked on bile, her forehead pressed to the cold lip of the tub.

"Cha-Chaos," Yuffie sobbed, fisting her hands and biting her lip. "Help me, please… Please, what's going on?" It didn't even matter that she was begging the demon, for she was too shaken to think past anything but the fear of her child having been harmed.

The once excruciating agony in her abdomen had conclusively ceased and was replaced by a slightly soothing, warm impression that ghosted over her. She abruptly felt light-headed, slightly drowsy and weightless.

"Chaos?" Yuffie whispered. It took a great deal of strength just to speak.

"Hush now, Yuffie. You are alright now…"

His voice was kinder than she'd ever heard it. It seemed… almost gentle. That was exactly what she needed at the moment, though. She felt brain-dead, numb, and terrified all at the same time. His voice, ironically, calmed her immediately.

With a start, Yuffie realized that it was the first time that he'd ever referred to her by name and not by a condescending label.

"You should get to bed, child, before you fall asleep in the tub. That would be most dangerous…" Though the words sounded chiding and he'd called her a child, something in his tone suggested that he was being sincere. She smiled.

Climbing out of the tub on shaky legs, Yuffie latched onto the towel bar beside her and slowly proceeded into her bedroom. It took her a bit to get to the bed, but she made it eventually, pulling the satin sheets back and slipping beneath them.

Yuffie wondered why Chaos hadn't called her a foolish mortal, or some other derogatory term for letting the stunt in the bathroom affect her like this. It seemed that he actually… cared? No, that would be silly to suggest…

With a yawn, Yuffie asked, "Chaos?"

"Yes, Yuffie?" Again with the hushed tone and placid voice.

"What happened?" She turned on her side, trying to find a comfy spot while waiting for his reply. After a minute or so of silence, the kunoichi had given up and figured that she wasn't getting an answer.

"The baby transformed."

With a jolt, Yuffie sat upright, her heart pounding. "Wh-what?"

Softly, Chaos replied, "It is fine, Yuffie. The child is unharmed and has reverted back into his human self. It has made you exhausted, Yuffie. You should get some rest. It will make you feel better."

Doing as he said, Yuffie laid back down on the pillow, closing her eyes and asking one last question.

"What was that warm feeling?"

Chaos chuckled quietly, and then returned, "That was me calming the baby, Yuffie."

She smiled again, whispering, "Thank you, Chaos…" And then she was asleep.

"You're welcome, little one…"

Thrashing in his sleep, Cloud's nails raked the bedspread, leaving little tears in the material. His muscles jerked and he threw his head back, unable to wake from the nightmare.

White walls closed in around him, uncomfortably constricting as another needle was raised to eye level. He tried to call for help, but his throat was too dry, his body parched from being denied water for so long. Everything around him was wrong. It smelled like sterile antiseptics and rusty blood.

He was back in the room where they'd made him a "true SOLDIER." He could taste the Mako in the air. It burned his throat and stung his eyes.

"Cloud Strife."

The scene changed, and he no longer was strapped to a lab table, but sprawled on a hospital bed. A man stood beside him, looking over the charts of the swordsman's medical history.

"Hmmm… Mako treatments? Heh, seems like you're in the same boat as this guy over here." The doctor pointed to the bed beside him, and Cloud turned his head. His stomach dropped as he took in the man lying there.

"Shiva," Cloud whispered. "Who… who are you?"

"Alright there, Cloud?"

It took some blinking to finally wake himself up. The swordsman awoke to the sight of Cid sitting beside him, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he watched the younger man.

"You up and went Rip Van Winkle on us again, Spiky."

Groaning and rubbing the back of his sore head, Cloud answered, "I guess it's after-effects from the comatose drug."

"Hhn," Cid grunted, shaking his head. "Barret and I are heading out in the morning to visit the area near Healen. We're gonna try to hunt done some of the workers, follow them around for a while and see if that leads us anywhere. Yuffie headed out to Gaia knows where to do Gaia knows what."

Cloud frowned. "And you're letting her go alone without knowing where she's going to be?"

With a shrug, the pilot replied, "Reeve knows where she's going, so I ain't too worried. Right now, I'm not really worried 'bout anyone but Shera. I'm gonna find her, Cloud, and when I do, I'm sock it to the animals that put their grimy fingers on her!"

With a nod, the swordsman replied, "We all will, Cid. We're in this together. When we find Shelke, she will pay for what she's done to Yuffie and Vincent. When we find the rest of the Tsviets and the ones responsible for Shera's kidnapping, they will be brought to justice, too."

The sentiment brought a melancholy smile to the pilot's face. With a gruff bark, he answered, "You know, Spiky, once you open your mouth and start talking, you ain't too bad. Kinda like Vincent was. You just gotta pull those quiet and brooding types outta their shells and you got full-fledged heroes with inspiration pouring out the wazoo!"

Red colored Cloud's cheeks a bit and he shrugged. "Just find Shera, and AVALANCHE will clean up the rest."

Silence filled the air when Reeve hung his phone up. A peculiar expression had come over his face in the last couple of minutes or so, one that left Nanaki wary.

"Reeve," the firecat began, shaking his fur slightly and padding over to the frowning man. "Something troubles you?"

Nodding, the commissioner sat down, his eyes closed in deep contemplation. The two sat in a tense soundlessness for minutes, the quadruped watching the man closely. He wanted to prompt his friend into speech, but knew that that would achieve nothing in the end, for the man would speak only when ready.

With a sigh, Tuesti stated, "Ms. Lockhart has uncovered some rather shocking information regarding Vincent."

This was most unsettling. Nanaki sat back on his haunches, waiting for more details. The commissioner turned to face him.

"It's… It's about Grimoire and Lucrecia, actually."

Yes, this was very unsettling indeed. The red animal stood, made his way to Reeve, and inquired, "What was it she found?"

"Well, the demise of Grimoire Valentine was never really explained in full. It is simply known that part of Chaos destroyed him in the act of protecting Lucrecia, and she felt completely responsible for it. It was what later destroyed the love affair between Vincent and herself."

With a low rumble, Nanaki nodded.

"Well, it seems she had much, much more to feel responsible about than just his protecting her."

By now, the tetrapod was growing weary of the mind games and stated, "Though I mean no disrespect, won't you please stop being so cryptic?" This earned a blush from Reeve.

"Oh, of course, Nanaki. You see—"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"The alarms!" both man and animal cried together. That could only mean one thing — Rosso.

"She's escaped!" Reeve shouted, grabbing for a radio in his robe. He whipped it out and commanded, "Get every unit we have stationed at every possible exit! I want secured doors, windows, air vents, and sewer tunnels! I want this woman brought directly back to me, understood!?"

When he tossed the radio onto the table, he turned to Nanaki and ordered, "Run and collect the rest of AVALANCHE, you all will know what to do to her."

"Yes, Reeve," Nanaki replied, and then he was off.

The radio blared, startling the commissioner for a moment. He reached for the device and held it to his ear. "Yes?"

"Sir," a commander began, his voice betraying the urgency. "There's a really, really big problem."

"What is it?" Reeve asked, a vein in his forehead throbbing. It seemed like after Omega, everything would calm down. But now, he was up to his neck in crap, paperwork, and front-page-worthy events.

"The materia is gone, sir. The one that Mr. Valentine had been researching."

"Wake up, Yuffie!"

Grumbling, the ninja pulled the duvet further over her head. She didn't see why the demon had to wake her up when the sun wasn't even in the sky yet.

"Go to hell, Chaos."

"Already there, Miss Kisaragi. Now get up, please! We have company."

This had the kunoichi sitting upright, straight as a board, her head swiveling in search of anything out of place. She listened, trying to pick up on any noises. Only silence filled the void.

"Eh, Chaos? I think you're paranoi—"

The door flew down, splintering with a loud crack. Someone stood shrouded in shadows, watching her from the threshold. Yuffie sat there for a moment, dumbstruck. Almost as an afterthought, she stated, "Yo, Chaos, I'm sorry for doubting you buddy."

"Hn."

And then she sprang into action, her weight propelling her forward. The ninja twisted in the air, using the momentum to send her foot straight into the chest of her opponent, successfully knocking him (or her) to the ground. Her hands cushioned her fall, and she flipped backwards to land upright, falling into an attack-ready position.

"Any brilliant plans, Death-Breath? Any clue as to who this thing is?"

The person had made it to his (Yuffie had opted to call it a man for now) feet and was tearing at the ninja. Yuffie ducked beneath a punch that had been aimed at her face and grabbed onto the arm of her opponent, twisting it behind his back. The man managed to kick her knee back, hyperextending it and making her drop to the ground.

Yuffie groaned, pulling her knee into herself as the person loomed above her. Brown eyes flickered to the light switch on the far wall, and the ninja used her hands to push further away from the unidentified adversary.

"Who are you?" Yuffie barked, her eyes narrowed. The stomach churning feeling had returned, along with the intense burning sensation that spread across her abdomen. The pain was so intense that Yuffie forgot about her opponent and squeezed her eyes shut, screaming out in agony.

She didn't feel it when the man knelt beside her and gathered her into his arms, leaving out of the window before the rest of the inn's inhabitants came to see what the commotion was about.

It was hours before she woke up. Her eyes opened to find the stranger (indeed a male) staring back at her, his hands wringing a cloth over a water basin before pressing it to her forehead. Yuffie was in too much shock to thank, berate, or interrogate the man, but it didn't seem to faze him.

After the initial astonishment had worn off, the ninja floundered, "You... You...! Holy Leviathan."

With a rather shocked tone, Chaos repeated, "Yes, holy Leviathan."

"Ah, Rosso, so good to see you back again. Though, you do look worse for wear."

The red-haired Tsviet nodded at Shelke and wiped a trail of blood from her mouth. She chuckled darkly, making her way over to the tent where the Tsviets' leader stood. Wutai was asleep, and there had been not a peep as Rosso moved through the town.

"This place is as broken as the flea that should have run it." The clipped tone of her voice suggested that she rather resented the ninja.

Raising an eyebrow, Shelke questioned, "Is that venom I hear? Yes, the child can pack quite a punch when angered."

Smirking a little, Rosso turned to face Shelke full on, her voice barely containing her amusement when she spoke, "And she will be greatly angered now, Shelke."

"Oh?"

"The girl with the rather large chest has uncovered the report written by Hojo and Lucrecia. Nero had uploaded it to the database during Deepground, but after Omega returned to the Lifestream, the W.R.O. must not have felt it vital to read through all of the lab reports since the damage was 'over.'"

"Hn," Shelke commented, a smirk of her own tugging at her lips. "Yes, then this shall certainly rattle her cage." A look of confusion crossed her face, and she questioned, "How did you escape the W.R.O. without my assistance? Certainly Ree—the commissioner has that place under lock and key?"

Grinning in spite of herself, the Tsviet flipped a piece of dark-red hair, pacing a little on the damp grass along the perimeter of the tattered canvas tent. After a moment, she commented, "Feeling down, Shelke? Don't tell me you let your feelings get in the way." She said "feelings" with as much chiding as she could muster, her accent making it all the more infuriating.

Huffing indignantly, Shelke stuck her nose in the air and scolded, "Absolutely not."

With another undignified snort, Rosso inspected her nails, relinquishing, "I escaped by way of the air vent. I was almost thwarted when I triggered the alarm, but I had made it to the exit without interference. Getting away was another story, but I have never been a stranger to bloodshed."

Shelke nodded and turned on her heel, entering the tent. She gave Rosso one last withering look when she spoke, "Neither of us are."

"She got away, and there ain't nothing we can do about it now."

Barret grunted, his face contorted in rage as he leaned against the airship. The two were roughly fifteen minutes from Healen and had recently been given the all clear by a rather distraught Reeve. The poor man could barely stand knowing that under his watch, Rosso had gotten away again, killed the guards on duty in her cell, and about a dozen more outside the edifice.

"Whoa, land this thing, Cid!" Barret bellowed, running over to the view-port and looking down. Cid cursed under his breath, searching for a place he could take them down safely. After the Shera had touched down, he turned to the gun-armed man.

"What?"

With a finger to his lips, the dark-skinned man led the pilot off of the airship and into a dense patch of forest. The two moved silently, ducking under rough patches of twigs that tore at their skin and clothes. As both were rather strong men, the thicket cracked under their weight, and they simultaneously cringed at the sound. The sun hadn't quite risen yet, and the two were shrouded in darkness, but the sound emanating from the forest would give them away soon.

"What're we doin'!?" Cid demanded, his voice quiet and hushed, but definitely irate.

Pointing a finger, Barret answered, "I saw some lights up ahead. There's a cabin out here, and it looked pretty nice. Tell me what a cabin is doin' fifteen minutes from Healen Lodge, all decked out in modern-style glass and sleek metal?"

Shrugging, Cid answered, "I dunno, a vacationer with a full wallet!? Come on, Barret this is %#ing stupid!"

Voices broke their quiet argument.

"What do you mean, 'he got away'!? This is a man that you can't just let 'get away'!" The voice was angry, very much so.

Barret raised an eyebrow at Cid, and the pilot put his hands up in surrender, mouthing, "Fine, you were right."

"But, sir, he said he was going up to the lodge. We even followed him to make sure he stayed there. But in the fight we had with AVALANCHE, he musta snuck out!" This time, the voice was nervous, like nail-biting nervous.

"He's unstable! He has no recollection of the past, and he can't be trusted! How's it going to look if someone who should have been dead over thirty years ago is suddenly up and running rampant through villages!? How- how is Commander Rui going to feel about this!?"

The men crept closer, finding a clearing beneath a large glass window and slouching under it. They waited, listening to the silence.

"And the woman, where was she taken?"

"The engineer?"

Cid's face went murderously red, and Barret pressed him down with his hand, shaking his head at his friend. He pointed upward, signaling him not to rush into anything.

"The woman was taken to Shelke in Wutai. She's going to be used as a bargaining tool."

Cid's fist constricted so tightly that his knuckles were stark white. The gun-armed man held up his hand counting to three, and then nodded. The two jumped out of their spot, Barret flinging his metal prosthetic through the glass and clearing the way. The two men (doctors of some sort) stared back in shock, and the younger one made a grab for a PHS sitting on the table. Barret raised his gun and fired four times, shooting the man's hand.

Over the sound of his pained cries, the dark man stated, "Now, we gon' do this the hard way or the easy way. It don't matter to me, 'cause I'm down for anything."

Cid grinned, his face right in the injured man's. "I'm thinkin' the hard way sounds pretty good, especially with what they did to Shera."

"Look, si-sir, we di-did only wh-what we were t-t-told to do." The bleeding man shook, his face flushing with bloodloss. The man looked to be in his early twenties, a promising observation for the AVALANCHE member, seeing as the young man would probably want to live a bit longer. Cid straightened up, his hands on his hips as he watched the man.

"A'ight. Let's make a deal, huh? You help us, tell us what we need to know, and we let you live. Okay?"

The man nodded, his head jerking with the movement. "I'll tell you anything!"

"Shut up!" his companion shouted, narrowing his eyes. The pilot turned to face him, scowling.

"Since you wanna play Mr. High and Mighty, let's start with you." He snatched the man's hand up, squeezing until the knuckles cracked and the doctor cried out. "You wanna play hero, boy?" The man shook his head, sweat dripping down his face. "Good. Now Barret, what're we gonna ask the boys first?"

Sitting down on the arm of the rather nice couch in the rather nice cabin, Barret answered, "Who are you working for?"

"Shelke Rui," the bleeding man answered immediately. Cid nodded, crossing his arms.

After pulling out a cigarette and taking a drag, he asked, "And what's your objective?"

"Take down AVALANCHE."

"Why?"

The less injured man grunted, his eyes amused. "Why? Because you threaten the Tsviets' existence."

With a grin and another lazy drag, Cid replied, "Heh, hells yeah, we do!"

The dark-skinned man asked, "Are y'all targeting anyone else other than Shera?"

The two shook their heads. "Shera was simply convenient. We didn't need to kidnap anyone else."

Cid's lips pulled back and he rasped, "Convenient. You kidnapped my effing wife because she's convenient." Taking a deep breath and running his hands through his hair, Cid turned to Barret and questioned, "You wanna call Reeve? He's probably got some questions of his own."

The man nodded, then asked, "And you're going to…?"

With a smirk, Cid inspected his burning cigarette butt and turned to the doctors. "Gotta put this out somehow."

Whoo hoo, finally some action, and there will be much more to come! Obviously, Yuffs is gonna take it light bc of the kiddo, but I'm gonna have some major AVALANCHE kicking butt :)

I'm going to play a game. I'll write any type of Yuffentine drabble (other than lemon) on my Messing With Valentine fic for every person who can guess:

Who is the man who Yuffie encountered? And bonus points if you can figure out what it is that Tifa and Reeve have discovered.

Sorry, Kohryu, but you're being excluded cuz you already know. I will still write you a drabble prompt if you want one, though!

Please reviewz peepz, and I hopez ya liked it! :D