Sorry for my random break, guys. I went on a three day vacation, and then my mom dropped me off with my grandparents and said, "Have fun! You're going to exploring the continental US!" So it was unexpected, to say the least. I've ben gone three days short of an entire month.

But I'm back, and I finished this chapter! I will be working on getting B&tGB up next, and then AtO.

So enjoy this chapter, we finally get to the good stuff! Lots happens, some stuff is explained! We get to some fighting.

Thanks for new reviews, faves, and alerts! For those who won my challenge, I will be writing the prompts soon, just give me a week (I promise I have no more vacations planned)

Disclaimer: I'm just someone having a little fun and playing around with a concept that belongs purely to its owners, like Square Enix and such. But thanks for the cool game ;) I own nothing, and I sure as heck don't profit.

"Are… Are you…"

Yuffie's voice was so choked up on tears and disbelief that she could hardly utter a word. Salty, wet tracks ran down her face as she shook, cowering into the bed she'd been placed in. The man watching her caressed her cheek, his crimson eyes kind as he continued to wash away her tears.

"Dear child, you have nothing to fear. Come; let me make you something to eat. You need to rest, my dear, for too much stress might hurt your baby." The man turned, his red cloak swishing with the graceful movement. Yuffie's lip trembled as she placed her feet on the cold floor and padded after him with her arms wrapped around her body, wondering who this stranger was and why he seemed so intent upon offering comfort.

She'd been taken to a small cottage somewhere in the woods. The place appeared long-abandoned, and the ninja got the distinct feeling that this… man… had been the first to inhabit it in a long time. The walls were made of smooth rocks and stones, the roof constructed of all sorts of greenery, twigs, and thatch. Ivy and flowers crept in through the grimy windows, and the floor below her was only soft, brown dirt that felt like powder between her bare toes. The little house was so petite that it took her roughly six steps to leave the bed and sit at a small, wooden kitchen table. Beside her stood the man that filled her heart with misery.

"Who?" It was all she could manage under the circumstances, but he'd heard her, she could tell as much in the slight crinkle of his forehead and downturn of his lips. Turning around to face Yuffie fully, the man with dark hair that didn't quite reach his shoulders sat across from her, his face contorted in a melancholy manner as he considered her slip of a question. He placed his folded hands atop the table, watching as the ninja trembled in his presence.

"I do not know," he answered in his low voice, and Yuffie knew he was telling the truth. The look in his eyes said it all. In any case, he didn't appear as though he could ever tell a lie.

Cutting her gaze from his, Yuffie placed her chin in her hands and whispered, "How did you know I'm pregnant?" She slowly turned to meet his gaze, brown eyes brimming with intensity.

With a sigh and a heavy shrug that seemed to carry the weight of Gaia, the man replied, "I… I believe I was a scientist, maybe a doctor once. I knew… how to treat your fever…" He reached across the short distance and took the ninja's hand, rubbing his thumb over the pale flesh that had earned countless scars from years of battle. "My child, you are filled with a great sorrow… What troubles you?"

Dropping her gaze to the table, Yuffie let a sob escape her throat. What troubled her? How could she even begin to tell this man what caused her pain? It was all too unbearable.

After a moment, she answered meekly, "So many things… So many, many things…"

When the man nodded for her to continue, Yuffie pulled her hand away from his grasp and glared at it harshly, the stony scowl giving way to a broken-hearted mien.

"My first child is dead, her father is dead, my friend has gone missing, and my family is under attack…" Another sob bubbled up, and she wept, "And you… You look like him, the man I loved. You look so much like him it hurts!"

The stranger pushed away from the table, coming over to Yuffie and crouching in front of her form with such a tender look in his eyes that the ninja could no longer hold back the torrential sadness that seemed to perpetually ensnare her. He took her into his arms, petting her hair while she clung to him and wailed like a fragile child. With a gentle movement, he'd swept her up and carried her back to the bed, laying her down before taking a step back and watching her with that same sweet kindheartedness.

With a sincere voice, he lamented, "You've been through much, child. Rest. I will be back with something for you to eat."

Yuffie watched him leave and shut the door behind him, relinquishing her to solitude once more. A light on a nightstand beside the rickety bed illuminated the small space that contained only a weathering chest-of-drawers that barely reached the window sill, a ceramic pot that encased a blooming daisy, a worn, corduroy armchair scooched into a corner, and a little round rug that covered the area between the bed and the entrance. The place had a rugged, fairytale-like feel to it, one that made Yuffie feel safe.

She hadn't felt safe in a very long time.

With a yawn, the pregnant ninja sat up and pushed the thick blankets off of her, watching as a bee landed on the daisy from the open window. Yuffie hugged her knees to her chest, feeling a sense of peace come over her, and the shock of experiencing that emotion after so long left her slightly dazed.

Who was that man, and why did he seem so much like a part of her family?

"I know who he is, Yuffie," Chaos admitted, almost startling the ninja half to death with his sudden appearance. He'd been quiet til now, the kunoichi realized.

"You do?" she asked, her curiosity piqued. Absentmindedly, she ran a hand over her stomach, feeling the mostly flat skin there.

"You are in the presence of Grimoire Valentine. Couldn't you see the resemblance?"

A shocked gasp whooshed out of Yuffie's lungs, her hand flying to her mouth to stifle the noise. It took a moment for the words to soak in, and the ninja simply sat there, thinking, Grimoire? He's… He's dead! This has to be like, a nephew of Vince's or something, right? No way it's Grimoire…

"Believe what you will," Chaos replied, his tone bored. "But he is most definitely the Grimoire Valentine."

"How is this possible?" Yuffie wondered aloud, her brow scrunched.

"How is what possible, my dear?"

At the sudden appearance of the stranger — no, that wasn't right — father of Vincent, Yuffie sobered up, though her jaw still hung limply. Grimoire watched her in concern, his crimson eyes burning into her soul the way Vincent's had.

The way… Vincent's had. The same eyes…

And then, with all of the tact of Yuffie Kisaragi, Single White Rose of Wutai, the ninja blurted out, "Oh my freaking gosh! You're Vincent's dad!"

The second the words had left her mouth, the man doubled over, clutching his head as he clenched his teeth. In fear of the rather unexpected reaction, Yuffie called out, "Okay, Chaos, now would be a really good time to give me some advice!"

"Eh, it might be a good time to run."

"Run? Oh shi—"

Yuffie scrambled backwards, watching as the man who had previously been one Grimoire Valentine dug his nails-gone-claws into the dirt floor, his back arching in the air as his spine cracked out of his skin and a vicious roar blasted from his lungs, shaking the cottage with ferocity.

"Chaos!?" Yuffie cried, her eyes huge.

"Run, Yuffie!" His voice was demanding and firm, and the ninja didn't need to be told again.

Jumping from the bed to the window sill with cat-like agility, the kunoichi chanced a glance back to see a monstrous-looking form standing roughly nine feet tall, its eyes a bright golden hue and its body as thick across as Barret's. The snout of the beast elongated, razor sharp fangs emerging from swollen red gums as the creature tilted its head back and snarled. Then it lowered its crown, looking Yuffie dead in the eyes.

A nibel wolf?!

"More like a Nibel-werewolf, but call it what you will." Chaos' voice was casual, rather conversational at best. It almost made Yuffie want to slap him, and she might've attempted said mental feat if the situation weren't so dire.

And then it lunged. With a shriek, Yuffie dropped to the floor, rolling beneath the creature and springing to her feet on the side opposite it. It spun around to face her, throwing its arms out and roaring in rage. From the glint in its eyes, she could tell that it was one pissed, hungry monster, and she looked like a delicious eight ounce.

The ninja tore towards the door, flinging it open and racing the complete ten steps to the front entry of the cottage while her mind screamed every curse in the book. Coincidentally, Chaos was doing about the same thing.

"Ch-Chaos!" Yuffie yelped, her stomach churning as she heard the beast stampeding after her, its hot breath washing over her tiny form. "What's going on?"

With an agitated sigh, the demon hissed, "Why must you always expect me to have the answers?! Are you not capable of forming observations on your own?"

Throwing a low hanging tree limb out of her way and jumping a thick root, Yuffie huffed and shot back, "So, to put it simply, the Great Demon Chaos has no idea what's going on." Chaos grumbled a little in response.

When the ninja went to duck behind one of the forest's trees, it finally dawned on her that she was out in the middle of nowhere, her body was in feeble condition (and that was being considerate), and there was a beast trailing after her with teeth roughly the size of her forearm.

"All in a day's work, huh, Chaos?"

He chuckled at her remark.

Tifa crept into the ShinRa laboratory, wrinkling her nose at the sharp smell of chemicals and disinfectant that the little chamber had still retained even after all those years. She slid her hand along the metal table, pulling away her finger to examine the thick coat of grey dust that now coated the tip.

"Vincent was locked in that coffin for thirty years, not knowing that his own father was still out there…" The barmaid shook her head in sympathy, imagining her dear friend's anguish when he had recalled the details of his tormented experiences with Hojo. "All that time, and his father was alive, another twisted experiment gone wrong."

Tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear, Tifa approached a shelf that held warped, clear vials upon it, each one filled with a different, vibrantly-colored liquid. She pulled down a small flask, peering closely at the green-ish blue tent of the substance within it. All of this had led only to death and destruction, Hojo's ultimate goal.

The file Tifa had uncovered, one Hojo had sealed and labeled top-secret, particularized the events which had led not to Grimoire Valentine's death, but to his landing himself amongst the specimens of the perverse scientist.

When Chaos' essence had been absorbed by Vincent's father, he became acutely susceptible to any form of injections he received. Stunned by the revelation, Hojo had introduced him immediately to the Mako treatments and was delighted to find that his new lab-rat did not suffer from the same sort of symptoms most men experienced with Mako-poisoning. It prompted the scientist to attempt to create a beast beyond imagination.

Though Hojo had been hoping that Grimoire would become Chaos incarnate, it appeared that the over-use of Mako coupled with the initially miniscule amount of Chaos' essence he'd taken in, cancelled out whatever demonic properties he might've established. However, the introduction of the nibel wolf's DNA had caused an immediate response in the slightly comatose Doctor Valentine.

He became half man, half wolf, like something straight out of a science fiction novel.

"I can't believe it," Tifa whispered to herself. "Grimoire Valentine, the top-secret ShinRa experiment that not even Reeve knew about til now. But… how did they keep him a secret?"

Maybe, the barmaid decided, it was better not knowing.

Barret and Cid had come to the same startling admission that their buxom martial artist had just come to. In their case, however, they had the answer to her previous question.

"You kept the dude locked away from the world, convinced that he was a psychotic killer (ironic when considering Hojo was his creator), and screwed his brain up with memory experiments until he had flat-out amnesia?!" Barret gave the doctors an incredulous look, then shook his large head. "Dude, just what the hell is wrong with you ShinRa people?!"

Cid scoffed, taking another drag from his cigarette as he stared heavenward. "Man, here we thought we'd taken care of these crazy suckers, and now we're findin' out they got even more hidden? Talk about skeletons in the closet."

Pulling at the bandage around his injured hand, the younger doctor shrugged weakly and replied, "I never really thought about how these things affected people. When someone saves your six-year-old self from wallowing in your own mess in the slum streets, you don't question what job they tell you to do, you simply say, 'Thanks,' and that's that."

Barret crossed his heavy arms, sneering, "ShinRa's lower than we took 'em for, recruitin' children to train to do their dirty work."

The pilot turned and plopped down on the large couch in the den, pinching the bridge of his nose. He turned his blue-eyed gaze to the rising sun and asked, "So where's ol' wolfy now?"

The older doctor, the more hostile of the two, snapped, "That's the problem. This moron over here lost him." Tugging his injured hand a little tighter, the doctor avoided his co-worker's cruel gaze.

"And now he's gone off in the world on his own, thinkin' he's a murderer and knowin' he can turn into the bane of man's existence." The amused look on the gun-armed man's face fell when Cid shook his head at him.

"Man, not funny. It's too early for that."

With a shrug, Barret answered, "I thought it was punny."

A frustrated sigh blew out of Reeve, the commissioner furrowing his brow as he paced. It was quickly becoming habit for the man, as he never seemed to be able to sit down and know that all was right on Gaia and nothing was as it shouldn't be.

"Materia's gone?" he inquired.

"Yes," Nanaki replied solemnly. His fiery tale swished as he sat calmly by the desk of Reeve's office.

"Rosso's gone?"

"Yes."

"My men are dead?"

"Yes."

"No word from Yuffie?"

"No."

Perking up, the commissioner spun to face his quadruped friend and exclaimed, "You've heard from her?!"

In confusion, the red animal shook his head and replied, "I meant no meaning yes."

Reeve let his hand drop limply by his side from its previous position at his chin. "No meaning yes? As in a simple yes?"

"No," Nanaki continued, his face showing further misunderstanding. "As in a no to your answer, but a yes in relativity."

"Gah!" the commissioner cried, running a hand through his dark hair. "Have you or haven't you?!"

The firecat answered humbly, "Yes."

"Yes, you have, or yes, you haven't?" By now, it seemed as if steam was pouring out of Reeve's ears, and his face had gone so red that it appeared no blood could exist in any other part of his body. He really, really did not have the time or patience to put up with this.

"I'm sorry," Nanaki began, scratching a little at one of his ears. "What was the question again?"

Groaning, Reeve flopped into his desk chair, one arm thrown over his eyes. With a muffled voice, he seethed, "Have you heard from the pregnant ninja with the dead daughter and the equally dead lover?" Cruel, but effective.

Unfortunately, Nanaki ignored the question in favor of his own.

"Yuffie Kisaragi is pregnant again?"

Reeve gave another prolonged sigh.

"My father is not here," Vincent stated simply, disconcertment brewing in his blood-red eyes. If his father had died prior to the gunslinger assenting to protect Lucrecia, then shouldn't he be wandering the Lifestream?

Frowning prettily, Aerith agreed, "Yes, it is very strange that Grimoire is not here." Blinking, emerald eyes shifted to find honey brown, watching carefully as the scientist avoided all gazes.

Catching Aerith's display, the former Chaos-host turned to face Lucrecia, his eyes narrowing fractionally. "Do you know anything about this, Lucrecia?" Vincent inquired.

Shaking her head innocently, the scientist replied, "Of course not."

He wasn't convinced.

It was pitch black and soundless when Yuffie finally stopped running. Her breath was coming in short gasps and her chest heaved with exertion. The night effectively hid her tiny form, but she knew that Grimoire could find her if he wanted to, and that thought wasn't the least bit comforting.

"Yo-you think he's st-still after us?" Yuffie wheezed, her arm clutched around her aching abdomen. She shut her eyes and leaned her head against a tree, using her hand to guide her into a seated position.

"Without a doubt," Chaos replied, making Yuffie shiver. "But you need rest. You cannot push yourself so hard while pregnant."

Yuffie barked a harsh laugh, grunting, "Easy to say when you aren't being chased by a rabid dog."

"Wolf, Yuffie. And technically, you harbor me, so I am."

Sticking her tongue out in amusement, Yuffie spat, "Grossness, please don't say it like that!" She suppressed a giggle, and Chaos sighed.

"I will wake you if trouble comes, Yuffie. Now sleep, you stubborn mortal."

Smirking, Yuffie thought, Back to calling me names, huh?

The ninja settled into sleep, smiling at the thought of peace and quiet, but when she drifted off, she found herself in the one place she didn't want to be. Chaos' realm.

Cocking her hip and stomping on the black abyss, Yuffie scowled and bit, "So you sent me to sleep to come here?!"

Chaos grinned at her, crossing his arms. The demon took a step toward the thief, his wings making a strange airy sound as he moved. Pursing her lips, Yuffie watched him come closer.

"I merely wished to see you face to face, Yuffie," Chaos hissed.

"Why?" Yuffie asked in mock dullness, shifting her weight. Apprehension filled her body as the dark figure before her drew closer, his teeth visible and his golden eyes bright with an emotion that she hoped was not what she thought it was.

Rough hands drifted across Yuffie's shoulders, leaving gooseflesh in their wake. Holding her breath, the ninja pulled away slightly, her face frozen in anticipation. Chaos grinned at her wider, his tongue flickering past his lips.

"Chaos?" Yuffie warned, taking a step back. Her eyes locked on his, her hands pressed against his firm chest in an attempt to ward him off. "What're you-"

Leathery lips pressed hotly against soft ones, and Yuffie's eyes shot wide open. She struggled against the demon, her mouth clenched shut to keep him outside, but Chaos wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her tighter to him, growling in frustration.

"Stop!" Yuffie gasped, pushing away. The demon grabbed her hand, pressing it to his cheek and kissing her harder. His eyes locked with hers, and suddenly the ninja couldn't breathe. Her mind shut down, her knees went weak, and her heart fluttered as her mind questioned, Vincent?

Where was she? Yuffie couldn't say. She didn't know what time it was, what place they were in, what she was doing. Her eyes deceived her, whispering that this demon she was kissing was the man she loved. And Leviathan, was it easy to believe that. Yuffie fought back tears, her eyes shutting as she breathed him in and held tighter.

Vincent had been Chaos once, she knew. She'd seen him in this form before. This was… Vincent. The man she was kissing so tenderly, clinging to like a lover, was the gunslinger she missed so dearly. He was back, holding her in his arms, running his hand along her thigh, pulling her into him! This was—

"Stop!" Yuffie shrieked, shoving the demon away roughly and wiping her hand along her mouth. Salty tears trailed down her cheeks as she glared at Chaos. "Wh-what did you do?!"

Smirking, the creature replied, "I simply used your weakness against you, Yuffie. It's quite easy to manipulate you, dear."

Choking back a sob, Yuffie gritted, "Wake me up! I don't want to be here anymore!" Her eyes shut tightly, her lips quivering as she fought back the need to sink to her knees and mourn the loss of Vincent. That stupid, evil demon! How could he do that to her?!

When her eyes opened, she was back in the forest, and Chaos was silent.

"Reeve?" Tifa questioned into the phone, her fingers drumming anxiously against the top of the lab bench. She heard a grunt of confirmation on the commissioner's end. "Think you can get a team down here?"

"At Shinra manor?" Reeve clarified, his voice sounding as worn out as ever.

"Mhm, and fast." Tifa glanced around the room, taking in the scattered files she'd torn through. "We have a bit of a situation."

"Which would be?"

Biting her lip, the barmaid skimmed one delicate finger below a line of print on a lab report, finding the faded print quickly. "Grimoire's more than just alive, Reeve. He's another Hojo creation gone wrong. Reeve, Grimoire's some form of a lycanthrope, made of nibel wolf DNA and Chaos' essence."

Muffled words and scratchy static filled the receiver, signaling that the commissioner was gathering his wits and assigning tasks to his shield force. After a moment, he answered, "Do you know where he is?"

Wrinkling her forehead, the brunette shook her head and admitted, "I don't know anything. Apparently, ShinRa kept him a pretty big secret, the whole thing's under lock and key." She pulled on a piece of her hair, inhaling the musky laboratory smell as she continued to flip through the mess of papers around her.

The whole situation was overwhelming. When had their lives become such a mess? After Omega, everyone had felt as though they would just… move on. AVALANCHE would break apart — with the intent of seeing each other often, of course — and everyone would go their separate ways. Gaia would return to normal, they'd settle down, start families, put in roots… But it wasn't like that at all, and Tifa felt naïve for ever having believed it would be.

As long as their remained a Planet, there would always be destruction and evil, and there would always be a need for people like AVALANCHE and the W.R.O. to defend it.

"Thank you, Tifa. Keep me informed should any other information arise."

"Of course." Tifa pressed the end call button, and a tiny envelope popped up on her screen. The missed message was from Cloud, and the barmaid felt her stomach twist. Opening it, she smiled at the short text and put her phone away.

The swordsman was fine, just overworked, and he was on his way.

When Tifa turned to leave, the lights flickered out, casting the chamber into complete shadows. The sudden darkness left her with an uneasy feeling, and though she'd never feared shadows before, being alone in the old lab where Hojo had committed some of his most atrocious crimes was more than just a little upsetting.

Taking a small, tentative step forward, Tifa crept towards the exit. But as her hand touched the wall, a thick accent filled the air. Ice flooded the martial artist's veins.

"Tifa Lockhart of AVALANCHE, tell me, how is the Wutai flea and your group of self-proclaimed heroes?"

Narrowing her burgundy eyes, the barmaid held up her fists, growling, "You should have run when you had a chance."

Without warning, the Tsviet surged forward and swiped at Tifa, leaving a shallow gash on her side as she moved. Tifa swung around and slammed her fist brutally into Rosso's face, pulling back at the last second to deliver a stinging punch. Not missing a beat, she swung her leg around and caught the Tsviet's back, causing the redhead to fall forward.

Catching herself, Rosso flipped into an upright position and swiped the little drop of blood from her mouth. She grinned and flew at the barmaid, scratching her nails across her cheek before slamming her hand into Tifa's chest and crushing her into the wall. All of the air in her lungs escaped her in a suffocating wave, causing her to throw her head back in an attempt to swallow oxygen.

With wide eyes, the brunette struggled against the cold tip of a blade, still unable to see her opponent in the dark. A dribble of blood trickled down her neck, warm and wet on her clammy skin. The air felt thinner, colder than before, and she fought harder to breathe.

"I will leave you in pieces!" Rosso snapped viciously, her breath hot on Tifa's face. "So that little Wutain will fall on her knees in misery once more!"

Feeling the sharp blade press harder into the column of her neck, Tifa squeezed her eyes shut, begging for Cloud and the W.R.O. to arrive quickly. She could not let Yuffie down, she would not.

Hurry, Cloud!

More blood ran down her flesh.

You promised!

Her head felt heavier.

You… you promised me that you'd always be there when I needed you!

Her knees trembled.

Cloud… Don't let me down again…

She buckled, collapsing on the cold, damp floor. She stared blankly into the darkness, fighting back tears as she conjured a picture of Cloud in her mind, the image of his boyish form sitting beside her on the water tower in Nibelheim, his soft voice swearing to always protect her.

Where were you when I needed you? You left me during the Geostigma, you always distanced yourself. Why are you never there when I need you, Cloud?! Do I mean nothing to you?

Tifa's body felt lighter, heavier, stronger, weaker. She could do nothing but lay there and feel the little trail of blood as it flowed down her body and leaked onto the floor.

Cloud… I need you…

The door opened and the lights flicked on, and there he stood before her fluttering eyelids, a fire in his icy, Mako-blue eyes like she'd never seen.

Roaring like Fenrir himself, Cloud bellowed, "Get away from her!"

A smile crept onto Tifa's lips before she sank into the darkness.

Godo Kisaragi stood erect, his form still proud as the Tsviets glared at him from all around the canvas tent. The little strange one with the monotonous voice and creepy eyes had long since departed with her bushy-browed friend. They spoke lowly of his daughter, taunting him as he remained their prisoner.

He cared naught for how they treated Yuffie, for she was nothing but a demoralized flea, just as the redhead had dubbed her. She shamed her name, letting a man impregnate her when her father had not chosen the man himself.

However, proud Emperor of Wutai was acutely aware that his daughter would have risen to the occasion and defended her country to the death, had she been home at the time of the attack. She was not, though, because she had banished herself from the land when she let a man deflower her before marriage.

But Godo was not heartless, at least, not entirely.

Not a day went by that he did not mourn the loss of his only daughter. Had he been more appreciative of her, less strict and callous when she was so young and had just lost her mother, she might not have run off to seek the approval of another man, allowed herself to become the mother of his bastard child. That man, Godo hoped, would be good to her. He would provide her with what she needed and the love she deserved.

And above all, Godo prayed, Yuffie's baby would have a good home and a loving family.

He only wished that he could be a part of that family, too.

Rushing around his office, Reeve grabbed furiously for his ringing phones, barking orders into each of them. Sweat that had collected on his brow began to slide down his face, the room feeling like it had turned several degrees hotter. When had his work become so stressful?

"Nanaki!" he called, dark eyebrows set in determination.

"Yes, Reeve?"

"Have you heard any word from Tifa, Cloud, or Yuffie?" He sincerely hoped his quadruped friend had.

"No, I'm afraid not." There went that.

"Go after Tifa. I've lost track of her and Cloud, and no one seems to be answering their PHSes."

Nodding once, the furry creature leapt away, leaving the commissioner to scramble around once more. Soft sounds came from behind him, and he sighed.

"Nanaki, what it is now—? "

A man dressed in black, silver, and electric blue rushed in, his fist connecting painfully with Reeve's face. The commissioner immediately threw his foot into his adversary's chest, throwing the man backward. Before he could react further, a whole troop of the strange men marched in, guns pointed at Reeve.

Wearily, he lifted his hands in the air, face scrunched in confusion as he took in the oddly dressed army.

"Reeve Tuesti," a cold voice spoke, and immediately he felt dizzy. "Surrender to me or face the consequences."

From behind the men emerged a small woman, her eyes like ice and her hair like a dull sunset.

"Shelke," he growled, disappointment lacing his tone as he gazed into her heartless eyes. "What have you become?"

With a small smirk, the woman turned her back to Reeve and replied, "AVALANCHE's worst nightmare. Now take him away."

Roughly, they dragged the W.R.O. commissioner through the door and down the building's corridor, completely oblivious to the slight press of a button on the watch beneath the long hem of his blue sleeve. In another room, a black and white cat arose from its dormancy, immediately disappearing into the shadows.

How was it?

If I've missed any unanswered questions or just little bits of info that has plot holes, please leave a review and comment on it. I'll answer your questions if they aren't things that are going to be answered later. I need to tie up loose ends, so I'd appreciate if you could help me out with that.

Is there anything that makes this story really worth reading? Please let me know what you enjoy best about it.

Is there something that makes you want to just quit reading now (if you haven't already)? If so, please tell me so I can improve.

Thanks for reading, y'all! :)