Hey guys, sorry for the incredibly long wait! I've had a lot of stuff going on, it's been really hard to keep up with updates, so just expect for there to be less in the near future.

Thank you to the two that reviewed last chapter, and thank you to new faves and new alerts :) Love you guys!

Last chapter info: I added the Reeve part at the beginning of the last chapter because clearly we know that he's incredibly intelligent, as he was the head of Shinra's urban development and the creator of Cait Sith, so I think he's crafty. Plus, he's totally Bad A, even if he doesn't fight. He needed more love!

Also, I know that Yuffie seems like she's pathetic and weak, but considering what she went through, I think it makes sense, so I'm trying to keep the delicate balance of typical Yuffie, broken mother, and abandoned lover... If that makes sense.

We will soon find out more about how Chaos is going to help Vincent, but not in this chapter XD

disclaimer: I do not own anything read here nor do I profit from it. All rights go to respective owners.

Yuffie quietly followed Grimoire through the darkness and underbrush along a moonlit path, finally returning to the little cottage in the nameless woods that she had previously rested in. The old man tiredly sat her down at the kitchen table, remaining unobtrusive as he cooked a pot of stew over a hearth and kept his grief-stricken eyes on the fire. As the ninja waited and enjoyed the promising scent of the cooking broth, she closed her shadowy eyes, preparing herself to enter that numb void she'd grown accustomed to. Emotionlessness was the only thing that kept her sane anymore.

Yuffie let out a puff of breath, her feathery bangs brushing against her cheek and tickling the sensitive skin there. Her mind raced as she gathered her thoughts, not quite knowing what to say to Grimoire or how to start. After being cooped up and sheltered from the outside world for so long, she wasn't sure how he'd handle the news of what had happened post his alleged death.

When it appeared that Grimoire might prompt her into an explanation after her pregnant silence, he did just the opposite, setting a steaming bowl in front of her and taking his seat across from her. He nodded slightly, an indication to eat her supper and take her time. Patience seemed to be one of his strong suits.

Just like Vincent.

The spoon clacked against the bowl and scalding liquid splattered the table. Yuffie winced at the ringing sound the dish had caused, her hand trembling slightly as she glared down at the bowl and utensil. How her heart hurt when she thought of Vincent! After all that they had endured, after his abandoning her, her lonesome pregnancy, abuse from Hasonsuru, his emotionally trying return… Rimmy's death… And then his… Why had her life come to this?

No! Yuffie gritted her teeth and clenched her fist. I will not victimize myself! The only person here who has any real reason to hate fate is Vincent…

"You worked with Lucrecia Crescent under the Shinra corporation at least thirty years ago."

The painful thoughts brought about inner strength and gave Yuffie the much needed determination to speak. It was like being her old self again as she traversed the countryside with AVALANCHE, carefree and wild, not having truly felt the kind of grief needed to break her spirit. She would take the horrors and use them as a lesson, as her strength, as her support.

Vince, wherever you are, help me remember how worth it it is to be alive. If anyone can help me see that the past cannot hurt me, that the pain will fade, that there's a future worth living for, happiness beyond this darkness, it's you. You have and always will be the greatest man I've ever known and the bravest hero on Gaia…

"She was a scientist, as were you. At least, I believe you were. Anyways, you and Lucrecia had investigated the demon Chaos, a supernatural entity that was said to counter Omega. Immediately, Lucrecia ran with the idea, and she began to experiment on the essence and all this other crap. Long story short, it backfired. Literally.

"You got hit, they said you died. End of story — but not quite. Your son, Vincent, was assigned as Lucrecia's bodyguard. Apparently, the bitch was reluctant to accept him 'cause she felt guilty and all, but in the end they were paired up. And Vincent fell in love."

The disdain that seeped into her voice didn't escape the man, and his lips quirked up. With a nod, he argued, "This I already know…"

Waving away the remark, Yuffie replied with forced enthusiasm, "I'm getting to the good stuff, just hold your chocobos! Here's what Vincent thought: you died in a lab accident."

Furrowing his brow, Grimoire protested, "But I did not—"

With a snarl, Yuffie snapped, "And that's why she's a lying little whor~ibble person!" Smirking at her quick thinking, for the ninja wasn't sure If it would offend Grimoire to call the scientist names, she leaned back in her chair. "So, your lovesick son begged on his knees for the fair and blameless angel to let it go. He wanted her to know that he 'could never blame her' for your death, because it was only an accident. Of course, that made her feel worse, I'm sure, since she lied to him on top of that instead of saying, 'Yo, Vinnie, your old man is alive, I'm just keeping him around as a lab rat, which is what Hojo and I have agreed to do with you just as soon as you die too.' Well, she broke off the relationship, effectively breaking your poor, pining son's heart.

"And just what did she do? She ran off to get knocked up with Professor Uglyface, got married to him, and then turned her back on Vincent. And you wanna know what he said?" Yuffie leaned forward, her eyes narrowed. She barely registered the shock of just how angry she was at Vincent for letting Lucrecia step all over him and the scientist for doing it. Her mind had shut down and she'd given into the rage.

With a raise of an eyebrow, Grimoire prompted her to continue.

"He said, 'As long as she is happy, then so am I.' You wanna know what I would've said!? 'You effing piece of trash! I'm going tell the whole world what a two-timing, lying slut you are!" Giving half a shrug, Yuffie roughly crossed her arms and glared at the fire in the corner, "But, you know, that's just me."

"I see," Grimoire murmured, his eyes darkening slightly at the injustice of the tale. The attitude in which he'd taken to the story (one of great displeasure) eased some of the tension Yuffie felt. She breathed deeply and her eyes softened minutely.

"Well, after that, Vincey found out that LuLu was preggo, not his kid, by the way. Then, he discovered that Lucy was EXPERIMENTING on her unborn child! Can you believe that? How freaking awful? So VinVin went to confront the father of the child, only to find out that this man felt threatened by him. And he had a right, I guess, 'cause Vinnie is like a twelve on a scale of one to ten. But back to the story!

"Hojo, the freak, took out a gun and shot and killed Vincent. Of course, that didn't satisfy the mad scientist, he just had to go and experiment on him too. Well, you know how those psychotic biochemist types are. But when Vincent's body began to decay, Hojo gave up and Lucrecia took over, feeling laden by guilt. She injected Chaos, Hellmasker, Death Gigas, and Galian Beast into him, locking the protomateria into his chest so that he could keep control over Chaos. And instead of being grateful that he got a second chance to live, Vince locked himself into a coffin for thirty years until we found him. Lucrecia died, Sephiroth was born, and Shinra did this thing called Mako treatments on him, making him super-human. Sephiroth went crazy, burning down Nibelheim, destroying people, and killing one of my best friends. Shinra did a lot of evil things."

Grimoire rubbed his chin, a frown marring his face as he absorbed the details. Waiting quietly, Yuffie watched him, knowing it was a lot to take in, though she'd barely scratched the surface. It was like meeting the group for the first time when she was sixteen; all she wanted was to make ShinRa pay, but her friends all had their own stories to tell, and it had been quite overwhelming. After a moment, the man spoke, "Go ahead."

Losing a bit of her breathless vigor, the ninja dropped her voice, stating, "When we found Vince, he could barely speak four words in a row. He was morose, depressed, and guilt ridden, unable to accept the friendship of others. At first, I was kind of intimidated by him." And intimidated was an understatement.

She didn't know if she could keep this up. It was too personal and too painful to recall. But she knew that Grimoire deserved it. He deserved every rotten detail of his son's life because he was his father, and as such, he had a right to know what Vincent had been through. She knew that he needed to understand what happened to his child, the child he'd lost.

If it had been herself, Yuffie would've wanted to know about Rimmy, too. Losing a child, she'd decided, was the worst possible pain that existed.

Meeting red eyes, the ninja whispered, "But I fell in love with Vincent. Leviathan, I was so in love. And he was such a good man. He blamed everything on himself because he was just that good, because he felt that he should be held responsible, that he should pay, and he had trouble accepting that he was not at fault. He thought he was evil, but that man was not evil, not at all. An evil man wouldn't want to be punished for things he didn't do, or even for things he did do! An evil man wouldn't have strived so hard to be perfect and atone for his sins! An evil man wouldn't have given a damn who he'd hurt and what he'd done! But Vincent— Vincent… Vincent hated hurting people! That was his flaw!"

To Yuffie's horror, tears had leaked from her eyes, slipping down her cheeks. She'd tried holding them in, tried until it stung and she couldn't even see, but they came. These days, they always came.

"He saved me, you know," Yuffie admitted, her lips smiling slightly as she remembered the moment clearly. Raising a shaking hand, she wiped away the tears and rejoiced, "He jumped into something called Nero's Darkness to save me. I would have died if it weren't for him. And he didn't have to either, because the whole world needed him, and he was supposed to go fight Omega, and I was just the ninja brat.

"But he did it. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me out of the screaming voices and the stabbing agony. It was hell in there, and he went through it and brought me back. That was how good of a man Vincent Valentine was." The shock hit Yuffie, and for a moment she was breathless. He really had gone through hell for her. He'd done it for her and her alone. Desperately needing Grimoire to understand, she reached across and gripped his hand, pleading, "You get it right? He saved my life! He. Saved. My. Life!"

The scientist did not respond. He only caressed Yuffie's hand and observed her with pity-filled eyes. The ninja sighed and hung her head, knowing that it was his way of saying he didn't understand, he couldn't, but that he certainly could imagine.

That moment had truly sparked something within her. Even after all that Vincent had done, even after adamantly declaring himself a monster, Vincent was ready to sacrifice himself for Yuffie, and soon after, the whole world. If only she could make Grimoire understand the sheer wonder that was his son...

"That was when I knew," Yuffie finished tonelessly, "that I loved him. When he came back from fighting Omega, we had a rocky relationship, but then we both admitted our feelings, and it was… indescribable! Like fireworks outside the window of the gondola at Gold Saucer.

"I had never been so happy before. And things were great, we were going to move in together at Shinra Manor, but then my friend Cid ran him off after finding out about our relationship. Some people thought it was inappropriate for a man of his age to be with a nineteen, almost twenty, year old woman.

"When he left, he had no clue that I was pregnant. I'm mentioning that because, well, Vince deserves some credit. He never would have left if he'd known because, remember, he was a good man, and although he tried not to act guilty and "unworthy" when he came home for the sake of our family, I knew he hated himself for it.

"But to follow the chain of events, we tried finding him after he took off. Cid tried the hardest because he felt it was his fault, but if there's anything anyone should know about Vince, it's that he is not found unless he wants to be. So I went through pregnancy alone, met some guy who turned out to be abusive, and I couldn't escape the relationship because even though I'm the best ninja alive, I knew that he was angry, possessive, and crazy enough to find a way, through whatever means possible, to hurt my daughter. Her name was…"

Grimoire watched her intently, and the no-longer-so-young-and-childish woman dropped her gaze, knowing he'd wait patiently for her to swallow that lump of anguish in her throat. Calmly, the thief picked her head up again and offered a tiny, slight smile that was almost indiscernible, but one that she knew he could detect nonetheless.

"I named her Valencia Rimmy," Yuffie finally admitted, her voice full of bittersweet memories.

Her heart sunk and soared at the two words, but she knew that for once she could simply be happy and at peace. Somewhere in the Lifestream, she knew her lover had her daughter or he was doing his damnedest to find her.

"Valencia Rimmy," she repeated with more strength this time. "After Vincent and Grimoire Valentine."

The usually soft-spoken, solemn man exhaled deeply at that, his lips stretching upwards to match her own small smile. He squeezed Yuffie's hand in his large, slightly wrinkled one and replied gently, "That was… very thoughtful, my dear. I know my son chose wisely with you as the mother of his child. You have a good heart, I can tell."

It certainly was never something Yuffie usually received as a compliment, especially from someone she had only just met. Mostly, she got choruses of names that ranged from annoying brat to insults that would do Cid proud. But the simple fact of his kind words opened her eyes to how much had really changed since she joined AVALANCHE, since she fell for Vincent especially. And not just around her, but within herself, too.

"Thank you, Grimoire." And she meant it. The man before her, the man responsible for the existence of whom she believed to be the single most heroic gunslinger on Gaia, had done something to her heart that she couldn't quite describe. After so much pain and tears, he made her feel safe and comforted once more, like she could breathe properly. With him, she knew she had a home, someone to tell her inner fears and secrets to, someone to act in the place of Vincent as a male figure in her life, someone she knew was her family.

Grimoire Valentine felt strangely like a father to Yuffie, unlike the man who had disowned her for sleeping with Vincent. Throughout her life, she'd never had someone to truly care for her besides Cid, but even the crusty pilot had a way of putting her down. But Vincent's father immediately treated her like family, which she guessed had a lot to do with the fact that she was carrying his grandchild, but even so.

She only hoped that he would stay with her and not abandon her like everyone else had through their own volition or simply through fate. Right now she needed someone to help her and show her that she had the strength to survive this.

After all, she was the conqueror of the earth and sky, the single white rose of Wutai, she was Yuffie Kisaragi, the greatest ninja to ever grace the Planet.

And she'd be damned if she gave up now.

Having found that spark within her, the ninja felt a grin forming on her face. "Tifa and Cloud took me in, they're members of AVALANCHE and possibly my closest friends. I guess before I explain what happened to me though, I should explain about our adventures.

"AVALANCHE was what people liked to call a 'terrorist group,' which was entirely false, by the way. It was a group founded by anti-ShinRa people including, Barret Wallace, another friend of mine, Tifa Lockheart, and later, Cloud Strife. Tifa and Cloud grew up together in Nibelheim, before it was razed by Sephiroth when the Jenova made him craaazzzyy. Cloud went off to become a Soldier, his dream, in order to protect Tifa. Along the way, he met a guy named Zack Fair, and the two became friends. Cloud received Mako treatments, same as Zack, but only Zack ever made it to Soldier, and he was First Class!

"Unfortunately, Zack ended up being killed when Sephiroth went crazy, but he died saving Cloud. The Soldier left behind a girl in Midgar whom he'd fallen in love with, but she never discovered what happened to him. Cloud went on, running into Tifa in almost a zombified state, and she took him in. As someone who hated ShinRa, Cloud joined AVALANCHE, but not everyone was very trusting.

"He kind of had an issue with thinking he was Zack, too. The Mako messed him up pretty bad. Anyways, the group went to Midgar, and there they found Aerith, Zack's forgotten girlfriend. She and Cloud kinda hit it off, leaving poor Tifa in the background. Cloud became Aerith's bodyguard, and she kind of unofficially joined AVALANCHE.

After recalling all of the events of the fiasco with Cloud crossdressing (a tidbit of juicy information she'd squeezed out of Tifa), the Midgar Plate falling, the deaths of the original few in AVALANCHE, and the moving on of the group, Yuffie took a moment to breathe. She left the man to think on everything before she continued to explain about the rampage Sephiroth had gone on. It took her almost an entire hour to tell him everything that had happened that first year.

She told him about how she joined AVALANCHE, how they found Vincent in a coffin, how she tried stealing their materia before Meteorfall, how she was kidnapped and the gunslinger seemed less than concerned about her welfare (at this she scrunched her nose up and insisted, "But he only did that because, psh-aw, he didn't want anyone catching on to his little crush he had on me!" and Grimoire replied with a smirk, "Naturally.").

She told him about Aerith's death, about the fight with Sephiroth, about helping Vincent evacuate the city and being scared that he was going to die up on the reactor. She told him about the Remnants, about the Geostigma, about Wutai casting her out because they thought she brought the sickness to her country.

Then she told him about Deepground, about hating Lucrecia, hating Shelke at first (and currently) because of what she meant to Vincent, and finding him almost dead at Shinra Manor, nursing him to health, thinking he would die. Being so very thankful and relieved when he didn't.

Everything that ever happened, every feeling, every thought, every fear, she cut herself open and bled it out, telling the man in front of her this story that she kept inside. With every confession, her chest felt lighter and her heart warmer. And Grimoire sat there, nodding politely and never speaking, only listening intently to her tale.

She finished with meeting the man afore her, and he closed his eyes, letting her words penetrate his soul. It was what he was doing, she knew, because his breathing became even as though he was asleep, and his lips flattened into a thin line.

Her story was not a lighthearted one; it was riddled with heartache, pain, and death, but it had its moments of comic relief, love, and friendship, and for that, she was appreciative.

"Grimoire," Yuffie whispered, her eyes never leaving his face. He gave no reaction of having heard her, but she could read him the way she read Vincent. The two were more alike than she could have ever imagined. "Vincent didn't believe that sins could be forgiven, and I suppose that in his eyes, they can't be." One inky eyebrow rose at that, but the garnet eyes stayed closed.

Frowning to herself, Yuffie vowed, "But I know they can be. If sins couldn't be forgiven, Cloud would have never found Tifa after Zack died because he left her in Nibelheim to be something he wasn't and lost his true self on the way. He never would have gotten together with her either, because he abandoned her and the children during the Geostigma when they needed him most. Cid would have never married Shera, because he verbally abused her all the time. Barret would have never kept Marlene, because he was angry and vengeful. Reeve would've died along with everyone else in ShinRa, not become the chief of the W.R.O., because he helped that company kill millions. Aerith wouldn't have gotten eternal rest, because as awful as it sounds, it was her fault for making everything crumble. She might've casted Holy, but she screwed up a lot along the way. So… Yeah, I think they can be forgiven."

His eyes finally opened, and he breathed, "Wise words, Yuffie."

Shaking her head, the little ninja then whispered, "But I think… I think I'm being punished." Her gaze flickered up to red for a moment then dropped again. "At least, for my sins. I kicked Vincent out, and in turn, he died. I let my child die, and now I have a demon growing in me."

"A… demon?" Grimoire questioned, his voice full of confusion. The scientist stood up and dropped beside Yuffie, placing his hand on her knee.

"Chaos is growing inside of me," she spoke, tucking a loose brown bang behind her ear. Soft puffs of air followed her statement, as did a trickle of tears. She inwardly cursed herself for being so weak. "Inside my child."

With a slight tug, Grimoire pulled Yuffie into his arms, reassuring, "He will not harm your child, Yuffie. He can only be harbored inside those who have already sinned, who have blood on their hands. This babe within you is still pure."

"Then there's a way?" Yuffie gasped, her eyes widening fractionally. Internally, she berated herself for the small flicker of hope, but the harder she attempted to snuff it, the stronger it glowed.

I shouldn't do this to myself, she thought. But nothing could stop the dizzy feeling in her head. What if… What if she could prevent this? What if she could stop her child from inheriting the demon?

"I am not sure," Grimoire answered. "But perhaps we can extract the demon once the child is born."

"Will it…" she trailed, her frown deepening as she considered her thoughts. "Will it harm the child?"

"I do not know."

It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but it wasn't what she didn't want to hear, so Yuffie accepted the information neutrally. For Vincent's sake, if she could save her child and save him the guilt of knowing he'd passed the Chaos gene on, then she would try.

But first things first…

"I need to go to Wutai," Yuffie stated firmly. "And you're going to tell me your story on the way."

"What are you planning, princess?"

Yuffie froze at the roguish voice.

It had been too long since he'd checked in on Yuffie, Vincent thought, scowling outwardly even though he didn't realize he was doing so. Beside him, a humor-filled chuckle echoed in the otherwise barren wasteland, the tone rich and masculine.

"Don't I feel sorry for you, Vincent! I mean, I got Aerith here with me in the Lifestream, but even when I didn't, I don't think I ever looked half as frustrated as you do!"

The gunslinger's cheeks colored at that, and he tucked his face into the cowl of his cloak, glaring at the Mako-eyed man. "I am not frustrated."

With a half-shrug, Zack smirked, "Keep telling yourself that, buddy."

Vincent glowered. He wasn't frustrated the way Zack had implied, but in the sense that he'd spent all (how long had it been, anyways? This place was such an enigma.) of his time trying to find out where he was, what part of his memories to start at to find his father, and hadn't been able to make sure his ninja was alright. And so far, Lucrecia had served to distract him any time he tried to go searching for his father.

A soft gurgle drew crimson eyes downward, and Vincent's face softened at the sight of the Wutain, red-eyed beauty wriggling in his arms. His heart clenched as he watched Valencia happily chew on a lock of his long sable hair, giggling and cooing such wonderfully sweet refrains that he didn't mind the silence around them so much if it meant he could focus on the heavenly child's existence. He loved his daughter so much that he felt like his heart would shrivel in his chest if he lost her again.

But the father and daughter were both dead now, so he could lay that thought to rest. There would be no losing his baby girl once more.

"Rimmy," Vincent whispered, brushing his lips across her soft forehead and feeling one of her tiny hands pull gently on the flesh of his cheek, "Daddy's here…"

Those were words that he never thought he'd say, at least not after Lucrecia's betrayal. They sounded foreign on his tongue, almost awkward, but he could honestly say that nothing else had ever felt quite so right. He kissed her cheek again and held her closer, never wanting to let go of the sweet little bundle. "Daddy's here, angel. I'm never leaving you again."

Perhaps the future had been eradicated for his daughter, but Vincent could appreciate his own death so long as it brought them back together. Life (and death) had ways of being cruel, but by Odin, he was going to protect this child because he'd truly never loved anything more than her.

A gentle hand squeezed his shoulder, and the gunslinger turned to watch Lucrecia in confusion, noting how she nibbled on her lip, cut her gaze at the ground, and took a shaky breath. It was her guilty look, one he'd come to know very well.

"Lucrecia?" Vincent asked, voice weary. This woman had caused him so much pain already, she'd been the reason he closed himself off from the world, and he was stuck in the afterlife with her. How perfectly fitting of a punishment for his many sins.

"I'm so, so sorry, Vincent," she sobbed, jerking her head away so he couldn't make eye contact. Her shoulders shook delicately, and she stumbled backwards. "Oh Gaia, am I sorry!"

"Lucrecia?" he repeated, harsher this time, his words commanding and bitter. "What are you going on about?"

She turned her back to him, lab coat swishing and kicking up dust. Vincent held the cape over Rimmy and moved away, shielding her fragile eyes and body from the small tornado of dirt.

"I… I just can't!"

"Can't what?" the gunslinger growled, aware of how angry and apprehensive he sounded, but not really caring. He'd learned that her apologies usually meant heartache for him in some fashion. Normally the betrayal-y kind.

Like a guilty convict at confession, Lucrecia dropped to Vincent's feet, crying into the folds of his tattered crimson cape. "I'm sorry for what I've done, Vincent!"

"What have you done, Lucrecia?" the gunslinger snapped, his heart rate increasing. She sobbed brokenly.

"I can't watch you with her and not feel guilty! You deserved him! I'm sorry! I'm truly sorry, I regret it all! You were meant to be a father, Vincent, and he was meant to be one too! I never… I never even told you his one request! He wanted me to tell you that he was sorry for everything, but I never knew what it meant, and I never cared. I never told you…"

"Who?" he asked, genuinely confused. Vincent brought his daughter closer to his heart, comfort coming in the form of her soft nonsense words and warm flesh.

The scientist shook with tears, wailing, "He never died, Vincent! Your father ne-ne-never died! Hojo and I used him for our experiments! He's alive, your father is alive!"

Suddenly, Vincent felt physically ill, and he knew his face was whiter than usual. He cast frantic eyes at Zack, and as though he could read his mind, the ex-Soldier raced to him, scooping Rimmy out of his arms right before he collapsed.

Bullets pinging against metal, grinding against gears, and tearing through flesh filled the cabin with a cacophony of gruesome sounds. The cigarette-smoking pilot grinded his teeth and slammed his fist into the solar plexus of a man with a baton, narrowly avoided having his head wacked off his shoulders.

"How ya doin' over dere?" Barret called, firing away like a machine gun. He glanced over his shoulder, catching the wry look of the spearless spear-wielder. "That bad, huh?"

Cigarette resting lazily between his lips, Cid nonchalantly slammed another military man's head into the control board, leaning casually against the wall. "Eh. I've been better." He flung a man over the railing of the airship.

"Can ya see how many more?" the gun-armed man shouted, his arm trained on the door leading onto the bridge where wave after wave or troops rushed in like ants out of a destroyed bed.

"Bout fifty more or so," he answered, still unsure of how, against all odds, the two had held their ground, only sustaining a couple of wounds here and there. It almost seemed like… "Think they're trying to wear us out? Is this just some kooky distraction fer some master plan?" Barret set his jaw, remaining quiet, and it was all the answer Cid needed. "If you hold 'em off, I'll fly this hunk 'a' junk out to the W.R.O., see if Reeve can't give us a hand!"

Grinning, Barret cheered, "That I can do!"

Dashing to the steering lever, the pilot lit up the cigarette between his teeth and inspected the controls. A red button labeled "Do Not Press" gleamed at him from the upper right-hand corner of the board. A smirk crossed Cid's face.

"Now what do you do?" he asked, pressing the button gleefully.

"Self-Destruct deployed. All crew to evacuate via escape pods now. Self-destruct in ten minutes. Self-destruct in ten minutes. Self-destruct in ten minutes. All crew to evacuate via escape pods now. Self-destruct in ten minutes, forty-five seconds…"

Slack jawed, Barret cursed, "The hell did you do!?"

"Uh… Pulled a Yuffie?"

Cloud's memories flashed like lightening behind his eyelids, like the sharp, blinding lights of Yuffie's camera at Costa del Sol. He saw himself listening to Tifa gently play her piano in the house next door, falling down the jagged face of the ominous mountain, tumbling with the small child wrapped in his arms, sitting on a water tower, watching the stars twinkle in her eyes as they held back words they both knew should have been said.

Soldier, ShinRa, experiments, and Mako. Fighting alongside his hero, his friend, his brother. Watching Zack die, telling him to carry on his legacy, knowing he never could.

And Aerith, kneeling beside him in the church, her lilies surrounding her like an ocean of color, bright against the darkness of the slums. Such a contrast, just as her fiery, headstrong personality and her loving, graceful nature was.

Then Sephiroth driving Masamune through her abdomen, his world slowing to a stop, the horrific, high-pitched wail of a certain ninja as she watched her friend fall forward on the blade. Tifa, tearing her watery eyes away as he ran to the flower girl and cried over her slumped form.

The Geostigma ravaging his arm, the Remnants ravaging the city. Sephiroth returning once more. Zack, Aerith, the children gathering around as he washed away the disease. The smile Yuffie flashed as she turned to Vincent and whispered, "It's beautiful, isn't it, Vinnie? They're all cured…" His very, very subtle nod, and the subtler smile he returned to her.

Deepground, Chaos taking to the sky, Yuffie sinking to her knees as an explosion rocked the ground. Tears running down the ninja's face as she begged the swordsman to bring Vincent home.

Returning to Edge, staying with Tifa and the children, watching the pregnant ninja waste away before them. Vincent's return, the search for Rosso, the funeral for Valencia, the fight with Tifa, the death of Vincent, the kidnap of Shera.

Moments passed through him, and it felt like the memories were being sucked from his mind, dragged out of the recesses of his consciousness and scraping the insides of his head with sharpened claws. He growled, a feral groan ripping from his throat as pain racked through him and his vision went white.

Where was he? Who was he? What was he?

And then it was over, and Cloud was kneeling on the ground and gasping for air, glaring at the feet of Rosso the Crimson as she stood over him with a smirk.

"You like it, darling? It's the materia that your little friend, Vincent, found. Very, very special indeed, this summon. How does it feel to experience Chaos? To see every good thing in your life and know that it ends in tragedy? I rather like watching you writhe in pain."

Not able to help himself, Cloud struggled to his feet and spat in the Tsviet's face. "You worthless piece of scum!"

With a smirk, Rosso collected the saliva from her cheek with one finger and popped it into her mouth, grinning. "Darling, you cannot faze me. This pathetic show of bravery is lost."

"Not entirely," Cloud gritted, and without warning, he swept his foot into her knee. He dropped to the ground and rolled away, grabbing for his sword before his limit break took over. "I WILL avenge my family!"

As quick as lightning, he slashed at the Tsviet and threw his weight forward. The satisfying sound of her pain-filled shriek echoed in the chamber, and she recoiled like a viper, wiping blood from the gash in her shoulder. Her dark eyes narrowed.

"Maybe, Strife, but not today!" Like a cat in the night, she fled, her footsteps pounding against the floor. Instinctively, the swordsman gave chase, but as he reached the door of the lab, he stopped in his tracks.

Tifa was still hurt and possibly dying.

Rosso was getting away, and who knew what she would do next.

Tifa…

Rosso…

"Yuffie, forgive me," Cloud whispered, turning to face the prone form of his lover. With quick, determined steps, he moved to her side, dropping beside her and propping her head up in his lap. The substantial amount of blood that oozed from her pale, strained neck and filled the air with a metallic scent left the swordsman dizzy.

"Don't leave me, Teef," Cloud begged, his jaw clenching as he dug through his pack and pulled out a Restore materia. His lips moved rapidly as he whispered the words and waited for the familiar glow of magic to set in.

The effect was immediate as the laceration stopped gushing blood and the wound began to knit itself. Cloud let out the breath he'd been holding and clutched Tifa tighter. Although her wound was healed, she had lost quite a bit of blood, and he knew he had to get her to a clinic soon.

"Tifa," the blonde whispered, still caressing her head. He watched her twitch, slowly emerging from her sleep.

"Cl…oud…" Her wine eyes opened and a smile stretched across her face as she croaked weakly, "You came…"

"Always," he promised, helping her to stand. He took off his vest, used his sword to cut a strip, and lightly tied it around her wound, grateful that the materia had staunched the blood flow. "Let's go."

Tifa's eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced around the room. When she returned to the Mako-eyed gaze, Cloud knew that she had figured out what happened. He knew she knew that he'd let Rosso go so he could help her. He'd let that awful woman go when he could've stopped her.

He could have stopped her…

Slender fingers interlaced with his, and Tifa offered him a forgiving smile. "Let's go, Cloud."

okay, I hope you liked! In the next chap, we check back in with Yuffie, Shelke, and Reeve, and we'll, I don't know from there.

I've only gotten two reviews on the last two chapters, and that's really discouraging compared to the other chapters, so please, please review! Tell me if you still like it or if you changed your mind, but don't leave me hanging!

Thank you for reading!