Chapter Two

Decisions

Raven heard the front door slam shut as Vincent helped her in through her window. She shooed him out before turning back to silently close their secret doorway. She hurried downstairs and into the front hall where Tifa stood hanging up her coat.

"Hey Tifa!" The purple haired beauty called rushing over to her dark haired friend. Tifa was wearing her usual attire of a sleeveless leather vest over a white tank-top and leather capris covered in a half-skirt. Her combat-style boots were old and worn.

"Hm?" Tifa glanced up, looking tired, "Oh, hi. I take it Yuffie's not here?"

"No…but Vincent is." Raven said with a smile, then added, "It was a surprise visit."

"Awesome! I haven't seen him in forever!" Tifa grinned and walked past the younger girl. They both walked into the living room where Vincent sat drinking water from a glass, all appearances saying that he'd been sitting there forever. Tifa hurried forward to give her old friend a hug,

"Hey! It's been a while, how are you?"

"Excellent." Was his gruff response.

"Oh!" Tifa exclaimed, turning back to Raven who stood somewhat awkwardly in the doorway, "I hope you don't mind, but Cloud will be joining us too. He and Reno will be here in a few minutes."

"Why would I mind?" Raven replied with a soft smile. "I'm going to go make some…coffee. You two going to want some?"

"Sure, thanks sexy." Tifa replied, winking. Raven rolled her eyes and then frowned at the glimmer of mischief in Vincent's eyes.

"No thank you." He said slowly, smiling ever so slightly, "I'm not thirsty…in fact I'm quite full."

Raven bit back a smile and suppressed a laugh as she turned and went into the kitchen as the two old friends caught up. She stumbled a bit and had to lean on the table to wait for her vision to stop swimming. 'I guess Vincent affected me a bit more than I realized.' She thought, filling the brewer with water, 'Next time I probably shouldn't let him drink so much'. She grimaced,

"If there's a next time…" she muttered to herself, watching the black liquid dribble into the pot.

"Next time for what?"

"Reno!" Raven exclaimed, whirling around only to stumble again. Her red-headed beau darted forward to catch her,

"Are you okay, smexy?" his voice was full of concern as he held her against his chest. Raven sighed and slipped her hands under his jacked to wrap her arms around his well-muscled waist in a hug,

"Mmhm." She said, weakly, closing her eyes and inhaling his scent. "I just haven't been sleeping well…nightmares."

"Ah. They're still waking you up?" Reno murmured into her hair. She nodded and then pulled away as the coffee brewer dinged. He frowned, watching her get out some coffee cups and a tray, "Have you tried taking anything?"

"No."

"Well, you should. Tonight."

"Thank you, Daddy." Raven scowled, then froze where she was in mid-step, the tray of full coffee mugs in her hands.

"Raven…?" Reno whispered cautiously.

Raven closed her eyes and began to shake. Reno took another cautious step towards her. He was a few feet away from her when her eyes flew open and she gasped, dropping the tray with a crash, ceramic mug pieces and hot coffee flying everywhere.

"NO!" she cried out and then collapsed. Reno caught her before her head could hit the floor.

"Hey!" Tifa called as she, Cloud and Vincent ran into the kitchen, "What—OH!" She hurried forward to kneel at Reno's side.

"What happened?" Cloud asked?

"I don't know." Reno answered as he cradled the violet haired woman to his chest, "She just…froze. Then gasped and collapsed."

"Take her upstairs." Tifa commanded, helping Reno to his feet, "She hasn't been sleeping well so maybe that's why she fainted."

"Alright." The red-head said, "Do you mind if I stay here? I don't want to leave her alone."

"I think she would like that." Tifa answered with a nod as she began to pick up the pieces. Cloud and Vincent joined her. Reno nodded and went upstairs with the flustered Raven held close to his chest.

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Raven chocked back a sob as she jerked upright in bed, covered in sweat. She closed her eyes and counted to ten, calming herself and her breathing,

"It was just a dream…it was just a dream…" she whispered to herself, almost inaudibly. Reno grunted in his sleep next to her and flipped over so his back was to her. She gazed down at him, smiling at the way his long red hair had come out of its pony-tail and spread out behind him on the bed. She reached forward and gently moved a piece of hair off his face to look at the small tattoo on his cheek. She smiled, almost sadly, before kissing the tattoo lightly and slipping out of bed, grimacing at the clock that read 3:42 am.

Ten minutes later Raven breathed in the hot steam of her much needed shower. She scrubbed her body and face and squirted a large amount of shampoo onto her head before massaging her scalp thoroughly. She tried in vain to wash away the nightmare that plagued her every night; the same vision that had struck her the night before. The fact that it had come while she was awake was very bad. She had to do something soon if this vision was to be stopped. Raven closed and whimpered as the vision that was now burned in her memory replayed itself in her mind.

A tall man stands on the edge of a cliff on the outskirts of the city, watching Edge and Midgar burn. Screams and moans rise into the air from the city. The view changes and swivels around to show Raven standing a few feet behind and to the right of the man. He turns around and walks back to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looks up into his grey-blue mako eyes, her own violet ones brimming over with tears. She turns away from his piercing gaze but he grabs her chin, forcing her to look at him as he leans down so all she can look at is his eyes. His long, silver hair that reaches almost to his knees falls forward over his shoulders and brushes against her cheeks and neck, causing her to shudder. A small smile plays across his lips,

"I'm proud of you, Raven." He whispers, leaning in even closer to brush his lips against hers before releasing her face roughly. She closes her eyes as tears fall freely, staining her pale cheeks. She clenches her fists at her sides, blue-green bands encircle each wrist and ankle. A single chain in the same color is wrapped around her forehead. Her long hair is unbound and blows gently around her. She is dressed in black leather shorts and a long sleeved leather top. Her feet are bare. She opens her violet eyes and glares at the man,

"I hate you." She whispers. He smiles.

"Really? Why…?" he murmurs, tilting his head to the side, "You should be hating yourself, seeing as you were the one to do all of this." He sweeps his hand out over the city. Raven shuts her eyes again, and falls to her knees sobbing,

"NOOOO!!"

Raven gulped down another sob as the memory of the vision faded away. The first time she'd had the vision she had hoped it was a nightmare…but she now knew better. Unless something happened soon to change the course of the future, what was seen would come to pass. The bathroom door creaking open snapped her out of her haunted thoughts.

"Raven?" came Reno's hushed voice. She poked her head out from behind the curtain. Reno stepped in and closed the door. He wore what he'd slept in; loose black pants and socks, though Raven noticed that one of his socks had disappeared in the night, leaving one foot bare. His beautiful red hair fell around his shoulders and down his smooth chest.

"Are you alright?" he asked, walking forward a bit, then stopping.

"I don't know." She sighed, "I can't sleep."

"Ah…" he suddenly grinned suggestively, "How 'bout I join you in there, yeah?"

"Reno…" she said sadly, "…not right now, please. I'm not in a good mood. I'll be out really soon though."

She felt bad when he nodded, looking crushed. He turned and left her to finish up. Stepping back into the hot water once again, Raven wondered why she shouldn't just kill herself. She'd contemplated suicide many times over the past two months as her vision grew more and more vivid. However, something stopped her every time she went to do it, which confused her. Shrugging off the thought, she turned off the water and got out of the tub.

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Loz walked into the small restaurant, head lowered. Glancing at the sign saying Please seat yourself and a server will be right with you!, he walked to the corner and settled into the comfortable booth there. He leaned back and rested his arms on the table, lacing his fingers together. Surveying the restaurant he spotted his target. Her back was to him, giving him the view of a curvy figure and long purple hair in a French braid trailing down her back, ending at the middle of her rear. She wore a deep purple turtle neck under a black vest over tight black pants. He grinned as he studied her well-rounded bottom. Luckily for him though, just as she turned to approach his table, Loz flickered his eyes away from her and down to his folded hands.

"Hello, my name is Raven. I'll be your sever tonight." She greeted when she arrived at his table. He looked up into her violet eyes, noticing that her positive attitude was put one. She smiled, "What can I get you to drink? We have some excellent wine and beer on special."

"I prefer to keep my head clear." He replied, smiling back as his eyes automatically slipped down to her chest. 'Oops.' He thought as his gaze returned to her eyes and saw the anger there. 'I'll just…have some water, please." She nodded and turned away, heading back into the kitchen. When she came back he passed on an appetizer and ordered a cheeseburger.

Loz whipped out his silver cell-phone after she left and pushed speed-dial one. After it rang twice his brother picked up.

"What is it, Loz?"

"Don't sound so annoyed, baby brother." He said, stroking his side-burns thoughtfully. "You should be pleased with me…"

"Loz, just spit it out. I'm in the middle of something. But, I swear, if this is about some hooker or new part for your bike I'm going to kill you."

"Nice, Kadaj." Loz replied, laughing. "No, it's much better than that." He heard Kadaj sigh angrily. Messing with his youngest brother always made the short-haired man giddy.

"Loz, I'm hanging up in three seconds."

"I found her."

"…"

"Um…hellooooo? Did you hear me?"

"I heard. I'm just surprised. And a little impressed. Where are you?"

"That little restaurant near the eastern side of Edge…what's it called?" Loz snapped his fingers several times as he thought.

"…I'm waiting."

"Oh, hush. I'm thinking." He snapped. "It's The Angel's Wings. She works here. Her name is Raven. Happy?"

"…Yes. Good job, Loz."

"I wish you could feel her, brother." Loz murmured into the phone, "She's incredibly powerful. It's…making me giddy and jumpy."

"Hm. That's good. Now we just have to figure out a way to get her to come with us, and then convince her to join with us. How quickly can you be home?"

Loz tapped his chin thoughtfully before answering, "Ten minutes."

"Good. I'll see you then." There was a beep as Kadaj hung up. Loz smiled as he shoved his cell-phone back into his pocked. He stood up, slapped enough money on the table to cover the burger and a hefty tip, and walked out the door.

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A week after Raven's fainting episode in the kitchen of their house, Tifa woke with a start. She remained still, listening carefully. She heard a small noise from downstairs and carefully slipped out of Cloud's embrace. She slipped on her gloves as she crept down the stairs, sticking to the wall to stop them from creaking. She explored the lower level of the house, discovering nothing out of the ordinary until she came to the small table by the front door. She picked up the envelope labeled in Raven's handwriting, Tifa. She quickly opened it and read the contents after staring at a check for a large amount of money.

Tifa

I have some searching to do. I don't know what's going on with my life but I have to get away for a bit. I guess…I have to find myself. I'm restless and old memories are surfacing that are too painful for me. I will be back in a month or two. Three at the most. Inside is a check with enough money to cover my share of the rent for a good while. Take care. Tell Cloud I said bye and Reno that I love him and am sorry that I ah…drugged him. Please do not let him or anyone, including yourself, follow me or try to find me. I need to do this alone. Bye.

With much love, your best friend,

Raven

Tifa gasped, throwing the front door open, letter and check still in hand, and ran out into the cold night air, down the driveway to the road. She could see her friend a bit farther down the hard dirt road, pushing her motorcycle.

"Raven!" she cried, sprinting after the younger woman's retreating figure. When she reached Raven, Tifa studied her face in the dark, seeing nothing but determination.

"Tifa. I've made a decision. I told you not to try to stop me. I won't."

"I know…" Tifa said. "I just…I don't know. Are you going to be okay? Where are you going?"

"I'll be fine. I can definitely take care of myself." Raven smiled at her friend, "And…I don't know where I am going. Wherever I feel like, I guess. But…please wait until morning to tell everyone."

"Of course." Tifa whispered and wrapped her arms around her friend. "Be safe."

Raven nodded and turned away, walking down the road before she was far enough away that she could start up her bike without the people in the house hearing. Without a glance back she rode off into the wild, in the opposite direction of Edge and Midgar.

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Reviews please! Tell me what you think.

Kitsune