And we're all see-through just like glass
And we can shatter just as fast
That light's been burned out for a while
I still see it every time I pass...

- Be Somebody, Thousand Foot Krutch

After a few hours of fuming, pacing and bouncing ideas off her, Aerith's cellmate had tired of trying to form an escape plan and slumped back against the wall with a sigh. "Sorry, that's all I've got."

"You don't have to apologise." Aerith tried to make her voice reassuring, but suspected the words came out rather shaky. In truth, she was trying very, very hard not to panic.

She was quite proud of how calm she was, in fact, all things considered.

Tifa shook her head in frustration. "I said I wasn't going to sit here and wait to be rescued, but what else can I do?"

Aerith wished she could answer, but nothing came to her mind and the silence stretched out again. Aerith's eyes began to wander around the cell. It was small, dark, damp. A cold stone floor, low ceiling, walls that loomed inwards. Aside from the bars that prevented her from escaping, there was nothing to differentiate it from one of the poorer corners of Midgar, the kind Aerith had been afraid of visiting when she was a little girl.

She wasn't afraid now. She'd grown out of that phase when she'd realised she could change her surroundings, bring in a little light, joy and beauty. Instead of shying away from the shadows she'd learnt to do her best to cast them away; sell a flower here, smile at a stranger there. Face your fears, Elmyra had always told her, and they will cease to be.

She couldn't plant flowers here or paint the walls a brighter colour. She shifted uncomfortably. She missed her room; just as small as this cell, but warmer, safe and secure. Elmyra would be checking on her about now to ask her about her day before she went to bed. Elmyra would be so worried. She worried constantly, though she tried to hide it. Aerith wished Elmyra was - not here, of course, she wouldn't wish some she cared for was stuck in one of ShinRa's holding cells, but she wished forElmyra's presence.

"We'll find a way," Aerith promised. "Maybe we should just sleep on it."

"I guess you're right," Tifa conceding, glaring furiously at a piece of floor in front of her. "I just -aargh!" She clenched her hands with a wordless cry of frustration. "If Cloud was here he'd have found a way to escape."

Aerith smiled. She'd almost forgotten the blonde SOLDIER she'd met earlier. "Sounds like you know Cloud well."

Tifa shook her head. "I suppose - I don't know. We grew up together, but we weren't so close. My father never approved of him."

"You talk as though you're close to him, though."

Tifa shrugged. "I don't have much left from my childhood. Seeing Cloud again these weeks has been... strange, but pleasant. I would have liked to be closer when we were younger. He's changed a lot since then, but I suppose that must be true for us all."

"You're not from Midgar, then?"

Tifa tensed for a moment, then shook her head again. Aerith waited for her to say more, but nothing else was forthcoming. "I've lived most of my life here," Aerith said. "I'd love to see somewhere else. I grow flowers behind my house and in a little church nearby, but it would be nice to see a place where they grow naturally."

"Flowers? In Midgar?"

Aerith couldn't resist a small smile at the surprise in the other girl's voice. "You should see them. They really make a difference to the city."

"I'd say so." Tifa shifted her weight to make herself more comfortable. "To be honest, I don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight."

Tifa was right, Aerith mused. The floor of Shinra's holding cell did not make a comfortable resting place, nor did the worries gnawing at her gut do much to help her relax. Still, it was worth a try. Rest would do them both some good. "Just try," Aerith murmured. "Would it be easier if I stay up in case something happens?"

Tifa looked at her hesitantly. "You'd do that?"

"Of course." Aerith laughed. "I don't feel much like sleeping either." She didn't even know how late it was; some time after being captured and thrown into a cell, she'd lost track of the hours passing by. All she knew was that she felt exhausted.

"Thank you, Aerith. Wake me in a few hours, okay?"

"No problem. 'Night, Tifa."

As Barret went upstairs, he was assaulted by an frantic Marlene who instantly wrapped her arms around his waist and clung to him for dear life. If not for the risk of crushing her, he would have done the same. At least one thing has gone right in this entire goddamn day. That wasn't entirely fair. Without Cissnei and Cloud's warning, things could have been much worse. The three of them were alive, at least, and his little girl, and some others who had evacuated and -

To hell with it. He was done counting his blessings. ShinRa wanted to screw with people, he would get right back at them, and no more of this 'it could be worse' bullshit. It was bad enough as it was. Jessie, Biggs, Wedge...

"Daddy?" Marlene tightened her hold. "Are you okay? What happened? Where's the nice girl I was with? Why did we have to leave Seventh Heaven? What -"

Barret laughed fondly. "Hey, now, hold it. Give a man a chance to breath. I'm fine, Marlene. There's nothing for you to worry about."

Cloud chose that moment to push the door open and barge in. "Barret, it's time to go."

Barret scowled. "So you're givin' the orders now, is that it? Don't think I'm not grateful for your help earlier, but -"

"If we want to find Aerith, we need to start searching as soon as possible. If ShinRa's got their hands on her I don't want to leave her there a moment longer than necessary."

"I know that, dammit. But I've just been reunited with my daughter, here, in case you hadn't noticed, and I'd like a moment before we go gallivanting off again, princess."

The look Cloud gave him was more threatening than that huge sword he lugged around, but he didn't argue instantly. Instead, he sighed. "Fine. Cissnei and I have some preparation to do, anyway. You'd better be ready by the time we're back."

Barret glowered at Cloud's back as he exited. Not that he wasn't glad Cloud finally seemed to care about someone, but it would do him good to remember just who was in charge of Avalanche.

At Cissnei's insistence, they took a stop at the weapons shop.

A gun was not a suitable weapon for stealth, after all. If things went wrong and she found herself in need of it, one shot would bring every guard in the vicinity running. Perhaps its only advantage was its range; with Cissnei's size and relative fragility (not compared to an ordinary person, but certainly compared to a mako-enhanced SOLDIER or even just a bulky, muscled man like Rude), she found it wise to avoid close combat whenever possible. And her attempt at close combat recently had ended with her on the floor sporting what would probably turn into a large collection of bruises by the next morning and a left wrist that, judging by the way it hurt, was most likely sprained.

(It could have been worse, much worse, if not for the interference of Reno and then Cloud.)

So, knives were out, then, unless she found a good set of throwing knives. Her shuriken had been perfect for her, but the shuriken belonged to Cissnei the Turk, not Cissnei the... whoever she was at the moment.

Cloud pushed the door open and held it for her. Cissnei ducked inside. The shop was small and cluttered, the walls lined with an assortment of knives, swords, guns and other lethal devices. One corner held a collection of staffs much like Aerith's, not that it had done the flower girl much good. She had yet to see anything that suited her.

When she'd first joined the Turks, Tseng had taken her to buy her a weapon. She remembered scanning the shop with wide eyes, wondering how on earth she could learn to use anything there. It had come much more easily than she expected; within a few weeks her fingers learned to recognise the shape they needed to make to clasp a shuriken, her eyes had learned how to judge a killing shot from one intended to wound or incapacitate. Tseng had smiled at her; a rare occurence that melted away any discomfort she might have felt about her new abilities.

"Don't be nervous, Cissnei. You're a natural at this."

High praise, coming from Tseng. It didn't occur to her until later to wonder what he meant by 'this'. Was it just wielding that particular weapon? Fighting in general? Being a Turk?

She walked up to the counter. A man was absorbed in polishing a katana. Cissnei cleared her throat politely. "Hello, sir."

He looked up, peering at her through thick glasses. "Can I help you, miss? I'm afraid we only sell weapons here, so -" His eyes travelled her face and he stopped. "Oh. Are you here for something to use in self-defence?"

From his pause, Cissnei deduced her right eye must have been swollen or turning black. It certainly felt sore and tender. She rubbed it gingerly. "Something that can be used for offense will do just fine, thank you. You don't have any shurikens?"

The man blinked rapidly at her. "...'fraid not, miss. I do have a set of throwing stars, if you'd like to try them?"

Cissnei smiled lightly. "That would be perfect, sir. Thank you."

"No problem, miss. There's a target in the back room that you can practice on."

Throwing stars in hand, Cissnei made her way to the back room. Cloud followed in silence, leaning against the wall with his arms folded to watch her. She cast him a glance. Leaning comfortably but not slouching, head held confidently, blue eyes trailed on her, he had that air of easy self-confidence she associated with SOLDIERS in general, but unlike many others he didn't feel the need to flaunt it.

("Did you see that, Cissnei? That was awesome! Man, if only Angeal were here to see me...")

Cloud, she figured, was the sort of person who did not feel the need to fill every second with noise. That could be comfortable, peaceful, but the absence of friendly chatter was painfully noticeable at times. Cloud did not draw her out of her own head and into the present moment with his presence and conversation as Zack once had.

Forget him. Just focus on the target. Easily enough done; Cloud's presence was not at all intrusive. She gripped the first star between her fingers and narrowed her eyes. Her arm trembled.

She chucked the throwing star at the target and it flew wide, landing with a clatter about about twenty centimetres to the right. Cissnei's cheeks flushed and she began to wish she didn't have an audience. She knew she was out of practice with fighting, but there was no need for Cloud to see that.

She took another one and tried again. This throw was better; the star glanced off the edge of the target before falling to the floor. Cissnei sucked in a breath. This time, she stopped to think before throwing. The arc of her previous two throws had been too sloppy; she needed to put in more force if she wanted to hit the target. The star had a slightly downwards trajectory, so she should aim a little higher. There would be a curb, but not as strong as the one on her shuriken.

She threw. Bullseye. A small smirk played across her lips. ("You're a natural.") Three more throws, each coming more easily than the last. Bullseye, bullseye, bullseye. The third embedded itself half-ways into the board and stayed there, quivering. Cissnei walked over to pick them up.

So. Maybe she hadn't completely lost her touch. A lifetime of training and conditioning had to be worth something more than guilt, regret and heartache, after all. She glanced down at the weapons. So maybe she wasn't entirely happy with the life she'd lived; maybe she'd left the only moral compass she'd ever really followed to die at the hands of the company she worked for, as well as many other things she was... less than proud of. But she wasn't incompetent, and maybe - maybe - this time she would be strong enough to do at least one thing right.

("Hey, Ciss, you've got my back, right?")

"Not bad," Cloud said, straighting up. "Are you going to buy those?"

Cissnei's lips flickered upwards as she adjusted her grip on the stars so the fit just right between her fingers. "Yeah."

"Good." He stood back as Cissnei paid. "Let's save Aerith, then."

That determination, protectiveness... all so familiar. She didn't know why Cloud was so worried about the girl, but it fit that he was. I'll save your girl, if it makes you happy. "Yes, let's." She paused. They weren't going to charge in unprepared. "But first we need to trade contact details. I don't want us to get separated again the way we did before."

Cloud nodded. "Good point." He flipped open his phone and they swapped numbers. She glanced down at his name for a few moments before closing the phone. It was funny how quickly 'Strife, Cloud' had become an important part of her life. Dangerous. She'd been down this road before; she didn't want to do it again, but she didn't know if she had the strength left to pull back. She should leave Avalanche as soon as Aerith was safe. Barret wouldn't like it, but it was the only way out for her. The more she stuck with Cloud...

"Cissnei? Are you all right?"

Cissnei looked up at him. "Just thinking." A few seconds passed when Cloud looked like he wanted to press her for more, but held himself back, turning away. "I never really thanked you for rescuing me earlier, did I?"

"It wasn't a problem," Cloud muttered under his breath. "Besides, your warning saved a lot of people."

Fewer than I've killed, directly or indirectly, through my affiliation with ShinRa. Cloud had worked for ShinRa too, but... it was different. The difference between an idealistic youth buying into empty promises of heroism and a jaded assassin doing the only thing she'd ever known. "Regardless, thank you." She picked up her pace to halt the awkward conversation.

Cloud did the same.

KazeShuriken: Glad you liked it :). I'm aware my previous update was a little weak, but after a year or so it's taking me a while to get back into writing this story. However, I think I mostly remember where I was going with it by this point, luckily.

qwq qweqq: Thank you for scrolling down and for reviewing after so long. I really am sorry to have abandoned this for a while, but you know... life. I promise to mention if I'm going to be really busy again in future.

sdphantom: I'm really glad you're still reading this! To be honest, I was afraid I'd lose all my readers, so I'm really really grateful to everyone who's stuck with me throughout the hiatus.

So... another bridging chapter, I guess. I intended to jump straight to them sneaking into ShinRa, but I couldn't find a way to make it work... and while trying to write those scenes I realised there was no way Cissnei would be sneaking around with only a gun as a weapon. I enjoyed writing this chapter though because I finally feel like I'm getting back into the character's heads. Expect more action in my next update.

Finally, I should warn you: I'm going to be away for the next few weeks and won't have much of a chance to write. I will be back, though, in maybe a month at most. I've made up my mind to see this fanfic through to the end.

Thank you to all my readers, followers, reviewers and everyone who has favourited this!