Vern gazed past the window and to the forest beyond. She was leaning her face against the window. She's been trapped inside for a couple of weeks, and she was starting to get a little stir crazy. Everything was just begging her to go outside, but Rufus Shinra had her stuck inside so he could keep an eye on her.

He even read over her news stories to make sure she kept her word. It made her anxious whenever he would leer over her shoulder. Verna had to stop typing with how much stress it caused her. They finally came to the agreement that he would read over the final draft before she sent it off to her uncle – who Rufus still didn't know ran the newspaper.

The thought caused Verna to shift her positions. It was only going to be a matter of time before Rufus found out she lied about who was running the newspaper. She bit her lip. She didn't even want to think about what might happen. He would probably invade her personal space and perhaps hold a knife up to her back.

Verna's eye clenched shut. Her heart pounded and her breathing increased. She tried to gulp down her worries, but a large lump prevented her from doing so. She was on the verge of tears again. Curling up into a ball, Verna pulled on her hair tightly. This was the result of her anxiety attacks.

"Calm down," she whispered to herself. "This isn't going to help…" Despite her words she still stressed out. By now her whole body was shaking.

"Verna."
Verna shook her head a bit to acknowledge the voice. She couldn't look up, though. She was too scared, too stressed. Her body tensed up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Automatically, Verna flinched away and pressed herself further against the window, but the hand remained there.

"Verna," the voice sounded softly, it wasn't a mad one. "We're leaving the house today. You're getting your medications and I figured getting out could help you."

Verna opened her eyes and she slowly uncurled her body. She looked up at the man dressed in white with a black undertone. It was a sight that she has grown to form an analogy for. The white on the outside was something that people deemed as good. It was Rufus's way of saying that people could trust him and that Shin-Ra was a company to respect and not hate. Though, the black on the inside showed Shin-Ra's past and how it has its secrets, which leads to people not trusting the company. But underneath the clothes is Rufus, a human being. A human being that will make its mistakes. But with it being Rufus, he will take responsibility for his actions.

Verna stood up and walked over to the man she has grown to respect over the past couple of weeks. Rufus nodded at her and walked out of the house with her close behind him. He smirked slightly seeing that she has grown somewhat reliant on him. He'd have to make use of that later on.

"I looked at your medical records," Rufus noted. "I see that you take remedies. Do they not know what's wrong with you?"

Verna bit her lip, "Invading my personal space via another method huh?" she huffed some hair out of her face. "It's anxiety, but the tranquilizers didn't really work. They tried mixing in some spider webs, but that didn't work either."

"Spider webs?" Rufus raised an eyebrow.

"If you use that it slows a person down. My brain works faster than most, so they thought that was a part of my anxiety. I just think it's because I'm super smart," She grinned goofily.

"Right," Rufus rolled his eyes at the behavior.

"So they're just using remedies for now, until they can find something else that works," Verna frowned.

"Is there something wrong with it?" Rufus questioned.

"You know how you hear about those people going insane and on a public shooting spree?"

"Of course," Rufus nodded. "How does that connect?"

"They're all on anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, or anti-anxiety medications."

Rufus raised an eyebrow, "Are you saying that it's connected."

"Well sure," Verna nodded her head. "It's shown that these medications may not work at first because they activate neurogenesis, or when new neurons are made. It's something that doesn't typically happen. But by taking these medications, the new brain cells may be what makes people go insane and commit violent actions. This being said, not everyone who takes these medications go berserk on people, it's just a common trait that these people share."

"Interesting," Rufus pursed his lips together. He wondered if the scientists at Shin-Ra knew that. They were probably the ones who manufactured such a side effect. Those pathetic Hojo loyal brainless zombies. "We're here."

Verna looked up seeing a pharmacy. The two walked in. Verna looked around seeing a multitude of materias, potions and other medical items. She looked over at a girl standing at the counter. She had brown hair and skin that was almost as pale at hers. Her name was Theo, according to the name tag.

"Can I help you?" She looked up. Her eyes widened slightly seeing the president of Shin-Ra in her pharmacy, but kept her shock under control.

"We're here to pick up a prescription for Verna Alm," Rufus spoke in a monotone voice.

"Right," Theo dug through the 'A' box and pulled out a prescription. "Your insurance covers it." Theo handed over the prescription to Rufus, who then passed it to Verna. "Have a good day!"

Rufus nodded to her and walked back out. Verna followed him as she read the side effects, something she had a strong interest in. It was a nice way to pass the time.

"Verna?" Verna stopped in her tracks as her heart nearly shot out of her chest. "Verna? Is that you?" She looked behind her slowly. A small drop of sweat made its way down her face.

"It is you, Verna!" A man smiled at her and hugged her.

Verna tensed up immensely. Rufus didn't fail to notice the terrified look on her face. The man patted her scar rather forcefully. Rufus lost it.

"Who are you?" Rufus stepped forth and removed the man off of Verna. He placed himself in between the two. His icy blue eyes glared daggers into the other man's.

"Just an old friend of Verna's," The man crossed his arms. "We used to date."

Rufus's eyes widened slightly. This was the man who stabbed Verna in the back. He placed a hand on his shotgun, but didn't allow the man to know what he was doing. If he attempted to murder Verna, he most likely would try to do it again.

"It seems like you really climbed up the ladder, Verna," The man smirked at the girl. "Listen, I'd like to hang out sometime. Want to meet up?"

"Not really," Verna glared at the man.

"Ah, come on!" The man maneuvered around Rufus and gave Verna another hug. He slipped a piece of paper in her hand. "Well, I've gotta bounce. See you later, babe."

Rufus nearly pulled out his shotgun, but stopped when Verna spoke, "Let's go."

"Who was that?" Rufus didn't walk when Verna started to.

"No one."

"Did he hurt you?"

"Not today."

"Tell me his name."

"It's not important. Let's just go," Verna made her way back to the location they were staying at. Her head was faced down to the ground. Rufus watched her as her hair flowed behind her. He felt his rage building up, but kept it under control. He'd figure out who that guy was.

How will this pan out? The very questioned racked through her head. The only thing that disturbed her thought process every now and then was the wind rattling against the building. Her eyes were kept wide open. Her hand shielding a single flame to keep a candle burning as she made her way through the place she has been living for the past couple of weeks. She glanced down at the piece of paper in her hand.

His mind lingered back to the scene that occurred earlier in the day. He was searching and wishing through his computer. The secret was so loud that it screamed to him. It was the man who stabbed her earlier, no doubt. Rufus nearly shot the man on spot.

His hand tightened to on the mouse when he remembered the scene. The man they encountered hugged Verna. Not only that but he placed a firm hand on where her stab wound was. Rufus didn't fail to notice Verna's reactions. The very look on her face was enough to make Rufus's blood boil with rage – something he wasn't sure exactly as to why.

Perhaps he was envious that another human being was able to strike fear into Verna. He shook his head, before he turn in envy he would turn to his emotionless wall he's managed to build. It was crumbling, and he knew it. But still, he would go to the wall that he learnt to build through sorrow.

His icy eyes turned to the sound of a door closing.

Verna trudged her way through the town. Her eyes were growing dark. Her fingers grasped the cold metal that she was keeping hidden in her jacket's sleeve. Her eyes dashed back and forth to make sure no one was watching her.

She licked her lips in anticipation. Her heart pounded. Verna was going to do this. She was going to kill him. The man that stabbed her in the back was going to be killed by her very hands. Atli was going to die.

"I thought you'd never show up," A man's voice sounded. Verna looked at him with extreme hatred. "Woah! I heard about death glares, but I've never seen one until now. Are you still holding a grudge against me for stabbing you? You know it was orders from a very prestigious company, you might have heard of them."

Verna's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?"

"He didn't tell you?" The stabber, Atli, crossed his arms. "You would think that if you were hanging out with him he would have told you that he ordered me to find everything out about your father and to get rid of you. You know, I heard that the he was cold, guess he really is."

"Rufus told you to kill me?" Verna hesitated.

He smirked slightly, "Such a shame, really. And now he's hiding it from you. You know, I think he's keeping you around to try and get everything out of you until he deems you unnecessary. When that happens," He paused for emphasis, "He'll stab you in the back." The man walked over to Verna and forcefully punched her scar with every word. "Just. Like. I. Did."

Verna gasped from the pain it caused and stumbled away from him. Her breathing started to turn ragged. She was having not an anxiety attack, but a panic attack. Tears build up in her eyes and they poured down her cheeks.

"Awe, did I make you cry?" He feigned regret. "Please, don't do that. Your vision will blur and you won't be able to see me kill you."

Verna started to calm down. If he was ordered to kill her by Rufus, then why was he going to kill her now? She quickly raised her gun up at the man.

He paused and raised his hands up, "What are you doing, Verna?"

"You wouldn't kill me now if you were ordered by Rufus," Verna hissed. "You were lying."

"I'm no longer working for Shin-Ra, babe," Her cooed. "Everything I said was true. I was a Turk, and now I'm not. I've gone rogue, much like your little Sephiroth."

"Liar!" Verna screamed and shot her gun.

The man stayed still, a smirk was present on his face, "You're not going to hit me with that thing. By the looks of how you're holding it you just got a gun and you haven't used it. Your aim is going to be way off! Even if you were lucky it probably wouldn't kill me!"

Verna's eyes widened as he ran towards her. He slammed her into a wall and forced the gun out of her hand. A yelp escaped her lips and her vision grew blurry. She still managed to look up at the menacing grin on his face. She was going to die here. She was going to meet her permanent Sunday rest.

"See how the colors run?" He questioned as a sudden stinging sensation burned from Verna's cheek. Blood oozed down her pale skin. "It's such a beautiful sight; blood. I can't wait to see your blood again, love."

Verna closed her eyes out of fear, hoping to rid herself of the impending doom that lingered over her. She should have given Rufus his name. She should have allowed him to bring him in. She should have placed her trust in him. Some change is for the best.

"Oh, you can't even look me in the eyes when I kill you?" Atli leaned forward so his lips were against her ear before he whispered, "Give me the pleasure of letting me watch you watch me while I kill you."

Verna choked back a sob as she struggled under Atli's grip, but it only tightened. Verna screamed for a split second, but it was covered with his rugged hand. She moved her knee up to attempt to hit him. She felt contact, but his grip didn't loosen. She was trapped, and there was no escaping.

"Now, should we start?"Atli smirked and thrust his knife through her shoulder.

Verna gave out a muffled scream from the sudden pain. Her knees shook as she threatened to give way, but he forced her to stand. Atli twisted the knife in place, tearing her tissue violently. Verna bit her tongue harshly and she tasted blood. He then stabbed her in her side and repeated the horrid action multiple times.

Atli laughed as he noticed Verna shaking from the pain. The site was just making him more excited. He was only focused on the blood staining her clothes. He was making sure that there was no way that Verna would be able to live past this. No, she would die here.

A gun shot rang off. Atli stumbled backwards at the sudden noise. He looked at his hand and noticed a bullet went through it. Blood started to leak down his wrist, his own blood. He looked over at the smoke escaping a shotgun wielded by one hand. This person was strong.

"So it's you?" Atli spoke as Verna fell to the ground. "Rufus Shinra coming to save the girl whose father was attempting to ruin your grand company."

Rufus narrowed his eyes. The man knew something about her father. He could get some information out of him. Rufus glanced down at the blood soaked body. He didn't have time for such meaningless things. If she wasn't already dead she would be soon.

Rufus fired his shotgun once more. The bullet went through Atli's head and he fell down to the ground, dead. Rufus walked over to Verna and knelt down. Blood made its way onto his clothes. He didn't care, he had spares of the same outfit. Rufus moved his hand to her pulse, it was growing weak, but she was still alive.

Rufus glanced over at Dark Nation and nodded his head to his trusted companion. Dark Nation growled lowly as a green orb glowed in its body. A light filled with multiple colors surrounded Verna's body. Rufus held his breath as he watched her clothes close to some extent. The bleeding slowed, but it didn't stop completely. She still needed a doctor.

Rufus placed his shotgun in his holster before scooping Verna up in his arms. He quickly made his way to the hospital. He may not win the race in getting to Sephiroth, he may not reach the top approval rate with those in Gaia, and he may not live the way as Verna, but it didn't mean he was stuck doing what everyone thought he should do. He was helping one of Shin-Ra's enemies, something that did not fit the mold of the president. And he was kind of going off course of Sephiroth, because of this girl. But he had to get her a doctor, he knew that the medicine that they would give her would giver he a stronger hold onto life than his cure materia.

Rufus found himself in front of the pharmacy earlier. It was closed. He narrowed his eyes and pounded on the door multiple times. He heard some grumbling from inside as the door open. It was the girl from earlier who gave Verna her prescription.

Her grey eyes widened as she ushered them inside. Theo, according to her name tag from earlier, cleared some things off of the table. Rufus placed the bleeding girl down. Theo ran over to a cabinet and took out a variety of medicines.

"Please step back, sir," Theo spoke as she began mixing a phoenix down and an X-Potion.

Rufus did so, but not by much. He watched intensely as Theo began forcing the mixture down Verna's throat. Theo moved some brown hair out of her face while doing so and watched for a reaction. It could very well be too late for it to work, but there was still hope.

Verna's breathing – which was rapid from before – began to slow down. Some color started to return to her cheeks; even if she didn't have much to begin with. Rufus gave out a sigh of relief. The medicine has worked. She wasn't dead.

-A/N—

That awkward moment when someone reviews your story and you don't remember what's in it…I was all like, "Yeah…Uhuh..Thanks." _

Anyways, I'm kind of struggling with the time frame of it all. I'm just going to say that Reno made it up that AVALANCHE was heading to Wutai…But they'll still be there soon, because of some ridiculous lie that Yuffie made up. Then it's to the Ancient Temple or something…And umm…We'll see. _ Must play the game!