Final Fantasy VII 1. Chapter 1: The summons

Shadowplay

Chapter 1: The summons

* * *

It was over. They were mentally and physically bruised in more ways than could be explained, left baring scars too deep to heal and a lifetime ahead of them to face the lingering pain of loss.

They had all gathered in Rocket Town to say their goodbyes and it was proving more difficult than Tifa could have imagined. Something sat heavy in her insides choking off the words. It was not a final goodbye, she knew that, they were connected and would always be together when they could be. But she could not shake the impending feeling of suddenly being alone.

She was leaning on the fence outside the house and looking up at the twisted metal structure ahead. The only thing left of where the rocket had originally been housed. She felt the movement next to her and turned her head to look at Vincent. She had been dreading this moment. Vincent filled her with such a great sense of security.

"You're going?"

He nodded. Glancing in the same direction she had been. The scenery seemed lacking without the grandeur of the once leaning rocket.

"Thank you for freeing me, Tifa."

She shook her head and smiled up at him. "Thank you for coming with us. You didn't have to, but we couldn't have done it without you. I couldn't have…"

"Hm." They stared at one another for a moment before Tifa reached up and hugged him. She shocked herself with how much she was going to miss him. One of his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her into him returning the gesture. She loosened her hold and stretched to her toes intending to kiss his cheek. That was when everything changed. He turned slightly, not expecting the touch, and her lips brushed the corner of his mouth.

He froze. She froze. Tifa took a shuddering breath unaware of how the sudden betraying heat made her eyes darken. He moaned and leaned in to kiss her softly. They tested each other's mouths with soft nibbles until want slammed into both of them and the kiss turned hot and desperate. She whimpered a sound of hunger and it broke him free from the spell. Trembling and shocked to the core they stood trying to make sense of the moment. Then he kissed her forehead and walked away leaving her emptier than ever.

…

_Six months later…_

It was raining. Tifa stood at the window of Seventh Heaven and looked out into the grey street beyond. The rain did nothing to soften the reality of the cold stone and metal that made Edge. If anything it sharpened the edges and dispersed the haze of dust accentuating how utterly helpless the entire town looked. She leant her head against the glass and closed her eyes letting the pane cool her skin.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" She sighed, talking to herself in the quiet moment before the bar opened.

"You need a life that doesn't involve killing people and serving drinks? Oh, and you're talking to yourself."

She opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder to her head barmaid, Leanne stood at the counter wiping the last of the glasses and baring a smirk of amusement.

"Shut up."

Leanne laughed. She, and another girl named Rose, had filled in for Tifa while she ran off with Reeve on business. It helped to have an Avalanche member smooth the way in some avenues. Their names alone had become a sign of hope when recognised, one of the reasons why Tifa stayed in Edge.

The problem was that long months had led into years of travel and movement that no longer allowed her to stay in one place. She had to get out of the bar and help, to go and visit the group often to see how they were, they came to her as well. Seventh Heaven would always be the home of Avalanche.

Cloud was missing most of the time and they were all accustomed to it. Tifa had overcome that heartbreak long ago, possibly when she learnt that he had been intimate with Aeris while she was alive and then later when he came back home smelling of cheap perfume. He had taken lovers in an effort to bury his loss. She supposed she should be grateful he avoided her as an option and after she found out the truth she had been unable to feel the same about him, accepting she would be second fiddle to the ghost of a memory.

"So, you're leaving tonight?" Leanne brought her back to the present.

"Yeah, Reeve said he was sending someone to pick me up. I'm going to Kalm first to meet up with the group and I have no idea what I am up to after that."

"Not that you would tell me."

"Not that I would tell you."

They smiled at one another and both started laughing. Tifa would never burden the girls with any knowledge of what Avalanche went through and what they had been through. It was also too dangerous. The less they knew, the safer they were.

Tifa left Leanne to open up while she went upstairs to change and grab her bag. Since they were travelling late she felt it was best to dress warmer, and if the rain was any indicator she suspected she was going to get wet. She put on fitted leather pants and her most comfortable shoes, a black t-shirt and her zipped vest, then tucked her gloves into her belt.

She kept her bag packed permanently if there was an emergency, so it was only a matter of grabbing it from beneath the bed. She trotted back down the stairs and dumped it in the corner. She saw Rose had arrived. After greeting the girls she sat on the bar going over what need be done while she was away. The doors were open, but no one really came for at least thirty minutes after that anyway.

Tifa was just detailing the order list for the week when she noticed neither of them was paying any attention to her anymore. They were both looking over Tifa's shoulder, mouths agape and eyes wide. Rose spoke first, a whisper of instant obsession.

"I saw him first."

Leanne shook her head. "No way, you're too young. I call it."

Tifa sighed and turned to look over at the doorway to see what poor new victim they had chosen. She instantly met a pair of familiar eyes, those eyes, all fire and heat hidden within shadow and crimson accents, watching her with an intensity that crawled beneath her skin and set her burning. Gaia… he still sent her spinning. She had not seen him in six months.

She suspected he had made an unspoken agreement to stay away from her after their kiss. She swallowed.

"Vincent…" It came out breathy and almost like an invite. His lashes dropped. She swore she saw him shiver. She was unaware of the two women looking between them now. Both of whom were oblivious to the fact that Tifa and Vincent were sharing their last memory together without words.

Tifa felt her breath catch. That one moment, so small and seemingly insignificant before she hugged him goodbye, and that hug that had changed everything.

Tifa licked her lips and forced a smile. "Reeve sent you to get me?" He nodded. Striding towards where she sat on the bar. He leant his elbows on the edge and looked at the other women.

"Leanne and Rose this is Vincent. His gil is no good here, got it?" The girls nodded, both dumbstruck and instantly in lust.

"I'll get you a drink Vincent." She slid off the bar and kicked Rose in the ankle jerking her out of her trance which was thankfully reinforced by the sudden trickle of customers. Leanne followed suit and went about starting the order requests while Rose began serving. Tifa uncorked a bottle of wine so expensive that it made both girls gasp in shock. It was rather an extravagant drink, but Tifa hadn't seen him since that goodbye and she felt it was deserved.

"I haven't seen you in so long." She slid him his glass. The glimmer of amber from beneath his lashes refused to rise to meet her.

"My time has been occupied." He braced his weight against the bar with his gauntlet hand while he drank with the other.

"You couldn't even make our visits? We've met up once a month and you never seem to be available for any of them."

She knew she was testing him and she also knew that Vincent would become irritated if she pushed him too far to talk. He had always been one to converse at his own speed.

"Tifa…" She sighed and waved her hand.

"Never mind. I am going to grab my coat and then we can get going if you like."

He nodded once, visibly relaxing when she let him off the hook to drink in peace. Tifa took the stairs two at a time to her room, grabbing her leather coat off the footboard of her bed and turning around to almost run into a wide-eyed Leanne.

"Gaia!" Tifa put her hand out on Leanne's shoulder and the other clasping the coat on her chest. "You scared me half to death! What's wrong?"

Leanne pointed down the stairs. "Vincent? Vincent Valentine?"

Tifa laughed and nodded. "One and the same."

"Oh Tifa… please tell me he's single and dates and likes women…particularly blond bar maids?" Leanne looked like she was about to expire on the spot.

Tifa couldn't stop giggling. She took her time slipping her arms into her jacket and pulling the zip up while Leanne prattled.

"I assume he's single, no I don't think he dates, yes he likes women, and I really don't know what his tastes are."

"He doesn't date? UGH… He's so beautiful. Did you see those eyes?" Leanne flopped backwards on the bed with her arms spread out dramatically.

"I've seen those eyes many times. Aren't you supposed to be running my bar?"

"His mouth is delicious… I bet his kisses are breathtaking."

"Oh they are." Tifa hadn't meant to say that. It came out breathless and much too needy for her liking.

"WHAT?" Tifa blushed and Leanne's eyes got wider. "There is no way you are leaving me alone with just that."

Tifa groaned. She walked around the room making sure she didn't forget to grab anything. "Remember when you asked me if there had ever been anyone else I was attracted to apart from Cloud, and I said no, but there had been one moment once…"

"With him!?"

"Mhm. Can I go now please?" Tifa raised an eyebrow and Leanne giggled bouncing off the mattress.

"Fine. But I am severely jealous."

"It was a long time ago." Tifa shooed her ahead down the stairs.

"Well in that case you won't mind if I try to catch his attention." The blonde woman bounced down the stairs like a teenager.

Tifa smirked, "Yeah good luck with that. Vincent isn't just some guy you can strike up conversation with about the weather."

They slowed on the stairs, lowering their voices so that they didn't carry into the bar.

"Well a girl can try."

Tifa only smiled and walked across to Vincent changing the topic as she went.

"So I'll be gone about a week I think. I arranged for security while I am gone and they will be in tomorrow. You can decide when you will need them but make sure they are all on duty Friday and Saturday. There is plenty of gil in the safe."

Vincent looked up, his brows drawing together. "A week? What exactly did Reeve tell you?"

Tifa paused. "The minimum. He said about a week."

Vincent twisted the empty glass in his fingers. "Tifa... This will take more than a week."

She did not ask him to expand on that while they were standing in the middle of a rapidly filling bar with the two women listening in.

"I will call you Leanne. See you later Rose!" She waved, snatching her back up from the corner and walking out with Vincent on her heel, figuring that they could talk about it on the way.

They walked through out of Edge in relative silence, dodging the rain by ducking from cover to cover but unable to avoid the thick grey clay that made up the dead earth. She was about to head straight into the rain on the path when Vincent grabbed her elbow and turned her in another direction from the old road to Kalm. She became confused, until she saw the light plane.

"Wow! Cid fixed it!" She ran up to the tiny bronco and smiled. Vincent said nothing as he climbed into the pilot seat. Tifa had the urge to ask where he learnt to fly but she was afraid it would result in more of his ignoring her. They made it to Kalm in record time.

…

"Do you plan on talking to me anytime soon or I am going to guess about your cryptic comment regarding my time away?"

Vincent grunted. He was avoiding looking at her and now she deduced he was actively making an attempt to not be alone with her. Had her kiss been so unwelcome? They reached the inn without Tifa asking another question and she had never been so glad as to see them all.

A squeal of happiness surrounded Shera and Tifa while they hugged and chattered. Tifa embraced Barrett and then Cid. Yuffie and Red were noticeably absent.

"So… is someone going to fill me in?"

They walked into an adjacent sitting room, and just as Tifa went to close the door it stopped, halted by a hand on the other side. She released the handle and smiled.

"Reeve." They embraced instantly. He lifted her off the ground crushing her in his arms. She laughed softly. Reeve was a remarkable man; she had truly come to appreciate him over the months and admire his determination to make Gaia a better place. He was also the one who checked in on her the most often. He had lent her money to rebuild Seventh Heaven and though she had paid him back long ago he always tried to give her more.

"You look amazing."

She smiled. "Flatterer."

Reeve winked and walked into the room closing the door behind him.

"Alright." He gestured for them all to take a seat and sat down at Tifa's side. As he began to speak he addressed her alone. She figured everyone else had probably already heard it all.

"I'm sorry to rush this on you Tifa but we really need someone with your particular skills." She raised an eyebrow and leant back into the plush sofa. One leg tucked beneath the other as she got comfortable for what felt a long story.

"After I left you I decided to take advantage of my somewhat questionable connections to get a foothold in certain areas. We infiltrated political holdings and places of wealth in every place possible to try to weed out what remained of Shinra and any unsavoury elements that may need removing."

Tifa nodded, "Go on."

"One of the major holdings of Shinra supporters has always been in Costa del Sol. It attracts people with plenty of gil to spend and too much time on their hands, which gives whoever holds the power there access to both. There is also no law enforcement there, leaving people to do as they please."

Reeve leant forwards. Tifa noticed the crispness of his suit and how well it fitted to his broad shoulders. It made her smile inwardly. He was ingrained with Turk discipline and it served him well.

"About a month after we set up in Costa del Sol we noticed the death rate caused by drug use had spiked. At first we thought it might be an increase in recreational abuse on account of being reminded of their inevitable mortality, but then we started investigating the bodies of the deceased."

Tifa frowned. "What did you find?"

"Traces of mako poisoning. A mutated form of it combined with a few other substances that give the user unusual strength, euphoria, high levels of aggressiveness, paranoia, and it's completely addictive."

"I don't understand. To what purpose are they producing this?" Tifa glanced at the others and noted they were all lost in thought as well.

"Right now we only have speculation. It could be as simple as the usual reason anyone produces a drug. There is a demand and it sells. What it more interesting is the chemical combinations involved. These components aren't something the average dealer would be able to get their hands on. These are substances typical of Shinra experimentation. What we think, is that it is possible one of their scientists is taking advantage of their experience and trying to gain some power now Shinra electric is history. It is also possible that this is the work of whatever remains of Shinra and could be an effort to fund the dying company into a rebirth."

"…Hojo?" She whispered it.

"It is a possibility."

She looked at Vincent. She could see him tense, the blaze of his unfocused eyes filled with a deep loathing. The room thickened beneath the unsavoury thought.

Tifa exhaled slowly, "What do you need me to do?" The determination rang in her voice to be a part of the plan. If for no other reason than to alleviate Vincent's fear that Hojo was experimenting again.

"We have a club in Costa del Sol. It's well established now and gained enough popularity to gain mention. As hard as we've tried we have been unable to gain the trust of any of the dealers except for some minor players and frankly they know nothing of use. Whoever is in charge is very careful. The deals made are through calls and third-party vendors, no one ever exchanges names."

"But…?"

"But… many of the dead who are showing up are employees of the clubs. Primarily women… pretty women."

Tifa raised an eyebrow. She noticed the way Vincent shifted in his chair opposite them, his expression was disapproving.

"You want me to work in your club?"

Reeve nodded. "You fit the image Tifa, you know how to work a bar and deal with a crowd and unlike other people I could hire with those skills you are more than capable of holding your own when push comes to shove. On top of that you're Avalanche. You've trained in stealth and recon. I don't know anyone better suited."

"Why are the women being killed?"

"My theory is… and this is just a theory…" She nodded. "They found out too much and weren't clever enough to keep certain parties interested. Maybe the dealer got bored with them. Some of them were users and died from the drug."

"What's it called?"

"The club or the drug?"

"Both."

Reeve looked at Vincent so briefly that Tifa would not have noticed had she not been so intensely focused on the both of them.

"The drug is called 'Azure' and the club is called 'Cerberus"

Tifa looked at Vincent. The question on her face was clear.

"Vincent is… the owner, for all intents and purposes. No person has ever seen Vincent pose as the owner so he acts as head of security. You will not be alone Tifa. There will be people watching over you." Reeve took her hands and looked her in the eyes. His sincerity was reassuring.

"I need you to play the part. Try and find out where these girls have gone and who the players are."

Tifa nodded slowly thinking over the possibilities. She was staring into space going over the details of what she would be required to do. Playing the bar girl was easy enough. Sometimes it was better to smile and giggle to get a customer to soften up and be more agreeable, and she knew when to speak and when not to.

"What about everyone else?" She glanced at the group.

"Door Security." Barret pointed at himself.

"Taking care of Marlene." Shera smiled.

"Security." Cid lit a cigarette which got taken off him and stubbed out by Vincent. The two had a staring competition while the others continued to speak. Reeve hid a chuckle.

"I pose as the club manager. Nanaki would have stood out in a club so he stayed in the canyon, but he is trying to find out details through the grapevine. We thought it best not to involve Yuffie at all."

Tifa could understand that. Yuffie was more likely to make things worse with her inability to keep her mouth shut and her knack for getting into trouble.

She moistened her lips and asked her last question.

"Cloud?"

The silence was palpable. None of them seemed to want to talk about the absent warrior. He never answered their calls or bothered to contact them regardless of how many times they tried.

"He was unavailable." Reeve's answer was diplomatic. Tifa merely nodded and dismissed the topic.

"So what do we do now?"

"Now we go to Costa del Sol and get set up. You need to meet everyone and we need to give you a bit of a makeover so you can play the part."

"Alright."

They all took a moment to take in the task ahead of them. The discussion at an end they decided to eat dinner together and get some sleep so they could get moving early the next day. Tifa had just stood up when Reeve took her hand to stall her.

"Thanks Tifa."

She smiled, but it was weary and uncertain. He sensed her uncertainty.

"You can say no and I would understand."

Of course he would. Reeve would never judge her for declining to help, but she would judge herself and feel it was a failing.

"No, I will help. Consider it a thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything."

He smiled and hugged her once more. They walked out arm in arm to join the others.

* * *

Here we go. Fanfic #2. Which went through at least 5 rewrites before I got a grasp of what the hell I was doing. I find it much easier to write from my own imagination than try to expand on an already established design.

Anyway this has almost no canon to it, it's completely in my head. Enjoy


	2. Chapter 2: Ruby

Shadowplay

Chapter 2: Ruby

* * *

Tifa stared into the mirror unable to connect the reflection to the reality. What she felt was fear and trepidation whereas the reflection looked cool and collected.

Her hair was curled into heavy waves and then pinned up in such a way as to appear artfully messy. Sultry, as if she had just rolled out of warm sheets and left a warm body behind. Her eyes were heavily lined in black liner which peaked at the corners and accented the size of them and her lips were a deep blood-red that reminded her of Vincent's cloak.

This reflection was a sensual creäture of complete confidence. It was not her.

Cerberus was decorated to look like an apocalyptic fiery afterlife. The decor was incredibly dark with varying strains of deep red throughout the seat covers. Small brazier fires blazed in central points that lit the room, and the bar itself was a circular affair directly in the centre of the club encased in glossy black walls highlighted with red neon. It was all lit with the same amber-red of Vincent's eyes and held an old world elegance that seemed stamped with his style.

Staggered platforms connected by small steps made the club seem larger than it was. Each one of the large platforms housed glossy black tables with surrounding seats and these made up most of the space, smaller platforms had poles from floor and ceiling where hired dancers stood. There was no stripping, but the dancers seemed to keep the patrons amused when they weren't the type to dance themselves. Then the largest platform was the dance floor and the location of the DJ, who was a surprising quiet and normal looking person. The music was primarily heavy sultry beats with metal undertones which matched the feel of the bar, though on occasion one of the girls would request something different and get up and dance.

The girls. Tifa sighed and blinked her too long false lashes. The mirror nymph copied her. All the bar staff were women and all were dressed in a colour matching their eyes, skin or hair. Corresponding with a gemstone and thus naming them whatever colour they had been assigned. It made it easier to remember what to call them. Emerald, Sapphire, Amber, Jade, Onyx, Pearl, Topaz and now… Ruby, were the girls within the circular bar.

Tifa had come to the club and behaved like a tourist for the past several days. Acting as if she knew Emerald and often laughing and talking as old friends. Now she had been seen around she was able to start working there. She made a show of going up to Reeve on the third evening and acting out the conversation about wanting work. He had agreed to interview her and was hired the next day. Tonight Ruby would grace Cerberus with her presence.

She was terrified. The other girls were all working for Reeve in a similar capacity, all were aware of the possible threat and had enough smarts to stay out of trouble but none of them had been extensively field tested and none of them were real bar maids. Tifa also had suspicions they had been told to not accept any offers. She would be their bait.

Tifa stood up and looked at the blood-red dress draped over her pale skin. She wore more clothes to bed. It was semitransparent and so short that it had been pointless to try to maintain modesty. Thankfully Emerald had said all the girls wore boy leg black undergarments to maintain modesty. A small concession compared to her almost bared breasts that were straining against the fabric.

"I look like a hooker."

"A high-priced hooker?"

Tifa met Reeve's eyes in the mirror still frowning. He sighed and looked down with a blush.

"These people are base and driven by the needs that implies. I need you to appeal to that in them."

She nodded.

"I understand. It's alright Reeve, just give me a moment to get up some courage."

He nodded and left her alone to stare at the mirror some more. This was just like acting in Seventh Heaven to placate the locals, no different. Reflection might have changed somewhat but it was still the same game. She took a deep breath, the eyes in the mirror turned steely and heated. She knew this game. She hoped she didn't fail.

…

She looked down at the heeled black boots on her feet. They zipped to just beneath her knees, that small amount of coverage helped her to feel less naked. Reeve met her in the dark corridor behind the staff entry door to give her some last instruction.

"We're going to change the music to something… different from what we normally play, when that happens you can walk out this door. There is a small set of stairs to the entry walk, remember?"

She nodded. The red carpet reminded her of a movie premier and led between the platforms from the entry to the circular bar.

"Vincent will be at the bottom of the stairs. We want you to attract as much attention as possible without it seeming like that's what you are trying to do. Don't smile. Don't look around at the other people. Just walk casually like you own the place right up to Vincent and he will do the rest. Then you can tend bar like any other day. We will be watching closely to see who approaches you."

She nodded, taking noticeable deep breaths. She felt like she was about to take a stage naked.

"You can do this."

He left her to wait for the music to change. She was just beginning to get restless when the heavy beat ceased and gave birth to something entirely sensual. The beat was still dark and low, but it was slower, sexy.

"Gaia…" She put her hand out towards the door but it opened for her. Cid didn't smile or acknowledge her in any way. But he did hold the door open for her till she passed through it.

She felt like she was going to collapse feeling all those eyes on her. But then she caught Vincent's gaze from the bottom of the small staircase and he gave her strength. She took them more elegantly than she imagined she had and when she reached him she was unaware of the way they looked to others.

Vincent looked amazing. He wore an entirely black suit without a tie, the long coat was cut to his form and his hair was tied back. Soft pieces fell around his face with familiarity and his eyes blazed that intense fire from beneath dark eyelashes. He took her hand and helped her down the last step then touched her chin and leant down to kiss her cheek.

"You look stunning."

Her lips parted in surprise. Before it became too much of a moment he escorted her to the bar and lifted the table top entry to help her into the circle. Then he walked back to his post without another glance in her direction. She turned to the closest point and looked into the eyes of a patron without seeing a thing. After that is was just pouring drink after drink.

She found she was considerably faster at serving than the other girls and when she warmed up and started spinning the bottles she found herself some fans. They came to her often and yelled across the bar "Ruby!" "Ruby!" mingling with the other girl's nicknames. It made her giggle, sounding like a jewel auction instead of a bar. She was beginning to enjoy herself and forgot why she was there.

"Excuse me miss?"

"What can I get you?" her voice was husky from calling over the music. Unknowingly it gave her even more of a sensual appeal. The man was well dressed and older than many of the other people in there. He smiled, confident in his own appeal.

"Well aren't you delicious."

Tifa supposed he thought that was a pick-up line. She raised an eyebrow, but her expression didn't change.

"Did you want something?"

"Mmm, yes I think so. How about you come with me after you're done here?"

Tifa stared at him blankly. The chill radiating off her would have frozen the bar were that a possibility. The man actually seemed perplexed.

"You don't know who I am, do you?"

"Should I care?"

"Oh darlin' you really should. I am Marcus and I think my boss would love to have a taste of you."

"Really? Then perhaps he should come get me himself."

She went to turn away when his hand clamped down on top of hers pinning her in place.

"I don't take no for an answer darlin'"

"Call me darling again and I will break your hand." She leaned really close to him over the bar so her mouth was near his ear. "Listen carefully Marcus. I am assuming you think you can have a shiny new toy because your boss is someone special. Let me tell you, you can't afford me and I don't play with middle men. So run along and let me know when your boss comes to visit."

She snatched her hand back and went to serving others not giving him another glance. Several times she got the urge to check to see if he was still watching her or standing nearby. She fought it and kept to her façade as was instructed. She had no idea how she made it through the night.

…

"It didn't work Reeve."

"He's been back in Tifa. Every day this week he's been in and I've seen him watching you. He's looking for something."

They were all in the club office upstairs trying to determine why she hadn't been approached for the last seven days. Each of which she had worked twelve hours straight.

"It is possible that they are still confirming she is trustworthy." Reeve looked at Vincent and nodded to him at the possibility.

"Yes I suppose. Marcus always leaves here and goes straight to the Platinum. I just feel we are missing something."

"I've done everything the same every day since I arrived. I come out the door and come down to the bar and serve the same way."

"Except Vincent met you that first time." They all looked at Cid who was lighting a cigarette in defiance of the building regulations. Reeve let it slide.

"Yes. He did." Reeve was staring at Vincent now, making him shift beneath the weight of that look.

"Do I even want to know what you are thinking?"

"Competition Vincent! Tifa has so far been aloof and untouchable to every male that comes near her. No-one ever touches her and she never smiles at anyone, except the first night when she met you at the bottom of the stairs."

"It was her first night. You are casting assumptions on his motivation."

"Marcus hates you Vincent and he doesn't like to think there is something he can't have."

"The feeling is mutual."

Reeve laughed. "My point is. If Tifa doesn't show affection to anyone and then she shows you amounts that could enough to assume you are intimate then he will want to take her from you and if he succeeds than whoever he is going to meet at the Platinum is going to meet Tifa as well."

Tifa looked confused at first and then as his words sank in she began to blush. "I… what?"

Even Vincent shifted uncomfortably. "Reeve…"

"Oh don't worry it will be subtle. Just a touch here and a gesture there, hold hands and kiss on occasion. Just make it up." Reeve waved his hand, looking excited and wasn't focused on them at all. Tifa dared to look at Vincent and she knew he was thinking the same thing she was. The first, and last, time they had kissed had not been subtle.

"Reeve…"

"We will have you meet Tifa at the stairs. But this time take a moment to linger there like you are talking. Share a few pointed looks. If it doesn't work right away we will forget about it. Deal?"

He was so focused on ridding Costa del Sol of this potential horror he was oblivious to the discomfort of his friends, or he was choosing to ignore it in the face of the greater good. He was right. Tifa was being foolish by not at least trying this tactic. However she was torn. If Vincent kissed her again she was not so certain she could walk away.

Instead she nodded and walked out of the office down into the dressing area beneath leaving them to talk without her. She had to mentally prepare herself for a new scene in her little play. Cid and Barrett walked out behind her going to visit Shera and Marlene. Vincent watched Reeve carefully.

"You are aware of the discomfort you are causing Tifa?"

"I know this is difficult for her. She is strong, she can do this."

"You're risking her life. She does not even know the truth of what is happening around her every night."

"I know. But I need to finish this Vincent. If this drug keeps spreading and Shinra has something to do with it then I am as much to blame as they are for doing nothing."

"You should tell her."

"No. I don't want to upset her unnecessarily."

"You could risk alienating her."

Reeve didn't say anything, shuffling paperwork at his desk without glancing up to respond in any way.

Vincent walked out and left Reeve sitting there wondering why he hadn't said he would be the one to meet her instead of Vincent. He was reluctant to admit he liked Tifa more than he should. Marcus would hate her with Vincent much more he realised. He sighed, he had to focus on ending these deaths, and nothing else mattered.


	3. Chapter 3: Sin City

Shadowplay

Chapter 3: Sin City

* * *

She hated this moment. The awkward wait behind this door for the music to change indicating she should walk out towards the bar and the intense discomfort of all those eyes on her while she did it. She was both anxious and relieved by knowing Vincent would be there this time. Relieved to not be alone and terrified by the prospect that they would have to appear intimate.

The door opened and Cid looked in at her expectantly. She had missed the music change. Wearing a form fitted cat suit entirely in sleek black, with her hair pulled into a neat high pony tail, she looked every inch the cool sophisticate. Her nails and lips gleamed blood-red matching the glossy belt low on her hips. She felt like a painted doll. Only when she almost reached the bottom step did she seek out Vincent. He was walking towards her casually, they faced one another and only met when Tifa stood on the last step and he on the floor beneath it. They were closer in height this way.

He reached a hand out to her lower back and pulled her to him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and lowered her head towards his neck.

"Is he here?"

"Yes. We are being watched. You need to relax."

He pulled back and cupped the back of her neck, tilting her head so her face lifted towards his.

"Vincent…" It was desperate and panicked. Her fear right there on the surface mingling with her need.

"I have to." It was the last thing she remembered before he brushed his mouth over hers. She trembled, he pulled her closer. The kiss was brief, he held on to her till she could stand without him holding her. She barely remembered the walk to the bar and whether anyone had spoken to her during the hour following it.

…

Hours had passed and nothing had occurred leaving her thinking that it had been a pointless task. She was about to take a break when she turned to see Marcus staring at her in front of her station.

"Can I help you?"

He actually had the gall to smile. He dragged his eyes down her body in the most insulting way possible. His intention was clearly to make her feel objectified and uncomfortable; else he thought that slight passed as complimentary. She could not decide which of those options was more revolting.

"Darlin' Ruby. My little ice princess."

"I'm not your anything."

"Oh but you could be. I think it's time I told the boss all about you huh? Wouldn't you like to get out of this place little princess?"

Tifa sighed, forcing boredom into her body language. "Why would I want to do that?"

She continued putting things away and moving dirty glasses while they were speaking. Making it clear he held very little of her attention and he risked losing it depending on what he said.

"More money for one thing. Luxury, status… security." She purposefully faltered in her task. Letting him think one of things might have hit her interest. He smiled as if he had already won.

"That would depend on what your boss wants from me in return."

"Just that you be a good girl and love, honour and obey."

Tifa stopped and leant against the bar, then leant towards him glancing sideways to make sure they weren't overheard. He instinctively leant towards her wanting to hear the response.

"You get your boss to meet me and we'll have a little chat." She winked at him and then went back to work without addressing him again. She hoped that her option to do so would leave him thinking she was avoiding attracting Vincent's attention. Marcus seemed smug, swaggering across the club and when he passed Vincent she saw the way he tensed. His eyes narrowed and for a moment she thought Vincent was going to pull his gun and end him right there. Instead he swallowed the anger and never said a word.

…

"So we wait."

Tifa didn't look at the gathering that had joined in her the dressing room. She sat wiping the makeup off her face with a remover towel and watched the nymph disappear while the woman reappeared. Every time she removed the cosmetic changes she felt like she found herself.

"This is taking forever. My feet hurt, my back hurts and I feel like I am suffocated by polyester clothing."

She threw a hairbrush on the vanity using more violence than intended. It knocked over a scent bottle with a smack.

"She needs a break." Vincent looked at Reeve pointedly.

"I know. I'm sorry Tifa I didn't mean to push so hard. Have a couple of days off."

She didn't say anything. Standing up, she grabbed her bag and stalked out of the club towards the apartment block opposite. Reeve owned that too and it was now housing all of them including another twenty other employees from the club.

She hadn't realised she was followed until Vincent walked into the elevator directly behind her. The doors closed and secured them alone the in the small space. She could only stare at him.

"You don't have to do this." He looked down at her, shifting to face her till she felt encompassed by his height. He made her feel so small and fragile with only a glance.

"Yes I do. I can do this."

"I know you can, Tifa. But you do not have to prove anything. This is dangerous."

She nibbled her bottom lip listening to the repetitive ding of the elevator going up levels. The door opened and she stepped out still talking.

"What did Marcus say to you when he left tonight?"

She felt him tense. He didn't answer but there was a faint thinning of his top lip that gave him away. She realised then she had become far too astute about Vincent's moods.

"It was nothing important."

"Yes it was. I saw the way you reacted. I am not stupid Vincent and I am not a child. You don't need to coddle me from the truth of it."

They had come to the door of her apartment where she jammed her key into the door angrily. Vincent followed her in silence. Closing the door behind him and leaning against the solid wood. Tifa threw her bag and keys into a corner and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Speak! You drive me crazy with your silence Vincent. It is so frustrating to not know what you are thinking and feeling and…" She ceased, thrusting her fingers into her hair.

"After everything we have been through why do you keep me in the dark?"

Vincent pushed away from the door and took her wrist. He pulled her deeper into the apartment and then turned to face her.

"You want to know more?"

She nodded. The hard set of her features confirmation.

"Get changed into something you can fight in. Bring your gloves. I'll get changed and meet you here in five."

He walked out leaving her standing there in surprise.

…

Tifa waited till he had come to her apartment and instead of leaving out the door with him he had insisted on taking the window. They climbed the metal stairs facing the alley behind the building up to the roof and now stood overlooking the main part of Costa del Sol. The sight of Vincent back in his familiar cloak filled her with affection. She had thrown on her black pants and zipped vest, it was nice to feel at home in her own skin again.

"Why didn't we use the front door?"

Vincent moved to the edge of the roof that faced the front of the apartment block and Cerberus on the other side of the street.

"Because Marcus has you followed."

"What?!"

Vincent motioned for her to come over to his side. He placed one hand on her back and pointed a gauntlet finger down to where a man stood leaning on a post reading.

"That is so cliché."

"You did not notice him though did you?" She shook her head. She hadn't noticed him.

"They change every few hours and usually after you come or go. Just so you do not notice."

Tifa looked down on the street and frowned.

"What is going on Vincent? Everything seems so normal here. I know you're protecting me from the truth."

"I wanted to tell you the truth. Reeve is concerned it will frighten you unnecessarily."

She placed her hand on his arm pulling his attention to her face.

"Show me… tell me everything."

He nodded and they started jumping from roof to roof of the aligned buildings. Moving them outside the centre of the city.

…

They were sitting side by side on the roof of a telecommunications building overlooking the buildings below. Tifa's sneaker clad feet dangled off the edge and from here they could see almost everything.

"Apart from Cerberus there are four other contending clubs. Platinum, which you know about, is the closest to ours so they hate us for taking their patronage. Marcus hates me because I threw him out on his ass when we first opened. I couldn't prove it, but I know he was selling, not to mention he was just obnoxious. Needless to say it was unpleasant and he has made an effort to anger me ever since."

Tifa smiled imagining the pompous dick being thrown out by Vincent into the street. It was a pleasant vision. Vincent smiled back reading her thoughts.

"The other three clubs are the Myriad, the Eleventh Step and The Glass House. The Step is owned by an older couple that came into money late in life. They are harmless, but they are also completely ignorant to what is happening around them. We do what we can to protect them from anything too unsavoury. They aren't a threat so the other clubs haven't tried to harm them… yet."

"The Myriad belongs to the same person who owns Platinum. Platinum as you know is the height of popularity around town. They play pop music and the turn over for Azure in there is the highest we know of. But they are very careful to make sure no deaths occur in their clubs so they cannot be connected to them."

"Who is the owner?" Tifa looked out at the glittering scenery marvelling at how deceiving it was.

"We have no idea. All we know is that he is referred to as "The Boss" and never shows his face. The manager of Platinum is a charming man by the name of Leon. This is who we think Marcus is trying to get you to see. What Marcus does exactly is somewhat of a mystery, apart from recruiting women who occasionally disappear."

"The Glass House is owned by someone you know."

Tifa raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"It's registered as a Kisaragi holding."

"Really? Yuffie's dad owns a nightclub?" Tifa would never have picked him as that type of person.

"Owns yes, but he is never here. It also has the highest measure of security apart from Cerberus. I think they have an idea of what could happen if they let up on it for a moment. Glass House is a popular place for celebrity and political types and the security never lets anyone who is linked to Platinum or Myriad in the doors."

"What about Myriad?"

"It's a brothel, Tifa."

"Oh…"

"It looks like a club from the outside but the women in there are for sale. They deal after hours and everything seems fine on the outside. Do not be fooled. That club is filth lit by black lights."

They sat in silence while Tifa soaked all the information in. Then she remembered something.

"What did Marcus say to you tonight?"

Vincent sighed. "Tifa…"

"Tell me."

"He said… he said 'I'm gonna enjoy making that little girl of yours scream.'"

Tifa flushed, her lips parting at the horrid images that produced.

"Marcus is a violent man Tifa. Do not be fooled by thinking him harmless."

She nodded. "So why am I up here?"

Vincent stood up and held out his hand to her. She took it, letting him pull her to her feet. She felt his fingers stroke over his knuckles before he released her hand.

"Are you sure you want to see this?"

"Yes. I need to know."

He started climbing down and she followed him to the street below. Keeping to the shadows became of little issue when the streets lights started to die away. Here and there neon signs lit dirty windows of unsavoury venues. Rubbish littered the streets and she noticed there was movement in the corners where people lived in the refuse of a so-called utopian holiday spot.

He suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her flush with his body. He ducked his head down into her neck, hiding them both as several men walked by. She shivered, he pulled her tighter interpreting it as fear.

"You are safe, I promise."

She nodded against his chest. He led her onwards till they reached the end of an alley and again pulled her into the shadow at his side.

"In the past week at least a dozen women have done missing. Five of those have shown up dead and one of them… one of them was a Cerberus waitress."

Tifa gasped, "Who?"

"Jennifer. You didn't know her. But she was nice girl and she deserved better. I couldn't save her in time."

He dropped his head carrying the burden of another man's guilt.

"Don't you dare take that blame, Vincent." She grasped his shoulders and forced him to look at her. "You do more than most."

He turned her gently in his arms so she was facing the main street connecting to the alley. At first all Tifa saw was a lower-economic wasteland. People milled in small groups here and there. Prostitutes were on the corners and along the front of seedy hotels. A man was vomiting in the gutter.

She frowned, watching in silence. After a few minutes she began to see what Vincent had already seen. Small exchanges of money for drugs were only the start of it. Fights broke out. A man got bashed with a piece of pipe and no one even blinked at it. She saw another man, high on Azure, smashing his head against a wall and screaming nonsense.

Women got dragged screaming into buildings and the longer she stood there the more she could hear. The yells of pain, pleas for help, children were crying in the distance. Men and women abusing eachother in the street till it ran red with the blood of victims. Tifa began to tremble. Her breathing quickened and she felt the tears in her eyes. Vincent wrapped his arms around her and turned here away from it to bury her against his chest.

"I am sorry Tifa. I should not have…"

'Yes you should. I needed to know what I was doing this for."

They stood like that long enough for Tifa to get control of her own emotions. Then he led her away from it as fast as they could travel.


	4. Chapter 4: Escape

Shadowplay

Chapter 4: Escape

* * *

Once they were safe inside the more savoury element of Costa del Sol they walked slowly through the less travelled streets talking.

Vincent filled her in on some of the missing girls and the things they had found. Many of the women were injected with Azure at high levels which stopped their hearts instantly. Almost all of them showed signs of rape or sexual abuse. They had also found men who had died in similar ways but not to the same extent as the women.

Vincent took her to a hidden restaurant and they sat down eating Wutaiin cuisine. She watched him, unable to hide the tiny smile.

"What?"

She blushed and shrugged. "Just… thank you. For showing me and coming to get me." She gestured at her food. "For dinner."

"Hm."

They ate mostly in silence. Enjoying the relative peace away from the bright lights and noise along with eachothers company.

Once they had finished and sat nursing cups of coffee Vincent started talking again. She took a moment to soak in the pleasure of his voice. The deep reverberating sound was soothing.

"So you have a few days off. Do you have any ideas on what to do?"

Tifa shook her head. "I'm tempted to lock myself in my apartment and do nothing so long as I can wear whatever I want."

He smiled. That small twitch at the corner of his mouth drew her attention.

"I should see Marlene and Shera though."

"It was not safe for them to be here so we sent them to Rocket Town. They are at home and I am sure they miss you."

"I miss them."

The silence stretched between them. She had to ask.

"Will you come with me?"

She could tell she surprised him by the way he stilled. His eyes had gone to her face and then dropped to his coffee cup in thought.

"That may aid in the illusion of our relationship. It is a good idea."

She blinked. Not having thought of that element of things and hoping that he didn't assume that was why she invited him.

"I want you to come so you can relax Vincent. Marlene loves it when you visit."

She did. The little girl had a way of chatting Vincent's ear off and she adored him. Tifa guessed that Marlene felt the same sense of security in Vincent's presence as she did. He had that effect. Their protector.

"Yes. I will come. I just need to clear it with Reeve."

They finished their coffees and walked back to the apartments. Slipping in through the back way they had exited and in through Tifa's window. She peeked out her curtains to the street below and noticed the man was gone. She hoped they hadn't been seen sneaking around the city.

"Do not worry. They disappear periodically and come back again. If someone was there all the time it would be suspicious."

Tifa slipped off her jacket and toed her shoes off into a corner before turning to face Vincent who was standing in the middle of her sitting area.

"Thank you again."

He nodded. She could hear the soft tintinnabulation of metal when his gauntlet fingers clicked together.

"Vincent…"

"I should go and let you sleep."

He turned away from her before she could finish her sentence. In honesty she was not sure what she wanted to say. She felt something had to be said. They had kissed twice and neither of the times had felt like nothing, even though one of those times had been staged.

"OK." She blinked cluelessly.

"Goodnight Tifa."

"Sleep sweet… Vincent."

He was gone before she finished saying his name.

…

Tifa opened her eyes and groaned. Then she remembered. Slowly her smile grew and she giggled with the happiness of the thought as it hit her. Today was Monday, but more importantly it was her day off and the next and the next. She rolled out of bed and ran to the shower, singing loudly to herself while she washed, got dry and dressed. She had breakfast and was just drinking her first coffee of the day while contemplating packing when there was a knock at her door.

She bounced over smiling. Expecting to see Vincent on the other side and was surprised at the sight of Reeve.

"Oh! I wasn't expecting you. Come in."

She smiled putting her coffee down on the kitchen table while going to make him one. She knew Reeve loved his black coffee in the morning.

"I was just about to pack my bag and then I am out of here."

Reeve smiled. "Vincent filled me in. I think it is a great idea, and very clever. The two of you missing will be definitely noted."

Tifa nodded, not really caring about that element at the moment. She handed him his coffee, not noticing the way his eyes watched her moving around when she grabbed her bag and tossed it on the table.

"I can't wait to see Marlene and Shera. I miss them so much."

"Barrett and Cid have a few things they want you to take with you as well. A few gifts."

Tifa nodded. "Will do." She paused and looked over at him then. "Was there a reason you dropped in?"

He shook his head and smiled at her enthusiasm. "No. I just wished to see you before you left and wish you a good time. If it is alright I would really appreciate you being back by Friday."

She had expected he would. It was the busiest night of the week. "Of course. Thank you for giving me this time off. I am going crazy in this town."

She paused then and looked him in the eyes.

"You need to start telling me the truth Reeve. No more secrets. I am not some silly girl you can pat on the head and send on her way."

He put his cup down and met her at the table. Taking her hands in his and looking down at where they were joined.

"I am deeply sorry for that Tifa. I truly thought I was protecting you and it was not my intent to keep you in the dark forever."

She nodded. "Don't do it again alright. I want to know everything so I can be prepared. Putting me in the dark is more dangerous than the truth."

"I apologise. Forgive me?"

She smiled. "Stop being charming. Of course I forgive you."

He chuckled and pulled her into a hug, which she returned. Her head rested on his shoulder. She was just about to pull away when he stopped her and looked down into her eyes. Her smile faded beneath the intense look he was giving her and then she felt her insides freeze.

He touched her cheek, trailing his fingers down her chin. _Oh Gaia… he's not is he? _His head lowered down towards hers. _No, no, Reeve really? _She was still deciding whether to stop him when a bang on her door startled them apart and Tifa into action.

"Oh!" She blinked at Reeve in confusion, taking a step back and quickly going to the door. She opened it to find Barrett and Cid on the other side.

"Ay you getting a holiday and leavin' us behind you better take this with ya." Barrett shoved a plush rabbit into her arms along with a gift bag full of other toys.

Tifa was still dazed, but she managed a laugh. "Well do come in Barrett." She rolled her eyes and stepped back so they could enter thankful for the break in the awkward moment. She avoided Reeve's eyes.

"I got some stuff for Shera too." Cid put smaller gift bag on the table. Tifa noted he was blushing on account of bringing gifts for his wife.

"I promise I will pass them on."

Barrett went and helped himself to coffee in her kitchen. It amused Tifa that the big man was so at home in her company no matter where they were that he could help himself comfortably.

Cid collapsed into her sofa. "Ay bring me some tea while ya in there."

Barrett grumbled. Tifa laughed and went back to her packing. She walked around the apartment and into her bedroom gathering clothes and toiletries to stuff into her bag. She did not really need that much for a couple of days.

"Bit unfair you goin' and us stayin'" Barrett handed Cid his tea and sat down on the sofa at his side. Resulting in a strange kind of punching and shoving until Cid almost spilt his tea. Tifa laughed.

"Yeah well I tell you what Barrett. I'll do door security and you can dress up in skin-tight latex every night, how does that sound?"

"That is not a sight I ever want to envision." Tifa looked up to see Vincent standing inside her door. He locked it behind him and gave her look that said she should have done the same. She had the grace to look sheepish.

"I dunno. Eed look mighty gorgeous." Cid snorted and slid down the soft to avoid a swing of Barrett's metal arm. They broke out into a barrage of insults and scoffing while Tifa finished her packing. Reeve sat down at her kitchen table and finished his coffee while Vincent stood leaning against the kitchen counter. All of them made it seem very crowded.

"I'm sure you will be kept busy." She stopped and took a deep breath. "All done."

Reeve stood at the same time Vincent pushed away from the counter. Coffee cups were disposed into the sink and while Tifa waited for them to finish up she put her shoes on.

"Are we taking the Bronco again?" Vincent nodded and the group shuffled out the door. Vincent took her bag and nodded towards the elevator.

"Meet you downstairs." She nodded and turned to hug Cid and Barrett in turn.

"Take care 'aight? And give Marlene a big hug for me."

"I will I promise."

"Make sure Shera is good too. Tell the woman to call me."

Tifa nodded and laughed. "I will. I will."

She found herself face to face with Reeve. He looked a little amused, but he was not the type to blush. She did that for him.

He chuckled and touched her cheek before he brought her in for a tight hug. He murmured against her ear. "We can finish that conversation another day."

She nodded, unable to find the right words to answer that. There was far too much confusion attached to the idea that Reeve was interested in her. She was still trying to make sense of her feelings for Vincent.

Reeve released her and she went downstairs while the others went back to their apartments. When she got to the bottom she saw Vincent standing out the front on his phone. He saw her; she saw his lips moving and then he snapped it shut.

"Ready?"

She nodded and they both hurried away from the ugly city to enjoy their days off. She did not notice the eyes watching them from across the street, but Vincent had. He chose not to tell her and ruin her good mood.

…

Thankfully it was early but they would not arrive in Rocket until Tuesday after travelling the full day and night. Tifa didn't mind. She was so happy to be getting out of the city that even now she was settled into the Bronco with Vincent flying in the pilot seat she could not find a complaint about the long trip ahead.

She ended up reading one of Vincent's books on a Wutaiin warrior that gained fame in the history of their country for uniting a warring nation. Occasionally a piece of history would confuse her so she would pause and ask him questions. He was a wealth of information. The more she learnt about him the more she admired him.

They stopped in Corel when they hour was late and had something to eat before continuing. Tifa did not remember falling asleep. The next thing she knew she was being gently shaken awake by Vincent and the sun was rising on the horizon.

"Mmm Vincent?"

"We're here."

She smiled, blinking up at him wearily. Her brain was still half sleeping while she gazed into his eyes. He was close. Her fingers reached up and traced his jaw.

"You are so beautiful."

He looked shocked and then dropped his gaze. He took her hand from his face, hesitating before he released it and grabbed their bags.

"We better get moving."

She lay there taking stock of what she had just said. She was slightly embarrassed and yet at the same time, not. She had meant what she said. He was beautiful and it was that moment that Tifa had to admit to herself that she was beginning to look at Vincent as more than just a friend.

It was going to be a long few days.

…

"TIFA!" A pair of small arms collided with her hips and wrapped tightly to her frame like a limpid. Tifa burst out laughing trying to untangle herself so she could hug the little girl back.

She had only just managed a weak hug when Marlene squealed and barreled past her to cling to Vincent under his cloak.

"VINCENT, VINCENT, VINCENT!" Each time she said his name it got louder in pitch. Tifa grinned.

"I was wondering what all the noise was about!" Tifa turned and hugged Shera, wrestling the group inside between a hyperactive Marlene and a hobbling Vincent. They were all smiling and laughing by the time they managed to sit down in the kitchen.

"Breakfast?"

"Oh yes, let me help." Tifa got up again and started chatting animatedly with Shera while they cooked. Vincent had no hope. Left on his own without anything keeping his attention he was accosted by an overly excited Marlene. Thankfully he had gifts to help keep her occupied.

The bag that Barrett had given them was an instant distraction. He took Marlene out of the kitchen into the sitting area and sat down with her. Listening to her prattle, answering her questions and helping her look at her new toys.

Shera smiled glancing towards where they were playing.

"He's so good with her. She adores him."

"He's an amazing person." Tifa had stopped cooking. She was smiling softly and watching him with telling eyes.

"Tifa Lockhart…" Shera had her head tilted sideways and was grinning. "Do I detect a hint of a crush?"

Tifa sighed, she had to tell someone. "Yes. It's killing me."

Shera looked giddy happy about this bit of news. "I want all of it."

Tifa looked over to where Vincent sat with Marlene and sighed. She began at the beginning… seven months ago.

…

"Wow."

"Yeah…"

"So he's just avoiding you?"

"Well not me per say. He's avoiding that topic and anytime we get close to eachother he just… runs. Maybe I read it wrong and he's just trying to be polite."

"Vincent isn't the type to leave someone with the wrong impression. He's a complicated man and he's been through a lot. He might think he's protecting you."

"From what?"

"Him."

Tifa froze thinking back. Vincent had always seen himself as one of Shinra's monsters. Never thinking he was worthy of Lucrecia's affection. Did he think the same thing about her? She sighed.

"Why is this so damn complicated."

Shera laughed. "Love is complicated. Look how long Cid yelled at me before he figured it out."

"Who said anything about love?"

Shera grinned at her with one eyebrow raised. Tifa blushed and went back to plating up the food they had cooked.

"Oh... there is one other thing."

"What's that?"

"Reeve almost kissed me."

"Reeve? He tried to kiss you!?"

"Ahem."

Both women turned to look at Vincent who was standing in the doorway. Tifa turned as red as a berry and prayed for the earth to swallow her whole.

"Do you need any help?"

Shera acted as if nothing were wrong as she got Vincent to help her put all the food on the table. They all took a seat and listened to Marlene tell them about her presents. Tifa was too lost in her own embarrassment to follow the conversation.


	5. Chapter 5: Rocket Town

Shadowplay

Chapter 5: Rocket Town

* * *

Tifa had no idea how she survived an entire day and afternoon with Vincent near her. She was torn between the intense need to hide and the compulsion to grab him and yell 'I didn't kiss him!' All of which pretty much sealed her title as a crazy person.

By the time dinner rolled around she was exhausted from an internal emotional roller-coaster that wouldn't end. As soon as they had eaten and Vincent had excused himself to sleep, on account of having flown the entire night before, Tifa looked at Shera in dismay.

"Oh Gaia!" Marlene had already jumped into bed because she had wanted Vincent to tuck her before he fell asleep.

Shera giggled and cringed at the same time. "Bad timing."

Tifa didn't know what was worse. That Shera agreed it was awful or that she hadn't needed an explanation about what Tifa was talking about.

"He heard it didn't he?"

"He did. I saw his face in those few seconds before he covered it up."

"Well? Horror? Disgust?"

"I would say it was disappointment… and maybe regretful."

Tifa frowned. "What does he have to regret? Unless he regrets kissing me? That would be awful." Tifa let her head fall to the table with a light thud.

"It is a good sign though."

Tifa sighed. "Except Vincent would never act on it and now he knows that Reeve tried to kiss me he will avoid me even more than usual."

"Yes. I suppose he will."

Tifa sighed and got up from the sofa. "I'm going to sleep."

"Alright honey. I'll see you in the morning."

Tifa hugged her and peeked in on Marlene on her way to bed. She hovered outside Vincent's room wanting to go and say something to him but unable to find the words. In the end she walked away and lay in bed staring into the darkness till sleep claimed her.

…

She sighed, feeling warm hands slide up her body. It was dark, but she could feel every aspect of him. Warm flesh, eager breathy sounds against her neck, something hot and thick pressed into the curve of her hip.

She called his name. He took her mouth and stifled it with pleasure. Grinding into her until she writhed under him, she tugged at his shoulders seeking gratification only to be denied it while he continued to fan the flames. She was burning. _Vincent. _He bit her shoulder and she cried out. _Vincent._

She dug her nails into his shoulders. Hands gripped him, pulling him away from her so she could look into those beautiful eyes. He shifted. She opened her eyes and looked into dark brown eyes filled with passion. The shock started her into sitting bolt upright in bed.

"Reeve!"

Vincent pulled away as she woke up abruptly. Tifa blinked in confusion.

"You were having a dream. Shera says breakfast is ready."

He walked out of the room leaving her trembling against the bedhead. The ache of longing lingered in her abdomen and made her groan from the pain combined with the embarrassment of coming out of an erotic dream and yelling Reeve's name at Vincent. This was going to be a bad day.

As she stood beneath the cold spray of the shower she went over the dream in her head. It was beginning to fade and become foggy around the edges, but she was certain up until the end she had believed she was making love to Vincent. It wasn't till he pulled back and she looked into Reeve's face that the dream had changed. It had shocked her awake.

The question was… did she find Reeve attractive? _Of course you do, you're not dead. _She blushed as the little voice taunted her. Reeve was an incredibly attractive man, different from Vincent and open in his manner. Muscular and broad, protective and determined, there was no reason she should not consider him as a lover, or partner.

A hard knot of arousal clenched in her abdomen to remind here there was one reason. Vincent, so wild and passionate. All of it simmering beneath those fiery eyes and kept secret from the world. She wanted to know it all. She wanted to watch him lose that cool control and fall apart around her.

She groaned. She had to stop thinking about this. Taking long deep breaths seemed to help and in the end she focused on what she should do with her day off. She suspected part of it would end up occupied by Marlene and so got out of the shower, dried and dressed as quickly as possible in an effort to seek distraction.

…

"Hey!"

Shera smiled, already dishing out stacks of fluffy pancakes on white plates. They were covered in powdered sugar and berries and looked delicious.

"Wow Shera this is perfect."

Tifa sat down eager to eat.

"Well I don't get to cook much in the way of big breakfasts anymore with everyone in Costa. Although sometimes me and Marlene get up early so we can make the most sugar filled breakfast we can think of."

She winked at Marlene who giggled and nodded.

"We made chocolate waffles and had it with mint chocolate-chip ice cream and then I poured chocolate sauce all over it!"

"Eww!" Tifa laughed.

"Actually it was surprisingly good."

Shera placed a plate down at the same moment Vincent joined the table. He refused to look at any of them while he ate. Tifa felt a great amount of guilt without knowing why.

"Plans for today?"

"Play with me!" Marlene thrust a fork wielding hand into the air to punctuate her remark.

"Marlene, eat your pancakes." Shera sat down at Tifa's side waiting for a response.

"Actually I thought I might do a bit of shopping. Not that I can't do it in Costa, it's just I don't feel comfortable wandering the streets anymore."

Shera nodded. Tifa thought she saw Vincent frown.

"Is the materia supply any good here?"

Shera blinked in surprise. "Um… it's alright. You won't find any Neo Bahamut's but you can get heal and restore along with a lot of elemental material. They try to update it when they can. Not a lot of ask for materia in Rocket."

Tifa nodded. She supposed there wouldn't be. They were a quiet peaceful people in this town. She smiled at the thought and realised then she would not be opposed to staying there. It was comforting and helped her to relax.

"You need Neo Bahamut?" Vincent was looking at her curiously.

"Oh, no. That might be some overkill." Tifa giggled.

"You can borrow it if you need to." Tifa blinked at Vincent. His fully developed Neo Bahamut materia was worth a fortune.

"No, I would risk letting it fall into the wrong hands wh… if I got caught."

Vincent noticed the hiccup in her sentence. He was staring her intently and she had no idea what he was thinking. After a moment he went back to his pancakes wordlessly.

Shera was smiling in a way that made her uncomfortable. Both amused and knowing which left Tifa feeling like she was the only person in the dark.

"You will play with me though right?"

She smiled. "Of course, angel."

…

Tifa strolled through Rocket and felt at peace. Each building was spread out into nice open spaces and there weren't that many of them. She could walk through the whole town at a leisurely pace in about fifteen minutes. Everything was right out in the open for all to see.

She could smell the fresh air and the gardens that the people had planted around their homes filled it with the scent of flowers and newly cut grass. She could understand why Shera and Cid stayed here even after the rocket had gone.

Marlene was running around in circles back and forth completely safe and at ease inside the town. Everyone knew everyone, so having Tifa and Vincent in town was a sense of excitement for them. The locals were all too eager to accommodate her shopping.

She picked up and replenished her personal items from the local store and then moved on to the serious shopping. She didn't need all the much in honesty. She had her own mastered materia and her gloves, but she wanted some extra insurance.

"What have you got in the way of summons materia?" The man behind the counter blinked in surprise. Most people just wanted restore and heal materia and the occasional elemental.

He held up a hand and disappeared out back. She could hear the rifling noise of what sounded like tissue paper and boxes. Then he came back out huffing and puffing while carrying a small crate, which he plunked on the counter unceremoniously.

"I don't really know what's in here. Summons materia is not really an ability of mine and no one ever asks for it…" He gestured at the box. Curious to watch her open it and learn what the coloured spheres represented. He had looked at them once or twice, but never actually tried any of them. Frankly he was a bit frightened by summon materia.

"Where did you get these from?" Tifa opened the box and began lining them up on the counter by type. There are about fifteen in the box, but most of those were replicates.

"Midgar before the…" He pointed at the sky. "That." He shrugged. "Occasionally they send supplies out. Most of these were here for the Shinra employees."

"Ifrit, Ifrit, Ifrit, Shiva, Titan, Titan, Titan, Odin…" She stopped picking up one of the spheres and turning it over in her fingers. The almost black materia swirled internally with a deep purple haze.

"What are you?" She was talking more to herself than the shop owner, yet he seemed compelled to answer.

"I don't know. Like I said, it was meant for Shinra soldiers."

"I'll take it."

"But you don't even know what it is!"

"Call it a feeling."

He looked confused but he took her gil anyway. Since he had no idea what he was charging her for he had no idea what to charge her. After a long moment they settled on an even 200,000 gil, with Tifa hoping she was the one who got the better end of the deal.

She pocketed the materia and was about to walk back to the house and get some lunch when she passed by one of the clothing stores. The dress in the window made her come to a stop and she had to blink a few times to come to terms with the sight of it in a store in Rocket Town. She pushed the door open and pointed at it when the woman came to her side.

"I know right? It's like someone sent it to the wrong town." The girl shook her head and grinned.

"It was too cool not to put in the window though. It's from Wutai. Some designer there has sent out all kinds of pieces."

"You have more pieces like this?"

"Oh yeah, heaps! Want to see?"

"Yes… yes I do."

It took her another hour before she left that store. She had bought every single piece that came from that designer without question. Once they were all laid in front of her she couldn't resist. Feeling considerably lighter in the gil department, yet content with her day, and thankful for all the adventuring in the past that had lined her pockets with the savings to blow what she had, she headed back to the house.

Having disposed of her burden in the bedroom and eaten, then played with Marlene till her giggling was sated, she decided it was time to make another call home.

"_Leanne?"_

'_Tifa! Everything is fine here. We had to hire another girl though. Looks like business is picking up.'_

"_That's great! Do you need anything?"_

'_No we're good. The security is pretty tight now Reeve sent the new guys.'_

"… _New guys?"_

'_Yeah. These guys showed up saying they were WRO and that Reeve Tuesti sent them. They hang around and make sure no one bothers us. I thought you knew?'_

"_No… I didn't. Thanks for letting me know Leanne. How is Rose?"_

'_She's good. Keeps flirting with one of the new guards like crazy. Never saw a man that big blush before, you should have seen it! The new girl has her head on straight too. She's one of the last to come out of slums. She was about starving.'_

"_She can be trusted?"_

'_Oh we're keeping an eye on her, but so far so good. I think she is grateful to be safe and fed.'_

"_Poor thing. Keep in touch and let me know if you have any problems. If you can't get me I am sure one of those guards can get Reeve."_

'_Will do. Stay safe boss!'_

Tifa closed her phone slowly. Why would Reeve send guards to Seventh Heaven?


	6. Chapter 6: Shadow Wolf

Shadowplay

Chapter 6: Shadow Wolf

* * *

Tifa tried to ignore the fact that Vincent was avoiding her again and spent as much time as possible with Marlene. After all, it was Wednesday already and she had to return by Friday night. This would be her last night away and it had not been enough time to really relax.

After dinner, with Vincent noticeably absent, she excused herself to take a walk. Following the dirt path out of the town into the flat plains and meadows surrounding, far enough away to not attract attention, she withdrew her new materia.

"Well… if I don't figure you out now you won't be any use to me later."

She rolled it around in her hands a few times taking a deep breath and hoping she wasn't about to end up with something dangerous stuck on her being. She placed the materia on the back of her hand and let it slide into the leather of her glove. Slotting it into place and dissolving from sphere form into something intangible.

It felt hot and cold at the same time. Whatever it was sure had some strength to it. She took a deep breath and held out her hands, then closed her eyes and called on the energy she could feel like Cloud had taught her so long ago. It took a moment for her to align herself to it, feel it and bring it into something she could grasp at. But then the air thickened and shimmered till it formed shadow into something… large.

Tifa blinked waiting for it to solidify, then drew a surprised breath. The wolf was broader than a barrel and its head came almost to her shoulders. The eyes were red lights in black fur, with white fangs and a low ominous growl. It hovered in the place it was summoned and blinked red eyes at her waiting. She took a step forwards and held out her hand.

"Hey…" It emitted a low growl though didn't seem hostile. At least she hoped not. Slowly touching fingertips to its head then along its thick pelt, she circled him till she came back to the front again.

"You're beautiful."

"It is called Shadow Wolf. May I ask where you found it?"

Tifa didn't even flinch when Vincent spoke from nearby. She couldn't see him in the shadow of the evening. The only light was coming from the violent glow around the wolf.

"Shadow Wolf. He was lost in a place he shouldn't have been."

Wolf nudged her arm and stuck his head under her hand trying to get her to pet him again. She wrapped her arms around its neck and buried her face in the thick soft fur.

"I believe he seems content with his rescuer." Vincent came closer and Shadow Wolf growled a warning. "He has chosen you."

"Chosen me? I summoned him…"

"That does not mean the summoned creäture must obey. He could have attacked you on sight as much as let you pet him. Shadow Wolves are supposedly very loyal and selective. I have never seen one before."

"But you know of them?" Tifa sat down on the grass and Shadow Wolf flopped next to her in such as a way as to send into a fit of giggles. He was quite the attention seeker. She snuggled into him.

"There was some mention of them in the library at the mansion. Among many other summon materia that are rare and unheard of."

Vincent sat down beside her and reached out. Amazingly he let Vincent pet him, seeming to sense Tifa's comfort in his presence and feeding from that. He made one last grumbling noise and closed his eyes, slowly shimmering out of reality and back to the realm of spirits he belonged to.

"So this is what you were up to today?"

"And you were avoiding me."

Vincent stood up with the intent of walking away from her which spurred her into action. She jumped up and ran after him, grabbing his gauntleted hand to pull him to a stop.

"WAIT! Why do you keep running away from me?"

He withdrew his hand from hers before distancing himself a step. "Tifa… you need to stop this."

"Why? What is so bad about the idea of being with me?"

He didn't answer. She knew he had no intention of it either when he only gave her his usual cool countenance.

"Just tell me one thing. Why did you kiss me?"

"Reeve needed us to…"

"No! Not then. Why did you kiss me when we said goodbye."

He lowered his head. Remembering and trying to filter through what he had felt at that moment.

"I did not intent to cause you distress. It was a weakness on my part. It had been a long time since someone had touched me and I had felt anything apart from… I am sorry Tifa. It was a mistake."

He did not give her the chance to respond to his words. He was gone. Walking into the darkness without another word and leaving her standing at a loss. He thought it was a mistake? Kissing her was only a reaction to decades of not being touched by human hands and then she had caught him unaware. So he never really had feelings for her? She surprised herself by how much that knowledge hurt and filled her with a sense of guilt. She hadn't realised that she was causing him discomfort.

Tifa sat down on the grass again and looked up at the stars. After a long moment she called Shadow Wolf back to her side so she felt less alone and cuddled into him closing her eyes.

"I have you right?" The gentle rumble in response reassured her enough to keep tears at bay.

…

Marlene pouted with her bottom lip trembling. "I don't want you to go."

Tifa scooped her up into a cuddle on her lap. They were sitting around the kitchen table having tea when Marlene had found out. Tifa glanced over Marlene's shoulder at Shera with a sigh.

"I know sweety, but I need to go back and make sure daddy is alright. We can't have him running around with a girl to take care of him, can we?"

Marlene sniffled and nodded slowly. "Yeah I know. Will you take daddy the pictures I drew?"

"Of course. I will even get him to call you as soon I as I get there and then you can talk to all of us at the same time."

Marlene seemed placated by this eventuality. After a few more sniffles she slipped off Tifa's lap and ran off as if nothing had happened.

"Well… it must be nice to be able to recover that quickly." Shera laughed at Tifa's observation and nodded her agreement.

"Oh to be innocent again?"

"Indeed." She sighed.

"That bad?"

"He admitted he's not interested in me." Tifa shrugged a little.

"Maybe that is for the best honey. Vincent is… Vincent." Shera patted her hand sympathetically.

"Mm. I guess so." Tifa went back to her tea and drank it even though it was going cold. At least she had all of today to sit around and do nothing.

Which was exactly what she did. She read some and slept in the middle of the day until Shera woke her for dinner. Then she ate and sat in the lounge chatting and drinking glasses of wine with Shera while they watched Marlene play on the floor. Vincent came in for dinner and then disappeared again saying he was getting the Bronco ready. They had to leave in the early hours while it was still dark if they wanted to make it back to Costa in time for her Friday night shift.

She tucked Marlene into bed with many hugs and kisses, a story, and repetitive promises to call as soon as she got near Barrett. Then spent the late hours into the morning drinking and talking to Shera about men and what was happening in Costa. Shera worried about Cid's safety and Tifa could tell she missed him a lot. They had been together for long time and their relationship had only developed into something romantic after Meteor. They had barely had time enough to enjoy it.

They nestled together on the sofa, starting to get sleepy so they had their eyes closed and had fallen into slurred murmurs that were getting further and further apart. Tifa felt someone shake her shoulder. She grunted not wanting to move.

"Tifa…"

It woke her enough to hug Shera and say goodbye, sending her off to bed, turning the lights out and making their way to the Bronco. Vincent must have become fed up with her weaving and slow walking because he ended up scooping her into his arms and carrying her to the plane. He deposited her into the passenger seat and she fell asleep before he even had her door closed.

…

When she woke they were passing by the canyon where Corel was housed. Vincent chose not to stop and she didn't need to ask him why. He wanted back on safe ground with others around to put a buffer between them.

Since she was still suffering an amount of embarrassment for misreading his signals she didn't mind so much and the travel time had given her the opportunity to sit in silence and refocus.

The fact was she had a job to do and it was a dangerous one. The chances of her getting hurt were great but the prospect of Hojo being involved was a sobering thought. It was on that ride back that she found her footing again. It was time to get to business. She needed to embrace Ruby and play the full part or they weren't going to get anywhere. After all she was Avalanche. A martial artist, and one of the few who had stood toe to toe with Sephiroth. She was no child to be toyed with.

She thought about the new clothes she had picked up, about Avalanche, about Marlene and Vincent and Reeve. They needed her to do this. She smiled to herself not noticing Vincent had caught it and now watched her curiously. Yes, it was time to fight.

* * *

JJ - Part psychic part prompting! It helps ;)


	7. Chapter 7: Game On

Shadowplay

Chapter 7: Game on

* * *

"What happened out there?" Barrett stared at Vincent accusingly. He looked completely at a loss.

"I have no idea."

The four men stood side by side as they watched Tifa move through the club to the DJ and have words with him. They weren't open yet and she was still getting dressed. Wrapped in a silk robe she looked like the Mistress of her own universe. Her eyes were steely and her features cool and distant. It was perfect for what they wanted, but Tifa had disappeared beneath it.

"She is focused. There is nothing wrong with her." Reeve smiled. Unaware his admiration reflected on his features and Vincent was the one reading them.

"I got a bad feelin'" Cid shook his head and started toward his post on the inside of the door, Barrett followed to take his outside. People were already lining up in the hopes to get in.

"You an' me both."

Reeve shook his head and turned to look at Vincent. "Don't tell her about Emerald yet. She is going to be on fire tonight and I don't want anything to ruin it. Marcus has been here but he hasn't asked after her. I am assuming they saw her leave with you."

Vincent nodded. "They did."

"Good. So I am expecting that she will be approached tonight. We need to get a hidden communication and tracking device on her before she starts spending time in Platinum."

"Got it covered."

Reeve nodded but he was barely focused on Vincent. His attention swung between watching Tifa walk back to the dressing room and making sure the club was running at peak performance. Vincent felt uneasy and dreaded that Cid's premonition may actually be truth. Something just seemed off. Tifa was going to be angry as hell when she found out about Emerald.

…

Tifa had forgotten how busy it got in here. It was another world, universes away from the quiet of Rocket Town. She wondered how people lived this life every day without every tiring of it. A smile lit her features as she watched the monitor inside the dressing room and the many people filtering into the club.

"See you out there sugar." Topaz winked at her. Those baby blues lit up her whole face which was framed by her cherry red curls. She always looked like a pretty cherub in pale blue chiffon.

Tifa grinned at her reflection. The mirror nymph looked wickedly back at her. Her eye-liner was heavier and gave her eyes a sultry cat-like appearance with a thick fan of lashes and her lips had been painted in a darker red, glossy and inviting. "Time to play."

…

"She's late. What is she doing?"

Vincent shrugged. He was still walking his usual path around the club after having stopped once expecting Tifa to emerge. She hadn't and now they were all a little perplexed. Thirty minutes had passed since her expected time and they had sent one of the girls looking for her to only be told 'she wasn't ready' and they had to wait.

So it came as a bit of a shock when the DJ suddenly changed the music. Even Vincent had paused, meeting Reeve's eyes across the room while the two of them digested what was now playing through their club. It was a deep and sexy sound that held more of a beat befitting Platinum than Cerberus. Vincent suspected that was the point. Reeve seemed to catch on at the same time, giving him a quick grin and a wink.

As he made his way towards the stairs he noticed the way everyone in the room glanced towards them, and him. It was interesting how in such a small amount of time the public had attributed the change in music to the arrival of Ruby in the club. They looked forward to seeing her, she was becoming a Costa celebrity in her own right.

He had just reached the bottom when the door opened and Tifa stepped out to the top platform. Cid closed the door behind her but she didn't walk down right away. Instead she turned towards him, one hand on his shoulder while she smiled and talked to him. That was the moment Vincent became floored. The moment he realised what she was wearing.

Tearing his gaze from Tifa he looked over to Reeve and noticed his mouth was open. None of them had expected this. The room froze.

Tifa turned away from Cid and took the first step. She had her hair pulled up into a familiar sleek ponytail, only this time she had freed long strands to fall softly around her face. Her outfit… Gaia… she might as well be naked. Wide black bands wrapped around her body at intervals. One around her throat, one over her breasts, one around her waist and one around her hips, each of which buckled into place along the right side of her body. The band at her hips connected to a pair of thin tight shorts reminiscent of scant panties and left the curvaceous length of her legs bare down to her steel spiked heels. The same bands circled down her right leg and right arm. She wore bondage like a fashion statement.

Vincent couldn't move. She reached him and grabbed the front of his coat pulling him flush with her body. He could feel every inch of it pressed through the fabric of his suit. She didn't speak, slowly bringing his mouth down to hers for a kiss that defied all kisses. If he had to look back and give it a one worded description, then he would say dirty. When she released him he tasted something sweet inside his mouth. They stood staring at each other, till she pushed him away from her like a dismissal and left him standing there alone.

Vincent's ear piece cracked with the sound of Cid's voice.

'_Fuck me'_

He had to agree but had currently lost the ability to articulate. Reeve's voice sounded husky through the connection.

'_She's amazing.'_

Tifa reached the bar just as Sapphire lifted part of the circle to let her in. She stepped in to the comfort of her domain and owned it. She lit up the entire club and gave it a sense of the exotic. She made patrons want her or want to be her; they threw money at the girls and begged for their attention. Vincent found it fascinating and revolting simultaneously.

…

"Marcus!" She purred leaning on the glossy bar top towards him. "Did you arrange me a date yet?"

Tifa was aware that the others could hear what she was saying through the com device they had insisted she wear. It was embedded in one of her dangling earrings, completely invisible.

"Sick of the guard dog Princess?" He smirked and offered her a cigarette, which she took and let him light.

"A girl has to protect her future prospects." She winked.

"Indeed she does. Have a nice holiday?" He was fishing for details. She gave him enough to keep happy and adopted a sultry pout as she exhaled a cloud of silver smoke.

"No. I was completely left to my own devices and I was bored. But at least I got to go shopping. You like?" She turned around slowly letting him take in every inch of her revealed flesh.

"Mmm, you know you got it Princess. How bout' you come to Platinum tomorrow and have lunch with the boss eh? He's looking forward to meeting you."

Tifa leant over the bar till her mouth was a scant space from his and smiled. "It's a date." She slid back and returned to work leaving Marcus to stride out at his leisure. She was pleased with herself. She had made a huge impact tonight and now Marcus would tell Leon what an asset she had become to Cerberus. She was completely unaware of Marcus passing Vincent and stopping to take a stab at him. Vincent's face was murderous.

…

Tifa sighed and collapsed on her sofa. Despite how proud of herself she was for maintaining the façade all night she was still intensely grateful to be in the closed confines of her apartment. Her feet were killing her from the stiletto heels. Every muscle ached and cried out at having to stand so long into the early hours. She glanced at the clock. It was four am.

She was laying there trying to decide between tea, a shower or sleep when the gentle knock at her door interrupted her thoughts. She glanced through the peek hole to see everyone on the other side.

Jerking the door open she stared at them not even masking her irritation. "It's four am. Don't you need to sleep?"

Reeve held his hands up in defence. "We just wanted to congratulate you on a job well done… Princess." He grinned and she poked her tongue out at him.

"Hysterical, and thank you. But right now I feel like I went a round with the Turks… err no offence."

He chuckled. "None taken."

She said goodnight to Cid, Barrett and Vincent who were behind him and watched as they disappeared to their own rooms. She looked back at Reeve with a raised eyebrow. An awkward silence was beginning to stretch between them.

"Um… something else?"

He was grinning, but he shook his head. "No Ma'am. Have a good sleep."

She smiled. "Good night Reeve." Leaning forwards she kissed his cheek. He stopped her withdrawing and stole a brief kiss on her mouth, trailing his thumb along her bottom lip before he stepped away.

"Good night Tifa."

…

Tifa held up two different outfits against her body while she looked in the mirror. She settled for a plain but fitted white dress that ended mid-thigh and a pair of black boots. Simple, but eye-catching and more appropriate for the middle of the day than her usual evening choices. She brushed her hair out and left it loose for a change. The softer appearance made her seem more innocent. She frowned and used make-up to recreate the nymph illusion.

After Reeve had left her to sleep she had laid in bed considering the kiss he had landed on her. Unfortunately, the more she thought about it the less interested she was in pursuing it. She couldn't decide if it was because she truly wasn't interested in Reeve or if she was so focused on the task now that she wasn't allowing herself to consider the possibility. She hadn't felt much of anything. So she didn't bother furthering the self-investigation.

Unable to wear her gloves every second of the day without drawing attention to them she had to find another way to wield Shadow Wolf when she was out. It had taken a lot of scrambling through trinkets before she found a nondescript silver bracelet to use. She transferred restore, lightning and shadow wolf into it. It would have to do if she got into trouble.

She slipped in the dangling silver earrings that Vincent had given her. They were pretty and simple, but the point was they were her com-link to the group. Reeve had manipulated them during the night so she could hear them as well as them being able to hear her. Cid was going to walk her to Platinum and wait for her at the door. Reeve and Barrett were going to monitor her from the office in Cerberus, and Vincent was going to take to the roof of the buildings and follow her as closely as possible.

She would perfectly safe. Right?

Tifa sighed and came out of her room to grab a pair of black rimmed sunglasses off the table. She slid them on and then clasped her handbag in her painted red nails.

"Alright let's get this over with." She looked at the men crammed into her apartment. All of them had sombre expressions.

"Would you please stop looking at me like I am going to my death?"

They had the grace to look sheepish. Reeve gave her a quick hug.

"You and Cid get going first. Vincent is going out your window and Barrett and I will go downstairs once you have been out for a while. We can all hear you, you will be able to hear us if you need to, just press the bottom of your left earring where the gemstone is and it will turn on and off."

"It's off for now. I don't want them wondering where the voices are coming from and I don't want to be distracted by your talking."

Reeve nodded. "Good thinking." He rubbed her arms. He looked anxious.

"Be careful, Tifa."

She pasted on a cheery smile and followed Cid to the elevator. When they reached the bottom floor she took his arm and let him escort her out and towards Platinum. It was such a short distance that using transport had seemed pointless so they walked and she smiled when people recognised her on the arm of a Cerberus security guard. They were just coming up to the guarded doors of Platinum where Marcus lent against the shiny silver frame when Cid slowed her step.

"Any problem Tif' and we'll come get ya'. You jus' say the word and we're here."

"Thank you Cid." She smiled to Marcus who strode towards her casually.

"Good morning Princess."

"Good morning, yourself." She glanced at Cid and using her cool dismissive voice she waved her hand and murmured, "You can wait here."

He nodded and took a stance beside the door. Rigid and staring while he began to wait. Tifa felt sorry for him, it would drive Cid crazy to stand there like that.

She took Marcus' arm and led him lead her into the silent and empty club. She had never been there before but she could already see what it would be like at night. The entire thing was one large open space and everything was high polished chrome. The only thing that broke it up was the occasion dark blue highlights and though they were currently turned off, she could see the neon blue lighting on the wall length bar. It ran vertical and gave the illusion of running water from the bar surface to the floor. A feature wall on the far left had the same effect.

The entire space had been decorated with simplicity, and modern decor touched every part of it. It was shiny. Two girls walked past them and both wore short silver dresses. Tifa assumed they were bar staff of some kind.

"An elevator?"

Marcus chuckled. "Platinum has three levels." He pushed a button calling the elevator down to them. "Level two is the VIP lounge and level three is Mister Towner's offices."

Tifa smiled. She released his arm when they entered the elevator and made a show of delicately straightening her hair with her fingers.

"Leon Towner. The Platinum high roller." She laughed softly. "Even he has a boss."

Marcus grinned. "Not easily impressed are you. Princess?"

She shook her head. "No." She winked at him via her reflection and then turned as the elevator doors opened. Marcus took her elbow and escorted across the most gauche room she had ever seen in her life. It had been crammed with pompous furniture and paintings that didn't suit the decor. Everything was gilt and large and overcompensating. She forced a smile as Marcus gestured to an overstuffed armchair.

"Take a seat. I will tell Leon you are here."

He walked away from her and left her sitting in the room alone. However she sensed she wasn't and dared not turn on the receiver end of her communications. Instead she dropped her head and pretended to look through her bag while she whispered.

"This room is disgusting. It looks like Heidegger and bitch-face got together and couldn't agree which one of them had the better decorating skills."

She glanced around quickly taking it in. "There is a double door on the north wall. Marcus went through there. There is nothing in this room except decoration and sofa lounges. Rugs, paintings, some pedestals with hideous vases and only one large window on the east wall."

She settled back into her chair and sighed. It was another ten minutes before Marcus returned and offered her a hand.

"Ready?"

"Indeed."


	8. Chapter 8: Platinum Princess

Shadowplay

Chapter 8: Platinum Princess

* * *

Leon's office was large and yet simplistically furnished, contrasting greatly with the room that came before it. The carpet was dark blue and his desk was a brushed steel affair with a large black chair behind it. Another two chairs sat in front of similar design but of smaller size. Giving Leon the impression of a King seated on high.

The man himself was not at all what she had expected. She estimated him to be in his mid-thirties. He had short blond hair which spiked a little at the top and blue eyes that shone with welcoming. His suit was crisp and slate grey, white shirt, blue tie. He looked like a business man who would be completely at home in a corporate office. The longer she looked at him she felt like she was sitting in a Shinra office.

"Miss Ruby." His voice was a little high-pitched. She tried not to cringe. He came around the desk and took her hand, motioning for Marcus to leave them while he helped her into one of the smaller chairs. He surprised her by not going back to the other side of the desk. Instead he sat down with her. She inwardly commended him on the clever psychological move. He was trying to gain her trust and make her feel comfortable.

"Mister Towner. A pleasure to meet you at last, you are quite infamous." She smiled, sharing the inside joke with him. His laugh set her teeth on edge.

"I can imagine inside Cerberus I am infamous, as much as the owner of your club, who I also have never seen."

He was leaning towards her slightly while he spoke. She slid her glasses off and put them aside with her bag. "Strangely, nor have I. He is noticeably absent. Sometimes I think he is avoiding me."

She threw the last part in because she knew Vincent was listening and she could not resist the urge to poke at him a bit.

"That is interesting. So everything is run by poor Mister Tuesti. It must be difficult for him."

"I imagine he has his moments of stress. He is fortunate to have his head of security on hand."

He grinned. "Ahh yes. Vincent isn't it?" She nodded slowly.

"I have heard tell you are quite intimate with the security head." She almost gagged when he emphasised the word head in that tone. She had to pull every ounce of strength of keep smiling.

"I would not say we are that intimate, Mister Towner."

"Please, call me Leon."

A knock at the door interrupted them. "Enter." A girl who could barely be of age pushed the door open balancing a silver tray. Leon rose and took it from her before she could struggle her way too far into the room.

"Thank you, Lindy. On your way." The girl curtsied. Tifa blinked. She curtsied?

He must have caught her expression because he began laughing again just as he put the tray down on his desk.

"It is just our way of showing respect around here. Everyone is required to behave to a particular standard."

Tifa raised an eyebrow. "What if someone were not to behave to that standard?"

He had turned away from her and started pouring tea into fine china tea cups. They reminded her of the type her grandmother had owned.

"There are some people we keep who do not. They are useful for other causes, but we do not have them around new guests."

He placed her tea near her elbow and as she glanced down to take it she saw the plates of mixed food on the tray. Holy hell… he was serving her high tea in the middle of the day. Her grandmother would have loved him.

"While I appreciate the offer of lunch, Leon, I must ask why it is you called me here today. Marcus has been quite adamant."

"Ahh yes, Marcus on occasion likes to inform me when he meets someone who has great potential. We are not above scalping talent from other venues. We are a business after all." He paused, sipping his tea with an obnoxious smacking of lips.

"You wish to make me an offer?" She sipped her tea. It was sickeningly sweet. The pot was with sugar.

"I do. You see Mister Tuesti's club, admirable as it might be, is a bit of a problem for us here at Platinum. Not only is it very close to ours which impedes on our client ratio, but Mister Tuesti himself seems to want to be a general nuisance regarding my business dealings."

"Have your fingers in the wrong pies, Mister Towner?"

He laughed. She wished she hadn't made him. "Perhaps in his eyes."

"What is it you wish of me?"

He leant back and smiled in what she assumed he felt was a reassuring manner. It came off as a bit creepy. She was slowly getting a bad feeling about him.

"I would like you to find out a few bits of information for me when I ask it. Place a micro bug in the main office of Cerberus. And perhaps when we have reached a comfortable agreement you could come and work here. I will pay you up front generously and you will have our protection when needed."

His touch on her knee startled her gaze to meet his. He began rubbing the bare skin there and nudging at the hem of her skirt.

"You will also be my escort when I will it."

She spoke carefully. "Define escort, Mr Towner."

"Did I not ask you to call me Leon?" He grinned and stood up. Walking around her chair till he was standing behind her. A classic intimidation technique.

"You will work for me little Ruby and you will do as I ask. If that means smiling and nodding in my company when I demand it then that is what it shall be. If… and I stress if, you prove yourself to be more than just a pretty face then maybe there might be more for you. Right now, I need you to concentrate on getting me the information I need from Cerberus."

His hands came down on her shoulders, massaging the tissue slowly with rough and careless hands. His fingers slid around to her throat and squeezed just enough to be uncomfortable. Forcing her head towards him.

"Do we have an understanding, Ruby?"

She nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off him. He was looking at her mouth with undisguised lust.

"Good girl."

She sat there while he listed off all manner of things she would be expected to carry out. He wanted her close to Reeve and Vincent as much as possible, he wanted the name of the owner of Cerberus, he wanted the bug in the office and any private files she could pull from the computer system. She had to report to them once a day before the club opened and at least once a week had to attend a function with Leon as his 'escort'. Marcus was to keep an eye on her at all times by being at Cerberus while she worked and watching her apartment when she did not.

He was particularly focused in finding out personal weaknesses of the employees, all of them, but specifically Vincent and Reeve. He wanted to know what drove them, and she knew it was so he could exploit it. She had been fine with almost everything up till the end when he had dropped a brick of something crystal in front of her. It had to have been hundreds of thousands of gil worth of Azure. She was supposed to sell it in Cerberus.

"I am not a drug dealer Mister Towner."

"Then find someone who is."

That had been all he said on the matter, but his tone had been enough. She was to make this happen or she was of no use to them in the long-term.

…

Tifa sat on her sofa with her feet raised on a pillow while the others sat around her. They were all falling in and out of conversation, often going into their own thoughts.

"We can put the bug in the monitor room but we'll have to be careful about who we take in there."

"Can't we rig it to block when we need to?"

"Possible but risky. If Leon finds out we know about it then Tifa will be at risk."

"What about the drugs?"

Vincent shifted. "I'll pay for them."

Tifa rolled her head with a frown. "What?"

"In intervals I will pay for them. We can stage sales and I will provide the gil. This way it looks like the drug is moving and it will stay off the street."

"Vincent, there is at least half a million gil in Azure in that bag!"

They looked at the offending item now sitting on Tifa's coffee table. The brick was being treated like a bomb that none of them were willing to touch.

"It is fine." He sat on the floor near her sofa in the same pose he often adopted when he was still. She loved to watch him. He seemed so serene and at peace, but she could see that fire beneath the surface in the small details.

Cid lit a cigarette ignoring the dark look Vincent shot him. "What about the other stuff? The information he wants?"

Reeve sighed. Leaning back into the kitchen chair he was occupying and looking up at the ceiling.

"We will trickle feed it to him as slow as possible. If we give him too much too quickly he'll suspect something is up and I am certain the moment Tifa has no purpose in Cerberus anymore he will pull her from the club."

"I'm right here!" She was getting irritated with the way everyone kept talking like she was an object.

Reeve looked sheepish. "Sorry Tifa. I'm just trying to be objective."

"I know. I'm just..." She sighed. She didn't know what she was. She had to admit she was hiding from thinking too deeply about how she felt about anything.

Vincent stood up. She found it amusing how the moment he moved everyone else followed suit. Even Reeve stood and started moving towards the door.

"You should rest." Vincent was gone before anyone else could comment.

"See you tonight Tifa." Reeve followed first and Barrett without a word. Cid lingered until the others were out of earshot.

"Hey, ahh… Jus wanted to tell ya that Shera wanted to talk when you got a moment. She worries." He shrugged and left Tifa laying on the couch in silence.

…

Tifa dragged out every minute possible before she called Shera. She wanted to enjoy the solitude.

'_Hello?'_

"_Shera?"_

'_Tifa! I'm so glad you're OK. Did everything go well?'_

"_Yeah not too bad. We're in it now, so we'll just have to wait and see."_

'_Yeah I guess so. Are you alright?'_

Tifa had a feeling she wanted to say something and was biding her time.

"_Sure. Well, it's a bit exhausting playing Ruby all the time."_

'_Just don't lose yourself in there alright? Make sure Reeve gives you some down time when you need a break.'_

"_Yeah, I will."_

There was a long pause before Shera spoke again. When she did it made Tifa smile the way she tried to sound casual.

'_How is Vincent?'_

Tifa ignored the little ache in her chest.

"_He seems fine."_

'_I was thinking… about when you said Vincent confessed he wasn't interested in you…'_

"_Mmm?"_

'_Well… I know I am just assuming here, but go with me. Is it possible he lied because he thinks you and Reeve are… becoming involved? Vincent already thinks that the good things in life aren't meant for him. So maybe…'_

"_I don't think so. He will always love Lucrecia. I can't compare to that."_

'_Oh. I guess so. Well I just didn't want you to think that just because it's not obvious it's not possible. Has Reeve… you know, made a move yet?'_

"_He kissed me. It was… OK."_

'_Tifa Lockhart, did you just refer to a Reeve Tuesti kiss as OK?'_

"_Oh Gaia I did. I don't know Shera, I just don't have time to think about it. I need to do this now and there is just no room for me to sit around evaluating my failing relationships."_

'_Oh Tif' they aren't a failure!'_

"_One word. Cloud."_

'_You cannot compare Cloud to any man. He was a very specific case of a person who has lived a very unique life.'_

"_Unique… If Cloud's life has been unique what are we calling Vincent's?"_

'_Cruel.'_

Tifa sighed.

"_You're right. Seriously though Shera, I can't do this. There is no way I can be Ruby and carry around lingering hurt feelings and questions."_

'_Alright, alright I will stop asking. Be careful out there alright?'_

"_I will. Give my love to Marlene."_

'_Of course. Bye honey.'_

"_Bye."_

Tifa snapped the phone shut and closed her eyes. She did not want to think about what Shera said. She didn't want to think about anything except what she would be required to do for the next few hours. Anything else was a distraction.

It wasn't till she was sitting down beginning to her makeup for the evening that she noticed she was still wearing the com-link earrings Vincent had given her, and that she had been them through her entire phone call with Shera.

* * *

Oh god I hate this chapter. I just wasn't feeling it and I am at a loss of how to get from this point to the point I have already planned. Cross fingers for me, I'm going to make war with the words.


	9. Chapter 9: Expectations

Shadowplay

Chapter 9: Expectations

* * *

Reeve took care of the bug for Tifa and planted it in the monitor room as they discussed. Frequently he would walk in and out with arranged WRO members and talk for the benefit of their listeners. They never said anything of particular note, but Reeve assured her that Leon would get enough to satisfy his curiosity.

The Azure had been locked up in the club safe and was going to stay there for at least another week. It wasn't something they could just pull out and start circulating, so pretending to would be as obvious as just walking right up with the entire monetary worth and saying 'done'.

Vincent and Reeve were together inside the manager office going through which files they wanted to have Tifa take back to Leon when they realised the time. They only had a half hour before the club was opening and they hadn't finished making the arrangements they had hoped for.

"You need to tell her about Emerald before she notices her missing."

"It will upset her."

"Didn't she already state that she does not want to be left in the dark?"

Reeve's voice rose a little when he turned to face Vincent. "I'm trying to protect her Vincent!"

"No you aren't. You are protecting your asset because you do not wish to lose. If this was about Tifa's safety she would not be out there doing this at all."

The two men stood in an awkward silence. Reeve's emotion was written on his face while Vincent's stayed hidden behind his cool mask.

Reeve shook his head. "That is not true. I care about Tifa."

"Then trust her to know what is best for herself and stop choosing for her."

Reeve lifted his hand and turned on his earpiece connecting him to Tifa's communicator. He opened his mouth about to speak when his hand stilled. Vincent turned on his own thinking something was wrong. Then all the two men could do was stand while Tifa's voice echoed back at them, pausing to speak to Shera who they couldn't make out.

"_He seems fine." … _"_Mmm?" … _"_I don't think so. He will always love Lucrecia. I can't compare to that." … _"_He kissed me. It was… OK." …_"_Oh Gaia I did. I don't know Shera, I just don't have time to think about it. I need to do this now and there is just no room for me to sit around evaluating my failing relationships."_

Vincent turned the communicator off abruptly and walked out of the office, leaving Reeve staring after him in confusion. He did not stop when Barrett called out to him from the door, carrying his guilt with him into the darkness. He needed a reprieve. With a growl he took to the shadows that were home. How he hated this city.

…

Tifa worked that night and the following six more without pause. If she was not in Cerberus she was in Platinum or doing something pertaining to either of the clubs. She slept little and only ate when she was forced to or when she had lunch with Leon. Who thus far had not called her out on of the details she had supplied. If anything he seemed pleased with her.

Tonight was going to be different. This would be the first night she spent inside Platinum as Leon's supposed escort. During the week lead up Marcus had been an endless source of information. It turned out the man loved to talk and did so at length, which worked out for Tifa who was able to find out about these once a week events.

Leon called it business masked as pleasure. A catered dinner and drinks event on the second floor of Platinum for special guests. Marcus informed her that the parties never held more than twenty to thirty people and each person was hand selected to attend. These included the manager of Myriad and his "mistress" along with some businessmen who Marcus referred to as "financial backers".

Tifa's job for this event was to smile and shine and be perfectly obliging and charming. What concerned her was the last thing Marcus had said to her when he left her at the entry to her apartment building.

"Better look sharp tonight Princess. Make a mistake tonight and all bets are off."

Tifa hadn't answered, yet she could not shake the impending feeling of disaster. Something was going to go wrong. She could feel it.

…

Two hours later, a long bath and several glasses of wine to calm her nerves found Tifa lounging on her bed while trying to choose which dress to wear. She should have guessed Leon was the type to decide what his escort was wearing.

A knock on the door brought her face-to-face with Cid. He was holding a large box with a smaller one balanced on top of it, both clearly from exclusive boutiques.

"The stupid fuckin' lackey told me to bring these to ya'" Tifa grinned. Cid was trying to talk around his cigarette and it made him sound like a redneck. She took the box off him and motioned him into the apartment. He helped himself to coffee while she laid the boxes on the table and opened the first one.

"Shoes…" She held up the red strappy heels to Cid, both raised an eyebrow at the same time. She then flipped the lid on the dress box and stood staring at the fabric that lay inside thin tissue paper.

"Gaia…" Tifa gently unfolded the deep red silk satin dress from the box. It was completely covered in a black lace overlay which fell to her feet. A collar secured it around her throat and it had no back at all, only a long thin black chain which ran from the back of her neck to the base of her spine. Cid stared at it wide-eyed.

"I got materia that cost less than that dress."

Tifa giggled a little hysterically. "I think I don't have the gil left to pay for this dress."

"When you're done with it let me know. Wouldn't mind seein' Shera in it." He winked and settled into her sofa, propping his feet on her coffee table and turning on her TV.

"Make yourself at home Cid." He grinned over his shoulder and left her alone to dress.

…

The next couple of hours were intensely amusing. She spent an hour on her hair and wrapped in a robe walked out to find Cid and Barrett on her lounge. She went back in to do her makeup and when she came out for water Cid was gone and Reeve was talking to Barrett near the door. She changed into lingerie, chose simple jewellery, put her robe back on and then came out to get her shoes to find Cid and Vincent alone at the kitchen table, and when she finally got into the dress and came out to ask Cid what he thought it was only Vincent.

"Oh my god. Cid, you have to see…"

She paused and stared at the unexpected solitary visitor.

"Am I missing something? Why is everyone treating my apartment like a halfway house?"

Vincent didn't look up from whatever he was reading on his phone.

"Reeve needed to get back to the club. Barrett is on the door, Cid is running security and I am going to watch you tonight." He looked up and just for a moment that ever so carefully placed mask slipped so she could see his surprise. She smiled. It was the first time she had ever seen Vincent look at her with a measure of approval.

"I know. It's a lot." She brushed her hands down the delicate fabric. The red and black sheath hugged every part of her body except her naked back. She turned and pointed at the chain dangling aimlessly. "Can you fix this?"

She heard the scrape of the chair legs against the tile when Vincent stood. He came across to her and took the chain running his fingers down its length till untwisted then secured it to the dress at the very base of her spine. When he ran his fingers back upwards, his knuckles brushed slowly along every vertebra. She shivered.

"Thank you." She whispered. Neither of them moved and for that fraction in time Tifa thought maybe Shera had been right. Vincent had completely ignored her all week apart from the customary kiss at the stairs. In fact he was out quite often. This was the first time they had been alone since they were in Rocket Town and here he was touching her, so gently, the slide of his warm fingers set her skin aflame.

"I will not be able to go inside with you. I have checked the building and there are enough windows on the second story for me to watch and I will be able to hear you when you turn your communicator on."

In the presence of only Vincent, Tifa felt all her uncertainties rise up waiting to be addressed. She had been too uncomfortable to pose the question in front of Cid and Barrett. So she asked it now.

"Vincent… has any of you considered… what else might be required of me tonight."

He hadn't moved away from behind her and though they were not touching she felt him stiffen. He understood perfectly.

"Do not for one moment believe that you must sacrifice any part of yourself for an ideal of the greater good."

He took her shoulders and turned her to face him. "I will not allow them to harm you in any way. Even if that means I have to fight my way in there and get you myself."

Tifa forced a shaky smile. "I couldn't do it Vincent. The idea of that man touching me…" She shuddered, turning her head away. Vincent instantly gathered her into his arms. One hand at the back of her neck cradled her against his shoulder.

"I would not allow it."

She exhaled with relief. To know that if pushed to that point Vincent would intervene came with a measure of inner peace. Sometimes she felt like a main attraction. Something they all watched and paid for but never really interacted with past what was expected.

"I have missed you Vincent."

He gave a low sigh she could not interpret and gently disengaged himself from her arms.

"Finish dressing. It is almost time to go."

She nodded and did as he said. Checking her hair and makeup again in the mirror to make sure it was all in place. The sleek up-do added elegance to her appearance, her neck looked longer, her kohl lined eyes looked bigger. Vincent appeared behind her, reflected in the mirror she was staring in to.

"You look beautiful."

She flushed softly, "I don't know who this person is anymore, Vincent. She's a stranger."

Vincent came and stood behind her, he shook his head.

"It is just a reflection Tifa. Imagine yourself looking as you do for any other occasion. Something that pleases you and you will see it is only your perception that has changed. You are and always will be Tifa Lockhart." He touched her upper arm. "She is the most amazing person I have ever known."

Tifa locked eyes with him in the mirror. "Vincent…"

He shook his head. "Not now. You need to get to this party and be the envy of the ton."

"Thank you." She smiled and he bowed his head once before disappearing into the evening. She knew he had taken her window again so he could get high up. Her confidence returned knowing he would be with her. Pressing the communicator active she called out and got a response from Vincent in return. She muted him and went downstairs to find Marcus.

…

"Oh Princess… daayymmm."

Marcus held his arms out for her and she let him hug her with a soft laugh. He kissed her check and spun her in a circle so he could get a good look at the whole picture.

"Well you're gonna make the Myriad queen die of jealousy. She hates competition. I can't wait to see her face."

Tifa giggled, taking his offered arm so they could begin walking.

"Myriad queen?"

"Ah that's right you haven't had the pleasure. The manager of Myriad is a complete dick. His name is Jack Richards, some ex-Shinra blow hard. But his Mistress is this two-bit whore called Scarlet. She's loud and obnoxious and thinks she's the hottest thing to grace Costa. She's slept with everyone."

Tifa did her best to keep a straight face. Scarlet? There was no way that stupid bitch could still be alive, they had decimated that ridiculous robot she had attacked them in. They had been in a hurry though and none of them had stopped to check to see if she and Heidegger were alive. The irony of it being Scarlet reminded her of her comment about the décor in the office waiting room at Platinum.

"Sounds charming."

"Oh yeah, she's a keeper." Marcus didn't mask the sarcasm. They chatted about the possible guests that would be attending all the way to the club. Tifa realised on arrival she had never seen Platinum open before. It was impressive.

The whole venue was blue lit with neon and gleamed silver underneath it. The bar and walls rained blue light and the strobes above the dance floor sparkled silver, blue and purple to the music. It was packed to capacity and the line out the door went on forever.

The door guard waved them in without even a glance. Tifa heard people in the line call out to her "Ruby!" "Oh Ruby you look beautiful" "Ruby is here!" She smiled and waved, when they were inside the elevator she laughed.

"Don't have a lot to look at around here do they?" Marcus smirked.

"Nah. They love their local celebs. You should see when Mister Leon leaves the club. They practically jump him."

The door to elevator opened and Marcus turned to face her. "Alright Princess you know the drill. Smile and make a scene." He winked, straightened his suit and wandered into the party completely at home. Tifa followed slowly.

The second story was considerably more pleasant than the third. Similar to the bar downstairs and yet smaller in scale it shone with polished steel and silver. The neon was gentler in this space. Used more as a highlight than a feature and coupled with low-wattage down lights so the people inside were not blinded by it.

The first room was a lounge of sorts. Long coffee tables lined with three seater lounge chairs filled the majority of the room, where people were already sitting and drinking together. The noise was low enough to converse and yet active enough to not overhear your neighbours conversation without being obvious. Girls in silver evening gowns brought drinks in martini glasses of bright colours with fruit and straws, while men took coats and offered trays of _hors d'oeuvres_. It was actually very elegant and charming.

Similar to the top floor there were wide wall sized windows on the east wall and a sliding door that led out on to a balcony, to the north was an archway and looking through it she could see a large banquet sized dinner table already set for them to eat at. Sounds behind her caused her to turn, thinking someone was coming out of the elevator. That was when she realised on either side of the elevator were powder rooms. One for men and the other for women.

"My Ruby."

She turned with a relaxed smile. "Leon darling. You are filled with surprises."

"You approve?"

"Of course. It is spectacularly impressive."

He put a hand on her naked back and pulled her closer to kiss her cheek. "Not as impressive as you, my princess."

She took his arm stifling the creepy feeling he gave her and let him lead her towards the bar. She was just enjoying her first sip of something berry flavoured and icy when she heard it.

"Kya ha ha!" Tifa spun around in horror to see the Shinra Weapons developer leaching all over an obese nearly bald man who was sweating so bad he had caused patches on his suit shirt.

* * *

Note: The man with Scarlet is not Heidegger. For this tale he's dead.


	10. Chapter 10: Secrets

Shadowplay

Chapter 10: Secrets

* * *

"I hate that woman." Leon narrowed his eyes across the room. "Every time she laughs I want to shoot her."

Tifa's laugh seemed a little shrill to her own ears. "You should."

Leon grinned. "I think that problem will take care of itself."

Tifa didn't understand what he meant and she was not going to ask. Her fear at the moment was that Scarlet would recognise her. The odds were not in her favour. She was about to excuse herself to the powder room in an attempt to talk to Vincent when her escape was cut off by the chiming of a small dinner bell.

Leon took her elbow, his fingers, too hard on her soft skin, dug into her flesh and bit against the bone beneath it. She winced and either he didn't notice or didn't care. Escorting her to a chair at the head of the rectangular table where she would be sitting next to him. He almost forced her into the seat. Heavy hands laid against her shoulders pushed her down abruptly till she near lost her balance on the spiked heels.

When everyone seated he took his place at the head of the table, still standing and raised his glass.

"To my wonderful dinner guests. Once again I thank you for being here to enjoy the hospitality all our hard work grants us. Enjoy."

He lifted his glass, those at the table followed suit like the drones they were. Tifa sipped her glass in silence.

Dinner was a long affair of 5 courses where everyone chatted quietly to one another. One occasion Tifa could hear Scarlet's laugh break out from the other end of the table, but she was kept from being noticed by speaking with the man next to her. It turned out he was Jonas Something she couldn't remember, the owner of the Step club further down town. He was a cheery old man and sat with his wife who was deaf as a post.

Tifa has no idea why the couple had been invited other than to keep in good graces with the competition. She remembered Vincent telling her they were ignorant to what was going on around them and they certainly seemed so, chatting animatedly about the most inane topics while she nodded and ate without having to say a word. She imagined Vincent would be bored out of his mind listening to all this. The thought made her smile, just to know he was with her eased her tension.

Leon interpreted her smile as pleasure. Leaning over and forcing a wet kiss on her mouth before she could stop him.

"It is good to see you smile." They were just finishing up desert. "You will dance with me later." He gave it as an order and all she could do was smile. She wanted to wipe her mouth on her napkin and stab him with her fork.

…

It was finally almost over. She had avoided coming face to face with Scarlet all night thanks to the Leon's distaste for her company. Having socialised and danced and smiled and let Leon treat her like a pretty play thing, she was very much ready to get the hell out of there.

Desperately needing relief from Leon's wandering hands and lecherous attempts are trying to kiss her she excused herself to the powder room. She took a deep breath and stood at the mirror carefully checking her hair and make-up. Even forcing a smile and measuring up how believable the reflection was.

"I'm so tired of this Vincent. I feel dirty just for being here."

She sighed and pushed away from the basin. Turning to leave she pulled the door open at the same time another person pushed it. The two collided sending Tifa back into the powder room while she grasped trying to not fall. A high-pitched squeal mixed with Tifa's cry of surprise and a ripping noise of fabric was all that could be heard before the thud of both women landing on the tiles.

Tifa hissed and looked about desperately hoping she hadn't just hurt someone important.

"THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

Tifa widened her eyes. "Err… N…nothing. I am so sorry."

"You ripped my dress! You'll pay for this you stupid bitch!"

A hand reached out and slapped her face hard enough to snap Tifa's head to the side. She gasped, scrambling to her feet and smoothing her dress out.

"I said I was sorry. I should go."

Scarlet grabbed her arm and spun her back to face her and giving Tifa the first look at a woman fallen from grace. Scarlet's skin was wan and sickly; she had aged and looked terrible beyond her years. Her hair fell limp and oily to her shoulders and her makeup made her look more whorish than words could explain. But it was her eyes that told the tale. Bloodshot and pupils dilated.

"Are you alright?"

Scarlet blinked and pointed a sharp nail at Tifa's face. "Don't I know you?"

Tifa backed up. "No. We've never met."

Scarlet grabbed her arm and pushed her into the basin. "Yeah you have. I know this. UGH I can't think." She pushed the heel of her palm into her temple. "I've hit you before. I can remember hitting you… where was I?"

Tifa was about to run out while Scarlet was distracted but it was too late. She started trying to claw at her madly while screaming obscenities. Tifa clamped a hand over her mouth to calm her down while simultaneously dodging her wild attacks.

Scarlet lashed out, using every ounce of her Azure hazed strength to catch her opponent just once. She succeeded. Out of nowhere Tifa was hit in the head by a flailing punch. Scarlet's nails cut her cheek. It was instinctual, it was anger and hatred towards this woman who had caused so much pain to Gaia and still lived. She hadn't meant to be so hard. Tifa punched her in the face. It did nothing to deter her fight and just when Scarlet had almost got a hold of the back of Tifa's head she kicked the drug addled woman in the midriff. The impact sent her backwards where she lost her balance. Tifa reached out, as if it in slow motion trying to catch her, but she fell all the same.

Her head impacted with the corner of the vanity bench and echoed a sickening fleshy crunch. Then it was over. Scarlet lay on the floor bleeding out into a large puddle with her eyes open and staring. Tifa slid to the floor gasping for air.

"I killed her… Vincent I killed her…"

It happened in only a matter of moments and the noise had attracted others. Marcus was the first to burst in and look at the scene. With Tifa's distraught features his only gauge for an explanation; he helped her up from the tile and took his suit jacket off. He put it around her shoulders just at the moment Leon burst in to see what the commotion had been about.

"I didn't mean to…"

"Hush." He took her into his arms. His features set cold and uncaring for the dead woman on the floor. "She was going to die one way or another."

"I want to go home. Please Leon?" He looked hesitant, then must have realised he had some cleaning up to do.

"Of course. Marcus, take her back and make sure she has guards."

"Yes Sir."

Marcus wrapped an arm around her and led her out of the club. She kept her head down thankful for the dark that hid the cuts on her face. Marcus said nothing, but he walked her into her building and escorted her directly to her apartment door. For once he actually seemed sympathetic.

"Don't sweat it Princess. The bitch was insane and we all know how jealous she gets. You did good kid."

Tifa nodded, waiting for him to leave before she slipped in and shut the door. The moment it clicked into place Vincent was there.

…

He picked her up into his arms while she trembled from the fright of almost being caught. She was more afraid of that than the fact she had just brutally and accidentally killed Scarlet. He was carrying her, she didn't pay attention to where. He laid her down on her bed and disappeared, but he wasn't gone long.

"I am here. You're safe Tifa."

She exhaled a long breath, sitting still while he cleaned the nail marks on her cheek before he used the materia to heal the skin. By the time he finished there was only a faint red mark indicating where she had been scratched and it would be gone by morning.

She threw herself into his arms. He bundled her up against him and got on the bed at her side. Letting her nestle against his chest, safe in his arms and away from the nightmare she had been in. She had no idea what Leon was going to do about the fact she had killed someone in the middle of his party. She could only imagine how the revolting Myriad manager would feel about it.

"Stay with me?" She whispered, as her fingers curled into his shirt needing him near.

"I promise." She closed her eyes, still fully dressed and fell asleep breathing in his scent and listening to the steady beat of his heart.

…

Tifa woke alone. It was morning and she felt loss for not having Vincent there when she opened her eyes. She noticed her shoes were off but she was still wearing her dress from the night before. Wishing to stay in bed a bit longer she closed her eyes and made to roll back into her covers. That was when she heard them talking. Vincent and Reeve were in her lounge.

"It's confirmation that Shinra are involved!"

"You are casting more assumptions. Scarlet was high on Azure and barely knew who she was. You have no way to know why she was here."

"It's too much of a coincidence. Jack Richards worked for Shinra, Scarlet was here, the tests on the Azure we have confirm use of Shinra grade technology to produce it."

"I agree it is highly possible Reeve. I am just cautioning you to move carefully. Emerald's death was a warning and now Topaz is missing as well. If they find out anything about Tifa they find threatening she will be gone in an instance."

"Don't mistake my eagerness to move forwards as lack of affection for Tifa. We've already spoke about how I feel."

Tifa lay wide-eyed listening to the exchange. Emerald was dead? She thought back to the past week and realised she hadn't seen her once. It had never occurred to ask if something was amiss, she had just assumed Emerald was taking some time off, which accounted for her absence.

"This about how Tifa feels. Not you."

"Is it? Or is it about how you feel about her?"

"You are making assumptions again Reeve."

"Maybe. All I know is that fake kiss she gave you was more convincing than the real kiss I gave her."

Tifa felt the awkward hush. It was thick with emotion and she dared not to breath in case they realised she was awake.

"You gave her a role and she has played it. If you do not like it then change it."

"Vincent. I have to ask if you are involved with her. My feelings aside it is an added risk."

He chose his words carefully. "We have not discussed it."

"That is not an answer."

"We are not involved, Reeve."

There was a long silence where Tifa wondered what was happening. She had to fight the urge to get up and peek into the lounge. As silently as possible she rolled out of bed and started to change out of the evening gown before she decided she wanted a shower and couldn't give a damn whether they thought she heard them or not. Part of her was hurt that Vincent had said they were not involved. But the truth was they weren't, and he had not lied.

What was more upsetting was that Emerald was dead. She could not quite wrap her head around the fact that she was gone and they had known this whole time. From what she heard Vincent was to get Reeve to be honest with her and he had dissuaded Vincent from giving her the truth.

She turned on the shower and stepped into the cool spray. Letting it wash away the dirt and heavy cosmetics from the night before. She scrubbed herself with rose scented soap trying to remove the heavy artificial perfume mixed with sweat. She could still smell the coppery sweetness of Scarlet's blood.

She washed her hair, her face and only got out when a natural rose oil scent permeated every part of her bathroom. Unsure of what to expect outside, she dressed and entered her lounge slowly.

They were all there. She wondered if Cid and Barrett had sat there while Vincent and Reeve had been talking as she woke.

Vincent was the first to notice her standing in the doorway between her bedroom and the lounge. He lifted his head and they shared a moment that transcended words. Tifa smiled, a gentle curve of her lips for him alone. He dropped his head when Barrett spoke.

"Tif!" The big man got to his feet and went straight to her encompassing her in his large arms for a bear hug. She gasped for air and he released her.

"You alright?"

"I am now I can breathe…"

Barrett chuckled and Cid replaced him for another hug.

"Stop scarin' the hell outta us. We had enough of that for one lifetime."

Tifa just smiled. She was still tired and unwilling to walk much. So she passed barefoot into the kitchen unaware of how vulnerable and small she looked in her long-sleeved slip dress, barefoot and fresh-faced. She busied herself making tea. It was at that moment she remembered Emerald and Topaz and had a stab of sadness.

"When did you find out Emerald was dead?"

The silence that followed her seemingly innocent question was telling. She judged from the discomfort Cid was exhibiting that they were there the whole time and had been privy to the conversation she had overheard. Now they knew she had heard all of it as well. Reeve actually blushed.

"Tifa…"

"I liked Emerald. She always made me laugh and she talked to me the entire time we worked. I never even got to ask her real name."

It was Vincent who answered her.

"Her name was Makiko. She was born in Wutaii and she had two sisters."

The others looked at Vincent with surprise. He gave them a cool stare in response.

"If you took the time to talk to her you would have known that yourself."

Tifa kept her smile hidden from the group. She was so impressed by Vincent at that moment. He had come a long way from the hermit she had met in the mansion two years ago.

Finishing pouring her tea she stopped at the counter. Reeve looked like he was about to speak again when she held up a hand.

"I'm going back to bed. I'll talk to you all later." She walked past them and went straight to her room. She could hear them getting up and preparing to leave. She put her cup on her side table and crawled over the covers.

"Vincent?"

It was at a normal pitch. She hoped he could hear her. She waited about ten minutes before he appeared at her side. She shifted over giving him room to lay down with her. He said nothing, only climbed in the bed and let her cuddle up to his side. She drank her tea in silence and went back to sleep in his arms.


	11. Chapter 11: Prisoner

Shadowplay

Chapter 11: Prisoner

* * *

Vincent lay there watching her sleep for another couple of hours. She had been exhausted, more so emotionally than physically and she bore it all without complaint. Carefully, as not to wake her, he slipped out of her bed and her apartment. Barely making his way into the hall before his phone rang.

"Reeve."

'Is Tifa asleep?'

"Yes. I am coming now."

He closed the phone cutting off Reeve from saying anything else and went to his apartment to change into the expected suit. Reeve met him inside the club, the pair did not address one another till they were closed in the office. Vincent stood with his arms crossed and ignored Reeve's gesture to sit.

"She asked you to stay with her."

Vincent didn't answer. It was obvious that he had been absent and he had already confirmed via the phone call that he had been with her. He noticed the way Reeve's shoulders fell slightly. Guilt stabbed at him. He wasn't even certain what he and Tifa were. The truth was Reeve would be a safer better option for her future.

Reeve sighed and chose not to talk about it further. He changed the topic.

"I looked into Scarlet and you were right. I found nothing to suggest she was here for any other reason than misfortune." He tapped the end of a pen against his desk restlessly. "Emerald is cremated tomorrow and there is still nothing on Topaz."

"The Azure?"

"Half sold. You have the gil for Tifa and she can placate Leon a bit longer. I'm not sure how he is going to react to her not seeing him today. I am surprised he didn't send someone to check on her."

"He has his security outside the apartment block. They will know she is there and not working. Did Marcus come in?"

"Briefly. Looking smug as can be." Reeve threw the pen on the table. "I feel like we aren't getting anywhere. We know little more than we did when we began and we've lost two people."

"Three."

"What?"

"One of the security guards is missing. I checked out his apartment yesterday and there is no sign of him anywhere."

"We're in trouble Vincent. They are in our club and we have nothing."

"Progress is slow but it is progress. We know that Leon's "Boss" may not be "The Boss" and that is more than we began with. We took an entire key of Azure off the street and we have Tifa working the inside. You cannot say all of this has been for nothing."

"No. You're right. We need to move forward though and Tifa is becoming more at risk. Something needs to change."

"No."

"Vincent…"

"No. If we send her to Platinum permanently there is less chance we can protect her."

"It's our best bet to gain Leon's trust. She needs to be seen as his."

"Has it occurred to you that Leon will be expecting Tifa to sleep with him?"

Reeve froze. "There… W…we can find ways to get around that."

"And if we lose sight of her and he takes what he wants? He is not the type of man to take no for an answer. Scarlet attacking in the bathroom may have saved Tifa from that last night. I am certain Leon was going to try."

Reeve nodded. "Alright. But Leon is eventually going to tell her to quit here."

"Only when he gets everything he wants. He still doesn't know who the owner is and he only has half the files, none of which are ours."

"Then we need to push him to trust Tifa. Give her my file."

"If he finds out you are a Turk he will label you a bigger threat than ever."

"What do you think he will do to you when he finds out who you are?"

"I don't think Chaos will let me go without a fight."

They sat discussing the ins and outs of each scenario. Going over every possible down fall until they had exhausted the topic and had nothing left but to wait and see what would happen.

They closed the club down and left the WRO crew to clean up. Then met with Cid and Barrett, so they could go as a group to wake Tifa and talk about the files. Vincent was half way down the hall when the feeling hit him. An icy sensation settled into his veins, spurring him to rush past the surprised trio and burst into Tifa's room.

He burst the lock when he smashed her door in and ran into her room. It was empty. The only sign that anything had happened were the smashed fragments that used to be her bedside lamp and the open window leading towards the back of her building. She was gone.

…

Tifa groaned and tried to roll over. Something wouldn't let her. She woke in a panic feeling herself bound in place and remembering little other than hands grabbing her while she had slept. Something sharp stabbed into her arm and then… nothing.

She forced herself to calm down and run a self-evaluation. She was sore, but not injured and she felt relatively unharmed which meant they either wanted something from her, or she was valuable for another reason. Leverage? Sounds nearby spurred her to fake unconsciousness. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing into a low shallow tempo.

"She better be unharmed, Marcus."

"Yeah boss, she's fine. Waited till the guard dog fucked off and grabbed her quick. Might be a bit groggy for a while though."

"They should know she is missing by now." Tifa heard Leon's smug grating laughter.

"All this just to piss off Vincent? Seems like you coulda' just told her to come here."

"I am making a statement. She didn't show up to meet me as expected and spent the evening with him. If she won't come to me I will take what is mine."

"So you're gonna let her go?"

"No. She is going to tell me everything she knows about Cerberus' head of security and in return he gets to live and she will get to walk around with less bruises. You are her new personal bodyguard Marcus. Don't let her out of your sight."

"Roger that. Want me to untie her?"

"Yes. We can't have my princess waking in fear. It's my job to instil that."

Tifa froze, hoping she gave off a convincing appearance while trying to determine her surroundings via sound. She felt Marcus untie her. She heard footsteps, near and far. She heard muffled conversation in the distance including more than one voice, and when she felt she might finally be alone she dared to open her eyes and sit up.

She was in a bed. A very large four-poster bed in a bedroom decorated much the same as the gauche room at Platinum. Whoever decorated these rooms seemed to be attempting an old elegant renaissance feel, and failed by placing too much into one space.

Along the wall opposite the bedroom door sat a heavy dresser with a turning vanity mirror. One look and she knew it was antique and it was completely wasted in this horrible room. It was only while eyeing the furniture that she began to note the finer details of scattered feminine objects.

She saw raspberry soft fabric… a dress perhaps, draped over the wooden chair in front of the dresser. Perfume, a simple array of cosmetics and as she stood she noticed several shoe boxes stacked at the end of the bed. It was clear this was either a guest room or at the least a woman's room.

In her distraction she failed to hear the approaching footsteps. Marcus opened the door and startled her into a gasp. He held up his hands in surrender.

"Chill princess. You're not gonna get hurt. Just wanted to see if you were awake and tell you to get ready. There's a bathroom out here if you need to shower and everything you need is either in there or here. Boss will be waiting for you." He winked and shut the door behind him leaving Tifa feeling like a dove in a gilded cage.

…

"The sleazy lackey is gone and so's the guards." Cid sat down and lit a cigarette. For the first time Vincent didn't even look at him in rebuke.

"She won't be at Platinum. He's too smart for that."

Reeve sat on the sofa next to Barrett. Cid straddled one of Tifa's kitchen chairs backwards and Vincent leant against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed and his head bowed.

"Leon has a house outside of town. It's a large building with security fences and cameras. I bet he took her there." Vincent nodded his agreement and met Reeve's gaze.

"It seems the likely option. There are no ransom notes or signs of serious trauma. I do not believe he harmed her or intends to. For the moment."

Barrett stood up with a grunt and went to grab a beer from the fridge. "What I dun' get is why he took her now. He musta known she was gonna go with him eventually."

Vincent sighed. "He took her to get to me."

"Because she gets cosy with ya in the club once a night? Seems off." Cid's frown echoed his confusion.

"No." Reeve was looking at Vincent. He had caught on. "She didn't show up at Platinum today. She was with Vincent the entire time and if Leon had someone come and check on her… what would they have seen Vincent?"

He didn't answer. But the fire in eyes when he pinned Reeve beneath it said he shouldn't push his luck.

"In Leon's eyes she ignored an order and spent that time with Vincent. This is personal."

Vincent ignored the stares he was getting from all three men, angered with himself for not realising that Leon would take it as a slight against him. There was a window in her room. It was small, but clear enough of a view into it with the lamp on if someone bothered to climb up the building behind the apartments. Even if that was a far-fetched thought, it would not have taken much for them to see Vincent leave late in the night and assume that he was the one with her.

"So now what?" Barrett broke the tension before it could turn hostile.

"I'm going to check Leon's house." Vincent left not answering Reeve's call's to come back. Reeve gave a cry of frustration.

"I'm gonna go see I can learn somethin' off the street." Barrett abandoned his beer and started for the door.

"I'm goin' with ya." Cid waved his phone at Reeve. "Ya'll know how to find us."

Reeve sat on Tifa's sofa staring down at his clenched hands feeling utterly useless. He had to admit he was also jealous. It was clear that Tifa had feelings toward Vincent but he was unsure how deeply Vincent felt for her. He pulled out his phone and began making a few calls all the while chastising himself for not being honest and telling Tifa what he felt.

…

She walked down the hall slowly. The entire building, in every corner she saw, filled with the same overdone antiquated theme. The paintings on the walls cluttered together and bumped frames obscuring the wallpaper beneath it and none of them were straight. She mused the askew art was a perfect metaphor for the house. She came across a maid and opened her mouth to ask for direction, but the maid only waved her hand urging Tifa to follow.

Large double wooden doors opened to allow her into a sitting room with an executive sized desk at the front of it. Marcus was laying on one of the sofa's with his feet propped up on the arm. He was reading a newspaper. Leon stood from behind the desk and came towards her, all the while dragging his eyes all over her body as he was want to do.

"Much prettier." The raspberry dress floated around mid-thigh in a soft skirt. The strapless top was decorated beading along the bust line, it was simple, but particularly feminine and she knew he purposefully wanted her to feel like the weaker sex.

"I don't feel pretty. I feel like someone stabbed with a needle in my sleep." She shot Marcus a dark look. He didn't even notice.

Leon giggled. A high-pitched girlish noise she was unable to prevent from causing her to cringe. He stopped, his eyes narrowing.

"Did you have a nice evening Ruby? Get some sleep?"

"Up until I was drugged I was perfectly happy."

"I'm sure you were. All wrapped up in the embrace of your guard lover. I am sure he is missing you about now."

Tifa realised what he was about then. She cursed herself for being so weak and not attending his midday lunch request.

"I needed some time."

"I'm sure you did." He grabbed her wrist and forced her into an empty sofa. "Now I need something from you."

She stared at him waiting.

"You are going to tell me everything you know about Vincent and when I ask a question you will answer it. So long as I am satisfied you will remain in one piece."

There was an ominous clicking noise behind her head. She felt something hard press into her skull.

"I am sure you understand what happens if I am dissatisfied."

She nodded obediently, even while her mind concocted multiple escape options. Beginning with, but not limited to, grabbing the gun that had been pointed at her head and killing Leon with a point-blank bullet.

"His name is…"

"Vincent."

"Very funny. Vincent what?"

Tifa hesitated. What were the odds he would recognise the name? Probably not so great. Cloud's name was the more infamous of all of them. Vincent had avoided any public exposure. She lied anyway.  
"Nanaki."

"Interesting. Where is he from?"

"Wutai, originally."

"He was something before he was head of security. I want to know where he came from."

Tifa couldn't resist, she wanted to see Leon's face.

"He's a Turk."

Leon actually went white. It took all of Tifa's strength to not giggle. She had to look away to hide the grin.  
"A Turk? You are certain?"

"Yes. He and Reeve are both Turks."

There was a snapping of paper opposite her and she watched as Marcus sat up and discarded his reading material. He looked horrified.

"I see." His nervous gaze darted from Marcus to her rapidly. "What is he doing here?"

"Running a club."

"Reeve is running a club, he is just security. What purpose does he have here?"

"He's the owner."

That floored them. Marcus jumped up from the sofa with shock. Leon waved him back down to sit.

"That explains why you favour him. Of course you would bed a Turk and the owner."

Tifa almost argued that she hadn't bedded him. She chose that silence was the greater power at the moment. However the thought that this man's vanity was so great he couldn't see past himself was rather incredible. He honestly thought that two Turks would go out of their way just to spite him.

Marcus broke the pregnant pause. "We should tell the boss."

"No! I don't want him coming here and making a mess of my club."

"But he's a Turk, he might know them…"

"SHUT UP."  
Now Marcus was efficiently cowed into silence Leon started pacing back and forth in front of Tifa. His pace was anxious and the gun pointed at her head trembled.

"Not to interrupt your pensive pacing, but could the man with the gun please point it somewhere else now?"

Leon stopped and nodded to the unseen gun wielder. The press of metal disappeared much to Tifa's immediate relief. Leon kept pacing.

"Your name!"

Tifa blinked. "My name?"

"YES!" The stress was starting to show on Leon's patience.

"Marlene."

"Marlene what?"

"Wallace."

Leon stopped pacing and scoffed. "No wonder they call you Ruby. Where are you from?"

"Midgar. Now Edge."

"And you did what? Stop making me ask every tiny question and get on with it!"

"I lived in sector seven before the plate fell. I ran a bar. I have always been a barmaid."

He grunted and resumed his pacing taking her word at face value.

"I came here to find better work. There is nothing left in Midgar but wasteland. Reeve gave me job because I came recommended by Emerald. We worked private functions a long time ago."

"You were a whore?"

"No."

Leon stopped pacing, "Well you're going to be."

* * *

Sorry that took so long. With the last ME3 DLC's coming out we've been farming credits for the multiplayer portion tomorrow. BUY ALL THE THINGS!


	12. Chapter 12: Myriad

Shadowplay

Chapter 12: Myriad

* * *

In truth Tifa knew she could have kicked Leon and Marcus' asses around the block several times over without breaking a sweat. Sure she risked being shot, but she'd had much worse in the past than a bullet wound.

She was staying for one reason only. She wanted to know the truth about Azure and she had to know if Hojo is involved. For Vincent… and for Gaia. Also she did not want to think that these past weeks had been a waste of time.

When Leon had said she would be a whore she had felt disgust and began to make plans for her escape in the back her head. It wasn't till Marcus had come to her and explained what they were doing that she had decided to wait it out.

Two girls from Myriad came to meet her at Leon's and they went to work with a vengeance. Tifa's hair got stripped of its lustrous chocolate-brown till it turned a horrendous straw blond. Then they dyed over it with a garish cherry red. They forced her into the sluttiest lingerie and clothing they could find, overdid her makeup to an extreme, shoved her into thigh high bright red boots and took her to Myriad.

This was Leon's idea of hiding her. Apparently he was clever enough to realise that Vincent or Reeve would come looking for her and that his house was the most likely venue. He concluded quickly that he needed her not only out of there but that hiding her in a building would be more likely to attract attention, needing guards and someone to make sure she was fed and taken care of.

This way Tifa still earns "The Boss" money, is relatively safe under the eye of the guard, and looked so extremely different that they she wouldn't get recognised. Leon started calling her "Marly" and enforced a few rules. She was not allowed to speak to anyone, she was only allowed to dance on a stage pole, she was to never address the Myriad clients and she was to make no attempt to contact anyone from Cerberus. To punctuate it he had punched her hard in the jaw leaving a nice purple-blue bruise rising. He wanted her to look like a whore and he had succeeded.

Myriad was everything a person would expect a brothel to look like. Alcoves led off the main room sheltered by heavy drapes, the sound of the music rang blazingly loud and varied in type, the furniture was nondescript, plain, dark and matte without style. Of course that didn't matter because the club was so dark the only thing that could be seen were flashes of naked and semi-naked flesh beneath strobing fluorescent light.

The only colour existed in the hypnotic way the flesh was fed to its audience. Writhing bodies, colourful lingerie, all made more enticing by the flow of alcohol and spikes of Azure. Everything else was in the dark, in shadow, kept sordid and secret away from the light. It smelt like alcohol, sweat, tobacco and urine. The rubber flooring was wet, and she didn't want to know what the one centimetre of fluid consisted of. If there was a hell on Gaia, a place where souls came to die, then this was it.

Myriad never closed. It was kept in an internal perpetual darkness maintained by the lack of windows and the double room entry preventing natural light from ever reaching within. Tifa found that frighteningly appropriate. Particularly now she found herself standing in front of a girl by the name of "Candy", who must have eaten a lot of it because she only had four teeth, learning the fine art of how to dance with a pole. She was less than inspired.

"You've been here a long time?"

"No talkin'! Put hands on pole." She grabbed Tifa's hands and smacked them against the metal. "See? Smooth, hard, like man when he's ready. You treat it like man. Think of sex and wanting and you be fine."

Tifa swallowed as Vincent unintentionally popped into her head. She shook the vision away.

"Who's in charge around here?"

"Is Jack."

"Apart from Jack…"

"The Boss. Stop talking. More dance now." She jabbed a sharp long nail against Tifa's chest forcing her to dance around the pole in a half assed attempt to look sexy and experienced. Candy Shrugged. "That fine. Men not care how good you dance with your tits." She waved her hand. "Go dress. You work later."

Candy walked away leaving Tifa in the main part of the club. Eyes watched her from every dark corner. There was no privacy here. Quickly she made her way to the girl's dressing room and snuck into one of the change cubicles. The light in this part of the club was a crap as the rest of it but it allowed her a moment of solitude, and she could lock the door and hide. She was just about to slide sideways and make herself comfortable when her wrist snagged on something behind her, it cut into part of her wrist. He hissed and jerked her hand upwards and away from the cause, a jagged coat hanger had caught on her bracelet.

The cut was negligible. She turned her hands over and tried to wipe the blood away on her skirt causing some of it to smear over the bracelet. It flared a soft violet reminder of the materia within.

"Hmm…" Opening the cubicle door she peeked out into the empty dressing room. Quickly she ran to the adjoining door and locked it before the opportunity disappeared. It took seconds to summon Shadow Wolf, but those seconds mattered. With her back to the door Shadow Wolf came to form and blinked at her patiently.

"Find Vincent. Show him the way." He nuzzled her hand and walked into the corner of the room, then disappeared. She sighed with relief.

A loud bang on the door made her jump away and unlock it rapidly.

"Get ready." The cold voice commanded. She began to prepare.

…

Reeve was in and out of Tifa's apartment at intervals between checking on the club, which he left in the competent hands of the WRO guards. The apartment had become an unofficial headquarters where they each returned to meet up every few hours. It had been three days since Tifa had disappeared.

Now they sat, all four of them, exhausted and drained around Tifa's kitchen table that lay covered in notes and papers. Reeve pointed at one in frustration.

"All these transactions can't just be for Azure. Look at the cost of some of these. These four for instance are the exact same amount of gil over several days. This one is the approximate value of Azure on the street so we can assume that is what it is, but this one is different again."

They had discovered nothing at Leon's property and since they were forced to get serious. They were now dredging through every connection from one person to the next. Currently they were investigating business associates of Leon's by pulling their transaction details. Vincent took the form from him and shook his head.

"Something is happening here. Bigger than the circulation of a drug."

Barrett shifted uncomfortably. "We need to find Tifa. I got a bad feeling."

Cid had been surprisingly quiet during all of it. He was more worried than he was letting on and it showed in his silence.

"I'm gonna go call Shera..." He walked out.

They shared knowing looks and kept their thoughts to themselves. Vincent went back to the topic at hand.

"Where does this guy live?" He flipped the paper over to check the name on the back. "Michizane Abukara?"

Reeve shook his head. "Officially I have no idea, he's staying in a hotel on the waterfront. He's big money, playboy type I gather."

"And this one?" He handed Reeve a different sheet.

"Same again. Big money, long-term holiday spender staying near the water." Vincent raised an eyebrow and they gathered all the clientele forms together to check over them.

"Every single one of them? That's not a coincidence."

"Different hotels, but all on the water. All of them five-star accommodation with private suites and high security detail for high-profile customers."

They were all pondering the significance of this new information when the light above them flickered. It dulled into a low glow, fighting to relight itself and failing. Vincent rose, slowly withdrawing Cerberus from beneath his cloak. The uneasiness spread, the air growing thick with the feel of materia driven magic. In the corner of the room the shadows spread and started to encompass the walls only to be sucked back in on itself when it formed. Reeve almost died on the spot.

"KILL IT!" Barrett's arm shot out about to open fire only to be shoved down by Vincent.

"NO! It's Tifa."

Reeve unstuck himself from the floor and dusted his coat trying to regain his dignity. "The thing is Tifa?"

"No. It's hers, she sent it." Vincent dropped to one knee and looked Shadow Wolf in the eye. "She sent you?" The Wolf growled, padding past Vincent to the closest window and then looking back expectantly.

"I will let you know what I discover." Reeve merely blinked and watched as the two disappeared. He looked at Barrett, equally as confused the big man shrug.

"Dun look at me. I got nuthin'"

Cid walked back in, looking considerably more at ease. "Hey. Where's Vincent at?"

Neither of them could answer.

...

Vincent leapt from rooftop to rooftop keeping pace with Shadow Wolf. The wolf didn't have the problem of having to run it, it just seemed to phase from one point to another. Disappearing into mist and reappearing a way in front of him. It was about fifteen minutes after they began that Vincent started to suspect where they were going, so it came as no surprise when Shadow Wolf stopped on the edge of a building and looked down to the red-lit Myriad below. Vincent crouched at his side, his fingers gently and distractedly petting soft ears.

Shadow Wolf nudged him once and disappeared, melting into shadow and air. His job was complete. Vincent remained looking down at the movement below. Guards, lost lives moving in and out of the trashy venue. He knelt that way realising there was no way he could get in it without being recognised or attracting attention. There was only two ways into Myriad. The front entrance and the staff entrance. Both were heavily guarded.

He stood, starting to turn away so he could tell the others when a black car pulled up to the front of the club. Vincent paused, only half interested in who was going to climb out of the ostentatious vehicle. He huffed an exclamation.

"Well... I'll be damned."

...

"Look at this one." Barrett passed the record to Reeve. They were each going through records and trying to find connections.

"Same hotel as these two guys. Same amount of gil transferred. Look at the amounts though, these two are exactly the same. One million gil and then seven hundred and eighty thousand gil, then another one million. Everytime there is a flat million there is another seven hundred and eighty following it the next day."

Reeve nodded. "So the two transactions are connected somehow. Perhaps a before and after payment."

"Assassinations?" Cid raised an eyebrow.

"Could be." They shared a moment of silence contemplation at the prospect. It did not last long however as Vincent came out of nowhere and startled them back to the present. "Vincent! Did you learn anything?"

Vincent nodded slowly. "Tifa has been taken to the Myriad."

"You saw her?!" Barrett jumped to his feet.

"No I did not. Shadow Wolf led me there and so I know she is within. But there is no telling what condition she is in or how long she will be there. I couldn't just walk in without causing an uproar."

Reeve sighed. "This is my fault."

"I do not think so. Tifa is capable, if she wanted out I believe she could make it happen. She is choosing to stay and she is giving us time to follow the trail."

"So we still have nothing." Reeve sounded dejected.

"Not necessarily. I think I saw the boss tonight."

They all looked at Vincent expectantly. "Anyone we know."

Vincent smiled, humourless, a slight tilt at the corner of his mouth.

"Oh yes... I saw Tseng."

* * *

Note: JJ Mentioned the room was bugged, just wanted to clear that the office in Cerberus was not bugged, the monitor / surveillance room was the one they put the bug in. They had to have some place to talk off the floor without being overheard.  
The Turk boss, not Reno! Though Tifa knows Reeve isn't a Turk she just wanted to frighten Leon.


	13. Chapter 13: Dead Girl Dancing

Shadowplay

Chapter 13: Dead girl dancing

* * *

"Tseng!" Reeve's eyes narrowed. "That is a disturbing connection."

"I stayed. I waited for some time to see him come back out and when he did he had a woman in tow. She seemed… vague. He put her in the car and I followed him until he drove into a car park beneath the iNova building."

"That building is Telecommunications Company. There is nothing there except offices and system services." Reeve tapped his fingers restlessly. "Cid, see if there is any mention in those transactions about iNova."

Cid nodded and started thumbing through them between drags of his cigarette. He had become unusually monosyllabic in the past few days. Vincent suspected he was truly concerned for Shera, Marlene and Tifa.

"We need to get someone in Myriad to make sure Tifa is safe. I can't set foot in there, I would be recognised, and Barrett would as well." Reeve looked at Cid and then Vincent. He shook his head.

"I do not think Cid would exact the correct level of subtlety."

"Eh! Fuck you too Vince." Cid flipped him a gesture.

"Point made." Reeve sighed. "Any other thoughts, Vincent? We may be forced to ask Yuffie…"

"I'll do it."

Reeve blinked. "While I appreciate the offer you are as noticeable as I am. You wouldn't get in the door."

"I can change my appearance." Reeve looked more than sceptical.

"Give me a few hours. I will need some things from you though."

"Like?"

Vincent produced a folded piece of paper and handed it over to Reeve, whose tiny curious frown began to spread into a grin. "I'll get what you need."

…

Tifa discovered there were three different types of women inside the Myriad. The first were the long-term investments, those who worked well and earned good money without being remarkable. These girls were the safest of all as they were never bothered by regulars or the security to do anything other than what they were already doing.

The second were what the long-term workers called "the fodder". These women were there out of pure desperation. Drug addicts mostly or women struggling to care for their malnourished and homeless children. These women did not last long and either never came back or they died. Tifa found a lot of women died in the Myriad. It was a coffin of hopelessness.

The last were the ones that had Tifa the most confused. These women were brought in and taught just like everyone else, only with very noticeable differences. They were more heavily interacted with by the head of security and they never stayed long as someone would show up and escort them away. Tifa assumed they were going to someplace classier, perhaps the Platinum, as these women tended toward the prettier and more youthful of the selection.

Tifa was unsure what her place was. She was still not allowed to speak to anyone inside the club apart from staff and security. Due to that fact alone she was not allowed to work the bar and was forced into solitary dancing between breaks. Tifa also felt that the only reason she was still there was because they had no idea what to do with her… yet.

That issue became a non-issue a week after her arrival. By now she had learnt approximately nothing of use, had no idea if Shadow Wolf had found Vincent, and by the odd looks she was receiving deduced her time was running out. She was right.

Up till this moment she hadn't seen Tseng, pure luck perhaps. Needless to say she was surprised and concerned when he walked in and straight up to Jack. There was an exchange of something Tifa could not see and then they began walking right towards her. Jack waved her down off the stage and led her aside. She kept her head down to avoid Tseng's gaze. He seemed to not recognise her.

"You're a liability and now it's out of my hands. The boss wants you for something else. This here is the Boss's man and he's gonna take ya away. Get your stuff."

With that Jack walked off and left Tifa with her new warden. Tseng grabbed her elbow roughly and pulled her to the dressing room.

"Get what you need and be quick."

He released her without even glancing at her face. She wondered at that, was it so common an occurrence to take and move women around like chattel? Either way, he gave her the time she needed and since it was happy hour the dressing room was blissfully bereft of life. Everyone was working.

She quickly undressed and pulled on a simple pair of jeans and a top, the only outfit that was hers and she had asked for it so she had something to wear when she was sitting in the cramped area they called her room, and then shoved a few things into a bag while she could.

She was just about to walk out when Tseng came in to hurry her along. She turned her face away from him, reaching to grab for her bag so they could leave. But something sharp stabbed her in the neck. She gasped and smacked her hand to the bite, the world turned foggy, and she blinked at Tseng who seemed to be frowning.

"Do I know you?"

_Does he? I'm sleepy… _She smiled and made a noise of nonchalance.

"Alright, we're going on an adventure. Sound fun?"

She nodded. "I like fun." She wrapped her arms around his arm so she wouldn't fall. He led her out, all the while she smiled to herself thinking about the pretty lights and how nice the man was for not letting her fall. When they were outside he made her stop near the door and wait for the car to come around. She hummed to herself. Watching the people move around them when a man caught her eye. He was painfully handsome. With intense almost black eyes, black short shaggy hair, and a beautifully tailored dark grey suit. He was clearly wealthy, a business man perhaps… so familiar… She stared at him while he stared at her.

Was that… _Vincent._

It was his mouth and the ever so slight furrowing of his brow. He looked so beautiful. She parted her lips, smiling and went to move toward him. A hand stopped her and pulled her towards a car.

"Are we going to have fun now?"

"Sure thing sugar. Lots of fun."

Tseng shoved her in the long black car and before they had made it to the corner she passed out on the seat, sliding sideways on to the leather.

…

"He took her?!"

"To the iNova building. It was no small feat to follow them either, Tseng's car was tailed by what I can only assume was a security detail and when they got to the parking lot it was so heavily barred and guarded there was no way to get in."

Vincent shifted and noticed Barrett and Cid were staring at him with their mouths agape.

"I was a Turk. Seeing me in such attire can't be so shocking."

Reeve looked up and took in the expensive steel grey three-piece suit. The crisp fabric and perfectly knotted silk tie resting over his white business shirt. Vincent had one leg folded across the other with his arms crossed over his chest. He had cut his hair. It now fell around his jaw and Reeve could see the resemblance between the old photos he had seen of Vincent and the man who stood in front of him. He was wearing dark contacts to mask the red of his eyes. They were now deep chocolate-brown.

"You do look very different to what we are used to Vincent."

"Hm." He unfolded himself from the counter and changed the subject. "Did you get what I needed?"

Reeve stood, "Yes. There was a business man of some note who died a year or so back, but with everything the way it has been it's not a widely known occurrence. I hacked into accounts and brought him back to life. Temporarily. He was born in Wutai, worked independently all over Gaia so he travelled a lot and was not seen a great deal. He looked a great deal like you actually."

Reeve handed over a large envelope containing the identification and documents of his personal history. Vincent slid a citizen ID from within.

"Tetsu Dei. I remember this name. Dei Industries developed security systems and advised companies on internal workings. He worked for Shinra?"

Reeve nodded, gesturing to the envelope. "Briefly. He was responsible for the railway alert system."

Barrett grumbled. "I hated that fekkin' system."

Vincent recalled the retelling of the day Avalanche had gone through the railway system and had their ID's fail. The alarm had gone off and it had been Tifa who urged them to jump. She herself had jumped first. He felt a stab of pride; she was fearless when it counted. This thought gave him some hope for her safety. She had a strong sense of self-preservation.

"She seemed alright?"

Vincent came back to the present at the sound of Reeve's voice.

"Physically she seemed fine. But when she looked at me… she seemed confused, she didn't know who I was and then she recognised me and tried to walk to me. Tseng stopped her. Something was wrong with her, she looked dazed. Drugged perhaps."

"Those fuckers drugged her?" Cid started pacing angrily.

"We need to stay calm Cid. Vincent do you have everything you need?"

"Yes. The hotel room is booked?"

Reeve nodded. "Yeah, I had Dei's name dropped around a bit with the suggestion that he was drowning in Gil now he was 'retired', I had to falsify a few digital documents to bring him back to life and fill in the holes. It's all in the envelope."

Vincent straightened, "Alright. Time to infiltrate high society."

…

Tifa felt so good. She had been given the nicest room she had ever seen and the whole thing was hers. It was clean and smelt of the freshly cut flowers that decorated the tables within. All the surfaces were made from polished marble tops and pendant lighting dropped from the ceiling. An entire wall ran with water from top to a pool of koi beneath with a pretty trickling noise.

Girls had come and spent hours on her appearance. She soaked in a milky bath till her skin was soft and supple, then girls waxed and tweezed her till she was pink and oversensitive. They removed the garish red hair dye and re-dyed it a midnight black, then brushed and curled until it shone. They polished her nails and scrubbed her feet and then they massaged oils into her arms and legs. Now she lay on her bed and snuggled into the covers dreamily relaxed.

There was something she meant to do but she couldn't remember what it was. She just wanted to lay here and relax for a little while. She fell asleep.

"Where is Tseng?"

"He dropped off the girl and went back to work." The female shut the door on Tifa's bedroom and turned to her superior with a near militant stance.

"Is she clean?"

"Yes and no. She belonged to some club in the central district and they are looking for her. At least that is what I got out of Jack. She has no diseases or illnesses, her DNA comes up clean of hereditary or genetic defects, and her brain activity is good. She has evidence of being exposed to mako in the past but no significant lingering side effects are evident… and you won't believe it, but she is a virgin."

He started laughing. His laughed echoed all the way down the hallway as he disappeared back to his office. The woman smiled and went back to work. A virgin was a promise of big money. It is rare to find one of age anywhere anymore and they were easier to deal with than under-aged stock. Oh yes, she was going to be pure gil. The woman, Meredith, turned back to Tifa's door and pinned a medical clipboard to the front of it.

_Subject #498_

_Blood Type A+_

_Batch #5 40mg (In food only) 3 times a day._

…


	14. Chapter 14: Dreaming

Shadowplay

Chapter 14: Dreaming

* * *

"Mister Dei! Welcome to the Golden Sands, if there is anything you need then please do not hesitate to ask the concierge."

Vincent nodded to the woman without answering and turned away towards the elevator. A bag handler with a large gilt trolley followed him with his custom luggage. He portrayed every inch the cool business man with gil to burn and the hotel welcomed him with open arms.

The room was as opulent as a penthouse suite inside a five star hotel could be. Large open rooms with carved furniture and tastefully placed vases. A giant bowl of fruit and a bottle of wine sat on one of the tables as a welcome gesture, there were a pile of recommendation pamphlets on the small table near the door and an arrangement of electronics for business men to take advantage of. Everything from a phone to a personal net terminal had been supplied. One Vincent was certain they closely monitored.

He turned and paid the baggage handler a tip and the moment he was gone began to carefully walk around the suite. He gave the impression of merely investigating his surroundings, but he was looking for evidence of hidden cameras and bugs. He found only two that he could detect on first glance, a small security eye in the roof near the entry way and another in the sitting room. He would need to go over everything again later.

For the time being he activated a scrambling device on his phone and called Reeve.

"I am at the hotel."

'_Anything interesting yet?'_

"Nothing."

'_Bugged room?'_

"Yeah. I will have to look into it tomorrow."

'_Be careful. Keep us updated.'_

Vincent snapped his phone shut and went about what would outwardly appear to be a normal routine. Putting clothes away, placing items in the bathroom and calling room service. He made several false phone calls letting people know he 'had arrived' and only after his food was delivered by a servant boy did he pick up the pamphlets near the door.

One for Myriad, one for a club on the beach, surf lessons, a tour group, Chocobo rides, another club… he stopped and flipped over the last object, an oversized business card about A5 sized. The front was an old symbol, a twisted representation of a dragon and a phoenix into a yin yang design. It had only a few words on the front and an address on the back.

Vincent flipped it back to the front and traced his thumb over the embossed letters.

'_Serpentine Fire' _was perfectly situated near the iNova building.

…

Tifa woke to the biggest breakfast she had ever seen along with the biggest migraine she had ever encountered. It splintered through her temples and stabbed behind her eyes causing her to cry out and grab her head. A woman had come, she did not remember what she looked like, and had plied her with glasses of juice till it began to fade. Yet as the migraine faded it became replaced with a dazed happiness, she felt so content, and she just wanted to make everyone happy.

She found herself smiling softly while staring at a fish tank, and she had no idea how long she had been staring when a young girl came to meet her. She was so pretty. Long blonde hair and big green eyes, she was smiling too and they both seemed to instantly be at ease.

"Hello."

"Hello."

Both had the same softness in tone. Tifa felt something tug at her memory trying to remind of something important.

"My name is Jen, what's your name?"

"They call me Ruby, I like it."

"It's very pretty."

"Oh thank you. Are we staying together?" Tifa rose from the edge of the bed. Unaware she was gently stroking the soft lovely fabric of her rose coloured dress.

"Oh. Yes I think so. I just want to make everyone happy."

"Oh, me too! Shall we go look around together?" The linked arms and started walked down the hall. Other men and women emerged, they were all smiling too. Everyone was so happy. Tifa liked it here. So calm and filled with warmth.

They were stopped by one of the men.

"There will be a party tonight. We are going to go too."

"Oh that sounds nice." Jen blinked her green eyes, speaking like she read from a script. "I want to make everyone happy."

"Yes me also. Everyone should be happy."

Tifa smiled. "Yes… happy." But there was something she was supposed to be doing. As they joined hands and started looking around the building Tifa's questions fell away into nothing.

…

"So Vincent is playing rich boy and set up on the beach, Tifa is fuck knows where and we're gonna do what?" Cid stubbed his cigarette out on a plate. He was beginning to grow more irritated by the hour and growing days.

Reeve had his sleeves rolled up sitting at the table with a laptop and piles of papers all of which he was going through to find clues. They had pushed the sofa to one side of the sitting area and pulled down the framed print from the longest wall. It was now baring all the relevant information they could find and joined together with black marker lines and notations.

"Either get your ass over here and help us Cid or make more coffee." Reeve didn't even glance up from what he was doing. Barrett, arms crossed, snorted from where he was standing staring at the wall of connections looking for something solid.

"Alright let's start at the beginning again." Cid groaned at Reeve's words and went to make coffee. They had done this same thing every hour on the hour trying to see something that just wasn't there.

"Platinum hires women that end up in Myriad, Myriad screens and then sends them to iNova. Meanwhile all of them are dealing in Azure, except for whatever is happening around iNova because these transactions suggest… assassinations or contracts…" Reeve sighed and dropped his head to the table.

"Men are missing too though. Not just women. Sure some of em' show up dead, but not all of em' have. These two different amounts of gil is what matters here. I got a feeling the Azure is a side earner."

Reeve stood and joined him at the wall adopting the same physical expression.

"It's not prostitution as they already have that at Myriad. It's most likely not assassination because the clients spending this gil are physically in town when they spend it. If they were ordering a hit…"

"They wouldn't wanna be here." Barrett nodded in agreement and took coffee from Cid when he finished Reeves sentence. The three men now stood side-by-sides staring at the wall sipping coffee in silent frustration.

Reeve took up from his last thought.

"We have two definite repeating amounts being transferred from wealthy patrons, men and women, to iNova. Every transaction is within a day of the first which means they are definitely connected. Before and after payment within 24 hours, that isn't involving a wet team…"

"Donations."

Reeve and Barrett blinked at Cid in shock. He shrugged. "What? I been out doin' my thing them big businesses are always asking for donations. They have those big dinners and charge $500 a seat just to raise money."

Reeve frowned. "The second payment a donation. The first payment… Slaves?"

Barrett shook his head. "Nah it's more than just that. Remember Vince said the girls were dazed when they were taken from Myriad, if they wanted slaves why not just take em? Tifa and the other girl were both chosen. They were drugged and this money is two payments of different amounts. Slavery seems to a bit simple."

"They were drugged and Vincent said to me that Tifa seemed agreeable. Happy even." Reeve pointed at Barrett trying to follow the string they began. "One payment is for the girl…"

"Or boy. The other is for the drug." Barrett snapped his fingers. Reeve looked questioning. "No man listen. Dude comes and pays a shit load for a pretty piece of happily agreeable ass and gets himself a night. Maybe the second payment is for the drug."

Reeve snatched up the transaction forms and checked them again, sure enough the repeating 800,000 gil continued further down on several of the accounts.

"So they pay iNova for the flesh of choice and then pay them again the next day for the drug that keeps them agreeable. These two guys here don't pay that amount again for another 3 days so that second drug has to last at least that long."

"Most of these have only two though. Like they're only needin' them for the night." Cid lit a new a cigarette. "And you two are only guessin', aannnd why?"

"Why what?" Reeve pinned the new transactions to the wall and started writing on the margins.

"Why do it? They aint earning any more money than they would selling Azure full time all over Gaia. Set up a brothel in every town and you make plenty from the desperate, especially in Edge. So what's so special about this lot? They got drugged girls? Well woo-fuckin-hoo I can show you a million drugged girls who think I am King of the world for a gil."

Barrett grunted. "He's got a point."

"There is something here I can feel it." Reeve sighed.

Barrett and Reeve shared a look. "I feel trouble."

...

Vincent sat back in a Chinese brocade covered single sofa nursing a 700 gil glass of brandy and watched the men and women walk around the room. There was no similarity between them that he could see other than they all had been dressed alike in the theme of the club and they all seemed intensely happy.

The Serpentine women wore red and black cheongsams and the men wore black mandarin collared sets with red toggled ties along the side. They were aged between seventeen and up to mid-thirties, were all healthy and of different colouring and heights, physically there were no obvious signs of connection and Vincent was getting tired of sitting around paying for hellishly expensive liquor.

He was just considering leaving when some of the 'entertainment' cleared out and was replaced with a mixed group of ten men and women dressed in black and silver cheongsams and mandarin suits. They held delicate trays of heated saké in small gold cups, carefully and artistically decorated pieces of sushi, delicate egg filled cakes with printed dragons and phoenix's on the flaky crusts and a generous selection of Asiatic canapés involving fresh seafood from the area.

Vincent instantly had a flashback to a time long before he had met Lucrecia. A time when he had been a Turk, stationed around a fancy ballroom guarding the great men of their time while men and women served in such surroundings. It was so clear a memory that when he blinked it away and met the wide green eyes of the women who knelt down beside him offering tiny sculpted Onigiri balls he swore he was still there.

He took the canapé wordlessly, she bowed down and then rose moving on to the next person. He took saké from the young man who knelt next, waved away the following two and then became struck dumb at the last. She had lost weight and seemed so delicate, kneeling beside him and holding out a tray towards him. He had forgotten how beautiful she was. Dressed in the black and silver cheongsam with her dark hair piled up elegantly on top of her head and a silver hair accessory dripping fine red kanzashi against her slender throat, she was breathtaking. The sight filled him with an ache for Wutai and old tradition so strongly he forgot why he was there.

He reached out and touched the flowers and then her cheek, holding her gaze and absorbing the sight of her with a sudden and sharp realisation he did not want to word. She smiled softly he brushed her mouth and she blushed.

"Sir?"

He blinked and took another cup from her tray watching as she walked away to the next person. She was safe, for now, and had no idea who he was. She had looked right through him without seeing him. He had noticed the dilation of her pupils and the ever so slight sway as she rose from her kneel. Then he noticed something else. The selected ten were abandoning their trays and slowly being taken from the room to a private room adjourning. Each man or woman entering was handed a red sealed envelope before being ushered in.

Vincent rose and moved towards the door only to be stopped by a hand on his chest. He looked down at the offending appendage and then to the man it belonged to. The guard nodded in an attempt at apology.

"So sorry Sir. Invitation only."

Vincent around and swept the room quickly. She was already gone.

* * *

I know I'm late! But I am here now. Life ran away with me damn it but I will endeavour to finish this as swiftly as possible and put those waiting out of their misery. Thanks for your patience! - Kaj


	15. Chapter 15: Deception

Shadowplay

Chapter 15: Deception

* * *

"Anything?"

The three men started, Cid made a started cry and Barrett pointed his gun arm at Vincent in shock.

"Really?" Vincent raised an eyebrow and dropped through the window gracefully onto his feet. He walked to the wall and took in the new notations. Turning the ideas over slowly like a multi-faceted jewel.

"Possible. I saw her." He dropped into a sofa chair and rubber a hand over his face. His dismay was beginning to show through his cool façade. Reeve frowned. This was a Vincent usually hidden behind long hair and dark clothes. It made him uncomfortable to bear witness to a pain that raw.

"Is she alright?" Reeve sat at his side.

"Yes, and no. She didn't know who I was. She has lost weight and is clearly drugged. We're running out of time Reeve. There is no way I will get into the area I need to get into without months of work and by that time she could be dead or gone. I need something… ANYTHING…"

He rubbed his hands over his face again and his desperation became clearer. It was the first time Reeve had looked at Vincent properly in a long time. He too had lost weight and probably had eaten in days. Without a word Reeve went and made him a cup of coffee and reheated some Wutai take-out and then wordlessly placing it in front of him with a sharp look not to argue.

Vincent didn't even bother trying to argue, he started eating without taste while the other three looked on in concern.

"I'm going to insert some quiet notes into Mr Dei's history. A few suggestions about security systems for biological companies and a mention of your father won't hurt either."

Vincent nodded without looking up.

"Will that be enough?" Reeve glanced over at Barrett and shared a desperate glance.

"I don't know Barrett. We don't even know what we're looking at. I think if we don't make some leeway soon we might have to go to Avalanche tactics."

"Break and enter?" Cid leant on the kitchen counter with as much enthusiasm as the rest of them.

"Smash and grab." Reeve said unhappily. This was not something they wanted to push into as it risked Tifa being taken out violently before they got to her, particularly if the iNova guard figured out why they were there.

"Last resort. I don't want to risk her getting hurt."

Vincent pushed at the ho fan in his bowl without hunger. The high pitched chime of reeve's phone cut into the silence and made them all start again. Vincent got to his feet, his expression painfully hopeful.

"Yes?"

A muffled reply came from the other end. It was hurried and alarmed.

"I… yes… we're coming."

He snapped the phone shut and shook his head, confused.

"I have some of my men stationed around the city in various points of interest. This one is down near the beach and… I don't really understand what he was trying to say there was a lot of noise. We need to get down there now before the officials show."

Vincent didn't say a word. He grabbed his coat and threw it over his suit hiding the business man away beneath shadow and purpose. His long strides forced the others to run to keep up.

…

"Sir!"

A slender man with a shock of blond hair pushed his way out of a small building. He was pale and had the look of someone who recently been ill.

"Martin, are you unwell?"

The man heaved and put a hand over his mouth. Then looked left and right.

"Not much time." He pointed behind him through what appeared to be a very small exotic butcher store. Game meat hung from slender rope in the windows and lay in neatly carved rows beneath glass.

Vincent forged ahead without waiting for the others. He didn't look behind him to see if they followed. He pushed through a back door that led into a cold storage. Carcasses of animals hung from sterile hooks that he had to push aside to get to the next doorway. Another of reeve's men was here, crouched down on the floor with his head in his hands. His shoulders shook with grief.

Vincent moved past him into the alley and stopped. The back alley was closed off from the rest of the streets creating an outdoor walled area that could only be accessed by the butcher shop. The smell was so strong his hands trembled from the effort of keeping on his feet.

Rubber slick mats lined the concrete floor and blood pooled between the wide holes. Slowly coagulating and permeating the space with sickening sweetness. At first Vincent couldn't see anything but bits of meat on large butcher blocks and animals hanging on hooks being bled before cutting. He moved slowly, feeling it, knowing it, and then his world fell apart.

Reeve reached Vincent first. His choking noise brought Vincent to his knees and he sat staring, unable to comprehend. It wasn't till Barrett's cry of anguish broke the silence that any of them seemed able to move. Cid turned and vomited into the corner.

All Vincent could hear was the soft 'tic tic tic' of blood dripping onto the rubber mat from the dismembered limbs of the human body on the table. Dark strands of hair matted into the drying blood, bits of flesh stuck to steel blades left abandoned and the lifeless open eyes of the woman he loved stared at him from the severed head laying on its side.

Cid sobbed in horror.

"Tifa…"

…

They had all returned to Tifa's hotel room and Vincent could not remember how. Time lost all meaning as they sat and stared into space. Barrett and Cid wept quietly, Reeve's eyes were red and bloodshot with restrained grief and Vincent was as good as dead.

None of them spoke. They sat together trying to make sense of the horror they had witnessed and the vision they would see in nightmares of years to come. The smell had set into their clothes and Vincent had her blood on his hands.

"Why?" Barrett choked it out with anger lacing his despair. "Why do this?"

Reeve took a deep breath forcing the words through his hoarse throat. "Maybe she found something out, or slipped free of their hold…"

"Or maybe it was us." They all stopped and looked at Vincent in horror.

"Us?" Cid sniffed.

"Yes. We've been following and looking. It's bound to attract attention. Killing her would be a way to stop us from digging around."

Reeve shook his head vigorously unable to take that idea in. He couldn't be responsible for her death; he could not deal with it. It was too awful to imagine.

Vincent stood and went into the bathroom turning on the hot water and locking the door. He stripped down and stepped into the harsh spray. Sinking to the tiled floor and letting the water jets punish him. It took a good five minutes before it his body let him release it and when he did the force of his heartbreak sent him onto his knees, shaking and naked.

He had failed her.

…

The next morning came with cruel cheer. The weather was perfect. The alleyway that Tifa had been found in had been cleaned out at some stage during the early hours and the guard that had been stationed was forced to watch from afar as it was removed of all evidence. The butcher shop was just a butcher shop once again, the owner was an old man and he clearly had no idea anything had occurred.

They had nothing.

Vincent lay in Tifa's bed not sleeping and breathing in the lingering scent of her perfume on the pillows. Reeve sat on the sofa occasionally answering calls on updates, but they were vague and came too late to have meaning. Cid had fallen asleep on the lounge and Barrett sat at his side red eyed and exhausted. None of them were able to function correctly.

Cerberus staff bought them breakfast that went cold and uneaten. They had all heard and none of the staff seemed willing to bother them at this time.

It was well after lunch and none of them had moved when Reeve's phone began to chime again. He ignored it and let it go to messaging. It rang almost immediately again. He glanced down and saw the neon flashing name of –Peter- on the screen. Peter was positioned as a bellboy in the Golden Sands where Vincent was staying.

Reeve flicked it open suspecting their cover had been blown. "Yeah."

He listened for a moment. His expression going from dead to confused.

"Vincent…" He didn't know what to say but his tone called Vincent to come from the bedroom. Vincent stood staring down at him while Reeve hit loudspeaker on his phone.

"Repeat that Peter."

"Repeat…? I said do you want me to have her followed or not? This fat ass suit is taking her down to the beach to go swimming. She's acting as his escort or something. No idea how we missed her coming in last night, but she appeared in the lobby this morning. Introduced herself as "Ruby". Poor Tifa. One of you guys needs to get her out of this fast."

Reeve and Vincent stared at one another.

"Have her followed." Reeve murmured motionless.

"Roger that."

The line went dead and Vincent dropped to knees breathing heavily.

"She's alive?"

"I don't know Vincent. I don't understand any of it. We have a lot of work to do."


	16. Chapter 16: Mimeo

Shadowplay

Chapter 16: Mimeo

* * *

After some struggling to gain their thoughts they sent Vincent back to the hotel with the reassurance it was safe to do so. Many of the patrons did not come home at night when they spent luxury time with significant company. Some of that company was not suitable to be bought back into the hotel.

Vincent walked through the foyer without looking at anyone and went straight to elevator. Reeve had given him a scrambler that would repeat his surveillance for at least 4 hours. The device recorded Vincent asleep through the already established camera and replayed it on a loop once he was completely still. When all the devices had been overridden by the static sound and repeated looping video footage the hand-held repeater vibrated gently.

Vincent jumped from the bed careful not disturb any items from the place they were already in and called Reeve.

"Well?"

'_I have a recording device. Turn on your laptop.'_

Reeve lay on the beach next to one of the Cerberus girls who was half draped over him lazily playing the part. Vincent saw a flash of skin before the camera was shifted to his right and zoomed in.

Air rushed from his lungs and left him empty. The sound of her laughter echoed through the microphone as she ran out of the arms of some wealthy slob. His pale body clearly had never seen the light of day. She looked perfect, smooth and healthy, nothing at all like the Tifa he had touched at Serpentine.

"That's not who I saw at Serpentine."

'_Are you certain?'_

"Absolutely. She had lost a lot of weight; she was pale and a dazed. This girl is tanned and healthy. Nothing like what I saw."

'_Vincent…'_

"Where is she Reeve? What if that was her?"

'_What if it wasn't?'_

"I need to find her." He winced realising how telling that was. "Find out more. Tell me when I wake."

Vincent closed his phone slowly. He wasn't sure he would be able to sleep but he had to try. He felt weak as a kitten from the emotional drain and he could not wipe the memory away or remove the scent from his clothing. He had to hope that she was still alive and this horror would end.

When he did finally fall asleep it was brief and troubled, filled with the vision of Tifa's dead eyes and the steady tic-tic of her blood dripping on rubber mats.

…

Tifa sat in the hard wooden chair and stared sightlessly at the people in front of her.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" The woman slammed a paper weight onto the desk so hard it left a deep scratch in the wood.

"You do not donate enough money to kill the product!"

"She wasn't getting with my program." The man shrugged. He had a bad smile.

"It's the equivalent of abusing the mentally retarded you IDIOT they are still going to understand fear and distress you cannot beat them and rape them and expect them to not fight you. Keep your disgusting appetites away from my children or next time you will be chopped into tiny pieces."

The man glared at the woman. Tifa blinked slow and heavy, and then shrank back when he leered at her.

"I won't clean-up for you again Reyn. The boss has been notified." He stormed out angrily and Tifa looked to the woman with distress.

"There now Princess, everything is fine." She took her arm and led her carefully down the hall. "How about we do your check up and have some tea and cake?"

Tifa smiled, "That sounds nice."

"Good darling. Then maybe you can rest for a while." Tifa relaxed feeling the warmth and safety fill her. Everything was fine.

…

Reeve cycled a watch on the healthy Tifa while Vincent rested. He doubted he actually was going to get much sleep, but he needed to maintain the persona and they were unsure how much he was being monitored through the hotel surveillance. Reeve was certain he wanted to tear the city apart.

Reeve was forced to drop his tail or he risked being seen. He had one of the Cerberus girls enjoying a day off and called her to trail along through the beach side entertainment nearby Tifa and her companion. He was now waiting on her to contact him while he sat back in Tifa's hotel room with Barrett.

Cid had excused himself and gone to contact Shera and Marlene. They agreed to not tell Shera anything yet. There was no point in distressing her when they had no idea themselves what was happening and Cid needed her innocent enthusiasm to boost his morale. Barrett had already spoken to Marlene earlier and by the time Cid came back from his room they both appeared more at ease.

"They're fine. Nothing happening out there."

Reeve nodded, turning his phone over in his hand. They had to wait.

Cid sat down on the edge of the lounge next to Barrett and looked at Reeve uneasily.

"Vincent went to sleep?"

"He has to appear to be sleeping even if he isn't. He needs some time…" Reeve rubbed his eyes, exhausted.

"So… what… what are we looking at here?" Cid shifted. A nervous inability to sit still was gripping him. None of them seemed to want to say it. Barrett took the lead.

"Clones? Cloning? We know Shinra loved their genetic creations so this shouldn't be a big step. It's really the only explanation for what we saw."

He was frowning. The shock of what they saw was still too raw and close to the surface. They were working to smother it. Cid patted his shoulder.

"Yeah, they had all those clones in Nibelheim remember. But they were like… empty. The Tifa on beach looked really… alive."

Reeve nodded.

"I remember those Nibel clones. The technology is sound and easily reproduced by any decent biomedical engineer. Hojo was always all about reproducing the ultimate soldier. This isn't like old Shinra though. This is in the streets not locked away in a lab. How many could be out there?"

"What about the money?" Barrett waved a hand at the pinned notes and lines. Reeve shook his head.

"I have no idea."

They were sitting in silence wading through the thick mud of their thoughts in an effort to start drawing ideas when Reeve's phone rang giving them all a start. He fumbled with it before flicking it open.

"Sam?" He put it on loudspeaker.

'_Hey boss. So I lost her a couple of times in the crowd down here but then I finally found her again. They took her down an alley near iNova and it was blocked from view till I got up on a balcony nearby. I had to watch through the lens of my camera. Damn difficult to make it look like I was just a tourist so I missed parts of what happened. It was the oddest thing. The fat guy handed her over to a bunch of suits, shook their hands and walked away and then she just… I don't know… feinted? They dragged her in through a maintenance door and I haven't seen a thing since. But I did do one thing for you.'_

"What?"

'_Mr pasty, the guy who was with her? His name is Daniel King. He's some business wank that used to be in the good with Shinra senior, but he lost a lot of money and power after Avalanche put a dent in the company. He's staying in the Golden Sands same as Vincent. Thought you might want to know.'_

"Thank you Sam. Enjoy your holiday."

'_Thanks boss, you bought me the best presents today.' _She laughed and the sound was cut off by the call disconnection.

Reeve called the group to meet at Tifa's

…

They hadn't expected the sight that met them when they arrived in Tifa's suite. Vincent was dressed in his traditional black and red and seated at the table calm as could be. There was a black cloth covering the space in front of him and weapons lay shining and well-loved upon it.

He had a polishing rag in one hand and Death Penalty in the other. His gauntlet glinted when he moved.

Reeve moved slowly to the other side of the table to sit. "Vincent…?"

"Did I ever tell you about what it was like to work within Shinra's Research and Development labs?"

Reeve shook his head, and even though Vincent never looked up from what he was doing he seemed to sense the movement in his peripheral.

"I know you all think I am the way I am as a result of what happened to me directly, and being a victim of endless torture will definitely change a person, but do you know what haunts me the most?"

He didn't wait for a response.

"We have fought a lot of battles together and apart. But never once have any of you seen the depth of human depravity that I have witnessed. You've fought monsters and evil and all the while it had a face that was simple and easy to define. You knew the enemy, the evil looked like evil and it was up front about it. Right there defying you to come and end it and when you did fight it was almost theatrically planned. Flashing swords and mako fuelled powers."

His smile was humourless and cold.

"True evil is not so easily defined. It sits across you from at your dinner table, it shakes your hand in an office, and it passes you in the street. Men and women are more cruel and evil than any monster."

"What I remember most about those years, apart from Lucrecia, was the amount of times I had to pretend not to see. The blood on the hands of those around you, eating dinner with a man you saw disembowel a child, laughing with a woman in an elevator who you knew invented a vaccine that really tested mind control substances, loving a woman who was pregnant with an abomination born of ambition and greed. Walking into labs that were more red than white and seeing so many limbs and intestines that the number of bodies it would have taken to create that mess was immeasurable, and the smell. I will never forget that smell, of sterile bleach and blood and rotting flesh."

He placed the gun down on the table and looked up for the first time. Reeve was pale but composed. Barrett and Cid were notably distressed.

"I know you are going to say we need a plan and that this is a matter of delicacy. I can see your concern Reeve, but believe me when I say that what we saw of Tifa's body is nothing compared to what we don't see and if you aren't prepared, if you aren't going to be able to deal with more of that than you need to walk away now. This isn't a game of good guys verses the bad guys. The lines are going to start to blur and you're going to have to decide what you are willing to ignore, and whether you can live with that blood on your hands."

He stood up and started arming himself. Sliding guns into holsters and knives into sheaths.

"Where are you going Vincent?"

"You didn't honestly think I was sleeping all that time did you Reeve?" It was rhetorical. "I'm going to say hello to our new friend, and let's hope he is weak willed and a talker. Because if he isn't, I have been well versed in the horrors one person can inflict on another and he's going to have a great deal of regret."

"Vincent you can't kill him!" Reeve stood and Vincent's cold smile made him freeze in place.

"My dear Reeve, if you think the worst thing I can do to this man is killing him then you are more innocent than I imagined."

He left before any of them could comprehend what had just happened.

* * *

So I am sick. Intensely dying sick, of horrible plague germs brought into the house my oldest daughter. Please forgive me if there is typos and anomalies because at the moment it's lucky I remember the English language.

Thank you to everyone who has been sending me such amazing reviews. I don't know if you are told enough how much of a difference those make to the esteem of the person writing and for me it's been huge boost to know that you're enjoying reading. Thanks again, I really truly appreciate every one of them.

I'm going to go die in a corner now.

_Edit: No I am not terminally ill. I feel like I am dying though. Death would be welcome at this stage of sickness._


	17. Chapter 17: Malice

Shadowplay

Chapter 17: Malice

* * *

Daniel King didn't know what hit him. One moment he was entering his hotel room on the tail end of a very good day, the next moment he was grabbed from behind, his hands wrenched between the back support bars of the chair he had been about to eat from. Hard plastic of a zip-tie was pulled too tightly and cut into his podgy wrists. Cutting off the circulation and causing his fingers to tingle from blood loss.

He had been about to scream when thick fabric was shoved into his mouth and his eyes blindfolded tightly. A hand grasped him around his neck beneath his jaw squeezing painfully into his jowls. Truthfully Vincent got a strange kind of satisfaction out of watching him try to draw enough oxygen through his nose.

"Listen very carefully Mr King. I am not going to hurt you so long as you answer every question I am about to ask with one hundred percent honesty. If you lie to me I will retaliate, if you try to yell for help I will make you regret it and if you somehow try to escape from me it will be the last thing you ever do. I do not like to ask the same question twice and having to dig for details gives me a headache. If you understand what I have just said and you are ready to begin then nod your head and I will remove the gag. Understood?"

He nodded shakily with a groan.

"Are you ready?"

There was a pause, then again he nodded. The man was trembling with fear. Vincent cringed from the scent of his sweat then removed his gag. Daniel King coughed a gagged fresh air into his body.

"Who are you? What do you want?" His croaking panic brought a smile to Vincent's face.

"I'll be asking the questions today Mr King. The woman you were at the beach with today. What is her name?"

"You're watching me? Why are you watching me?!"

Fabric was shoved back into his mouth cutting off his questions, a hand covered the gag preventing it from being pushed from his lips and another hand grasped his bound hands. It slid to his fingers, grasped his little finger on his left hand and with one fluid motion snapped the bones like glass. His screams were cut off by the hand covering his mouth. He began to weep.

"I am by character not the type of man to do this manner of thing Mr King. But you see there was something of mine that was taken from me and I would very much like it back. So much so I am not above using the most direct course of action to obtain it. Now you will answer my questions and I will let you go and when I do you can go far-far away and pretend this never happened. Do we have an understanding?"

He nodded rapidly, crying out behind the gag. Vincent gave him some time to calm down and let the pain numb. He was a soft target, but he needed to know Vincent wouldn't take any half answers or secrecy. He removed the gag once King had stopped his guttural moaning.

"The woman, her name."

"T..they don't have names…" He fell into a moment of sobbing and keening.

"They? Explain."

"You don't know? Of course… no, no, no… they will kill me if I talk about it!"

"I will kill you if you don't."

"No, no…" He sobbed shaking his head. "My wife… she can't have children. We just wanted children."

"How does the woman fit in this equation?"

"498? She's just the tissue host. I paid for the meet test and I paid for her organs."

There was a deathly silence. Vincent's voice was ice and steel. Eerily cold.

"498. You will start from the beginning. How you got here, how this started. Talk."

He nodded, stumbling over vowel noises while he tried to think.

"I… my wife can't have children. She had cancer and she had a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. So… so we sought many different avenues so she could have a child herself. She wants to give birth. But the artificial implants aren't reliable and they get rejected and they can kill the mothers. I... I told a friend and he said that he knew of a company that dealt in organ replacement, regrowth and genetic development."  
"I had to pay a years' worth of my company's earnings just to get the first appointment. They took DNA off my wife and grew new ovaries and uterus inside the genetic host. 498 is my wife's match for blood type and the DNA doesn't reject."

Vincent felt like he wanted to be ill. "Then what?"

"The organs are removed from the tissue host and in to the donor reciprocate. All medical care is included, a personal physician for the duration of healing and in our case until after the birth of our child. All the medication needed… everything! They even have a dietician that takes care of her diet so she's healthy as possible before the surgery."

"Why get a host. Why not just clone her and harvest those organs?"

"They fail. The copies genetically replicate the original health problems of the original. Cloning Kimmy would have made a healthy copy to begin with but the cervix would eventually have become cancerous, and implanted in Kimmy it could kill her. All the host DNA is pure of genetic abnormalities. They go through intense screening."

"Why were you on the beach with her if she is just a host?"

He was hesitatingly silent. Stumbling over the first vowel of his sentence.

"I… I… "

"I'm not very patient today Mr King."

"S… sometimes there are perks…"

"Perks…"

"I can pay to attempt to impregnate the host personally before the surgery." His words rushed out and it took a moment for them to sink in. He had worded it to sound as if it were merely a medical issue. Vincent saw right through it.

"People have sex with their organ donors?"

"Not all of them! Just… some of them… if you pay well. But there are factors…"

"One million gil?"

"That's the standard appointment fee with them."

"Seven hundred and eighty thousand gil?"

"Management pharmaceuticals. You only need those if you are going to do what I did… if you want to take them out."

"Management pharmaceuticals? That is a very pretty name for a control drug. Why are they needed?"

"They… the copies… get programmed… it's pretty basic psychological input. They're just convinced they're escorts. The medication stops them from going off track. They have no history, if they try to think too much they can go crazy. I don't know much else I swear!"

"What do you mean they have no history? Those men and women came from somewhere."

"They're just lab bred copies. Not all of them are for organs either. There are different departments. My buddy… the one who sent me to them. He bought his mistress from them. When she expires he buys a new vessel."

"Vessel?!" Vincent was having trouble keeping his rising anger at bay.

"The copies are shells, they have to be programmed and reprogrammed and their brains can't take it. Eventually the brain function just stops and they die. The longest one has lasted is a year. They just lie down and stop."

Vincent was glad that King couldn't see his face. He kept having flashbacks of when he was strapped down to a table being poked and prodded with needles. Only this time he could see Tifa in his place. Hear her screaming and pleas in his ears.

"Where are the originals?"

"They told me the original is dead. They took the DNA from the body and they did some kind of concentrated version of the tissue and fluids so they could keep making more. That's where they get the DNA from. They called it bio-salvaging. T… they even have a discount if you agree to donate your own body to the company when you die."

Vincent swallowed. Closing his eyes and telling himself that either way he had to end this.

"What else do they do with the copies?"

"I… I don't know! Every client is different and they are really tight on security. It's still illegal to work with genetic recycling so we can't know anything about other clients. So far as I know it's mostly just organ donors."

Vincent had been quiet so long and in his own thoughts that he started when King's shaky voice broke the tense silence.

"A… are you still there?"

"iNova is responsible for this?"

"No. I mean yes but not like you think. iNova just owns research and development labs. This sector is not connected to the rest of the company. It's all very private. I signed a waiver! If they find out I talked they will kill me and my wife!"

"I want names."

"I… I really don't know… "

"Names, Mr King. You have nine more digits I haven't broken and all ten of them are still attached."

"T… the woman who runs the internal lab, they call her Miss Long. I… I think her name is Meredith? There are many other doctors, I don't them all but our doctor is Andrew Chan. Sophie is always at the reception and… and Mr Tseng interviewed me."

"Tell me about Mr Tseng."

"When my friend gave me a number to call it was Mr Tseng I talked to. I had to meet him and he asked me a list of questions and then made sure I understood the legalities behind what I was asking. He made sure I knew the risks and then I had to sign all the paperwork and pay a fortune before I was even allowed to know where the building was so my wife could give tissue samples."

"The iNova building."

"Huh? No… that's just offices and a pick-up drop-off point for day trips. I mean the real building, where the labs are."

"And where is that building Mr King?"

Vincent could see him shivering from shock and fear. He was running out of information and beginning to wonder what was next. Vincent could also tell he didn't want to name this building.

"Mr King?"

He began to weep. "Please… please don't make me tell you. They will kill my wife."

"If you ever want to see your wife again you will tell me where this building is."

Vincent had to wait for King to stop sobbing and pleading. He just leant back patiently waiting for the man to realise he wasn't getting anywhere. He was just too pathetic to torture any further. He would more than likely just pass out.

"Mr King?"

King took a few more gasping breaths and then he squeaked out his answer.

"T… there's an old mansion… manor house… outside of the city…"

"Leon's place on the edge of town?"

King shook his head. "No… further out. You have to go south towards the mountains, about a day's travel. You could miss it if you don't know where it is. I… I only ever went a couple of times with Mr Tseng and the rest of the time they meet me here. My donor is almost ready; this was the last time I was to meet here before my wife has surgery."

"That's impossible… she's only been gone two weeks. How could they make copies of her and grow what you need in that time?"

"A copy can be made in forty eight hours as long as it is a simple one. But the less time spent on it the more basic it is. My copy is ten days old. She's been getting programming every day and she's been growing organs with my wife's DNA for over a week. When the time comes, all her organs will be harvested and cryo-secured for my wife's future health."

Vincent took a deep breath trying to get a grasp of the concepts.

"What do you know about Mako?"

King frowned behind his blindfold, "The drug? Nothing! Why would I know anything about that?!"

"Tell me the directions to the labs."

"South… follow the main road out of town and then turn right when you see the sign that says Corel Heights."

"Corel Heights is a wasteland."

He shook his head. "There is still a manor there. The labs, the hospital it's all underneath the manor. Like a never-ending basement."

"I won't have trouble finding it?"

"No, it's almost the only thing standing. Just look for the sign."

"There's a sign?"

"A sign… a wooden placard hanging next to a tall wrought gate."

"What's it say King?"

"It's a name, something Wutaiin. I don't remember!"

Vincent felt weakened and had to remind himself it was only his emotions that had wilted him not his strength. He pushed away from the table and moved behind King's chair.

"You will not mention this to anyone. You finger was an accident, you will go about your business behaving as normal understood."

King nodded.

"Now I want you to count out loud to one hundred."

King started counting in a shaking sobbing voice. Vincent cut his wrist tie and was gone before he got to ten.


	18. Chapter 18: Crack

Shadowplay

Chapter 18: Crack

* * *

Tifa couldn't move. Every now and then she came into consciousness and it felt like each time was becoming longer and longer between waking. He head felt like lead, her muscles screamed in protest to the constant abuse, and her mouth was dry. She was severely dehydrated, malnourished, suffering from drug induced confusion.

"498 is waking again."

Tifa couldn't focus on the faces. There was blurred white and grey, the smell of sterile bleach and blood, and a cold and hard bed. Her thoughts welay fragmented nto simple things.

"Yeah that one is almost expired. She developed a resistance to most of the drugs and she's got almost nothing left. Just put her under with a double dose."

"Why is she still in here then?"

Something cold snaked into Tifa's arm. It made her tremble.

"She's going to be a donor I think. But she's also a virgin and you know how the boss feels about those."

"Ugh… fair enough." A hand touched her head. "Sorry sweetheart you're one of the special ones."

The world went black.

…

The other three men almost had a heart attack when Vincent dropped out of nowhere in through the window. He moved casually, and Reeve noticed not for the first time that this is when Vincent frightened him the most. Frightened? Yes. He had to admit it. The others all had dark moments in their pasts that made them wonder at what type of men they really were, but Vincent, he was born of dark moments. Darkness actually seemed to welcome him.

Reeve let the flight of fancy steal his imagination a moment long enough so that Vincent's hand startled him into gasping. The dark eyebrow arched at him curiously. It was not accusing and yet Reeve could tell that Vincent had an inkling of where his mind had gone.

"Did you… did you learn anything?"

"Hmm." Vincent's responding noise was affirmative and unsatisfactory. He let them him wait, tying together the strings of information in his mind and marvelling at the many-faceted horror. It was the hidden facets that were fascinating him now. He wondered if Tifa were alive and yet wouldn't let himself dwell on it. Until he found her with definitive proof he told himself she was alive. It was the only way to keep moving.

After getting a drink, sitting and staring into space for a long moment he told them what he had learnt. He left out pieces, just enough not to alarm them into doing anything rash. He chose not to tell them she might have been ssoldthasold for sex of that her shelf life was brief and probably running if not run out by now. Then he watched them with fascination as their expressions shifted.

Cid truly looked confused. Vincent admired that about Cid, despite his rough exterior he was actually a good and kind man. The depths of depravity couldn't take seat in logical thought. Barrett seemed stoic but Vincent could see the alarm in his eyes. He had already filled in some blanks and his fear was plain. Fear for Tifa, fear for all of them. Reeve looked sad. He had worked with Shinra long enough to know what the blanks represented without having to see them. He looked at Vincent and the two shared a moment of understanding. She was probably dead. They needed to find out.

"Do you have any kind of plan?" Reeve folded his arms protecting himself from his own emotions.

"Not exactly."

Vincent smiled. It didn't touch his eyes.

"Let me help Vincent. At least let me stage a distraction big enough to create an opening for you. I'll set you up with audio and video receivers so we can follow you in. There is no guarantee you won't need our help."

Vincent nodded once. A barely noticeable movement of his head that Reeve was accustomed to enough to register. Reeve stood and went about getting the micro visual and audio wire to attach to Vincent that wouldn't annoy him, while Vincent went about checking his weapons.

"Vince…"

"No." Vincent looked up at Barrett sharply cutting off his words. "It's going in hard and I need to move fast. Help Reeve and keep me updated."

Barrett nodded and chose not to argue. Vincent suspected he was a bit grateful as he didn't want to witness a repeat of the butcher shop. Reeve reappeared with a steel case and sat down.

"We're going to need to get some idea of the building before you go off half cocked."

Vincent rose an eyebrow and Reeve had the good grace to look slightly embaressed. Vincent knew that Reeve wanted to feel like he could do something to help find Tifa, and both of them knew that Reeve was not capable of running into a fight. He did work for Shinra but he was in no way trained in combat at any stage. His strength was intellectual.

Vincent gave a nod,abandoning his weapon check to move to Tifa's bedroom. He called out over his shoulder.

"I need to sleep. Wake me when you have information."

...

After restless sleep where all Vincent could smell was the floral of Tifa's perfume on the pillows he eventually abandoned attempts and went out to see what he had missed.

"You haven't been asleep long Vince."

"Yeah." Vincent waited for Reeve to state something more useful. He sighed and gestured for Vincent to sit with him and go over the details.

"The manor if fairly simplistic as far as design goes. It's alot like your manor in Nibelheim. Two floors, two wings, one major difference. It took some digging with Corel development but a few years ago they had an underground expansion done to the building. At least two basement levels beneath."

Vincent stared at the building schematics unmoving. Reeve waited patiently. Vincent's photographic memory would take in every air vent and exit and commit them without error, it could mean the difference between life and death.

"Got it... Wait..."

He spun the schematic around and looked at the copyright information printed in the corner. Tiny fineprint of development dates, licencing and devlopment companies. But it was the last piece of fineprint that caught his attention.

"Did you see this?"

"Yes." Reeve nodded solemnly. "Let's just see what we find before we jump to conclusions."

Vincent nodded but he was frowning fiercly. They both did not think that was a coincidence and yet neither of them wanted to address the possibilities just yet.

"There is a full brick wall around the whole complex with security cameras and almost no cover outside those walls. The only thing I can think to do is get Cid to drop us on top of it in a surprise attack. There will only be about twenty of us and I know they have at least that many of their own, so you're going to have to be quick. We're going to drop in just outside the walls and set off a large explosion on the east wall. This should call most of the security detail to us and give you a window into the building. Courtesy of one of my men we also got you one of their uniforms. Hopefully they will overlook you running through the manor for a while."

Reeve cut off pensively. Vincent could tell he was trying to think of other details, anything he might have missed. Eventually he shook his head and lent back with his arms crossed.

"This is the best we have. We have no idea how many men are in there, what they may be armed with and whether or not there is security to overcome inside. There could be anything Vincent,"

"It's worth the risk."

They stared at eachother for a long moment. Both seeming to forget that Barrett and Cid were nearby listening and watching them.

"Do you love her?"

Vincent sighed. He parted his lips to answer and couldn't say it. So he just nodded once, almost inperceptively.

"If you find her..."

"When I find her."

"When you find her... You make sure you take care of her. Don't you dare take her for granted one single day. She's had enough of that shit from Cloud and she deserves a good life."

"I'd do anything for her Reeve."

"Good. Because if you forget it for one moment don't think I wont come and take her from you."

They watched eachother silently. Letting that understanding settle between them.

"Let's go find her first Reeve. Then she can decide for herself."

...

The quick drop was exactly that. Once they had prepared everything they would need and readied Cid's Shera for the drop they found themselves at the moment sooner than expected. Vincent had dressed in the black body armour of that Reeve had found for him, jamming the hat over his head and donned a pair of black glasses to hide his eyes.

He dropped from the Shera just inside the North wall only seconds before the west wall blew apart from the explosives. He stayed low in the minimal brush waiting for men to run past before he ran to the building. Instantly finding his first hurdle.

"HEY!" Whatever the guard had been about to say got cut off when Vincent raised his arm and smashed his elbow into the man's nose. He only grunted before hitting the ground. The body was relieved of his security ID and rolled behind a nearby crate. With a swipe and a digital beep Vincent found his gratification. The door swung open and allowed him into the complex.

Once inside Vincent had to stop and listen. For the most part all the noise seemed to be centralised to where Reeve's men were shooting on the guards. The sound of rapid fire echoed hollow inside the hall. There were some hurried footsteps in and around but nothing else he could determine. Till there was a low hiss. He frowned and walked slowly towards the sound. A woman was standing there holding a heavy bio-grade steel door open and looking down into a neon lit staircase. She glanced up at him.

"Hurry up! If you're going down with them then get in so I can close this."

Vincent ran forwards and down the stairs. She closed the door behind him. He guessed the getting out part would be a later problem.

_"That was convenient." _

"Nothing is ever that simple."

Reeve's agreeing hmm echoed back at him._ "I'm guessing that part will come when you try to get out."_

Vincent didn't answer. He was eyeing the team of people that had come down before him. A man and woman in labcoats were hastily giving orders about wiping systems and uploading the data to what they referred to as the 'Master Drive'. Three men dressed exactly as Vincent was ran off in different directions to start the "clean up".

_"Rats jumping ship?" _Reeve sounded pleased.

"Indeed. Looks like they are going to a set of offices on my left... I think this wall on my right is the edge of the level, so I need to get through here. Any idea which way I should be going?"

_"My guess. Down. If it were me I would make this level the administrative level. Less chance of anyone seeing something they shouldn't and in case of emergency. Burn everything from the bottom up."_

Vincent was impressed by Reeve's intelligent evaluation. He had thought much the same thing. Without responding he broke away from the stairwell and walked straight across the room. The man and woman on the left could clearly see him if they took the time. The hope was that they took him for one of the other men in the clean up team. One of which he ran into a moment later.

The man was pouring files out of filing cabinets into a giant metal industrial bin. His movement was haphazard and rapid. Often dropping the whole draw in. Everything in sight that might hold information was being thrown in behind the files and in the distance Vincent could hear a similar sound where the other men were doing the same.

To his right a hall opened up and in the distance he could see what he assumed was an elevator. He was about to turn towards when the clean up crew must have seen him.

"Hey!" Vincent sighed and turned around. He feigned casual annoyance at being interrupted. One eyebrow raising above his glasses in question.

"What?"

"Nothin'... Just hurry up before the collection ends. I wanna be outta here before it burns."

Vincent nodded and headed towards the had a strong feeling he was not meant to be going this way and the guard behind him knew it. Suspicious eyes were drilling into his back.

With a push of a button the door opened and that was as far as Vincent got when he saw the ID scanner inside the elevator.

"Shit.." He swiped the card he had lifted, a negative beep resounded back at him letting him know it was not going to happen.

"Reeve?" The guard at the other end was now heading towards him. One hand delving into his tactical vest for either a weapon or a radio. Vincent kept his eyes on him so Reeve was aware.

_"There's a panel behind the scanner try and jar it off the..."_

His last words were cut off by Vincent grabbing the guard by his throat. The arm, which was holding a radio, snapped viciously with a jerk of Vincents hands. His neck followed and no sound was made. Vincent dropped the body and took the radio, and tried using the new guards card. It beeped negative as well.

"You were saying?"

* * *

Thanks for all the awesome feedback so far. I really love hearing from everyone. I was going to makine this my last Vin/Tif story for a while as I was going to go and do something Mass Effect Femshep/Alenko. But now I am totally torn. I love Vincent. What would you guys like me to write about after this one? Also my laptop died a horrible painful death and while I still have my PC I don't like writing on it. (It's a gamer thing I think). So I have gone and got myself this shiny new tablet with a keyboard dock and while I love the tablet it is kind of painful to write on lol. So I apologise for any errors in advance while I try and learn my new toy.


	19. Chapter 19: Trauma

Shadowplay

Chapter 19: Trauma

* * *

Reeve stuttered the instructions to help Vincent break through the security lift. The door closed and through Reeve didn't say anything Vincent could tell he was ruffled by the cold way he had assassinated the last guard.

The doors opened and for a moment Vincent was at a loss for words. There were several people scattered throughout in white disconnecting monitors and turning off systems. Men dressed similar to him were piling only there was significantly less that Vincent could see. That wasn't the interesting part of this level. The sides of the room were lined with mako chambers with bodies suspended in the fluid. The middle of the room was body after body on steel surgical style beds and the smell. He closed his eyes and let the pain sweep over him. Anger bubbled up, hatred met it, and he must have made a sound. Reeve's voice came at him concerned and warning.

_"Vincent take a deep breath."_

Vincent didn't respond. He stalked into the room with purpose, ignoring the glances from the medical staff, and made his way down the middle of the room which seemed to go on forever. Four rows deep of beds not including the mako chambers. He didn't have time for this. The sharp gasp of the woman closest to him met his cold gaze the hard press of his gun to her forehead.

"I'm looking for someone."

The woman shook her head. Eyes darting left and right periodically. "I don't know their names."

"Four-nine-eight."

The woman gestured towards a computer. He pushed her towards it with the barrel of his gun and let her click away quickly.

"She's a donor. She'll either be down there." She nodded towards where several medical staff were buzzing around beds near a couple of guards. All too busy to notice them. "Or they moved her."

"Moved her where?"

"Back there, tunnels."

Vincent dropped his gun from her head. "If I were you I would leave here. Now." The girl nodded and ran to the elevator. Did was not inclined to prevent her from walking into gunfire. She contributed to the horror she could live with it.

He turned towards where the five at the end and started making his way down between the beds. As he got closed he realised what he thought was a duct tube in the middle of the room was actually a mako chamber. The glass facing away from him. He moved around it and glanced back briefly only to pause. Slowly he turned and stared at the body floating in the chamber. The life system monitor next to the body was flat. It was dead, suspended for preservation of DNA.

_"Oh my god. Vincent... what in the fuck is going on?"_ Vincent placed his hand on the glass.

"I can't get him out Reeve. I don't have time."

_"This is going to kill her."_

Vincent stared a little longer. Taking in the emaciated body and the evidence of many intrusive medical acts in the form of holes and scar tissue. This was the type of horror he had come to expect. Personal.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I didn't know." He dropped his hand and walked from the tube. "Rest well Cloud. You're in good company."

...

Vincent did not hear what Reeve had said after that. He barely registered the desperate tone of his voice before he took out the first guard. Cold metal claws wrapped around the throat of the second guard before the poor guy even had a second to register. Vincent felt no mercy for them. They were all that was wrong with the world, far be it for him to slow their removal. Metal crushed flesh, cracked bone and stole life so rapidly that Reeve only saw blurred movement and the dead bodies. The medical staff was executed. Vincent shot them in the head consecutively before looking at the bodies.

"There are lives that can still be saved here Reeve. Get a team in here before they clean house."

_"Vincent..."_ He sounded horrified.

"If you expect me to feel guilty Reeve than you have throughly underestimated the person I am. If you're going to try to appeal to some manner of compassion in me you wont find it, and if you don't wont to see more of the same. Stop watching."

Vincent turned off the earpiece so he could concentrate. A giant circular passage opened into a tunnel and led off towards the north. The passage and door were big enough that a truck backed up into it in order to load the the patients in and out. Clever. The truck was empty, they were still loading in the last of the patients but he gathered some must have been moved already. He took the truck and floored it down the tunnel.

It seemed to take forever before the little guide lights on the roof and sides of the tunnel gave way to natural light ahead, But it couldn't have been more than twenty minutes. There was a team at the end and they were clearly not in a hurry. Several other trucks were being rearranged, they were ready to go. They must have been waiting on this last truck. As he pulled up he caught the words of a woman, from her tone he instantly knew she was charge.

"I want truck one to go to Edge lab and truck two to go Wutaii. We have already arranged for ship transports to meet you to at the docks and you can just drive right on. There will be medical teams onboard the ship to monitor the cargo while you are in transit. You must make contact with the head office every two hours to assure transport is going as planned. Do not deviate from your path, do not call anyone else."

The sound of movement echoed around the mini encampment they had created outside the tunnel. Vincent drove right up and jumped out of the van without any of them seeming to notice him. At least that was until they opened the truck.

"This truck is empty. Where is the driver. HEY! Where are the hell are my patients?"

Meredith, to her credit, didn't look all that shocked when Vincent pulled Death Penalty and pointed at her head point black. She chuckled softly.

"He knows who you are you know. He just let you go not wanting to draw more attention to what was happening. Taking the girl was a bad idea but how often do you get the chance to play with someone who has been submerged in pure mako and lived? Too much to resist. The people around you are small fish in tiny ponds that lead into the ocean. Kill me if you like. It wont change what's going on."

Vincent didn't even flinch, he slowly drew back on the trigger. Around them panic had taken over and the medical team was fleeing. Guns were trained on him by the remaining security guards.

"I am going to kill you."

She nodded once. "She's in truck two."

There are defining moments that test a persons humanity and Vincent thought this must be one of them. Yet as he looked into the cold eyes of this woman, he saw no remorse, regret or compassion. He knew those eyes... He had let them live before and that moment had haunted him for decades. A slender thread of doubt rose to tempt him away from the path he was about to take. Perhaps he might have entertained the idea further but then he saw it, out of the corner of his eye, one of the patient stretchers was being unloaded and the shaky hand of a nurse held a gun to the dark hair spread over the white sheet.

"Oh sweetheart, did you make a bad choice."

The nurse paled, Meredith laughed again. "You are a fool. You wont leave here al..." Vincent pulled the trigger. Her blood sprayed across the face of the guard behind her and he was dead before he could register what was happening. Vincent snapped the neck of the second and smashed the head of the thrid into the face of the fourth. All of this in seconds before unloading his gun to the last of them. The nurse was close to urinating herself when Vincent's gun came to her face. She dropped the gun and held her hands up.

"Please..." Vincent lowered his hand slowly and she ran.

For the first time he allowed himself a look at the prone body in front of him. He brushed her hair away from her too pale face, untied the bindings that held her to the bed and lifted her into his arms. She weighed nothing. Her breathing so shallow he feared for a moment that he was too late. The feint flutter of movement in her wrists reassured him enough to get him moving.

"Reeve get these people looked at when you can."

He could still hear random gunfire in the distance. Carefully he moved Tifa into one of the smaller abandoned vehicles. He tucked her into the seat, carefully at his side, and floored it to the closest possible safe place. Barrett's house in North Corel.

...

Vincent had arrived long before the others had a chance to get to him. He had grabbed the town doctor and gone straight to Barrett's home. Tifa had been checked by the town doctor and now Vincent could be found sitting at her bedside in thought for nigh on ten hours when the others arrived. His hands were folded as if he were in prayer, fingertips resting against his lips when they all entered. Vincent was surprised to see Nanaki, He lent down and placed a hand on his missed friend. Vincent rose and gestured for them all to leave her to rest. He could tell by their faces they were distressed by the sight of the skin and bone body laying weak in the bed.

"Nanaki. It has been too long. Why did you come?"

"I wish it was for better reason my friend." Nanaki sat at Vincent's side. "You know I have helped from a distance gathering information. But first, will she recover?"

Vincent drew a hand over his face briefly. "She has severe blood loss, that is why she looks so pale. From the scarring the doctor determined she's had extreme amounts of bone marrow removed, her ovaries have been harvested and spirits knows what else. Healing materia has healed a great deal. Her blood will take time to regenerate."

Vincent changed the subject. "The other victims?"

It was Reeve who answered.

"There were over two-hundred bodies and more than half of them were dead inside the basement lab. The two trucks were split into deliveries, some of them were already dead. My guess would be they had some purpose yet to fulfill. Some died before we could stabilise them in hospitals. The rest are receiving intensive care."

They were all quiet for a long moment. It was Barrett who broke the silence.

"We recovered Cloud's body."

Vincent nodded, "Tifa will want him buried at the church. I think he would have wanted that too."

Reeve agreed, "I'll have him moved there when there is time."

"They were moving her to Wutaii." Cid crouched down, leaning his weight into his pole weapon. "The sign on the building..."

"Kisaragi."

Vincent growled and they all took a moment to think of what it could mean.

"Tifa will need weeks of rest and I am not leaving her till she is awake. Take this time to go back over everything. Let them think we've forgotten and let it go, and give Yuffie a call. See how her family is doing."

"Vincent, I heard what that woman said to you. Whoever did this knows us and what we are capable of."

Reeve held a hand out towards him. Almost begging him to tread carefully. Vincent noticed he seemed a little more wary than he used to be.

"Believe me Reeve. They have no idea what I am capable of."


	20. Chapter 20: Patience

Shadowplay

Chapter 20: Patience

* * *

The wait was excruciating. Tifa had to have IV's inserted to feed her much needed nutrients and fluids. While she hadn't gained any weight over the following week she had regained some colour and did seem to be relaxed in her sleep. They were all getting concerned by her lack of waking and even materia and Reeve's doctors could not reassure them she would. It was with mixed relief and alarm then when a sudden sharp and panicked screaming came from the bedroom accompanied by a loud smash. They all ran into the room to find Tifa collapsed onto the floor having smashed a lamp over the head of a physician. She looked up and burst into tears.

Vincent instantly wrapped her in his arms and pulled her into his lap where they sat on the floor. She buried her face in his neck and sobbed. The others gathered up the unconcious physician then left them alone so he could calm her. They sat like that without speaking for an hour. She fell asleep. Reeve came to check on them and knelt down at Vincent's side.

"She didn't say anything?"

He shook his head.

"She cried and fell asleep. She's exhausted and relieved to be safe, and knowing Tifa, probably more than a little angry."

Vincent rose and lay her back in the bed. Pulling the bed sheets back around before leaving the room with Reeve.

"How is Reyn?"

"Ahh he's fine. Bit chagrinned maybe. I sent him back to Wutaii headquarters to get some rest and look over the medical files for us. He'll keep in touch."

They both entered the sitting room and reassured the others she was alright. The automatic assumption was made that she had been severely disorientated when she woke somewhere else foreign and with a stranger leaning over her. They couldn't really blame her.

"It's a good sign." Reeve touched Vincent's shoulder but it felt odd. It was that moment that Vincent knew without a shadow of a doubt that their friendship had changed. While part of it had to do with Tifa, he suspected that it probably had a great deal to do with the lives he took. It would have seemed callous to Reeve. He did not understand anyone who lacked mercy. The sight of Vincent's callous execution had obviously changed Reeve's opinion of his friend. Vincent gave him a weak nod.

"So I rang Yuffie but she was busy being Princess. She said nothing much was happening and didn't seem unusual. Tifa's bar is doing alright, but Leanne says there had been some strange men hanging around for a little while that had made them feel uncomfortable A few weeks back. They have since not reappeared."

Reeve was pacing as he recalled the details.

"There was almost nothing left in the paperwork we recovered. They were clever. Someone came down behind you and set the bins alight. The computer systems were already deleted. The only files we managed to retrieve were the basic medical care files of the people they were loading onto the trucks. I suspect most of the files were uploaded to a main system before they purged everything. It's going to take some time before we have anything to make a move on."

Vincent found his thoughts travelling back to Tifa. In honesty he didn't give a damn about what they were up to at the moment. Either some of his frustration shone through or Nanaki's ability to read people had improved.

"Like Reeve said. There is not much to go on right now. I'm here to help so take your time making sure Tifa is alright. We can catch up when you're ready."

Nanaki stood up and did an exaggerated cat stretch before leisurely striding out of the house. Barrett and Cid hightailed it, there were off to Rocket Town to check on Shera and Marlene. Reeve sighed. He wanted to talk. Go over details. Strategise. Instead he found himself alone when Vincent went back to the bedroom and sat down at Tifa's sleeping side.

...

Vincent was grateful that Reeve seemed to have given up bothering him about details. He spent his time with Tifa waiting patiently for improvement. The day came, another week later, when he opened his eyes to find the room in darkness. The window had been opened and Tifa stood in the opening looking out at the dusty town in silence. She had pulled her canula from her arm so that the tube lay useless dripping saline onto the floor. He let himself enjoy the sight of her, still too thin, yet so beautiful. He let himself feel the relief to see her standing in front of him and then he stood and came behind her.

"Tifa."

He didn't want to frighten her by touching her without letting her know it was him. She didn't turn towards him. She just let him wrap an arm around her waist and lent against him closing her eyes.

"I was starting to worry you wouldn't come in time."

He voice was husky from long term dehydration and lack of use.

"So was I."

There was a long silence between them before Tifa spoke.

"I feel so weak. I hate them for that. Stay with me?"

Vincent didn't answer verbally. He picked her up into his arms and put her back on the bed. Letting her snuggle into him while he stroked her hair.

She sighed, "I dreamt of you while I was asleep."

Vincent let her fall back to sleep against his chest. He stared up at the ceiling unable to sleep again. He had thought this moment wouldn't happen and even as he held her a part of him worried that she wasn't real. Just a copy and soon he would find out that the real Tifa was gone. He refused to let the thought play. For now at least, she was here.

...

Vincent made Tifa simple toast and tea. He didn't think she would eat much yet and he dissuaded her from moving around. He sat with her on the bed while tried to nibble at it. Helped her to the bathroom and stood guard while she showered in case she needed help, and held her when she threw up the toast. When the others woke Tifa was leaning back against Vincent's chest with her eyes closed nursing her tea. She had made him tell her what had happened to her and what he knew, and how they had rescued her. She lay whispering stories to him of pieces she could remember and things she was unsure were dream or reality, about her fear, but mostly her anger. She asked about Shera, Marlene and the bar and he knew it was really Tifa then.

Barrett and Cid had bought Shera and Marlene back with them for a visit. It was Barrett who entered first and sat on the edge of the bed reaching out to embrace her carefully.

"Look at ya'll skin and bones girl. You get better you hear? I Want you with us when we go after them huh?"

He paused and gave her a squeeze. "I'm sorry bout' Cloud."

Tifa froze. "Cloud?"

Vincent stiffened. Barrett met his eyes over Tifa's shoulder and he shook his head indicating he hadn't told her yet. He thought to let her get used to being awake before he hit her with the worst parts of what they had seen and had happened. Uncluding the dissected version of herself in the butcher shop. Tifa turned and looked at Vincent with confusion.

"Cloud must have been taken some time ago. Well before you. He had died quite a while before we found him. Reeve had him moved to Midgar, so he can be buried in Aeris's church."

Tifa turned to looked at Reeve and Cid in the doorway. She saw a glimpse of Shera behind them.

"Oh."

What else could be said? Tifa fell back against Vincent and stared into space with a blank expression. They all shared the moment of silence thinking of Cloud. He had been a pain in the ass, but he had helped them and for whatever it had been worth Tifa had loved him once.

"How long?"

Reeve answered. "We're not sure how long since he..."

"No. How long before you go after them?"

Her rage fairly radiated off her. She trembled and Vincent squeezed her gently.

"A few weeks maybe. We're still gathering the pieces of the puzzle."

"I want to go to Rocket Town. I need time to train and recover. When you're ready I'm going with you."

Reeve sighed. "Tifa..."

"No! I'm going."

Reeve nodded, touching Cid's shoulder and gesturing for him to follow outside. Barrett gave Tifa another hug and went with them. Shera rushed in and spent the afternoon fussing over Tifa and taking a list from her about what things she would need. She had no clothes or personal items. Vincent left them to their business and went to join the others.

Reeve turned to him and held out a hand clearly about to ask Vincent to talk Tifa out of wanting to go with them. Vincent put his hands up stopping him before he asked.

"Even if I could talk her out of it I'm not sure I would."

Reeve had the good sense not to push it.

...

It turned out that several weeks was exactly eighteen days later. Tifa had gone to Rocket Town with Shera and Marlene, insisting that the others return to doing whatever it was they needed to while she was left in peace. Shera became her carer and therapist for lack of an official one and Vincent spent most of his time travelling to question the surviving patients to see how they had gotten into the labs. He hadn't seen Tifa for over two weeks.

The last task they had undergone had been invading the lab in Kalm. They were surprised when one of the patients had been able to give them directions so clearly to where he come from, he had even fingered one of the town's own doctors for involvement. They uncovered that there were countless labs spread out throught the world as the patients seem to come from every direction and every walk of life. The only thing they had in common is that all of them had been drugged when they had been taken. After long and endless trolling of notes and information they had at last discovered an almost exact location for the Wutaiin lab. It was here they had learnt could possibly be the alpha lab, and it had been the one where Tifa was being sent.

The decision was made to meet back in Rocket Town. Shera was the first to meet them with Marlene running straight into a Barrett bear hug. Shera hugged Cid tightly and then looked at Vincent, her expression was a concerned frown.

"She just trains, eats and uses healing materia. She doesn't say much of anything, but she's eating. It's just... she is hell bent on revenge. She keeps saying she wants her bracelet back."

Cid exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Bracelet? The hell she talkin' bout?"

"Shadow Wolf." Vincent slipped past them and went out into the backyard. Tifa was standing with her back to the door with headphones on, her left arm gleaming with materia while she beat the living hell out of a punching bag hanging from a tree. Vincent waited. He didn't know what tipped her off about his presence. She just stopped, clicked a button on her wrist that killed the music feeding into her ears and then kept punching as she spoke.

"Is it time?"

She sounded breathless. He took the time to take in her body fitness. She was still too thin, but she had filled out alot and turned it into the beginnings of muscle. She would have to have pushed herself heavily with the aid of materia to have achieved even this level of fitness.

"Reeve seems to think so."

"Do you?"

She still hadn't turned to look at him.

"Perhaps. I still think you shouldn't go."

She stopped and turned to face him with a whole lot more calm that she felt. He could see it in her dark eyes. All that anger and hate bubbling inside her.

"I have more right to this fight than any of you do and I am going. I don't want to hear about it from you or Reeve. I don't belong to either of you and I'm not your fucking princess."

She stormed past him leaving him in the doorway contemplating how many things were going to wrong.


	21. Chapter 21: Animus

Chapter 21: Animus

* * *

Tifa hadn't spoken more than a few words to any of them since they arrived in Rocket Town. Making the trip feel both awkward and un-necessarily lengthy. They travelled to a port in Cid's ship and then went the rest of the way blending in with public on local transport. In an effort to avoid attention to their arrival they decided it was best not to tell Yuffie they were coming. They stayed in one of the smaller towns outside Wutai's major city in a cosy bed and breakfast, which due to it's size they had all to themselves. If they could avoid the constant annoying interferance from the little old Lady who owned the estate.

The supposed lab was just outside the city, and after some investigation of the area from afar, seemed to be beneath what looked like a farm from a distance. They now sat around the dinner room of their lodgings drinking green leaf tea and eating some kind of Wutaiin sweet buns as they discussed the details.

"Afaywagaahight"

They all looked at Cid. Barrett punched him in the arm.

"Owfth!"

"Don't talk with ya mouth full!" Barrett shook his head and spoke instead. "I say we go at night."

"Thathwaaythaid!"

Barrett punched him again making him spit out a large piece of bun. It landed in his teacup. He and Cid proceeded to get into a table version of a fist fight. The group chose to ignore them.

"Night is the most logical time. There is nothing but a large spance of field between the farm and any direction. Clever really, they'll see anyone coming long before they are close enough to be a threat. Gives them plenty of time to clean house if they need to."

Reeve ceased talking to duck a flying bun and gave both Barrett and Cid a dark enough look to pull them both back to the problems at hand. Vincent hadn't touched a single thing in front of him.

"I'm can only assume the labs are the same layout at each location. Which means we need to get into the farm, through a level and clear out as much security as possible to get the medical level at the bottom. I have a bad feeling about this one. It's not going to be as simple as walking in and punching a few guys."

Reeve sighed in agreement.

"It'll get too damn crowded in there if we take entire WRO teams on top of us. I think you should take point Vincent. You can go in fast and clear a path. I will stay on the administration level as soon as it's safe to do so. I m going to need to hack into their system and download as much information as I can before they wipe it. I'll be more use to you there if you come across any security measures we aren't aware of. Barrett can stay with me and keep lookout. Cid and Tifa can..."

"Tifa is quite capable of talking for herself."

The awkward silence following could have been cut with a knife. Reeve stared at her over a sweet roll with a raised brow.

"I'm going with Vincent."

The cold look she gave them brooked no arguement. Before any of them could gather up a responce she left.

"I have such a bad feeling about this." Vincent reiterated his thought without aiming it at anyone.

"We don't have a lot of time before someone is going to notice we are missing and starting looking for signs for us. I give us two days tops and we have to do it." Reeve stabbed the table with his finger to emphasise his point. Nanaki slunk down from the table.

"Then we need rest. You most of all Reeve." He left them to their food and tea. Which was a silent affair considering the amount of people at the table. Each deep in thought and unaware of the time passing by and the hour growing late.

Vincent had moved on small balcony adjoining the small meals room. There was something relaxing about the provincial town and its soft candle and torch-light. It was so very welcome after so long among flashing neon.

The scream that split the air, and tore all of them from their internal monologue, was most undeniably Tifa's. However it was not a scream of distress. Pure rage coloured that noise and mingled with a loud smash. The small inn erupted in noise and action.

Rapid and alarmed Wutaiin from the little old Lady blended with the continued crashing, the thunder of footsteps on wooden panelling and loud shouts. Vincent was the first to force her locked door open and Nanaki was on his heel. Jumping on Tifa's bed and growling at the man who was held bound in an arm lock with a stiletto pressed into his throat.

An enraged Tifa had a stiletto pressed into the tender flesh of her victim's throat and seemed oblivious to their presence.

"Reyn?" Reeve stepped past Vincent slowly. None of them wanted to make any quick movements. More fearful of Tifa ending the mans life before they had any idea of what was happening. "What are you doing here? I sent you back to the HQ. How did you even know we were here?"

Reyn could only manage a choked noise. His eyes bulging a little from the pressure of the very sharp stiletto. It was only when focused on that Reeve could see her lips moving close to Reyn's ear. She seemed to be murmuring rapidly still uncaring about the other occupants.

"Tifa?" Reeve held a hand out to her gently. She flinched back piercing a tiny hole in Reyn's neck. "Tifa do you know him?"

The question clearly alarmed Reyn, he began to struggle a bit only to cry out in pain. The pressure on his arm caused his knees to buckle and Tifa started laughing. The hysterical laughter of the traumatised, filled with hurt and rage.

"Tiny pieces he said. He said he cut her up. Cut me up. Used to come and whisper to me when I lay drugged and sleepy. All those secrets." Her tone went wistful and she twisted her wrist. He cried out. "No, no, no, no. He promised me. One day he would come and carve me pretty." A dark laugh, "But only after he had his fun."

Reyn tried to shake his head. It was a fruitless endeavour. Even the smallest shift when he inhaled caused the stiletto to dig into his skin. He whimpered, blood smeared his skin and soaked into the crisp white collar of his shirt appearing dull in the limited light of candles.

Vincent had scanned the area during the exchange, enough so he could get an idea of what had happened. The open window, the lightning materia on the floor, the slight flash burn on Reyn's right hand which lay limply against his thigh. The stiletto. A quick weapon. Had Tifa remained asleep that would have stabbed deep into the throat and she would have choked on her own blood before she could make a sound. Suffocate the victim while they choke. Quick and quiet.

It was then he remembered Reyn was the one who had first been there when Tifa had woken up. She had smashed him with the lamp.

"He's WRO?"

Reeve nodded. "Was, I'd say." He was catching up as well. "He must have been able to feed any information that wasn't strictly classified. WRO is on alert, they knew we were coming here. So he knew."

"Which means the boss knows." Vincent finished with a sigh. However the more immediate problem was getting Tifa to let Reyn go. Something Vincent wasn't entirely he sure he was willing to do. "Nanaki, can you get a few WRO guys here?"

Reluctantly he growled and slunk off down the stairs. The sound of the old lady's distress still ongoing with Barrett and Cid trying to calm her.

"Tifa..."

"NO!" She snapped at Vincent, shaking her head. "Don't you dare Tifa me and tell me to let him go. You know what he did. The girl you found, me, all carved up and dead eyes staring. It was my turn."

Her eyes welled with angry tears, but she was not afraid. Vincent almost smiled.

"I want to let you kill him. Believe me, I do, but we need him for information before we go into the next facility." Tifa frowned. "Come on Tifa. You want to know who's behind this as much as we do."

She grit her teeth. Her mouth pressed into a thin line while her internal wills battled with each other. Vincent stepped forward. She growled in outrage and shoved Reyn's body towards him. Slamming her knee into his spine for good measure. Vincent kicked him onto the ground and let Reeve drag him from the room while he wrapped his arms around Tifa.

Her strength surprised him. She broke away and lunged at Reyn before he could stop it. Latching on to his wrist. Grunting with exertion as she pulled, kicking him in the midriff when he failed to let go of his prize. It finally slipped free and she clutched the silver trinket to her breast.

"Shadow wolf!" He shimmered, huge, dark and angry at her side. "Watch him. If he flees, kill him." If Reyn didn't show fear before he did now. The shadow beast prowling, swirling and malevolent, followed slowly behind and never once blinked from his target. Reeve dragging him down the steps to meet with a WRO escort.

Tifa collapsed back against Vincent. The pair slid down the wall onto the floor.

"I want him dead."

Vincent held her close around her waist.

"So do I."

They sat that way not moving and no other came to disturb them. It all seemed so surreal. Vincent caught the scent of something coppery. He turned her hands over in his.

"Come on. Lets get you in the shower. I don't want any part of that asshole on you."

Tifa met his eyes and neither of them said anything. He took her hand, led her to the shower. They stood there for a long moment looking into one another's eyes until Vincent kissed her softly.

"I'll just be outside."

She stood shivering for a long time before the sound of water came from within.

* * *

Apologies to everyone who got notified about a new chapter earlier. There was some kind of screw up with the upload and half the frikken chapter was missing. So here we go AGAIN. GRRR.


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