Author's Notes: I need more reviews, people! Reviews are what keep me going. ;D I am pretty sure that I know where this story is heading, but any plot suggestions are welcome. The more plot twists, the merrier!

Amaranthine

Chapter Four: Trail of Destruction

Rainbows of colors danced behind Tifa's closed eyelids. It was a mesmerizing sight, and as Tifa's mind tried to return to consciousness, the movements became more frantic, insistent: the colors seemed to be warning her to stay asleep. But another part of Tifa's mind was telling her to wake up, to know what was going on, and against the screaming protests of unconsciousness, she opened her eyes.

And immediately regretted the action, for when she returned to the waking world, all of her aches and pains assaulted her at once. She had many small bruises and sore spots, but her side hurt the worst. The wound that the sleeping dart had left behind was burning.

Wincing, Tifa gingerly sat up, glancing down to see where she had been sleeping. She was on a small cot with white sheets, and judging by the ache in her back, it was about as comfortable as sleeping on granite. The room she was being held captive in was fairly spacious, containing a cot, a sink, and a tiny bathroom stall. The walls were bare except for a window, which was blocked by iron bars, and a door. Tifa had no doubt that the door was locked from the outside. She was clothed in a baggy white t-shirt and white pants. White socks, too. She looked like a patient at a mental institution.

Tifa scowled; why was she here? It was obvious that whoever had kidnapped her wanted something from her, but what? True, she was a member of AVALANCHE, the group that had saved the Planet multiple times now. Maybe they would ask for a ransom. Guilt pricked at her insides as she realized that no matter how high the ransom was, her friends would pay it. Cloud would pay it.

How could she be so selfish? It had been stupid of her to run away. Tifa knew she had been too big of a chicken to talk to Cloud after her confession, but that was a miserable excuse for leaving. She had faced every type of monster imaginable without flinching, yet she couldn't stand up for her own feelings. And now the others would be punished for her cowardice. Tifa put her head in her hands, groaning miserably.

Just then, she heard a clicking noise from across the room. Quickly, not wanting to show any weakness in front of these people, Tifa swung her legs off of the bed and stood up, biting her lip as her body protested. The door slowly opened, and three men walked in. The first two men were big and muscular, and carried guns. Bodyguards. Another man, taller than the first two, followed. Though she was intimidated and her body ached, Tifa kept her face impassive and her expression stony as the bodyguards stood on either side of the doorway and the other man approached her.

Though he wore a suit and was well-groomed, everything about this man made Tifa uneasy. His impossible size was part of it. He was also striking, though in an unusual way. His dark hair was buzzed, and he had sharp, angular features. His eyes were such a light shade of blue that Tifa couldn't look away from his piercing gaze. The man moved with the lithe grace of a panther, stopping just a few yards from Tifa. He slowly looked her up and down, face twisted into a contemplative expression. When he spoke, his voice matched his movements: smooth, but cold, without the slightest trace of kindness in his tone.

"So, I finally meet you at last. I have to say, your picture didn't do you justice." His mouth twisted into a smirk, and Tifa swallowed. She wasn't quite sure what to make of this man. He took another step towards her, but Tifa kept her feet planted firmly in place.

"What do you want with me?" She asked, pleased that her voice didn't waver.

"Oh, but you didn't know?" His eyes widened in mock surprise. "You have no clue why we attacked you in the middle of the night and brought you here, unconscious?" His bodyguards chuckled, and Tifa felt a prickle of irritation.

"No, actually I don't."

"In case you were wondering, we kidnapped you two nights before last. You were out for two and a half days. It's early morning now." He began to pace back and forth, ignoring her earlier question completely. Tifa followed his movements with her eyes, resisting the urge to clench her fists. It would not be wise to attack him, even though the action would be completely justified on her part. Tifa could see the underlying strength beneath this man's smooth, controlled movements. There was no doubt in her mind; he was definitely a fighter.

This thought helped to calm her down, and when she spoke, she was able to keep the anger out of her voice.

"You didn't answer my question," she stated coolly.

"Hmmm…I didn't, did I?" He stopped pacing and turned to face her, a mocking smirk on his face again. Tifa could see now that she was not going to get an answer from him. She tried a different tact.

"Who are you?"

At this, the man smiled for the first time. He had a brilliant smile, and Tifa blinked, momentarily dazzled. Very striking, and very dangerous. A beautiful predator. She did not like him one bit. He reminded her of the man that had kidnapped her, the one with the guns, except this man seemed to be higher on the food chain, so to speak. And then he spoke, telling her his name, and it all made sense.

"My name is Andryl. Andryl Lito."

xxx

Cloud had known that something was wrong when Tifa hadn't returned the morning after she ran off. She had promised to return, hadn't she? But she had left her phone at the bar, and so there was no way for him to get a hold of her.

He had waited throughout the day and evening, getting more and more worried when she hadn't come home. It wasn't like Tifa not to contact him. And even though Cloud had tried his hardest to convince himself that nothing was wrong, he knew he was lying to himself. Something was wrong; he could feel it. First, he had almost been deliberately killed on the road. Then, Tifa hadn't come back. It was too much of a coincidence.

The night after her disappearance, Cloud had decided to go search for her. He walked the streets of the city, even knowing she was too smart to stay out there. He went to a few houses of Tifa's friends and acquaintances in the city, but none of them had seen her. He was not surprised. She was not close enough to any of them to flee there. He returned in a near panic late that night, thinking of any other options.

There were several inns in the area, and when morning came he went to each one, asking the workers if a woman that matched Tifa's description had stayed there. Nobody could give him any good information, but it had been late when Tifa had left, so it was unlikely that many people had seen her. If she had stayed at an inn, whoever had served her had been working the night shift. Cloud visited the inns during the morning. He resolved to go back at night, when the same person might be working. He returned to Seventh Heaven with no other leads on where she could possibly be.

That evening, before he returned to the inns, Cloud had called Barret. There was a small chance that she had gone to stay with him, or maybe Yuffie…yet he knew that wasn't likely. Confirming his suspicions, Barret hadn't the slightest idea where she was. And, of course, Barret wanted to know why she had run off in the first place. So Cloud had told him a vague version of the truth, and Barret had sworn he would barge into Seventh Heaven early the next morning.

Cloud had also tried calling Yuffie, but the ninja hadn't talked to Tifa, either. She had promised to be on her way as soon as she 'took care of a few things' in Wutai. Cloud didn't really want to know what she was up to. Frankly, he didn't care. He only wanted to make sure Tifa was safe. After all, wasn't it his fault that she had dashed out the front door?

After making those calls, Cloud returned to the inns. The fourth inn he came to was titled 'Cloud Nine', a name that should've brought him some sense of wry amusement, but didn't. A very bored lady at the lady thought that Tifa's picture looked familiar. She had begrudgingly let him into the room that she thought Tifa had stayed in two nights before, saying she had seen no trace of the barmaid the following morning.

He explored the room thoroughly. Nobody had stayed in there the night before, the lady had said, and housekeeping had reported nothing. When Cloud got to the bed, however, his insides turned into ice. There was a long, shallow, scratch above the bed, as if something had been thrown against the wall. Something sharp. Filled with dread, Cloud searched the rest of the room in a frenzy, his careful observation noting a small dent in the wall on the other side of the room. It could be nothing. Or someone could have been thrown into this wall.

There was nothing more to be found. She was gone. Cloud had wandered around the city all night, asking anyone he could find if they'd seen Tifa. Most people knew who she was, but he had no luck.

In the morning, Barret arrived to find a zombie-like Cloud going through papers on the bar. The two were now trying to work out a plan of action, but not getting very far.

"Dammit, Spiky! Why do you have to be such an ass all the friggin' time? Are you honestly gonna tell me that you have no idea where she is!"

Cloud met the taller man's gaze without flinching. That was the seventh time Barret had asked him that particular question, and he had given Barret the exact same answer every time.

"I really don't know where she is, Barret."

He felt the familiar surge of guilt, knowing this was all his fault, that Tifa never would have left if he wouldn't have been such an ass, never would have had to go through all of this torment that she didn't deserve. What were they doing to her?

"Will you listen when I'm talkin'? I can't be helpful if I can't even get through that damn spiky head of yours!" The dark man growled furiously, glaring. If looks could kill, Cloud knew he would no longer be standing. But although Barret put on a tough façade for the world to see, there was no doubt that he cared for Tifa deeply. He had a ferocious temper, but he would do anything in the world to make sure she was safe. That's why Cloud was secretly glad that Barret was going to help him find her.

"I was thinking," Cloud replied calmly, looking away from Barret's intense gaze, trying not to let his frustration show.

"Well next time warn me before you space out! I was standin' here mumblin' like a fool…" He continued to grumble under his breath.

"Barret, does Marlene know? That Tifa's missing?" Cloud interrupted.

"Of course not! You think I'm gonna let her in on that? Her and Denzel are at Elmyra's! I'm plannin' on keepin' them in the dark until we find out where Tifa's gone to."

Cloud nodded in response, and felt a large hand placed unexpectedly on his shoulder. He turned his head, meeting Barret's gruff expression. "I'll help you find her. But you have to fix her." With that, the big man strode off, climbing the stairs slowly and pulling out his phone as he went.

Cloud sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He hoped that they found Tifa soon. If she was hurt in any way, he would never forgive himself.

'But you hurt her more than anyone else, Cloud,' said a voice in his head icily. Cloud winced.

'I know. That's why I have to fix it,' he replied.

'But can you? What are you even going to say?'

'I'll just tell her I'm sorry. And…'

'Just like always.' The voice laughed, a mocking sound, and then faded.

Cloud gritted his teeth angrily, used to these internal arguments. Arguments that he normally lost. He knew that the voice inside his head had spoken the truth. The image of Tifa's face, contorted with pain and sadness, lingered in his mind. Each word she had spoken had stung him. How could he have been so thickheaded? How could he not have noticed that she had feelings for him?

Cloud knew the answer to that. He had been lying to himself, convincing himself that she didn't care for him, because he wasn't good enough for her. He /knew/ that he wasn't good enough for Tifa. She was full of light and laughter and encouragement. He was hung up on the past. He wanted to protect her, to give her everything he had. But that voice in his head always insisted that he wasn't strong enough to be with Tifa. He would only bring her down. So, instead, Cloud had pushed himself away, hoping that she would begin to hate him, which would be better for her.

Until a few nights ago, he hadn't realized exactly how strong her feelings ran for him. How much he had been hurting her by pushing her away. Instead of making her a better person, he had just been breaking her heart. A part of him wished that she had told him her feelings sooner. But how could she, when he had been so indifferent? Yet, he wasn't indifferent. Tifa meant more to him than any other person in the world, but he could never find the words to tell her. Even if he had found the right words, he wouldn't have told her. Because everything he loved got broken in the end. Cloud left a trail of destruction wherever he went.

xxx

Andryl must have seen the recognition on Tifa's face, because his smirk grew wider. "I see that you've heard the name."

Tifa nodded coldly. "You're the head of the company that's trying to make the same mistakes that Shinra did."

"Of course not! We won't make mistakes. I won't allow it." He replied calmly.

"You've already made your first mistake."

"And what was that?" Andryl tilted his head to the side, narrowing his eyes.

"Bringing me here." Tifa folded her arms in front of her chest, watching him with a detached expression.

"I was afraid that you might say that." He ran one large hand through his buzzed hair, sighing. "Because you believe that your hero will come rescue you, am I right?"

The words sent a wedge of ice deep into Tifa's heart, and her emotionless mask wavered slightly. Memories whispered at the corners of her mind, memories of a hometown, a well, and a starry night. Tifa knew that Andryl couldn't have known about the promise, but his choice of words was very unfortunate.

Blocking out the painful thoughts was hard, but somehow she managed to get her mind under control. "They will all come to save me."

"Ah, but that is what I want. I want them to come here. Cloud especially."

Tifa blinked, taken off guard. That was not the answer she had expected. Andryl watched her for another moment, with that infuriating smirk still on his face. "Don't you understand, Tifa? You're my bait. I am using you to bring AVALANCHE here. Let's just say that I have a special…surprise in store for them."

This time, Tifa couldn't keep a straight face. Her eyes widened in horror, and she dropped her arms to her sides, clenching her fists in fury. "What are you going to do to them?" She demanded furiously, taking a step towards Andryl. His bodyguards, standing by the doorway, bristled and made as if to walk towards her, but he stopped them with a wave of his hand.

Andryl laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. "Do you honestly think I will tell you my whole plan? I will let you watch, though. That will be very amusing for you, I'm sure. To watch your little lover-boy die at my hands. At least he'll get to join the Ancient…what was her name again?"

"Aeris! Her name was Aeris," Tifa snapped, glaring at the man as hatred threatened to overwhelm her. Not her friends…they were strong, but who knew what this psycho had in store for them. If they died because Tifa had been careless, she would never forgive herself. And Cloud…

"That's right. Aeris. He'll get to be with Aeris again. That might make you jealous, but it will make him happy, I'm sure."

Tifa realized that he was deliberately pushing her buttons. He /wanted/ her to get angry. As this thought occurred to her, Zangan's words about self-control rang in her mind. It would not do her any good to lose her temper here. Digging her nails into her palms, she tried to drown out Andryl's words as she took deep breaths.

Andryl took a few steps closer to her, until she could have touched him if she wanted to. Tifa refused to look up into his eyes; instead staring straight ahead at his chest. She was calming down now, and the fire of her anger was slowly burning out. The man took yet another step closer, until he was less than two feet from her.

Tifa felt something cold under her chin, and the next thing she knew, she was staring into the man's mesmerizing eyes. A slow smile spread across Andryl's face, and she watched him warily, aware of how close he was and the feeling of his cold hand cupping her chin. She wanted to lash out at him and punch him square in his arrogant face. Her fists itched to hit something, but her brain argued that her life was in his hands. With his bodyguards, it was three-on-one, and they had guns. Not very good odds.

"You decided to control your temper. Wise choice. I didn't want to fight you."

"But you want to kill them," Tifa muttered angrily, barely restraining the urge to kick him in a spot where it would really hurt. She tried to look away from his very blue eyes, but there was something haunting in their depths, and it was almost as if she was frozen in place.

"Yes. Yes I do want to kill them." Something had changed in his voice, and the strength of his grip on her chin tightened until it was painful. Tifa tried not to wince. "I want to kill them, but I will make them suffer first. They will suffer until their dying breath as I have suffered all these years, and as you will suffer after they do," by the end of his speech, his voice was practically a snarl, and he released his grip on Tifa, violently shoving her away from him. She tripped back and collided painfully with the wall, her bruises shrieking in pain.

"Enjoy your time here, for it is all you have left," he finished. He did not look handsome now, his face a mask of hatred. He turned and strode out the door, his bodyguards following him.

xxx

"What is this? A damn treasure hunt!" Barret was angry again, but his anger was justified this time.

About an hour after Barret had called Vincent, they had found the note when Cloud went out to check the mail. It was a white slip of paper. Almost immediately after they found it, Cloud realized that it must have been put there sometime in the last couple days. Which meant that the kidnappers knew their location; they knew where Cloud and Tifa lived. Perhaps they were being watched. Another reason they needed Vincent around; the dark gunman was good for those types of situations. Cloud knew that Vincent would make it to Seventh Heaven as soon as he could, but it didn't stop him from worrying. Every second they stalled was another second that Tifa spent in danger.

The note had made it official; Tifa's life was in peril.

Find her soon, or she dies.

Barret had been furious. For several minutes, they had just stared at the note in silence. There was nothing about it that could be identified. No familiar handwriting, and blank paper could be found anywhere. And the message was practically useless. It told them that Tifa had been kidnapped, but not where she was being held.

After they realized that they were possibly being spied on, they had moved up to the bedroom, where Barret had locked the door and window. They were now sitting across from each other at a small table, with maps spread out in front of them. The maps weren't helping much.

"How the hell're we supposed to find her if they don't give us a damn hint?" The man snapped. Cloud jumped as Barret slammed his fist down on the table, causing it to shudder.

"I don't know. But they wouldn't have left this note unless they wanted us to find her."

"But we can't find her! There's no way!"

Cloud narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "I don't think they'll kill her. Yet."

Barret's eyes bulged. "Oh, so now you know all their plans, eh? Well I'll tell you somethin'-"

"Barret, listen to me. If they were going to kill her, just like that, why bother with the note?"

"To let us know that they're gonna kill her! To hurt us!"

Cloud shook his head. "No. They just want us to hurry and find Tifa…so they don't have to wait too long. They're impatient. That's why they sent this."

"Impatient for what?"

Cloud spoke slowly and deliberately. "They don't just want Tifa…they want us too." It made sense as he said it; Cloud had been considering every facet of the kidnapping for a while, and the note had added a new dimension. That was the most plausible thing he could think of.

Barret put his head in his big hands, groaning in frustration. "So they know we're eventually gonna catch up to them…somehow…"

Cloud nodded gravely. "And they'll be waiting. It's sort of a trap."

Barret glanced up. "Looks like we have another job for AVALANCHE."

"I don't think that's such a good idea. Like I said, it's a trap. They want us for some reason. Probably not a good reason. It would be safer if I went by myself, less conspicuous…"

"Hell no, Spiky! You think I'm gonna let you go by yourself? We're gonna need all of us to track her down. All of us together can fight these bastards!"

"But if they want to kill AVALANCHE, then we're walking right into their hands," Cloud replied, slightly exasperated.

"But we know what they're plannin' to do! They don't know that we know their schemes. Listen, this isn't just about Tifa, now. If they want us out of the way, and we're the good guys, what do you think they're gonna do with the rest of the Planet? Once we're gone?" Barret demanded.

Cloud gripped the arm of the chair that he was sitting in. "I don't know," he said quietly. "But there's only a few people I can think of that would want us out of the way." Barret stared up at him, confusion clouding his expression.

"Who?"

"Remnants of Shinra, maybe. The Turks. Or someone that wants to seize control of the planet, gain limitless power without interference." Cloud spoke in a serious tone, all business-like. When it came to things like this, he became cold, efficient, and determined. He would not give up.

"Who exactly are we…" The dark man began, but Cloud cut him off.

"I've been thinking about this a lot. Have you heard about the company Lito?"

"Lito? Oh yeah, I read somethin' about them in the paper…do you think they're tryin' to kill us?"

Cloud shrugged. "If you read the article, you know they're becoming extraordinarily powerful. But, something was strange to me when I read it…you'd think that, if Lito has been growing more and more powerful for a while, we would have heard of them before, right? So why haven't we?"

Barret's eyes narrowed as he pondered this, but for once he had no answer.

Cloud stood up and began to pace. "It means that they've been keeping all their buyouts under wraps. Making sure nobody heard about them. Probably so nobody got suspicious of their wealth and power."

"But they jus' released that thing in the paper…" Barret muttered.

"Exactly. Right before Tifa was kidnapped. This may be a stretch…but it almost seems like they wanted the two things to coincide. Make us suspicious, so we'd put the pieces together and go after them. Even if it was a coincidence, there's still something suspicious about Lito being so secretive about their business. It's the only lead we've got."

"You know what? You just might be makin' sense now."

Cloud looked at him seriously. "I hope so. Because this is the only thing we have to go on. Either Lito's guilty, or someone else is framing them and wants us to go there. There's a chance that Tifa might be at their headquarters. And you're right…we'll need more than a couple of people to do this."

"Hell yeah!" Barret stood up eagerly, pumping his fist in the air. "Now you're talkin'!"

"But everyone has the option not to go. Lito is powerful…if they are against us, they'll know what they're doing. It will be dangerous. They'll have a trap set up for us. They want us to come."

Barret shrugged. "Everything we do is dangerous. I'm ready to kick some Lito ass!"

Cloud watched him grimly. "Then there are some calls that will have to be made."

Author's Notes: CHAPTER UPDATED 8/2011

I finally updated again! Yay! Thank you for all the reviews. They make me happy. (:

So I hope you like the way this chapter turned out. I do. I hope that I characterized Cloud and Barret well. I tried very hard, but Barret is tough for me, for some reason. But I wanted some more AVALANCHE interaction in this chapter. Of course, there will be quite a bit in later chapters.

So, review! Reviews keep me going! Until next time, then. –waves-