The lights of the tunnel zipped by her so quickly that they almost seemed like a single line of whites and yellows. The engine of the motorcycle beneath her hummed steadily, but otherwise, everything seemed still.

There was nothing better than riding home after work this late at night and having the road almost entirely to one's self.

Dovelyn Balk, a seamstress working in the heart of Midgar's Sector 8, had to travel to Sector 7 each night just to get home. It used to be a chore, but that was when she had to take the train. Now, it was nice to be able to save up enough gil to be able to ride in style. She may have not bought it brand-new, but it was still in great shape, and no wear could be seen on its shiny, black coat.

She parked her bike by her home: a simple, brick house that her father passed down to her when he died. It was nothing fancy, though it was better than living in the slums. After all, her father worked heavily with Shinra and their weaponry. However, his life had been taken a couple of years ago when one of their machines acted up and went rogue.

It took her a lot of time to get over it. She had been close to her father, who taught her to be tough. He also taught her that the only person she could trust to take care of her was herself, and so, she learned defense and combat from him, as well.

Even with her occupation as a seamstress for the Loveless performances, she always found time to hone her skills as a fighter.

She usually woke up to the sound of kids playing in the streets, but as she became alert and stepped outside, she heard more chatter than anything else on this particular morning. She wasn't sure what it was that had stirred the whole neighborhood, but after a bit of prying, she heard something about a reactor being blown up.

"Did you hear?"

"People are saying it was Avalanche."

"Those terrorists!"

Dovelyn felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach. Avalanche. She knew the name well. She had tried to stay as far away from it as possible, but her worry for those within it...

She called out from work that day, and considering Reactor 1's reactor collapsing, her boss didn't exactly blame her. Dovelyn took her motorbike into the tunnel, heading towards another part of the sector that she usually tried to stay away from.

When she got to the slums, she headed straight to the apartments. To her relief, the woman she was looking for was by the stairs, sweeping the dirt from the steps.

"Marle!" Dovelyn called to her, brushing her long, burgundy hair from her face.

"Lyn?" the older woman responded, looking slightly surprised. "Haven't seen you around here in months."

"Are they okay? Tifa and Jessie?"

Marle cracked a smile. "Oh, they're fine. Jessie just popped in last night. Tifa has been here with Marlene."

Dovelyn took a moment to gather herself. Thank goodness.

"I'm surprised you care. You just up and left without nearly as much as an apology."

"I..." Dovelyn stopped. She didn't expect this conversation to go south as quickly as it did, but she supposed she should have been ready for the landlady to get stern with her.

"I know. I don't have much of a leg to stand on..."

"That's right. Tifa is at the bar if you really want to see her, but I'm not so sure how she'll react when she sees you."

Dovelyn slowly rode towards the bar. Knowing her friends were safe through Marle's word was enough, but she was right. She never did apologize for leaving them, and nor did they really understand why. In a way, even she couldn't fully explain. It was all so petty, in the end.

There was no sign of Tifa as she pulled up by Seventh Heaven, but there was a big brute of a man sitting on the steps. She only met Barrett Wallace once, but that was such a brief encounter, he probably wouldn't even recognize her.

She swallowed nervously. Not many people made her uneasy, but any man twice her size with a gun for an arm would likely strike fear into just about anyone.

"Barret, right?" she asked once she shut off the motorbike.

"Who wants to know?"

"I just wanted to make sure Jessie and Tifa were okay. I..." she paused, glancing around. She knew their mission was meant to be secret, so she didn't want to draw attention to the conversation.

"I heard what happened."

Barrett's expression looked stiff, even behind his shades.

"Did ya now?"

He pulled his shades from his face, giving her a scrutinizing look before he would laugh loudly. "That's right. You're Biggs's girl. Or were. Whatever." He then waved his hand absently. "Yeah, yeah. They're fine."

Dovelyn tensed slightly. Well, at least he didn't blow up on her.

"Are they here?"

Barrett didn't say anything - at least, not at first. She was starting to think he would just stare her down until she left, but then, he would holler towards the door of the bar.

"Tifa!"

He stood up, then headed down the steps and past Dovelyn, his footsteps like big cinderblocks on the ground. No other words were exchanged between them as he bluntly excused himself, but that didn't help the redheaded girl as she waited for the bartender to come out.

Maybe she shouldn't have come here.