7 Days In…

Prologue

Cloud looked over the gathered members of AVALANCHE gathered about the round table in the meeting room at the back of Tifa's new bar, the Final Heaven. In the four years since Sephiroth's defeat, their motley crew had gone their separate ways. Through the PHS, he had managed to keep in touch with most of the members, and would often call upon their aid when the need arose.

By an amazing show of circumstance and extreme luck, both Yuffie and Red had been in the general area of Kalm, so asking Cid to swing by Midgar to pick up Cait Sith and Barret was his natural reaction when he received the distress signals. Only two members were missing from their party: Vincent Valentine, who no one had heard from since they split apart, and… well….

"I'd like to thank everyone for coming so quickly. We have just received two distress signals, one from the Northern Crater and the other from the slums in Midgar. All I need is for two teams to go investigate each of these calls, assess the situation, and – preferably – set things straight. Do I have any volunteers?"

"Question!" came the chipper call from directly across the table from him. "How many people are in each team?"

Cid gave a surprised, if derogatory, snort. "Shit. The brat's askin' a fuckin' smart question. Who'da thought?"

The stormy-eyed ninja shot the pilot a glare. "Coming from the chain-smoking profanity factory," she muttered.

"For this, it's pairs," replied Cloud, ignoring the bickering pair.

"I'm goin' to Midgar," stated Barret rather loudly as he stood up.

"Me, too!" piped up Cait. "I should keep up with the situation in the slums, and this is the perfect way to do it without alerting anyone on the council!"

"All right," agreed Cloud, shifting some files and making a note on some papers in front of him. He flipped the file closed and looked around the room again, this time his pen poised and ready over another piece of paper. "Volunteers for the Northern Crater?"

Cid scoffed. "Might as well take the fuckin' mission, seein' as I gotta use the goddamn airship to get up there anyway."

Red XIII raised his head from his paws. "Seeing as Yuffie will be useless for the duration of and recovering after the flight, I will go, as well."

"Great." Cloud tossed a pair of keys to Barret, who managed to catch them with his good hand. "Barret, Cait, you two are taking the buggy. Make sure to check in once you arrive at the town, then once every two hours. I have the complete files on the distress signals here. Cait, Red, you guys will have to read them aloud on the way there. Good luck, everyone."

– – –

Vincent slowly opened his crimson eyes before sullenly shifting onto his side. Feebly, he tried to keep his baser instincts in check, his thoughts and emotions a myriad of chaos.

Chaos… Vincent allowed a mental chuckle at the irony. To finally find peace with his sins – only to discover his even darker inner demons.

Chaos. Born of war. Thriving on turmoil. Yearning for… what? Freedom? Release? …Completion?

Vincent felt the demon chuckle. :You learn, host. You haven't quite gotten it, yet, but you're getting there.:

The man with crimson eyes froze. He… speaks.

:Aa. We have finally been together long enough for you to understand me. And what I need. What we need.:

"We…" whispered Vincent.

:We. We are now one being. One force to be reckoned with. What you need, I need. What I need, you desire. Your battles are my battles. But one cannot fight all the time.:

"Strange…" Vincent responded aloud, "…coming from a demon…"

:A smart demon. A demon with much logic. If you fight forever, and win forever, there will soon be an end to your opponent. Chaos is not self-destructive, but self-preserving. And the best beneficial chaos can be found…:

In a storm.

Vincent was confused. He had been sure Chaos had been indicating…

What the hell was he supposed to do in a storm, except get wet, freeze, and be struck by lighting? Rather counterproductive, if you were to ask him, unless you were talking about a storm-like personality. But the only human storm he could think of was…

No. Hell no.

:Yes.:

The whirlwind that was Yuffie Kisaragi, with her stormy gray eyes, sweeping in with a cheerful grin and a wave of pure energy. Rambling in pertinence, switching subjects on a whim, leaving the unsuspecting in a chaotic state of confusion…

No!

:You have seven days to complete the courtship rite and make her ours on your terms. If you fail, I shall make her ours on mine.:

She is… too young…

:Nineteen is not so young.:

…too carefree…

:Perfect for chaos. Perfect for us.:

…too pure… to be tainted by our touch…

:I assure you, when she is beneath us, calling our name in ecstasy, there will never have been a time when she has shone so brightly.:

Vincent fought the images, the desire, but to no avail. His own senses were being assaulted from within, and the thought of his – his – ninja writing in his arms in pure pleasure would not leave his mind.

He found himself reaching for his PHS.

– – –

Yuffie glanced down and back as her butt began to ring. Still surprised, she brought the PHS to her ear. "This is the Kisaragi Hotline, proud to announce the newest and hottest Cold Shoulder Special! Yuffie speaking!" she sang out. "Vinnie! Where the hell are you? We just had a – huh? Spike? Oh, he's pro'lly pickin' his nose while he waits for Cid and Barret to call him ba – Hm? Oh, I don't… hang on." She looked up at Cloud, still sitting directly across from her, fixing her with a death-glare from the nose-picking comment. No need to get all testy. He deserves this, she thought as she covered the receiver. "Oi! Spike!" she shouted, regardless of the fact that he was a scant five feet away from her. "Vinnie's on the phone! Wants to know if you're dating Tifa yet!"

The brunette in question turned red enough to match the hair of the man down the bar from her as she continued to serve drinks to the customers of the Final Heaven.

Two rooms away.

– – –

Vincent felt Chaos' mental smirk as he cut the PHS connection.

:Seven days and counting, host.:

The gunman sighed. This was going to be seven days in –

– – –

Well, then. There's the first part of 7 Days In... I hope you all like it. It was just an idea I got while visiting one of my friends in college. I wrote down the entire plotline in about thirty minutes at 2 am in her dorm lounge while she was doing her homework. Crazy how those things work, hey?

Anyhow, here's my standard disclaimer, and you can refer to this Prologue any time you need to reassure yourself that I don't own any of this:

I don't own Final Fantasy VII. If I did, I would be selling this storyline to the wonderful company of Squaresoft, demanding that they make a dating-game version of this fic. If you try to sue me, bear in mind that I know lots of people who are more than happy to perform curses, and I am not afraid of sending many an Amway salesperson in your direction.

read and review, kids.

Cheers, dudes!