Shit. Shit. Shit!

Wide panicked eyes were shared among the group as they all froze in their places, including yourself. 

How had ShinRa found you so quickly!? You had barely even left the bar for a couple hours!

Unless...They had known where you were the whole time, and had decided to act in case they would rile up the bees nest you were taking refuge within. Avalanche were enemies to ShinRa, of course they didn't want to deal with the group that would cause them more hassle than they needed. Better strike when they were separated. 

Three armed soldiers dressed in the cavalry uniform stormed into the small store, all pointing their firearms up and ready to fire at movement. Behind them came the red headed menace you had so desperately been trying to get away from.

"Well lookie here. What have I found?" A familiar voice spoke laced with threat and a hint of annoyance. "A little runaway test subject."

Your lungs seized at the sudden confusion shared between the members of Avalanche and the others. 

No, no, no. Don't tell them, don't tell them!

"And she's with Avalanche, of all the people you could have run too." He spat in distaste, eyeing the group hatefully. Reno made his grudge quite clear. A bald suited up male came in behind Reno, dark shades covering his eyes. His partner perhaps.

You eyed the soldiers that surrounded you, specifically the ones in Cavalry uniforms, as they were the ones you needed to look out for. 

"And you weren't able to catch me with your own soldiers, so you went to the guardian corps for help." You said monotonously. 

Yes that's it, get him to pay attention to you, and not the others so perhaps they could slip away. Not that you would admit your enjoyment of riling the red head up. It gave you a strange satisfaction to see his face contort in rage as he glared at you. You didn't feel it suited him, yet it was an enjoyment to watch. 

He sent you the dirtiest glare he could muster, his fists clenching at his sides.

"You're not exactly in a position to be cocky." Reno sneered. 

"Neither are you!" Tifa interjected, her eyes guarded and body ready in a fighting stance. "You have no right to point weapons at us, as we haven't broken any rules! This is a place full of civilians too."

"No, but I have business with this one here, which is none of your concern." Reno bit back, taking a cautious step forward. 

Tifa and the others glanced at you obvious confusion swimming on each of their expressions. Reno was right, this was none of their business, you had only put them in the middle of it and now you had to get them out.

For a moment you thought they would stand down, realising that people would get hurt if a fight broke out, civilians passing in the street and all. They had no need to waste their energy on a girl they barely knew, someone they had sheltered for a few days. 

That was until Cloud took an intimidating step forth, a strong determined look on his face.

"This is our turf, so anything on it makes it our business."  

You could only stare in shock as the others nodded along with in agreement, even the four you had only just met.

You couldn't understand it, any of it. They were willing to risk getting hurt for you. A dead girl. 

With furrowed brows and a deep frown you turned your questioning eyes to Sora, Riku, Kairi and Naminé. Sora showed his white teeth at you in a huge grin, Riku and the girls offered encouraging smiles.

You felt empty for a moment, wishing desperately to have been born as someone else and to have experienced a life where you had been their friend as someone alive. Because people with that much kindness in their hearts meant that they were filled with light. Their smiles and kindness filled your cold body with a hint of warmth for a small moment. 

Until a sudden pain shot through your chest, something which was gone as quickly as it came. It felt like something had punched against your sternum. What on Gaia had that been?

Everyone was tensed and ready to throw punches swords after Cloud's declaration, the Soldiers and Guardian Corps fingers burning to start pulling triggers.

"Tch!" Reno sneered and mumbled under his breath, "Avalanche still a thorn in my side." He sucked in a deep inhale and exhaled like he was ready to lie down and sleep, until he looked up with a devilish twinkle in his fox like eyes and a smirk tugging at his lips. "If that's what you wish. Then we won't hold back!"

Without a thought, you grabbed Marlene's tiny frame and thrust her into Barrett's awaiting arms. Your mind went into a zone, letting your body move on instinct, not letting you think which turned out to be easier as you dodged an array of bullets. 

You ducked behind shelves, trying to catch onto sounds and heat signatures, letting the hunger of your undead body free a fraction, letting the hunger hunt for its prey. You hung onto that little bit of humanity however, never once letting your human mind lose control.

As groups split and charged into fights, you chose a stealth route, picking off Soldiers that had split from each other. 

Like a ghost, you kept your footsteps light as you ran up behind a gunman, slipping your cold hands around his head and chin. It was swift as you snapped his head to the side, not staying to watch as his body slumped to the floor. 

Reno had whipped out an electro-mag rod and had gone straight for Cloud having lost sight of yourself. However this confused you, why wasn't he going after you as his sole purpose of coming here was to capture yourself. You didn't dwell on it as you kept your focus on dismembering weapons and limbs, all while under the cover of shadows. 

You had to be stealthy with your abilities too, you couldn't risk having any of Avalanche seeing what you were capable of. It was raise suspicions. 

Raining bullets and gunfire clogged your ears making it hard to listen to desperate shouts and voices. The attack was completely destroying the store, however in the whole ordeal you heard a scream that couldn't belong to anyone else but Marlene. 

Like clockwork you body just moved, no message from your brain telling you to go straight to the sound. 

You found Barrett fighting of one of the larger Guardian Corps, too focused on that one to notice Marlene beneath a toppled shelf. 

Something lodged in your throat as you made a B-line for her, adrenaline fuelling your strength as you lifted the shelf single-handedly off the whimpering female. 

She was ok, but her ankle was twisted and her skin littered with splinters and bruises. With a grunt you threw the shelf off and reached down to pull the girl away from the debris. 

What you weren't expecting however was for Marlene to latch onto your side like a koala, shaking horribly. 

"(Y/n)!" 

You twisted to the source of the yell, Barrett, picking himself up from his fight and shaking the heavy steam from his gun arm. 

"Can I trust you to take Marlene home? Please, she's not safe here."

You glanced down at the trembling girl and then at the others who fought the new snipers that had stormed in afterwards. 

They could manage. It looked as if Avalanche had the upper hand, Tifa and Denzel now joining Cloud against Reno and Rude after finishing with their opponents. You hadn't realised how capable these people really where. They were almost perfect as a unit together. You needn't worry too much. 

However the guilt still lingered as you looked down at Marlene. This could have been avoided.

"Yes, I'll take her home. You can trust me to bring her back safely." You said, determination swimming in your grey eyes. 

Barrett nodded in thanks, taking one last look at his adoptive daughter before running off to join the others.

With Marlene grasping at your side like her life depended on it, the two of you ducked out of the store out the back entrance, shielding Marlene from any rumble or bullets that flew over head and taking a path that lead between two buildings which looked like a good cover from guns and explosives out in the open. 

You slowed your sprint for Marlene to catch her breath, favouring her broken foot as she kept leaning on you for support. 

"Here let me carry you." You spoke softly, reaching down to pick her up. You paused as the sound of footsteps hit your ears.

A young woman with wavy rose pink hair stepped out into your path pointing a deadly looking blade at you. You stared her down as equally as she did you, both not saying a word and both tightening like coils ready to strike.

Judging from the green metallic pauldron over her left shoulder which was decorated with yellow stripes showed she was a sergeant of the Guardian Corps. A black case hung off her belt, and she wore a dainty necklace with a lightning bolt around her neck. 

You looked back to see three Soldiers had blocked off your exit, taking cautious steps forward as if they were cornering an unpredictable animal. Which in a way, they were.

"I don't know how you escaped the facility, but you're coming back with us, dead girl." 

Marlene let out a small gasp of surprise, her gaze flickering up to your face with wide doe eyes full of question. The young girl misunderstanding the woman's words shot her a fierce glare and ripped away from your arm to stand in front of you.

"No! She's done nothing wrong, you can't kill her!" 

The older female faltered at the child, her brows furrowing. 

"How you have deceived these people is beyond me." She muttered raising her gun-blade once more causing you to act and throw yourself in front of Marlene as she pulled the trigger. 

Instead of feeling a bullet shoot through your body as you expected a sharp clang shot through your ears. Your eyes flew open to be met with a sea of red filling your vision momentarily, until it morphed into a body.

The cape flapped in the wind and a head with long black hair looked towards the shocked Guardian.

Why was he here?

You gazed at Vincent's back as he stood between you and the pink haired woman with an expression void of emotion. 

She gazed back just as fiercely and flicked her gun-blade into a sword. She was not about to back down. That was until a radio on her hip began to buzz and speak.

"Farron, retreat. Orders from Sir Raines."

The woman's lips curled into a sneer as she placed her beautiful blade back into its holster behind her back. She sent you and Vincent one last glare before taking off with the rest of the Soldiers. 

You let out a breath of relief, and held Marlene closer to your form, afraid she'd be ripped from your grasp.

"You must enjoy causing trouble for other people." Vincent said under his breath just loud enough for you to hear.

You merely watched him silently as he walked off, his blood red cap flapping about behind him as he went.

You recalled your steps back to 7th Heaven with Marlene tightly in your arms. Upon arriving you saw Barrett, Denzel, Cloud and Aerith all stood outside looking out for something.

Immediately Cloud's eyes snapped over to your approaching form and his chest exhaled slightly as if in relief. Denzel also sighed in relief upon seeing his sister safe and sound.

"Marlene!" 

Barrett thundered over and grabbed Marlene in his huge arms hugging her tightly to his chest. "Thank Gaia you're safe!" He looked back at you, appreciation dancing in his dark orbs. "Thank you for keeping her safe, (Y/n)." 

You couldn't accept his thanks, after all it wasn't you that had saved her. The familiar feeling of guilt rested back in your gut. 

"We tried to head back here like you asked but we had been cornered by one of PSICOM's sergeants. Farron I think her name was." You tried to explain yourself as to why you hadn't been at 7th Heaven before they were. 

"Farron? As in Lightning Farron!? What in Etro's name was she doing there?" Barrett exclaimed, his eyes wide in surprise.

"I find it strange that PSICOM would send out an elite soldier such as her unless it was something big." Cloud said with furrowed brows. He glanced at you with an unreadable expression and Aerith looked at you worriedly. 

You new exactly what was going on inside their heads.

They were pondering over why they had sent out such experienced soldiers for a defenceless girl such as yourself. There was obviously more than meets the eye when it came to you. You were hiding something. 

Denzel had seen the way you had killed those other soldiers in the sudden attack. You weren't as defenceless as you seemed to be. In fact he had been frightened at the way you handled yourself on your own like that. Just who were you?

Marlene was taken to Aerith to the small makeshift infirmary on the bottom floor, a worrisome Barrett following through. 

The four that you had met at the store had also taken refuge at 7th Heaven and you saw how friendly they were with the others.

Everyone here was part of this family.

You followed Marlene to the infirmary to make sure she would be alright, her ankle still swollen and red. She had been so brave, you gave her credits to that. 

You watched as Aerith carefully wrapped Marlene's ankle up and give her a special healing concoction to drink before the brunette's motherly eyes turned to yourself.

"Are you alright (Y/n)? How do you feel?" You weren't sure as to why but the way Aerith worded her sentence sounded strange to you. What was that supposed to mean? 

You shrugged it off for now and replied with a 'don't worry, I'm ok.' You were happy that Marlene was being looked after so you excused yourself from the infirmary, not before feeling a set of concerned eyes on your retreating form. 

Before climbing the stairs to your room you had tried to give Cid back his cloak, instead he had waved you off and said that it looked better on you anyway.

You were about to walk past Cloud's bedroom until you heard your name being used in a hushed conversation. It made you stop dead in your tracks. 

"(Y/n) was in need of help and Aerith chose to do just that. If Aerith sees good in her then so do I." 

That sounded like Cloud's soft but deep voice.

"I agree with you Cloud but, I also understand where Vincent is coming from, and after seeing what she can do we need to be wary. I know as well as taking down ShinRa's plans Avalanche is dedicating to helping the innocent as well but honestly, I don't think she is." Tifa's voice was soft and unsure as if she didn't think the words coming out of her mouth were quite right.

Again, the first thought that struck you was 'I have to leave'. 

This wasn't something for you to get involved in. You have your own problems to deal with and you didn't want to involve anyone else in your dangerous situation. They would only end up getting hurt and you couldn't bare that. 

Of course everyone had gotten away with a few bumps and bruises but what if that wasn't the case the next time? Next time lives might be at risk, you couldn't let that happen.

Yes, you had grown attached to these people in the few days you had known them. 

You were still shocked to the fact that Vincent had saved you earlier. You would have been in deep shit if he hadn't of shown up. You were grateful, very much so that you wanted to thank him, but you weren't sure as how to approach him. You knew he wasn't your biggest fan. Perhaps the thanks you could give him would be to leave as soon as.

The next thing that came from Vincent's lips however, brought your decision to a final one.

"It is unwise to trust her. I chose to shadow her along with you in the market in case something went wrong. She put you all in danger." 

It was the last little push you needed.

Ok, ok. I'm gone. It was nice while it lasted, I got to feel human again.

You didn't stay to listen what the others had to say as you were sure they would agree. You avoided being seen as you slipped out silently, not needing to return to your room to retrieve any possessions. It was a good thing you had nothing but the clothes on your back. 

Honestly you weren't sure what to do at this moment, return to the other side of the wall, or find another place to hide, but what good would that do?

"(Y/n)? Where are you going? It's not safe to go out alone." The feminine voice made you halt in your tracks. "Come back in for the time being, I need to take a look at your injuries.

Stop it! Stop being so kind! Just stop! You wanted to yell at her.

You said nothing, still not turning to face Aerith as she stepped out of the entrance, a little closer to you.

"(Y/n), are you feeling alright?" 

You bit your lip. 

Don't say anything, and just leave.

As if somehow sensing your inner turmoil by the way your hunched shoulders shook slightly and your lack of response she placed a gentle hand on your shoulder. "(Y/n), you don't have to be afraid. You can stay here, with us."

She could see right through you. Aerith had noticed you had been off once you had gotten back with the others. You were consumed with guilt, and Aerith had been worried.

But she couldn't be. If she were to meddle in your business and allow herself to worry over ou she would only get hurt. 

Your patience had met its limit and before you could stop yourself you snapped at her. "I can't stay here! For crying out loud! I fucking would, but I just can't! What don't you understand about that!?"

"Because!" You stopped short, drawing in a short breath. You hadn't imagined Aerith to be someone who would ever raise her voice, but just then, she had, sharp and loud. She looked at you with a strong gaze of determination(UNDERTALE REF, SORRY NOT SORRY).

"Because (Y/n). I know what you are!"

BOOM! Que Pirates of the Caribbean music,  I'm leaving you guys hanging there for now. -Rikki

p.s I've decided that because you're dead, you will have those dead grey like eyes where the pupil has faded slightly...yeah you get me.

Also I'd like to explain why this chapter is out so late when I promised I would update it last wednesday, which I do apologise for. 

I'm disgusted to say that I was mugged the other day while in Manchester. I went to a cashpoint to draw out some cash, which meant I needed to get my card out which was in my backpack. Bear in mind that in this backpack was my phone, laptop and train tickets I needed to get home and I stupidly placed it on the floor in front of my feet as I withdrew the cash. 

I wasn't aware of the people around me and out of nowhere someone snatches it and sprints off WITH MY BAG. 

As a result I have been completely beside myself and distraught that all of my personal things and work was on those devices and I haven't been able to post this. I feel sick that this would happen to anyone, let alone me, its a horrible situation.

Stealing someone's belongings isn't only taking something from them, but can seriously affect people emotionally as I had so much work stored on that laptop and so many photos, music and apps I would use daily on my phone. I'm now very paranoid going into cities and large public spaces constantly looking behind my back and I hate it. I can't relax in a public space. Its a horrible feeling.

Anyway, here it is the new chapter and I hope you liked it, and as a word of warning to everyone who has bothered to read this far, please please be careful and just a little more wary with your belongings when going out in the future. Be careful where you put your things and stay safe <3

UNEDITED 

May. 26. 2019