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         Cain Highwind sighed deeply, rubbing his eyes, which were tired from staring at the flight simulation he had been running for the past four hours. They'd gotten back to New Midgar the previous night at just after three in the morning, and his father had stayed only long enough to order him to bed. Then he'd left to reserve a hotel room for Aeris and Red, and he hadn't come back after that. Cain knew that he was probably up in the Highwind III, doing whatever the hell he did when he was leaving Cain to entertain himself at home.

         School had been canceled that day due to concern about the increasingly hostile Dyson Corp, and since Cid had left him with strict orders not to leave their flat, the only thing available to entertain him was his computer. That was getting tiresome, and considering how hard it was for Cain to get tired of his computer, this said much for the sheer amount of boredom he was experiencing.

         His mother was at work, at her research office at Shinra headquarters, and the two Shinra bodyguards which had been assigned to keep an eye on him were next to useless for conversational purposes--Cain shared absolutely no interests in common with them, just as they shared none with him. They spent most of their time cleaning and oiling their rifles, swapping old war stories. Cain might have found such stories interesting, had he not already heard so many war stories from his father that he had soured on that entire genre of history.

         The simulation he was running was one he had been working on for about a week now, and he could be content that he had made at least some progress. He had downloaded the specs for the Highwind III from the New Midgar computer, accessing them through his father's password, and had been working to increase the energy output of its engines. So far he'd managed a two percent increase in overall output, by tweaking here and there, but he'd only had a week to work on it. He expected that percentage to improve as he continued to fool with it. Although his father's designs were mercilessly efficient, Cain had always believed that just about anything could be made better, provided you messed with it enough.

         He was hoping to get the power increase up to five percent. Once he did that, he would show his father his modifications, and perhaps get him to turn his attention to his son for a few hours, while he contemplated the changes Cain had made to the virtual Airship stored on his computer. He could hope.

         His thoughts turned to Aeris, and he wished desperately that he had been allowed to go with her. Staking out a SOLDIER office was certainly not his idea of fun, but it was certainly better than being stuck in his flat all day, and besides, as far as Cain was concerned ANYTHING was interesting when Aeris was involved.

         All of his homework for the week had been completed on the weekend, and he didn't feel like working on the Highwind simulation any more today, so he closed the flight simulator and idly began to move the pointer of his mouse around in odd patterns, racking his brain for something to do.

         Computer game? He'd beaten then all, and hated doing the same thing twice. Hacking? He'd managed to access just about every interesting spot in the New Midgar computer system, which wasn't that large to begin with, and there were simply no challenges left.

         The only thing he hadn't yet hacked was the classified Shinra database, for good reason. For one thing, his father already had access to those files, and since he had his father's password, hacking into files he could access with a mouse-click was no fun. Besides, if he was caught messing around in Shinra's classified files, he knew that he would be in very big trouble, with his father as well as Reeve and Shinra Corporation.

         Just when he had made the decision to abandon the computer terminal for a good book, a tiny flashing icon appeared in the bottom right corner of his screen, catching his attention. His boredom disappeared immediately, and a sudden grin appeared on his face

         Oh wow! Caught you, didn't I?

         Out of mild curiosity, about a year ago he had hacked his way into the New Midgar security system, just to see if he could do it. It had been much easier than he'd hoped, and he'd been so disappointed at the ease of entry that he'd briefly contemplated sending an angry letter to the Shinra management, telling them how easy their security system was to break. He'd thought better of it, of course--telling them the flaws in their security system would require him to tell them how he had found those flaws, and that simply would not do. However, not content to trust Shinra security, he had added several layers of extra encryption to the lock code of his family's flat, and added a couple of routines to his own computer to notify him if and when someone should try to hack into those encryption routines.

         The icon that was blinking in the lower right corner of his computer screen showed him that, at this very moment, someone was doing just that. Cain's first suspicion was his closest friend, Jer Walker, whom he knew was almost as skilled at hacking as Cain himself. The two had a long-standing rivalry going, as every time one broke into a new section, the other had to do so as well. So far, neither of them had managed to trump the other, and so it was possible that Jer had decided to take a different approach. Well, he hadn't counted on the extra layers of protection that Cain had installed.

         That'll teach you not to mess with me on my home turf, Jer, Cain thought evilly. He moved the mouse pointer down and clicked on the blinking icon, starting up the defense program that he'd installed. He licked his lips in anticipation--he'd used it many times in simulations, but this was the first time that he'd actually been given the opportunity to test the program against a human opponent. He was looking forward to it.

         He started by attempting to trace the location of the person who was hacking his system. In seconds, he had succeeded, and the results of the search made him frown. On one hand, he was disappointed that it had been so easy. On the other, he was thrilled to see that there was absolutely no chance that the person attempting to hack his system was, in fact, Jer.

         So there's a new kid in town, is there? Well, let me welcome you to the neighborhood.

         Whoever the hacker was, they were operating from a data-jack in Cain's own building. As far as he knew, most of the people who lived in the apartments below the Highwind family flat were blue- collar Shinra workers, none of whom would be expected to be well versed in the hacking of computer systems. So who was this person? Cain was eager to find out. If he caught a burglar trying to hack into his father's computer--that would SURELY get him some attention.

         Now, to find out what the hacker was after. Cain brought up the window that was keeping track of the status of his encryption layers--the unidentified hacker had managed to break two of them, but seemed to be stuck on the third. Cain still had five more in reserve, but waiting around all day for the hacker to fiddle with them would not get him any closer to discovering who this person was, or what they wanted.

         He clicked off the window and started up a pseudo-terminal, layering it over the actual terminal before returning to the encryption window. Then, prepared for his uninvited guest, he gave the command to open the last five layers of encryption leading to the pseudo-terminal, and simultaneously scrambled all eight on the real terminal. Now, as soon as the unknown hacker broke the third encryption layer he would access the pseudo-terminal, where Cain could observe him and find out exactly what he wanted, while keeping the data that the hacker was seeking far out of his reach. He couldn't help but smile, enjoying this silent war of data immensely.

         He waited impatiently for the five minutes it took the unknown hacker to crack the third layer, but he or she finally did so, and the pseudo-terminal allowed them to log in.

         Now, my mysterious friend, let's see why you're going to all this trouble.

         The hacker wasted no time. As Cain watched, he ignored the vast stores of faked data that were waiting and immediately went for the interior lighting and security door regulators. Cain's hair began to stand on end.

         Was that the hacker's plan? Cut the lights and unlock the doors? Why would he want to do that? Was he afraid someone was watching the terminal, so he wanted to start some sort of distraction? Or was he trying to pull a practical joke?

         The unknown hacker jumped immediately to the voice lines and emergency alert system and, as Cain watched in mounting fear, cut them off. Had the hacker managed to make it into the real terminal, he would have just cut off any way for the occupants of the flat to communicate with anyone outside, or call for any kind of help. The fire sensors were quickly disabled seconds later.

         A dull thud sounded against the door. In unison with one of the Shinra bodyguards, Cain turned to look at it.

         "What was that?" one of them asked. He turned to look at Cain. "You expecting company, kid?"

         Cain glanced back at the terminal before answering. Again, the hacker accessed the door lock codes, and finding them open, seemed at a loss. Another thud sounded from the door, and both guards immediately got to their feet.

         Silently, the bigger of the two, who seemed to be the leader, made a quick motion towards the door. His partner nodded, grabbing his well-oiled rifle and stalking forward.

         "Wait a sec...," Cain began, but the first bodyguard spun on him and raised a finger to his lips, hissing urgently.

         Cain almost protested, but something in the guard's eyes warned him that was not a good idea. The first guard was creeping towards the door warily, which had yet to evince another thud. Lacking anything else to do, he turned back to the terminal with renewed purpose.

         All right, buddy. You've spent enough time playing around on my system. Let's see what I can do with yours.

         One of the unpleasant aspects of hacking was that, if one was not properly protected, it was just as easy for the location that was being accessed by a hacker to access the hacker's terminal. Although any self-respecting hacker usually kept an eye out for this, judging from the behavior of this one, he probably had no suspicions that anyone on the other side would be attempting to backtrack him.

         Cain started up a decryption program and, crossing his fingers, made his first attempt to access the enemy hacker's system.

         It was quickly rebuffed. Undeterred, Cain tried again, starting up three more decryption programs and double-checking the stealth tracker which was masking his movements, to make sure it was still running at full efficiency.

         The first bodyguard had reached the door to the Highwind family flat, and he glanced back at his superior for confirmation. The man nodded.

         "Attention outside the door! Identify yourself!" the second bodyguard yelled loudly. As he did so, he pressed himself against the wall by the side of the closed door, and brought his rifle up into a vertical position against his chest.

         Cain, meanwhile, had wormed his way into the enemy hacker's system. He began to copy it over to his own system, so that he could access the information on the other terminal later, and it took him barely a second to assess the data being displayed.

         All the security doors on this floor are locked. So are all the communications lines. Looks like my unknown friend was pretty busy before he started to hack my terminal. Cain shook his head angrily, disgusted with the inefficiency of the New Midgar security system. Wait a sec, he's doing something else. Accessing the ventilation system. Why in the...

         His eyes widened as he realized what the other was doing, a second too late. Muted clangs sounded from the grates covering the ventilation shafts in the main room, and as one, Cain heard all of the fans that kept the air circulating in his family's flat suddenly whir into action.

         "What the...," the first bodyguard began, before clouds of dense white smoke began to pour into the room from all sides.

         "Oh no you don't!" Cain shouted. His fingers flew over the keyboard, as he pushed his own way into the ventilation system controls. In time with Cain's keystrokes, the ventilation fans came to a sudden, stuttering halt. A half-second later, as the first bodyguard began to collapse to the floor in an angry fit of coughing, Cain set the fans into reverse, and began to pump the gas back out of the room.

         The second bodyguard had quickly backed into Cain's room as the smoke began to pour in, and he was immediately hovering at Cain's shoulder, somehow sensing that he had something to do with what was going on.

         "What the hell are you doing, kid?"

         "Saving your butt," Cain replied calmly. The first bodyguard was still coughing, but was slowly pushing himself to his feet. It appeared that his brief exposure to whatever gas the unknown hacker had pumped into the room hadn't been enough to put him down.

         "Someone's hacked the system." In time with his words, the other hacker attempted to reverse the flow of the ventilation fans. Cain blocked him, and then reopened the emergency alert system. He could almost imagine the open-mouthed expression of horror on the other's face as Cain hit the button to send an all-points alert to the central security system.

         "He tried to unlock the doors and gas us," Cain continued, as he opened all of the closed security doors on their level, easily blocking the other hacker's increasingly desperate attempts to reverse his actions. As he did so, his computer finished copying over the hard drive of the enemy machine. Satisfied that he had gotten all he needed from the other hacker, he set up for the coup de grace.

         "How do you know that, kid?" the bodyguard demanded. It was obvious from his somewhat lost expression that he was hardly a computer expert.

         "Simple," Cain explained. "I hacked the system ahead of him."

         The message he sent to the enemy hacker was short and to the point, three words.

         "GAME OVER, ASSHOLE."

         He gave the person at the other end of the line a half-second to process that. Then, with a grim smile, he sent a fast acting virus into the other system.

         "He shouldn't be bothering you anymore," Cain said smugly, as the other person's connection suddenly faded out. That would be his hard drive crashing. "Now, if you'll kindly deal with whoever is at the door..."

         He didn't get to finish. In time with a deafening roar, the door to the flat went flying clean off its hinges. A wide-eyed Cain was then knocked out of his chair by the bodyguard, and before he could react he'd been stuffed under his desk. The first bodyguard was nowhere to be seen, but the man who had grabbed Cain leveled his rifle at the door and calmly squeezed the trigger, his eyes narrowing. There was a tortured cry from the smoke obscured entryway, but it was quickly followed by a deluge of bullets in response. With a surprised yelp, Cain's sole remained protector rolled to the side and ducked behind a wall, as a burst of speeding metal began to eat away at Cain's door frame and floor.

         "Keep your head down, kid!" The bodyguard pushed his rifle around the corner of the door frame and let loose an unaimed volley at their attackers, seemingly unconcerned by the fact that he might hit his partner, who was still nowhere to be seen. Cain did so for a second. Then, blinking in disbelief, he pushed himself out from under the desk and leapt back to his computer.

         "What are you doing?" the bodyguard yelled angrily, jerking away from the door frame as it was disintegrated in another lethal storm of gunfire. "You want to get yourself killed?!"

         Cain didn't answer. Instead, he accessed the security door controls.

         The enemy gunfire disappeared as a thick metal door smashed apart the rest of the wooden door frame, which was really only a facade. The wall underneath the wood-paneling was solid metal, and the thick security door was more than strong enough to hold off the weapons of the attackers long enough for help to arrive.

         And arrive they did. Before the amazed bodyguard could say another word, Cain heard another set of gunfire join that outside. The latter silenced the former with ruthless efficiency.

         He accessed the security cameras outside his flat and saw the reassuring blue uniforms of Shinra soldiers rushing into the room.

         "It's safe now," Cain informed the flabbergasted guard with a smug smile, as he popped the security door open and several surprised cries sounded from outside. "Why don't you go outside and say hi to your friends."

         Cautiously, Devin Strife inched through the rapidly growing shadows outside the large, two-story warehouse that the impetuous young thief had finally led him too, after nearly a half a day of what Devin could only assume had been errand-running.

         Or, as it should be called, spending Devin's hard-earned money.

         It had galled him considerably to watch the young woman he had been following since early that afternoon as she moved from shop to shop, coming out of each stop with another bag and, surely, a bit less of Devin's money in her pockets. Although it would have been easy for him, he had been unwilling to stop her. As appealing as the thought of simply jumping her and taking his money back was, he was smart enough to realize that it probably wouldn't work that way. First of all, it was unlikely that she was carting around all 5000 gil, unless she was extremely stupid. Second, he also needed his ID card, and she surely had no reason to be carrying that around while she went shopping.

         Catching her in the middle of a public street was problematic as well. Any bystander with the slightest bit of decency would probably leap to her rescue in an instant. Although he hated to admit it, a dirty, sullen looking young man dressed in rags was hardly going to be seen as the victim, when compared to a pretty young girl. Chances were he'd have a half-dozen well-meaning citizens on him almost immediately, and even if he did manage to fight them off without hurting them, the girl would surely escape in the confusion. No, the only sure way to catch her and retrieve his possessions (along with whatever money she hadn't yet spent) was to track her back to her hide-out. Although it had taken most of the afternoon, and he was a bit tired and very hungry, having not eaten for nearly a day, Devin had done that. And was preparing to move in.

         He silently contemplated the best means of entry to the warehouse. The girl had entered through a side door, but only an idiot would follow her through that entrance. Judging from her performance the previous night, she was more than capable of protecting herself. Chances were an unauthorized entry through that door would result in anything from an alarm that would warn her off to a bucket of lead dropped onto his head. The only other door that he could find appeared to be welded shut quite securely, and that left him with very few options.

         The skylight, he decided finally. That is, if this building has a skylight. Most do, right?

         He couldn't see the roof of the warehouse from where he was standing, but he decided to quickly remedy that situation. Praying that the girl wouldn't decide to head out while he was momentarily out of sight of the door, he sprinted around the corner of the warehouse to an adjacent apartment building, one with a fire-escape leading to the roof.

         A practiced leap allowed him to reach the retracted ladder, and he quickly pulled himself up. Then, cautious of making too much noise, he crept up the first two flights of the fire escape to the third floor, where he had a perfect view of the warehouse roof.

         Just as he'd hoped, there was not one, but three large skylights set into the roof, amidst a virtual forest of solar collectors.

         Must be a lot of power running into that place, Devin thought with a frown. I wonder what she's running in there? Or if the power's even on?

         He was still for a moment, watching for any signs of movement or sounds of activity. There seemed to be none of the former, and if there were any of the latter, the confusion of noises that blanketed New Midgar drowned them out.

         Time to move in, he decided, seeing no point in delaying any further. He turned away from the roof and quietly scaled the last flight of the fire escape, ending his climb on the roof of the apartment building. He glanced over the barrier at the end of the roof and measured the distance forward and down to the roof of the warehouse, ignoring the four-story drop that awaited him if he messed this up.

         Nothing to it, he reassured himself once more. I could make that jump in my sleep.

         He crouched near the middle of the roof, leaning forward and tensing his legs. Then, pushing aside any last reservations which might deter him from what had to be done, he launched himself forward like a racing Chocobo flying from its gate. In less than two seconds he had covered the distance to the edge of the roof. One foot came up, slamming down onto the top of the barrier. The muscles of the accompanying leg tensed, pulling the rest of his body forward and up. Then the other leg came forward, and he was airborne.

         The world slowed, as the wind roared by his ears, and he hung still for a brief second, suspended in midair as if he was floating. Then the falling began, and it was time to find out if the forward momentum that he'd given himself was enough.

         For one short, terrifying instant, Devin thought that he wasn't going to make it. Then his lead foot came down on the hard surface of the warehouse roof, far past its own protective barrier, and he fell into a practiced roll to break his fall, leaping up a second later and jogging to a stop.

         Adrenaline roaring in his ears, he took a second to convince himself that yes, he had actually made the jump. Then, a smile of tremendous satisfaction on his face, he crept forward to peer down through the nearest skylight.

         The glass was old and dirty, but he managed to make out what looked to be the floor of the upper story. It was covered in debris, mostly broken wood chips and the like, and did not look as if it had been inhabited for quite some time. He remained still for another few minutes, willing the girl to walk into sight, but finally concluded that she must be somewhere on the first story. That would make his entry easier to conceal, but would also make it a good deal harder to find her. He had hoped to analyze the layout of the warehouse before moving in, but apparently that wasn't going to be an option.

         Well, time to get on with it. He moved away from the first skylight, stepping carefully and listening for any telltale creaks that the passage of his feet might give off. The second skylight seemed to be intact, but the third had a single pane of broken glass, exactly what he'd been looking for. He stripped off his shirt, which was already pretty much a loss anyway, and wrapped it around his hand to ward off the sharp edges of the broken glass.

         Carefully, he began to pry what was left of the pane out. Although there were several close calls as bits of glass tried to fall away to the floor, one of which he only averted with a painful cut to his uncovered hand, he managed to get all of the material removed without allowing it to drop to the floor below, which would likely give him away.

         The opening was just big enough to squeeze through, and should provide him an uncontested entry to the warehouse. Now, the problem at hand was figuring out some way to navigate the twelve feet in between his current position and the floor without injuring himself, or giving his entry away.

         He suddenly wished that he had brought some rope. Unfortunately, thanks to the girl's unlawful theft of his possessions, he didn't have the money to buy any, and wasn't willing to steal it even if he knew how to go about such a deed. He could probably jump down without much of a problem, but the landing would be difficult--a 150 pound body made quite a sound when dropped onto a creaky wooden floor from twelve feet up, regardless of the skill of its owner. However, he didn't see any other way to get into the warehouse.

         Unwilling to give up yet, he stuck his head and the forward portion of his chest through the open window pane and looked around the warehouse slowly, searching for anything that might help him. He quickly saw a possible solution, though it was risky at best. Still, any chance of escaping detection was better than none, and if his idea worked, it would solve his landing problem and eliminate any chance of the wooden floor creaking under his feet.

         The distance between the edge of the skylight and his target was only a bit more than the length of his arm, so he should be able to make it, provided the skylight didn't give way under his weight.

         Get on with it! an angry voice inside his head urged him. She might be getting away already!

         Allowing himself only a few more seconds to plan his attack, Devin pulled his head out of the skylight and replaced it with his feet and lower legs. Then, he carefully began to lower himself through the opening, praying that the metal skylight support around which his hands were wrapped wouldn't break under his weight. Fortunately for him, it held firm, and soon his entire body was inside the building, hanging from the skylight support about six feet off of the ground.

         That was the easy part. Now for the hard one.

         Carefully, he unwrapped his right hand from its grip around the skylight support. His left arm began to burn immediately, holding the entire weight of his body, but his upper body strength was good, and he had no doubt that he could hold on for another minute or so with that one arm, which was far more time than he needed.

         He stretched his right arm forward, reaching for his objective. Despite his best efforts, he was dismayed to realize that it remained a little more than three feet out of his reach. For a moment, he contemplated simply dropping to the floor. A six- foot drop would not be as loud as a twelve-foot would be.

         After a second, he thought the better of it. He didn't want to take any chance of alerting the thieving girl of his entry to her hideout, and dropping to the floor would be taking a considerable chance. No, it was best to stick with his first plan. But how?

         After a second's thought, he had the solution. He grasped the skylight support firmly with both hands, and felt immediate relief flood through his left arm, as it was freed of the pressure of supporting his entire body. Then, he swung his legs backward, and then forward, turning himself into a living pendulum. After eight repetitions, he felt that he had sufficient momentum to accomplish his task.

         Here goes nothing.

         In time with his last forward swing, he let go of the skylight support, throwing his entire body forward and up. An instant later, his feet and head had reversed their positions, and the floor of the warehouse was spinning by threateningly above his head. Then his midair flip came to completion, and he desperately reached out for the thick black piping of the fire-extinguisher system.

         His left hand didn't reach quite far enough, and the tips of his fingers only brushed the edge of the piping. His right hand, however, found its mark, and a shock traveled up his arm to his shoulder as his body was jerked downward, pulled by the inexorable force of gravity. He grimaced in pain, but was careful not to make a sound--to do so would compromise this entire operation. He quickly stabilized himself and pushed his left arm up, securing a firm hold on the fire-extinguisher piping and taking a second to catch his breath.

         Despite the lingering pain in his right arm and his growing fatigue, Devin felt very pleased with himself, and realized that he was actually enjoying this clandestine break in. He had trained his body during almost every free moment he'd had at home, as well as the numerous camping trips he'd gone on with his father, in his younger days. However, even the twin challenges of managing school work and the neighborhood kids back in Nibleheim had been far under par of what he'd felt capable of, and was not nearly as challenging as what he was doing at this moment. He was using his skills and his body to their fullest extent, and he was finding out just how good that felt.

         No need to hang here complimenting myself, though. Cautiously but surely, he began to hand himself down the length of the fire-extinguisher piping, moving for what looked like an ancient metal stairwell. With luck, that would lead down onto the ground floor and his quarry.

         He reached the space above the stairwell with barely an effort, but once he arrived he found himself confronted with the challenge he'd been avoiding ever since he'd begun his stealthy entry into the girl's hideout. It was time to drop to the floor, and he had to do that with as little noise as possible.

         He procrastinated for a second, noticing that he could see the floor below through the metal mesh of the stairwell. Can't hurt to have a look at the lay-out before I go down. That second was quickly stretched into two, and by the time he felt he'd looked enough almost thirty had expired, and he was right back where he started.

         Unfortunately, he was not allowed any further examination of the problem. The girl he'd been following for half the day suddenly walked into view on the floor below, striding in a direction that looked to be moving deeper into the warehouse, and he sucked in his breath involuntarily. He immediately regretted that error, praying that she was too far away to hear. His prayers went unanswered.

         She immediately stopped. Then, as the world moved in what seemed like slow-motion, her head slowly tilted back and her eyes suddenly came to rest upon him.

         Aw, hell. Regretfully, Devin abandoned any further attempts at stealth and surprise in favor of the only option left to him. Pursuit.

         The girl's eyes had only just begun to widen when he let go of the fire-extinguisher piping, and her jaw had barely dropped before his boots hit the metal of the stairwell with a loud clanging sound that reverberated throughout the empty warehouse. He immediately broke into a run, and was a third of the way down the stairwell before his quarry finally collected her wits, closed her mouth, and belatedly attempted to flee.

         Oh no you don't!

         He leapt over the guard rail, abandoning the last two-thirds of the stairwell in favor of the fastest way down he could think of. It was a full twelve feet to the hard cement below, and his feet smarted when he landed, but he didn't let that slow him. He threw himself forward, into the momentum of his fall, and cushioned his landing by flying into a forward somersault. Then he was back on his feet, and the chase was on.

         "Miss me?" Devin yelled gleefully at the girl's retreating back, which was rushing toward the exit to the warehouse, still more than twenty feet away. She didn't bother replying.

         He pumped his legs as fast as he could, and the distance between them continued to close. The door was now ten feet away, but the distance between them was half what it had been seconds ago. Just as one of her hands reached for the door and started to yank it open, Devin smashed into her from behind and slammed the door shut. Unfortunately, he concentrated a little too much of his attention on the door, and not enough on her. Because of this, he didn't see her fist flying toward his head until it was too late to dodge.

         He made the best of the time he had. He rolled to the side with the force of the blow, lessening its impact, and thus the strike barely fazed him. Then he leapt for her, but she managed to stay just a hair's width ahead, leaping away from the closed door with an angry shriek.

         Then a kick came flying toward his head, but this time Devin was ready. With almost effortless ease he reached up with his right hand and caught her rapidly moving ankle only inches from the side of his head. He gave her a brief second to sort out what had happened. Then he jerked the ankle up, and she was ripped off her feet with a terrified yelp.

         He grinned maniacally as she crashed to the ground, and then put his hands on his hips as she scrambled backward, crab-like, in one last desperate attempt to get away.

         "Who--who are you?" she stammered suddenly. Hearing her voice for the first time, Devin belatedly realized that it was rather pretty.

         "What, you don't recognize me?" He feigned surprise. Then he glanced down at his wrinkled, mud-covered riding pants, about the only article of clothing he still possessed, and smiled self- consciously. "I guess I don't blame you. I'm the guy you mugged yesterday night." His smile quickly turned cold, and his next sentence was filled with malice. "That was NOT a good idea."

         "You...," she said with rapidly dawning comprehension. Her bright-green eyes were as wide as saucers. "How--how did you find me?"

         "Ran into you on the street, and followed you here," Devin answered simply, taking a step towards her. "And I'm not here for small talk. I'm here for my money and my ID Card. And I want them NOW." He accented that last word by pounding one hand into the flat palm of the other, causing his adversary to flinch involuntarily.

         "I--I don't have them!" she stammered.

         "Bullshit," Devin spit back. "Don't expect me to believe that you were walking around town all day buying half of New Midgar with a credit card."

         The girl jumped to her feet suddenly and continued to back away, and then belatedly realized that Devin had herded her into a corner. She glanced around as if desperately looking for any way to escape, but Devin merely spread his hands out to his side and grinned again.

         "Just try it."

         She looked like she was about to take him up on his offer, but finally seemed to decide against it. She sagged back into the corner, defeated.

         "I told you I don't have them," she said again, quietly. Then she perked up. "Not here, anyway! I hid them! And if you don't let me go, you'll never find them!"

         "Hmmph." Devin was still unconvinced. "And what makes you think that I won't just beat their hiding place out of you, huh?" He laced his fingers together and cracked his knuckles. "After what you did to me yesterday night, I think I'm more than entitled. Don't you?"

         She shuddered visibly and shook her head. Naturally, he didn't have any real intention of beating the information out of her, although he couldn't let her know that. Despite the fact that she had robbed him, ruined any chance for him to join SOLDIER and nearly gotten him killed by Bull and his flunkies, the idea of beating up a cowering young girl was the furthest thing from his mind. But as long as she thought he was serious, he still had a chance of finding out where she'd hidden his money.

         "Look," she said after a tense second, "I can't just tell you where it is. You'd never find it. You're just a tourist, right?" She smiled thinly, though the expression looked forced.

         Devin grimaced angrily. It didn't appear that she was going to make this easy. He took another step toward her and slammed his fists together.

         "Try me," he urged through gritted teeth.

         She continued to stare at him fearfully for another second, and pushed herself as far into the corner of the warehouse as she could go. Devin took another step towards her, leering menacingly, but he was silently evaluating his options. He was still not willing to attack a defenseless girl, and intimidation could only go so far. A few more steps and he would either have to fight it out, or admit defeat. He was not willing to do the former, but neither was he willing to settle for the latter. He could only pray that the flustered girl had some small amount of sense, and wouldn't force him to make that decision.

         Then her frightened, cowering manner suddenly disappeared, and her green eyes glinted evilly. One arm shot out to her side to grab a thick metal lever, which had previously been concealed from Devin's view by a protruding wall support.

         "Head's up," she said with a sweet smile, as she pulled the lever down.

         Devin didn't take more than an instant to contemplate the sudden turnabout. Urged on by a flash of sudden intuition and his instinct for self-preservation, he threw himself to the side just in time to avoid a trio of large sandbags, which crashed onto the floor less than an inch to his right with an earth-shattering crack.

         She leapt towards him as he attempted to roll to his feet, both booted feet aiming for his head, her fiery green eyes glinting angrily. She'd only been pretending to be frightened of him, so that she could lure him into her trap! Desperately, he threw one arm up and managed to deflect one of her feet, jerking his head painfully to the right to avoid the other, which crashed down almost on top of his ear.

         All right you faking little bitch, now it's payback time!

         Flexing his back, he brought his legs up and sent the front tips of his feet smashing into her back. As she stumbled forward with an angry cry, he flipped to his feet and turned on her, barely ducking a wicked roundhouse kick a half-second later.

         Well, no help for it. She may be a girl, but she's certainly not defenseless!

         He lunged forward, as she attempted to kick him again, this time trying to sweep his leg.

         She's not bad, but she's no Tifa Lockhart.

         He jumped over her kick, and then his fist flew forward. Straight into her nose.

         There was a loud crack as her head was snapped back, and then she stumbled backward and collapsed. Devin fell back into a ready stance, waiting for her next move. Would she fight, flee, or try to drop another sandbag on him?

         After several seconds, she dazedly rose into a sitting position, her eyes glazed and unfocused. That must have hurt, Devin thought with satisfaction. Then she seemed to focus, and one hand rose daintily to touch her nose, which was bleeding profusely.

         "You...," she sputtered, seemingly at a loss for words. Then her eyes flashed with righteous indignation. "You hit me!"

         Devin shook his head in disgust. "You don't say," he muttered, rolling his eyes.

         "You asshole!"

         Oh, sure. You can mug me, kick me, drop sandbags on me, but if I give you one little tap on the nose...

         "Look," Devin began angrily. He stepped forward, reached down, and grabbed the thin material of her tank-top, jerking her to her feet and bringing his fist back threateningly. "I haven't got all day, okay?"

         She attempted to jerk away, trying to punch him, but he caught her weak blow, spun her around, and wrapped his arm around her neck, pinning her arm behind her back. She continued to struggle against him like a fish flopping about on the floor of a boat, yelling curses all the while.

         "Let go of me!"

         "No chance," Devin growled. "Give me my money."

         "I don't have it!"

         "Then tell me where it is."

         "You expect me to do that after you gave me a bloody nose?!"

         "You tried to drop a sandbag on me!"

         "So what! You deserved it!"

         Devin couldn't believe the nerve of this girl. It was just his luck that of all the thieves who could have possibly robbed him, he had to get a bitchy, imperious spoiled
brat...

         He tightened his hold on her neck, and she gasped for breath.

         "You've got one last chance, little girl," he growled, trying to make his voice as menacing as possible. "You give me my money back, or I'm gonna..."

         His threat was left unfinished. At just that moment, the door to the warehouse slammed open, and the eyes of both Devin and his captive snapped up to cover it in surprise. With a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Devin realized that they were no longer alone.

         "Well, well, well," the massive form of Bull Jennings commented, as he stepped into the warehouse, flanked by two thugs that were nearly as big as he was. A thick bandage covered his nose, but he looked no less threatening because of it. "What do we have here?"

         "Help me!", the girl yelled suddenly, going back into her defenseless waif act. "Please!"

         Bull stared at her for a brief second. Then he threw back his shoulders and roared with laughter.

         "Oh, this is rich." He was practically in convulsions. "Help you, little girl? Who the hell do you think I am?" His left hand sank to a sheath that hung against his hip, and then rose up with a wicked looking blade that was nearly as long as Devin's arm. His eyes narrowed, and he gritted his teeth angrily.

         "I'll help you all you want, little miss." His flunkies chuckled knowingly. "After I get done gutting your boyfriend here."

         Devin began to back up, pulling the girl with him. "She's your thief!" he yelled angrily, almost in unison with the girl's angry exclamation of "He's not my boyfriend!" Devin shook his head and started to back up. "She's the one who stole your money, dammit, not me!"

         "So you weren't lying about that." Bull shrugged, as he started forward, his two henchmen shadowing him with practiced ease. Experienced killers, all three of them. "That means I get to wack two birds with one stone, doesn't it? Not only do I get to gut the idiot who broke my nose, but afterwards me and my buddies can show this thieving little wench...," he gave the girl still pinned in Devin's arms a thin smile, "what a real man can do for her."

         Devin felt the girl tense angrily in his arms, as her mouth fell open in disbelief.

         "You wouldn't...," she began. Devin didn't let her finish. He tossed her hard to the side, and she stumbled gamely, trying to keep her balance. He had no illusions about what he could do against three armed men with only his bare fists.

         "Run for it!"

         Although she might be a spoiled brat, she was certainly no idiot. And faced with three lecherous, armed men, she didn't stand around gawking. She darted for the stairs.

         Bull roared angrily and charged them, as Devin took off after her. If he'd learned anything about this girl so far, it was that she had a habit of preparing for just about everything. And wherever she was headed now, it was almost certainly preferable to facing Bull and his henchman head on.

         "Get 'em!" Bull roared loudly from behind him. Devin quickened his pace, the girl only feet ahead of him. Just when he thought she was going to start up the stairs, however, she suddenly darted left and headed for the back of the warehouse.

         He had a split second to decide whether to follow her, or head up the stairs. He had no doubt that he could pull himself out through the skylight before Bull or his men could catch him, but that would leave the girl unprotected, as she was obviously headed somewhere else. Although it was tempting to head for certain escape, the thought of what Bull and his men would do to this girl if they caught her turned Devin's stomach.

         Cursing himself for doing so, he turned away from the stairs and rushed after her.

         Whatever you do, don't run out of tricks now, he urged her silently.

         Devin could hear Bull and his men falling behind, but not nearly fast enough, and they were quickly running out of warehouse. Finally, Devin saw their objective ahead. A thick metal door.

         He thought back to his earlier assessment of the warehouse, remembering that the only other door out of this place had been welded shut. But that door had been on the left side of the warehouse, if he remembered correctly, and this door was in the back. He smiled despite himself. Although she might be a thief and a spoiled brat, this mysterious girl was turning out to be the most resourceful spoiled brat he'd ever met.

         A second later she reached the door and slammed into it shoulder-first, obviously intent on smashing it open and dashing forth to freedom. It seemed she'd planned for a situation just like this one, and left herself a convenient escape route, just as Devin had hoped.

         Her collision with the door was accompanied by the sickening sound of bone cracking, and for a moment Devin wasn't quite sure what had happened. Then the girl bounced off of the door and cracked her head on the cement floor with a sound that was loud enough to make Devin wince, as the metal door shuddered angrily. It appeared that her escape route wasn't quite as secure as she'd thought.

         "Go for the window!" he yelled, noticing the large portal to the left of the closed door, about eight feet off of the ground. He leapt over her fallen form as he yelled his suggestion, grabbing the window sill and pulling his body up onto it. A booted foot smashed into the window and sent the glass from which it was composed flying outward, finally opening an escape route. He spun around, crouching in the sill, prepared to pull the girl up onto it and then pull them both to safety.

         His eyes widened. For some reason, he'd thought that escaping the warehouse would be as simple as breaking the window, jumping up, and then getting the girl up there with him before Bull and his henchmen reached them. Unfortunately, there was one fact that he'd forgotten to consider. The girl wasn't getting up.

         Bull was coming up quick, his blade glinting almost as evilly as his eyes. In the space of a second, Devin contemplated the impossible odds arrayed against him, the open window leading to a sure escape, and the motionless thief laying on the floor below. Then, with a disgusted sigh, he leapt down off the window sill and launched a flying kick into Bull's rushing form.

         I've got to be out of my frickin' mind.

         Despite his self-recriminations, his kick landed just where he'd aimed it. Bull grunted in surprise as Devin's boot slammed into the center of his chest, knocking him several feet back. Amazingly, he somehow managed to avoid going down, although he did lose his grip on his blade. As Devin spun in the air and came in for a landing, however, his adversary lunged forward. Devin saw the blow coming a second too late.

         When the stars finally began to clear he felt hard metal against his back, and began to struggle to his feet. Then a pair of beefy hands grabbed his shoulders and lifted him from the ground, slamming him hard into the back wall of the warehouse. Despite himself, he cried out in pain.

         "Not so tough now, are you?" a hateful voice growled, as Devin's vision finally began to clear. The ugly face of Bull Jennings was leering at him from less than six inches away, as the massive man crushed him harder against the wall, almost as if attempting to push his adversary through it. Then he began to shake Devin angrily, smashing him against the wall over and over.

         Ignoring the pain that seemed to be coming from every nerve in his body, Devin waited only the second it took his vision to focus before he launched a vengeful knee toward Bull's groin. There was a loud crunch, and the other man's eyes suddenly grew so wide that they threatened to pop out of his skull.

         Then Devin wriggled one shoulder free, and the fist attached to it smashed into the bottom of Bull's chin. As the big man stumbled back with a hissing, barely audible cry of pain and rage, Devin finally managed to break free.

         A boot smashed into Bull's head. Then another. Then another. As the massive man fell back toward his approaching companions, Devin resisted the urge to give him one last kick, and instead hooked his heel behind Bull's knee. Like a giant, toppling tree, the big man crashed to the ground, knocked out.

         Every nerve in Devin's body felt like it had been lit on fire, and he knew instinctively that several of his ribs were broken, as well as his left arm. The two men who had been following Bull slowed as they neared Devin and the unconscious girl whom he had foolishly chosen to protect, glancing in surprise at their downed leader. Then, as one, their eyes returned to Devin, and both of them raised their swords.

         Tiredly, he fell back into the best approximation of a ready stance that he could manage, with one broken arm and an unknown number of broken ribs.

         He knew without a doubt that there was no way that he was going to fight his way through two armed men, especially with a broken arm. Still, he could not have lived with himself if he'd left this unconscious girl to Bull and his henchmen, even after everything that she'd done to him. Nobody deserved THAT fate.

         "C'mon," he grumbled wearily. "Let's get this over with."

         One of the men nodded, as if in respect for Devin's fighting skill. Then he brought his sword up, and moved in.

         And stopped. There was a low, animalistic growl from somewhere further back in the warehouse, and for a moment Devin thought he was hearing things. Then, as the second swordsmen slowly began to turn, as if to look behind him, something massive and red slammed into him with crushing force. He hit the ground and did not get up.

         Devin blinked his eyes in disbelief. The first swordsman spun around and brought his weapon up into a defensive position, and suddenly his sword wasn't the only one on the battlefield. A lithe figure stepped from the darkness of the warehouse interior, and with but three deft strokes sent the man's sword flying from his hand. As the figure pressed the tip of her Buster Sword against the henchman's neck, Devin belatedly recognized her, as well as the fearsome red-furred creature who'd taken out the second swordsman.

         Coolly, Aeris spun her sword around and brought the hilt smashing down painfully against the last henchman's forehead. He went out like a light. His sister paused a second before speaking, her calm blue eyes gazing at him disapprovingly.

         "Hello Devin." She sheathed her sword and put her hands on her hips. "You do realize, of course, that you've had all of us worried sick?"

Continue to Chapter 5