Guilt’s Cost: Part XXXV

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Tseng sat on the couch later that afternoon. After eating lunch, the jetlag everyone was experiencing caught up and Tifa, Vincent, Reno, and Angel had turned in for an afternoon nap. Yokazi had stepped out for the afternoon to work the market. Just about to drift off himself, Tseng was snapped back to reality as the pager in his pocket went off. He pulled it out and looked to see who it was. He didn’t recognize the number, but realized that from its area code that whoever it was had called from Junon.

He rose grudgingly from the couch and over to where the phone was in the kitchen. After dialing, he pulled a chair from the table and sat.

Upon the fourth ring, a woman answered. "Tseng?"

He knew the voice. "Dr. Arlin?"

"Yes." There was urgency in her voice. "Brandon told me something I think you need to know."

Tseng smiled to himself. Brandon was Dr. Arlin’s long distance boyfriend and also a doctor, the only one in Mideel. "What’s that, Janice?"

"Are you sure this line is secure?" She asked, voice quiet.

It was rare that he had heard such concern in her. "I’m fairly certain it is, but I cannot guarantee it. What’s wrong Janice?"

She knew that he could tell she was upset, as it was the only time he ever used her first name. "Without knowing that this line is secure, I can’t really tell you. I think it would be for the best if we got back to the base to discuss what I have heard."

Tseng stood, knocking the chair he had been sitting on to the ground. Whatever it was must be serious since she was telling him to cut his vacation short. "It’s important enough to get me back to work over, huh?"

She grew slightly irritated. "Look, if you were going to have another attack anytime soon, I’m sure it would have already happened. I have a pretty good feeling that you haven’t exactly taken it easy as I ordered. But if what Brandon has suggested is true, and I have no reason to doubt him on this, it is something we have to act on. Shin Ra is bound to find out sooner or later, and that could only be bad. We are lucky that this hasn’t gotten out over the last several years. Brandon didn’t tell me before, hoping that it wouldn’t become an issue, but he’s getting afraid."

Tseng was thoroughly confused by her ranting. "Dr. Arlin, you need to calm down. If you want to meet me back at the base to discuss this, then that is what we should do. I trust your judgement on whatever this is."

"Okay." The doctor did her best to relax. "We need to get back in the base so I can brief you. I need you to think of who your most trusted man is, because you are going to need someone to go to Mideel and check up on this immediately."

"You don’t think I can go myself?" Tseng bent down and righted the chair.

"Too risky." She sighed. "Everyone knows who you are, and if Shin Ra got wind of you being in Mideel, they would know something is up. You might want to think about sending Ms. Lockhart, she would be able to travel unnoticed, and she would be able to make a positive I.D."

Tseng’s curiosity was seething. "Okay, we better cut off this conversation. I’ll get back as soon as we can."

"Great." Dr. Arlin hung up the phone.

Tseng left the kitchen and stood in the deserted family room for a moment gathering his thoughts. He had several ideas of what could be going on, but none of them seemed right. Somewhere inside, he had a very bad feeling.

The door to Tifa and Vincent’s room opened and his brother shuffled out. "Hey."

Tseng waived Vincent over. "Tsuvati, we need to go."

In a drowsy stupor Vincent furrowed his brow. "What? We have to stay for two weeks you said."

"That has been scrapped." Tseng looked at his brother. "Dr. Arlin just called, and there is something that really upset her. I don’t know what it is, but it takes a lot to rile that woman. She wants us back at the base before she will give me any details."

The thought of getting out of Wutai sooner than anticipated suddenly sunk in. Vincent perked up as the sleepiness melted away. "I see. When are we leaving?"

"By tonight." Tseng pulled a communicator from his pocket. "I’m going to call the crew right now and get them back to the airship."

Vincent just nodded in acceptance and made his way back into his room. Tifa was lying on the bed asleep. He sat next to her and whispered into her ear. "Tifa, wake up."

She woke and squinted up at him. "What’s up?"

He smiled to himself at how beautiful she was, even tired. "We have to get ready to go. Tseng needs to get back to the base."

Tifa sat up, still dazed from her nap. "Why?"

He shrugged. "I don’t know and Tseng doesn’t either, at least not yet. Dr. Arlin has something to tell him."

"Oh, okay." Tifa rose from the bed and stretched lazily. "Too bad, I really wanted to spend more time with Yuffie."

Vincent swallowed his pride. "Maybe we can come back later."

Tifa looked at him doubtfully. "Yeah right. You’ll never bring me back here."

"Yes I will, if that is what you want." Vincent said, looking her in the eye to emphasize his sincerity.

Tifa was speechless for a moment. "You would come back here for me, even though you hate it so much?"

He stood up and ran his human hand down her cheek. "I would do anything to make you happy. I would march back into Hojo’s lab if you asked. Anything."

Tifa swallowed hard to hear him say the part about Hojo so seriously. "But Vincent, I want to make you happy, too."

He smiled slightly. "All you have to do is be with me. That is all I will ever ask."

A knock came to their door and Tseng came in. "I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but if I could talk to you for a moment alone, Tifa."

She looked at Vincent. "Uh, sure."

Vincent excused himself and walked out of the room.

Tseng shut the door and approached Tifa. "I hope you didn’t forget what I said last night. I don’t want you and Vincent alone anymore. You two have been shut in here all afternoon with the door closed. I need to see to your safety."

She crossed her arms and frowned. "Tseng, in case you haven’t noticed, Vincent and I are a couple, and we will need some alone time every now and then."

"I appreciate your feelings for my brother, and thank you for caring for him so much." Tseng said quietly as he stepped closer. "But you have no control over that demon inside him, and if anything were to happen to you, I would never be able to forgive myself."

Tifa turned away from him. "And like I told you before, facing that demon is a risk I am willing to take. You know as well as I do how much Vincent needs his privacy, and if you were to escort us constantly he would lose his mind."

"Tifa, look at me." Tseng growled.

She couldn’t help but face him by his tone. "What?"

Tseng became angry at her refusal to obey his demands regarding Vincent. "I gave you two choices before, and let me remind you of them. Either you let someone stay with you and Vincent at all times, or I put him in stasis. I am not going to mess around with this. He is too dangerous now. We have no way of knowing when Chaos is coming back."

"No!" Tifa clenched her fists and held them at her sides. "Don’t you dare threaten to put Vincent in stasis! That isn’t funny!"

"I didn’t intend for it to be humorous, Tifa." Tseng came even closer. "He is my brother, and I love him. In order to do right by him, I have to protect you. If that means that I have to throw him kicking and screaming into that stasis box, then that is what I will gladly do."

"You have a stasis box?" Tifa had thought this was an idle threat before now.

"I most certainly do." Tseng narrowed his eyes. "In fact, my agents got the very one he slept in under the Shin Ra mansion for thirty years. ASRIO took it from there when we got word that Shin Ra was going to re-establish a base there. So believe me, dear Tifa, when I say that I will put him out, because I will. Now, which do you choose? An escort or Vincent being put back to sleep?"

Inside, Tifa knew that Tseng was using his former Turk intimidation on her, but he had put enough fear into her to make her buckle to his will. "Fine, Tseng. Stay with us. You win. I just hope Vincent can stand it."

Tseng smiled to himself, proud that he had managed to break her. "Good. Get packed, I want all of us on that airship as soon as possible."

Tifa held back her tears as Tseng walked out, leaving the door open behind him. "Bastard," she whispered to herself.

Tseng stopped a few steps away and looked back over his shoulder at her. "I heard that, Tifa. Believe me, this is for your own good."

Vincent returned to the room, instantly feeling the tension in Tifa. "What was that about? Were you yelling at him? I thought I heard something."

She threw her arms around him and buried her face into his sweatshirt. "Vincent, I’m so afraid that I’m going to lose you!"

He placed his arms around her in return. "Hey, that’s my line."

"No!" She took a step back. "Tseng won’t let us be alone anymore. He’s afraid that Chaos might come back and hurt me."

"Oh…" Vincent backed away and sat on the bed. "I see."

Tifa went back over to him and knelt before him on the floor. "I don’t want that, but he insists. I don’t know what to do."

Vincent thought for a moment, his face growing sad. "If that is what he thinks is best, then it probably is, but I won’t like it."

"Can’t you talk to him?" Tifa almost begged.

"Tifa, if he has his mind made up, then it’s over. Besides, he’s right. Chaos probably will come back again; it doesn’t seem to take much anymore. If I hurt you when that happens, I don’t think I could handle it." Vincent hung his head, not able to look her in the eye.

Tifa started to accept that Tseng’s constant escort was going to happen, no matter how much she dreaded it. "It took so long for us to end up together, I guess I just hate the thought of not getting to spend time alone with you, getting to know you more."

He leaned forward and embraced her. "Tifa, I think you already understand me perfectly."