Yes, yes I KNOW it has been a long time since I updated, but this chapter has been really blocking me at the moment, but I think I've fixed that problem.

I had a few issues of how to continue the chapter, so here's to hoping!

I give you chapter 2 of The Bullet and The Valentine.

This chapter is also very much dedicated to R . Reeves(Linnyxito on Deviantart) because without her awesome feedback on the first chapter and constant putting up with my harrassment of my commission on DA, I probably never would've gotten around to dusting off this story and continuing it. So you guys owe this chapter to her! Enjoy!

Bullet For My Valentine Song: Dignity.

Instrumental Inspiration: 2:33-3:35

Link to Song: www . youtube . com/watch?v=bk2al-UWnyY (minus the spaces)

Don't tell me where I will lay in your cemetery
Don't try to silence and bury me
Don't push me cause I won't go quietly
I'd rather die with dignity

The sound of a pen scratching against paper repeated in the silence, the author completely ignoring the sound of machinery and voices outside her door. Tai was used to them now. She remembered her first few weeks in service of the WRO and how little sleep she'd gotten from the constant noise and bustle.

Now she couldn't sleep without it.

Leaning back in her chair, the scratching of the pen ceased and the legs of her chair creaked. Writing in her journal was something that gave her peace of mind; something she did at the end of every day. Her line of work never promised a long lifespan and it was a poetic thought to her that if she ever perished in battle, the words in her journal would be all she could leave behind. She didn't have many worldly possessions, and those she did were safe in her hometown.

A sigh escaped Tai as she stood up and made her way to the metal shelf in the corner of her room. Everything in the WRO base was made of metal, but she was used to it now. It reminded her of home. Junon's metal shipping ports and massive concrete airship bases had been a part of her childhood, and it was comforting to be around familiar things.

Picking up a small frame, she stared at the photograph for a few moments before placing it back where she left it. It felt good to be able to have a sanctuary to hide herself in, especially after her run in with Reeve's "friend" Vincent Valentine. Remembering the way the Tsviets in Kalm had focused their attention on him annoyed her.

In fact, it downright pissed her off.

Whatever the "Protomateria" they had demanded was, she had no idea what it did or why they wanted it. Neither did she care, they could have the Materia and Vincent Valentine as far as she was concerned. What she was bothered by, was the fact that there had been Tsviets right in front of her and she had completely frozen up.

Stunned like some freshly graduated novice out of tech school.

Empty.

The room was completely empty. A few barrels were scattered around, some crates lay unopened and there was what looked like the remnants of a tarp in one corner; but there were no soldiers. Tai, however, didn't lower her weapon. She'd had enough experience against Deepground to know better…

As she and Vincent cautiously made their way towards the windows on the other side, there was a loud crashing sound that drew both their attention to the wall on the left hand side. Tai gasped from a bated breathe as the wall caved into the room, showering rubble and concrete all over the floorboards. She took a defensive stance with her feet balance further apart and waited for the threat to enter the room. A colossal giant of a man trode his way through the cavity, his face neutral and blank; completely void of emotion. He was followed by a small girl with brown hair, much younger in age and a small team of Deepground Soldiers.. Tai gave a choked gasp at the sight of the ice-haired giant, and Vincent heard the leather of her glove creak as her grip tightened considerably on her gun.

"You…" she whispered in horror, appearing very much like a deer caught in headlights as she looked up at him.

They, however, completely ignored her presence; focusing their attention entirely on Vincent. The child stepped out from behind the large one, her gaze transfixed with a wicked orange colour and her voice monotonous as she said, "The Protomateria. Tell us where it is."

To Tai's shock, Vincent said nothing. Their attention was obviously entirely trained on him and this made Tai wonder; what was his connection to Deepground? And what was this Protomateria they were after? However Tai's musings were brought crashing back to reality as the giant man spoke once more.

"Hail Weiss…"

She was unable to say anything in response, because the Deepground troops saluted with their rifles and repeated, "Hail Weiss!"

She turned to look at Vincent to see if he knew any of what was going on, but before she could make any eye contact, the troops opened fire. Tai shrieked in surprise as a bullet whizzed past her ear, stunning her for a brief second before she started to fire her gun; trying to aim for vital points like the head and heart. Her "comrade's" skill with a firearm was impressive, but she insisted to herself that she'd seen it done better. She grew angry at the soldier's presences, the giant at the entrance was her main concern, he was one of the ones she needed to kill! Leaving Vincent to polish off the rest of the troops, she turned to her target.

"You!" she hissed, "Look me in the eye you bastard! You die here!" she growled. The tone in her voice led Vincent to believe that she knew who this massive assailant was, and that she had some reason to fight him.

He smirked calmly as he stepped a little closer, taking no heed to his troops that had fallen. "Challenge accepted."

There was a tense aura in the air as the two fighters squared off. However Tai's face showed considerably more emotion than the hulking beast. Her eyes were wild in burning fury; her features knitted into a horrendous scowl that could have destroyed lesser men. She slid a stick of dynamite from the strap on her boot and slowly began to inch her hand towards the pouch with her lighter. But a moment of hesitation was caused as the small girl beside the giant collapsed behind him. The colossal man cast a glance back at his comrade and gave an amused scoff. Then he turned his penetrating gaze to Tai, feeling him near burning out her soul with his eyes. She felt a chill run up her spine, before it settled at the base of her tailbone as an angry heated rage. It was like a second will that was not her own; a purpose that she was currently failing to fulfil. A commotion was heard from elsewhere in the building, lead by a voice she knew.

"This way!"

"Reeve!" she whispered in shock, her gaze never breaking from the man before her. It was like her body could no longer move under her own command. The hatred that was boiling under her skin was consuming her; she was immobile.

Move Tai! MOVE! It's for her!

"Luck is on your side." The giant muttered calmly, turning away from Tai and lifting the girl with one hand. Had Tai been listening, she would've been able to make out the girl muttering something under her breath, but she was too far gone in shock. Like something traumatic was playing within her head, and this had Vincent confused for a moment. Then the giant man turned to look at him, completely ignoring his former opponent.

"I am Azul. We will meet again." And with this, he made his exit through the hole in the wall, almost in a leisurely way. It was then that Vincent's attention was draw to Tai as she sharply took in a breath.

"No…" she whispered, her eyes vacant and resting on the floor. She slowly slid to her knees, her fists clenched. Before he could question her as to her connection to the soldiers, the door burst open. Reeve Tuesti entered, a choked gasp escaping him.

"What happened here?" he exclaimed as he ran over to where Vincent and the collapsed girl were located. His gaze turned to Tai and he hurriedly knelt down on one knee in front of her. "Tai! Are you alright? Who were those soldiers that just left?"

Vincent cut in, seeing that the girl on the floor was too tied up to respond. "The large one call himself Azul."

Reeve gasped and looked up at Vincent, standing as the WRO medic began to look Tai over. "Azul…The Cerulean? Of the Tsviets? But that can only mean-"

"It was them…" came a hissed mutter. Tai slowly got to her feet, her gun clutched in her hand. "All I did…was stand there…" within an instant, she snapped out of her revere and turned to Vincent, narrowing her blazing stare. "What do they want with you? They spoke to you!"

"I don't-"

"Commissioner!"

That was when the WRO had found them, and Cait Sith had made his presence known. The memory of it made Tai sigh. The creature was nothing if not persuasive; for he'd talked Vincent into helping the WRO. Thankfully for Tai, the two of them had gone in different directions after Cait Sith's appearance. Tai had been focused on her own objectives in Kalm and she wasn't going to be driven from them by the likes of Vincent Valentine. Reeve had later tried to talk her down from her intense dislike of the man, telling her he was a good friend and a capable fighter. But she didn't want to hear it. The man was insufferable and even now, as Tai realized that the gunslinger had invaded her thoughts she grew annoyed.

Running a hand through her hair she gave an exasperated sigh. She was currently off duty, preparing for bed and a good night's rest. Her metal arm brace had been removed and replaced with the soft leather one she used for sleeping. She disliked making such a physical weakness apparent, but it couldn't be helped. She tied her hair up into a loose ponytail and rubbed her eyes sleepily before grabbing her water bottle; only to find it was empty.

"Great…" she mumbled, shaking it aggressively in the vain hope that it would miraculously fill itself. Sighing she resolved that she would have to go to the kitchens and refill it before bed. And if she left her room she'd need to pee.

Gods she hated bedtime.

Muttering and grumbling to herself she left her room, clicking the door shut behind her and heading down the hall; bottle in hand. The kitchens were on the opposite side of the lot to Tai, another reason for her lethargy. Walking around the base barefoot was never a good idea, the metal flooring was always cold and in winter it was a formidable threat to frostbite, but Tai currently couldn't be bothered wearing shoes.

"Hey, Tai!" came a voice from behind her. It was Josef, a mid 40's, veteran recruit of the WRO. He was one of the very few that were unafraid of Tai's spitfire temper. They were not what you could call friends, but existed in mutual respect of one another. He sped up to fall in step beside her. "Some of the guys are having a drink in the Rec Room, you want in?" he asked, turning and catching her gaze tensely. She looked at him slyly as she walked, a cocky, dangerous expression on her face.

"That depends. Are you willing to face me down with a Whisky Death Sting yet?"

The man snorted at her before shaking his head. "Unlikely. I saw enough from the last newbie you tricked into trying to outdrink you. Poor kid's gut burned for a week."

Tai shrugged indignantly. "Should've known better than to square off with a Junon native. Booze is what we do best."

Josef scoffed cockily. "Alright, alright. I get it. Actually, to be honest I was sent to find you. Reeve needs to see you in his office before you go to bed." He turned to leave down one of the adjacent corridors as Tai waved a had non-chalantly.

"I'll go in the morning. I seriously can't be assed."

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. "No. He said now, Tai. Sounded like it was important. Something about your mission in Kalm?"

Tai whipped her face around, her expression looking as if Josef had just thrown a spider at her. Then it fell to a grimacing frown. "Great… Thanks old man."

He was already halfway down the corridor when he gave a half-hearted wave without turning to face her or halting his movements.

"Anytime, small fry."

Tai was left standing in the hallway contemplating whether or not sleep was worth Reeve's lecture in the morning. Deciding that getting her ear verbally chewed off first thing in the morning was not what she wanted to have her coffee with, she gave a frustrated growl and turned on her heel to Reeve's office.

"I appreciate your help in Kalm, Vincent. It was invaluable to have you keep things under control until we could get there." Reeve sighed, slumping into his office chair and savouring the feeling of being off his feet.

Vincent was sitting in the chair across from his desk, perched at the edge as if ready for whatever form of threat might come through the door. He watched as Reeve poured himself a large glass of scotch and took a sip.

"I was in the neighbourhood." Vincent muttered, shaking his head in polite refusal as Reeve offered him a drink. The WRO commissioner laughed at Vincent's subtle, sarcastic humour.

"The reason I asked you here Vincent is important. I think you'd be best to stay with the WRO. For whatever reason, Deepground went for you. It would be a good idea for you to remain under our protection."

Vincent smirked beneath the cowl of his cloak, a gesture Reeve didn't catch. "Sure that's not the only reason? I think you want me to keep things "under control" again on a regular basis."

The commissioner's face flushed pink for a second, embarrassed that his ulterior motive had been caught out. "I confess, you would be a valuable asset to the military here. But as your friend, your safety is a concern to me,…Will you join us Vincent?"

The red clad man shrugged. "Fine. If they're after me I might as well go down fighting."

Reeve seemed to visibly relax at that response, but something still seemed to be troubling him. "I…Vincent, I want you to work with Tai."

This piqued his interest. "That girl from Kalm who couldn't shoot properly?"

"Firearms aren't her specialty: it's a back up weapon. Tai is our explosives technician and she's gifted at it. But…"

Vincent raised an eyebrow. "But?"

Reeve sighed, actually relieved that so far Tai was not there to hear their conversation. "Well…she tends to work solo; in fact she's fierce about it. But lately it's been too dangerous; there's no-one to watch her back in battle and she won't see reason no matter what I try to tell her. Would you be willing to work with her?"

"You mean babysit? Why not get one of her comrades to work with her?"

"No. Tai hardly needs babysitting…but she refuses to be teamed with WRO members. She's more than happy to participate in group raids against Deepground, but she won't do team missions. Please, Vincent…Will you help?"

Vincent didn't like the guilt-trip puppy eyes that Reeve seemed to have developed. While it was true that the girl was probably going to be more of a headache than she was worth with the lack of skill he'd seen from her, it wouldn't be anything he couldn't handle. The enigmatic gunslinger shrugged his shoulders vaguely.

"How much trouble could she be?"

Oh…he was later going to regret those words.

There was a short knock at the door which turned the attention of both men to a visitor. Reeve gave a short "come in" and the handle twisted before the metal barrier slid open, allowing Tai to step through.

"Josef said you wanted to see me Reeve. Make it quick cause I have to pee before-"

She stopped mid-sentence, spotting Vincent reclining in the metal chair across from Reeve, his muscles tensed like a cat ready to respond to danger. He gave her a blank stare before placing his gauntleted hand on his knee, turning his eyes away from her in disinterest. Tai, however, was not so subtle as to ignore him. "Reeve, what's the beanpole doing here? I thought you needed to see me." Reeve noticed the technician's murky green eyes narrowing dangerously. She was waiting for some sort of assurance that Vincent was about to leave. Unfortunately for Reeve, he knew he could offer no such closure. This was not going to go down well: Tai already seemed to have an intense beef with the gunslinger.

…Planet give me strength… He thought tiredly before drawing in a breathe, choosing his words carefully.

"What I have to say concerns Vincent as well, Tai. He's needs to stay for this."

Mostly so you won't try to kill me… Reeve noted mentally, knowing full well that the spitfire tempered girl probably would at leats attempt it. She wasn't exactly known for her diplomacy; the girl was like a dragon with a pitchfork in its tail. Reeve had to tread carefully with his next words. Vincent was also taking note of her in the corner of his eye. She was dressed simply, obviously ready to call it a night; wearing a pair of black sweatpants, a threadbare gray tank top and a leather brace where her metal one used to be. Odd that she keeps a support on her arm…A weakness perhaps? Vincent thought as he heard Reeve sigh heavily.

"Tai…Vincent is going to be joining you on all your missions from now on." The commissioner's face visibly flinched after he finished the sentence. To Vincent's surprise there was a brief moment of silence during which he noticed that Reeve did not breathe.

Then the penny dropped…

"SAY WHAT?" Tai bellowed, her features twisting into a violent scowl, her fists clenched and her teeth bared, "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I'M GOING TO AGREE TO THAT?"

"I'm sorry Tai, but you don't have a choice. Missions are becoming too dangerous for you to do solo. There's nobody to watch your back out there."

"And what good do you think Skeletor over there is going to be? I don't need some useless fucker tailing me and calling it helping!"

Vincent had been sitting back in this fight, but he didn't appreciate being insulted about his skill. "I'll have you know I was a Turk before you were even born." He rumbled, his voice completely calm and unperturbed.

She turned to him, her eyes narrowed it violent fury. "Then that makes you useless and old!" she hissed, fists clenched and jaw rigid with venomous words just waiting for the opportunity to come forth.

Vincent turned and ignored her, seeing no point in continuing the conversation. Nothing he said was going to stop her from trolling aggression at him. She was too far gone into her rage for it to make any difference. The best way to diffuse such anger was to ignore it. Reeve however, didn't seem to know that. Instead of ignoring her, he tried to play the "I'm-commissioner-so-I'm-pulling-rank-on-you" card. The gunslinger could only assume how that was going to go down.

"I'm sorry you feel so angry about this Tai…but it's not going to change. It's already decided; you have no choice in the matter."

The girl darted her head around once more, this time to Reeve. It was a wonder she hadn't yet given herself whiplash with the speed she kept snapping her head around. Vincent was surprised she wasn't already suffering from a snapped vertebra.

"Fuck you Reeve! I'm a freelance mercenary here! I can leave whenever I choose!" She cast and angry glare at Vincent and Reeve both before turning to leave. "I don't owe you anything!"

"What about what you owe to her?" Reeve called after her.

Tai stopped mid-step.

Vincent instantly noticed the change in the air. The girl's fists were clenching so tightly her could see her nails biting into the flesh of her palm. He felt Chaos suddenly stir within him, a primal instinct informing him that there was malice in the room. Rage seethed from Tai, so much more focused and violent than before that it was tangible. She turned on her heel, fist raised to strike as she charged towards Reeve.

"How DARE you!" she screeched, drawing her punch back, ready to belt the commissioner back into the Lifestream itself. That was where Vincent took control of the situation. With speed born from years of battle experience, he intercepted and caught Tai's fist inches from Reeve's face. She gasped in shock, turning to him in disbelief as she looked up at him and despite the physical height difference, nothing in her body language demonstrated intimidation.

"I know you're angry, but I don't think it would be wise to attack your superior." He muttered deeply. The gunslinger's eyes bore down into hers, trying to catalogue the emotions he read there. Rage was the strongest and most consuming; but there was something else there that he couldn't quite assess, because she wrenched herself from his grasp and backed away from the two of them. She darted her eyes back and forth before pointing at Vincent with bitter fury carved into her expression.

"You don't know shit." She hissed, voice lowered to a dangerous and almost threatening level.

Then she turned to Reeve. "And you…" she continued, "…have no right. I don't like this. I don't have to...but fine. If I have to do this, just know it's fucking not for you."

Before any response could be made, she headed for the door. Vincent noticed that her footfalls were heavier than before, they were angrier. She was certainly going to be more trouble than he had originally thought.

"Hey, Skeletor!" Tai snapped; her hand already resting on the door to leave. She had her back to them, but it was clear she was addressing Vincent. "Don't get in my way out there. Because if you do…" she turned her head to the side so that he could see the outline of her face, "…I'll blow you straight back to Hell." And with that, she was gone.

Oh yes...he was definitely going to regret this…