Something Wicked

Chapter 1: Forewarning

The world had once more settled, most welcomingly, into peace. The sinister forces that had arisen out of the depths of the planet had been fought, vanquished, and sent back to their origins. The three, Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo had been defeated; their plans for the Reunion had been toppled. Sephiroth had emerged, but was once again conquered, his own designs of extinguishing the planets life-force to use for his own purposes, halted.

The virus Geostigma had vanished, the mysterious cure healing all those afflicted with it. Jenova itself, the Calamity from the Sky, disappeared, and no trace of it has yet been found. Finally, all was right in the world. The saviors of the planet, on two separate occasions mind you, went back to their lives, trying their best to be ordinary. Well, as ordinary as they could anyways.

Cloud Strife stayed in Edge, maintaining his Strife Delivery Service, gaining a steady line of customers. A strange sort of job for a highly trained swordsman and hero, but whatever made him feel alright with himself. Naturally, Tifa Lockhart, his closest childhood friend and perhaps a bit more, was with him, helping him with his business, and managed her bar, 7th Heaven.

loud and Tifa still had many of the orphans living with them, several of those that had been previous victims of Geostigma. Often, Marlene was left in their care, while her father, Barret Wallace, was helping manage an oil field he had found several months ago. He hated being away from his daughter, but in order to keep Mako from being used, but without putting people in danger at the same time at a lack of power, he needed to do what must be done.

Cid Highwind, pilot and astronaut, was head of an avionics facility, responsible for designing and overseeing the construction of a number of flying mechanical airships, and even training the pilots to fly them personally. He still maintained and flew his own personal airship, ever since the Highwind was destroyed, the Shera, named after his head technician, and wife.

Red XIII or Nanaki, returned to his native home of Cosmos Canyon, to protect it, after his grandfather Bugenhagen bid him to protect the planet, and to watch over the Canyon. He honors his grandfather's last wish, ready to die for Cosmos Canyon, just as his father, the great warrior Seto, did.

Yuffie Kisaragi, the young, brash, and quirky ninja girl from the town of Wutai far to the east, also kept busy. After things settled down, she went back home to help try and restore its former glory, under the leadership of her father, Godo Kisaragi.

Cait Sith, aka. Reeve Tuesti, the former Shinra head of the Urban Development Department, had been working to establish his union, the WRO, the World Restoration Organization. Their purpose is to protect the planet, and to rebuild what was left.

Then, Vincent Valentine, the former Turk, and former bodyguard to Dr. Lucrecia Crescent, biological mother to Sephiroth. Vincent remains hidden most of the time, in isolation, his restless mind always thoughtful and filled with past regrets. He can now be easily reached, after procuring a cell phone in Edge.

And who could forget the former President of Shinra Inc., Rufus Shinra? With his still loyal Turks; Tseng, Reno, Rude, and Elena, cured of his Geostigma, not many know what he and they are up to. But no one really wants to know. Compared to the evils that had been faced, the Shinra were not quite so bad. But the time of crisis was over. The fighting had stopped at long last.

Business had been steady as of late. The hardworking citizens of Edge needed a drink every now and then, so Tifa was kept busy keeping her customers happy. She also acted as an answering service, talking calls when Cloud was out. Which he was at the moment. On the plus side though, he had been hanging around much more often lately, not being his previously aloof self.

Ever since he defeated Sephiroth, and was cured of his own Geostigma, he seemed much calmer of mind. His spirits were higher. He smiled now. He actually smiled. It's nice to see him smile once in a while, Tifa told herself, a cheerful expression of her own creeping across her lips. It was getting late in the afternoon; the last few of her patrons were paying up, and heading out. The bar got quiet. Tifa was all by herself, a rarity these days.

Marlene was with her dad, Barret surprising everyone, busting in the door unannounced, hooting and hollering. Several customers got very frightened by the size of this man, and that went double because he had a big metal arm, which was rumored to be able to turn into a gun.

Cloud was out on a delivery, and several of the orphans were either out, participating in their typical childhood shenanigans, or upstairs, asleep. Still, after such a rush hour, a little peace and quiet was certainly not unwelcome. Alas, this was not to last, as from deep within the building, a phone began to ring. Cloud's business line, usually a client or on occasion a friend from the past, aiming to leaving their rowdy voices on the answering machine, just to get a rise out of Cloud.

Tifa was contemplating on whether or not to let the machine get it, but figured, since she wasn't doing anything, save tidying up the already well kept bar area, figured it would be more professional to answer the phone. Stepping out from behind the counter, she headed for the stairs, and climbed to the second level of the building, to Cloud's makeshift office/home. Tifa got to it just moments before the last ring began to fade out.

"Strife Delivery Service," she answered, in a businesslike manner, as she had done a hundred times before, "You name it, we deliver it. How can I help you?" From the other line, there was a man's voice, an average sounding fellow.

"Um…yes hi. I was wondering, can you people deliver…large objects? Are you equipped to do that?" While at the moment, no, they were not equipped to do something like that, normally the things they delivered were in package sized form, it wasn't impossible.

"No problem," she answered cheerfully, brushing some loose hairs from her eyes, "We can deliver anything, even if it's as big as a house!" Of course, if it was something that large, they might have to give Cid a call, and see if he could help them out with a little aerial support. If it was that big.

"Oh great, that's fantastic," came the obviously relieved voice from the other end, "Cause you see, I have this…"

And just like that, with a click, a short flare of static, his voice vanished. Replaced with silence.

"Hello?" Tifa called, trying to get a response, "Hello, are you still there?" But there was no reply. "Strange," she said aloud, "That he'd hang up right then." But she soon realized that he hadn't hung up. The phone, still up to her ear, was silent, no dial tone. He hadn't hung up, the line had gone dead. She gave the receiver a scrutinizing look, before replacing it. After giving it a few seconds, she picked it up again, and put it to her ear.

Nothing had changed; still complete silence. "The lines must be down," she concluded, "Someone was probably working on it, and they accidentally disconnect the landlines." She put up the phone, and started back down stairs. "Maybe I should call the company, just to make sure it's just a fluke." Back down in the bar, she rummaged around, and pulled her cell phone out. She flipped it open and began punching in the numbers, but her eyes caught sight of her phones display. She wasn't getting any signal.

"What?" she questioned. Even more, her cell phone wasn't getting any dial tone either. As quiet as the local phone. "What's going on?" There was no answer, but then she reasoned, "Maybe I'm just not getting a signal in here. I'll try outside."

What she was trying to push from her head was the fact that she had never before needed to go outside to get a descent signal. So, why did she need to now? Stepping out into the afternoon sun, Tifa squinted at her phone. Nothing. No change whatsoever. "Excuse me," came a voice. She looked around, and saw a man standing behind her.

"Hi, sorry to bother you, but could I use your phone? Mine went dead, and I can't seem to get a signal from my cell." Tifa shook her head, holding up her own currently useless cell.

"My regular phone is out too, and so is my cell. I was trying to get a reading out here, but so far, I can't get anything." The man scratched his head. "Huh…how about that? Do you think were getting interference from something?"

"I can't image what," she replied, "I've never seen this happen before." He nodded, before saying, "Looks like it's not just us either." Glancing up, Tifa saw that there were several other people in the streets now, each holding their cell phones up, trying to get reception.

"I guess the phone company is just playing a joke on us. Oh well, thanks anyways." And off the man walked, arm still raised, lifting his cell as close to the sky as he could. Tifa had no idea what to make of all this, but had a hunch that no amount of waving her phone around was going to get it to work. So, she gave up, going back inside. For about an hour, several people drifted in and out of the place, each of them asking to use her phone, to which she would reply, it wasn't working.

She was in the midst of listing a possible reason as to why this was, when her cell suddenly flared into life, beeping. She had been holding it firmly in a fist, and now that it unexpectedly sparked to life in her hand, made her drop it. It hit the floor, clattering, but kept ringing. She nabbed it, opened it, and put it up to her ear.

"Hello?" she called, half expecting it to be Cloud, asking her where she had been. The voice on the other end wasn't Cloud, but she nonetheless recognized it. Her expression altered ever so slightly.

---

---

Meanwhile…

---

---

As it was, Cloud had been trying to reach Tifa. Trying for the better part of an hour. He had delivered his latest parcel to its destination, Kalm, and was already on his way back. About halfway, he called the bar, letting her know he was on the way. And also, he was thinking about asking Tifa to join him…for dinner.

Not like it's a date, he told himself firmly, although he wasn't really convincing himself. Imagine his surprise when his phone seemed to refuse to connect, getting nothing but silence. The lines dead, he thought, checking the signal display. Nothing. It wasn't getting any sort of reading.

That doesn't normally happen. Something's wrong. But he had no idea what. And being out in the middle of the wilderness, he wasn't in too much of a position to do anything about it. So, he kept driving, picking up the speed. Every now and then, he would pull his phone out again, and take a look. Still no reception. And it had nothing to do with him being out in the middle of nowhere. He made this trip all the time, to Kalm and back, and never had his phone been dead once. Something was definitely off.

With his high performance bike, and him coaxing even more speed out of it, traversing the wastelands at a velocity that was rather dangerous, it didn't take too long for him to get back. Instead of going straight into Edge, he pulled up to a familiar bluff, one that was overlooking the ruins of Midgar. At this site was a familiar monument.

A huge sword, several feet long, and with incredible thickness pressed tip first into the ground, the blade and handle tarnished with rust. From that place, he scanned both Midgar and Edge, searching for any signs of distress. But he could find none. All appeared as it should. No smoke rising from either place, no distant shrieks of terrified masses. Only the tranquil silence.

Cloud was even more perplexed, having thought that he would almost assuredly come back to a massacre. He knew he was being overcautious, as after being in the middle of so many catastrophes, and plots to eradicate all life, the concept and thoughts of actual peace were somewhat hard to accept. No matter how much he wanted to.

"I'm doing it again," he said aloud, casting a small smile to the sword. "Overreacting. You were always telling me to be calm. Guess I never listened." He walked back to his bike, kicking up the loose dust. Then…he stopped. He turned around, and instead of looking at the cities, he lifted his gaze up. Something wasn't right. He knew it. The cell phone thing had spooked him a bit, but he could overlook that.

But this…he had a feeling, a similar sort of one whenever he knew that something was amiss. He was usually right. There was…he didn't know what, but there was something wrong. A sort of pressure on the mind, he struggling to figure it out, like a problem that has a solution, but so well hidden, it is seemingly unsolvable. In the midst of this, his phone rang. Having the nerves of steel, he didn't jump.

Instead, he pulled it out, and put it up to his ear. "Cloud," came the soft familiar voice of…

"Tifa, something weird happened to my phone…It blacked out and…" He was cut off by her.

"I know. The same thing happened here. Cloud…I got a call. From someone we know. You should be getting one too. And so should the others…"

"Who called you Tifa," Cloud pressed, at once on alert. Tifa sounded a bit apprehensive, and he knew it took at lot to do that, "Who talked to you?" There was no answer, and connection went dead. "Tifa?" Cloud called on to the open line, "Tifa?" But there was no response. He closed his phone. Almost immediately, it rang again. He flipped it open. "Hello?" The voice that spoke to him wasn't Tifa's. But he knew it all the same. And it meant trouble.

---

---

Elsewhere…

---

---

Somewhere else in Edge, there was a popular diner that served great food, but as the sign promised, saved ones hard earned Gil. It was currently rather empty, as sitting in one of the biggest booths, was a large dark skinned man. His right arm was a glimmering metallic, artificial, the metal fingers tapping on the tabletop.

Across from him, strangely enough, was a little girl, about eight years old, who seemed completely nonchalant about the brooding and somewhat grumpy attitude of the big guy. In fact, she was giggling about it, loving whenever he went a bit crazy, ranting and raving, waving his arms about, scaring the people around, over seemingly tiny things. Such as this.

When the waiter had brought their appetizing soups, one chicken and one tomato, the blood red broth was ice cold, and after a spoonful, the man began glancing around impatiently, just waiting for his waiter to return, before he would begin to yell at him. The waiter in question could see the angry glare, and hunkered down behind the counter, hoping that he wasn't going to get beaten up.

"Daddy," Marlene told her father, stifling some laughter; "It's gazpacho. It's meant to be served cold." Barret glanced at his daughter, before snatching up a nearby menu, and scanned the text. True enough, under the Soup category, there was the word tomato, but it was indeed gazpacho. This didn't make Barret any happier.

"Well, why tha hell is it under soup then? Soup's meant to be warm, not cold as an ice cube! Probably messed up some other way too! When that waiter comes back, I'm gonna get him to take it back there, and heat it up! And if he spits in it…" This was too much, and Marlene began to laugh, squirming in her seat, watching her father throwing one of his tantrums. It was really quite funny. After all, she was the child, and such behavior was for her to do. Not her father.

In the meanwhile, the two talked, Barret pressing his daughter about Cloud, Tifa, Cloud's business, and if Cloud had gotten up the nerve to ask out Tifa. Marlene was Barret's hidden eyes and ears. He hardly ever actually said Cloud's name…but then, he never had anyway. He would always call him such identifying names as Spiky, Spike, Spike-head, Mr. SOLDIER, among others.

At last, Barret couldn't hold it any longer, and jumped out of his seat.

"Goddamnit," forgetting that he wasn't suppose to swear with his daughter so nearby, "Where the hell is the…" His thundering voice, which shook the diner in its entirety, was cut off by the ringing of his phone. He glanced down, the little silver cell both ringing and wiggling.

"Of all the times," he grumbled, fumbling with it, and getting it open. "Yeah, what?" A moment of silence. "What the hell do you want? I'm out trying to enjoy a nice lunch with my…" Silence again, the only sound audible was the slight murmur of a voice on the other line. "That's so? I guess Spiky will be there? Alright…but you'd better hope that this is for real!" He slapped it shut.

"Shit," he grumbled, now remembering to keep his voice down.

"Who was it dad?" Marlene asked him, knowing already that something important had arisen. Whenever Barret was with her, it would only take the biggest of emergencies to tear him away.

"Aw, just some guy I know. He wants to see me. Spiky-ass and Tifa will be there. Come on, I'll get this to go." The two of them rose, Barret tossing a few gil on the table, and they walked out, he holding the door open for her, and casting one last boiling stare back at the cowering staff.

---

---

Far away…

---

---

Across the ocean, in a vast warehouse, there were huge pieces of machinery clanking and whirling, a mechanics kitchen someone might call it. Just outside this gargantuan factory, there were several contraptions with wings and engines, all chuffing and grinding, purring and tooting. A whole fleet of them. Their spotless metal bodies were currently being buffed by numerous men in dark blue coveralls, while others were hanging by cords, to tinker and play around inside several open hatches.

In the sky above, there were a couple of other ships, in full operation circling around, their movements a bit on the shaky side, a tad jerky, the banking as well as the raising and lowering of altitude was a bit rushed. An obvious sign of someone who wasn't completely trained on how to handle such a delicate piece of machinery was behind the wheel.

This was the former Shinra Inc. Weapons Factory, under the direction of Scarlet, the former head of Weapons Developments. Now, without the need for weapons, it technological secrets and the whole premises were now being put to constructive uses. Under the leadership of the man in charge. Who everyone around called, "Captain".

On the roof of this factory, the executive office, was where this "Captain" sat. The office itself had been duly modified for personal preferences. There was no expensive furniture, only simple rustic pieces, a wooden desk, nothing too fancy, some chairs, and footstool. No pictures of weapons on the walls, as a matter of fact, there were hardly any walls; most of the office was open, with retractable windows and roof.

For the walls that were there, there were pictures of airships, of a group of familiar and friendly faces, and a dartboard. Strewn about the desktop were not designs for even more powerful weapons, but schematics for new ship plans, applications for pilots and mechanics, and logs on the daily maintenance of all aircraft.

And leaning back in a simple wooden chair, feet planted firmly on these piles of important papers, hands behind his head, gazing out into the sky and horizon, was the Captain. There was one other person in the room too, a woman in a technician's coat, and glasses, sitting in an adjacent chair, going over some things.

"This one looks promising," she commented, giving the daydreaming man a curious eye. "Quale Roderick. He has a pretty impressive flight record with the Trident and the Hawk. And…he's always wanted to be taught by you. As a matter of fact, nearly every pilot out there wants to be trained by the famous Cid Highwind. Why not cut him a break?" Cid leaned even farther back, a cigarette cartwheeling through his fingers.

"Damn, you should know that all those dopes want ta fly under me. But ya need to learn ta pick 'em better. What did ya say? Roderick? Are you crazy? He's a nice kid, but shit, he's a knucklehead who doesn't know his ass from his elbows. And you want him in my ship? He's liable ta crash it into a goddamn mountain the moment I take my eyes off him!" Shera only smiled and shook her head.

"Maybe we should do this later. I know from that look that you have something on your mind." She was right, though Cid wasn't usually one to share his feelings. Usually.

"You're right. I do. Take a look for yerself." He pivoted around, and gestured out the window. "That sky out there. I've been looking up at it my whole life; I know it like I know myself. And there something about it. It don't feel right. Something's changed about it. The wind feels funny, like there's something wrong with it."

"Maybe you've been staring at it too long…" Shera suggest, but Cid brushed that off.

"The hell I have…Mark my words, there's something different…" his thoughtful tone was interrupted by a buzzing, of his intercom. With a grunt, he sat up, and hit the button. "What do ya want, we're busy up here!" There was some static, but then a voice.

"Captain, you have a call, someone who want's to talk with you." Cid waved a dismissing hand, forgetting his intercom couldn't see.

"Take a message, I don't feel like talkin' with any idiots." A few moments later…

"Captain, he's says it's important, and that he's an "old friend", and its imperative he talks with you." Knowing the old friend could very well be one of Cid's own friends, defeated, he snatched up his phone, growling, "Stubborn sons of a bitch," before gruffly barking into the phone.

"This had better be damn good." After a moment, he grumbled, "Oh, it's you. What do ya want?" There was maybe thirty seconds of dialogue from whoever it was, before Cid spoke again. "And you need me for that? Uh huh…Well, how can I refuse? Alright whatever." As Shera watched, she saw Cid's face change. When he hung up, he glanced at her.

"Prep the ship, send out a crew, and tell Roderick to saddle up. We got some people to pick up."

---

---

Elsewhere…

---

---

Somewhere, not too far away, where the sky was orange, and the air was clear, was a place carved right out of the red cliffs. A small village had been established here long ago, huts and caves acting as shelter. Perhaps the most noticeable feature was the large observatory on the highest peak, a house with a grand view of all around. Cosmos Canyon. And sitting up on the roof of the observatory, was a bizarre creature.

A red animal, a dog by the looks, with a fiery scarlet mane, and a tail that glowed with fire. Across the highly pronounced canine face was a scar, running over the right eye, and feathers were adorned in the hair around his neck. Though he was sitting, one could still clearly see a large number "XIII" tattooed on his left hind leg. He was lying down, gazing out at the setting sun, in the midst of deep and contemplative thoughts.

After the fiasco involving Jenova and Sephiroth, his current duty of protecting the planet fulfilled, Red XIII had gone back to Cosmos Canyon. He spent the majority of the days traveling outside, along the canyons, keeping things safe for the others. As evening rolled around, he climbed back up to the observatory, to survey things on high. It gave him alone time to think.

This evening was turning out like any other, at least until Red XIII's extra-sensitive ears perked, hearing an approaching motor. And, it wasn't from a car or bike either. But that of a ship that flies. There was no need to speculate further, so he merely waited. So, it was no surprise when a magnificent and yet ever familiar airship came roaring up, mooring lines attaching to the railings around the observatory. Red rose, and made his way over, just as Cid was hopping off.

"Long time no see, Red," he greeted loudly, adjusting his goggles.

"Indeed it has," Red answered, sitting down on his haunches, "Been taking care of yourself?" Cid chuckled, throwing his head back at his ship.

"Sure have! Sorry ta drop in unannounced, but I got a call from an old acquaintance of ours. Wants ta see us…all of us." Red stole glance down at Canyon below.

"I see. To what end?"

"Bastard wouldn't say. Just wants us there. I'm headin' to Wutai next. I guess everyone else already has transportation arrangements. Supposed ta meet in Edge. Who knows what shit this is about. Can't be good though, I can tell ya that." Red followed Cid, and boarded the ship.

"As a matter of fact," Red confessed, "I've been expecting this somewhat. I don't know what it is, but something has made me feel uneasy as of late. A sense of anxiety, even among the creatures that roam the lands. Perhaps we will find out." With the lines detached, the Shera rose back up into the clouds, circled around, and went flying off on a westerly course.

---

---

Meanwhile…

---

---

Far to the west, on a mountainous continent, was yet another settlement. A place of different design of that of Edge and Cosmos Canyon. Magnificently colored buildings, ornamented with olden symbols. The technique of architecture was oriental and stylish, a small river running through the center. This town sat at the base of a grand set of mountains, with carvings etched right into the very rocks themselves. The mighty Da-Chao Mountains. The kingdom of Wutai.

Years past, Wutai tried to stand against Shinra, but were defeated after a long war. Since then, it had ceased to shine with its ancient spirit, and had become nothing more than a place for tourists and an overall laughing stock.

However, over the recent years, it has been striving to rekindled it's celebrated past, rising like the phoenix, from ashes to its former glory. This is thanks greatly due to the Hero of Wutai, aiding in saving the world, the great ninja, as she calls herself, Yuffie Kisaragi. She aids her father to bring Wutai back to what it once was.

The day was drawing to a close, and Godo Kisaragi was standing out behind his home, eyes closed, letting the wind wash over him, the serine atmosphere calming him. Yuffie is outside too, trying to mimic her old mans meditation, but with little success. She never quite got the hang of sitting still.

"Something is amiss, my daughter," Godo said, the first thing he had spoken in over an hour, "The world is not as it should be. Not quite back to the peace as it had been." Not sensing anything overly strange, Yuffie, as perhaps most people would be, was skeptical.

"What are you babbling about? Everything looks great. Look, I know it's hard and everything to accept that it's over, but it's really over." Godo did not share his daughter's optimism.

"I doubt that. The trees speak; they know more than they tell. One must know how to listen. And I hear a grim warning from them."

"Whatever." They once more lapsed into silent meditation, but this did not last long. For only a few minutes later, there was a roar, and a blast of hot air, as a silver ship began touching down nearby. Many inhabitance of the town dashed to the landing site, to witness the flying ship, wondering what purpose it served. Yuffie was right there, ahead of everyone. Cid leaned off the banister, waving his arms.

"Hey kid, it's been a while!" Yuffie gave the grizzled pilot a grin of her own, and acknowledged him with some wild waving of her own.

"Nice entrance you've made. What are you doing here Cid? Trying to modernize my home?"

"It's only a matter of time 'fore I do, but no. I got a call from someone, a name I think you'd recognize. He wants to see us. I got Red in here already, and everyone else is gonna meet in Edge. Don't know why, but it sure as shit ain't ta reminisce. You in?" Yuffie needed no further encouragement than that, and after making a grandiose performance to the people, explaining how she was off to save the day again, she hopped aboard the ship.

"Man, I hate these things. In less then five minutes, I know I'm going to be hurling all over the place."

"Just don't get it on my upholstery," Cid called, cackling like a wild man.

---

---

Elsewhere…

---

---

Close to Edge, a little outside of it, there was a large, high tech building, with state of the art security measures, a garage of mobile ground vehicles, and even several helicopters. A brand spanking new structure, sparkling clean, and being put to good use. All around this compound were soldiers, young men and women, wearing their kaki uniforms, with red caps, wielding their standard issue weaponry. A couple were manning computer terminals here and there, others installing security systems.

The front of the building read, "The WRO Headquarters." WRO of course meaning, The World Restoration Organization. The head of which was Reeve Tuesti. Currently, he was in the central control room, trying to solve a particularly interesting conundrum.

"So, nearly all of communications have shut down," he asked a technician, "No transitions going either in or out?" The soldier nodded.

"Yes sir, roughly fifty-eight minutes ago, all phone lines, radio waves, even television waves were lost. It's as if they just upped and vanished. Not even any outside means of message transmitting was available. It didn't affect any computer system in here, or in Edge, but communications are a no go."

"The question is," a thoughtful Reeve was inquiring to himself, "What could possibly do something like that? A high wave jammer? I've never heard of such a thing…But then again, I'm sure there were a number of things that Shinra developed without my knowing. Who knows, maybe someone got their hands on something…" His speculation was cut off by a squawking from the computers, and after a moment of study, a technician called,

"Sir, the communications have come back online!" Reeve, pleased, but puzzled stepped over, reviewing the readout himself.

"What did you do?" he questioned, to which the somewhat startled operator answered with, "Nothing. I was only running a diagnostic on the possible causes of interference, when all systems just came back. Whatever caused it must have stopped. Or something…" Reeve scratched his chin, perplexed over this.

"Odd," he commented with a mummer. "Keep me informed, and I still want you to try and find out what caused it in the first place."

"Mr. Tuesti," came a voice of a speaker, "You have a call on line three."

"A call? But the system just came back online!" There was a pause. Then… "Yes sir, and when it happened, we got the call. Someone wishes to speak with you; they say it's quite urgent."

"Alright, I'll take it up here. Transfer it to the closest terminal." After a few moments, a light from another station began to blink, and Reeve took up the phone. "This is Reeve Tuesti. Who may I ask is calling?" After a moment, a faint smile came across his face. "A voice I haven't heard in a long time. How have you been? Uh huh…I see. What's this about?" Some more chatter, before he sighed.

"Alright, but I certainly hope this is important. I'm pretty busy over here. Okay, I'll see you soon." He hung up, and was quiet. He then waved at a subordinate, summoning him to his side. "Send word to Captain Artlet that I'll need him to cover operations from here. I have some business that I need to see to, so I'll be out. I'll brief him before I go." The soldier saluted, and bolted out, leaving Reeve thinking about his furry little friend, Cait Sith. "Looks like we're not done just yet."

---

---

Far off…

---

---

Far off from Edge, or any other city for that matter, was a place that was exuberant, yet dim. Deep in the wilderness, hidden in isolation, was a dark forest. The trees were far from ordinary, crystal white, thin and fragile, an inhuman alien appearance, but there was still an enchanting feel in the air. Dotting he floor of this bizarre forest, here and there were small ponds, each filled with mesmerizing water, as one would hardly recognize their own reflection looking back. And sitting at the bank of one such pond was a dark and forlorn looking man.

He wore black clothing, almost like a suit, but not quite so fancy. Draped over his shoulders was a tattered scarlet cape, with a high collar, covering this mans neck and mouth. He wore a red headband, to keep his erratic but flowing hair out of his face, though a strand or two did manage to make it past. At his waist, was a dark leather gun holster, housing a pistol, a unique type with three barrels. On his left hand, there was a dull golden metallic claw, as well as boots made up of the same material. From under the dark black hair, were two brooding crimson eyes, staring out at the water, then, rising up, to see the starry sky above.

"Something sinister is in the wind," Vincent murmured, to himself, as no one was around. "Even now, its malevolence is growing." He trailed off, and remained silent. It was quite some time later, when there was a quiet beeping, and he leisurely pulled out his cell phone. He flipped it open, and put it to his ear, not even bothering to say hello. At once, a voice began talking to him, things he had expected.

"When and where?" he asked the mysterious caller. After a little more talk, he closed his eyes. "I'll be there." And with that, he put his phone back up. He continued to stare out at the water. "Seems there is still something to do…" He rose, and started off, exiting the woods, trying to leave behind his terrible memories, and regrets.