Of kingdoms and lies

by nightmistral

She's WRO. He's Deepground. She's supposed to keep the peace. He's a major threat to national security. When they first meet, it's hate at first sight. By the sovereign law of fanfiction, they're destined for each other.

1. Killing Time

Disclaimer: The Tsviets, WRO and DOC are the property of Square Enix. Delta Six, however, is mine.

Chapter One: Killing Time

A/N: Special thanks to Jason Tandro, who kindly agreed to beta this fic and without whom I would have despaired a long time ago.

ElleXVI, this is for you in response to your fic request.

Night over Midgar was desolate. Rubble-strewn city streets and wrecked buildings stretched away on either side, cast in gloom and mired in muck. Meteor had done its work all too well. Those who could, avoided the once-city like the plague; others who had no choice other than to stay did whatever they could to survive.

The city had become a no man's land. By day and night, mako-generated Things ran amok, eating everything and anything living that they encountered. Worse, however, lurked in the burnt-out shell of the ShinRa building. There were whispers, rumours, of creatures beneath the earth, freaks and abominations, which could kill with a single look.

Sometimes, the people said, you could hear cackling in the wind and screams on the breeze. And then they would turn pale and refuse to elaborate.

But the time for self-reflection and possible regrets was long past for the elite Special Operations Division, Delta Six. They had a job to do, and they were damn well going to do it, even if it killed them in the process.

Five days earlier, they had received mission objectives from the HQ of the WRO, requesting them to conduct a clean-up of Midgar, starting from the ShinRa building onwards. It was time to rebuild, and the schedule had to go forward.

Silence, except for the whipping of the wind around them. The operatives remained utterly still, muscles tensed, eyes scanning for any sign of movement in their surroundings. Waiting for the green light.

Then the headset crackled, "All clear. Delta Six, you are go. Repeat, you are go. Do you read me?"

Crouched in the shadows, Sab Artimieva, Commander-in-Chief of Delta Six, thumbed the mike pressel. Control would hear squelch over the earphones – her response to the all-clear. It made no sense to give your position away to any prowling Thing by making unnecessary noise that was sure to draw unwanted attention.

"Acknowledged. Mission Control out."

They stepped forward cautiously, rifles held at the ready. It was killing time.

A/N: So, what do you guys think?