Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy characters, places and names are the rightful property of Square-Enix. I do not own them and this story is a non-profit departure from the original storyline, written for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of readers. I gain no monetary profit from it.

Chapter 1: Landfall

Cloud hated helicopters. He strapped his arms close together around his Kevlar vest and sandwiched the M-16 scope assault rifle between his gloved hands. He looked out the side cabin window and the sky displayed a sea of dense fog. It was still too early in the morning to see anything but at least it wasn't dark anymore.

He hated being cramped in small places. And the cabin of an Apache, loaded with fifteen Spec. Ops Shinra Soldiers was about as crowded as it gets. All around him, other men and women sat in their gear, loaded down with munitions, rations, supplies and weaponry; anything and everything they would need to get the job done.

But what was the job this time? Check on an isolated village that had gone silent for far too long? It didn't make sense to Cloud. Why send in the military? And the special division no less? Granted many of them were green, newly assigned to the Spec Ops unit, and he could tell by some of the pale faces around him that they never experienced the same Hell that he and few others had. Nevertheless, they made Spec. Ops. So they were the best of the best.

Cloud didn't like it. If it was just a training run, Shinra was vagrantly wasting tax money. And if it was more? Why keep them in the dark? There were too many questions and trying to sift through them all with no answers made his head hurt. Cloud sighed in frustration. It seemed like every day there was something new and after the recent victory in Wutai, he was beginning to question the decisions of their government more and more.

Thoughts of that scorched land, once lush and green with vegetation, made Cloud cringe. He forcefully tore his mind away from the memories and looked back out the window. Of course there was about as much to see now as there was five seconds ago. He didn't care; anything was better than thinking about Wutai.

"Lock it up people!"

Cloud turned at the sound of the new voice and a tight grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. A taller man came out from the pilot's cabin, clasping hold of the top railings. The man had spiky hair just like his own, however his was longer and black where Cloud's was medium length and blond. Many of the soldiers in their old division would joke that the two of them were brothers. There were many more jokes in the old days, but that was years ago before the war with Wutai. Now, anyone who heard of Zack Fair wouldn't dare make a joke about him. The man was a power house on the battle field; the best of the best, and again he had to wonder why they sent someone like him on a mission like this.

Nevertheless, Cloud knew Zack. In fact, they were best friends. And Cloud knew, by the easy look on his friend's face that Zack simply took it all in stride like he always did. He wore the same standard black spec ops uniform underneath the Kevlar vest, munitions and supplies just like everyone else while holding onto his helmet in his free hand.

"We reach the drop point in five!" He continued, looking over each of the thirteen faces around him. "The fog is dense so visibility will be low. Not a problem for guys like us. We'll be dropping into the forest zone, half a mile outside the Nibelheim village. I want everyone moving fast and low. Let's keep everything by the book and I don't want anyone lagging behind." Zack turned on a short man sitting near the back. "That means you Wedge! Let's keep it tight people. I wanna be back home in time for dinner."

Zack smirked and pulled on his helmet. It immediately covered his entire face and it was complete with a dark visor and lower face plating. It was the same as everyone else; Cloud always hated the design. There were better ways to breath than through foam, metal and glass for 48 hours. But he'd gotten used to it. He just hoped they didn't scare the locals too much; they were supposed to be the good guys after all.

Zack moved over towards the empty seat beside him and dropped down. Even though he couldn't see his friend's face, Cloud could tell by the body language, Zack was enjoying himself.

"How you holdin up? Still get sick on helicopters?"

Cloud tried very hard not to roll his eyes. Ever since his first mission when he popped, his friend wouldn't let him live it down. Instead, he shrugged off the joke and furrowed his brows. "I don't like this."

"Well you've been doing it for years now, you should be used to flying by now."

"I'm talking about the mission." Cloud grumbled. "It doesn't sit well with me."

"Yeah? Which part?" Zack leaned forward. "That Shinra's sending Spec-Ops soldiers on a milk run? Or that we even care about a defective relay station out in the middle of nowhere?"

Cloud shook his head. "Operation Control says we lost contact with the village over a month ago. They suspect foul play with rebel involvement but what advantage would terrorists have with an isolated village outpost? There's no strategic value whatsoever. And there are no factories for military armament either."

Zack shrugged again. "Well whatever the case is, it's a priority-one mission so it can't be helped. Stop worrying so much."

"Not this time Zack…" Cloud bit the bottom of his lip. "I have a bad feeling we're being kept in the dark and I'm in no mood to find things out the hard way."

"If you say so." Zack shrugged with an easy going demeanor. It infuriated Cloud that the man could be so calm. But, despite it all, Cloud was glad for that. He and Zack had seen a lot together during the war and they'd been in more than a few tight spots. Zack had saved his life too many times to count and three years before the war ended they were caught in a blast. He took most of it. Even to this day he can't remember much, but he knew Zack dragged him out through enemy lines. The two of them spent months on the run before they finally reached an extraction point. While Cloud spent months recovering, Zack had gone back in.

He was able to recover fast enough to reenter the fight but he never saw Zack again until the end of the war. He'd lead several units on his own and quickly scaled the ranks. But Zack was in a completely different class all together. Mission after mission, he'd gone through hell and back with the top soldiers of the special division military. Zack easily became one of the best. Cloud wasn't jealous but he missed the old days and he wondered just how much his friend had changed over the years.

A bright red light flashed overhead with a loud chime, breaking him from his thoughts. He immediately straightened up in his seat and Zack was no longer leaning casually. His friend was locking himself down and looking around.

"Show time, people! Get your game faces on and your harnesses strapped! We're in for a bumpy ride. As soon as we hit ground, I want everyone out and moving! No screw ups! We're the best Shinra has to offer so let's prove it!"

Seconds later the fog was broken by a dense conflagration of leaves, branches and greenery. Wind swept through the air and the loud hum of the helicopter rotors reverberated through the cabin.

Zack popped his harness and moved quickly over towards the hatch. As soon as he pulled it open, Almost all sound was drowned out with the blare of the rotors. Zack screamed through the noise.

"GO! GO! GO!"

Cloud quickly pulled his helmet on. One by one, the other soldiers popped their own harnesses, clutched their assault rifles and hustled out the cabin, single file. Cloud followed suit and took a position along the middle. Zack gave him a firm clap on the shoulder as he made his way out and he returned a tight nod.

His body was on auto now, as he mechanically ran through the dense grass and woodlands. Rain was falling heavy and the fog was thick. He rushed behind a tree, crouched, aimed, then ran towards another tree. Standard routine. Point to point, check your positions, keep moving. He could hear static humming over the comm. speaker in his ear and Zack's voice broke through.

"Split off into two squads. Strife you've got Delta Squad. Check left and give us a wide sweep. Bravo squad check right on me. Keep it moving!"

Everyone knew their formations. The lead seven were Delta. The rear seven were Bravo. Everyone fanned out in formation. Cloud was no stranger to command. He immediately switched on the thermal signature Heads-up-display or H.U.D. on the side of his helmet. Through the digital view screen inside his visor, he could see a rectangular screen open up, showing him fourteen red blips on an internal topographic map; their squad.

"Thermal scanners online." He ordered, keeping a low steady pace while moving through the woodlands. Tree branches and bushes were everywhere, interspersed with large leafs the size of his hand and more. Cloud kept his rifle aimed as he moved through it all. Behind him, the other soldiers scanned the surrounding areas as he took point. Rain fell harder and his boots sank deep in the mud.

He crouched behind another tree and waved his hand forward. Biggs and Luxiere quickly rushed past him. They aimed left and right while moving forward. Cloud checked the screen but the signal was still clean. He moved in behind them checking down the center.

The scenery slowly opened into a glade of lush trees, more green than brown and it looked like a small pond stood at the center. Cloud circled around the pond with the others, still moving steadily. The landscape dipped and he could see the last trees ahead before the forest broke into a clearing leading down towards the village. As his team broke the vale, he could see Zack's squad on the other side.

"We're nearing the target site." He said into his mic.

"Copy that. Proceed forward." Zack ordered. "We're right behind you."

The grasslands dipped down a slope and with the mud, Cloud moved at a slower pace to keep his balance. The village loomed into sight, and from the distance, Cloud wasn't impressed. A large windmill towered over the town with rusted fins, chucking along in the fierce winds and screeching on its rusted axel. The gates were old and high, made of solid oak. It must have been a really old village. It made him even more curious why Shinra had taken such an interest in a town like this.

Cloud looked up as he neared the gates. There were two watchtowers on either side of the front but both of them were derelict. He narrowed his eyes. He was no expert on rural village security but he was fairly certain watchtowers should be manned at all times. He continued to make his way up towards the entrance and checked the front door. It was wide but old. Pressing his hand over it, the door gave firm resistance and a metal lock jingled against rusted chains.

Luxiere whistled soundly through his helm. "Nibelheim huh? What a dump!"

"Place reminds me of something out of a history book." Biggs muttered, moving up alongside him.

"Yeah, but a scary one." Jessie added while staring at one of the abandoned watchtowers. "This place doesn't look too homely."

"You think maybe they got scared when they heard the Apache?" Luxiere put an elbow on the female soldier's shoulder. "Maybe the locals got a phobia against modern technology."

"Can the chatter." Cloud ordered and gave the fence another glance over. It seemed sturdy enough with no signs of damage. He looked back towards the foothills as Zack's squad moved in. The dark haired leader immediately walked up to him.

"What's it look like?"

"Old." Cloud shook his head. "But secure. The gate's locked and there're no signs of forced entry. What bothers me are the watchtowers."

"Yeah, I saw that." Zack nodded, flexing his fingers around his assault rifle. "No one's home. Lends to the story that something's wrong at least. But it doesn't exactly tell us a whole lot either."

"Orders?"

"They still stand." Zack turned to the man behind him. "Sears, get this door open. Cloud, once we're in, take your squad and run a sweep on the left side of the village. We'll take the right. I want to know what's going on in there."

"You got it." Cloud bobbed his head and gripped his rifle.

Sears moved in and pulled out a set of metal clamping prongs connected by insulated wire to a mechanical device in his side pouch. He attached one prong to the bottom of the lock and the other prong on the side. He moved back a few paces and thumbed a switch on the side of the mechanical device. A sharp spark jumped from the prongs, destroying the lock as it popped off its chain.

"Clear!"

"Effective." Zack waved his hand forward. "Move in!"

Zack leaned his shoulder into the gate, slowly pushing it open then quickly brought his weapon up, walking steadily into the village. Sears was at his back in an instant. Slowly, the rest of Bravo was past the gate. Cloud stayed at the ready with the rest of his squad waiting for the order.

"We're clear." Zack's voice came over the mic. "Delta, proceed inside."

"Copy!"

Cloud took point, and just like Zack, he rounded past the door with his rifle aimed. The rain was relentless and it fell heavy against old, wooden houses. Biggs was right about one thing, the village definitely looked like a historical relic. The hamlet was bisected by a long dirt road and on either side, houses ran in a long, winding stretch. Many of them looked to be two and three stories high with glass windows, simple doors and small plots of land. Some had cages for chickens. Others had mills and looms. At the center of the village was the gigantic windmill that continued to spin. It's base alone was the size of one of the two story houses.

"Yep… Definitely old school." Biggs muttered through his helmet.

As his squad continued left, Cloud cut behind one of the houses, carefully stepping over a bed of rain-soaked flowers. A back door creaked ajar in the wind and a laundry wire stretched out behind the house. He ducked underneath the wire and moved slowly towards the door.

"Elfe." He muttered and gestured towards the opened door.

The woman nodded and immediately took point, aiming her rifle and moving through the opened door.

"I'm with Elfe." Cloud continued. "Biggs and Jessie, take the second house. Wedge and Tierce have the third. Luxiere, you keep position here and watch for surprises."

The soldiers quickly fanned out. Cloud sank into the opened house and flipped a switch on the side of his rifle. A light blossomed in the darkness giving him a view of his surroundings. Elfe was moving slowly towards the living room as he made his way over to the kitchen. The hallway was empty with a long red carpet. But as he neared the kitchen, he saw a flood of mess. The pantry was ransacked. Pots and pans were scattered along the counters and floor. Rotting food was strewn about with half empty bags and sacks. It looked as if someone were trying to leave in a hurry. But no one was here. At least no one he could see.

"Hello?" Cloud called out, movingly slowly through the kitchen area. "If you can hear me, I'm here to help! We're Shinra soldiers…" He continued forward and neared a door in the side hall. Taking one hand from his rifle, he tried the handle, slowly opening the door. He fixed his aim and stared down a narrow stairwell leading to a lower cellar.

"If anyone is down there, do not be alarmed." Cloud ordered. He slowly began to descend the stairs and they groaned against his weight. "Again, I am here to help! We're not your enemies…"

He continued to make his way down but other than the creaking door outside and the slapping rain, there was nothing but silence.

When he reached the bottom, he quickly swerved left and right, but the room was filled with boxes and old furniture. The floor was covered in hay and even through his mask, he could smell the scent of mildew.

Cloud slowly walked around the boxes. A stray mouse scuttled past his boot making him grimace in disgust. He hated rodents.

He continued forward in the cellar walking down a row of crates and boxes. Some loose cords dangled from the ceiling and the steady patter of outside rain continued to hum. Cloud stared pointedly down the barrel of his rifle, taking slow measured steps. The shadows parted for his light, revealing more hay, more boxes and more useless furniture.

He finally came to the end of the room where a few more crates were stacked against the wall. He looked down at the edge of the top crate which seemed to be smashed in with charred edges. Cloud lowered his gun and lightly smeared his gloved fingers over the edge, bringing dark smudges back with them. He narrowed his eyes, starring at those smudges before rubbing his fingers together. "Gun powder…?"

Suddenly a hand fell over his shoulder. Cloud immediately spun around and raised his rifle - at Elfe. The blond leader sighed in relief and lowered his gun.

"Captain." Elfe nodded. "This place is dead. The house is a mess but no one's around to clean up."

"Any bodies?"

"None. The front window's smashed though. Looks like there was a struggle maybe?"

Cloud nodded and swallowed hard. "Yeah. Something's definitely going on. Take a look at this?"

He stood to the side and pointed his rifle light at the crate. "The char around the edges of that crate. What do you make of that?"

Elfe smeared her own fingers against the crate before rubbing them together like Cloud had. After a moment she looked back at him with a shrug. "Looks like gun powder to me."

"Yeah, I thought so too."

"So there was a fight? But not much of one. The door's not riddled in bullets and I didn't see any shells laying around either."

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, it's one of several mysteries I have about this place. In any case, we're done here. Just like you said, the house is deserted and I don't think there's anything more for us to see here."

Elfe nodded and together they walked slowly up the stairs. Cloud's mind whirled. Why was there gun powder? There was an obvious struggle but against who? Was there a terrorist invasion? But then where were the bodies? None of it made any sense.

Once they walked out the door and back into the rain, he found Luxiere together with the rest of his squad a little further down.

"What's the news?" He asked, walking towards them.

"Second house is busted up pretty bad." Jessie said in a shaky voice. "Biggs and I checked top and bottom but everything's smashed. The floor fell in on the first level into the basement. Looks like there was an explosion of some kind but nobody around, alive or dead."

"We did find some blood stains though." Biggs added.

By the sounds of their voices, both soldiers sounded unnerved and Cloud reminded himself that these were rookies. He nodded and processed the information. "If there was blood then that means someone was at least injured. Something strange is going on."

"I can't figure it out." Wedge spoke up. His voice was more broken than the other two and Tierce was silent all together, keeping his head low. "There was blood in the third house… A LOT of blood. Bullet holes too. Shells peppering the floor. Everything was a mess. Even the door was gone…" His voice shook. "I never saw so much blood in my entire life…"

"But no bodies?" Cloud asked.

"N- no sir… no bodies…"

"Right…" Cloud sighed and pressed into a button on the side of his helmet. "Delta squad here. Left side is Derelict but we definitely have signs of a fight. Over."

A few seconds passed before static hummed over on his mic. "Yeah, same story here." Zack's voice cut through. "Delta leader, get your squad over to our position. We've found the village Inn. We can use it as base camp for now."

"Copy that. We're on our way. Over and out." Cloud looked over his squad. Elfe and Luxiere were calm but the others still looked shaken. At least they would join up with the other group. He was beginning to remember why he hated working with green recruits. "Okay, you heard the man. Let's move it out people."

Cloud led the way, continuing to move slow with his rifle raised. He wasn't going to take any chances. Until he knew exactly what was going on, he would take nothing for granted. Thankfully, his team caught the hint and followed his lead. After a while, they made their way to the other set of seven blips on their H.U.D. screen.

Cloud looked up at a tall three story building. It looked ornate, or at least more ornate than the surrounding buildings and it had a wide red door. He walked over to it, pushing the door open. As soon as he did, light flooded the room and for the first time, something in the village actually looked alive.

Zack was standing over by the front desk with his helmet off and flipping through a few pages of paper on the counter. The rest of his squad were walking about and looking at various items. Lights streamed along the room, illuminating everything from above. As Cloud approach, the raven haired leader looked up with a smile.

"We managed to find a power source. Can you believe this place actually has electricity? And a control room? With video monitors and all?" Zack smirked and shook his head. "Hard to imagine in a village like this, right?"

Cloud shrugged as the rest of his troops dispersed along the lobby. "Makes about as much sense as anything else in this place." The blond gratefully pulled his own helmet off and set it down on the counter. "What do you make of all this?"

"Don't know…" Zack replied while looking down at the papers on the counter. "And if that isn't bad enough, take a look at this literature."

Cloud frowned and leaned over the counter, looking at the typed parchment. After a few moments he started in surprise. "An EVAC notice!" He looked up at his friend in perplexity.

Zack nodded and folded his left arm around his rifle. "Keep reading. It gets better."

Cloud followed along until he reached the bottom of the notice. His eyes grew as wide as saucers. "General Sephiroth! What the hell was he doing here?"

"What the hell are WE doing here, is a better question." Zack's face was deathly serious and Cloud could feel his nerves growing on edge.

The blond man put the paper back on the counter. "None of this makes any sense. Did they mention ANY of this to you when they briefed you?"

"Nothing. The mission briefing states that they lost contact with the village relay station a little over two months ago. The cause was unknown but they hinted at the possibility of terrorist activity same as you heard. Our orders are to assess the situation and evacuate any civilians.

Cloud scoffed in derision. "That's bullshit. That mission detail is about as bare as a baby's ass."

Zack shrugged and shook his head. "Orders from the top. I can't question 'em."

The blond rolled his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. "Just like Wutai?"

Zack looked away but Cloud could see the disgust in his eyes. "… Yeah… Just like Wutai…"

A buzz cut through their silence and Zack's helmet vibrated against the table.

"Major… do you copy? Over."

Both men turned towards the noise before Zack pulled his helmet back on and flipping the switch on the side. "Zack here. Go ahead Kunsel."

"We've got a situation in the security room. I think you should come take a look."

Cloud glanced at the squad leader but Zack was already nodding his head. "Copy that. On my way."

Zack turned his face towards Cloud. "Strife, you're with me. Elfe, you've got command detail. If anything happens out here, I want to know!"

"Copy that, sir."

Zack turned back towards the blond while Cloud pulled his own helmet on. "Let's go."

Cloud followed Zack as the squad leader rushed up the stairs taking them two at a time. They moved through the second level hall until they got to the end. The way Zack was moving, Cloud was sure they must have secured the area. Zack stopped at the end of the hall and opened the last door on the left. The room was alight with bright monitors and security screens. Kunsel was leaning over the central terminal with Kyneugh sitting in the chair.

"Kunsel. What's going on?"

Kunsel nodded to Zack and Cloud's approach then looked down at Kyneugh. "Roll the video back."

The private pressed a series of buttons while the other man looked back at the two commanding officers.

"These video uplinks are old but apparently they're still running. Digital recorders; and with good battery life, especially for a village like this. Anyway, that makes it convenient for us. We looped the camera feeds back by a little over two months, around the time when our communication with the village flat lined. That's when we found this." He pointed to the terminal Kyneugh was working on. "According to the time log on this monitor, the cameras took this recording approximately sixty-one days before we got here."

Kyneugh replayed the feed and for a while, all Cloud saw was a grey-tinted room. The video continued and the scene was uneventful.

Zack shook his head. "What exactly are we supposed to be seeing here, Corporal?"

"Right there." Kunsel pointed to the screen.

Just then, two men entered the room. One man was portly, wearing a maroon vest and a white button-down shirt with beige khakis. The man had glasses and a mustache and turned around as he was followed by another man. Both Zack and Cloud immediately recognized the other man's black and gray camouflage fatigues and the black kevlar vest. But what was most noticeable was the silver hair that slicked back down to the nape of his neck with small twin bangs jumping in front. Only the General had hair like that.

The portly man seemed exasperated as he turned on the general and the video feed just barely captured their voices in muffled and buzzing tones.

"I can't…zzzt. General… zzzt… People…zzzt. Not soldiers!zzzt… can't…zzzt like cattle!…"

"That's not your…zzzt" The general's broken voice picked up. "My orders…zzzt -ure this area and…zzzt from any…zzzt. -outbreak…zzzt"

"But what about…zzzt? Zzzt… Zzzt… Infection! Zzzt."

"My unit will…zzzt … Rest assured… zzzt… to the Reactor to assess the situation. When we return, you will have your people…zzzt to a quarantined fac-zzzt…. Await further…zzzt… that understood Mayor?"

The man in the video dropped his head and sighed. After a long pause he shook his head. His words were too low for any of them to hear in the control room. But his body language was evident enough as he stormed out of the room.

The general turned idly, staring over at the video camera with his Assault rifle held casually in hand. After a moment, he turned and followed the Mayor out the door.

"I'll be damned…" Cloud hissed. "Infection?"

"Maybe." Zack released a long sigh and shook his head, still staring at the monitor. "We never even knew the General was out on duty. And there's definitely no on-file M.I.A report."

"At least now we know why Operation Control sent us out and not standard military." Kunsel reasoned.

Zack only shook his head. "That doesn't tell us anything. Why didn't they give us details? Why keep us in the dark?"

Cloud gave his friend a look. "Welcome to the club…"

"You can tell me you told me so later. Right now we need to handle this."

Cloud nodded, his smirk fading. "Orders?"

Zack looked back at the monitor for a moment and released another deep sigh." Well… Looks like we'll be taking a field trip to these reactors our general was talking about. Might as well start there."

Cloud nodded. "I'll radio the apache to come pick us up right away."

"Negative." Zack looked at his friend evenly. "None of this makes any sense. And I'm not going to dump a full battalion into a hot zone without any support. You keep your squad in base camp and keep transmission feeds open. I'll take Bravo team in to investigate."

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "I don't like this."

Zack shook his head and for the first time, he could see uneasiness in his friend's eyes. "Neither do I, Spikes… Neither do I."

To Be Continued

Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Chapter 2 should be out next week. Please review!