II

"Man, who'd of thought we'd get our first assignment today?" asked Alvina as she let out a huff. The redhead placed her hands behind her head as the group waited out on the helicopter pad.

"Comes with the job," shrugged Squall.

"At least it means we're done with training," added San. "We've certainly had enough years of that."

"But does the training ever really stop?" asked Cloud. Murmurs of agreement rippled through them. As a SOLDIER, they would never stop learning new ways to fight, having to adapt strategies to fit the situation and so on. Though they were done the years of rigorous training, there were still many things for them to learn.

"Good! You guys are already here," grinned Zack as he came out to where they waited. The black-haired SOLDIER greeted the members of Team Havoc with a wave and a smile. Though he had been in SOLDIER for a long time now, Zack had never once lost his bright disposition on life, unlike many other members had. It took a great strength to remain the way he did after dealing with so much. "We'll wait until the others get here before explaining the rest of the assignment." The only part of the assignment that Team Havoc knew of so far was that they would be going into enemy territory.

"The others?"

"Ah! Speak of the devils!" Lights flared down on the SOLDIERs from above, a sudden strong wind rushing up. Raising his hand to block the glare, Zack looked up to the helicopter that was readying to land. When it did, only one person jumped out, the lights still so bright that he was silhouetted for a moment. After the person waved an arm, the helicopter shut down and the bright lights were shut off, revealing who it had been.

"Ha! Didn't think I'd be working with you guys so soon!" laughed out Reno as he headed to the group of SOLDIERs.

"We're working with the Turks?" asked San flatly.

"Orders from the higher ups. This assignment is pretty important," commented Zack.

"If it's so important, why are we here?" questioned the brunet. "We are kinda new to being 1st Class members."

"Doesn't matter how long you've been one, what matters is the effort you put into getting there. Besides! I'll be working with you guys!"

"Well, nice to know we have you guys guarding us," grinned Reno. "Guess we can rest easy now!"

"'We'?" blinked Cloud.

"Where's your bald friend?" smirked San.

Reno gave out a dry laugh at her comment before looking over his shoulder. "Oi! Hurry up ya slow poke! We don't have all night, yo!" he called back to the helicopter.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" shouted back a voice from the far side of the cockpit. "Didn't you know the hero is always the last to arrive?" grinned a fairly burly man with shaggy blond hair. "Snow Villiers at your service."

A hearty laugh escaped Zack. "So you're a hero too, huh? Good. Having more heroes on board should make this go better." The laughter died off and Zack was quick to become serious. "All right, this assignment will take us into Pulse's capitol, Tenebrae. We've received intelligence that they are planning on creating a new weapon to use against us. Our assignment is to infiltrate the building in question, asses the threat, and, if possible, destroy the new weapon."

"Heh, just tell me what and I'll take care of blowing it up," smirked Reno, his voice full of confidence.

"It's our job to make sure we can all get inside. Due to Pulse's alert state, we won't be able to land for the drop off, and we're unable to make a pre-planned pick-up zone. As such, even once we're done our assignment, we'll have to be careful until Snow can get to us."

"I'll be there to grab you guys out in no more than five minutes. You can count on that from from a hero at least," grinned the blond Turk.

"We don't know much about the layout of place at the moment. As such, we'll either find out something there, or just wing it. So, all we can do now is get on over there!"

"Sir!" saluted the members of Team Havoc.

Zack sighed and placed a hand on his hip before chuckling softly. "I told you there's no need to call me that any more!"

:::

Reno opened the doors of the helicopter, wind lashing in at them. The night air was pleasantly cool, at least.

"We're at the drop zone! Go when ready!" came Snow's voice over their ear pieces.

"Time to jump!" shouted out San before she leapt from the helicopter. The others were quick to follow to make sure they all landed close together.

"Good luck!" was the last thing Snow said before the Turk was quick to leave the area and out of radio range.

Wind rushed into their faces, threatening to tear their very skin away. The goggles they wore at least helped with allowing them to still see. Being at the head of the jump, San was the first to reach the ground. While most people would have met their deaths by taking such a drastic jump with no parachute, the members of SOLDIER had other means. Moments before she would have hit the ground, San threw down a gravitational device. Any guards that were in its area of effect were tossed aside, giving San room to land, and thanks to the properties of the device, her landing was safe.

The 1st Class SOLDIER took the moment where the guards were stunned and surprised at the sudden intruder to take them out with her gunblade that could easily switch between being a sword and a gun; it had been her choice of weapon when becoming 1st Class. While she exceeded at the skill of the blade, there were times when a ranged weapon would be useful. Her judgement was quickly proven correct by clearing out the landing area they had marked. Dusting off her hands, San looked back as the others landed around her.

"Man, just had to go and take all the fun, huh?" asked Alvina as she rose up from her landing.

San gave a nonchalant shrug. "You guys were late."

"Late? We were a moment behind you, yo!" blurted out Reno.

"Exactly."

Cloud sighed and shook his head, keeping Reno from protesting any more. "Just forget about it..."

"All right!" hushed Zack, motioning the others to gather around. "If we haven't already been noticed, it won't be long before the enemy forces are completely alert to our presence here. We need to move quickly. As far as we know, the new weapon is being developed deep underground, so that's the general way we're gonna be heading. Okay? Let's do this!"

The group began to make their way through the building, meeting only minimal force. Any time they came to a door that was locked, it was left up to Squall to crack the code. They had broken their way past five doors and were finding their way down when the alarm finally went off in the building.

"Tch, took them long enough," scoffed San as she slung her gunblade over her shoulder.

"We haven't been here that long," came back Reno.

"Exactly. I'd have expected more from them."

The redheaded Turk was about to open his mouth for more of a retort when Cloud shook his head again. "It's best to learn now that it's not a good idea to argue with her..."

"Noted," sighed Reno. The Turk then looked to another one of the SOLDIERs there. "At least not all SOLDIERs are like that, eh, Alvina?" he asked with a grin.

"Focus, guys," commanded Zack as he jumped down a flight of stairs. More enemy troops attempted to stop their advancement into the building, but they were hardly any match for the SOLDIERs. But, as they made their way deeper and deeper into the facility, they were finally met by something else than just normal troops.

"Well, well. I was wondering when guys like you would show up. At least this means we're on the right track!" laughed out Reno as he flourished his baton to the group of five men ahead of them.

"Surrender, and your lives shall be spared," said the man in the middle of the group.

"First off, surrendering is never an option for a SOLDIER. Second, we would never surrender to a bunch of fal'Cie scum like you," came Zack, taking a step forward. Raising his sword, Zack rested his forehead on the wide blade for a moment. "Never let go of your pride as a SOLDIER..." When he lowered the sword, there was an anger in his eyes. "Come and get it!" shouted out Zack as he charged for the fal'Cie. Readying their weapons, the other SOLDIERs were quick to join in the fray.

Fal'Cie, a person enhanced by what those of Pulse called the Gift of the Goddess, Etro. Though possessing different abilities, fal'Cie were at a similar level to a SOLDIER, for SOLDIERs were enhanced by Mako Energy. As such, this fight between SOLDIER and fal'Cie was taking longer than their previous bouts against the normal troops. Zack was able to kill off one on his first strike, since he did not give them time to prepare. The other four fal'Cie were left to Team Havoc since Reno hung back.

Squall was second to down a fal'Cie with his own gunblade. Unlike San's, though, his could not change between the two. Next was Cloud. While at one point the fal'Cie had immobilized the use of his sword, Cloud knew something that the fal'Cie did not: his sword was actually six swords in one. By separating them, he caused the fal'Cie to be surprised long enough to deliver a killing blow. Alvina was the only one who did not rush in to meet her enemy. Instead, she danced back, keeping a safe distance away from the fal'Cie. Smirking, she threw out one of her spiked chakram towards the fal'Cie...only it went wide. The fal'Cie she faced laughed and charged for her, confident, when he suddenly fell dead before her. Walking forward, Alvina pulled her chakram from the fal'Cie's back.

San's battle, oddly enough, was taking the longest. As soon as the fal'Cie had appeared before them, pain shot through her head. It was the same pain she felt in her dreams and that she had felt during their final assessment. Though minor, it was enough to keep her fighting to her fullest. It spiked for a moment, allowing the fal'Cie to knock her gunblade from her grip, and also the materia that she kept on her. For the first time in ages, fear nearly gripped her.

"No!" she shouted out, holding up her hands in defense as the fal'Cie lunged for her. To her surprise, the fal'Cie then let out a scream. Blinking in confusion, San looked and saw the fal'Cie lying dead before her, his body charred lightly, as though he had been struck by lightning.

"San!" shouted out Cloud, rushing to her side. He stared between her and the fal'Cie before he reached down and picked up her materia and gunblade, handing them back to her. She muttered a quiet thanks to him, unable to look him in the eye.

"Nice job on getting your materia to work on the fal'Cie, it normally doesn't. Guess he was distracted enough that the attack got through," commented Zack, securing his sword on his back. San could only mutter something in agreement. Shyly, she glanced up to Cloud who had a worried expression on his face. He had been the only one to see that she had not been able to use her materia. Somehow...she had killed the fa'Cie with magic even though she had no means to do so. "Let's keep going!"

Deeper and deeper the group travelled into the building, not stopping until they got to where they needed to be. They had gone so far that the designs of the place were in no way akin to that of the topside image of the facility. This, they hoped, was a good sign.

"I can't open it," sighed out Squall in frustration. The brunet ran a hand over his scarred face. For one who showed such little emotion, this was clearly angering him.

"Dammit. This has to be the final place!" came Zack. Frustrated himself, he kicked the shield that blocked the door that barred their path. It glowed red for a moment and shot Zack back. The SOLDIER grunted and dusted himself off as he stood back up.

"So what are we gonna do now?" asked Alvina, looking between the other members there. "We just gonna call it quits and head on out while we can?" From the tone in her voice, it was clear that was not what she wanted to do.

"Let me try something," offered San, taking a step forward.

"And just what are you gonna do? Shoot at it?" questioned Reno as he crossed his arms.

"I'm gonna do something."

"And what will that do, yo?"

A sigh escaped Cloud while he pinched the bridge of his nose. "What did I tell you about arguing with her?"

"Get back, don't look, and cover your ears. I have no idea what'll happen," warned San as she drew forth her gunblade. As she headed for the shielded door, she did not look back to see if the others had listened to her or not. They had to listen. Despite her trust in them, save for the Turk, San did glance over her shoulder just to check. A soft sigh of relief escaped her. None of them could know what she was about to do.

Reaching out, San placed her hand on the shield. It resisted her, but since her movement was not forceful, it could not send her flying. The SOLDIER closed her eyes and concentrated. It worried her that she could feel the source of power for the shield, for it was the same power that the fal'Cie had in them. As far as she knew, people of Gaia were not meant to sense it, to harness it and use it. Ever since coming to Tenebrae, it had been lingering on the back of her mind.

"Please..." she whispered, trying to control the power she could feel for just long enough. "Please open," she begged of it, bowing her head.

She did not know how. She did not know why. For some reason, whatever San did worked. The shield blocking the door faded away and the door itself opened. San stared in amazement...and fear. What was going on with her. San shook her head and cleared her throat. There was no time to worry over such things, there was a job for them to do. Steeling her expression, the SOLDIER went back to the others and got their attention.

Reno whistled in praise. "What did you do to get it open, yo?"

"Trade secret," shrugged San.

"Whatever it was, well done," praised Zack as he clapped her on the back. Drawing his sword, he took lead into the dark room ahead of them. The others were all as happy they could continue on...all save Cloud. Lingering back, he tried to hide his concern for what was happening. Sighing, he hurried after his group before he got left too far behind.

Light illuminated the room as they headed down the stairs. A gasp escaped each of them once they saw what was inside. Pods that glowed teal from the glass openings went on for row upon row. Tubes and various other cables ran into each, delivering whatever it was inside the pods needed.

"This...is the new weapon they're developing?" questioned Alvina as she headed further into the room.

"It's more like...a hatchery..." thought Squall aloud.

"Maybe they're just power cells?" voiced Cloud, his footsteps echoing as he walked forward.

"Whoa!" cried out Alvina, falling to the ground in surprise. The others rushed to her as she panted hard in panic. Pushing herself away, Alvina raised a shaky hand and pointed to the pod that she had just been looking into. "Tho—those are no friggen power cells, man."

"What the...?" murmured Zack as he moved forward to take a look. Placing his hands on the glass, he peered inside. He could not have been looking in for more than a second before jumping back. "Bloody monster!" As the commander stepped back, the others moved to take a look in to see what had caused the SOLDIERs to become so unsettled.

"It really is a monster..." breathed out Cloud, starting to feel sick.

"Just...what the hell is that thing?" asked Squall, bracing a hand on his forehead.

"I didn't want to think the suspicions were true... And here I thought only Shin-Ra was sick enough to make stuff like this..." coughed out Reno, his face twisted in pain to see the perverse creation in the pod.

"Reno, you know what the hell that thing is? What all these things are?" asked Zack, making a sweeping gesture with his arm to the other pods.

"This is the new weapon Pulse is making to fight us...a new kind of troop to use in battle..."

"What?" barked out Alvina as she found her feet again. "You mean to tell me we have more than just fal'Cie to worry about now?"

"We've always had more than just fal'Cie to worry about." Only Zack was not surprised at the Turk's words. "Pulse has...had...three basic types of troops to use against us when fighting. You got your common infantry men, trained to do whatever's needed, they're your normal humans. Then there are the fal'Cie, normal humans enhanced by the Gift of the Goddess, whatever the hell that's meant to be. But, they're basically like you SOLDIERs; enhanced humans. Then there's the l'Cie. We try to keep their existence a bit quieter since they're much more powerful, probably only a few 1st Class SOLDIERs could beat them one-on-one—I'd put my money on Sephiroth. The l'Cie didn't have the Gift of the Goddess given to them like the fal'Cie, the l'Cie were born with with and it's quite a different result. I won't go into the detail of them, but they are tough.

"And now there's this...the Cie'th. Monsters created who have been bred completely on the Gift of the Goddess...just like Project S that Gaia started, only they're using Mako Energy. Both sides are equally sick when it comes to stuff like this."

"So their new weapon...are these monsters?" questioned Alvina, not wanting to believe people could be so twisted.

"And both sides are making abominations like this?" asked Cloud.

"It's still a weapon," came Zack, crossing his arms. The ebony-haired man sighed before looking back up at them. "And we came here to blow up the weapon if we could, which we can. We'll discuss moral issues later, no matter how horrific it may be now. Reno." The redhead stood straighter once his name was called. "Get ready to blow this joint. We'll follow the tubes and cables to get as close as possible to where these monstrosities are getting their energy from. Once it's set, we gotta get the hell out of here."

"Hey...where did San go?" asked Squall. The others all blinked in surprise. With the shock of finding out what had been inside the pods, none had noticed that San had not been with them. They quickly spun around to try and spot her, but the woman was no where in sight.

"San!" shouted out Cloud as he ran through the room. With how close the pods were to each other, there were not many places she could have gone to, at least that is what he hoped. The stairs before him were nothing as he scaled them two at a time. He barely noticed the newly-opened door he hurried on through. Only once he saw San standing still did he stop. "San! What did you find?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady as he headed to her side.

"Etro... That's the name of the Goddess Pulse believes in, right?"

"The Goddess that gives the fal'Cie, l'Cie, and now the Cie'th their power... Yep, it's Etro," answered Reno as the rest caught up.

"Then...who is that...?" Raising her hand, San pointed to the far side of the cavernous room. Inside here, there was but one glass pod large enough to hold a person. Inside was a woman, tubes attached to her like some sort of twisted science experiment. Atop of the pod was a plate...with the name Etro on it.

"This...is Etro?" breathed out Cloud.

"Maybe they just named her after their Goddess," figured Alvina.

"It looks just like Jenova," hissed out Reno.

"All right, that's enough of this place," grunted Zack. "Reno, set the bomb here for thirty minutes. Hopefully that'll give us time to get out of here."

"It won't like you if you do that..." murmured San, still staring at Etro. For some reason, she seemed to be entranced by it.

"Gee, what gave you that idea?" asked Reno back sarcastically. With a push of only a few buttons, the Turk quickly set the explosives he had placed to go off in thirty minutes. "All right! Let's get on outta here!"

"That...might be harder to do now..."

"The hell you going on about? Let's go!" Reaching back, Cloud had to pull San along to make sure she was with them. Something was wrong with her, and they were not sure what. After rushing down the stairs to the main chamber, the group suddenly stopped.

Barring their path before them was a giant robotic monster that was focused on them.

"Yeah...I can see why that'd make it harder to get out of here," muttered Alvina as she drew her chakrams.

"You kidding? We're SOLDIER! Let's kick its ass!" cried out Zack before he went rushing in. All joined in the battle against the mechanical fiend...all save one. Falling to her knees, San clutched at her head as her friends fought as fast as they could to bring their adversary down. The light that had been in her dreams now bombarded her again...only this time, it was far worse than ever before.

Lightning flashed in the air as Squall cast his spell. The electric attack stunned the machine long enough for the SOLDIERs to deal a great amount of damage to it, yet it still had the ability to fight.

"Damn Pulse machinery. I think I'd rather fight a fal'Cie!" called out Reno as he bashed in one of the machine's sensory inputs.

"Careful what you wish for!" called back Zack as his powerful blade sliced through one of the legs. "Get back!" he suddenly shouted. The tail of the monstrous machine had been risen for some time, yet only now did it show what threat it was. A laser had been charging at its tip, and was about to be released. Each of those that fought dived out of the way to hide behind some pod or other form of defense...leaving only one still in the line of fire.

San remained in the main walkway, on her knees, clutching her head, and her body shaking.

"Move!" shouted out Alvina and Zack.

Cursing under his breath, Cloud dashed out from his position, hoping that he could move fast enough. The other SOLDIERs shouted at him to stop, but he did not. The laser fired...and hit the area where San had been, and more. Protecting her as best he could, Cloud kept San safe beside one of the pods as the laser continued to fire.

"Make it stop...make it stop...!" breathed out San.

Cloud tried to comfort her, but she was as close to hysterics as possible. "Don't worry...we'll stop it," he reassured her as the laser finally powered down. Once again, all but San returned to the battle. With having just used a great amount of energy, the machine was in a greatly weakened state. The SOLDIERs and Turk used this time to do as much damage as possible to hopefully destroy it.

Blades sliced through the metal of the monster, cutting through wires and other electrical pieces alike. A well-placed exploding bullet from Squall was the final hit needed to take the enemy machine down. With sections still short-circuiting, the machine fell upon its own weight and remained still. There was no more threat from it.

"San! Are you okay?" called out Alvina as she rushed to her friend's side. Her shaking had since ceased once the enemy had been defeated. Rising, San still had a hand clutched to her head in pain.

"It's gone...for now..." she murmured, walking out towards the rubble.

"What's gone?"

"Dammit. We'll talk about this later. Right now we have to move!" ordered Zack as he jumped over the toppled foe. Taking San's hand, Alvina helped the confused SOLDIER as the team made their way out. Sirens wailed in their ears, signalling to those inside the building to get out. It made it surprisingly easier for the SOLDIERs, for that meant fewer people they had to fight against. As they came over a bridge that led to a neighbouring building, they had to stop.

"Not more..." groaned Reno, his shoulders drooping.

"How much time's left?" asked Cloud as he eyed the three men that were blocking the bridge.

"Not much. And I'm not in the mood to find out if here's a safe distance or not."

"You guys have gone far enough!" shouted out the man in the middle of the three. With his build, scruff, and the scar on his face, he looked the most imposing of the group.

"San!" shouted out Cloud in concern as she suddenly fell to her knees again.

"Run..." she hissed out. "Run... They're...l'Cie!"

"Ah? A SOLDIER that can tell what we are? Not bad," laughed the blond of their group.

"Three l'Cie to take care of us? Man, we must have annoyed some people," taunted Alvina.

"Keep them busy. Maybe the blast will take them out from here too," considered Squall, readying his gunblade.

"If you think that bomb of yours will harm us, think again," countered the third l'Cie as he pushed up his glasses.

"So what's the plan?" asked Reno in a hushed voice.

"Three l'Cie... I say we capture them," grinned Zack as he drew his sword.

"Capture? Are you crazy?"

"Nope. I'm a SOLDIER. And as such, we never lose our dreams. Also, no matter the situation, we never let go of our pride as a SOLDIER."

"Again with that speech?" grinned Alvina as she rolled her eyes playfully.

"Heh, gotta make sure it's drilled into those thick skulls of yours!" The playful smirk on Zack's face vanished. "Come and get it!"

The l'Cie were mildly surprised at Zack's show of bravado, but their surprise did not last long. Though it was three against five (for once again, San could not fight), the odds were still in favour of the l'Cie. One second there would be an opening, and the next, the SOLDIER would be easily parried. Fal'Cie were on a similar level to that of the average SOLDIER, but the l'Cie...they were far more powerful.

"Reno! How much time's left?" asked Zack as he pushed himself up. Having to fight on the confined bridge did not make things any easier. Each of them had signs of being in a fight, while the l'Cie were barely breaking a sweat.

"Any minute now!" shouted the Turk back.

"I hope you guys have a real blast when it goes off," taunted the scruffy l'Cie.

"That's one of the lamest things I've heard in a long time," grunted Alvina as she rolled back from an attack. The SOLDIERs were cornered in against the l'Cie and could barely keep fighting. Smug as ever, their enemy began to move in.

"STOP IT!" shouted out San. As her voiced pierced through the air, the three l'Cie froze in mid-step. Looks of shock crossed each of their faces while the other SOLDIERs were confused. Stepping forward, it was Reno who tested the situation. The Turk flicked the scruffy l'Cie across his forehead and in retaliation all he could do was grunt. Slowly, a grin spread across Reno's face.

"I like this. Hey, what materia did you use to do this, yo?" he asked a stumbling San. The Turk blinked to see her in such a state though she had barely done any fighting during the mission. Sheathing his sword, Cloud hurried to her side to aid his friend.

Zack pushed one of the l'Cie who easily moved from the force, but otherwise did nothing. It was as though magic held the l'Cie in place. "Wonderful. Let's take them and get the hell out of he—"

The explosion that travelled up from below cut Zack off.

The SOLDIERs fell from the shock of the explosion while the l'Cie managed to stay frozen in place. Heads throbbed as they all rose back up.

"What kind of a bomb was that?" grunted out Alvina as she shot a glare to Reno.

"One of out best," he managed to laugh back.

"Wonderful. Now let's move!" shouted out Zack as he grabbed the collar of the nearest l'Cie. They had barely started to move with the l'Cie in hand before the creaking of metal reached their ears. Glancing back, fear crossed their faces once they saw the bridge was falling out from beneath their feet. "RUN!" The l'Cie were easy enough to move, but San was another matter.

Holding onto her as tight as he could, Cloud tried to help San along quickly. Never had a bridge felt to be so long. The others had already made it to the other side as he felt the part of the bridge beneath him starting to give out. "Jump!" he shouted, pushing off from the ground. Somehow, San managed to do so as well, but it was not enough.

Cloud landed on the edge of solid ground while San fell short just behind him. The weight of her falling down brought Cloud stumbling back and sliding off the edge. Their comrades shouted out in protest and Squall managed to grab hold of Cloud's other hand, preventing the two SOLDIERs from falling to their deaths.

"Pull them up!" ordered Zack as the others scrambled to help.

"Just let me go!" coughed out San as she looked up to Cloud.

A frustrated grunt escaped Cloud as he held on tighter. "Not planning to!" he shouted back. As much as he did not want it to happen, he could feel San's grip slipping from his. His shoulders felt like they would be torn from their sockets as he was slowly being pulled up. With each movement he got closer, the more he could feel his hold on San slipping.

"It's not...your fault..." she breathed out.

"NO!" he protested, but it was too late.

San's hand slipped from his, and she fell into the darkness.

"San!" shouted out the others once they saw what had happened. It was no use. She was gone. Cursing to himself, Cloud helped the rest by pulling himself up the rest of the way. His breathing ragged, he looked down into the black abyss. Their first mission as 1st Class SOLDIERs...and they had already lost one of their team.

"Come on, we need to get out of here," said Zack, a lot quieter than before. The others only hesitated for a second before continuing on with the last leg of their mission. Being last to follow, Cloud swore under his breath before catching up.

It was proving to be rather hard to not blame himself.

A/N: And let the brooding begin.

If anyone's wondering, yes, San's gunblade is meant to be like Lightning's gunblade from FFXIII (just different colouring).

Snow is the ONLY FFXIII/Versus character on the FFVII/VIII side. Why? One of my friends really likes him and wanted him on this side.

Stay tuned for more!