Okay, I know I disappeared over the weekend, I am sorry. It was one heck of a weekend, and not in a good way. Though I spent a nice bit of time replaying FF7, remembering the game that jumpstarted this. To anyone who might think this was kind of slow-I know I part way did-It speeds up to insane measures, enjoy!


"Tifa, what are we going to do about him?"

Tifa sighed tiredly. Her husband was trying his hardest to wear a whole in the floor with all his pacing. The two were in the living room area relaxing, or to be more specific, she was relaxing and knitting, and Cloud was driving himself insane.

"What can we do? He's twenty-one." Really, she knew her son was acting out more lately; he worked at the delivery service, but pulled pranks like a teenager. She just wished Cloud could understand that maybe they should let Zack figure this out on his own. They raised him to the best of their abilities, he had to make his own mistakes if he was ever going to learn a lesson.

"Exactly!" he exclaimed before going off on a rant about how he was too old to be pulling pranks like this, to which Tifa sighed tiredly, planning on ignoring, but she just couldn't.

Setting down her knitting needles and cloth in her lap, she glared at him and stated, "You know you're not helping him by asking why he can't be more like Zack, saying he's stupid..."

"I didn't mean he was stupid," Cloud objected quickly, defending his choice of words as he continued, "I meant his actions were stupid!" That probably didn't justify it, but really, he was twenty-one years old – why was he so against growing up? At this point, sixteen year old Yuffie was probably more mature than him.

Rolling her eyes, Tifa resumed her knitting, but still tried to get Cloud to understand as she protested, "That doesn't make it better, Cloud. You have to understand, he's grown up differently than how we did." He did, they had grown up fast and quick, even Yuffie; they had no childhood, but their children were lucky to be raised in times of peace. Sighing, Cloud collapsed on the chair opposite of her. He knew his son had experienced a youth far unlike than his own, for his son didn't have to grow up hastily, and that was okay. What wasn't okay, however, was refusing to mature.

"I know Teef," Cloud relented, his anger dissipating as he tried to remember the fact that his son didn't lose his innocene so young, and his son loved his childhood. 'A little too much...'he thought, although he was just worried about what would happen if he died before his time, would his son know what to do to move on?

"We won't be here forever Tifa," Cloud stated rather morbidly, but with good cause. He knew he wasn't exactly in the right, though not in the wrong either. Somewhere in the middle of the two extremes, probably, but his thoughts were in the right place.

"We're not going anywhere for a long while," she told him, concentrated more on her knitting. She didn't know if it was a curse or a blessing that with all the Lifestream and Mako, they would live longer than they should – bright side, they didn't look forty.

Cloud opened his mouth, about to comment more, when he caught sight of his adopted son standing with his wife of nine years. Looking over at them, he smiled and greeted, "Hey Denzel, Marlene." Tifa glanced up and smiled gently at the two children, giving them a nod in acknowledgement before resuming knitting.

Cloud watched them fondly as they walked to the couch and began a conversation with Tifa, their hands clasped tightly together. He could still remember the mild heart attack he felt when they told him they decided to date. He had not seen it coming, and he still remembered the shock he felt not at Tifa saying she saw it coming, or from Yuffie who had foreseen as much, too –no, the shock came from Vincent, who said he saw it coming.

"Everything okay, Dad?"

Cloud focused back on the present to see his son staring at him, slightly concerned, with Marlene looking at him also. How zoned out was he? Before he could give them a simple 'Fine', Tifa answered for him, "Your father's fine, he's just debating ways to kill your brother." The three looked at Tifa, Cloud with disbelief, while Denzel and Marlene wondered if she was serious.

Glancing up at them, she gave them an innocent smile as she turned the conversation around, "Anyways, how are the kids?" She couldn't believe she was a grandmother. Maybe they weren't related to her by blood, but that didn't mean she loved them any less.

"Asleep." The four turned their heads to look at the doorway where a grown-up Shelke Rui stood, her arms crossed as she leaned on the doorway. She now looked like how she should have all those years ago, but like Vincent, they had practically forgotten her real age and considered her a grown up, thirty-two year old woman.

"And they are staying that way," she stressed to her husband, who came up behind her.

He ran his hand through his shaggy black hair, giving her an apologetic smile before appeasing, "Right, Shel, right. They'll stay asleep!"Jakim may have been an outsider to AVALANCHE, but the boy fit right in as he actively trained with a bo-staff and begged Yuffie to train him when he only was twelve. While it had taken a while to gain Vincent's approval, he didn't give up, and he fought for Shelke, which was all Vincent truly wanted to know out of him.

Getting up, Cloud walked over to the mildly argueing Shelke and Jakim and patted their shoulders, interrupting the two he as hewalked into the bar kids hadn't yet gotten to cleaning up the spilled liquor, figures. The temperature in the room dropped as the hairs on Cloud's neck stood on end, and when he (turned) to look at the door, a feeling of dread enveloped him. Approaching it slowly, the only warning he received was a small, faint ticking sound, before the door exploded off its hinges with a deafening boom! Knocking Cloud back into the counter with the heavy wooden door resting on top of him, a cloud of smoke rose within the doorway.

"Cloud!"

Cloud looked to see Tifa rushing over and removing the door. Helping her, he stood up and leaned on the counter while the four other adults rushed in. "Denzel, get me my sword!" he commanded as the dust cleared to reveal something that used to haunt his dreams.

|X|X|X|

"You cannot tell me you lost your sister!" Yuffie yelled, with Vincent beside her giving their children a disapproving look.

Grimoire scratched the back of his head while Valonica refused to look her mother in the eye. They didn't lose her, per say, misplaced was a better word.

"I wouldn't say, lost..." Grimoire protested, cringing at his mother's disapproving look. Okay, so maybe they had lost their sister, but was it really that bad? "It's more like… a misplacement!" Valonica cuffed her brother on the shoulder, annoyance clear in her silver eyes.

Vincent sighed at the antics of his children. His oldest daughter (by five minutes) was probably running around Edge, Leviathan knew where. He could only hope she ran off to find or saw Zack and was safe. When a sudden explosion rocked the house, he spun around with wide eyes, along with Yuffie.

"Vincent! Yuffie! Get down here and get the others!"

At hearing Cloud's voice, Vincent rushed down the stairs, with his ninja not far behind. Yuffie turned and gaped at what she saw, and before her children could follow, she turned around and grabbed her daughter's shoulders, ordering,"Run! Get everyone out of here and run!"

"But mom-" Valonica tried to see past her mother, ignoring how the older adults rushed past, for she wanted to know what was going on. Why did she have to run and not fight? Her mother trained her since she was five, why wasn't she even allowed to see what was going on?

Placing a kiss on her daughter's forehead, the seriousness in her eyes impeded her decision to rush past her mother.

"I love you. Protect your brother and those you love." As her mother pulled away, Valonica wanted to protest, she wanted to run past and help her parents, but the dead seriousness in her mother's eyes made her rethink her actions. Her mother was trusting her to get everyone out safe and sound, she had to do it, for her mother at least.

"Yes mom..."she conceded, bowing her head. She didn't like this, didn't want to leave her mother, and hearing the sounds of some kind of battle downstairs wasn't making this any easier. Smiling, Yuffie reached over and grabbed her shuriken which was hung up on the wall. And with her trusted weapon, she was fully ready to kick some ass.

"Yuffie!"

At hearing her voice being called, Yuffie smiled at her daughter before jumping on the railing and sliding down. Valonica watched her mother go and resisted the urge to follow.

"Mom!" Shit, she had forgotten her brother! Turning, she caught Grimoire by the elbow as he tried to get past her, struggling with all his might. She knew what he was feeling, she understood."Let go, Val!" he yelled at his older sister. What was she doing? "Mom and Dad needs-"

"Us to get to safety!" she interrupted, staring her brother in the eye. Hearing another small explosion from below, they both cringed. "Mom said to protect you, let me protect," she whispered, turning her brother around and pushing him forwards. The two ran to find Denus and Misaine, with Kalane, the three appearing frazzled.

"What's going on? Dad and Mom just ran off," Denus asked. He had heard the explosion, and all parents had flown out like bats out of hell. The dead serious look in Valonica's eyes worried him.

"I don't know, but we need to get the kids out of here." She would do what her mother asked, and she'd do it to the best of her ability.

Nodding, Denus grabbed Grimoire and instructed, "Me, Grimoire, and Kalane will get the other teenagers, you two get the kids." Denus pointed to Valonica and Misaine to emphasize his point, and at hearing another explosion, they cringed and ran off, the girls going left and the boys going right.

|X|X|X|

Running down the hallway, the two girls stopped at the children's bedroom. Misaine jiggled the door handle to find it locked. Groaning, Valonica pushed her back and reared her right leg up, putting all her strength into kicking the door off its hinges. Startling all the occupants of the room, Elmyra looked up from her position at the far corner of the room, and four children in front of her tried to look over the older woman's shoulder. Sighing in relief at seeing the two women, the elderly woman stood up with a five year old in her arms.

The two women came over; the sounds of fighting directly below them. Misaine grabbed the oldest child, while an eight year old attached himself to Valonica's leg.

"Aunt Vali!" he exclaimed, happy to see his calm, collective aunt. Picking him up, Valonica secured him to her hip, keeping a hand on him while his arms wrapped around her neck.

"We have to go," Misaine instructed as Elmyra grabbed another eight year old. They couldn't stay and talk, for they were in too much of a hurry. Hearing the sound of footsteps, the three women turned to look at the doorway, expecting the hero's instead a group of fifteen or so– from what they could tell – soldiers that appeared in the doorway. Each one was in full red body suits with silver helmets, and goggles protruding from the eye holes.

"Val, can you create a distraction?" Misaine asked in a whisper, pulling out her gun. For some reason they were waiting, and it didn't set well with her. Nodding Valonica attempted to dislodge her nephew.

"Mykale, you need to go with Elmyra and Misa."She didn't want to have to worry about her nephew while fighting, and besides, what if he saw bloodshed? That could scar any child, no matter who he was.

"No!" he protested, for he didn't want to leave his aunt. She was protection and he wouldn't leave! Her eyes widened as she glared at him.

"Myki!" she scolded. She didn't have time for this, she needed to let them get away, but she couldn't do it with an eight year old attached to her side!

"Look out!"

Looking up at seeing one of the soldiers lunge at her, she reached inside her coat for her shuriken, only for a gunshot to ring out several times. The body fell lifeless as blood stained the once pristine hardwood floors.

"Run, now!" Misa cried out to Valonica her, firing again. Grabbing her shuriken out of her coat, she charged at them, slicing through their bodies and running, for the door way to the roof.

"Keep your eyes closed," she instructed to the child who screwed his eyes shut, ignoring the sounds of running footsteps and the dizzying speed his aunt was keeping, while taking the stairs two at a time. The soldiers were right on them. Flinging the door open and running out into the blinding sun, Valonica skidded to a halt at the edge, a three story drop. Turning around to see at least ten soldiers standing there with simple basic swords, she growled in annoyance and flung her shuriken at them, decapitating them easily. She cut her gaze away, partly in disgust. Bloodshed never sat right with her.

As easily as the first wave was defeated, another took their place, seemingly undeterred. Looking behind her, she knew what she was going to have to do.

"Don't let go," she whispered soothingly to her nephew, and he tightened his grip. As she jumped backwards, the child screamed at the speed his aunt was falling. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she landed with a grunt on her feet, a thud sounding out in the silence. Looking up at the group of soldiers who were looming over the top, she scowled at them, hoping they wouldn't jump to follow they were, she would take vengeance on them.

|X|X|X|

Running down the hallway, Denus, Grimoire and Kalane ran into the two youngest Strifes.

"Denus!" they cried as he grabbed their arms.

"We have to go. Where's Tran and R.J.?" he asked, wondering where his younger brother and best friend were. Hearing coughing at the end of the hallway, the two moved and stood in front of a window.

"Here we are!" R.J. said, waving with a bit of concern in his eyes, "But we can't find Lilaye or Zack."

The two boys took a couple of steps forward, and suddenly the window blew inwards, knocking the two boys flat as glass flew around them. A couple of soldiers started climbing through, taking advantage of the entry they'd created. Growling, Denus ran up to them and stabbed one of them through the chest while slamming the butt end of his spear into the other. Dislodging the one body from his spear, and shaking his head at the blood dripping down, he looked out and discovered more attempting to scale the building.

"Damn it, run!" he yelled at them. The two youngest Strifes and Kalane dragged the two stunned teenagers up, the five running with Denus following behind. The three ended up in one of the rooms. Geniji looked at the window, glancing down at the drop, which wasn't too bad.

"Denus!" Denus, who was busy barricading the door with a dresser with Grimoire and Clyan, turned to look at Geniji who was opening the window. "We can get out this way!" The excitement in her voice made him smile, as R.J. and Trainor helped her secure the window.

"That's gre-Ahh!" Grimoire exclaimed as a sword came through the dresser and almost stabbed him. Clyan and he ran to the window.

"Who goes first?" Geniji asked, missing Trainor's evil smirk.

He grabbed her and tossed her out, yelling, "Ladies' first!"

Geniji laughed as she cried out that she hated him, and Denus groaned at their childish antics, pushing Trainor out and receiving a string of curses. R.J followed shortly after, hugging his robotic dog close to his chest.

Clyan grabbed Kalane and jumped out, and Grimoire looked back to see Denus keeping the dresser there."Denus, we have to go!" Bad enough they were leaving their parents, the last thing he wanted was to lose more people he loved. Nodding, Denus kicked the dresser through the door, smiling in grim satisfaction as it crushed the soldiers, and then running over to Grimoire who leapt out of the window. He followed suit, landing and looking at them as Geniji rubbed her arms, and Tranior glared at him.

"Head for the back door," Denus ordered them, knowing there was a good chance the others were there. The seven ran for the back door, and he wished he knew what was going on, but the sounds of fighting were clear even from outside the building. He hoped his parents were okay. They had to be, they were freaking legends, overcoming odds thought to be impossible, they were okay!

|X|X|X|

Misaine and Elmyra ran the opposite way with the children, glad Valonica had been able to easily distract the soldiers. They seemed so stupid, like they didn't think for themselves.

"Hey!"

Stopping abruptly, Misaine turned to see Ralu and Ryfi standing in a doorway. Waving excitedly, Ralu beckoned the small group over. Running to them, she frowned at Ralu's grin –didn't she realize this was a serious situation?

"Guess what we found?"Ralu asked excitedly. How the hell she was so happy was a mystery to Misaine sighing at Ralu as she excitedly pointed to a wall. Walking over, Ryfi kicked the wall to reveal a staircase. Looking at Misaine with a proud smirk, Ralu jerked her head to the staircase, and boasted, "Hidden staircase, who knew right?"

Before Misaine could give them faint praise and get the children out of this place, Ralu's eyes widened as she jumped over Misaine who ducked once she realized her intentions. Ralu landed on one of the soldiers faces, hitting another in the face with her electric baton. Ryfi ran beside her and punched one in the face, before kicking it.

"Elmyra, take the kids and get to safety," Misaine told her, watching as the youngest Turks' trainees battled, fighting with fist and weapon. Setting the ten year old down, she shooed him to the oldest woman. Looking a bit unsure, he followed Elmyra to the stair case, taking the hand of the eight year old girl as Elmyra sat her down and got them in front of her.

As the two oldest children hurried down, she glanced back at the three girls. One was shooting at them and the others were engaging them head on. Shaking her head, Elmyra knew the training those three had probably endured. She hurried down the staircase, still holding the youngest.

"Somethin' tells me they aren't giving up!" Ralu shouted to her friends as she ducked a sword and lunged her baton in one of their stomachs, smiling grimly as it shocked him and he fell down lifeless.

Nodding, Misaine shot one who had his sword aimed for Ryfi, and she ran over and closed the staircase, for she didn't want them finding Elmyra and the kids. "Window, now!" she instructed, shooting a couple more. Walking backwards to the window, the two nodded and followed her lead, soon the three were cornered at the window, with the soldiers flooding the room.

Turing around, Misaine kicked the window, shattering it as glass fell down. She turned back and shot another one who was moving closer.

"Get through." She knew it wasn't the safest way, but they didn't have time to open the damn thing. Groaning, Ralu carefully crawled and went down head first, maneuvering to land on her feet, with Ryfi following shortly after. Misaine shot a couple more soldiers as they closed in, and crawling through, she bit her lip to suppress a cry of pain as one of their swords sliced at her shoulder.

"Misa!" The two one the ground cried at seeing their friend and practically their sister get injured. Falling down, the two caught her and helped support her.

"Are you okay?" Ryfi asked as Ralu looked at the wound, which thankfully looked like just a flesh wound, though there was blood pouring from it.

"I-I'm fine, where's the others?" She blinked and suppressed a groan of pain. She was being supported by the two younger girls and Ralu removed her jacket and pressed it on the wound to starch the blood flow.

"We don't know whe-"

Ralu's voice cut off as they heard the sound of running footsteps, and from around the corner came Denus, Tranoir, Grimoire, Clyan, Kalane, Geniji, and R.J. The seven skidded to a halt at seeing the three Turks in training.

Denus's relief was short lived as he saw Misaine's injury. "Misa!" he cried in surprise as he rushed towards her. The two girls released her and Denus held her up, turning her around and removing the jacket that stopped the blood. His eyes narrowed as Misaine tried to reassure him.

"It's nothing more than a flesh wound." She hissed in pain as he very gently ran his finger over the cut, anger clear in his eyes. "I'm fine, Den." She looked over her shoulder at him. Giving him a small smile reserved for only him, she turned around and handed Ralu her jacket. Ralu looked at it in disgust, even though with the red she couldn't distinguish the blood.

"We have more important matters to deal with," Misaine continued. Sighing, Denus knew she was right.

Staring her dead in the eye, he whispered low enough so no one could hear, "If you feel any pain at all, you need to tell me." He didn't want her saying she was fine when she wasn't, she had pride and knew she didn't like to be considered weak. She nodded reluctantly as he looked behind her for a sign of Valonica and the kids.

"Where's Val?" he questioned, wondering why it was only her, Ralu and Ryfi.

Looking away in shame, Misaine told him, "We had to separate, so the kids are with Elmyra and should be coming out of a staircase soon." She hated the fact they had separated, though Valonica was an excellent fighter, with all the enhancements from her father's side. Even so, she knew it was hard to fight with a child at her side.

Grimoire smiled as Valonrica came from the other corner, with Mykale on her side. She stopped at Misaine and Denus. Panting slightly, she looked at them as she mentally counted how many were here.

"Where's the rest of them?" Valonica asked, where was her other nephew and the two girls? Looking at Misaine, her eyes narrowed at seeing the cut just below her shoulder blade. So she had also run into trouble, great.

Groaning in annoyance, Ralu shook her head –what was with all these pointless questions? "We don't know, by golly!" She was getting frustrated at this. For all that's good, they were trying their best. "We sent Elmyra and the kids down a hidden staircase, they could-"

"There here!" Geniji exclaimed, interrupting Ralu's tirade. A piece of the wall opened to reveal two children. At seeing the older ones, they rushed to them. Geniji happily picked up the eight year old girl, while Grimoire allowed the ten year old to climb onto his back, giving him a piggy back ride. Elmyra stepped out with a tired smile, and at seeing this, Kalane approached her.

Looking at her a soft smile, he offered, "You can allow her to ride on me."

Sighing in relief, Elmyra sat the giddy five year old on the creatures back. The girl grabbed two fist fulls of fur and laid her head on him, resting after all of this excitement. Denus looked around and suppressed a sigh at not seeing Lilaye or Zack. Wherever they were, they had to be safe – if not, he wasn't sure what he'd do.

Before Denus could attempt to make a decision, they heard a door fling open and it hit the wall it was attached to. Looking up at the roof, they stared stunned at seeing hundreds of the soldiers pouring over from the roof, being held off by one blonde swordsman.

"Cloud!"