AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry this is so late, guys! ;-; I've been having issues with life - such as NaNoWriMo and being ridiculously busy with prom committees and such - so I haven't been writing on my fics for. This is the LAST prologue chapter, so after this and from here on out the main course of the story is going on. I haven't quite worked out how I want to go about some of the stuff in the next chapters, so if you would like to BETA- or proofread for me get in touch with me via PM here or email / MSN Messenger at .

R E C A P

" Even though we were headed towards one of the places I feared going back to the most, I couldn't help but shiver with excitement. The real hunt had begun. "

Chapter VII

The summer heat was beating down upon the rugged Idaho landscape, but as I couldn't feel it as we raced down the river at top speed. The wind tore away any shred of heat on their skin and only the heat waves rising from the ground told me that it was blisteringly hot in the sun and toasty in the shade. I made a sharp dive to the right to avoid one of the power lines stretched across the river at the bridge to Greer. Only eleven more miles. Angeal's wing beats faltered behind me as he, too, dodged the lines and continued our straight course to Kamiah. When we were past all the obstacles, I dove down closer to the river to get a drink. It was a tricky maneuver, one that had sent me into the river many times before I mastered it, but I was really, really thirsty. Angeal's mind prodded my own, /What are you doing? This isn't a time to get yourself thrown in the water!/, but I ignored him and slowed to only about twenty mph. Carefully, I scooped up a handful of water, brought it to my lips, and then pushed myself into a metaphorical overdrive mode to catch up with Angeal. I guess that speed could be compared to passing mode – good for short bursts of speed, but it took a lot out of you.

Even though I had wasted precious seconds by slowing down, it was still easy for me to catch up with and speed past Angeal. His flying was slowest out of us all, but he could also stay aloft for the longest time without landing. I was more in the middle with speed and stamina, but I was more graceful than anyone else. I learned more stunts and, due to my low body length – a nice way of saying I'm short – I could perform them tighter and faster than everyone else.

Even though it had only been a few more minutes, I could already see the railroad trestle that marked the site of Three Rivers Timber Mill and, more or less, the beginning of Kamiah. I wasn't surprised we had gotten here so quickly, flying close to 85 mph – I would've gone closer to 95 if Angeal hadn't held me back – had distinct advantages. However, now that we were closing in on our target location I had no clue what we were going to do. Did we just dive into the location where Thextera had been seen or did we look in the surrounding location? Another ping from Angeal told me to follow him and that I did.

/But where are we going, Ang?/

/To the kill site. I just pinged Lazard – he mentioned something about the FBI team being harassed by smaller wolves who were trying to get at an elk carcass nearby. I've got a hunch that those wolves are somehow connected to Thextera./

Fair enough, I guess, but I wasn't keen on flying straight over Kamiah. Thankfully as soon as we got close to the main groups of house Angeal began to rapidly take on altitude. I saw his point. While ShinRa might be covering for us, it wasn't a good idea to flaunt out presence. Infact that might be a stupid move considering how irritable and sharp the President could be these days. I didn't mean the president of the US, but the president of ShinRa, of course. What with the slow transfer between dimensions still going on and all he was pretty uptight lately.

Seven Mile wasn't far ahead of us, being on the far side of Kamiah on the grade that took you up out of the valley and onto the prairie, and already I could smell blood on the wind. I had smelt so much carnage during my years of service to ShinRa that it seemed like I could sniff out death like a bloodhound. I got tired of Angeal's strained, yet so slow, pace and let him know I was going to fly ahead before slipping past him. He made no move to try and catch up and I relished the feeling of rushing through the air like some ethereal being. My joy was short lived.

I glanced down to watch the landscape below race by and my throat contracted at what I saw. On the steep hillside and, another cow elk at its feet, there stood Thextera. It seemed perfectly aware of me, for it stared up with a grin on its face and slowly waved its tail in a mocking wag. Finally, my fighting instincts clicked on and I sent a full out scream to Angeal.

/THEXTERA. BELOW ME. GOING IN./

My dive seemed to go in slow motion and it felt like it took me an eternity to unsheathe my sword, the blade letting out a low keen as it sliced through the air. It suddenly struck me that I should've thought to name it. It was a useless thought and one that distracted me as I fought the sudden summer winds that assailed me as I got closer to the ground. I readied myself for the impact of knocking into Thextera, casting Protect to prevent any broken bones – though I couldn't guarantee that it would save me from bruises and sore muscles – but I failed to ready myself for the ambush that awaited me.

As soon as I got into range, wolves rushed in from the surrounding shadows. Pain lanced through my shoulder and wing as I fought for mastery of the sky and pulled myself into a straight skyward path to avoid being torn to shreds. Even with my speed, I heard the click of teeth on teeth as their lunges just barely avoided my flesh. As I shot skyward, Angeal dove down to meet me, his own standard-issue SOLDIER blade slicing my eyes with flashes of light as the sun refracted off its mirror-like surface. For a moment, I caught a glimpse of my own battle-hardened, serious stare and saw the pupils of my mako eyes contract sharply. No, not right now! I couldn't risk a Geostigma attack in the middle of a mark battle. I needed to back up Angeal, dammit.

I snarled quietly, flipping myself over again and following him down to about fifty yards above where the pack roiled and growled and slathered beneath us, Thextera still watching us with this amused, sadistic expression. The grim utterance of a spell was followed by a flash of blue from Angeal's hand. The Blizzara spell took out several of the smaller wolves, but most were still standing. Thextera howled in a mixture of rage, desperation, and sorrow, racing around its pack before leading them away at full speed. They were headed straight for a draw and, should we not catch them before they were within its safety, we would almost certainly lose them in the brush.

I barreled after the pack, Angeal hot on my heels, but was forced to swerve and duck and dodge as several of the taller trees on the fringes of the forest toppled forward. I caught a glimpse of Thextera's multicolored coat as the last pine landed with a thud and went to follow, but its form was already last within the undergrowth. I swore loudly and turned to Angeal, who was already moving to have a look-see at the bodies of the three others we had managed to fell. One last glance towards the draw to make sure nothing was going to ambush us and I was headed the same direction.

The elder SOLDIER was already examining the wolves' teeth when I got there and he looked over at me when I crouched down.

"These are pups, Ahryn; they're not even fully grown. Look-" He gestured at the inside of the canine's mouth. "-those are still milk teeth. I think it's safe to assume that Thextera is a she and these are her offspring. And if what our informant says is true, she'll be coming back for our blood for killing them."

I shook my head in disbelief. "So what exactly are we going to do now? Go and wait around like sitting ducks?" I asked sharply.

Angeal shrugged and grinned mildly. "Actually, Ahryn, that's exactly what we're going to do."

!~………………………………..~!

In front of Harvest Foods there was the same hustle and bustle of people stopping to get groceries or snacks or whatever for their summer adventures. Burly-looking motorcyclists got gas over at the Pit Stop while mothers were harassed by their children and teenagers arrived in their old clunkers to get gas, snacks, and air for their tires. All in all, it was a typical day in Kamiah and the whole town looked pretty much how Ahryn remembered it.

The same faces, the same stores, the same cars roamed the wide streets. Old classmates walked down the streets holding their two-year old's hand or mooning over their fiancé. Teachers were in the Post Office getting their mail or chattering with retired colleagues. The same drunks wove their way out of the bar despite it being a little past 3 in the afternoon.

!~………………………………..~!

It was pathetic. Nothing had ever changed this place. I snorted and continued to look thoroughly aloof on my section of the concrete wall. I had already been given several dirty looks from passing adults; no doubt they thought I was some kind of common criminal looking for people to mug. Truth was, I just wasn't thrilled to be under strict orders from Angeal to not attempt to find my mother and, on the off chance she recognized me, to ignore her and deny everything.

I was supposed to go in and get taquitos while Angeal made sure the area was clear. We were stopped here for food, but that didn't mean we wanted to have a big battle with Thextera in the middle of the grocery store parking lot. I grumped and had just stood when I received his affirmative ping. The perimeter was clear of any big bad wolves. I shoved my hands into my pants pockets and I headed towards the entrance to get those taquitos. I didn't see the point in going hungry during a mission and the spicy food would maybe warm up my chilly feelings. I slipped lithely from my concrete perch and dodged around parked cars. A few drivers gave me irritable glances and one cranky old man even barked at me to get out of the way. I returned his glower with one of my own, but kept moving.

I was waiting in line at the deli when a tap on my shoulder brought me around to stare face-to-face with Angie. "Jeebus, you scared the shit out of me," I muttered before turning back around. I turned back around just in time to see the customer in front of me be served, opening up my way to the cashier. I opened my mouth to place an order, but stopped when another scene unfolded.

A co-worker, looking stressed, ran up to her and muttered something quickly into the other woman's ear, beckoning her towards the back of the store. While she spoke very quick and softly, I was able to make out "bizarre break in" and "come see". I tilted my head slowly as the two women dashed off, one grabbing a broom as if to use it in self defense. Angeal's eyes narrowed, puzzled, and he echoed perfectly my sentiment when he murmured, "Well, I guess there will be no taquitos today. Grab something else, shall we?"

There wasn't much of anything good in the cold deli, but I halfheartedly grabbed a turkey sandwich. I looked up and was thrown to the side as the wall was rent by an unknown force in the biggest explosion I had been in. My head hit the concrete and vision swam with the blow, so I groggily cast a half-assed Cure on myself. I hauled my haggard way back up using the nearest object, which happened to be the freezers they kept ice in just incase someone wanted to purchase a bag or two. Through blurry vision and ringing ears, I saw the mighty form of a certain wolf hovering dangerously over the prone form of Angeal who had been slammed against one of the tile shelves used to display fruit. Though I was really in no form to fight either, I did the first thing that came to mind.

"BLIZZAGA!" I screamed at the Mark, slashing my hand in a short, downward stroke. With the command, a bolt of ice formed above the beast, plummeting towards its target. Thextera barked in surprised, leaping away quick enough that only one of its hind legs caught damage from the magic. It gave just enough time for Angeal to heal himself and stand up, his hand reaching for a pen attached, oddly enough, to his belt. With a flick of his wrist, it became a full-sized, fully functional broad sword as the cloaking fell away. He stepped forward and lashed out sideways, driving the wolf farther away. My own hand reached for my own disguised weapon… That wasn't there.

I'll admit, I panicked for a moment and began to search frantically. Rubble was strewn all over the ground and there would be no way I could find it amongst everything. So I did the only thing I could do – I Called it to me. I hated Calling things; my gut wrenched and churned, my Geostigma burned like a white hot flame, and I could hear Her. It was slightly stronger this time, but Her voice wavered and broke away as I shoved Her from my mind and grasped my sword that I had Called through the Lifestream and back into my waiting hand.

Glass snapped and shattered underfoot when I ran across it, leaping blocks of brick and concrete and sliding on pieces of smashed fruit. Teeth skated across my sword as I parried a snap from Thextera, the unearthly hiss of canines on metal sending shivers down my spine. She left out a scream as Angeal landed a hit, blood erupting from a slash on her haunch. Another blast the she-wolf caused pushed us away from her and sent me on my butt as I tripped over the edge of a slab of rubble. I brought my sword up to shield my body, but the wolf was dashing away towards other aisles in the store, limping slightly as she compensated for the injury to her leg.

Angeal headed after her, but motioned for me to circle around. I did so, dodging screaming customers and store workers alike. One of them, a woman who was hurrying out of aisle 4, caught my eye and I froze when she called my name. "Ahryn?!" There was no way… Fate couldn't be pulling such a cruel trick on me. Yet, as I really looked at her, there was no denying it.

That was my mother.

I had only a few seconds to register this before a heavy body displaced me and a gruff voice shouted, "Focus, Ahryn!" Angeal was struggling against Thextera who had narrowly missed her chance to disembowel me. I took one last glance at my mom before I picked myself up off my knees and charged the snaring brute. Swiftly, I cleaved down, slicing into her neck. She fell back with a howl and made ready for one last desperate attack. Swiftly, Angeal intervened, slicing through the rest of her sinewy neck with a well placed blow. The ghastly body fell to the tile floor with a crash, sending several shelves toppling as dead weigh slammed against it and created a domino effect even as the body began to rapidly decompose and return to the Lifestream.

For a few silent moments, for my ears were still echoing with my name, all we did was stare at each other. Then, on an impulse, I ran. My footsteps were harsh gunfire on the floor, but more rapid gunfire caught up with me. I was hardly surprised when a feminine hand grabbed my wrist and yanked me around so that I could be pulled into a crushing hug. I was both elated and horrorstruck, two polar opposites fighting in vain to gain dominance over my heart.

"Where have you been, Ahryn? I looked everywhere for you. When the police gave up on the case, I did everything in my power to find you on my own. But you had vanished into thin air," she sobbed, clutching me tighter to her body. I glanced frantically behind her for some advice form Angeal, but he just looked away, a pained expression on his aged face. My mom seemed to catch the direction of my glance and whirled to glare at him. I wasn't prepared for the screaming frenzy that ensured and, apparently, neither was Angie for he flinched, but took the abuse silently and without ire.

"And you," she screeched, "just who do you think you are!? You think you're her master now, do you, just because you kidnapped her and broke her?! I know she's looking to you for orders, but I'm not letting you take her again from me. Do–" I whirled and clamped a hand over her mouth, eyes set into hard, stony shapes.

"Now is not the time, Mom, and if you'll be quiet for ten minutes I'll go home and explain everything." When she continued to glare buster swords are Angeal, I growled irritably, "If you must know, that's Angeal and he's as much of a kidnapper as you are." Finally, the death lock eased and I could breathe freely again, but the iron grasp on my wrist never ceased. She gave us both one last, hard stare each and then began to frog-march me out towards the car. Angeal followed more slowly; I heard him talking lowly into his cell phone, reporting back to Lazard no doubt, and knew he would be a while.

The drive back home, in the same Subaru my mom had owned when I vanished, passed in silence, her stress-aged face glancing over and over into the rear-view mirror in what I recognized as a paranoia-reflex. She was checking to make sure Angeal wasn't following us. It was a useless thing to do, I knew, but how was I going to explain to her that Angeal could find me via telepathy and come to us, no matter where she tried to hide, on wings? What really surprised me was that she didn't try to hide, but went straight home. Abruptly, she turned to me and said firmly, "You're staying home and you're explaining everything – to me as well as the FBI. And I'll be damned if they don't haul your 'friend' away in irons."

I groaned mentally. Great, she was going to try and drag the FBI into a ShinRa issue. That meant my tale would be believable, but also that she would indubitably raise hell about them not being able to do anything, which meant that we would have to go back to New York City if Mom wouldn't cool it and accept the impossible. I didn't want to think about taking an outsider into HQ, even if it was my own mother, and having to explain every aspect of the operation. Maybe I could leave that to Lazard – he was so much better at calmly laying the facts out on the table.

Gravel crunched as we twisted our way up the driveway to the house my mom still owned. I had no time to look around as immediately Mom was out of the car, rushing to the passenger's side, and herding me through the gate, up the porch steps, and into the front door of the doublewide. I was made to wait on the sage colored couch, another similarity from ten years past, while she called up the FBI and held an intense conversation with them. Sometime during the call, a ping brushed against mine and I threw one of my own towards Angeal.

/Hey Angeal, right now might not be the best time. Wait til the FBI gets here./

/She's calling the FBI? This is going to be interesting. I'll wait then, let me know when the coast is clear./

/Roger that./

Finally, Mom set down the phone with an audible click and turned to smile at me. "They're on their way, Erin, you don't need to worry about that man coming to get you," she crooned soothingly, brows furrowing when I only gave her an amused half-smile. She hurried to sit by me, stroking my back and talking meaningless banter that I swiftly tuned out. Just a few minutes later, when I could the icy consciousnesses of the FBI who were slinking up the driveway in their unmarked black cars, I shifted away from my mom and cut her off mid-sentence.

"Mom, please, stop assuming things you know nothing about." When she looked fit to burst, I made swiftly to cut her off again. "And now you're going to assume something else. Yes, I disappeared ten years ago into thin air. Yes, I arrived back in your sight in... questionable circumstances. Yes, to you it would indeed look like I had been kidnapped and made to fight like a gladiator. However, I was not kidnapped; I was not made to fight – that I chose myself; and I am in no way subservient to Angeal. I take orders from him because he is my senior and I respect and trust him – not because he is of higher rank. But, please, remember that everything you want me to tell you is highly classified right now and that you will be asked to believe the impossible."

I took a deep breath after my short speech. The FBI was clunking up the porch steps. I needed to let Angeal know he should come in shortly.

/Okay, Ang, you can move in./

/Good luck; I hope you're dealing with a senior agent and not a trainee./

I grimaced. I could remember the last time I had to go through something like this with a new FBI agent. Thorough pain in the ass, that was, so Angeal was right to wish me luck. I got up to answer the polite knock on the doorframe, ignoring the pained stare that was frying the back of my neck, and opened the door. Two agents, both male, lounged outside the door. One, who seemed to be a bit younger as his dirty blonde hair had not begun to grey with age, was leaning against the railing with a bored expression, but I knew that his casual air masked a hair-pin trigger.

The other, who I guessed to be senior – both from his dark hair that had begun to show hints of silver and his confident, assured vibe – addressed me, "You're the daughter, am I correct? Your mother called us to investigate a possible kidnapping." He shifted a small briefcase in his left hand, probably containing a laptop by the look of it, and glanced over my shoulder at my irate mother.

I barely managed to resist rolling my eyes at the whole situation. "Yeah, that she did. Come in, both of you, and let's see if we can get this all sorted out properly." I yawned and beckoned the inward, returning to my place on the couch. "So who are you two? I don't think I've seen either of you around before," I drawled, stiff irritation being replaced by dull boredom.

The younger of the two spoke this time, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "I'm a newbie, so I don't think anyone really has. I'm Agent Bedford, but I hate being called that nonstop so most people just shorten it to Ford." He grinned briefly at me. "And then this is my boss, Agent "Gary" Garrison."

I nodded respectfully to both. "Right, well, let me get my ID for you. I'm afraid it might have a bit of blood on it – we just finished knocking off Thextera when this happened." I began to rummage through my wallet, stopping when my mom stood and began shrieking.

"Just what is going on here? My daughter turns up after ten years in the presence of unknown personnel and you two, who are suppose to be locking up that kidnapper, are talking with her calmly like nothing is wrong!? You're both in on this kidnapping! You just want to take her away from me and continue creating an army of kidnapped children!" She shook with rage, tears streaming down her weary face, and I finally felt a little panic. Yes, I had steeled my heart to things like this after ten years, but how could she just stand there and vomit blasphemies when I was offering the truth if she could just shut up for a half an hour! I knew she had been through ten years of hell, but so had I. I knew she was just trying to protect me because she was my mother and loved me but right now she was the one who needed to be quiet and let me handle things.

"For Gaia's sake, Mother! Please shut up! You're being hysterical and if you want an explanation you'll have to put a sock in it. Don't think that I won't hesitate to slap some duct tape over your mouth until we're finished. I told you that you would need to believe the impossible so stop shrieking!" I huffed, hands clenched into fists.

Amusingly enough, this was exactly when Angeal made his entrance. He didn't knock, but opened the door right away and stepped inside. Wryly he said, "It seems I couldn't have picked a worse time to get here. I take it she's not reacting well?" He had been addressing me before now, but now Angeal turned to my mom and coaxed gently, "Michelle – yes, I know your name for Ahryn has talked to me about you – you really do need to listen for just a bit. I give you my word that I would never kidnap anyone's children – for good or evil. Please, judge after you have heard all there is to say."

Her mouth gaped like a fish's for a few more seconds, but finally she nodded warily and gestured for us to continue. I heaved a great sigh and returned to rummaging through my wallet. At last, I pulled out a slightly battered ID card and handed it to Garrison. He opened the briefcase, which did indeed have a laptop within it, and tapped in my ID number. The laptop pinged cheerfully, pulling up a screen that had a larger shot of me on it as well as pretty much my entire life story. Garrison nodded after a moment of scanning the information. "Right, you're clear, Ahryn. Now if I could see yours, Angeal? I know it's a hassle, but it has to be done." Tap, tap, tap went the keyboard and a few seconds later Angeal's identification process was done.

Garrison turned to my mom and said soothingly, "Ma'am, there's nothing you need to worry about. Your daughter is perfectly fine. Angeal Hewley is no kidnapper and Ahryn Nire is no damsel in distress. If I may, Angeal, I daresay she could give you a run for your money if she was so inclined."

At this, I piped in, "And if I couldn't out fight him, I could always out fly Mr. Slowpoke." Angeal gave me a good natured pushed so I growled playfully and lightly punched his arm.

Ford grinned, but it was still his boss who spoke. "While the FBI is not privy to ShinRa's secrets, I daresay that you, as mother of one of their SOLDIERs, you can receive the whole story from your daughter. I know not the specifics of her departure, so I cannot tell you myself. However, I would believe what they tell you, for it's all quite true. Soon enough, all of this will be common knowledge. Now, if that is all, Ford and I will depart and give you all time to recover and get things sorted out amongst yourselves."

In only a short minute and a half, the two agents were gone and my mom was left in her chair, hand covering her mouth, as she stared disbelievingly into space. The silence was uncomfortable and I longed to break it, but sensed it was time to wait for my mom's lead. After a long, long wait, she finally turned to us, eyes alert, yet resigned, and sighed, "Very well, let me hear this story of yours, Ahryn."

END PROLOGUE