Between Angeal, Barret, Cid and a couple of the Turks; the concrete slab was lifted enough for another to skeet down and pull the cheeky 1st Class to safety………Cloud slid under the slab and pulled his unconscious friend to safety, whispering to himself as he did so;

"My turn this time…"

Aerith wrapped her arms around her hysterical eighteen-year-old hysterical daughter and held her tight; whispering the words of comfort that all mothers' just seemed to be born with, Elmyra was, quiet literally, freaking out!

Rufus ShinRa turned full circle as he took in the severity of the damage; the base was in total ruins, barely one wall was left fully standing – and the ones that were; were now dangerously unstable, threatening to fall at even the slightest force…one thing was for sure; they needed to get out - and get out now! The place was too dangerous; ruptured gas mains hissed throughout the expansive, and now ruined, building; poisoning the lungs of all that remained within and threatening to take flame from the malicious sparks of exposed live wires………the company owner turned as he heard debris shifting; his blue eyes shot wide as he caught a glimpse of blonde hair – without so much as another moments' hesitation; Rufus instinctively ran towards the injured youth and pulled Aj clear of the dangerous confines of the rubble………

"Aj!"

Denzel half ran, half stumbled over to where Rufus held his little sister, worry shot through the young man as he took her limp frame from the head of ShinRa – Aj was the baby of the Strife family; if anything happened to her, it'd break Cloud and Tifa's hearts!

"Hey, c'mon yo! Wake up already Charlie…"

Reno continued talking to the youth as he hoisted him up from the ground on which he'd lay…the teenagers had been skitting and joking amongst he bleachers upon the first blast…the first blast had demolished the whole left of the training hall; the wall on which Zack had been leaning against and the wall on which the bleachers had been stacked against………

The company heir groaned lowly as he began to come around; pain flaring into life as his senses returned………

"Angeal, Rika; check outside – see what is going on…I'm going to check the halls…"

Both brother and half-sister nodded their heads at Genesis' order; then both turned and headed for the nearest exit………

Genesis ventured over mounds of demolished walls and dust as he made his way further into the hearth of the broken HQ…his head spun with numerous un-answered questions; what happened? Why the hell did they decided to launch an outright assault on the HQ – yes; it is a good strategy, but it is unlike anything they have done previously…what do they want this time…

The red-coated SOLDIER froze mid-step as a single thought reverberated throughout his mind; Jamie………

"No!"

Genesis felt the breath leave his body as his glowing gaze came to rest on an empty bed…they did have him! But for what reasons did they want the youth? The venerable SOLDIER had no time to ponder this alarming situation as his acute hearing, aided my the Mako in his genetic structure, picked up on the sound of footsteps outside………the hazel haired man, made his way meticulously through the debris and found his heart skip a beat as four figures met his gaze……...

"Angeal; down there!"

Angeal followed the direction Rika pointed in; from their vantage point high up they had gained a birds' eye view of all that had happened…more so, as Rika had indicated, who their assailants had been……….

But despite their quick reactions; neither Hewley sibling moved quick enough to prevent the escape of the group of adversaries…

"Fuck it!"

Angeal had just caught a glimpse of someone in the clutches of Azul before his, the Tsviets and Sephiroth, aswell as the remnants departures………

"Reeve; can you contact your medical personnel; inform them that there's two seriously injured adults on board, one with a severe head injury and five unconscious teenagers………"

Reeve nodded his hazel haired head as he withdrew his phone and set about alerting his WRO base of the incoming throng from Edge and the damage that had forced them to evacuate their own base………

"She's in a stable condition…for now. We still do not know the true damage her head injury will result in; we won't know until she comes to………"

Seifer nodded, a numbing sensation falling upon him…in the space of a morning; his family had been ripped apart; his marriage had been thrown on the rocks; his son had been abducted and now his wife lay in a coma………what the hell was he supposed to do with himself…everyone he loved was hurt, and he blamed himself – he was Jamie's father, it was his job to protect his son, it was his job to protect his wife………

"Daddy!"

Alex ran to where her father stood…Seifer turned and picked his young daughter up into his strong arms; he held her tight as she hugged him; he wasn't going to let anything happen to her, of that he was dead sure!

A solemn silence had since fallen upon the WRO base after had landed there, they'd been sent a radio transmission to alert them to ready the medical wing………so far it wasn't looking too promising; Christi was in an unresponsive coma, Zack wasn't far behind the woman, Aj, San, Jenny, Charlie and Mike were all in the wing also; they had all suffered broken bones, concussions and gas poisoning…none had come around yet.

Silence fell upon the WRO base as news spread of what had transpired in Edge, it wasn't good – not by any one's standards! A SOLDIER, 1st Class down, a senior See-D down, five teens down, and one abducted………

"But I-"

Selphie was cut short by a stern look from her husband; Irvine had just attempted to drag the woman away from the medical wing of the base…the way he saw it; it was a place for families right now; all the different parents had taken up vigils' by their child's bedside, refusing to leave until their prayers were satisfied…

"No Selphie…"

"But Christi's my best friend!"

"I know, but she's Seifer's wife, and Genesis' daughter…c'mon, for now anyway?"

The emerald-eyed female nodded her head defeatedly, Irvine was right…but she still couldn't help but care………

"Talk…"

Genesis looked up as an additional person entered the computer room he had been in…it certainly wasn't for the use of the computers that the SOLDIER had chosen this particular room; but for the solitude…he needed to think before he could act………

"I have nothing to talk about Angeal…"

Angeal sighed, as his shimmering eyes remained fixed upon his enigmatic friend, not believing him for even a second…

"The base had been fully searched; no sign of Hojo; he either got destroyed by one of the blasts or…he was taken along with Jamie………"

Genesis nodded his head upon hearing this, he had figured as much…but still one question remained; why Jamie?

"Where're you going?"

Genesis shrugged at Angeal's query as he continued walking from the room;

"To clear my head………"

Seifer held his wife's hand in his as the many tubes covered her bed and the beeps of medical contraptions echoed around her room, all he felt was guilt...

"Christi, please; if you can hear me…just know that I'm sorry – sorry for being such a fuck up…I know I failed Jamie, I know I failed you…but I didn't mean to………"