This chapter was one of the hardest to write for the Diablos Saga. At this point, there's so many different characters and plot threads and emotions to keep in line that it's hard to make something that seems plausible. Not to mention I'm bringing people back into the story who've been out for some time. I hope I did well enough.

Reno stepped over to the cracked glass window of the drug store. He cast a glance inside just long enough to see what he wanted, and then he quickly stepped over the broken frame and into the interior. A moment later, he emerged with a fresh pack of cigarettes. He quickly began to tap on the pack as he looked out to the new arrival, a rather large commercial rig for some local grocery with trailer attached, hearing it slowly chug to a stop. The brakes hissed as they went on. The engine idled, and the driver's side door opened momentarily to expose who was at the wheel.

"Somehow…" Reno murmured aloud. "I never really thought of you as the truck-driving type."

Vincent stared indifferently back as he stepped out momentarily from the front cab. "It's not the type of vehicle…it's what's inside."

Reno merely snorted and shook his head. "Whatever…"

"You really think that rig is going to get us over what's left of the city out there?" Elena asked from nearby. She had just finished looking disapprovingly at Reno, but now looked even more so at the rig and gestured to it uneasily.

"It better. There's not many vehicles left intact for the moment, and this is probably the only one big enough." Vincent answered. "Besides, I'm not driving it." He accented this with a look back to Reno.

The Turk began to open the pack and get out a cigarette. "Rude's the real wheelman…but alright. Guess we've all got to make do."

Although the sun was out again and Junon had resumed its bright orange shade that it usually possessed at mornings and evenings, one could hardly tell that this was the same town. Most of it had sustained some form of damage, but where Vincent and the two Turks were gathered right now, toward the entrance, was one of the worst war zones. It would be impossible to get anything short of a bulldozer in there for weeks, despite what the earth espers had done to "flatten" the road. Most cars in the city were totaled or damaged at this point. Vincent had managed to somehow obtain this rig and stash it under a secure steel overpass, and that was the only reason they had a car now.

The dark mists had blown away. The sun broke through once again. Although no one knew for sure if all of the enemy was gone at that point, somehow everyone had realized it was over. As the sun and sea seemed to blow away the darkness and gloom, the last few monsters that had willingly followed Diablos screeched and fled, returning to their dark worlds and primitive states once again. Everyone else who had been in Diablos' force was either dead or restored to humanity. As things calmed down, the city, aside from its destruction, soon turned into a mess of three groups of people…frazzled defenders, terrified refugees, and bewildered, mostly naked humans. They were in the greatest amount of confusion…humiliated as well as possessing no memory of what had happened, trying to hide themselves among the rubble and try and piece together what was going on.

As most of the authority figures were either dead or had run for it, there wasn't much in a semblance of order for the first couple of hours. Mostly people just picked themselves up, bound their wounds, and then attempted to form some sort of cohesive structure.

But after that, things began to settle somewhat. Those who had fled returned. Ideas and accusations of cowardice aside, now that the danger was over they were useful for helping to establish order again. Most importantly, however, the legion of airships that had been hovering idly over the ocean bay, their own crews struggling to realize what had happened before opening fire around them on the flying monsters, helping to get rid of them as well, finally moved in to touch down. Luckily, the airfields had been spared most of the destruction. That provided a large body of organized individuals who went to work creating some sense of order as well. With these "tools" in place, the surviving government officials (who had "miraculously" escaped the chaos and damage yet nevertheless were welcome now) began to organize efforts to round up both survivors and refugees. They also managed to break into the emergency shelters and get out some covers to throw on the mass number of mostly-naked, confused individuals running around. Last Reno had heard, they were scrambling to try and find out what lodging spaces were available throughout the city to store the massive influx of injured as well as victims for at least the night and placing calls out overseas to Wutai for help. Of course, to do that, they first had to rebuild the antenna towers that had been destroyed before this all began.

All in all, there was still a lot of work to be done, but at this point it was, as the proverbial term went, "the kind of problems you want to have". There was a team about halfway down one block picking away at some rubble to help some buried survivors out, but for the moment Reno and his own small group was clear at the entrance to town. It would be a while before they got enough roadway officials together to start seeing how they were going to fix that giant mess. It looked like traffic into Junon would be coming in the old south entrance for quite some time.

Large, ungainly semi aside, Reno was actually in a mood to hurry up and get going. They still had two more of their group in that city, after all, and he had a feeling no one would be too eager to help them if those giant esper things were still looming around them. Hence, once Vincent had stepped out of the way and he had managed to get his first drag from his cigarette, he began to make his way over the rubble toward the truck.

About that time, he and the others became aware of a rhythmic thudding taking place in the air. The sound suddenly came out from the sky and rapidly grew in volume, indicating the source was passing over them. Reno paused and looked to the sky on hearing it. Moments later and he saw it. A single helicopter was streaking over the top of the city. It was a smaller model, but he did notice that a large news symbol was emblazoned on it. He was forced to take his cigarette out of his mouth to let out a snicker as he saw it pass overhead and keep going.

"Well…look what's still standing after all this…" He mused as he watched it. "Probably eager to get started too. Modern day parasites, I tell ya'… They thrive off of dead and dying things…"

"Hey, forget the news team." Elena suddenly sounded, causing Reno to look away and back to her. He saw that she was gesturing back toward the entrance of town. "Think we've got one who arrived late?"

The Turk followed her gaze. Even as he was looking down, however, he already heard its own sound coming in as that of the helicopter faded. What was the unmistakable noise of an incredibly large engine moving giant metal treads reached Reno's ears as he peered toward the entrance of Junon.

Lumbering across the uneven ground, albeit somewhat easier than many would due to the fact that it was a tank and not a regular vehicle, was one of the old Cromwell models that had been deployed in Midgar. A truly old one, mind you. One that had either escaped salvage during the days of New Shinra or had been dismissed as being too badly damaged to be worth it. It sort of showed. The thing was belching out so much black smoke it looked as if it was trying to reinstate the black cloud that the big bat thing had created earlier. Nevertheless, it looked like it was doing a steady fifteen miles an hour…which, painfully slow as it might seem to a rider, was faster than most humans could sprint and probably could maintain that speed indefinitely longer than their stamina would allow.

The ancient vehicle seemed to grind some of its gears doing so, but it made it toward the ruins of a roadblock and began to pass over it. After some struggling, it made it over and continued to sputter and clunk all the way toward the gathered group. They simply watched and waited as it came forward. Reno himself took another drag as he watched it. Unlike how Elena had reacted, he doubted that this tank bore any more hostiles. She was tensing up, but he and Vincent were perfectly calm as it came. They realized that this craft was definitely not something from that Deepground organization or even a good weapon's branch of Isuzu. Nevertheless, it had come from that direction, and Reno had a few good guesses as to who exactly it was…

Slowly, the vehicle came to a stop. It didn't shut down. Whoever was driving it no doubt realized the damn thing would probably never start again if that happened. However, after a moment or so, the upper hatch on the craft hissed and then popped open. Even before his face came out, Reno recognized the hair as it emerged from the tank and knew who it was. He quickly lifted his whole body over the edge and leapt out all together, touching down on the ground. When he did, Reno stifled a snicker. Despite everything he had seen today, this was awkward.

No matter how hard he tried, Reno could never forget the face of Cloud Strife. Hence, he recognized him as he came down outside of the vehicle. And where one was, there was usually the other… Sure enough, Tifa soon came out after him, much more nimbly pulling herself around the top hatch and yanking her body over the top to land on the ground. Lastly, Barret's unmistakable perpetually annoyed face poked itself out of the top, although he didn't get out of the tank. He just looked around.

What was odd about them wasn't this appearance (or even the fact that they had arrived, for once, after everything was over). It was their choice in clothing. Rather than being in full black battle regalia as they normally seemed to be, they were entirely unarmed. As far as clothing went, all that they had one were some really cheap white t-shirts and boxers…all of which, Reno noticed, had spray-painted, bad sayings on them. They looked like they had been ripped off of some very cheap, low-budget store that specialized in them. At least Tifa and Cloud had some sort of saying on their own shirts that was just a dramatic salute of Edge firefighters and police officers. Barret, on the other hand, kept his undersized t-shirt mostly hidden as he slumped halfway in the tank, but it was obvious that it was taking some popular child's cartoon character and turning him into some sort of drug addict. Of course, that was just the shirts. The boxers, on the other hand, were far more explicit…

Reno flicked some ashes off of his cigarette as he glanced to Tifa first, and then Cloud. He actually did let out a chuckle on seeing the wording on Cloud's boxers. "Nice of you to show up at last…and to introduce me to 'the Legend'."

Cloud merely frowned and held his tongue. Tifa blushed a bit as she covered up her own naughty message. "…It was the only store in Edge that hadn't been looted and we were in a hurry." She muttered.

"Forget about the damn clothes!" Barret yelled from the tank. "What the hell happened here? Damn place looks like Meteor hit it!"

"It's a long story." Reno answered.

"…Just the same, we'd like to hear it." Cloud answered after frowning a bit at that answer. "We've had enough confusion for one day. We tried to radio ahead only to find that Junon is a dead zone."

"Are the kids here?" Tifa threw in. "Are they alright?"

"We can explain on the way." Vincent announced, cutting the conversation off and redirecting attention to him. The man himself had not ceased moving since he had confirmed the identity of those driving the car, and had moved over to the opposite side of the truck and begun to enter. "We still need to get out to the heart of destruction and see how Aerith is doing."

Reno kind of wished Vincent hadn't said that. As the man in red nonchalantly entered the truck and shut the door behind him, the Turk himself groaned as he saw the predictable reaction of Cloud, Tifa, and Barret all reacting in surprise to hearing that.

"Aerith? I thought she got swallowed by that thing?" Tifa immediately retorted.

"If she's here, what about Ragnar?" Cloud added.

"And where the hell is Marlene?" Barret threw in, starting to yank himself free of the tank.

Reno rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. He turned and began to walk to the front of the car as well.

"It's getting to where we need to get this little story published to avoid having to retell the whole damn thing again and again…" He murmured.

Leviathan surveyed the group again. He himself had burns and warped scales over much of his body, and he was certain a few vertebrae were cracked. A bit comical…how he used to be the most powerful thing on the face of Gaia…or at least thought of that way. Certainly didn't feel so now. Even in this new body he had issues of "mileage". He definitely didn't care for how polluted and foul the water was of this coastal city. Hence, he wasn't going to get a rejuvenating dip anytime soon. That meant he just had to bear with it and let his powers recover naturally as his own regeneration slowly repaired him.

Quetzacoatl's light was dim but still present. One of her wings was held at an angle to accent a broken bone, and she was having to hover for the moment about a foot above the ground. As he watched unpleasantly, Shiva, drained of magical power yet probably the most physically sound of all of them, limped over to her, still grasping her injured side, and took the wing in her arms. Quetzacoatl answered by inhaling and exhaling a bit, and then gritting her teeth and bearing down. Shiva looked back at her a moment, and then, coldly and as quickly as possible, snapped her broken bone back into place. The hovering power immediately cut off as the bird esper faltered to the ground and splayed out, being supported only by the wing that Shiva was holding. She let out a pained whine from her tiny beak and rested there momentarily, still in agony. But in the end, she stiffened a bit and forced a nod to Shiva. The ice esper released her then.

A weak croaking was going up from near Leviathan, in the vaguest form of a chuckle. It came from a rather dirty, messed up, curled ball of pale green fluff chuckling at who he was currently resting on. Spilled backward, his own "fire" looking rather faded and minor, Ifrit lay sprawled out on the ground with his long tongue lolling out of his wolvish mouth. Carbuncle was literally curled up in his lap, but neither of them could do much about the other at this point. Those two, Leviathan realized, were the biggest miracles of all that day. Diablos had been saving his juice for the Sorceress when he blasted Ifrit, fortunately. As for Carbuncle…well, it was only because he had ripped through every barrier the little esper had erected around his body that he didn't get deep fried from that opening shot. At that point, the death creature still had more than enough power to spare. Nevertheless, the esper still managed a laugh at Ifrit.

"Heh…still remember you…all gung ho out there…" He mused. "Mr. Why-We-Helping-Humans-Anyway decides to try and wipe that smile off of Diablos' face…"

Ifrit let out a deep throated growl, but it was a weak one. "I said I didn't like humans… That didn't mean I didn't hate that bastard even more…"

Leviathan let out a half smile of himself at that, and then turned his head up a bit to their last member of their group… Towering over them, having dragged his body over to their location before propping himself up on his remaining limbs and then resting there, was the bulk of Alexander. His glow was practically non-existent at this point, but the massive holy esper still functioned. You could see just the faintest plumes of light inside the holes in his massive metal mask, dented and fractured as it was, where his eyes should have been. Even now, there was the sense that the huge construct was trying to protect them through his last position, turning his own body into a living shelter over the five espers, three adults…and who he had spent the last of his reserves rescuing.

They were in an odd pile, slumped up around their matron, and were still out of it. Leviathan could detect that they might have been permanently damaged…as much magical power as Diablos had forced them to channel when they were still far too young to harness it. Something inside them could have burned out. They had gotten rather bruised and battered as well on the way down. Even unconscious, they had seen that two of them had broken bones and had braced them with scraps and junk from the surroundings. But Alexander had managed to save their lives and purge the spell that controlled them.

It had taken a whole hour for the lumbering metal giant to be able to drag himself over to them, struggling as best as he could to cradle the children with one tower-sized limb. They were all unconscious, of course. They'd be that way for the next two or three days at least. During that time, the others had gathered around the victor. Leviathan had removed the Magical Lamp from Aerith and quickly held onto it while the others tried to tend to her. However, there wasn't much they could do. Their own magical powers were sapped. Furthermore, they couldn't really treat her properly in the way she needed… She was sprawled out on the ground, breathing slowly, and shedding tears with no sign of altering from this position. The others realized the truth from that…that Diablos' words were still ringing through her head… Much as they had done, they hadn't stopped the monster completely, it seemed.

Whether by her will or not, the Cetra passed out not long after. The espers, with the help of Rex, made her as comfortable as possible. They were able to get a few blankets from the rubble and put one around her. The others, however, soon went to the children when Alexander brought them up. It was a small ray of light in the midst of how gloomy the victory had been. Rex struggled to wake her up to show her the good news, but all they could manage was a half-awake, half-asleep state. No doubt, as they lay the children around her, she probably thought she was having a dream. She smiled none the less, and seemed far more at peace afterward.

Leviathan looked to her again now and was forced to admit some admiration. She had shown a great deal of faith in him to allow him to tell her what to do time and again and do it again and again. She had suffered more than once during that fight, and she had kept going when he told her to bite down and keep making Diablos angrier. He had gambled a lot on Diablos getting mad enough to not fight smartly. Even at the end, he had feared that he had gotten wise…that he would have ruined everything. Leviathan had come close…very, very close…to seizing control of Aerith's mind. He thought she'd break. He thought she'd charge out earlier…that he'd have to control her to keep her from losing her composure. In fact, she did at the end…but it worked out for the best regardless. Even her desperate attempt to save her children had been made with the notion in mind that Diablos was nearing the breaking point. Even then, she was still devoting at least some of her thoughts toward everyone else in the world. It was small wonder she had saved this planet before through the power of her own spirit…

Lastly, the one responsible for this whole stand being made was close by as well, wrapped in another blanket. Quetzacoatl had managed just enough hovering power to shoot in, take the Cetra Krystea up, and get her out of the way before Diablos' own Omniapex would have destroyed her. She was recovering quickly too…far more quickly than her relation. Already, her aura was approaching consciousness again. She'd be awake soon. Although Leviathan knew that one couldn't possibly "clone a soul", the energy pattern he was detecting from her was so akin to Aerith's that it was uncanny. There was little doubt in his mind that if she was to awaken as a Sorceress as well that her own constitution would allow her to weather far more strain from magic casting than her "sister". While she lacked the spiritual or mental means at the moment, she likely possessed enough potential to surpass her…

While still thinking this over, the sounds of rubble shifting went out. The espers and Rex, nodding off himself in one "corner" around their group, turned and looked toward the sound.

Leviathan watched as he saw some of the rubble and pavement pieces on the ground suddenly shift and tumble aside. Unlike before when it had happened, this event was not earth shaking or quaking but was rather mild and isolated. The sea serpent's own sensory ability was a bit drained, but at this moment he was able to detect who was approaching. The aura was not hostile, and he guessed that much from the manner of the arrival. Therefore, he only waited as the last few pieces of material were shoved aside and the two responsible slowly brought themselves up and out of the ground.

Leviathan stared blankly back along with the others. Ifrit, weak as he was, forced his teeth to bare in the most threatening look he could muster, and Rex looked more than a little fearful on seeing them. The others, however, were stoic.

Sacred himself rubbed some blood off of his cheek and dusted his body from spare bits of dirt and grime. He grumbled a bit, but none of it was audible even in his monstrous voice. As for the smaller Minotaur, he went ahead and let show his own bumps and bruises as he took a step forward, his hoof feet moving surprisingly nimbly throughout the ground as he made his way forward. His step was a little stiff despite his attempts to look calm enough, showing he was at least a little injured, but other than that he kept moving forward until he was nearly before Leviathan. Once there, he stopped and crossed his arms casually. His head bowed slightly.

"…doomtrain ran for it." He said after a moment, breaking the silence. "he fought with us only until diablos was defeated. after that, he fled. he's in bad shape though. he won't be causing any real trouble for a while."

"I see." Was the only answer he received from Leviathan.

The two groups looked on at each other. Ifrit let out another growl, to which Shiva answered by nudging him with her foot, indicating to hold off for now. Rex himself looked between the two of them nervously, and Leviathan could understand why. At this point, he couldn't tell who would win a fight. The brothers had lost quite a bit of their power tangling with Doomtrain, but out of all of them they possessed the most. Combined, they might be able to beat them…but this time it was likely one of them would get seriously injured or die in the process. Where they were standing was still ambiguous after that. Silence reigned as time ticked by, neither of them saying anything. Minotaur looked up after a while and stared at Leviathan, and the sea serpent calmly stared back. They locked gazes but said nothing else.

Finally, Leviathan ventured to break it. They had to have an answer today, before things went any further.

"…What will you two do now?"

Minotaur hesitated on hearing this. He turned his head around after a moment and looked to his younger brother. Sacred, in response, looked down and dug his hoof into the ground a bit. He grumbled a bit, but said nothing else. After staring a little, Minotaur turned and looked back to Leviathan.

"…i think we were wondering what you had in mind."

"Does that mean you wish to join us?" Leviathan answered. "You want to go back to the proverbial 'way things used to be'? I don't know much of where we will fit in inside this new world or where we will go from here, but I will say this. We won't be doing as Diablos did…attempting to dominate anyone or anything. While I agree that being simply things of legend and trying to exist apart from humans was a mistake, so too, I hope you realized from today, is attempting to enslave them just as they enslaved us."

Sacred grumbled a bit louder here. He turned away a bit and stamped a hoof against the ground, but said nothing else. Minotaur continued to patiently watch and listen.

"Do you think you could live that way?" Leviathan continued. "After all that happened, that you wish to exist as equals? Regardless of whatever hate or anger or resentment you might have for the War of the Magi?"

Minotaur was silent after that. He turned to Sacred again. The larger one turned back, but didn't grumble this time. They appeared to swap some sort of ideas between each other as they stood there. In the end, the little one turned back and seemed to give some sort of mutual idea between the two of them.

"i've been thinking about things like that ever since we started chasing doomtrain. and while i might have some unresolved issues of anger…i'm also very tired of war and killing and being used. deep down inside, i think my brother is too. he's just too proud to admit it. i also see that going it alone in this new world is not the way to do things unless we want to get hunted down and picked off one by one. we might not see exactly eye-to-eye…but if it has to be your way or the way of people like siren or diablos…i think we'd much rather be with you. so until we get a better idea of how the people in this world will react to us being back…for now we'll do things your way. after all…out of all the races and factions running around on gaia at the moment, you're the only one who hasn't tried to use us yet for his own ends."

"JUST KEEP THE TWERPS THAT TRIED TO HURT ME OUT OF MY WAY." Sacred grumbled from the back.

Despite all that happened, Leviathan cracked a half of a smile at this. "Fair enough."

A sense of relief began to come over the group at that. Some tensions eased. Minotaur became fairly normal himself. Leviathan could still sense large amounts of anxiety around Sacred and Ifrit…but both of them were hotheads, and he had a feeling in time they'd realize they had that in common. There was still some hesitation, but overall Leviathan felt that things would be alright between them from now on. Minotaur wasn't a killer or truly hateful like the others. Sacred, angry as he was, wasn't either, he felt. He had a feeling that Minotaur didn't so much persuade him to see his point of view time and time again as he simply helped Sacred to see the logical side of things over his own anger. In time, he figured they would indeed be resolved to humanity…depending on what their group was able to do within the next short period of time. The future, indeed, had lots of uncertainty…but he had a feeling he could trust the minotaur brothers a lot more than any other former members of Diablos' group.

Minotaur finally uncrossed his arms and relaxed somewhat. "alright…so what now? doomtrain ran off. what of the others? is siren still here?"

Leviathan shook his head. "Not surprisingly, no. As soon as we were all occupied with battle, she fled."

"So how long before the bitch makes this whole thing happen again?" Ifrit grumbled from his position. "She's the one who gave Diablos all his minions…"

"She won't." Leviathan answered. "Her power can't seduce me or Alexander, and we're both more powerful than her in terms of combat. She never made herself that much of a nuisance when there were others that could stop her. Just the same, however, we'll need to find her soon once we've recovered, along with all the others that fled."

"It might take some time, but I think we could persuade Pandemona." Shiva mentioned. "Hopefully, he realized from what I did that we don't want to kill him. He might not be the best specimen of an esper in the world…but he's still one of us regardless. As for Cerberus…that's practically a lost cause. After what happened to him, he'll never be able to forgive humanity."

Carbuncle frowned from his ball shape. "I thought that he could actually heal from the deaths of his separate heads?"

"Yes, but the consciousness in that head will never be the same as the previous one." Leviathan answered. "For all intensive purposes, that part of his psyche and mentality was destroyed. It's not something that's very forgivable, I'm afraid. Yet nevertheless, I have to sympathize with Krystea. It was either him or her. And considering what would have been the consequences to the world if he had enabled Diablos to get his hands on Krystea…"

"Terrific." Carbuncle griped. "Anyway…one of the two jolly green giants ran away with his tail between his legs…or his spines or whatever you prefer… The other's going to be a couple weeks yet."

"Probably better we run into them first before they make an attempt to appear to humanity again." Leviathan answered. "Those two aren't espers in the traditional sense of the word…and neither are we, for that matter. We've come back, but we're not the same things we used to be."

Ifrit snorted. "So what exactly are we then?"

"I guess monster would be too derogatory…"

The espers and Rex all turned again on hearing the new voice. They soon found themselves looking toward the pile of unconscious bodies…although one of them wasn't that way anymore. Raising her head and seeming to be rather alert for having been drained of power was Krystea, turning her eyes around at all of them. Surprisingly, she looked rather calm as she stared at the towering beasts all around her. Much more calm than Rex had been at any rate.

They stared back for a few moments themselves, before Leviathan gave the woman a nod.

"Yes…it would."

The woman looked around a bit more before she focused on one person in particular: Shiva. The ice woman stared back with her normal expressionless manner. Krystea finally nodded to her.

"…What's your name?"

"Shiva." She answered immediately.

"…Thank you, Shiva." Krystea answered after a bit of a pause. "You saved me more than once out there."

The espers hesitated for a moment after hearing that. It was unusual to be thanked by a human after so long…or to be addressed like this, for that matter. Krystea, nervous as she was, was attempting to talk as if they were equals rather than creatures to be awed and shrank away from. Leviathan wasn't sure what to make of this. It could be a sign of potentially a better existence between the two that wasn't shrouded in so much mystery or fear…or it could have been a sign of how little they were feared now. But for now, he simply smiled at the gesture.

Shiva herself, in her normal cold manner, simply crossed her arms and looked to the others again. "Don't mention it."

Krystea turned to the rest afterward. "So…I guess we won?"

"If by won you mean Diablos is defeated, then yes." Leviathan answered. "His slaves have been freed and restored as well. I'm sure there's still more to do, but it will have to wait until Alexander has regained more of his power. But many of your people are dead. Much has been destroyed as well."

Krystea frowned in response and shifted her weight. "…That happens more than you'd think…" She murmured after a moment. "So…you're not espers…but you're all creatures that got brought back to life from a long time ago. Big ancient mythological beings or something, right?"

Sacred grouched from where he was. "DO I LOOK LIKE A MYTH TO YOU, GIRL? I'M STANDING IN FRONT OF YOU."

"I suppose you could put it that way." Leviathan answered on his own, ignoring Sacred's comment.

Krystea looked back for a moment longer. "And…you all were killed by humans at one point, weren't you?"

That was an odd statement, but it rang on an especially sharp note with the group that was gathered. On hearing it, everyone went coldly silent. Ifrit bristled a bit as did Sacred. The others looked away from Krystea and to the ground or some of the ruins around them. Leviathan stared on, but his gaze looked away. Krystea continued to stare at them regardless, however, and finally spoke up again.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'… But if so, that's what I don't understand. Why did you all decide to help us instead of Diablos? I mean…I don't suppose it's a really big secret for me to tell you all that people are going to look at you and see just big monsters. It won't matter who you fought for or not. And even if he would have stabbed you in the back, you could have gone off on your own at the very least. The point is that you didn't have to do this."

Ifrit made a growl at last as he turned his head away from Krystea. "You things have a funny way of showing appreciation… Telling us we shouldn't have bothered… Maybe we shouldn't have."

"Ignore him." Shiva flatly responded to this, causing Ifrit to snap his head up and over to her. However, she paid him no mind and spoke on to Krystea. "He's like that a lot. As for your question…I can't answer it for anyone but myself. First of all, I wasn't doing it just for humanity's sake. The whole world and its future was on the line here, and we always cared about the fate of the Planet itself since we first became a species. But more than that… Humans tend to think of themselves as the only sentient beings on this world, but we always knew that wasn't the case. We've also known from birth what it meant to be more powerful than a great deal of other people…entire races that would know only to fear and live under you in terms of power. As you see, after that…it's purely up to the individual. Some of us feared to lose that position and resented it when it happened…and we'd only feel safe and secure again if we got it back by any means necessary. And others…we simply recognized that it is a universal evil for a race to live in terror or enslavement."

"We've always had an affection for your race." Leviathan added slowly. "Perhaps our mother designed us on purpose to be that way. I myself have loved humans as my own children before. And as such, you may see us as monsters or aliens or anything else…but I see a common bond between myself and you. We're all thinking, feeling individuals living on this world. You see us externally or in terms of power. But in terms of our souls, we are very much identical. Yet not all of us could realize that fact. Some could only see the past and what had come before. They couldn't see that, like us, humanity is something different again."

"or that so long as we hold onto hating something, we're just tools to be used by someone or something else." Minotaur spoke from his location at last. "we couldn't see that regardless of the past…much less a past that occurred hundreds of years ago or longer…some things are still just plain evil. there's no excuse for some things or acts. in the grand scheme of things, revenge is rather pity and shallow if you have to destroy innocents to get it."

"I'm not sure if that was satisfactory for you," Leviathan concluded. "But that's the best we can give you. What is right and wrong is more than our own petty feelings and jealousy or even retribution. Can you understand that?"

Krystea looked back to the espers silently for a few moments after Leviathan ended. Her eyes scanned them all for a few moments before focusing back on the main one, seeing their own facial features and trying to gauge their feelings regarding this explanation. However, most simply stared back, giving their silent assent. In the end, she turned back to Leviathan and crooked her gaze slightly.

"I don't want to sound rude or offend…but this self-sacrificial philosophy might explain why you guys went extinct."

"Feel that way if you want." Leviathan simply answered. "But this 'self-sacrificial philosophy' does explain why you are sitting here now to think this way, as well as why your ancestors had a planet to live on and a species to be a member of for thousands of years."

Krystea stayed silent on hearing that.

"Um…before we get into anything else, I'm Rex, by the way…" The glassed youth spoke up from his own corner.

This gained the attention of the others, but it was short lived. Not long after they looked back to him, a noise began to come in over and through the ruins and start drifting through the group. Leviathan himself turned his head a bit when he noticed it, but his hearing wasn't excellent as it was for some of the other espers and he couldn't make it out right away. Instead, Carbuncle and Ifrit looked that way as well, and after a moment, Carbuncle was the one who gave a frown.

"Ugh…another one of those smelly, big, chocobo-less wagons you humans scurry around in is coming…and this one's louder and smellier than most."

Krystea turned to the small creature after hearing this. "Um…we call them cars…or, in this case…" She hesitated a moment to listen to the air. The noise began to grow louder as she did so, and soon she seemed to be able to identify it as well. "A semi."

Ifrit snorted again. "I don't care if some of them are 'I' or if some of them are 'you', 'they', 'he', 'she', or whatever. They're smelly and loud."

Krystea shook her head in answer to that and looked away. "…Perhaps you'd prefer us returning to mako power then…"

"…Krystea?"

A voice, similar to Krystea's and yet with a softer quality to it, came up suddenly. Leviathan turned and looked, but he already knew who it was before looking toward her. His eyes soon rested on Aerith, leaning her head up slightly from her own position and looking toward the direction of her "sibling". The other woman herself looked to her when she spoke and, to Leviathan's surprise, actually began to force herself up a bit as best as she could, trying to get over to her. The esper was again amazed at how fast she had recovered. She doubted Diablos had wanted her to get moving again so quickly. Although her limbs were shaky and she wasn't able to straighten herself up that well, Krystea did manage to disengage herself from her blanket and crawl over closer to Aerith. She seemed to have difficulty in moving, but she didn't have to go far to get closer to her. In just a few moments, she was putting herself down about ten feet away from her. The semi continued to get louder as it approached throughout this time.

"I'm here, Aerith." She answered, following it up with a half smile. "We've got to stop meeting each other like this… I prefer normal family reunions."

Leviathan saw the woman manage a smile in response to that light joke, but that was all. He knew better. Right now, she still looked exhausted from the fight…but he saw more behind her eyes. He knew that she was still thinking about who had been lost, and that was dragging down any joy she could have had from this victory. However, now that she was awake again and alert once more, she looked away from Krystea and around her. The sea serpent watched as her eyes scanned over the bodies huddled around her, still dozing away but clearly breathing. Now, it had to be becoming clear to her what had happened, and that what she had noticed before wasn't a dream. This small group of children had lived at least, avoiding the horrible fate that Diablos had planned.

On seeing this, the Cetra looked up into the sky…specifically toward the towering image of Alexander looking down over her and them all. To be honest, Leviathan himself was somewhat awed by him being there. He hadn't lived long enough throughout history for the old king to properly know how the holy esper would behave or act in gatherings. Yet now, he seemed to incline his head ever so slightly toward Aerith as she looked up to him.

"…Thank you." She told him, her voice quiet but her words definitely sincere.

The stoic giant looked back and didn't change, but it was alright. To him, it seemed as if it was only natural for the holy esper to have done something like that…to allow more damage rather than allow harm to befall individuals.

The Cetra looked down afterward and around, scanning the espers surrounding them. The sound of the "semi" that Krystea had named was getting rather loud now. Leviathan could tell that it was near. Sure enough, his gaze soon caught a view of a large, lumbering, metal box of some sort pulling a much larger metal rectangle behind it pulling its way down one of the ruined streets, up a hill and straight toward them.

"Thank you…all of you." Aerith continued at last. "A lot of bad things happened…a lot of things that can't be undone…but you've saved thousands of lives and stopped so much evil. And you kept Marlene, Azure, and Denzel safe. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them…and they wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for you."

The espers were silent at that. However, Leviathan felt something…unconventional about the way that Aerith said those things. It was neither too grandiose or too mild. It was…just the right level in tone and voice. It seemed as if she spoke to them as if they were equals and there was no difference in power or age or prestige among them. Ironic, as it was, seeing as Aerith herself was by far the most powerful being on Gaia at this point in time. When fully recovered, even Alexander would be nothing to her. Yet in the way she spoke to them and thanked them…there was a comforting manner about it in the way she talked. No one since Rydia had spoken in such a calm, "equivalent" way concerning human and esper…

A large hiss went out from the approaching machines, redirecting attention back to them again. The large "semi" had come to a halt, and appeared to turn off whatever engine was moving it. It had stopped briefly in order to turn a bit, making it spread out long ways, but after that it halted. Only now, with its own sound died out, did the espers notice that a second machine was puttering behind it. This one was an odd, almost layered cake shaped green thing, and one that looked rather old and battered at that. Nevertheless, it chugged along behind the semi and soon came to a stop behind. Unlike the bigger one, this one kept making noise.

Aerith, at this point, turned to Krystea again. "Could you help me up?" She asked.

Krystea turned her head back to her on hearing this. "Are you sure you can stand?"

"I'm going to try."

Krystea hesitated a moment, but then got up from her position and moved over to Aerith. Once there, she put her arms around her middle and adjusted her own body into a squatting position. She waited for Aerith to slowly and weakly pull her own body up and into a similar position, and then both strained and grunted as they attempted to stand. Leviathan thought it was still too early, but he didn't move to protest this at all. And although her knees wobbled quite a bit and she seemed extremely unsteady, not to mention a shade pale on rising, Aerith managed to get up with Krystea's help. Krystea herself was struggling quite a bit to actually stand and move, and by the time they did manage to rise both of them looked like they were about to swoon. But they held on and got their bearings.

As for the machines, it only took moments for the doors to open. Leviathan watched as the passengers got out. He immediately recognized the two ones dressed in similar clothing to Krystea from earlier. He also registered a rather tall, dark, red-caped man with them. He had noticed him earlier as well despite the heat of battle. The man had a very unusual aura about him…one that actually resonated with Leviathan a bit, if such a thing was possible. It wasn't until now that he actually managed to see the man face to face, but on doing so he realized it had to be him. These ones came out of the large vehicle. Out of the smaller one, however, came three additional figures. One man with blond, spiked hair possessing an unnaturally supercharged aura…a brown haired woman following after him…and, finally, a rather large and powerful looking human practically squeezing himself out of his own armored vehicle to join up with the other two. They were oddly dressed…and not in ways that Leviathan found appropriate…

However, these three were probably thinking much worse things at that moment. They froze after exiting, and looked over the gathering before them. A group of humans, mostly unconscious, surrounded by large and powerful creatures of myth. Each one towered over them and was a sight to behold in and of themselves, especially now since Alexander's own huge body began to groan and grind as his head looked around and toward the new arrivals. There was silence among both sides for quite some time. They just stared blankly at each other, and the espers allowed the humans to take them in.

It was the blond who finally spoke up quietly.

"…I'm sure Ragnar would love to be here right now…"

The silence was broken again a moment later as the back of the large semi suddenly made a clicking sound, like a door unlatching. That turned out to be the case, as soon a large section of it swung aside. Moments later, and a smaller, lither figure dressed far more loosely with short black hair and a long bandanna hopped out. Without even really looking forward, she turned around and began to run up toward where the others had dismounted. However, she looked up as she did so…and in short order quickly slowed down to a halt again. Her face turned from a momentary eagerness to surprise, and she stared blankly out at the espers gathered in front of her. Her head darted around for a moment as she scanned them all momentarily, seeming to realize just how many were gathered together now…

"Um…now, all of you guys are the 'good ones', right?" She finally asked after finishing her assessment.

"Everyone…" Aerith finally announced, sounding more official. She was still being supported by Krystea, but the woman gestured to her side and to those around her. "This is Leviathan…Quetzacoatl…Ifrit…Shiva…Carbuncle…the minotaur brothers…and Alexander. They saved the city."

"Actually…" Leviathan spoke up…the mere act of doing so causing people to snap to him in surprise. He had a feeling it would be some time before humans would get used to large creatures like him talking. "It was all Sorceress Aerith's doing. We just…lent a hand until she showed."

The Cetra turned to him at that, and seemed a bit unsettled and red in the face. "Um…just call me Aerith, please."

"Aerith!" The brown haired woman finally announced, seeming to snap out of her daze at long last one hearing that name. Not only her, but the blond haired one and the large man did so as well. Soon, they broke away from their own vehicle and began to come across the field toward her. In response, Aerith began to slowly limp toward them, Krystea helping her out when she saw her start to move. While this happened, Rex, still feeling a bit on the outskirts, suddenly stood up and raised his own hand.

"Um…I'm Rex, by the way. I work for Mr. Vice, and I helped make the Magical…"

As soon as the brown haired one reached Aerith, she immediately embraced her tightly. Krystea backed off a bit at that, allowing her to do so. The blond haired one quickly rushed in as well, casting a glance up for a moment to Leviathan as he came. The big one was the most hesitant, slowing down as he approached, and then looking around to each one cautiously as he came closer. As for Krystea herself, she looked up and over to the others gathered at the truck. In particular, she looked to the tall dark man, and gave him a crooked smile while he stood there stoicly and calmly.

"What? No hug from big brother?"

"You're still on payroll, last I checked our contract, little lady." The red-haired man spoke for him, stepping forward and calling out to her. "So hurry up and get over here. We still need to track down Rude."

Hearing that seemed to strike a note in Krystea. Her own teasing smile suddenly faded, and her look turned to anxiety instead. A hand went up and brushed back her hair. "Rude…oh no…I forgot all about him…"

The brown haired one and Aerith parted at last, but she continued to support the Cetra as she did so. Aerith herself smiled at her…but it was weak and small, with an air of having been forced. It didn't take long for her to pick up on that, or for the others around her.

"Are you alright?" The other woman finally asked, her face turning concerned. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine…I'm just tired." Aerith finally answered…although her tone of voice was not in it.

She seemed to get the attention of the others by saying this. The blond-haired man was rather stoic himself, but his own eyes seemed to turn to concern as well on hearing this. He stepped in closer toward her. "…You don't sound fine."

The woman didn't answer that. Her eyes looked to the ground and her mouth hung slackly for a moment. She was silent. This only increased the anxiety of her friends. Now the large one began to finally ignore the espers and come in closer, as did the blond. The brown haired woman shifted her grasp up to the shoulders in a more supportive gesture as well as bracing.

"Aerith…what is it?" The woman finally asked.

The Cetra swallowed in response. Her head turned to the side. She was silent again for a moment. But in the end, she shook her head and turned back to the children piled up on the ground.

"Let's just…get them inside the truck… Get them to bed… I need to recover myself." She finally said slowly. "I need to get my power back…so I can finish the job…undo what I can undo that Diablos did…" She swallowed again. "I'm…I'm just happy these ones survived…"

"…Your power isn't recovered yet?"

This sudden phrase came from the tall, dark man, the first thing he had said since arrival. And it was so sudden and loud that it caught the attention of all present, having them turn back to him. He simply stood there in response, arms crossed and stoic as before. His red eyes showed no other change in emotion. Aerith stared back blankly for a moment, but he wasn't the one who broke the silence next. Instead, the one person who hadn't changed or looked back to him, the short-haired young woman, suddenly spoke up with a troubled, even irritated, look on her own face.

"…Then I guess they'll have to stay tied up a bit longer until she can fix them."

The group gathered around Aerith, herself included, stared back blankly.

"What are you talking about?" The blond asked.

The young woman answered by simply turning to the side, back toward the truck, and beckoning with one of her hands. "Bring her up and you'll see."

The woman supporting Aerith looked rather confused at that, as did the Cetra herself. They exchanged confused glances for a moment. However, in the end, they did as they were told. Turning back to the truck, the woman began to help the Cetra limp forward toward the car. Leviathan himself hesitated momentarily from his own position, watching as they began to move away from him toward the vehicles, the blond and the big man following. After a moment though…he thought to himself for a brief second before suddenly uncoiling part of his top half and beginning to slide after them.

Naturally, the big man and the blond stopped and turned to him at that, and the woman helping Aerith hesitated and turned as well. The sea serpent froze as he suddenly saw himself confronted with stares…two of them rather untrusting and uneasy.

In response, he gave a sheepish smile.

"…I can be a bit nosy, I suppose."

Aerith stared at him a second, but then shook her head and looked to the others. "He's fine, everyone. Let him come."

The blond and the big man paused again, not seeming to fully agree with that statement. The woman helping Aerith paused herself a bit longer, but then finally turned and began to help the Cetra again. At last, the two men turned somewhat hesitantly and reluctantly kept walking as well. Leviathan himself soon began to slide along too.

As they did, the young woman moved to the back of the semi, toward the open door that she had left. It had swung back shut, but it hadn't fully clicked in place. Now, she moved over to grab it as well as unhinge the other door. The others soon began to gather around. Leviathan kept his distance, but looked on over them toward the back of the semi. While he did so, the young woman moved to nearly open the door, but then stopped on seeing him. Like the others, she too seemed uneasy to see him coming up to her or anywhere near her. However, that unease abruptly turned to puzzlement as she stared on at him.

"…Not 'Leviathan' as in the great god of Wutai Leviathan?" She finally asked.

The sea serpent rolled his eyes and let a hissing sigh escape his beak. "…In all likelihood, yes."

The young woman's eyebrows raised on hearing that, and she stared at him a moment longer. "…I think the people in my country have a lot of prayers they want you to hear…" She finally stated.

Leviathan, in response, merely grumbled and looked away momentarily. The young woman herself finally shook her head, seeming to snap out of it, and then turned back to the truck. Without any further delays, she grabbed both doors at once and gave one mighty shove. Either metal flap went open wide, and the afternoon sunlight pierced the interior of the truck all the way to the back.

The four gathered in front of it immediately gasped in surprise. Most of it was probably shock. There was even perhaps a bit of horror in the voice of the woman and the blond as they looked inside. However…Aerith herself stared at it blankly for a moment. Unlike the espers, what she saw now refused to be real to her. Her mind refused to accept it. Yet as she stared on, and she slowly realized she was neither dreaming nor fantasizing…that what she was seeing was real and there…a new change came over her.

She began to cry.

"…You asked me what I was doing back in enemy territory." The dark man finally stated. It was enough for Leviathan to look over to him, but he saw he wasn't addressing him. He was addressing the red-haired man in the dark suit. This one himself appeared to have some sort of white, smoldering stick in his mouth at this point and a curious expression. Seeing the looks on everyone else's faces, he stepped forward toward the back of the truck himself and looked around inside to see what it was as well. His face wasn't shocked, however. He was casual as he stared within.

"Luckily, Diablos didn't care for them and neither did anyone else. No one missed them when they were gone. It still took hours to get them all…setting a diversion…ferreting a few away at a time…all of them biting and screaming for the guards the whole time. That's why I had no choice but to do that to them. Even now, they're still kicking and screaming. They did when I picked them up from where I hid them in Junon. They're only limp now because they wore themselves out."

When he heard this, Leviathan finally began to understand himself, and knew what he was looking at. On doing so, he saw Aerith begin to cup her hands to her mouth and face. Suddenly, she collapsed to her knees. The woman tried to stop her, but it was too late. She fell to the ground and began to weep loudly.

Leviathan realized, in a strange paradox, that he was thankful that Diablos was a liar.

Perhaps the dark being thought he had eaten one of the children. No doubt, he had fed on some human flesh. But his brainwashed servants would not be wise enough, or insightful enough, to tell them they had prepared a different human besides one of Aerith's charges. He was right about the tall man having some sort of power about him. Only through doing so would he have been able to have gotten them all out, sneaking them through enemy lines. But like he said…they were likely in a slaughterhouse. Those wouldn't be high security.

The semi had large hooks hanging from the ceiling. Perhaps it had been designed to transport meat, but that's not what it held now. Instead…bound and gagged, inside some sort of jacket restraints with thin chains wrapped around their legs, their eyes still burning red and ravenous from Siren's spell, were a collection of children. They fought furiously now that they were in the daylight, foaming around their gags and wriggling to break free. But none of them could move. They were all helpless 'prisoners'. They weren't struggling terribly hard, as the man had suggested, but it was still a gruesome sight. No wonder these new arrivals, who appeared to know nothing of Diablos or his activities, had been so put off by the ghastly collection.

However, Aerith knew better. And as she collapsed fully to the ground and kept crying, Leviathan knew better as well as he kept listening. This wasn't the sounds of mortification or agony.

It was sobs of joy.

Krystea went on to surprise Leviathan again a moment later as, contrary to the tall man's own possible wishes, she broke from behind the others, hobbled/ran over to him, and before he could do anything else about it put her arms around his neck and hugged him. He reacted in some surprise to this abrupt action, but not too much. Mostly, he just stood there and let her do it. After hugging him for a moment, she spoke again.

"Vincent…anyone ever tell you you're the greatest?"

Soon after, the groups were loaded up and prepared to move out. However, they stayed a bit longer for one more purpose. Alexander was the most drained out of all the espers, but he voiced his decision to wait until his power had recovered enough to be the one to break the control of Siren over the children. There was a very good reason for that…Alexander was able to somehow erase the memory of control as well when he did it. It took another hour before he was able to fire off a beam, and after he did the children were considerably frightened at their situation before they were cut down and released. But compared to remembering whatever kinds of evil Diablos might have made them do…it was a fair trade.

They returned to the main populated portions of the city, but the espers managed to hide in the shadows when they did so. That was only really a problem for Alexander, who in the end elected to stay behind until he had recovered further. At this point, Leviathan was still wondering what the relationship would be between them from now on, but it seemed as if Alexander was being subservient to his "creator". He wasn't sure if this was a natural tendency from the construct, or if something in him had changed when he was reproduced in this new form. At any rate, the others were able to hide themselves far better, ducking into remains of alleys or ruined buildings and sneaking about. From there, it was easy enough to scan what the humans were doing either through sight or telepathy, or simply contact some of their new human friends.

Refugee stations were beginning to be set up. Some were in emergency shelters on the ground. Others were in hotels or large buildings that had survived the destruction in this part of the city. They were soon starting to fill up with injured as well as former slaves of Diablos. Luckily, those people weren't that hurt, and once they recovered they'd hopefully be moving out to make more room for others. The sun continued to go down, and as it did more "loud, smelly" vehicles began to appear throughout the city. It turned out these were large machines called "earthmovers" that had been dug out from the rubble and were now being used to clear even more rubble from the city. However, the group didn't stay here that long. They got into some sort of huge device called a "multi-tier industrial elevator" and road up the cliff alongside the city to the higher tiers. The espers had a bit of trouble staying hidden and following them, but other than turning a few heads it wasn't that bad.

The highest levels of the city had a few smoldering rooftops, but other than that had been spared much of the destruction. This was where most organization was taking place on the part of the local government authorities before they were moved down into the lower levels to try and sort out some of the mess. Aerith and her group themselves moved out to a place called the "airfields", where the modern airships had been landing and deployed their own crews. Once they were there, a perimeter was made around the entire field blocking out most public access. That done, at last the espers were allowed to come forward. Leviathan saw many humans freeze and some shrink back. One or two went for a personal gun they had, but luckily the main guns they had on their ships had been disarmed at that point, and no one fired. In short order, those gathered below introduced them and how they had helped save the city. Once that was done, at long last the full story was related again for the benefit of both the new members of their group (who turned out to be named Cloud, Tifa, and Barret) as well as the crews gathered around. By the end of it, most people were avoiding the espers as they pressed themselves against the cliff, making sure they weren't seen by anyone below, but they were tolerated.

The children were put to rest in the airfield hanger, although only the ones from Diablos' "coven" were totally passed out. The others had tired themselves out while struggling, however, and so they soon went down as well. It didn't take long for others like Aerith, Krystea, and the short-haired young woman (named Yuffie) to join them, the former of the two still being drained…the latter one just appearing to nap. Around this point, another suited person, a one named "Rude" appeared and joined with the others. However, he seemed tense and hesitant, and in short order Leviathan guessed why. He remembered that he was one of those gathered around Krystea earlier. Siren must have broken her control over him without erasing his memory, so he remembered how he had been acting and the inner dark thoughts he had possessed. It served as a grim reminder to Leviathan that Siren would have to be a priority as soon as they were recovered…

The sun set not long after, and darkness came closing in quickly afterward. Yet even this night seemed to be more "wholesome" and "pleasant" compared to what Diablos had brought in earlier. Nevertheless, the espers bid their time and continued to recover. Unfortunately, the world they had come back into seemed a bit…stagnant…even "deader" in a sense, and they seemed to lack the power to regenerate from its elements as easily. However, they had all recovered at least a measure of their magical powers and bound up their wounds by the time one particular airship came into Junon. It alone had broken off from the main fleet earlier once the crews had been freed from their control of Diablos…and it had gone to pick up a certain very important group and bring them in directly.

Aerith herself got up and went out with the rest of the espers when they finally came in for a landing…

The engines were still slowing down into idle mode and the airship itself had just dropped into hover range when the side doors on the lower tier hissed and began to open wide. Light spilled out from the interior over the dark tarmac of the airfield. The lights were being kept to a minimum at the moment, especially since there was an assortment of odd guests waiting for an arrival. Most lighting was only coming from the floods on the airships themselves. However, there was still more than enough for the group gathered to see.

Standing about a hundred feet away from the landed aircraft was the current group assembly. Aerith, Rex, Tifa, Cloud, and Barret were all closest in one mass. Behind them stood the espers, all of them save for Alexander and all of them mobile and on their feet again. People were keeping their distance from the creatures now that they were out on the field again, but they didn't seem to care. They wanted to meet up again with these incoming people as much as those in front of them did. Most of the humans had changed clothes at this point. Like Reno, none of them had thought that people would mind if they "borrowed" a few things from some wrecked stores, and Aerith had been wearing that now-ruined white dress for days. Now she held back her hair as it whipped up in the wind of the dying engines and stared out for the airship entrance.

The side door completely opened, revealing a series of dark shadows standing at the ready. They waited only until it had opened enough for them to step out before they started to file out from the opening and toward the waiting group. The light behind them turned them into silhouettes at first, but as they quickly began to approach the others their features became clear. At any rate, the group didn't wait. They walked out to meet them as well. The espers themselves held back, but soon they made out the figures at they arrived.

Denzel and Azure, in the lead, went right for their parents. Tifa immediately put her arms around both of them at once. Marlene wasn't far behind, and she ran up to her own gigantic-by-comparison father and got lifted off the ground by him as they hugged. Shelke came at a somewhat measured pace behind them, naturally not having anyone to embrace as she approached. However…there was something new about her. The smallest hint of a smile was on her face as she walked forward. Finally…one additional member limped forward from the airship, but then broke into the best run he could manage as he saw who he was looking for. Aerith, naturally, ran after him soon after.

Ragnar, still a bit pale but alert again, and his wife soon went into each other's arms and hugged fiercely. They soon kissed and stayed locked, both of them showing both their affection as well as their joy at seeing each other alive and well. For a moment, they just held, as everyone else continued to have their own reunions. The espers themselves waited patiently in the back and let it happen. Leviathan and Carbuncle themselves smiled a bit at the entire exchange.

It wasn't long before more shadows started to come out, as the airship fully went into idle mode. This time it was Shera and Mack, both of them looking a bit haggard themselves, but smiling on seeing the others as they came out and walking up to them. Rex himself moved over to Ragnar, but kept his distance as he and his wife held. Shelke held back as well, while Tifa began to drill both of her sons about what had gone on and about their physical condition. Only after this happened did Aerith and Ragnar finally break off from each other. They continued to hold one another but parted enough to speak.

"Are you alright?" They both asked at once. Afterward, both went quiet for a bit to let out a nervous chuckle at how that had happened, and then attempted to speak again. At first, they both stepped on each other's words, but after a few false starts, Aerith finally managed to speak out first.

"Are you sure you're alright? You and the children looked so pale…" She cut herself off there. "The children… How are they?"

"They're fine." Ragnar answered. "They're sleeping on the airship, but they woke up earlier…wondered where you were." His voice then turned darker. "But are you alright? When they told me you went off to fight that thing by yourself…"

Aerith cut him off with a nod. "I'm tired…but I'll be fine."

Ragnar continued to look at her with a concerned expression. "Are you sure? You actually went against that demon… I read about him back at the City…"

The woman nodded again. "Don't worry. I'm fine."

The man stared back a moment silently, his own look turning from concerned to grim. He frowned a bit as his own gaze dropped slightly. "…A fine husband I turned out to be." He finally stated. "I wasn't there to help you with Pandemona and I wasn't here to help you now…"

Aerith rolled her eyes on hearing this and sighed. "Oh, hush." She answered, patting his cheek. "This isn't the medieval age." After that, she gave him a teasing smile. "And I can look after myself. I am the legendary Sorceress, after all."

"I'm never going to be able to talk you out of waiting to get a real model sword now, I guess." Cloud spoke up from over at his position, although he was addressing Denzel at the moment from where he was.

The boy looked over to his father as he parted from Tifa, and gave him a grin. "You bet you won't."

Tifa herself looked to Denzel critically a moment in response to hearing this. However, after only a second, she sighed and shook her head. "You really can be just as stubborn as him." After that, she shifted her gaze to both him and Azure, and pointed a finger out. "But don't think because you did so well taking care of yourselves for a few days that I'm about to ease up on your curfew at home. And since you two were able to do so much, you can help out around the house a bit more too."

Both young men rolled their eyes on hearing this, letting out respective sighs.

"Oh, don't give me that." Tifa answered a bit sternly. "And you better not be thinking about dropping out of school and becoming mercenaries either. You're not ending up like your father."

"Oh, dad didn't end up that bad." Denzel retorted. "You married him, didn't you?"

In response, Denzel soon winced as Cloud proceeded to give him a slap across the back of the head. "I guess I can go a bit harder on your in practice now too." He reminded him with a bit of an edge. "And you better hope that your few days on your own didn't make you any fresher. I can still turn you over my knee and beat your butt if I want to. And I'll do it in front of Marlene."

Denzel paled a bit on hearing that, and shrank back a bit more. "I was just kidding…" He meekly apologized.

"If it's just the same…" Azure suddenly spoke up, garnering the attention of the rest of the family. His face was a bit tired looking, but his voice was rather serious. "…I think I've had enough fighting…and killing…for a while now. I'll be happy just to get back to regular practice."

Tifa stared back at him a bit anxiously on hearing that. Cloud and Denzel lost their joking mannerisms and went still as well, staring back at him too. That was another unfortunate thing that had occurred. This time, for real, they had been in combat and had been forced to kill. Like it or not, that wasn't a very cheerful or merry thing to be happy about. And it did send a chill among the family for a moment.

Yet in the end, Cloud was the one who broke it. Stepping forward himself, he put a hand out on both Azure's shoulder and Denzel's. This caused both of the boys to look up to him, and he in turn stared plainly back and gave them both a squeeze.

"…You both looked after yourselves, Marlene, Crain, Aerith's twins, and that boy from the orphanage. Even Vincent, from what I heard. I'm very proud of you both."

The two young men paused only for a moment, but then smiled back at Cloud. His words were very sincere, and in spite of how either of them felt…it mattered a lot to them to hear Cloud praising them. It gave a sense of validation and relief…not to mention pride. They placed their own hands on top of Cloud's after a while, returning his gesture. Tifa herself stared at the three of them for a moment, but in the end smiled as well.

At this point, Rex finally managed to step forward toward Aerith and Ragnar. They were still holding each other at first. However, on seeing him coming, the two looked to each other one more time before mutually silently agreeing to break off. Both of them stepped away and turned to face Rex completely. On doing so, Ragnar gave a smile and held out his hand to him. Rex pushed up on his own glasses and gave a bit of a nervous grin back, but then reached out and took it.

"From what I heard, you really came through for everyone, Rex." The male Cetra spoke as he gave a hard shake…one that actually made Rex blanch a bit from the strength.

The student held for a moment, still grinning sheepishly, before Ragnar released. When he did, he weakly shook his own hand out, seeming to break the feeling from how firm the handshake had been, but then shrugged. "Well…I just pretty much did what Leviathan told me to do. I was just glad to help."

Aerith smiled at him as well for a moment before she too showed her appreciation…in a more unconventional way. Rex's face suddenly turned to surprise as the woman stepped forward, gave him a hug around the neck, and actually gave him a peck on the cheek. Ragnar himself blushed a bit, bowed his head, and scratched the side of his nose, while Rex nearly turned to water in Aerith's grasp. He nearly collapsed when she released him and stepped back. Even so, he wobbled on his legs a second before he let out a gasp, as if he had remembered to breathe suddenly, and then pushed up on his glasses again toward the bridge of his nose. He let out a light chuckle at that, again nervous and a bit light.

Aerith turned back to Ragnar at that for a moment, giving him a smile which he himself nervously returned. Yet after that, the Cetra turned her gaze slightly toward someone standing toward the back of the incoming group. Standing there simply, as if awaiting all of this to be over and done with, was Shelke. She still had that slight smile, but other than that stood still. Aerith herself had only heard about her and met her briefly in that cave. However, she did know something of her story now. And since she did, she stared only a moment at her before she turned again to another nearby.

"Tifa?"

The brown-haired woman turned from her own family and over to the Cetra.

Aerith gestured to Shelke. "…Do you think we have room for one more at the orphanage? I mean…physically, she's only ten."

Shelke heard this and snapped to Aerith. Her own look seemed somewhat surprised. The Cetra herself turned to her and simply smiled. Shelke stared back for a bit longer and opened her mouth to speak. However…no sound came out. She only stared on. Yet during that time, Aerith noticed someone else reacting. Azure's own expression turned to some surprise as he turned and looked between Aerith and Shelke for a moment. Aerith took note of this, and the thought made her chuckle a bit inwardly…but she said nothing.

Ragnar himself stared at this interaction and smiled at it. Yet he didn't wait to see how it would resolve itself. Instead, his own look turned serious soon afterward, and he turned his head and looked back toward the others gathered on the tarmac…

Leviathan stared back at him plainly, showing no emotion. The other creatures soon did the same. Ragnar stared only a moment longer, but then began to walk toward them, separating from Aerith and the others. When he did, Aerith turned and noticed him leaving, and then turned again and saw what he was doing. Soon, she too went silent and serious and watched. The others noticed this, and soon saw Ragnar walking to the espers as well. When that happened, they went silent too. Soon, the entire reunion seemed to have gone dead, and only the slow rhythmic sound of the airship engines humming went out. That…and the sound of Ragnar's footsteps slowly clicking on the pavement as he walked closer and closer toward the espers.

At last, the Cetra came to a stop right in front of Leviathan, no more than five feet away. Although his face definitely had a sense of awe about it, he, like his wife, seemed to regard them as creatures that were real and "normal" rather than intense mythological monsters to be feared and shunned. He was small compared to how the sea serpent towered over him, but he stood there none the less without backing down and looked up to him. The others looked back quietly, and for a few moments more there was nothing.

Finally, Ragnar did react by doing something a bit surprising. He gave a graceful bow.

"Lord Leviathan, I presume?"

The sea serpent watched this and let out a small snicker in response.

"I haven't been 'Lord Leviathan' for over a thousand years."

"Forget that." Carbuncle finally piped up. "He wants to bow down to us, he can."

Shiva and Quetzacoatl gave a look to the small creature.

The green quadruped sighed and put his paws up defensively in response. "I was just kidding. Man, you guys could never take a joke…"

Ragnar leaned back up a moment later, and stared on at them all. He inhaled and exhaled a few times as he just looked the group over.

"I'm sorry…it's just… You're all here." He finally remarked. "I've read about you all for years and everything you did…and you're actually standing in front of me. I mean…I talked to Bahamut before he gave up his life, and I thought I'd never see another esper again. But here you all are…"

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you as well." Leviathan answered. "From what I've heard, you were very close to my brother. Bahamut never had many personal pupils…but he was always very fond of those he did. And I hear he actually carried out a full junction with you as well. He must have cared about you very much."

Ragnar turned a bit red in response to this, and bowed his head slightly. He was quiet for a few moments before he was able to look up again. Leviathan understood. Apparently, the feeling had been mutual on both sides.

"There's so much I want to ask you." Ragnar finally spoke up again. "And…I'm sure you need to ask us a lot too. There's a lot in this world you probably don't understand. Things have changed a lot in just a few hundred years…"

"There is, but that can wait." Leviathan cut off, in a manner so abrupt that both Ragnar and the other humans watching were a bit surprised at how quickly it came. At any rate, Leviathan remained normal as he kept talking. "For right now, before anything else happens, there's one thing that I have to know first."

Ragnar hesitated a moment, but then gave a shrug. "Sure. What is it?"

"Siren discovered this on her own, but I'm not so certain as to how it works." Leviathan answered. "Is there any way that we can get a message to a large number of humans…right now?"

Both Ragnar and the others raised their eyebrows on hearing this.

"Is this a good spot?" The reporter asked, somewhat irritated at having to move to a different angle a third time.

The cameraman opposite her looked through his lens again and scanned the shot in front of him. This was one of the illuminated portions of ruined Junon, but there was still enough darkness here to get a good view of the entire lowest tier of the city behind the reporter as well as the ocean beyond. He wanted to make sure this was a great shot…one that got a real good scope of the destruction and size of what happened. After all, while the reporter might just have wanted to do the story and get out of there, he was intent on winning some awards. He adjusted his position a bit more, ignoring the fact that the woman was frowning at him through his view lens, and finally gave a nod and a thumbs up.

"Yeah, this'll do great."

The woman sighed in response. "Finally… How long until we're on?"

The cameraman took a moment to consult his headset, wired back to the main studio where the nightly news broadcast was taking place. At this point, it had to have come on only a few minutes ago. They were going to be cutting to them soon. Not long after, the producer spoke back.

"You're live in twenty seconds."

"Twenty seconds."

The reporter nodded. Quickly, she smoothed herself out and stood upright, trying to make herself look as proper and "businesslike" as she could for her role of on-the-spot newscaster. She swallowed a few times and cracked her neck as she brought her portable microphone in front of her.

However, she soon frowned again as she saw the camera in front of her lower.

"But you know…maybe over there would have less background light…"

"Forget it! We're live in ten seconds! This will do!"

The cameraman sighed in response, but then resigned himself to it. A few moments later, and he began to count off. "You're on in five…four…three…" He mouthed the last two numbers, and then gestured to the reporter.

Immediately, a "reporting" face went on, and the woman began to speak.

"I'm standing in the wreckage of what used to be lower Junon, John. From what I can see, an area of at least sixteen city blocks is in ruins with fires still broken out over much of the city. All in all, officials in Junon are estimating that 30 percent of the city has been catastrophically damaged or destroyed. This is the view that we flew in to find in this city on arrival after Junon had practically disappeared off of the world's map for the past two days, believing it to be the latest victim in the chain of 'blackout' disasters plaguing the northern portion of the Eastern Continent. At the moment, we still have no idea what is going on, and officials have declined further comment. However, it appears that some sort of terrorist group as well as what can only be described as 'mass mania' caused most of the destruction. Yet there are also reports coming in from civilians and refugees commenting that they witnessed 'huge, oversized mutations' rampaging through much of the city. We have not received any footage or documented evidence of these…"

Here, the reporter trailed off. Ahead of her, the camera was slowly lowering away from the recorder's head.

"…Jerry?"

"Oh god…" The producer's voice went off against the cameraman's head as the feed came in.

The cameraman didn't answer. However, as the device was fully pulled away from his head, the reporter saw something else. His eyes were now wide as saucers, and he was staring blankly out over her head and for the main city.

The reporter frowned and rolled her eyes. She was about to call out to him again, as patiently as possible since they were still on the air…when she felt the ground shudder behind her. It was just once, but it was very distinct. She froze. A moment later…and the ground shook again, a bit harder this time, but for the same duration. Then again…this time widening a bit of a fracture on the pavement beneath them and shaking a few bits of debris. The woman stayed frozen as her own face slowly paled…realizing whatever was making that sound was a lot like footsteps…

The reporter slowly turned behind her. As she did, the cameraman, snapping out of it enough to look again, raised the camera and quickly got a shot of what came. The reporter herself soon collapsed onto her rear end as her mouth slackened, but she was unable to cry in fear.

Blocking almost the entire rear shot and quickly approaching was what appeared to be some sort of gigantic, living, metal castle. It cast a shadow from moonlight over the smaller humans watching from the next highest tier, easily tall enough to stand on the lowest level and reach up to them. The ground shook as it moved forward on massive, tower-like limbs, and as it got closer yet one could hear the grinding of massive gears and unseen pistons manipulating it. From what almost looked like "eye sockets", white lights shone out and seemed to scan below it.

Despite being terrified by this appearance, the reporter slowly managed to scoot back, keeping her rear end on the ground as she did so. However, the view in the camera didn't see this. After panning up to get a shot of the giant walking forward, the view spun around for the opposite direction, and another moment later probably would have turned to a shot of the man's feet as he ran for it.

Instead, the camera got a view of a very large, very long, aqua blue serpent glaring down at him through glowing eyes.

"Oh my god…"

The shot soon followed up with even more amazements as some sort of glowing electrical bird swept down low over the area. Soon after, shots of a beast that seemed to almost be casting off fire and a woman glowing an icy blue color began to run in from the sides. The shot shook abruptly as the giant from behind got closer, and in a rapid gyration the camera spun away and back to the reporter. It caught a view of her staggering to her feet again as the tower limbs of the approaching giant filled the entire camera. Yet she was already gasping out at her sides…for more had come there as well. Two similar creatures, both looking like old minotaurs, were coming in from either side, both of them very ugly and fierce looking. The smaller of the two held some sort of pale green creature on his shoulder as he walked in.

"This…this is unreal…this can't be happening…"

The camera panned around quickly as the holder spun around the area. As he did, the faces of the assorted creatures were all caught on film, each one of them as they closed in and began to surround the two of them. There was a sense of unreality…yet at the same time incoming doom. The cameraman actually pulled his head away for a moment to make sure this wasn't somehow some trick of the lens or illusion. However…doing so only exposed him to seeing the things even closer, and now making out all the details of their bodies…their cuts and scrapes…their breathing…their sweating… And all of them were closing in, most of them towering over him and the reporter. As they got closer yet, it seemed as if they were dead. That these things had come out of nowhere to kill them both. At once, what the reporter had said rang in his ears…that giant mutants were blamed for the whole thing…

"Don't be afraid."

The view suddenly froze. There was a pause for a moment, before the shot suddenly snapped over to the reporter. She was still cringing on the ground, looking up and around her. However, the creatures only got a bit closer before stopping. After that, they simply stood there and looked at the two. That same phrase still rang out though, seeming to hang on the air as the two people shuddered and cowered before the creatures.

"Did you…just say something?" The cameraman asked.

The reporter, despite her own fear, managed to turn to the cameraman. Immediately, she shook her head "no".

"…Um…is that you at the network?" The cameraman asked next, this time addressing the headset across his head wired back to the main station.

"I did."

The reporter turned her head and looked to one of the creatures. The cameraman hesitated, but then turned the shot up so that it was aimed at the sea serpent. He found the large creature looking straight at him, his own body towering over his…but seeming to have almost a calm quality about himself, if that was possible for a giant sea monster. As he did, a voice went off in his ear…this one more recognized.

"Jerry…did that thing just…speak to you?"

"We aren't going to hurt you." The voice came again…this time unmistakably from the sea serpent. Its lips parted, its jaw opened, and the voice definitely came from its throat. "We just want to say our piece and then we'll leave you be."

The cameraman stared blankly back through his lens. Both news people were quiet for a moment. However, the creatures didn't do anything else. They just stood there and looked down at them, not moving and seeming to be waiting for them to make the next move. The camera panned around and looked at the various faces, but they stared calmly back. The reporter herself finally began to rise slightly, meekly drawing up her body a bit more. She turned her head to look at them all again, still afraid of all of them, before finally looking back to the sea serpent.

"Who…what…I…what are you?"

"My name is Leviathan. We know what caused the destruction of this city and we want to tell you before you start blaming us." The sea serpent answered.

"It's talking…it's really talking to you guys…" The voice came from the cameraman's ear.

"Look, just get out of there…get away from those things." Another voice joined it.

"Are we still live?"

"Damn right, we are."

"Holy crap…imagine how our ratings are going to look…"

The cameraman hesitated a bit more. He panned back down to the reporter. She looked nervously back. They both looked up to the one called "Leviathan" again. For a moment, the cameraman thought of breaking off and running. They seemed docile enough and he was definitely scared. However, he knew it wouldn't really help. If they wanted to keep him there, then they'd catch him before he got more than thirty feet. They were large and agile enough to grab him easily. Yet more so than that…there was something else. The thrill of it. He was actually talking to some sort of giant sea monster. He wasn't sure where it had come from or what it was, but even to be here was something unheard of. How often would one possibly get a chance like this?

Luckily, the reporter seemed to agree. Very meekly and with a trembling grip, she raised the microphone toward her mouth.

"Um…alright… So…uh…you things…guys…creatures…people…are-are…you the source of the rumors that-that mutants did all this?"

"The creatures responsible for this were others of our kind." Leviathan answered. "They too were what your people would describe as 'monsters' or, as you're saying, 'mutants'. That was why I needed to speak with you. Although some of us did participate in this, their leader has been stopped and I wanted to make sure that everyone knew that neither I nor my brethren, which you see gathered around you," He inclined his beak-like head to accent this…and the cameraman found himself actually turning the lens around a moment to capture them all on camera again. "Are involved in his plans or intentions for this world. We either came here to try and help put a stop to him and this destruction or we have since disbanded from his group. I do not say this for glory purposes. I say it so that those of us who are innocent will not be punished with the guilty."

Slowly…the cameraman began to rise again. The creature spoke evenly and plainly, and his voice was firm yet genial. It slowly made him more at ease. Apparently, he wasn't alone. The reporter straightened a bit and began to put her legs underneath her as her hands stopped shaking.

"So-so-so…let me get this straight. You said…other monsters were the ones responsible for the destruction of Junon?"

"Some of our kind, yes." Leviathan answered. "However, those you see here fought against them. If you interview those who helped combat the attackers and assure to them that they were not seeing things, as you can testify yourself by what you're seeing now, you will realize that we were here to help."

"Um…" The woman answered, beginning to stand further. "How many…of these monsters are there? Were they killed?"

"Their leader was stopped." Leviathan answered. "The rest of them were injured and/or escaped. They number six in entirety."

"And…are these monsters planning to make another attack? And how did they cause the radio silence throughout the northern portion of the Eastern Continent? Did they kill the residents of Edge and Kalm?"

"The residents of Edge and Kalm were placed under a form of mental, energy control that, I'm afraid, your people could only define as 'magic'." Leviathan answered. "Whether or not you believe in it is moot, for that is what happened. They have been freed since then and their memory of the incident erased. As for the others, I doubt they will make another attack. By now, they're scattered and hurt. I and my own brethren will find them and deal with them in time."

The reporter was back up now, and was almost back to a normal standing, becoming calmer once again. "Does this mean you plan on assisting Junon authorities again in finding these creatures and destroying them?"

"I am not planning on destroying anyone." Leviathan answered, his tone a bit flatter. "Nor assisting in any venture to destroy them. My kind will find them and ensure that they do no harm from now on."

"Mister…um…Mister Leviathan…" The reporter found herself asking after a moment, barely able to believe she was addressing the great beast as "mister". "You are aware that countless lives have been lost as a result of these creatures. Thousands will be without shelter or electricity tonight. Tens of thousands are injured or buried under the rubble. I would think that most governmental authorities would agree that they would have to be stopped before being allowed to cause anymore harm."

"Yes, they would." Leviathan answered. "However, you must understand something as well. These creatures have the mentality that humanity is out to destroy them…to hunt them down like dogs and then experiment on them before killing them slowly and violently. Your justice system does not declare that the punishment for the guilty of your own kind is to be hunted and torn to pieces as if the perpetrator was some wild animal. The creatures who did this are thinking, feeling beings just like we are. Therefore, so as to ensure that proper justice is done as well as to prevent further loss of human life, I ask that I be allowed to find and incarcerate these beings on my own terms. I understand that many of your people might not agree with me, but I ask you to please bear with me regardless, if for no other reason than to ensure that those who pursue them are not caught off guard by their own powers and abilities and more end up dying as a result."

"But Mr. Leviathan…who are you and what are these creatures? Where did you come from and why did this other group decide to attack Junon?"

"The details will come out if you interview those in charge of the defenses of Junon." Leviathan answered. "I don't wish to stay much longer. I came to only tell you the basics and to make one other thing clear."

"And what is that?" The reporter asked…actually finding herself holding her microphone up to the sea serpent.

Leviathan hesitated a moment, but then turned and looked to the cameraman, looking straight out through the lens to whoever was watching. The cameraman was a bit taken aback, but kept taping.

"That we aren't monsters. We aren't mindless beasts or fantasy creatures. Like you, we are sentient. And as a sentient being, we ask…even beg that the human race give us the same courtesy, dignity, and right to life as all sentient beings. There is much that we wish to share with all of you…much that we both know that we can share with each other. I implore you all to please not fear us or judge us harshly before even speaking with us…to make a little room on this world so that we might live beside you. To take this moment as an extension of our hand in friendship…so that we can talk as equals and not as monsters and humans the next time we meet one another."

With that, the sea serpent turned…looking like he was moving to leave. Not only him, but the others began to turn as well. The cameraman quickly moved over to them briefly, letting the viewers know they were moving away, but then looked back to Leviathan.

"Keep him on! Keep talking!"

"But Mr. Leviathan…" The reporter protested. Her words made the sea serpent pause, and he turned back over to her. Yet the others kept leaving. The ground began to shake again as the huge one began to turn and walk away, but the others were already picking up speed and growing distant. "The world has never encountered anything like this before…anything like you before."

"It has. It just doesn't remember." Leviathan answered simply before beginning to turn again.

"But what do we call you?" The reporter shouted again, making the sea serpent pause again. "What kind of creatures are you?"

The others were already breaking into runs and fleeing at this point. The bird took off into the sky while two of the others jumped nimbly and easily from their tier to the next highest one before running away. Yet the sea serpent hesitated again. Before he too shot away like a striking viper, pulling his coils behind him, and vanished back into the night, putting an abrupt end to this surprise live interview, he turned around long enough to say one final thing into the camera and microphone.

"We are the Guardian Forces."

To be concluded...