Author's Note: So… I'm back. After eight months… yeaaaaaaaaaah… Please, have mercy! I-I had to work on other stories and… and… okay, who am I kidding, I played XIV for most of my free time. And I liked it damnit! But I'll be damned if I let myself go like that again! It's time to hustle people! Hustle! Go, read! I'll go back to my corner and write!

Normalcy? Extremely Overrated

Part 4: Maenad

Chapter Thirty-Five

Escalation

Edward's PoV:

"Just how many of you are there?!" I screeched while slashing yet another pair of the short fry Maenad that somehow kept finding me no matter where I'd run inside the Yggdrasil HQ. They all dissipated into the mana they were comprised of, something I had taken note before. I may need to know their composition after all. I started rushing down the hallway just like that, carrying the two short girls on my now expressly large back. "I gotta get these two to safety…" I muttered to myself before coming to a complete halt. "Wait… Kratos never told me where the safe room is!" the realization had hit me like a truck, so did the will to punch that guy in the face.

"You would not have reached it," I recognized that voice, mostly because it was the only voice I had heard for the past half-an-hour of running around these hallways. It was one of a Maenad. It was somewhat different though. "A human like you cannot escape our network,"

"Fancy words for an over glorified doll," I spat back, trying to figure out is the voice had come from the front or the back. Turns out, that didn't matter in the end. Because there was a Maenad in both directions. The voices had been hints however, to something. They looked older than their prepubescent counterpart, they were more like teens at this point, that and their hair and eye color were also different; the one behind me possessing a very striking red coloration to both while the one that had spoken possessed a striking blue one. Kinda cliché when you think about it.

"We have no reason to prove our worth to someone such as you, small one," at that point it was like a vein exploded on my head. For all the arrogance she had shown, only the last couple of words had touched me. What was surprising was that, before the rage took over, I questioned why she would use such a specific insult. A smirk that more showed how taken aback I was than inspire confidence appeared in my face.

"You know how to press my buttons… how much more?" I questioned, the Maenad stayed silent. It was just as I thought; those things either read minds or simply knew too much. There was no way I was staying. Don't fail me now Truth, you freaking white bastard!

What I was about to do was a lot more complex than just transmuting wood into platforms and fists, so going over the basics was in order.

"All is one…" I breathed in, closing my eyes and clapping my hands, creating with that a makeshift alchemic circle. "And one is all…"my hands hit the ground as soon as the Maenad understood that I was not about to surrender or anything like it. As my hands came in contact with the wood, the first thing that went through my mind was to transmute all the interior water I could into steam and let it all out by creating breeches. The ensuing eruption lightly burned my skin, but the complete lack of visibility that came with it was worth it. It gave me just enough time to great a grand, sculpted doorway on the ground made from the same wood of the tree, perfect to let me drop down… and completely ignore it. Instead, I rushed to the side of the hallway and transmuted part of it into a minimalist trap door which I used to escape that situation and deceive the two at the same time.

"Damn I'm good," a pat in the back is nothing bad when it's deserved, even if it is from yourself. "Now, where am I?" I surveyed my surroundings. The kitchen. Of all the things, it had to be the kitchen. That was… brilliant actually. I mean, who would look for two fugitive girls just beside the dodo meat? With that in mind, I headed towards a nearby armoire, making sure it wasn't refrigerated, and dropped the two girls behind some eggbear carcasses. I doubt they'd appreciate where I'd kept them, but again, practicality over comfort!

All that was left was tracking down and destroying that pair of walking dolls.

I didn't particularly do anything special in my search for the Maenads. It didn't take a genius to know that those things had been pumped with as much of a brain as whatever magic or scientific procedure would allow it. It wouldn't take long for them to realize that I had, in fact, not escaped downwards. So… I simply stalked the corridors, whistling, hands in pockets, it was just a matter of time until I had to jump back as fast as I could in order to dodge and incoming lightning bolt from a nearby opening in the tree.

Alright, that last part wasn't exactly predicted, however I still managed to completely avoid it when I heard the air crackle for a moment. In times of war, you don't worry about what is going to happen, you just worry about not being anywhere near it. That didn't mean I wouldn't try to understand what had happened as soon as I could. Info more than usually wins battles.

Turns out that the lightning bolt had not been a projectile magic but it in fact the red haired Maenad herself, who was still in the process of removing her hand from the still simmering wood. Lightning fast, figuratively and literally. For some reason that looked a bit too familiar.

"You were expecting us," the Maenad commented, looking at me with a fair bit of curiosity.

"Sparked your interest, have I?" I will make no excuses for that. I was more trying to get at least some reaction from the thing, see how far I could push it.

"Why have you hidden them?" it asked, again, it appeared genuinely curious… but even thinking that it had emotions, even the numbest of brains could get to that conclusion.

"You wanna take them to who knows where and still you expect me to just hand them over?" I asked, buying time for as long as I could to think up of a strategy.

"This does not concern you, nor does it concern your Quadrant. Why risk your existence over it?" it questioned. I really should have expected it.

"It's not something you can understand," I explained, my hands clapping.

*Cue: "The Intrepid" Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood OST*

I'd have to gain the preemptive strike to compensate for not knowing what she was capable off. I removed from the wood to my side to make a spear, the ease of making it and the quality of the thing surprising me, either this bracelet made me transmute better or something else was at play. I had hoped this would at least cause her to flinch, but the only one flinching from my approach, but the one flinching was me, as, in tandem with a flash, I felt my torso snap back as her fist collided with my chest.

"We do not need to comprehend what would only hold us back," I heard the girl proclaim, her voice going back to a complete lack of emotion. I was a bit too busy getting thrown nearly across the entire 30 meter hallway to give her a passing remark though. As I flipped in midair and gained a footing, my brain processed what had just happened. It was like getting hit by a lightning bolt, it was just horizontal. I didn't check for wounds, I had to end this fast.

"Dodge this then!" I exclaimed, throwing my spear right at her. For a moment, it seemed like it had pierced her, but, as I should have expected, that was only an afterimage, the real one was on the ceiling. "Not done yet!" clapping again, I touched the ground and transmuted it into pillars that shot across the hallway straight to her, faster than what I imagined I could pull off. Even then though, what I saw was a display of just what made them so dangerous. Various flashes began hitting the pillars, flashes that I could only assume it was her, jumping from one to the other flawlessly without getting grazed by a single one while still gaining terrain on me. As soon as the last one passed by her, I created a wooden wall to protect me, still, with the sound of crashing wood, I was airborne once again, this time hitting the wall hard enough to send me straight through the wall and into what looked to be a wine cellar. Considering I was coughing blood, I decided it was better for me to hide behind some of the barrels near where I had fallen.

"You cannot take another blow from me Edward Elric, abort before I am forced to open hostilities between our Quadrants," she was speaking as if that time wasn't long past. "Or would you prefer to orphan two children?" It took every bit of willpower I had to last through that, but I still managed to hold my breath and body for long enough to see her pass by the barrels I was hiding behind. I jumped out of them immediately, bellowing:

"How's this for a death in the family?!" as I thrust a spear I had just recreated from the wood in the barrels right towards the middle of her eyes. First flash happened, she was now on the ceiling, second flash happened she was now behind me, third flash occurred, I felt my weakened ribs give out as I was nearly pierced from behind by her fist.

"Six ribs broken, three cracked, next blow will certainly murder you. Will you still continue? I derive no pleasure from this," all of her condoning would have felt irritating, infuriating even by now, but not when she had just gave up something so crucial about her. I noticed something on her face. Splinters.

"I've been through worse than this, c'mon!" I shouted, creating another spear from the wood, twirling it around and taunting her to come with my free hand.

"Your kind's pride is really illogical, human," she sighed before shooting towards me. I threw my spear at her the moment I saw her start and jumped to the side, the fulminating light destroying the spear and anything in its path until she hit a wall, giving me the confidence to make my stand. With that said, I clapped my hands and touched the ground, creating another wall of wood.

"You better be doing what I think you're doing…" I murmured to the wood. It didn't take long before, from the rubble she had created with her first attack, came another beam of light. It cleanly pierced through the wood… before being ripped apart by what was on the other side. Behind the wall, I had transmuted various consecutive barricades of spiked wood. As much of the room around me had been used as I could, which was a lot, as any wood that was a part of the part of the room the wall had obscured from her sight had been turned into spikes. The Maenad had broken through the first three layers, but the fourth one had pierced through her stomach, left torso and right shoulder, making her face stop centimeters away from mine.

"Bet you're eating your own words now, heh?" I taunted her, falling back out of exhaustion. The look of complete incredulity on her face said it all.

"How?" she questioned. I was at first taken aback by how she could speak so clearly when most of her vitals had been pierced, but then I remembered, she was nothing but an amalgamation of mana. Things like that would of course not fear for a "life" that was a mere mockery of the real thing. "And why? Why take such a risk?"

"I noticed how you never curved, or even stopped moving by yourself. From that I deduced your speed was too big for you to even control. As for why, well, it's no secret the blue haired one will be here any moment now, I had to take a gamble or else I'd be dead for sure," her eyes went stiff for a moment, but then softened, as she nodded.

"It appears this body underestimated your cognitive capabilities. A mistake we shall not commit again;" she told me, reminding me all too well that she was just one of many. "However, none of our data told us you were able to create such elaborate pieces of transmutation in so little time,"

"Well, I guess the best I can say is that this alchemic technique was passed down the Armstrong family for generations!" I told her, hiding my ace up my sleeve. Yes, the technique was copied from the major, but the speed came from a completely different source.

"To think a human could defeat a Zodiac body at 27% of efficiency so quickly," I heard an identical voice say.

"27%?!" I exclaimed, jumping back up to face the incoming danger. Sure enough, I had managed to finish her off by the nick of time, as her "sister" had just arrived.

"Leo was a mere replacement. We are here to retrieve the original," the Maenad explained as she emotionlessly saw her companion dissipate into a mist of mana. "Father told us you deserved to know this much,"

"Am I a magnet for this kind of stuff…?" I cursed, clapping my hands.

Xion's PoV:

Most people would be lamenting their situation if put in this position. Maybe curse the Maenad for having broken some kind of moral code. But that just wasn't me. It had come slowly, but my body had realized that this was, in fact, war.

"Haste!" I chanted, the adrenaline that pumped through my heart and veins barring me from doing it under breath. I felt as if time slowed down all around me, an ironic disparity with what was really happening, but not something to dwell on. Thanking whatever gods didn't want to murder us I had learned to channel the magic into my own bullets, I shot a single revolver bolt. I had considered using the Colt, however, a thirteen shot limit was too strict to use it as an opener.

It was no shock to me to see the Maenad dodge it, despite how the bullet had cut the air at three times the normal velocity. I was not even shocked when the eerily similar ravenette flipped over the rebounding bullet that I had aimed from a nearby log. I had just wanted her attention. Our eyes locked onto each other for a moment, just enough for me to know she was going to hunt me down. So far so good.

I took to the side, intent on leading her to the now vacant shopping district. I couldn't have imagined the woman was too fast to allow me even to take a step to the side.

"To think someone like you is still alive. Father is too lenient," she mumbled as my brain processed that her finger had stung through my abdomen and probably ruptured some internal organs.

"The hell you on about…" I coughed, slowly realizing my entire body was in a state of shock. This thing's knowledge on anatomy was scary, to basically paralyze a body with a single finger.

"Just tying some loose ends, spare part!" she blared, her finger removing itself from my torso and glittering crimson just above her shoulder. It was then I realized she had a pseudo gauntlet that tied around her wrist, one that lead into a giant red nail on her index finger. That explained just how deep my wounds had been, although I was hardly worried by that right now. "Something like you doesn't deserve all stings, here's the final one! Antares!" her extended nail suddenly purged all of my blood from it, gleaming in an even eerier crimson as she prepared to finish me off, I cringed, but did not close my eyes. I was gonna make her look at me while she killed me.

"Scorpio, baby, that's not what I ordered!" I don't really care who was that person, but I loved that guy at the moment. I don't know what had possessed him to tell this crazy thing to stop, but it had worked. Until I followed the Maenad's gaze and met the man in question.

"The hell is up with clowns nowadays?! First Kefka and now THIS?!" I shouted in reflex as I saw the one who had given the order sitting on top of Riku's unmoving body.

"Hey, I'll let you know I was around far before that impostor! Kids nowadays don't respect the vintage villains! Seriously, Kefka is to the Joker like Deadpool is to Deathstroke. Just because the first is more hip with the kids doesn't mean he came first!" he ranted, flailing his arms as he did. I had read about this guy back in Midgar, I mean, who hadn't? Guy was the most… interesting psychopath of the last decades. Still, that had just meant my position had somehow gotten worse. "But that's beside the point! Scorpio, what were you thinking bug brain? I told you to capture the kids to add weight to our leverage! Corpses only work for literal weight! We're going for the psychological kind here!"

"To keep this female alive is counterproductive to Shinra's interests," she replied, her voice betraying her calm posture, she was getting annoyed, but well, who could blame her?

"Look at me! Do I look like someone who gives a crap about your little make belief Papa's 'interests'?" he asked, adding air quotes and all. "Nah, I made a deal with him, that's why I'm here. Any collateral is none of my business! And you're programmed to obey me, so don't even think about pulling a good ol' backstabbin', that's something I specialize in!" he exclaimed with a laugh, me seeing an opening in all the commotion. I slipped in a few, choice words between the laugh before kicking the back of the Maenad's knee. In her distraction, she loosened her stance just enough for me to grab her and use my advantage in perception of time to slam her into the ground.

"I feel a bit like a third wheel here, so I'll be going now!" I taunted before making a mad dash for the nearby buildings while I could.

"See what you did? Now we don't even have literal weight on our argument!" the Joker said, sighing. I could tell the Maenad was all but satisfied with that guy's attitude, but I was more intrigued with just what had lead Rufus to make a deal with that… person. "What are you staring at?! Go fetch her!"

"Very well…" she snarled, taking to a chase. Normally, she'd catch up to me far before I got to the shopping district, however, that distraction would bite her in the ass even if it was the last thing I'd do. I managed to get past the first building and threw myself into an alleyway, breaking her eye contact, and, with a bit of breathing exercises and extra care on my steps, vanishing from her hearing as well.

The district wasn't completely abandoned either, it'd be weird if people hadn't panicked after all that of course, that only helped my cause really. The panicking crowds only made it easier for me to slip by unnoticed, the further I got into the district.

I took my time finding a good vantage point, far and away from entrance to the plaza. I was content with buying time and getting them as far away from Riku and Yuri as possible. That being said, I'd be damned if I wasn't gonna take the opportunity to end this with my own hands.

It didn't take long until I found a suitable roof, just above most other buildings, it gave me vision of most of the streets. Plus, it wasn't on fire, so that was a plus. Took me more than a few moments to find the Maenad, it'd probably have been impossible to do so if she wasn't riding the lower rooftops in order to avoid crowds and scout from above. As expected however, she wasn't even near my position, probably guessing I simply wanted to escape after all that.

Ripping apart part of my skirt, I used the tissue to bandage the wound on my abdomen as tight as I could, trying not to care about how it had not stopped bleeding for the past ten minutes. As long as I didn't feel light headed, I'd be fine. Then, I reached for my backpack and started to literally assemble my plan.

"Make sure the barrel is completely straight, or it'll just blow up in your hands. The bolts around the gun can get loose with time, don't forget to double check all of 'em. Make sure the grip and aim is exactly where you are used to them being, else you'll just induce yourself into error. And don't be one of those scrubs that don't remove the safety or doesn't load the damn thing!" I recited, the instructions massaging my muscle memory as it effortlessly turned the puzzle of carbon pieces in my backpack into their completed form, a sniper rifle. Never leave home without one.

Hey, it came in handy… for once!

"Now, this shot can only come once… she'll probably realize what's wrong soon enough…" I told myself, taking a deep breath before casting Haste on myself and taking aim. Scorpio had just stopped on a roof, her face showing hints of suspicion already. It's a good thing I stopped when I did, a few seconds later and I'd be boned. But right now? I just to press the trigger. Transferring the amped up speed to the bullet, the silent shot took flight, accomplishing it's trajectory towards the heart of the Maenad near perfectly. I say near perfectly for a reason.

While the shot was perfect, the Maenad's instincts were beyond perfect. Somehow, even with all the preparation, with all the spells, it was quick enough, aware enough, fast enough to not only detect the bullet, but to somehow be able to jump back far enough so that the bullet pierced on her left leg, not her chest cavity. Even more monstrous was the fact that the bullet didn't even pierce trough her entire leg, just lodged itself in the muscle tissue.

I knew immediately that my cover was blown, didn't even need to see her eyes suddenly locking on to my exact position to know she had deduced it. I wasn't even surprised when she partially ignored the wound and started dashing from building to building, proceeding to defy gravity whilst she climbed the wall of the one I was on with her bare feet. What had shocked me was her speed. Even after all that, it was way too fast for me to even think about running away from.

I had to make my stand here.

"How… dare you, you filthy… inferior being?" the Maenad slowly spat, landing perfectly on the edge of the building, her cold expression being betrayed by the sheer anger and frustration in her voice.

"Hey, c'mon, don't be such a downer, look at the bright side!" I taunted, pointing at her feet. Just as she looked down, the flash bomb I had left there detonated, blinding the Maenad momentarily. "Time for the home-run!" I blared, using my sniper as a baseball bat and clubbing her as hard as I could in the temple, stunning her further. I proceeded to let go of the weapon and grapple her, taking advantage of her slowed reaction time to throw her over my shoulder and into the floor. It was do or die now. "Check and mate!" I upholstered both my handguns and simply unloaded the entire cartridges into her, switching handguns halfway through into my uncle's revolver. I didn't wanna use "The" Colt that lightly. The incessant gunfire caused dust and powder to blockade my view on the assault while it lasted, not that I cared, I didn't need to see her to hit her.

"One down, one to-" I was taking the accolades too soon. The dust cleared to reveal not a corpse, but… a barely injured body, surrounded by bullets. The Maenad's body was covered with nothing but bruises and the occasional encrusted revolver bullet, which had been the only ones to even break through the skin. "Th- the hell are you?!" I screamed in shock, my hand moving by itself back into my Colt as her pained expression began to disappear. "Well, honestly, I don't care! Let's see you live through this!" I exclaimed, taking aim at the still recovering Maenad until… a black ball rolled in from the edge of the rooftop. An eight ball to be exact. I had barely taken a look at it when the numbers rapidly started to countdown. I could barely react in time.

The hidden bomb triggered, engulfing the rooftop in a sea of fire just after I had jumped off. The fall from such a height into a nearby rooftop, along with the extra impulse from explosion was all but pleasant, but hey, I'd live.

"What kind of maniac would make a bomb like that?" I honestly should've known the answer by now. But I wouldn't process it fast enough, as it didn't take long before my brains became a scrambled mess as pure, hard steel was savagely rammed into the side of my head.

"Well, the best kind of maniac, which would be me!" Joker laughed, swinging the crowbar once again into the other side of my head, nearly erasing all rational thoughts from my head as my skull started to crack. I slowly began to slip off the edge of the building, barely regaining control of my legs in time to not fall into my death, managing to maintain footing on the edge of the roof. "Ooooh! Still alive? Gotta hand it to you kid, either Rufus severely overestimated those things' capabilities or you are the real deal! Like Father like Not-Daughter, ain't that what they say?"

"You… know me?" I coughed, noticing blood had started flowing from both inside me and the side of my head. That was definitely a severe concussion.

"Can't say there's anything better to do in prison, heh? Still, I gotta say, this is probably the best return to the world I could ask for! You see, Mr. Crowbar here just adores smashing he brains of protégés just like you! You'll be number two, be proud and say hello to Jason for me, will you?" he was ranting and enjoying the moment way too much. Typical. As he comically winded up for the next swing, I gave him just what a clown like him deserved. A swift boot to the balls. His squeaking was hilarious.

"See? That's how you make a joke!" I ripped off the crowbar from his hands and prepared to take a swing at him, when he reached for the flower on his suit and squeezed it, releasing some sort of pepper spray into my eyes.

"That was not funny, not funny at all!" he screamed, his voice still squeezed from my groin decimation. "You there, Bug Brain, get down here! I know you aren't dead yet!" he commanded. I kept rubbing my eyes as fast I could hopping to regain vision just enough to hop off the building and into another alleyway, but it was too late. By the time I had regained minimal eyesight, the Maenad, barely scorched by the bomb, landed just beside the Joker.

"I questioned… Father… about your importance… towards Our goal. You are... lucky he vouched for you," she said at a complete snail's pace. I prayed for that buffoon to not notice so hard…

"You're kinda slow now, aren't you? Did someone forget to oil your gears?" He asked half-jokingly half-serious. The Maenad's eyes shot open before taking a careful look at her surroundings. It was when her eyes slowly locked onto a falling leaf that she knew it. She finally saw through me. I was not competing with her simply by quickening myself… I had slipped a Slow spell on her while she was distracted with the Joker.

"Dispel," she immediately snapped, a prism-like grow destroying the dark brown aura that had coated her body up until now. "How dare you… make a mockery of Us?!" she said, her teeth clattering with every word.

"Calm down Scorpie, remember, metaphorical weight, not physical!" Joker said, grinning all the way through. "That being said though, you look awfully stressed out, you're probably in need of a punching bag. Just don't break it and it's yours!"

"Do not fret. I'll refrain from giving her the lethal sting," she said, probably savoring every word, her claw gleaming in crimson light.

Oh, this was going to suck.

"Malevolent winds…" the wind pressure around me suddenly went ballistic, however, I was strangely unaffected by it bar some flapping of my clothing, same couldn't be said for the Maenad and the Joker though. The girl had managed to anchor herself to the ground, the Joker was basically handing on by a few threads of her hair. That voice though… "Protect us now! Tornado!" the tempest intensified into an actual wind burst that became a whirling tornado, catapulting both the Maenad and the Joker straight off the platform.

"Terra… is that you?" I asked as a strange creature landed in front of me, staring upwards into the eyes of the now airborne Maenad, which had regained balance and was now floating in midair. The voice was definitely hers… but her body wasn't. The next line sealed it though.

"I won't let you lay a hand on anyone I hold dear!"

Sora's PoV:

"Gotta say Kai, for all your moaning about your luck, everything just seems to line up for you. I mean, what are the chances of there being someone climbing up the tree just as you fell down?" I asked, elbowing her. We had taken a break once we found Kairi, partially to know why she was even here, partially because Kratos had wanted to talk with her savior. A short, very, very old man that wore nothing but rags and a conical straw-hat, that seemed to be ready to drop at any second. How he had hampered Kai's fall was anyone's guess. It's not like she's made of paper.

"Sora, I got my brains scrambled by some sort of bio weapon, broke through a freaking wall and nearly fell to my death. No. Things aren't lining up for me!" she blared back, seconds before sharing a laugh with me. "But seriously though, what are you guys doing here? What's happening outside?"

"Kratos didn't really tell us," Roxas answered, shrugging his arms. "Besides knowing that we're being attacked by those Maenad things, we're pretty much in the dark,"

"So that's what they are called…" Kairi commented before crossing her arms, apparently in deep thought. I was about to question what she was on about, but the elder man passed by me and got Kairi's attention first.

"I'll be going to meet with the peculiar girl you mentioned. I'll leave you in Kratos' care, Kairi," the man told her, bonking her in the head with his staff before playfully hopping away in truly gigantic leaps that took up one of the tree's stage each. I stopped being surprised at this kind of stuff long ago.

"Who was that person anyway?" Nam questioned, a bit confused, as to be expected.

"Heck would I know. He only said he was here to visit and old friend and that I reminded him of a brat he knew when he was young," Kairi tried to hand wave, but it was clear she was as curious as the rest of us.

"I think his name was Dohko or something… so definitely from the South," Lloyd pointed out as he arrived from trying to eavesdrop on his father. By the looks of things, that hadn't been nearly as successful as he'd hope, if he barely knew a name.

"Am I the only one that really has no idea how the quadrants work?" I asked in exasperation, as apparently the Southern Quadrant had at least a bias to some other kind of names.

"Yes." Everyone deadpanned. Thanks guys.

"Everyone, listen closely," Link said, clapping his hands in the process, direction our eyes to him. "Me and Kratos were thinking of just letting the situation play out at first, but having Kairi here changes the dynamic,"

"What do you mean?!" Kairi barked back, not understanding what was the problem here.

"It means that the situation may get out of hand unless all cards are on the table. Which, unfortunately means yours too, Miss Shinra," Kratos said, for some reason staring right at Kairi. He couldn't mean what I thought he meant… right?

"The hell do you think you're doing?!" Kairi wasn't helping, she was far beyond livid, electric currents covered her body while she grabbed on to the headmaster's garb, uselessly trying to intimidate him. She couldn't even make him budge. Why react like that if…

"Giving everyone the tools to let you keep your freedom;" he snapped back, calmly pushing her back, Kairi's struggling doing nothing. "I am aware you were keeping this hidden, I am not that daft, however, that stops mattering when your life is at stake,"

"Her life?!" Naminé asked. I was more worried about what this all meant than why we were being told this.

"We assumed that the presence of the Organization meant the Earth Crystal at the root of Yggdrasil was the only target. However, Rufus told us that he would call off the Maenads should we give him his daughter back," Link explained, leaving no doubt about it. Kairi was… Rufus' kid.

"So, that's the secret Nam couldn't tell me about? Your Strife name, is it like, your mother's name?" Roxas questioned, receiving a small nod from the twins. He was a lot more composed than I was, but then again, he apparently knew that something big did exist and he did look shocked when it was revealed, so I guess I was just the only one left in the dark here.

"You're being awfully quiet, is something wrong?" Collete asked, tilting her head to the side as I crossed my arms. I mean, obviously there was something wrong. I never felt this betrayed.

"Look, Sora, I-"

"You… you made me buy you ice creams every single day… WHEN YOU COULD HAVE BOUGHT THE STORE!" I screamed, utterly outraged. Kairi always went on and on about how she was short on cash, and then… this?! Her father is the richest bastard in the universe!

"I… I… I can't even!" Kairi exclaimed, suddenly bursting out in laughter, in fact, everyone had done the exact same. Some friends, they didn't care about my wallet at all! "Sora, I can't tell if you're a moron or… no, you're definitely one, just the good kind."

"You take that back!" I blared, trying to claw at her, to no avail.

"It looks like you are more tightly knit than I had given you credit for…" Kratos commented, separating us, trying to act all cool even though there was a hidden grin on his face. "However, we should hurry towards the root,"

"Yeah, I guess…" I said, taking a deep breath and calming myself down. Had to get back into saving-the-world-mode. "You still owe me though," I stated defying Kairi's space with my finger.

"Just put it on my bill," she commented, hitting the back of my head before sprinting ahead, a smile on her face. She stopped just before the stairways to the lower levels, turning with the most radiant expression I had witnessed from her, screaming, "Oh, and Sora? Thanks!"

Can't lie, I blushed.

Shin's PoV:

"Shin, didn't you hear me? Go get her!" My father ordered me, trading blow for blow with Samuel as he did. The fact that he could spare the attention for that was amazing by itself.

"Are you sure you ca-"

"Stop worrying about me and go! I want her back as much as you do, she's my daughter!" He boomed, blood exploding from the right side of his torso.

"Eyes on the fight, or they're next!" Sam taunted with the biggest shit-eating grin I had seen in a while. What surprised was what he said just after. "Get out of here kiddo, you're making this tango too easy. Your sister is crossing that bridge," he stated, pointing out with his thumb towards one of the vine covered bridges that connected branches of Yggdrasil. I admit, I was reticent in taking his advice, however, I wasn't even given the option not to, as Caelum literally carved his talons into my shoulders and took flight with me.

"Cae, what are you…" I began, Caelum's eyes staring deep into mine. I felt like my own son was admonishing me… it was kind of embarrassing being lectured by something not even a tenth my age. "I guess I was trembling back there, wasn't I? Alright Cae, no more hesitation, let's go!" I exclaimed, Caelum roaring in response, plunging into the enclosed bridge. It was just large enough for the crowds of people that no doubt crossed it daily, giving Cae ample space to fly through it, which was all well and good, I don't think I'd be able to catch up to Claes on foot.

Speaking of the devil… not even a minute after entering the bridge, we came across Claes' running figure. Dispelling all doubts from my mind, I gripped my sword and nodded at Caelum. Caelum got the picture and sprinted onwards, letting me go just before passing Claes, with enough momentum for me to fly just past her.

"Spellblade: Thundara!" I cried, calling out the fury of lightning just as I landed, creating three lines of electricity that coursed through the ground, making Claes be unable to ignore me and press through.

"You are persistent, vessel of Shinryu," Claes spat, distant and cold. My blood boiled, that was not a tone her voice should be forced to produce. "We… no, I, must ask you, why?"

"You know why Claes," I stated, taking a battle stance. "I am not losing you again. Even if that means I have to drag you back home."

"Claes… it's been a long time ever since I was referred to as such," she replied, slowly touching her chest with her right hand. "Now I understand. I'll never become like my sisters, unless-" she said, nearly vanishing from her standing position. I instinctively blocked, even if I was not aware where she was. Little did I know, she was just behind me. "I remove that name's significance!" I knew I lost a couple of ribs in the upwards somersault kick that followed. It was so brutal my body nearly flew into the ceiling. Caelum tried to protect me, lunging at my sister from behind, however, what he got was an equally brutal elbow to the top of his stout, face planting him into the wood below him.

Not being done just yet, she jumped, grabbed my leg in midair and slammed me down on top of my wyvern familiar, nearly killing two birds with one stone in mere seconds. However, she had failed to realize something. Something I had prepared before this fight even began. She had just landed where I had stood before. Which, unbeknownst to her, was just where I had planted a shock trap, hidden by the lightning effect of my Spellblade, not even something like her was immune to nerve overload.

"I think it's time you come with me Claes. Spellblade: Protect," I casted, coating my sword with a protective barrier, effectively transforming it into a gigantic club. "And… Spellblade: Sleep!" It was a tried and true method of capture. Overload their senses and then force a shutdown. I cringed while heaving for the sideward swing towards her head. It still felt so… wrong to do this. "Forgive me…" I whispered as I swung, expecting the hollow thud of steel meeting bone.

How I wish.

Instead, I felt my arm being forcefully stopped as I stared in disbelief. Her teeth. She had caught a sword more than half as large as myself, in which I had put all my strength in… with her teeth.

*Cue: "Hegemony of The Food Chain" HxH2011 OST*

It didn't end there. I felt my body go numb as the shock trap started to run out, slowly giving her back control of her body. I watched in abject horror as she bit through a blade made of Silver Rathalos scales.

"You insult me and your species. You think yourself so superior to me that you can afford to hold back?!" she exclaimed after spitting out the remains of my blade, mana erupting from every pore of her body. "I'll erase you, and with it, this weight on my chest!" I knew I had to move. I knew she was about to kill me.

But I couldn't. I felt so… small. So insignificant. My limbs were shaking, my body was numb.

I was dead.

"Rozan…" I could feel something shift inside of me. This feeling was something I had not felt ever since my bout with Kaiser. I was losing control again.

But, suddenly, the atmosphere shifted, my feeling vanishing as fast as it had come. A cold wind wisped past me. Claes' mana was redirected towards the coming current of white snow, probably protecting herself from the attack from an unseen ally.

"You alright?" A short black haired woman asked me, poking me with her sword. I remembered this person. She had come with Edward… Rukia was it? "Stay sharp, this isn't over," she stated, not giving it any second thoughts before going back into her battle stance. The tempest of snow vanished, revealing… nothing. We immediately looked back, seeing Claes landing a long distance ahead from us, heading towards the exit as quickly as she possibly could.

"Damn it! I can't let her run away!" I exclaimed, preparing to give chase. I even nearly ran into the woman's sword as she raised it to stop me.

"You don't want to be near her when it goes off…" she explained, simply looking on as Claes got closer and closer to the exit of the bridge.

"When what goes off?!" I exclaimed back, my body's adrenaline kicking back in droves now that I had been in mortal danger. I had, however, spotted a figure black at the entrance, light gleaming from the side.

"Getsuga…" she was now smirking. Claes, however, had just tried to halt… a bit too late. "Tenshō!" in a single swing of the blade in his hand, the man in black cleaved into existence a stream of blue energy that completely engulfed Claes and nearly blinded me.

"That," Rukia said, turning towards me. "I don't know what your connection with her is, but I am here to warn you of one thing. If you fight while holding back, I myself will throw you off this bridge. There's no merit in dying empty handed. No matter how important that person is to you," she told me pointing her blade in my direction. "So, what is it?"

"I… I understand," I replied, strengthening my mental hold as best I could. "Just, try not to kill her,"

"If the choice presents itself." Was all I got as she turned her back against me. It was all I could get. And I knew it.

We started running towards the epicenter of the explosion. By the time we arrived, the smoke and ashes had all cleared. I can't say I was surprised to see that Claes had escaped with little more than a few burns.

"Sorry, but I'm not about to let you run around like you please," the man in black told, heaving his sword on his shoulder. I could faintly see Claes' head turn to the side, obviously looking from an opening on the bridge to jump off. Her hopes were dashed as thick layer ice covered the holes created by the explosion, along with any other on the bridge.

"You're stuck with us Maenad," Rukia taunted, Claes immediately striking a battle stance, like a caged animal, ready to claw at the bars.

Kairi's PoV:

We had quickly reached what Kratos had called the roots of Yggdrasil, and boy, was it unlike anything what I had imagined. Up until now, we had simply seen different natural habitats as we descended through the world tree, however, we were met with the opposite of it at the end of it all.

*"Derris-Kharlan – Shine" ToS OST*

If I had to describe it, it would be something as simple as the ruins of a massive underground complex. Stone walls, which would have once been impressive monuments, were now covered in moss and broken apart as giant roots had desperately searched for space to grow upon. The massive hallways stretched and crossed into what was a labyrinth to everyone that had never visited it. However… it honestly felt far more fitting. The roots of the World Tree gave off a sense of calm and safety, far more than any stone wall could. There was something charming about how Nature lived on, even through human creation.

"We are close. Don't lose sight of me, this maze would claim you just as easily as it claims intruders," Kratos didn't have to tell me that twice. We took his advice to heart and navigated the complex maze of wood and stone, soon coming to the first large room. Kratos suddenly stopped, causing the entire group to freeze with him. I at first wondered why, however, standing on top of the gigantic root that divided the entire room were…

"Organization members?!" Sora exclaimed, immediately summoning his Keyblade. The cloak was just too much of a giveaway. Four of them in total. One of them Cuore had told us about, Saïx, he seemed to helm the other three, a giant with fiery orange hair, a shorty blue haired emo with a book too big to be practical and…

"At least it's Demyx!" I joked, the organization member in question having become a running gag in SOLDIER even before our departure. I mean, that dumb mohawk and his guitar-like thing for a weapon were unmistakable.

"Hey! You're supposed to be intimidated!" Demyx whined, even his own companion chuckling.

"And they are. Just not by you," the one I had called emo replied, I had begun to think I had been too harsh on the guy. He was cool.

"Shut up Zexion!" he screamed back, it was so amusing.

"You two be quiet!" Saïx ordered, the fun atmosphere dispersing immediately. "It doesn't matter if you are intimidated by us or not. What matters is that none of you will take a single step more towards the crystal,"

"Lloyd, I trust you know what to do," Kratos simply told his son, turning towards me and nodding. I understood him perfectly. I was even honored he suggested such a thing. "Out of the way! Thunder Blade!" Kratos chanted, summoning a large blade of lightning to crash down on the Organization members. They had all avoided the attack, but, in the process of doing so, allowed Link to shoot a Hookshot at a root just above the exit at the other side of the room, which took him and Kratos barreling past them.

"I will not let you pass!" The giant shouted, preparing to intercept. Turns out, what he intercepted was my foot. With his face.

"Sora, get your ass up here!" I shouted from the top of the root that divided the room, looking back to see Kratos and Link nod back to us, running down the hallway. It took a while for everyone else to get that I had just kicked the last remaining organization member into the half of the room opposite of where our strongest men had gone through. "It's time to show them just who isn't going to let anyone pass!" I exclaimed, reaching towards the back of my hip and slowly unsheathing something I had sworn never to use. A katana. "Be swift… like the Wind," In a single movement, I cut through the giant, leaving the mountain to fall in a pool of its own blood.

"Who's next?"

Next Chapter:

"All of you monsters who'd disregard a knight's honor for personal gain... Let my blood stain your dreams!"

"How dare you call yourself a god?!"

"The Light of a Crystal… how wonderfully VOMIT INDUCING!"

Next time on Normalcy? Extremely Overrated: The Siege of Yggdrasil Part 3: Fūrinkazan

Post-Chapter: So, I guess I can now be more thorough. Here's what happened. I restructured the arc, and this story in general. That's why last chapter's preview had to be completely restructured. Not only that, but I'm trying to be quick with updates this time. For real. I'll be damned if I even take a week with the next chapter! I have to make it up for you guys, so, unless Unending's birthday gets in the way, I'm going to rapid fire these guys.

I still hope you guys are there, and if you are, a review would be more appreciated than ever… to show you still exist.