Ragnar stayed in the room until the end of the two hours. At that point, he informed the others of what the situation was and what he had already done. By that point, many had already heard the radio report, although they had been confused by it. A few had called in early asking what it meant. Ragnar only responded for them to move their families out now. He never did exactly say the reason. The best way they could get people out now was by not causing a panic. All they needed was a traffic accident on that road to block people from getting out…

Needless to say…he began to feel guilty. The fact was that he had warned Cloud before he had called, giving him an advanced notice. His family had the best chance of escaping now. In effect…he had played God. The fairer thing to do would have been to hold off on it and give everyone the same chance. But now, it was too late.

Ragnar had issued several orders at the meeting. Fortunately, these officers were ones that were willing to stay even in this time of crisis. Some of them were Cloud's friends after all. They were told to disembark and to start gathering their divisions to mass at the east entrance. As they did, some were to help people start moving there as well. It was mostly a rehash of the evacuation they had attempted four months ago, only this time with far more limited means. In case the enemy tried a ground assault, Ragnar had the new artillery stations right at the front of the road. The longer range artillery was brought to the east entrance. Unfortunately, the PPA had learned months ago that their weapons lacked the range to hit the New Shinra from where they were. When they broke through the line, it would be of little use. And because General Ragnar had ordered a focus on stationary artillery in the first month of production to make sure that his force could hold the city, they had little mobile artillery to implement. Essentially, they only had a few "model" weapons that Isuzu Industries had made to show what their mobile weapons would look like.

During the past few months, Ragnar had moved the Bismark deployment site to Junon. That was the only place with a port. Unfortunately, he could do little other than put them on alert. They didn't have the fuel to get to Midgar Bay. Even then, they wouldn't be able to make much of a difference. The only real target they needed to hit was the Juggernaut, and currently they had no way to fight it. Commander Mack was rather flustered, and requested to return to Midgar so he could at least pick up a machine gun and use it. Ragnar rejected the request. He wanted to keep at least one division in reserve in case something went wrong.

Last but not least, the Chocobo Cavalry was alerted to the situation. They reacted well…considering that the future of Midgar and the PPA was rested on their shoulders. They were loaded up with weapons and explosives. Hopefully, they would be able to damage a few of the silos, throwing a bit of a wrench into the enemy's plans. It was risky. The cavalry was designed to ride in, do a bit of damage, and retreat. Some would have to dismount to plant real explosives. But again, they had no choice.

Ragnar still felt angry at himself for allowing it to come to this as he marched down the road to the east entrance. A few other guards and minor officers were falling in behind him, acting as an escort. It looked sort of out of place in an urban setting, but he didn't care. He felt like this was all his fault. His army might destroy itself in the next few days to try and pull this off. And it would be his order in the end. Still…he managed to keep something of a straight mind. Now that he was in action, he was able to push aside some of his more unpleasant thoughts and focus on the task at hand.

All around him, the army was gathering. They were setting up for a temporary stay in this part of town, until it was their turn to move. They didn't have the full strength gathered here, but it was coming. The homes and alleys were already filled with divisions and equipment. Privates were running around everywhere while officers barked out orders. There were no civilians yet. Most of them were opting for running away right now. However, Ragnar knew they'd come soon enough, after noon tomorrow. At the moment, it was just hitting sundown. The Chocobo Cavalry operation commenced at half past midnight. Ragnar wanted to be here to guide it.

As Ragnar pushed through the military action and made his way closer to the perimeter, and as the outer walls of Midgar began to loom closer in front of him, a lieutenant standing in the road spotted him. As he approached, the lieutenant turned and saluted. Ragnar answered back with his own salute, but kept moving. As he came nearer, the lieutenant broke off and move in at his side.

"We've been waiting for you general."

"What's the status?"

"We've already redeployed almost 50 percent of our forces to this area. As for civilians and specifics, I'm not sure. I don't believe anyone other than those we are picking up have arrived. But you'll be able to get that knowledge from our command center."

"Where is it?"

"Follow me, sir. Per your request, it is located at the top of the rim around Midgar."

"Good. I want to be able to see what's happening."

Heh…so they finally noticed, eh?

Admiral Ashiah smiled and let out a small chuckle as she stared at the latest status report. Nearby, the petty officer who had handed it to her nervously stood and waited. Ashiah had been growing…more violent…as of late, and less tolerant of failure. Whenever she showed emotion like this, it was hard to tell whether or not she was in a "mood". The petty officer who had given her the message saying that the demolition sortie they sent out four weeks ago had been annihilated by new artillery had faced the venting of Ashiah's anger in the form of a backhand. The Admiral had been growing more and more ill-tempered and short ever since Colonel Maritza called her assault of Midgar off.

Now, safe as the crew on the bridge of the Juggernaut was from enemy attack, they constantly feared attacks from within instead. They knew what had happened to the first officer months ago. They knew the same thing could happen to them if they did the slightest thing to upset the Admiral. An air of fear constantly pervaded the bridge whenever she was in the captain's chair.

However, Ashiah cared little for her officers right now. That wasn't to say that she wasn't getting more short with them. Oh, she was. That was because she had begun to grow more…suspicious…as of late. It seemed that her crew had all-too-willingly carried out Maritza's order. And that they seemed to question her just a little too much. And there was the fact that Maritza was going about gathering loyal officers to herself… Who was to say that a few of them weren't already in her pocket? Her tone with them had grown slowly more stern and angry… Her impatience had begun to increase… And she found herself sometimes sitting in her chair, looking at them all, wondering where their loyalties might truly lie…

But that was nothing. Colonel Maritza had returned to the New Shinra HQ Dome to check on her own little new toys, and those that she had left would be put to proper use soon by the Admiral. Within a matter of days, she would see Midgar flare up like an exploding star as the new Albatross missiles turned it to rubble. Another wonderful tool. These missiles would enable them to blow the whole city to kingdom come without ever presenting a target. Not a single troop would be lost, and the PPA and the citizens who were stupid enough to shelter them would burn. And she would oversee it…and become the greatest officer in the entire New Shinra.

Of course…this little report showed that they were making a few feeble attempts to escape the inevitable. Contacts in Junon had long since set up monitoring devices along the road leading from Midgar to the port town. They showed a heavy amount of traffic was departing Midgar and headed straight for Junon. The first would arrive at estimated 0734 hours, which was in three minutes at this point. The thought made Ashiah want to laugh. So…they no doubt noticed how the Juggernaut had left port and was making their way toward that area to blast the road to oblivion. They were trying to get out people while they could. And they appeared to be massing their forces at the east entrance…trying to break through the line where they couldn't cover them with ships, most likely.

What the stupid little boy leader didn't realize was that she was an officer of far more experience and training…and that she had expected him to do this from the start.

How insulting to think I wouldn't consider this…

Ashiah looked up and out to the bridge. "Mr. Brahm?" She addressed the communication officer.

The officer immediately turned around and looked fully at attention at her. "Yes, madam?"

"Send an order to our spies in Junon. Carry out contingency 12."

I feel so useless here…

Mack thought this as he kicked a loose can nearby, knocking it off the end of the pier and into the ocean. A few of the nearby PPA workmen looked up at this, wondering what had happened. But on seeing nothing, they turned back to the Bismark they were retooling. A few more pilots and engineers were walking around the pier, going about their business. Most of them, however, were housed in one of the dock warehouses that they had converted into a barracks. The Bismarks themselves were in the water, per the orders that General Ragnar had telling them to stand by. However, Mack knew that none of them would really see action.

Despite contracting Isuzu Industries, it was still too early for them to produce a broad range of weaponry. They were eventually supposed to make better fighters for the Bismark pilots. Not just jet skis, but real fighters that could actually engage the enemy fleet. Until now, however, they had seen none of it. As a result, they were stuck here. Mack desperately wanted to help in Midgar. He heard from the general what the enemy was planning. He wanted to try and engage those destroyers before they reached the road, and buy the civilians a bit more time.

But, he realized in frustration, that was hopeless. They had no way to damage the aircraft carrier Juggernaut. Until they did, it was suicide to make any attack on the fleet.

At the very least…they could tell us to get rid of these guys.

The PPA had been alerted to what companies operating in Junon were "dummy" companies, that in truth were spies for the NSA. However, the New Shinra did not yet know if they knew, and the general wanted to keep it that way. As a result, the commander found himself standing on this pier, literally surrounded by one ship after another coming into harbor that he knew was loaded with New Shinra operatives, and unable to do a thing about it. If the Bismarks could mobilize, they could sink every one of their ships in a matter of minutes. But that too was impossible. It would only incite the navy to come here, and since Shinra had fallen almost all of the city's artillery had been confiscated and refurbished. He wasn't even sure if the steel panels that protected the city still existed.

I bet if that Sister Ray was still here that we could do some damage to that aircraft carrier… Mack thought ruefully. But of course, it wasn't. And Mack could do nothing else. Ragnar did have an operative in this town…a real dark looking fellow, one that made the commander nervous. He was the guy who was going around actually combating the New Shinra agents. He was doing it secretly, however, making sure not to spring until they made a move. This only made Mack more impatient. If they were going to be a threat to the people who arrived, why not get rid of them-

A sharp echo cut off Mack's train of thought, and immediately halted everyone on the pier. They looked up from what they were doing and snapped around to the source. It sounded like a miniature cannon was going off, and in rapid succession. He searched the area for a moment, and finally zeroed in on the source. It was coming from one of the warehouses. It was a closed one, but it was fairly close to the part of the pier where Mack was. The shots continued to go off for a moment…

Then, to Mack's shock, as well as to that of everyone else on the docks and the first tier of Junon…a large section of the warehouse exploded. It erupted into a towering fireball, and sent off a blast of heat and air that threw aside all crates and workmen nearby. Mack himself felt the hot wind strike him, and leaned back and shielded himself. The main crux of the fireball from the explosion rose into the air, and fire began to fill the now-gaping, twisted metal portion of the warehouse…

Then another surprise came. Barreling out like a great shadowy demon from the abyss came a monstrous semi truck. It tore through the flames and over the debris, and rushed out onto the pier. People screamed and leapt out of the way, for the truck was only accelerating and not stopping for anyone. It smashed boxes and crates in its path and immediately began to drive down the northern end of the pier, a trailer being pulled behind it and fishtailing everywhere.

Yet even as this massive beast emerged…another form leapt out of the flames from behind it. This one was like a demon from hell, and for a moment Mack thought he was seeing some fearsome fiend leap out from the ruin, as if born of the flames. But then, as the figure continued to leap out and landed on the ground, Mack began to recognize it. It was a dark, black-haired man clothed in blood red. It was the operative that Ragnar had sent.

He wielded a massive shotgun, and proceeded to discharge it. Mack soon discovered the source of the explosion sounds as a deafening blast tore through the air. An instant later, and all four of the rear wheels on the right side of the trailer appeared to be ripped in half, along with the rim they were stuck on. The trailer lurched, and then slammed down. The axle, now suspended by nothing, hit the ground and grinded against it, casting up a flurry of sparks in its wake. But the truck did not stop. If anything, it began to accelerate.

The man flung the shotgun aside after the first shot, obviously out of ammunition. But just as quickly, he pulled out a handgun, took aim, and fired. Despite how fast the truck was moving away from him, and how it weaved through the pier, his bullets aimed true and began to blow out the other rear tires. One by one they turned into black shreds of rubber, until the other end of the trailer fell and slammed down against the ground, so that the entire rear was dragging. But that only slowed it. It continued to drive forward, and soon was getting out of range.

The dark man shouted out to the people at the dock.

"Shoot it!"

Mack whirled around to the dark man at that, hearing the sudden command directed at him. His voice was cold and strong, and it actually paralyzed him a moment. But once he heard the urgency of the voice, he turned back to the truck. However, it was no good. They hadn't expected any combat, and so the weapons were inside the barracks along with the rest of the personnel. After all, you couldn't just wave weapons around in Junon, especially not automatics. The PPA units at the pier could only stare as they watched the black truck roar right by them and keep going north.

Despite how fast it was going, the dark man broke off into a run. He continued to hold his gun up and shoot, and his bullets did appear to hit true. However, they didn't do so for long. He soon ran out of ammunition, and had to reach for another clip. Yet as he did, the truck moved out of the crates and into the empty space between the ships and the storage zone. Now, it picked up full speed, and quickly raced past the rest of the docks. In a few moments, it was at the end, and immediately took the turn off to take it to the road to Midgar. As Mack watched it turn and vanish from view, the dark man, showing amazing speed, ran past him and continued to charge after it. But it was too late. Fast as he was, he couldn't catch it now. Mack, however, didn't really see the issue. Whatever that truck was, if it was something New Shinra related, then it was going the wrong way. It was headed right into their main base. There wasn't any escape off that road that…

BOOM

Mack's train of thought was cut again, and this time he truly was knocked back and onto his rear. He wasn't alone. The other dock workers, who had been looking up and staring at this, abruptly recoiled and fell back as well from the sheer sonic vibrations of this vehicle. Despite the distance, as Mack landed he began to cover his ears. It was painful…

Then, he saw it. As the workers cringed, something began to emerge from farther ahead, on the other side of the warehouses and up on the road to Midgar. A huge fireball, much larger and stronger than the previous one, shot into the air. A mass of black smoke came from behind it. As this happened, the dark man, the only one still standing, slowed down to a trot. He had only made it a little past Mack at this point, and after a few moments came to a halt. The echo from the eruption very slowly began to diminish. The sound of fire far in the distance began to burn.

Mack stared for a moment longer, but then looked down to the dark man. He was standing still, and not turning. He simply watched the smoke and flames far in the distance. The commander hesitated a moment, but then ran up to the dark man's side. It was, in a way, a good thing that this explosion went off. It seemed to capture the workers' attention, and because of that they ignored the gun wielding dark man on the dock. Mack was soon behind him, and called out.

"Hey…what the hell was that all-"

"Why weren't you armed?" The dark man coldly cut off.

The tone was so biting and sharp that it seemed to rob the noise from Mack's throat, and he actually recoiled a bit with a cold shudder. He had to pause a moment afterward from how accusing and icy it had been.

"…We aren't supposed to carry weapons unless we're going into some sort of combat situation." Mack answered. "We don't want to run afoul of the local authorities. General Ragnar's orders."

"General Ragnar's orders might have just cost him the lives of anyone he wished to save in Midgar." The dark man instantly responded.

Mack didn't like how dark the man's voice was. It filled him with more unease than before.

"…Why?"

"I was tailing the New Shinra operatives in this town. They received a message to carry out an order involving two trucks loaded with explosives and guided by remote. I found out what their target was, and I attacked. I killed all those in the warehouse and blew one of the trucks up without detonating the explosives. But the other was already sent, and I was unable to stop it before it completed its purpose."

The commander heard the darkness and seriousness of the man's voice…and it only made him more uneasy.

"…And what purpose did it have?"

"To drive to the exit point of the Midgar-Junon Highway, go into the cliffs, and detonate. The road to Midgar is now destroyed. There is no escape route left for the civilians of Midgar."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, sir. It's completely blocked off. If it had happened one minute sooner we might have had some people die. But the rubble will take two weeks to clear."

"We don't have two weeks!"

"If we try and blast it, it will just make it worse. As it is, traffic is already piling up and we've having a hell of a time turning it back around. We'll never get any equipment back here. We can't dig it out before the enemy navy arrives. I'm sorry."

Ragnar held for a moment…his face tight in a mixture of frustration and anger. In the end…he couldn't even bear to sign off correctly. He simply turned off his radio, and repressed the urge to throw it against the ground and smash it.

The general had barely finished ascending the spiraling stairway to get to the top of the wall and gotten into the "command center" when he got that message. It wasn't much of a command center, just a few communication officers setting up temporary relays so that the general could coordinate everything from here if he had to. Status of the army below was being displayed on mostly a "pad and paper" design. However, no one was working right now. They had seen the sudden surge of anger on the general's face, and had turned to see him full of rage and despair.

The message had come in on Ragnar's personal radio. It was relayed there, otherwise it would never have had a strong enough signal to get through. However…it appeared that the New Shinra had once again thought ahead on him. Now they had lost the road even sooner than before. Now their only clean escape route was cut off.

Ragnar bowed his head and once more glared at open space. Perhaps this was what Bahamut truly wanted him to prepare for…to get experience so he wouldn't make these mistakes. Or to get a more prepared army together. In either case…it was a disaster. Now, the only way out of this city was busting through the line. They had to use Ragnar's risky plan. And so far…his plans hadn't gotten them that far.

At long last…Ragnar shut his eyes and sighed. After that, he raised his radio again, adjusted to a new channel, and then pressed the button.

"Come in, general."

He released and waited for a few moments. Then, the familiar voice came in.

"I read you, kid. What's the problem?"

"…Has Tifa gotten the kids and Aerith out yet?"

"She had some trouble getting a truck. She ended up 'borrowing' one from Midgar's impound lot. She called me about five minutes ago saying she was heading back to pick the others up."

"…Call her back. Tell her don't bother."

"…Why?"

"The situation has gotten worse. After we end this conversation, I need you to start organizing the remaining forces in the city to get all of the people over here as soon as possible."

Like Denzel and Marlene, Azure was confused...and a little scared.

The day had been rather hectic. After finishing their exercises with Cloud and getting the party favors ready, Tifa had come in on them. She had a serious look on her face, and told them to start getting ready to leave. It was another evacuation. She wouldn't say why. The three children knew that the last evacuation turned out to be for nothing. As a result, they initially thought sourly of it, that it was something that was going to delay Marlene's birthday party. But then Aerith came up to help them…and although she was calm with them, it was obvious that she had a lingering fear and earnest within her own eyes. After that, the three became worried.

Once they had all gotten a few essentials together, they waited downstairs with Aerith by the door. The Cetra told them that Tifa would come by with a car, and that they were going to ride in it to Junon. Once there, they'd celebrate Marlene's birthday. The three waited silently for a few hours. Yet although Azure would normally get bored and start playing with Denzel during this time…he found himself not wanting to tonight. There was too much anxiety in the air, and worry in Ms. Aerith's eyes. People were starting to get that underlying fear that Azure had once had.

In the end, Tifa came back. She looked worried and sad, but she said that they weren't leaving after all, and told the three children to go up and get ready for bed. For once, Tifa didn't have a smiling face or a pleasant attitude. She was too full of anxiety. Not liking this look, the three did as they were told. Upstairs, Marlene had expressed her worry that something was wrong. The others couldn't argue with that. They did get ready for bed, put on their night clothes, and turned out the lights. However, after that, Denzel and Azure had crept to the door and cracked it open. They listened downstairs for what was going on.

They could make out little. They heard Tifa on the phone a lot, so they couldn't really understand what was being said. But it sounded like she at first wanted to take them somewhere tomorrow…but then after getting another call said she would stay here for Marlene's birthday. After that, they'd be going someplace where Mr. Reeve worked. Azure didn't know who Mr. Reeve was, but Marlene told him he was once a bad person, but that he became nicer. He had once come to Mrs. Gainsbourough's house when Marlene was staying with her, and said that he would take them to see Aerith and Barret. But once he took them to a van, the van took them to some sort of prison instead. They had stayed there for a while before they started hearing explosions around outside. When that happened, Mr. Reeve came in and let them out, and drove them to Kalm. Since then, Tifa and Cloud had talked with him like he was a friend. Denzel, on his part, was satisfied that they were still going to have Marlene's party, and so he went to bed. Reassured by that, Marlene had gone to sleep too.

Azure had tried to go to sleep. However…as the hours of night wore on, and it grew later and later…he found himself waking up again. He was more at ease about the problem that was going on. He figured that Ms. Tifa and Ms. Aerith would take care of it, whatever it was. And they were still going to have Marlene's party, so things couldn't be too bad.

But because they would still have it…that reminded Azure of his dilemma. He wanted to get Marlene a nice gift…but how? Like Denzel had said, they didn't have any money. And a real nice gift was very expensive. How could he possibly afford it?

It so fretted Azure that he grew unable to sleep. It was still summer, and it was hot in the room. The air conditioning didn't reach up here that well. That was why the window was open. Under the sheets was too warm, and so Azure got up and out of bed. When he did, he looked to the clock on the wall. It was nearly midnight, but he was so upset that he wasn't tired. He instead walked over to the window in order to get a breath of fresh air. On reaching it, he stuck his head outside and into the night.

The boy looked around for a moment. This place overlooked the alley, which wasn't that exciting. It was the place where Denzel had found him, but it wasn't that good of a memory to the boy. Still, it was somewhat cooler outside. Fall was coming, after all, and the breeze was gradually getting cooler. He inhaled and exhaled a few times, looking around. It was quiet out here. Before long, it led him to start thinking about Marlene again, and how he would get money to get the bike…

"Pst…hey…hey Tony."

Azure caught wind of a voice. Immediately, he looked down to the ground, to see where it was coming from.

A rather muscular man was standing just inside the alley behind the Seventh Heaven. Although it was hot out, he was wearing a rather big dark coat, and he concealed his head under a cap. This was the man who had spoken. He was calling out into the street. Another man was walking by. This one was dressed in old, dirty clothes, a mostly torn t-shirt and some kneeless jeans. He looked like he hadn't bathed or shaved in a while…or eaten for that matter. However, when he heard the voice, he suddenly snapped his head over to the source. He seemed a bit jittery.

"Long time no see, Tony." The big man greeted. However, Azure immediately caught that his voice wasn't that friendly. In fact…it had a rather threatening edge to it.

The haggard man, Tony, Azure assumed, suddenly stiffened. He abruptly looked like a mouse caught in a trap, and seemed to shrink back in fear. He darted his head around from one side to the other, as if looking to see if someone was watching, or if there was a way out. But then, he turned forward, and began to walk faster. He started to move into a run.

"Where you goin', Tony?" The muscular man called out, his voice getting very unfriendly now. "Come here. I wanna talk to you." He began to break into a jog himself, moving to head Tony off.

Abruptly, Tony took off into a full run. However, the muscular man was a bit faster. He took off as well. For a moment, Azure saw them both turn the corner and vanish. Then he heard some sounds of scuffling. Tony cried out. Suddenly, both of them came back into view. The muscular man had Tony by the shirt, and he proceeded to drag him back into the alley, seemingly out of view of the street. Once there, he roughly slammed the haggard man against the wall of the Seventh Heaven.

"You owe me, you junkie son of a bitch." The big man sneered, now looking very threatening and mean. "Five hundred. Where's my money?"

Azure was young, but unfortunately, in this sort of city, you learned at a young age what this meant. He realized that the big person was a man who sold drugs. Drugs were things that Tifa told the kids to avoid like the chicken pox. Usually, Cloud, Tifa, or Aerith were watching them. But occasionally, they would be out on their own, and when they were, men like the guy with the big coat would sometimes come up and ask the kids if they wanted some candy. Tifa had told them sternly to always say no and come home if this happened. One time, Tifa had come up on them when the man approached. Azure watched in youthful amazement as Tifa broke the man's nose and kicked him halfway down the street. No drug seller even looked their way when Cloud had his sword.

Azure had lived in the dirtier part of this city before moving in with Tifa and Cloud. He had seen interactions like this taking place before. People who sold drugs didn't like it when the people who bought them didn't pay for them. They got really mad…

Normally, if this happened while Tifa, Cloud, or Ragnar were up, they would go back in the alley and throw them out. However, Cloud and Ragnar weren't there. Tifa had gone to bed early. The house was dark and shut up. No one knew they were there. Azure was left to stare helplessly at the situation.

"I…" Tony began to mumble. "I…I get paid on Friday, man. If you can just wait until then-"

"I can't wait." The man snapped back. He reached into his pocket. A moment later, he emerged with a black handle. He pressed a button on it, and Azure saw a blade pop out. "You give me my money right the #$& now, Tony."

"All I've got is fifty, man…"

"Bull&#$! Where's the rest?"

"That's all of it…"

"Where the hell is my money?"

"I ain't got it…"

"That's the wrong answer, mother#$&." The blade was pressed against Tony's throat. "You got ten seconds to cough up my money."

"I swear to God, I don't have it…"

"Then you should have thought about that before you tried to get high without paying me, you junkie piece of-"

This continued to go on. The big man continued to threaten the man, growing more profane and pushing the blade closer and closer across his throat. Azure saw this…saw that he was going to cut the man…probably kill him. The boy grew afraid. He anxiously looked down, but the building was still dark. Tifa wasn't waking up. She couldn't hear this. The boy swallowed and began to tremble nervously. He looked up again, and saw that the big guy was getting angrier and angrier. Azure nervously grasped his hands on the window ledge. His palms began to sweat.

There was only one thing to do. Tifa told them if every someone was going to hurt them…to scream as loud as they could. That's what Azure would have to do. Maybe if he screamed loud enough, Tifa would hear and wake up and stop him… It was worth a chance. He opened his mouth to yell, as he saw the big man bring his knife back to drive it forward.

Then…all of the sudden…he froze.

Azure cut himself off in inhaling…and suddenly looked down in confusion instead. The big guy had stopped moving. He had gone completely still. It wasn't just that. Tony had stopped moving as well. He hadn't calmed down…he had just stopped moving. That wasn't all. Suddenly, Azure realized he couldn't hear the compressor downstairs. He couldn't hear the one light outside humming either. He turned and looked behind him…and, to his surprise, he saw that Denzel and Marlene had stopped moving as well. Everything around him had stopped. He turned back outside, and looked down to them.

"Hey!" He shouted.

No reaction. Neither man moved an inch. Azure's word echoed throughout the silence of the outside…of the city. It had gone quiet too. Everything had gone completely silent as well as still. It was like time had stopped. This confused the boy, and he stared outside trying to make sense of this.

That man said Tony owed him five hundred gil, Azure.

Abruptly, the silver haired boy went as stiff as a board. A voice had spoken to him…a voice that seemed to come from everywhere. From the room…from the outside…from the two men…from Denzel and Marlene…from the sky and ground…everywhere. It wasn't hostile or mean…but it had suddenly pealed out as strong as thunder all around him. To Azure…it sounded almost…female.

The boy looked around him in further puzzlement. "Who…who's there?"

Five hundred gil, Azure… That's more than enough to buy Marlene her bike.

As the voice spoke again…Azure suddenly felt like it wasn't nearly so fearsome as before. It was definitely female now…and it seemed pleasant and calm enough. It wasn't Aerith or Tifa though… It sounded almost like someone…older. Not necessarily older, perhaps…but different. Like it came from someone who naturally lived longer. Although Azure was still a bit afraid, he felt somewhere, deep inside him…that he had nothing to fear from this voice. And it did bring up his concern again, his true concern. That was to buy Marlene her present. Slowly, he stopped looking around. Instead, his eyes turned down and focused on the big man below.

Think about it, Azure. The voice went on. That man has run into dozens of people today who bought drugs from him. By now, he has to have a lot of money. More than enough to get Marlene the bike. And when she sees you giving it to her…she'll be more pleased with your gift than anyone else's. She won't care at all about that paper crane when you give her exactly what she wanted. She'll like you far better than him…

Azure continued to stare down. As he did…he began to think. He saw himself presenting Marlene with her bike. He could see her beaming with joy at it. She would turn to him…say it was exactly what she wanted…and then she'd give him a big hug and kiss. Denzel's own gift would be nothing compared to it. She'd always want to play with Azure first now. She'd want him to be the main hero in all their games… She'd cheer him on during all the sword practices… She'd like him more than anyone else… All if he could only get that bike for her.

Isn't that what you want?

Azure continued to look at the man. He saw that perfect vision in his mind…saw how much attention and appreciation it would give him…

"…Yes." Azure finally returned. "But…why would he give me any money?"

He wouldn't, Azure. The voice simply answered. However…it got an edge on it soon after. But…if that man was to suddenly get into an accident…

Azure hesitated at this, and then his face turned to confusion. "…Accident?"

Do you remember what you did to the monsters?

"…Not really…but Marlene says I killed them…"

They were big and strong. Compared to this man…they were much more formidable… I'm sure you're strong enough to…

Azure heard this…and realized what it was implying. For the briefest moment…a tiny part of him gravitated to that idea… But then, he immediately pushed it out. His face suddenly turned fearful, and he began to shake his head furiously.

"No…no! That's wrong! That's evil! I could never do that! They were monsters…this is a person!"

Cloud and Tifa kill people all the time, Azure… The police kill people all the time…

The boy hesitated. "…But only because they're bad…"

And this man isn't bad? He sells drugs to children like you. They make them sick…sometimes kill them. And he doesn't care so long as he gets money. He's beaten up and killed plenty of people on the street like Tony. He's going to kill Tony in a moment. If you don't step in…he's going to murder him.

Azure paused. As these words sank into his consciousness…he thought again about this action. He was going to kill Tony…and these people who sold drugs were pretty mean. They needed to go to jail, or to have the police stop them…

And if the police do get him…what then, Azure? All the money he has will go to them. He has so much already. Would it hurt at all for just a few hundred to be used for something good? Used to get your best friend a present? Used to make her appreciate you…like you more than any other boy? You just want to get Marlene a good present…to give her the happiest birthday she's ever had. And this man…he deserves to die for what he's done.

Azure looked down again. He thought once more of that happy vision…that vision of being hugged by Marlene, and of her liking him…perhaps loving him. That bike was the way to get it. This man wasn't going to spend the money on anything good… And he was a bad person. He was going to kill Tony. He was going to sell more to other children. He…didn't deserve to have this money. The woman was right…

He didn't deserve to live…

Azure's fear slowly began to fade. His eyes slowly began to narrow…and his mouth closed and became firm. His shaking stopped as he drew himself up to his full height. His hands slowly released the edge of the windowsill. They were no longer sweating.

As his eyes focused…the pupils began to narrow inward, becoming serpent-like.

A thin smile cracked on Azure's face.

"He does deserve to die."

Sound suddenly returned to the world. People began to move again. The light outside flickered and buzzed. The compressor downstairs began to hum. Tony began to whimper and beg once more. The big man brought his blade back further, and prepared to plung it forward and into Tony's chest.

Azure glared at him for a split second…then suddenly became a blur as he leapt through the window and shot to the ground.

The big man began to bring the knife forward…but suddenly found his arm frozen. He turned and looked to the source. Tony, on his part, also looked to him, and gaped in surprise. The person hadn't been there a moment ago…but then he had suddenly materialized right next to them…

A boy was holding the big man's hand easily with one arm. His grip was like iron, and his posture was calm and erect. He was muscular and tall. And his face…his face made him look like a full grown man. His silver hair swept behind him in a light breeze…and his hard face was twisted into a cruel smile. His eyes…his eyes were the most horrible of all. They were focused on the big man…and narrowed like a lion looking at prey. Neither man could see for sure…but it looked almost like snake eyes…

The big man opened his mouth to speak…but never received the chance. The boy had calmly held his hand back until now. But at that moment, he suddenly exerted even more force, and snapped his arm forward. As he did…the bones in the big man's arm snapped as well, and soon the edge of his radius and ulna pierced his lower arm's flesh and broke out. The big man gaped at the horrible injury as blood began to flow from it. His mouth that had opened to speak now turned into an agonized scream. He released Tony immediately. However…the thin man was paralyzed. His mouth had dropped, and his eyes gaped at the boy in terror.

The boy seemed to relish the big man's pain, smiling wider as he heard it. He let him scream for a moment. But then, still holding onto the broken arm, he yanked his body around. As he did, he turned so that he was facing the brick wall opposite the Seventh Heaven. Holding the man between him and the brick wall, he reared his fist back, formed an iron palm…and drove it forward into the man's chest.

A sound of bone cracking went out as Azure's powerful blow snapped the sternum off of the man's chest and drove it into his heart with such force that his aorta and vena cavae immediately ruptured. He was killed almost immediately. However…he still lived long enough to get ripped off the ground and driven into the brick wall behind him. The impact immediately smashed in the bricks, driving an imprint of his body into the wall. It also broke half of the bones still intact in his body. He was able to feel the pain from them all right before he died.

Quite dead, the man collapsed to the ground, his eyes and mouth open in the last moment of shock. Soon, blood began to leak from them, as well as the nose and the ears. The skull had fractured and the brain had been smashed by the impact. The boy had released his arm right on attacking, letting him fly freely against the wall. Now…he slowly and calmly returned his fist to his side. As he did, he looked down with sadistic pleasure at the dead man. He relished not only in his death…but in how quickly and utterly he had managed to do it.

Tony's lip began to quiver. As he soiled himself, he somehow managed to scramble up and off of the wall. Then, turning and stumbling over himself in terror, he fled out of the alley and away from the boy as fast as he could. He began to mumble incoherently…which he would continue to do for the next week, hysterical with the terror of what he had witnessed. It wouldn't be until then that he would report it, which would unfortunately be dismissed as a drug-induced hallucination…although the police would in fact have the body at that point, and would be trying to figure out what could have broken the man so utterly and quickly in such a short period of time.

But as for Azure, he closed his eyes. He raised his head into the sky, and slowly inhaled. Once he had finished doing so, he slowly let it out. As he did, his body loosened. His fists relaxed. His face grew softer. By the time he finished, he looked very much like his old self. His eyes slowly opened afterward. They were as they had been before.

However…something deeper and darker was in them now. A new flame had been lit somewhere in his mind…just as the source of the voice knew that at last things were beginning once more.

But Azure thought none of this. He simply smiled, and then eagerly bent down next to the dead man to start going through his pockets.

To be continued...