By a Fraction of a Degree

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Ramius is an original character, as are Drake, and Wyatt the Town Mayor. ^^

On the Way to a New Future (Interlude)

Chapter 45, Aid and Acts of War (Case of Cloud)

January 14th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008

The last couple of days had been mostly quiet at the Lodge, and that was something Cloud was grateful for. Zack was more or less on the mend by now, and most of the residents in the area had been coming and going pretty much at will. The main event that had been notable, was that on the evening Zack had decided on the name for their new organization, he'd called a meeting.

Thanks to the renegades, practically every person who had ever been involved with them managed to be present in some capacity, making it quite the affair, with people tuning in from Cosmo Canyon aboard the Highwind, through Veld's safe house in Midgar, the renegade safe house in Junon, and several single connections from various PHSes across the globe. There was no video connection, but it was still an impressive conference call. When Zack had outlined his ideas for what GUARDIAN was and what it would stand for, many of the renegades had been somewhat skeptical. Veld was quiet through most of it, but Elfe, Shears, and Shalua had definitely liked the idea, and by the core members, the new name had been met with almost unanimous approval.

Not much else had been discussed, however, Zack was already tossing around plans to expand their settlement at the lodge, since the building itself had gotten rather crowded. Even now, Cid and Shera had set up their permanent quarters aboard the Highwind, and Vincent had joined them (when he was in the area), simply so that the already cramped sleeping conditions hadn't gotten worse. Several people were already sleeping on the floor as it was. The Highwind was also increasingly inconvenient for staying in one place, given that it was basically a beacon to anyone who cared to find where they were, meaning that a lot of the time, Cid would have it and the crew on standby a few miles away, and get to and from there with the Tiny Bronco. If there was any sign of another aircraft or water craft, the crew were under orders to fly her out into the ocean and out of radar range in order to avoid detection.

This morning had so far been no different than the last two. The Highwind was still away, though Cid and those who had traveled with him were on their way back. Cloud was eating breakfast with Zack on the porch, listening to his friend talk as usual.

"So I was thinking, if we go back in the woods a little near the front of the lodge, there's some space where we could probably build a couple of extra cabins. It's not too close to the fall-back shelter, and it's close enough to here that we could probably put up some more people."

Cloud nodded and then murmured "I guess that means we'll be doing more woodwork, huh."

"Yeah. We should probably talk to Cid and see if he's interested in rigging the wiring and plumbing and stuff. We were able to bluff our way through the first time, but that was already installed here. We just had to make sure it wasn't leaking or not insulated enough anywhere," Zack took a bite out of his toast upon finishing the thought. "What we really need to do…"

He was continuing on but that was when Cloud noticed something very strange about his coffee. He had set it down a moment or two ago so the brown liquid should have stopped moving around, but instead, as he watched it, it began to slosh around very violently in the mug, almost as though some strange force was acting on it. Then he heard a noise behind him and jerked his head back towards the door. A plate in the kitchen had smashed to the ground. Both men were ready to run inside to make sure everyone was all right, but then they heard Freya calling "What are you standing around here for? Get out!"

Not long after, Elmyra and Aerith hurried out with with Tifa, Reeve, Jessie, and Kunsel who was carrying Marlene in his arms. Zack's parents and Freya were the last ones out. They stood out in the clearing for a little while in an uncomfortable silence, before Elmyra murmured "Did we just have an… earthquake?"

Freya nodded. "They happen around here from time to time."

They waited a little longer to be on the safe side and when it didn't seem like there would be another one, they trooped back inside and Freya walked over to the television while Alice walked to a radio that stood in the kitchen. Almost immediately, the reporter appeared on the screen. "…ceiving reports of an earthquake near the town of Mideel. Residents of the main island are advised not to go back into their homes until it has been established that no further aftershocks will occur. Further, even just half an hour after the event occurred, we are already receiving reports of considerable property damage and loss of life, and we have just received word that a large flow of Mako below the surface burst out of the ground at the center of town, increasing the difficulty of rescue efforts. We shall continue providing updates throughout the afternoon, but for now, back to your regularly scheduled program."

Freya drew a breath and let it out. "I've got to go," she said after a moment.

"What's the matter?" Kunsel asked.

The huntress was walking towards the front hall. "My parents live in Mideel," she said before walking out of sight.

"Hang on a second!" Kunsel called after her. "Are you sure it's a good idea? I mean, isn't Shinra going to be sending emergency response teams to deal with it?"

"That might have been the procedure when you were in SOLDIER." Reeve was sitting on the couch as he spoke, his hands clasped on his knees as he spoke. "But I doubt Rufus plans on doing so, given the fact that Mideel has no value to him."

"But the clinics down there…" Zack said. While not exactly the most advanced, Mideel was known not just for its hot springs, but also for the expertise the local clinics had. Thanks to the many mako vents around the area, the doctors there had a lot of experience dealing with mako poisoning. Rayleigh herself had done some training there during her college years. They had also run a couple of monster exterminating missions along the coastline, because it was a common place for people to go to study how the vents affected the local ecosystem.

"Compared to Midgar, they are a small country hospital," Reeve said. "I doubt Public Safety will do anything either. That's Heidegger, and that means the army. They have more important things to do right now, especially with Fort Condor in open revolt."

Zack frowned after a moment as he considered the situation. "I would guess there'd be a lot of people who need help there," he mused. After a moment, he reached for his PHS and plugged in a number, though he fumbled with the handset since he wasn't quite used to using his left hand for such things. It rang on the other side for a few moments and then Cloud heard Cid on the other end. "What do ya need kid?"

"How close are you to the Lodge?" Zack asked, walking to the window as he asked the question.

"I'm about, an hour from our main tether point. Why?"

A little while later, Cloud was flying south aboard the Highwind with Tifa next to him, along with Freya, Kunsel, and most of the rest of the group. Rayleigh had requested that Zack and Aerith remain behind to help set up shelters in the village and get things ready, because there would be people who would need more than just Cures. With broken bones that had to be reset and exposure to Mako, not to mention people who'd been crushed by buildings, they… well… Rayleigh had warned them that if they wanted to help, they would have to be prepared for the worst. Regardless, they would need somewhere safe where the victims could be airlifted.

Zack had really wanted to come with them, but Rayleigh had put her foot down. "You just got over being Mako Poisoned! Being in close proximity to all of that Lifestream could very well cause a relapse."

"But you're fine with Cloud going," Zack had interjected.

"He didn't just wake up after being unconscious for just shy of a week," Rayleigh had retorted. "And we need people on this end to help get things organized. We need someone to talk to the mayor, as well as get the villagers moving, and you're perfect for the job. Let the others handle the ground operations, they'll be fine."

Aerith had also been understandably reluctant to let him go, so in the end, he had relented.

Cloud watched the ground fly below them from the bridge. It hadn't been that long ago, he and Zack had been running mercenary jobs, hunting hippogriffs and making life easier for the people around here. It had been so simple. For a while, he'd felt like life could go on again. But it seemed like every time they turned around there was some new crisis to deal with.

They drew closer to the town, and soon he saw the devastation that lay across the planet's surface. A great gash rent through the earth ahead of them before ending in what was clearly a sinkhole where the center of the settlement used to be. Now it was a mess of debris scattered about, floating in liquid Lifestream, or collapsed to splinters on the shore. On the far outskirts, there had been a few homes that hadn't been utterly destroyed, but that didn't mean they were habitable. A few fires had broken out and he could already see that some people were working to douse the flames. Tifa was standing next to him and she brought a hand up to her mouth. "It's terrible…" she said.

Freya was reaching for her PHS. She had tried calling ahead earlier, but now she punched the redial button with renewed vigor. Up until now, she hadn't made contact with her family because, just like Zack's family before, she had known she might put them in more danger if they had to lie to Shinra about her whereabouts, but times were different now. This was an emergency.

Soon after, Cid brought the Highwind in for a landing, and they disembarked, taking in the scene from the ground before Kunsel started walking and Cloud and the others followed them towards an older man, whom he knew to be the town mayor. He looked up and recognized Kunsel immediately. "Oh, it's you. I hope you're not here for supplies, because we don't have any."

Kunsel shook his head. "No, we came to lend a hand."

Old man nodded appreciatively. "That's the first good news I've had all day. We need people everywhere. There's fire crews all over, and there are still people trapped under rubble in places and who knows how many of them survived. It's been a nightmare," his words were calm, but the way he spoke had a deadened quality to it as though he was already exhausted. Soon after, the party dispersed in order to take care of what they did best. Cloud soon found himself working with Kunsel and several of the strongest men in town as they dug through rubble, checking for bodies.

It was several hours later, and thankfully (in the case of those who had come aboard the Highwind) there had been no sign of Shinra. Right now, he was working his way through the remains of what had been a house near the remains of a clinic that had been on the edge of town. He could see Cissnei and Tifa helping the doctor who ran the place treat the injured who weren't in critical condition and determine who should be on the next flight to their fishing village. Cid had been making runs between here and the clinic where Rayleigh worked, air-lifting those who were in critical condition for most of the day.

He wiped the sweat from his brow before kneeling down to lift a larger piece of debris the rest of the work crew had not been able to clear yet and tossed it to the side.

Wow, that's incredible!" One of the more recent arrivals to the search crew watched with amazement before Cloud turned around and the man recognized the tell-tale mako glow in his eyes. "Are you a SOLDIER?" he asked. "Did Shinra come to help after all?"

"No," Cloud said simply before getting back to work. "We came on our own." He had run into several people already who had seen his appearance and immediately jumped to that conclusion. It would have been a godsend to them, given the resources they had that could have helped with the relief effort, but Cloud couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about it. He was worried that any minute, the army would show up, or something might happen that could allow the company to find them again. He didn't want to talk about this right now, especially not when he could hear something moving underneath them before one of the women on the team hurried over to a hole that had just been discovered.

After a moment, she looked up "Someone's down there!"

The team redoubled their efforts and before long, a stretcher was lifted out with a young woman on it. She was covered in bruises and her leg was definitely broken. Fortunately, they'd been able to get her out before mako from the Lifestream had seeped too deep into the rubble, but there was still more to do. The collection of shrouds near the remains of the clinic stood as a testament to the toll this catastrophe had already taken.

It was getting later that afternoon, he was standing near another site, taking a break and drinking water from a water bottle when a shadow fell over the town that wasn't the Highwind. His eyes narrowed as an unfamiliar helicopter came lower to the ground. After a moment, he could see a small detachment of five SOLDIERs disembarking and his eyes narrowed before he saw Kunsel walking over to join him. He was glad Tifa had gone back with Cid to help him and Freya with the wounded that were bound for their own village. Barret was still here, but he hoped the gunman had enough sense not to do anything crazy…

Like he was one to talk.

"What do you think?" he asked warily.

"I think we should just act natural. If they want a fight, we can give it, but here isn't the place," Kunsel said under his breath.

Cloud nodded, but he checked that the Butterfly Edge was still secure on his back, just in case. The Buster Sword just didn't lend itself well to digging through debris, so he'd left it aboard the Highwind. The two of them waited as the leader, a 1st Class SOLDIER spotted them and walked over, his expression grim. "SOLDIER 1st Class Kunsel, Cloud Strife, we have been ordered to apprehend you both dead or alive for multiple charges against you."

Kunsel raised an eyebrow. "Really? And I thought Rufus sent you guys to help with clean up. As you can see there are a lot of people here that could use a hand, SOLDIER 1st Class Ramius."

The SOLDIER let out a breath. "I'm sorry we're meeting again under these circumstances Kunsel, but we have orders."

Kunsel shook his head. "I'm sorry too. But look around. The only reason we're out here at all is because we wanted to help. At least let us take care of these people and then we'll discuss this."

"Sentiment isn't going to help here. Rufus wants you in a cell in Midgar. I wish I had leeway on this, but I have my orders." The man brandished a blade and Cloud realized it wasn't a regular sword. It had a barrel and a trigger, like a gun.

He went for his own weapon as did Kunsel. "At the very least," Kunsel said. "Let's take this out of town. The last thing we need is for this place to have more casualties because we're here."

Ramius nodded. "I understand." He seemed to be mostly an honorable man at the very least.

Cloud looked behind him and was relieved to see that Barret was still nowhere to be seen. Good. The fewer that got caught up in this, the better. They walked deeper into the woods, away from the remains of the town until it was out of sight in its entirety and then Kunsel shook his head, an uncharacteristically Zack-like grin on his face.

"I have to admit, I'm almost disappointed," he said. "After the Turks helped us fight Sephiroth, I would have thought Rufus'd know better than to just send one unit."

Ramius did not seem to be impressed, "Before you defected, I would have asked you if the rumors were true. I hoped they weren't when you disappeared, but I guess you always were too loyal to Zack."

"Not that Shinra really cares that much about loyalty," Cloud murmured. "Are we going to do this or not. The crew I was working with was going to start up again soon."

Ramius lifted his gunblade, and pointed it at the two swordsmen. "You have ten seconds to surrender. I'd rather not be forced to kill you."

Kunsel took half a step towards Cloud, gesturing at the other SOLDIERs. "Do you think you can take em?"

Cloud didn't bother answering but lifted his sword again as Kunsel looked at Ramius. "We trained together once. I know you're no idiot, but if you think we're going down easy, you've got another thing coming." With that, Kunsel lifted his own sword and dove forward. Two 2nd Class SOLDIERs tried to get into the fray to help their commander, but Cloud was there before they had even moved two paces, his sword in one hand, a fire spell flaring to life in the other. After Sephiroth, four 2nd Classes against him was a joke, maybe even if he took them all at once. As he let off the fire ball, strategically aiming it towards a tree behind them, he hoped the show of force would be enough to put them off of fighting him. He'd rather not hurt them too badly if he could help it. He heard several bullets ricochet off a blade behind him before he heard the familiar song of Kunsel's SOLDIER blade striking metal.

Apparently his own opponents hadn't gotten the message, because the next thing he knew, all four of the other SOLDIERs were coming his way, and he weaved around them, parrying their attacks. He was already amazed at himself. After weeks of training with Zack, his footwork was flawless compared to these guys. He moved with the grace of Leviathan, catching their blades with his own and sending them flying. His own speed and agility were such that they simply could not match him. They shouldn't even bother trying.

He stepped fluidly to the side as one of the SOLDIERs swung then brought his blade around, striking like a snake before the man could even block. He could already see him backing away to cast a cure as the other three tried to rush him but he took a running leap into the air, flipping effortless over top of them before landing behind them and casting Zack's Stop materia. His friend had lent it to him before they'd left this morning, just in case they ran into trouble. Thanks to the fact he'd paired it with an All, the three opponents froze in place and he turned his attention to his newly healed remaining opponent. One glare was all that was needed before the 2nd secured his sword to his back.

Smart man.

He turned his attention back to Kunsel and saw that Ramius seemed to be slowing down a bit. Kunsel had a graze on his cheek where a bullet had whizzed by far too close, but other than that, he seemed to be doing fine. A third level bolt spell scorched the ground in front of Ramius as Kunsel charged again, and the two locked swords. Hazel eyes met a pair shielded by a helmet for a moment before Cloud walked over with the Butterfly Edge and assumed a defensive position, ready to jump in as soon as the stalemate ended, but at that moment, Ramius broke away and sheathed his gunblade. "I guess the rumors were true after all." He walked over to his men and cast an Esuna on them.

"He would have sent more if we weren't already spread thin," he admitted. After a moment, he reached out and cast a Blizzaga on the tree Cloud had set alight. "This won't be the last that you see of us. Wherever you show your face, you can count on us hunting you."

"You'd just better hope you don't actually corner us," Cloud said. "Because if that ever happens, what you saw here will be nothing."

"As one SOLDIER to another, I hope that day never comes," Ramius said. With that, he turned and led his squad away through the trees.

Kunsel let out a sigh of relief and then looked at Cloud. "You ready to head back?"

He nodded and they returned through the trees to find Barret and Tifa waiting for them. "What happened?" Tifa asked.

"We'll talk about it later," Kunsel answered. "When there aren't people buried in debris."

It was evening when the Highwind left with the last of the wounded and those who had come to help, and as a result it was getting really dark by the time they reached the fishing village near the lodge. The village of Widblain was small, and before Rayleigh had come, the local doctor had been the only one in town. Their shared facilities were on the north end of town, near a few of the shops while at the southwest end, lay a wide harbor where the fishermen would come in with their catch at the end of the day, and then go home to their houses and shacks scattered along the coastline. Once everyone had disembarked, Cloud found Zack and Aerith with Rayleigh and the town mayor standing in front of the clinic. All four of them looked tired.

Zack nodded in his direction in greeting and offered him a tired wave. "Glad to see you're back, you won't believe what happened while you were gone!"

"We could say the same thing," Cloud answered him. By now, he had returned the Buster Sword to his back since they would be walking home to avoid the Highwind being noticed near the lodge. "What happened?"

Zack let out a breath. "It was kind of embarrassing. Apparently a reporter tried to catch Cid when they realized he was getting people out of Mideel and though he had some choice words for them, it still got back to Rufus. He sent a party here to investigate."

Cloud felt his pulse quicken as Zack continued. "It was a SOLDIER squad," he looked over at Kunsel significantly.

Kunsel's expression darkened with concern. "How did you get out of it? I know Rayleigh hasn't cleared you to for combat yet."

Zack rubbed the back of his neck, rather embarrased. "I didn't know until it was already over. Cid was in the area at the time, along with Freya and Ciss, and they chased'em off, with the help of some angry villagers I might add..."

He shot a grateful look at the mayor, an older fellow by the name of Wyatt. The man stroked his greying beard and shook his head. It had once been a full black, but age had started to tell on him. "You folks really helped out our village when you started huntin' them monsters. It's a lot safer round here at night thanks to you. And after what happened in Mideel? Shinra's not protectin' anyone anymore. We have ta look out for our own now."

Zack nodded. "Well, I'm definitely relieved about that." He turned his attention back to the others. "I told Elmyra and my folks to keep an eye on the woods in case anyone comes looking around, but it seems they haven't seen any sign of anything, and I've been checking in to be on the safe side. It doesn't look like Shinra figured out where we're hiding aside from that we move openly around here."

Kunsel shook his head. "At this rate, it probably won't be for long before we lose even that."

"We're not losing it," Zack said determinedly.

The mayor glanced around at the others as he spoke. "I've actually called a town meeting tonight. If all of you could be there, we would appreciate it."

Zack nodded. "We will."

Wyatt gave a slight bow and then walked away, leaving them alone. Zack turned his attention back to Cloud. "So what happened in Mideel? From what I saw when I was helping the doc, there were a lot of people hurt."

"It was awful," Cloud answered. "And Shinra tried to get us there too."

"What?"

Cloud let Kunsel relate the story and Zack swore. "Seems like we just can't go anywhere."

"No kidding," Kunsel agreed.

Later that night, everyone gathered at the Mayor's house to discuss the situation. All of the able bodied villagers who weren't tending to the injured were there, as were everyone from the newly anointed GUARDIAN, with the exception of Vincent who had left to do some traveling of his own. There was no way everyone could fit inside, so a bonfire was built in the town square and once the meeting was called to order, Wyatt stood and looked around at the people gathered here. There were a lot more than there had been this morning, as refugees had also started leaving Mideel when they heard that Widblain was a safe place to go.

"Friends," the mayor began. "We find ourselves in a crisis. Not only has our neighbor down south been struck by a terrible disaster, and Shinra turned their backs on us, but they have the gall then, to expect us to turn over a group of kids when they've done nothin' but make our lives easier and put themselves at risk trying to help. While Shinra didn't say they intend to destroy us, I find myself remembering a village to the north that used to be in their good graces, and that didn't stop them from blowin' it sky high! I say, I've had it with this abuse!"

There were angry mutters of assent from every corner of the town square. "I say to hell with Mako! We've been burnin' wood fires for years!" Someone called out of the crowd, and this was met with cheers.

"Anythin's better'n bein' beholdin' to that Rufus Shinra!" Someone else added.

To Cloud's surprise, it was Cid who took the floor. "You say that now, but you gotta remember what that means. According to Reeve, even though we don't have a reactor in the immediate area, the power grid runs through cables under the water to a reactor on the main land. They cut the cables, we're back in the dark unless we try to take it for ourselves."

"I think… I may have an alternative," Reeve suggested.

"What's that?" Nanaki asked.

Reeve looked through some papers he'd laid out in front of where he was sitting. "There's some research I gathered out of Shinra's databases detailing some old facilities near here that we may be able to use. They were originally built for coal, however, in the early years of Shinra's exploration into power, they attempted to adjust this particular facility for a different type of fuel."

"Oh?" Zack looked at Reeve quizzically.

"Oil," Reeve finished. "Granted, we'll need to find a place to get it, but if we can gain control of the facility, it should be enough to power Mideel as a continent for a while."

"You mean that useless goop that comes out of the ground?" Barret asked.

Wyatt considered this for a while before turning to Zack. "That is something to think about."

In the end, it was decided that messengers would be sent up and down the coast of Mideel to the others villages to get their opinions on what was to be done about Shinra, and with the promise that if any other SOLDIERs showed up, Wyatt would tell them they'd left, GUARDIAN returned to the lodge to await the results.

January 16th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008

It was two days later when they did find out what the answer was, and it was stunning. Once the story of Banora and of Mideel had been passed through the entire continent, not only had the other villages unequivocally aligned themselves with the plan, but a number of ambitious young men had begun gathering in Widblain, demanding to take part in the plan to take the power station.

"It's like we have our own little army!" Zack murmured when Kunsel told him the news that morning.

"Are you surprised?" Reeve asked. "As much as Shinra has done to this continent, or not done as the case may be, in the last few years? They have every right to be angry, and now they have a direction to fuel their anger."

"Well Zack? What are we going to do?" Kunsel asked.

"We'll give them what they want. But we'll have to make sure they're up to it. How about we run them through some combat basics and then we'll make a team."

"It'll probably have to be me and Cloud and the others, right?" Kunsel observed.

Zack nodded sadly. "I'm afraid so. I actually started practicing a little with a lighter sword I picked up in town yesterday, but until I'm back a hundred percent, I won't be good for much aside from offering suggestions until I've had a little more time to work at it." He looked over at Cloud. "Think you can handle a bunch of farmers and fishermen?"

"Me?" Cloud looked at him in surprised.

"Yes you," Zack agreed.

Cloud considered the question for a moment and then his hand clenched into a fist as he realized how important this could be. Not just to them, but to the future of their home. "All right, I'll do it."

January 19th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008

A few days later, Cloud, Kunsel, and Zack found themselves standing in front of a group of men and boys near the mayor's house taking in the crew that stood before them with some trepidation. These guys were obviously not trained SOLDIERs, nor were they even normal foot soldiers. They didn't look anywhere near the professional army required.

After a while, Zack walked to the front and whistled. "Okay you guys, listen up!" They stopped talking and looked at him. "Thank you. What you're here for is something important, and time's a'wasting so I won't keep you from your training long. In three weeks, you need to do what most Shinra troopers can't do in six. You'll need to be tough enough that you can fight down a normal SOLDIER. It's not easy. I know. But I know you can do it. Why? Because you guys aren't soldiers for hire. It's not your pay that's riding on this. It's your freedom. In three weeks we fly out to Tanis Island to take that power station and make it work. If you listen to these guys," he pointed to Cloud and Kunsel. "Then I promise you, you'll have what you need to not only take it, but defend it and come back alive."

With that he looked at his friends. "Well?"

Kunsel gestured that Cloud follow him to the floor, which he did, reluctantly as the other swordsman looked around at their recruits. "Let's get down to it," Kunsel looked around. "Some of you, are going to break off at some point to train with rifles and handguns, with Vincent and and Freya. But for now, we're doing basic training exercises." That was when Cloud suddenly recognized the expression on his teaching partner's face. That was a dangerous look. It meant doom was on the horizon, and he felt a pang of pity for these guys. It was the smirk of a drill instructor knowing exactly what he was doing. "First, this is the saddest lineup I've ever seen, so we're going straight to the basics! Ten hut!"

All the men stood at attention, and Kunsel looked over the ranks. "That's much better. Next, I want you to give me thirty squats and fifty pushups!"

"That's ridiculous!" Someone said from the back. "I thought we were learning how to fight not exercise!"

Uh oh… Cloud resisted the urge to facepalm. That poor idiot…

"All right then, looks like we have a volunteer for a demonstration!" Kunsel said, looking around that was when Cloud realized Tifa was watching them from nearby. "Oh Tifa!" Kunsel called. "Would you mind coming here for a second?"

Tifa sauntered over looking a little perplexed as the would-be soldier came to the front. "If you would," Kunsel said to the 'volunteer,' I want you to try and take down the lady."

The soldier did not look impressed. "I'm supposed to fight a girl?"

Kunsel nodded and Tifa took a fighting stance. After a moment, the kid, who he now noticed was really more of a young man, took a weak fighting stance and halfheartedly made a few jabs. Tifa easily dodged before whipping to the side and taking him down in a grapple. A few of the men applauded.

"I don't know how much of the story you've heard," Kunsel said. "But Tifa here is easily capable of going toe to toe with Sephiroth if she wants to. She's a normal human, just like you. If she can do it, you can. That being said, if you want to fight a SOLDIER, you need discipline and training. If I say jump, you don't stop to ask how high, you do it! And if I give you an order, you follow it!" As Tifa backed away, trying not to laugh, and the man scurried away to rejoin the ranks, Kunsel signaled to Cloud with one hand and Cloud's eyes widened a little. Did he really want him to do that now?

Well… all right, but it would probably, scare the other men… how would Cid put it? Probably best not to say. "After all, if you want to be quick enough to fight the real thing…" Cloud moved bringing the Buster Sword to bear just inches from Kunsel's head and the other SOLDIER brought his own blade out to block it amid gasps. "You'd better know they train just as hard, are physically enhanced, and fighting one of us as a normal trooper, is like trying to fight a meat grinder. The power station probably won't be heavily guarded, but Shinra will send people to take it back and that'll be where this comes in."

Kunsel lowered his blade and looked at the ranks. "If he'd come at any of you with that blow, you would have died instantly, does anyone have any questions? No? Then get to work! You're mine for the rest of the day! Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"I can't hear you!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

February 2nd [ ν ] – εуλ 0008

The last two weeks had been brutal and there had already been several washouts. Most of them had gone to the rifle and sniper teams Freya was organizing with Vincent's help when he was around, but even so, Cloud had begun to wonder if they would have enough swordsmen at all. The first week had been the worst, since no one knew anything about how to keep the camps clean, or even how to patrol properly (an absolute necessity since fortifying the area was not possible). Still, things had improved a lot. At least everyone could march in a straight line now, and Kunsel had even begun the guerilla portion of training. There was no way they could stand fighting even a trooper battalion on equal ground, so they were going for the less direct approach, teaching their squads how to take advantage of ground cover, drawing on everything Zack could remember of Wutai's ninjas, and what he himself had learned on the run with Cloud.

Tonight, he was running a patrol with one of the trainees. Since his display on the first day, they'd become quite respectful of him, especially once they knew that physically, he was tougher than Kunsel and Zack before he'd been injured and quicker. He'd kept his distance at first, but slowly he'd started assisting with techniques and as a result the recruits considered him the 'good guy' when it came to training. People went to Zack when there was a problem, but if they needed to know something, for some reason, they started coming to him. Further, Kunsel had divided the swordsmen into three squads, one of which he now led. It was kind of an odd feeling, being in charge.

Planning sessions had been interesting too. Vincent had been monitoring the power station for about a week and it looked like Shinra didn't have a clue about their plans. Not only that, but the other day, another SOLDIER detachment had come and thanks to their patrol system, he'd been called on to meet and effectively deter them before they even got close to the village. As a result, the man he was currently with ended up witnessing him use the Buster Sword in combat.

Drake, his partner for this run was now watching him as they made their way through the woods, silently as a pair of ghosts. He was an older man possibly about Sephiroth's age if he had lived. At first, Cloud thought things would proceed without incident, but then the recruit spoke. "Commander, by any chance, did you know Angeal Hewley?"

"Not personally," he answered, checking the area for any sign of footprints, just as Freya had shown him how to do.

The man was quiet for a bit. "You sure? I would have been certain by that sword you were carrying. I'd know it anywhere."

"It's actually Fair's," Cloud admitted. "Angeal gave it to him when he passed away. He just let me borrow it."

"I see," the recruit considered for a moment before continuing "It's a shame, his family were all very proud of that sword. It was a gift from a renowned Wutai smith back in the day, to his grandfather you know, before Shinra got into reactors…"

"How do you know that?"

"I used to live in Banora when he and Genesis were boys. They didn't have much to do with me, but his mother was a really nice woman. Does he know if she was there when Banora was destroyed?"

Cloud tried not to look him in the eye. He knew that story all too well, but he didn't feel it was his place to tell it. After a while they had nearly completed the circuit, and were almost back to the village when he decided to speak. "This smith you're talking about, you don't know if he's still around do you?"

"No, I can't say that I do, but, I do know they said his family name was Okazaki."

Cloud considered that. Perhaps, when he had some time, it wouldn't be a bad idea to seek some more information about this man. If he could commission the sword he desired, then he could finally return the Buster Sword to whom it really belonged.

February 11th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008

Cloud knelt in a clump of bushes somewhat beyond the shore of Tanis Island with his small squad of rookies, ready for the signal from Zack during the early morning hours. His friend was aboard the Highwind, at the com station. Kunsel had not been able to take part. A call for help had been sent from Fort Condor, as the place was on the verge of falling to Rufus's forces. Losing Fort Condor, it had been determined, would mean providing Rufus an easy corridor to get down to the western straights, and that would mean making it harder to get supplies. The fishermen along that coast had already had some times when they'd been caught and imprisoned for blockade running, so making that an even bigger issue was not something anyone wanted. Food was not a problem. It was things like steel, and other supplies that came that way. They would need them for the power station and forging new weapons.

Yuffie had also left to request assistance from Wutai, but they hadn't heard from her in the last couple of weeks.

Cloud waited, Drake standing next to him, the man having been named his noncommissioned officer in the time they'd been preparing for this. It would be a simple operation. The power station itself was loosely guarded, but Rufus would no doubt try to destroy it if he thought it was being used against him, as Kunsel had said on the first day of training their small force. Tanis Island was not particularly large, and was easily defensible, but he only hoped they'd done enough to prepare. His communicator buzzed at his ear and he pressed the button. "Zack?"

"Vincent and the snipers are in position," Zack said. "Move as soon as the outer guards drop."

"Got it," Cloud looked around at his squad and motioned that they get ready. They watched for a few more seconds and then, he saw the two guards pacing the outside of the entrance to the power station fall. At that, he lifted the Buster Sword and called the advance. The men hurried forward, silently as ghosts and through the main entrance and Cloud followed them in. The sight that met his eyes when they entered the place was one of slight chaos. There was indeed a small squad of troopers stationed here, he'd known that already, and now they were causing some resistance as they fought to defend their post.

Cloud charged forward cutting down one that had been about to fire on one of his other squad leaders in the blink of an eye and the man fell before him. Almost immediately, someone tried to shoot from his left, and he deflected the bullet on the side of the Buster Sword before rushing in and ending him too. The rest of the fight passed in a blur until he saw the enemy captain call a surrender. One small victory, but it could lead to so many others.

I can't help but think I've gone back to my fanfiction roots a little bit in the interludes. My very first fanfics (that I look back on now and hang my head in shame because they were so poorly written that those which are not lost in the interwebs somewhere will most likely never see the light of day), were for the "Sonic the Hedgehog" universe (Archie Comics and SatAM continuity). Not sure how it happened, but it feels an awful lot like I went and created Knothole in the FFVII universe to Midgar's Robotropolis. Funny ain't it? ^^

See ya next time!