They were looking for him. Nero knew they were looking for him, because he knew the SOLDIERs knew of him, and from the moment he had locked eyes with their General he had finally felt seen.

Oh, to be sure the SOLDIER had no idea what he had seen, but he had viewed him as an equal. As a threat. And that was enough for Nero to taste a heady satisfaction and know that they were not fools enough not to be looking for him.

They'd forced the SOLDIERs to split their greater fighters, one to Azul, one to Rosso, one to Shelke, and - because they weren't fools - two to dear Weiss while the one that remained searched for him, casting great nets of magic attempting to snag his elusive aura and pin him down. As if the master of shadows could be picked out amongst all the others, as if he would let them find him before he was ready.

He lingered in the crossway of Sectors 4 and 5, unseen and unsensed, waiting for Shelke's inevitable call for his aid or for Weiss to finish and give new orders. He felt when the SOLDIERs entered the sector Weiss had claimed for himself, and tensed as suddenly the lesser power all but vanished under the blinding light of the other's aura.

How very unexpected that their young general would practice making himself small, that he wouldn't brandish this incredible power he could feel unfolding all the way from the other end of the sector and use the sheer threat of it to keep order. He might have gotten a little more respect in Deepground, had the Restrictors known what they were truly dealing with, compared to the stunted version he had presented. They might have also planned differently.

Nero knew at once, with some distant regret, that even if Shelke called he could not leave Weiss against this unknown. Weiss was the best of them, to be sure, but so too was this General Fair the best of them. He alone had been chosen to replace the infamous Sephiroth, and as his power billowed into something blinding to try and look at with his mind's eye, Nero knew he could not go.

Weiss would underestimate Fair. Perhaps that would not matter, a handful of new scars and some lost blood nothing compared to sweet victory. But if there was even a chance that Weiss might need him…

No.

He approached the building, wrinkling his nose at the strange, dormant magic he could feel deep in the ground. It did not feel like a threat, but he would still take care not to disturb it. Instead, he lingered to watch the stilted dance between Weiss and Fair, far too evenly matched for comfort. Shelke would understand.

He felt when another, stronger SOLDIER began casting his own nets out with the first of them, seeking him once more to no avail. In the cover of darkness, Nero's lips curled into a thin smile, but it vanished as the remaining two SOLDIERs, all of them having felled his fellow Tsviets, descended upon Weiss.

He trembled with the desire to interfere. To rage against these who dared to interrupt Weiss' proving himself over their general and taking his rightful place as the best of them all. But he held himself in check. Waiting. Aching to interfere, but waiting for his brother's word.

"I do prefer an even playing field," Weiss said, and he sat up at once, attentive. He knew that smile, and felt himself smiling behind his mask in return. Any moment, surely this was his chance - "And my dear brother hasn't gotten to play yet."

Nero made a breathless sound of relief and gave himself over to his power, losing himself in the shadows. He came through the entry way, pushing through and under the doors in a dense, impenetrable cloud that swallowed up the lightning wielding SOLDIER entirely. His presence stretched, shadows spreading in full daylight to consume the entire side of the building and pour through the hole in the roof, reaching for the ice wielding SOLDIER. He tried to escape, but there was no escape. He was caught, strangled into submission, and pulled into the depths.

And then the little rat hidden in the corner, the one who had vanished in plain sight. So easy to overlook compared to his general. Kunsel, he had been called. They shared a close bond, for Fair to trust him alone at his back against Weiss. To let him talk him down, back when his anger had roused in Deepground.

To lose him would be a terrible blow.

Nero smiled, and didn't hesitate to wrap him securely in his darkness, pulling him back in the shadows. Not before hearing his words, rushed and desperate, and oh didn't that put a spin on things?

I love you.

He was far, far more than a mere comrade, and Nero had expected to watch the SOLDIER break. To hear his agonized scream, he did.

But when he broke… something broke loose.

He knew the light of limit breaks, even not having them traditionally himself. But Fair's focused blue eyes had turned a hazy green, his tan skin gone an ashen color and as he screamed himself hoarse the sound of a pack of Nibel wolves clamoring for blood joined in in a blood chilling chorus. Around him, the air flickered and in the brilliant blue light that nearly hid him there was the head of a wolf. It came at Weiss with an open maw, and burned far too hot and bright for Nero to hope to grab him with his darkness.

He had to watch, helpless, as the light swallowed his brother up, the disembodied head shaking him viciously only to throw him into the rafters. Any thought that it had been a complete illusion faded as Weiss hit the wall and crumpled to his hands and knees. This could not possibly be the greatest agony he had endured, but he still suffered. Deep wounds had gouged the sides of his torso and his thighs from where the too-real teeth had gripped his body, blood flowing freely from them at a concerning rate. He would survive that, Nero knew.

But the SOLDIER General was not done.

In the second he had taken his eyes off of him to follow Weiss' trajectory, the light had faded and he lunged the distance, hauling Weiss' not inconsiderable frame off the ground and slamming him into the wall. Tears streamed down his face, but Nero didn't hear what he was saying. The blackness that was his form continued to wrap around the building, wondering if he dared swallow it whole, if Weiss would forgive him the intrusion into his fight. Because of course, Weiss would still win.

Only Weiss was falling, limp and pale and bloody and that damned SOLDIER had the audacity to address him?

Nero's howl of outrage was swallowed into the void as he flew out of it and slammed into SOLDIER's beloved general. He had caught him off guard, or perhaps he was disoriented from the mass of energy he had spent. No matter. It was enough that he went down hard all the way down to the ground. His head splintered the wood beneath with the force of impact, and instead of the slightly more forgiving dirt there was a glimpse of stone beneath. Needless to say, he was out cold on impact.

Nero got a fistful of wild black hair and shook him to be sure, before he rose and let his darkness claim him. He had been a much more formidable enemy than they had imagined, but he was as helpless now as a fly entangled in a spider's web.

He would likely be driven mad in the darkness well before Nero ever got to seeing to him himself, which was a pity. He'd have liked to have finished breaking him.

But his brother was the priority.

Weiss' eyes had slit open, his head lolled to the side and his bloodstained lips parted in a terrible smile. But he wasn't angry. That was enough.

"Forgive my interference, but we are on a timetable," Nero said smoothly, coming to kneel beside him.

"Of course," Weiss rasped, throat no doubt aching from the rough treatment. Having had worse did not negate the pain of what he had been put through.

"You will need tended," Nero said quietly, touching his hair lightly to satisfy his need for contact. "I can bring you back to Argento."

Weiss nodded faintly. "Perhaps for the best… his file was incomplete."

"So it was." Nero hummed. "It does make one curious of what other surprises they may have in store."

"Nothing we will not triumph over together," Weiss said confidently.

Nero smiled. "Of course not. I…"

He paused. Frowned, first in confusion, and then in annoyance.

"Nero?" Weiss pushed himself into a sitting position, ignoring his trembling arms.

"…there is someone throwing rocks at my shadows," Nero said incredulously.

Weiss snorted. "Throwing rocks."

"And yelling," he added. "…if you'll excuse me? I won't be but a moment."

"Be my guest," Weiss said, smiling. "Have fun."