In the early morning, two days later, Rude, Reno, and Elena got out of bed, loaded their weapons, and left the crowded observa

(The conclusion…*sob*)

In the early morning, two days later, Rude, Reno, and Elena got out of bed, loaded their weapons, and left the crowded observatory with a large and motley group of others, heading for the plains nearby. Not one of them said anything, and it was a long solemn walk before they got there. So many thoughts were passing through each of their heads, that their respective silences went unnoticed by each other, lost in the equally quiet throng.

After the long and grueling walk, they all stood on the Great Plains where the creatures where said to be touching down. Reno, Rude, and Elena cast glances at the sky, partly calculating where they should be, and partly scared out of their minds. Reno shouldered his electro-mag rod, and cast his eyes downward at the ground for a moment. He felt Elena reach for his hand, and then saw her reach for Rude's. Biting her lip, she clutched at the small support that would give her, and then let go and drew her gun, seeing Rude draw his own.

When the first person made the warning shout, everyone's eyes shot up towards the sky. At first, no one saw anything, and then it was chaos. Huge crystalline cubes were crashing down onto the ground, seemingly breaking open and tossing forward ugly greenish monsters, so familiar to Elena and Reno and Rude, as the monster that had attacked them in the forest. They had no time to think about this before the battle was raging all around them, and the first squadron attacked them.

Slashing right and left, Reno made sure to keep an eye on how his friends were doing. Rude and Elena were having more of a difficult time than he was, the things needed several shots to kill. Their skins were as tough as anything Reno had ever seen. One crept up behind him and he snapped his rod backward, hearing simultaneous shots from Rude and Elena's guns, until the thing fell dead. Breathing hard, He whirled to run backwards from the raging hords that were now descending from the sky.

The battle raged on and on, and though many were being killed on both sides, the monster horde seemed never to end. Elena didn't feel the air grow colder as she fought, barely noticed as it started to rain. But the downpour did slightly cloud the vision of the horrible creatures, and gave the humans back the advantage they so desperately needed. "Thanks, dad," whispered Elena, as she shot one off Tifa's back. Tifa gave her a grateful signal, and moved off to another monster. Elena shook the water out of her eyes, and tackled the next.

Rude found himself on top of a rock, surrounded by creatures. Shooting all around him, he realized he wasn't going to make it. Just as he was giving up, Cid jumped up behind him and finished off some that he had already weakened, giving him an opportunity to get his back against the wall. "…Thanks," Rude muttered. Cid nodded, and kept fighting. "You fight pretty damn good," he commented to Rude, before rushing off. "…" Rude replied.

After a long while in the rain, Elena finished off a large group, and turned to check on Rude and Reno. As she turned, she noticed Lena Ikoshii, another fighter and a friend of Reeve's, trapped by two monsters, without weapon. Breathing hard, Elena rushed towards her, unaware of the many monsters who were closing in behind her. By the time she got there, it was too late. They were surrounded, and as fast as Elena shot, the monsters approached faster. Elena watched in helplessness as Lena went down, and was carried off by a monster. Then the others turned on her.

Reno heard her cries of rage and fear, and turned, grabbing Rude and running forward as fast as they could. "Elena!" Reno was screaming, and he was running, running as fast as he could, tripping and righting himself, running again, slashing right and left as he went. Rude was right on his heels, as they both watched Elena get slashed to the ground by a large monster. "ELENA! ELENA!" They tore forward, killing the monsters around her with the strength of desperation. They were just in time to see Elena lying on the ground, a huge bloody wound on her stomach. As they reached her, she smiled weakly up at them, and then closed her eyes…and lay still.

Rude threw himself beside her, lifting her head gently. "…Elena," he whispered, and looked away. Reno stared in shock and disbelief. "No…no…NO, ELENA!" He could feel the hot liquid in his eyes, as he stared what had been his friend, lying at his feet. "Dammit…" He knelt by her side, and closed his eyes, holding her hand as Rude cradled her head.

Suddenly, a monster leapt at them, and Rude shot it down. Reno looked up through his tears to see more monsters coming at them. They were converging around him, and he saw one go to take Elena's body. "NO!" He began slashing around him in a blind rage, while Rude's shots fired around him in the fray, knocking out monsters left and right, until they were all dead.

Reno turned, to see Rude hunched over Elena's body, ready to lift her and carry her out, away from the monsters. As he did so, a monster attacked him from behind, and Reno ran forward to kill it. When he turned around, Rude was slumped on top of Elena, unmoving. "RUDE! NO, NO…no…" He was sobbing now, running, unsure of where he was running, except that he needed to kill the monsters that had destroyed his friends, slashing, hitting, picking up weapons of dead friends and using them blindly against the foes all around him. The whole time he kept screaming, until he realized that he wasn't being attacked any more.

Looking around through the still heavily falling rain, he saw no one moving on the plains. No monsters. No people. No one. "They're all…dead…" he whispered, shaking his head as the tears melded with the rain falling steadily down his face. "Dead…"

After a few moments, Reno walked back the spot where Elena and Rude had been. He'd somehow managed to protect their bodies from the onslaught, and they lay there now. Slowly, Reno lifted Rude off of Elena, and laid him beside her, the tears still coursing down his cheeks. Staring at them for a long moment, he bent, and lifted Elena's gun. Bringing it to his head, he looked one last time at the bloody battlefield before him. Then he turned, and smiled at Rude and Elena. "Hey guys…we've won." Then he pulled the trigger.

And smiled as the gun clattered the ground. The tears stopped, and he fell, embracing his brothers in arms for the last time.