A/N: First let me say that I am very sorry about not updating sooner. My computer has been broken for a while and I just got it fixed. Secondly I just noticed that it has be a year since I started this story. I am really shocked that I have made this far, and want to thank all the people who have reviewed my story. Without your support I would never have gotten this far. Now as this story pushed past the halfway mark, I hope that it will only continue to get better. So here is my newest chapter, I hope you enjoy it. ............................................................................................................

Apocalypse Rising:
Chapter 16: Slouching Towards Nibelheim.

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The Shinra Mansion. A dark and foreboding place, casting an eerie shadow over the city of Nibelheim. The people feared it. They made no claim not to. To them it was a beacon for evil. For months now they had seen lights flashing from the windows then, just recently they had stopped. The people hoped that whatever evil had inhabited that place was gone. Their hoped vain however, for an even darker creature now walked the halls of the dark manor.

The creature Moebius walked silently through the mansion's basement. He was a good six feet tall. His flesh was paler than the cold moon. His head was bald save for six long black dreads hanging down to the small of his back. His hands were more like claws each tipped with an exceptionally long and sharp black fingernail.

Behind him were his minions. Each was nothing more than black mist. They had no definite shape, but when they fought they were an almost unstoppable force. They were his creations, and the inevitable fate for the boy who slept here.

In a moment they reached their destination. A small room filled with coffins, and there in the center coffin was their target. One of the minions walked to the center coffin and prepared to open it.

"Open it up boys, its time to have a little fun." Moebius commanded, his face alive with expectation. Oh yes this was going to be very fun.

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Yuffie ducked as Shade swung a shuriken in a decapitating arch. They had been fighting for an hour now, and she was beginning to tire. Shade, on the other hand, was relentless. He was almost inhumane.

Yuffie swung her conformer only to have shade duck and deliver a bone splitting punch to her ribs. She staggered back several feet gasping for air. Before she could catch her breath Shade punched her in the jaw. Yuffie fell to ground hard. Shade just stood there, a cocky smile plastered on his face.

" Nice punch you got there." Yuffie coughed as she got back to her feet. Shade looking as cocky as ever, "but.." Yuffie said, as she delivered five rapid punches into his face and chest, sending the cocky bastard into the far wall. "Sephiroth punched harder."

Shade roared in indignation. In a split second he was back on his feet. The two ninjas ran towards each other, each a sending a flurry of punches and kicks.

Soon both had to back off, each gasping for air. Yuffie recovered slightly quicker and swung her conformer with all her might. Shade responded quicker than she could have imagined. He caught the deadly weapon between his two palms and wrenched it from her grasp. He kicked her in the side with all his might, sending the younger fighter flying. Yuffie landed on her back with a sickening crunch, and before she could rise Shade stepped on her chest pinning her.

" Time to end this little empress." Shade growled as he prepared to thrust the conformer into her heart.

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The armies of Midgar marched across the mountains separating Corel from Nibelheim. Thousands of automated killing machines, two hundred trained soldiers, and at the head of the force one combination of the two.

The leader of this force was a perfect amalgam of metal and flesh. He had once been a man a great hero in fact. Now he had become something even greater. He was a link to Cloud. He obeyed their master and was his voice. He had said march to Nibelheim, so the forces marched. He said to destroy anyone who got in their way, so they would destroy. For, to them, it was an honor to serve.

The general, as he was known, rode the leading tank. He sat perfectly still. He observed everything. In a week they would be in Nibelheim. His forces would set camp in the city and stop anyone from entering the Shinra Mansion. If anyone did, well then it might get messy. The general licked his lips expectantly. Truly, it was an honor to serve.

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Yuffie lay helpless as Shade prepared to deliver the killing blow. Both warriors were oblivious to the crowed of people that had formed around them.

"Say goodnight sweetie." Shade whispered.

Before he could jam the weapon into her heart, a knife flew from the crowd into Shade's hand. Howling in pain Shade dropped the conformer, and it fell harmlessly to the wood floor. Yuffie could make out the presence of another figure pushing Shade off her.

Yuffie seized this opportunity and quickly scrambled up to her feet. Her eyes widened as she saw the face of the figure who had saved her.

"Loki? What are you doing?" Yuffie managed to cough out.

" What does it look like? Oh and by the way you're welcome." Loki said, and flashed her a comic smile.

"What the hell do you think you are doing soldier boy?" Shade practically screamed, as he wrenched the knife out of his left hand.

"Oh I'm sorry were you in the middle of something?"

" You interrupted our duel, that's a grievous offense. I break your neck."

Loki laughed at the comment. "You were in a duel with the Empress. By the rules of combat she can declare one other warrior to take her place. Royal benefits you know." Loki said and flashed the fuming warrior a cheeky smile.

" Well I didn't hear her call your name." Shade growled.

" Well I do now." Yuffie said walking up to Loki's side. "Oh and thank you general." She said and smiled at him.

"Fine! I'll kill your little lap dog, then we can finish this." Shade practically roared.

"Well then, let's go." Loki growled as he drew his katana.

Yuffie muttered one final thanks to Loki before she walked to the crowd. Tifa quickly ran to her friend and began to inspect her wounds.

Loki and Shade circled each other. Neither made a mover for a few moments, then as quick as lighting they charged. Loki swung his blade with flawless form. Each swipe forcing an already fatigued Shade back. Shade got in a few punches and kicks, but with his injured hand, he was hurting himself as much as Loki.

Loki then swung his blade in an intricate path dragging its tip on the hardwood floor. Then quickly, the warrior jumped away. Shade was left with only a second to look puzzled before the path Loki had made with the blade set aflame.

Shade was engulfed in flame, and quickly shed his cloak, and jumped away from the flames. " Fancy technique. So it is a proper swordsman I face." Shade gasped, while still retaining his cocky smile.

" Was their any doubt? "

Shade kept his distance form Loki. Thy once again circled each other, avoiding the still burning formation on the floor. Shade made the first move. He pulled a knife out of one of his many pockets, then with all his strength chucked it at the swordsman.

Loki dropped his blade, and with the reflexes of a skilled warrior caught the knife and threw it back at him. Shade was not fast enough to dodge this counter attack, and the blade embedded itself into his right leg.

Shade fell to the ground clutching his wounded leg. Before he could pull the blade out Loki had his sword back in hand, and was pointing it at his throat.

"Go ahead and do it. Kill me if you have the nerve. You're still nothing more than a tool." Shade whispered, then spit on Loki's white uniform.

Loki's face hardened and prepared to thrust his blade into his obnoxious foe.

"Loki stop!" Yuffie shouted out.

Loki immediately lowered his blade and faced the young ruler. Yuffie ran from the crowed to join her friend. She gave the young general a hug and then turned back to face the crowd.

" All of you have seen it. Shade, leader of the thieves guild has fallen in battle. As to our agreement you now owe me your allegiance. By five tonight we shall be leaving the city."

"And where exactly are we going?" Shade asked, his voice quivering with barely suppressed rage.

That was a good question. In the heat of the moment Yuffie hadn't thought about where Vincent might be. Now as she struggled to come up with an answer, she became insanely aware of how many eyes were on her.

" Well if I were Vincent, and wanted to be alone, I would go back to the one place I feel comfortable." Tifa said as she walked up to her friend.

Yuffie looked at Tifa solemnly. She knew how the older woman felt about Vincent's situation. Despite this she couldn't help but be thankful for the idea.

"Of course the mansion. All right everybody. We leave in three hours heading towards Nibelheim!" She yelled, and at once the crowd dispersed.

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Moebius looked down at the form of Vincent Valentine. It had been about a week since they had pulled him out of the coffin. In that time they had injected him with a payload of sedatives. It was just a precaution really; Moebius would have preformed the procedure the first day if it were up to him. But no, Crassus had demanded that they eliminate all risk. The boy would have to stay asleep throughout the entire process.

Moebius ground his teeth, watching them scream was half the fun. Oh well, such was life. He smiled at the sleeping warrior's form. "I've got good news for you boy. You're going to get to live forever. The only catch is you won't have any free will to enjoy it." Moebius laughed.

In a second his levity was replaced by a deadly seriousness. His minions were busy patrolling the mansion. None of them wanted to watch the procedure. With delicate motions he held one of his sharp nails over his left wrist. He could make out his pulsating black veins just beneath the skin. With a quick swipe he cut the flesh just above those veins. With a grimace of pain he pulled back the flesh, giving him a perfect view of his own black veins.

With a surgeon's delicacy he pulled those veins out of his arm. Once the tips were out of his arm they began to move on their own. They crawled like snakes and felt their way around, searching for something. They soon found Vincent. They slithered their way to his chest, and then in an incredibly quick motion impaled themselves into the warrior.

Moebius let out a yell as his own blood began to pump into the boy. They were linked now in a sick blood transfusion. While Vincent was no doubt in incredible pain, Moebius was in ecstasy. He was seeing all the memories of this mortal, and was eating them up like they were ambrosia.

" Oh, by the way, did I forget to mention that you would be living your worst nightmares? I didn't? Oh well, sorry." Moebius laughed as he let the images wash over him.

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Aeris watched the streets of Junon. She had been waiting here for an hour now. In moments her target would come walking down the street, and she would make her move.

Right on schedule a littler girl, no older than 13, came running down the street. Probably heading to one of the many homes in this district. Before the girl could reach her destination Aeris opened a portal, which engulfed the child. As quickly as it had appeared the portal vanished, sending the child to a holding area for the time being.

The girl was vital to Aeris. She was the last of Bugenhagen's tribe. A race of people that were connected to a dormant power. A power that would be needed very soon.

"This is twice that you have come to meddle in my affairs." Aeris said as she turned to face the short brunette standing behind her.

" I meant no offense my dear, I only came to tell you of Vincent's situation." The woman said in an unusually anxious voice.

" And you assume that I don't know the situation of my own soldier?" Aeris asked, somewhat perturbed.

" If you know, then why aren't you doing anything? A dark force is threatening to taint him, if this happens then you will have lost your greatest weapon." The woman said, her voice almost pleading.

" If Vincent is what I think he is, then he will not be corrupted. If he has the powers I suspect I will sense them. If he is tainted, then he wasn't even worth my time. Why are you so concerned anyway?"

"I have my reasons dear, none of which you must concern yourself with."

" Very well keep your secrets for now, but sooner or later you will have to tell me. Now if we are done, then I have a child to talk to." Aeris said and disappeared in a flash of green light.

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Yuffie, Loki, Shade, and Tifa were getting close to Nibelheim. They all were on motorcycles. Each of them stopped as they got in sight of the city. They had been riding for about a week now. Behind them were about two thousand soldiers, most were from the thieves guild, but Loki had managed to rally several hundred of the armed guard to join them.

Yuffie hadn't known what to expect when they got to Nibelheim, but whatever her darkest fear had been, it was nothing compared to what was their now. Thousands of tanks, soldiers, and other bizarre creations filled the city. Together they had formed a close circle around the Shinra Mansion.

"Well I guess Vincent's here." Yuffie whispered, unable to manage any levity.

"Do you think they are working for Vincent?" Tifa asked quietly.

" Don't be an idiot. Vincent wouldn't do anything like this." Yuffie growled.

"So what do we do empress?" Loki asked

"What we came here to do."

"Are you insane woman? Those things will take us out before we can get twelve feet into the city!" Shade yelled.

" We have a job to do. Besides I have an idea." Yuffie said with a mischievous grin. ............................................................................................................

Blood, rivers of it. It was all Vincent could see. The entire world was black except for the blood, and the trail of corpses he walked. He didn't know where he was, or what was going on, all he could do was hope this trail would take him out of here.

After hours of walking he saw a person. A living person. She had her back to him, and it seemed like she was holding something. As Vincent got closer he recognized the form. Tifa, it was Tifa.

" Tifa! What are you doing here, we have to find a way out." He stammered.

"You did it." Tifa whispered in a barely audible voice.

" What do you mean? What's going on?"

" How could you? We trusted you." Tifa whispered, as she slowly turned. It was then Vincent could see what she was holding. A human head.

"How could you kill Yuffie?" She asked, and indeed the head was that of the young ninja.

"Oh god! No, Tifa, I didn't.... I couldn't. Oh god no." Vincent stammered as he looked at the head with total horror. " I didn't do it." Vincent whispered. But had he? He couldn't remember anything other than going into the coffin. Could he have done this?

"You are a monster. You killed her, and now you come to kill me." Tifa accused dropping the head and pulling out a long grizzly knife.

"No Tifa, Please. I didn't do it. Please Tifa don't" Vincent pleaded.

" Well its not going to happen. I will show you no mercy beast!" Tifa yelled as she swung the blade at him.

Before the knife cut his flesh, Vincent transformed. His body was now Chaos', all except for his face. The blade clattered against his black hide harmlessly. Before Vincent could stop himself Vincent grabbed her by the throat.

Smiling slightly Tifa spat in his face. "You see, you are a monster." She growled.

In a fit of rage Vincent snapped her neck. Then, suddenly he was back to normal, Tifa's body lying lifelessly at his feet.

"Oh god no. No please god. Why?" Vincent rambled as he held her body. Her body all ready was beginning to stiffen. Soon her body began to rot, then shrivel, then it dissolved into dust in his arms. Vincent could only watch hopelessly as the dust fell to the earth, then his world faded into darkness.

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Moebius cackled with delight as he viewed Vincent's visions. Rarely did he find so much pain, self-doubt, and obsession in one man. Unfortunately the stream of memories had dried out rather quickly. Apparently the boy had no memory of much of his early life. A slight disappointment to be sure, but one that was more than overcompensated.

The boy was filled with images of three young women. He seemed to be quite the player. One of the women was dead. He had seen her die in one of the more juicy memories. The other two were quite cute. One was just a kid, the other a rather hot young woman. They both were key players in this boy's life, and Moebius was eager to meet them himself. Maybe when this was all over he would pay them a visit. ............................................................................................................

Yuffie stood ready about a mile outside of the town. All of the mages were about a mile west of her. Tifa, Shade and Loki flanked her; they each were inspecting their bikes, preparing for their attack. Yuffie felt very anxious, her plan was very risky, and chances were that they all wouldn't make it out of this alive. She turned to her left and faced Loki.

"Hey Loki. You know you don't have to be here. You can still back off, head back home.

"I don't want to be here, Can I go home?" Shade interjected.

" You can rot in a hole and die for all I care." Yuffie said without even looking at him.

" My lady, you are my empress, I would follow you into hell to protect you." Loki said seriously,

"Okay, but if we make it out of this, we are going to have to get you a life." Yuffie said with a grin.

" It's a deal." Loki said with a slight smile.

" Well everyone ready? Good. Let's ride" Yuffie said, and as one they all took off into the city. ............................................................................................................

The general could see the four invaders heading towards the city. With a grim smile he commanded the tanks to get into position.

In about five seconds the tanks were ready. The general took a moment to savor the moment. He turned to one of the soldiers. "Fire when ready." ............................................................................................................

They were halfway to the city when the tanks began to move. It was time for phase one of her plan. Grabbing her COM system she yelled "Ok do it now!"

As one all the mages cast Quake 3. The ground beneath the tanks crumbled from beneath them as they fired. Half their shots took out their own troops. The other half hitting the ground a hundred feet away from anything. Yuffie and Tifa rode right through the remains of the tank and crashed through the front door of the mansion.

Shade and Loki leaped off their bikes and began to fight. Behind them all the troops charged into the city.

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The general was furious. This was not how a battle was supposed to be waged. These people were supposed to be dead. He could see the two females head into the mansion. Single-mindedly he charged after them. No one would disturb the manor. He would kill those who defied that decree himself. ............................................................................................................

Vincent's eyes shot open as the shockwave of the explosions hit the house. Gasping for air he felt incredible pain coursing through his chest. He lifted his head off the table and three thick tubes pumping into it. He weakly lifted his clawed hand and tried to pull them out.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You pull those out, they take your heart with them." Moebius said, silently cursing the fools outside for interrupting the process.

" What is going on?" Vincent growled as he tried to transform.

" Oh just your transition into the realm of shadows. Oh and don't bother trying to do that little demon thing. You do and the veins won't be able to get out, and if they can't get out, then they will kill you to get out."

Vincent couldn't comprehend what this creature was saying; all he could do was growl in pain, while the beast laughed.

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Cursing Tifa crashed into the wall of the mansion. She had never been that good at driving motorcycles, and was lucky that she had made it this far. Not far ahead of her Yuffie also crashed. The two girls got up, and rushed downstairs. As the got to the stairway they saw a strange creature. It seemed to be made out of the shadows themselves.

"What the hell is that?" Tifa whispered.

"Why the hell are you asking me?" Yuffie whispered back.

" So what should we do?"

"A random burst of violence works for me." Yuffie answered, and the two girls charged the creature. Unfortunately, every blow they delivered went right through it. The creature responded by sending a fireball right at Yuffie. The blast sent Yuffie flying through one of the walls.

While Yuffie was lying in a heap on the floor, the shadow beast engulfed Tifa. It was like being covered in plastic bag. She couldn't break free, and was running out of air. Flailing helplessly Tifa was on the verge of blacking out. The creature seemed so focused on killing Tifa it didn't see Yuffie raise and cast a fire spell.

The flames forced the creature off Tifa and it fled back several feet. Yuffie ran to her friend.

"Tifa you alright?"

"Been better. Have any ideas?

"One do you have a cure materia?" Yuffie asked.

"Yeah one why?"

"Just give it to me alright."

"Fine here." Tifa said handing the green orb to her.

"Here goes nothing." Yuffie said, as she took a knife and stabbed it into the orb. Then like a grenade she chucked it at the beast.

In a second the orb exploded with curative energies dissolving the beast into nothingness.

"What the hell was that?" Tifa asked surprised.

"The creature was a ghost or something. Healing energies kill ghosts remember?" Yuffie gasped.

" Well that was our only cure spell." Tifa lamented.

"Then we'll just have to........" Yuffie didn't have the chance to finish her sentence because an explosion erupted around them sender Tifa flying one direction, and Yuffie down the stairs. ............................................................................................................

The general smiled as he watched the older of the two targets rise. He walked to her making no effort to hide his presence. The girl got up quickly and faced him. The foolish child seemed to think she had a chance of survival. The girl looked at him, her face unable to mask her shock.

"Oh god Barret? What's happened to you?" The girl asked in a small voice.

Rather than answering the general unloaded an entire clip into her gut. ............................................................................................................

Yuffie landed in a heap at he bottom of the stairs, the metal railing impaling itself into her shoulder. The pain was incredible. It felt like her whole body had been inside a blender. She could vaguely make out Vincent's head lying on a table, and some other presence standing over him.

" Vincent! Vincent help please!" Yuffie screamed, trying to get his attention. Instead she only managed to draw one of the shadow creatures to her. Unable to move, she could only wait for the creature to end her life.

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"Can you see how many people die because of you?" Moebius whispered into Vincent's ear. "Oh you can't? Well let me show you." And with a flick of his wrist he sent images into Vincent's eyes.

Vincent could see all of it. Yuffie lying on the ground, Tifa bleeding to death, hundreds of soldiers dying every second. It was all too much. He could not be the cause of this much death.

"No, this won't happen." Vincent growled as he slowly rose to his feet.

"What are you doing? Get back on the table before I kill you myself." Moebius roared.

"No. No one is going to die except for you!!" Vincent yelled as a tornado of wind engulfed both of them.

The wind spun around them knocking down many of the walls in the basement. Vincent screamed in pain, anger, and release, as a torrent of energy poured out of his body into the wind.

With a final yell he extended both arms and sent the wind blowing in all directions. As the wind left him it poured over Moebius and his black veins, and dissolved the ghost maker into tiny motes of green life.

The healing energy poured over every living creature in the city. Those who a minute ago had been on deaths door, were now perfectly healthy.

Tifa found her wounds healing at an incredible rate, the general fell to his knees in pain, as he passed out. Yuffie watched as the shadow creature dissolved into ash. The pole pinning her down erupted into a thousand green motes, and Yuffie pulled herself up without any pain. She ran to Vincent, but couldn't get close as the wind continued to stream from his body.

Moments later the wind died down and Vincent collapsed onto all fours gasping for air. Yuffie rushed to help him, but a flash of green light erupted around him, and Yuffie was almost certain that she saw Aeris cradle his head in her arms. This only lasted a moment however, for when the light faded Vincent was gone. Leaving Yuffie alone in the basement.

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A/N: Well that was fun. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I know it was a lot to take in, and I hope you didn't mind the length of this chapter. This might seem large, but keep in mind this is just a prelude to the bigger battles that are coming. Oh and I know that I have abandoned most of the Avalanche members for a while now, I am truly sorry about this, but I needed time to focus on introducing my new characters. Avalanche will soon meet up again, in my later chapters. I also would like to personally thank Some of my reviewers who have been reviewing this story since I started it. Thank you very much Kimmie3, Highwaywoman, and Jenza1202. Without you guys I never would have made it this far. Thank you again for providing me a lot of encouragement to continue this little story of mine. It's hard to believe that I have been writing this story for a year. I only hope it will continue to get better. So thank you all for reading and please review.