Okay, this chapter is late (I HAVE A REASON!) because I was/am an idiot (A bad one, I admit, but its still an reason!). You see, when the chapter was done I was going to upload it, but my brother came round and I got him some games. Somewhere along those lines I thought; Hmm, how about I delete some useless stuff? Well, Five minutes later I found myself without any mp3's, isoz (Except Chrono Cross. That game is stalking me, I swear.), and story's. -_- A great day to be me. But, I got the chance to make this chapter better than it originally was (The last few chapters have been sucking ass, in my eyes), so all's not lost, eh?

Also, Some people might have noticed that I have a semi permanent POV of characters. These POV's are:

Elena (I really don't know what I'm going to do with her. Sometimes I think it would be fun to pair her up with Jarred, other times I think its bad (BAAAAAAD!! BAAAAAAAAAAD!!!!!!!) to couple created characters with original characters. I guess it'll be a battle of moods. Poor Elena)

Jarred (Poor, poor Jarred. To have a creator such as me must be very depressing, neh? I hope he doesn't try to get revenge somehow)

Vincent (HOORAYS FOR VINNIE! LETS HAVE SOME DEMONIC FUN! EEYAHAHA!)

Cloud

Nox Seran\Shadowlord (Hey, I'm still figuring out how the demon society thingee works, which will be important later. (FEAR THE TWISTED-NESS THAT IS ME! MWUHAHAHA! DEMONS EVERYWHERE!))

Kahn\Aeris (Their in the same place most of the time, so it should vary from time to time. They ARE on the same side. For now. Mwuhahaha!( I even considered Kahn\Aeris for a minue, Molly-Chan! Still am, actually! It's such a funny combination that it might be worth it!))

Seph X (He's big, and he's metal, and he's a clone! Hurray for mechanical Sephy clones!)

Her ( The person those three 'things' are always referring to, the freaky buggers. She WILL come, believe me. 'Her' is her name for now, as it would spoil things if I said her name)

The Things (They have names, I assure you. It would be just plain wrong if I referred to tham as 'things', or 'the blue\red\black eyed person'. Its just not my thing, 'k?)

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Chapter IX: The Secret War

Nox Seran had a problem.

It was something he had only recently encountered, on the realm of the living. He had never before encountered such things. Nothing was an obstacle that couldn't be smashed into submission with his hammer.

Now, however, there was a daunting task before him.

How to get down a rope ladder.

Yes, Nox Seran was baffled as to how to manipulate those curious devices. At the moment, he was clutching at the sides of the ladder for dear life, with his coils (They went on for about seven feet, you know.) swaying round in the wind. Their whip-like movements caused his grip to loosen, and his clawed hands threatened to let go at every turn of the wind. You would think that a experienced pilot such as Cid might be able to place the Highwind in a stable postion NEXT to the ShinRa headquarters, but no. He had to place it above, and far away from it, with the ladder wrapped around a thick steel pole. Below the dizzying fall spanned out, threatening to swallow him forever.

The demon cursed as he was met with one more hindrance; Sun glare. The setting sun flared evilly in his eyes, and Nox Seran was seriously tempted to let go just to block its brilliant radiance.

Nox Seran cursed loudly.

"Wonderful weather out here, don't you think, demon scum?" A cold voice said from the ShinRa building.

Nox Seran turned his head to look at the speaker. It was a shady figure, with its long trench-coat flapping loosely in the wind. A cape blew out from under a shoulder guard, revealing that the figures hand held a small hand gun. Finally, a broad rimmed hat topped its head. A pair of evil red eyes burned underneath it. But what caught Nox Seran's eye was the small, but very noticeable tattoo the arm that held the gun. It flared with blue light, and it was in the form of an ancient tongue, one long forgotten by both the Cetra and the Demons. It was a symbol of the ancient Half-Breeds, who had existed during the final days of the war between Demons and the Cetra. After that they had mysteriously disappeared, assumingly because the demonic magic had become too little for them to live off of.

Apparently, that was wrong.

"Half-Breed scum." Nox Seran growled back. Even though he admired Jarred, there was something about the majority of Half-Breeds that made every self- respecting Demon want to break loose its weaponry and start a war. They were self-righteous, snobbish, and what made them all the worse, usually powerful enough to afford to be that way. Nox Seran felt a hatred that surpassed the one he bore for the Cetra. "I thought you were all dead and rotting in hell. I see that even they didn't serve your kind." He sneered.

The thing laughed. It was a terrible laughter, that seemed to echo round Nox Seran's mind.

"I don't suppose you've heard yet, but a Ti Me' Ka has been pronounced. On the Prince Of Darkness. You DO realize what that means don't you?"

Nox Seran's eyes went wide.

"Ti me' Ka? Who was the fool who pronounced that?!" He swore.

For demon's and Half-Breeds, a Ti Me' Ka is the equivalent of a crusade. Of total annihilation of the other race. It had never been completed before, but with the demon race as in the state it was, they might find themselves in a rather uncomfortable position. Annihilation wasn't that far to begin with. And facing a foe like the Half-Breeds could easily make them totally extinct, like the Cetra.

"Guess." The figure said smugly, walking up to the robe ladder. It ran a hand across the taunt fibres, with a grin of special malice glazed on its features.

Nox Seran spat.

"It was Kahn, wasn't it? He pronounced the Ti Me' Ka, right?"

"Oh yes, it was him. The pieces are starting to fall into place, you realize. The final battle between our people. The final battle in which your kind had no hope of surviving. She was disappointed to hear of this turn of fate, you realize." It said, shaking the rope vigorously. Nox Seran's nearly lost his grip completely as the rope reverberated up and down quickly. "She wanted to play with you some more."

Nox Seran grinned.

"Its really a pity that we have a fool like Kahn as our leader. I think it's the only fault in a Monarchy like ours was that we ran the risk of being stuck with a battle crazed bastard like him."

The figure laughed.

"I think I might have liked you. But, you have to die."

"You don't have the means to kill me, Half-Breed bastard." Nox Seran spat, and tried wrapping his coils around the rope.

The figure brought the pistol down on the ropes, and fired. The fibre ripped as the bullet burst through it. The ladder twisted ominously as it shifted the whole of its weight to the single rope.

"Good bye, Nox Seran."

But at that exact moment the sound of running coming from inside the ShinRa building caught his attention. The Half-Breed cursed, and grabbed his cape.

"Don't forget, Demon scum. Your days are numbered."

He spun it around, at the same time jumping into the air. As it traversed around him, he seemed to vanish. As it spun around in a complete circle, the figure disappeared completely, leaving only the cape, which was blown away in the wind.

Nox Seran sighed deeply, and tried pulling himself up once again, but it was now beginning to seem quite useless.

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Vincent's keen hearing had picked up the sound of gunshot from below Reeves office. After that he realized that Nox Seran was still inside the Highwind, and was probably being shot at. Maybe by a shocked Barret, or some curios security guard. Or worse, the LoS riders. Vincent had nary a doubt that the riders would slaughter the poor, crazed demon if not stopped.

He bolted up the staris that led to Reeve's office, and out onto the platform on the outside. He saw the demon out there, swearing loudly and trying frantically to hold onto the rope ladder.

Upon seeing Vincent the demon let out a shout of relief.

"Valentine! Help me!" He cried, writhing his coils in while trying to renew his grip.

It was the work of the moment for Vincent, really. Without actually thinking he leapt forth, spreading his black wings. The wind lifted him through the air, towards Nox Seran. The moment he reached the it, its hands gave out and gravity took its toll.

Vincent grabbed the falling Nox Seran by his writhing tail. The gunslinger immediately noticed exactly how heavy a demon could be, which turned out to be a lot. Vincent faltered under the combined weight of them, but didn't fall. Instead, he began beating his wings with more strength and speed, slowly but surely gaining altitude. Nox Seran dangled below him with a queasy look on his face.

"Now I know why my species doesn't have wings. Only the high demons are stupid enough to get this high." He moaned, finding out that he didn't have a head for heights the hard way.

Vincent chuckled slightly.

"Well, serves you right for trying to get out. I told you not to, by the way. Now my friends are going to see you." He remarked, finally getting his head above the railing that circled around the platform of the ShinRa building.

Vincent clamped his claw down on the stone railing.

"Sorry about the ladder, Valentine." Nox Seran said darkly, almost secretively. "It must have snapped under my weight. I see I've grown a bit bigger in the demon realm."

Vincent looked down at the demon below him, pulling himself upwards. The demon had nary an ounce of fat that wasn't out of place. The thick muscles that covered his body seemed to ignore everything in its way. (In some parts it seemed, even vital organs. That stomach looked entirely too strong for normalcy.) His face was gaunt, and its short, dark purple stood on end as gravity pulled it down. But one thing Vincent noticed was that Nox Seran looked VERY thin.

"Are you anorectic, by any chance?" He asked, somewhat seriously. Something wasn't right about his demonic friend. He seemed sullen, shocked, and somewhat frightened, nothing like the insanely fearless thing he had been before. Something must have happened, but Vincent had no idea of knowing what. When someone like Nox Seran started lying, giving bad excuses, and looking somewhat shaken, then you knew something wasn't right. Vincent would have asked about it, but something in the demon's eyes just told him he wouldn't get an answer.

"It's a demon trait." Nox Seran said bitterly, swallowing his pride. If he had to make up a flaw in his race to keep his secret, then so be it.

Vincent shrugged. Nox Seran was a strange person. The chances of ever understanding what went through his head were minute at best. Vincent hauled himself over the rail.

"Just don't try anything stupid again, okay? You're a heavy bugger."

The helping hand of Cloud reached down to aid him over. Vincent gained purchase with his feet, and pulled himself over the rail, taking Nox Seran with him.

"Holy shit, Vincent! What IS that?!" Cloud shouted as soon as he caught of the snake demon that was at the moment hauling itself onto its stomach.

Vincent put a hand on Cloud's shoulder.

"That is Council member Nox Seran, of the demons." He said coolly, dusting himself off.

"Who of the what?!" Cloud took a step back, reaching for his sword.

"That won't do you any much good against me anyway, human. Listen, I'm tired, and I'm not in the mood for doing anything that requires me to do physical activity. If I promise to be good little demon, will you leave me alone?" Nox Seran said tersely, while trying to get his balance back (He's walking on a tail. Imagine how HARD that would be.)

Cloud thought about this momentarily, then warily agreed. Five years ago he had seen Chaos in action, and a few months ago he had seen some new beast take form from the depths of Vincent's mind. If Nox Seran was one of those, and apparently one of great standing, then he would hate to be on its bad side.

"Sure." Cloud was struck by a thought suddenly. "You wouldn't have to know anything about dragons, would you?"

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Jarred slowly opened his eyes.

"Joan?" He croaked, sitting up. Steady hands pushed him down.

"The child is playing with the humans. She shares your liking for them." The soft, unmistakably familiar voice said. Jarred's eyes snapped open, as he became painfully aware of whose care he was in.

"Stay away from me, Spectre. I'll have nothing to do with you three."

The figure with blue eyes, frowned deeply.

"She demands your presence, Jarred. You cannot disobey." He said levelly, pushing Jarred down against the bed again.

Jarred resisted, and growled deeply at the blue eyed thing.

"YOU guys may not be able to disobey, but *I* can! I've been doing it for years now! I said stay away from me, Spectre!" Jarred pushed away the hands, and stumbled out of the bed. His clothes were still on, of course. The three had most likely used Half-Breed magic to heal his wound, which did not require anything other than enough power form the caster.

Spectre, the blue eyed figure, sneered.

"I TOLD you he wouldn't come! He's been among humans for too long!" He said raucously.

The one with red eyes laughed aloud.

"She must be scraping the bottom here, eh Wraith? Jarred wouldn't help us even if we were on the brink of death. He wouldn't think twice about looking the other way."

Jarred didn't like these people, but what they were saying about him wasn't right.

"Its not YOU guys I don't like, its HER. She can't just decide one day that she wants to see my face, send you guys and expect for me to come willingly, can she? I've got things to be done here!"

The black eyed figure was standing apart from the other two, but now he joined his allies. He stood right up to Jarred, and regarded him with those cold, dead eyes.

"YES, JARRED, SHE CAN. YOU OWE HER YOUR LIFE. THE LEAST YOU CAN DO IS REPAY HER WITH YOUR WILLING APPEARANCE. IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, THE WE SHALL AID YOU. BUT YOU *WILL* GO TO HER." Its voice said into Jarred's mind. In many ways, this was the most terrifying abilities of Wraith, the black eyed thing. He could turn your thought inside and out, even if you yourself didn't know about them. Jarred didn't think much of Wraith. Literally.

"Fine, Wraith. You help us get to the bottom of this mess, and I'll go with you guys without resistance."

Wraith smiled.

"YOU SPEAK AS IF WE WERE GOING TO BRING YOU BACK IN CHAINS."

Jarred returned the smile, sure that Wraith already knew what he was going to say.

"She would like that, wouldn't she?"

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Kahn stretched lazily, having awoken from a nap. Aeris was pacing around him, with an impatient look on her face. The demon lord watched her as she circled around him a couple of times, but this became annoying after a minute. Kahn frowned.

"Look, if you're going to do this right, then you'll have to have patience. We have all the time in the world, right? You do atleast!" Kahn said, yawning. "They'll come. Nox Seran will lead them here, without a doubt. It's what we do after that that really matters. So just take it easy for now." He said, remarkably calm.

Aeris jumped, not expecting him to be awake.

"Oh, Kahn, you're awake. Its not about Cloud and the others that I'm worrying about, its just that what you've been saying to me for a while is starting to sink in. Maybe I shouldn't be interfering with their lives. Maybe I should just sit back and become one with the planet."

Kahn's light mood vanished.

"After I just put myself up on the killing board?! Fat chance, planet wench!" The demon snapped, leaping to his feet with astounding energy. "I've put my neck this far out, and if you back out now, then it'll all be for nothing! 'Sides, you won't be able to merge with the planet anymore, Cetra. You've defied it already."

Aeris sighed.

"I suppose you're right. I really don't know anything about the planet or the lifestream when you get right down to it, but your race has been defying it since the dawn of time. Tell me though, how did the Cetra and Demons come to hate eachother so badly? I mean, You've never even met me before and you dislike me just because I'm a Cetra."

Kahn frowned deeply.

"Don't dig things up," Kan actually hesitated. The Cetra girl was so confused, bewildered. Her once optimistic glow had died down, due to his gloomy ranting. He couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty. "Aeris. I don't really HATE the Cetra, but if your entire race was wiped out by demons, wouldn't you have the slightest dislike for them? That's how we demon's look upon the Cetra. The victors. And it irks us to see that you've all degenerated into weak, magic-less humans." Kahn said, almost going as far to put a comforting hand on the Cetra's shoulder, but he stopped himself just in time. His pride would allow no such thing. "You brought down the divine retribution to us, and then you got killed off by JENOVA and humans. Says a lot about the we think, doesn't it?"

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Seph X stood at the gates of Midgar, once again. Six months ago, he had left this city, to pursue his own fortune. Of course, he wasn't welcome ANYWHERE he went, (We don't serve your kind here!" A shops-owner had said to him. Seph X merely asked them who they actually DID serve, as the entire shop seemed to be empty. Afer a few dire threats they got down to business, and Seph X moved on.) but he still went on. Now, he returned to this black city, to claim what honour he deserved. And to have some fun. Then Northlands were a dull place.

The machine took his first footstep back into the city, and he felt a strangely NON-mechanic feeling pass through him. He would almost have said it was foreboding, but he didn't believe in such things. It was human foolishness.

Seph X shrugged and went on, unaware of the eyes tracing him.

The green eyes, which blazed with magical energy.

"Seoh X, The man of krotonite. You might be useful to me later."