Final Trinity is coming. I still don't own FF.

Chapter Fourty

Madness

The helicopters, red lights flashing along their flanks to indicate pursuit, flew over the lines of Rufus' army, landing inside the encampment, a soldier from each hopping out. Rufus tried to keep himself from trembling, more from anticipation than anything else. He'd been frustrated the past few days, an internal battle being waged within him, Shinra versus Cetra, with Rufus himself in the middle. He needed this fight, against whatever it may be, and he needed it now. He almost drew his shotgun and charged over the cars surrounded the permiter of his camp right then, just to find whatever threat awaited him and overcome it. Almost.

"What do you have to report?" he said calmly as his men came close.

One of the men stepped forward, ahead of the others and answered, "A large force. Roughly ten thousand strong, all armed with primitive weaponry."

Ten thousand? No one had an army that large! The entire might of Shinra in its full glory had only had half that! "Wutai?" Rufus asked, sounding dubious.

"Negative, sir," the man said. "They're not flying Wutaian colours."

"Disguised, perhaps?" the President mused.

"Doubtful. The Wutaian army has a very strong sense of honour and propriety. They have certain rules in warefare, one of them being to always signify what House they bear arms for. Their are no such standards or flags indicating this."

"Anything else?"

"They all appear to be albinos, sir."

Rufus stood up straight, his eyes widening as he heard the words and let them wash over him. He'd had dreams of these albinos, one where they infected the world and took everything, his future empire included. These were the destroyers of his dreams, he realized. Two words came unbidden to his lips, but he knew not from where. "Tali Hishna."

"What did you say?" Aeris asked.

Shaking his head, he shrugged. "I'm not certain. My head is spinning. I can't seem to think. Tali Hishna, I believe. Does it have any significance for you?"

"A little," Aeris said. "My mother used to tell me stories about them. They're the Cetra equivalent of the Bogey Man. I don't remember much. I thought they were just make believe."

"They were the Cetra's enemies then?" Rufus questioned, intent.

"Yes," she answered. "I think so anyway. I remember my mother telling me to watch out for the 'Children of the Enemy.'"

"The 'Enemy' being Jenova?" he asked, musing over it.

"It could be. It would make sense. Maybe they're Cetra that were infected by Jenova? I never really thought about it much. When I was a child, the stories scared me. As I grew older, though, I left the stories behind with all my other childhood toys."

Rufus nodded, wondering about this enemy. His dreams had warned against them, said that they were a threat, a very real one. The answer then was simple. To the pilots, he said, "Prepare the search lights for your helicopters, and spread the word to prepare for an enemy attack."

Men scrambled about the camp, and Rufus watched it all, a cold smile spreading across his face. No one challenged Shinra. No one.

He brought himself up short when he saw the look on Aeris' face. It looked more worried than anything, and he thought to himself, Why does she look at me like that?

And then he realized, understanding the answer. She pities me.

Why would she pity him, the President of the most powerful organization of the planet? He was intelligent, strong, an excellent general and a good warrior. Why did she pity him? How could she have the nerve to pity him?

Because you are your father's son, came a taunting voice, and Rufus nearly howled in frustration. It was true. Rufus hated that part of himself, but could do little to combat it. It was who he was, and no amount of Cetra DNA could contain it.

He turned from her then, walking away and heading towards the frontlines. Anger was boiling in his blood, and he had to resolve it, had to take it out on something. The incoming enemy would work nicely. But even as he drew his shotgun and double checked to make sure it was loaded, Aeris came up next to him, Princess Guard in her hands. She didn't brandish it so much like a weapon, but more as some sort of magical talisman. Rufus absently wondered if it was.

He said nothing to her, just nodded, and waited.

It didn't take the enemy long to arrive. They poured down the ravine, coming directly at his army, a howling mass of berserker warriors. Instantly a barrage of missiles met them, sent by a series of rocket launchers from the front lines. The enemy centre was devastated, but with amazing efficiency, they closed ranks quickly, filling in the gap.

Rufus smiled. They weren't familiar with modern combat, whoever these people were. The best move to do would be to scatter, give fewer targets. Well, they would learn. The hard way of course, but they would learn.

Machine guns began to blaze as the enemy got closer, and the entire front rank of enemies turned to ash as they were struck. This unnerved the Shinra soldiers, but still they continued to fire. Rufus frowned. He hadn't been expecting them to do that. It gave them a slight advantage. They'd be able to keep charging forward without fear of tripping over the dead bodies of their comrades. Well, he'd have to rectify that.

"Aim for the legs!" he shouted.

Half the soldiers switched their aim lower, blasting away at the lower half of the enemies. Wounded, they fell to the ground, tripping the ranks behind them. Unused to having to deal with such obstacles, the Tali Hishna faltered, their charge losing its momentum.

But still they came on.

"Swordsmen, get ready!"

Members of Soldier, survivors of Jenova's mind control and subsequent war with Avalanche in the ruins of Midgar, stepped forward, all wielding Buster swords.

"Cease fire!" Rufus cried, followed by, "Charge!"

The Soldiers only numbered roughly two hundred, but these were battle-hardened men, trained in the most brutal lessons of war, and subjected to a number of Mako enhancements allowing them no equal in combat. Rufus charged with them, shotgun in one hand, Murasame now openly brandished in the other. To his side was Aeris. He hadn't expected her to follow him directly into combat, and smiled as she did. Perhaps not as violent as her other female Avalanche counterparts, she was still something of a warrior, and would not be left out.

The Soldiers charged directly into the face of the enemy, heedless of danger. As one, their massive swords struck out, cutting down all in their path. The narrow ravine allowed the Soldiers to fight the army many times their own size with great efficiency, the Tali Hishna unable to flank their opponents, and only able to attack with a small portion of their force.

Rufus was at the forefront, Aeris guarding his back. Murasame was used to parry any attacks that came his way, while his shotgun would blast out, killing albinos with deadly efficiency. Occasionally he allowed his own swordplay to do the fighting instead of the long-ranged weapon, but not often. All the while, Aeris made sure no enemies came at him from behind.

The battle raged for almost twenty minutes before Rufus backed up, putting his shotgun away and retrieving a radio from his pocket. He fought on with his sword, even while shouting orders into the radio.

"Get those two helicopters out here! We need some cover fire from the air, and be sure to use the spotlights! But don't shoot whoever you shine the light on!"

Somewhere inside he knew the light would hurt them, panic the enemy into a retreat. Moments later, as the helicopters flew overhead, shining their search lights down on the enemy, a collective gasp arose from the Tali Hishna, and they began to scramble away from that awful light, some even ducking down and covering their heads. At that moment, it was a simple matter for the Soldiers to cut down the enemy in their path, forcing the Tali Hishna into a retreat.

And as they did, Rufus raised his sword and gave a primal scream, yelling his defiance at them. "I am Shinra! You cannot defeat me!"

And all the while, Aeris watched him with pity in her eyes.