Author's Note:

Sorry about the delay. May 2-4 weekend. Queen Vic Day and all. That, and I was feeling pretty unmotivated to write at all. A friend lending you Knights of the Old Republic I and II will do that to you, heh. I don't own Final Fantasy. Final Trinity is coming. Congratulations on whoever "Jessia" is for making an account on the message board. Shame on the rest of you for slacking off. : Þ

Chapter Sixty Three

Enemy From Below

Cloud stood patiently at the front of the remainder of the Cosmo Canyon-Corel-Gold Saucer army. They had made amazingly good time for a ragtag group of soldiers, most of them with no formal military training. They'd manage to stay in formation, and allow no one to fall behind. These were hardened men. All sides of the army had lost something, and while this coming battle would not bring back the glories of the past, it would ensure it would never happen again.

"The hell's takin' him so damn long?" Barret grumbled, pacing with an air of frustration along the front lines.

Cloud smiled. While he represented the calm, disciplined soldier that the army was now beginning to look up to, Barret was the righteous fury that symbolized the smiting the Tali Hishna were about to receive.

"Red is probably scouting the entire around Corel, covering all the bases."

Barret snorted. "It don't take that long. When last time we was in there, we were in an' out in no time at all. I'm worried. I say we go in there an' kick some damn ass!"

"You would," Cloud said ruefully. "But you're right. Red might be in some trouble. A part of me wants to go in there and make sure he's safe, and commit our entire force just to be sure. Another part of me wants to go ahead just by myself, so I won't lead the army into a trap accidentally. But I'm not sure. One way says too much force, the other not enough."

"The hell frogs you been lickin', Spike? You an army jes' by ye'self. But I know what you're getting at. I say we go in there with everythin'. If they found Red out, then they know we're here. An' if Red's all right, he'll catch up to us before we get too close."

Cloud nodded, his resolve firming. It was decided. In moments, the orders were given, and the troops rallied into position. The march started up across the endless plain into the valley of Corel.

Just as they entered the valley, a red figure came charging towards them. Recognizing their companion, Cloud ordered the army to slow, but not to stop.

"We must hurry!" Red XIII announced as he closed the distance between himself and Cloud.

"What's happening?" the Soldier asked.

"Corel is still abandoned, but the reactor is not! That's why neither Barret nor myself saw the Tali Hishna the last time we were here. We did not investigate the reactor. We must get there quickly!"

"Why?"

"Something is happening at the reactor. An odd glow. It does not bode well. But more so, an army from the north is attacking the Tali Hishna. They're faring well, but they need assistance."

"Who is it?"

"They're Wutaian soldiers, reinforced with artillery units from Rocket Town. I don't know what they're doing here, but-"

"I don't care why they're here!" Barret interrupted, "So long as they are! C'mon, Spike, let's go!"

Cloud's army, bolstered by news of reinforcements, pushed on until they reached the reactor, and saw the makings of a true battle. Men bedecked in armour that belonged to an era past, an era without Shinra, exchanged blows with white-clad albinos. Concentrated battle calm was met by unwavering zeal. On one end, the Wutaian ranks were assaulted with attacks regulating between fire, ice and lightning. On the other, the Tali Hishna were driven back with mortar shells fired from cannons that only the engineers of Rocket Town could produce.

"What's the order?" Barret asked.

"Me, you and Red XIII are going to locate the Yenta Pree and kill him."

"And what of us?" someone from the army asked.

Cloud smiled, then drew his sword and raised it overhead. "Charge!"

As one the army charged ahead, Barret and Red XIII flanking Cloud, the rest of the troops surging behind the three leaders. A war cry erupted from the mouths of everyone who moved, whether a simple statement of 'For Corel!', 'Gold Saucer!', shouts of defiance or an ancient Cosmo Canyon battle hymn or an unintelligible scream, everyone made some sort of noise as the ranks of the army of Corel, Gold Saucer and Cosmo Canyon crashed into the army of the Tali Hishna.

Assaulted on two flanks, the White Scourge was thoroughly decimated. Cloud took no time to fully assess the damage the enemy was receiving, but instead swung his sword in massive arcs, cutting opponents down before they even had the chance to protect themselves. He hacked down enemies three or sometimes even four at a time, clearing an awesome path. Barret fired indiscriminately into the flanks of the path Cloud opened up, and Red XIII brought down any stragglers that dared attempt attack the vulnerable Barret or Cloud, the two caught up in such a battle frenzy they paid no heed at all to their own defence.

The three ploughed through the enemy army as any farmer would a field of wheat.

They left their own troops behind and moved ahead, breaking through the enemy lines and towards the reactor. A token force of fifteen Tali Hishna stood at the gates of the reactor. A barrage of bullets from Barret's gun-arm later left fifteen small piles of ash. The three ran inside, not bothering to look back or reassure themselves that their army would do well without them.

Once inside, Barret let out a whistle, and Cloud gave a small nod. The entire facility hummed with power.

"Curious that they managed to get the reactor not only functional, but exceeding a normal reactor's power outputs," Red XIII stated, striding down the corridor while seemingly listening to something.

"What makes you say that?" Barret asked as he followed.

"The hum. A normal reactor does not make noise like this. It is producing more power than it should be. I would have thought that a technologically backwards race like the Tali Hishna wouldn't know the first thing about operating a Mako reactor."

Cloud said, "It's not that difficult to explain. The Tali Hishna have probably been watching us for some time. They set me up to help kill Jenova. They obviously planned all this in advance. So they probably spied on Shinra and figured out how to work their reactors before they made their first move."

Red XIII nodded. "That would make sense. Your hypothesis is astute, and more than likely correct. Still, it makes me wonder why they would need a reactor in the first place?"

"Not one," Cloud corrected. "Three. They're trying to get control of three reactors."

"Hmm… three reactors. And you said there were three Yenta Pree?"

"Yes, that's what Cid… no, that's what the Yenta Pree told me. I'm not sure how reliable that information is."

"The best lies are often filled with enough truth to make them seem real," the feline said. "More than likely he was speaking the truth about their numbers. I do not believe the number between reactors and Yenta Pree a coincidence."

"What do you think they're doing?" Cloud asked.

"Remember Sephiroth's plans with Meteor?"

"Yeah," Barret said. "Who'd forget? Smash the shit outta the world with a big chunk o' rock from space."

"That was only a means to an end," Red XIII corrected. "Sephiroth anticipated the Planet to gather spirit energy from the Lifestream to heal the wound cause by Meteor. From there, he would gather the spirit energy into himself and absorb its power, thus becoming something akin to a god."

Cloud scratched his chin with thought. "So you think, what? The Yenta Pree are attempting to optimize reactors to gather large amount of Mako into one spot so they can absorb it and become more gods themselves?"

"Not gods. They're not powerful enough for that, and there's not nearly enough spirit energy. But I would estimate that there's enough power here to amplify them perhaps… ten fold? Maybe twenty? Definitely not gods, but still incredibly powerful. I shudder to think at it."

"Then we'd better hurry," Cloud said.

"Damn straight," Barret echoed.

But even as their determination and resolve deepened and they began to move forward with new purpose, the lights began to flicker. Barret swore, and Cloud shouted, "Hurry!"

The three bolted down the corridors. As the lights flickered, a pair of Tali Hishna walked down from side paths. Red dove threw the air and brought one down, tearing immediately at its throat as Cloud swung Ultima Weapon and split the other neatly in half.

Barret grunted. "Don't even know why these sons of bitches even try to stop us."

"They don't! They seek to delay us!" the protector of Cosmo Canyon cried, and even as he did, the lights went out entirely.

The three moved on, heading towards the main reactor. Cloud and Red XIII ignored stairways entirely, vaulting down them with superhuman speed. Barret puffed in the background as he was forced to run the stairs, not nearly as athletic or inhuman as his two companions.

When they reached the main walkway to the reactor, Cloud stopped, looking about, a buzzing feeling in his head. "Stop."

Red XIII skidded to a halt, and Barret finally caught up to the two, wheezing and placing his good hand on his knee, bent over and trying to catch his breath. The man looked grateful for the rest.

"What is it?" Red asked.

Cloud looked at the path ahead and frowned. "The Yenta Pree is not in there."

"Where's it at then?" Barret asked, almost sounding offended about the fact that his enemy wasn't where he should be.

"I'm not sure, but… he's… he's below us." Cloud looked over the walkway below, down to the Mako pool beneath them which glowed with an eerie white light. He shuddered as he remembered the last time he'd fought a battle in a place nearly identical to this. Sephiroth's sword in his guts, Zack and Tifa nearly dead in a room not twenty feet from him.

"Below us?" Barret ask. "Easy way to fix that, then. Like shootin' fish in a damn barrel."

Barret leaned over the walkway and pointed his gun-arm down, then opened fire. The song of violence rang out, the shots ripping through the Mako and below. After a moment, Barret fiddled with the attachment of his gun-arm, and the bullets ceased, only to be followed up by rocket-like shells. After a few moments, the large man stopped completely and smiled triumphantly.

"Well, that was easy. Li'l shit didn't even put up a fi-"

"Did you really think it would be that easy to kill us?" a voice echoed throughout the room.

Barret swore, and Cloud felt a battle calm settle over him. He peered over the edge and saw a figure emerging from the Mako, a white force field surrounding it.

"We are Veishan," the voice said. "We are the Yenta Pree. We are death."