Just as it lay in the blanket of blazing hot sand, another disturbance roused it from its comfortable position, as sand began to swirl and shoot up in every direction. This rude interruption is complemented by the sound of whizzing metallic blades.
A black huey barely touched its skids on the ground when four of its anxious occupants, armed with large rifles, jumped down. The four took their positions by the sides of the chopper, and knelt down, actively scanning the area for any threats and observers.
Once they found the area to be clear, one of the soldiers raised an arm and motioned to his three companions to proceed. The four stood and hastily ran over to the once proud mound of sand.
The wind from the chopper's blades blew away some of the sand from the mound, revealing parts of a twisted wreckage. On the revealed metal was a scorched painting of an Avalanche logo.
The four men guarded the area while two other men, freshly disembarked from the chopper, hurried towards the unearthed heap and shoveled the sand off the wreck.
One of the shovelers was taken back when the sand began to move. He stopped his work and watched. 'What's this?' His abrupt discontinuation of his work forced one of the soldiers to come over and check the problem.
"What's going on, why are you not working?" he asked.
"Something's moving in the sand." the worker pointed.
"That's impossible; no one can survive this crash."
"Impossibility is but an extremely difficult possibility."
The two were taken aback when a gloved hand popped out of the sand. It was scorched, and the glove was torn, revealing some of the fingers. The soldier yelled, "Captain, someone's alive here!"
One of the soldiers rushed towards them. When he saw the gloved hand, he pushed the worker, "Get the sand off him!" He pointed at his subordinate, "You, help him!"
The soldier replied by holstering his rifle behind him and rushing to help. He knelt down beside the worker, finding something he could use. He eventually gave up when he found nothing and used his helmet to scoop the sand away.
Finally, they unearthed the buried man. He wore some sort of clothing for pilots. His helmet was still on, a shattered visor hanging loosely over one of its screws. Half of his body was hanging off the edge of the wrecked cockpit. The pilot coughed up some sand and tried to focus his eyes on the men that seem to have saved his life. Despite the blur in his eyes, he could make out black figures standing over him. He could not see their faces for they were covered with black masks. One of the figures approached him and knelt down.
The soldier studied the dazed pilot before speaking, "Where does your plane store the surveillance data?"
The pilot sensed trouble in the soldier's tone and didn't answer. Even if he did, he could not tell them because they were unable to take pictures anyway. However, there were other more 'classified' data stored in there with them and he felt these men to be untrustworthy.
"Can't talk eh? That's too bad... Let's keep it that way, shall we?"
The pilot watched as the soldier, who was blocking his view, stood and stepped aside. As soon as the figure left his view, another figure was revealed, pointing his rifle at him. The man shook his head slowly, with forced pity, uttering a "tsk, tsk, tsk."
Then, a burst of fire, followed by a deafening noise. Blood splattered on the Avalanche logo, bathing it.
With smoke spewing from the nozzle, the soldier put his rifle down. "What now, Captain?"
"I want every inch, every nook and cranny of this plane and the area searched. Get all surveillance data this plane holds. No one's leaving without the data."
"Sir do you think the others have the data from the other plane?"
"The other plane was blown off the sky. Its data could be in bits and pieces by now but, we can never be sure. We are lucky that this plane is somewhat intact; makes it easier for us. Now move it."
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There was a knock.
"Come in!"
The door opened and a woman holding pieces of paper came in, "Commander, these are reports from Fort Condor. They are pretty urgent."
Reeve sighed, "More papers, more work. Put them on my desk, I'll look at them in a moment."
The woman obeyed and left the room.
Reeve picked up the papers on his desk. He read the first one and flung it at the two men sitting in front of him. "More attacks, gentlemen."
The man wearing a green gala uniform leaned forward and read the paper. "Bomb attack destroyed the armory in Fort Condor military base."
Another piece of paper slid on the table towards them. The navy blue-clad man stopped the paper in his hand and read it. "We lost four more military convoys."
"Here's one." Reeve spoke. He closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them and began to read, "this came from Fort Condor airbase. Sent two fighter planes on routine surveillance mission. Lost contact with them an hour ago. Presumably shot down."
"This is all too sudden. We are threatened with a large number of unprovoked attacks." General Salve spoke.
"The civilian populace are cowering in fear! They may begin to question the integrity of our military's capabilities, commander!" Karl added.
Reeve sighed, placing an arm on the desk and rested his forehead on his hand. He began to massage it with his fingers. "I want an investigation underway. If our units come under attack, I want a combat-ready reserve to back them up immediately."
"Investigations have already started, commander."
"If possible, capture any of them. Let's squeeze out some info from them. Then, we put them down- permanently."
"What should be our status?" The navy-blue clad general asked.
"We're yellow. Put up yellow alert in all military installations."
They nodded.
"We need to end this. Eventually, our resources will be drained."
"We can always put the rest of our resources to the rebuilding of this planet." the Admiral spoke.
Reeve nodded in approval, "Yes. That's a sound idea. But unfortunately, backing down our military will make the people susceptible to attacks, and I can't risk that. Now, if there are no more questions, or serious matters to discuss, you are dismissed."
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The chopper landed with a thud. Four soldiers jumped out as the rotors slowed down to a stop. Unlike those who set up tactical positions around the machine, these men simply crouched low to avoid the whipping of the wind on their faces, then helping the two VIP's down.
Actually, helping just one VIP. The spiky-haired VIP remarked, "That was a great ride." and he walked away with wobbly legs.
The other red-cloaked VIP helped keep his friend's balance, "Excuse the landing; The pilot's a rookie."
"Good thing Cid wasn't with us. That pilot would've gotten such a beating." Cloud spoke. "And Yuffie will definitely throw up, if she was here as well."
"Now I heard my name somewhere along the lines." came a perky voice from behind. "Who said that?"
Cloud turned. His mouth slightly opened at the newcomer in front of him.
"Heya Cloud! Long time no see!" the teen grinned.
"Yuffie was invited by Reeve to visit the outpost." Vincent answered his friend's puzzled look.
"Ya. I must say, this place is kinda neat!"
Cloud snapped out of it, "How have you been Yuffie?"
"Everything's fine with me." she smiled, "How are YOU and you know WHO?"
Cloud looked clueless.
"Y'know, this certain COMRADE?" she grinned.
Vincent understood who she was talking about but did not show it.
Cloud frowned, "H-Ha?"
"Never mind. Hey! Good thing you guys came! Some of the soldiers found some anti-personnel and anti-tank landmines on one of their trips. They plan to blow 'em up so that they can't be used again." She placed her palms together, "Isn't this gonna be fun? C'mon, let's go there!"
"Where are they going to blow the mines?" Vincent asked, not sharing in the delight of the young girl.
"We might find something useful on those mines." Cloud added. "Show us Yuffie, before they blow them up."
The perky young teen jumped to her feet and ran, "Alrightiee, follow me!"
The two didn't waste a moment and pursued the girl.
Somehow, Cloud found the time to behold the sight around him. The place looks more like a well-developed neighborhood than a military installation. He could see soldiers left and right. He watched as a small group of tanks passed by them. Some of the soldiers on the streets hopped onto the tanks for a free ride to their destination.
Army trucks and vehicles littered the roads like traffic and soldiers infested the sidewalks like pedestrians.
They rounded a corner and Cloud was surprised by the sudden change of atmosphere. This time, there were normal citizens walking around the place. Cars were not military vehicles and they were driven by citizens.
Military policemen patrolled the streets by pairs. They even passed by a group of them buying in a donut stand. 'This must be the lodging area' Cloud thought.
Eventually, they were away from the hustle and bustle of the 'city', and coming to a secluded area. They slowed down to a walk as soon as they saw wooden roadblocks in the middle of the road and four military policemen guarding them. They stood in attention as the three passed through.
They continued walking, not minding the fatigue until they saw a van parking on the side of the road. Two men, covered in heavy pads, came out from the back and began to walk towards a group of hills were a group of soldiers were.
Vincent and Cloud identified an officer and rushed to him. Yuffie followed closely behind.
Cloud spoke as they approached, "Excuse me. I've heard that you have the retrieved mines here."
The officer replied, "Yes sir. You heard correctly."
"Are the mines still intact?"
"Yeah. You want to see them?"
"We need to see them."
"You came just in time. The boys just finished putting them in place." The officer signalled to one of the men, getting his attention. When the man turned to face him, the officer raised his hand to make a slicing gesture on his neck. The man nodded and briskly waved his right hand vertically at the others.
The officer started to walk towards the hill. The three followed beside him. "It's a good thing you came though. The mines seem far too advanced to be home made. And there is something you need to see." Soldiers stood aside as the group walked pass them. Some of them rested their chins on their shovels. The group finally arrived at the edge of a six foot hole.
The officer pointed at the group of peculiar devices in the hole. They were neatly and carefully placed beside each other. "Look."
Vincent dropped down to get a closer look.
"Be careful sir, even if our bomb squad successfully disarmed them, we never can tell."
Vincent did not reply. His eyes widened.
"What do you see Vince?" Yuffie asked.
"I see trouble."
"What is it?" Cloud dropped down. Yuffie was about to follow when Cloud stopped her. She frowned.
"Check out the serial number and the design." Vincent pointed.
The blonde peered over to the side of the mines. Its casing seemed clean and polished, despite its exposure to the ground. They definitely do not look home made. But there was something that disturbed him; Something very familiar on its design.
As soon as he realized it, Cloud gasped, "These were... Made by Shinra?"
"Shinra?" Yuffie asked, baffled.
"Probably they were stolen from the armory." Cloud assumed.
"Shinra's been a great help in the rebuilding of the world, making them Avalanche-positive. And since they've been weakened by the last battle, some fanatics can easily steal their stuff. They can't be the ones responsible." Yuffie said.
Vincent looked at her then back at the mines.
Cloud took out a piece of paper and fumbled in his pocket for a writing tool. The officer sensed his need and handed him a black pen. Cloud smiled and began to copy the serial numbers and the type of the mines before he climbed out of the hole. Vincent followed Cloud out of the hole and pulled Yuffie away to safety.
"You may resume, lieutenant. Do what must be done." Vincent spoke.
The officer nodded and motioned for his men to continue. The three watched as one of the heavily padded bomb squad members stepped forward and placed a small, remote explosive in the hole.
After he climbed out of the hole, the remaining soldiers covered the hole with soil, burying the explosives in it. The officer ordered his men to go back to the van. Cloud, Vincent and Yuffie followed. As they began their short trek down to the hill, the heavily padded man positioned all the explosives together.
The bomb squad member climbed out of the hole and waited until everyone was safely taking cover behind the van before he adjusted the time on his remote to five minutes and pushed the button.
Back at the van, they all heard a yell, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
The officer echoed, "EVERYONE! FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
Moments later, a heavily padded figure came stumbling out of the bushes and down from the hill, running towards them.
"KEEP YOUR HEADS DOWN!"
Vincent pushed Yuffie's head down, receiving a grunt in response to this action.
As the bomb squad member neared the van, a large, deafening explosion was heard. It caused the ground to lightly shake. Over the hill, soil flew a hundred meters into the air before raining back down.
Everyone was silent.
Yuffie began to stand up when the officer stopped her, yet again. He spoke, "We're not yet cleared to go there."
They stood, watching as members of the bomb squad rushed to the hill.
Cloud took out his PHS, "I'm informing Reeve of our discovery."
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At the entrance, a red car stopped at the gates. Its trunk opened and a military policeman went to the back to inspect the contents. It was a shabby old car with an empty, shabby, old trunk. Seeing no illegal materials in it, the policeman shut the trunk.
The other policeman, on the other hand, held a mirror which was attached to a long pole, under the vehicle and scanned its underside. When he found nothing, he walked to the tinted driver's side window.
Slowly, the window rolled down, revealing a middle-aged man wearing a hat and darkened shades which covered his eyes. The man smiled at the policeman.
The policeman smiled back and asked, "Where are you headed to?"
"Oh, I'm trying to find a place to spend the night. I've been travelling for hours now and I was afraid that this car might break down in the middle of nowhere."
"Ah, you've come to the right place." the guard spoke. He held out a brochure of the outpost and a map to the man. "Here is the map around Raven and the brochure has the list of all the facilities in this place. Please, enjoy your stay." the guard then stood aside to let the vehicle pass.
"Thank you very much," the man said, putting the brochure and map on the empty seat beside him. "I'm very sure I will." and he drove off.
The car made a left on the second block. The man drove casually, just like the other cars. He traversed his vehicle through the many twists and turns of the settlement until he realized that he was far from the lodging area.
He rounded a corner into a minute alley. It was large enough to accomodate his vehicle yet small enough to be unnoticeable. Even with his dark sunglasses on, the sun's glare was relentless, forcing him to pull the sun visor down. At the end of the alley, he stopped and check for any vehicles passing by through the road.
When it was clear, he turned left and made a right at the second block. As he drove, his eyes scanned for a certain building. It was a point of interest and he must get there quickly and do his business.
But with all the military buildings around him, he could not tell which one's which; they all look alike. "It is an old warehouse..." he mumbled, recalling what was told to him earlier morning.
Finally, he found it. One block away from him, on his right, was the warehouse. It was pretty large, and soldiers walked around it. "Yep, that is it." He recalled the description given to him: it had a flight of metal stairs on one side, with a dumpster beside it. The building was painted green, with the acronym A.A.F. which means, Avalanche armed forces written on top. He could faintly see all of those things from where he is. "No doubt about it."
As he crossed the intersection, a pickup truck screeched towards him from the right. It swerved left, in an attempt to avoid the old, red, car. Unfortunately, it partly succeeded in doing so. Its metal bumper guard clipped the rear right fender of the red car, causing it to uncontrollably swerve to the right.
The car inevitable smashed into the warehouse with metal-crunching force, creating a hole and entering the building uninvited. A large crate stopped it from entering further.
Immediately, soldiers rushed into the scene. First, they checked the crates for any damage before they went over to the car to check the victim.
Miraculously, the dazed man kicked the door open and crawled out of his totalled car. Some of the soldiers came to help him walk out until the pickup driver came running towards them. "I'm so sorry, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I guess so, just a little dazed. You know that you're going to pay for the damage to my car. I haven't paid the insurance company its due."
"I will, don't worry. But first, let me get you to a hospital." The pickup driver took the man by his arm and helped him to the truck. He then turned to one of the soldiers, "Do you know where the nearest hospital is?"
"Well, there are no civilian hospitals around here..." the soldier replied, "but there is a military hospital just around the corner if you need."
The pickup driver put the man on the passenger's seat of his truck and closed the door. "Thanks, but I think it would be better if this guy goes to a civilian hospital."
"Alright then, be careful next time. You could've killed somebody."
"It will never happen again." he replied, before entering his truck and driving off.
In the truck, the passenger took off his shades and hat, "You were just in time."
"Always was. Brought enough?"
"More than enough."
"Good. Now let's get outta here." the truck driver pulled a thick sheet of blanket from under the seat and tossed it to his passenger. "Here, cover yourself with this."
The man obeyed and covered himself up, only exposing his eyes and hair. He then leaned his head back and watched as the truck followed two other cars. "Hey, there's an exit just nearby."
"Unless you want to draw attention by being the only civilian vehicle that came from a suspicious accident and leaving through an exit that is rarely used by civilians, then, by all means. We go along with the others who are leaving." the driver blurted out.
"You know, you could've been more gentle."
"Sorry. This truck's pretty large."
After a short drive, the driver spoke, "We're near. Don't look too suspicious to the guards."
The passenger nodded and made sure that he was covered properly. Then he closed his eyes.
As they arrived at the gate, the guard saluted cooly, "Hope you enjoyed your stay."
The driver smiled and returned the gesture. When they left, he spoke, "Do it now."
Back at the site, a soldier fixed the chain under the chasis of the old, red, car, making sure that it held firmly in place. The chain was then attached to a tow truck.
As the men fixed the chains, a soldier stood guard. At the corner of his eye, he noticed a faint, green glow inside the car. Out of curiosity, he walked through the wreckage and peered into the window. He scanned around for the source of the glow and found it under the driver's seat.
He reached in and tried to feel the object under the seat. When his hand was firmly grasped around its smooth edges, he pulled it out. It was a strange device, with a green light that blinked. His eyebrows narrowed when an all too familiar design caught his eye.
He gasped when he realized what it was and almost immediately, the blinking green light stopped blinking and turned red.
And then, everything turned fiery hot.
Back at the truck, the two men watched behind them as a colossal pillar of black smoke rose from the horizon.
Everything was in commotion. People scrambled everywhere in panic and fear, and the choking fumes of the thick, black smoke made the place look like an erupted volcano.
There were yelling, running, crashing and screaming almost everywhere you look. Noon turned to night as the smoke spread through the atmosphere.
And peace was smiling.
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Miles away, a plate crashed onto the floor, shattering both itself and the anxiety of those who were expecting a certain person to come back.
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