Chapter 3: Sea of Flames

January 21, 0010 - Three years since Meteorfall.

Vincent opened his eyes. Before him was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her eyes were closed, her hands clasped in front of her chest as if she were praying. She wore a wispy white dress, her face framed by her long chestnut brown hair. Whether she was alive or dead was as much a mystery to him as it had been when he and Cloud had first found this place, when she had asked him if her son was still alive...

"So..." Vincent murmured "We meet again... Lucrecia..."

"Vincent..." a distant echo of the woman's voice reached his ears, trying desperately to tell him something, "I'm...so...sorry."

"Why?", Vincent asked, as the light in the cave went out.

Just as she had done last time, and the time before that, and just as she had always done; she was asking for his forgiveness. Because he could not comprehend the reason, Vincent could only ask her 'why?'

"I'm the one... who should apologize." said Vincent, as he awoke from his doze.

It was sundown over Midgar. Cloud stood in the middle of Aerith's church. He had come to retrieve the last of his belongings. The last of the pilgrims had left three days earlier, but Cloud had stayed the extra couple of days to make sure. Now he was finally ready to move back into the Seventh Heaven.

At that moment though, he stood motionless at the edge of the pool, listening. Listening to the most chilling sound imaginable. It always started around this time, for the last couple of weeks since the first night, and even in this church it was just as terrifying. What Cloud heard was the sound of despair, and pain given flight on the winds that traveled through the ruins of Midgar and into the city of Edge. This was the sound that kept the the children awake at night. This sound scared all the dogs silent. It was the sound that had driven the people away from Sector Five. This sound, this unholy chorus, surely came from the depths of hell itself.

It echoed off the fallen debris of the once tall buildings. It was so loud and so clear that at times, Cloud felt that he could pick out individual voices that would cry out in terror only to be silenced, with many more to take it's place. Any moment now, Cloud feared that he would hear the voices of Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene join them.

Tonight was the worst it had been yet. Tonight the sound was so much more. . . potent, as if they had been hearing the wailing through a closed door all this time, a door that had just been opened.

Suddenly, Cloud tensed up, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He had a feeling that he was been watched. . .

Tifa sat on one of her bar stools watching the news. The kids had been put to bed, though undoubtedly still awake. It had started with the disappearance of those thirty-three people in Junon. Just thirty-three people gone without a trace, as if they had just got up and left without a warning. Soon after that, that noise began to trickle out of Midgar. The WRO sent a team to investigate this three weeks ago. . .

She told herself that it was only the wind. She could even not convince herself of this though, let alone others. Neither could she fathom how Cloud was putting up with it, as he was still sleeping in the slums. But business at the bar was booming lately, so she supposed that was a plus.

Even so, between the worry and the insomnia, Tifa was getting more and more jumpy by the day. It was so bad that even the echo of her own footsteps made her nervous. It was as if some unseen malevolent presence were just a step behind wherever she went, waiting to catch her unawares, and slit her throat. . .

It wasn't just this that had her nervous tonight though. Cloud was moving back in, and she would be at the door to greet him. She had no idea what they would do then. Tifa could not have been happier that Cloud was himself again, and she was so proud of him for the work he had done over the past year.

But anytime they were in the same room, just the two of them, both would be at a loss for words. There was an elephant in the room, a bridge that needed to crossed. The only question was if that bridge had been burned. It didn't help that he had been on edge just as much as she was.

All he did these days was prowl about Edge. Every night, before he returned to the slums, he'd drop off a shopping bag full of Potions, Hi-Potions, and Ethers, or another deadbolt lock for the front door (they were up to lucky number seven tonight). He had even dropped off the chest of all their old Materia, leftover from the Jenova war, that had since been locked up in Aerith's church. Surely, with him still at the church, there was little concern of them being taken? When she asked what those were for he had simply grunted and said:

"Just to be safe. . . "

Suddenly a loud roaring noise cut through her thoughts. Hurrying to the door, she peered around the edge of a window. There was a vehicle parked a car-length from the front door. The bright glare of a head-light made it difficult to make out any details. On any other night, she would have opened the door with no hesitation, as she knew the sound of those engines as well as their owner, but any noise on a night like this sounded alien and untrustworthy. She hesitated with her hand on the knob. As she looked on, a shadowy figure slid off the bike and slumped towards the door. Though still in silhouette, as soon as his hair caught the light, there was no doubt as to who it was...

Tifa hastily undid all the locks and wretched open the door and ran out to Cloud just in time for him to semi-collapse into her arms. She called his name, and watched in horror as a small trickle of blood made its way down the side of his face.

Gathering himself, Cloud looked her in the eye. What scared Tifa more than the blood was the absolute panic in his eyes as he hoarsely said,

"Get the kids, we're getting out of here, right now!"

Kalm was no longer the quiet little village it had been during the Jenova war. After the WRO restored order to the region, many of the refugees from Midgar had come here seeking shelter, and the residents of Kalm had graciously accepted them in. Kalm's population tripled overnight. Multiple families shared single homes. New buildings had to be thrown together just so everyone would have a place to sleep.

To earn their keep, the refugees helped to repair the damage done by the storms caused by Meteor, which had affected places as far away as Kalm. When that was done, they took up shovels and hoes and helped work the farmland surrounding Kalm. Kalm's population had been small enough that every season saw a surplus of crops. That would normally be sold to help maintain the town. That extra food went very quickly, but with the extra hands, the fields grew nearly four times in one season. The grounds around Kalm had been blasted by lifestream energy when it erupted to stop Meteor, resulting in the soil becoming extremely fertile. The fields stretched far to the south, farm holds had to be built. For the first time in generations, the Chocobo Farm had close neighbors!

Goods were brought to Midgar to help with relief efforts, even then, there was still extra. Goods were sold abroad, bringing in a larger income than Kalm had ever seen. Mayor Domino, who had escaped Midgar, helped to handle the finances; thrilled to be able to do 'actual work', as he put it. Kalm was able to hire people from North Corel to make a road around the Zolem Marshes, allowing renewed access to the Mythril Mines. With mythril so easily available, Kalm experienced an economic boom beyond anyone's wildest dreams. The mythril was sold abroad, to Wutai and Rockettown, or traded with Corel. When the reserve Mako energy began to run out, Kalm was able to make the switch to more environmentally friendly fuels, like oil and coal, more easily than anyone could have hoped for.

In a very short amount of time, Kalm had grown into a small city, as big as three of Midgar's sectors. Eventually, some of the of the Midgar refugees left. Either to help in the building of Edge, to rebuild their own homes, or to parts elsewhere. But the rest stayed in Kalm, with new friends and family.

Three full years since Meteor was destroyed, people filled the brightly lit streets. Fireworks illuminated the sky with colorful explosions. A festival was being held to celebrate Kalm being bigger and more prosperous than it had ever been. Posters and banners depicted blown up images of the old town, group pictures of townsfolk and refugees of Midgar, and of Meteor itself. Although Meteorfall itself had been a tragedy, that morning had seen a quiet service for those lost, the aftermath had been a colossal boon for Kalm.

All this happiness did for Vincent was keep him awake. He lay, morosely, on the bed in his hotel room. Cerberus, the triple-barrel handgun he had constructed himself, sat on the bedside table with his cell phone and his wineglass. His phone, which he had purchased to pacify his friends, displayed the vague message he had received from Reeve two days earlier: "Meet me in Kalm, we need to talk."

Although Vincent usually ignored his phone, generally it was on silent, when he read Reeve's text, he knew what Reeve wanted to ask him about and wanted none of it. Yet Vincent had come to Kalm anyway. He was not sure why he had bothered. He told himself that giving an answer in person would prevent further requests. He wouldn't admit to himself however, that after so long on his own, that he was a little starved for human company for a change. So, arriving the night of the festival, he booked a room at the Inn and waited for the appointed hour.

The TV was on in front him. The channel seven news was on, once again reporting the story about the news crew and WRO volunteers, whom had disappeared beneath Midgar three weeks earlier. They had been investigating a newly discovered "Sector Zero" sealed underneath the Shinra Building itself. Vincent had seen this report a dozen times since the incident, but tonight they had finally released the last footage received from the team. It showed the workers jogging down a dim corridor towards a large metal door as the reporter commented on Shinra's various atrocities. The video ended abruptly after that. This, and the disappearances in Junon, gave Vincent an ominous feeling.

Then, Vincent heard it, through the music and the dancing and the fireworks was the faint whistle of a large, heavy object whistling through the air. Just as he snapped his head toward the window, an old tower on the city's wall exploded into a shower of mortar and brick.

Everything in the city froze abruptly, a sobering silence filling the air. Then another explosion of color, but it was not a blue or green shower of sparks, it was not that kind of firework. It was a real, dangerous, damaging, lethal explosion.

A billowing tower of smoke began to rise into the sky as fires began to consume the closest structures. Realization set in, and everyone began to panic.

Through the smoke flew a dozen DragonFly Military Helicopters. They swooped down low over the scrambling townsfolk in the square and men with guns dropped out of side compartments. They landed, took aim, and unleashed a hail of machine gun fire into the crowds. Those who were not killed instantly screamed, the sound of it filling the air. As the people began to run away, the helicopters ascended once again and blasted the buildings around the festival square. Rubble fell into streets and alleys, fencing in the remaining civilians. The soldiers stopped firing and a cargo-carrier dropped huge storage units into the area, crushing whatever happened to be beneath them. The mysterious soldiers rounded up whoever was left and forced them inside, taking some of them out of line, seemingly at random and shooting them where they stood.

All this happened in about thirty seconds.

Meanwhile, Vincent had snatched his gun from the bedside, and he ran to the window to leap into the street. But a chopper dropped down in front of the Inn, cutting him off, and locked onto him.

As his hotel room exploded, Vincent was flying through the air overhead from an unbelievably high jump. He flipped over in midair and took out the helicopter's cockpit, main propeller, and tail rotor with only four shots.

As the chopper spun out of control and exploded, Vincent landed on a nearby rooftop with a grace belying his cumbersome appearance. Looking back toward the square, Vincent jumped down to a balcony to get a better view.

On the street, soldiers sealed the containers and the copters flew off with them.

Vincent couldn't do a thing, and he cursed his weakness.

"Why is this happening?" He asked aloud, as he clenched his fists on the balcony railing, crushing the bars in his grasp.

On the roof top behind him crept three enemy soldiers, machine guns drawn, they silently scanned him with their helmet visors. Information appeared in the corner of their screens.

Name: Vincent Valentine

Approximate Age: 60

Gender: Male

Blood type: A

Wanted: Dead or Alive - capture by any means necessary - Direct Order

A Direct Order. . . Vincent Valentine's fate was sealed.

She sat in a small room, hardly bigger than a closet. Computer monitors lined the walls with cables cris-crossing almost every surface. Perched on her head was a helmet not unlike a typical Deepground soldier, though its purpose was entirely different. On three of the monitors was the same image, Vincent Valentine's back, he was gaping at the collateral damage from the harvesting.

"Vincent Valentine, I've found you."

Just then, as she watched, Vincent Valentine whipped around. A heartbeat later and all three monitors displayed nothing but static.

Vincent could sense them, smell them almost, and in a heartbeat, he killed them.

He examined the uniforms. They wore full body suits of spandex and rubber, with kevlar only covering the upper torso; the bare minimum, implying that these urchins were very low on the food pyramid within whatever organization they were from. A stripe of neon blue traveled down the uniforms on either side, from collar to shin, glowing with mako. The helmets were of familiar shape, similar to the old Shinra Infantry helmets, but from the eyes down they seemed to become gas masks, speakers jutted out awkwardly from the front of the masks, making them appear thoroughly unhuman. The eye-pieces themselves glowed from within with Mako, even while the wearer was dead. The lower section of the helmets seemed skin tight, and Vincent realized that they may have been grafted to their very flesh. . .

Finding some stairs, he descended to the ground level. Vincent ran along the blood-stained streets, the attack looked more and more like Shinra's "clean-up protocol" as Vincent recognized countless similarities in weapons and tactics. Enraged, Vincent gave no mercy to any enemy that he came across.

Despite the chaos and the anger, Vincent noticed something odd. They weren't just randomly killing, they were methodical about it. While there seemed to be no similar connection between those who were spared or executed; some were spared on purpose, which Vincent confirmed when he saw one soldier stop another from killing a civilian, only to kill one standing right next to them. There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary that distinguished one group from the other. What was their goal? Whatever the case, Vincent saved every civilian he came across.

Soon enough, Vincent made it to the central square of Kalm. It had been here that Vincent was to meet Reeve, it would only have been another twenty minutes, if not for the ensuing massacre. Just as he arrived though, one of the helicopters flew over the square again. Vincent shrank into the shadows, but it was a needless gesture. The chopper was flying out of the town in the direction of Edge. Vincent noticed that large clamps on the underside of the chopper were holding one of the storage units. He could've sworn that he heard screams coming from inside.

Vincent had no time to dwell on this however, because another Dragonfly swooped down from the sky and started firing one missile after another in his direction.

Vincent could only dodge, just barely staying ahead of the line of fire.

Finding some cover behind the water tower in the center of the square, Vincent checked his ammo and scrambled to the top. He took several potshots at the Dragonfly's underbelly, but the bottom was more heavily armored. Vincent studied the machine carefully, but quickly. He spied an exposed tube for one of the fuel cells, probably a design oversight. Vincent shot at the chink in the helicopter's armor. One side of the vehicle erupted in flames.

The Dragonfly backed off for a moment, ejected the damaged component, then returned in full force with a new volley of missiles.

Vincent jumped back to the ground to avoid the brunt of the explosion. The top of the tower blew up, raining water down on the entire area. Then as the chopper dropped ever lower, he realized that he had been driven into a corner of the square with no alleyways between the buildings. He was cornered! There was no cover. Nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. Vincent turned to face the craft, his back to the buildings.

The Dragonfly locked on, and armed a fresh volley. Could this be it? In the corner of his eye, Vincent saw an open door.

The Dragonfly fired a barrage of rockets at him; Vincent leaped for the door. He rolled through the entrance just as the missiles connected, the door slamming behind him.

Then there was silence.

"Cloud, we've gotta get the hell outta here!" Tifa screamed over the gunfire and the pouring rain.

The enemy was coming from the direction of the Memorial, Cloud, Tifa, a dozen-or-so civilians, and the kids were in the street using a couple trucks as a makeshift cover. Cloud stood in front, deflecting bullets and blasting everything that moved with magic. Tifa was in the back, taking out any who tried to sneak around through the alleyways.

Cloud leaped high into the air, energy enveloping his blade. He slashed towards the enemy and the energy fired off in their direction. It split into several smaller beams and rained on their heads. Cloud landed behind the trucks to talk with Tifa better. The gunfire halted for a moment, Cloud's attack having forced them to fall back a moment. But sure enough, they came creeping back. . .

"What transportation do we have?" Cloud asked urgently.

"Just these trucks, and Fenrir."

"Damn. Okay, Tifa take everyone to Kalm."

"What about you?"

"I'll stay here and buy some time."

"Cloud, no-"

"Who else can do it?"

Cloud looked at Marlene and Denzel, curled up behind one of the trucks with their hands over their ears, "They need you Tifa."

Tifa had no argument for this.

"I'll meet you in Kalm. If I'm not there in a day, then. . ."

Tifa made a sound of protest, but Cloud cut her off.

"If I don't show up in a day, go to Junon and cross the ocean. Get as far away from here as you can."

"If you make me wait again. . . "

". . .Yeah, I know." said Cloud, looking a little sheepish.

Something white hot brushed past his arm and struck the truck, Cloud saw the pink ribbon he had kept in memory of Aerith drift to the ground. He looked up in time to see Tifa drop the Deepground soldier with a palm-heel to the jaw. Another came at her with a combat knife, she caught his wrist and crushed it. He dropped the knife. Tifa caught it, spun on the spot, slashed his throat, and kicked him several yards away.

"Go Cloud!" She called back to him. Cloud marveled for one more moment, then jumped back to the front of the 'barricade'. He held his First Tsurugi in his right hand, the hollow blade (Second Tsurugi) in the other. Holding them aloft he charged up the street.

The civilians had heard their conversation and were already moving. One of the trucks roared to life, and zoomed off, full to bursting with passengers.

"We'll meet you on the road!" the driver called to Tifa. A bullet whizzed by her ear, five enemies had barreled out of the alleyway to their left and were shooting at them. Denzel and Marlene were totally exposed! Tifa sprinted towards them, ignoring the bullets tearing up the air in front of her. She jumped, and crushed the ribs of the closest one with a flying kick. She landed hard on top of him, the life already gone from him. Using him as a launch pad, she pounced on the soldier that had been behind him. She grabbed the man's shoulders and flipped over his head, without ever touching the ground. As her feet met the floor she launched him like a catapult. He sailed through the air until he collided with the side of a building, hitting it with a sickening crunch.

The remaining three soldiers gave Tifa their full attention and took aim at her. The two closest were within reach, the third, standing a ways back between them was not. As they opened fire Tifa dropped to the ground once more and spun around with her leg extended, her foot kicking up water as it dragged the ground. The first man's ankle made a snapping noise when her foot connected with it, and the force of the kick followed through the next enemy, sweeping him clean off his feet. At the same time, Tifa let the knife fly from her grasp. It sailed past the first two and lodged itself firmly in the third soldier's chest. Seizing up, screaming, the soldier went down firing into the air.

The soldier that had only been knocked over regained his feet. He leveled his rifle and managed to shot once at Tifa, the bullet tearing through her hair as she sidestepped it, before she drove a knee into his stomach. The soldier doubled over with blood filling his mask, and Tifa slammed an elbow into the back of his neck, snapping it. He fell to the ground again, limp, and did not move again.

Tifa heard the last one, with the broken ankle, cock his rifle. She spun on her heel, intent on burying a fist in his face, but as she did so the soldier's head jerked to the side and he slumped over just as her ears registered the sound of a handgun firing. Tifa looked over and saw her old friend, Johnny, standing next to the kids and holding a smoking revolver. How had she not noticed him before now? Didn't matter, she was grateful.

Tifa jogged over to him, taking deep breaths to keep herself calm. There was still much to do.

"Johnny, can you take Marlene and Denzel in the truck? Fenrir is too exposed."

"Sure." replied Johnny, looking pleased at the chance to help her further.

"No!" cried Denzel, "We gotta stick together!"

Tifa put her hands on his shoulders, "I'll be right behind you, and Johnny is a friend, you can trust him." Not waiting for further argument, Tifa snatched up Marlene's hand and loaded them each into the truck's cabin. Johnny hurled himself over the hood, bent double to avoid the gunfire, and got in the driver's side. He turned the ignition, "See you on the road." He said and he sped down the street toward the outskirts.

Tifa took one last look at Cloud who, in the minute since they had last talked, had worked his way up the street, sword flashing with every swing. "Don't keep me waiting." she said, then frog-hopped over Fenrir's back wheel and into the seat. She started the engine and blasted after Johnny.

Cloud charged his willpower into the Bolt Materia built into the blade of his First Tsurugi, and all of the nearest enemies were struck by bolts of lightning, the water on the ground carrying the bolts further. A Bolt and a Gravity materia had been inserted into the blade during it's construction so that it magnetically attracted the other blades that made up it's final form. They were irremovable, but still functional when not being used for the other swords and always worked better during storms. . .

Cloud took one last glance towards the highway, not even their taillights were visible through the rain, he had to hope they made it out of the city without him. Cloud heard screams in the distance; he turned his attention back to the enemy, they had begun to advance on him again. Cloud held the flat side of his sword to his forehead and made a silent promise. Then Cloud snapped back into a fighting stance and, with a battle-cry that echoed to the rooftops, he charged into the swarm.

It was a trap.

Vincent knew it as soon as the door had closed.

The evidence was in the sudden stillness. That Dragonfly should have brought the roof down on his head, the fact that this did not happen told him that there were more enemies laying in wait within the building.

Strong ones too, if they thought this was a bigger danger than the Dragonfly hovering right outside with its missiles locked on the front door. . .

Vincent picked his way carefully through the building. It seemed the same as any other motel/pub he had ever been in. There was a check-in desk, a large pantry, even an old fashioned jukebox. He made his way upstairs, gun constantly held at the ready. The only unlocked door led to a large storage room, probably for the motel's various supplies. But in the room seemed to be more than just sheets and towels, there was crates of ammo and rations. Soldiers had been using this place as a hideout for a long time. . .

Vincent had only seconds to register this before the wall to his left collapsed with a loud crash.

Though the gaping hole, stepped the largest man Vincent had ever seen, he had to be at least seven feet tall, he wore a uniform similar to the other soldier's outfits, with the neon blue stripes running down his torso and legs, but this one was obviously custom made. It had no sleeves and a short white and blue cape hung half way down his back. The man's face was big and square with blue lines of Mako coming down from his mouth and eyes, and along the sides of his face, his hair was a spiky blue mane coming down past his shoulder blades. In addition, he had weird pointed ears that looked like they belonged to some beast. But his eye's were the most intimidating, they were black with yellow iris's and cat-like slits for pupils.

"The Protomateria" said the voice of a child, "Tell us where it is"

For one wild moment he thought the voice had come from the man, but then he saw that a young girl had followed the man out of the hole. She also wore a uniform, she had two metal rods in holsters strapped to the back of her legs. She looked to be around ten years old but spoke in a very monotone voice, uncharacteristic of a child as young as she. Also, her eyes had a glow akin to the glow SOLDIER had been known for, the glow of mako-infusion.

As for 'Protomateria', she seemed to think he should know what she was talking about.

The man, on the other hand, looked annoyed, "Hail Weiss." he said through his teeth, his voice resembling a growl more than anything else. Soldiers poured out of the hole behind him and took aim.

Vincent could have rolled his eyes, he dispatched all of the soldiers with one shot each. With his last shot, he leveled his gun and fired at the monster in front of him. But an invisible shield deflected the bullets two feet from his chest, the spot where the bullets hit flashed white for a moment before disappearing. He had a Barrier Materia on him, though Vincent could see no bracer nor weapon for it to be mounted on. . .

"Challenge accepted." the man with a smirk. He began to crouch into a fighting posture.

But just then, the girl collapsed. Vincent's opponent didn't look at all worried or sympathetic.

Suddenly a deafening noise filled the room, making the whole building tremble on it's foundation. Orange and red light flooded the few windows in the room, the source being an explosion that had interrupted the stillness. The sound of several smaller explosions followed, gradually becoming softer as their source, the helicopter outside, flew off over the rooftops, apparently in a forced retreat.

As the last sound died away again, they heard footsteps from down below as someone called; "This way!" it was Reeve!

The man looked at the girl through the corner of his eye, and seemed to make a decision.

"Luck, is on your side" the man said, Vincent silently agreed with him, "I am Azul, we will meet again", with that he picked up the girl; and, holding her in one hand, walked to the wall overlooking the street. With his free hand he punched a wide hole in it, as easily as if it were tissue paper. With a leap, he was gone.

"What happened here?" came Reeve's voice from the door way. He jogged to Vincent, Black hair combed neatly, and wearing his usual navy blue coat.

"Are you all right?" Reeve asked Vincent.

Vincent grunted a yes, "Reeve, nice to see you again. Not a very interesting outfit though", he added.

Reeve laughed, "I though long and hard about what to wear for the festival," he said sarcastically, "But enough of the small talk, who were those soldiers that just left?"

"I don't know, but the large one called himself 'Azul'."

Reeve gasped "Azul the Cerulean?" he asked, Vincent shrugged, "Of the Tsviets? But . . . that would only mean-"

"Commissioner!" a WRO member near the door cut in. Apparently more enemy troops had arrived.

"We'll discuss this later," said Reeve, suddenly business-like, "WRO troops have arrived and commenced rescue operations in the city, we could use your help."

Apparently assuming on Vincent's compliance, Reeve and his men started to leave.

"Reeve, whatever it is you're planning; I want absolutely no part of it." said Vincent flatly. He knew this would happen, Reeve had called him to Kalm to ask for help in tracking down the people mentioned in the news. While Vincent pitied them, he had no wish to involve himself.

Reeve looked back at him shocked, though his men continued on their way.

"But you fought along side us three years ago! We need your help once mo-"

A shot fired.

Reeve's eyes widened in shock, an enemy had crept in and shot Reeve in the back. He began to fall to the ground. Infuriated, Vincent pulled his gun and shot the sniper from the hip, but the damage was done. Reeve was down.

"Reeve!"

Three o'clock, Wutai standard time.

It was bedlam. The soldiers dropped from sky like a terrible black rain. Screams were lost in the roar of gunfire. Fire consumed ornate structures and ravaged the surrounding forests.

But this was nothing like Kalm though. They were outnumbered, but not helpless.

Wutai had, after all, fought against Shinra in the bloodiest war in recent history. Even with diminished strength, Wutai was still a force to be reckoned with. The people of Wutai were of a different breed compared to the townspeople of Kalm. Everyone was a warrior; it was in their very blood.

Kunai soared through the air, and shuriken whirled through the throats of enemies. Every weak point was exploited, as was every shadow, as was every cast away object that could become a weapon of Wutai's vengeance.

The glow of materia lit up the streets as Yuffie, of the Kisargi clan; stewards of Wutai, dropped down from the rooftops with her own platoon of the Silver Crescents, elite ninja of Wutai. Enemies were decimated in blurs of silver and red.

But it was not enough, the Wutai-nin were vastly outnumbered. The enemy soldiers would be pushed back in one area, only to appear like a swarm of locust somewhere else. Eventually, Godo had to order a retreat. During the war, every week Wutai had practiced a city-wide evacuation drill, just in case. The end of the war had come so suddenly, however, that it had never needed to be used. But now, as that special bell rang for the first time in nearly ten years; every single Wutain reacted instantly. Everywhere, wherever there was fighting; suddenly a smoke bomb was released. By the time the smoke cleared, there was not a single civilian or ninja left in Wutai.

From the top of Da Chao, Yuffie watched as the enemy set up to occupy the city. Rage burned in her, on behalf of her homeland and her people. Despite the Wutain's quick response, they had still been caught unawares. As a result, many had been either captured or killed. As she watched several helicopters fly away carrying containers full of prisoners, she could only ask, "Why?"

Soon she would receive a chilling answer.

Vincent caught Reeve as he fell, but he was a dead weight. There was nothing to be done, if not at least hear his last words. If there were any at all. . .

Vincent slowly lowered Reeve to the floor and turned him over to look at his face and- and Reeve's head fell off!

Out of the torso fell a scrunched up, furry... something. A familiar 'something'.

As it bounced off the floor, the thing unraveled to reveal the strange little robotic cat that was Cait Sith.

Vincent's hand immediately dropped the 'body' and a hand shot to his face to pinch the bridge of his nose. It was a habit that he had developed long ago.

"Whew! That was a close one!" said the mechanical doll in his outlandish accent, nothing like Reeve's, who was undoubtedly controlling Cait Sith from afar, "Good thing I came out 'wearing' Reeve!" The doll turned to Vincent as if just noticing him, "Heh, you're not a bad bloke are ya Vincent; aww ya pretend not ta care, but cha always come thru in the end!"

Vincent sighed in resignation, and released his nose, "Alright, what do you want me to do?" If Vincent didn't agree to help, he had no doubt that Cait Sith would follow him wherever he went. Reeve could take direct control whenever he wanted, but Cait Sith had it's on A.I. separate from Reeve. A very annoying A.I. that would bother him until the end of time if need be; and Reeve's seemingly infinitite supply of these dolls meant that shooting them would only be a waste of bullets and time. . .

"Let's run those lads outta town! I'll leave the 'method' up to you, when ya've tidied things up meet me in front of the East Church." With that he jumped out of Azul's hole.

Vincent sighed again and made a mental note to shoot the robot later, if only for thereputic purposes, before jumping through the hole himself.

Back on the ground, the central square was already bustling with a battalion of WRO troops running in all directions. Some were administering first-aid to civilians, groups were jogging in formation down the streets that branched out from the square into the rest of the city, others were setting up tactical stations in empty buildings. The air was thick with smoke and gunfire. A Sergeant marched up to Vincent.

"Sir!" He saluted, much to Vincent's dismay, "Do you need any assistance?"

Vincent considered belting him in the face and running. Reeve had been trying to rope all of the old crowd into his organization since the beginning. Cid had joined up in a second. So had Barret, so that he could get the resources to pump oil. Yuffie probably joined so that she could brag to her friends in Wutai. Even Tifa had accepted an "honorary membership", but Cloud, Nanaki, and Vincent had flat-out refused; but the troopers close enough to Vincent would pause long enough for a quick salute before continuing to their destination. It seemed Reeve had gone and signed him up anyway, Cloud was going to be pissed. . .

Vincent appraised the Sergeant, who was still standing at ready for him. "Uh. . . At ease." said Vincent, already uncomfortable. The Sergeant seemed to relax by a fraction. " Can you tell me who this enemy is?"

"They call themselves "Deepground", sir." He said, in clipped tones. "They are supposedly a secret army that Shinra was developing during the Wutai war as a Medical and Support faction for SOLDIER. After the war ended, the project was supposed to have been scrapped."

"Then what are they doing here?" asked Vincent, confused.

"Sir, I'm afraid that is all I know at the moment, sir."

Vincent sighed and closed his eyes, "Just give me directions to the East Church."

Twenty minutes later Vincent strolled into the church courtyard. It had been an annoying trip from the Central Square. He had been forced to fight for every step he made towards his destination, and it had not been easy. There were fresh bullet holes in this cloak, and foreign blood was still dripping from his claw. It was a rare occurrence, but Vincent felt rather fatigued. But he had saved several more civilians, and gotten a couple of WRO squads out of some nasty situations. Vincent had his doubts about a "Regenesis" organization having it's own army, but he wasn't going to complain about it now. They were competent soldiers and useful in a pinch. But he was going to have words with Reeve as soon as he had the chance.

Being in a housing district, the churchyard was even bigger than the central square. Empty homes surrounded the yard with the church connected on either side. Basically, a glorified dead end.

"A good place to spring another trap." Vincent thought with irritation.

Sure enough, the Dragonfly from the town square dropped into view. The damage it had taken from it's earlier assault was all that distinguished it.

Gatling gunfire tore up the street on its way to Vincent. He leaped out of the way, only to have to jump to dodge a volley of missiles. Vincent landed by some stairs, he ran up to find himself about level with the helicopter. He took aim and the main rotor and fired. The top of the vehicle burst into flames. By the time the pilot inside got the chopper steady, Vincent had vanished from sight.

Silhouetted against the moon, Vincent stood atop the very peak of the church's chapel. He spun his gun around in his palm and then took a great leap to free fall directly above the chopper. The oblivious pilot failed to realize just how helpless he was.

Vincent shot the main rotor three times, once for each blade. The propeller blades shot off in different directions and lodged themselves in building and sidewalk alike before the rest the ship even started to fall to the ground. These were well designed machines though. Even without the main rotor, the chopper was able to hold itself in the air with stabilizer jets on it's underside. However Vincent landed on top of the vehicle next to the rotor shaft, which was still spinning uselessly. He was then enveloped in a great ball of energy. Upon emerging, he had undergone a monstrous transformation. Though still walking on two legs, Vincent's features had become completely bestial. Claws and fangs reflected the moonlight. Primal energy rippled across black musceled limbs. His face was that of a beast with a long snow-white mane. His eyes glowing with mako, Vincent had become the Galian Beast.

Focusing the energies flowing through him, Vincent charged up a fireball in one his claws and pounded it into the top of the Dragonfly's cockpit. A moment later, the helicopter dropped to the ground; explosions tearing it up from the inside-out.

Leaping off the Dragonfly, the Beast landed about twenty feet in front of the now destroyed Dragonfly. A few seconds later, Vincent had resumed his human form and gazed at the carnage he had just so easily wrought.

Despite the display, several disheveled soldiers still clawed their way out of the rubble and warily advanced on Vincent. Vincent was not in very good shape to oppose them, drained as he was from the transformation. He had counted on the chopper's destruction to be the end of it. As one, they opened fire.

Before he had to do anything however, a WRO Shadowfox screeched to halt in front of him blocking the barrage of bullets. Out of the back jumped a squad of WRO troops along with Reeve, presumably the real one this time, all holding machine guns. Reeve glanced at Vincent and gave him a once over. Satisfied that he was okay, Reeve took a position alongside his men and opened fire. Vincent considered for a moment, then he darted around the other side of the truck in time to shoot the last enemy square in the face.

Fifteen minutes later, much of the fighting had subsided. Reeve stood in the middle of the church, in which the WRO was setting up its command station , pouring over a chart of Kalm's layout and giving orders to his Lieutenants.

"Set up checkpoints along the edge of the city and work your way in, they are not to hurt one more civilian. Is that clear?" barked Reeve.

"Sir!" The soldiers saluted and hurried off. Vincent sat a ways away on a crate, listening in, amused that a former Director of Urban Development could make such a competent field commander.

Reeve turned and started to walk towards Vincent, put he halted and put a hand to his earpiece. A line of frustration creased his forehead. Reeve walked up to where Vincent sat.

"You've done well Vincent, the enemy is starting to withdraw from Kalm."

"Good." Vincent said, sincerely pleased.

Reeve continued, "But we still require your assistance. Reports are that Edge is under attack as well. I guess it was inevitable, but I had hoped they would ignore it in favor of the larger settlement next door."

"What do you mean?"

Reeve's shoulders slumped a little, "I'd anticipated an assault of some kind ever since the disappearances started, so I brought the bulk of the WRO in this region to Kalm. I left a sizable force in Edge. At this moment, they should have already deployed, but we lost contact with them ten minutes ago."

Vincent was troubled by this. Despite his reservations about joining, he could at least see that they were well trained. Even a small force should have been able to hunker down and wait for reinforcements. . .

Reeve went on, "I want to send a company of soldiers in, but with no intel I can't risk it."

Vincent closed his eyes, "What do you want me to do?" He asked once again.

"You are well suited for recon, will you go there ahead of my people and report on the situation?"

Vincent glanced through the open door at the wreckage from the Dragonfly. The moonlight was reflected off the Deepground armor, added to the still glowing mako made it seem almost otherworldly.

Cloud could have taken on this army any day of the week. He was, after all, possibly the strongest of their old group. But then again, he didn't have any backup other than Tifa; not that she was anything to be written off, but one of them would have to protect the kids in some measure. Plus it wasn't unheard of for a SOLDIER of Cloud's caliber to be beaten by sheer numbers. . . It didn't look good any way Vincent cut it.

Vincent looked up at Reeve, his mind made up in a millisecond, and nodded.

"Let's go."