The Servant: The Aleron Saga

by Piccolo Sky

The untold story of Bahamut. In this fourth installment, Bahamut's triumphant return to Gaia is cut short as he sees visions warning him of a cataclysmic future, one that will test both him and his pupil in a way most unexpected.

24. Sleuth

"What is the report?"

"It's hopeless, Admiral. We're throwing everything we have against that barricade, but it's no use. Our weapons aren't working and they're shooting down any Gelinka we attempt to send that way. We can't break through."

Ashiah grit her teeth and practically sneered. Her officers around her noticed this, and shrank away slightly from her. They had seen this mood before, and how violent she could become. Ashiah was on the bridge of a ship currently, and the bridge looked similar to the one that she had been on two months ago. However, it was only due to a modular design for their navy. In truth, this center commanded far more, and had a far greater responsibility and amount of power beneath it. It was the deck of none other than the Juggernaut. And until now, Ashiah had been pleased with how it was doing. She actually laughed when the enemy airship went to its extreme lengths to fire on them, only to do absolutely nothing. The Bismarks had suffered heavily too. It was a shame that so many of their Harbingers had been destroyed by that one attack from their airship, but in the end it was a loss that they could recover from far easier than the PPA.

The true irritation was on the land side. They went to all this trouble of neutralizing all defenses…pushing the army away…pinning down the enemy airship…and for what? So that the useless infantry could once again get humiliated by a volunteer army. They were using cavalry, for crying out loud. Cavalry! What was next? Bows and arrows? And now, after having lost far more troops than they should have and pushing them all this way…they were stuck in a damn gate. Ashiah had been so close to leading a unit that would wipe the Planet Protector Army off the face of the planet…and now they were stopped. Right on Midgar's doorstep…

And this…this useless commander…was calling in to the Admiral with what essentially, in Ashiah's mind, was a plea to be allowed to fall back. The communications officer had put it on the speakers, and the Admiral, standing in her position of command, had her voice transmitted back to him. Right now, she was furious. How dare he…after all she had done…

"Keep up the charging. Do not stop until the enemy is routed."

"Sir…" The tired and, in Ashiah's opinion, whining voice of the commander returned. "We're losing too many. We can't even mortar them well enough. We lost another ten percent a few minutes ago when they bombarded us with what looked like…creatures. At this rate, we'll be too weak to keep them from routing us in a counter-strike…"

"I don't care!" Ashiah snapped back. "You idiot! We're less than a hundred feet from retaking Midgar, and you're simpering there like a coward! I don't care if you have to kill every last man in that-"

"Acknowledged, commander. Good work. Secure the outside of Midgar. End transmission."

The nearby officers turned and looked in surprise to see who had spoken...mostly because they were shocked that someone had dared to belay the Admiral's order. Ashiah herself snapped her head around, still full of fury, to see the dead person who had just canceled one of her commands. Somehow…she wasn't surprised at what she saw.

Colonel Maritza, smiling and with arms crossed behind her, was standing right next to her in the command area.

"…And just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ashiah asked, her voice cold and laced with suppressed anger.

"Putting an end to this." Maritza calmly answered, turning to Ashiah with her same smile. "It's pointless to keep fighting. We'll shoot ourselves in the feet. We've gained enough for now."

Ashiah turned her body completely to the woman.

"I don't know if you noticed, Colonel…but I'm in command of this operation." She coldly snapped. "And I'll decide when we've gained enough."

"Wrong." Maritza calmly answered, turning to her as well. She was smiling…but beneath this pleasant gesture was the fact that Maritiza was standing in Ashiah's face. She wasn't backing down, and she wasn't intimidated. "The General put me in charge of the army portion of this. Your realm is solely the navy. And I say having taken the bay and the plains is more than adequate for one day's work."

Ashiah's face turned red, and her teeth clenched. "You little-"

"Excuse me if I don't want to risk losing everything we have gained on one of your little quests for personal glory." Maritiza calmly cut off…yet with a biting edge to her otherwise pleasant voice. "You know…kind of like what you did two months ago?"

The Admiral immediately froze at that. Her anger briefly abated and was replaced by surprise.

"Oh yes." Maritza continued, her grin turning wily again. "You see, after you sentenced Captain Lymon to death, I took a personal stake in the case. After all…she was your hand picked first officer. Why would you want to see her die so quickly for one act of insubordination? That was where she told me the rest. Mind you, she didn't want to at first. She was loyal to you even to the point of death. But once she finally talked, I decided to take her under my wing." Maritza smiled a bit wider at that. "You know…one can never have too many people who owe you favors on your side, and all that."

The Admiral hesitated, but her anger soon began to return.

"…She was supposed to be executed."

"I struck a deal with the General." Maritza calmly answered, brushing her knuckles against her uniform as if she was thinking "not too shabby of myself". "I managed to get her put in a labor camp instead. Low and behold, a week into her service," Maritza slapped herself in the cheeks in mock surprise at this. "…She discovers a labor captain assassination plot! Isn't that something? Lucky for her, eh? That gives her enough clout to be reconstituted as an officer…in my service this time, of course."

Ashiah hesitated again at this. Maritza continued to smile and stare back with arms crossed. The two met gazes with what could only be described as intense hatred for one another, masked perfectly behind their guises of officers.

"…You think you're so slick, Maritza." Ashiah finally sneered. "You think that because you can make a few gadgets and because you have the position as colonel, you can just undermine and get around wherever you damn well please. But you still lack the most important thing of all…the favor of the General. That is what I have. And so long as I have it, and continue to keep it, that's going to put you in a position to be fearful of me. Rest assured…I'm not going to forget about this. I'm not going to rest until I see you on your knees begging me for mercy."

With that, the Admiral snapped away and began to walk to the exit. She left Maritza behind in her wake. The woman herself was smiling and unchanged, looking totally confident and self assured. She turned, and looked out over the bridge. The officers stared at her and this for a moment, but then slowly went back to their work as well. Maritza watched until they were doing so, and then looked up and out the front window. She marveled at the wonderful view of her massive aircraft carrier's deck…

From that position…no one would have noticed it as she uneasily tightened her hand and placed it on the rail…leaving an above normal amount of cold sweat in its wake.

RULER

At last, the final troop division ran back over the hill and vanished. A pair of tanks that had been guarding the area pulled back as well, moving backward as they did so in order to keep their guns trained on the enemy. But once they had successfully moved back enough, they turned and quickly went over the rest of the hill, pulling out with the last of them. When this was done…those gathered in the streets and buildings and all the rest of the PPA encampments gave a unified shout of victory.

Cloud himself sighed from where he was. Even he was winded after all of this fighting and anxiety. But the New Shinra had been repelled. The fighting was over for now. He wiped his brow as he turned his head to the room he was in. The other soldiers were pulling off the windows now, and were beginning to cheer and congratulate each other. Outside, people were yelling from every rooftop and window, bringing this dead part of the city back to life. The whole army was celebrating. Cloud felt a bit of their enthusiasm come to him, but he didn't show it. In the end, he turned around and looked to who's reaction mattered the most in the case.

However, he didn't see him happy.

Ragnar didn't look pleased at all. His eyes were focused outside, as if the enemy was still there. He was oblivious to all of the loud cries and cheers. He only stood next to the window and stared down below. Or perhaps he was staring at everyone, and seeing them all cheering and exulting. But for all of what they did, his own stone face didn't break.

Cloud stared at him a moment, seeing how still he was. In the end, he leaned against the nearby wall, and stared at Ragnar. "Battle's over, kid. We won."

On hearing that, however…Ragnar gave a single snort, as if he thought that was funny.

"…We won?" He asked aloud in a dark voice.

Cloud didn't like the sound of how he said that. What little bit of enthusiasm was coming into him disappeared again. Ragnar turned his head to him. His green eyes were cold and downcast as he looked into Cloud's own.

"We lost almost three-fourths of the Bismarks, removing our naval power. We weren't able to make a dent in their new ship, leaving them open to bomb us at their discretion. We lost the bay, meaning we can't keep them from spreading out from the Northern Continent anymore. We lost the plains, making us almost cut off from our Chocobo Cavalry. And now…they're camped right at our door. Do you know how many kingdoms in history have ever managed to turn back the tide at this point in the war? Usually, at this point, the people became sheep for the slaughter, and whatever city they're in is the holding pen until it gets burned to the ground."

Cloud didn't answer that. He continued to stare. Ragnar sighed, and turned away from him to look outside. Most of the people were still cheering and clapping. He shook his head at them.

"If this was a victory…I'd hate to be defeated."

The ex-mercenary stayed silent. However…he got Ragnar's point. The truth was that they didn't really win. All they did was halt the advance of the New Shinra. And even then they had barely managed it. They were at the last line of defense as well. No…there wasn't much reason to be happy. Especially since they had spent almost all of their heavy ammunition in the last fight, and had lost most of their major weapons. And now, even if they could retake the field, the enemy had the bay, and could blast them into oblivion before getting anywhere close to the shore. They had no navy of their own, especially not with the blows done to the Bismarks. They were in very hot water. At the best, they had earned themselves a reprieve…but there was no telling how long it would last.

"I've put this off for far too long." Ragnar stated at last, not turning back to Cloud. "We've been fighting with reclaimed junk while the New Shinra keeps developing new things. We need to be better armed. I've made my decision…I know who I'm going to give the contract to."

With that, Ragnar began to reach for his side. However, as he put his hand on his pocket, his face turned to confusion. He turned and looked down, and patted himself around his waist. This only made him more confused.

"…What the…where's my phone?"

Cloud looked up to Ragnar at that. When he did, he narrowed his gaze and frowned. "Don't tell me…you forgot your phone again? After last time?"

Ragnar frowned and felt around himself some more, thinking he missed it. "It's not like I did it on purpose…" After a few moments more, he sighed and dropped his arms. "Damnit…I lost it."

"What did I tell you about swearing?" Cloud answered. "And think back to where you had it last."

Ragnar gave Cloud a look, but then turned back and began to think. "Alright… I had it when Reeve called me…but I went back after that. That's when I went to sleep… And it woke me up the next morning. I got mad after that, and I just slammed it down on my desk before…" Ragnar trailed off here. He seemed to remember something, and when he did he changed. He closed his eyes and groaned, rolling his head back. "Man…I feel like a major ass…"

"What was it?"

Ragnar came out of it after that. For a moment…Cloud saw a look of nervousness come over him at that question. He shook his head. "…Nevermind." He answered. "Can I just borrow your phone?"

Cloud gave Ragnar a disapproving frown, but then reached into his own pocket. He sighed a bit as he dove in…until he suddenly felt something. The cloth terminated, and his fingers were touching only air. He turned his head down and sighed at what he saw. Apparently, a bullet that had avoided grazing him had nevertheless sliced open his bottom pocket, letting the phone fall out in the midst of the confusion. It could be anywhere over a five mile area at this point.

"…I lost mine too." Cloud regretfully answered as he looked back up.

Ragnar rolled his eyes and sighed. "Terrific." He grumbled. "Fine. I'll get it tomorrow. For right now…I'm heading back to the Seventh Heaven."

Cloud was surprised at this. "You're actually going back? I thought you'd be running around the rest of the night trying to deal with the aftermath."

Ragnar kept his frown. "…Aerith was right about me." He admitted. "I am getting sick. It was because she made me go to sleep the other night that I had the stamina for this. But it's running out. Also…" He paused here a moment, but then finished. "…I need to talk to her about something."

Cloud stared on at him a moment longer. Again, he got the sensation that Ragnar was keeping something from him. However, he once again let it slide. He knew he hated being badgered about things himself. Then again…usually it ended up being worse for him if he kept quiet… Nevertheless, he decided to let Ragnar keep his secrets. In the end, he gave an acquiescing nod.

"Alright. Someone needs to relieve Barret anyway, and I know he's going to be plenty mad that he wasn't here to single-handedly beat the New Shinra back. I'm going to meet up with Tifa, and then we'll be headed back as well."

Ragnar gave a nod. "Good. I'll see you there."

Cloud crossed his arms after this, and shook his own head in frustration at their predicament. "I can't believe we both lost our phones… I just hope nothing happened while we were gone…"

RULER

Denzel's first memory was a foul odor hitting his nostrils. It smelled almost like…vomit. After that, a sensation of pain quickly began to come to mind. The back of his head hurt terribly…and he could feel it throbbing with each heartbeat. His eyes cracked, and with a groan he began to look out to see where he was and what was going on. As far as he could tell, he was on the floor of some place, face down. His eyes began to take in details, and he saw that the place around him was wrecked several times over, and covered with debris. But despite that, he began to recognize it. It was the Seventh Heaven.

"…I see you woke up at least."

Denzel heard this voice and tried to raise his head to see it…but the result made him cry out in pain and immediately sink again.

"…I'd move more slowly. That's a bad injury."

The boy winced and hesitated, but then slowly raised his head again, and started to look around the room.

This confirmed it. He was still in the Seventh Heaven. However, the monsters were gone. They had ruined the front of Tifa's bar though. All of the furniture had been smashed, and many of the walls were broken. Also…everywhere had that horrible smell. It was filling the whole restaurant now, and Denzel knew that he hadn't smelled that before when he first came in. After inspecting his surroundings, he turned and looked toward the source of the voice.

Denzel reacted a bit when he did. There was Marlene and Azure, along with Mr. Barret. Marlene looked alright, but unconscious. However…Azure had a horrible scar on his neck. It looked like something had made holes and tunnels into it. The boy immediately wondered what the monsters had done to him. As for Mr. Barret, he was out too. But a man had shown up, and was binding up his wounds using strips of Barret's vest. Luckily, none of them were bleeding anymore. He also looked up to see the man who was responsible for that.

The boy had seen him before. Out of all of Tifa and Cloud's friends, he visited the least. But he was in the picture they took two years ago, and he remembered him.

"You're Vincent Valentine, aren't you?"

The dark man, dressed in blood red and looking almost like a vampire, turned to him. "…Yes. Marlene managed to get me on the phone. I didn't understand most of what she said, but-"

"Marlene!" Denzel suddenly cut off. He just realized fully what situation she was in. She was motionless and still…and somehow, the boy thought she wasn't sleeping. Despite the pain, he pushed off from where he was, and began to run over to her. Once he reached her, he dropped down to her side and looked over her with worry and concern. A second later, however, and he noticed Azure. He looked much worse…being both unconscious and having that injury on his neck. He turned to him, and then reached over and felt it. It was rough…almost scaly…to the touch…and it made him uncomfortable. He turned back up to the man.

"What's wrong with them?"

"…Marlene is fine." Vincent simply answered. "I smelled a particular odor on her breath. It's a type of tranquilizer pill I'm familiar with. She'll be awake in a few hours. Azure, on the other hand… I'm not sure what happened to him. Do you know what attacked him?"

Denzel's face was still stricken with worry, but he calmed down enough to get more focused. He shook his head regretfully.

"Marlene sounded like she was yelling about monsters. Do you know what she meant?"

To this, Denzel readily nodded. "Yeah. A bunch of monsters came in here and they started to wreck the bar. They were the same people who tortured Azure before he came to live with us. I think they were after Ms. Aerith. There was one that looked like a giant owl. It was the one that beat up Mr. Barret. I tried to help…but one of them lunged out and grabbed me. I didn't even know he was moving, 'cause I couldn't see him under his hood…"

On hearing that, Vincent turned his full face toward Denzel.

"Hood?"

Denzel nodded again. "Yeah. They were all wearing hoods."

"How were they dressed?" Vincent immediately asked.

Denzel thought for a moment, but then shrugged. "I dunno. They kind of looked like Azure when he first got here. They were dressed in a lot of old clothes…" The boy hesitated a moment, and looked around the room. Soon, his eyes rested on a pile of them. Apparently, the owl had been dressed in them, but had taken them off before fighting. He pointed to it. "Right there! That's what they were wearing!"

Vincent turned and looked to it. Once he did, Denzel saw him pause again. He heard a dark mutter from under his breath.

"…So they're at it again…"

The boy looked puzzled at this. "Huh? What do you mean? Where's Aerith? Did they take her?"

The dark man turned back around to Denzel at this. His gaze made the boy hesitate and swallow. Just looking at him was scary. However, he spoke in a calm enough voice.

"Denzel…I have to leave you alone now."

More confusion followed. "What? Why?"

"I need to get on the trail of those…monsters." He answered. "If I stay here, they'll get away before I can reach them. Ragnar, Cloud, and Tifa should be back soon. The battle was winding down, and at least one of them will be headed back here. Watch the others until they get here."

"Wait!" Denzel immediately answered. "What about Azure? What if he was poisoned or something?"

"He's not poisoned." Vincent reassured.

"How do you know?"

"Because he would be dead by now if he was."

Denzel didn't feel very reassured by that.

"I think there might be something stuck in his neck." Vincent responded as he began to stand. "In that case…you have to wait for the others. I'll put in a call to the field doctors, but I don't think they'll be able to reach you before Ragnar. Neither will any regular ambulance services. Try to wash off the area and see if it gets any more inflamed or turns black. If it does, and no one is here yet, call me and I'll come back. But if I don't go now, Denzel…something very serious could happen to Ms. Aerith too. I have to track them down before they get too far."

The boy hesitated again. He didn't like this. He didn't want to have to be alone with his friends, especially when he couldn't do anything for them. He was afraid they would die, and that he wouldn't be able to save them. But at the same time…Denzel was more practical and adult in matters such as this than he seemed. He knew that Vincent was right. Most likely, those monsters had taken Ms. Aerith, and if they did this to Azure then they were probably doing even worse to her. He didn't want to find out what. In the end, he finally nodded.

"…Alright."

"Good boy." Vincent answered. Then, without another word, he turned and ran for the entrance to the Seventh Heaven.

RULER

Time to settle this…

Denzel had no idea about this when he left, but Vincent now had a much deeper interest in this case than before. He was determined to catch these things. The dark man lacked the bloodhound-like sense of smell that Zola had…and personally, he wished he was there with him now…but he was still a fairly good tracker. Tracking anyone in an urban setting was a bit difficult. There were far less clues here. However, an oddly crumpled piece of trash…something carelessly moving on the breeze…and, thanks to Denzel, any odd feathers that might have come from that owl character…coupled with the fact that many of these things seemed to put off a lot of heat, and Vincent was good at sensing warm blood…enabled the ex-Turk to track his quarry.

Still, he could only get a vague sense of direction. Early on…the trail seemed to split off. It might have, for all he knew. Perhaps some were returning to their base, wherever it was, and the others were going off to do some new devilry. Vincent was forced to pick one path and go with it as fast as he could, hoping he was headed in the right direction. If he was, he would pick up on more signs and hopefully close ground. If not…then he would fall behind even more.

He didn't think he had lost too much time. After getting Marlene's call, he had immediately taken off for the Seventh Heaven, although he wondered why she hadn't called Tifa, Cloud, or Ragnar. When he arrived, he noticed that some of the debris was still settling, meaning he had just missed the culprits. However, he had been forced to cancel his search temporarily. Barret was bleeding badly, possibly to death. He might have left him four years ago…but again, he felt himself compelled to do something. What was left of his conscience wouldn't let him leave without tending to him. As it turned out, it might have been a good thing. Denzel woke up while he doctored him, and gave him the clue that linked this attack to the one that happened two months ago.

However, what truly disturbed Vincent the most was something he was aware of. Vincent had been out of practice in doing true spy/espionage/agent work for some time. Normally, he should have been aware of what had happened to Marlene. But when he checked her breathing, he noticed a smell on her breath. It was kind of like cinnamon bananas. He recognized that smell all too well. It was a type of drug he had used back when he was still a Turk. During that time, it was specific only to Turks, and since he had reawakened he had no reason to believe anyone else was using it. One of the people in their unit had developed it for Turk use only. This made him uncomfortable as to who this Hoeng might be…

Vincent took note of his path as he continued to run forward through the wrecked portion of Midgar. It was in a north by northwest direction, away from the army and from the battle site. That made sense enough to him. After all, they probably didn't want to attract attention to themselves, and it was still in the wrecked portion of Midgar. As he continued to make his way along, he kept finding signs from them. He wasn't sure if he was getting closer or not, but he was sure he was on the right track as he continued to see more. They were traveling rather straight, giving him plenty of opportunities to catch up. He was already unnaturally fast by some standards. Yet if Cloud had been here, he might have expected him to abruptly morph into the blood-red cape and fly the rest of the way. That, unfortunately, was not possible. It was some sort of new ability of one of his transformations that he discovered, and wasn't that good for more than short bursts… No, the rest of the way had to be hotfooted.

As Vincent began to draw near the outskirts, however, he finally took note of something. A puttering sound emitted from about a half mile ahead, echoing through the empty streets back to him. Hearing that, the dark man ground to a halt, and looked ahead to see what it might be. He soon received a mild surprise.

Rising up from the ground, its landing spot somewhat obscured by buildings, was a helicopter. It wasn't one of the newer ones, however. This one looked rather old and worn out, like the ones used in the Wutai-Shinra War for troop transports. Yet it was functional and obviously fueled. And now, it was rising from the ground and rapidly gaining altitude.

The dark man reached for his tri-shotgun for a moment…but then hesitated. An older helicopter could probably be destroyed by his weapons…but he wasn't sure that was a good idea. He had no idea if Aerith was on that helicopter or not. After a moment, his hand slipped off of his gun instead. The helicopter itself soon reached a certain height, and then turned and began to fly away, going further north. Vincent stared at it a bit longer, but then turned back to the street. He took off once more soon after.

The first thing that aroused Vincent's suspicion was how this had happened. There was a helicopter untouched in Midgar. By now, the New Shinra and the PPA had allegedly stripped it of all of its munitions. There was only one solution that he could possibly think of… As he ran forward, and continued to look around on the area…he began to realize that his thoughts might be right. And this, in turn, only made him more unnerved than before. The corners, ruined as they were, began to look familiar. And as Vincent neared the location and saw a new building come into view, it confirmed it beyond all doubt.

A few blocks ahead of him, just on the right, was an ancient, rusted, broken down gas station. It was from far back in time, before the advent of mako power, and just after the invention of internal combustion in a car engine. Back then, gasoline had been first invented, but it didn't enjoy success long. Only a few years after the first gas stations started opening, mako engines came out which could run for six months on a single fuel cell. Gas quickly became obsolete. In recent years, it was coming back in style. But old pumps like this were never restarted. The fuel they used was heavy in lead content and impurities. Modern engines would choke on them. And yet, this one had never been destroyed. It had remained through decades of mako power, never being rebuilt and never being replaced.

And Vincent was one of the few privileged to know why. As he neared, it became more clear.

Even in earlier days, there had been special fuel pads underneath the ground. These were filled with the gas that would later be transmitted into the cars. However, once this particular pump had been shut down, the Turks of that day had decided to utilize it for a different kind of vehicle. Finding it useful to have a means of quick transportation for any scenario, it had been converted into a two chopper helipad. As he came closer, he saw that it must have been utilized as well. The ground had split open, revealing huge doors covered with concrete that had looked just like normal ground. They had unfolded in either direction, courtesy of very old, very rusted hydraulics, and had exposed a large, deep pit in the pavement. You could get to this from inside the gas station via a special door to the oil changing pit. At this point, the helicopters and the hideaway itself were throwbacks to prior to the Wutai-Shinra War. That was why the one they took was one of the bulky troop transport ones rather than the smaller, "economy-sized" ones the Turks used nowadays.

As Vincent grew closer, this made him more nervous. The Turks were the ones who used this pad and these helicopters, despite their issuing by Shinra. They were the ones who knew about this place. That was why neither the PPA nor the NSA had infiltrated this spot. The helicopters were obviously in working order, meaning that they had to have known about this for a while, and not just stumbled on it. Last but not least…Vincent knew how old this was. The age of the vehicles testified to that. Sure enough, Reno, Rude, and Elena had traveled to Junon rather than use these ones, likely because they didn't know about them. Only older Turks would…

Combined with the type of tranquilizer used, and Vincent was beginning to suspect something.

This Hoeng person was somehow connected to the Turks.

This made the situation a bit more hazardous. Vincent still hadn't gotten involved with these mutants head on, but with the addition of a Turk the possibility of combat became all the more deadly. He was lethal, but the Turks could give him trouble even now. He didn't relish the idea of tangling with an unknown one…nor the idea of trying to figure out what else he would pull.

Unfortunately, Vincent didn't have the luxury. At last, he reached the edge of the still open pit. He looked down, and saw that the other helicopter was still inside. With that in mind, he jumped right in, not minding that he had to fall a good forty feet before hitting bottom. Luckily these models were so old... He could probably still fly them with his obsolete training.

One other thing disturbed him. Before, the creatures were very thorough in covering up their presence. Now, they had left clothing behind at the scene, and they left this door wide open for anyone to see. They were being more reckless now. Why was that? Because they were getting desperate to finish their mission? Or because they were nearing completion?

He had to get after this man. He didn't know if he was heading to his base…but he appeared to be headed north at any rate. Vincent knew there was only one thing to the north, the New Shinra. And with them, there was only one thing that this Hoeng might want…

He has Aerith…so now he wants Krystea.

RULER

"Damnit…I should have been here."

"You can't be everywhere, Cloud. We hadn't heard anything for months. Cait Sith and Barret were both here, and she could defend herself."

Cloud wasn't comforted much by Ragnar's words. Angrily, he spun around and punched the wall. His accelerated strength was soon shown off, as he smashed a fist imprint into it. Ragnar said nothing, just bowed his head. He knew Cloud wasn't going to listen to him now. He had to work it out for himself.

The Seventh Heaven was a wreck. Ragnar had come back to find it like this, and had found several injured present. Only Denzel was alert, saying that Vincent had already been by, and giving Ragnar a summary of what had happened. Ragnar barely had time to find Tifa's phone and call in any army physicians before Cloud and Tifa showed up. Understandably…they were shocked. The bar was ruined with holes in the walls and ceilings. Parts of the floor were burned, peeled, melted, and stained with what looked like liquid metal. The whole area stank of bile…nearly gagging the young general. It was like something had thrown up all over the place.

Tifa probably would have been trying to comfort Cloud at the moment if she wasn't also concerned about the kids...and the two dead bodies at her doorstep. As it turned out, the local hospitals were the ones with room to spare, and they had sent an ambulance for those parties involved. They were kind enough to have a coroner come along and take away the corpses as well. Although Denzel told Tifa that Vincent told him that Marlene was only drugged, not poisoned, she sent her along with them. Azure had some sort of puncture on his neck, and they wanted to look at him to see if there was anything in there that would be knocking him out. Then there was Barret. The big guy was already starting to grunt and stir, but he was in bad shape. He had to get stitched up and then stay on his back for a while before he could get moving again. At the moment, the medics were taking the three out through the busted front door. Tifa was watching them, and turning back to Cloud frequently as she did so. As they continued to carry them out, the woman finally sighed and turned back to him.

"Cloud…I have to go with them." She finally said. "I can't leave them alone at the hospital."

Cloud didn't answer. He had turned away and put his hands on his hips. He was brooding again, and staring down at the floor darkly. Ragnar hesitated. For a moment, he thought he would have to answer for him. But before he could speak, Cloud finally managed to turn slightly behind him and sighed.

"…Alright." He finally answered.

Tifa looked anxious back at him, standing uneasy. She wanted to stay here obviously…but she couldn't. In the end, she finally swallowed and spoke up again. "…She's fine, Cloud. I'm sure she is."

Cloud didn't answer. He continued to look down to the ground.

"…Could you call me when Marlene wakes up?"

Tifa nodded. "Sure."

"Alright."

Tifa held a bit longer. Cloud didn't look up again. However, she turned away, and didn't look anymore dismayed. Ragnar understood this. It used to be like pulling wisdom teeth to get Cloud to say anything when he was brooding. The fact that he had spoken up so much easier might be a sign he was letting up more, and becoming more communative. But this was cold comfort right now.

The truth was, Ragnar was very upset too. And he was angry at himself. He just compartmentalized it better. But once Tifa had turned and began to walk out the door, he too sighed and tightened his fists angrily. He couldn't help but think this was somehow his fault…that his angry reaction to Aerith had somehow led to this, even if only through the workings of karma.

Damnit…I said I'd protect her. I said I'd be her guardian. Some help I've turned out to be. This is the second time she's been captured while I've been about as useful as a fifth wheel. And it sounds like it was those same freaks from last time… Why didn't I commit more time and resources to looking for them? Why didn't I have this city scoured? Now where do they have her? And if those things really were humans once…then what are they doing to her?

Ragnar didn't want to find out. Last time he had failed. He wouldn't this time. Somehow, he would find her and their base.

The ambulances started up outside, and soon their sirens blared. They pulled away, and in no time at all their sound was fading in the distance. The two men were left alone to listen to the echoes fade and die, until they were left in silence. It was getting dark out now. The sky was turning purple as the sun vanished under the horizon.

While Cloud continued to brood, Ragnar turned and looked over the area again. His eyes soon began to scan it. There had to be some clue here. Something he could use to track them down. Yet they had been so complete in removing traces of them last time… Perhaps there was nothing here that he could use. Still, he had to try…

A moment later, his eyes rested on something. The enemy had left a clue after all, and he immediately turned completely to it and began to walk toward it. Lying in a disheveled pile on the ground were clothes. The same old, dirty, used clothing that those things had worn back in Junon. Denzel said that one of them had been a giant owl… That meant that one had to have taken the clothes off, and left them here. With that in mind, he reached them and bent down next to them, beginning to look them over.

Cloud raised his head to this, and turned to him.

"…What are you doing?"

"We've got to find Aerith." Ragnar answered. "We can't track them or follow them. Our only hope is to find where their base is. Based on what Zola said two months ago…it's probably here in Midgar."

"Vincent's been looking for signs for months." Cloud answered, turning to the youth. "And we know all of the top sewers. Rufus said that there are sublevel sewers and ducts, but they could go anywhere. It'd be as useless as looking for a needle in a haystack to find the right one."

"Well…hopefully this will turn up something." Ragnar responded. "There's not much else we can do right now except try."

Cloud was quiet at that. Instead, he crossed his arms and looked down on him. As he did, Ragnar picked up the first bit of clothing, what appeared to be a set of boots. However, they were some of the most unusual boots he had ever seen. They didn't look like they were made to fit real feet, but had been stitched together from numerous boots to form different kinds of boots for larger feet. They also had been torn apart recently. Ragnar held them up, and looked them over a moment. They were worn and scratched…and one of the soles had a deal of hardened black gunk on it, it seemed. After noting this, Ragnar put it to one side.

Ragnar sifted through a few other torn, dirty rags that must have been used to obscure the person underneath the coat. None of them had anything remarkable about them. No signs of purchase or who their previous owner had been. They were probably picked up, or robbed, from another homeless person or homeless shelter. Seeing nothing there, he went to the coat next.

It was a bit torn and frayed, but overall it was in good condition. It was pretty thick too. Ragnar looked about it for a moment, trying to see anything distinguishing. There were a few black stains that could have been from any sort of grime. However, what stood out the most was around the hood. Seeing something, he held it up and put his fist in it to approximate a head. On spreading the top out, he revealed that there were several white blotch stains on top of it. It was immediately clear what they looked like.

"…Was this thing standing under a lot of pigeons?" Cloud asked.

"Seems like it…though I don't know many people who like to get pooped on." Ragnar answered. Putting this down, he went to the pockets next. The first one was a dud. But the second one revealed something. He felt a small object, and what appeared to be a pamphlet-sized piece of paper. He pulled both out, and held them in front of him. Cloud leaned in to see.

The small object was rather unimpressive. A used packet of gum. There were still a few sticks in it. Ragnar frowned and put this in his own pocket. Maybe it would turn out to be significant later. He then looked to the paper. He soon discovered it was indeed a pamphlet, and for a particular establishment.

"What's that?" Cloud asked.

"Some sort of handout for a hotel in town." Ragnar answered. He began to look it over, opening it up and flipping through it. "Nothing much here… Just a few ads…some schedule times…phone numbers…what they offer for suites…directions… Nothing that sticks out. Nothing they underlined."

"You said directions?"

Ragnar turned and looked back up. "Yeah."

"Well, that's as good a clue as we're going to get." Cloud answered. "Fenrir's outside. Let's go." He immediately turned and began to go for the open doorway.

Ragnar got up from his position, but still looked to the pamphlet in confusion. "…I don't know, Cloud. I think I've seen this place. This is some pretty ritzy spot. Five star. They built it in the outskirts of town, where they're redeveloping, but the place doesn't really look all that crooked."

Cloud stopped where he was, sighed, and turned around to the youth. "What's that you used to tell me, kid? 'If you have any better ideas, I'm all ears'?"

Ragnar frowned. But Cloud was right. They didn't have any other ideas. In the end, he sighed and began to walk toward the door as well. He tried to swallow back a returning headache as he did. Cloud turned around and kept going. Soon, both men were out walking and headed toward where Cloud had parked his motorcycle.

The young general didn't get that far down the pathway leading to the curb when he noticed another echoing set of footsteps. He looked up and out while he and Cloud continued to walk along. Down the street, he saw that someone dressed in PPA armor was coming. He didn't say anything, and for a moment Cloud and Ragnar were left to continue their way to Fenrir. Cloud didn't even seem to notice at all, and reached the motorcycle first. He immediately got on and went for his keys. Ragnar arrived a second later, just as the man got into visual range. When Ragnar looked at him, he recognized him at once.

"Hey, general!" Zola called out to him. "Look, I know this may be a bit sudden and everything, but I want to know if I could get a position as lieutenant. I swear…it's not so much for me as to get away from Yuffie…"

Cloud found the keys and stuck them in the ignition. He immediately fired it up, sending a deafening roar through the area. Ragnar hesitated a moment. He looked to Cloud, then up to the approaching Zola, then back to Cloud. Finally, he sighed and began to mount the motorcycle himself.

"Zola…this really isn't the time." He called out over the engine roar.

The basilisk noted them doing this, and formed a look of puzzlement. He began to break into a jog, to get himself closer to them. "What?" He cried over the engine roar. "Where are you two going? What's the matter?"

Cloud was already revving the engine. Ragnar realized he wasn't about to sit around and wait for him. He sighed again, and then turned out to the basilisk once more. Raising his volume to a yell, he cried out to the man as Cloud started to accelerate and pull away.

"Aerith got captured! We're going to try and find her! Just wait until we get back!"

However, on hearing this, Zola's eyes widened. He immediately waved his arms and shouted as well. "Wait!"

But it was too late again. Cloud was now pulling away, and quickly bringing the motorcycle up to full speed. In moments, he was pulling away from Zola and out of auditory range. Even if he wasn't, Fenrir was now too loud for his voice to carry to it. Zola dropped his arms and watched helplessly as he saw them speeding down the street. He frowned and he watched them turn a corner and vanish out of sight.

"…I might be able to smell her out." Zola finished with a sigh.

RULER

Looks like I might have suspected right…

It was much later now. Night had fallen completely during the hours it had taken to get this far north. It was getting close to ten. However, at least one thing seemed to be confirmed. The things were headed for the Northern Continent.

Vincent had been following them ever since they took off. By the time he had gotten into the helicopter, they were only a black dot in the sky. But he was able to focus on that dot and follow it. Luckily, the helicopters they were using were very old. They lacked any of the personal radar equipment that the older models might have had. What that meant was that the dark man could follow them from behind, and they wouldn't be the wiser. Darkness falling had meant a more obscured pathway, and one that might have lost other pilots. But Vincent's eyes were keen enough to stay locked onto them even with limited light.

The ex-Turk looked over his instruments for a moment. They were holding steady, and he still had fuel. Apparently, they had been keeping this one in good shape as well. Unfortunately, many of the amenities that later helicopters had were missing. These predated GPS systems, so he had no idea where he was. Well…that wasn't entirely true. The fact of the matter was that he could see the Northern Continent looming closer and closer up ahead. In fact, he could see a large amount of lights straight up ahead, indicating that they were getting near to their port base. What he didn't know was how close they were to their targeting systems or their radar sweeps. The New Shinra had been prone to attack ships with extreme prejudice since they had locked down the Northern Continent. Yet the helicopter ahead of them continued to come forward without hesitation, seeming to go right for the throat.

Vincent didn't think this pilot was a fool, however. He had to have something in mind. Already, he had a few things in his favor. The port might be guarded, as might the continent, but it was poorly so at this point. The New Shinra had to have summoned a large portion of its host to invade Midgar. There could only be three or four, if any, destroyers left in their area. Still, it would be interesting to see how he would get in there…or himself for that matter. After all, he was headed right for the zone as well…

Yet just as Vincent was puzzling over this, again the marvels of obsolete technology came to his aide, as he suddenly heard a voice over his radio.

"This is Reclamation Team #402 contacting Neo Junon, over."

Vincent looked down to his own radio at that, surprised that he had heard this. But then, he realized it. Of course. These helicopters predated coded channels. Anything you said could be heard by anyone else on the same channel, and typically the things had turned both choppers to the same channel. A moment later, he heard a response from the New Shinra.

"This is Central Tower in Neo Junon. Reclamation Teams were ordered to cease all operations two months ago and await further instruction, over."

"We found a previously hidden storage depo that had an older model helicopter within it. Due to the shortage of helicopters, we decided to bring this one in, over."

Vincent stiffened slightly at this. Evidently, they still thought they were bringing only one helicopter in. However, he knew that the New Shinra could sweep them with the radar, and see two helicopters incoming. With a bit of luck…if Vincent matched their speed and direction well enough, he would simply think the language was wrong and think it would just be two of them together. Of course, if they didn't…

"Acknowledged. Transmit verification code at this time, over."

"Charlie. Tango. Epsilon. Tango. Alpha. Beta. Zebra. Over."

"Code is verified. Welcome back, #402. Head for Helipad #3."

Now, Vincent was truly astonished. Until now, he had suspected, and with good reason, that these people might be in connection with an ex-Turk of some sort. However, what he had just heard was something that a Turk shouldn't have known. Whoever this person was, they had connections into the current New Shinra as well. To be able to do that, you had to have a high security clearance within either the current Shinra or the older one, in order to keep up with the updates and keep an eye on things. And even the highest Turks weren't that cleared. They had access and information on "need-to-know" bases. The fact that this person knew this testified that he might have higher rank and connections than he thought. But who could have those? Sadly, he didn't know. He was thirty years out of date.

The helicopter in front of Vincent began to lower altitude as it neared Neo Junon. Obviously, it was coming down for a landing. Vincent watched it do this, and hesitated a moment. Did they think he was with them? He didn't know…but there was only one way to find out. He soon began to drop altitude as well, and pulled in a bit closer. Both of them were soon headed straight for Neo Junon. A few moments went by, but nothing happened. Vincent slowly exhaled and looked ahead to the enemy. Well, this was all well and good, but how was he supposed to land with them? He couldn't very well go to the same pad…

Whatever Vincent would have decided, however, turned out to be moot.

Abruptly, a burning ball of light erupted from the shoreline and headed straight for his helicopter. It immediately impacted in the middle, tearing the craft in half, cutting into the fuel lines, and causing it to be engulfed in a fiery explosion.

RULER

To be continued...

Can you solve the mystery before Ragnar:)