Hidey ho, Bahamut fans! (Although Bahamut is, again, not participating in a large part of the story...)

I was at ACEN last weekend. I wanted to get some writing done there. I brought my laptop, but I forgot the power cord...so other than sit on the desk in the hotel room it didn't do much. I had a mixture of good times and disappointments this year. If any of you were there, you probably didn't recognize me unless you read the name tags. I was dressed normally this time, but my name was "Piccolo Sky". I had a commission done of Cloud, Ragnar, Sephiroth, and Aleron. It's mediocre. :( Speaking of Cloud, you wouldn't believe how many people were Advent Children's Cloud Strife this year (Technically, I guess it could also be KH2's Cloud Strife BTW, Sora's various forms were popular again too).

I've come to a bit of a decision. I'm going to keep writing this fanfiction, but after "The Aleron Saga", I'm going to take a hiatus from it. I've had ideas for other fanfictions for a while, but so much time has been devoted to this one that I haven't had time for them. In particular, I've wanted to do a Guilty Gear one for a while now. And I could probably do it in about two weeks if I rushed.

This is, once again in my opinion, another filler chapter. It was a pain to write for the most part. The next chapter might be so too, but by the end the action that leads to the climax of "The Aleron Saga" will at least begin. The problem now is integrating so many plot threads. 1) Cloud & Ragnar, 2) Aerith, 3) Denzel & Marlene, 4) Maritza & the Turks. Their storylines are going to intersect within the next two or three chapters, and timing is critical. So I want to make sure I don't miss a key plot point in an earlier chapter before writing the next.

"All transports…begin landing approach."

This announcement went through the fleet although it wasn't necessary. The surprise on seeing the enemy's aircraft carrier, seemingly invincible for the longest time, finally going up in smoke, didn't last as long as one might have thought. The Wutai Gold Navy, always thinking of duty and responsibility, immediately closed in on the now unguarded destroyers. Soon they were completely pinned down, and well on their way to being destroyed. Unable to flee and unprotected, surrender messages began to come from them. On the shore…the enemy infantry panicked and broke. Without artillery or a navy to defend them, they were little more than fodder for the guns of the attacking fleet. While some braver members stood their ground (their courage bolstered by what portable artillery was with them), much of the troops were in disarray. And by the time they would be calmed down, the enemy would already be landing. Already, the enemy fighters were strafting the ground with gunfire, having spent all of their larger weapons. It was merely a taste of things to come.

Ragnar was still in disbelief of how it had happened. Even with his heightened senses, he had barely managed to catch a pink glimpse of the attack that Cid's ship had made. Cloud had to fill in the details with him. Cid's first personal aircraft, the Tiny Bronco, had been damaged years ago when Cloud and his friends escaped the Shinra on it. The craft had metal portions and siding, but it had been a wooden craft in its skeleton. A critical portion of this frame was hit, and due to the wooden nature it couldn't be replaced without essentially making a new ship. Cid had neither the time, resources, nor desire to repair it at that point in time, and so it had only been used as a boat, making use of its buoyant structure. It moved well and the propellers turned, but despite these adeges the ship would not take off. Cid hadn't the heart to destroy it, and so he had kept the plane around although it would never be airworthy again.

As near as they could figure, Cloud, Ragnar, and Barret reasoned that Cid had loaded the thing up with heavy explosives, likely used in some of their blockbuster bombs or even the newest weapons. Though it couldn't take off, it was more than aerodynamicly sound. It could glide easily for a short distance. As a result, it appeared that Cid had turned it into some sort of cruise missile. He had dropped it into the open Juggernaut and let it sail to the back and detonate, very close to the bridge of the ship itself. It had been a bit of a gambling move…but it had worked. The formidable Juggernaut now lay in flames. They were clear to keep the assault going.

There was a bit more good news. Aleron hadn't shown up lately. Ragnar had no idea why she had broken off the attack, but so long as she was gone that was good news to him. On the ground, she didn't have the luxury of having hundreds of people stored on a combustable object. Hopefully she was gone until he could be in a position to deal with her…although he was getting a feeling that she hadn't simply broken off the annihilation of their fleet due to boredom. Why had she attacked them in the first place? What made them such a target?

The radio in front of Ragnar beeped again. The youth turned his head back down, distracted from his thoughts. A moment went by before someone on that end spoke up. They seemed to be rather hesitant…distracted.

"…This is…the Highwind B."

Barret cracked a wider smile from where he was, because he was already pretty happy about how the battle had turned.

"Hey, tell him nice shot for me." He instructed Ragnar.

The youth, however, furrowed his brow in response. He didn't recognize the voice.

"Where is Captain Cid? Why didn't he answer?"

A moment of silence was the response.

"…We have some bad news to report."

Aleron stepped down, arching her boot very slightly so as to leave a small space between her heel and toe. In doing so, she left just enough room on her victim's neck to allow blood flow to the head once she clamped it on his neck, but not quite enough to breathe. Her green eyes flashed menacingly as she looked down on him, full of violence and evil.

Below her, pinned under her one foot, was Vincent. His clothing was ragged and torn, and there wasn't a spot where it had been ripped that there wasn't also blood underneath. He was out of bullets, and his guns had been snapped and discarded to the sides. All that was left was his Death Penalty, but without any bullets he could only use it as a bludgeoning weapon. Through some act of circumstance, Aleron had beaten him back over to where it was. It dangled about five feet from where he was sprawled at the moment. At any rate, she wasn't going to let him have it back.

Around them, the Shinra buildings were burned and wrecked. Some of it had been from bombing, but much of it had been from the fight between Aleron and Vincent. His initial form of the Galian Beast had incredible stamina and accelerated healing. Despite her constant beating of the creature, it had kept getting up and flinging flaming balls at her. Aleron wished to think that she had smacked each attack away effortlessly…but she had not. She had discovered, to her irritation, that her strength was not as limitless as her mate's yet. Her wrist had begun to get sore from intercepting each blast. That was impressive in and of itself, as each fireball had enough power to pierce a man wearing heavy body armor. But it was not as impressive as Sephiroth.

The limit break had died down eventually, and then it was Vincent's turn to feel pain. The man was remarkably agile and powerful, but she was a bit better. Every dodge he made was countered, and every blow he struck was avoided or intercepted. Aleron's deadly scythe drew blood again and again during the course of the fight. The man somehow stayed active, and he made himself the hardest target to hit thus far in her life. Yet in the end, he lay before her beaten. His limit breaks gone…his weapons exhausted…he had nothing left.

Well…he had one thing left. He could still transform into Chaos. This idea made Aleron furious. Not at the fact that he would be hard to beat…but that she was not yet above fear. Somewhere deep within her perfect body, she feared that he would unleash this form. Only a little, but it was there. She was not completely sure that she could beat that form…or if she could, it wouldn't be without heavy injuries. The idea infuriated her. If she couldn't beat him, then she wouldn't be able to stop Ragnar or Cloud from killing her… She realized, to her chagrin, that she was still vulnerable.

She didn't show this, however. She wasn't about to give the mortal satisfaction.

"I would simply twist my foot and end this once and for all now, Vincent." Aleron cooed down at the fallen, choking man. Despite his grim face, he was reaching for his neck. He did so weakly, however, after having been beaten so much. One of his eyes was swollen and bloody, and both his human hand and metal one had bloodstains on them. "But you actually made me curious. You've known all along that Krystea had nothing to do with you. And yet you let her continue the delusion that she was related to you. Why was that?"

Assuming Vincent would have answered that question, it was impossible. Aleron had his throat slammed shut. For a moment, she thought of letting him breathe, just so that he could answer that question. It genuinely piqued her curiosity. And so long as she was using her flesh, she might as well know anything there was to know about its attractiveness…

An explosion sound interrupted the woman. Her smile faltered a moment as her look turned to confusion. With that, she turned and looked behind her, back out to the shore. She was on the ground now, and surrounded by burning wreckage. Much of it was smoldering and smoking, and along with the buildings obscured her view rather well. However, she was still able to look through it enough to see what was beyond.

A large cloud of smoke, much thicker than that of the other destroyers, was rising up from the shore. Because of the size of it, it was easy for her to tell, as well as everyone else within a mile radius, that it was the Juggernaut. She was actually a bit surprised. They had actually stopped it? Not only that, but the rest of the NSN destroyers were falling back or powering down. Those that weren't were being annihilated. The enemy fleet was much closer now, and now it seemed as if the transports were coming up. The enemy army had mostly fled the shore by now due to being in gun range. Those that hadn't left were going now while they still could.

Aleron's smile faded. The meddling of this human had cost her. She hadn't delayed their invasion by more than an hour. She had hoped that their precious aircraft carrier would have provided a greater obstacle, but, like her mate had said, she had underestimated who she was dealing with. These people made a career of frustrating impossible forces. If that wasn't enough, she had lost her fire materia. She couldn't blow up their warships like she had before. She could still go down to the shore and try and take them herself…

Suddenly, a series of pricks were felt on Aleron's ankle. The woman had been so distracted by the fleet that she was surprised by the sudden mild pain she was experiencing. As a result, she snapped back around and instinctively yanked her foot up. On doing so…she realized what exactly had happened. The man she had pinned had driven his talons into her leg as hard as he could. Because of her enhanced physiology, he barely broke the skin. Even then her mild wounds began to heal immediately. Yet in her surprise, she had let the man loose. He didn't even pause for a gasp of air, but immediately rolled away from her and toward his weapon.

Aleron snorted…and for a moment thought of ending the mutant's life with one swing of Kokushibyou. However, he had caused her so much trouble already. She figured she'd let him take up his weapon and try to bludgeon her with it. Then she'd slice it in half and him with it. And so, she hesitated as the man reached the weapon. Immediately, his taloned hand shot out and seized it.

Then, Aleron noticed something else. Most wouldn't have even seen it, but due to her heightened senses she was able to detect a sleight of hand. In his opposite arm, she noticed him give a flick of the wrist. When he did…she saw a rather large bullet roll out of one of his torn sleeves and into his palm. As he moved like lightning to bring the bullet around and into the weapon…she realized she had been tricked. He had been lying. He still had one bullet the whole time. He was waiting for her to reach this point when she thought it was over…then use the moment to catch her off guard. He had to be using all the strength left in him, because his movements were so fast that by the time Aleron realized this, with all of her superior mentality and reflexes, the bullet was loaded and he was already aiming at her. It was all she could do to once again cross her arms in front of her before he fired…

Another blast rang through the air like a thunderclap. The power of the gunshot was so strong that Aleron's clothing was blown back, thick as it was. However, she had her arms locked and across her front, making sure to put as much between her and the gunshot as possible. Yet that didn't help her too much. Hot pain…the first true pain she had felt since she had been born…went over her arms in a cross shape. She felt her flesh being torn by the power of the blast, and her teeth locked tight as she struggled not to dignify the mortal with the sound of her crying out. Even after connecting, the power of the blast continued to rustle her hair and clothing for a moment more before dying down.

Once it had happened, Vincent's arm went limp and he dropped Death Penalty to the ground. He sprawed out soon after. He had used the last of his strength to do that. Now he had nothing left. Aleron, on her part, began to seethe. Her pale green eyes filling with violence, she slowly uncrossed her arms and looked down over them. Her black sleeves on her front forearm were shredded. Beneath it, red blood dripped slowly from shrapnel wounds. The gunshot, strong as it was, wasn't powerful enough to cut through her flesh and kill the woman behind it…but the metal had pierced all the way into her bones. The edges of the cross-shaped blast had licked around her other arm, inflicting deep cuts in that as well. Yet she cared only about the one in front. To her astonishment…this arm was in pain when it moved and turned. That meant she couldn't use it as effectively…

That means…I'm injured.

Crippled…

Handicapped…

By a damn human…

Aleron had not experienced true anger yet since coming into being. She had begun to think she was above such base emotions. But in the wake of this…her mind turned to fire. Her muscles became like steel and her hatred blazed.

Without pity or hesitation, Aleron drove the end of her scythe into Vincent's torso, pushing through until it pierced into the open area and ground on the other side. Even now, the dark man wouldn't yell. His face turned agonized, but he did not cry out. This only made the woman more furious than before. It was an act of defiance. She was also enraged at herself again. She had been so furious, she hadn't focused enough to kill him instantly with the blow. Her mark was way off. In rage, she yanked the limp body off of the ground, still living on the end, and with all the power she could muster, angrily snapped around and flung it. Like an ancient dart in a spear thrower, the dark man was cast off of the end of the scythe and flung through the air back down the street. He sailed the length of a building, trailing blood through the air as he did, before he crashed down.

Yet this only made Aleron madder…for she did not throw him with full strength. She tried to, but she had failed. The pain in her arm had made her hold back. Even now, she winced and drew it back, cringing and looking down at her bloody forearm. The shrapnel defiantly remained lodged in her flesh, causing her more pain and keeping her wounds from healing instantly. Angry, she snapped Kokushibyou once, and sent it vanishing back within her cape/coat. Her black gloved free hand reached down and seized the nearest piece of jagged metal. She ripped it out with a flourish despite the more pain it caused. She did the same with the next, and the one after that. But the others had sunk in deeper, and the flesh had closed around them. For a moment, she was so angry that her fingers began to rip at the flesh at her arm to get to them…

The cells within her disapproved, and immediately she stopped. Her anger broke a moment, and she looked up blankly. A moment passed, and then her anger returned, although it was much milder than before.

Curse him… I need to go back. I'll need instruments to properly remove the shrapnel. Worse yet…I received this wound at his hands. I'm still far inferior to my mate. If I try to fight them now at my own full power, I could lose. Currently I'm injured, and that makes it even worse.

Mother was right…I should have just stopped with decimating their fleet. Now I have to run away like a frightened dog…

This isn't over, Cetra.

Angry, but now knowing there was nothing for it, Aleron whirled away from Vincent's body and the attacking fleet. She didn't know whether or not he was still alive, but she didn't care. She only cared about looking as strong and unhurt as possible before her mate and Mother now…not let herself be a fool before them. Snapping her cape/coat around her, her body abruptly shot into the air, arced toward the north, and took off like a bullet from a gun.

That was another bit of good news for Ragnar. The part of him that was Bahamut sensed the dark presence leaving. It was still very strong here. The mere cast off aura from a distance made this place colder and darker than anywhere else on Gaia. However, the source…or at least the closest source…had gone. They were clear now…for the moment.

And things were still going well. The last destroyer had surrendered, and the fleet was essentially destroyed. The first ten transports were landing, and there were no enemy units to greet them. Without hesitation, the army was pouring out onto shore, stopping only long enough to assemble artillery and get up the chase. The sudden loss of the Juggernaut had driven the shore into panic, and just as hoped they were fleeing in terror. The PPA was pushing its advantage and moving to take the entire New Junon and Defense Grid area. It looked like they would do it if they could leap on the few cells of New Shinra groups that were gathering.

However, no one on board the bridge of the Dyne, Ragnar included, felt like celebrating.

"Damn stubborn ass…" Barret muttered as he glared at the ground, grinding his metal fist against the console.

"He never really acted like he liked being with us…but he was there for us even when I wasn't." Cloud threw in. "I understand, though. What Mack was telling us."

Ragnar did as well. Bahamut's half did too. He had thought similar things about himself over the years. The esper had even suspected it when he saw Cid getting progressively worse over the months. Much as the man tried to hide it, the gaze of the dragon king pierced flesh and bone. He had known something was wrong. Apparently, he had been correct. And if he was doomed to die, then it was better to make one's final moment worth something if you could rather than lie around waiting for the end. Ragnar saw Bahamut's reasoning and accepted it. Cloud did too…and he had a feeling Barret would. After all, the man would do the same if he was in the same position. He had a feeling the others would as well in time.

Cloud was not a man who cried. Though his soul was breaking at the time, he had shed less tears than anyone else when Aerith died. It was a part of his nature. They didn't cry when it wasn't time for it. Hence, neither he nor Ragnar were crying now. But that didn't make them any less grim. And the rest of the cabin was the same. Everyone had known how valiant and courageous Cid had been in battle…how he had done a great deal of saving on the part of their navy and army over the history of the army. And now…

"Should we tell the girls?" Barret finally asked. "Announce it to the army?"

Ragnar didn't want to seem cold, but he had a feeling that they would understand.

"There's no time. Many others have died who are worthy of honor today as well, but we will have to wait until the campaign is over. And telling the rest of the army will only serve to dishearten them."

"We should tell Aerith and Tifa, though." Cloud spoke up. "We can't just act like this didn't happen around them. He was their friend as well as ours."

Ragnar sighed at this. He supposed Cloud was right, but there was little time for this either. They would be on shore soon. When they were, he needed to unleash his own strength to help in the war effort. Essentially, that meant he just had time to run back and tell Aerith the bad news before coming back up to go into battle. It was almost insulting. "Hey everyone. Cid just died. Didn't you know? Anyway, let's get on with our war…" They didn't have time to mourn or even sit around and show him proper respect and acknowledgement…even the customary grief one shows just when hearing the bad news. He was a great man, a true friend, and he had died helping to save the fleet and move the army on shore…and in so doing help saved the world. It was almost as if they were ignoring him… It filled him with inward anger…

Master felt the same way when Phoenix and Wyvern both died in the fight with Griever, and yet he couldn't do anything about it. He had to keep fighting until it was over before he could mourn. It's the same here. Besides…if I don't fight at my best, Sephiroth and Aleron could make us lose more friends than just Cid…

"…Alright." Ragnar finally stated. He already began to turn. "I'll go talk to Aerith now before we reach shore."

40 Hours Until The Firing Of The Gauntlet Of Zeus

The New Shinra Army had thought their world was coming apart before, but that was nothing compared to now.

The naval commander had died with the Juggernaut. With it, the shore had no one to lead it. As they struggled to find a new chain of command and assemble themselves into a force that could counter the onslaught of the PPA, their foes struck and struck hard. They had been ready for this invasion. They had crude yet powerful artillery with them, and they used it to blow away whatever barricades and defenses the bombs and missiles of their air force hadn't already wiped out. Even now, their fighters continued to pepper them and set them on the run. They swept through the middle of the battle zone, keeping either side from merging with the other as the Planet Protector Army massed together and focused its strength in the middle region between the two. Once they had managed to fully gather their power, and they had become too crowded to allow any further transports to land, they struck.

It was like a lance of metal and flesh had been driven forward. Nothing could stand against it as it came. The NSA was too scattered and fragmented to defend against such a concentrated force. They had been powerless to keep them from assembling before because of their ships and fighters. And now they had grown too strong for their scattered and confused troops to stop them. And as they came forward, they drove harder and faster, making sure to fill their enemies with panic and disarray, further breaking them. They used fear to make them slip up…fail in counter strikes…flee…or just engage in friendly fire. The hungry, tired, and beaten troops soon began to flee before the coming destruction.

Most fearful of all, however, was their leaders. Those who were fortunate enough to see them and live spread fear and terror among their fellow soldiers. The two generals of the PPA appeared to be god-like on the battlefield. They moved faster than could be seen…appeared to dodge or simply shrug off bullets…and struck with such power that those who witnessed them swore that five soldiers were thrown aside with each swing of their swords. None could touch them…and some began to fear they were some sort of engineered monsters unleashed by the PPA. As panic continued to grasp them, supernatural fear began to occur, and caused more backing down and breaking than before.

This continued until at last the fateful moment came…and the New Shinra Army realized in terror that they had been split in half. But more PPA units were coming in all the time from the south, and the guns of the Wutai Gold Navy kept them from being attacked from the bottom. With that done, there was no way that the New Shinra could hope to surround their foes. They could only try to push them back from all sides. But they were still too scattered for that. Only if they could unite would this be possible…and their enemy was making sure that wouldn't happen. Voraciously, the PPA split on either side and began to crush either half of the remaining forces. By now, they were so stricken with panic and shell-shock that many of them viewed the PPA as an unstoppable force. They had never been expected to so quickly and completely be pounced on by their army, and they were raw at having never defended their own territory or drilled without the luxury of powered weapons. More surrendered soon happened, and the PPA stopped anyone further from organizing.

The Neo Junon area was quickly falling under Planet Protecter Army dominion.

And they weren't stopping there.

"Not bad, wouldn't you say? Indeed, I am a genius. I amaze myself sometimes."

Reno and Elena didn't bother answering. Rude was still changing clothes at the moment, and wasn't around to not say anything. As far as Reno was concerned, this didn't prove anything. All it had done was help get her new affiliation on shore, and in doing so had helped her get on shore as well. Perhaps this meant something for General Ragnar, but he was far from convinced.

Oh well…at least he hadn't had to do too much work yet.

The Turks were at the shore at the moment; a shore that had been in the possession of the New Shinra Army until about four hours ago. Now the Planet Protector Army was swarming it. Most of their transports had unloaded. The major ships were docking as well, and their supplies and munitions were being hauled out and into combat almost as soon as they arrived. Although this area was supposedly the most "calm" out of the newly acquired PPA territory, and was supposed to be the safest, it wasn't being settled. Soldiers were running everywhere, most of them farther to the north. They stopped long enough to form divisions, and then joined in the fray. Artillery was being assembled here and then wheeled to the front as well. A few stations had been set up for fighters. At this point, they were either out of fuel, out of munitions, or both. They needed to be refilled before they could be used to press the attack. Hence, a few were mingled in among the unloading crates. Small temporary landing pads had been set up, and a few engineers were servicing them. One particularly large helipad area further inland had the Highwind B currently resting at it, and the crew was trying to make it airworthy once again despite their slower movement and darker looks.

The Dyne was one of several "destroyers" that had docked. The personnel on board had already disembarked, and were charging forward to the front line to join in with the fray. The equipment on board, some of the largest in the army, took somewhat longer to unload. At the moment, Maritza, seeming no worse for wear from her own battle experiences, was joyfully overseeing the work as she stripped off pieces of her flight suit, not seeming to care that she only wore a white wife-beater and boxers underneath. And because she was there, the Turks were there as well, watching her like a felon they were transporting.

Behind them, on an upgraded semi-truck, was her latest device. Again, she kept it draped in cloth, and refused to show anyone what it was. However, after witnessing what she had done before with her secrets, the workmen obliged her a bit more confidently. After all, she had got them this far without telling them what she was pushing. This would likely work out the same way. The truck itself was slowly going down a loading ramp. Slowness was key, as the load was easily oversized. The vehicle had heavy-tred tires that looked like they belonged on a bulldozer rather than a truck, and it was upgraded in a similar vein. Clearly, this truck was supposed to take it a long distance through rough terrain.

"I don't suppose you'd like to tell us what this one is?" Elena asked.

"That's right." Maritza flashed back with a cheerful grin.

"We've helped you out this far." Reno continued. "Now, what are we supposed to do to help Krystea?"

"Patience, honey." Maritza answered with a wave of her hand, turning her full attention to her truck for the moment. Like a kid at the holidays, she walked up to it and seemed to marvel, even salivate, over it. The workmen simply frowned and kept unloading. They had learned to deal with it by now.

"Don't forget that what you told us is the only thing keeping me from offing your perpetually less-wrinkly ass right now." Reno reminded her. "You try and double-cross us…"

Maritza rolled her eyes, lost her enthusiasm, and cut Reno off with a sigh. "Oh, you need to lighten up. You can be so uptight. I can't see how you managed to stay so young and carefree with as hard as you are whenever I talk to you."

Reno couldn't help but smile a bit himself here. "That's what the booze is for."

"At any rate, it won't be until our final attack that I'll need you three again." Maritza continued, turning back to her device. "Once there, there's plenty for you three to do. And we'll have to do it in a short period of time."

"I'm still wondering one big thing." Reno answered, crossing his arms. "I saw a bit of what happened earlier to this navy. After that night on Midgar's shore, I'd say she's already coming forward. How exactly do we get her where we want her? Once there, how do we make her hold still long enough to use the machine?"

Maritza paused here. However, she kept looking at her device as she did so. While she was standing there, Reno saw a look change on her expression. Suddenly…she seemed far more crafty and sly than before, but also far more serious and dark.

"Oh…you'd be surprised at how things can work out."

Elena looked visibly unsettled by that comment. Reno himself opened his mouth to begin to ask. However, he was cut off.

The sound of the voice was so loud and sudden that it made the Turks and Maritza turn to the source. They found themselves looking back toward the area with the ruined radio tower…the same one that the shots that had obliterated several destroyers in their fleet had arisen from. The tower had been bombed and incinerated now, and much of the surrounding area was wrecked from what looked like explosions of some sort…although there were no flames or blackened areas from explosions. Nevertheless, a few buildings away from it, and about a block away from the shore and the three who stood there talking about their future plans, one of the soldiers had to have come across someone. Calling out loud enough for them to hear it from this distance, he called for assistance form his fellow troop members.

"Officer down! Officer down!"

There was a bit of a logjam at the shore of the continent. The troops had gotten moving easily enough, because they had been primed for action all day. But as far as everyone else was concerned, reactions were mixed. Some had been with the PPA for years, and in that time had only fought a defensive war. They honestly weren't believing that the army was finally launching a successful invasion. And now that they were here, they were stunned to actually find themselves back on the Northern Continent after being so ruthlessly driven off two years ago. It was taking them some time just to realize they were setting foot on enemy soil as they got off of their ships.

As a result, some delays were occurring. Some were jumping right in and unloading crate after crate after crate. But others were stalling, or trying to get their bearings. As a result, a lot of the supplies were accumulating on shore. Some were going out to the attacking troops, but many were at a loss of what to do next. They hadn't expected to land so quickly. Even if they had, they had never had to bring supplies on an invasion before. They knew they weren't supposed to set up camp here either, but were supposed to keep pushing the stuff north and deploy in the Icicle Inn area. But how to move that stuff, or how far north they should put it for now, was still a bit confusing. After all, this operation was moving so fast, and they were a bit overwhelmed. To top it all off, it was Spring now, yet the Northern Continent was still in the dead of Winter. This surprised everyone, especially natives to the area. They realized it had been unnaturally cold for weeks, and the sun hadn't shown itself in that time…but up north it was even worse. It looked almost like a thunderstorm was brewing farther north…or that night came here to rest during the day. Here there was still ice and snow over much of the ground, and their equipment froze up more than once. Those were more problems to iron out and prepare for as they headed to further north.

Large piles of crates were on the shore now, mingling with empty stacks that had belonged to the New Shinra Army. All in all, it looked like some massive supply dump. Many of the piles were abandoned for the moment as people tried to figure out what was the best way to move them up, or organize themselves so that it was done efficiently. Seeing as the crates wouldn't be pulling a gun on anyone soon, these were practically unnoticed by soldiers who were busy trying to root out any insurgents that might have stayed behind to cause trouble. Inanimate piles of ammunition mattered little.

As a result, the nearest guard who might have paid any attention to one particular pile of munitions was over a hundred yards away and was talking with his superiors about using some of the Shinra equipment to move the stuff out. Aside from a few distant murmurs and even more distant explosions and gunshots from the battle, this area was rather quiet and still. To top it off, many of the piles formed cul-de-sacs within themselves to shield off from prying eyes the contents of some crates from anyone else seeing them. Finally, no one had bothered blowing the whistle on seeing one of the crates having a broken seal, nor stashing it here with the others.

In short, no one was around to see or hear when the top of the crate slowly began to rise.

The dark interior was revealed, and the crack between the top of the crate and the rest of it grew wider for a few moments before one could make out a small arm. It was solid and hard for being small, however, and with only a few grunts opened up the crate. Soon, much smaller arms helped out, which seemed much more in proportion with their size. With one large effort, the owners of the arms within the crate pushed off the top and let it fall to the ground at the side. It hit against a nearby tower of crates as it did so, and so it made little noise.

Now free, the stronger one in the crate began to exit.

Marlene, still within, stayed seated a moment and looked rather worried.

"Reeve might have already called Tifa…and she'll be mad."

Denzel, however, paid this little mind as he went off of the edge and touched down on the ground. He shuddered a bit when he realized it was much colder here than it was back home. The journey over the ocean wasn't exactly the warmest or most comfortable trip either. But the important thing to him was that they made it. And so, he was confident as he came out.

"I don't care." He answered. "I'm sick of always having to stay home and not do anything."

"What about them being worried?" Marlene asked as she, somewhat tentatively, as if the outside world was full of poisonous snakes, began to leave the crate herself. "What if they can't fight…like they said?"

"So long as we don't let them know we're here, they won't have to worry about us." Denzel answered, not looking back to Marlene but rather looking ahead to the north. There was a red glow on the horizon, and the sounds of battle were faint but audible. Yet to children like Denzel and Marlene, who had grown up with war most of their lives, they gave rise only to the mildest fears. Both of them had seen far worse. And in Denzel's case…his desire far overruled any fear he might have.

"He's that way." Denzel finally said after a momentary pause, pointing to the north.

Marlene didn't bother asking how Denzel knew that. One could probably infer it based on the direction of the fighting…but one could also reason that the cells within Denzel were telling him where to go if he wanted to run into that man… Marlene, on her part, wished they had never come here. This hadn't been her idea. But at the same time, she couldn't let Denzel go alone. And she didn't want to see him leave to get hurt by himself. And Azure had been her friend too. She didn't want revenge as badly as Denzel did, but she understood more of what he was feeling than anyone else. If no one else would help him, then she had to. Both of them had too many experiences already where they had been helpless on the sidelines as the war unfolded in front of them. She was ready to do something too.

Still…she mostly hoped that they'd run into Cloud or Tifa along the way, and that they'd stop Sephiroth before they found him… And since they'd be wherever there was fighting, this direction was good enough.

"Alright."

"Let's go."

34 Hours Until The Firing Of The Gauntlet Of Zeus

The world of the New Shinra Army was being turned upside down.

It was barely a day since Ashiah had announced the statement that was supposed to seal the doom of the enemy when the guard on the southern portion of the Northern Continent found them crawling up their doorstep as fast as they could. Once the Planet Protector Army had split the main bulk of the army in two and separated them from assistance, it took little to finish them off. With that done, they had successfully taken a large portion of the territory between themselves and the New Shinra HQ Dome. The battlefield continued to narrow further north, allowing both sides to focus their power without spreading out, before slipping into the remains of the Bone Village archeological site, the Sleeping Forest, the City of the Ancients, and finally the canyon that provided the one bottleneck.

The PPA continued to surge in strength as it reconsolidated its forces and let out the last of its troops. They were gathering together so quickly and attacking with such sharpness that there was no time for a defense to be raised. As night began to fall and the last of the outposts in the former Defense Grid went under, the officers of the NSA made a move to buy more time. They ordered a much greater and faster retreat than was necessary to get them all back into the canyon, the one place they could hold them off. Part of this was to buy time simply to let panic die down and to let the army get more organized.

It was here, of course, when the Wutai spies struck. They seamlessly wove themselves into the fleeing crowds and made their way in through the canyon to the north. Better yet, night was falling now, and with the eternally cloudy sky, light to distinguish between friend and foe was at a premium. They were considered just another group of panicking soldiers when they crossed through the end of the canyon and into the heart of the New Shinra territory.

It wasn't all seemless, however. General Leers had reacted quicker than expected. Reinforcements were already pouring through the front of the valley and moving deeper inside it. The spies were forced to act quickly and change plans. Rather than start at the front and work their way down back to the south, they immeshed themselves deep within the reinforcing army. From there, they made their strategic strikes at a few of the missiles and batteries. The results were chaotic. The enemy gunners, thinking that the enemy had already come, opened fire on its own people. Others fell from excessive friendly fire. The spies themselves took many hits, and soon more were dead in a short time than were expected from the entire operation. But they kept it up, continuing to fool the enemy into thinking friends were foes. They didn't take out as many of the actual gun emplacements as they desired, but it was debatable whether or not they caused even more damage than they had anticipated.

When the rest of the New Shinra arrived, the reinforcements didn't know whether they were being charged by more insurgents or being aided by coming allies. They responded accordingly, throwing the valley into a bigger uproar than before. Had General Ragnar changed his plan and broken off now, he might have been able to rack up far more casualties simply from the NSA's attempts to sort out who was enemy and ally. As it was, he was in a hurry to take the valley, and continued to rush inward. When the New Shinra Army made out who was coming at them, and recognized it as the true enemy approaching, they broke off most of the friendly fire (although what spies were left continued to incite it), and turned on the PPA. They stopped them practically at the entrance to the valley, and for about two hours held them there. They began to throw up defenses as they fought, and for a moment it seemed as if they would hold them and halt the invasion

Then…the NSA was attacked by something it hadn't planned on.

The ferret bombs, the same that Maritza had developed for them, were suddenly being used against them. And they seemed to know exactly where all of their own gun emplacements were. On top of all that…the two generals charged again. It was like fighting monsters, demons, or angels. Flame rushed out from one, turning tanks into slag, while light came from another, shattering the ground in its wake. The heavy troopers surged behind them and broke through the barricade. Combined with the loss of artillery and the continual spy actions, the NSA was soon thrown into a panic again.

Although some divisions were brave enough to hold their ground, and General Leers desperately tried to send in more troops, like a man desperately throwing sandbags against a breaking levee to keep a flood from coming, it was useless. Nothing could stand against the leading troops of the PPA, whoever or whatever they were. And though the enemy was slowed a few times, nothing was stopping them from driving forward. By the time 0200 hours had come, half of the valley had already been taken. Even if the NSA could stabilize now, the enemy would be able to hold their ground as well as they could.

It was only a matter of time before they broke.

"Well?"

"It's no use sir. We can't get anyone on the horn, let alone the Generals."

"Keep trying." Reeve immediately ordered, not caring that it was getting rather late now. He hadn't slept since last night and he wasn't looking to do so anytime soon either.

"It won't do any good, sir. Mrs. Highwind only got a fragmented message out because she had a more powerful transponder at a shorter range. Now she can't even do that."

Reeve sighed and sank into his chair. His fingers drummed nervously against his desk as he pressed the phone tighter to his ear. Worry continued to pervade him, and fear at how he had let Cloud and Tifa down. He wished desperately now that he hadn't let Cait Sith go. He could have stopped them before they got that far. Still, even if that wasn't a factor, he was still nervous about this.

"We need to be able to know what's going on up there, ensign."

"We're working on it, but nothing's getting through. It's like everywhere north of that parallel line has become a dead zone. Even the weather satellites are getting hazy on what it's like up there. We have no idea what's causing it. They think it might be some sort of magnetic phenomenon. Maybe the world is flipping its poles."

"Just find out what it is and get around it. If you can't make any headway in a few hours, then we'll have to send out a boat as a relay. We have to know if the attack is working. We have less than two days to get out of here if things are going ill."

"Understood sir."

The phone clicked off. Reeve sighed again and let it loosely fall away from his head, nearly letting it fall out of his hand and to the ground. He didn't care if it broke, for all the good it was doing him. This was damn peculiar. They had all sorts of satellites and radio towers operational. They should be able to get any message from the Northern Continent back fine with barely any delay. Yet the transmitters were only picking up static. The magnetic pole theory had some clout. Once every 100,000 years or so, Gaia flipped its magnetic poles. They would be unlucky enough to be living in the precise time and era in which it was taking place, but such was life. It might also explain why the weather was getting so turbulent further north as well…

Either the poles flipping…or him.

Reeve didn't want to think about the other option…not when both his friends and charges were now in the mix. It was reasonable to assume that since Denzel and Marlene hadn't come back yet that they had successfully gotten on board one of the ships. That meant they were up there with whatever other unknown fate was befalling the rest of the army. Several dreadful possibilities entered Reeve's mind…like the ship with them stowing away on board being blown out of the water a few miles from shore…or friendly fire going in a completely unintended direction…or perhaps the man he had thought about already…deciding to make Cloud and Tifa suffer by going for their hearts…

They only filled him with more worry, and here he sat…unable to even get Cait Sith on the horn and tell him to find and defend the children. He exhaled again and placed his head in his hands.

Wherever you are, guys…I hope you run into those kids soon.

"…Stop it."

Aleron's head turned up. Despite the near absolute darkness surrounding them, her enhanced vision easily picked out the form that had spoken to her.

"…It infuriates me."

"Allowing it to make you angry is foolish. Your flesh is already like new."

Aleron turned her head back down at this, for this comment merely reminded her of her inadequacies. It was true. Her flesh was now pure and without blemish, her blood replenished, and no trace of an immune response within her system. But whereas this regeneration would have taken a mere ten seconds or less with Sephiroth, she had to bear the wound for an hour before it was gone. Yet another reminder of how inadequate she was compared to her mate…

"I wanted to tear the boy and girl Cetra apart with my bare hands." She sneered. "Now I can't even risk getting in a fight with my older sibling."

"It matters little." Sephiroth reassured her once again. "I will destroy both of them as you destroy the female. And in less than two days, we will be two gods headed to a new world, and all the affairs and delays that have happened on this one will be meaningless to us and quickly forgotten. This is a time to be filled with joyful anticipation."

Aleron was still unconsoled. "I'm hardly a suitable mate for you, or a worthy child of Mother, if this is what happens to me."

"On the contrary, my love…"

Had anyone other than the two people standing in that chamber at the moment heard that third voice that suddenly rang out, they would have had a range of reactions from feeling cold, fearful, and nauseous to being gripped with freezing terror. The voice that came out sounded like some hellish cacophony of voices: male and female…young and old…cries of ecstacy mixed with screams of anguish.

Obediently, and suddenly fully attentive, the two humanoids turned to the blackness. There, the darkness was so thick that not even they could see what was within it. But that didn't stop some sort of rotting, twisted limb from emerging from the shadows. It stank of filth not of this world, and the flesh was stretched and rotten over what looked like a protruding silvery skeleton. And yet…Aleron's eyes were only filled with affection and love as the limb came over, extended long, needle-like claws, and stroked her cheek like a mother over its baby.

"You have a far greater power within you…one that has made this possible. It is through you that we will ascend to a greater state of being. It is through your loins that a new master race will fill the stars. Think not of your inconsequential body now…the borrowed form from a shell of a human. It will perish along with this world in just a short while. Then you will be greater and mightier than entire worlds. Have patience, and do as I have told you."

This speech was twisted to sound comforting and soothing, but it would have only curdled the blood of anyone other than Aleron or Sephiroth listening to it. To them, however, it was the sweetest sound in the world or over it…the sound of their mother's approval and consolation.

The anger left Aleron, and her smile returned as she relished the touch of the thing.

"Yes, Mother."

To be continued...