A/N: Well, as Cheech Marin said in his cameo appearance in Ghostbusters II, "Well, better late than never..."

Chapter 6

Cloud briefly came to a stop when he was on top of a hill, looking down at what must be the Mideel Data Facility. The trip had taken longer than he had expected since several of the roads on the map were not yet completed. Nearly the entirety of the barrier islands had no paved road system to speak of, so Cloud had to try and travel by dirt paths that cut in and out of forests and grassy fields. Several times he had to backtrack after discovering that his path was blocked. The fact that he hadn't slept in nearly twenty-four hours was becoming painfully aware to him, but now that he saw his destination, his adrenaline began to flow and he was wide-awake.

It was nearly 5:30 in the morning, and the sun was beginning to show along the ocean horizon in the distance. The small amount of light that was now beginning to flood the area colored the forest in a light mix of orange and purple. A dense palatable fog covered the entire area and illuminated a straight blueish beam from Fenrir's headlight. The facility itself was ominously quiet and dark. The new day sun hadn't hit the uppermost portion of the building, but if it did it wouldn't make it look any more pleasant.

The structure itself was a dull flat gray bricked building that had its walls slightly tilted inwards, creating a shape like a pyramid, except the roofline was flat. Around this building were several smaller structures, most probably barrack buildings for the security personnel that Reeve said were stationed there. Surrounding the facility was a tall wall that was solid steel with razor wire at the top that glistened in the morning dew. Cloud could see a square section of the wall that was now open and figured that this was the main entry gate. Cloud tweaked the throttle of his motorcycle and then drove on to the gate.

When he reached the gate, he killed the motor and set the kickstand. However Cloud felt about the facility when he saw it from afar was nothing compared to the sensation he got when he was there. Something wasn't right here, that much he was sure. Where there should have been sentries posted, there were only vacant watchtowers. The smell in the air wasn't comforting either; it smelled of death.

Cloud hit the switch to open the sword storage compartments and carefully removed the main blade of the First Tsurugi, all the while listening to any sign that might betray some sort of attacker. Once he had the large blade in his hand, he then chose to take two more; the large sword that's handle was integrated into the blade and one of the long thin swords with the serrated back. For a moment, he thought about assembling all three together, but instead only placed the large blade onto the main one, which made it look slightly like his old buster sword.

With the main blade in his right hand and the long thin one in his left, he stepped off of his motorcycle and walked towards the entryway. As soon as he stepped beyond the threshold, he stopped and saw the level of carnage that had taken place here.

The security gate was laying in two separate pieces nearly twenty yards into the main courtyard. The steel alloy hinges that once held the gate were now twisted and splintered; whatever had hit it had done it with such a tremendous force that made Cloud think that this couldn't have been done by the same group of protestors that he had ran into in Junon.

The inner walls of the compound were covered with pockmarks and large chips made from a barrage of bullets, however there was no blood spattering anywhere along the wall at his back. However, the further that Cloud walked in, he started to see evidence of blood.

There were puddles of rainwater everywhere, and many of them had a dried crust of red blood circled around them. When Cloud reached the first over turned barricade that must have been used for cover, he saw a large stain of blood on the ground and several dropped assault rifles that were now covered in mud. Something briefly shined in the mud, and Cloud pulled out a tarnished nametag that said 'W. Carter.' Cloud briefly paused for a moment when he realized that there weren't any bodies laying anywhere, only loose debris of torn uniforms and empty bullet casings. It was then that he saw the many prints and drag marks in the dried mud that covered the entire area of the ground. Cloud bent down to get a better look at them and recognized the marks to be that of Guard Hounds.

Cloud then stood up quickly and listened carefully to the air to see if he could hear any sound of the animals. Guard Hounds usually hunted in packs, sometimes numbering in the hundreds. If everyone that was stationed in this facility were killed, there would be plenty of meat for a large pack of Guard Hounds to eat for some time.

Cloud brushed the unpleasant thought aside and continued to walk carefully into the main building. Once he stepped through the destroyed security door, Cloud paused to let his eyes adjust to the darkness inside.

The hallway in front of him was dark and ominous; the fluorescent lights on the ceiling were flickering as they slowly died, lighting the hallway in a half attempt that helped to hide the true level of carnage that had occurred. Just like outside, the marks and scars from missed and ricocheted bullets covered the walls and floor. The streaks of blood inside were much more prominent than the ones outside since there was no rain to help wash it away. The smell was a strange mix of cordite, blood, and rotting meat. The air inside was also rather heavy with the humidity that was coming in from outside.

Cloud began to move forward into the building, the only sound he heard was the flickering hum from the lights and his own boots hitting the floor. Occasionally he heard the tinkling of the brass bullet casings skitter along the floor when he kicked them as he walked.

As Cloud moved deeper into the building, he passed what must have been security checkpoints. All of these that he had encountered were destroyed, either smashed with some tremendous force, or sliced in two by a sharp blade. Cloud briefly looked at these and continued on until he reached a door that was hanging loosely on its hinges. On the door were the words:

Main Mainframe Terminal

All Unauthorized Personnel Keep Out

He knew that whatever the attackers wanted, it was in this room. Before Cloud stepped into the room, he thought he heard a sound of something hitting some of the brass casings down a further hallway, but after he paused for a moment to see if he could hear it again and didn't, he entered the room.

The interior of this room was rather small, with a desk on the opposite wall and a computer access terminal on it and a printer. Above the desk was a glass window that looked out at the large collection of server mainframes, all of which were still in working order. Along the top of the window were several monitors, but all of these were only showing flickering snow.

Cloud went to the computer terminal and looked at the keyboard. On several of the keys were marks of dried blood. Also, at a point on the desk, was a small pool of congealed blood. Cloud figured that this was caused by the attacker leaning his weapon against the desk to use the computer. When Cloud hit the spacebar key, the monitor came to life and showed a simple list of five commands and a blinking cursor at the bottom. Cloud leaned forward and read the commands.

Access File by Number

Access File by Name

Access File by Subject

Access Log History

Access Other Functions

Cloud had never said that he was an expert at computers, but he did have a basic knowledge of how to use them. He pushed the number 4 and hit enter. The screen was replaced by a long listing of files and the date and time when they were accessed last. He narrowed his brow as he looked at the long list. Some of them had names next to the file numbers, such as 'Mako Radiation Therapy Procedure' and 'Jenova Cell Injection Procedure.' Another file with a name said 'Report on Stagnant Mako,' but Cloud had no idea what that was. The next file that had a name was even more confusing. 'Project X' but next to this name were the words "File Deleted at Server."

He frowned at this, but then hit the down button and the screen shifted to the next set of files that were below the others on the screen. These files only had numbers, no names. They were all in numerical sequence starting at number 715 and ranged all the way up to 803. After Cloud saw the long list of numbers, he was about to hit one of the command key functions that was listed at the top of the screen to go back and access one of these files by its number to see what it was, but there was one more file listed at the bottom of everything. This last file was accessed nearly five minutes after the others, which was something Cloud noted as he read the file name. 'Findings inside the Deep Ground Facility.' Next to this file were again the words "File Deleted at Server."

Cloud stared at this for a moment and wondered just what the Returners would want with all of these files. The first two made Cloud think that they might want to use the files for a slander campaign against the WRO and try to connect them with the human test experiments done by the Shinra, but the rest of the files didn't match up with this theory.

After deciding that it wasn't his job to figure out what the Returners were thinking, he hit the Print command key and slightly jumped when the annoyingly loud dot-matrix printer began to print the long list out. The printer moved rather quickly, so after Cloud tore the long piece of paper off and folded it into his cargo pocket on his pants, he hit the Back command and then entered the number 1. The screen changed to a single blank with a blinking cursor. Cloud entered the file number 715 and hit enter.

"X Month, X Day

First Quarterly Report- Jenova Cell Harvestation

5 cubic centimeters of plasmatic fluid extracted.

Cell count: 5,000 plus

Allocation: Sealed and delivered to Midgar, Shinra Complex, Building B, care of Scientific Research Department, Professor Hojo residing.

Notes: Cell extraction technology and machinery working at optimal level. Possibility of higher output high."

Cloud stared at the screen for several minutes, trying to understand why this sort of information would be of any interest to the Returners. He didn't check the other 87 entries, but he was quite certain that they were all the same sort of quarterly report. Again Cloud hit the Back key until it returned to the original screen. He was about to turn and leave, but he decided to hit number 5 and see what the other functions were.

On this screen, there was another long list of different functions, many of which Cloud had no interest in. As he scanned the list of new functions, he saw one that picked his interest. It dealt with the surveillance cameras around the Facility. Cloud entered this command and a list of all the surveillance cameras came up. When this happened, the monitors above the window began to flicker more brightly.

Cloud tried to enter every camera's number, but nothing different seemed to happen. He was about to give up when he saw a History function. He input this, and then there was a list of dates, times, and camera numbers. He remembered that Reeve said the attack happened the night three days ago, so he found that log time and hit enter. Above him, the screens stopped showing snow and instead went black for a moment before they slowly came to life. What they showed was the same facility, though Cloud could hardly recognize it. Everything was pristine, with no damage whatsoever. It was raining hard everywhere outside, and Cloud could make out several of the sentry guards huddled under covered doorways. The video didn't have any sound, but Cloud could tell that something had made the sentries suddenly look towards the main gate.

Then everything seemed to happen in fast forward. The main security gate blasted open, sending shrapnel everywhere and knocked out the camera facing the gate. From the other cameras, Cloud could see the alarm light swirling around bathing the wall around it in red light. Then from every door except for the one in the main facility, WRO troopers came pouring out and began to fire at the unseen enemy. In one of the monitors, Cloud saw three young troops burst out of a barrack building together. For a brief moment they only stared at whatever it was that was attacking, but then something happened that made them start to fire. Whatever it was must have been firing back because multiple bullets started to fly in all directions away from the enemy, striking the walls and dirt ground causing sparks and splashes of mud to go everywhere.

Two of the young men fell back to one of the barricades, but the third kept standing there firing his assault rifle at the enemy. Cloud watched on and silently yelled at the kid to get behind some cover, but it was too late. The kid had ran out of ammunition, and then stared wide-eyed towards the enemy. It was then that Cloud saw what it was that was attacking.

All this time he had thought that it must have been a military trained team of professionals that came in and overpowered the WRO troops, but instead, Cloud saw one lone figure, though he was enormous and quite possibly could have been taken for being more than one man. This lone attacker wielded a weapon that Cloud had never seen before, a sort of staff with two long thin blades on each side. Quickly he swung at the kid and cut him in two. Without a second thought, the attacker turned to the group of troopers who were behind a barricade and ran towards them, all the while deflecting bullets with his double bladed sword.

As he got closer to the camera Cloud was able to get a better look. The man was huge, much larger than Barret, but he moved with a speed that seemed impossible for someone his size. Through the rain and constant muzzle flares, he could barely make out what the attacker was wearing. But then through a flash of lightning, he got a clear look at him and instantly Cloud opened his eyes wide and took in a deep breath. The attacker was wearing a uniform that Cloud knew all too well; it was the uniform of a member of SOLDIER. To bolster this theory, Cloud saw the man's glowing pale blue eyes that was a sign of Mako infusion. But something about these eyes caught Cloud as strange, because while Mako eyes were always described as having a strange glow to them, the eyes of this attacker actually put off a faint light of their own. Cloud had never heard of this before and wondered just what that could be.

Eventually, one by one, the cameras were taken out until all of the monitors showed the fuzzy snow, so Cloud let out a breath and decided that it was time to leave this hell and report what he had found to Reeve.

When Cloud stepped out into the hallway, something swept by in his peripheral vision to his left. When he looked, there was only the empty hallway. Cautiously he made his way to the exit, but as he got closer, he heard another sound, this one more distinct than the others; the bark of a Guard Hound. Cloud slowly turned his head and saw the snarling form of a Guard Hound standing at the end of the hallway. Cloud knew from experience that these animals were never alone and soon he was vindicated by hearing the sound of paws pattering, claws clicking, and brass casings skittering along the hard floor. Cloud wasn't sure of just how many of the animals there were, but the sounds were coming from all sides, filling the empty building with dread.

As quickly as he could without moving too fast to make the animals begin their attack, Cloud made his way out of the building and back into the main courtyard. When he reached this, he heard the snarl of more Guard Hounds from behind him, and turned to see dozens of the vile carnivores coming out of every building possible, many of them with bits of flesh and blood dripping from their fangs.

Cloud could tell that this was going to be a hard fight, but now that he was in the open he brandished his two swords with comfort. For a moment, all of the animals only snarled and barked at him until the Alpha Hound, the one that Cloud had seen first in the hallway, emerged from the main building and jumped onto one of the barricades. Cloud looked this one in the eye as it slowly raised its lip in a snarl, revealing its stained yellow fangs. Cloud hunched himself down into a combat stance and sneered at the fell beast. With a swift motion, the Alpha Hound reared back its head and howled, the signal for his pack to attack.

Suddenly all one hundred of the animals charged him, and Cloud swiftly began to swing both of his swords around at them, hitting and killing with a lightning fast proficiency. But as fast as Cloud was, there were just too many of the beasts for him to take on without getting injured. One of them bit his ankle and while Cloud severed its head with a single swing, another slashed his right arm, cutting him deep.

Cloud, wincing with the pain that was now coursing through his right arm, hurled himself into the air and with one fluid motion, attached the serrated blade to the Tsurugi and held it high and above his back. As he channeled his strength into the blade, it became covered with an ethereal flame of spirit energy. Then in one devastating blow, Cloud lunged forward towards the ground and the main mass of snarling foaming Guard Hounds and smashed the ground. When the blade hit, it sent a rippling wave of white hot energy away from the impact epicenter, striking every last Guard Hound and sending them flying. The energy laden flames turned a shade of blue as they consumed the Hounds, and when they dissipated, all that was left were the charred bodies of Cloud's attackers.

Cloud let out a sigh of relief, and placed his sword into his back harness. He lightly cringed when he saw the deep cuts on his arm made by a Hound and flexed his right hand to make sure it still worked properly. In the rear compartment of Fenrir he kept a medical kit, and he opened this and pulled out a few bandages and a hi-potion. Lightly he dabbed some of the potion onto the bandage and wiped the wound down. After it was cleaned, and it was already starting to heal, he placed a fresh bandage over it and put up his med kit.

He jumped onto the seat of Fenrir and opened his cell phone to call Reeve. After a few rings, Reeve answered.

"Hey Cloud, what did you find out?"

"A lot. Everyone inside the facility is dead, and it was attacked by only one man."

"What?" Cloud could hear the surprise in Reeve's voice. "Was he a Returner?"

"No, I don't think so. I think it was a SOLDIER." There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. Cloud was about to check his signal strength to see if he dropped the call when Reeve finally spoke up.

"How soon can you get to Mount Condor?"

"Not long, why?" Cloud asked as he checked his watch.

"Get there as soon as you can. I'll call Cid and have him send an airship to pick you up there and bring you back to Headquarters. Sounds like this could be a lot worse than I feared." Cloud gave an affirmative and hung up the phone. As he started Fenrir, a hesitant weak smile crossed his face when he imagined Tifa giving him the I-told-you-so look.

Within a few hours, Cloud was at Mount Condor and watched as the deck crew loaded up his motorcycle into the cargo hold. The captain of this airship was a middle-aged female, and she told Cloud that they would be arriving at HQ in three hours. Cloud was then given a small but comfortable cabin where he took the opportunity to catch up on some much needed rest.