Author's Note: I know, I know, it's been a REALLY long time. Quick recap: Irvine's Dead. Recap over. That's the important set up event for this chapter. Big point, though, is that I'm back and posting again. Two chapters today and one tomorrow if the site will actually work. My copmuter, my internet, my life, AND this site have all been REALLY flaky this year. Also, we're getting to the interesting stuff in these coming chapters, with as many new questions as secrets, and certain things that didn't make sense before will be questioned, certain minor things that nobody's bothered to point out...

Chapter 20

A stunned Rinoa sat by his side, tears streaming down the side of her face. "What happened?" she asked of her recently departed friend.

"He died in battle," Cloud told her. He had not personally known Irvine as the others had, and as Vincent had left, he seemed to be the only one able to tell her about the battle that had recently taken place. "There was an intruder. He sacrificed himself to let Selphie and Rakunya escape."

The battle hadn't been over for five minutes before the other able fighters were rounded up by Zell and Rinoa. The group now stood in the remains of the atrium mourning the passing of Irvine, even those who had not known him previously. The air was heavy with the great sense of loss that accompanied all of them.

Rinoa turned around and cried into Squall's shoulder. Even Squall, whose emotions had typically remained hidden, allowed tears to shed for the passing of his comrade. Zell was mumbling to himself in a corner; those who could hear him frequently heard him say, "It isn't happening. This isn't real."

Selphie hadn't left his side since he was murdered. In her mind, Irvine had not been a casualty of "war" with Sephiroth; he was brutally murdered by Genesis, needlessly slaughtered in a senseless battle. In the time that had passed, she had already lost the ability to cry; try as she might, the tears would no longer flow. Instead, she sat as if in a trance, staring at Irvine's lifeless face, unsure of what to do, say, think. Nothing mattered for her at that moment, simply the fact that Irvine was dead.

Rakunya stared past Quistis as she ran out of the atrium, unable to accept what had happened. In contrast with Selphie, Rakunya's mind swarmed with thoughts and emotions. Anger, sorrow, fear, hatred…everything became a single unstable emotion boiling deep beneath his stunned and detached exterior. His physical senses seemed to dull as he tried to make sense of his thoughts. He couldn't hear Rinoa's tears, couldn't answer Yuffie's questions, couldn't see AVALANCHE pestering Cloud for answers.

One thing, however, did penetrate his deadened view. From the shock of the bullet wound, Genesis had dropped one of his swords on the ground. The blade was distinctive from Sephiroth's; predominantly, it was shorter, though not by a great amount. His vision focused on the blade, and soon his thought did as well.

Reeve walked over to him and put his hand on Rakunya's shoulder. "I am truly sorry for your loss," he said. Rakunya seemed unaffected.

"You're a good friend of Selphie's, right?" Rakunya nodded. "If you would please take her back to her room. We need to take care of the body…"

Rakunya shook his head and walked past Reeve. He grabbed the blade of Genesis and left.

"What do you mean you failed?" she asked, perhaps harsher than she had intended.

"Didn't you say you could handle him on your own?"

The assassin growled, then sighed. "I should have been able to. I let us down, and if he's after Lunatic Pandora, then I have let everyone down."

Another shook her head. "It's alright. We understand. We'll just have to find another way to stop Rufus." She turned her head to the monitor. "And I suppose it's my job to warn them?"

The first shook her head. "I'll handle it. Reeve has had more contact with me than the rest of you. Besides, you know where we need you…"

Rufus watched from a distance as SOLDIER troops and Galbadian mercenaries prepared for battle. While Galbadia had seemed reluctant to offer direct help, Rufus found it refreshingly strange that they hired out their soldiers to him quite cheaply, leaving him to suspect that there were unspoken rivalries and hatreds between Galbadia and Esthar. He smiled. He would take any help he could get, although if Odine was correct…

Normally he wouldn't have accompanied his troops onto the battlefield, but Odine had promised him a show, and he expected to see this promise fulfilled. If Odine was right, then ShinRa would have the world under its control in a matter of days. Between the power that Odine had promised him and the power of Lunatic Pandora…

It took me a lot of work and money to displace the WRO, he thought. It's time to prove that my efforts were not wasted. It's time for ShinRa to reclaim its place in the world.

As expected, Esthar's troops gathered to fight off the invasion. Although the town being threatened was small, it was still under Esthar's control, and Rufus knew that Laguna was not intending to let Rufus have any leeway in this war.

Unexpected, however, was the reaction. Their size greater than expected, the Esthar force soon proved that although ShinRa still commanded the greater army, size was not everything. The very start of the battle proved to Rufus that there was more than Lunatic Pandora to retrieve from Esthar. Esthar soldiers were equipped with better technology, both in weaponry and in armor, allowing them to quickly even the force sizes, taking considerably less losses than ShinRa.

Fortunately, Rufus realized the role morale could play in winning a war, and if Odine wasn't lying to him…He opened his cell phone and called the doctor. "Well?"

"I avait your vord!"

"Do it."

The moment Rufus hung up, the ground began to shake. Looking out over the battle field, he saw a mighty wolf charging through Esthar's troops, literally tearing them to shreds. After the encounter, several of the Esthar soldiers had simply ceased to be; those that had not died were either fleeing or surrendering. Rufus laughed at the new power he had received; his knowledge of Eidolons may have been limited, but he still recognized Fenrir, the great wolf.

Seifer kicked at a large rock. He had been exploring the crater ever since he had left, looking for traces of Sephiroth, although he would settle for one of the Remnants. It was the Remnants who had wronged him in the first place. They were more elusive, though. Sephiroth wouldn't back down from a challenge, and he knew that if were to defeat Sephiroth, he would bring his Remnants in to protect him. It was their lives he was truly interested in taking away.

Interested, he thought. More like obsessed. He had thought of nothing except finding the four silver-haired warriors, and he had finally gotten his chance, but that friend of Reeve's had interfered, taken them all to "safety". They had been perfectly safe where they were. That group could have easily defeated Sephiroth and his cronies; there was no doubt in his mind.

He shook his head as memories of the tragic day flooded his mind. They had been out having a friendly drink that night, all three of them. Life had become so dull after the Sorceress War that they frequently visited bars, and this one was supposed to be amazing.

The three of them had walked into that small bar in the town of Edge, a local favorite known as 7th Heaven, eager to see what they had to offer, and indeed the bar was good. The three of them had had perhaps too much to drink that night, and perhaps everything would still be normal had he accepted the bartender's advice and gotten a room at the inn.

Instead, however, they had left the town, unsure of where they would go, and began stumbling around the outskirts of Edge and nearby Midgar. It wasn't long before they had accidentally wandered into the Remnants, who seemed to be observing the city and talking amongst themselves. What they were saying was anyone's guess; the trio was drunk at the time.

Drunk as they were, they still knew that the Remnants didn't want them around, and so they drew their weapons and prepared for battle. That very battle was a sobering experience for Seifer, and despite his drunkenness, he remembered the fight quite clearly.

The monk had closed the distance rapidly, not allowing the drunken trio any reaction time. The gunner had unloaded endless bullets on them, one of which had left a hidden scar in Seifer's shoulder, and the other simply watched. It wasn't long before the Remnants had overpowered the trio. The three of them scattered, each hoping to escape. Seifer managed to find his way into the town, and the swordsman following him did not wish to be seen. To the best of his knowledge, Fujin and Raijin had not been so lucky.

He kicked at another stone. In his remembrance, he had failed to pay attention to where he was going and had managed to walk in a complete circle. The entrance he had used to escape to the crater, however, was no longer hidden. It seemed to be forced open, and there was a trail of blood leaving it. He followed the trail for a while before drawing his gunblade; the injured man may not have been Sephiroth, but he would do.

Soon, however, Sephiroth himself appeared before the man, taking the sword the man carried at pointing it at Seifer, the tip of his blade touching the tip of the Hyperion. "Leave," Sephiroth commanded.

"We fight," Seifer growled. "Right here and now."

Sephiroth smirked, then brought his blade around in a full swing. Seifer brought his own blade up to parry the attack, but he was too slow, and the Masamune still left its mark on his shoulder. Unrelenting, Seifer charged and swung wildly at Sephiroth. Astonishingly, Sephiroth was able to parry the attacks. Seifer was left only to wonder how he could command such a long sword at such a short distance when Sephiroth sliced Seifer's other arm neatly.

As Sephiroth raised Masamune for a finishing blow, a great wind arose. Sephiroth seemed unaffected, though his actions began to slow. The terrain, however, was quite responsive to the force; rocks were swept away, debris from previous battle was blown across the emptying field, even the trail of blood now seemed to be thrown against the walls.

Seifer involuntarily shuddered as a hand grabbed his shoulder from behind. "Kome with me, my knight."

When Sephiroth's blade had come down, he was furious. He had not completely understood what he had seen, but he had glimpsed enough to know that he was interfered with once more. Another had dared to take a kill away from him…He lifted Genesis and left the Crater, determined to ask his "partner" about this third party.