*slinks in* Hai . . .update, anyone? :D

I do have a good excuse. I'll save it for the bottom, tho.

Axel'sChakrams8: Haha I need to be the one apologizing for not writing faster lol. Geez, it's been forever. Yes, Cloud could definitely benifit from therapy. And maybe medication XD The poor kid. Sephiroth is super creepy, though .-. He'd give anyone a complex. Glad you're still here with us! :) Enjoy!

Evil StormSister: Oh! Happy birthday! Hope it was a good one! ;) Naw, I can't kill them (yet XD)! Squall would have a mental breakdown. Then he'd be asking Sephiroth for a job. Poor Squally can't seem to catch a break :( Anyways, hope you enjoy! :D

KMSaum: Holy Moses! I'm so glad you're back! :D Hope you stick around awhile ;) And I'm glad it's not a complete fail without your epic betta-ing :)

Blaur Schmettering: Aww, thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! (And isn't Axel simply epic in every way? :D) Glad you're with us!

Onward!

Reynolds had promised to rally as much help as she could. With that out of the way, Squall now had to move on to other things, such as actually planning the takeover of an entire kingdom.

Things were moving far too slowly. Squall could sense their time running out, like a cat senses a storm approaching. Instinct urged him to run, to get away before the world fell apart around him. This had to be finished. Soon.

"What did Reynolds say?" Irvine asked the moment Squall walked in the door. A quick survey of the room told him Lea was still out.

"She promised to get as much help as she could. She'll be waiting for our signal."

"Signal?" Zack demanded. "We don't even have a plan yet! When are you going to give a signal?"

Squall didn't bother looking at him as he moved into the kitchen, passing Aeris and Selphie on the way. "Within the week."

"The week?" the room chorused together.

Squall looked up and frowned. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"Squall," Selphie said, "We haven't even met with AVALANCHE . . ."

"That's where we're going right now. Get your things."

"What about Lea?" Selphie asked.

"He's a big boy now," Irvine said, the barest hint of disdain in his voice. Apparently he didn't like the idea of Selphie being concerned about him. "He can take care of himself."

Selphie scowled. "That's not what I meant."

"Leave him a note," Squall said in exasperation. "We have no idea if he'll be back tonight or next week, and this can't wait." Every day they sat around upped the risk of them being discovered. Staying in one location for any extended period of time was risky enough, much less staying there for weeks.

They waited, Squall impatiently, as Selphie scribbled a note and left it on the table. When she finished, Vincent led them all outside.

The night air was cold and the sky was clear, allowing an excellent view of the stars above. It was quiet, with only the twittering of chocobos and the occasional voices leaking out from the surrounding homes to break the silence. It was the perfect evening. Rinoa would have liked it.

"It's not too far from Vincent's place," Zack assured him, as if Squall was worried about it. "Just a few more blocks and we should be there!"

How did he manage to always be so cheery about the most inane things? Squall glanced around a vacant town square as they passed through it, searching for threats out of habit. "Tell me about Barret." If Squall was going to try to get control over the situation, he needed to know who he was dealing with.

Zack grinned. "A hotheaded moron."

"Zack!" Aeris admonished with a frown.

He at least had the intelligence to feign an apologetic look before continuing. "Barret's all passion and no control. Guess there's something to be said for passion, though. Anyway, he's got the temper of a wet chocobo. He's not going to be easy to negotiate with, that's for sure."

"Wonderful," Squall muttered. "What about his team?"

"Well, he said he has four, but I've only met three. One's barely big enough to carry the giant boomerang-thing she totes around-"

"It's a shirukin, Zack," Aeris giggled.

"Are they capable?" Squall asked.

"They seem to be," Zack said, rubbing the back of his head in thought. "They've caused enough trouble in the past to- Hey, what's going on?"

Vincent had come to a sudden halt. Everyone stopped behind him as he held up a hand for silence, his clawed attachment shinning faintly in the moonlight. Everyone held their breaths and listened. The night seemed to freeze around them, revealing nothing. Squall was about to move when his gut twisted with unease and the hairs on his neck rose. It was a familiar sensation. "Heartless," he murmured.

They arrived quickly and in large numbers, at least thirty of them swarming out of a side alley in one dark wave. But it wasn't their speed or numbers that caused Squall's breathing to hitch in surprise and fear. It was their variety.

There were the usual Heartless, insect-like and black as shadow, but then there were Heartless that were almost as tall as Squall was, with armor and helmets that clinked when they walked. There were small bell-like Heartless with blue bodies that darted through the air and spewed ice magic, and winged Heartless the color of dried blood that followed in their wake. Despite their different appearances, Squall still knew they were Heartless. They all had the same empty eyes.

Squall had processed this in a moment, and raised Lionheart to block the first blow by an armored Heartless aimed at Selphie. "Fall back!" he shouted. In such a narrow street, and with the number of Heartless they were dealing with, they were at the disadvantage. It wouldn't take long for the Heartless to surround them with all the alleys, and in such a confined space, no one would be able to use their weapons without risking injury to their comrades. They needed to get back to the town square.

There seemed to be no second thoughts on the subject. As a unit, they all turned and ran back up the street. Either they had come to the same conclusions Squall had, or they trusted him completely. The last one frightened him a little.

Squall and Vincent brought up the rear. Their feet flew over the cobblestone as ice spells nipped at their heels. Squall didn't want to risk a glance back. He kept his eyes on the end of the street. Cold sweat gathered on his forehead. He could feel the Heartless behind him and their terrible hunger. It was as if he were developing a sixth sense toward the monsters, their presence leaving a dark, terrible blot on the edges of his perception.

Squall felt a claw rake across his leg, leaving fire and ice in its wake. He almost fell, but Vincent caught him and they kept going.

"Where did they come from?" Squall could hear Zack yelling. Squall was wondering the same thing. He had never seen Heartless out on their own before. There had to be one of the apprentices out there with them. That or they had escaped.

Or had been turned loose.

The group tore into the square, gaining enough ground so they could turn and regroup. They were ready for the monsters when they came, and Squall met them steel first.

Their attack was strong, but the Heartless had them with numbers. Every time Squall cut one down, two more rose in its place. There seemed to be a never ending supply of them.

"Squall, we can't hold this up forever!" Zack yelled from beside him.

Squall knew that very well. His side was starting to bleed from his previous injury, and he was tiring quickly. It wouldn't take long for him to be out of the game.

He parried the clumsy swing of an armored Heartless and dispatched it with a decapitating blow. "If we leave, they might go after the civilians!" He didn't like how worn his voice sounded. His muscles burned and his breath was short. If the onslaught didn't end soon, they would all die here.

"What should we do?" Selphie asked from somewhere behind him.

He swept his gaze over the Heartless, looking for some sign their numbers were starting to wane, for any signs of respite. The square was full now, with dozens of golden eyes and black bodies closing in on them. Squall and his team had formed a small circle, trying vainly to cover each other's backs from the monsters, but the flying ones would have none of that. They dove in behind them, forcing them to keep turning and spinning.

This wasn't good at all.

"Well, I think we're screwed," Irvine mumbled before the world exploded.

That's what it seemed like, anyway. One moment, they were standing there staring down a mass of Heartless, and the next, they were shying away from a wall of flame.

"What is that?" Aeris shouted from where Zack was shielding her.

"It's Lea!" Zack called. The group seemed to sag in relief, but Squall wasn't so sure.

He took advantage of the break to wipe sweat from his brow. He couldn't see anything from beyond the flame, but he heard several battle cries and the sounds of heavy impact. How could Lea possibly control an inferno this large? The walls were easily eight feet high. There was no way he could handle it, then take out several dozen Heartless on top of it.

Finally, the noise ceased. Squall's ears rang with the hollow roar of flames and heavy panting. They waited, Squall gripping Lionheart tightly in his hands, ready for blood. The wall dropped slowly, descending inch by inch until Squall could see over its edges. There were no Heartless in sight, but sure enough, Lea was there. He was sprawled on the ground, sweat dripping down his forehead and gasping for air. Kneeling beside him was a young man Squall didn't recognize. He had pale skin and icy eyes partially concealed by hair that had a strange bluish tint to it. In his hand he clutched a large weapon that vaguely resembled an oversized claymore.

"You overdid it," he scolded, his voice only holding the barest hint of concern. "Idiot."

Squall moved closer, barely sparing the other man another glance as he crouched next to the redhead. "Lea?"

Lea made a pathetic attempt at a laugh. It sounded like he was being strangled more than anything. "I'll be fine," he panted. "Just need to catch my breath."

"I didn't know you had that much . . . power," Zack said, rubbing the back of his head.

"It takes a lot out of him," the other man explained. "Obviously he doesn't always have the best judgment." The comment was obviously a barb aimed at Lea, but he didn't seem to notice.

"I can handle it, got it memorized?" he replied as if it were a familiar conversation. He held up a hand and the other man helped him sit up. "Anyways, everybody alright?"

"Everyone is accounted for," Vincent reported. "No serious injuries."

"Good, good," Lea nodded. "I'd like you to meet my friend. He's not exactly an army, but it's the best I could do. This is Isa."

Isa gave him an unimpressed look.

"Codename Killjoy."

"We have codenames now?" Isa asked.

"What fun is treachery and rebellion without codenames?"

"Then yours is Idiot."

Lea made a pained face. "You're not funny, Isa."

"Yet you keep forcing your presence upon me. Can I go home?"

"No!" the redhead retorted. "You're a criminal now! You've just aided and abetted enemies of the state. You can't just go home!"

Isa gave him a longsuffering look. "Friends aren't supposed to get friends arrested, Lea."

"But best friends do."

Isa winced. "Best friends?"

"Bestest best friends," Lea said with a straight face.

Isa looked like he was the one in pain now. "Please stop talking."

Lea grinned, then gestured to Squall. "This is the brooding, perpetual downer I was telling you about. Meet Squall, our fearless leader. You two should get along fine, since neither of you seem to have much of a personality."

Squall and Isa both glared down at him, but they shook hands. "Pleasure," Isa said.

"Are you a Nobody, too?" Zack asked.

"Zack!" Aeris gasped.

"What? It's not offensive!" He frowned. "Is it?" he looked to Lea and Isa.

Isa and Lea both smirked. "No. It's not offensive," the young man assured him. "And no, I'm not a Nobody."

"We should move," Vincent interrupted. "Barret does not tolerate late hours well."

Squall nodded. "Can you walk?" he asked Lea.

The redhead grunted an affirmative and Isa pulled him to his feet. He swayed, but Isa took some of his weight for him and stared pointedly at Squall.

He straightened. "Let's go."

Yay! Isa is here XD I think I promised someone he'd show up . . . don't remember who it was tho :/ Hope the fight scene wasn't too much of a disappointment Evil StormSister lol.

By the way, Tiger and Bunny is an awesome show. I highly recommend it. Highly XD It gave my muse the kick it needed to finish this chapter and start another.

Personal note: Feel free to move on if you don't want to read :)

Okay, so I'm sure many of you remember back around when I started this fic that my grandfather was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Well, about three weeks ago he passed out and was rushed to the hospital where they found severe pneumonia in one lung and bronchitis in the other. After a week of improvement, he aspirated and got double pneumonia. It's been an exhausting life and death battle these past few weeks and we've almost lost him several times. Every time I have to leave home to go back to school, I feel like I may be saying goodbye for the rest of this life. He's 89 years old, and I understand that this may very well be his time to leave this earth and go home, but I'm still not ready to let go, and I don't think he is either. Any prayers for him and my family would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much. Hopefully the next chapter will arrive soon :) Please review, and have an awesome day!

God Bless,

-RainFlame