Chapter Five

DARKNESS FOR HIRE

The branch of the Pacific Ocean that surrounded Kazun was calm and subtle yet it roared along the country shores like a shield, as if it would lash out and destroy anything attempting to harm the land. Beneath its deep rippling surface, a dark blue machine sliced through the water and came to a halt on the beige sand. The sea faring vehicle was of Vandarian invention, a switchblade submarine. The tinted reinforced glass armored cockpit hatch slid back with a subtle snap hiss and Lieutenant Rillian Sena hopped out of the sub. The moment her feet touched the soft sands of Kazun her legs buckled and her hands and knees slammed into the dirt. Blood and vomit poured from her mouth as she violently coughed and gasped fresh air back into her lungs.

Her head turned and her eyes glanced back at the calm Pacific Ocean with a weary daze. "Monster…" Was I the only one who made it? How… "How did I make it…?" A memory relapse flashed in front of Rillian's eyes. Marotherma, flooded with water wavered in front of her. Rillian's head turned and Riko's lifeless body drifted over her head. Dead…all dead…A flash of light blinded the Techmage followed by a rush of water into her ears. No… A switchblade zoomed off towards the destroyed dome roof of the laboratory. Not all… Her body came to a halt as her back hit the hood of another one of the Vandarian switchblades marooned inside the laboratory.

"No!" Rillian screamed. "They aren't all dead!" She coughed again, vomiting up the last of the sea water inside her stomach.

An idea filled her thoughts. A foolish idea but the only one she had at the moment. She knew that the soil she stood on belonged to Kazun. Fortunately for her, Cid had designed the switchblades with the latest in radar jamming technology. Rillian didn't know if it was damaged during the underwater battle but it didn't matter. Her idea would give her position away the second she put it into action. She rolled her right glove down revealing a small digital watch which had a small radio transmitter installed into it. Some type of welcoming party would be sent to her location the moment she activated the radio so she would have to regulate its use. A silent chirp beeped from the watch as she pressed two buttons on either side of the watch and the device was instantly locked in to Rillian's squadron's radio frequency.

"Mad Cat two, this is Mad Cat four, coming up on Lightning Metal…E.T.A. twenty minutes." A male voice familiar to Rillian flowed from the small speakers on the watch.

You have got to be kidding. Rillian couldn't believe her luck after everything that had happened to her and her friends. "Denny!" She shouted into the watch with a wide smile on her face.

"Boss…?" Denny's voice came back.

"Rillian!" "Terri's overjoyed voice blasted from the watch speakers.

"Holy shit!" Max shouted. "We thought you were dead!"

"So did I…" Rillian admitted.

"Where are you?" Terri asked.

"I don't know, somewhere in Kazun." Rillian glanced around. "The shoreline not sure where…track my signal."

"Already on it." Denny came back. "Wait one…"

A handful of moments that seemed like hours passed by and Rillian's patience reached its limits. "Well?" Rillian asked impatiently.

"No shit…" Denny said half astonished.

"What?" Rillian almost screamed.

"You're only three miles away from Lightning Metal." Denny said softly.

"The heavy weapons factory?" Rillian blinked.

"And our current target." Terri chirped.

"You're attacking Kazun?" Rillian asked the obvious.

"Roger that." Max chuckled.

"Payback for Marotherma." Denny added.

"Payback…" So it really is war. "Word of our ass kicking got out that fast huh?" Again Rillian asked the obvious.

"It's ok boss, everyone gets a boot in the ass every now and then." Denny chuckled.

"Shut up, Denny." Terri snapped. "Do you have any type of transportation handy, Rillian?"

Rillian glanced back at the battered sparking remains of the switchblade that miraculously brought her to the Kazunian shoreline. "Not really." She thought for a moment. "But I'm sure I can work something out."

"Well whatever it is, meet up with us at Lightning Metal." Max said.

"Yeah and I suggest you turn that transmitter off boss. The Kazunians are probably already on their way to put another boot up your ass." Denny warned.

"Denny…" Rillian spoke softly.

"S'up?" Denny asked.

"SHUT…UP." Rillian shut her radio off before her squad mate could respond. Let them come…Solves my transportation problem.

Lightning Metal

Lightning Metal was one of Kazun's many weapon production facilities. There was one thing, however, that made it stand out among its peers. The fact that Kazun's most gifted weapons designer, Cyrus Blank, produced his country's pride and joy warships, airborne and seafaring. Lightning Metal not only boasted some of the world's most lethal war machines, thanks to Cyrus, the factory produced in weeks what would logically take years to create, hence the facility's name.

"Keep it moving. Keep it moving!" One of the head designers under Cyrus ordered.

Inside the rectangular facility, hundreds of Terrain, Air, and Sea Lancers lined the steel walls resting silently on raised platforms. Large bendable metal arms with an assortment of construction tools on their tips stretched out around the Lancers, fine tuning small deficiencies such as welding errors. Beside several of the Lancers, Switchblade submarines also received robotic finishing touches. Thousands of mechanics walked the lines of war mechs and submarines, making sure the machines didn't miss anything. Lightning Metal was nearly a mile high. Half a mile above the rear of the facility, thirty grated catwalks extended from the far right wall of the factory to the left above three Kazunian airships currently in production.

Cyrus stood atop the catwalk furthest from the back wall and gazed out at his creations while leaning forward, his hands tightly gripping the metal rail. "About time we went to war again."

Koren Danton stood beside Cyrus with a maniacal grin covering his face. "Truly magnificent, Cyrus."

"Yeah." Cyrus smirked. "I'm a genius. I know." He turned to Koren. "So…I didn't get any authorization for you to play with all these toys."

"Your point?" Koren's grin shrank to a smirk.

Cyrus kept his fearless gaze in line with Koren's twisted gaze for a handful of seconds before letting out a chuckle. "No point. Just like to know what my weapons of mass destruction are being used for when I can."

"Oh don't worry…you'll know." Koren assured him.

A loud siren rang over the loud ambiance of torches welding and hammers banging on metal. Koren and Cyrus glanced around the factory then firmly grabbed the metal railing of the catwalk as a loud and violent explosion shook the facility. Several shocked mechanics shrieked in terror as they were thrown from the catwalks and hit the steel floor.

"What in the…" Cyrus began then paused as he saw six rockets fly through Lightning Metal's opened entrance towards the back wall of the factory. "HELL!"

The rockets smashed into the back wall, causing several of the catwalks to be blown off their hinges. The metal walkways slammed into the unfinished airships then bounced off and hit the ground, smashing several mechanics beneath them. Cyrus glared up at the entrance and then almost fell backwards over the railing as three Air Lancers shot in through the massive open doorway.

"It can't be!" Cyrus screamed.

"So…they've brought the fight to us…" Koren folded his arms.

Another barrage of rockets ripped through several of Cyrus's war machines and a steady stream of laser beam fire sliced open another large chunk of his workforce. "You mother ffff….!"

Koren removed his hand from the mouth of the enraged head mechanic. "Calm down, Cyrus."

"Calm down?" Cyrus glanced at Koren. "Calm down!" He slammed his hands back onto the railing. "They're destroying my factory! How the fuck am I supposed to calm down!" Before Koren could answer, a Kazunian Terrain Lancer sped into the factory and Cyrus's hopes rose. "Finally something goes my way!" Cyrus smiled then gasped and again almost fell over the railing he was leaning on as the Lancer launched two large mortar shells into the airship directly beneath the catwalk he stood on. "HEY! Cyrus shrieked. What the hell are you doing!"

The cockpit snapped open and Rillian Sena jumped out of her stolen seat landing lightly into the middle of the chaos her squadron had caused. "You…!" Her eyes glared a hole through Koren after she spotted him atop the catwalk. A blue aura began to surround her body. "I'll fucking kill you!"

"Not today my dear…" Koren chuckled.

"You…how can you be so calm in a situation like this!" Cyrus struggled to control his breathing.

"The simple fact that I am in control of this situation eases my worries, Cyrus." Koren replied coolly.

"How do you figure?" The answer to Cyrus's question came with a loud echo from a soft set of footsteps and music.

Black sneakers casually strode across the metal grated floor of the catwalk. Black baggy jeans ruffled silently beneath a black t-shirt. A green unbuttoned shirt covered in a black checker design hung loosely over the t-shirt. A caramel skinned young boy with caramel colored eyes and short black frizzy hair came to a halt in between Koren and Cyrus. He clenched his finger glove covered hands forming fists.

"I hired a gun." Koren's evil grin returned.

The boy exhaled a cloud of smoke from the cigarette clenched between his lips. His ears were covered with two cordless silver headphones. His eyes were covered with dark shades that hid them from the rest of the world. He gazed down at Rillian who still kept her murderous glare pinned on Koren. His eyes followed the movements of the three Air Lancers of the Mad Cat squadron. On the inside lens of his shades, the boy read a detailed description of the Air Lancers as a small invisible tracking laser locked on to each mech.

"Four for four hundred thousand?" The boy's question was more of a statement.

Koren nodded in response.

Cyrus took a step back, too stunned to believe who it was that stood in front of him. "It's…that's…he's…"

"That's right, Cyrus." Koren said while smiling at Rillian.

Zamen Kensata, one of the most feared and respected mercenaries in Kazun stared down his four opponents. A handful of seconds slowly passed before Zamen leapt from the catwalk and landed lightly in front of Rillian.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" Rillian spat as her attention turned to the young mercenary.

Zamen stood silently, never taking his eyes off of Rillian.

"Well?" Rillian frowned. "Answer me you punk kid!"

Zamen still remained silent.

Rillian drew her right dagger and began to twirl it, charging a lightning spell. "Answer me!"

"Stop charging that spell." Zamen's voice was cold and devoid of emotion.

Rillian gritted her teeth then screamed as she sent large bolts of lightning towards Zamen. "Get out of my way!"

Zamen remained still, with his arms at his side. "No." The lightning spell bounced off of a magical barrier three feet in front of the mercenary Techmage then vanished.

Rillian took a step back in shock then growled in anger while drawing her second dagger. "Bastard!"

The three Lancers of the Mad Cat squadron circled around inside the factory then turned at the entrance behind Rillian. Another salvo of missiles with a stream of laser beam fire shot towards Zamen as Rillian began to cast a more powerful lightning spell. Zamen continued to remain still as he watched the barrage of weapons shoot towards him. When the missiles and lasers came within six feet of the mercenary, time around the weapons of destruction froze.

Rillian's spell was interrupted as she gasped and almost stumbled back. "What?"

Before anything else could happen inside the factory, a red aura surrounded Zamen. Several seconds of silence passed and then the volume of the music flowing from his headphones increased and a crimson circle with an ancient character in its center spread out around him across the floor of the heavy weapons facility. The circle slid forward until it was three feet in front of Zamen and a violent rumble overtook the factory. All time seemed to freeze for several minutes before the steel floor and the ground beneath it cracked and split open. A loud explosion with red and orange flames viciously lashing out in every direction erupted from the ground and surrounded an ancient demon that flew from the depths of hell with an ear piercing roar. As the beast soared into the air, the missile and laser rounds above it exploded, blasting Rillian back into the front of her stolen Lancer.

Cyrus's eyes widened as the shock and horror in his heart grew. "If…Ifrit!"

Ifrit, a dark brown skinned muscular demon roared up at the roof of Lightning Metal. An orange flaming mane extended down from his head to the center of his back. Two twenty foot long horns extended from either side of his head. His pointed ears peeked out from behind his mane and his half lion half dog face harbored two pitch black pupils and a long snout with razor sharp fangs lining his mouth. His hands bore five black claws and his feet three black talons.

Rillian groaned in pain as she lifted herself from the floor then gazed up in terror at the demon hovering above Zamen. "Shit!" She quickly hurried into her Lancer then transformed it into its humanized form.

"Holy shit!" Denny shouted as he pulled up on his piloting control stick.

"Break off!" Max Ordered.

The Mad Cats pulled up and turned around for an all out assault. As they turned and reformed behind Rillian, Zamen's hands slowly rose to the sides of his green and black shirt. He pulled its sides back, revealing two highly customized emerald and ebony colored twenty-first century desert eagles. As he pulled the weapons from his holsters, a red mist of energy floated down from Ifrit and swirled around him causing his hands to glow a bright crimson.

"What…what's he doing!" Cyrus glanced at Koren, who only continued to smile at the unfolding events.

Zamen stretched his arms out to the side and aimed his handguns sideways in the direction of the Kazunian Lancers as he began to run forward towards the Mad Cats. With every step the mercenary took, Ifrit shot through the air above him with his arms extended and a searing fireball lashing out around him. When he was within ten yards of the Mad Cats, Zamen began to fire at the Kazunian Lancers on either side of him. Normal fifty caliber bullets shot out from the barrels of his handguns, surrounded by the immense power generated from Ifrit. They ripped open the Lancers, causing blindingly bright explosions that engulfed Mad Cats two and three.

"No! My creations!" Cyrus shouted in anger and shock as Mad Cat two and three smashed into the line of Kazunian Lancers and Switchblades.

"Max…TERRI!" Rillian shouted from the cockpit of her stolen Lancer.

Rillian and Denny let loose a barrage of mortars, rockets, and lasers, everything they had. Zamen slid to a halt beneath Rillian's Lancer as Ifrit pulled his arms in front of himself and crashed into the stolen Kazunian mech. The demon flew up into the air and ripped Rillian's mech through Denny's Lancer and carried her out of the entrance. Moments later a loud metal grinding crash echoed from outside of Lightning Metal into the ears of the humans inside.

Cyrus stood speechless on top of the catwalk while starring down at the carnage created from the battle. He slowly turned his eyes to Koren then re-centered them on Zamen, who was walking towards the catwalk that Chaos Blue stood on. Zamen stopped and gazed up at the Blasphemy commander then holstered his handguns. He held his right hand up while starring at Koren.

"Yes…you earned it." Koren pulled a small plastic card from his coat pocket and tossed it down to Zamen who caught it and slid it into his jean pocket in one fluid motion.

"I thought…" Cyrus tried to distract his mind with anything that could block out his destroyed machines. "I thought he only accepted jobs if he was paid all in advance.

"This is normally true." Koren smirked. "But on certain jobs that have, shall we say…a unique importance…"

In another fluid motion, Zamen pulled his right desert eagle from its holster and put a bullet through Koren's forehead. The impact splattered half of the Techmage's head onto the catwalk floor and rails. Cyrus shrieked in fright and stumbled back, gazing out in terror at the near decapitated remains of Koren. His eyes shot down to Zamen who slowly holstered his smoking desert eagle.

"One for one million." Zamen turned and walked towards the factory entrance as the Lancer and Switchblade remains sparked and exploded around him.

Lieutenant Rillian Sena slowly crawled out from the wrecked remains of the Kazunian Lancer. Her clothes were torn and blood seeped out from several wounds that decorated her body. She barely managed to pull herself five feet from the destroyed mech before her strength left her. A low echo of footsteps flowed into her ringing ears. As she rolled over onto her back, Zamen's dark form filled her vision.

"M…mmm…monster…" Rillian groaned through labored breaths.

Zamen stared silently at the Vandarian Techmage for over half a minute before he upholstered his right desert eagle. Nothing more…nothing less.

A bright white flash from the black void inside the handgun barrel was the last thing Rillian saw before her entire head was disconnected from her body and scattered out across the rough stone ground that surrounded Lightning Metal.

Name: Zamen Kensata

Gender: Male

Birth: 3897

Techmage Rank: Unofficial

Standard Role: Unofficial

Flame Affinity: Unknown

Lightning Affinity: Unknown

Ice Affinity: Unknown

Earth Affinity: Unknown

Offensive Weapon: 2 Customized Desert Eagles

Defensive Weapon: None

Accessory: 2 Black Wrist Bands

Materia: Unknown

Summon Materia: Ifrit…Unknown

Twilight Dragon Transport Shuttle

Claire couldn't believe it. Even as she sped towards Kazun in the shuttle she acquired from Twilight Dragon she couldn't believe why she was doing something so insane. A massive tidal wave generated from beneath the ocean violently hit the shores of Turhan early yesterday morning… The news broadcast she watched on a monitor inside her shuttle replayed in her mind. Coast guard officials still have no explanation for the strange occurrence… She could feel her heart beating beneath her chest as she tried to remain calm. Accounts from local fishing boats from Herren, Turhan's capital and the city that received the most damage from the wave tell of a bright blue light that shined out from beneath the ocean depths… Claire could barely recall landing in Herren when the broadcast blipped onto her shuttle monitor. She could barely recall ransacking her own apartment grabbing her civilian clothes, two daggers and the rest of her Materia.

Leviathan. The name echoed in Claire's mind. "I told them it was a stupid idea…I told them they should have let me come!" She trembled at the fear and rage she heard in her voice. Come on, when have we ever not been careful? Rillian's voice flowed through her thoughts next.

Without any type of cloaking or stealth technology equipped on the shuttle, Claire didn't make it two miles into Kazun before she was fired upon by a squad of patrolling Air Lancers.

"Shit…!" Claire pointlessly maneuvered her craft only to have the rear left fin be blown off by an impacting rocket. "Shit, shit, shit!" The shuttle spun out of control towards a bright green forest that stretched for miles across Kazun.

Vandaria: Hidden Sun Catacombs

"Yen…" Rayne Sukio called out softly. "Yen!"

"What?" Yen Kang grunted.

Rayne stopped in mid step and placed her hands on her hips while giving Yen a frustrated glare. "We've been down here for twelve hours!" She knew he couldn't make out her expression through the near pitch black darkness of the mutant infested tunnel, but she figured the tone in her voice and posture of her body movements would be enough to get her point across.

"I don't think it's here, Yen." Denzy Runau put in his doubts.

"I can sense something…something powerful." Yen said before trudging deeper into the darkness.

Rayne sighed in defeat and continued on behind Yen. Denzy shrugged and followed his two squad mates. Hours that seemed like days to the exhausted Techmages slowly drifted by until finally, after descending several miles beneath the Earth's surface, the three Kazunians stepped into an enormous cave at the end of the tunnel. Yen was the first to step into the dark damp hole in the world. To his surprise, the floor his boots flattened over was soft and plush. He took in a deep breath and the musty stench of rotting animal corpses and dust faded, replaced by a heavy oily substance that polluted the air.

"What…the…hell?" Denzy asked no one in particular as he stepped into the cave. He quickly pulled a chemical light from his utility belt and snapped it in two. The cave lit up with a bright green glow.

"Holy…" Rayne gasped as she gazed down at the floor.

Sharp blades of grass as black as the cave around them crumpled under the three humans. A thick tar like substance oozed from the grass and clung to their boots and uniforms. Yen's eyes slowly followed the unnatural vegetation to the back center of the cave. His pupils shrank and his eyes widened when what rested in the back of the cave filled his vision. An enormous crimson Materia formation spiked out from the back of the cave. The tar dripped from the jagged tips of the magical rock onto the black grass.

"No way…" Denzy managed to whisper.

"It…it can't be…" Rayne shook her head.

Yen's own doubts were not enough to keep his body from moving closer to the Materia. He stopped three feet in front of the formation and exhaled a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Bahamut…"

As if the powerful force trapped within the Materia were waiting for the ambitious Techmage…the center of the formation opened into a wide crevice, which harbored a small pillar that served as a resting place for a small orb of red summoning Materia. The black tar dripped from the top of the crevice onto the orb, darkening its glow and a drop of the tar smeared over Yen's right hand as he snatched the Materia with it.

"Is it really…Bahamut?" Rayne asked with wide eyes.

Yen gazed into the red orb of magic with an undeniable lust for power in his eyes. A dim grayish glow flickered inside the crimson orb. A dark image, blacker than the tar covered grass gradually materialized inside the orb. The image took shape and moments later a creature covered in black armored skin with long bat like wings and a lizard like tail hovered inside the orb. Its fangs were as white as a full moon and sharper than a katana crafted from the strongest metal.

"Yen…?" Rayne called out.

The demon glared out into Yen's eyes. Gravajia… The name flowed into Yen's mind.

"Yen!" Rayne screamed.

"No…" Yen's voice was cold and silent.

The subtle rage in her lover and commander's voice sent a cold chill down Rayne's spine. "Yen…?" She trembled.

"Yo, Yen." Denzy walked over to his superior. "What's wrong with you man…?"

In the split second that passed after Denzy's question left his lips, Yen turned and an unholy substance similar to the tar spread around his pupils and corneas until his eyes were nothing but black orbs. His katana shimmered even in the darkness of the cave then sliced deeply into Denzy's stomach. The stunned Techmage let out half a scream as his eyes widened in disbelief. Yen's black eyes slowly rolled to the right and Rayne's terrified form filled his vision. The Crescent Warriors commander twisted his blade then glided it through the upper half of Denzy's body. Denzy let out a gurgled gasp before the upper portion of his body split in half, letting out a violent gush of blood and organs that splattered onto Yen, Rayne, and a large portion of the cave.

Rayne took a step back as Denzy's mutilated corpse hit the black grassy ground with a wet thud. "Yen…no…" She begged. Her mind raced with options she could take to survive, however her fear and confusion blocked out all reason and as her back pressed against the wall of the cave her body froze.

"Chaos…" Yen's voice was his own but another voice silently echoed behind it as he closed the distance between himself and Rayne.

"Yen…please…don't…" Rayne shook her head. She let out a high pitched scream and a pain filled gasp as Yen's katana pierced her chest. "Yen…" She gazed out at Yen's expressionless face as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "I love you…"

Yen pulled his bloody katana from Rayne's body and the woman's eyes slowly closed as her lifeless form toppled to the ground. "Rayne…" The tar seeped back behind Yen's eyes and his hands went through a fluid motion of sheathing his katana. "What?" The Techmage realized what he had done but assumed it was another one of his blackouts. He knelt down beside Rayne and gently placed his hand on her cheek. "Rayne…" A tear rolled down his cheek; however, a smile crept onto his lips. "I'm truly sorry beautiful…but it was worth it. I know you understand." He leaned over and kissed her forehead then rose to his feet. "There's no one alive that can stop me from finding…" Yen trembled and his right hand gripped his forehead as an unseen force pressed against his mind. You don't need him… the voice repeated its sentences hundreds of times in mere seconds. He is weak. They are weak. You will die. They will die. Death. Fear. "Chaos…" Yen spoke with a voice that was not his own. Join us. You will rule. I will rule. Faith must die. "You can't control me." Yen struggled to speak with his own voice. I do not control. I do not need control. You want power. You want the world. I want the world. "Who…who…are you?" You know who I am. Who are you? "Who are you damnit!" Yen shouted. A powerful blast of energy surged through Yen's mind as he gripped the Materia tighter. He grunted in pain and fell to one knee. His eyes shot open and the black tar covered them, flashing several images in front of them. Yen gazed out at a man with wings as white as the clouds and eyes as blue as the sky. His hair was long and black and his face was unimaginably handsome. Fire sprouted up around the man and the black tar slowly drenched his wings and his eyes.

"It…it can't be!" Yen stuttered in shock. "You do not exist!"

The fallen angel gazed up at Yen with no expression covering his face. His mouth opened, and a row of razor sharp fangs lined the top and bottom of his mouth. He shrieked a horrible shriek that rattled Yen's mind then flew forward towards him with great speed.

Yen fell back off of his knee and his back smashed into the black grass. "It can't be…" I am…that I am… The voice echoed in Yen's mind. You shall have my servant… Gravajia's hellish form flashed in front of Yen's eyes then vanished. And power unmatched by the inhabitants of this world.

The tar covering the grass that Yen laid on oozed from the once green vegetation. Within five seconds, Yen was completely covered in the tar. As Yen screamed and struggled, the black liquid poured into his body through his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and even his pores until not a drop was left in the cave. Yen slowly stood to his feet and his blue eyes slowly scanned the cave. The grass growing around him, now yellowish beige without the tar, exploded into dust. Yen turned towards the tunnel that led out of the cave with a confident smirk on his face and began his ascent back to the Earth's surface.

Kazun: Forest

Private First Class Reynolds glanced around her new and unwanted surroundings, carefully taking in every detail of the portion of Kazun she had crash landed on. Her shuttle sparked and burned as steam from the fire Claire recently extinguished hovered into the air. The stranded Techmage inventoried the minimal supplies she salvaged from the shuttle and spread them out along the ground beneath one of the thousands of trees that made up the forest she now inhabited.

"One fried beam assault rifle…" she sighed. "Useless. Two water pouches…three grenades…" She glanced at the small bladed weapons on either side of her hips. "Two daggers. Thanks, Rillian. And…" Even though she knew she was alone in the forest, save the many animals she could hear around her, she still glanced around before pulling her black jeans down far enough to grab the small bag of Materia hidden beneath her underwear. She didn't mean to put them there but her mind was too frantic back at her apartment and the old habit took control. "Fire…ice…and thunder." Claire smiled for no reason then placed the Materia orbs into the bottom right pocket of the cargo vest she wore over a tight black t-shirt. "Ok…" She glanced at the compass on her wristwatch then turned in the direction she was previously flying to. "Now to find…" Before she could finish speaking her thoughts two large red laser beams smashed into the ground three feet behind her, blasting the shocked Techmage seven feet into the air and twenty feet forward. Claire's right shoulder hit the dirt first with a loud thud and she slid twelve feet forward before coming to a halt, groaning in pain. Somehow, Claire managed to push herself back up onto her black sneaker covered feet.

"And I didn't see this coming?" She asked no one in particular. Three red F-25 Puma jets with black stripes rocketed over the forest, turning for another pass over the Vandarian Techmage. "Alright…jets. This should be easy." Claire reassured herself. Thun…"Shit!" Claire jumped and rolled to the left in a vain attempt at dodging an explosion from the barrage of missiles that ripped open the ground twenty feet to her right. Again the former V Trooper was flung through the air like a rag doll. Claire shrieked in pain as her back slammed into the trunk of a massive tree. Dazed and disoriented, it took Claire almost a minute to rise to her feet. She glared up at the F-25s then raised her hand. Thunder!

Claire waited for over ten seconds for her attack to launch before she realized she hadn't inserted her Materia into her crystal bangle or her daggers. "God damnit!" She ran for the cover of the trees then quickly slapped her thunder Materia into her crystal bangle then turned back towards the sky. Thunder! A blue aura surrounded Claire's body. Three seconds later three large bolts of lightning shot from the palm of her hand and ripped through the cockpit of the lead F-25. The front half of the jet exploded and the fragmentation from the vessel cut through the right wingman of the dead wing commander and both jets plummeted towards the forest. The third pilot, not wanting to end up like her wingman, broke off her attack and blasted back towards her base.

"Yeah!" Claire jumped up and down twice then threw her right fist into the air. "Watch out Kazunians…" She made an imaginary gun with her hand and pointed it in the direction she was flying towards in her downed shuttle then winked her left eye. "Vandaria's newest Techmage is gunnin for ya." She collected her supplies then started off towards her intended destination.

Forest Lake

Another Vandarian Switchblade submarine docked onto Kazunian lands. This one cut through the murky waters of a large lake in the middle of a dense forest. Dr. Karen Sanz and her daughter, Clara slowly climbed out of the Switchblade along with Cynthia Bevelle. Somehow in the midst of the chaos and confusion after Leviathan had been summoned, Clara had managed to claw her way through the ocean depths and key up the submarine's startup sequence. The following journey proved to be too tight a squeeze for the three women and they all gasped for air on their hands and knees after falling out of the Switchblade.

"Mmm…" Clara attempted to speak between gasps. "Mom…"

"Cl…Cla…Clara." Karen replied hoarsely.

"Vwee…" A violent cough escaped Cynthia's chest. "Vwee made it…"

"How long were we under there?" Clara wondered.

"Too long." Cynthia stood to her feet. "Almost two vweeks."

"It doesn't seem possible." Karen remained on the ground for a while longer.

"Our rescue vwas a failure…and…" Cynthia gazed at the ground as water built up behind her eyes. "My team…"

"Cynthia…" Clara rose to her feet then walked over to the defeated Techmage. "I'm sorry…" She placed her hand on Cynthia's shoulder.

"Me too…" Cynthia whispered.

"Hey." Clara perked up. "Your mission might not have been a total success. But at least it wasn't a complete failure."

"How do you figure?" Cynthia's eyes turned to Clara.

"We're still alive…my daughter and I…thanks to you and your team." Karen pointed out.

"But zey are all dead and zee Leviathan haz been taken by Kazun." Cynthia said in shame.

"This is the first war I've ever been in but even I know that our side is gonna lose a few battles before we win this thing." Clara tried to lift Cynthia's spirits once more.

Cynthia sighed and glanced at Clara then Karen. "You may be right." A loud explosion turned Cynthia's eyes to the east. "Vwut vwas zat?"

"An explosion?" Karen suggested.

"Zounded like zome kindz of aircraft crashing." Cynthia's military instincts influenced her assessment.

Clara stared at Cynthia for a handful of moments before speaking. "Why do I get the feeling that you're wearing your I wanna go check that out expression right now?"

Cynthia glanced down at Clara then winked and gave her a slight smile. "Becuzz I am."

"You're not going to go looking for more danger are you? After what we've just escaped from!" Karen shivered.

Cynthia thought for a moment then gazed up at Karen. "Well…how do you Vandarianz zey…?" Her smile widened. "Duh!" With that Cynthia took off running towards the origin of the explosion and moments later, Clara and Karen reluctantly followed her.

Blasphemy Headquarters: Squad Lounge

"He's dead!" Trenton shouted while slamming his fist onto a metal table inside the Blasphemy headquarters lounge.

Valery glared up at Trenton after watching her drink mug fall over and the vodka inside of it spill out onto the floor. "What the hell are you doing!"

Trenton folded his arms and paced around the lounge. "That fucking snake, Yen!"

Drake let out a sigh of annoyance. "Spit out whatever it is you're going to say before I beat it out of you!"

"Koren…He was found dead yesterday at Lightning Metal." Trenton grimaced.

"What!" Valery shouted.

"The factory was attacked by a Vandarian Air Lancer squad." Trenton explained. "Koren knew the Vandies would send some kind of retaliation for Marotherma so he hired Zamen to guard the factory while our invasion army was in production."

"We know that!" Narkito screamed. "Get to the point!"

"Zamen blew his head off!" Trenton growled. "Yen must have hired the little bastard behind our backs!"

Valery shot to her feet, knocking over the table and grabbed Trenton by the collar of the grey t-shirt her wore beneath his black overcoat. "You're lying!" She screeched as tears of rage seeped from behind her eyes.

"We'll never get our hands on Leviathan now…" Trenton shook his head.

Valery shoved Trenton back. "You…" She spoke to no one in particular while raising her arms up then threw them down to her sides and screeched at the ceiling of the base.

Forest

"Come on!" Cynthia called back to Clara and Karen. "Vwe are almozst zere!"

Clara struggled to keep up with Cynthia and her mother lagged even further behind. "Why are you so intent on leading us into more danger?"

"Think." Cynthia replied.

"Of what?" Clara wondered.

"I am almost certain zat, zat vwas zome zort of military craft zat vwas zot down." Cynthia stated.

"So?" Karen managed through her heavy breathing.

"So…" Clara hesitated. "So that must mean that there are other forces here besides Kazunians!"

"Exzactly." Cynthia increased her pace. "Friendly forzes I ho…" A slight gasp of air into Cynthia's lungs cut off the rest of her sentence and her mind pulled her body down and back, barely dodging a razor sharp dagger that spun through the air towards her and shimmered in the sunlight that peeked through the trees. Her eyes shot to the treetops and spotted the origin of the small blade. "Up there!" A fire spell began to swirl around her hand.

"Wait!" Clara screamed after her mind caught up with the situation.

"Vwat!" Cynthia glanced back at Clara.

"The dagger!" Clara pointed to the hilt of the weapon. "Look at the symbol on the handle!"

Cynthia scanned the dagger for a few seconds and the bright orange V painted into the black circle on the bottom of the hilt glowed in the sunlight. "Hey!" Cynthia called out to whoever had attacked her. "Vwe're on zee zame zide!" This was what Cynthia hoped but wasn't exactly sure. Whoever had just attacked her could have easily stolen the weapon from a dead Vandarian soldier but she decided to risk lowering her hand and dispelling her fire attack.

Forest: Treetops

Claire gazed down at the purple haired woman she believed to be a Kazunian Techmage with fear and anger coursing through her mind. "What side would that be!"

"Did you ezcape from Marotherma! Like uz!" The woman shouted.

Hope sparked inside Claire's chest. "Who are you!"

"Cynthia! Cynthia Bevelle." The woman answered.

Claire remained silent, weighing her options for a handful of moments. "Ok…" She muttered to herself. "Wish that damn shuttle had some binoculars…" She jumped down from the tree and landed ten feet away from Cynthia. "Who are they?" Claire asked as Clara and Karen walked up beside Cynthia.

"Two of zee zientists that vwere being held hoztage by zee Kazunians." Cynthia explained.

"Hi." Clara walked over to Claire. "Name's, Clara Sanz." She glanced back at the older woman behind her. "That's my mom."

"Karen." Dr. Sanz said, clarifying her identity.

"I'm…Claire." A world of questions tried to enter Claire's mind, however only one managed to break through. "What happened to Matt and Rillian!"

The natural sparkle behind Cynthia's eyes faded as she lowered her gaze from Claire's eyes to the ground. "I…don't know."

Claire struggled to hold back her tears as the realization that she was right back where she started hit her harder than the missiles that shot down her shuttle. "I was…trying to get to Purgatain."

"The Kazunian mana prison?" Clara wondered.

"It's the only place they would take them…if they didn't…" Claire couldn't finish her sentence.

Cynthia gently placed her hand on Claire's shoulder. "I vwon't lie to you, Claire." She gave the newbie Techmage a warm smile. "But don't loze hope. I vwas down zere too, and I'm zill alive."

Claire gazed up into Cynthia's eyes. "Yeah…" Please…let them be ok.