The file you are reading is not meant for your eyes; put it down and walk away or I Tseng Director of the Turks, or my successor, will find you and silently and effectively remove you from society, to then slowly starve and torture you to your breaking point. It is as this point that we will bring you do the absolute middle of nowhere where you will be given your freedom of choosing how you would like to die. Should you ever make it back to society the Turks will take this is as you rejecting our kindness of letting you choose your own death, and will be subject to a death at either my, or my successor's, discretion. This is the record of six of my most extraordinary Turks. They came from another world, a world where Final Fantasy 7 is owned by Square Enix but this is their story and theirs alone. For the sake of the future I left a record of their adventures locked deep in the Turk Archives but only if the fate of the world is threatened should this file be opened. You have been warned. Read at your own risk.

-Tseng Akira, Director of the General Affairs Department, Shinra Electric Power Company

Chapter Eighteen: Here there be Dragons

Tseng looked around his crowded office. There were five 1st, two other Turks, and the six doppelgangers shoved into the room. He eyed the small blond 1st who was sitting on the edge of his desk. Cloud was staring out the windows. To save room, Piper and Ryu were sitting on Morgan and Matti. Alanna had somehow managed to sit on the back of Genesis's chair. Reno and Rude were leaning against the far wall. Mary was leaning against the back of Angeal's chair and Zack was sitting at his feet. Seph was the only one not sharing his seat in some way. Tseng cleared his throat to gather their attention.

"Reports show that there is a problem." He began. He nodded to Seph. "I've already spoken with Seph, this will be a joint effort by both the SOLDIERs and the Turks." The others nodded.

"What's the problem?" Genesis asked.

"A flock of dragons have come out of the mountains to haze the village of Nibelheim." He glanced at Cloud, who was frowning, worry clear on his face.

"So we kill the dragons? What's the problem you need to handle? What's there to be worried about in Nibelheim?" Zack asked.

"There's a Mako reactor in Nibelheim." Cloud said softly. Tseng nodded.

"You might not be aware, but a new rebel group has put themselves on our radar. It's possible the agitation of the dragons is their doing, to get to the reactor." He nodded to Reno, Rude, Matti, Morgan and Ryu.

"Those of us who are Turks will be in the reactor making sure there are no rebels." He turned to the five 1st and the three remaining doppelgangers.

"The rest of you will be dealing with the dragons." He glanced at Alanna.

"Your blaze armlet might come in handy." He told her. Alanna nodded her head. Piper cleared her throat.

"Are we bringing any medics with us?" She asked. Tseng shook his head.

"If you get hurt, you'll have to depend on those who have cure materia for help. There are too many people already involved in this mission. In that regard, the SOLDIERs will fare better than us Turks. Myself and Ryu are the only Turks who are good at cure."

"Should one of us go with you to help?" Cloud asked. Tseng shook his head.

"No, the rest know field medicine."Tseng told him. Ryu noted Matti's slightly blanched face. He hated having to deal with injuries.

"Better make sure we have stocked medical kits then." Ryu muttered, and then said louder, "There are fourteen of us. What are we doing about transport? As far as I remember, Nibelheim doesn't have a big enough landing place for a troop transporter." Tseng nodded his head.

"We'll have to take two of the smaller choppers. Landing them will be tight, but it can be done. Reno and Rude will fly one; you and Morgan will fly the other." Tseng told her. Ryu nodded her head.

"We'll be able to communicate with the other team won't we?" Morgan asked. Tseng nodded his head.

"Yes, they'll be issued earpieces." Tseng turned to eye Reno, Rude, Morgan, and Ryu.

"I expect analyses and collection of as much data as possible." They nodded their heads.

"Understood." The said.

"Shouldn't…" Ryu trailed off and motioned to the SOLDEIRs. Tseng understood her unspoken question.

"I'll equip Alanna with a mission cam." He said. Alanna straightened.

"What?" She asked. Gen looked slightly ill at ease.

"It's a small camera that will record what goes on around you. Video data is very helpful; it allows us to see what you may not have gotten a chance to see. I don't think you all need a mission cam since the dragons are at most a distraction. But I do plan on being thorough." He assured them. Alanna nodded her head.

"That sounds smart." She admitted.

"Once the dragons are dispatched, should we head to the reactor to help you patrol it?" Cloud asked. Tseng sighed.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. It will depend on if we believe there is a rebel presence or not." Tseng explained. Cloud nodded his head.

"If we don't need you in the reactor, you can start helping the town put things in order again." Cloud seemed ill at ease with that choice.

"Well, go pack." Tseng said, "We leave tomorrow at first light." The others nodded and filed out.

Piper slipped into the lounge for the doppelgangers. The others were scattered around the room sitting, or pacing, as they were inclined.

"So why the secret meeting?" She asked. Ryu sighed,

"Because we know more than the Turks do right now. And there are some things you should know." She explained.

"You know Before Crisis better than I do." Alanna told her. Ryu nodded.

"Alright, the rebels are known as AVALANCHE."

"Like Barrett's rebels?" Matti interrupted. Ryu shook her head.

"This is the original AVALANCHE, Barrett takes over when the leaders die, and turns it into a nicer organization." She explained. Matti nodded his head.

"There are three leaders; Elfie, Shears and Fuhito. Elfie is the absolute leader of the group. Shears and Fuhito are her commanders. Of them, we need to worry about Fuhito. He plans to destroy all of humanity. Elfie and Shears just want to destroy Shinra."

"Do you think we'll run into them?" Mary asked. Ryu shrugged.

"It's hard to tell, but us Turks at least might run into Fuhito's Ravens. In which case, we're in serious trouble."

"Aren't the Ravens capable of coming back from the dead?" Alanna asked. Ryu nodded.

"Yeah, you have to kill them many times over for them to stay down. And they're strong, and don't feel pain."

Oh great." Morgan muttered. Ryu nodded.

"Shears and Elfie are exceptionally strong; and good fighters. Fuhito on the other hand… don't use materia against him. He has the wizard's bracer, which makes him immune to all magic. And for being a scientist, he's tricky and hard to take down in a physical confrontation. He's a fanboy of Hojo's, if that gives you any ideas." Morgan and Matti scowled disgusted. Piper and Mary looked mildly perturbed. Alanna pretended to choke herself in disgust, before another thought hit her.

"Didn't you say there was something else going on with Elfie?" Alanna asked. Ryu nodded.

"Elfie isn't her real name. She's the daughter of Veld, the previous Director of the Turks. He believes she and her mother are dead. Hojo experimented on her and placed a materia in her body, her hand to be precise." The others winced in sympathy.

"It's a special material. Its one of four support materia for the most powerful summons on the planet. It summons Zincronide, a monster that is not controllable, and wants only to destroy the world. And he's powerful enough to do it, if his summons is merged with the four support materia. Fuhito wants to summon Zincronide to destroy the world." The others paled.

"Does Tseng know about this?" Matti asked. Ryu shook her head.

"We told him we only know up to part of the Wutai War. That's why the six of us have to be on guard against AVALANCHE. They'll learn things bit by bit, but if we stay on edge we'll be able to minimize the damage." Ryu told him. Matti sighed, and nodded his head.

"One other thing." Ryu said, the others looked up at her and groaned.

"AVALANCHE, at least in the game, isn't taken care of until after Zack, you know. So we have to keep an eye out for other problems."

"Meaning?" Mary asked.

"If Gen gets injured, we need to be on guard, because that what's starts the whole mess." Alanna said bitterly. Ryu shifted uneasily.

"Something else to add?" Alanna asked.

"What if Dr. Hollander decides to get involved? We need to keep our eyes out for him too."

"Good point, we need to keep him away from both Gen and Angeal." Alanna agreed.

"We'll handle that when we get back, but keep in mind what I said about AVALANCHE and we'll be fine." Ryu said.

"Nibelheim's reactor is also were the parasitic bitch is housed, we can't let them near it." Alanna added. Ryu frowned.

"I don't think Tseng is going to let them near it." She said thoughtfully. A loud bang sounded on the door.

"Let's go!" Genesis bellowed. They listened as he slammed down the hallway.

"The man is so noisy." Alanna grumbled.

"Of course he is."Ryu agreed, "He's like you after all." And with that she left the room laughing, Alanna chasing after her hot on her heels. The others trailed behind them at a more sedate pace; Morgan and Matti shaking their heads.

Cloud shifted nervously on his feet. They were gathered around the gate leading into Nibelheim. The last thing he wanted to do was have a run in with certain people in the town. Zack leaned closer to him.

"Betcha Tseng will let you slip away to visit your folks." He said. Cloud grimaced.

"I don't want to seem whiny." He replied. Zack ruffled his hair.

"He and Seph let me visit with my folks."

"Maybe, I'll ask when we're done." He glanced over at the collection of Turks gathered on the other side of the entrance. While the two red heads in the group, Ryu and Reno, drew attention because of their flashy hair; his eyes were drawn to the dark haired, quiet leader of the group. Tseng shifted his gaze and met his eyes. Cloud dropped his gaze and flushed faintly.

Tseng watched Cloud, puzzled. Why was the youngest SOLDIER watching him? And why on Earth was he embarrassed to be caught staring? Tseng noted that Cloud had grown perhaps an inch since he'd been made a 1st . The boy was growing up, his family should be proud. Tseng decided he'd let Seph know that they had time for Cloud to visit his family after the mission. It wouldn't hurt any of them to delay their return. He turned his gaze back on his Turks when Ryu bumped into him, dodging Reno's playful punch. He steadied her and then sighed. His best Turks were like children. He was unwilling to admit that to the three doppelgangers. They had moved up the ranks to becoming three of his most dependable Turks.

"Let's get started." He said. He watched as they came to attention as soon as the words left his mouth. Which was they were his best Turks, when it was time to do the job, they focused. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Seph calling the SOLDIERs to attention.

"So, while they deal with the dragons we look for rebels?" Morgan clarified. Tseng nodded his head.

"We'll probably be bored out of our minds." Reno told him.

"I'd prefer that to having to tussle with some rebels." Ryu muttered before she bent down to tie the laces of her boots. Ever since Wutai, she'd refused to wear the normal loafers the Turks wore on missions. She preferred her cadet boots, in black of course.

"Morgan and Ryu, patrol the upper sections. Morgan, if you get a chance, snipe some of the dragons." Tseng said, looking at the two of them. Morgan nodded, resettling the long tube carrying his .50 caliber sniper rifle on his back.

"Anything for me to do in particular?" Ryu asked.

"Watch his back." Ryu grinned.

"I always watch his back, Bossman." She told him. Matti pinched the bridge of his nose.

"And his front too." he muttered. Morgan pushed him as he laughed.

"Like you're any different with Piper." he told him. Matti shrugged.

"Matti, you're with me. We'll be patrolling the core of the Mako reactor." Matti nodded his head. Tseng turned to Reno and Rude.

"You'll be patrolling the corridors from the entrance to the core. If there are rebels, you know what to do, and if there is a large number of them call for back up." He turned to look at Ryu and Morgan.

"If they call for back up, Ryu join them in the fight. Morgan, station yourself on an upper level and take them out." They both nodded. "Matti and I won't be able to assist, as protecting the core is key." He added. They all nodded. He pulled a small camera from his pocket.

"I need to go wire Alanna." He said, and turned to walk over to the SOLDIERs. Ryu watched as he stood by Cloud, waiting for Seph to finish giving instructions. Cloud shifted his weight uneasily again. Tseng didn't seem to notice, or if he did he gave no sign of it. Ryu glanced away.

"Check your weapons." Reno said. The others nodded, they'd already checked them, but if Reno said to do it again, that's what they would do.

Mary glanced over at the Turks as Seph wrapped up his orders. She watched as a flurry of movement showed skilled hands taking apart guns and reassembling them. Magazines were being checked and stored, knives being drawn and tested. A test charge coming from the EMRs, before they were disassembled and reassembled.

Reno asked Ryu something, and she broke her EMR apart sliding a new battery in even as she blocked his swing at her knee. She came back around with a swing her EMR, with fresh battery in it, aiming to knock him in the head. He smiled and back off. She nodded, and stowed her EMR in the weapons harness at the small of her back. She readjusted her slim back pack, shifting her jacket to reveal the scarf rolled and tied around her hips, under the jacket.

Mary frowned. She knew the Turks carried out missions the SOLDIERs weren't fit for, but she'd thought they'd be safe. Ryu wasn't all that strong, even with the Mako baths. They couldn't make her a fighter.

"She's tougher than you think." Cloud whispered to her. She turned to look at him.

"I trained with her remember?" He continued, "She's tough, she can take pain. I watched a fight between her and Reno. He dislocated her shoulder on accident and she continued the fight, wouldn't put it back in until one of them won." Mary winced.

"She's used to that kind of pain, her shoulder does that all the time." She muttered not convinced. Cloud shrugged.

"You know she's already killed, right?" He asked her. Mary looked at him surprised.

"She didn't mention it..."

"And she wouldn't, it's a Turk's job to kill. She's already proven she's a Turk. There's no need to worry about her."

"She was never the tough one..."

"That was you." Piper said joining the conversation. Mary nodded.

"But Ryu's always been tough, in a different kind of way." Piper said. Mary shook her head.

"Not for this kind of thing." Piper smiled grimly.

"If she wasn't beforehand, I bet Reno made sure she was before she went out in the field." She said. Cloud nodded his head.

"He's hard on her in training."

"Any harder than Genesis was on Alanna?" Mary asked. They smiled. They all knew Genesis trained Alanna harder and longer than the rest. Not because she needed it, but because he wanted to spend time with her.

"In his own way." Cloud answered. They glanced over as Tseng finished wiring Alanna up with the camera.

"Let's go." Seph said, nodding to the others. Tseng nodded his head, and headed back to the other group. The Turks waved, Ryu and Morgan threw in salutes; which Alanna and Piper returned.

"We have our own work to do." Tseng said, after the SOLDIERs had disappeared into the mountains.

Ryu eyed the villagers who dared to look at the Turks as they walked through the tiny town. She spotted the person she was looking for, Tifa Lockheart. She was dressed up as a cowgirl. Ryu committed her face to memory.

"Why do you stare so hard at that girl?" Her A.I. in the goggles interrupted her contemplation of how much of the future they had already changed.

"She's Cloud's friend isn't she?" She whispered back.

"Affirmative, Tifa Lockheart; one of the few people he writes to."

"Well then, I wanted to put a face to the name, and you never know when your friend's friends are going to get involved." She said.

"I see."

"No you don't, you don't have eyes to see." Ryu said.

"I have a camera."

"But that's just a pictorial translation of photons hitting the lens." Ryu argued back.

"That mimics how a human eye sees."

"Does not, it has night vision, UV, infrared, and heat vision. None of which the human eye can do."

"Ryu stop arguing with your A.I." Reno said into his mic, amused.

"Sorry." She muttered.

"I have learned that you say that just to pacify the other party, even though I detect no such emotion in your actions or biorhythms." Her goggles interrupted.

"In other words, you're saying I am not sorry?" Ryu muttered back.

"Did I not just say so?"

"No, you just stated a fact. you did not in fact call me on it." Ryu replied as they climbed the stairs to the reactor. She saw Reno roll his eyes.

"What am I supposed to do when she talks to me?" She asked him. He paused.

"She's talking to you? She starts the conversation?" He asked surprised. Ryu nodded her head.

"Yeah."

"How long has she been doing that?" He asked. Ryu shrugged.

"A couple of weeks now."

"Remind me after this mission to run a diagnostics test on your goggles." He said.

"Sure, sure." Ryu muttered.

"You aren't going to remember are you? Should I remind you?" Her goggles chimed in.

"Do you want him to run a diagnostics test on you?" She asked.

"I am fine. I can run diagnostics on myself." Reno sighed.

"That wasn't a request, Ryu, it's an order." He said, having heard her side of the conversation.

"Got it." Ryu said as they reached the entrance to the reactor.

The six of them split up and headed to their areas.

"So, we just wander around until we stumble upon the dragons?" Mary asked. Seph sighed, and looked over his shoulder at her. She was definitely being negative today.

"We do not wander without direction." Angeal replied.

"We know they always disappear to the east of the village. So the eastern slopes are where we're exploring." He explained. Mary sighed.

"It's not as bad as when you had to look for that trickplay. At least you have a general idea where to look this time." Ryu chimed in over the mics. Alanna sighed.

"You know that won't help her mood." She told Ryu.

"Why is everyone grumpy today? We're on a mission, people should be excited." Morgan asked. There was the sound of a light slap over the mic.

"OW."

"Do I really have to tell you the answer to that?" Ryu asked.

"Yeah, in my defense Genesis is cranky." Genesis made a disgusted face, "And you're arguing with…" Here the mic cut out, "So don't tell me it should be obvious."He told her.

"Just don't ask, Morgan." Piper sighed. The other SOLDIERs were looking at them curious.

"You don't want to know." Alanna muttered to Genesis as she trudged on. Angeal shot Mary a reproving look. She ducked her head and walked past him.

A deafening screech split the air. The SOLDIERs clapped their hands over their sensitive ears. A flock of dragons rose in the early morning light. The sun glinted off their dark scaled hides and their wickedly curved claws, easily the size of a knife. They rose swiftly, their wings making the air pound, and then they swooped down claws extended to rip and rend. In the interest of self preservation, the group rolled and dove for cover. Alanna and Gen fetched up under the same cleft under a boulder.

"Do you have any ideas, genius?" Alanna asked, her heart thrumming wildly. Gen caught the nervous look on her face.

"Yes, we shall barrage them with fire." He told her. Alanna swallowed, and then gave him a small smile as she slipped her fire materia out.

"Bad idea," Ryu said over the mics, "Dragons absorb fire. You should try thunder, at the very least it'll ground them so you can hack them up."

"I don't need a Turk to tell me how to fight." Gen snapped. Alanna rolled her eyes.

"O for the love of... Genesis, is this really the time for that?" She muttered.

"She's just being helpful, yo. She's been reading up on monsters, ya know." Reno said.

"Fight now. Talk later." Alanna said, grabbing Gen's arm to get his attention. Gen nodded his head and drew out his thunder materia. Together he and Alanna shot lightening into the air. It struck and arched from dragon to dragon; forcing the dragons to the ground, where the others rushed forward to fight as they crawled from their hiding space.

Ryu turned her head to look out the window as they walked by it. She could just make out the dragons on the horizon. She grabbed Morgan's arm and pointed to them, as the air was filled with lightening.

"Do you think…?" She asked him. Morgan nodded his head and un-slung the case from his back. He opened the tube and drew the rifle out quickly, setting it up at the window. Ryu watched him for half a second. She focused her left eye so she could see the zoomed in view he was seeing through his glasses. She silently swore as she saw Piper charge a dragon. Shaking her head she turned back to scan the hall.

The faint sounds of steps sounded in the hall. She angled her body in the direction, drawing her EMR and gun. Morgan stayed focused, waiting for his chance to shoot.

Two men, dressed in black uniforms, appeared in the hall way.

"You're not employees here, so I must ask you what your business is." She announced. They reached behind their backs and drew forth swords.

"Well that answers that." She muttered, "Cuz you ain't SOLDIERs"

"Ryu, have you engaged the enemy?" Tseng asked.

"Yep, two goons; dressed up in black with swords." She reported. She suspected they were Ravens, given their straight forward and simple minded approach.

"Bye, bye." She whispered, shooting both of them. They dropped to the floor even as Morgan fired.

"Damn it, Morgan." Mary swore, as one of the three dragons she and Angeal and had been fighting collapsed, a hole in the side of its head.

"You're welcome." He replied. Angeal bit back a comment and instead whirled his buster sword, cutting the tail off of one of the remaining two.

Morgan paned the fight with the dragons, looking for his next target. Piper, Zack and Cloud were fighting four dragons. The two taller boys covering for her, allowing her to leap upwards to needle their chests and throats with her sword. He calmly and coolly picked his target and waited.

Ryu growled as the Ravens jumped to their feet.

"Are they zombies?" She muttered.

"Report, Ryu." Tseng ordered as they lunged at her. Ryu stowed the gun and drew her knife.

"Kinda busy." She gritted out as she dodged the swords.

"From the sounds of it, it sounds like the rebels she killed came back to life." Morgan reported just before he fired.

"Now excuse me, I have to help my partner." He quickly packed down the rifle, since Ryu seemed to be holding her own for the moment. He threw himself into the fight once it was packed away.

Zack caught Piper's harness and pulled her out of the way, as the dragon crashed to the ground, a hole where its left eye used to be.

"Eww." She muttered, wiping the bits of brain and blood from her side; after Zack set her down. She flashed him a grin in thanks. He nodded his head.

"Now there's one for each of us." Cloud pointed out. Zack nodded his head. Piper made to rush another dragon. With a sigh, he caught her harness and reeled her back in.

"Stay with me, Piper."He told her, even as she frowned at him.

"I'm a 2nd Zack, not a 3rd." She reminded him. He sighed.

"And dragons are ranked only for 1sts." He told her.

"Oh."

"Yes, oh, so stay with me. I don't want to tell Matti that you got yourself killed, or worse yet, have him hear it." Zack retorted. Piper opened her mouth to respond.

"Girls, girls. You're both pretty, now shut up and kill these things, so we can go the hell home." Mary snapped from her spot by Angeal's side. Angeal sighed softly and closed his eyes, looking as if he was praying for patience. Ryu, Alanna, and Piper rolled their eyes. Morgan winced ever so slightly at her acidic remark.

"Blast doors are going to be needed." Matti muttered under his breath.

"Forget the blast door." Morgan replied, he grunted in pain as a sword sliced across his bicep, cutting a swallow slash in his arm.

"You're going to need an escape pod, its worse than it ever was before."

"Oh, hell no. Just kill me now." Matti muttered.

"That. Can. Be. Arranged." Mary bit out, slashing at a dragon's leg with every word.

"Maybe you should talk less, and fight more." Ryu said, breathing heavily. She gave a startled yelp and jumped backwards; flipping once, jumping upwards and grabbing a pipe over head to slam both feet into the chest of the Raven that had startled her.

"You all right Ryu?" Alanna asked, as she fired another thunder at a dragon, as Genesis leaped high into the sky to land Rapier first on its back.

"Just fan-frickin'-tasic. Just another day fighting undead things to save something that has highly explosives properties. That, if it falls into the hands of the enemy, will be very, very, bad. And to add to the joy of it all, Mary's got good ol' regular PMS. So you know nothing unusual or strange. Just another day at the office."Ryu replied, as she triggered both her EMR and her thunder on one of the Ravens.

"Sarcasm is not needed." Mary snapped.

"Better I be sarcastic than be a bitch, like you're being" Ryu snapped, "Excuse me if I release tension in life or death situations with some dry humor."

"Not to interrupt, but can we have some back up, yo?" Reno asked calmly, before Mary could reply.

"Sure, as soon as these things stay dead." Ryu said. She backed up from the two and motioned for Morgan to burn them. He grinned and obliged. They stood side by side, watching the fire burn them to ashes.

"If that doesn't do it, I don't know what will." Ryu muttered.

"If they can come back from being burned to ashes, we have some serious problems." Morgan agreed.

"And it'll be the first time you're pyromania fails you." Ryu agreed.

"I have analyzed the likelihood of their regeneration, and it is highly improbable, bordering on impossible for that to happen. They would have to rebuild their bodies from the ashes for that to be possible." Ryu's goggles pipped in with. Ryu growled.

"There are stranger things than that I am sure, here in this world. Back home I'd say yes, without a doubt, you're right. But here... I wouldn't place bets on it if I was a betting person." She replied.

"Uuuhhh Ryu? Who are you talking to?" Piper asked.

"Morgan. Didn't you hear him?" Ryu said quickly.

"No, we didn't." Mary snapped.

"Huh, guess the mics cut out. Well, looks like burning these guys works, so now on to Reno." Ryu said quickly.

Ryu and Morgan raced down the stairs to the first floors.

"Did you say burning them works?" Rude asked.

"Yeah. Oh crap, Morgan you're bleeding. Let me..." Ryu said, noticing the slash on his arm.

"It's nothing. Let's get these guys squared away before we worry about it." Morgan replied.

"It won't take but a minute..." Ryu protested, as Morgan stopped and unslung his rifle. He gestured to the stairs.

"Go, I can take bleeding for a little bit, and we might need your cure for something worse." He told her.

"All right. At least, let me do this." She untied the scarf and tied it tightly around his arm.

"This way maybe the bleeding will stop." she said, before she turned on her heel and ran down the stairs. She saw the scuffle between Reno, Rude and at least five Ravens. She saw one leaping for Reno's back and without even thinking her gun appeared in her hand and she fired, dropping it to the ground. She stowed her gun and drew her EMR and knife; leapt over the rail of the stairs, falling forward into a tumble as she hit the ground, leaping to her feet and running forward. She hit the Ravens from the back.

"I. Hate. It. When. Some. Megalomaniac. Decides. To. Take. Over. The. World." She snarled at them.

"I thought you hated anarchy." Morgan commented.

"That too. I hate many things." Ryu replied, as she broke from the melee, a Raven single mindedly chasing her. Ryu sprinted for some equipment stacked near the wall. With a leap she landed on top and then vaulted herself towards the ceiling, where she grabbed a pipe and swung herself forward, letting go and flying to land on the back of a Raven aiming to grab Rude from behind. She squashed him with her landing, and then rolled free, letting her tag along squash him again as Rude kicked back, catching him in the ribs, and sending him flying into the wall. He gave her a brisk nod before he turned back to the fight.

"Oh Morgan." Ryu muttered in a sing song voice.

"What do you want me to do? Unless they break out of the pack, I risk hitting one of you guys." he replied.

"All right, bait time." Ryu muttered. She tapped a Raven on the shoulder, when he turned to look at her surprised.

"You're not the sharpest crayon in the box, are you?" She asked as she socked him hard in nose.

"Eww, breaking cartilage. Gross, but kinda cool." She muttered, as she ducked his return swing, and then broke free of the group again.

"I got one for you." She muttered.

"I see that." Morgan ground out from between clenched teeth.

Alanna plunged her swords deep into the chest of the dragon. It screamed in agony, as its heart's blood spilled forth as she pulled her blades free. Genesis, standing by her side, nodded his head in approval.

"I'd like to see a Turk do that." He said proudly.

"I'd like to see a SOLDIER fight in a Mako reactor without taking down the whole fuckin' building, yo." Reno snapped. Six sighs resonated over the mic.

"We knew this would happen someday." Ryu muttered. She was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. They had managed to group the Ravens together so that Morgan could torch them.

Rude grabbed Reno's shoulder, and shook his head.

"Not now." He said softly, his hand blocking the mic's reception.

"Then when?" Reno hissed back, "He's so arrogant, it almost got Alanna and Ryu killed. You know the SOLDIERs all think they could do without us Turks, but the truth is, they wouldn't last a day without us."

"All of that is true, but today is not the day to pick a fight with him about it" Rude reasoned.

"Ryu..." Alanna hissed.

"What?"

"Damage control?"Alanna tack fully suggested. Ryu focused on Reno.

Don't do this Niisan, not today. We're all tired, and it will prove nothing if he kills you. Pick your fights. She thought at him.

"We'd be better off without you Turks always slowing us down. We are the pride of Shinra, the best of humanity." Genesis retorted.

"Huh, I thought he thought I was a low life." Zack commented.

"How about you do some damage control, 'Lanna." Morgan replied, as he watched blood trickle from Ryu's nose.

"We'll see who's slow." Reno gritted out, "I ought to..."

NO! NO FIGHTING! Ryu thought desperately. No killing, no bloodshed among friends.

"Everyone knows Turks could never beat SOLDIERs, it's not just the Mako. It's simply the fact that you lack what it takes to be true warriors." Genesis added. A muscle flexed in Rude's jaw. Ryu cast a pleading look at Morgan. The Reactor doors slammed open, and Genesis strode in; the rest trailing behind him, looking as if they wanted to be anywhere but there. Rude let go of Reno and stood between the two of them.

"The VR room, next week, five Turks against five 1st class SOLDIERs. We'll see who is better." Rude said harshly, pushing Genesis away from him. Genesis smiled.

"'Legend shall speak of sacrifice, at World's end'.This shall be a fight worthy of legends." Alanna rolled her eyes, and looked about ready to punch him in the face. Tseng and Matti entered the entrance.

"Perhaps we should add our friends," Tseng gestured to the six doppelgangers, "Let it be three teams against each other." Genesis eyed the six, who had gravitated towards each other. Ryu was wiping her nose on her sleeve. Morgan had blood dripping down his left arm from a slash. Piper was splattered in dragon brain, Matti was handing her a clean tissue to clean her face. Mary was glaring at him and Alanna had her arms crossed over her chest, watching him with narrowed eyes and a clenched jaw. Ryu looked up from wiping her nose and met his gaze, her glacier gaze with a perfect match to the glare Reno was giving him. Genesis shrugged.

"Why not, it will be good practice for them, while the rest of us settle this matter." He agreed. Ryu noted Tseng's thoughtful gaze on the six of them. A shiver crawled over her skin. She had to wonder if he suspected that it should have escalated. Morgan had been unable to divert Rude's drive to fight completely. In a swift bit of genius he had diverted the fight to something that would ensure no one would get killed, and might even be viewed as a game in a week's time.

"Can we let Cloud see his family, and then go home?" Zack asked. Cloud shifted uneasily.

"I don't have to..." he muttered. Seph waved a hand at him.

"Go, it would be rude not to say hello at the very least. And take Zack with you." He ordered. Cloud nodded his head and spun on his heel, his hand snagging Zack's harness and dragging him away. Tseng gestured to the six doppelgangers.

"Do a sweep of the village. Make sure everything is all right." They nodded and turned to leave.

"Alanna, Ryu, one of you want to heal Morgan's arm first?" Rude added. Ryu spun on her heel, grabbed Morgan's arm, and unwrapped the scarf.

"Jacket off please." She asked. Morgan shrugged out of his jacket and casually ripped away the sleeve of the shirt.

"Thank you." She muttered as she raised her hand, her cure materia gripped tightly in her fist as she cast.

In a matter of seconds, Morgan's arm had scabbed over. He flexed his arm studying it.

"It'll hold, now it can heal on its own." he said. Ryu shook her head.

"We'll have to do a bit more each day. You have to be in prime shape for the VR Room fight in a week." She reminded him, as he slipped on his jacket. Ryu bundled the scarf up and shoved it into his pocket.

"Hang on to that until you wash it." She told him. Morgan grinned and nodded his head.

The six doppelgangers wandered down the main street of Nibelheim. There was very little damage to the thatched roofs, surprisingly. The injured villagers had already been tended to, by none other than Cloud's mother. He was with her in the town hall. Zack loitered outside the building, waiting. Concluding there was nothing to help with; they wandered around for a while to get a good look at the town.

As they passed the road leading to the inn, a while later, they heard jeering. They paused and took a few steps down the road. Around a bend they found Zack and Cloud, surrounded by a group of boys. They appeared to be the same age, if not older, than the two SOLDIERs.

"What the..." Matti muttered.

"I suspected Cloud was bullied, possibly even ridiculed for his dream of becoming a SOLDIER." Alanna muttered. Ryu sighed and drew her EMR. Morgan grabbed her arm.

"You're going to interfere, start a fight? You know that's bad, it's why Zack and Cloud haven't fought back yet." Piper protested. Ryu smiled.

"I am going to interfere in the way only a Turk can." She told them. Morgan let her go.

"Have fun." he muttered. Ryu tapped her EMR against her shoulder.

"I hate bullies." She said, before she casually but purposely walked over to the group. She tapped the boy, who looked to be the ring leader, on the shoulder. He brushed her off.

"This is none of your business, so beat it!" He snarled. "So Cloud, sulking back home are you? Hoping none of us would notice you? I told you, you couldn't make it into SOLDIER; they don't accept weaklings. And you're so weak, you'd break if too strong of a wind blew through town." He jeered. Ryu sighed.

"It's amazing how blind you are." Ryu said clearly. "First off, never tell a Turk to beat it, cuz we'll take you up on the suggestion, and you'll be getting the beating. Secondly, are you BLIND man? Can't you see that Cloud is wearing the uniform of a 1st class SOLDEIR, and is accompanied by another 1st?" She shoved him aside and entered the ring. She looked at Cloud, her EMR still dangling freely from her wrist. Her black clothing hid the blood spatters, but not her white shirt, which was covered in blood spatters.

"Is he normally so bone headed?" She asked. Cloud shrugged.

"I haven't known him to be any other way." he said softly. Zack looked at Ryu.

"Whatcha doing here?" he asked her, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. Ryu shrugged and tapped her EMR against her shoulder. She lifted her chin to nod to the others who were standing with their arms crossed over their chests. Alanna, Piper, and Mary were dressed as 2nd class SOLDIERs, and appeared to be boys. Piper and Mary had their hair styled similarly to Zack and Angeal, respectively. Matti and Morgan were standing a little bit off. Morgan's jacket had a wet slash in it. And Matti was trying, and succeeding in the eyes of the youths, to ooze confidence and deadliness. Both of them were dressed as Turks.

"We were accessing the town for damage." She replied. She flashed the youths a grin, that wasn't so friendly.

"Cloud, and his fellow 1sts, took care of your dragon problem, you should be thanking him." She paused, as if she expected to hear it. Cloud shifted uneasily, and touched her arm.

"They didn't mean anything, Ryu. You don't have to go out of your way." He told her. Ryu smiled at him.

"It's not going out of my way, Cloud. I just don't want Zack to decide they need a lesson in manners." She said. Zack grinned.

"I wouldn't hurt them too much Ryu, I know they aren't SOLDIERs. I'd only rough them up until the apologized to Cloud."

"I know Zack, but while harassing members of SOLDIER is considered a very serious offense, I think we could let it slide; since Cloud grew up with them, if they promise not to do it again. With the understanding that if they do, not only will you come back to rough them up, but Director Tseng of the Turks will be most displeased to have to dispatch Turks to take disciplinary actions. And when he's displeased, things can get very bad." She said. The youths shifted nervously.

"We would never think to harass a true member of SOLDEIR" The ringleader muttered, glaring at Cloud, who was doing his best to not hide behind Ryu from habit alone.

"What was that?" Ryu asked sharply, her EMR beginning to swing with a little more force by her side.

"I said of course it won't happen again, it was our mistake." He said. Ryu smiled.

"That's better, now run along. Unfortunately Cloud can't play with you right now." The group broke up and walked away, giving the other doppelgangers a wide berth.

Once they were gone the others joined them. Cloud sighed.

"Sorry you had to interfere." He said looking at his boots. Ryu reached out and hugged him.

"It's nothing Cloud." She said.

"It's just... I should have been able to stand up to them. I am a 1st class SOLDIER!" He snapped. Alanna patted him on the back as they walked toward the inn.

"And they were your childhood bullies. To the rest of us they were just bullies, inflated egos that needed deflating. But you remember when they were bigger than you, and you couldn't fight back as a child. We don't have those memories. It's hard to fight back when experience says you can't win. Even though your head knows you're bigger, stronger, and can take down far tougher things." She said.

"It's like horses, if you pick them up as foal, they remain convinced for the rest of their life that you can do that at any time, even when they weigh a ton or more. And in Ryu's case, almost twice her height." Mary said.

"Haha." Ryu said, nudging Mary with her elbow. "It's the same with dogs, and most animals. Pick 'em up as a baby, and they think you can do it no matter how big they get." She added.

"You think that's all it is?" Cloud asked. The others nodded.

"If it had come down to it, Cloud, your training would have kicked in and you have fought back; and you would have proven you could stand up to them. But that way gets messy, what with the potential of accidentally killing them, and all." Morgan said. Cloud nodded his head.

"Right." He said, feeling better.

"So, why were you going to the inn?" Piper asked.

"I wanted to say hello to Tifa" He replied blushing.

"Oh, I think someone has a crush." Mary said. Cloud glanced at Ryu, but her face betrayed nothing, including his secret. Ryu nudged Mary again.

"If he does, keep your nose out of it, it's none of our business." She said. Mary elbowed her back.

"You're in my business all the time, hypocrite." She snapped, her foul mood returning. Ryu shrugged.

"That's because you return the favor, and you don't mind it. I don't think Cloud wants us in his business."

"It's not a crush, she's just… Tifa was the only person who was nice to me growing up." Cloud said softly.

"There's nothing wrong with visiting a friend, Chocobo." Alanna replied with a smile, simply ignoring her friends. Ryu nodded.

"Friends make life worth living sometimes." She added, "And other times you want to strangle them, because they're so annoying"

"You're the annoying one." Mary muttered.

"Shut up, Mary!" The other five chorused.

"When we get home, I am so locking you in the room." Alanna muttered.

"I'd like to see you try." Mary scoffed. Alanna glanced at Ryu.

"Can I?" She asked.

"Be my guest." Ryu sighed as they climbed the porch steps.

The door burst open, and Tifa stood framed in the door way. She ran across the porch and hugged Cloud.

"Cloud, you're home. It's so good to see you." She held him away at arm's length and studied him.

"You did it, just like you promised you would, you became a SOLDIER, and made it to 1st class. I knew you could. All those lessons Gramps gave you helped, I bet." She said, as she hugged him again. Cloud tentatively hugged her back, perturbed by the fact that it just felt wrong being hugged by her. He'd once had a crush on her, but that had long since faded, and it just felt wrong. He pushed it aside, because she was still his friend after all.

"It's good to see you too Tifa. Let me introduce you to my friends." He turned to look at the others, "This is Zack, my best friend, and he is also a 1st. These are Alan, Markus, and Brian; they're some up and coming 2nds. And these are Matti, Ryu and Morgan; Turks that I've become good friends with."

"Despite Commander Rhapsodos' little stunt today." Ryu muttered. Cloud flushed.

"He wasn't speaking for all of us." Cloud said quietly. Ryu smiled, and reached out and ruffled his hair.

"I know, and I don't hold it against you." She told him. Tifa watched, wide eyed, as they all joked and jostled each other.

She sensed that Cloud was part of a world that she knew nothing about. His letters, when he'd first joined, had been long, chatty, lonely, and frequent. The longer he'd been away from Nibelheim, the shorter his letters had been, and they had become less frequent, and now she saw why. He'd grown up, made friends and now lived in a world that had nothing to do with Nibelheim. He had moved on.

Ryu watched as Tifa's eyes became very sad as she looked at Cloud. Ryu and Alanna were both tensed, wondering if Tifa would make a scene. Ryu thought, perhaps not, for which she was gratefully.

"I don't think you're here to tell me you came home to keep your promise, did you?" She asked softly. Cloud looked down at the toes of boots.

"It's not that I don't want to, Tifa. I hate it that they're all making life hard for you, but I belong to Shinra now. That's the contract you sign to become a SOLDIER. And I..." He trailed off. She smiled and reached out to hug him, this time Cloud moved away. Tifa let her arms drop and smiled sadly. Ryu slyly nudged Alanna, she motioned towards the far end of the porch. Alanna nodded her head and grabbed Zack.

"WA...?" Zack said surprised.

"Let them talk alone." Ryu said, as she and the others followed them. Cloud sent them a grateful smile. Tifa watched their antics and knew she was right, they were where Cloud belonged.

"I get it, Cloud. You're happy there, for the first time in your life. You've found a place where you belong. It wouldn't be fair of me to ask you to give that up, even if you could. I can tell you love it." She rested her hand on his arm.

"I will ask for two things though." She continued. Cloud looked at her nervously.

"What's that?" he asked. She smiled.

"Write to me every now and then, will you, when you get a moment to spare. And promise me you'll become a great hero. If you do that, I'll learn to defend myself." She said, holding her hand out. Cloud smiled and shook it.

"Deal." He agreed. A sharp whistle cut the air, everyone with Mako winced.

"That's my signal to go." Cloud said, as the others joined him. Tifa smiled.

"Give me one last hug, Cloud, and be safe." She said. Cloud smiled sadly and hugged her.

"Bye Tifa, look after yourself." He said, before he and the others walked down the steps, and back up the road.

A/N: Yay. I managed two days in a row again! Sorry this doesn't happen more often . Also, we still need to hear back on what people want to see happen to Rude. If we don't hear back soon he may end up forever alone… or dead…. Who knows.

Also! Sorry for any confusion. I posted this chapter earlier today, but had to take it down to fix something. This is the fixed version. Sorry if you recieved two alerts. There is only the one chapter.