Author's Note:

Screwy – Thank you so much for all your patience. It's been a bumpy ride on my end, but Shade and I have now worked out a better method for editing. Hopefully, this will help us get chapters out to you much more quickly. And thanks for all the well wishes.

Shade – Ditto what Screwy said. We would have had this out sooner, but real life is still trying to be a stubborn stick in the mud. But we're taking things one day at a time. I really like this new method of editing we've been trying. We managed to get the editing of this chapter done in one night whereas before it took anywhere from a few days to a week. Hope everyone is staying safe as we know that there is some scary stuff happening in the world. Yellow and Blue, we stand with you! We hope this story can ease the minds of anyone who is stressed. Thank you, and please, enjoy!

CHAPTER 05 – YOUR KIND

When he got the call, Cloud had been annoyed, assuming Genesis had been trying to pry a description of Minerva from him for the eleventh time that month, but he was worried for Bella. Cloud knew how serious it was if the crimson warrior was asking for help finding his daughter. And Cloud didn't even hesitate. The four of them, Zack, Kunsel, Corliss and himself split up to search. The blond knew to check every dark, shady alleyway first, and that's when he came upon the sight.

Barely any moonlight shone down from the overcast evening sky, and the alleyway between the two buildings was darker still. The occasional boxes and stray newspaper littered the ground, a light breeze flicking up small pieces of trash strewn about. A monstrous puddle of thick blood pooled along the ground, and lying almost right next to it was Bella.

She didn't move; she wasn't even breathing. Her eyes were wide open, unblinking, but not quite vacant. A solitary tear had rolled out her eye and trailed down her temple into her hairline. There was a small wound on her left shoulder as evident by the red stain on her sleeve.

He was at her side in an instant, checking her over, and he saw her eyes. They still held life, which was a relief, but then he realized she wasn't breathing. He spotted the wound though, and not knowing what had caused this, he went to work, pulling out the remedy from his items and administered it, just to be on the safe side.

"Come on, Bella; snap out of it," he urged, before looking over at the puddle of blood and wondering what the hell had happened here.

It took only a moment. She sputtered and coughed, her eyes finally closing tightly. She gasped several times, trying to catch her breath and flying up to a sitting position.

"Ugh," she gasped again as more coughs emerged from her.

"Clou..." She just couldn't seem to finish a word without choking.

"Thank... you..." she finally managed.

Cloud sighed with relief before pulling out his phone. It only rang twice before someone answered.

"Spike? Whaddaya got?"

"Zack, I found her. South direction, in a back alley. Let the others know."

He returned his worried gaze towards Bella.

"That's... not your blood is it?" he asked, directing his gaze towards the puddle.

She shook her head. "No, there was a woman here; she'd been shot. I was going to try to help her."

She looked around.

"Where did she go?" Bella asked, "There's no way she could have walked off with that injury. It went straight through her spine!"

Cloud was curious about that too, but he was also very wary. Something deep down told him it was best not to investigate further with just the two of them; he also couldn't shake the overwhelming sense of danger nearby. What made it worse was the feeling like he was being watched, but he couldn't tell from where.

A whoosh of feathers in the corner of his eye, however, snapped him back towards Bella, as she was embraced by a flurry of red and black, signaling Genesis' arrival.

She returned the embrace, and for just a moment, she looked exactly like a 15-year-old should, with a smile that reflected the comfort being given in a father's arms. Finally, she pulled back and looked up at him.

"Bella! Oh, thank the goddess you're safe," Genesis exclaimed as he examined her for injuries and noticed a blood trail on her arm. He then glared daggers at Cloud who wondered why the fiery warrior was focusing his anger at him of all people.

"Who did this? I'll ensure they don't draw another breath!"

"I don't know," Bella answered him, "I didn't even... hear the projectile. Once it hit me, I couldn't move at all. I couldn't breathe either. Cloud arrived just in time and gave me a remedy... I think?"

Suddenly, two loud gunshots rang out through the air, one after another; Cloud's keen senses instantly detected the direction from which it originated and its intended target: Genesis and himself.

In one swift motion, Cloud drew his sword and spun it in an arc, both bullets bouncing harmlessly off the shining blade in a shower of red sparks. He was facing the direction the bullets had flown from, glaring with blazing blue eyes as Genesis pulled Bella further within his protection and drew his own sword.

"Someone is asking to die tonight," Genesis growled.

"Those bullets were killing shots, aimed for us," Cloud replied. Suddenly a barrier was raised over them as Genesis held out a materia in his hand.

"Let them try to get through that," he challenged.

"Don't poke the bear, Genesis," Cloud advised.

"They're the ones who poked me, Strife. They attacked my daughter, and then they dare to strike at me? Do they even know who they're dealing with?"

The trajectory of the bullets indicated the gunman was high off the ground. Bella scanned the area towards the origin of the attacks.

"The roof... there!" she exclaimed. She pointed at the rooftop of a building about a block and a half away.

Cloud followed her gaze, and his eyes widened when he saw the building in question.

"The bar!" He charged forward, throwing caution to the wind. The attacker was on the roof of his home and his family was still inside! He nearly bulldozed into Zack who had just turned into the alley and watched his friend dash towards the bar. A shadow covered him as Genesis flew overhead.

"Stay with Bella," he called down as he followed Cloud and then passed him. Zack had no idea what was going on, but he did as asked and came up to the teen, who was holding the barrier materia Genesis had given her.

Upon arriving at the rooftop, the fiery warrior saw movement and unleashed a powerful ice spell that covered the edge of the roof with jagged shards all the way around, sticking inward cruelly by at least five feet, preventing any normal person on the roof from leaping over it to escape. Genesis landed and pulled out his thunder materia. He would have used fire, but the ice didn't need to melt so quickly, and he wanted to watch the pathetic rat squirm. He also encased the exit door that led inside the building in a solid sheet of ice.

"I hope you've said your prayers," Genesis told the shooter, "because your trip to hell has already begun."

The person before him wore all black clothing with a black hood over his face. He... or a very flat chested she... held a sniper rifle, aiming it at the winged ex-commander, the stance betraying a high level of expertise.

"Do anything to me, and my finger will pull the trigger out of reflex," the man warned.

A small chuckle sounded from Genesis, and it slowly grew into laughter, though he kept it controlled. "You have no i-DEA who you're dealing with."

He spread his powerful wing as the materia in his hand reacted to his very aura, his eyes blazing with mako shine as his own natural power radiated from him in pulses.

"I am First Class Commander Rhapsodos. I've felled entire armies. Do you honestly think I'm afraid of one single gun? No matter what the make? You dared to strike my daughter and then you were foolish enough to try and eliminate me and the planet's champion? May Minerva have mercy on your soul."

He didn't even need to raise his fist as the thunder spell flew at the gunman.

As the branches of electricity snaked around the man, his finger contracted over the trigger, firing the gun. The bullet lodged itself just above Genesis' clavicle. The attacker fell to the floor, gasping and trembling as the current of electricity surged through his body. Once it stopped, he stayed on his knees for a moment, trying to catch his breath.

Having dashed up the fire escape, Cloud waited for the electric attack to end before he leaped over the rail and clear above the ice spikes, and being enhanced, he could easily vault over them from the outside. He readied his sword for his attack, when he saw something strange. The gunman was on his knees, in pain from Genesis' electric attack, but the attack had stopped and the materia dropped to the floor.

The ex-commander's wing was curling in at an odd angle, and he reached up his hand towards his collar bone. He started gasping for air as his vision went in and out.

"What... the hell... is this...?"

He suddenly lurched backwards as pain tore through his body, his legs buckling, and he fell to the ground on his knees.

"Genesis!" Cloud was at the man's side. "What's wrong!?"

Genesis reached up and grabbed a handful of Cloud's shirt. "Don't... get hit... by his gun... finish him!"

He stopped talking as his body convulsed with painful spasms, his wing flapping out wildly from the pain before it curled back around him.

Cloud turned towards the gunman then, eyes glowing with anger and the threat this person posed to his family being so close.

He held up the thunder materia Genesis had dropped. "Why are you attacking us?"

The man sneered under the hood.

"I'll keep attacking you... until all your kind are dead! Every last one of you!" he growled, still holding on to his gun, "Go ahead and do your worst... or you'll be next..."

"My kind?" Cloud asked before Genesis cried out from another spasm, and he unleashed a jolt from the materia directed at the gunman.

"Every time my friend cries out in pain, so will you," the blond warned him.

Genesis tried... he honestly tried not to cry out like some stupid rookie in pain. He was made of stronger stuff than that and his pride was screaming at him to stop, but he couldn't. He shouted again in pain as a powerful spasm tore through his muscles.

True to his word, Cloud unleashed another jolt. "I'm not a torturer. Undo what you've done to him, and I will stop."

The gunman bellowed as the spell sent the shock through him again. He glared at Cloud.

"Take... a good look..." he gasped, "That's ... your future..."

He raised his gun, readying to take aim at Cloud. The blond smirked.

"Rule number one about weapons. Always choose a sword over a gun. Why?" The hero flicked his wrist and First Tsurugi sliced through the gun's barrel like it was made of paper. "Because swords never run out of bullets."

Gen hollered louder as his back arched from the pain. Cloud's glare intensified as he unleashed another jolt from the materia. "I'm losing patience. Tell me what's causing him pain, and I'll stop. He dies, you die."

The gunman looked up defiantly. "Rule... number... two... always... bring... backup!"

Before anything else could be done, Cloud heard a loud gunshot accompanied by a burning sensation in the back of his left shoulder. A strong wave of nausea washed over him, and his vision blurred. With each passing second, it grew harder to stand, as if something were weighing him down. An intense spasm of pain ripped through his muscles... his flesh... his bones, dancing around inside of him like a whirlwind.

When his vision cleared, Cloud was on his knees, panting for breath, but when had that happened? His shoulder felt like it was submerged in burning acid as he managed to get back to his feet. He held his shoulder with one hand and his sword in the other, refusing to let go of his blade. He glanced upwards at the rooftop behind him and saw another gunman with a sniper rifle trained on him.

He looked back at the first gunman and was about to say something when a second wave of pure agonizing pain tore through every muscle of his body and he felt himself lurch forward, but he struggled to stay on his feet, crying out in sheer gut-wrenching agony as a firewall of pain screamed through his body, forcing him to convulse, just as Genesis had. His mako eyes flared from the pain as his arms jerked uncontrollably.

How he managed to hold onto his sword was a miracle, and the pain eased up once again, allowing him a few precious moments of clarity before he turned and charged at the enemy. His eyes were wild and his snarl almost animalistic, but then the pain came again. This time he did falter and ended up on his knees. This third wave burned deeper and hot tears of torment appeared accompanied by powerful bellow of anguish.

The second gunman watched Cloud, his eyes emotionless as he witnessed the reactions. Readjusting his posture, the man lined up the sights on Cloud's writhing form, and almost pulled the trigger...

Through the door came Tifa, who had been banging on the icy barricade since the moment she heard Cloud's roars of agony. She stopped cold and surveyed the scene. Her eyes fell on Cloud, and she ran straight to him, crouching down beside him.

"Cloud?" she called, placing her hands on his arms. "Cloud, what is it? What's wrong?"

"He's gonna die," said the first gunman getting to his feet, "just like the winged mako freak. Say your goodbyes."

She glared up at him. "You son of a bitch!"

From inside the house, a loud, piercing shriek could be heard... Angel's voice. The man turned to face in that direction.

"Don't you step one foot inside my house, you bastard!" Tifa shouted at him.

The man ignored her and began walking towards the door.

Tifa leaped up and ran to the door, placing herself between it and him. She dropped into her fighting stance. A ball of fire crashed into the ice spikes, clearing an opening to the fire escape and causing Tifa to temporarily raise her arms to shield her face.

The gunman considered her for a moment before turning towards the newly formed opening to leave the roof top.

Tifa made her way over to Genesis, checking him over for injuries. Finding the single wound, she concluded that the bullet was still lodged in his flesh. She watched him convulse yet again and shout in pain, but this time, there was someone else who heard him as well.

Tifa heard hurried footsteps, and the door to the roof flew open. Bella saw Genesis and dashed to his aid, kneeling beside him. A few moments later, Zack and someone Tifa didn't really know appeared.

"What's wrong with him?" Bella asked Tifa.

"I honestly don't know," Tifa replied, "He's been shot... and the bullet's still in there."

Bella's gaze became murderous.

"Whoever did this will not have his skin for long," she murmured, pulling a dagger out, "Father, this will hurt... I'm sorry."

With that, Bella began carefully trying to dig the bullet out of his shoulder. With Genesis in good hands, Tifa turned her focus to Cloud, making her way to him. She tried to comfort him through each wave of pain, but she had never seen him react like this before. And what was worse, when he shouted, so did Angel from inside the house. She looked over at Zack, hoping he knew of some way to help Cloud.

Genesis' cries were growing weaker, as he had endured them far longer than Strife, but that didn't mean he hurt any less. Each breath was labored and hitched as he tried to focus his gaze in his daughter's general direction and winced as she began working to dig the bullet out. When Cloud heard Tifa's voice he forced his hand to let go of his sword. Finally letting his legs give out, he fell back, but Zack caught him, forcing the blond to wince, his burning nerves super sensitive from the torment.

"Spiky, what's wrong?!"

"Sh-sh-shhhould-der," he managed to grit out through the pain. Zack set him down gently looking at his shoulder, and his eyes widened when he saw the bleeding bullet wound. He checked the front of his friend's shoulder and felt to see if it had an exit wound, but he found none.

"Bullet's still gotta be in there," he confirmed, "Hang on bud, I'll get it out, but it's gonna hurt like hell."

The look of defiance Cloud managed to give him told Zack he was already going through hell. Zack gently laid Cloud down onto his stomach and looked to Tifa.

"You might need to try and hold him down. If he moves too much, I can't pull out the bullet."

Bella carefully moved the blade into Genesis' wound, trying so hard not to cause him any more pain than he was already experiencing.

"Whoever these people are will die slowly and painfully," Bella snapped through gritted teeth. As she finally managed to pop the bullet from his shoulder, she caught it in her hand and then gasped, dropping it on the ground. She gazed at her hand, which now bore a red patch of blisters in her palm.

"Zack, don't actually touch the bullet," Bella warned.

Tifa gave Zack an expression of disbelief, "You really think I can hold him down?"

Zack looked over at Bella and noticed the mark on her hand and the look on his face said it all.

"What the hell are these things?" He looked over to Tifa , "Alright, I'll hold him down if you want to try and remove the bullet."

Another powerful spasm forced the blond to convulse and he arched his back while yelling. Zack jumped into action, holding him down.

"Sorry, Spike. We'll get that thing out of you. Just work with us, okay?" The muscles on his back and shoulders constantly moved and jerked on their own,

"C-c-can't... ssstop..." he struggled to get out, his glowing eyes locking with Tifa's silently pleading with her to make the pain stop. Cloud could stand up to an immense amount of pain, more than any human should, but this... it was worse than Lucifer's Shadow Flare attack, and it was never-ending!

Tifa removed her own pocketknife, meeting Cloud's eye.

"It's okay, Cloud..." She began carefully working around the wound, trying to find the place where she could slip the blade beneath the bullet and pop it out. Unfortunately, it had entered at an angle, so she had to dig pretty deep to reach it. Every time he flinched, she cringed... and Angel screamed from inside.

He tried to remain as still as he could, but his muscles just wouldn't obey. At one point his arm started to move, but Zack had control of it. The blond was thankful, otherwise his hand would have collided with Tifa, and it wouldn't have been a light slap.

It took what seemed like an eternity, but at last, the bullet was at a place where she could simply grab it. She steeled herself for the burning she was about to feel... but it never happened. She held the bullet up between her forefinger and her thumb.

"I got it, Cloud." she declared. Realization dawned on Tifa as she looked at the projectile. "It doesn't hurt me..."

When she finally got the offending bullet out Cloud could only compare it to slowly pulling a limb out of boiling water. The throbbing was still there, but it wasn't as intense. Slowly, the pain started to loosen its grip, and he felt his raw, tortured and damaged muscles relax.

Zack felt the moment when the blond relaxed, and that's when he let go. He looked over at Tifa who was still holding the bullet and feeling no pain, yet Bella had suffered a burn. Zack removed his glove and carefully touched the bullet Tifa was holding with his finger, only to retract it with a hiss.

"Shiva! It's like dipping your hand in hot oil!"

Cloud glanced towards the doorway, "An-gel... danger..."

Zack blinked before looking around and then shook his head. "I don't see Kunsel here; he must've gone below to check when he heard the screams. She'll be okay. Angel probably only screamed because of your connection. She might have felt your pain."

"G-Gaia... I hope... not..." Cloud glanced over at Tifa then, guilt clear on his features, if one could see past the exhausted look, which she clearly could.

"Sorry... for being... weak."

"You're not weak, Strife," Genesis breathlessly called. He had managed to sit up and nodded gratefully to his daughter. "There's something about these bullets that specifically targets something within us, yet it did not affect Ms. Lockhart. My guess would be mako. We are pumped full of it; that is why it ravaged us with such unbearable pain. I, myself, could not control my cries, and that is unheard of. I once nearly lost my arm, and I never ushered a peep... well unless it was a curse, but if you doubt my tolerance than ask the general."

Cloud, feeling a little more strength returning, chanced an effort to sit up, which was painful, and his muscles cried out in protest. He looked at the bullet in Tifa's hands, not wanting to touch it ever again.

"But how could we be brought down by one bullet? How can that even work?"

Genesis glared daggers at the bullet Bella had drawn from him. "I intend to find out, before ripping the spines out of those men who attacked us."

Zack looked over at Tifa, worry on his features. "Let's get these two inside, I don't like being up here; it's too open."

Tifa nodded solemnly, pocketing the bullet. "I agree. Let's get inside."

Bella assisted Genesis in standing upright, allowing her father to lean on her if necessary, while Tifa slipped Cloud's arm around her neck, helping him get to his feet.

"We need to check on Angel..." she said, then looking around, "Where's Corliss?"

Genesis nodded his thanks towards Bella, his wing dragging, until he concentrated his efforts on keeping it off the ground, though it still wasn't postured in its proper, regal way. "I haven't felt this shitty since I suffered from degradation. I suppose that has given me a slight edge of endurance. I'm sure Strife has as well, but I fear for the other targets."

"Other targets?" asked Zack. "There are more people in danger?"

Cloud kept his gaze focused on the ground ahead of him as Tifa helped him stand. "He said, 'your kind', but what did he mean? It can't be where we were born... he would've gone after Tifa, too."

"Not to mention Nibelheim and Banora are super far apart from each other," Zack commented, keeping an eye on their surroundings as they made for the stairwell.

As they moved inside and down to the living room, Bella helped Genesis to the couch.

"Well, the nature of those bullets would suggest mako-enhanced people... but then, why did they fail to target me?" Bella reasoned out loud.

Corliss came down the stairs from the children's room.

"Sorry, I heard Angel scream, and I thought maybe she and the kids might be in trouble." she apologized, "Kunsel is with Angel. We couldn't find anything wrong with her, but she was screaming like someone was cutting off a limb. She passed out after a few moments of that."

Tifa helped Cloud ease into the recliner, while Genesis tried desperately not to show how much pain he was in, as he forced his arms to keep moving. "Don't sit there like a barrel of dumb apples. Keep moving, or your limbs will lock up."

"Shut up," Cloud commented, "you're not my father."

His bad mood stemmed from the guilt he had towards Angel's pain. He wished there was a way he could sever the connection in times like this. She didn't deserve to suffer that. He didn't either, but it ate at him to know that she was paying for his weakness.

Zack nodded towards Corliss. "Don't apologize; we're grateful. If those guys are targeting people with mako then that's a serious problem."

His eyes became determined and battle-hardened. "I'm going to chat with Reeve and see about reactivating the SOLDIER program. We need to take care of these guys. They're obviously organized, if they can set up a trap like that, and take both of you by surprise? That's unheard of!"

"What's this about SOLDIER," asked Genesis.

After helping Cloud seat himself, Tifa straightened up.

"Reactivating SOLDIER," Corliss smirked. "Just something we were talking about before Cloud got the call. Edge is in need of some serious help. Criminals are flourishing here without any kind of law enforcement."

Tifa looked down at Cloud. "Well, it's a great idea to have some kind of law enforcement, but... don't we need actual laws to enforce? And SOLDIER? I'm guessing you're not bringing back the entire program... with the Mako treatments and Shinra."

Zack gave Tifa an alarmed look. "What kind of monster do you take me for? Of course I wouldn't bring back that horror fest!"

He shook his head. "As its future general I plan to set up classes for everyone. Anyone who has mako is free to join a special task force which Spiky will command, and there'd be other classes too for any unenhanced to join without any discrimination."

"What's to stop the enhanced from feeling superior," asked Genesis, feeling suspicious.

"That's why they'll be a special task force. Think of the branches as limbs on a body. A foot can't do what a hand can, right? They have to work together to accomplish a goal, and so will this new program," Zack replied.

He directed his gaze at Genesis. "I was hoping the Holy Trinity would help me out on this. We could definitely use the experience. You're flawless with materia, and both Seph and 'Geal have their own skill set that can't be replaced."

"After what we've done, do you think for a single second that the people will let us run another SOLDIER program? You're deluded!" Genesis was furious as he stood up, winced but remained standing, his feathers bristling.

"But Cloud cleared you of all of that before, after he killed Jenova," Zack defended.

Genesis huffed a laugh. "Please, no offense to the planet's hero, but the world won't take the word of one single man, no matter who he is."

Tifa listened carefully to all the points made. "Genesis is right. People won't completely put their faith in SOLDIER based solely on Cloud's say-so, but we could ask the people if they'd at least be willing to try. If they know Cloud would be a part of it, they would be willing to give it a shot, especially with crime on the rise."

She smiled down at Cloud.

"I think it's time for a city-wide community meeting," Tifa suggested.

Corliss grinned. "I think Tifa should be mayor."

Tifa looked absolutely horrified at the thought.

"A likable mayor Lockhart? That'll be history in the making," Cloud horribly joked, knowing only Tifa would get it, and it would most likely earn him a slap on the arm for it. He was correct; Tifa lightly swatted him on the right arm.

Zack scratched the back of his head. "Jeez, all this time and we're still picking up the mess Shinra left behind."

He looked over to Genesis. "Please Gen, we need your help with this. You're not going to be bending to the rules of a tyrant businessman or be subjected to any scientists. This is going to be run by us! We're the ones in charge. You know you can trust us, right? Please?"

Genesis glared at him, "Are you... trying the sad puppy trick on me?"

Zack smirked sheepishly. "Is it working?"

Genesis looked over to his daughter. "What do you think I should do?"

Bella smirked at him.

"When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end

The goddess descends from the sky

Wings of light and dark spread afar

She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting"

Tifa shook her head, chuckling. "My interpretation of Loveless' skills are pretty terrible, but I think she just asked you what you think Minerva would want you to do."

"Your skills aren't as horrid is you think," Bella replied, "We just spent the evening fighting people who have, by my reasoning, taken what they consider to be justice into their own hands. People are being attacked. I doubt very much that the great goddess envisioned a city such as this."

"Justice," Genesis seethed, "What proof did they have to show their actions were justified? If it had been solely me, that would have been understandable, but..."

It surprised him how much he was defending another so strongly, "...to attack the one who risked his life for the sake of the planet? There is no justice in that."

The energy he spent with his anger forced his muscles to shudder, and he felt himself sitting back down hard, cursing himself for his body giving into pain. "We stand stronger together. That's what the Goddess wants, and I intend to honor her wishes."

Zack whooped as he fist-pumped the air above him. "Now we just need Angeal and Seph on board! This is going to be great! We'll get the streets crime-free in no time! Right, Spike?"

Silence...

"Cloud?" asked Zack who looked down at the champion.

His eyes were closed, and his chest was calmly rising and falling.