Yu Yevon, escorted by Zaon and carrying a paper scroll in his hand, entered the Conference Room in the Dome, where Riels and three other summoners were readying their equipment for secretly investigating Bevelle's port at Kilika. Their dark green camouflaged attire would perfectly blend them into the nearby jungles.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Yevon said. "Have you reviewed your mission?"

"Yes, Maester," Riels said. "We are to split up, infiltrate the institution, and steal any information we can find on Bevelle's weapon."

"Yes," Yevon said. "If Bevelle really is attempting a biological weapon of some kind, we must halt their progress at all costs. This is our chance to seriously cripple their experiments." He unraveled the scroll and laid it onto the table. Everyone crowded around; it was a detailed map of the general area around the Bevellian base, from the adjacent beaches to the lush jungles and an open area next to the base for their cargo airships.

Riels and the others huddled around the table. "What's the plan, Maester?"

Yevon pointed at the jungle area. "Riels, you will take your unit through the jungle and find a way in through there. Zaon will send his troops from the beachside and attack the base from the front. This should create enough of a distraction that you can sneak in through this service entrance here and find the blueprints to the weapon. I would imagine they would be located down in the lower levels of the building."

"Understood," Riels replied.

"Once you make entry, your team must split up. One team must search for the blueprints within the laboratories, and another team will plant explosive devices in the lower areas. We must destroy this facility and halt production on this weapon. Zaon, how many summoners were you able to assemble?"

"I have two hundred summoners standing by, Maester," Zaon responded. "They are ready to deploy at any time."

"Very good. Now, over here in this open area next to the base is an airfield where cargo and scout ships land and take off regularly. Zaon's troops will target this area first, as we must maintain air superiority for our Aeons. The airfield is also guarded by several heavy automated gun turrets; those must be dealt with swiftly as well." Yevon pointed at the main base. "We will strike during the changing of the guard, so the ground troops will be caught unprepared and will scramble to strengthen their security. When reinforcements arrive, Riels, you must pull your team out immediately. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Riels responded.

Yevon turned to Zaon. "And your troops, Zaon, must hit fast and hard to avoid allowing them to call for air support. Once the airfield has been disabled, their closest source of support is probably the airfields at Djose. When those ships arrive, we will be forced to retreat, so we are on a timer for this mission. I want this wrapped up within an hour, understood?"

"Yes, Maester," the rest of the room replied.

"Thank you," Yevon said, standing up straight. "Be ready this afternoon to fly your Aeons out. You will land in the Kilika jungles and go the rest of the way on foot. Stay hidden and wait for the first strike to breach the building. The dark of night and the chaos of the battle will be your cover."

Riels nodded and motioned his team to follow him out the door. Yevon looked over to Zaon and nodded at him, indicating the time to get the troops ready. As Zaon left the room, a messenger entered holding a glowing orange sphere. He approached Yevon and bowed his head.

"Maester, message sphere for you," he said.

"Oh?" Yevon took the sphere from him. "Who is it from?"

"It's from Bevelle. The chancellor has sent you a personal message, sir."

"The chancellor?" Yevon paused and looked at the messenger in the eyes. "Has this been tested, young man?"

The messenger nodded. "Yes, sir. Our analysts have examined it extensively and confirmed it is safe."

Yevon thought to himself for a bit, looking at the sphere in his hand. He recalled an incident shortly after the war began in which a message sphere that was rigged to explode was intended to be delivered to the Regal Office but detonated prematurely in a nearby room, killing several Zanarkand officials. Every fiber of Yevon's being told him not to accept this sphere, but he trusted his analysts and he had to admit that a small part of him was quite curious.

He told his messenger, "Very well. Thank you." The messenger bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him. All alone in the room now, he set the sphere on the table and activated it. The device lit up and displayed the image of an older, balding man sitting at a desk in what appeared to be a presidential office, Bevelle's insignia displayed on the back wall.

"Chancellor Evrae," Yevon said to himself. "You are still in power, I see."

The man in the sphere smiled, his hands folded neatly on the desk. "Yu Yevon...ruler of the majestic city of Zanarkand. I apologize that we couldn't talk interactively with each other, but this will have to suffice. There are some things I feel I must reveal to you.

"As I'm sure you remember, the recent battle at Macalania has claimed the life of my last Executive Chief. I was very sad about this; I don't enjoy visiting families to let them know that one of their loved ones won't be coming home again. This...unprovoked attack will not be forgiven or forgotten. You know I have no quarrel with your city's way of life, but when you blockaded the western canals behind Zanarkand and prevented our science ships from studying the area, I was forced to take that as an aggressive action. You have done nothing but prolong this war, Yevon. I want you to realize this so you know where I'm coming from. You need to understand how bad this is for the both of us."

Yevon sighed, briefly considering shutting off the sphere. Evrae continued, "In any case, I'd like you to meet my new Executive Chief of Affairs." A younger man with short dark hair stepped into view, standing behind Evrae. His piercing eyes and stern gaze seemed to stare right through the sphere. "This is Dragonian. He is now my chief officer in charge of all military operations in the city of Bevelle. The reason I am introducing him to you now is because he is not especially known for his mercy. Dragonian is a hardened soldier who has served his city for many years, and he has impressed me with his fierceness and intensity. This man will not take the atrocity at Macalania lightly. And when you surrender, which I am strongly urging you to do, only then will he show leniency. This is the last time I'm warning you, Yevon: you are out of options. I do not want to destroy Zanarkand. But...if you keep up with this foolishness, I will." With those words, the sphere powered off.

Yevon tossed the sphere onto the table, where it rolled until it fell off and simply bounced, rolling even further until hitting the wall. He felt discouraged; he despised being forced to take lives, especially as collateral damage like all the lives lost at Macalania. At the same time, however, Evrae's latest threat filled Yevon with a new resolve.

"Evrae..." he said, under his breath. "You dare threaten my people with death at the hands of your right-hand madman. You do not decide where your pillaging ships can sail in my waters. I asked you to respect my wishes to leave the western canals untouched...but instead you took us both to war. You are the one prolonging this conflict, not I. I will not surrender."

Later that day, Yevon met with Riels and his three commandoes just outside the city, at the base of Mt. Gagazet. The sun had begun to set, enveloping the mountain slopes in its bright yellow glow. All three had summoned their winged Aeons to fly them to the jungles and were receiving a final briefing from Yevon before taking off.

Yevon asked, "You all understand your mission, correct?"

"Yes, Maester!" the group responded.

"Remember, this must be quick. You must infiltrate the base and find whatever information you can about the weapon before air support from Djose arrives. It will take about an hour for them to get there, so you don't have too much time. You must stay hidden; you cannot afford to encounter resistance or do anything that will delay you. You understand that, yes?"

"Yes, Maester!" they repeated.

"Also, remember to stay below the clouds as you get closer to Kilika. Their radars can detect anything flying in the vicinity, but if you stay close to the trees, they will be more likely to dismiss that as just a local creature. Any further questions?" The commandoes shook their heads. "Very good. Off you go, gentlemen. Best of luck."

The four summoners hopped on the backs of their Aeons. The Phoenixes unfurled their majestic wings, let out a confident shriek, and lifted off. They flew higher and higher, eventually disappearing behind the clouds, ensuring they would fly far enough to reach Kilika before nightfall. Yevon turned and headed back into the city.

Walking through the city as dusk slowly enveloped the landscape, Yevon travelled to the subterranean temple below the Zanarkand Dome, where three large statues surrounded the circular room. He moved to the center of the room, extending his arms and looking up.

"O Protector Gods of Zanarkand, I am in desperate need of guidance. For years, I have fought to keep your submerged holy grounds safe from outsider raids, and I have sacrificed so much to keep your sacred traditions alive within my people. But now we are fighting a losing battle, and I do not wish to keep sending my people to die for a futile war. I ask—no, I plead you for your guidance. Gaia, Goddess of Fertility...Brohlem, God of Power...Necron, Lord of Eternity. I ask for your help in protecting my people."

He got down on his knees, bowing his head to the floor with his hands in front of him. He stayed this way for several minutes, silently praying for a miracle. All he could think about was his wife, his daughter, his closest advisors, his dearest friends, and all the people who were packed in the stadium who were so excited for the blitzball tournament. His wife...

Yevon heard footsteps coming down the stairs leading to this temple. He quickly stood up and turned around to meet the person. The person who came down was a woman, dressed in casual robes, looking visibly distressed. "Yevon?" she said.

"Judara, my wife," Yevon said, walking over to her and kissing her on the cheek. "What are you doing here? How'd you know I was here?"

She looked down. "Before he left, Zaon told me he saw you heading down here. I was worried about you; you've been very distant lately. Are you so preoccupied with the war that you can't be happy with your family again?"

"You are right. I'm sorry, Judara. I've been trying to keep the people optimistic about the future, but I cannot seem to do the same for myself."

"You didn't even tell your daughter that her husband would be leaving this afternoon for a mission that he can't talk about. She worries every minute of every day that he may never come back."

Yevon clasped her hands between his. "My darling, I wish I could be open about everything. I really do. But we are at war now, and our security is paramount in this situation. I cannot risk compromising valuable information, but most importantly, I cannot risk the safety of you and Yunalesca."

The two began walking back up the stairs, with Judara leaning on her husband's arm. They walked back up to the city in silence, peacefully enjoying each other's company. Judara, however, was holding in a question she wanted to ask him, something she knew he wouldn't like but no time was better than now. They were all alone, standing in front of the Dome bathed in twilight.

She turned to him. "Yevon, Yunalesca wants to help you however she can. She wants to be a part of this. You know that, right?"

"Yes, but I cannot bear to risk her life in this struggle. She's a strong and talented summoner, but I don't know if I could bring myself to ask her to fight."

"Well..." The door of opportunity was open. There was no backing down. "She wants you to teach her the Final Summoning."

Yevon stopped suddenly, forcing Judara to abruptly stop along with him. His look was one of shock. "Absolutely not. Absolutely not! Where in the world would she think I would be ready to teach her that technique?"

"But, don't you think she's ready for it?"

"No, of course not! She knows how dangerous the technique is, and she knows that only the ruler of Zanarkand may be allowed to learn it. It is above her current abilities, and I will not endanger her life like that for any reason. The answer is no, and that's all I'm prepared to discuss about that."

"I see..." she said, sighing deeply as they continued to walk back to their home. They continued on in silence, lost in their own thoughts as dusk began to settle over the city. It was the first time in a long while that Yevon had taken a quiet walk with his wife through the streets during twilight hours. He had hoped it wouldn't be the last.

Riels and his three commandoes landed in the nearby forest just as the sun was beginning to set over the horizon, as predicted. The dense woods provided excellent cover for them, the sounds of local creatures masking the noise of their movement and their camouflaged attire perfectly blending them in. Upon landing in the woods and calling their Aeons back, Riels directed his men to spread out as they made their way to the enemy base. As nightfall was almost upon them, they would need to move quickly so they wouldn't miss the first strike; once the perimeter defenses were neutralized, it would be up to them to move in and move out just as quickly.

Night had completely fallen on them by the time they reached the designated location. They stayed hidden within the very edge of the brush and saw the large facility they were looking for: large, heavily guarded, and completely surrounded with heavy artillery cannons. Armed troops—too many to count—patrolled the area tirelessly.

"Scope," Riels whispered to his team. One of his commandoes pulled a pair of binoculars out of his pocket and handed it to him. Riels studied the area, observing the guard stations and all possible entrances on that side of the facility. Since the location of the blueprints they needed weren't exact, they would need to find the best entrance in order to save precious time.

Riels handed the binoculars back and motioned for his team to huddle. "Okay, listen up. I've located one entrance on the south side, just behind that cannon over there." He pointed towards one of the cannons in the distance, where a metal grate covered a small ventilation tunnel that appeared to be able to fit a human. "According to the schematics Yevon gave us, we can use that vent over there to climb in and it should lead us right to where they're holding schematics for the weapon."

Minutes passed as the commandoes waited for their cue. The armed guards carried out their patrols like automatons—walking back and forth ceaselessly. Eventually, a whistle blew from the main building and the guards all left their posts, signifying the end of the current shift and the start of the next one. Riels looked up to the sky, knowing that the time to strike was soon. He was looking for the signal…

A massive fireball fell from the sky, right on time, and struck one of the massive cannons, destroying it. The commandoes looked up to the sky and observed the source: all the summoners from Zanarkand riding on their winged Aeons, led by Zaon himself, swooped in and began their attack. The Aeons discharged powerful bursts of fire directed at all of the cannons, destroying them before they could get a bead on any targets.

The Bevellians were clearly caught off guard. The alarm sounded as troops scrambled outside, disorganized and confused, with their automatic rifles in hand. Both sides began exchanging fire, creating massive chaos among the base grounds. Riels and his commandoes used this opportunity to run out from the trees towards the ventilation tunnel, where no one was looking, and began unhinging the grate.

"We need to split up once we get inside. You two, take the bombs to lower levels and plant them there, where they'll do the most damage. Tifas, stay with me while we search the main laboratory for the weapon schematics. We're out in ten minutes, understood?"

"Understood," the commandoes responded.

"We only get one shot at this." The grate snapped off and Riels threw it to the ground. "You have your orders. Let's move out!"

The two commandoes equipped with the bombs went in first, crawling through the ventilation tunnel and taking a left at the first juncture, leading down to the lower levels. Riels and Tifas crawled in and took a right at the juncture, leading to the main labs. They followed the tunnel through, passing over the many hallways that were bustling with activity as armed soldiers ran every which way to respond to the skirmish outside.

Riels and Tifas eventually came to a large laboratory room where many scientists and engineers were performing their work on massive chunks of corals, shaping them into external armor. Due to the intensity of the battle outside, there were few soldiers in the room.

"Here we are," Riels whispered. He quietly loosened a grate in front of him, and the two of them dropped down into the room, quickly ducking behind some nearby crates. Before they went on, they observed the positions of all the soldiers in the room. There were three—two stood huddled about twenty yards away from them and one stood by a table with all kinds of schematics on it—and they were all clearly on edge. Riels pointed to two guards standing by each other. "Use a flash bomb and disable those two. I'll take the other one."

Tifas moved towards the two guards, all while staying hidden, while Riels snuck towards the lone guard by the schematics. When the two were in position, Riels nodded to Tifas across the room, and Tifas released a flash bomb from his belt toward the guards. The device exploded in a blinding flare, disorienting the guards long enough for him to incapacitate them with a few blows to the head. The guard near the schematics was immediately alerted to the commotion, but Riels locked him into a headlock and rendered him unconscious before he could act. The scientists and engineers dropped their instruments and fled in reaction to the flash bang, rushing to hide in safety.

"We need to hurry," Riels said. "They'll likely bring security back with them."

The two shuffled through the pile of papers on the table. Most of them were partial schematics filled with incomprehensible and useless information. Eventually, Riels found one schematic that provided a full picture of the weapon. The diagram of the weapon resembled a large, winged, six-legged creature that looked like no design that Riels had ever seen before. The diagram listed multiple devastating armament and armor systems, but one word at the top of the paper caught his attention.

"Vegnagun…" he read aloud.

The sound of soldiers approaching from the hallway jolted Riels and Tifas to attention. Riels folded the blueprint up and the two bolted back to the vent from where they came. Putting the blueprint in his belt where it would stay, Riels hoisted himself up into the vent and turned around to assist Tifas into the vent. Gunfire immediately came from the hallway as enemy soldiers poured in firing in the direction of the commandoes.

"Quick, give me your hand!" Riels called. Before Tifas could grab on, a flurry of machine gun fire intercepted him and sent him falling to the ground, lying motionless on the floor.

"No!" Riels shouted. As the soldiers got closer, he had no choice but to leave the body behind. He crawled as fast as he could through the vent, eventually exiting out from where he came in. The fierce melee between Aeons and machina raged on, with neither side showing signs of slowing down. Riels stayed crouched next to the opening, waiting for the other two commandoes. They needed to move quickly, before Bevellian reinforcements arrived.

The two commandoes fortunately exited the facility a few minutes later. Riels jumped up instantly. "Report?"

"Mission complete. Explosives primed," one commando replied.

"Alright, we need to move out now. We'll exit through the jungle." Riels directed his commandoes to follow him back through the jungle to their original landing zone, where they would take off from.

"Sir, what about Tifas? Did he make it?" a commando asked.

"No," Riels replied. "He didn't make it."

As they ran through the jungle, they heard a series of massive explosion behind them, undoubtedly the destruction of the facility caused by the bombs. They looked up to the sky and saw the summoners flying back on their Aeons, the facility destroyed and the base's defenses rendered inoperable. With another successful military operation, albeit not without casualties, the troops regrouped to return to Zanarkand, and to tell Yu Yevon of the news of victory.