Chapter 4

Shinra's objectives were met and the peacekeepers pulled out of the slums, knowing well they were not welcome. The thousands of men and vehicles moved up into the city proper again and the aftermath of the fighting was left where it had happened. Cloud, meanwhile, had handed over Aerith to Shinra's "medical teams" as they had claimed to be. Cloud, however, was certain that one of the men had been one of professor Hojo's assistants, something that did not sit well with him. The still unconscious young woman had been transported away without any further ado, the "medical team" not even looking at the others. The three terrorists were easy, off to prison with them. They had been put on the convoy of Avalanche prisoners that were being transported to Shinra's super-prison on the northern continent. The little girl, however, had been left behind without even a second glance and in the end Cloud had been forced to take her on himself, starting some of the most frustrating moments of his life.

The girl soon woke up and was evidently terrified. All attempts by Cloud to calm her failed miserably no matter what he did and in the end he simply had to lock her inside his room and try to get hold of Shinra's child services. It took him a full hour of constant phone calls and heavy-handed authority-waving to even get hold of them, the man who answered that phone being a tired bureaucrat who had initially said they'd send someone over next week. Cloud had been on the verge of physical violence and calmly informed the man he was captain of Commando and that he wanted someone sent instantly. The man on the other end had started grovelling like a dog and soon a suited-up man had arrived, looking more like an used car salesman than someone who worked with children. When said man's first words had been "okay where's the brat" Cloud had slammed him into a wall and told him with a glacial voice that unless he did his job properly and well with this girl Cloud would find out and he wouldn't be pleased.

That was all he could do for the girl, yet her heartbreaking screams as she was dragged away, her desperate cries for "daddy", tore at his soul and most probably would haunt him for a long time ahead. It all came together and left him feeling dissatisfied and unhappy despite the victory. The president, however, was overjoyed. When Cloud came up into the opulent office to deliver the report, not even having had time to get out of his field uniform, the head of Shinra was standing by the windows with a cigar in one hand and a glass of liquor in the other. On his desk a large crystal bottle stood, sparkling in the setting sun.

"Ah, captain Strife!" he said, waving for Cloud to come up. He was evidently extremely pleased "Excellent work, excellent work indeed." he said jovially as Cloud saluted, "Have a drink, it's from my personal stock." Cloud accepted the offer respectfully, pouring his own glass and came up to the man. The president was practically radiating, looking out across the city with a wide grin on his face.

"I take it you've gotten the news then sir." Cloud said amiably, feeling keenly the contrast between the overjoyed president and himself. He decided not to mention it however, not wanting to spoil the man's mood.

"Not only that!" the president said. "According to professor Hojo we'll have figured our little Ancient's powers out fully in ten years." he took a puff of his cigar, blowing out a cloud of smoke. "Ten years captain, after that the promised land will be ours!" he said, Cloud not understanding at first.

"Pardon me sir?" he asked, the president looking at him with one eyebrow raised.

"The promised land." he said, "As in what Avalanche keeps gabbing on about. The place said to be teeming with life. Where there's life, there's Mako captain. Shinra is looking at profits beyond what we've ever seen before! And all is thanks to you captain."

"Just doing my job, sir." Cloud said, grudgingly respecting the president's shrewd business mind, however it wasn't the first, second or even fifth thought that came to him that when you found the paradise the first thing you did was to construct a generator to harvest the life of it. He supposed that was the world, wasn't it?

"Indeed you are." the man grinned, "Tell you what by the way, captain is such a lowly title. After something like this it's time for a promotion, how does major sound?" the man made Cloud startle from surprise. A promotion?!

"Sir I..." Cloud began, overwhelmed, but he was cut off.

"No, that won't work." the president said now, "Major Strife, that's ridiculous. Colonel it is! Colonel Strife! Sounds dashing, no?" Cloud was almost flabbergasted enough to be speechless. A promotion directly to colonel? Over what anyway? Commando was a separate section of Shinra's public order division, one whose top officer was a captain and nothing else. Where would he even be transferred?

"Will I have to leave Commando?" he asked frankly. No promotions could replace his men and the joy of being a part of this absolute elite. The president only waved his hand.

"Pft!" he snorted, "Obviously not, that's where I want you. For now..." he added the last part under his breath and Cloud was just about to ask what he meant. He didn't however, making demands of the president now was not a good idea. He took a sip of his cognac in order to keep his mouth shut. Something about it rankled him, the president was not planning to expand Commando, meaning he was given a purely ceremonial promotion, a decoration only. His thoughts stayed hidden however and he only bowed.

"Thank you sir." he said respectfully. Inside, however, he was more and more outraged. This victory turned sourer and sourer inside his mouth. Devastated homes, desperate children, families torn apart, nonsense promotions, lost friends. Was this really Shinra's finest moment? For him it more and more turned into something he wanted to punch in the face. He held his tongue though, forcing himself to shut up even as he realized he had started to clench the delicate glass in his hand, hard enough that it almost broke. "If I may, there is still a lot to do." he said, the president nodding.

"Of course, Colonel!" he said jovially. "Put your report on my desk .. oh, you did. Then dismissed! Your promotion will be taken care of in the following days."

"Yes sir!" Cloud saluted again, putting down the glass and leaving. He walked down the stairs running a hand through his hair. What the hell was this?! Cloud suddenly felt bile pour up inside him, his loyalty to Shinra more and more starting to fray along the edges. Heading for the stairs, he made a point to not meet anyone's eyes as he passed through the corridor. It was first when he got into the stairwell that he stopped, leaning against the wall with his goggles hitting the wall and his hands against it. He he took a deep breath as he tried to calm down and get focus back. What was he even so upset about?

All these smaller things, they came together, drove him nuts. He lined them up mentally, trying to figure out what to do. The entire ordeal in the slums had been unpleasant at least, there would be a lot of resentment and anger after that. The girl, Marlene, had only worsened it, Cloud couldn't believe now nonchalant the people of the child services had been. As if it wasn't bad enough that they tore a family apart, however necessary it was, she had to be handled by unmotivated bureaucrats. Cloud sighed, deciding he had to talk to Reeve about it. There had to be some way to make it up to the people of the slums. Even it it wasn't, the child services had to be addressed, now preferably. There were ways they could repay the people in the slums, the president hopefully could approve some kind of reconstruction project.

Zack's constant issues with Shinra's orders was also an issue, but they ought to be fixed now, at least temporarily. Aerith was with Shinra, safely, and wouldn't leave. That meant Zack would stay here. Cloud realized that he had for a good while now seriously feared that his friend would rogue. That realization was painful. The Sephiroth lookalike was still troubling him as well, but with the Turks looking into it he had to trust them. They were many things, but incompetent they were not. Avalanche had taken a massive beating, that had given Shinra some breathing space they could use to find out who that man and his "brother" was.

Lastly: Tifa. Cloud sighed once more, processing what lay ahead for her now. She was a convicted terrorist. She'd be interrogated for whatever she could reveal and then either sent to Shinra's super prison or executed. Cloud had been able to fight her without any real problems, yet at the thought of what would happen to her now... it hurt. It was a thought that frightened him. Doubt bubbled up inside him. Was Tifa really so indoctrinated as he had supposed? The scene of her stopping Barret from gunning down those two peacekeepers was carved into his mind, impossible to combine with the image of the Avalanche fanatic, ruthless, hate-filled, violent and without any redeeming traits, that he up until now had known. His conscience wouldn't let him forget it.

In the end he did something impulsive. Hurrying down the white – almost sterile – stairs, he headed for the "containment area", the corner of the 67th floor where the prison cells were. Tifa was being held there along with Yuffie and Barret. They were all going to be interrogated soon, brutally, and when it was done their fates would be decided. Death or a lifetime in prison, whichever remained to be seen. Cloud gritted his teeth, torn by indecision, yet in the end he acted upon the idea that had come to him.

The guard posted at the start of the site corridor where the cells lay saluted him when Cloud came up through the steel corridor. Cloud decided to straighten up a bit. He needed whatever authority he could get right now.

"I'm here to see one of the terrorists." he said as he returned the salute with a no-nonsense attitude. "Tifa Lockheart." he continued, the guard getting something uncertain on his face.

"Uhm..." he said, "We don't know their names yet." Cloud almost snapped at him now. What the hell?! How couldn't they even have gotten that right!? He must have shown at least some anger for the guard instantly flinched and shrunk away from him. "D-do you have a physical description of her sir?" he quickly said, "We've got two women in custody right now." Cloud took a slow breath to calm down.

"She would be the older one." he said, "longer hair and more curves." the guard snapped his fingers now and made an understanding gesture.

"Yes, that one." he said, recognizing who it was, "If you'll come this way sir, I'll have the cell unlocked right away." Cloud followed him silently, anxiety welling up inside him again. It was a bold plan, but right now he had enough favour with the president that it had to be doable. Yes, it would be. The prison corridor was cold and gloomy, all metal and blue lights. It seemed constructed to make people feel cold. As Cloud was shown the door the guard grinned a bit at him. "Wanting to inspect the catch I take it?" he joked as he fumbled with his keys, "Yeah I can't blame you. We should put her on "community service", don't you think? I know I'd like to have a piece of that." He was cut short now when Cloud grabbed him by his collar and pulled him close to his glowing goggles. It was something that always deeply unnerved people and the growl that came from Cloud now only further scared the man.

"You keep your mouth shut, and if you ever make a joke like that again I'll have you transferred to the most remote and miserable outpost I can find." he said icily, enraged enough that he almost lost control of himself. Shoving the man backwards into the wall, he nodded towards the door and the now terrified guard quickly got it open, the door sliding upwards with a metallic hiss. Cloud took a slow breath to focus himself and then walked into the small cell.

It was very small, about two times three meters only, with a steel bunk along one wall with only the bare minimum of cushioning on it and a single, white-blue lamp above him. Tifa was currently lying on the bunk, having propped herself up with one elbow when hearing the sound and now looking at him. Her eyes were cold, unfriendly..She didn't say anything, making Cloud even more unsettled. He had to do it, for her sake if nothing else, but where would he even start?

"The Ancient is back with Shinra." he said eventually, seeing no response from Tifa. "Avalanche is more or less annihilated in the slums, your casualties are in the hundreds. You failed in your mission. It's over for you."

"Did you just come here to gloat?" Tifa asked now, showing no despair despite the situation. Instead she got off the bunk and stood up, eliminating that small, psychological advantage Cloud had had. Cloud almost flinched at her glacial tone. Even now, when having lost completely, she stood with pride and conviction, a sight that only made Cloud feel even worse.

"No." he said, this was going straight to hell wasn't it? And why did he even keep his helmet on. He had to go from there. "I'm here because when we first met I didn't believe my eyes." he reached up now, grabbing hold of his helmet. "Of all the people I'd have expected to see in Avalanche," he now took it off, feeling as if it was the hardest thing he ever had done. He was terrified as he pushed it off his head, revealing his face. "I never expected to see you." he finished, watching how Tifa's face changed from hostility to pure shock.

It started in the eyes, eyes that had been narrowed and now shot wide open. Like an explosion, the effect of the shock spread through her features, the shockwave wiping away the furrows from her brow and pushed her eyebrows up towards her hair. It strained the skin of her cheeks as it pushed her mouth wide open. .

Next, in the wake of the explosion, came the pain. Her eyes moved from their empty, shocked state to one overflowing with pain, the furrows came back and her mouth slowly closed and opened again as her head began to move from side to side.

"No..." she whispered, her voice shivered in disbelief, just like her body. Indeed, the shock was so massive that she lost her footing, sinking down to her knees helplessly. Tifa stared up at him, the pain in her eyes and the shock and despair now overwhelming. All her composure had been torn to shreds and defiance was now an impossibility. "Cloud..." she whispered his name with a voice so broken, so filled with despair, that Cloud for a moment only wanted to walk up to her and comfort her. In the face of his childhood friend's pain his duty for a second became so irrelevant and Cloud felt the self-hatred flare up even more now than before. He kept his composure however, it was the hardest thing he ever had done, but he did.

"Tifa." he said with his composure frayed, but holding. He had to stop however. It was too much for him, if he had said anything more he would have broken down. So he was quiet, leaving room for Tifa to speak again.

"How are you..." she began, her voice breaking and stopping. "Why?" he continued after a while, "I looked for you, we... we hacked Shinra's records... you weren't there." Cloud was so distraught that he didn't even register the implications of what she had said. At the moment, all he wanted was to puke. Instead, he mentally pushed away, desperate to reach the real reason for why he was here.

"That's not why I'm here." he told her, clinging to his professionalism desperately. "You're done for Tifa. Soon you'll either be dead or locked up in Shinra's super-prison. Either way, your life as you know it has ended." Tifa only stared at him, breathing unevenly as the tears were forming in her face. "But it doesn't have to be that way." Cloud said now, giving emphasis to the sentence. "I don't know why you fell in with Avalanche, but you don't have to die along with them."

"What... what do you mean?" Tifa fought to regain her composure, fought desperately, Cloud could see that and he gritted his teeth for a few seconds. .

"The president trusts me." he said, "Enough that I can cut a deal with him. I can get you out of here Tifa, I can get you far away from both Avalanche and Shinra, somewhere where you can stay out of this whole thing, Mideel or something. You can live out your life in peace there, you don't have to die here." First now Tifa showed something else than despair. Strangely however, the look of distant hope in her eyes was even more painful for Cloud. He hadn't told her the catch yet. "That is..." he continued now, "If you work with us, tell us everything you know about Avalanche."

It switched now, the look on Tifa's face. From hope and that visage of... what should he call it, joy? Affection for him? Gratitude and happiness over how he had come to save her? It all vanished, being replaced with anger. Tifa got to her feet now, unsteadily but still, and before Cloud could bring himself to do anything she had slapped him in the face. Cloud felt the sting on his cheek but it was nothing compared to the pain inside. He took the blow silently, his head being thrown to the side but turning back to look at her soon after that. Tifa's eyes were still filled with tears, tears that had begun to carve trails down her cheeks, yet the anger was there as well and she panted now with her teeth bared, the rage was evident.

"How dare you..." she said with a shivering, furious voice. "Do you think you can make me betray my friends just like that!?" she almost hyperventilated and Cloud silently looked at her, forcing himself to not look away. Tifa eventually pulled back for another slap and Cloud raised his hand to grab it, making her tear away from him.

"What if I include Marlene?" he asked now, begging for Tifa to accept. The little daughter of Barret still weighed on his mind. If Tifa left Avalanche and helped them she could take Marlene with her. The little girl would know her, trust her, and would have as good a home with Tifa as she ever could get as it was. It was the best possible deal Cloud could think of and he begged silently for Tifa to accept it. Said young woman had frozen now, staring at him with shock in her eyes.

"Marlene?" Tifa didn't believe her ears it seemed.

"She was with the Ancient when we retrieved her." Cloud said, "Right now she's with Shinra's Child Services and if anything, she'll end up in an orphanage somewhere." Now Tifa's eyes changed, showing rage.

"You..." she started, "You bastard!" she hissed, Cloud once again feeling the pain of the entire situation keenly.

"You can have her." Cloud said. "Take her, go far away from Avalanche and never go back to it. You can live your life in peace there, raising Marlene to a happier life! Her father will die for what he's done but that doesn't mean she has to lose everyone that matters to her as well! And you can have her, give her a future, if you'll just cooperate with us!"

Tifa's face now showed the entire cavalcade of emotions. Pain, anger, despair, uncertainty, fear and countless other things. His childhood friend slowly shook her head, took a step back, paced. Cloud could see the struggle in her and in the end she turned away from him, putting her hands against the wall of the far end of the room and leaned against it. Tensing her entire body, her fingernails turning white as she dug her fingers into the wall the girl spoke.

"No." she said, pressing the word out through clenched teeth. Cloud startled at this, looking at her back in shock and disbelief. Tifa was slowly shaking her head, still not looking at him. "I won't do it. I won't sell everyone out."

"Then I can't guarantee what happens to Marlene." Cloud told her. His voice was even but inside he raged. Damn her! Why didn't she accept!? She had to!

"Don't you dare to make me the bad guy!" Tifa snarled as she spun around now, glaring at him. Cloud was struck by it now, as her hair spun around her and she glared at him with eyes filled with anger and indignation, how entrancing she was. He had even back then thought of her as pretty, but now... she had matured so well, had become a stunner of a beauty. And she was a terrorist... she hated him... and she would not accept the only salvation he could give her. "You're the one who's bargaining with a little girl!" Tifa snarled, "I don't know who you are any more but you'll never make me betray my friends!"

Cloud could see it. It was hopeless. She was dead set on her path. He remembered that look from many years ago, when she had decided that come hell or high water, she'd get over mount Niebel. Then like now, Cloud had no other option but to accept and he slowly nodded.

"So be it." he said, turning around and walking out. He stopped in the doorway however, looking back at her. She was still glaring at him, her fists clenched and her teeth bared in anger. Putting on the helmet again, he couldn't stop these last words. "I didn't become Soldier..." he said, "But I really did want to fulfil my promise." With that, he slammed his hand on the door panel, closing the door and making the automatic locks engage with a loud click. Marching away at high pace, Cloud none the less only barely made it to his room and got the door closed before he broke down. He threw his helmet into the wall, snarling with anger, frustration, grief and countless other emotions. His clenched fists pounding against the walls impotently. Cloud's desperate attempt to soothe the pain inside him had backfired and only worsened it. The recently promoted colonel of Commando cut a wretched, broken figure as he pounded the walls with his fists in deep frustration, in helpless anger and soul-wrenching guilt and pain.

In the wake of the massive raid into the slums and the successful interception of Avalanche's assassins, the Shinra were understandably somewhat lax in security. Things had not yet been restored to how they were before, leaving several gaping holes in the security of the building. That was the reason the three figures could move through the more shadowy corners of the Shinra building, escaping detection. At least that was half the reason. The figures all moved with incredible speed, superhuman agility and precision and completely soundlessly, all of them

"Aww, so boring." one of the three commented airily as they snuck past the statue-filled room where Avalanche's three assassins had been stopped, leaping from statue to statue at blinding speeds and complete silence. "I was hoping for some more fun. There's hardly anyone here."

"Shinra only thinks of Avalanche." another commented as they snuck up the stairs. "They think they're safe now... but what a surprise they will get." his face parted in a wide, maniacal grin as he thought of it.

"I can't wait..." the third said, his voice shivering with childish eagerness. "We'll destroy this entire place!" he clenched his fists, raising one to his face as he seemed to happy for words. "We'll be with father at last. After all these years."

"And then..." the second one said as they exited the stairs, following the beckoning call that resounded in them. "We'll find mother too. They took her, but they won't keep her!" running behind a pair of guards, the trio crept ever closer and closer to their goal. It pounded in their very souls, had done for as long as they had existed. And it only increased in intensity as they came closer and closer.

As they moved through one more of the floors a spiky haired man was standing by a vending machine, currently impatiently slapping the side of it. Zack growled to himself irritated at the bloody thing's reluctance to give him the damn soda he already had paid for. With Aerith safe once more he nevertheless found himself annoyed. He hadn't gotten hold of Cloud after the man came back from the raid and despite everything Zack was happy Aerith was safe. At least as safe as could be with that damn Hojo.

Zack had already gone to see Aerith, making sure to threaten Hojo with bloody murder unless he let her out of the glass cell he had put her in. His girlfriend had been devastated however, even though she didn't tell him anything she made Zack more and more uncertain. He leaned against the machine now, tormented by the entire situation. Shinra only seemed more and more evil these days while Aerith, his life and love, seemed only to sympathise with Avalanche. And where did that leave him? He had his honour, had always strived to follow it, and Shinra more and more became like honourless beasts. Even Cloud... his best and truest friend, had started to act outright ruthlessly. Zack didn't know what to do. Abandon Shinra? Could he? Really? No... he couldn't make Cloud his enemy. Cloud wouldn't betray the Shinra, not after all they had done for him.

Zack was snapped out of his thoughts when something zipped by to his left. Startling, he snapped his head to the side yet saw only an empty corridor intersection. He had felt somehow however. Getting to his feet, the Soldier pulled his buster sword from his back and moved down the hallway. Looking to both sides, he found himself having forgotten about the soft drink. Something was here...

Hours had passed and it was deep in the night when Cloud, who lay on his bed curled up in foetal position, was roused out of his grief and guilt-induced torpor. An explosion suddenly resounded through the building, distant but very much noticeable and to Cloud it was a wake-up call of the first order. He was on his feet in an instant, his helmet already torn from the floor and put on his head. Opening the door, Cloud walked as fast as he could down the hallway as the helmet linked up to the security channels already before the alarms began to sound.

"What's the situation!" he yelled the very instant he was in contact. His voice would now echo through the main security central, impossible to not notice. A few seconds later a voice answered.

"Some kind of explosion sir!" the man on the other end answered. "It came from 67th floor, the labs. Cameras' down and the fire alarms have gone off."

"Send in teams at once!" Cloud snapped, his earlier grief forgotten. Duty had appeared for him to perform. Something had happened, something bad, and Cloud found himself once again in the comforting, familiar embrace of his job. It all became so easy when he as captain, now colonel, of Commando had one goal only, Shinra's safety and success.

"Got it sir." the man answered, "Squad five are on the way. They'll reach the labs in a minute."

"Lock down the building." Cloud ordered now, "Get every man on station, full security. Who were in the labs at the time?"

"Only professor Hojo and some scientists." he was told, "the board is currently on the floor above however."

"Get, them, out, of, there!" Cloud snapped. He wasn't going to take chances. What the hell had happened in the labs?! "Secure the stairwells and escort them down!"

"Yes sir." his orders were acknowledged. "Squad five is about to enter the labs in ten seconds."

"Link me." Cloud said, reaching the armoury and grabbing a rifle and a sword both. The frequency changed, making him hear only static for a second before he was in contact again. "This is captain Strife." he said, watching as Commandos came running from all other directions. His men were already in high gear, as they should be, and Cloud motioned for them to follow him. "Enter the floor and tell me what you see." he commanded.

"Squad five copies." the deep voice of squad five's leader said and Cloud could hear the sound of a door opening. As he climbed the floors towards the security hub, he listened to the updates. "Hallway is empty." the sergeant said over the radio. "Something's torn down the light fixtures... There's sparks showering down from above. Light's weak, switching to darkvision."

"Any signs of the explosion?" Cloud asked tensely. What had happened?

"None." the sergeant said. "We're moving into the labs now."

"What do you see?"

"Planet have mercy..." the sergeant said, his voice slow, awed. "Something's ripped half the main chamber to pieces. There's a body at the door... an assistant, he's lost his head." Cloud could tell the man was spooked.

"Stay calm sergeant." he said, trying to make the man calm down. "I need you to stay focused. Keep going, let me know what you see.

"Yes sir." the man said, having regained some courage it seemed. "We're moving deeper into the labs now, approaching the vat chambers."

"Any signs of professor Hojo?" Cloud asked. He disliked the man but if he was dead Shinra would have lost their most valuable scientist.

"None." the sergeant said, "Entering the vats... the vats are all broken... there's some kind of... liquid covering the floor." the sergeant was interrupted now by how one of his men screamed. "What was that!?" making the sergeant give up a surprised sound and for a few seconds Cloud didn't get anything.

"What's going on?!" Cloud had now reached the central security hub, ten floors below the labs, and the chaos was total here, shutting off his microphone, he began to yell out orders in all directions, getting the Shinra troops into some kind or order.

"There was something that ran past in the shadows." the sergeant said. "There it is... oh planet..." the man said breathlessly, Cloud hearing a "what the fuck is that thing!?" from some other trooper before a roar came from whatever they saw, a hoarse, screeching roar that made the hairs on the back of Cloud's neck stand on end. "Fire!" The sergeant roared and the roar of automatic fire kicked in, Cloud only hearing screams and gunfire after this. Gritting his teeth, he activated the mic again.

"What the hell is going on up there?!" he yelled, the sergeant's answer panicked.

"Monsters!" the man screamed, "the entire floor is filled with monsters!" Another voice coming, "Sarge!" someone yelled, They got Vic!" A curse came over the channel and the sergeant roared, "Fall back, fall back!" he screamed, and the gunfire died off, being replaced with fearful panting as the squad ran.

"Sergeant!" Cloud roared, the fools! They'd be easy pickings if they didn't fall back in an orderly fashion! "Stop running! Fall back calmly! You have to keep them suppressed! You can't run or you'll be..." the channel was cut now, Cloud heard a terrified scream, an inhuman roar, and then the line went dead. Cloud felt a stab of anger now. Anger and fright. He patched into the main lines again.

"VIP escorts, abort!" he yelled, he couldn't risk taking the president down that way! "Get them to the top floor! We'll send choppers to extract them from there!" Cloud turned to the rest of the staff now "Evacuate 69th, 68th and 66th floor." he commanded, "upwards and downwards respectively. I want gunships and drones in the air around that floor and full video surveillance of the windows. Barricade the stairs, use furniture if you have to! Full combat gear and I want every damn peacekeeper available on station now! And get hold of Zack!" Leaving the room, he used a small pocket computer to synch his helmet up more properly to the Shinra security network. Dozens of symbols appeared all around him, showing an outline of the entire defence as it formed above him. His helmet computer hacked for a bit, needing several seconds to catch up with the mass of data that was dumped into his HUD. Patching himself into the Commando channels, he came in full contact with all one hundred of his men, the Shinra elite, Commando. He now spoke directly to the three platoons under his command..

"All units, report in." he said.

"First platoon assembled!" the young, driven lieutenant of first platoon, Mary Leroh, native of Junon sounded off. "We're at sixty-third floor, moving up along the stairs." Mary was in many ways the heart of the unit. Driven, loyal and imaginative, the daughter of a fisherman was also one of the best swordsmen, or swordswomen he supposed, Cloud had seen, ranking only Zack and, barely, himself above her.

"Second platoon assembling." this lieutenant was much more sombre. The dark-skinned Raemon da Vasca had always been number two to Cloud in many aspects, always having been beaten by him by an inch in the promotions. Cloud always wondered if the man resented him but the Costa del Sol native never stopped being professional. "Fortieth floor, we'll be ready in thirty seconds."

"Third platoon assembled and in position, sixty-sixth floor." lieutenant Suder Hein said now. The man was the single most efficient person Cloud knew, a machine in action. The things that stopped the northerner from advancing further was his complete lack of imagination and his almost overly succinct manner of speech. Counter-intuitively, he was the minimum allowed length and quite scrawny as well rather than the brute many expected of him.

"First platoon." Cloud said, "head for the hangar, I want you to get the president and the board out of the building and secure the floor. Don't let any of those things, whatever they were, past you."

"You got it captain!" Mary responded enthusiastically. "They won't be getting past us." Cloud almost smiled to himself. Mary's enthusiasm was infecting at times.

"Second platoon." he continued, "Get to position as soon as possible. Third platoon, spread out amongst the barricades, one fire team at each corridor!" Each of his platoons had thirty-two Commandos in them, meaning four eight man squads which each consisted of two fire teams. Also, the building had eight different corridor leading out from the lab toward the stairs that still were open. The ones inside had been sealed off. Four Commandos for each corridor should be enough. Whatever had been up there, it'd spread. For now, containment was the top priority. When second platoon caught up they could go on the offensive. Also... Cloud's radio started buzzing for a second as the frequency was forcibly changed on it. The gruff, angry voice of the president came over the air.

"What the hell is going on colonel?!" the man asked, his voice somewhat huffed, as if he was walking rapidly.

"Something happened in the labs sir." Cloud said, idly noticing that the man had remembered his promotion. "A squad was sent to investigate but something attacked them. We're barricading the floor around the lab at this time and as soon as Commando is assembled we'll hit back."

"Damn it!" the president swore. Cloud continued.

"A platoon of Commando is en route to you via helicopter. We'll extract you from the top floor while my men seal off the labs from above."

"The Ancient was in the labs!" the president hollered now as Cloud reached the 67th floor where the chaos was total. Terrified office workers and secretaries were running down the stairs and heavily armed peacekeepers ran up them, gunfire and roars audible from the floor Cloud came out into now. Despite the ruckus the men had responded with admirable quickness, Cloud seeing desks being torn over, file cabinets dragged out and all sorts of things being stacked into barricades by Shinra's armed forces as their squadmates fired their guns down the hallway towards the labs. He could see strange figures moving in the shadows and while he didn't see them clearly one thing was obvious, they were not human. Lieutenant Hein met him by the barricades, saluting him as Cloud held up a hand to stop him from talking. "I order you to attack at once!" the president roared in Cloud's ear. "I don't care what the costs are, if she dies we'll lose billions!" Cloud gritted his teeth. If they didn't secure the floors here there might be a massacre! Didn't he care at all about that?! Yet, it was an order wasn't it?

"Roger that sir." he said over the gunfire, "We'll attack as soon as possible." he said, the president cutting him off.

"Now colonel!" he roared. "Unless your men are charging into those labs within ten seconds I'll have your ass busted down to private!" Cloud gritted his teeth, looking at his lieutenant to see if the man had heard him. He had and the man nodded, making a gesture asking if he should summon the troops.

"Got it sir." he said grimly, "We'll commence the attack at once." Cutting off the channel, Cloud patched into the general frequencies. "All available peacekeepers to the 67th floor." he said, "Commando will raid the labs on the president's orders, all available peacekeepers to the barricades. Lieutenant Leroh, are you in the air?"

"Yes sir!" the lieutenant's voice yelled through a cacophony of gunfire and engine roars, "But there's a lot of chop here! There's some kind of winged... things all around us! 67th floor's windows are all broken and these things are swarming out. We're keeping them off us at this time and will be with the president in two minutes!"

"Don't attempt to extract the president." Cloud said now, he wasn't going to risk having the president's helicopter torn out of the air. "Not while the air is filled." What was going on? What the hell had Hojo been keeping in those labs?! Mary gave another affirmative and Cloud turned to lieutenant Hein. "Gather up the men." he said, "We strike from the east side and move west, that way we'll squeeze them upwards and into Leroh's force."

"Yes sir." Hein said and Cloud changed channel.

"Da Vasca, get your men here now! We are ordered to attack!"

"Yes sir, already on the way!" Cloud was satisfied enough with that answer and switched frequency again.

"This is captain Strife." he said, until his promotion was taken care of it didn't exist to him. Having patched into third platoon's frequency he addressed them directly. "the president has ordered us to go in and secure the Ancient no matter what. Keep on your toes men, whatever is in there took out a squad of peacekeepers in seconds. First priority is the Ancient, rescuing other survivors are a secondary objective. Stay tight and move fast, move!" One of the squads had linked up with him and Cloud raised his gun as he fired up his multi spectrum goggles and headed down the corridor towards the barricades. Loading the rifle, he cocked it and raised it just in time for a swarm of things to come around the corner towards him.

They were monstrous, all of them. Several metres tall, headless and with long, swollen arms, one adorned with spindly claws and the other with a giant club. Instead of a proper head they had only large tufts of fur on the head and a gaping, massive maw for shoulder. Also, a veritable swarm of scuttling bug-like things, the size of a dog each, scurried along their feet. The peacekeepers by the barricades froze in shock but Cloud only sneered to himself and raised his gun as he and his men took up position on the barricades.

"Fire!" he commanded and they all opened fire. The swarm of monsters coming at them were like a tidal wave, too numerous to count, but it availed them nothing. The nine Commandos fired, their guns going off fast enough that one would think it was fully automatic fire. It wasn't. Each shot was perfectly aimed and squeezed off by one pull of the trigger each, hitting the monsters to devastating effect. The giant monsters went down one after one, dropping like flies in the face of the onslaught. The smaller ones kept coming but as his team all as one had emptied their clips Cloud leaped over the barricades. With the monstrous swarm of bugs only a few metres from him, he clenched his hand and summoned the magic. Putting all his power into it, he thrust the hand forwards, the blast of fire he unleashed massive. It shot forwards, reducing every last thing in front of him to ashes in a few moments and to the sound of a collective, almost deafening shriek. When the fire died out, all that remained was a blackened, soot-covered corridor with ashes everywhere. "Advance!" he commanded, raising his gun again and making his way through the ash-strewn corridor. Reaching up to his helmet, he tuned in lieutenant Leroh again.

"This is captain Strife," he said rapidly ,"What is your status lieutenant?"

"We've fort... the antecham... to...ent's office." the lieutenant said, her voice breaking up. Cloud gritted his teeth. On top of everything the comms were starting to break up. He could only barely make out what she was saying "...thing is trying to... it's way... the door." she continued, Cloud able to hear the tension in her voice "It's tear... three inches... steel!" Cloud gritted his teeth. Evidently something big had gone upwards and he hastened his steps. His goggles illuminated the darkness perfectly despite the lack of normal light, meaning he had no problem picking out the monsters wherever they appeared. And there were a lot of them, dozens upon dozens of countless different things crawled all around him, towards him, against him, in all directions. Cloud reloaded and raised his gun before starting to shoot.

"What the hell were you doing here Hojo?" Cloud asked to himself as they moved deeper into the monster-infested chambers to a steady song of gunfire, screams and explosions. There seemed to be a veritable army of things here, an army from the nightmares of man. The chaos and destruction was utter. Bodies, monster and human both, lay everywhere and only more and more joined them. What more, claw marks, spent shell casings and the blast marks of materia were already all over the place. A furious fight had been taking place here earlier, the very walls were broken at places.

"Fifth squad didn't do this." lieutenant Hein said as they approached to main laboratory chamber. Cloud silently agreed, it would take much more than a group of peacekeepers to do this. What had happened here? Amongst the broken furniture, puddles of blood and other things along with corpses that only became more and more numerous they advanced. Eventually, with the first rooms cleared, they stacked up by the door to the main labs. Cloud looked at his men, seeing that they were all focused.

"Breach!" he commanded and they burst in through the doors, adrenaline pumping in them as they aimed to gun down everything in the chamber. However it was empty of life. The devastation was just as total here, the corpses everywhere. Yet, not one living person or even thing. Amongst the broken computers, shattered displays and glassware and ravaged furniture there was only death. Cloud motioned for his men to move up and they began to search through the labs, spreading out and moving in squads as they rapidly secured the battlefield that it had become. The Commando captain soon entered the containment room with one of the fireteams, seeing that whatever had been contained there had ripped its way out of the containers, violently. Still no monsters however. Cloud lowered his weapon now, walking through the chamber.

The centerpiece of the room was a large metal container where most of the front was torn away.. This was different however, Cloud's eyes narrowed as he walked up to it, noticing that the cuts were way too clean to have been made by claws or brute force. The front was cut away, cleanly, by a precise and perfectly aimed blow. The cut away section lay on the floor in front and Cloud grabbed it, turning it over to see if it revealed anything. It did, and it made him freeze in fear and shock.

On the section a brass plate was fitted, one that read in large letters: "Subject: Sephiroth" along with a date, said date being three days after the Niebelheim incident. Cloud dropped the plate as if it was hot, suddenly having began to tremble. Sephiroth... Sephiroth had been here all this time?! And what was worse... he was free! A call from one of his Commandos made him startle and look back over his shoulder. One of the men were standing in the doorway, nodding for him to come with him.

"Sir, we found a survivor." he said. Cloud swallowed.

"The Ancient?" he asked and the man shook his head.

"Professor Hojo." he answered and Cloud followed him, coming into one of the experimentation chambers to find Hojo sitting inside a glass container in the middle of the room. The ponytailed, bespectacled man sat with his legs crossed and was writing something in a noteblock. He looked up as Cloud came near. He had a contemptuous look on his sunken face.

"Took you long enough." he said dryly as Cloud came up, "Kindly get me out of this container if you please. I had to seal myself in here to not be eaten." Cloud gritted his teeth now, feeling the surge of anger in him almost overwhelming him. He walked up to the container and smashed the security glass with one blow of his fist. Hojo jumped backwards inside the chamber as the glass shattered and nearly hit him. "That's one way I suppose..." he said snow but was cut off when Cloud grabbed hold of him

"What were you doing here?" Cloud asked, his voice low but furious. "Sephiroth. I saw Sephiroth's chamber. He was here? What the hell have you been doing here?!" the Commando captain continued, his voice shivering with fear and anger both.

"I do not answer to you, grunt" Hojo said calmly, unperturbed by Cloud's seething anger. "Let me go at once. Also I'd suggest you get to the top floor at once. I don't know where Sephiroth and his people went, but Avalanche is loose as well, and they headed upstairs." Cloud went cold once more at this and what more, a memory hit him with all the force of a battering ram.

He remembered several years ago, during the mission to Niebelheim where Sephiroth, his once idol, had gone insane. Hojo had been performing cloning experiments at the local mako reactor, wanting to create new types of lifeforms. Leakage from the plant had caused monsters to appear and two Soldier along with a squad of Commando has been sent to investigate. It had been Sephiroth, Zack and Cloud's squad. He had just gotten out of training and been promoted to sergeant after his performance during it.

However, at the reactor a throwaway question from Zack had made Sephiroth freeze in horror before suddenly going berserk, wreaking havoc in the reactor before he had retreated to the basement of the Shinra mansion in Niebelheim. The man had suddenly come to question his humanity when confronted with the so called "makonoids" in the reactor. Digging through the archives of professor Gast, the only father figure Sephiroth had only had, he had arrived at a demented conclusion: That he was a clone, equal parts human and Cetra. He was a mix of professor Gast's genes and a being code-named JENOVA. Cloud still didn't know what exactly JENOVA was, however Sephiroth had learned enough.

Over the course of several days he had gone more and more insane, it had culminated when he burst out of the chamber, cutting down the Commando posted by the door and stalked towards the exit of the manor. Cloud shuddered to think of what would have happened had he gotten out of there. Zack and Cloud's squad had managed to stop him, however it had been barely, at a desperate gamble, and Sephiroth had been confused, starved, exhausted and sleep-deprived. It still haunted him in his nightmares, his battle in that burning mansion and Sephiroth's ravings. He was an Ancient he had said, Zack, Cloud and the others were traitors who had abandoned the Ancients and killed them, their entire species carried that guilt according to Sephiroth. And these traitorous vermin, had taken the Ancient's world from them, would suffer.

It clicked together instantly, the pieces combining to a conclusion more horrifying than anything he could imagine. If Sephiroth came into contact with Avalanche... Cloud found himself frozen cold, pure abject horror at the thought. Already Avalanche was a brutal and resilient enemy of Shinra, if they managed to draft Sephiroth into their demented war... Cloud turned around, heading for the stairs within seconds at full speed.

"Secure this floor Hein!" he yelled, seeing Raemon's platoon coming up from the stairs. "Da Vasca! With me, get up to the president, move, move!" Cloud had already gotten past the surprised platoon but Da Vasca was on his tail in an instant. Cloud desperately activated his communications equipment again, tuning in first platoon's frequency. "Lieutenant, report!" he yelled as he flew up the stairs, being met with only silence. "Lieutenant Leroh! Are you there!?" Cloud yelled desperately. "Mary!" he screamed now, half leaping up the stairs and out of them towards the antechamber. "Anyone! What's happening up there?!"

"So her name was Mary." a voice said on the other end, making Cloud freeze in terror. A deep, melodious yet firm voice spoke on the other end. It was amused, taunting him. "I saw some techniques reminiscent of yours in her swordplay." the voice continuing. Raemon and the platoon had stopped behind him. The lieutenant came up to him, asking what they were going to do. Cloud could only stand still however, paralysed with fear. ."A student, perhaps?" the voice continued, "A friend? A lover?" the voice spoke slowly, jeeringly .

"You..." Cloud began, unable to say anything more than that. The horror held him in such a tight grip, choking him, that Cloud couldn't move. A chuckle came from the other end, a chuckle that resounded in his blood, in his bones, in his very being.

"Yes." the voice said smugly. "Please, do hurry to get here. You're missing the great reunion. My little brother has told me a lot about you." Cloud felt a strange feeling in his guts, the bastard child of relief and fear. What he had feared had come true, there was no other explanation. His thoughts went to the Sephiroth lookalike and his words about brother. It fit together perfectly even though he did not want to and while the uncertainty vanished what came in its place was even worse. Slowly reaching up, almost as if in trance, he shut off the comm equipment. It didn't matter... nothing mattered. Sephiroth... his "brother," the monsters, any and all who challenged Shinra, they'd die. Cloud broke into sprint again, checking his gun as he ran. Activating his microphone again, he connected to the hub.

"Where is Zack?!" he hissed. Now more than ever they needed his friend, he needed him. He begged for them to have found him, that his friend was on his way, that Shinra's only loyal Soldier would be with them!

"We haven't located him yet sir." the officer on the other end said. Cloud swore. Where the hell was he!? Why?! Why now of all times!? "He was last seen on 66th floor, before the explosion. After that we've got nothing." Cloud felt a lump in his stomach of anger and disappointment. Where was he!? Yet, as he bust into the 69th floor, Cloud only gritted his teeth. He had to do it. Sephiroth would be on the top floor, yet he had to do it. The president and board would be up there, he had to do it!

The door to the antechamber to the president's office was devastated, torn open by brute force, and inside the opulent room was an utterly horrifying scene. Around the chamber the entire first platoon lay, dead every last of them. They had been crushed, cut to pieces, pierced, blood flowed freely from the corpses of his Commandos. Cloud froze in his steps, looking around the chamber in shock as he entered. The sight horrified him even in the mentally desperate state he was in. His men! What had happened?! A full third of all Commandos that existed lay in front of him here, dead all of them!

"C-captain..:" the whisper was hoarse, nearly inaudible, but Cloud heard it. His head snapped to the side and he had broken into a sprint before he knew what he was doing. Reaching the stairs in seconds, he knelt by Mary Leroh's mutilated body. The lieutenant of the first platoon lay on the lowermost stairs, grievous wounds over her entire body, one arm was cut off and her torso was one big bloody mess. She was breathing quickly and shallowly, desperate gasps for air even as her body was too damaged to keep going for more than a few more seconds. "Sephiroth... he's here..." she coughed, blood running out of her mouth.

"It's all right lieutenant." Cloud said, trying to not have his voice shiver "focus on breathing." he whispered. "Medic!" he yelled at the men with him and one of them came up at once. Putting his hands on Mary's body, the man began to summon all the healing magic he could. Focusing on her lungs and heart, he tried to keep her alive, stabilize her. Mary's face had gone a deathly shade of pale and she slowly shook her head..

"I'm sorry captain..." she croaked. "I'm so sorry... I couldn't..." That was her last words. Her breathing slowly came to a stop and she died. Cloud, even amongst all the shock fear and pain he felt, nevertheless felt the passing of his lieutenant keenly. The ever cheerful and enthusiastic Mary Leroh was now gone.

Cloud remembered when he first had met her, two years after the Niebelheim incident. A young, seemingly childish girl who had walked up to the then lieutenant Strife the first thing she did and challenged him to a sparring duel. The ridicule had immediately started flowing from the rest of the team but Cloud had accepted the challenge, deciding to teach her a lesson in humility. The one to learn humility had been him however, Mary had been a whirlwind in combat, Cloud seriously having a hard time even following her. He had won, but it had been a wild shot that had surprised her.

He could still remember it keenly, the surprise in the girl's eyes when he had disarmed her and thrown her to the ground. She had looked up at him as if she couldn't believe it when he towered above her. Then, when he offered her a hand to help her up, she had only looked even more flummoxed, even embarrassed if the blush that had settled over her face was anything to go by. After that she had been one of his finest subordinates and when Commando had expanded from one platoon to one company Mary had been one of the three people Cloud had picked instantly to serve as lieutenants under him, the captain. And now... four years later... she was gone.

Reaching up, he slowly ran a hand over Mary's face to close her eyes. Cloud now gritted his teeth and looked back at the others. His teeth were gritted and the shock and horror became anger, rage, seething hatred.

"Move in." he said as he rose. "Guns ready, fire on sight." He was cold inside, cold rage filling him as he ran up the stairs with his men following him. With pounding boots they stormed the top floor, guns raised and eyes peeled. Commando moved with superhuman speed. Five seconds after they had first became visible the entire platoon was on the floor, having formed a firing line as they all aimed towards where the president would be. The deployment was amazing in its speed, before any normal being would have had even a chance to understand what had happened they all were in position, a firing line of over thirty Commandos, guns raised and ready to spew out a tidal wave of hot lead to drench the entire office. Cloud was in the middle of the line and instantly saw the scene in front of him.

Not one of his Commandos had gotten up here, they had stood their ground downstairs and died there. Instead, an equally horrifying sight could be seen in the room. Cloud was so far down mentally that he had dropped any and all feeling and went on pure duty and instinct. Yet he still couldn't stop the stab of horror in his guts when he saw the sight in the room. The president sat still in is chair, slumped forwards over his desk with a long blade, too long to be usable by any normal man, sticking out of his back. Cloud recognized it however, he'd recognize Sephiroth's Masamune anywhere. Sephiroth wasn't there however, neither he nor his "brother" was present. That, however, was the case for Zack. He stood by the other end of the room, by the window, and held Aerith in his arms. They both had turned to look towards him, Cloud blinking at the sight. What the hell was Zack doing here? And with Aerith? Cloud didn't become all too worried, there could easily be a lot of logical explanations for it. However, at the other end of that side of the room three other figures stood, the Avalanche members.

The president of Shinra was dead and Avalanche was here. Cloud was deep enough in his combat mindset that while the fact was shocking and painful both it did not stop him. Instead, with a mind almost inhumanly cold, he took stock of the situation and made the call. Two seconds after the Commando platoon had appeared Cloud gave the order.

"Avalanche! Take them down!" he roared. Not even thinking about Tifa any more, he did his duty and his platoon opened fire, letting loose a torrent of gunfire, lethally precise, high-calibre fire of the same kind that had mowed down an entire army of charging monsters. All in all over a hundred bullets were sent flying in a split-second against the Avalanche members who all had been caught flat-footed. Something that meant their fate was sealed.

At least, such would have been the case if Zack hadn't moved. The Soldier appeared between Avalanche and Commando, his buster sword whirling through the air as the giant sword blocked every last of the bullets. Cloud looked at the sight in disbelief, every single one of the bullets was swatted out of the air and Zack's blade came to a stop in front of him, held up almost like a shield.

"Cease fire!" Zack screamed, the Commandos instinctively obeying. Zack was, after all, the man they all had been drilled to work under and accompany. He was their knight and they the squires, their lord commanded and they obeyed. A ridiculous comparison perhaps, but it was the best way Cloud could think of it. Lowering his gun, he suddenly had the instinctive duty driving him challenged by his thinking self.

"What... what are you doing Zack?" Cloud asked in the silence that came. The Avalanche members had stepped back in shock and Aerith seemed like she was about to faint from the situation. Zack still held his blade up, Cloud noticing first now he had some smaller nicks and wounds.

"Avalanche isn't our enemy!" Zack said, putting down his sword. "Damn it Cloud, Sephiroth! He's on the loose! Look what he did to the president! Avalanche isn't our enemy any more!"

"That's not your call!" Cloud hissed. What was Zack doing!? He was defending Shinra's arch enemy! Cloud couldn't comprehend it, that was treason of the worst kind! People had been executed for less! If the new president heard of this... Cloud didn't dare to think about that. Zack would be discarded instantly! "Step away Zack." Cloud said now. "Put down your sword, get out of the way and hand over the Ancient!" Cloud was terrified now, having been ripped out of his focused mindset. Not that... not Zack as well. With all that was going on, Cloud felt like everything fell apart around him. Was Zack turning rogue as well?! No... no... please no. Not Zack too! Not after Mary's and first platoon's deaths!

"Damn it Cloud!" Zack began. Cloud could see it in his eyes. That word, "Ancient", had set him off. He was furious that his girlfriend was called such a thing. Cloud felt the anger like a punch in the guts but gritted his teeth. Duty, duty, he had his duty! If he just did his duty things would be fine. They were both military men, duty was paramount of them. If he just did it things would be fine! "Listen to me! You can't..."

"You don't get to decide that Zack!" Cloud said now, "Step away, hand her over and do your job!" he was screaming at the end, desperate, terrified. Zack couldn't go rogue! Zack only looked at him however, Cloud staring into his friend's eyes through his goggles, he could see Zack balancing on the edge, his eyes showing his struggle "Now!" Cloud yelled after a while, desperate for Zack to do his job, to not betray Shinra.

Then, Zack's sword moved. Swinging it in an arc, he slammed it into the ground and sent a shower of marble debris flying through the air along with a blast of magic. Cloud stared in horror at the sight, so shocked, so angered and so hurt that he couldn't even do anything before the shower of magic and stone had hit him and his men, throwing them all backwards. Cloud's feet lifted from the ground as a large chunk of marble hit him square in the chest, Cloud not even feeling the pain. He flew backwards several meters as if in slow motion. His mind screamed at him, tried to move again, but he was powerless to do anything. The sheer shock of what just had happened broke him. Cloud finally broke. His childhood friend was a terrorist, Sephiroth was loose, despite all the vicious things he had done he couldn't fix anything, a third of his men were slaughtered. And now... Zack, his mentor, closest friend, confidante, brother in arms, brother in all but blood... had betrayed Shinra... had betrayed him..When Cloud landed again, after what seemed like an eternity, something inside of him had shattered.

The chaos that broke out, a cacophony of sound, crashes, screams, thuds and other things, made him utterly confused . Cloud just lay there, blindly staring up at the roof as things calmed down, or at least stopped moving so much. There was still so much screaming. So much sounds... It was a near minute before he got back to reality. A sudden slap to the face made him snap back to reality to see Raemon kneel by his side. The dark skinned man was gritting his teeth.

"Sir!" he yelled, Cloud shaking his head as he sat up.

"Status report." he said almost absently. All of a sudden things seemed to different. He couldn't name or place it, but something was off... or was it in fact right? Whatever it was, things were different, deeply. Cloud found himself wanting to understand it.

"Fair and the terrorists leaped down to the streets!" Raemon said, sounding shocked and disbelieving. Cloud looked at him now. "They... I've never seen acrobatics like that, they leaped down the side of the building, managing to get down unharmed!" Da Vasca's face was a study in shock even though half of it was obscured by his goggles.

"Helicopters." Cloud said calmly, "Scramble every helicopter available, tell them to shoot to kill.

"Against Fair, sir?" Raemon was stunned by Cloud's words, he could tell that. He hadn't expected it had he? That Cloud would give such a ruthless order.

"Zack Fair just betrayed Shinra." Cloud said. It was so easy, totally effortless. All of a sudden it didn't matter that it was Zack. Nothing mattered now. It was like everything inside him had fallen apart, leaving only a clear, focused void in its wake. "He's an enemy to be shot on sight. Update all peacekeeper forces in the city, tell them he's to be killed on sight. Give chase in whatever way you can. Still: capturing the Ancient is first priority. Wound her if needed. Fair's and the terrorists' deaths are secondary to that." Cloud had been looking towards the other end of the room, seeing how part of the glass wall there had been broken where Zack and the others had leaped out. Now however he looked at his lieutenant. "Now." he said coolly, making Raemon instinctively salute and obey. .

Getting to his feet, Cloud walked over to the windows and looked down. Far below him the city of Midgar lay. He couldn't see or even get a hint to where Zack was but he was down there, with his new friends the terrorists. Suddenly Cloud almost wanted to laugh. The entire absurdity of the situation was so complete. What an utter catastrophe... Sephiroth and Zack both on the loose and the Ancient lost. Cloud already could tell where this would lead. Standing by the window, staring down at the city, the captain of Commando slowly shook his head.

Chaos... this would lead to chaos. And with Shinra's most vital asset and most precious specimen lost... it did not look good.