Cross-Generational

[Cloud]

Cloud sighed softly, looking around at the Heartless left behind by the mad clown as he disappeared, those last words still ringing in his ears. He pulled off his sunglasses, dropping them onto the ground before letting out an exhausted sigh and picking up the buster once more.

Gripping it tightly, he glared at them around him. "Come on, then..." he whispered, ready to fight to the end if he had to.

He went to attack, pushing several off, but one of them got the better of him, leaping forward, and instead of physically damaging him, it ENTERED his body, enveloping his chest before sinking inside. He gasped, reaching for his heart before falling to his knees. In his mind, he could see the dark closing in on him, and a face in the distance smirking as its owner drove an oversized katana into the back of a woman whom Cloud would forever regret having failed to save...

"No..." he whispered, shaking his head and struggling against the darkness threatening to overwhelm him. They couldn't have his heart. Not so long as he could still fight back... Not now...

[General Beatrix]

"Holy!" cried a voice from above.

A white-hot orb, surrounded by fast-moving smaller orbs, appeared in the midst of the fray, alongside Cloud and began attacking Heartless, one by one.

After several close-by were destroyed, an armor-booted woman stepped out from the large bubble. She had tuscan-brown hair and a black eye patch. Her outfit was black, with blue linings and trim. She carried a sword at her side attached to a somewhat oversized black belt. She carried it nicely.

On her open-collared jacket bore the emblem of the Heartless, but this woman didn't seem to emanate any unholy aura.

With a gloved hand, the woman drew her blade. It was silver, encrusted with rubies. She took a knight's defensive stance and waited for the opportune moment.

Glancing quickly, she called out to the blonde man.

"In need of assistance?" she called, stabbing a shadow midgflight as it leaped upon her. "No time for pleasantries now, but I shall fight to the gritty end!"

And with that, she smiled, gave a wink, and darted forth into the black masses. She seemed unconcerned for the safety of her heart, as she never attempted to block swipes at it, only took revenge the moment they let down their guard.

[Cloud]

Cloud blinked as the Heartless seemed to... back off. No, they hadn't backed off, they had been attacked by another. He looked up to who had come to his aid, nodding a bit as she asked if he needed assistance. He forced himself to his feet, gripping his sword tightly. His heart was bolstered by the presence of another, who reminded him that now wasn't the time or place to let his memories get the better of him. He might not be able to move on from Aerith's death on Gaia, but he could put a big dent in the Heartless for reminding him of his failure.

Just as the woman leapt forward to deal with one side of the battle, Cloud rushed towards the other, both of them swiping at Heartless and banishing them back to the darkness with expert skill. The bandage-wrapped buster sword sliced the Heartless to ribbons, vengence for very nearly dipping him back into the inky darkness he had once attempted to use to find his way back to the light...

Within moments, the battlefield was empty, and Cloud swung his sword in a wide twirl before strapping it to his back. His phone went off just then with a triumphant "Doo-doo-doo dooo dooo DOO-doo dooo!!" Tifa. He let it go to voice mail as he stooped down to reclaim his sunglasses which he dusted off and hung off the collar of his shirt.

He turned to the woman, nodding a bit. "I owe you..." he said calmly, though his eyes drifted from her face down to that symbol on her coat... Should he trust her?

[General Beatrix]

"Stock break!" cried the woman, tearing a line of Heartless to shreds before the end of battle. When all the Heartless had been dealt with, she sheathed her blade and sat on a large boulder nearby, and wiped her forehead.

She gazed over to the burning rubble in the distance and then back to Cloud, and readjusted her eye patch quickly.

"No need," she said between breaths. "I couldn't stand by and let someone who fought so bravely against a god fall to something so insignificant."

She stood up and walked over to where Cloud was, and extended a hand. She placed it over her heart and dropped to one kneee.

"General Beatrix, at your service." She then stood up and brushed off her uniform. "I've been tracking down that clown or a while now. It's almost as if Her Majesty...never mind. What do you call yourself?"

[Agrias Oaks]

There would be a woman visible after all the Heartless were defeated from the battlefield. She would be cloaked by a simple hood, and stood holding a similar sword, if not the same, as Beatrix. Gold colored strands of hair would flow freely in that eerie wind, lightly brushing against her armored shoulders. Her chest plate bore a mark of Royalty and it would remain steady in place.

She seemed... out of place, like the rest of them, longing to be somewhere else. The woman walked closer to the two, catching a glimpse of Cloud's judgmental eyes, "Pray, rest your sword, Fellow Warrior," she finally spoke, her voice soft with a light British accent, "We are no enemies of yours, as certain you are none of ours."

It was then, when the lady raised her gloved hands to remove the cloak which hid her face. Revealing a young knight of Holy attributes with amber eyes, and a serious expression. She turned to Beatrix, shaking her head, "I see you have also had no luck in finding the magic jester? For naught, to the east, only dark creatures seem to roam. "

[General Beatrix]

"Agrias!"

Beatrix left Cloud where he was and took her place before Agrias, and looked her up and down.

"Your injuries are mild, Sister. Let me assist you..." She raised a hand over the royal emblem on the other woman's uniform, whispered "Cura" and watched as the blue-white light enveloped her. "This is...he didn't give a name. But Agrias, look!" She raised her arm outward to the destroyed Midgar, and the burning remnants of Kefka's Tower. "Kefka has been here, and this is all relatively fresh."

She then scratched her head in frustration. "Thing is...we have no trail to follow. He could be anywhere by now, and ever since I broke the connection to Maleficent, there's been no possibility for scrying. After some rest, I shall prepare the Red Rose and we'll set off for Radiant Garden. I'm sure that someone there has news of Maleficent. And if they do, then by extension they can lead us to the Mad Clown..."

[Abigail Crescentlight]

As the woman would point to the ruins of Midgar... a voice would raise in a low moan... from the direction of the old Church. Had a soul survived? Had one single person stayed behind while others ran off to safety? What madness possessed someone to stay when the world was collapsing around them? Whatever the case... this person now needed help...

She was trapped under a heavy rafter, pinned in place. She couldn't move... couldn't free herself. Her voice raised again, in a pained, hurting moan. "Heeellllp....!" she whimpered...

[General Beatrix]

"And even then, we must proceed with caut--"

Just then a voice caught on the dry wind.

"Did you hear that? Someone must have been caught in the blast...I wonder how many more will fall before Kefka..."

She then proceeded to run off into the direction of the cry for help. "I'm coming! Please, hold on! I'm coming to save you!"

[Cloud]

The spikey-haired man looked over to Agrias as she appeared, nodding a little to acknowledge her. Then Beatrix spoke, about to introduce him, but failing to do so. He decided to ease her discomfort. "Cloud..." was all he said, in his usual reserved manner.

He heard them talking about Kefka, thinking a bit before speaking. "Can you track traces of darkness? He left via corridor... I used to use them too... until I discovered Gummi blocks..." it was true, Cloud used to world-skip through corridors without concern for his heart... that was until he discovered doing so might cause the darkness in his heart to take the form of Sephiroth, feeding on his memory to do so. It had happened before...

Just then, his head turned and he heard it too, a voice on the air. "It's coming from the church..." he said, then mounted Fenrir and rode off, grabbing Beatrix as he passed her to pull her onto the back seat of the bike. It took them roughtly a minute to get to the spot before Cloud would pull to a stop. "There," he said, pointing to the ruin of a church house, crushed under a massive metal support...

[General Beatrix]

As she ran she heard the loud rumble of a motor aways behind, and when she turned, it was too late. She was hoisted onto the back of Fenrir before she could argue. She tilted back a bit and nodded for Agrias to follow, and then noticed they'd stopped.

She hopped off the bike and gazed down at the ruins. "What lengths will he not reach for..."

She then charged down and began surveying the layout. "Are you all right, miss?" She looked around, seeing what she could use as leverage to pull off the broken support.

"Hm...Cloud, was it? You think you can help me down here? I'm going to need more than just the One Woman Army to move something this massive."

[Cloud]

Cloud jumped off his bike and ran over to the ruin. Memories started to flood his perception, but he had to put that aside. He saw the woman under the heavy rafter and his mind began racing once more. He shook his head before running up next to the General and turning his back to the heavy beam of hard wood. He slipped his hands underneith and attempted to heft it upward by pressing down with his legs.

It had to have weighed a literal ton, or was holding up half a ton of additional weight on its own. The two of them, strong as they were, could only inch it up a little bit at a time. Cloud tried to make this easier on them by kicking something underneith it whenever they made some headway, but it did little more than shatter if they lowered the thing even a fraction of an inch.

Taking a deeper breath, Cloud growled as he doubled his efforts, sweat pouring down his face as he employed all his enhanced strength. If someone didn't get the girl soon, he'd probably pass out from lifting...

[Agrias Oaks]

After Agrias was healed, she stood there, her brown-reddish eyes viewing their surroundings as The General spoke, rather paranoid of the creatures she had recently fought. They had nothing like when where she came from, other than the Zodiac creatures, but they didn't seem as dark-filled as their surroundings. It made her feel on edge.

She even jumped a little when she heard a voice, and grew concerned more-so, when she heard the words, "It's coming from the church..."

The Church? She, thought, Therein might be a clue there as we-- Ah! When Agrias looked up, there was a loud rumble, and both where out of her sight, leaving a trail of smoke.

The Holy Knight blinked, "At least a trail they've left for me to follow." she mumbled, holding her hands up to her lips and giving out a LOUD whistle that echoed through the barren land. It was then when a large, yellow, BIRD-like creature made it's way into view, bearing the Royal sign, like the Knight, in a cloth around it's neck. It was a Chocobo! It rushed passed Agrias and she took hold of the reins, running next to it, before jumping and mounting it as it ran toward the others.

When they grew visible, and saw their attempts of holding up a piece of construction off of something, losing strength, she rushed near toward the visible air pocket the two had found, looked in for about a split second, "Help is nigh, Madam!" she called out, extending her glove to the woman in hopes of pulling her out once she was reached!

[Abigail Crescentlight]

The woman underneith coughed a little, looking up at the one reaching out for her. She weakly lifted a hand, grasping that arm tightly. The huge wooden rafter that had pinned her down came up just enough for her to slip underneith and she was pulled free by sheer power.

When she was free, she held onto her savior a little, too tired and weak to do much else. She slowly looked up into the eyes of Agrias... and blushed lightly. After all, what girl never dreams of being rescued by a good-looking knight... even if she was a woman. She coughed a bit, then tried to stand only to wobble a bit and fall agianst Agrias once more.

"Owie!!" she whimpered, her eyes watering lightly from the pain of simply holding her own weight. But that was the furthest thing from her mind. "Is everyone safe? Did they escape??" she immediately asked, feeling concerned for the people she had stayed behind to give a second more time to escape certain doom...

[Cloud]

Cloud dropped the rafter the second he was sure it was clear. He let out a loud sigh as he sat down and leaned against it, relaxing after all that hefting and heaving. Looking now to the girl who had just been rescued, he shrugged lightly. He wasn't sure if EVERYONE had made it free, but he was pretty sure they had. Then again, he was pretty sure they had before she was discovered, so really he was beginning to doubt it himself.

Looking off to his right, he saw the destruction the attack had caused Midgar, and was thankful at least most of the people had evacuated. Maybe they were lucky and she was the only one that had to be dug out. Certainly she was the only one that made any complaints about it. Cloud slowly stood up after a moment, having had his rest.

He looked to Beatrix first. She wore that symbol, yes, but no one aligned with them would go out of their way to help another. She passed. He now looked to Agrias with the woman in her arms and nodded a bit. "Seems you have things under control..." he muttered, then started walking towards Fenrir. He couldn't help but think if Barret had been there things'd gone much easier, as the man might've lifted that rafter as easily as the two of them were struggling. Still, it all worked out. He threw a leg over his bike and slipped on his sunglasses.

The heartless were on the move again... Gaia could handle itself for now. He needed to get to the bottom of things... Maybe a quick trip through the worlds would put his mind at ease...?

[Agrias Oaks]

"Thou art in safe hands now, Madam." whispered the knight to the young girl, giving her a soft smile before resting her hand upon the girl's shoulders, "Life's refreshing breeze, heal from the sky! Cure2!" The young girl would be surrounded by a halo which burst into several miniature-like stars that bathed down on her body, healing her wounds.

The knight would hold her for a while, until she was certain the girl could hold up on her own. She turned to look at the man from earlier, her eyes squinting a bit in suspicion, "Halt!" she would call out, "Why not join our crusade of vanquishing this evil? Surely, our paths must of connected for some reason, and therein lead to the same destination... "

She turned to look to the girl, frowning a little... there was nothing around them, could they just leave her? The knight began to wonder if the most obvious choise was to take her with them... in case the creatures would come again, "Have you a safe haven?" she would whisper to the girl.