One Man's Dream (open)

He stared at the blank piece of paper. Staring blankly at the page. He had no clue where to begin. It was as if that at table five, time was standing still. The rest of the diner was bustling with customers actually ordering drinks and food, chatting with each other, and actually moving in general. But at table five.... stillness. The glass of water on the table untouched, and although he was parched, he feared if he took his eyes off the still empty paper he would lose all the leads he had in his head, but was unable to transfer to that exact sheet of paper. He just sat and continued to look, dazed, down at the paper as if he was waiting for some kind of epiphany to strike. Suddenly, the client from the table next to his, stood up, and while putting his coat on accidently bumped the table where the seemingly lifeless man sat. The jolt was just enough to shake him from his daze. The man in the coat appeared to say something, but the daze he felt prevented him from actually hearing the words that were spoken. Rubbing his eyes he sat back in his booth, stretching his arms out to the side he reached in his duffel bag. Rummaging through, he searched around for his phone. After what seemed like hours, but was only a matter of seconds, he removed the phone from his bag and looked at the time.

Six hours had passed since he sat down to work on his great idea that he thought was flawless on the train from his hometown. It seemed so vivid there. So clear... So easy.. He began to grow frustrated with this great plan of his. Not one name was on the list. Everyone he knew were either no longer amongst the living, or had been out of contact since the great desertion, And after Sephiroth had left for whatever his reasons, he didn't attempt to make any new lasting friendships, not that Sephiroth was his friend, but he felt that he and Sephiroth were similar in their devotion. Finally, as if struck by lightning, his head popped up, his eyes widened, and a fairly large smile crossed his face. He grabbed his pen, put a hand on the top of the paper, and proceeded to write down the first name of the list:

1. Lar Highwind

Lar stood up with his piece of paper in hand. Staring into the paper as if it was the jackpots of all jackpots; the mother-load. He had never been so excited to see his name written down before. This was the boost he needed. He folded up the paper and slid it into his duffle bag. He proceeded to pack up the rest of his belongings which were scattered across the table, drank the six hour old glass of water, put a few gil on the table, grabbed his spear and headed for the door. Once outside he stopped to look around. Several people stared at him, as no one else was really carrying a weapon around, but he didn't care. He was proud of his weapon. He began walking down the street casually, looking into each building he passed, shops, diners, pubs... nothing extraordinary. As he walked he wondered to himself where he would find anyone else that he could even consider about adding their name to the list. If he was going to do this, he would need to find noteworthy men, and women, to rebuild his dream. SOLDIER would rise again! Shinra didn't deserve SOLDIER, and in Lar's eyes, they had given up on it all together. Lar would make it great again... without Shinra.

He came to a bench on the side of a busy street, and as he sat down, a half-cocked smile sat on his face.

"You can do this, Lar!" he thought to himself.

After a long day of looking for work Barret decided he would head to the closest gun shop with a shooting range and settle down "Bloody fools! Everyone trying to get themselves killed on these streets. If i was back in Midgar this wouldn't be happening." Angered by the pace of life in this city as being compared to the industrial city of Midgar, Barret continues walking to the Closest shooting range and gun store. Walking by a young man in what appeared to be a Soldier Uniform sitting on a park bench lost in thought Barret stops and looks at the boy saying "Hey boy! What you doing out here dressed like that. Soldier is bad news and nothing but trouble." Looking to get an answer outta the boy Barret waits arms crossed with an angered and aggravated look on his face. Looking around Barret explained his dislike of Esther City"This place is to rich for my tastes but everyone starts somewhere but even so i don't like this place, to fancy for me, and all these people walking around like drones without a mind in there head." Looking back to the boy sitting on the Bench Barret begins to see things that remind him of Cloud "Hey boy! can you hear me? you remind me of someone i know who used to be part of Soldier maybe you know him. Cloud Stife you know him?

Lar was lost in thought to even notice the rather large sized man standing in front of him. He continued to bask in his earlier glory, but was quickly interrupted when the man spoke to him....

"Hmm?... Trouble?" Lar thought, snapping out of his daze and looked up at the man. The man he looked at, was no one he had met before, or at least, no one he could remember at the moment, yet he was not dressed in the same fashion as the other residents of the city. In fact, his clothing resembled that of his own hometown, and the fact that he knew of the SOLDIER organization, made the fact rather obvious he was most likely from Midgar. But the tone he used while mentioning SOLDIER did not sit well with Lar. He was about to reply to the man, but was cut off by another question.

"Cloud Strife......Hmm..." thought Lar. He thought back to all his old friends and co-workers, and between memories of old missions, and time just hanging around at Shinra HQ, he had never heard of a Cloud Strife.

"Hmm... No, sorry" Lar said to the man calmly. Quickly thinking back to the first statement, he asked. "Why do you think SOLDIER is trouble? They're only trouble if you threaten peace. Where you from? Midgar?"

Lar stared at the man, as if he SHOULD know who this person was... but was drawing a blank. But either way, he was a very strong looking individual. If he got his side of the story maybe he could find a way to introduce his idea of constructing a new SOLDIER. Lar felt that this was no meeting by chance. This man carried himself with importance, even though that the fact he was obviously uncomfortable in this town.

Barret shrugged of the fact that this boy didn't know who cloud was after the whole saving the planet thing but maybe news didn't spread this far after all who knows how long this boy has been living here in Esther City.

Replying to the young boys first question Barret says " Midgar is my present home but not the place that i came from in the first place but its where i call home at present. You yourself look like a Midgar boy what brings you this far outland?" Looking kinda stunned at the fact that this boy is supporting SOLDIER Barret replies to the question concerning his outlook on SOLDIERS "Well its not who they are its what they do that aggravates me. See this *points at his Mecha-Hand* this is what SOLDIER cost me as well as my wife and my best freind. That' s why they are good for nothing militant fools!"

In his time with SOLDIER, Lar had come to understand that most civilians didn't understand that SOLDIER was there for their safety. They couldn't understand their importance to their everyday lives. To Lar, this was just another misinformed civilian who didn't know any better. "I'm Sorry you feel that way, sir, but i'm not here to discuss your own personal feelings towards SOLDIER right now. And as for why I'm here, I don't expect you to understand anyway, it's beyond your comprehension... and i don't mean to offend you." Lar stood up from the bench and began to grab his belongings, looking at the man again. "And it is unfortunate about your losses, but terrorism must be punished. You could learn from the loss of their lives. Live a good and honest life, and SOLDIER doesn't have to be your enemy."

Lar's voice may have sounded harsh and cold, but to him, it was the truth. SOLDIER was not the people's enemy. They were the enemy to terrorists and bad people. Obviously, this man wasn't just a normal citizen, but Lar wasn't here to "police" the streets, for this town must have it's own form of law. What Lar really wanted to do was let this man stew in his own hatred, and allow him to continue to find good people to add to the list. He was more determined than ever now after speaking to this stranger.

"Well sir, it was a pleasure to meet you, but if you'll excuse me I am very preoccupied with some other business that I really would like to get back to." Lar spoke to him as he began to walk away from the rather large upset man. "Perhaps if we shared the same viewpoint, we could rebuild our home to that of greatness... regardless of Shinra..."

As Lar was walking away, he began to think that this man looked strong, it's a shame that he held onto his hatred for his losses, but such losses were necessary for peace. Gently, a smile crept across Lar's face. He was happy.

As the young boy was walking of Barret grabbed his shoulder with his mech-hand and said "Hold on a moment there boy, if your saying what i think your saying then your not working for shinra...?" Slightly confused and still somewhat aggravated Barret was starting to see possibilities for AVALANCHE and he was really starting to think of considering joining this boy if only to help him realize his dream.

Barret let a smile come through his brash persona and almost felt like the burden of loosing his wise and freind to Shinra had been lifted slightly. It was as though another person was helping to shoulder that burden with him. Removing his hand from the boys shoulder Barret made a gesture to him "I have an offer for you, seeing as you are looking to rebuild SOLDIER i would be willing to join you on your mission, however there is a side aspect to this offer. I will not join SOLDIER directly i will help out from the side when i can as i am working to rebuild AVALANCHE myself but i will join you in your cause and help you to rebuild." Offering out his hand as a form of agreement and of a sign of friendship. Seeing allot of his good friend and long term ally Cloud Strife in the young boy, Barret Cant help but think back to the day when he first met cloud and how fast they became friends even though he was dressed as a SOLDIER.

Lar smiled as the man offered his terms. Although he mentioned AVALANCHE, a long time thorn in the side of Shinra, Lar himself was not Shinra. If Lar's vision of SOLDIER was able to turn the members of AVALANCHE into upright, honest warriors to protect the people, then who was he to argue. Lar met the man's hand with his own and shook it excitedly but overly excessive. "Lar.. Lar Highwind.. It's great to finally introduce myself. And your assumptions are correct, I no longer work for Shinra. My loyalties to that company have been strained for years. It's a long story. Perhaps we shall find a place to chat some more and iron out some details?" Lar suggested to his new found ally.

He picked up his spear and duffle bag, and prepared to depart with the man. "There is alot I would love to discuss with you. I knew from the moment you talked to me that something must come from it." Lar's eyes had a calming truth behind them. He seemed very relaxed now, as if all the prior stress he felt in the diner has melted away from his shoulders. He couldn't wait to find out this man's name and add it to his list. The number two name that he thought he could fill so easily, would finally be filled in mere minutes, and with this man being of an old terrorist group, he might have other names of people who would be of use to Lar's cause, like this "Cloud Strife" he spoke of earlier. Lar still struggled to think back if he had ever met a SOLDIER with the name Strife, but still was drawing nothing.

"I would love to know if you have anyone else i may speak with.. So far my efforts to begin this process haven't led me very far." Lar paused and thought for a moment, "Truth be told, I'm not cut out very well to be a recruiter.. I'm very much new to this aspect..". He smiled as he spoke to the man, suddenly remembering his manners. "I'm so sorry, I havent given you a chance to introduce yourself... And you may be?", Lar asked as he waited for the man to respond.

Smiling at Lar Barret kinda chuckles seeing how enthusiastic and excited the young boy is about what lays ahead and that he just made a new freind for the long road ahead. "Well Lar it is a pleasure to meet you as i am now able to put your name to your face but i still may call you boy along the road sometimes. As for my name, well if you haven't heard of me then your a sucka, I am Barret Wallace Leader of AVALANCHE!"

Barret then stopped for a moment and thought about who all he knew who could possibly be interested in helping Lar in rebuilding SOLDIER. Standing there rubbing the hair on his chin with his mecha-hand Barret came to a conclusion "Well Lar i know quite a few names who might be interested in helping you realize your dream. it is just a matter of finding them all. I already informed you of one of those name being Cloud Strife, a mercenary who will take any job, then we have the ever annoying Cait Sith, along with the Flower amongst us weeds, mainly me and Cid *chuckles* who could take down a giant for looking at her the wrong way Tifa Lockhart, the tough talking, warm-hearted, foul mouthed old pilot Cid Highwind, the wise and fury fireball that is Red XIII, The stern and upright while at the same time dark and mysterious Vincent Valentine, The always energetic and ready for a fight Yuffie Kisaragi

Taking a breath after is big speech Barret goes back to trying to remember any other people that he knows who would be willing to possibly help then realizing *smacks his head* "Damn how could i have forgotten, if she was here she would be quite upset. *reaches for his wallet pulling it out he shows lar a picture of Marlene* That's my ever loveable daughter Marlene, she is quite the kid and always looking to help out everyone but don't under estimate her she is quite the little fighter albeit she is not ready for the frontlines of a fight she is quite the fighter none the less." *chuckles*

Walking down the street, listening to every word that his new friend was telling him, Lar wondered if the people Barret spoke of were worth any merit. One thing bothered him more than anything else though. If Barret, who was apparently the leader of one of the major terrorist groups in Midgar, spoke so highly of his "friends", then they too MUST be terrorists too. "Tell me, Barret. These friends of yours... would they happen to also be part of AVALANCHE?" Lar asked with a high amount of curiosity. As they walked, one of the pub's they walked by peaked Lar's interest. "How's this place? seems clean enough.." Lar said as he gave a slight chuckle. He didn't even really wait for a response. Before Barret finished giving his answer, Lar quickly turned and entered the Pub.

It was fairly busy, but getting a table wasn't difficult by any means. Although the table they were sat at was not in favor of Lar. Beside where they were sat was a fairly overweight man who was loud, messy and harassing his server. Lar felt disgusted inside. Never would he allow himself to become like such a person. The lack of respect this man obviously had for himself made Lar just want to jump over the table and strangle this man to death. But he was better than that.. although his discomfort was very apparent to his new found friend.

Trying to regain his focus as to the reason for stopping here, he opened his duffel bag and pulled out his pen and the piece of paper. "So what i have here is my list of people who i feel share my vision of a better SOLDIER. So far this list isn't that impressive.. I've been working on this thing for weeks, and so far all i can think of is myself. Everyone i knew in SOLDIER who i called friend, either took of during the great desertion, or died in service..." Lar paused for a moment, thinking quickly of his past in SOLDIER. "Actually after the desertion, I only stayed because Sephiroth stayed. I figured with him there, we could still make a difference." Lar looked down at the table, as if he became heartbroken at the thought of his hero Sephiroth. His voice took a suddenly monotone and cold sound to it as he spoke, "After Sephiroth's mission to Nibelheim... and he didn't come back.. I didn't know what to think. To me he was the face of the future. About a week later the president called me to his office to congratulate me on my promotion to first class. It was a pity promotion.. SOLDIER was running on fumes as it was. So I left.. Got on the train, and have been here ever since." Lar looked up finally at Barret. "I still believe Sephiroth would help me.. I just think he figured out SOLDIER was dying first, and left before anyone else really realized it."

Lar peeked over at the man at the table beside him, almost glaring as he saw the man shoveling food into his oversized mouth. He scoffed and looked back at Barret, "If that man chokes... don't save him..." he said with a sadistic smile on his face.

Ya know how days can start out just being as boring as all get out yet if given time and some effort it can become an adventure? Well if not a certain Genome would be willing to tell you other wise if he had the time, but to understand why one will need to wind the clock back a few hours.

~~~~~Gaia~~~~~

The day started out just like they normally do for a young genome, he would be woken from a nice dream by the sound of the large clock that he shared his home with. The machine would chime that it was ten in the morning and would be enough of a reason to make the thief get out of bed, this would soon be followed by him taking a quick shower to clean himself up before he would go outside to get him something to eat from his favorite bar back in the Business district of Lindblum.

After getting nice meal and flirting with the waitress of the inn he was fully energized for the day and ready to do something, sad to say though he didn't know what to do as there was very little happening on Gaia as he had heard nothing from his sources on anything interesting happening and so he leaned back in the chair he was in and said to himself "Field Trip~"

With that the man quickly got up out of his seat, paid for his meal, and ran out of the bar as fast as he could though he did slow down enough to cop a feel on the waitress who yelled at him for doing such a thing. Zidane though laughed as he dodged the thrown dishes and made his way to where the airships were held, though to get in there he had to do a little sneaking past a few guards but that was easy due to how they weren't expecting him to be in that part of the city. After he found himself a nice spot to lay down and rest he waited for the cargo airship to take off and take him to where ever, he didn't mind where this thing was going all that mattered that it took him to someplace new.

~~~~~Esthar City~~~~~

While the ride was long and the place Zidane had picked to rest in was not exactly what one would call first class he was none the less in a good mood when the airship finally landed at its given location. But when the young man got out he was not expecting to be in the middle of some futuristic city that was clean enough you could eat off the streets, not that he was willing to test that theory out but still it was really clean here. Now he couldn't just waltz out of the airship though so he had to yet again sneak out and this time he just opted to wait for a clear moment, then rush out of there fast as hell since he didn't know the layout of the area well enough to do anything fancy like he normally would.

After getting out of there though he was left to look around the city at his own leisure even though he was getting plenty of looks from people about his tail and clothing, but while most would be annoyed Zidane simply smiled back at the people and gave a slight wave which was only returned by snobbish hmphs or the turning up of ones nose. Now that did slightly tweak the young man's temper as he found rich upper class people to be just plain annoying and rude, while he admitted that he knew quite a few good people who were high class they couldn't make up for the general populous of rich snobs.

So with a smirk he figured he would cause a bit of trouble by taking a few......souvenirs from some places and thus made his way toward one of the richest looking places he could find, now to skip all the sneaking mumbo jumbo lets just say that Zidane did a fine job getting in and a okay job of getting his souvenirs but getting himself out though.......well that was a snag. Due to events totally out of his control some of the alarms were set off and he was now standing in a room with a bag full of stolen goodies with about five guards aiming at him with guns, now Zidane didn't know what those guns were exactly but he knew enough that if they were pointed at him that meant they were there to cause him harm. Thus he smiled slightly at the guys and then said ".....Hey hey calm down everyone.......this is all just a big misunderstanding....lets just all take a deep breath and talk this....*stolen silverware falls out of his shirt*......I don't know how that got there......"

Zidane though quickly saw the men moving to fire and so he did the only thing that came to mind "HEY WHAT IS THAT!!?!?" this caused the guards to look behind themselves to see what the heck it was, but when they did the sound of shattering glass filled the air and caused them to look back at Zidane's direction. What they saw was a now broken window and a room that was missing one young thief, this made the guards swear under their breaths before running outside to catch the now runaway thief. Zidane thought he was going to make a clean getaway with his little trick before a bullet flew past his head, he quickly turned to see the guards right behind him and said "Damn you guys are persistent idiots aren't you?!?!"

Apparently they heard that and were now opening fire on Zidane with little regard for the stolen items, this reduced Zidane to using his natural genome skills to avoid the shots as best as he could though he knew he couldn't do anything violent back while doing this. With all his focus on dodging he was able to jump, duck, weave, and roll out of the way of the bullets before running into an alleyway where the guards thought they had him cornered. Too bad for them that Zidane was jumping from one alleyway wall to the other till he reached the top and was now running across the roof of some buildings, he yet again thought he was safe till he heard the roar of something and looked down into the alleyway to see the guards had jet packs or jet boots or something and were flying up.

Zidane quickly turned to run as he yelled "OH COME ON THEY CAN FLY TOO! THIS IS NOT FAIR IN THE SLIGHTEST!!!" Zidane's complaints were not heard though and he was stuck with having to yet again play dodge the bullets as best as he could. He then got a sneaky little plan and was going to use it as best as he could; so as he neared a gap between the buildings he was running on he made it look like he was going to jump but instead fell straight down the alleyway to the ground. He landed with a slight thump before he used a little trick he learned from his old pal Blank, he used his ninja vanish ability to turn invisible along with his loot and was able to finally shake off the guards with that little trick and made a run for it down the street to get as far away from the guards as possible. Too bad for Zidane that he didn't know there was a bunch of tables around the corner and thus he was not ready to dodge and jump over them all, he avoided a few of the tables but soon enough crashed right into one that two men were using.

The entire table fell over with a crash with Zidane on top of its side as he let out pained ow's, his tail was laying limply on the ground while Zidane said out loud ".....Just..my......luck..." He slowly pulled himself off and away from the table and looks at the two guy who had been sitting near the table, as he did his vanish spell failed on him and he said to them "..Ow ow.......sorry about that....ow.....didn't expect a swarm of tables when I ran around the corner.....ow......no hard feelings right...ooowww." Zidane was saying sorry but at the same time holding his right knee as he banged it pretty hard against the table when he crashed into it.

As the two were walking Barret said before entering the Pub with Lar "They are all friends of mine and could be considered members of AVALANCHE, why you have something against us?? Walking into the pub Barret reply's "This place seems fine to me. Feeling at home, as they sit down Barret motions the waitress over to get some drinks going then looks back to Lar and reply's to his comment about SOLDIER "They may all share in the vision but that's not for me to decide that is there call not mine. Each has had there fair share of bullshit with Shinra so as long as this quest is for a great cause, that not of Shinra i don't think any of them should have a problem with this. *looks at the list on the table in front of Lar* "Well you can mark my name down on your list as i will be helping you get SOLDIER back up and on its feet, but if i learn that Shinra has a part in all of this i will make you wish you were never born you got that Lar?

As the Drinks arrive Barret thanks the waitress as he is listening to what Lar is saying about getting a pity promotion from the president of Shinra and then leaving cause they were running on fumes. "well Sephiroth is still out there somewhere and i don't look forward to seeing him again after all the trouble and damage he caused, but i guess if he could be brought to see that the new SOLDIER program will be what it should have been back then he might come around but i highly doubt that very much. Taking a sip of his beer he notices Lar looking at some fat slob sitting beside them harassing the waitress and disgusting everyone in the Pub. Barret hear Lar say that if they guy chokes not to save him. Responding to that Barret said "Well i don't think he will have much further to go before i get up, walk over there and shove my fist down his throat and hall him outside if he keeps that up!! Paying attention to the fat slob Barret didn't see the incoming thief jumping the tables only to crash into theirs spilling Barret's beer. Pissed of that his bear was spilled he says you little bugger that was a full glass of good beer that you wasted. I hope you plan on paying for that or ill have to kick your ass so hard you wont be able to SIT FOR A WEEK!!!!

Lar stood up, quickly assessing the situation.. The small boy that ran into the table was holding his knee, but seemed to be lacking any serious injuries. His friend he shared the table with, seemed more upset about a spilt beverage then the welfare of the newcomer. This upset Lar very much. Accidents happen and this was clearly no way to react. "Baret!" Lar yelled at him, "Hold your tongue you fool!" almost glaring at Barret as he spoke he turned his attention to the boy on the floor holding his knee and bent down to his level, "Don't worry about the table.. accidents happen. And I apologize for my friend's behavior. He sometimes forget how to act like a civilized individual." Standing back up he offered his hand to the boy to help him up. "It might not be none of our business but why were you running through here so quickly?" Lar asked him with a soft spoken voice.

Lar suddenly noticed that this boy had something attached to the backside of him.. Lar took a quick glance and saw something he didn't expect. The boy who had ran into his table had a tail! This boy suddenly became interesting to Lar, beyond just knocking over a table. He began picking up his belongings off the beer soaked floor, holding up the soaking wet sheet of paper. "Ugh.. I hope this dries ok..." Putting it on his seat momentarily as he finished picking everything up and setting the table back to its upright position. Behind him he began to hear a wheezy chuckle. He turned his head slightly to see the sack of flesh at the table beside him staring, and wearing the most annoying looking smile. Lar looked back towards his own table shaking his head slightly as if something in his head was trying to convince him to permanently silence that man.

Realizing what he had done only after Lar had screamed at him Barret calmed down and looked to the boy saying "Damn, I'm m a fool. My apologizes i don't know why i freaked, but i think it has something to do with this city as I'm not quite used to this place and its people." Barret immediately spotted what appeared to be a tail on the backside of the boy.

Thinking to himself Barret wondered by the young boy had a tail but his train of thought was broken by the fat slop who was sitting by them wheezing like a broken squeaky toy. Barret looks at Lar and then at the boy "If you will both excuse for a moment i need to know some sense into Mr. funny over here." Walking over to the giant pile of fat this is called a man Barret says to him "It"s nighty night time you annoying sack of fat. Say your prayers cause here comes MR.Sandman!" Winding of his mech-hand, Barret swings at the guy knocking him out. "Well that takes care of that"

Walking back over to Lar and the young boy Barret asked the boy "What had you spooked so bad? The expression on your face was almost as if someone was trying to kill you or something. It's probably none of my business for asking but curiosity can get the best of me sometimes."

Zidane had expected someone to get upset and sure enough the big black guy did and damn did he look like he could follow up on his threat, Zidane took his hand off his knee and held them up apologetically as he said "Whoa whoa calm down tall dark and grumpy, I'll pay for it don't worry about that." Zidane's tail reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag full of gil before tossing it over to the guy and said "Keep the change and buy yourself something nice." Inside the bag was a thousand gil which wasn't that much for Zidane, he was loaded after his adventure all over Gaia and Terra.

Zidane then heard what the other guy said and simply shrugged a slight bit before replying "Eh it okay, everyone got bad days. Doesn't help having some invisible person crashing into your table.....as for why I was run......." Zidane was interrupted when he saw Barret walk off to beat the tar out of some fat slob near by that was laughing, and sure enough one blow was all that was needed before fatty hit the ground hard causing Zidane to snicker "Wow I think the ground actually shook a bit when the guy hit the pavement.....wonder if he cracked it too....Hehehehehe~"

Zidane then was asked again about why he was running and why he looked a bit frazzled and simply said "Well to be frank it because..*CRASH*" Zidane was interrupted once more but this time when he turned to look he saw it was one of those damn guards that caused the noise, well caused it by startling one of the waiters enough to drop the dishes the person was carrying. Zidane swore under his breath as the guard yelled out "I got you now thief!" before aiming his guns at the young genome who quickly moved as far away from the others as possible to avoid having them caught in the crossfire. Zidane quickly yelled out "HEY IDIOT THERE ARE INNOCENT CIVILIANS RIGHT HERE YOU KNOW! YOU GONNA HURT ONE OF THEM IF YOU KEEP THIS UP!" Zidane by now was able to get to a area where a few tables were at without anyone near by, he had kicked one of the tables over and was using it for cover at the current moment as the guard kept firing with little regard for anyone else.

This pissed off the young thief as he pulled out his daggers from their holsters and joined them into one weapon to form is Ogre, Zidane quickly looked around his table shield to see where the one guard was and while the guy was reloading his guns the genome threw the double bladed weapon toward the guy fast enough to cause it to spin in the air like a giant boomerang/buzz-saw. The guard was able to see this and dodge it causing him to laugh a slight bit before saying "Now you got nothing, hand yourself over Thief and the court might go easy on you." "Ya know there is an old saying my brother Blank use to tell me.......what comes around goes around....." said Zidane with a smirk as he activated his return feature on his weapon. This caused it to turn in the air and head back toward Zidane but the Guard didn't know that till it was too late, he turned his head just in time to see the blade slice into his side fairly deep but soon after a explosion of darkness burst out around the guy blinding him to his surroundings.

With the guy blinded Zidane jumped out of his hiding place to catch his weapon before breaking it down into its dagger form, with that he quickly turned around and ran as fast as he could, but over his shoulder he yelled "SORRY FOR THE TROUBLE GUYS, OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD AND WHAT NOT!" With that Zidane disappeared around a corner just as the darkness around the one guard disappeared, when that happened the guy shot off after Zidane using his jet boots in an attempt to capture him again.

Picking up the gill pouch that the young thief had tossed over to Barret and putting it in his pant pocket he says to Lar "With that boys fighting style and apparent skill with a blade he might be a wise addition to your list or people to help rebuild SOLDIER. Looking back around Barret could see that the place was a mess from the run in with the Young boy and the guard who was getting ready to follow the boy. Quick thinking Barret jumped up just as the armored guard flew by and dragged him down to the ground pinning him in place pulling off the guards helmet Barret looks at him "Listen you slack jawed sucka, i don't know what your after calling that boy a thief or why your trying to take him back in but you best be reporting back to your superiors and telling them that you lost sight of your target. I many not know the kid but i know one think and that if i find out you go after him again after i let you go i will break you in two when i find you again, you understand that fool! Cause as the old saying goes an enemy of my enemy is my freind now you go back to your boss or who ever is holding your leash and tell them that you failed in your assigned task." Giving the downed guard a cheep shot to the gut before letting him up Barrett wanted to make sure that this guard didn't try to follow the boy.

After letting the guard go and watching what direction he went in Barret went into the pub and walked over to the pub bartender saying "Here i don't believe its enough to cover the damage done to the exterior of your pub but i hope it helps *hands the barkeep the pouch of 1000 Gil* and sorry for any problems that may have risen with that little fiasco out there. Give my regards to your manger as well." With that being said and done Barret walks back outside to lar and asks "So what is the plan now?"

"The plan?" Lar questioned him, "The plan my overly trusting comrade, is that we catch up to that guard, kill him, and then catch up with that tailed boy.". Lar looked less than impressed as he began walking in the direction of the soldier that was after the strange boy. "Come along now..." he said to Barret. After a few moments they easily caught up to the soldier who was still licking his wounds. Lar whistled to get the guard's attention. As the guard turned around to see who whistled at him, Lar quickly thrust his spear thru the abdomen of the man. The man made a gurgling noise as blood filled his mouth and his head slumped forward, knees buckling as his soul departed his body. A death that was necessary. If that guard lived, he would have warned others, and that would have put a hamper on Lar's ambition to possibly recruit the speedy tailed boy. Removing his spear, he turned to his new ally, "This man's life had to be taken for my cause Barret. If he had lived, we would have had to deal with his entire organization. Live men weave tales, dead men tell none. You must be more rational in the future my friend." Lar's eyes seemed to glow more vivid than normal. As if some part of him deep down enjoyed the tenacious act he just committed. As the guard's body was now lain out in the street, lifeless and bloody, several people began to crowd around. Sounds of screams and cries for help filled the air, but Lar turned towards the crowd quickly to address them.

"Everyone mind you're own business. This man's fate was sealed when he donned that uniform! I have only served justice to his recklessness and endangerment to all your lives!" His voice carrried that same monotone cold and almost horrific sound to it. Lar's eyes seemed almost glared over with pure hatred. But the words that he spoke, the way he spoke them, he meant every word. To Lar, he did do a justice by killing this man. Lar did not wait for a response from the crowd, instead he turned away and nudged Barret, "Now we find that boy. I would very much like a word with him." He said as they began to walk away from the bloody scene.

Somewhat blown away but the sudden act of aggression against a foolish guard who couldn't fight back Barret wanted to smack Lar but in his mind he knew is was going to happen sooner then later after all Lar was part of SOLDIER for years and they were the peacekeepers of Shinra. Seeing the training show itself Barret decided tot keep his trap shut and just go along to track down the tailed boy unless he wanted to be responsible for creating a new world war.

Looking over to Lar as they we walking Was that show of force really necessary in an open location such as that? why not can him then throw the body in a dumpster or something. anyways that's not the point right now. That kid could be a long ways away with the sped and agility he has what are the chances we find him today? specially in a massive city like this.

Luckily for the dynamic duo they wouldn't have to look to far to find Zidane for while they did take care of one guard the other four were still looking for him, which compounded with Zidane's apparently horrible bad luck today he had the bad fortune to have nearly ran smack into the other four who seemed to be wondering where the fifth member of their group was at. For Zidane though he was lucky they were too busy trying to contact their missing member through a com-system to notice him run around the corner, this gave him the needed time to get behind cover to keep from getting spotted as the young thief thought 'CRAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP...........how am I suppose to get out of here now....it only a matter of time before that one idiot catches up with me if I stay here.........*sighs*......guess I'll have to rough them up a bit........'

Zidane had by now waited long enough for his Ninja ability to have recharged and thus was able to induce the vanish status effect once again on himself allowing him to become invisible to the four guards, and with the element of surprise on his side the Guards didn't even have their wits about them so he was easily able to sneak up on two of them who were standing side by side. While the other two were a few feet away smoking some cigs to help calm them down and pass the time, but for Zidane it was just the distraction he needed for him to make his trouble become much smaller.

With all the stealth of a predator he slowly drew out his mage mashers and in the following moments made his strike with all the precision of a trained assassin, the men soon cried out in pain as blood gushed out of their shoulders and thighs before they hit the ground like sacks of potatoes due to how the tendons in their arms and legs were cut so that they can't move them any more. Zidane didn't want to do that but considering how they acted he knew he needed to disable them if he wanted to get away, though he was lucky their level of mana caused them to take extra damage from his daggers.

By now the other two guards got up and were ready to fight but with Zidane still invisible the third one to be attacked didn't fair that well either though he was able to put up a struggle before Zidane cut his tendons as well, with three down and one to go Zidane was worn down from all the blows he took during that wrestling match with the third guy and so the fourth one could hear him due to his heavy breathing. While the man's aim was poor due to the vanish spell he was still aiming in Zidane's general direction which is bad enough for the genome to duck behind a dumpster to avoid getting shot up.

When the Guard finally ran out of bullets and wasn't shooting like a madman anymore he quickly looked around trying to find out where his attacker was coming from as his comrades groaned in pain but were in no danger of death just yet, but the split moment of looking down at the others cost the guard as Zidane used that distraction to jump onto the dumpster then dart past the now surprised final guard who was able to get off a single shot before the stinging pain of daggers digging into his side caused him to fall to the ground. Zidane hit the ground slightly off balance as well as the bullet fired nicked his left shin which was hurting like a son of b.itch, but not enough to stop Zidane from doing a back flip to land on the shoulders of the hunched over guard.

This allowed his thighs to lock around the guard's head to hold it still, with the butt of his dagger he then smashed it down on the guard's head knocking the man out with pure concussive force. As the guy toppled over Zidane jumped off the man's shoulders and landed on the ground, he moved over to a wall to lean up against so he could check his wound and catch his breath. The racket of the fight was more than enough for the two looking for him to find him if they pay attention to the noise being made, but speaking of which Zidane said to himself aloud "....Wonder what happened to the guard that was after me anyway....." Turning to look at the downed but not dead guards Zidane sighed a slight bit as he was glad he didn't have to kill them, he wanted to keep his list of people he killed at a amazing 0.

As Lar and Barret walked, Lar took a moment to ponder Barret's questioning. True the tailed boy was incredibly fast. But he was most likely not running at his full potential, due to the twists and turns of the streets, and his unfamiliarity with them. As to the display of force, "I'm sorry you had to witness that Barret, I was not quite myself there for a moment. I should have killed him more discreetly I agree, but it's done." Picking up the pace feeling encouraged to find the tailed boy. After traveling a few blocks, Lar heard the ringing of gunfire. "THERE!" he yelled to Barret, as he began traveling in the direction of where he thought he heard the shooting.

As they seemed to approach, the sound of the gunfire became louder and louder. As they ran Lar yelled back to Barret, "It has to be coming from straight up this way!". Soon they approached the scene.. but it was too late. Lar was surprised at the sight he saw. Several of the same guards had been bested by the tailed boy. Lar smiled. He had to recruit this boy for his cause. "I like this kid" he said to Barret as he elbowed him in the ribs, smiling.

Lar decided that he should grab the boy's attention before he took off again and began to approach as he spoke up to the boy. "Hey! That's some pretty impressive work you did here!"

OOC: I sorry but I out of this topic, waited long enough. If you two start it up again continue without me, I like to not have this keep one of my 5 RP slots full.

EXITED

OOC: Agreed. It'll be nice to free up a slot.

BACKSLASH EXITS.