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Elgar did not hesitate to raise his rifle as a sign of acceptance.

"I'll go, sir. It's time I show SOLDIER what I'm made of."

He lowered his weapon and quickly reloaded it. He looked around for a moment and finally faced the officer.

"Sir, I may require more ammunition and ethers. If it's really going to be hell down there, I'll need all I can carry."

Elgar grinned and hefted his rifle.

"I was born ready, sir!"

He glanced at his weapon and then looked back at the officer.

"Sir, will this fire materia provide a big blast?"

Biggs had never really worked with materia before and had rarely seen it in action. It was rather embarassing, but there were more important matters with which to attend. He made his way down a makeshift path, constructed mostly of rock. He was still able to move quickly, despite the hazardous terrain. The other two SOLDIERs followed close behind him. Biggs kept a watchful eye at all times and hoped that their journey would be without confrontation.

The silence was soon broken as scouts noticed the three. The team of three was capable of dropping three scouts, but a fourth got away. "Time to move," one of them shouted as they moved through the rocks at a breakneck pace. The bullets hit one of the guys in the shoulder. "Keep moving," the other one shouted. The one left behind was soon shot in the head.

In their sprint, they found a clearing. A man in a black cloak stood in the midst of it. "Get behind me," he said, his voice low. It was Sephiroth. As the rebels closed in, green started to swirl around Sephiroth. The clouds above became thick and darkened. Lightning hurled at the ground, striking the rebels dead. "Now go. Get to the scientists quickly. I can finish these here. Tell them that I've finished my assignment."

Biggs ran over another ledge, and there he saw the rebels moving at a quick pace towards the running scientists. The scientists and SOLDIERs were fighting as best they could. As he and the other SOLDIERs ran, they found the dead body of one of their comrades. "Move it!" yelled the man to Biggs' side.

They ran forward, killing several rebels, until they reached the scientists. Biggs heard on his ear piece, "This is HQ. You're to remain with the scientists in that location until the helicopters arrive. We have a visual that three other units are heading your way. The helicopters should arrive approximately the same time. ETA fifteen minutes."

Alex ducks behind what small cover he can find, "Yeah that might be appreciated. This is a lot worse than they said it would be. I'm going to help the other researchers find cover. We're the nerds, you're the fighters." He helps lead the researchers behind some cover farther away from the fire fight.

More rebels came over the mountains, shooting another SOLDIER, leaving three alive. Two scientists were hit by stray bullets. As the rebels closed in, too many of them to kill, the helicopters showed up, spraying the terrain with bullets and rockets. In a matter of moments, the area was clear.

The helicopters landed and a man got out, "All right, all the scientists except three are coming with us. Doctor Cornick, Faust, and Dawn, go with the SOLDIERs to the artillery and examine it as best you can. Transfer to us whatever data you get. From there, the SOLDIERs are to look into the missing scientists and SOLDIERs. Sephiroth was spotted heading to North Corel. He reported that there was information there on what had happened. If nothing else, just follow along. He'll keep you alive."

The helicopter took off with all but the three scientists. The rebels had gone quiet, and the trek back to the artillery was difficult, but without violent conflict.

Once they arrived, it was easy to notice the numbers had dwindled. Four SOLDIERs remained in the bunker, two being heavily injured. "Welcome back. Doctors, to the ready. Get this thing reviewed so we can get the hell out of here. Biggs, if you've any magic left, heal those guys. We've run dry. Sheldon, Lee, cover the door to make sure nothing tries getting in here."

Lee stopped, "Just rebels, right sir?" The lead shook his head.

"Hopefully it just doesn't come back."

"There was a behemoth sighted not too far away. One of the scouts made it back, the other stayed to stall it. If it comes here, we're toast. We just aren't cut out for something of that caliber."

"Sir," Lee asked, watching the door, "What is it doing here?"

"We don't know. HQ is suggesting the rebels got their hands on one and released it. They're looking deeper into it. Until then, we're to watch for that, any other creatures that wander by that are native, and any straggler rebels. The first class SOLDIERs we rescued are off to another site, so they won't be joining us any longer."