The battle had been raging for an hour, it had apparently started as a simple clash between a Wutai contingent and a Kinuko regiment, they had of course reported to the local outposts who had now sent back up, which of course didn't take long to grow like a wildfire in the dry plains of Wutai. But what had caught their eyes, was that a man using a large blade wearing black leather armor had been spotted positively in the field, that meant the Black Howling or one of his elite. And that of course meant....an annoyed and woken up Heiner.

His head was back against the seat as the chopper flew close to the see line, his blackish silver hair fallen over his face, arms crossed, the case containing the Xero at his feet. There were four other soldiers all in gold lined shoulder plates and helms as they looked over the holo map at the center, they were talking strategy and ordering troop movements. This was annoying, his first priority was apparently to keep these fools alive, but they didn't need that they were all safe and secure high up on their tower. "Ive had enough.." he said as he stood up slowly and quieting the others he motioned up to the pilot grabbing his attention, drop me off on the edge of the battlefield. The officers began to protest and Heiner looked back to them with that same old blank expression, "Don't worry your priviledged little heads, you will be quite safe." He grabbed the case and unlocked it pulling the Xero and sheathing it over his back. As the chopper came down towards the ground he leapt and slid down a rope down onto the dust. In the distance he could hear the resonant sound of guns blazing, blades crashing, men and women dying. He just began his slow walk towards the field of battle Xero dragging its tip along the blades of grass next to him. He could feel the natural closeness to the planet here, as though it were calling out to him. And it didn't take long then...as a Wutai dispatch spotted him they charged blades drawn towards the GUARDIAN. "So it begins...Im coming for you...Black Howling..." He ducked down a bit and pointed his body with a run towards them bringing the Xero close to his side as he engaged his first opponents.

What a bother...it should never have ended up this way, neither side wanted to risk this many troops and neither side should have had to...but here they were and frankly he was feeling rather good about the outcome, while they may be a bit exteneded they were still on home ground. The mission had been easy enough, sneak across the plains and get into the spear tip outpost, from there plant charges to level that sucker, give the others in the region something to think about when it came to raiding their supply lines. But here they were! And he may as well make the best of it.

"Cmon!" The man spun and a heel met the chin of a Kinuko blade-soldier, the helmet flying off and spinning to the ground, "Oh now that wasn't even any fun at all!" He was surrounded by five of them holding two handed swords in guard positions all trying to think out exactly how they should go about taking down the man taht would surely bring them infamous glory among the ranks. One of them had red stripes on his armor plates and tapped two of the men next to him on the shoulders, they lowered their weapons and charged tip first. He spun back and let the large blade on his back deflect both long necks of the blades then stepped in his palms meeting their throats then took another step forward the men dropping hard onto their backs groaning. Taking the open stance the leader in red armor stepped forward coming down hard with the blade in an overhead strike. Gau ducked down and pulled the boomerang foward letting his blade clash with it's much broader and thicker body hearing the powerful strike shatter against his shield technique. He brought the blade around from its sheathe and slashed it across him feeling the armor break away and sink into flesh as the man fell onto his back blood streaming from his chest. "I really detest all this violence..."

His soldiers flooded past him taking down more and more of the men from the Kinuko forces. There were snaps and pops from the left, a gun squad was laying into his mens flank. He immediately began running towards them weaving in and out of the masses as the lgiht flashes began to get brighter and brighter, he kicked off a soldiers shoulder and came like a black winged demon over the line of his men suprising the gunners dropping just behind them he turned on his heel giving one huge violent slash with the boomerang that cute down all five of the squad, he stood up and waved his hand, his men moved on at the signal advancing upon the next line of Kinuko, the battle was so far heavily in their favor. A messenger found Gau and knelt, "Sir! They have deployed a GUARDIAN on the field! How do we proceed?" A hand turned down as if to dismiss him and moved towards the clamor that was going on, the forces and advancement had ceased entirely. As he got closer he could see a slew of dead from both sides, and in the center was a man with dark hair, black clothing, and a long sword of quite unique design. "That's gotta be him...." He stepped from the line and ordered his men back to which they obeyed. Taking the blade off his back he gestured towards him, "So you're the Kinuko slave that's been killing my men...why don't we settle this one on one?" He dashed towards him then to the cheers of his men behind him.

Who was this man? He stood in the ring of dead and raised a hand to beckon him forward... "Yeah that's me...but I would hardly say I'm a slave..." Running towards him he brought the blade around, and it clashed with Gau's, he heard a grunt from Gau as they held in the clash with one another, "A slave...is exactly what you are!" Gau suddenly spun and thrusted a leg in a smash kick against Heiner's gut that pushed him back and followed up with a slicing motion of the boomeragn to which he shrugged back then brought his blade back down clashing once more this time they wrestled back and forth. "I'm my own person!" Gau laughed as he turned quickly, it was like he was hasted but Heiner could sense no such enchantment, he brought the blade up and tore against Heiner's sleeve but when he tried to follow up Heiner side stepped him and smashed his blade down against Gau's shoulder pad tearing it to shreds as the man rolled away. "A person who doesn't know why they fight? Get a grip!" Gau hurled the boomerang towards him and it was deflected by a hard upward swing of the Xero that cracked with a loud noise propelling it away. Taking the opening he ran towards Gau bringing the blade over his shoulder he activated his Spatial materia and propelled his body in the air spinning like a top as numerous slashes carve across the ground down towards the defenseless Howling.

"I pity you..." Gau said as he rolled back then jumped in a backflip landing on the shoulders of another shoulder then leapt high into the air rolling over the vicious attack arching his body high in the air. Turning mid air he came downards his leg extended out to the side taking he impact of his drop away. Heiner came out of the roll and skidded a few feet almost into the waiting arms of the soldiers. Heiner pointed the blade at him as he gained his footing again, "You're the one that needs a grip, fighting a useless war against an enemy you know you can never defeat." Gau grinned and stood just raising his hand as the boomerang came back down into his firm catching grasp twirling it once then rested it over his shoulder. "Our cunning makes us strong, we think freely, unlike you!" Suprisingly as Heiner looked around he realized something, the Wutai now surrounded him, the Kinuko soldiers had all vanished. "What the?" His brow furrowed, he was not worried but only confused and just then the other materia down in his body glew as a Haste effect came over his body. Gau spoke again as he took a few steps back and over again, "You have a name right? Your name is probably all you own isn't it? Do you live under lock and key? In a base somewhere? Ever given freedom to explore? Or are you always restricted from even seeing parts of the world? Do you even know your parents?" Seeing this many people against him he suddenly felt a strange effect overcoming his mind, energy surrounded him his visage changing completely, his hair was brown, straight, his eyes a deep green, his was clad in a heavy red coat his blade replaced by a broad sword with a divine rose color running through the face on either side. "The gift of the goddess...is freedom..." The energy vanished and he stumbled back, the stress and quick thinking had released something deep inside of him.

"What am I fighting for...why am I here? To defend Kinuko? The soldiers..they are gone...they abandoned me here? Was I sent here to die? What is this image in my head...who is this talking to me! Ive never been this unstable! I...I have to know.." He snapped back to reality then looking at Gau who had a puzzled look on his face, Gau brought his boomerang high up, "Don't worry...Ill silence what torments you..afterall death is better than remaining a slave." The weapon glew with a bluish energy and he brought it around quickly hurling it towards the target of the seemingly stupored Guardian. He whispered then his voice rose, "I...won't be...a slave!" His hand thrusted out to his side and a single black wing thrusted from seemingly nowhere, the Boomerang striking an invisible field of energy infront of him and returing to it's owner. "I'll be back for you..." Heiner said as he pointed the blade towards Gau. The materia glew deep in his chest and then as he turned his entire body dissapeared, then came back floating next to the chopper that had dropped him, the pilot screamed into the mic "It's Heiner! Send a detatchment something has gone......" The chopper spiraled downwards into the ocean his rear rutter sliced off with ease. He couldn't leave a witness to his transformation...he moved back towards Midgard, but landed near a checkpoint, his wing folding in then dissapearing leaving a few black plumes on the ground. He had to travel back by ship, and as he walked towards the security guards, "The battle is lost!" He called, "Get my a ship back to midgard now!"

"What the hell was THAT?" A young woman's voice asked from a short distance away. There was a rustling sound and a blur lept out of the follage, landing just a few feet from the most notorious wanted man on the planet. As the blur paused and came into focus with the clack and clatter of beads, a young woman in light armor would regard Gau.

She would cast sharp eyes in the direction the GUARDIAN had fled and gave a small frown. Whatever that guy was, he didn't fall like the last half dozen or so. And what was with that warped energy that eminated from him? She give a small sniff of distain as she flicked the decorative beads over her shoulder. "The bastards leave him in the lurch and he still goes back to them. Thats a Kinuko dog for you.."

"Before you say it I KNOW." she'd add in as she unpacks a cure materia. "Should have stayed at the village. Too dangerous to be following around, blah blah blah. But they said 'that' Guardian was making a scene. Figured seeing his ass kicked would be an unmissabe experience."

"Gotta admit though, he got me worried for a second there. Never saw anyone deflect your death strike before. Any wounds?"

What a moment that was, he watched the man vanish, there was a serious amount of hatred surrounding his entire form when he realized what exactly had transpired there on the field of battle. He had already sensed her presence and turned as her form settled in the middle of the area that the other soldiers most of whom were beginning to wander back towards Wutai in small regiments. "I don't think he's going back to anyone Luna...I think this time he's going back for answers, not orders." He took one last look in the place where Heiner had stood then started walking towards her. "You know as well as I do that you cannot enter the Wutai army until you are twenty years old Luna! What if something happened to you!?"

How odd, he had just been locked in a death struggle and now he was berating his younger sister for endangering herself. And ignoring her comments he had to say something to her... he felt tired and a little scratched up, "Nothing serious..." He flipped the large boomerang back into its sheathe and walked towards her, "I'm more spent than anything, that man had NO signs of fatigue after all that...and I was about to call a retreat. I used a good deal of my energy on my Lightening Strike that he just batted away...I've engaged him once or twice before, but there was something profoundly different in his movements and demeanor today...let's just get back to Wutai sister..."

"What's three more years?" she'd ask with a shrug as she was scolded for following them without permission for the 56th... or was it 57th? No it was 56th, there was one close to the mountains she was allowed to veiw from a spot a quarter mile away. The veiw sucked but some of the junior patrol were allowed observation privaledges.. "Even you have admitted that I am one of the sharpest shots in Wutai. I think I coulda handled any problems from the soldiers... 'sides, medics can technically enter the field at 16." ... with a senior medic and away from the immediate combat zone but she would neglect adding in those little details. Brother already knew them anyhow.

"Answers to what you think?" She would ask, though she was fairly certain even Gau the know-it-all older brother didn't even have an exact answer. As the group dispersed, she too would look over at the final area with some consern. She was at that age where you were invinsible and nothing could stand in your way. A very headstrong and reckless age. But even she had senced the difference enough to keep further from the battle scene than she normally would. Since when did dog-boy get so... creepy? It was like he was a whole other person during those last moments. "Its not like he listened to your insults last time."

Oops. Forgot she was supposed to have been at the village making salves for that one. Ah well he'd have figured out she had been there sooner or later anyway. She'd activate the materia to close a gaping wound on a wounded comrad's arm, pretending to be very busy to hopefully let that one slip past. She'd snuck to so many of these he might mistake it for one he already knew of. It gave her a second anyhow, to reflect on how effortlessly the man had deflected her brother's Lightening Strike. That had been no small feat... hell it wasn't even a 'big feat'... This was huge. But she was careful not to appear too conserned as she treated the wounded man. The little sister of Gau the Howling did have unspoken standards to meet afterall.

Once the worst of the wounds were treated, she'd bow and let the man go on ahead to where the more experienced medics could finish his healing. Pocketing the orb, she'd glance over at her brother and listen to any new slews of scoldings before falling in line beside him toward home. "They were stingy with their materia this time around. There weren't any of note on the fallen."

Snuck out, followed into battlezone, and apparently already got close enough to check bodies for loot of note. Yep, The most wanted man on the planet and the biggest headache on the planet were definitly brother and sister.

He ignored the quips of his little sister considering that it wouldn't have done him any good to argue against them anyways...and he should really just be grateful that she didn't involve herself directly in the fighting. He took one last scavenge as he looked for wounded or lootables. Any weapons and useful armors had already been scavenged. As she patched the soldier up he spoke to her, "I'm not sure, but he turned into something I have only heard of in the stories. But those stories always relate to some solitary entity, someone who is powerful but completely undedicated to a side of any conflict. He had a wing..." He shook his head dismissing it as just a trick from a GUARDIAN. "And you're right..he has never responded like that, something has him thinking outside of the kinuko box..." For a moment he thought back to how the strike had been deflected, that and the attack he had used, "Also...he used a materia we have never seen before, he was able to actually manipulate his own gravity..." His thoughts trailed off until she came up to him again and he began walking.

"As for lootables...the force we fought came together from scout regiments...I can't imagine there to be much valuables among them..." They travelled back to Wutai and as he walked he grabbed a rifle from a fallen Kinuko and strung it over his shoulder. "This should make for some fun..."

"That's right... He did use a materia. He's never done that before has he?" She would observe as she tossed her materia up like a ball and caught it, repocketing it into her bag. Unless she knew she'd be in a situation she rarely actually equipted materia. She liked the advantages they provided, but she didn't want to be overdependent on it. "I've never seen materia that could do that. There is one that can increase the gravitational field around a foe... bt it can't do what he just did..."

She too took a couple rifles and their ammo clips, though she vastly prefered the hand guns when it came to combat. sure they didn't have the power or long-range accuracy of rifles. But they were much better for a speed based attack. But their own scouts always appreciated any descent weapondry that might keep their losses to a minimum.

"What story is that?" she would ask, as the mythos that were kept up in the traditional oral culture was vast and varied. Not as much as cosmo canyon, who insisted regardless of popular translations that Tifa was a woman and Cloud was the actual hero. But it was still too much to just pluck a legend out of the air. Winged beings seemed to abound in many tales.