Turning point.

A year later.

In a surprise turn of events a terrorist organization known as Avalanche began making stronger and stronger attacks against Shinra as a whole. Originally starting with attacks on the sector 8 reactor. They recently orchestrated an assassination attempt on President Shinra himself.

And now there are reports of an attack on Junon's mako Cannon.

" So, you want us to take care of it, then?" 

" Yes sir!"

" Alright then. Let's get to work!" Exodus looked to Sephiroth descended from the Helicopter carrying right down on top of the Junon cannon. The two men cut a hole right through the top of it and entered into the 

The sound of gunshots rang out loud and clear. The moment Exodus and Sephiroth entered the facility, they were immediately greeted by the bodies of both Shinra and Avalanche fighters. 

" Look at this." 

" Let's not waste time." Sephiroth muttered. " There is still fighting ahead."

" Right."

Together Sephiroth and Exodus rushed down the facility halls, until finally they found themselves right on top of the fighting. 

A woman with pale skin and tousled brown hair. Wearing a gray cape around her silver armor. A green short sleeved jacket and cropped trousers. Fingerless gloves and a sash wrapped around her hip. And a man. One dressed in an all-black suit. A Turk.

Sephiroth and Exodus jumped in-between the Turk and the Avalanche fighter and knocked both to the side, stopping the fighting from reaching the Mako cannon.

" That's enough of that." Exodus exclaimed.

" More Shinra." 

" Lady, trust me. You should just surrender." Exodus told the girl.

" Not likely." A glowing aura emanated from her arm, and she attacked Exodus. Exodus raised his hand to block the girls strike, but he quickly found himself being overwhelmed by her surprising strength. 

" What the hell? Damn, girl. That's some strength you've got there." 

Sephiroth made towards the woman, but a hand from Exodus stopped him.

" Sephiroth, wait! I've got things control here. You go and take care of the rest of them." Exodus told the man.

" If you insist." Sephiroth grabbed his blade and walked past Exodus, further into the Mako Cannon facility.

The young woman seeing him leaving tried to stop him, but she was quickly sent barreling back by a strong foot from Exodus.

" Sorry, sweetheart. But I got to a job to do." Exodus told the girl. He then reached onto his back and pulled out his new blade. It was a long broadsword with a curved edge, and most importantly is the hilt, which was customized with a motorcycles grip. the Handle was blue. There was a blue and gold ornery covering on the blade that extended down to four exhaust pipes along the back edge of the blade. That vibrant blue is how it got its name THE BLUE QUEEN!

" So, let's rev it up!" Exodus slammed the tip of the blade into the ground and revved the hilt of his blade causing flames to spit out of the exhaust pipes. 

*Vrm Vrm!

The woman grabbed her katana and rushed Exodus.

Exodus lifted his blade out of the ground and deflected her attack to the side with ease, before pressing her with his own. 

He slammed the edge of his blade down on hers and with his sheer brute force sent her stumbling backwards.

" Impressive. You're strong! Almost as strong as a soldier! Try not to gas out on me too fast, girl!" Exodus jumped at the girl and slammed his blade on her sword, smashing her to the ground. And as he stood over her, he pointed the tip of his sword down and thrusted it right towards her chest.

And would have run her straight through had she not used her sword to deflect the blow just a few inches from her chest. 

The young girl kicked herself out from under Exodus and hopped back to her feet.

Exodus smiled at the girl before placing his blade back down and revving it. 

" Come on, don't be shy. Let's see what you can do." Exodus told the girl.

" Why do you keep fighting for Shinra?" She asked.

" Why? That's a good question. I used to ask myself all the time. But recently, I found the answer, at least one for the moment. My friends." Exodus told the girl. He lowered his blade momentarily and stared at the girl. " I get it, Shinra sucks, and it does. But my people are here. My friends, my brothers. My students, my men. The world isn't black and white. I see that. The same reason you're fighting to destroy Shinra, is the same reason I'm fighting for them. Every man and woman in this world seeks to protect that which they've come to care for. We are the same in that regard. You strive for your justice, and I strive for mine." Exodus told the girl.

The woman was silent for a moment, before reaching into her pocket and pressing some kind of button. And it started beeping.

" You've beaten us today. As it is now, I can't beat you. Nor can I beat Sephiroth. But we'll be back, someday. And we'll finish what we started. " She said.

" Sure, go ahead. I won't stop you. There's been enough shed today as it is." Exodus muttered.

He watched as the woman threw down smoke bombs and disappeared.

" Well, that's that I guess. Not much to do now, except maybe get you to a doctor." Exodus muttered. He turned to face the Turk, still laying down on the ground. 

He walked over to him and kicked him slightly in his leg. 

" Hey! You still alive, man?" He asked.

" Yes."

" Good, what's your name?"

" Yusuf."

" Well, Yusuf. It's your lucky day. Let's go." He reached down grabbing Yusuf and carried him on his shoulder. " What a mess these people made." Exodus complained. " Hey, you1 What was all this about? Were they trying to destroy the cannon or use it?"

" That's classified."

" Of course, it is!" Exodus exclaimed. " Fucking Turks." 

After some time, more Shinra forces arrived, along with the Turks leader, Verdot, who after the incident at Kalm, had changed drastically. He had lost an arm in the explosion and parts of his face and body were burned. He was now bitter and lacked his former compassion. 

Exodus handed Yusuf over to Verdot and the two quickly departed while Exodus and Sephiroth stayed behind to secure the premises. 

" What did they say?" Sephiroth asked the man.

" Same old shit, man. We do all the heavy lifting, and we still get kept in the dark. But that's how it's always been. Ridiculous." Exodus explained. 

" Well, you did let their leader get away." Sephiroth stated playfully.

" Hey, what was I gonna do? Besides, they only said they wanted us to prevent the cannon from being destroyed. They never said we had to capture the enemy." Exodus joked.

" Well, that's usually apart of stopping them."

" So, what? I wasn't sure." Exodus laughed. " Besides, there's something about that girl that felt off. Did you see that aura? Looked like Materia was embedded in her arm." Exodus explained.

" Yes, I saw it."

" That's not something the average person can do." He said. " I get the feeling we're going to see that girl again."

" We just might." Sephiroth responded.

" Come on, let's head back. We can leave the security detail to the second-class soldiers. 

............................

" So, what happened?" Angeal asked Exodus.

" Eh, some girl attacked the cannon. They had Sephiroth and I step in to stop her is all." Exodus explained bluntly. 

" I doubt that was all, Sam." Angeal muttered.

" Eh, well, I mean there wasn't much happening. From what it looked like, that Turk, Yusuf I think his name was, had already taken out a large number of the enemy. When we showed up, all we did was fight the girl."

" Fight her? You couldn't beat her?"

" Oh, if I wanted to kill her, she'd be dead. But I kinda got lazy. Oh, but there was something weird. Her arm, she had a Materia orb inside of it. It increased her strength dramatically. It was ridiculous."

" A Materia orb? In her arm? I didn't know that was possible." Angeal muttered.

" Neither did I. But it happened." Exodus muttered. " Hey, are we still on for today?" HE asked.

" Yeah, you should have seen Genesis this morning. He was practically jumping up and down waiting for this opportunity." Angeal explained.

" Heh, I bet. Is he still training to beat Sephiroth?"

" You know it. It's all he talks about these days."

" Yeah, well, I don't blame him. Sephiroth is practically world famous. I don't think there's a single person who doesn't know who he is at this point." Exodus stated.

" Yeah, but I think Genesis has forgotten what it means to be a soldier. It's almost like being Sephiroth is all he cares about now."

" You think so?"

" I know so. He's obsessed with being a hero."

" A hero? Well, we all have dreams, right? Let's support him. I'm sure Sephiroth wouldn't mind it." 

" How is Sephiroth doing these days? We've been spread out for a while." 

Exodus sighed.

" He's been fine actually. Moving in and out every day and handling these missions in Wutai. It has taken a bit of a toll. Other than that, though, everything's fine. But it doesn't feel like of a challenge anymore. At this point, I'm hoping these guys surrender soon." He said. 

" Me too."

" Alright. Let's go." Exodus said. He stood up and grabbed his sword. 

Angeal and Exodus walked out of the room together and started making their way to the VR room.

Once there, they were joined by Genesis and Sephiroth both. 

" Hello, Genesis." Exodus said to the man.

" Hello, my friends. Has the weather fared you well?" Genesis asked.

" Of course. And you?"

" I've fared well, these days my good friend." Genesis spoke.

" Are we ready?" Angeal asked.

" Of course." Sephiroth spoke up.

The VR room turned on and Junon appeared.

A familiar sight to the four men. It was a place of theirs they chose to spar at quite often.

[ The Price of Freedom]

" Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess. We seek it thus and take to the sky. Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul, knows no rest."

" Hm, Loveless. Act 1" Sephiroth muttered as he approached the three men.

" You remembered." Genesis spoke as he closed his book.

" Of course. How could I forget... When you've beaten it into my head." Sephiroth explained. He then swung his sword forward.

" Heh, you two go have fun. I think I'ma sit this one out." Exodus exclaimed.

Genesis and Angeal scoffed and dropped off their perch, both of them drew their swords.

" Don't take, Sephiroth lightly." Angeal said to Genesis.

" Dully Noted." Genesis replied.

He and Angeal both rushed Sephiroth together, swinging their blades with all their might at Sephiroth.

Sephiroth parried them both away with ease. Even when they had him surrounded on both sides, Sephiroth effortlessly danced in between their blades.

Not to be outdone, the two men charged Sephiroth again and clashed with him. 

Even with their two swords pressed against his Sephiroth pushed Angeal and Genesis back. Showing off how strong he was compared to the other first-class soldiers. 

All the while Exodus watched from the sideline.

Angeal took the lead, swinging his sword at Sephiroth and clashing with him.

 Sephiroth blocked each of Angeal's attacks and pushed him backwards, as Genesis leaped into the air and spun. Twirling his blade around his body multiple times. And once again, Sephiroth pushed him back.

With Genesis out of the way, Angeal rushed Sephiroth again, slashing at him twice before locking swords with him. 

" Hm, is that the best you can do?" Sephiroth asked the man. He then threw Angeal backwards into Genesis.

The three men stopped for a moment to catch their breaths. Or more like Angeal and Genesis did.

" Eh, All hail Sephiroth huh?" Angeal spoke.

It was then, Genesis raised his arm and stopped Angeal from going forward.

" Angeal, stay back. I'll take Sephiroth alone." Genesis told the man boldly.

" Genesis."

Genesis raised his sword and ignited it with magic.

" The world needs a new hero." Genesis proclaimed.

Sephiroth scoffed.

" Hm. Come and try."

" So smug. But for how long?" Genesis wondered.

[ Blazing through the battlefield-crisis core]

Genesis rushed Sephiroth with a newfound surge of power and breath. Swinging his sword back and forth with as much force as he could muster, eventually pinning Sephiroth under his sword and cratering the metal below them. 

Sephiroth and Genesis both smiled at one another before Sephiroth tossed him to the side.

On the side Angeal joined Exodus in the back.

" Wow, he's really serious." Exodus said to Angeal.

" Yeah."

" Five hundred gil says he gets his ass kicked."

Angeal looked to Exodus and laughed before turning his attention back to the two soldiers.

Genesis continued pressing Sephiroth, eventually forcing him to retreat a bit to recover.

Sephiroth then returned the favor by slamming Masamune into Genesis and throwing him backwards.

The two men, then jumped into the sky all the while trading blows. Sephiroth eventually managed to fling Genesis back quite a distance.

Genesis, feeling the pressure, raised his hand and unleashed multiple balls of fire, shooting them right at Sephiroth who dodged them.

However, just as the last ball shot past him, Genesis waved his hand and called each of the balls of fire back.

Sephiroth tried to deflect them, but he was eventually consumed by the fireballs.

" Holy shit, you don't think-" Exodus was saying.

It was then just as Genesis was preparing for one last attack that Angeal jumped into the air and stopped the man from completing his attacks. 

" Strop! You'll destroy this place." Angeal said to Genesis.

Genesis snatched his hand away and placed the fireball right in Angeal's face.

" That is no way to talk to a hero!" Genesis exclaimed.

" GUH!" Angeal grunted as the spell went off in his face.

" ANGEAL!" Exodus shouted. He jumped after Angeal, catching the man in his arms as he fell towards the ground. 

Exodus landed with Angeal in his arms. 

" Angeal, are you alright?" Exodus asked.

" Yeah." He replied although lazily.

" What the hell, is wrong with him today?" Exodus asked as he looked back up to Genesis.

" I don't know, but we need to stop them." Angeal stated.

" Yeah."

Meanwhile Sephiroth freed himself from Genesis' trap, sending three flying slashes at Genesis.

Genesis managed to block one of the slashes and cut the other two in half before they hit him.

One of the slashes, however, managed to split the Junon cannon completely in half.

Genesis landed on the remaining parts of the cannon before dodging out of the way as Sephiroth sent another flying slash right towards him, cutting more of the cannon off.

Sephiroth landed on the broken part of the cannon, with a smile on his face. 

[ Vengeance on the world]

Sephiroth quickly emerged cutting away at the remnants of the Junon cannon. He reappeared in a flurry of steel, cutting at Genesis with every ounce of strength he could muster, finally pressing Genesis with his absolute best.

Each and every stroke of his sword cut through the very ground beneath them, forcing genesis backwards more and more, though to Genesis' credit he did return every ounce of ferocity as Sephiroth gave him, clashing with his sword once again.

It was clear this becoming less and less a friendly sparring session and turning more into a battle of egos, especially on Genesis' side of things. 

Genesis eventually managed to break away, forcing Sephiroth backwards, and just as the two of them began to charge one another, to engage again Exodus and Angeal jumped in, stopping them both with their blades.

" ENOUGH!" Angeal yelled as he blocked Genesis' blade.

" Angeal, Samuel." Sephiroth muttered. He relented on his blade and backed away from Sam, who had stopped him. 

Genesis, however, seemed prudent to keep going.

" Out of my way!" Genesis shouted. He charged up a magic attack and used it to break the sword Angeal was holding.

However, as the blade snapped, the sharp part of it shot backwards and cut through Genesis' shoulder. 

" GENESIS!" Angeal shouted in a panic

" Shit!" Exodus cursed.

Genesis crumbled backwards, dropping his sword, and collapsed on one knee. 

The Vr room quickly shut down, due to the amount of energy the four men released in their final moments, leaving Genesis on the steel floor.

Genesis took a moment to catch his breath before speaking again.

" Just a scrape." He said. " I'm fine, don't worry." He then grabbed his blade and stood up. " Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return." Genesis muttered. He then stumbled out of the training room, alone, leaving Angeal and the others behind.

Exodus exhaled a sigh of frustration as Genesis vansihed. Whether it was a gut feeling or maybe foresight, he just knew that this incident would blow over so easily, and in hindsight, he was right. As this event would be the very trigger that would one day lead to the start of the end.