It was dark. There were many other aspects of the place, but the first thing Cloud realized was that it was dark. The second was a horrible smell, and the third was the sound of moving water.
Cloud pulled himself to his feet, glad to see that there was enough light to examine his surroundings. It was a sewer, Cloud discovered. Don Corneo had dumped them into a sewer. A moan distracted him.
“Ahh…” Aeris groaned, trying to steady herself with her Guard Stick. Cloud took her by the hand and helped her to her feet.
“You all right?”
“Cloud…?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Oh, good…” She looked around, then up. “Wow…that was a long drop…are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Cloud said, then turned to Tifa, who was starting to stir. He helped her to her feet as well. “Tifa? Ya dead?”
“No, man…” She steadied herself. “Phew, that’s not a fun smell!”
“No it’s not,” Aeris agreed, shivering. “We gotta get out of here, though, quickly.”
“Oh god…” Tifa sunk to her knees. “Barret, Marlene…the people of the slums…we can’t help them now!”
“We’ll escape!” Cloud broke in, “But come on! We can’t stop Shinra while sitting in the sewers!”
Tifa got to her feet and nodded. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go!”
It was not to be. A loud roar shook the sewers, followed by the splashing sounds of massive feet stomping the wet ground. Something was coming.
“Get ready…” Cloud muttered, giving his Bolt Materia to Tifa. She snapped it into a slot in her glove.
“What is it?” Aeris asked in a quiet voice, obviously nervous. Her question was answered immediately.
A huge green monster lumbered out of the shadows. It was an odd thing that seemed to resemble a crossbred bull and pig. Attached to its leg was a heavy iron ball that acted as a leash. On its neck there was a dogtag with the letters “Aps” engraved. Aps, Don Corneo’s freakish pet.
“Aeris, Tifa!” Cloud muttered, “Hit it with magic and I’ll split it open!”
“Oui, mon ami…” Aeris quipped.
Aps reared back, scanning his new playthings. What were they? Why had the Don given them to him? Oh well, he’d wash them up, and then eat them. He was pretty hungry. Aps stirred the water around him and called forth energies. The black waters began to rise behind the team of intruders until there was a wall of water.
“Hey, people, look out!” Tifa snapped them to attention just as the small tsunami roared forward. Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa were crushed by the fast mass of liquid, finding themselves lost in water. Water was up, water was down, and water was to the sides. Cloud scrambled to find the direction that was really up, but got the opposite: he swam straight into the ground. His vision clouded and his lungs begged for air, but before he could do anything, Tifa hauled him to his feet.
“Are you all right?” she asked frantically.
“Yeah,” Cloud responded after a few generous breaths, “Where’s Aeris…?” On cue, a bolt of fire flew through the air straight into Aps’s face. The monster reeled and screamed a deafening scream that floored all three warriors. The creature struggled to douse the flames that clouded its eyesight, succeeding just in time to see Cloud rushing at it, sword poised. Aps growled and lashed out with a massive fist, catching Cloud in the chest and rocketing him far back. Winded but not beaten, Cloud placed his hand on the glowing Restore Materia in his sword and concentrated on it. A green river of energies coursed through him, restoring his strength, healing his wounds.
Aps reeled as another blast of fire caught him in the arm. How were these people doing this? They were not magical! He sensed nothing magical about them! But those stones… Yes, the stones had power! He sensed it! He had to destroy those stones! Aps called forth more energies. The waters around him began to rise.
“Here it comes again!” Aeris cried, bracing herself. Aps’s Sewer Tsunami crashed into the trio. Cloud was unprepared, as was Tifa. They collapsed, weapons carried away by the current.
I don’t have a sword! Cloud screamed in his mind. He looked around frantically. He saw his sword in the corner, but he was given a head start towards it by Aps’ fist. Cloud slammed into the brick wall, and this time he didn’t get up.
Aeris had held her ground rather nicely. She continued to launch fire at the creature, hoping for results similar to the first. Aps finally left Cloud alone and barreled towards Tifa, who spun in the air, kicking Aps in the chest. Aeris took the opportunity to send another flame at the distracted beast. It didn’t do much, but Aps’s attention turned from Tifa to Aeris.
The behemoth charged towards the flower girl, horned head poised to kill. Aeris gasped slightly and held up her staff. Aps roared when she leapt out of his way. He lashed out, clawed hand ripping through the ground near her. Aeris drew a sharp breath, weaving away from the razor claws. Aps proceeded to roar gloriously and throw himself at her. By some miracle, Aps fell short; ugly face inches from Aeris, massive fists digging into the wet floor. With notable speed, Aeris lanced her staff into the monster’s eye, causing it to recoil all the way to its feet. Seeing Cloud and Tifa huddled in a corner, one nursing the other’s wounds, Aeris mad a beeline towards them. Flailing angrily, Aps finally got lucky. His fist found Aeris’s back, and the young woman took a ride.
Tifa got up and ran to Aeris, helping her to her feet. “Are you okay?”
Aeris nodded weakly. She was feeling the energy she hadn’t felt in years, channeling the power to her fingertips. But Aeris did not attack with her Limit skills. She whispered a few words in a long forgotten tongue, and a breeze came from nowhere. It began to sparkle with magic. Cloud felt his strength return, as did Tifa and Aeris herself. He got to his feet and grabbed his sword, Aeris’s healing wind having completely rejuvenated him.
Aps was growling and creating another tsunami. He sensed the magic stones. He had to get rid of them, for good this time! The wave shot forward.
“Get behind me, fast!” Cloud shouted. He slammed his massive sword into the ground, cowering behind it. It was now a shield. Tifa and Aeris crouched directly behind him. The full blunt of the wave hit the sword, and the rest was easily manageable. Tifa leapt to her feet, looking towards the creature. Too many falls had rendered Aps wet with sewer water. Tifa thought of lightning, and lightning came. It reacted wildly with the water, frying Aps good. Cloud felt his own strength building and multiplying. He had to get rid of it. He could easily finish Aps with his powerful bash, but he wasn’t feeling brutal for some reason. He felt…fancy.
Cloud raced towards the jolted Aps, bringing his sword straight up through the beast’s flesh. Aps shrieked in pain, but Cloud wasn’t done. He dragged the blade straight to the left, flying through the air with it, then pulled it down. He fell to the floor, bloodstained blade still itching to do more damage. Cloud slashed twice, diagonally up both times, forming an X in the bloody square outline he had created.
Aps shuddered and gave a dying scream, collapsing in a heap. Cloud settled down, leaning on the sword as Tifa and Aeris ran to his side.
“Damn, Cloud!” Tifa breathed, “You kicked that thing’s ass!”
Cloud just nodded as he rinsed off his sword in the dark waters. “Hey, Aeris…what did you find?”
“Materia!” Aeris replied, holding up a golden orb she had removed from Aps’s leash, “I think this thing makes you more alert!”
“How do you know?” Tifa asked.
Aeris held the Materia tightly and looked towards a small turtle creature that was wandering around a corner. “I…I know things about that turtle thing.”
“Like?” Cloud asked, intrigued.
“It’s young, for one. Weak against the Fire element.”
“You just…know that all of a sudden?” Tifa asked.
“It’s the Materia, it lets you Sense your enemy.” She snapped it into a slot in her personal bangle. “I’ll hold on to it, okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” Cloud stared down a dark tunnel. If he remembered correctly, there was a route under the city that would take them to the Train Graveyard in Sector 7. “Come on, we have to get moving. Shinra won’t wait for us.”
“Oh no!” Tifa’s face fell, “God…we’ve lost so much time!”
“Let’s go!” Aeris ordered, starting off, “Before we run out of time entirely!” She cast one final look at the dead Aps. “Or before someone throws up…”
The Sector 7 support pillar was an immense structure that towered over all the slums. Winding around the pillar like vines on a flagpole was a long metal staircase that led to the very top. At that height, a large computer sat against the stone. In that mainframe was a link to the top of the pillar, where explosives were stored to dislodge the pillar in case of emergency.
Reno of the Turks stared down at the upper Sector 7 from his perch atop the Shinra Building. He was waiting for both his comrade and a helicopter. After that, he would go to the mainframe atop the pillar and detonate the explosives, causing Sector 7 to disappear in a cloud of fire. Reno bristled a bit at the thought. As a Turk, he was much accustomed to executions, and had long ago trained himself to disregard all morals when business was involved. Business was everything to a Turk. Even so, Reno was a little disgusted this time. It just didn’t make sense. Destroy an entire Midgar sector, cause tons of needless deaths, just to eliminate a small group of revolutionists. Reno personally believed he and his fellow Turks could get the job done quicker and produce just as effective an outcome. But he never questioned orders. He disobeyed them once in a while, but he never questioned them.
“Reno.” Another man was on the helipad. Reno turned to greet his comrade and superior. The man wore a suit coat and plain pants, just like the other Turks, but his was pitch black instead of midnight blue, marking his rank somewhat. Shoulder length ebony hair covered his head, and his skin was just slightly tanned.
“Good evening, Tseng.” Reno nodded his head in greeting, “Are we on…?”
Tseng nodded. “Heidegger has dispatched his troops already. They’ve stormed the pillar and taken over the area around it. Normally, all we’d need to do is activate the plate release system, but…” That was why the Turks were needed here. Only a Shinra executive could activate a plate release system, so the soldiers already there couldn’t do it themselves. Reno absently fingered the clearance card in his pocket.
“What’s the problem?”
“I don’t know if you’d call it a problem.” Tseng had a cruel grin on his face.
“AVALANCHE turned out. They’re launching a counterattack.”
Reno whistled “All of them?”
“Everyone except the ex-SOLDIER and the Seventh Heaven’s poster girl.”
“They’re on the pillar?”
“Scaling it, and quickly. Our MPs aren’t holding out, we’re sending in the Aero Combatants. But they’ve chosen an interesting attack plan.” Tseng sat down on the cold ground and spread out a small map of the pillar. Reno took a seat as well. “Here,” Tseng pointed to a location a few staircases away from the top, “is where their leader, Wallace, is right now. We expect him to move up gradually. Almost breathing down his neck is this round guy. Almost four staircases down, we have the female. Near the bottom is the tough one.”
Reno saw what Tseng was thinking of. “They’re isolated from one another. We can pick them off one at a time.”
“We still have to trash the pillar,” Tseng pointed out, “But yes. AVALANCHE itself will die one way or another, and I’d much enjoy doing the fun part ourselves. Wouldn’t you?”
Reno smiled coldly as the sounds of a descending helicopter filled the area. “Yes, yes I would.”
“Are we there yet?”
“Tifa, really…”
“Cloud, I’m worried!”
“All right, all right…the Train Graveyard should be just above us…maybe this manhole opens…?” Cloud’s efforts were rewarded. The manhole opened and Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris crawled out into the mass of wrecked trains that made up the western section of Sector 7.
“All right,” Tifa ordered, “Let’s go. We can’t wait.”
“Yeah,” Aeris nodded agreement. “Cloud, do you know where we need to go?”
Cloud scanned the area. “Right over that train there is a path that should lead right to the pillar.” The train, however, was a massive wreck. Quite dangerous. “God, Aeris, I really shouldn’t have gotten you mixed up in this…”
“Hey!” she protested, “I hate the Shinra every bit as much as you do! I can’t just stand around knowing what I do now.”
“Aeris…” Tifa said in a quiet tone, “Thanks…really, thanks. I appreciate all you’ve done…AVALANCHE appreciates that statement.”
She curtseyed dramatically. “I try.”
The climb over the train began. Cloud lodged his sword into the side again, providing a step.
Tifa went up first, then helped Aeris.
“But you know…” the flower girl started, “I really can’t understand how someone like Corneo could become so rich.”
“Ugh, he was a pig!” Tifa spat.
“You didn’t have to go in a room with him…” Cloud grumbled, hoisting himself on top of the train and pointing down it. “We can actually just walk on top of this train and we’ll make it to the path.
“Right,” Tifa nodded and they started walking. “So, anyway, what was it like?”
“Excuse me…?”
“You know. Being a girl for a day, sleeping with a dwarf…” Tifa grinned evilly.
“I did NOT sleep with him!” Cloud was very red.
“Sure, sure!” Tifa pursued, “But what was it like to wear a dress? Who came up with that idea, anyway?”
“That would be me,” Aeris snickered.
“Well, you’re creative, I’ll give you that.” Tifa said in respect.
“Ah, I think Cloud enjoyed it a little! Didn’t you, Cloud?” Aeris smiled ever so sweetly.
Cloud grumbled things under his breath while the girls giggled amongst each other.
“But,” Tifa said suddenly, “Now that I think of it, Corneo is a great judge of character.”
“Yeah,” Cloud nodded agreement, “I noticed that, too.”
“I don’t know…” Aeris mused, “He implied that I was the youth of the group.” She frowned. “And actually, I think I’m older than you two…”
“Huh?” Cloud blinked. “I’m 21.”
“20,” Tifa replied in turn.
“Heh, I’m 22…” Aeris coughed a little. “I feel so old all of a sudden.”
“I feel so young!” Tifa shook her head, “By all rights, I shouldn’t be able to drink, much less
run a bar.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll slip your name to the Turks next time we meet with them,” Cloud joked.
“What will those creeps accomplish?” Tifa challenged.
“They’ll chase you around your bar and threaten you with their greatness and if you’re lucky, barrels will fall on their heads,” Aeris said in one breath.
Cloud smirked. “Yep, that’s about it.”
“Peachy…” Tifa replied. They stopped, having reached the end of the train car. One by one they jumped down, looking down the path towards the pillar.
“I hear gunfire…” Aeris stated.
“Me too…” Cloud was tensing. “Are we ready…?”
No one could answer. A small chariot appeared from the shadows and crashed into them, scattering the three like bowling pins. As soon as one stood, a ray of red energies hit them back down.
“Aeris, what IS it?” Cloud dodged another beam and stared at the odd creature. It resembled a white armored knight sitting in a dark chariot. It carried a large staff that seemed to resemble Aeris’s Guard Stick.
Aeris put her Sense Materia to use. “Eligor, undead creature. It’s weak to…” A beam from Eligor’s eyes shut her up. That HURT!
Tifa charged the creature with a noble cry, kicking it square in the face. Eligor reeled, then charged Tifa right back, staff poised to impale her. The broad side of Cloud’s sword fell in his path, and the staff was jarred out of Eligor’s grip. Aeris made a dash for the staff, intent on keeping it away from its master. Cloud slashed at the creature, making a neat gash. Eligor launched a beam to counterattack, hitting Cloud hard. Tifa used a fire spell, distracting the creature. Eligor charged towards Tifa, trying to mow her down. Cloud used the opportunity to work up a cure spell, but aimed it at the enemy this time.
A sparkling curtain of green energies appeared around Eligor, but instead of healing, Eligor shrieked in agony. Being an undead monster, the forces of life should cancel out its strength.
Cloud had counted on that, and it worked. Aeris appeared from behind the monster and spun her new staff in a helicopter motion, clonking Eligor in the head a few times. The demon collapsed in his own chariot and was still.
“No time to rest!” Cloud barked as he handed his team a potion or two, “Use these and get your Materia ready! We’re moving in!”
Biggs was, for the first time in his life, truly terrified. The rebel had been holding the base of the pillar stairs for the better part of the hour, mowing down MPs and the Attack Squads with his semi-automatic. The airborne Aero Combatant robots could just fly up past Biggs, but Jessie was up a few staircases, taking as many out as she could. Barret and Wedge were holding the top, desperately trying to keep any Shinra soldiers from reaching the mainframe that would end Sector 7. A crowd of onlookers had gathered at the base, thankfully ignored by the advancing Shinra. Biggs wondered idly if any of them realized the danger they were in.
It came, another attack. Three of Shinra’s Attack Squad members. They brandished the cheap, standard issue machine guns that Biggs oh-so-loved, simply because he could withstand about six bullets and walk off mildly wounded. They weren’t very powerful, no.
“All your firepower on him!” the leader cried, pointing up at Biggs. His last words. The rebel mowed him down with a three round burst, then threw himself to the floor as the salvo of bullets flew overhead. Aiming through the holes in the railing, Biggs shot one of them in the stomach. The third, now aware of Biggs’s attack position, fired low, trying to hit the crouched man, but AVALANCHE’s gunman leapt to his feet and fired again, dropping the enemy. At the same time, he saw three more soldiers coming. He did not dare risk firing now; he may hit one of the onlookers.
Just wait, he coached himself.
“See him?”
“Yessir!”
“Run in with guns blazing! Let’s go!”
Not yet…not yet…
“Fire! Fire!”
Now! Biggs unloaded about five shots that flew through the air, slicing into the attackers. Their screams filled the area and their shots, fired in terror, thunked into the steel around Biggs. He’d done it again. He had to get their ammo, though, lest he run out…
It came from the sky. He heard the whistle of death and knew he was too late, but turned anyway in a mixture of fear, shock, and distress. A few sickening noises filled his ears and suddenly there was red on all sides. He had been hit.
NO! he screamed mentally, How could it HAPPEN? The entire Sector is gonna die! Jessie! JESSIE! Be CAREFUL! Oh, God, why did we do it…why did we challenge them… He slipped into a weak state of unconsciousness just as he heard the footsteps of soldiers passing him by.
Flying at a moderate altitude, the Shinra Helicopter’s occupants smiled grimly. One of them, a man whose long black hair was being blown around by the wind created by the chopper blades, dramatically blew the smoke away from the barrel of his personalized machine gun.
“Nice shot, Boss,” Reno commended his superior.
“Hm,” Tseng nodded. “One down.”
“Yes.” Reno turned to the pilot. “Take us up and around! I see another one about halfway up!” The Turk looked to his shining golden nightstick, equipped with very deadly tasers on one end. “This one is mine. Make sure the chopper is level with the staircase.”
Jessie has seen the man in the helicopter shoot, but she had no idea who had been hit. She was preoccupied, anyway, with the flying Aero Combatants. The machines were small humanoids that held spinning chopper blades to keep afloat. The blades could also be wielded as powerful double-swords. She was mainly shooting down as many as she could, Barret and Wedge picking off the ones she missed.
From what Jessie could gather, there were two helicopters in the area. One held two men in dark clothing, she’d seen them clearly. The other held Shinra soldiers with guns. They were obviously leading some part of the operation, and as such were AVALANCHE’s main targets.
Barrret was doing his best, but he too was losing ammo. In all seriousness, this was a hopeless fight.
Since the second reactor bombing things had been going downhill. Cloud had been missing, Tifa went off in search of Don Corneo, and AVALANCHE had been forced to go into hiding. Not a day after, Wedge had burst into the bar screaming something about Shinra soldiers at the pillar. That could only mean one thing and Barret had known it. So, he’d paraded AVALANCHE over to the pillar to stop the Shinra from succeeding in their plot. Truthfully, Jessie had never felt so guilty. Because of her, many people were probably going to die. Many, many people, all of them innocents. Things couldn’t end the way they were now. She would fight to the death here.
She heard the sound of an approaching helicopter. She looked and breathed a sigh of relief. It was the same one that had been circling the pillar. It hadn’t ever attacked her, though someone had fired down towards Biggs earlier from that chopper. So, she tensed. She realized with a start that the chopper was uncomfortably close to the pillar this time…
It happened so fast; she never had a chance. Someone catapulted out of the chopper, right onto the stairs by Jessie. Before she could react, she felt a horrible pain in her abdomen; something had been slammed into her stomach. Winded, but not spent, she tried to stand, but suddenly, horrifying pain coursed through her body. Currents of electricity flew through every part of her, she was aware of nothing, only her slight scream.
Reno leapt onto the railing and sprang back through the air towards the helicopter, latching onto the rungs on the bottom, happy end of his taser still sparking. Tseng watched with a bit of awe, realizing again that Reno possessed physical capabilities of which Tseng could never hope to acquire. That was why he was so useful.
Reno pulled himself halfway up into the open door of the chopper; Tseng helped him with the rest. “Enjoy that?”
“Yep,” Reno brushed some dust off his suit coat, “Two down.”
Tseng frowned and looked to the top where Barret and Wedge were still going strong.
“Two to go. I think we shall make this quick. Pilot! Take us up!”
“What do you have in mind?” Reno raised an eyebrow.
Tseng didn’t answer. Instead he reached into his pocket and produced a hand grenade the size of a cantaloupe.
“Hoo boy!” Reno breathed, “You don’t take any chances, do ya?”
“No, no I don’t…” Tseng smiled.
Wedge muttered a curse as he changed magazines yet again. Shinra’s soldiers weren’t getting far, but there sure were a lot of them.
“How ya holdin’ up?” asked a nervous Barret.
“Not so well,” Wedge replied. “They’re coming in bigger herds this time. I wonder what Biggs and Jessie are doing?”
“Who knows?” Barret spat, shooting down an Aero Combatant.
“Whoa, chopper!”
Barret spun to see one of the two annoying helicopters lift above them. Before he could do anything about it, a large orb flew out of an open door in the chopper. Barret didn’t exactly know what it was, but he dove out of the way anyway. A wise decision.
“Wedge! Wedge, look OUT!” It was no use. The orb, a large grenade, it seemed, went off not two feet away from Wedge. The rebel let out a startled cry and felt himself being lifted into the air, blown clear off the tower by the blast.
Barret, stunned and seeing dots, crawled to the railing. Wedge was falling. The leader of AVALANCHE realized something horrible then. Wedge was dead. Biggs and Jessie were probably dead. And soon, he would be dead. Along with everyone else in Sector 7. Shinra had won.
God damn… he thought weakly, sinking to his knees, God DAMN you, Shinra! Everyone’s gonna die now…AVALANCHE…the people of the slums…Tifa…god I hope you don’t come back till this big pizza crushes us all…Marlene…oh no, god no, MARLENE! He let out a pained cry and rested his head against the railing, waiting.
“Wedge!”
“Oh god, is he still…?”
“I’m getting a pulse!”
“Wedge! Come on, Wedge, wake up! Please!”
Wedge felt nothing. He could hardly think. But he could still hear, and he recognized those voices. His eyes opened slowly and he saw several things he’d not expected. Firstly, both Cloud and Tifa were there, and for the longest time Wedge had thought them screwed. Tifa was staring down at him, teary eyed, obviously unprepared for something like this. Wedge realized with a start that she’d have to watch all of AVALANCHE slip away from her.
“Wedge, what happened?” this was Cloud. The mercenary looked genuinely worried, and that surprised Wedge. He’d never figured Cloud for the caring type. The more he thought about it, though, as long as Tifa and Cloud were here…could they help Barret? If he was still alive?
“C…Cloud…” he rasped, and just by hearing his voice everyone knew he was a goner.
“Tifa…Barret’s up there…” He broke off into a fit of coughing. “Help…him…”
“We will!” Tifa promised him, “I swear it!” But Wedge wasn’t listening any longer. He no longer had the ability.
Aeris stood somewhat away from her companions. She didn’t know these people, though she certainly felt for Cloud and Tifa.
“Oh, god…” Tifa stood and turned away from Wedge’s body. “Barret…we have to help him…Oh no, Barret…Marlene!” She turned to Aeris. “Um, Aeris…I was wondering if you could do something for me.”
“Sure,” Aeris agreed instantly, stepping up.
“Down that way and to the right,” she pointed, “There’s a bar called Seventh Heaven. In there is a little girl…”
“Say no more,” Aeris nodded. “I’ll take her to my house, okay?”
“Okay, thanks!”
“Good luck!” Aeris called as she left.
Cloud had been staring down the pillar. “Tifa. We don’t have much time.” He motioned up towards a helicopter. “The Turks are here.”
“Bastards…” Tifa spat, “They’ll pay for this!”
Cloud blinked. He thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Someone, actually, up a few staircases. “Is that…Biggs?”
Barret heard them coming. But for some reason, his depression began to dissolve. He would die, but not like this. He would fight. He would kill.
The big man pulled himself together and to his feet. He saw the blue of the MP uniform approaching him. Roaring gloriously, he charged down the stairs, opening fire. The MPs shrieked in terror, not suspecting the attack and utterly horrified at what was happening to them. One by one their body parts were disappearing. Bullets plowed into and through them.
Barret finished each one by beating them with the metal of his gun-arm, then stomping on their corpses. Shinra scum.
Tifa clenched her teeth, determined to be somewhat strong. Biggs had been shot several times through the shoulder and had been hit twice in the stomach. Somehow, he was still alive, but that was more a curse than anything.
“Cloud…? Tifa…that you?”
Tifa smiled at him. “We’re here. We’ll stop them.”
“Barret’s up there…” he rasped, “Go…help him. Leave me, go!”
Cloud feigned a salute and went on ahead, Tifa in silent pursuit. She was almost afraid to find Jessie. God, she hoped at least one member of AVALANCHE would pull through.
A whirring noise stopped them cold.
“Cloud…? What’s that?”
Cloud looked towards the sky. Five robo-men were dropping from the sky, each twirling a blade like a helicopter rotor. “Aero Combatants. One of Shinra’s more annoying soldiers.”
“We don’t have time for this!”
“No, we don’t.” He poised his sword. “You have the Lightning Materia. Cast Bolt a few times. I’ll finish the job. Go. Now!”
“That oughta keep them busy for a while,” Reno muttered, glaring down at the newcomers. It was Seventh Heaven’s owner and the man who’d outsmarted Reno in the chapel. The Turk would take extra joy in eliminating that particular enemy. “Now if only we could dispatch Wallace…”
But Tseng wasn’t listening. Instead, he was staring down at something in a manner such as a cow eyes an oncoming train. “She’s here.”
“What? Who?”
“The Ancient, Reno! They brought her here!”
Reno stared open mouthed at the flower girl, who was running off into the bowels of Sector 7. “By god, you’re right! But of course! That spiky headed guy served as her bodyguard last time! He must have brought her along!”
“It will make his death more pleasant to know that…” But Tseng seemed to have lost all interest in the pillar.
“Tseng, we have a mission to carry out…”
“Yes we do. It’s been going on for a while now, and I’m tired of losing the quarry. Can
you handle things here?”
“Of course. What do you have in mind?”
“Radio the other helicopter!” the leader of the Turks barked at the pilot, “Have them follow us.”
“It’s done,” he responded.
“Good. Head west, away from the pillar. We’re going to land. Both of us.”
The two choppers retreated from the battleground, heading east into a small clearing. The landing was fast and smooth.
“Don’t cut the engines,” Tseng ordered, “We won’t be down for long.” They disembarked the vessel. “Soldiers!” the ebony haired man called to the other chopper, “Come out and with me!” Five Shinra MPs jumped out and clustered around the two Turks. “You five will come with me. We have a new mission. Reno, you go in the other chopper. Return to the pillar and destroy it. Make haste!”
“I won’t fail,” was all the younger man would say, and entered the other chopper. Seconds later, both lifted off and headed in separate directions.
“You see her?” Tseng poked his pilot, motioning towards the woman leaving a bar carrying a small child. “We follow her. When she stops running, we land and pick her up. Understood?”
Cloud and Tifa raced up the stairs, the circulatory fluid of several Aero Combatants splattered on their persons. They were nearing the sound of gunfire from above that could be nothing other than Barret killing things. A few more stairs and they came across something they could have done without.
Jessie was sprawled out limply on the stairs; eyes open yet distant. She was in bad shape. Cloud thought he could detect the smell of fried flesh. She had been electrocuted. What the hell kind of sadist electrocutes?
“Cloud…?” Jessie spoke, realizing him. Her voice wasn’t raspy and hard like Biggs and Wedge. Rather, it was the voice of a depressed person, someone who was more sad than anything else. “I’d hoped…I’d see you alive…again…”
Oh, Cloud realized, she hadn’t known about his state since his fall. “We’re all right. We’re going to stop this!”
“Heh…confident as…usual.”
“Jessie…” Tifa couldn’t find words.
The doomed rebel turned her head slightly towards Tifa. “It’s…all right. Because of our actions, many…many people died… This probably is our punishment…”
She stepped back. “We’ll get them. I promise!”
Jessie gave the best nod she could. “Then…go.”
Cloud offered a sad smile and headed up, Tifa once more following slowly. Both were angry. Both had death on their minds.
Barret couldn’t quite believe it. They had come! Tifa was there, and so was Cloud! He was alive! The leader of AVALANCHE let out a whoop and went to meet them.
“Barret!” Tifa cried as soon as she saw him. They embraced quickly and Barret looked her over.
“You ain’t hurt! Guess you found something out from the Don, eh?”
“Wall Market is on my ‘to nuke’ list…” Cloud muttered.
Barret grinned at the mercenary. “Good to see ya alive, Cloud.” His response was a frown. “You…see them?”
“Yeah,” Tifa nodded slowly. “They’re in bad shape…Wedge, he…” She couldn’t continue.
Barret growled. “Damn Shinra…this time they’re goin’ too far!”
Cloud’s eyes were suddenly glued to an oncoming object. “We got trouble!”
Tifa and Barret looked in his direction. Sure enough, one of the helicopters was speeding right towards them. Someone was leaning out of an open door, too. Recognition hit Cloud like a brick. It was the Turk from the chapel, Reno! He was behind this! Cloud felt his spirits absolutely plummet. The Turk was holding a nightstick that flared with sparks at one end. A taser. Reno had gotten his vengeance, Cloud thought as he pictured Jessie.
“Shinra scum!” Barret howled, sending a volley of bullets up at the Turk. Reno leapt out of the chopper, weaving through the bullets like something inhuman. He landed on his feet, right next to Tifa. She spun in shock, and was greeted with Reno’s staff in her stomach. She lurched back away from her target, who sprinted towards the mainframe.
“No…!” Tifa choked. Cloud and Barret ran for Reno, who just pounded away on the keyboards, swiping a strange card through a slit.
“Too late!” Reno sang, “All I have to do is press this button, and…”
“No!”
“Boom!” Reno laughed cruelly, “That’s all folks! Mission accomplished!”
“We have to stop it!” Tifa screamed at a frozen Barret and Cloud, “Somehow! Come on, please!”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, madam,” Reno said, voice now low and threatening. “No one gets in the way of Reno and the Turks.” Then, just like that, he wasn’t by the mainframe anymore. Instead, Tifa found herself screaming in pain as Reno introduced his taser to her chest. Electricity flew through her body, jolting her away from her attacker.
“Tifa!” Cloud gasped, fumbling for his Restore Materia. Reno didn’t give him a chance. The agile Turk dashed towards Cloud, spinning his staff like a baton, bashing Cloud in the gut a few times. Before Cloud could react, the shaft of the weapon found his face. The mercenary reeled back in shock and pain.
Barret let out a mighty cry and let loose a hail of bullets. Reno rolled out of the way, but nevertheless received a few hits. His personalized bangle hummed softly, reminding Reno that he couldn’t keep doing that. The big one would be troublesome. He had to be incapacitated.
Barret growled and raised his gun at Reno’s face. He fired three shots. Reno snatched something from the pocket of his suit and held up his hand. A bright flash of light filled the area and Barret’s deflected bullets clattered to the floor.
“Lil’ coward! Hidin behind yer Turk Lights…ARGH!” Reno had barreled into him, lancing his nightstick into Barret’s chest. Before the large one could react, the Turk planted his feet on Barret’s midsection and used him as a springboard to rocket himself away. Barret staggered, annoyed. Without missing a beat, Reno turned to Barret and held out the end of his nightstick that did not sport a taser. From it erupted a mass of golden energies that surrounded and consumed Barret, eventually forming a pyramid around him.
“ARRUGH!” Barret bellowed, following up with a stream of unfriendly language about Reno’s mother.
“Barret?!” Cloud pulled himself to his feet.
“Just try to break it!” Reno laughed, pointing his staff at Cloud.
But the blond man had other ideas. He channeled his energy into a curtain of magic. The air around Tifa sparkled with a green light. She slowly rose to her feet.
“Help Barret!” Cloud called, “I’ll deal with him!” Reno didn’t waste any time. A beam of energy shot forth at Cloud, who rolled speedily out of the way. He was on his feet quickly, charging towards Reno. The Turk didn’t wait for the sword to fall. Rather, he jumped slightly to the right, out of range, and dropped to the floor. He swung his legs around, sweeping Cloud. The mercenary fell to the ground with a thud. He felt Reno’s taser upon his back. He decided to use the same trick Reno had. He swung his Buster Sword around in an arc towards Reno’s legs. The Turk had no time to think, only to react. He jumped over the blade, thus removing his staff from Cloud’s back. Soon enough, he felt Cloud’s feet crash into his chest. Reno fell over backwards.
Tifa pounded the pyramid with all her strength. With each blow, the barrier around Barret weakened. The background noise of Reno and Cloud fighting did not help her concentration, either. Finally, though, one strong blow caused the pyramid to shimmer and fade away.
“Thanks!” Barret breathed a sigh of relief. They turned to the others. Reno had his nightstick up, defending himself from Cloud’s slashes. The staff must have been pretty strong, Barret reasoned, since Cloud’s sword wasn’t doing much to it. Occasionally, Reno would swing his staff at Cloud, but no one rarely hit. It was clear that Reno lacked a projectile weapon. His weakness, no doubt.
Tifa glared at the Shinra agent, making use of the Lightning Materia. She had used it many times on the trip up here, and was feeling quite good at it. Barret in turn raised his gun.
Cloud swung hard, catching Reno off guard. He stumbled backwards, staff taking the full force of the blow. He raised the nightstick, ready to send another pyramid, but a blast of lightning found him, followed by a barrage of bullets. All of them hit. Reno choked once, feeling the blood on his chest, and staggered from the electricity. A taste of his own medicine, Cloud thought.
The Turk grumbled obscenities. His Bangle shuddered continuously; it was spent. Reno looked towards the regrouping AVALANCHE. He could still fight, but…how long could he hold out? A ray of light reflected off his watch, reminding Reno to check it. It was a specialized watch given to each Turk. It didn’t seem like much to Reno, except he often found good news by looking at it. This was one such case. Reno smiled with satisfaction; his mission was over. He had detained AVALANCHE for far too long. Even if they had a chance, they could never stop the Plate Release System. Actually, Reno thought, he hoped they tried.
“It’s been fun!” he boomed happily, despite his obvious injuries, “But it’s about that time.” He raised his nightstick to the sky. The taser flared three times. The team of rebels didn’t realize Reno was summoning his chopper until they saw the wounded Turk running for it. He leapt clear off the pillar and grabbed onto the rung of the helicopter. An MP helped him in and the chopper sped off.
“Daring lil’ bastard…” Barret muttered.
“The computer!” Tifa cried, running for it. She scanned it, trying to think of something to do. “God, if only Jessie were here!”
Cloud frowned, somewhat unbelieving. There was a sound in the distance, and it was getting closer. It sounded like…another helicopter? But…who? Why?
“Cloud!” Tifa yelled, “Can’t you do something?”
“Like what?” he retorted, nervous and confused.
“Yes, like what!” a new voice boomed, none too triumphantly. It was indeed another chopper and it was lowering towards them. Standing on the platform above the bottom rungs, there was a dark clothed man with jet-black hair, grinning like a fool. A Turk, Cloud realized. An important one, too, from the looks of him.
“Tseng…” Barret growled, “I was wonderin’ if I’d ever get to meet you.”
“I can’t deactivate it…” Tifa said sadly before she noticed the Turk.
“How true,” Tseng smirked. “Only a Shinra executive can disarm a Plate Release System. And that one’s special, you know. It’ll blow the second some stupid jerk touches it!”
“You Shinra spy!” Barret spat, raising his gun-arm to the sky. “I’ll fill you with lead!” He sent a three round burst up at Tseng, who wisely retreated into the inside of the chopper. He poked his head out, staring down angrily.
“I wouldn’t do that…”
“Why not?” Barret challenged, readying another burst.
“Because,” Tseng stepped back outside, “You might make me injure our special guest.” He stood to the side so everyone could look into the chopper.
Cloud recoiled as if struck. “No!” he whispered fiercely, “God no!”
“Aeris!” Tifa gasped.
“Who?” Barret asked.
“She saved Cloud,” Tifa explained.
“What are you going to do with her?” Cloud asked, angry as all hell and showing it.
“Heh heh,” Tseng cackled, “I haven’t decided yet.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tifa hissed.
“Whatever our company wants it to mean,” Tseng began to gloat, “Our orders were to find and capture the last remaining Ancient. It’s been a long time, but now I can finally report this success to the President.”
“Ancient?” Barret frowned, puzzled.
“Simpleminded fool!” Tseng scoffed.
Aeris leaned to her side, sticking her head out of the open door. “Tifa! I found her! She’s safe!”
“Be quiet!” Tseng growled and slapped Aeris, putting his all into it. The flower girl snapped back, retreating into the chopper.
Cloud’s glare was poison. “Bastard! Leave her alone!”
Tseng just smirked. “You know, I’d enjoy sitting you down and having a good conversation with you, traitor.”
“Traitor?” Cloud growled. He’d come to hate that word, for reasons no one else knew.
“Yes, traitor. I really would. Except you seem to have a bit of a dilemma.” He tilted his head towards the top of the pillar, which was beginning to hum.
“Oh, god…” Tifa felt sick.
Tseng motioned to Aeris. “Well, I’m glad you got to see each other one last time! Farewell, AVALANCHE!” Tseng took a seat and his chopper gained altitude, then sped off in the same direction Reno’s had. At the same time, the top of the pillar began to spout fire.
“SHIT!” Barret howled, but his emotions died there. They had failed. But they were not dead.
Tifa ran to the computer, pressing buttons frantically.
“Tifa, no!” Cloud called, “Remember what Tseng said?”
But she wasn’t listening.
“Hey!” Barret called. He was holding onto a cable that had fallen from the pillar. It was attached to another, clear across the sector. Barret figured they could be George of the Jungle stunt devils. “All aboard! We’re blowin’ this joint!”
Tifa slammed her fist clear through the mainframe screen and ran to Barret, Cloud following suit. Tifa climbed on top of Barret, putting her legs over his shoulders and holding onto his neck, careful so as not to choke him. Cloud wrapped himself around Barret’s waist. They all fit.
“Geronimo!” Barret cried and jumped off the Sector 7 support pillar. Everyone held on tight as they rode the cable like a vine. Behind them, the pillar exploded into a column of fire, and the plate above began to creak…
High above Midgar, President Shinra stared down at Sector 7 as its edges began to glow with fire. Two helicopters sped up from the doomed area just as it began to sink. Seconds later it all disappeared into flames so bright it lit up all of Midgar.
“Fare thee well, AVALANCHE,” Shinra smiled thinly and returned to his desk. He still had work to do.