Final Fantasy: Part 1

by MetalDuck

A story.

Based off the video game.

Characters

Neith- A 17 year old warrior

Barret- A Hispanic 35 year old with a gun instead of a right arm

Jessie- Neith's 16 year old girlfriend.

Aires- 17 year old girl who is very fond of Neith.

Slash- A wild tiger. An experiment tester for Shinra.

Biggs- An Avalanche member. Wears a black band over his eyes.

Wedge- An Avalanche member. Tries to act like a gangster.

Jack- An Avalanche member. Very good with computers.

Val Shinra- President of Shinra, leader of Midgar.

Reno- A Shinra soldier disguised as a suburbian.

Eustace Cobra- Neith's father. A Cloaked Sage.

Sepiroath- Neith's uncle sacrificed his brother-in-law to the cloaked sages.

The Don- Ruler of Slums and Dorders where Aires lives.

Maevae- Barret's daughter.

Quench- The leader of the Cloaked Sages.

Victoria- Neith's mother. Killed when Serpiroath kissed her.

Numerous Shinra, Avalanche Soldiers, and Cloaked Sages.

Note- In this story, The world is called Midgar. Suburbs of the capitol, Midgar City, are called Sectors. The country is called Marsh Continent. The year is 2075.

1

All was quiet in the town of Midgar City, the capital of Midgar, which used to be called Earth.

Two guards of Shinra, a company that ruled the world, were standing by the train station. They heard a whistle out in the distance. A train was coming.

The two drowsy guards rubbed their eyes and got ready to inspect the train.

As it pulled into the station, the guards noticed something. They had always tried to spot the driver. Just to see if it was a Shinra or a terrorist.

They had eventually gotten very good at seeing the driver. But this time was different.

There was no driver. It was operated by a robot.

The two guards looked at each other and nodded. They got out their guns and loaded them. The doors to the train slid open.

In a flash, two men jumped out and killed the guards immediately. They shouted something inside the train and three other men jumped out.

One of them was very fat and had a gun instead of an arm. One was slim and wore a black band over his eyes, but somehow could see everything. And one of them was a small 17 year old who had blond hair.

"Alright newcomer," said the fat man, Barret. "Follow me."

2

The teenager, Neith, followed Barret and his assistants, Wedge who was also rather fat, Jack who was very smart and had a long beard reaching to his elbows and Biggs who wore the band over his eyes.

They were a resistance group trying to overthrow Shinra and regain freedom on Earth (Midgar). The group name was Avalanche.

"So what exactly are we doing?" Neith asked as he ran to keep up with Barret.

"I told you, there is a weapon somewhere in the sewers that the Shinra are using to destroy all resistance. It will kill us if we don't kill it first."

"Boss we found the gate!" Jack said.

"Perfect!" Barret cried and ran over. "Follow me Neith. And bring your sword too!"

Neith drew his sword from his back and braced himself. He was ready for any kind of challenge.

Jack, Barret and Wedge were tampering with some sort of computer while Biggs and Neith stood guard. Barret said that there were not that many Shinra in Midgar City since there was a recent famine, but he wanted to be absolutely sure of it.

"We got it!" Wedge said.

Neith and Biggs went over and saw what was going on. There was a small wheel and Barret began to turn it. Suddenly, a door swung open that was attached to the wheel.

"Alright Neith." He said. "Come with me."

"And Barret remember, the train leaves exactly five minutes after you press the button so time wisely!" Jack said.

"Train?" Neith turned to ask, but the door had already closed. They were trapped in the sewer.

"Amazing, isn't it." Barret said.

Neith looked over the edge of the rail they were standing on. It went down very, very far.

"Come on." Barret said.

Neith followed him. He did not ask any questions. Even though he had a decent amount of them.

"There it is." Barret said. He pointed to a wide open space made entirely out of wire.

"It looks like a battlefield." Said Neith.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" screamed Barret but it was too late.

3

"W..What did I do?" asked Neith.

"Battlefield was the word…"

Suddenly, a giant red scorpion landed on the battlefield.

"Battlefield activated the weapon. We could have gotten away without fighting this thing." Barret said. "But it's too late for that now!" he loaded his gun. "Sayonara scorpion!" he cried and released the bomb loading inside.

The scorpion immediately died.

"That wasn't much of a weapon." Neith said.

"That wasn't the weapon." Barret said with a grim expression on his face.

"What?"

"Its no wonder the train leaves in five minutes! A bomb starts it!"

"A bomb?!" cried Neith.

"Yes!" he cried. "RUN!"

Neith and Barret began to run. They ran as hard as they could in order to catch the train that would leave in five minutes. Neith started to fall behind. Then, in a flash, Neith fell into the wiring.

"BARRET!" he screamed in terror. "HELP ME BARRET! I'M STUCK! HELP ME!"

"You snooze you lose kid!" Barret cried and ran off.

"NO!" then Neith tried to break free. He reached for his sword and grabbed it. He cut the wiring… but it fell far below. Neith grabbed on to the hole in the path and climbed up. That had taken at least a minute. They had been running at least three before that.

Neith ran faster than he ever dreamed he could… or would. Barret was nowhere to be seen.

Then, to Neith's horror, he heard a train whistle. The train was leaving without him!

Suddenly, Neith heard an explosion far behind him. It was the bomb. The bomb set off the train. Neith could even hear the railroad tracks.

"Its right below me!" he cried out loud. "If I could just…"

He smelled the smoke coming fast. The explosion would suffocate him if he did not find a way out soon. Running was not an option. He had to cut a hole in the ground and get on the train from there.

But he may have already missed it.

He pushed that thought aside and continued working. The cement started to become less sturdy. He was feeling it pushing out of a hole. He felt himself falling.

Suddenly, smoke engulfed him. Neith could not even see his own hands. He had trouble breathing.

Suddenly, Neith fell. The small hole he cut collapsed right in the nick of time.

Neith fell onto a bridge. Somehow, he had cut a hole into the sky and fallen above the train. He would ask Barret about the science of Midgar when he got on the train.

But to his horror he saw that the train was far ahead of him!

Neith instantly began to run. He knew there was no hope. But suddenly, the smoke came hurling toward him. When Neith cut a hole in the sky, the smoke had gone through. Midgar City was going to be destroyed!

Neith jumped onto a house and jumped on a building. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop until he began to catch up to the train that was slowing down due to the smoke. Neith started to have trouble breathing. He looked on the train. It was going too fast for him to run and jump on.

He looked and finally saw a small opening on the roof. It was definitely big enough for him to fit through. Neith ran until he was ahead of it. He jumped.

4

"What do you think happened to Neith?" Wedge asked. Biggs, Barret, Wedge and Jack were sitting in the storage area on the top of the train. They were stowaways. The train was full of Shinra.

"Are you really that stupid Wedge?" Barret said. "Of course he died. Its cause I wouldn't help him get out of a hole or something."

"You wouldn't help him?" Biggs asked. "He's only a kid."

"He needs to learn to survive in the real world!" Barret shouted. "There will not always be somebody there to help him! He needs to be prepared now."

"But he was seventeen."

"Now you are going to blame me for the death of some kid?" shouted Barret.

Nobody could reply to this. Barret looked at his gun-arm.

"The only way I could have saved him was if I blew the wire up. Unfortunately that would have killed us both."

Again, silence. But there was an instant patter.

"What the hell is that?"

"SHHHHHHHHHH!" Jack said. "It's a person's foot. Someone is running on the roof."

Barret loaded his gun. Suddenly, Neith popped down into the opening.

"What?" Barret cried.

"Neith your alive!" Wedge cried.

"Yes. But I'm afraid Midgar City is going down in smoke." Neith said. "I cut a hole in the ground to fall down on top of the train. And I fell from the sky! How is that possible?"

The only person who knew the answer to that was Jack. Jack knew a lot about Midgar's history.

"Neith, do you remember your father?" Jack asked.

"No." Neith said. "I don't."

"That is probably because your father is a cloaked sage."

"What is a cloaked sage?"

"A cloaked sage is a spirit. They help keep Midgar together. The cloaked sages have powers that can bend the universe… or even the mind. There are thirteen cloaked sages. And I am thinking that your father was one. You must have inherited his powers when you were born."

"You mean I am part wizard?"

"Yes…" Jack said. "That is good… but it is also bad. The sages can detect anything. They hear what we are saying now, Neith. The sages can become angry if they find out there are other powers like them out in Midgar. If a cloaked sage ever finds out you have powers, you must carry around with you, a piece of metal. For the rest of your life. Because a cloaked sage gets burned by metal."

"But I have touched metal." Neith said. "And I have never been burned by it."

"That is because your mother was an ancient." Jack said. "An ancient is when someone is impervious to anything. An ancient will never die unless kissed by a cloaked sage. That is the only thing that can kill an ancient. A cloaked sage's kiss."

"But what about me?" Neith asked.

"Apparently, some of the powers apply to you." Jack said. "You are not burned by the sight or touch of metal. At least not all the time. And 50 percent of the time a cloaked sage's kiss will not kill you if you are happened to be kissed by one. And then of course some things can kill you. And some things cant."

Neith took a moment to let it all soak in.

"Neith lets just put it this way." Biggs said. "You are beyond human."

Suddenly, as Barret spoke those words, the train stopped.

"We are here." Barret said. "Sector 7. A suburb of Midgar City."

"I think I used to live here." Said Neith.

"You did." Wedge said. "And someone who lives here wants to see you. Apparently you haven't talked to each other in three years."

"Who would that be?" Neith asked.

"You'll see." Barret said climbing out of the top opening. "Look. There is the plate. Installed by the Shinra. It powers much electricity. But if it would ever hit the ground… uhhhh." Barret shivered. But little did any of the Avalanche members know, the plate would fall sooner than they thought…

5

"Neith!"

"Hi Jessie."

Neith, Barret and the others from Avalanche traveled to a bar located in the middle of Sector 7. It was owned by Neith's childhood friend, Jessie. Jessie was 16 but had inherited the bar from her late father. She had long brown hair that was tied into a ponytail and wore a white shirt.

"Gosh, how long has it been? Three years?"

"I think so." Neith said. "I went to fight against Shinra in Avalanche. That's why I am here."

"You mean you didn't come back for the promise?" Jessie asked.

"What?"

"Don't tell me you don't remember the promise you made to me a couple years ago."

"Oh… yeah…"

The promise was a blur in Neith's mind. He remembered one night when he couldn't sleep, he climbed on a rock outside of Sector 7, where he was living at the time. He was startled to find Jessie, his next-door neighbor climb up right by him.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she had said.

"Yeah, I suppose." Neith had replied. He was quite fond of Jessie. Jessie felt the same way. But he did not enjoy being with her. He knew that he was becoming part of the resistance against Shinra, and if they knew he was seeing someone, they would harm her as well.

"Why are you out here?" Neith had asked. "You know about the Shinra's curfew."

"I followed you, Mr. I follow the curfew" Jessie said. "You seem troubled Neith. Is anything wrong?"

It took Neith a while, but he came out with "Don't you ever feel like we are being pushed around? I mean seriously. The Shinra are like slave drivers."

"Yes, I suppose you could say that but… you seem more distraught."

"I don't know." Neith had said. "I just… never mind. You don't understand."

"I'm distraught too, Neith." Jessie said. "My father recently passed away. He left me his bar."

"I'm sorry."

"Neith, I have nobody to turn to. My mother is in a Shinra prison, my brother and father are dead. The world is a scary place when you are all alone in it." There was a long silence before any of them said anything else.

"Neith, can you make me a promise?"

"Sure… I suppose…"

"If I am ever in a bind, I want you to be there for me."

Neith thought for a moment. "Okay." He had said. "I promise."

That was three years ago. This was now.

"Jessie…" Neith said. "Is it too much to ask if the five of us slept in your basement? Just for tonight."

"Of course." Jessie said. "It is very big. I can bring you anything."

"Thank you." Neith said. He went over to the arcade machine and pressed a hidden button. It was where Jessie and her family hid when the Shinra raided their house.

Barret, Biggs, Wedge and Jack had already made themselves comfortable. Neith went over and sat next to Barret.

"It's a nice city huh?" Barret said. "My daughter Maevae lives somewhere round here. My wife was killed by the Shinra after. That's why I want to destroy them. To avenge her."

"Yeah." Neith said. "It's great. That's why I can't wait to get out of here."

"Why not?" Barret asked. "Is it cause of Jessie?"

"I don't want to have a girlfriend." Neith said. "Not while I am in Avalanche. Its just I'm putting her in jeopardy. I was going to come back last year and ask her to marry me… but I changed my mind."

"That's why you want to help destroy Shinra." Barret said. "So you can love this girl. I understand your position. I understand…"

Neith awoke the next morning to find that Barret, Biggs, Wedge and Jack had packed. Neith threw some clothes on and went upstairs. Jessie was getting the others drinks.

"Morning Neith!" she said. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine…" Neith said.

"Neith I need to talk to you." Jessie said. They both went downstairs.

"Neith…" Jessie started. She looked at his shirt. It was dirty. She just kept looking. "Neith, I wanted to tell you, I want to come with you. And help you destroy Shinra."

"WHAT?"

"Really. Barret said I could and remembering all that stuff you said about them being slave drivers and us being free. Remember. The night of the promise. That was exactly three years ago."

"But… it's much too dangerous" Neith said. "I won't have you risk your life for a plan that won't even succeed!"

"Phhhhh! Plan?" Barret said. "We don't have a plan!"

"Were you eavesdropping?" Neith asked.

"No. You should hear how loudly you two are talking."

Neith thought for a moment. He really did want Jessie to come. But still…

"Alright, fine." Neith said. "You can come with us until we reach Shinra Tower. That is much too dangerous for you."

"Oh, thank you Neith!" Jessie said. "You won't regret it!"

"I'm afraid I already have…"

6

Neith, Barret and Jessie had left Sector 7 and headed toward the train station where they came. Wedge, Biggs and Jack had stayed behind to make sure Shinra terrorists would not come to make the plate fall.

They had climbed aboard the train. It was much nicer now. There were more people on the train than just Shinra, so they did not have to hide.

Barret sat next to this one man who would not remove his face from a newspaper he was reading. It quite annoyed him.

"Excuse me sir." Barret said. The man still did not remove his face. "I said LOOK OVER HERE YOU BASTARD!" Barret shouted and ripped the newspaper. It was simply a small buisness man, not a Shinra.

"Barret!" Jessie cried. "You are being paranoid!"

"I'm just trying to protect everyone here from the Shinra!" Barret shouted.

Everyone could hear what they were saying. But one of the men on board the train was indeed a Shinra in disguise.

He got up to go to the bathroom. But he did not intend to go straight there. The bathroom was in the neighboring car, and since they were in the last car of the train, they would have to cross.

The Shinra in disguise opened the door and crossed into the other car. As he entered the next-door car, he cut the circuit that held the two cars together.

"The boss will indeed be pleased…" the man said to himself as he watched the car with three members of Avalanche ride into the distance.

"BARRET! THE CAR HAS BEEN CUT OFF FROM THE CIRCUIT!" Neith cried.

"Oh my god!" Jessie cried. "What are we going to do?"

"Stay calm!" Barret said. "I have an idea! We tie a rope to somebody and tie it to the car. The person can simply drag the car to a stop. Any volunteers?"

"I volunteer!" said Jessie. "I have always wanted to have an adventure like this!"

Neith did not reply. He would let Jessie do this. He could not be there forever.

Soon, the rope was tied around Jessie's waist and onto a pole.

"Ready?" Barret shouted.

"Ready!" Jessie shouted back. She jumped out and landed on the railroad track. She started to drag her feet. He soles on her shoes started to break.

Neith and Barret were stabilizing the rope to ensure if it breaks they would catch her.

"IT'S WORKING!" Neith shouted. It was true. The train was slowing down. But only by a little.

Suddenly, the rope broke. But past Neith and Barret.

Jessie, Neith and Barret went flying toward the wall, away from the car. They hit the wall and fell down on each other.

They heard the screams of the people on the car. Then they heard a crash and an explosion.

Then it was silent.

7

"What happened?" Jessie asked, rubbing her numb head.

"The rope became untied from the pole." Barret said. "Now everyone on that car is dead."

"But how did the car break the circuit?" Neith asked. "It can't just come undone."

"I saw a man cross into the car right before it happened." Barret said. "He looked suspicious."

"Well now all we need to do is find a way out of here." Neith said. "How long do you think it will take to make it back to Sector 7?"

"On foot?" Barret asked. "You must be joking. That would take a day!"

"Then we need to find a faster way to make it out of here alive." Jessie said. "I'm cold. And hungry. And thirsty."

"I say we go that way!" Neith said pointing in the direction of where the car crashed. "Maybe there is food."

"Fine." Barret said. "You lead the way."

They walked less than an hour before they found the site of the crashed railroad car.

"Hello?" Neith called.

"Is anyone alive?" Barret called.

There was no reply. There must have been ten tons of debris and dead bodies. It was hopeless. There was no way to the other side.

"This was stupid!" Barret said. "We walk a half hour to this dump and then we have to waste another half hour and go back! That's where we started!"

"Barret look!" Jessie said. "Its plutonium. From the train. Fire it at the pile."

"NO!" Barret said. "It would have to go somewhere. It would probably come flying at us. If the force of the debris did not kill us, we would suffocate."

"Please." Jessie said. "We don't have much time. It's our only hope!"

"Fine." Barret picked up the small piece of plutonium and put it in his gun-arm. "Stand back." He warned. He loaded the gun and fired.

For a second, the world was simply a flash for the three. Then, all the debris came flying toward them. Barret quickly shot a big hole in the ground and they crouched in it, hoping that they would be safe.

Fortunately, they were. But there was something else they saw once the rubble was out of the way. There was a vent. Big enough for Barret to fit through.

"They knew it was here." Neith said. "They broke the rail so they could hide this vent from us. There has to be something on the other side of that vent!"

"Fine." Barret said. He shot the gate open and climbed in. Jessie and Neith followed. Neith took the gate and held it against the entrance so nobody else could get in. They were in the vent.

8

It was rather cramped in the vent. There was hardly any room to move their arms. Barret was either squeezing through or Jessie was pushing him. Either way, it got the job done. Finally, after what seemed like an incredibly long time, they found another gate.

Barret broke it open and squeezed through. Jessie and Neith jumped through and fell to a bridge far below.

"Where are we?" Neith asked.

Barret and Jessie did not know either. They had ended up in the middle of nowhere.

Suddenly, Barret started to hear footsteps. Then Jessie and Neith. Someone or something was headed their way.

All of a sudden, the three paths that the bridge led to were filled with Shinra soldiers. They all had red uniforms and a red cap. They all held a loaded rifle. Someone was pushing through them to the intersection where Neith, Barret and Jessie were standing. It was President Val Shinra.

"Well what have we here?" Shinra said. "I don't recall ever seeing you around here before."

"That's because we don't know where we are." Neith said. "You screwed up the entire cities. And Midgar."

"Are you mad? We saved Midgar."

"You are killing innocent people and making them leave their homes so that you can power your ridiculous technology that is destroying and polluting Midgar." Barret said. He started to load his gun-arm.

"Ah, but we need the technology to destroy resistance summoners like you." Shinra said. "I'm afraid I won't be seeing you around. Come along men." Shinra said. All the soldiers walked away, the way they came.

"That was odd." Barret said. "I never would have thought President Shinra would give up this easily."

As if on cue, a giant robot fell down on the intersection. Jessie and Barret stood on one path, Neith on the other. The robot was blocking them.

"I knew he was preparing us for something!" Jessie cried. Soon they were in battle. Barret shot the robot several times. Jessie punched it and Neith slashed it with his sword.

Suddenly, Neith focused on all the energy he had. He ran at the robot and killed it. But how he killed it was the interesting part.

His sword turned the robot to ice, and then a bolt of thunder came and struck the robot, melting it into hundreds of ice cubes. And to make things even stranger, there was no hole or anything in the ceiling.

Then, there was a massive explosion. Neith went flying over to where Barret and Jessie were. But there was a hole in between. Neith hung on to a wire. He was too far down for Jessie or Barret to hoist him up. He was utterly doomed.

"Neith!" Barret cried. "Grab on to my gun."

"I can't reach." Neith said. "What happened there?"

"It was more powers from the cloaked sages." Barret said.

"Barret…" Neith cried. "I'm slipping…"

"Neith grab on to this wire!" Jessie said taking a small wire from the side.

"Too late…" Neith said. "Take care of Jessie for me…"

Neith fell.

9

Neith did not know how far down he fell. All he remembered was that he crashed into something, probably made out of wood. Then, he landed on something soft.

"Are you alright?" someone asked. Neith sat up. It was a girl. He looked around and discovered that he had fallen through the roof of a church and landed on a flowerbed. A small girl, probably about his age was next to him. She had brown hair tied in a ponytail. Sort of like Jessie.

"The others!" Neith cried. "I've got to find them!"

"Are you alright?" the girl asked again. "You fell through the roof and landed on my flowerbed. It sure did well though."

"Sorry…" Neith said. "I'm alright. I'm just kind of in a hurry. My names Neith by the way."

"I'm Aires." Said the girl.

"Do you know where I am?" asked Neith.

"This is a suburb of Midgar City called Slums and Dorders. Some people call it Sector 5. But we adopted our own…well… independence."

"I fell down two whole sectors?" Neith asked.

"What do you mean?" Aries asked. "Sector 7 is not above there."

My cloaked sage powers… thought Neith. He must have bent the universe again when he fell. His powers had saved his life.

"Aries, do you know how to get back to Sector 7?" Neith asked.

"Yes." Aries said. "There is a gate about 5 miles from here that is about 10 miles to Sector 7. It's about a three day walk."

"Three days! I don't have three days! I need…"

"Yo, Aries!"

Aries and Neith turned around to see a man walking in front of two other men. Their leader was a man who looked a lot like Biggs. His hair was red, but sticking up, and he had a headband on, although not over his eyes. He wore a dress suit. The men behind him looked like hitmen.

"What do you want Reno?" Aries asked.

"What do you think I want?" Reno asked. He spoke like someone in the mob and he held a cigarette. "Who's your boyfriend?"

"I am not her boyfriend!" Neith shouted. "And you had better leave. Or else."

"Oooo. The new guys threatinin' me!" Reno said. "You know what I do to guys like you? I kick their sorry little ass."

"You can't hurt anyone in a church!" Aries cried. "You'll go to hell!"

"I'll kill you too!" Reno said. He snapped his fingers and the two men behind him chased after Neith and Aries. They jumped on a ladder. The ladder led to a staircase that went to the top of the church. There was the hole that Neith had made when he fell.

Perfect. Neith thought. He ran up the staircases and jumped on top of the ceiling. Aries followed. Soon, Neith and Aries were on the roof of the church. They jumped down just before the hitmen grabbed them.

"I'll find ya, eventually!" Reno cried. "And when I do, I'll kill ya!"

Neith and Aries simply ignored that.

"Neith that was a brilliant plan." Aries said.

"Thanks." Neith said. "Aries… could I ask you to lead me to Sector 7. I need to get there. Jessie is waiting…"

"Who's Jessie?" Aries asked.

"Um… Jessie is well a girl…"

"Is she your friend?"

"Yeah."

"Is she a girl-friend?"

"Um…yeah…"

"Oh….okay." Aries said.

"Thank you!" Neith said.

Aries led Neith through a city made entirely out of metal and aluminum. The buildings were shaped like soup cans. There was a small gate at the end. They crossed through and ended up at a small playground.

"Wow…" Neith said. "I remember this playground. Jessie and I used to come here together."

"I came here too." Aries said. "But alone. I never had a mother or father. I lived with a 1st class soldier. Name was Roger. He was killed by the Shinra. Now I live in the church."

"I'm sorry." Neith said.

Just then, a carriage went by. It was being pulled by two shinra soldiers. There was a girl in the carriage.

"JESSIE!" Neith cried. Jessie was sitting in the carriage. She was looking out at the sky.

"Where could she be going?" Aries said.

"I don't know." Neith said. "But I intend to find out."

10

Neith and Aries walked for a long time. The carriage was moving very slowly.

Finally, they pulled into a small town outside Slums and Dorders.

"I've been here before." Said Aries. "This is Sector 6. Another suburb of Midgar City."

They followed the carriage right to the center of Sector 6. Finally, it pulled into the passageway of a huge mansion.

Neith and Aries hid while Jessie got out and was led inside.

When they were sure nobody was watching, Neith and Aries went in and opened the door to the mansion. There was a guard sitting at a table right in the entrance.

"Do you have a reservation?" he asked.

"Yes." Neith said. "My name is Juster Farrar and I have come for the competition." Neith hoped that this would get him in.

"I'm sorry sir but the competition is only for women. But this girl could qualify."

"Me?" Aries asked.

"Yes." Said the secretary. "The Don picks the prettiest girl of all contestants. The winner gets to marry him! Oh joy!"

"Let me run this by my bodyguard." Aries said. She pulled Neith aside.

"I think you should do it Aries." Neith said.

"But I don't want to marry the Don. He is cruel and mean and kills people."

"You don't have to marry him. I have a plan."

One hour later, Aries was inside a room, next to Jessie's and Neith was outside the back of the mansion. Aries opened her window.

"Alright!" Neith called. "Drop down something long."

Aries tied the drapes to the bed sheets and dropped it down to Neith. Neith climbed up it as fast as he could to ensure that nobody could see him.

"Now what?" Aries asked when Neith got up.

"We wait."

They waited for an hour before there was a knock on Aries' door. The secretary was there.

"The Don is ready to see you now." He said and walked Aries down the hall to the Don's room.

Neith ran and hid outside the room when the secretary returned to his station below.

He listened in on the Don.

"So beautiful… but which one? I was sure there would be more but you both qualify…"

What could he be talking about?

"I think I will take… JESSIE!"

At those words Neith burst into the room and drew his sword.

"Not a chance!" he said.

"Neith?" Jessie asked. "But…how?"

"Long story." Neith said.

"You have a boyfriend Jessie?" The Don asked.

"…"

"I will not put up with this!" The Don said. He pulled a lever by his bed. Neith, Jessie and Aries fell down a hole into the sewer.

Neith woke a while later having hit his head on the ground.

"Neith are you alright?" Jessie asked.

"I'm fine." Neith said. "Jessie, we saw you in that carriage. What were you thinking going to the Don of Sector 6?"

"I went to get back to Sector 7." Jessie said. "I got lost from Barret so I decided I would marry the Don and have him take me to Sector 7. Where were you?"

"With me." Aries said. "He bent Midgar again and landed in a church."

"We have to get to Sector 7." Neith said. "The Shinra know where our hideout is."

"I know how to get there from here." Aries said. "I think. Follow me."

They followed Aries until they found a hole and a ladder. They climbed the ladder and came up into a reckless area.

"Where are we?" Jessie asked. But Neith already knew.

"This is the place where the train crashed. Just a day ago." He said. "We can easily get back to Sector 7 from here."

They walked the way that Neith and Jessie had been through the previous day. It was long and cold but they made it to the train station outside Sector 7.

"We made it." Jessie said. "Let's just hope everything is alright." But they would find out nothing was alright."

11

As Neith, Jessie and Aries walked into Sector 7, right below the plate, they heard gun shots. Everyone had gathered around the plate to see what was happening.

Suddenly, Neith was yanked backward by Jessie. He watched in horror as Wedge fell and landed right where Neith was standing. Biggs followed soon after.

"BIGGS! WEDGE!" Neith cried and ran over to them. Barret and Jack soon appeared right beside them.

"Some Shinra came and went up on the plate." Barret explained. "Wedge and Biggs went up to see who it was but they were shot and they fell down here."

"The man up there is going to make the plate fall." Jack said. "We have to get up there and stop him!"

"We can't." Neith said. "Biggs and Wedge are dead and whoever it is will kill everyone down here."

"Not if we can stop the plate from falling." Jessie said. "Aries. If you go into town I have a bar called 7th Heaven. Next door is a house where a little girl named Maevae lives. Get her and yourself out of Sector 7."

"Maevae!" Barret said. "We have to fight that asshole up there."

12

Neith, Barret and Jessie walked up the very long staircase to the top of the plate. They ran, but it took them almost ten minutes. The plate would fall by the time they were there.

When they got to the top, Neith was surprised to find who had killed Wedge and Biggs.

Reno.

"So." Reno said. "If it aint the blonde who sabotaged me at the church."

"You know this fagot?" Barret asked.

"Unfortunately."

"I told you it wasn't ova," Reno said. "I told ya I'd be back. Too bad I found out where you and all your little friends were hidin'"

Neith drew his sword and Barret loaded his gun-arm. Jessie ran up and punched Reno. But he was prepared.

Reno took out a dagger and swung it at Jessie. It missed. But the dagger was magic.

Jessie became surrounded by an orb of light. She could not move or speak. She just sat there.

"Ha!" Reno said. "Try and attack me now. I'll simply deflect it all." He pressed a button that was attached to a control panel. "In about five minutes, the plate will fall. Destroyin' every single livin thing down there."

"You're not getting away with it, Shinra!" Barret said. "Just like you didn't kill us on the train."

"Aw, so you knew that I derailed your car? You Avalanche idiots really are kinda smart."

"I'm gonna beat the living shit out of you!" Barret screamed and fired a huge ball of fire at Reno. But Reno was too quick. He dodged it and ran at Barret. He started to make another orb around Barret but he forgot about Neith.

In one quick move, Neith slashed Reno with his sword right across the stomach. Reno dropped his dagger and fell to the ground. Neith was about to stab Reno and end his life when the Shinra soldier immediately grabbed his dagger and knocked the sword out of Neith's hand.

"Too slow for Reno." He said. "You'll never stop me in time. The plate will begin its fall in two minutes. You're hopeless!"

"Neith!" Jessie cried. She was breaking free of the orb.

Neith got up and started to run to her, but Reno grabbed his wrist and knocked Neith's sword over the edge of the plate.

Reno jostled Neith over to the edge and punched him one more time, positive that it would knock him off. But Neith knew it was coming.

He ducked sideways and made a move toward Jessie. He punched the weakened orb as hard as he could and it shattered.

Jessie ran at Reno and punched him in the face, knocking out two of his teeth. But he wouldn't surrender.

"The war has begun!" he said, spitting out blood. "Nobody can defeat Reno and the Shinra!" Reno took out a jet pack and blasted away, leaving behind a cloud of dust. As Reno flew away, a helicopter appeared. Inside were President Shinra and Aries.

"Aries!" Neith cried.

"You know this girl?" Shinra asked.

"Don't worry. Maevae is…"

Shinra covered her mouth with his hand. "I don't know what I'll do to this one." He said. "But I'll make sure she dies quickly. For you."

The helicopter flew away, and the plate began to descend.

"What are we going to do?" Jessie asked.

"Here," Barret said. "I have some rope and a clothes hanger. If we tie the rope to the clothes hanger and throw it so that it crosses the border in between Sector 7 and the playground, we can swing across."

"Barret you're a genius!" Neith shouted. He looked below. The plate was descending slowly, but there were still many people right below it. A warning signal had gone off.

Barret threw the clothes hanger. It did not land on the playground but it landed right inside the sector 7 gate. A door was sliding closed though.

"Come on!" Barret shouted. "Grab onto me! We don't have much time!"

Neith looked over to the gate and saw that they would never make it. They would not fit through that door. But they would have to try.

Jessie grabbed on to Barret and they began to swing. Neith ran and jumped. He grabbed onto Barret's legs.

Right behind them, there was the biggest explosion Barret or Neith had ever heard. Smoke and fire filled the air. Every single person who was underneath the plate was killed.

Except for three.

13

"NO!" Barret cried for the hundredth time, followed by him pounding the huge pile of debris that blocked the entrance to Sector 7 or what was left of it. "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"

"SHUT UP ALREADY!" Neith screamed at his face. "You've been crying about Maevae ever since we got here! Give it a rest!"

"SHE'S DEAD!" Barret shouted. "DEAD!"

"She is safe!" Neith cried. "Didn't you hear Aries before the plate collapsed? She was about to say that Maevae is safe!"

There was a long silence. Neith and Jessie had been sitting on the playground while Barret had tried to break trough the rubble. Of course he was unsuccessful.

"How could she be safe?" Barret asked, calmer now. "How? If she got out alive, she would be right here. RIGHT HERE!"

"Calm down you…"

Barret struck Neith across the face with his gun-arm.

"KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY!" Jessie shouted. "Neith, chill out yourself. Barret may have lost his only daughter. And Barret, Neith is simply trying to help you!"

"Jessie's right." Neith said after what seemed like a very long time. "But I think we should go to Shinra Inc. Building. There, we will rescue Aries and find out if Maevae is alive."

"Yes." Barret said. "Let's go."

"But we don't know where it is." Jessie said.

"True…" Neith said. "But I know someone who can help us get there."

14

Sepiroath sat in the corridors of the Shinra Inc. Building. He had been expecting an Avalanche attack on the headquarters any day now. He could sense it. But nothing had come.

"Tseng!" he shouted, startlingly.

"Yes, master?"

"Get me Val Shinra." Sepiroath said. "I have a bone to pick with him."

"Right away, master." Tseng said.

Sepiroath waited. Finally, President Shinra walked through his door.

"You called?"

"I want to know the members of Avalanche." Sepiroath said. "At least all the ones that we know of."

"I'll see what I can come up with." Shinra said. "I'll wire them to you." He left the room.

Several minutes later, Sepiroath sat at his computer and turned on the monitor. It projected on the whole wall of the room.

Sepiroath looked at the pictures and descriptions. Apparently, for the Midgar City and Sector regions, there were only 5 Avalanche members. Three of them were deceased.

"Barret Juster." Sepiroath said. "Age 39. Has his right arm replaced with a machine gun." This fascinated Sepiroath. "Hispanic. Hometown, Costa del Sada."

Sepiroath looked at the next one. It shocked him.

"Neith Cobra?" Sepiroath said astonished. He was sure he killed Neith when he killed his mother sixteen years ago.

Sepiroath knew Neith very well.

Neith was his nephew.

15

"You want me to get you to the Shinra building?" the Don asked. "You must be joking. You nearly killed me."

"I came nowhere close to killing you." Neith said.

They had walked into Slums and Dorders to seek help from the Don. Unfortunately, he had provided no help so far.

"Please, sir." Jessie said. "My friends and I would like nothing more than to go to the Shinra Office. Please give us a map."

"Preposterous!" The Don cried. "I would never give you a map. Because we would need the map made and I don't have time to make one or pay someone to make one. Good day to you!"

The Don pushed them out of his room instead of sending them to the sewer.

"Now what?" Barret asked as they exited the Don's mansion. "Any more plans, Neith?"

"No." Neith said. "We'll never make it to the Shinra Inc. Building."

"Hey!" someone said behind them. The three turned around and saw a small kid staring at them. "I can get you to Shinra's office tower."

"Really?" Neith asked.

"Not a chance." Barret said moving Neith aside and pointing his gun at the kid. "Get outta here you scum!"

"Oh I don't think there is a need for weapons." He said. "I can take you to the Shinra Building the simplest and least dangerous way. Follow me." The boy went down the street.

"Should we follow him?" asked Jessie.

"No." Barret said. "He's just a beggar. Right Neith?"

But Neith had already begun to follow him.

"Come on!" Neith beckoned.

Barret sighed but followed with Jessie right behind.

They followed the kid into an alley. There was hardly any light except for a few windows overlooking the alley. These windows had lights on. The kid led them to a brick wall.

"See, I told ya it was a trick!" Barret shouted. "He led us straight to a dead end!"

"No." the kid said. "If you paid attention, you would see that there is a wire right here." He yanked on a black wire. "Simply climb up the wire, avoid a few things and you've made it to Sector 2 where the Shinra Office Buildings are. Have fun!" the boy left. He meant well after all.

"How do you know this?" called Neith.

The boy turned around. "I made it." He said. "My parents were test subjects for Shinra before the president finished them off. My dream is to kill every Shinra soldier."

"That's what we intend to do!" Barret said.

"Really?" the boy said, his face lit up. "Good luck. Do it for me!"

"We'll try!" Jessie called. Then, they started the long climb up.

16

They had climbed quite a way when they saw a small hole.

"That must lead to the city." Barret said.

"Probably…" Neith said. He kept looking at the hole. It seemed to get smaller and smaller. Then finally, the hole was gone. They were at another dead end.

"DAMNIT!" Barret shouted. "HOW COULD WE LET THAT ACURSSED BOY GET AWAY WITH THIS?"

"I swore there was a hole…" Jessie said. "But now it is gone."

"There must be like a secret passageway or something." Said Neith. "They would not build something like this for Shinra to find them immediately."

"Wait a second…" said Barret. He looked at Neith. "Do you suppose that kid is half ancient-half cloaked sage?"

"Are you telling me, I should make the hole?" Neith asked.

"You can bend the universe Neith." Barret said. "Not many people can do that. You have a gift. Use it. For the good of man kind."

Neith closed his eyes. Within seconds, a hole appeared. It led to the world above.

"Incredible…" Jessie said.

"Come on." Barret urged. "We don't have that much time."

They climbed in the light for a long time. Neith started to get tired. They could see the light at the end of the tunnel fading.

"NO! NEITH!" Barret shouted. "If Neith closes the portal, we will be trapped on the outside of Midgar forever!"

They quickened their pace. Neith felt himself begin to fade. He was dying. The stress was too much.

Finally, they barley made it through the tunnel. Neith was gasping for breath, but Jessie and Barret looked at the city.

Every building looked the same. The city was made up of all sorts of Shinra Organization buildings. But only one was the one where Shinra was and Aries was being held.

"Alright, we'll need to find the tallest one." Barret said. "That is the one where Shinra is."

"But every building looks the same!" Neith exclaimed through breaths. "We'll never find it!"

"Ah, but it says that one of them is half an inch higher than the rest."

"Where does it say that?" Jessie asked.

"In the complete guide to Shinra." Barret said. "I picked up a copy I found on the ground in Midgar City. Just trying to see if there were any actions that were…you know. Terrorist."

Neith understood what Barret was saying, but found it hard to believe that he was reading the complete guide to Shinra.

They went into the city. As soon as they were seen by a passing soldier, the soldier pressed a button.

An alarm started to go off. Shinra soldiers ran toward the place where the soldier pressed the button.

Neith, Jessie and Barret tried to run away, but hundreds of soldiers now surrounded them.

Val Shinra pushed through the crowd to see what was up.

"Well if it isn't the people who destroyed my robot." He said. "I could have sworn you were killed in the explosion."

"Up yours, Shinra!" Barret shouted. "You knew we survived! And now we're going to destroy you and this stupid company!"

Shinra laughed. "You think that you pathetic group of three, could take down my thousands of soldiers? You must be insane!" Shinra snapped his fingers. Soldiers came and took Neith's sword away and placed a large plastic thing over Barret's gun arm.

They grabbed the three Avalanche members and dragged them away.

"I hope you'll make good soldiers!" shouted Shinra.

17

Neith, Barret and Jessie were led to a room with no windows and no doors leading to anywhere else.

"Where are we?" Jessie asked.

"Shut up!" the soldier said.

The soldiers sat the three down in separate chairs. Straps folded around their wrists and legs. They were trapped.

"Well I haven't seen you in a while." Said an unpleasant voice.

Reno entered the room, along with another man that Neith did not recognize. He had a white jacket on and had yellow hair, just like Neith but it was combed down.

"You know these people?" the man asked.

"Yea," Reno replied. "They almost stopped me from blowin up Sector 7." He took out a cigarette and lit it.

"Well we haven't got all day." The man in white said. "We still got one more to do. In fact, I think Tseng might have said something about her knowing these people." He snapped his fingers.

A man with black hair and a ponytail came in and strapped Aries in a chair.

"Aries!" Neith cried. "Are you alright?"

"SHUT UP!" Reno shouted and struck Neith across the face. He took out his dagger.

"I'm sure you remember when I practically killed you on the plate." He said. "Well I'll defenitly do it now! Not nless you shut up!"

Reno walked over to the white coated man.

"Don't hurt them Reno." The man said. "We need them for other things. Alive."

"Sorry, Rufus." Reno said. "I hate this boy!"

"If you don't let us go or tell us whats going on in five seconds I'm gonna blow the living shit out of you!" Barret shouted.

"Barret, knock it off!" shouted Jessie. "You know that gun of yours is useless at this point!"

"I would listen to the girl." Rufus said. "You don't know what is going on here. At least not yet." He turned to Reno. "Have all the Turks been notified of their capture?" he asked pointing at Neith, Jessie and Barret.

"Yes." Reno said. "They will be here within moments."

"Good." Said Rufus. "Tseng, fire up the machine."

"Got it boss!" the man with the ponytail said. He turned the machine pointed at them on. It started to warm up.

"Reno, get out the beast."

"Of course." Reno said. He left the room and returned a few minutes later with a strange looking cat.

"What the hell is that thing?" Barret asked.

"The one that I also plan to destroy." Rufus said.

"Boss," Reno said. "Apparently two of the Turks could not make it."

"Great!" said Rufus. "That leaves the three of us!"

"Time to meet your future!" said Reno. He walked over to the machine.

"We intend to make Shinra soldiers out of you!" Rufus said. "Hang on." He picked up his cell phone that started ringing. "I have to go now." He said. "But I will be back." He left the room.

"NOW SLASH!" shouted Aries.

The cat got away from Tseng and pounced upon him. Tseng was dead within moments and Reno had left the room. The cat went over and released the four prisioners.

"Thank you." Said Jessie. "that was very kind."

"Aries and I planned this out because we knew what was going to happen." He said.

"You speak English?" Neith asked.

"Yes." Slash said. "I am very smart. I do not mean to brag however.'

"Come on!" Barret said. "We got Aries. So now lets get out of here!"

"Hang on." Neith said. "I'll meet up with you at the gate. I have something to do."

18

Rufus Shinra was at the base of his helicopter. He left Reno and Tseng alone with his hostages but needed to talk to Sepiroath who called.

"Hello? Sepiroath?"

"Rufus, I would like to know if any Avalanche subject of yours goes by the name of Neith Cobra."

"I don't know." He said. "I have two male hostages right now. I suppose I could find out. What does he look like?"

"17 years old. Yellow hair that sticks up."

"I have a hostage that looks somewhat like that." Rufus said. "I'll find out. And call you later." He hung up and turned to go back to the lab. Neith was right behind him.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked.

"None of your business, NEITH!"

Neith was in shock. "How exactly do you know my name?"

"I have friends." Rufus said. "I will now tie you up, and take you to your new home." He reached into his pocket and pulled out some rope.

Neith ran over to the Turk leader and drew his sword. Rufus took out a gun and fired at Neith.

Neith dodged. He needed to get to the helicopter.

Sepiroath kills Aires at the end. Neith must bring Quench the sword of Sepriroath. The story of Sepriath is revealed to neith by his father. Barret kills Val shinra. Neith kills reno and the cloaked sgaes kill sepiraoth

. Neith, Barret, Jessie, Aires and Slash travel to the marsh continent in Neiths buggy. Neith leaves them to go to Stone village. He then finds sepiroaths sword in his house and goes out to find Jessie and the others outside a cave while battling a serpent. They have been to Costa del sada to meet up with other avalanche members. While looking for Sepiroath's sword, Neith comes upon Shinra Inc. Building and kills President Shinra's son, Rufus. He escapes in Rufus' helicopter and crashes on Crypt mountain where Shinra poachers are trying to kill the great crypt which is a giant golden eagle and get her egg. Neith saves her, falls down the mountain and lands in the swamp where he gets attacked by the serpent. Then the buggy drives up, he climbs in and they all kill the monster, go in the cave next to the mountain, kill a giant blue scorpion, get out the other end, and go to shinra inc. building to destroy them in a war.