A/N: You know, I think watching an Indiana Jones movie followed by Advent Children, with a light dash of Matrix thrown in for seasoning, is a recipe for disaster. I honestly felt like I was down a deep, dark pit, surrounded by furry, cute but still rabid plot bunnies attempting to gnaw at my ankles - all to prevent me from approaching the shadows hulking in the background. Paranoid much, Ivy?
Chapter Summary: Five hundred years after the destruction of Midgar, the ShinRa family has finally died out. Which means that Tifa Lockhart and her archeology team can now explore the ShinRa tower in the ruins of the city. It's taken six years to gain approval for the project from the executors of the estate, and they waste no time in securing the site. But when they enter the building, they find far more than they bargained for as it becomes very apparent why the ShinRa clan never wanted the ruins investigated…
The Discovery, Part 1
By Ivy Elise Tanté
Rappelling down a rope at high speed from a helicopter was definitely a new experience for Tifa Lockhart. When her feet hit the weathered metal of the old ShinRa tower, she knew she was the first to do so in nearly five hundred years. Both thrills combined had her light-headed with joy and trepidation.
Six years, she thought as she unfastened her carabiner from the rope. Six years since the death of the last of the ShinRa bloodline. And in all the time before, the clan had refused to allow anyone within the ruins of Midgar. The reasons why they so adamantly opposed archeologists exploring the city had died with them, and Tifa and her colleagues had spent those six years battling it out with the executors of the estate.
Now they were finally here. As she guided one of the parcels of supplies from the helicopter onto a solid surface, Tifa swore they would make the best of the time they were granted. For one month the ruin was theirs to explore. And she and her teammates could hardly wait to get started.
Once all the supplies were offloaded and safely tucked away, they immediately split up and started mapping out the area. Several of the upper floors were shorn off, though by what agency no one remained alive to tell. Within an hour, three different accesses to the inside were discovered, though only one seemed safe enough to actually enter. Choosing her team, Tifa prepared to head down along with Aerith Gainsborough and Yuffie Kisaragi. The remaining six members started assembling the base camp as Tifa hammered in the pitons and threaded the rope through. "Alright, gang. Let's get to work."
The way down was long and very dark. Despite all the windows in the tower, years of neglect and weather had sheathed most in debris and twining vines, casting the way into nearly pitch blackness. Arriving at the bottom, they found themselves in a cramped stairwell whose floor was covered with what was essentially mulch, several inches deep and unpleasantly spongy underfoot. Cutting on their handlights, armed with both weapons and recorders, they gathered at the top of the stairs and waited for Tifa's orders.
"Record everything," Tifa warned them even as she turned on her own unit. "I don't want the executors to negate the contract by accusing us of stealing from their precious relic. Anything collected is to be photographed, initialed, logged, bagged and tagged. Today is mainly to record and map - unless something looks particularly interesting, it's hands off." Pointing to the side, they could see the faded 67 on the wall of the stairwell. "I think we came down two levels during our descent, so we missed the entrance to floor 68 at some point. Apparently levels 69 and 70 collapsed or were destroyed in the past. That's two levels that are lost forever to history. If I have my way, the rest will be thoroughly explored and documented. Let's go, and keep a careful eye on your surroundings. Even after all this time, there could still be monsters hidden in here."
Yuffie grimly hefted her Conformer shuriken while Aerith brandished her Princess Guard staff. Tifa made sure her Premium Heart gloves were fitted correctly as they exited the stairwell and entered the building proper.
The lights showed walls stained by years of humidity, vines and hairy roots. The floor was obscured by dirt and leaves, crisscrossed by more roots and vines, as well as the remains of whatever had been stored in the area. Collapsed crates and metal boxes were crumbling in the corners, while desks and chairs -shoved crazily into stacks- moldered in silence. But the smell of the room was more than just plant decay, mold and mildew. There was a metallic undertone that had them all going on alert, for they had encountered that particular stench before - just not in five hundred year old ruins.
"Heads up, people. That doesn't smell fresh, but don't let your guard down," Tifa cautioned. Carefully picking her way past the discarded furniture, she entered a cavernous space and paused to sweep the area with the recorder, making sure she completely covered everything before advancing.
"The smell is stronger in here, but it's still not new," Yuffie commented as she rolled the back-up tape.
"I don't know what this area might have been for, but they didn't take much away when they abandoned the tower," Aerith added, skirting around the jumbled remains of more crates. "They will go to dust if you so much as touch them."
Tifa couldn't help but smile. "Then don't touch," she teased, shooting a glance back at her friends.
Yuffie blew her a raspberry from the back of the line.
As they ventured deeper into the area, the metallic stench seemed to intensify. Then they sighted the wrecked chamber on the right that had once been closed by an airlock door. Something had blasted that door and half the frame outward, leaving it in tattered ruins. Moss and fungi covered much of the remaining metal, but the smell of old blood was still strong.
Aerith held her light above her head to illuminate the inside. It proved to be a chamber of horrors, with blood dried and crusted in black streaks all over the walls, along with a faint green glow here and there on the floor. "Mako," she whispered, realizing the smell coming from the chamber also had that ozone-like sting of Lifestream. The medical equipment in the room was in shambles, the housing broken, plastic tubing crumpled into odd shapes.
Giving a dramatic shudder, Yuffie pointed out, "There's nothing growing in there. On the outside, yeah, but not in. There aren't even rodent tracks on the floor. That's just a little creepy, you know?"
Tifa was frowning as she searched her memory. There were stories still told of the unethical experimentation conducted by ShinRa, even though the clan had done everything they could to stamp out the rumors over the centuries. She finally captured the name trying to elude her. "Hojo. He was one of the scientist in the… oh, come on, memory. Don't balk me like this." Mentally flailing around for the term, she tapped her forehead in an effort to help her recall.
"SOLDIER," Aerith blurted out, startling both her companions. "There were several attempts to produce the perfect warrior by means of mako enhancement, wasn't there? Hojo was the head of the SOLDIER project. An ancestor of mine was involved in another - Project G, I believe, and his name was Faremis Gast."
Yuffie was too young to have delved deeply into the intrigues of ShinRa like Tifa and Aerith, so the mention of mako was a shock to her. "Wait a minute, what are you talking about? Mako enhancement? Isn't that totally illegal nowadays?"
Shivering slightly, Tifa motioned for them to advance further into the room in an effort to get away from that vile chamber, and the black blood that still reeked after all this time. The area widened out just ahead, even though the focal point of the space was a circular enclosure of glass located on the left side. There was no floor inside; a glance down showed the corroded mechanisms for a lift entangled with vines and roots.
Leaning against the glass, Tifa composed her thoughts before replying. "ShinRa used to inject carefully selected men with mako to make them stronger. It also increased some of their senses and their stamina, making them nearly indestructible. There were other things done to them as well, but that knowledge has been lost for a long time." She glanced into the chamber she leaned against and gave another shudder, for it too had faint streaks of mako glowing on the glass. "And you're right, Yuffie. The Coalition outlawed any and all uses for mako centuries ago, once it was established just what mako really is." Gesturing, Tifa continued, "This seems to be a holding area of some sort. I'm wondering if there's a lab below this floor, or above."
Aerith and Yuffie exchanged a look before turning to Tifa. "Let's keep going. Maybe the only way to the next floor is through this one," Aerith suggested.
"Right," Tifa said. Straightening, she headed deeper into the room. But the only things further along were more crumbling crates and a barred lift.
Something was glinting in the corner, and Yuffie carefully picked her way over, digging through the muck with the end of Aerith's staff. The object proved to be an elixir, still sealed tight. "You were right, Aerith. They didn't clear this area at all if this is still here." Taking a bag out of her pocket, she dropped it inside and made a notation on the clear plastic, then handed it to Aerith so she could initial it, as per procedure.
Tifa, meanwhile, was inspecting the lift. "It only goes up." Glancing back, she grinned at Aerith and said, "Two for two, Aerith. You're getting to be a regular Miss-know-it-all."
Fluffing her hair, Aerith drawled, "I know. And I'm so modest about it, too."
All three laughed, then concentrated on the lift. Out of curiosity, Yuffie decided to tap the up button just to be cute. To their incredulous surprise, the platform gave a shudder and rose jerkily to the next floor. She turned wide eyes on Tifa and stammered out, "There is still power in this place?"
Tifa was obviously just as shocked, "I didn't… That is… Wow. After five hundred years there is still mako power here? I thought all the reactors were dismantled."
"Obviously not. Which would be one very good reason for ShinRa to keep people out of here. As you said, anything involving mako was outlawed long ago," Aerith commented as she searched along the wall. Finding a panel, she swung it open and took hold of the main circuit, then blew out a breath and warned, "Brace yourselves. There is no telling what's going to happen when I throw this lever."
The switch gave a grating click as she tripped it, and slowly the overhead lights began to brighten. The radio on Tifa's belt suddenly chirped, and she pulled the unit free and activated the talk function. "This is Tifa, over," she said.
"Tifa, this is Cid at base. We've got lights coming up all over this damn tower, over." His tone was one of contained panic, and there were voices babbling in the background.
"Understood, base. Apparently the building is still mako powered. Please contact the proper authorities and inform them of this development, over."
There was a slight paused before he replied, "Is this going to cut our project short, boss? Over."
And Tifa's reply was firm and steely, "Over my dead body, base. Out." Attaching the unit to her belt again, she nodded to the lift and ordered, "Yuffie, let's get that platform down here again, then I'm going to try riding it up. Follow me if it works, but only one at a time, okay?" She could tell they didn't like the idea of separating, but neither vocally objected as she wrestled open the rusted gate and warily climbed aboard. Once settled, she nodded and Yuffie pushed the up button again.
The progression of the lift was jerky and unpleasant, but after a minute or so it entered the floor above then stalled a couple of feet short. Hauling open the gate, Tifa found enough toe holds to get herself out without a problem and called down the shaft, "It doesn't quite make it all the way, so watch that last step, okay?"
There was a faint response from below, and the lift started grinding its way back down. Brushing her rust-spotted hands on her cargoes, Tifa then searched the walls on either side of the elevator shaft. Finding a small bank of switches, she flipped them all to the on position and waited as a faint light appeared overhead then gradually started strengthening. Satisfied, she turned around and froze in place, mouth gaping open and eyes wide. The whole upper floor seemed to be one large room, and Tifa could see where the ceiling was compromised in a few places. But judging by the rebar showing in the gaps, the upper level was heavily fortified.
And she could easily see why. In the center of the room, surrounded by consoles covered in blinking lights, were a dozen capsules filled with the green glow of mako. Rooted to the spot, Tifa didn't turn around when the lift jangled its way back up. In defiance of her orders, Aerith and Yuffie both climbed out to bracket her on either side.
"I could feel how upset you were," Aerith murmured softly, taking hold of one of Tifa's arms. Yuffie clutched the other as the three of them looked over the scene before them. "I'm afraid to go over there," Aerith admitted reluctantly. "I'm ashamed that I feel that way, but I really am scared. Whoever, or whatever, is in those pods has been trapped here by ShinRa for over five hundred years. I hope every last one of that family rots in hell."
Stern condemnation from the normally gentle woman, indeed. Tifa had never heard her speak so grimly. Giving herself a shake to dislodge their clinging hands, she forced herself to march across the room and into the cluster of those chambers. It took a lot of will power to pull out a handkerchief and rub off the condensation on the top of the first one she reached.
The chamber was occupied. And the thought of that person suspended in mako for centuries caused her stomach to twist violently. Wrenching herself clear, she landed on her hands and knees some distance away, praying she could control her revolting system. But no matter how hard she tried, her revulsion won out.
Shaking from head to toe, Aerith stepped closer and peered down into the capsule. The only way to stop the scream from escaping was to clamp a hand over her mouth. For there was a man floating in the glowing mako, air mask strapped to his face and tubes running into various ports on his arms. And the most hideous aspect of it all?
He was breathing. She could see the steady rise and fall of his chest…
Fearing she would be just as sick, Aerith listed to the side and braced a hand on the end of the chamber. Yuffie was tending to Tifa, helping her to sit up and wipe her face. For the next few minutes they made themselves ignore the horror around them and just took care of each other.
Once they finally collected themselves, Tifa pulled her radio off her belt again and signaled base, "This is Tifa. We have a situation down here, and I need you right away, Cid. Over."
"Just finished being bounced around the offices of the Energy Council. I was told, many times over, that there is no mako energy on this planet anymore. They only let me leave a message so I would quit bothering them. So… I'm on my way. Base, over," was his immediate reply.
"You have to come through level 67 to get up here, Cid. Be careful on the way, because the lift is old, ornery and barely functional. Tifa, out."
His rejoinder had them all chuckling in spite of the horrendous situation. "Sounds just like me, boss lady. Base, out."
Tifa didn't want to walk back over and see what was trapped in that chamber again, but she made herself do it all the same. Nothing could be seen of the man's face because of the mask, but the rest of his body was certainly visible as he only wore something like a loincloth. Black hair swirled around the edges of the mask as the liquid in the chamber rose and fell with the man's breathing.
"Impressive musculature," Yuffie muttered softly. "He's well-formed and beautifully toned, but not at all bulky. Bet he can move faster than greased lightning." Tilting her head to the side, she further commented, "Look at the patterns his scars form. Surgical incisions here, here and here," she pointed out the sites. "I've never seen marks like these, either. However they were made, they certainly weren't healed with materia."
The implications weren't pleasant. "They performed surgeries on them without using Cure afterwards?" Tifa gritted out, personally thinking Aerith's rot in hell wasn't a strong enough curse for the entire ShinRa clan. Turning, she wiped off another chamber. The man inside had blonde hair and appeared slightly shorter than the first, though his body was just as beautiful. "Oh, gods," Tifa muttered as she placed a hand over her stomach. If anything, the marks on this man were even worse, particularly the one almost in the center of his chest.
Because Yuffie came from Wutai, with its ingrained love for sharp pointy weapons, she immediately recognized what made it. "Sword thrust. And from the size of that scar, the blade probably went all the way through him right up to the hilt."
The third capsule they examined showed the first hint of haste; the man wasn't on his back like the other two, but twisted onto his side so that his light brown hair formed a floating halo around his head. A broken chain trailed from the handcuff on his right wrist. Because of his position, they could see the white lines running down his spine and across his shoulders. "Look at all those scars down his spinal column. Whatever they were doing probably effected not only nerves and muscles, but bones as well." Face pale, Yuffie crossed over to another that lay with one arm thrown over his head, mashing down his red hair. "Same thing with this one. What in all Ifrit were they trying to make these men into?"
A horrendous metal shriek had all of them jumping out of their skins as Cid Highwind practically propelled the ancient lift upward by cursing the air blue. A hard swat with his over-sized spear knocked the rusted gate clean off its hinges as he clamored the rest of the way up, voice rising in ire the higher he went. With one final wobble he was free, and still cursing. Then he caught sight of what lay before him and the words died off.
Hobbling over in his uneven bandy-legged gait, Cid rested a hand on the nearest capsule and swore softly, "Dying off peacefully was too good for ShinRa. They should have been drawn and quartered years ago, because I can guarantee every one of them knew what was in here. And they knew what the people would do if it was ever discovered, so they made damn sure it wasn't." Muttering vile imprecations under his breath, he moved from chamber to chamber, fingers tapping on his thighs in agitation. He finally returned to the first one and started examining the panel on the side, hunkering down to get a better look.
The lift started rumbling again, and in a short while it returned bearing Cid's wife, Shera Highwind. Yuffie darted over to help her up the last few feet, as she was burdened with two backpacks and Cid's ever-present tool box. Her expression was very solemn as she stood regarding the capsules residing in the center of the room. "I can't say why, but I had a feeling he was going to need his toys. I'm very sorry to see I was right." The older woman let Yuffie take one of the backpacks as they made their way over to the others.
Shera opened the tool box and extracted a fat cylinder, untying the twine to roll it out at Cid's feet. Screwdrivers, wrenches, picks, wedges and other paraphernalia were tucked into various pockets of the water-proof material, and Cid reached for several by feel alone, so used to the position of each tool he didn't need to look to locate what he wanted. Popping off the panel revealed a dizzying array of lights and switches.
As Shera knelt beside him, a marker and a sheet of tiny rectangular stickers in her hand, Cid started to rattle off letters and numbers as he began to trace the wiring. Once Shera had written them on the stickers, he affixed one beside either a switch or a light. When he had everything labeled, he motioned Shera to the side and gestured at Tifa. "I think I've figured out how to open these critters, but we'll need a full medical crew in here before I do. They've been floating in mako for five centuries. I don't know what shape these men are gonna be in when they come out of these things, or if they will even survive once I cut the chambers off."
That was when the consequences of their find really hit the entire group. Tifa looked at Cid and asked, "These are the missing SOLDIERs, aren't they?"
Cid blew out a breath and hazarded a guess. "I believe so. My great-grand pappy used to tell me stories about them, about how that general went insane and had to be hunted down. They captured him, I think, and some of the SOLDIERs figured out what set him off. I don't know if they healed him or not, but they managed to take a huge chunk out of ShinRa in retaliation before they just up and disappeared right off the face of the planet. I've heard about the propaganda ShinRa released afterwards, but the records my grandfather unearthed during that dig in Healin stated clearly that the SOLDIERs did not attack Midgar at all. They went after old man ShinRa and some scientist… ah… what's the name? Hojo," he said with a snap of his fingers. "And another, Hollander, I think."
"So how did they end up here? And why? ShinRa made it a habit to completely erase any who challenged them." Aerith asked, standing up to look into the first chamber again. "And how is there still power in this building? All the reactors were dismantled once Midgar was abandoned. It was one of the main requirements the Coalition demanded of ShinRa."
"Maybe," Yuffie suggested hesitantly, "ShinRa didn't put them here. Maybe someone else did this to… I don't know… protect them or something? And ShinRa found out about it and decided to make sure they stayed trapped forever?"
No one knew the answers to Aerith and Yuffie's questions. The true story of the rise, and fall, of ShinRa as a world power was so fragmented by lies, half-truths and cover-ups that most had given up trying to figure out what actually happened during that time in history.
"We have to open one of these chambers," Tifa insisted. "And we have to do it before the Energy Council decides to come and investigate our claims that a mako reactor is still functioning in these ruins. If these are the SOLDIERs, if by some miracle they even survive being removed from these chambers, they will be the greatest discovery this world has ever known. They could tell us what ShinRa really was, what they really did. No more rumors or gossip, just the truth." She stepped forward, making an expansive gesture to indicate the whole room. "There has to be some kind of computer function to keep these capsules up and running. If we can get into the mainframe, just think of the history that might be recovered, possibly untainted by the relentless propaganda of the ShinRa dynasty. Just think of it."
It was Shera who broke the silence in the room. "Yuffie, get Barret down here with our medical stock. If we're going to try and release one of them, we have to be prepared ahead of time. Washing the mako off them will be crucial, as well as getting them warm and dry. Tifa, which one do we start with?"
Galvanized, the members of the group began to gather the supplies needed. Within the hour, all nine of the team were standing over that first capsule as Cid worked to finagle the controls enough to release the lock on the lid. Tifa stood off to the side, shivering slightly in apprehension. As much as she wanted to know how the SOLDIERs came to be here, she was terrified that the one she had chosen might be yet another sacrifice to ShinRa's greed.
Aerith stepped closer to rub a hand down her arm. "It's the right decision, Teef. No matter if he lives or dies, we need to release him from this prison. Five hundred years is long enough to linger in purgatory."
"Okay, kiddies. It's time." Cid watched as Barret Wallace and Reeve Tuesti worked their fingers under the lid on either side of the capsule, ready to pull it out of the way as soon as it was unlocked. "Here we go."
A soft click sounded, and both men heaved the glass slab up over their heads, sidestepping quickly to allow the others to take their places. Wearing gloves that came all the way up to their shoulders, they reached into the capsule, disconnected the lines running into his arms, and grasped the man, one to each limb with Aerith supporting his head. Shuffling their feet over the uneven floor, they laid him out on the absorbent pads as Shera immediately yanked off the mask and started wringing out his hair.
With Tifa, Aerith, Yuffie and Shera working in tandem, they scrubbed him down, then stood back as the men turned him over so they could get his back. It, too, was marked with the scars snaking down his spine and across his shoulders. Resolutely ignoring the stirrings of pity, the women finished with their task then moved out of the way as Cid and Barret removed the loincloth and cleaned that area. They might not be able to save his life, but they could at least respect his right to dignity.
Once more they lifted him, allowing Yuffie to roll up the pads while Tifa replaced them with an air mattress. The second his body was down he was swaddled in blankets, with a towel wrapped around his wet hair. The entire procedure had taken exactly four minutes.
Tifa sank to her knees beside him and laid two fingers over the pulse in his neck. Its strong and steady beat reassured her enough that she let out a sigh and hung her head in relief. Aerith squatted down on his other side, curiously touching the scar on his lower left jaw. The two marks made a large X on his skin. "I wonder how, and when, he got that," she murmured softly.
Cid and Barret were watching closely for a reaction, both ready and equipped to initiate CPR if necessary. They dived in the second his eyes flew open and he gasped, hands rising to his chest as his face went dead white in shock. Pandemonium reigned for the next few minutes as they ended up administered a stimulate directly to his heart when the paddles didn't, or perhaps couldn't, work on him. No matter how high they set the level, his body didn't react to the electric charges at all.
Finally his pulse leveled out then steadied. His eyes were closed again but his coloring had returned. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Cid gave Barret a look as he held out a hand that was still shaking from sheer adrenaline rush. "I don't know how we pulled that off."
Shaking his huge head, Barret replied, "And I don't know if it's gonna work if he flat-lines again." Though not normally so pessimistic, he couldn't understand how the man was still alive. The physical shock of changing from one environment to another so suddenly should have killed him instantly.
Reeve sat back on his heels once the excitement was over and commented quietly, "I didn't know about their eyes." As the archivist of the group, he was more familiar with the history of the SOLDIERs than any of them. Leaning forward, he carefully pushed up the man's eyelid and studied the green streaks radiating out from his pupils. Even in the harsh lighting of the overheads, the glow was noticeable. "I wonder if this was a side effect of the mako injected into their bodies or their five hundred year soak in those capsules."
One of the researchers, Jessie Lightfoot, stood staring for long minutes before voicing her question. "How do we know they've been in here for all that time?"
Tifa blinked up at her and admitted, "We don't. I just assume that since the tower has been closed for that long…" Turning, she addressed the others of the group, "Are we jumping to conclusions too fast?"
Not surprisingly, it was Reeve that answered. "They disappeared shortly after the city was abandoned, Jessie. Records indicate there was a massive world-wide search initiated by the ruling ShinRa at that time, I think his name was Rufus." Rising, he walked over to the next capsule in line and examined the blonde man floating in the softly glowing green water. "The accounts never stated if they were trying to capture, kill, or recover them." Looking back at the team, he continued, "Have you checked all the capsules? The ones I've seen all seem to be young men, somewhere in their twenties. That's… a lot younger than I expected SOLDIERs to be. General Sephiroth was in his mid-to-late thirties, I believe."
"Would you recognize the general if he's in one of these chambers?" Aerith asked, watching as the others started wiping off the remaining capsules. For reasons she couldn't explain, she didn't want to leave the man's side. So she stayed, with her fingers curled around his and a hand laying lightly on his shoulder.
Reeve gave a soft snort as he peered down into the chamber he had just cleaned. The man inside appeared to be bald, and his build seemed a lot bulkier than the others. Reeve also noted he didn't have any of the surgical scars so noticeable on the rest. "Recognize him personally? No. ShinRa made sure to destroy as many of the records and images concerning the SOLDIERs as possible. After all this time we don't even have any names except the general's. The only facts I have are that he was tall and had long white hair."
Yuffie sudden shout of "WHOA!" had them all running, even Aerith. Floating in the chamber was something that looked like a cross between a lion and a wolf, with bright red fur and a tail tip that rippled like it was on fire. A deep scar slashed down over the right eyelid, and there were feathers and beads braided into his mane. Etched steel cuffs encircled all four legs just above the paws while a brand stood out sharply against the fur on his shoulder - XIII.
"Now that I recall," Jessie said firmly. "There was a species of intelligent feloids that inhabited Cosmo Canyon at one point. Fierce fighters, they guarded the people settled there for centuries before it was believed they died out." Looking to Reeve, she asked, "How much can you remember about Professor Hojo and his methods? Wasn't he the one that would number his experiments?"
Before Reeve could answer, Tifa's radio chirped for attention. Snatching it up, she said, "Tifa here, over."
"It's Wedge, boss lady. I just arrived up top and found base camp empty. Over."
"Yeah, we've found… I'll explain later. Just start packing up. I'll send a crew to assist you. Tifa, over."
"Sure thing, boss lady. Wedge, out."
Sticking the radio into a pocket, Tifa motioned towards the lift. "Jessie, Biggs, Barret and Shera, go help him. I want everything brought into this room and not a trace of our presence left up top. Cid, I need you to figure out how to keep these overheads operational but get everything else cut off. If that can't be done, we'll just have to set up the light stations in here. I don't want anything advertising that this building still has power. If the Energy Council decides to do a fly-by out of curiosity, let's not leave anything showing that might make them suspicious. Go, people, go!"
But as the team scattered to obey her orders, Tifa couldn't help but note that Aerith had returned to the black-haired man's side…
