DISCLAIMER: I did not create, nor own the rights to FFVII or anything mentioned therein. These are the property of SquareEnix.

The Blast

The final days of the city of Midgar would be remembered forever. In the end meteor would destroy the city. This event would be brought upon Midgar and its people by a force outside of their control and would alter the fate of the world. The cause of the destruction brought by meteor however was a direct result of those at the heart of the city's operations. That cause was the Electric Power Company known infamously as Shinra Inc, or simply Shinra.

Midgar the city could actually be described as two cities. Originally eight smaller communities it was Shinra who devised the idea of building a newer, more technology reliant city high above the old one. They did so by building pillars in the old towns over fifty feet high, these would be the main support of a colossal series of plates, eight in all that would be the base of the new city. On the outer rim of the plate Shinra built eight sky scraping reactors which they used to suck energy from the earth itself and supply the people with electricity, or "Mako energy." There were eight reactors in all, one for each sector. At the centre of this new city stood the seventy story tower that was Shinra Headquarters. From their tower at the heart of the city Shinra not only ran Midgar, but also managed to control nearly ever other major civility on the planet.

Yet much of the world resented Shinra. The company had used its power to gain and maintain an iron grip on many formerly independent communities, sometimes destroying their sense of identity in doing so. As a result many of Shinras chief executives were direct figures of hate, though not all those who worked for Shinra were bad.

In the short period that came before meteor an activist group opposed to Shinra were at the height of their campaign. This group was called AVALANCHE. In the recent weeks preceding this story's events they had destroyed numerous small time Shinra facilities within Midgar, almost all of which had been on the plate. Shinra had so far been unable to seek out AVALANCHE, though it was believed they resided in one of the slum townships beneath the main city. None knew why people chose to live in the increasingly polluted area beneath the plate, though it was generally accepted that those who did were simply too poor to live in the city above.

One such man not among the poor living in the slums was Troy Spencer, and it is with Troy that our story now begins…

The night was typically cold in Midgar and just as dark as it was at day. A fine rain ran through the air that night, it fell as a haze in the light of the lamp lit streets. Troy liked it like this. The shine given by the rain gave the industrious looking city something of a dazzle it lacked most of the time. It was also oddly quiet. The streets were often bustling at this time, yet tonight there were but a few folk scattered by the roadside. Tramps on benches, drunks in corners and the occasional youths lurking in the alleys were all present, yet there was none of the social groups staggering in and out of clubs, nor couples going to and from the theatre. Something must have put them off, Troy thought, though he was clueless as to what.

Troy was not among the poor forced to live through the grime of the slums. He never had been. For Troy was a Shinra employee and not just a mere Soldier or Infantryman either. He worked alongside Reeve, head of the Urban Development department. His official title was Chief of City Maintenance and Public Relations. Which generally meant that when Shinra did something wrong it was down to Troy to blatantly lie about it, something he despised. Yet he shared his direct managers love of the city and those living in it, that love meant he would stay loyal to the Shinra to the very end.

On this night Troy was not on the job. He was married and had a child of eight. Yet he had decided to take the opportunity to go out for a wander before going home. He often did so as to clear his head from another stressed and tiring days work. Troy sometimes felt he was more stressed than a twenty-six year old ought to be. Yet such stress came hand in hand with working under the most important organization on the planet. Married, with a child and suffocated by his work, Troy felt thirteen years his senior more often than not, he knew it wasn't healthy.

As he stood glaring up at the imposing image of Shinra HQ in the dewy moonlit sky Troy breathed a sigh of relief, another day done. He then stopped and ran a hand through his soaking dark brown hair as the rain had flattened it across his brow. His hair had once been especially vibrant yet now it was greying rather prematurely. His deep blue eyes, once wily and striking now seemed only tired, such was the effect of Shinra employment. Though there were times when the old Troy, a young, fiery impassioned worker shone through, only to be stifled over and over by the pressure of Public Safety Chief Heideggar or even the President himself. Everyday those two asked for more, and even then they were prone to changing their mind's, it wasn't uncommon for an entire days work to be wasted based on their misjudgements.

And so it was with such thoughts in mind that Troy made his way through the streets of Midgar. He didn't intend on being out long. As he crossed the central plaza not far from Reactor One however an roaring sound ripped through the air. Troy found himself ducking a little as though he expected something to come crashing down on top of him.

"What the hell was that?" he thought out loud. As he regained his composure he noticed a young woman standing not far from himself. She wore a long pink dress and looked remarkably similar to Troy's own wife. In her arm she cradled a basket of flowers- Mako Eyes. "Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied, "What could it be?"

Troy's expression became darker, "AVALANCHE," he mused, "Those damned terrorists. But that didn't sound like just any explosion."

Just as the words fell from his tongue another explosion bellowed out ahead. With it a colossal pillar of flame soared into the sky.

"The Reactor!" Troy exclaimed. He turned back to the girl, "Get out of here!" he told her, "They wont be far, who knows what more damage they'll do."

The girl shook her head, "No," she told him, "People could be hurt, I'll go get help right away." As she turned Troy took her by the wrist,

"Thank you," he said with a hint of a smile, "There aren't many people can be as calm as you in a situation like this." He then released her wrist. She nodded and smiled back before going off to find help. Troy quickly made his way to the reactor, though it wasn't easy, as crowds of people, many sporting minor cuts, were now fleeing down the streets away from the explosion.

Eight reactors surrounded Midgar in total. They sucked Mako energy from the earth and used it to give power to the city. Shinra had installed these reactors both in the city and around the world where the Mako content was high. Yet there were those, such as AVALANCHE, who believed the draining of Mako was draining the earth of its life-force, subsequently killing the planet. This was AVALANCHES reason for rebelling. Now they had destroyed Reactor One of eight in Midgar, who knew how many lives had been lost as a result.

Shinra troops were already ahead of Troy as he came to residential area just outside the reactor. This is all I need, Troy thought, a reactor explosion on my night off.

Eventually the troops split off in different directions. The devastation was immense. Up ahead the inferno very much alive, fire-fighters had already begun blocking the area off whilst they tried to control it. From where Troy stood he saw buildings completely flattened on the far end of the street. Nearby, debris and metal plating littered the pavement, people were trying to lift some of the mess to help out those trapped beneath.

As he wandered further toward the reactor Troy encountered a tall man wearing an old SOLDIERS uniform. He was a striking looking figure for not only was he paler than even Troy himself but he had very spiky yellow-blonde hair.

"Soldier," Troy greeted. He knew immediately the man had to be a SOLDIER from the glow in his eyes. Shinra infused all their new troops with Mako to enhance their abilities, that gave them the glow. "Did you see what happened here?" he asked.

"Not really," the man replied, though he looked distant, and anxious. "Listen pal, I have to be going, sorry."

"Of course," Troy said, and let him leave. Troy wasn't in uniform, so didn't really have any place telling SOLDIERS what to do. Yet what he would wonder later was why the man in the old uniform had been heading away from the action.

When Troy arrived at the blast scene the destruction his witnessed he would never have before thought possible. The reactor had been obliterated. No sign of the old structure remained, just a pile of metal and stone on the edge of the city plate. The heat from the flames was intense and a pillar of smoke was already beginning to hang above the wreck.

"It'll take all night to stop the burning," said a nearby officer. The man stood to Troy's right.

Before responding the officer Troy raised his hand in front of him to shield himself from the fire's glow. He also found himself drenched in sweat despite the cold of the night.

"Was anyone inside?" he asked.

"I guess so," the officer answered, "Usually a good twenty men needed to operate these things day in day out. Less so for a rural reactor, but not here in the city. Then there will have been security, a few Soldiers too I should think."

"Dammit," Troy snapped, "What about those who did this, you see them?"

No Sir," the Officer replied, "Who are you anyway? You Shinra?"

Troy again remembered he wasn't on the job. He put his hand in his jeans left pocket and pulled out his ID card,

"Troy Spencer," he introduced himself, "City Maintenance and Public Relations."

"How about that. Well Mr Spencer, it looks like your going to have a busy night."

Troy grinned satirically, "I'm just waiting for the call," he said.

Troy then left the officer, who remained fixed on the burning reactor. No doubt he would call it damage assessment, though truly he was as dumbstruck by the whole situation as everyone else. He then wondered if the would be freedom fighters of AVALANCHE realized the cost of life in their revolution exploits. Then he decided they did not. What they fought for Troy could understand- if it what they believed was true- it was their methods he believed made as them as bad as Shinra could ever be.

Most of the buildings in the direct vicinity of the explosion had been reduced to ruin by the blast. Smoke and ash from the fire made it difficult see. As Troy made his way between them however he came across one apartment block that was still holding, at least a little. He estimated it had once been four stories high, yet the two upper stories had collapsed leaving the lower floors supporting a lot of deadweight. Smoke was being coughed out by the building every few seconds, he gave it ten minutes tops.

For a moment Troy stood, merely waiting for the structure to collapse. As he did he heard a faint voice he was sure came from within. He could here many voices and cries all around of course, but this one was so faint it could only be coming from inside the doomed structure. Just in front of the entrance he noticed a family of three, they were holding their heads in their hands, they were upset.

"Is anybody in there?" he called to them. An old man raised his head, shook it solemnly, then lowered it again. A woman beside him then looked to Troy, she had been sobbing hard,

"My girl," she wept, "But it's too late, her room is blocked, and look, the building is going to collapse."

It certainly looked that way. Smoke continued to puke through the lower floors as it gave way to the rubble that was pushing down on top. Yet the cry came again. Troy knew he couldn't just leave the girl in there to be crushed to death.

"At least it's not on fire," Troy told himself as he made his way into the ruining structure.

The moment he stepped in through the door way Troy decided he probably wouldn't get out alive. Not about to turn back however he ripped a piece of material from the end of his shirt and used it to cover his mouth. The smoke was so think and had combined with the dust so he could barely see where he was going. Yet he found his way to the stairs and onto a narrow landing. Above him the ceiling groaned. It wouldn't be long before two floors worth of rubble came down on both himself and the girl across the hall.

He saw the door he needed. A part of the ceiling had already come down and was crushing it's way into the door frame. It had been held steady up till now but the door had been jammed. Plaster from above had also blocked the door itself. No wonder the family had lost hope Troy thought.

"Are you still there?" he called through the door,

"Yes," came the weakening voice of the child beyond, "Are you here to help me?"

"Yes, just hold on."

At that second Troy's cellphone began to ring in his pocket.

"Not now!" he moaned.

He ignored the call and began shifting the plaster blocking the way. It didn't take long, and now only the upper floor pressure was keeping the door from opening. He kicked out twice at the edge of the door, near the latch. Both times flakes of plaster came down on top of him. Even if he could get in this way the force would bring down both upper floors and both he and the girl would be crushed. Lucky for Troy however he was a Shinra employee and was afforded a dangerous talisman.

He put a hand to the small of his back. There, tucked safely into his jeans, was a Turk Class lightweight handgun. He knew that the shot might bring down more of the ceiling but the opening would be softer. It was the only chance he had. Grimacing in anxiety he pointed the gun at the latch and fired. The handle and latch were blown apart. Once again he kicked out, only lightly this time. The door swung open.

Sweat was dripping from Troy's face now and the air was making him dizzy. As he looked into the misty room he could just make out the girl's body curled up in the middle of the floor. For a brief heart stopping moment he thought she might be dead. Then he saw her breathing, though only slightly.

As he took her in his arms the ceiling behind him collapsed, blocking them inside.

He moved to the window. It was shut. He rapidly glanced around the room. The grey air made it tough to see but he did spot a small wooden chair beside an equally small dressing table.

He moved over to the girl's bed and lay her there for a moment. He then took the chair in his hands before hurling it through the window. The window shattered, they had a way out.

They were only on the first floor, but even that would be quite a drop. He could hear the girl's family shouting outside, their hope suddenly revived. Not wasting anymore time Troy shifted the girl carefully off the bed and onto the floor. He then attempted to shift the mattress off the bed and drag it to the window ledge. It was awkward on his own but he managed. He then lifted it at the end and slid it through the broken window. He heard the sound as it landed on the ground outside.

Again Troy picked up the girl and held her so that they were face to face.

"Fuck I hope this works," he muttered. He then climbed onto the ledge and carefully slid over to the other side, he held the frame with one hand and the girl with the other.

The family had now made themselves useful and moved the mattress so Troy and their daughter would have an easier landing. Taking a deep breath Troy shut his eyes, put both arms around the girl, then fell backwards.

It was always going to hurt. Falling back over sixteen feet was risky enough, even onto a mattress, but the little extra weight Troy was carrying had given the landing that little extra thud. As he lay gasping for air he found his view suddenly barricaded with the faces of thankful family members.

"Oh thank you so much,"

"You're a true hero,"

"However can we repay you?" Were just a few of their comments.

Eventually he sat up. The girl was back in the arms of her mother and father. That brought a wry smile to Troy's blackened, tired face. The old man, who was the girl's father, then noticed Troy and came to him,

"Tell me sir, what do we owe you for this? However can we thank you?"

"Don't bother," Troy told him, "Courtesy of Shinra inc."

"Well you are a credit to the company," the old man said, "And I hope you make examples of those responsible."

"Oh don't worry sir," Troy said, "We intend to."

The old man then helped Troy back to his feet, his legs were like jelly. Troy then pulled out his cellphone. He had a missed call, from his boss- Reeve. Not wasting anymore time he pressed call back.

"Troy," came the distressed voice of Reeve- Head of Urban Development in Midgar. "Where the hell have you been? Have you seen the news?"

"Sure boss," Troy sighed, "I got a first hand view."

"Good," Reeve snapped, "Myra will be there shortly. You are to do a live report on the event to the people of the city. Myra will give you the details but remember, the people must be assured the can trust in Shinra. AVALANCHE will be behind this, you just do your job."

"Yes boss."

Reeve then put the phone down.

"Thanks for your concern boss." Troy groaned to himself, then made his way back to the reactor, where Myra would be arriving shortly.