SHINRA'S EXPERIEMENT

THE TERRAIN WHIPPED PAST CLOUD AS HE RODE HIS MOTORCYCLE DOWN the forest trail. It had been a long trip, going from the ruins of Midgar-he had gone to pay his respects, a lot of good it did those who died-and was on his way back to Edge when Tifa had called. She said that she and the others had been summoned to the new Shinra building in the center of the city and that they wanted Cloud to join them. Something about a new experiment.

Whatever the reason Rufus Shinra wanted Cloud there, he wasn't interested. He was only going because Tifa had asked him.

After a while, the forest began to thin, revealing the city. Cloud sped up, wanting to get to the Shinra building and get this over with.

As he rode, he thought about the events that had transpired over the past few years.

It all began when he met Zack Fair, a member of the Shinra Corporation's private army, called SOLDIER. Zack was a SOLDIER First Class, the same rank as Cloud's childhood hero, the might Sephiroth. Cloud met Zack on a mission to find out what had happened to Zack's mentor, SOLDIER First Class Angeal.

That mission ended in tragedy, with the death of Angeal, who had defected months earlier with his best friend, another SOLDIER First Class named Genesis.

Some time had gone by since, and Zack finally arranged for Cloud's childhood wish to come true-he would make Cloud a SOLDIER.

Cloud didn't remember much about the process. He remembered being put in a tank, a strange liquid filling the tank, and a great deal of pain. As it turned out, the pain was due to mako energy being pumped into Cloud's body, giving him greater physical strength and stamina than a normal human.

He wasn't sure just how long the process took-had it taken months, or had it taken years? He didn't know, and part of him didn't want to know. All he knew was that the augmentation process had left him weak, and while he was in the tank, Sephiroth had gone mad. As it turned out, Sephiroth had learned of the dark secrets of his past, how he was genetically created using the genes of the calamity, Jenova.

Sephiroth attacked the mako reactor at Cloud's hometown of Neibelheim, killing his mother and father and severely injuring Tifa in the process. Zack tried to fight Sephiroth, but he was no match for the more experienced SOLDIER. Cloud finally got the drop on Sephiroth as he prepared to extract what was left of Jenova's carcass from the reactor, impaling him with the Buster Sword.

With their hero dead, the Shinra Corporation put a bounty out on Cloud and Zack, causing them to go on the lamb. They were on their way back to Midgar via hitchiking when they were attacked by Shinra's main infantry force. Zach hid Cloud-who had been weakened even more during the incident in Neibelheim-behind a large boulder and went out to meet the force.

By the time Cloud regained consciousness, the battle was over. The bodies of hundreds of Shinra infantrymen littered the ground, and on the edge of the ridge lay Zack, his body riddled with holes. With his dying breath, Zack passed the Buster Sword on to Cloud and asked his friend to live for both of them.

Seven years later, Cloud had joined an organization called AVALANCHE, who were trying to bring down Shinra for what they were doing to the planet. Shinra had become the largest corporation in the world due to their method of providing energy-they had learned how to tap into the spiritual essence of the world, the Lifestream and its mako energy, and the more energy they took from the Lifestream, the more they damaged the planet.

It was then that Cloud met Aerith, a beautiful young woman who lived in a church in The Slums. Shinra had been hunting her because she was the last member of a race called the Cetra-referred to by Shinra as the Ancients. Shinra eventually succeeded in capturing Aerith, with help from a mercenary group called the Turks. Cloud and his friends followed the Turks to Shinra Tower to rescue Aerith, and while doing so, Cloud learned that Sephiroth may still be alive.

Indeed he was, and he was still seeking to get revenge against all of humanity. His goal was to obtain the Black Materia which would allow him to use a technique called Meteor which would, effectively, destroy the earth.

As the last of the Cetra, Aerith believed that she was the only one who could stop Sephiroth from performing the Meteor, because she was in posession of the White Materia and the power it contained-the power of Holy, the light of the planet. But before she could use Holy, Sephiroth struck her down, impaling her through the back.

After what seemed like months, Cloud and his friends finally confronted Sephiroth in the core of the planet and after a heated battle, Cloud delivered the final blows with his Omnislash.

Even so, this was not enough to stop Meteor. They were forced to watch helplessly as the large rock entered the planet's atmosphere.

And then, something amazing happened.

The Lifestream surrounding the planet swarmed the Meteor, stopping it from obliterating the planet. Sadly, the same could not be said for Midgar, which was destroyed as Meteor entered the atmosphere.

Two years later, a new city had been built and the world had gone back to its daily routine, save for one problem. A new epidemic was spreading, a disease called Geostigma. It was a strange disease, so mysterious that no one knew what caused it, nor did they know a cure.

Actually, there was one person who knew what Geostigma was, a man named Vincent, whom Cloud and the others had met in the basement of the Shinra Tower. According to Vincent, Geostigma was a disease born from Jenova's cells spread through the Lifestream after Sephiroth's death. The disease caused the body to overcompensate as it tried to fight it off, overworking the immune system and allowing room for other potent diseases to enter.

But Geostigma wasn't the only problem. As it turned out, when Sephiroth died, his soul separated into three different being called the Remnants-Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj. They were seeking Jenova's head to revive Sephiroth, and Kadaj-as Cloud learned-was his vessel.

After defeating the Bahamut that Kadaj had summoned, Cloud chased Kadaj and his gang into the ruins of Midgar. Two of the Turks, Reno and Rude, disabled Loz and Yazoo, while Cloud continued to chase Kadaj. After a heated battle, Kadaj absorbed Jenova's essence, becoming Sephiroth himself.

The battle was fierce, with neither Cloud nor Sephiroth backing down. During the battle, the two of them even used the ruined city as weapons.

Cloud found the fight to be draining, and though he tried to fight back, Sephiroth had the upper hand, until he asked Cloud what it was that he cherished the most. Cloud's answer?

"There isn't a thing I don't cherish!"

Just as he had done two years prior, Cloud's Omnislash defeated Sephiroth. He disappeared, leaving a wounded Kadaj in his place. Kadaj tried to attack Cloud, but his wounds were too much for him, and he died in Cloud's arms.

As Cloud was fighting, a cure for Geostigma had been discovered-a pool of water in the old church. This water, as it turned out, was one of Aerith's abilities, called Healing Rain. The water cured the Geostigma of everyone in the city, and as Cloud found himself smiling for the first time, he spotted the spirits of Aerith and Zack and realized that he wasn't as alone as he thought.

And now, six months later, all was peaceful.

So what was it that Shinra was doing now?

Ten minutes later, Cloud pulled up to the new Shinra building. He shut off the motorcycle's ignition and lowered the kickstand as he got off. Ever the cautious one, Cloud opened the sides of his bike and took out three swords, sliding them into the sheaths he wore slung over his back before heading inside.

Cloud gave a recognizing nod to the receptionist, who told him that Rufus and his friends were waiting for him in the science wing on the fiftieth floor.

The elevator ride seemed to take forever, and the sappy elevator music wasn't helping much. All Cloud could do was lean against the back wall, his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he sank into deep thought.

After a while, the bell rang, signaling that Cloud had reached his destination. He stepped forward as the doors opend and turned left, towards the science wing. As he walked, he saw signs all over of the late Doctor Hojo, the man responsible for what was called the Jenova Project, the dark secret behind SOLDIER. While Cloud despised the man for performing unethical genetic experiments on his fellow humans, he also found himself being very grateful; had it not been for him, Cloud wouldn't have the strength to lift the Buster Sword or his new sword, the Fusion Sword, a sword made up of multiple blades combined together.

He finally reached his destination near the end of the hall. With one hand on the hilt of a sword, he opened the door, ready for anything.

He let out a quiet sigh of relief upon realizing that there were no threats in this room, just Rufus Shinra, a Shinra scientist, and his friends.

Just what could be so important that they had to drag me, Tifa, Cid, Barrett, Vincent, and Yuffie into this? he thought.

"Well, you took your god damn time," growled Cid Highwind, an older man with a very sharp tongue-not to mention a very foul vocabulary. He had his teltale cigar in his mouth. In addition to his foul language and chain smoking, he was skilled with a lance, was a very smart man in the scientific field, and was one of the best pilots in the world.

"Eat me," Cloud said. "What's this all about?"

"Glad you asked," the scientist said. "Well, we here at Shinra have discovered the means for interdimensional travel."

"Wait a damn minute, sonny," Cid growled. "Inter-whatsit travel?"

"Interdimensional," the scientist replied, speaking slowly so Cid could understand. "Travel between the same location but in a different universe."

"All sounds like a crock of shit to me," Cid said as he stomped out his cigar and immediately lit another one.

"I assure you, it's legit," the scientist said.

"And besides, Cid," Barrett Wallace said, "after some of the crazy things we've seen, is that really such a surprise?"

Cloud never really admitted it out loud, but he really respected Barrett. He was a heavily muscled black man, his right hand replaced with a mechanical hand that could convert into a gatling gun. He was big and tough, but had a good heart, especially with his adopted daughter Marlene, whom Cloud could only assume had been left with a sitter while Barrett was here.

"This device," Rufus said, cutting off Cloud's train of thought, "was designed to open a rift in the universal walls and allow safe travel."

"Or it will once it's been perfected," the scientist said. "Yes, it will allow travel between worlds, but we don't know just how safe it will be."

"Well, knowing you bums, you probably need a guinea pig," Yuffie Kisaragi spat.

Of all of his friends, Yuffie was a strange one. Though she referred to herself as a ninja, she certainly wasn't dressed as such-a crop-top shirt and a pair of short shorts. Her black hair was barely shoulder length, and even though she wasn't dressed like a ninja, she certainly behaved like one; in battle, anyway.

Vincent had been leaning against a wall, his arms crossed. His blood red cape sharply contrasted the pristine clean walls of the laboratory, and Cloud could see his rifle in the holster strapped to his leg.

"If you need someone to test this device out," he calmly said, "then why not use one of your...willing soldiers?"

"At this moment, the device is too dangerous to test out on humans," the scientist said. "But we can give you a demonstration of its power to open dimensional doors." He made his way towards the device. "I must ask everyone to step back. There's no telling what might happen."

He waited until everyone had stepped back as far as they could before throwing the power switch.

Barrett wasn't aware, but Marlene had snuck into the building, leaving the sitter's shortly after he left. Fortunately for her, the sitter was rather ditzy, and wasn't paying attention.

Somehow, Marlene had beaten Barrett, as well as the rest of his friends, to the room where they were told to meet. Not wanting to get in trouble should someone spot her, she hid behind the large machine in the room.

Marlene had been waiting for so long she actually fell asleep behind the machine. It was the sound of the machine booting up that woke her. Now that she was back here, with the machine turning on, she was scared. She hadn't even bothered to consider that this machine might be some sort of weapon and that she might be in the line of fire or whatever it was that this machine did.

She curled into a fetal position, trying to make herself as small as she could as the machien continued to boot up.

And that's when the hole appeared.

It wasn't a hole in the wall, but rather, a hole in the air. Marlene could see a small village through the hole, a village made up of old fashioned houses.

That wouldn't have been so bad, if not for the wind. Marlene felt like she was being pulled into a tornado. She grabbed onto the machine, holding on as tight as she could, her grip loosening by the second. One by one, her fingers slipped, until she couldn't hold on anymore, and the wind pulled her into the hole.

"DADDY!"

Barrett's breath caught in his throat as he saw Marlene fly from behind the machine and into the hole, disappearing into it.

"Marlene!" he yelled as he ran towards the hole, jumping into it without a second thought.

"Barrett, wait!" Cloud called after him. "Damn it. Come on!" He rushed towards the hole and jumped through it, followed closely by Tifa, Yuffie, and Vincent.

"I just know I'm gonna regret this," Cid sighed as he stomped out his cigar. "Well, Geronimo!" He leaped into the hole.

"Are they nuts?!" the scientist yelled. "This thing hasn't been fully tested yet!"

As if just to troll him, the machine began to fritz out. Smoke billowed from it as it began to shut down, and the dimensional hole closed.

"Oh no. This is not good."

"Can't you just open that thing up again?" Rufus asked.

"I'm afraid not, sir, not until I can fix this thing. And I don't know how long that will take. Wherever they are, they may be there for a very long time. All we can do is pray for their well-being."