Hey, welcome to the first chapter of my FFVII au. This one doesn't have TOO many differences from the original game because it's just an introductory chapter, but future chapters will have more original content. Shoutout to nat and lava, the co-creators of this au for giving me feedback, and WolfRain for betaing.
In the city of Midgar, a group called AVALANCHE stood atop a moving train headed for the Sector 1 Station, intent on destroying the Sector 1 Mako Reactor. In the group was leader Taiyang Xiao Long, members Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren, and mercenary for hire Blake Belladonna.
Tai was a tan, muscular, blue-eyed 43 year old man with sandy blond hair and a soul patch. He had a robotic right arm that could transform into a gun when needed, with a tattoo of a stylized yellow blazing heart on his upper right arm, above the prosthetic. He wore a brown vest, green pants, and brown boots.
Jaune was a 21 year old light-skinned man with blond hair held back by a red bandana and blue eyes. He wore a beige shirt, blue shorts, and brown boots, and had a sword and shield strapped to his back.
Ren, also 21, was light-skinned and had pink eyes and long, black hair with a pink streak in it. He wore a green shirt, green pants, and brown shoes, and had a red bandana tied around his forehead. His weapons were a pair of green handguns with blades attached.
Nora, Ren's girlfriend and the same age as him, was a light-skinned woman with turquoise eyes and short orange hair. She wore metal armor over a blue top, in addition to brown gloves and boots and knee-length olive green shorts. Her weapon of choice was a giant hammer.
Lastly, Blake Belladonna, 21 like the other three, was a dark-skinned woman with long black hair and a black bow tied at the top of her head. A former SOLDIER first class, she still wore her old uniform, and had the trademark glowing blue "Mako eyes" all members of the group had. Her weapon was a giant sword she kept on her back when not in use.
Once the train arrived at the station, Ren and Nora leapt down and incapacitated the two guards stationed there. Jaune then jumped down to join them, and the three of them ran ahead as Tai and Blake jumped down.
"Follow me, newbie," Tai said, running ahead and motioning for Blake to follow. She did, but ended up running into a couple guards, who she made quick work of with her sword. She arrived at the gate to Sector 1 where Jaune, Ren, and Nora were gathered; the latter was working on getting the door open.
"I can't believe we have someone that used to be in SOLDIER with us. That's so cool!" Jaune said to Blake in admiration.
"Wait, aren't SOLDIER the bad guys? What's she doing helping us?" Nora asked in confusion.
"She was in SOLDIER, Nora," Ren pointed out. "She quit and is one of us now. Say, what was your name again?"
"Blake," Blake replied, sounding bored.
"Well Blake, I'm-"
"Don't care. Once we finish this job, I'm gone," Blake bluntly interrupted.
Just then, Tai ran over to the group. "All right, try not to move in a group. Our target is the North Mako Reactor. We'll meet up at the bridge in front of it."
Nora then got the gate open; then she, Ren, and Jaune proceeded into Sector 1. Tai turned to Blake.
"I don't trust you," he said, before turning and heading into Sector 1. Blake waited a bit before heading into Sector 1 herself. Once she reached the bridge outside the reactor, she found Ren, Nora, and Tai running into the reactor, while Jaune stood outside the door to Sector 8.
"I'm in charge of securing the escape passage," Jaune explained. "You head inside, okay Blake?"
Blake nodded and headed inside the reactor, where Tai was waiting for her.
"This your first time inside a reactor?" Tai asked.
"Of course not," Blake answered. "I did used to work for the Schnee Mako Company, after all."
"Fair point," Tai said with a shrug. "Y'know, this planet is full of Mako energy. People use it every day. It's the life blood of this planet, but the SMC keeps sucking it out with their weird machines."
"I didn't come here to be lectured," Blake said, rolling her eyes. "Can we get going already?"
"All right, but you're sticking with me. Like I said, I don't trust you."
They headed to the door, where Ren was working on getting it open, Nora standing by him.
"God, I love watching my man work his magic," Nora swooned, before Ren finished getting the door open. He, Nora, Blake and Tai entered the next room. Nora got working on getting the door in this room open.
"Y'know, a lot of people risked their lives just for the code to open these doors," Ren commented, before Nora got it open, revealing an elevator, which she, Blake, and Tai entered. Nora pressed the button to get the elevator moving.
"This is so exciting!" She squealed. "We're gonna blow up a reactor!"
"Little by little these reactors will drain all life, and that'll be that," Tai commented.
"Not my problem," Blake said with indifference.
"The planet's dying, Blake! Don't you care about that?!"
"All I care about is getting this job done before security arrives."
Tai clenched his fist, but kept his mouth shut. The elevator then reached the bottom, and the three of them exited it. After heading down a set of stairs, Nora hung back and let Blake and Tai continue on. The two of them eventually reached the core.
"All right, time to blow this place. Blake, you set the bomb."
"Why me?"
"Just do it! I'll watch to make sure you don't try anything funny."
"Fine…" Blake sighed. Just then, she felt herself experience a brief flashback to another time she was in a reactor, and could hear a voice in her head say, "Watch out! This isn't just a reactor!"
"What's up?" Tai asked.
"Huh?"
"What's going on? Why haven't you set the bomb yet?"
"Sorry…" Blake said, before setting it up. Just then, the alarms started going off, Blake and Tai turned around.
"Uh oh, something's coming," Tai said, pointing to a robotic scorpion with rifles attached to it. He transformed his arm into gun form in preparation for the fight.
The scorpion opened fire on the two of them, and Tai immediately began returning fire. The scorpion then raised its tail up.
"Tai, stop attacking," Blake warned. "If you attack while its tail is up, it'll counter with its laser!"
But Blake was too late, as a volley of bullets had already hit the machine. The bot proceeded to shoot a laser from its tail at Tai, but thanks to Blake's warning he dodged it. The scorpion then put its tail back down.
"You keep firing on it, I'm gonna try and get close and dismantle it," Blake said, using a Thunder materia to electrify her sword. She got up close and as she predicted, it tried to stab her with its tail. It only ended up stabbing a shadow clone, while the real Blake hopped onto the tail, slicing off the tip. She then proceeded to jump down onto the carapace and stab her electrified sword deep into it, before jumping off and watching as the mech exploded. Blake looked over at the bomb she'd set.
"We've got 10 minutes before that thing explodes. Let's get going!" Blake said to Tai, and the two of them proceeded to head out. Along the way they came across Nora with her leg stuck in a walkway. Blake crouched down to help her up. "You okay?"
"Yeah, thanks Blake. I guess you do care after all!" Nora said, and she, Blake and Tai headed into the elevator, where they met up with Ren at the top. The four of them proceeded to make their way out of the reactor, meeting up with Jaune, where the five of them headed into Sector 8 just before the reactor exploded.
"That should keep the planet going a little longer," Tai commented.
"Yeah," Jaune said, nodding in agreement. The group then proceeded on a bit, before noticing rubble blocking their path.
"Stand back everyone! I've got this," Nora said, pulling out her hammer and destroying the rubble. They proceeded on past the rubble, before eventually stopping again.
"All right everyone, let's split up and rendezvous at Sector 8 station," Tai ordered them. Jaune, Ren, and Nora nodded and ran off in separate directions. Tai began to leave himself, before being stopped by Blake.
"Hey…" she began, before her voice trailed off.
"If it's about your money, wait 'til we're back at the hideout," Tai told her, before running off.
Blake made her way to LOVELESS Avenue, where she saw a faunus boy carrying a basket of flowers get knocked over by some people running about. He quickly got up and dusted himself off, before approaching Blake.
The boy looked to be about Blake's age, maybe a little older. Like Tai he had sandy blond hair, blue eyes, and bronze skin. A blond monkey tail could be seen poking out of the back of his pants. He wore a string necklace, brown boots, blue pants, and an open red jacket, leaving his chest and impressive abs on display. A pink ribbon holding a white materia was tied around one of his belt loops.
"Hey, can you tell me what happened?" He asked Blake.
"It's nothing…" Blake said. "Y'know, you don't see many flowers around these parts."
"Oh these? Do you want one? Only a gil!" He said with a big grin on his face.
"Sure," Blake decided, handing him a single gil.
"Thanks, here ya go!" He said, handing a flower to Blake. He then winked at Blake and ran off.
"Well he was… weird…" Blake commented to herself, before continuing through Sector 8. She eventually ended up at a bridge above some railway tracks.
"Hey! You there!" A soldier shouted, and Blake suddenly found herself standing still, surrounded by soldiers.
"I don't have time for this," Blake muttered, before jumping down on top of a passing train.
Inside the baggage section of the train, Tai, Ren, Nora, and Jaune were gathered.
"Blake never came…" Ren lamented.
"What if she was killed?" Jaune said solemnly.
"No way, she's too tough for that!" Nora said, refusing to believe Blake could be dead.
"She better not be dead, or else Yang'll kill me," Tai commented.
They suddenly heard banging on the roof, and glanced up briefly.
"Do you think Blake's going to stay with AVALANCHE?" Jaune asked.
"We can only hope," Ren said.
"She better, or else she'll leave poor Yang heartbroken, and I could never forgive her for that," Tai said. "She's already been abandoned by enough people for one lifetime."
Suddenly, they heard more banging, before the door to outside the train opened and Blake came in.
"Blake!" Jaune, Nora, and Ren said simultaneously, happy to see her.
"Sorry I'm late," Blake said.
"Jeez, Blake, how could you leave us worried like that?" Tai berated her. "Do you care about anything but yourself?"
"You guys were worried about me?"
"Wha-?! Of course we were! Whatever, let's move out," Tai grumbledsaid, heading on to the next train car.
"Hey, you did great back there," Jaune told Blake, before following Tai.
"I agree, and we'll do even better next time," Ren said, before moving on himself. Nora walked over to the door Blake had come in through.
"Lemme just close that," Nora said, doing so. "Thanks for helping me back there!"
Nora then moved on to the next car herself, Blake following after her. As they entered, a voice over the intercom said, "Last train out of Sector 8 Station. Last stop is Sector 7, Train Graveyard. Expected time of arrival is 12:23 AM, Midgar Standard Time…"
Ren yawned. "Man, that mission sure took its toll on me."
Nora yawned as well. "Me too, I think I'll nap 'til we get to the station."
Blake walked over to Jaune.
"Y'know, one day, we'll be famous, myself included! I've got a bright future ahead of me, I'm telling ya, Blake," he said.
"Oh really? And what kind of future do you have in mind?" Blake asked, deciding to humor him.
"All my life I've always felt like a sidekick. But with AVALANCHE, I get to be a hero. After we're done saving the world, I plan on settling down with my girlfriend, Pyrrha! She's quite the catch you know! She's the most famous chocobo racer in the world! I hope you get to meet her someday. I don't know what she sees in me, but her belief in me has helped me believe in myself, so I'm quite thankful for her. She makes me feel like the luckiest man in the world!"
"I see…" Blake said, before heading over to Ren, who was looking at a map.
"Hey, Blake, want me to explain this map of the Midgar Rail System to you?" Ren whispered, not wanting to be overheard. Blake shrugged and nodded.
"This is a complete model of the city of Midgar. It's about a 1/10000 scale. The top plate is about 50 meters above the ground. A main support structure holds the plate up in the center, and there are other support structures built in each section. The No. 1 Reactor we blew up was in the northern section."
"Then, there's No. 2, No.3, and so on all the way up to the No. 8 Reactor. The 8 reactors provide the city with power. Each numbered sector in Midgar used to be a town with their own unique names, but nobody remembers them, so we just call them Sector 1, Sector 2, and so on these days."
"Next, let's look at the route this train is on. The route spirals around the main support structure. We should be coming around the center area right now. At each checkpoint an ID sensor device is set up. It can check the identities and background of each and every passenger on this train by linking back up to the central data bank at Schnee headquarters."
"Since anyone could tell we look suspicious, we're using fake IDs."
A red light began flashing, before stopping.
"Speaking of, that was the ID check area just now," Ren commented, and with that, Ren had thankfully finished what had become rather boring exposition for Blake.
"Ugh, that light always hurts my eyes," Nora complained.
"I know, right?" Jaune agreed.
"It'll be alright, baby," Ren said, sitting down next to Nora and holding her hand. "I've got you."
"Aww, thanks," Nora swooned, smiling at him. "You sure know how to sweep a girl off her feet."
"Nothing bad will happen to us as long as we have each other," he assured her.
"Come here you!" Nora said, pulling him into a kiss.
Meanwhile, Tai was looking out the window. "Hey, we can see the surface now. This city doesn't have a day or night. The plate prevents us from seeing the sky."
Blake went to join Tai in looking out the window. "A floating city, huh…"
"Yeah, and I hate it. The upper class gets to live it up on top of that 'pizza', while the rest of us are stuck down here suffering and being forced to breathe this polluted air. On top of that, we have those reactors draining all the energy."
"Yeah, people have it bad in this city. Especially the faunus."
"Speaking of, when are you gonna take that bow off? You know you don't have to hide your ears around us, right?"
"I'll take it off when we're not in public. I'd rather not face discrimination from this city's racist denizens. The only faunus that ever got treated decently around here was Adam Taurus."
"Speaking of, you were in SOLDIER, weren't you? Did you ever meet him?"
"That's a story for another time, we're almost to the station."