Final Fantasy VII: Another Side

By:

Mystwalker

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

A/N: A lot of the dialogue in the latter half of this chapter is pulled straight from some of the cutscenes, with some original dialogue to make up for the new characters, and with some things changed (for example, Zack and CC!Cloud being more receptive to Barret's lectures about the dying Planet). I hope it works alright. Next chapter will be the last chapter in this particular file. Those of you waiting for Aerith…you'll get a glimpse of her in File 003.

Riku Uzumaki – Yes he is! But that goes without saying, lol. Thanks for the review.

OhJay – It's going to start differing once they get out of Midgar, but some things are going to stay fairly accurate. I'll let you know right now that there will be a lot more villains in this story, due to the fact that…well, they have Sephiroth with them, and we need more villains/stronger villains so that this doesn't turn into "Sephiroth beats up everything while the other guys watch and just help him against Genesis to make that battle easy".

Rododeth0891 – Thanks! Glad you like it!

HazzaTL3 – The thought crossed my mind, lol. Don't worry. I might not be the fastest updater in the world, but I won't wait that long. Thanks for the review!

LittleMissMuddle – Aww, warm and fuzzies 3. I'm glad you like it, and thanks a lot for your review and support. Every review means a lot to me!

X

File 002: A Group of Vigilantes

The air under Midgar's plate was warm and almost suffocating, and it was the beginning of winter. He knew for a fact how uncomfortable the slums could be in the summer, when the plate above blocked sunlight but retained heat. The air was polluted, and there wasn't a single scrap of green anywhere.

But to Zack, it felt just like home.

He crouched on top of the moving train, grinning slightly as he reached behind him and pulled out the Buster Sword. He held it in both hands, taking a deep breath as he pressed his forehead to the cool metal of the blade. Somewhere in this city, currently on the other side of it, was Aerith. Somewhere in this city, above the plate, was Kunsel. Somewhere in this city, where the train was headed, was a mako reactor that needed blowing up.

He felt his mouth curl up into another grin as he replaced the Buster Sword, looking straight ahead of him.

"Alright," he said, "Let's do this. Sector 1 Reactor, here I come."

X

"Is he really going to be okay up there?" asked the brown-haired AVALANCHE member,—Jessie, she had said her name was—craning her neck to try and catch a glimpse of Zack from inside the train.

"Don't worry," said Sephiroth from where he stood, leaning against the opposite wall. "Zack never could do things like a normal person."

She looked at him uncertainly, clearly unsure, but she didn't ask any more questions, going over to one of the seats on the train and sitting down. He smirked slightly, folding his arms. A part of him could almost understand Zack's restlessness. Zack wasn't the only one that had gotten…a little bored over the past few years. He was considerably more patient, but he had to admit, the change from Modeoheim to Kalm had been a welcome breath of fresh air.

And they were back here again, where it had all begun.

"Cloud," he said, looking up.

The blond infantryman jumped to his feet. Sephiroth glanced at him. He supposed some things would never change. Cloud was dressed in the SOLDIER 1st Class uniform he had been wearing when he came to. It was, Sephiroth supposed, the most combat ready thing the blond owned in any case. The pauldron on the right shoulder had fallen off in the trip from Midgar's outskirts to Kalm, making it look strangely asymmetrical. Sephiroth picked up a sword that was propped up against one of the chairs, turning it over and offering the hilt to Cloud. Cloud took the sword from him uncertainly.

"Are you ready for this?" asked Sephiroth coolly.

"Do I have a choice?" asked Cloud, testing the sword's weight in his hand before attaching it to the magnetic sheath behind him. Sephiroth watched him, raising an eyebrow.

"Stay behind Zack and me," he said. "Don't attempt to engage any SOLDIERs you come across if you can help it. You should do fine."

"You might even keep from embarrassing yourself when we bring you back home to Tifa," said Cissnei with a smile from her seat behind Cloud's. Cloud's face reddened. "C-Cissnei!" he said.

Sephiroth smirked, shaking his head. Out of the four of them, only Cloud had been allowed to visit AVALANCHE's headquarters beforehand, mostly because of Tifa. The rest of them had only been given a vague idea of where the headquarters were. "Don't embarrass him," he said to Cissnei. "He'll lose his focus."

Cissnei smiled and shook her head, turning to look out of the window. He and Zack were still wearing the clothes they had worn as members of SOLDIER, but Cissnei had not put on her Turk suit. She was dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt, dark pants, and black boots. Above her shirt, she wore a sleeveless gray vest, one that he strongly suspected was bulletproof. She had Rekka in her gloved hands, and appeared to be checking the weapon's sharpness.

"…Are you ready?" he asked, when she noticed him watching.

She smiled and shrugged. "I'm a Turk," she said. "I'm always ready."

"Hn."

She looked down and back at her weapon, her smile fading as she examined it again, examining it with movements so precise that she had probably done this sort of thing hundreds of times. He continued to watch her. Satisfied, she stood up, fastening Rekka to her back. She walked out of her seat, stopping directly in front of Sephiroth. Cissnei turned to pass him, stopping directly in front of him and placing her hand on his chest lightly.

"Don't lose your focus," she said with a smile and a wink, her hand falling to her side as she walked towards the back of the car.

He frowned and turned, walking towards the opposite end of the car. Barret Wallace, the large, rather temperamental leader of AVALANCHE, looked up at him as he passed.

"Hey! Pretty boy!" called Barret. Sephiroth ignored him. HIs goal in Midgar wasn't to aid them, no matter how appealing the prospect of getting back at Shinra was. It was to find information about Genesis. Of course, as a SOLDIER, he had no problem with taking orders…if the orders happened to come from authority he could respect.

"Listen to me when I'm talkin' to you!"

Sephiroth sighed inwardly and stopped walking, turning his head. "My name is Sephiroth," he said, keeping his tone even.

"I don't care if your name is Prince James the fifteenth!" growled Barret. "I took you on for this job because Tifa asked me to. But I don't trust you. If you and your SOLDIER buddies pull any funny business…"

"I assure you," said Sephiroth impatiently. "…that will be the least of your worries."

The train slowed to a stop, bells ringing to signal its arrival at the station. Sephiroth quickly spread his legs slightly, bracing himself for the stop. He slid backwards slightly as the train finally stopped. Barret stumbled forward, grabbing onto one of the seats with his human hand to keep himself from falling over.

From across the train, Cissnei was getting up. She met his eyes, nodding at him. Cloud was standing up as well from the middle, one hand on the hilt of his sword. From outside, he heard a shout quickly cut off by a grunt, followed by a thud. The doors opened.

"Shall we?" asked Sephiroth with a smirk, pulling Masamune from his back with his left hand and walking past Barret towards the door.

X

Zack grinned as he released his hold on the second guard, dropping him to the ground. He straightened up, turning his head as Sephiroth stepped out of the train. "Yo!" he said, waving his hand in the air. "Saved you some fun!"

"I see," said Sephiroth. Cissnei leaped out from behind him, rushing at one of the startled guards. Before he could react, she had ducked under his arm, slamming her fist into his jaw. Sephiroth swung Masamune around, slashing at another pair of guards. Cloud blocked a guard's attack with his sword—something Zack noticed and smiled at—before pulling back and punching him squarely in the chest.

Behind him, a guard moved, attempting to surprise him. Zack's grin widened. The sound of his feet on the stone of the platform had given him away.

"Whoa there, buddy," said Zack, sidestepping the blow. "I can't let you do that."

He moved in, pulling his fist back and slamming it into the guard's gut. He fell over with a groan and Zack straightened up, looking around at the others. Sephiroth replaced Masamune, turning to look at him. The other AVALANCHE members were already running.

"Alright!" said Barret, leaving the train. "Follow me!"

Zack nodded, running towards the Reactor. Sephiroth moved ahead of them, slashing at the two infantrymen that jumped out to stop them with two rapid slashes. The two infantrymen fell to the ground, and Sephiroth ran past without even slowing down, Cissnei behind him. Zack glanced at Cloud, who was watching the performance with a slightly awed look on his face.

"Lesson one, never get in Sephiroth's way when he wants to get somewhere," he said. He clapped Cloud on the shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll get there."

Cloud nodded, and the two of them started running again.

They met up with the group outside the entrance to the Reactor. Zack slid his hands into his pockets, tilting his head up to look at it. It was a massive structure, glowing with the pale green light of mako energy. He had been in this particular reactor once before, for an inspection back when he was still an infantryman. That was before he had met Angeal. Jessie was kneeling in front of the gate, working to get it open.

As Zack watched, Cissnei walked over to her, crouching down and quietly pushing her hands aside as she typed in a few codes. One of Barret's men—Biggs—turned towards him and Cloud.

"Wow! You used to be in SOLDIER, huh?" he asked.

"Well, I—," began Cloud. Zack interrupted him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"That's right," said Zack.

Biggs looked impressed. "…Not every day you find one in a group like AVALANCHE," he said. Jessie looked up from her work with Cissnei, turning her head to face them. "SOLDIER?" she asked. "Aren't they the enemy? What are they doing with us in AVALANCHE?"

"We're a special case," said Zack.

"They were with SOLDIER, Jessie!" said Wedge, the last member of Barret's crew. "But they quit and are working with us now." Jessie frowned, looking away and getting back to work.

"I didn't catch your names," said Biggs.

Zack grinned and stood up straight. "I'm Zack," he said. "SOLDIER 1st Class. Well…formerly." When Cloud didn't speak, Zack nudged him.

"Ah…Cloud," he said.

"I'm Cissnei," said Cissnei with a smile, looking up.

"Sephiroth."

Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie turned to stare at Sephiroth, wide-eyed. At that moment, Barret came running over to them. "The hell are you doin' standing around here?" he asked. "I thought I said not to move as a group! We'll meet at the bridge in front of the reactor!"

"Door's open," said Cissnei, standing up and stepping back as the door opened. She wiped the sweat off her forehead, turning towards them.

Sephiroth nodded, stepping inside. Cissnei followed him. The three of them stared after him.

"Sephiroth…" repeated Wedge.

"The Sephiroth?" asked Biggs.

"The Sephiroth," confirmed Zack, grinning at him. He placed his hands behind his head. "Just don't ask him to sign autographs."

"Wow…" said Jessie.

Barret cleared his throat. "Get movin'!" he yelled. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie jumped, straightening up and running through the gate. Zack nodded, doing one squat to ready himself before straightening up. "Showtime," he said, patting Cloud on the back before walking forward.

Barret stopped them at the entrance.

"Ex-SOLDIERs, huh?" he said. "I don't trust ya!"

"Don't have to trust us as long as you can work with us," said Zack. "Isn't that right, Cloud?"

"Mm," said Cloud, nodding.

"Tch," said Barret, glaring at them before turning around to run into the reactor.

X

They left Wedge behind to secure their escape route, running into the reactor. By the time Cloud and Zack were inside, Cissnei was already tinkering with one of the brightly colored door panels, making suggestions to Biggs based on her knowledge of Shinra's security system. Sephiroth stood at the top of the stairs, watching the entrance carefully.

"This your first time in a Reactor?" asked Barret as they approached.

He and Zack exchanged glances.

"Hardly," said Zack. "We worked for Shinra, remember?"

Barret frowned at them. "This Planet's full of mako energy," he said. "People here use it every day…" He paused, clenching his fists. "It's the life blood of the Planet. But Shinra keeps suckin' the blood out with all these weird machines."

"The life blood of the Planet…" said Zack, scratching the back of his neck. "…I never thought of it that way before."

"…But if they keep sucking it up, won't they end up bleeding the Planet dry?" asked Cloud.

Sephiroth frowned. "Eventually," he said. "I suppose."

Barret glared at him, then turned back to the two of them. "Alright!" he said. "You come with me from now on."

Zack and Cloud nodded, the three of them walking over to the door. Cissnei straightened up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Code deciphered," she said, pressing on the door panel. The door opened. They moved into the next room, where Jessie ran up to the door and pressed her hand on the panel. "Code deciphered," she echoed, opening the door and letting them through.

They rushed through, entering the elevator and the reactor itself.

TO BE CONTINUED