Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII
Sorry for the late update, but I have been struggling with my grandmother's death and my studies. I hope you guys will appreciate this rather short chapter, but I really wanted to update so I split it up in two chapters.
Enjoy!
Chapter 8: Escaping Midgar Part 1
He was lazily leaning back in his big chair as he gazed outside the large window, still slightly glaring at the destruction AVALANCHE had brought to his mako reactor. He had been furious to hear about the bombings. It wasn't really the damage to the reactor and storages that had angered him, it was the shame he had to deal with now. Losing to a stupid little rebel group like AVALANCHE. He had always said he would never let them win, but here he was, looking at their success.
"President! The prisoners have been brought to the cells. What is your next order?"
President Shinra turned his chair around and looked at the nervous Shinra employee in front of his desk. He clasped his hands and put his elbows on his desk, a smug smile appeared on his face.
"I want them executed." he said and didn't hesitate one second.
He wanted them dead. He needed to show the people Shinra was still in charge, that he was still in charge.
"I would like to advise against that President."
President Shinra snapped his eyes to the stairs to his right and let out an annoyed sigh when he saw Sephiroth climbing the stairs. He wasn't in the mood to listen to him, but this was Sephiroth and Shinra owed the legendary SOLDIER a lot. Even though President Shinra knew Sephiroth was of irreplaceable value to the company, he hated how the SOLDIER would order him around. President Shinra shifted his weight on his chair and looked up to Sephiroth.
"And why is that?"
"You'll need them to find the rest of the group." Sephiroth began and when he walked up to the President's desk, the Shinra employee instantly saluted him. "Besides. Strife is a 1st class SOLDIER."
"That's why I want him dead. I can't have the other SOLDIERS getting any stupid ideas."
Sephiroth chuckled shortly and nodded. "Yes I agree, but I think keeping him alive will benefit us more."
President Shinra stood up and started to walk around in circles, keeping his hands folded behind his back. If he kept them alive, he could find that Barret guy he wanted dead for so long. Just thinking about the AVALANCHE leader dying by his hands made his body itch in excitement
"...Mmm. Yes maybe you're right." he said and then stuck out his chubby arm, pointing at the Shinra employee. "You! Go get Tseng!" he shouted, startling the man who quickly nodded and ran out of the office.
President Shinra made his way back to his desk and sat down.
"You made a wise decision Mr. President." Sephiroth said and when he wanted to walk away, President Shinra stopped him. "I hope you're not doing this for Strife."
Sephiroth frowned slightly and then let out a chuckle.
"Why would I do that? He's a traitor."
"You've always been interested in that kid." President explained and Sephiroth didn't reply for a moment.
"Of course, he is a fine 1st class SOLDIER." Sephiroth quickly and shortly answered and then walked away without another word, passing Tseng who was jogging up the stairs.
President Shinra stood up when he spotted Tseng.
"Ah Tseng!" he exclaimed and Tseng placed himself in front of the desk and nodded firmly.
"What can I do for you Mr. President?"
"I want you to find the rest of this pathetic group AVALANCHE. Do whatever you must, just find them and bring them to me!" President Shinra shouted and slammed his fist on his desk. "They will pay!"
"And what about the two prisoners?" Tseng asked and didn't react to the President's sudden outburst, keeping up his professional posture.
"Interrogate them, start with the girl."
Tseng shortly nodded and left the room.
After he carefully placed the unconscious body of the guard on the floor, Cloud quickly made his way over to the stairs. He couldn't believe Shinra's security was this bad. Out of habit he made a mental note to report this to the President, but then he realized he was going against Shinra and the worse the security was, the better for him. Before walking to the main entrance of the building, Cloud took his sword from his back and held it firmly into his right hand as he came into sight of the employees. He couldn't help but to snort when he saw the confused and shocked looks on their faces. It took a while before they started to realize they had to take action against him.
"Seize him!"
Cloud easily dodged the bullets coming his way with his sword and took the guards out with a few punches and kicks. He didn't want to waste his time trying to prevent the woman from the reception to sound the alarm, he knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Cloud quickly ran upstairs and took a deep breath when he stepped into the elevator. He eyed the display with the floor number on it and then thought about the key card he would need to get to the upper floors. It wouldn't be so hard to steal one or to demand a key card from one of the employees. They were all afraid of SOLDIERS anyway.
Cloud pushed the number 59 and kept his sword ready in case the elevator would come to a stop. The elevator had just passed floor 26 when a loud alarm sounded and the red lights started to flash. Cloud growled, he was annoyed he hadn't gotten further up. He didn't have time to think about it when the elevator doors opened and several Shinra guards fired at him. He dashed out of the small room and knocked the guards over. Quickly and swiftly he took care of the robots and then he picked up a handgun and a key card from an unconscious guard. Cloud loaded the gun and immediately aimed it at the other guards moving towards him.
"Stay back and I won't have to hurt you!" Cloud shouted while he stepped back and pushed the button to open the elevator doors.
He kept his eyes fixed on the frightened guards and snorted. He couldn't believe how easily they got scared of him. Of course they all knew he was quite the successful 1st class SOLDIER, but this was just pathetic.
She still couldn't believe he had left her behind. She knew he was angry with her, but she never thought he would do something like this. It almost felt like the Cloud she had known all this time, had just been a complete lie.
Tifa let out a yell of frustration and then brought her hands to her face. She could feel the tears welling up and her body began to tremble. A sudden feeling of complete loneliness washed over her as the tears started to fall down. She didn't make a noise, only the tears rolled down her cheeks and tickled the skin on her hands.
Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, Barret,...
Tifa burst out in sobs and didn't hold back. She had nothing left to lose, everything and everyone she ever cared for was gone and it was all her fault. She was all alone and she only had herself to blame. If only she hadn't been so selfish and so caught up in her own desire for revenge. If only she had kept out of all this. If only she had listened to Cloud.
"No..." she muttered.
Cloud wasn't right either. He never should have trusted Shinra, but how could she blame him? She once admired the company and wanted Sephiroth's autograph. She was exactly like all the rest, she had no right to judge Cloud.
But how could he be so blind?
Tifa gasped when suddenly a loud alarm sounded and the room started to flash in red lights. She immediately got back on her feet and rubbed the wetness from her cheeks, peering through the glass wall in front of her to see if anyone was coming, but she couldn't see anyone.
"Did he..?" she muttered to herself, thinking about Cloud.
Would he actually get to the President? Maybe he could do it, he was a 1st class SOLDIER after all.
Suddenly Tifa heard footsteps coming closer to her cell and she swallowed, not really sure what to expect, but she clenched her fists to be prepared. Two armed Shinra guards appeared in front of her cell. They opened the glass wall to her cell and Tifa took a step back when they dangerously approached her, aiming their guns at her.
"Come with us!" one of them shouted, but Tifa didn't move from her spot.
She knew why they were here, they would take her for interrogation and Tifa would have to spill out everything about AVALANCHE and then they would kill her. She clenched her fists. There was no way she was going with them.
Cloud didn't waste any time when he got out at floor 61. He immediately threatened the Shinra employees and demanded a key card for the remaining floors. It was quite easy to pick out his victim since the guy nearly fainted from fear when Cloud threatened to shove his sword down his throat.
A ping sounded behind him and Cloud growled as several guards started to fire at him. He quickly turned around, easily dodging the bullets, but then widened his eyes when he saw the familiar green glow of a magic user. He barely had the time to jump out of the way when the gigantic flames appeared out of nowhere next to him.
"Close one..." he swallowed, but he regained his posture.
Cloud rushed forward, not giving the guards the time to cast another spell on him. He wanted this done quickly. He charged at the three guards at once and yelled out when he struck them with his sword. They collapsed immediately and Cloud ran to the elevators further up. He quickly scanned the key card and got into the small glass room where he pushed the number 68.
He took a deep breath when he placed his sword on his back and reached for the gun he had attached to his belt. Even though he hoped he'd get to floor 68 in one go, he knew it was highly unlikely. Security would only get stronger from this point on.
When the elevator stopped at floor 66, Cloud swallowed hard and kept his gun aimed at whoever would be behind the doors. He gritted his teeth and prepared himself for the worst, but was slightly surprised when he saw a familiar head of wild red hair.
"Reno..." Cloud said and couldn't contain a snort when he saw how both of them were standing.
The redhead had a gun aimed at Cloud's face, exactly how Cloud was aiming his own gun at Reno. He shot Cloud a smug smile.
"Well, I gotta say. I never thought you would do something as stupid as helping AVALANCHE." Reno said and chuckled. "Too bad though, I thought you were pretty cool."
Cloud didn't react to Reno's babbling and squinted his eyes as he carefully kept aiming at his head. The Turk was holding the elevator by pushing the control button next to him in the wall. Reno let out a short sigh and shrugged.
"You were never really the talker." he said. "But I have my orders. No offence though."
"Thanks I guess." Cloud said, but he didn't allow himself to get distracted by Reno's weirdness. He had to get him away from that button to close the doors to the elevator. "But I'm still going to have a word with the President."
Reno laughed and even almost took his hand off the button.
"I'm afraid I can't let that happen." Reno said and Cloud saw how he tightened the grip on the gun.
Cloud didn't answer right away, he was scanning the area around Reno for something that could prevent a fight between them. Cloud would lose too much time fighting Reno and he knew the Turk was a skilled fighter. He just needed something to distract Reno. When he spotted a bright blue lamp above Reno Cloud smirked.
"That's too bad." Cloud answered and quickly brought his gun up and shot the lamp above Reno, making the Turk step back in surprise when the hallway went dark and sparks were flying around.
Cloud immediately pushed the 68 button and shielded his face with his arms when a few bullets slipped through the closing doors and shattered the glass around him. He fell against the wall behind him and felt the adrenaline kick in when he saw he had arrived at floor 68. He had to act fast now, or Reno and the other Turks would get to him and it would get very messy.
Cloud shot out of the door and rushed past confused and scared scientists. He quickly made his way over to the main laboratory of the headquarters and held up his gun when he grabbed a man sitting by the computers by his coat.
"If you don't deactivate the security device I'll kill you." Cloud said loud and clear and the older man started to shake in fear when he saw the gun.
"I-I don't know how." the man stuttered and Cloud angrily pressed the barrel of the gun against the man's neck. "Yes you do and you have one minute."
Cloud could hear the other employees scream and run around in the background. He knew back up would arrive soon, so he absolutely needed this man to deactivate the security device to floor 69.
"Now!" Cloud hissed and with trembling fingers the man started to type orders to the computers.
As Cloud watched, he felt a drop of sweat rolling down his neck and he had to contain his nerves when he watched the seconds pass by. Reno and the rest could arrive any moment now.
"Faster!" Cloud yelled in frustration and the man nodded as he pushed a last button which deactivated the secured doors up ahead and Cloud quickly snatched away the man's key card hanging from his coat before running through the doors and up the stairs to floor 69.
He quickly opened the door leading to the last stairs with the key card and once again took hold of his sword in his right hand when he started to run up the stairs to the President's office. He let out a loud yell when he swung his sword to the right, clashing it with the guns of the guards and sending them backwards to the floor. Without a second of hesitation Cloud held up his gun and aimed at the president sitting in his chair before he could react to the situation, he loaded the gun and glanced back and forth between the President and the guards as he approached the desk.
"I should have known you would escape." President Shinra muttered, followed by a sigh.
Cloud felt the anger rise up inside his body when he noticed the President was not at all concerned for his safety. Maybe he didn't believe Cloud could actually really kill him on the spot.
"Why the hell was I arrested?" Cloud asked, trying not to raise his voice too much. He didn't want to sound emotional, he had to seem he had everything under control, even though Cloud knew he could probably be killed at any moment now.
Cloud gritted his teeth when he heard the President chuckle.
"I assumed it was quite obvious."
"I had nothing to do with the bombings. I was trying to prevent it from happening!" Cloud hissed and took a step forward, glaring at the President and making sure he would see the gun pointed at his big fat face.
"Right, that's why you protected your little rebel girlfriend. Because you wanted to prevent it."
Cloud widened his eyes and suddenly felt the need to pull the trigger and blast that man's head off his shoulders. He knew he had started to shake slightly because of his anger and he took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"I have been nothing but loyal to you. Why are you doing this?" Cloud demanded to know.
"I don't like traitors, Strife. And you happen to be one of them." President Shinra answered and Cloud glanced to the side when he saw the President looking away.
The Turks and several other guards had entered the office, but Cloud didn't move from his spot and instead moved the gun closer to the President's head.
"Don't move or he's dead." Cloud said loud and clear and kept his gaze fixed on the President.
"You know you can't get out..." the President said and Cloud didn't react. He knew he could get out if he really wanted to, he had gotten in as well. "And even so, would you let us torture your pretty little girlfriend?"
Cloud felt the grip on his gun tighten in seconds when he saw the smirk on the President's face. The thought about Tifa getting tortured invaded his mind, he tried to shake it off, but it was in vain. He panicked more with each second he thought about Tifa getting tortured to get information out of her. She wouldn't give in, she was stubborn like that, he knew it.
"So you might as well cooperate." the President added and this made Cloud snap his eyes back to him.
Cloud quickly took a glance at the Turks and guards around him and started to walk to the left, to the stairs. He had to get back to Tifa. The President could have a big mouth, but he wasn't joking about torturing her.
He kept his gun carefully aimed at the President. They had to let him go, they knew the aim of a 1st class SOLDIER was perfect and Cloud would shoot the President.
"Let me pass." Cloud ordered and heard Reno and Tseng cursing when they stepped aside, glaring at him.
When Cloud started to walk down the stairs, he took a few steps back and then turned around and sprinted towards the lower floor and to the open doors. He could feel the bullets raining down next to him and he grimaced when his arm got grazed, but paid no attention to the pain. The adrenaline was rushing through his body when he passed the security doors and slammed his fist on the button to reactivate the security device. He saw the doors slowly sliding to a close and almost panicked when he could still see Reno running towards him, but relief washed over him when the last door shut the Turks out.
The scientists and employees in the room didn't even try to stop him this time and just hid in a corner when Cloud stepped inside the elevator and pushed to go down. He had to get to Tifa fast and he needed to figure out how to get out of Midgar.
Thank you for reading and please leave a review! It would really brighten my day!
Next up: Escaping Midgar part 2
