With Final Fantasy VII Remake being out worldwide now, tmart and I have finished our Ch.30. With that being said, we may use some elements from the Remake but not everything. Please be courteous and do not spoil.

Chapter 30

It wasn't much longer before they could hear someone approaching the bar. He could only assume it was going to be the AVALANCHE leader. Zack only heard brief bits about the AVALANCHE Leader so far from Tifa. There hadn't been enough time to tell him everything but he knew two things for sure, this guy Barret despised Shinra heavily and cared deeply for his daughter Marlene.

But he was not expecting a tall and extremely built man to come barging into the place. Right away he locked eyes with Cloud and Zack and then stared at Tifa. "Tifa, who the f*ck are these guys?"

Tifa moved from behind the bar and walked closer to the man Zack kept assuming to be Barret. "They're friends." Tifa then pointed to Cloud. "That's Cloud, the one I mentioned before, and next to him is his friend Zack."

"And what are they doing here?"

"I found them out in the slums. I didn't honestly expect to encounter them, especially after so long. But, either way I did. They want to join AVALANCHE and help out."

Barret straightened up, his gaze becoming much more serious and firm. "And just what do they got that makes them think they can join us?"

"Well…" Zack said as he stood up. He was carefully thinking over what to say to this guy, not wanting to tick him off. "It would be a smart move to have some good insider information on the Shinra HQ, right? Well Cloud and I are your guys for that?"

Barret seemed even more suspicious than before. "And just what information do you think you could have?"

"Uh…" Zack scratched the back of his head. "How to sneak around without too much commotion? Cloud and I are ex-Shinra employees after all."

That was probably the wrong choice of words as Barret's eyes widened, burning with rage. "Tifa! You let two Shinra goons into this place?!"

He started to march forward, towards Zack but Tifa stood in front of him stopping him. But it didn't stop him from raising his right arm up, which turned out to be a large gun that was attached to his upper section.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't shoot these two dead where they stand!"

"Cloud is my friend from childhood. I trust him completely, and Zack's his best friend. He saved my life once before too," Tifa said quickly, not moving from her spot.

If Zack had been anyone else he would have been terrified of the man who was clearly over six feet tall pointing an arm gun at him. But Zack instead had a completely different reaction.

"Is that a gun arm? That is pretty cool! Hmm, wonder why couldn't I have something like that…?"

Barret raised an eyebrow, staring at Zack. "You sure this guy is actually SOLDIER?"

Tifa had to try and suppress her laugh. "I'm sure of it. He's always been like that."

Barret resumed looking at Zack after that. "Now why the hell would you want an arm like this? You think I actually wanted this in the first place?"

Zack shook his head. "I mean… I kind of already understand." Zack pulled off his glove and proceeded to push up his sleeve. He held it up after that, giving a small wave as if he needed to really demonstrate it.

Suddenly there was a change in Barrett's demeanor. "Did Shinra do that?"

"Pretty much," Zack nodded. "All things considered, I suppose it was a small price to pay for facing an entire army."

"Zack, I... You didn't say something like that happened…" Tifa trailed off.

"Well if it hadn't been for Cloud here, things could have been much worse… probably…" Though his mind swirled with thoughts of what really happened, he tried to shake it as quickly as he could.

"Hold on!" Barett exclaimed. "You mean to tell me you faced off against the entire Shinra army?"

"Didn't have a choice. After being part of their experiments against our will, they didn't like us escaping. It just…" he paused and clinched his fist. "After all I did for them…" he finished through gritted teeth.

"Zack…" Cloud started, his voice soft but meaningful.

Barett hummed to himself thoughtfully before speaking up again. "So you two beat them all yourselves?"

"Well, I wasn't a 1st Class SOLDIER for nothing. And Cloud here has the strength of one now. Is that proof enough for you?"

The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife. After a few seconds of thought, Barett held out his left hand to Zack.

"Anyone who is willing to take on Shinra like that and live I think will be a good fit. But! You two still gotta prove yourselves," he said sternly.

Zack grabbed his hand and gripped it tightly. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

"Well that's a shock. I've never seen Barret accept someone so quickly," Tifa admitted.

"Same goes for you too blondy," Barett continued as he looked to Cloud.

"Yeah, I got it. I'll be fine," he answered simply.

"Good! Then let's get to business. I guess since you two are mercs, you'll be wanting payment," Barret said.

Zack shifted. "Well that was the plan after all. Hard to believe we landed a job right off the bat, eh Cloud?"

Barret narrowed his eyes at both of them. "You ain't got a job yet! You gotta go through an initiation first. So, I'm watching you two."

Zack and Cloud just nodded in response, as neither of them felt there was any need for an exchange of words.

"Tifa can tell you, I don't like anything to do with Shinra, so you best remember that. I don't normally just accept people like this either, but I trust Tifa. And you don't seem like a bad person mister SOLDIER. So you two better be worth a damn!"

Barett then walked towards a pinball machine that was against one of the walls. But instead of going to play it, he instead stood there and pressed a button on it. Then the floor started to move beneath his feet. Within seconds Zack and Cloud saw that it was not a pinball machine, but instead a secret elevator to somewhere below.

"Okay, I am pretty sure that wasn't planned when the guy was making this bar."

"Not originally. But it was done shortly after," Tifa answered.

The three went to join Barret and as they descended in the elevator, things were quiet for the most part until Barett spoke up.

"We're not like the old AVALANCHE. We took the name cause the goal is the same: Take down Shinra. But we also trying to save the Planet."

"Save the Planet? What do you mean?" Zack asked.

"You worked for 'em, you should know how bad they are! All this mako, it's destroying the Planet itself. Don't tell me you can't feel it!" Barett answered emphatically.

Zack and Cloud were both taken aback. It was obvious that the burly man felt strongly about their cause. Though, neither of the boys knew what to make of it. At the least, Cloud didn't.

"Sorry, I don't follow," he answered.

"Wait," Zack started. "That, almost sounds familiar. The Planet… it being in trouble. I've heard that from a lot of people before…"

He thought of first hearing things about the Planet from Aerith when he met her. She would talk about those things quite a bit, even though Zack never understood what it was. He tried his best, and over time he was willing to do whatever it took to help her out. But later, Genesis, and even Sephiroth had made comments about the Planet. He had even witnessed the Goddess Minerva before. Maybe there was some truth to what he had heard.

Well?!" Barett continued as the elevator finally came to a stop.

"I can't say I completely understand it, but I think I know what you mean. If it's something that you say Shinra is doing, then I believe it. Nothing they do would surprise me anymore. They're like monsters…"

He turned to Cloud. "What about you?"

Cloud sighed. "I think I understand less about it than you. I'm here for you and to keep my promise to Tifa. So whatever happens, happens."

Tifa smiled. "Well, I'm just glad to have you back Cloud."

They exited the elevator and walked down a narrow corridor that seemed to lead into another room. The area was quite elaborate for just something underneath the slums. It was impressive to say the least. They continued walking for only a few seconds until they entered into the room that was just a short distance away.

It was a smaller room, with a table in the very center of it. It looked as though there was a stockpile of food and other supplies from the various crates lined against the walls. There was also what seemed like some weapon and ammunition supply caches as well, no doubt for their efforts. At least they were well prepared for their cause. On the wall there was also large AVALANCHE poster, no doubt their logo

The more they did nothing, the more there was something that was on Zack's mind as they gathered around the table.

"Just how bad have things gotten in the last five years since I've been gone? Tifa, I know that you told me a few things, but I need to know all of it."

"Yeah, things do seem different than before. The people seem… scared," Cloud added in shortly after.

"Well of course they are!" Barett shouted. "Shinra has everyone under their thumb. The last few years they've increased mako production. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We down here in the slums have it bad, and they don't give a damn about us!"

Zack sighed. "I see. So not much has changed. I guess when you're constantly busy like I was, it's hard to notice things like that. I only found out too late that Shinra wasn't as great as they seemed."

"They care about making money and getting what they want. We're trying to make a difference, but we also don't want anyone innocent getting hurt," Tifa stated.

"Sounds bad," Cloud shortly said afterwards.

Barett slammed his non-mechanical arm on the table. "Damn right it is! And that's why we're taking the fight to them. And you two are gonna help now."

He stopped briefly, and then looked at Tifa. "There's gonna be a bit of a change in plans. I'll think of something, just give me a moment."

"Right, I understand, but is it necessary?" she asked in response.

"Hell yeah! You might trust them, but I still need to see proof. You guys are lucky I let you down here. Plus, the others'll be asking questions too!"

"The others?" Zack questioned quickly.

"Yeah, they should be arriving in just a bit," the burly man gruffly said.

As Barret finished, the elevator became active and once it reached their floor, three people stepped off it. Two guys, with one being slightly larger than the other, and one woman now walked for a short distance until they entered the room. The first thing that caught Cloud and Zack's attention from these three was the fact that they all wore a red headband, though the larger guy had his as a bandana.

The girl had her long brown hair pulled back into a high ponytail with the front of her hair hanging shorter at the sides of her face. She wore ankle-high green pants, and a breastplate covered her torso, layered over some blue undergarments. Pieces of armor lined the wrists and ankles and shoulders, basically any vulnerable area.

The thinner man had short black hair that was being pushed up slightly by his headband, making it stick up in various directions. He wore all green clothing, a simple t-shirt and cargo shorts making up his attire. He only had armor around his ankles, but he wore various belts around the waist and shoulders.

The larger guy in the group also had black hair but most of it was covered up from the bandana he wrapped around his head. He sported a casual white t-shirt adorned by some shorter navy blue cargo shorts. He had armor only around his shoulders and wore suspenders and a belt to better hold up his clothes.

Each one of them looked like they were ready for combat no matter the situation. Granted, not as ready as Barret looked.

"Woah, Barret, who's the newbies?" The slender man said, the first to speak up as the girl and other guy followed behind.

"We were just gettin' to that," Barret spoke before turning to the two new guys. "That there is Biggs that just spoke. Behind him is Jessie, and then Wedge."

Thinking it was appropriate, Zack figured he'd follow suit.

"Name's Zack Fair. Ex-SOLDIER 1st Class."

"Cloud Strife. Former Infantryman," the blond answered dully as he stared down at the floor.

The three that entered last looked shocked.

"Wait, you brought Shinra here?!" Jessie exclaimed.

"Ex-SOLDIER," Zack corrected. "Big emphasis on the 'ex' part of it."

"Calm down Jessie," Biggs started, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Barrett's a hard man to convince, and if they're here, then he must be okay with them."

"Well I still need these two fools to actually prove themselves first." Barret then pointed to Tifa. "She's the one that already trusts them."

"I mean, it'll be okay guys. Right?" Wedge asked, trying to assure everyone. "They look okay at least."

"Now that I look better, I'd say they look more than 'okay'," Jessie answered again as her gaze settled on the two men.

"I would hope I look more than 'okay', gotta keep up my appearance after all. Good thing that Shinra only got my arm and nothing else."

The three newcomers' eyes quickly fell to Zack's arm. While he had rolled the sleeve back down, he had yet to put the glove back on. Giving a small smile he waved his mechanical hand to demonstrate.

"Oh wow, what in the world," Wedge said after he stared at the hand for a bit.

Biggs started to chuckle. "So that's how you and the big man got along."

Tifa let out a sigh and glanced at Cloud, who locked eyes with her. He shrugged his shoulders, since he didn't know what was really going on. She was about to speak up when Barret began first. "All right! Enough of the sh*t. We can get to pleasantries later!"

His sudden outburst commanded the attention of all in the room. "Good, now let's get to the new plan."