BOOK ONE: MIDGAR

SIX

The inside of Reactor 5 was, as Biggs had told us, exactly the same as Reactor 1 except for that strange bluish glow that hung in the air all around us. The lights in this one must have been set differently than in the other reactor. In any case, we emerged onto a small platform at the top of the large pipe that ran down at an angle to the floor.

Above us and to our right, a high square platform rose up into the dimness with its long, narrow stairways wrapping around it. There was nothing for it but to slide all the way to the bottom of the pipe, so I sat down onto the smooth, curving metal and did so, using both hands to stay balanced as Tifa and Barret followed behind me.

After descending for about a minute or two, we finally reached the floor, where several smaller pipes curved up just a short distance ahead of the larger one and into the nearby wall ahead of us and to our right. The only sounds we could hear were our breathing and the steady hum of the reactor's machinery.

"That was actually kinda fun!" Tifa laughed as she stood up.

Barret shrugged. "One time's enough for me. Thought I was gonna fall offa that damn thing."

Tifa and I shared an amused glance as we walked further inside the reactor while Barret followed behind us, but before I could say a word, I was suddenly seized by a harsh fit of coughing, and I was barely able to keep from choking on the mako fumes. They were much worse here than inside Reactor 1. The back of my throat started itching, and I had to blink several times as my eyes started burning like a lit match. Biggs hadn't been kidding when he'd told us this place was noxious. A look at the others told me they were experiencing the same thing.

Hopefully the upper levels weren't this bad, but we had to go down first before we could head up topside, so we didn't have any choice but to push through it as best we could. Trying not to breathe too deeply, I led the others forward.

We had only gone a few steps, though, when a new sound filled the air. The tromping of metallic feet shambling in our direction. I reached back over my shoulder and drew Buster while Tifa brought up her fists and Barret whipped up his gun-arm.

From around the corner to our right trundled two green and black roboguards with a pair of curved, pipelike horns set upon either side of their heads, and with them was a vicious hound, its short fur the color of blood, its claws as sharp as my shaving razors, and its teeth like Tifa's best kitchen knives. It growled, and the two Smoggers lurched forward, belching mako fumes that swirled thickly around them.

The Blood Taste, as those fiendish red dog-like things were called, sprang at me, but I dove to the right before it could tear out my throat. The tentacle sprouting up from the middle of its back lashed out at me just as it landed, slashing across my forearm and drawing a thin line of blood. I ignored the stinging pain and sliced at the beast with a vicious backhand slash that left a deep gouge in its side as Barret and Tifa took on the Smoggers. There was a sudden flash of green light from the side of Barret's gun-arm, and a second later, one of the droids blew apart in a bright orange blast of flame.

"Damn!" he grinned. "I'm likin' that!"

I didn't have time to respond, though, as the hound snapped at me again and swiped with its claws. I spun out of the way and sliced Buster just above its back, severing the tentacle before it could reach me again. The thing snarled in pain and renewed its assault while Barret sprayed the other Smogger with lead and Tifa laid into it with a string of quick punches and a low, sweeping kick that dropped it to the floor. But as it did, it spewed out a cloud of toxic fumes that enveloped Tifa before she could get away. I heard her coughing, but it was a minute or so before I could get to her, as I had to fend off that hound. It jumped at me again, but this time I whirled around, planted both feet in place, and brought my sword up to meet it.

The beast landed right on Buster's wide blade, impaling itself with a single startled yelp.

I kicked the body off, then hurried to Tifa while Barret took down the Smogger, which had stood back up only to be shredded by a hail of bullets and a bright blast of fire. Tifa was crouched over, still coughing as the fumes hovering around her began to dissipate, and her skin had taken on a slight greenish cast that I didn't like. I helped her get up and led her away from that noxious mist, and when we were finally clear of it, I took out one of the antidotes Biggs had given us.

"Here, Tif," I handed it to her. "Drink this, it'll help."

She did so, her nose wrinkling at the bitter taste even as she smiled gratefully at me, and almost immediately the color returned to her face and her breathing grew easier as she stood up straight again. "Thanks, Cloud. That was some nasty stuff back there."

"I'll bet. You might want to thank Biggs, too, when we get back."

"Oh I will, believe me," she laughed.

After Tifa used one of her Cure spells to heal my injuries, I led her and Barret to the doorway at the base of the stairs. My arm was feeling better already, the pain now just a faint thing I could easily ignore. We crossed the narrow ledge and climbed down through the maze of pipes and girders until we stood on a wide catwalk like the one from the first reactor. At the far end of it was the central core with its pipes and dials and metal beams. As we went to it, Barret waited just behind me while Tifa and I hurried forward to set the bomb.

I was just reaching inside the bag hanging from my belt to take the bomb when pain hit me again and I collapsed, grabbing my temples as I had back in Reactor 1. Only this time, there was no voice, and when I looked up again, everything was different but also hauntingly familiar. It was another reactor, one I recognized all too well. The reactor at Mt. Nibel. It had been one of the first, and its design was an older one, with chains among the pipes and a sea of glowing mako far below. Ahead of me was a doorway, the yellowish-orange glow from the room beyond it coloring the stone walls in hues of fire.

And in front of the doorway was Tifa.

Not Tifa as she had been in Reactor 5, twenty years old and only a year younger than I was. But instead, it was Tifa as a teenager, with the cowboy boots, leather vest, and wide-brimmed hat that I remembered. She was kneeling down next to the body of her father, crying bitterly as she held him. A slender, slightly curved blade of polished, flawless steel lay nearby, and an old, familiar rage surged through me when I saw it. I knew exactly whose it was. It was unique. It was unmistakable.

It was Sephiroth's.

"Dad…" Tifa sobbed, tears streaming unchecked down her cheeks. "Did Sephiroth do this to you? Did he? Sephiroth… SOLDIER… mako reactors… Shinra… I hate them all!"

Then the strange and terrible vision was gone as suddenly as it had appeared, and so was the pain. I found myself back in Reactor 5 again, the pale blue glow in the air softly illuminating Tifa's worried face and Barret's disapproving frown. What was going on? Back then, I'd had no idea, and I wondered if I was starting to lose my mind. But what I had seen had been real, a glimpse of one of the darkest chapters of my past. Why was it coming back now? What did it mean?

Barret glared at me. "Damn, man! Get a hold of yourself!"

"Are you alright?" Tifa asked.

"Tifa…" I began, wondering how I was going to explain this. Then I remembered what we were here for and shook my head instead. "No, forget it. Come on, we've gotta hurry!"

Straightening up, I went over to the reactor core and put the bomb in place, setting the timer for 20:00 just as I had back in Reactor 1. As I finished and stepped away, Barret and I both looked up almost at once, our eyes scanning the shadows all around us as we remembered all too well that nasty surprise attack from the Guard Scorpion. But there was nothing. No monstrous guardian sprang at us, and no alarms shrieked to life as we hurried back the way we had come. I didn't know whether to be relieved or disturbed, and I didn't need to look at Barret to know he was thinking the same thing.

We climbed up through the maze of pipes and girders and into the main chamber and then raced up the long ladders until we reached the platform at the top. No other roboguards or fiendish beasts showed up to fight us, and while that should have been reassuring, I found myself feeling uneasy instead.

Only one encounter so far, yet I thought we'd have seen at least one more battle by now, as we had in the first reactor. I didn't like it, and as we stepped inside the elevator and it rose steadily upward, I found that my nerves were on edge, and my warrior's instincts told me to be wary. The others looked just as tense as I felt.

Entering the top level, we hurried inside the control room, where a rectangular computer console stretched out along one side of the eight-sided chamber. I moved to the other side of the console while Tifa and Barret took positions across from me. We each stood in front of a wide, flat activation panel, and at the moment they all sat dark and dead. But then, Barret pressed a few buttons on his side of the console, inputting the access code that Jessie had given him earlier, and the panels soon lit up, whirring to life with a steady hum. We each glanced at one another and put our hands over the panels.

"Remember," Tifa reminded us, "Jessie told us we have to hit all the buttons at once."

I nodded, and so did Barret. Holding up one fist while keeping my other hand over the panel, I unfolded my fingers one by one in a silent countdown, and when all five were up, we all hit our respective buttons at the same time. The console beeped at once in response, and then we heard the doors in the other room sliding open. Not wasting any time, we raced out of the control room and through the open doors until we finally reached the entry corridor. We were almost out of here, but my uneasiness was even stronger, if anything.

Reaching over my shoulder for Buster, I led the others outside.

As we hurried across the narrow T-shaped bridge, mist and mako fumes swirling beneath us, Barret raced past Cloud to take the lead. He pointed to the left, where an open gateway stood open and waiting for us at that end of the bridge's short arm. We turned, following him, and we were about to reach it when a squad of Shinra solders marched out of it, their weapons ready. My eyes widened as we skidded to a halt, my heart racing in sudden fear.

"Shinra soldiers?" Barret gaped. 'Shit! What the hell's goin' on?"

Whirling around, we ran for the far end of the bridge and another open exit. But before we got very far, more Shinra solders ran out onto the T-bridge from this direction as well and brought up their guns. My heart hammered within my chest. We had no way out. Was this it? We were skilled fighters, but even we would have a hard time fighting odds like this. And then suddenly I knew. I saw it all with sickening clarity. I understood now why the mission had gone so easily with only a single battle to show for it, why Shinra had seemed to know about everything we had planned to do here.

Cloud voiced my unspoken thought. "A trap…"

They must have been here the whole time, waiting for us, knowing we would have to come this way sooner or later. Then there were more footsteps behind us, and we turned to look back the way we had come. Walking casually from out of the reactor entrance was the last person I had ever expected to see, the last person I ever thought would be here. My blood froze in my veins as I looked at him, at his dark red suit and black tie, at his blond hair and moustache that were shot through with streaks of gray. At the pale blue eyes that held all the warmth of a block of ice and all the humanity of a snake.

"Pres… President Shinra?" Barret stammered, his eyes as wide and unbelieving as mine were.

I took a step back, fear clutching my heart with deadly claws. "Why is the President here?"

President Shinra fixed his chilly eyes on us, and I understood then how a mouse feels when it's cornered by a hungry cat. "Hmm… So you all must be… What was it?"

"AVALANCHE!" Barret snarled. "And don't ya forget it! So you're President Shinra, huh?"

Cloud strode toward him onto the longer arm of the T-bridge. "It's been a long time, sir."

Had they met before? Cloud had never mentioned anything about it, but he had never talked much about his years in SOLDIER, either. I guessed it was possible, but still it surprised me. I found myself hoping that he might somehow use that to figure out a way for us all to escape this mess we had gotten ourselves into. And then I suddenly I thought of Biggs, Wedge, and Jess. Were they okay? Or had Shinra found them, too? I desperately hoped they had escaped safely.

"A long time?" President Shinra asked. "Oh… you. You're the one who left SOLDIER. I can tell you were exposed to mako from the glow in your eyes. Tell me, traitor… what was your name?"

"Cloud."

The president shrugged indifferently. "Forgive me for asking, but I you can't expect me to remember everyone's name. Unless, of course, you were to become another Sephiroth."

Cloud's eyes narrowed. "Sephiroth!?"

"Don't give a damn 'bout none of that!" Barret cut in. "This place's goin' up with a bang soon! Serves y'all right!"

With a startled gasp, I suddenly remembered the bomb we had set. How much time was left? I wasn't sure I wanted to know, but I worried about it anyway. How were we going to get ourselves out of here before it went off? Both of the exits were blocked, and I knew that the soldiers wouldn't just let us leave quietly. The president had to have something else in mind for us, but what? Why didn't he just have his troops attack us and be done with it?

He shook his head. "And such a waste of good fireworks, just to get rid of vermin like you…"

"Vermin?" Barret snarled, quivering with rage. "That's all you can say? Vermin? You goddamn Shinra're the vermin for killin' the planet! I guess that makes you King Vermin! So shut up, jackass!"

"You filthy sewer rats did at least give us quite a good show, I'll give you that much."

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

Reaching into his jacket pocket, President Shinra pulled out a cigar and a polished silver lighter. With a flick of his wrist, he lit up the cigar and put it to his mouth, taking a puff on it before responding. "Did you really think we didn't know about your group's activities, young lady? Or that we weren't watching?"

"The security cameras," Cloud said. "You saw us the whole time."

How could we have been so stupid!? I shook my head, not wanting to believe that we had overlooked something so obvious, but I couldn't deny the terrible truth of it. The president must have been sitting in the overseer's office, watching us on the monitors as we planted the bomb. And he must have had someone watching us back in Reactor 1 as well, or maybe they did it by remote. But it still didn't explain why they had let us go through with the bombings.

"Very good, former SOLDIER," the president nodded. "You see, in order to keep the people in line, we needed a scapegoat. The more you acted against us, the more they turned to us for protection."

Barret stared, his fury quickly draining as he suddenly understood. "You was… usin' us?"

"And you provided us quite a valuable service, I must say. With the mako starting to run out, people have been getting more restless lately. But thanks to your efforts, they'll trust Shinra more than ever when we rescue them from the ruthless terrorists attempting to destroy our fair city and its people."

"So that's why you've been making us out to be the villains," Cloud said. "You set us up."

President Shinra nodded. "Yes, you're quite correct. But now… you are beginning to bore me. I'm very busy, so if you'll excuse me, I have a dinner I must attend."

From just below the bridge, a small helicopter with the Shinra logo emblazoned on the sides rose up above us, its rotors whirring loudly as someone inside unfurled a rope ladder. The president didn't grab onto it right away, though. Instead, he nodded to each squad of soldiers and continued to stand where he was as they suddenly withdrew. I looked around, my instincts telling me to be alert, but at first nothing showed itself. Why had the soldiers left?

Barret brought up his gun-arm. "Dinner!? Don't gimme that! I ain't even started with you yet!"

"But," President Shinra continued, snapping his fingers, "I've made arrangements for a playmate for you all."

I staggered backwards as something huge suddenly floated toward us from the nearest exit. It was similar to the other roboguards we had fought earlier, but much larger, the blue steel of its body reflecting the light. It had no legs but instead hovered upon a round base from which its engines burned, and its massive fists were clenched. A large cannon of some kind rose up from its back and loomed over its head, and as it veered past us to hover near where the two arms of the T-bridge met, I saw a smaller gun facing in the other direction.

"The hell is that!?" Barret stammered, shifting his aim toward that metal monster.

"Meet Air Buster," the president explained. "A techno-soldier. Our Weapons Development Division created him. I'm sure all the data he'll extract from your dead bodies will be of great value to us in our future experiments."

I stared at him even as I brought up my fists. "Techno-soldier?"

"Now then, if you'll excuse me."

Before any of us could do anything, the president grabbed onto the rope ladder. Cloud sped after him, but he was too late as the helicopter flew away and was gone. In the meantime, That thing called Air Buster was advancing on myself and Barret. Could we beat it? We had to, and I knew that I couldn't afford to doubt myself now. But that fear was still there, and I fought to control it as that terrible machine surged toward us again and we had to back up once more.

"Cloud, help!" I called out to him. "This is from SOLDIER?"

He raced back toward us until he was on the far side of Air Buster, his sword drawn and his eyes fierce and determined. "No way! It's just a machine, Tifa. Don't let it get to you."

"I don't care what it is," Barret yelled. "I'm gonna bust him up!"

Cloud struck first, hitting its backside with several quick cuts from his sword, and when the machine turned around to face him, I rushed in and let loose with a flurry of punches at the same spot where he had just hit it, trying to further weaken its armor so that we could get at its internals and really do some serious damage. I heard Barret shooting at it with his gun-arm, but before I could attack again, Air Buster fired at me with its rear gun and I had to backflip away to avoid getting shot as bullets struck the ground where I'd been just a moment ago.

That metal monster faced us again, and I sped toward it, mixing up my punches with some quick kicks this time and finishing with a high roundhouse that smashed a huge dent in the side and made the thing's entire frame shudder. But it still held, rising up above us for a moment and firing a massive blast of energy before I could get away.

And then I was flying, Barret's startled shout loud in my ears as the attack hurled me past him to slam hard into the catwalk with a pained shriek. I tried to get up, but my arms and legs had turned into jelly, and then blackness and silence were everywhere as my eyes slid closed and I lost consciousness.

But then I was back in the world again only a minute later, Barret's worried face hovering over me as sparkles of magic swirled nearby. As he helped me get back to my feet, I saw the remains of feathers lying on the ground and smiled my thanks, very glad now that he had held onto that bit of phoenix down that he had found in Reactor 1. While Cloud struck Air Buster with some of his lightning magic and Barret turned around and opened fire on it again, I quickly cast a Cure spell to mend some of the wounds I'd gotten from the blast and prepared to return to the fight myself.

When Air Buster rotated to face Cloud yet again, I ran in and hit it with another salvo of punches and kicks while Barret kept the pressure on with a fiery blast from his assault gun that blew the techno-soldier's rear weapon off in a shower of sparks and smoke.

It spun around in an instant and rose up again, but this time when it unleashed that massive energy blast, I darted away before it could hit me, and the others managed to avoid it as well. As I prepared to attack again, I realized then that Air Buster seemed to be following some kind of preset battle program. Its actions were much too predictable, far too orderly to be something it was deciding on independently. And maybe we could use that to our advantage.

"Cloud!" I called to him. "This thing faces whoever hit it last! If we can hit it fast enough…"

He nodded. "Right, Tifa! We'll just have to hit it one after the other. Keep it so busy turning around it won't have any chance to hit us back. You got that, Barret?"

"Loud n' clear, Spike!" he replied. "Let's get to work!"

Cloud started us off, slashing at Air Buster with several quick, hard strokes, and when it spun around to retaliate, I went next, slamming it with my fists in the same spot I'd hit it before. The metal bent and split with the impact, exposing wiring and circuitry. After it faced me again, Cloud hit it with another shot of lightning from his materia and drank that ether we'd found earlier to keep his energy up.

Barret poured on another stream of bullets, and so it went, each of us attacking Air Buster one at a time but quickly enough that the mech was unable to respond before its programming forced it to turn around again. Before long, it shuddered when Cloud shocked it with still more lightning, blasting several panels off the sides, and when it tried to turn around again, there was nothing but a futile whine from its motors and it didn't move at all.

"It's stuck!" Cloud said. "Let's finish it!"

This time, we all hit it together, Cloud slicing with his sword while I let loose with a swift chain of punches and kicks followed by a leaping somersault that nearly swept off its head when my foot connected with its face. Barret kept on shooting as I raced back in to pound on it some more while Cloud leaped into the air and slammed his sword down in an overhead chop that split open Air Buster's shoulder. Sparks erupted from all over it as we continued to press the attack, and suddenly it just exploded in huge blast of billowing flame and blue sparks along with a portion of the bridge where it had been hovering.

The force of the explosion tossed Barret and I onto our backs, and as I looked up, I could only watch in horror as Cloud was thrown high into the air, spinning helplessly out of control and falling down toward the gap in the bridge. His left arm shot out, and he grabbed the bottom edge of a broken metal beam at the last moment, grabbing onto it with one outstretched hand. My heart pounding, I scrambled to him on my hands and knees, desperate to pull him to safety.

"Cloud!" I reached my arm toward him as far as I could. "Take my hand! Come on! Please!"

He stretched his left arm out toward me, his fingers barely grazing my fingertips, but it just wasn't enough, and his hand fell away. "I can't reach you, Tifa. I'm too far away."

I shook my head and looked at Barret. "Can't you do something!?"

"Not a damn thing," he sighed.

This… this couldn't be happening! It just couldn't! I was not going to lose him! I laid down on my stomach and reached out toward Cloud again, wanting it to be enough, willing it to be enough. He stretched his free hand out to me once again, but like before, it just wasn't enough. I still couldn't reach him. Tears slipped down my cheeks then as I looked at him hanging there over the mist and fumes and the long drop to the slums so far below us.

"Cloud!" I cried as I looked at him. "Please don't die! You can't die! There's still so much I want to tell you!"

His eyes met mine. "I know, Tifa…"

"Hey, you gonna be alright?" Barret asked him.

"You worry about yourselves! I'm okay, but take care of Tifa!"

Oh, Cloud… I felt my heart flutter at his words. Even hanging there above the precipice the way he was, he was still thinking of me, looking out for me. I loved that about him. That and so many other things. But back then, I hadn't known how to say it, how to tell him all the things that were there in my heart. So I just kept everything bottled up inside, the tender feelings I had for him, even as I wanted more than anything to find a way to share them with him.

Barret grimaced. "Alright. Sorry 'bout all this."

"Stop talking like this is the end!" Cloud snapped, glaring at him. "I'm not dying today!"

Suddenly the entire reactor complex started rumbling, and I heard a series of faint explosions far beneath us. The bomb had gone off, and it wouldn't be long before this entire place went up. I still didn't want to leave Cloud, though.

In spite of his words, I was still terribly afraid for him. How could he possibly survive all this? Would I ever see him again? He seemed to sense the struggle I was going through, though, because when he spoke to me again, his voice was softer, his gaze never wavering as he looked at me with those wonderful blue eyes of his.

"You have to go, Tifa. It'll be alright, I promise. We'll meet again."

"Cloud…" I murmured.

Barret started pulling at me. "It's gonna blow! Let's go, Tifa!"

Just then, a tremor shook the area as flames blew out of the reactor entrance and the walls started to erupt all around us. I gasped as Cloud lost his grip on the metal bar. I reached out for him as he fell, but again he was too far away, and I could only watch helplessly as he plummeted down through the grayish fumes and out of sight.

By then, Barret was pulling frantically at my shoulder, and after I finally let him help me to stand up, we raced for the nearest exit. More explosions tore their way through the reactor, and I was just following Barret through the gateway when the rest of the bridge collapsed right behind us. Before we hurried out of the complex, I took one last look at where Cloud had fallen, reminding myself of his words to me. I had to be strong now, and as I took a deep breath, I felt that way, too. I would see him again, I was sure of it. I knew it in my heart. He was still alive. He had be. No longer hesitating, I turned and raced after Barret just as the reactor exploded behind us.