BOOK ONE: MIDGAR

EIGHTEEN

When Hojo passed through the door at the top of the escalator on the 67th floor, he left it open, so we followed as quietly as we could and kept a safe distance behind him. We shadowed him as he went down a long, curving hallway, and around the corner, another hall split off in a right angle from the first one while ahead of us, Hojo continued on his way through another door where the first corridor kept on going until it turned and went out of sight.

"Yo," Barret whispered. "Where's this passage lead?"

I saw a door standing a short distance away on the right side while the hall kept going before turning to the right farther down. There was only one place this could be. Hojo would have only gone to the science labs, and I knew this wasn't it.

I looked back at Barret. "This has to be the security office, and the cells must be at the end of this hall."

"Then what are we waitin' for? Let's go get Aerith!"

"Wait, Barret," I shook my head. "I'm not so sure that she's in there. Hojo was going to run some sort of experiment on her, remember? So let's keep following him."

He nodded, and we went through the doorway that Hojo had gone through not long ago. The hall continued for a short distance, passing a small office before it curved to the right and opened up into a large, semispherical storage room. Dozens of wooden crates were stacked all along the left, curved wall, and in the middle of it was a cylindrical lift of thick glass. Hojo was standing in front of it and gazing at something that looked like a panther with fiery orange fur. One amber eye glared balefully at him, but the other was scarred shut from an old wound. Its tail was the oddest thing. The tip of it actually seemed to be on fire, but the creature didn't act as if it was in any pain.

A man stood near Hojo. "Is this today's specimen?"

"Yes," Hojo answered. "We'll begin right away. Raise it to the upper level as soon as possible."

After his assistant nodded and left, Hojo gazed at the strange beast in the lift. "My precious specimen…"

Then he left as well, walking past tall stacks of crates and riding an elevator up to the 68th floor. After Hojo was gone, we entered the room ourselves and looked around. At first, I went with Tifa as she went and took a closer look at the creature Hojo had been so interested in. As we looked at it, it gazed back at us with its single eye, and I wondered how intelligent it was. It was no ordinary animal, I could tell that right away. I had never seen anything like it.

"Precious specimen…?" Tifa wondered. "Is it going to be used in a biological experiment?"

"Seems that way," I answered.

I didn't like the idea any more than she did. Maybe there was a way to help this creature as well as Aerith, although I didn't know how just yet. But before I could think on it any further, something else suddenly caught my attention, a domed storage tank on the far side of the room opposite the lift. I walked over to it, strangely curious without knowing quite why, and when I saw what was engraved on a plaque fixed to the thick metal door in bold, stark letters, my eyes widened.

"Jenova…" I breathed.

My heartbeat was loud in my ears as I approached the tank, drawn by an impulse I could neither explain nor resist. I had to know. I had to be sure. Drawing close to the hatch, I gazed into the window, knowing what I would see and yet afraid just the same. Inside the tank, within a murky, purplish fluid, floated the monstrous creature whose name was written upon the hatch. Jenova. Mottled, pale blue skin covered a body that resembled a woman's but was far from human, and a pair of short, dark red wings of tough, leathery hide sprouted from its back. Its most unusual feature, though, was its head. Or rather, its lack of one. I knew exactly what had happened, of course. The memory was there, clear in my mind, seared into it like the fire that had scorched my hometown. I could barely breathe as I looked upon the horrid thing that was Jenova, and the dark memories of that day nearly overwhelmed me. Pain arose in my head again, and I clutched my temples, wincing as though a drill was driving right through them.

I fell back, stumbling to the floor, my gaze still riveted on the tank. "Jenova… Sephiroth's… So… they've brought it here…"

"Cloud!" Tifa took my shoulders. "Be strong!"

With an effort, I pulled my gaze away from the storage tank until I found Tifa's red, wine-colored eyes. I clung to them and to her, grateful for her presence, and I let her help me back to my feet. I didn't let go of her hand right away, though. Somehow, I was afraid if I did, I would be sucked back into the sight of the horror in the tank. I didn't know why it had such a strong pull on me. But as I stood there with Tifa's hand in mine and her eyes on me, I felt the pain subside.

"Did you see it?" I asked her and Barret.

He blinked. "See what?"

"In the tank. It's moving… Is it still alive?"

Barret took one look through the hatch's window and then stepped back, shaking his head in disbelief. "Where the hell's it's friggin' head!? This whole thing's stupid. Let's jus' keep goin'."

I nodded, and we moved on, heading down a short hall made up of two rows of stacked crates. But no sooner had we entered the area with the elevator than a pair of guards leaped out at us from where they had been posted. My eyes narrowed as I recognized their uniforms at once and I realized these were no ordinary Shinra troops.

They were from SOLDIER.

Third Class, judging by their dark blue outfits and domed helmets. They were the lowest rank and the most commonly seen, but still very dangerous. Everyone in SOLDIER possessed extensive training in how to use both materia and weapons, and although we outnumbered them here, I still worried for Tifa and Barret. This was their first time against anyone from SOLDIER, and I hadn't been kidding when I'd told Barret in the basement of the Seventh Heaven how deadly they were. My hand flew to Buster and pulled it free as they closed in.

I whipped up Buster just in time to block a vicious forehand swipe from the nearest SOLDIER, metal clanging on metal as our blades met. The sound of some demented popcorn machine filled the air as Barret opened up with his assault gun, spraying bullets at the other SOLDIER and Tifa crushed his ribs with a series of quick punches and followed it up with a brutal, spinning roundhouse kick.

While I spun low and sliced at the SOLDIER who had attacked me, the other one staggered back, then let loose with a sudden blast of cold that threw Tifa across the floor. She landed on her back with a muffled groan but sprang to her feet a moment later, hitting her opponent with a blizzard spell of her own while Barret kept shooting. The SOLDIER managed to block most of the shots, but a few grazed his arm, and Tifa took full advantage of the opening to hit him right in the face with one of her forward somersault kicks. Then there was a flash of yellow light as she raced back at him and snatched his sword right out of his hands as he fell to the floor, and another hail of bullets from Barret made sure that he wouldn't be getting up again.

My own strike came up short as the SOLDIER I was fighting swept his sword up to meet mine, but at the same time, he couldn't get any of his own attacks in, either. He was pretty good, but he wasn't First Class. I was. I dropped my elbow slightly when I blocked his next attack, and when he sliced at that side as I knew he would, my sword met his with a loud clang. I feinted to the left, and he started to bring his weapon up to intercept just as I'd expected. With a small smirk, I abruptly reversed the stroke and cut Buster across to the right instead, slashing open the man's chest as he suddenly realized his mistake. He collapsed in a heap as Barret finished off the other guard.

"Not bad, Barret," I said. "Looks like you beat your first SOLDIER. Gotta be pretty tough to do that."

He grinned. "What'd I tell ya, Spike?"

"Nothing's going to keep us from saving Aerith," Tifa added. "Not even SOLDIER."

"Right," I agreed.

She held out the sword she'd stolen. "I thought you might like this, Cloud. Take a look."

I did, slipping Buster back in its harness and taking the new sword she offered me. It was as large as my old one, but the edges of the blade were curved inward, and the end of it was flat and as hard as adamant. It had a good, sharp edge, too. And then a name came to mind, simple but perfect, and I grinned.

"I like it, Tif. Thanks. I think I'll call it… Hardedge."

I took a few practice swings with it, getting a feel for my new blade as Tifa returned my smile with her own and healed her wounds with a touch of magic from her Cure materia. When I went to check the slots on Hardedge, I found one already filled. A small green orb gleamed in the dimness of the storage area, and after a moment of concentration, I knew it was Poison materia. It could be useful against certain enemies, including humans, though it wasn't something I was fond of using. But I wouldn't hesitate to use it if I had to. I removed my Lightning materia from Buster and placed it into Hardedge as well.

Once we were ready, we rode the elevator upstairs to the 68th floor and Shinra's main science lab. We stepped out into a large room, again shaped vaguely like a half circle and with an elevated catwalk along the left side. A control booth sat in the middle of the catwalk, and steps to our left at both ends led up to the metal walkway. Opposite the control booth, across a short bridge with metal railings on either side, stood a second clear cylindrical chamber like the one we had seen below us on the 67th floor. Nearby stood Hojo, but I was hardly aware of him as my eyes locked onto the person within the testing chamber.

"Aerith!" I yelled.

Hojo glared at us over his shoulder. "Aerith? Oh, is that her name? What do you want?"

"We're taking Aerith back."

"Outsiders…" Hojo muttered.

Barret brought up his gun-arm. "Shoulda noticed it earlier, you..."

"There are so many frivolous things in this world," Hojo sneered, seemingly unfazed by Barret's threat. "Are you going to kill me? I don't believe that would be a good idea. The equipment in here is extremely delicate. Without me, who could operate it? Hmm?"

I grimaced, seeing Hojo's threat for what it was. Barret snarled and lowered his arm, grumbling under his breath as Tifa watched it all with narrowed eyes and clenched fists.

Hojo grinned cruelly. "That's right. I recommend you think things out logically before you make any rash moves."

He shouted an order to his assistant, and the man hurried into the control booth and began pressing buttons. A moment later, there was a loud humming as the floor in the center of the cylindrical test chamber lowered out of sight for a moment while Aerith stood with her back to the transparent wall. We all watched as the floor rose up again, but this time it wasn't empty. The red pantherlike creature stood upon it, its eye gazing at Aerith, and then it bared its teeth.

"What do you think you're doin'?" I demanded.

Hojo shrugged. "Lending a helping hand to an endangered species. Both of them are on the brink of extinction. If I don't help, all of these animals will disappear."

"Animal?" Tifa snapped as we all hurried over to where Aerith was being held. "That's terrible! Aerith is a human being!"

"You're gonna pay!" Barret spat.

Aerith turned around to face us and started pounding on the glass wall while the panther growled at her. "Cloud, help!"

"Barret!" I looked at him. "Is there anything you can do?"

He nodded, brought up his gun-arm again, and aimed it at the test chamber door's lock panel. "Awright! Step back!"

I did, pulling Tifa with me as Aerith quickly moved aside, and then Barret let loose, firing a stream of bullets and blowing the lock panel to pieces in a flurry of sparks. The chamber filled with blue light so bright that for a moment, we couldn't see anything inside.

Hojo ran to the door, his eyes wide and frantic. "Wh-What are you doing? Oh! My precious specimens!"

Then the light vanished as the test chamber's door slid open. Hojo barely had time to emit a single startled squawk before the red panther leaped onto him, snarling and growling and, I realized, keeping him so busy fending off the beast's claws that he couldn't keep his attention on anything else, including us.

"Now's our chance to get Aerith!" I told the others.

Not wasting a second, I raced into the chamber and helped Aerith get back to her feet. She must have fallen backwards during the ruckus, but she was thankfully unhurt. I was relieved but also a little perplexed to see that. I knew the panther could have easily torn her apart with its sharp teeth and claws, but she didn't have so much as a mark on her. It was odd, but figuring it out could wait for now.

"Thanks, Cloud," Aerith smiled.

I nodded to her, but something else caught my attention then. The lift was humming again. Something else was being brought here, and I didn't think it would be as helpful as the panther. I motioned for Aerith to head out of the test chamber, and she did while I backed slowly away from the lift and kept myself between it and her.

"Cloud," Tifa asked. "What's wrong?"

I tightened my grip on Hardedge. "The elevator's moving again."

A moment later, a huge, monstrous creature rose into view. It was covered in a tough reddish-purple hide, and its thick legs ended in two sets of rootlike feet. Sitting atop its right shoulder was a grotesque and vastly oversized mouth filled with shark-like teeth, and from its right hand grew three long, spindly claws. Its left arm was a bulbous mass of tissue ending in three short, stubby talons. Three smaller creatures that looked something like giant yellow ladybugs with a single bluish-green eye in front scuttled near the larger beast. When the panther heard the monsters coming, it jumped off of Hojo and turned around to face me. Its one eye locked on the approaching monsters, it did something then that almost made me drop my sword in shock.

"This beast is rather strong," the panther said. "I'll help you out."

Tifa's jaw dropped. "It talked!?"

"I'll talk as much as you want later, miss."

"We'll handle the monster," I said. "Barret, take Aerith somewhere safe! Take care of her!"

Barret nodded. "You got it, Spike!"

"What's your name?" I asked the fiery red panther while Barret led Aerith a safe distance away.

"Hojo has named me Red XIII," he said. "A name with no meaning whatsoever to me. Call me whatever you wish. As for our enemy, Hojo created it. I believe he calls it Sample H0512."

I hefted Hardedge. "We'll call it dead in a minute! Come on!"

We fell back as the monsters emerged from the testing chamber, as it would be easier to fight them outside the confines of the lift. I rushed straight for H0512 while Tifa pummeled the smaller creatures with her fists in a deadly combo, the mythril claws of her gloves tearing into the soft flesh of the monsters. One of them shuddered and collapsed, while another was ripped apart by a few swipes of Red's paws, his own sharp claws unsheathed as he growled low in his throat.

In the meantime, I swept Hardedge across in a backhand slash that cut across H0512's tough hide and drew a line of thick black blood. It wasn't a deep wound, though, and the thing shrugged it off and lunged at me with its misshapen arms. I dodged easily and scored another hit, but again the monster barely noticed. This time, it moved its arms in a circular motion, and with a few sparkles of magical energy, the smaller creatures Tifa and Red had dispatched somehow reformed and stirred to life again. One flashed for a moment, and then a sudden burst of fire erupted around Tifa and she cried out in pain.

Then there was a flash of green light from the feathered headdress Red wore, and the creature squealed as it was scorched by a fiery blast. It seemed like Red had materia as well and knew how to use it. He was even more intelligent than I had imagined, and I was glad to have him as an ally. Then I saw the telltale green sparkles of Cure magic floating around Tifa as she used her healing magic, and I let out a sigh of relief. One less thing to worry about.

Before we could do anything else, though, H0512 suddenly spewed a cloud of noxious purple vapor that enveloped all three of us. Tifa and Red both sank down and started coughing uncontrollably, their bodies wracked with spasms, but I was completely unaffected. At first, I didn't know why, but then as I felt the star pendant warming against my skin, I understood and whispered a few words of thanks to Jess for her help. She had known, although I didn't know how. And I didn't care. All that mattered was that even now, even from beyond death, she was looking out for me, for all of us.

I still had some of the antidotes Biggs had given us, so I hurried to Tifa and Red and gave one to each of them as I shrugged off a fire spell from one of H0512's pets and dodged a blow from another one. Within moments, both Tifa and Red straightened and relaxed as the antidotes purged the toxin from their systems. Then a fresh, familiar breeze blew around us, sweeping the noxious purple cloud away as its magic healed our wounds. I didn't need to look up to know Aerith had come back in spite of what I'd told her and Barret.

"You never do what you're told, do you?" I grinned.

Aerith laughed. "Only when I feel like it."

"This thing brought back those little ones we killed earlier," I went on as Barret joined us. "So focus on the big one."

Red called to us while fighting one of the smaller monsters. "I will keep these busy while the rest of you concentrate on H0512."

"Not by yourself, you won't," Tifa cut in, handing the Cure materia to Aerith. "I'll help you out, Red."

I looked at Barret and Aerith. "Alright, let's get to it. Barret, you're with me. Aerith, stay back and cover us. Keep us on our feet."

"Always," she winked.

Damn, but it was good to have her back. I had missed her, but now wasn't the time to think on it. While Barret opened up with his assault gun and Tifa and Red kept the smaller monsters at bay with a mixture of kicks, claws, punches, and spells, I ran in and slashed H0512 first to the right, then the left, spinning from one side to the other as I dodged beneath its own lumbering swings while Aerith used her healing magic to patch up any injuries the enemies managed to inflict on us.

Although I was slashing H0512 fast and hard and Barret was filling it with bullets, it still wouldn't go down. Hojo's experimental beast was tough, and we had to take it out before it could breathe that poisonous vapor cloud again. Backflipping away from H0512 for a minute, I drew Buster and rushed back in, Buster in my left hand and Hardedge in my right. I hit the monster with a series of spinning slashes, one blade after the other, slicing at it again and again while Barret kept the pressure on from the other side with his gun-arm.

Then it caught both swords in its hands, and for a moment we just stood there, pushing against each other, Buster's blade held fast by one monstrous hand while it seized Hardedge firmly in the other. But then I smirked and let go of my weapon hilts, smashing the beast in the jaw with a leaping somersault kick. While the monster roared and released my swords, I grabbed them while I was still upside down in midair and plunged them into H0512's chest just as my feet hit the ground.

Hojo's twisted creature shuddered, gurgled, and finally died, and as I withdrew my swords, H0512's pets collapsed and lay still. I slid Buster back inside its harness as the others gathered around me, and I glanced at Aerith as she drew near. "Aerith, you alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Cloud."

"She seems alright…" Tifa agreed. "In many ways."

I wasn't sure what she meant by that, but I supposed it didn't really matter. Barret, the girls, and I all turned to look at the newest member of our group as Red sat on his haunches. "I have a right to choose, too. I don't like two-legged things."

"What are you?" Barret asked.

"An informed question," Red replied. "But difficult to answer. I am what you see. I know you must have many questions. But first, let's get out of here. I'll lead the way."

Aerith smiled at me. "Cloud… so you did come for me."

"You had any doubt?" I quipped.

"Not at all," she laughed.

She stepped back when Red got up, but he simply looked at her. "I apologize for what happened back there. I was merely acting to throw Hojo off guard. Please forgive me for scaring you."

Screwing up her courage, Aerith approached Red, then knelt down in front of him and gently patted his nose. "It's alright. Red, was it? You don't seem so bad. I'm Aerith."

After the rest of us had introduced ourselves to Red, Barret looked around nervously. "Now that we've saved Aerith, ain't no need to be in this buildin'! So let's get the hell outta here!"

"Right," I agreed. "If all five of us go together, though, we're sure to be noticed. Let's break up into two groups. Aerith, Red, come with me. Tifa, Barret, you two go on ahead."

"Meet us at the 66th floor elevator!" Tifa said.

After she and Barret hurried back into the lab's elevator and rode it downstairs, I noticed Hojo had escaped during all the commotion. But his assistant was still cowering in the corner. I went over to him, Aerith and Red on either side, and he started trembling. "No! Please don't kill me! I only did what Hojo told me to do. To prove it to you… here, this is the keycard to the 68th floor. Would I do this if I was the enemy?"

He handed me a slim plastic card, and the words "LABORATORY ACCESS: FLOORS 67-68" were imprinted on it. I took it, slid it inside my pocket, and glanced back at him. "Go on, get out of here."

The words were barely out of my mouth when he ran off. I glanced at the others. "Time for us to go, too."

"Follow me!" Red said, loping off toward the elevator.

We did, racing after him and riding the lift downstairs. We hurried back through the 67th floor, and I kept my eyes ahead of me as we went past Jenova's tank. I felt that strange pull again, but almost as if she had read my mind, Aerith took my hand in hers, and that pull fell away in an instant with an incoherent snarl of rage that echoed in my thoughts in a cold, feminine voice I did not know. I had no idea what was going on or who that was, only that Aerith's touch had brought me back, and that my mind was my own again.

We hurried out of the storage facility and back down the hall to the escalator room. After riding the escalator downstairs, we followed Red through the next hallway on the 66th floor until we reached the central elevator in front of the conference room. I touched the button to call it, and a moment later, the doors slid open with a chime.

We had just slipped inside and I was just about to hit the button to take us to the ground floor when I heard footsteps behind us. I turned around, but it wasn't Tifa and Barret that had suddenly joined us inside the lift. Red growled and Aerith stepped a little closer to me at the sight of the two men in crisp, dark blue suits and black ties.

Turks! Must have been a trap all along!

One of them, a bald man with a short goatee covering his chin and dark sunglasses over his eyes, pointed to the control panel. "Would you press 'Up' please?"

"This must have been a real thrill for you," the other Turk said, his hands folded neatly behind his back. It was the raven-haired man from the Sector 7 plate. The one who had kidnapped Aerith.

"Damn…" I muttered.

Ah, there we are. I believe I have the recorder working now. It's not easy working such a thing with paws, you know. There are times that I wish I had hands like you humans do. But paws have their own uses as well, and I do enjoy the challenge this sort of thing presents. But that is enough about me. You want to hear more of our story, yes? That's why you're here, of course. So let's continue.

Where were we? Ah, yes, that's right. We had just been captured by the Turks during our escape attempt from Shinra headquarters. I felt it was my fault, as I had taken the lead and should have been much more aware of my surroundings. But I was so glad to finally be free of Hojo's laboratory that I never stopped to wonder about the ease of our escape or what it meant. In any case, we were caught, and instead of riding the elevator downstairs, we had to ride it back up again.

At one point, Aerith was taken from us after we got off the elevator on the 69th floor. The raven-haired Turk turned her over to two Shinra soldiers, who took her back inside the elevator and rode it downstairs. Though I hadn't known Aerith long, I worried for her nonetheless. She was kind for a human, and she had been a fellow prisoner of Hojo's, so I felt a certain kinship with her in that regard.

The bald Turk led the rest of us—those same soldiers had brought Tifa and Barret with them when they had come for Aerith—up a flight of wide stairs covered in soft purple carpet. Two such stairways led up to the 70th and final floor, one on either side of the large room. The top floor was, as we soon discovered, President Shinra's office, with several large floor-to-ceiling windows stretching along the walls on three sides and giving us a clear view of the city far beneath us. A small door off to the left led outside, and before us stood President Shinra's huge desk, a polished metal monstrosity that was nearly as wide as the room itself. The man himself stood up out of his leather chair as we approached. A cigar stuck out of the corner of his mouth as he eyed us coldly.

"Where's Aerith?" Cloud demanded.

The president walked around his desk to stand in front of us. "In a safe place. She is the last surviving Ancient. They called themselves the Cetra and lived thousands of years ago. But now they're just a forgotten page in history."

"The Cetra…" I murmured. "That girl is a survivor of the Cetra?"

I had thought them already long gone, myself. Or at least, that was what I had learned in my studies before I had left home years ago. But I had been mistaken, it seemed, and I was beginning to understand why Shinra had taken such interest in Aerith.

I listened as the president continued. "The Cetra, or Ancients, will show us the way to the Promised Land. I'm expecting a lot out of her. I know she can do it, though."

"The Promised Land? Isn't that just a legend?" I asked.

President Shinra shrugged, puffing on his cigar. "Perhaps. But even so, it's far too appealing not to pursue. It's been said the Promised Land is very fertile. And if that's true…"

"Then there's gotta be mako!" Barret finished.

"Exactly. And that is why our money-making mako reactor will be unnecessary. The abundant mako will simply flow out all by itself. That is where Neo-Midgar will be built. Shinra's new glory…."

Barret snorted. "Bullshit! Quit dreamin'!"

"Oh, don't you know?" President Shinra replied. "These days, all it takes for your dreams to come true is money and power. Well, I believe that is all for our meeting."

We started to head out of the office under the watchful eyes of the Turks, but Barret wasn't finished yet. He glared at the president. "Hold it! I got a lot to say to you!"

But then, the bald Turk shoved him away, and we were all led back downstairs. I managed to hear President Shinra's amused response just before we reached the elevator, however. I was certain the others hadn't though. My hearing is much more acute than that of humans. I am not boasting, do not misunderstand me. Rather, I am merely stating one of the abilities of my race. Just as humans have some things they do better than me, I also have many qualities humans do not. My sharper senses, for instance. But I've digressed, and for that, I do apologize. What I was saying was that I heard what the president said in spite of the fact I was already downstairs.

"If there's anything else… talk to my secretary," he said.

I suspect he had intended that as some sort of twisted joke, since I was certain he knew that we would be imprisoned and unable to do as he had suggested. In any case, I followed the others into the elevator as the Turks took us further down. I had an idea of where we were going, and it was the only place that made sense. The soldiers who had taken Aerith had also had taken our weapons, and I suspected we were being led down to the same location they had gone to.

The prison cells on the 67th floor.