Chapter 6: The Great Escape


(Location: Mako Storage Reactor Room Mako Reactor 1 Sector 1 Midgar Planet Gaia)


*Twenty minutes until detonation*

Thanks to the debris hitting the bomb that was set to detonate in twenty minutes, the group started hustling.

"Thank goodness we were able to defeat the Scorpion Sentinel before activation," Jaune huffed as they climbed a ladder.

The mechanical unit had proven to be a real pain in the ass. However, because of their efforts, they beat it, and showed great teamwork with a couple of people they've just met.

Nevertheless, there was no time for victory celebrations when time was against them.

They were rushing up the reactor chamber when Barret said, "Wedge is covering our exit. Move it people, double time!"

Jaune and Ruby believed this Wedge person to be another member of Avalanche, but was more relieved at the fact the group had the exit strategy covered.

As they followed the leader of Avalanche and the ex-SOLDIER out of the reactor core area, they continued climbing the ladder back to the top while the whole place was going crazy with alarms.

The blast from mech Scorpion has really damaged the reactor core chamber, making the place very unstable. It could blow up any minute, maybe even before the bomb goes off.

They thought it was going to be easy to get away, but now that all hell was breaking loose, Shinra was going to take drastic measures.

So, they began rushing back towards Jessie's location like someone set a fire under their feet. Oh yeah, they were the ones who set fire beneath themselves.

After climbing a few ladders, a Monodrives jumped down on the scaffoldings and the leader of the Avalanche group off with the rest of the team.

While they faced off with a couple of Monodrives, Barret went ahead while shouting, "Hurry it up!"

Ruby glared at the machines while thinking, "We don't have time for this!"

Both she and the Arc then slashed them away with some help from the blond Merc.

Climbing the next ladder, they saw the Avalanche leader a few feet ahead and Jessie was just slightly behind him.

A large pipe fell off hitting the platform, breaking it apart as a piece of rubble fell on the brunette's right leg.

Cloud reacted first, going after her as he jumped to an iron bar and lept across the grated floors.

Around the same time, the Huntress used her semblance to get them both Jaune and herself there even faster.

However, it didn't take the ex-SOLDIER much time at all to appear right next to them.,

"That was pretty fast. Guess he's the allrounder type," Jaune thought as they placed their hands under the piece of rubble trapping the Avalanche member.

Needless to say, the two Hunters with Aura and the SOLIDER infused with Mako didn't have any problems lifting the rubble together. Jaune was the closest to Jessie, so when she managed to pull her leg free, she got up and gave everybody a quick hug before saying, "My heroes."

However, her gaze was set on the Arc before giving him another wink. In response the flirtatious behavior, the blond blushed while thinking, "It's going to be so hard getting used to these kinds of things."

Again, Ruby got annoyed and thought, Why does she have to do that? It's not like he was the only one who saved her, all three of us did!"

For some reason, Jessie's actions were starting to really irk the silver-eyed reaper, but for the life of her, she didn't understand why it making her feel so angry.

"Hey! We'll meet up over there! Look after Jessie!" shouted Barret from the other side of the railings.

"Come on! This way!" Jessie shouted as an explosion went off nearby. She rushed over while pointing to the ladder next to her and said, "This route will lead us straight to Barret! Probably!"

"Probably?" Jaune felt the sweat dripping from his brow.

They had choice but to take it. The Hunters from another world needed to regroup with the leader of the Avalanche group. More than ever now because he still didn't trust the Huntsman and Huntress or the ex-SOLDIER while they were on that matter.

However, Berret was giving them a chance to earn some trust with the task of protecting the female Avalanche member.

All four climbed down the ladder before the brunette shouted, "There! I see the exit!"

Taking a path she pointed to, they had to cross a pipe that stood over the pool of Mako, they needed to be careful not to lose their balance, lest they fall in a vat of processed Life Stream.

After crossing the pipe, they ran down a path that led to another platform, with, yep, you guessed it, another ladder. This place was filled to the brim with them.

Climbing it to another platform and another ladder, they continued to go as fast as they could without Ruby using her Semblance that is.

Jessie wasn't helping much because she was urging them to hurry up, as if they didn't already know that.

They probably had fifteen minutes to get out of there before everything blows up.

Cloud gave a stern comment to the brunette, telling her, "Shut up, and keep climbing."

The Hunters breathed a sigh of relief, glad someone was able to voice their opinion for them.

However, instead of doing what Cloud said, the young woman with the chestnut hair suddenly shouted, "Sorry! I need to talk, or else I'll just keep freaking out. It helps me focus!"

The trio of pros sighed before thinking, "Guess we don't have a choice but hear her out."

They tried to ignore her instead while focusing on leaving. That was their top priority.

After climbing out the ladder they met up with the dark skinned man and a door that had a couple of Monodrives standing next to a security officer.

"Barret!" Jessie called out.

"Go! I've got you covered. Find us a way out of here!" Berret waved his hand in a gesture, telling her to get going.

"But then-"

The Avalanche leader shot down a Monodrive as the security officer pressed something on a control panel while the door behind them was about to close.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine! I got three able bodied Mercs with me!

Jessie nodded her head, running off and not looking back. She slipped through just in time before the door closed on her.

The security officer was down, but there were more Monodrives and Shinra Grunts present.

Ruby and Jaune drew their weapons. Fighting is the last thing they should be doing with a bomb ticking under their feet, but they had not choice. Besides, it's not like they were going to let them go if the group asked them nicely.

Jaune looked at the team assembled before him and nodded his head. The four of them were more than enough to defeat everything in this room.

The group charged at their enemies while a Shinra Grunt watched everything happen. Several seconds later, the doors opened that led to a straight corridor that goes on until it reached a pair of double hanger doors.

As it opened completely, it revealed the room they were just in was in disarray and broken. More than half the room was set on fire, and had scrapped Sweepers and Monodrives laying in random parts all over the room.

Cloud, Berret, Ruby, and Jaune all walked through the large gated double doors. It closed while their backs were turned and another explosion shook the previous room behind them.

While they proceeded down the new path, a Sweeper went online ready to attack them. However, the Arc and the Rose used their water/thunder combo for quick stagger.

Between the ex-Soldier's buster sword skills, the petite Huntress' scythe skills, the Arc's sword skills, and the one-armed man's shooting skills, the mech unit was destroyed in an instant before joining the rest of the scrap pile they were making.

After they took a path to a staircase to a higher floor, there were more Monodrives and Sweepers chasing after.

"Great, they just had to throw their whole security force at us when there's a bomb under our butts ready to blow. Why can they just let them us in peace when they know they're going to lose," Ruby thought as she fired her rifle alongside some fire spells.

Her flaming rounds pierced through and shattered he small flying bio-weapons, destroying them in instantly.

Jaune cut down a group of Shinra Grunts as he thought, "Guess all they had at their disposal are the weaklings. That scorpion bot must have been the strongest thing they had in this place."

A Sweeper tried to charge Jaune, but Cloud jumped over and slashed his sword through the mecha before he looked at Jaune and said, "Stop thinking, fight."

"Right, right," Jaune got out of his own head and focused on the task at hand.

Reaching the end of the path they were on, they saw a closed door and officer jumping down near them.

However, this Shinra operative was dressed different. It had mechanical claws, pointed boots with metal tips, and a monstrous, cyclops-looking bird helmet.

Cloud could see what they were thinking and said, "It's a Shock Trooper. Relax, there humans, only they've been pharmacologically enhanced and are wearing advanced mechanical suits to augment their physical performance."

"Huh? Speak English fool," Berret yelled out as he shot a few bullets that the Shinra operative dodged.

"They're made stronger by the drugs they were given and the suits their wearing," Jaune simplified as he bashed the guy out of the air.

"They also favor lightning Materia," Cloud said seconds before the Shock Trooper cast bolt.

They dived out of the way, avoiding the blast of energy just in time.

"Lightning based shocked troopers…Yang would be having a field day with these guys," Ruby said as she shot him in the chest.

The guy fell back when Jaune and Cloud appeared above him and slashed down their swords against both sides of the Shock Troopers shoulders with their great-swords.

"I can hear her now. Talk about a shocking victory," Jaune chuckled as he looked over the defeated Shinra Employee.

"He was such a buzz-kill," Ruby rolled her eyes before they both chuckled.

"The hell is wrong with you two? We ain't got time for bad jokes! We gotta go!" Berret yelled as he rushed ahead.

The four took another staircase while Jaune and Ruby were wondering how long until they can finally find the exit.

On the next floor they encountered two Shock Troopers and two Sentry Rays. Barret took out the sentries immediately while the three went after the troopers.

Jaune finished his off with a Fire Slash combo while Ruby and Cloud crisscrossed their attacks and dropped the Shinra employees like trash.

"Another easy fight won. Guess Shinra will be sending every security asset at us with the intent to kill. Shouldn't they be leaving so they don't get caught in the upcoming explosion?" Jaune said as they ran forward, going up a small staircase before stopping at the front of an elevator.

"Still got that card?" Ruby asked.

"This should get us out of here," Jaune answered while he pulled out the access card he took from the Shinra Employee that shot him in face.

The doors opened and the four entered with the Avalanche leader pressing the button. The elevator went up seconds before they suddenly felt an explosion shaking the box.

"Looks like the bomb went right on time," Ruby chuckled nervously.

Shortly thereafter, more explosions detonated while the elevator rocked from the shock waves.

The four stood silent, swallowing their nerves while waiting to reach their destination. Among them, Barret wasn't looking patient as he tapped his foot against the ground and repeated the mantra, "Come on! Come on! Come on!"

Cloud had his eyes closed with his arms crossed. The Hunters could help but look at his calm attitude while thinking that it made him look like a badass.

"We're almost there. Just a couple of minutes," spoke Jaune trying to calm him down.

"And how would you know that?" Berret lifted a brow.

"I got a map of the reactor. I got all the maps of the reactors here, and here," Jaune replied while pointing to his head and to the satchel.

"You what?!" The man with a gun arm shouted with a shocked expression.

Before the Avalanche squad leader could demand an answer from the blond knight, the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

They walked out to see Jessie messing with a control panel next to some closed double doors. The door opened before they all ran and meet up with another member of the group, Biggs.

He was surprised to see two newcomers, but he kept to himself and followed after his crew.

They passed across a grated platform with a path that split to the right and left. The group rushed to the right moments before Jessie tripped. However, Jaune caught her on time and started carrying her as he thought, "Looks like she's still hurt from when that rubble fell on her leg."

"Sorry for the inconvenience, miss," Jaune said as he carried her like a princess.

"Oh, not a all, nothing beats being carried by a handsome man," Jessie blushed a bit, which in turn made Jaune blush back.

Ruby's cheeks inflated as she felt that same feeling welling up inside her, "AGHH! It's so frustrating! Just what the hell is this feeling?!"

Jessie smiled at him and thought, "This blondie is being way more gentlemanly than I thought, at least compared to Mr. Ex-SOLDIER blondie. I'm going to find some way to thank him this later."

They kept on running when a large tube suddenly fell on the platform, breaking it and separating Cloud from the others.

The platform the Ex-SOILDER was standing on was seconds away falling down a couple hundred feet when Cloud jumped to the falling tube, kicked off of it, and landed back on the platform alongside the rest of the group.

The sight was amazing to say the least, even Ruby and Jessie showed an expression of awe for a second.

"Okay, that was pretty cool" they ladies said in unison.

"Show off. I could have done that too,"The Arc thought to himself without understanding why he felt so jealous of the spikey-haired youth.

Jaune then let Jessie down and they all rushed off, running while following the other three as the explosion behind them became more intense.

Suddenly the entire reactor started to blow up, lighting up Midgar's night sky.

The now Eco Terrorist increased their speed because there were piles of debris falling down behind them.

It looked so unreal, like the building was trying to eat them alive.

Jaune kept watching Jessie, making sure she doesn't trip again, or slow down because of her injury. Doing that here would be nothing but trouble.

The ruble slowly started to stop falling, leaving a closed off path behind them.

"Looks like it's stopped," Jaune commented as coughed a few times while waved his hand to push aside the dust floating in front of his face.

"The explosion was bigger than I thought it would be. No…unless they are using some kind of super chemical, there's no way an explosive that small could do all that," Ruby thought to herself.

"That was one down and seven more to go," Berret announced as he tried to push aside some of the rubble with his only good hand.

Jaune and Ruby looked at each other, checking for wounds. They both breathed a sigh of relief as they saw that they were fine. So were Cloud, Barret, Jessie and the other two guys they didn't know.

They were all right, still standing, alive, and kicking.

After the eventful evening, the Arc knew now that there was no way he and his partner would've been able to take the reactor down just with the two of them.

The duo had to admit, they got lucky meeting Avalanche and getting their help in taking the place down. If they hadn't they would've had to go back empty handed. It felt like it was fate.

"Looks like we made it, and nothing but a few scratches to show-" Jessie was cut short by a tremor that shook them.

"Must have been another explosion," Ruby commented.

"Think you might've overdone it?" asked the Avalanche leader.

"I followed the instructions to the letter. Ugh…I don't know, maybe something in the explosion triggered a reaction with the Mako," Jessie guessed with a frustrated expression..

"I hope the people in the city are all right," said Ruby with a sad expression on her face.

"Hey boss, who are they?" Biggs pointed to the two teenagers.

"Oh, them…." Berret paused, not knowing where he should begin.

"Long story short, we were hired by Shinra for security when we really wanted to destroy the reactor. Problem is, we didn't have a plan beyond scouting the place out. Luckily, you guys came and set the whole facility on red alert. Then we got caught looking around, and they thought we were with you guys. Anyways, point is we're on the same side. We want to save the planet too," said the red cloak reaper in rapid succession.

"Girl can really run her lip, but I get it. The world's a small place, you can run into allies in the most unlikely of places," Biggs commented.

"You understood that?" Wedge asked with wide eyes.

"You didn't?" Jessie questioned with a puzzled expression on her face.

"How can anyone? She spoke like thirty words in a second," Wedge complained.

"They're mercenaries, and I don't have a problem with them helping out," Biggs clued in his friend while patting his shoulder.

"Oh, in that case, neither do I" Wedge.

"I'm Jaune, and this is Ruby, my partner," the blond Huntsman introduce himself and the petite to the two males.

"Nice to meet you," Biggs said as he went back to inspecting their path ahead.

"Me too! I'm Wedge and that's Biggs,"

"Let's cut the chit chat and get the hell out of here already," Berret yelled in frustration.

Another tremor shook the corridor again before Ruby said, "That bomb really packed a punch."

"Doing must've helped the planet some," Biggs said as he pulled out a piece of debris blocking their path.

"After all that, it'd better have. Anyway, let's get going. We should be in Sector 8," the brunette replied as she looked around.

"That'd be that way!" Wedge pointed straight ahead.

"All right then, lead the way," Barret said as he nodded at his men.

"You got it!" The group called back.

The Hunters and Avalanche members carefully traveled through the sewerage corridor. It smelled so bad that Ruby said, "When we get somewhere safe, I'm going to have to sanitize everything."

Jaune blushed while thinking of Ruby washing off of the filth and slapped himself.

Seeing that, Ruby lifted a brow and asked, "Something wrong,"

"No…I think it was just a drop of…"

"Eww…eww…ewww, don't say it!" Ruby closed her eyes and gave a disgusted expression.

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she stopped asking about why he hit himself.

Cloud lifted his brow. He didn't see anything land on Jaune's face. He then shrugged his shoulders as he thought, "Not my problem."

They had to avoid some live and exposed electrical along with squeezing through a couple of tight places.

When Ruby almost got stuck in a tight place, Jaune reached his hand back to help her while pushing against the partially collapsed wall with his other.

The petite reaper smiled in return before taking ahold of Jaune's hand. She didn't notice the bit of blush on her face as she thought, "He's always there for me. It's been like that since we've arrived in this world. For four months we have been training, making a living, and fighting together."

The silver eyed petite thought she couldn't live without the Arc. She lost so many dear people and he was the only one left.

Jaune smiled at her and pulled her through. As she passed over him, Ruby felt her body brushing up against his.

Her cheeks started heating up, and her heart started beating a little faster as she felt Jaune wrap his arm around her waist and pull her through the rest of the way.

"Why was this happening again?" Ruby asked herself.

She had no idea why, but she liked it. Just the feel of his touch makes her body shiver, but not from fear, it was something else, something hard for the petite to understand.

Jaune made sure she was alright before he put his hand on her head, "Got a little debris in your hair."

A little steam could be seen coming off of Ruby's head as she said, "T…t...thanks,"

Berret rolled his eyes as Biggs elbowed him and said, "It appears out new possible recruits are a couple."

"Hmph, Just a bunch a foolish kids who don't know what love it," Berret replied as he pushed off a very heavy piece of debris.

Eventually, they reached a door that was locked, so Jessie placed another bomb to blast it open. They went and hid behind some cover as the brunette detonated the bomb, making a very small explosion.

Obviously, it wasn't as powerful as the one used to destroy the Mako reactor. It made Ruby even more puzzled as she wondered if the bomb used on the reactor core was made from the same stuff.

"If that's true, there's no way that bomb was strong enough to make such a big explosion. Could she be right about Mako reacting with the explosion? But I never came across something like that in my experiments…" Ruby shook her head.

She decided to focus on getting out of here for now and would think about the bomb at a later time.


As they left the sewer corridor they were able to smell the fresh air along with the smell of something burning in the fire behind them.

"My butt!" Wedge yelled as ran around patting the fire on his buns.

Ruby cast water and splashed him to douse the flames. She got him absolutely soaked, but he seemed appreciative as he said, "Thanks, Ruby."

"No problem," Ruby gave a thumb's up.

In front of them there was a massive pile of burning rubble with bits of metal scrap poking out from the debris.

According to Wedge, they were supposed to be in the Business District of Sector 8.

Neither the Arc nor the Rose had ever been here before. They've been around Sector 5 and 6. If they needed something that was only sold in another Sector, they would just ask Mireille to buy it for them when she was making her rounds.

*Attention all citizens, Attention all citizens. This is an alert from the Shinra Emergency Operations Center. Unidentified intruders have detonated a bomb inside Mako Reactor 1. Multiple explosions have been confirmed as well as ongoing fires. In response, a disaster warning has been issued in Sectors 1 and 8. Structures in the area are at high risk of collapse rendering the entire sector hazardous.*

The group was shocked seeing the sight before them. Everything was a mess, rubble, debris, fires even crushed cars.

"That little bomb was the cause of all this?" Jaune thought as he frowned.

It was hard to believe. No, it didn't make sense. Ruby wasn't the only one who felt something was off. The damage didn't add up with what they learned about Mako and explosions.

The sound of choppers flying in the sky was heard as Shinra operatives flew over their heads. Jaune could tell they were already given orders to try and help any civilians on sight, and of course, to stop the terrorists too.

"No...No Way, did…I…am…I responsible for this?" Jessie couldn't believe it.

"That bomb must have been stronger than you thought. What did you use?" Jaune asked.

The brunette only lowered her gaze while the guilt was reflected in her brown eyes. Now the Arc felt bad for making the comment as he rubbed the back of his head with an awkward expression.

Ruby was still at a loss for words. She couldn't believe this was happening. Sure the reactor was destroyed, but the consequences of their actions were harsher than she imagined them to be.

The red reaper knew this was going to happen, and yet she still went along with it, because this is their mission, to save the planet.

Who knows how many people have been injured or worse. The Huntress tried to ignore it while whispering, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so, so, sorry, but we can't stop now,"

"This couldn't have been because us...Could it?" Biggs said in denial.

"But what is it was…?" followed Wedge.

"What's done is done," said Cloud.

"The Merc's right. It ain't pretty, but we can't stop this train now. This was just the first reactor, and the planet won't be safe till we get the rest." said Barret.

"Yeah...We always knew this was gonna get messy" Biggs followed up.

"And this is only the beginning…." Wedge lamented.

"Y'all gotta look at the bigger picture here. Nothing worth fighting for was ever won without sacrifice. Though you may not be crying out, I know you're in pain. Just like the planet is. But it's okay, cause I'm here for you! I'm here to help take the load off your shoulders! Your fears...Your worries...Your concerns...And yes, your fees...Whatever your problem, I got you."

Suddenly, Ruby couldn't take it anymore as she went to the one armed man and gave him a hug. She was in tears not just because of his speech but because she knew there is someone who will try to take the burden for them. It takes tremendous courage and strength to do something like that.

Ruby tried it once, she failed, and she will never forget it. Jaune stood silent, staring at the petite while feeling concerned for her wellbeing.

The Huntress has changed since their times on Remnant. She was more emotional and not afraid nor ashamed to show her tears.

To be honest with himself, Jaune figured that this was the real Ruby. The Ruby from Remnant used to pretend nothing was wrong, she was always forcing herself to smile or hold back her emotions, and always putting up a tough front so she could be seen as the reliable and perfect leader.

Jaune understood that in the end, Ruby was only hurting herself by bottling it all up. The silver-eyed girl broke the hug while the dark skinned man stood still, surprised by her sudden action.

For a second, when Berret looked at her, he thought he was looking at Marlene, his little angel.

"Thank you Barret," Ruby said as she wiped her tears away.

"R…right...no need to get so touchy-feely with me young lady. I hardly know you," Berret tried to keep up his rougher than stone routine and sound a bit rude, but his tone was off.

"I'm just glad to know the leader of Avalanche is a softy with a big heart," Ruby chuckled as she stepped back beside Jaune.

The man cleared his throat trying not to blush from the compliment while the others chuckled. Cloud was the only one who didn't reacted.

"So, what's our next move boss?" asked Biggs.

"That's easy enough! We get our asses home!" Berret shouted as he threw his hand in the air.

"Home? Oh, god…our home!" said Jaune with a frustrated expression..

If not for Berret bringing up the subject, Jaune would have probably would have followed them all night without realizing the danger he put the house he bought with Ruby in.

It was nice to know Avalanche have a home to call their own, but the Arc knew it wasn't Sector 5. They knew that they couldn't go back. The surveillance cameras in the reactor obviously recorded their images, and Shinra probably had a profile on them since they applied to work for the power company.

Since they know who they are, and they come for them, their place was probably being ransacked and put under heavy surveillance. Meaning, if they return to Sector 5 they would be endangering everyone there.

Aerith was already in danger since they know she's an Ancient but the others, but Shinra wanted something from her, so they wouldn't go after her just to get at them.

The Arc fumed as he thought of their hard earned house being destroyed by Shinra Employees.

"How am I going to tell Ruby this? She's not going to like it, not one bit," Jaune thought as he turned to the petite reaper and saw her expression.

It looked like he didn't need to tell her, because Ruby was already on the same wavelength as Jaune. Ruby, indeed wasn't what one would call, happy, but was well aware of what they gotten themselves into.

One nod from the Rose was enough to tell the Arc that she'd be all right. They followed the group of Eco Terrorist, knowing they weren't out danger yet, and that they couldn't stay here.

The Huntsman and Huntress followed them to some stairs in an alleyway as they gathered up.

"We'll split up and shoot for the last train home. Regroup in the freight car," Barret gave the order.

"Later then/See ya later! Take care, boss," Wedge, Biggs and Jessie said in unison before they went on ahead.

"I'd like my money now" said Cloud as he held out his hand.

"You can have it-once we're back at base," Barret grunted before he turned to the two teenagers and asked, "What about you guys? Aren't you going to head back home?"

"We can't go back to our home, Shinra's probably sitting in our kitchen going through the pantry as we speak," said Ruby lowering her head.

"We'll be putting everyone in danger now that Shinra knows who we are," Jaune put his hand on her shoulder.

"We made this choice a long time ago, so we don't regret it," Ruby followed up.

The leader of the Avalanche Unit felt bad for them. They were young and yet they made a very hard decision. He's been there before, in the same shoes as the kids he was looking at, and for that Berret admired their determination and grit.

Since they were a big help and played their part in taking down the reactor, Berret figured he can cut them some slack. At least they were more trust worthy than SOLDIER boy who was only in for the money.

Berret stood in place while he thought, "Maybe I can give them a little help. The red cloak girl was nice and I could tell the blond boy cares a lot for her. Not to mention, they fight like 1st Class SOILDERS but none of the signs of being one. Having them will be very beneficial for Avalanche and their cause."

"If you have nowhere to go, how about you come with us?" Berret propositioned.

Jaune and Ruby looked at each other in shock; neither of them saw that coming.

"I admit it probably wasn't a good idea to get hired by Shinra. But if we hadn't chosen tonight to attack, you could've probably gone home. So I guess that's my bad." Berret felt a little shame.

"Oh, no need to be sorry. We probably would have tried to sneak in and gotten caught anyways," Ruby chuckled.

"No, that means something. Blondie over their said you guys were scoping the place out, it's the smart way, but it's also too slow for the planet's sake. The fact you two jumped on the opportunity to take that place down, and lost everything because of it, shows you two are worth trusting…that's if your story checks out," Berret pushed his glasses towards his face.

"It will, there are plenty of people that can vouch for our identities in Sector 5. Just drop our name, and almost everyone there can tell you a bit about us. I'm pretty sure we've worked for at least every decent individual in the part of the slums," Jaune said as he held his finger up.

"Sometimes for free," Ruby added.

"Sometimes for free," Jaune reaffirmed.

"I'll get the info later. For now, I'll take your word for it. Since you two have no place to go, you should come back with us," Berret pointed his thumb at himself.

"Are you sure about this?" Jaune lifted a brow.

"Yeah, I'm sure. If you ask me, you two have proven that you want to save the planet multiple times tonight, and since we share the same goals, don't you think we should stick together?" Berret asked with a bit of a smile.

"That does make sense," replied the Arc with a look of appreciation.

"We'll do it!" agreed the silver eyed petite.

It wasn't like they anything else to lose, so why not go with the flow for a change.

"Good. We can talk some more once we're somewhere that don't have Shinra dogs sniffing around. The name's Barret Wallace by the way."

"Ruby Rose!"

"Jaune Arc."

The teenagers turned to the ex-SOLDIER. Cloud didn't react, but he knew they were expecting him to fully introduce himself.

"Cloud Strife."

"Wow, real basket of sunflowers that one is," Jaune's eyebrow twitched.

Ruby chuckled, "I don't know, he kind of reminds me of Yatsuhashi; a man of few but important words."

Cloud didn't know who this Yatsuhashi fella was, but he already liked him better than the blond giant standing next to the petite woman in red.

"Come on, time to get our asses moving," said the one armed man.

They climbed down some stairs taking a better look at the district. The streets, the panicked people, and even the Shinra lackeys running about, everything was a mess.

"Yoohoo!"

The blond Huntsman felt someone tapping on his shoulder turning to see Jessing holding a green Materia.

"Usually I'd say I owe all of you for saving me but, I think you're the winner for this one. You know what this is, right?" Jessie asked.

"Materia…" Jaune said with obvious tone.

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner. Take it. It's yours now. Thanks again!" Jessie tossed it to him before leaving with a smile.

Seeing that it was a Restore Materia, the Arc decided to give it to Ruby. He already has that one equipped on him, but the petite didn't, so he decided she should have it instead.

The reaper smiled at his gift while thinking, "That's so sweet of him. Well…The more Materia we have, the better."

They turned to Cloud who resumed walking ahead of them.

"Guess we're with him for now," Jaune said as he started following after.

His expression was his usual moody one, and he was probably wasn't too happy about not getting his money when he 'asked' for it.

The two followed him through the damaged streets while trying not to gaze at the people around them. It was for the best that they lay low and keep their heads down.

The Hunters from another world knew they couldn't to bring too much attention to themselves, especially since Shinra was most likely looking for them. If they were spotted by a citizen, there was a chance they could be reported to the authorities, which in the case, was the Shinra Power Company.

They decide to keep their heads down and avoid confrontation until the Arc and Rose made it to the train ride out of Sector 8.

At least for now, it was them and the blond mercenary sticking to the alleyways and back streets.

Seeing that it was too quiet for their liking, the Hunters thought this was a good chance to learn more about the Ex-SOLIDER, even with their circumstances keeping them quiet for the most part.

"So Cloud, you mind if I ask how can you fight the way you do? Like, how did you get strong enough to use that sword?"

"Training," Cloud responded with a blunt tone.

"Yeah I know that, but how? I'm sorry to say, you don't really have the muscle mass to effortlessly toss out a hundred plus pounds," the Arc clarified.

"More training," Could responded yet again in that same 'not interested' tone.

"Where did you learn to fight?" Jaune spoke up while feeling he finally asked the right question.

"Training camp," Cloud's dull voice grated on the blond Huntsman's ears.

"It's like talking to a sassy robot,"Jaune thought as a Ruby chuckled behind him.

"I like your weapon! It's very cool. Does it have a name?" The red reaper tried her hand at starting a conversation.

"It's a Buster Sword."

"So…no name in general? Okay, cool. I mean you should give it a name just my opinion. It's bad luck not to name it," Ruby nodded her head.

Cloud shook his head before saying, "Buster Sword is its name. It stays that way."

"Sh…sure," the silver-eyed petite realized that it wasn't going to be as easy to talk to the Ex-SOLIDER as she thought it was.

"Your weapon is…impressive," Cloud replied as he turned his attention towards Crescent Rose.

"I know. Crescent Rose is my baby. She's scythe and a high caliber rifle, and I built her with my bare hands," Ruby replied as he held the weapon close to her chest.

"Never seen a two in one weapon combination before," Cloud said as they continued to walk the back alleys.

Jaune found himself rather surprised that the Ex-SOLIDER was talking more with Ruby than him.

"So, you made it by yourself?" Cloud asked.

"That's right, she's my greatest creation. Well, she's my only weapon, but I built her, you get the point."

He only nodded.

"What about my weapon?" added the Arc.

"It's just a sword and a shield," he wasn't impressed in the least.

The Huntsman felt his eyebrow twitching as he said, "Sure, it may seem that way to an untrained eye. But the shield is actually part technological in nature. Not to mention, I doubt you ever find the metal it's made from on Gaia. My sword may just be a sword, but it's important to me, so please don't call it JUST a sword and shield. They have a name, it's Crocea Mors."

"Right…"

Jaune felt like tearing his hair out before he sighed and calmed himself down. He understood that for some reason the Ex-SOLIDER seemed to be getting along well enough with the petite but not him, go figure.

"Look at me, I'm Cloud. I'm a mercenary with a big sword. I'm so cool being all silent, barely say a word, and I look so cool when fighting. Yay,"Jaune thought before he mumbled, "Seriously, it wouldn't kill him to be a little more sociable."

"Guys! Up here! Look up! I said look up!" They heard a familiar female's voice calling out.

The trio did as told looking up to see Jessie and the others to standing on top of some rubble with some sort of pipe and big cables around it.

"Careful up here! This thing could collapse at any moment! If you guys want up, you'll have to use those stairs!" Jessie called out as she pointed.

Jaune gave a sigh. It was never going to be easy for them. However, at least there weren't any Shinra operatives, so they were still safe.

No one has really had a chance to see them yet, so they thought it better keep it that way.

As they marched on, Ruby did her best to ignore the cries of the people. Many have lost their homes and place of business because of the explosion, and it was their fault.

Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, she'd been there before, and just like Wedge said, this was only the beginning.

There will be more explosions, more of city will face the consequences of their actions, and Ruby didn't know what to do about it. She couldn't just let these people suffer because they didn't know any better.

Hopefully, Jaune and her experiment would pay off. Trying to find a viable source of electricity that didn't harm the planet was more than difficult, but they were willing to put in the work. It's just, after seeing this, she wished more than ever that they had breakthrough.

The trio climbed the stairs arriving at the rubble walkway. Taking Jessie's advice to consideration, they were walking slowly and carefully over it.

They managed to reach the other side and jumped seconds before the walkway fell. Lucky for them, there weren't any people from this point on.

As started to run, Jaune and Ruby noticed that the Fire Station was intact, and they were helping people with the structural damage that surrounded them.

"That's good. Maybe Jaune was right, I don't give people enough credit. Even now, they are struggling to pick themselves back up, and they will struggle still. However, they'll get through it, just like we did," Ruby thought before a concrete bridge suddenly collapsed in front of them, blocking their path.

"Great, as if things couldn't get any worse," Jaune grumbled.

They passed by more burning buildings before Cloud suddenly found himself in a trance. Before Ruby and Jaune could check on him, or ask if he was okay, they were blocked by the appearance of the Whispers.

Once more they were here flying around them like a bee stalking a flower. Both of the Hunters couldn't help but think that their appearances as of late have become more annoying than frightening.

They grouped up, blocking the vision of the Hunters until they could barely see themselves much less spot the Ex-SOLIDER who shuffled off ahead of the.

The Arc was able to take a hold of the petite's hand and pulled her to his chest, making sure she doesn't disappear like Cloud did.


They kept floating around the Hunters before they suddenly found themselves standing with a blazing inferno at their backs.

Everything changed so suddenly, neither knew what was going on, or where they were.

The Arc kept the Rose close to his heart, afraid that she could get hurt because his gut was screaming that something bad was about to happen.

Ruby was able to see Jaune's worried expression and understood that the Whispers weren't planning on leaving any time soon.

"Why is this happening now of all times and places? We destroyed a reactor, did we do something wrong?" Ruby pondered before they saw figure was approaching them from within the raging fires.

Smiling while thinking it was Cloud, Ruby called out, "Hey! Over here!"

"This way, Cloud! We're right here!" Jaune followed up.

However, instead of seeing the spikey blond patch of hair holding a giant sword, they realized just how wrong they were.

The eyes of the two Hunters widened in shock and horror as the silhouette within the flames became visible.

"It can't be…." Ruby was the first to speak.

"I guess that means I'm not hallucinating…" Jaune clenched Ruby closer to him.

Ruby saw her as well, so that confirmed what Jaune dreaded, Cinder was here.

The Fall Maiden stood among the flames while the Whispers were surrounding her in a tornado shaped flight pattern.

The Fall Maiden wore the same attire she had on when she killed them, and she seemed be completely fire resistant as she walked through the inferno without showing even the slightest sign that she was surrounded by super-heated gas.

It hit both of them that what they were looking at was real. It was no dream, but actual their darkest reality. The reaper wanted to still deny it, that the blond was wrong, and it was just there PTSD acting up again.

However, she knew that you don't normally share the same hallucinations at the same time about the same thing.

No matter how much she tried not to, the Huntress couldn't stop herself from reliving the experience of when the Arc tried to protect her before being killed alongside her.

The petite reaper's lips were quivering, her body trembling, and she was sweating, but it had nothing to do of the fire around them.

The blond Huntsman has already put himself in front of the girl facing the Maiden as he thought, "I'll be damned if I let that bitch lay a hand on her…but can I…can we take her on? No! With all our training and experience in using Materia, there was only one way to find out.

"You're not here...You're not really here…." Ruby repeated as she gripped her head in pain.

"Back off, Cinder! I won't let you take another step toward her!" Jaune pointed Crocea Mors towards her.

"Are you still trying to play hero? Do you need for a reminder of what happened the last time you tried that?"

"What do you want, Cinder?" glared the Arc as he held his stance firm.

The Maiden didn't replied as she kept her lonely eye on the Huntsman and Huntress.

"Why are you here?! There are no maidens or relics for you to take in this world!" Jaune felt his Aura overflowing as he activated his Semblance on himself.

"No…but there's something much bigger here…." Cinder's eyes drifted to the petite reaper.

"You...Leave, just go and don't come back!" Ruby shouted as she drew her weapon and held it in scythe mode.

"Is that hatred I hear in your voice? That isn't like you, little Ruby. What happened to that sweet cheerful and naive girl that thought everything will play out alright as she just tried her best to do the right thing?"

"Ruby, don't listen to her! She's trying to get into your head. Don't let her in!" Jaune said as he continued stockpiling his own Amped Aura.

"Aren't you tired of always doing the right thing, only to fail in the end?" Cinder asked with a mocking smile.

"We destroyed a Mako reactor for the sake of this world!" the Rose snapped back.

"And look at the results. Is this what a hero is supposed to do, destroy and take lives? The meaning of the word hero has sure changed these days."

"Shut up!" she drew her scythe.

"Calm down, don't fight her on anger," Jaune placed his shield hand on Ruby's shoulder and had the sword still pointed at Cinder's neck.

The blond knight then glared at the evil woman before asking, "Are you here for a fight?"

"I'm here to deliver a message. You don't have to try so hard to save this world because he will save it. HE is the one and true savior of this world."

"He? Who are you talking about?" Jaune growled as his Aura started flowing off his skin like an upside down waterfall.

His Aura continued to amplify itself over and over again. Every time he Amped his Aura, it would make his Semblance stronger, and in return, that would make his Aura levels bigger, and thus the process repeated itself until Jaune's body was screaming in pain.

Muscles and veins twitched as an unimaginable energy filled his body. Jaune was focusing the ever amplifying Aura to increase his physical abilities twenty fold and was slowly continuing to rise.

"Ohh…what's this, I don't remember this trick," Cinder said as she looked at Jaune.

"I know, I made this trick to kill you. Now unless you want to taste of my blade, I suggest you answer my question. Who are you talking about when you say, him, and what are you doing here?" Jaune shouted as the white Aura of his completely changed his irises to that of a snow white color.

"If you would like to know, try your luck in beating me" she materialized her sword.

Jaune was about to tell Ruby the plan, but the rosy reaper acted rashly. As if he could sense her intentions, Jaune raised his hand and shouted, "RUBY NO!"

It was too late. The silver-eyed Huntress charged at the Fall Maiden with her semblance going full throttle.

Crescent Rose and Cinder sword clashed, creating a shockwave of force around them that blew away the fire.

Her lone eye was now glowing from the golden flame of her Maiden powers. They clashed a few more times and ended in the same position crossing weapons.

"You have gotten stronger. Is it because of your hatred for me?" Cinder laughed mirthfully.

Jaune appeared beside Cinder and swung out his sword with all his might.

Cinder was surprised to see how fast he moved, but was able to block, almost as she knew where he was going to strike ahead of time.

However, the moment their weapons clashed, Cinder's eye widened as she was flung back several feet.

As the Fall Maiden's feet touched the wall of the building next to stop the force from Jaune's blow, Ruby appeared beside her and swung Crescent Rose while front flipping.

"I won't let you harm the people of this world! I WILL STOP YOU THIS TIME!" Ruby shouted as Cinder dodged at the last second, letting her scythe cut into the building and carve out a good section of it.

"I don't have to destroy anything! HAHAHAH! You're doing it for me," Cinder replied as she watched her words hit harder than the reaper's swing.

Lowering Crescent Rose, Ruby let her guard down while Cinder's words echoed in her head and heart.

Cinder lunged forward, trying to stab the petite in her stomach, but Jaune immediately went to her aid blocked it with sheild.

The blow from Jaune repost forced her hand into the air and made her hand shake, yet Cinder kept calm and continued hold firmly to her sword grip.

"My, my, little Arc-y boy, you sure have grown big and stwong, to bad you didn't show any of this back when I killed your girlfriend," Cinder jeered.

Jaune facial muscles twitched as he bared his teeth, "What are you playing at? You had the chance to strike a fatal blow against Ruby and you didn't, why aim for her stomach?"

"Wouldn't you like to know…" Cinder replied with a almost sweet voice.

Jaune rushed forward while Ruby realized what Jaune was getting at. She clenched her fists as she lamented losing her cool.

Jaune cut down at her, aiming for her head with a horizontal slash.

Cinder raised her sword and blocked, but once again, her arm was flung back by Jaune's sheer physical might.

While she opened her guard up, Jaune stabbed forward and felt something exploding inside his body.

His Aura shot forward and glowed around Crocea Mors before taking the shape of Cloud's Buster Sword.

It was transparent, as white as Jaune's Aura, and glowed like a radiant light only matched by the sun.

Jaune didn't know why, but for some reason, when thought that he didn't have time to transform Crocea Mors and needed a heavier sword, the blond knight thought of Cloud's weapon, and for reason Jaune didn't yet understand, his Aura took the desired shape and encased Crocea Mors in its image.

Cinder's eye widened as she engulfed her sword in golden flames and struck back.

A loud sonic explosion shook the area as their swords clashed and bounced off each other. Jaune quickly got back in stance and slashed with another horizontal strike.

Cinder countered with her blades and they clashed once more, and again, and again, and again.

The Whispers were still present flying around them as if they were spectators watching the two swordsmen dancing with the flames while the battle intensified.

Ruby clenched her fist and said, "No! I'm different now! I won't keep making the same mistakes!"

Just like Jaune, she felt something inside her exploding with power. Her Aura didn't get stronger, but her weapon started glowing with a bloody crimson glow.

She felt the magic that she slowly nurtured thanks to the mastery of magic changing shape and taking form. Almost like her limits were being broken.

With a sudden burst of speed, Ruby rushed forward and cleaved Cinder's sword in half. Ruby then turned around and tried to cut at Cinder's neck, but stopped before saying, "Out with it! Why are you here?"

Cinder smirked as her body suddenly glowed with a golden flame, spewing it out as pure light to blind the two Hunters.

When Ruby went for the kill as she closed her eyes, but Cinder quickly jumped back and smirked at the two before she levitated into the air alongside the Whispers.

"Damn it! Answer us!" Jaune roared as he jumped after.

Jaune's improved physical abilities allowed him to easily jump above the buildings. However, Cinder was going higher and higher into the sky, quicker than he could ascend.

Cinder then gave one lace cocky smirk before she said, "All answers in due time."

"WAIT!" the reaper flew up next to Jaune and stopped him from crashing into the roof.

"Where's Yang, Weiss, Blake, Oscar, everyone. Did you…."

"Keep holding on to that hatred Ruby, foster it, forge it, and make it stronger. You're going to need it if you want to survive. HAHAHAHAHAH!"

With that, her cackle faded, and the Fall Maiden vanished. Shortly thereafter, so did the Whispers and flames.

Both teenagers were left alone, angry, and on a random rooftop.

"Damn it what is going on? Cinder isn't the cryptic type so why is she...And the Whispers what are they doing with her? Could she be part of Fate's plan too?"Jaune thought as his Aura started to drop back to normal levels.

To keep him passing out from the pain he was in, Jaune syphoned all the extra Aura into healing his torn muscles and broken bones. Moving and attack dozens of times his natural abilities came with consequences. The good news is that every times he messed himself up with this technique, he had plenty of Aura to heal the damage after the battle.

Another bonus was that he always felt a tiny bit stronger when he healed the damage after using this particular variant ability

While he recovered, a thousand questions crossed his mind, "Was there a connection between the Maiden and the Arbiters of Fate? What was she talking about when she said that we'd learn in due time? What about this savior she mentioned?"

It was all cryptic as if she was just toying with them. Cinder could have landed a fatal blow on Ruby earlier but she didn't.

The Cinder he knows would have never hesitated. She would have killed Ruby without blinking, and she'd get off on it too. He knows, he's seen it firsthand.

Turning to the petite, he saw that she was in tears. The silver-eyed reaper's hold on her weapon was trembling like she was standing in the freezing cold.

All she could think was of what happened to her friends, family, and team.

"Hey…." Jaune hugged her and did his best to calm her, saying, "I know it's a lot to take in, but we shouldn't waste time here."

"You were right. She's really here, but how…?" Ruby pulled herself back together and wiped away her tears.

"We can worry about that later. Let's go find Cloud and the others. We need to get to the train station."

Ruby nodded while continuing to dry her tears until she finally calmed down. When they felt good and ready to move, the two Hunters hopped off the roof and resumed running down a new route.

Getting away from the burning buildings and the destruction they played a part in, the two Hunters arrived at a part of the city that wasn't damaged by the reactor's explosion.

They saw a sign that read, "Loveless Street" as they looked around for a clue to where the train station or the Ex-SOLIDER was.

They noticed a crowd ahead of them and started to walk through the mass of gathered people. Jaune grabbed Ruby's hand so they wouldn't get separated and the girl blushed as they pushed aside a few people.

"Sorry!"

"Coming through,"

"Watch the foot!"

The closer they got to the front, they could hear louder and louder shouts in the distance. Then came the sound of a grenade going off.

After pushing through the last row of people, they saw five Shinra security officers and the blond Merc ready to fight. There was a small crater in front of the flat-side facing Buster Sword with Cloud crouched behind it.

He just tanked a grenade and was blocking the bullets from the Shinra Grunt's guns while slowly gaining ground.

Then, with a swift leaping motion, Cloud front flipped and cut on of the officers down in an instant before lifting the Buster sword off the ground and horizontally slashing out.

Two other Shinra officers got cut across the waist and dropped to the ground, presumably dead.

"Cloud!"

The ex-SOLDIER turned to see them running to his side with weapons in hand.

"Sorry were late," Jaune said as he looked at the Shinra officers jumping off the back of a truck.

"Not late. On time," Cloud abruptly replied.

"Sorry for getting separated. You wouldn't believe us if we tell you" Ruby said before switching to rifle mode.

"Talk later, fight now," Cloud held his Buster Sword in his Punisher Stance.

Ruby cast Aero while she shot out with her rifle and Jaune cast blizzard on their weapons and torsos, hurting the officers while the merc slashed away at them.

They then turned into blurs as the trio dashed through the dozen or so Shinra officers and cut them all down with ease.

They were so easy to beat, they were barely rookies.

The trio didn't stick around, taking off and going to another part of the street. Unfortunately, there were more officers waiting for them and blocking off the roads with more trucks full of more Shinra lackeys. they broke through their forces along with two guard dogs.

As they barreled through the blockades, Jaune managed to find an Elemental Materia that fell from one of the Trucks. Picking it up as he dashed on, another Shinra officer saw them from the distance.

"This is 8-411, I've got eyes on the intruders; requesting reinforcements at Sector 8's Loveless Street A.S.A.P, over!"

"Which way to the station?!" asked Ruby as they skid out around a corner to see more troops waiting for them in the streets.

"Yep, this feels just our luck," Jaune commented while more officers and guard dogs showed up.

"Pthhp, remember that time you got chased by all those Grimm."

"First rule of Nora's fearless training, we don't talk about Nora's training methods. Though I recall you getting dragged into it to when you triggered the launchers on the top of the cliff."

"How was I supposed to know they were active all year round!" Ruby huffed.

Cloud lifted a brow and said, "Not the time for this,"

The two chuckled as they readied their weapons and charged.

After fighting for a few dozen minutes, they realized that there was no end to them. Jaune was already bunt from using his ace-in the hole, and another consequence to his secret move was that he couldn't use his Semblance for quite a bit of time. It was like the thing was on cool-down.

Ruby was already tired from pushing herself so hard all throughout the night. If Jaune hadn't been constantly refilling her Aura every chance they got, she was positive she'd be in a comma, or at the very least, asleep.

Since the Shinra officers kept spotting them, it wasn't surprising that they continued to request for more backup.

They didn't stay in one spot and continued to make more ground until they ended up reaching a beautiful fountain in the middle of a small business area.

"No time to enjoy the view," Jaune thought as he continued taking out the officers in front of him.

Suddenly, a chopper arrived before two Shock Troopers jumped from it.

"This is starting to get annoying," Ruby said as she counted all the enemies around them.

She rushed forward and spun her scythe, hitting the Shock Troopers in the back and front of their heads.

"Well, that takes care of them, but we still have a chopper to worry about," Jaune shouted as Ruby noticed the vehicle lock on the trio with their weapon systems.

"Cloud, you know the way to the station?" asked the Arc as he jumped in front of Ruby and used the Barrier spell to take the machine Gun fire with his shield.

"We could use an out, Cloud!" Ruby called out as she held her rifle over Jaune's shoulder and fired back at the at the helicopter, using her blond knight as a sturdy shield and landing shots against their sturdy windshields.

"Never been here," Cloud responded as he was impressed with their teamwork.

The helicopter shot a rocket at them while Cloud took action. He jumped into the air and cut the missile into pieces before it landed in fountain without exploding.

Ruby shot through the bullet proof glass after shooting the same spot dozens of times.

The helicopter back off for a bit to assess what damage her bullet did while Ruby sighed and said, "Neither have we. Jessie should have given us better directions."

"But I might know a way," the ex-SOLDIER cast his gaze above before continuing to speak, "The rooftops, maybe. They look clear."

"Guess we're going up" said the blond Huntsman while more men behind them chased after.

"Don't let them get away no matter what!"


Following the blond merc, Ruby and Jaune reached a corner where there was a ladder.

"Oh for the love of…if I never see another ladder again, it will be too soon," Ruby huffed.

"It could be worse. We might have shimmy up a wall without one someday," Jaune chuckled as he grabbed hold of the ladder's bar.

They climbed it before running along top the roofs. Thanks to Cloud's eyes, they were able to get back on track. However, there were also more officers there waiting for them.

On the way they ran into new Shinra Operatives holding shields made of durable iron.

"Riot Troopers," Cloud informed.

They were able to get rid of those shield with their quick attacks.

They tackled another waves of officers and Riot Troopers, Shinra was really throwing everything at them.

Jaune couldn't help but think it that this was a natural response, after all, they did destroyed one of their Mako reactors. It wouldn't make much sense if they just let them go free and walk after doing something like that.

Before they knew two vehicles approached with more officers and Riot Troopers, behind a Shinra truck as even more enemy forces arrived.

"Great, and now were surrounded. Guess we have no choice but to fight. Just how did Barret and the others managed to avoid running into these guys?" Jaune spoke out as he held his sword stance firm.

Cloud and Jaune were blocking their gunfire with shield and buster sword while Ruby used her semblance, gaining the higher ground before firing Crescent Rose, and quickly taking them down.

The silver-eyed reaper followed up with using aero and water to disrupt the guard's movements. The two blonds used that opening to close the distance and went after the Riot Troopers.

Jaune switched Crocea Mors to greatsword mode while going for heavy attacks beside Cloud. To get rid of their shields, the rammed into it with a great deal of force, knocking them aside while the men behind swung out their electric batons.

Jaune and Cloud paid them not attention and cut through both their weapons and chests.

Another three guys dropped their guns because Ruby shot them in the side of the head while Jaune and Cloud tore through four more heavy-shield users.

Jaune and Cloud stood back to back while Ruby stood on a rooftop nearby, covering them from every angle. Even if the odds were against them, they wouldn't stop until they manage to beat them all.

The Arc noticed something gazing down from a ledge, train tracks eyes widened.

"Guys! There are train tracks!" Jaune waved them over with his shield hand.

"Sweet! We found the train station!" Ruby said as she used her Semblance to fly back down.

"If the train hasn't pass by yet, we can use it to make our escape" replied Cloud.

However, the nice moment was ruined when they heard more Shinra chatter, "Move in!"

"Don't let them escape!"

Once again the trip were surrounded by more officers.

"HQ this is Sector 8 Unit 2. Targets are surrounded. Moving in to secure," Another voice hissed over a radio.

However, as one of the officers took a closer look at Cloud, he hesitated and gave a look like he knew him.

"Guys, the Shinra chopper is back!" Jaune yelled as he prepared a barrier spell.

The spot light flew over and landed right where the three stood with their backs against the tracks.

"What do we do now?" asked Ruby.

"I'm thinking," was all Jaune could say.

"We'll have to buy time for the train to come," the ex-SOLDIER followed up.

"I'm thinking!" Jaune repeated with a louder and slightly aggravated tone.

"If the train hasn't passed by, by now," said the reaper it will be their bad luck if that was the case

"Deploy the Commando!"

"Please keep your underpants on!" Jaune cried out and got a rare smile from the spikey-haired Merc and a giggle from his favorite Rose.

As things couldn't get any worse for them something big, had six legs, and a long scorpion tail, jumped out, landing in front of where the other officers were standing.

"Another one?!" the Arc was shocked.

It was indeed another Scorpion mech but this was one was different from the one they fought at the reactor room. It was smaller, colored different shades of green, more high-tech looking, and it already had its barrier on.

If the one in the Core Chamber took up both sides of the street, this one only took up one lane.

On top of the new Sentinel, the number of Shinra Operatives was still growing in number. They were beginning to think that there was no way they'd be able to fight so many enemies.

With Jaune's Semblance out of commission, he couldn't Amp Ruby or his own Aura, so they had to be careful with how much energy they expend.

If the train has already passed, they'll be done for. The Scorpion Commando was already charging the laser beam on its tail.

"Surrender and come quietly! Or we'll use force!"

"Funny they've been using force from the beginning," said the Huntress.

"Come on, do something think of anything. Get them out of here alive!"

Jaune felt something was glowing within him. It was coming from his clothes. Taking it out it was a Materia colored red that was glowing. Ruby stood in awed at the sight.

"What's going on?"

"It's a Summon Materia! It's active, use it!" said Cloud.

Realizing that his Materia was finally awakened, the Arc smiled happily. It appeared that all the fighting put himself through must have awaken it from its slumber.

"Is that a S…s...Summon Materia?!" asked one of the officers.

"Drop it!"

"It's all right the Scorpion Commando has it covered!"

"HELP US!" shouted the Huntsman to the red Materia.

The Materia shattered while sending out a strong shock wave and vibrant yellow light. The intense light took shape and from the source of energy emerged a tall being.

He was six foot and three inches tall, he wore a knight's that resembled something like Jaune's armor when he went to Beacon, only it was full-plate.

He had a gold helmet with the shape of a crown, gold shoulder pads with a silver chest plate with a cape.

The face plate on the helmet was open, revealing a pair of blue eyes and mop of blond hair.

The knight had a round shield with the Arc family symbol on it and the real Crocea Mors. Not the replica Jaune carried, but the real deal.

Ruby stood speechless at how intimidating and epic looking the armor and sword looked before getting a good look at his face.

"He…kind of looks like you, Jaune," Ruby commented.

Instead of responding to Ruby, Jaune's lips quivered as his eyes were locked on to the person her summoned.

"A…an…ancestor Arc!"

Ruby's eyes widened as she started at Jaune before saying, "What?"

Cloud looked at him as well with a frown, "Whose ancestor?"

"My ancestor! How? How is this possible! I'm looking at a hero that's thousands of years old! The Wargod, Jhonna D'Arc!"

Jhonna looked back as his descendant and smiled. The man was as handsome as a angel and carried the grace of a King.

"That's you ancestor?" Ruby's eyes widened before she spotted the Arc family symbol on his shield.

This was the summon given to the Arc as Materia. Aerith's mother never said the Summons had to come from Gaia. When the will of Gaia called over the heroes from Remnant, it interacted with the will of Remnant. Part of the agreement was to give Jaune and Ruby guardians that came from their world.

"What can you ancestor do?" Cloud played along, still thinking that Jaune wasn't serious about his earlier words.

"That," Jaune pointed to his summon.

Jhonna D'Arc's body burst into a flame of yellow Aura that soared into the sky. Within seconds, dozens of swords, axes, spears, and other melee weapons were constructed by the summon's Aura.

There were thousands of Aura constructs in the shape of weapons were floating over the Mini-Sentinel.

The Scorpion mech made the first move, firing its tail laser beam at the Arc Ancestor. However, the summon used his Aura to construct a wall of light around his shield, turning the heater shield into a tower shield before he successfully blocked it.

At the same time, Jhonna D'Arc countered by letting the weapons above rain down while he stroked with a vertical slash.

The Aura engulfed the real Crocea Mors as the summon created a giant Aura construct in the shape of his sword and cut.

The Aura weapons fell down like comets as they smashed into the guards and the passed through the barrier as if didn't even exist.

The officer who seemed to have recognized Cloud took cover behind the armored truck and dived into an alleyway before the big Crocea Mors came falling down like an executioners axe.

However, the Scorpion Commando wasn't so lucky. It and the entire road for about 10 miles down the street turned into a finely sliced sword scar.

After the smoke cleared, they saw all the Shinra officers dead and the Mini-Sentinel cut into scrap. The summon then walked over to the blond Huntsman with his eyes trained on the Arc descendant.

"Um...Thanks a lot. It's an honor to meet you. I'm a…big fan," Jaune poked his fingers like a little kid.

In response to the descendant thanking the Knightly King, the summon patted him on the shoulder and gave a thumbs up.

Tears filled Jaune's eyes as Jhonna D'Arc hugged Jaune and patted him on the head.

Ruby was still shocked to see Jaune's ancestor, much less see her partner breaking down like this.

"All my life…I just wanted to do right by our family name. I aspired to be like you, be a hero…I can't tell you what your approval means."

And then, suddenly, Ruby understood. Jaune always wanted to be a hero that could make his ancestor proud. The silver-eyed petite smiled and felt happy for her partner. He achieved something he's dreamed about since he was a child.

The Knightly King smirked before pulling back from the embrace and patted his descendant's shoulder.

He pointed to himself and then raised his hand while shaking his finger side to side. Next, he pointed at Jaune's heart and then back at himself before crossing his arms.

Once more, the summon poked Jaune's head and then pointed to his heart.

"Why can't he talk?" Ruby asked.

"The Materia isn't high enough level. The more Jaune uses it, the stronger it will become, the longer it can stay in this world, and the less Mana it will cost to sustain," Cloud explained.

"Good to know, you sure know a lot about Materia," Ruby commented.

"Standard SOILDER training, even the grunts know this stuff," Cloud replied.

"What do you think he's saying?" Ruby questioned with a curious expression.

"Isn't it obvious?" Cloud answered with a question of his own.

Jaune looked over and said, "Charades really wasn't my game. But I think I get the gist of it."

"Tell me!" Ruby seemed a bit grouchy.

"Don't try to be him. Be yourself, be someone that can surpass the image you have of him in your mind," Cloud explained.

The Summon nodded his head and pointed at Cloud before he vanished and reformed into the Materia.

Jaune held the Materia in his hands and noticed that there were now some carvings forming inside the red orb. It formed a word, a name.

"Wargod Arc. Soo cool!" the Arc said as he smiled and wiped away the tears on his face.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!" Ruby was so hyped as she hopped around Jaune and rattled on, "If this is your summon, I can't wait to see mine! What will I get, Ancestor of the Silver-Eyed Warriors? Ooh, you think they can teach us how to do that thing he did with his…Aura?" Ruby whispered that last part.

"Cut the chat. The train's coming," said Cloud.


Both saw the train leaving the tunnel as the three jumped on it. Both the ex-SOLDIER and the petite landed safely.

The Arc, however, had some trouble because his Aura was dangerously low. His knees went weak before his foot slipped.

As he was about to fall off, someone grabbed his hand and helped him keep balance. The Huntsman looked at his fellow blond mercenary and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks."

He didn't reply as he hopped over between the carts and ended up where he thought Barret and the others would be. He figured they be in one of the last carts of the train, possibly with the cargo.

He went by, knocking on the doors until he heard Berret's loud shout coming from one, and his theory proved true. The door opened as he signaled the two to come down.

They followed Cloud and held on to the rim of the train door before throwing themselves inside the cart. As they landed on ground, they saw the rest of the Avalanche group jumping like they just saw a ghost.

"Gave me scare there, thought you were Shinra," Wedge said before he let out a sigh.

"You had me all worried for a minute…." Berret crossed his arms.

"Aw, you do care," Ruby smiled at the Avalanche squad leader and playfully tapped his arm.

"So, what the hell you been up to?" Berret pretended to ignore the petite's comment.

"Giving public security the runaround, that's what. We had to draw them away from the station," Ruby answered with a grin.

"We don't mind doing the hard work, it's probably why you guys managed to get here without being spotted," Jaune was obviously being sarcastic.

"Nicely done," said Jessie with a thumb's up.

"Well-can't argue with results," Biggs smiled patting his leader on the back.

Barret just pretended he was upset before marching over and closing the wagon's door, "We're y'all raised in barns. Didn't no one teach you to close the door behind you."

Ruby chuckled when Cloud moved past her to lean against the wall of the train cart. That's when she finally noticed the flower on Cloud's chest.

There was only one person that came to Ruby's mind when she saw it. The silver-eyed reaper then quickly took the Arc's arm and attention by pointing at it.

Jaune tilted his head for a second and saw the same thing. Needless to say, he was shocked.

"Excuse me, I got a question for you all," Jaune called out.

"What?" Berret asked.

"Ever been attacked by a simi-transparent and for the most part invisible enemy? They're wearing robes and move like their made of wind," Jaune asked with a serious expression on his face.

No one in the Avalanche crew had any idea what the blond knight was talking about.

However, the Arc and the reaper had a pretty good idea that Cloud was in a similar position as them.

"Cloud must have had an encounter with the Whispers," Ruby thought as she stared at his frown.

"It must have been when we got separated, and the flower, they immediately thought of the florist from Sector 5, their good friend Aerith the Ancient.

"Yeah, I saw em," Cloud replied.

"I thought they were invisible" said Biggs.

"They were-at first. Only saw them after she grabbed me…." Cloud replied while running his hand through his hair.

Jaune and Ruby were even more shocked now. There was no doubt, Cloud had to be one of the people destined to save the planet with them. The only question was; how to get him on board with their mission?

"A new Shinra weapon, maybe?" said the female brunette.

"Hah! More like a panic-induced hallucination!" Berret rolled his eyes.

"Never mind, forget I said anything." Cloud said as he looked away.

"Suit yourself. C'mon let's move up," said Barret as he waved his team on.

As the others left Cloud was stopped by the two teenagers.

"What is it?" Cloud lifted a brow.

"That flower...Where did you get it?" asked the Arc.

"A girl gave it to me," Cloud replied.

"Did she have long brown hair braided in a ponytail, pink bow, and pretty green eyes?" Ruby asked with some hope in her eyes.

"Yeah," Cloud the ever emotionless robot answered.

"Aerith, she was in Sector 8?" Jaune mumbled, and now the blond Huntsman was worried.

"Is she okay? Did something happen?" the Huntress starting freaking out

"She's fine, I think. She took off before Shinra security showed up."

"So she didn't get involved, thank god," Jaune Arc said before letting out a sigh of relief.

"You two know her?" Cloud questioned.

"She's our friend, she lives with us in Sector 5," The silver-eyed reaper smiled.

"At least we used to," Jaune followed up.

Cloud nodded. He wanted to ask them about those invisible ghosts enemies and wondered if that flower girl had some connection to them.

However, he'd decided to ask at a later time before deciding to leave and check out the rest of the train. After all that fighting, he just wanted to find a quiet space and close his eyes for a bit. He really could go for a power nap.

The Huntsman and Huntress followed him shortly after. They wanted tell him about the Whispers, especially if he met Aerith, but they didn't know how to approach the topic without pushing Cloud.

They chose to hold off on the conversation as they walked through the freight cars. Along the way, they saw a lot of people probably huddled together while thinking it was because of the evacuation order.

That was a good thing, knowing that there weren't many civilians hurt or killed during the aftermath of Mako reactor 1 explosion.

Ruby and Jaune kept hearing the people whining and complaining, some were even happy about the explosion and the damage caused to Sector Eight.

Since the treatment they give to the citizens of the slums was less than favorable, it was clear that not everyone agreed with how Shinra operates.

They arrived at one of the passenger carts with quite the lot of people of all walks of life. This was good for them since they can blend in just in. Even if Shinra decides to come and investigate the train, they probably wouldn't be able to pick them out from such a colorful grouping of people.

Wedge, Biggs and Jessie decided to stay here, the ex-SOLDIER, however, didn't like it. It was too cramped for his taste. The same could be said for the Huntsman and Huntress.

By the time they reached the female member of Avalanche, her expression said that she was still troubled about the bomb she made.

According to her it shouldn't been able to make such a big explosion, though she did say it could have reacted with the Mako in some manner that increase the explosive yield of what she intended.

Jessie then mentioned something about the reactors having a failsafe to prevent these kinds of things. Lastly, she brought up the invisible enemy the blond merc mentioned before and wondered if they played a part in it.

In the end the brunette to just put the blame on herself and was happy that they listened to her. Cloud and Ruby went to the next cart before Jaune's hand was grabbed by Jessie.

"Thanks for listening," Jessie showed a sad smile.

"I don't think you should be blaming yourself. If you were sure the explosion shouldn't have been that big, then maybe it's true."

"How would you explain what just happened if it wasn't my fault?" Jessie asked while shaking her head.

"Maybe the bomb didn't do that much damage and Shinra chose to destroy the reactor themselves," the blond Huntsman gave a wild guess.

"…...…..."

Jessie stood baffled, but then her expression turned to one of deep pondering. The Arc thought he might have made a mistake. What kind of crazy thing he will come up with. There's no way the company would do that.

"I'm sorry. I always speak my mind, and sometimes my mind comes up with weird ideas…but if you think about it, I've read a few things about them and they like their propaganda. They have eight of them, losing one might not mean much to them, and they might want to use of this event to gain some public sympathy or they could end up using for spinning a whatever story suits their narrative…well, that's my opinion, a wild one, but still mine."

"What makes you think that?" Jessie asked.

"I've met some manipulative and wicked people in my short life, everybody's got a scheme or plan, and sometimes, nothing is what it seems. I guess you could those guys taught me that lesson the hard way," Jaune waved his hand behind his hand as he walked away.

"Hey, Jaune?" Jessie called out and stopped him.

The blond knight looked over his shoulder and lifted his brow, "Yeah?"

"Thanks. Whether it was my fault or not, thanks for listening," Jessie winked at him.

The blond Huntsman went to the other cart while the young woman was still deep in thought.

"Hm...Would they really be willing to destroy their own reactor…sounds crazy but what if Jaune is right?"


Jaune sweat dropped watching three people leaving in fear from Barret's grouching.

They were the usual citizens that highly believe and support the Shinra Company, and the one-armed man was just finishing up tearing them a new one with his beliefs.

"How was he able to keep his identity as the leader of Avalanche?" Jaune wondered as he watched the guys run in fear.

With that little stunt he pulled just now, anyone would be safe in suspecting him. That very same leader got seated and seemed to be happy that had enough space chill-out.

"Yeah, he's got the right idea. We could all use a breather after all the action that took place today," Ruby said as she tried to sit next to Berret.

Jaune grabbed her arm and shook his head before whispering, "Better not to bother him, he seems like the kind of person that go off easily."

However, he's also a man who truly believes in what's he fighting for, a trait Jaune can respect.

Going to the front seats he saw Ruby talking to Cloud and thought, "This'll be interesting to listen to. Knowing how talkative the ex-SOLDIER is, I bet it will end with, hmm, not my style, whatever, okay, right…god would it kill him to use words."

"I still say you should give your weapon a name," Ruby nodded her head.

"Buster sword is fine," Cloud looked away.

"But it's your weapon, part of yourself. Your bestie, that's why it's important to name it."

"I don't have a name for it. It already has on, Buster Sword," Cloud repeated.

"That's lame. I was thinking something like Giga Cleaver or Wolf Fang Buster. Something cool and intimidating that will make anyone run away just by just hearing its name."

"Doubt monsters would do that," Cloud replied.

"What about people from Shinra? I bet if they find out the name of your weapon they will tremble just by mentioning it. Okay maybe not. But how about if I give it an upgrade-" Ruby's eyes sparkled.

"No."

"Come on Cloud let me at least have a look at it," Ruby clasped her fingers together and prayed for him to let her hold it.

"You're looking at it now," Cloud responded.

"Not like that silly. Let me hold it and see its structure. I might come up with something that will make it even stronger," Ruby rubbed her hands together.

"I like it the way it is."

"I told you I made Crescent Rose and you did say you like my weapon. Give me one chance to make your buster sword even better."

"No."

"Fine!" Rub pouted while crossing her arms and said, "Meanie."

"Couldn't convince him huh?" the Arc smiled.

"You are a jerk. I can make your weapon the better than ever, but okay you don't want my help. We'll see when you regret not coming to me. You'll be like, I should have listen to Ruby my weapon isn't that great after all."

"It has helped me a lot so far. No thanks, it stays like this," Cloud shook his head.

"Just give it a rest. You can try some other time," Jaune chuckled.

"I'm not giving up," Ruby shouted as she kicked her feet up on the cushioned train seats.

"Anyway Cloud," Jaune got seated on the other side, "You mentioned the invisible enemy those things with robes. We believe you."

"You two have seen them too? That girl can also see them. What are they?" Cloud questioned with his usual expression.

Jaune was about to explain when he saw Barret signaling him to come over.

"Looks like he wants to talk with about something," Jaune thought before looking to his partner and saying, "Ruby why don't you give him the short version while I talk with Barret?"

"I will...If you do let me give your weapon an upgrade," Ruby pursed her lips.

"Forget it then," Cloud shot her down.

"Argh!" The reaper pouted again.


The blond Huntsman walked back to the one-armed man's seat. He signaled him to get seated next to him and so Jaune sat.

"You and your friend did pretty good out there. Having three mercenaries ain't that bad. Course I won't be paying you for this job, I only hired the spikey-haired Merc."

"Money isn't that much of a concern for us. We did things because we want to...no we have to," Jaune showed a stern expression.

"Heh, that merc should take some notes from you two. Alright, let's get straight to the point. You said you have the map to Mako Reactor 1."

"I actually have the maps to all eight reactors," Jaune corrected.

"You better not be lying to me" the dark skinned man glared as he removing his shades and revealed his onyx black eyes,

The Arc looked around. Since there weren't that many people in this cart, he figured it was all right to show him. Taking the rolled up sheets out his satchel, Jaune passed the reactor floor plans to him.

Barret immediately unfolded them as he checked every single one. He stood shocked and speechless as realized that it was the real deal.

All the details to the eight Mako Reactors were in his hands, and best of all, the location to the core reactor room was shown as clear as day.

"Son of a bitch, where the hell did you get these?" Berret asked as he put his glasses back on.

"I'm sorry but I won't say. I gave my word that I wouldn't reveal the name of who gave me these. Even if you're Avalanche, I'm sorry, I can't do it," Jaune replied while shaking his head.

"Do you have any idea how long we've been searching for something like this? We thought blue prints and maps to the reactors would be all but impossible for us to get our hands on. Documents like these are the kind of documents that should be under lock and key back at Shinra HQ, along with all other hinky secret shit."

"I can give them to you is that what you want. They'll better off in your hands. Besides, I've got it memorized…for the most part."

"All right pal, how much? Because there's no way in hell you will hand something this valuable without something in return. How much Gil you want for them?" Berret asked with a serious expression.

"I'm giving them to you for free, no strings attach. Money isn't an issue." Jaune held his hands out, as if telling him to keep it and not give them back.

"Damn" he took the papers and folded them up before saying, "Wait till the others find out. We succeeded in destroying one of the reactors and now we have the maps to all of them, it doesn't get any better than this."

"Stupid Cloud" Ruby was still pouting walked to them still not looking happy.

Suddenly something orange and red hit them as it scanned the entire train.

"What was that?"

"Relax that's the ID checkpoint of Shinra. Any train that passes by it will get all the information from everyone on board. Jessie managed to hack into it and so we can get past it no problem. Don't know for how long though. To that thing we're just ordinary citizens."

"You guys must have thought about everything. That's pretty cool," the petite smiled.

"You have to be one step ahead if you want to stand a chance over Shinra," Berret couldn't help but gloat a little. He wasn't used to that kind of up front and blunt praise.

"So, where are we going now?" asked the Arc.

"Right! You said neither of you can't go back to your home. We're going to Sector 7, your new home for the time being. I'll talk to Tifa, and see if she can get you guys a place to crash."

"Thanks Barret," Ruby said with a smile before turning to her blond partner and asking, "I wonder, do you think we'll ever get paid for our day's work? I know we blew up their reactor, but we still put in the hours."

"I don't think so. Yep, that ten thousand Gil vanished the moment we sided with Avalanche," Jaune chuckled.

"Stuck up, I'm filing a complaint!" Ruby joked, earning a chuckle from Berret.


To be continued.

Okay, this chapter is where the changes start to show. To those in the comments rooting me on, thanks, I'll keep up and get this done eventually.

Thoughts on Jaune's Summon are greatly looked forward to. As for Ruby I have two ideas in mind, and don't know if I should go with it. Point is, I can't decide on whether the being she summoned is alive or dead on Remnant. Let me new in the reviews what you guys think.