Glossary
Accessing
Shinra Weapons Database:
Name:
Mythril Claw
Cost:
1200
Atk: 31
Atk%:
110
Mg: x1
Materia
Slots: 0=0_0_0
Name: W
Machine Gun
Cost:
1500
Atk: 33
Atk%:
101
Mg: x1
Materia
Slots: 0=0_0_0
Loading
Materia List:
Materia
Name: Wind
Type:
Magic
Abilities:
Aero, Aero2, Aero3
Element:
Wind
...
Logging off.
1. Returning To
Sector Seven
The pair moved through the gates into Sector
Seven, Cloud taking the lead and Aeris following. There was silence since they
had left the playground in Sector Six and now they were approaching the train
station in Sector Seven. Aeris knew that the mercenary something on his mind
but was unsure how to ask him what it was. "Cloud?"
"Yes Aeris?" He asked slowing down
so she was walking beside him.
"What are we going to do now?" That
wasn't what she wanted to ask. She didn't want to make things more strained,
Cloud was the only person she knew and could trust now she would never be
returning home and she didn't want to cause him to open a rift between them.
"Well that depends." He said.
"On what?"
"If you mind travelling a lot." He
replied.
"What do you mean?" She saw him
sigh as he stopped by the small wall, sitting down and patting the piece of
wall next to him, indicating for Aeris to join him.
"Well first of all, the Turks are after
you so I guess when Hojo hears I'm alive he'll go to any extreme to find me. So
outside Midgar is safer than being here."
She looked confused as she recognised the
name. "Hojo, the head of Shinra's scientific research. Why is he after
you?"
He started when she did. "Well it's a
long story." He said. "I'd been in SOLDIER for three years, and as
you heard Reno a year before I received the rank of Lieutenant-Commander and
First-Class-Star, so I was second in command to Sephiroth."
"You mean the great Sephiroth?"
"Yea, anyway as I was saying, five years
ago my partner, Sephiroth and I all headed to my hometown of Nibelheim on a
mission to sort out a faulty reactor. It had been malfunctioning and creating
monsters. In those days I wore a helmet to hide my face, I wasn't in SOLDIER
for fame or glory. I just didn't want to be different." He stopped for a
moment to recollect his thoughts.
"I understand." Aeris said
compassionately.
"When we reached Nibelheim we faced a
monster that was attacking the town. We defeated it and my sword was broken
from the battle. I had a reunion with my mom and she gave me the Executioner."
He brought his hand to the hilt to indicate the blade on his back. "We
talked for a while then I headed to the inn and slept." He paused as he
wiped the dirt off his gloves.
"The next day I found out that my best
friend from childhood was our guide. On the way to the reactor we lost one of
the troops who was with us so I headed off to find him while Sephiroth and my
partner sorted out the reactor and when he returned to the town he started to
act strange." He paused again his eyes looking at the floor.
"When he immerged he killed the town
folk, burned Nibelheim to the ground, Then at the reactor he killed my partner
and left Tifa, my childhood friend mortally wounded. I challenged him to a
battle, the fight was long and I thought I lost when he put his sword through
me…" He stopped as he heard her gasp.
"Don't worry Aeris. I was lucky the
sword missed all my vital organs and the bleeding wasn't sufficient. However he
though he had won and wasn't expecting my next strike."
"You mean."
"Yea. I caught him on the side, the
momentum was enough to send him over the edge of the platform we were fighting
on and into a pit of Mako. When Hojo finds out I'm alive he'll want to hunt me
down to find out how I defeated Sephiroth and why I was the sole
survivor." He looked up at Aeris. "But what he doesn't know is that
not everyone died that day. I managed to get my mother out of the town before
it happened. Since then I've been trying to find her."
"So that's what you want to do?"
She shifted a bit.
"Yes. At the moment I've been doing
mercenary work for an anti Shinra organisation, so I can get funds to get to
Junon." He paused again. "I still have one more mission to do with
them."
"So that's why we're heading here
then."
Cloud simply nodded. "The childhood
friend I mentioned is a major member of this organisation that's one of the
main reasons I agreed to help out."
"What's this organisation called?"
Cloud paused. "AVALANCHE."
He expected her to be shocked, to run away,
scream, slap him anything but the smile that appeared on her face.
He smile back at her, her look told him all
he needed to know. "Come on the bar is just over there." They headed
out of the station, however Aeris was slightly more content now she had learned
something about her travelling companion. Cloud moved through the path, past
the pillar towards the bar. "By the way, why are the Turks after
you?"
"I don't know to be honest." She
stammered after a long pause.
"Aeris, please don't lie to me."
Cloud said as he stopped and took her hand turning her to face him. "I can
tell you know exactly why they are. You don't have to tell me now… or ever really.
But I just want to let you know that if you need to talk to someone, well try
me."
"Thank you for your support Cloud
but…" She bowed her head avoiding eye contact. "I don't think I'm
ready to talk about it just yet."
Cloud nodded in understanding as they entered
they enter the bar.
2. The Entrance
Of Cloud
"She's what!" Barret shouted at
what Jessie had just told him.
"She's gone." Jessie said as she
moved around the bar to where Marlene was sitting. "She told me that she
was going out on her break but that was a hour ago." Barret couldn't
believe this. One sign of something fishy and Tifa just happens to throw
herself into the deep end. She'd been despondent since Cloud's fall from the
catwalk at Reactor No. 5. he knew that she had feeling for the young Mercenary
but he wasn't sure how deep it was or how she would be if he really was dead.
"Great! You know where she's gone don't
ya." Barret shouted as he moved out of the back. The incident with
Corneo's thug by the exit to Sector Eight had set this all off. Barret wasn't
sure why he was following him or why afterwards he was tampering with the
sectors exits but he knew that there was one thing for sure, something stunk
and he didn't like it.
"I have an idea where, yes."
Neither noticed Cloud move from his place in the doorway to leaning on the
frame.
"What's going on?" They both turned
to the doorway, shocked to see the man in the doorway.
"Cloud!" Jessie shouted as she ran
up to Cloud and gave him a huge hug. She let go as Wedge and Biggs ran in from
the back room. Barret moved forward to look at the Cloud.
"Oi ,Spike! You've pulled off some
stunts since I've known ya, but how the hell did you F#~&$%g pull off
freefalling 45 meters and staying alive!"
He watched as Cloud chuckled. "Not
without help." He looked through the door and nodded. "Everyone I
want you to meet Aeris Gainsbrough." Barret noticed the woman enter the
bar.
"Hallo." It was all he could think
to say. There was something about this girl.
"Aeris found me when I landed. She's
accompanying me from now on." She moved towards the people in the room.
"Pleased to meet you." She smiled.
Barret eyed her just to make sure. She looked innocent, wearing a pink dress
with a small red jacket, it was like she was an angel. The facial expressions,
her frame and most of all those green eyes all gave a look of purity unlike any
other female he had met before.
"Yea." Barret said. "Likewise
kid. Er Cloud I need a talk with ya. It's 'bout Tif'" Cloud nodded in
reply as Aeris started talking to the rest of the group as Cloud and Barret
headed down into the hideout.
2. Thoughts Of Infiltration
"Barret?" Cloud turned once they
were down stairs.
"Right, after we returned to the hideout
we found someone was spying on us. Tif' then found the b~#%&^d tamperin'
with the mechanisms for the exits."
Cloud nodded as he added. "That doesn't
sound good."
"Well that guy was one of Don Corneo's
lackeys. You know who Corneo is?"
The mercenary nodded again "Don Corneo,
he practically owns Sector Five. He lives at Wall Market in Sector Six and the
guy is basically a Shinra loyalist as well as a pimp."
"Yep that's the b~&&%y
b~#%&^d I'm talking 'bout. Well Tif' has been a bit edgy since you fell
from the catwalk, she's been trying to take her mind off it so…" Barret
didn't know how to say this to the mercenary.
Cloud looked at the burly terrorist leader in
front of him, he could tell by the expression on his face and the knowledge of
what Tifa could be like he had a good idea what had happened. "Your trying
to tell me that she's acting like a hothead and has headed off to see Corneo to
see if she can find out what's going on."
Barret nodded. Cloud had been to Wall Market
on missions for SOLDIER he knew that the place could be like. No what the place
WAS like. He involuntarily shivered as he remembered having to patrol that
outer area of the market so that none of the members under his command were
doing things they shouldn't be. He shuddered as he thought of the things that
happened in there, the streets full of men all looking for one thing and he
hated even thinking about it. There were also the women who had to make a job
being plaything for Corneo and whoever else could afford it. Indeed wall Market
wasn't the best of places if you look at it from that angle.
"I don't mean to sound like I'm taking
charge or anything but… I think that we should leave Jessie, Wedge and Biggs
here to try and repair the door mechanisms that were tampered. Aeris, you and I
will go to Wall Market, infiltrate Corneo's Mansion and sort this out. If this
is as serious as it sounds then we'll have to take this head on." Cloud
moved to the couch and drew the Executioner and cleaned the blood off of
it.
"Yea. Oh! What going on with the girl,
Spike?" Barret asked watching the mercenary look back up the ramp.
"Well first of all she can fight,
especially with Materia not that that has anything to do with it but…. You know
the Turks." Cloud asked the stupid question.
"Hell who doesn't!"
"Well for some reason Shinra want her
for something. Whatever it is it's important enough for Shinra to release the
Turks on her." Cloud looked down.
"Damn that's bad."
"Hell I know but whatever they want her
for I'm not going to let them get her hands on her." He sighed. "As
far as I'm concerned everything Shinra touches becomes destroyed at the end. I
made a promise to keep her safe and I'm going to."
"So there's nothing.. ya know."
Cloud looked at him unsure what his friend meant. "You to aren't involved
are ya."
Cloud look became one of complete shock and
insult. "Barret I just met Aeris two days ago, yes she is very beautiful,
charming and caring but it's too soon to even start to think that way." He
started back up to the bar.
"Alright Spike… Sorry" Barret
grumbled.
"Forget about it Barret." Cloud
moved into the bar followed by Barret.
"Alright flunkies new mission." He
shouted as the three turned there concentration from Aeris and to their leader,
when they did Cloud motioned for her to come over.
"Aeris are you ready to go." Cloud
asked her as she came over.
"I guess." The flower girl said to
her companion. "Why?"
"We have a mission on. It sounds like
this could get ugly latter on." Cloud said as he picked up her staff and
passed it to her.
"A mission!" Aeris replied
excitedly. "What are we doing?"
Only one word would come into the mercenary's
mind in response to that question. "Infiltration, Aeris." He said as
they left the bar with Barret in close pursuit. "Infiltration."
End Of Chapter 4
