Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Together We Stand

Tifa led Laeryn and Cloud to a two-story building that looked considerably less run-down than those surrounding it. Rows of colored Christmas lights draped from the roof and framed a large glowing sign that spelled out '7th Heaven' in curly writing.

"This is me and Barret's place. We put a lot of work into fixing it up," Tifa explained proudly as she ushered them inside.

"Not many people here," Cloud commented, taking in the dim interior. On the wall opposite the door was the bar, lined with row upon row of bottles of alcoholic beverages. The kitchen was crammed into a corner next to the bar. Wooden tables filled the rest of the space and dented pinball machine rested against the left wall. Also on the back wall was a door with the word 'private' emblazoned on it in large black letters. The whole place smelled like alcohol and smoke and french fries.

"On weekdays almost all our business comes during the lunch hour, which hasn't arrived yet, and the evening," Tifa said, leading them through the 'private' door.

On the other side of the door was a large living room and a staircase heading up. Tifa yelled up the stairs, "Barret! You home? We've got some visitors!"

"Yeah, I'm here. Be right there," came the reply in a deep thunderous voice.

The stairs creaked as Barret descended them. Standing six feet four and weighing well over two hundred pounds, he towered over his surroundings.

"Yo! What's all this?" he asked, crinkling the skin of his forehead, which was the color of Tifa's hair.

"This is Cloud Strife, a childhood friend of mine, and Laeryn Chase she's also fro-" Tifa began.

"Laeryn!" Barret interrupted excitedly, "'Zat really you? So glad to see you okay!"

Before she could respond he engulfed her in a tremendous bear hug. "You come to da right place," he said quietly, releasing her. As he hugged her Laeryn noticed something strange about Barret's right arm, the one that had been shot five years ago.

"Christ! Barret, you've got a machine gun attached to your arm!" she exclaimed.

In place of Barret's right forearm was a gigantic gun barrel that reminded Laeryn of a vulcan.

"Oh, dis. I got dis done after dey shot me. Cudden use my right arm no mo' so I dey cut it off. Got tired o' prosthetics, wanted sumthin' a little mo' functional. So I had them put dis in, so I can use it to exact revenge 'pon Shinra," Barret explained, "Yeah I know it's weird. People's always lookin' at it funny, but dey don't dare mess wit it! So tell me what you been doin', Laeryn"

Laeryn shrugged. She told Barret about running away into the mountains and meeting Tifa and returning to Midgar. She didn't tell him about Sephiroth. Barret nodded politely and turned his attention to Cloud.

"An' how 'bout you, spikey?" he asked.

"My name's Cloud," he answered softly, "I grew up in…Nibelheim with…Tifa. I joined Soldier. But now I've left Soldier, and am wandering around this city. I am a mercenary and bodyguard because fighting is the only thing I have been trained to do." It seemed as if Cloud was telling this more to himself than to Barret.

"You in Soldier, foo'? Dem's Shinra, you know. Shinra ain't welcome around here," Barret growled, pointing his gun-arm at Cloud.

"Calm down. I said I left Soldier. I'm not with them anymore. I do my own thing now," Cloud was quick to emphasize.

"So you're a mercenary now, Cloud?" Tifa asked, skillfully breaking the tension.

"Yeah… I'm a mercenary," he answered, paying more attention to her revealing outfit than to what she was saying.

"Well then, you want a job?" she continued.

"Of what sort?" Cloud asked.

Barret looked uneasy, running a gigantic hand over his dusty charcoal-colored crew cut. "You sho' 'bout dat, Tifa? We's only jus' met 'em."

"Barret, I trust Cloud. I grew up with him. And I've already discussed this with Laeryn. She's interested in joining," Tifa said.

"I know dat I can trus' Laeryn. I've known her since she was jus' a little baby. She's from North Corel, too. Cloud, I'll give you a chance too, in da interest o' fairness. I'm warnin' you now though, dis ain't some Soldier thing. We against Shinra. You try to defen' Shinra or you turn traitor on us, you gettin' yo ass kicked," Barret said, narrowing his small bear-like eyes at Cloud.

"Alright, whatever. I don't care about whatever it is you're doing. I'll help you out, you pay me. It's that simple," Cloud shrugged.

"Okay. We'll introduce you guys to the other team members then. Cloud, you'll get your money after the job is finished. Are Biggs, Wedge and Jessie around?" Tifa said, addressing Cloud and then Barret.

"Dey took Marlene shoppin'. Dey should be back any time now," Barret answered.

Tifa took a deep breath and began to explain what she and Barret had been up to.

"Barret and I founded an organization called Avalanche. Our purpose is to destroy Shinra. They have destroyed the lives of so many people, you and I included, that they don't deserve to rule."

"Not only dat, but dey destroyin' the Planet as well," Barret added solemnly, "Dey build those goddamn Mako reactors every chance dey get. Mako comes outta the Lifestream, which is what allows life to exist on dis Planet. Dat flow of souls, always bringin' new life. The Mako reactors deplete the Lifestream. If dey keep buildin' 'em, den one day there's gonna be no mo' Lifestream and no mo' life on dis Planet."

"That's true as well. Yet another reason Shinra is evil," continued Tifa, "Tomorrow we will began our first official anti-Shinra operation. We are going to destroy the reactor in Sector 8."

"What?" Cloud exclaimed, "How are you going to get away with that?"

Before Tifa could answer, the door flew open and four more people burst into the living room. Two men, a woman and a little girl. The girl ran over to Barret and gave him a hug. "Daddy!" she exclaimed. Using one of his huge hands, Barret effortlessly hoisted her onto his broad shoulder. The grown-ups eyed Laeryn and Cloud suspiciously.

"Oh good, you guys are back. Laeryn and Cloud, this is Jessie Chandra, Wedge Darklighter and Biggs Ishmael. They are members of Avalanche also. The little girl is Barret's eight-year-old daughter, Marlene. Guys, this is Laeryn Chase and Cloud Strife. They're here to help us," Tifa went through the introductions. A small wave of nice-to-meet-yous and handshakes followed.

"Well now dat we all here, let's get down to business. We gotta get ready fo' tomorrow," said Barret. He led them back into the main room and slid the pinball machine to one side. Underneath it was a hatch on the floor, which concealed another staircase.

"Dis is our base of operations," Barret explained as the walked down the narrow stairs. Below the restaurant was a surprisingly high-tech setup. There were several computers, a ton of books, a variety of weapons and some partially built things that Laeryn recognized as different types of bombs. Old sofas had been set up in the room, and the team sprawled across them.

"We got everything ready. On dat table by the stairs, dat's da finished bomb. We got all da weapons we need, too," Barret said.

Laeryn was impressed by the arsenal the small group had managed to muster.

"These explosives are home-made. Who makes them?" Laeryn asked, examining the craftsmanship on the finished one.

"I do," Jessie said proudly, "I just finished that one last night. We're going to use it to destroy the reactor. I know it's small, but a Mako reactor's core is highly volatile and even a small explosion will set off a chain reaction that will blow up the whole thing."

"Nice work," Laeryn complimented, "You make the guns, too?

"Nah, just the bombs. Biggs and Wedge rounded up the guns. They're just for the three of us. Barret's gun is built in," Jessie laughed, "And Tifa doesn't need a gun to do serious damage."

"Yo! If ya'll ready we gonna get started!" Barret announced.

Tifa walked to the front of the room and cleared her throat. "The easiest way to travel to the surface of the plate is via the commuter trains. Shinra employees use these trains to get to work and they have numerous stops both in the slums and on the plate. Tomorrow morning we will board the train and travel to Sector 8. The Shinra commuter trains run ID checks every morning for security reasons. This will not be a problem for us because Jessie has made counterfeit ID cards and code numbers for all of us. These should hold us over until we get off the train. Sector 8's train station is pretty close to the reactor, which is good. From there, we enter the reactor, proceed to the core, set the bomb and get the hell out. Unlike the isolated reactors in places like Nibelheim and North Corel, these reactors are located in highly populated areas and as a result have numerous security procedures to keep people out. Cloud, Laeryn, do either you know anything about this?"

Cloud shook his head. "The only reactor I've seen the inside of is Nibelheim. Same one as you, Tifa. Shinra's got separate people who work on the reactors. I'm sure we can get through, though. If you have the right equipment, that is," said Laeryn.

"Oh, we've got just about everything you can think of when it comes to hacking and sneaking around. Whatever Wedge and I can't find, Jessie makes," boasted Biggs, a stout, surly looking man with a wide reddish face.

Laeryn nodded. "Jessie, have you tested your fake ID cards?"

"No. There's really no way I can test them. It's not like we can just go over to Shinra, run them through their computers and see if they work," she said.

"I guess that's true. Well, we'll find out tomorrow then, won't we?" chuckled Laeryn, "Cloud, do you have anything to add? You were in Soldier too, you know."

"No. It's not my responsibility to come up with plans. You guys do that, I just carry them out," he shrugged.

Laeryn looked at Cloud strangely. She couldn't believe how much he had changed over the past five years. He looked similar; rather short and leanly built with outrageous yellow hair. His eyes were less round and watery looking, now they were unfathomable and determined. His eyes made him look older than he was. How old was he now anyway? Twenty one? That sounded about right. Something about Cloud bothered Laeryn, though. How had he survived? Sephiroth had cut him in half. He was dead. And then one day he randomly showed up in Sector 7, looking lost and confused. Laeryn had asked him how he survived and what he'd been doing for the past five years, but he didn't answer, saying he couldn't remember. Laeryn was sure there was more to that story. But now wasn't the time for finding out. She had to concentrate on tomorrow's job.

"Tifa, you okay wit watchin' the bar an' lookin' after Marlene tomorrow?" Barret asked.

"Yeah. I don't mind staying behind. We need the business," she answered, "Well I guess that's that, then. The first commuter train comes through here at 6:30 AM. That's the one that you guys will be taking. Don't be late!"

* * *

The Next Day

Barret, Laeryn, Cloud, Jessie, Biggs and Wedge stood at the station, watching as their train approached. As they boarded, a mechanized voice chimed, "please swipe your ID card. This is your first ID check."

"I guess this is where we find out if all that work I put into these was worth it, eh?" Jessie smiled nervously. She swiped her card at the terminal and waited anxiously. After a few moments, the mechanized voice announced, "ID cleared. Please board the train. The next stop is the Sector 7 plate."

Jessie practically jumped with joy as the computer approved every ID and they boarded the train without incident. They sat down in one of the cars and waited as more an more people filed onto the train. The other people looked at them a bit strangely; they sure weren't dressed like Shinra employees. The Shinra people all wore suits and ties of various colors depending on their job. Avalanche lounged rebelliously over more of the stained maroon seats than necessary, clad in torn fatigues and camo and bandanas. No one questioned them, though. They must work for Shinra. The computer would have caught any intruders. So the team sat there trying to look as casual as possible, trying not to give any outer signs of the impending nervousness they were all feeling.

More people got on the train at the Sector 7 plate. After that were the Sector 8 slums, and then the Sector 8 plate. Laeryn stared out the window, watching the neutral-toned man-made scenery blend into masses of gray and brown as the train picked up speed. Her thoughts were still fastened to the dream she had two nights ago. What exactly had it meant? It had been so real. But it was just a dream… Even so, Laeryn felt fairly certain that he was alive, somewhere. He said that to her in the dream. Although Laeryn had never been superstitious or prone to believing in things like dreams and omens, this dream was different in a way that she didn't understand. It didn't seem strange and random like other dreams. It seemed planned out and conscious. And for an unknown reason it left with the unshakable feeling that Sephiroth had survived. That was probably the happiest thing that had happened to her over the course of five years, which had otherwise been filled with loneliness and violence. So she decided to believe the dream, out of desperation more than anything else. If Sephiroth was alive, he must be lonely, and most likely hated by everyone for what Jenovah had made him do to Nibelheim. She needed to find him. But how was she supposed to do that? I will wait for another dream…wait for him to speak with me again, she thought, He seems to be the one who initiates the dreams. He said something about an astral projection, whatever that is…

The clipped mechanized voice jarred into her thoughts. "The next stop is the Sector 8 plate. Please hold on as the train approaches the station," it recited.

"Hey Laeryn, still with us?" smiled Wedge, noticing her distant look. If Wedge was an animal, he'd be a rodent of some sort, with his wiry dark mustache and darting, alert eyes.

Laeryn returned the smile. "Yeah. I just got a little lost in thought."

"Thinking about all the work we're going to have to do today?" he continued, carefully phrasing his question so that it gave no hint of what they were up to.

"No, just thinking about the past. People from my past," she answered.

"Ah," he replied, and didn't pry any further.

Barret nudged Cloud, who had fallen asleep. "Yo, this is us," he murmured quietly to the group.

The six members of Avalanche left the train at the Sector 8 station and looked around.

"Wedge, you were in charge o' recon. Where to now?" asked Barret, once they were safely off the train and out of anyone's earshot.

Wedge dug around in one of his numerous pockets until he pulled out a small scrap of paper. "Aha! We're really close now. Follow me."

Wedge quickly and quietly led them through a series of dark back alleys until they stood in front of a tall, thick iron gate. Barbed wire lined the top of the gate and the surrounding solid metal fence. A giant sign on the gate read, "Keep out! Authorized personnel only. Violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

"Authorized personnel my ass!" snorted Jessie, "We'll see what they have to say about these authorized personnel." To the right of the gate was a tall control panel with a slot for an ID card and a keypad. Jessie scrutinized the device and dug around in her battered leather purse. "Nothing we can't handle!" she said cheerily, pulling out what looked like a floppy disk and inserting it into the card slot.

"That disk," she explained to the others, "is filled with nothing but Shinra computer codes. When inserted into a Shinra computer, it runs a program that automatically picks out the correct code and uploads into the computer. Handy little device."

The control panel beeped and two large red siren lights atop the gate began flashing. The gate slowly slid to one side with a load grinding noise. Much to everyone's dismay, five Soldiers stood on the other side of the gate.

"Halt! You do not have clearance to enter this area. Let me see your ID cards!" demanded the leader.

"ID this!" yelled Barret. Bullets erupted from his right arm and the Soldier slumped to the ground. Wedge, Jessie, and Biggs made use of their guns and took down two other Soldiers with well-placed shots to the torso. The last Soldier pulled out a sword only to find himself caught between Cloud and Laeryn. He didn't last long, and collapsed into a bloody heap with the others.

"Shit! The whole damn place must know we're here by now!" fumed Biggs, "We'll have to be really heads up from now on."

"Yeah. Well let's keep going. If we just stand here they'll catch us," Cloud said impatiently.

"We can't just leave these bodies here. That'll give any pursuers a clue as to where we went," pointed out Laeryn.

"Well den let's move damn quick an' get 'em outta sight!" hissed Barret. He grabbed one of the carcasses by its uniform and effortlessly dragged it around a corner into the shadows. Wedge and Jessie worked together to lift another body, and Laeryn and Cloud took the next one. Cloud leaned down and examined the corpse's clothing. He plucked something off its belt.

"What's that, Cloud?" asked Biggs.

"Key card. It'll probably be useful at some point," he replied as Biggs and Barret hauled the last two bodies away. There was a telltale trail of dark slippery blood from where they had been dragged, but at least it would give the other Soldier something to ponder before charging after them.

Once all the corpses were out of site, they ran toward the gargantuan structure in the center of the metal-fenced perimeter.

"Door's sealed, what a surprise. Time for my handy-dandy disk again," chirped Jessie.

"Try this key card first. It'll be less of a security risk," said Cloud, holding out the keycard he found.

"Nice work, kiddo!" Jessie replied excitedly as she swiped the card. Jessie somehow reminded Cloud of someone he'd known before… a fellow Soldier, who'd been in Nibelheim with him. After Nibelheim the next thing he remembered was hauling himself on a train to Midgar, and seeing the bullet-riddled corpse of this same Soldier. He felt indebted to this Soldier for some unknown reason, but could not recall his name at all.

The members of Avalanche carefully stepped into the outermost chambers of the reactor, on the lookout for more Soldiers. After searching the area and finding none, Wedge gave directions for the next stage of the operation.

"Okay! There's a door down that hall on your left that will take you further into the reactor. Through the door down there will be a short passageway guarded by three security doors. Get past those and you're in. I'll stick around up here and secure the escape route. Go!" he ordered.

The others followed the directions, heading skittishly for the door that would take them further into the reactor. Exactly as Wedge had explained, the first of three security doors blocked their path. They were similar to the outermost door in that they each had a slot for a card key.

"Damn! More security doors. We're gonna need that little gadget of yours again, Jessie," grumbled Biggs.

"Let me try the card key again first," Cloud suggested. He swiped the card, only to be greeted by a flashing red light that read 'access denied'.

"No problem. There's just a lot of different levels of security clearance in here," she remarked. Once again she inserted the floppy into the card slot and the door slid open after a few moments. After passing all the security doors, they stared at the final door that would lead them inside the reactor itself.

"Jessie, give me your disk. I've got to stay here and make sure they don't change the clearance codes," Biggs said. Jessie handed over the disk and followed Laeryn, Barret and Cloud into the reactor.

The interior of the reactor was dim and hot. It reminded Laeryn of being inside a furnace. Everything was made of concrete and steel, with yellow and black warning labels plastered everywhere. Mazes of pipes and wires ran from the floor up into the darkness. It was too dim to see the top of the ceiling. A tiny metal staircase led downward.

"Yes! We made it in! Follow me," exclaimed Jessie.

The ladder didn't lead to a platform, but rather to a series of wide pipes. They balanced carefully on the rounded metal surface, moving slowly to avoid the dizzying drop below. After the pipes, they came to another ladder.

"Damn! How many ladders dis place got?" muttered Barret as he made his way down.

"Oh, lots. Expect at least two others before we get to the core," replied Jessie.

After the third ladder, Jessie stopped. "Barret, you, Laeryn and Cloud keep going to the core. Here's the bomb. I'm going to hang around back here and fend off any curious Soldiers before they find out what you're doing," she explained. The entire explosive device fit into the palm of Barret's hand.

"Be careful, Jessie," he said. He, Laeryn and Cloud continued deeper into the reactor.

The long, narrow passageways and tiny ladders seemed to go on for an eternity before they finally reached a large, open antechamber.

"This is the core," Laeryn stated. It was very similar to the one in Nibelheim; a long bridge over a deep chasm that led to a machine that drew Mako energy out of the Lifestream. Acrid-smelling, pale green steam filled the room causing them to cough.

"So we settin' da bomb on dat thing right there?" Barret asked, pointing to a structure that resembled a giant, glowing pot bellied stove.

"Yeah. That should be the heart of the reactor, the part that actually extracts the Mako," answered Laeryn.

"Laeryn, you stay back there an' make sure no one comes an' messes wit us. Me 'n Cloud'll set dis thing," he continued.

Laeryn pulled out her gun and squinted her eyes into the haziness, looking for movement. A glint off to the left caught her eye and she cautiously approached it. A small green chunk of crystal lay on the edge of the bridge.

"Materia. Lucky to find it in a place like this," she said to herself, picking it up. This materia was just a chunk of crystal, not cut and polished into a neat marble-sized orb. After pocketing the materia she turned her attention back to sentry duty.

* * *

Sephiroth was helpless inside his materia prison as Jenovah ruthlessly berated him. Its black tendrils thrashed furiously and its orange eyes glowed larger and brighter than usual.

"Bad choice, Sephiroth," it snarled, "When I first visited you in your hotel room in Nibelheim, we laid down a few ground rules, didn't we. Parents must come up with boundaries for their children. You broke the rules, Sephiroth. That calls for punishment. And don't try to convince that that little excursion into the slums of Midgar wasn't intentional. You went there specifically to visit her. I clearly recall forbidding you to see her anymore, Sephiroth. So from now on I will accompany you, and you will go wherever I tell you!"

If Sephiroth had been capable of movement, he would have slumped in defeat. There was no escape from Jenovah. When Jenovah had first appeared, it had been fairly reasonable with him, at least attempting to convince him that what he was doing was the right thing. It had been doing that less and less; when Sephiroth asked for an explanation or reason for what was happening, Jenovah would snap at him, "because I told you to do it!" or "don't you remember what you read in Nibelheim? You're getting awfully lazy." Its jealous girlfriend attitude had become just as prominent as its controlling parent attitude. What bothered Sephiroth even more was the fact that he was completely at its mercy, unable even to fully open his eyes.

"Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'll tell you where to go." Jenovah continued, "You see, I have many children, actually. You are, oh, how shall I put this, the strongest, most capable of my children. And since I have so many, it's difficult for me to keep them all in line, obeying their Mother as they should. That's where you come in, Sephiroth. You will help me teach them, as I have taught you. I know they will all respect you, Sephiroth. Look up to you, want to be like you. They'll positively worship you, as will every other person on this Planet when you have carried out my plans in full. But anyhow, all of these things will make my other children listen to you, Sephiroth, when they may be stubborn with me. I happen to know where one in particular is now; let's pay him a visit, shall we?"

* * *

Cloud followed Barret the rest of the way across the narrow bridge. Walking on this bridge gave him an impending sense of dread, but he couldn't figure out why. He searched his fogged memories and sensed he'd had a bad experience on one of these bridges at some point, but couldn't remember what exactly it was. As he thought about it, he suddenly reeled back, clutching the sides of his head. It felt like a dark tendril had wormed into his brain. He fell to his knees as he heard a voice, a familiar voice that he couldn't quite identify. "Careful, Cloud. This will be much more than just a reactor…" whispered the hauntingly familiar voice.

"Yo! You okay?" Barret called over his shoulder, "Let's move it along!"

"Yeah… sorry," muttered Cloud, still very shaken up by what had just happen.

"Whatever. Jes' set dis bomb an' let's get the hell outta here," said Barret.

Cloud affixed the bomb to the front of the reactor's core. An alarm immediately sounded.

"Shit! That thing musta had a touch-sensitive alarm built in!" Barret screamed in frustration, "Well dey know we're here an' we got ten minutes til that thing blows so let's move it!"

"Heads up! It's coming!" Laeryn yelled from further down the bridge.

"What's co- oh, shit! What the hell is that?" Cloud and Barret exclaimed in unison. A giant metal monster was wheeling straight towards them. It was made of red metal and had six legs, each with a wheel at the end. A long flexible metal tail with a laser cannon attached to the tip swished behind. Two arms protruded from its sides, each adorned with an enormous machine gun. A squat, ugly head was positioned on top and dominated by a single red eye.

"Guard Scorpion. When I was in Soldier they were still designing these things," answered Laeryn, "If either of you have electricity materia, now would be a great time to use it."

The Guard Scorpion's first wave of machine gun fire was aimed at Cloud, who lunged to one side. Barret waved his arms in the air to distract it. It sized up Barret for a moment and Cloud took the opportunity to rend the outer layer of metal with his sword. Since the advent of guns and robotics, all swords were made of mythril or adamantine, the two sharpest metals in existence. These metals could easily cut through steel or titanium.

The robotic creature screeched with dismay and kicked Cloud with one of its stubby legs. He flew backwards from the force of blow. As Cloud flew through the air Barret opened fire with his machine gun, peppering the Scorpion with small dark bullet holes. Moments later Barret narrowly avoided a stream of retaliatory bullets. Cloud began to move again, which instantly drew the Scorpion's attention. Its long tail snaked up over its head and smashed into the ground where Cloud had been lying moments earlier. As soon as the tail was out of the way, Laeryn ran in from behind and shoved both her sword into its back. The Scorpion screeched again and viciously swung its tail backwards. Laeryn failed to move in time and the tail glanced off her shoulder, nearly knocking her over the edge. After striking Laeryn the tail remained poised over the Scorpion's head. Barret raised his arm to attack again.

"Barret! Cloud! Stop! Don't attack it when it's tail is raised like that! See that black thing on the end of its tail? That's a laser cannon. If you attack it now, it will fire on both of you. Now for the second time, do either of you have electricity materia? Cloud?" Laeryn yelled at them.

"I have no fuckin' clue what the hell you talkin' about!" came Barret's impatient reply.

"There's some materia on my sword," Cloud stated, noticing the small green orbs on the lower part of the blade for the first time.

"What kind?" Laeryn yelled again, "Hurry up! I know it's not attacking right now, but that's only because it's locking onto a target for a concentrated laser attack!"

"I can't tell just be looking at them! All spell materia looks the same," Cloud yelled back.

"Well for Christ's sake, try it out! Just try it out! Yell out spell names! Fire, Quake, Bolt, Demi- ! Think, Cloud!" ordered Laeryn, sounding highly vexed.

The Scorpion's tail began to glow faintly, charging up for the imminent laser attack. Cloud did as Laeryn ordered and yelled out random spell names. He couldn't remember many of them, so he used the ones that Laeryn had mentioned. When he said 'Ice', a small blizzard erupted from his sword and sent chunks of ice flying at the Scorpion. This only served to enrage it more and its tail glowed more brightly.

"Bolt!" Cloud finally said. Lightning blasted from his hands and sword, squarely hitting the Scorpion. It convulsed for several moments longer, the electricity crackling around and through and making their arm hairs stand on end. Finally the Guard Scorpion fell over in a heap of smoking metal.

"Damn! Dat wasted a shit load of time! We need to be getting' outta here!" roared Barret as he leapt over the smoking metal corpse of the Guard Scorpion. Cloud followed and all three of them began a helter-skelter escape from the reactor. As they ran they collected Jessie and Biggs dove through Wedge's escape route moments before fire shot out the entrance of the reactor and the entire structure blossomed into a colossal red and green explosion.

They then found themselves in a disused railway tunnel. At one end was a thick concrete wall and the other end, the one they had planned to escape through, was barricaded by rubble from the explosion.

"Damn it!" sighed Wedge, "We got so close to escaping."

"Don't give up. We'll find a way out of here," Laeryn said calmly, "Jessie, do you have anything we could use to get past that barricade? A small explosive charge, perhaps?"

"As a matter of fact I do. I'm always prepared, y'know!" Jessie replied, cheerful as usual. She pulled what looked like a make-up compact out of her purse and flipped it open. After hitting a few tiny buttons on the inside, she tossed it amidst the rubble.

"Everyone duck against the back wall!" she ordered. They did so and the compact exploded, blowing the rubble out the other end of the tunnel.

Coughing and covered with dust, Avalanche emerged from the tunnel. Barret laughed triumphantly. "We did it! We blew up the reactor and made it out alive! That outta keep the Planet goin' at least a little longer!" he exclaimed jubilantly, "Now everyone spilt up an' head to the train station. It ain't safe to travel in a group like this- looks suspicious. Remember we get off at the Sector 7 slums. Meet back at headquarters." The team split and took off through back allies.

Cloud soon found himself lost. He wasn't familiar with Midgar like the others, and he found himself following smudged and crooked signs to the station. As he ran, he noticed people running around confused and terrified. The reactor had provided electricity to the whole of Sector 8. The people who lived there had witnessed the giant explosion and then seen the blackout spread across the Sector. They dashed around in the dim light trying to figure out what happened. Cloud stopped a moment when he felt a light tug on his arm. A girl about his age stood there, looking at him with a questioning expression on her face. Something about her round forest-green eyes and braided mahogany hair seemed so familiar to Cloud.

"Excuse me, do you know what happened?" asked the girl.

Cloud shook his head. "You'd better go home. It's dangerous out here." He ran off again, leaving her standing amidst the chaos. Did he know her from somewhere? Why couldn't he remember? This is no time to think of all the people I've met in the last few years, thought Cloud, I need to get out of here.

He continued his dash through the dark alleyways of Sector 8 until he heard someone shout from behind him, "You there! Stop where you are and drop your weapon!" Cloud glanced over shoulder and swore. Two Soldiers were chasing after him. Damn! I must have looked suspicious running away like that… he though angrily. One of the Soldiers had stopped the pursuit and was saying something into a walkie-talkie. Cloud tried to take a right down a larger street, only to come face to face with more Soldiers. More and more seemed to pour from all of the surrounding alleys.

"Shit! So much for making that train," sighed Cloud, lifting his broadsword as the Soldiers advanced. Cloud knew he would need to strategize well to get out of this situation alive. He was standing on a wide overpass above railroad tracks. The street he was standing had several side streets and alleys branching off it, but the Soldiers stood in his way. Maybe I can cut down a few of them and run for my life through those alleys, he thought frantically as the Soldiers pressed closer, pinning him against the railing. Cloud's plan was abruptly changed when he heard a train rumbling close by. The nearest Soldier raised her sword to attack as the train passed under the bridge. Without a second thought Cloud threw himself over the bridge and landed hard on top of the train.

* * *

Laeryn, Barret, Jessie, Biggs and Wedge sat inside the train, their good mood lessened by the fact that Cloud had failed to arrive at the station.

"Cloud didn't make it… wonder if he got killed?" mused Wedge.

"Nah. He seemed like a pretty resourceful guy if you ask me. I'm sure he figured something out," Jessie said hopefully.

"He has Soldier training. That greatly increases his chance of survival," added Laeryn.

A loud banging on the ceiling of the train caused them all to look up.

"Now what the hell is that…?" growled Barret, "It better not be Shinra!"

As Barret pointed his gun-arm at the ceiling, Biggs intervened. "Hold up a minute. Let's just wait and see. Besides, it wouldn't be a good idea to start a ruckus on the train. We'd be arrested for sure," he reasoned. Barret lowered his arm as the pounding became more persistent.

"Why don't we find out for sure?" Laeryn said. She pulled hard on the sliding hatch on the side of train and it slid open. She leaned precariously far out, gun in hand, trying to see onto the roof. Moments later she was bowled backward as something came flying into the train car.

Cloud stood up in the center of the car and dusted himself off.

"Cloud!" everyone else exclaimed in unison.

"We thought you were dead!" Jessie exclaimed as she ran over to Cloud and gave him a hug. Everyone else rolled their eyes.

"Damn!" Barret smiled, "What the hell took ya so long?"

Cloud extricated himself from Jessie's embrace as he replied, "I ran into some Soldiers."

"So you jes' had to stop an' fight 'em, right? Cudden be bothered to think 'bout us waitin' for ya at the station? And then you jes' come waltzin' in here, makin' a big entrance! Don't you give a damn 'bout no one but yo'self?" Barret continued, sounding considerably less pleased. Barret was quite unpredictable and moody, as Cloud was rapidly finding out. He shrugged. "It's what I always do."

Cloud's cool demeanor frustrated Barret to no end. "Dat's comin' outta yo' pay, hotshot!" he snapped before falling silent again.

The train ride finished in silence as they arrived at the Sector 7 slums. Avalanche returned to their 7th Heaven, where Tifa and Marlene were waiting for them.

"Daddy!" Marlene shrieked and jumped into Barret's arms.

"I'm so glad yo' safe, sweetheart. I worry about you all the time, even with Tifa here to protect you!" he said, happily hugging the little girl.

Tifa mixed drinks for all of them to celebrate. She sat next to Cloud as he sipped his martini.

"I'm glad you made it back safely, Cloud," she said softly, "I was worried. About everyone."

He shrugged. "Yeah, we made it."

"Okay. But make sure you nag Barret about your money. He tends to 'forget' things like that," she replied.

"Oh, I will. I'm leaving this place as soon as I get my money,' Cloud said.

"Where exactly will you go after this? And why are you so eager to leave? Do you really hate us all that much?" she laughed.

"What's with you? I mean, sorry. I mean, I don't know yet. I…" he started.

"Yo! Everyone downstairs! We havin' a meeting!" Barret shouted.