Chapter 15

Chapter 15

All the members of Avalanche had assembled downstairs and were drinking and laughing and exchanging high fives.

"Yo listen up! Jes' 'cuz we did good on this first mission doesn't mean we can start gettin' cocky an' makin' mistakes. Our next mission will be to blow up the Sector 1 reactor. It'll go jes' like the one we jes' did. But like I said, no slackin' off! We may've won that battle, but we've yet to win the war," Barrett advised the others, putting a slight damper on the revelry.

Cloud wasn't listening to Barrett. He was sick of listening to Barrett. Not only that, he was far too absorbed in the fragments of his memories to take part in the merriment. He thought about the Soldier whom Jessie had reminded him of, the one he felt grateful to for some reason. He thought about Tifa, and the childhood memories he shared with her. He vaguely remembered his mother. He remembered Sephiroth very prominently; he hated Sephiroth because of what he did to Nibelheim. He recalled following Sephiroth to the reactor. He tried to remember what happened next but drew a complete blank. He couldn't remember anything between going to the Nibel reactor and standing at the Midgar train station holding a broadsword. And who was Laeryn Chase? She said that she'd been in Soldier the same time as him and that she had been a Grand Admiral. Surely he would have remembered someone like that. But the most disturbing part was that she seemed to know him perfectly well. Cloud sighed heavily, confused by his scattered memories. He swirled his martini in the glass and watched the liquid slosh around.

"Cloud! The hell's the matter wit you? This is supposed to be happy times. We jes' succeeded on our first mission! Or you still thinkin' you too good fo' us 'cause you was in Shinra?" snapped Barrett.

Cloud rolled his eyes and didn't look at the larger man as he answered, "How many times must I tell you? I'm no longer associated with them. They're a bunch of lying bastards. But don't get me wrong; I've no attachment to this ragtag little group of yours either. I'll be upstairs. Come talk to me when you're ready to discuss my payment."

Cloud left his still-full glass on the table and stormed upstairs. After a discrete interval had passed, Tifa excused herself to go upstairs and put Marlene to bed. After the little girl was tucked in, she seated herself at the bar across from Cloud.

"Want anything to drink?" she asked coyly.

"Something hard. But not a martini. I don't like those," he replied.

"Oh, sorry. If I'd known that I wouldn't have made you one earlier," she apologized.

Cloud shrugged as she set a bourbon on the rocks out for him. He drank it down in one gulp.

"So you fought alongside Barrett today?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah," came Cloud's tired reply. He wished he could muster more enthusiasm for this conversation. He hadn't talked to Tifa in years, and she was even prettier than he remembered, having grown out of her gangly teenage phase. Now she was an inch taller than he, with impossibly long legs and a muscular, curvy build. Her face had filled out as well, giving her a more mature look. Her hair was the same simple brown color and length though, worn in its customary pony-tail, with a few shaggy, uneven bangs falling over her forehead. Her brown eyes still had a fierce red undertone to them.

"I know he can be a bit difficult at times, but he means well. You heard his story about what Shinra's done to him. And he's trying to put Marlene through school, too. That's why he may seem a bit reluctant to fork over your money," Tifa explained.

"Well he should have thought of that before he hired me," Cloud responded wearily, "And I'm not going on this next mission until I get paid for the first one."

"So you'd really just run off and leave us? Is that anyway to treat a childhood friend?" Tifa demanded with mock seriousness.

Mentally, Cloud slapped himself. That came out totally wrong. He hadn't intended for Tifa to interpret it that way. After all, memories of Tifa were some of the few he could cling to.

"I…sorry, Tifa. I suppose not," he apologized.

"It's all right, Cloud," she laughed, "Don't you remember the promise we made seven years ago? You were fourteen and I was thirteen at the time."

Cloud felt like he was on dangerous ground. He vaguely remembered something like that, but didn't want to make an idiot of himself in front of Tifa by throwing out random pieces of memories. At the same time, he didn't want to hurt her feelings by not remembering at all. So he just stood there looking at her.

Much to Cloud's relief, Tifa laughed again, "Jeez! What'd they do to you in Soldier, erase your memory? Mmman! I'd better remind you!"

Cloud listened intently as she explained it to him. As she spoke, the memory dropped into place like falling puzzle pieces.

"Remember that huge well in Nibelheim? You asked me to meet you there one night," Tifa began.

"Oh yeah… I remember that. You were late," Cloud said.

"Yeah, I was late. You told me you were leaving to join Soldier and that you wouldn't be coming back home for a while. I asked you if you'd be famous and get your name in the paper. You said you hoped so, so you could be like Sephiroth. I never understood why you wanted to be like him… But anyways, I asked that since you would be such a famous Soldier guy that if I ever got in a bad situation you'd come rescue me. And you promised you would," she explained.

"I remember now. But I'm afraid I can't keep that promise. I'm not famous," Cloud replied sadly.

"So? You're still in Soldier, which is what you've always wanted. So the promise still applies," Tifa cajoled him.

Barrett came charging up the stairs and barged in on their conversation.

"Yo!" he called to Cloud, "A promise is a promise." He tossed Cloud a small leather bag full of coins.

"1500 gil is my pay? For two missions? Don't make laugh. Better make it three thousand," Cloud said.

"So you will stick around!" Tifa exclaimed happily.

Barrett looked very indecisive. Three thousand gil was a lot of money.

Tifa leaned over to him and whispered, "We're really hurting for help, Barrett. You said so yourself."

"Yeah I know," he answered, still worried, "But that's money fo' Marlene's schoolin'!"

After a moment longer, Barrett turned to Cloud and blurted out, "two thousand!"

"Agreed," said Cloud, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed. We have to get up early for the mission tomorrow."

* * *

The next morning Cloud awoke and stumbled down the stairs. He'd had to share a room with Barrett and Marlene. Tifa and Laeryn had the other bedroom and Jessie, Wedge, and Biggs got the living room couches. Cloud hadn't had the most restful night; Barrett was quite a snorer.

The others were already up.

"Good morning, Cloud. Sleep well?" yawned Tifa, not looking very awake herself.

"Yeah. Sort of. Barrett snores a lot," he answered quietly.

Tifa laughed. "Yeah I know. I'm going on this mission too, by the way. Everyone should be ready shortly. Marlene, do you feel comfortable staying here by yourself?"

"Yes, Tifa. I can take care of things," answered the little girl.

"Good. Remember, the restaurant will be closed, so don't let anyone in, okay?"

"Okay."

Tifa looked at the others. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie were still nursing cups of thick poisonous coffee and Laeryn sat on a bar stool sharpening her swords. Laeryn seemed a bit more distant than Tifa remembered. She often looked sad or anxious about something, the look of a person perpetually haunted by the past. Tifa worried about her, and wanted to ask her what was wrong. She didn't want to make her uncomfortable with too many questions, though.

Barrett stood by the door, impatiently tapping his foot.

"Yo! Everyone ready? We movin' out. Same drill as befo'. Get on da train, blow up da reactor, get the hell out. We goin' to Sector 1 this time," he shouted.

* * *

After Jessie passed out the fake IDs again, Avalanche boarded the train bound for the Sector 1 plate. Once again, they sat down nervously, ignoring the questioning stares of the smartly dressed Shinra employees around them.

Tifa got bored of sitting and walked around the car. She found a computer screen and called up a 3-D map of Midgar. "Cool!" she exclaimed, "Hey Cloud, come check this out."

Before Cloud could move the lights turned red a soft but persistent alarm began to sound.

"Warning! Unauthorized passengers have been detected. Please stay calm as a lockdown of the cars commences in order to isolate the intruders," a mechanical voice announced.

"Shit!" growled Jessie, "Come on everyone! The lockdown starts at the rearmost car and moves to the front. We need to move up one car at a time and keep ahead of it. Go!"

The team took off running toward the front of the train. Their behavior was noticed by all of the personnel on the train, who ran after them and yelled at them to stop.

"Okay! Now we're at the first car. Jessie?" panted Biggs.

Jessie's eyes were wide with fear. "Um… shit."

"We need to get off the train," Laeryn stated simply. There was a door on her left, with a guard blocking it. She shoved the guard out of the way and yanked the door open.

"We jump out, and walk through the tunnel to get to the reactor," Laeryn said. Moments later she jumped off the train.

"Come one everyone! It's the only way to avoid the lockdown!" Tifa urged before leaping out the door.

Cloud stared incredulously out the door before turning to Barrett. "Aren't you going to jump?"

"You go first. A leader always stays til the end," he answered.

Cloud shrugged, and jumped. Barrett jumped a minute later.

They all met up in the tunnel a little while later.

"We can get to the reactor by continuing down this tunnel. And where are Biggs, Wedge and Jessie?" said Laeryn.

The others glanced at each other nervously.

"Dey got off that train, I'm sure of it. Dey ain't no foo's. Dey could be ahead of us already, so let's get movin'," Barrett answered with more confidence than he felt.

The train tunnel was dark and smelly and infested with huge rats. They continued down the tunnel for a long time.

"We must be somewhere near the reactor by now," Tifa said nervously. The train tunnels under the plate would be a very unpleasant place to be lost in.

"I really doubt they'd build rail tracks right underneath the reactor. It wouldn't be very safe. We need to find another tunnel that branches off of this one, one without train tracks," explained Laeryn.

"There's a tunnel just ahead, on the right," pointed out Cloud.

"Den dat's where we goin'," Barrett said definitively.

They had only gone a short way down the side tunnel before they encountered a glowing green laser net blocking their path.

"I'd bet that blocked tunnel leads to the reactor somehow," speculated Tifa.

"Yeah well we can't pass dat. We gonna have to go back and look fo' another way," Barrett sighed dejectedly.

"No, let's not risk getting lost in those tunnels. There must be someway we can deactivate this thing," Cloud said, examining panel next to the laser net. Laeryn examined it as well, looking for a card slot or keypad of some sort.

"Hey guys, come look at this!" Tifa exclaimed suddenly. She pointed to a small duct near the ground. "If we can get this vent off, we could slide down and go under the lasers."

"Let's see," Laeryn muttered. She grabbed hold of the vent and pulled back. The vent was much looser than she anticipated and came off easily.

"Rusty screws," she chuckled, "Shinra isn't nearly as clever as they give themselves credit for."

Barrett apprehensively peered down the dark chute. "Damn, that is tiny! You askin' me to fit in that?" he exclaimed.

"Unless you'd rather wait here for us," retorted Cloud. Barrett glared at him.

"Well what's everyone waiting for? Let's go," Tifa said impatiently and slid down feet first. Laeryn and Cloud followed moments later. Barrett took a little longer, trying to squeeze his massive frame through the duct.

They found themselves standing in another tunnel, even more foul and dimly lit than the first. All its sides were made of metal and the faint sound of dripping liquid could be heard.

"We must be in the sewers or landfills by now," Tifa remarked with disgust, "And I can hardly see a thing!"

Barrett was about to make some pessimistic comment about their situation when a low call caught his attention. Everyone turned in that direction, weapons drawn.

"Calm down guys. It's me, Jessie," they were much relieved to hear.

"Jessie! Glad to see yo' safe! How'd you get off da train? Where's Biggs 'n Wedge?" Barrett exclaimed.

Jessie laughed. "Whoa there! That's a lot o' questions. We got separated from you guys on the train because we didn't make it to the next car in time. So to make a long story short, we ended up having to shoot a few Shinra people a go out a window. The police were after us in no time, so we found one of the vents leading downward and went through it. I think we lost them. Biggs and Wedge are around here somewhere. They're looking for any unfriendly creatures that might live down here."

"Good idea. Do you have any idea where these tunnels lead to, or which way we should go?" Cloud asked.

"Well uh, no. If we could get some more light, we'd be able to see more than four feet from our faces and take a good look around," griped Jessie.

"Do you have anything flammable that we could make a torch out of? I can light it with fire materia," suggested Laeryn.

Jessie glanced around, trying to find something they could use. As she did so, she saw Biggs and Wedge approaching.

"What's up, everybody! Good thing you guys made it too. Hey Laeryn, is this what you're looking for?" Wedge greeted them cheerily, holding a long slimy piece of wood.

Biggs interrupted before Laeryn could answer. "It's sopping wet! That wood'll never light!"

"Actually, it doesn't matter. Magical fire isn't affected by normal water. It'll burn until the duration of the spell runs out, it's commanded to stop, or extinguished by some other magical means," Laeryn explained, taking the proffered stick, "Where did you guys find this?"

"Oh, there's heaps of trash and stuff just lying around all over the place. It's pretty gross, actually. We heard you talking about building a torch, since sound carries surprisingly well down here, and decided to see what we could find," said Biggs.

Laeryn smiled at him. "Thanks. But if sound carries down here, we ought to continue quietly. We don't know what kinds of things might live down here."

She uttered a soft command word and the end of the stick burst into flame. Barrett's normally small eyes became wide with awe. "How's that shit work?" he asked in wonderment.

"It's simple, really, once you learn to control it properly. You just hold the crystal in your hand, concentrate on the size of the spell you want to cast and its target. Then you say the command word, which is usually the same as the effect, like 'fire' or 'ice'. If all goes well, the desired effect should occur. I could teach you to use it sometime, if you like," said Laeryn.

"Yeah, that would be good," Barrett answered eagerly.

"It does take a lot of practice, though, and it can be dangerous if not controlled or used correctly," cautioned Cloud.

Laeryn gave Cloud a strange glance, wondering where he had gotten his knowledge of materia. He'd never made it to the high ranks in Soldier, and therefore was never taught how to use materia.

"In any case, we need to find a way out of here. Might I suggest that 'up' would be the way to go?" Tifa cut in, wanting out of the tunnels. Having grown up in the wide open wilderness of Nibel, she had never been fond of small dark places.

So they began a slow, arduous climb upwards, clinging to slippery ladders and shimmying up narrow ducts or scrambling up heaps of garbage when no other path could be found. Dark things scurried about and watched them with keen, quick eyes. Their hands were always ready on the hilts of their weapons.

It seemed an eternity before they came at last to a solid roof, the surface of the plate. A single ladder led upward.

"Wonder where that goes?" speculated Cloud.

"Well there's only way to find out," said Tifa, wrinkling her nose with distaste, "And I'm sure wherever it leads will be an improvement over this sewer."

"Den let's not wait any longer," Barrett said nervously, "After dat stunt we pulled on da train, every cop in da who' damn city's gonna be lookin' fo' us." He scrambled up the ladder the ladder with surprising speed.

"Barrett, wait! We don't know what's up there!" Laeryn called after him. Her warning came too late as Barrett shoved upwards and easily tore the hatch off its hinges. He poked his head through the floor of a small room. Startled cries burst from the sides of the room.

"Augh! Intruders, coming from sewers!" sounded on voice.

"Take arms! It must be the terrorists!" came another.

Barrett swore loudly and dropped back down.

"Everyone into the shadows, quick! Hide" Wedge urged quietly.

"Jessie, Wedge and I will retreat and draw them away. Just stay hidden," said Biggs.

"And don't worry about us. We got a good look around these tunnels before you guys showed up. We'll lead them on a wild goose chase through the sewer. Now hurry and get out of sight, here they come!" Jessie said.

Barrett, Laeryn, Tifa and Cloud hastily ducked back into the shadows and lay still. Hiding proved to be a wise decision; there were many more Soldier guards than they had thought. Now they were all jumping down the ladder in pursuit of Biggs, Wedge and Jessie. Finally the last one vanished into the murky darkness. The remaining members of Avalanche emerged from hiding.

"That was a lot closer than it needed to be," Laeryn said, looking pointedly at Barrett, who made no response.

"Either way, the Soldiers are gone so let's just keep moving," said Cloud.

They climbed up the final ladder and found themselves standing near the ceiling of a large antechamber. The room was dim and steamy and permeated by the pungent, unmistakable smell of raw Mako energy. Pipes and ladders criss-crossed the room like spider webs. A single, open chute appeared to be the only way down from guard platform on which they were standing.

"Oh, how lucky for us!" Tifa exclaimed, "We've come up inside the reactor!"

"So we have," said Laeryn with a smile, "And since Shinra builds all their reactors alike, we should be able to figure out which way to go."

Avalanche had no trouble reaching the heart of the reactor. As Laeryn had said, it was nearly identical to the other one they had destroyed. Cloud and Tifa walked ahead to plant the bomb while Laeryn and Barrett hung back to stand guard. As Cloud approached the core, he noticed tendrils of dark mist stray into his vision. A terrible ringing began in his ears and he hung back several steps, trying to shake off the strange sensations. The ringing intensified and Cloud clapped his hands over his ears in an attempt to drown out the painful sound. It only grew stronger however, and the blackness completely engulfed his vision.

Cloud entered a dream-like state, then. It was clearly a flash-back of some sort, though he had no distinct memories of the events that unfolded before him ever happening. As if he were watching a movie, he found himself looking down into the Nibel reactor. He saw himself running across the bridge, and Tifa running a little ways ahead of him. The he heard Tifa yell, "Sephiroth! You bastard! How could you do that to my father and all the townspeople?!? I'll kill you!" And she disappeared into the core of the reactor.

Suddenly Cloud was aware of someone shaking him, awoke disoriented. He was inside a reactor near the core… where was Sephiroth? Was Tifa in danger? As his refocused, he saw Tifa kneeling beside him, shaking him, her reddish eyes full of concern. "Hey Cloud, you okay?" she asked.

"Tifa!" he exclaimed suddenly, as if he had just realized she was there.

"Yes?" she replied, a bit puzzled.

It dawned on Cloud that he was not in the Nibel reactor, that Sephiroth was nowhere to be found and Tifa was not in danger. "Forget it. We need to finish this job," he said.

"Damn, get a hold of yo'self, man!" Barrett muttered.

Tifa and Cloud were able to set the bomb without incident, and they were quite relieved that no strange robotic creatures attacked them on their way out. They climbed up the stairs to the ground floor of the reactor. There was a door to the left, another further off to the right, and one straight ahead.

"Yo, dis way!" Barrett called, motioning them to the left. Moments later he found himself rapidly backing away as a brigade of Soldiers advanced on him with their guns raised.

"Shit! Shinra Soldiers!" he exclaimed in surprise. More Soldiers poured out of the opening to the right, hemming them in.

"It was a trap," Cloud stated blandly.

The sound of a helicopter swooping close by distracted them. They turned toward the remaining exit to see a armored chopper touch down, and a squat fat man with a shaggy yellow moustache and watery blue eyes step out. He was wearing a burgundy colored suit and chomping on an enormous cigar. Laeryn recognized him in an instant.

"President Shinra," she growled, pulling out her gun. Something about him seemed familiar to Cloud as well, and he stood next to Laeryn to get a better look.

"Ah, yes. It's you, the traitor. Well, you've certainly lowered yourself a few notches. Going from a top ranking Soldier in my army to scurrying around with the lowest scum of Midgar! Funny how times change," smirked the President. He gave condescending looks to the other members of Avalanche before continuing. "Sorry I don't remember your name, traitor. I can't be expected to remember everyone's name, you know. Not unless you become another Sephiroth," Shinra paused a moment, an almost wistful look on his pudgy face, "Ahh, Sephiroth. He was brilliant. Perhaps too brilliant."

Laeryn shifted ever so slightly at the mention of Sephiroth. She cast her eyes downward, lest they betray to everyone else what she was feeling. Barrett barged between Laeryn and Shinra suddenly, gun-arm upraised.

"Yo we don't care 'bout none o' dat! So you da big cheese, eh? What you got to say fo' yo'self?" he challenged the President.

Shinra laughed softly in response. "Oh and you must be that terrorist group, Avalanche, right?"

"Damn straight! An' don't you forget it, neither!" roared Barrett, "An' don't go thinking you da shit either! Dis place is go blow in a few minutes an' as far as I'm concerned it's takin' you wit it!"

Shinra laughed louder. "Why, so it is. Pity to have to waste a good reactor to get rid of vermin like you. Now if you'll excuse me. I'm a very busy man and I have a dinner to attend. But don't worry; I've left a play-mate for you lot. His name is AirBuster, a prototype mecha-Soldier." He pulled a small remote control out of his pocket and pressed a button.

"What's that sound?" Tifa called nervously, her sharp hearing picking up a whirring sound that was growing progressively louder. Barrett ran back to her side.

Cloud and Laeryn were still engaged in a futile confrontation with the President.

"My name is Laeryn Chase, Shinra. And I doubt you'll be forgetting it again anytime soon. You'll get what you deserve, and it will come from those you have made suffer the most," she warned solemnly. Shinra was silent for a moment, slightly unnerved by Laeryn's deadly serious and strangely knowledgeable tone of voice. Shinra stared hard at her for a few moments, remembering the war with Wutai, the victory celebration… Laeryn and Sephiroth. Something about Laeryn's voice, combined with those few memories, had rattled him somewhat. A voice from within the helicopter cancelled his memories, and he leapt inside.

"Hey, Laeryn and Cloud! Can we have a little help with this thing?!" Tifa called frantically.

A metallic monster stood between them, and it menacing Barrett and Tifa. Barrett had opened fire on it, and Cloud and Laeryn ran to assist. Now that Cloud had figured out how to work his bolt materia properly, the fight finished much more quickly. It was not long before AirBuster reeled from a final set of lighting bolts, and stood there quivering and smoking.

"It's going to explode!" cautioned Laeryn. She, Tifa and Barrett leapt backwards as AirBuster blew apart, leaving a gaping hole in ground. Cloud lost his footing and toppled into the hole, clinging to a thin piece of metal.

"Cloud!" Tifa screamed, running toward the edge. Through the hole was a dizzying drop. Far below she could see the roofs of buildings in the slums.

"Stay back! Dat edge ain't stable. Can't have you or Laeryn fallin' too!" cautioned Barrett as he grabbed Tifa and pulled her back.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Tifa implored.

"Guys, just get out of here. This reactor is going to explode," Cloud said.

"Hold on, Cloud!" Tifa said, wrenching free of Barrett's grip.

Tifa didn't make it to Cloud in time, and he fell.