Meanwhile, Barret, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie were all in the cargo hold compartment of the very same train, sitting on some of the cargo boxes in different areas of the compartment. They were hiding out in the cargo hold, until they were sure it could be safe to enter the passenger compartment. The whole group were silent in their own thoughts for a moment, until Wedge finally broke the long, deathly quiet silence that occupied the whole cargo hold in the train.
"Cloud never came back…he never showed up. We waited and searched around the whole area before the train left, but we never saw him in the station or anywhere on this train," said Wedge, quietly.
"(What could this mean…? Did Cloud not bother to follow us back, was he that desperate to leave? No…he would have collected his payment first. That means he would have followed us…something must have happened to him then…)" thought Wedge, solemnly.
Biggs looked out the only window of the cargo compartment on the train at the speeding wall of the subway tunnel outside as the train headed down it from the upper city to the Slums, and he folded his arms across his chest, staring thoughtfully.
"You should all know by now what Cloud's like…anything could have happened to that guy for all we know, he's really that unpredictable. But there were a lot of Shinra patrols out there after the explosion though, so it wouldn't surprise me if he'd encountered some of them…I wonder if he faced them down and was killed?" wondered Biggs, thoughtfully, staring out of the train window.
Barret snorted and shook his head firmly in response, although he himself wondered whether or not Biggs was right about that.
Cloud Strife, the Ex-SOLDIER turned mercenary, certainly seemed reckless in a lot of life threatening situations, and seemed too arrogant and cocky at times as well, sometimes far too overconfident for his own good.
Nevertheless, Barret absolutely refused to think that Cloud was dead or captured until there was solid evidence that told him so, as he spoke out to the others.
"No damn way he was killed! The guy was in SOLDIER; don't ya remember that, fools? Those guys always tower over Shinra soldiers in skill and combat, that's why Shinra place so much more value on them. Cloud can take care of himself against guys like that. Besides, he's got his cash and his girl to come home to! And I saw him in action too, with my own eyes, battling that damn Guard Scorpion! After seeing him defeat that thing, I know that he couldn't be killed that easily by a patrol of Shinra soldiers!" shouted Barret. The others, except Jessie, looked a little more hopeful and optimistic.
"Where do you think that he went off to then, if Shinra Incorporated didn't capture or kill him? Do you think that he's still going to come back and fight with us, Barret?" asked Wedge, curiously.
He wondered intently what Barret really thought on the whole subject, but he was rather surprised as he saw that Barret looked completely indifferent and unconcerned about the possible fate of the Ex-SOLDIER.
"Who the bloody hell cares about that fool, anyway!? He did nothing except trigger an alarm, which made that damn robot thing come after us in the first place! For all I care, he could have got killed by Shinra!" shouted Barret, furiously, looking rather agitated, while the others were still solemn and rather quiet.
"That's not really a very nice or accurate thing to say, Barret. Cloud did help us out a lot at the Mako Reactor. If it wasn't for him, the whole mission would have been a lot harder, and who knows, we might not even be alive right now if he didn't come along," said Wedge. Barret snorted, looking sceptical, but he said nothing.
"Cloud…" whispered Jessie, quietly to herself, feeling depressed, her gaze fixed sadly on the floor rather than at the others, keeping quiet and thinking to herself, as silence once again filled the whole cargo compartment.
"(Is it true? Is he really gone? What are we supposed to tell Tifa if he is dead? How do we explain this to her? And Cloud…he saved my life twice at the Mako Reactor, putting his own life at severe risk the second time to save mine. If he's gone…then I'll never be able to thank him properly for it…I know he wasn't really all that cold and uncaring deep down…and for some reason I…I really admired him…)" thought Jessie, depressed.
Suddenly, there was a loud, hard knock on the top of the train roof from right above them, as if something had just banged on it.
Barret, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie all glanced up at where the knock sound had come from, but after no other sound came from the whole area, they all glanced back down, and assumed it was nothing.
Once again, the whole group became lost in their own deep thoughts, but the long silence was broken again, as Biggs spoke up, looking thoughtful and curious about something that had just occurred to him.
"Say, now that I think about it…do any of you think that there's even a remote possibility that Cloud's…going to stay and fight to the bitter end for AVALANCHE alongside us, against Shinra Incorporated?" asked Biggs, thoughtfully. All of a sudden, Barret looked absolutely enraged.
"What the hell would I know about it!? Do I look like a damn mind reader to you!? How the hell am I even supposed to know how that selfish asshole's mind works!? But from what I saw of the guy, he doesn't give a shit about the Planet or any of us, he made that damn clear several times in the Reactor, and you people act like he was some heroic saint, well guess what morons, he wasn't!!" snapped Barret, sharply, and the others all stared at him in shock, quite taken aback.
Cursing with rage, Barret suddenly slammed his fist hard on a nearby cargo box in anger and frustration, smashing it to splinters with a loud crack.
The others were all stunned into silence, none of them able to think of anything to say. Barret seemed to calm himself down though, and seemed solemn.
"If you all lot weren't such damn screw-ups we wouldn't have even needed the guy in the first place, and he wouldn't have had to come here at all…" muttered Barret, frustrated, his gaze at the train floor.
The others took no offence to Barret's comments, they knew Barret well enough to know that when he was in a temper, he didn't really mean a lot of the things that he said, but they all still couldn't help but wonder at his words, and couldn't help but feel guilty and sorrowful. Wedge dug his hands into his pockets as a thought occurred to him, and then he looked up at Barret.
"Hey Barret, what's happening about our own money for these missions anyway? When exactly do we all get our own payments?" asked Wedge, curiously, wondering whether they were even getting paid in the first place.
Barret abruptly slammed his fist hard on another nearby cargo box in response, also shattering it to pieces, saying nothing but giving Wedge a sharp glare. Seeing the foolishness of his question, especially at this particular moment, Wedge quickly dropped the subject and looked away.
"Uh…no nothing, I'm sorry, Barret. Never mind, just forget about it, I know it's not the right moment to bring it up…" said Wedge, quickly, nervously avoiding Barret's gaze.
Suddenly there were even more loud bangs on the top of the train, and in quicker succession. Jessie abruptly looked up, listening intently.
"Hey you guys, just stop arguing for a moment, and listen carefully. I think we've got some unexpected company here," said Jessie, listening out for more signs of noises from the train roof, and Biggs seemed to be in agreement as well.
"Yeah, I think she's right about that. I heard something up there too. Didn't you guys hear something suspicious on top of this train?" asked Biggs. Wedge shook his head slowly, while Barret snorted, looking sceptical.
"I didn't hear nothing up there, or from anywhere in this whole damn area. You both must be getting senile, hearing imaginary stuff," said Barret, sharply. Biggs sighed wearily, shaking his head.
"Just be quiet and listen carefully for a moment, Barret, please," said Biggs, patiently.
As all of them listened carefully this time, they all heard yet more bangs on the top of the train, harder and louder than ever before. Barret nodded and stood up at once, finally noticing, looking very serious and alert.
"Yeah, I hear it now. Looks like ya right after all, Biggs. Do the rest of ya hear that? Jessie, slowly open the train door to see what it is, and be careful. It could be trouble, so make sure ya open it steadily," warned Barret, darkly.
"Alright, Barret…" said Jessie, obeying, walking quietly towards the door, while Barret, Wedge and Biggs all raised and aimed their guns at the door, ready to fire just in case an enemy came suddenly bursting through it.
"(This could be some damn trap of Shinra's, and we might be playing right into their filthy hands. Looks like we ain't escaped from any trouble yet,)" thought Barret, grimly.
There were more loud bangs from the train roof as Jessie cautiously and slowly opened the train door, and then they all watched in started astonishment as Cloud suddenly jumped right down though the train door into the cargo compartment, performing a rather impressive somersault in the process, and landing right in the middle of the gang without even stumbling in the least.
Everyone stared at him, all wide-eyed in surprise and disbelief. Noticing their astonished expressions and stares, Cloud actually chuckled and even grinned.
"Even before I was in SOLDIER, I always did know how to make an impressive entrance in any situation," said Cloud, coolly, shrugging as if to say that his sudden appearance was really no big deal.
His words broke the startled silence as the whole compartment suddenly burst into cheers and applause, and everyone in the compartment except for Barret all rushed towards him.
"Cloud, it's you, it's actually you!! You made it, you really did make it here after all! And from jumping down onto the top of the train, by the look of it just now! Incredible, man!" exclaimed Biggs, amazed, thumping Cloud on the shoulder, which caused Cloud to stumble slightly, to his slight irritation, having not expected it.
"You're alive, you're really alive! And with not even a scratch on you from leaping onto and into a moving train!" exclaimed Wedge, clearly pleased, as he shook Cloud's hand a little too roughly, causing Cloud to stumble a bit yet again, to his minor annoyance.
"Cloud, you're okay. You're really okay, I was so worried…" said Jessie, with a soft sigh of relief, as she stepped forwards and wrapped her arms around Cloud's waist, pulling him to her as she hugged him tightly, her head leaning against his chest for a moment.
Cloud felt really awkward now, but found that this didn't really cause any annoyance at all; in fact it was actually quite alright. Noticing his embarrassment, Jessie let go of him and stepped back, beaming brightly, as Cloud spoke up to them, trying not to look uneasy.
"Um…yeah, hey guys. Looks like I'm a little late, judging by all your reactions. I had a little run in with the law, from groups of Shinra soldiers, so I just got held up fighting them off and escaping their grasp by jumping onto the top of the train from the bridge nearby the station, while it had just began to get moving," explained Cloud, coolly.
However, unlike Biggs, Wedge and Jessie who were very impressed and awestruck by Cloud's skills, Barret (who had been very quiet and unmoving since Cloud's surprise entrance) was now shaking with murderous rage, his only fist clenched tightly, as he glared hard at Cloud, looking absolutely enraged rather than pleased or relieved to see him.
"You're damn right, you thick asshole! You're goddamn stinking late, and I warned you not to be! But instead, you have to be a rotten bloody show off! Deciding to just come and waltz in here, making a big scene just like that! What the hell are ya playing at!? Just barging in here, acting all cool and casual!" snapped Barret, angrily.
Cloud raised an eyebrow at Barret's reaction, but he looked completely unconcerned and indifferent about it. He wasn't too surprised to see such a reaction from Barret, even at this moment of time.
"Hey, it's really no problem at all. It's not the most idiotic thing that I've ever done, you know. I'm just doing what I always do on these sorts of missions. So don't get all stressed out about it, Barret. I always make an impressive entrance on these assignments," said Cloud, coolly, shrugging.
Predictably though, these words had only served to make Barret even madder, as he glared murderously at Cloud, and exploded with intense rage.
"SHIT!!!! I'll have none of that damn crap, ya mercenary dumb ass!! You go having everyone all worried like that and not giving a damn about it, you just don't give a shit about no one, but yourself!!" snapped Barret, very angrily.
"What, you were all worried about me? And why was that exactly then? It's not like I'm one of you people, you know, I'm just a mercenary, after all," said Cloud, with minor surprise and scorn, raising an eyebrow, seeming once again cold and indifferent. Barret's eyes widened slightly, then he exploded furiously and continued to rage at Cloud.
"WHAT!? Damn it, you just shut the hell up, ya bastard SOLDIER boy!! Well just for that, I'm taking this incident out of ya money, ya stupid hotshot!! Now wake up, all of ya!! We can't remain in this carriage forever, you morons! So we're moving out to the next compartment, now follow me! We're gonna go into the next car, talk for a bit, and then go to Sector 7 Slums and Tifa's bar, okay!? And all of ya keep the hell up this time!" snapped Barret, and he stormed off loudly, fuming, into the nearest passenger car.
As soon as Barret had gone into the next car, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie all walked up to Cloud one by one in turn, staring at him in admiration and respect.
"Hey Cloud, you must have been really great back there against those soldiers. You did a nice job back at the Mako Reactor too. Man, you're so cool. I'm just glad that you were on our side tonight. Whether you stay or leave, at least you really gave us a good start to show Shinra what we're made of," said Wedge, and he then walked off to the passenger car, as Biggs stepped towards Cloud next and spoke to him.
"Don't worry about us, Cloud, we could do even better next time after this success, with or without you. Barret's okay, but you shouldn't keep annoying him like that. With such a short temper like Barret's, getting him angry is no better then committing suicide. Watch yourself," said Biggs, grinning with clear amusement.
Biggs then walked off to the passenger car, leaving only Cloud and Jessie left inside it, as Cloud looked over at her. Jessie turned back to face the open train door leading outside, but she still spoke to Cloud.
"Please be a little more careful next time, Cloud, I was really worried. I think I'd better shut this train door, it would look way too suspicious to the train guards around here if it was left open," said Jessie.
She quickly shut the compartment door leading to the tunnel outside as the train sped through it on its way to the Slums and lower city of Sector 7, and then Jessie turned to face Cloud, looking a little surprised.
"Oh Cloud, it looks like your face is almost pitch black with soot from being on top of that train for a while. The guards might notice and get suspicious about it. Here, let me wipe your face you," said Jessie.
Before Cloud could protest, she rubbed his face gently with a handkerchief until his face was fully clean. Jessie smiled at Cloud, and put her handkerchief away, studying his face for a moment, though it was for rather longer than Cloud thought was necessary.
"There you go, that's much better. Now you're all clean," said Jessie, brightly. She started to walk out to the passenger car, but she then turned back and faced Cloud, beaming happily and gazing back at him again.
"Oh…and thanks again for saving my life back there at the Reactor bridge. I really do owe you," said Jessie, softly smiling gratefully, leaning close to him and kissing Cloud deeply on the cheek, pulling away five seconds later.
Jessie beamed in delight at him, her eyes sparkling happily, and she then walked off to the passenger car, with a wide grin spread across her face. Slightly surprised about the whole thing but quite indifferent about it, Cloud quietly followed her to the passenger car.
When they entered the passenger car, the rest of the passengers (about three of them) noticed them and ran off in a panic to the next car, leaving AVALANCHE alone. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie ran to the other end of the passenger compartment and stood there.
Biggs leaned against a railing and yawned sleepily, Wedge looked out of the train windows to see where exactly they were, Jessie was studying a digital map of Midgar on a computer display in the side of the train, while Barret sat down with a thud on the left row of the train on one of the seats in the middle of the row, and he turned his head to look at Cloud, giving him a rather sharp look.
"Listen up, you damn bloody show off. While we're here on this train, we don't wanna get noticed much, so you gotta stop causing problems, getting into fights, and drawing attention while we're here. So for just this once, stop acting like a damn stupid kid, and just sit down and shut the hell up!" shouted Barret, furiously, glaring hard at Cloud, who found it hard once again not to be infuriated at Barret, despite himself.
"(Just what the hell does this guy take me for anyways? He's the one who hired me to do all that stuff at the Reactor in the first place, and as for the incident at the city near the station, it wasn't my fault I had problems with those soldiers, and it wasn't as if I had a choice other than to leap onto the train,)" thought Cloud, with clear irritation.
Annoyed, Cloud simply ignored Barret, completely refusing to answer to him, which seemed to anger the big black man, who in turn chose to ignore him too, and instead Cloud walked over to the other end of the car where Biggs, Wedge and Jessie were standing.
Noticing him coming by the sound of Cloud's footsteps on the train floor, Wedge stopped staring out of the train window and he turned to face Cloud, with a somewhat hopeful expression on his face.
"(Hmm…now that I think about it, I've really been wondering a lot lately about what really makes being a AVALANCHE member all worth it, to endure every mission and hardships in the fight against Shinra Incorporated. The chance to gain money, or fame, or glory, or just the chance to help save the Planet and fight for its survival? Well…I guess that Cloud would choose money above everything else…but I wonder if he thinks there's any great future in store for being a member of AVALANCHE that'll really make it seem worthwhile some day,)" thought Wedge, and he spoke up to Cloud, deciding to ask him about it.
"Hey Cloud, I want to ask you something for just a moment. Do you think that I've got a bright future ahead of me, being a member of AVALANCHE and all that? I mean, will I ever be anything worthwhile because of it? Like a famous eco-warrior, or a hero?" asked Wedge, curiously. Cloud shrugged in response, but decided to answer.
"Well, I guess so. As long as you have a dream, ambition and a little determination, then there's no limit to what you can achieve in life. What do you have in mind exactly, anyway?" asked Cloud, finding that he was curious about the subject, despite himself. Wedge sighed heavily.
"All my life, in the past, I used to feel like nothing but a mere unimportant sidekick. But ever since the day that I joined AVALANCHE, I've felt…like I'm really needed…that I can do lots of useful things to help out the Planet. Most of all though, I truly believe that someday, no matter what the outcome of this whole situation is, that AVALANCHE is going to be famous everywhere, and that means that I might be famous and important someday too!" exclaimed Wedge, proudly, wondering if this was what made it all worthwhile.
Cloud thought about this for a moment, seeing Wedge's point on the subject, as Biggs spoke up, looking rather tired, yawning sleepily.
"Judging by the looks of it, Shinra Incorporated haven't switched this train to security mode yet. But I'm sure that will no doubt really change by tomorrow, after tonight's recent events. Still, that mission earlier at the Mako Reactor N0.1 really took its toll on me…with all the intense work and effort it needed. I'm going to sleep until we get to the station," said Biggs, and his eyes wearily closed, and eventually he would be asleep. Jessie turned away from the digital map, and she turned to face Cloud.
"Hey Cloud, do you want to come and have a look at this with me? It's a map of the Midgar railway system, and a view of what the whole city itself would look like from outside of it, and from above it. Let's look at it together, and I'll explain it all to you. Since you're still new to the city, I thought you might like to see this," said Jessie, brightly.
"(No wonder Tifa seems to like Cloud so much, and I can't help but envy her, the way he seems around her…but anyway, it'll be useful for him to know more about Midgar, it's just the sort of city that anyone would want to know about…though for varying reasons,)" thought Jessie.
Jessie and Cloud walked towards a digital monitor built into the train wall, showing a map of the city of Midgar. They both looked at the map monitor. A green wire frame image of the whole city itself was displayed against a black background on the screen.
It rotated and zoomed in and out, showing whatever part of Midgar anyone wanted to view. It clearly showed the upper city of Midgar built by Shinra on the gigantic Plate right above the original but now lower city of Midgar.
"I really do like this kind of stuff. Bombs, monitors and electronics, you know, basically any sorts of flashy stuff. It's all really quite fascinating. Anyway, this screen shows a complete model of the city of Midgar," explained Jessie, as they both looked at it, and Jessie continued explaining.
"The Plate of Midgar, with all the upper cities on top of it, is about fifty metres above the ground where all the lower cities, also known as the Slums, are standing. A main, gigantic support structure holds the Plate up in the centre of it, and there are also other support structures in the middle of each sector, one for each of them, making it eight in total. The Mako Reactor N01 we blew up was in the northern section of the city," explained Jessie, pausing a moment to think about what else to say, and then she continued.
"And then there's N02, N03, and so on, going all the way up to the N08 Reactor, but we won't follow this number pattern, it'll be way too obvious to anyone, and then Shinra will figure out our next targets easily, so we're trying to do it as randomly as possible so they won't be able to figure it out. The eight Reactors each provide Midgar with electricity. Each of the towns of Midgar used to have a name decades ago, before Shinra came here and built the Plate, but no one living in Midgar can even remember them anymore. So, instead of names, we just refer to them by numbered sectors. That's just the kind of place that this is," explained Jessie, with a shrug, pausing for a moment to think of what to explain to Cloud next, and then she continued speaking.
"This is the route this train is currently on. The train spirals around the main support structure in the centre of the Plate like all the other trains, after going through the tunnels that lead them from the upper city to the Slums, and also the other way around too. We should be coming around the centre area of the Plate right about now. And at each checkpoint the train reaches along the way, a Shinra ID security sensor is set up, and it checks all the identities and backgrounds of each and every single passenger on the train by linking it up to the central data bank at the Shinra Headquarters, telling them if there is anyone untrustworthy on the train, someone they want imprisoned, and that would go for us too, of course. Anyone could easily tell we look suspicious, so we're using fake ID'S," explained Jessie.
With Jessie having finished explaining everything important she could think of on the subject, she and Cloud then turned away from the map monitor, and a train alarm suddenly went off, and a red light appeared and flashed around the whole passenger compartment, to Cloud's surprise.
"(What the hell is this!? I thought she said that Shinra couldn't detect us with our fake ID cards, so what the heck does this alarm and red light mean then!? Damn it, don't they me they've just screwed up all over again with this whole thing!)" thought Cloud, angrily, cursing inwardly.
Cloud spun around in alarm, startled and alerted by the red light and the alarm going off, but neither Jessie, Barret, Biggs (who was now fully asleep) nor Wedge were even in the slightest bit worried or concerned, or even so much as glanced in the direction of the noise. Bewildered, Cloud turned to face Jessie, now looking and feeling rather puzzled indeed. Noticing his confused expression, Jessie blushed slightly, and she hastily explained it to him.
"Oh, speak of the devil…that red light you can see flashing in here just now means that we're in the ID security area, from reaching a security checkpoint. And when all these train lights go off completely because of it, you may never know what may happen to you next after that. But don't worry, the red lights will just go out again soon. And we're almost back at the hideout now, that's a huge relief," said Jessie, calmly.
Just as she finished speaking, the alarm suddenly stopped, the red lights all stopped flashing and went off at once, and everything was quiet again. Suddenly, Jessie brightened up again as an idea occurred to her.
"Hey, I know! Next time out, on the next mission…if you come along that is…then I'll give you a special fake ID card that I made myself. Just think of it as some of my gratitude for saving me back at the Reactor. I'm the type who likes to take things personal," said Jessie, with a smirk and a wink.
"Alright then, thanks, I'll be looking forward to it, Jessie," replied Cloud, nodding, deciding not to bother saying again that he had no intention of staying with AVALANCHE any longer after he would received his payment for the mission he had helped them do earlier. Jessie beamed happily at him all the same, pleased to have gotten a polite answer from him.
"Okay Cloud, then I'll put a little extra effort into the ID card, and really make it with a big bang. Anyway, we're almost back at the Sector 7 Slums now, and after talking here with you and back at the Mako Reactor N01, I really want to do this whole thing, to be a member of AVALANCHE to the very end until we achieve our goal! I really think you've lit my fuse!" exclaimed Jessie, smiling happily, gazing at Cloud.
Cloud shrugged in response, but he still thanked her for the explanations on Midgar and the train systems, which seemed to please Jessie considerably. The train travelled back under yet another tunnel on its way to the Slums of Sector 7, causing the whole inside of the train to go dark again. At this, Wedge moaned in complaint.
"Man, this really sucks, having to travel under the tunnels on the train all the time! This is exactly why I hate the dark. I'm seeing spots and stars," complained Wedge, rubbing his eyes in annoyance. Jessie looked over at Wedge, as Cloud walked away down to the middle of the passenger compartment.
"Hey, quit your moaning, Wedge, it's not as if being a member of AVALANCHE doesn't include any downsides or faults to it. Besides, we're almost back home safely to the hideout," said Jessie, calmly.
Wedge was still grumbling about travelling through the dark tunnels, but the train quickly emerged from the tunnel and the darkness went away with it, most of it anyway, since the lower cities of Midgar never had any sunlight whatsoever due to the whole Plate covering the view above it. Biggs clearly didn't notice it, as he was now fast asleep, and snoring loudly, and Cloud could even hear him sleep talking a little.
"…Don't…don't you go on acting so damn big headed, Barret…'cause you ain't…all that big whatsoever…are ya, ya damn loudmouth…" muttered Biggs, drowsily, in his sleep, now beginning to snore loudly, which Cloud and the others definitely found rather annoying.
Barret stood up at once, glaring sharply at Biggs in severe irritation, due to both his snoring and to his comment, and smacked him upside his head with his one remaining large, black-skinned hand. Biggs awoke at once, and yelped in surprise and pain, his hand going at once at the back of his aching head and rubbing it gently.
"Geez, Barret, just what the heck was that for, I was just sleeping, that's all, so what the hell did I just do wrong?" asked Biggs, looking genuinely bewildered and confused, wincing slightly as his head ached.
Barret glared at him for a second, and sat back down on his seat, not answering Biggs, who still looked thoroughly puzzled indeed. Barret shifted on his seat, and he turned to look out of one of the train's windows.
Cloud stood in the middle of the compartment nearby him, curious as to what Barret was looking at right at the current moment. Barret spoke to him, though he didn't take his eyes off the view outside the train window.
"Hey Cloud, get ya damn scrawny ass over here, and take a good look at this! Take a look out the window, you can see the surface now, these lower cities of Midgar ain't got no day and no night at all. It's always dark around here, and without the streetlights and bulbs, it would all be pitch black. If that damn Plate weren't there, above the lower cities with the upper cities of Midgar on top of it, then we could see the sky from here. That huge Plate blocks the view of the sunlight, the rain, and even the entire damn sky from this whole place, that's why it's always so damn dark around here in the lower cities," explained Barret.
Finding himself very intrigued and curious about the whole subject, Cloud walked over to Barret, and he looked out another window just nearby, staring out at the dark lower cities of Midgar, and saw the massive Plate held up far above the whole lower cities, known more commonly as the Slums, blocking out their view of the sun and the sky.
Cloud knew like everyone else that the entire upper city of Midgar was right on top of the whole Plate, along with the Shinra Headquarters itself in the very centre, and the Mako Reactors surrounding the Plate and both the lower and upper cities. As awesome and as truly amazing a sight as it all was, it was also pretty creepy, dark and gloomy, like something out of a nightmare.
"A floating city…pretty unsettling scenery," said Cloud, gazing intently at the vast view outside. Raising an eyebrow, Barret got up from his seat and stood in front of Cloud, staring at him in surprise.
"Huh…? I never expected to hear that outta someone like you. Man, you're just full of surprises. The upper city of Midgar…a city on a Plate. It's because of that damn stinking Plate that the people underneath it in the Slums of lower Midgar are suffering! And because of it, the lower city is always full of polluted air and on top of that, the Reactors keep draining up all the energy, making this whole Planet weaker and weaker until it will finally just wither away," explained Barret.
"Then, why the heck doesn't everyone in the Slums just move onto the Plate, and live in the upper city?" asked Cloud, bewildered. Barret just shrugged.
"Don't know, maybe its because they ain't got no money to afford a move like that. Or maybe, it's because they love their land, no matter how dead or polluted it gets. Some people are like that. They believe in keeping what they have, and steering their life towards making it better on the path of life, the path that they've either chosen or forced to live with," replied Barret, calmly. Cloud nodded, understanding completely.
"…I know…no one ever lives in the Slums of lower Midgar because they really want to…but because they have to, because they really have no choice at all. I guess life is kind of a lot like this train. It can only go where its rails takes it," said Cloud, thoughtfully.
Only a solemn silence greeted Cloud's words, as Barret, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie had all gone quiet, each lost in their own thoughts about the whole subject, each of them having been listening intently to it, before they all left separately to the next passenger compartment, deciding that the train guards had cleared out of it.
Cloud, seeing that the train was still going to take a while to get to the Sector 7 Slums, decided to look around the train, as he opened the door of the compartment and entered the next one, where the others had all gone a while before.
Evidently, the AVALANCHE rebel group had moved into the next passenger compartment from this one that Cloud had just entered. Entering the compartment, Cloud saw that it was deserted, except for four big men who stood at the other end of the compartment, surrounding one of the seats, and Cloud could see that someone else was also sitting on that seat, but he couldn't see who it was while the small group of men were surrounding the person.
Not caring in the least about what wasn't his own business, Cloud was just about to turn back to leave the compartment to the first one, opposite the door to the third compartment that the others had evidently gone to, when he quickly noticed something through a gap between the men, a long pink skirt, with a basket of flowers on its lap…
Heart suddenly leaping up into his throat, Cloud stepped forwards slightly, as he watched the biggest and most menacing looking man of the group grab and pull the person by the collar of a red jacket, and lift the person up slightly in mid-air, leering down nastily. Cloud recognized the other person now; there was no mistake about it…
It was the same flower girl who he had run into back at the Sector 8 upper city, the same one who had wanted to know about the Reactor's explosion, and who had seemed to have held him so entranced in their first encounter…
"I told you, Aeris. I told you to pay up NOW at the latest, and you still ain't got the damn money, and I want it NOW," snarled the biggest man, holding Aeris up tightly by the collar of her jacket, who showed not even the slightest sign of fear in her emerald green eyes.
"But I don't even owe any of you for anything at all, so why should I give any money to the likes of you, Vulcue?" retorted Aeris, and Cloud found himself surprised and rather impressed by her courage.
"Because I ALWAYS get want I want, whenever I want, from whoever I want!" snapped Vulcue, viciously, and Cloud grimaced with fury at the attitude the large thug was showing, even though it was slightly similar to his own.
Vulcue snarled angrily, and hurled Aeris hard onto the train floor. Aeris landed there in a heap, her basket of flowers tumbling away, as Vulcue and his three big cronies surrounded her, all of them about to beat her or worse…
"Keep your damn hands away from her!" snarled Cloud, as he stepped forwards towards them, his fists clenched tightly, as the four thugs spun around at once to face him with expressions of surprise and anger. Cowering on the floor, Aeris looked at Cloud too, and she seemed rather astonished.
"What the hell did you just say, shit face!?" hissed Vulcue, viciously, every sign of a death threat in his eyes and tone, as he glared murderously at Cloud.
"Didn't you hear me, or are you just deaf and stupid!? Get your dirty hands off her!!" roared Cloud, furiously, and without thinking, without even bothering to ready his sword or to stay unnoticed by security as Barret had so strictly ordered him, he charged forwards to attack.
Cloud lunged forwards, and punched one of the thugs hard in the face, blood spilling at once from the thugs' shattered nose, before then kicking him hard in the stomach and knocking all the wind out of him, and grabbing him by the collar, he soon sent him flying and screaming out the open train window.
Another thug turned on him and quickly thrust a very wide and sharp looking dagger at Cloud, stabbing at any direction, but Cloud quickly dodged each stroke, with reflexes born from his training in SOLDIER, and then grabbing the thug by the arm just as he avoided another thrust from the dagger, Cloud quickly twisted and bent it, and the bone instantly snapped with a loud cracking sound.
The thug screamed in agony, the dagger flying out of his hands into the air, and landing barely an inch away from Aeris' hand, and lodged itself deeply into the train floor, as Aeris gasped in surprise and fear from almost being hit by it.
Cloud quickly hurled the beaten thug out of the train window as well, before facing a third thug, and sent a lightning quick kick at his head before the man could avoid it, knocking the thug unconscious instantly on impact, and then Cloud quickly grabbed him by the collar and threw him out of the window as well, before spinning around to face Vulcue.
"Who…just what the heck ARE you, you damn freak…?" demanded Vulcue, looking both enraged and thunder-stuck at the same time. Aeris just stared at Cloud in amazement, not making any sound or movement, her mouth wide open, and her eyes were also wide with surprise as well.
"I'm an Ex-SOLDIER, first-class mercenary, AND your worst nightmare. Now just leave the lady alone," replied Cloud, menacingly. Vulcue snarled and growled darkly.
"No way, ain't nothing doing! Damn bastard, taking me for a fool! You're gonna pay!" yelled Vulcue, as he lunged forwards towards Cloud, grabbing the dagger from the train floor as he did so, with surprising ease considering how deeply it had been lodged into it, and he quickly thrust it at Cloud.
Cloud quickly dodged it, but it was a very close call, as he felt the edge of the dagger just rip slightly through his uniform but just barely not reaching his skin, as he spun around to face Vulcue afterwards only to find himself facing his muscular fist, and being hit hard across the face by it moments later.
Dazed and slightly dizzy from the impact, Cloud stumbled for a moment, his nose bleeding, just as Vulcue thrust the dagger at him again, and Cloud recovered quickly enough to dodge it in time, but felt the dagger cut through his uniform near his arm again, and though it didn't reach his skin once again, it was still a close call, and Cloud knew he couldn't keep this up, as blood trailed down from his nose.
Suddenly, Vulcue thrust the dagger at Cloud but this time he was faking it, as he tripped Cloud up by his feet just as Cloud went to dodge aside, and Cloud fell to the train floor, rather surprised by the dirty trick, but before he could do anything to get back up, Vulcue was pining him to the floor, the dagger held high in his hands.
Cloud fought hard to get Vulcue off, but he was the bigger and heavier of the two, and he had Cloud firmly pinned to the train floor. There was a mad, insane gleam of murder and morbid glee in Vulcue's eyes, as he raised the dagger above his head, aiming at Cloud's chest, ready to strike…
Suddenly, a long and strong wooden staff came swinging out of nowhere and struck Vulcue hard across the head. He fell backwards to the floor with an insane cry of surprise, pain, and rage. Now thankfully released and saved from certain death, Cloud looked back to see Aeris standing behind them, with a long but tough quarterstaff held firmly in her hands.
Vulcue snarled and rushed at her, the dagger held high in his hands, but Aeris stood her ground nevertheless, not once backing away even an inch, the staff held firmly in her hands, simply waiting for him patiently to come, and Cloud found himself impressed by her courage yet again, but nevertheless, he rushed in himself.
Quickly catching Vulcue by surprise, who had been too focused on Aeris at the time, Cloud punched him hard across the face, sending him crashing to the train floor again with another cry of pain and rage.
The dagger flew out of Vulcue's hands, and Cloud caught it by the hilt, and then quick as a flash, flung it straight at Vulcue, who still lay sprawled at the floor.
The dagger hit and pierced Vulcue straight in his chest.
Vulcue gave a weak cry of surprise and pain, the fiery murderous rage still in his eyes, but they were darkening, as he stumbled, and fell to the floor, twitching. After a moment, he didn't move at all.
Grimacing in revulsion, Cloud knelt to the floor, grabbed the body of the dead man with the dagger lodged deep into his chest, blood covering it, and quickly flung him straight out of the train window, some blood splattering it as the body flew to the ground beside the train, as it soon roared past, and the train continued its way to the Slums.
Cloud suddenly wondered why no guards had come in to see who was causing trouble in the compartment, and wondered if the others had somehow found a way to distract them in the next compartment. Cloud couldn't see how they'd find a way of doing it without being arrested, though.
After handling the gruesome task from throwing the dead body out of the train window, Cloud turned away from the train window after firmly closing it shut, and he turned to look at Aeris, who had sat down at one of the train seats, silent and looking horrified and saddened for a reason that Cloud just couldn't understand. Nevertheless, the same strange feeling that he had felt when he'd first seen this girl at the city was rising in him yet again.
Finally, after another moment of silence, Aeris turned to look at Cloud, and a faint but beautiful smile spread across her flawless face and her green eyes sparkled a little, but they still held a flicker of remorse too.
"Thank you so much for your help, sir. I really thought I was going to get really hurt back there," said Aeris, with a slight shudder, and they both knew that she could have been raped or killed if Cloud hadn't of come to help.
"Don't worry about it. I don't think you're going to be bothered by the likes of those guys anymore, so just don't worry now. Anyway, like you said before, I'll probably see you around sometime," said Cloud, and he turned to leave the passenger compartment to check up on the others, but as he did Aeris suddenly stood up in surprise, fully recognizing Cloud now, due to his words.
"Wait! Wait a second! You're the guy I sold flowers to, back at the Sector 8 upper city, right? Thanks, I guess I owe you twice now, for buying my flowers, and now for saving my life. I'd really like to repay you in some way for it, sir," said Aeris, looking pleadingly at Cloud, who had stopped to look at her in surprise.
"First of all, you don't need to call me sir, and second of all, I don't expect to be repaid for what I did back there. I'm a mercenary, but just consider that task free of charge. So don't worry about it," said Cloud.
As Aeris stepped closer to Cloud, he found himself once again drawn to stare at her beautiful green eyes, and Aeris stared into his own blue eyes as well. For a moment, there was silence, before a big smile spread across Aeris' face, and her eyes now completely sparkled, with clear gratitude.
"Well then, in that case, I'd like to repay you in some other way if you won't accept money. Oh, that's right, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? My name is…" began Aeris, and Cloud found himself interested to know her name.
But suddenly, the door to the passenger compartment from the next one flew open with a loud bang, and Barret Wallace came barging into the compartment, looking absolutely livid and furious. Cloud and Aeris broke their gaze, and Cloud knew the guards must have noticed the commotion earlier.
"CLOUD! What did I tell ya before about keeping a low profile!? And hear ya are, starting fights on the train, you damn fool! You could've got us caught for sure!" snapped Barret, clearly enraged and shaking with anger.
"Well, luckily no one did notice anything, did they? So what's the problem? Are you saying that I should have just left this young lady to be raped by thugs or something?" asked Cloud, evenly. Barret was still fuming, unaware yet that Aeris was still watching them.
"Don't you go telling me that you'd fight for a complete stranger just because she's in trouble, you don't give a damn about no one but yourself! You just WANT us to get caught by Shinra, don't ya, ya damn traitor! We're almost got found out from the train guards because of YOU! And if it hadn't been for Jessie doing some quick thinking about a distraction, we would have been caught, you bastard!" roared Barret.
Becoming angry himself, Cloud was about to reply furiously, when the train suddenly started to slow down, and it was clear that they were about to reach the train station. Biggs came running into the compartment from the next one.
"Barret, the train's about to arrive at the station. We should get ready to leave now quickly, before we get stuck on this train. By the way, the plan worked perfectly, while Cloud was fighting over here, me and the others paid these thieves and other dodgy looking guys to cause a big enough distraction to keep the train guards' attention away from Cloud or us. It cost us a whole lot of money to convince them to do it, and I'm not exactly sure how they distracted the train guards or how they're gonna avoid being arrested, but the plan seemed to work all the same. The guards didn't notice anything from us because of them, and not even the thieves and other guys suspected anything close to the truth about us either," explained Biggs, looking annoyed about the loss of their money. Barret nodded, both relieved and enraged at the same time, as he shot a nasty glare at Cloud, before looking back at Biggs.
"Understood, Biggs, good work from all of ya. Now you and the others make sure you all get ready, and then I'll follow you guys outta here soon, just leave the train now. And split up and leave separately, so as to make you guys look less noticeable or suspicious," ordered Barret.
Biggs nodded and saluted, as he then headed back out into the other compartment, while Barret turned back to glare at Cloud again, looking absolutely lived and boiling with pure anger, but before another argument could break out, Aeris spoke up quietly, looking at Barret.
"Please sir, this man did save my life from those thugs back there, and I'm sure he acted with the best intentions, or I would have been…" said Aeris, trailing off as she lowered her gaze to the floor.
Barret realised that she had just heard everything they had said, and cursed himself for forgetting to keep quiet while she was still there. This could only mean one thing. She knew now exactly who they were, and he quickly tried to think of a way to sort out the possible mess it might cause.
"Yeah, I guess that's true. But now you've probably figured out who we are, don't ya?" said Barret, curiously and a little tensely as well. Aeris hesitated, and then she nodded slowly, her eyes wide with surprise and slight horror.
"Well in that case, can I just ask ya to…?" began Barret, nervously, knowing that she now held the key to exposing them, but Aeris quickly interrupted him.
"To keep your identities all secret?" asked Aeris, looking both deep in thought and uncertain as well. Barret nodded, looking rather grim. Aeris hesitated for a long moment, thinking it all through, before looking at Cloud and smiling at him for a moment, as she came to a decision.
"Sure thing, you secret's safe with me. I owe this man at least that much," said Aeris, glancing at Cloud, and giving him a warm, grateful smile. Cloud felt that strange feeling inside him yet again, to his puzzlement and annoyance.
"Good, then you got lucky this time, you spiky-headed moron, but don't you screw up again, or else you're gonna pay of it. I'll make damn sure of that. Now come on, let's get going, this is our stop," said Barret, feeling thoroughly relieved and angry, as he left the passenger compartment.
But despite all the trouble it had caused though, Barret found that he was glad that Cloud had saved Aeris; she seemed like a really nice person. Aeris turned back to face Cloud, clearly deep in thought, but she still beamed at him.
"Thanks again for you help. I truly hope that we can meet again," said Aeris, smiling with gratitude, her emerald green eyes sparkling happily.
Cloud nodded at her, gave a small wave, and headed out of the compartment to the next one, where the others were waiting, and for a moment, Cloud was silent in his own thoughts of what had happened back there.
The train then arrived at the Sector 7 Slums, pulled into its station and came to an abrupt screeching halt, filling the air with clouds of steam and dust.
Shaking his head and coughing, the train guard opened the door and watched as all the passengers, including AVALANCHE (though he never suspected them), as they all burst out from the train door from the inside, and ran home.
"Get over here, all of ya!" shouted Barret. Barret called the team together, and they gathered around the streetlight, just out of earshot from everyone else. Cloud, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie all gathered around Barret, waiting and listening for what he had to say.
"Okay everyone, we did very good at the Reactor. We all made it back, after a job well done that'll teach those losers in Shinra that we mean business! This mission was a success, but don't any of ya get lazy now. The hard part's still to come! Don't any of ya be scared of that explosion, because the next one's gonna be even bigger than that! Everyone, split up and meet back at the hideout! Move out!" ordered Barret.
They all scattered and split up, and Cloud wandered after the AVALANCHE members as they ran back to their hideout, which Cloud knew was at the Seventh Haven bar. Looking up, Cloud saw the Sector 7 Pillar nearby, towering high above the Slums of Sector 7, supporting and holding up the section of the huge steel Plate that was above the Sector 7 Slums, and below the upper city of Sector 7.
It was about fifty metres high if he remembered correctly what Jessie had told him back on the train. If the Pillar had ever collapsed, and the part of the Plate above Sector 7 fell as a result, everyone and everything in the Sector 7 Slums would be crushed and destroyed instantly, and the Sector 7 upper city also destroyed. It was as simple as that.
Midgar was a very dangerous place to live in, especially in the Slums, but for most people in the lower cities (the Slums), it was simply all that they could afford. On top of the Plate in the upper cities, however, it was a very different story. Men and women up there, working for Shinra Incorporated, all lived in aristocracy, disgusted by the people living below them.
They often referred to them as 'The Slum Scum', and there had been many incidents in the Shinra Times of petrol bombs being dropped down in an attempt to 'cleanse' the city. Not that the media could be trusted, since Shinra owned even all the media in the world.
Shinra would simply twist all the papers and television stations to their advantage, trying to successfully brainwash everyone into thinking that they were essentially the Planet's very salvation.
But the real terrible truth of the whole matter, known only to Shinra themselves and to AVALANCHE of course, was that Shinra Incorporated were actually none other than the Planet's very executioners…