1

Seventh Heaven was a little bar and inn in the middle of Sector Seven. It had only opened up a few years ago, but it had already developed a loyal clientele of drunkards and the occasional Shinra employee, partly due to the tasty cooking skills of the owner Elena, but also the incredibly potent moonshine brewed in the basement. The "inn" part wasn't used so much, because there weren't many tourists who were interested in seeing the slums. Lately, it had come to serve another purpose.

"Welcome home." Elena smiled, whipping the table down with a dishrag. "I saw it all on the news. Did everything go well?"

Rude nodded, throwing his jacket into the closet. Elena was funny that way. She could be quite sweet when she wanted to be, but he'd also seen the way she could knock out a drunk when he got too rowdy. It was that fighting spirit that made him marry her. He hated seeing her waste her talents running the bar, but she insisted that money needed to be brought in somehow. Still...

"Do you want anything? I've been trying out this new drink... No one else wanted to try it."

He wondered if that was something to worry about. "Alright. But I'm not very hungry, so don't take that as a sign that the food is bad."

"Just a tiny bite will do." She turned to the stove and heated up a burner. "It'll be ready in a little bit."

"Oh man, you guys are making me sick." Reno slammed the door behind him and sat down on a barstool, swinging it around. "This is why I'm never getting married. All this mushy shit-"

"Hello to you too, Reno." Elena said shortly. She'd already opened a can of beer for him and swung it down the bar to him. "How'd it go?"

He opened his mouth, but was interrupted by another slam of the door. He grinned seeing Jessie stalk in, followed by an amused looking Tseng. "Ugh! You're supposed to hold the door for a lady! Didn't your parents teach you any manners?!"

"You're no lady, sweetheart," he snickered, gulping down his drink. He quickly continued, seeing her indignant expression. "So where was I? It went okay. We didn't run into SOLDIER-"

"Only because I turned off the alarm you tripped-"

"Don't try to talk your way out of it. We would have been a lot faster if you weren't so clumsy." Reno said scathingly.

"I got my foot caught. And I did apologize, which is more than you've done."

"Stop it." Tseng said loudly. "You made it out, and that's what matters."

"I guess so, but-" Tseng glared at Reno, which silenced him.

"Are you going to be going out tomorrow?" Elena questioned. Some curry flew out of the pan, and she licked it off her fingers. "Sorry. I'm almost done here, and then you can start your planning."

"You can hear this. In fact, I'd like you to go with us tomorrow night."

"Really?" she barely managed to hide her enthusiasm. "I would, if it's not any trouble. I can close up early, no one will really mind, if that's alright, I mean."

Rude shrugged. "It's dangerous."

"You know I'll be alright." She smiled, stirring the food a little faster than she had before. "So what's going on?"

"Well..." Jessie pulled her laptop out of her pack. With a touch of the mouse, the screen sprang to life, displaying a picture of the Midgar train route. "The President's gone over his plans for a security breech before. Once power is restored, there should be new security measures in place. Metal detectors, new checkpoints, and more police at the stations and on trains. You don't need to worry about the police, since none of you really stand out in a crowd, at least not in sector seven. The metal detector shouldn't be a problem either, because I've already modified the bomb. All that's left is the checkpoints..." she began typing quickly. "There's been no word from President Shinra yet, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to make your new ID cards. I was hoping they'd be a little more on top of things, but you know how executives are..." she looked up, expecting a laugh, but seeing only bemused expressions, she quickly moved on. "There's no need to worry though, I'm almost one hundred percent certain that there won't be any problems in the Mako reactor."

Reno downed the rest of his drink. "Whatever. This is all way over my head. I'm going to bed, fill me in on the mission tomorrow morning." He pushed back his chair, and walked up the stairs, weaving only slightly.

"Thank you for your help." Jessie muttered, nearly inaudibly. Reno smirked, but said nothing, continuing up the stairs, slamming the door behind him.

"It's all done." Elena spooned the curry onto a plate. "I guess Reno wasn't hungry. Would you like any, Jessie? I don't know if it's any good or not yet, but you're welcome to try it..."

"No thanks, I- I've got to get home. I need to be up early tomorrow." She rubbed her forehead. She could already feel a headache coming on.

"I apologize for Reno's behavior. I trained him, it was my fault." Tseng said quietly. "He's unruly a times, but he doesn't mean to harm anyone."

"Please, it doesn't mean anything to me. I'd just like to get home."

"Payment?"

"It doesn't matter-"

"He reached in his pocket. "A thousand gil, as promised. I'll throw in three hundred for the ID cards. I know you'll get them to us on time."

She took it and stuffed it into her pocket roughly. "I'm surprised you trust me with this."

He smiled. "Your father's told me a lot enough about you to let me trust you. Dyne's a good man. He's quite proud of you."

"He told me you were friends in school." Her father... She hadn't thought about him in a while. He'd become so pathetic since the accident. "I can't take all of this. You told me you were saving up for Reno-"

"Take it." He said firmly. "We agreed upon this a long time ago, and you've earned it."

She nodded. He wasn't going to accept it back. "I'll send it to my father then. He needs it more than I do." She turned to Elena and Rude. "Goodnight. I'll take you up on that food next time."

"Oh, it's okay!" She was feeding it by the spoon to Rude, giggling incessantly. "I don't mind, we'll probably- hey, that was a bite!- ah- we'll eat this all ourselves."

Her parents had once done silly little things like that. She smiled at the memory. "See you soon."

Tseng stood up. "Will you be alright on your own? This isn't like the top plate at night."

"I think so." She patted the holster at her hips. "I have my revolver. I'll be fine."

He sat slowly. "Alright. Call in if you need anything."

"I will. Goodnight, and thank you." She slipped out the door quietly.

*

"It's too early to be leaving for a mission." Cloud stated sullenly. He still hadn't gotten over Biggs' yelling at him the night before. "President Shinra should know that we're not alert enough at this hour. The coffee's not even good..."

"I dunno Cloud," Wedge was eagerly partaking of the doughnuts left in the back of the van. "Being a Turk's a pretty sweet deal, the way I see it. Free food, free board, free dry cleaning, it's all good."

"Quiet!" Biggs' said sharply, leaning back in his car seat. "I have a headache... You all talk too much."

"Awww...." Wedge cooed, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Is poor-widdle Biggs-wiggsy tired? You always get so cranky-wanky when you don't have your juice in the morning."

"Shut up!" he shouted, tilting the chair back to a horizontal position and turning over. "You're not helping."

"It's okay, I always get sick on cars like this too. But this one's really big, and Barret's doing a real nice job driving it." Cloud added hastily.

"Cloud," Biggs said, sounding annoyed. "I don't need your sympathy. Do you have any idea what we're headed here for?"

"Er- you haven't given us a briefing yet, sir."

"He's right." Wedge agreed.

"Ugh... Fine, it's not like I could sleep here anyways." He jerked the seat up, and swiveled it to face them. "We're going to the Temple of the Ancients to look for the Black Materia. President Shinra was quite adamant that we find it quickly."

"Explorers cleared out the temple a long time ago." Wedge pointed out. "There's nothing left to be found. It's a tourist trap. My sister went with her school a year ago, they're leading kids through it daily."

"I know. That's why this whole thing is pissing me off. We're being wasted looking for artifacts that may not even exist. Terrorists are attacking Midgar, and he sends us off going on field trips with middle schoolers." Biggs said disgustedly.

"I dunno..." Cloud said slowly. "It might be fun. At least we won't be in much danger."

"Dammit, I hate dealing with rookies." Biggs grumbled.

"You were once a rookie yourself, and-" Wedge was cut off as the truck halted to a sharp stop. "Barret! Stop a little more smoothly next time!"

"Shuddup foo! I ain't gettin paid for smoothness!"

"Everybody out." Biggs commanded, swinging open the door.

The Temple of the Ancients was a large pyramid-like structure, surrounded by groups of children and irritated looking chaperones. Near the entrance a souvenir stand was set up, with an ambitious young lady hawking overpriced trinkets.

"Hey! You know you want this stuff! Remember your trip with a genuine Ancient rock! Or how bout this Christmas ornament? It's a perfect addition to your tree! What? Well, we have dreidals too! Umm...This mog doll should be perfect for your little baby! Choose from red, white, or green! Oooo!" she began waving her arms erratically. "It's the Turks! The Turks, the Turks, the Turks!"

"I didn't know we had fans..." Wedge quipped, pushing his way through thee crowd. Cloud grinned in acknowledgment.

"Hey!" she ran up to the group, enthusiastically shaking hands. "Wow, it's such a thrill to meet you all! My name is Yuffie, your friendly neighborhood entrepreneur! Will you be going into the Temple? We've got a special going on guides today! Only 100 gil to be led in!"

"Please!" Biggs jerked his hand away from her grasp. "We don't need a guide. We're the Turks. Don't interfere with our work."

"Oh...But you need me! It's reaally dangerous in there! There's lot of frogs and stuff..."

"Thank you, but we're fine," Wedge cut in, before Biggs could issue a retort. "We're all well equipped for this, and I'm sure if we get lost, you can help us then."

"Aww..." she turned to Cloud. "What about you? I'm pretty good with a boomerang. Wouldn't you want this sexy broad to guide you through all that danger?"

"Ah- I have a girlfriend..." Cloud said, trying to inch away.

She took a step back and sniffed pathetically. "You don't want me?" Biggs nodded, and attempted to walk past her. "Fine! I know when I'm not wanted! Go and get lost and die, alone in the dark! I don't care! I hope that mercenary kills you! Yeah, I sure do!" she screamed, furiously.

"What? What mercenary?" Biggs demanded.

"There's someone in there already. I told her to stop, but she didn't listen. You can avoid making the same mistake by bringing me with you." She said stoutly.

"Dammit..." Biggs started running into the Temple. "Wedge, Cloud, come on!"

"Aw man! I can't run this fast!" Wedge panted.

"It's alright, we don't have much further." Cloud said encouragingly. He jogged easily after Biggs. All of that time he spent on the track in Midgar was well spent.

Once inside, Cloud stopped short. They'd reached a dead end. "Biggs? Where'd you go?"

He'd drawn his gun and was hidden behind a pillar. "Stay on your guard. It may be AVALANCHE."

"AVALANCHE?" Cloud repeated dumbly. "Why would they be here? It's not like there's much to bomb..."

"Don't ask me how they work! All they want to do is piss off Shinra, and they're doing a damn good job of it! Where's Wedge?"

"He was behind me. He couldn't keep up..." his voice trailed off. "You see anything?"

"I-"

"Yoo hoo! Did you forget about us?!"

"Damn." He looked up, seeing Wedge send him a helpless look. "Wedge? Why did you bring her with you?"

Yuffie skipped in front of his view. "Oh, that's not very kind! I helped him with a complementary glass of water in a commemorative water bottle. Normally, I charge 10 gil for that, but because you seem to be a nice bunch of people, you get it for free! Now come on, I'll show you where that mercenary went." She leaned against the wall, tossing gil from hand to hand. "There's a lot of paths down here that tourists don't go on. Some of them aren't even cleared out yet. Without some help, you'll never catch up to her."

"Well, that settles it! Lead on, Yuffie!" Cloud said cheerfully.

"WHAT?" Biggs shouted incredulously. "You can't be serious! I am your commanding officer!"

"Come on, it can't do that much harm." Wedge added quickly.

Yuffie continued skipping down the path the left. "All you Shinra people, you can never bring yourself to trust anyone. Can't you feel the luv in here? Love, peace, and happiness!"

"Good god... She's insane..." Biggs muttered.

"Besides," she smiled slyly. "You're here for the fabled Black Materia, aren't you?"

"What?" Biggs couldn't suppress his shock. "How do you know that?"

"Just a guess." She giggled. "I've got a good idea of the way there, but I've never gone all the way. It's way too dangerous for a little girl like me."

"Take us there."

"Whatever you say." She shrugged. "It may not even be there, ya know. The mercenary was quite insistent that she be the one to take it."

Couple o' Notes- This seems to be a good place to plop my little spiel. The idea for this fic has been in my head for a really long time, but I've never really done much with it. I need to finish it though, so I'm writing this differently than I normally do. Ordinarily, I write things in a notebook, type it up, and do a couple of chapters before I put them on the net. With this one, I'm just typing it, doing quick editing, and posting. It may not be up to my usual "standard" ( but did I ever really have one? *snickersnort*) but hopefully I'll be able to finish it, unlike every single other long fic I have ever attempted. (*cough*Forsaken!*cough*)