Final Fantasy 7

Emerald Princess of Vernea

Chapter Seven


After the valiant attempt to avoid being caught by jumping out of a fast- moving train, Cloud, Tifa and Barret eventually found each other in the long, winding tunnels that were part of the railroad. The train had sped off at top speed towards the rest of Midgar, carrying Jessie, Biggs and Wedge with it. Thankfully none of them had been hurt from their fall, and only a few scrapes against the metal showed that they had jumped at all.

"Good," said Barret, after checking that his gun-arm was still intact and turning to Tifa and Cloud. "So far everything's going as planned. Better not let your guard down till we get to the Sector 5 reactor. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie got everything ready for us. So MOVE it. Well, the reactor should be just down this tunnel!!"

Barret led the way down the tunnel in the same direction the train had been moving. Cloud and Tifa both shared a glance with one another before following him in silence.

The railroad that wound its way throughout the whole of Midgar was very lonely and quiet without the sound of the train. The lights were barely working, and there were lose cables everywhere – some of them still crackling with electric sparks. There was dust everywhere, and even some of the tracks themselves were beginning to turn brown with rust. Everything was in a generally poor condition, just like the rest of Midgar. Clearly the top bosses of Shinra didn't even care for the safety of its workers and inhabitants working for them, let alone the welfare of those reduced to living in the slums.

Cloud wasn't surprised at the state of the rail tracks. He had worked for Shinra, if only in SOLDIER, but he also knew how careless they could be. He knew Shinra did not concern itself with others, and were only concerned with lining their own pockets. That's what Midgar was – a money-sucking machine. With the reactors sucking up the Mako energy from the planet and converting it into electricity, the top people in Shinra most certainly should have heavy pockets.

And Shinra was spreading. They weren't just present on one continent – but every continent on the planet. Wherever there was an abundant supply of Mako there would be a Shinra Mako Reactor, sucking it all up. And, over time, those once abundant places would become dead and dark like the land that surrounded Midgar and the people that lived in it.

They didn't have to walk far before they were forced to come to a stop. After about five or six minutes of walking the three reached the border into the next sector, but had to stop as they saw that their path was blocked. A series of green beams of light were flowing across the way and cutting them off from the next sector. Biggs had been correct when he said that Shinra would have increased their security after the events of yesterday. Now Shinra were making sure that no one passed through close to the reactors.

"These light beams are the Shinra's security sensors," Cloud explained as Tifa and Barret turned to him for an explanation. "We can't go any further."

Barret cursed loudly. He had expected a form of resistance from Shinra, but he didn't know what to do when he came across such a blockage. They could not afford to be caught – if they were caught, they would be executed, most likely without a trial. The AVALANCHE leader folded his arms and looked away, trying to think of a way out of their situation. Tifa looked at the sensors. The moment those sensors were touched an alarm would sound, and they would be done for. They were just moments from the reactor, but now they were blocked off.

Cloud began to look around the rest of the tunnel they were in, sure that there would be some way around the Shinra sensors. There wasn't much to look at – just a few pipes that carried electricity for the railroad, and other various things that could be used for anything. However, as he looked down to the ground, he spotted a duct. Curious, he walked over and knelt down beside it. Tifa and Barret looked over enquiringly as the ex-SOLDIER removed the large metal panel that covered the duct, and looked down into the vent beyond.

"That's one damn tiny hole," Barret observed, walking over to Cloud. "You tellin' me to squeeze into that to get under the plate? No way! Yo, Cloud, what're we gonna do?"

Tifa walked over and looked over Cloud's shoulder. The hole was indeed very tiny, and probably only just big enough for Barret to squeeze in. Beyond the whole was a larger vent, big enough for the three of them, and filled with cool, but stale, air.

"...There seems to be nothing that'll get us stuck in this vent," she said.

Cloud nodded in agreement. "Yeah. If we go down this duct, we won't be able to come back up here," he added gravely. He glanced over at Barret, awaiting his decision.

"Don't be wastin' time!" was Barret's angry reply. "Never know when the Shinra'll find us. Cloud, you jes' gotta go."

Cloud nodded. "Let's go down," he said.

Beside him, Tifa nodded. Barret also nodded, but he still didn't look very comfortable with the decision.

"But, damn man," he groaned, looking at the tunnel. "That thing gives me the chills."

Cloud ignored Barret's complaint and laid the lid of the duct on the ground out of the way. He then took the lead in climbing carefully into the duct, legs first, and slipped through towards the next vent. As he slipped through he hung from the duct entrance for a second, before he let go and let himself drop onto the ground.

The air vent was much larger than he expected. There was plenty of room to move around, and although the air was stale after years of neglect it was pretty cool and airy. There was also rust forming in here, which was climbing up from the bottom of each of the interconnected plates that made up the wall. It seemed pretty quiet, with only the sound of the air echoing slightly throughout the room. Cloud turned and signalled up to Tifa and Barret.

Tifa was the next to come down. Barret held onto her arm as gently as he could as the girl swung her legs down over the side of the duct and began to slide down, where Cloud caught her by her waist and lowered her gently to the ground. Barret came last once more, and as he landed on the metal floor his with a thud the sound reverberated throughout the vent and into the ducts beyond. He shrugged at Tifa and Cloud, who were glancing at him almost pitifully, before they turned and looked around for their next exit.

Their exit was at the far end of the tunnel, and was simply a ladder leading deeper down into the bowls of the Midgar Underground. The air coming from below the ladder was thick with the stench of oil and old metal, and didn't seem very inviting. However, this was the only route the group could take, and so they had no choice but to climb down the ladder. Again Cloud took the lead and led them down. One by one they climbed down the ladder, trying hard not to choke on the old smells that were being blown up from below.

As Cloud reached the bottom of the ladder he jumped down, and his boots clattered on a large metal grating and echoed around him. While he waited for Tifa and Barret to catch up to him he looked around at the new area they had entered.

They were by now deep in the depths of Midgar, and in the most poorly kept area. Rust was everywhere, and the smell was almost overpowering. Loud creaks could be heard everywhere, and with every step Cloud took away from the ladder those creaks became louder.

As Cloud walked away from the ladder, a peculiar sound suddenly made him stop and listen in silence. At first he couldn't hear anything, but after a moment the sound came again. It sounded like a growl, faint at first but growing louder.

Cautiously Cloud reached up behind him and took hold of his sword, ready to pull it out should anything appear. The depths of Midgar were notorious for being the homes of many kinds of monsters that had somehow made their way in, and bred continuously and without prohibition. The Shinra executives didn't even care about the monsters plaguing their own sewers.

The growling sound came again and Cloud snapped around to look behind him, making sure that whatever the sound was it was not going to attack him from behind. Yet he could see nothing, and Tifa and Barret had not reached the bottom of the ladder yet.

Just then a ferocious snarl came from behind Cloud, this time definitely behind him. Cloud very rapidly turned back round and drew his sword, lifting it up out of its holster and over his head, swinging it down hard in front of him. There came a painful snarl of anguish and pain, before it just as rapidly fell silent.

Cloud opened his eyes and looked down at the beast he had just killed. The beast was lying at his feet, with his blade still piercing its neck where he had hit it. It looked a lot like a panther, with the same thick black skin and sleek black fur, with the only difference being its long forked tail, split near the end into two long, whip-like tails. Now these tails were limp along with the rest of the cat, and completely lifeless. Cloud pulled his sword out, and looked blankly down at the creature.

"Wow..." breathed a voice behind him.

Cloud snapped back round, and saw Tifa and Barret standing at the bottom of the ladder, staring at Cloud and the monster he had slaughtered. They both seemed a little awestruck.

"So that's what makes them people in SOLDIER so good," Barret continued in awe. "You guys are ruthless."

Cloud glared back at Barret, but didn't show any hostility. "But we're also quick," he added plainly. He placed his sword back behind his back. A loud whistle suddenly caught their attention, and the group turned to look across the platform, to where Wedge was waving to them.

"Cloud, this way!" Wedge called over to them, standing by another ladder. "The reactor's up this ladder."

Leaving the dead monster behind them, Cloud and the two members of AVALANCHE quickly ran over to Wedge. Wedge had now discarded his disguise and was dressed normally. As the three members approached him he quickly ushered them up the ladder towards the next level.

Jessie was on this next level, standing in a corner beside another air vent. She had her back turned to them as they climbed up, but as they approached she heard their footsteps and turned sharply. Her face was sad and full of regret, as though she had been really concerned over something, and was guilty about it.

"I'm sorry," the young AVALANCHE member apologised to them sincerely. "The ID scan problem on the train was all my fault." She looked at Cloud sadly. "I made your ID card special... So that's why it happened... I put my heart into making it. But I failed. Next time, I'll give you something more decent. I'll be back at the hideout in my research room workin' on it."

Before anyone could say anything to comfort the crestfallen girl, she knelt down and picked up the bomb, passing it to Tifa for safekeeping. She then pointed over towards yet another ladder at the far end of the vent where she was standing. Clearly that was where they were meant to go next. Tifa gave Jessie a quick hug before the group ran over to the ladder and began to climb down into the last checkpoint, where Biggs was also waiting for them, by another ladder.

"We're gonna pull out now," he told them as they approached him. He seemed nervous. "We'll meet up at the hideout. Cloud, we're countin' on you to blow the reactor!"

With that, Biggs turned and ran off towards the ladder leading to Jessie's section, where he quickly climbed up and disappeared. Now it was only Tifa, Barret and Cloud left to go on to the reactor and set the bomb that would destroy it. The three glanced at each other, nodded, and climbed up the final ladder towards the reactor chamber.

As they emerged from the ladder they found themselves in the reactor chamber, which was exactly identical to that of the No. 1 reactor. Surprisingly the reactor area seemed rather quiet and there were few guards running around.

"They could still be around," Barret pointed out to them, voicing their thoughts.

He walked ahead of them to the end of the platform on which they were standing, and looked down. They were a really long way up from the ground, and there were no stairs that they could use to get down. Their only route was down a long series of pipes that wound their way fairly steadily to the ground, stopping almost directly in front of the door leading inside the reactor.

Barret sat down first in the middle of the pipe, and then pushed himself off. He began to slide down the pipe, slowly at first, but gaining his speed as he slid further down towards the ground. Pretty soon he was moving very fast down the centre of the pipe, until he finally reached the bottom. He staggered as his feet touched the bottom and he quickly stood up, but was just about able to regain his balance without falling over. Tifa was not far behind him, followed by Cloud. Soon they were all at the bottom of the pipe, and ready to enter the reactor chamber itself. They walked through the door and went inside.

The layout of the inside was also exactly the same as that of the No. 1 reactor. There was also ladders leading down and the same grated plates overlooking the rest of the reactor. And the reactor was right where they expected it to be, half embedded in the wall and standing in silence, completely unguarded.

Still the three were cautious, for they did not know where the Shinra guards would be hiding and waiting to jump out at them. So they walked quietly and carefully towards the reactor.

As they approached, Cloud began to feel very strange. It was a similar experience to when he first approached the No. 1 reactor (which he had not told Tifa about), when that peculiar voice had spoken to him from inside his mind. A wave of nausea overcame him and he suddenly tumbled forward onto the ground.

When he reopened his eyes, he could not see Tifa or Barret. He was lying on the ground of a different metal path overlooking a vast pool of Mako, and various pipes thrusting down into it. Cloud gasped a little, and felt his heart pounding in his head. He then looked up ahead of him, and gasped again at what he saw.

It was Tifa, but not the Tifa he knew now. She looked much younger, dressed in a smart red and beige dress and a wide red hat. She was kneeling beside a man, who was lying dead on the ground in front of her, killed by a sword. Tears had filled Tifa's eyes as she looked at the man in disbelief.

"Papa..." she whispered, her voice choking. "Sephiroth!? Sephiroth did this to you, didn't he!? Sephiroth... SOLDIER... Mako Reactors... Shinra... Everything!" She sat up and shouted at the sky. "I hate them all!"

Once she had calmed her rage, she looked down at the ground again. Her gaze fell on a long and thin silver sword that was lying on the ground beside her dead father. Slowly she reached out and took hold of the handle. Her expression changed to a fearless determinism, and she got up and ran through the door.

Cloud could only watch as Tifa ran through the door. His head buzzed again and he closed his eyes once more. When he reopened them he was back where he had been, on the ground in front of the No. 5 reactor, with a very angry Barret standing behind him.

"Damn man, get a hold of yourself!" he was raging.

Cloud blinked, confused. He looked up as Tifa, the Tifa he knew, walked over towards him and looked down at him. Her face was filled with concern, and Cloud was relieved it was not the angry determinism that had been in her face when she picked up the sword in vengeful fury.

"You all right?" she asked him.

Cloud stared.

"...Tifa."

"Hmm?"

Cloud looked down again, and shook his head. "No... forget... Come on, let's hurry!"

Tifa nodded and headed towards the reactor. Cloud slowly climbed to his feet, the nausea now gone, and turned to Barret. The AVALANCHE leader was standing on the entrance to the bridge, his arms folded and his face set.

"I know," Cloud sighed. "You're my watch, right?"

Barret nodded. "Damn straight," he said firmly. "Tifa's old friend... That ain't good enough."

Cloud shrugged dismissively, not caring. Already he was forgetting his strange experience and headed over to Tifa, who was waiting by the reactor. As Cloud walked up to her she passed him the bomb Jessie had given her. Cloud took it and knelt down beside the reactor to put it into place. He set it in exactly the same way as the previous bomb, and set it for the same time.

Once the bomb was in place, the group of three all turned and ran away from the reactor as fast as they could – heading out the way they came and following their planned route of the reactor chamber and back up towards the surface of Midgar. Without tripping the alarm they headed up in the lift towards the very first level. Without any guards stopping them they had more time to escape, which meant it wouldn't be a close call when the bomb finally exploded.

As they reached the top level they turned right across the path and into the chambers beyond – the point that they reached just yesterday when the No. 1 reactor blew up around them. They ran into a room that contained two doors – one was open and the other was locked. Quickly they ran into the open room, which contained a series of glowing white panels.

"Jessie said we all have to bush the button at once," Tifa said, remembering Jessie's words.

The two men nodded, and together they each stood by a panel. Each panel contained two of the glowing switches, and there were just enough of them to manage it. They counted together, and then each pressed down on the panels. A clicking sound could be heard, followed by the grating of the door in the next room as it unlocked and slid open.

Without waiting the group ran out and through the next door, heading for the exit before the bomb they had set could explode in their faces. After running out of that chamber they found themselves on another T-Junction corridor, just like the one before. Barret ran down to the end and looked down at either end of the corridor.

"This way!" he ordered.

The other two followed him as he began to run down the left corridor towards the exit. As he ran the door to the corridor opened and a number of Shinra soldiers walked in, their guns held up and ready to fire. Barret immediately stopped and backed off away from them, until he stopped beside Cloud and Tifa.

"Shinra soldiers!" he shouted, glaring at them. "SHIT! What the hell's goin' on?"

Cloud narrowed his eyes.

"...a trap..."