"A man can do only what a man can do. But if he does that each day he can sleep at night and do it again the next day."
Albert Schweitzer

Junon prison...

"Traitor!" Scarlet screeched.

Reeve closed his eyes and winced at her high pitched screeching. There were two guards, one on either side of him. There were handcuffs around his wrists. How did he ever manage to get in such a mess?

"What are we going to do with him?" Heidigger asked smiling with malice. "Let's execute him!"

Reeve shuddered at the delight in his voice. He looked around hopelessly, trying to find a compassionate face. Scarlet and Heidegger were definately not going to show him any mercy...he glanced at the Turks. Elena hated Scarlet...but Reno would do anything for money...and well...who knew what went through Rude's mind.

"I have a better idea!" Scarlet announced. "Let's use him as bait...for the his little AVALANCHE friends!"

"No..." Reno said, rolling his eyes. "They don't even know who Reeve is."

Scarlet eyed him. "Well then, you think of a way to get his little pals!"

Reno, Elena, and Rude exchanged glances. "How much money are we talking here?"

"Money!" Heidegger asked outraged. "What do you mean money?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "We hate both of you. You aren't getting a free job out of us."

Reno snickered.

"Fine..." Scarlet said. "If it's money you want...then thats what you'll get."

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"1000000 gil?" Elena asked incrediously. "They're giving us one million gil each? Just to capture Cloud? What about the rest of AVALANCHE?"

Reno rolled his eyes. "Elena, it's not like it's an easy job. Capturing Cloud? Alive? If they offered any less...I wouldn't do it. Besides...she offered an additional five hundred thousand for any additional members we managed to capture..."

He took an unceremonious swig from a bottle and wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his jacket. With luck, this would be the last job he did for Scarlet. Disgusting woman, he thought savagly. Almost as bad as Rufus.

"So we're really doing it?" Elena said timidly.

"Yes, we're doing it!" Reno snorted. "How the hell else are we supposed to get money?"

Elena frowned. "But...can we even do it?"

Rude and Reno exchanged glances.

"Don't be so weak Elena." Reno snapped.

Elena scowled. "So then what's the plan?"

"..." Rude shot another glance at Reno.

Reno took another swig of his bottle. "Let's start in Midgar."

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Heidegger stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Can we trust the Turks?"

"If they want the money enough, they do what we ask." Scarlet said with an unpleasant laugh.

"Hmm..." Heidegger grumbled. "So they're going to get Cloud for us...but how are we going to get the rest of them? It's possible that they'll wrangled in one or two others...but there's no way they'll manage to get all of AVALANCHE for us."

Scarlet cast a conspicuously evil look at Reeve.

"Well obviously," she began. "We'll have to turn public against AVALANCHE, and towards us."

Heidegger's eyes glinted. "And how are we going to do that?"

"Simple...all the people of the slums need is one more blow after the devastation of meteor and then we'll come in to save the day. As we're helping them out, giving those pathetic people a new Midgar to rot in, we'll blame the incident on AVALANCHE."

Heidegger chortled amusedly as Reeve's face darkened in anger.

"So..." Heidegger said with mock casualness. "What did you have in mind?"

Scarlet smiled, full of evil intents.

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The sun was just beginning to set, and a serene orange glow was covering the plains. Tifa, too anxious to enjoy the splendid view, paced back and forth. What to do? Where to begin? Biting her lip, she turned to face Cloud, to see if he was having any ideas. He too looked like he was at a loss of where to start. Man! she thought in frusteration. Why didn't we find out who he really was while we had the chance?

"Midgar..." Cloud said slowly. "Cait Sith may have worked for Shinra, but he cared for the people of the slums..."

Tifa nodded. "Maybe he's helping those in Midgar...who survived."

"Shall we start there?" Cloud asked.

"I suppose..." Tifa said with uncertainty. "We don't have any better idea...and while we're there, I'm sure we'll be needed in Midgar."

Cloud looked down sadly. "Midgar got hit the hardest. I wonder how many people survived?"

Tifa shrugged her shoulders hopelessly. It seemed almost impossible to her that many people would have survived the devastation of meteor...but she wouldn't give up hope yet. If there were people in need there, she'd do what she could for them.

"Let's go," she said.

Cloud handed her a chocobo. "If we start now, we can get there before dark."

Jumping on the backs of their chocobos, they set out towards Midgar. They rode in silence, exchanging nervous glances every now and then. They were hopeful that they would find Cait Sith, but frightened about what kind of disaster there would be in Midgar. The heavy, comforting weight of their weapons rested on their bodies, but though they could protect from physical wounds, their weapons and armor wouldn't be able to do anything against the blow to their hearts they'd receive upon arriving in Midgar.

Clouds of dust and smoke hazed their vision as they dismounted from their chocobos. The city was completely desolate. They could hear shouts of pain and fear coming from all directions. Tifa felt herself shaking. This is horrible...she thought, her mind feeling numb. Side-by-side, they began walking through the devastation unsure of where to start. People sat on the side of the streets, all of them nursing wounds. Tifa's throat tightened. How many families were torn apart...how many people had lost love ones? As they turned a corner into Sector Two, they bothed gasped in unison.

Nearly all the buildings were ablaze. Black smoke poured thickly off the burning buildings, stinging Tifa's eyes and burning her throat. Nibelheim...she thought. This is just like Nibelheim. She felt frozen in place. Numbly she turned her head towards Cloud. He, too, seemed to be frozen. People were running out of the Sector in swarms. Mezmorized, they watched the panic for a minute, but then Cloud seemed to snap out of it and he grabbed the arm of a passing man.

"Why is the whole Sector on fire?" he asked him.

The man looked at the flames in fear before turning his face to Cloud's. "No one knows...the flames started hours ago in the last Sector, and they've spread all the way to Sector Two. It's only a matter of time before they reach Sector One."

He wriggled out of Cloud's grip and ran. Tifa and Cloud exchanged horrified looks.

"All the other Sectors have been burnt out?" Tifa said weakly.

Cloud shook his head, unable to reply. They were too late...but perhaps not for everyone.

"Let's go see if there's anyone we can help." he said, sheilding himself from the smoke. "Before the flames get out of control."

Holding their shirts over their mouths and noses, they walked deliberately against the masses of people fleeing. Tears sprung in their eyes, not just from the smoke, as the panicked screams mounted higher and higher.

"Oh God..." Tifa whispered. "This is awful."

As they walked through the flaming slums, a man's grevious screams caught their attention. Unlike everyone around him, he wasn't running. He was standing outside a blazing five story building, sobbing wretchedly. Upon spotting Cloud and Tifa, he sprinted in their direction and all but collasped at their feet.

"Sir...Miss..." he croaked in a feeble voice. "My wife and grandchildren are in that building...please..."

Tifa felt her eyes well with tears and placed a hand on the old man's shoulder. "We'll do what we can," she promised.

Cloud examined the building through squinted eyes.

"Where in the building would they be?" he asked.

"Third floor," the old man rasped. "Please..."

Knowing they had little time to waste, Cloud and Tifa knocked down the door and sprinted into the burning building. The heat scorched their faces, and the smoke was almost unbearable, but they quickly spotted the staircase and were lucky enough to find an unblocked path to the third floor.

"Do you see anyone?" Tifa questioned with a cough.

Cloud shook his head. "We have to hurry...this building is going to collasp any minute now."

Desperately, they searched the floor. Coughing from the smoke, they grew more and more distressed at each door they opened. Finally Tifa placed her hand on a wooden door and with relief announced-

"Cloud! This door isn't warm! There aren't any flames behind it. They must be in here."

He was at her side in a split second, and together they broke down the door. The smoke was less thick in here but they still had to squint through the darkness to find anyone.

"Hello?" a frightened child's voice squeaked. "Who's there?"

A small girl of about seven emerged, her skinny arms wrapped around an infant boy. There faces were sooty, and they were frightened out of their wits, but they were alive.

"Thank God..." Tifa sighed in relief.

"Is there anyone else here?" Cloud asked quickly. "Where's your grandmother?"

The little girl's lip trembled violently. "Grandma went upstairs to visit someone."

Remembering the smoldering staircase that led to the upper level, Tifa's heart swelled with pain. Blinking back tears she extended her arms towards the little girl.

"Here," she said softly. "Hand me your brother. We're going to get you out of here."

Luck must have been on their side, because they managed to get both children out to their grandfather. Half overwhelmed with grief for his wife, and with joy that his grandchildren had been returned to him safely, the old man thanked them graciously before running off. But not everyone was so lucky. As they went farther through Sector Two, the number of people they were able to help grew fewer and fewer until they were forced to turn back, for their own safety.

They trudged back to Sector One, their hearts sunken somewhere around their feet. So many had died in Sector Two...they could hardly begin to coprehend the number of deaths in all the other Sectors. The weariness in their hearts and bodies was almost unbearable. But just when they thought nothing could get worse, they entered Sector One.

A crowd of beaten down refugees filled the streets. Many were covered in soot, burns, and various other injuries. All of them were downhearted. But what made Cloud and Tifa stop in their tracks was who they were all staring at. In front of the woebegone crowd, stood Scarlet and Heidegger surrounded by Shinra guards. They stopped abruptly, and Cloud grabbed Tifa's arm and pulled her down behind some rubble.

"What are they doing here?" he whispered, voice hoarse from smoke.

Tifa shrugged and peered out from behind the rubble at them. Though she thought it impossible, her heart sank lower in her chest as they began to speak.

"People of the slums!" Scarlet boomed. "Midgar has been destroyed, but with your help, we can build a new Midgar somewhere new."

Heidegger spread his arms to the crowd. "With all the damage done here from meteor, and then this terrible fire...we'll have to start anew."

"Who started this fire?" came the shout from the crowd.

The tired, pain-filled voices rose up, "Yes! How did the fire start? Tell us that!"

Scarlet and Heidegger exchanged a devious look.

Scarlet spoke in a deadly, low voice. "It was AVALANCHE."