Chapter 3: Plunge into Chaos

It was midday when a trio of tough-looking and well-armed figures boarded the Sector Five train leaving the slums. In actuality, it was six well-armed figures, but the first three, Jesse, Biggs, and Wedge, were clad in nondescript clothing, and all of their weapons and combat gear were in a series of duffel bags that they were carrying. They boarded the front cars, doing an excellent job of not drawing much attention from either the civilian citizenry or the four Shinra corporate police who were moving through the cars, clearly visible with their red uniforms and hats.

Barret, Cloud, and Tifa, however, had opted to board the last train car at the station, the one that was generally "reserved" for the more unsavory elements of Midgar's slum society. With Tifa not wearing her combat gloves and Barret's gun arm and ammo belts covered up by another heavy trench coat, the trio managed to conceal most of their weaponry and tried to look fairly inconspicuous, though Cloud was unable to cover up his huge sword. Rather than try to hide the weapon, he wore it openly, and as he stepped onto the train car, he assumed an aggressive demeanor and pose, warding off any of the assorted punks and street trash. The fact that he carried a weapon openly was not much noticed by the unsavory bunch inhabiting the last car, many of whom either wore weapons openly or had them secreted away on their person.

Between Barret's size and Cloud's demeanor, which included an icy stare that promised general pain and unpleasantness to anyone who bothered their small group, the trio had dug out a relatively private corner of the train for themselves.

"Okay, recap," Cloud muttered as Barret sat down, plopping the duffel bag that carried their explosives and extra grenades onto the seat beside him.

"Its 11:40," Barret commented, glancing at a watch on his left hand. "We got eight minutes 'till th' first ID checkpoint."

"Jesse, Biggs, and Wedge are going to forcibly cut the brakes in and slow the train down in seven minutes," Tifa told him. "As the train slows down, we step off and into the tunnel. Since the ID system only checks the train, we should be able to slip through the tunnels and past the checkpoint."

"And a quarter mile up the tunnel is th' vent shaft that opens into the underside of th' Plate," Barret added. "An' from there we just move along the bottom of th' Plate 'till we reach the reactor."

"Sneak in, set the bomb, and clear out before anyone knows we're there," Cloud finished. "Use the same tunnel exits that we used last time to extract, except we'll have to cut through the subway tunnels to make it back to Sector Seven."

"And Jesse, Biggs, and Wedge will have those tunnels open and ready for us," Tifa added.

"Sounds like a good plan," Cloud remarked. He glanced at his watch. "Its 11:42 now, so we've got six-"

Blood red lights suddenly flashed throughout the train, erupting from the walls all around the group. The normal lights cut out, casting the interior of the train into bloody light and pitch black shadows as the strobing illumination cut through the car. Blasting klaxons could suddenly be heard, nearly deafening the rebels and everyone else on the train.

"The hell?" Barret demanded.

"The ID scanner?" Tifa said, surprised. "Wasn't it supposed to be further down?" Even as she was speaking, Cloud was grabbing his sword. He moved to one of the windows and punched it hard with his other hand, shattering the glass, heedless of the small chunks of glass that stuck into his skin as he poked his head out the window. He looked out for a moment, before withdrawing his head, a grim look on his face.

"The hell's going on?" Barret demanded over the din of the alarms as Cloud started moving toward the front of the car.

"Shinra response forces," Cloud answered matter-of-factly. "Airborne police units and aerial troopers. They're right behind the train. We have to get out of here!"

"A trap?" Tifa asked, and Cloud shook his head.

"If it was we'd be swarmed by Shinra troops right now," he replied as they reached the door. He threw it open and stepped between the rear car and the next one. As he did so, wind whipped past, buffeting his hair. The klaxons whine intermixed with the roar of the passing air and the rattle of the train as it rolled down the tunnel. Not hesitating, Cloud spun around and leapt straight up, grabbing the edge of the roof of the train car they had exited, and pulled himself up. He looked over the top again, just as the Shinra robots and aerial troopers landed on the rear car.

In the dim lights of the tunnel, the mercenary saw what looked like a full squad of eight soldiers, clad in light purple and red armor and jumpsuits, with goggles and helmets. They wore what looked like miniature helicopter rotors on their left arms, which folded up as they set foot on the train, and carried machine pistols in their right hands. Surrounding them were several delicate flower-like machines, hovering in the air over the train car: Shinra aerial scout drones. Several of the men moved up the roof of the train, while others dropped down the sides and entered the vehicles, the drones dropping to window-level and moving up the car, scanning the interior. Cloud quickly ducked back down and rejoined Barret and Tifa as they entered the next car.

"We have to keep moving," he told them. "Shinra troops are following and sweeping every car."

Without another word, the trio started moving up the length of the car, pushing past surprised and fearful citizens, Barret struggling to get his bulk down the train as quickly as he could. Cloud glanced over his shoulder, and saw through the window between cars that the Shinra aerial forces had almost finished the sweep of their current car and were moving up to this one.

"Run!" he urged, and the other two rebels needed no encouragement, rushing through the train car and out the door at the far end. They burst into the next vehicle, and started hurrying down it, when one of the Shinra police officers watching the train stepped into their path, noting their apparent haste to avoid being caught.

"You, hold it!" he ordered. "You're to stay put until inspected by-"

Tifa, in the lead, planted a solid uppercut to the man's stomach, and he doubled over, letting out a shocked, pained wheeze. She shoved the stunned officer aside onto a group of passengers, and the rebels continued up the length of the train, running as fast as they could. They rushed into the next car-

"Freeze!" came a shout, and Tifa instinctively dropped to the floor as she saw a pistol pointed at her. The brief scuffle in the previous car must have alerted the Shinra police elsewhere in the train; the remaining trio of officers watching the train were waiting in the next car, pistols out and leveled at the rebels as they burst in. Barret, snarling, took a step to the side, but didn't raise his gun-arm; the 20mm rounds would tear straight through the officers and easily kill innocent civilians on the train.

Cloud, however, had no such problems with his Materia, and a flash of light came from his bracer. He stepped around Barret, gesturing at the police, and a bolt of flame shot from his fingers, stabbing into one man and sending him staggering back, his uniform erupting into flames as the fire cored through his chest, igniting his organs. The other two officers panicked and opened fire, their shots flying wildly in the face of the sudden attack and flare of light. One round slammed into Barret's body armor, and another scratched the side of his face, while others impacted the walls behind the rebel leader.

Tifa pushed herself off the floor and leapt at the Shinra police, sweeping both legs forward in a scissors kick that threw one of the men to the ground, his legs entangled. Tifa rapidly flipped over, pushing up into a standing position as the other officer turned toward her, pointing his pistol down at her. Her hands flashed at the man's weapon even before she was finished standing up, one clamping over the pistol, another stabbing at his wrist. Searing pain shot through his hand as the officer's wrist shattered, and two quick strikes to his face with her plated gloves sent the officer flying backward against one of the walls. He slumped into a seat, neck broken by the shockingly powerful impacts. Barret was right behind Tifa, slamming a boot into the head of the prone officer she had tripped, crushing his backbone.

"Go go go!" Cloud called behind them, and Barret rushed ahead of the group, with Tifa and Cloud following, leaving the shocked and horrified passengers behind. They moved toward the next train car, and through the flashing red lights, they were able to see the other members of their team gathered near one of the exterior doors of the car at the far end. The rebels hurried toward Jesse, Biggs, and Wedge, Barret plowing through the door connecting the two cars, with Tifa and Cloud a step behind.

But as Barret passed through, the door suddenly slammed shut of its own accord, locking in place with a solid metallic click.

"Security lock!" Cloud shouted, and he rammed the door with his shoulder, only to rebound off the unyielding metal. Tifa moved in as he bounded away, planting a solid, powerful kick to the doorframe, only to see it dent slightly.

"What is this thing made out of?" she muttered as she kicked it again. Cloud shook his head as her foot slammed the solid metal door again, and he turned, toward the exterior doorway that let the passengers step out onto the platform. A plan suddenly formed in his mind. That door was unlocked - after all, who would be crazy enough to jump from a moving train? - and opened when the mercenary pulled the handle.

"Cloud, what are you-" Tifa asked, but then he grabbed her arm and pulled her close.

"Hold on!" he told her.

"Are you going to-" she demanded, and he nodded. The mercenary scooped up the woman into his arms, and she grabbed onto him, holding on tight. He stepped forward and leapt out of the moving train car, legs hurling the both of them clear. The train rushed past, the muffled roar of wheels on tracks now clearly audible in their ears as they plummeted toward the pavement below-

Cloud slammed into the concrete tunnel floor, and rolled over, grunting in pain as his body bounced over the pavement at high speeds, clothes tearing against the concrete. He hugged Tifa tightly to him, shielding her from the brunt of the impact with the floor. They bounced across the tunnel, and then slammed into the wall, Cloud's back blasting in sudden pain.

Several seconds passed, and there was only silence, the train having left them behind before they'd gone halfway across the tunnel. Cloud opened his eyes, and looked down at Tifa, who as still holding on tightly.

"You okay?" he asked, slowly loosening his grip. She did so as well, pulling back, and managed a nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "But . . . Are you . . . ."

"Nothing serious," Cloud replied, releasing her. Tifa slowly, almost reluctantly, released him, and stood up. She looked down at him with a degree of concern, noting his torn clothes, but he waved her questions away as he stood up, popping h is neck as he did so. Aches were stretching across his body, but he ignored the minor pains, knowing that the scrapes and wounds would be meaningless in a few hours. With a quick check to ensure his heavy sword was still secure in its sheath on his back, the mercenary looked around the tunnel.

"Now what are we going to do?" Tifa asked, and Cloud shrugged.

"We were prepared for this," he replied. "In case we got separated, we all continue on to the objective and meet up beneath the plate. Barret and the others probably jumped further down the tunnel and will be waiting for us to arrive."

Tifa didn't argue with Cloud's logic; that was the provision that had been made in case they were separated prior to arriving at the reactor.

"I figure we only had a few minutes before we were going to jump off anyway," Tifa added. "We shouldn't be too far down the tunnel from the others."

"Then we'd better get moving," Cloud added. "Once Shinra finds no one suspicious is on the train, they may start combing the tunnels for us."

The dark, oil-streaked tunnel stretched on in a long arc into the distance, twisting and turning along its route, with a very gradual incline that was barely noticeable. The pair moved up the silent passage, taking care to avoid the middle rails of the train tracks on either side. The passage was shrouded in darkness, lit only by overhead maintenance lights, a few of which were out of order.

Cloud moved ahead of Tifa, his glowing eyes cutting through the darkness, his enhanced sight superior to Tifa's normal eyes. He kept looking to either side as they moved up the tunnel, hugging the left side of the passage and staying in the relative obscurity of the shadows. They both monitored the signs along the length of the tunnel, which kept informing them of the distance between their current location and the next station, which was coincidentally very close to the reactor.

Nearly twenty minutes passed as Cloud and Tifa worked their way up the passage, but it seemed as if no Shinra forces had been sent to sweep the tunnels . . . Or at least, none had been mobilized by that time. The tunnels were very long; it could be a while before Shinra patrols swept the area, if they even bothered.

As the pair advanced up the passage, Cloud saw a glow in the gloom of the tunnel some distance ahead, and for a moment he thought that Shinra patrols had indeed come down to search the area. However, after a second's hesitation, the mercenary realized what the source of the glimmer really was, and managed to relax.

"What is it?" Tifa asked as he moved up the tunnel at a faster pace. They rounded a gradual bend, and came across what looked like a square metal archway stretching across the tunnel, with glowing yellow-green beams of light shooting across it.

"Shinra security sensors," Cloud explained. "Another ID checkpoint." Tifa scanned the device for a moment, and nodded as she saw a number along the side.

"This is the same one that Jesse mentioned," she commented.

"And if that's the case, our accessway down to the underside of the plate should be somewhere around . . . ." Cloud looked around the tunnel, checking the walls, and found a hatch. He pulled it open, to reveal a small passage leading down below. And, more telling, was what looked like the casing to one of Barret's 20mm rounds lying right inside. That was as sure a marker as anything that the others had come down this way, though Cloud was surprised Barret could fit down such a tiny hole.

"Come on," he called to Tifa, and the pair moved into the small passage, crawling down the metal tunnel. It was dark and cramped, just like everything else in the underside of the plates, but after about thirty seconds the pair of rebels emerged into another, larger metal passage that ended in a hatch with a ladder, which opened up into warm midday air. Cloud poked his head out through the hatch, and saw a latticework of catwalks and platforms running along the underside of the plate, the distant fires and lights and trash mounds of the slums far below. Directly beneath the ladder was a small wooden platform suspended above several more metal platforms and walkways, with another ladder connecting them. The pair moved out of the shaft and dropped quietly to the platform below, where Cloud looked out over the

A whisper of motion along the metal paths caught Cloud's attention, and he spotted a trio of Shinra soldiers walking the length of the walkways, rifles slung over their shoulders as they moved flashlights across the dim metal latticework. They were clearly a routine patrol, probably recently added after the bombing last night, and from their slow, lazy motions and the slung weapons, they clearly weren't. expecting trouble. Cloud took a step behind cover and informed Tifa, who considered the problem for a moment.

"What's their patrol route?" she asked, and Cloud glanced back down, noting how the enemy soldiers were moving. They were advancing steadily across the catwalks and platforms running beneath the plates, occasionally pausing and constantly chatting between themselves. Some quick observation showed that the men weren't keeping much of an eye on their surroundings; Cloud noted several easy routes that would have allowed him to approach the Shinra guards without them noticing.

"They'll walk right under this platform in a moment," he commented, and Tifa nodded. Cloud quietly drew his sword, keeping the blade low to the wood so it wouldn't be seen. As the Shinra soldiers moved closer, he pointed a finger to himself, and motioned to the right. Tifa nodded, understanding. They crouched lower to the wood, and waited for the beams from the flashlights to pass beneath them, and start moving past, and then rose. Both moved forward, off the platform, and dropped down upon the Shinra troopers.

Cloud landed atop the leftmost soldier, slamming him down to the ground under his sheer weight, and whirled on the center man, sword flashing down upon him before he'd even realized anything was amiss. The blade chopped into his shoulder and down through his torso, crushing and cleaving at the same time. Beside him, Tifa lithely landed behind the rightmost soldier and quickly wrapped one arm around his neck, gripping his chin, while the other pressed against the back of his neck. Pulling back with one arm and jabbing forward with the other, she sent a sickening wet crunch through the still air, and the soldier went limp. Cloud pulled his sword out of the broken, bloody mess that made up the cloven soldier before him, and smashed his left leg down on the remaining, prone soldier's helmet, crushing it like a beer can.

The sentries dealt with before they'd even known they were under attack, the pair of rebels turned and started moving across the platform, both using the mental maps they had made after reviewing Jesse's assault plan. They hurried across the platforms, eyes open for anymore patrols or enemy static defenses, as well as any sign that the others had made it off the train.


The Shinra Power Company could be accused of having a slow, inefficient, bureaucratic system, and sometimes, those accusations held true, though anyone leveling them typically ended up mysteriously evicted from their homes, losing their jobs, and forced to live in the slums of Midgar or any other major city. However, Shinra did a reasonable job cutting costs and making operations fairly streamlined, and their military was surprisingly efficient, well-trained, and well-equipped. In particular, the Shinra army's communications were well-oiled and very fast.

When a small patrol covering one of the accessways beneath Sector Five's plate failed to report back at its usual ten minute interval, and the missing patrol happened to be in the general area where an alert had been sounded on a train where three police officers had been killed, the Shinra Colonel commanding the garrison in Sector Five noticed. In less than two minutes after he had taken note of the two perilously close incidents, the news had made its way back to the central Shinra HQ in the heart of Midgar, and had reached the ears of Shinra General Ernst Heidegger, the powerfully built, heavy-set commander of the Shinra military.

The general, who had been seated in the heart of the Shinra war room on Floor 58 of the building, considered the two coinciding reports. Three dead officers, another battered, all on a train where several suspicious alerts had sounded at the same time. And then, less than half an hour's walking distance from that alert, three missing soldiers, along the accessways beneath the plate, which could potentially lead directly to the heart of the Sector Five Mako Reactor.

Heidegger, despite his annoying horse-like laugh, massive black beard, and wide girth, was not a particularly stupid man. He could easily put the information together. He sat back in his chair, stroked his beard as he considered the data, and looked to the man beside him, clad in a dark blue business suit.

"Tseng," he asked his subordinate, the head of Shinra's Special Operations division, known as the Turks. "What are you thinking of this?"

"Train alert, dead police, missing soldiers along an access that could give the enemy a clear shot at one of our reactors," Tseng replied with a shrug, his long black hair swaying with the motion. The Shinra spy scratched his own slight goatee and mustache. "It seems fairly obvious: AVALANCHE are hungry for more carnage, and they're going after the Sector Five Reactor."

"Glad you agree," Heidegger replied. He tapped a control on his chair, opening his intercom. A small television screen appeared and slid up on the arm of his chair, displaying the Shinra logo for a second, until it was replaced by the form of Alexander Louis Shinra, seated at his desk.

"Ernst," the President asked in a bit of surprise. "You have news for me?"

"AVALANCHE is about to attack the Sector Five Reactor, sir," Heidegger stated. Shinra considered this for a moment, and then nodded.

"You are certain?" he asked, and Heidegger gave his leader a firm nod. "Very well then. Have the battalion commanders of Sectors Four and Five seal off the areas around the reactor on the upper plates." He paused. "And prep two attack helicopters. They will escort my personal chopper to the site."

"Yes sir," Heidegger replied. "Shall I alert the reactor garrison as well?"

"No," Shinra responded. "In fact, pull all of them out. Let AVALANCHE do what they came to do. It'll be good press, letting them destroy another reactor before Shinra's valiant forces could trap them and destroy them completely."

"Are you sure, sir?" Heidegger asked. "I agree that it'll solidify our support among the masses, but . . . lose another reactor? Can we afford to?"

Shinra considered what Heidegger said, and sat back in his plush chair.

"It Tachibana there?"

"Yes sir," Tseng replied, bristling at the use of his first name. The Turk commander stepped into view of the small camera mounted in Heidegger's chair.

"Have we located our quarry?" Shinra asked, and the Turk nodded.

"I have Reno, Rude, and a strike team heading down to Sector Five's slums. They'll have our target in custody soon."

"Then any losses from the destruction of this reactor will be meaningless," Shinra responded. "Carry out your orders, gentlemen. That is all."


Jessie's plan had specified that they locate one of several hatches hidden underneath the plate along this route, and after roughly ten minutes of moving down the length of catwalks and platforms, Cloud spotted a metal hatch set into a tunnel atop a ladder. The pair swiftly scaled the ladder, and upon reaching the hatch, Cloud confirmed that it was the one they had been seeking. Cloud and Tifa climbed into the small, cramped tunnel beyond, and moved up the passageway for several more minutes, before emerging into a small engineering chamber somewhere beneath the plate, spanned by another metal platform and a catwalk, leading to another passageway beyond.

A faint noxious fume crept through the air, and Cloud wrinkled his brow. Tifa sniffed the air as well, and mimicked Cloud's motion. He glanced back to her and opened his mouth to say something about the Mako odor.

"Fuck, it stinks 'n this shithole!" came a sudden voice from the far end of the room, and both rebels suddenly felt a profound sense of relief at the gruff tone.

"Barret!" Tifa called, and the hatch leading into the passage beyond opened, and Barret's familiar crewcut and beard were visible beyond.

"Tifa!" he called, happy to see his comrades safe and secure. He looked to the mercenary beside her as they walked across the platform. "And Cloud! You're late, bitch!"

"Glad to see you too," the merc answered dryly as they crossed the catwalk. "Is the target clear?"

"The others' have been scoutin' ahead," Barret responded, stepping away from the hatch and letting the pair join him in the short tunnel beyond. "Jessie's working up an escape plan while Biggs and Wedge checked out the route to the reactor. Figured we'd lost you two, or at least that ya wouldn't be makin' it to the target."

"Well, it was a bit of a hike from where we had to abandon the train," Tifa replied, and Cloud nodded. Barret shrugged, and patted the duffel bag he was carrying over his shoulder.

"We still have th' bombs, an' Shinra's still stupid. Had some trouble, but nothing we can't get past!" The burly rebel waved his gun arm in the air, indicating they should follow him. The smaller pair nodded, and Cloud pulled the hatch shut behind him. He started down the corridor, but then paused and glanced back at the hatch.

"Everyone is up ahead, right?" he asked, and Barret nodded. "Good." Cloud moved over to the metal hatch and set a hand against the seam where the door meet the wall, and his materia flashed. A pulse of white-hot flame washed over the handle and the metal wall, and a second flash of light came from the gauntlet he wore. Frigid cold sealed over the white-hot, flash-molten metal, and when the magic had finished its work, the door had been welded shut behind them.

"Now our backs are covered," he explained. "Standard SOLDIER technique for commando infiltration."

"Good thinkin'," Barret added. "Shinra can't walk up our backs with th' door shut like that."

Without any further discussion, the trio of reunited rebels moved up the passage, stepping through another long accessway within the seemingly never-ending tunnels and access junctures beneath the plate. The Mako smell was getting stronger; they had to be close.

As they entered yet another corridor, the trio nearly ran headlong into Jessie, the woman crouched over a wide paper map of the maze of tunnels beneath the plate, penlight in her mouth as she ran over several entries and exits of the tangle. She was absorbed in her work, but alert enough to look up when Barret came clomping up the passage. When she looked up, the surprisingly bright penlight flashed into her leader's face, causing him to yelp in surprise, his eyes dilated by the darkened bowels of Midgar.

"Whoops!" she gasped, the pen falling out of her mouth as she spoke. She deftly caught it and waved it back over the document, chuckling sheepishly. "Sorry, boss!" Barret growled something, but as everyone present already knew, his bark was really worse than his bite . . . Unless you were Shinra.

"You got an escape plan set up?" he asked, standing over the woman, and she nodded, the tails of her bandana leaping up and down with the exuberant motion.

"Hope it doesn't involve going back the way we came," Tifa remarked, and Jessie shrugged.

"That was one idea, but I scrapped it. Shinra's probably going to figure out how we entered this area sooner or later, and while it may be later, its likely going to be sooner." She tapped several spots on the map. "Our team is going to escape using one of several junctures I've found. If need be, we can rappel all the way back to the ground from beneath the plate."

"And what about us?" Cloud asked, and Jessie shook her head.

"No change to the original plan," she replied. "You'll escape using the access tunnels outside the reactor after planting the bomb. Shinra will be too busy dealing with the aftermath of the reactor's destruction to effectively track you through the tunnels. Just avoid the subway. While I don't think there are many patrols in there now, there will be sometime over the next few hours, after the stunts we pulled on the train." She paused, and then looked up to the trio, an apologetic expression on her face.

"Sorry about that, too," she added.

"Why?" Tifa asked, and Jessie shook her head.

"I altered the records we had put into Shinra's databases. I modified the code, so I think that's what triggered the alarms. This whole thing is my fault."

"Bah! Shut up!" Barret muttered. "Not yo' fault Shinra actually grew a fucking shit for a brain! If you hadn't fixed the Ids we would have been caught anyway! Stop beatin' yo'self up!" As Barret was giving his speech, another hatch swung open, and everyone present whirled toward it, bringing up knives, guns, and Materia.

"Whoa! Peace!" Biggs called holding up his hands. After a second, everyone stood down, and both he and Wedge stepped out of the passage.

"Route to the reactor is secured," Biggs stated, and Wedge nodded.

"But its weird," the portly rebel commented. "We didn't encounter any guards, drones, or even a sensor. Straight up this passage and through a vent around the corner is the lower level of the reactor, but there's no security."

"Not even a locked door," Biggs added. Barret mulled over their words for a moment, as did Cloud and Tifa. Jessie looked over her schematics again and then shrugged.

"This is supposed to be a technical and maintenance area," she explained. "Very few guards needed, mostly just accessed by engineers. We never even encountered a patrol down here."

"We ran into one," Tifa explained. "But only three guards, and nothing else."

"Somethin' 'bout this ain't right," Barret muttered. After a few moments, the rebel leader shook his head. "But hell, if Shinra's gonna leave th' door wide open for us to shove this bomb up their asses, I say we take it!"


Barret's opinion won out. Ten minutes and a couple of vent shafts and corridors, and Cloud, Tifa, and Barret were inside the Sector Five Mako Reactor. They moved through the lower levels of the facility quickly and without incident, encountering no robotic or living sentries of any sort as they entered the chamber where the vast pool of Mako was stored and extracted. Standing atop the piping overlooking the vast, shimmering pool of untreated life force sucked from the planet, the trio of rebels felt a sudden unease.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," muttered Tifa, and Cloud shrugged. He opened his mouth to speak, but Barret cut him off.

"Tifa, you've always got a bad feeling 'bout something. Let's just blow this motherfucker and get the hell out of here before Shinra wakes up!"

"Agreed," Cloud responded quietly. "Tifa, you come with me. Barret, cover the entrance, make sure that none of Shinra's patrols walk up our backs. We'll plant the bomb." The others agreed, and Barret took up his defensive position at the entrance to the area, while Tifa accompanied Cloud in their rapid descent along the pipes and ladders that led down to the catwalk spanning the chamber.

The two rebels hurried across the bridge, but as they neared the vent that they would deposit the bomb within, Cloud felt a sudden sense of vertigo. he stopped, and clutched his head as a wave of intense dizziness cut through his brain. Tifa paused, and looked back at Cloud as he dropped to his knees, a flurry of thoughts and images coursing across his consciousness like vehicles on a highway. He closed his eyes, forcing the wave of mental images and memories and pulses of life to slow down or stop altogether. After several moments, the flow began to wear down, but even as the images and pulses began to do so, one flicker of thought and memory kept on moving, growing larger and more intense. Cloud found himself staring into something, a memory from his past that jarred him horribly. The mercenary started panting viciously as a wave of emotions crashed over him at the memory he was staring at, from a time so long ago, a time that had heralded a radical change in his life . . . .

A Mako Reactor. Just like this one, except the solid concrete was replaced by mildewed walls and rusted steel. Instead of a myriad of pipes, a few large sets of piping connected to a much smaller pool of Mako below. Construction equipment was still in place above, massive chains hanging down almost to the same level as the bridge he stood upon. And instead of a vent shaft before him, there was a door, wrenched open like a massive beast had torn it off.

And in front of that door, her knees soaked in a pool of blood, was Tifa.

She was different. Younger. She wore a pack on her back, stuffed with mountaineering gear, and a wide-brimmed brown hat sat upon her head. She was kneeling on the cold concrete floor before a body, sliced apart by what seemed to be a hair-thing blade. The sobbing girl was cradling the body's head in her hands, shoulders rising and falling as tears poured down her face.

"Papa?" she was saying. She repeated his name over and over again, shaking her head as she spoke.

And then Cloud saw past her, at what lay beyond. He saw the blade he knew had killed Tifa's father.

"Sephiroth . . . "she whispered. "SOLDIER . . . Mako reactors . . . Shinra . . . ." Tifa suddenly stood, and Cloud saw her grieving, tear-choked face flash with anger, a horrible mixture of sadness, betrayal, anger, hatred, and vengeance etching across her young face. She reached down, scooping up the weapon, a six-foot long no-dachi sword, and started rushing into the breach beyond.

"I hate them all!" she screamed, gripping the blade in white knuckled hands.

And then it was over.

Cloud was staring at the cold concrete of the bridge spanning the Sector Five Mako Reactor. There were no chains, no rusted metal, and no bisected corpse. he looked dup, and around. There was no wrenched open door to a hidden section of the reactor. Tifa was kneeling before him, but she was older, stronger. Her hands did not grip Sephiroth's sword, her knees weren't bathed in her father's blood.

A vision. A bad memory. That was all it was. A harmless by-product of interaction with the over abundance of Mako filling this chamber. Nothing more.

Right?

Right. Cloud struggled backup onto his feet, with Tifa helping him stand, a steadying hand on his arm.

"Are you okay?" she asked, and he managed a nod. He started to say something about the vision, but, remembering where he was and what they were doing, Cloud knew that he neither had the time nor the need to mention any of it. If he had to say anything, he would have to save it for when they weren't stuck in the heart of a Shinra Mako Reactor. Besides, they'd both lived through the incident; no reason to dredge up bad memories.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, nodding. "Overexposure to Mako or something. I'll be alright." He took a step forward, past her, and palmed the bomb. "Let's get this over with."

Tifa didn't immediately respond, and the response on the tip of her tongue - SOLDIERs shouldn't be harmed by Mako exposure - was left unsaid as Cloud moved toward the vent shaft. A careful analysis of the structure of the shaft showed that this one seemed to not have any alarm attached to its hatch, which allowed Cloud to arm and deposit the bomb with minimal fuss.

The explosive prepared and the reactor ready to blow, Cloud and Tifa quickly evacuated the lower floors and hurried back up to the upper level where Barret was guarding the door. The trio rushed out of the storage chamber and hurried to the elevator that ran up tot he offices and control area and the bridges beyond that would lead to freedom.

The long industrial corridors were silent and inert, beyond the echoes of their footfalls as the trio hurried through the passages. They glanced down side corridors, to find the offices that they led into were empty. no guards were posted, no automated defenses were ready, and no trained guard beasts were lurking the hallways. The reactor was empty.

"You remember that bad feeling?" Tifa muttered as they moved down the main corridor and stepped out into the open air of Midgar's upper plate.

"Beginnin' to feel the same way," Barret responded. They moved across the long T-shaped bridge, Sector Five's sums stretching away beneath the narrow passage, and turned toward the entrance to the tunnels leading below the plate.

Cloud's boots screeched to a halt, as did the other two rebels right behind him, and everyone raised weapons or Materia.

Before the doorway leading into the tunnels stood a squad of Shinra soldiers, poised shoulder to shoulder, with the front rank on one knee, a dozen men lined across the bridge with rifles leveled at the rebels. Behind them were dozens more, lining the tunnel and ready to stop AVALANCHE dead in their tracks.

"The hell?" Barret growled, and he stood tensed, heavy gatling cannon ready to mow through the Shinra soldiers where they stood, knowing the 20mm shells would rip through the enemy in such a confined space. If they had chosen to ambush the trio of rebels, then Shinra must not have any idea what they were up against with choosing such an exposed formation.

Of course, just as the Shinra soldiers were crammed into a relatively narrow space, so too were the rebels, and it would be easy for the enemy to gun them down as well.

Several moments passed as the two groups stared at each other, the three rebels glaring into the impassive visors of the ready Shinra soldiers. Barret's right arm trembled slightly in anticipation, and Tifa's muscles tensed as she prepared to move. The Shinra soldiers' rifles were held steady in their hands, though faint movements - one man nodding his head slightly, another licking his lips - showed they too were tensed and ready to move. The only man who didn't make a motion was Cloud, his glowing, harsh gaze spearing the enemy, as if trying to drive them off from the mere intensity of his gaze alone.

The clacking of footsteps on the concrete behind them cut through the thick, tense air, and as one, the Shinra soldiers lowered their weapons slightly, rising and saluting. The rebels, confused at the sudden change in their enemies' stance, lowered their arms and looked behind themselves, to see what had caused the sudden reaction among the soldiers arrayed before them.

Walking behind them, with no escort or weapons, was the smiling, heavy-set form of Alexander Louis Shinra, President of the Shinra Power Company. He strode toward the rebels, clad in a blood-red business suit, a cigar clenched between his teeth as he regarded the members of AVALANCHE that he had so easily trapped.

"The hell?" Barret demanded, so surprised that he didn't think to raise his weapon and finish Shinra then and there.

"You," remarked Shinra as he observed the trio. "You three are . . . what was it? That annoying band of pathetic pests? Named after some disastrous geological phenomena in a petty attempt to sound dangerous?"

"That's AVALANCHE mothafucker!" Barret snarled, and this time remembered to raise his gun-arm, leveling the six 20mm barrels at Shinra's vulnerable form. Behind the trio of rebels, the Shinra soldiers raised their rifles and readied to fire again.

"My apologies," Shinra stated calmly, as if Barret was pointing a microphone at him, not a heavy cybernetic gatling cannon. He shrugged helplessly. "I can't be expected to know the name of every little knot of pretentious, self-righteous fools who crawl out of the muck and hope to scratch at my position in this world." As Shinra spoke, he looked over the trio, and stopped as his eyes fell upon Cloud. The mercenary, noting the president's interest, shouldered his way past Barret and stood before Shinra, arms crossed over his chest.

"That's right," Cloud stated calmly, and for the first time, Shinra's eyes widened in surprise.

"You're him, then?" Shinra asked. "The traitor? I heard you had been executed out on the hills outside of Midgar like the animal you are." Shinra took the cigar out of his mouth and tapped it, flicking off the ashes on the end. He looked back up and regarded Cloud for a moment, noting the lack of response on the mercenary's features at the insult.

"Tell me, traitor," he asked. "What was your name?"

"Strife," Cloud answered. "Cloud Strife. SOLDIER. First Class."

"A SOLDIER commander?" Shinra mused, nodding. "That explains why these fools have had managed such small success against my corporation. Without a SOLDIER leading them, they would have been stamped out like so many other petty criminals." He shook his head. "Unfortunately, you are not another Sephiroth. If you had been of his caliber, you might have done some damage . . . as well as allowed me to easily remember your name."

"Criminals?" Barret snarled, ignoring the last part of Shinra's speech. his weapon began trembling in rage. "What about you? What about Shinra? What about all the life you keep sucking out of the planet? You people are fuckin' murderers! And you're the worst of 'em all!"

Shinra managed a tired sigh and puffed his cigar, and then shrugged.

"You are boring me with your half-articulate prattling," he explained. "I have a dinner I must prepare for."

As if on cue - which it probably was - the air was split by the sound of rotors. Air started whipping past the trio of rebels, and Barret raised his arm to shield his face, as did Tifa. Cloud stood by impassively, the fierce winds blasting his blonde hair about wildly, as a helicopter descended from above toward the President. It hovered alongside the bridge, a special platform mounted on the side reaching out to greet him. He casually stepped on board, and the helicopter started rising up into the air.

"Son of a-" Barret shouted, raising his gun-arm. Even as he did so, over the roar of the rotors, they could hear a dull clang as the Shinra soldiers behind them shut the heavy door beyond and started to seal it.

"What are-" Tifa began, but Cloud cut her off.

"They're going to lock us in here so we get killed when the reactor explodes!"

"Then we gotta keep th' door from lockin'!" Barret thunders, and wheeled on the rapidly-closing door. His heavy gatling cannon began to spin, and thundered a stream of bullets toward the doorway. The heavy rounds slammed into the metal portal, bouncing off, but digging deep furrows into the solid steel.

The President's helicopter started to move away, but the sound of rotors did not fade. Instead, they seemed to grow even more intense. As Barret continued firing, his furious curses buried beneath the massive roar of his weapon, Cloud looked up. What he saw made his eyes widen and left hand rise, the Materia on his arm flaring.

"Incoming!" he shouted, and Barret and Tifa dove aside, as did the mercenary, even as his gauntlet released a bolt of lightning into the sky.

Something slammed into the bridge between them, and fire an sound filled hte trio's senses, followed by a dull ringing in their ears as the helicopter rotors drew closer.

"Attack choppers!" Cloud shouted, and Barret whirled, raising his gun-arm to the sky. With a thunderous roar of fury, he started firing wildly into the air, brass casings raining down onto the bridge. he spotted a pair of glowing lights hovering in the air a couple hundred feet above them, and continued firing.

Meanwhile, Cloud saw that the missile shot by the helicopters above had ruined large portion of the bridge. A gap of over fifteen feet separated the mercenary from Barret and Tifa, and as he watched, Tifa ran toward the edge.

"Cloud, you have to jump!" she called, and he nodded. he ran toward the gap, knowing his superior SOLDIER training and Mako infusions would give him the strength he would need to clear the gap.

As Cloud rushed toward the gap, preparing to leap, Barret let out a furious cheer, and the sound of the rotors above began to change, as one of the choppers spiraled out of control. The helicopter dropped toward the Mako Reactor, Barret's bullets tearing through the engine and rotors, and crashed into the solid white cliff face that was the Reactor's outer wall. Flames erupted form it as it toppled through the air and plummeted toward the slums below.

Barret's cheer turned into a curse as the remaining helicopter loosed all of its missiles at once, a dozen streaks rocketing toward the trio below. The rebel leader scythed his gun arm across the sky, his bullets slamming into the missiles and shattering them, detonating explosives and fuel. The bullets tore through the projectiles, the explosions destroying and consuming many others. Barret's fire blasted and tore the missiles, all the while he cursed and shouted and fired, brass casings ringing across the bridge.

Cloud leapt, and Tifa reached out for him.

Barret fired and cursed violently.

Cloud's fingers touched Tifa's, and she leaned forward to pull him in.

Barret fired and shouted a challenge.

Cloud's grip strengthened, and Tifa started to pull him in.

Barret fired, and then thundered a denial at what he saw at the last instant.

One missile survived.

It slammed into the bridge behind where Cloud had leapt, and the shockwave and fire buffeted him. His body shielded Tifa from the blast, shrapnel stabbing into his entire backside, fire igniting his skin and the back of his shirt, and the explosion sent him flying forward. Tifa tried to hold on, but the mercenary was torn from her grip and launched off the bridge, up and over Barret, even as the rebel leader watched in horror.

Cloud fell past the bridge, and plummeted into the deep, endless night of Midgar's slums.


-


Yes, I cut out the Air Buster battle. I was considering including it, and I ran a whle lot of scenarios through my head involving its use, but one of them seemed to fit. Either the Buster would totally destroy the heroes or they would totally destroy it in a couple of seconds, considering the terrain they were using. Not to mention that the idea of Cloud falling from hanging on to a structural support seemed kind of stupid (the Cloud in this story is strong enough to easily pull himself back up) Overall, the Air Buster fight just didn't work, so I cut it out. Besides, it wasn't a huge boss battle anyway, and it didn't matter in the long run.