He is a passenger in a body that is not his own. His senses are strange and distorted, both muted and hypersensitive in equally confounding measure. He walks without moving. He cannot think. He cannot reason. An unsettling confinement eclipses all.

Red lights blink in darkness, illuminating a long featureless hallway like still frames in a slow sequence. There is a second heartbeat noisy in his head, sloshing out of sync with his own. An unnatural rhythm.

The still frames move into a large area he recognizes as the Shinra Tower lobby, but it is deserted and dark. Security is offline. Now he is going through the corridors. He's approaching the holding cells. He is raw power and control, proceeding with deliberate steps. The gun turrets and security systems do not respond to his presence. The electronically sealed doors are open. He's never seen the Tower like this before, a twilight mirror. There is nobody else around.

Except, wait, there is someone ahead. Yes, he approaches the cells and he sees her asleep within. Tifa rests on the metal cot in her cage, hands curled beneath her chin. She murmurs in her sleep, and he knows she is dreaming of smoke and fire. He watches her through the bars, from a vantage point higher than any normal person's height.

The scene shifts. He's standing in front of another cell.

And he sees himself asleep within. This other Cloud lays on the floor with his knees up to his chest. His body is coiled into the corner. He seems so… fragile. His head is full of nightmares, a resounding conclusion that is not his own but which he cannot deny. He stares at himself for a while. The sleeping man in the cell is shivering. These bars don't look so strong. He touches one.

It creaks.

Cloud shoots up, awake, alert to that sound. He's out of breath, frantically pulling himself from the trenches of that otherworldly dream. Something touches the back of his neck, and he smacks it away. He stares outside of his cell, feeling a presence there.

A shadow flickers under the light. A massive form appears, blotting out the darkness. Then it's gone.

The door to his cell eases open on its hinges with that same creak he'd heard in the dream.

"Hello?"

There is nobody in the corridor. He exits the cell, all senses on high alert. The air is tinged with an acrid chemical scent, subtle and already dissipating as if in the wake of someone passing by.

Tifa's cell is also open.

"Psst, Tifa… Hey, Tif…" he calls to her, taking note that the security cameras are off.

The overhead lights buzz and flicker. He can't shake the feeling of something standing right beyond the scope of the light. Watching him.

"Tifa, wake up."

She stirs and rubs her head.

"Cloud? What are you…?" Then she notices the cell door open. "How did you get out? How did you free us?"

She rushes to him.

"I didn't," Cloud answers. "This wasn't me."

"Then who?"

Or what, he thinks. There is an uncanny feeling in his chest, that he knows what did this. He can't explain how.

Barret appears from the last open cell.

"The fuck is this? More Shinra mind games?" Barret says. "What's going on, spike?"

Cloud shakes his head. "I honestly do not know."

The hall outside their cells is dark and ominous. Emergency lighting illuminates red into the distance.

"Well, let's get out of here," Tifa says, taking the lead.

Cloud pulls her back.

"No, let me go first."

It isn't chivalry or doubt of her ability. He just knows that whatever is out there is for him and him alone. He doesn't want her in the crossfire.

Tifa puts her hands up, allowing him ahead.

The gun turrets in the next room are inactive. The sealed entry to the prison is entirely open. The control terminals are inoperative.

"Who has the clearance to shut down all these things?" Barret asks.

Cloud examines the wiring of a turret. It's intact and hasn't been tampered with. There's simply no power being fed in, yet the lights above are on. It's odd.

"Nobody, as far as I know," Cloud answers, though his voice feels far away. The world has a surreal edge to it.

When they reach the entryway from the prison area, a putrid smell of gore brings Cloud to a halt. Barret and Tifa sense it seconds later. Then he sees the cause.

An immense trail of blood is smeared across the marble tile, leading towards the elevators. It's source is unknowable, as the sheer amount could not have come from any one human. Nor even a dozen. Stringy bits of meat are clumped within coagulating globs. Tifa puts one hand over her mouth.

"What in the hell…?" Barret says softly. "The fuck is this, spike, some kinda Shinra—"

"No," Cloud says, transfixed. "No, I've never seen anything like this."

As he steps into the hall, the whole Tower shudders and power is restored. Deep booms emanate and the lights click on in succession above.

"Hm, guess that means the lockdown is over," Barret says.

"But where is everyone?" Tifa asks.

The door to the prison area slides shut behind them, locking them out. They stand next to the trail of blood.

"I have to know what caused this," Cloud says, unable to explain more than that. "You two should go. Get out of the Tower and get to safety."

"No," Tifa says. "If there's some murderous thing roaming around, we should stick together."

Barret says, "We should get our weapons in case whatever caused this massacre comes after us next!"

"Weapons, right," Cloud repeats. It's not a bad idea. "Specialty weapon storage is near the top. But I don't think I'll have access anymore. You sure you don't wanna just leave instead?"

Tifa nods at him. He feels a warm sincerity in her expression.

"Let's stay together," she says.

"We should leave together," Barret clarifies.

There's a scream, a faint echo somewhere above. Cloud turns at the sound, but Tifa and Barret don't seem to hear it. They are arguing whether or not to go with or without their weapons, with or without Cloud. He walks off, following the smear of blood.

"Hey, wait!" Tifa steps after him.

The trail leads to the elevators. He says nothing and presses the call button. There are two corpses of MPs nearby, bludgeoned to death. Barret picks up a fallen rifle and tinkers with it.

"Huh, totally busted," he comments, dropping the useless weapon.

The elevator dings open to reveal a puddle of blood. Cloud steps in, hearing tissue squish beneath his boots. Tifa and Barret reluctantly join. There are two bloody marks—too large to be a finger but perhaps a full fist?—on the buttons. One of which is the floor for special weapons storage. The other is the executive suite.

Cloud hits the button for the weapons floor with his elbow. The scent in the elevator as it ascends is sickening. Somehow the tinny background music of the speakers still comes through. It's comical in the absurd carnage.

The elevator dings again and they exit, all too grateful to be clear of the stench.

"This way," Cloud beckons, once again following the trail, which is twice as thick now, as though the bloody source had doubled-back, and Cloud gets the feeling he knows why.

The trail is also leading into the weapons storage units. This area is strictly for weapons that need to be under lock and key, not for standard personnel or MPs' arms. There are several more corpses in the area, except these were slashed open by a single thin blade. One Shinra employee died holding his intestines. Another's head is severed. The sight is nauseating.

"J-Just ahead," Cloud falters a bit, his mind awhirl, imagining the scene that caused this trauma. He thinks he can see the tendrils flickering.

The vaulted storage room is unlocked. The metal door is wide open. Access keys are unnecessary as the electric panels are all fried. The blood trail leads inside.

Within, the weapons are a scattered mess. All types of guns are piled atop variants of swords mixed with discarded hand cannons and brutal maces. He finds his favorite sword, thrown aside like garbage, and picks it up. The Ice and Restore materias remain within.

"Aha!" Barret finds his precious custom gun-arm and lifts it triumphantly. He grabs Tifa's gloves from beneath it and tosses them to her. She quickly puts them on.

But Cloud is staring at the pile of blades. The culprit of the impossible bloody trail was looking for something. But what? He settles the weight of his sword onto his back. It's somewhat comforting.

"Les' go," Barret says. "We got what we came here for."

Cloud nods, and they venture back into the hallway of unnatural silence.

"I have to follow it up," Cloud tells them as they stop at the elevators. "I… can't leave without knowing what caused this. I have to make sure it's…"

Gone? Dead? He has no idea. It may just be lying in wait. Part of him doesn't care. The compulsion is overwhelming.

Barret finishes clicking his gun-arm into placing, loading the ammunition.

"You ain't got much of a plan if you thinkin' of finding this thing alone," he says.

"You should leave the tower…" Cloud replies.

But perhaps the curiosity has overwhelmed them, too. Neither Tifa nor Barret protest as they crowd back into the disgusting elevator, and Cloud hits the button for the executive suite. The keycard access is unlocked, of course.

The doors ding open onto the executive suite, which is littered with corpses. The banners and teleprompters bordering the perimeter are now splattered in red, overseeing an unearthly massacre. Body parts are cut apart, exposed ends glistening beneath the too-bright lights. Blood soaks through Cloud's boots. It's making his head spin.

Barret gags. "I think I seen enough."

"Wait," Cloud says.

The far door leading into the executive office is smeared with a long handprint. Had someone survived?

He tiptoes through the slaughter. There are bits of people he recognizes in here. His stomach curls. Eyes ahead, he tells himself.

Tifa is holding onto his arm. They inch along as if crossing a vast lake of thin ice.

At last, he pushes open the far door. This is the CEO's office. He's never been in here. It's an ornate space with arcing ceilings and a panorama of windows. The city of Midgar is splayed around them in full midnight glory. Lights and shadows, steel and steam. The sky is bitter black.

A grisly scene underscores the view. Atop a glossy wooden desk, a lamp sheds yellow hues onto an inanimate body. Blood drips off the edge of the desk in slow beats. The expensive threads of the corpse's suit look familiar.

"Ain't that—?" Barret's voice is lost as Cloud sees the glint of metal.

The President's body is slumped over the desk, dead. And jutting from his spine is a masterfully crafted slender sword, far too long to be practical, far too corporeal to be a flutter of imagination.

There is only one person Cloud knew who could wield a sword like that. Only one who'd ever been known to accomplish such a feat. And that man has been dead for years. A terrible trigger of memories floods Cloud's brain. The sword, that sword, piercing his sternum. The pain screaming in his bones. Silver hair lashing in the air as the General falls over the ledge into the pit of Mako below.

He's back inside the Reactor. Turmoil mixes with chaos and rage. He can barely see through the green haze. The Mako smell is suffocating. The pain is excruciating. This sword...lodged in his organs, present in this very room, it could only belong to...

"Sephiroth!" a voice shrieks out, startling Cloud back to reality. "Help us, gods, he's back!"

A fat flailing man throws open the doors to the executive office, followed by a tall blonde wearing a pristine white suit.

Cloud, Barret, and Tifa turn, synchronizing into fighting stances, surprised and confused.

The man in the white suit halts, holds one hand out to pause the flustered shorter man. Cloud recognizes the overwhelmed one as executive Palmer, the head of the astrophysics department.

"You three," the young blonde spits at them. Then he juts his jaw at Cloud. "You in particular. This must be your doing, my father's demise."

"Father?" Barret echoes.

"Yes, unfortunately, that worthless lump of flesh is my old man. Or was, I should say. I suppose I have you to thank for that."

"So that makes you Rufus Shinra, the little brat of the empire."

The blonde smiles as though it were a compliment. "And you are the escaped convicts who blew up Reactor One and somehow brainwashed one of our SOLDIERs into following your pathetic plans to assassinate my father."

"We ain't involved in any of this!" Barret bellows. "And how the hell you get in here anyways?"

Rufus narrows his eyes. "Hmm. Yes, I would like to know how you three managed to put the Tower in a state of total shutdown and shamelessly murder so many innocent employees. I had to land a helicopter on the roof to gain access to the building." He gives the corpse a disdainful look. "Though I'm too late to my father's distressing phone call, of course."

Palmer trembles. "It was Sephiroth," he whispers. "I keep tellin' you! I saw him with my very own eyes."

"That's impossible," Cloud interjects. "The General is dead. I saw that."

"I am loath to agree," Rufus says sourly. He sighs as if bored. "The Turks will be here soon, and whatever mischievous lockdown you three caused has already been lifted."

Rufus swings aside the long ivory jacket of his suit and pulls a double-barreled shotgun from its concealed holster. Cloud angles his sword in defense. Palmer scurries to the corner, shaking.

"I'll just have to take care of you three myself," Rufus says and fires.

Cloud throws himself in front of Tifa and Barret, leveling the broad side of his sword like a shield. Two slugs dent straight into Cloud's blade. His shoulders tense from the force, aggravating the previous gunshot wound. Barret opens fire, but Rufus is fast and whips ahead of the line of bullets, reloading and firing again. Cloud blocks the impact once more, but he knows Rufus is just a distraction. A delay until the rest of the Turks arrive. And whatever Shinra army is left.

"We've got to go!" Cloud shouts to Tifa. "Hurry!"

Barret lays down cover fire while Tifa dashes to the door. Cloud takes one last look at the masamune perched in the dead president's body, the image of it burning into his mind, and then he follows her, shielding Barret from another round of Rufus's shotgun.

"You can run but you can't hide!" Rufus yells after them with a vicious grin.

Palmer shudders in the shadows as the three escape past. The shotgun blasts a hole through the door to the office just as they duck clear.

They race through the room of corpses, over the slippery excrement of brutality. Barret hits the elevator call buttons.

"No," Cloud says. "They'll shut it down and trap us. We have to take the stairs."

He throws open the stairwell door and flies down. Tifa and Barret don't have time to question. They follow, panting after forty or so flights. It's much better to go down than up, Cloud reflects. But his shoulder is aching again and something is digging in that pitch-black space of the Nibel incident. He keeps seeing the masamune hilt buried in his stomach, the vanishing figure of Sephiroth plunging into Mako. Then blankness. Total loss. Had the General survived?

It isn't possible, he decides. Because he knows what he felt watching him in his cell while he slept. He feels the tendrils touching his skin. It wasn't anything human.

They reach the lobby at last. Barret and Tifa are both out of breath, huffing towards the exit.

"Not that way," Cloud instructs.

He leads them to a maintenance entrance, hoping the building is not surrounded by Shinra tech weapons. Rufus is partially right—the security systems are no longer in lockdown but not yet fully operational. Cameras watch from corners, but door locks sputter without sealing.

Cloud stops at the final exit. Tifa grabs his hand. Her eyes are in shock.

"Cloud? Aren't you coming?"

An itching in his head holds him back. He has to confirm his suspicions about the thing in the basement.

"Yes, there's just… I just have to check one thing. But I won't be long. I am coming with you, just not yet."

She gives him a puzzled stare. Barret is leaning the exit door open, peering into the street outside. No sirens. No alarms.

"Please go," Cloud tells her.

It looks like she wants to fight him, but she doesn't.

"Sector Seven," she says instead. "Below the plate. There's a bar called Seventh Heaven. Come there."

Barret motions that the coast is clear. Tifa gives Cloud a bittersweet smile.

Then they disappear into Midgar. The door clicks shut, and Cloud is alone.

He switches pace, doubling-back fast. He has to go to the basement. That trail of blood… it came from somewhere and he needs to know if his instinct is correct. Somehow that thing in the basement remains connected to a dead man.

The trail does lead into the science division underground. Cloud's stomach curls as he tracks it at top speed. Dead scientists, their throats crushed, mark the grotesque path as he continues down. Professor Hojo, however, is nowhere to be found. The inner lab, normally forbidden beneath layers of high security, is unlocked and splayed open like the rest of the obstacles in this thing's path.

Cloud enters the freezing wing far below ground. His teeth chatter. This corridor… it is the same from his dream. Featureless. Endless. Then it terminates. The trail stops cold, right in front of the door marked JENOVA.

The chamber within is empty. The tube that contained the headless monster is shattered. A wet slime coats everything. His head is spinning all of a sudden. A tremendous migraine forces him away from the door. His pulse staggers. This verification spawns a host of extrapolations he can hardly contend with.

He makes it to the inner lab elevator, then his knees give out. His palms hit the tile. He cannot breathe. All he tastes is blood. He wants to puke. His hands rest on his thighs and he feels something in his pocket. A small round object.

Curious, he withdraws the object. A materia. A pale milky color.

Then he remembers the woman, the specimen. He cannot leave her here, in this nightmare. He fights against the overpowering sickness and walks into the other wing. Hojo's laboratories here are untouched, secluded from the madness.

And there she is. The young woman in the pink dress is alert within the holding chamber of the lab where he left her, strapped to the table.

"Hey!" she shouts through the glass. "Help me!"

There's a creature in the chamber with her. It's the lion-like beast with a living flame for a tail that he'd seen earlier. But it doesn't appear aggressive despite the size of the muscles shimmering beneath its smooth red fur.

Cloud pushes open the door.

"Thank goodness," the lion-creature speaks. "Someone to rescue us."

Cloud jumps, hand on his hilt.

"Y-you can speak?!"

"Of course I can speak," the creature replies in aggravation. "Now please help this young lady. We've been trapped in here together for hours under bizarre pretenses."

Cloud notices the chains around the creature's ankles. He unties Aerith first, and then cuts the shackles off the animal.

"Thank you," it purrs. "What is your name?"

"Cloud!" Aerith exclaims, and she wraps her arms around him.

He has no time to feel the warmth of her hug. That monstrous thing still has a hold of his head.

"There's something awful happening, and we need to leave now!" he informs them.

Neither inquires further of his frenzy.

They leave the inner labs. Cloud half-expects the elevators to be shut down or the lobby to be swarming with MPs, but the eerie desertion remains. Pure adrenaline keeps his mind and body afloat. Aerith sticks close to him with the four-legged beast at her side as they navigate past the trail of blood. She says nothing at its sight, but it's clear the horror has rendered both new companions speechless.

They reach the same exit where Tifa and Barret had escaped without incident. Cloud plunges out into the chilly night air with Aerith. A dim orange glow accompanies their dash, shed from the fire on the beast's tail. Cloud cuts aside the perimeter fencing, not caring as the cameras surely record it all and alarms sound.

Then they are free. This is the first time he's crossed the threshold of company property with no intention of going back. He's blacklisting himself, permanently, from the life he used to revere. Now it only haunts his head, this thing in the basement. He can't stand to think of it. He doesn't want to name it.

He runs into the streets, crossing block after block until they reach the main bustle of the city. It's the dead of night, but everywhere is crowded. Time has no meaning in a place like Midgar. Aerith and the red-furred creature stay with him, even as he runs further away. As far as possible from the snaking tendrils and the gleaming sword at the top of the Tower. He knows the train system is out of the question without IDs, so he just keeps running.

It isn't until Aerith begs him to stop that he realizes they've traveled nearly an entire Sector.