On the other side of the gap was the same kind of security door that separated level -7 from -8.

Again Reno and Rudo had to place explosives around it. Once the door was lifted out of it's large frame, horror spread among those who first entered the new area. Many stopped at the doorstep, peaked inside and ran back to be sick.

Only few stood their ground on the other side of the door.

The men made way for Tseng to pass.

Jae, Reno, Rudo, Tifa and Cloud still stood on the other side of the gap wondering what was going on. They saw Vincent's red cape among the small group entering now. Only seconds after, a deep and terrible growl was echoing through the old walls.

"Damn..." was all Reno managed to say.

"I'm not sure I want to know what's in there if it makes Chaos take over nearly immediately." Tifa was now clutching on her boyfriends arm.

"Or who for that matter, he sounds very pissed!", Jae feared the worst.

"Indeed", they all looked over to Rudo wondering how he always managed to sound so incredibly indifferent in situations like these.

"I'm going in!",Cloud gave Tifa a quick kiss on the front and pushed his way to the ladders.

"Like I'm going to let you go alone!" Tifa yelled after him and hurried to follow.

Reno pulled Jae close and used her as support as he stood on his toes to check what was going on.

"Hey yo guys I can't see bossman 'nymore!"

"He went in not long ago" Rudo replied dryly.

"Well fuck you for not telling me man! I'm going to see what's up there now!"

"Tseng told us to stay put Reno."

"Well you can fucking stay, I'm frigging going!"

"I'm coming too Re." Jae just got a hold of him before he left.

Rude looked several times to the other side and back with a distinctly undecided expression.

When Jae and Reno had reached the gap he ran after them.

Jae looked down and wondered just how deep this building must be. She quickly followed Reno to the other side. The smell of fresh vomit and decreased biological tissue made her eyes water. Reno was gagging and held a hand before his mouth. Nothing stopped him from cursing though: "Holy shit this is nasty yo!" Jae was focused on inhaling through her mouth rather than her nose. She was used to a lot given the circumstances in which she grew up and the fact she's been helping out as medic throughout her time in Shinra, but this was bad even for her records. Once they were able to bare with the smell they moved closer to the passage, avoiding the puddles on the floor.

When they were about to peak inside they saw Tseng running towards them motioning them to let him pass. Once outside he pressed both palms to the wall, upper body bending forward and was violently ill. Jae approached him quietly and discretely put a hand on his back. She was careful not to fuss over him the way she would do instinctively. She would not have him look weak in front of his many subordinates.

She waited until he finished heaving then gently whispered:" Is there anything I can do?" He shook his head. "What happens in there?" He grimaced and spat out before he nearly voicelessly replied: "Don't go in there Jae, just... don't!"

Reno and Rude tried their best to block their boss from pathetic looks.

Jae handed their leader a handkerchief and some mints she had in her pocket. The last she usually stole from the receptionist desk in the hallway leading to Rufus's office. She kept forgetting to ask the secretary what brand they were, for she would rather buy them than appear like a beggar, filling her pockets with free sweets.

Tseng seemed grateful, he liked things neat and clean and hated anything messy or distasteful. His head was turning. He had not been this sick in years. Most people had heard stories about his sometimes weak stomach and Reno usually never missed an opportunity to tease him about it, but this was worse than anything he had to deal with before. He was still feeling very queasy but picked up his headset he had thankfully tossed aside before retching. All he wanted now was getting the opportunity to brush his teeth, shower and have this place blown down by all fire-power there was on Cid's Highwind. Instead he chewed on Jae's mints and hoped they'll soon dominated the foul taste of bile in this mouth.

"Everyone get back to the choppers. I repeat: everyone back to the choppers. Get the dead and wounded out too, leave none behind. We're evacuating. The rest of this mission is TURKS business only now. Thank you for your cooperation!"

Tbc...

Please review so I can see if this is going in the right direction ;-) Thank you^^