Chapter 5: Mission numero une (Duex if you're not me)

I opened a red eye. I had learnt about my eye colour from a curious Marlene, when she'd asked me why my eyes were red. I had to say it was my natural eye colour. I looked around the room. I was the same briefing room that I had fallen asleep in, stretched across the table. I groggily arose, yawning. I hate insomnia, all it ever does is force me to spend nearly all of the night doing nothing but think. The only good thing I discovered from this was that I could communicate with the lizard within (Spike, if you didn't realize). Cloud was already awake and gone. The pinball machine was down though, so I could go up, when I desired. Stretching, I grabbed my coat and t-shirt from where I dumped them to be used as a pillow. Slipping on the t-shirt, I hit the button on the pinball machine, not caring whether or not the damned thing broke. Grumpy, aren't I, well I'll stay like this until I get a hell load of sugar in my system. I snarled at Cloud, Barret and Tifa when they gave me questioning looks, and staggered up to the bar.

"Anything with sugar." I said to Marlene, who was behind the bar, hand ready to grab a bottle from the shelves.

The young girl nodded and grabbed a suspicious looking bottle from the shelf. Ignoring my inner screams to throw down the substance, most likely to be alcohol, I opened the bottle and gulped down half of its contents in one go. Yum, lemonade.

"My private stock." Marlene informed me, as I finished the other half.

I grunted my thanks, handing her a 5 gil note. I turned around, tossing the bottle into a bin in the corner. Cloud was just finishing his explanation about Materia. Feeling more awake, I slipped my coat on.

"What's happening today?" I asked the leader of this little group of eco-terrorists.

"'Nother reactor bombing." Barret said.

"Cool." I muttered, stretching my still aching muscles. "Which one?"

"Number 5." Tifa told me, pulling on a pair of leather gloves.

I shrugged at the choice of reactor, knowing that if I changed it, Cloud wouldn't meet Aeris again, screwing up the story. Heck, there wouldn't even be a roof and flowerbed to break his fall, so no worries here, I ain't going to change anything. I checked that I still had Venom before looking at them again.

"When do we leave?"

"15 minutes." Cloud murmured.

"You're still with us?" I asked, mock surprised. "For a large sum of cash, no doubt. But if by some miracle you survived the world's death, what would you spend all that money on?"

Cloud leered at me, obviously annoyed at my attempt to make him actually want to save the planet. Can't blame a guy for trying, can you? Cloud grunted and left the bar, looking annoyed. I shrugged, before following him out. Out of the building, I inhaled deeply… and started to have a coughing fit. Jeez, the air is much worse down here than it is topside. Damnable city. I walked to the train station; once again ignoring all looks sent my way. Honestly, is it really that rare to see a bipedal lizard? Probably is. I wonder if Spike's used to this sort of thing. Speak of the devil; his half of our mind just woke up. I smirked softly to myself. From the jumbled thoughts I was getting, he's as bad as me when he first awakes.

"Morning." I said to myself, pleased to hear Spike mentally greeting me in return. "Nice to hear you too."

I stepped into dingy train, Cloud just behind me. Since I was in an annoying mood, I swung my tail in his direction, almost knocking him off his feet.

"Watch it!" He snarled at me.

I gave him an innocent look. "Me? What did I do? I can't help having to move the extra appendage every so often."

"Last I checked; lizards don't wag their tails, that's dogs." The spiky headed swordsman snapped.

"Then check again." I replied, in an even voice.

Cloud gave me a look, before stepping around me and walking rapidly away from me. Barret sniggered to himself, also stepping around me and into the first passenger carriage. I slumped down on the first empty seat I saw, and watched as Barret started to order AVALANCHE out of the carriage. Some idiot to the side started mumbling something. Now, if memory serves, that guy was the Shinra executive, which means that Barret is about to have a go at him. I refused to acknowledge the urge to shut my eyes, since this was going to be a short trip, made even shorter from things that we have no control over, which always seems to happen in this life. I turned to the bum, who was sitting opposite me, well; lying would be closer to the truth. The tramp was giving me a curious look but didn't seem scared, unlike everyone else; when he looked it was simply curiosity.

"People must give you your space a lot, huh kid?"

Strange, it's always the uneducated or the ones people look down upon that seem to see things for what they are. Me, I'm just a 15 year old, in an inhuman body; not a monster, just a teen. He seemed to realize that. I shot him a grin. A loud thump distracted us however, as Barret decided to intimidate the ShinRa exec, yelling his head of. I blanked out the noise and shut my eyes, deciding it to be more worthwhile trying to catch up on any sleep I could, woe betide of any who foolishly wakes me.

Of course, this is me we're talking about; do you honestly believe it'll be as easy as that? No. As it was, the alarm decided to waltz in on my sleep, forcing me awake. Me? I reacted as any insomniac who finally got some sleep would; I grabbed my gunblade and shot it in the air several times, somehow stopping the wailing sound. Barret, Tifa and Cloud all shot me looks.

"What?" I demanded.

They didn't get a chance to answer, since Jessie ran in, looking like she had watched a video and then got a phone call saying she had seven days to live.

"We're in trouble, I'll explain later. Hurry! Get to the next car!" She yelled desperately at us, before promptly buggering off.

"FUCK!" Barret swore. "Someone blew it…"

'Unidentified passengers in car 1, preparing for lock down.' A robotic voice informed the whole train.

"Let's go! Keep it up!" Barret encouraged us.

Not needing any further encouragement, I got up and started running for the door to the next carriage. I got in just behind Cloud, who was frowning at something.

"Made it." I said, as the door locked behind me.

Barret nodded, seeming pleased that none of us had been in there as it disengaged from the rest of the train.

'Car 1: locked down. Upgrading to level 2 warning.' The same boring voice informed us.

The rest of AVALANCHE was right at the other end of the car.

"Hurry!" Biggs yelled at us, as he exited the car.

"They're going to lock the car, Sir!" Wedge informed us, following his skinnier friend.

"Just run, changing to plan 2!" Jessie added her two cents, buggering off yet again.

'Unidentified passengers located in car 2. Preparing lock-down.'

That voice started to grate at my nerves. I shot a venomous look at the ceiling, as if it would stop it from talking. Deciding that it wasn't worth it, I followed my three partners to the next car, jumping over a couple of prats who decided to try and stop me. Cloud, Tifa and Barret had already gotten through the door, which started to close. I did a baseball slide, not too keen on the idea of being left behind, and slid through before it could fully shut. I stood up and started to wipe away the dust.

'Car 2 locked down. Upgrading to level 3 warning.'

"Awright! We clear!" Barret grunted triumphantly.

Jessie looked up at us. "Not yet. They're starting another check. If we're caught, we're done for! But don't worry…"

"If we move up the train fast enough we can bypass it, right?" I finished for her.

"Well, yes. How did you…"

I shot her a grin. "It's what we've been doing so far, I don't see any reason to stop."

She nodded, before sprinting to the next car, leaving us behind, again. She is really starting to annoy me; can't she wait for us, at least once? Nope. I ran along, trying to get away from the carriage before the lockdown starts. Unfortunately, I didn't, but I'm not going to bore you with the message, which was exactly the same as before. After getting a message warning us that security was about to be maximised, we gave ourselves time to relax. Jessie was standing near an open door, leading to the outside of the train.

"All right! We made it! Yo! This way! Let's go! We're gonna dive outta here!" Barret exclaimed.

I looked out of the door, making a mental note of how fast we were obviously moving.

"Hell no. I ain't no suicidal fool." I snapped at him.

Tifa looked like I'd taken the words right out of her mouth. The Mr. T wannabe looked at me, his beady eyes narrowed at me.

"Ya'll live." He said, surprisingly calm.

"Sure… Do I look Mako enhanced? Do I look like I made of muscle? Do I look like I'm as agile as a cat? I'm a bloody lizard!"

In my ranting, I had walked near the open door, waving my arms like a lunatic. Barret walked up to me. I glared at him, but blinked in confusion when he smirked. He slowly moved his hand and tapped me on the chest, hard. I lost my balance and fell backwards, out of the large open space, and out of the train. Bastard. I rolled along the ground beside the track, until I hit a wall. A loud crack sounded throughout the tunnel, as my right arm broke. At least it stopped my graceless roll. I stood up, and examined my arm. A clean snap. I was only holding in the yells of pain and anguish because Spike had decided to take control of my mouth, leaving to only curse in my head. I could see the reasoning of making me silent, who knows what may lurk here in these tunnels, and Shin-Ra troops were no doubt going to be searching for the escaped passengers, no point in making their job easier. I never had a broken arm before, a broken nose, but never a broken arm, not even fractured. Still, I knew enough to have the initiative to snap my arm back in place, so it wouldn't try healing with it sticking out at an angle. Silently thanking Spike, I grabbed my forearm and closed my eyes, preparing for the inevitable pain. I snapped it back, and screamed mentally, barely noticing the fact that Spike was hissing. Seems that despite taking control of my gob, he still couldn't speak in English. My arm now in place to be healed, I used my other arm to check my pockets for a potion. I found one and opened it with my teeth, before pouring half the contents on my arm where it had snapped, and drank the other half, sighing in bliss as my arm and various bruises healed. My arm numbed, as the potion that soaked it was absorbed, acting as a temporary painkiller. I had learnt that after my fight with Jade, the potion healed any wounds, but unless the injuries were internal, the injuries healed, but the pain stuck around, but if you poured potion onto the wound, it acted as a numbing agent.

Grabbing Venom, I started my trek up the track, looking for my companions. I didn't have to go far to find Tifa, who had just finished using a potion to heal a few minor bruises. Lucky bitch. I broke my arm, and she gets away with a couple of bruises. Then again, she was prepared; I was shoved out, against my will, like it not. We started to move up the track, looking for Cloud and Mr. T. We found both of them waiting patiently at the side of the track, looking like they had been arguing again.

"See, you're alive." The obnoxious git smirked.

"Fuck you! You broke my arm!" I snapped at him.

Barret shrugged.

"So far, everything is going as planned." Barret began, ignoring my cry of 'You planned to break my arm!' "Better not let your guard down 'till we get to the Sector 5 reactor. Biggs, Wedge an' Jessie have everything set up. So MOVE it. Well, the reactors just down this tunnel."

The group started walking down the tunnel, (all we seem to be doing now) when a group of Shin-Ra moans came, weapons drawn. I yanked my gunblade from its sheath, and stood ready in my casual stance. Of course, Barret and Tifa didn't have to do anything to actually be ready to fight. Cloud pulled his Buster Sword from the magnetic locks on his back. 12 Moans, 4 heroes. Man, they don't exactly make this fair, do they? Those soldiers are going to be slaughtered. I decided to make the first move. The nearest soldier aimed his machine gun at me, and grunted as I slammed my tail into his stomach, in a spin that ended in my weapon slashing halfway through another's throat. The soldier clawed at his throat, a look of horror on his face, before he dropped to the floor in a puddle of blood. Tifa ran up to the winded trooper and snapped his neck, before snapping a sidekick at another, breaking his jaw. A 4th soldier aimed his weapon at Tifa, but was cut down by rapid fire from Barret, who then shifted his aim towards a pair soldiers who were standing right next to each other, cutting them both down in one go. Cloud charged at a lone trooper, impaling him on the end of the huge sword. The spiky haired swordsman raised an eyebrow as the soldier clung to life, weakly raising his gun in an effort to take Cloud with him into death. Cloud responded by rolling his eyes, before head butting the trooper and ripped his sword out through his side. I watched the others fighting when my now enhanced hearing heard some idiot trying to sneak up on me. I waited until he was nearer, before swinging Venom upwards behind me, slicing through flesh and bone. I turned around and watched as the soldier, whom had a surprised look on his face started to slide in half. Spike really seemed to have no qualms about killing, even if this wasn't food that was being slaughtered. I ducked under a baton that was swung in my direction, shooting the assailant in the chest. The trooper staggered back, blood spilling from his mouth. Tifa executed a flying kick that flew past me and into a moan who was about to prime a grenade. The soldier fell to the ground, where Tifa stamped on his throat, not hard enough to break it, but more than enough to crush the man's windpipe. Cloud swung his sword around, slashing partway through one's skull.

One of the soldiers charged at Barret, swinging his baton in a wide arc, to which Barret slammed his gun-arm into the soldier's torso and opened fire. The soldier shuddered as each bullet tore through his body, before going limp. The soldier with the broken jaw primed a grenade and threw it in my direction. I absently watched the bomb drift closer, before slamming the blunt end of Venom against it, returning it to the sender. The grenade blew up in front of the soldier, sending him flying against the wall, and slid down it, leaving a bloody trail. I turned my gaze upon the others again, pausing only to wrap my tail around a soldier's neck and crush it. They were scavenging the bodies, taking any gil or useful items that they could find. I started searching the bodies of the last pair I'd killed, finding only 127 gil between them. We regrouped after all bodies had been searched. None of the others had any luck in finding anything other than a low amount of gil. After evenly dividing it, we re-started our trek down the tunnel. Barret turned to me, looking at me with a new-found respect.

"Nice work with those damn Shinra." He grinned, checking his gun-arm just for something to do.

"Thanks." I grunted in return.

He looked like he was about to reply Cloud interrupted us.

"We have a problem." He said, stopping in his tracks.

We all looked at what he was looking at. Filling the entire tunnel, was a series of blue light beams

"Those light beams are the Shinra security sensors. After coming this far, only an amateur would get caught by these." He informed us, eyes narrowed. "No doubt they know we're here somewhere, but this would also tell them which way we're going."

"Damn!" Barret cursed loudly, glaring at the sensor.

Cloud started looking around, trying to find a way around. I also looked, somehow forgetting how I got past this part of the game. Both of us turned our gaze to the hole near the light beam.

"Over there." I said, pointing at the opening. All of us walked up to it, examining whether or not it could be used. I looked at myself, then at the hole again. Despite the discomfort that came from the extra appendage, and the fine row of small spikes travelling down my spine to the tip of my tail, I could fit. I was taller than Cloud, though not as heavily built; he could fit. Tifa was as tall as me, and could easily fit. Barret however, it was hard to tell. He was both taller than me, and had a much heavier build. He seemed to have the same thoughts.

"That's one damn tiny hole. You tellin' me to squeeze into that hole to get under the plate? No way!" Barret scowled, before getting a resigned look on his face. "Yo, Cloud, what're we gonna do?"

"Isn't it your choice?" I asked him.

"He's the expert, not me. If this is the only way…" He trailed off.

"We're going down." Cloud told us, before pushing himself down, with out waiting for a response.

"But, damn man, that thing gives me the chills." He complained to no one in particular, as Tifa slid down.

I gave him a sympathetic look before diving down head first. I slid down the chute, for a few seconds before coming out in a hallway that only had one way out. I stood up, dusting myself off, before falling backwards as Barret shot out, knocking my feet from under me. I pulled myself to my feet, glaring at the giant hulk of muscle and not much else. Cloud sniggered at us, seeming to enjoy us looking like total prats. Tifa just shook her head. I snarled at Barret, who as if to add to the insult, didn't realize just what it was he had done.

"Lets just get on with it." Tifa said, grabbing the collar of my coat and forcibly dragging me away from the source of all my misery.

After she finally let go, allowing me to go where I want, I looked over the edge of the balcony. Down below, were the slums. A nasty scuzy place made even more obvious from the fact that you could see the pollution visibly from way up here. I leant over the banister, preparing to spit. I was stopped by Tifa when she spammed me on the back of my head.

"Don't even think about it." She warned me, giving me a hard look.

I held up my hands in sign of surrender. Hey, I'm not the martial artist here, she is, and she probably wouldn't hesitate to kick my ass. However, as soon as her back was turned, I flipped a one-gil coin over the edge. I turned to face Cloud and Barret as they walked up.

"We're splitting up. Meet by the entrance to the reactor." Barret ordered us, before running away. Hey, we aren't that bad are we?

I shrugged, climbing up a nearby ladder. Another catwalk, crawling with moans, who turned to face me and my charming good looks. Or not, as they pull out machine guns. Unsheathing Venom, I scan for a way to the reactor, or at the very least, an exit that wasn't the way I came in from. Ahh, the sweet smell of sweet success; a door that leads right towards the facility. Only problem, it's behind all of the soldiers, who are aiming for me. This leaves a diabolical choice. Forwards, to the objective, but happens to face almost certain death, or backwards, away from the Mako reactor, but will guarantee me surviving. Hard choice, no? I ran forwards, swinging my weapon left and right, and pulling the trigger every time the blade was in the middle. If anyone got too close to kill like that, I used my tail to throw them over the edge. A sound strategy, that despite Spike screaming in my mind that it wouldn't work, worked. I made a habit of checking the bodies of those who didn't fly over the edge for valuables, and looted a massive total of… a hi-potion… What a lousy group of guards, sharing one lousy hi-potion between them. They weren't even holding any cash. That's just cheap, even for ShinRa. Put off by this turn of events, I walked through the door to the reactor, and found everyone waiting for me.

"Took your damn time!" Barret spat.

"…"

"Whatever, are we going no or what?"

Hey, wasn't 'whatever' Squall's favourite word? Since when does Barret get rights to it? Whatever, it's not my problem. I looked around the reactor. It was… Big. We were standing on a platform above a large batch of refined Mako, if what Cloud says is true, and should be harmless. As if to prove a point, he slid down a pipe and splashed into the stuff.

"What have I got to loose." I said to myself, before jumping off the platform and into the knee-high gunk. "Eeew. This is worse than crap."

"And you think I like it?" Cloud asked me.

"Yes. You were the moron who went diving in." I snapped. "Plus you SOLDIERs have to have at least one bath in this stuff."

"Mako enhancement isn't having a bath in refined Mako. It involves a special procedure that involves it being put into your blood stream." Cloud argued.

"So you drink it instead… That's better is it?" I shot back at him.

Cloud looked at me, appalled. "Not only is that not how it works, and a sure-fire way to get Mako poisoning, that has become one of the most revolting things I have ever heard. It involves… Forget it." Cloud finally gave up, paddling his way to the beach of metal.

Smirking in victory, I followed suit, Tifa and Barret behind. After we spent several minutes drying off, we went to the door that led to the core of the reactor. Having played the game so many times, I knew what the layout was like, and it was no different, even when I'm actually there, in person. Even the small gap in the floor was still there. One small hop and we're over that. A quick shimmy down the ladder, and there we are, at the platform that had the catwalk to where we shall set the bomb. Cloud grabs the bomb and is about to start to set it, when he has what can only be described as a fit. Just as he faints, I hear a loud buzzing in my head.

Grabbing my forehead, I try to will the migraine away, when I saw something. Or rather, some things. Visions, images, which kept on flashing in my mind, and with them, came a surge of emotion that wasn't mine. But some kept returning, having the same people or things. A girl, with a black trench coat, holding dual pistols, wanting nothing more than to return home. A girl, depressed, away from her home, a foreign land. A girl who was part cat, or looked that way, uses claws as a weapon, jealous over someone, a crush? Those 3 kept reappearing, never in the same image, but more striking about those images was with whom they were with. The gun-girl, she was stood beside Squall, Seifer, Zell, Rinoa… Final Fantasy VIII. She was fighting alongside the heroes of FF8. The depressed girl, she was also with the people of FF8, but the circumstances were different it seemed. She was under their care, she wasn't fighting in any of the flashes, except for drawing from NORG, but instead, it seemed the SeeDs were trying to help here, rather than her being a comrade to them. The last girl, the cat-girl, she was the same as the first girl, but different. She was instead alongside Zidane, Vivi, Dagger… but for the same reasons it seemed. Then everything went black.

'You know what this means, Jethro, don't you?' Spike asked me.

No. What does it mean? That we're not the only people to be in this situation? I mentally replied, slow as ever.

I heard Spike laughing. Glad he found it amusing.

What happened?

'Seems you'll have to be careful around unprocessed Mako, I felt… something like a mental link.'

Great, so now I can't go around unrefined Mako, I wonder if that counts as the plain old Lifestream as well. I opened my eyes, and saw Mr. T looking down at me.

"I pity da fool, who faints in reactor cores." He said.

"Eh?" I asked, blinking in confusion.

When I looked again, I felt Spike sniggering in the back of my mind and saw Barret looking at me concerned. Tifa was in the background, asking Cloud if he was all right.

"I asked, are you awright?" He repeated himself.

"Eh? Yeah, just peachy." I muttered, vowing to somehow get my revenge on the reptilian fiend.

"What happened, you stopped breathing for a while, made me nervous."

"I just found out I get some kind of mental link when I'm around unprocessed Mako. Next time, I'll simply guard the ladder." I told him, truthfully… sort of.

He grunted, before turning to Cloud and checking that he set the bomb properly, ordered us to move out. Back the way we came, fighting a few minor defences. Do they honestly expect a measly sentry turret to wipe us out? Up the elevator we go and Bob's yer uncle. After the other 3 opened the doors, we charged out, to the junction. Barret waved to the left.

"This way!" He yelled, before skidding to a stop as a couple of squads of Shinra soldiers came marching in. "Shinra soldiers?" He pivoted around and charged for the other exit, but came to the same result. "SHIT! What the hell's goin' on?"

"… A trap…" Cloud muttered to himself, hand itching towards the handle of his sword.

We all turned to look the way we came from as footsteps came from that direction, and out came a fat, snobby looking, nearly bald, blond haired man, wearing an expensive looking red suit.

"Presi… President Shinra?" Barret stuttered, looking lost.

"Why is the President here?" Tifa asked herself, frowning in thought.

"It's obvious." I said, looking at the fatso. "We're the only people to actively fight against him. He'd want to see to our fate personally, to make sure we don't spread to the whole population of Midgar."

The President seemed to nod at my explanation, confirming it.

"Hmm… You all must be that… What was it?"

He knew who we were; you could see it in his eyes. I see that look at school every day, from the bullies. Unlike the stereotypical bully, the ones I have to put up with have a combination of brain and brawn. Shinra was no different. He had the brains, and he had the brawns in the form of an army. Unfortunately, Barret took the taunt badly. He was visibly shaking with rage.

"AVALNCHE! And don't ya forget it! So you're President Shinra, huh?"

Cloud chose that moment to step forwards.

"Long time no see, President."

Even though his ugly mug didn't show it, Shinra was confused. Again, you had to look at his eyes.

"…Long time no see? Oh… you. You're the one who quit SOLDIER and joined AVALANCHE. I knew you'd been exposed to Mako, from the look in your eyes… Tell me, traitor, what was your name?"

"Cloud."

The President looked satisfied, but not convinced. It hadn't been a taunt when he'd asked for Cloud's name.

"Forgive me for asking, but I can't be expected to remember each person's name. Unless you become another Sephiroth. Yes, Sephiroth… He was brilliant. Perhaps too brilliant…"

Cloud frowned, his eyes drooping at the name.

"Sephiroth……?"

Barret suddenly ran forwards, fist clenched.

"Don't give a damn 'bout none of that! This place is goin' up with a big BANG soon! Serves y'all right!" He gloated.

The President got that look on his face again. And let us commence with the taunting.

"And such a waste of good fireworks it shall be, just to get rid of vermin like you."

I ignored Barret's rant, instead, looking over the railing and watching a helicopter rise up, until it was right next to Shinra. I quickly unsheathed Venom, spinning around as I heard something coming. At some point, all the soldiers had left, but now, there was a big robot hovering near.

"Now then, if you'll excuse me." The President said, jumping into the helicopter.

Cloud charged past me. "Wait, President!" He called, as the chopper flew off.

"Hey Cloud, we need to do somthin' 'bout him!" Barret called out, pointing at Air Buster.

Air Buster responded by driving Tifa and Barret further along the bridge.

"Help, Cloud. THIS is in SOLDIER?" Tifa asked, moving back.

"No way, it's just a machine!" Cloud responded, pulling out his sword.

"I don't care what it is! I'm gonna bust him up!" Barret declared.

Cloud and I looked at each other, nodded and ran to the robot. It had positioned itself so Tifa and Barret were one side; Cloud and me were the other.

"Tifa, you're healer. Use that restore Materia I gave you!" Cloud ordered. "Spike, you're backup healer, use phoenix downs whenever anyone is taken out! Barret, you and I are the main attack!"

Natural born leader, that guy is. Barret nodded in agreement and leveled his arm at the machine, promptly opening fire. Cloud slashed at the back of Air Buster. I decided to take pot shots at the robot whenever an opening revealed itself, firing 50. cal bullets into it. Air Buster decided it was high time to get some retribution, and shot Cloud with a hidden machine gun, riddling his body with bullets. Almost instantaneously, a green appeared and healed the wounds. Tifa was taking her job as healer seriously, seeing as that had no delay before healing. But then Air Buster shot a grenade launcher at Barret, almost knocking him out. Since it would be a while before Tifa could use her cure again, I threw a potion over the machine and at Barret, who caught it and drank the entire thing. Once he was healed, a red light appeared at his feet, and he fired Big Shot at Air Buster, damaging it some. Cloud then used Braver, leaping up and slashing the robot. It didn't cut the thing in half, but it did leave a large gash, revealing the internal circuits.

"Cloud, do you have Lightning Materia?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Use it in that large gash, after I freeze it." I said, readying myself to use Ice.

Again he nodded, and started to ready himself for using Bolt. Ready, I cast Ice at the gash, and watched as the entire inside became frozen in solid ice. Then Cloud used Bolt, which hit the Ice. Now, everyone knows that ice is solid water, and water conducts electricity, so when Bolt hit the ice, it seriously screwed up Air Buster. For a few seconds, nothing happened, but then the robot blew up, destroying the bit of the bridge that it was on, the bit, that happened to have me and Cloud standing on. It was weird, one minute, solid ground, the next; the ground just disappeared, quite literally. I started my decent to the slums when I felt a hand grab the end of my tail. This didn't help in the slightest, because when it stopped my fall, it felt like my tail was about to disconnect from the rest of my body, causing me to give an inhuman cry, making Cloud let go in shock. So, there I was, falling. Didn't stop me from cursing Cloud for dropping me.

"Fucking skethn're…" Was all that I managed before my vision went blue.