. :: Chapter 4 :: .
President Shinra
After waking, washing and dressing Cloud rode the elevator down from the second-floor living space. He emerged with eyes as purple-rimmed as if he hadn't slept at all -- and actually, he felt as if he hadn't. The beds were small and stiff, and Barret's snoring...
"Good morning," Tifa greeted him from across the room. "Did you sleep well?"
"Can you hear him?" His scowling eyes went to Barret. "Because I can. Through a wall."
Barret let out a huff of contempt, which revealed just how very remorseful he felt.
"Coffee?"
Cloud looked back to Tifa. "We don't have time."
"No, we don't." Barret put his mug down and rose.
Tifa rose as well. With one eyebrow arched slightly, Cloud watched her take a glove secured to the belt at her hip and carefully pull it over her fingers. Two green materia lodged into the back of the glove reflected the ceiling fan light above her. As if sensing his curious stare, she glanced in his direction as she pulled on the second glove.
"What? I'm going this time."
Tifa, it's too dangerous.
Before his thoughts had a voice, Barret spoke. "Our target's the Sector 5 Reactor. Head for the station. I'll fill everyone in on the train. Oh, and Cloud -- " Reluctant, Cloud tore his frowning gaze from Tifa. " -- the man at the Weapon's shop left a message on the machine this mornin', I guess you got somethin' to pick up. Don't be late at the station."
Cloud nodded, then quickly his attention turned back to Tifa. "If you're going, what about Marlene?"
"Marlene is staying behind with Biggs and Jessie. Jessie's injury would slow us down."
In just the sound of her voice Tifa told him softly but firmly not to argue, and so he didn't.
***
Cloud arrived at the train station and, after failing to spot any of the others, seated himself at the end of one of the many wooden benches positioned near the boarding area. His face was customarily devoid of all emotion until a teenage couple stumbled out of the arriving train together giggling and laughing and proceeded to passionately suck eachother's faces almost right in front of him.
His gaze averted. Are you kidding me...
"Hey! Take yo show somewhere else!"
Horror crossed their faces as their amorous union broke and they found themselves staring at Barret's pointing gun-arm from several yards away. It was hard for Cloud not to smirk at the sight of their retreat.
Somewhere during the short exchange Tifa had closed their distance with a quick trot. She plunked down onto the bench next to him with a laugh. "Even from far away, you look so annoyed."
"Not as annoyed as him." Cloud watched the big man lower his gun-arm and approach. "Does he always make a point of swinging that thing around at civilians? He could be prosecuted... "
Tifa laughed again. "Barret's not going to shoot anybody. He's just... excitable."
"Not the word I would have chosen." Cloud rose.
"Ohh, you... " Tifa followed.
***
Only after Barret had played a rousing game of intimidate every passenger in the car via cursing and yelling, especially the Shinra-employed train personnel were they able to find their seats at the back of the car. Cloud and Tifa sat side-by-side while Barret occupied a seat directly in front of theirs. A faint vibration of the seats began as the train rumbled to life.
"Hmm, feels like we're finally leaving... " Tifa peered downward out the window beside her.
Cloud leaned forward a bit. "So, what exactly is the plan today?"
"Hah! Listen to this guy," Barret twisted around in his seat. "Takin' us seriously now, or what?"
"Just because I'm not emotionally invested in this doesn't mean I'm not serious about it."
Sensing a confrontation, Tifa turned from the window. "Barret, Jessie said we can't use our fake ID's this time. I guess they're only passable once. What are we going to do?"
Barret shrugged. "We'll have to get off before the first checkpoint and hike it th' rest of the way there."
"Won't the checkpoint happen while the train is in motion?" Cloud arched an eyebrow. Barret grinned. Cloud sighed. "Are you seriously planning that we jump? There's a good chance one of us will break a limb."
"Heh," Tifa shook her head. "I bet Shinra would be so proud to know."
"Tch, they won't be proud when we blow the shit outta another one'o their Mako reactors."
Cloud bristled. "Keep your voice down."
Barret laughed. "What, Spiky? You wanted to know the plan."
"I didn't ask you to announce it to the entire car." Cloud shot back. He sat back in his seat. A nickname inspired by my hair. That's clever. Maybe I should call you Jar.
"Look, we're gonna do the same thing we did yesterday. Jessie gave Tifa entrance codes for all the doors. We just need to be quick and careful about it."
"After what we did yesterday, don't you think Shinra will have amped up their security at the reactor sites?"
"Maybe so." It was Tifa who answered Cloud. "That's why we chose not to bring Jessie, even though she's more familiar with the doors. Her injury would have put the whole mission at risk."
Cloud nodded. "Okay, so is this reactor exactly the same on the inside? Do we know?"
"Fool, you think I'd lead us in there blind?" Barret tapped his index finger against his temple. "I got the blueprints for these things in my head."
***
"Those light beams are Shinra's security sensors. We can't pass through them."
Even in a deadpan tone Cloud was very adept at conveying his annoyance. He stood with arms crossed, staring at a several parallel neon green laser lights shining straight across the path before them. After knocking out a member of the train personnel with the help of Barret's gun-arm, the three of them had made a quick and perilous escape off the back of the rear car. Going into this plan, Barret thought the tunnel they were in would end before they came to the security checkpoint. Barret was wrong.
Tifa bit her lip. "What are we supposed to do now?" She looked to Barret.
"Hell if I know."
Cloud sighed. "Well, we either need to find a way out of this tunnel or around the sensors. If we find one, we'll probably find both."
"This may be a bad idea, but… I think I saw some kind of duct chute back a ways." Tifa shrugged.
Without any other ideas to explore, the three of them backtracked their way several yards through the tunnel with Tifa in the lead. As they approached what she'd seen she pointed it out, and the first of either of their reactions was Barret's laugh.
"That's one damn tiny hole. You seriously think I can squeeze in 'ta that?"
Tifa shrugged and moved closer to take a look inside. "It doesn't look like there's anything in here that could get us stuck."
Barret laughed again. "Yeah, maybe not you an' skinny ass here. Jus' the walls of that thing could get me stuck. Cloud, what'ya think?"
"Well, if there aren't any protrusions we could get stuck on, that also means there's nothing in there to grip -- should we need to climb back out." Cloud shrugged. "It's very dicey, but how much further do you think we'd have to walk down this tunnel before we find a better alternative?"
Tifa pulled her head out of the duct and turned to face the two men. "And who knows if there is another alternative. We might just backtrack ourselves to the next sensor."
Barret rumbled out a gruff sigh.
"I'll go first." Cloud stepped forward. "I'll try to use my feet and hands to slide slowly. Tifa -- don't jump in until you hear me shout an OK. And Barret – you go last."
In case you do get your ass stuck.
Cloud climbed into the shady hole feet-first. As luck would have it, the duct wasn't as much of a downward chute as much as it was a crawl space between the train's tunnel and what Cloud assumed to be some type of engineering facility for the train itself.
Except… unlike the train, this area didn't appear to be in use. It was vast and cavernous, and all comprised of metal and all somewhat dirty and dated in build. Very much like the interior of a Mako reactor, only no Mako and slightly better lighting. There was one tall ladder he could see from where he stood that lead right up to a very illuminated doorway.
I wonder if that doorway somehow leads to the upper-plate?
He shouted his OK back through the tunnel, and a few minutes later Tifa and Barret emerged to join him.
It didn't take much longer than a half-hour of gallivanting around before the three of them were able to maneuver across various catwalks and stairs and ladders and wind themselves up in an area that didn't seem to circle them right back around to the very first room. The more they saw the more the place resembled a reactor interior.
Eventually their trek lead them into an area even more cavernous than the initial one. The place had a familiar green glowed inside of it, a glow that gradually died away as it emanated upwards. Cloud rushed to the closest stretch of railing and peered over.
Mako.
He wheeled around to face the members of AVALANCHE. "We're in a Reactor."
Both of them frowned in slight disbelief, both of them came to the railing.
"Shit… "
"We haven't exactly secured an escape route, and security could bust us at any moment." Cloud glared at Barret. "You said you knew your way around these things. Which way do we go now?"
Barret frowned. "This area ain't included in any of the blueprints I've seen – my best guess is to keep moving to higher ground."
Cloud pushed away from the railing and removed his Buster sword from its sheath. "Tifa, stay close – "
" -- I'm fine." Her hard answer nearly cut him short.
Quickly they moved toward the tallest nearest staircase available from the platform upon which they stood. They were fortunate not to encounter any Shinra security or personnel; even more fortunate that the area the staircase delivered them to seemed to be an area Barret felt he could navigate. The area felt somewhat familiar to Cloud as well. It was not unlike the Reactor they had been through last night.
A central catwalk lead to the very heart of the place, where they would once again be placing their bomb. Without some form of quick escape secured, Cloud personally felt that placing a bomb was the most foolish thing they could be doing at the moment, but now that they were here… there was no way he would be able to talk the two idealistic AVALANCHE members out of it.
Perhaps if it were only he and Barret, he would consider abandoning the mission entirely in favor of attempting it again in a better-planned fashion. But with Tifa along…
Damnit.
He felt incredibly edgy as he followed behind them along the catwalk, his eyes moving from one point of focus to the next, expecting shouts of alarm to rise at any moment…
Some type of alarm sounded, but it wasn't a shout. It was the high-pitched whistle of a teapot. No, it was the blaring pitch of a smoke alarm… In a split second of panic he looked upward, not able to place the direction of the sound. It sounded as if it were coming from inside his own head. It lifted to a painful degree and he fell to his knees.
It was coming from inside his head. He felt as if his eardrums might burst.
What?!
Tunnel vision closed in around him. He placed his palms against the cold steel floor.
***
"Papa… ?"
It was Tifa's voice – but younger, and laden with dread.
Cloud lifted his head.
A long slender sword lay across the ground in front of him. Beyond that, Tifa, and beside her a fallen man. Her father? The hat she wore veiled her face from him – a brown suede western-style hat… She used to wear it back in Nibelheim…
"Sephiroth… " She knelt over the fallen man. She stifled a sob. Cloud attempted to push himself to his feet, but there was no strength in his arms. Everything felt so… bleary.
"Sephiroth did this to you, didn't he?!"
Her shoulders trembled as she gathered her father's head into her lap.
"Sephiroth…
SOLDIER…
Mako Reactors…
Shinra…
Everything!"
She clamored to her feet, fists clenched at her sides.
"I hate them all!!"
The vehement cry sent a cold chill rattling through to Cloud's heart.
***
"Damn man, get a hold of yourself!!"
His eyes snapped open. His vision focused in on Barret's square shoulders towering above him.
"You all right?"
Tifa moved into view, lowering her face much closer than Barret had dared come. Her eyes were wide and searching his. … Tifa. Although his head throbbed so hard it made him dizzy, he nodded. And he must have grimaced, because at that moment a frown crossed her brow.
Cloud braced his hands behind him and forced himself to sit upright.
How long did I hold us up… ?
"I'll set the bomb," Barret stepped around the two of them.
Tifa rose to her feet and offered a hand. With the help of her surprisingly strong grip he was able to haul himself up as well. He nodded his gratitude and she smiled in return. Barret came back to them.
"Since we don't have an escape plan set up, I gave us extra time."
"Hmm." Tifa pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Should we just try going back the way we came?"
Cloud leaned against the rail for support. "That will just take us right back to the train tunnel."
"Most reactors are set up the same as far as exits go." Barret shouldered in between the two of them and backtracked their steps along the catwalk. "Follow me, I can get us out."
They followed his lead, and Cloud was somewhat pleasantly surprised to see that he hadn't been exaggerating his knowledge. If they had been able to enter this reactor according to their original plan, they would have had a very clean entrance and exit, just as with last night's mission.
Tifa had a slightly difficult time getting a few of the complicated door codes entered correctly, while Cloud had a difficult time staving off his lingering headache. Barret found it difficult not to damn the two of them to hell for moving too slowly. But they all managed.
They emerged from the reactor onto a platform very much like the one that had nearly falling out beneath Cloud the night before.
The entirety of Midgar's Upper-Plate City sprawled into the horizon before them; only this time illuminated by daylight. It was mostly concrete and steel, so industrial, so Shinra… and yet nothing like the side of Shinra one encountered in the slums. Up here everything was new, and clean, and sterile and carefully placed. Perfectly geometric windows coated the taller buildings and reflected the blue sky. Dark asphalt highways weaved through the buildings and each other, suspended by high pillars and lined with sleek vehicles.
Cloud took in a breath, and the air felt… fresh.
"Looks can be so deceiving." Tifa murmured. His gaze moved to her. She stood close by, staring at the same sight. Her eyes depicted a hardness that was so apart from who he knew her to be. He looked away.
"Shit," Barret sidestepped around to stand in front of Tifa. Cloud followed his gaze.
From around the corner of the platform a troupe of Shinra infantrymen marched, and at their backs followed a squat, oily-faced man with a dark maroon suit and a receding blond hairline. Cloud recognized him immediately as none other than the President of Shinra Incorporated.
"Why is the President here?" Tifa moved a half-step closer to Cloud.
The infantrymen positioned themselves in a protective formation around the important man.
"Hmm," He snatched the cigar from his mouth and eyed them all through a thin huff of smoke. "You must be those infamous terrorists."
"AVALANCHE." Barret glared at the man like a wild dog.
President Shinra cackled his contempt. "You'll forgive me my dramatics; I wanted to see your faces for myself."
How long has he known we've been inside this reactor?!
Knowing full and well that he stood before these men dressed in a SOLDIER's uniform, Cloud stepped forward. President Shinra eyed him curiously for a moment, almost as if amused.
"So, did you quit SOLDIER so you could join up with these eclectic imbeciles?"
Cloud's eyes narrowed viciously. I quit... because...
"Remind me, what is your name?"
"Cloud."
President Shinra smiled. "Ah, well, it doesn't ring any bells. Of course, you can't expect me to remember the name of every SOLDIER. Unless, however, that SOLDIER has some form of great worth to me. For example, Sephiroth."
"Don't none of that shit matter!" Barret's voice rumbled above all others. "In a few minutes this place is gonna blow!"
"Yes, well," President Shinra exhaled another puff of smoke. "I have the funds to rebuild. Unfortunately, even if you were as wealthy as me, a life is something that cannot be bought. Enjoy your last moments as free men, because you now have two choices. Surrender to my men or be killed."
At least a dozen infantrymen stood before them cradling loaded rifles.
We are easily outnumbered and within point-blank shot range. The very idea that we can fight our way through this utterly defies logic.
Though his hand gripped the hilt of his sword, Cloud's eyes were cautious.
Barret slid one foot along the steel catwalk path and brought up his gun-arm. A huge explosive blast nothing like the customary ammunition he fired blasted out of the end of his weapon, ripping a hole straight through the center of their numbers and setting several of them on fire right where they stood. Cries reached far into the sky and chaos ensued.
Cloud and Tifa each brushed by on either side of Barret, Cloud with his sword raised and Tifa gripping her materia-gloved hand at the wrist. Tifa swung her arm in an arcing motion and a bolt of pure energy cracked the air like a whip. It met one of the rushing infantrymen across the face and another at the arm, electrocuting them to their knees.
Cloud turned his back to face Tifa and raised his sword to slam the gun out of his own attacker's hands. The gun clattered away and slid off the platform. Barret pounded ahead of them both, sending a splay of gunfire into the fray. With a path clearing, Tifa followed. Cloud dispatched of his unarmed opponent in a clean swing and turned his head to glance in their direction.
President Shinra was nowhere to be found.
A mechanic wrenching filled the air around them. A large, spider-like monstrosity of a machine appeared from around the same corner the infantrymen had turned before. Most of them were dead or had retreated, but the few that remained rallied behind the mechanical thing. Tifa bravely vaulted herself into position before it, and before she could even raise her glove its arm swatted her aside like a rag doll. She stopped rolling at the very edge of the catwalk. She appeared to try to push herself up, and she couldn't.
Cloud tried to close their distance as quickly as he could while Barret emptied a long round up into the body of the steel beast, then finished with another momentous canon-blast. The machine sputtered for a fraction of a second and then exploded, throwing Barret onto his back and Cloud a couple of feet.
The steel beneath his feet croaked and slanted. Cloud grabbed a hold of the railing, but it began to bend as well. No… Suddenly the air left his chest and he could feel his feet dangling freely. He realized with cold certainty that part of the catwalk had either broken or bent away completely.
"Cloud!" His eyes moved to Tifa, who crawled toward him frantically as his hands slid along the hanging rail. "Cloud, hold on!!" She was moving as if badly injured, but clearly cared nothing for her own pains. In her state she could very well stumble her way over the edge trying to help him.
Tifa… stay back.
The damaged catwalk lurched sharply again, and he lost his grip.
A/N: Sorry this chapter took a little longer than usual. I found it a bit difficult to write. For one thing; I personally found the whole "blowing up the reactors" portion of the game rather uninteresting, so naturally it's not enthralling for me to write. I have tried my best though. Also, with this chapter there were a few places where I had a bit of trouble deciding just how I could translate gameplay into words without it all seeming a bit silly. You have to admit, this particular segment of the game is a LITTLE silly in how utterly strange everything falls together without being totally explained for the player. The game doesn't really tell you where you are when you randomly take that tunnel into the Reactor, so I had a little bit of trouble explaining that whole situation. And the running-from-car-to-car scenario on the train got cut because writing it felt unnecessary; it would have just been boring filler words.
I apologize for how much of the Airbuster battle dialogue got altered/butchered/cut. To be honest, I don't consider it a very crucial battle to the overall storyline, (in fact it was all rather cheesy) so that perspective of mine definitely affected the degree of effort I put into matching it word-for-word to the game script. I would rather cut the silly/cheesy lines out than try to bend them to the seriousness I am attempting to handle these characters with. And President Shinra was a little difficult to write because... well... read the game script. He's just a complete douche of a villain. I tried to un-douche him a little. He's still cheesy though, I know. I'm sorry.
Also, please don't hate me for leaving Jessie behind. I thought it made sense because a) she was injured (and don't tell me "she could just take a potion," because in writing a story that is just a total cop-out -- am I gonna write in a Phoenix Down for Aerith? NO. XP) and b) no sane adult would have left Marlene to take care of a BAR by herself ALL MORNING. I like to believe that Tifa and Barret and Cloud are all sane adults.