Chapter 5:

Cloud and Aerith was having a just as fruitful day as Tifa and Corneo. Quickly changing out of their things, Cloud took Aerith with him when he rushed towards Sector 7, forcing his way through the gate between the two sectors. Telling Barret of all he knew, the leader of AVALANCHE reassured Cloud that Tifa was a big girl and knew what she was doing. It was at that point, however, that Biggs had rushed in and exclaimed that the fence around the Plate Pillar was open and that this was their chance to take a final stand. There was a high ranking Turks member at the top, probably causing mayhem, and they needed to stop them.

"Missy, can you take Marlene somewhere safe? Somewhere away from Sector 7? I dun' want her to be in the area if something bad goes down," Barret asked Aerith, and she nodded her head.

"Of course! I'll take her to my mom's. That's far away enough from here. She'll be safe," Aerith said. Cloud shot Barret a relieve smile over Aerith's head. He didn't want to have the argument over and over again of trying to keep her out of danger and her willing to fight. This was a win-win situation in his mind.

"Go now. I don't want to take any chances," Barret said, and a few minutes later saw Aerith escorting Marlene out of Sector 7. Somehow knowing that his daughter was in good hands, Barret turned back to Cloud and tossed him a Restore Materia they had found while the blond was away. "You head on up there. Biggs, Wedge, Jessie and I will be bringing up the rear and securing the stairs." Nodding, the two dashed out of 7th Heaven and headed for the stairs that led to the control panel atop the Sector 7 Pillar. Barret stayed at the bottom of the stairs until all three AVALANCHE members could make their way in. Biggs replaced Barret so he could advance further. Their climb to the top was swift and when Cloud reached the top, his vision was filled with red hair and a blue suit. There were two maintenance men working at the control panel, and another one was halfway under the console, fiddling with wires. Reno of the Turks, however, immediately saw the threat that was Cloud and pointed his electrorod at the intruder.

"You are unauthorized to be here. Leave now," Reno ordered, the maintenance workers not bothering to stop their work, knowing they were protected.

"Enough! We know you're up to something here, and we're going to stop it!" Barret exclaimed as he suddenly appeared from the stairs.

"What are you talking abou-" Reno started to say but he was cut short, jumping back as Barret let loose a barrage of bullets at him. With a cry of alarm, Reno got serious, a glare set their way.

"James, no!" A cry from the side caught everyone's attention, one of the workers that had been standing was down, the other two huddled around him. A red spot was blossoming on James' shirt, and Reno turned back to Cloud and Barret, who were both ready for a fight.

"You two will pay for that!" Reno called out. "Raine, Louker, call for a helicopter. We're getting out of here!"

"Not so fast!" Cloud called back, brandishing his sword the only way he knew how. Reno was unamused and pointed his electrorod at the two before getting into a fighting stance.

"Bring it!"

The three fought, Cloud's sword clashing with Reno's electrorod, Barret occasionally getting a few shots in when the two separated long enough so that he wouldn't shoot his blonde partner. The bullets were beginning to annoy Reno, so he put some distance between himself and the other two. Pointing his rod at Barret, he chanted a spell and light burst from the tip. A pyramid of light surrounded Barret, and he found that he couldn't move. Shooting bullets at it from the inside didn't seem to work. He wasn't sure how to get out of this one. Cloud, on the other hand, was focusing all of his attention on Reno, ignoring the plight that Barret was in. Behind Reno, a helicopter hovered nearby, and the two remaining maintenance workers dragged their fallen comrade to their transport.

"Reno, you're going down!" Cloud called out, and the redhead merely gave a laugh.

"You wish, spiky! You'll need years more training to be able to defeat me in battle." The pyramid around Barret suddenly became smaller, and it forced him to his knees. "You might want to help your friend there. It looks like he won't last for much longer." Cloud chanced a look to see what danger Barret was actually in, and this gave Reno the time to slip away and jump into the helicopter still waiting for them. "Later losers!"

As the enemy got away, Cloud attacked the pyramid just as it once again became smaller. The pyramid burst, releasing Barret, and he collapsed to the floor.

"That was horrible! I'm going to gut the little freak the next time we see him!" Barret exclaimed as he caught his breath. Getting to his feet, he led Cloud over to the console and the two of them were trying to figure out exactly what they all were doing there. Cloud got underneath the console to see if there was anything wrong, but had no clue what anything did under there.

"Anything?" Cloud called out.

"Nada!" Barret replied. "You?"

"Nothing."

"Wait, what's this?" Cloud was out from under the console and next to the gunman in the blink of an eye.

"What is that?" the blond asked, taking a closer look at the line of text on the screen. "Why does it say detonation?!"

"What?! I knew those scumbags were up to no good!" Barret exclaimed, pointing his gun at the screen.

"Barret, don't-" Cloud quickly said but the other man ignored him. With a few well aimed shots of his gatling gun, Barret made quick work of the console. Static raced along the keyboard, and the remnants of the screen flickered red before a siren went off. "No! Barret, I think you set it off! We gotta get out of here!" The larger man looked around and headed for the stairs. Cloud looked back at the screen and noticed the timer.

"Barret, we don't have time! This thing is going to blow any second!" Cloud said, heading for a crane line they could swing down on.

"What about Jessie, and Biggs, and Wedge?!" Barret was torn between his loyalty to his fellow AVALANCHE members and his motivation for seeing Marlene again. Without letting Cloud reply, the leader of AVALANCHE had made up his mind and followed Cloud to their only escape route. It proved to be profitable when the entire pillar shattered as explosions rocked its very being, Cloud and Barret having just pushed off the edge to swing down off of the pillar. For all they knew, Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge were still in the staircase, and only a feeling of utter damnation filled them.

The two had eventually landed in the Sector 6 playground, and had attempted to regain access into Sector 7 in the attempt to warn everyone, but with a resounding crash and billowing dust, the Sector 7 plate fell, destroying everything underneath.

When the dust cleared, only warped metal and smouldering remnants of the pillar were seen through the forced open gate. Barret fell to his knees and cried out in anguish.

"Noooooo! Marlene! Biggs! Wedge! Jessie!"

Cloud just stood there silently, in shock, at the destruction laid before them. He let Barret mourn, as he himself mourned the loss of what could have been another home to him. He had begun to like 7th Heaven and the hideout, and everyone in it.

They stayed there for at least 10 minutes, letting their rage and grief build up. However, before they could explode at each other, Cloud remembered something important.

"Barret, I think Marlene is alive. Aerith said she would take her to her mother's house, and she would have easily gotten through the gate before we had even gotten up the stairs," Cloud said, trying to convince not only himself, but Barret as well. "I know where the house is. We can go there and regroup. If we can find Tifa, we could get her to help us." Barret took a moment to stand and nodded, hope burning in his chest.

"Those Shinra bastards won't get the best of us. We're going to take them down, and I know that Tifa would love to help in that," Barret said, his focus narrowed and his eyes set forward. "Lead the way. I need time to think." Nodding, Cloud started heading towards Sector 6 and Aerith's house.

A/N: Hey guys. Been super busy. Hope you liked this chapter!