After dark, Natalie met Biggs and Wedge on their way to the train station. The three of them had agreed to meet at the station with bikes. To find out what Jessie was up too. They each had their own motorbike. After Jessie had left them, Biggs had convinced Natalie to join him and Wedge for whatever might be going on.
"Get a move on you too." Biggs told them both. "If we're going to surprise Jessie, we have to get to the Station now."
Natalie was surprised to see Jessie there with Cloud. It appeared that she was trying to pull Cloud into their little field trip.
Natalie listened while they explained about the new train schedule, since the first Reactor exploded. And that Biggs had figured that Jessie was heading topside to see her parents.
"Are your parents still around Cloud?" Jessie asked.
"No."
Natalie was thinking of parents she couldn't remember when Wedge slapped her on the back, "We can all borrow Jessie's parents. Lee, you got some more brothers right here!"
"Wedge!" Biggs said, seeing it was still a sore spot for Natalie.
"No, he's right." Natalie assured them, smiling. Natalie smoothed out her own face seeing Cloud's non-reaction.
"Here's to awkward family reunions!" Jessie proclaimed.
"Yeah!" Biggs and Wedge cheered.
Natalie shared Cloud's non-reaction.
'I have out lived or forgotten, too many families, and I'm going to out live some more.' She had no idea where that thought had come from, but it filled her with dread.
After some rock-paper-scissors. Jessie "won" riding tandem with Cloud on one bike. Biggs and Wedge on the other. That left Natalie on her own on the third bike.
Over the noise, she couldn't hear what Jessie was on about with Cloud. So she concentrated on her riding and looked for trouble.
Jessie yelled at them about the IDs not holding up to extra scans. So Natalie was unsurprised when the first PS bikes joined them in the tunnels. She drove the bike with her left hand. So while Cloud swung around with his sword, Natalie blasted bikes and riders with lightning.
Natalie kept the bolts weak and fast, conserving herself for what might come later. Always have a back-up plan.
Natalie veered to the left, "Cloud, on your left!" they swerved to either side of Biggs and Wedge's bike and made a triangle formation down the tunnel. Zipping back and forth. Natalie only missed her shot once.
Cloud swung his sword at someone getting in front of them. The energy of a Blade Burst traveled from the edge of his sword and shot down the track. Splitting the bike out from other the guy.
Natalie focused back on riding and fighting as another wave of Public Security on bikes came. This wave had better bikes, the uniforms had the red of elite PS.
"A-Team's here." Cloud told them.
"We're not screwed, are we?" Wedge shouted.
"Just drive." Natalie told them, feeling like Cloud was rubbing off on her. She took her sword out and switched hand handling the bike. These guys weren't going down from a quick bolt.
"About time." Cloud told her.
Working in tandem the two SOLDIERs made quick work of that wave and the following wave of drones. Passing someone stopped in the tunnels with the biggest red bike Natalie had ever seen.
Natalie used the momentum of the bike's braking behind her sword slashes. Stopping one of the Public Security by cutting most of the way through his neck. The the most vulnerable spot she could reach from her bike. Her sword rained death on the members of security that got near her. If any of them, Her, cloud, or the others had an accident on their bike. They could be flattened into so much gooey pizza made of flesh and blood. So Natalie was just as merciful to the people shooting at her and the others.
In falling back a little, no one had seen her cut, or the blood that came from the dead guard who immediately lost control of his bike. Natalie did not forget what it looked like. Taking on a blank and cold expression much like Cloud. She felt more in her element as she became death on two wheels for anyone lagging behind Cloud's sword or Bigg's gun.
Natalie had only a moment to look away from the flopping head before the bike had fallen behind and there were more security to deal with.
The next wave was a mix of drones and security. Natalie heard one of them yelling into their headset. Zipping over to Cloud, taking out a drone she yelled at him. "Head's up, they're sending a SOLDIER."
Cloud nodded as they moved back part to pick off the last of that wave.
They came out of the tunnel, cheering that they had made it topside. They were halfway there. Natalie didn't cheer, only gripped her sword and bike handle harder.
"It's not over yet." Cloud said.
With the rails ahead of them clear, Natalie checked behind them for the next wave.
Ahead of them, Cloud took out two bikes with a blade burst. One of them had indeed been turned to 'pizza'. If they had survived the blade burs, they had not survived crashing their bike.
"Cloud makes that look even easier." Biggs told her.
"Keep your eyes on the road." Natalie warned the guys. As she herself concentrated on going forward and planning her next attack. Instead of let her eyes linger on the blood and gore behind them.
There was another wave of basic and elite riders, something passed between them and they all pulled up behind Natalie and the others. As the five of them left the elites behind.
Jessie was trying to look back. "What's going on?"
"That SOLDIER's coming." Natalie told Jessie.
"We got this." Cloud said.
One of the last bikes behind them blew up. The SOLDIER had arrived. On some monster of a red bike that was fast enough to ride up the incline along the tracks and get ahead of them.
Natalie concentrated on not getting hit as the man started toying with them. She didn't recognize his uniform. But she didn't doubt his status as a SOLDIER with the skill he used to control his bike.
Introducing himself as Roche 'the speed demon.' He tried to make witty banter with Cloud and race them to the end of the tunnel.
Natalie didn't banter back as the guy started flirting with Jessie between jumps and attacks. He didn't miss a thing, riding alongside Natalie. "Another lady, has the wind stolen your voice?"
They exchanged blows across their bikes. "I'll clip your wings and sing you to sleep." Natalie warned him. She kept to herself that her sleepel Materia was in her pocket. Not in a slot from which she could use the magic on him.
"Oh hoho! A songstress! I can have a song and a Dance." As he struck at Natalie.
She threatened him. "It's two against one, demon." Natalie gritted her teeth, countering Roche's moves, katana against SOLDIER-issue sword. Not letting her get distracted by a memory of Genesis, even as she remembered hating that nickname.
Roche sped ahead, skipping his bike and shouting back, "Threesome it is!"
"Three? But there's five of us." Wedge complained.
"I don't want to fight a SOLDIER, do you Wedge?" Biggs said with a grimace.
Natalie gritted her teeth, there was no holding back with this fight. She had to pull all the stops, that included some moves she had from SOLDIER, like 'Cloud's' blade burst. Even Roche had his own twist on that cut in the air that traveled from Roche's bike to the target behind him.
Biggs and Wedge cheered at the tricks she had never used around them before. Only when she was alone, hunting monsters to keep the Slums safe.
Roche roared with laughter. "I normally wouldn't strike down a lady. But you know the dance!"
"I'm no lady." Natalie grimaced and pushed the bike as fast as it would go. The sooner this guy was down, the better.
Roche continued his banter, even as he was forced to up his game against them. The man was one with his bike, blasting lightning behind them and their slower bikes. Or he would ride onto the wall and cast through his sword.
Biggs looked like a kid with a pea shooter, he was the only one who could get Roche when the SOLDIER drove above them, out of the range of a sword.
Natalie saw that it was more two against one. Her and Cloud versus the other SOLDIER. 'The night isn't over yet, the sooner we take him, the better.' She was in the best shape with her auto-cures running since Roche had blooded her. The others would need it if they won the race. When they won the race. Roche had to go down first and soon.
After more blows and spells went off, Cloud caught up to Roche on the bike.
Roche shook off whatever Cloud had said, and swiped the gun out of Jessie's hand. Before he and Cloud went into another exchange of blows.
"Get the bike!" Natalie yelled at Cloud.
As Roche and Cloud veered apart again. Cloud jumped off his bike and drove his sword into the front of Roche's bike. Jumping back to Jessie as the big red bike started going out of control.
"Until next time!" Roche laughed. Even in losing he had enjoyed the whole thing. He disappeared behind them, his bike sputtering, no longer able to keep up.
Jessie cut the other's celebrations of victory. Reminding them all that reinforcements were already coming.
Natalie couldn't see them, but she didn't disagree. There was always another wave.
Things calmed down on the last stretch to the station.
Natalie could see Jessie warming up to Cloud. And Cloud rebuffed her at every turn. Natalie just kept her eyes and ears open for more forces.
Biggs tried lifting Natalie's spirits with more banter and jokes as they pulled up.
"Those were some cool moves Lee. I didn't know you could do that."
"Hmm." She only grunted. 'So he had seen some take downs' she wasn't thinking about the flopping head anymore. 'But not all of them.'
"Yeah," Wedge bantered. "Pull any more tricks like that out of your pocket and Cloud's gonna have some competition."
"You can have the next ride all to yourself though," Jessie called after Natalie.
Natalie only grunted. The night was still young. She was grim entering topside of district Seven. She was only getting gloomier as the night wore on.
Natalie caught Cloud looking at her, who grunted when Jessie did something before yelling at Cloud, "Eyes on the road."
Jessie cooled down after they left the bikes behind in the tunnel to walk the rest of the way. Jessie hinted at her life growing up in the topside district of Sector Seven with her parents. They lived here because they worked for ShinRa. Biggs and Wedge were their usual selves as Cloud and Natalie followed behind to Jessie's parents.
Natalie drifted to the back of the group. She was getting distracted, ruminating, again. She had known SOLDIERs who had rented places around here. But she had no idea where. The last thing she needed tonight, was to run into old SOLDIER friends of hers.
"Where did you learn how to do that?" Cloud asked her.
She had gotten so distracted she hadn't noticed Cloud drift to her while the others led the way to Jessie's mother's house.
"Hmm." she had an idea, "You're new in town. So I can forgive you for not knowing not to ask that."
Cloud pressed on, he had no manners. "Not just anybody can do that."
"But anybody can ask too many questions and stick their foot in their mouth." Natalie sighed, "Look. I'm not going to tell you to forget what you saw." Natalie breathed again, to make her tone warmer. "But I'll give you some free advice. Don't ask people about their past or their business in this town."
She glanced at the others ahead of them, they seemed to be far enough ahead to not hear her. "That also means try not to gossip? Please."
Cloud was cool in the face of Natalie's tone. "Hmm." He kept up the tough-guy lone-wolf persona. Not even thanking her for the advice. They easily caught up to the others in the quiet night street.
Biggs and Wedge tried carrying on for Natalie's sake. She only pulled her focus back at the mention of Jessie's mom's pizza.
"It feels like forever since I've had pizza." Natalie said.
"Don't you remember the last time? Jessie's mom makes the best pizza!" Wedge's stomach growled as if to punctuate his words.
Natalie followed the others inside the house. They left Cloud outside for Jessie's surprise plan to work. They'd eat pizza while Cloud waited for the right moment to sneak in and get what they needed for the next step in Jessie's plan.
Natalie sat with Biggs, Wedge and Jessie. While Jessie's mom whipped them up a pizza. She was a good host, making them all feel like family. She even tried cheering up Natalie, who was brooding the whole time.
"Why so glum Natalie? You're not you're usual self." Their host asked, Jessie's mother.
The banter died down as Biggs looked at Natalie.
She nodded to the man, to say it.
Biggs told their host, "She had a death in the family a little while ago."
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
"Thanks Mrs. R. But don't let me get in the way of all of us enjoying the pizza you're cooking." Natalie attempted to diffuse the somber mood.
"And such fine pizza it is." Wedge made a grand show of smelling the food cooking in the oven.
Natalie let the conversation slide by. She kept to herself as the pizza was served and they all dug into it. After their host asked some awkward questions of Jessie. Jessie played off her cover as an actress around town, not AVALANCHE operatives. Before they took their leave and met Cloud outside.
"You good?" Biggs asked Natalie outside.
"Yeah."
"If I didn't know any better. I'd say that you're picking up on someone else's mood."
She punched him in the arm, lightly, making an attempt to joke back.
"Ow," He rubbed his shoulder. Smiling, "You wound me."
Cloud met them across the street, handing Jessie what he had gotten from the house.
With the ID card in hand, Jessie told them the plan.
She would sneak in to the sector annex and get what she needed, and they would be the distraction.
"You tend to be more subtle…" Jessie eyed Natalie.
"I know how to not be subtle." Natalie told her.
"Well clearly, Lee. you've been holding out on us." Jessie joked. Then went into laying out her plan for the night. Where they had to go, the rendezvous point. As well as a place back to the Slums, away from where they had left the bikes.
"Are we going to take the first morning train back to the Slums?" Biggs asked. That wouldn't be for hours and hours.
"I have something worked out." Jessie told him. "Just raise some hell. After the first flare." she ran off ahead.
Natalie walked with the others to the plaza.
Biggs asked Cloud about what he had seen in the house.
Jessie's dad was bedridden in a near coma, Natalie knew that already. And it was his ID card that had been retrieved.
Biggs assumed that Cloud wouldn't care about how he had gotten sick. But even Natalie was surprised when Cloud asked with genuine interest.
Natalie heard it again, as Bigs told Cloud. About how Jessie had made it, as an actor, at the Golden Saucer when there had been an accident in Midgar. Giving her father Mako poisoning.
Natalie knew the story, she was glad that Cloud had shown any sign of anything other than closed bluffness. Biggs went back to that when they started getting into Planetology and why they thought Jessie's dad was in the state he was in.
Natalie was glad that Cloud cared about anything. He just didn't want it to show.
"You handled that SOLDIER pretty well Lee." Biggs told her.
"Hmm." She wasn't in the mood to accept the compliment.
"Not many people can do that." Cloud said again.
"I'm pretty well traveled."
"Yeah," Biggs told her. "I thought we were going to die. But you were as cool as Cloud was with the guy on the red bike."
"Thanks." Natalie didn't supply an answer. At least her goggles didn't look too out of place here, even Barret wore his sunglasses at night.
"There's the plaza." Wedge pointed out. "And there's the rendezvous when we've got what we came for." they ran along the dark wall on the final approach to the plaza.
Natalie was out of her own head-space going up to the compound. Shifting her focus to the job, she could bury her worries for now.
"It's so quiet." Wedge said.
"We just need to get past this gate." Biggs told them.
"It's too quiet," Natalie said.
"Wait, where are the guards." Cloud peeked around the corner to the front gate.
They all exchanged nods and silently moved in below the windows.
Cloud pulled Wedge down from looking in the guardhouse. The guards inside had already been dropped. Natalie looked behind them and looked for snipers. Though she didn't get close enough to those guards to see what had taken them down.
"Looks like someone beat us here." Biggs whispered to them.
Biggs and Wedge griped while Natalie and Cloud stayed silent.
They had now way of informing Jessie of this, the only way was forward.
"This better not get in the way of our plans." Biggs said.
Cloud stood up, taking charge, "It won't."
Natalie followed after Biggs and Wedge, giving a nod to Cloud as they went to the next obstacle.
Hugging the wall, there was nobody around. Biggs' plan was for someone to scout ahead and then the rest of them would follow.
"I can handle the scouting solo." Cloud said.
Biggs shot it down, this was a group effort.
"Don't expect me to save you," Cloud said.
"I got your back Biggs." Natalie held up her left fist. Holding up the arm that had her healing Materia strapped to it. With which she had touched everyone up after their ride. She looked at Cloud, who had shrugged her off and healed himself.
"I can watch my back just fine." Cloud told Natalie.
"No offense, Cloud. I'm not in doubt of your skills. But we don't know how much trouble is in there, yet."
"But." He cut in.
"But," Natalie continued. "Why be an army of one when you can have back-up?"
"I'm not asking for you to watch my back." He told her.
"I'm not offering." She told him.
"Just stay out of my way." He told her.
"That's the plan, and raise some hell." Natalie said.
"Do you have any summoning Materia?" Biggs asked Cloud.
"Yeah."
"Be prepared to use it, especially if we find a big group."
"Hah," Natalie pulled her gloves on tighter. "That makes two of us." Of course Natalie kept Leviathan and Shiva with her. With her modded sword, she could finally slot most of her Materia, including both of her red summon spheres at once.
"Just stay out of my way, Lee" Cloud reminded her.
"I can handle that." Natalie told him.
After a final pat down of their equipment, Cloud went in to scout.
"That's usually your job." Biggs told her.
She peeked around the corner again, looking after Cloud. "I wanna see how he does."
While Cloud was gone, Biggs poked Natalie.
"What Biggs?"
"I was just wondering."
"Yeah?" She asked him. Keeping an eye out for Cloud and trouble.
"You usually take a while to let people call you Lee. You pretty much introduced yourself to Cloud like that."
"Must we do this now?" She asked him.
"Hey, hey, just making conversation."
"Hmm." She made a noise.
Cloud was back from scouting quickly. While Natalie listened to Biggs go over the plan one more time.
The flare went up behind the facility not long after after.
"Let's Go." Cloud went in the plaza, followed by Natalie. Biggs and Wedge went to a walkway above the plaza.
And they lit up the facility. Cloud and Natalie didn't fight back-to-back. They dove apart into the crowds of security, cutting lose and making noise.
They both blended swordplay and magic for wave after wave of people and beasts. Natalie had been a spell-caster even before she had became a SOLDIER. Cloud had imprinted Zack's moves and then some. Showing that Cloud was the better swordsman. Even when Natalie had had more time with the sword than he did. 'What happened to you Cloud?' but she dare not ask, not now and maybe not later. And risk another incident like the last one.
Biggs and Wedge kept Natalie and Cloud from getting surrounded. Natalie was too much in the middle of the fighting to do more than move and swing her sword and cast spells from time to time.
"Thanks." Cloud threw at her after another of her cure spells settled on him.
Natalie keeping other people going on the field had always been her first priority. And her swordplay could keep enemies back far enough for her to not be interrupted from activating her Materia.
When the fighting had cleared, Natalie helped Wedge off of the ground, while Biggs joked from above. Natalie only looked for the second flare. A bay door in their plaza opened instead.
Wedge held up the mines her had found running around. He was ready for the next wave.
Natalie looked at Cloud. "You wanna take the first turn summoning?"
"You getting tired?" He asked her.
"No way. I can do this all night."
Cloud went through the motions as the giant mechs approached them.
It was taking painfully long for them to take the mechs down. Natalie didn't have an infinite supply of Mana. They at least moved through the enemy quickly enough that she knew they could keep going.
The mechs had taken time to take down, even with Cloud bringing in Ifrit. Cloud, Natalie and Wedge got surrounded as dozens of armed personnel poured out of every door and had them surrounded.
Natalie was deciding between Shiva and Leviathan when someone called for their surrender.
Before any of the four of them could speak. Someone else decided for them
As that SOLDIER's red bike came over the perimeter wall, he was laughing uproariously. Upon landing, he zipped back and forth across the plaza. Troops dove frantically out of his way as he passed the three of them. Cloud, Wedge and Natalie.
"Well, aren't we having a wonderful time kicking the hornet's nest!" Roche crowed at them.
In the chaos that Roche had created, Biggs came in one of the gaps Roche had made in the line and rejoined the other three.
"You know what I want." Roche told Cloud, stepping away from his bike. The style was new, but the colors were that if a Third Class uniform. Roche pointed his sword at the other man. He had picked Cloud as the biggest threat in the room.
Natalie wanted him to be wrong. But was jealous if he was right.
"Get back." Cloud told the three of them.
"You don't want to be anywhere near this." Natalie told Biggs and Wedge. Everyone in the plaza gave Roche and Cloud space. Especially the ShinRa guards that were clearly familiar with Roche's disregard for collateral damage.
"Perhaps I'll give you a dance after I'm finished with this one" Roche called to Natalie.
"Not if I have to pick up pieces of you after."
Roche only laughed and went after Cloud.
'This is taking too long.' Natalie watched. Roche might have given her trouble alone. She had barely made Second class. And it looked like Roche could surpass her one day, if she didn't keep improving.
Cloud, though, he had the other SOLDIER handled.
Natalie watched Cloud at his best, fighting with a style all his own. Even as ghosts of Zack and Sephiroth worked into the moves. She looked away from the duel, keeping an eye on the PS around them. In case someone tried something.
Natalie was getting impatient when Roche got his second wind. And she searched the skies for the second flare as Roche conceded and stumbled back to his bike.
Cloud didn't take the chance to stab the man in the back, leaving the SOLDIER to leave to lick his wounds.
A new alarm started as even more of the facility woke up. More security, more bots. The four of them would be hard pressed to keep going under those numbers.
'Leviathan it is.' Natalie calculated that she wouldn't much energy left after summoning that creature. It still took a lot out of her, even after all of this time. And she had been using magic all throughout the night already.
The latest batch were given orders to focus on Cloud, so they could overwhelm him. Roche made his exit, laughing all the way and flipping bots as he circled the group in his red motorcycle.
"Until next time, try not to die!" He threw a kiss at Natalie, "You owe me a song and dance, m'lady." He circled the group and swerved between them. "See you on the road!" Laughing maniacally, he jumped his bike over a wall.
Another wave of mechs moved in, surrounding them. Knocking Biggs down, Cloud moved to help him out of trouble, before Natalie could.
From the gate they had made their entrance, a new group of AVALANCHE poured into the plaza. Natalie recognized the other 'AVALANCHE' cells for what they were. She couldn't place the source. But she new that those uniforms were a section of AVALANCHE that she had wanted to have nothing to do with for years. One of them had killed her best friend. Where Barret's cell of AVALANCHE had nothing to do with people like that.
But Natalie kept that stream of thought to herself. Following Biggs and Cloud out of the facility. Rather than linger on Danny's fiery death and the woman that had killed him.
One of those people were treating Wedge for his injuries as the three of them slipped away.
Natalie slipped between the closing gate doors as Biggs was telling Cloud what she had already known. How those members of AVALANCHE were the big guy's on campus. As much as they went around with very well funded gear. Barret's cell was cast out as the extreme one.
The second flare was going off as Biggs waxed about the war with Wutai being over, but Wutai was still paying people, AVALANCHE, to fight for them.
'They have military grade gear and we're the extreme ones?,' Natalie thought. Before she told the others "Let's go." She was off to the rendezvous, eager to get away. Biggs and Cloud were close behind.
As they slipped passed ShinRa calvary moving in, Cloud asked about Wedge. Unsure if it was OK to leave him behind.
Natalie was in the lead, glad that it was just Cloud's act to be closed off to others. He really did care, once he got to know someone.
Jessie was waiting for them.
Natalie could hear security talk about putting the word out that the disturbance had just been a false alarm. Typical ShinRa lies.
Jessie asked about Wedge just as the other AVALANCHE members dropped him off on their way out.
Cloud timed when they could leave cover to get him out of sight without being noticed.
Once back in cover, Jessie checked out Wedge's injuries. They were nowhere near as serious as Wedge's complaints sounded. Making light of the whole thing, Cloud cracked the first smile any of them had seen him make.
Jessie was the one to point that out.
Cloud closed up again and deflected by telling them that it was time to leave.
Jessie refused to reveal their exit strategy as she lead the way to wherever they were going.
The streets were full of Public Security and locals asking questions. The five of them were far enough away now that they could travel down the street without getting stopped for an ID check, or questions.
In the alleys, Cloud nearly slipped about what he had been told about Jessie's dad. Biggs turned it around and made it about pizza 'next time' they were in the area. Natalie only listened as Cloud acted more and more part of the group. With the fighting over, and the next step in Barret's plan coming tomorrow night. Natalie didn't know when she would get to have pizza like that again. And the not knowing bothered her deeply.
Natalie was becoming more distant even as Cloud acted more amicable with them, little by little.
"Super duper awesome! Right Lee?" Biggs asked her.
"Yeah." was all she could say, with a flat tone.
"Parachutes?" Wedge asked.
'I used to hate heights.' Natalie thought as they bantered around her. Jessie asked Cloud to meet her so she could pay him back for helping out.
'How much longer do we have?' Natalie thought. Biggs, Wedge, Jessie. They were her found family now. She had gone from knowing of them briefly, to this. Friends, found family.
'I lose everyone eventually.' Natalie thought, as she surveyed the Slums hundreds of meters below them. "Meet you down there." Natalie jumped first, she didn't hear what went on between the others as she left.
'I miss flying.' She hummed 'Empty' as she picked a landing spot below.