Disclaimer: This is the part where I say I don't own the rights to Final Fantasy VII. There, I said it.
Edit: 24 Feb 2013-Corrected the color of the carpet.
Alfonse
Cloud peered out the lobby doors at the blockade of grunts and mechanical soldiers. The whole building was surrounded in a wide enough perimeter that the larger machinery could circle the skyscraper.
"Zack," Cloud sighed, "I know the standards for recruits have dropped considerably since we left Shinra..." His eyes flicked up, remembering the lobby guards several stories up. Then he glared balefully at the transform materia in Zack's hand. "But even these guys would notice five frogs leaving the building."
"Don't worry Cloud, my plan is much better than that!" The former SOLDIER chuckled as he pointed to a small grating on the floor. "We'll escape through the air vents!"
"And then?" Cloud raised a skeptical eyebrow and folded his arms. "At that size, it will take us a day to cross a block, much less leave Midgar. Not to mention, frogs aren't really indigenous to the upper plate."
"Ah, but we won't be frogs! I plan on using 'mini'." Zack shook a chiding finger. "I happen to have a cornucopia. I'll shrink us all and after we get out of the building, one of us will use it and then carry the rest past the blockades. After all, they're looking for a group."
Zack waved his arms expansively, and beamed at the party. "That said, who's going to carry us?"
"I ain't doing it!" Barret raised his arms in a warding position. "'S bad enough that damned Mukki and his gang hit on me every time they came to Sector Seven without me acting like some girly-man and carrying around a bunch of dolls."
"They may be looking for a group," Cloud countered, tossing Barret a commiserating look, "but they know all our faces too."
"So one of the ladies can wear a disguise." Zack shrugged, shifting his materia and sliding his Transform into place.
"A disguise hmm?" Aerith hummed, a slow smile spreading across her face as she caught Tifa's eyes. Tifa blinked, then giggled. They both shot Cloud toothy grins. "I think we have a solution to both problems." The ancient laughed.
Cloud paled and then shot the girls a dark look. "I'm not so sure that way is the best." Cloud spoke up before the girls could go into more detail, suddenly all too aware of the violet outfit stowed in the deepest parts of his pack.
"You know Zack, I saw some motorcycles upstairs and a truck in the back. We could really leave in style!"
"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" Zack's eyes took on a considering light.
The pair swiftly climbed the stairs to vehicle display. A pair of heavy duty motorcycles gleamed under the display lights. A matching gleam filled Zack's eyes. "The keys are in the ignition!" He crowed, revving the engine of his chosen bike. "This is so much nicer than the bike I used when we were on the run!"
"The window over there is perfect," Cloud said, pointing at the large glass pane overlooking the freeway. "The truck is downstairs, I'll tell the others to ride it up here."
"Nope, I got it!" Zack's engine roared as he sped for the pale-blue carpeted stairs. Cloud shook his head and turned his bike to the other stairwell.
"Whoa!" Zack yelped, and Aerith gave a little scream as a cacophonous crashing sounded from the lobby.
Cursing, Cloud sped down the stairs and halted, staring at the burning wreck of a motorcycle on the lobby floor in silence. Zack sprawled face-down on the metalic flooring a few paces away. He gave a sheepish moan as he sat up. Cloud wondered how they made it safely to Midgar.
"Well, I suppose I could drive the truck..." Zack ventured weakly, climbing to his feet.
"Back to plan A," Aerith grabbed her boyfriend's arm and led him away from the wreck. She shot Cloud an apologetic look. "Let's find an air vent."
"There is one here," Red XIII jerked his muzzle to a decorated grate on the floor.
"Good work!" Zack patted the bemused feline on the head. Raising his bracer, he shrank the party one by one.
"Zack?" Cloud ventured, brushing the toe of his boot against one of the screws holding the grate down.
"In a sec, Cloud." Zack waved a hand and then shrank Tifa. "It's just you and me left and then we can blow this popsicle stand."
He shook his armlet and blew on it. "Alfonse is getting tired, I'm going to give him a little break before shrinking you."
"Alfonse?" The tiny Aerith asked with a frown. "Who is that?"
"My transform materia, of course!" Zack brandished his bracer proudly. "This little guy saved Spike and I so many times!"
"You named your materia 'Alfonse'?" the shrunken Tifa asked, eying the soldier warily.
"Huh, I thought Alfonse was the name of a new deity you started worshiping." Cloud commented idly.
"New deity? Where did you get THAT idea?" Zack laughed.
"You kept muttering about him on the way to Midgar." Cloud scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Things like 'thank you Alfonse', 'Alfonse, please help us', and even 'Alfonse be praised'. What was I supposed to think?"
"I've heard that talking to inanimate objects is a sign of insanity," Red quipped, flicking his flaming tail. Cloud snickered into his glove.
"Oh, be quiet!" Zack flushed and shrank the blond.
"Zack?" Cloud called with a little more urgency. Screws aside, the grate looked heavy at this size.
"In a moment, the sooner we're off, the sooner I'll find out what the girls have planned." Zack said, waving his bracer in preparation for the final cast.
Cloud snapped his mouth shut, a devious smile spreading across his face. "Won't happen," he chuckled too quietly for the man to hear and gave a nearby screw a final kick.
Aerith followed his gaze and gasped, there was no way they'd be able to open the grate at their diminished size. She whirled to call out to her boyfriend, but it was too late.
"Wow things look strange from this size," Zack whistled, walking up to the group. "Now what was it you wanted Cloud?"
Quickly composing his expression he turned. "I'm afraid we'll have to change our plan slightly," the blond said, shaking his head. "We forgot to unscrew and open the grate cover."
"What? Aw man!" Zack slapped a hand against his forehead. "Anywhere else, I'd say my buster sword or materia could handle it, but they installed materia-proof, high-grade metal grates in the lobby."
"The heck they do that for?" Barret asked raising an eyebrow.
Cloud snorted. "It used to be a rite of passage for cadets to install cameras in the floor vents and see who could get the best up-skirt shot from visitors and secretaries. But you'd know more about that than I would, right Zack?"
Aerith and Tifa glowered at the usually exuberant young man.
"Despite whatever anyone told you, I had nothing to do with those pictures. It was not my fault!" he whined fishing out his cornucopia. He stared at it for a long moment.
"I believe you need to use the item for it to work," Red XIII interjected, his tail lashing. "I dislike this building and little would please me more than leave swiftly."
"But we only have one..." Zack despaired clutching the item like a precious gem. "Aerith, you have a healing limit break, do you have one that heals special conditions too?"
"No," she huffed, rolling her eyes with a grin. "How about I talk my body into creating an esuna-type limit break just for you?"
"That would be great!" Zack cheered, then his smile fell. "Too late for this though. Oh well, I'm sure things will work out." Activating the cornucopia, he returned to his full size and stole Cloud's sword to unscrew the grate.
"I thought certain events were to be forgotten and never mentioned again." Cloud hissed at Aerith. Remembering the whole fiasco with breaking into Don Corneo's mansion gave him the chills.
"I'm with Red on this one, the sooner I'm out of this place the better." She hissed, and then rubbed her upper arm, avoiding his eyes. "I wouldn't have mentioned it if I hadn't found it in the bottom of your bag when I was hunting for potions."
"Why do you still have it?" Tifa asked breaking into the whispered conversation. Her whiskey colored eyes flicked to Barret and Red. The pair were well out of earshot, yelling advice to Zack and pacing respectively.
Cloud's brow furrowed, but before he could answer, Zack gave a triumphant cry and lifted the grating with a painful screeching of metal. Cloud and the girls yelped and scattered as Zack flung the sword back to its owner and it stabbed into the blue carpet like a javelin.
"Time to go guys, they're going to storm the lobby!" Zack cried as a fuming Cloud retrieved his sword. He scooped the party into the vent and stood on the opening and balanced the grating on his head. With a flash of green light, he shrank, leaving the grating to clatter back into place.
End notes: To my new readers, welcome! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Any ideas for future antics are much appreciated and I love hearing from you.
To my returning readers... um... heh heh... (shifts nervously) Due to some feedback, and my own feelings, I removed Red Wings and will (eventually) put it in a series of one-shots. Chapter four is in the process of rewriting, but hopefully updating won't take quite so long. Thanks go to Circle of Phoenix for pestering me into getting this done.