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Description
The Phoenix Eye
Chapter 8
Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

-- Midgar, Sector 4, A Short Time Later:

“Nice to know you were following instructions…” the recording on the black box explained.  The entire group was some distance off, listening to the recorded voice of the remnant while watching for possibilities of another ambush.  This time, Yuffie had hit the green ‘play’ button from a distance with her shuriken, the whole group wanting to stay a safe distance.

The recording continued.  “There is a maintenance shaft a few paces to the north leading to the railroad access beneath the plate.  Simply drop in and follow the train tracks to the west, taking lefts at any junctions you find.  Don’t worry about going to far, you’ll know where you’re supposed to be when you get there.”

The black box stopped producing sound and the small audience waited for it to detonate as the last one had.  Nothing happened.

“You know, I’ve haven’t even met this guy and he already pisses me off!” Cid blurted out suddenly.

“I know what you mean,” Reno joined.  “He’s playing us for fools!  All these mind games and all this ‘go here’ and ‘go there.’  Just wait till I see that guy and I’ll show him where to put his little black boxes yo!”

“Reno.  Calm Down.” Tifa admonished him.

“Yes.” Reeve seconded.  “Don’t let his games get to you.  Everyone just focus on the mission.”

Cloud stopped listening as the conversation drifted to less important points.  He walked north a few yards to the access hatch that was clearly visible across the cement walkway.  The rectangular cover plate was as long as Cloud was tall, and just as wide too.  To take the long term pressure of foot and vehicle traffic, the metal plate was made a full inch and a half thick, punctuated with symmetrical slots for a hydraulic lift or construction vehicle to pull it out of the ground by chains.  Cloud dug his hands into the anchoring slots and wrenched the heavy plate free of the cement and dust without visible effort.  He carried the plate aside and leaned it against a nearby ruined building where it sank deeply into the soft stucco wall.

By now the rest of the group had finished their conversation and found their way over to Cloud.  He stood over the opening, squatting down for a closer look into the descending blackness.

“Do you have the schematics of the railways up yet?” Cloud asked Reeve over the intercom.

“Already got pulled them up on my computer,” Reeve announced.  “…though if Shelke were here I could have done it in a tenth the time.”

“I’m not your personal calculator.” Shelke complained jokingly.

“Where could his instructions be leading us?” Cloud interrupted, keeping focused on the task in front of him.  Tifa noticed that Cloud was shifting into his ‘serious’ mode, as she liked to call it.  Cloud was not going to be deterred or stopped until the matter with the remnant was resolved.

Reeve’s voice came back over the radio.  “That question is a little harder to answer.  The remnant’s proposed route will take you around the outside of the sector ring, literally leading to just about anywhere except the Shinra main offices.”

“Does this shaft lead straight down to the rail tunnels?” Cloud inquired.

“Yes it does.”  Reeve responded quickly.

Tifa stretched out her hand and opened her mouth to stop Cloud, but she was too late.  Her husband had dropped into the shaft without a word or moment’s hesitation.  She sighed exasperatedly before calling down the shaft.

“You okay down there Cloud?” her voice echoed loudly into the darkness.

“I can hear you just fine through the radio Tifa.” Cloud reminded her.  “And I’m fine; all clear down here.”

“Next time my love, use the ladder.” Tifa relayed through the radio, swinging her legs down onto the first rung and descending towards her husband.  Cloud did not reply, and Tifa could picture her blond-haired warrior scratching the back of his head in embarrassment… the way he always did.”

Tifa soon heard the sounds of scraping boots above her as she was followed by first Barret, and then Cid and others.  It occurred to Tifa during the few moments in which she shared the shaft with Barret that she was not sure if she trusted this old rusty maintenance ladder to hold the weight of the large man above her.  But Tifa finished her descent safely and ducked out of the way as the rest of the team followed.  She quickly took her place at her husband’s side and smiled at him, meaning to convey that it would all work out right.  Cloud met her gaze and accepted her encouragement, his expression wavering for only a moment from the grim countenance that watched the progress of their descending companions with impatience.  Cloud was definitely in ‘serious mode’ Tifa decided.

The trek down the long abandoned train tunnels was long and arduous.  Many times the group had to slow their pace to cross sections of track which had collapsed into spaces far below, or to crawl over rubble from cave-ins which had all but blocked the tunnel.  The old railway seemed to go on forever, and Barret even commented that it had taken less time to climb the fifty-nine flights of stairs up the ‘emergency exit’ of the Shinra Tower.  But as the group neared the threshold to the third sector, one of them spoke up.

“Wait!” Nanaki called softly.  The group paused and turned towards him.  “I smell an active robot.”

“How can you smell a robot?” Elena inquired.

“They use different kinds of lubricants when making robots…” the old hunter explained.  “… in order to prevent damaging the electronic components.  And an active robot will keep the lubricant warm… I learned to distinguish the scent during by internship as one of Hojo’s experiments.”

“Ok, lets proceed with extra caution…” Cloud began, but was interrupted.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Reno cut in.  “That’s just what he expects us to do.”  Cloud stared silently at the red-head, as did every other member of the group.  Reeve would have stared too, if he had been there, but he just remained silent instead.

“Um, I don’t get it.” Yuffie injected in confusion.

“Well, come on yo!” Reno spun around flustered, trying to find someone to help explain.  “Well I mean, this remnant guy… he expects us to come in all nice and easy like, so he’ll be planning his ambush or whatever around that.  If we just like, burst through the tunnel guns blazing, we’ll upset his plan.  You know what I mean?”

“That sounds reckless.” Tifa criticized with an expression of skepticism.

Reno clapped his hand to his forehead.  “Exactly!” he almost yelled in frustration.

“Wait,” Reeve’s chimed in.  “I think I know what he’s getting at.”  The group stared off into the empty spaces between each other’s profiles as they listened to the advice of their distant friend.  “If the remnant has a trap, he will wait to spring it until the group is in the right spot.  In other words, he has the advantage and will wait until you are exactly where he wants you to be.  In some ways like a mouse trap which only snaps shut when the mouse gets close enough to touch the cheese.

“What Reno is saying is that if you rush in, you may end up passing the metaphorical ‘jaws of the trap’ before they have the chance to close correctly.  You could end up being too close, or too far from the ambush for it to have the desired effect.  Like the mouse that runs in quickly and snatches up the cheese before the trap can spring.”

“Yeah…” Reno said in confusion, trying to figure out how all that analogy came from his simple suggestion.  “…something like that.”

“Sooooooo… Let me get this straight,” Yuffie began sarcastically.  “We’re the mouse going into the mousetrap right?”

“That’s right.” Shelke responded with a mischievous grin.  “But does a ‘ninja mouse’ ever get caught?”  Yuffie grinned evilly.

As it turned out, Reno’s suggestion had proved very beneficial.  The remnant had indeed rigged a trap, consisting of several score combat drones and repaired defense robots prepared to spring as the team entered a bottleneck in the tunnel with very little cover.  Had they actually been caught in the bottleneck they probably would have sustained serious injury from the overwhelming gunfire concentrated into such a small area.  But as it was with the whole team rushing forward, they had passed the bottleneck before the mechanical death machines had pulled sufficiently from their hiding places to open fire.

The battle lasted less than a minute, only requiring a few cure spells afterwards from stray bullets.  And it was not long after that the last clue to the remnant’s location was found.  There was a door on the side of the tunnel, just like many such doors they had encountered further back.  But this door had a block of new cement in front of it, like an extended step.  And resting neatly in the center of the step, right in front of the steel door, was a mat.  There were words woven into the coarse fibers which read “Welcome Traitors.”

“I don’t like the feel of this.” Barret told his comrades.  “It’s like he’s not afraid of us at all.  After we beat Sephiroth and Kadaj, and Shinra…  He has to know how strong we are and we know nothing about him!”

“No.” Rude countered strongly.  “He’s already underestimated us twice with the robots; I think he’s cocky and overconfident.  You all heard what he said in the first recording, he expects us to be whittled down.  He’s hopping to just fight Cloud, and maybe a few others.”

“Huh, I didn’t think about that…” Barret responded, rubbing his stubble as he thought.  “I suppose everyone does know that spiky-but here is the strongest.” he laughed gesturing to Cloud.

“Ok, here’s the suggested plan:” Reeve’s voice came encouragingly through over the airwaves.  “We bank on the fact that he thinks there’s less of us.  Move in slowly, one small group at a time, and split up if there’s room.  Don’t engage the remnant right away, try to get him talking.  If he has anything in common with Kadaj or Sephiroth he will gladly go into detail about how great Jenova is and how futile it is to resist her.  Let him ramble, if you can, leaving time for everyone to get in place.  As soon as I hear the remnant’s voice over the radio I’m going to send in the troops to your position.”

Reeve’s plan was good, but Cloud noticed one detail missing.  “Reeve…” the swordsman began.  “Where exactly does this door lead?”

“That’s a good question… let me get back to my computer.” Reeve responded.  The team tried to picture what Reeve had been doing back at base camp to draw him away from the computers.

“My estimations put us close to the number three reactor.” Shelke announced simply.

“Right on.”  Reeve confirmed a moment later.  “Your GPS signal marks you as being right in front of the mako reactor access port.”

“I don’t like this.” Cloud said firmly.  “We’re missing something.  He chose a mako reactor for a reason… Everyone stay on your toes.”  Cloud turned suddenly and scanned his eyes over his comrades.  “Three groups then:  Yuffie, Cid and Vincent with me; we’ll go in straight.  Tseng, take the Turks and look for high ground.  Tifa, the rest are with you, try to find a way around the side.”  The fighters nodded, accepting the arrangement.  And Cloud broke from his serious expression for just a moment to give a more light-hearted go-ahead.  “Ok everyone, let’s mosey.”

Cloud had never been inside this mako reactor.  And as he entered the outermost areas he took stock of the uniqueness of the structure.  Shinra, the company responsible for the presence of the reactors, had never built two the same way.  The technology of how to make the machines more efficient increasing faster than the reactors could be put into production.  Despite the differences, however, all mako reactors had certain things in common, and all of them seemed to have the same unnerving atmosphere.  When this phenomenon was first observed, scientists passed it off as superstition.

It was discovered later, decades after the Shinra had begun construction on the many mako reactors, that the giant machines were literally siphoning the life out of the planet.  Since that discovery, it has been suggested that the negative feeling surrounding the reactors was actually caused by the lack of life force in the area.  It was said that the human soul could feel the death, that a person naturally did not want to abide in a place where he or she could not feel the life of the planet.

This same feeling of dread and death washed over the entire team as they entered the long abandoned mako reactor.  …A reactor that was supposed to have been shut off years ago, but was, for some unknown reason, still active.

“Ok, here’s where we separate.” Cloud announced to the group.  He strode across the room, past the dusty computer consoles illuminated by a few flickering florescent lights.  The sand and gravel of his boots ground noisily into the steel grate floor.  Cloud headed straight across to door on the opposite side, with Vincent, Cid, and Yuffie following closely behind him.  Cloud wrenched open the door, the decrepit hinges complaining loudly at his abuse.  Beyond was darkness, and even though the enhanced swordsman usually had no problem with any lack of light, Cloud was forced to remove his sunglasses before he could make out the narrow corridor before him.

The four warriors proceeded forward.  At first, Cloud thought that perhaps they had gone too far, that perhaps this corridor led somewhere other than the reactor.  But then the passage turned, revealing the light of the next room.  Cloud recognized the layout even in the dim light.  The core of the reactor was illuminated by the soft green light emanating from the mako energy the machine was drawing out of the planet.  A human shadow passed in front of the light.  Cloud began to walk forward slowly.

“That’s close enough Cloud.” a voice called out.  The legendary swordsman recognized the voice from the two recording boxes they had encountered.  This was the voice of the remnant Samuru.

Cloud saw the walkway in front of him, not more than a few yards until the threshold leading into the next room.  And beyond, a catwalk, suspended over the deep well dug to accommodate mako extraction.  In the center of the room was the core machine of the mako reactor, a large mostly spherical structure with many protruding pipes and cables.  Gauges and readouts dominated the housing of the machinery, with many knobs and levers beneath them.  The catwalk leading from the main access port Cloud was standing in widened as it reached the central area, spreading around the machinery and branching off in diverse directions leading to other areas of the reactor complex.

Just to the left of the mako reactor core, Cloud noticed and unusual piece of machinery.  It did not seem to be part of the original design and appeared to have been hastily attached to the reactor by many makeshift wires and pipes.  Several small orbs glowed softly from small cradles in this new machine, and another orb was held in a larger cradle higher up, but this one did not glow. Beside this makeshift machine was a small desk, also littered with wires, and adorned with a simple laptop computer into which the wires seemed to be connected.  Behind the desk and laptop sat a man in worn jeans and leather jacket.  He was older than Cloud would have thought, and if it had not been for the glowing green eyes and short silver hair the warrior might have passed off this frail looking man as a janitor.

Cloud stepped forward.  The remnant hit a key on the laptop.  And before any of the warriors in the corridor had time to react the floor gave way beneath them.  It was a short drop of about eighteen inches into a shallow trough of water.  Yuffie started to laugh at the seemingly comical move, until her voice was constricted by the sharp current of electricity coursing through her body.  Cid fell twitching into the water.  Vincent dug his claw gauntlet deep into the wall beside him in an attempt to steady the spasms, and aimed his gun over Cloud’s shoulder.  A flash of light punctuated each shot, deflected by a magical barrier between the gunman and the remnant.

Cloud too struggled to control his muscles as the coursing electricity continued to interfere with the signals from his brain.  Usually an electrical attack came in short bursts, the swordsman thought to himself.  Where is all this power coming from?  Shouldn’t a fuse have blown already?  Cloud looked around frantically as the strength quickly drained from his body.  He caught sight of a pair of thick cables strung under the catwalk from the reactor to the trough of water he was standing in.

Cloud lurched forward, his scorched legs refusing to offer a proper step.  As he fell, he brought his sword, the First Tsurugi down hard against the metal grating of the catwalk in front of him.  The sword dug into the steel and pierced the insulated cable strung up just underneath.  Cloud’s elbows splashed into the shallow water as an arc of blinding blue light filled the gaps between the separate parts of the sword.  Cloud’s nose was filled with the smell of burning flesh and he lost feeling in his arms.  The First Tsurugi exploded into its various components, the pair of cables fell down swinging into the deep well beneath, and the coursing electricity stopped.

Cloud looked forward as he lay in the water, propped up by his elbows.  The various parts of his sword were imbedded deep in the catwalk in front of him, or the ground beside him, or the walls around him.  The smoking core of his sword was still held fast in his grasp, the blackened flesh of his hands having melted to the grip.  This had been no simple electrical attack, Cloud realized.  The remnant had probably given them enough voltage to light up half of the sector.

The remnant laughed.  “I did tell you not to come any closer.” he added viciously.

Vincent’s deep voice came urgently from behind.  “Yuffie, use the revive materia now!”

Cloud rolled over and spun his head wildly.  Vincent was slumped against the wall, his left hand still dug in for support, his face staring intently down at were Cid lay unmoving in the water.  Yuffie flopped forward in an instant, disregarding her damaged body’s refusal to comply gracefully.  With blinding speed the ninja pressed her left hand down on the chest of her fallen comrade, a small green materia set into a circular slot on her armband began to glow, and a white light began to spread and diffuse into the body of the aged pilot.

Cid’s eyes flew open as his whole body spasmed in pain, tossing the young ninja off of him unintentionally.  A generous outpouring of loud coughs and colorful profanity let the rest of the group know that he had also gained back full use of his lungs.  Yuffie fumbled a shaking hand around for something in her pockets, before Vincent interrupted her.

“Save your strength, I’ve got the restore materia.”  That having been said, the gunman turned his attention to his own materia bracer, fastened to his left arm just above his claw-gauntlet.  Two orbs of materia glowed, one blue and one green, as all four of the warriors present were filled with the rejuvenating magic.  Cloud felt his burned flesh re-knit itself as it separated from the handle of his sword.  And ass the feeling returned to the warrior’s arms and the strength returned to his muscles, the legendary warrior stood, noting that the other three members of his party were doing the same.

“Ah yes, the famous thirty second limit, though I am not bound by that limitation” the remnants voice called out mocking.  “You should be thankful for the quick reflexes of your friends Cid Highwind.”

The old pilot cast his eyes down in embarrassment.  He had not before realized how close he had come to a permanent death.

The remnant continued.  “Actually I’m surprised he was the only one that went down.  I would understand Vincent or Cloud still standing, as the two of you were so heavily altered by science.  But Yuffie Kisaragi?”  The remnant shook his head in disbelief.  “You must have a very strong heart young Lord of Wutai.  That was quite a potent jolt you just lived through.”  Yuffie glared at the remnant for calling her “Lord,” but she said nothing.  She would remember that for later.

Cloud on the other hand, was becoming increasingly unnerved by how familiar the remnant seemed to be with the details of their group.  “You seem to know a bit about us,” he began carefully.  “But we know very little about you.”

“Of course!  I’m sorry.  We haven’t been properly introduced yet have we?” the remnant began with a smile.  “But first I think the rest of your friends should be let in on the conversation.  They became quite worried about you when your transmitter was fried by my electric greeting.”  Cloud reached his hand up to the radio in his ear.  It was quiet.  He tore it out and threw it frustratingly to the ground.

“We have to find out what happened to Cloud!”  It was Tifa’s voice, and it seemed to be coming from near the remnant.  Cloud scanned his eyes frantically, but saw no other figure than the smiling remnant, seated behind his laptop.

“Proceed quietly and with caution.” Reeve’s voice came from nowhere.  “If Cloud has fallen into a trap it will do no good if you walk right into it yourself.”

Cloud instantly realized that he was listening to a radio communication between Tifa and Reeve, and that the sound was being generated by the remnant’s computer.

”You Jerk!” Yuffie yelled out incredulously.  “Have you been listening to us the whole time?”

Reeve’s voice responded instantly.  “Wait!  That was Yuffie!  What happened?  Where’s Cloud?”

“Oh don’t worry about them Reeve,” The remnant conveyed softly into his computer.  “They’re here with me and they are all fine.  Their transmitters were just… damaged a bit, that’s all.”

For a moment, there was no response.  Then Reeve’s voice came back speaking carefully.  “Who is this?”

“My name is Samuru, the one you call ‘the remnant,’ though that title is not strictly accurate.” he replied.  “… and to answer young Ms. Kisaragi question:  Yes.  I have been listening to your little radio communication ‘the whole time.’”  The sound of Reno cursing came clearly through the laptop speakers.  “… and yes I know that you are all still alive, and moving in to surround me, while Cloud was supposed to keep me talking, a job you didn’t do very well I might add.” he said aside to the swordsman.  “I know that Reeve has already sent in the troops by helicopter, and I know that it all really doesn’t matter…  Because I have already won.”

Description
The Phoenix Eye
Chapter 8
Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

-- Midgar, Sector 4, A Short Time Later:

“Nice to know you were following instructions…” the recording on the black box explained.  The entire group was some distance off, listening to the recorded voice of the remnant while watching for possibilities of another ambush.  This time, Yuffie had hit the green ‘play’ button from a distance with her shuriken, the whole group wanting to stay a safe distance.

The recording continued.  “There is a maintenance shaft a few paces to the north leading to the railroad access beneath the plate.  Simply drop in and follow the train tracks to the west, taking lefts at any junctions you find.  Don’t worry about going to far, you’ll know where you’re supposed to be when you get there.”

The black box stopped producing sound and the small audience waited for it to detonate as the last one had.  Nothing happened.

“You know, I’ve haven’t even met this guy and he already pisses me off!” Cid blurted out suddenly.

“I know what you mean,” Reno joined.  “He’s playing us for fools!  All these mind games and all this ‘go here’ and ‘go there.’  Just wait till I see that guy and I’ll show him where to put his little black boxes yo!”

“Reno.  Calm Down.” Tifa admonished him.

“Yes.” Reeve seconded.  “Don’t let his games get to you.  Everyone just focus on the mission.”

Cloud stopped listening as the conversation drifted to less important points.  He walked north a few yards to the access hatch that was clearly visible across the cement walkway.  The rectangular cover plate was as long as Cloud was tall, and just as wide too.  To take the long term pressure of foot and vehicle traffic, the metal plate was made a full inch and a half thick, punctuated with symmetrical slots for a hydraulic lift or construction vehicle to pull it out of the ground by chains.  Cloud dug his hands into the anchoring slots and wrenched the heavy plate free of the cement and dust without visible effort.  He carried the plate aside and leaned it against a nearby ruined building where it sank deeply into the soft stucco wall.

By now the rest of the group had finished their conversation and found their way over to Cloud.  He stood over the opening, squatting down for a closer look into the descending blackness.

“Do you have the schematics of the railways up yet?” Cloud asked Reeve over the intercom.

“Already got pulled them up on my computer,” Reeve announced.  “…though if Shelke were here I could have done it in a tenth the time.”

“I’m not your personal calculator.” Shelke complained jokingly.

“Where could his instructions be leading us?” Cloud interrupted, keeping focused on the task in front of him.  Tifa noticed that Cloud was shifting into his ‘serious’ mode, as she liked to call it.  Cloud was not going to be deterred or stopped until the matter with the remnant was resolved.

Reeve’s voice came back over the radio.  “That question is a little harder to answer.  The remnant’s proposed route will take you around the outside of the sector ring, literally leading to just about anywhere except the Shinra main offices.”

“Does this shaft lead straight down to the rail tunnels?” Cloud inquired.

“Yes it does.”  Reeve responded quickly.

Tifa stretched out her hand and opened her mouth to stop Cloud, but she was too late.  Her husband had dropped into the shaft without a word or moment’s hesitation.  She sighed exasperatedly before calling down the shaft.

“You okay down there Cloud?” her voice echoed loudly into the darkness.

“I can hear you just fine through the radio Tifa.” Cloud reminded her.  “And I’m fine; all clear down here.”

“Next time my love, use the ladder.” Tifa relayed through the radio, swinging her legs down onto the first rung and descending towards her husband.  Cloud did not reply, and Tifa could picture her blond-haired warrior scratching the back of his head in embarrassment… the way he always did.”

Tifa soon heard the sounds of scraping boots above her as she was followed by first Barret, and then Cid and others.  It occurred to Tifa during the few moments in which she shared the shaft with Barret that she was not sure if she trusted this old rusty maintenance ladder to hold the weight of the large man above her.  But Tifa finished her descent safely and ducked out of the way as the rest of the team followed.  She quickly took her place at her husband’s side and smiled at him, meaning to convey that it would all work out right.  Cloud met her gaze and accepted her encouragement, his expression wavering for only a moment from the grim countenance that watched the progress of their descending companions with impatience.  Cloud was definitely in ‘serious mode’ Tifa decided.

The trek down the long abandoned train tunnels was long and arduous.  Many times the group had to slow their pace to cross sections of track which had collapsed into spaces far below, or to crawl over rubble from cave-ins which had all but blocked the tunnel.  The old railway seemed to go on forever, and Barret even commented that it had taken less time to climb the fifty-nine flights of stairs up the ‘emergency exit’ of the Shinra Tower.  But as the group neared the threshold to the third sector, one of them spoke up.

“Wait!” Nanaki called softly.  The group paused and turned towards him.  “I smell an active robot.”

“How can you smell a robot?” Elena inquired.

“They use different kinds of lubricants when making robots…” the old hunter explained.  “… in order to prevent damaging the electronic components.  And an active robot will keep the lubricant warm… I learned to distinguish the scent during by internship as one of Hojo’s experiments.”

“Ok, lets proceed with extra caution…” Cloud began, but was interrupted.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Reno cut in.  “That’s just what he expects us to do.”  Cloud stared silently at the red-head, as did every other member of the group.  Reeve would have stared too, if he had been there, but he just remained silent instead.

“Um, I don’t get it.” Yuffie injected in confusion.

“Well, come on yo!” Reno spun around flustered, trying to find someone to help explain.  “Well I mean, this remnant guy… he expects us to come in all nice and easy like, so he’ll be planning his ambush or whatever around that.  If we just like, burst through the tunnel guns blazing, we’ll upset his plan.  You know what I mean?”

“That sounds reckless.” Tifa criticized with an expression of skepticism.

Reno clapped his hand to his forehead.  “Exactly!” he almost yelled in frustration.

“Wait,” Reeve’s chimed in.  “I think I know what he’s getting at.”  The group stared off into the empty spaces between each other’s profiles as they listened to the advice of their distant friend.  “If the remnant has a trap, he will wait to spring it until the group is in the right spot.  In other words, he has the advantage and will wait until you are exactly where he wants you to be.  In some ways like a mouse trap which only snaps shut when the mouse gets close enough to touch the cheese.

“What Reno is saying is that if you rush in, you may end up passing the metaphorical ‘jaws of the trap’ before they have the chance to close correctly.  You could end up being too close, or too far from the ambush for it to have the desired effect.  Like the mouse that runs in quickly and snatches up the cheese before the trap can spring.”

“Yeah…” Reno said in confusion, trying to figure out how all that analogy came from his simple suggestion.  “…something like that.”

“Sooooooo… Let me get this straight,” Yuffie began sarcastically.  “We’re the mouse going into the mousetrap right?”

“That’s right.” Shelke responded with a mischievous grin.  “But does a ‘ninja mouse’ ever get caught?”  Yuffie grinned evilly.

As it turned out, Reno’s suggestion had proved very beneficial.  The remnant had indeed rigged a trap, consisting of several score combat drones and repaired defense robots prepared to spring as the team entered a bottleneck in the tunnel with very little cover.  Had they actually been caught in the bottleneck they probably would have sustained serious injury from the overwhelming gunfire concentrated into such a small area.  But as it was with the whole team rushing forward, they had passed the bottleneck before the mechanical death machines had pulled sufficiently from their hiding places to open fire.

The battle lasted less than a minute, only requiring a few cure spells afterwards from stray bullets.  And it was not long after that the last clue to the remnant’s location was found.  There was a door on the side of the tunnel, just like many such doors they had encountered further back.  But this door had a block of new cement in front of it, like an extended step.  And resting neatly in the center of the step, right in front of the steel door, was a mat.  There were words woven into the coarse fibers which read “Welcome Traitors.”

“I don’t like the feel of this.” Barret told his comrades.  “It’s like he’s not afraid of us at all.  After we beat Sephiroth and Kadaj, and Shinra…  He has to know how strong we are and we know nothing about him!”

“No.” Rude countered strongly.  “He’s already underestimated us twice with the robots; I think he’s cocky and overconfident.  You all heard what he said in the first recording, he expects us to be whittled down.  He’s hopping to just fight Cloud, and maybe a few others.”

“Huh, I didn’t think about that…” Barret responded, rubbing his stubble as he thought.  “I suppose everyone does know that spiky-but here is the strongest.” he laughed gesturing to Cloud.

“Ok, here’s the suggested plan:” Reeve’s voice came encouragingly through over the airwaves.  “We bank on the fact that he thinks there’s less of us.  Move in slowly, one small group at a time, and split up if there’s room.  Don’t engage the remnant right away, try to get him talking.  If he has anything in common with Kadaj or Sephiroth he will gladly go into detail about how great Jenova is and how futile it is to resist her.  Let him ramble, if you can, leaving time for everyone to get in place.  As soon as I hear the remnant’s voice over the radio I’m going to send in the troops to your position.”

Reeve’s plan was good, but Cloud noticed one detail missing.  “Reeve…” the swordsman began.  “Where exactly does this door lead?”

“That’s a good question… let me get back to my computer.” Reeve responded.  The team tried to picture what Reeve had been doing back at base camp to draw him away from the computers.

“My estimations put us close to the number three reactor.” Shelke announced simply.

“Right on.”  Reeve confirmed a moment later.  “Your GPS signal marks you as being right in front of the mako reactor access port.”

“I don’t like this.” Cloud said firmly.  “We’re missing something.  He chose a mako reactor for a reason… Everyone stay on your toes.”  Cloud turned suddenly and scanned his eyes over his comrades.  “Three groups then:  Yuffie, Cid and Vincent with me; we’ll go in straight.  Tseng, take the Turks and look for high ground.  Tifa, the rest are with you, try to find a way around the side.”  The fighters nodded, accepting the arrangement.  And Cloud broke from his serious expression for just a moment to give a more light-hearted go-ahead.  “Ok everyone, let’s mosey.”

Cloud had never been inside this mako reactor.  And as he entered the outermost areas he took stock of the uniqueness of the structure.  Shinra, the company responsible for the presence of the reactors, had never built two the same way.  The technology of how to make the machines more efficient increasing faster than the reactors could be put into production.  Despite the differences, however, all mako reactors had certain things in common, and all of them seemed to have the same unnerving atmosphere.  When this phenomenon was first observed, scientists passed it off as superstition.

It was discovered later, decades after the Shinra had begun construction on the many mako reactors, that the giant machines were literally siphoning the life out of the planet.  Since that discovery, it has been suggested that the negative feeling surrounding the reactors was actually caused by the lack of life force in the area.  It was said that the human soul could feel the death, that a person naturally did not want to abide in a place where he or she could not feel the life of the planet.

This same feeling of dread and death washed over the entire team as they entered the long abandoned mako reactor.  …A reactor that was supposed to have been shut off years ago, but was, for some unknown reason, still active.

“Ok, here’s where we separate.” Cloud announced to the group.  He strode across the room, past the dusty computer consoles illuminated by a few flickering florescent lights.  The sand and gravel of his boots ground noisily into the steel grate floor.  Cloud headed straight across to door on the opposite side, with Vincent, Cid, and Yuffie following closely behind him.  Cloud wrenched open the door, the decrepit hinges complaining loudly at his abuse.  Beyond was darkness, and even though the enhanced swordsman usually had no problem with any lack of light, Cloud was forced to remove his sunglasses before he could make out the narrow corridor before him.

The four warriors proceeded forward.  At first, Cloud thought that perhaps they had gone too far, that perhaps this corridor led somewhere other than the reactor.  But then the passage turned, revealing the light of the next room.  Cloud recognized the layout even in the dim light.  The core of the reactor was illuminated by the soft green light emanating from the mako energy the machine was drawing out of the planet.  A human shadow passed in front of the light.  Cloud began to walk forward slowly.

“That’s close enough Cloud.” a voice called out.  The legendary swordsman recognized the voice from the two recording boxes they had encountered.  This was the voice of the remnant Samuru.

Cloud saw the walkway in front of him, not more than a few yards until the threshold leading into the next room.  And beyond, a catwalk, suspended over the deep well dug to accommodate mako extraction.  In the center of the room was the core machine of the mako reactor, a large mostly spherical structure with many protruding pipes and cables.  Gauges and readouts dominated the housing of the machinery, with many knobs and levers beneath them.  The catwalk leading from the main access port Cloud was standing in widened as it reached the central area, spreading around the machinery and branching off in diverse directions leading to other areas of the reactor complex.

Just to the left of the mako reactor core, Cloud noticed and unusual piece of machinery.  It did not seem to be part of the original design and appeared to have been hastily attached to the reactor by many makeshift wires and pipes.  Several small orbs glowed softly from small cradles in this new machine, and another orb was held in a larger cradle higher up, but this one did not glow. Beside this makeshift machine was a small desk, also littered with wires, and adorned with a simple laptop computer into which the wires seemed to be connected.  Behind the desk and laptop sat a man in worn jeans and leather jacket.  He was older than Cloud would have thought, and if it had not been for the glowing green eyes and short silver hair the warrior might have passed off this frail looking man as a janitor.

Cloud stepped forward.  The remnant hit a key on the laptop.  And before any of the warriors in the corridor had time to react the floor gave way beneath them.  It was a short drop of about eighteen inches into a shallow trough of water.  Yuffie started to laugh at the seemingly comical move, until her voice was constricted by the sharp current of electricity coursing through her body.  Cid fell twitching into the water.  Vincent dug his claw gauntlet deep into the wall beside him in an attempt to steady the spasms, and aimed his gun over Cloud’s shoulder.  A flash of light punctuated each shot, deflected by a magical barrier between the gunman and the remnant.

Cloud too struggled to control his muscles as the coursing electricity continued to interfere with the signals from his brain.  Usually an electrical attack came in short bursts, the swordsman thought to himself.  Where is all this power coming from?  Shouldn’t a fuse have blown already?  Cloud looked around frantically as the strength quickly drained from his body.  He caught sight of a pair of thick cables strung under the catwalk from the reactor to the trough of water he was standing in.

Cloud lurched forward, his scorched legs refusing to offer a proper step.  As he fell, he brought his sword, the First Tsurugi down hard against the metal grating of the catwalk in front of him.  The sword dug into the steel and pierced the insulated cable strung up just underneath.  Cloud’s elbows splashed into the shallow water as an arc of blinding blue light filled the gaps between the separate parts of the sword.  Cloud’s nose was filled with the smell of burning flesh and he lost feeling in his arms.  The First Tsurugi exploded into its various components, the pair of cables fell down swinging into the deep well beneath, and the coursing electricity stopped.

Cloud looked forward as he lay in the water, propped up by his elbows.  The various parts of his sword were imbedded deep in the catwalk in front of him, or the ground beside him, or the walls around him.  The smoking core of his sword was still held fast in his grasp, the blackened flesh of his hands having melted to the grip.  This had been no simple electrical attack, Cloud realized.  The remnant had probably given them enough voltage to light up half of the sector.

The remnant laughed.  “I did tell you not to come any closer.” he added viciously.

Vincent’s deep voice came urgently from behind.  “Yuffie, use the revive materia now!”

Cloud rolled over and spun his head wildly.  Vincent was slumped against the wall, his left hand still dug in for support, his face staring intently down at were Cid lay unmoving in the water.  Yuffie flopped forward in an instant, disregarding her damaged body’s refusal to comply gracefully.  With blinding speed the ninja pressed her left hand down on the chest of her fallen comrade, a small green materia set into a circular slot on her armband began to glow, and a white light began to spread and diffuse into the body of the aged pilot.

Cid’s eyes flew open as his whole body spasmed in pain, tossing the young ninja off of him unintentionally.  A generous outpouring of loud coughs and colorful profanity let the rest of the group know that he had also gained back full use of his lungs.  Yuffie fumbled a shaking hand around for something in her pockets, before Vincent interrupted her.

“Save your strength, I’ve got the restore materia.”  That having been said, the gunman turned his attention to his own materia bracer, fastened to his left arm just above his claw-gauntlet.  Two orbs of materia glowed, one blue and one green, as all four of the warriors present were filled with the rejuvenating magic.  Cloud felt his burned flesh re-knit itself as it separated from the handle of his sword.  And ass the feeling returned to the warrior’s arms and the strength returned to his muscles, the legendary warrior stood, noting that the other three members of his party were doing the same.

“Ah yes, the famous thirty second limit, though I am not bound by that limitation” the remnants voice called out mocking.  “You should be thankful for the quick reflexes of your friends Cid Highwind.”

The old pilot cast his eyes down in embarrassment.  He had not before realized how close he had come to a permanent death.

The remnant continued.  “Actually I’m surprised he was the only one that went down.  I would understand Vincent or Cloud still standing, as the two of you were so heavily altered by science.  But Yuffie Kisaragi?”  The remnant shook his head in disbelief.  “You must have a very strong heart young Lord of Wutai.  That was quite a potent jolt you just lived through.”  Yuffie glared at the remnant for calling her “Lord,” but she said nothing.  She would remember that for later.

Cloud on the other hand, was becoming increasingly unnerved by how familiar the remnant seemed to be with the details of their group.  “You seem to know a bit about us,” he began carefully.  “But we know very little about you.”

“Of course!  I’m sorry.  We haven’t been properly introduced yet have we?” the remnant began with a smile.  “But first I think the rest of your friends should be let in on the conversation.  They became quite worried about you when your transmitter was fried by my electric greeting.”  Cloud reached his hand up to the radio in his ear.  It was quiet.  He tore it out and threw it frustratingly to the ground.

“We have to find out what happened to Cloud!”  It was Tifa’s voice, and it seemed to be coming from near the remnant.  Cloud scanned his eyes frantically, but saw no other figure than the smiling remnant, seated behind his laptop.

“Proceed quietly and with caution.” Reeve’s voice came from nowhere.  “If Cloud has fallen into a trap it will do no good if you walk right into it yourself.”

Cloud instantly realized that he was listening to a radio communication between Tifa and Reeve, and that the sound was being generated by the remnant’s computer.

”You Jerk!” Yuffie yelled out incredulously.  “Have you been listening to us the whole time?”

Reeve’s voice responded instantly.  “Wait!  That was Yuffie!  What happened?  Where’s Cloud?”

“Oh don’t worry about them Reeve,” The remnant conveyed softly into his computer.  “They’re here with me and they are all fine.  Their transmitters were just… damaged a bit, that’s all.”

For a moment, there was no response.  Then Reeve’s voice came back speaking carefully.  “Who is this?”

“My name is Samuru, the one you call ‘the remnant,’ though that title is not strictly accurate.” he replied.  “… and to answer young Ms. Kisaragi question:  Yes.  I have been listening to your little radio communication ‘the whole time.’”  The sound of Reno cursing came clearly through the laptop speakers.  “… and yes I know that you are all still alive, and moving in to surround me, while Cloud was supposed to keep me talking, a job you didn’t do very well I might add.” he said aside to the swordsman.  “I know that Reeve has already sent in the troops by helicopter, and I know that it all really doesn’t matter…  Because I have already won.”