The ground shuddered violently, a final, deafening roar echoing through the Mako Reactor as it began its catastrophic collapse.
Dust, debris, and the acrid stench of burning metal filled the air, but amidst the chaos, a wave of triumph washed over Avalanche.
They had done it. They had struck a major blow against Shinra once again.
"Everyone out! Now!"
Cloudia's voice, usually calm, was laced with urgency as she herded the group.
Tifa and Barret, their faces grim but resolute, were already sprinting, clearing a path through the crumbling corridors.
Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge followed close behind, their earlier exhilaration replaced by a desperate scramble for survival.
Aerith, her healing magic still gently flowing into Arthur, pulled him along, her strength surprising given his drained state.
Even Yuffie, for once, was less concerned with loot and more with getting out alive, her shurikens forgotten in her haste.
They burst out of the reactor's maw just as the entire structure imploded, sending a massive shockwave that threw them forward.
They landed in a heap, coughing and spitting out dust, but otherwise miraculously intact.
"We… we made it,"
Barret wheezed, pushing himself up and looking back at the now-ruined reactor, a monument to their daring.
Arthur, still feeling the debilitating aftershocks of his psychic battle with Sephira, struggled to his feet.
Aerith was right there, supporting him. He looked at the others, a sense of profound relief washing over him. They were alive.
The mission was a success.
The immediate danger had passed, but a new problem quickly presented itself.
Midgar, and especially the slums, were no longer safe.
Shinra would be furious, and their retaliation would be swift and brutal.
"We can't stay here,"
Tifa stated, voicing everyone's unspoken fear.
"Shinra will be tearing the slums apart looking for us."
"But where do we go?"
Wedge asked, his usual cheerful demeanor replaced by a worried frown.
"We can't just disappear."
It was Jessie who spoke up, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"My place. It's on the plate."
A collective gasp went through the group.
Living on the plate, the upper city where Shinra's elite resided, was a dream for most slum dwellers, an impossible luxury.
For Avalanche, it was an incredibly risky proposition.
"Jessie, are you serious?"
Barret boomed, his gun-arm pointing at her in surprise.
"Your place? That's right under Shinra's nose!"
Jessie nodded, a slight blush on her cheeks.
"My mom… she doesn't know I work for Avalanche. She thinks I have a job at Shinra, working on some top-secret projects or something. It's a small house, but it's safe. For now."
Arthur wasn't surprised. He knew Jessie's backstory from the game.
Her mother was a key part of her motivation, and the elaborate lie she maintained to protect her from the harsh realities of her mercenary life was both heartbreaking and admirable.
It also presented them with a temporary, albeit precarious, sanctuary.
"It's risky,"
Cloudia said, her brow furrowed in thought,
"But it might be our best option. Shinra would never expect us to hide right under their noses."
"Plus,"
Jessie added, a flicker of her usual spirit returning,
"My mom's a great cook. And she has real beds!"
The mention of proper food and a comfortable place to sleep after weeks of roughing it in the slums was enough to sway the weary group.
They agreed. Jessie's house on the plate, a gilded cage perhaps, would be their temporary refuge.
Planning Their Escape from Midgar
Getting to Jessie's house was an ordeal in itself.
They had to be incredibly careful, moving stealthily through the dark alleys and underpasses, avoiding
Shinra patrols that were already swarming the lower sectors.
Jessie, knowing the city's hidden routes like the back of her hand, led the way.
They finally reached the Sector 7 residential area on the plate, a stark contrast to the grime and poverty of the slums below.
Clean streets, well-maintained buildings, and the occasional well-dressed citizen underscored the vast divide between the two worlds.
Jessie's house was modest by plate standards but felt like a palace to the weary Avalanche members.
Jessie's mother, a kind-faced woman with worry lines etched around her eyes, greeted them warmly, though she looked utterly bewildered by the sudden influx of guests.
Jessie quickly fabricated a story about them being "Shinra colleagues" on a special, highly classified project that required them to stay off-grid for a while.
Her mother, though still clearly confused, accepted it, bustling about to make them comfortable and offering them hot drinks and food.
Once they had settled, the atmosphere in the small living room shifted from weary relief to grim determination.
The immediate need for rest was replaced by the urgent necessity of planning their next move.
The destruction of Reactor 7 had bought them time, but not much. They couldn't stay in Midgar indefinitely.
"Alright,"
Cloudia began, spreading a tattered map of Midgar and its surrounding regions on the coffee table.
"We need to get out of here. Permanently."
"But how?"
Tifa asked, tracing a finger over the map.
"Shinra controls all the exits. The trains, the roads… they'll be watching everything."
Barret slammed his fist on the table, rattling the cups.
"We can't just walk out the front door! They'll have elite troopers, Turks, probably even more of those damn Mako weapons waiting for us."
Arthur, still regaining his strength, listened intently. He knew the general direction of their escape from the original game, but with the timeline altered and Sephira's ominous presence looming, things were far from certain.
"We need a distraction,"
Jessie suggested, her eyes scanning the map.
"Something big enough to pull Shinra's forces away from the exits."
"And a destination,"
Aerith added softly.
"Where do we go after Midgar?"
Cloudia looked at Arthur, a question in her eyes.
She often relied on his uncanny knowledge, even if she didn't fully understand its source.
Arthur took a deep breath.
"Wutai. They've successfully established a foothold on the continent."
This was significant news. Wutai, the traditional enemy of Shinra, had been largely defeated in the past.
Their resurgence, especially their ability to secure a presence on the main continent, was a major development.
It meant a potential ally, a safe haven where Shinra's influence was weaker.
"Wutai?"
Barret scoffed.
"They're still licking their wounds from the war. What good are they going to be?"
"They're stronger than you think,"
Arthur insisted.
"And they hate Shinra even more than we do. They'd be a natural ally, and a place where we could regroup and plan our next move."
"So, Wutai it is,"
Cloudia decided, a plan already beginning to form in her mind.
"Now, how do we get there?"
The discussion continued late into the night. They brainstormed routes, potential distractions, and contingency plans.
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Small Spoiler: Arthur was about to go to the sixth floor(Fairytail) with Rimuru, Milim, Shuna, and Shion.
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Note: I am going to fuse Worm, Warhammer into Marvel Universe.
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100+ more chapter on [email protected]/phelio