Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 2: Aftermath

THIRTY

Barret scowled. "Shit! Then that would hafta mean..."

"Shinra was gonna drop the plate all along," I finished, horrified at what we'd just found out. "Whether we did anything or not. They used us as a convenient excuse to pull it off."

"An' we walked right into it," Barret muttered.

I looked at Lena. "The data you found, can you save it? We've gotta tell Cloud, Jessie, and the others about this."

She took a small thumb drive out of her pocket and plugged it into the computer console. "Already on it! Figured we might find some info worth taking, so I brought this with me."

Then she got to work, copying the files holding all the information she'd just shown us. Lena saved as much as she could, her eyes fixed on the screen while the rest of us watched and waited. Aside from sharing the data with Cloud and the others, I wasn't sure yet what we could do with it, but having evidence of what Shinra had done and of how they'd planned the plate collapse could be useful. When she was finished, she took out the drive and put it back in her pocket.

"Good work, Lena," Barret clapped her her on the shoulder. "Now, how many grenades did ya bring?"

"Six," she answered.

He nodded. "Awright. Let's torch this place."

"If we can find the generator that powers this facility, we should be able to cause more damage," Red suggested. "Destroying it may cause a chain reaction which could blow out the entire complex, thus ensuring that no further monsters are set loose."

"Can we get out in time?" I wondered.

Red glanced at me. "If we move quickly enough."

Barret pumped his fist. "Then that's settled. We gonna show Shinra that Avalanche is still alive! Kinda like the idea of makin' my exit from Midgar with a bang, if ya know what I mean."

"Hell yeah!" Lena agreed. "I'm in!"

I was, too. "I'm all for stopping Shinra's operation here as well. The slums'll be a little safer with this place gone."

"Follow me!" Red told us.

We did, hurrying after him past the rows of glass cylinders. About two thirds of the way across the room, the floor sloped down as we left the specimen area behind. The lower level had a wide metal grating for the floor bordered by railings, and past them was another area further down, full of machinery. A ladder across from us led into it. Red didn't bother trying to climb down but instead jumped straight onto the floor below, landing skillfully on his paws.

After Barret, Lena, and I had climbed down the ladder, we hurried after Red, weaving our way through the area as our feet thudded on the metal floor. We found a short hall and followed it into another room, a larger chamber with what could only have been the power generator at the far end. A nest of pipes and wires went into it, sending energy into the rest of the underground complex.

"Paydirt!" Barret grinned. "Let's get to work!"

Lena went over to the generator and set five of her grenades on top of the hub where everything came together. A maintenance console sat just underneath it, with a bunch of dials and buttons, probably used for adjusting the power flow. Once Lena was finished, she took out the last grenade and put it with the rest, keeping it steady with one hand while taking hold of the pin with the other.

She looked at us. "Back up, everyone! Get ready to run!"

We did, moving away until we were standing by the entrance to the room, our eyes fixed on Lena. I held my breath as she took one herself and then yanked out the pin with one quick pull. Then she raced right toward us, her feet pounding madly across the floor. She never slowed down for a second, and as soon as she got close, the rest of us sprinted along with her down the hall and away from the generator room as fast as we could, our lungs burning with every step.