Some time before Alex carried out his brutal takedown of the Shinra Grunts, just a couple of streets away a group of three people was carefully watching the sparse passersby. This trio was thoroughly familiar to Alex — he had already crossed paths with them a couple of times. Because of the brazen events in Sector One, Reno and Rude had been sent to Sector Eight to track down the group of people in plush masks involved in the disappearance of the Mako Reactor.
In addition to them they had sent the rookie Elena so she could gain some experience in field conditions. While the Grunt patrols interrogated random citizens, Reno and Rude barely moved, lounging against the metal railing of the observation deck. The only one even pretending to engage in vigorous work was Elena, who was doing her utmost to prove her sense of responsibility.
Lazily surveying the activity on the streets below, Reno was openly wilting from boredom, not for the first time complaining about the pointlessness of their current assignment. Standing beside him, Rude once again silently endured his partner's lamentations, maintaining his usual stone-faced expression and ignoring every jab. Having grown tired of watching the ordinary soldiers fuss about, Reno turned to Elena, who was diligently recording detailed data on every stopped passerby in her notebook.
"Elena, drop it. It's useless anyway. Our job is, of course, to search for and eliminate targets… But do you really think the trio that vaporized an entire plant is just going to stroll around the streets and show themselves to the patrols? They've either already fled the sector or are sitting it out in some hole," Reno drawled in a careless tone, leaning his back against the railing and staring up at the night sky.
"Given their audacity, we can't rule out the possibility that they'll act with extreme arrogance! From the reports we've received, we know they easily seized control of all the television stations in Midgar…" Elena began in a snobbish tone, not looking up from her notebook and only turning her head toward Reno for a second.
"Yeah, yeah… You're an incredibly observant agent, we've already figured that out. But do you seriously want to tangle with a guy who punched through a combat robot's armor with his bare fists? They're definitely not paying me enough to get mixed up in something like that… Especially since I'm completely broke now. Right, Rude?" Reno replied with a sigh, painfully recalling how his bank account had suddenly emptied that very morning.
"I wouldn't completely dismiss Elena's assumptions… But you're right — they're clearly not paying us enough to get involved in something like this without serious backup," Rude answered in a calm tone, slightly adjusting his sunglasses.
Seeing how Reno and Rude were openly ignoring a direct order, Elena could only shake her head mournfully. She didn't dare argue with colleagues who outranked her in both experience and status. That didn't stop her, however, from mentally cursing everything under the sun — Elena would have far preferred to learn from Tseng, who in her eyes remained the model of a true Turk.
What Elena had absolutely no idea about was that Tseng himself was currently having far from the best day of his career. First he had been blinded by an entire string of flashbangs, and then Aerith had delivered a crushing kick straight to his balls. Sighing once more, Elena returned to monitoring the situation on the streets.
Time dragged unbearably slowly, and Reno was already half a step away from simply saying to hell with it and leaving. The only thing holding him back was Rude — who continued to stand in place with a stone face, intently studying the rare passersby and creating the appearance of work.
And then, just as Reno was drawing a deep breath to complain about the boredom again, the ordinary Grunts caught his attention. Elbowing Rude, Reno nodded downward, pointing out the strange behavior of the patrolmen: they had abandoned interrogating yet another group of passersby, begun frantically talking into their radios, and set off somewhere at a rapid pace.
"Looks like something interesting might be happening? Maybe we should go check it out?" Reno said with a broad grin, already intending to vault over the metal barrier.
"Absolutely not! We have to—" Elena quickly began, trying to stop Reno before he left his post.
"You're speaking way too quietly, Elena! Sorry, can't hear a thing — seems I've got hearing problems!" Reno interrupted her with a cheerful smirk and easily jumped down from the observation deck.
Laughing, Reno vaulted over the metal railing, dropped down, and immediately took off in the direction the patrols had gone. Elena sighed heavily and cast a nervous glance at Rude, who continued standing beside her with the same stone face. Consoling herself with the thought that at least Rude would stay at his post, Elena opened her mouth to suggest retrieving the runaway Reno. But her lips immediately trembled: Rude, with an imperturbable expression, vaulted over the barrier, dropped down in exactly the same way, and sauntered after his partner.
Realizing she had been left completely alone, Elena quickly calculated the volume of reports she would have to write in the event of a mission failure. Deciding that something serious really was happening on the street, she vaulted over the barrier and rushed after them. Landing on the roadway, Elena pushed herself to the limit as she raced after Reno and Rude. Ahead, gunshots were already thundering, and frightened civilians were scattering in all directions.
Understanding that the situation had completely spun out of control, Elena picked up her pace. Soon she caught up with Reno and Rude, who had frozen at the corner of the street from which the roar of gunfire was coming. Frowning slightly at the fact that the senior agents were simply standing there doing nothing, Elena approached closer and carefully peered around the corner. And the moment she did, a horrific picture unfolded before her: a young man in a blue coat was standing right in the center of a ring of Grunts.
But what frightened Elena most was the agility with which the young man was wielding a strange curved blade, severing the fighters' limbs with lightning-fast movements. Deciding she was obligated to intervene and save the soldiers, Elena took a step forward. In that same instant Reno's crackling electric baton appeared right in front of her face.
"Don't even think about intervening," Reno said in a calm tone, with no intention of letting Elena near the mess unfolding before their eyes.
"Why?! Aren't we supposed to intervene in a situation like this? Right in front of us is a potential enemy who needs to be detained and interrogated immediately!" Elena exhaled sharply, genuinely not understanding why she was being stopped.
"I'm not stopping you, Elena — I'm saving your hide… That kid up ahead is an ex-SOLDIER. And we've already crossed paths with him twice recently. One-on-one you've got exactly zero chance against him," Reno replied with a smirk, lightly tapping the baton against his shoulder.
"An ex-SOLDIER?.. Are you sure?" Elena repeated in surprise, staring in fascination at Alex, who had almost finished single-handedly dismantling the Grunt squad.
"Apparently you're nowhere near as observant as the Boss made you out to be… Take a look at his eyes," Rude interjected, placing a palm on Elena's shoulder and pointing a finger forward.
Following Rude's finger, Elena managed with difficulty to make out the strange, iridescent rainbow hue of Alex's eyes. Seeing that unusual color, Elena couldn't help but doubt her colleagues' words, because as far as she remembered from the database, every single SOLDIER had the same characteristic green Mako gleam in their pupils. She had never heard of any such exceptions.
While Elena fruitlessly tried to find a logical explanation for this anomaly, the brawl on the street had already concluded successfully. Widening her eyes, Elena froze in astonishment when she realized that despite the severity of their injuries, every last one of the Grunts was still alive. Seeing that Alex had finished dealing with the cannon fodder, Reno smirked and, casually tapping the electric baton against his shoulder, lounged out from around the corner.
Rude immediately followed him, along with a noticeably nervous Elena, who was about to face a real SOLDIER for the first time in her life. She knew of the combat capabilities of these elite fighters only from dry reports and rumors, and therefore sincerely doubted that their trio was capable of stopping him. Especially considering how Reno and Rude spoke of him after having already gotten their asses handed to them by Alex twice.
Suppressing the surge of panic, Elena tried to maintain her composure and prepared to provide her colleagues with maximum support at any moment. Focusing on her thoughts, however, proved damnably difficult — the picture of the supposed ex-SOLDIER lazily smoking among a pile of moaning bodies while perched right on the defeated captain was far too disorienting. Her reflections were cut short when Reno approached close enough and stopped a couple of meters from Alex, carelessly spinning the crackling baton in his hands.
"You had yourself a nice little time here, SOLDIER boy. Who would've thought you'd take care of them so fast," Reno said in a snide tone, looking Alex straight in the back.
Having extinguished his cigar on the captain's helmet, Alex heard behind him that same irritating voice he least wanted to hear right now. All he sincerely wanted was for them to finally leave him alone and let him simply rest. He had already had to deal with Sephira, who had decided to crawl out at the most inconvenient moment and latch onto Claudia again.
On top of that, it had turned out that Sephira had managed to take control of the Grey Whisperers! And Alex was one hundred percent certain that this was entirely his fault after the liquidation of that giant Whisperer in the Sector Five church. Cursing irritably, Alex rose from the Grunt captain's body and turned around.
Before him stood the familiar sight: Reno with his signature mocking smirk. Tilting his torso slightly to the side to look past Reno, Alex made out a familiar gleaming bald head in the light of the streetlamps. Seeing that the redhead had dragged Rude along as well, Alex irritably rubbed the bridge of his nose. Rubbing his throbbing forehead, he stared at Reno again.
"So what the hell did you show up for? Don't you have anything better to do?" Alex asked in a weary tone, unhurriedly tucking the karambit behind his back.
"Hmm… Quite possibly. It's just that somebody recently decided to destroy the Mako Reactor in Sector One, so we're looking for the culprit. What if it's you, buddy?" Reno drawled with a smirk, pointing the crackling baton straight at Alex.
"You think I've got nothing better to do? I'd rather go on a date and eat something tasty than waste time on your song and dance… If that's all, I'm out. I've still got girls to walk home," Alex replied and prepared to leave, lazily waving goodbye.
"Halt! You are under arrest and will come with us! You are charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm on Shinra employees and maliciously disturbing the public order!" Elena suddenly shouted, doing her utmost to pronounce the words like a truly strict agent.
Hearing that nervous, stammering cry that was only trying its hardest to sound strict, Alex stopped for a moment. He turned back, raising an eyebrow slightly. Noticing how Alex's expression had changed, Reno didn't even try to hide his smirk and quietly gave Elena a thumbs-up behind his back. Tilting his head slightly, Alex made out that standing next to Rude was yet another Elena in a strict black suit.
She had brown eyes, light hair, and a neat asymmetrical haircut with long bangs covering part of her cheek. Blinking slightly, Alex could mentally compare her to nothing so much as a cute squirrel who was trying her hardest to look dangerous — her trembling hands and frightened-yet-belligerent gaze especially gave her away. He quickly recognized Elena, but was sincerely surprised why a trainee had been assigned to Reno and Rude so early.
Elena herself was wildly nervous after shouting her accusations. She didn't know the real limits of a SOLDIER's strength, but she was firmly convinced of their deadliness. Trying to suppress the jitters under Alex's intent gaze, Elena took a deep breath and sternly straightened up, carefully portraying an unshakable agent. Scratching his chin, Alex looked at Reno again, whose face still bore that mocking smirk.
"And who's this cute little squirrel? Where'd you steal her from? Better put her back, or someone might already be looking for her," Alex asked with an ironic smirk, pointing a finger at Elena.
"She's a trainee… We were only formed today," Rude explained in a calm tone, slightly adjusting the sunglasses on his nose.
"I'm not a squirrel! And nobody stole me! Surrender, or we'll use force!" Elena shouted, beginning to openly boil over at the invented nicknames.
"She's joking, right? I mean, I get that you two are idiots… But not everyone in your organization can be a few screws short, can they?" Alex asked, scratching his cheek, genuinely not understanding why Elena was being so bold.
"That's just how it is, SOLDIER boy. You heard our trainee. Surrender or we'll use force," Reno drawled with a smirk, tapping the electric baton against his shoulder.
"You just want a fight, am I right?" Alex exhaled in a weary tone, looking at Reno's satisfied mug.
"You guessed it. You and your buddy owe me a couple of juicy hits and a few broken bones. And until I break something in your body, you're not leaving here," Reno answered eagerly, leaning forward slightly in preparation for a lunge.
"Oh, man… Why does it always have to be me?" Alex groaned with deep melancholy, realizing that his headache was only getting worse.
Laughing at Alex's words, Reno lunged forward, leaving a trail of crackling electricity behind him. Finding himself a step from his opponent, he noticed Alex exhaling a small cloud of dense vapor. Recalling how a similar thing had ended in their previous encounter, Reno delivered a lightning-fast baton strike, wanting to prevent him from repeating the old trick. However, when the crackling weapon was already about to touch Alex, it simply cut through empty air, and the silhouette itself instantly dissolved into a cloud of mist.
Surprised for a brief moment, Reno immediately detected that Alex had simply stepped back a couple of paces. Feeling even greater excitement, Reno charged into the attack again, launching into a whole series of blows. And every time the baton should have caught Alex, it passed freely through his body as if it consisted entirely of a cloud of smoke.
Watching this, Rude and Elena reacted to what was happening in completely different ways. Unlike the hesitant trainee, Rude intently tracked every movement in the fight, trying to assess and analyze Alex's new abilities. Elena, for her part, pulled a pair of grenades from under her jacket, ready to intervene and provide support to Reno at any moment.
Beginning to boil over from the fact that he couldn't land a single accurate hit, Reno suddenly stopped and spun into a powerful spinning kick aimed straight at Alex's head. But this time as well his leg only cut through the air, and Alex's body finally melted away into a gray haze. Beginning to look around sharply, Reno tried to spot Alex, who had suddenly vanished.
Rude and Elena also frowned, having lost their target. Slightly adjusting his sunglasses, Rude swept a frowning gaze over the street lit by the lamps and especially the roofs of the nearest buildings. Elena also frantically turned her head, sincerely believing that the suspect had simply fled.
"He ran away?! Are we going to pursue him?" Elena inquired, turning her head toward the frowning Rude.
"Nah, I don't think so… Most likely he just got scared of Rude's shiny bald head. It blinds brighter than the sun — that's why he has to wear sunglasses even at night," a cheerful voice suddenly rang out right next to Elena.
Hearing these words, Elena mechanically raised her gaze and looked first at Rude's sunglasses, then even higher — at his smoothly shaved bald head. Elena's lips began to tremble hard from the effort of holding back nervous laughter. Rude himself, reaching up to adjust his glasses, immediately transferred his hand to the top of his head and touched it with embarrassment. Suppressing the fit of laughter, Elena suddenly realized that the stranger's voice had come right next to her ear and sharply turned her head.
And the moment she did, she felt someone's finger press against her cheek. In that same second she locked eyes with Alex's iridescent rainbow eyes, his face dangerously close. From the surprise Elena recoiled backward and, tangling in her own legs, began to fall to the ground. Grabbing at everything in panic, she managed at the last moment to catch hold of Alex's sleeve.
Not letting Elena crash to the ground, Alex sighed heavily, shook his head, and carefully helped her regain her balance. When Elena was back on her feet, Alex unhurriedly straightened her disheveled hair and suit, looking her over slightly from all sides. Elena herself literally froze in shock at what was happening: she genuinely didn't understand why a man considered a dangerous enemy was so carefully putting her appearance in order.
Standing nearby, Rude silently observed the scene. For a brief moment a barely noticeable smirk flickered across his lips — he didn't even try to attack. Rude understood perfectly well: under different circumstances he wouldn't have minded meeting Alex in a more friendly setting. And since no specific order to assault had come at that second, he decided not to escalate the situation.
"There, now everything's perfect. And remember, squirrel: if you want to be a real agent, it's not enough to just dress up in a strict suit and shout in a commanding voice. First learn to distinguish good from bad instead of blindly following orders from above. Otherwise, how will you end up any different from a simple attack dog?" Alex said, lightly poking Elena on the nose with his finger.
"I'm not a squirrel! And I don't need your advice at all!" Elena answered, trying to keep her tone even, and attempted to push Alex's hand away from her face.
"Sure, and I'm the Flying Spaghetti Monster… And yes, Rude. Next time a stunt like that won't work again. I even left you a note. I'm not going to waste my personal time on you," Alex said in a calm voice, looking Rude straight in the eyes.
"If such an order comes, we simply won't have a choice. You understand that perfectly well yourself. We're just doing what we're told," Rude replied in an even tone, calmly adjusted his sunglasses, and pulled from his pocket that very note Alex had left him earlier.
"Idiots… Fine, I've got things to do. And tell your boss: if he takes even one more step toward Aerith, I'll kill him personally," Alex said with a sweet, almost good-natured smile and with a light motion of his hand crushed a nearby steel lamppost into scrap.
"Aerith Gainsborough?!" Elena was about to shout, but Rude's heavy palm immediately clamped firmly over her mouth.
"I'll pass it on," Rude answered with absolute composure, preventing Elena from blurting out anything extra.
Casting a brief glance at Elena, Alex pushed off the ground and easily leaped onto the roof of the nearest building — before Reno, who had caught his breath, could charge into the attack again. Casting a final look over the street from above, Alex turned and quickly ran toward the train station. The moment Alex disappeared from view, Elena collapsed weakly onto her knees. Her hands were trembling hard, and she still couldn't believe that a person could have such empty, soul-chilling, lifeless eyes.
The reason for this was her impulse to shout that Aerith was the property of the Shinra Corporation. At that moment Elena was sincerely grateful to Rude for clamping her mouth shut in time. Looking at her trembling palms, Elena felt a heavy hand on her shoulder and turned her head with difficulty. Meeting Rude's gaze, she tried to say something, but he only shook his head in warning.
Rude knew perfectly well that Alex had only met Aerith a couple of days ago, but even he was sincerely struck by such a reaction and the terrifying look the ex-SOLDIER had given the trainee. Reno, who had not participated in this silent dialogue, merely clicked his tongue irritably at the fact that he had once again failed to settle the score.
Approaching closer, he measured Elena sitting on the asphalt with a glance and tossed out a couple of caustic remarks that instantly made her pull herself together. Having regained her composure, Elena immediately buttoned up every button and assumed her usual snobbish air. Seeing how quickly the trainee had collected herself, Rude nodded approvingly, fully appreciating her backbone and endurance.
"According to protocol we are obligated to immediately report the confrontation that occurred. And call a medical team to transport the wounded guards to the infirmary for recovery," Elena began speaking in a snobbish tone, pointing a finger at the maimed and unconscious Grunts scattered across the middle of the street.
"You go ahead and handle that. You're our proper little trainee after all. As for me, I think I'll go take care of more important matters that deserve my personal attention," Reno replied with a smirk and began unhurriedly walking away, hands clasped behind his head.
"What kind of matters, for example?" Elena asked, narrowing her eyes and staring at Reno's retreating back.
"For example, I'll go grab a bite… Actually, no. I won't grab a bite… Unless you lend me a few gil," Reno answered with a crooked smirk, but his cheerfulness instantly evaporated the moment he remembered the pitiful remainder in his bank account.
"I can only lend you two hundred gil. No more. I'm still a trainee, and my salary is modest," Elena answered strictly, raising two fingers toward Reno.
"That's not enough! With those pennies I'll only be able to afford the cheapest coffee and a sandwich. Lend me at least four hundred!" Reno asked in an irritated tone, already raising four fingers.
"I'll treat you. I've still got a little left — enough for coffee for sure," Rude interjected with a sigh, approaching his partner.
"Rude! I've always said you're my best friend!" Reno grinned broadly, enthusiastically clapping Rude on the shoulder.
"You only say that when I'm buying you food," Rude answered in a calm tone, adjusting his sunglasses and casting a weary glance at Reno.
At the same time Alex had already nearly reached the station, rapidly leaping from roof to roof. Spotting the brightly lit outlines of the station in the distance, he pushed off the edge of yet another building and noticed the train beginning to slowly depart, with Aerith and Claudia entering the car. Deciding he simply wouldn't make it, Alex immediately pushed off the air itself to give himself additional acceleration.
Aerith, standing at the entrance to the car, was deeply worried: if Alex fell behind, he would have to make his way to Sector Seven alone, since the other members of their group had already dispersed among different cars so as not to attract extra attention from the patrols. Deciding that Alex was no longer going to make it, Aerith was about to jump out onto the platform and wait for him at the station.
But the moment she took a step toward the exit, she saw Alex racing at full speed, who vaulted over the high metal fence in one go. Waving her hand vigorously, Aerith began beckoning him before the doors could close.
Alex literally rolled into the closing doors at the very last moment, nearly knocking Aerith and Claudia off their feet. Finding himself in the safe and relatively half-empty car, Alex exhaled heavily, then confidently raised a thumb upward, showing that everything was under control and he had made it right on the second.
"Why did you take so long?!" Aerith shouted in an irritated tone and began amusingly stretching Alex's cheeks in different directions, sincerely angry that he had been delayed dealing with a squad of ordinary Grunts.
"Our old friends showed up — Reno and Rude. They really didn't want to let me go," Alex answered with a smile, taking a free seat.
"Them again… At least you didn't beat them up too badly?" Aerith sighed wearily, relaxing and leaning against Alex's shoulder.
"Nope, we just chatted a little. They even brought their new trainee to show off," Alex answered with a light chuckle, lightly stroking his chin.
"Who are you talking about?" Claudia inquired, sitting down opposite Alex and Aerith and habitually leaning the massive Buster Sword against the seat.
"The Turks. They're always popping up at the most unnecessary moment and ruining everything," Alex answered, shaking his head and looking at Claudia.
Hearing that the Turks had gotten in the way again, Claudia merely nodded calmly. She didn't need detailed explanations of what had happened after she and Aerith had left. Seeing that Claudia had decided to catch her breath, Alex turned to Aerith and asked where the others had settled. Hearing his question, Aerith nodded toward the forward car, saying that Barret and Dean were there, then waved a hand toward the rear — explaining that Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge had settled there.
And the moment she said it, the trio themselves entered, still under the strong impression of the turbulent events of that evening. Smiling, Alex waved to them slightly. Approaching closer, Jessie, Wedge, and Biggs sat down on the neighboring seats and immediately began asking why he had arrived at the station last of all. Seeing no reason to hide anything, Alex honestly told them that for unknown reasons the Grunts had attacked them, attempting to stage a raid.
Of course, Alex omitted the fact that Shinra needed Aerith because of her unique origin, and that the invisible Grey Whisperers had been behind all this devilry. All he voiced was how he had immediately beaten up an entire squad and then raced to the station at full speed. While they were chatting, Barret and Dean entered the compartment. And the moment Barret appeared with his usual stern face and the impressive machine gun instead of a right arm, the few ordinary passengers preferred to quickly move to the neighboring car just to be safe.
"Looks like everyone's here and nobody got grabbed. That's good," Barret said in a gloomy tone, heavily dropping onto a seat and leaning back.
"And why would they even stop us? We were just strolling around the Upper City! We didn't do anything special," Biggs drawled with a smirk, lazily crossing one leg over the other.
"Heh. You're right! We were just walking. We're exclusively law-abiding citizens of Midgar," Barret replied in a sarcastic tone, slightly lifting his sunglasses.
"Says the thug with a machine gun instead of an arm… You just reek of law-abiding citizen," Alex inserted in a lazy tone, giving Barret a cheerful look.
"I think some of us could use a shower! If law-abiding citizens smell like a garbage dump, then I'll pass, thanks," Biggs added with a snicker, demonstratively covering his nose, waving his palm in front of himself, and shifting slightly away from Barret.
Hearing Biggs's comment, Barret with an extremely important air pulled the edge of his tank top and sniffed. Seeing how the stern leader of Avalanche was actually checking his own equipment for freshness, everyone present in the compartment exploded with genuine laughter. Hearing the united laughter, Barret snorted irritably and without further ceremony delivered a juicy kick to Biggs, who by lucky coincidence was sitting closest.
Crashing to the floor with a thud, Biggs stared at the ceiling in a daze, rubbing his bruised side. At the sight of his bewildered face the entire group dissolved into laughter with renewed force. Watching as the still-laughing Wedge helped Biggs up, Alex shook his head slightly and met Dean's gaze. Tapping a finger against his temple, Alex let him know that he had some important information.
Noticing that gesture, Dean quickly nodded, instantly realizing that something serious had happened during their separation. Alex mentally recounted to Dean everything that had happened with Claudia — the unexpected attack, the appearance of Sephira, and the fact that she apparently had learned to manipulate the Grey Whisperers. Having listened to this rundown, Dean merely clicked his tongue irritably.
"Just great… All we needed for complete happiness was a Grey Farter sorceress!" Dean answered in an irritated tone, beginning to feel annoyance at the fact that yet another problem in the form of Sephira had crawled out.
Stifling a snort at that phrasing, Alex ended the conversation with Dean and looked at Aerith, who was already quietly snoring, relaxed and nestled against his shoulder. Carefully adjusting Aerith so she would be more comfortable, Alex also closed his eyes, intending to catch a little rest until they arrived at the Sector Seven station.
Opening his eyes when the train approached the Sector Seven platform with a quiet screech, Alex gently nudged Aerith on the shoulder, helping her wake up. Lightly rubbing her sleepy eyes, Aerith raised her head, looked around, and realized with a smile that they had finally arrived. Yawning sweetly, she rose to her feet with difficulty, leaning her full weight on Alex and with every movement making it clear how lazy she was to move at that moment.
Chuckling at such demonstrative laziness, Alex helped Aerith exit the car, carefully pushing her in the back with his palm. And while Barret and the other members of the group were exuberantly celebrating the fact that they had for the first time managed to pull off such a significant operation against Shinra, Alex, Dean, Aerith, and Claudia unhurriedly headed toward the Seventh Heaven bar.
Before heading off to rest in the dormitory, Alex intended to give Tifa a small commemorative gift. Approaching Seventh Heaven in an impressive company, Alex spotted from a distance Tifa and Marlene sitting on the wooden steps of the establishment. Seeing her father, Marlene immediately jumped up and, with a radiant smile, threw herself into Barret's arms. Tifa, for her part, immediately noticed Claudia, who was silently walking at the very end of the group.
"I'm so glad you all came back safe and sound! How about a cold drink before bed?" Tifa offered with a warm smile, beckoning everyone inside.
"If there's a glass of ice-cold beer in there, then make way, people — I'm first!" Dean replied with an eager smirk and was one of the first to fly up the porch straight to the bar doors.
Chuckling at Dean's haste, Tifa looked at Claudia. The latter merely nodded silently and also began climbing the steps to the bar doors. Once inside Seventh Heaven, everyone dispersed to their usual places and finally fully relaxed, feeling that they had returned home. And while Tifa was taking cold drinks from the refrigerator, Alex reached for his sports bag.
Rummaging inside, he extracted that very compressed metal sphere into which he had earlier turned the entire Mako Reactor in Sector One. Seeing the dense metal sphere the size of a ball, those present exchanged puzzled glances — everyone immediately wondered why Alex had even dragged this piece of scrap along with him. Seeing the bewildered faces of the entire group, Alex placed the gleaming sphere right on the bar counter with a self-satisfied air and leaned on it slightly with his elbow.
"This is your gift, Tifa," Alex said with a smirk, lightly patting the smooth metal surface with his palm.
"Um… Well, thanks, of course… But I don't even have anywhere proper to put it. And what do I need this thing for?" Tifa answered with a strained smile, staring suspiciously at the strange gift.
"What if I told you that this is all that remains of that very Mako Reactor in Sector One?" Alex asked in a playful tone, looking straight into Tifa's bright red eyes.
"What?!" Tifa exclaimed, nearly dropping the bottle from her hands.
"Wait a second… This is what an entire plant turned into?! You're joking right now, right?!" Jessie exhaled in shock and in one bound jumped over to Alex, examining the compressed sphere.
"That's the one… Well, is my gift worth accepting now?" Alex asked with a satisfied smile, swaying slightly from side to side and being in an excellent mood.
"This is one hell of an awesome souvenir! If Shinra saw this shit, they'd shit their pants realizing what their vaunted plant had been turned into!" Barret shouted loudly, slamming his broad palm on the bar counter and roaring with deafening laughter.
Seeing the exuberant delight of his new friends, Alex chuckled quietly and looked at Tifa again, understandingly jerking his chin. Tifa forced out a tired smile and shook her head slightly. Of course, gifting a compressed Shinra plant instead of a normal souvenir was a novelty even for her. But at the same time she was incredibly pleased. Tifa understood perfectly well that thanks to him, no one had been hurt in this risky outing at all — neither her friends nor the random civilians who could have become victims of a large-scale explosion.
Leaving the rest of the company to examine and eagerly feel the metal sphere, Alex unhurriedly walked around the bar counter and began helping Tifa distribute the drinks. Looking at Alex, who once again was behaving in her establishment like a full-fledged owner — and this despite the fact that they had only met that morning — Tifa merely snorted quietly and decided to leave everything as it was.
To be continued...
(So here we are, back in Seventh Heaven. Honestly, I have absolutely no desire to skip any character interactions. Because I end up feeling like everything feels so forced and unnatural, it's just, ugh. Well, you already know I'm obsessed with this, so I won't dwell on it any further. Anyway, let's move on with the plot and do our own thing. And I'm going to go eat. Peace, love, and what lies where there is nothing.)
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