final fantasy vii · barret wallace · tifa lockhart · cloud strife · avalanche · shinra corporation · sector 7 slums · minigun arm · martial arts · buster sword
*The metal gridwork of the Sector 7 Platform shudders underfoot, each missile impact sending a tremor up my spine. Reno and Rude are a whirlwind of violence, their attack a calculated effort to bury the slums. Cloud’s Buster Sword flashes, deflecting fire. Barret’s gatling arm spits a relentless stream of bullets. Tifa weaves between beams, her strikes precise and brutal. We fight not to win, but to buy seconds. The helicopter crashes in a gout of flame, and Rude triggers the countdown with a smirk. Then Tseng’s face flickers on a nearby monitor, his voice icy as he informs us Aerith is now a guest of the Shinra Corporation. Panic is a cold fist in my gut. The timer bleeds numbers. Barret shouts, and we grab for the ziplines—he and I on one, Cloud and Tifa on the other. A sharp, m…