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Final Fantasy VII: The First Crisis

Chris smiled at that, following Xanatos out of the building. It was a good thing he'd offered to pay, since she'd used what gil she had on the trip to Midgar. "Thank you, sir. I'll repay you once I get accepted into SOLDIER." That is, if she ever did. There really wasn't anything special about her. She was just determined to work hard to prove that she could make it into SOLDIER, no matter how much the odds were stacked against her.
 
Xanatos shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He said as the drew closer to the restaurant. "I make more gil than I need anyway." He pushed the door of the restaurant open and approached a man waiting to seat guests. "Party of two." He said professionally. Upon seeing the SOLDIER emblem on their uniforms the man quickly moved to seat them in a booth.

"Right this way sir." He said as he quickly lead them to a booth. "Here are your menus." He continued as he set two menus down on the table.

"Only one is necessary." Xanatos said with a wave of his hand. "I'm not eating." He leaned back in the booth and glanced out the window at the city outside. He watched as normal people went about their daily lives. He crossed his arms as a sigh escaped his lips. What must it have been like? To have no major concerns? Not to have to risk your life for people who would never know your name? He closed his eyes in thought.
 
Chris took a menu from the waiter once they were seated, looking over it for a minute before deciding on a pasta dish and some soda. Handing the menu back to the waiter, she leaned back in her seat while waiting for her food to arrive.

Once her food arrived, she ate quickly, not wanting to waste too much time in the restaurant, knowing they had a schedule to keep. When she was finished, she looked at Xanatos. "I'm ready to go, if you are." She didn't comment on his not eating, but figured he wasn't really hungry.
 
Xanatos was a little distant. Her voice almost sounded like a distant echo that shook him from his daydreaming. "Good." He said before rising to his feet and walking towards the exit. He drew out his wallet and paid for the meal, before also pulling out his phone to check the time. They was still no need to rush. He still walked at a brisk pace, not wanting to make the rookie think that it would be okay for them to dawdle when there was a mission to complete.

Xanatos had chosen that restaurant tactfully, as it was located near the train station. He began descending the stairs, one hand on the railing as he walked. He remained silent until they reached the station. It was evident that he wasn't a very talkative man. "The train should be arriving shortly." He said turning to face Chris. "Chris. Do you have everything you need?"
 
Chris hurried alongside him as they walked the short distance to the train station. She was a little curious as to why he'd chosen her to accompany him on the mission, when he could have brought along someone who had more experience with this type of thing.

As they walked down the stairs to the station, she kept glancing at him. She got the impression that he didn't seem to like her very much, as he was always so cold to her. But then again, maybe he was that way with everyone. She nodded when told that the train would be here soon, glancing at him again. "I think so... What do we need for the mission?" She sighed, realizing she probably should have asked that before leaving ShinRa HQ, but there was nothing to be done about it now.
 
Xanatos crossed his arms. "Your sword and your phone should be all you'll need this time." He said as he took a seat on a bench while he waited for the train to arrive. "Speaking of phones, the graveyard is like a maze. Take my number and put it in your phone. If we get separated we need to be able to keep in touch." He said as he handed her a scrap of paper with his number on it.

He turned his eyes to the tunnel that the train would be coming out of. "If you perform like you did in the training room today, that you should do just fine in the slums." He said reassuringly. "Just don't get cocky." He added in a more serious tone.
 
Taking the bit of paper from him, she pulled her phone out and entered the number into it. Chris put both her phone and the bit of paper back into her pocket, glancing in the direction that Xanatos had looked. "I'll keep that in mind, Xanatos."

Looking over at him again, she nodded. "I will do my best down there, sir. You will not regret taking me on this mission with you." She wasn't sure what to expect down there, but she would not let him, or herself, down. When the train finally arrived, she waited for passengers to deboard before stepping through the doors.
 
Xanatos was right behind her when Chris boarded the train. He remained standing, one hand holding the railing while the other rested idly on the hilt of his gunblade. His hardened gaze observed everyone on the train. He knew that their had been some activists causing trouble recently and he couldn't be too careful. As the train began to depart, Xanatos kept his watchful gaze on the others in the train car with them.

"Have you ever been below the plate before?" He asked as he turned to face Chris. He gave a small nod of his head to the view out the window as the area beneath the plate came into view. "It's an awfully polluted area. It doesn't matter what Shin-Ra does to address the problem, it never seems to improve, and many of the citizens are very unhappy about it. Be mindful of that when wearing your uniform below the plate."
 
Chris stayed close to Xanatos once the doors closed, watching out the window as the train started moving. She'd only been in Midgar a few days, and yet to see the entire city. She'd gotten a room at a hotel near ShinRa until yesterday when the recruits had gathered in the building lobby. Looking to him when he spoke to her, she shook her head. "No, I haven't been down there yet."

She felt people were watching her as Xanatos started talking about the condition of the slums below the plate. It might have been the uniform she was wearing that was the cause of the dirty looks she was getting. "People don't seem to like those who work for ShinRa, do they, sir?"
 
He closed his eyes as he shook his head. "For the people above the plate, we're heroes. But for those who live below..." He trailed off as he opened his eyes again as he turned his attention to the occupants of the train. "Just be careful who you share your job with." He said as he tightened his grip on the hilt of his blade.

It wasn't long before the train pulled into the station. He waited until the car had cleared to make sure they would be the last to leave. The station outside was in sever disrepair. It was blatantly obvious the conditions these people lived in. He turned to the left and began walking in the direction of the Train Graveyard. As they drew closer, the countless destroyed and abandoned train cars came into view. It was an intense sight of industrial carnage.
 
Chris was silent for the rest of the trip into the slums. As they got off the train, she could tell why the people down here hated ShinRa. As a precaution against attacks as they moved toward the Train Graveyard, she pulled her sword from the sheath at her side.

She looked at Xanatos when they reached their destination. "Just what are we looking for down here?" She wasn't sure if he even knew, but she felt she should ask anyways.
 
Xanatos turned to face Chris as soon as he was certain they were away. "We're looking for any sign of foul play." He said quietly. "There have been an abnormal amount of Anti-Shin-Ra attacks lately and we need to find out what happened to the operative, if we're lucky we'll be able to save him."

Xanatos turned and proceeded to climb inside one of the trains. He looked around the twisted car for any clues. It was difficult to tell what damage was new and what damage was from the wreckage itself. His eyes paused on a twisted railing. He approached it and reached up to run his fingers along what looked to be a sword's cut. "He was here." He said as he closed his eyes. "Judging by the mark here, he got into a fight." He looked around the car with concern. No blood. Was it a ghost? He drew his gunblade as he approached the exit at the other side.
 
Chris followed him, her sword held tightly in her hand. She didn't know what exactly to look for, but as she watched and listened to Xanatos, she started to understand the nature of their mission. "What are the odds of finding him alive down here?" She looked at him as she asked the question, stepping through the exit at the end of the old train car.

Glancing around once they'd exited the car, she thought she saw some movement to her right. She started to head in that direction, her sword in hand just in case it was a monster that lurked down here. She knew she should have stayed with Xanatos, but they were more likely to find the ShinRa operative if they split up. On the other hand, it was also likely that it was a trap.
 
The missing operative was a 3rd class SOLDIER which meant that he didn't have a great deal of experience. If the report was correct, he was on his first solo mission. As such, Xanatos didn't bother answering her question, assuming that it answered itself.

Xanatos looked around the area cautiously. His hand clutched tightly to the drawn gunblade. He followed what looked to be a couple more sword cuts. "What could he have encountered?" He quickly turned around with the gunblade readied when he thought he heard something. "Ghosts..." He growled. "Chris?" He looked around alarmed when he realized the recruit wasn't beside him.

He hurried back in the direction where he had last seen the recruit. This place was dangerous for an inexperienced soldier. Even one as talented as Chris. He quickly scaled the side of a train car and moved on top of the cars to get a better view of the area. If Chris wasn't careful she might end up in the center of an ambush. Ghosts were not a good first real opponent, especially not in numbers.
 
Chris was climbing into another train car that was laying on its side about 50-75 feet away from Xanatos' location. trying to follow whatever it is she had seen a moment before. Once inside, however, she noticed that the door at the other end was blocked by debris from another wrecked train.

There didn't seem to be anything worth investigating inside the car, so she turned back to leave. Except when she turned around, she noticed a couple ghosts at the door she'd climbed through. They hadn't seemed to notice her yet, so she hid underneath an overturned seat, waiting for an opportunity to slip past them unnoticed. She might have been able to take out one, but there were two that she could see, and who knew how many that she couldn't see.
 
Xanatos looked off in the distance to see what he was certain to be a growing swarm of ghosts. He tightened his grip on the gunblade as he leaped from the top of the train car, rolling to his feet as soon as he hit the ground. He continued running towards them. A pair of materia slots in his weapon began to glow as he prepared fire 3 / all. He slid to a stop before hurling the blade in the air so that his hands would be free for the spell.

A massive explosion of fire leaped from his hands and consumed the better amount of the swarm. He reached into the air and caught the gunblade as it descended but promptly leaned against it. It was exhausting to attack so many with a single attack. "Chris! If you're in there, I could use some help!" Xanatos shouted as he forced himself into an attack ready stance to defend himself against the remaining ghosts.
 
Chris didn't really want to leave the safety of her hiding spot, but she couldn't let anything happen to Xanatos. Sure, he had more experience than her, but one didn't gain experience by hiding from monsters. As she crawled out from beneath the seat, she didn't notice when her hat caught on a bit of metal hanging off the back. The only thing she was worried about at the moment was getting out of the train car so that she could aid Xanatos in the fight against the ghosts.

It took her a couple minutes to climb out of the train. When she emerged, she looked around to see that only a few ghosts were left. She noticed one behind Xanatos. She didn't have any materia with her, having left it back at HQ in her duffel bag. So all she could do was to attack it with her sword. Unlike with the virtual soldiers that morning, she was more likely to get hurt here, which meant she had to be extra careful in her attacks. She wasn't able to destroy any herself, but at least she'd been able to help out by guarding Xanatos' back.
 
(Sounds about right. When I first got to the Train Graveyard in VII I kept getting wasted by ghosts. :s)

Xanatos dealt with the remaining ghosts swiftly, having moved to stand back to back with the young recruit. His blade was swift and effective. By the time the battle had ended, he had taken a few blows trying to protect Chris. Though for a SOLDIER of his caliber it wasn't anything to fret about. He panted softly before returning his gunblade to it's holster before turning to face Chris.

"Not bad for a..." He was about to say "rookie" until he noticed the missing hat and the young woman's long hair. "A girl?" He finished in the form of a question. He turned away after a moment. "I see..." Now he knew what seemed so different about the recruit. "So you lied..." He said sternly with his back to the younger officer.
 
Chris took a quick look around before determining it safe enough to sheath her sword. She would keep herself on alert though, since there was no telling when more would appear. From now on, though, she wouldn't wander away from Xanatos.

She turned to face him as well, her eyes widening a bit when she realized that she'd lost her hat. "I suppose you are going to report my deception to the director when we return." She couldn't really do anything to stop him, being just a recruit. With luck, she wouldn't be sent home in disgrace.
 
Xanatos closed his eyes, deep in thought. "No." He answered after several minutes. "No I won't." He released a deep sigh before turning to face the woman. "I don't much care what your gender is." He said quietly. "What I saw you do this morning was far superior than the average recruit. Of the twenty or so men who have been recruited, you have bested them all." He crossed his arms. "SOLDIER needs more like you." He admitted.

"I'll be having you transferred to a 1st class bunking. No one should discover you there." He said. "I'll be pushing to have you admitted into SOLDIER." He walked around behind her, giving her a subtle smack on the back of the head. "Don't try to fool me again." He said in a serious tone before proceeding onward. "Come on!" He ordered loudly. "We have an investigation to complete."
 
Chris felt as though a weight had just been lifted off her shoulders. She would make it into SOLDIER, and no one other than Xanatos would know of her true identity. "Thank you, sir." She took a quick look around, but didn't see her hat anywhere. She'd have to do a better search for it later, after they did what they came down here to do.
 
Not much further in, Xanatos stumbled upon a sewer entrance. "This tunnel leads to... Wall market..." He said. He dropped to his knee and reached inside the manhole drawing from the railing a SOLDIER dog tag on it's chain. "He either fled, fell, or was taken through here." He said as he began to descend the ladder.

He stepped off of the ladder onto the concrete walk way on the side of the actual sewage. He could see countless corpses of other sewer dwelling creatures floating in the sewage below. Something bigger was living down here and it was likely what the SOLDIER 3rd class had been trying to report. His gaze hardened as his hand moved to his pouch he pulled an ether from the bag and quickly made use of it to replenish his energy. His hand then moved to hover over his gunblade.
 
Chris didn't like the thought of going down into the sewers, but it was better than staying on the surface with all the ghosts and whatever else was lurking around the Train Graveyard. Waiting till Xanatos was down far enough, she started climbing down after him.

Once she reached the bottom, she was thankful that she didn't have to wade through the sewage that ran through the tunnel. Noticing his cautious action, she unsheathed her sword in case they ran into anything unpleasant down there. She was starting to feel the effects of her fatigue, but she had to see this mission through to the end, if only to prove that she was a worthy addition to the SOLDIER program.
 
Xanatos could hear a low growl coming form deeper inside of the tunnel. "Keep your wits about you." He said in a low voice. "We are not alone." He drew his blade slowly as he proceeded deeper. He'd heard tales of a beast that lived beneath the Train Graveyard though he had yet to actually face such a beast. Perhaps today would be that day.

He leaned against the wall as he slowly peered around the corner. His eyes widening as he saw the missing soldier lying at the opposite end of the tunnel. He turned the corner quickly and began running in the man's direction. Kneeling down beside the man, Xanatos checked him for a pulse. He was alive but barely.
 
Chris kept watch for any undesirables while Xanatos checked the man over. She'd heard the sound from deeper inside the tunnel as well, and knew one of them had to stay alert. Taking a quick glance in the man's direction, she noticed that he still had a heartbeat, if a slow one. "Will we be able to get him up to the plate in time?"
 
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