I want to thank everyone for taking the time to review!

I'm going to need to start the poll for the pairings now so I know how I want Faith to react to future characters. The rules are simple: one review equals one vote. You must vote on one of the options I give you. I'm also allowing you to break your votes in two. Basically, if there are two options you really like and can't decide which to choose, you may split that one vote, giving each option half a vote instead of a whole one. However keep in mind that your vote affects the outcome of the other pairings as well. Note, there's a '?' put down in some pairings. The '?' is actually a character that I'll bring into the story later.

Option 1: Cloud (I could not resist putting this down as an option. If Cloud is picked the pairings will be Reno/Yuffie, Rude/Tifa, Tseng/Elena, Rufus/?)

Option 2: Vincent (Let me explain this one a little. I understand that technically Vincent is 57 years old, but I don't consider him to be. When he was locked away in that coffin he was 27. In the following years he just slept so I don't consider him mentally 57 because he didn't have the chance to grow at all. Note that if Vincent is not chosen, then I won't pair him with anyone. If Vincent is picked, the pairings will be Cloud/Tifa, Reno/Yuffie, Rude/?, Tseng/Elena)

Option 3: Reno (I admit it; this redhead is a personal favorite of mine. If Reno is picked the pairings will be Cloud/Tifa, Rude/?, Tseng/Elena, Rufus/Yuffie)

Option 4: Rude (I'm not sure how old Rude is, so I figured he was somewhere between his late 20s to early 30s. If Rude is picked the pairings will be Cloud/Tifa, Reno/Yuffie, Tseng/Elena, Rufus/?)

Option 5: Tseng (I'm a little hesitant to put this one up. I'm not sure how old Tseng is, but he always seemed like he was in his early 30s to me in the FFVII. If Tseng is picked the pairings will be Cloud/Tifa, Reno/Yuffie, Rude/Elena, Rufus/?)

Option 6: Rufus (To be honest I always felt that Rufus was a pretty cool character. If Rufus is picked the pairings will be Cloud/Tifa, Reno/Yuffie, Rude/?, Tseng/Elena)

That's it people, those are all the choices I'm giving you. For those of you who are curious, here's a few brief explanations for why some of the others didn't make the cut. Barret – The guy is 35 years old, plus he's Barret, enough said. Red XII – I shouldn't have to explain this one, bestiality is gross. Reeve – Don't worry, I have plans for him. Cid – Though he is my favorite character, he's much too old. Sephiroth – I can't even think of him as a possibility, I respect the man too much make him OOC.

~Identity Crisis~

Chapter 3: Explosions Are Awesome

"…"

"Hey!"

"…ugh…"

"Get out of here!"

"…what?"

"I said scat!"

"Who are you?"

"That's supposed to be my line!"

"Oh, well I'm–"

"Faith, wake up." She startled at the sound of her name and did not instantly recognize the speakers' voice. Faith looked over blearily, only able to make out a purple form with bright yellow hair. "You were having a bad dream." She blinked twice, vision clearing to reveal Cloud Strife. 'Being woken up by a video game character… yeah, this is going to take some getting used to.'

"I was? I seem to be having a lot of those lately." She yawned and Cloud looked away.

"What was it about?" He asked after a moment. Faith hummed in response, trying to remember her dream and failing.

"Something to do with lines?" She shook her head and shrugged. "I can't really recall. How'd you sleep, Chocobo?" Faith asked curiously. In the beginning of the game Cloud had suffered through weird episodes and odd dreams, unaware that his subconscious was trying to tell him that something was wrong. He shrugged. "You want to get something to eat? I don't know if 7th Heaven will be open at this hour though."

"I saw a restaurant near the entrance to the sector, I'm sure we can get something there." He offered and Faith nodded in agreement. What she really wanted to do was pick up the All Materia in the Beginner's Hall, but it wouldn't become available until tomorrow when the shop's owner would request to see the Ex-SOLDIER. Cloud led the way downstairs and she paused to buy an Iron Bangle, giving it to Cloud and selling his Bronze Bangle for 50 Gil.

Faith knew that the Materia Shop would have a Restore Materia, but she didn't want to waste her money since Cloud would just find one on their mission anyways. She followed Cloud as he walked back down the route they'd used yesterday, observing the Slum life. There weren't many people about and those who were looked completely wasted or were suffering from a hangover. The sector itself was dirty and seemed to be falling apart at the seams and there was a general gloom in the air. It was depressing as hell to walk through.

The restaurant was a cozy little thing, if one ignored the stained furniture and moldy smell. Cloud didn't seem to mind so Faith withheld making a comment for his sake. There was no point in bitching; it wasn't his fault that the place was a complete dive. She ordered the Breakfast Platter, which consisted of scrambled eggs and some toast, while he got the Biscuits and Gravy Plate.

"Hey, what are you doing for the rest of the day?" Faith asked halfway into the meal, still much too sleepy to make idle chitchat.

"Probably just walk around or go back to Tifa's bar. Why?"

"There's this little niche beyond the train station that's filled with monsters. I figured I'd earn some extra Gil and experience before the mission tonight. If anything, I won't end up doing nothing all day. You wanna come?" Cloud shrugged so she decided to take that as a yes. He paid for the bill and they left, this time with her taking the lead as they headed back to the train station.

Predictably the Train Graveyard hadn't changed overnight; it was still full of Guard Hounds, Mono Drives, and Sweepers. If Faith had thought her battles here yesterday had been easy, then they were just plain laughable now. Between her and Cloud, no fight lasted longer than five minutes, if even that.

Cloud had been shaky at first, stumbling over his feet every now and then or overreaching with his sword. The Jenova cells must have kicked in though, because soon enough he was wielding the Buster Sword like a pro. It was actually a little startling, seeing him improve so rapidly. Especially since Faith knew he'd barely been able to lift that sword when Zack had first given it to him. She had to resist squealing after their first battle ended and Cloud performed his victory pose. She'd forgotten all about that! Instead of doing Yuffie's klutzy spin, Faith had tossed her shuriken up into the air, caught it, and then turned away from the battlefield, holding her weapon lazily over her shoulder.

She had never felt so awesome and lame at the same time.

They spent some hours in the Graveyard, stopping only to pick up some lunch at the same restaurant from earlier. Cloud ordered the Sushi Plate and she got the Korean B.B.Q. Plate. 'Wait, how can they serve Korean BBQ when there's no Korea in this world?' Mind warping paradox aside, lunch turned out to be livelier than breakfast and Faith quickly found herself talking strategy with the not-SOLDIER.

"Well yeah, most machines are weak against Lightning, like the Sweepers. And I know for a fact that the Kalm Fangs outside of Midgar are weak against Fire. Seriously, just link it with an All Materia and those suckers are roasted after one attack." She said and Cloud nodded in agreement.

"You don't have an All Materia, do you? That would make the mission go a lot quicker if we could attack numerous enemies at once." Faith shook her head.

"Nah, that shit is almost as hard to find as Summons are. Speaking of which, do you have a favorite?" She asked as she pushed aside the cauliflower that came with her meal and glared at the offensive vegetable.

"Well I've never actually used or seen a Summons before so I only know of a few, like Shiva and Ifirit. But I was always fond of Odin the most when I was a kid." He answered softly, his face slightly scrunched up in thought. Faith had to wonder if this was the real Cloud talking or if the opinion came from Zack's memories. "What about you?"

"Oh, Odin's cool, there's no doubt about that, but I've actually always liked Hades the best. If the enemy survives his "Black Cauldron" attack, then they could end up with any status ailment. Of course the Leviathan is awesome too. And Bahamut, that thing is just badass." She paused for a second to reexamine her words. Maybe she was getting a little too invested in Materia. The last thing she needed was to develop an obsession that rivaled Yuffie's.

"You sure know your Summons. Which one do you have equipped?" Cloud asked, sounding mildly impressed.

"Just the Choco/Mog. I heard that someone in Junon has the Shiva Materia, but I didn't get to find out whom, or even if it was just a rumor." She replied lazily while putting down some Gil to pay for the meal. The fighting had brought around a good amount of money, even if she'd had to split half of the winnings with Cloud. She looked at her PHS, finding that it was now three in the afternoon. "Well, I'm thinking about battling for another few hours and then crashing back at the Weapons Shop to rest before the mission. You coming?"

"You go on ahead. I'm going to check in on Tifa first and then join you." Faith nodded and waved goodbye him as she headed back to the Train Graveyard. As she walked, she mentally checked over her supplies. She had fourteen Potions, but she would give four of those to Cloud before the mission started. She had decided to put a limit on how many Items she carried so as not to be weighed down. Currently she had five Hi-potions, four Phoenix Downs, three Ethers, three Antidotes, two Echo Screens, and one Megalixir.

She was pretty sure she was around level sixteen at this point and had learned Clear Tranquil three days ago. Faith didn't know how many more enemies she had to kill in order to get her Landscaper Limit Break, but she was sure she'd get it before leaving Midgar. Cloud had started the game off at level seven, but she was certain he would be a level nine or higher when they left for the bombing mission. He'd only used his Limit Break twice so far, so hopefully he'd have Cross Slash by the time he ran into Aerith. Or was it Aeris? 'Ugh, I'll deal with that clusterfuck when I get to it.'

Her Materia had yet to level up and she'd equipped her Throw after giving Cloud her Restore. While she had originally planned to give him the Long Range Materia, she decided to wait and give it to Red XIII to use in the fight against the Hundred Gunner and Heli Gunner during the escape from Shinra Headquarters.

By the time Cloud showed up at the Graveyard, Faith estimated that she'd been fighting for at least a half-an-hour. She thought about cracking a joke for what could have taken him so long, but decided it was in her best health to stay quiet once she caught the annoyed look on his face. 'Barret must have been there.' Faith silently admitted that she'd always found Barret annoying at the very beginning of the game. Once he'd stopped being an ass to Cloud, she'd found that she really liked Barret's character as he'd often supplied the humor for the storyline.

They spent the next hour fighting monsters before deciding to take another break and ended up sitting on top of a roof on one of the broken down trains. Faith lay down on her back, legs hanging off of the car and swinging lazily as she stared up at the plate. At first Midgar had reminded her of home, there wasn't much nature in the city, but not being able to see the sky made her feel claustrophobic. It was freaky.

"People aren't meant to live like this." She muttered to herself, forgetting that she wasn't alone at the moment.

"Huh?" Cloud grunted, startling her a little, and she twisted her head awkwardly to look at him. He was sitting a few feet away on the edge of the train car, legs drawn up to his chest with his Buster Sword resting against his right side.

"Trapped under a piece of metal, it's not right. People should be able to see the sun, the sky. I can't imagine living in a place like this. I'd feel like a rat in a maze." 'It would be like living in the subway.' She silently added.

"Some people just… don't know any different." Cloud said after a minute. "If this was all you ever knew, don't you think the outside world would be kind of scary?" Faith shrugged.

"Maybe, but that's part of why it would be so exciting. I've been stuck in one place all my life. I didn't realize how much I wanted to see new things until I was forced to. Sure it was scary at first." Scary didn't even begin to describe waking up in a fictional world. "But it's all too amazing to just hide away from." Faith grinned as she thought of the ocean coast by Fort Condor, the ethereal glow of the Mythril Mine, and the rich grasslands surrounding the Chocobo Farm. "Yeah," she continued in a softer tone "the scenery is the best part."

She looked back up at the plate and shuddered at the idea of being flattened by the giant piece of metal. 'That's not too far away now.' After tonight's mission, they would go after Reactor 5 tomorrow night. Aerith would find Cloud unconscious among her flowers the next morning and then, after that cross-dressing bullshit with Don Conero, Reno would blow up the pillar to Sector 7, killing hundreds. 'Which means I'm going to have to prevent that from happening, somehow.' The more Faith thought about the situation, the more she realized Cloud and the others likely wouldn't have time to look for the Train Graveyard's Items. They would be rushing back to save Sector 7. What if they missed the Steal Materia or failed to get Aerith's Striking Staff from an Eligor?

Well that just wouldn't do.

"Hey Chocobo, let's explore the rest of this place." She said suddenly, getting a slight jump from the faux-SOLDIER as he'd clearly been lost in thought.

"Huh, why?"

"Why?" She gave him a surprised look. "How do you think I got my hands on all of this Materia? I looked for it. I explored areas. If nothing else I'm sure we can find some useful Items around here." He shrugged clearly not caring either way, and jumped down into the other side of the Graveyard. Faith smirked to herself before also jumping down. 'Steal Materia, you are so mine.'

Predictably they made it through the area without much fuss. Some of the monsters were a bit stronger than the ones from before, but it was nothing they couldn't handle. Cloud got to use his Limit Break two more times and Faith was sure that some of her Materia was going to level up soon. She let Cloud have the Items they found and before she knew it they were standing by the entrance to the sewers.

"Well there was no Materia, but we did get some decent Items." He said as he moved to head back. Faith stopped him by crouching down to lift up the manhole cover. "What are you doing?"

"I told you, I explore places." She replied while huffing a little. Cloud crossed his arms over his chest, looking unimpressed. "I'm not going to stop here just 'cause it's a sewer."

"You honestly think that there's Materia down there?" Faith frowned and looked up at him, feeling a little put out as she picked up on his disbelieving tone.

"Tell you what. If we go down there and there's no Materia I'll give you my Throw. If there is Materia down there though, I get to keep it. Deal?" She held out her hand for Cloud to shake, grimacing as she noticed the grime that covered her fingers and glove. He studied her hand with equal disgust before nodding. "Great, then help me move this thing. It weighs a ton!"

Needless to say, Cloud did not look happy when she picked up her prize just ten steps away from the ladder.

"Aw, cheer up Chocobo." Faith said as she swapped around her Materia. She placed the Lighting, Fire, and Earth into her shuriken. While her Enemy Skill, Choco/Mog, and new Steal Materia went into her Carbon Bangle. "Here, you can still have my Throw Materia." She tossed the yellow orb to him and he caught it without even looking. 'Fucking showoff with his badass skills, I'm supposed to be the ninja here.'

"I don't need a handout. You won the bet fair and square." He tried to give it back, but she just brushed him off, smiling a little. She hoped it looked genuine rather than smug.

"It's not a handout, it's a gift. In all honesty, I'll probably never use it." He looked down at the Materia with a little frown on his face. "It's all yours Chocobo." Faith managed to catch his gaze as he looked back up, but he quickly faced the other direction before she could figure out what the expression on his face meant. Seeing as all of his Materia slots were full, he placed the extra Materia into his pocket and nodded slightly while still looking away from her.

"…Thanks." Ah, now that was definitely Cloud. Zack could never be that socially awkward. "Come on, we better head back."

"Yeah, let's put our new Materia to work!" Not too long after Faith lucked out and managed to steal a Striking Staff from an Eligor. Cloud eyed the weapon curiously from beside her.

"What are you going to do with it? Sell it?" He asked and she shook her head. The staff would be Aerith's greatest Weapon until they went to Cosmo Canyon and bought the Prism Staff. Funnily enough, Faith noticed that she was beginning to gain quite the stash. First Vincent's Peacemaker and now the Striking Staff. 'Whose Weapon am I going to pick up next?'

She looked over the weapon with interest. Faith didn't know much about staffs, but she was certain the Striking Staff was designed a little oddly. The main body of the staff was thin, but made of a hard metal that was stained black. The ends of the staff were bent slightly and painted a light blue with the very tips colored red. The Materia Slots were near each end of the staff, with one Link Slot on one side and two Single Slots on the other.

"I think I'll hang onto it. Who knows? It might come in handy someday." She replied with a knowing smirk and fake-SOLDIER just shrugged.

~Identity Crisis~

Faith gritted her teeth and glared at Cloud, not that he could see it.

"Remind me again why we had to ride on the top of the fucking train!?" She shouted in order to be heard over the rushing wind. She probably didn't even need to yell. Cloud had super hearing thanks to his Mako enhancements, but she was pissed that she had to hang onto a speeding locomotive for dear life while Barret and the rest were safely riding inside the train.

"Something to do with not having enough fake IDs, I think. We would've been caught if we'd ridden inside with the others." He answered while turning to her, looking completely unbothered by their situation.

"This is such bullshit." She growled and Faith could've sworn she saw Cloud smirk before he turned to look forwards again. 'Fuck him, fuck Barret, and fuck my life!' The train gave a harsh whistle that left her ears ringing, but thankfully they were slowing down. Once they stopped, she looked over the side of the train to see Jessie and Biggs take out the stations' guards. Wedge and Barret climbed out next and the leader stopped to wave up at us. "Guess that's our cue to get off."

She jumped and landed nimbly on the ground thanks to Yuffie's awesome acrobatic skills. Cloud did a goddamn backhand-spring off of the train before landing next to Faith and smirking a little. She glared lightly. 'Challenge accepted. Next time we're jumping off of something I'm doing a flip.' Of course, she would have to make sure Cloud was there to see it.

"C'mon you two, follow me." Barret said before dashing off, not even waiting for them to catch up.

"Oh, I can tell all ready that he's going to be a pain in the ass." Cloud, the social butterfly that he was, just shrugged before taking off after Barret. Faith followed at a brisk pace, bypassing the unconscious guards even though she knew they had Potions on them. It wasn't like they needed any.

They almost made it to the end of the platform when two Shinra Troopers came from around the corner. The Troopers hesitated for a second, giving her and Cloud enough time to pull out their respective weapons and attack. She flung out her shuriken and it whirled through the air briefly before striking true, landing a heavy cut on the first Trooper's chest. There was a spray of blood and the man collapsed backwards, unmoving.

Faith stared in horror.

'Did I just–'

A pained grunt broke her out of her daze and Faith let out a shaky sigh as she saw that the Trooper was moving. Sending a quick glance at Cloud, who was blocking a round of bullets with his sword, and ran over to the Trooper to inspect his wound. Relieved, she saw that the cut wasn't that deep. Having an idea of what to do next, she tore it off the Trooper's helmet and almost froze at the frightened glare the man was giving her. He was her age, maybe a little older, with brown eyes and dirty blonde hair. Faith gave him a smile, hoping it came off as friendly, before promptly slamming her arm-gauntlet into the side of his head, effectively knocking him out. She cast a few Cures on him, satisfied that his wound wouldn't bleed out, and turned her attention back to Cloud.

He was watching her. The other Trooper laid face down on the ground, but she couldn't spot any blood, not on him, the ground, or on the Buster Sword. Hesitantly, she forced herself to meet his gaze with her head held high. She could kill monsters and robots just fine, but she wasn't going to kill people. Not even if they were Shinra. They stared at each other for a few long seconds before Cloud nodded.

"Let's go." He said softly and Faith couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she followed him off the platform and towards the members of AVALANCHE. They pulled up a little behind the others and Biggs turned towards them, his eyes solely set on Cloud.

"Wow! You used to be in SOLDIER all right! …Not every day ya found one in a group like AVALANCHE." He stated before looking over at Faith. "Now a Wutain out for revenge makes much more sense." Biggs wasn't a tall man, like Cloud he was only of average height. His hair was dark brown and was mostly slicked back save for the one long bang that hung in front of his face. His physique was fairly muscular and Faith saw that his eyes were like Tifa's, a reddish-brown color.

A dark red headband was tied around his head and he had matching fingerless gloves. He wore a thick tank top that was a greyish-green hue and militaristic pants that were just a few shades darker. Like her, he wore shoes that had metal on them, only in reverse. Where metal covered the bottom and front parts of her boots, Biggs' shoes had metal located around his ankles and heels. The fabric was thicker than hers though, and they were red instead of green.

"SOLDIER? Aren't they the enemy? What's he doing with us in AVALANCHE?" Jessie asked while turning away from the lock she was disengaging to glare suspiciously at Cloud.

Faith couldn't tell what Jessie's height was since she was currently crouching, but she couldn't imagine her being much taller than Tifa. While Jessie lacked the muscular physique that Biggs had, she certainly seemed to be in good shape. She had light brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail with parted bangs that were held up by the red headband she wore. It was tied sideways, leaving the knot and its ends to trail down the left side of her head. Her eyes were a pretty honey brown.

For her clothes, Jessie was the first person Faith had seen wearing real armor. She had on a blue athletic looking t-shirt with a metal chest plate over it and metal shoulder guards. She had brown gauntlets that almost reached her elbows and loose brown pants that ended a few inches below her knees. Her shoes were simple brown boots that were cut at the ankles and showed off her grey socks. A red leather belt was wrapped around her hips, carrying a square shaped bag, and Faith wondered what was inside of it.

"Hold it, Jessie. He was in SOLDIER. He quit them and is now one of us." Biggs corrected and Jessie reluctantly turned back to the lock. "I didn't catch either of your names…"

"…Cloud."

"Just call me Faith." She sent Biggs a smile while giving Wedge a curious glance. He was fidgeting with his hands and nervously looking every which way. She was beginning to get dizzy just by watching him.

Wedge's overall build was the exact opposite of everyone else's. Where they were fit, he was clearly out of shape. He was short, Faith was certain they were the same height, and he had a bit of a belly to him. His black hair was mostly covered up by a red bandana, with two short bangs peeking through. His face was round and his brown eyes were wide, giving him a pudgy, innocent appearance. He wore a pale yellow t-shirt with metal guards on his shoulders and a thick brown strap wrapping around his torso diagonally. As she looked closer, Faith saw that the strap was fastened with several grenades. Wedge wore blue pants that seemed to be a little short as they ended a few inches above his shoes. His boots were simple, brown, and came up to his ankles.

"Cloud and Faith, eh? I'm–" Cloud shook his head before he turned to look at Biggs. Faith just realized that the not-a-real-SOLDIER hadn't so much as glanced at the others. 'Huh, I wonder why he's being so standoffish all of a sudden.'

"I don't care what your names are. Once this job's over… I'm outta here." He returned his stare back to the door, seemingly determined to ignore them.

"Don't mind Chocobo, he's a mercenary. It's in their job description to be cool and act like a jerk at the same time." She said to the man, who looked more confused than angry. Biggs opened his mouth to reply when Barret suddenly charged up to them, looking pissed.

"The hell you all doin'!? I thought I told you never to move in a group!" Faith frowned at him.

"You never told me that. You just told me to shut the hell up and jump on top of that goddamn train!" Barret glared at her before shifting his gaze to Cloud who was still having a staring contest with the door… that or he was checking out Jessie's ass. She had the feeling that it was the first option. Zack would totally do the latter though.

"Our target's the North Mako Reactor. We'll meet on the bridge in front of it." Barret continued in a slightly calmer tone. An audible click went off and the door slid open. Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge ran ahead, but Barret paused to turn back and glare at Cloud. "I still don't trust ya, Ex-SOLDIER. You try anythin' funny and you'll have to deal with me." With that lovely little threat out of the way, Barret took off, leaving the two alone once again.

"Look at you, already making friends. I'm so proud." She muttered sarcastically. Cloud paid her no mind and instead stared up at the reactor for a second. He glanced back at her briefly before moving ahead. Faith stared for a second before chasing after him. "What? Am I a mind reader now? Can't you just say that we're going?" She stuck her tongue out at his back as his only response was to increase his pace.

They quickly cut through the area, but had to stop to help out Biggs, who had been cornered by a group of 1st Rays. Faith threw her 4-point Shuriken and it cut through the machine easily, taking it out with one hit. Cloud did the same with his own 1st Ray and Biggs nodded to them in thanks before moving on. Wedge separated from the group to stand guard by the exit and another squad of Troopers attacked her and Cloud. The Troopers were taken down as easily as the first pair and they quickly continued into the reactor where she spotted Barret standing at the top of the stairs with Jessie and Biggs.

"Yo! This your first time in a reactor?" Barret asked gruffly and Faith nodded her head. Cloud crossed him arms and waited for a second before answering.

"No. After all, I did work for Shinra, y'know." Since Cloud had an idea of what when on in a reactor, Barret turned to her, his face taking an unusually stern expression.

"The planet's full of Mako energy. People here use it every day." As she knew this game by heart, Faith decided to react the same way Cloud would have. She shrugged.

"It's the life blood of this planet. But Shinra keeps suckin' the blood out with these weird machines." Barret growled while shaking his Gun-arm at her, obviously incensed by her lack of reaction. Faith hid a smirk. She was starting to enjoy getting him all riled up.

"I didn't come here for a lecture. Let's just hurry." Cloud interrupted before she could do anything else to piss off Barret.

"That's it! You two are comin' with me from now on." He growled and Cloud simply shrugged in response. As Barret glared at the uncaring Ex-SOLDIER, Faith moved over to Biggs who was standing by the locked door, clearly waiting for the okay to open it.

"You got this?" She asked while pointing at the door and he smirked roguishly before pressing a violet colored button.

"Definitely, code deciphered." The group of five rushed into the next room where Jessie set to work at disarming the second door. Biggs pulled off to the side and gave Faith a serious look. "Take care of yourself in there."

"No worries, Rambo." She remarked just as Jessie opened the next door. While moving into the next room, she spotted a chest in the side chamber. "Oooh, I see something shiny." Her comment attracted Cloud's attention, who also saw the chest, and they broke away from to group to open it, gaining a Phoenix Down. Barret waited impatiently by the elevator with Jessie and Faith gave him a wide smile that likely just irritated him even more. Instead of chewing them out, he nodded to Jessie who unlocked the elevator and their group climbed in.

"Push that button over there." Jessie said to no one in particular as she fiddled with some wires next to the door. Faith did as asked and soon the elevator started moving downwards. Barret stood in the center of the elevator and Cloud leaned up against the wall next to her. It was silent for a few moments before Barret decided to pick up where he'd been earlier, continuing the lecture.

"Little by little the reactors will drain out all the life. And that'll be that." For once, his tone was quiet and solemn; it made Faith feel a little guilty for being a pain in the ass earlier. She knew Barret was a good guy. This time it was Cloud who shrugged.

"It's not my problem." She frowned at that as it definitely wasn't something Zack would say. She imagined the First Class SOLDIER would have jumped at the chance to save the world.

"The planet's dyin', Cloud!" Barret shouted angrily while waving his arms, clearly frustrated by the supposed Ex-SOLDIER's dismissive attitude. Cloud shook his head.

"The only thing I care about finishing this job before security and the Roboguards come." Barret turned away angrily and stared at his Gun-arm, looking as if he wanted to slap Cloud upside the head with it.

"And what about you?" The large man said as he looked over his broad shoulder to glare at Faith, who had opted to stay quiet through the brief exchange. "Do ya care about the planet at all?"

"Well sure, but my main reason for being here is so that I can stick it to Shinra." She chirped happily and he gave her an incredulous look. "But I'm basically with the moody Chocobo, so what he says goes. Once he's outta here, so am I." Instead of looking angry like she expected, Barret just sighed tiredly. The elevator finally came to a stop and as they moved out, Faith tried to ignore the heaviness that seemed to have fallen over their small group.

~Identity Crisis~

Faith, Cloud, and Barret stood before the very heart of the reactor. She looked over at Barret, surprised by how well he'd been able to keep up with them even though he was supposedly a level six by this point. Spotting something green on the pathway, she raced ahead to pick it up.

"Aha! You can always find Materia in Mako Reactors." She said triumphantly before looking over at Cloud. "I'll trade ya." She pointed at her Restore in his Iron Bangle. He nodded before handing over the Green Materia and Faith did likewise. "Two Materia in one day, it can't get much better than that!" She switched out her Earth with her Restore and tucked the extra Materia into her bag to join the Long Range Materia.

"Alright, enough talk 'bout Materia. We got a mission to complete. When we blow this place, this ain't gonna be nothin' more than a hunk of junk. Cloud, you set the bomb." Barret ordered as he fidgeted with his Gun-arm. Faith figured he was either nervous or excited about actually blowing up the reactor.

"Shouldn't you do it?" Cloud asked, not really sounding like he cared one way or the other.

"Jus' do it! I gotta watch to make sure you two don't pull nothin'." Barret growled back.

"Fine, be my guest." Just then, Cloud's entire body stiffened and his eyes seemed to lose focus. Faith knew what was happening, but she'd always been curious about who had been talking to Cloud. Was it his subconscious, perhaps one of Zack's memories, or maybe even Jenova? After a moment he slumped a little and shook his head, looking terribly confused.

"…What's wrong?" Barret asked as Cloud had yet to set the bomb.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong, Cloud? Hurry it up!" He repeated impatiently and Cloud frowned.

"…Yeah, sorry." He moved forward and crouched down a little to install the bomb. Faith stood opposite of Barret with Cloud in the middle, fingering her shuriken as she waited for the Guardian Scorpion to show itself. As soon as Cloud finished setting the bomb the alarm went off overhead.

"Heads up, here they come!" Barret shouted as the Guardian Scorpion suddenly dropped down from above and landed on the pathway with a loud crash. It aimed its tail at Cloud who swiftly jumped back to dodge it.

"Use Bolt if you've got it! This thing has a weakness against Lightning." She yelled towards the others as she summoned a Bolt spell that struck the machine hard. Cloud activated his own Lightning Matera and Barret shot at the robot, aiming for its head. The Guardian Scorpion's tail abruptly rose behind its back. "Be careful guys, if you attack while its tail is up it'll counterattack!"

And Barret, the stupid son of a bitch that he was, either didn't hear her warning or simply didn't give a fuck.

A powerful laser beam shot out from the tail, hitting all three of them and knocking Faith onto her back. Cloud was the first to climb back onto his feet and a wave of blue aura engulfed him just before he jumped forward and performed his Cross Slash Limit Break for the first time. Faith used her own Limit Break, Clear Tranquil, which healed their injured party. The swordsman of the group landed beside her and eyed the machine warily.

"I thought you said you weren't a healer?" He asked lightly and she scowled in return.

"I can't help what my Limit Breaks are." Now properly annoyed, she sent out another Bolt at the robot, only to be surprised as a larger, more powerful strike of lightning hit the machine. The Guardian Scorpion froze for a second before collapsing forwards. "Fuck yeah, that was Bolt 2! My Materia must have leveled up!"

With the robot's defeat, Cloud performed his victory pose before swinging the Buster Sword onto his back, while Barret fist pumped in the background. Faith did her own stance as well. She tossed her shuriken into the air once before catching it and turning away from their defeated enemy, holding her weapon over her right shoulder in a lazy manner.

Ritual victory pose out of the way, she promptly reached around Cloud and punched Barret with her gauntlet arm.

"Ow! The hell was that for?" Barret roared and Faith punched him again. "Fuck!"

"When I say, "be careful, don't hit the enemy", I actually mean don't hit the goddamn enemy!" She hissed and Barret pursed his lips while rubbing his arm. "You're lucky we're in such a hurry or else I would kick your ass." She stomped over to the Guardian Scorpion, looking over its broken remains carefully before finding what she wanted. "At least something good came out of this." She picked up the Assault Gun and tossed it to a surprised Barret. "This should be compatible to your arm. And look, Shinra was nice enough to give it a Materia Link Slot." He studied it for a second before nodding, confirming that it was indeed usable.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Cloud stated before he jumped over the Guardian Scorpion. Faith and Barret shared glares before following his lead. She guessed that they had eight minutes now before the bomb went off. They quickly made their way to the upper level where Cloud helped Jessie get unstuck. 'Seriously, how the hell did she even manage to do that?' From there they ran all the way back to the elevator and reunited with Biggs before making it to the bridge. She ran next to Barret, with Jessie and Cloud behind her, and all but dove into the safety room as the explosion went off.

The reverberations, intense heat, and powerful sounds deafened Faith in a way she never thought possible. When the tremors finally stopped, she opened her eyes to find that the room was covered in darkness. From a few feet away she heard a series of beeps go off before a weak light flickered on overhead. How Jessie had managed that, she had no idea. She looked around the partially collapsed tunnel and found herself pressed up against the wall near Barret. After a moment, Faith slowly stood and tried hard to ignore the shakiness in her legs.

"That should keep the planet going… at least for a little longer." Biggs muttered from where he sat against a pile of rocks.

"Yeah." Wedge agreed quietly, still looking very anxious as his eyes rapidly shifted over the small area.

Barret said nothing, but straightened his posture, making him stand a little taller.

"Okay, now everyone get back." Jessie advised and they all moved to the end of the makeshift tunnel. A much smaller explosion than a few minutes ago went off and everyone quickly made for the exit, worried that their humble little shelter would come down on their heads. Cloud got out first, performing a dive roll to avoid the flames. Barret ducked a little, but basically just pushed his way past the fire. Faith cartwheeled out with her feet brushing the flames for only a second before reaching the outside. Jessie and Biggs were quick to follow, choosing to use Barret's approach of barreling past the flames.

Wedge raced out of the tunnel with his ass literally on fire.

"Stop, drop, and roll, Marshmallow!" She shouted through her chuckles. Jessie politely covered her laugh with a cough, but Biggs showed no issue in joining Faith's snickering. Wedge quickly managed to put the small fire out and joined their mini circle, eyes downcast and cheeks glowing red from embarrassment. To show she didn't mean any harm, Faith clapped a hand on Wedge's shoulder, but was unable to keep the smile off her face. Fortunately he seemed to get what she was trying to convey and mustered a small smile in return.

"All right, now let's get out of here. Rendezvous at Sector 8 station! Split up and get on the train!" Barret ordered sternly before the others suddenly took off, clearly having already planned their different escape routes.

"H-hey!" Cloud called after him, apparently taken off guard by the abrupt dispersal of their group.

"If it's about your money save it 'till we're back at the hideout." Barret replied before running up the stairs, leaving them behind. For the third damn time.

"Guess we just go to the station then." She muttered to Cloud who nodded before leading the way into the Sector 8's plaza. The first thing Faith's sight landed on was the giant billboard that had 'LOVELESS' written on it. 'Wonder if I can pick up the book or something before leaving Midgar.' Genesis had based his whole life around that book. It had to be at least somewhat decent to earn that kind of devotion. There weren't that many people out seeing as it was so late, but Faith did manage to spot a familiar looking woman in a pink dress getting knocked down by a random person. Cloud saw it too and immediately headed over to help the flower girl up.

"Thank you." Aerith or Aeris, Faith wasn't sure which yet, said as she accepted Cloud's hand and she bent down to retrieve the basket. Sadly the few flowers had been mostly bent in one way of another. She handed the basket over to Aerith who took it and gave Faith a funny look before smiling a little. 'Man, no wonder everyone likes Aerith. She practically radiates kindness.' "What happened?" Cloud looked at her for a second before shaking his head.

"Nothing… hey, listen…" He crossed his arm in thought, unsure of what to say next.

"You don't see many flowers around here." Faith commented as she studied the fragile plants. They looked like simple tulips, but they could easily be something else. She didn't know the first thing about botany.

"Oh, these? Do you like them? They're only one Gil…" Aerith offered softly. 'A great salesman you are not, Aerith.'

"I'll buy one." Cloud stated after a few seconds.

"Me too." Faith added and Aerith absolutely beamed at them.

"Oh, thank you!" Aerith searched through her flowers, miraculously finding two undamaged ones, and handed them over. "Here you are!" Faith took her flower with a smile and looked up at Aerith, who was now eyeing the plaza with concern. "Well, I'd best be getting home. Goodbye!" Faith stood silently beside Cloud as they watched Aerith leave and she shot a glance over at the wannabe-SOLDIER to see that he looked lost in thought. She had to wonder. How come Cloud had been able to recognize Yuffie through Zack's memories, but not do the same with Aerith?

"I like her." She stated after a minute, bringing back Cloud's mind from wherever it had wandered off to. "We should probably head for the station though, it won't take Shinra long to figure out what happened." He nodded in agreement and they took off, heading southwards towards the station. At entering the next part of the sector, a sudden voice cried out to them from behind.

"Hey, you there!" They turned to see two Troopers running towards them. Cloud nodded at her and Faith recognized it as a sign that they were going to fight. She shot a Fire spell at her own enemy, keeping it weak enough to distract the Trooper rather than hurt him, and snuck up behind him to knock him out. She turned to see that Cloud had already taken down his opponent by simply hitting the man in the stomach with the handle of his Buster Sword.

"What the?" A different voice said and Faith looked to see two more Troopers heading towards them. She glanced at Cloud who nodded backwards. 'Good, we're running this time.' Rushing forwards, a different group of Troopers appeared to their right, firing bullets that Cloud successfully managed to block with his sword.

"Halt!" Another Trooper shouted as a new group arrived and they retreated towards the bridge over the train tracks. One more cluster of Troopers came from the other side, effectively surrounding them.

"That's as far as you go." Cloud got in front of Faith, backing up a little and directing her to the edge of the bridge. Of course she knew what he had planned. She just didn't enjoy the idea of jumping onto a speeding train. 'Oh shit.' She paled slightly. 'I just remembered my stupid ass promise about doing a flip the next time I jumped off of something.'

"I don't have time to be messing around with you guys." Cloud retorted coolly before glancing back at Faith, who gulped at the prospect of flipping onto a train. 'You don't have to do it you idiot, no one else will know that you backed out of a challenge!' She frowned at herself. That was very true. 'Then again, think about how cool you'll look if you actually manage to pull it off!' Hmm, also true.

"Enough babbling, grab them!" A train whistle went off and Faith grimaced. Just as the men charged forwards, she and Cloud jumped off the ledge. She flipped in the air once before landing heavily next to the false-SOLDIER. Stunned that she actually did it and survived, Faith sent him a wide, pleased grin. He stared back at her evenly, but she could tell by the look in his glowing eyes that he'd seen the flip for what it was, a challenge. As they ducked down to grab ahold of the train to keep from falling off, Faith couldn't help but wonder what Cloud would do in return.

They moved across the train, heading towards the front. He stopped as they reached the second car and readjusted his grip to reach down and knock on the sliding door. After getting no response he tried again.

"Guess we'll have to let ourselves in." He flung open the door and turned back to give har a look before flipping himself into the train. She stared at his now empty spot and just decided to shuffle her way into the train rather than tempt fate by trying to pull off another near impossible feat. She landed in a bit of a stumble, having had to swing herself inside the car, and Cloud gracefully stood up from his crouch while brushing a hand through his spikey hair. She glared at his smug smirk, silently promising herself that she would outdo him next time.

"Cloud! Faith!" Nearly most of the AVALANCHE members shouted, Barret just stared at them with an overly surprised look on his face. Faith bit back a snicker, the man looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Looks like we're a little late." Cloud commented nonchalantly as he brushed off some soot from his uniform, entirely missing the dirt covering his face. Surprisingly none of it had gotten into his hair. Faith was doing the same, but she was giving herself a more thorough pat down, making sure to wipe off all the powder that clung to her body, arm-gauntlet, and scarf. Barret was quick to recover.

"You're damn right you're late! Come waltzin' in here makin' a big scene!"

"It's no big deal, just what I always do." The not-SOLDIER said as he shifted into a pose that Faith could only describe as cool.

"Shit! Havin' everyone worried like that, you don't give a damn 'bout no one but yourself!"

"Aw, you were worried about us?" She cut in teasingly and Barret flailed his arms in denial, looking very pissed at himself for that little slipup.

"Wha?!" He sputtered for a second before scowling. "I'm takin' it outta your money, showoffs!" Barret quickly moved to the exit and turned back to the others. "Wake up, we're movin' out! Follow me." He then left the car, grumbling something under his breath.

"Hey Cloud, you were great back there!" Wedge said excitedly before his face took a pinkish color, his eyes shooting to Faith before finding the floor. "You were really amazing too, Faith." She smiled back at the compliment and Wedge's face turned a darker red. He quickly followed after Barret, stumbling a little on his way out. Biggs came over to them next, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly and smiling widely.

"Heh, heh… you two! Just wait, we'll do even better next time." Biggs followed the others at a more sedate pace.

"Be careful, I'll shut this." Jessie said from behind them and Faith turned to see the other woman shut the car door. Funny, she'd completely forgotten about it. "Oh, Cloud! Your face is pitch black…" Jessie leaned forward and rubbed off the black smudges covering Cloud's face with her gloves. "There you go!" She walked pass them and paused at the door. "Say, thanks for helping me back there at the Reactor." Once Jessie left, Faith turned to Cloud with a devious little smirk on her face.

"Uh-oh, looks like Brickhouse has got some competition." She cackled evilly at his wide-eyed look.

~Identity Crisis~

Man oh man, was I huffing and puffing my way through this chapter. I don't know why it was so hard to write, nothing truly important happened. I mean, yes I had to write the opening scene from the game and I feel like I did a good job of incorporating Faith without taking away much from Cloud and the others. The fight scenes were brushed over, except for the fight with the Guardian Scorpion, mainly because I can't flesh out every random battle. In the future expect these fights to be glossed over. I will only ever really focus on the boss fights.

I think I did a good job capturing everyone's personalities; their dialogue came straight from the game after all. Faith really didn't have much to say or think about once the mission started. I didn't want the focus to be solely on her during the mission so I gave it a wider scope by making her do less. Hopefully you guys liked it and are eagerly waiting for the next chapter.

Don't forget to vote, just leave it in your review, because the polls won't be open for very long!

–Hexalys