"Hey, Cloud. You want to look at this with me?"
"It's a map of the Midgar Rail System. Let's look at it together. I'll explain it to you."
"I like this kinda stuff. Bombs and monitors... you know, flashy stuff."
Scene 4
- The Long Ride Home -
(Barret, Wedge, Biggs, and Jessie are riding in a train car littered with crates and junk.)
Wedge
"Cloud never came."
Biggs
"Cloud... Wonder if
he was killed?"
Barret
"No way!!"
Jessie
"Cloud..."
(There is thumping on the roof of the car. Barret glances up.)
Biggs
"Say, do you think
Cloud's..."
"Going to fight to
the end for AVALANCHE!?"
Barret
"The hell would I
know? Do I look like a mind reader?"
(He hits a crate with his fist.)
"Hmph!! If y'all weren't such screw-ups..."
Wedge
"Hey Barret! What
about our money...?"
(Barret hits the crate again.)
Wedge
"Uh, nothin'... sorry."
"Ahh......."
(The train door opens and Cloud flips into the car from above.)
Biggs
"Cloud!!"
Jessie
"Cloud..."
Wedge
"Cloud!!"
Cloud
"Looks like I'm a
little late."
Barret
"You damn right, you're
late!!"
"Come waltzin' in
here makin' a big scene!"
Cloud
"It's no big deal.
Just what I always do."
Barret
"Shi't!"
"Havin' everyone worried
like that you don't give a damn 'bout no one but yourself!"
Cloud
"Hmm..... You were
worried about me!"
Barret
"Wha!?"
"I'm takin' it outta
your money, hot stuff!"
(He walks to the center of the car.)
Barret
"Wake up!"
"We're movin' out!
Follow me!"
(He exits the front of the car.)
Wedge
"Hey, Cloud! You were
great back there!"
(He exits.)
Biggs
"Heh heh.... Cloud!
We'll do even better next time."
(He exits.)
Jessie
"Be careful, I'll
shut this."
(She closes the train door.)
"Oh, Cloud! Your face is pitch-black....."
(She wipes his face.)
"There you go!"
"Say, thanks for helping
me back there at the Reactor!"
(She exits. Cloud follows.)
(The train intercom comes on.)
Last train out of Sector 8 Station. Last stop is Sector 7, Train Graveyard. Expected time of arrival is 12:23 AM, Midgar standard time...
(Barret and the others come into the next car and sit down. They disturb a well-dressed, official looking man.)
"This is why I hate the last train. Hoo-boy..."
(He leaves.)
People on the train
"Huh? This is my house, so make yourselves at home."
"You see the headlines
in the Shinra Times?"
"The terrorists that
bombed the No. 1 Reactor are based somewhere in the slums."
"...blowing up a Reactor...
they sure put some thought into this one."
"They must have a
real calculating leader. I wonder what they'll do next?"
Barret
"Stop actin' like
a damn kid. Si'down an' shu'up!"
Wedge
"Someday AVALANCHE's
gonna be famous ...and me, too!"
Biggs
"It seems this train
hasn't switched to security mode yet."
"I'm sure that will
change by tomorrow."
Jessie
"Hey, Cloud. You want
to look at this with me?"
"It's a map of the
Midgar Rail System. Let's look at it together. I'll explain it to you."
"I like this kinda
stuff. Bombs and monitors... you know, flashy stuff."
(They look at the map.)
Jessie
"Okay, it's about
to start."
(A wireframe of Midgar is shown on the map.)
"This is a complete
model of the city of Midgar."
"It's about a 1/10000
scale."
"The top plate is
about 50 meters above ground."
"A main support structure
holds the plate up in the center, and there are other support structures
built in each section..."
"psst... whisper...
whisper... (The No. 1 Reactor we blew up was in the northern section.)"
"Then there's No.
2, No. 3 all the way up to the No. 8 Reactor."
"The 8 Reactors provide
Midgar with electricity."
"Each town used to
have a name, but no one in Midgar remembers them."
"Instead of names,
we refer to them by numbered sectors. That's the kind of place this is."
"Phew..., this is
next! Look."
(A dotted line appears on the Midgar wireframe.)
"This is the route
the train is on."
"The route spirals
around the main support structure."
"We should be coming
around the center area, right now."
"At each checkpoint,
an ID sensor device is set up."
"It can check the
identities and background on each and every passenger on the train by linking
it up to the central databank at Shinra headquarters."
"whisper... whisper...
(Anyone could tell that we look suspicious, so we're using fake ID's.)"
(A red light starts flashing.)
Jessie
"Speak of the devil..."
"That light means
we're in the ID Security Check area."
"whisper... whisper...
(When the lights go off, you never know what kind of creeps'll come out.)"
"...anyhow, we're
almost back now. That's a relief."
Biggs
"...snore.... heebeebeeheebee...
snore... (Don't act so damn big, Barret... snooze...)"
Barret
"Look... you can see
the surface now. This city don't have no day or night."
"If that plate weren't
there... we could see the sky."
(Cloud looks out the window.)
Cloud
"A floating city...
Pretty unsettling scenery."
(Barret gets up.)
Barret
"Huh?"
"Never expect to hear
that outta someone like you."
"...you jes' full
of surprises."
Barret
"The upper world...
a city on a plate..."
"It's 'cuz of that
&^#$# 'pizza', that people underneath are suffering'!"
"And the city below
is full of polluted air."
"On topa that, the
Reactor keeps drainin' up all the energy."
Cloud
"Then why doesn't
everyone move onto the plate?"
Barret
"Dunno. Probably 'cuz
they ain't got no money. Or, maybe..."
"'Cuz they love their
land, no matter how polluted it gets."
Cloud
"I know... no one
lives in the slums because they want to."
"It's like this train.
It can't run anywhere except where its rails take it."
(FMV sequence. The train circles the support structure on its way to Sector 7. The train arrives at the station and everyone gets off)
Barret
"Yo!! Get over here,
all' ya!!"
(Everyone gathers around Barret.)
Barret
"This mission was
a success. But don't get lazy now."
"The hard part's still
to come! Don't y'all be scared of that explosion!"
"'Cause the next one's
gonna be bigger than that!"
"Meet back at the
hideout!! Move out!"
(All exit.)
phoenixgenesis@game-developer.com
Continue to Part 1 Scene 05