Scene 28
- Climbing Shinra Tower -
(Cloud, Tifa, and Barret reach the 59th floor of the Shinra building. Three guards see them)
"Destroy the intruders!"
(Battle sequence)
(Cloud spots a tiny card on the floor where the guards had stood.)
Cloud
"What's this?"
(He stoops and picks up the Keycard 60. They enter the elevator to the 60th floor.)
Barret
"This is the real
thing. Don't let your guard down."
Tifa
"I hope Aerith is
all right."
(FMV sequence of a guard asleep at the surveillance system. They exit
the elevator onto the 60th floor. They see two guards.)
"People like you don't
belong here! Go on, get out!"
"What're you doing
here!? No unauthorized people are allowed here!!"
(They duck into a side room. They see four guards on patrol.)
Barret
"Lookit that, all
them guards is runnin' around."
"Cloud, you go on
ahead and signal us when it's safe to come."
(The guards are patrolling behind a row of statues, for some reason. Cloud hides behind each statue, moving forward when the guards look away. He signals the others to follow. The PLAYER controls this. If they are spotted, they fight a battle and start over. They make their way past the guards.)
Barret
"Ok! We gonna rock!"
Tifa
"Remember, we're here
to save Aerith."
Barret
"Hell, I know that!"
(They climb the stairs to the 61st floor. It is an employee lounge.)
People on the 61st floor
"What's keeping her?
Did she forget her keycard?"
"Even employees can't
walk around above the 60th floor without a keycard.."
"This is the lounge
floor. Above us are the special floors for the big wigs in the company."
"It's tough working
under someone. Tires you out."
"I thought I heard a ruckus downstairs a minute ago. Do you know what that was all about?"
"No idea. But no need to worry because everything above the 60th floor is safe."
"The hell are you? What're you doin' around here?"
<CHOICE>
Where's Aerith?
..........
***Cloud
Where's Aerith?
"Aerith? How did you
know that name? You must be...!?"
"Aerith, you mean
that kid. The receptionist. Yeah, I was startin' to worry 'bout her myself."
"And so another rival
appears on the scene, eh?"
"You mean, she's not?
It's someone else?"
***Cloud
..........
"Oh, I see. So you
must be the whatcha call it..."
"Shinra, Inc. Repair
Division!!"
"You know, it looks
like this building is starting to fall apart."
"This door was just
pushed open. You ought to fix this right away."
"Oh yeah, and take
a look on the other floors too. I'll give you this."
(He gives you the Keycard 62.)
<//>
"I don't remember seeing
your face here. You new here?"
"Say, you're cute.
Let me teach you some... things."
<CHOICE>
Things?
Um, I'm kinda in a
hurry...
***Cloud
Things?
"Wipe that stupid look
off your face. I was only going to teach you how to get to the next floor."
"The higher ups in
the company use the floors above the 60th floor. But you can't get there
without a keycard."
"Get a keycard and
you can use the elevators freely."
*ding*
"...voila! You hear
that sound and the door opens."
"Just remember there
are different types of cards. One keycard won't let you go everywhere."
"For example,
"'Keycard 60' only
takes you to the 60th floor. 'Keycard 65' only takes you to the 65th floor."
"It's a security system
worthy of Shinra. After all, all the power in Midgar and the world, for
that matter, is controlled by them."
"Oh, I have to go.
Gotta get back to work!"
***Cloud
Um, I'm kinda in a
hurry...
"Oh? That's too bad..."
(They go up to the 62nd floor. It's the Mayor's floor. There are four rooms, full of bookshelves. Standing outside the Mayor's office is Hart.)
Hart
"How do you do?"
"This is the Midgar
Mayor's Office. Mayor Domino is in his office."
"I am the Deputy Mayor.
If you should have any questions feel free to ask me..."
(They enter the office.)
Domino
"Hmm? Oh, and who
might you be?"
"You all must be those...
ahem.... Me? I'm Domino, the Mayor of Midgar."
"Actually, I'm Mayor
in name only. The city and everything in it is really run by Shinra, Inc."
"My only real job
is watching over Shinra's documents..."
"Me! The Mayor! A
librarian! Ohh......."
"You want to get upstairs?
I tell you what, if you can guess the password, I'll give you my keycard."
"Yes, that's it. Guess
the password and I'll give you my keycard!"
"Get it on the first
try and I'll even throw in a special item!"
(Now the PLAYER must solve a puzzle.)
Hart
"Did you speak with
the Mayor?"
"What? A password?
Oh, I get it..."
"He's got way too
much time on his hands. But you can't really blame him. Everything in Midgar
is controlled by President Shinra."
"Maybe I can help
you."
(Hart will offer help in the puzzle, but it costs money. You won't need it, since I'm going to tell you how to solve it!)
[To solve the puzzle:
Look on the nameplates
outside each of the four rooms. They will tell you what the subject of
the rooms are.
Enter the room and
search the bookshelves until you find a book whose title does not match
the subject of the room.
Look at the number
of the book you chose. Now, take the letter of the title corresponding
to that number. That is, if the number was 3, you would take the third
letter.
Now, look at the four
letters from the four rooms, and anagram them until they match one of the
Mayor's passwords.
That's it! If you
got it on the first try, you will recieve an Elemental Materia.]
Domino
"Got it?"
"Then tell me."
(Cloud tells him the password. This time it was BEST, your results may vary - it's random each time, so don't just choose BEST.)
Domino
"BEST!!"
"God, I love the sound
of that! BEST!! I AM the best..... ME!! No matter what anyone else says,
you'd better believe it."
"......hmm. Well,
ok. Here, take it."
(He gives you Keycard 65.)
Domino
"I never thought you'd
get it on the first try..."
"Just goes to show
you can't judge a book by its cover. Oh well, a promise is a promise. Take
this, too."
(He gives you Elemental Materia.)
Domino
"Why would I do something
like this, you ask?"
"To mess with them,
of course! Shinra's been torturing me forever."
"That's why I was
a little rough on you all just now. Now go up there and really make them
suffer."
"This ought to make
us even! Heh heh heh....."
(They go to the 63rd floor, a maze of doors and ventilation pipes. They go to a computer terminal in the corner.)
"... beep....beep....
......verifying key card..... ...................."
"Lever B employee:
verified. You are permitted to open doors on this floor up to three times."
"blip... If you receive
an item coupon, remember to exchange it for an item."
"...warning... refrain
from entering the air conditioning ducts recklessly - they are very dangerous."
(They mess around with the doors awhile and enter the ducts, of course, until they get the three item coupons. They go back to the terminal.)
"...bing... bing... Enter command"
<CHOICE>
All clear (resets
all doors and items)
Coupon Change
***Cloud
Coupon Change
"You can exchange your
coupons for items. Here are the items you can have..."
"A coupon.....'Star
Pendant'
B coupon.......'Four
Slots'
C coupon.......'All
Materia'"
"Please use caution...
once you have exchanged coupons for items you may not use 'All Clear' function."
"Exchange coupon?"
<CHOICE>
Yeah.......
Naw
***Cloud
Yeah
"..................... Coupon exchange complete."
(You get the three items.)
<//>
<//>
(They go up to the 64th floor, the employee gym.)
People on the 64th floor
"...huff...puff... If you're tired, you should get some rest in the next room."
"...huff...wheeze... I'm starting to worry about my belly....."
"Hmph, hmph... Since I'm head of security for this building, stamina's very important to me."
"You must be a visitor. Please feel free to use any unused machines."
"...zzz... Please... let me.... get some..... rest......"
[vending machine]
"Take one to restore
your energy!! 'Shinra Gym Special Drink'"
"Only 250 gil!!"
<CHOICE>
Try it out
Don't try it
***Cloud
Try it out
(The machine makes noise.)
Cloud
"...Nothing..."
***Cloud
Don't try it
<//>
[after putting in money]
"......."
Cloud
"Is it broken?'"
<CHOICE>
BANG on it
Give up
***Cloud
BANG on it
(Cloud slams the machine. The receptionist runs over.)
"Sir, what are you doing!? No violence here, please!"
***Cloud
Give up
<//>
[treadmill]
Cloud
"........"
<CHOICE>
Should I try it?
This is so stupid
***Cloud
Should I try it?
(He runs on the treadmill for a while....)
***Cloud
This is so stupid
<//>
[a locker]
Cloud
"What is this.....
a Megaphone?"
"Hanging on to this
won't do any good..."
(They go to the 65th floor, where they solve a tedious puzzle. There are several treasure chests, but only one is open. You must find the unlocked one, get the Midgar Piece from it, and place it in a hole in a large model of Midgar. You are being attacked the whole time, BTW. If you want the chest sequence, it's 2nd from top on left, 3rd from top on left, top right corner, top left, bottom left. The Keycard 66 is in the chest by the stairs. Cloud examines the model at the far left, where Sector 6 would be.)
Cloud
"Midgar.... born from
Mako energy which was sucked right out of the earth. A model of the city...."
"When construction
of Sector 6 finishes, Shinra's plan will be complete."
"That must be why
he took Aerith...."
(They go to the 66th floor. A secretary passes them on the way up)
"Whew, I'm so sick
of carrying all these files."
"But I get to meet
lots of guys. I guess that's the benefit of being a secretary!"
People on the 66th floor
".........................
.........................
.........................
.........................
.........................
.........................
"Phew!"
"Is it just me or does the Conference Room smell? There's some sort of stench coming from somewhere...."
"Hey, when you're in the bathroom, do you ever hear whispers coming from somewhere?"
"They're having another executive meeting. I wonder if it's about that Plate incident."
"It gives me the feeling that I AM alive. The feeling of moving this world, just with my hands."
"Come on, we're building the future of Mako!"
(They enter the bathroom.)
<CHOICE>
Flush?
Climb up?
Get out of here
***Cloud
Flush
(He flushes the toilet.)
***Cloud
Climb up?
(They climb up into the ventilation duct above the toilet. It leads to above the Conference Room, which would explain the smell in there.)
***Cloud
Get out of here
(They leave the bathroom.)
<//>
[In the duct above the Conference Room.....]
(They crouch above the vent. Through the slats, they see President Shinra and other
employees sitting at a long table in the Conference Room.)
Barret
"Geez--! That's a
lotta suits!"
(They watch...)
Reeve
"We have the damage
estimates for Sector 7."
"Considering those
factories we already set up and all the investments, the damage is estimated
at approximately 10 Billion gil..."
(The camera changes; we are now looking at the table head-on.)
Reeve
"The estimated cost
to rebuild Sector 7 is..."
President Shinra
"We're not rebuilding."
Reeve
"What?"
President Shinra
"We're leaving Sector
7 as it is."
"And restarting the
Neo-Midgar plan."
Reeve
"...then the Ancients?"
President Shinra
"The Promised Land
will soon be ours."
"I want you to raise
the Mako rates 15% in every area."
(Palmer, a fat, bald, guy, jumps up and down.)
Palmer
"Rate hike! Rate hike!
Tra, la, la! And please include our Space Program in the budget!"
President Shinra
"Reeve and Scarlet
will divide the extra income from the rate increase."
(Palmer sits down.)
Palmer
"Oh man!"
(We are looking down from above again.)
Reeve
"Sir, if you raise
the rates, the people will lose confidence..."
President Shinra
"It'll be all right."
"The ignorant citizens
won't lose confidence, they'll trust Shinra, Inc. even more."
Heidegger
"Ha ha ha!"
"After all, we're
the ones who saved Sector 7 from AVALANCHE!"
Barret
"That dirty #$*$^"
(We are looking at the table head-on again. Hojo enters the Conference Room.)
President Shinra
"Hojo. How's the girl?"
(Hojo turns his head.)
Hojo
"As a specimen, she
is inferior to her mother. I'm still in the process of comparing her to
her mother, Ifalna, but for now the difference is 18%."
President Shinra
"How long will the
research take?"
Hojo
"Probably 120 years.
It's probably impossible to finish in our lifetime. Or in the lifetime
of the specimen too, for that matter."
(Hojo turns away from the table.)
Hojo
"That's why we're
thinking of breeding her. Then we could create one that would withstand
our research for a long time."
President Shinra
"What about the Promised
Land? Won't it hinder our plans?"
Hojo
"That's what I need
to plan. The mother is strong... and yet has her weaknesses."
(We are looking down from the duct again.)
President Shinra
"That concludes our
meeting."
(The employees dissemble. Scarlet pauses and looks up.)
Scarlet
"Something stinks..."
(She leaves. Cloud looks up.)
Cloud
"They were talking
about Aerith... right?"
Barret
"I dunno."
Tifa
"Probably."
Cloud
"Let's follow 'em."
(They exit the duct and land back in the toilet. They exit the bathroom and come around a corner. They spot Hojo.)
Cloud
"Hojo... huh...?"
(Hojo climbs the stairs to the 67th floor. They follow.)
phoenixgenesis@game-developer.com
Continue to Part 3 Scene 29