Compilation of Final Fantasy VII | Before Crisis | Story
Chapters 1-3

• Chapter One: Those That Lurk in the Night
• Chapter Two: In the White Light of Day, The Assassin Smiles
• Chapter Three: Swords Clashing in the Evening Shadows

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Chapter One: Those That Lurk in the Night

Date & Time: Feb. 30, 0001; 2:15 AM
      Shinra soldiers patrol around Midgar's Sector 8 reactor, while in the sewers, AVALANCHE members line up before Sears, a key member of the group. He gives a brief speech, the orders them to move out. After infiltrating a restricted area, four AVALANCHE members split into two groups; one heads to the reactor, while the other keep watch. Then, the Player enters the scene. S/he receives orders from Tseng to patrol Sector 8, a traditional job for rookie Turks. As s/he patrols the area, the Player happens to overhear two AVALANCHE operatives talking. Unfortunately, the Player's PHS goes off at that point, and s/he is revealed. A fight ensues, and the caller, Tseng, asks for a report. The Player informs Tseng that s/he was attacked by two men who appear to be plotting against Shinra. Tseng ponders this, then orders the Player to seek out any more of these men. At the Turks' headquarters, Tseng reports to his superior Veld, the leader of the Turks, of these developments. Veld asks Tseng if he can send someone to support the Player in his/her mission.
      As the AVALANCHE members work to secure the reactor, Tseng calls the Player with further details about the mission: he wants them captured and questioned. The Player goes after the AVALANCHE members. Fighting ensues, and after defeating his/her foes, the Player attempts to question them, with no luck. As the Player heads toward the reactor's entrance, s/he notices three AVALANCHE members arriving there from another route. Meanwhile, Tseng discusses the situation with Veld, noting that their enemies are working together as a group. Fortunately for the Player, help is on the way.
      AVALANCHE blasts their way into the reactor, and one of the men heads insides to set up a bomb. Tseng and Veld discuss the situation with some urgency, and Tseng calls the Player, ordering him/her to stop the men from reaching the reactor. S/he fights against AVALANCHE, but more of them start showing up. Then, Reno arrives on the scene, having been ordered to help the Player out. Together, they deal with the AVALANCHE members, but there's no end to them. Reno tells the Player to go ahead into the reactor while he takes care of the rest of their enemies.
      After the Player leaves, Reno finishes fighting and starts toward the reactor when he's confronted by Sears. Inside the reactor, the Player fights against AVALANCHE and manages to prevent them from setting the bomb. After reporting in to Tseng, he orders the Player to return to headquarters with Reno.
      However, Reno has been preoccupied, fighting against Sears this whole time. Reno tries to warn the Player as s/he arrives onto the scene, but it's too late, as Reno is knocked unconscious and the Player engages Sears. The fight comes to an end as an AVALANCHE member delivers a message to Sears that they are all to meet in Junon. Sears leaves, ordering the AVALANCHE member to finish off the Player. Once the Player finishes him off, Reno awakens. Back at headquarters, Tseng reports to Veld that this mysterious group they've been fighting is called "AVALANCHE", and that they appear to be gathering in Junon. A concerned Veld states that President Shinra is in Junon at the moment. In AVALANCHE's own headquarters, high-ranking member Fuhito confirms that President Shinra is in Junon and asks about the "Silver Haired Soldier", whose whereabouts remain unknown. The chapter closes with Reno and the Player being ordered to Junon by Veld, who fears for the President's life.

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Chapter Two: In the White Light of Day, the Assassin Smiles

      The Player and Reno arrive in Junon, where they are ordered to head to the President's hotel suite. After doing so, AVALANCHE members show up outside the hotel, attack the guards outside, and infiltrate the place with the intent of killing President Shinra. An AVALANCHE member bursts into the suite, and the Player fights him off. Veld comes on the video phone to advise the President to hold off his inspection, due to AVALANCHE's infiltration. Reno is ordered to guard the President, while the Player takes care of all the AVALANCHE members inside the hotel. After clearing the place of intruders, the Player heads back to the President's room. Despite Reno's protests, President Shinra decides to leave. After the Player tells Reno that all the intruders have been cleared out, the two Turks follow after the President.
      Outside the hotel, more guards have been posted (thanks to Veld). The President tells the Turks that they will head to the press room (at the Junon branch office) for a news conference. As they begin to leave, an AVALANCHE member drops a bomb into the street from a window. The bomb splits the road into two sections; on one side is the President, the Player, and two guards, and on the other is Reno and the rest of the guards. Reno tells the Player that he'll take care of the bomber, and that s/he should escort the President to the press room. The Player and the President manage to make it to the branch office safely, but the two guards get killed along the way.
      Inside the office, two new guards come to escort the President to the press room. The second one stops the player as s/he is about to enter, saying that he has a message from his/her boss to guard the entrance. As two more guards arrive, the player heads to the entrance, only to find some incapacitated guards. They tell the Player that the guards in the press room are fakes! The Player heads back there and saves the President from AVALANCHE. After the battle, Reno arrives.
      As the President broadcasts his speech, the power goes out. Veld calls to tell Reno and the Player that a Mako generator in the building has been having some problems. He orders Reno to stay with the President, and the Player to go check out the generator. Upon reaching the generator, the Player flips a switch, and the lights come back on. Meanwhile, in the press room, Reno finds himself coming face to face with Fuhito. Back in the generator room, the Player tells Veld that it appears AVALANCHE cut the power. Veld in turn tells the Player to return to the President. S/he arrives on the scene, and Reno orders him/her to keep Fuhito occupied while he escorts the President to safety. A battle ensues, and right before Fuhito retreats, he tells the Player to enjoy the "fireworks show" that AVALANCHE has planned. Veld calls right afterward, telling the Player that AVALANCHE has taken over the Mako cannon, with the intent of destroying Midgar, and Shinra headquarters. Meanwhile, Reno and the President have returned to the hotel suite. The video phone goes off; it's Rufus Shinra, checking in on his father. A second call comes in, this time from Veld, who gives the President the same news he gave to the Player. The President orders Veld to up the security system to Level S, then orders Reno to head to the cannon. After Reno leaves, Fuhito enters the President's room and shoots him. In the street, Reno meets up with the Player, and they start toward the cannon together. Back in the President's room, Fuhito has left, and a still conscious President Shinra orders Veld, via video phone, to call Sephiroth.

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Chapter Three: Swords Clashing in the Evening Shadows

      With AVALANCHE pointing Junon's Mako cannon toward Midgar, Reno and the Player have split up. Reno leads some troops in the street, while the Player heads toward an underground passage. The Player calls Tseng to report in; Tseng informs the Player of the heightened security, as well as to order him/her to head to the cannon's control room to complete the lockdown sequence. While traveling through the passage toward the control room, the Player comes across some Shinra security robots, which attack him/her! After fighting the robots, Tseng calls to explain that the security system, as it is set now, targets anything that moves. The Player then continues on, battling Shinra's own security measures along the way.
      The Player continues through a room with searchlights and trap doors before entering another room with a machine set between two glass capsules. The security system scans the Player, transferring the scanning data to the Materia. One of the capsules opens; a figure comes out and takes the form of the player. After defeating this clone, the Player reports in to Tseng, who tells him/her that the control room is nearby. Meanwhile, Reno, who has been unable to report in to headquarters, is still fighting AVALANCHE. The troops who has been with him are now gone.
      Back in the underground passage, the Player takes some AVALANCHE members by surprise, killing them. After the battle, Tseng calls to say that the cannon's override has been activated; he orders the Player to shut it down, with only a minute left until the cannon fires. The Player enters the next room. There are several AVALANCHE operatives in the way, but when the Player makes it to the next area, a gruesome sight awaits. Inside is a terrible scene of carnage; dead AVALANCHE members are strewn about the bloodied room, and there are large gashes in the floors and walls. The Player continues on to the control room, but no one is there. At that moment, Tseng calls to congratulate the Player on stopping the cannon, but s/he admits the s/he had only just gotten there. The Player reports on the carnage, and Tseng gets a hunch about who might have actually stopped the cannon.
      Outside the control room, a new character has arrived—a female member of AVALANCHE who is furious over the death of her fellows. A battle ensues, but the mystery woman is unharmed by the Player's attacks. The Player escapes, but the mystery woman follows him/her to the area outside the Mako cannon. Just as the mystery woman prepares to deliver a finishing blow, Sephiroth arrives on the scene to rescue the Player. The woman—AVALANCHE leader Elfe—asks Sephiroth why he fights, then states that AVALANCHE fights for a reason. She retreats, and Sephiroth tells the Player that Elfe is not someone to be taken lightly. Sephiroth leaves, pondering Elfe's words. Elsewhere, Reno has finished his battle, and is the only one left. Back at Turk headquarters, Veld commends Reno and the Player for a job well done. A few days later, Veld orders Reno and Rude to recruit candidates for SOLDIER, since Shinra needs more people on hand to deal with AVALANCHE. Rude seems none too happy about working with Reno again, but takes his orders, telling the Player to come along with them.

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Continue to Chapter Four | Before Crisis Story Menu

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Summaries by Reeve, based on translations by D_Angel; September 2005.