Before Crisis Chapter Summaries – Chapters 9, 10 & 11

Part 4 of the Before Crisis chapter summaries.

Having stolen a data disc from Shinra Inc.’s Science Department detailing the genetics of SOLDIER, Fuhito of AVALANCHE is able to introduce the chemistry into his own experimentation.  At a secret base in the snow fields around Icicle Inn, he is able to combine SOLDIER’s powers with that of the regeneration abilities of AVALANCHE’s own superior operatives, the Ravens.  Discovering the base, the Turks are able to help a SOLDIER-led assault, only to find the knowledge of the attack was leaked and the facility deserted.  As a result, Chief Verdot is held accountable in his role as head of the Turks for allowing this leak in information.  Leadership of the Turks passes to Tseng, and the organisation is left to ponder its future.

Read on to find summaries for Episodes 9, 10 and 11…

9.  A Step Further Into Uncertainty

Junon  [ν]-εγλ 0002/02/01

Tseng, Reno, and Rude wait at Headquarters for news of who will take over the Turks.  Director Heidegger, Head of the Security Department, arrives and explains that he has been given charge of all aspects of the Armed Forces, as well as the Turks.  He orders them to go to Junon to assist the others in looking out for AVALANCHE but insists that the moment the enemy show, he will deploy the Army troops to take care of the situation, and not allow the Turks to help.  Before they leave, Tseng secretly contacts Verdot at his new surveillance station, and asks if he will watch out for the Turks on his monitor.

The player Turk is left to grudgingly patrol Junon Harbour while the others patrol different areas of the city.  Discovering an AVALANCHE ship docked in the harbour, the player decides that they do not have time to call Heidegger, and takes on the operatives themselves.  After defeating them, the player calls Reno, who tells them that AVALANCHE members are appearing all over the city and that he and the other Turks are having to fend them off.  Tseng calls Verdot and asks for his help, but Verdot says solemnly that he cannot offer his assistance as he is no longer a Turk, and Heidegger is in charge.

As the player outruns the hoards of AVALANCHE operatives, they receive a call from Heidegger to ask angrily why they didn’t report the city was overrun.  He orders them to make their way to Junon Airport as AVALANCHE seem to be after the airships.  The player escapes the pursuing AVALANCHE combatants and takes the lift to upper Junon.  Avoiding the squadrons of AVALANCHE until they are summoned to help their comrades in lower Junon, the player eventually gets to the Airport lift, but is attacked by even more operatives.

Meanwhile, Reno is fighting vast numbers of AVALANCHE, and starts to show strain as he curses Heidegger.  Rude is in a similar situation at the other side of the city, surrounded by more enemies than Reno.  Elsewhere, Tseng dodges the AVALANCHE members by dressing as one.  Running down an alley, he calls Heidegger and tells him there are too many AVALANCHE operatives.  Heidegger finally orders the troops in, unheeding of Tseng’s words that a battle will destroy Junon.

The player continues towards the Airport, evading AVALANCHE attacks.  They come to an blockade and have to fight, but is confused when the enemy sneer at how helpful Heidegger is being towards their cause – having the Turks run around in circles.  The player is stunned that AVALANCHE know this information, and is even more distressed to learn that their job is to be nothing other than a distraction to AVALANCHE until the troops arrive.

Meanwhile, Verdot has seen enough, and makes his way towards the Presidential office.  He blackmails the President into regaining control of the Turks by threatening to go public with the company’s secrets. The President tells him that anything other than complete loyalty will mean his execution, and Verdot reveals he has always been prepared for that eventuality.

Verdot calls the Turks and gives each of them new orders.  The player is told to go back the way they came and continue on a different path to the Airport.  On the way, they find AVALANCHE members retreating from a burly man in a black suit.  He introduces himself as a former detective of the Costa del Sol police who has been recruited as a Turk, and helps hold back the enemy attack as the player moves on. Arriving at the Airport to find many Shinra soldiers felled, the player discovers Kyneugh alive and well and the two battle once more.  Barely defeating the Raven, Kyneugh escapes and the other Turks appear, satisfied with their victory and the return of Chief Verdot.

Later, in the Presidential Office, President Shinra asks Verdot if he has been able to discover who is leaking information to AVALANCHE.  Verdot says he hasn’t yet, but the possibilities are few as only the Executive have the information.  The President tells him to keep a close eye on Professor Hojo, the man who knows most about SOLDIER, as it seems AVALANCHE are beginning to grow exponentially in strength.

Read full script here, or watch video part 1 here and part 2 here.

10.  The Alignment of a Highly Isolated Discernment

Midgar  [ν]-εγλ 0002/06/17

AVALANCHE break inside Professor Hojo’s laboratory at Shinra Headquarters, releasing several monsters from their confines.  The Turks are alerted to the situation and make their way to the floors above the Turks Headquarters to contain the outbreak, knowing that the secrets of Shinra’s experiments must remain confidential.  Hunting down and defeating the monsters on the 65th, 66th and 67th floors, the player finally comes to the 68th floor laboratory where they find a guard who has been killed by a blade rather than a monster.  Hearing voices, the player hides.

Fuhito, Sears and Kyneugh are inside the laboratory.  Fuhito and Sears make their way to where Hojo stands by one of his machines.  Appealing to his scientific nature, Fuhito offers Hojo the chance to leave Shinra and discover the secrets of the genetics that make his Ravens even more powerful than SOLDIER.  Moving to protect Hojo, the player comes out from their hidingplace.  Fuhito orders Kyneugh to defeat the Turk and show Hojo his abilities.  The player fights Kyneugh, much to the excitement of Professor Hojo, and although they beat him many times, his regeneration has quickened and he gets up faster than before.

Hojo agrees to go with Sears and Fuhito and they make their way to the helipad at the top of the Shinra Building while the player continues to fight Kyneugh.  The Turk decides that the only way to defeat him is to completely destroy his body by pushing him into the incinerator .  Once successful, the player makes their way to the roof.  Given the severity of the outbreak, Tseng evacuates the lower building, leaving a number of AVALANCHE operatives patrolling the upper floors, all of whom the player defeats.

Meanwhile, Verdot reports the situation to the Executives.  Knowing that if Hojo revealed any information to AVALANCHE, it could cause major problems for the company, President Shinra disregards Vice President Rufus’ opposition and orders that Sephiroth be brought in to clean up the mess.  Reaching the helipad, the player is just in time to see a helicopter take off with Fuhito, Sears and Hojo on board.  Fuhito fires missiles at the Turk and flies off over the city.  Verdot orders the player to make their way to the entrance of the building where they will begin their pursuit.

The player and Tseng chase the helicopter across the highway in a truck, followed by AVALANCHE operatives on bikes.  In the helicopter, Hojo agrees to come and work with AVALANCHE so that he may use Fuhito’s new techniques on test samples such as Elfé.  Sears is outraged by Hojo’s lack of morality and respect for AVALANCHE’s leader, and is sent by Fuhito to deal with the gaining Turks.  Sears leaps onto the highway, blowing the road in two with a bomb.  The player and Tseng are thrown from the truck before it falls through the chasm.

The player Turk battles Sears until they have almost been defeated, but are left alive as Sears escapes on the helicopter.  As they ascend, Fuhito explains that the funding from their informant has allowed AVALANCHE to grow powerful and build facilities comparable to Shinra’s, and that he wishes to show Professor Hojo what his research has achieved.

On the highway, the Turk chases the helicopter by foot, but is attacked by a dragon modified by AVALANCHE.  As the dragon goes to kill the player, it is cleaved in two by Sephiroth.  Sephiroth swings the Masamune again, unleashing its force at the hovering helicopter.  Even from a distance, it causes damage to the craft and, as it descends to the highway, they are able to pull Hojo to safety.  Tseng appears and tells Hojo to return to Shinra immediately and the scientist agrees, deciding that his work with Sephiroth is not complete.

Later, the Shinra informant is furious that AVALANCHE moved without his permission.  He reminds them that had he not warned them of Sephiroth’s involvement, they may not have survived.  After Elfé apologises, the informant tells them that he has uncovered top-secret information that will be of great interest to Fuhito as a student of the Study of Planet Life, and allow AVALANCHE to continue in their quest to return power to the Planet; the location of the last surviving Cetra.

Read full script here, or watch video part 1 here and part 2 here.

11.  A Dash For Freedom

Midgar  [ν]-εγλ 0002/08/09

After a long night of drinking with their fellow Turks at a bar in Midgar’s Sector5 Slums, the player wakes to discover themselves alone.  They stumble out and make their way through the village, eventually coming to a large redbrick house surrounded by flowers.  A young girl comes out of the house, but dashes away when she sees the Turk’s uniform, only to run into two AVALANCHE members.

The player defeats the men and suggests the girl go home.  She is stunned to find that the Turk has no idea who she is, and when more AVALANCHE attack, the two escape into the Slums.  The girl suggests that they head for the residential district of the sector as there are many hiding places.  Battling the enemies that chase them, the player Turk instructs the girl to run on ahead and find a hiding place.

After the battle, the player comes to the residential area and begins to look for the girl while avoiding the AVALANCHE operatives and their commander who are also hunting the houses.  The player finds the girl hiding in one of the abandoned shacks, and insists that they remain there for a while. She introduces herself as Aerith.  After several hours, AVALANCHE are still patrolling the area.  The Turk asks Aerith why she had decided to leave her home that night, to which she replies that the Planet was calling her, telling her to go on a journey to see the world beyond Midgar.

Suddenly, she panics, realising that she has dropped her special Materia somewhere.  The player Turk tells Aerith to stay where she is and they will find it, and quickly discovers it on the road outside.  Returning to the shack, the player is followed by Sears, and is attacked.  Knocking the player unconscious, Sears kidnaps Aerith.

Meanwhile, President Shinra orders Verdot to stop AVALANCHE from getting Aerith as she is someone whom the company have been after for years.  Vice President Rufus suggests they send in the army to capture her, as she would be much less resistant against them.  When President Shinra says that they need to take precautions to ensure that she leads them to the Promised Land, Rufus states that the time wasted on these precautions outweighs the final results.

Sears takes Aerith to the Sector5 church where Elfé and Fuhito wait.  Fuhito and Elfé explain that the reason AVALANCHE have been looking for her is because – as the last surviving Cetra – they want to protect her from Shinra, and learn the location of the Promised Land so that they may protect that from Shinra too.

Aerith says that she has no idea where the Promised Land is, but can hear a strange and familiar voice coming from within Elfé.  Fuhito quickly suggests that it must be a mistake as they have never met before, although Elfé adds she has no memory of her life before joining AVALANCHE.  Aerith says that it is something else; that the voice is in pain.

While the conversation has taken place, the player Turk has been able to find the church and climb through the hole in the roof onto the rafters.  As they watch the proceedings, Sears notices them, and runs to fight them on the roof.  During the battle, he knocks the player off the rafters, and they land in the flower bed.  The player is uninjured and gets back up to fight Fuhito and Sears. During the fight, Aerith pleads with them not to tread on the flowers, until eventually she stands between them and the Turk.

Fuhito insists that they kill the player as they are part of Shinra, but Aerith does not move.  Suddenly, Elfé collapses, and Sears and Fuhito help her from the church, telling Aerith that Elfé has an illness that can only be cured at the Promised Land.  Aerith tells the player that she has decided not to go on her journey as it would just be letting AVALANCHE win – running away from Shinra.

Outside, they meet Tseng, and the player secretly tells Aerith to run off home.  The player stops Tseng from going after her, and says that they are doing it because they are off duty.  Tseng says that he didn’t want to hurt Aerith, but was going to persuade her to return peacefully to Shinra.  He says that the reason he hasn’t captured her before is because without her full co-operation, she wouldn’t lead them to the Promised Land – and thus to the great happiness that he hopes for the people of the Planet.

Read full script here, or watch video part 1 here and part 2 here.

Intro and Episodes 1-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, 15-17, 18-20, 21-22, 23-Epilogue, Rescue and WEAPON, Special Episodes