Covert Ops

Chapter 2: Covert Ops is the second chapter of "Episode INTERmission" in Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, taking place in the Shinra Building. The chapter comprises the second half of the episode, as Yuffie Kisaragi and Sonon Kusakabe infiltrate the Shinra Building and head to the basement, but encounter Scarlet and her advanced weapons located on the floor.
==Story==
The train to the upper plate from Sector 7 slums is packed and Yuffie suffers from motion sickness and frets over the ID scan, though the fake IDs Avalanche provided them get them through it. Sonon tells Yuffie about his sister, Melphie, who perished in the Wutai War when Shinra Electric Power Company troops attacked everyone indiscriminately. Yuffie realizes Sonon is trying to act as a surrogate elder brother toward her, and rejects being compared to his sister.
They make their way to the Shinra Building, swarmed by reporters. They get through in guise of being Shinra employees and make way to the elevator, when Scarlet, the head of Shinra's weapons development, steps into the lift with them and notices they are Wutaians. Rather than raise the alarm and have them captured, she sends them to her weapons research department for use as test subjects against her latest mechas. Yuffie and Sonon navigate their way through the facility while destroying Shinra's weapons and stealing every materia they get their hands on, but cannot find any "ultimate materia". Scarlet follows their progress through security cameras, puzzled over what they are after, before confronting the two "in person" via a hologram and soon after, in her personal war machine.
After being defeated, Scarlet remains unfazed, disappointed that her creation did not fared as well as she had hoped but recognizing what needs to be improved in its design. Sonon goes on ahead while Yuffie stays to interrogate Scarlet, who claims Shinra does not have any "ultimate materia" as such projects have been postponed in favor of a more immediate one: the dropping of Sector 7 plate. Yuffie does not at first realize the magnitude of this, but when she hears Sonon in trouble she rushes to help him and relays the news, learning thar "dropping the plate" means Shinra is going to destroy 1/8th of Midgar, killing countless of their own citizens. Scarlet deploys Deepground on Yuffie and Sonon and releases Nero the Sable to pursue them to see what would happen. She traps them in a Combat Simulator with maximum pain level, but the two break out by destroying the projector.
Yuffie and Sonon come upon a sight of carnage where Nero has killed the Deepground SOLDIERs. Nero turns his focus on the two, and Yuffie tries to keep her cool even if intimidated by Nero's mysterious powers over darkness. The Shinra scientists set to monitor Nero lose control of him, but Yuffie and Sonon prevail. On their way out, Nero regains consciousness and comes after them. Sonon shoves Yuffie to the elevator leading out and pushes the up button while shielding the door. Nero impales his body and drags him away to darkness while Sonon hallucinates meeting with his sister. Yuffie realizes Sonon sacrificed himself to protect her to make up for the time he was unable to save his sister in the Wutai War, and is overcome with grief. When she gets out, she witnesses Sector 7 plummet to the ground.
Yuffie leaves Midgar on a chocobo. Not wanting to give up on her mission to fight Shinra, steal their materia, and restore Wutai's glory, she thinks she needs some new companions to join her, as it would be a tough mission to complete alone. Elsewhere, Barret, Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Red XIII are on their way to Kalm before hitching a ride from Choco Bill, a local chocobo farmer. Elsewhere still in an unknown time, Zack Fair, still in possession of the buster sword, arrives to the Sector 5 slums church. Instead of finding Aerith there like he had expected, the church is full of injured topsiders, seemingly taking refuge.
==Quest==
* Scarlet's Trap
** A Way Out
* Find That Materia
* The Scent of Materia
* The Hunt Continues
* The Invitation
* Fateful Confrontation
* A New Threat
* Dread
Category:Chapters in Final Fantasy VII Remake