Sector 5 slums

The Sector 5 slums, also known as the Sector 5 undercity, is a location in the Final Fantasy VII series. The town is located beneath the Sector 5 plate of Midgar, and is home to the Sector 5 slums church, as well as the adopted hometown of Aerith Gainsborough.
The Sector 5 undercity is buried in waste and refuge. The town population largely comprises blue-collar workers who were involved in the construction of Midgar. Gabriel Gainsborough's organization has a large foothold after driving away other seedy contractors, and was responsible for enabling many laborers who built the city to transition to lives as business owners in the slums. The wife of Gabriel's son, Elmyra Gainsborough, inherited their house, which along with the slums church, is one of few places where flowers grow in the metropolis's inhospitable climate becomes an inspiration for the locals. In addition to the flowers.
== History ==
=== Before Final Fantasy VII ===
==== Early history ====
Lodgings for construction workers that would form the basis of the Sector 5 undercity began appearing around 1974-75. This was the fifth and sixth years of the construction of Midgar, and around the same time the train system of Midgar finished construction. The Sector 5 plate was complete around 1976, while the construction of Midgar and its opening to new residents completed in 1976.
Gabriel Gainsborough built a family business on organizing people for construction sites, as a contractor for Shinra, and had a reputation as one of the good businesses. Although Midgar's networks of corruption had been taking shape early on, Gabriel through a long and bloody process, drove out the extortionate contractors from the sector. Gaining Shinra's trust, he was able to negotiate better conditions for workers, enabling day laborers to transition to life as business owners with the money they had saved, leading residents of the slums over generations to be grateful for him. Gabriel had a signet fashioned as a pair, the other half in President Shinra's position, to symbolize the goodwill between the Gainsborough family and Shinra.
Although the Gainsborough family had a good reputation among the residents, some still resented them due to how well they were treated. This led Clay Gainsborough, Gabriel's son and Elmyra's husband, to enlist in the Shinra Electric Power Company military, and fight in the Wutai War. Gabriel's passing (two months prior to Aerith's arrival) and Clay's absence meant that Mr. Meguro largely ran the Gainsborough business, as Elmyra was hands off, although Clay had accumulated enough leave to return home to talk over the process of succeeding Gabriel. In 1992, Ifalna and Aerith, having escaped the Shinra Building, came to the sector looking for the Sector 5 slums church. Elmyra, who was visiting the Sector 5 Undercity Station daily, found them there, as Ifalna's last words to Elmyra were a request to keep Aerith safe; Ifalna passed, and Elmyra adopted Aerith.
In 1993, after Aerith's cancelled eighth birthday party, Aerith and Elmyra were visited by Tseng of the Turks, who revealed to Elmyra that Aerith was a Ancient, something Aerith denied. Elmyra struck a deal with Tseng that ensured she would keep a close watch on Aerith and inform them if she ever learned the location of the promised land, on condition Shinra left them alone. Later, when Mr. Meguro's health worsened, Elmyra and Meguro arranged for Carlo Kincaid to take over the Gainsborough business thereafter.
At one point, people would come to the church to pray to God, although the church became abandoned after they lost faith. Sometime later, an early prototype of the Shinra No. 26 crashed into church; Cid Highwind was relieved to hear later that it had not blown up.
At some point, the slums' orphanage, the Sector 5 Undercity Juvenile Care Facility, Biggs, who turned it into the Leaf House.
==== Zack Fair's arrival ====
In April 0001, depicted in chapter 4 of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, Zack Fair fell through to the Sector 5 slums church through the upper plate after being defeated by Angeal Hewley up in Mako Reactor 5. Meeting Aerith there, he thanked her and offered the compensation of one date.
While Aerith showed Zack around the slums, a boy stole his wallet in the marketplace. After wandering around asking the less than helpful residents for help, Zack finally retrieved it, learning that the boy's wallet had been eaten by monsters in the Sector 6 Evergreen Park. Zack returned to the slums often thereafter; in chapter 5, Zack returned himself to find Tseng there, Tseng telling Zack that he was watching Aerith also, and recruiting Zack for a mission in Modeoheim.
In Chapter 7, Zack built Aerith a flower cart and helped her sell flowers at the park.
==== Kidnapping attempt ====
In August 9 0002, depicted in "The Dash to Freedom" in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Avalanche appeared at Aerith's house attempting to kidnap here, in what they called "Operation Laura". The Avalanche commanders, Shears and Fuhito, were caught by surprise by the Turk's appearance, since none of their intelligence stated a Turk had been dispatched.
The Player Turk stumbled upon the Avalanche attack by accident and Shears defeated them, capturing them and Aerith. Aerith was brought to the Avalanche leader, Elfe, and was told to reveal the location of the promised land so it would not end up in Shinra hands. The Turk broke in and fought the Avalanche leaders, saved only when Elfe collapsed,, forcing Avalanche to retreat.
=== Original continuity ===
In 0007 original, depicted in "The Woman at the Church" in Final Fantasy VII, Cloud fell into the church through the roof from Mako Reactor 5. Aerith offered Cloud to be her bodyguard in exchange for one date, as Zack had offered her years ago. Cloud helped Aerith escape from Reno of the Turks, and Aerith took him back to Elmyra's house. Cloud spent the night at the house, but left in secret at Elmyra's urging. He tried to sneak away, but Aerith followed him on his way to Sector 6.
Later on, during Sector 7's destruction, Aerith returned to her house with Marlene Wallace, keeping her safe with Elmyra while Aerith was taken by Tseng to the Shinra Building. In "Aeris's Secret", Cloud, along with Barret Wallace and Tifa Lockhart, used Aerith's house as a temporary base to plan their next move, and Elmyra recited the story of Aerith's childhood. Barret's daughter was kept in the house for a time, until she was later moved by Reeve Tuesti.
Cloud found a key to Sector 5 to return to the town later. The town was largely destroyed along with the rest of Midgar by the fall of Meteor, although in 0009 in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Cloud and party came to the church to cure Geostigma.
=== Remake continuity ===
In 0007, a bomb in Mako Reactor 5 was planted by Barret Wallace' Avalanche cell, though its explosion was triggered by Shinra. The impact of the bombing was considerably less than that caused by the Mako Reactor 1 bombing, as Shinra's aim was solely to demonize Avalanche, meaning they wished to avoid unnecessary damage this time and thus made the bombing smaller than previously. The sector only underwent temporary power outages that had been fixed around six hours later. The impacts were mostly felt from secondary effects, as security tightened, power outages disrupted the transportation network, and all trains were stopped.
In "Budding Bodyguard", Cloud awoke in the Sector 5 slums church around six hours after he had fallen from the reactor. He was awoken by Aerith as the two reunited, only to be interrupted by Reno. Cloud fought Reno and attempted to kill him, but he and Aerith were whisked away from the church by Whispers. The two left and returned to the Sector 5 slums, where Aerith showed Cloud around, introduced Cloud to Elmyra, and had Cloud help out the residents. Rude also visited Aerith and fought her and Cloud, but was ushered away as a new directive for the Turks came in. Elmyra asked Cloud to leave that night, though Aerith found him on the way to Sector 6.
In "Fight for Survival", Tseng took Aerith and Marlene to Elmyra's house by helicopter after picking them up in Seventh Heaven during the attack on the Sector 7 plate, after Aerith struck a deal with Tseng in which she would return to the Shinra Building in exchange for Marlene's safety. In "A Broken World", Cloud, Barret, and Tifa then came to Elmyra's house in search of Marlene. Elmyra told them of Aerith's Cetra heritage, but begged them not to chase after her, prompting Barret to suggest heading to the Sector 7 ruins in search of survivors. After doing so and finding Wedge in the Shinra Underground Test Site, three returned to Elmyra's house with Wedge in tow, Elmyra agreeing to let Wedge stay and agreeing to let them chase after Aerith.
== Geography ==
=== Overview ===
The Sector 5 slums is overflowing in waste and refuge. It was built largely using scrap materials left over from Midgar's construction, and thus is largely a shantytown, with ramshackle residential districts, and some residents even using industrial pipes and vehicles as shelter. Two notable exceptions are the Sector 5 slums church in Sanctuary Way, and the garden and waterfall around Aerith's house, both rare places in the slums where flowers grow due to limited sunlight.
=== Sanctuary Way ===
Sanctuary Way is a long road connecting the Sector 5 slums church to the rest of the slums. Surrounding the church are rocky hills, as well as piles of rubble in the form of construction material, rusting structures, and shanty houses that are entirely abandoned. It is mostly barren and lifeless outside of the church itself, a colorful building which is a contrast to its surroundings, though some growths are found along the rooftops of the abandoned houses.
In Final Fantasy VII, the area has a path alongside streets that leads directly towards the Center District. In Final Fantasy VII Remake, this leads to the Sector 5 Undercity Station, and through abandoned warehouses with more material and vehicles used for construction. A fence blocks the way to the station itself.
Sector5-ffvii-rooftopcrop.png|Sanctuary Way in Final Fantasy VII.
VIIBC Sector 5 Slums.png|Sanctuary Way in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-.
VIICC Sector 5 Slums.jpg|Sanctuary Way in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-.
Outside the church in CCVIIR.jpg|Sanctuary way in Crisis Core Reunion.
=== Undercity Station ===
The Undercity Station is a concrete platform that connects the Sector 5 Undercity with the rest of Midgar. The station is incomplete, as construction equipment and vehicles are found nearby warehouses seen behind fences, and a large banner advertising Shinra construction is seen on a metal structure behind the train. The southern Station Way road leads directly to the Center District of the slums, while a road east leads up to Nuts 'n' Bolts Hills.
=== Backstreets area ===
Appearing only in Final Fantasy VII Remake, the backstreets area comprises several scrapyards named Twilight Alley, Steel Mountain, and Nuts 'n' Bolts Hills. The scrapyards are homes to monsters that live near the slums, but also hideouts for other Sector 5 residents. Much like the rest of the slums, abandoned construction material, destroyed vehicles, and empty warehouses are seen along the way. A public cemetery for the slum is also located here in the southeast.
=== Center District ===
The loveliest location in the slums, the Sector 5 Center District is home to markets crowded with people, as well as caravan and slum homes with residents. The district also contains a Slum Monitor where Shinra broadcast the news. A road from the district leads to Aerith's garden in Petal Lane, where Aerith's house is situated. As with the rest of the slums, limited vegetation grows here.
Nearby the Center District, a stone wall is seen between Sector 5 and Sector 6, with a hole through which travelers can walk to the Sector 6 slums.
Seen in Final Fantasy VII Remake, the Center District is marked by an immense tower made of rusting metal, connected to the slums monitor for Shinra broadcasts. A restaurant, known as Fifth Cafe, is also located, where Aerith helps out. Furthermore, a road to Aerith's garden named Petal Lane is located, which is a road through abandoned with more vegetation and growths than the rest of the slums, as well as a plaza with abandoned houses found behind a gate along the way.
The Leaf House (also first seen in Final Fantasy VII Remake) orphanage is located by Petal Lane for children that Aerith volunteers at. The children have a hideout just east away from the district, which connects to underdeveloped land with abandoned buildings through rocky hills with a river running through it. Here, monsters dwell in the abandoned warehouses and marshes.
=== Aerith's house ===
Aerith's house is located on the western side of Petal Lane, and is surrounded by a garden comprising three different islands between a river beneath a waterfall connected by wooden bridges. The garden and house are both sharp contrasts to the rest of the slums, the garden due to its bright colors and abundance of vegetation, and the house due to its stone build and charming appearance. The abundance of flowers are able to grow due to the clean water that contains a lot of lifestream ingredients from underground.Square Enix 2023
== Society ==
The Sector 5 slums is largely home to blue-collar workers involved in the city's ongoing expansion, and laborers who participated in Midgar's construction. Many residents are those who Gabriel Gainsborough negotiated better conditions for, to allow them to transition from building Midgar in its early days to becoming business owners in the slums. The Gainsborough family business, while a trustworthy and legitimate employer and construction company, is an example of how business expertise, careful traversing, and fierce dealings with the criminal underworld, are necessary in the slums. Even before them, more seedy and exploitative management firms and contractors ruled the slums' workforce, spurring the company under Gabriel to conduct mafia-style sweeps and underhanded dealings with Shinra to ensure the community's welfare due to the lack of government regulation within the slums' community. 
The Sector 5 slums church is relatively unsafe, as Shinra's Public Security does not station officers there, only sending forces when a large incident or accident occurs. Given the dangerous monsters known to lurk around the boundaries of town, many residents carry weapons on their persons to fend off the creatures themselves.
The Sector 5 slums has less of a food culture than areas such as the Sector 7 slums, as food is less of a pleasure than a necessity for survival. Aside from some stores selling processed and frozen products, as the slums is home to no food stalls.
== Gameplay ==
=== Final Fantasy VII ===
Sector 5 Slum is visited after Cloud and Aeris leave the Church in the Slums during "The Woman at the Church." The area is visited a few times in later quests, and is also the first location visited in Midgar after obtaining the Key to Sector 5.
Sector 5 Slum comprises a number of screens, including the entrance to the church, rooftops outside of it, streets towards the market, the market, Aeris's garden, and Aeris's house. In the market, several items can be obtained throughout the game, and during the return to Midgar, but the area is mostly visited when traveling to Aeris's house.
=== Final Fantasy VII Remake ===
The Sector 5 Slums appear in the following chapters:
*Budding Bodyguard
*A Broken World
*In Search of Hope
The role is similar to that in Final Fantasy VII, but has been greatly expanded. In "Budding Bodyguard," Cloud meets Aerith in the church. After a battle against Reno, the two leave to Aerith's house in the Center District, fighting monsters along the way. Later on, after helping the children from the Leaf House orphanage, Cloud and Aerith agree to help the locals in a variety of sidequests, many of which involve combat missions. After a boss battle against Rude, Cloud attempts to leave Aerith's house at Elmyra's request, without causing a distraction.
The slums are revisited for "A Broken World" and "In Search of Hope" with a party of Cloud, Tifa, and Barret. "A Broken World" is brief as the three return to Aerith's house to talk to Elmyra, but in "In Search of Hope," a variety of combat quests are available around the Sector 5 Slums and church.
Though all the landmarks from the original game are present, the layout of the map is very different as the slums is greatly expanded. The Leaf House is entirely new, and all the areas in the backstreets and underdeveloped lands are new areas, whereas in the original there were a few screens for streets connecting the church with the Center District.
Because the Sector 5 slums are directly connected with the Sector 6 slums, and it is possible to freely move between them, the complete map is much smaller than Midgar's size would suggest. The upper plate is not scaled to reflect this, placing both the Sector 5 and 6 slums under the same plate: the broken down Sector 6. This is especially noticeable by looking at the sector's pillar outside the church; the pillar is only visible from Sector 5, but it disappears from view if the player goes to Sector 6.
=== Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- ===
In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- shops can only be visited from the menu. Sector 5 Materia Shop is available after completing Mission 6-2-3.
Name 	Cost
Strength Up	1,000 gil
Vitality Up	1,000 gil
Magic Up 	1,000 gil
Spirit Up 	1,000 gil
Poison 	1,000 gil
Silence 	1,000 gil
== Musical themes ==
In Final Fantasy VII "Flowers Blooming in the Church" plays in Aeris's church, Aeris's house and the areas nearby to the two areas. "Under the Rotting Pizza" plays inside the Sector 5 slums.
In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- the theme of the slums is "Where Light Does Not Reach". "A Flower Blooming in the Slums (from FFVII "Aerith's Theme")" plays in scenes involving Aerith.
== Other appearances ==
=== Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade===
FFAB Sector 5 FFVII.png|Sector 5 (Normal).
FFAB Sector 5 Slums FFVII Special.png|Sector 5 Slums (Special).
== Behind the scenes ==
Unlike the Sector 7 undercity, which is based on a Wild West feel, and Wall Market, which is given an Asian feel, the Sector 5 undercity is not based on any real world location.
Various Japanese text can be seen around the backgrounds on Sector 5 in Final Fantasy VII. The pipe with the man inside reads "Safety First". In the screen before the church there is a graffiti on a piece of metal that reads "We Gods". The big red graffiti on the wall leading to Sector 6 reads "Yamato" (大和), an old name of Japan.
In Final Fantasy VII Remake, co-director Naoki Hamaguchi considers the scene in which Cloud and Aerith hop across the rooftops of the abandoned slum houses from the church to be his favorite nod to the original game. He was happy that the modern technology allowed players to take in the scenery of the slums.Shanley, Wigler 2020
Sector 5 Slums artwork for FFVII Remake.png|Slums concept art for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Sector 5 Undercity artwork for FFVII Remake.png|The slums concept art for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Sector 5 Undercity weapon shop artwork for FFVII Remake.png|Weapon shop concept art for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Aeriths-House-Artwork-FFVIIR.png|Artwork of Aerith's house concept art for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
The Gainsborugh construction company and its underworld affairs are evocative of real world mob and construction business rackets, some of the most infamous involving American mafia crime families around the New York and New Jersey state area, and clashes of Yakuza and Russian Mob incidents over territory and business rights disputes in Japan.
In Japanese hanakotoba, the Japanese pronunciation for the number five is go, and shares a homophone with the words for destiny, karma, and luck. Appropriately, Sector 5 is where the stories of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII meets its major revolving figures and driving core of its narrative.
==Notes==
===Annotations===
===Citations===
==References==
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Category:Locations in Final Fantasy VII
Category:Locations in Final Fantasy VII Remake
Category:Locations in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Category:Locations in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-
Category:Locations in Final Fantasy VII Remake Trace of Two Pasts
Category:Towns