Sector 5

Sector 5
(伍番街, Goban-gai?)
Background information
Type	Town
Region	Midgar
Affiliation(s)	Shinra Electric Power Company
Areas	Mako Reactor 5 Sector 5 slums Sector 5 slums church Leaf House
Residents	Aerith Gainsborough, Elmyra Gainsborough
Gameplay details
Items	Various in Sector 5 Slums
Enemies	Various in Sector 5 Slums
Quests	To the No. 5 Reactor The Woman at the Church Aeris's Secret
Quests	During the chapters: A Trap Is Sprung Budding Bodyguard A Broken World In Search of Hope
Quests	Protect Aerith
Items	Many found in shops

Sector 5 is a location in the Final Fantasy VII series. Located in lower Midgar, it is under the Shinra Electric Power Company's control. Like every sector of the metropolis, it is composed of both slums and plate sections, though the plate is rarely seen.

The Sector 5 slums are notable for being Aerith Gainsborough's adopted hometown, where most of her life is spent under the care of Elmyra Gainsborough at their house. It is also home to the Sector 5 slums church, a church where flowers grow due to rare natural sunlight being let in. On the plate, Mako Reactor 5 is one of the reactors attacked by the Avalanche cell led by Barret Wallace.

History

Before Final Fantasy VII

Lodgings for construction workers that would form the basis of the Sector 5 undercity began appearing around 1974-75, the fifth and sixth years of the construction of Midgar, 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.

The Sector 5 undercity largely became home to laborers who had been involved in Midgar's construction, and their families. A contractor with good relations with Shinra, Gabriel Gainsborough, drove out the seedy contractors from the sector, and was able to negotiate better conditions for workers and enable laborers to transition to life as business owners in the city.

In 1992, Ifalna and Aerith, having escaped the Shinra Building, came to Sector 5 in search of the church. Ifalna collapsed at the station, causing Aerith to look around for help, where she ran into Elmyra Gainsborough (the wife of Gabriel's son Clay Gainsborough). Ifalna's final request was for Elmyra to look after Aerith, and Elmyra then took in Aerith as one of her own.

In April 0001, depicted in chapter 3 and chapter 4 of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, Zack Fair and Sephiroth pursued Angeal Hewley and Dr. Hollander to Mako Reactor 5. After failing to capture them, Zack fell to the church in the undercity below, where he met Aerith.

In August 9 0002, depicted in "The Dash to Freedom" in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Avalanche appeared at Aerith's house attempting to coerce her into helping their cause; instead, she rejected them, and was saved by the Turks.

Original continuity

In 0007, "To the No. 5 Reactor" in Final Fantasy VII, after the success of the Mako Reactor 1 bombing mission, Barret Wallace' Avalanche cell attacked Mako Reactor 5 in a group comprising himself, Biggs, Wedge, Jessie Rasberry, Tifa Lockhart, and hired help Cloud Strife. Though they successfully planted a bomb at the reactor, they were thwarted on their escape, causing Cloud to fall to the slums below while Barret and Tifa escaped.

Sometime after, in "The Woman at the Church", Cloud awoke in the Sector 5 slums church and met Aerith, who he had previously encountered in Sector 8. Their meeting was cut short when Reno of the Turks arrived to collect Aerith, though they escaped to Aerith's house. Elmyra asked Cloud to leave that night, although Aerith found him on his way out to Sector 6.

When the Sector 7 plate fell, Aerith took Marlene Wallace to her house in the slums before the Turks took her back to the Shinra Building. In "Aeris's Secret", Cloud, Barret, and Tifa traveled to Sector 5 looking for Marlene, as Elmyra told them about Aerith's heritage as a Cetra. The group then traveled onto Sector 6.

Remake continuity

In 0007 Barret Wallace' Avalanche cell planned to attack Mako Reactor 5, sending Biggs on ahead and Barret, Tifa, and Cloud to attack the reactor. In "A Trap Is Sprung" in Final Fantasy VII Remake, they successfully planted a bomb in the reactor, although Shinra filmed the entire attack, as a hologram of Heidegger informed them their moves were being watched and broadcast around Midgar, and that the Airbuster would secure their public execution. Upon leaving, President Shinra also appeared in a hologram, telling them that they would be smeared as Wutai pawns and that Shinra controlled the remote detonator for the bomb they planted, not them. Though the three defeated Airbuster, Cloud fell to the slums below.

The reactor's explosion was triggered by Shinra. Because their intent was solely to demonize Avalanche and they wanted to avoid unnecessary damage this time, the impact was considerably less than that caused by the Mako Reactor 1 bombing. There were temporary power outages that had been fixed around six hours later, meaning that most of the impact on residents came 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, meeting Aerith. The two encountered Reno there who fought Cloud until they were whisked away from the church by Whispers. Aerith showed Cloud around the town, and the two ran into Rude, who fought them before being ushered away for a new Turk directive. 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 during the attack on the Sector 7 plate, after Aerith struck a deal with Tseng. In "A Broken World", Cloud, Barret, and Tifa then came to Elmyra's house in search of Marlene, where Elmyra told them of Aerith's childhood and begged them not to chase after her. The three resolved to search the Sector 7 ruins in search of survivors. They returned from the Shinra Underground Test Site with Wedge, who Elmyra took in, and finally agreed to let them chase after Aerith.

Geography

Plate

Walkway.

See also: Mako Reactor 5

Little is seen of Sector 5's upper plate aside from Mako Reactor 5, and the walkway outside leading towards it. The Mako Reactor 5 is accessed through an underground subway from Sector 4. The walkway is visited by the party after planting the bomb at the reactor, and is where the Airbuster is fought. Following the battle, the left side of the walkway is destroyed.

The following day reporters from Shinra News Network give a televised broadcast on the walkway, reporting on the damage done to Mako Reactor 5. Director Scarlet came to inspect the walkway during the broadcast, giving them an update on the damage to the reactor.

Undercity

Slums.

Main article: Sector 5 slums

Much like the rest of the Midgar slums, the Sector 5 undercity comprises shanty homes that its residents live in alongside crags and abandoned construction material. It stands out among the Midgar slums mostly for its abundance of scrapyard piles. However, it also allows limited light let in allowing vegetation and flowers to grow, notably in its two major landmarks: the Sector 5 slums church, and the garden where Aerith's house is located.

The Sector 5 Church lies partially in ruins, most notably with several flowers growing out of the floor of the Chapel. It is close to the edge of Sector 4 with a number of nearby ruined brick buildings at the end of Sanctuary Way, a road that is paved with metal sheets and has a now-abandoned shanty town built into the tall hillsides and trash piles. Sanctuary Way almost connects to the Sector 5 Undercity Station which has paved cobblestones, and a couple of street food vendors, alongside a small outpost with a helicopter pad and a couple of tanks stationed. Station Way connects the Center District that has several residences and vendors with the train station.

An alternate route between them lies in the scrapyard hills where Shinra attempted some construction but gave up halfway through, leaving a lot of concrete rubble. The scrapyard seems to be a dumping ground for munitions after the Wutai War, with several errant machines like Smoggers threatening passersby alongside monsters. Features of the Scrapyard include Twilight Valley, Steel Mountain, and Nuts 'n' Bolts Hills. The residents of Sector 5 do make other use of the Scrapyard despite its danger: Mirielle lives in Lookout Point, there is a Public Cemetery, and Don Corneo uses the area as a place to stash valuable items. There is a polluted stream that runs through parts of the Scrapyard, and parts of it are illuminated by massive floodlights at night.

The slums are home to a marketplace in its Central District, located a fair distance from the Sector 5 church, with a road connecting them. Nearby the district, a hole in a wall leads to the Sector 6 slums, where Wall Market is located. Two main towers are in the Central District, one being a set of ramshackle houses, and another being a set of pipes and wires with a giant tv set the citizens of Sector 5 get their news from.

Aerith's House is east of the central district, and the garden comprises three islands by a waterfall, with a river running through them that has fish swimming in it. Her house is built from wood, and comprises of three floors, a kitchen and dining room on the ground floor, two bedrooms on the second floor, and a balcony on the third. Numerous flowers and plant-life grows nearby the closer to Aerith's House, which she harvests to sell both in the slums and the plate. The Gainsborough's also grow vegetables such as turnips and pumpkins. The garden is decorated with stone walls, numerous lights, and is paved with cobblestones. It is reached by Petal Lane in-between the Leaf House and the Community Center, and is partially covered and has wooden slats paving it. There is more greenery in the Central District than the rest of the slums, growing more dense the closer to Aerith's house, including Petal Lane.

The Sector 5 undercity's landmarks are largely consistent between appearances, though in Final Fantasy VII Remake, the area is expanded. This includes an Undercity Station for the slums, as well as a backstreets area running between scrapyard mountains, where many monsters dwell. In the central district, the slums are also home to an orphanage known as Leaf House which Biggs often donates to or volunteers to help as he was raised there.

There are vendors selling materia, items, and weapons on the main street. There is an eatery and rest-area called Fifth Cafe. A number of orphans led by Oates have turned a set of undeveloped land between Specter St. and the Toad Marsh into their secret hideout where adults are forbidden from entering. After rescuing a pair of them from monsters, Aerith and Cloud are declared honorary kids and allowed in, where Cloud can trade with Moggie the Moogle and play the box-smashing minigame.