CHAPTER 25
He looked around, or rather, he tried. All around him, thick, dark smoke obscured his vision, the ash scratching at his eyes and choking his lungs as he mindlessly inhaled. He coughed out, the sensation of burning metal and flesh being too much for his air ways to be willing to facilitate.
"So this is hell," he mused to himself. This seemed like a logical conclusion, as an unseen heap of metal a few feet away was giving off enough heat to bake a turkey. A mild amount of pain migrated through his body, causing him to doubt if he was indeed dead at all, or if perhaps the rumors were true that one spends eternity in pain while in such a place.
That's when a familiar stock of black hair, accompanied by a pair of glowing blue eyes came into view...
"Dyne, you alright, man?" Zack inquired loudly, covering his mouth with his arm.
Shit, if he's here, I HAVE to be in hell..
Dyne tried to confirm that he was okay, but in doing so only managed to breathe in more ash, resulting in a coughing fit which lasted several minutes. Zack helped him up, and proceeded to lead him away from the burning wreckage of Sector Six. Dyne would have refused the help, but his ankle was most definitely twisted. As the two men made their way further into Sector Five, Dyne could not help but notice that there were lots of people in bad shape. Dozens of people lay in the road with cloths covering their mouths to prevent them from breathing in the harsh smoke. Women and crying children were given rags and old blankets to lay on, though some of them and all of the men lacked that luxury.
Wreckage lay in the road, and several makeshift houses were destroyed or were heavily damaged, apparently from the large amounts of shrapnel and debris which had been blasted out and away as the three plates fell and exploded. One particularly disturbing image that stuck in Dyne's mind was how a moderate-sized mechanical chunk had crushed a van that a group of children had sought refuge in. The vehicle was flattened down to about a height of a foot, the impact throwing its young occupants halfway out the windows if not just crushing them instantly. A mix of blood and oil flowed outward from the display in a puddle, soaking slowly into the charred dirt road.
Suddenly, Dyne's heart skipped a beat as several Shinra troops came into view. He instinctively put up his ruined gun-arm, his heart racing into a panic. Then another sensation followed... Zack put his hand on Dyne's arm, causing the older man to look over at his young companion, only to see him shaking his head. The AVALANCHE leader did a double take as he realized the Shinra were not there to fight. They were helping the wounded, working side by side with the members of Dyne's militia in order to achieve a common good: preserving lives.
"Wh... what's going on?" Dyne asked, as though not able to comprehend that anyone working for Shinra would be able to show the slightest bit of compassion.
"The world isn't in black and white, Dyne," Zack explained, "There's one thing that ties us all together... that we're PEOPLE, y'know? We help each other in times like this."
"You really think that's it?" Dyne wondered aloud, "I mean, we're divided on so many levels... physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, philosophical, political... I... I just wish it didn't take something like this to make us realize how petty it all really is."
"Well, either all of that, or it's a PR thing," Zack observed, the joke not having much of a humorous tone. Zack hadn't really felt like cracking jokes at the moment. "In any case, we should get you at the very least out of here.. I know a place where we can..."
"Psst, Dyne, Zack!"
Zack and Dyne both shot up their heads at the whisper, and looked around in mild confusion. Tifa emerged from a deep shadow from under a partially collapsed house a few feet away, Jessie in tow under her arm.
"Report..." Dyne whispered, trying to not attract any undue attention. The heavy amount of smoke made for decent visual cover, so he needn't have feared instant discovery.
"Well," Tifa started, "As you probably saw, there's some Shinra troops here... though honestly, I think they're here of their own will, and not under orders But we at least still have to be careful... saving lives is one thing, but I'm sure the President is going to use this to put a bounty on our heads or something." She happened to steal a glance at Zack's face, which, for the first time she recalled, held an expression of distraught and anger. However, before she could look away, Zack noticed, and falsely chippered up.
The young ninja knew that the former SOLDIER was troubled by the prospect of Cloud's fate, as she too felt the same way. Putting a hand on Zack's shoulder, it was all she could do to try and assure him they would find out if he was okay or not. Words would give the young man no consol or assurance, and she knew this. Zack simply lowered his head, content to just look at the ground and be alone with his thoughts.
"So... now what?" Jessie asked after a moment.
Zack lifted his head and looked at his three companions. "I don't know about you guys, but I have to find Cloud. I also have to go tell Aeris' mom what happened to her... I had, uh, Cloud take her to safety... If they went this way, maybe I can find a clue... and if not, I can still talk to Elmyra... damn, she's gonna be pissed."
"We'll come with you," Dyne said, volunteering not only himself, but Tifa and Jessie as well, who did not object. "I for one want to know why Tseng wanted her so bad... he said something about her being an Ancient...?"
Zack didn't respond, and started to trudge across the barren road to the Gainsburough house, helping Dyne with his own movement. The two women followed close behind as well as they could, Tifa having to support Jessie (though weight wasn't an issue).
Several minutes of walking later, the four companions came to a clearing in the buildings, Aeris' small red house sitting in the distance. Zack wore a frown which started to deepen by this point. They had not seen hide nor hair of Cloud... surely there would have been some sign of him. Sighing, he continued forward. By this time, Dyne had insisted on trekking forward himself. The AVALANCHE leader did his best to hide his painful limp, trying to maintain some sense of dignity.
"Is that it?" the one armed man asked, pointing with his good right hand towards the octangular red cottage. Zack nodded and continued straight to the door, while the others slowed down and took in the scenery. Large flowers stood on a small island just over a bridge, separated by an inexplicably clean stream. When Zack knocked on the door however, they rejoined him, realizing this wasn't a good time for sight seeing.
When no answer presented itself, Zack tried again, though verbally. "Mrs. G? It's Zack. I..."
At that, the door opened, only to reveal..
"CLOUD?!" Tifa and Zack noted in jubilation at the sight of the blond-haired ex-soldier in the doorway.
"Zack! Tifa! You're okay!" Cloud exclaimed. Zack hug-rushed him, throwing his arms around his companion. Tifa joined the embrace, leaving Cloud in the middle of a group hug, and feeling very awkward. "Oh hey, Dyne, Jackie, you guys are, uh, okay, too... Zack, you can get off me now."
"Jessie," the hacker politely corrected.
"Dude! We thought you were a goner! Tseng said he'd... well... that he killed you..." Zack mentioned, pulling away. Tifa followed suite a moment later.
"I know, I thought so, too... But, well, he shot at me with these for some reason," Cloud responded, producing three BB pellets.
"The hell?" Zack mused, raising an eyebrow.
"Tell me about it. But what happened to you guys... why are we hearing that like half of Midgar collapsed?!" Cloud asked worriedly, holding out his hands.
"Excuse me," came a female voice from inside, "Why don't you all come in and exchange stories instead of standing outside, hm?"
"You're right, Mrs. G, thanks," the dark haired ex-SOLDIER responded. As the companions piled into the small abode, Zack turned to face them. "Guys, this is Aeris' mom, Elmyra Gainsburough. Mrs. G, these are Dyne, Tifa, and Jessie. Cloud I'm thinking you already met," he added with a smirk.
"Waaiit," Dyne interrupted, a hint of skepticism present in his voice as he eased himself into a chair, "I thought Tseng said Aeris was the 'last Ancient'..?"
"She is. You see, I'm not her real mother," the slightly older woman answered.
"You're not?" Zack asked in reply.
This was followed by a long string of hard stares.
"Whaaaaat?!"
"You've known her for HOW LONG, and you didn't know she was adopted?" Tifa said in a reprimanding tone.
"Well... I... uh..." Zack replied lamely, scratching the back of his head and shying away.
"Why'd the Shinra want her so bad?" Jessie asked, only having a slight idea what was actually going on.
"It's a long story," Elmyra warned.
"Meh, we're about due for another flashback," Zack responded with a shrug.
"Very well," Elmyra conceded with a nod and taking a seat. "It all started near the beginning of the decade-long war with Wutai. My husband was one of the first people sent out. I had received notice that he would be returning home on leave... But he never showed up."
Elmyra paused. Even after all this time, the wounds were still deep and caused her heart to swell in pain. After recomposing herself, she continued.
"I went to the train station every day, wondering if maybe his leave had been postponed... then, one day...
Elmyra, a woman in her mid twenties, strode slowly down the cobblestone road towards the train station, her auburn, bobbed-up hair swaying gently with each step. A slight wind had picked up, and small drops of rain had managed to drip down from the half-constructed plate above. She saw that the train had already arrived, and hesitantly continued walking forward, each new step heightening the fear that again her husband would not be present. That's when something caught her eye.
The train conductor was standing over a woman, who was laying somewhat uncomfortably on the steps, shaking his head in dismay. A small child was thrashing and crying up a storm, tugging at the woman's slightly tattered, scarlet robes. The woman's long brown locks were strewn under her in a mess. In short, it didn't look like a very happy scene.
"Nooo! Not again!" the little girl could be heard screaming.
The woman seemed to respond, But Elmyra was too far away to make out what was being said.
Acting on instinct, Elmyra hurried her pace towards the scene, as if somehow she could be of assistance. However, the closer she got, the less likely that it seemed like she'd be able to help at all. The other woman's skin was covered in a green glow that pulsated slowly, fading in and out. Elmyra slowed her pace as she got within a few feet, becoming unsure of herself. What was going on? What could SHE do to help? Should she help?
Those questions hardly had the chance to echo in Elmyra's head, as the other woman looked up at her. The girl, herself with the same brown hair and large serene green eyes as the mother, tearfully followed her mother's gaze to the newcomer. Summoning the last iota of strength her crippled vessel had to spare, the woman spoke:
"Take Aeris.... somewhere... safe..." She had tried to cough out the ever increasing amount of blood and poison filling her lungs, but she lacked the strength to even do that. She slowly closed her eyes, and unable to move on her own any more, she allowed gravity to pull her head softly down and to the side, giving her an ounce of comfort in her last moments...
Letting out a final sob, Aeris ran into Elmyra's arms, tears streaming down her face as she smothered herself into the woman's shoulder, who had ducked down to receive the child.
***
"My husband never came back. I had no child. I was lonely, and so I decided to take her home with me," Elmyra finished. She took a breath before continuing. "Aeris and I became very close very quickly. That child loved to talk. She used to talk to me about everything. She told me how she escaped from some kind of research laboratory, and that her mother had already 'returned to the planet', so she wasn't lonely... many other things."
"Returned to the Planet?" Biggs inquired.
At this, everyone freaked out and turned around, and saw Biggs, Wedge, and Dox standing behind them all near the doorway.
"Where'd you guys come from?!" Jessie asked with a bit of anger, mad that they had all been snuck up on.
"Outside," Dox pointed out. "We saw you and followed you here."
"Friends of yours?" Elmyra asked cautiously. Zack shrugged and nodded.
"It's like no one knows how to knock on a door around here," the former SOLDIER pointed out, his sense of humor returning despite recent events. Having ADHD had its advantages.
"Can we get back on topic?" Dyne interjected. "Biggs, you had a question?"
"Err, yeah," Biggs started. "What did she mean, 'returned to the planet'?" he asked Elmyra.
"I'm not sure," the older woman replied, taking a sip of tea (don't ask me where she got tea from all of a sudden). "I asked if she meant a star in the sky, but she said it was this planet. Then one day, something strange occurred...
"Mom!" came a young female voice. Aeris, now 10, slowly came down the stairs, and went straight to Elmyra. Taking her surrogate mother's hands, she proceeded to say "Please don't cry."
"Wh-what do you mean?" The older woman asked. Nothing had happened that would have upset her...
"Someone dear to you has just died," Aeris explained, bowing her head. She looked up at Elmyra again after a moment. "His spirit was trying to see you, but he had already returned to the Planet."
"I didn't believe her at first," Elmyra told the group of strangers which had congregated in her home. "But a few days latter, we got a notice saying that my husband had died... and that was it. A lot had happened, but we were happy, until one day..."
*Knock-knock*
Elmyra was stirred from her cleaning by the sudden rapping at the door. Putting down her generic cleaning spray and towel, she wiped her hands off on her apron and approached the door. Suddenly, Aeris raced up behind her and grabbed her shoulder, bringing her to a stop. Elmyra turned around, and looked at the now thirteen year old, who was shaking her head frantically and had her finger in front of her mouth.
The older woman wasn't sure what to make of this, but disregarded the girl's apparently irrational fear and opened the door. A long haired Wutainese man in a dark blue suit, no older than 20 Elmyra thought, stood before the two in a casual pose. A tinge of suspicion and fear went down the back of Elmyra's neck. She was by no means a racist, but she still had a harder time automatically trusting a Wutain than a Caucasian, given the current war. However, she also had another issue with the young man before her. What was someone in an expensive suit doing down in the slums on her doorstep?!
"Y-yes?" The woman finally asked.
The young man simply looked down at the child behind the woman, who was both hiding in fear, and gathering up the courage to come out of hiding and face him herself. He raised an eyebrow as he saw something in her scowling green eyes he had not expected. While the two had never met, he could have sworn the girl recognized him. He looked her up and down, and scowled to himself for some reason, all while producing some sheets of paper from inside of his jacket.
"My name is Jang Tseng, and I am with a Shinra, Incorporated, sub-organization known as the Turks," he proceeded to explain while filing through the papers in his hand. "And I have been charged with returning Aeris here to my superiors."
"R-returning? I don't understand," Elmyra fibbed.
"Aeris is a Cetra, or 'Ancient' in layman's terms. She is the possessor of many special gifts which we can utilize to help people..."
"-What- are you talking about? I am -not- an 'Ancient'. Heck, I'm not even fourteen yet, and you're calling me old?!" Aeris interrupted in an annoyed and uncharacteristically sarcastic tone.
"Do not deny your heritage, Aeris. Surely you hear voices when you're alone?" Tseng remarked, ignoring the girl's sarcasm.
"All I hear right now is 'blah blah blah'," the normally proper young girl responded.
"I am taking you back, whether you like it or not," Tseng stated flatly, folding his arms.
"Oh really? Well, I'll tell you what, old man," Aeris started,
"Old man nothing, I'm twenty-three!" Tseng protested.
"Try and take me. If you can't, then you'll give me your word that you'll leave me alone!" the young girl challenged.
"Aeris!" Elmyra said exasperated.
"Very well," Tseng answered in an amused tone, cracking his knuckles. The day he couldn't beat some girl...
-WHAM!-
Before he knew it, the young Turk was face-down in the dirt, his left arm being twisted up behind him, Aeris's foot weighing down his mid back, essentially paralyzing him. He tried to shout something out, when suddenly his arm was jerked in a direction it wasn't meant to go, causing him to squeak instead. Holding the older teenager's arm in place, Aeris bent down and whispered in his ear:
"Don't get too turned on. You're too old for me, and you're not my type. Now, are you going to give me your word not to bother me again, or do I have to get tough?"
Tseng used his free hand to push himself up a few inches so that he had room to begrudgingly nod his head, his eyes threatening to well up with tears from the pain. Satisfied that he was telling the truth, Aeris quickly let go, turned around and walked back into the house, slamming the door. Tseng quickly curled up and clutched his arm, taking on an almost fetal position. If she had pulled it any further, the Ancient could well have ripped the Turk's arm out of its socket.
Of course, now he had a dilemma. On one hand, he had now given his word that he would not bother her again, and a Turk could NOT go back on their word. It was more binding than law. He also just got the shit kicked out of him by a little girl. Tseng decided that it was best that he not report this incident, and concede failure to his superiors, at least until he had found some kind of loophole he could exploit so that he could one day achieve this objective. He also wished Aeris had been a bit older, that would of been kind of hot.
***
"Haaaaaaa hahahaha!" Zack erupted in a fit of laughter, a few of his cohorts snickering at the events in the story as well. "Tseng got his ass kicked by a girl!"
Biggs raised an eyebrow, glanced at Tifa, then back to Zack. "So did you once!" he pointed out with a smirk, motioning to Zack with his head.
Zack quickly stopped laughing, sulked down into himself while folding his arms and pouted. "Shu'up." This drew a round of light laughter at his expense.
"So anyways," Dyne spoke loudly, interrupting the imminent tomfoolery, "I'm sure you had to have known about Aeris being, you know... right?" he asked Elmyra.
"Yes..." Elmyra started to reply, "I always knew there was something special about Aeris, but Tseng had spelled it out quite clearly. Sometimes I could hear her talking to herself in her room late at night, and she seems to have remarkable ability with not just raising plants, but healing people. And if I believed in such a thing, I would swear that she was psychic."
"And so they never bothered her again?" Cloud asked.
"Well, yes and no," the mother responded, "Tseng was always watching, and it was creepy at first, but it seemed as though he had actually been looking out for her more than looking to capture her. I suppose they wanted her to come willingly and cooperate, and I'm afraid that over the years, Tseng had developed some feelings for her. And I'm sure he knew what they had planed for Aeris, and was hesitant to subject her to that. Of course, then THIS fiend came into our lives," she finished, motioning to Zack.
Zack raised an eyebrow at the older woman, but didn't say anything.
"Anyways," Elmyra continued, "It was at that point Tseng had become more aggressive, and he and Zack came to blows quite a few times. However, since they both worked for the Shinra, and they both had the same interests of keeping Aeris out of harm's way in mind, nothing too serious ever came of it all."
"But why take her now?" Tifa asked.
"It's my fault," Cloud quickly admitted. "Tseng intercepted us, and Aeris went with him in exchange for my safety... but then he shot me anyways... jerk."
"With BB pellets," Zack reminded him.
"Yeah, that was just insulting!"
"So wait, didn't you know he only had a BB gun? Why'd you let her go?!"
"I dunno, I thought I was dead!"
"There's an astute difference between dead and alive," Dox interjected. "I think telling the difference is quite easy."
Cloud grumbled something incoherent as a response.
"So, what now?" Wedge spoke up in an attempt to contribute to a conversation that he had no real clue as to what it was about.
"He speaks!" Zack proclaimed enthusiastically, throwing his hands in the air!
"He doesn't shut up," Tifa responded in a tone mocking Zack's.
"Children, please," Dyne again found himself playing the role of peacekeeper, "Wedge brings up a good point. What DO we do?" He started to pace slowly, putting the ruined nozzle of his gun arm to his chin, almost slicing his lower jaw open. "Sectors Six through Eight are destroyed, and we'll likely receive the blame. And I don't think Zack is going to hesitate to go after Aeris."
"Damn straight," Zack responded.
"You know that trying to infiltrate the Shinra building is suicide."
"Not really."
Dyne strode a few paces until he came to a wall, all eyes present watching him, awaiting what ever it would be that he said next. He slowly turned to Zack, who was sitting back casually in his chair. "Just tell me who and what you need."
"Okay!" Zack responded, hopping out of the chair and standing up. "Dyne; you, me, Tifa, Cloud, and Jessie."
Cloud was going to object, but stayed silent. First Zack sends him off because he can't fight, but now he's going to drag him into the Shinra building? What was he ON?!
"We'll need extra weapons, materia, armor. I know the place by heart, and Jessie should be able to hack the key card system..."
"Zack, I can barely walk!" Jessie protested, though she was very flattered that Zack mentioned her and wanted her along.
"Leave all that to me," Elmyra spoke. Everyone gave her a confused glance as she stood up and went over to the large antique clock against the far wall. She pushed lightly on it, revealing a small hallway, just large enough for a normal sized person to squeeze through. "Follow me."
Zack, Cloud, Jessie, Tifa and Dyne followed in single file down the stairs that presented themselves. The hallway eventually widened to give them all a comfortable amount of space to breathe. The air was remarkably clean, and not murky or dusty at all. Small bits of light came from points in the ceiling without any discernable or recognizable source. At the bottom of the stairs, a spacious, empty cement basement presented itself. The only thing in it was a large, locked metal cabinet.
"Don't ask me to explain how she knew this was going to happen, but... Aeris once told me.. that if the Shinra ever DID catch her, and if someone volunteered to help get her back, then to bring them down here and open this," Elmyra explained before anyone could question why they were brought down there. She fished in her apron for a small key, and undid the lock. Opening the cabinet, the metal doors squeaked in harmony, making an almost pleasant sound. The contents of the metal container caught everyone by surprise.
"A... a gun arm attachment?!" Dyne wondered aloud in shock. His eyes spied what looked like a machine gun on one end, but the back had a special attachment for placing on a prosthetic arm. It seemed a bit large, but he wasn't about to complain. It wasn't like you could just go buy one of these in a store. He also picked up several clips of ammunition on a belt, and threw it around his shoulder.
A pair of spiked boxing gloves caught Tifa's eye, and although she was loath to use lethal weapons, she found upon inspecting them that they fit her hands perfectly. She shadow boxed for a moment, getting used to the added weight on her hands, and found the weapons surprisingly comfortable and manageable.
There was also some kind of sword. It was just about three feet in size, was about the width of Zack's Buster Sword, but lacked a sharp edge. The middle was inscribed with Wutainese kanji, which wasn't translatable by anyone off-hand. Zack picked the sword up, and handed it to Cloud, who reluctantly took it. It was lighter than Zack's weapon, but still felt odd in the blond-haired former soldier's hands. He supposed he better get used to it, and quickly.
Elmyra reached up to the top shelf, and grabbed a small jewelry box. "Do you all have enough materia?" she asked.
Zack shrugged, looking disdainly at the COVER and ICE materias in his sword. He looked to Jessie, who fumbled in her pockets, knowing that Zack was silently inquiring about the BOLT and RESTORE materias he had given her back at the reactor a few days ago. Fiddling in her many pockets for a few moments, she finally produced the two green orbs. Zack looked around, but no one else seemed to have any of the empowering gems. "Uhm, that's it!"
With a sigh, Elmyra opened the box. "Wind, Earth, Water, two 'All's, Sense, and Carbuncle. Aeris had the rest I think... Take them. And oh yes," she started, grabbing a staff, the ends of which resembled the bottoms of hockey sticks, "Take this along to give to Aeris, though I don't think she'll mind if you use it," she said as she handed the staff to Jessie.
"I still don't know about this," Jessie protested lightly. "I'm in no shape to..."
Though before the young hacker could finish, Elmyra produced a strange, small crystal of some sort. It looked fragile, and was almost flask-shaped, but yet it also resembled materia. "It's an elixir," Elmyra explained. "It's a special materia that works much better than Restore, but you can only use it once. They're artificially manufactured, but are still rare and expensive. I have three of them. You better use one if you plan on going," she noted to Jessie. The young woman hesitantly took the strange object, and concentrated on it. It started to glow, and in a flash of multi colored light, it disappeared, leaving Jessie feeling very refreshed and energetic. Her wounds had melted away, and she was rightfully feeling much better.
"Feh, 'elixirs', it's like we're living in a video game or something," Cloud grumbled.
"Dude, that was just stupid," Zack responded to Cloud's observation.
"Shut up and start handing out that materia," Tifa interjected before the whole asinine conversation got out of hand.
"Someone's touchy today!" Zack observed jokingly.
"Just not in the way you'd like," the ninja shot back. "And in case you forgot, we almost got killed while thousands of others DID, so excuse me if that gets to me a little!"
Although the woman had not raised her voice, Zack could feel the anger and hurt behind Tifa's words. Muttering a soft and honest apology, he held out the materia box. Cloud took the red one which Elmyra had said was Carbuncle, the Wind, and an All. He may not be able to fight, but he was going to make damn sure he was useful by using magic at the least. Tifa plopped the Sense into her bracelet, and snapped the Earth into a materia slot in her new weapons as well. Dyne was putting the final adjustments on his new weapon, and saw Zack holding the materia box in front of him.
"I don't use that stuff," Dyne lamented. Zack shrugged and equipped his old Bolt into his bracelet, giving Jessie the Water and remaining All.
"So why aren't we bringing everyone?" Cloud asked.
"That's a good question, one I was wondering myself," Dyne added.
"Well, it'd be a lot harder to sneak around if there's a bunch of us," Zack started to answer, "And while I believe in safety in numbers, if there's too many of us, we'll be tripping all over each other," he explained.
"Okay, but how are we getting up there?" Tifa wondered out loud. Everyone just kind of paused in response, realizing they had no clue.
"The trains are probably out..." Elmyra said.
"The artillery lifts were in Sector Eight," Dyne reported sadly.
"We'll find a way," Zack shrugged, not letting something as obscure as logic get in the way of his optimism. He turned around and started making his way back up the stairs, the others following silently, all trying to think of how they were going to do this.
"Biggs," Dyne spoke as he came back into the living room, squeezing by the clock, "We need to get up onto the plate. Is there any way we can do so without being detected?"
"The Shinra have been sending in relief via helicopters, you could probably steal one, but that's not exactly subtle," Biggs explained with a shrug. "I'd be willing to bet though that the half-collapsed ruins of Sector Six are scaleable, and I doubt it's guarded."
"Dyne, I must protest!" Dox said calmly. "AVALANCHE needs you to stay and help organize a rescue effort! If Shinra DOES plan on blaming this on us, we're not going to look any better attacking their headquarters!"
"And I refuse to let them get away with this," Dyne responded, checking over his new weapon. "And even if I didn't want to be involved, I don't think anything's going to stop Zack here from going, and I'm not about to let him go alone."
"Well... what about us?" Wedge asked nervously.
"Stay and help with the rescue and recovery... BUT, have everyone ready to be mobilized and/or defend themselves. The second Shinra realizes we're in the building, he may order his 'r and r' teams to attack all of you, OR he may pull them back to try and help capture us."
"So who's going to be in charge while you're out gallivanting around?" Dox asked a tad snidely.
"You, I suppose," the AVALANCHE leader said with a light shrug. He then turned to speak to Zack and the others. "We all set?"
A series of silent nods was Dyne's answer.
"Mrs. Gainsburough, thank you for your hospitality and assistance," Dyne said curtly as he exited. The woman responded with a simple nod. As all of the AVALANCHE members piled out of the small abode, Elmyra followed and watched them from her doorway as they walked gallantly down the dirt road. She muttered a small prayer in favor of them all, and wishing them luck, returned to her table.
-intermission-
An anthropomorphic soda, popcorn tub, and candy bar dance across your screen, singing "Let's go out to the lob-by, let's go out to the lob-by, let's go out to the lob-BY, and have ourselves a snack!"
Suddenly, the soda stops. "Hey wait guys... wouldn't most of the people reading this have to go to their kitchen for food? I don't think many people would be reading this in a theater..."
"Shaddap and keep moving!" The candy bar says.
The popcorn tub blinks and steps away. It reaches onto its head, takes a piece of popcorn and puts it in his mouth.
"Oh, eat me!" the soda retorts.
"I can't eat you, you're a drink!" the candy bar points out.
At that, the soda reaches inside of himself, grabs an ice cube, and chucks it at the candy bar, sending him to the ground.
"What the hell'd you do that for?!"
"You're getting all hot and bothered, we don't want you to melt now..."
"Oh, that's it," the candy bar grumbles, getting up, "It's go time!"
The candy bar leaps at the soda, and they both fly off-screen. The sounds of fighting and shouting can be heard. The popcorn tub looks at you and blinks. With a shrug, and eating another piece of itself, the popcorn tub walks off to get a better view of the fight.
A new voice is heard. It's a deep, male announcer's voice: "We now return you to our feature presentation."
-end intermission-
Dox led Biggs and Wedge back to the Sector Five/Six cross-section, while Dyne took the others on a winding detour, avoiding any areas where the Shinra were active. They eventually came to a mound of debris which reached well over a dozen yards in the air. Above it was more twisted wreckage which weaved and wound and spiraled all the way up to a small portion of the Sector Six plate which had stayed intact. Large cables and a few pieces of scrap connected the pile and the over hanging wreckage. Warped girders and mangled support beams made up the majority of the wreckage, though there were other things that stuck out which no one could make out from a distance.
"That doesn't look too sturdy," Jessie warned.
"Well it's all we got," Zack observed, "This's a dead end."
"For once I agree," Tifa put in, "It's a miracle that we found something like this. We'll just have to be careful."
Cloud was hesitant to speak up, but finally tapped Dyne on the shoulder and whispered to him. "Uhm, no offense, but um, how are you... I mean, with your arm.."
"Don't worry about it," the one-armed man replied plainly, "I've learned to do a lot of things one-handed in the last four years."
Zack snickered lightly upon hearing this, but decided to stay focused and not make too big of a deal of it. But he DID say, "But what about your foot?"
"Oh, it's better now," Dyne replied dismissively.
Dyne took the lead, and started to climb up the wreckage. Yes, it was harder for him than it would have been for a normal person of his build and size, but he didn't complain, and while he did not hurry carelessly, he did not slow down enough as to hinder the progress of the others. The climb up the mound was relatively easy, as there were lots of hand holds to take advantage of, plus it was at a good angle, so they were not climbing straight up.
Upon reaching the top, Zack and Cloud hoisted Dyne up so he could get a good handle on a large pipe which connected to a pile of wreckage and climb onto it, while the rest climbed up a large cable, which was attached to several pieces of machinery. Dyne lagged behind a bit, but managed to find his way up the relatively steeper surface that ran parallel to the wire.
"Heh, this kind of reminds me of when I was a kid in P.E, and they always had us climbing ropes," Jessie spoke to break the seemingly uncomfortable silence, "And I would always wonder what good it would ever do me. Heh, if only I coulda' seen myself now!"
Suddenly, a spark went off next to Jessie's face, causing her to stir and twist away in a momentary panic. It was a good thing she did: the conduit that she had just swung away from exploded! And while she was still alive and uninjured, the surprise had caused her to lose her grip...
"JESSIIIEEE!!!" Tifa yelled out in helplessness, looking down. The sight of the rubble that was once sectors Six and Seven filled her vision, and she was not so high enough that she could not make out dead bodies among the still smoldering debris. As Jessie began to fall, Tifa feared that her friend was about to join those bodies...
Suddenly, Dyne leapt out, and caught Jessie with his good arm. He had her.. but who or what had HIM?! Dyne, still in free-fall, wrapped his legs around the cable, but was still falling. He twisted around, and hooked the nozzle of his weapon onto the cable, slowing him down just enough for Jessie to grab hold! Instinctively, she kept a hold of Dyne, and the two just hung there awkwardly for a moment. Tifa slid down, and offered her hand to whoever needed it.
Jessie shook her head quickly. "No no no, if either one of us lets go, we'll die! Ohmigod ohmigod.."
"Jessie... Control yourself, that's an order!" Dyne managed to cough out, struggling to keep a hold of the cable. Tifa's eyes filled with worry as Dyne and Jessie just hung there, looking as though they might fall again at any moment! Then things seemed to get worse, as the thick cable began to move! Tifa's eyes darted up, and saw Cloud and Zack pulling on the wire from an overhanging girder where they were standing!
"One..." Zack said,
"Two!" Cloud confirmed, and they both tugged on the wire, and dragged it as far up as they could. One at a time, they quickly grabbed onto a lower portion of the wire, then started again, effectively pulling the other three up towards them. Cloud's legs began to shake, and he was effectively using the wire as balance. He could see the destroyed villages below him, and tried to block it out, but he was so high up... he began to get dizzy...
"ONE!" Zack shouted, apparently the second or third time in as many seconds, waiting for his friend to reply. Cloud snapped out of it and pulled himself together, concentrating on the task at hand.
"Two," the blond answered quietly, tugging on the wire once more.
The wire slowly came up, giving Dyne and Jessie a sense of relief. However, they could not hold in the position they were in for much longer. Tifa hurriedly scrambled up to help Cloud and Zack pull her friends to safety. Reaching the small platform, the ninja made the best of her agility by swinging under it, and flipping upwards, managed to land perfectly between the two former SOLDIERS.
"Not bad," Zack noted, arching an eyebrow, "But can you pat your head, rub your tummy, and whistle at the same time? ONE..."
Taken by the sheer ridiculousness of Zack's comment, Tifa could only reply with "I dunno, we'll have to see sometime."
"TWO. Hey Zack, she didn't tell you to shut up," Cloud noted, tugging up on the wire. He didn't feel like making jokes, or saying anything that would entice Zack to make any of his own, but he had to try and distract himself from the horrors below. Though to be honest, he wasn't too fazed by all of it, he was more afraid of falling than worried about those who had lost their lives.
"Yeah, ONE. I think she's starting to like me!"
"Don't count on it," Tifa remarked, repressing a chuckle and giving Zack a wry glance, then tugging on the cable when Cloud said "two".
"Hey guys, less talking, more saving our asses!" Jessie called out from below.
"Oh, keep your shirt on!" Zack replied. He then put on a thoughtful expression. "Actually, on second thought..." he said in a suggestive tone.
"Zack, you're a pig," Tifa interjected, shaking her head. How could he be making jokes and flirting at a time like this?
"It was a joke!"
"So, that makes you a pig with a lousy sense of humor."
Dyne let out a loud, though reluctant laugh after this was said.
"Dude, you got burned," Cloud observed mockingly.
"...Shut up and keep pulling," Zack lamented quietly after a short pause.
After a few more minutes, Dyne and Jessie were finally pulled up onto the small platform. However, there wasn't any place to go from there that was instantly discernable.
"You okay?" Tifa asked the two.
"Just a bit shaken," Jessie admitted, clutching onto Tifa's arms for assurance. Dyne had nodded, but not said anything. Tifa knew this was his way of dealing with fear, and knew the best thing she could do was to just leave him alone for a minute.
Cloud was leaning against the wreckage and glancing around, wondering how they were going to get much higher, and also trying to avoid looking down. The metal of the wreckage was warm from all the friction it recently endured, giving the former soldier an uneasy feeling he couldn't quite describe. That's when he saw a mangled set of train tracks about five or six yards up, which lead all they way to the top.
"Hey, we can use those to get onto the plate," the young man pointed out.
"But how are we actually going to get up there?" Dyne inquired in response, seeing that the way up to the tracks was pretty steep, and lacked any real hand or foot holds. In fact, it looked rather dangerous, with several pieces of shredded metal and shards of glass covering the whole way up.
"Maybe there's another way around?" Tifa tried, though upon looking around, she saw that they did not have any options on where else to go. The wire was attached to some over hanging wreckage just a few yards over their heads. There were some exposed pipes a few feet away, but Tifa doubted their sturdiness, along with everyone's ability to be able to jump over to them.
"We can use the wire and some junk to make a grappling hook," Jessie suggested.
"That's a good idea," Dyne started, "but that wire is heavier than it looks, and we don't have the time to scrounge around for scrap..."
Cloud unsheathed the HardEdge, and looked at the materia locked into it. Shrugging, he started to concentrate...
"Well, maybe we can stand on each other's shoulders and climb up on ourselves?" Zack suggested.
"You're just looking for any excuse to get all over me, aren't you?" Tifa replied.
"Oh cripes, Tifa, I wasn't even thinking that!"
"Oh?"
"..Though now that you mention it, I.. WHOA?!?!"
Suddenly, the AVALANCHEers found themselves starting to float, a huge wind having picked up from beneath them. Tornadoes of energy and wind scooped each of them up, and started to raise them up towards the train tracks. Not realizing what was going on, and not knowing how long it would last, no one hesitated to grab onto the rails once they were close enough. Cloud came up last, and used every last ounce of his strength to grab onto a large piece of mechanical debris which stuck out a few feet, and hoisted himself over it. He re-sheathed the sword behind himself and practically passed out from exhaustion.
"Dude, did you just use Wind to boost us all up here?!" Zack asked with mild excitement.
Cloud waved his hand weakly in response.
"I have to admit, I'm impressed, Cloud," Tifa said with a smile. She didn't catch Zack shooting her a quick glance.
"That was SO cool, can we do it again?!" Jessie exclaimed.
"Ingenious," Dyne added.
The blond-haired former soldier eventually picked himself up and started making his way towards the train tracks, not returning his companions compliments. Jessie raised an eyebrow and whispered to Dyne. "What's up his butt?"
Dyne shrugged, and started climbing up the mangled subway tracks, the others following. Along the way, he peered into an opening about two feet wide, and saw a crushed subway car inside the plate. Allowing himself to become transfixed, he paused and looked deeper, and saw several dead bodies inside. This only fueled his hatred and anger, allowing him to continue the trek upwards towards the plate with renewed vigor.
Several more minutes of climbing later, the five companions managed to pull themselves up onto an even surface, just a few feet below street level, and they could now very easily see their target standing tall and ominously about a quarter of a mile away. It towered over them, and almost seemed to beckon to anyone foolish enough to consider invading it halls, just to teach them a lesson in pain.
The Shinra building awaited.