Final Fantasy VII: Reflections - Book 1: Descent

TWENTY-SIX

In the first few weeks since joining Avalanche, I scoured the slums for books and resources about planetology, spending almost all my free time reading about spirit energy, the flow of souls, and the devastating effects of Shinra's mako harvesting through the reactors. I'd often bring a book with me when I'd stop by the bar to eat or visit, sometimes with a bit of good-natured ribbing about it from Biggs and Wedge. But they gladly shared what they knew with me.

I started to understand why they had joined up, too. Wedge, more than anything, wanted to make a difference and improve things for his family and everyone else. As for Biggs, it all came down to Lena, really. I'd seen for myself how the mako fumes affected her, and I understood all too well what it was like to lose someone that close to you. He didn't want to lose her like they'd lost their mom. And he was also doing this to help the kids at the Leaf House.

Speaking of Biggs, I'd started to notice that he seemed to be a little different lately. He was still as friendly and helpful as always, but I had begun to notice his soft gaze lingering on me more than usual when he thought I wasn't looking. And if our fingers happened to brush against each other, he'd glance at me and then quickly make some kind of joke or comment and pull his eyes away. I didn't get it, at least not then, so I just shrugged it off and didn't think much of it.

Barret and I talked often, and as I listened to him tell me about the planet and how it was alive and how Shinra was killing it by siphoning its energy, I saw how passionate he was about it. Marlene was the force behind it, the personal face of what he was fighting for just as Lena was for Biggs. I saw that easily enough. But although he never talked about it, I was sure Corel was part of his motivation, too. I could see the rage in his eyes whenever he mentioned Shinra.

As for Tifa, while I knew that she hated Shinra as much as the rest of us, she hadn't said all that much about why. Only that she'd lost a lot because of them, which I definitely understood. We shared a lot of late nights together, just talking outside on the bar's front patio, sometimes with a cold drink and a generous slice of her chocolate cake, a scoop of ice cream, or both. My favorite was banana raspberry with a cherry on top, which I quickly introduced her to. She loved it.

I didn't even realize it was spring at first, one warm night when we were all hanging out together at Seventh Heaven after Tifa had closed it up. We did that a lot, talking and planning or sometimes just relaxing. We didn't have a hideout, not really, although the place had a basement that didn't see much use. You could only get in through a pair of doors at the base of the wall behind the bar. It was still a bit too visible for us, though. We needed something more private.

"So what's on the agenda, boss?" Biggs asked, sitting at the bar with a bottle of beer in his hand.

Wedge was next to him. "More flyers?"

Barret took a drink of his own beer. "Some, yeah. Also got a lead to follow up on, too."

"What kinda lead?" Biggs asked.

"Shinra supply depot over in the Sector 4 slums," Barret explained. "I got wind of it jus' the other day. It's where they store alla them spare parts for the machines runnin' the reactors."

Wedge rubbed his chin. "What are we gonna do?"

Barret was sitting with Tifa and I at one of the tables near the guys. "First thing to do's have a look 'round. Can't plan anythin' 'till we know more 'bout what we're dealin' with."

"A reconnaissance mission," I said, seeing what he meant.

"That's right," he nodded. "You up for it, Jessie?"

I blinked. "Me?"

Barret grinned. "Yeah, you! This is your chance to do somethin' for the cause. Hangin' up posters is good an' all, but we gotta do more than that if we're gonna save our planet."