We found Biggs an' Wedge on the third floor along with a few guys from the watch. They was in a firefight with about four Shinra soldiers, guns blazin' as sparks flew off the metal girders and concrete columns. Our boots clanked on the metal floor as we joined 'em for jus' a second to drive the soldiers behind some crates an' power generators for cover. Jessie kept 'em pinned down, her aim deadly sharp, an' took one of 'em out before he could shoot back at her.
"'Bout time you guys showed up!" Biggs yelled, firin' away with his handgun. "Bastards got here just before we did."
"Keep 'em busy!" I ordered. "Catch up when ya can."
Wedge gave the other soldiers a taste of his flamethrower. "Will do, boss! There's more of these guys further up, though. Gotta be trying to keep us from getting to the top."
I grimaced an' kept shootin'. "Knew it'd be a fight!"
"You ain't kiddin'!" Biggs agreed. "Now get going! We'll take care of these Shinra assholes. Go!"
"Be careful, guys!" Jessie said.
Wedge shot her a thumbs up. "You too, Jessie!"
Jus' then, two of them soldiers popped outta cover, shot one of our watch friends, an' ducked back behind the crates as the guys shot back. I growled, fired off a few rounds, then hurried up the stairs, Jessie jus' a step behind me. She passed me quick, though, takin' 'em two at a time, her expression fierce an' determined as she held her gun in both hands. As I followed her an' shot at the choppers circlin' the pillar, I started to wonder if maybe I'd been too hard on her.
Found us another battle on the fourth floor, Shinra soldiers an' our folks from the watch shootin' back an' forth amidst the steel beams that supported the ceilin' an' surrounded the huge, curved bulk of the inner pillar itself. Me an' Jessie came out shootin', then hurried on amidst the muzzle flashes an' gunfire splittin' the air. Wasn't no more we could do. We had to reach the console and keep Shinra from usin' it. Everyone in the neighborhood watch knew that by now.
An' so it went, floor after floor, battle after battle. Jessie an' I passed more of the watch fightin' on the stairs an' takin' shots at the choppers, but them things was too fast. Took down some of our people, screamin' as they got hit, an' I swore under my breath. Then one of the choppers shone its lights at us as a voice came on over a loudspeaker. We slowed a bit to listen, not that it'd make a difference.
"Attention, Avalanche!" the voice demanded. "You are surrounded! Stand down and surrender immediately! Shinra will not negotiate with terrorists! Resist and we will use lethal force!"
I snorted. "Got your lethal force right here, asshole!"
Punctuated that with a bursta bullets from my gun-arm an' scored a hit on the tail as it flew past. Not enough to down the thing, but I got its attention, sure enough. Jessie opened up on it as well, shootin' again an' again as we climbed until it got outta range. When it swung back as we got to the seventh floor, it fired back with a triple-barreled minigun mounted on the underside of its body.
"Get down!" I grabbed Jessie by the shoulder.
Not waitin' for her to answer, I pulled her down along with me as I dove to the floor, shieldin' her with my body as a streama gunfire swept over us. It tore into the stairs, beams, barrels, an' more of our friends in the watch. The folks it missed, the goddamn Shinra soldiers took down before they even knew what was happenin'.
Soon as the chopper flew off again, I swept my gun-arm across an' sprayed them soldiers with bullets long enough for me an' Jessie to get back on our feet an' get movin' again. I kept on firin', coverin' her while she sprinted up the stairs, then ran after her.
"They set us up!" Jessie snarled as we climbed. "It's a trap!"
"Whaddya mean?" I fired at a passing chopper.
She slapped another clip into her gun. "They're making it look like we're the ones trying to drop the plate!"
"Goddamn!" I spat. "An' they're here to save it."
Jessie dropped a pair of Shinra soldiers with a flurry of shots as we hit the eighth floor. "Probably trying to make a show out of it, knowing them. I should've seen it sooner."
I followed her to the next seta stairs while the watch held off more troops. "Ain't nothin' we can do 'bout it now, Jessie. Jus' gotta get to the top an' keep 'em from blowin' this place."
"We will," she swore, shootin' as she went. "Count on it."
— — — — — — —
The ghoul flew around us, its eerie wail filling the room as Aerith, Tifa, and I backed away from the console and readied ourselves. I drew my sword and launched myself at it with several quick slashes, scoring a few hits on its ragged, pale gray body before it suddenly disappeared and I was only cutting air.
It reappeared a second later, but it was semitransparent, and when Tifa and I struck at it, our blows went right through as if it wasn't even there. Aerith's fire magic, though, burned right across its ghostly body, and it lurched backward, screeching in pain. Then it responded with a burst of bluish-white flame of its own, and we all scattered to avoid it. I saw the ghoul solidify again and suddenly understood exactly what we had to do to beat this creepy thing.
"Stick to magic when it fades away like that!" I told the girls. "Save the weapons for when it's solid."
"Loud and clear, Cloud!" Tifa called.
She and I laid into the monster, taking the chance to deal out some damage while it was still in its physical form. Dodging its sharp claws, I cut at the ghoul with a triple slash combo as Tifa unleashed a shower of punches and kicks before it faded again.
Suddenly a storm of objects flew about the room—binders, chairs, shelves, even a file cabinet—and Aerith cried out, stumbling backward as she was hit by one thing after another. Swinging Buster, I knocked as many of the flying objects away as I could while Tifa struck the ghostly monster with a blast of ice. The thing shrugged it off, though, and sent a chair flying at her in response. She backhanded it away easily as I got to Aerith and helped her to her feet.
Then she and I unloaded with our own spells, fire and lightning at the same time. The ghoul crumpled under the assault, especially under the scorching flames of Aerith's magic. When it went solid again, I ran in and slashed at it some more while Tifa slammed her feet into it from the other side with a leaping kick followed by a spinning roundhouse. I buried Buster into the ghoul's body.
"I don't have time for this shit!" I growled.
Then I jumped, taking Buster right up with me and tearing a deep gouge into the monster's hide as I did. It screamed, thrashing in midair, and Tifa followed up with a series of rising punches followed by a hard, diving kick that would've shattered its ribs if it had any. Then the ghoul went ethereal only to be greeted by more of Aerith's searing fire, and it kept writhing as she and I piled on the magic.
With a final screech, it fell apart in a burst of dark energy and then disappeared. The lights came back on only seconds later, and we knew it was over. Letting out a relieved sigh, I shouldered Buster and went to check on the girls before moving on.
"You two alright?" I asked.
Aerith smiled. "Never better!"
Tifa nodded. "I'm fine, Cloud. I just hope that's the last of whatever lives out here. I've had my fill of ghosts."
"Me too," I agreed. "The doors are open, so let's go."
Aerith pointed. "Look! Over there!"
We followed her gaze and noticed that, during the fight, one of the storage lockers had gotten blown open, the door swinging outward on silent hinges. Most of what was inside was junk—a tattered coat, some papers, an old thermos—but sitting on a shelf were half a dozen vials. I knew what they were at once.
"Ethers," I said, picking them up. "Good catch."
Aerith grinned. "Thanks, Cloud! We deserve a reward after all that hassle, don't you think?"
I did. "Yeah. Two for each of us."
"Bet these'll come in handy," Tifa agreed, taking hers.
"No doubt," I said, giving a pair to Aerith.
We left the control room after that and headed back downstairs to find the main doors were indeed open, just as I'd thought. We followed them back outside, where more abandoned trains sat empty on rows of old tracks amidst the bluish glow of the place. A few of them were still lit and seemingly had power, and as we made our way forward, I knew we'd probably have to make use of them. When we found another train blocking the way out a few minutes later, I knew I was right. And what we'd have to do to clear the path.
"Another barrier," Tifa sighed. "Nothing's ever easy, is it?"
I shook my head. "No. But we can get past it."
"How?" Aerith asked.
"See that other train that's lit up?" I pointed to it. "We can use it to push the first one outta the way."
She clapped my shoulder. "Good thinking!"
I nodded. "Thanks. But this time, I pull the lever. Got it?"
"Yeah..." Aerith laughed sheepishly.
We hurried over to the train and hopped inside. The controls were up front, and after looking at all the dials and levers, I figured we could do this. While the girls looked around uneasily, I turned on the engine, gripped the gear handles, and pushed them forward. The train lurched forward and, just as I'd hoped, I was able to use it to push the other one aside. Then I threw ours into reverse and backed it up until I'd gotten it into the spot we'd originally started out in.
Just then, the train's radio crackled to life. Aerith blinked as a voice came on the line. It was a man. "Do you have the plate separation code, Reno? I don't intend to repeat myself."
"Tseng..." Aerith murmured.
"Yeah, yeah, of course I do!" Reno's voice came back. "We can drop the damn thing whenever. It's just that..."
Tseng continued. "Your orders have been confirmed."
Reno hissed. "I know, but it's bullshit!"
"Threats to public order are to be put down," Tseng answered. "It's what we've always done. You know that."
"Hell of a time to grow a conscience..." Reno muttered.
Tseng went on. "I'll join you soon. Tseng out."
Reno sighed. "Yeah, yeah..."
Then the radio went silent. None of us moved at first. It was really happening. I had known it would be, but hearing that transmission... I couldn't shake the dread in my heart. And I saw it mirrored in the girls' eyes as I looked at them. We just stood there for a moment as the awful reality of it sank in. Then I thought of Jessie, tightened my fist, and left the train, determined to get to her.
"Come on!" I called to the others. "We're almost there!"
We hurried past the trains and into an area lined with freight cars. This must've been where they were kept in storage, but at the moment, I didn't care. The chain link fence that bordered Sector 7 was on the far end only about fifty feet away. But as we sped across the area, mist rose up around us, and suddenly I couldn't see the girls. The pale bluish fog was everywhere now, and the cold deepened.
I called out to them. "Tifa! Aerith!"
But there was no answer. I turned around, calling for them again. I only heard my own voice, though. And I decided that when this was all over, I was gonna ask Biggs and Lena what the hell had possessed them to ever come to the train graveyard in the first place. Nothing felt right here. It was eerie, dark, and dangerous.
"Cloud..." a familiar voice suddenly whispered.
I stared when I saw its owner. "Jessie?"
There she was, walking through the mist, her steps slow and silent, as if she were floating over the ground like a mirage. I watched, totally unable to move, as she drew closer to me. Jessie had a small, cold smirk on her face, and her brown eyes were so dark in the gloom they looked almost black. I shivered, suddenly uneasy.
"Found ya..." she breathed.
I took a step back. "You're not real."
Jessie—or the thing pretending to be her—laughed, her voice slow and eerie as she circled around me. "Oh, I'm real enough, Cloud. Come back with me to the pillar. It's not far..."
"I..." I said, somehow unable to resist her. "Alright..."
"That's it. Follow me..." Jessie purred.
She stopped in front of me, an icy smile on her face, then began to walk away into the mist. Without even thinking about it, I started after her, my mind as clouded by fog as my surroundings. It was like I was a spectator inside my own body, helplessly watching myself move when I had no control over it myself.
Jessie's chill voice floated softly in the air. "That's it, Cloud. Let the black wind take you. I know you're afraid for her. That she'll die. You're almost out of time. And it scares you..."
Fear clutched at my heart, and I could hardly breathe. I found that my feet were moving on their own, step by step after the thing that had taken Jessie's shape. I knew it wasn't her, but I couldn't stop myself, as if I was a puppet on its strings. But then, just as I was about to drift away back into the heart of the train graveyard, I heard another voice. A real one. A voice I recognized at once.
"Cloud!" Tifa yelled.
I blinked. "Tifa? Where are you?"
And suddenly she was there, grabbing my arm. "I'm here! Snap out of it! That thing's not Jessie!"
A blast of flame slammed into it, and even though I knew Tifa was right, it still shocked me to see Jessie enveloped in that blazing fireball. The creature screeched and faded away as Aerith moved in beside me, her staff ready and her expression determined.
"We're here, Cloud," she said.
I blinked and gasped, suddenly myself again. "Aerith?"
She nodded. "Stay with us."
Just then, a vision appeared in the mist in front of us, and my eyes widened. It was Jessie, fighting in the pillar, Barret ahead of her. Shinra soldiers fired at them as they climbed, and Jessie barely ducked aside in time as sparks bounced off the railing of the stairs. I jumped in spite of myself when I saw how she'd nearly been shot.
Several of the neighborhood watch were there as well, buying time with their lives for Jessie and Barret to get to the top. They looked to be at about the tenth floor now. I shivered, realizing she was almost there. Almost to the place where I'd seen her in my dreams. Then a swarm of helitroopers—specialized Shinra grunts that flew through the air using rotor gauntlets on each arm—suddenly dove in and tore the rest of the watch apart. Barret yelled and shot one down as he and Jessie raced up the stairs to the next floor as fast as they could.
After that, the vision shifted to give a wider view of the pillar, and I felt a cold sliver of fear in my heart when I saw three Shinra helicopters circling around it. I recognized one of them right away as the one from my dream—the one that had killed Jessie. It was still hovering near the lower floors for now, but I knew that could change at any second. Then I felt a firm hand on my shoulder.
"It wants you afraid," Tifa said. "It wants you scared."
I looked at her. "It's doing a damn good job."
Aerith touched my arm. "Don't let it beat you, Cloud. That's what it wants. It feeds on fear. That's why it showed you Jessie. But you haven't lost her yet. And you're not going to."
I nodded, her words reassuring me and giving me strength. I knew time was short, but there was still a chance I could save her. Aerith and Tifa both knew it. I saw it in their eyes. Then I drew Buster, my resolve growing firm and sure as I gripped the sword in my hands and my two friends stood at my side as the vision faded.
"Not today," I swore.
Aerith readied her staff. "We're gonna save Jessie. And Sector 7. No doubt about it. We won't let fear stop us!"
"Damn right!" Tifa agreed, raising her fists.
As the creature reappeared and took shape, I hefted Buster. "Time to kick ass and get the hell outta here!"
— — — — — — —
I sped through the streets of Sector 8, the motorcycle's engine loud in my ears. It was a Motonox Gust with a mint green body and chrome undercarriage. Jessie had loved bikes, and I had taken her out for a ride on one of these lots of times back when we had been seeing each other a few years ago. Before she had left for the slums.
The train station was still being repaired after all the damage it had suffered when Reactor 1 had exploded, but the way into the Corkscrew Tunnel was still open. As I swerved onto the tracks, I heard the guards shouting and trying to lower the gate. But it suddenly stalled out about halfway down, right according to plan. Then a small black form darted across one of the beams and jumped down onto the bike behind me as I sped through the open gate and into the tunnel.
"Good job, Cait!" I said.
He chuckled. "Thanks, Kunsel! Wasn't hard tae do!"
The wind from the Gust's acceleration ruffled my hair as we raced down the middle of the tracks. I drove with my right hand and held my sword in the other. Heidegger was sure to send his forces to stop me as soon as he found out I was on my way to Sector 7. He knew Jessie and I had been involved once and that I'd help her derail his horrible plan if I was able to get to her and protect her.
There were times I had wondered if I had made the right choice in staying behind, but Heidegger had been obsessed with finding her. Still was, and I'd spent the last two years taking him across the plate on one wild chocobo chase after another. Marissa, her old boss at Shinra and a close friend of hers, had helped me do that. She wasn't that much older than Jessie, and it hadn't been too hard for her to look the part. It was a risk, but Marissa had been glad to do it.
We had led Heidegger's men on as much as we could, giving them false leads to make him think Jessie was still on the plate. We'd had our share of close calls, but we'd always gotten away before his troops could catch up to us. And despite my misgivings about how dangerous it was, Marissa had also created some sightings on her own, letting herself be spotted before slipping away again.
I worried about her, but I hadn't stopped her, knowing it would be effective and keep Heidegger from getting suspicious. And I'd also kept my eyes and ears wide open at the Shinra Building, keeping track of his ongoing search for Jessie from there. As a skilled systems engineer and my friend, Marissa had helped me out on that end too. She didn't work there anymore, but she was very good at hacking into Shinra's network. And while she didn't have Jessie's natural gift for stuff like that, Marissa was still very talented in her own right.
She also had a personal score to settle with Shinra because she had lost her husband in the Reactor 3 massacre several years ago. Jessie had eventually uncovered the truth and shared it with her long after they'd both left the company. And as for me, finding out Shinra's dark secrets was something that I'd always been pretty good at, ever since my friend Zack—another SOLDIER—had still been around.
Until now, Heidegger had never even suspected Jessie had gone to the slums. Between leaving him numerous false trails and making sure he never heard about the occasional real glimpses of her down there by people who thought they'd recognized her from her time as an actress, I had kept him away from her as much as I could.
As I drove on, I heard engines behind me. "Here they come!"
"Ready, lad!" Cait chimed in.
He was a robotic black cat with a red cape, brown shoes, and a gold crown on his head. Although he looked silly, I'd seen his skills in using materia before, and I knew he'd brought some with him. So had I. Part of being in SOLDIER meant being proficient in casting spells as well as fighting with a sword. And I was good at both.
The first wave caught up to us just seconds later. Three motorcycle troopers, their rifles ready as they drove their bikes. They had to know they couldn't stop a SOLDIER, but I knew they'd try anyway. I swerved as they opened fire, deflecting some of the bullets with my sword while Cait hurled a burst of ice into one of his attackers.
As he flew off his bike with a startled cry, I swept my sword across at another one as he pulled up alongside me. He whipped up his gun to block the attack, but my blade cut right through it and into him. He fell to the ground as his driverless motorcycle crashed and collapsed. That left only one, at least for the moment.
Cait yelped as bullets flew past him, and I quickly spun the Gust to the right, coming back to face the way we'd come. As I closed in on the surprised trooper, I focused on my materia and sent a blast of fire into his bike's engine, igniting it. Then I drove right through the explosion, turning around again and speeding on down the tunnel as the burning wreckage and its rider tumbled away.
A pair of Shinra attack drones flew past us less than a minute later, sizzling with electricity as they fired blue bolts of it one after another. I pushed the Gust first left and then right, dodging the blasts as Cait sent lightning of his own sparking into one of the mechs, the materia on his little wrist guard glowing bright green. The drone exploded, and when I caught up to the other one, I shattered it with a single quick swing of my sword. It flew apart, and we drove on.
Another pair of Shina soldiers drove up not long after that, passing us and dropping grenades in our path. I swerved to avoid them as they exploded, shaking the Gust but not knocking it over. Then another one came in fast, almost on top of us as it went off. I yanked hard to the left and just barely scraped by it at the last second, nearly running into the wall as the heat from the blast washed over us.
"Whoa!" Cait exclaimed. "That was tae close, laddie!"
I didn't argue. "Sure was, Cait. Let's explain to them what a mistake they're making trying to stop us."
He laughed. "Ye got it, Kunsel! Hit it!"
I gunned the engine, and in just a few seconds, we caught up to the soldiers. While Cait scorched one with a fork of lightning, I swung my sword at the other. He moved out of range for a moment, then rammed us, shaking the Gust with the impact as the other soldier lost control of his bike and smashed into the wall.
Pulling back, the other soldier fired his gun, but I got my sword up in time to block the shots. It had only been a feint, though, as he jerked his bike back toward us again. But I was ready this time, and as soon as he got close, I swept my sword down and across—not at him, but at his bike. The blade cut the front wheel right off, and both the trooper and his ruined motorcycle suddenly flew up into the air and into a forward spin before crashing back to the tracks.
We barely got a chance to breathe before two more soldiers showed up just a short distance behind us, guns ready. I was just bracing myself for the attack when suddenly they yelled and tried to get out of the way as a third biker overtook them, knocking them aside in a quick, deadly sweep of his large red motorcycle. With a long mullet of blond hair and the blue and black uniform of a SOLDIER Third Class, he laughed like a lunatic as the other bikes exploded in his wake.
"Oy, he's a nutter, ain't he?" Cait said.
— — — — — — —
The thing in the mist was monstrous. The front was like some kind of armored horse, its eyes burning red, its fur the color of dried blood, and its mane black. The back of it was a twisted chariot of metal, gears, and wheels, and on top of it sat a shadowy, skeletal figure in a tattered, hooded brown cloak. Its skull gazed coldly out at us, a wicked red glow shining within its empty sockets.
"Eligor..." Aerith murmured, staring at it.
"What?" I looked at her.
She didn't take her eyes off it. "That's what it is, Cloud. All the pain and memories, all the sorrow left in this place... taking shape. A thing born out of fear and nightmares."
Tifa didn't waver. "Lena was right. Something strange was here. It's gotta be trying to stop us from getting to the pillar."
"It'll fail," I said, staring hard at Eligor.
"Nothing's gonna keep us from our friends," Tifa agreed.
Aerith spun her staff. "Let's bust this ghost!"
Eligor charged, a long bladed staff in one hand. I blocked its thrust with Buster, then hit it with several quick slashes while Tifa pounded it from the other side. The horse neighed as the monster rolled past us to drive around the area. Aerith scorched it with a blast of fire as it struck at us again, driving it back for a moment. Then it rushed at her, hooves clopping madly and wheels turning.
Aerith cried out and just barely got her staff up in time to block the attack, but she still staggered backward as Eligor tried to trample her. I dove onto it from behind, hitting it with a leaping overhead chop. Tifa followed up with a blinding shower of punches and kicks, and between us we knocked Eligor off balance long enough for Aerith to dart out of the way and torch it with another fire spell.
The monster righted itself quickly, though, speeding all around the place and striking at us one after another with its staff. We answered it with sword, fists, and magic, pummeling it again and again. Then, after I had cut at it with a double slash, Eligor rose up into the air above our heads. It flew over us, back and forth, then hovered for a moment, just long enough to hurl a rain of spectral javelins at us.
"Move!" I yelled to the girls.
We all scattered, diving away from the barrage, but even so, one of the javelins sliced me on the arm as it went past, and I felt a chill in my blood as I rolled away and readied Buster again. Eligor floated above us and raised its arm as the horse neighed again, and a curving barrier of pale bluish energy shimmered to life around it. When Aerith unloaded with another burst of fire, it simply bounced off the barrier and seared her instead, sending her shrieking to the ground.
"Aerith!" Tifa went to her.
"I'm okay," she assured her, letting Tifa help her up. "Just surprised me, that's all. We gotta do something about that barrier, though. Spells aren't gonna work until we do."
Tifa glared at Eligor. "We pound it 'till it breaks."
"Exactly," I agreed.
While Aerith hung back and used a healing wind to keep us on our feet and tend to our injuries, Tifa and I jumped up and struck at Eligor from both sides, hitting the barrier as hard as we could. At first, it held, shuddering but not giving way. Eligor flew past us, but we chased after it and jumped in again, attacking the barrier with blow after blow from my sword and Tifa's fists and feet. It flickered but stayed up. I could tell it was weakening, though. Tifa saw it, too.
But before she could land another hit, Eligor turned its empty gaze on her, and its burning red eyes flashed. Tifa froze, caught by that dark stare, and fell to the ground, unconscious. I roared, taking advantage of Eligor's momentary distraction as it looked at her, and slammed Buster into the barrier. It collapsed and disappeared.
"Now, Aerith!" I called to her.
While I hurried over to Tifa, who was already stirring, Aerith shot another blast of magical fire into Eligor, then swept her staff forward in a tight arc, sending a beam of white energy cutting into the monster. It screeched and fell to the ground. And as it started racing about, I knew exactly what we had to do to destroy it.
"The wheels!" I said, helping Tifa stand up. "Take 'em out!"
She pumped her fist. "They're gone!"
Hefting Buster, I went after one while she focused on the other and Aerith kept Eligor busy with her magic. I struck at the joint connecting the wheel to the monster's body, and within only a few hits, I severed it completely. Eligor lurched and fell to the side as Tifa struck the second wheel with a fierce diving kick. And then I saw a flash of yellow light as she rushed at Eligor in a blur, her hand sweeping out to take the thing's bladed staff right out of its grasp.
Tifa tossed it to Aerith. "Here! Nabbed it for you!"
"Thanks!" she grinned, catching it.
Working quickly as Tifa and I kept up our assault on Eligor, Aerith took her materia out of the mythril staff and put it into the bladed one, then tossed her old weapon aside. With an expert spin, she threw more blazing fire spells with it, stronger now with her new staff. Eligor tried to rise into the air again, but we forced it down.
Tifa slammed her fist right into Eligor's skull. "Go to hell!"
"And stay there!" Aerith added.
She sent another ray of white energy slamming into it as Tifa and I backed away, and when it struck, Eligor exploded, an unearthly scream filling the air for a moment as Aerith's power consumed it. Then, as the sound faded, the mist melted away and the air got warmer around us. I looked at the girls as I caught my breath.
"Nice job," I smirked.
Aerith nodded. "I knew we could do it."
Tifa walked past us, her eyes on the fence and what was beyond it. "Look! We made it! The pillar's still standing!"
I followed her gaze. In the distance, past the train station, the pillar stood tall in the night, intact. But even from out here, we could still see the telltale orange bursts of gunfire all throughout it as well as the three Shinra helicopters circling around it. Then I thought of Jessie, fighting desperately in the midst of that chaos.
"Let's go," I told the girls. "We're done here."
After sharing a determined glance, we all rushed across the freight storage area to the fence. There was a gate on one end, and although it was closed, Tifa took care of that with a single hard kick to the lock. As the gate swung open, we hurried through, and I raced toward the pillar at a dead run, the girls just a step behind me.