Wedge was moving people toward the gate on the other side of the plaza when Biggs and I stepped off the stairs and onto the ground. As I helped him across the clearing, I noticed Aerith was gone. She must've already left to find Marlene. Good. There was also a motorcycle with a stuffed toy cat on it parked nearby, but I hardly noticed it as we hurried across the plaza to meet up with Wedge.
"Biggs! I thought you were dead!" he gasped.
"Not yet," Biggs winced in pain but flashed us a crooked grin at the same time. "I still got some fight left in me, buddy. Enough for another platoon or two, at least. Maybe more."
I handed him over to Wedge. "Can you take care of him? I've gotta get back to the pillar and help the others."
He nodded. "Will do, Tifa!"
"Heh..." Biggs laughed. "Thought that was my job."
Wedge slid an arm around his waist to help hold him up. "Not this time. You've always looked out for me, Biggs. Now it's my turn to do it for you. Just leave everything to me!"
Biggs chuckled. "Guess I'm in good hands, then."
Just then, we heard commotion coming from the gate. It was a part of the chain link fence that divided Sector 7 from the road leading into Sector 6, and I realized it was still closed. Two Shinra soldiers stood in front of it, and one of them was arguing with someone standing on the other side. I wondered who'd be trying to get in here when things were so bad right now that everyone else wanted to get out.
"I said, let me in!" a girl's voice yelled. "I didn't run all the way here from Sector 5 just to get shut out!"
My jaw dropped. "Lena!"
"What!?" Biggs and Wedge gaped.
"I repeat!" the soldier said. "No one gets in or out!"
Lena was fuming. "My brother and boyfriend are in there! I've got to help them! Open this damn gate!"
The soldier brandished his gun. "No! Get lost!"
"Oh, the hell with you!" Lena snarled.
Backing up, she ran right at the fence, jumped, and grabbed onto it with both hands. Then she started climbing over it. I tightened my fist as the soldier lifted his gun, but his partner surprised me, pushing him away and letting Lena drop down to the other side.
The first soldier stared at his partner. "Are you insane?"
"I'm not gonna let you hurt an unarmed woman!" the other guard insisted. "Doing our job's one thing, but that's not right!"
"Back to your post!" the first one ordered.
His partner did, but reluctantly. "Yes, sir. For now..."
Lena waved at him. "Thanks! But I'm not unarmed. I'm not here to cause any trouble, though."
"Lena!" Biggs called to her. "What are you doing here?"
Her eyes widened. "Biggs! You're hurt!"
"You should be home in Sector 5!" Wedge told her.
"No way!" Lena shook her head as she ran over to us. "Not without you guys. I'm getting you and everyone else outta here! You two are my whole life, and I'm not gonna lose you!"
I looked at her. "I've gotta get back to the pillar, Lena. Can you help Biggs and Wedge while I'm gone?"
"That's why I'm here," she said. "I—"
Just then, a Shinra helicopter flew toward us, and I realized for the first time that Sector 7 was ablaze. The chopper dropped low above the pillar complex and hovered long enough for a squad of grunts and elite grunts to drop to the ground not twenty feet away. I narrowed my eyes and raised my fists as I strode toward them.
"I'm right here with you, Tifa," Lena swore, drawing her gun. "Let's show these Shinra motherfuckers what happens when they try to mess with our town and the people we love."
"Took the words right outta my mouth," I agreed.
There were eight of the drug-crazed shock troopers altogether, and they sprang at us at once. I knocked one away with a high roundhouse kick while Lena filled another with lead. That left six, and while two of them went for us, the rest sprang at the crowd.
I took a scrape to the shoulder as I rushed to intercept them, Lena at my side. There were all manner of innocent people in their path, and it was all Wedge and Biggs could do to keep them from scattering. Fists flying, I darted in between two of the grunts and the young family they were lunging toward. I beat them back with a series of jabs, hooks, and kicks mixed in with the occasional blast of ice from my materia while I dodged their swiping claws and blue energy bolts.
Lena shot down one of the stronger grunts, pumping it with bullets before it could tear apart an old man, but it managed to graze her with a blast from its energy beam before it went down. She grimaced in pain but stayed on her feet, shifting her aim to another grunt and blasting it just as it got close, leaving a burning hole in its chest. Before she could catch a breath, though, another one pounced on her, bearing her to the ground as she shouted in surprise.
"Lena!" I yelled, backhanding the grunt behind me.
She was still holding her gun, and before I could get to her, she was already fighting back, ducking her head from side to side and shooting the grunt again and again as it slashed at her with its claws. It slumped to the dirt a moment later, still twitching but very dead. As I caught up to her, I pulled the grunt off her.
"You okay?" I asked, helping her to her feet.
Lena winced. "I'll be alright, Tifa. Just a few scratches."
I handed her a potion. "More than a few, by the looks of it. So take this, it'll help take the edge off the pain."
"Thanks," she said. "I think that's the last of those guys."
Biggs limped over with Wedge's help. "Lena! You almost gave me a heart attack back there!"
Wedge nodded. "You sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine, Wedge," she told him, drinking the potion. "Now let's see about getting these people to safety."
He kissed her. "Right. Just don't scare me like that again."
"No promises," she winked.
After using the Restore materia to see to the few minor injuries I'd gotten and help Lena a little more with hers, I knew it was time to go. I had to get to Cloud and the others. Knowing Lena and the guys would see to things down here reassured me and gave me hope that we might just beat this thing. I smiled at them.
"Wish me luck, guys," I said. "I'm going back in."
Lena nodded. "Give 'em hell, Tifa!"
I pumped my fist as Biggs waved and Wedge shot me a thumbs up. Then I ran for the pillar, taking the stairs two at a time as soon as I got there. I had a lot of ground to make up, but I moved fast. I just hoped I would catch up to the others in time.
— — — — — — —
I cut through one grunt while Aerith torched another with a blast of fire from her materia, but there were still more everywhere. A whole lot more, jumping and shooting at anything and everything. The town ahead of us was in flames as we raced through the outskirts and fought any of Shinra's drug-crazy troopers we came across.
At first, I didn't understand why Shinra would bother to attack the undercity directly like this. But then I remembered that Jessie was part of Avalanche, and then it made sense. Shinra was punishing both them and the people of the Sector 7 slums for allowing their presence here. It was cruel, brutal, and vindictive—which was exactly Heidegger's style. And I'd have been willing to bet it was also a way for him to get back at Jessie for eluding him for so long.
Aerith led the way into town, spinning her staff and hurling bursts of fire and magical energy at the grunts while I cut and thrust with my sword and let loose with a few spells myself. Some fire, like Aerith, but I also mixed it up with a bit of ice as well—as a SOLDIER, I often took multiple materia with me on missions.
We were just heading down the main street, the buildings burning on either side from the grunts' energy bolts, when the helicopter came back, and this time it unloaded swarms of monodrives before rising up again to hover over the town. Its lights found us for a minute, lingering on Aerith before moving on, but I didn't have time to waste wondering about it with Shinra's forces everywhere and people screaming around us as they tried to escape from the madness.
We saved as many as we could as we made our way through town, urging them to hurry to the pillar plaza and the road leading to Sector 6. The gate to it had still been closed up when we left, and I could only hope that guy Wedge had gotten it open by now. That was the only way out since the train tunnel exit had been destroyed, as far as I knew. But I soon found out there was another.
"Hey!" a man called out to us. "Over here!"
I turned, motioning for Aerith to follow as I saw a bearded guy in a flat, round blue hat and sleeveless black jacket trying to keep a group of grunts from getting to him and the handful of people with him, mostly women and kids and a few older folks. He brandished a sturdy wooden club as he tried to keep their attackers at bay, but I knew it wouldn't be enough. There were just too many.
"Aerith!" I told her.
She nodded. "Right! I see them!"
We rushed in, magic and steel cutting into the grunts in a flurry of sound and motion. They had the guy and the townsfolk he was looking after backed into a corner, but we didn't let up. Aerith struck hard with a barrage of fire spells while I sliced, spun, and slashed and the man in the blue hat whacked any grunts that got near him or the others. It was over in less than a minute.
"Thanks for the help," the guy said. "Name's Wymer. Was trying to get these folks outta here when we got jumped."
I nodded. "Sure. Get 'em to the pillar plaza and the gate."
He shook his head. "No need. There's another way."
"Where?" I asked.
Wymer pointed to a large manhole nearby. "There's a tunnel there that leads underground all the way to Sector 6. I've got what's left of the watch moving people over to it, but that cover's damn heavy. It must've gotten stuck from not being used for so long."
I shouldered my sword. "I'll get it."
While Aerith tended to the others, Wymer and I hurried back onto the street and to the manhole. It looked like just another sewer cover, I thought, which was why I hadn't noticed it before. But then I realized it made sense for the entrance to a hidden passage to be unobtrusive. We each took hold of one side of the cover.
After pulling it off and putting it down, we motioned for the others to head inside. The tunnel wasn't a straight drop but slanted at an angle until it eventually leveled out. Satisfied that everyone would be alright, I straightened up and joined Aerith and Wymer.
"Again, thanks," he said. "Me and rest of the watch'll get as many of our people to safety as we can."
Aerith took his shoulder. "Good luck!"
Then we moved on, trusting Wymer to oversee the evacuation. We reached the center of town only a minute later, and I saw the bar Aerith had talked about. It was one of the biggest buildings around, and so far at least, the flames hadn't reached it yet. But it wouldn't be long. Aerith started to run toward it, but then a sweeper rolled right toward us from around the corner. That chopper must've dropped it off while we were busy fighting the rest of the Shinra forces.
It fired a set of chains from both cannons, instantly catching Aerith and wrapping her up like a fly in a web. I ran, sword drawn, and leaped into the air, coming down onto the sweeper with an overhead chop. As sparks flew and I backflipped away, it loosened its grip on her, and she stumbled a few steps as the chains fell away.
I landed next to her. "You alright?"
"Yeah," she said, quickly drinking an ether to replenish her energy. "I'm just fine, Kunsel. But this thing's in between us and the bar. We've gotta trash it so I can save Marlene."
"Then let's get to it," I said.
While Aerith hung back and pummeled the sweeper with blasts of fire magic, I ran in and hit it with a quick double slash, then followed it up with a shot of ice. The mech shot at me, but I whipped my sword up just in time to block as Aerith hit it with a tempest of magical energy. I kept up my assault while she spun her bladed staff and threw more fire at the sweeper. It shuddered but held.
Bullets grazed my arm as I cut at the mech's legs, but I ignored the pain and continued attacking. As I did, I suddenly felt a soft, cool wind wash over me along with a wave of energy as Aerith held her staff high, and the sting faded almost at once. I nodded my thanks to her before I turned back to the mech and cut at it again.
Then the sweeper lurched and fell onto its side as I severed a leg. It tried to shoot again, but I blocked it as Aerith got out of the way. Then I hit it with another burst of cold while she threw a ray of white energy at it. The magical beam ripped right into the mech while I sliced down across its exposed underside and tore a deep gouge into its internals. It started to tremble and shake, and I dropped my sword, grabbed Aerith, and dove aside just as the sweeper exploded.
After a moment, I helped her up. "Looks like we got it."
Aerith nodded. "Totally! But anyway, just wait out here while I get Marlene, okay? It's probably better if I do it alone."
"Sure," I said. "Go find her."
Her eyes falling for a moment on a Hardy Daytona HD-90 parked next to the bar, Aerith hurried up the steps and across the patio while I picked up my sword and stood watch in the yard. It was quiet for now, but I knew it wouldn't last. My own gaze drifted back to the pillar, high above town, and I hoped Jessie was alright.
— — — — — — —
"Contact!" the helitrooper shouted. "Moving to engage!"
I snarled, hefting Buster. "Outta my way!"
There were three of them waiting for me here on the seventh floor. I'd fought a few others as well as several Shinra troops on the way here after leaving Tifa and Biggs, and I hated the delay. Every battle cost me more time, and Jessie only had so much. With that very much in mind, I charged the helitroopers with a roar, sweeping Buster across in a wide arc while dodging and spinning away from their deadly rotor blades. I cut and slashed like a madman, severing one in two.
As I fought, I kept well away from the railings. One of those Shinra choppers had swept its lights over me while I'd been climbing and had opened fire, and I'd barely been able to dive behind cover upon getting to the fifth floor. Reno's voice had come on over the loudspeaker then, taunting me, and he'd been keeping his chopper close to the stairs ever since, waiting for me to show myself.
I'd gotten up here, chased by bullets and Reno's snide bullshit, and I'd had to fight Shinra's forces almost every step of the way. My grip on Buster's hilt tightening, I hurled a bolt of lightning from my materia at one of the other two helitroopers, catching it in midair and throwing it to the ground, then traded blows with the last one. A rotor blade sliced across my shoulder, but I ignored it as I growled and answered it with a trio of quick cuts followed by a backhand slash.
The helitrooper stiffened, then flew backward as I kicked it away. It slammed into a nearby column and crumpled to the floor in a tangled heap. I was just about to hurry to the next set of stairs when I suddenly saw the other chopper flying nearby, the one from my dream. The one that had exploded onto Jessie, leading to her death. I'd caught glimpses of it flying low over town dropping off grunts, and my eyes widened as it rose upward. For a moment, I couldn't move.
It had begun.
— You're gonna have to make a choice, buddy. And you'll only have a split second to decide. Go one way, and she'll survive. Go the other, and she'll die. Time is everything. And hers is running out. —
The words of that strange kid's voice came back to me in a rush, so fast and so hard I gasped. And as I thought about how much I'd had to fight just to get this far and I looked over at the stairs again, I suddenly realized what the voice meant. If I went that way, I'd never get to her in time. Jessie would die in my arms just like she had in my dreams, and I would lose her forever. She would be gone.
But what other way was there? Six floors still stood in between me and Jessie, and I didn't have enough time to get there on foot to protect her. The chopper was just too fast. The only way I'd possibly be able to catch up would be to grow wings and fly. In a split second that felt like an eternity, my eyes wandered over the area, looking for answers, a way out of this box I was trapped in.
It was at that moment, as I felt fear about to take hold of me again, that I saw it. And I knew. Everything fell into place, and I understood. I knew exactly what I had to do. Shouldering Buster, I ran over to one of the fallen helitroopers and tore off a rotor glove. It was intact, and I put it on over my left hand, grasping the control rod inside. Then I hurried over to the nearest railing, sliding my thumb over the buttons as I went in order to get familiar with them. I'd only have one chance at this, but I knew it would work. It had to work.
Helitroopers used these to get around in midair, and they could fly for short distances. I just hoped it would be enough. Taking a breath, I activated the rotors, rising quickly into the air. Using the rod, I flew out past the railing, then shot up toward the thirteenth floor. The chopper was around the corner, its lights bright as it went up to meet its destiny. And as I flew upward, my fierce gaze and left arm above me, I swore I'd change Jessie's. I was going to save her.
She was there when I got to the thirteenth floor less than a minute later, but so was the chopper. Jessie stood behind one of the columns, a raspberry in her hand, just as I'd seen before. The entire area was full of debris, smoke, and small fires along with the scorched bodies of over a dozen Shinra soldiers. No doubt they'd been the ones I'd seen her fry in my dreams with her grenades.
When I saw Jessie spin out from behind the column, her right arm raised and her expression determined, I twisted my left wrist and hit a button on the control rod inside the glove. The rotors spun loud in my ears as I swooped in, my right arm extended. Jessie started to throw the raspberry, but just as in the dream, the chopper fired at the same time, shooting her in the arm and shoulder again and again. She cried out in pain and stumbled backward just as the grenade went off early, caught by the rapid stream of bullets chewing into her.
As the blast tore apart the front of the chopper and it started to fall, the force of it spun Jessie around and hurled her toward the floor like a rag doll. The burning wreck fell toward her, but right before it would've crushed her, I flew in low, grabbed her, and sped out through the other side of the pillar just as the chopper exploded behind us in a deafening blast of fire, thunder, and smoke.
Jessie clung to me with her good arm. "Cloud...?"
I held her close. "Yeah. Sorry I'm late."
"It's okay," she chuckled. "I'm just glad... you could drop in. I really missed you... you know..."
"Thought about you, too," I admitted.
Jessie smirked. "I'd... kick your ass... for scaring me so bad... but I'm not really... feeling up to it... right now. So I think... I'll just... kiss you instead... if you don't mind..."
The corners of my mouth turned up. "I don't."
"Didn't think so..." she smiled.
As Jessie and I hovered there together for a moment, high over the slums, she slowly lifted her face toward mine. I tilted my own down to meet hers, and my heart slammed into my ribs when I felt the softness of her lips. Jessie was hurt and bleeding, but she was alive. As we kissed in the night sky underneath the plate, I let that wonderful and amazing thought fill my mind again and again.
Jessie was alive.
"Changing Her Fate" by Genielle Alcantara
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