It didn't take very long for us to get ready once we all woke up and got moving. Wedge and Lena were awake too when I joined the others downstairs. Just as she'd told me, Marissa had come in during the night a few times to check on Jessie—I'd heard her replacing the medicine as I had dozed in the chair next to the bed but not slept, and the slow but steady beeping of the monitor had been both reassuring and a difficult reminder of Jessie's wounded condition.
After brushing my lips across her cheek, I had hurried downstairs. The rest of us had a quiet breakfast that Elmyra and Tifa had prepared, but there wasn't much discussion. All of us knew what to do, what was on the line with today's mission. Even Marlene was subdued, sitting as she was on Barret's lap as she ate.
Lena seemed to be feeling a little better, but she still didn't look like she was in good shape as Wedge hovered anxiously nearby. As soon as she'd finished eating—only about half her plate—she put it aside before laying down on the sofa again, her face flushed. But she gave us a weak smile as we got ready to leave.
"Good luck, guys," she said, her head on the pillow.
I walked over and knelt down next to her after shouldering Buster. "Hang in there. We'll get your medicine."
Lena clasped my hand. "Thanks, Cloud."
"Are you gonna save Aerith now?" Marlene asked us.
"That's right, honey," Barret said, gently picking her up. "So I need ya to be a good girl an' mind Wedge an' Miss Elmyra while we're gone. Take good care of Lena an' Jessie for us."
She giggled. "Okay!"
Barret hugged her, then carefully put her down. As soon as her feet touched the floor, Marlene went over to Tifa, who scooped her up and embraced her as well for a moment. Marlene went to me next, walking right over and gazing shyly at me. Although I knew she wasn't afraid of me anymore, I still wasn't quite sure how to approach her. Kids weren't really my strong point.
"Bring Aerith back, okay?" she said.
I nodded. "I will. Look after Jessie for me."
Marlene laughed. "Sure!"
After saying our goodbyes to Wedge, Lena, and Elmyra, we left the house, stepping quietly outside amidst the morning daylight streaming down from in between the seams of the plate. We stood there together for a moment, the four of us—me, Tifa, Barret, and Marissa. And as we did, Marissa pointed at our arms.
"Still wearing your dressings?" she smiled.
Barret grinned. "Damn right. Bleedin' mighta stopped, but we ain't readyta take 'em off jus' yet."
Tifa touched hers. "Not until after the mission."
"Yeah," I agreed. "We keep them on."
We all looked at each other and the red bands of cloth around each of our left elbows. Although she was dying and locked in a coma, Jessie was still with us. And with her help, with what she'd known and shared with Marissa, we'd rescue Aerith and in turn, save her, too. I looked up at the second floor of the house, my eyes reaching the upstairs window. Jessie was inside, clinging to life even as it was slowly fading away from her. We were running out of time.
I turned to the others. "Let's move, people. The clock's ticking, and Jessie's counting on us. So's Aerith."
"I'll meet you topside," Tifa climbed onto the Hardy.
"Right," I tossed her the keys. "Be careful."
She winked. "You too, Cloud."
"See you soon, guys," Marissa added, sliding onto the Gust.
Then she and Tifa drove off, the engines loud in the stillness as the two motorcycles sped up the narrow trail toward town, Tifa in front as Marissa followed behind. After sharing a determined nod with Barret, he and I started up the path ourselves, hurrying along at a brisk trot. It would probably take us about half an hour to get to Wall Market, and I planned to take the collapsed expressway to get there. Whatever thugs and monsters we encountered inside wouldn't be anything we couldn't handle, so that was our best bet.
Barret and I were heading through town a few minutes later along the main road when I suddenly heard a familiar voice calling to me. As I looked to my left, I saw a sandy-haired boy standing in front of an old wooden fence with some kind of lot behind it.
"Oates?" I blinked.
He nodded. "Yeah. Thought that was you, Cloud. Glad you're okay, what with the plate coming down."
I went over to him. "It was pretty close."
"I'll bet!" he agreed. "So where's Aerith? I thought she'd still be with you. She's okay, isn't she?"
Aerith had introduced me to Oates yesterday afternoon on the way to her house. He looked to be about eleven or twelve, with a wary glint in his eye. He didn't trust most adults, from what Aerith had told me. I wasn't surprised she was an exception to that, though. She did seem to have a way with people.
I sighed. "Long story. Shinra's got her, but we're getting her back. In fact, we're on our way now."
"I knew those suits were trouble," Oates muttered.
"You mean the Turks?" I asked.
He shrugged. "That's what they're called? Well, yeah. I'd always see them in town now and then. They really stand out, you know. If you're as strong as she says, though, you'll save her."
"Count on it," I told him.
"Hey, Oates!" a girl came running up. "There you are!"
He looked at her. "What's up, Maddy?"
I stared, recognizing the name. The girl was about the same age as Oates, with black hair tied in a ponytail and a pair of glasses resting on her face. Maddy was the girl Jessie had saved two years ago from a hell house, the one that had almost killed her, and I realized she was part of the reason why Jessie still had a slim chance to survive. I wouldn't have found out that Aerith could heal someone who was so close to death if Maddy's rescue had never happened.
"Ms. Folia's looking for you," she told Oates. "She wants you to help set up the benches outside the Leaf House for our reading and art stuff. Don't worry, I'll give you a hand."
I walked over to her. "You're Jessie's friend, right?"
She blinked. "We both are, me and Oates. She used to live here and played with us when she wasn't fixing stuff."
"Jessie was the best at Whack-A-Box!" Oates added.
"Is Jessie your friend, too?" Maddy asked me.
I nodded. "Yeah. She's at Aerith's house now. And she's hurt."
"Oh, no!" she gasped. "Will she be okay?"
My gaze never wavered. "I'll see to it. But in the meantime, Elmyra might need help looking after her—fetching supplies, gathering herbs, things like that. Think you can handle it?"
Maddy put her hands on her hips. "Of course! Jessie saved my life a couple years ago. I'd be glad to help!"
"There's nothing in this town we can't find," Oates added.
"Good," I told them. "Head over to Aerith's house and see what you can do. Elmyra'll tell you what she needs."
Maddy grinned. "You got it!"
"The rest of the gang'll help, too," Oates promised.
"Alright," I said. "Get to it."
They ran off, hurrying down the road together, probably gathering their friends on the way to Aerith's house. Knowing Maddy, Oates, and the other kids were on the job was oddly reassuring. Didn't know why, but it was. I just knew they'd do all they could to help. Barret chuckled softly to himself as I walked past him.
"Now ain't that a sight," he smirked, falling in alongside me. "Guess you got a way with kids after all, merc."
I shrugged. "Not really."
Barret snorted. "Hah! Coulda fooled me."
"Let's just get to Wall Market," I said. "No telling how long it'll take us to find a way up to the plate."
"I hear ya," he agreed.
We hurried out of town, following the road into the outskirts a few minutes later. Some wererats and hedgehog pies tried to get in our way out here, but we took them out quickly and easily, our weapons leaving them in pieces in the dirt. After going around the scrapyard to pass the trench I had dumped the Shinra motorcycle troops in last night, Barret and I moved on, taking the short path toward the collapsed highway. It wasn't long before the entrance came into view.
"Here we go," Barret muttered.
— — — — — — —
Marissa and I sped onto the tracks and into the Corkscrew Tunnel, ignoring the startled shouts of the attendant, and soon we were racing upward, the red lights on the walls a blur as we kept driving. With luck, we'd get to the top without Shinra giving us any trouble. But if they did, I was more than ready. I still had my Ice materia, two of the ethers that Cloud, Aerith, and I had picked up in the Train Graveyard, and plenty of energy after last night's rest.
"Which exit when we get topside?" I asked.
"Sector 4," Marissa answered, pulling the Gust up alongside me. "It shouldn't be as closely watched as the Sector 8 station—it's not as busy, and there aren't usually as many guards."
I nodded. "Sector 4 it is, then. Stay close, Marissa. I've got a feeling Shinra isn't gonna make this easy."
"Right by your side, Tifa!" she said.
We passed through an ID scan barely two minutes later, and it was only seconds after that when a pair of Shinra attack drones swooped in ahead of us from around the curve in the tunnel. Sizzling blue bursts of electricity sparked toward us, but we were ready, pulling our bikes one way and then another to dodge the attacks.
Lifting my arm, I blew apart one of the drones with a quick shot of ice from my materia while Marissa just barely avoided getting shocked by the second one. I took it out a moment later, shattering it in a chilly shower of frost-encrusted pieces.
We weren't out of danger yet, though. Marissa and I had barely had a chance to breathe before two Shinra soldiers on motorcycles drove in behind us from one of the lower exit tunnels branching off to the side. Marissa shrieked as the sound of gunfire suddenly split the air, but she kept driving and didn't falter, ducking her head when a few of the shots got close. My eyes narrowing, I quickly hit the brakes, and the soldiers sped past me, shouting in surprise.
Then I gunned the engine, shooting down the tracks and using the Hardy's boosters to catch up. I struck one of the soldiers with a blast of cold, sending him flying off his bike, and then pulled up alongside the other one while Marissa drove ahead of us. The solder tried to aim his gun at me, but I rammed him with the Hardy, and he dropped it. Then I finished him off with a backhand punch to the face. He tumbled from his motorcycle with a shout as it crashed.
"You okay?" I called to Marissa as I joined her.
She gave me a thumbs up. "Yeah! That's one way to get your blood pumping, isn't it?"
I laughed. "You got that right!"
"We're about halfway to the plate now," Marissa said. "Another ten minutes and we'll be there."
"Better stay alert, though," I told her.
She nodded. "Right! Shinra won't give up easily."
Then I glanced over my shoulder. "Speak of the devil... we've got a lot more company on the way!"
Two more soldiers on motorcycles were closing in behind us along with another pair of attack drones. I wondered for a moment why we'd encountered so much resistance, but then I understood that Shinra was probably on the lookout for us—we'd already known security would be tight in here, and Heidegger probably suspected that we'd escaped from the plate collapse. Or he was just covering all his bases. But either way, we weren't going to let him stop us.
The drones flew ahead of us, firing bolts of electricity at us as they passed. Marissa managed to swerve out of the way, but one of the blasts hit too close to me, and the Hardy suddenly lurched with the impact. It held together, though, shuddering a bit as I got it under control. Then I threw a frigid burst of ice into one of the drones. It froze and exploded, flying apart a haze of sparks and smoke.
By then, the Shinra soldiers had caught up to us, and they sped out in front us and started dropping grenades in our path. But we managed to avoid the blasts, pulling right and left as the other drone unleashed a sizzling bolt of electricity. As I dodged it, I saw Marissa quickly pull out a handgun and start firing. She missed at first, as inexperienced as she was, but her third and fourth shots found the mark, striking the drone dead on and quickly blowing it apart.
"Good shot!" I told her.
She smirked. "Thanks! Lena let me borrow her gun. Said it was her way of helping out with the mission."
I chuckled. "Remind me to give her a hug later."
"Will do!" Marissa grinned. "Now let's take these guys out!"
"Ready when you are!" I agreed.
We sped up, dodging more explosions as the Shinra soldiers tossed two more grenades back at us. As I caught up to one of the soldiers and rammed his bike, Marissa opened fire at the other one, shooting as she drove. She missed at first, but she didn't give up, and a second later, the bullets caught the grenade he was about to throw.
It exploded at once, abruptly cutting off the soldier's startled shout and turning both him and his motorcycle into a twisted, flaming wreck that Marissa easily avoided crashing into. At the same time, I slammed the Hardy into other soldier's bike again, throwing him off balance just as he tried to shoot me. Before he could recover, I hurled a blast of cold at the bike's engine, freezing it instantly and sending the soldier and his bike spinning wildly out of control until they collided with the nearest wall in a loud, thunderous explosion.
"Wow! That got him!" Marissa cheered.
"Sure did!" I said. "Looks like we're in the clear."
She pulled up alongside me. "Yeah. We're almost to the station. It'll be coming up on the right in a minute or two."
"Copy that!" I confirmed.
We drove on, exiting the tunnel and speeding out into a trench set in between two narrow streets, with rows of houses on either side. The tracks continued to curve around ahead of us, and as we arrived at the Sector 4 station only a minute or so later and drove out onto the road, I thought of Cloud and Barret and hoped it wouldn't take long for them to find a way up here to the plate. We only had so much time before we lost Jessie. And I wasn't going to let that happen. Revving the engine, I followed Marissa to the Shinra Building.
— — — — — — —
"Well, here we are," Barret grunted.
I nodded. "Wall Market."
We stood in front of the gate for a moment, looking at the bustling town. Getting here hadn't been a problem—we'd run into a few groups of monsters back in the collapsed expressway but had made short work of them. And after returning to Evergreen Park, we'd stopped to take a short break for a few minutes before moving on. Barret had talked to a few of the people there and on the nearby path along the way, offering a few words of encouragement as we went.
He glanced at me. "So how do we get upta the plate?"
"Not sure," I admitted. "But I've got a pretty good idea about where to start looking. So let's move."
If anyone in Wall Market would know how to get topside, it would be one of the Trio. I hadn't seen Sam out by his chocobo stables on the edge of town—he was probably busy working—so with a resigned sigh, I decided our best bet would have to be the Honeybee Inn and Andrea. He'd have the information we needed.
I led Barret through the maze of streets until we reached the gaudy place. It was quieter and not as busy now that it was day, and the young receptionist in the yellow suit looked up as we approached the counter. He blinked as he suddenly realized who I was.
"Oh, it's you, Mr. Cloud," he said. "Or should I call you—"
I frowned. "Not a word! Just take us to Andrea."
He nodded. "Yes, sir. He's been expecting you. If you'll follow me, I will bring you to him."
With that, the receptionist led us to the stairs, and we followed him to a long hallway on the second floor, the same one he'd led Aerith and I into when we'd been here last night. At least this time, I was out of the dress and feeling like myself. I still couldn't believe Aerith had actually reserved a room for Jessie and I here, though.
"You a bit outta sorts, ain'tcha?" Barret quipped.
I grimaced as we followed the receptionist down the hall. "Nothing you need to worry about."
We reached Andrea's office at the far end a moment later, and after the receptionist had left, we stepped inside. Andrea was waiting for us, still wearing that weird black and purple outfit with the high collar and weblike pattern across the chest and arms. He bowed gracefully before motioning for us to have a seat in the cushioned chairs.
"You knew we were coming?" I asked.
"Indeed," he said, sitting down as we did the same. "Know that the Trio has eyes all over Wall Market. As soon as I found out that you had returned, Cloud, I knew you would seek me out."
I gazed intently at him. "We need to get to the plate. Fast."
Andrea leaned forward. "With the trains no longer running, there is no way to do that. Or so most people think."
"Whaddya mean?" Barret asked.
"There is one possibility," Andrea told us. "It will be dangerous, but if anyone can succeed, it will be the two of you. Go to the weapon shop and speak with Marcus—I believe you know him, Cloud—and tell him I sent you. He will have what you need."
I didn't get it. "For what?"
He went on. "To climb the ruins. It's the only way."
Barret and I looked at each other. It was obvious, of course. And it was the last thing Shinra would expect. Not the easiest path to take, but we'd manage. Whatever Marcus had for us would help us get there, so I knew our next step. But before we left, there was one other thing I had to do. He'd been her friend, after all.
I turned back to Andrea. "I see what you're getting at. And we'll do it. But first, thanks. For sending Jules and his men to Sector 7. I think I know why you did it. We found her, Andrea."
"Is she alright?" he asked, his eyes lighting up.
"Jessie's stable for now," I told him. "But unless we can save Aerith, she'll die. She was badly hurt in the collapse."
Andrea stood up. "I see. Then you need to hurry."
"We won't lose her," I promised as Barret and I joined him. "It's not gonna be the end for Firebrand."
"Ah, so you've discovered her secret," he smiled.
I nodded. "Yeah. We'll keep it safe. She's our friend, too."
Andrea bowed again. "Then she is in good hands. Go now, Cloud. We've no time to waste. None at all."
Barret and I did exactly that, hurrying to the door and heading out into the hall. We left the Honeybee Inn after that and quickly made our way toward the weapon shop. I wasn't too sure how Marcus could help us, but I knew Andrea wouldn't have sent us to him if he couldn't. And it wasn't like we had much of a choice.
"So who is this guy?" Barret wondered.
"Marcus?" I replied, lowering my voice as we walked. "He's the one Jessie and I bought the C4 from. For Reactor 1."
He nodded. "Ah, I get ya. Wonder how they met..."
"Dunno," I shrugged. "She never told me. Jessie'd had some contact with him before the meeting but had never told him her name. He only knows her as J. Marcus didn't even realize Jessie was a girl until we met him that night to buy the explosives."
"Can't blame her for bein' cautious," Barret said. "She wasn't exactly shoppin' for groceries, after all. An' if she'd gotten caught, them Shinra bastards woulda killed her. Or Corneo woulda, considerin' this was his town. Jessie really put herself on the line for us."
I glanced at him. "Heard you gave her a hard time."
"Goddamn understatement," he sighed. "I grilled her ass 'cause she was in Shinra. Tifa told me to back down, but I didn't wanna listen. All I could see was that Jessie'd kept it from me."
"Can you blame her?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Nah, not anymore, Cloud. I was a dumbass to think she'd ever wanna hurt us."
"I could've told you that," I pointed out.
Barret laughed. "Yeah, but you'd have enjoyed it too much."
I shrugged. "Probably."
We reached the weapon shop a minute or two later. When we went inside, Marcus was busy in his enclosed work area off to the left just as I'd thought he'd be. I had stopped in here for a minute yesterday, and he was the one who'd first told me Corneo'd been searching for Avalanche. He looked up when I tapped the bell on the counter.
"Cloud, good to see ya," Marcus waved, walking over to us. "Heard the plate come down last night. Goddamn terrible, I tell ya. I... I hope J wasn't in Sector 7 when that happened."
I sighed. "She was, Marcus. That's why we're here."
He swore, shaking his head. "Shit... she really was a nice girl. Lotta spirit. Reminded me of my niece."
"She's not dead," I told him. "But she will be soon if we can't get up to the plate and rescue a friend of ours from the Shinra Building. She'll help J if we can get her back in time."'
"So what can I do for ya?" Marcus asked.
I went on. "Andrea sent us. He said you have something we can use to climb up the ruins and get topside."
He nodded. "That I do. Just a minute."
Marcus went to one of the shelves of different parts and equipment lining his work area, took a faded dark gray bag with drawstrings, and brought it over to the counter. Then he opened it and pulled out a pair of large, black metal devices fitted with cables, hooks, and a trigger. As I looked at them, I realized what they were.
"Grappling guns," I noted.
"Exactly," Marcus agreed. "Just aim and shoot. You can use these to pull yourselves up through the ruins. Footing's not gonna be good in a lotta places, so be sure to watch your step."
Barret picked one up. "Thanks. Anythin' else?"
Marcus scratched his brown beard. "There's a wall at the end of the road by Don Corneo's mansion. That'll be your best place to start. Oh, and before I forget, take these, too."
He reached under the counter and brought out two objects I wasn't sure what to make of at first. They were blocky, with leads on one end, and looked to have been recently salvaged. With the huge pile of debris he kept outside, I wasn't surprised.
"Batteries?" I wondered.
Marcus nodded. "Yeah. Found 'em this morning and finally got 'em fixed. Should come in handy up there."
I blinked. "What do we need them for?"
"Clearin' a path," he answered. "You'll see, don't worry."
"Alright, thanks," I said.
After taking both the batteries and the grappling guns, Barret and I left the weapon shop and headed further up the street. As we got close to Corneo's mansion, I saw a narrow road leading away to the right just on this side of the bridge. We followed it and found ourselves at a dead end only a minute later, a high concrete wall in front of us. Above it lay the shattered ruins of the Sector 7 plate.
As we slowly brought our gaze back down from that horrible sight and returned it to the wall, we noticed that somebody had sprayed the word "Avalanche" across it in huge red letters. A thick wire, frayed and sparking in places but still intact, hung down from the wreckage all the way to the ground, and a little girl sat nearby.
"Guess we got supporters here, too," Barret chuckled, gazing at the spray-painted logo. "Every lil' bit helps."
I looked at the wire. "Think we can climb this?"
The little girl nodded. "Yeah. It leads to the upper city. Well, to the top of the wall, anyway."
"Not gonna be an easy trip..." I sighed.
"Oh, we can do this, SOLDIER boy," Barret insisted. "There's a way. Whaddya think that is?"
I shrugged. "It's a wire."
"More like a shiny golden threada hope!" he shot back.
"Corny as hell, but you've got a point," I admitted. "That wire's our only chance to save Aerith and Jessie."
Barret pounded his chest. "Damn right it is!"
The climb was at least fifty feet straight up, too far for us to use our grappling guns. And we had nothing to catch us if we fell. But the girls were depending on us. Tifa and Marissa, too—they'd probably already reached the plate by now and were waiting for us. I figured we could be topside in under an hour if all went well. And then the real plan would begin. But the first step was to get there.
Grabbing hold of the wire, I started to climb.