"Lydia?" Wedge blinked. "What're you doing here?"
Seemed he'd only just noticed she was with us. We were still in the tunnel, the stink of the sewers hanging in the air all around us as Lydia and I stood up. She ran a hand shyly through her wet, dripping hair as everyone looked curiously at her.
"Um..." she swallowed, a little overwhelmed.
I smiled encouragingly. "It's okay. Why'd you follow us?"
"My mom," Lydia replied. "If it was yours that was locked up down here, could you have stayed behind?"
I laid a hand on her shoulder. "No. Not a chance."
She nodded. "Neither could I. And, um... I also wanted to see you in action. Even help if I could. But I guess I was the one who needed to be saved. Some hero I turned out to be."
"Hey, now, don't be putting yourself down," I told her. "Took a lotta guts to follow us in here, you know. And you did help, Lydia. Kept that sahagin from skewering me, remember?"
"I... I did?" Lydia stared.
I winked at her as we all got moving. "Oh, you bet! I've been on the pointy end of those things before, and it wasn't fun, believe me. So I'm really grateful to ya for sparing me an encore."
She grinned. "Thanks! I'm so glad I could help you!"
"Your dad know you're here?" Biggs asked.
"No, he thinks I'm visiting with a friend," Lydia said as we came to another room, smaller than the last one. "I'll be in for an earful when I get home, though. But if Mom's with me, I won't mind."
"She will be," I promised.
I motioned to the others, and we stopped to rest for a few minutes, needing the break after the intense battle we'd just fought. And I'd also noticed that Lydia was still shivering a bit, her skin and clothes soaked from when she'd been thrown into the water. I wasn't sure what I could do for her at first, but then I saw a small pile of debris in one corner. A bunch of old, discarded junk that had been left there, probably by a few maintenance workers who hadn't wanted to bring it back to the surface with them. It wasn't much, but it would do.
Drawing one of my blaze talons, I concentrated on the Fire materia and directed the magic toward the junk pile. Only seconds later, flames burst up from it in a searing pillar of fire that rose up all the way to the ceiling for a moment before subsiding into a smaller blaze. Lydia stood near it with her arms stretched out in front of her while the heat slowly dried her off and began warming her up.
"Better?" I asked, joining her.
"Much," she said, smiling gratefully at me. "Didn't know you could use materia outside a fight like that."
I holstered my blade. "Yeah, sometimes you can. Believe it or not, I didn't know much about it myself until recently. But Cloud and Kunsel have taught me a lot. Just takes practice."
Kunsel glanced at Kotch and Scotch, who were leaning against one wall. "How much farther 'till we get to the cells?"
"Almost there," Kotch said. "Just a few more turns."
Scotch nodded. "Yeah. Big room with a row of locked doors along one side. Those are the cells. A few other tunnels lead out of it, and the boss' second bedroom is on the far end."
Biggs frowned. "Just remember you're with us."
"We ain't forgotten," Kotch said. "Got us outta that dungeon, so we owe ya for that. Got no future with the Don, anyway. Not after what he let those Shinra assholes do to us back there."
"Left us high and dry to save his own skin," Scotch added.
Lydia glared at them. "You deserved it."
Kotch looked away and sighed while Scotch shifted uncomfortably, unable to meet her cold gaze. And I knew exactly why. As Corneo's top men, they'd been responsible for taking her mom away, whether or not they'd actually done it themselves. They'd overseen the rest of the gang and had passed along Corneo's orders.
Lydia didn't let up. "Well? Was she good? How'd it feel, you sons of bitches!? What was it like!? Did you listen while your boss had his way with my mom!? Bet it turned you on, didn't it!?"
"Lydia..." Wedge blinked.
I shook my head. "Let her be, Wedge. She needs this."
Turning away from the fire, Lydia stalked up to Kotch and Scotch. "She's been gone for six years! You assholes tore her away from me! She may have been nothing but a toy to you, but she was everything to me! You ruined my life! And now you wanna help!?"
"We..." Kotch started.
"If Cloud and the others hadn't come here and confronted Corneo, you'd have taken me next!" she went on, her dark eyes blazing. "I know it! I saw your lackeys outside my dad's shop back before Cloud showed up. I bet they told you all about me, didn't they!?"
Scotch grimaced. "Uh, well... yeah..."
Lydia punched him in the stomach. "And you'd have been happy to deliver me to your boss without a second thought! Just another sex toy for the Don, right!? That's what you think women are, isn't it!? Like me and my mom!? You don't care about us or the other girls trapped down here! You're just trying to save your own skin!"
"Listen, I—" Kotch tried to say.
"Shut up!" she snarled, driving her knee into his crotch. "Don't try to make me believe you two suddenly grew a conscience! I get why my friends brought you here—sometimes you gotta work with trash to get the job done. But I can't forget what you did!"
Absorbed in her rage, Lydia launched herself at Kotch and Scotch, fists and feet flying, and while they both towered over her and could've easily stopped her, they didn't. They just let her pummel them without any show of resistance. She wasn't much of a fighter, but her anger had given her strength, and she used every last bit of it. She hit, kicked, and shoved each of them again and again, going from one to the other and back over and over. Her voice was just a furious, pained growl as angry tears slid down her cheeks one after another.
The others just watched it all unfold, and while most of them were too stunned and confused by it all to know what to do or if they should try to stop her, Kunsel and Leslie understood. Kunsel because he knew me better than anyone else here and saw in Lydia what I'd already seen myself. That in some ways, she wasn't so different from me, hiding the pain behind a chirpy, upbeat personality and a winning smile. And like me, she hadn't been able to keep it bottled up forever. And as for Leslie, he was searching for someone, too. So he knew.
As Lydia continued her beatdown, the others looked questioningly at me, and I lifted a hand to tell them to wait. As I'd told Wedge before, Lydia needed this chance to pour out six years' worth of hurt and loss, especially with what was still ahead of us. I didn't doubt we were in for another fight. She needed to be calm and clearheaded going into it, not distracted by her desire to get back at Kotch and Scotch for what they'd done to her, no matter how justified it was.
After giving her a moment to vent her rage, I lowered my arm and nodded to Kunsel. Then we both took hold of Lydia, gently but firmly, and pulled her off Kotch and Scotch. She collapsed in my arms, crying bitterly, sad and angry all at once, and I just held her, understanding all too well what she was going through. I still missed my own mom. And although I wished I could have her back, I knew it wasn't possible. But Lydia could still have hers. I was gonna see to it.
When she had finally worn herself out, she sighed and let go of me. I smiled encouragingly, and she managed a weak one in return. It was a start, at least, and it was good to see. Then she turned to the others and ran a hand awkwardly through her short brown hair, her cheeks going a little pink as the reality of what she'd just done finally hit her. A small, sheepish grin slowly spread across her face.
"Um, sorry about that, guys..." Lydia said. "I guess I just kinda lost it for bit when I saw those two bozos."
"Ah, don't sweat it, kid," Biggs assured her.
Lena didn't say anything, not in words. Instead, she went over and gave Lydia a tight hug, telling her through what she did how much she understood. And I thought she really did, considering everything she'd gone through herself. Not at Corneo's hands, but she'd been a victim of the Vice gang, who'd been predators of the same kind. When she let go, Wedge gave Lydia a little thumbs up. Leslie was quiet, but he did tilt his head toward her for a moment in a slight nod.
Kunsel patted her on the shoulder. "You did just fine, Lydia. Think you're ready to go? We'd better get moving."
"Yeah," she nodded, wiping her face. "Thanks, Kunsel."
Scotch dabbed at his bloody lip with a cloth. "Before we do, there's somethin' you guys oughta know. You see, uh... Abzu's got a mate. The boss called her Abzeth. She's what's guarding those women down here. And like with Abzu, the Don would sometimes feed some of 'em to her if he got tired of 'em. Which he often did."
My eyes narrowed. "How?"
"No traps," Kotch said, rubbing his arm. "He'd just march 'em right out to her nest, which ain't very far from the cells. It's on the other side of that big room we told ya about earlier."
"Was my mom one of them?" Lydia demanded.
He sighed. "Dunno. I wish I did..."
"Let's find out," I growled, loosening my weapons in their holsters. "We came down here to do a job, everyone. Those women in there are counting us. Lydia, stay close to me."
She nodded. "Right with you, Firebrand."
I looked at her intently. "I mean it this time. Don't go trying to play the hero again, understand? You're not used to being in battle like most of us are, and I don't want you getting hurt or worse. So find a safe spot when the fighting starts and let us handle it."
"I will," Lydia promised.
"Something I need to tell you first before we go any further," Leslie said. "I didn't just come down here to find someone. Though that's part of it. But also revenge. Only way I can move on."
I thought I understood. "Corneo took her from you."
He nodded and took a gold and silver heart-shaped pendant out of his jacket. "Six months ago. Picked her as one of his brides. My fiancée. She vanished without a trace the next day. But before she did, she gave this back to me. Salt on the wound. I'd known Corneo'd had his eye on her for years, but I couldn't stop him."
"That's why you helped me when I was here before," I realized. "It's the reason you did your part to help Tifa, too."
"I couldn't let it happen again," he sighed. "I know I need to let go, but I can't. I need closure... so if I see the Don, I'm gonna kill him. But I'll still do what I can to help you, too."
I knew he would. "Fair enough. Time to go, guys."
We all got moving then, Lydia sticking close to my side as I led the others into the next tunnel. Kotch was just behind us, pointing the way forward with Scotch near him. Kunsel was next, and Biggs brought up the rear with the others in between. The tunnel was narrow and damp as it twisted and turned through the sewers, and before we knew it, we found ourselves in another large room.
Just as Scotch had said, there was a row of locked doors along the right side, with another door at the end that had Don Corneo's dragon emblem on it. That must've been his secret hideaway. The high ceiling was dripping with moisture, and off to our left, three other tunnels led out of the room from across a wide trench. A broad walkway stretched over it, at least twenty feet across and supported from underneath by a pair of thick metal grates, and a stream of murky water flowed through them, way too shallow to hide any sahagins.
The two outer tunnels on the far side looked about the same as the one we had come in from, but it was the middle on that concerned me. It was much bigger than the rest, more than enough for something like Abzeth to come storming through, and I figured it must've led right to her den. There was a short, rusted metal post embedded in the floor in front of it with a thick chain attached to the top.
Lydia and I both skidded to an abrupt halt when we saw what—or, rather, who—it was holding in place. A woman in her early forties, her hair dark brown like Lydia's but a lot longer. She was tugging frantically at her ankle, where the other end of the chain was fixed to a manacle. I felt my blood boil when I realize why. Corneo had set her out there for Abzeth as a snack. But where was he?
"Mom!" Lydia called, sprinting toward her.
I raced after her, alarmed as I suddenly understood what was going on. "No, Lydia! Wait! Slow down! It's a trap!"
But she wasn't listening, intent as she was on the sight of her mom trapped right there in front of the monster's den. The woman's eyes, so much like Lydia's, widened when she saw her coming. I wasn't very far behind them, but I was still a few seconds too late. Just as Lydia made it across the walkway to where her mom was, Corneo slithered out from the tunnel leading to Abzeth's lair. He grabbed her from behind before she even knew what was happening.
"Oh, aren't you a pretty little thing?" he cackled. "Been waiting for ya. And here you are, right on time!"
Lydia struggled but couldn't get away. "Let me go!"
Corneo held her firmly against him with his left arm as he pressed a gun against her temple with his other hand. I froze in midstep, not at all surprised to see him and not daring to draw my weapons for fear he might hurt Lydia. The others stopped just behind me, all except Leslie, who drew his own gun and pointed it at Corneo.
"End of the line, asshole," he said.
Corneo sneered. "Are you gonna shoot me, Leslie? I wouldn't try it if I were you. Unless you want this girl's brains all over that nice leather jacket of yours. So what'll it be, hmm?"
Leslie slowly lowered his gun and sighed. "Shit..."
"That's right," Corneo went on. "I heard my little Avalanche kittens left town recently, but I see you've brought me replacements, including a few nice hotties. Good job, boy!"
I glared at him. "Enough! Let the girl go!"
His eyes widened when he recognized me. "F-Firebrand!?"
"In the flesh," I growled. "My friends told you I'd be back. And I've got more of those special grenades."
As I patted my belt pouch, Corneo gulped, sweat covering his skin. Lydia gazed helplessly at me, too scared to move, and her mom looked desperately from her to me and the others. Corneo hesitated, no doubt remembering our last encounter and how badly things had turned out for him that night. And they would again.
"Been a long time, Janie," he grinned, his confidence returning. His eyes roamed hungrily over me. "And I love the new look! You're sexier than ever, baby! How 'bout changing your mind and coming with me? I'll make it worth your while, you'll see."
My eyes narrowed. "Not interested. And not my real name."
"I'll go with you, Don," Lydia's mom pleaded. "Just let my daughter go. I won't fight you this time. Please!"
"No, Mom! Don't!" Lydia shook her head.
Corneo leered at her. "Sorry, kitten. You had your chance. Now it's your little girl's turn. I've gotta leave town myself, and she'll make a fine treat for the road. As for you, Sarah, Abzeth'll be here pretty soon now, and she's gonna be hungry. She always is."
My blood boiled. "Bastard! I won't let you do it!"
Then I had an idea. But I had to be careful and not let him suspect I was up to anything. And that meant keeping him talking so he'd think he was still in control. I slid my eyes over to Kunsel, who stood next to me, and moved my left hand a little, turning it slightly to make sure he saw the switch on the back. His gaze went right to it, then met mine. It was all the confirmation I needed.
That done, he turned Corneo. "How'd you know we were coming? It's awfully convenient who you picked to feed Abzeth today. And not a coincidence that her daughter joined us."
"Very smart," Corneo nodded. "I may be stuck down here, but I've still got ears topside, you might say. So I made sure to be ready for you. Spilling the beans to those three escape artists was a big mistake. Now I'm on Shinra's shit list! The plate stunt was supposed to be this terrible tragedy claiming countless innocent lives... but those bad little kittens ruined it by organizing an evacuation."
"Glad to disappoint ya, shit for brains!" Lena smirked.
He blinked. "Eh? So you were part of that? You know, you ain't too bad, actually. If my hands weren't already full, I'd take you instead. Still, I've had my eye on this little minx for a long time."
Biggs took a step forward. "You ain't leavin' here alive."
"Oh, I think I am," Corneo countered, taking a step back. "And I'm gonna let you all in on a little secret."
"What, that you're an asshole?" Lena snapped.
He snickered. "Hah! I just love it when you talk like that, baby! But anyway, Shinra's gonna abandon Midgar. And build something close to paradise. I was even invited to be a part of it—as the Don of a new and improved Wall Market. But now, thanks to you and your friends, I'll be lucky if I can survive another week."
I moved my right hand toward my left, low and slowly so as not to draw his attention. "Don't count on it."
"You can't win this one, Firebrand," he sneered.
Kotch strode forward. "Good to see you, boss. Looking well."
Scotch joined him. "Knew you'd be here."
"Looks like you boys made it right on time," Corneo cackled when he saw them. "We'll skip town together and start up someplace new far away from here. It'll be just like the old days!"
"Sounds good to me," Scotch said, standing on his left.
Kotch moved to Corneo's right. "Me too."
"I knew it!" Lydia snarled, struggling within Corneo's grip. "I knew you'd turn on us, you goddamn sons of bitches!"
"They just know where their loyalties are," he cackled.
I frowned, not surprised at what they'd done, but something felt off about it. As Kotch moved a little closer to Corneo, he met my gaze and gave me a little wink. And then I knew. My right hand drifted closer to my left, and I tensed, getting ready to move.
Kotch looked at Corneo. "Yeah, about that..."
"What? You still sore that I left ya behind?" he grunted.
"Hung us out to dry, man," Scotch said.
Before Corneo knew it, Kotch grabbed one arm while Scotch took the other. And at the same time, I tapped my left glove switch, and the orange grid rippled to life around me for a moment before fading away along with me. Invisible now, I rushed toward Corneo, whose eyes had gone wide when he'd seen me disappear and now darted about around him as he fought to keep his grip on Lydia. Kotch managed to yank his arm back, the one with the gun, as Scotch quickly pulled the other one away just enough for Lydia to move.
"Run!" Kotch told her.
She yelled, elbowed Corneo hard right in the gut, and did just that, speeding toward her mom and the others. He groaned but managed to finally disentangle himself from Kotch and Scotch a moment later, still holding the gun, and backed away toward one of the other tunnels. But I'd figured he'd try that and was already in position as he turned on his former cronies while still searching for me.
He waved his gun at everyone. "I guess it's time for me to be going. But first, pop quiz! Villains like me only divulge our nefarious plans in one special situation. What would that be?"
"We're not playing your games anymore!" Lydia snarled, tugging at her mom's chain. "You've hurt so many people, shattered so many lives! Including mine. And now you're gonna pay up!"
"Oh, I don't think so, kitten," Corneo snickered. Then he looked at Kotch and Scotch. "As for you two, I guess this is where we call it quits. You can join Abzeth for dinner. Don out!"
He started toward the tunnel, cackling all the while, but stopped as soon as he turned around, stumbling back a few steps when I suddenly reappeared right in his path a moment later, blaze talons held firmly in hand. I lit them at once, and as the bright orange energy blades quickly hissed to life, Corneo's eyes about bulged outta their sockets and he let out a soft, terrified little whimper.
"Going somewhere, asshole?" I smirked.
He swallowed nervously, then suddenly grinned as a tremor shook the whole area. We all looked around as it happened again just seconds later, and then again after that. Footsteps, heavy ones, coming from the large central tunnel. Looked like Abzeth was about to show up. Corneo cocked the trigger of his gun.
"Abzeth!" he shouted. "That's a good little monster! Right on time, as always. Feel free to play with your food."
"Quit bullshitting us!" I told him.
He laughed. "Oh, but it doesn't count if it's true."
Wedge grimaced. "Uh, oh. Sounds big."
"That she is, boy!" Corneo laughed, his gun pointed at me. "It's just like with spiders, you see. The female's bigger and way badder than the male. Even eats him once she's had her young."
Lydia wasn't fazed. "She's still screwed! Firebrand and my friends'll take her down. And you along with her!"
Her mom glared at him. "You're finished, Don."
"Not today!" Corneo sneered. "You shouldn't have been such a bad little kitten, Sarah. All those failed escape attempts. Now look where it's got you. Food for Abzeth. And just to be sure you don't get away again, I've got a little going-away present for ya."
Before I could stop him, he suddenly shifted his aim and fired. The gunshot echoed loudly through the room just as I closed in, but I froze at the sound and could only watch in horror as Lydia cried out in pain and crumpled into her mom's arms as the bullet tore through her body. She'd caught on to what Corneo had intended just a split second before I'd realized it myself and had thrown herself into the line of fire to save her mom. Sarah cradled her and sobbed.
"Lydia!" she and I yelled.
Her left shoulder was red with blood, but she was alive and awake, though she was definitely in pain, wincing with every breath. Fury was all I knew at that moment, but by the time I whirled on Corneo, he was already darting toward his escape tunnel. I was badly tempted to follow him and see how far up his ass I could shove both my blades, but Lydia needed me. As much as I hated it, payback would have to wait. But as I raced back to her, my heart pounding with worry and rage, I swore he'd get it sooner or later. Guaranteed.
I got back to Sarah and Lydia a moment later. "Sarah, back up and hold still. Stretch out the chain, far as you can."
"My daughter..." she cried.
"She'll be alright," I promised. "I'll see to it."
Sarah nodded, then did as I'd told her. With some help from Biggs and Wedge, she got as far from the post as she could, cradling Lydia in her arms as she sat on the stone floor. Another tremor sounded, closer this time, and the others glanced around nervously as Kunsel moved to stand between us and the entrance to the tunnel, sword firmly in hand and ready. Knowing he had our backs, I took a breath and got ready for what I had to do. Then I brought up one of my blaze talons and swung it down hard onto the chain, severing it.
Once Sarah was free, I quickly switched off my weapons, holstered them, and knelt down beside her. Then I lifted my arm and focused on the Restore materia in my mythril armlet. Like the Fire materia, it was at its second tier of strength, and I called upon its magic to heal Lydia's injuries. Bright sparkles of blue and green energy surrounded her for a moment, and her bleeding slowed and then stopped. The bullet wound began knitting itself closed, but not entirely. Even stronger cures could only do so much. But it was enough to stabilize her.
"Firebrand..." Lydia murmured.
I took her hand. "Shh... you're gonna be okay, Lydia. Just hold on. The bullet's still in there, but we can't do anything about that right now. We'll get you to the town clinic as soon as we get topside. Marissa'll be there to help, too. So don't you worry."
Biggs looked up as another tremor shook the room. "Damn. Looks like Abzeth's about to show. Kunsel?"
"Better get ready," he agreed. "I see her coming."
I looked at Sarah. "Get to cover, alright? We'll handle this."
She nodded. "I will. Thank you."
"Leslie, go with them," I said. "Keep them safe."
"On it," he agreed.
Kotch crouched down next to Sarah and Lydia. "Lemme carry her, miss, if you don't mind. I'll get her there."
"Alright," Sarah said.
"Kotch...?" Lydia breathed as he gently picked her up.
He held her easily in both arms. "Yeah. Just rest, okay? We're gonna get you outta here. And the other girls. I promise."
"About before, I... might've said too much," she admitted.
"Nah," Kotch shook his head. "You were right."
Lydia managed a weak smile. "Thanks..."
As we all stood up, he carried her carefully back toward the tunnel we'd entered from, with Sarah, Scotch, and Leslie following him just as the room suddenly shook again. The rest of us all readied our weapons and got ready, getting ourselves into position back on the other side of the walkway where we'd have more room to maneuver. Kunsel stood at my side, and together we braced ourselves as Abzeth finally showed up, her huge, ugly face bursting out of the tunnel.