Author's Note: I really appreciate everyone's feedback! As the story progresses, it will be rather emotion-heavy, as I believe this is a proper realistic reaction of someone from Earth visiting Gaia and experiencing these events. Enjoy!
-SHINRA-
The picturesque view as we approached the Gainsborough house was still breathtaking, even though my vision was marred by our recent tragedies. The tranquility of this area helped to soothe my torment, and I paused to take it all in. I knew that it would be a while, if ever, before I would be able to see it again. I crouched down, plucked one of the flowers from its bed, and gently slid it into my bag, hoping that it would not be crushed by everything I was about to experience.
Entering the house, Aerith's mother, Elmyra, seemed to be expecting us.
"Cloud...wasn't it?" she asked, without even looking at us. She turned around. "It's about Aerith, isn't it?"
"Sorry," Cloud told her, his shoulders slumping, "The Shinra have her."
"I know," she explained, "They took her from here."
"They were here?" Cloud questioned, seeming alarmed at that.
"That's what Aerith wanted..." she sighed.
"Why is Shinra after Aerith?" Cloud asked her.
"Aerith is an Ancient." she explained, "The sole survivor."
"...What did you say?" Barret sounded confused. "But, aren't you her mother?"
She shook her head. "Not her real mother...Oh, it must have been 15 years ago...during the war. My husband was sent to the front. Some far away place called Wutai. One day, I went to the station because I got a letter saying he was coming home on leave."
Her tone was so wistful, it broke my heart.
"...but my husband didn't come back." she continued, her voice breaking slightly "I wondered if something had happened to him. I convinced myself his leave was just canceled. So I went to the station everyday. And one day, I saw a lovely woman who was lying on the ground, her little girl by her side. You used to see this sort of thing a lot during the war. The woman's last words were, 'Please take Aerith somewhere safe.'
"My husband never came back, and I had no child. I was probably lonely. So I decided to take her home with me."
She smiled as memories filled her mind. "Aerith and I became close very quickly. That child loved to talk. She used to talk to me about everything. She told me she escaped from some kind of research laboratory somewhere. And that her mother had already returned to the planet, so she wasn't lonely...and many other things."
"Returned to the planet?" Barret asked.
"I didn't know what she meant." Elmyra replied, shrugging. "I asked if she meant a star in the sky, but she said it was this planet...She was a mysterious child in many ways."
Watching her speak, it was as if she was reliving her memories.
"One day, Aerith came downstairs and blurted out, 'Mom...please don't cry.' When I asked her if something happened, she told me that someone dear to me had just died. She said his spirit was coming to see me, but he already returned to the planet."
She shook her head. "Of course, I didn't believe her...but then several days later, we received a notice saying my husband died."
She took a shaky breath in and exhaled, closing her eyes. "...and that's how it was. A lot had happened, but we were happy. Until one day, a man visited me...he said his name was Tseng...he said he wanted me to return Aerith to them and that they had been searching for her for a long time."
Elmyra crossed her arms over her chest. "Aerith blatantly refused them. They tried to convince her, telling her she was a very special child...of special blood. They said her real mother was an Ancient and that as the offspring of an Ancient, Aerith could lead everyone to the land of supreme happiness. Oh, they did all they could to convince her, but she denied being an Ancient."
I could picture that slimeball trying to coerce a child to give Shinra the key to the promise land, and it infuriated me. Even children weren't off limits to these animals.
"He said, 'Aerith, surely you hear voices sometimes when you're all alone?' but she would have none of it." she continued, a bit of pride in her voice. "But I knew. I knew about her mysterious powers."
"It's amazing how she's avoided the Shinra for all these years," Cloud commented.
"The Shinra needed her," Elmyra speculated, "So I guess they wouldn't harm her."
"But why now?" Tifa questioned.
"She brought a little girl here with her." Elmyra explained. "On the way here, Tseng found them. She probably couldn't get away fast enough. She decided to go to the Shinra in exchange for the little girl's safety."
"Must be Marlene." Cloud confirmed.
Barret's face just fell. "Marlene! Aerith was caught because of Marlene?!"
He pushed by Tifa and Cloud to stand in front of Elmyra.
"I'm sorry." he told her, the pain evident in his voice. "Marlene's my daughter. I'm...really...sorry..."
A stern expression overtook Elmyra's features. "You're her father!? How in the world could you ever leave a child alone like that!?"
"...please, don't start with that." he responded respectfully but firmly. "I think about it all the time. What would happen to Marlene, if I..."
He trailed off for a moment, unable to finish the sentence. "But you gotta understand somethin'. I don't got an answer. I wanna be with Marlene...But I gotta fight. Cause if I don't...the planet's gonna die. So I'm gonna keep fightin'!...But I'm worried 'bout Marlene. I really just wanna be with her...always."
He stopped, seemingly frustrated. "See? I'm goin' in circles, now."
"...I think I understand what you're saying..."Elmyra nodded, "She's upstairs, asleep. Why don't you go and see her."
Barret bounded up the stairs with that surprising dexterity, Cloud tagging along behind him. I stood there with Tifa, waiting for them to return.
"Aerith told me to tell you something, dear," Elmyra suddenly said to me. "She said that just because you can do something...it doesn't mean that you should. You could do more harm than good."
I lowered my head, trying to prevent the fresh tears from forming in my eyes. If she knew what her daughter was asking, she wouldn't have said it. The idea of letting Aerith die just because that was how "the game was meant to be played" seemed inconceivable now, not when I had the power to change it.
"I have to try," I said.
"What are you talking about, Skye?" Tifa asked.
I looked at her, trying to make a decision. Was I going to let Tifa in on the secret?
(Don't do it.)
...I can't just sit back and do nothing...
(There will be consequences)
...I know what I'm doing...
"Is it about your visions?" Tifa pressed. "Did you see something else?"
"Tifa..." I whispered, and I was about to tell her I had already seen everything. The words danced around on my lips as I contemplated exactly how to explain it. Even as I opened my mouth to speak, something didn't feel right about revealing that. Instead, I opted for mysterious foreshadowing. "I can't always understand my visions, but I do have a feeling that...we need to get Aerith out of there."
"I agree." Tifa nodded.
A few moments later, Cloud came down the stairs, walking right past Elmyra, Tifa, and me, ready to stride out the door.
"Wait!" Tifa called after him, and he stopped, looking back. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to get Aerith." he said.
"I'm coming with you." Tifa told him.
"So am I." I added.
"We're going right into Shinra Headquarters," he warned, "You gotta be prepared for the worst."
"I know." Tifa replied, "Right now, I feel like I need to push myself to the limit. I'll go crazy if I stay here."
Heavy footstep sounds overhead told me that Barret was about to make his appearance, and I was correct. He thudded down the stairs and ran up to Elmyra.
"Sorry, but can you take care of Marlene a bit longer?" he requested.
"Of course, I don't mind." Elmyra agreed.
"This place is dangerous now," he informed her, "You better go somewhere else."
"You're right." Elmyra agreed. "But promise me that you'll come back to her. Don't get yourself killed."
He nodded and turned to us, and, together, we walked outside.
"So how are we going to get to the Shinra building?" Tifa asked as we stepped outside.
"There ain't no train that goes up there anymore..." Barret added.
"Wall Market," I interjected, "There's a way there."
"All right." Cloud agreed.
We traveled mostly in silence, though Cloud started walking beside me.
"How you doing?" he asked me.
"I'm dealing," I answered honestly. "I'm doing what you suggested and using it."
I met his eyes, smiling. "Thank you for all your help."
He nodded. "The first time you see someone die...it changes you."
I watched him carefully, wondering if he saw anyone else die before seeing Zack Fair draw his last breath. I knew that Zack's death affected him greatly, but at the moment, he wasn't aware of it. He didn't even know who Zack was because of that mako mind fugue. Even with the messed up memory, one doesn't forget something like that.
"I'm sorry for charging in like that," I apologized, "I was just..."
I trailed off, unable to articulate my reasoning. I had been angry at Reno for being so nonchalant about all the deaths he was causing but also frustrated that I couldn't use all the knowledge I had to prevent bad things from happening. There were also flashbacks of Wedge's death, the emptiness in his eyes still haunting me.
"I know." Cloud answered my thought. "The Turks are heartless and will do anything if it furthers their agenda."
"I'll do better," I promised.
"I know you will," Cloud said.
As we entered Wall Market, we could see random pieces of debris littering the area, and people were picking through it.
"Where are we going?" Cloud asked me.
I pointed towards Don Corneo's mansion. Without question, they all started moving in that direction. As we approached, we saw a group of kids playing in front of the mansion.
"Wanna see somethin' awesome?" one of them exclaimed upon seeing us, "Follow me!"
They all looked at me.
"You heard him!" I said.
The children led us to a large wall, lined with red graffiti. Embedded in it was a thick, metal pipe, most likely protecting wire bundles. It was much taller than the pillar had been, reaching a height of at least a 20-floor building. We were going to climb that?
"Everyone climbed up this wire," one of the children told us, "Looks scary...Brrr."
There was no way I could do this!
"Can we climb it?" Tifa wondered aloud.
"Yeah," the child nodded, "It leads to the Upper World."
"Awright!" Barret declared, "Let's climb this wire!"
Cloud, however, was staring up at how far the wall reached with a small spark of fear in his eyes. I certainly didn't blame him because I felt more than just a "spark".
"There's no way we can do this," he said, "You know how far it goes up?"
Barret looked up, taking in the height. "There IS a way! Look! What's that look like?"
"Just a normal wire," Cloud answered.
"Oh yeah?" Barret challenged, "Well, to me, it looks like a golden shiny wire of hope."
Tifa and Cloud stared up at it as if, somehow, Barret's vision could overwrite their own.
"You're right." Tifa agreed. "This is the only way to save Aerith."
"OK, that was a bad analogy," Cloud said, "but Barret, I understand how you feel."
I, on the other hand, did not share Barret's vision; I stared up at that wall and saw the potential for shattered bones and internal bleeding. As they began to move towards the "wire of hope", the vision of Wedge falling to his death suddenly flashed before my eyes...the crunch of the bones breaking when he hit the ground...the gurgling of the blood in his throat as he tried to breath...the way his pupils got so big in his final moment...the emptiness in his eyes that followed. I looked at that wall and saw death, an excruciating, terrifying, painful death.
"I don't think I can do this," I said. My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. Turning away, my knees suddenly gave out, and I involuntarily sat on the ground. I struggled to keep from vomiting, gasping for air. Damn! Was I really this pathetic?
"Skye!" I heard Tifa's and Barret's voice, but they sounded so far away. I couldn't control the trembling which overcame me completely. My vision grew a bit darker, and suddenly I was unaware of anything around me. I could still hear voices.
"Cloud, do something!"
"The hell's wrong with her?"
"Just give her some space."
I felt a hand on my shoulder and a presence by my side.
"Skye..."
Cloud spoke into my ear in a low, even tone.
"Cloud..." I gasped, "I...can't."
"I know you're scared...we're all scared...Bravery isn't about not feeling fear; it's about being afraid, but still moving forward."
His voice was very soothing, and it helped clear some of the darkness in my vision. I looked at him.
"H-how?" I managed to choke out.
"Remember the anger you felt?" he asked.
I did remember the anger, but it seemed unreachable at the moment.
"What was it that made you angry, Skye?" he continued.
It was Reno's face...his attitude...how he could just push a button and kill all those people. Hundreds dead. Two whole sections of Midgar decimated. Denzel's parents murdered, leaving him as an orphan. And there was no hesitation...no wincing...no contemplation...not even a solemn look. He just cheerfully and, without a care, pressed the button.
"Picture that moment." he instructed, "Let it consume the fear you're feeling."
I reached back into that moment, seeing Reno's callous face...and I felt it...this spike of power almost exploded out of me. As I looked down at myself, I could see wisps of blue energy drifting from my skin: The blue aura of a limit break. I felt so much stronger, and the fear simply sat in the background. It was amazing! When the world came back into focus, there he was, staring at me with those vivid blue eyes.
"Thank you." I whispered.
He nodded and helped me to my feet. I looked back up at the very high wall, and it didn't seem as frightening as it had a moment ago. I took a minute to calm my breathing and said, "We're going to need batteries."
"I think I know where to get some," Cloud said, "Wait here."
When he left, Tifa approached me, placing a hand on my back. "I know. I saw the same thing when I looked up there."
I nodded, a little embarrassed. "I'm so sorry you have to deal with a rookie like me."
"There's nothing wrong with fear," she said, "It keeps us alive. Just don't let it control you."
"I'll do my best." I promised.
Cloud finally returned, adjusting something in his bag.
"You ready?" he asked all of us.
We all nodded. I drew in a deep breath and exhaled, again looking up at this monstrous wall. I felt a flutter of panic, so I pictured Reno with his smug face standing at the top, waiting for my fist to make contact with his jaw. That helped a lot. Thankfully, my job as an enforcer kept me in good shape, so I didn't see a problem with my ability to climb or even to hold on. Once Cloud began climbing, I braced myself and followed behind him.
...Don't look down...don't look down...don't look down...
I kept this mantra repeating in my head as I shimmied up that pipe. Tifa and Barret were, presumably, behind me...hell, I think Sephiroth himself could have been behind me, and I wouldn't have had a clue. I just kept looking up at Cloud and how he expertly worked his way up. It was comforting, though, to know that I was sandwiched in between people.
Once we reached the top of the wall, there was a thin ledge that we could walk on. Still, we had to climb higher but this time, there was hanging metal and loose wires to crawl up.
...don't look down...don't look down...
Every now and then, Cloud found a small box into which he clicked one of the batteries he got. This caused some of the mechanical junk to come to life in a few spots, allowing us to climb even higher. It seemed as if we would never reach a solid surface, but I drove myself on.
Finally, we emerged onto the upper plate, just outside the Shinra's main headquarters. The main spire of the building looked so high, but as you looked at the base of it, the building expanded outward. There was a doorway right in front of us but also to the left. I realized that the front door lay before us, and the long haul up 60 flights of stairs were to the left.
"Hey, you ought to know this building well," Barret said to Cloud.
"Not really...now that I think about it." Cloud replied, seemingly a bit confused. "This's the first time I've ever been to Headquarters."
Barret didn't seem to catch the senselessness of that statement. How could Cloud have been a first class SOLDIER and never have visited Shinra headquarters?
"I heard about this place before. Every floor above the 60th is special and not easy to get to even for employees. Must be where they took Aerith. The security's pretty light, now." Barret said.
He paused and then added, "Awright, let's go!"
"Wait a second!" Tifa stopped him. "You're not thinking of just going right through the main entrance, are you?"
"Well, what else does it look like?!" Barret told her, "I'm gonna kick some Shinra butt and-"
"That's not going to work!" she insisted, "We've got to find another way..."
"Ain't gonna be no other way!" Barret argued, "If we keep wastin' time like this, Aerith'll-"
"I know that!" Tifa interrupted, "But if we get caught here...Hey Cloud. What should we do?"
Cloud thought for a moment, carefully considering his choice.
"We should sneak in," Cloud decided, "Stealth can be a powerful tool. Let's use it."
"See? Let's be careful and find a different route." Tifa agreed.
"Like the side stairs," I quietly suggested.
Barret sighed, annoyed at having to be sneaky at all, but he still complied. Cloud walked over to me and showed me another pale yellow sphere.
"I found this in the playground after the plate came down," he told me, taking my arm gently. He slid the materia into an empty slot. As he did, I felt another...presence...within me. This one was slightly different from the other one. It gave me the sensation of being curious.
"You feel it?" he asked.
"Mmhmm," I answered.
"Connect with it," he said, "Feel yourself reaching out to it."
I did as I was told, imagining myself reaching a hand out to the materia. I felt it ask me a question: "Who?" So I picked Cloud, since he was closest to me. Suddenly, I knew he was well-armored, partially protected against electrical weapons, and his sword dealt out heavy damage. I didn't hear any voice or see any writing, like I would when playing a video game; I just simply knew.
"It's a 'Sense' materia." he explained, "It will tell you the strengths and weaknesses of others."
I looked up at him, and my expression must have been amusing to him because he smirked.
"We're ready," he said. And with that, we entered the building.
I have always considered myself to be in pretty good shape, taking time to work out and learn basic self defense. Over the years, I've learned how to shoot a gun, a bow and arrow, throw knives, sword fighting...things like this have fascinated me because when I saw them on video games, I've wondered if moves like that were possible in real life. Working as an enforcer in a club, I've also needed to be able to handle myself.
Even being in pretty good shape, climbing stairs will take the wind out of anyone. Ten flights of stairs had my heart rate elevated and my breathing heavier. Ten flights after that, the blood flow was stronger, and I was sweating profusely. Ten flights later, I was having trouble catching my breath, I could hear my pulse in my ears, and my leg muscles were burning.
"Yo, we really...*huff*... gonna take these...*huff*... stairs...*huff*... all the way up?" Barret huffed.
"We've got to...*huff*...get to Aerith...*huff*...and help her...*huff*...somehow..." Tifa wheezed.
"I...*huff*...agree with...*huff*...Barret," I interjected, wiping sweat from my brow, "This...*huff*...sucks."
"Talk about...*huff*...out of the...*huff*...way." Barret said, as we continued to climb.
"I don't have...*huff*...time to...*huff*...argue...*huff*...I'm going!" Tifa shot back.
"Dont' know...*huff*...why the hell...*huff*...we gotta climb..." Barret protested.
And the only one who wasn't out of breath was Cloud. I was guessing that the mako in his system gave him a slight advantage over the rest of us.
"Because we don't want to start a commotion until we've saved Aerith." Cloud replied, and then he added, "I doubt that's possible, though."
Barret chuckled through the heavy breathing.
"Knock it off," Cloud commented, "You're giving me the creeps."
"So even you will fight...*huff*...for someone else...*huff*...I had you...*huff*...figured wrong...*huff*...I guess..." Barret responded.
"Who cares what you figured," Cloud shot back.
"I'm just sayin'...*huff*...mebbe I was...*huff*...wrong..." Barret went on.
A few moments of silence went by before Barret added, "Are we...*huff huff*...there...*huff huff*...yet?"
"Not...*huff huff*...yet." Tifa said.
Another conversational pause passed.
"...there...*huff huff*...yet?" Barret persisted.
"I...*huff huff*...said...*huff huff*...not...*huff huff*...yet." Tifa snapped. "Stop...*huff huff*...acting like...*huff huff*...a retard...*huff huff*...and climb!"
By the time we had made it to the 59th floor, even Cloud looked a little flushed.
"Ok, let's take a small break." he suggested.
I leaned against the wall, all of my muscles screaming at me, and I was panting like a dog. Cloud walked up to me, handing me a canteen, out of which I took a long swig.
"Thanks," I told him, "That helps."
He offered some to Tifa and then to Barret, both of which did not refuse.
"Collect yourselves," Cloud ordered, "And be ready for anything."
With those words, we entered the 59th floor. The interior was nothing like the rest of Midgar. The floors were clearly polished and made of reinforced concrete, and fluorescent lighting brightened the room we entered. Potted plants, which were very well cared for, sat in corners and by doorways. A long black carpet covered some of the floor, and on top of that was nice, comfortable seating, a waiting area of some kind. Straight ahead of us were elevators guarded by infantry.
Cloud walked straight up to them, barely giving them time to yell the word, "INTRUDERS!" He brought out his sword and slashed at one of them, driving the soldier to the floor. Tifa dashed up to another one, uppercutting his jaw and sending him flying backwards. Barret took aim with his gun/arm and shot down another, who collapsed with his colleagues. I pulled out one of my knives and threw it with precision at the last one. The butt of the knife hit him squarely between the eyes, knocking him unconscious.
It was over so quickly, I didn't have time to think about it. Looking down at the pile of unconscious bodies, I could see one of them had a magnetic-stripped card hanging from his belt. I pointed it out to Cloud.
"The access card for the 60th floor." he said, taking it off the man's belt.
We all squished into the glass elevator. The buttons on the pedestal station only went up to 59, however, there was a slot for an access card. Cloud slid the card he had just acquired into the slot, and the elevator doors closed. Once they opened again, there was a lot more security barring our way to the other elevator, though they didn't seem to recognize that we didn't belong there. Maybe it was Cloud's SOLDIER uniform that let us get as far as we did. I could see a door off to the left, and I indicated with a nod that we should head there.
The room we entered looked like a guard station, with multiple screens in front of two chairs. I could see the wires leading to the servers on the left. There were a number of boxes behind the servers, and written on one of them was the word "Uniforms". While Cloud made his way to the second door in the room, I counted the number of uniforms in the box.
"Hey," I whispered, "I think I have an idea."
They gathered around me, and I handed each of them a uniform. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one for Barret. I didn't think Shinra made uniforms in his size.
"So what do we do about Barret?" Tifa questioned.
A specific movie suddenly popped into my head...Star Wars.
I chuckled.
"Find me some kind of binding," I said in a hushed voice, "We just caught the leader of AVALANCHE."
For the first time since I had met him, Barret smiled.