Tifa was already up and waiting for him downstairs.
"You're going after Aeris, right?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"I'm coming with you," she replied, adamantly.
"We're going right into Shinra Headquarters. You gotta be prepared for the worst," he warned.
"I know," Tifa replied. "Right now, I feel I have to push myself to the limit. If I stay here… I'll go crazy."
Barret bombed down the stairs and into the lounge. Everyone turned their attention to him. The guy didn't do quiet.
"Sorry, but can you take care of Marlene a bit longer?" he asked Elmyra.
"Yes, I don't mind," she replied.
"This place is dangerous now. You better go somewhere else," Barret urged.
"…You're right," replied Elmyra. "But promise me that you'll come back to her. Don't get yourself killed."
"Promise."
They left the house and stood outside in the tranquil glow of Elmyra's garden while they mulled over plans for Aeris' rescue mission.
"How do we get to the Shinra building?" asked Tifa.
"There ain't no train that goes up there anymore…" Barret informed them, glumly.
"Well, let's just go to Wall Market," Tifa suggested after a pause. "We might be able to find something there."
Everyone agreed that this was probably the best option.
The Wall Market was bustling as usual. A cacophony of music of varying genres blasted through the outdoor speakers of the shops and market stalls that peppered the streets. People talked and yelled and argued with each other. Shopkeepers bartered, desperate to sell their overpriced wares. Groups of suspicious-looking men huddled in corners, most likely talking about shady business deals. One thing was for sure; they wouldn't be stepping into that gaudy mansion of Don Corneo's any time soon, or the Honeybee Inn for that matter! Cloud's cross-dressing days were long gone now; a thing of the past.
They eventually made it through the first section of the Wall Market and entered a shop that sold all sorts of oddities. Cloud would have rather swerved it, but Barret insisted they have a look.
"How are we gonna get up to the plate then?" wondered Cloud.
Suddenly the shopkeeper's eyes lit up.
"You goin' up to the plate? You better have a battery."
Cloud crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at the guy. The nerve of him.
"You gonna sell me something you just found?" he asked, agitatedly.
"Hey, you knew?" the shopkeeper asked sheepishly. "But I repaired it, so it's all right."
"Why do I need a battery to climb up to the plate?"
"You'll find out when you get there," the shopkeeper replied with a smirk. "How 'bout 100 Gil for each?"
This man was full of it, Cloud thought. He wanted to tell him where he could stick his batteries but this was the slums, after all. Who could blame anyone for wanting to make a bit of extra cash?
"All right, I'll take them."
With the batteries in hand, they trawled the Wall Market scouting for information from its inhabitants. A young girl with brown hair tied back in a green ribbon suddenly beckoned them over. She was with two of her friends.
Wonder what they want? thought Cloud.
"Wanna see somethin' awesome?" the girl asked. "Follow me!"
They followed the girl through a small gap on the right-hand side of the Wall Market. When they entered the other side they were greeted with a huge concrete wall vandalised with red graffiti that ironically spelt AVALANCHE; misspelt of course. There was a thick wire trailing up the middle section of the wall.
"Everyone climbed up this wire," she stated. "Looks scary." The girl shivered. Her friends had already climbed it, but she seemed hesitant.
"Can we climb it?" Tifa asked.
"Yeah," the girl replied. "It leads to the Upper World."
"Awright!" Barret chimed. "We'll climb this wire!"
"There's no way we can do this," Cloud interjected. "You know how far it goes up?"
"There IS a way!" Barret indicated, pointing towards the wire. "Look! What's that look like?"
"Just a normal wire," Cloud mumbled.
"Oh yeah? Well to me it looks like a golden shiny wire of hope."
"You're right," replied Cloud. "This is the only way to save Aeris…" He turned to face Barret and continued. "Okay, that was a bad analogy, but, Barret, I understand how you feel. Let's go!"
They looked up. The wire seemed to go on for miles and miles. Cloud put his hands on the wire and was relieved to feel how sturdy it was. He shook it and it barely budged. He went first, followed by Tifa and finally Barret. It shook a bit more with the added weight of three extra bodies but they had come this far; they couldn't back down now.
The girl's friends had already reached the top of the wall and were peering over the top, trying to take in the view of the destroyed Sector 7 spread out beneath them.
"Oh man!" one boy gasped. "This is horrible…"
"Hey, scary, huh? Dad told me it's the Shinra's doing."
They continued and came to a mass of metal pipes and twisted railroad tracks, bent out of shape and mangled by the explosion that tore through the slums below. A propeller blocked the path that would take them higher. They had nowhere to turn. That's when Cloud saw the slot set into one of the pipes. He jumped down and inspected it.
"Maybe if I put a battery in, the propeller might work," he told the group.
He bent down and retrieved the battery from his pocket.
"I guess I'll just have to believe the shopkeeper."
He fit the battery into the slot and the propeller whirred into life. It rotated for a mere couple of seconds before sputtering and coming to a stop. It was enough, though. The blades had formed a platform so that they could cross. They climbed higher and came to another dead end. The railroad track here had been torn in half and was jutting into the air, creating a large gap that was too wide for anyone to traverse. The thick metal pipe was directly above them. That's where they needed to get. Typical.
There was another slot here too. To the side of him was a black and yellow barrier that could move up and down when it was powered.
"Need a battery here, too."
He fit the battery into the slot. The barrier shifted up, allowing the trio to climb up to the pipe above. There was another wire here. Cloud clung onto it and hoisted himself up, Tifa and Barret following suit. They reached a piece of solid metal and took a small breather.
A thin bar was swinging back and forth. Cloud looked beyond it and realised they would have to grab onto it to progress.
"Looks like the only way is to jump onto that bar," Cloud said. "We should make it if we jump before it gets too close."
Readying himself, Cloud made a running jump and clung onto the bar as it swung to the right, dropping onto the pipe at the other side. Tifa went next and with her agile frame, she made the jump easily. Barret was hesitant but after a bit of persuasion from his comrades, he finally made the jump. It was a rough transition over to the other side. There was a lot of swearing involved and there was a point where it looked like he'd lose his grip and end up face-planting the pipe just below, but he made it.
There was another wire here. Scrambling upwards, they finally reached the top. The skies were dark and cloudy but the fresh air was invigorating and cool on Cloud's face. It was unbearable to think of all those people living down there. Most would be born, live their lives and die down in the slums and never even see the sky or know what fresh air feels like. This whole city was corrupt and Shinra was to blame.
The Shinra Headquarters was a massive silver metropolis constructed out of sleek polished metal. Its style was futuristic and looked more like a spaceship rather than a building. A mass of windows lit up the interface and almost every light was on. Two huge bright beams of light lit up the sky in front of the building, dancing rhythmically through the air. If anything was sapping up the planet's energy it was this place.
A helicopter hovered noisily over the building. They ducked low just in case it spotted them but it passed swiftly overhead and was gone. Cloud wondered if it was the same one that Aeris was captured in. He thought about her, up there, and what she might be going through. Were they treating her kindly? He doubted it. Shinra didn't know how to be kind.
The trio looked at each other and nodded. It was now or never. They ran towards the Shinra building.
To be continued…