"Go to the blue house at the border of the Fourth District. You should find what you're looking for," Tseng instructed.
Jasmine covered her head with the hood of her sweater, keeping close to the corners of the buildings as she explored the heavily taped off construction zones of the unfinished district. While she loved visiting Traverse Town (as it had been one of the first places she got to visit when she joined SOLDIER), she was less than enthused to be exploring the dark, dimly lit, incomplete fourth district. Unlike the rest of the "world", which was bright, warm, cozy, and full of life, there was something dark and menacing about this district in particular.
Maybe it was because it was after 9 pm and the majority of the district's inhabitants had gone home for the night. Maybe it was because the lighting was less than ideal for a night mission. Maybe it was the fact that there was a heavy SHINRA presence in the area.
Though Tseng reassured her that she would be fine, Jasmine still felt uneasy about being in a place like this with no backup, especially with SOLDIER agents missing after having been given a similar assignment.
Part of her wanted to tell Axel about the job so someone would know where she was, but Tseng made it clear to keep the mission under wraps for now.
"Our sources say that Vanitas is on Traverse Town. Before we lost track of our agents, they said they pursued him. I'd wager that if Vanitas is involved, it would be easier for you to get close to him and possibly figure out what's going on."
Though she would never admit it, Tseng's warning that Vanitas was in Traverse Town rattled her.
And for numerous reasons.
Jasmine wasn't afraid of Vanitas anymore, at least like how she used to be. That being said, he was still part of SHINRA which meant that he was extremely dangerous regardless. While he did tell her that he had no plans to harm her in the future, if he was ordered to attack her, there was a chance that he would – even if it was just enough to incapacitate her and carry on with his mission.
Then, there was Tseng's order to kill him if need be.
Jasmine hadn't told this to anyone, not even Noctis, but she had never taken a life before.
The thought of killing someone seemed too horrific. While she injured people, she'd only done so to keep them from harming others or to stop them from fighting back. But killing another person was something she never wanted to do.
If the moment ever came up, she didn't know if she could pull the trigger. Yes, she would shoot, but not kill.
Jasmine swore under her breath as the blue house Tseng mentioned came into view. It was a tiny little house on the second floor of - what appeared to be - a run-down jewelry store. Jasmine stood at the side gate and shivered as she stared at the building. Both the first and second floor seemed to be shrouded in intense, heavy darkness. She couldn't quite explain it, but there was just something…wicked about the old shop and the house up above.
Tapping her left leg where her coat covered her gun and knife, Jasmine inhaled and quietly headed up the stairs to the little blue house.
As she treaded softly up the steps, Jasmine craned her head to the right to make sure that no one was watching.
Just like the feeling she had on Twilight Town before Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz attacked, she couldn't help but feel like there was someone watching her even though she made sure she was alone. And even though it didn't help her nerves, Jasmine was thankful for the heavy darkness that surrounded the building for she was sure that even if someone had been close by, they couldn't see her on this dark, moonless night.
Once she reached the top step, she immediately noticed that the door was slightly ajar.
'Someone was here,' she reasoned, her eyes hardening before gently pushing the door open. 'Maybe it was those SOLDIER agents who went missing.'
She pulled out a flashlight and shined the light on the entrance, half-expecting to find something there. Instead, she saw that the house was nothing more than an abandoned studio apartment with the little bit of furniture inside covered with sheets.
Jasmine breathed a sigh of relief. At least her fears of being ambushed or surprised in the tiny house were gone. Or, at bare minimum, the likelihood of it happening in such a small space was highly unlikely.
She saw a small overturned stool and grabbed it by one of its legs, using it as a door stopper to keep the door from closing and securing her exit.
'This place is still creepy,' she thought grimly as she stared at a closed-door that most likely led to the bathroom.
Jasmine sighed and felt a wave of dread wash over her.
'I bet whatever I'm looking for is in there,' she thought as she felt her heartbeat race.
Taking a deep breath, Jasmine headed to the (supposed) bathroom door and gripped the handle, looking over her shoulder as she did so.
'Let's make this quick,' she thought, agitation taking over. 'All I want to do is get in and get out.'
Entering through the guarded gates that led to the Third District, Jasmine was never happier to be back to "civilization".
During her exploration, she came across a document on aged yellow paper stashed away in one of the bathroom cabinet doors. As soon as Jasmine opened it, she saw the words "Project: Heartless" in the top and immediately shoved it in her pocket, taking off quickly once she found it.
Despite being "safe" for all intents and purposes in the more populated Third District, Jasmine sensed that something was amiss.
Though she had ventured into the dark Fourth District and retrieved what she came for without any trouble, Jasmine felt uneasy about the whole thing.
Standing near a light pole, Jasmine leaned against it and dug out her work phone from her pocket. She saw three texts, one from Axel, one from Ventus, and the other from Noctis.
Jasmine read Axel's first.
"When you finish with whatever you're doing, call me. I just spoke to Ven."
Groaning out loud, she deleted the text immediately. She almost regretted talking to Axel about the situation with Ven.
Then, she went to Ven's text.
"I know you're working, but I'd like to see you again before we leave. Don't worry, it's nothing bad. Just a touch-base before we leave."
Jasmine rolled her eyes. "I doubt that," she whispered, moving onto Noctis' text.
"Hope the mission is going well. Let me know when you're done for the night. I'll be there at the base to pick you up in the morning."
Jasmine casually shrugged her shoulders. At least Noctis' text was normal.
Stepping out from under the light and heading towards the direction of her hotel, Jasmine stared off down a familiar alleyway. Before she touched the stairs that led to the second level, Jasmine's left arm was snatched and she was dragged around the corner to a dimly lit area. Just as she opened her mouth to scream, a hand covered her mouth and she was pulled further away from the staircase.
Fear present but her survival training kicking in, Jasmine forcefully bit down on the person's hand, causing the person (a male) to growl in pain and release her.
Jasmine stepped away from her attacker and pulled out her gun, surprised to see her aiming the weapon at Vanitas.
"What the hell are you doing?" She hissed, keeping her weapon aimed at him.
Vanitas reeled back and stared at his bloody hand, annoyance, and surprise now painting his face. "Jesus," he snapped, shaking his hand. "You almost bit all the way through."
"That's your fault," she snapped back at him, her fears from earlier coming to fruition. "What are you doing here?" She asked once more.
Ignoring his still bleeding hand, Vanitas rushed over to Jasmine and pulled her back into the shadows, his amber eyes darting around to make sure that no one was watching them.
"Saving your life," he replied harshly.
"W-What are you talking about?" Jasmine stammered, shocked by what Vanitas said.
Vanitas grabbed Jasmine roughly by the shoulders, pressing her back against the wall. Jasmine initially fought back against Vanitas' grip until she heard footsteps above, causing her to cease immediately. Vanitas pressed his body against Jasmine's (no doubt to keep them from view) and covered her mouth with his free, non-injured hand.
Jasmine's eyes darted up to Vanitas', whose expression had turned cold and steely, and immediately fell silent. She looked over his shoulder and her heart dropped. To her horror, walking past her and Vanitas, was none other than Xigbar and Kadaj wearing dark, hooded cloaks.
Once Vanitas was sure that the pair were gone, he turned his attention to Jasmine whose eyes and unyielding, clearly demanding answers.
"I won't be able to help you anymore," he announced in a hushed tone.
"Yeah? And the next time I see you, I'm going to probably have to kill you," Jasmine fired back softly, trying her best to hide her concern over Vanitas' statement. "That makes us even."
Vanitas rolled his eyes, reached into his pocket, and stepped aside as Jasmine pushed past him.
"Oh, really now?" He asked, his mouth twisted up into a mischievous smirk.
"Yeah really," Jasmine snapped. "Stay out of my way or next time I shoot at you, you won't be able to get back up," she warned dangerously.
Vanitas sneaked up behind Jasmine and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She struggled against his grip, surprised by his strength and why he was doing this in the first place. He pulled her back into the dark, keeping one arm over her chest, preventing her from breaking free.
Jasmine yelped in pain as she felt something sharp pierce through her upper right thigh. Once she felt whatever it was he stabbed her with retract, Jasmine whirled around and struck him clear across his face with her forearm, causing the young man to stumble back.
"Shit," he swore, "I guess you are stronger than you look."
Jasmine quickly glanced at her thigh and saw a small, but growing bloodstain on her jeans. The area where he'd stabbed her burned in a way that she'd never felt before and her eyes darted to the now empty syringe that he held in his free hand.
"What did you do to me?" She roared, trying to keep her voice as low as possible. "What did you give me?"
Ignoring her questions, Vanitas tossed the syringe in a nearby dumpster and pulled out a lighter. Before Jasmine had the chance to say anything else, Vanitas threw the lighter in the dumpster (most likely to dispose of the tool) and began walking past her, stopping when they were shoulder to shoulder.
"You and whoever you're with," he instructed, "leave Traverse Town. Get out of the Third District and go home. You won't want to be here for this."
Before Jasmine could get an answer, Vanitas brushed past her and disappeared down the dark, empty alleyway, leaving her alone with his cryptic warning.
Despite the pain in her leg, Jasmine hauled ass and practically flew to the hotel in the plaza where she was staying, being careful as Xigbar and Kadaj were lurking about.
Once Jasmine reached the hotel, she limped into the lobby and made her way to the elevator, slamming the second-floor button until the doors shut.
As Jasmine headed up, the burning sensation in her leg became almost unbearable, to the point where her thigh was practically pulsating. Her heart began to race, her body temperature began to climb, and she felt herself becoming nauseous and dizzy.
When the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Jasmine began to dry-heave from nausea and stumbled to her room, nearly slamming against the door. Her stomach was tied in knots and she could practically hear her heart beating in her ears. Once she fished out the keycard and was able to get inside, Jasmine stumbled forward and hit the carpet with a hard thud.
Panting heavily, Jasmine lifted herself up by her elbows and kicked the door shut behind her. On her knees, Jasmine crawled over to her bed and propped her back up against the footrest.
The room began to spin and Jasmine felt her stomach flip and twist, going up and down like a roller coaster. Despite her phone only being in her pocket, Jasmine struggled greatly whilst pulling it out. Once she was able to grasp it firmly enough was she able to make her calls.
Jasmine dialed Axel's number, only for it to eventually go to voicemail.
"Axel," she said, breathing heavily, "we have to leave Traverse Town. Vanitas, Xigbar, Kadaj, and the others are here. I'm hurt and I don't know how long I can stay up. Get the helicopter ready."
Jasmine hung up the call, feeling herself becoming more and more lightheaded with each second.
She checked the clock hanging over her. It was 9:49. Surely Axel had to be awake. If what Vanitas said was true, all of them were in serious danger and they had to leave Traverse Town immediately.
Jasmine felt another wave of nausea hit her and she covered her mouth with her hands. As quickly as she could, she crawled on her knees over to the trash can and vomited, feeling worse than before once she was done.
'This isn't good,' Jasmine realized. Whatever it was that Vanitas gave her was kicking in and her body was not reacting well to it in the slightest.
Knowing that she needed help, Jasmine then sent a text to Noctis, one that she hoped she would never have to send him simply saying, 'S.O.S.'
Once she hit send, she called the one person she needed most. As with Axel, the call went to voicemail and she cursed loudly.
Feeling the effects of whatever drug kicking in harder, Jasmine found it difficult to keep her eyes open.
Pushing aside the trashcan, Jasmine felt her body become heavy and she hit the floor with a heavy bang. Her phone toppled out of her hand and she weakly pulled it close to her chest, holding onto it like it were her lifeline.
"Ven," she breathed, finding what little strength she had left to stay awake and finish the call. "Help me…I'm in the Third District…Kadaj and Xigbar are here…we have to go…"
Hoping that her message was loud and clear, Jasmine ended the voicemail and pulled the phone close to her chest. Despite her best efforts, she succumbed to the drug and felt her eyelids become heavier and heavier until she saw nothing but darkness.
Before Jasmine fell deep into unconsciousness, she mumbled an apology to Ven.
'I'm sorry, Ven,' she thought miserably. 'I wish things didn't get so complicated.'
A piercing, blood-curdling scream rang through the area, causing Jasmine's senses to come back to her.
First came sound, which was the scream of terror.
Next came her sense of smell…
Jasmine's nose turned up at the familiar scent of smoke. As she came to, she recalled that painful memory of her family's home on Twilight Town being engulfed in flames. The smell of burning wood, gasoline, and even plastic was ingrained in her memory, never to be forgotten.
Then, slowly but surely, came sight.
Jasmine's eyes fluttered open and she found herself on the floor of her hotel room. Her body, aching from earlier events, was heavy and stiff. She propped herself up with her arms and her eyes flickered to the window where she saw smoke and flames in the distance.
Jumping to her feet (while wincing due to the pain in her leg), Jasmine quickly tried to get a grip on the situation. She ran to the window and tried to open the latch, yelping when she touched the glass.
It was searing hot.
Wasting no time, Jasmine packed up what few belongings she had and threw on a pair of leather gloves. In addition to that, knowing that there was fire nearby, Jasmine pulled her hair into a long braid before stuffing it down the back of her shirt. Then, taking the scarf she had tied around her neck, she wrapped it over her face to protect her from the smoke. It wasn't much, but it would have to do for now.
Before she left her room she checked her phone, hoping to get a response from either Ven, Axel or even Noctis.
She had numerous missed calls from all of them, the majority of them coming from Ven with several texts attached to it.
"Jasmine, answer me!"
"Where are you?"
"Terra and I are on our way. There's fires ALL over the Third District. No one can get in or out."
After she cleared out her texts, she ignored all of the voicemails save for the most recent one that came from Ven. It had been approximately twenty minutes since she left him the voicemail and more than likely, he wouldn't answer his phone from this point forward. The only way for them to link up at this point was to use the trackers that each of them had to find each other.
The last voicemail from Ven was even more troubling, sending Jasmine's anxiety into overdrive.
"Jasmine, listen to me carefully. Me, Terra, and Aqua are trying to find our way in through the bridges overhead to get to you. There's fire everywhere and a weird looking smoke I've never seen before and it's hard to see. The townspeople…they're literally fighting and killing each other in the streets…I can't explain it," he said, shock and disbelief painting his tone with the distant sound of sirens and screaming in the background. "Men, women, AND children…everyone has LOST it. Stay above ground if you can and cover your face. Axel will be on top of the clock tower at 10:20. You might have to fight your way through the people out and about."
Jasmine's lips began to quiver and the hand holding her cell phone began to tremble from fear. She'd never heard Ven sound so shaken up before. He was always the picture of calm, cool, and collected, even when things were tough. But this was a side of him that Jasmine had never seen before and if Ventus was shaken up, there was definitely a good reason to be.
"If you can get to the top, it'll be easier for me to find you. I promise I won't leave you behind. I'll get you home safe. Be careful, Jasmine…I love you."
Ventus' last words broke Jasmine's heart, causing her to immediately burst into tears.
Whatever it was waiting for her outside of the hotel was going to be unlike anything she'd ever seen before. And while she'd seen her fair share of horrors whilst dealing with SOLDIER, the eerie message Ventus left for her let her know that this was a very different type of chaos.
Fire.
A strange smoke.
The townspeople…
Killing each other…
Ventus described literal Hell.
Wiping away her tears with the palms of her hands, vowing to get to Ventus at all cost, Jasmine inhaled sharply in an attempt to steady herself, and made her way to the door, hesitating before reaching for the handle. She had to follow Ven's directions exactly, otherwise, she'd fall behind and be left to deal with whatever it was plaguing the Third District. On top of everything else, Xigbar and his team were no doubt in the area up to who knows what so she had to be ultra-careful.
Jasmine spotted a half-finished bottle of water she brought with her nearby and tossed its contents at the handle, making sure that it was safe to open the door. While she didn't smell smoke outside the door she had to make sure that it was safe since she'd just burned her hands on the glass.
Upon seeing the water glide off the handle, Jasmine seized the moment and swung the door open, speeding off to the emergency escape towards the roof.
"Get to the clock tower, get to the clock tower," she repeated over and over again. Stealing a glance at her watch, Jasmine noted that it was 10:10. She had approximately ten minutes to reach the clock tower where Axel (and presumably Ventus and the others) would be waiting.
Jasmine skidded to a stop when she got to the emergency exit. She made sure that there was no sign of fire nearby and when she did, she barreled through the doors and entered the outside world.
As soon as Jasmine hit the outside, her vision was heavily obscured, preventing her from seeing more than three feet in front of her. She took a step back, tightened her scarf over her face, and dug out a flashlight from the side pocket of her bag, recalling Ventus telling her that yellow light can help with visibility in fog and smoke.
Once she had a slightly better view, Jasmine scanned the area for the ladder that was supposed to take her to the roof. Turning to the left, she came across the escape that was to take her to the top level where Ventus said to be. Moving as quickly as she could, Jasmine made her way up the ladder, trying her best to not look down and block out the sound of the chaos around her.
The sound of sirens and screaming pierced the air, making it impossible for Jasmine to ignore.
Once Jasmine reached higher ground where the smoke was less dense, she laid low to the floor as much as she could and peered out over the side, taking in the horrific sight before her.
Just as Ven said, the Third District as in a state of utter and complete chaos.
Fires broke out all over the area and a dense, unnatural, almost purple-hued fog filled the air. Jasmine could still make out down below in the areas where the fire hadn't completely engulfed them.
She could see the townspeople running around in a frenzy, terror clear in their faces. While others ran for cover or to the gates to the Second District, others were in the streets fighting each other with knives, pipes, and other household items.
Jasmine's eyes widened when she saw numerous dead bodies lying on the ground with pools of blood staining the rust-colored cobblestone.
Men attacking men…
Women attacking men…
Adults were attacking children…
Her eyes watered as she took in the scene. Never before had she seen anything so horrific. It almost didn't seem real.
From what she knew of the townspeople, they were generally kind and easygoing folks. Now they were turning into panic-filled murderers with those fending for themselves cowering and screaming for mercy. There seemed to be no reason for any of them to be acting like this.
It was almost as if they weren't human anymore.
Knowing that she would be signing her own death certificate if she went down there, Jasmine decided to press on.
'Ven,' Jasmine thought as she pulled out her gun, her heartbeat practically ringing in her ears. 'I'm coming for you too. I promise I won't leave you behind either.'
Author's Note: Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe out there. How did you guys like this last chapter? I'm slowly but surely getting back to the action part of this story and it's been a while so I hope it came out good. As usual, thank you all for the continued support. Trust me, it doesn't go unnoticed.
rawrrbreee: Thank you for the review! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hope you take care as well!
Hopefuldreamer1991: Gotta love Axel. I think next to Roxas, he was my favorite new character that came out. I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the review!
Let me know what you guys think of this chapter in a review, PM or whatever. I'd love to hear some feedback on what's going on. I hope everyone is doing well and I'll see you next time! Take care!