FORTY-ONE
Corneo's large bedroom was just as tacky and tasteless as the rest of his mansion. It was lit in red and pink with a huge canopied bed in the middle of it, complete with silk sheets and a purple comforter. Carpets covered the floor, and off to one side, the door to his private bathroom stood open. The headboard was solid gold and made into the shape of a writhing dragon, and a small table with a camera lying on it stood by the wall. What a sick, twisted creep.
He jumped onto the bed and leered at me. "Alone at last! Come on over and give daddy some sugar! Don't be shy! You're even cuter than I thought! I never get tired of looking at ya."
"Back off," I growled.
"Oh, yes!" Corneo laughed. "This kitten's got claws! I love it, baby! Now just stay right there!"
Scurrying off the bed, he went over to the side table, picked up the camera, and started taking pictures of me. I folded my arms across my chest and looked away, not the least bit surprised at what he was doing. Then I remembered Jessie had been here, too. My hands clenched into fists at the thought of Corneo drooling over her. He'd probably taken a bunch of pictures of her, too. Bastard.
"The hell are you doing?" I demanded.
He snickered. "Just a few pictures to preserve the moment. And to ensure you don't do anything inappropriate, like say 'no'. That wouldn't be a good idea. So don't worry your pretty head."
My eyes narrowed. "Asshole."
"Yes, give it to me!" Corneo crooned. "Praise me more! Don't stop! Tell me what a bad boy I am!"
"You depraved son of a bitch!" I snarled.
He took another picture. "Oh, now we're talkin'! Yes!"
Tossing the camera aside, Corneo ran back to the bed and jumped on, a hungry, eager grin on his face. Knowing that he'd surely looked at Jessie the same way only pissed me off even more. Only the fact that he had information we needed kept me from kicking his demented ass on the spot. But once we had it, all bets were off.
"Here I come!" Corneo cackled.
He leaped off the bed toward me, his arms out wide, but I saw him coming and sent him flying back into the headboard with a swift, high roundhouse kick. Corneo grunted at the impact as he slammed into it, and when he landed and shook himself off, he snarled, livid with rage as he charged at me on his hands and knees.
"Who the hell said you could do that, you bitch!?" he yelled. "Boys! Get in here and teach her some manners!"
Just then, the doors burst open behind me. I whirled around, but it was only Aerith and Tifa, back in their normal clothes and fully armed. Tifa had my things, and she handed them over with a relieved smile as soon as she saw me. Then she and Aerith turned their attention back to Corneo, their eyes hardening as they closed in.
Tifa smirked. "No one's coming to help you, Don. We had to teach your boys some manners, too."
"Go get changed, Cloud," Aerith said. "We'll watch him."
"What the—!?" Corneo sputtered.
I ducked into his bathroom while the girls kept a close eye on him. It didn't take very long for me to get out of that dress and back into my black merc's uniform. I took off the wig and high heels, cleaned off the makeup, and slid Buster into its usual place on my back, finally feeling like myself again. Then I opened the door and strode out. When I did, Corneo's eyes bulged in their sockets.
"A man!?" he gaped. "You tricked me! What's going on?"
Aerith spun her staff. "Shut up!"
"We'll be asking the questions," Tifa glared at him. "Like, why'd you send your men over to Sector 7 to look for Avalanche? Spill it, Corneo! Now! If you don't tell us…"
I drew Buster. "I'll cut 'em off."
Corneo's hands flew to his crotch. "Okay, okay! I'll talk! I was paid to find some guy with a gun for an arm."
"Just as I thought," Tifa said. "Paid by who?"
"No! They'll hunt me down like a dog if I tell you!" he wailed.
Tifa didn't budge. "Now! If you don't…"
Aerith took a step toward him. "I'll rip 'em off."
"It was the director of Peace Preservation himself!" Corneo shrank back. "General Heidegger! He's the one!"
"Shinra!?" Tifa grabbed his shirt. "What are they up to?"
He shook his head. "It's better if I don't…"
I tightened my grip on Buster. "I wouldn't be too sure of that. Pick your pain. If you don't tell us…"
"I'll smash 'em," Tifa clenched her fist.
"Oh, boy," Corneo chuckled. "You got me. Never could say no to a sexy girl. Avalanche has blown up two reactors, so Shinra's gonna wipe 'em out, home base and all. By targeting the support pillar and taking it out. The plate's all rigged and ready to go!"
Tifa staggered backward. "The pillar!? They wouldn't!"
"No!" Aerith gasped.
Don Corneo smashed his hands together, gleefully mimicking the sounds of an explosion. "It'll be just like Sector 6. I'm sure you all know what happened there. You've seen the wreckage. And that's what Sector 7's gonna look like by the end of the night."
"They're gonna destroy Sector 7!?" Tifa gaped. "An entire town!? It can't be! All those people…"
Aerith looked at us. "We've gotta go!"
I opened my mouth, but nothing would come out. Fear clutched at my heart as everything suddenly fell into place in my mind, hitting me so hard I stumbled backward. This was what I'd seen in my dreams and visions! Shinra had been attacking the pillar to destroy it! That terrible future was actually starting to happen! And then my blood ran cold as the full implications of what that meant hit me like a punch to the face and one single word filled my entire being.
Jessie!
If anything could get her to break her promise to me to not go into the pillar, this was it. She would fight to her very last breath to save her home and the people who lived there. I'd already seen it in my dreams, and if I didn't get back to her in time, it would happen for real. I had to save her! I couldn't let her die!
"You'll come with us, won't you, Cloud?" Tifa asked.
I nodded as I tightened my fist in resolve. "You're damn right, Tifa! Come on! We don't have much time!"
Tifa and I started to move, but Aerith turned to face Corneo again, her green eyes staring him down as she gripped her staff firmly in both hands. "Before we go, there's one other thing. Your men are watching a teenaged girl named Lydia. Gant's daughter. I know you're planning on having her brought in to be one of your brides."
"Eh? What about her?" Corneo slid toward the back of his bed.
"Leave her alone!" Aerith ordered. "After we've saved Sector 7, we'll be coming back here. So you'd better not be. Take your men, leave, and don't ever return to this place again."
He snorted. "And why would I do that?"
Aerith set his rug on fire with a short, sharp burst of flame. "Why? I'll tell you! Because you're through in this town, Corneo! And because when we come back here, we'll be bringing a friend of ours along with us. I believe you know her—Firebrand!"
"F-Firebrand!?" Corneo stammered. "That bitch?"
Tifa shattered one of the bedposts with a swift, spinning kick. "Call her that again and it'll be your leg next! We'll be back, and I know she'd love to reacquaint you with those special grenades of hers. Don't try to stand against the four of us. You'll lose."
Corneo sighed. "Guess I don't have a choice."
I glared at him. "None at all."
"But you do!" he cackled, standing by the headboard.
"Shut up!" I snapped, hurrying toward the door. The girls stood by me as I glared at him. "We don't have time for this!"
Corneo spread his arms out wide. "Oh, don't worry, it'll only take a moment. Now, as everyone knows, villains only divulge their dastardly plans in a certain situation. What would that be, hmm? What exactly is that situation? Can any of you tell me?"
I frowned. "When they've lost their minds, jackass."
"Close, but no cigar!" he laughed.
"Cloud!" Tifa's eyes widened as she looked at the floor. "We have to move! We're standing on the—"
But it was too late. Before we could jump back, Corneo pulled on a hidden lever set into the headboard, and the floor dropped open under our feet amidst his laughter. The girls shrieked as we fell, and then it all went dark as we tumbled down a long chute, faster and faster. Then we landed hard on a wet stone floor, gloom and stink all around us. When I looked up, I knew exactly where we were.
We were in the sewers.
Aerith and Tifa both lay in front of me, groaning a little and trying to pick themselves up. Once I got to my feet, I went to Aerith first. As I took her arm to help her up, pain suddenly shot through my head, and she looked at me and gasped. Visions of the pillar, of Jessie's death, ran through my mind again. Fire, blood, and smoke.
Speeding away from the column, she had to run again as the chopper opened fire, bullets following after her until she reached the next column and rolled behind it. A moment later, Jessie spun back out into the open, pulled the pin from her grenade, and reached back her arm to throw it as hard and as fast as she could.
At the same time, the chopper flew right toward her, almost touching the outer wall below the guardrail as it fired again, catching Jessie just as she let go of the raspberry. She cried out in pain as bullets ripped into her arm and shoulder and drove her back. One of the chopper's shots caught the grenade just a few seconds later, inadvertently setting it off early, and I saw Jessie's eyes widen just as it exploded.
The blast threw her hard to the floor, spinning her around as it blew up the front of the chopper at the same time. The machine crumpled like a tin can, careening out of control. Jessie landed on her stomach, burned and bleeding, and tried to crawl away as the ruined helicopter fell toward her. But she was too badly hurt, her right arm practically useless and her thigh bleeding where it had been impaled by shrapnel.
Jessie screamed and tried to drag herself away with her good arm as the chopper collapsed on top of her, exploding with the impact. A broken rotor, blown off in the blast, stabbed through her lower back until it burst out of her stomach, stopping her escape attempt in its tracks as a shower of rubble, hull fragments, and other debris finished the job.
Lying on her side, her entire lower body buried under the smoldering wreckage of the destroyed chopper, Jessie let out a soft, weak chuckle, as if defying the excruciating pain she must've been feeling. Blood poured out of her onto the floor as flames burned across the area and pieces of burnt plating and metal beams lay piled upon her.
Then it was over, the pain and the visions gone as quickly as they'd come. It was starting to come true. I was still holding Aerith's arm, but as I let go, I realized she was still gazing at me, her eyes wide with fear. I didn't understand it at first, thought it was just worry about the pillar. But then, as she stood up, she took my shoulder.
"Cloud…" she murmured. "I saw it. I saw it all. Jessie… the pillar… how badly she was hurt. She was dying…"
I stared at her. "You saw it?"
"What do you mean?" Tifa asked, joining us.
"I've been… having dreams lately," I admitted. "About Jessie, dying in the pillar. They were so real, Tifa. Like I was actually there. Don't ask me how, but… it was the future. Tonight."
Her hand flew to her mouth. "Can we change it!?"
"It's her fate…" Aerith breathed. "Her destiny. To die. I don't know how I know, but somehow… I do."
"I'm not giving up on her!" I swore.
She shook her head. "That's not what I was saying, Cloud. She was always meant to die there. That's how it feels. But… I think we can still save her. The future's not set, no matter what you've seen. I think what you saw was the past, not the future."
I blinked. "I don't understand. The past?"
"I can't explain it," Aerith started pacing, "but I feel like all this has happened before. Maybe more than once. And the outcome was always the same for her. She always died in the pillar."
"Not this time," I tightened my fist.
Tifa looked at us. "But how can we save her? If what we're doing is the same as what we've always done, what do we need to do differently this time? Do you know where she was in there?"
"Near the top," I said.
"Makes sense," she nodded. Then her eyes lit up. "She used to work at Shinra, remember? If anyone could disarm the detonator, it'd be her! She just has survive so she can get there!"
Aerith stopped in her tracks. "Of course! It all makes sense! Jessie's gotta know how to stop it! She's the only one who ever could! Cloud, if we save her, we save the pillar! And Sector 7!"
"Then let's move!" I told the girls. "There's no time!"
"Right!" Tifa's gaze was determined.
But before we could go anywhere, the whole room started shaking. Something huge was stomping this way from a tunnel just ahead of us. Several open sewer grates lined the area, and dirty brown water swirled around the base of the walls in a narrow channel. I quickly drew Buster as the monster suddenly crashed into view.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Tifa grimaced.
The thing was almost twenty feet all, hunched over with a leathery, dark blue hide. Its arms and legs were thick with muscle, and its yellow eyes gazed hungrily at us. No doubt we were on the menu tonight. But I didn't feel like feeding Corneo's twisted pet. A pair of thick gray horns grew from its head, glowing pale green at the tips, and fastened around its wrists were iron manacles with a length of broken chain hanging off them. They clinked loudly as it moved.
The skin on the right side of the monster's chest, face, and side was heavily burned and blackened along with its right arm, and I smiled at the sight of Jessie's handiwork. It faded fast, though, as I thought of her and how little time she had left. Unless I could save her. Hefting Buster, I narrowed my eyes and readied myself.
We had to kill this brute fast, whatever the hell it was. Don Corneo must've fed a lot of his girls and enemies to it over the years. Too many. It looked strong, but every monster had its weakness. All we had to do was find it. I glanced at Aerith and Tifa.
"Good to go?" I asked them.
Aerith spun her staff. "You bet! Let's finish what Jessie started!"
Tifa raised her fists. "Bring it on!"
"Barret!"
I turned to see Jessie ridin' up the elevator, her face white as paper. As soon as the lift stopped, she ran over to the table I was sittin' at with the guys an' slapped her tablet down onto it. Her hands were shakin'. I'd never seen her so scared before.
"What's wrong, Jessie?" I asked. "You find somethin'?"
She nodded. "You bet your ass I did! I finally cracked that file. And it… it's so much worse than I could've ever imagined! I found out what Project Firestorm is—they're going after the pillar!"
I shot to my feet. "What!?"
"They're gonna blow it up!?" Biggs' jaw dropped. "How?"
"I'll show you," Jessie said.
She pulled up a set of schematics on her tablet. I recognized it right away as the pillar. But not jus' that. It showed the whole damn Sector 7 plate as well. Lots of flashin' red an' white dots was all over it and linin' the inside of the pillar, too. What did they mean?
"Ever since we took out Reactor 1," Jessie explained, "Shinra's been rigging the Sector 7 plate with explosives, hiding them in the sewers up there so no one would find them. They've also planted them along the inside of the upper pillar—it's actually hollow and can be entered from the plate for maintenance and repairs."
"Shit! How they gonna set it off?" I swore.
She tapped her tablet, an' the view zoomed in on the lower pillar as me an' the guys leaned close to see it. "The detonator's wired directly to the main control console located on the 15th floor. It's where the service platform is. Normally, it's used for managing power distribution to the slums, but Shinra's reprogrammed it to cause a chain reaction that'll set off all of the explosives they've planted, destroy the pillar, and cause the Sector 7 plate to collapse and crush everyone!"
"But why would they do that!?" Wedge gaped.
"To kill us! Why else?" Jessie said.
Biggs stood back. "A whole town, just to wipe us out? There's gotta be more to it. No way they'd go that far just to destroy Avalanche. This has gotta be a mistake! Right?"
She shook her head. "No, Biggs. I know exactly how those bastards work, especially the asshole behind all this—Heidegger. He doesn't give a damn about collateral damage!"
"You know when they gonna set it off?" I asked.
"Tonight!" Jessie answered. "It could be any minute now!"
Wedge's eyes widened. "So what do we do?"
I pumped my fist. "We gonna save our home, that's what! Gotta go secure the pillar! You an' Biggs round up the watch, fast as you can. We gonna need all the help we can get, 'cause I got a feeling we headin' into a fight. Jessie, you're with me. Gotta get to the 15th floor and keep them Shinra bastards from reachin' the control panel."
"Understood," she nodded.
"Daddy?" I heard Marlene yawn.
I turned to see her paddin' down the stairs, rubbin' her eyes as she carried her doll in her arm. Our shoutin' must've woken her up. Didn't like havin' to leave her here alone, but I didn't have no choice. I picked her up an' put her in a chair while the others checked their weapons an' gear an' got themselves ready to move out.
"Me and the others've gotta leave for a little while," I told her. "You jus' stay here an' wait for us, Marlene. Don't go outside. We ain't gonna be gone long. Jus' gotta do a few things."
I didn't like bein' vague with her like that, but I didn't see no reason to scare her by tellin' her any more than she needed to hear. Jus' then, I turned as a bright light suddenly swept across the windows an' the loud sound of a helicopter flyin' overhead filled our ears.
"Go!" I told the others. "We outta time!"
Biggs slapped Wedge on the back, then ran out the doors with him barely a minute later. After loadin' a fresh clip into her gun an' checkin' on them purple grenades she carried in her belt pouch, Jessie followed jus' a step behind 'em. I kissed Marlene goodbye, ruffled her hair, then raced out the door an' into the yard.
"C'mon, Jessie!" I swept my arm across. "Let's move!"
She started to go with me as Biggs an' Wedge hurried off to get the watch mobilized, then stopped after a few steps. "Barret, go on ahead. I have to do something first. I'll meet you there."
I frowned. "The hell?"
"We don't have time to argue about this!" she said. "It's important! I have to try. If it can save lives and our home, then I'm gonna do it. So go on, Barret. It won't take long, I promise."
"You'd better be there," I growled. "You got five minutes!"
That said, she hurried 'round the corner of the bar an' outta sight. I sighed, speedin' past that parked motorcycle of hers, an' made my way toward the pillar as fast as I could. Didn't believe she was sellin' us out, but I wasn't sure what she was up to, either.
As another Shinra chopper flew overhead, I put her outta my mind an' concentrated on what had to be done. We was gonna save the pillar. An' our home. I jus' hoped Cloud an' Tifa would show up soon, 'cause I knew we'd need 'em before this was over.
I was working in my office on a proposal to renew construction on Sector 6 when I got the call. Not on my phone, but on my headset. The red light on it flashed insistently, and I knew my little agent was trying to reach me. Only one person had ever called me in this way—she was the only one who knew how—and I hadn't heard from her in just over two years. I grabbed the headset and put it on.
My little agent put her through at once. "Reeve! Can you hear me? It's Jessie! I have to talk to you!"
"I'm here, Jessica," I told her. "What's wrong?"
"You've gotta stop them, tell them to call it off!" she yelled. She was frantic. "They're gonna blow up the Sector 7 pillar!"
I shot to my feet. "What!? Are you sure?"
She came back seconds later. "Positive! I 'liberated' the mission file a few days ago and just cracked into it. I'm sending it to you now on an encoded frequency. Hurry, Reeve!"
Just then, my laptop beeped, and I sat back down to check on what she'd sent me. The mission file came up almost at once, the schematics for both the Sector 7 plate and the pillar itself, with swarms of flashing dots indicating where the explosives had been placed. The mission text indicating how and when they were to be set off. Tonight at the pillar's main control console, which meant that Shinra's forces were already on their way there. It would be starting soon.
I scanned it quickly, worry building up in my mind for both Jessica and the people of Sector 7. Although I hadn't spoken with her in a long time, I had kept tabs on her activities with my little agent and knew she had come to live there and that she had joined Avalanche—although it was Shinra's news report that had revealed to me her involvement, not my little agent. I had recognized her in the footage of the group fleeing from Reactor 1's terrible destruction.
"I see it," I told her. "I'll speak to the president at once."
"Thank you," Jessica breathed.
I locked the mission file in an encrypted folder before standing up again. "Of course, Jessica. But you have to get out of there! It isn't safe! I don't want to lose you, too."
She was far more than my friend. She was family, my goddaughter. It had pained me to send her to the slums years ago, but it had been for her own protection. I'd already lost her mother, Amanda, a dear friend I'd known since we were children. I wasn't going to lose Jessica as well. This mad plan she'd found had to be stopped.
"I'm staying," she said. "I have to, Reeve. I'm heading into the pillar to secure it and keep Shinra from activating the detonator. I have to do this. My home's in danger! So many innocent people's lives are at stake! I can't let them down. I have to save them!"
I was as proud of her as I was afraid. "Please be careful up there. I'll do what I can from here. And I insist that you call me as soon as this is over, Jessica. I need to know that you're safe."
"I will," she told me. "I promise."
I nodded. "I'll talk to you then. Goodbye, Jessica."
"Goodbye, Reeve," she answered.
After cutting the connection, I took off the headset, put it back on my desk, and stormed out of my office. I'd been kept in the dark about this plan by the other directors, and I knew exactly why. I was the only one of them who gave a damn about the people of this city, and they all knew I'd have fought against this horrible scheme and done everything I could to keep it from happening.
And I had every intention of doing just that.
