Jessie had a good night's sleep for the first time in months.
When she came out of her room the next morning, Erica had already made her breakfast. They spent the meal having a friendly chat about topics that they were comfortable enough to share together: the state of the planet, the aftermath of the Meteorfall, what happened between that and Sector 7's fall while Jessie was in coma. It got awkward at some points, but neither Rasberrys dwelled on them for too long. They knew that such things couldn't be avoided if they wanted to mend their wounds, and last night was a clear recent example. The important thing is they have a chance to talk, to really open up to each other, and that's what truly matters.
Jessie decided to visit the newly opened theater that her mother mentioned last night. There really was an ad for a role audition posted there: a leading role for a certain 'Princess Cornelia' in an adaptation of a medieval fantasy-themed play named 'I Want to Be Your Canary', coincidentally the same role that she was offered to play at Gold Saucer all those years ago. Another second chance gifted to her graciously as if life itself finally decided to give her a break. All she needed to do was just walk in.
Yet for some reason that surprised even herself, she hesitated.
There it was, the role she had always dreamed of playing her entire life, sitting right in front of her waiting for her to take it, but she still remained in place.
Jessie reached into her handbag and pulled out the WRO pamphlet that Elmyra gave to her yesterday. She flipped it open and took another look at the contents inside it once more. All those open job positions, more than a few she was more than qualified to join, and all of them played a part in making the world a better place to live it. She could get to work with talented people across the world coming up with new revolutionary ideas that could improve life everywhere and turn the planet into the paradise that it should be. It could even be like working with Avalanche again, minus the bombs and gunfire.
And yet there was still the matter of ex-Shinra employees, and the fact that she had to leave her mother behind once more as part of her job. These are the two main issues that she had to deal with should she decided to take Elmyra up on her offer. Even still, a part of her still longed for that old life she had after she gave up on her acting career: the life of a mechanic – fixing broken tools, tinkering with stuff to make them better, and even creating new, useful things from pieces of junk that nobody wanted. It wasn't something she initially hoped to be, but it's also something she does really well and enjoyed doing.
What choice should she pick, then?
What if she makes the wrong choices again? What if she screws things up again? What if the path she chose isn't the one for her after all?
"Here we go again…"
Jessie sighed. Even after everything, making tough choices that could affect her entire life is still a concept she struggled with. Should she follow her lifelong dream or should she continue to do her path for the world just as she once did? Should she put the needs of others before her own or respect her mother's wish to stay close by her side? Both choices are just as appealing, and yet they are also as terrifying, too.
"Sometimes, we just have to take things on blind faith. Just hope for the best that things will turn out alright."
Elmyra's words rang loudly in her head.
Maybe that's what she needs to do. Just make up her goddamn mind already.
And after a while, she eventually did.
She decided to head toward the WRO Recruitment Center once more.
She saw Elmyra standing there right in the front hall, arguing something with another girl. Someone who looked about a few years younger than Jessie, which meant she was pretty much a teenager. She carried a huge Wutai Shuriken on her back, which was pretty jarring compared to her small form. What was even more surprising was that Tifa was there as well, trying to calm the shuriken girl down while Elmyra just stood there, arms-crossed, with a deadpan look on her face.
"What do you mean 'those materias are redirected to North Corel'!? I needed those for Wutai!" The girl cried out impatiently. Elmyra wasn't impressed.
"For the last time, Yuffie, the materias will go to Wutai. You have my word on that," She said calmly, "But North Corel needed to make use of those things first. The people there want to rebuild their town too, you know? The materias will be on the way to Wutai immediately after they're done using it."
"Yeah, and how long will that take!?" The girl named Yuffie demanded, "The last shipment was delayed by two days. Two. Days! I thought they'd never come!"
"Come on, Yuffie. It was just two days!" Tifa tried to calm her companion down, "You know how dangerous the wildlands are with all those monsters out there. Better travel safe than sorry, right?"
"Well, we have the manpower to provide protection for those convoys, but only if we have some of those materias to help them fight better!" Yuffie argued, "That way, we can handle the supplies and transport them anywhere you want us to as swift as the wind. Simple!"
"It's not that simple, Yuffie. It's not just Wutai that needs those materias right now." Tifa explained, "We don't have enough supplies for anything long-term yet. Right now, we need to make sure that the places we wanted to help are still there for us to help them, and to do that, they need the materias to protect themselves."
"I think I might have a solution for that." Jessie decided to speak up, getting the three women's attention. They all turned to face her with surprised looks on their faces.
"Jessie! Good morning!" Tifa greeted her cheerfully, "How are you doing today!?"
"Never better. Had a heart-to-heart with my mom last night and now we're just chillin'," Jessie grinned back, turning to face Elmyra and gave her a respectful nod, "And I couldn't have done it with Mrs. Gainsborough's advice."
"I'm glad that I was able to help, young lady." Elmyra nodded back with a smile.
"Wait a sec, who's this?" Yuffie asked with a frown, arms resting on her hips, "And what do you mean 'you have a solution'? You think you know something we don't?"
Gods, this girl is intense, isn't she? Jessie wondered to herself amusingly, It's like I'm talking to my younger self.
"Jessie Rasberry. I'm just a girl who happen to know a thing or two about materias, and one of those things that I'm sure you realize as well is that some materias have more potency than others." She explained, "My suggestion is that you give the more potent ones to locations that really need materias first. They're already powerful and would help improve the situations in those places quicker. As for the less potent ones, you can let the Wutai armed forces have them. That one, they can use those in battle and increase their powers further as well. Everyone wins!"
"Yeah, that sounds good on paper, but I don't trust complete strangers to handle those powerful materias with care. Who knows what they'd do with them!" Yuffie retorted, "Nope. I still believe that we Wutais know best what to do with them."
"So let them show people the ropes!" Tifa suggested, "We have enough people here who know how to use materias, and most of them are from Wutai. They can be the ones who guide others at those settlements in how to make good use of those powerful materias so that they don't mess up. Besides, you always said that Wutai is always looking for opportunities to prove themselves to the world, right?"
"That…actually is a decent plan," Yuffie admitted, though she wasn't too happy about it, "Alright, alright! Lemme discuss this with my buddies first. No promises, but I'll see what I can do."
"I guess that settles it for now, then." Elmyra added, letting out a small relief sigh as Yuffie hurried away in the other direction, "Gods, I thought she'd be here forever."
"Thanks for helping, Jessie!" Tifa said happily, pulling Jessie into a brief hug, "So this means you're working with the WRO now, right?"
"About that…I was actually coming here to talk with Mrs. Gainsborough about exactly that," Jessie explained, "I've been thinking about this for a while now."
"Oh, I'll leave the two of you together, then!" Tifa nodded with a smile before turning to Elmyra, "Mrs. Gainsborough, thank you again for your advice! I'll do my best when Cloud comes back!"
"My pleasure, Tifa. Make sure he has a night to remember, dear. I know you can do it!" Elmyra grinned mischievously, while Tifa just turned her head away a little with a shy smile.
Wait, what!?
"Uh, what did she mean by that, Tifa?"
"Ah, nothing!"
"Hmm…"
"Anyway!" Tifa immediately cut in, "I really have to go now. Take care, you two! Come by to 7th Heaven when you have a chance!"
Before Jessie had a chance to ask anything more, Tifa already ran past her out of the front door at high speed. Elmyra just chuckled at the sight.
"Ah, youngsters these days." Elmyra said amusingly, "Anyway, you were saying that you have something to talk with me, Miss Rasberry?"
"Oh! Right! I was hoping to talk to you about your job offer yesterday, ma'am." Jessie said cheerfully, reaching into her handbag and pulling out the WRO pamphlet once more.
"Very well then. You found anything you like in there?"
"Everything, actually." Jessie admitted, "There are so many interesting job positions in there that I'd love to take part in given the chance. I know a thing or two about tinkering, and I have more than a passing knowledge about materias, so that pretty much covers most of the job openings already. Also, the opportunity to travel the world and do my best to make it a better place to live is a very appealing proposition. It'd be everything I could ever ask for."
Jessie paused for a moment. She has to do this right. She didn't want to send the wrong message to the woman who had given useful advice for her to work through her problems yesterday. Regardless, she had already made her decision.
"I have to respectfully decline your kind offer, Mrs. Gainsborough." She finally began, "At least for the time being."
Elmyra's reaction was just as Jessie predicted. She had a part-surprised, part-curious expression on her face. "Go on."
"I know that I can do a lot of good working for the WRO. I have experience and I believe I can get used to working with former Shinra employees, given enough time. Having a job here would really mean a lot for me," Jessie continued, "But right now, nothing means more to me than my mother. I want to spend some more time with her here in this city as we try to work our way through our issues together."
"If you're worried about working far away from home, I could find some assignments that allow you to stay here in Edge." Elmyra suggested, "There might be a few oversea trips, but they'd be short ones, and you'd be home before you know it."
"That's a very generous offer, ma'am, but there's more to it than that." Jessie continued, "I've devoted all my life so far into protecting the planet, to protect the people I love. Everything I did for Avalanche was for these purposes. I would gladly give my all to make sure that they are safe and sound."
Another pause, followed by a small smile to prepare herself for her summation. This is it. There's no turning back.
"But now…now I realize that the planet itself and the people I love would probably want to see me happy as well," Jessie finally concluded, "The planet gave me a second chance for a purpose, Mrs. Gainsborough, and I believe that it's for me to live the life I never had a chance to live before. A life that I actually wanted to live: just a young girl who aspires to be an actress and loves her family. I don't want to waste that chance. Not this time."
For a brief while, Elmyra just stood there processing what Jessie had said. Then she nodded and smiled back in acceptance.
"I knew Aerith brought you back for a reason, and she certainly made a good call." Elmyra said proudly, "Well, there's already a lot of people around here working around the clock to make the world a better place. I suppose it's fair that one should at least take the time to enjoy the paradise we've been building toward for once, especially for someone who has given so much for the planet already."
"You're too kind." Jessie replied shyly, "The best I've done for the planet was building some water filters. Anybody can do it."
"Exactly, so let someone else do it for once." Elmyra smiled, putting her right hand on Jessie's left shoulder as a sign of approval, "Go enjoy your second chance, young lady. You deserve it. And if you ever decided to change your mind, the WRO doors are always open for you."
"Thank you, Mrs. Gainsborough."
Jessie gave Elmyra her signature smile: a smile that she often gave to anyone who made her truly happy to be around with. There were only a handful of people in her life that she would feel comfortable and trust enough to give this smile to, and Elmyra Gainsborough is now one of them.
Speaking of second chances, she almost forgot to do something important. Something that she didn't do the first time around, and she will not mess this one up.
"Oh, I forgot to mention this to you yesterday!" Jessie began after Elmyra withdrew her hand away, "Aerith told me to say hi to you."
For once, Elmyra was genuinely surprised. She took a step back as she tried to process what she just heard, "Aerith told you?"
"Yes. I saw her in my dreams, Mrs. Gainsborough," Jessie confirmed with a small, shy smile. It sounded silly as hell when she spoke it out loud, but Elmyra remained silent. Jessie took this as a sign to continue, "She's one beautiful soul. I never had a chance to thank her for saving my life, but I can thank you, Mrs. Gainsborough. Thank you for raising her to be the bravest woman I've ever known. I am honored to have a chance to know both of you."
For a while, Elmyra just stood there, staring blankly into the distance. Then she let out a small sigh of relief. She closed her eyes and nodded a couple of times in acceptance. "That girl…still looking out for others even now… I'm so proud of her."
"I wish I had a chance to know her better," Jessie said softly, "We could've been good friends together."
"Oh, but you two are already friends, my dear," Elmyra opened her eyes before giving Jessie a reassuring smile, "She entrusted you with a message for me and you delivered, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for it."
For a moment, Jessie felt a warm rush coursing through her body, the same feeling she had when she finally repaired her walkie-talkie from spare parts, when she won the grand prize from the Shooting Coaster at Gold Saucer, when Biggs and Wedge toasted her successful audition for a starring role all those years ago, and when she and Erica were embracing each other for comfort last night. The feeling of pure bliss and happiness that she longed for. It's amazing how just a few short words – a simple message from a daughter to her mother – were able to move her so much.
Then again, it was the message that Aerith entrusted her with, and she finally succeeded in delivering it. For the first time in forever, she finally did something right.
That simple action, and Elmyra's emotional reply, almost moved her to tears.
"Happy to be of service, Mrs. Gainsborough," Jessie replied, her smile never fading even as she struggled to hold in the waterworks, "Thank you for everything you've done for me."
Jessie Rasberry was standing at a crossroad.
On the way back from the WRO Recruitment Center, Jessie realized that there was still some free time she could spend before going home. What should she spend her time with, however, is the true question.
She could just go home right now, back to the welcoming arms of her loving mother and enjoy the rest of the day watching some TV drama together. She could visit that newly-opened theatre again and decided to audition for that role just like she had always wanted to do. She could walk back to the WRO Recruitment Center and tell Elmyra that she changed her mind and that she actually wanted to work with her to make the world a better place. She could crash at Biggs and Wedge's place for a while, trying to set Biggs up for a blind date or helping Wedge take care of his cats. Or she could visit Tifa at her place in the new 7th Heaven bar and share a couple drinks together. She might actually meet Cloud this time, and who knows? Maybe she might get to witness something very interesting that Tifa didn't want to tell her about.
So many possibilities for her to pursue. So many paths that she could take from this crossroad she was currently at, and all these options are equally appealing, she didn't know for sure which one of them she really wanted to pick.
But maybe that's exactly the point.
Life is fleeting. Every choice and every decision could be the last, and there really is no way to tell when the number's gonna come up, and this time it will be for real. Anything could happen on whichever path she decides to take, so she intends to make the best out of it as much as she can.
Because this is Aerith's gift for her: a second chance.
She had already messed up the first time around, so this time she would not make the same mistakes again. She wants to be happy for once, to live a life that she always wanted to have, to be free from the fear and pain that once plagued her every waking moment, to be among friends and people she cared for and celebrate the new world together.
There will be struggles. There will always be struggles. But as long as she is still breathing, she will never give up. Her mother, Biggs, Wedge, Barret, Tifa, Cloud, Elmyra…they all have their inner demons that they're still dealing with, and she is no different, and that is why she will never feel alone.
And when the time finally comes for her to return to the planet once more, she will do it with no regrets this time.
Here goes nothing. Jessie smiled to herself as she took her first step forward into the unknown. Let's get this show on the road.
A/N: Well, it is done! My first (and hopefully not last) Final Fantasy fanfic, dedicated to one of my most favorite characters from FFVII Remake, Jessie Rasberry! This story is a project borne as a result of several factors. The first and the biggest one is because the Remake gave Jessie such an interesting and emotional character arc, I have a strong wish to write something that gives her a hopefully better resolution. It's not exactly a happy ending, but it's better than the fate she ended up in the game itself just because she's not a main character...
The second factor is borne out of frustration. Real life hasn't been kind lately and all the stuffs including endless political activities that seem to go nowhere or kept getting worse, the pandemic that shows no signs of ending, the constant struggle of identity crisis as I tried to figure out what I really want to be in life, all of them combined into one frustrating chapter of my life that I have no idea of what to do. I want to reflect all of that through the character of Jessie, who has to go through a pretty similar experience in my story.
The third factor is a more recent one. A fellow fanfic writer 'frozenfountain', who became my new online friend, has written a particularly beautiful and emotional character driven fanfic by the name of 'You Grow The Flowers Yourself', which is a part of her 'A Promised Land, Perhaps' series on AO3 that I'm still in the process of reading. Long story short, her story blew me away and left me speechless because of how good it is, and I was inspired to write something that hopefully provides a similar feeling to her story as well. Stories of ordinary individuals in a crazy, crazy world, fumbling their ways through chaotic events and constant struggles to find their places in the constantly changing reality. Thank you for being an inspiration, frozenfountain! I couldn't have done it without you. :)
Thank you every reader who've read this story. I hope that you enjoyed reading it and hopefully improve your experience of the world of Final Fantasy VII further. Comments are always welcomed and appreciated! I hope that you all have a fantastic day!