Death of a Dream
Chapter V: Demise
Jessie watched the television. Wedge ate something he snatched out of the fridge. I went downstairs to shine my sword and inspect my new gun. I picked up the sword and slid the fire and all materia out of the hilt. I took out a silver armlet and slid the fire and all into a joined slot. I set the armlet down and went to work cleaning my gun.
Roughly about an hour later, I heard the door upstairs swing open. I rode up on our elevator and took a look around the bar. Barret and Tifa had just walked in the door, somewhat scathed by first appearance, but apparently all right. Wait a sec…two? Where did that stuck up newbie go? I looked at Tifa.
"Hey, where's Cloud?"
She didn't answer, but rather sulked, with tears in her eyes. Well, that just about answered my question. I patted her on the back, then went to fix her something to eat.
The rest of the afternoon was quiet. I continued polishing and cleaning and Wedge watched the television while Jessie worked on her bomb and Tifa went of to meet some guy named 'Don Conero'. He said he promised Tifa some money if she did a job for him. At about 4-ish, someone came banging on our door. I opened it, and Morris ran in.
"Biggs! Hurry, the Turks are here and they're heading for the support!"
"Turks? What are they here for?!"
"I dunno, some people say that they are going to bomb the pillar so the plate comes down, you guys have to hurry!"
At this news, the 4 of us grabbed our equipment. I slid the armlet on and grabbed my gun and headed out the door as the others got themselves prepared. I was first to the scene. I saw the Turks unlocking the chain-link gate that leads to the stairs of the support. One of them pulled the lock off and tossed it over his shoulder. They calmly started heading up the stairs.
I ran over to them, and jumped in front of them before they reached the first flight.
"That's as far as you go…" I sneered at them. The red-headed one stepped forward.
"Move, you little maggot, or the Lifestream will be welcoming you with open arms."
I stood my ground as I faced off. The red-haired one took out an electrical nightstick and zapped me in the stomach before I had time to react. The bald one punched me a few good times in the face and in the stomach as well. A few punches and a few gunshots later, I was laying on the steel platform on the first flight. I couldn't even fire one shot. Barret and the rest rushed up the stairs and stopped in front of me.
"Biggs!" Jessie cried as she kneeled down to my level. I sat up, covering the gunshot wound in my shoulder with my hand.
"Don't worry about me. They've already gone up. You have to stop them. Seems like their aim is to break the support. Stop them for me."
Barret nodded solemnly and they headed up the stairs. I picked myself off the ground, and leaned over the railing, hoping that would be a better position to help the pain. After doing so, I heard gunshots above. I looked up and saw Wedge topple off the edge of the support, at the very top. He shrieked all the way down, then was silenced upon hitting the ground, a small dust cloud enveloping him. I tried to call out his name, hoping for a response, but nothing came out. I turned to look at the other side of the railing again, until I heard a familiar voice come up from behind me. I turned to them, and realized it was Cloud and Tifa.
"Cloud... so you don't care... what happens... to the.... Planet?" I said to him in barely above a whisper. All this dying can make you rather weak.
"You're wounded…" he said, his voice more caring this time.
"Thanks, Cloud...don't worry 'bout me.... Barret's... fighting up there. Go help him...."
Tifa had a sad look in her eyes. Cloud grabbed her arm and they ran up the stairs. I suddenly remembered the cure materia in my gun. I focused on it, and soon felt a lot better, the bullet wounds healed and any other scrapes as well. I got up, and ran to the top of the stairs as well. I soon came to Jessie, nearing the top. She was semi-conscious, with potentially lethal wounds. She looked up at me.
"Biggs…"
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. We have to get out of here." I focused my mind of the cure materia once again. A blue light surrounded her, healing her wounds. She stood up.
"What about them?"
"They can handle it, we've done all we could. Let's go."
She nodded slowly, and gave one last look back at Barret, Cloud and Tifa. We ran down the stairs, which was much easier than going up. We came to the bottom and we ran over to Wedge's body.
"Oh…Wedge." Jessie whispered, the kneeled down and stroked his hair. I took my phoenix down from my pocket and made him drink it. He came alive second later, and sat up as I did the cure spell on him.
"Welcome back, buddy. Let's go." I said as I helped him up.
"Bu--" He started in protest.
"Forget them, they can handle it…we gotta get out of here."
Just as we were about to leave, a large explosion above sounded. I looked up; to see the pillar self-destructing.
"I take that back, I guess they couldn't handle it." I looked down at the ground, then at my colleagues. "Well, it's been nice working with you."
"I hope they make it out. I hate to think of all the people who are going to die because of this. We couldn't stop them. Maybe we shouldn't have attacked them. That was probably the trigger to get them to do it." Jessie sighed, then hugged us all.
"Next time we meet will be in the Lifestream." Wedge said, then looked up above. Flaming steel and concrete rained down on us. A small piece of plaster hit me on the head. I brushed it off.
"My only regret, is that we couldn't have done more for the planet." I said. At this point, the giant plate fell. It seemed to fall in slow motion, and the frightened citizens remaining in the slums ran around us. Hope for us was lost, but as I looked up one last time, I saw 3 lone figures on a steel cable swing out of the area just before the plate knocked down the top of the tower.
This is our fate. I do not deny it, and I will not fight it. Fate has chosen this demise for us, and we should accept it. People live and people die, it is the circle of life. With the death of us, but the escape of our comrades, our legacy lives on. I am sure they will save the planet. In body we are gone, but in spirit, we will help them through their journey, and stop the ShinRa.