When Cloud, Tifa and Aeris had all finally got there and reached the Slums of Sector 7 at long last, they saw at once that all of Sector 7 was currently alright, and still in perfectly good condition, and the great Pillar itself was still standing proud and tall. It was a massive fifty metres high, and it had a very long staircase that led up to the very top platform of the Pillar itself, the stairs spiralling around the whole thing to reach the very top of it. As soon as they saw that the Pillar itself was still fully intact, Tifa cheered excitedly at once.
"Yes, we did it! We made it, we've actually made it here in time to save the Sector after all! The Pillar's still standing, and Shinra haven't destroyed it at all! We can still save it and the people here," said Tifa, triumphantly, with a big grin, sighing in relief, pleasantly surprised that they weren't too late.
But the relief they all felt at seeing the Pillar was soon to be very short-lived, as Cloud's eyes widened in alarm as he now heard something that seemed to be coming from the top of the Pillar, and he didn't like what he thought he could hear from there. He stepped forwards slightly in the direction of the Pillar, and looked up at the very top of it, where he could still hear the sound coming from there.
"Wait a minute, Tifa, it doesn't look like this is the time to celebrate our arrival just yet! Listen carefully for a moment, and look up at the very top of the Pillar. Do either of you two hear something that seems to be coming from above us, up there?" asked Cloud, suddenly, pointing to the top of the pillar. Both Tifa and Aeris listened carefully too, looking in the direction that Cloud indicated. The sound was getting even louder.
"Is that sound…gunfire?" asked Aeris, feeling uneasy now.
Aeris was absolutely right about this, it was gunfire, and that was indeed what Cloud had suspected from the beginning since hearing it. Loud and explosive sounds of gunfire, ceaseless and highly frantic by the sound of it, could now be easily heard from the very top of the Pillar itself now.
"Yes, that was my first thought about this, Aeris, and it's coming from all the way up there, at the very top of the Pillar itself. And where there's the sound of gunfire around, there's likely to be Barret there too. And if he's firing so desperately like this, then that must mean he's in very big trouble," said Cloud, grimly. Looking more closely at what was happening at the top of the Pillar, Tifa suddenly gasped in surprise.
"Wait a minute, that's not Barret who's firing all those shots of gunfire, it's Wedge! He's trying to shoot down a Shinra helicopter that's hovering around the top platform!" shouted Tifa, alarmed and horrified as she watched was happening at the top of the Pillar.
"What!?" shouted Cloud, in shock and disbelief, before he too quickly looked up in the direction of the top of the Pillar, focusing intently on what was going on up there, as were both Tifa and Aeris, and now they saw what was happening.
The sound of gunfire suddenly ceased abruptly, as all the shots stopped at that moment. Watching, Cloud saw that it was indeed Wedge, and he seemed to have just attacked a Shinra helicopter that was hovering nearby, and all the bullets he had fired must surely have hit it, as Wedge stood triumphantly.
But at the moment, they saw a small circle of red light coming from the side of the helicopter (what exactly it was, they couldn't see it clearly enough), and Wedge at once was trying to roll out of the way, but suddenly the circle of red light flew right at him and struck the platform he was at. There was a massive explosion of red light that filled the whole top platform of the Pillar itself, lighting up the entire area, before it faded away, and Wedge had clearly been sent flying backwards away from the platform, and began to fall to the ground at once.
"NO!!!!" screamed Tifa, in frantic concern and fear, as she saw Wedge begin to fall from the top of the Pillar itself, and began a fifty-metre drop to the ground below, which would no doubt be to his death. Cloud too was immensely horrified and alarmed at seeing Wedge start to fall, and both he and Tifa rushed forwards at once to where Wedge was going to fall.
They both heard loud screams and more sudden gunshots from the top of the Pillar as Wedge began to fall, and Cloud knew that both were from Barret, but he and Tifa gave it no notice, concentrating only on a way they might save Wedge from his grisly fate, as he fell further towards the ground…and then suddenly stopped in mid-air.
"What the hell…?" gasped Cloud, not believing what he was seeing, as he watched Wedge's unmoving body in mid-air, and Tifa was also gaping in shock. A sudden suspicion filled Cloud's mind, and he spun around to look at Aeris, who hadn't moved. His eyes suddenly widened.
Aeris stood rigid on the spot, her arms outstretched in Wedge's direction and her hands tightly clenched, her eyes closed, and she was praying to herself in that same strange language Cloud didn't understand. Purple energy had suddenly surrounded Wedge's body, before vanishing in a flash of light, and he was motionless in mid-air.
Suddenly, Cloud remembered back to when they had both escaped from Reno in the church, and quickly realized what was happening. Having previously seen her use it on Reno to stop him from attacking, she was now somehow using her sealing technique again, though time she was using it on Wedge now, and this time, it was to try and save his life.
Cloud and Tifa both stood and stared at the mysterious flower girl, as Aeris prayed urgently, and concentrated much harder. Wedge's body suddenly started to move, as it moved down again, but this time slowly and steadily. Cloud watched as Wedge slowly moved downwards in a safe pace, he was only forty meters above them now.
Completely amazed by what was happening, Cloud walked over to Aeris, staring at her in astonishment. He had always known, ever since meeting her, that there had been strange facts about Aeris all the time, and very bizarre things that she seemed able to do. Despite all that though, she still never failed to shock him by what she was capable of. After this was over, he would definitely find out how and why she could do all this…if they were all still alive by then.
"Wow, Aeris, I really…" began Cloud, but he then stopped abruptly as he suddenly noticed something. A large amount of sweat seemed to spread from Aeris, and she was clearly very strained and hurt, as she suddenly sank to her knees in pain, but still focused on getting Wedge down slowly. Wedge was now thirty meters above the ground and still going steadily down, but Aeris seemed in serious pain at the effort, as she suddenly screamed in agony while still concentrating.
"Aeris, stop it! You're putting your whole self under severe strain by doing this, I can see it! Stop it right now!" shouted Cloud, urgently, but Aeris slowly shook her head, her eyes still tightly shut, and she was wincing and moaning in pain.
"No…I…can't stop now…Cloud. It's the only…way to…save his life…I have to…do it," said Aeris, with clear pain in her voice, but she still concentrated hard, as Wedge's body slowly lowered to twenty-five meters above the ground.
But a hideous thought had occurred to Cloud. If Aeris carried on like this, then Wedge would indeed be saved, but if she strained herself to pull this off, then the severe effort it would take was going to kill her instead, in the process. Cloud knew that Aeris would refuse to stop herself, so Cloud would have to instead, but he would be condemning Wedge to his death. Tifa seemed to have figured out the same thing.
"Come on, Cloud! You have to do something, you've got to decide right away!" shouted Tifa, frantically, and Cloud realized that he had suddenly been forced to make a terrible choice…to make either Aeris or Wedge die, and only one could survive.
Stricken, Cloud looked up from Wedge, and down at Aeris, and then glanced back at Wedge, before looking back down at Aeris again, trying frantically to decide what was for the best, hating the fact he had to make this choice. But as Wedge's body slowly lowered down at a safe pace, and as Aeris was straining herself to death, Cloud knew what choice he wanted to do, and there was no longer any doubt in his mind.
"God forgive me…" muttered Cloud, solemnly, before he then suddenly reached out, and pulled Aeris' hands apart at once, effectively ending the sealing spell that she had been using, as she then stopped praying. Aeris' beautiful green eyes flared wide open as she stared at Cloud, realizing what he had done, and they spun around to look upwards.
Gravity had abruptly resumed it's purpose again, as Wedge suddenly dropped at the normal pace he had started at. He was now falling twenty meters to the ground, which was much lower than from the top, but the fall was still going to have severe and fatal results, as Wedge quickly fell and struck the ground hard with a loud, nasty thud that echoed around the area. There was a loud and hideous snapping and cracking sounds from his body at the impact, and he lay motionless. Meanwhile, the helicopter had just fallen and exploded in a ball of fire on impact with the ground at the other side of the Pillar.
At once, Cloud, Tifa and Aeris all rushed over as fast as they could to where Wedge lay still and sprawled down on the ground, and they stood over him in horror and anxiety. His back and spine appeared to be completely smashed and shattered by the impact, and both his arms and legs were clearly broken and smashed. Blood stared to spread slowly from Wedge's body, beginning to form its own crimson red pool around him.
"WEDGE!! Are you alright, can you still hear me!? Wedge, come on, answer me if you can, please!" shouted Cloud, clearly very frantic and concerned, as he kneeled at his side and checked Wedge's pulse, and felt a very weak one indeed, but it meant that Wedge was still alive…at least for now.
Wedge then slowly opened his eyes and looked up slightly at Cloud in surprise and smiled kindly, although it made him wince with terrible pain, and caused him to cough out some of his own blood. Then Wedge spoke slowly and wearily, his voice quiet and barely audible.
"Cloud…you came over here to help us after all…and you remembered…my name too…now listen to me, Barret's alone at the top of the Pillar…please go there now, and…help him…And Cloud…I'm sorry that I wasn't…any real help here…Don't bother worrying about me…I'm not going…to make it through this…Go help Jessie…She's up there too…Go help her and Barret…" said Wedge, quietly, and then he slowly looked over at Tifa, who had tears in her eyes as she looked back at him.
"Tifa…I'm glad that I could…say one last goodbye to you now…you should know…that your food was always the best that I ever had…and I'm grateful for it…it was some of the most enjoyable moments I had being in the bar…with you and the others…when you're up there on the top of the Pillar, just make sure…that you stay alive…just make a better job of surviving here than I did…" said Wedge, slowly, with a slight smile.
"I will, Wedge. I will…and I'm honoured to have let you come into my bar all those times, and glad that you enjoyed my own food so much. Whenever you said it, I always thought of it as a really big compliment. So thanks for all the confidence you gave me back then," said Tifa, tearfully. Wedge grinned a little, then the grin vanished and Wedge's eyes slowly closed, as he soon passed out.
Cloud stood back up onto his feet, and stared down at Wedge for a long moment, knowing that there was nothing he could have really done to prevent this from happening, though he couldn't help but feel guilty about it all the same, and he was fiercely determined and focused on carry out Wedge's final request. Finally withdrawing his gaze from Wedge's motionless and broken body, Cloud turned to face Tifa and Aeris, who both saw fiery resolve in his eyes.
"I'm getting up those stairs to the top of the Pillar right now, and I'm going to help Barret protect it from Shinra as Wedge wound have wanted! Tifa, you come with me, I'll need your help up there. Aeris, you stay here and look after Wedge, you're still too drained to fight along with us now. Try and heal Wedge if he wakes back up, but if it's not possible, then…just keep him company before he goes," said Cloud, sternly.
Aeris nodded to him slowly in response, her head bowed in sorrow for a moment, looking both sad and grim for once, as well as feeling tried from all the effort she had given earlier. Tifa turned to face Aeris, looking rather anxious as a sudden thought occurred to her, and she spoke urgently.
"Aeris, after you've done all you could here, I'd like you to please do an important favour for me. I have a bar called the Seventh Heaven in the Slums. Inside, there should be a little girl named Marlene hiding, while this is all going on. She's Barret's daughter, and he would have told her to stay in the bar to keep safe from the danger," explained Tifa, clearly worried.
"Don't worry about it, Tifa, I do understand what you're asking of me here. I'll go to your bar, find her there, ask her to come with me, and then I'll leave this Sector with her, and lead her somewhere else where she can be safe, in case Sector 7 does get crushed," replied Aeris, understanding.
Tifa nodded gratefully at her in response, now thoroughly relieved to have that task taken care of, then she turned towards the panicked citizens, who were now all out of their houses, noticing all the commotion that was going on, and they were all either staring up at the Pillar, or were running about the place in a panic. Tifa shouted out to them.
"Everyone, just listen to me for a moment! Please, it's a matter of great urgency that you all must get away from here at once, right now! Get out of the Sector 7 area quickly, before it's too late! Flee for your lives in case the Plate might fall down and crush this whole place!" shouted Tifa, frantically.
But the citizens of the Sector 7 Slums didn't move from their place at all, and they just stood and watched what was happening up at the Pillar. They seemed either too scared or too hopeless to want to escape. Despaired, Tifa knew that this meant they would definitely have to stop Shinra destroying the Pillar now as the only means of saving these people.
"Cloud, come on, we've got to reach the top of the Pillar right now! We've got to get going up there as soon as possible, or Barret and the others are just going to die along with this whole Sector unless we help them!" yelled Tifa, frantically, very desperate and urgent to make it up the stairs to the top of the Pillar in order to save it in time.
Cloud nodded firmly at her, and then he looked back at Aeris, and then at Wedge, who was still lay very badly wounded and dying on the ground, his chest and back bones smashed and broken with his spine, along with his broken arms and legs as well, his blood spreading from around him. Noticing Cloud's hesitation, Aeris quickly turned to look at Cloud.
"Just get up there like Tifa said, and don't you worry about Wedge. Just let me handle this, okay? But to be honest, I'm not sure that even I can heal him, though. Potions and Cure spells can't heal critical injuries, and I don't know if even my healing spells can do the trick either, now that I've already used up so much mental and physical effort on myself anyway. Wedge's injuries are a lot more serious than even yours were back at the church…and unless he regains consciousness, there's no way I can heal him anyway," explained Aeris, seriously.
Cloud just slowly nodded hopelessly to her, realising with a sense of finality and defeat that, whatever abilities or magical talents Aeris was capable of doing, there were still some clear limits to what she could do with these abilities after all, and that meant that Wedge really was finished for good. No longer focusing on it anymore, Cloud slowly walked away from Wedge's body with a downcast expression that Tifa also shared, and then Cloud and Tifa both ran off to the stairs of the Pillar.
Behind them, as they both ran off, Aeris was still kneeling beside Wedge's body, and trying everything that she could to make sure that Wedge would be alright, but it was just no use at all. She had tried desperately to try and heal him, but Wedge was still unconscious, and she felt mentally strained and just exhausted, so she couldn't do it at all.
Aeris had completely healed Cloud's near fatal wounds back when he had fallen into the church, but this was far worse, and Wedge was too badly wounded for even her techniques to save him at the moment, under the circumstances. There was simply nothing more that Aeris could do for him.
To Aeris' surprise, at that moment Wedge had suddenly stirred, and seemed to have regained consciousness. Wedge had quickly realised that he was going to die at any near moment now, and that nothing could be done about it. So he raised his head and looked at Aeris, brave to the end. Seeing that he was awake, Aeris quickly tried to act at once.
"You've regained full consciousness again, now? Good, now please just hold still, I can help you get better in a few minutes or so…" said Aeris, but she halted as she saw Wedge slowly but firmly shaking his head.
"No, please…don't strain yourself for me…I can tell you cannot handle the effort of trying to help me get better, after you must have tried to save my life earlier…I overheard from the radio when you were in the mansion, that you somehow healed Cloud from the brink of death…and I don't doubt your capabilities…but I know you must have tried to get me down safely earlier, which explains why I just stopped and went slowly down for a moment…before falling again…I guess you must have strained yourself too much…to continue…so just get some rest…and don't badly hurt yourself because of me…I would question how you can do all this…but as I'm dying at the moment, it hardly matters…" said Wedge, slowly.
"But I have to…" protested Aeris, urgently, but Wedge still shook his head, and refused to have her get hurt.
"No, don't worry…I am grateful enough that you saved me from instant death earlier…to give me a chance…to die in my own peace now, so I'm glad you did what you did. When I was listening to the radio…I learned that your name is…Aeris, right…? Don't worry…about me…my time is up now. Just go to the bar and get…Marlene…out of here at once, now. She's a great deal more…innocent and…young, so…she deserves…to get out…of here a lot more…than I do…so go and take her somewhere safe…right away…please…every second in here counts…so get her out…as soon as possible…" said Wedge, hoarsely, with a hint of desperation.
"Are you really that sure about this decision of yours, Wedge? You honestly don't look so well at all…" said Aeris, knowing that was a severe understatement, but she was very worried and concerned. Wedge nodded slowly and wearily.
"Yes, I am sure of this…so please…just go now to the bar…and get Marlene…far away from this whole area…and take her…to safety elsewhere, along with yourself. And, Aeris…thank you for trying to save me, but don't grieve over this…there was nothing more you could have done…" whispered Wedge, his voice getting weaker and weaker until it finally faded away, and then his eyes slowly closed, and his head leaned to one side, and at that moment, he stopped breathing completely, and lay absolutely motionless.
Alarmed, Aeris quickly kneeled down beside Wedge's body, and checked for any pulse. There was now none there at all, and there was no longer any rate of heartbeat either, nothing whatsoever, and Aeris knew that these facts could only mean one thing. Wedge was dead.
Realizing this, Aeris bowed her head in sadness and sorrow for a long moment, tears falling from her face, and she even did a prayer in honour of Wedge, before she slowly stood back up on her feet, and looked down at Wedge's dead body. Wiping the tears from her eyes, and remember what Wedge had asked of her, Aeris quickly rushed away in the direction of Tifa's bar.
In the other direction to Aeris, Cloud and Tifa were quickly running towards the beginning of the stairs of the Pillar, but then they both abruptly stopped in their tracks in shock and horror as they saw something on the stairs. Fear and frantic concern filled the two of them once again.
Biggs was standing there alone at the beginning part of the staircase. But they both clearly saw that he was very badly wounded, and he was leaning over on the metal railing of the staircase for support, breathing heavily and slowly, as his own blood seemed to spread from him.
Horrified and concerned, Cloud and Tifa quickly rushed over to Biggs, alarmed and fearful for him, as they reached the beginning of the staircase, and stood beside him. Cloud noticed with horror that the metal railing was covered with Biggs' blood, and blood also stained the stairs where he was as well, quickly spreading away from him. There were clear bullet wounds in his chest, his left leg and right arm, and blood was flowing from each of them. Many Shinra soldiers lay dead not far in front of him near the beginning of the stairs, each with bullet wounds, and Cloud knew Biggs had been trying to hold them off.
Noticing their arrival as they stood near him on the stairs, Biggs slowly turned his head in their direction while leaning on the railing, and he stared at Cloud as he spotted him, surprised and yet, like Wedge, he was clearly glad and very relieved to see him there, and smiled slightly. Both Cloud and Tifa could tell that Biggs was dying quickly from his wounds, as they both stood close and listened intently to him as he spoke in a slow and feeble tone of voice.
"Cloud…you really did come here to help us…after all…I'd almost started to…give up on you…coming here…so then, does this mean that you…really do care about…what happens…to us and the Planet's survival…? Have you…changed your…mind…at all…about our cause for the Planet…?" asked Biggs, curiously, breathing slowly and heavily, looking very white due to blood loss. Cloud ignored the question, not knowing the answer.
"I still don't know whether or not I'm willing to fight to the death for the Planet's survival like the rest of you, but I don't think that's important right now. All I know is that I've grown to be concerned for the safety of you and the others, and now you're clearly badly wounded, Biggs," said Cloud, concerned and worried. Tifa looked very anxious too, as she laid a hand on Biggs' shoulder in comfort. Biggs smiled at them both, though it made him wince with intense pain.
"Thanks by the way, Tifa…you've always been very kind to me, and a good friend…and thank you too, Cloud…It's good…to know…that you…really do care about us…after all…even if you're…still not concerned…about the Planet…Now go up those stairs, and don't bother worrying about…me now, I'm not going to last much longer…Barret's fighting…against Shinra…up there, and he's going to need help to defend the Pillar…and to stay alive too…Go and…help him…and Jessie…please save them and the people…save them all…" whispered Biggs, wearily.
Before either Cloud or Tifa could say anything more to him at all in response, Biggs then stared to choke suddenly, as his body rocked about violently, and Biggs went into a hideous fit of coughing, blood spraying from his mouth. Then suddenly, the chocking abruptly ceased, and Biggs suddenly slid off the railing, and landed with a thud on the stairs at Cloud and Tifa's feet, laying completely motionless, his eyes wide open and staring blankly, looking lifeless.
Terrified and alarmed by what he had just seen, Cloud quickly knelt down on the stairs beside Biggs' bloody and lifeless body, and rushed to check for any pulse, but there was now none there at all, and Cloud knew at once what this meant, with a feeling of dread. Biggs was dead.
Cloud reached out and closed Biggs' lifeless and staring eyes, before he stood up to his feet, and stared down at Biggs' dead body in complete disbelief, and boiling anger was surfacing from within him. He had just watched Biggs die right there in front of him. All because Cloud had to fall off that bridge…
Cloud felt that all of this, the deaths of Biggs and Wedge, were happening because he had got careless up there on that Reactor bridge at the Mako Reactor N05, when he had fallen from it, and way from the rest of the group. If he had only been here at the Pillar from the start along with Tifa as well, Biggs would probably have still been alive, and Wedge might have been alright too.
Cloud clenched his fists tightly in anger, and he was also now determined not to let Biggs down either as well as Wedge; he would defend the Pillar from Shinra. Without another look back, Cloud quickly rushed up the stairs as Tifa followed him, tears flowing down her cheeks at what was happening.
Cloud and Tifa both rushed up the long, spiralling staircase surrounding the Pillar as fast as they could, and they had almost reached the top platform at the very top of the Pillar in a few minutes, but Cloud could still hear Tifa sobbing behind him. In concern, Cloud stopped in his tracks and faced Tifa, who then stopped as well. Cloud brushed the tears from his face, and took a step towards her.
"You think you're going to be okay, Tifa?" asked Cloud, concerned. Tifa didn't answer him, her head bowed sadly. Cloud walked closer to her, laying a hand on her shoulder.
"I know what you're thinking, Tifa. This is pretty much like what happened back at Nibelheim, five years ago…our friends and families dying while we have to watch and get caught up helplessly in the middle of it all. But this time it's going to be different," said Cloud, his voice firm and sure.
"How, Cloud? How can you possibly know all that?" asked Tifa, hopelessly, with a hidden meaning to her words, a few tears still sliding down her face, but Cloud never noticed the other meaning behind it. Cloud gently brushed her tears away again, and lifted her chin up so that she faced him.
"I'm not going to just stand back and watch like I did back then. I won't fail you this time, I'll keep my promise," said Cloud, his grip tightening on her shoulder. Tifa smiled at him.
"I know you will, Cloud, I know…" said Tifa, softly, and then they both continued to run and make their way up to the stairs of the Pillar, feeling a little more reassured. But then they suddenly stopped in their tracks on the middle of the stairs as they noticed something there, and their eyes widened in shock and horror.
Jessie was lying VERY badly wounded on the middle of the stairs, in an even worse and nasty looking condition than either Biggs or Wedge had been in, as she was completely covered with her own blood, which flowed around her as well, as she lay dying there on the stairs near the top of the Pillar.
Looking down at her ruined body in grief and terror, Cloud saw that it was a complete miracle that Jessie was still alive right at this moment. Her legs looked as though they were very close to being torn completely off, and her arms limply lay broken and smashed at her sides. Her back had completely split open, and her torso had torn open as well.
Cloud and Tifa quickly knelt down beside her, forced to kneel down in the pool of blood that was spread all around her, both of them alarmed and fearful, as they knelt down right beside her. Jessie seemed to awaken, and noticed them there, and she slowly lifted her head an inch upwards to look at them, but had no more strength to do more than that.
"…My friends…my dear friends…you've arrived here at last…thank goodness for that…thank goodness…" said Jessie, weakly, her voice very small and barely audible at all. Tears spread down Tifa's face, as she shook her head wildly in clear disbelief and grief.
"Oh my god…dear god, we're already too late! Oh Jessie, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry that we couldn't come here any sooner, I really am…" said Tifa, sadly, sobbing as she looked at Jessie.
"(I knew we should have gotten here sooner…I knew we might be too late to save them…and I was right all along…all of them are gone now…Biggs…Wedge…and now Jessie's going to die too…this situation is just so terrible…)" thought Tifa, sadly.
"Tifa…what if…what if you knew now that I've always…had a crush on…Cloud. You should…hate me…I've been so…jealous of you, I knew I couldn't compare…jealous, but happy for you at the same time…even if I always have felt something…" said Jessie, slowly, her eyes sparkling a little. Jessie turned to face Cloud, and smiled softly.
"I couldn't let myself die here and now…without having the chance…to tell you that…first…even if I have got…long since over you now…and fallen for a certain someone else instead…if only I had realized it sooner…" said Jessie, smiling softly, and wincing with pain as she did so, tears spilling forth from her eyes, due to agonizing pain, both physically and mentally.
"I never knew at all…" replied Cloud, quietly, his head bowed, at a completely loss of what to say or of what to think, he just didn't know at all...
"I…know you didn't…know or feel anything, Cloud…but I'm not bitter…for it at all…I kept quiet…because I just didn't want…to interfere like that…not when you clearly weren't interested at all…I didn't want to cause any problems…I'm so sorry if I have now, Tifa…" said Jessie, painfully, but Tifa quickly shook her head, and smiled reassuringly at her.
"You really don't have to feel sorry about anything like that at all, Jessie, I don't hate you, and I never had. I understand how you must have felt, and I don't blame you for it. You're still one of the best friends that I ever had, Jessie. I'll always think of you, Biggs and Wedge as three of my very best friends. Even after all of this," said Tifa, softly. Jessie smiled, comforted a little by her words, but she was still rather downcast.
"I'm sorry…I really am sorry…that I can't help defend and save the Pillar from Shinra now…forgive me…I have…failed you all…I've let each and every one of you…down here…I just wasn't strong enough…to stop them…I wasn't strong enough to make…any real difference…" said Jessie, sadly. But Cloud shook his head firmly at her.
"NO, that's not true! You didn't fail any of us at all! You did your job well, Jessie. You held them all off until we got here, and you helped prevent Shinra Incorporated from destroying the Pillar until we would arrive to save it. If anything, you should be really proud of yourself for all that you're done here. You fought bravely, and you've kept your honour…Shinra are going to be sorry you weren't on their side, just like I told you back at the Mako Reactor N0.1," said Cloud. Jessie smiled at him.
"Cloud…I'm just so glad…really glad…that I could…talk with you both…for one last time…before I go…with Biggs and Wedge…to whatever our next journey may be…after life…by the way, it was Biggs I'd fallen for…after getting over you…he told me once that he loved me, but I never took his word for it…until recently…and now I'm only sorry that I didn't sooner…before I go now…but at least I go with him…after you and I have had our last goodbye…" said Jessie, smiling at Cloud.
"Please, Jessie, don't say last…" said Cloud, saddened and depressed. He knew that she was right, but the fact of it all was upsetting him all the more. Jessie smiled kindly, and slowly shook her head.
"Don't despair…it's going to be alright…Cloud…But because of…our past actions…back at the Mako Reactor N01…many people…have all died…as a result…of our own rebellion against Shinra…of our own selfish acts…I've come understand that what we did was wrong now…no matter what the reason for it…This situation here is probably…our own punishment for our deeds at the Reactor…Please, Cloud…help Barret defend and save that Pillar, and help him to stay alive too…then maybe…it will make it seem…like this wasn't all in vain…And when you see Barret…tell him…that he must not sacrifice innocent lives anymore…not for anything…tell him to find another way…to stop Shinra…tell him not to kill any more innocent people…I would be comforted…to know that it wouldn't happen again…" said Jessie.
"Is that so…?" asked Cloud, numbly, still very depressed by what had happened to her, and to Biggs and Wedge.
"…'Is that so'…? Ha, I would have expected…that sort of response from you at any time…but I mean it…in a good way, so don't worry, Cloud…You always were cool and casual about things…Mr Ex-SOLDIER…and I had always…liked that…in you…" whispered Jessie, hoarsely, her voice then fading away.
Jessie smiled up at Cloud, staring up at him, as Cloud looked back down at her. Suddenly, Jessie began to gasp in sudden pain, and her breathing quickly became more violent and heavy, rocking her ruined body about. Cloud reached down, and held her tightly against his chest, as Jessie buried her head in his shoulder, giving her some comfort as she violently rocked about in his arms for a moment, until she suddenly stopped moving abruptly, and became completely still.
Noticing this at once, and feeling a horrible sense of dread, he slowly lowered her back down to the floor of the stairs, setting her comfortably there. A peaceful smile was spread across her face, and her eyes were closed, as she lay completely motionless, with no sign of life in her. Cloud already knew the state was she in, but he still checked her pulse all the same, and he received no surprise about the fact there was no pulse at all, it was what he had expected. Jessie was dead.
As they knelt beside her, Cloud and Tifa looked down at Jessie's dead body, for one last final time. Slowly, Cloud knelt down, and kissed her on the forehead out of only respect for her, before he slowly got back up onto his feet, staring down at Jessie's body without a sound, as Tifa stood back up and did the same as well.
Cloud tightly clenched his fists, harder than ever now, and he snarled angrily in rage, determined to get revenge for her, Biggs and Wedge, and he quickly ran up the staircase to the very top of the Pillar, without saying another word.
Tifa quickly followed him, looking very pale and on the verge of tears, quite a few tears were already flowing down her face, as she and Cloud both soon reached the top stairs of the Pillar. Noticing this, Cloud stopped again, facing Tifa.
"Come on, don't just give into despair now, Tifa, now's not the time for that at all. You have to be confident, Tifa, despite all that's happened here already. You have to be, or you'll never win against Shinra right now," said Cloud, reassuringly.
"I know that…but I…" began Tifa, sadly, her head bowed.
"NO buts, Tifa, none at all. I'm here for you, but you have to be strong for yourself right now too, okay? Don't worry, we've both already come through a lot worse than this, and you know it," said Cloud, sternly.
"Yeah…you're right, Cloud. We have come through worse even than this…back then. We'll make it through this too," said Tifa, nodding in reassurance, looking more confident.
Cloud smiled slightly at her, and then at that moment, he completely startled her and himself by leaning over and kissing her on the cheek, an act only of instinct. As he pulled away, Cloud's eyes widened in surprise and shock, hardly believing what he just did.
Tifa stared at him for a long moment in shock, her mouth hanging open slightly in disbelief, and then smiled and blushed, her confidence renewed, while Cloud looked uncertainly back at her, and after giving each other a rather awkward look, the two of them quickly ran along the top stairs, to the top platform of the Pillar, and as they finally arrived there, they started urgently searching around the place for Barret at once.
Many Shinra Soldiers were lying dead on the floor, each of them covered with bloody bullet wounds, and some with other sorts of wounds as well. Cloud and Tifa quickly cleared a path on the platform by throwing these bodies off the edge of the platform, and with no more obstacles in their way, they ran to the platform's other side, and spotted the leader of AVALANCHE standing before the top of the great Pillar itself, and saw to their immense relief that he was alright. But as soon as Barret heard footsteps coming towards him, he came to a false conclusion, as he spun around in the direction of the sound, and opened fire…
Far below the top platform of the Pillar, fifty meters below in fact, Aeris was quickly running along the Slums of Sector 7 to Tifa's bar, racing to there frantically as fast as she could. She spotted a bar that had the words 'Tifa's Seventh Heaven' written on the front of it above the front doors. Feeling enormously relieved to have found the bar, Aeris rushed inside. A brown haired little girl wearing a pink shirt and skirt with a yellow tie was standing behind the counter, and Aeris knew this had to be Marlene, as she quickly walked over to her.
"Who are you, and why are you here?" asked Marlene, nervously, as she saw Aeris enter the bar, and took a step backwards from the counter as Aeris stood before it, but she then smiled reassuringly at Marlene, who couldn't help but feel a sudden sense of trust upon seeing it.
"Excuse me for a moment, but are you…Marlene? Well then, it's really nice to be able to meet you. My name's Aeris, by the way. Tifa and Wedge have both asked me to come find you here to take you to safety, and to get you out of Sector 7 right away, it's dangerous here right now. So let's get going just in case, okay, Marlene?" said Aeris, softly and kindly. Marlene was clearly thinking about it for a moment, before she slowly nodded in response.
"Well, my papa always tells me never to trust strangers, especially bad men like Shinra people, but if Tifa and Mr Wedge really have asked you to take me somewhere, then I guess it's okay if I go with you then. Okay then, miss Aeris, I'll come with you. But is papa going to be alright if he stays here against the bad people?" asked Marlene, clearly very worried.
"Do you mean Barret, by any chance? Don't worry, he's going to be perfectly alright, Marlene. Cloud and Tifa are both on their way up to the top of the Pillar, and are going to go help him out right now," said Aeris, reassuringly.
"Okay then, that's good enough for me, papa's gonna be okay with Cloud and Tifa with him, I know it! Let's go then, miss Aeris, ma'am," said Marlene, politely, nodding and walking over to her. Aeris smiled back at her, and gently took her hand.
Despite the fact that Aeris was a complete stranger to her, Marlene somehow felt, even at her age, that she could trust Aeris beyond any doubt at all, and she immediately took a very strong liking and respect to her. Holding hands and smiling at each other, they both then quickly rushed out of the bar.
Aeris and Marlene then rushed through the front gate of the Sector 7 Slums, and soon they had safely let the Sector, and as soon as they were out of the danger area, they slowed down and started to walk calmly over to Aeris's house in the Slums of Sector 5, which Aeris explained to Marlene would be the safest place for them to go right now.
Marlene was very curious and intrigued to know how Aeris knew Cloud and Tifa, so on the way to her house, Aeris told Marlene about how she had met Cloud again in the church and all the things she had done with him since then, twisting some of the details a little to make it seem more like an innocent adventure to her, than one that had involved a bit of bloodshed at some points.
When Marlene all of a sudden asked gleefully if Aeris had a crush a Cloud at all, Aeris only blushed and giggled. Aeris also handed over one of her flowers to Marlene as a gift (she was carrying it in her dress pocket), and insisted to her that she didn't have to pay anything for it at all.
Marlene accepted it gratefully, staring in awe at what she called 'the pretty flower', and by the time the two of them had reached the Sector 5 Slums, and were getting nearer to Aeris' house, it was clear that they were already great friends as they talked a lot about various things, with a good deal of interest on the subjects, while they were on their way calmly to the house to get to safety.
Soon they were both now at Aeris' strange and beautiful garden, as Marlene stared around at it in amazement and awe, as they now had almost reached Aeris's house, and were about to go inside through the front door, when a man in a dark blue suit suddenly walked right out in front of them, and blocked their way from getting inside. Aeris gasped in shock when she recognized who it was. It was Tseng, the leader of the Turks, and someone Aeris knew well, for various reasons. Aeris stared at Tseng in surprise, and told Marlene to get behind her, which she did so, as Tseng spoke to Aeris calmly.
"Well well, hello there, Aeris, it truly is nice to be able to see you here again, it's been a bit of a while since the last time we talked now, I think…so long time no see. Shinra business is just so time consuming these days, so I've haven't had much chance to visit you again, and even now I'm afraid to say that I'm here on business too, rather then pleasantries. What about you then…you're babysitting, huh?" said Tseng, with a polite and causal tone of voice, but Aeris knew this was a misleading act of his, so she got him straight to the point.
"Just want do you want from me now, Tseng? Why are you here at the moment?" asked Aeris, sharply. Seeing that Aeris suspected him already, Tseng answered her.
"Why, I'm only here to finish my job at last, of course. I'm just glad that I happened to have come across you, Aeris. You haven't been too co-operative with either me or my men in the past when we've come to get you, have you now? So let's just hope that you are more obedient with me at this moment, it would be for the best of all our sakes. Either you come along quietly with us, Aeris, or we'll be forced to take severe actions to get you. After all these years of avoiding our grasp, I think it's about time that you came with us at last. You're trapped with nowhere else to go right now, so I suggest that you just give yourself up," said Tseng, warningly. Aeris shook her head.
"No, I'll never give up! I've ran away from you for fifteen years, and I can still run away from you now!" shouted Aeris.
"Well, I would strongly advise and recommend that you should reconsider your current decision, Aeris, before someone else here gets hurt…" said Tseng, warningly, now starting to look rather menacing and less calm. But Aeris still looked rather unconcerned, believing the threat to be just a bluff of his, as she calmly answered him.
"You know something, I really don't think that either Hojo or any of your other upper class executive bosses are going to be too happy with you if you hurt me too much, even if it does mean capturing me," said Aeris, with a knowing smirk. Tseng glared at her, before he then smiled dangerously.
"Oh, you really don't need to worry about yourself getting hurt, Aeris, for you see…I wasn't even talking about you in the first place…" said Tseng, menacingly, staring darkly at Marlene now, who had clung tightly to Aeris' dress from behind her, terrified by the situation that was going on.
Sensing an sudden opportunity to escape, Aeris quickly sprang forwards, and managed to rush right past Tseng before he could stop her, pulling Marlene along with her, holding her hand tightly, but Tseng then reached out and quickly snatched Marlene's other hand and grabbed her, pulling her out of Aeris's grasp, and held onto Marlene's arm so tightly, that she couldn't move at all, and she began to cry. Aeris spun around in shock, her eyes wide as she saw Marlene, frightened and shaking, trapped in Tseng's tight hold.
"Marlene!!" shouted Aeris, and she rushed over to them, and stopped before them, looking fearful and desperate.
"(Oh no, what have I done!? I should have known Tseng would try something like this, I should have figured out earlier that this was what he meant by his threat! Why didn't I see this any sooner!? Now I've caught Marlene caught up in all this, and she's just a young, innocent child. She doesn't deserve to be in a situation like this, and I could never forgive myself if I let anything happen to her…so there's only one thing to do to help her now…I have to give myself in…)" thought Aeris, resigned.
"Now stay right there, and don't you even move. It's your own choice to make, right here and now, Aeris. Either you just give yourself up now without any trouble or fuss, or this little girl is going to be killed, very slowly and very painfully, and by me. Either way, I'm not going back to the Shinra Headquarters empty handed. But if you come back with me to the Shinra building peacefully, Aeris, I'll give you my absolute word that I'll make sure that this little girl is not going to be hurt by anyone, and that she's completely unharmed," said Tseng, firmly.
"You…you wouldn't really just hand me over to Shinra after all these years of us two knowing and getting on with each other so well…would you, Tseng?" questioned Aeris, in a soft and sweet tone of voice, trying to trick him into letting his guard down, but Tseng wasn't buying it at all, as his eyes narrowed coldly, and a frown spread across his face.
"Don't even bother trying to trick your way out of this situation, this time you're caught out once and for all, with no way out for you. So just drop the innocent act, Cetra. Because I will not allow you to toy with me or Shinra any longer than the years that you already have spent doing so," said Tseng, coldly, his tone of voice icy, as he looked indifferently at Aeris, who sighed heavily in defeat, and nodded slowly.
"Alright then, Tseng, you win…if this really is the only choice that I've got right now, then yes…I will give in to your custody, willingly, without any trouble. I'll come with you back to the Shinra Headquarters, and let Shinra capture me, and do whatever they please with me. In return, just please let Marlene go now…and leave her alone and safe, right now, and for good," said Aeris, with a defeated sigh. Although clearly scared and frightened, Marlene looked rather touched and saddened by Aeris' decision, and Tseng faked a heavy sigh of regret.
"Very well, Aeris. I accept your surrender. You've made the right decision. It pains me to do this to a dear, old friend like you. But you come here first, then I'll let the girl go. And don't try anything funny, or else I WILL harm her," said Tseng.
Aeris nodded and slowly walked over to Tseng, her head bowed hopelessly as she knew there was nothing she could do to escape from this situation now, as Tseng then captured her, handcuffing her before she could do anything.
Tseng then let Marlene go, and captured Aeris instead, but Aeris made no move to escape, since she knew it would be pointless to try. A Shinra helicopter then flew down and hovered beside them, and Aeris and Tseng walked over to it, while Marlene watched them, fearful and concerned for Aeris, but unable to do anything about it. Suddenly, at that moment, having heard the sound of the copter, Elmyra rushed out the front door, and her eyes widened at what she saw.
"Aeris, no!! What's going on!?" shouted Elmyra, as she ran up to her daughter frantically, who looked stricken, and began to answer her, but Tseng beat her to it.
"She has willingly surrendered herself to our custody, Mrs Gainsborough. In accordance with a deal that the two of us have made here, Aeris must come with me back to the Shinra Headquarters at last, where we will finally have her in our procession once and for all," said Tseng, calmly. Elmyra stopped in her tracks as she saw Tseng, and glared hard at him.
"YOU! I should have known that YOU of all people would be behind something like this! It was always because of YOU that my Aeris was getting hunted and chased all the time by those Turks and soldiers, it was because of YOU that she lived through her childhood being scared and frightened all the time when thinking of when you people might show up again. Don't you think that you've already meddled in my daughter's own life enough yet!? Just let her go now, at once!" shouted Elmyra, furiously, but Tseng shook his head.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Mrs Gainsborough. As you well know, Aeris has avoided us for long enough now, and we have been getting very impatient over the years, of waiting for her to finally be captured. And now that I've succeeded here at last, I am not going to let anything stop me," said Tseng, coldly.
"Aeris, what IS going on here? All the other times he and his men have come for you, you've been able to escape him all the time because you've had your unique abilities to always help get you away. So why is it any different now?" asked Elmyra, urgently, and Aeris looked downcast as she answered.
"Sector 7 is in danger, and I was asked to bring this little girl here, Marlene, to safety. I could never live with myself if I didn't help out Marlene, so I got her out of there and brought her here to safety, as I had been asked to do. Then when we arrived here, Tseng just showed up, and I had no choice but to surrender to his custody, in exchange for Marlene's safety," explained Aeris, quietly, looking rather sorrowful.
"I'm sorry about all this, ma'am. I am really sorry for causing all of this trouble…" said Marlene, looking very anxious, fearful and concerned indeed. Noticing her, Elmyra looked down at Marlene, and smiled kindly at her.
"That's alright, dear, this isn't your fault at all, it's the fault of this bad man here," said Elmyra, as she turned to face Tseng, and glared at him, though she knew that there was nothing she could do to prevent her daughter from being captured.
"Well, if you're done with your little explanations, I suggest you both say your last goodbyes, before I take away Aeris to the Shinra Headquarters. And make it quick, I'm not going to wait that long for you two," said Tseng, sharply. Elmyra glared at him again, but said nothing, and she then stepped towards Aeris, and hugged her tightly. Aeris returned the embrace.
"Mom, listen to me for a moment. I'm going away to the Shinra building, but I will be alright, I'll make sure of it. Don't worry about me now, I'll take care of myself. Please take good care of Marlene for me, and keep her safe in the house. And if Cloud and anyone else with him comes here later, then please tell them everything about what's happened. And tell them everything about…about my reasons for having the talents and abilities that I have…about my true heritage. I think…that they have a right to know now…" said Aeris, urgently.
"I will, Aeris, I will do all of that, I promise. Now you just take care of yourself, you hear me? I understand that I can't do anything right now to stop you from going, but just try to look after yourself from now on. Promise me that you'll take good care of yourself, that you'll be alright from now on, and that you will come back home safely someday, and greet me then," said Elmyra, in clear concern and anxiety.
"I promise, mom. Don't worry, I'm going to be fine. I'll come back when it's all over…" said Aeris, reassuringly, as she broke the embrace, and smiled at her mother, then at Marlene, before she walked away and stepped into the helicopter, and Tseng did the same. The door slid shut, and the copter began to hover off the ground.
Then the helicopter flew off, as both Elmyra and Marlene watched it fly away, watching after it until the very moment that it had went out of sight. They were both very worried about Aeris, but they over to Aeris's house, knowing there was nothing they could do.
Back inside the Shinra helicopter, Aeris turned back from the window as soon as her house was out of sight, and then she spoke to Tseng, noticing the helicopter wasn't going upwards to the top of the Plate where the Headquarters was, but instead it was heading forwards, and Aeris knew they were still below the huge Plate, so she was bewildered about it.
"Where are we going, Tseng?" asked Aeris, curiously.
"Before we had back to the Headquarters, I thought that you might like to see a little something first of all. For you see, we're going over to the Sector 7 Pillar, so you can watch what's going to happen to your friends. Reno should soon be reaching the top platform of the Pillar, and he will be getting ready to set up the explosives on the Pillar's system controls even as we speak. Your new friends at AVALANCHE won't be around much longer now. Reno has just reported to me that Cloud Strife, that 'bodyguard' of yours, is on top platform of the Pillar right now, with two of his friends, as he is going to strike," said Tseng.
"NO! Tseng, you can't go through with this plan! You just can't!! Everything and everyone in the entire area of Sector 7 will be all crushed and destroyed at once! How could you just take so many innocent lives like that!? Why are you doing this to them!?" screamed Aeris, desperately.
Tseng never answered her question though, and he simply just turned away from her direction, as he sat opposite her in the helicopter, looking out of the window of the copter in his own thoughts.
"(We will need to go to Sector 7 to pick up Reno from the top platform after he sets the bomb as well, since he reported to me that a rebel he had killed had destroyed the helicopter he had been using just before that. So we will need to go there to allow him escape from the Sector in time, and then the bomb, having been set and cannot be disarmed, will blow up the whole Pillar, and the section of the Plate above Sector 7, with it's support gone, will come crashing down to destroy the entire Sector and both the cities above and below the Plate. This is indeed a most drastic and serious plan of action to take…killing so many people because of such a small rebel group, but I'm going through with the pain because it's my job. To complete a mission without letting anything, even thoughts or feelings, get in the way of accomplishing the task is the true pride and spirit of a Turk, and I will act in this way too,)" thought Tseng, still deep within his own thoughts even as the helicopter drew closer and closer towards the doomed area of Sector 7.
Cloud and Tifa both quickly scrambled out of the way of the sudden line of fire, and they hid behind the top pole of the Pillar, as the bullets missed them and struck the Pillar behind them. Mentally cursing to himself, Cloud quickly shouted out before Barret could come around and mistakenly shoot them.
"Hold your fire, Barret! It's us, it's just us! We've come here to help out!" shouted Cloud, loudly. The gunfire stopped abruptly, as Barret recognized Cloud's voice at once, and stared in numb shock at where it had come from.
"(Cloud and Tifa have came here at last!? Damn, thank the lord for that! I was beginning to lose hope of them ever damn well coming here! For a moment there, I thought that damn Turk had arrived here at last, it's taking him ages to get his ass up here, and no doubt he's gonna, if he's still got the bomb and all. But with Cloud and Tifa both here to help me out now, there ain't no damn way that Turk's gonna be blowing up this Pillar!)" thought Barret, triumphantly, feeling extremely relieved.
Satisfied that they had gotten their point across, Cloud and Tifa both came out of hiding, and walked up to Barret, who stood staring at them on the platform. Noticing them coming, Barret cautiously lowered his gun-arm, and he looked at them both in surprise.
"Sorry to spoil your determined hunting on us just then, Barret, but I feel that it's about time we did something useful about saving the Plate here from Shinra," suggested Cloud, coolly, and to his surprise he found that he was glad to see that Barret was perfectly alright, and still in good condition. Tifa smiled at Barret, and he grinned back at them both.
"Tifa! Cloud! You two really did come on over here to help us after all! Thank damn goodness for that, I should have known you guys wouldn't let us down here!" exclaimed Barret, clearly very relieved.
"Of course we'd come here to help defend this Sector from Shinra with you and the others, we would never just abandon you guys like this in such a desperate situation, you know," said Tifa, seriously. Barret nodded in agreement, although he now looked a little frustrated.
"Just where the damn hell have you two both been all this time, anyways!? Don't get me wrong, I sure am damn glad you guys could be make an appearance now, but…" began Barret.
"Right after we found out about this plan from Corneo, he tricked us, and sent us down a trap door into the sewers of the Slums. His pet monster attacked us, and after we dealt with it, we came from the sewers, and the Train Graveyard, over to here as fast as we could," explained Cloud, calmly.
"Oh, right…well that explains a lot, then. Guess me and the others must have missed hearing that part…if we had only known it sooner, it sure would have damn well changed things around here. Wait…is that blood all over you two!?" shouted Barret, suddenly, pointing in clear bloodstains that were all over their knees and legs, and for a moment, he feared that he really had shot them both after all. Tifa suddenly looked rather glum and sorrowful indeed, and Cloud slowly shook his head.
"No…it's not from us, it's Jessie's blood. We found her lying on the middle of the stairs, wounded very badly, and we had to kneel down in her pool of blood to comfort her as she…passed away. She, Biggs and Wedge are all dead, Barret. We've seen them all," said Cloud, grimly. Tifa turned away, her head bowed, while Barret cursed in rage and fury.
"Damn those Shinra bastards, I'll get them for this if it's the last bloody thing that I ever do! They're really gonna suffer for what they did to the others, I swear it on my own damn grave!" snarled Barret, his one fist clenched tightly in his anger, as he swore vengeance for this comrades and friends. Tifa spun around, and looked back at Barret as a thought occurred.
"Yes, we do need to make Shinra Incorporated pay for what they've done to the others, but we have to find another way to stop them from destroying the whole Planet, Barret. A way that doesn't involve destroying the Reactors and killing innocent people. That was Jessie's last wish," explained Tifa, solemnly. Barret stood in silent thought for a long moment, before he finally sighed and nodded.
"Alright, alright…if that really is what Jessie would have wanted, from now on we save the Planet in a way that suits everyone but Shinra. That's a promise to her," said Barret.
"That's all well and good, but right now I think we better focus on just saving this Pillar at the moment from Shinra, don't you think so too, Barret? I saw earlier that the copter attacking here had been shot down, and that enemy soldiers seemed to have been dealt with already, but is there any other danger that we should expect right now?" asked Cloud, urgently.
"Well, the Turk on board the copter escaped from it just before it crashed, and he had the bomb in his grasp. I don't think he's gonna just give up, so he'll be coming on up here anytime soon to set the bomb up here, and we gotta be ready for him when he comes," explained Barret.
"Wait…did you say he started to come up the stairs over to here when the copter exploded? But by then we hadn't even reached the start of the staircase yet…we would have been behind him then, but we never saw him there on the stairs…" said Cloud, slowly, not liking the way this situation was going, something very wrong was going on here…
"What does that mean then, Cloud?" asked Tifa, fearfully, as she too realized that they had not seen anyone of the sort either, while climbing the staircase.
"Barret, what did this Turk look like…?" asked Cloud, urgently, feeling a horrid sense of dread.
"Hmmm, let's see here…he had flaming, scruffy red hair, light blue eyes, wore that Turks uniform, only it seemed rather messy on the guy…why?" asked Barret, as Cloud's eyes began to widen in realization.
"That Turk was Reno…which means he must have fired his Turk Light at Wedge from the copter to send him down to his death from the platform…before the copter crashed down…and if he's hidden behind us…and we're on the top platform now, then that means that he's going to…shit, it's a TRAP!!" shouted Cloud, as full realization hit him, along with immense alarm and horror, and he spun around in the direction of the staircase that they had climbed up to reach the top platform, but it was already too late. The trap had already begun.
From the staircase, there was suddenly a huge flash of red light coming from there, and in less than a second, three small red meteors of energy came flying through mid-air straight in the direction of Cloud and the others, who could do absolutely nothing to avoid them in time as they each struck their targets at once. BANG!!!!
Cloud, Barret and Tifa each soon found themselves flying backwards in different directions from the sheer force of the attack that had struck them all, as they were suddenly forced right over the edge of the top platform.
Alarmed, Cloud acted quickly, and grasped the edge of the platform tightly, holding onto the edge and not daring to look down at the ground that lay fifty meters below. He felt immensely relieved as he then saw that both Barret and Tifa had also saved themselves by grasping onto the edge of the platform as well.
With some effort, Cloud pulled himself back safely onto the top platform, and Barret and Tifa did the same as well from their directions. They both rushed over to him, and at once they ran over to the other side of the pole of the Pillar, knowing that the system controls of the Pillar were there. But when they got there, they abruptly stopped in their tracks entirely, and stared in horror at what they now saw.
Reno of the Turks himself was crouching down before the system controls themselves, having attacked each of the three of them earlier, to get them out of the way of the Pillar, while he went to work on setting the bomb. And it had worked. A grin spreading across Reno's face, he slowly stood back on his feet and admired his work. Cloud and the others saw, in fear, that the huge, extremely powerful bomb itself was now placed right at the centre of the system controls of the Pillar itself, and they saw that the timer on top of it was steadily going down, second by second, which meant only one thing. Cloud stared at the bomb in horror, as the fact of it all quickly sunk in.
THE BOMB WAS NOW SET…