"So Conner, do you have an older brother who's as handsome as you?" - Jessie
Turning red from embarrassment, he turned to look at Sophia who was staring back with a death stare. "Well, yes I do have an older brother. He's 20 and he's attending an elite military college in Seoul."
"He sounds pretty dreamy too." Jessie had a mischievous look on her face that unsettled Conner even more. "Got any pictures?"
"Jessie! You're making him uncomfortable." Exclaimed Wedge. Tifa just laughed. She was used to this act. though it was a little uncomfortable given that the flirting was with a 16 year old.
Grabbing his arm, Sophia looked at Jessie and responded on his behalf "Conner's not much of a picture person. I don't think I've ever seen him snap a picture, but…", she pulled his phone out of his pocket, "See for yourself what he LIKES." Handing the phone to Jessie, she flipped through his photo album which Sophia already knew was full of.
"Yeah, you barely have any and almost all of them are of Sophia…"That seemed to do the trick , stopping Jessie's flirtations.
Tifa had shown them the neighborhood watch headquarters, the pillar, and other points of interest. The last place on the agenda was Stargazer Heights to meet Marle who had invited them all for lunch.
Biggs and Marlene met up with them too. Being there with her friends, Conner, and Sophia was a moment that Tifa imprinted to memory. Having both sides of her world in one place, enjoying each other's company was an event she knew was probably never going to happen again. She'll miss Marle, Marlene, Jessie, and everyone else. Iit won't be the same to come back for visits.
Barret had arrived when they had just finished lunch. With a heavy sigh, Tifa knew she couldn't wait any longer.
"So I have something I need to tell everyone." She started to say. Tifa was never good with expressing herself verbally, causing her to hesitate.
"Tell them already, Teef." Sophie said impatiently.
Questioningly, Biggs looked at Tifa. "What's up?"
She closed her eyes for a few seconds to gather her courage. "I'm decided to hire someone to manage 7th Heaven because I'm going to be leaving Midgar after this mission. I'm going to go back to Seoul and I…plan to live there moving forward."
The room went silent. Everyone seemed to be processing the words that were spoken.
"I'll still come back of course to check on the bar and see everyone. And while I won't be around for the day to day Avalanche things, I'll be on standby if you need me for anything..." She felt like she needed to add this to somewhat soften the blow.
"Of course we're happy for you, Tifa…just hard to imagine this place without you. But it's your decision so we're going to support it in the end." Biggs seemed to always know the right thing to say.
"I can understand wanting to be around your family. I miss my mom and little brother everyday. We'll just really miss you." - Wedge
Jessie just grabbed Tifa's hands and squeezed them. "For once, I don't have anything to add. As much as we'd rather you stay, no one's going to argue with it."
Tifa breathed in deeply. She had been dreading this conversation for weeks. "Teef, honestly I can't say I'm happy about it, but I see how things been weighing on you lately and being with your family might be the answer. Just remember, we are your family too and we always have your back." - Barret.
"If you think she's family then maybe you shouldn't be guilting her into doing things she doesn't want to do." Sophia responded with a scoff.
"What are you talking..." Barett started to say until he realized that she must know about the bombings they were planning. Tifa had let it slip in a vulnerable moment while the two were talking a few weeks ago. "She probably would be feeling less guilty if she didn't have a spoiled little sister who causes trouble for attention!"
Sophia got out of her seat. "You want to see trouble? I'll show you..."
Tifa got up and grabbed her sister. "That's enough!" Barret and Sophia are like oil and water. I need to keep them apart. She ushered her out the door. "Jessie, can you come out when you're done please?"
The burnett nodded. "I'll be out in a few minutes!"
Kai who had been lying lazily in the front, shot up when he saw the two sisters. He went between them as if sensing the tension.
"Why am I always the one that has to be separated? Dude's in his 30s, almost old enough to be my dad and he's..."
"No more, Soph. I shouldn't have told you about the plans. And I told you that in confidence, not for you to blurt it out like that. "
Her angry seemed to subside. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. I just hate that you've been feeling the way you have."
Tifa put her hand on her shoulder. "It's ok. I know you just want to protect me, but you don't have to worry anymore. We're going back to Seoul after this and it will be a new start."
"Yeah, it will won't it? So what are we doing now?" - Sophia
"Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge are upgrading our weapons for the mission. I figured you could them with that the rest of the afternoon. I need to start making arrangements for the operating the bar when I'm gone.
Sophia raised an eyebrow. "What about Conner?"
"He'll come with me. He can help out at the bar and fill him in on the mission." While this was mostly true, Tifa was also curious to get to know him. It was obvious that Sophia had strong feelings towards him and she wanted to make sure he was a good guy for her one day.
"Can't I come on the actual mission too? I can have one of friends from Seoul navigate the hoverboard instead. My friend Jake is much better at controlling one of those than me."
"No, I can't be worrying about you and Barret not getting along, keep you safe, and be part of this mission at the same time."
"I'll get along with Barret and I don't need anyone to keep me safe. You know that." Sophia whined back. Luckily for Tifa, Jessie had come outside ready to take Sophia to the Neighborhood Watch headquarters. Biggs, Wedge, and Conner came out soon after and the group split up.
Tifa could hear their conversation as the foursome started to walk off with Kai following behind Sophia.
"It will be more exciting than it sounds. I've got an epic music collection that we can listen to and all the wine you can drink! Just make sure you pace yourself" - Jessie said with a wink.
"Pretty sure Tifa told us that she's not allowed to drink" - Biggs
"Yeah, yeah. It will be fine as long as she's not going overboard. Besides there are only so many things you can do to make upgrading weapons sound like fun" - Jessie
Sighing, Tifa hoped that sending Sophia off with Jessie wasn't a mistake.
Conner and Tifa stopped by the market to pick up some things for their dinner tonight before heading to the bar. As they picked up cheese and toppings to make Wedge's favorite pizza, Tifa filled Conner in on the mission.
"Sounds similar to a mission I went on last summer with the army. Shinra set up a secret facility with mechs about 30 miles from Seoul. I was just part of the backup, but had to study the entire mission plans so I knew where we might need to provide support."
"How do you feel about taking a larger role? Between our team and the main Avalanche branch, we'll only have two dozen people?"
He nodded. "I've been going on military missions for two summers now. Feel pretty confident, but don't you think we should have Sophia too? I understand wanting to protect her and all but she's a great fighter. Sounds like we'll need the manpower"
She bite her lip. "She can handle herself well." It was true as Tifa has seen firsthand how strong Sophia had become through their sparring and workout sessions. "But I couldn't put her in danger like that. If something happens, I won't be able to forgive myself."
He grabbed the grocery bags out of Tifa's hands. "You don't have to worry about that. I'll protect her."
She smiled warmly. "That better be a promise you can keep! Otherwise you'll have to answer to me." He put his free hand to his heart, saying "You have my word. I don't think I want to face your wraith if I don't!"
They finished picking up ingredients and started walking back to the bar. "So you've been in Sophia's class since she got to Seoul right? Other than the latest incident, is she usually well behaved in school?"
Nodding, "She's definitely the center of attention. I mean Sophia's always been pretty outgoing. She's not afraid to call out other students or teachers. But no one really mess with her anyway. She's the heir to two of the biggest congoloerates in Gaia."
Finally reaching the bar, they started to unpack everything. "Blake and Cristal were my god parents growing up. But I never realized how successful they were until I left Sophia with them."
"They both seem to be good people. Even though Blake doesn't care much for me. It's their influence that encouraged Sophia to change the whole school social dynamics."
"What do you mean?"
"Well Seoul Academy is the most elite school in Seoul. Aristocrats from all over Gaia will even send their kids there. People like me who don't come from money get accepted with scholarships for athletics or academics. So the school is divided by the "haves" and the "have-nots" when it comes to social circles. Sometimes it got a little ugly too."
Taking a seat at the bar as Tifa poured him a glass of water, he continued "Long story short, Sophia didn't care about any of that. She made friends with everyone and took down any bullies who picked on anyone."
That's my girl. In spite of everything that happened to us, Sophia was able to lead a good life. But what happened to change that lately? "Conner, do you know what caused Sophia to behave the way she has recently?"
He looked down at his drink. "That's really a conversation that you two should have. She's not ready to have it yet though. Just wait for her to come around."
"Yeah, you're right. It's just that I can tell she's hurting. I hate not being able to be there for her the way I should be."
Suddenly, Barrett busted through the doors. "Tifa! We got trouble in one of the warehouse districts. Let's see what kind of bodyguard you are, kid! Let's go!" Conner and Tifa rushed to catch up with Barrett as he stormed out.
Despite Jessie's early thirst for Conner, Sophia decided that she really liked Jessie. The two had found common ground with their love for reality tv, tinkering with weapons, and EDM. She found the bromance between Wedge and Biggs to be entertaining as they worked on the Avalanche weaponry . In the middle of a conversation about Wedge's obsession with cats and how Tifa used to adopt every stray, a watch member named Billy ran in.
"I'm so glad you guys are here! Need your help right now!"- Billy
"What's going on?" - Biggs
"I was out patrolling with Thomas and Cindy like we normally do. We noticed a hole that wasn't there before on the side of building and its full of monsters! It's like an infestation! We gotta go now!"
Biggs grabs two pistols immediately. Wedge and Jessie grab their weapons and join the others. "I'm coming too. It sounds like you might need all the backup you can get."
As Biggs starts to disagree, Billy cuts him off "We definitely are. There had to be well over a dozen of them!"
Putting a hand on Bigg's shoulder, Jessie looks back at Sophia "Better keep us with us kid and grab yourself a weapon."
"Got my weapons on me. Let's go!" They all run as fast as they can to the abandoned warehouse. As soon as they are close, Kai runs ahead, at the smell of the monsters.
As the rest of them catch up, they spot Kai who had brought down two of them and was snarling at another 14 huge bug-like monsters. Thomas and Cindy were behind the great wolfhound, looking worn down and battered.
Sophia morphed her bracket into a round shield and pulled out the katana that it was holding. She sharply made a chopping motion which sent the shield flying at the monster bugs. It hit three of them, before making its way back to Sophia who was finishing them off with her blade.
The rest of Avalanche were able to dispatch the rest. "Hey, this is really bad! I think all these disgusting pests came from that!" Sophia pointed at a huge egg sac that was protruding out of the hole.
"We have to make sure we get them all, before they get out into the slums!" - Wedge
More of the monster bugs suddenly appeared.
"Jessie, Biggs cover me! If you have fire magic hit them with as much as you can. I'm going to run in straight ahead and take care of that sac!" Igniting her flames out of her blade and shield using fire Materia, Sophia sprung forward without waiting for a response.
"Whoa that's dangerous! Biggs started firing rapidly at the monsters who were now rushing to defend the nest. "We don't have any fire materia with us!"
Jessie shot at the monsters to Sophia's left as she ran forward to draw some of them away. Kai slowed down the monsters that got too close while Sophia easily killed any that made it past the defense. Throwing her shield in a circular motion to make space, she leaped into the air to drive down a powerful fiery blow that halved the sac in half. The fires spread rapidly, killing the larva that were growing within.
This attracted dozens more monsters. "Oh boy! We are going to need more backup!" Exclaimed Wedge.
"They're pissed at me! Focus on picking them off one by one and I'll keep them distracted!" Sophia threw another fiery shield throw that zig zagged, hitting four monsters. Finishing them off with her sword, she sheathed it back in shield and pulled out two handguns.
Retracting the shield, Sophia charged the bullets with fire magic as they left the chamber hitting any monsters nearby. At least a third of the monsters had been taken out at this point. Damn! Why are there so many? These guys need to get cut down or hit with fire magic to take them down fast.
"Jessie! Wedge! Here!" Throwing a handgun at each of them. "These are fire materia equipped, it'll take them down faster!" As the Avalanche members brought down monster after monster, six were able to surround Sophia.
Kai tore one down as Sophia reignited her shield to pull her sword out as she dove a sweeping kick dropping two of them to an easy death by blade. Kai brought down another one that was running toward her from behind.
The fight didn't last much longer as reinforcement arrived. Conner appeared out of no where taking the last two out with his ax. He systematically dove the ax into any monster in his path as he protected her from being overwhelmed. Tifa made short work of eight of them without breaking a sweat. Barret opened fire on any monster remaining that moved.
"Where the hell did all of those things come from!?" - Barret
Biggs answered with a shrug. "No idea, but it would have been really bad if they got out in the slums."
"We have to make sure there aren't any left that could hurt anyone." - Tifa
"Definitely! Let's sweep the area." - Jessie
As they re-grouped, Tifa grabbed Sophia's arm. "You can go back to the bar. We'll be back as soon as we can."
"What do you mean? I just whipped some monster ass back there! You could use my help."
Shaking her head. "You did great, Sophia. But leave the rest to me."
"Tifa, you're being way too overprotective. I can - -"
"This isn't up for discussion. Please just go!" She took her by the hand and walked her out of the area.
"I'm almost 16 and been training to fight since I was 10. When are you going to stop treating me like I'm helpless."
Giving her sister a warm hug as an answer, she added "When you're older than me and not a minute before that. Please, Sophia. I'll be worried the whole time if there's any chance you could get hurt. With that, Sophia begrudgingly walked back. As Kai went to follow, she commanded him to go with Tifa.
As Tifa got back to the others, they had started to divide up to canvass the area. Joining up with Conner, Jessie, and Kai they searched the rest of the warehouse district.
"I'm not trying to take any sides and by no means do I know what it's like to have a sibling. But Tifa, your little sister can seriously kick ass. Are you sure she shouldn't be part of the mission"
Jessie regretted saying anything, seeing the worry in Tifa's eyes. "I won't put her in harm's way, no matter what."
"Well I'm not an expert on having cute little sisters to be protective over anyway. Let's get rid of any stragglers and get back to the bar! I'm ready for a drink!"
Sophia was in a bad mood since everyone got back to 7th Heaven. Tifa knew she was frustrated with her but they didn't have a chance to talk alone. She made dinner for everyone and took over her usual bar duties late into the evening. With an hour left before close, she looked over at Sophia who was playing a game of darts with Wedge and Jessie. At least she seems to have cheered up a bit. I'll ask her to help me close the bar down and we can talk.
Making her way to dart game, Tifa was stopped by a wandering hand on her exposed back. "Hey baby, how about another round of drinks for us?" A tall, rugged bearded guy who was sitting with three other friends said. She frowned. Haven't seen these guys in here before. Definitely not regulars. She removed his hand solidly from her back. "Sure, I'll grab you guys another round. My name is Tifa. If you want more drinks, just call out to me." This was her way of nicely asking a patron who gets a little handsy with her.
Bringing them over three tall glasses of beer, Tifa started to make her way towards her sister again. This time it was his hand grabbing onto her wrist which halted her. "Tifa, baby how about you keep us company for a while? You can even grab a drink and put in on my tab." The men smirked and stared openly at her.
The other patrons who were regulars stared in their direction. Although any one of them would have gotten up to defend her, everyone knew that Tifa Lockhart could handle herself. Removing his hand again from her wrist, she responded "I'm not interested in having a drink at my bar at the moment. Please don't put your hands on me again." The guy stood up in response, smiling at her defiance.
"That's no way to talk to Shinra soldiers who just got back from a dangerous mission protecting you." He reached out to grab her, which Tifa had been prepared for but then three darts punctured his arm. "What the hell!?"
"Put a hand on my sister again and I'll chop them off asshole!"
"Why you - -" He didn't get a chance to finish before meeting the heel of Sophia's foot to his face. She flipped him onto the table, breaking it then lunged at his friends who were pulling out their weapons. Jessie and Tifa each subdued one as Sophia hit the remaining one with a straight right to uppercut. She turned back to the first guy who was reeling in pain. "I'm gonna make you regret ever walking in here…" She fired up her hand with earth magic, preparing to land a blow that was sure to incapacitate him but was blocked by Tifa.
"That's enough Sophia! You're going too far!" Sophia looked with anger at her. Tifa realized that she was releasing part of her frustration in this moment. "Calm down, please. Let's get them out of here."
Barret, Biggs, and Conner who had been in the front playing cards made sure the troops left the area. Tifa decided to close down the bar, dismissing everyone but Sophia. "You have to learn to control your temper Sophia. If you landed that blow, you could have really hurt him." Tifa made her sister sit on the bench beside her.
"I'm a work in progress, sis." Adverting her eyes, Sophia twirled her hair in her hands.
"And you know I was perfectly capable of handling them on my own. While I do appreciate you having my back - -"
"Just like I'm capable to handling a fight! But it's all a double standard when it comes to me, isn't it?" She snapped back.
Taking her sister's hands in hers, she replied "Please Sophia. I know you're mad at me for earlier. I vowed to always keep you safe after papa…died. I really can't help but worried sick when you're in danger. " She looked pleadingly at the younger Lockhart. "Please just humor me for a while longer."
Sophia sighed. "Have you ever considered that I want to protect you too? Not that you've ever gave me the chance. You shipped me off when I needed you the most when we lost dad…."tears started to form as Sophia felt a panic attack coming. Mom, dad I'm sorry. It's all my fault.
"I couldn't protect you then so I thought I was doing what was best." Telling others how she feels was not easy. "And honestly I was afraid if you stayed with me you'd end up like mama and papa."
Unable to breath, Sophia couldn't respond properly to her sister's confession. "Ti…fa….." She pulled her hands away and grasped them together against her chest.
Realizing that she was having a panic attack, Tifa knelt down and pulled Sophia's head to her forehead. "Just breath, Sophia. It's ok. Breath like this." She took deep, slow breaths which eventually Sophia was able to mimic.
"Thanks." Tifa put a hand on the back of her sister's head as she hugged her tightly.
"Your always welcome. Sorry for causing you pain."
"No you didn't. She hugged her back. "Let's just stop this for today. I think I could actually fall asleep tonight. So tired."
Pulling away, Tifa put a hand on her chin and smiled. "Alright. I'll go and make sure the bed's ready. You get ready to sleep, ok?"
Sophia nodded. It were moments like this that reminded Tifa how much the pain of losing their home and their parents had affected their lives. Back then, she was so afraid of losing Sophia too that she didn't realize the trauma it all plus leaving her behind caused. The panic attacks, insomnia, anxiety drugs, and psychologist meetings. I should have been there for her. There's so much time to make up for. At least after this mission is over, we can finally live a normal life together.
