Chapter 13: Forgive Me
Reno fiddled with his PHS, fidgeting in his helicopter seat. Destroy Sector 7…what a mission. He never had to demolish something so large in his life… Everyone above and below the plate was going to die. All of them… Including Mom.
And Aphrodite…? Had she escaped to another sector by now? Was she safe? The redhead shook his head, heaving a sigh. Why did she have to be so stubborn at a time like this? She should have just let him alone, because now…reflecting upon their argument, Reno wanted to punch something. In fact, he almost pummeled the helicopter pilot as he thought about it.
Aphrodite could be such a stubborn old bull sometimes.
"Hurry up, will ya!" snapped Reno, gripping his electro-mag rod. The pilot was already going nearly maximum speed, so the Turk didn't know why he told him to speed up.
"Reno, we're already going at maximum speed," cried the pilot. "Just look out the window. We're almost there."
The redhead glared out the helicopter window. Indeed, the Sector 7 plate support was right in his face, and invading the tower's peak were those damned AVALANCHE terrorists. Reno screwed up his face as the helicopter descended.
"You ready?" called the pilot, glancing at his passenger over his shoulder.
Reno ground his teeth and ignored the pilot, springing up from his seat. "Let's just get this over with." He only nodded, and as the helicopter hovered above the tower, the Turk leaped off, landing as gracefully as a cat on his feet. The noise of the vehicle faded as the helicopter flew away.
Three people turned their heads to stare at him, their eyes wide. A gigantic black man with a gun-arm, a woman with absurdly long brown hair, and that Cloud sissy. Damn those idiots! They were just obstacles in his mission.
That's right.
Obstacles standing in the way of his job. He only had to jump over these insignificant hurdles on the way to his finish line.
"Fools," mumbled Reno as he strutted past them with his falsely confident, cocky stride. The Turk glared down at the control panel, remembering his mission briefing…remembering Sector 7…remembering Aphrodite.
"You're all fools," he repeated, ignoring his thoughts and memories, his rough fingers punching the buttons on the control panel. "Only a Shin-Ra employee can operate these controls."
He heard the cracking of fists coming from the brunette's general direction.
"You're too late," continued Reno. He smirked at them and returned to the controls. "Once I push this button…"
"NO!" roared Cloud, bolting forwards.
Reno turned and grinned at them, drawing his electro-mag rod. "That's all, folks! Mission accomplished."
The black man's face contorted in fury, and he shook his left fist. Suddenly, Reno remembered him: Barret Wallace. The man he had heard so much about in confidential reports and newspapers. What an honor…not.
The three AVALANCHE members rushed forward, enraged. Haha, an angry mob! Cloud withdrew a giant sword that stood a few inches taller than him. It looked so heavy; how could he carry that ridiculously huge thing?
Reno's gaze constantly switched between them: the woman bracing her fists; Barret loading his gun-arm; Cloud gripping his sword dangerously. They seemed formidable, really…but they wouldn't mess with him.
The Turk slung his electric nightstick over his shoulder, tapping his foot in a quick rhythm. He was ready to fight.
"No one gets in the way of Reno and the Turks…"
.-.-.-.-.-.
"Ergh! Another Shin-Ra employee?" complained the voice of the AVALANCHE member before her.
Aphrodite narrowed her eyes at the tomboyish woman, whose junky garb and frazzled copper hair made her the spitting image of an army reject: just another obstacle standing in the way. Aphrodite was almost at the top of the plate support tower now, and she was determined (or tried to be…guilt and fear consumed the deepest depths of her heart) to eliminate all who stood in her way, especially these AVALANCHE cronies…
"Get out of my way—" snarled Aphrodite, gripping her mace. "—before you end up like your friend down there."
The horrid girls' brown eyes looked like giant chocolates. Her jaw dropped. "You mean…Biggs? You killed Biggs!"
Aphrodite tilted her head mockingly at her, smirking. "Oh, was that his name? It's too bad he's dead, but you know, he was in my way. So I had no choice but to kill him."
The girl looked ready to both cry and pummel Aphrodite, but as she was about to speak, the female Turk continued, "And now you're in my way, so I'll have to kill you, too."
"You dirty Turk!" The AVALANCHE girl mustered up her strength, and lunged forward to tackle her opponent. "Hellspawn! Planet killer! Remember my name as you die: Jessie McGowan!"
Aphrodite tried to push away these feelings of guilt and maintain her cruel façade. She dodged her lunge, and only chuckled as she swung her mace at the back of the woman's head. "Jessie? I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe you'll learn the hard way…"
Aphrodite's mace collided with Jessie's head, and yet another sickening crack announced a severe blow to the head.
Jessie was weak, but she was stronger than Biggs, because she still put up a moderate fight.
Somehow Jessie had managed to give Aphrodite a black eye and a kick to the ribs (and that hurt) before the Turk extracted the blood and energy of life from her with another mace-driven blow to the head. "As I have demonstrated," growled Aphrodite, "No one gets in the way of Aphrodite Sorrows and the Turks."
"You'll…pay for…this…" the AVALANCHE crony managed to utter, slumping to the floor of the staircase landing. Aphrodite stared down at her victim, chewing her lower lip. Yet another soul…lost…returned to the Planet. "…You murderer."
Murderer… Murderer… Murderer…The words repeated themselves a thousand times in her head, first at a lethargic pace…then faster, and faster… Murderer. Murderer. Murderer…
Jessie's spirit left her body, and Aphrodite knew at once. It returned to the Planet.
"My child… you have made me cry."
Aphrodite just stood there, gripping a bleeding mace. The silent corpse before her…the rhythmic drops of blood. And then a scream in her head…
"My child…why do you follow the Crisis from the Skies?"She lost grip of her mace, and it fell to the floor, a horrifying clang echoing in the stiff air of death and imminent destruction.
The screams moaned on in her mind…
"Dearest child…why do you kill? Why do you ignore me?"Aphrodite began to slump to the floor, holding her head in her trembling hands. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Planet…"
"My child…" cried the voice of the Planet. "Jenova has taken you from me…"
"No, Planet…" whimpered Aphrodite, curling up on the floor, across from Jessie's still, silent corpse. "I've killed…of my own accord…I ignore my guilt, my fear…my pain…"
"Oh, my child…" the Planet's cries were so mournful. "I have lost you…to the Crisis…to malevolence…"
"No…Planet…!" cried Aphrodite, and she turned her flooding eyes to the sunless sky: a gray world of steel and iron.
Why not stay here? Why not stay and perish as the plate collapsed upon her, crushing her…devouring her in dulling steel?
"Planet…" Her cries and whimpers died to mere whispers. She ignored her minor injuries, for they were trivial things compared to her inner wounds. Aphrodite wept, silently trembling.
Yes, she would stay here… Death would set her free…free from Jenova, free from the Planet, free of emotion…free of pain…free…
Free…
Free…
Her eyes slowly closed with her drained energy, and she welcomed the doomed plate… She welcomed…
Death…
Freedom…
"SHIT! 'Dite, what the hell are you doing here?"
She couldn't see… She couldn't breathe… She was hardly conscious…
A pair of lithe arms scooped her up…
"Ohfuckinggods," he mumbled a slur of incoherent words. He was running, running…running…
And then a jump.
And the rush of air…
The steady hum of a helicopter…
The warmth of his arms…
Something wet trickled down her cheek. Was it a tear? Sweat? Warmth…was it blood? No, no, it didn't stick…
Who was crying now?
"'Dite…why would you want to stay there and commit suicide…?"
He wept…
"'Dite…"
More tears…
"'Dite… Sector 7 is gone. We're safe now…"
Helicopter…humming…more…tears…
"Fine, 'Dite… Don't wake up, then. I'm hurt too, you know…"
His rough fingers stroked her face, her hair…his tears still fell, flowing like tiny streams down both of their cheeks. Why did he remind her of Ares now? Reno was nothing like him, but he cared for her nonetheless…like a best friend or possibly a brother…
Right now, she needed that kind of love…that protection…that caring love…
"Forgive me, Reno…" she whispered, her eyes shut. She didn't want to open them… She didn't want to see him hurt, to see him crying… "Forgive me, Planet…forgive me, Reno… Forgive me…"
He gathered her into his arms like Ares used to do when she had a bad dream, and his warmth lulled her into a deep, deep sleep.