Chapter Forty-Four: Trial by Fire
"Heya, Aralyn! Brought you something!"
Aralyn turned her head to the side to see Zack in the doorway of her apartment. Her vision was blurred from the sleeping pill she had just taken, and so she was only able to identify the man by the peaks of black hair radiating from his blurred facial features.
"Zack?" she murmured.
"Nice to see you too!" he replied cheerfully. He moved to the small table at her bedside and swept off a thin layer of dust. The object he placed on it was blindingly colorful to Aralyn's tired eyes.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Flowers!" he said, pulling up a chair beside the couch where she laid and ruffling her hair, noticeably more gently then he did when she was well. "You do like flowers, right?"
"Yes…thanks."
"Ah, it was nothing. You feeling any better?"
"No," she sighed. "I just took a sleeping pill…I didn't sleep at all last night."
"I don't blame you. But hey, later, let's do something. I don't like you cooped up in here by yourself, especially now."
"Dunno," she sighed as she exhaled, her eyes starting to close of their own accord. "I guess I'll think about it."
"Hey, I'll let you sleep, but one more thing. Can you give me a minute?"
Aralyn nodded fluidly.
"Do you think you could talk to Seph? It shouldn't have ended like this. I'll come with if you want. He owes you an apology, big time. But you know him…he's stubborn. You might not get it if you don't go to him."
She opened her eyes. "I can…try."
"Good then. You rest now, all right? Sleep well."
Aralyn was already breathing deeply, her face peaceful in sleep. Pulling the blankets over her so they covered her previously exposed arm, he then ruffled her hair again, just for old time's sake, and left.
The alarm went off at six in the evening.
Zack was used to the blaring lights and the siren, but he was annoyed that they had gone off just as he had settled down for some relaxation. Moving instinctively, he grabbed his sword and sprinted down the hall to see what the commotion was. From the end of the hall, he could see Sephiroth had made similar preparations and was speaking to a Turk.
Reno seemed to have finished narrating the situation to Sephiroth just as Zack came within hearing range, and the general ran off to take the position he had been assigned. Rolling his eyes at having to tell it all over again, Reno began speaking.
"Avalanche. Sephiroth's guarding the President and Rufus. You're stationed at the entrance. Meet them as they come and take out as many as you can. Don't let anyone through."
"Got it."
Avalanche's numbers were pathetically few. He had been expecting at least ten, but there were only three young, beat up snipers. He turned to the soldier beside him. "What's going on?"
"Not sure. They think this is a distraction, but we can't do anything about it until we receive word on what their plans are."
Frowning, Zack nonetheless took his stance. For five minutes, all was quiet except for the occasional distant burst of gunfire.
He didn't even get the chance to raise his sword before the radio at his side whirred to life. "Zack," the President's voice said. "They're attacking the living quarters. I think everyone's managed to evacuate, but we need you to get the civilians away from the building. We think Avalanche has planted a bomb in there and you have approximately three minutes."
"I'm on it."
It was an easy job, and everyone was a hundred feet from the building when the bomb went off. A sound like thunder tore the air as an entire section of the building was blown to pieces. Glass from shattered windows fell to the ground like falling stars, and afterward it was deathly quiet.
"Did the other two groups get out all right?" Zack asked the radio.
"Everyone except for one," the President confirmed. "A wonderful success! Avalanche has retreated for now."
"Except for one?" Zack asked.
"One person. Her neighbor said she thought she was at work so we didn't go into her apartment, but it turns out she wasn't. Odds are, she's probably still in there."
Zack did a double take. "…Do you know the lady's name?" But he didn't have to hear the reply to know who it was.
He didn't hear anything the president said beyond, "Aralyn." He knew it couldn't have been a mistake. Aralyn hadn't been at work because of the breakup; she'd been on the couch sleeping. If no one went to get her, there was no way she would have known…
"President," Zack said, fighting down the panic. "I need to speak with Sephiroth. It's urgent."