Chapter 52: The Bridge of Fate
July 9, 0011
The bridge seemed to go on forever, but everyone knew where it ended: at the source of the green glow.
"What the hell's making it?" Barret asked rhetorically.
"There's only one way to find out," Jessie replied. "Shall we?"
Yuffie nodded, and held up her weapon.
"You know what to do, Conformer," she said to it before leading everyone on.
A few yards down, the inevitable happened.
"They're here!" called a voice from the right side of the bridge.
Yuffie turned her head to see five Deepground soldiers firing from a trench dug on the right side of the bridge.
She immediately took out two with shurikens.
Barret tried his gun-arm, but the soldiers were able to duck in the trench.
A moment later, the three surfaced again to open fire.
DiStefano got one and Barret got one.
The remaining soldier remained hidden, and did so for several minutes.
"Hold on," Red XIII commanded as he charged into the trench.
Gunfire sounded in the trench, and everyone feared the worst.
But, moments later, Red XIII emerged from the trench with blood on his mouth; he had killed the remaining soldier with a throat bite.
Further up stood a bridge tower. After passing through it, the whole bridge became decorated with ruined buildings.
"This is a town," Red XIII observed. "Long abandoned."
"I wonder who lived here," Jessie said aloud.
"Tsivets, probably," Red XIII answered. "Before that, who knows? It's probably the remains of an ancient town, forgotten by time.
The group continued through the town, dispatching the Deepground soldiers hiding along the way.
Gradually, the presence of their enemies waned, and soon, they were all alone.
"It's quiet," Red XIII said aloud.
"Too quiet," Jessie added.
And then, DiStefano saw it first.
A machine gun turret was there, sitting by itself.
"What's that doing here?" Barret asked, though he knew he would not get an answer.
Suddenly, the ground began to rumble.
A hideous sound then pierced everyone's ears.
It was no mystery of what was about to happen.
"They're coming," Yuffie said. "Armored weapons. One of us has to use the machine gun and destroy them. The rest of us hide behind that wall."
She then pointed to the wall behind the turret.
"Who gets to use the machine gun?" Barret asked.
"Whoever's willing to make the ultimate sacrifice," Red XIII answered. "It's very unlikely whoever uses it will survive."
Everyone was silent, but the noise became louder.
They did not have much time to decide.
"I'll do it," DiStefano volunteered. "I'm the outsider red shirt anyway."
She then approached the turret.
"Wait!" Jessie exclaimed. "Let me."
Barret was suddenly in shock.
"Jessie?!" he exclaimed. "No! You can't!"
"I'm dead anyway," Jessie insisted. "I freed Sephiroth. I'm going away for life after the wedding. And that's if I don't get the death penalty."
"Jessie…." Barret pleaded as the sounds became louder.
Jessie gave her husband a sad look of empathy before removing her bandana and handing it to him.
"Give this to our son when the time is right," she requested.
Before Barret could say anything, Jessie pressed her lips against his.
"Now get behind that wall," she commanded as she sat in the cockpit.
And then, the nasties arrived.
First came an armored bull head.
Jessie immediately fired the turret, causing it to explode.
Next came another armored bull head. She fired at that one as well, causing it to explode as the first one.
"Is that the best you can do?" she taunted.
Third came a walking rocket launcher.
Jessie destroyed it immediately.
Fourth came a dragonfly; she blasted that one as well.
Then came a platoon of Deepground soldiers.
"You bastards just don't give up!" Jessie announced as she shot them all dead in moments.
And then, two Black Widows, armed with rockets, began to close in on her.
"Oh, shit!" she exclaimed.
She quickly opened fire, but the Black Widows, not surprisingly, took longer to destroy.
This is it, Jessie thought. Time for the timeline to reclaim me.
Everyone else, meanwhile, was behind the wall, covering their heads. Some were also covering their ears, as the gunfire was beyond loud.
There was a sound of an explosion.
Then two more.
And then, suddenly, the gunfire ceased.
A whole minute went by; there was not another sound.
Everyone cautiously emerged from behind the wall, fearing the worst.
The rear view of the cockpit presented itself.
A limp right hand could be seen.
Barret was terrified of what he would see when he saw the front, but he rushed there anyway.
Jessie lay still.
Here eyes were open.
Her mouth was gaping.
"Jessie!" cried the grief-stricken Barret at the top of his lungs.
Jessie's eyes fluttered.
"What?" she asked.
Barret sighed.
"I thought you were dead!"
"I though I was history, too," Jessie sighed as she stood up. "Sorry, I was just in shock I made it!"
Barret picked her up and kissed her.
"Come on!" Jessie insisted. "Weiss awaits!"
They continued through the ruins, eliminating Deepground soldiers as they went. Eventually, they arrived at what appeared to be a modern bridge.
"Well, I'll be damned," Yuffie said aloud.
"It's a bridge," Red XIII pointed out.
"It's a bridge within the bridge," Yuffie added.
Just then, several Deepground soldiers landed on the bridge from above.
"They're dropping from everywhere!" DiStefano exclaimed.
MEANWHILE….
Shelke crouched in the fetal position, clutching her legs. She was encased in blue energy, but she could barely see beyond it.
She had no idea where she was.
She could not see the events that were transpiring in the forgotten world below Midgar.
Yet, she could feel them.
"Yuffie Kisaragi," she began. "Nineteen years old. This has been quite an adventure for you. It's led you from a girl to a woman."
And then, cracks began to appear on the forcefield's exterior.
"I don't know why I'm doing this," Shelke continued. "I will die when my magic runs out, anyway."
"Is this...?" began a familiar voice.
Shelke looked up, and gasped in shock.
It was Shalua herself.
FLASHBACK….
The cross at the grave sit stood tall for the small, sobbing girl, covered in foliage, and now a beautiful part of nature.
That did not concern the small girl.
"Mommy," she softly sobbed.
"Stop crying, Shelke," the healthy, younger, two-eyed Shalua insisted.
"But...but…" Shelke continued to sob.
"It's alright," Shalua insisted. "Mom just returned to the planet. We'll see her again."
"We will?" Shelke asked hopefully.
"Of course we will," Shalua assured her. "Mom said everything in this world flows around in a circle. That means she'll come back someday. Mom wouldn't lie to us, right?"
"Right," answered Shelke as she dried the tears from her eyes.
"Right," echoed Shalua with a smile.
….END FLASHBACK
"Shalua," Shelke greeted.
"Shelke," Shalua greeted back.
It felt wonderful to talk to her sister again.
"Is it alright for me to return to the Planet?" Shalua asked.
Shelke immediately felt her mouth dry.
This was not the question she had wanted to hear.
"No," she denied as she looked at her sister sincerely. "Not yet. There's still so much I…"
She could not finish.
The thought of losing her sister forever broke her.
"Don't worry," Shalua assured her as she stroked her hair. "We'll see each other again."
Moments later, Shalua was gone.
All Shelke could see now was the blue, with the cracks still in place.
"A dream?" she asked herself.
She then shook her head.
"No, data interference."
Two tears fell down her cheeks, one from each eye.
She wiped them both away.
"I didn't think I had any tears left," Shelke said sadly to herself.
MEANWHILE….
After the bridge-within-a-bridge, Yuffie, DiStefano, Barret, Jessie, and Red XIII continued on their way, dispatching of any Deepground soldiers that dared to cross their path.
They came closer to their destination, and realized that it was likely a Mako reactor that they never knew about.
Eventually, they reached an arch that had twelve small lights in its keystone.
That was where they got stopped.
Their opponent stood in their way.
"A pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Kisaragi," Nero greeted.
"You must be Nero," Yuffie acknowledged.
"At first, I thought you nothing more than nuisance," Nero continued. "However, it seems I can no longer let you run about unchained. I must protect my beloved brother."
"You have a brother?" Yuffie inquired skeptically.
"Dear Weiss," Nero replied. "Powerful Weiss. The only person who ever loved me. And the only person I will ever love."
And then, Nero lowered his head.
"But that is all forgotten," he continued. "In a matter of moments, everything will change."
"Where's Shelke?" Yuffie demanded. "She better be okay!"
"Shelke?" Nero replied. "Ah yes, what did I do with her? I do recall running into the lass when I journeyed to the airship. A feisty one, she is. The girl is inside me, lost like a little puppy."
Yuffie raised her fists.
"Ah," said Nero. "So you wish to dance?"
"I don't dance," Yuffie dismissed. "I kick ass."
"And where's your gun?" Nero demanded.
"I'm a ninja," Yuffie replied. "I don't use guns."
"Very well," Nero agreed as he tossed his own firearm aside.
He then turned toward DiStefano, Jessie, Red XIII, and Barret.
"Interfere, and she's a dead woman," he warned.
Yuffie cracked her knuckles. Then, she charged her opponent.
Nero quickly grabbed Yuffie's head and flipped her, causing her to land hard on her back.
"Oowww….shit!" she groaned.
Yuffie, despite the pain, helped herself up.
"Okay, you son of a bitch," she growled. "Round two!"
Yuffie charged again.
Once more, Nero grabbed her head.
Only this time, he did not flip her, and, instead, sent her falling hard to the floor on her side.
The look of pain stuck out on Yuffie's face.
The other four found it painful to watch, but knew her life depended on their non-involvement.
Yuffie struggled to rise to her feet again, but remained on all fours.
Her whole body was trembling.
"So, Miss Kisaragi," Nero began. "It seems you were outdone rather fast. Now it's time to accept-"
And then, Yuffie head-butted Nero in the groin.
Nero howled, and doubled over on the floor.
Yuffie then had a field day.
She kicked his right knee. Then, she kicked his left shoulder. Finally, she kicked his jaw.
She then placed her hands on her hips, and stood triumphantly over her vanquished.
"This is what happens when you screw around with Yuffie Kisaragi!" she announced.
"Impressive," Nero complimented as he rose to his feet. "Perhaps Azul and Rosso never stood a chance against the mighty Kisaragi. But enough. I have other matters to attend to."
MEANWHILE….
The blue forcefield continued to crack.
Shelke, while maintaining her composure, was exceedingly frightened.
"So this is the end," she sadly said to herself.
And then, she looked up.
She saw someone she knew.
She immediately became amazed.
It was Shalua again.
"Sister!" Shelke exclaimed.
"You need to leave this place," Shalua commanded.
"But…."
"Now!" Shalua continued. "Use your will! He can't trap you here if you do!"
"Sister…." Shelke began.
"Do it!" Shalua ordered firmly.
Shelke suddenly felt an aura of will run through her body.
"I love you, Shelke," Shalua said.
And then, the surroundings faded away.
MEANWHILE….
Nero began to walk away.
"You wait just a damn minute!" Yuffie exclaimed. "We have unfinished business."
"You'll see me again," Nero assured her. "But Weiss would like to see you more."
"The feeling's mutual," Yuffie said.
Nobody noticed the dark cloud forming above them.
"You'll have to catch up with us, of course," Nero continued.
"You there!" called Shelke's voice from above.
Everyone looked up.
She was standing atop one of the concrete pillars.
"Isn't obvious?" Shelke continued. "If you do something that threatens everyone, you should know people are going to oppose you!"
"Shelke!" exclaimed Nero.
"In the flesh!" Shelke announced.
"But how?!"
"I willed myself out!" Shelke replied triumphantly. "Even your supernatural jail couldn't hold me!"
There was a long silence.
"My brother calls," Nero finally said before turning around and darting away.
"After him!" Shelke called out as she pointed in his direction.
Unfortunately, the pointing caused Shelke to lose her balance, causing her to fall flat on the ground.
"Shelke!" exclaimed Yuffie as she ran to her. "You okay, chica?"
"I don't know," sighed Shelke as she helped herself up. "Maybe I was dreaming."
Her elbows and knees were scraped. She tried to take a step forward, but then let out a howl of pain.
"That leg's broken," Yuffie observed. "We need to get her out of here."
"Hold on," Red XIII said after peeking around the corner. "There's a regeneration tube down here."
MINUTES LATER….
Shelke's eyes opened. She found herself in yet another tube.
But this time, she was inside the location the bridge had led to, which had, in her absence of consciousness, been identified as Mako Reactor Zero.
"Are you going to be okay?" Yuffie asked.
"I think so," Shelke replied.
"Good," Yuffie said. "Just hang tight, okay? We're going to march into that Mako reactor, kick Weiss's ass, and shut the whole thing down. No more need to worry."
Shelke smiled for the first time in a while, though briefly.
"Yuffie Kisaragi," she said. "Why are you fighting this battle?"
"Because the Planet needs my help," Yuffie replied. "Again. Deepground has to go. So does Omega. Not to mention that Rufus is still in power, and Sephiroth is still on the loose. But, sometimes, I think the reason is a lot simpler: because I can. But, what the hell, I'm not sure."
"Not sure," Shelke echoed. "Neither am I. But, Yuffie, I don't want to see the world end. I just don't want there to be any more pain."
"You won't," Yuffie assured her. "That I can promise."