Chapter 24: Into the Sewers
MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE PRESENT…
June 30, 0011
Jessie stood at the entrance to Gold Saucer. People were entering, and a smaller number were exiting.
She had not seen anyone she knew.
She had made the announcement on social media, just as her husband had instructed: "I'll be at Gold Saucer tomorrow morning. Come join me."
Not one friend had shown up.
"Why am I not surprised?" she said to herself. "I'm the woman who freed Sephiroth, after all."
Still, it was early. She continued to wait hopefully at the gate, hoping to see a friend.
MEANWHILE…
Vincent and Lucrecia stood in the sewer they had entered from Nibelheim's town square. It was dark and musty, with sewer water at least a foot and a half deep. The odor was unbearable.
Lucrecia looked ahead; there was only one way forward, and that happened to be a tunnel full of sewage at the aforementioned level.
"Are you sure about this?" she inquired.
"Unless you can think of a better way," Vincent replied.
Lucrecia was silent.
"I'll take it as a 'no,'" Vincent said.
Vincent was the first to jump in, followed by his girlfriend.
"This water smells like shit," she muttered.
They made their way down the tunnel until they reached a central, open area.
Suddenly, Vincent heard footsteps on a metal pipe.
"Looks like we're not the only ones here," he observed.
Just then, a green, amphibious Sahagin, armed with a pitchfork, jumped out of the sewage.
Lucrecia quickly shot it dead.
Three more Sahagins jumped from the pipes above. Vincent and Lucrecia took care of them with the greatest of ease.
They made their way down one tunnel, where they took care of another Sahagin. They then found themselves on dry, concrete ground.
"Thank God," Lucrecia sighed.
They crossed a catwalk, where they took out another Sahagin. They then climbed a ladder and ascended a stairwell.
At the top, there was another Sahagin. Vincent promptly shot it dead.
Lucrecia then spotted a switch. She flipped it, and a gate opened at the bottom of the sewer.
"Does this mean we have to go all the way back down there?" she asked rhetorically.
Vincent nodded.
They went back down and made their way through a tunnel that had been made accessible by the switch. They climbed up a ladder to find a Deepground soldier with his back turned.
Lucrecia quickly put a bullet in the back of his head.
"I guess they know we're here," she said.
In the next room, they spotted two Deepground soldiers on a balcony, who quickly jumped down and opened fire. It was a fatal mistake; Vincent got one and Lucrecia got one.
They took an old fashioned elevator to the next level. There, they found a catwalk that led to the other side.
"This looks easy," Lucrecia observed.
Just then, one of the walls began to open.
"You jinxed it," Vincent reprimanded.
Deepground soldiers, who had been hiding behind the wall, began to open fire.
Vincent and Lucrecia quickly took cover. They opened fire, slowly but surely dispatching the soldiers.
And then, the other wall opened.
"These assholes just don't give up!" Lucrecia exclaimed.
Still maintaing cover, they killed soldier after soldier until none remained.
Vincent and Lucrecia then safely made their way across the bridge.
"One word of warning," Lucrecia began. "As soon as this mission's over, we are both stripping naked. Our clothes are disgusting."
"Agreed," Vincent said.
"Which reminds me," Lucrecia began as they reached the end of the catwalk, "I've decided to go to Shera's bachelorette party. The naked one."
Vincent was silent.
"Is that okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine with it," he replied. "But won't you get arrested if you're fooling around with toys?"
"Definitely not," she replied. "Remember when we went to Eros Nova when we were first together?"
Vincent nodded.
"I peeked on the nude side while you were taking a nap," Lucrecia admitted.
"And?"
"I saw about twenty couples going to third base," she replied. "About three or four went all the way. None were arrested. Just a few stares."
"Then I have no problem with it," he assured her. "We're getting close to the lab. We'll soon have the information we need."
Lucrecia nodded.
"Let's go," she agreed.
MEANWHILE…..
Sage stepped off the elevator. She peered down the open hallway that led to the penthouse apartment that she had lived at with Denzel just a little more than a year ago.
She started down the hallway with anticipation. She was mainly there because Vincent needed help, but she was hoping that maybe….just maybe….Zack would notice her as a young woman now.
She had always had a crush on Zack, starting when she lived with him, but she was thirteen at the time. Although she was only one year older, she would be an adult before she knew it. She had worn her crop top and tight jeans, hoping he would notice.
She arrived in the kitchen to see Zack standing at the doorway that led to the dining-room. His shirt was off, and he was wearing a pair of rather tight jeans himself.
Sage felt her heart skip a beat.
Forget it, Sage. You're fourteen and he's twenty-six.
That said, you'll grow up, and then, it won't mean a thing.
"Welcome," he greeted. "It's been awhile."
"Too long," she said as she stared at his bare chest.
"I'm up here," Zack continued, as he noticed. "What's up with Vincent?"
"He's going after Deepground," Sage replied. "They just raided our headquarters."
"So your dad sent you?" Zack asked.
Sage shook her head.
"I came on my own," she admitted. "I think they could use some help."
Her eyes then floated to his crotch; the jeans he was wearing were rather tight.
"That's very big of you," Zack said to her. "But again, I'm up here."
Sage blushed, somewhat embarrassed he caught her staring at his crotch.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly.
Zack folded his arms.
"Where's Vincent now?" he asked.
"Nibelheim," Sage replied. "He and Lucrecia are digging up some info about the past in the basement."
"You mean the laboratory I spent four years in?" he pressed.
Sage nodded.
"I thought it was sealed off?"
"I heard Vincent and Lucrecia are getting in through the sewer," Sage explained.
"That can't smell too good," Zack observed.
"There's a lot of dangerous people out for them," Sage warned. "Like Azul the Cerulean and Rosso the Crimson. And, worst of all, Captain Mast."
"Okay," Zack agreed. "You win. I'll help."
"You will?!" Sage exclaimed.
That was easy.
"I kind of owe everybody after the Geostigma drama last year," he said.
"Oh, thank you!" Sage exclaimed as she threw her arms around Zack and rested her head against his bare chest. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
She then backed away to a neutral distance, and smiled.
"It might require some breaking and entering," she warned him. "Is that okay?"
"I'm afraid I'm no good at that," Zack admitted.
"But I am," called a female voice.
A moment later, Yuffie appeared next to Zack.
Sage immediately closed her eyes and looked away in disgust.
This was because Yuffie was wearing a yellow baby shirt that read "This is my Happy Shirt" on it with a big smiley face below.
Nothing else; she was completely naked from the waist down.
"What?" Yuffie asked, pretending to be naive.
In reality, she was making it clear that Zack was hers.
"How long have you been up?" Sage asked, still looking away.
"Three hours," Yuffie replied. "Why?"
"That's not enough time to put on pants?" Sage inquired.
"Zack likes my pants off," Yuffie retorted as she affectionately placed her elbow on Zack's shoulder. "You're fourteen. You're old enough to date. When you do, trust me, you will lose your pants from time to time."
"I'll be walking around the house like a cartoon animal?!" Sage exclaimed.
"Yes," Yuffie replied. She paused. "That is, of course, if you're wearing anything at all."
Sage instinctively tightened her belt buckle.
Then, Yuffie folded her arms. She made no effort to cover her exposed lower half.
"Do you want my help or not?" she asked.
"Yes," Sage replied as she looked away. "Vincent's in trouble. He's getting some information in the basement of the President's Mansion."
"That basement was sealed off," Yuffie said. "He would have to get in through the sewers."
"That's how they're getting in," Sage explained as she closed her eyes.
"You know," Yuffie said, "it's polite to look at the person who's talking to you."
Sage opened her eyes, taking extra care to make eye-contact with the half-naked Yuffie.
"That's better," Yuffie said. "You've seriously never seen another girl's butt and vagina before?"
"I have two dads," Sage replied.
"Touché," Yuffie admitted. "We'll help, of course," Yuffie. "But I need a favor in return."
"Shoot," Sage agreed.
"Two children, a boy and a girl, broke into the National Museum and stole the Chronus Wand. I want to know how the hell they pulled that off. I thought only teenagers were capable of pulling that crap."
"You're a teenager as much as I am," Sage insisted.
"I'm nineteen," Yuffie replied as she put her hands on her bare hips. "That's an adult."
"But don't worry about us," Zack insisted. "We'll find Vincent and Lucrecia."
He then placed his hand on the small of Yuffie's back.
"Butt! Butt!" Yuffie commanded.
He lowered his hand to Yuffie's bare butt.
"Free dating tip," Yuffie said to Sage. "If a guy puts his hand on your butt, you can show your approval by pushing it into his hand."
"I'll keep that in mind," Sage said rather quickly. "Well, I have to go. Thanks for helping!"
With that, Sage turned and left the apartment without looking back, leaving the topless Zack and the bottomless Yuffie standing alone in the doorway.
"I think she got the picture," she said before kissing him on the cheek.
"Could Rosso the Crimson possibly get into the President's Mansion?" Zack asked.
"That's Tifa and Cloud's home, and the most secure place on the Western Continent," Yuffie dismissed. "Besides, they walled off that laboratory three years ago. The only 'basement' in that mansion now has a pool, where I'll presume Cloud and Tifa have amazing sex in."
Yuffie then turned and pressed her lips against Zack's, kissing her love passionately.
"Off to Nibelheim?" she asked.
"Off to Nibelheim," Zack replied.
They kissed again.
"You know, I'm a girl," Yuffie said. Pick me up!"
He picked her up and kissed her again.