Remembrance

by Shikaku Zetsumei

Vincent awakes to find that everything he experienced was nothing but a dream. Though he vows to change the future, he is left wondering if his interference will fix anything or simply make things worse. (Story Completely Revamped June 2017) Chapter 22 up.

21. Aftershocks

(Author's Note, 2021): Wow. Thank you to those who took the time to review. It means a lot to me and this old, old story. Sorry the endgame is taking so long to write. Creative burnout coupled with work burnout is hell. I've been trying to learn more about good writing in general, so maybe that'll show in this chapter?

(Author's Note, April 4, 2024): I had 16k words written of this chapter before… I stopped? This was back in 2021, so that explains why I thought I remembered scenes as I was rereading this old story again. Yes, burnout was that bad. Fortunately, I finished my postdoc and found a more stable job. Some things changed, others didn't. Taking a break from editing and querying manuscripts, I wandered back to this story. I refuse to let this become a 20-year story, so one way or another, I'm finishing the damn thing.

Final Fantasy VII – Remembrance

Chapter 21 – Aftershocks

"Aerith?"

She groaned as her mother's voice roused her from her rest. The darkened room brightened at a wordless command. Sleep in this realm was more for mental and spiritual repair. After all, they had no physical forms with which to experience fatigue. Yet, her body ached. Her senses felt tender, like pressing on an open wound. It was a reminder of her reckless charge into the corruption. She placed her feet against the floor and hissed as pain shot through her limbs.

"One moment." The sensitivity faded into a dull tingle as she took a slow breath.

Energy flowed from her surroundings into her damaged feet. An uncomfortable shiver ran through her body, but the pain faded. She stood and unconsciously straightened her dress. Though she was a spirit, the habits she retained from life were hard to abandon. She opened the door to find her mother standing there.

"How are you feeling?" Ifalna asked.

"Better," she replied. "But still a little sore. How long was I out?"

Ifalna thought for a moment. "About six hours on the surface."

Aerith bit her lip. That was six hours that Jenova had to act without any resistance. Sephiroth was likely growing stronger as well. She had hoped her rest would be quicker.

"Any news from the scouts?" She asked.

Ifalna nodded. "We're still waiting on several squads, but we've been getting regular reports for a few hours now. The others have set up a planning area outside the house. The survivors are staying in the nearby buildings."

"Losses?"

A look of sadness passed across her mother's face.

Ifalna let out a soft sigh. "More than we wanted. We've been informed that those crystal spiders are fast. They move without any clear patrols. Sometimes the squads got ambushed by complete chance. Most retreated when they got discovered, but some fell in the process. We're still missing several of the more talented groups."

Aerith tensed, ignoring the dull throb it caused.

"I understand it was a risk," she said slowly. "We will need to hold a memorial for them when this is all done."

Her mother did not reply, but Ifalna's face said it all.

"We will defeat her," Aerith said. "I believe in everyone."

Ifalna gave her a weak smile.

"I wish I could be as optimistic," she admitted. "Gareth and Aldra are at their wits' end trying to coordinate the assault. Many of the survivors have been getting restless as well. Morale is low."

Aerith took another slow breath. In this time of crisis, they lacked leadership.

"Didn't you create this group?" She asked. "Don't your words hold some sway?"

Ifalna closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall. "We were only supposed to keep an eye on the Elders. None of us expected to go up against Jenova herself."

Her hands clasped before her – Aerith saw them tremble.

"And" her mother continued in a softer voice, "Before you arrived, I was the youngest, so to speak. My words don't hold nearly as much weight as Gareth's or Aldra's. I'm lucky they were willing to listen to me."

Aerith let out a huff. It was still disappointing to learn that the older Cetra behaved like that. Their stubbornness almost rivaled that of the Elders.

"I understand." It took everything she could not to scowl at the pettiness. "I'm going to go find Zack. Then I'll head to the planning area."

Ifalna nodded. With that, Aerith made her way downstairs. Gareth and Aldra sat in a large conference room near the main entrance to the house. While she slept, they changed the layout of the ground floor to fit more people. Now, about a dozen men and women pored over a map of the Nexus.

As Aerith passed the doorway, Aldra looked up and made eye contact with her. "Ah, Aerith. You're awake".

Hearing this, Gareth and the other Cetra also turned to her. With a slight frown, she stepped into the room.

"Did you need me for something?" She asked. "I was about to go find Zack."

Aldra took a step closer and asked, "How are you feeling? Were you able to recover from the corruption damage?"

Aerith tapped her feet against the ground, feeling the echoes of pain fade further. Then, she nodded.

"Good." Aldra waved a hand over the map. "We've spent the downtime organizing strike forces. Anyone that's going to the island is outside practicing that barrier trick."

"After you find Zack, please return here. We'll brief everyone on the assault," Gareth added. "I imagine you won't need much practice with the magic barriers?"

Aerith concentrated for a moment. Mana coursed through her body, and she rose an inch off the ground.

"Good," Gareth said. "You're dismissed."

They certainly held seniority and the respect of the other Cetras. But if morale was faltering despite their leadership, they would need to act. They needed a victory.

She nodded, more to herself than the others. "I'll be back in a bit."

Like the house behind her, the Cetra had reshaped the outskirts of the Promised Land. What was once a cluster of buildings had turned into a more compact tent city and medical station. They'd also broken down the walls past her home, forming a training ground nearby. There, a purple uniform stood out amidst the white robes as they all trained. Zack worked by himself, swinging his Buster Sword as he moved with barriers around his feet. She waved over at him when she got closer. When he saw her, he let both constructs dissipate with a huff.

"Aerith! You're awake." He wrapped her up in a hug. "How do you feel?"

"Better," she replied. "I hope I didn't inconvenience anyone?"

Zack shook his head. "Nah. Most everyone's been training. A few of them helped correct some things I was doing wrong. Working with the ambient energy is easier now."

He let a spark of magic dance across his fingers to prove his point.

"Have you been resting?" She examined his spiritual form for signs of deterioration. "It seems like we may attack as soon as we get a better sense of the state of the island."

Zack rolled his eyes at this. "Yeah, the instructors have been forcing people to rest. I think they're overdoing it a bit. I'm not even close to being tired."

Aerith frowned and watched the Cetra train for a moment. Many did not appear confident in their movements. Even basic swings with constructed weapons lacked force and conviction. Their mana manipulation was better, but it didn't leave her feeling confident.

She shook her head to disperse the sense of foreboding. "It's probably a combination of your former training and the Mako experiments. Persistent mana manipulation was your only real hurdle. Most of the people here didn't need to fight as part of their duties. They simply watched for any changes in Jenova's seal."

She motioned for him to follow her before finding a seat on a nearby bench.

"Honestly, I might be the first fighter in a long time." She stared down at her hands with a chuckle. "And even that was thanks to you. It'll probably be you and me, and a few others. I'm worried about our chances against Jenova."

Zack glanced over at the training Cetra and winced.

"Yeah, sounds about right. I've got my combat skills. You have your magical prowess." He shook his head. "They really shouldn't be practicing with weapons if they're not familiar with them. But these guys don't have quite the same magical abilities as you."

Aerith leaned into him with a sigh. "I just hope it's enough for those spiders."

He was warm – the energy maintaining his form thrummed under his skin.

After a moment, he asked, "You alright?"

She nodded slightly. "Just worried. Gareth and Aldra want to talk to us inside when you're ready."

Zack huffed. "Let's take five. I don't think I'm ready to talk shop yet. Still a bit exhausted from all that practicing, you know?"

He feigned a yawn. She closed her eyes, feeling a smile creep onto her lips. He always knew what to say.

#

"Careful, careful…"

Death Gigas grunted as his muscles strained under the weight of the concrete. The Shinra employee shuddered, either in fear or pain.

"Breathe, buddy," Reno said.

The concrete gave a dull crack as Death Gigas pushed it a bit higher. A few shards of the wall tumbled loose. Rude nodded. In one swift motion, Reno and Rude slid the injured man out from beneath the broken wall. The man yelped as they did. Death Gigas growled as the smell of blood filled his nostrils. Rude helped the man drink a potion as Reno channeled a borrowed Restore Materia. Though the bleeding stopped, Materia could only do so much. The man's left leg had been crushed to the point that it was effectively severed. During the healing process, the skin receded from the crushed limb. The dead and necrosing tissue separated, creating a clean amputation.

"M-My leg." The Shinra employee swayed dangerously, his face bone white in the dim light. "It… it…"

Death Gigas huffed and let the concrete drop. The impact caused the man to let out another yelp of fear.

"Come on," Reno said. "Let's get you to safety. We don't know how long this building will last."

The threat of a further collapse distracted the man long enough for Rude to pull him onto a stretcher. A pair of MPs lifted it and made their way toward the stairs. Death Gigas gave one last groan before turning back into Vincent.

"I believe that's all I can get out of him for the rest of the day." He rubbed his temples with his right hand. "Sorry."

Reno shook his head. "That was nine more people that would've died in this place. It's not like we can get any equipment up here."

Though Reno was right, the feeling of helplessness remained.

Vincent took a slow breath before straightening. "Any others on this floor?"

Rude pulled a yellow orb and cast Sense. A pulse of magic rippled through the broken room. His brow furrowed as he turned his head from side to side.

"No," he said. "Only below us now. I believe those are the other rescue teams scouting."

Reno let out a heavy sigh.

"Let's get out of here then," he said. "I really don't wanna test our luck with this building any longer than we have to."

Vincent nodded and they descended the stairwell. On the way, they passed several more teams of MPs with stretchers. Rude continued to cast Sense as they brought up the rear. Their descent slowed as more emergency personnel jostled for positioning. Some people were in bad shape and needed medical attention beyond Materia. Soon enough, they all emerged from the precarious tower.

"Good work people," Reno called out. "I think we've gotten everyone we could."

The various MPs and volunteers gave a muted cheer to raise morale. Reeve had a way with people – they trusted him even though he was ex-Shinra.

'It's amazing how many volunteers even showed up to help.'

While they confronted Hojo, Reeve worked on restoring communications. It was almost an impossible task as Shinra Headquarters had doubled as a major radio tower. But Reeve somehow created a crude transmitter that piggybacked off smaller towers. His mass transmission had convinced a few squads of MPs to assist in the rescue attempt. Though many had abandoned their duties, some MPs remained loyal to the city. The destruction of the Shinra Building had been enough to draw them back to help.

"How did it go?" Elena ran up to them as they reached a hastily constructed medical station.

"Found a few more people in the rubble," Reno said. "We might be reaching the end of what we can do in this building. The other floors are clear."

Vincent surveyed their surroundings. The MPs had moved the injured away from the building to the relative safety of the medical area. The survivors lay on crude beds, most of them fabric-covered crates and concrete slabs. But it was the most they could do given their limited resources and the risk of a building collapse.

He turned his thoughts inward. 'Did you detect anyone else in there? I remember Sense magic being finicky at best.'

'Without taking over, it's hard to say for sure. But if it makes you feel any better, the only ones I could sense through you were detected by Rude.' Chaos let out a low growl. 'The air here is still saturated with energy. Probably how Death Gigas could act as long as he did. It likely made the Sense magic more reliable, too.'

The tension in his stomach loosened slightly. Many had died in that blast, but helping the survivors brought him a modicum of comfort. Though, from the look of things, there was still a dire need for medical expertise. With most communication down, Reeve's makeshift transmitter was their only lifeline. Fortunately, Reeve also had many Mako generators in his workshop. They now powered the computers and server towers salvaged from the building.

'We're still cut off from the others…'His thoughts trailed off as he made his way over to the computers.

A large, white mog sat nearby, still inert. It was a reminder of the injuries they'd sustained when Hojo decided to act with complete disregard.

'What do you think Hojo meant at the end?' Vincent scowled at the memory of the dead scientist.

'Sounded like malicious compliance to me.' Chaos gave a mental shrug. 'Who knows how that man's mind worked.'

His eyes wandered to the two black cats sitting on the table nearby. One was ragged with its head slumped at an odd angle. The other looked sleek and pristine. Its crown had an extra glass jewel in it – perhaps that was how Reeve identified them. He reached out to touch the broken robot.

"Hey!" Elena's sudden call caused him to freeze. "Reeve said to be careful with that."

She jogged over as he pulled his hand back and asked. "Were there issues with the transfer?"

"Apparently the connection was a bit difficult to establish. The old robot had taken more damage than it could. But he managed it in the end." Elena peered at the screen for a moment. "Looks like the transfer is almost done. Reeve told us all to avoid touching the cables unless it was an absolute emergency. Like, if the building started collapsing."

Vincent looked back over to the ruins of Shinra Headquarters. The front door had been propped open with concrete debris. The side door closer to Reeve's workshop was also ajar.

"Are Reeve and Tifa still in the building?"

Elena crossed her arms in thought. "I think so. Last I saw they were still moving things from his workshop. Haven't seen them in a while though."

"I see."

An uneasy feeling remained in the back of his mind. While they dealt with the fallout of Hojo's actions, Sephiroth continued to gain strength. He wanted to push north, but they had no transportation. Nor could they contact the Highwind due to the damage to the city's infrastructure. It was a small miracle Reeve's transmitter worked at all. He pulled out his PHS only to be greeted by the familiar 'No Reception' message. The silence was almost unbearable.

"What's the rest of this then?" He waved several displays that didn't appear to be monitoring Cait Sith.

Walls of text scrolled past as flashes of Midgar appeared in the background. The images had a high vantage point, suggesting they were security cameras of some sort. Some showed less damaged areas of the city, while others had cracked displays. Vincent tried to focus on the words but only understood bits and pieces of what little he saw.

"He's trying to redirect Midgar's resources." Elena sat down at Reeve's station with a huff. "Heidegger and Scarlet took control of a lot of factories in recent weeks. Sector three alone couldn't handle all their production needs. They probably would've aimed for some of the assembly lines in Lower Midgar as well if it wasn't in complete chaos."

"Does he have the security clearance for something like that? Wasn't he mostly in Urban Development?"

Elena shook her head. "He's trying to break past their security system from the bits I heard. Looks like they didn't trust him as much as they let on."

Vincent huffed. "I don't suppose there's anything I can do to help?"

Elena's fingers drummed nervously on the metal crate that served as Reeve's desk.

"Find Heidegger or Scarlet, I guess. They'd be the ones to grant us full access to any locked systems." She shuddered. "Though I heard they did find a part of Heidegger over by the northeast side."

Vincent grimaced at the thought. It was yet another deviation from the vision the Cetra had pushed on him. Without Heidegger, would the Proud Clod still function? Or was Scarlet still somewhere in Midgar plotting to hunt down AVALANCHE?

Elena seemed to interpret his silence differently. "I know what you're waiting for. Honestly, all this rescuing will be for nothing if Sephiroth finishes… whatever he's doing."

He tapped his foot impatiently. A beep from the main computer drew his attention back to the workstation.

"What happened?" He asked.

"One moment, I have some experience with this stuff." Elena peered at the screen with a frown on her face. "Ugh. Why does he have so many windows open? Ah! Here we go. I think the cat is done transferring."

A bit of the tension in his chest lifted. Cait Sith was a vital member of their team and losing his help would have been devastating. He gently prodded the newer cat robot on the table.

"Cait Sith?" He asked. "Can you hear me?"

There was no response.

"Maybe you need to turn him on?" Elena suggested.

Vincent squinted at the cat. Cait Sith did not appear to be functional yet. But that was the case last time as well.

He leaned in as he picked up the cat and whispered, "Don't you dare bite me again."

Elena looked over. "What was that?"

"Nothing." He pressed the button inside the cat's mouth.

There was a faint musical tune and Cait Sith twitched before slumping to his side.

Then, the cat let out a small groan. "Ooh… I don't feel so good."

Vincent let Cait Sith lean against his outstretched hand. "Are you alright? Did the transfer work?"

Cait Sith rested there for a bit more before regaining his balance. "Yeah. It always takes a few hours for all the circuits to warm up, so to speak."

He did not sound as chipper as he normally did. His gait was wobbly, and he almost tumbled off his mog trying to jump onto it.

Vincent caught him, setting him back on the metal crate nearby. "Careful there. Does Reeve need to run any more checks before you can use the mog?"

"No, I should be good but…" Cait Sith looked around for a moment before his eyes landed on the broken form of his former body. "Even in transfer mode, my body is still technically 'on'. Means I sense everything twice. Real disorienting."

He staggered over to the other robot and stuck one finger into its mouth. There was a tune again, this time more jittery due to the broken state of his former body. It slumped a bit more and Cait Sith shook his head again.

"That's a bit better." He patted his former body on the head. "Thanks for the hard work."

Vincent stood back as Cait Sith returned to his mog. It got up with an energetic bounce. As it bobbed back and forth, Cait Sith flopped onto its head and peered up at Vincent.

"What happened while I was out?"

Vincent gave the cat a brief overview of shutting down the Sister Ray and the rescue operations.

Cait Sith fiddled with a small tear in the mog's ear as Vincent finished. "Those Jenova cells sure are something, huh? I can't say I ever liked the guy myself. But he did forward current technology by decades through his efforts. Even impact gels inside my mog have their origins in Jenova research."

Cait Sith was right, of course. Reeve had also mentioned similar advances in prosthetics thanks in part to Hojo. Technology had advanced at a startling pace because of one man's drive. But Hojo's contributions did not erase his crimes. Gast's name and works would fade into the annals of history, overshadowed by Hojo. Even now, Vincent's arm ached whenever he recalled that amputation. The discomfort was only intensified by the vision of another timeline.

"You alright, Vincent?" Cait Sith's voice broke him out of his reverie.

Vincent let out a huff – Cait Sith had always been more perceptive than he appeared to be. "I'm just worried about Sephiroth. I can't use my PHS to contact Cloud and the others."

Cait Sith held out a paw. "I can help with that. With the computer, I might be able to redirect your calls through a different tower."

Vincent pulled out the PHS and handed it over.

Cait Sith waved it at Elena. "Is there a spare connector cable somewhere? It'll be easier if you help. My body's not quite up for moving around yet."

Elena nodded and began rummaging through a box of cables Reeve had left next to the computers. Cait Sith's mog plodded over to the station, placing Cait Sith at table height. Cait Sith reached out with a small groan and began tapping away at the keyboard. As the two worked, Vincent caught sight of Tifa and Reeve exiting the Shinra Building.

"I'll leave you two to it," he said. "If you can, let Cloud and the others know what happened. We don't know what Sephiroth's up to, or if the Sister Ray even penetrated that barrier."

"Leave it to me." Cait Sith waved a hand limply.

Vincent left the medic station. Tifa and Reeve were slowly rolling a stack of generators across the broken concrete. He quickened his pace as the cart began rattling across the uneven ground.

"Do you need any help?"

Reeve peered past the tower at the road ahead. "It should be stable. No potholes, just a lot of debris. Maybe help make sure no large chunks get stuck underneath? I managed to find some undamaged heart rate monitors on one of the upper floors. These generators are for those, at least for the time being."

After a bit of careful effort, Reeve locked the wheels of the cart near the medical station. He and Tifa moved the generators wherever Reeve indicated. One of the MPs with a medic's armband joined them and began tending to the most critical patients.

Tifa stretched as they finished. "Is that it, Reeve?"

"For now." Reeve let out a huff and wiped his brow. "We've gotten all the important things out. The rest of the medical ward had collapsed anyway. How did the evacuations go?"

"I was able to get Death Gigas to help move some of the heavier rubble." Vincent pointed over at the injured. "From what I understand, we've gotten as many people out as we can. I don't recommend you go back in to scavenge any more than is necessary."

Reeve glanced over at the many makeshift beds in the area. There was a distinct frown on his face as he did a mental tally.

"Hundreds of people worked in the building. Though, I think many of them had fled Midgar already. That might have kept the casualties low." He shook his head as if to banish those thoughts. "We'll have to move them to a safer location as soon as we can. Maybe the local hospital has the space and supplies."

"We saw a lot of looting traveling through the Sectors," Tifa said. "Will they still have the supplies?"

Reeve only shrugged helplessly. "It's the best we can do. At worst, it's a safer and more secure space than right next to this building."

There was a moment of nervous silence. Vincent had crossed his arms, one foot tapping lightly. Tifa had pulled out her PHS and was frowning at it.

"The local tower is probably down," Vincent said. "Cait Sith is trying to connect my PHS to a different set of radio towers."

"Oh…"

Tifa put her PHS away, but only seemed more anxious now.

Reeve let out a heavy sigh. "Look, why don't you two take a break? You've both been running about ever since this morning. Rest up while we take care of the communications thing. The volunteers managed to salvage some food and drinks from the stores on the lower floors." He pointed toward a large office building near the medical station. "They commandeered the lobby of that building, I believe."

Vincent glanced over at Tifa. She seemed a bit frazzled. Now that they had finally stopped, the exhaustion was beginning to show. She was also leaning slightly on one leg.

"I suppose you're right. We're stuck here until we can contact the Highwind anyway."

Tifa grimaced and reluctantly said, "Alright."

She began walking toward the office building and Vincent followed in her wake. Some of the MPs Reeve had recruited waved them over. Each of them had ragged squares in the sleeves of their uniforms. It seemed they had torn off their military markings, rejecting their former employers. Vincent relaxed a little at the realization. For the moment, they were among allies. One of them handed out two bottles of water and a few packets of jerky. Vincent led them to a corner where they could rest on a fancy leather couch. A broken window let in some air. Tifa brushed away some shards of glass and sat with a heavy sigh.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he opened his water. "Is your leg still hurting?"

Tifa shook her head as she tore into the jerky. "Just a bit sore after all the running and climbing. I'll cast another Cure on it in a bit."

"Just take it easy," he said. "It was a bad break. Materia can only do so much."

She grunted through a mouthful of food. They ate for a while in silence. Though Vincent did not have the same metabolism as the others, he was surprisingly hungry. The destruction of the Sister Ray had left them scrambling to act. It was mid-afternoon already – they'd worked for hours now. Just sitting was enough for his legs to twinge with exhaustion.

After draining a bottle of water, Tifa gave him a critical eye. "I should be asking you the same thing."

He frowned. "Sorry?"

"How're you handling things? Everything's been pretty much uncharted territory. The Sister Ray, Hojo…" She waved a hand in the direction of the Shinra Headquarters.

Once upon a time, the thought of Hojo would induce a burning anger within his chest. Now, there was nothing.

"I don't know." He rolled his water bottle in his prosthetic – he hadn't had time to practice since the blast. "I've wanted to kill him for so long. But to see him like that…"

Tifa scowled. "Those Jenova cells didn't help in the end, that's for sure."

"I almost prefer the dream." He gave a mirthless chuckle. "Fighting against Hojo's madness, stopping the cannon from overloading. It was like something out of a storybook, really."

Tifa rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Shows how much those stuffy old Cetra knew. Everything's changed now. We can only rely on ourselves."

Vincent drained his water bottle and leaned back against the wall. "I wish there was more I could do. But my knowledge is largely useless now. Who knows if the Sister Ray even broke through Sephiroth's barrier? That blast… it was far more explosive than focused."

"Shinra had cameras set up, right?" Tifa chewed on a piece of jerky with her eyes narrowed in thought.

Vincent nodded. "I asked Cait Sith to see if we could get footage. But the first goal should be to get in contact with Cloud and the others. Wherever they are, it'll take time for them to get here."

"Then we've done everything we can. Cait Sith will get the job done. I believe in him." Tifa scowled. "Unless the Cetra have some other brilliant plan, I'd say we're on our own. I don't suppose you have a way to contact Aerith?"

"No," Vincent replied. "Getting dragged to the Promised Land was her doing. Even if we dived back into Lifestream, it'd more than likely kill us."

"Are you two talking about secret vision stuff again?"

Cait Sith's voice caused Tifa to jump and almost immediately clutch her leg with a wince. The small robot peered in at them through the broken window, his head almost next to hers.

"Cura." She cast the spell through gritted teeth before letting out a sigh. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry." Cait Sith's apology was far too cheerful – he seemed mobile again.

"Did you get the PHS up and running?" Vincent chose instead to ask.

Cait Sith pouted. "How rude. I've done so much for you, and you can't even say hello."

Vincent hesitated before heaving a sigh. "Sorry, but things don't look good in the grand scheme of things."

"That vision thing?" Cait Sith asked.

Reluctantly, Vincent nodded. "In that vision they gave me, Shinra destroyed the barrier around North Crater. With what happened to the Sister Ray, I don't even know if we can approach Sephiroth, much less fight him."

Cait Sith adopted a thinking pose, resting his head on one white-gloved paw. "Well, while I was altering your PHS, I hacked into one of Shinra's satellites. I should be able to use it as a relay, but we can also use it to access the North Crater monitoring systems."

Vincent sat up straighter. "Did you contact Cloud and the Highwind?"

"Not yet." Cait Sith shook his head. "I came here to get you two first. Unless you're still eating?"

Tifa crushed the remains of her snack in her hands and stood. "I'm done if you are."

Vincent nodded and said, "I want to see this footage."

They waved to the volunteers as they left the building. There were more people in the rest area now that the survivors had been evacuated. Once everyone was rested, the next phase of moving the injured would likely begin.

"So, how'd you get the PHS to work?" Tifa asked as they walked. "Vincent said something about different towers."

"That's basically it," Cait Sith replied. "His PHS now uses a different set of radio towers along with one of Shinra's military satellites. Might be a bit slower, but calls will go through while we're here in Midgar." He tilted his head in thought as his mog continued to walk. "Though your PHS probably won't work away from the Shinra tower I connected it to."

Vincent shrugged. "That's fine so long as it's usable for the time being. Maybe we should look at the video footage from North Crater before contacting them. Give them more information while we can."

"I can do that!" Cait Sith nodded enthusiastically.

They reached the workstation and explained their plans to Reeve.

"We can try, but I can't guarantee a clear signal." Reeve typed a few things and moved the main hacking program to a different screen. "Those cameras were high priority, so they'll have more security on them. Cait Sith, you'd probably be better at adjusting the connection on the go."

"Roger that!" Cait Sith gave a little salute and plugged a wire into one of his ears.

Then he sat and his eyes dulled. A moment later, the screen flickered as a new window opened and lines of code began to scroll past. The rest of them could only wait for the footage from North Crater.

#

The small break had helped, but Aerith still felt uneasy about the situation. In the distance, the blackened Nexus stood as a reminder of their enemy. She led Zack back to the main building and knocked on the doorframe of the conference room.

Gareth jumped at the sound. "Ah. You're both back. Good. How goes the training, Zack?"

"I'm ready to fight," Zack replied. "Though you might want to organize those trainees outside better. They'll get slaughtered by the spiders if you just send them out there."

Gareth nodded. "We are aware of this. It's one of the topics we've discussed with the group." He gestured to the rest of the Cetra in the room. "Aldra, if you would?"

Aldra waved a hand and dozens of small portraits materialized before her. They hovered over the wide map of the Nexus.

"We gathered some basic information from all the volunteers while you rested." As she spoke, two small bars appeared above each of the portraits.

For many of the portraits, the second bar was much longer than the other.

"The first bar represents their former weapons expertise," she explained. "As you observed, few trained in the way of the blade while they were alive. Most of us focused on mana manipulation and relied on spells to protect ourselves. That's reflected in the second bar."

Aldra waved a hand and the portraits floated into distinct clusters. "We'll group one or two weapons fighters with four or five magic users. These will make up the attack forces. The goal is to clear streets and buildings while moving toward the Nexus. This will hopefully distract and weaken Jenova."

Aerith frowned. "Weaken?"

"We've gotten reports that the spiders are still chipping away at the houses. Though everything appears corrupted, perhaps the Planet is still fighting back. Whatever the case is, the movement of corrupted material toward the Nexus has slowed. The scouts have also reported seeing a network of crystal running through the area." She touched the projection and a series of lines glowed across the surface. "It's as if the entire place has become a web for Jenova. By shielding ourselves, we likely make it harder for her to detect us as well."

Zack crossed his arms, letting out a thoughtful hum. "So, a multi-pronged attack then? And while the spiders are distracted, the main group heads for Jenova?"

"That's the plan," Gareth replied. "It's the best we could come up with in such a short time."

Zack poked at the gap around the floating island. "How are we getting across? You guys broke the land, right?"

"We've had patrols maintaining it for now. But a bit of encouragement from us could cause a bridge to form." Gareth gave a bitter chuckle. "It's the double-sided nature of living here. The Planet's energy pushes to seal the gap, but that would spell our doom. Once we're ready to attack, we can speed up that process and form a path. We'll break the roads as we go, but without anyone to maintain it, the gap will slowly close."

"I don't suppose we could fly in, could we?" Zack asked with a soft chuckle. "It'd be like Wutai all over again."

Aldra shook her head. "The only way we could do that would be to summon a guardian spirit. Such a concentrated mass of energy would surely draw Jenova's attention. Not to mention, there's no one else in the skies around here."

Zack shrugged. "Ground assault it is. Will you two also be joining the assault?"

Gareth nodded. "Most of us here are more proficient with magic and will be assisting the different assault teams. Some aren't fit for combat and will be helping with communication."

Zack raised an eyebrow as interest sparked in his eyes. "Really? How does that work?"

Aldra waved a hand and a thin golden line linked two portraits. "Two people can attune their energies to form a temporary connection. It's a more direct version of how Aerith speaks with the Planet. The communication team will track each attack team's progress. They'll also handle relaying instructions as needed."

The portraits moved around a large hologram of the Nexus in a simulation of the attack. In the middle was a black, tentacled form. Though Jenova did not look like that anymore, it was how most Cetra remembered her.

"Removing Jenova here… would that hurt her physical form?" Aerith wondered aloud.

"We can only hope so," Aldra said with a shrug. "Spiritual energies of the deceased enter Lifestream easily. But those with a living body remain tethered to that physical shell. It's how Cloud Strife was able to repair his mind within Lifestream. Likewise, damage to the spirit will irreparably damage the mind. If we kill her here, her body, maybe even her cells, will die."

At the mention of Cloud, Zack's face grew determined. "Seems like a bit of a stretch, but if that works out, then that's another reason to launch this attack. When do we head out?"

Gareth sighed. "We planned on letting the trainees rest first. It would allow any remaining scouting parties to report in."

Aerith pinched the edge of her jacket in worry. "The remaining teams haven't returned yet?"

"We don't know," Aldra replied. "The ones that returned have mostly been those fleeing after being spotted. But some of the ones missing specialized in stealth and mana manipulation. We're giving them the benefit of the doubt that they've remained hidden."

Zack scowled. "After this much time? With those spiders everywhere, there won't be many places to hide. Did you have them connected for communication?"

Aldra's face said it all. "No. The spiders are very sensitive to the energy of this plane. We couldn't risk revealing the scouting parties with a tether leading out of the island."

Zack tapped his foot. "Do we wait for more information, or do we charge in before Jenova gets stronger?"

"That's the question we've been debating," Gareth said. "Regardless, we need the trainees to rest. So that's more time we need to factor in."

Aerith sighed. While six hours had passed on the surface of the Planet, it had only been about half that time in the Promised Land. It was an issue that worked in Jenova's favor. The longer she spent stalling the Cetra here, the more time Sephiroth had to absorb the Planet's energies.

"You had people patrolling the borders, right?" Aerith asked. "Maybe we could – "

A pulse of energy cut her off mid-sentence. A moment later, the room trembled with an aftershock.

"What the hell was that?" Zack asked as he formed his Buster Sword. "Jenova?"

Gareth was already in motion. "Pinpoint the location of that energy spike. It could be the spiders making a move. Contact the patrols. Ask if they saw anything."

Aldra's face grew grim. "That felt more like an explosion. We might be out of time…"

Several Cetra in the room had a distant look in their eyes as they spoke to thin air. Aerith closed her eyes, trying to sense anything else, but the pulse had faded. Only the ambient mana of the people and building remained.

Then, an older man stood from his seat. "I got something. Patrol F found two scouts collapsed at the edge of the rift. One is unconscious. The other is badly injured. They're requesting help bringing them back to camp."

That message was relayed through the other Cetra.

"Tell Patrol F that Patrol J is on the way."

"As is Patrol M."

Aldra shifted the map to highlight the area where Patrol F had been. "They're close enough to the main road. We'll send people to help move the injured."

Aerith turned to join those leaving the room. "I'll go with them. I can help heal them."

The reaction was not what she expected.

"You should save your strength." Gareth had a stern look on his face. "You're one of our best fighters. Save the healing to others who can't contribute as much in the way of fighting strength."

Aerith tensed as her irritation spiked. Her mother's words about stubborn Cetra rang in her ears.

Aldra seemed to notice this and held up a hand. "We have talented healers in every patrol team. Some have been the ones monitoring the break in the land. They'll be able to perform some stabilizing measures at the very least."

Her anger faded as Zack patted her on the back.

"Everyone's got their talents," he added. "During the Wutai War, SOLDIERs still had to rely on support. Our mana supplies weren't unlimited. So even if we could do everything ourselves, doing so would lead to exhaustion. And in the middle of a fight, that could mean the difference between life or death."

Aerith scowled but knew he was right. Once they stepped onto the isolated island with the Nexus, they'd be cut off from help. They wouldn't be able to access the ambient energy of the Promised Land. Every attack and movement would slowly drain their reserves. The weakest fighters would have to retreat or risk dissipation.

"Fine. I'll wait for the patrol," she said instead. "I want to speak with the scout."

With that, she turned and left the conference room. As she made her way out of the house, a slight movement by one of the windows caught her attention. Ifalna stood staring out at the Nexus. The worry lines on her face were more pronounced than ever.

Aerith approached her. "Mom. What are you doing? Shouldn't you be meeting with the others inside?"

Ifalna shook her head. "I don't know enough about fighting. I only ever helped Gast with his research into the Cetra. And after you were born, we went into hiding. I'll be helping with communication once the fighting begins. We organized a team while you were resting. The more experienced people remained with Garth and Aldra to discuss tactics. We'll also provide medical support as needed."

"Oh." She mentally chided herself. 'Of course, they wouldn't have sat around idling while I slept.'

"What happened?" Ifalna continued. "I felt that pulse of energy. Was it an explosion?"

Aerith crossed her arms. "Possibly. There were injured scouts. The patrols are carrying them back here. They should arrive shortly."

"Honestly, I had thought the groups that hadn't returned were already lost." There was a worried look on Ifalna's face. "I wonder if they were trapped and couldn't leave?"

"We'll find out soon," Aerith replied.

The door closed again behind them as Zack also exited.

"You alright?" He came over and hugged her from behind.

"I'm fine." Aerith let out a huff. "Just anxious."

"As much as I want to take the fight to Jenova, I don't feel good about our chances." He stepped back and leaned against the wall.

Worry spiked in her stomach again. "Is the plan flawed?"

Zack shook his head. "The plan is fine in theory. I just hope the fighters in each group are enough to make up for the imbalance. If they can't handle the brunt of the attacks, the groups are doomed. In an ideal world, they would destroy some of those creatures and help weaken Jenova. Worst case, they only stall her a moment before they're killed. From the sound of it, the creatures manually bring the energy to Jenova. So, there's also the chance she gets stronger as we fight her as well."

His gaze turned to the Cetra by the training field. Most of the magic users had stopped to rest. Only the weapon users remained active, keeping themselves ready to deploy.

"I wonder if it's worth waiting for the injured scout though," he added.

"They could tell us if there's anyone left. If they're the last scouts, we can better prepare." In truth, she simply didn't like the idea of writing people off as dead.

Zack shrugged. "True. Gareth and Aldra had already discussed our options while you slept. I agree that we should get as much information as we can. It'd be disruptive if the teams found stranded scouts while trying to fight. I doubt some of the less trained folk would know what to do in that situation."

Aerith nodded, feeling somewhat relieved. "What do you make of them? Gareth and Aldra, I mean."

Zack shrugged. "They seem strong enough, at least compared to the other Cetra. And we need all the fighting power we can get."

"That's the best we'll get, isn't it?"

"Pretty much."

She glanced at her mother. "Will you be alright here? You said you had a team for communication and emergency aid, right? I want to go speak with the scout."

Ifalna stepped away from the window. "Yes. If they're starting to prepare, we should begin moving closer to the Nexus. The plan was to have stations at set points around the island."

Aerith nodded and made her way to the door as her mother reentered the conference room. Zack followed her past the tents and medical station. Many of the trainees had returned to their loved ones to prepare for the upcoming invasion.

"I think the patrols were northeast of us," Zack said. "So, they should come from one of those roads?"

He pointed to several roads that exited near the Cetra base. Minutes later, a small group of Cetra emerged and hurried toward them. The patrols had constructed stretchers from mana to carry the injured. One figure lay unmoving, but the other had an arm across their eyes. As the patrols approached, Aldra joined them.

"Over here!" Aldra called out waving her hands. "Medical station, prepare to receive injured!"

A small group of Cetra on the west side of the camp leaped to their feet. Most of them began restructuring a house into a triage area. An open wall let people enter and exit quickly, while a few curtains provided a bit of privacy. Two others created soft beds for the injured. Aerith joined them as they rested the two scouts inside the makeshift space.

Once the healers began to work, Aldra entered the room. "How are they?"

The one tending to the conscious scout shook his head. "This one has exhausted most of her mana reserves. The other, though." He shook his head before continuing. "She's badly injured. It's a miracle she's still corporeal."

Aerith felt her stomach drop when she saw the unconscious scout. The woman was almost transparent – what little mana she had left barely held her form together. It seemed the slightest breeze could dissipate her into nothingness. Three healers worked on restoring her, channeling mana from the Planet into her body. A few minutes later, the healthier scout let out a groan as she shifted her arm away from her face. Tear-filled eyes blinked up at them.

"Miss Aldra?" Her voice was hoarse and heavy with sorrow.

Aldra stepped closer. "Melis, right? What happened? Where are Kiev and Tevan?"

It took a moment for Melis to compose herself. "I'm sorry. Kiev and Tevan… they didn't make it."

Aldra closed her eyes in sadness. "Dammit."

Melis lowered her arm to cover her face and only repeated, "Sorry."

Medics bustled around them, focusing on the unconscious Cetra. As one healer grew tired, they would switch places with another. The weary healer would then go sit down nearby and recover their energy with the Planet's supply. By this point, some of the trainees and most of the tacticians had gathered outside the building. Gareth approached as well, though, by the look on his face, he had figured out why Melis was so injured.

"Who is this?" Gareth nodded toward the unconscious Cetra. "I'm not great with names. What squad was she in?"

Melis wiped her eyes before speaking. "Her name is Nessa, I think. One of her teammates was a person named Selah. I don't know about the other. Kiev and Tevan must have found them while I was scouting the Nexus."

Gareth let out a sigh. "I take it this Selah did not survive?"

But before Melis could reply, the other scout suddenly spoke. "She got hit by one of the spiders while we were in the air. They can create tethered hooks of sorts – they pulled her back to the island."

One of the healers looked a bit alarmed. "Miss Nessa, please conserve your energy. Your body needs rest."

Nessa was still semi-transparent, and her voice came out as a whisper. But as the healers worked to stabilize her form, her body became more solid. She continued to speak while staring at the roof of the building. There was a dead look in her eyes.

"Our squad was trapped near the Nexus. Ruko, our sensor, found the remains of his home. It had been destroyed in the initial attack. He… snapped. Our leader, Selah, and I were stuck behind a barrier until Kiev and Tevan found us."

"So, Ruko…" Aldra prompted.

Nessa shook her head. "He went down fighting."

"There's going to be more of that during our counterattack." Zack had also joined the crowd, leaning against the outer wall. "Even if people understand, experiencing it is completely different."

The grim look on his face was present in many of the trainees as well.

Gareth only nodded before asking, "What were you doing so close to the Nexus?"

A look of guilt passed across Melis's face. "We… we had gotten far without detection," she said quietly. "I thought we might be able to get more reconnaissance if we pushed a bit further."

"That was reckless of you," Aldra said in a disapproving voice.

As Melis hunched, a small wave of annoyance passed through Aerith, and she stepped forward. "They were a team of three, right? It's not like she made the decision alone."

Aldra gave Aerith a sideways glance but then huffed in frustration. "You're right. I'm sorry for snapping. There was an explosion a few minutes ago. Was that also from the Nexus?"

That question caused Melis to freeze. She squeezed her eyes shut with her face screwed up in anguish. Aldra and Gareth exchanged looks. Aerith crafted a simple chair and took a seat next to the bed. Melis did not react – her breath came out in quick bursts.

"Melis?" Aerith placed her hand over Melis's, causing Melis to flinch. "Do you want to rest first?"

Melis shook her head as she rubbed her eyes with her other hand.

"Melis, please," Gareth spoke in a soft tone. "Any information you can give us will help."

With a grunt, Melis forced herself into a sitting position. Aerith tried to help her, but Melis shook her head. Her hands clenched hard on the sheets of the conjured bed. She trembled as she fought back whatever memories plagued her.

Finally, Melis took a shuddering breath. "It's all my fault. Jenova was distracted. I thought I could weaken her, or even kill her, while I had the drop on her."

Her words held an ominous tone. Everyone waited for her to speak, but Melis fell silent again as tears pooled in the corners of her eyes.

Eventually, Aerith asked, "What happened?"

"I attacked her. She was slow to react and…" Melis let out a small, almost hysterical laugh as she stared down at her hands. "I got her with a shard of ice through the eye."

Several people mumbled to each other. Some were optimistic, others less so.

"She'd probably heal from that, right?" Zack asked from the small crowd of Cetra.

Gareth seemed conflicted. "It's hard to say. We're all made of mana particles here. Recovery is dependent on replenishing that store of mana. But since Jenova likely forced her way into this land, she might be working with a finite amount. That would explain why she ordered those creatures to harvest energy for her."

"It hurt her more than I expected." Melis clenched her hands in her lap. "As she was distracted, we fled. But the spiders soon came after us. We did everything we could to slow them down, but it wasn't enough. Jenova must have alerted them to our position because they surrounded us before long."

The gathered Cetra were quiet as Melis told her tale. In that tense silence, her voice seemed louder than ever.

Melis's hands shook, and she had to take a breath before continuing. "Tevan summoned Ifrit to break through the swarm, but Kiev fell as we were running. He… I think he caused that mana explosion. By that point, we had already gotten to the edge of the island. But because of what he did, Tevan didn't have the energy to make it back across. He used the rest of his mana to boost us back over."

Aerith glanced over at the crowd. The mood in the room had dropped; the loss of two strong combatants was devastating. But Melis's story only strengthened their fears. The Cetra were losing hope. Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a deep breath and held it. There was only one thing she could do. Steadying herself, she let out a sigh and opened her eyes.

"Their sacrifice will not be in vain. From what we've gleaned, those creatures are an extension of Jenova's powers. And like Gareth implied, their numbers are not infinite. In this place, Jenova's power is not infinite. I think it's safe to say that the more creatures we destroy, the weaker Jenova gets." Aerith drummed her fingers on her knee. "I am curious why you were able to hit her. I'm not questioning your abilities, but rather her reaction time. What was she doing?"

Everyone waited in silence, but the pressure only made Melis more subdued.

Aerith reached out and touched her arm. "Please. For all we know, it could be a hole in her defenses. You're the only one that can give us this information."

Melis took a few shuddering breaths before lifting her head. "She… she had the Elders hanging from spikes in the council room. I watched her for a few minutes. When she wasn't taunting them, she was watching the surface of the Planet."

A murmur ran through the crowd. Aerith gave Melis's arm a reassuring squeeze before the girl could falter.

"She showed the Elders visions of Midgar, specifically. The Sister Ray exploded after Hojo fired it before all the safeties had been installed. It seems that the Elders were the ones to push for such a reckless plan."

This time a wave of anger swept through the room.

"The Elders would never do something like that!" One man shouted from the back of the crowd.

"Jenova is a monster," another said with a scoff. "You probably just fell for her lies, stupid girl."

Melis hunched at the accusations.

"Silence." Aerith's voice cut through the noise. The room trembled as she tried to contain her anger. "This sounds exactly like what the Elders would do. I spoke with them several times about this 'prophecy' that Vincent received. They were so convinced they were right – that they needed to do something different. It blinded them to all other options. Even after everything Vincent tried to do, they still had the gall to chastise him. From what I've seen, they stopped caring about the Planet long ago. They've only cared for themselves."

"Who do you think you are, little girl?" One of the Cetra said with a sneer. "Just because you claim to still be able to speak with the Planet – "

"It is because I can speak with the Planet that I understand this in full." Her voice was like ice. "Do you know how often the Planet cried because the very people who swore to protect it would not listen? How often the magnanimous Elders went against the Planet's desires to push their agendas? I told myself it was because the Cetra thought they knew better. Imagine my disappointment when I learned they'd stopped listening long ago."

The man, and several others, looked away in shame at her accusations.

Aerith took a breath to calm herself. "Please continue, Melis."

Though Melis was hundreds of years older than Aerith, she nodded in deference.

"At one point, Jenova turned her attention to North Crater. Though the barrier was gone, she seemed satisfied. Her taunts implied that it had been part of some plan. But her confidence wavered for a moment when she turned her attention elsewhere. I believe she began speaking with Sephiroth." Melis clenched her hands in her lap. "That's when I took the shot."

Gareth rubbed his chin. "Was she worried about Sephiroth somehow?"

"No one has been able to observe Sephiroth despite his position in North Crater," Aldra added. "As far as we know, he's still gaining strength."

"Maybe something happened to him because of the attack?" Zack suggested. "Hah. Maybe that blast knocked a rock loose and broke his arm or something."

This earned him a disapproving, "Please take this seriously," from Aldra.

Aerith frowned. "He has a point though."

"He does?" Gareth asked incredulously.

"I do?" Zack seemed just as confused.

Melis also seemed to forget about her sorrow in favor of curiosity for a moment.

Aerith cleared her throat nervously. "What do we know about Jenova's plans? Based on all that's happened, we can assume she's been waiting for the chance to attack the Cetra. She manipulated Sephiroth into her plans to destroy life on Gaia, correct? He's absorbing energy to do just that. That's why they've been biding their time in North Crater."

When no one challenged her, she continued. "But Gaia is still fighting back. I think Jenova is afraid of interruptions. They don't want AVALANCHE or anyone else reaching Sephiroth before he's ready. They wouldn't have generated that barrier if that wasn't the case. If anything, she might be more worried about Sephiroth now that she's so close to her goal. If she were happy that the barrier fell, as Melis said, why would she still be worried about Sephiroth?"

"You think something beyond her control happened," Gareth said.

Aerith nodded. "It's a bit of a stretch, but her goal is simple. Even if her motives are unclear, I feel that knowing would not change our mission. Rather, any distraction she has may end up to our benefit. If she remains injured by Melis's attack, it could tilt the odds in our favor just a bit more."

"We should prepare to strike then." Aldra turned to the gathered crowd. "Our plans haven't changed, but time is of the essence. If Jenova is recovering, now is the chance to strike!"

The conviction in her voice sent the crowd scattering. The communications team began creating connections to the attack squads. The Cetra resting near the training grounds soon joined in the preparation.

Through the commotion, Aldra turned to Aerith. "You should prepare as well. We'll be relying on your contributions as much as that of Mister Fair."

Aerith nodded. "Alright."

But as she stood from her chair, Melis grabbed onto her wrist. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she said, "I want to go with you to fight her."

The conviction in her eyes caused Aerith to hesitate.

She looked to the healer attending to Melis. "How is she doing? Is she even fit to fight?"

The man seemed conflicted. "Not exactly. Her mana is still low, and she needs rest after that ordeal."

Melis tried to stand, but her legs shook as she did. The healer in charge of her recovery moved to support her, but she brushed him off. If she went back to the Nexus like this, she would be more of a liability.

But before Aerith could protest, Nessa spoke. "You were one of the top fighters, right?"

Nessa had spent most of the conversation in silence as the healers worked. Aerith had forgotten about her as the threat of Jenova took precedence. The other healers had done enough to stabilize Nessa and two had left to join the forces invading the Nexus. The remaining healer appeared to only be monitoring her recovery. There was an odd glint in her eye as she sat up in bed.

When Melis did not reply, she continued. "Kiev and Tevan risked so much to help me and Selah. I couldn't do anything but watch. I got injured after Ruko abandoned us. Then, Selah spent all her energy keeping me safe. In the end, I was just dead weight."

"You were put in an impossible situation," Aerith retorted. "Jenova's domain is dangerous enough as it is."

"But you'll be more useful than me out there, right?" Nessa staggered to her feet and stepped toward Melis.

Her healer got up from his seat, his eyes wide in surprise. "Miss Nessa, please lay back down. You're in no condition to move just yet."

But Nessa ignored him. "Maybe I'll be worth something then." With that, she stumbled forward, grabbing onto Melis's arm as she did.

The healer moved to help her. "Hey! Are you alright?"

But Aerith had already guessed Nessa's motives. She watched as Nessa's form faded once more. Melis's eyes widened as she began to glow.

"Wait – " The healer managed to take one step toward them.

"Go. For the ones who fell." And Nessa dissipated.

Melis stared at where Nessa was only moments ago. Nessa's healer let his outstretched arm fall. Melis's healer looked away with a pained scowl on his face. Aerith closed her eyes and took a slow breath. As much as she grieved for the lost Cetra, those emotions were tempered by cold logic. If Melis was as skilled as Gareth and Aldra had implied, they would need her help in the upcoming fight. Nessa's sacrifice might give them a bit more of an edge.

"I…" Melis choked on her words.

Aerith bit her lips before saying, "Melis how are you feeling now?"

"Better. Great. But – "

"Don't let her sacrifice be in vain. We have a war to win. Let's go." She forced herself to stand against the suffocating sadness.

It was time to be a leader. Mourning could wait.

#

Tifa paced around the makeshift outpost. Her leg felt stiff, but she hoped the constant movement would loosen her muscles a bit. The Restore Materia had prevented her from becoming a cripple but walking still felt odd. Perhaps it was the memory of the pain that persisted.

Instead, she spoke to keep her mind off the phantom pains. "It's a bit surreal watching the two of you work out here. I'm surprised you could get anything to work with all the destruction."

Cait Sith gave a smug chuckle. "I'm just that good!"

"Focus." Reeve's fingers flew across the keyboard even as he admonished the robot.

Despite the destruction of Shinra Headquarters, many firewalls persisted. Shinra had been very protective of their surveillance footage. As such, Reeve needed to fabricate permissions to allow them access. To his side, Cait Sith performed a similar set of actions. And together, they created loopholes to bypass the security.

"We're really putting the local tower to use, huh?" Reno squinted at the top of a nearby building.

Several antennae were bent, and a few dishes were missing. But under Reeve's directive, some of the MPs had helped get it into working order. That broken satellite array was their only connection to the world beyond Midgar.

"Let's just hope it stays up." Elena glanced nervously at the rooftop. "It looks like a light breeze would knock it over."

"It'll be fine." Reeve's eyes never left the screen. "We braced it with some debris from the blast."

Rude huffed and shook his head. His crossed arms told them what he thought of the slapdash repairs. But Cait Sith's small cheer caused everyone to refocus on Reeve's monitors.

Reeve leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "We're in. Luckily Heidegger had the wits to set up surveillance on Sephiroth and North Crater. Seems like he wasn't entirely a brainless warmonger. They had to keep an eye on that shield somehow."

Cait Sith flopped back onto his mog. "Those encryptions were weird though. Most of them took forever to get through. And then near the end, the security just sort of disappeared."

Reeve shook his head. "Must've been Scarlet layering on extra firewalls. She always had more sense, even if she was rather unpleasant to work with."

Tifa snorted at the memory of the bloodthirsty woman.

"How bad was it?" Elena peeked over at Cait Sith's computer with a frown on her face.

"The final password was just 'Shinra'." Cait Sith sounded far too cheerful about that.

Elena visibly recoiled. "No way. No one's that stupid."

Reeve scowled with disgust. "It's like he never learned the basics of security."

"I thought it was suspicious that one time he asked me about downloading more memory for his PHS…"

Vincent cleared his throat before they could devolve into more complaints. "Did the cameras record the moment of impact from the Sister Ray?"

"Right." Reeve coughed and returned to typing on his keyboard. "The outpost got pretty rattled from the energy, but the cameras and data survived. See?"

One of his monitors switched to a crooked view of a landscape. In the distance, they could make out the blurred outline of North Crater.

"The barrier's gone!" Tifa gripped the back of Reeve's chair tighter in excitement.

Vincent leaned in as well. "Something Hojo said earlier is bothering me though. He mentioned ruining Jenova's plans, though I'm not sure why. Was that blast supposed to be enough to break the barrier?"

Reeve shrugged. "Hard to say. Half the compressors weren't even online yet. Who knows what else Hojo did to its output to cause that amount of damage." He looked back at the ruined building with a frown. "But it's a good thing that it's gone, right?"

"No, I agree with ol' super-Turk here." Reno tapped his foot. "Something doesn't smell right. You got any recordings of the impact?"

Cait Sith raised his hand. "Ooh. I can pull up recordings by the hour!"

Images flickered across the screen as he worked. After a few seconds, the landscape straightened, and the lens became clean.

"Probably here." Reeve tapped on the screen. "Load this hour and scan for the blast."

"Roger!" The recording played at double speed. "There's the barrier aaaaand… there's the blast."

Cait Sith slowed down the playback and rewound the recording. After a few seconds, a bright green blast collided with the shield covering North Crater. The shell shimmered before dispersing into motes of light. Moments later, the aftershock of the blast washed over the Shinra observational outpost. The recording fizzled for a moment before resuming.

Elena let out a sigh. "Looks like it worked? Did Hojo mess up whatever he was trying to do?"

"That doesn't seem like him." Reno crossed his arms with a scowl. "As much as I hated the guy, he was scary smart."

"Something changed." Rude's deep voice interrupted the conversation.

Reeve frowned. "Did it?"

"Can we get a closer look?" Vincent tapped on the point of impact.

Reeve rubbed his chin in thought. "If I recall correctly, Heidegger installed some expensive cameras up there. See how far you can zoom in before we lose resolution."

Cait Sith rewound the recording again and adjusted the field of view. Though the shield was now a bit blurred, they could still make out the shape and opacity.

As the blast hit the shield, Vincent leaned forward. "Hold on. Play that again. Slower, this time."

Cait Sith adjusted the playback parameters.

"Wait!"

The recording stopped.

"Can you go frame by frame?"

Tifa squinted at the screen, trying to figure out what Vincent and Rude had seen. As Cait Sith tapped through each frame, the change became clear. The beam of unfiltered Mako energy hit the barrier around North Crater causing it to shimmer. For a moment, the shield held fast, but then the energy sank in, by about a foot or two. The shield then pulsed green before dispersing as if it had been destroyed.

Tifa's hands tightened on the back of Reeve's chair. "What… what was that?"

"That looked like the examples of elemental absorption from our Materia classes." Elena's face paled. "Do you think he took that energy? How would that even work?"

Reno ran a hand through his hair. "Does that mean the bastard is even stronger now?"

Everyone fell silent as they stared at the frozen image of the shield absorbing the Sister Ray's attack.

With a weary sigh, Vincent stepped away and pulled out his PHS. "Even if he did get stronger, I don't believe that will change our plans. We'll just have to change our strategies to compensate. Knowing this is useful though. We won't get blindsided by any unexpected changes in his strength." Then, turning to Cait Sith, he added, "I should be able to call Cloud now, right?"

"Yeah." Cait Sith had lost much of his initial enthusiasm. "The connection might not be great, but it should work."

"We should let him know and head for North Crater as soon as possible." He dialed Cloud's number before looking to the Turks. "Will you three join us?"

Rude looked uncomfortable with the question.

Reno was a bit more direct. "We might be good at fighting, but it might be hard to integrate us three into your little group."

Elena added, "Besides, with what Reeve's up to here in Midgar, it might be safer if we stay here. He's going to need some protection, right?"

"She has a point," Reeve said. "We have the volunteers, but a lot of them used to be low-ranking soldiers and beat cops. It would help to have people here who know how to fight well."

There was a click and Tifa turned her attention toward Vincent.

"Vincent! What's going on? We've been trying to contact you three for hours now." Cloud's voice was fuzzy and distant.

"Hojo fired the Sister Ray early. The energy damaged the cannon and destroyed a section of the city." Vincent stood still, trying to keep his PHS signal strong.

As they waited for the static over the PHS to clear, Tifa rubbed her eyes. It felt like days since the Sister Ray had been fired, rather than hours.

There was a bit of commotion on the other end before Cloud asked, "Is everyone alright?"

Vincent glanced over at Tifa, and she nodded in response. "For the most part. Cait Sith got us to safety before the blast hit."

Off to the side, Cait Sith stood a bit taller at the compliment.

'We'd probably be dead if he hadn't gotten us into that vault.' Tifa made a mental note to be a bit less strict with the robot's antics.

Reeve idly patted the cat on the head as Vincent continued. "Cait Sith needed a new body, but Reeve had another backup. Tifa and I were thrown around a bit, but we were shielded from the worst of the blast."

There was a brief burst of static before Cloud's voice came through again.

" – relief. We were already en route to Midgar after picking up Barret and Red. Pilot says we should be there around nightfall. What do we know – " Another burst of static cut out his words.

Vincent frowned and moved his arm until the static cleared. "Sorry, we missed that. Can you repeat the question?"

This time, Cloud's voice came through. "What do we know about Shinra's activities? Were you able to learn anything about the barrier?"

Vincent gave him a quick recap of what they had gone through in the past couple of days. The Proud Clod war machines were no longer a threat. But at the same time, any military help Shinra might have provided was now gone. AVALANCHE would be alone in the fight against Sephiroth.

"Worse yet, Cait Sith was able to pull up a recording of the blast hitting the barrier." Vincent looked over at Cait Sith. "He might be able to send you something?"

Cait Sith leaned toward the PHS. "If you stay connected, I'll send something to the conference room on the Highwind."

"Cid, is that possible?" Cloud's voice was faint.

Cid answered a "Yeah" in an equally muffled tone. They waited as Cait Sith transmitted the recordings. Vincent's PHS remained silent with only occasional bursts of static. There was soft discussion in the background, but most of it was unclear.

When Cloud finally spoke into the PHS again, his voice was grave. "Red says it may have been absorbed."

Vincent sighed. "That's what Elena thinks as well. I'm not as familiar with such effects, but it makes sense. Hojo said Jenova had contacted him through his implanted cells. She wanted him to help Sephiroth, but at the same time, he seemed rebellious to her wishes."

"Rebellious?"

"It's hard to say. You're familiar with his way of working. He was probably the sanest insane person I've ever met."

Cloud only scoffed at that but didn't dispute it.

Vincent continued. "Until we get closer to Sephiroth, it'll be hard to say for sure what Hojo did. But one way or another, the shield is down. For now, we'll need a pickup here in Midgar. I know it's not ideal to charge into North Crater, but Jenova has left us with few options."

After a bit more muffled conversation, Cloud's voice broke through the static again. "We should be there by early morning, likely before sunrise. Cid says we need to stop at Junon for a quick refuel."

"Is it safe there?"

Tifa could almost see Cloud shrug as he said, "It's the best we've got. Cid says the flight crew is in contact with the ground crew at the Junon base. Seems no one cares much for fuel these days."

Vincent frowned. "It can't be helped, I suppose. Where should we meet you?"

Static hissed briefly before Cloud said, "I'm open to ideas. It might be difficult to bring the Highwind close to Upper Midgar if it's as damaged as you say. Maybe we could pick you up on the tallest building?"

Vincent looked over to Cait Sith. "Is there a building safe enough for that?"

"Lemme check." After a few moments of blank staring, Cait Sith nodded. "It'll take us a while to get there, but there's a newer apartment complex in Sector Five. Should be far enough from the blast zone that it can withstand the Highwind hovering above it for a while."

"Roger that. Make sure you're there by nightfall, we'll pick you up and head north."

There was a beep and Vincent's PHS went silent. A heavy feeling weighed down on the makeshift triage camp.

Reno heaved a sigh. "We're really at the endgame now, aren't we? World's coming to an end, and all that's left to stop it are the heroes."

"We're no heroes." Tifa shook her head. "We're just trying to survive, just like everyone else."

It was strange how the chaos of the morning had wiped all worries of her projected death from her mind. And now, that morbid fate seemed to drive away any fear of Sephiroth. Vincent's grim expression matched her current mindset. There was no turning back anymore. Hojo had taken any semblance of control from their final mission.

"Mister Tuesti!" An MP officer approached them. "We've scouted the local hospital as best as we could."

That got Reeve out of his pensive mood. "Is it safe? How did it look inside?"

The Turks also leaned in as the officer continued. "A lot of supplies have been looted. But the building is intact and many of the rooms have empty beds. We also encountered a small group of doctors and private security. They've barricaded themselves in the ICU, caring for the few patients too sick to leave Midgar. We negotiated with them and they're willing to take us in for the added protection."

Reeve nodded as he stood. "That's way better than I expected. We'll need their expertise for some of the survivors."

"Should we start moving some of the more stable victims?" Elena surveyed the dozens of injured lying nearby.

"Probably a good idea. Some of us should stand guard here as well." Reeve pointed to the former MP officer. "You and your squad should rest while you can. We'll get some of the other rescue workers to help move the injured. Just keep an eye on those in camp."

"Got it, boss."

Reeve sighed. "I'm nobody's boss."

But the officer ignored him and left.

Reno grinned. "Well, boss, should we get started?"

Reeve only rolled his eyes. "Go let the others know we'll be moving the survivors. Pair up but be careful. Quite a few were too injured to be treated with Materia. Hopefully those doctors can do more for them."

The three Turks followed the MPs toward the rest area.

Tifa caught Vincent's attention. "Should we help as well?"

Vincent nodded and said, "We should also try to get some rest before the Highwind arrives."

His gaze was distant, likely worrying about what they had seen in the recording.

"I'll come with you." Cait Sith hopped onto the head of his mog.

Reeve shook his head at that. "Hold on. I need you at the workstation. We'll need to move the electronics after the patients are secure. If you could, close any scripts that just started running. Use the extra memory to finish up any tasks that are closer to finishing. Focus on the ones running diagnostics on the undamaged factories in Sector Three. Those should be quicker. They're either functional or destroyed."

"And identifying material caches for building projects, right?" Cait Sith was already back at the workstation.

"Right in one. Let me know if you manage to access some of Shinra's equipment warehouses as well. I think there were a few in Sector Five and Six. We can check Two and Three for more materials later."

"Gotcha!"

Tifa watched Cait Sith work. "You're really planning ahead with the reconstruction, aren't you?"

Reeve let out a sigh. "We've all got our strengths. Once Sephiroth's gone, the survivors will need order. There are still plenty of people living in the city. With enough help, we can move toward a better Midgar." He rubbed his face and clenched his fists. "Alright! For now, I'll join you guys in moving patients. I'm starting to get anxious standing around without doing anything."

His conviction was infectious as he led the way. Tifa almost felt a glimmer of hope beyond the upcoming fight. But Vincent remained quiet as they walked, so she nudged him in the side.

"Hey." They slowed, letting Reeve gain a bit of distance.

Vincent blinked before focusing his attention on her.

Since he remained pensive, she said, "Still thinking about that dream?"

He nodded.

Tifa forced a grin onto her face. "It'll be fine. We've got forewarning and allies. Whatever the Cetra believe, we'll prove them wrong. Trust in the team."

Eventually, he took a deep breath. "I know."

Tifa began walking again.

"Come on." She nodded toward the rescue workers. "Let's do a bit more for humanity before we dive into the dragon's den."

#

"Captain! We're detecting a WEAPON on the horizon!"

Cid cursed as the voice of his copilot, Scottie, rang out over the intercom. His cot let out a low creak as he forced himself to his feet. It had been a few days since their fight with Ultimate WEAPON and he had almost recovered. There was still a hitch in his breath when he exerted himself, but the use of Materia had sped up his recovery.

'Looks like the adventuring days are over after all this.' The thought brought him a bit of good humor.

He considered himself very lucky. Most normal people would have died from such an extreme hit. By the time he reached the walkway leading to the bridge, the other members of the group had joined him. They looked as groggy as he felt, having all been awoken by the announcement.

"I'm not really looking forward to fighting another one of those things," he growled. "Shera'd kick my ass if I died…"

"We're better prepared this time, right Cloud?" Yuffie tightened her armguard nervously.

"I hope so," came the uncertain reply. "We might have to deal with it before picking up the other three."

Cid led the way to the steering wheel. The bridge was brightly lit, but it only emphasized the dark sky ahead. The ominous glow of Meteor in the sky bathed the ocean below in a dull red glow. He strained his eyes but could not see any WEAPON.

"Where is the bastard?"

Scottie had a frown on his face as he pointed to a blob in the distance. "It's strange, Captain. I… I don't think it's moving. Jenkins, any signs from the radar?"

The one manning the navigation systems shook his head. "We slowed down when we caught sight of it, but it still hasn't budged. It's standing maybe half a mile offshore."

"Continue to approach with caution," Cid ordered. "What do you think, Spike?"

Cloud walked over to the navigation console and peered at the screen Jenkins showed him. A frown formed on his face, and he went over to the window surrounding the bridge and squinted into the distance.

"Hey, Red… do WEAPONs sleep?" He asked.

Red XIII tilted his head. "I don't believe so. They are constructs powered by the Planet. They have a mission. And when they complete it, they dissipate back into Lifestream."

The group waited in silence as the Highwind descended from their cruising altitude.

"Cloud! Look!" Yuffie pointed off the starboard side window.

In the distance, they could make out the shape of Midgar. The once brightly lit city was dim in many places. Even in the dim moonlight, the trench carved into one section of Upper Midgar was visible.

Barret joined him at the window. "Gods above…"

A long stretch of the grasslands had been seared, stemming from the ruined section of the city. An odd, glowing mist rose from the ruined earth.

"That bastard really did it." Cloud's low voice rang out in the stunned silence. "What the hell was Hojo thinking?"

"They didn't even care about their own citizens." Barret's hand tightened around the railing along the edge of the room.

"Vincent said Hojo acted alone." Cloud's voice was dull. "Most of the upper management is probably dead. Look at how much of the Shinra Building is missing."

Even in the semi-darkness, Cid could make out the remains of Shinra Headquarters. At least ten stories had simply disappeared. The rest looked like a tree struck by lightning – twisted support beams reached toward the sky. The group watched in silence as the Highwind dipped lower.

Shaking his head, he looked back over at the camera display. "The WEAPON really isn't moving. Can we see if something killed it?"

Jenkins glanced at the other crew member at his station. "Hawley, can you get the spotlights?"

"On it."

With a flash, two bright lights focused on the creature below. It was a massive, silvery monstrosity. Its shell formed an impenetrable armor, likely weighing tons. But now it stood motionless in the shallows, the waves gently lapping away at its form. Its size dwarfed the Highwind even though the ship hovered far above it.

Cid cursed under his breath. "Somehow, I like it even less when it's not moving. Hey, Red! Didn't you say it was supposed to hunt down Sephiroth? What's it doing idling around like this?"

A look of concern crossed Red XIII's face. "Can we go lower? I want a closer look."

Red XIII began heading out of the bridge.

Scottie gave Cid a questioning look. "Boss?"

He scowled at the image of the WEAPON. "What do you think, Scottie? Is it safe?"

Scottie's hands tightened around the steering wheel. "I'm not sure, Captain. It didn't budge during our entire approach. But who knows if it could start moving again?"

Cid tapped his foot in irritation. "Be ready to swerve if needed. We'll be careful on deck. Stay a bit above it, to be safe. It doesn't look like it can fly like that last one."

"We should go with Red," Yuffie said. "Just in case it does wake up."

Cid nodded and followed the others off the bridge. Red XIII waited for the group at the door to the outer deck. A blast of wind blew inside the ship as they opened the door. And despite the dangerous creature below, the smell of the sea calmed his nerves. Soon, the bulk of WEAPON blocked the air currents, and they were able to approach the railing.

"It's huge…" Yuffie leaned over the railing to get a better look.

"Please be careful." Cloud hovered near her, tense and alert.

Red XIII poked his head through the railing and lowered his body to the deck. Cid also leaned over the railing, shielding his eyes against the glare of the floodlights. The recesses where there would be eyes were dim. It did not so much as twitch, even with the lights washing over its face.

"It's… dormant," Red XIII said after a moment.

There was worry in his voice.

"What's that mean?" Barret asked. "Is it dead?"

Red XIII withdrew and sat on his haunches – his tail twitched with a nervous energy. "I don't know. But whatever's going on does not bode well for the Planet. Judging by the direction, it was headed for Midgar before something caused it to stop."

"Was it trying to stop the cannon?" Cloud stepped closer to the railing to peer at the creature. "Midgar was using Mako to power it, weren't they? Maybe that's what attracted the WEAPON."

Red XIII huffed. "Either way, it doesn't seem to be active anymore. We should get to Midgar as soon as possible. Whatever's going on, we need to confront Sephiroth as soon as possible."

Cid shook his head. "As long as we don't have to fight this thing, that's one thing off our plate. I'll go let the pilot know."

Red XIII did not look convinced but nodded anyway. Cid made his way back to the bridge. The others remained outside.

"Thing's dead, probably," he told Scottie. "Get us to Midgar, ASAP. Seems like this world's running out of time."

"Got it, Captain."

The Highwind leaned as they turned toward the city. The ship's powerful engines brought them to the city's outskirts within the hour. By this time, the others had come back inside.

"There are signs of life down in the grasslands," Jenkins said. "Campfires, I think. Looks like people fleeing the city."

Cloud grimaced at this. "It won't help if Meteor falls."

They circled to Sector Five, away from the wreckage of the cannon. It had been where they dropped off Vincent, Tifa, and Cait Sith.

'Feels like a lifetime ago…'

Cid tapped his foot as the ship maneuvered closer to the ground. They leveled out when the Highwind was just outside the city. Through the bay window, they could see the top of Shinra Headquarters in the distance.

Cloud shook his head as he surveyed the damage. "It's… all gone."

"That top floor… that was where everythin' started, huh?" Barret asked. "Wit' Sephiroth, I mean."

Cloud let out a scoff. "I guess it's a good thing Hojo's gone. What he did to me and Zack…" There was a hint of bitterness in his words. "I can't help but think of how many people were affected by that blast."

"Those Shinra people got what they deserved." Barret's words lacked heat.

"Reeve was also somewhere in that building," Cloud pointed out.

"Yeah… I know." Barret's shoulders slumped in shame.

Silence fell. Cid grimaced as his stomach twisted in discomfort. He'd only experienced a fraction of Shinra's cruelty. At the very least they had done something with their space program, no matter how haphazard it had been. They'd also all benefitted from Cait Sith, and through him, Reeve. It was no wonder Barret was conflicted. The engines of the Highwind rumbled as they remained hovering outside of Midgar.

Then, Cloud cleared his throat. "Hawley, can you contact Vincent? I think it was his PHS Cait Sith modified."

"Roger that, Captain," Hawley, the communications technician said.

There was a moment of silence as they waited for contact.

Finally, Hawley shook his head. "I'm getting the same static as before, sir. Whatever Cait Sith used to connect us, I'm not able to reverse the connection."

Cloud sighed. "We'll just have to wait then. They said they'd meet us on the roof of a building in Sector Five, right?'

"Yeah," Cid replied. "The PHSs can function as short-range radios, so we can ping them when we get closer."

"City looks pretty messed up." Yuffie peered out the window with a frown on her face. "Can we actually get close enough?"

"I'm trusting the robot on this one." Cid scowled. "Just hope he knows how powerful the Highwind's engines are. Scottie, make it as slow of a descent as you can manage."

"Got it, sir."

The next half hour was agonizing. The building Cait Sith identified was in the middle of a dense residential district. And while the buildings seemed stable, they still had to fly slowly. Against the backdrop of night, Cid could make out a smattering of dimly lit windows. It seemed some brave souls had chosen to remain in the city. Scottie soon found their destination and eased the Highwind downward. As they descended, a few survivors gathered on the roof to look at the giant airship.

"Should we say something to them, sir?" Jenkins had one of the cameras zoomed in on the small crowd.

The few people on the roof weren't making much of a ruckus. One waved at them half-heartedly, as if not expecting rescue.

Cid let out a sigh. "If they want a ride down to the grasslands, we could probably do that. But we're on a mission here. We can't just taxi anyone anywhere." He looked over at Cloud. "What do you think, Spike?"

Cloud scratched his head before saying, "I'll go talk to them. See what they want."

"I'll come with you." Yuffie turned away from the windows and joined him. "Just in case."

"Thanks." Cloud smiled slightly. "I'm not expecting trouble, but a bit of backup couldn't hurt."

"We'll keep an eye on you from up here then," Cid said. "Don't want to spook them by all going down there."

"I'll watch your back from the deck." Barret joined them.

"It's not like I can get down there that easily anyway," Red XIII added in a low voice.

Cid cleared his throat to hold back a laugh. "Get to it then, Spike. Stay safe."

As the three of them left, Cid turned back to Jenkins. "Maybe get some low lights on them. Nothing blinding. But Vince and the others will need it eventually anyway."

"On it, sir."

There was a low hum, and a dim light illuminated the rooftop. The gathered survivors squinted in response. As they did, Cloud dropped the rope ladder and began to descend. Cid watched the group warily, waiting for some desperate soul to attack Cloud. But none of them did anything. Cloud jumped the last few feet and landed with a small bounce. Yuffie followed shortly thereafter.

Red XIII peered over the edge of the communication station at the screen. "It's frustrating to not be able to do anything for them."

Below, Cloud spoke to the group, gesturing with his hands occasionally. The Highwind couldn't pick up his words, and they could only see the tops of their heads at best. But the conversation seemed non-hostile at least. Then, Yuffie began to climb back up, as did Cloud. Cid made his way out to the deck with Red XIII following in his wake.

"What did they want?"

Cloud had a conflicted look on his face. "At first, they asked if we were a rescue team. We told them we were on the way north to fight the one that caused Meteor. That pretty much stopped them from asking to come on board. They did ask if we had any extra supplies though."

Cid frowned. "How many are there? We can't feed a village with our supplies, you know? We were lucky the ship's pantries had been restocked before we took it. I was surprised the dock in Junon even had fuel for us when we passed back through. Even now, our stores are running a bit low."

"They said there were two other elderly couples that didn't join them on the roof. Looks like most of the others that lived in this tower fled when Meteor appeared."

Cid thought for a moment. "Yeah, we've got some stuff we can give. Especially if we're heading straight to North Crater. Either we do it or we don't, right?"

Cloud gave a dry laugh. "Right."

"I'll go take stock then. Scottie, Hawley, with me – let the ship maintain altitude. Jenkins, watch the cameras. Let us know if the others show up."

Jenkins nodded. "Got it, boss."

"Need any help?" Cloud offered.

Cid nodded. "We'll separate out some supplies first. It'll only be a few hours to North Crater – I doubt we'll be staying there long. We have a service winch in the storage bay for heavy equipment."

"Oh?" Red XIII suddenly spoke. "Why have I never heard about this lift system?"

Cid stared at the large feline. "I mean, you seem to use the rope ladder alright."

A low growl emanated from Red XIII's throat.

Cid held up a hand with a dry chuckle and added, "That was a joke. I'm honestly impressed you can use the rungs as well as you do. The lift system isn't really balanced for people. It sways a lot from the ship, and that's with the weight of the equipment it usually handles. We gotta tie everything down and even then, the chains need to press into the cargo quite a bit. You'll understand when you see it."

Red XIII let out a disgruntled snort but didn't make any further comments. They reached the ship's storeroom and Cid did a mental tally of the boxes he saw.

'We should probably keep some of the good stuff for tomorrow night. Treat ourselves a bit before running into the crater.'

He pointed toward a few of the items. "Let's give them the surplus toiletries and half of the dried foods we have left. The water reservoirs look good, so maybe we can pass them a few jugs as well. Spike, help me out here." He began dragging a heavy metal slab from behind a shelf. "The rest of you, help move the items out to the service elevator or grab those ropes."

Cloud lightened the burden by pulling it out the rest of the way, asking, "Is this for the lift?"

"Yeah, the crew usually uses it to move supplies all at once. It's got wheels on the bottom, see? The chains will go into the corners of the trolley to secure whatever package we have in place." Cid grabbed a crate of canned vegetables and made his way to the service elevator.

They worked in silence – it helped keep his mind off the state of the world. Once they had all the supplies, Cid pressed the LB button on the elevator, and it creaked slowly downward.

"Trolley goes there." Cid pointed to an indent on the floor. "We can use a tarp to wrap everything first – try to stop the chains from crushing everything inside."

The others followed his lead and began loading the trolley. Once they had finished, Cid and Scottie tied it all together. Heavier ropes secured the tarp package to the metal sheet before the chains were locked in place. By this time, Hawley had turned on a machine nearby. A heavy spool of cable led to a pulley system secured to a structural beam of the Highwind.

"Alright, this should be good," Cid said as he clipped a hook into the chains. "Back up a bit, everyone. We'll need to lift it slightly to open the hatch."

There was a low clank as the winch put tension on the chains, causing the trolley to rise by a few inches. The supplies inside the tarp creaked, but nothing seemed to break.

"Hatch opening." Hawley called out the warning before pressing a few keys.

There was a low screech as the floor began to slide open. Cid squinted against the sudden air pressure.

"Is this safe?" Cloud's voice was almost drowned out by the wind.

"It's fine, just stay behind the railing." Cid waved off the concerns. "Lower it whenever you're ready, Hawley."

"Roger that. Lowering platform."

The cable creaked as the trolley began its descent. The platform creaked and swung back and forth on the way down. Every current from the Highwind caused it to spin.

Cid peered at the screen to watch the cargo's journey. "You can let it down a bit faster. Just make sure you slow it down near the end."

"Got it, boss." Hawley tapped a key and there was a faint beep.

The cables creaked from the slight change in speed. The trolley took on a more circular spinning pattern. The crowd below backed away from the swaying pallet.

Cid eyed Red XIII. "Still want to ride the cargo lift?"

Red XIII only huffed in response.

He chuckled. "Cheer up, buddy. After all this, I'll install a proper cargo lift, not this crane setup we've got."

A distant thump marked the arrival of the supply pallet. The survivors eyed it but didn't approach. Perhaps they were afraid that it was a trick. It was hard to tell considering the state of Midgar.

Cid let out a sigh. "Let's go help unpack the supplies. We shouldn't leave the cable hanging for so long anyway."

"Just unload the stuff and I'll take care of the rest," Hawley added.

As they rode the service elevator back to the upper deck, there was a ping from the PA system.

Jenkins's voice crackled over the speaker. "Boss, it looks like Mister Valentine, Miss Lockhart, and Cait Sith have arrived."

Cid nodded. "Just in time."

"Hope they're doing alright," Cloud added. "I can't imagine what it's like working down there at the moment."

They descended the ladder to find Cait Sith talking with the survivors. Vincent had already unclipped the chains around the platform. Tifa was by the trolley trying to figure out how to untie the knots around the tarp.

"Just hang on," Cait Sith was saying. "Reeve's got a plan to fix things up. It'll take a while – we might even need to abandon most of the city. But first, we gotta get rid of Meteor."

Vincent seemed to frown at this promise but didn't say anything. Tifa's shoulders slumped a bit more. Whatever they had been doing since their call earlier must've taken a lot out of them.

"Glad you guys made it," Cloud said as he stepped off the rope ladder. "Cid said we're just about ready to head out."

Tifa stopped tugging at a knot with a huff. "Alright. Cid, can you undo this? No idea what you did to tighten it this much."

Cid waved her aside. "It's the only way to keep things secure. I'll take care of it. You three go get settled."

"Thanks." Tifa stretched slightly before making her way to the ladder.

While Cait Sith's mog clumsily made its way up to the ship, the rest of them unpacked the supplies. Once everything had been offloaded, Cid tied the tarp back to the platform and secured the chains. Hawley reeled the entire setup back into the ship, and they began handing things out. The survivors stood quietly and waited for their share. Even now, they seemed distrustful of the aid.

'It'll take more than a new Midgar to fix these problems…'

Cid shook his head and finally addressed the group. "I'm taking your word that there aren't too many people in this building. These supplies should last you a few days – a little over a week if you're careful."

"Thank you." One of the survivors held onto a jug of water as if it were a lifeline. "We're all praying for your success."

As the others began heading back up the ladder, Cid lingered behind.

"Stay safe out there alright?" He felt a bit awkward speaking to the group. "If any of you are willing, maybe see if you can work with Reeve and the others. Seems like they're trying to fix all this."

The man frowned and waved at the ruined Midgar skyline. "Respectfully, sir, I don't know if this can be fixed."

Cid grimaced. "I know. But someone's gotta try."

With that, he climbed the rope ladder and returned to the ship. The others had already gone inside, so he pulled up the ladder and stored it back into its container. When he reentered the ship, Cloud was there waiting for him.

"You alright?" There was a familiar look of worry on his face.

'Always too worried about others…'

Cid sighed and said, "I never stayed here for longer than a few days when I worked with Shinra. You didn't have to be a genius to see the problems the city had. But seeing it like this…"

"Yeah. I know what you mean." Cloud nodded. "When I first arrived, it was all so… breathtaking, compared to Nibelheim. But I want to believe that Reeve and the people he finds will turn this all around."

"It's going to take decades."

"Yeah, probably. But it'll be up to us to make sure they have that chance." Cloud patted him on the shoulder. "We'll get through this, okay?"

"Sure, Spike."

#

Aerith shuddered – the air crawled with an oily sensation. It seeped into her form, chilling her to her very core. Beyond the gap that separated them from the land corrupted by Jenova, the city was in ruins. The buildings lay in shambles, half-chewed by the crystal spiders. Some of those creatures still scavenged mana for Jenova. More likely hid in those shadowy corners. It would make the assault even more dangerous and unpredictable.

'I doubt we can reclaim that space for the Cetra. Even if we could, the Planet can't spare the energy any longer.'

She took a steady breath and focused on the mana circulating through her body. The faint warmth did little to ward off the lingering corruption. But the Planet's presence reassured her – she felt it in the back of her mind. Nearby, Melis, Gareth, and Aldra did the same.

"How are you feeling, Zack?" The fifth member of their group didn't seem perturbed by the proximity to Jenova at all.

He gave her a crooked grin. "Feels like the start of the Wutai War all over. I hate it."

"Stay focused, Mister Fair. We need your combat prowess if we're to break through." Gareth spoke as he channeled mana through the projection of an ancient staff.

Zack smirked. "Just keep up the support spells and I'll take care of the rest, old man."

"Don't lose yourself in the heat of battle. We're here to excise Jenova from the Nexus." Aldra tapped the ground with the butt of her spear. "Melis, are you sure you're recovered enough to fight?"

Melis's hand tightened around the dagger in one hand. Her other hand blazed with an icy energy.

"I'm fine. I can do this." Her voice was devoid of emotion.

Aerith glanced at the girl. They hadn't spoken since Nessa had sacrificed herself to restore Melis's mana. She knew she needed to say something but didn't want to single out Melis. The older Cetra had already been through far too much stress.

So, she took a deep breath and said, "Please be careful. Remember, we're here as a team. Jenova can't stop us if we work together."

"Of course," Aldra replied.

"If we don't stop her here, the Cetra will perish alongside the Planet." Gareth gave a low sigh. "One way or another, we have to stop her."

Zack reached out and patted her on the head. "Don't worry, Aerith. I know what I'm doing."

Melis didn't respond but gave a curt nod. Aerith let out a small breath and closed her eyes in prayer.

'Planet, you've kept Jenova at bay for so long. Now it's our turn to help you.'

There was a faint surge of warmth in her chest. The Planet's voice was weak, but it was still fighting. It gave her a bit of hope. When she opened her eyes, the other three Cetra were staring at her.

"What?" She suddenly felt a bit defensive.

Gareth shook his head and looked away with his brow furrowed in thought.

"It's been so long. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to speak with the Planet." Aldra admitted.

"It felt nice…" Melis's voice was soft and contemplative.

"Once Jenova is gone, the Planet will heal. I trust in the others to do their part. We just need to do ours." She put a smile on her face. "Then maybe in time, we can all learn to hear the Planet again."

Zack gave her a bright grin and said, "You think I could do it too?"

She rolled her eyes. "Anyone can if they have the patience to learn."

"More of that meditation stuff, huh? I was never very good at that." Zack shrugged.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gareth tense and turn his head toward one of the communication teams. Zack seemed to sense something as well, and the smile faded from his face.

"Alright everyone, the other teams are in position." Gareth began drawing mana from the surroundings. "Prepare to cross. I'll collapse our path behind us."

Even at a distance, Aerith could feel the other teams preparing to do the same. Beyond the space around the Nexus, crystalline spiders moved. Though she couldn't see them, that oily sensation on her skin intensified. No doubt Jenova could sense them preparing something as well.

'No turning back now.' She gripped her staff tighter.

Then, Gareth tensed as he received the signal from the communication squad. The mana in the air around them surged. White paths shot forward toward the corrupted land like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. The moment the paths connected, Jenova's corruption began to spread.

"Let's do this!" Zack's roar echoed across the expanse.

"Go! I'll bring up the rear!" Gareth urged them along as he began unraveling the ground on their end.

Aerith ran after Zack alongside the other two women. Shrieks rang out from the darkened buildings before them. Glimmers of purple rushed out to meet them. With their only road back to safety crumbling away, the only way was forward.

She raised her hand, aiming as she ran. "Thunder!"

Bolts pierced the crystalline spiders as they tried to flood onto the pathway. Her low-level magic was enough to shatter their shells. The residual force sent them tumbling into the white void below.

"Outta the way!" A wide swing from Zack sent another group spinning through the air.

"Blizzard!"

"Fire!"

The other two cast spells to push the spiders further back. As they passed the three-quarters point of the crumbling road, they reached corruption. Zack protected his feet with barriers and barreled through the remaining spiders. Aerith and the others joined him just as Gareth finished closing off the road behind them. All around, purple eyes stared hungrily from the darkness.

"They're not attacking anymore." Aldra kept her spear at the ready.

"Keep alert. No doubt Jenova's now aware of our incursion."

As Gareth spoke, a white mist covered their bodies, strengthening them as it did. There was a low rumble that seemed to emanate from the middle of the corrupted island. An ominous thrum of energy began to pulse.

"Here they come." Zack's hands tightened around the Buster Sword.

The energy surged toward them, and the spiders let out a resonant shriek. That was all the warning they got before the spiders attacked. The fight for the Promised Land had begun.

#

Final Notes: Moved another 3k words to the next chapter. Honestly, I've moved away from these massive chapters in my normal writing. 20k words is practically 4-5 comfortable chapters for me now. But people on this site don't seem to mind much, and I see it as compensation for taking so long to update. Fingers crossed the next chapter won't take so long.

Thanks again for reading.

#

Omake 21:

Vincent awoke from his fitful rest to the hum of the Highwind's engines. But something seemed off.

'Are we not moving?'

Chaos gave him a mental shrug, so he got up reluctantly. His bones seemed to protest at the movement. He left the sleeping quarters and made his way to the bridge. There was no one around except the pilot and crew. He blinked.

"Where did everyone go?"

The closest crew member, Jenkins, looked up in surprise. "Mister Valentine! I thought you went down with the others."

He shook his head. "I was sleeping. Why aren't we in the air? Did something happen?"

Jenkins pointed out the window. "Mister Strife said something about giving everyone time to mentally prepare. Apparently, he heard about a quick way to find rare Materia as well. So, they decided to stop here for a bit."

"And where exactly is here?" Vincent went over to the window and peered outside.

The sight made his stomach drop.

"Oh no." He rushed out of the room.

The rope ladder swung in the gentle breeze – no one had bothered to bring it back up. Vincent slid down, letting his prosthetic absorb the friction. His eyes remained glued on a tiny farm in the distance.

"Cloud!" He shouted as he got within earshot of the farm.

A few of the chocobos outside perked up, and one even trotted over to the fence.

"Wark!" It seemed oblivious to Vincent's panic.

"Shoo!" He dodged around the giant bird before calling out again, "Cloud!"

A head poked out of the barn next to the fenced enclosure. "Vincent!"

It was Tifa. She seemed much happier than she had been in recent days.

"Tifa!" Vincent hurried over. "What's going on? How did Cloud find out about – "

He froze as he saw the bundles of fluff in her arms.

"Look! Chocobo chicks!"

The various colored fluffballs chirped happily.

Vincent scowled at them. "Sephiroth is still on the loose."

Tifa only pouted at him. "But… babies."

With a frustrated growl, Vincent pushed past her into the barn. A weary Cid and Barret leaned against farm tools. It seemed like they'd been shoveling chocobo droppings for a while now. Cloud was pouring over a sheet of paper and muttering to himself. Next to him, the daughter of the farm's owner scribbled away at a fresh sheet.

"Cloud! We've got a mission! Sephiroth – "

His voice died in his throat when he saw Cloud's eyes. They were the eyes of a man not all there anymore.

"Ah, Vincent. Just the person I was looking for." Cloud held out the sheet of paper. "I need you to go out and kill some monsters."

Gingerly, Vincent took the paper, asking, "Why?"

Cloud began pacing the stables. "This place must be on a leyline or something. Energy from killed creatures speeds up the growth of the chocobos in the area. We've managed to get some rare breeds in only a few hours."

Vincent blinked. "What?"

He finally looked down at the paper Cloud had given him. Indecipherable writing covered every available space. There were strange symbols and formulas he couldn't begin to fathom. An abstract drawing of a chocobo took up most of the middle of the page. The last time he'd seen something like this, Hojo had been almost a week without sleep.

'I have a bad feeling about this…'

Across the table, Chloe continued to write like a girl possessed. Cloud had already gone to her side to look over her shoulder. The two muttered in low voices as if they were plotting an uprising. Vincent looked around for help.

"Where's Yuffie?" He finally asked.

Cloud waved toward the door. "She finished counting our profits and took our prized steed out to collect Materia"

Vincent blinked. "Profits?"

Cloud gave him an exasperated huff. "I told you already. This is a lucrative business! It's only been a few hours and we've made over a hundred thousand gil!"

"Who's even buying?"

"People." Cloud shrugged. "Reeve got the word out that we had a surplus of supplies found while riding chocobos around. Some of these variant chocobo breeds are crazy you know? Have you ever seen a chocobo run on water?"

Vincent opened and closed his mouth several times. "I…"

The barn door burst open and a frazzled Yuffie came back inside leading a shining gold chocobo.

"Wow, Goldie is fast! We flew over the ocean, Cloud! Flew!"

Cloud let out a laugh that was equal parts joyous and insane. Then Yuffie's eyes landed on Vincent.

"Oh, hey Vinnie! Look at all these rare Materia!" Yuffie held out a red orb practically emanating power. "Goldie over there helped us get it."

Said chocobo looked like it was vibrating with energy. Its eyes darted all over the place and it almost hovered every couple of hops. It didn't look natural.

"How long did it take you to breed that one?"

Cloud scratched his head with one hand, leaving a smear of pencil across his brow. "A few generations – four or five if I recall. We weren't really sure what we were doing in the beginning."

Vincent looked around the barn. "And where are all the offspring?"

"Oh, we just feed 'em to the Midgar Zolom."

"What?"

Cloud pointed out the door. "Yeah, some of the chocobos we get aren't very smart. Must be all the inbreeding. We set them free into the plains and they kinda just wander into the swamps."

In desperation, he looked around the barn again and found Cait Sith.

"Cait Sith! What happened to Reeve? I'd have thought he wanted to rebuild Midgar!"

Cait Sith's gaze was distant, a sign of heavy computing. "Oh, yeah. That's still the plan. But we need funds for that, you know. It's pretty scary how many people need even basic supplies these days. We've found more than just Materia on Yuffie's treasure-hunting trips."

"Trips?" Vincent asked weakly.

"Goldie's real fast," was all Yuffie said. "Must've gone to Wutai and back in the last couple hours. The saddle's really doing a number on my butt though."

In a stupor, Vincent left the barn to stand at the enclosure outside. Out past the grasslands, a rather plump snake lay coiled at the edge of the swamp. Nearby, Tifa was still cooing over the baby chocobo chicks.

'I wonder if she knows they're just getting sent off to feed the Midgar Zolom.'

"Something on your mind?" Nanaki lounged near the front of the barn, not appearing to condone this madness.

Relief flooded Vincent's body as the only other sane member of the group spoke.

Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose. "The world's ending and Cloud is breeding chocobos."

"Eh. Could be worse." Nanaki's voice was slightly muffled.

Vincent frowned. "Why didn't you stop them?"

"Cloud is surprisingly susceptible to weird schemes. That little girl is quite the salesman. Convinced him to take part in this breeding nonsense. Something about rare chocobos giving us access to secret islands." Nanaki gnawed at something as he spoke, making his words somewhat garbled.

Vincent finally looked closer at his feline friend. There was a flame-grilled leg of a large animal. A suspiciously chocobo-sized animal.

"Where did you get that?"

Nanaki stopped biting the haunch of meat between his paws and gave him a slow blink.

"I don't see why that snake is the only one that gets a free meal out of all this."