Chapter 5
Aeris had been young enough that her memories of the Shinra building were hazy by now. She was left mostly with impressions. Sterility. Indifference. Isolation. Her mother had been her entire world, but if she couldn't still talk to her sometimes, Aeris wasn't sure how clearly she would remember her either.
She rode the elevator upwards with Tseng, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. She hadn't said a word to him since she had agreed to go with him.
"I never expected you of all people to get involved with an anti-Shinra group," Tseng said at last.
Her mouth twitched. Maybe she should have kept up the silent treatment, but she said, "Really? Me, of all people?"
"I thought you had more sense than that."
"Because of AVALANCHE, people had some warning about what you were doing. People were able to make it out. I'm proud that I could be a part of that."
"Well, there's nothing for you to be a part of anymore."
Aeris turned away. Through the glass walls of the elevator, she could see the fallen plate, alight with the fires of ruined buildings. Had Shinra made any effort to evacuate the people above? How many people had made it out of the slums besides the small group that Aeris had brought to the church? She had gotten Marlene to safety, but she had no idea if Tifa or any of her friends had escaped.
She didn't want to acknowledge that Tseng could be right. She wanted to believe that the people she had just begun to connect to were out there somewhere, alive, even if she might never see them again.
The elevator dinged, opening out onto the 67th floor. The number meant nothing to her, but the sight of the corridor ahead made her pulse quicken, and her chest felt tight. She didn't move until Tseng took her by the arm and pulled her from the elevator.
He escorted her to an observation room, and that was where he was. The Professor.
The Professor didn't notice them until Tseng loudly cleared his throat, but when he laid eyes on her, a sickening delight spread across his face.
"Finally! I've been waiting on this specimen for far too long."
Aeris hated his voice. Everything about him made her skin crawl.
"Where do you want her?" Tseng asked mechanically.
"Ah, yes. I still need time to prepare the tests for her. I was only just informed that you had found her. Let's see... I think Specimen Chamber D is open. You can put her in there for now."
Tseng nodded stiffly and took Aeris by the arm again. He led her to a short hallway with a series of identical doors on either side. They had little windows in them, but Aeris wasn't able to look through them. What else was he keeping in here? Who else might he be keeping in here?
The cell that Tseng opened for her was windowless, and empty. He didn't push her inside, but there was nowhere else for her to go.
"I wish it hadn't come to this," he said.
"You're the one who brought me here," she retorted.
Tseng's only answer was to press a button on the keypad, sealing the door. There was no way to open it from the inside, and Aeris choked down a sob. She couldn't remember how they had escaped this place. She only remembered that they had.
* * *
Before Tifa and the others turned in that night, they went back for Wedge; it was better for him to sleep in a real bed. They put him up in the smaller bedroom, with Jessie on the sofa. The refugees at the church had tended to his arm as best they could, and Elmyra gave them what she had to bandage the rest of their injuries.
Tifa slept in the other room with Barret, Marlene nestled safely between them. After the events of the day, Tifa was exhausted enough that she could sleep, for which she was grateful.
When she woke the next morning, she found Barret lying awake, watching Marlene as she slept.
"I almost lost her, Tifa," he whispered.
"I know. That was too close." And what if something had happened to the rest of them? What if none of them had made it out of Sector 7? Marlene would have been left on her own. She could imagine that one of the survivors might have looked after her, but she didn't know. They'd never talked about it with anyone, and it was no easy thing to take in a child.
"You think... Elmyra'd look after her a while?" Barret wondered. "Things're gonna get real dangerous for us now. More than they were."
Tifa knew it must have broken his heart to even suggest it, but it was the right thing to do. "I think so," she said. "At least for now, until things calm down."
Barret nodded. "One day, Tifa, we're gonna win this fight. And then... I won't have to always be leavin' her."
"Yeah," she said.
She felt numb. Last night's loss was too big to process, and maybe she understood that if she tried, she might fall apart. She'd been here before, a worse place than here, having lost everything she'd ever known. She'd lost a good friend, she'd lost neighbors, she'd lost her home... But she had to remind herself that she had more now than she had had then. Barret, Marlene, Jessie, Wedge... Aeris, maybe. If they could get her back.
They could get her back, right?
It was an ambitious undertaking. Probably a little crazy. But if they didn't do it, if they just stayed put and licked their wounds, she was scared she'd wind up back at rock bottom, no matter who she had with her. She had to do something. She had to feel like it wasn't futile to keep trying.
Tifa sat up. "I'm going to ask Elmyra if she has anything else I can wear," she said.
"Awright," said Barret. "I'll be here, a while longer."
Tifa left the room, closing the door softly behind her. The floorboards creaked under her feet, the same as the last time she'd been here. It was only the night before that she'd stayed here with Aeris, but it felt like longer.
She found Elmyra alone at the kitchen table, her head in her hands. She didn't look up.
Tifa wasn't sure what Elmyra thought of her. She'd had the impression, yesterday morning, that it wasn't positive. That either Aeris had told her who Tifa was, or she'd figured it out for herself, and she didn't approve. But she'd told her not to blame herself for Aeris's kidnapping.
She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what. She'd promised to get Aeris back, but she'd also promised to look after her in the first place, and she'd failed. Why should Elmyra believe her this time?
"How about I make breakfast this morning?" she offered. Something simple. Something she could do.
Elmyra looked up. "Oh... All right."
Tifa smiled at her, though she had to force it, and walked to the kitchen. She started to look through the cupboards. "And, I know this is another favor, but I was hoping you might have a change of clothes I could borrow."
Elmyra didn't answer immediately. When Tifa glanced at her, she was staring off at nothing. Maybe she hadn't slept, or maybe her mind was struggling through its own numbness. Finally she blinked and said, "Yes. Um... You probably want something you can fight in. I think I still have some of my husband's old clothes, in one of the boxes upstairs."
"All right. I'll look for them after. I don't want to wake Wedge and Jessie up yet."
"Yes... That boy needs his rest. He isn't going with you, is he?"
"No. He'll have to stay behind."
"And that little girl, Marlene?"
Tifa glanced up at the stairs, but she hadn't heard any movement. "Barret wanted to ask you... if she could stay here with you a while. If it's not too much trouble, I mean. Wedge could probably look after her, but..."
"They're both welcome to stay," Elmyra said.
"Thank you."
"Although..." Elmyra hesitated for a long moment. "I don't know. Maybe it's not such a good idea to stay in Midgar any longer. For any of us, but for Aeris especially. If you can get her out, I think we'll have to leave."
Tifa nodded. "You're probably right, now that I think about it. If... when we get Aeris back, this is the first place they'll look for her."
"Why don't we meet you somewhere?" Elmyra suggested. "Once your friend is able to travel... I know someone with a Cure materia, I'll see if I can get her to come here. And then we'll go. Take Marlene with us."
"Kalm isn't far," Tifa proposed, "and Wedge is from that area. He'll know the way."
"Kalm it is then," Elmyra said.
The ceiling creaked, and Jessie came down the stairs.
"Good morning," Elmyra said reflexively. Tifa glanced at her, and saw her open her mouth again as though to correct herself. Instead she said, "Tifa asked me about a change of clothes. Could you use something, too?"
Jessie stopped and stared at her. She shook her head slowly, wrapping her arms around herself. "No. I... don't want to."
Elmyra looked baffled, and Tifa explained softly, "Those are... were Biggs's clothes."
"I see. I'm sorry."
"Is Wedge awake yet?" Tifa asked.
Jessie sat down at the table and reached out to touch the flowers in the middle. "Yeah," she said, "but I told him to stay put. The arm's the worst of it, but he's pretty banged up all over."
Tifa nodded. "Right. I'll take something up to him then."
"Oh. You're making breakfast?" Jessie noticed.
"It seemed like the thing to do."
Barret came downstairs with Marlene not long before she had finished cooking. They could probably smell it. There weren't enough chairs, so Tifa ate standing in the kitchen. That was fine; no one wanted to talk much anyway.
"Listen," Barret began at last, "about Marlene..."
"Tifa already mentioned it to me," Elmyra said. "I'd be happy to look after her. But not forever, because you're going to be coming back for her."
Barret nodded. "Always. And... thanks."
Tifa went upstairs, leaving them to talk over the details and explain the situation to Marlene. She knocked on the door to the back bedroom, and went on inside.
"I brought you breakfast," she said.
"Smells good," said Wedge. "Just like always."
Except it wasn't like always. He sat up, leaning back against the headboard, and took the plate from her. Tifa sat down on the sofa.
"Are you guys still going today, to rescue Aeris?"
"That's right."
"I wish I could come with you."
"I know." Tifa took a breath. "You know... Elmyra's going to be looking after Marlene for a little while, and she plans on leaving Midgar. I was hoping you could go, too, to look after them."
Wedge smiled wryly. "You're being real nice about it, making it sound like I'd be doing something heroic and protecting somebody, instead of just bailing on you."
"You wouldn't be bailing on us, Wedge. I know you want to fight for the Planet, but I'm not sure you have it in you to be as... hard, as the rest of us sometimes have to be."
Wedge shook his head. "You're not hard, Tifa. You're strong."
"What's the difference exactly?"
"A hard person wouldn't be up here talking to me like this, and they wouldn't be fighting for the Planet."
Tifa looked down at her hands. "To be honest, Wedge... I'm not sure how much I'm really doing this for the Planet. I hate the Shinra. They've given me a lot of reasons to, I know, but it's not exactly noble."
Wedge was quiet for a moment. "Well, even if you're not doing it for the Planet, it's not about hate either. You care about people. You want to stop the Shinra from hurting anyone else. That's... why you want me to go with Elmyra and Marlene, isn't it?"
Tifa looked back at him and smiled, a genuine one this time. "You know, sometimes I think you're the smartest one of us? You really do get people. We could use more of that in the world."
Wedge blushed. "Well, shucks..."
"Eat up," she said. "You've still got to take care of yourself first."
As he got back to his breakfast, Tifa had a look at the boxes on the floor, and found the one Elmyra had meant. The clothes were plain, but sturdy, and when she went into the other room to change, she found they weren't too ill-fitting.
When she went back downstairs, Barret and Jessie looked ready, if Marlene didn't.
"Don't leave," Marlene said as Tifa knelt down by her.
"It's only for a little while. Wedge and Elmyra will look after you, and we'll all be together again before you know it."
"Promise?"
Gods, she hoped this wasn't another promise she couldn't keep. "I promise."
They said their goodbyes, hoping they weren't final goodbyes, and left the house before it got too hard to leave.
"So," said Tifa with the door shut behind them. "How are we doing this?"
"Good question," said Barret. "Goin' straight to Shinra headquarters... That's gotta be a lot of security."
Jessie gave her head a shake. "Actually, security should be light right now. With the extra troops deployed in the slums, they won't be at headquarters. And... our best advantage is they must think we're all dead, so they won't be expecting us. There's no way they know about that wire stunt you two pulled."
"All right, so how do we get there?" asked Barret. "Ain't no trains up that far these days."
"What about the train tunnels?" Tifa said.
"You're right," said Jessie. "They might not be in use, but they still exist. Now, as far as I know, the new security scanners are only in place near the top of the central pillar, for trains headed to the surface. That means we'll be able to ride most of the way up before we have to get off."
Tifa rubbed her leg, still keenly aware of all the scrapes she'd taken. "And by get off, you mean..."
"We'll have to jump. But the trains slow down when they're making that spiral."
"An' then what? We still gotta get past the scanner."
"Yeah..." Jessie frowned thoughtfully, chewing on her lip. "But! If we time it right, I bet we can pass through the sensors just as another train's going through. Shinra will assume they're dealing with unauthorized passengers, and by the time they figure out the train's clear, we'll be long gone."
Tifa nodded. "So we'll hoof it from there, and make it to the old station in Sector 0..."
"That station's been shut down for years, so there shouldn't be much security. Maybe a few locked doors, but that shouldn't be a problem. I don't see us running into any trouble until we hit the Shinra building itself."
"Apart from having to jump off a moving train anyway," Tifa said.
Jessie gave her a rueful look. "It's the only thing I can think of, unless you wanna walk the whole way."
Barret shook his head. "That'd take too long. We can't leave Aeris waitin.'"
"Agreed," said Tifa. She glanced up at Aeris's house, and nodded to herself. They'd get her back. "All right. Let's see what supplies we can find around here."