Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Us And Them ❯ Chapter 7: The First Mission ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7: The First Mission

 

It began three years ago.

 

Sephiroth had been working as a farm hand a couple miles away while Aeris attended the small school in Fort Condor. It had always been the two of them, save for Vincent's occasional visits.

 

He and Aeris hadn't been extremely social people due to their fear of being found by Shinra. However, at a certain point, Aeris had begun bringing home a certain male classmate quite often.

 

He'd come home late one evening and found the two of them sitting in the field behind the small house they lived in. They were just talking, but the boy then had the gall to put his arm around Aeris' shoulder. Aeris hadn't seemed to mind at all.

 

Sephiroth found himself fighting the urge to march over there and break the kid's arm. Then he came to his senses and wondered why on earth he would want to do that. He had no good reason, but he still hated the idea of that punk touching Aeris like that.

 

Jealousy?

 

Sephiroth shook his head violently as he pushed that sudden thought out of his head. Jealous of the boy?! Aeris was still a child! Sephiroth being jealous would imply that he, a twenty-two-year-old man, wanted a fourteen-year-old girl. A girl that he'd always looked upon as his kid sister her whole life.

 

Pushing the filthy thought out of his head, and convincing himself that the boy had no dishonorable intentions, he left the two alone and went inside. Aeris joined him about a half-hour later, blushing furiously. No doubt she and the boy had kissed. His suspicions were confirmed when he'd casually asked Aeris where she'd been, and the girl had squirmed and made up a story about talking to the Planet. She was still awful at lying, but Sephiroth had let the issue go.

 

Then, about two weeks later, Aeris came home from school in tears. She'd told Sephiroth the entire story about her fling with the boy. Apparently, on her way home, she'd caught him kissing another girl.

 

He listened patiently, and told her the boy wasn't worth crying over. He'd put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but then she threw her arms around him as she continued to let it all out.

 

Sephiroth had never felt more uncomfortable in his life than he did then. His “little sister” was sitting in his lap, her body pressed against his. She hadn't done that since she was ten…there was a significant difference now that she was older. These were moments that usually led to something else. Something else that he certainly did not want to name at the time.

 

Panicking, he stood up and excused himself, apologizing profusely. Cursing himself later for being so weak during Aeris' vulnerable state, he came back half an hour later. He set down a large carton of ice cream that he'd picked up from the nearby grocer, urging Aeris to eat as much as she wanted.

 

“That's what women always seem to do in the movies after a breakup, isn't it?” he'd said with a shrug.

 

Aeris had found his gesture to be amusing, but was grateful nonetheless. She'd hugged him again, and he'd felt the same uneasiness rising up once more.

 

After a fitful night's sleep, he'd called Vincent the next day, asking if Avalanche needed a good swordsman.

 

Before leaving for Midgar, he'd had the most awkward talk with Aeris about the birds and the bees that anyone had probably ever had. Still, he had felt somewhat relieved after the girl had laughed and promised him that she wasn't going to turn into a harlot while he was away.

 

He'd felt guilty about leaving Aeris alone, but thought that some time apart might put things into perspective. Maybe he'd find someone closer to his age. He knew Aeris would do the same eventually.

 

He'd initially worried that she would be upset by his decision, but she'd actually seemed a little excited by the idea of being on her own(save for the neighbor who had agreed to look in on her from time to time).

 

And so he'd arrived at Midgar, as the newest member of Avalanche. He'd been assigned to train a couple of members in the art of the sword, as well as going on minor missions. Most of them involved going outside of Midgar to relay information to other branches of the ever-increasing organization.

 

Today, however, was different. A week after Aeris' arrival, Vincent had assembled some of the members in the common area of the bed & breakfast. He'd announced that they would be undertaking a special mission, advising everyone to get a good night's sleep.

 

“This will, in essence, be the first major mission we will be attempting since the assassination attempt two years ago,” Vincent addressed the small crowd standing before him the next evening.

 

Sephiroth, Barrett, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie listened as their leader continued:

 

“Our mission is to destroy the North Mako Reactor. You all know the reasons why. We'll be boarding the train that takes us past the reactor. On my command, we'll all jump out. There's bound to be several guards there, so I trust everyone's properly armed?”

 

Everyone nodded.

 

“Good. And I will stress this: do not kill any of them unless your own life is in danger. The people behind Shinra are evil, but that doesn't necessarily mean that all of its employees are. Which is why Biggs, Wedge, and Barrett will be our decoys. Once we get the guards away, by trickery or by force, then Jessie, Sephiroth, and I will proceed to set the bomb. We won't have a lot of time after that, so we'll need to move quickly. This will be a dangerous mission. You still have a chance to back out right now,”

 

Nobody moved.

 

“Very well. Any questions?”

 

Silence.

 

“Then let's move out. Down with the Shinra,”

 

“Down with the Shinra!” everyone chorused.

 

 

“Thank goodness this train is practically empty,” Jessie whispered to her cousin.

 

Biggs nodded in agreement. “Just a couple drunks. They won't exactly be credible witnesses to what we're about to do,”

 

Vincent stepped in between the two. “Get ready,” he told them, “We'll be forcing the emergency doors open in a minute,”

 

Jessie looked around to see her comrades waiting by the two doors on the right-hand side of the car. Sephiroth stood directly under the escape hatch on the roof, ready to jump up and open it when the time came.

 

“Now!!”

Barrett effortlessly yanked the red lever to the side, the door sliding open instantly. At the same time, Wedge did the same with the other door, and Sephiroth grabbed his sword by its sheath, slamming the hilt into the door above him, which popped off like the lid of a jar.

 

The silver-haired swordsman jumped up, grabbing either side of the hatch and pulling himself up. He scrambled to his feet and quickly leapt off the moving train, landing gracefully next to his companions.

 

“Shit…” Barrett muttered as he shook his head in wonder.

 

Sephiroth smirked at his old friend as he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head. “Try to contain yourself, Barrett. We're on a mission,”

 

“Smart-ass…” Barrett grumbled as he and the others ran to the end of the platform where five Mps stood guard. He, Wedge, and Vincent aimed their guns carefully at the Mps' legs and fired.

 

The guards' cries of pain eventually faded as they collapsed.

 

“Sleepel materia?” Jessie looked at Vincent.

 

The gunslinger nodded, and led the group past the gate into the grounds of the reactor. Soon, they reached a door.

 

“Where the hell d'ya open this?” Barrett scowled.

 

“I'll handle it…” Jessie went up to the control panel on the side and pressed several buttons. The door slid open.

 

“How the hell did you know what to punch in?” Barrett scratched his head.

 

Jessie couldn't help but smile proudly. “I hacked into the system and found out everything about the reactor,”

 

“Let's go!” Vincent urged.

 

The six ran down the hallway until they came face-to-face with two Roboguards.

 

“My turn,” Sephiroth drew his sword.

 

“Don't hog all the glory, hotshot,” Barrett held up his machine gun, “Everyone else, stay back!”

 

Vincent, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie obeyed and backed up about ten feet. Barrett unleashed his fury on the large mechanical guards. Sephiroth simply stood back and held up his sword, releasing the power of his mastered lightning materia.

 

Barrett cursed and jumped back as sparks began flying everywhere. The Roboguards collapsed in a series of small explosions. When they died down, the group continued on their way until they reached an elevator.

 

Jessie entered another code, and the door opened. Everyone ran inside.

 

“When we get off, this is where we split up,” Vincent addressed the group, “Be on your guard- this is where things get crucial. Keep your walkie-talkies handy…”

 

 

Sephiroth watched as the last of the Roboguards near the core of the reactor collapsed. He and Vincent had battled eight of them, and four Mps since the group had split up. The Mps were dragged away by Barrett, Biggs and Wedge, who had been kept on standby.

 

Finally, the trio reached their destination.

 

Sephiroth pulled out his walkie-talkie. “Are the guards safely out of the way?”

 

“Yeah,” Biggs answered, “All the guards we expected to find are accounted for. Are you at the spot?”

 

“We are,” Sephiroth affirmed, “Wait for us at the meeting place. We should be there in fifteen to twenty minutes,”

 

“Roger,”

 

“Jessie- do your thing,” Vincent ordered the girl.

 

“Didn't you design this bomb?” Jessie cocked her head to one side, “All I did was follow your designs. You should be the one to set it,”

 

“I need to watch to make sure no other Shinra guards decide to pull anything,” Vincent answered, “Unless you think you can hold them off while I do the job,”

 

“Point taken,” Jessie knelt down and began to set the bomb.

 

“See anything?” Sephiroth asked his father.

 

“No,” Vincent shook his head, “All's well for now,”

 

“Done!” Jessie stood up after a minute.

 

Suddenly, an alarm went off. The trio heard a crashing sound, and looked around until they saw a large mechanical scorpion approaching them.

 

“Shit!” Jessie cursed, “I saw the blueprints for these! Attack when the tail's down! Otherwise, it'll counter with its laser!”

 

Sephiroth raised his sword and unleashed an Aqua Breath spell on the robot. It instantly short-circuited and crashed to the ground.

 

“…Or just forget what I said,” Jessie said, stunned.

 

“Go!!” Vincent commanded, “We have ten minutes to detonation. Hopefully, the others are already on their way out,”

 

The three ran back the way they came, thankfully without any trouble this time.

 

Jessie struggled behind Sephiroth and Vincent, but kept quiet. Shouting for them to wait up would only attract unwanted attention from any remaining guards.

 

The two men ran through the door at the end of the catwalk. Just then, Jessie tripped and crashed to the ground, crying out in pain despite herself. She quickly got to her feet, only to feel something sharp poking her in the back.

 

“Turn around, and don't try anything,” a somewhat familiar male voice told her.

 

Jessie gulped and turned around slowly, then gasping as she saw who stood behind her.

 

Zack's eyes widened as he lowered his large sword slightly. “It's you!”

 

“You're a SOLDIER…” Jessie shook her head, “So that's what your `connections' were…”

 

“Look…” Zack pleaded, “Just get out of here and don't come near here again- I don't want to have to fight you!”

 

“I could say the same for you,” Jessie held up her whip, “We've already done what we needed to do- if you don't follow me out of here, your life is as good as over,”

 

“Don't underestimate me,” Zack told her.

 

“Don't underestimate me!” Jessie snapped, “There's a bomb at the reactor that's set to explode in six minutes! It would take you that long just to get to the bomb. There's no way you can disarm it. Please, just run away- I don't want to see you get killed!”

 

Zack glared at her for a moment before he growled and lowered his sword.

 

“So much for my promotion…” he muttered before he ran.

 

Jessie sighed in relief as she followed him.

 

 

“There you are!” Barrett exclaimed as he saw Jessie arrive at the meeting place. Everyone else had already made it there.

 

“Sorry I'm late,” Jessie panted, “I fell, and then had an encounter with one of the guards. Thankfully, he valued his own life enough to leave me alone after I told him about the bomb,”

 

“We're all here, then,” Vincent observed, “Good,”

Just then, a deafening blast could be heard. Everyone turned around to see the reactor enveloped in flames.

 

“Was all that from my bomb??” Jessie exclaimed, “Geez! I completely underestimated it!”

“Didn't you read the specs when you built it?” Sephiroth asked her.

 

“I must've made a miscalculation somewhere,” Jessie sighed. “Ah well. I should be proud, not frustrated. That was my debut as a bomber! Maybe eventually, I can ditch the whip and just bomb the hell out of everything!”

 

“Just don't blow your arm off if you underestimate things again,” Vincent told her. “Good job, everyone. We'll split up again, and meet at headquarters,”

 

The group broke up into pairs. Jessie left with Biggs, and Barrett left with Wedge, leaving Vincent and Sephiroth to find their way back together.

 

“We should have kept an eye on Jessie,” Sephiroth shook his head in disgust, “If anything had gone wrong, we wouldn't have been able to protect her,”

 

Vincent grimaced. The boy was right.

 

“Are you really going to put Aeris in that kind of danger?” Sephiroth asked.

 

“Aeris isn't ready for a mission like ours,” Vincent acknowledged, “More likely, she'll be doing low-level assignments for a while,”

 

Sephiroth clenched the hilt of his sword. “She should have stayed in Fort Condor,”

 

“Aeris is old enough to make her own decisions,” said Vincent, “It's time for you to stop playing the role of the over-protective brother and parent. You've known that girl her whole life. Have a little faith in her,”

 

“I promised myself I'd always protect her,” Sephiroth told the gunslinger.

 

“By leaving her alone at the age of fourteen to participate in our missions?” Vincent eyed his son, “Frankly, I'm not entirely convinced that the reasons you gave at the time are the whole story. I didn't say anything then, but your recent attitude over this whole situation is further proof that there's more than meets the eye in this situation,”

 

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. “Let's just get back to headquarters,”

 

Vincent knew better than to press his son further when he had that expression on his face. “As you wish,” he said.

 

 

The two reached the bed & breakfast half-an-hour later. Vincent silently made his way to Elmyra's house, while Sephiroth entered the main building to grab a snack. He was about to go into the pantry when he noticed a familiar figure sprawled out on the couch.

 

Sephiroth went over to Aeris and gently nudged her awake.

 

“Hey,” Aeris yawned as she sat up, “So how'd it go?”

 

“Mission accomplished,” Sephiroth smiled faintly. “And don't worry- no one was killed,”

 

Aeris sighed in relief. “Good,” she said, “I'm glad to know we don't have to stoop down to Shinra's level,”

 

“Go back to your room,” Sephiroth told her, “I'm fine. These missions are only going to increase, depending on how much success we have. You'll get old before your time if you keep worrying about everyone,”

 

“Don't worry,” Aeris reassured him, “I won't be waiting up for a while. Mrs. G assigned me a mission of my own. I'll be leaving the day after tomorrow, once I'm briefed and fully prepared,”

 

Sephiroth's eyes widened in alarm.

 

“Relax,” Aeris giggled, “It's nothing like bombing a reactor. I just need to relay the news to the people in Gongaga. Normally Jessie would just send an email, but technology there hasn't caught up with us just yet. And Mrs. G doesn't trust the postal system,”

 

Sephiroth frowned, saying nothing.

 

“Stop looking like that,” Aeris looked exasperated, “Sometimes I think you still look at me like I'm seven and not seventeen. I'm not the crybaby I used to be, y'know. And I owe a lot of that to you,”

 

“I'm…just tired,” Sephiroth lied, “I should go, actually. I just came to grab a bite to eat. We still need to brief Mrs. G on what happened on the mission. And you should go to bed. You'll probably be spending most of tomorrow getting ready for your journey,”

 

“All right,” Aeris yawned again, “Goodnight,”

 

“Goodnight, Aeris,”

 

Sephiroth watched the girl go upstairs, and then hurried into the pantry, grabbing an apple before he took off.

 

 

“You're late,” Elmyra frowned as the swordsman sauntered into the meeting room, “We've been waiting for you,”

 

“Sorry,” Sephiroth apologized as he sat down and took a bite of his apple.

 

“All I've been told so far is that the mission was a success,” said Elmyra.

 

“Yes,” Vincent nodded, “I suppose we can start from the beginning…”