Even though the chances of stopping Shinra from dropping the plate were slim to none, yet that did not stop Sara and the others from trying. Sara knew that Tifa didn't want to sit back and do nothing, even if there was no chance.

When Sara and the others arrive at the gated entrance to the support pillar, they all noticed a group of residents standing around doing nothing but watch. Yet, they seemed confused about why people wanted to do something to the pillar and the other party defending it.

"What you got!? Come on!"

Tifa gasped as she recognized that booming voice. She looked up and saw Barret shooting at one of the choppers while still climbing up the stairs of the support pillar.

Tifa exclaimed, "That's Barret!"

Suddenly an explosion was fired below a few stairs where Barret stood, and someone was falling, and that person was Wedge.

"Wedge!" Cloud, Sara, and Tifa exclaimed simultaneously.

Wedge tries to use his grappling gun to hang on. Yet, a part of the pillar collapses, causing Wedge to let go of the grappling gun, and hits the ground near the entrance to the pillar. He landed hard on the ground and may have broken a rib or two.

Cloud rushes over to him and quickly asks, "You okay!?"

"Cloud!" Wedge exclaimed; he was happy to see Cloud, "It's Shinra! They're trying to take out the pillar!"

Cloud replies, "I know."

"I have to go back! Barret and the others are still!" Wedge struggled to get up, but his whole body was in pain that Cloud knew he was in no shape to fight.

"Stop!" Cloud immediately tells him and turns to the girls, "Stay with Wedge. Sara and I are going up."

Tifa nodded, and Aerith replied, "Sure!"

"I'm going too!" Wedge insisted, "I can still fight!"

Sara noticed the determined look in Wedge's eyes as Wedge continued speaking, "Biggs, he...They were shooting at me, and he..."

Tifa crouches down and looks at Wedge in the eyes and shook her head, "Wedge, please. Let Cloud and Sara handle it."

Sara gets on one knee and smiles at Wedge, "We've got this."

Aerith walks over and tells Cloud, "Don't worry, I'll patch him up."

Suddenly another loud explosion was heard, followed by the ground shaking slightly.

Wedge looks up and yells, "Hang on, guys! Help is on the way!"

Yet two grey phantoms went up to the pillar while passing Cloud and the others. Cloud knew that things were not looking good and decided to give Wedge an order.

Cloud turns to Wedge, "Wedge listen to me. You stay here with them."

After that, Cloud leaves, followed by Sara. Wedge looked at the two with mixed feelings of shame and longing to join back in the fight.

Biggs was injured with wounds of where bullets had grazed him a few floors up, yet he somehow was still able to move. He drags himself to the railing and spots two familiar people he was hoping would show up.

Biggs snickered, "Bout time you two showed up."

He looks back and could sense that more soldiers were coming for him. He reloads his gun, knowing that the odds of him coming out of this were not looking good. Yet, he couldn't give up now.

"Gotta do my part to clear the path before you two steal the show."

After saying those words that gave him the boost he needs, Biggs turns back and readies his weapon, pointing at a group of foot soldiers.

Cloud and Sara rushed up the stairs as fast as they could. Once they reached the first floor, there was already a group of infantrymen.

Sara scoffed and drew her katana, "Out of my way, weaklings!"

In a flash, her figure blurred when Cloud watched her, and all the infantrymen died. Cloud kept on running up the next flight of stairs as Sara followed him even though Cloud promised her that he wouldn't tell anyone about Sara's inhuman strength and speed. He couldn't help himself from being suspicious of her. On the other hand, he was glad that she could clear the floors; they've gone up a lot faster, so they were making good time.

When they reached the fifth floor, the two of them spotted three grey phantoms hovering over something lying on the floor. Sara looked at what was on the ground, and her eyes widen in horror.

Sara gasped, "Biggs!"

She rushed over, Biggs eyes opened, and saw Sara and Cloud looking at him with worried looks. Cloud could tell from all the bruises; the bullet grazed wounds, and how Biggs held his stomach where it was bleeding a lot.

Yet despite all the severe wounds, Biggs gave out a smirk and laughed.

Biggs spoke in a hoarse voice, "You both made it...though...I might not."

Biggs hadn't fought this hard ever since he'd joined Avalanche. For the first time, he didn't think that he would see himself like this. Now that Biggs started to feel numb all around his body, it was hard enough to talk and let alone move. He then remembered his friend.

Biggs asked, "Hey, is Wedge..."

Cloud immediately answered, "Don't worry. He'll bounce back."

Biggs sighed in relief, "That's...good to hear. Could've used some extra padding myself."

Biggs started to cough up some blood. Sara grabbed his hand and shook her head.

Sara told him, "Don't talk; hang in there."

But Biggs continued despite being in so much pain, "It's...pretty bad up there." He then grabs Cloud's hand and looks at him in the eye, and pleads, "Cloud. Promise me, don't let it be for nothing."

Cloud nods and replies, "I won't."

Biggs smiles, "You're a good man. Giving me that...that comfort."

Biggs's hand slips out of Cloud's hand. He was already looking so tired. Sara scoffed, "You're not gonna leave me already, are you? You promised me a date, remember?"

Biggs let out a small laugh, "Ha! I'm sorry, but...I'm not sure if..."

Sara glared at him, "I hate men always having an excuse for everything. Don't let yourself go like this."

Biggs laughed, "You almost remind me of someone...I once mentored a while back at an orphanage called...The Leaf House. She was...always sweet but had a passion when it comes to believing in yourself."

Biggs tightens his grip that was in Sara's hand and looks at her with gentle eyes, "Stay strong...and don't ever forget...stay true...to yourself."

Sara's eyes widen in shock. She didn't know why. But for some reason, hearing those words gave her a sense of comfort. She didn't have any romantic thoughts for Biggs, yet the feeling was always mutual. However, seeing Biggs like this brought pain to her heart.

Biggs lifts his hand and gives a thumbs up, "Good luck...Cloud and Sara. Our future...is in your hands."

After that, Biggs closes his eyes and succumbed to his injuries.

Cloud spoke with a trembling voice, "This isn't over."

Sara rubs her eyes and stood up. She looks at Biggs and mutters, "I'll make sure that Shinra will pay for this."

Both her and Cloud wanted to keep their promise to Biggs, and they vowed they would. Cloud and Sara left Biggs alone as they continued going up the flight of stairs. They could hear the sounds of helicopters nearby, and one, in particular, shines its spotlight right in front of Cloud, who blocks the light with his hand. Then someone in the chopper speaks through a microphone and announces in a cocky voice.

"Testing, testing. Attention, Avalanche scum! We know all about your evil plans to destroy the pillar. But the Turks-ahem! But Shinra, that's us won't let you get away with it! So go crawl back into whatever hole you crawled out of or something!"

After a long pause, the spotlight moved away slightly, and then the same voice spoke again, "That oughta do it, right?"

Sara couldn't help but let out a pfft as she tried to hold back her laughter. Cloud looks at her curiously. She looks back at the chopper and shooks her head.

Sara giggled, "Reno, you're still one cocky bastard."

Reno looks at Rude in the chopper as if he wanted approval for his lame announcement. Rude only shrugged, "Eh, good enough."

Reno looked out at the stairs, spotted a familiar person, and said, "Wait, I know you."

It wasn't Sara that Reno had his eyes on; it was Cloud. He never forgot how the former SOLIDER kicked his butt while he was on duty. The aftermath of the fight hurt Reno's pride more than his body. Now seeing Cloud, a spark of payback ignited in Reno's mind.

Reno muttered, "Mister First Class." He grabbed the control of the machine that's on the chopper and chuckled, "First-class asshole. Gotcha now!"

Reno began to fire at Cloud and Sara. Cloud pulled Sara away from the firing range and run up the stairs once again. They immediately hid behind a pile of pipes. Cloud took a peek to see where the chopper was, only to move back to avoid another rain of bullets quickly.

Cloud turned to Sara, "Not good. You've got any ideas?"

Sara shook her head, "No, I don't want to run a risk of jumping to the chopper and miss it."

"Damn it; we don't have time for this." Cloud clicked his tongue in frustration.

Another wave of bullets hit the pile of pipes, and then they stopped. Reno decided to wait a little bit and turned to Rude.

Rude sighed and flipped a switch and then threw a demand at Sara and Cloud, "Throw down your weapons and surrender! Shinra does not negotiate with terrorists!"

Hearing this, Sara rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Typical professional attitude, Rude. Sometimes I wonder how you manage to put up with Reno after all these years."

Reno makes a slight laugh at his partner's professional announcement. Yet, he becomes impatient and scoffs, "Man, screw this cheap-ass play."

Reno fires at Cloud, destroying some of the steel pipes that began to fall from the pillar.

Meanwhile, Tifa saw the falling pipes and shouts.

"Get down!"

Aerith and Wedge duck down; Tifa protects them by kicking the falling steel pipes.

Aerith looks at Tifa with a smile, "Thank you!"

Wedge grunted as he stood up, "That was a close one."

Aerith asks Wedge, "How is it?"

Wedge answered, "Much better, thanks."

Wedge didn't know at first that Aerith was a powerful healer until she began to use healing magic on him. He was grateful that Aerith healed him.

Another wave of explosions was coming from the pillar as Tifa looks up and stares with concerning eyes. She knew that she wanted to help those who were fighting on the frontlines.

Tifa looks at the others, "I'm sorry. I can't stay here. I have to help them."

Aerith could tell that Tifa wanted to go and encouraged her, "Go. Follow your heart."

Tifa nodded and was about to leave, but then she realized a certain little girl in the bar is waiting for her daddy to come home. But that little girl does not know what is happening outside of the bar. Tifa knew at that moment, Marlene needed to be somewhere safe. If anything were to happen to her, neither Barret nor Tifa herself would be able to forgive themselves. She could only trust someone who could do the task willingly while she was out helping her friends.

"Aerith." Tifa turns to her, "There's a bar in the center of town, Seventh Heaven. I need you too..."

"Get Marlene to safety, right?" Aerith smiled. "It's okay. I'll find her."

Tifa was a bit surprised that Aerith knew what she was going to ask.

Aerith looked at her with assuring eyes. Tifa grabbed Aerith's hands and smiled, knowing that Marlene will be safe in Aerith's care.

Tifa turned to Wedge, "Can you take her to the bar for me, Wedge?"

Wedge nodded, "Consider it done! Now get up there and kick Shinra's ass!"

Tifa nodded and leaves.

"C'mon, Seventh Heaven is this way!" Wedge tells Aerith as he starts running down the road.

Aerith nods and begins to follow; however, both saw the undercity's residents still standing around like sheep, unaware of what's about to unfold. Both Aerith and Wedge began to warn the residents.

"You guys can't stay here!"

"Come on, come on! Go to Sector 5 or 6!"

Wedge sees the two Shinra guards who were still at their post guarding the gate of Sector 6. He decides to walk up to them and shouts.

"You have to open the gate! If you don't let these people through!"

The senior guard shoved Wedge to the ground and ordered, "Back off! It's not gonna happen!"

Wedge falls on the ground, and Aerith helps him up. But Wedge sighs and starts to doubt himself, "I'm no good not to anyone up there or down here."

Wedge had always doubted that he wasn't as bright as Biggs or skilled as Barret. Yet, he had always wondered if he could at least make some difference, even if it were a little.

Aerith could tell that Wedge seemed to give up and immediately shook her head, "That's not true, Wedge. Don't give up hope yet! We can still save a lot of lives!"

Wedge looks at her and asks, "You don't think we're gonna stop them from dropping the plate, do you?"

Aerith said nothing as if the silence was the answer. Wedge continued, "I wanna believe that we can still win somehow. But something in my gut tells me we're due for a reckoning. Just this feeling, know what I mean?"

Aerith nodded, "Yeah, I do. But that's no excuse to give up. I don't wanna look back one day and wish I'd done it differently. Right here, right now, I need to know I did everything I could."

Suddenly another Shinra drone crashes nearby from the pillar that makes the residents gasp. Wedge looks around, and somehow he felt that Aerith was right. All he needed to do was not give up and press on no matter how hopeless things are.

He stands up and lets out a roar while running to the guards once again. One of them backs away nervously, while his partner only remains still.

Wedge begins to yell at them, "I'm not sure what's gonna happen next. But I am sure I don't wanna regret the choices I make tonight."

Somehow the nervous guard seems touched by those words. Wedge looks at the other guard and shouts, "Our lives are in your hands. If you don't open up, we're all gonna die!"

Yet the senior guard remains still; however, the new guard opens the gate. Seeing this, the old guard was shocked and commanded the young officer, "Close it!"

"No, sir! I will not obey that order!" the young officer shouted and turned to the residents, "This way, everyone! Quickly, quickly!"

The senior officer was stunned at what was happening. Wedge, on the other hand, felt a bit of pride in himself. He realized that what he can do right now is save as many lives as he can.

Aerith called out, "Wedge!"

He turned to her and saw her pointing down at the road, "Seventh Heaven is just down this road, isn't it?"

Wedge replied, "Head straight and look right. You can't miss it!"

She nodded, "Don't worry about me!"

"Alright, I'll get these people to safety!" Wedge smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

Aerith smiles back and begins running down the street alone to Seventh Heaven. At the same time, she started shouting at all the residents to evacuate. She came across a group of residents and stops.

"You all have to get out of Sector 7! Now! Please!"

Marle, who was among the group, walks over to Aerith and immediately questions, "Slow down! Do you know what's going on? What do they want with the pillar?"

Aerith was a bit nervous about telling the whole truth. Yet, she did not want to lie, and she replied with a worried tone, "Well, there's still time, but..."

Marle could already tell from the worried look on Aerith's eyes that it was not good news and asks, "They're going to drop the plate on us?"

Aerith gasps and replies, "Yes."

The members of the neighborhood watch were astonished to hear this and were angered.

"Those sons of bitches!"

"What good do they think that'll do!?"

Most of them thought that it was Avalanche's doing on dropping the plate. But Marle immediately begins to tell the group what they need to do.

"Feel free to cry about it later!" Marle ordered, "Right now, we need to get everyone to safety."

A watch member made a suggestion, "Wait, the watch should clear the roads first!"

Marle agreed, "Ah, good thinking! Hop to it!"

The watch members immediately left, leaving Marle and Aerith alone. Marle turned to Aerith curiously, "Avalanche, I take it?"

Marle knew better than anybody else that Shinra would do something crazy as dropping an entire plate. Yet, the only one who is willing to stand up to Shinra is Avalanche, and she assumed that this woman who shouted everyone to evacuate is a member of Avalanche.

Aerith replied, "Just a friend."

Marle smiled and said, "Tell Tifa to lay low. We'll take care of things here."

After that, Marle left. Aerith sighed in relief that people are helping the residents evacuate. However, she had an important task to take care of.

Aerith muttered, "I've got to get to Seventh Heaven!"

She runs down the road and sees a large building with bold letters; it was the bar. Aerith exclaims, "That's it!"

However, residents were shouting and running away. Aerith stopped and saw a helicopter that collides with another then begins to fall, heading straight for the bar.

Aerith gasps, "Marlene!"

Luckily the chopper only landed a few feet away from the bar. But it exploded near Aerith, who collapses. After a few minutes, Aerith slowly moves and stands up. She notices that the bar is still safe, but the fire was starting to spread. Aerith began to pray that Marlene would still be safe. She looks around to find another way around to the bar. The panicked undercity residents are running all around her as Aerith looks for another route and finds one.

"Finally!"

Yet, many undercity residents were running towards her, and she saw a little girl tripped and fall on the road; no one didn't seem to notice the frightened child.

"You poor thing," Aerith rushes over to the little girl smiling at her.

The little girl had to be around the age of nine or ten. She had fair skin, medium-length brown hair styled in a bob and held in a bun, and hazel brown eyes. She wears a white jacket over a teal buttoned shirt, a light teal dress, black tights with a leg rolled up, fluffy pink socks, and light teal strapped sneakers. She wears a bright pink scrunchie in her hair.

Aerith thought that the girl was cute. However, she could tell that the girl was scared and confused.

Aerith reassured the girl by patting her head, "I know it must hurt...but you've got to be brave now, okay?"

Aerith looks around and hears a familiar voice.

"C'mon, keep moving! This way!"

She turned around and saw Marle evacuating the residents and leading them to a tunnel. Aerith knew where that tunnel would end. It was an old maintenance tunnel that leads to a playground near Sector 6, a safe underground route.

Aerith looks down at the little girl and tells her, "I'll take you to her, ready?"

The little girl nodded, and Aerith picks her up. The little girl was still sobbing as Aerith walks over to where Marle is. Aerith continued to reassure the little girl with kind words. Marle spotted Aerith carrying a child as she sits the child down.

Aerith looks at Marle and asks, "Can you take care of her?"

"Of course." Marle smiled.

"Betty! I've been looking everywhere for you!" A man storms out of the tunnel with a look of relief and picks up his little girl.

Satisfied at seeing the reunion of a father and daughter, Aerith smiled, "You'll be fine."

Aerith starts to leave, but Marle tells her, "Stop! It's too risky! You need to get somewhere safe!"

Aerith shook her head and insisted, "I have to go! There's still one more person out there!"

Aerith runs down the road ignoring Marle's warning.

She found a road that she felt would lead her to the bar despite the fires near it. As she continued, another chopper crashes nearby, causing an explosion making Aerith fall and slightly knocking her out. She slowly opened her eyes, got back up, and continues to run. 

Aerith spots the bar and mutters, "Please be okay."

She crawls through some debris and reaches the bar. Finally, she opens the doors to the bar. Inside the bar, it was somewhat quiet despite all the explosions and gunshots going on outside. Yet, Aerith could hear the cries of a minor child somewhere in the bar. She looks around and could find no child underneath the tables. She turned to the bar and wondered if that's where Marlene is.

Sure enough, underneath the sink was a small, cute girl wearing a pink dress, sitting down with hugging her knees.

"You're Marlene, right?"

Marlene stopped crying as she lifts her head and stutters, "W-Who are you?"

Aerith sits down in front of her and replies with a smile, "I'm a friend! Of Tifa's!"

Marlene wasn't sure about this pretty stranger. She knew that she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers like what her daddy told her. Yet, she senses that this stranger did seem friendly.

Marlene asked, "Um, where is she?"

Aerith answered, "Right now, she's with Cloud and the others."

Hearing another familiar name, Marlene also asked, "Daddy too?"

"You mean Barret? Yup, he's there too."

Marlene begins to wonder if this stranger was here because Tifa sent the stranger to Marlene. She knew that there was only one reason.

"Wait, Daddy is not coming home?"

"Not yet." Aerith replied, "That's why I came to find you. Tifa asked me to. She said, "Take care of Marlene." Aerith paused and looked around, then explains, "The thing is, this place isn't safe now. I'm gonna take you somewhere safer, okay?"

Aerith reaches her hand out to Marlene, but the little girl doesn't take it. She looked at Aerith with devastating eyes. Marlene didn't want to go because she had always lived in the bar. It was her home, and to be told that it wasn't safe was heartbreaking. Marlene knew that her daddy and Tifa were fighting bad guys that were destroying the planet. So she assumed that the bad guys were going to attack her home.

Marlene sniffed, "Are they gonna destroy the bar? Are they gonna destroy our house?"

Aerith says nothing but hugs her. That simple gesture was enough for Marlene to shed some tears.

Aerith spoke with a gentle voice, "I know it's hard. Just remember, you still have your daddy. You can build a new home together. Anywhere."

Marlene continues to cry, but then she sensed something strange from Aerith. She didn't know why but it was a warm feeling enough for her to stop crying. She looks at Aerith curiously, who brought her index finger to her lips as if telling Marlene to keep it a secret. Marlene nods and hugs Aerith again.

"You smell nice," Marlene commented about this flowery smell from Aerith.

"Oh?" Aerith tilted her head.

Marlene explains, "Like...like our flower."

She grabs Aerith's hand then points at a vase with a single yellow flower sitting on the counter. Aerith smiled since she remembered whom she gave that flower to and was glad that it was giving to someone special.

"I hope you remember it, c'mon," Aerith says as she takes Marlene's hand. She guides Marlene to the front doors of the bar, and they begin to talk.

Aerith, "Tell you what. We'll grow lots of flowers at your new house."

Marlene, "Do you think that I could help too?"

Aerith, "Of course you can. Hey, what's your favorite flower?"

Before Marlene could answer, a helicopter's light from outside is shining upon them from the window. Then the doors burst open, and walking in was a Turk. He has dark brown eyes and shoulder-length black hair, a tilak in the middle of his forehead, and a black suit with a matching tie and shoes. He looks at Aerith with an angry look.

"You led us on a merry chase, Aerith." The man spoke coldly.

Aerith gasps, "Tseng."

Aerith knew why the director of the Turks would come here. She had been avoiding the Turks and Tseng for many years while she continued to do what she wanted. And this time may have been the last straw.

Tseng notices Marlene hiding behind Aerith, looking at him with frightened eyes.

Tseng warns her, "Before you say another word, know that your options are limited."

Aerith already knew that, and she made her final decision. She knew of one way to make sure that Marlene was safe, and that was to sacrifice her freedom for Marlene's safety. Aerith looks at Marlene and smiles, "There's nothing to be scared of, okay?"

Marlene nods but is still a bit frightened by all that's happening.

Aerith turns to Tseng and suggests, "How about we make a deal?"

Tseng smirks and steps aside, letting Aerith pass, who guides Marlene to the helicopter in front of the bar. The two of them aboard the chopper.

Cloud and Sara were still hiding behind the steel pipes back at the pillar while Reno fires at them.

"We gotta move before hothead turns us into swiss cheese!" Sara exclaimed.

In the chopper, Reno impatiently spoke, "Pop your head out and let me finish this already."

Suddenly Rude spots a person running up the stairs; it was Tifa.

Rude pointed out, "Stairs."

Reno spots Tifa and chuckles, "Two birds with one shitload of bullets!"

Reno starts firing again, but Rude steers the chopper away, making Reno miss when aiming at her, destroying the stairs instead.

"Cloud!" Tifa cries out.

Cloud reaches out to her as she jumps from the stairs collapsing under her, and grabs Cloud's outstretched hand. He pulls her to safety while hiding behind a nearby post.

Cloud glares at her, "What the hell?"

"Nice catch." Tifa smiles.

Cloud, "You're crazy!"

"Just like you." Tifa exclaimed, "So suck it up, 'cause I'm not leaving."

Back in the chopper, Reno yells at his partner.

"Dammit! You wanna explain yourself, partner?!"

"Uh...Hand slipped." Rude lied.

Reno knew that his partner lied but did not argue any further only. Instead, he continued to fire at the stairs where Cloud and the others are hiding.

"Where's Aerith?" Cloud asked Tifa as they both continued avoiding the incoming bullets.

"I sent her to Seventh Heaven to get Marlene out," Tifa answered.

"And Wedge?" Sara added.

"I asked him to show her the way."

Both Cloud and Sara were relieved to know that Wedge and Aerith are away from the pillar.

Cloud nodded, "Okay."

Yet, when Tifa went up the stairs from the ground floor. She could see all the damage that was happening. She couldn't help but feel worried and doubting.

Tifa wondered, "We can still stop this...right?"

Sara gave her a smirk, "Yeah, we keep going until we breathe our last breath."

Tifa nodded, "Then let's keep moving!"

"And where do you think you're going?" They heard Reno's voice through the megaphone from the chopper.

It was now a game of cat and mouse. Where Reno played the cat as he shot bullets at Cloud and the others. At the same time, they were avoiding the shots like little mice. The higher the climb, the more things started not to look good. Bodies of Avalanche members and Shinra troops were everywhere. Finally, Reno and Rude gave up on chasing Sara and the others. Suddenly the whole floor that Sara and the others stood on began to shake, making them tumble a bit.

Tifa exclaimed, "What was that?"

Another explosion was heard, and then another. It was coming from one floor above them.

"Come on! We gotta move!" Sara shouted as she continued to run.

Suddenly more and more Shinra troops began to come after them. Sara growled in frustration and raised her sword.

"Out of my way!" Sara roared.

Tifa was stunned at what just happened in a split second. There were Shinra troops alive and ready to take them out. But now, they were all lying dead on the floor, and Sara remained still with no blood splattered on her clothes or signs of fatigue. Tifa couldn't believe that Sara took out ten enemies all at once.

Unaware of Tifa's suspicion, Sara looked around and noticed that the stairs near her were destroyed entirely. She only spotted a single steel beam that led to a steel platform that was barely holding on. Yet, the platform led up to the next flight of stairs that the explosion didn't destroy, and it was the only way to go up.

"We'll have to cross." Sara said, "I'll go first."

Slow and steady, Sara carefully watched her balance, and she walked on the steel beam that could collapse at any moment. She could tell that they were getting close to the top by looking at how tiny the houses of the slums were. Sara made it to the other side and ran up the stairs with Tifa and Cloud following her.

Yet when they to the next floor, they find an exploded helicopter and near it there was a pile of rubble and beneath the debris is an injured Jessie. Above her were three gray phantoms.

Tifa cried out, "Jessie!"

Tifa rushed over, pushing the grey phantoms away; Cloud and Sara made it there first and started to remove the rubble off of Jessie.

Jessie slowly opened her eyes and saw familiar faces. She couldn't help but let out a small laugh, "Oh jeez...Tifa...if only you could see the look on your face..."

Tifa shook her head in denial that what she was seeing was a dream. But, she knew that it wasn't after all. The smell of the smoke and the heat from the fires were a reminder that it was real and Jessie was severely hurt.

Cloud picks Jessie up and carries her in his arms.

"So..." Jessie looks at him, "You're the guy...who gets to hear my last words...heh...lucky me."

Cloud snaps, "Like hell, they're your last!"

Jessie shook her head and said, "It's okay Cloud...It's okay. They were my bombs. They were all...my victims."

Jessie knew from the moment she created her bombs. That eventually, it will all come back to her, whether she would continue to live on or die sooner. She knew she would have to atone for what she had done.

"I had it...coming." Jessie sighed.

Cloud gently laid her against the rail away from the fires. Jessie couldn't help but comment, "My hero...so gentle."

"Just try to hang on!" Cloud tells her.

Yet Jessie couldn't help but laugh while she felt her whole body in pain.

"So dramatic..." Jessie sighed, but then she remembered something, "I...I just wish that...I could've had you over again...everyone...with Mom's cooking...I really wanted...to believe...we could.."

"Yeah, you owe me a pizza." Cloud reminded her.

"That's right, I do." Jessie chuckled, "But...I don't think..."

She heard the sound of someone crying. She looked over and saw Tifa crying.

"Oh no...Tifa's crying. Did I say something wrong?" Jessie asked in confusion.

Tifa looked away; she couldn't bear to see her friend suffer like this. It was hard for her. She and Jessie always had different opinions, but Tifa always cared for her friends, including Jessie. Yet it was just sad to see Jessie like this. Even Cloud and Sara looked away because it was hard to watch Jessie dying right before them. Cloud did always thought Jessie was annoying initially, but he knew that she was a reliable person. Sara knew that Jessie was also a kind person despite having a spunky attitude.

Suddenly Cloud felt someone fist-bumping his right hand. He looked down and saw Jessie's fist against his; she looks at him with a smile.

"Don't you guys...have somewhere to be?" Jessie reminded them, "It's not polite...to stare...you know..."

Jessie finally succumbs to her injuries. Tifa felt her heart dropped the moment she saw her friend passing out.

"Jessie..." Tifa sniffed while clenching her fists and finally bawls out.

"Hey..." Cloud looks at her.

Sara immediately hugs Tifa, who returns one. For a moment, the girls grieved for a few minutes before setting out.

Cloud took the lead, and they could hear the sound of gunshots and a familiar battle cry. While they were heading up, Sara pulled out a mask covering her lower face and pulled up her hood.

"Um, why are you wearing a mask?" Tifa asked.

Sara replied, "Because if Reno and Rude are at the top, then chances are we'll have to fight them. As I said, I know those two well and so better be safe than sorry."

Tifa knew that Sara had complicated ties with Shinra. So it would make sense for her to hide her face so that Shinra won't know. They reached the stairs, and when they did, they found Barret shooting at a helicopter.

"I ain't done with you yet! You hear me!?" Barret roared. "Think you can come up in here! Do want you want, and we're gonna take it!?"

"Barret!" Tifa called out.

Barret hides behind a pile of steel pipes and finally notices Tifa, Cloud, and Sara.

"Tifa?!"

Tifa was about to rush over to him, but then a stream of bullets shot near her feet, and she dodges them. Cloud gets in front of her and draws his sword.

"Get your ass behind cover, now!" Barret warns, "Chopper's gonna chew you up!"

Cloud manages to draw the chopper's fire while dodging it and gets behind cover close to Barret.

"Still alive and kicking?" Cloud asks.

Barret smirks, "Damn right! Leadin' man sticks around till the credits roll!"

Barret starts shooting some more, giving Tifa and Sara a chance to come over.

"Though we gotta keep moving if we wanna make it that far," Barret tells the others. "You ready?"

Cloud nodded, "Yup!"

Suddenly the chopper continues to hit them, forcing them to come out from cover. It hovers near the platform, and the side door of the helicopter opens, and Reno looks down at where he sees Cloud with a smirk.

"Time for a rematch." Reno mutters before turning to his partner, "Rude!"

Rude tosses Reno his weapon and moves the chopper closer. As the helicopter moves in, Cloud looks up and sees the redhead, Turk, from the aircraft.

"You!" Cloud hissed.

"It's nothing personal...bitch!" Reno sneered.

Reno jumps down from the aircraft and lands on an attack on Cloud, who blocks it with his sword. Reno lands right on Cloud's massive sword, does a backflip and lands a few feet away. Cloud dashes towards him then swing his sword; Reno dodges the attack while laughing.

"Missed me!" Reno mocked.

Reno dashes to the main computer; Cloud begins to chase after him but is stopped by Rude, who fires bullets at him from the chopper. Barret begins firing at Rude but turns to Reno and says.

"You're next, asshole!"

Reno makes it to the console and turns to Barret with a chuckle, "Sorry, losers! Gotta play for keeps today. No time to dick around."

Reno turns to the computer and begins to type in codes at a fast pace. The monitor displays a warning sign and makes an announcement.

"Plate separation authorized. Awaiting confirmation."

Reno sighs, "Yeah, yeah, coming right up."

Reno was about to press the button, but then he sensed someone was about to attack.

Reno growled, "No, you don't! Not when I'm working!"

He blocks the attack from his attacker, which happens to be Sara. Reno was a bit curious to see this masked person. He could tell that his attacker was a woman, and he liked the fire in her eyes.

Sara backs away as she glares at Reno and then dares him, "Press it!"

"Now, now," Reno smirked, "You ain't got shit on us."

Cloud and Tifa join up with Sara while Barret continues to fire at Rude.

Reno begins to attack with lightning reflexes and uses his rode with a built-in taser, making Tifa focus on dodging rather than attacking. Cloud knew how to avoid Reno's lightning moves and was able to ruffle up Reno's feathers. Yet, what was troublesome for Reno was Sara.

Reno was stunned that Sara was able to read his moves at such a quick pace. It was as if she had fought with him before. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason, the way that masked woman moved reminded him of someone. Reno wasn't the only one shocked by the masked woman. Rude was stunned as well; he could tell from a distance that she was toying with his partner, and it was starting to worry for him.

Suddenly Rude was not paying attention, and Barret unleashed a powerful energy blast from his gun, and the chopper goes down from the shot.

"Rude!" Reno shouted as he saw his partner going down.

The helicopter crashes on the platform near Reno, who barely dodges. Yet, he gets up and sees a pair of shades that belong to his partner. He picks them up and starts to wonder if Rude was dead. But then he felt someone patting his shoulder; Reno chuckled in relief.

"Clipped your wings, huh?" Reno joked.

"I was planning to join you anyway," Rude said as he puts a new pair of shades on.

Rude managed to get out of the chopper before it crashed. It wasn't the first time, and it won't be the last.

"Any landing ya can walk away from." Reno chuckled. "C'mon! Let's teach'em the Turks two-step!"

The two Turks turned to Sara and the others. Sara clicked her tongue; she didn't plan on fighting those two at once. It was not that she couldn't handle them; it was the fact that it would be hard for her to hold back.

Sara turned to Cloud and said, "Cloud, cover me; I don't want to go all out."

"You got it," Cloud replied.

Cloud knew that Sara was doing her best to hold herself back. With that, he begins to make the first move. He dashed towards Reno, who blocked his attack while Rude started to kick him near the stomach. However, Tifa returned one to Rude, sending him flying across the platform, crashing into a pile of crates. Barret started shooting bullets at Rude while Tifa continued to throw punches and kicks. Rude continues to block and attack Tifa's movements. At the same time, Cloud and Sara battled against Reno, keeping up with the hothead's lightning speed and attacks.

However, the Turks' attempts to defeat the gang were futile. Reno collapsed after receiving another blow from Sara's powerful magic spells and Rude down on one knee after receiving a shot to the leg.

Tifa and Sara rush over to the computer, but both girls were at a loss on what to do. Reno was about to grab his weapon when Cloud points his blade at him. Reno looks up and sees Cloud's angry look.

"How do we stop it?" Cloud demands. Barret and the others turn to Reno, waiting for an answer.

"Heh, who knows?" Reno chuckled and passes out

Barret, who was holding Rude at gunpoint, got distracted at the last second as Rude dashes towards the console.

"Where you going!?" Barret shouts while firing at Rude.

Barret and Cloud begin to attack Rude; however, hundreds of grey phantoms block their way.

"Move!" Cloud demanded while striking at one of the phantoms.

"Getting real tired of your shit!" Barret roared at the phantoms.

"Agh!"

"Ugh!"

Cloud recognized those voices and started to worry.

"Tifa! Sara!" Cloud called out.

But no answer, then the grey phantoms vanished. Cloud saw Sara and Tifa lying on the metal floor unconscious. Then he saw Rude pushing the button. After he presses it, the computer makes an announcement following by the sound of an alarm.

"Plate separation initiated. Plate separation initiated. Commencing separation sequence. Section 1 separation imminent. Evacuate immediately."

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" Barret raged at Rude.

Cloud rushes over at swings his sword at Rude, who dodges it. Cloud was about to go after him when a familiar voice calls out to him.

"Cloud!"

Cloud pauses and sees Tifa trying to get up. He rushes over to her and checks on her. Barret, enraged by what happened, shoots at the computer. Sara opened her eyes and got up, yet when she saw Rude going over to Reno and Barret firing the console like a maniac, she could tell that the Turks completed their mission. Rude picks up Reno and walks over to the medical helicopter that waits for them.

Rude looks over at the group and says, "Five minutes to go."

There was only a five-minute evacuation time. Not enough time to escape if someone doesn't have an aircraft. Rude boards the chopper with the unconscious Reno.

Sara rushes over to the console and tries to type in a few codes that she knew. But nothing seems to work.

"Damn it! Is there anything we can do?!" Sara slams her fists on the keyboard.

Suddenly the screen changes and shows Tseng looking at them with a smile.

"Nothing." Tseng declares, "There is nothing you can do now."

"You can't do this!" Tifa argued.

"Tifa!" Tifa gasped when she heard that voice, and Aerith appears next to Tseng.

"I found Marlene!" Aerith exclaimed.

"Marlene? My Marlene!?" Barret shouted, "What did you do with her!?"

Cloud immediately asks Aerith, "Where are you!?"

"I'm at the," Before Aerith finishes her answer, Tseng intervenes, and a Shinra trooper drags Aerith away. Once Aerith was out of the picture, Tseng turns to the group.

"Your activities unwittingly brought you into contact with the Ancient." Tseng announced, "Who is now back in our custody where she belongs. For this, you have my sincerest gratitude. Alas, the sector in which you stand has been condemned."

"Ancient?" Cloud wondered.

"Run! You have to go now!" Aerith pleaded in the background.

"And where exactly do you expect them to go?" Tseng sarcastically wondered.

After that, the video ends, then the whole floor beneath them rumbles. The computer makes another announcement.

"Total plate separation imminent. Evacuate the area immediately."

"Shit!" Sara exclaimed, "We gotta move before the whole plate crashes down on top of us!"

Barret nodded, "Right! Let's think of something! Look around; gotta be something!"

Cloud looked around but only found Tifa, who was looking at the slums below. She didn't look so good, probably devastated that they did not stop Shinra from dropping the plate. On the other hand, Sara and Barret found a zipline. Though where the zipline leads to, it doesn't matter as long it gets them out of Sector 7.

"Hey!" Barret calls out to Cloud, "Found us a way out!"

Cloud nodded and turns to the depressed Tifa. He helps her up and takes her by the hand, dragging her to Barret and Sara. Barret destroys the lift door with his gun and grabs the hook that connects to the zipline. Cloud, Tifa, and Sara grab on to Barret as they zip line their way out of Sector 7.

As they were trying to escape, the entire plate collapses above them, with fallen debris and fire explosions from above. Chucks of large pipes fallen on houses, and people were screaming and running as they were trying to escape from the incoming rubble.

Yet standing in Shinra's headquarters, President Shinra watches the plate fall and smiles with satisfaction.

Sara and the others were starting to worry if they were going to make it. They could only pray that the zipline will hold on and that it did. The zipline took them to the slums of Sector 6 as the main gate to Sector 7 closed.

Once that gate closed, Sector 7 was no more.