You climbed out of the crawlspace leading into Mako Reactor 5. Biggs took your hand and helped you out. "Looks good," you speculated. "The others shouldn't have any trouble getting through."

"Great," Biggs said. "Now we just have to wait. Our escape is ready too." You nodded and sat down on one of the crates to rest. Your nose scrunched slightly, trying to shake the smell of mako. "How's your side feeling?" 

"Fine, for now. Just a bit of throbbing pain." You were going to stay home for this mission, but decided to join Biggs at last minute. He was by himself, so you thought he'd have plenty of ways you could pitch in. And he did, though he was hesitant to let you tag along. 

You wiped some of the dirt off your hands and sat back, rubbing your side. He stood against the wall, next to the room's entrance. Eventually, you could hear the clanking of shoes on the metal platform outside. You quickly got up and stood next to him as he got ready to confront your possible opponent. The footsteps stopped and a large sword was drawn at Biggs's neck. He craned his neck away from it with his hands up. The sudden movement caused you to flinch.

"Mercy!" he said. He then looked over at the sword's wielder. He let his guard down as Cloud lowered the blade from his throat. "Wait... Cloud? Where's Jessie and Wedge?"

After Cloud came Tifa and Barret. "Report," Barret demanded, not giving Tifa time to answer Biggs's question. 

"Topside's going nuts after some terrorists jumped off a train," Biggs said. "Nice and quiet here, though. So quiet, [F/N] and I had no trouble securing your route into the reactor." He announced triumphantly as he pointed to the crawlspace. You smiled a bit too, happy to be acknowledged. 

"You magnificent sons of bitches!" Barret applauded. "Bring it in!" Biggs ducked under his hug and went over to Cloud and Tifa. "Oh, come on, man..." Barret muttered. Feeling a little bad, you gave him a hug to make up for the one Biggs dodged, and he accepted it with a small "hmph".

"So," Biggs said. "Where are the others?"

 "Jessie got hurt and couldn't make it," Tifa explained. Biggs tilted his head with concern. You got a weird churning feeling in your stomach.
Don't be stupid. He gets concerned for everyone. 

"Bad?"

"Not so bad she couldn't rope in this guy," Barret said, gesturing to Cloud. Biggs just nodded at him with a friendly smile. 
"Thanks for stepping up."

"It's a job," Cloud replied with a shrug. 

"Worked out pretty good-- You picking that train you did," Biggs said, "While ShinRa scours Sector 4, you can waltz right on into Sector 5." He gestured again to the crawlspace. "It's a bit of a squeeze, but it ought to get you where you need to go."

Barret let out a small grunt. "A little dark and foreboding for my taste..." he admitted.

Biggs shrugged. "Beggars can't be choosers. Oh, and you'll be needing your grappling guns of course." You picked the bag up off the floor and passed it to Barret. "All set."

Barret smiled, "Ready to take on the world and then some!" 

Tifa nodded half-heartedly and looked at you and Biggs. "Make sure everyone gets clear, okay?" 

You both nodded. "Will do!" Biggs reassured her. You followed him over to the trapdoor. He opened it and you peered down at the scaffolding below. He took out his grappling gun and fired it at the ceiling, making sure it was secure. "C'mon," he said, holding an arm out. He must've noticed how nervous you seemed. 
You inched towards him and he wrapped an arm around your waist, trying his best not to hurt your side. You held onto him, keeping your mouth shut to refrain from screaming as he jumped down. 

You both landed safely and you heard the trapdoor slam as Barret closed it after you. Your side only hurt a little, but you didn't mind. "You all right?" Biggs asked, hooking the grappling gun on his belt and running a hand through his hair. 

"I'm good," you said, looking away. "Let's just do as Tifa asked."

"Alright..."

The two of you set off and began getting everyone to safety, just as Tifa had asked. Afterwards you went back to the slums and waited for the others to come back. You sat inside with Jessie while Biggs waited outside.

The others were taking longer than expected. Worry filled the room and the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. 

"At least the first part of the mission was a success..." Wedge said, trying to brighten the mood. You let out a sigh and nodded.
"How was the first part with Biggs?" 

"Romantic, probably," Jessie snickered. You gave her a perplexed look.

"What do you mean by that?" you asked. 

"I'm only joking," Jessie said, waving her hand dismissively. "It's just that you seemed so eager to go with him earlier. Do you have a crush on him?"

You looked out the window where he was leaning against the wooden stair railing with his arms crossed, staring off into the distance. "You know now is not the time to worry about childish things like that," you muttered.

"Don't try to change the subject," Jessie teased. "You should see the way you guys look at one another sometimes."

"I'm not trying to change the subject. But do you really think it's the time to talk about something kiddy like that when we're sitting here worrying about our friends and waiting for them to come back safely from a near suicide mission?"

"There's nothing wrong with trying to get our minds off of it and poking a little fun," Wedge chimed in. "You don't have to keep it from us. He went crazy this morning telling us what you said to him last night when you guys were drinking."

"Huh?" you perked up, your heart skipping a beat. You couldn't tell if it was in a good way or a bad way. Had you said something rude to him, or something totally embarrassing? "What did I say last night when we were drinking?"

"You told him you love him," Jessie said with a dumb smile on her face. "Was it just because you were drunk? Wouldn't wanna get his hopes up if you were senseless."

"Get his hopes up? No. I do love him," you stammered. Jessie and Wedge both gave you suggestive looks. "Not like that! Come on guys, I've been friends with him for over three years. It's not wrong to say you love your friends, even if they are the opposite gender."

"You never say you love us," Jessie pointed out deviously. 

"What are you trying to say?" you asked, raising a brow. 

"You two obviously have it for one another," Wedge said. You just scoffed and looked around for an excuse to change the topic. You looked out the window at Biggs once again. He seemed a little wary of what might've happened to the others at the reactor. 

Eventually you saw Barret and Tifa approaching the bar and got up from your seat. "I'm gonna go greet them," you told Jessie and Wedge. They both just nodded as you went out onto the porch.

"Well, look who it is," Biggs exclaimed, coming down the porch steps. "Loving your work. So, how many reactors is that now?" He asked. Tifa and Barret looked away, staying quiet. "Wait... Where's Cloud?" 

Barret let out a sigh, "We lost him." You were shocked by the news. As much as you didn't like him, who could've gotten the best of a first-class ex-SOLDIER? You decided to just listen as you watched from the top step as they conversed. 

"You what?" 

"He will be okay though, right?" Tifa asked, not meeting anyone's gaze. Barret thought for a second. 

"Well...of course he will! A little fall ain't gonna stop a hard-ass like him. He'll come swaggerin' back before long, you mark my words," Barret raved. 

"Yeah... I guess he will," Tifa complied quietly. 

Barret, hardly seeming to care about Cloud anymore, went on. "Now, can we talk about President Shithead? Spoutin' all that crap about us. That lying son of a bitch! Working for Wutai?! Avalanche ain't nobody's--!!" He was being too loud for comfort. 

"Barret!" Tifa called over him. Barret cleared his throat and looked down, going quiet. Luckily, no one seemed bothered.  

"Speaking of sons of bitches..." Biggs started, breaking the silence. "I heard Wall Market's very own Don Corneo has his stooges out looking for you." So many topics were being thrown around in this conversation with so little time. So much so you hardly knew which subject to follow anymore. 

"Is that so..." Barret mumbled. "Don't got time for no low-level mobsters. We got ShinRa in our sights." Biggs only nodded in compliance. Barret looked back over at Tifa. "Tifa. You and I both know this is far from over. Right? Might as well get some rest-- while we still can." He gave her shoulder a subtle pat before.

"Right," Tifa said quietly. She looked more upset than anyone. From what you understood she was Cloud's childhood friend. So, you couldn't blame her for writhing in the possibility that she may never see him again. Biggs followed suit as Barret went up the stairs, giving Tifa's shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he made for the stairs. 

You watched as Barret passed you to go inside and went to follow him. "You know what?" You heard Tifa say suddenly. "I think I am gonna look into this." You and Biggs both turned again to look at her. Before either of you could say anything, she ran off to who knows where. Biggs took a few steps away from the stairs. You leaned against the railing, making your way down to join him. 

"Good luck out there," he said after her, obviously not loud enough for her to hear. He then sighed a little and looked down at you. You looked back up at him with a worried expression. 

"What's going on?" you asked. He shook his head.

"Too many things," was all he could bring himself to say. 

"Are you going inside?" you asked.

"No," he replied, "home. Might as well rest up while we can, like Barret said. I've got a bad feeling about this."

"You've got a bad feeling about everything," you pointed out. He just shrugged and started walking. You followed him, looking around quietly. What was ShinRa planning? Knowing them, they were prepared to do anything that would stamp out Avalanche now. 

The two of you got home and you sat at the table to rewrap your side. He went to the bathroom for a shower. He was in there longer than usual. You knew he was spending all that time probably staring at the wall, thinking about every possible thing that ShinRa might be conjuring up. 

He eventually came out. You weren't at the table anymore, and had left the first-aid kit out since you couldn't get into the bathroom. You were in the bedroom now, laying on your mattress. Your side was bothering you more than usual, so you tried to go to sleep and ignore it.

"Going to bed already?" he asked, drying his hair. You nodded with a sigh. 

"Side's bugging me. Besides, there's not much else to do anyway," you replied. 

"Alright," he said after a small moment of silence. "Hope it feels better."

"Mhm..." you replied drowsily. It didn't take long at all for you to fall asleep. 

*
*
*

"[F/N]..."

"[F/N]."

"[F/N]!" A voice that seemed to be calling out to you in a dream boomed suddenly into your ears upon waking. You gasped, startled and turned over as light met your tired eyes. "Get up!" Biggs ushered you out of bed. One of the first sounds you heard was gunfire and the sound of helicopter propellers. 
You squinted in the light at Biggs. He already had all his gear on again, even in the dead of night. 

"What's going on..." you groaned.

"Barret just called. It's ShinRa," Biggs exclaimed. "They're going for the pillar!" 

"No!" You sat up, gasping and crying out as a stabbing pain shot up from your wound. This wasn't the best time for it to be hurting extra. Biggs pulled you to your feet and hurriedly helped you out of the house. You hadn't had the time to even process the situation. "Let me walk on my own." He complied to your request but you immediately drifted off to the side, clutching your wound. He caught you and brought you back to his side. 

"You have to get out of Sector 7, before there's no way out," Biggs pleaded.

"Don't be stupid!" You barked. "I'm not letting you charge up there on your own! With all that gunfire? Don't be dumb, that's suicide!" 

"Says the girl with a bad leg and wounded side. Real rich." You scoffed in return to his comment. 
"Please, just  get out of here. One wrong move and you could be dead. I could never forgive myself if that happened." You stopped and hesitated. You were shaking from the pain and stress. You couldn't get any one of your thoughts in line. You finally just nodded, inhaling sharply as you began to hyperventilate. 

He pulled you into a quick hug, burying his face in your hair. It didn't take long for him to break the hug and wipe the tears from your cheeks with his thumbs. He looked into your eyes and laid a kiss on your forehead, causing your eyes to widen and more tears fell. He looked over you into the distance and waved at someone by the escape route. "Marle!" he called. You looked over your shoulder and then back at him.

"Please..." you whimpered. "Please don't go up there." You gasped in between words and cries. He only smiled and turned you around to face Marle who was rushing over to you.

"She hurt?" Marle asked. 

"Yes, she is. Please make sure she gets to safety. " Marle nodded as you shook your head.

"Biggs, please," you protested once again. He let go of you and you fell into Marle's arms. 

He waved at you, his smile not faltering. "Don't act like I'm going to die here, [F/N]," he said. "I'll see you later." He nodded at Marle and turned around, sprinting away.

"No!!"

"Let's go," Marle said. "We'll get you a doctor in Sector 5." 

"Marle, please! Please let me go after him. I'm part of the Neighborhood Watch so I have to help!"

"This here affair is about Avalanche," Marle reminded you. "You've no obligation to get involved."

"Well then I'm with Avalanche!" you spat. Anything to make her let you go. 

She shook her head. "Sorry. I can't let someone who's wounded go into a warzone," she said, actually seeming apologetic. You looked back over at the pillar. You could see the occasional sparks of bullets firing rapidly and debris falling off. The lights were on, allowing you to watch in horror as innocents fought for their lives against countless ShinRa forces, and you were sitting out. Even though you were part of Avalanche's work for both strikes. 

Marle turned you away from its few and steered you to the tunnel that led to the next sector over. You ambled down the path, waiting until she wasn't paying attention to you anymore. When she was escorting a family in, you snuck behind her and raced down one of the dirt paths, hurdling over rubble and sprinting as fast as you could to the pillar. 

It didn't take long at all until you needed to stop to catch your breath. You leaned over, breathing heavily. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw something reflective leaning against the chain link fence. It was your baseball bat. Biggs must've taken it with him on accident. You thought.

Or he thought if you did come charging back, you wouldn't notice your weapon and stay out of it when you remained without one. 
You grabbed it and used it to support you the rest of the way to the pillar. Your head suddenly snapped up to one of the levels where you heard screaming. It was Wedge screaming. He fell over the railing, which also gave way behind him. Quickly, he pulled out his grappling gun and hooked onto some leverage, which gave out rather quick as well, but it was enough to reduce the damage.

"Wedge!" you staggered over to him as he hit the ground. Gathering around him was Aerith, Tifa and Cloud. The others made it to him first and Cloud knelt next to him. 

"You okay!?" Cloud asked. 

"Cloud..." Wedge said weakly. It was clear he had gotten the wind knocked out of him. "It's ShinRa... They're trying to take out the pillar."

"I know."

"I have to go back," Wedge insisted, trying to get up. "Barret and the others are still-"

"Stop!" Cloud demanded before standing up and turning to Tifa and Aerith. "Stay with Wedge. I'm going up."

"Sure," Aerith replied with a single nod. You finally joined them. Tifa looked at you a little shocked. You were almost out of it already, but you weren't going to show them that. They would never let you go up. 

Wedge reached after Cloud as he walked away. "I'm going too! I can still fight!" He finally mustered the strength to sit up on his knees. "Biggs, he-- they were shooting at me, and he--" Your eyes began to water again at the thought of him. Had he taken the fall for someone already and played the hero?

"Wedge, please," Tifa protested, "let Cloud handle it." She crouched slightly next to him, with a hand on his back. Aerith stood on the other side of him. All you could bring yourself to do at this point was stand and watch.
"Don't worry. I'll patch him up," Aerith said. The ground shook again as the two helped him to his feet. They all perked up and looked over at the pillar. 

"Hang on, guys!" Wedge hollered. "Help is coming!"

Cloud's eyes were fixated on some part of the pillar. He turned back to the other three. "Wedge, listen to me-- You stay here with them." He then took off and you followed him without thinking. He had no apparent suspicion that you were already hurt.

A few stories up, Biggs stumbled down a smaller flight of stairs into one of the railings. He looked at the ground and saw Cloud running to the rescue. "'Bout time you showed up, merc..." he said. "Gotta do my part to clear the path before you steal the show." As he went to turn back to his foes, he noticed a streak of [H/C] running behind Cloud. He knew who it was right away and his eyes widened. "Damn--" his words were interrupted as a bullet whizzed past his head, causing him to jump. He came back to his senses and aimed at his opponents.

You were passing Cloud within seconds, leaving all the enemies to him, not considering the fact that there would be more on other floors and you'd be by yourself. You managed to get one floor ahead of him and the gunfire immediately came. A bullet grazed your arm, causing you to yelp.

"Wait! Hold your fire!" one of the guards boomed. "This is [Y/N] ShinRa!" He pulled a phone out of his vest.

Dammit!

While he was distracted you decided to proceed, knowing they wouldn't harm you unless given permission. And that hadn't been granted yet. Word quickly spread not to harm the crazed daughter of President ShinRa himself. 

Then finally you reached it, the floor Biggs was on. He was standing against the wall, trying to catch his breath. There were still two or three more officers. They were running at him, aiming their weapons. 

"Biggs!" you yelled. He looked up with an aggravated expression. 

"Why are you here!? You were meant to stay with Marle!" he scolded. 

"Freeze!" The guards demanded, two out of three aiming their guns at you. You stopped and put your hands up, knowing they'd do nothing though. While they were preoccupied with your appearance, Biggs shot them down. They groaned and sunk to the floor, dropping their guns. 

"You son of a bitch!" the third officer roared. He was only a couple feet away from you, aiming at Biggs. You lunged at him as he reached for the trigger. You were plenty close enough to at least knock the firearm out of his hands. Suddenly, a familiar force pushed you back, sending you flying into the railing. It creaked in protest and became slightly unhinged, leaning behind you. 

The officer was able to fire after all. You heard both of them shoot at once and both of them groaned, falling to the ground.

Both of the shots left a ringing in your ears. You couldn't hear how loud you shouted over them. You could hear nothing but high-pitched ringing as you made a slow recovery and staggered back over to Biggs. He was sitting against the wall now, his head tilted slightly to the side. 

"Biggs!" You fell to your knees next to him. His breathing was shaky and unstable. Tears began falling down your face again. 

"Why did you..." he started. His voice was a bit raspy. "I told you to stay with Marle. You should have escaped to Sector 5." 

"That's so unfair," you protested. "Why do I get to lose you, but you don't get to lose me? It doesn't make any sense..."

"Why did you think right away I was going to die?" he asked softly. 

"Because ShinRa always gets what they want when put up against an actual threat to the facility," you said. 

"You would know, wouldn't you, [Y/N] ShinRa?" he said before beginning to cough violently. 

"Please don't call me that... It's shameful," you admitted. 

"I like [F/N] better anyway," he said with a weak smile. You clasped a hand over your mouth and sobbed as he pulled you into another hug. He ran a scathed hand through your hair, comforting you. Your face was buried into his bloody shirt, soaking it even more with tears. 

"All those times you saved me and now I can't return the favor..." you choked out. "I feel so powerless."

"Don't blame yourself. I swear, I'll make it out," he reassured you. He knew the chances that would happen were slim, but he wanted you to flee. You broke the hug and wiped your eyes. As you went to say more, a bright light ascended and shined in your eyes. A breeze seemed to come along as well, causing you to shiver. Biggs squinted and closed his eyes, looking away from the light. You stood up, covering your eyes and peering into the windshield of a helicopter. 

"Well look who it is! That was quite the touching scene. Almost made me not want to do my job," you heard Reno sneer over the mic. "Had a feeling you'd be here [Y/N]. Or is that what it is anymore?"
He went quiet for a second as Rude said something to him. "Yeah, yeah," you heard Reno reply. You could only hear Rude's voice faintly.

"Here's the deal, princess," Reno finally said. "You come home to your daddy and we don't blow your friend over here to smithereens." Your eyes widened. Would Reno really? Just to get the job done? 
You ran over to make sure you were in front of Biggs, "That's sick!" You screamed, splaying your arms out. 

"Orders are orders, princess," Reno said. You gulped and looked over your shoulder at Biggs. He was shaking his head weakly.

"[F/N], don't..." he pleaded. "It's not worth it."

"Like hell it isn't!" you snapped and turned back to him, crouching down. You rested your forehead against his and lowered your voice. "I promise I'll get to Sector 5. I'll make sure you and the others make it." Tears were welling up in his eyes, but they never fell. 

"Okay..." he sighed, placing his shaking hands on yours. "I trust you."

"Thank you," you said. "Goodbye."

"No," Biggs corrected; "See you later." You gave a forced smile and nodded before standing up again and turning back to the chopper. 

"I'll go!" you hollered over the sound of the propellers. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4040 words sheeeeesh.

A bit of a dramatic cliche romance movie chapter, but the romance book had no romance in it so far so like I had to, alright?

Alright, cool. I'm not gonna proofread either hah. I know at this point in the game the citizens weren't aware yet, but now they are haha for the sake of the plot.