Hanging over the darkening abyss together with Claudia in his arms, Alex lowered his gaze far downward and for a short moment experienced a light, tempting desire simply to relax his fingers, release the iron threads and at full speed plunge into the depths of the complex. For, as far as he remembered the canon, right beneath them lay a deep secret section of the laboratory known under the name "The Barrel."
Precisely in that isolated place Hojo for years had kept all his unfortunate test subjects who were either still undergoing the agonising process of mutation or had already finally turned into monsters. In that dark part of the complex Hojo conducted over them absolutely any refined experiments — from the most basic and simple to horrific gladiatorial fights where he set the test subjects against each other or against combat robots for the sake of so-called "collection of scientific data."
Continuing to look into the gloomy abyss, Alex nevertheless decided finally to abandon such an idea. After all, in that abandoned part of the laboratory only mad mutants and a strange mechanical robot resembling an enormous steel fish awaited them, which the scientists used exclusively for cleaning technical pipes of blockages. But the main reason for Alex's categorical unwillingness to fly downward was that he desperately did not want to deliver extra pleasure to that bastard Hojo by allowing him to conduct yet another planned experiment over them.
Grimacing from annoyance, Alex felt a light, hesitant movement in his arms and instantly awoke from his thoughtful reflections. Turning his head to the side, he looked at Claudia, who at that very moment was fully occupied with tensely figuring out exactly how the two of them were to get back up to the others.
Raising his head to the smashed platform, Alex again saw the mortally worried faces of Aerith and Tifa, who above were actively discussing with the rest of the team how best to pull him and Claudia out of this trap. Having thought a little, Alex decided to go by the simplest and most proven method of ascent.
"Hold on to me as tightly as possible, now we're going to rise with a breeze," Alex spoke with a light smile, tighter embracing Claudia around her slender waist and firmly pressing her to his chest.
"What exactly are you plotting again?" Claudia asked warily, slightly narrowing her eyes, forced to wrap both arms around Alex's neck.
"Nothing special — just rising upward now. After all, if a certain hot someone hadn't rushed into a blind attack, we wouldn't have to hang over this goddamn abyss at all right now," Alex said in an ironic tone and began slowly swinging on the steel threads, never taking his sarcastic gaze off Claudia.
Hearing Alex's ironic words, Claudia only heavily sighed and did not comment on it in any way. She herself perfectly understood that she had massively screwed up by yielding to emotions and blindly attacking Sephira. But she simply could not do anything with herself when she again live met the one who had once completely destroyed not only her own life but also Tifa's. And the nightmarish sight of Nibelheim engulfed in flames still stood before her eyes, and together with it in her head continuously sounded the icy, indifferent voice of Sephira when she mercilessly killed everyone who stood in her path.
Without noticing it herself, Claudia squeezed her fingers even tighter on Alex's black shirt, simultaneously experiencing dull anger and complete helplessness from the fact that the one she had for so many years considered finally dead had turned out to be alive again.
Feeling how Claudia's fingers were literally digging into his clothes, Alex quietly sighed and only slightly tighter squeezed her waist, perfectly understanding that in their current situation banal comforting words would help little. Feeling this warm, confident touch of Alex's, Claudia for a moment strongly tensed, but then gradually relaxed, deciding finally to concentrate on rising upward without incidents.
Helping Alex with her movements to swing correctly on the metal cable, Claudia quickly understood that he was planning to jump over to the other side — exactly to where Sephira had stood a moment ago. Continuing to swing over the abyss, Alex highly raised his head and at the top of his voice shouted to those remaining above exactly what he intended to do.
Tifa and Aerith, standing closest of all to the edge of the destroyed technical bridge, clearly heard Alex's shout and together looked downward. Noticing that he was swinging from side to side together with Claudia, Tifa shifted her gaze to the central platform and actively waved her hand to him, showing that she had understood everything perfectly.
"What are they even doing down there?" asked the arrived Barrett, returning back to the edge of the bridge and gripping in his hands a massive piece of torn-out rebar.
"They're going to cross to that side. We also need to urgently look for a detour path there," Tifa answered, pointing a finger at the opposite central platform.
"I can see perfectly from here another bridge! Only it's on the other side! True, the platforms there are a bit destroyed, but I think we can easily get there!" Yuffie shouted cheerfully, deftly hanging upside down on a long metal beam sticking right out of the ceiling.
"Then to work, no point sitting with folded arms! We need to find out what the hell your ghost of the past suddenly jumped out of its dark hole and caused such a total wreckage here," Dean spoke energetically, with one hand deftly grabbing by the hood Tonberry Steve who was aimlessly wandering around his legs.
"She is not alive… But she can no longer be called a human either. Her scent was incredibly frightening and strange… In my life I have never yet met similar aromas and cannot exactly say to whom or what precisely it belongs," Red spoke in a thoughtful tone, sensitively sniffing the acrid trail that the vanished Sephira had left behind her.
"And what the hell is all this even supposed to mean?! Are you saying that these Shinra bastards again cooked up yet another mad clone, and that one simply finally went crazy and arranged a bloody rampage here?" Barrett asked, frowning heavily, staring at Nanaki with suspicion.
Red looked at Barrett in response and only silently moved his muzzle from side to side — because he himself for now did not really understand who or what this mysterious Sephira actually was. Before new questions managed to arise in the squad, Aerith resolutely spoke, calling on everyone not to stand still and to move further. And the moment she only pronounced these words, Alex and Claudia with a whistle flew out of the dark abyss and ideally landed on the central platform, right opposite the smashed sarcophagus of Jenova.
Lowering Claudia onto the metal floor, Alex waved his hand to the remaining members of the team, calling on them to hurry and pointing at the elevator that was supposed to help them rise to the upper tiers. Dean in response raised his hand upward and shouted that they were heading directly to the elevator.
Briefly nodding, Alex turned to Claudia and proposed that she follow further. However, having finished speaking, he suddenly lowered his gaze under his feet and concentrated an intent gaze on the drops of Jenova's blood. And while the others were unhurriedly walking to the elevator, he had a free minute to personally check from exactly what cosmic abomination Nyan-Nyan had cooked up this bastard parasite that he now had to destroy.
Squatting on his haunches next to the traces of strange purple blood that stretched in a clear trail right to the elevator doors, Alex with a habitual motion lit a thin cigar and propped his cheek with his fist. Noticing such strange actions of Alex's, Claudia slightly frowned and also lowered her gaze onto these unnatural traces.
She finally clearly noticed that this blood looked extremely wrong: it mournfully shimmered with a poisonous purple light, as if simultaneously burning and pulsating from within. She simply physically could not understand why Jenova's blood possessed such a horrific structure and what exactly Alex intended to do.
"What do you even want to do with this Jenova blood?" Claudia asked warily, approaching right up to Alex and laying a palm on his shoulder.
"Well… I want to assess the quality," Alex answered with an impudent smirk, deliberately poking a finger into the purple puddle and immediately demonstratively sticking the finger into his own mouth.
"Have you completely lost your mind?! What the hell are you doing?! Spit it out immediately! Do you even realise what kind of filth this is?!" the irritated Claudia burst into a shout, instantly seizing Alex with both hands by the face and with force trying to make him spit out Jenova's blood.
Absolutely not paying attention to the frightened Claudia who was trying with all her strength to force him to spit out Jenova's blood, Alex with a thoughtful look raised his gaze to the burned-out ceiling. Thoroughly tasting this specific flavour, he quickly understood to exactly what monstrous mix of cosmic beasts this repulsive substance belonged.
The first thing he clearly sensed was an acrid, incredibly unpleasant concentrate partially resembling a wild mixture of many tastes: from liquid ammonia and raw rusty iron to concentrated oceanic rot and long-spoiled seafood. As if all this shit had been dumped into one sealed barrel and left to ferment and rot for long centuries — and what resulted in the end had precisely such a "bouquet of flavours."
Trying with all his strength to suppress the nausea from this disgusting taste and ignoring Claudia's clutching fingers on his face, Alex continued carefully analysing the structure of the blood. Finally, having fully tasted it to the end, he clearly caught the aftertaste of a second creature which represented a strange mixture of rotting musk goat oil, rotten bark of a dead tree and acrid echoes of the poisonous sap of dubious plants. Slightly shuddering from such a wild and contradictory mixture, Alex finally became convinced from exactly which entities Nyan-Nyan had in her time moulded this Jenova.
And he simply could not help voicing in his mind his claims to Nyan-Nyan — for the fact that she had managed to cook up her avatar from the descendants of the Great Dreamer and the Black Goat.
But, as always, in response to all his justified claims right in his head sounded only playful air kisses and passionate declarations of love. Somehow suppressing yet another rising attack of nausea from this repulsive taste, Alex carefully pushed Claudia's fingers away from his face and with feeling spat to the side.
"Pah… All right-all right, don't get so heated! I was simply sincerely interested to find out what this Jenova of yours actually represents," Alex pronounced with disgust on his face, carefully wiping his tongue with a snow-white handkerchief and spitting saliva together with the remains of the purple blood.
"And so? Did all this help you at least somehow?" Claudia asked with a heavy, resigned sigh, looking at Alex exactly as at the last complete idiot.
"Nope! The taste turned out even more shitty than I could ever have imagined. Perhaps I should say that I will never in my life again taste anything similar," Alex answered in an absolutely carefree tone, with an innocent look spreading his arms to the sides.
"Lord, what an idiot you still are… Let's go to the elevator faster already before from boredom you get the desire to taste yet some other filth!" Claudia spoke, massaging her forehead with her fingers and emitting a tired sigh, sincerely not understanding what fierce nonsense was going on in this guy's head.
"Well since it has come to that… Maybe then you'll help me finally get rid of this nasty taste in my mouth with the help of your sweet little kiss?" Alex spoke with a smirk, cheerfully shaking his head and looking straight at Claudia.
"Keep dreaming, idiot… But if you want it so strongly, I can simply spit right into you right now. Will such a layout suit you?" Claudia spoke in an extremely dry, even tone, with a habitual motion laying a palm on his face and pushing him aside.
"Hey, you actually lost to me back then in the church! So you still have a debt hanging on you. Where is my legal, promised kiss?" Alex continued to amuse himself and tease her, slightly tilting his head to the side and never taking his sly gaze off Claudia.
The moment Alex pronounced these provocative words, Claudia immediately without warning swung her fist right into his face. In the very last fraction of a second deftly dodging Claudia's heavy fist, Alex slightly laughed and hurried to step forward in order to guaranteed not receive the next thrust without any warning.
Observing the departing Alex, Claudia irritably sighed and for a moment lowered her gaze downward, once more looking at the traces of Jenova's purple blood. Deciding for now not to bother herself extra over Alex's idiotic act, she hurried after him in order to reach the central elevator faster. Only by the left acrid traces of purple blood was it clearly understandable exactly where Sephira had carried the remains of Jenova's body.
Having quickly caught up with Alex, Claudia simply could not help asking his opinion regarding where and with what goal Sephira had at all dragged Jenova away. Adopting an incredibly thoughtful look because of Claudia's question, Alex with a smart expression pretended as if he was deeply reflecting on the essence of the cosmos, after which he only dejectedly shook his head, graphically showing that he had no idea. Having received such an exhaustive answer, Claudia only understandingly nodded her head and continued silently walking beside him.
Walking a parallel course with the remaining part of the squad, Alex could not help laughing at how Barrett, trying with all his strength to seem cool and imperturbable, was comically and carefully stepping along the narrow technical beam in order to overcome the abyss and cross to the neighbouring platform. Claudia also noticed these torments and slightly, barely noticeably smiled.
Having reached the cargo elevator faster than the others, Alex pointed a finger at the traces of Jenova's purple blood which broke off right before the panels. Noticing this, Claudia nodded her head and operatively pressed the call button of the elevator in order to save precious time. When the cabin finally arrived and the heavy doors slid apart, Alex and Claudia saw right inside an enormous, spread-out puddle of purple blood.
And at that very same moment all the remaining members of the group managed to approach them, likewise not missing the repulsive puddle of purple, pulsating from within substance. Hearing the steps of the arrived comrades, Alex turned his head back and met Dean's gaze, after which he unhurriedly nodded his head to him, making it clear that he had personally found out from exactly what cosmic abomination Jenova had been created in her time. Seeing this eloquent gesture, Dean exaggeratedly rolled his eyes, already mentally imagining the entire wild depth of this gastronomic mix.
"Ugh, bitch, what filth… And where the hell does this damn elevator lead?" Barrett spoke, approaching closer together with the others.
"To the office and personal cabinet of the President of Shinra. And right above it is the open roof," Alex answered, turning his head to Barrett and expressively pointing a finger at the ceiling.
"So we're riding straight into the office of the main bastard. Not a bad option turns out," Dean said with a sly smirk, intending to enter the cabin first and still holding by the hood the absolutely carefree Tonberry Steve.
"The perfect time to properly thrash this insolent old bastard and at the same time collect all the percentages from Shinra!" Barrett added, with a crunch cracking his neck, preparing to enter the elevator after Dean.
"Wait!" Aerith loudly spoke before any of them managed to take even one step inside the cabin.
Already preparing to enter the elevator, Dean and Barrett clearly heard Aerith's warning words and instantly stopped. Turning their heads, they looked at her and immediately noticed the unaccustomedly serious, deep expression on her face. Slightly raising an eyebrow, Dean turned his head to Alex, mentally asking him via the link what fly had bitten his girlfriend. Hearing Dean's question right in his head, Alex carelessly waved his hand, likewise mentally answering that right after this ascent they all would one way or another have to leave Midgar for some time. The moment Dean heard these words, he only understandingly nodded his head, silently accepting the layout.
Aerith herself at this moment was extremely and maximally serious. For she perfectly knew that after what would happen on the upper floors, none of them would already be able to return to Midgar in the near time. Even though she could not yet voice aloud the greater part of the coming details, it was vitally important for her to be one hundred percent sure that absolutely each of them was sincerely ready to go further. Shifting her gaze to Alex, Aerith noticed that he was still just as impudently and warmly smiling at her, with his entire demeanour showing that they had from the beginning been heading precisely toward this logical finale.
Taking a deep breath, Aerith finally gathered her thoughts, trying to convince herself that everything would be perfectly fine — even though ahead of them awaited a foggy unknown future and a completely new path which they would definitely need to walk. Noticing this resolute change in Aerith's eyes, Tifa slightly smiled, approached her right up close and carefully took her by the hand, wordlessly expressing her full support.
"What exactly did you want to tell us, Aerith?" Tifa asked softly, still tightly holding Aerith by the palm.
"As soon as we enter this elevator… There will already be no way back for us," Aerith spoke in a quiet voice, slowly sweeping an intent gaze over absolutely everyone in turn.
"And what is all this even supposed to mean? Will we then simply not be able to go back down?" Yuffie asked in a completely puzzled tone, bewilderedly leaning her entire body to the side.
"I… I really cannot tell you everything right now. But if we rise to the very top — that means we will have to go to the very end," Aerith answered, clenching her fists behind her back and shaking her head.
"No need to ask extra questions. After all, we are all ready anyway… Right?" Tifa spoke with a sigh, finally releasing Aerith's palm and first resolutely standing before the open panels of the elevator.
"Yes, we are all absolutely ready! And now everyone into the cabin on the double, or have you decided to hang around here until dawn? I, for example, categorically do not want that. I urgently need strong coffee, healthy sleep and a dose of hugs. And preferably in any convenient sequence!" Alex said with a smile, resolutely stepping inside the elevator and lazily gesturing with his hand in order to hurry everyone up as soon as possible.
Hurrying the others to enter the cabin faster, Alex demonstratively began tapping a finger on non-existent watches on his wrist, graphically showing that precious time did not intend to wait for anyone and it was high time for all of them to move further.
Observing this stupid gesture, Dean only slightly smirked and confidently stepped after, carefully trying not to step on the disgusting puddle of purple blood in the very centre of the elevator. Next inside stepped Barrett, not restraining himself from a loud comment in his habitual stern style — about the fact that personally he was always ready to go to the very victorious end.
Barely had Barrett crossed the threshold of the cabin when after him Yuffie swiftly ran in, who from a run jumped right onto Alex with loud howls about the fact that she categorically did not wish to step with her feet on this purple filth on the floor.
Seeing how Yuffie again with enthusiasm was hanging on Alex, Aerith only heavily exhaled through her nose and resolutely entered the elevator, for a time completely throwing out of her head the alarming thoughts that this for all of them was a one-way ticket out of Midgar. After her unhurriedly entered Red, who stood closer to Barrett, slightly baring his sharp teeth and perfectly understanding what actually lay behind Aerith's warning words.
The last ones who still remained standing outside on the platform were Tifa and Claudia. Looking at her friend, Tifa softly smiled at her and, in a sign of support patting Claudia on the shoulder, first entered the elevator. Sweeping an intent gaze over everyone gathered in the cabin, Claudia slightly snorted and entered last, with her entire demeanour making it clear that since they had climbed so far, she also did not intend to remain on the sidelines.
"Well then, are you ready, kids?" Alex asked with a mischievous smirk, bringing his index finger to the button of the upper floor.
" Aye-aye, Captain!" Dean immediately responded, sincerely laughing and jokingly elbowing Alex in the shoulder.
"I-i-i can't hea-a-ar you!" Alex shouted with laughter at the top of his voice, trying with all his strength to distract the squad from unnecessary and heavy thoughts before the denouement.
" Aye-aye, Captain!" Yuffie joyfully shouted, with enthusiasm victoriously raising a little fist over her head.
"Then our next stop is the luxurious office of the main bastard of Midgar!" Alex summed up with a predatory smile and with a swing smashed his fist against the elevator control panel.
When the massive elevator doors smoothly closed, Alex with satisfaction noticed that the mood of all the members of the team had noticeably risen thanks to his stupid joke. No one was any longer turning over in their head the heavy, alarming words that Aerith had just pronounced.
Preserving his former cheerful smile, Alex thoughtfully thought about what exactly awaited them at the very top. As far as he remembered the canon, the elevator was supposed to arrive exactly on the sixty-ninth floor — having passed through which, they would fall straight into the luxurious office of the President of Shinra.
However after all the chaos arranged here and the shift of events Alex was no longer completely sure whether the President of Shinra himself was still alive at this moment or whether Sephira had long ago managed to finish off this arrogant old man. Thoughtfully tilting his head to the side and immersing deeper into reflections about the coming, Alex heard Barrett's loud, anticipatory comment — about how strongly the latter wanted to see with his own eyes the mug of the President of Shinra when their entire armed crowd burst into his office with a kick.
Slightly pursing his lips from such a comment, Alex with enormous difficulty restrained the irresistible desire to comment aloud on that simple fact that the old bastard by this moment might already calmly be lying with a pierced chest. The elevator quickly and silently arrived on the sixty-ninth floor.
Alex exited first and immediately noticed a distinct, poisonously shimmering trail of Jenova's purple blood which stretched in a continuous thread through the entire long corridor of the Executive Offices. Exiting after Alex, the remaining members of the squad also without difficulty made out this horrific purple trail that was literally pointing with a finger to them exactly where they should go further.
"So not only we alone are burning with the desire right now to visit this old bastard… Hmmm," Barrett gloomily snorted and with the first confident step moved along the traces of purple blood.
"Hurry! If we push harder, we'll still manage to catch Sephira before she finally leaves!" Claudia said sharply and quickly rushed forward along the corridor.
"Claudia, stop! Don't rush so!" Tifa shouted worriedly and immediately ran after her friend who had again broken ahead.
Seeing how Claudia and Tifa were running forward like a hurricane, Alex emitted a long, deep sigh of sincere irritation from such lack of coordination. Barrett also did not waste a single second and dashed after together with Red in order to catch up as soon as possible with the girls who had broken ahead. Understanding that his recent desire to properly clean out and rob the rich local executive offices again had to be postponed until better times, Alex swiftly scooped Aerith by the waist and together with Dean ran after the others.
Having run up the high steps upward, Dean simply could not help complaining aloud about the fact that over the recent time they had been running far too much on their own two feet, and this endless marathon was already beginning to thoroughly annoy him. Hearing such a melancholy comment, Alex could not restrain himself and mentally via the link revealed a secret to Dean: right after the successful escape from Shinra headquarters all of them awaited yet another unforgettable chase.
And the moment these words sounded in his head, Dean immediately hurried to clarify in exactly what conditions this very chase would take place. Hearing in response that they would be escaping pursuit by car, Dean only slightly complained that at the wheel would be neither he himself nor his beloved "baby," however he still remained extremely satisfied with how exactly the further events would unfold.
Briefly nodding his head, Alex increased his pace in order to catch up faster with the vanguard that had broken ahead. Running out into the spacious main hall of the seventieth floor, Alex saw how Claudia and Tifa were fully running up the grand steps leading straight to the office of the President of Shinra, and right behind them at the limit of their strength were running Barrett and Red. Deciding not to waste precious time at all on the long ascent by the staircase, Alex warningly told Yuffie and Aerith hanging on him to hold on to him as tightly as possible, after which he made a powerful jump high upward.
Having leaped high enough, Alex forcefully pushed off backward from a massive marble column and made an elegant somersault in the air, ideally landing right on the metal railings of the balcony — exactly opposite the massive doors leading into the President's office. Seeing this spectacular trick, Dean jumped after and deftly pushed off from a neighbouring marble column, just as leaping onto the balcony of the seventieth floor. Jumping down from the railings onto the even floor, Alex carefully released Aerith and Yuffie from his arms, after which he swaggeringly approached the main doors of the office of the President of Shinra.
"Well finally we got here… Yeah, even sincerely interesting to look at what kind of office this old fool built for himself," Alex said in a thoughtful tone, parallelly rummaging through his pockets and taking out Tseng's trophy key-card.
"I bet exactly a hundred that this old fool arranged for himself an unrealistically expensive and pompous office. He even built himself an entire golden statue in full height, so the office here will definitely be no worse," Dean answered with a sly smirk, swaggeringly leaning his shoulder against the stone wall.
"Seriously? A golden statue?" Alex asked, slightly raising an eyebrow from surprise, turning his head to Dean.
"Yep! It's standing right now in the Shinra museum on the lower floors. I would of course with enormous pleasure steal it, but it's far too big, heavy and useless. Better if they stored rare Materia in their museum — that would really be cool!" Yuffie joined the conversation, folding her arms on her chest and continuously and quite actively nodding her head.
Looking at the inspired Yuffie, Alex playfully pinched the tip of her nose so that she would at least for a short time stop planning large-scale museum thefts. Releasing the nose of the displeasedly snorting Yuffie, Alex shifted his gaze toward the stair flights and noticed that Tifa with Claudia had already risen upward, and right after them on the balcony appeared the out-of-breath Barrett and Red.
Having waited until all the members of the squad gathered at the entrance, Alex confidently applied Tseng's key-card to the electronic scanner and first stepped inside. Having passed together with everyone through a small isolated corridor, Alex again used the key-card, opening the last massive doors and along the way trying to completely ignore the impatient, irritated comments of Barrett who already physically could not wait a single second.
The moment the last panels smoothly slid apart, before them appeared the view of a quite refined, spacious office of the President of Shinra. Entering inside the spacious premises, everyone immediately began actively looking around in search of the old idiot because of whom this whole mess had begun at all.
Unhurriedly advancing deeper into the luxurious office, Alex involuntarily caught himself on the thought that he had expected far greater visual refinement from a person who had long ago mentally considered himself the full-fledged ruler of the entire world and the main architect of the "city of the future." On Barrett's face instantly appeared an incredibly frowning and disappointed expression because of the fact that he had not managed to see before himself the one for the sake of whom he had at all climbed into this cursed citadel.
"And where the hell is this old bastard? Did he manage to escape while we were rising?!" Barrett pronounced in an evil tone, already mentally enrolling the President of Shinra into the ranks of cowardly rats.
"Quiet… What was that? Seems I… I hear something. From there," Red suddenly spoke, warily twitching his long ears and trying to exactly determine the source of the alien noise.
The moment Red's wary voice sounded, all the members of the squad first together turned their heads in his direction, and then also began clearly hearing a barely perceptible, filled with wild horror male scream desperately calling for help. Having walked to the very polished desk of the President of Shinra, Alex immediately noticed an enormous through hole in the smashed panoramic window — as if someone with inhuman strength had simply been thrown outside.
Understandingly nodding his head and finally realising that Sephira had preferred to throw the President of Shinra out the window instead of an ordinary murder on the spot, Alex with a habitual motion lit a thin cigar and unhurriedly walked to the doors leading straight onto the open landing pad.
Following in the direction of the source of the noise, absolutely everyone managed without difficulty to distinguish the painfully familiar arrogant voice which right now was helplessly begging for salvation. Following Alex out into the fresh air, the team exited onto the helipad in order to personally see in exactly what pitiful state the President of Shinra was right now.
Stopping opposite the mutilated steel railings, Alex simply could not help thinking about exactly how this decrepit old man had at all managed to survive after such a monstrous blow from which even the thickest metal had bent as if a dry branch.
Approaching right up to the bent railings from where the desperate cry for help was sounding, they with their own eyes saw the main culprit of all their troubles who at that very moment with the very last of his strength was clinging with all his fingers to the metal crossbar over the roaring abyss.
Seeing this terrible picture, Tifa from habit wanted to hurry and help him climb out, but Alex timely raised his hand, not allowing her to take even a step toward the edge. Barrett widely and predatorily smirked, folding his arms on his broad chest and with unsurpassed pleasure observing this pitiful struggle for life.
Aerith only quietly and heavily sighed, looking at Alex with a silent request to still do at least something. Quietly sighing, Alex unhurriedly stepped over the bent metal railings and with a cheerful, mischievous smile lowered his gaze onto the President of Shinra. Observing the unceasing fear and panic in the eyes of the commander-in-chief of Shinra who was trying with all his strength to hold his weight over the abyss, Alex unhurriedly squatted before him on his haunches.
"Well hello to you, old bastard. Wonderful night tonight turned out, don't you find yourself?" Alex pronounced in a mocking tone, deeply drawing on the thin cigar and looking straight into the frightened eyes of the President of Shinra.
To be continued...
(I feel absolutely terrible today. At first, I thought it was just a headache, but it turns out I've actually fallen ill again. How did this happen? Don't ask—that's a question for another time. Anyway, moving on to other matters: we have a few events coming up, including the appearance of Rufus and a subsequent escape before the battle with Fate. As we head toward that point, I'd like to hear your thoughts on Ciri making an appearance. I'm even open to dedicating a whole chapter—or at least part of one—to her. It'll all depend on my mood. One thing I am certain of, though, is that Valerie's group and Alex's group are going to cross paths. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take some medicine and get some rest. Peace, love, and—seriously, can someone else go to work in my place? I am fucking exhausted.)
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