Inception: Book 1 (FFVII Remake)

Ch.12

The plate that was called Sector 6 now is nothing more than an endless pile of rubble. Lying under a steel beam that could collapse at any moment was Sara. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around.

Sara was speechless at seeing the debris and the night sky above them. She didn't want to believe that all of this was real and that when she closed her eyes again, she will wake up in her cozy tiny apartment and all of this was a nightmare.

Yet, the feeling of the dirt beneath reminded her that it was real, and Shinra did the unthinkable.

Sara looked around once again; she didn't see Cloud and the others. She remembered that the zip line they used to escape Sector 7 took them as far as Sector 6. However, the rope broke off the moment they were in Sector 6, and they all fell. Sara hoped that they are alive. She crawled out from being under the steel beam and started walking through a narrow path surrounded by rubble. She stopped and crawled through a small pipe that may have been a drain pipe from the plate. It wasn't wet or slimy but dry, and Sara didn't care that her clothes were filthy. Once she got out of the pipe, a familiar voice cried out to her.

"Sara!!"

She looked up and saw Tifa rushing over to her, hugging her. Sara almost stubbled backward but held her ground. She looked over Tifa's shoulder and saw Cloud looking at her with eyes full of relief.

"I'm so glad you're alive," Tifa said.

"But, where's Barret?" Sara asked with a worried look.

Before Tifa answered, they heard a loud voice somewhere nearby.

"Hey! Anybody out there?!"

Tifa gasped and rushed over to where she heard Barret's voice.

"I think I hear him over here," Tifa said.

Tifa touched her hands on a wall that look like someone could push it down since it was barely attached to the surrounding rubble. Together, Tifa and Cloud pushed it, and down it went. What they saw on the other side left them with no words to describe.

Where once stood, the gate that leads to the slums of Sector 7 was now destroyed. Smoke, flames went up to the sky, and ash fell on the ground. Pipes, beams, and an endless pile of broken cement were in every direction. It was all that remained of the gate to Sector 7.

In front of the destroyed gate was Barret, who stood in front of a collapsed wall. He stood there alone with a sad expression.

"Marlene...Marlene. Marlene! Marlene!"

Barret's voice began to shout louder with hints of sadness and anger.

"MARLENE!!!" Barret cried out in agony, "BIGGS! WEDGE! JESSIE!"

The silence was the only thing that responded to Barret's call.

"Goddamnit." Barret sobbed.

As if he didn't let enough out, Barret began to punch the wreckage with his fist and continued to yell.

"GODDAMN YOU! GODDAMN, YOU ALL!!"

He was beyond furious at Shinra. He couldn't believe that they would do something like this. It was beyond forgivable. He couldn't believe that he lost Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. Yet, what hurt him the most was losing Marlene.

"Marlene..." Barret sobbed, "Marlene..."

Marlene was never Barret's biological daughter; her parents died when she was barely a year old. Barret adopted her because her parents were friends of his. Yet, he made an oath to her parents that he would raise Marlene as if she was his own and take care of her. Thus, the child grew attached to him.