Some Surprises Before Moving On

Morning brought new hope for the team as one by one they began to wake up and make their way into the bar. Jessie and Biggs had made sure they were up first so that no one would know that they spent the night together. Soon after that, Ace, Quistis, and Cecil had joined them. Jessie began making breakfast and coffee and the yummy smell pulled Tifa out of her room. When she came out, everyone’s eyes went wide.

“What’s with the looks?”

“Your old outfit?” Jessie looked her up and down approvingly.

“Well it was in my dresser. I thought about putting the cloths I had been wearing back on but…” She stopped when she noticed Cecil staring at her. She looked down at herself and took in her outfit. The white tank top didn’t cover her belly and her black mini skirt didn’t cover much either. The suspenders connected to the skirt and the elbow length black fingerless gloves were meant to play up the outfit. She had originally worn this outfit because it helped her get tips while working the bar and also allowed for ease of movement. Now though she felt heat rising in her cheeks as she blushed at his stares.

“You look great,” he finally managed to say. She gave him a smile and a nod and then went to help Jessie finish the food.

“Umm, where are Fran and Wedge?”

“Wedge wasn’t in his room this morning so I assumed he went out for last minute supplies,” Jessie said.

As if on cue, Fran’s door opened and she and Wedge came out. The portly man’s hair was still a mess and he was still in the cloths he had been wearing to bed since he hadn’t slept in his own room. The Viera had her normal cloths in her hands and was wearing borrowed cloths from the dresser. There was still a little dried cum on her throat, but she simply nodded to the shocked group and went to the bathroom to shower and change, leaving Wedge to face the group alone.

“W-what happened last night,” Jessie asked.

“O-oh well…. We sort of both were up last night and….. Um….”

“For fuck’s sake man, spit it out,” Biggs called, wanting to get some real details.

“We were both lonely and one thing led to another. It wasn’t planned I swear!”

Tifa came over to the young man and gave him a hug. Wedge was surprised but hugged her back.

“As long as you enjoyed yourself and you are both happy, then we’re happy for you.”

“Thanks Tifa. Now, I need to go get cleaned up.” He nodded to her shyly and then stepped into the bathroom where the shower was already running.

“That little fucker,” Biggs said, shaking his head in amazement.

Jessie stared after him, wondering if she had chosen the right guy last night. Biggs had been fun, but she didn’t feel like she had a future with him. Wedge was a sweet guy and she knew he had a crush on her, but now he might have moved on from her entirely. Her emotions were starting to tangle up on her and she wasn’t sure where her romantic interests truly lie.

After Wedge and Fran finished a suspiciously long shower, the group finally was all together. A quick breakfast was eaten and then everyone gathered their gear. Tifa led everyone back to sector six. The place had changed overnight. The thugs were gone, having either fled or been killed. The dress maker and his daughter were passing out food to some of the other rescued girls from the night before and where the Honey Bee had stood was now just a pile of rubble. The men from the gym could be seen carrying off the infamous sign to the junk dealer.

While the group waved at some of their friends, they didn’t stop. Tifa led them back to the entrance of Corneo’s mansion, and Cecil saw her shiver when she saw the door. She didn’t let her feelings over what happened stop her though, and instead headed to the right of the building to where a long cable was hanging down.

“We can climb up here! It will be a long way up but…. Oh wait! I forgot we need some batteries. Stay here guys, I’ll be right back.”

Tifa ran off, leaving the others to wait for her. Cecil looked up the cable and could see that a lot of junk seemed to be suspended from the plate above them. It looked ready to fall at any moment.

“She really went up this before,” asked Wedge more to himself than anyone in particular. Fran put a hand on his shoulder and assured him that they would be fine. Quistis gave the cable a test pull and nodded to herself.

“Seems fairly well connected. Should hold our weight without problem.”

Shortly after that, Tifa returned with the batteries she had mentioned and the group began their climb. It took them nearly three hours because of how treacherous the journey was. Parts of their walk way started to give way and the narrow paths for them made the going slow. More than once someone slipped, but they worked together and managed to keep each other going.

Finally their hard work paid off and they reached a manhole that led up to the plate. They thought the hard part was over and as the last of them was being pulled from the manhole, an explosion rocked the street a few blocks down.