Final Fantasy VII: Reflections - Book 1: Descent

TWENTY-FOUR

"Alright," I said. "Give it a try."

As I scooted out from under the sink, Tifa took a glass from one of the cabinets while Biggs and Wedge watched from the other side of the bar in breathless anticipation. After meeting them outside a few hours ago early this morning, I had let them guide me to the market district, where I'd bought myself a nice new set of tools in one of the shops that sat along the main road. It was bigger and more expansive than the one Reeve had given me and came in a nice black case.

Gathering the parts to make a filter had taken longer, and we'd had to do some scrounging in the junk piles for that. But those places were a treasure trove to me and a useful place to find supplies—I'd done my share of scavenging back in Sector 5 to find materials for my repairs, so I was used to it by then. The ones in Sector 7 had a lot more to choose from and look through, and I was starting to realize that different parts of the slums had different goodies to find.

Biggs and Wedge were such a great help, showing me the largest of the scrap piles and all the ones that had the best loot. We spent half the morning searching for parts and things I could turn into parts—being a scavenger meant making do with whatever you could find, and I was very good at taking discarded pieces of metal, plastic, or anything else I could get and making them into useful components like valves or filter tubes. The guys and I found everything I needed.

Once we had enough, we brought it all back to the Seventh Heaven and got to work. The place didn't open until later in the day, so we had it all to ourselves. Tifa and the guys watched in fascination as I got out my new tools and started putting the filter and its parts together. They handed me different things when I needed them and found other ways to help, and now it was time for the big test.

I stood up as Tifa came back over to the sink with the glass. When she turned it on and the water started pouring out, we all smiled. That rotten egg smell was gone! So far, so good. But there was still one more part of the test. I couldn't help feeling a little nervous, but I did my best not to show it, hiding it behind a practiced, confident grin as Tifa filled up the glass with water. I almost laughed when I realized the guys and I were practically holding our breath.

Tifa's eyes widened when she drank some. "Oh, wow! It's amazing! Totally different! Jessie, give it a try!"

"Now this is good water!" I beamed as I took a sip.

"Hey, what about us?" Wedge asked.

Biggs gulped some down after I handed him the glass. "Damn! It's like night and day! Totally awesome!"

"Oh, you're right!" Wedge went next. "This is so good!"

Tifa chuckled. "Want some more, guys?"

Biggs grinned. "Hell yeah!"

Taking the glass back, she put it down for a minute, then got three others from the cabinet. After that, she and I filled them all up one at a time, a glass for each of us. Once the guys had theirs and we had ours, I lifted mine in a little toast.

"To clean water and good friends," I said.

"Hear, hear!" Biggs agreed.

After sharing a laugh and clinking our glasses together, we all took a good, long drink of that wonderful water. I don't think I ever enjoyed a glass more in my life. Maybe it was the company, and the fact that I'd been able to do something good for my new friends.

Tifa lifted her glass again and smiled. "To Jessie, for getting us that clean water. May it never run dry."

"To Jessie," Biggs agreed.

"Jessie," Wedge echoed, raising his glass, too.

I blushed. "You guys... thanks. Just glad I could help."