Blood & Sympathy (FFVII: Vincent x OC)

Ch48 - Evacuating Midgar

Jocasta's hand reached for her forehead. The back of her palm wiped the sweat that had gathered there. It hadn't started raining yet, and even though the breeze was chilly, she couldn't help sweating as she looked around her, searching for people. Jocasta and Vincent had agreed to evacuate Sector six. The Turks had ordered whatever was left of Shinra's police force and infantrymen, to obey to the team's commands. The entire team had scattered around the sectors, with the Turks, evacuating the City.

Tseng and Elena, had left with a squad, to look for the President in the damaged Shinra HQ. Barret and Red had set off to make sure Marlene and Elmyra were safe. Jocasta had a team of Shinra's infantrymen following her around the buildings, while they searched for survivors in the endless rubble of what used to be buildings. The City was a mess. The damage on the Sectors was critical and after that evacuation, no one would be able to rebuild their homes after this.

It didn't matter anymore. Meteor was closer than ever. It was only a matter of hours now before the end of the world. The infantrymen and Jocasta pushed the rubble away with their bare hands. They had nothing else in the midst of all this chaos, and thank goodness they were Mako infused and she was an enhanced specimen, and all that mixture of metal and cement, wasn't too difficult for them to pick up and throw aside. Jocasta extended her hand and grabbed the people that were trapped in it. She pulled them out. There were also children, and women, and elderly. They all gave her looks and words of gratitude as they pulled them all to the surface and the infantrymen led them to safety.

Shinra had let out whatever vehicles they had left, and they loaded the people in them and took them away from the City. Jocasta looked at her hands. Bleeding cuts and deep wounds made by the pile of metal and bricks that she had tried to push away with all the strength that she had.

She winced as she pulled out a piece of a fractured glass that had buried itself into her palm. She groaned as she watched the wounds taking their time to heal. She would have to deal with them later. What mattered the most now, was the safety of the people.

Jocasta's enhanced senses caught the crying of a child. She turned around. Her eyes scanned the perimeter and the streets, and the infantrymen waited for her orders.

"Ma'am?"

"Shush!" She hushed him immediately. She took her moment to make sure that it was an actual child that was crying somewhere beneath the rubble of the building that they stood on "Here," she said and she pointed beneath their feet "There's somebody down here. Help me,"

The infantrymen helped immediately, getting on their knees and taking off the large piles of bricks that were stuck together with cement. After a long moment of grunting, and wincing, and further slicing the wounds in her hands, they finally revealed that child that was crying beneath it all. Another infantryman pushed the last bricks away from the little boy's back and Jocasta immediately set off to pick the boy up. He had brown messy hair, bright blue eyes filled with tears as they streamed down his dusted cheeks.

Jocasta picked him up in her hug and she let the boy cry on her shoulder. Her hand found his back, softly caressing him. "It's gonna be okay... we found you," she said reassuringly. It almost reminded her of Sephiroth. She gritted her teeth as she remembered him, but she turned her attention back at the boy.

"W- where's my mom? My parents?" he asked and Jocasta bit her tongue. She didn't know if they had already rescued them or not. Maybe they could be in that pile of bodies that lied dead in the streets. What was she supposed to answer to that? That poor soul had done nothing to deserve this. Just like so many people that had died that day. And her own daughter had caused all of that.

Jocasta felt bitterness. What had Hojo done to her? Hester didn't seem so frightened of him. She didn't want him dead in the first place. Nevertheless, Jocasta knew that she had no time to ponder on these thoughts now.