FORTY-NINE

I narrowed my eyes while Rude flexed his fists. "Guess you're here to keep me from getting to the pillar in time."

"It's my job," he said.

"I've heard that before," I said, hefting my sword.

Rude's face had all the expression of a piece of rock as I faced him. On either side of me, Wedge and Lena stood ready. They'd done pretty well helping me against those troops and mechs earlier, but a Turk was something else. Still, I appreciated the backup. Lena glared at Rude, her own fists up, while Wedge gripped his large assault weapon, some kind of combined rifle and flamethrower. He looked a little battered, but he didn't waver as Rude advanced on us.

He lunged at me, but I got my sword up just in time to block as his fist struck the flat of the blade. Lena pummeled him from one side as I spun around and caught him with the butt end of the hilt on the other. Rude staggered back just in time to get singed by Wedge. I pressed the attack, cutting at him and catching him across the shoulder while Lena drove a few more punches into his stomach.

Rude struck at Wedge next, hitting him with a right cross before he could fire, and he tumbled backward into the dirt with a pained groan. Lena and I closed in on Rude, but he whipped his other arm at me in a swift backhand punch that smashed me in the chest. I slid backwards a little but stayed on my feet as Lena took advantage of his distraction to drive her foot solidly into his back.

A low grunt was all the sound he made, but instead of trying to hit Lena back, he backed away and laid into me again, fists flying. But this time I was ready, blocking the first few hits and dodging the rest. As he went past me, carried forward by his momentum, I quickly chilled him out with a shot of ice from my materia.

Lena tried to follow up with a punch to the face, but Rude grabbed her arm and thrust some sort of vial at her with his other hand. Almost at once, she slumped over and collapsed. Wedge roared and shot it out of his hand while I drove Rude back with several quick slashes. I didn't hit him, but the attack did force him away.

"Lena, wake up!" Wedge tugged on her shoulder.

She stirred. "Huh?"

I glanced at her as I traded blows with Rude. "Some kinda sleeping gas. He got you with it back there."

"Ugh, what a cheater!" she muttered.

"He's a Turk," I grimaced. "They don't fight fair."

Wedge helped her up. "Yeah, but we can still beat him!"

Lena's hazel eyes burned. "Damn right we can! Let's show him just what Avalanche is made of!"

She sprang at Rude in a flash, driving her fists hard into his ribs as I slashed at him again and again, scoring a few small hits. Wedge sent a blast of flame at him from his gun, forcing him to back away in a hurry to avoid getting torched. But doing so sent Rude off balance, and while I kept the pressure on with my sword, Lena nailed him with a string of quick punches ending with a high kick to the face that shattered one of the lenses of his dark sunglasses.

Rude stepped back for a moment. "Those aren't cheap."

He took off his broken shades and tossed them aside. After that, he reached into his jacket, took out another pair, opened them with a flick of his wrist, and put them on. Then he flexed his gloved fists, obviously ready for more as Tseng watched silently from the chopper. He glanced over his shoulder for a moment, but there weren't any windows on the side so I couldn't see who he was talking to. Then his gaze went back to us as Rude made a beckoning motion to me.

I twirled my sword. "Bring it!"


"Heard you gave Rude a beating," Reno said.

I smirked. "Kicked his ass, yeah."

He snickered. "Guess I got no choice but to kick yours, then. Don't mean I can't enjoy it, though."

"See if you enjoy this!" Tifa shot back.

She lunged forward before she'd even finished talking, letting loose with a flurry of punches and kicks before Reno even knew that she was moving. He staggered back under her assault at first, then blocked with his nightstick after her first few blows had nicely screwed up his pretty boy looks. Tifa and Reno stayed in a deadlock for a moment, but then I came swinging in, driving him back and smacking him right across the face with the flat of Buster's wide blade.

As the chopper rose up in the air, Reno shook off the blow, snarled, and darted past me in a flash, driving his nightstick down and causing an eruption of fire where it struck the platform. The blast tossed me up into the air, but I flipped into a somersault and came down on my feet. Tifa went at him again while Barret fired at the chopper, which looked to be coming around for an attack run.

"Heads up, guys!" I yelled.

Running across the platform to where I'd left Jessie near the power generators, I dove, grabbed her, and rolled over to shield her as gunfire ripped across the area. I saw to my relief that both Tifa and Barret had also taken cover. Oddly, Reno hadn't seized the opportunity to get back to the console and confirm the detonation sequence. He had backed up as the chopper had flown overhead and waited for us to come back out instead. Didn't make any sense to me.

"You okay?" I asked Jessie as I got up.

She nodded. "Yeah. Go… take care of Reno. Keep him busy, Cloud. I'm… going for the… console."

I helped her sit up. "You sure you can get there?"

"Try to stop me," Jessie winked, giving me a thumbs up.

"Good luck," I told her.

She nodded. "You too, SOLDIER boy."

I took her hand, clasped it for a moment, and nodded back. Then I let go and went back to the fight. Tifa was going after Reno relentlessly, not letting up for a second as he darted across the area. Her fists were a blur of motion as she spun, ducked, and flipped again and again, and at the same time, Barret took shots at the helicopter whenever it flew into range. When it wasn't, he chased Reno with bullets.

I rushed in, slashing with Buster again and again. Reno was quick, though, blocking with his nightstick. Sparks flashed with every hit, but I didn't let up. Neither did Tifa, who came in from the other side. Reno moved fast, but he couldn't fend us both off for long, and we knew it. I mixed in a few blasts of lighting to keep him off balance while Tifa got the hint and added some ice as well.

As we fought, I noticed Jessie making her way to the console a little at a time, using her good arm to pull herself along the platform. It was slow going, and I knew she'd need time to get there. Lucky for us, Reno hadn't seen her yet. I intended to keep it that way.

Then the chopper flew in for another pass, but this time Barret was ready. He shot it in the fuel line just before it would've opened fire, and as bullets tore into the engine, it started to explode. Smoke poured out from it as it soared past us, and then it suddenly blew apart in a blazing inferno. The flaming hunk of metal plunged out of sight to crash down on the ground somewhere far below us.

"Ah, hell…" Reno muttered. "Guess it's time for backup."


Baldy laid into Kunsel again with his gloved fists but only got a few glancing hits in. The sword deflected the rest while I came in from the side with a furry of punches and Wedge clipped him with his gun. The guy stumbled back but stayed on his feet. Kunsel didn't let up, slashing again and again in a blur of motion that kept Baldy on the move or else risk being sliced wide open.

"Didn't know you could dance, Rude!" Kunsel taunted.

Rude didn't reply, but I couldn't resist getting in a dig of my own. "I could do better moves in my sleep!"

Then I laid into him with a quick chain of punches and kicks while Kunsel gave him some chin music with a blast of fire magic and Wedge added a bit of his own from his flamethrower. Rude grunted, then went after Kunsel even though I was a lot closer to him. As I spun around to catch Rude from the back, I realized he hadn't gone after me at all aside from using the sleep gas on me. Did he not like hurting girls? Maybe I could use that to our advantage. I tugged on my black leather gloves as the beginnings of an idea formed in my mind.

If he wasn't going to retaliate against me, then I could be aggressive and not worry about getting hit in return. I didn't really know if Wedge had caught on yet, but Kunsel surely had. When I held up a finger and pointed at Rude from behind him, he smirked and nodded, getting the message. If the boys could keep Baldy distracted and focused on them, I could cause some real pain in the meantime.

Rude shoved Wedge back with several hard punches to the gut and face, and I saw red. I jumped on Baldy with a yell, pounding him again and again and sinking my teeth into the back of his neck while Kunsel drove the hilt of his sword into his face. Then I leaped off, doing a little backflip and slamming Rude with my feet in the middle of it. My boots hit him squarely in the back and sent him stumbling forward as Wedge singed him with another shot of fire.

As soon as I landed, I went right back in, throwing my fists at Rude in a blur as he turned around. He blocked some of my punches but not all of them, and as I unloaded on him and the guys kept him off guard with their own attacks, I drew my gun, gave it a quick little toss, caught it by the barrel, and pistol-whipped Rude right across the face with the handle. He groaned and staggered to one knee.

"It's over, Baldy," I told him.

Just then, there was a sudden blast of thunder, and we all looked to see one of the other Shinra choppers explode near the top of the pillar. It came crashing down in the outskirts in a haze of fire and smoke. The last one had gone down earlier—I'd noticed it crashing into the side of the pillar and blowing up, and I hoped Tifa and the others were alright. It did mean there was only one left, though.

Kunsel knew it, too. "You're almost outta birds, Rude. Things don't seem to be going your way."

"Rude," the other Turk called. "Time to go."

"Understood," he said.

Slowly standing up, Rude brushed himself off and went back to the chopper. He settled into the pilot's seat and closed the door, and then a moment later, the bird lifted off. We watched as it flew back toward the pillar, heading toward the platform where our friends had to be. It was just too far away. By the time we'd have gotten there and climbed to the top, the battle would've been long over.

"Damn…" Kunsel swore. He knew it as well as I did.

Wedge sighed. "Sure we can't help the others?"

He shook his head. "Too far away and not enough time. Not even a SOLDIER can climb fifteen stories that fast. Best thing for you guys to do now is find your friend and get outta here. I've got one of my own I need to get back to as well. We've done all we can."

We were all battered and hurting, the guys more than me, but still, I knew I'd still have gone up there to help the others if there'd been any chance that we could reach them in time. But there wasn't. As we stood there and watched, we saw that the chopper was already hovering near the platform. Getting back to the pillar and running up all those flights of stairs—if they were still intact, which wasn't likely—would take way too long. I hated it but couldn't deny it. I thought of our friends, of Tifa and Barret, of Jessie and Cloud.

"Good luck, guys…" I murmured. "Be safe."


Another chopper arrived less than thirty seconds after the first one had gone down. This one didn't attack, though. Instead, it landed along the far side of the platform. I narrowed my eyes when I saw who was in the pilot's chair, but I wasn't surprised. Rude pushed open the door and jumped down to the platform while Tifa, Barret, and I eyed him warily. I kept Buster raised and ready.

"Hey, partner," Reno said. "Glad you made it."

Rude fell in beside him. "Got hung up."

Reno laughed. "Beat up, more like. You look like shit, pal."

"You're one to talk," Rude smirked.

Neither of the Turks looked good. Both of them were bloodied and bruised, Reno more than Rude. We'd given him a good thrashing, but it looked like someone else had done the same to Rude. Whoever it was, they'd done us a favor. It didn't seem like either of them had much of a fight left in them. That would definitely help us.

Reno chuckled. "Guess I can't really argue with ya. We got us some stubborn little shitbirds here."

"Walk away," I told them. "While you still can."

"No," Rude said.

Reno hefted his nightstick. "Let's teach 'em the Turks two-step! We ain't done just yet, Mr. First Class!"

Barret snorted. "Confident, ain't we?"

"You want more pain, we've got it for ya!" Tifa added.

"Let's dance, asshole," I beckoned to Reno.

He snarled and lunged at me with his nightstick, which was exactly what I'd intended. Jessie hadn't reached the console just yet—I saw her out of the corner of my eye—but she was getting close. Just had to keep the Turks distracted for a little longer. Tifa sprang at Rude while Barret chased both him and Reno with gunfire. I easily blocked Reno's swings before shoving him back and slashing at him.

Tifa slammed Rude with a blazing shower of punches and kicks as she quickly closed in on him, sending him reeling backward. He didn't attack her, though, but simply tried to avoid her. Didn't do a very good job of it as she kept up the pressure and made his face look like a piece of raw meat. Barret followed it up with a blast of fire from his materia, searing Rude and keeping him off balance.

At the same time, I cut at Reno, driving him across the platform as much as I could. He deflected a lot of my attacks, but that didn't matter to me. The point was to keep him away from the console for as long as I could. I mixed in a few shots of lightning with slashes from Buster as I fought, and at first, I thought I had him. But then, when he suddenly spun away from me, he saw Jessie.

"Oh, no, you don't!" he snarled. "Sneaky bitch!"

I swept Buster out and across, and it sparked against his nightstick as I stared him down. "Touch her and die."

Reno growled, then sped over to the console in a flash of pale blue energy. I ran after him as the others turned to see what was happening, and though Tifa tried to stop him, she was too far away, and he moved too fast for Barret to get a shot at him. But although Reno got there just before Jessie, he stopped, his hand hovering over the control panel and the button that would set off the bomb.

"Wait…" Jessie said. "Reno, listen to me…"

He looked at her. "Huh?"

Jessie was almost to the console, gazing thoughtfully at him as she propped herself up with her good arm. "I know you don't… wanna do this. As fast as… you can move… you could've set it off… half a dozen times… by now. You know… I'm right."

"The hell do you know about me?" Reno asked.

"Don't you remember?" she said.

He blinked in recognition. "You're that actress chick…"

"That… that's right," Jessie said. She winced in pain, but her brown eyes never left him. "You helped me once. A long… time ago. Over two years. I was… trying to get off… the plate. Almost made it, but… then you two showed up. You… had me trapped."

Rude walked over to join Reno. "I remember."

Jessie went on. "You could've… easily caught me and… turned me over… to my father. But… you didn't. You let me go. Because you both knew… what he'd do to me. He'd have… had me killed. And I've never forgotten… how you saved me… that night."

"So just what are you sayin', sister?" Reno asked.

"I need you… to help me again," she urged him. "Don't go through with this. If you do… a lot of innocent people… will die. Including me. And I don't think… you want that… on your conscience, Reno. Please, help me. A job's one thing, but this… this is too much."

Reno gazed at her and the console as its voice continued to ask for final confirmation. At first, his hand didn't budge, and we all waited to see what he'd do. But then, he glanced over at his partner. Rude nodded back, and then Reno looked down at the flashing button. He closed his eyes for a moment before slowly lowering his arm.

"Screw this shit…" he sighed.

"Reno!" a man's voice snapped like a whip from inside the chopper. Another Turk, sitting in the co-pilot's seat. "You have your orders! Just what do you think you're doing!?"

Reno grimaced. "You wanna drop this thing, Tseng? Do it yourself. I ain't havin' any part of this bullshit."

"Agreed," Rude added.

Then Reno turned and walked away, Rude supporting him as they headed back over to the chopper. Tseng was fuming, but he didn't stop them. I just looked at Tifa and Barret in wonder, then at Jessie. She was at the console, struggling to pull herself to her feet. Tifa hurried over to her and carefully helped her up. Jessie stopped to catch her breath for a moment, leaning heavily against the control panel, and then quickly set about trying to disarm the detonator.

"Do you know how to stop it?" Tifa asked her.

Jessie smiled. "You bet, Tifa. Just… leave it to me. I can shut this… puppy down… in no time."

Tseng stepped out of the chopper. "Don't bother."

"Why's that?" she asked.

"It's rigged to blow if anyone tries to disarm it," he said.

Jessie smirked. "Well… unfortunately for you, I know how… to get around… your little booby trap. And… I'm proud to announce… that I just did! Wasn't… much of a challenge."

"I'm afraid it won't do you any good," Tseng replied.

"And why's that?" she said.

He stared coldly at her. "Because this console can only be disabled by a Shinra Executive Director."

"You're… forgetting something… Tseng," Jessie laughed. "I used to be one! Youngest… in the company's history, remember? Director… of Systems Operation. And I still… have… access!"

With that, her good hand flew over the keys, tapping in commands in a blur of motion as I shared a stunned glance with Tifa and Barret. I had known, as they did, that Jessie had worked for Shinra. But we'd had no idea she'd been so high up in the company ranks. I didn't think that Systems Operation was one of the main divisions, though. More likely a secondary department, probably under Urban Development. But she had still held the rank of Director nevertheless.

With a final tap, Jessie finished entering a long string of letters and numbers into a prompt she'd brought up. Then the button went dark as the red text on the monitor changed to green and the female computer voice spoke the words we all wanted to hear.

"Emergency override authorization code accepted. Full system access granted. Detonation sequence aborted."

"You did it, Jessie!" Tifa exclaimed, taking her shoulder.

Oddly, Tseng didn't seem concerned. "So… we've found you at last, Ms. Heidegger. That makes two strays tonight."

My jaw dropped. Heidegger? As in General Heidegger? She was his daughter? I saw the same wide-eyed surprise on Tifa and Barret's faces as they looked back at me, then Jessie. She glanced at us apologetically, then turned back to the console. Heidegger was President Shinra's right hand and one of the most powerful men in Midgar. As I thought about that, I started to understand why Jessie had been running from him for so long and how she had been driven off the plate. She'd told me a little about it on the way back from Reactor 1.

Whatever she'd discovered about Heidegger while she'd still been at Shinra was damning enough that she'd fled the company and taken on a new name and identity, starting over as an actress. But over time, her father had eventually found her, forcing her away from the life that she must've built up there and everything she had known. Jessie had fled to the slums, where Aerith had helped her begin a new life. Then she had moved to Sector 7 and found Avalanche.

Barret gazed at her. "Jessie… is it true? You his kid?"

"Yeah…" she said. "I am. Jessica Heidegger. That's my… real name. Rasberry's… my mom's maiden name."

"Still real to me," I told her.

Jessie smiled. "Thanks, Cloud. That's… really sweet."

To my surprise, Barret didn't seem angry. Just stunned. "Guess that explains a lotta things."

"She's still our Jessie, though," Tifa insisted.

"Yeah," I nodded. Then I turned to Tseng. "You said two strays. So who's the other one?"

Tseng motioned to the other Turks, and Rude pulled the side door of the chopper open as Reno settled into the co-pilot's chair. When Tifa and I saw who the two Shinra soldiers who'd been inside dragged onto the platform, we both stared in shock.

"Aerith!" Tifa and I gasped.

"I see you know her," Tseng said. "Your activities have brought you into contact with the last of the Ancients, who is now once more in our custody. You have my sincerest gratitude."

I frowned. "What are you gonna do with her?"

He shrugged. "That's for the president to decide. But unfortunately for you, this sector has been condemned."

"Tifa!" Aerith called. "I found Marlene! She's safe!"

Barret's eyes widened. "Wait, what? Marlene? My Marlene?"

One of the guards slapped her. "Shut up!"

"Aerith!" Tifa and I yelled.

Then, Tseng turned back to Jessie. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you, Ms. Heidegger. There's someone who would like speak with you. He's been searching for you for a long time."

Just then, the display on the console changed to show Heidegger in a control room of some kind, probably at the Shinra Building. As soon as she saw him, Jessie scowled, her eyes narrowing as they stared at the screen and her brutal, ruthless father.

"You!" she hissed. "What the hell… do you want!?"

Heidegger laughed coldly. "To finish what I started, girl. For nearly four years, I've chased after you. Now I've finally run you to ground. It doesn't surprise me that you took up with this rabble. But I don't know how you could be happy here in the dirt."

She didn't flinch. "It's not… the things, it's the people. And that's… something you'd never… understand. If this is… about me… then take me! Leave… everyone else… out of it!"

"You think this is just about you?" he scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. Shinra has much bigger goals than simply exterminating a pest. You've been a thorn in my side for far too long, and getting rid of you is just a bonus. But you have been quite a pain tonight."

"Always happy… to ruin your day," Jessie quipped.

Heidegger sneered. "It's not over yet, girl. I suspected you'd make it this far. Did you really believe that I'd leave an operation of this scale to chance? This sector is still doomed!"

She glared at him. "I shut the… damn thing… down!"

"Did you?" he said. "Oh, you disabled it, but I made sure to have a backup system installed as well. One that only I can control. Try as you might, you can't stop it. And your access code won't help you this time. I hope you enjoy your last moments."

"Damn you!" Jessie snarled.

Heidegger leaned forward. "Give my regards to your mother when you see her in hell, Jessica. Where I sent her."

Then the display changed, replaced by a flashing red countdown in large numbers that filled the whole screen as alarms suddenly went off all around us. Five minutes until this place went up. The numbers went down relentlessly as Tifa, Barret, and I stared at them in horror. Jessie's hand flew over the controls as she desperately tried to counteract what her father had done. Then the computer spoke again.

"Backup systems engaged. Detonation sequence initiated. Total plate separation is imminent. Evacuate immediately."

"No, no, no!" Tifa shook her head.

"Just run!" Aerith told us. "You have to go now!"

Tseng looked at her. "And just where would that be? You think they can possibly get out in time? It's begun."

He motioned to Rude and the soldiers, and they all went back into the chopper, taking Aerith with them. Then, as the side door slid shut, Reno started the engine, and the chopper rose into the air. It flew away toward Sector 6 and slipped out of sight.

Just then, a loud whine started to build up within the console, and my eyes widened. Jessie was still working furiously at the controls, her face a mask of rage and concentration. The timer continued to descend second by second. Just over three minutes now. Barret backed away as the console's whining intensified.

"Get away, Jessie!" he yelled. "Get back! Now!"

She shook her head. "I can stop this!"

Tifa tugged insistently on her shoulder. "Come on, Jessie! You have to get away from there! Let us help you!"

"Jessie!" I called to her.

"I said I can stop it!" Jessie shrugged off Tifa's grip. "I won't let him win! I won't! I can beat this thing!"

I started toward her. "It's too dangerous!"

Jessie's hand tapped key after key. "I know what I'm doing!"

"But it's gonna—" I argued.

"I can do this!" she snapped. "I told y—"

She never finished. Right when Tifa backed up, a power surge shot through the entire console. Bright blue forks of electricity blew out the controls and swept over Jessie again and again. She screamed, throwing her head back as she was suddenly wracked with spasms and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. It reminded me of how she'd been shot by that slug-ray on the train. Only this was much worse. The shocks went on and on, filling her body with current.

"Jessie!" Tifa and I yelled.

Barret gasped in disbelief. "No!"

And then, with less than two minutes left on the clock, the console simply exploded. We all threw our arms up as it blew apart in a blazing orange fireball and thunder filled our ears. Flames seared Jessie's body, and the sheer force of the blast hurled her past us, throwing her all the way across the platform and smashing her into the railing. Jessie fell to the floor and lay still, smoke rising from her skin and clothes, and for a moment, none of us could move.

And then the pillar started to explode.