BOOK ONE: MIDGAR

THIRTEEN

I pulled up next to the Sector 7 station, hoping that the trains were still running and that I could still get down there before Shinra's forces shut them down. I had attempted to go on the highway first, but all the roads that descended down to the slums in this area had been blocked off. I swallowed as I got out of the car and hurried to the station's main entrance, not liking how crowded it looked.

A moment later, I found out why.

Shinra soldiers stood all along the length of the platform, weapons in hand as dozens of troops boarded the train behind them and crowds of disgruntled would-be passengers milled about the area, complaining and looking none too happy about Shinra commandeering the train to get their troops to the slums. But why? Heidegger had already sent one detachment earlier. It didn't make sense.

I went over to one of the officers. "What's going on here?"

"Sir!" he saluted. "General Heidegger gave orders that more troops were to be sent to secure the pillar."

"Why are all the other trains locked down?"

"He also ordered that all entrances and exits to Sector 7 were to be blocked off until further notice," the officer said, "and all trains bound for that area to return to the station immediately."

That bastard! Heidegger wouldn't even let people try to get out. He was completely cutting them off, and they had no idea what was going to happen. I scratched the thin beard on my chin, not liking what I had heard and trying to figure out what do to next. I was the head of Urban Development, one of Shinra's top officials, and I had to use that power somehow to save as many people as I could.

As much as I hated it, I knew that I couldn't reach Jessica now. And I knew there was more than just her life at stake here. Although unlike Heidegger, I wasn't in the military, as one of Shinra's top officials, I did have some authority to command these men. And while unfortunately I didn't have the power to countermand Heidegger's orders, I could still add some of my own to go along with them.

I stared at the officer in front of me. "I want you to have as many of your men as you can head into Sector 7 and start evacuating people as soon as possible. I know the slums are blocked off now, but we can still help the people here on the plate. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" he saluted.

While the city's civilian population could no longer enter or leave Sector 7, at least up here on the plate, Shinra's troops weren't bound by that constraint. I was counting on it and hoped that by diverting some of the soldiers, it would delay the dropping of the plate and allow us to save as many people as we could.

Satisfied that the officer and his men would follow my orders, I left the station and got back into my car. The next thing I had do was to get inside Sector 7 myself and start moving people out while there was still time. There was an entrance not far from here, so I pulled out of the lot and drove away, hoping I wasn't already too late.

A small crowd of people was clustered just outside the fence by the pillar when I ran into the area, Tifa and Aerith on either side. I stopped short when I suddenly heard a sound that I'd been both expecting and dreading. It wasn't far above us, a noise that was so terrifyingly familiar that it sent my heartbeat into overdrive and ratcheted up my anxiety to a new level. The girls heard it as well and stopped for just a moment to listen, their faces pale but determined as they stood nearby. I looked at them. "You hear something above us?"

Aerith's emerald eyes widened. "Gunfire?"

We all looked up to see bright, rapid bursts of light and sound that could only have been muzzle flashes erupting here and there along the metal stairs that led all the way up to the pillar controls. Barret and the others were up there somewhere, up there fighting to protect the pillar from Shinra's assault forces. But circling around the stairs was a Shinra attack chopper, and over a dozen or so smaller shapes flew closer to the stairs, firing and slashing at whoever was nearby. Several of the shapes exploded in bright orange puffs of flame, but more still remained. How long could Barret and the others hold out?

I was about to race through the open gate and up the stairs when a familiar figure sped toward us from that very place, hurrying down the steps and past the fence to see us, relief etched into his features. Wedge was hurt, bleeding in multiple places and limping hard with every step he took, but his eyes were clear as he held his rifle. He had surely taken his share of hits, but he was alive, and I was glad to see him.

"Wedge!" I called to him. "You alright?"

He nodded as Aerith tended his wounds. "Yeah, I'll be fine. It's not as bad as it looks. Barret's up top. Help him, Cloud!"

"I'm going up!" I nodded, taking his shoulder for a moment. Then I turned to Aerith. "You look after Wedge."

But then Tifa caught her arm, her gaze intense as she looked at her. "Wait, Aerith. Do me a favor. I have a bar called Seventh Heaven in this neighborhood. There's a little girl named Marlene there."

"Don't worry," Aerith promised. "I'll put her somewhere safe. And here, take these."

She handed Tifa both of her materia, and she placed them into her gloves and wrist guards. But as she did that, another sound reached us, a lot closer than the gunfire still going off above us. It was the relentless stomping of booted feet marching quickly not far behind us, and a chill raced through my blood as I realized what was coming.

I whirled around, Wedge and both girls doing likewise, and saw an entire battalion of Shinra troops heading toward us. They were coming from the train station, and I realized they must have gotten there right after we left, having ridden down from the plate to stop us. There must have been at least a few dozen of them, all armed and ready to wipe out any resistance. They had come to secure the pillar so that Shinra could destroy it without anyone stopping them.

I reached back for Buster, but Wedge shook his head. "No! You and Tifa have to get to Barret! And Aerith, right? You have to find Marlene! Go! Now! I'll handle these guys!"

"There's too many!" Tifa protested. "You'll be killed!"

"Maybe," Wedge smiled. "But if that's what it takes in order to save everyone, then I don't mind. And Cloud, remember what you told me? I'm scared, but I'm not gonna stop. I'm gonna make a difference!"

I nodded. "You will, Wedge. Thanks."

"Wedge…" Tifa pleaded. "Please! Come with us!"

He shook his head. "Sorry, Tifa. This is it for me. You need time to reach Barret. I'll make sure you get it."

While Aerith hurried away to the slums to find Marlene, Tifa gave Wedge a tight hug, then raced with me to the stairs, blinking away her tears as she did so and warning the onlookers to get out of the area. We had just started up the steps when the sound of gunfire erupted behind us, and over my shoulder I saw Wedge rushing at the soldiers, shooting at them as he ran and flinching when their bullets hit him. He kept on going, taking down troops left and right. Pulling my gaze away with an effort, I urged Tifa onward, and we kept climbing.

Thunder suddenly split the air as several explosions went off below us. Wedge was throwing the grenades hanging from his belt, and from the surprised screams and shouts of the soldiers, I knew he'd taken out a good many of them. I smiled as I continued going up the stairs, but it faded once the sounds of the fighting at the base of the pillar stopped a few moments later and the stomping of booted feet resumed. I glanced back once more, knowing what I would see.

Amidst the bodies of many enemies, Wedge lay unmoving, riddled with burns and bullet wounds. I sighed and bowed my head, letting my eyes close for a moment as Tifa covered her mouth and choked back a sob. She didn't bother hiding her tears now. But we didn't have time to grieve. The soldiers were starting to climb up the stairs, and Barret still needed us. I took Tifa's hand in mine and we went on, hurrying as fast as we could, taking the steps two at a time now.

We found Biggs just a few landings up, leaning over the railing and clutching his right side where it was bleeding heavily from a deep gash. The remains of several roboguards and a handful of Shinra soldiers lay scattered around him, reminding me of how we had found him outside Reactor 5 yesterday. He looked up when he heard us coming, and from the wetness and the haunted look in his eyes, I knew he had seen what had happened to Wedge.

Tifa hurried to him and immediately started to concentrate on her Cure magic, but Biggs shook his head and gently pushed her away. Tifa tried again, and again he refused her. I knew then what he was going to do, and I put a hand on Tifa's shoulder, knowing there was no way we'd be able to talk him about of it. I saw it there in his eyes when he looked at me, his expression firm and resolute.

"Don't… worry about me…" he said, shaking his head and gritting his teeth against the pain.

I frowned. "But you're wounded."

"Thanks, Cloud. Barret's fighting up there. Go help him… That's… all that matters. I'm gonna… do what I can… to slow these guys down for ya. Can't let… Wedge have all the fun…"

"Biggs…" Tifa breathed, fresh tears spilling from her eyes.

He grinned. "It's alright, Tifa. When this is… all over… don't forget to… raise a glass to me and Wedge. And, Cloud… thanks for having… a drink with us. You're… not so bad, really."

"You too, Biggs," I replied. "And we won't forget."

Tifa hugged him, taking care to avoid his injuries. "Don't do this! I don't want to lose you, too!"

"I know, Tifa," Biggs whispered. "I know…"

She let go, gazing at him. "Biggs…"

Reaching out a hand to her face to wipe her tears away, he gazed at her intently. "You've just… got to keep on goin', Tifa. Keep goin' and… keep fightin'. That's… all you can do."

"You're right," she murmured. "And I will, Biggs. I promise."

I shook his hand. "Biggs, I… If there was any way…"

"I know, Cloud," he said. "Thanks."

Tifa and I climbed onward, leaving him behind, and it wasn't long before gunfire erupted below us again as Biggs fired at the soldiers. He yelled as he fought, taunting the Shinra troops when they reached him. A number of heavy thuds told us he'd taken down his share of enemies, and he kept shooting and shouting as the rest of the troops opened fire. For a while, he kept them tied up and unable to move forward at all as Tifa and I continued our ascent.

But then, when we were over halfway up the stairs, Biggs' shouting reached a sudden crescendo and then stopped, and the guns went quiet again. I squeezed Tifa's hand as we kept on climbing, and she squeezed mine in return, her cheeks streaked with wetness but her resolve never wavering for a second. When we stopped to catch our breath for just a moment on one of the higher landings, I looked down and saw that the soldiers were moving again.

They were much further below us now than they had been before, and they had left Biggs slumped against the railing, his body crumpled and riddled with countless bullet wounds. He had bought us time, him and Wedge both, and between the two of them, the Shinra soldiers had been reduced to only about half their original number. I just wish that it hadn't come at such a high price. I don't like losing friends. It simply hurts too much, knowing they're gone and you'll never see them again. There was nothing that Tifa or I could have done for them, but it didn't make the pain any less. Nothing could, and that was probably the worst part of the whole thing.

We were almost to the top of the stairs when I saw her. Jess was on the landing ahead of us, and I felt my heart skipping more than a beat. There's an old saying I heard once that talks about how absence makes the heart grow fonder, but I never understood what it meant until that moment. Looking up at Jessie, standing above me only a short distance away with her long ponytail of auburn hair, round eyes the color of hot chocolate, freckled cheeks, and lips that were small, pink, and achingly kissable, I realized she had never looked more beautiful to me than she did at that moment. We had been apart for less than a day, but so much had happened in that time that it seemed like it been much longer. An eternity, at least. Maybe two.

Relief washed through me when I saw Jessie was unhurt, and when her eyes met mine, she practically flew down the stairs and leaped into my arms, engulfing me in a crushing embrace that practically stole the breath from my body. I held her close for a minute, knowing we didn't have a lot of time but completely unable to deny how glad I was to see her again, how much I had wanted to see her again.

"Cloud!" Jessie looked at me and smiled, happier than I'd ever seen her before. "You're here! You're really here! I was so worried about you. I was afraid I'd never see you again…"

I grinned. "I told you, Jess. I was in SOLDIER, remember? I'm not gonna go down that easy."

"Oh, Cloud…" she hugged me tighter.

Tifa put a hand on her shoulder, and Jessie smiled and hugged her too before she noticed the tears and the redness in her eyes. She looked back and forth between us. "What… what's happened?"

"Biggs and Wedge, they…" Tifa began, but her voice broke and she couldn't continue.

I sighed and went on. "Shinra soldiers got here just after we did. A lot of them. We… We wouldn't have made it up here to you if the guys hadn't held them back… with their lives…"

Jess gasped, a hand flying to her mouth as tears spilled down from her eyes. "No…!"

"They died fighting, Jess. They died on their feet, doing what they believed in. I know it's hard, but there's no time to grieve just yet. We've got to keep moving."

"You're right, Cloud," she nodded, composing herself. "Let's go."

Jessie ran back up the stairs almost as fast as she'd descended them, glancing over her shoulder and beckoning us to follow. We didn't have very far to go now, but I didn't want her getting ahead of us. I could see a half dozen of Shinra's airborne roboguards, Aero Combatants, flying nearby, and beyond them, the helicopter was circling. As it took aim, I pulled Tifa down with me just in time to dodge a blast of gunfire from the chopper's twin gatling guns.

I looked up at Jess, my heart pounding. "Jess! Wait up!"

She paused for a moment on the landing ahead of us. "Cloud, Tifa, come on! Barret needs us! I locked the pillar controls, but it won't keep Shinra out for long. We have to hurry!"

But then the roboguards dove in, swarming around us like locusts. Four of them swooped toward Tifa and myself while two others turned on Jessie, their rotor blades sharp and spinning in their hands. I fought desperately to reach her, slashing one of the mechs in half with a single broad stroke while Tifa destroyed another one with a flurry of punches and kicks that left it a shattered, smoking mess.

That still left two more. One of them slashed at me while the other struck at Tifa, and as I cut at the mech again and again with Buster, my eyes kept returning to where Jess was fighting all alone against her two opponents, shooting at them with her old machine gun and launching a few quick kicks with her metal-shod boots. She left one of the mechs in a crumpled heap of smoking metal, but the other one was still on its feet and slicing at her again.

I remembered how she'd been in a similar predicament back in the plate interior the other day, and how I'd saved her. Shocking the mech I was fighting with a blast of lightning from my materia, I ignored it as it fell apart and grasped Buster's hilt firmly in both hands. Then, just as I had done last time, I lifted my sword over my head and hurled it at the mech attacking Jessie. It flew end over end through the air and sheared right through the Shinra machine, skewering it before it could strike at Jess again. Then it collapsed in a sparking, smoking pile of broken steel and burnt wiring as I ran to her.

Behind me, Tifa was finishing off the last of the droids, but I wasn't worried. She was tough, a powerful fighter, and one lone mech had no chance against her. So I focused my attention on Jessie. She stood over by the rail, grinning at me as I approached the landing. On my left, the stairs went on, continuing upward. Jess lowered her arms as I came up to her, and I returned her smile as I bent to retrieve Buster. It lay in the shattered wreck of the droid I had trashed.

"You did it again, Cloud," Jess laughed. "I'll never—"

Her smile suddenly froze and fell off her face, her eyes widening as the chopper rose up before us just beyond the railing. I was right in its path, standing there with my sword in my hand, and I hadn't even fully straightened up yet. As the chopper's headlights swept over me, I found I couldn't move. Time slowed to a crawl, and my eyes were locked onto the helicopter and its two gun barrels. "Damn…"

"Cloud!" Jessie and Tifa's panicked voices sounded in my ears, but all I was aware of was death staring me in the face.

Then I was flying into the stairs as Jess slammed into me, knocking me aside just as the chopper opened fire. I could only watch in helpless horror as she was shot again and again, the twin gatling guns spitting a rapid stream of bullets into her slim body. The armor-piercing rounds sheared right through her sculpted metal vest, punching hole after hole into her limbs and chest and tearing through flesh and bone. When the shooting finally stopped, Jessie just stood there for a moment, covered in blood and staring helplessly at me, before falling forward across the landing like a wilting flower.

As I stood up, staring down at her in disbelief, I heard the chopper still flying nearby, and my blood boiled. I bolted across the landing and jumped atop the railing. Then I leapt right into the helicopter before it could fly away again. I slashed at the startled troopers in a mad frenzy, punctuating every attack with blasts of lightning from my materia, and then I hit the fuel lines with more lightning, igniting them.

I spun and jumped just as the chopper exploded behind me, and I caught the railing with one hand and flipped back up onto the landing, catching my breath and finally realizing just how berserk I'd gone. All I could think of was Jess, how she'd been so brutally shot right before my eyes and that I had been so utterly helpless to stop it. And how she had been there for me… how she had saved me.

I found Tifa with her, trying to mend her wounds with Cure magic and potions, but… it wasn't going to be enough. I could see it in Tifa's wet, tear-streaked eyes. But I hadn't had to. I had already known, and I hated it. Magical healing could only do so much, and Jess was just too badly hurt. All it could do was buy her a little time. But it couldn't save her. Nothing could, and she knew it as well as we did.

Gently, I took her in my arms. "Jess… you saved me."

"I guess… this makes us even…" she smiled. "It's… only fair… that I save you… once in a while…"

"Thank you…" I murmured.

She touched my cheek. "Least I could do… for the man I love…"

My breath caught in my throat as I heard her words, and Tifa's jaw dropped open as more tears slid from her eyes. She bowed her head for a moment, then took Jessie's other hand in hers. Then she whispered to her, something I couldn't hear, and Jessie simply smiled at her and said something back to her in return, again so softly that I couldn't hear it. I didn't give it much thought, though, still stunned as I was by what Jess had said to me. I had thought and hoped that she might feel something for me, but I hadn't known it was like this.

After a moment, Tifa looked at me and put a hand on my shoulder. "I… I'll go on ahead, Cloud."

"You sure?" I asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "I'll wait for you, okay? Don't be long."

I nodded. "I won't, Tif."

She turned to Jess, letting go of me to gently stroke her hair as tears spilled down her cheeks. "Goodbye, Jessie. You… you were always like a sister to me…"

"So were you… Tifa…" Jess replied.

"I'll miss our sparring," Tifa sniffled. "You were really getting good at it, you know?"

Jessie's face lit up. "Really? That… makes me… so happy, Tifa…"

"Oh, Jessie! I don't want you to die!"

"I know," Jessie murmured as Tifa buried her head in her shoulder and wept. "But… there's nothing… you can do… except go on."

Tifa lifted her head up and nodded reluctantly, her eyes still wet. "I will, Jess. I will…"

After planting a soft kiss on Jessie's forehead and wrapping her arm lightly around her in a final hug, Tifa rose shakily to her feet. She stood there for just a moment, gazing at Jess as if she were memorizing every detail so she would always have a picture of her in her mind. Then she took a long, deep breath, her expression growing firm and determined, and put her hand on my shoulder again.

"I'll be waiting for you up ahead, Cloud," Tifa said.

I nodded, and she hurried up the stairs to the next landing. When she was gone, I looked back at Jess. "You love me…?"

She smiled. "I knew it… when I saw you… on the stairs…"

"I… had no idea…" I breathed.

"I know, Cloud. When you… saved me… back in Reactor 1… you caught… more than my hand. You also got… my heart…"

I held her close, as gently as I could. "Jess…"

She put her fingers to my lips. "It's alright… I know you can't… say the same. You have so much… going on inside… right now. I'm just so glad… I could see you again… one last time…"

I shook my head. "Don't say last. Don't even think it!"

Jess managed to give me a weak smile in spite of her obvious pain. "That's… alright, Cloud. Because of what I did… my bombs… many… people died. This probably… is my punishment…"

"No, Jess," I argued. "It's not. Not at all…"

A tear slid from her eye, and she leaned her head against my chest. "I… I don't mind. I've caused so many people… so much pain. Now… I can… finally atone for it…"

"Jessie," I said, gazing at her. "You… you were right."

"About what?" she asked.

I bowed my head. "About me. I… don't know how to say it. But… I wish I could. I… I do care for you."

"You do…?" Jess stared at me in wonder.

"When I was on my way here, all I could think of was you. Getting to you. Keeping you safe. And just… seeing you again. I wanted to save everyone, of course, but… you most of all."

I felt her hand gently lifting my chin, and I looked up to see Jessie smiling at me, her eyes wet with tears. "Come here…"

I leaned closer to her, and Jess slowly reached up and slid her hand around the back of my neck and shoulder and pulled me to her. Then I simply forgot how to think for a while as her lips touched mine. I held her close, savoring the kiss and returning it. I didn't want it to end, but I knew that our time was running out. Even so, we didn't let go just yet. My free hand slid into her hair, the skin tingling with the contact, and I felt my heart race even as it ached.

Eventually, Jessie pulled away. "You really… lit my fuse, Cloud. You know that?"

"You lit mine, too…" I murmured.

She smiled. "We're just a… pair of firecrackers… aren't we?"

I laughed. "I suppose so. And you're gonna owe me again. Because I'm gonna get you out of here, Jess. You're gonna be alright."

"You can't… save me this time, Cloud…"

I shook my head. "The hell I can't! I won't let you die!"

Although I knew she was dying, I didn't want to accept it. I started to pick her up, prepared to carry her all the way to the top of the pillar, but Jessie glared at me so fiercely that I set her down again without any further argument. Her gaze was intense. "No! There's… no more time! Can you… hear them? Shinra soldiers… they… they'll… be here soon. The ones… Biggs and Wedge… were fighting."

The sound of booted feet on metal reached my ears, and I nodded reluctantly. It was still some distance beneath us, but it wouldn't be that long before they got here. I didn't want to leave her, my heart screamed at me to stay with her or take her with me no matter what she said. But I knew she was right, and I hated it.

"I know, Jess. I just… wish we had more time."

She nodded. "So… do I. But this… this is… all we have. Cloud… I need… I need you… to promise me… something. Promise me… you'll keep fighting. That you'll… stop Shinra…"

"I promise," I swore. "I'll stop them, Jess. They're gonna find out it's a very bad idea to piss me off."

Jess laughed, wincing at the pain but still smiling. "Thanks, Cloud. I… I'm sorry… that we didn't… get to go… on that… motorcycle ride together. I really… wanted to…"

"It's alright," I told her. "So did I…"

"It… It would've been… fun," Jessie whispered. Her breathing grew shallower as shock started to set in. She fought to stay conscious, and I realized then that whatever time Tifa's potions and spells had given her was running out. Jessie was starting to fade away, as much as I hated it, but her eyes seized me and held me fast. "Cloud, there's… one more… one more thing… that I need you to do…"

I squeezed her hand. "Anything."

Jessie reached down, took one of her black discs from her bag, and put it into my other hand. It was larger than the rest, almost twice their size. She looked at me, her eyes never wavering, every single word now an immense effort. "When you… fight Shinra… sooner or later, you… you'll have to… have to face… my father… Heidegger. There's no… no time… to explain. Barret… can tell you… everything later. It's a… long story. But you need… to know…"

"You want me to use it, don't you?" I said, understanding what she was getting at.

She nodded. "Right. When… when you fight him… use my bomb. It… It's a prototype… stronger than… the rest. Tell him… it's from me. He… He has to answer… for everything… he's done…"

I slipped the disc into my pocket. "I'll see that he gets it."

"I… I know you will, Cloud. Now, go! You… have to… help Barret. Save everyone! You have to… hurry. They're closer now. We're… out of time. But… don't worry. They'll never touch you…"

She pulled something out of her belt, and I looked down to see her holding a black oblong device with a flashing red light along the top of it. And then I knew. I knew exactly what it was. A detonator. My blood was like ice in my veins at the sight of it, and the ache in my heart grew deeper as I realized what she was going to do. "Jess…"

"I… I always… kept this handy… just in case…" she breathed. "It'll set off… everything I've got on me…"

"Jessie!" I held her, not wanting this to be real, wishing it were only a bad dream and that I'd wake up in the bed at Aerith's house or the cot back in the Seventh Heaven. But as much as I hated it, I knew it was no dream. And that was the moment I really knew I was going to lose her. I squeezed my eyes shut, holding Jessie for as long as I could until I felt her put a piece of soft fabric into my hand.

I looked down and saw Jessie had given me her headband. I closed my fingers around the wide strip of red cloth and clung to it as though it was the only thing keeping me sane. I knew what had to be done, but it was so much harder than I could have ever imagined. I just looked at her, not wanting to leave, not wanting to say goodbye.

Fresh tears slid down her cheeks as she looked at me. "You have to leave me… Cloud. You… have to do it now…"

"Jessica…" I breathed.

She smiled again. "You've never… called me that… before…"

"I should have… a long time ago."

"Well, I'm… glad you did. And Cloud, I… I'm so happy… that I… got to… know you a little," Jess whispered.

My hand found hers and squeezed it tight. "Me too."

Her smile faded only moments later as the tromping of booted feet drew closer. "Cloud, we're… out of time. Go!"

"I can't do it…" I shook my head, knowing she was right but hating it nonetheless. "I can't just… leave you here to die…"

"You don't… have… a choice," Jessica reminded me, reaching up to touch my face. "You… have to… let me go…"

Jessie pressed her lips to mine again in a last, lingering kiss, and in that moment, all I knew was the sweet taste of her mouth, the softness of her skin, the strands of her hair sliding between my fingers, and the slowly fading warmth of her body close to mine. When Jess eventually pulled away, I carefully set her down and stood up, my legs not entirely stable beneath me as I looked at her.

Now I was the one gazing at Jessie, memorizing everything about her, every line and curve. I could hear the troops, their footfalls louder now, and I knew that it was time. Jessica smiled at me as she slowly and painfully pulled herself to her feet, leaning heavily on the railing as she wrapped one arm around it. And still I couldn't move. It was as though my feet had become fused to the floor.

"Go on…" Jess whispered. "For me…"

Drawing in a deep, shaky breath, I hurried up the stairs. It… it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I was just getting onto the next landing, where Tifa was waiting for me, when I heard the soldiers run out onto the landing where Jessie was and take aim at her. I turned around and only just barely managed to stop myself from leaping back down there to save her as I saw her standing calm and unafraid, staring defiantly at the men who had come to kill her.

She shifted her gaze to look up at me as her breathing slowed, and as Tifa took my arm with hands that weren't quite steady, I understood that Jessie wanted me to be the last thing she ever saw. My hand found Tifa's and held it tight, and I heard her sharp intake of breath when the soldiers prepared to shoot. In that moment, one that I'll never forget as long as I live, Jessie smiled at me, the light slowly fading from her eyes, and then she breathed one final word.

"Goodbye…"

As the soldiers opened fire and the bullets tore into her, Jess hit the activator switch on the detonator, and her eyes stayed on mine even… even as… the life finally left them. There was a sudden beep, and then I threw my arms around Tifa and spun around, shielding her with my body as the landing below us suddenly exploded into a blazing orange fireball that incinerated Jessica and her enemies alike. And from within my arms, Tifa screamed, her voice a roiling banshee wail of pain, rage, and grief as it tore out of her throat.

"JESSIE!"

She clung to me as if I was all that kept her standing, and I held her just as tightly and desperately as she held me, both of us wanting and needing the contact with each other in that moment as the terrible heat from the explosion washed over us. I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling as if my heart had just been ripped out of my chest, the pain so deep and sharp it was almost physical.

I could feel the wetness of Tifa's tears on my shoulder as she cried, her chest heaving with broken sobs as she clung tightly to me until she finally wore herself out and the deafening thunder from the blast faded into silence. In the quiet and stillness that followed, neither of us let go at first. Tifa and I, we just stood there together on that landing, holding each other for a while and not saying anything. There was nothing left to be said. Jessica… was gone.

I didn't… I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe that… Jessica was dead. I looked at Tifa, at her red, wet eyes and the pain that was in them. And I found that my heart ached for her as much as it did for myself. We had suffered a terrible loss, both of us, and I didn't want to think yet about how we were going to tell Barret. Not just about Jess, but about Biggs and Wedge as well. As we stood there, I knew then that I couldn't deny the truth of it anymore.

Hesitantly, Tifa and I finally let go of each other and glanced down at the landing. Or rather, where it had once been. Now it was gone, and Jess was gone, too. The broken metal struts at the shattered and blasted edges of the stairs and railing were blackened and scorched, and smoke lingered in the air in ugly gray plumes above the huge, gaping hole that had once been the landing. My legs buckled, and only Tifa's hand upon my shoulder kept me from sinking to my knees.

Swallowing hard, I reached into my pocket and grasped the bomb Jessica had given to me, touching its curved edges and flat surface and drawing strength from it. I knew then what I had to do, the promises I had made to her. I withdrew my hand, determined now to stop Shinra no matter what it took. I hadn't really had a reason to fight them before aside from the money, but I had one now.

A hell of a reason.

Taking Tifa's hand tightly in mine once again, I ran with her up the rest of the stairs.