BOOK ONE: MIDGAR

TWENTY

"He's dead…" Barret breathed. "The head of Shinra is dead…"

Like the rest of us, he just stood there, staring in shocked disbelief at the unbelievable sight before us. The president was slumped forward in his chair behind his wide desk, and from his back protruded a long, slender katana of polished, flawless steel. To whom did it belong? Not Jenova, I was certain. And yet the trail of blood ended at the president's desk. I didn't understand, but it seemed that Cloud did, at least in part. I saw his eyes narrow as soon as he gazed upon that sword.

"I knew it…" he said, almost to himself.

Tifa hurried behind the president's desk to get a better look. "Then this sword must be…"

"Sephiroth's!" Cloud finished.

Although I had spent several years here in Hojo's laboratory as his captive, even I had heard of Sephiroth, though I knew little of him. He had left on a mission to some far off town with several others five years ago and had never returned. Neither had any of the personnel who had accompanied him, and they had been listed as dead ever since. And yet now, it seemed, he was back. But whether that was a good thing or bad, I could not say. My instincts favored the latter, however.

"Sephiroth is alive?" Tifa asked.

Cloud nodded. "Looks like it. Only he can use that sword."

"Who cares who did it!?" Barret argued, excitement growing in his eyes. "This is the end of the Shinra!"

I shook my head. "I am not so sure…"

"The hell you talkin' 'bout, Red? They're finished!"

"The president may be dead, but the other executives are still alive, Barret, and… wait, do you hear something?"

Aerith glanced at me. "What is it, Red? I hear it, too…"

A faint rustling had just reached my ears, and while Barret blinked in confusion, Cloud whirled around, having heard it as well. There was a muffled gulp from somewhere off to the right, and a moment later, a rotund man in a light brown business suit peeked out from behind the pillar on that side of the president's desk.

"Palmer!" Barret growled.

The man named Palmer tried to run, but Cloud and Barret caught him before he had taken his seventh step, each of them seizing an arm. He glanced from one of the men to the other, his face pale, frightened, and dotted with cold sweat.

"P-P-P-Please, don't kill me!" he pleaded, his eyes wide.

"What happened?" Cloud demanded.

Palmer stared at him. "It… it was Sephiroth! Sephiroth came!"

"Did you see him? Did you see Sephiroth?"

"Yeah, I saw him!" Palmer nodded vigorously. "With my own eyes! He was here! I swear it!"

Cloud tugged on his arm. "You really saw him?"

Palmer nodded again. "Uh! Would I lie at a time like this!? I heard his voice, too! He said he wouldn't let us have the Promised Land."

"Then does that mean," Tifa said, looking as doubtful as I felt, "that the Promised Land really does exist and that Sephiroth's here to save it from Shinra?"

"So he's a good guy, then?" Barret added, equally skeptical.

Cloud's face was a thunderhead. "Save the Promised Land? A good guy? Not a chance in hell! It's not that simple! I know him! Sephiroth's mission is different!"

Just then, the sound of a helicopter flying just outside shattered the stillness, and when we all turned to look as it flew past the windows on the left side of the room, Palmer shook himself free and ran for the exit door leading to the president's private patio.

"Rufus!" Barret spat in disgust. "Shit! I forgot about him!"

Tifa stared blankly at him. "Who's that?"

"Vice President Rufus Shinra. The president's son. I heard that he'd been assigned somewhere else for a long time…"

"I wonder what sort of person he is…" Tifa said.

I did not know. I'd heard him mentioned only once or twice during my time here, and I wondered briefly why he had been sent away. Then I decided it didn't matter, at least for now. He had returned, and almost immediately after his father's murder, no less. I sighed, uncertain what to think about it. "I only know his name."

"I've heard that no one's ever seen him bleed or cry," Aerith added. "But I don't know if it's true."

"How'd he know to come here, though?" Barret asked.

Cloud frowned. "I think Palmer must've called him sometime after Sephiroth attacked, before we got here. I'm gonna go out there and find out what's going on."

"We're going with you," Aerith replied.

"I thought you'd say that. Just stay on your toes, all of you. We don't know what to expect from him."

Barret grunted. "He's a Shinra. That's all we need to know."

"Maybe," Cloud shrugged. "But let's see what he has to say first."

"So, Sephiroth was actually here," Rufus was busy talkin' to Palmer when we stepped out onto the balcony, but when he caught sight of us, he turned an' raised an eyebrow. "By the way, just who are you?"

"The name's Cloud, ex-SOLDIER First Class!" Cloud answered.

I hefted my gun-arm. "I'm from AVALANCHE!"

"Same here!" Tifa added.

"A flower girl from the slums," Aerith said.

Red narrowed his eye. "A research specimen."

Rufus shrugged as Palmer climbed a rope ladder to the helicopter. "What a crew. Well, I'm Rufus, the new president of Shinra, Inc."

He stood there, cool as ice, wearin' a crisp white business suit an' a pair of shiny black leather shoes. He ran a hand through his strawberry blond hair, then dropped his fingers down to pet a huge, mean-lookin' black hound standin' at his side. In his other hand, Rufus was holdin' a sawn-off shotgun, though he hadn't brought it to bear on us. It hung at his side for now, but his finger was restin' easily enough on the trigger. I didn't like the sight of it one damn bit.

"You're only president 'cause your old man died!" I snorted.

"True enough," he nodded, walkin' toward us. "That being said, I'll let you hear my inauguration speech."

I snickered. "This oughta be good."

"Oh, it is," Rufus answered. He went on, approachin' each of us one at a time as he spoke before finally walkin' away again back toward the railin'. "Father tried to control the world with money, and that worked for him. The people believed that Shinra would protect them. Work at Shinra and get your pay. If any terrorists attack, Shinra's army will help you. I looked perfect on the outside. But I'll do things quite differently. I'll control the world with fear. It's too much work to do it like my old man. A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste good money on them."

"He likes to make speeches just like his father," Tifa said.

Cloud looked at me, his eyes narrow an' his face more intense than I'd ever seen it. "Get Aerith outta the building! Now!"

"What?" I asked.

"I'll explain later, Barret! This is the real battle for the planet!"

I frowned. "The hell's that supposed to mean?"

"I said I'll explain later!" he repeated. "Just trust me and get her the hell outta here! I'll catch up after I take care of Rufus!"

"Awright, Cloud!" I nodded.

If anyone could give that cold boy Rufus a good smackdown, it was Cloud. I didn't have no doubt 'bout that. So the rest of us hurried back inside, Red takin' the lead again an' myself in the back with the girls in between us as we headed down one of them wide staircases to the next floor an' made our way back to the main elevators.

We was just comin' up to those two curved desks an' that doorway between 'em that led to the other half of this floor when Aerith slowed to a stop and looked back the way we'd come.

"Cloud…" she murmured. "I just thought of something."

Tifa motioned for Aerith an' the rest of us to go ahead. "I'll wait for Cloud! Everyone, get to the elevator! Hurry!"

Without waitin' for an answer, Tifa ran back the way we'd come an' sprinted upstairs. We was jus' about to move on ourselves when alarms suddenly started blarin' all over the place. Then there was a mechanical whirrin' noise behind us, an' I whirled around to see some big an' nasty machine risin' up from outta the floor in the middle of the room where it musta dropped down an' then come back up, bringin' that huge thing with it. Looked like we wasn't gettin' outta here so easily.

The damn thing had guns on top'a guns, a pair of twin gatling guns on either side of its body, an' three long cannons pokin' out on top of it. It sat on four big turreted wheels an' scanned the room 'til it found us. I had my gun-arm up an' ready, but then I dove behind the nearest desk when that bigass machine opened fire and started shootin'. I glanced at Aerith an' Red an' motioned to 'em with my good arm as I got ready to shoot back at that rollin' piece of junk.

"Take cover!" I yelled.

They ducked behind the other desk jus' as bullets ripped across the room an' tore up the walls behind us. Back when we first picked up our gear in the security office, we did some swappin' 'round of our materia, an' now I had Cloud's Lightnin' materia in my gun-arm along with that Elemental one we got from Mayor Domino downstairs. My assault gun crackled an' hummed like it was electrified, an' while I was firin' at that Shinra sentry machine, blue sparks sizzled all 'round the bullets as they flew through the air an' punched into the mech.

Aerith had one of our Fire materia now, an' while I kept pourin' on the bullets, she blasted that Shinra gunner with one burst of flame after another while Red did the same with the other one. An' in the midst of all that, we kept duckin' our heads down whenever the gunner shot too close to us. Then suddenly there was a flash of yellow light from one of Red's front paws where he wore some kinda wrist guard like ours, an' a moment later, he called out to me. "Barret! Keep on hitting it with that lightning! It's extremely vulnerable to electricity!"

"Got it!" I nodded, an' got back to work.

"Why do you want to fight me?" Rufus shrugged.

I pointed at him with Hardedge's blade. "You're after the Promised Land and Sephiroth."

"That's right. Did you know that Sephiroth is an Ancient?"

I did, all too well. Not that it made a difference. "Whatever. I'm not letting either you or Sephiroth have the Promised Land!"

Rufus raised his shotgun. "I see. Then I guess we won't be friends."

"Don't count on it," I spat, narrowing my eyes and bringing up my sword. "I'm gonna stop you here and now!"

I rushed in just as Rufus' black hound leaped at me, its sharp teeth bared and its claws slicing toward me. I spun to the left and cut it with a sidelong slash along its ribs as it passed by, and it howled in pain but kept on going, turning around as soon as it landed and bracing itself to jump again. At the same time, there was a loud boom almost in my ear as Rufus fired his shotgun.

Reacting on instinct, I ducked and swept Hardedge up into a tight forward arc that knocked Rufus' weapon aside with a loud clang. As he stumbled backward, I kicked him in the chest and slammed Hardedge down at him in an overhead chop as his back collided with the railing. He dodged at the last second, though, spinning to the left as Hardedge struck the rail where he'd been just a moment ago with a small shower of sparks and the ringing of metal on metal.

I stumbled into the railing as something huge and heavy suddenly landed on my back, and I felt that hound's hot breath in my ear as it bit at me. Tilting my head to the side to avoid the thing's gnashing teeth, I reached back, grabbed it by the scruff of the neck with my other hand, and threw the hound across the balcony.

There was a blur of white out of the corner of my eye, and I turned to see Rufus closing on me, his shotgun in his right hand and a slender blade with the Shinra logo emblazoned on the hilt in his left hand. He'd had it hanging from his belt earlier and must have drawn it while I was busy getting his hound off me. I whipped Hardedge up in time to block his swing, then dodged as he brought up his shotgun and fired again. I backed away and drew Buster with my left hand, then charged at Rufus again, Hardedge high and Buster low.

I swept them out in front of me in a quick crosscut that would have torn Rufus open if he hadn't blocked both of my blades with his sword and gun. We went back and forth across the balcony, weapons clashing against each other as we spun, ducked, and dodged in a frenzied dance of battle and death, neither of us giving nor getting any openings. Then his hound was jumping at me again. I dove aside as it flew over me, but before it could leap again, a familiar figure in black and white suddenly darted in between the hound and me, her gloved fists raised.

"Tifa!" I shouted.

"I'll handle this furball!" she said. "You take care of Rufus!"

I nodded. "Right! Let's do it!"

While she laid into that Shinra attack dog with a flurry of punches and swift, spinning kicks, I brought my swords back up and charged at Rufus, resuming our duel as our weapons clashed together again. I had to beat him, to end this threat before it could grow even further. Shinra had to be stopped, now more than ever.

Buster and Hardedge in hand, I fought furiously.

We were still pinned down by the sentry gunner as bullets sprayed all across the room. Aerith and I burned the machine with one blast of magical fire after another while, from behind the other desk, Barret hit it with a constant spray of lightning-enhanced gunfire. Panels blew off the sides and sparks flashed across the gunner's metal frame, but still it did not fall. My spiritual energy was diminishing from casting so many spells, and we had no ethers with which to replenish it.

Then an idea came to me. The hundred gunner sat in between the two sets of stairs at the far side of the room, in the wider section of the floor ahead of us as the two open stairwells rose up on either side of it. If I could get above the gunner, perhaps I could leap down upon it and strike at its internals without it being able to retaliate. It was dangerous, but I knew it was our only chance.

"Barret! Aerith!" I called. "Cover me!"

They did so, and while Barret rose up from behind the desk he had been crouching behind to draw the gunner's fire and Aerith continued to scorch it with bursts of flame, I crept toward the nearest staircase on silent paws, my eyes locked upon our enemy as I moved into position. Once I was where I needed to be, I bent low, gathered my legs beneath me, tensed my muscles, and sprang up onto the stairs. Backing up until I reached the far end of the step upon which I stood, I growled and ran across it, and when I reached the other side, I jumped off the staircase and onto the upper body of the gunner.

Unsheathing my claws, I went to work, swiping at every opening I could reach, shredding wires and tearing off panels and shards of metal with my teeth to get at the machine's inner circuitry. As its entire frame shuddered under the relentless fury of Aerith's fire spells and the sharp report of Barret's electrified bullets filled my ears, I finally managed to claw my way into the gunner's central processing unit, tearing away the access panel as the delicate circuitry inside blinked and hummed.

Using some of my remaining energy, I sent a single searing blast of fire into the compartment, blowing it apart and singeing my whiskers a little in the process. The gunner began to shake beneath me, and it was all I could do to keep from being thrown off. I dug my claws right into the metal frame and clung to it as I kept on slicing at the machine until explosions began to race across it.

I was about to jump off, but when I went to move one of my front paws, I abruptly snapped back with a jerk and realized that I was stuck. I must have dug those claws in too deep. I pulled and tugged, but to no avail. The gunner shuddered as it began to blow apart all around me, a firestorm I did not know if I could escape. But finally, I tore myself free and jumped just as the gunner suddenly exploded behind me, sending jagged shards of metal flying in all directions.

I went flying as well, thrown halfway across the room by the sheer force of the blast until I crashed into the wall behind one of the angled desks near the main doorway. I slumped to the floor with a groan, pain seeming to fill every part of my body.

"Red!" Aerith ran to me. "Are you alright?"

Slowly, I picked myself up. "I think so. Thank you."

"Just hold still for a minute," she told me.

I did so, and a moment later, I felt a cool, refreshing breeze swirl its way around me, easing the pain of my injuries and healing my wounds. By the time the soothing wind had faded away, I felt much better, and I nodded appreciatively to her. "Again, thank you, Aerith."

"Don't mention it," she smiled, lowering her staff. "It's what friends are supposed to do for each other, right?"

"Indeed," I agreed. "You're not so bad. For a two-legged thing."

She laughed. "Thanks, Red!"

Leaping over the desk, I took the lead again as we hurried through the main doorway, Aerith close behind me and Barret bringing up the rear as we raced down the hall on our way to the elevator. I hoped that Cloud and Tifa were alright, but there wasn't anything we could do for them at the present time. Cloud had asked us—no, had ordered us—to get Aerith safely out of this place, and Barret and I both intended to do that very thing. No one deserved to be a captive here, and if she was as important as Cloud and Shinra both believed that she was, then it was imperative that we protect her.

We all went through another doorway and into a smaller room. An employee break room, judging by the rows of green chairs and vending machines. Another doorway stood at the far end of the room, and past it was an even smaller area, barely more than an alcove. On the wall to our left stood the elevators, and as soon as we reached them, Barret hit the call button with his good hand. A moment later, there was a chime as the doors slid open, and we went inside.

We were about a third of the way down when we heard it. A sound that I had hoped we wouldn't encounter. The chopping of a helicopter. But what we saw flying toward us was another sentry gunner. This one was smaller, however, and held aloft by a pair of whirling rotor blades. We had another difficult battle on our hands but with much less room to maneuver this time. As the heli gunner swiftly closed in, I prepared my magic and braced myself for the attack.

The hound snarled at me as it got back up, battered and beaten but still in the game. Blood matted its dark fur where Cloud had slashed it, but it wasn't finished yet. It was tough, something more a monster than an animal, and its yellow eyes glinted evilly. Or maybe I only thought I saw that. In any case, Rufus' pet crept toward me, muscles bunching to spring at me again as that tentacle on its back whipped through the air almost with a life of its own.

I had a few cuts and scratches from tangling with the black-furred hound, but nothing serious. Ignoring the stinging pain, I braced myself for the next attack while behind me, Cloud and Rufus were still caught up in their own battle, steel clanging on steel as their weapons met and struck each other again and again. The hound looked past me, wanting to make another strike at Cloud, no doubt, but there was no way in hell I was going to let that happen.

I charged in, pummeling the hound with a quick chain of punches and kicks and ducking beneath the lashing tentacle. The beast fell back but recovered more quickly than I had expected, its sharp teeth sinking into my forearm before I could get away.

Pain knifed through me, but I gritted my teeth against it and drove my knee into the hound's belly as I smashed my other fist into the side of its head. Almost immediately, the thing let go, but I barely had time to breathe before it was on me again, leaping right at me and slamming me into the railing. My back screamed in protest at the sudden impact, but I ignored it and seized the hound's front legs as it landed almost on top of me, biting and snarling.

I ducked my head first to one side and then the other, dodging the hound's snapping teeth as it lunged at me and tried again and again to tear my throat open. Then I tightened my grip on its forelegs, and with a loud yell, I slammed my foot into the hound's chest. It flew across the balcony, and before it could retaliate I ran over, grabbed it, jumped into the air, and slammed the beast back down to the ground. The concrete cracked as the thing struck with a startled yelp.

It wasn't finished yet, though, and got back up with amazing speed. But I was ready for it this time. I returned to the railing, my eyes never leaving the hound, and when it jumped at me again, I shattered its jaw with a vicious backhand punch that hurled it into the far wall. As it hit, the black-furred hound collapsed in a tangled heap amidst a cloud of dust and broken bits of concrete.

But incredibly, it was still alive and maddened with pain, and it ran at me once more, its tentacle snapping relentlessly at my face as soon as it got in range. But just as it did, I leaned slightly to the side, seized the monster by the neck and chest, and threw it over the railing. It fell with one last shrieking bark and was gone.

Catching my breath as I stood there, I blocked out the searing pain in my arm and dove into myself, concentrating on the Cure materia in my glove. Soon enough, I felt the magic flowing, and I opened my eyes to see sparkles of green energy floating around me. I let out a soft sigh as the pain began to recede, although it didn't go away entirely, and my injuries started to heal. It would have to be enough for now. Cloud still needed me, deadlocked as he was against Rufus.

Clenching my fists again, I raced back into the fray.

"Get down!" I yelled as the heli gunner started shootin'.

The glass walls of the elevator shattered all 'round us, jagged shards flyin' everywhere an' cuttin' into our skin. Aerith ducked an' threw her arms up over her head with a little shriek while Red crouched down an' flattened his ears with a low growl.

I shrugged off the glass an' whipped up my gun-arm. "My turn!"

I opened up, shootin' at the heli gunner with my electrified bullets. It moved damn quick, though, dodgin' an' dartin' this way an' that, and I had to adjust my aim almost constantly to keep up with it. I stayed on one knee to keep from gettin' shot back, an' the others kept low as well. But they both got off a few fire spells while they was at it, scorchin' the gunner an' makin' it slow down enough that I could hit it.

The heli gunner had a round red sensor eye in the middle of it, an' that's what I went after first, sprayin' it with lead 'til it finally blew apart in a shower of sparks. Although the machine kept firin', it had a harder time findin' us now, an' its shots went wild, sprayin' all over the place as we all stood back up an' kept up our assault.

While Aerith used that healin' wind of hers to clean up them nicks an' scratches from the glass and the few stray shots that clipped us, Red an' I kept hittin' the gunner. Parts of it was burnin' now, but it still kept flyin' an' shootin' at us. Then Red backed off, lookin' drained an' spent. "I'm sorry, Barret. That's all the magic I have."

"Don't worry 'bout it," I said. "Jus' leave this sucker to me!"

The heat gauge on my gun-arm was buildin' up an' near full, so it'd be time to use another big shot soon enough. An' one shot was all I was gonna need to finish this flyin' hunk of scrap metal. Duckin' as a spray of bullets swept over us, I kept on shootin' with my regular ammo 'til I saw the light below the heat gauge turn from green to yellow an' finally to red. Now I was ready to rock.

I grinned. "Time to feel the heat, you flyin' trash pile!"

Hittin' the switch by the gauge, I waited an' let the fireball from the gun-arm's heat build up at the end of the barrel 'til the gunner swooped in close. When I was sure of my aim, I yelled an' unleashed the fireball, shootin' it right into the middle of the flyin' mech's body. It exploded in a big, beautiful blast of orange flame that nearly deafened us as broken shards of scorched metal an' busted circuits flew everywhere.

Amazingly enough, the elevator was still workin' fine after all that, an' we was still goin' down, though the glass walls was all gone. We was almost there now, about twenty or so floors from the ground as the air from outside blew past us. It was quiet now, so I reloaded my gun-arm while I had the time. I doubted I'd have another chance for a while. We was gonna have to bust our way outta the buildin' when we reached the lobby. I could still hear the alarms goin' off all over the place, an' below us outside I saw a whole bunch of blue-suited guards swarmin' around the entrance, guns in hand as they got into position.

By the time we finally got downstairs, I was ready for 'em.

My swords a blur of motion, I cut at Rufus again and again, hitting nothing but metal each time as he blocked with his sword and gun. But neither could he land any of his own blows. I got Buster and Hardedge in place to deflect each one as we fought back and forth on the balcony, the battle taking us from one end to other while Tifa kept the hound at bay and off my back. As I parried another swing of Rufus' sword, I saw her throw the creature over the railing. Good job, Tifa. Thanks. I hadn't doubted her for a second.

Rufus saw it too, and shifted his arm to point his shotgun at her as she ran toward us. I slammed it with Hardedge just as he fired, and his shot went wide, striking the concrete instead of Tifa. She ducked under his arm and pummeled his ribs with her fists, ending with a right hook to his jaw. He staggered, and I caught the side of his shoulder with one of my swords. The edge of Buster's wide blade drew a thin line of blood as it struck. He grimaced as he steadied himself, backing away from us and eying us coldly.

"That was a very expensive suit," he said.

I didn't waste any words. Instead, I let my swords do all the talking, slashing again and again in a dizzying string of spinning slices and cuts that went high, low, and everywhere in between as Tifa spoke with her fists and feet, landing blow after blow and keeping him too off balance to fire his shotgun again or to do anything except block our attacks and stay on his feet. We couldn't let up, though. This had to end here. Tifa's eyes shone with the same fierce determination that burned within me, and I knew we were on the same wavelength.

Pain suddenly sizzled along my left side as Rufus managed to get a hit in with his sword, but I ignored it and kept fighting, slashing at him again but not landing my mark. Then I called upon the Poison materia at the base of Hardedge's blade. There was a flash of light, and a swarm of sickly green blobs converged around Rufus and struck his body in a venomous blast of magic before dissipating.

Before he could recover, Tifa swept the sword from his hand with a swift roundhouse kick, and it sailed over the railing in a bright flash of spinning metal. Rufus backed up, his shotgun held out before him, and alternated his aim between myself and Tifa. As she slowly closed in on him to launch another attack while I did the same, Rufus narrowed his eyes at her and pulled the trigger. But there was nothing but an empty click, and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Then Tifa glanced at me. I looked at her, nodded, and she nodded back, knowing exactly what I was planning.

We both struck at Rufus at the same time, but he did the last thing we'd been expecting. He ran away, speeding back across the balcony to where his helicopter had been circling this whole time, the rope ladder still hanging down from the side. Before we could reach him, however, he grabbed onto the ladder and smirked at us.

"That's all for today," Rufus laughed.

Tifa and I could only watch helplessly as he flew away, the chopper disappearing quickly out of sight, its rotors whirring. It was a moment or two before I could pull my eyes away, though. He had eluded us, just as slippery as an eel, and I hated it.

"Damn," I swore. "I couldn't finish him."

Tifa came over and put a hand on my shoulder. "It's not your fault, Cloud. We'll get him, sooner or later."

"Yeah. This is gonna get complicated, though."

"I know," she agreed. "But we need to get out of here first."

I nodded. "Right. Let's go."

We hurried back inside the building, running down the stairs until we entered the site of what must have been a fierce battle. The remains of a Shinra machine of some kind lay scattered everywhere, pieces of it still smoldering in places, and I hoped the others were alright. Picking our way through the debris, Tifa and I raced through the doorway and back to the escalator room, running down the moving stairs floor after floor until we reached the 59th. I remembered there was a second set of elevators here, just off to our left as we stepped into the main area, and we went to them at once.

We got in as soon as the doors opened, but when Tifa reached over to press the button for the first floor, I gently took her hand and shook my head, suddenly knowing what to do and where to go. I had been in this elevator before. In the dream.

"No, Tifa," I said. "Not there. Third floor."

She glanced at me. "Why?"

"Call it a hunch. Just trust me on this, alright?"

"Alright, Cloud," Tifa smiled and nodded, and I let go of her hand. She pressed the button for the third floor. "I'll always trust you."

I flashed her a small grin. "Same here, Tif."

When the elevator chimed a few moments later and the doors slid open, we stepped out onto the third floor. My heart pounding, I looked to the right, knowing before I saw it exactly what would be there, what I had found there before, in the dream. What Jess had shown me. And it was. Oh, but it was. As I walked over and ran a gloved hand over the seat, I closed my eyes for a moment. A bittersweet ache filled my heart as memories of the dream, of my ride with Jessie in that timeless place, filled my mind, and a hard lump formed in my throat.

Jessica… thank you. For everything…

"Are you okay?" Tifa asked.

I opened my eyes again and let out a long, shaky sigh. "Yeah. I'll be fine, Tif. Go on downstairs. I'll be right behind you."

She nodded, squeezed my hand, and ran down the stairs. Just as on the highest floors, there were two open stairwells, one on either side of the area and both covered in purple carpet. They were, I noticed, wide enough for me to ride down. I put my jumbled emotions aside for now and slid onto the seat of the motorcycle, gripping the handlebars. And just like in the dream, the keys were in the ignition.

"Time to ride, Jess…" I whispered.

Taking hold of the keys, I turned them and gunned the engine.