BOOK ONE: MIDGAR

TWENTY-ONE

I spun aside as a barrage of gunfire shattered the glass doors at the front of the first floor lobby. Aerith an' Red stood nearby an' outta sight of the Shinra soldiers outside while I flattened my back against the wall next to what was left of the doors an' slapped a fresh clip into my gun-arm. I didn't know how we was gonna get outta here, an' I didn't have a lot of extra ammo, but I wasn't gonna let us be caught again or worse. I jus' hoped Cloud an' Tifa got down here soon.

I took a peek outside. "Shit… We're surrounded! If I was alone this wouldn't be a thing, but I got a reputation to protect."

"You all get out while you can," Aerith said, walkin' over to me. "It's not you they're after. It's me."

"Yeah, well, that ain' happenin', girl. You got caught up in this over Marlene. Now it's my turn to help you!"

Aerith had kept my little girl safe, had saved her, an' I'd be damned if I wasn't gonna do the same for her. I owed her that much. The Shinra soldiers pulled back for jus' a minute to regroup, so I scattered 'em with a few shots before duckin' outta sight again when they fired back. I was gettin' pretty tired of this, though. The heat gauge on my gun-arm was buildin' up again, an' I figured a blast or two of fire might jus' clear us a path outta this place. Whippin' up my gun-arm, I dashed back into the doorway an' shot again at the soldiers outside. Then the heat gauge was ready again, an' I grinned.

"Okay, playtime's over, you jackasses!" I yelled.

"Thank you, Mr. Barret!" Aerith exclaimed from behind me.

I glanced over at her as I ducked behind the wall again. "Who you callin' Mr. Barret? That don't sound right!"

"Well, then…" Red said. "If you are through talking, may I suggest that we think of a way to get out of here."

I frowned, mutterin' under my breath as I did. "Huh? Oh, oh yeah. You're cold, man. Jus' like someone else 'round here I know."

"Did you say something?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Not a thing. So what're we gonna do?"

"Any ideas?" Aerith looked at us.

"I got a few more big shots left, but I dunno if it'll be enough to get us outta here without them fools chasin' after us the whole damn time. We could probably break outta here, but they'd be right on top of us an' I don't fancy runnin' all the way back to the slums."

Jus' then, Tifa came runnin' down the stairs. "Barret!"

"Tifa!" I sighed in relief. "Where's Cloud?"

"Everyone! Over here!" she said, motionin' for us to follow her.

I blinked. "What's up? Where's Cloud?"

"He's coming!" she answered. "Hurry, hurry!"

We followed Tifa to the back of the lobby, where a light blue three-wheel pickup truck was sittin' out on display. When we did, I suddenly heard an engine rumblin' above us, an' I looked up an' saw Cloud ridin' down the stairs on one of them Hardy Daytona motorcycles. Red and I hopped inside the bed of the truck while the girls got into the cab, Tifa slidin' behind the wheel. A moment later, we was movin', speedin' right off the platform an' smashin' through another display.

We followed after Cloud as he circled 'round the front of the lobby an' sped up the second set of stairs to the third floor. We stopped there for a minute, an' when I glanced at the huge windows across from us, I saw what he had in mind. Pretty clever, SOLDIER boy. We might jus' get outta this mess after all.

Revvin' the engine of that motorcycle of his, Cloud nodded, an' we all nodded back. Then he sped off the edge of the edge of the platform, flyin' across the room an' smashin' through the glass. We came up right behind him, an' a second or two later we landed on the highway with a thud that rattled my teeth. Cloud drove alongside us as we raced down the road, an' not that far behind us, a whole bunch of Shinra troops on motorcycles was closin' fast.

The chase was on.

We sped down the highway, Shinra soldiers on motorbikes coming up right behind us. There must have been almost two dozen of them at least. I held Hardedge in one hand while driving with the other. I knew exactly where to go. Jessie had shown me in the dream. It was the same highway she and I had ridden on, and I knew where it went. All we had to do was get there.

That wasn't going to be easy, though. Just as I thought that, the first of the soldiers caught up to me, readying his gun. I took him out with a backhand slash that sent him flying off his bike, but two more replaced him less than a second later. I ducked my head and swerved the Hardy as they started shooting at me with their rifles while two other soldiers sped past and rammed their bikes into the truck.

Damn! I wish you and your bombs were here with me, Jess.

I whipped Hardedge out to the left in a tight arcing cut, taking out the soldier on that side, then while Barret shot down one of the ones at the truck with his gun-arm, I hit the other with a blast of cold from the materia Aerith had given me back in the Shinra security office after we had escaped from our cells and gotten our stuff back. The soldier froze and tumbled away, and his driverless bike kept going for a few seconds before falling over in a broken heap. Then another soldier behind him couldn't turn away in time and crashed right into it.

Another rattle of gunfire, and the second bike by the truck skidded away, shot to pieces by Barret's gun-arm. A second later, he fired a blast of sizzling orange flame, another one of his big shots, past me and into a knot of three more mounted soldiers that had been about to overtake me. They flew apart in all directions, but more drove right through the mess, shooting as they came.

I slashed two of them aside, but two more caught up to the truck, swerving to avoid Barret's gunfire and ramming into either side of the truck as they did, slamming it back and forth between them. I gunned the Hardy's engine and sliced open the one on the left. A flash of green light suddenly caught my eye, and barely a second later, I saw the other soldier's motorcycle simply explode in a burst of magical fire as Aerith brought her arm with the glowing materia orb in her wrist guard back inside the cab of the truck. Our remaining pursuers fell back, and for a few moments we were on our own. I looked up and saw the end of the road approaching. We were almost there.

The last few soldiers sped up and came back into range again just a moment later, though, but they weren't alone this time. Glancing back, I saw something big on six spiked wheels coming up not too far behind them. Between my sword and his assault gun, Barret and I took out the soldiers easily enough, and soon there was only that huge machine as it smashed right through the burning wreckage of the fallen motorcycles and their riders as it chased us down.

We couldn't fight that thing like this, and besides, we were running out of road. So as we reached the overhang where the highway ended, I pulled over to one side and brought the motorcycle to a stop while Tifa parked the truck alongside it. I got off the Hardy, stood up, and readied Hardedge while the others got out and joined me. Red still looked too spent from fighting back in the Shinra Building, so I motioned for him to wait a short distance behind us.

"Red, stay back with Aerith," I said. "The rest of us can handle this thing. Aerith, see what you can do for him."

She nodded and hurried with Red towards the end of the highway where it hung out over the edge of the plate while Tifa, Barret, and I all fanned out across the width of the road as that hulking machine finally bore down on us. It screeched to a halt, its engines revving as we hefted our weapons and narrowed our eyes.

Atop six large, spiked wheels was a robotic torso with four curved, short arms like talons, and pair of thick exhaust pipes sprouted from its back and over top of the squat metal cylinder that was its body. Clouds of thick black smoke swirled around it, and I felt the back of my throat start to burn as I tried not to cough.

Barret opened up with his gun-arm, firing his lightning-enhanced bullets at its upper body while Tifa and I ran in side by side and started hitting its lower half with sword, fists, and feet. I dodged to one side as one of the curved arms slashed at me while Tifa drove her foot into the side of one of the wheels and smashed the hub cap apart with her fists. Then I noticed the engine getting louder.

"Tifa! Back off!" I said, doing the same thing myself.

She leaped aside just the machine sped right at us, kicking up dust as its tires squealed and spun, and I barely avoided being perforated by the spikes. Then the thing drove back to its original position, lashing at us with its arms again. Tifa ducked and went to work on another of the wheels while I swept Hardedge across from left to right, deflecting one of the machine's attacks and severing the arm that had made it. Barret's gun-arm sang the whole time, punching holes into the metal torso and leaving showers of sparks in its wake. I was cutting at another one of its arms when the whole machine suddenly backed up and the twin pipes lit up in an angry orange glow.

My eyes widened. "Barret, get down!"

Not waiting for him to answer, I dropped my sword and practically dove at Tifa, flattening her beneath me onto the ground and wrapping my arms protectively around her as huge lines of searing flame spewed from both of the machine's exhaust pipes. Flames surged all around us, and sweat beaded across our skin as the heat washed over us. Over my shoulder, I saw the machine bearing down us, and in a second it would run us over, its sharp spikes tearing us apart. We couldn't get out of the way, trapped as we were by the blazing inferno, but there was no way I was leaving Tifa, either.

But just as the machine got close, a furred crimson form suddenly leaped through the air, over the fire, and landed on top of it, biting and clawing, and the machine spun crazily to the side, curved arms lashing about, and missed us by less than a foot as it went by and a blast of fire blew off one of the exhaust pipes. I looked up to see Aerith, her arm up high, standing beyond the line of flames scorching the road, and then I remembered the Ice materia she had given me.

Moving my own arm, I focused my thoughts on the magic, calling forth a stream of ice that put out the flames almost at once. A moment later, a huge dark-skinned hand was reaching down for me. Letting go of Tifa, I took it, and Barret hauled me to my feet while Aerith hurried over and helped Tifa get up as well.

"You guys okay?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, Aerith. Thanks. Thought that was it for us."

"Hell no, Spike!" Barret grinned, picking up my sword from where I had dropped it. "We ain't goin' down yet!"

I took Hardedge back. "Right. Now let's trash this sucker."

"Damn straight!" Barret agreed.

While he and Aerith raced back into the fight, hitting the damaged machine with bullets and fire spells, Tifa paused and smiled at me for a moment. "Thanks, Cloud. I owe you one."

"Don't mention it," I smirked. "You can pay me back later."

She laughed and adjusted her gloves. "I'll do that."

I was sure she would, too. Tifa and I always had each other's backs, and we always would. I didn't want it any other way. Reaching over my shoulder, I drew Buster in my left hand and held Hardedge in my right as Tifa readied her gloved fists, the mythril claws gleaming in the light as her dark hair swirled around her.

"Ready?" I asked.

She nodded. "Let's go."

We ran over to where the others were fighting the machine, and as I sliced it open in a series of blinding cuts one after the other in a rapid blur of motion, Tifa slammed it with a series of quick jabs, burying the mythril claws into the side of the thing's metal body and yanking them out again and again. Red tore off the other exhaust port with a swipe of his paw while Barret shot off another of the machine's arms and Aerith tended our injuries with her healing wind.

Jumping up, I struck the machine with three quick slashes that left gleaming trails of energy behind them that lingered for moment before disappearing in a blast of magical energy. The machine shuddered and smoked as it tried to hit us, but we kept moving, Barret unleashing one of his big shots while Tifa hit it with a somersault kick that smashed its torso with a creaking of metal. Aerith followed it up with another burst of magical fire as Red ripped at the exposed wiring with his claws until the whole contraption started blowing apart.

He jumped off, landing smoothly on the pavement nearby as we all backed away to a safe distance. The machine simply exploded seconds later into a brilliant orange fireball that threw shards of scorched metal everywhere as huge plumes of smoke billowed from the wreckage. We all turned away and ducked when it happened, and it was a moment or two before we finally straightened and looked back.

The machine, or what was left of it, lay in a smoldering ruin by the side of the road. At the sight of the fire, I remembered another fire, one from long ago, and that old familiar rage filled my body. With my gaze on the horizon, I walked slowly toward the end of the road and tried to avoid thinking for now about the last time I had been here. With Jessie in the dream. I understood now what she had meant, and I knew what I had to do. He was out there now, and I had to find him.

"Well, what do we do now?" Barret asked.

I answered him without turning around. "Sephiroth is alive. I have to settle the score."

"Is that gonna save the planet?"

"Seems that way," I said.

He hefted his gun-arm. "Then, I'm goin'! I gotta, you know. For my team. Biggs, Wedge, an' Jessie. To… honor 'em an'… carry on what they started. An' for Marlene. Always for Marlene."

I understood. "Aerith?"

"I'll go, too," she agreed. "There are things I need to know."

"About the Ancients?" I wondered.

She nodded. "Many things."

Tifa came to stand beside her. "I guess it's goodbye, Midgar. There's nothing left for me here now…"

I sighed. Had I caused all this? If I hadn't taken the job and helped Barret blow up that first reactor, maybe Shinra wouldn't have acted out against us the way they did. Maybe the people of Sector 7 would still be alive. And Biggs and Wedge. And maybe… maybe Jessica. But then… I wouldn't have met Aerith, and she would probably have been caught by Shinra sooner or later. And Red would still have been an unwilling test subject in Hojo's lab. I just… I didn't know what to think. But I couldn't ignore the sense of guilt that gnawed at me, either. All I knew was that I couldn't stand to be in Midgar anymore.

Just as in the dream, abandoned construction equipment sat off to the left side of the highway past the guard wall, and over the edge hung a long iron chain that stretched all the way to the ground. Motioning to the others, I walked over to it, ready to climb down. But before I did, I turned and took a last look at the area, at the last place I had been with Jessica. The motorcycle stood empty and alone, and I shoved aside the bittersweet memories of our dream before they could overwhelm me. I just didn't want to think about it right now.

Instead, I climbed down the chain and didn't look back again. The others followed one at a time, none of us saying anything or needing to in that moment. I wondered how Red would make the descent. He was nothing if not clever, though, and with his claws unsheathed, he clung to the chain and made his way down a little at a time until he stood on the ground with the rest of us.

A low wall surrounded the outer slums, and a short distance away, a locked door led into Sector 5. Before us lay the badlands, tinged with the pink and yellow hues of the coming dawn, and for a moment we all just stood and gazed at the wilderness as the enormity of what we were about to undertake began to sink in.

Barret looked at Aerith. "We told your mom to go somewhere safe, so Marlene should be safe, too."

She smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure she is. Thank you. Mom said she didn't want to stay in Midgar anymore. Maybe it's for the best."

"Probably," I agreed.

"You know what? This is the first time I've ever left Midgar."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? Are you worried?"

"A little," she admitted. "No, maybe a lot. But I have my bodyguard, right? We had a deal, after all."

"Yeah. And I still have mine, too."

She laughed. "That's right! I almost forgot!"

I smiled, but then it faded when I noticed Tifa alone off to the side, staring off in the distance. I went over to her. "You okay?"

"I don't know," she said. "I guess this is the start of our journey."

I shivered, remembering what Jessie had told me in the dream. Her words hadn't been all that different. I hoped that Tifa was up to it. She looked pretty shaken, but after all we had been through, I didn't blame her. I was still trying to process it all myself. And it wasn't an idle stroll we were venturing out on, either.

I looked at her. "It's dangerous. You sure you want to go?"

"I don't really have much choice. But you know, it should be alright if you keep your promise."

"I intend to, Tif. Always."

Now she smiled. "I know you will, Cloud."

Red got up from where he had been sitting and padded over to us, his flaming tail swishing idly behind him. "As for me, I'm going back to my hometown. I'll go with you as far as that."

"Fair enough," I agreed. "Alright everyone, let's…"

I had been about to say "mosey," but then a memory suddenly shot through my mind and for a moment the pain was so deep that I almost couldn't breathe. Jess, laughing the other night when she had heard me use that word as we had prepared to leave for the Sector 4 plate. Had it really been only two days ago? It seemed like another lifetime now. She was gone. And I… I couldn't say it. Not then. Not for a long time. I just stood there for a moment, a knife in my heart.

"Cloud?" Aerith asked.

I shook off my thoughts. "I'm fine. Let's go."

"We need a leader for our journey," Barret said. "'Course that could only be me."

"You think so?" Tifa asked.

Aerith shook her head. "I think it should be Cloud."

Me? A leader? Why had she thought that? I didn't know. But I was elected just the same. I sighed, not really caring for the assignment, but I didn't have much choice. Aerith's knowing gaze told me that right off. I had almost forgotten how devious she could be.

"Shit…" Barret grumbled. "Awright. Go northeast to a town called Kalm. We'll meet up there. Shinra's not jus' gonna forget 'bout us, so it's too dangerous to go together like this. Let's split up."

I nodded. "Right. Aerith, Red, you're with me. Tifa, you and Barret go on ahead. And watch yourselves out there."

"We will, Cloud," Tifa said.

"Later, at Kalm!" Barret waved as they started off. "We'll be waitin' at the inn for you!"

Aerith waved back. "We'll see you there!"

"Good luck," I added.

We watched in silence until Tifa and Barret finally disappeared out of sight amidst barren clumps of rock and low canyons, the sun slowly rising overhead. Then we started off ourselves, Aerith on my right and Red on my left. Kalm was thirty miles or so away, and we were on foot, so we wouldn't get there until early tomorrow. We had no food and no way of getting back into the slums to get anything, so we were going to have some shopping to do once we got to Kalm.

In the meantime, with our stomachs rumbling, we moved on, none of us speaking for a while. We went at an easy pace, not rushing, and I kept my eyes ahead of us as we ventured slowly into the badlands. The boots that Aerith and I wore crunched lightly across the dusty ground, but Red made barely a whisper with his paws as he moved. The region seemed utterly lifeless, just miles of barren, brown and gray rock, and I remembered what Barret had said to me on the train, about how all the life here had been drained by the reactors. Now I understood. Would it spread? I wasn't sure, but I was going to do whatever I could to stop it. I was going to fight Shinra and Sephiroth. I didn't care how far I had to travel or where I had to go. I was going to stop both of them no matter what it took. I had to. I had promises to keep and a score to settle. And nothing was going to get in the way of that.

It was dusk when Barret and I finally stopped for the night in an out of the way clearing surrounded by low canyon walls on three sides. Exhausted, my legs aching, I sat down with my back leaning up against the rock face and panted for a while as I tried to catch my breath. I saw Barret sit down next to me, as worn out as I was.

I thought of Cloud, missing him and hoping he was alright. Where was he out here? I wished he had let me come with him, but I wasn't at all surprised. It made sense that he'd want to keep Aerith close after all she had been through with her capture and imprisonment. I knew how important it was to keep her safe. But I couldn't quite suppress the flare of jealousy that rose up within me. She was my friend, and I hated that feeling that seared my stomach like a simmering flame. I couldn't let it or my feelings for Cloud come between us. My friendship with her was too important to me. And I knew Cloud wasn't ready for anything now anyway. He was so determined to find Sephiroth, and I also saw clearly enough the pain still lingering in his eyes from losing Jessie. Losing the guys, two good men who he'd just begun to build friendships with, had been bad enough. I had been pleasantly surprised at how he had begun to warm up to Biggs and Wedge.

But losing Jessie had to have been so much more difficult for him. I had never expected him to fall for her, and I don't think he did, either. But he had, just the same. And while I wanted to help him, I just didn't know how. I was still trying to process it all myself. From the open side of the clearing, Barret and I could see Midgar off in the distance, and I tried not to think about all that had happened.

"I'm so tired…" I breathed.

Barret nodded. "Then rest. We still got a ways to go yet."

"I will, but…"

"What is it, Tifa?" he asked.

I could feel my emotions welling up, surging within me like a tidal wave, memories of the last few days threatening to overwhelm me. I sat there, seeing not the barren lands around us or the city far away, but all the precious things I had just lost. My friends. My home. The life I had known. They were… all gone.

At that last thought, I gasped and leaned forward, the tears finally bursting forth. "Oh, Barret! What's happened to us!?"

"I don't know, girl. I don't know," he wrapped his arms around me, his own voice not quite steady.

I clung to him, the enormity of our loss suddenly hitting me like a sledgehammer to the face. We were adrift, everything and everyone we had known cruelly ripped away. I hadn't had time to really think about it before what with the hectic events surrounding Aerith's rescue. Now, though, it was all I could think about.

I let out a long, shuddering breath. "I'm sorry, I just…"

"Don't be apologizin', Tifa," Barret shook his head. "You got nothin' to apologize for. Jus' let it on out, you hear?"

"Are… are you sure?" I sniffled.

He patted my shoulder. "Yeah. We got a long road ahead of us. Best get this out now while we still got time. Ain't gonna do you no good to keep it all bottled up inside, girl."

I smiled gratefully at him, noticing then that his own eyes weren't exactly dry either, then buried my face in his broad shoulder and wept. Sobs poured out of me one after the other as the grief overtook me. For the first time since the plate had fallen, I gave myself to it completely. I don't know how long I cried, the tears blurring my vision and flooding my face with wetness.

It was a pain that I hadn't felt since Nibelheim, and I had hoped to never know it again. Biggs… Wedge… Jessie… I thought of them, and I thought of my home, of the Sector 7 slums and the people I had known there, of the life I had built in that place over the last few years. Now it was all gone, buried underneath a hundred tons of broken rubble, and I was on the run from Shinra. A homeless fugitive with nowhere to go except on a quest I barely understood.

Then I thought of Barret, and how hard all this must be on him as well, and the tears and broken sobs kept coming, as much for him now as for myself. He was in the same situation I was, had been there longer and had been closer to the others than any of us. Guilt ate at me, too. I couldn't help it, and I knew that Barret must have been struggling with it himself. But he didn't say anything. He just held me as I wept, and for the moment, that was enough.

Eventually, my chest stopped hitching and my breathing relaxed. I didn't let go right away, though. I just leaned against him, feeling spent, emotionally drained, but also cleansed. The pain of loss still hurt, and I knew it always would, but I felt like a heavy weight had been rolled off my shoulders. Lifting my head up from Barret's chest, I wiped my eyes and nose with the back of my arm and sat back.

"You okay now?" Barret asked.

I smiled humorlessly. "I doubt I'll be seeing okay for a while. But… I'll be alright, Barret. I feel a little better now. Thank you."

"Anytime, girl. We gotta stick together."

"That's right," I agreed. "What about you? Are you okay?"

He sighed. "I feel the same as you, Tifa."

I put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get through this, Barret."

"Yeah, we will. Now we best go an' get some shut-eye. Got to make an early start tomorrow."

I nodded. "When will we reach Kalm?"

"Should get there by noon, I think," Barret answered. "We're 'bout three hours or so away now."

"Alright, then. Goodnight, Barret."

He settled back against the rock wall. "Night, Tif."

I stretched out upon the stony ground, sliding an arm underneath my head to serve as a makeshift pillow, and gazed up at the stars so far above us. There were so many of them, and I thought of that night long ago when Cloud and I had sat on the water tower and he had made his special promise to me. As I slowly let myself drift away, I sent him one final thought before sleep finally claimed me.

Goodnight, Cloud.

As the sun dipped slowly beneath the edge of the western horizon, Aerith, Red, and I made camp on a low bluff about two dozen miles or so into the badlands. Well, I don't know if you could call it a camp. We just climbed the low rise and sat down, our stomachs growling and our throats dry. We had no food or water, and neither did Tifa and Barret. We hadn't been able to get back inside the slums to get anything, either, what with how Shinra kept the outer doors locked.

"How's everyone holding up?" I asked.

Aerith laid her staff down next to her and stretched her arms. "I'm fine, Cloud. Glad to sit down, though. My feet are killing me."

"We did cover a lot of ground today," I said.

"Don't I know it. Anyway, it feels good to rest for a while."

Red yawned and laid down a short distance away from us. "Indeed. I will see you all in the morning."

"Night, Red," Aerith called to him.

But he was already out, his one eye closed and his chest rising and falling with his breath. Aerith giggled and then busied herself adjusting her dress and gazing at the stars that were slowly starting to come out. While she did that, I stood up, took both of my swords, and stuck them into the ground point first. Then I walked close to the edge of the bluff, the wind ruffling my hair, and looked back at Midgar, so far away now. My hand slid into my pocket and came across something hard, plastic, and rectangular, and I knew in an instant what it was.

My legs gave out, and I fell more than sat as I pulled out the object. It was the ID that Jess had made for me. I'd almost forgotten that I still had it. She had put so much of herself in it, and I had never blamed her for the malfunction that set off the train alarms. Jess had just wanted to do something special for me, and I had known that. I just stared at the card, not really seeing it but seeing Jess instead. And Biggs and Wedge as well. They hadn't been so bad. I wished I could have gotten to know them better. But mostly it was Jessie that my thoughts turned to. I still missed her, and I realized then that there was something I hadn't done yet that she had asked me to do. I had to let her go. But how could I do that? I didn't want to, but I knew she was gone.

I looked up as Aerith came and sat down with me. She looked over and saw what I was holding. "What's that?"

"It's the ID that Jessie made for me," I answered.

"Your special friend. Did you find her?"

I looked away, not sure how to answer at first. Finally, I sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I did. At the pillar. She… didn't make it."

Aerith's hand closed over mine. "I'm so sorry…"

"I was there with her, at the end. She… she loved me, Aerith. And I told her how I felt about her. That I… cared for her."

I went on, telling her about Jess and everything that had happened in the pillar. I told Aerith of how Tifa and I had found her near the top of the stairs after Biggs had sacrificed himself to hold off the remaining Shinra soldiers. I talked about how glad I had been to see Jessica again and how she had run down the stairs and into my arms before Shinra's attack had forced us apart again.

From there, I told Aerith about how the three of us had fought the roboguards and I had gotten back to Jess only to find myself caught in the sights of that chopper, unable to move in that split second that had seemed as if it were an eternity. As she listened, her hand never leaving mine, I explained to Aerith how Jessie had saved me, pushing me aside just as the chopper opened fire and shot her instead of me. And of how shocked and anguished I had felt when I saw her fall.

I told Aerith of the promises I had made to Jessica as she lay dying in my arms, and of how she had blown herself and the Shinra soldiers up in order to give Tifa and I the chance reach Barret before it was too late. I also told Aerith about the memorial her mother had helped us to make for Jessica, Biggs, and Wedge before we had infiltrated the Shinra Building to rescue her.

But I said nothing of how I had seen Jess again when her spirit had led me inside, how she had helped me find the star pendant, and of the mysterious dream I had shared with her. Those things I kept to myself. They… they were a private and personal thing for me. Something very special. That's why I never said anything about them until now. But the story we're telling is very important, and those things are a part of it. A part of who I am. Who I really am, that is.

When I was finished, I simply sat there, staring across the badlands at the dark, distant bulk of Midgar many miles away as it lay cloaked in its perpetual haze of deep gloom, Jessie's ID in my hands. As I thought about her and the short time we'd had together, I felt Aerith moving to sit close behind me, and a moment later, she draped her arms over my shoulders and laid the side of her head against my back. She didn't say anything, just held me, and as she did, I reached up and gently grasped her arm with one hand, clinging to her as the emotions rolled through me. I let them run their course, let myself feel all the pain and sadness I had kept locked down before.

I didn't cry, not exactly, but the tears that I had been unable to shed before finally leaked out. I let them slide down my cheeks as I sat there with Aerith, my eyes closed and my breathing slow and steady. I let the memories both good and bad fill my mind. It was the first time since I had lost Jess and the guys that I had time to ponder and process all that had happened, to really take it in.

How long I sat with Aerith like that, I don't know. But as time wore on, I felt that sharp knife in my heart finally begin to withdraw, and the pain gradually lessened. It wouldn't go away entirely, not ever, but I felt like I could live with it, like I could finally do what Jessie had asked me to do, what she had wanted me to do. I could let her go.

I opened my eyes. "Thanks, Aerith."

"Anytime," she whispered. "I'm always here for you, Cloud."

I smiled at her over my shoulder. "Same here. I'm your bodyguard, after all. It's part of the job."

She laughed. "Sure is! And I'm holding you to it!"

Now both of us laughed, and I found myself feeling so much better for it. Aerith just had that effect on me, and I was more grateful for her soothing presence, humor, compassion, and understanding than I ever could put into words. I was glad she was here with me on this journey, and wherever it took us, I knew she would be at my side.

"I don't doubt it," I grinned. "Anyway, we've still got a lot of ground to cover before we hit Kalm tomorrow, so let's turn in for the night and get some sleep."

Aerith chuckled. "You won't get any argument from me."

Slipping the ID back into my pocket, I stretched out on the ground as Aerith curled up not so far away, her mythril staff lying close beside her. I slid my eyes closed, thinking then about Tifa and hoping she and Barret were alright. I figured they were, but as long as my friends were out of sight, I couldn't help worrying about them a bit.

I laughed a little to myself as I suddenly I realized that I considered Barret a friend. When had that happened? I remembered how I hadn't really liked him that much at first, and the feeling had been more than mutual. But somewhere along the line, things had changed. We trusted each other now. Funny the twists life takes sometimes.

As I lay there gazing at the stars glittering like diamonds above us, I heard Aerith scoot over a little. "It's so pretty…"

"Yeah," I said. "Your first time seeing the sky like this?"

"It is, yes. It's so much better than I ever imagined. How many stars do you think are up there, Cloud?"

I folded my hands behind my head and smirked. "A lot."

Aerith laughed and smacked me across the shoulder with a playful punch. "Oh, you are so terrible!"

"Hey, you asked," I shot back with a grin.

"Well, I'm going to count them," Aerith declared. "I'll let you know how far I get."

I chuckled. "Have fun, Aerith. Goodnight."

"I will, Cloud. Sweet dreams."

I fell asleep soon afterward, more easily than I had expected to out here on the barren rock. When I awoke early the next morning to find the sun shining above us, I sat up and looked around. The others were still out, but I knew that we needed to get moving soon, so I stood and woke them, moving first to Aerith and then to Red and gently shaking them each on the shoulder.

While they both stretched and blinked open their eyes, I went over to where I had left my swords, pulled Buster from the ground, and slid it into its harness on my back. Then I took Hardedge in hand and went over near where I had sat last night. I gazed out at Midgar, the city that was more than miles away now, and found it didn't hurt as much to do that as it had before. With a light breeze tossing my hair and the edges of my clothes, I stood there for a moment and took a long, slow breath, then whispered a few quiet words into the early morning air.

"Goodbye, Jessica…"

A moment later, Aerith took my arm. "You ready?"

I smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah. I think I am, Aerith."

Knowing exactly what I meant, she gave me a smile of her own and gently led me away from the edge of the bluff to where Red was waiting for us. Feeling rested and renewed, I took the lead as we made our way off the bluff and into the lower badlands. Turning to the northeast, we put our backs to Midgar and headed toward Kalm.

Here ends BOOK ONE: MIDGAR.
The story continues in BOOK TWO: PURSUIT as Cloud and his friends
travel across strange new lands, encounter a spunky new ally,
evade Shinra's deadly forces, and attempt to catch up to Sephiroth
to see for themselves if he really has returned…