TWENTY-ONE

As Cloud and I made our way down the road toward the docks, we passed a few inns, shops, and restaurants, all bustling with activity. But we were so intent on getting to our destination that we nearly ran right into a familiar suited figure about halfway there. Cloud quickly caught me by the arm and pulled me back just before I would've collided with Rude. He glanced at us, as typically expressionless as ever behind those dark sunglasses of his, and grunted irritably.

"Sorry, sir," I said, barely remembering to lower my voice.

"Forget about it," he grunted.

I noticed with some satisfaction that he still had a few bruises here and there from the battle at Fort Condor. I hadn't forgotten how he and Reno had helped me years ago, but that didn't change the fact that they were still our enemies, at least for now. Still, I hoped that things would be different one day. But at the moment, I had more pressing things to worry about. Rude had just left a bar along with a bunch of other guys, all as bald as he was. Some kind of weird club, maybe? After waving to them, he turned and headed down the street.

"Should we follow him, see what he's up to?" I whispered.

Cloud shrugged. "Think we have time?"

I nodded. "If we hurry."

So we did, as unobtrusively as possible. After a minute or so, Rude ducked into another bar closer to the docks. We waited a moment and then slipped inside. The place was nearly empty, and it wasn't hard for us to see why. The rest of the Turks—Reno, Tseng, and Elena—all sat at the bar nursing drinks. Rude joined them just as we walked in, having a seat on a stool next to Reno. He glanced at us.

"Making the rounds?" he asked.

"Yeah," Cloud replied, pretending to inspect the place.

Reno brushed him off. "No need for that, guys. The president's safe 'cause we're here. So just relax, alright? We got this."

"Do you mind?" Elena added. "This is a private meeting."

"So stay out of it," Tseng said.

Cloud and I headed over to the other side of the room, supposedly out of earshot of the Turks, but we could still just barely hear them. We sat down and ordered drinks, pretending to do as Reno had suggested, but kept our ears open. He and the rest of the Turks ignored us, just as we'd hoped, thinking we were just ordinary soldiers.

"So, I heard you guys got trounced at Fort Condor," Reno quipped. "Even the general, too. Avalanche pulled out a win."

"Just barely," Elena muttered.

"Take it as a learning experience," Tseng told her.

She clenched her fist. "Oh, I will, sir. And the next time I see Jessie, I am so gonna nail her sorry ass! She's going down!"

I smirked under my breath. "As if…"

"Didn't you say that just before she beat you?" Rude asked.

"You're one to talk!" Elena shot back. "After letting that kid and her pet panther beat the living shit outta you. At least Tseng being thrashed by Cloud makes some sense. He was a SOLDIER, though he's due for a serious ass kicking as well. They all are."

Tseng glared at them. "Enough, both of you."

"So, what's the plan?" Reno asked.

"You and Rude are to join the president on the ship," Tseng said. "I believe he'll have need of you where he's going. As for me, with the loss at Fort Condor, Scarlet wishes to search elsewhere for huge materia. So I will remain here until she arrives from Midgar."

Reno shrugged. "Alrighty. She's wasting her time, though."

"Perhaps," Tseng replied. "But it's not our problem. In any case, she wants to check out the ruined reactor at Gongaga."

"That trash heap?" Reno wondered.

Tseng nodded. "The same. We'll be searching the other reactors as well, but it may take some time. As for you, Elena, you'll go with Reno and Rude and assist them however you can."

"Understood," she replied.

"Been wondering, sir," Rude went on. "About what Cloud and Tifa said back in the Mythril Mines. How you had a hand in what happened to Jessie's mom all those years ago. That true?"

Reno blinked. "Huh? I didn't know anything about that…"

"It's classified, but… yes," Tseng admitted.

"So it is true," Elena murmured.

Tseng gazed at his drink. "It's… not something I like to talk about. A mistake I made. One of several. But it can't be undone."

"Tell me about it," I muttered softly.

"That why we weren't part of it?" Reno asked.

Tseng sighed. "I didn't want you two involved. The general's orders never identified the target, only that the individual would be riding the train that day. I didn't find out who she was until afterward. And since we've taken so much from the planet already, I figured the accident was a way of giving back. But… perhaps not."

I looked away, the familiar ache of Mom's loss eating at my heart. I still missed her, but the regret in Tseng's voice had been unmistakable, though he'd done a pretty good job trying to hide it. I wasn't sure what to feel, really. He hadn't been directly responsible—my father had been the one to hit the switch—but he'd still played a part in it. As much as I wanted to hate him, though, I couldn't. With the reactor bombings and all I'd done at Shinra, I wasn't all that much different from him. Maybe, in time, I could forgive him. But not today.

Cloud tapped me softly on the shoulder, knowing what was on my mind, and we left the bar. We didn't say very much as we hurried down the rest of the street toward the docks. At one point, it crossed through an interior hall, a wide tunnel that stretched off to our left. A squad of soldiers was doing drills further down, so we kept going to avoid being caught up in it and missing the cargo ship.

The docks were just a short distance past the tunnel's exit. It wasn't too hard for us to find the right one—the rest of our squad was already there, and a few sailors were still busy loading the last of the cargo. We hurried over and got into formation with the other two soldiers just as Rufus and my father walked out of a nearby door.

"It's time!" the officer ordered. "President Rufus has arrived! Junon Military Reception—do it right, do it with enthusiasm!"

As Rufus and my father watched and the officer blew his whistle at every command one by one, we performed the send-off routine just as we'd practiced—a variety of turns and rifle movements done in unison. I'd been a little worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up, but it wasn't as hard as I'd thought, and we pulled it off nicely.

The officer pointed at us. "Now finish strong! Special!"

Right on cue, we all lifted our rifles, spun then in a circle overhead, then brought them down and held them ready in both hands, standing at attention and facing forward as we waited to see whether Rufus had enjoyed the show or not. Fortunately, it seemed as if he had, and after a moment or two, he nodded in approval.

"Well done," he said. "Keep up the good work for Shinra."

Heidegger walked up to us, another soldier at his side, and cackled like mad. "Here's a special bonus for each of you. Think of it as a token of the president's kindness. Don't forget it!"

He went over to me first, taking a glowing purple materia orb from the soldier and handing it to me. "This'll boost your health a bit, make you harder to take down. And with as small and puny as you are, you'll need it! Get some meat on your bones, boy!"

"Yes, sir!" I saluted, disguising my voice. "Thank you, sir."

My father took a huge blue-hilted sword with a purple and mythril blade from the soldier and gave it to Cloud. "Looks like you know your weapons. This is the Force Stealer. Use it well."

He nodded as he took it. "I will, sir. Thank you."

After that, Heidegger gave the soldier next to Cloud—the friend he couldn't remember—a pair of sleek, hi-tech shades with thin but sturdy silver frames. They looked pretty cool, but I was sure there was more to them if my father was handing them out as a gift. They looked a bit too advanced to just be ordinary sunglasses.

"These'll help you see clearly no matter the weather or what enemy you're facing," Heidegger explained. "Some monsters can blind you, so keep these handy if you know what's good for you."

"Yes, sir!" the soldier said.

After my father had given the fourth soldier an item as well, Rufus folded his arms in front of him. "Cloud and his friends will surely show up as soon as word gets out that Sephiroth's here. They won't stay holed up at Fort Condor, at least not all of them."

"Not to worry!" Heidegger boasted. "We'll crush them just as soon as we find them! They won't be able to escape!"

"They can't be allowed to interfere with our agenda," Rufus added. "And that includes your daughter. I imagine you'd like to thank her for embarrassing you so handily at Fort Condor."

My father just grunted. "We nearly had that place until Jessica and her friends… well, what's done is done. She fought well that day, I have to admit. She's grown strong. A shame things between us turned out as they did. If they'd been different, then perhaps…"

"General?" Rufus raised an eyebrow.

"It's nothing, sir," Heidegger muttered, shaking his head. "Just leave Avalanche to me. I'll see that they're dealt with."

He nodded. "Then let's be off."

Once he and Heidegger had boarded the cargo ship and the officer had finally dismissed us, I just stood there for a moment, stunned and overcome as I tried to take in what I'd just heard. It was still a little hard for me to believe, and my heart was a jumble of mixed emotions. But I couldn't deny that a part of me was… happy.

"Cloud…" I whispered. "Did you… did you hear what he said?"

He took my shoulder. "Yeah. Surprised me, too."

I sighed. "I can't remember the last time he said anything nice to or about me. It's been so long, Cloud. So many years. When I was growing up back home, he was always tearing me down. We argued all the time. But today, he sounded almost… proud."

"You know what he's done, though," Cloud reminded me.

"I haven't forgotten," I assured him. "And he's still gonna answer for it. But I never knew he had any regrets about… us. Until now. Maybe I can still reach him, Cloud. I thought it was too late, but… if I can bring him back… well, I know it won't change what he did. Nothing can. No way. But if there's even a chance he'll listen…"

Cloud folded his arms in front of him. "I don't know…"

"He's my father," I insisted. "In spite of all he's done and everything that's happened, a part of me still loves him. It's crazy and dangerous, I know, but… it's how I feel. I have to try."

"Alright," he said. "But if he hurts you again, I'm kicking his ass."

I smiled. "Deal. Thanks, Cloud."

Then his friend offered us the silver glasses he'd been given. "Here, take 'em. I think you'll need 'em more than I will."

"You sure?" Cloud asked.

The soldier handed them to him. "Yeah. Good luck, guys."

Cloud nodded. "Thanks. Same to you."

"Thanks so much!" I added.

"No problem," the soldier said. "Seems like Heidegger's really been on edge lately. Aside from the whole deal with Fort Condor, Hojo's also disappeared. He resigned from Shinra just after you left Midgar, so the general's been saddled with that investigation as well."

Cloud frowned. "Interesting timing…"

"No kidding," I agreed. "Think there's a connection?"

"Could be," he said. "Hojo just let us escape while we were rescuing Aerith in the Shinra Building. And now he's gone, too."

I shivered. "I don't like the sound of that…"

"Same," Cloud said.

"Be careful, guys," his friend told us. "If you're ever in Junon again, look me up. I'll be glad to lend you a hand."

Then he left, along with his partner and the officer, and I sighed in relief knowing that we'd finally made it. No one was paying very much attention to us, so Cloud and I hurried aboard as a few sailors finished loading the rest of the crates. We'd just stepped into the cargo bay when a familiar voice suddenly whispered to us.

"Cloud! Jessie! There you are!" It was Red. "Over here!"

I giggled when I saw him hiding off to our right. "Red! You're here! And you look great! I could hardly tell it was you."

He walked toward us, a little wobbly but upright in his disguise. "It looks like you finally made it. I was starting to get worried. The others are all aboard, so you're the last to arrive."

"Good," Cloud said. "You were watching for us?"

"Yes," Red replied.

I laughed. "You make a pretty good soldier, Red. Very convincing! Almost had me fooled there for a minute."

"Thank you, Jessie," he chuckled. "I'm a little woozy, but I'll be fine. And I doubt I'll be noticed. Most of you two-legs don't look much past appearances anyway. Oh, um… no offense."

I smiled. "None taken. How'd you know it was us?"

"Your scent," Red answered. "Part of the reason I volunteered to be the lookout. I knew I'd be able to spot you more easily than they would. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to rest for a bit."

With that, he got down on all fours and sat in the shadows of a tall stack of crates where no one would see him. I didn't doubt trying to be on two feet like the rest of us would wear him out sooner or later. After patting him fondly on the nose, I followed Cloud further into the ship. As we made our way steadily forward through the cargo hold, we soon heard a familiar groan. Sure enough, when we ducked behind another wall of wooden crates, we found Yuffie. She was in her sailor outfit and holding her stomach as she bent over a little.

"Oh, this is why I hate ships…" she muttered.

"Yuffie?" I asked. "You okay?"

She looked at me. "That you, Jessie?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it's us. Me and Cloud. But you don't look so good. Motion sickness bothering you again?"

"Kicking my ass," Yuffie said. "Haven't hurled yet, but…"

"Here," Cloud handed her a tranquilizer.

She took it and downed it. "Thanks, Cloud. Ugh! Man that's gross! So bitter. But it oughta settle my stomach a little."

"Seen the others?" he asked.

"Not since we came aboard," Yuffie replied. "But I'm sure they're all hiding around here somewhere. Not that I have any clue where to find them. Been suffering in here the whole time."

I gave her a thumbs up. "You'll be okay. Hang in there."

"I'll try," she said. "Got any more of those tranquilizers? They wear off after a while, and we're gonna be stuck on here for a few days, so I'll probably be puking my guts out if it gets real bad."

"Right here," Cloud said.

After he gave her the rest of the tranquilizers his soldier friend had given us, Yuffie smiled in relief. "Oh, you're a lifesaver, Cloud! Thanks! I'd kiss you, but I doubt Jessie would like that."

"Bet your ass I wouldn't," I chuckled. "What is it with all these girls trying to steal my man all of a sudden?"

"Well, he is kinda hot," Yuffie grinned.

Cloud gaped at her. "I… what?"

"Can't really argue with ya there, Yuffie," I laughed. "But keep your hands off him, alright? He's already taken."

"Yeah, yeah," she smirked.

Leaving Yuffie to handle her motion sickness as best she could, we moved on, making our way quietly through the cargo bay. A few other soldiers and sailors stood here and there, busy working on securing the loose goods before the ship got underway. And sitting to our left was a shiny, expensive-looking Shinra sedan. It was parked and locked down so it would stay in place. I was sure that it was my father's—he'd always been a pretty big car collector—and I figured he was probably going to use it to get around while in Costa Del Sol.

Cloud and I kept going, weaving our way steadily forward through the maze of crates, boxes, and other items until we reached the far end of the cargo bay. There was a doorway in the wall ahead of us that lead into the engine room, and to the right of that, a set of stairs led upward to the crew quarters and the deck. We were almost there when another soldier suddenly bumped into me. He'd been backing up and staring so intently at the clipboard he was holding that he hadn't even noticed we were coming. I stumbled but stayed on my feet.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" the soldier apologized, the voice instantly familiar in spite of its owner's attempt to make it sound lower than it really was. "I was just, um, looking over some stuff, and—"

"Aerith?" I asked.

She nodded, talking normally now. "Jessie, is that you?"

"Sure is!" I said. "So glad we found ya!"

"You okay, Aerith?" Cloud asked.

She giggled. "Yeah. You guys nearly gave me a heart attack, though. For a moment there, I thought I'd been caught."

"Sorry about that," I chuckled.

Aerith smiled. "No problem. Say, did you guys see the airship back at the airport? We got a glimpse of it on the way here."

"Yeah," Cloud said. "When Jessie and I climbed up from the beach. She told me it was big—she'd seen a mural of it years ago—but I wasn't expecting it to be that big. Neither was she."

"Took my breath away," I giggled.

Aerith smirked. "I'll bet. It was really something. I'd love to fly on it someday. Think we can get on it, Cloud?"

"I'll take you both," he promised. "Just keep hoping."

"Looking forward to it!" she grinned.

I laughed. "Same here!"

Just then, as the engines thrummed to life, we heard footsteps and turned to see Reno and Rude heading through the cargo bay while the sailors in the back closed up the stern. Neither Turk paid any attention to us, though. They just walked right on by and headed upstairs, and as they did, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Then I felt the ship move as we finally got underway.

"So where are Tifa and Barret?" Cloud asked.

"On deck, I think," Aerith said.

I nodded. "Okay. We'll go let them know we're here. Tifa's probably worried about us. Barret, too. And you know, I can't wait to see him in his sailor suit! I bet he looks really cute in it!"

"Oh, he does!" Aerith agreed.

"Better him than me," Cloud said.

She giggled. "Oh, I haven't forgotten about your dress, Cloud. You were so pretty! Before we left Fort Condor, Jessie showed Tifa and I the footage Andrea gave her. Encore when we go back to Wall Market? I'm sure we could talk him into it. He likes you."

"Good idea!" I grinned.

Cloud gulped. "What? N-No! We need to find the others."

I smirked. "Alright. Claire…"

"Jessie…" he sighed.

"See ya later, Aerith!" I waved as we walked away.

She waved back. "Have fun!"

Up on the deck, we found mostly sailors, but there were also a few soldiers standing about overseeing the work. I wasn't really sure which one was Tifa, and Cloud didn't seem to have any more of an idea. But a moment later, I spotted a single soldier standing on an elevated part of the deck watching all the activity below alongside a huge, dark-skinned sailor who could only have been Barret.

"Cloud!" I whispered. "Look, on the platform. It's them!"

He nodded. "I see 'em. Let's go."

We walked across the deck, just two more Shinra soldiers on duty, and made it to the platform a moment later, doing our best to blend in. After climbing up the short ladder, we found the trooper and sailor we were looking for, and they didn't seem surprised to see us. I just barely stifled a giggle when I got a good look at Barret.

"Aerith was right!" I whispered. "You do look cute, Barret!"

"Shit… not you too, Jessie…" he muttered.

Tifa chuckled softly. "Well, she's not wrong. But still, I'm glad they made it. I was starting to get a little worried."

"Slipped aboard just a few minutes ago," Cloud said.

"Yes, sir!" she replied a little louder as a few other soldiers glanced our way for a moment. "Everything quiet, sir!"

I smiled as soon as they'd finally looked away. "Great job, Tifa! You even had me fooled there for a minute. Seems like you're pretty good at passing yourself off as a Shinra soldier."

"I guess," she shrugged. "But you know, I hate this uniform, Jessie. Uniforms, soldiers, war… I hate all of them. They just… take away the people and things we love. I wish it would all go away. Silly, I know, but that's the way I feel. What do you think?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. Can't stand this thing either."

I felt the same way. "Likewise. I know what you mean, Tifa. Believe me. But we can work to make things better."

"Yeah! Exactly!" she agreed.

Barret glanced at us. "Awright, we all here now. So I think we'd best jus' lay low an' blend in 'till we get to Costa Del Sol. But I wanna try an' find out where Rufus an' Mr. Warmonger went. Maybe we can listen in on 'em and see what they plannin' to do next."

Cloud folded his arms in front of him. "Better leave that to us. You get too close and there's no telling what you'd do."

"The hell?" Barret scowled.

"He's got a point, you know," I told him.

He snorted. "You two ain't ones to talk. Had to hold Cloud's skinny ass back in the Shinra Buildin' 'cause he was so pissed at your old man. An' I don't think I need to remind you how you let him get to ya in the pillar, Jessie. We damn near lost ya because of it."

"I haven't forgotten," I reminded him.

"Let's not argue about it," Tifa said, frowning at all three of us. "We can meet with the others later to figure this out. And until then, no one goes off in search of Rufus and Heidegger."

Cloud sighed. "Fine. Had enough of him in town anyway."

"We'll fill you in later, Tifa," I promised.

"Okay," she said. "We should all meet belowdecks tonight."

Barret grunted. "Awright. You two oughta get goin', though, before anyone starts gettin' suspicious. Don't wanna draw too much attention. Like Tifa said, we'll meet up later down below."

"Right," I agreed. "See ya then!"

"Be careful," Cloud added.

Tifa saluted but wasn't quite able to hide a little grin. "Understood, sir! Everything's quiet here. Nothing to report."

After climbing back down the ladder, Cloud and I went across the deck. On impulse, I led him over to the rail, and we just stood there for a while gazing out at the rolling waves. Off to our right, Junon was only a faint line on the horizon as the ship traveled west, and the salty smell of the sea filled my nose. I breathed it in deeply, glad to be here in spite of the circumstances. I'd missed it for a long time.

"We made it, Cloud," I smiled. "The ocean. Not exactly the way we planned way back when, but still… we made it."

He gave me a faint smirk. "Told you I'd get you here."

I chuckled. "Yeah. Thanks…"

As Cloud and I stood together at the rail, I thought of the trip we'd planned in our secret place tucked between the Sector 7 and 8 slums in Midgar so many months ago. The day we'd shared our first kiss as well as our first date. Everything had seemed possible then, back before the plate had come down and our world had been shattered. And although things hadn't turned out quite the way we'd expected, somehow we had still managed to get here and fulfill our goal.

It made me happy and gave me some hope that things might work out for us in the end. As Cloud rested his gloved hand on the rail, I laid mine discreetly over it. We were standing side by side, so it wouldn't be easy for anyone else to see what we were doing, and for a while neither of us said anything. There wasn't really a need. We watched the waves, felt a cool breeze on our skin, and listened to the cries of the occasional flock of seagulls. It was a sweet, peaceful moment together in the midst of our long journey, one I'll never forget.

I think that's partly why, years later, Cloud and I moved from Edge to Junon. Besides being an easier place from which to do our work and make the trips that often went along with it, we'd both missed the calm of the ocean, the sights and sounds that we'd both found soothing even though we'd never really said so out loud. Our condo overlooks the sea, a great view, and we can always hear the waves. But there's still another place on both our minds, one I know we'll go back to someday. Colder, farther north, but also very personal to us both.

It was her home once, a very long time ago. But think I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. We haven't gotten to that part of the story yet—it's still a long way off. I was telling you about the journey across the ocean on the Shinra cargo ship. It started calmly enough, but what none of us knew at first was that there was another stowaway besides us, a terrible thing that would show itself by the end of the trip and lead us into our first confrontation with Sephiroth and Jenova.