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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - REUNION
'The first time I saw you I realized at once you were an angel in torment … How could I desert you … I vowed in that moment that nothing in this world … or any other would ever threaten or hurt you … Dragons may guard your door … But I'm on my way to save you … Devils wage unholy war … But I'm on my way to save you … The forces of darkness may mobilize one hundred million demons … an army to keep you far from me … Determined to stop me … they'll spend eternity regretting they ever crossed me … They'll suffer, believe me .. Dragons may guard your door … But I'm on my way to save you … Devils wage unholy war … But I'm on my way to save you … (Prefab Sprout: 'Dragons')'
Junon. Dock. Morning.
Reno had been uncharacteristically quiet since they'd left the Mythril Mines the morning before. He'd said almost nothing during the trek from Fort Condor to Junon, and even less after they met up with Reeve and Cait Sith. He'd disappeared into one of Junon's many bars upon their arrival, and hadn't been seen until they all met at the Junon dock the next morning.
He felt her eyes on him and he smirked at her with an expression that said, 'If you only knew.' Unknown to him, bittersweet regret was plain on his features, and given how he'd disappeared the night before, Tifa was certain that she didn't want to dwell on what, or who, was causing the secondary emotions to play out on his face.
"I'm going too." The feminine voice came from behind them, and Tifa spun around at the sound of the familiar voice, pure shock written on her face as she saw the young woman standing there, looking defiantly at Reno. She was dressed far better than when she'd seen her last. She wore jeans, a neat t-shirt and a light windbreaker, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Gone were the combat fatigues and headband that had held the wisps of auburn hair in place months before. Instead, they now hung around her face, blowing in the slight breeze of the cool Junon morning. It couldn't be.
"Jessie?" Tifa whispered, unable to raise her voice above that level.
"I told you not to come." Reno's voice was sharp and cold.
"Barrett is my friend." Defiance flashed in her eyes as she adjusted the bag she carried over her shoulder and walked towards the boat. "You aren't going to stop me from visiting him, Nathan."
"Jessie?" Tifa repeated, finding her voice this time, unbelieving the sight before her. She was angry at the sharp pang of jealousy that struck her as Jessie referred to Reno by his first name.
Jessie stopped by Tifa and smiled, embracing her in an enthusiastic hug. "Tifa!"
"Jessie." Reno stated, a tone of warning in his voice. "We talked about this."
Jessie released Tifa from the hug and turned to face Reno again. "No, Nathan. You talked about this. I've been stuck in Junon since well before Meteor fell and Midgar was destroyed. I'm tired of being treated like a prisoner when all I ever did was help you out."
"Jessie. I can't let you go." Reno's voice was even.
Tifa looked between the two of them, completely lost at what they were talking about. Jessie alive? Reno trying to keep her in Junon? Jessie helping Reno?! What in the planet was going on?
"It's over, Nathan. Shinra is gone. Haven't I stayed hidden long enough? I already missed the part about saving the world. Are you going to deny me the chance to live now that everyone else is trying to live a normal life?" Her green eyes flooded with pain. "Tifa's seen me now, and I know she has questions. Are you going to deny her those answers?"
Jessie knew all about Reno and Tifa's past. She had instantly known that something was bothering him and after a few drinks she had managed to get him to speak at length about the feelings being around Tifa again had dredged up. She thought that he just needed to tell her how he really felt and forget about the past, but Reno was Reno, and he always did have a hard time with letting go of the past.
Reno's eyes met Jessie's. She had been his best-kept secret most of his life. It had been just the two of them for so many years, and he'd nearly gotten himself killed several times trying to protect her. While he had hated it when she'd decided to work for Don Corneo's filthy Honey Bee Inn, a small part of him was relieved that at least she'd be off the streets, especially when he'd just joined Soldier and wouldn't be around to protect his baby sister like he'd promised the night their parents died. He always called her his baby sister, knowing that it drove her nuts. He was only 45 minutes older than she, but she still looked like she was 19 whereas years of hard living had aged both his looks and his mind.
From the day he joined Soldier, Reno had always looked for a way to get Jessie out of Corneo's clutches. He'd visited her there frequently, always "paying" for her for the evening. Everyone thought that he was sweet on her, but no one knew that she was his sister or that he was just trying to keep the most important thing in his life away from as much of the slime in the slums as he could.
As he had progressed through the ranks of Soldier and then into the Turks, Reno had always kept a sharp eye out for his sister. His visits to see her became more and more frequent as his status and his pay increased. He tried several times to convince her to move in with him and share his apartment on the plate, but she always smiled and declined, telling him that she was learning a lot down in the slums. That smile was nearly always followed by some tidbit of knowledge that had escaped the careful eye of Shinra, Inc. She was looking out for him as much as he was looking out for her.
He still remembered the day that they had learned of a grass-roots rebel group that called themselves "Avalanche" and "Defenders of the Planet" somewhere in the slums. Posters had begun appearing all over warning of Shinra's use of Mako as an energy source, explaining how it was killing the Planet. President Shinra had publicly dismissed the increasing number of fliers, but had instructed the Turks to "keep an eye on the situation". He'd gone to see his sister that evening, looking for information on the rebel group.
Knowing nothing of the group other than what she had seen on the fliers and what Reno had told her, Jessie had nothing interesting to say about them, except that this Avalanche group was right. That the Planet would be better off without the Mako-leeching Reactors.
He'd gone to Tseng the next day with an idea that had hatched in his head right after Jessie had said that. Tseng was instantly skeptical of the whole plan. Operatives usually underwent serious training before being placed "in the field", and the Turks never assigned anyone due to a half-baked plan. Especially not a half-baked plan because someone didn't want his sister in the Honey Bee Inn. Reno had argued and debated his sister's talent for being a quick study. He had pointed out all of the other tips that Jessie had passed their way, knowing that only a very small percentage of them had been bad information.
In the end Tseng had relented. Reno thought that maybe it was because Tseng had a sister somewhere that, he too, would do anything to protect. But that was only speculation. He knew very little about the former leader of the Turks, and other than the obvious Wutainese heritage, Reno had no clue of Tseng's past or of his family life. He'd always carried himself with dignity and grace, speaking only what was absolutely necessary. Tseng had never been in the habit of socializing with the men under his command so details such as those that usually slipped during the drinking sessions Reno and Rude had were never learned.
After a brief training session in what was expected of her, Jessie was sent back to the slums to infiltrate the group. Only he knew that it wasn't so much an infiltration on her part as it was her actually joining the group because she believed in their cause. Despite the fact that Jessie's reports were always lacking and she told the Turks only what Shinra absolutely needed to know, no one else could have infiltrated the rebel group so well.
Despite that she hadn't informed them of the raid on the first reactor until it was too late, and that the word of the Sector Five reactor's raid came in at the last minute, she had given them valuable information. He hadn't known when he had gotten Jessie involved that Tifa was a part of Avalanche. All they had known at that time was that it was a rebel terrorist group suspected of working out of Sector Seven. By the time Shinra had dropped the plate, President Shinra held all the cards. Or so he thought. The man, for all his intelligence, hadn't bargained on the destructive power of Professor Hojo's greatest experiment, however deceased they had all believed Sephiroth to be.
And up until a few minutes ago no one in Avalanche had ever suspected that Jessie had been a spy for Shinra. Or that she might still be alive and living in Junon. They didn't know of the Shinra helicopter that was retrieving an injured Jessie from the stairs of the pillar support as her own brother set the detonator to send that same pillar crashing down.
Even through all of his arguments with Tifa, Reno had never let it slip that Jessie was still alive. He had been almost afraid of Tifa's reaction. The woman had fists of steel even without her fighting gloves, and despite his protestations otherwise, he was fairly certain that she really could kick his ass. But he, being Reno, would never allow himself to admit that to anyone, especially her. He only hoped Tifa could forgive his sister for her part in everything.
Deep inside, he knew Jessie was right. She did deserve to live her own life. "You can come along then." He said as he turned and boarded the boat, brushing by Tifa without even a glance. He had no idea how to explain to her about the impromptu reunion Jessie had just created, nor was he ready to admit Jessie's part in the fall of Sector Seven. "But stay out of the way. This is official business."
Jessie saluted him smartly in a mock salute that he didn't see as she boarded the boat behind him. "Yes, sir!"