Cid has reservations about the entire thing from the start, but he knows that nothing he says will change anyone's mind.

To keep Charlie and Yuffie from being at each other's throats the entire way, Cloud had divided them into three teams, and Cid doesn't think he's got such a bad gig.

Before he had left with Charlie and Vincent, having waited the agreed upon two hours before starting off towards the distant cliffs, he had caught Charlie in the bathroom of Holzoff's cabin, taking as much fever reducer as possible while throwing handfuls of painkillers in her mouth, chewing them up and washing it all down with long drinks of water.

There was no stopping her, and Cid can't help but wonder if she had been preparing for her death by trying to numb it all.

When he had tried to corner her in the bathroom to take the medicine out of her hands, she had tried to slip a hand down his pants in the hopes of distracting him from the situation, trapping him between herself and the bathroom door as she placed a soft kiss to the dip between his clavicles.

It hadn't progressed any further than that, not when she looked up at him and he saw her pupils, tiny pinpoint things that gave way to the pale blue of her eyes. Cid forced himself to stop her hand before she could touch him, but thankfully, she hadn't seemed to take offense.

It had given him the chance, however, to brush the backs of his fingers against her sharp cheekbones, her skin damp with sweat. He had been humiliated by the way his hand had trembled, but she hadn't objected to his touch. The thought of her walking willingly to her death had been overwhelming, and it's still overwhelming.

He wanted to tell her that he loves her, that he's never really hated her, that he would die for her just like a good Shinra military man should, that he thinks she's the most beautiful fucking woman on the entire planet, that he's never been fucking soft for anyone like he's soft for her, but he wasn't entirely sure whether or not she would remember it after the effects of the medicine wore off.

He thinks he made the right decision not to tell her. He's forced to trail after Vincent on the cliffs, who carries a very high, limp, and half-unconscious Charlie on his back like a backpack. Of course, Cid did offer to carry her, but Vincent had scoffed at him.

"I'm stronger than you," he had said.

That had pissed Cid off. "Well, I think we're both pretty strong."

"I'm stronger." And with that, he had loaded Charlie onto his back, her arms hanging limply over his shoulders, his golden fucking gauntlet holding her wrists to his chest, her face buried in his hair as she mumbled incoherently to him.

The longer they climb and hike, Charlie seems to get better, sweating heavily underneath all of her outerwear and whimpering every so often. She pukes a few times (once on Vincent's sabatons), but it seems to make her feel better.

And once, when Cid asks her about the first place she wants to go when they fix up the Tiny Bronco, she bursts into uncontrollable laughter, her entire body shaking with it until there are tears in her eyes, leaking down her cheeks.

She never gives an answer.

"This is where Jenova must have landed two-thousand-years ago."

"The planet's energy is gathered here, trying to heal the wound," Vincent answers, looking around the massive crater they've found themselves in, carrying her on his back like a child, surprisingly casual about the entire thing.

She feels slightly better, albeit numb to the cold now, but she regrets taking all the painkillers. She can still feel the grit in her back teeth from chewing them, and her head is swimming. If Vincent hadn't carried her, she would never have made it. She hardly remembers the trip at all, only remembering the way the tips of his gauntlet had dug into her skin, her wrists chafed.

Vincent sets her back down, but her knees are weak, and the ground feels like it's shifting beneath her feet.

"What's taking the planet so long to recover?" Charlie thinks aloud, tapping her chin. At least she's able to form a coherent sentence now, but her mind is sluggish and it's difficult to string two ideas together to come to a sensible conclusion. "Don't you think it's had plenty of time to heal itself?"

"Uh . . . Lottie . . . I think we got bigger problems right now."

She looks quickly at Cid. "What do you mean? Bigger than Sephiroth?"

Cid points to the sky, and both Charlie and Vincent look up to see something breaching the clouds above the crater.

"Oh, shit," she whispers at the sight of her Highwind, and she and Cid share a slightly panicked look. Her heart begins to race, but it has nothing to do with the medication and everything to do with the fact that Rufus is probably in that airship at this very moment. "We have to go."

"Who the hell is flyin' that thing?" Cid asks, shielding his eyes from the sun that doesn't seem like it's going to set at all this far north.

"It doesn't matter. We have to find everyone. Now," she urges, feeling much more sober than she had before seeing the Highwind. Taking hold of Cid's hand and lacing their fingers together tight, she urges him forward, raising her eyebrows at Vincent and insisting that he follow quickly.

"Hey, you assholes!" Cid shouts up at the sky, allowing Charlie to pull him still further into the crater, his voice echoing throughout the crater. "That's my ship!"

Charlie scoffs, running crookedly down the earthen path. Without stopping, she glances at him over her shoulder, scowling. "It is not!"

"It's got my name on it!"

"It has my name on it, too, you know!"

"It's literally named after me!"

"Only because your last name sounds like an airship. Shinra's Shinra just sounds redundant." Shaking her head, Charlie blinks a few times, trying to focus up. "It doesn't matter now anyway. Let's go!"

"Fine! But this conversation ain't over!"

"I don't believe it . . . it's incredible . . . ! Mr. President, you've done it! You've found the Promised Land."

"Congratulations, Mr. President," Heidegger says, adding his voice to Scarlet's as they look out through the glass windows of the Highwind, down upon the crater where the Promised Land awaits. "Your father was looking for this for a long time, and now you'll be the one that discovers it."

Rufus frowns, ignoring the obnoxious and grating laughter coming from his subordinates. Grinding his teeth, he tries to push the nagging reminder from the back of his brain that he isn't going to be the one who discovers the Promised Land, despite whatever message he decides to have the company project.

Regardless of Scarlet and Heidegger muttering into both of his ears, Rufus cannot forget that another Shinra has already set foot into the Promised Land. Char and all of her traitorous friends certainly have made it here already, certainly have discovered the place that his father had been searching for nearly all of his life. Char, who had been rejected at nearly every turn within the company under their father's control, had succeeded where both Rufus and their father had not.

It makes his blood boil. Once, what seems like a very long time ago, Rufus would have been happy to make this discovery with his sister at his side. It's a half-forgotten fantasy now, and it shames him to think that he once assumed everything would fall perfectly into place without much effort.

Char would have been beautiful at his side, in love with him and not engaged to Reeve, living in the most expensive apartment in Midgar with him so he could spend every second with her, his perfect little vice president. With them looking so much alike, it might even have been possible to have children under the guise of an absent and unknown father, a son that would be his, a son to follow in his footsteps as the future president of the Shinra Electric Power Company.

Maybe it was always foolish to think she could ever love him. After all, it's those kinds of ideas that earned him such severe beatings as a child. That's one thing Rufus would never do to his own son.

He will never be like his father.

Speaking of his father . . .

Without their father around to determine what's appropriate or not between his children (and how would he have known their reasonings anyway, never having taken an interest in his children?), there is no one to tell Rufus what is right and wrong. No one on the entire planet has the authority to overrule him, and if they're unhappy with the woman he's decided to keep at his side, then he'll take care of it.

Rufus looks around him. He needs to get away for a moment, feeling his blood pressure spike, pulse pounding in his ears. He needs to get away from the whore on his right and the bootlicker on his left, unable to listen to another second of their chattering and laughter. He needs to get away from the mad scientist that watches the scene play out from the back of the cockpit, accompanied by Rude.

He excuses himself from their company in order to inspect the deck, to see if it offers a better look at the "Promised Land." Something about this isn't right, and he can't believe that no one else seems to notice it. This place is nothing more than a crater, surrounded by frozen tundra and a significant amount of monsters.

The Highwind is truly a work of art. As Rufus wanders through the interior, up stairs and through doors, he's amazed that a nineteen-year-old girl could have overseen the construction of this.

As he goes to pass the Operation Room, the door is slightly cracked, and he can hear two voices coming from within. He stops abruptly at the sound of his sister's name and listens for a moment, peering through the crack.

There's a large, blank screen at the very back of the room, high enough for people seated around the conference table to see clearly during briefings. The color is a brilliant red color that reminds Rufus of his father and the carpets that adorn the executive hallways of the Shinra Building.

There are two men inside, both of them dressed in military uniforms, both of them infantrymen. Their helmets are off, revealing sweaty and messy hair, young faces that are pink and smooth.

". . . think the president's gonna do with Charlotte?"

"Fuck her probably . . . isn't that what they usually do?"

Rufus's nostrils flare. Is this how his men talk about Shinras while there's no one listening?

". . . disgusting . . ."

". . . not arguing against that . . ."

". . . give her to us lowly soldiers . . ."

There's a low, hoarse chuckle.

". . . give her a good fucking . . . tight-ass . . ."

". . . heard she's a bitch . . ."

". . . doesn't meant I wouldn't fuck her . . ."

He's heard enough.

He's seeing red by the time he slips into the Operation Room, locking the door behind him, and by the time he's kneeling on one of the infantryman's chest, he's hardly in control, forced to watch as he beats the soldier's face in with the butt of his pistol, until he's unrecognizable and broken and leaking blood onto the already-crimson carpet, while the soldier's buddy is whining on the ground with a bullet wound in his stomach.

It's only when the whining stops, leaving Rufus in complete silence, does he realize what he's done.

Breathing very heavily, he stands up off the dead man's chest and takes a few steps backwards, dropping the bloody gun from his shaking hands onto the floor and wiping blood off his face with a sleeve of his white suit. He holds one of his hands up in front of his face, curling his fingers into a fist.

The man who had been shot in the stomach has ceased moving. Both of them still have blood pulsing freely from their wounds.

He adjusts his tie and collar, fixes his cuffs, brushes off the front of his spattered red-and-white suit, breathing shakily through his nose with his lips pursed tight.

When Rufus leaves the Operation Room, Rude isn't too hard to track down. If he's surprised by the sight of Rufus covered in blood, he doesn't show it.

"There's a mess in the Operation Room," he tells the Turk. "I need you to do some cleanup."

"Yes, sir," Rude replies, making for the room right away, like a good company Turk should.

"You're telling me that we haven't been chasing after Sephiroth this whole time?" Tifa puts her hands on her hips, exhaling loudly at Cloud, bleeding from a few scratches on her arms after a long battle that Cid had just missed, a battle with a monster that yielded them the Black Materia once more.

"I knew it!"

Everyone whirls around to face Charlie, who looks triumphant and a little pale and shaky. There's a glossed-over look to her pale eyes, but she's still standing, which is pretty goddamn impressive considering everything.

"You knew what?" Cloud asks, frowning at her.

"I knew the whole time! I knew that it wasn't Sephiroth we were after! I knew it—"

Barret scoffs, shaking his head. "Bullshit. You didn't know shit—"

"I did," she insists, nodding vigorously. "I told them—" She points to Cait Sith and Vincent, her eyes never leaving Barret—"didn't I? Didn't I tell you yesterday?"

"She did tell us that," Cait Sith confirms, and Vincent nods his assent.

"I knew it ever since the Temple of the Ancients, when I suggested it half-jokingly," she continues, and Cid sighs, moving over to her and noticing the sheen of sweat on her face and the shadows under her eyes. "And if Tseng were here with us, right now, he would also tell you that I said that."

Nanaki sits back on his haunches, tilting his head left and right. "Charlie, are you all right?"

"No," she answers very seriously, throwing everyone off guard. "I actually feel really horrible right now, and I feel like I've been on the verge of vomiting the entire day."

"You did vomit twice on the way here," Vincent reminds her, and Cid scowls at him, exasperated. "Once on my shoes, and the second time over the side of a very small cliff we were on."

Charlie looks surprised to hear that. Cid bites down on his lower lip. It was a mistake to bring her here. It was a mistake to let her leave the clinic so early. He should have stayed behind with her to wait for their friends. She was too sick to force her through such harsh and unforgiving terrain, and he's getting worried that it may result in something fatal.

"You don't remember that?" Vincent asks her again, raising an eyebrow. "You told me you thought you needed to vomit, so I told you not to vomit on me, and then five minutes later, you vomited on my shoes."

She doesn't even blush. "I am—" Charlie struggles for a moment with speech, composing herself and holding her arms out—"sorry."

"What's going on?" Cloud asks again, looking to Cid for an answer. "Did she get . . . bit by something, or . . . ?"

"Oh, she's high as a kite. She took a shit ton of painkillers before we left the cabin, and a bunch of the medicine she got from the clinic," Cid explains, and he isn't really sure that Charlie is able to understand what he's saying, leaning limply against him as he gets nearer to her. "And I dunno who the hell taught her to take a pill, but she chewed 'em up instead of swallowin' 'em, so . . ."

"Geez, Charlie," Yuffie snorts, rolling her eyes and elbowing Tifa, who doesn't smile back. "Just inject it right into your bloodstream next time."

"You just let her do that?" Cait Sith sounds more annoyed than he looks. "What did you do? Just watch her eat the entire bottle?"

"Okay," Cid snaps back at the cat, "you try tellin' the vice president what to do next time."

"We don't have time for this," Cloud sighs, holding up the Black Materia in his hand to examine it. "The real Sephiroth is just beyond here, and we need to take care of him once and for all before Shinra gets involved. Once we beat Sephiroth, it's over and we can focus on getting away from that ship."

"Well, if Sephiroth is just beyond here, maybe we shouldn't bring the Black Materia with us," Tifa suggests, eyeing it warily in Cloud's palm.

"I'll take it!" Yuffie squeals, already racing forward to hold out her hands expectantly.

"I'd rather the Shinra kid have it, given your track record," Barret retorts, glancing sideways at Charlie. "At least she ain't no thief."

"Got that right. This Shinra ain't a thief." Charlie lifts her hand above her head and Barret responds without needing to be prompted, clapping his hand against her own for a solid high-five.

"Charlie, was it you who told me you were embezzling money from the company?" Cait Sith chuckles, touching his gloved fingers to his hand.

"Technically, it was my accountant, and I made sure he was compensated well for it."

"You were embezzlin' money from your dad's own company?" Barret asks, turning bodily to face Charlie with a rather impressed look on his face. "All right, all right. Good job, Shinra. Way to stick it to the man in the fanciest way possible." They both raise their hands again to give each other another high-five. "I think I kinda like high-Charlie."

She raises her eyebrows and nods. "Me too."

It would be fucking hilarious in completely different circumstances. Cid thinks he would like high-Charlie, too, if they weren't knocking on death's door and being tracked by Shinra Inc., who've taken it upon themselves to steal his goddamn airship.

"Nanaki, you can keep it safe," Cloud decides, walking right up to him and kneeling, tucking it safely into the small bag that hangs from Nanaki's materia-filled collar. "We'll go ahead. Wait for the signal."

"What the hell is the signal supposed to be?" Cid asks, looking around.

"Forget a signal!" Yuffie retorts, looking very seriously at Cloud, Tifa, and Barret. "If you're not back in a half hour, we're all comin' after you!"

"Okay," Cloud agrees, and with one last look at everyone, he nods, resigned to whatever fate awaits him. "We'll see you all soon."

"Amazing! It's all materia!"

Rufus laughs softly, unbelieving as he stares around at the inside of the glowing cavern. "An abundance of mako outside and a treasure trove of materia inside," he muses, flicking his hair out of his eyes before reaching out to touch the wall, the warmth of the natural materia seeping into his very soul. "This truly is the Promised Land."

Above them, a system of roots, harboring more materia that will need to be removed and brought back with them.

"There is no such thing as the Promised Land," comes Hojo's voice from behind him. The professor wanders around the cavern, looking rather bored with everything except for the tangle of roots that looms above them. "It's nothing more than a legend, an utterly ridiculous wives' tale."

"It's just how I imagined it," Rufus sighs, very pleased with himself, suddenly noticing the lack of footprints in the dirt, the lack of evidence that anyone has been here for years. He looks around quickly, but there's nothing that indicates Char is, or was, here. "We're looking at the Promised Land right now and you still believe yourself to be correct, Professor Hojo. It is that kind of dullness that makes you such a second-rate scientist."

Hojo looks away, uninterested in continuing the conversation, a slight scowl tugging at his thin lips. Rufus would gladly continue berating him, but the ground beneath his feet begins to shake, and Scarlet almost falls forward, catching herself against the wall.

"What's going on?" Rufus calls out.

"It feels like it's coming from within the wall!" Scarlet replies, both of her palms pressed to a sheet of bluish materia. "Something is moving in there!"

Something does move, but it's not within the wall at all. It seems to be part of the wall, and Rufus thinks he may still be riding the high that follows brutal murder, but something blinks, an eye that's almost as tall as Scarlet, who quickly moves backwards from whatever the creature is.

"Weapon," Hojo muttered, stroking his chin and shaking his head. "I confess, I did not believe it existed."

"I hope you're planning on explaining, Hojo," Rufus snaps, watching the wall for another sign of movement.

Professor Hojo turns to face him, looking smug. "They are monsters created by the very planet itself. A self-defense mechanism, if you will . . . the last line of defense." He gestures towards the wall, the ground still shaking, the entire world seemingly shaking. "They appear when the planet is in danger, reducing everything to nothingness. At least . . . that's what Professor Gast stated in his reports."

Everything? Rufus thinks. It's a frightening thought, but he has no time to be afraid now. "I don't recall ever seeing a report such as you're describing. Where can I find it?"

Professor Hojo smiles, and it is not at all a reassuring or handsome sight. With a crooked index finger, he taps his right temple. "Oh, you won't. The contents of that report are all up here, of course."

Rufus grits his teeth, running a hand through his hair. "You keep a lot of things to yourself," he notes, folding his arms across his chest. He had managed to change into something not bloodstained before climbing off the Highwind. "If you wish to continue serving Shinra Incorporated, perhaps you had best learn to dictate your findings, as well as share important information with your superiors."

Hojo hums, and Rufus turns away from him, hoping that nothing horrible has happened to Char.

"I think we should go after 'em. It's been long enough, and how do we know that they weren't captured by Shinra before they even made it to Sephiroth?" Yuffie has both hands on her hips, tapping her foot impatiently as she paces the section of rock she's taken over.

"It hasn't been a half hour yet," Cait Sith reminds her. "Give 'em a little while longer, and then we can go."

"That's stupid," Yuffie hisses at him.

"The whole point of some of us staying behind was to make sure the Black Materia doesn't fall into the wrong hands again," Vincent adds, and Yuffie colors at his gentle reminder. "If anything, only a few of us should continue on, while the rest of us stay behind with Nanaki."

"You don't think Sephiroth'll be able to control Nanaki like he did Cloud, though, right?" Cid is halfway through his third cigarette, waving it around in the air. "S'long as someone besides the numbskull has the Black Materia, we'll be fine."

"Willing to put money on that, Captain?" Charlie asks, sitting down on a ledge and swinging her legs back and forth. She looks up to meet his gaze, still feeling slightly light-headed. Part of her doesn't think she would mind going ahead right now, just to make sure nothing has happened to their friends.

"Sure, I'll put some money on that," Cid tells her with a nod, sucking down the rest of his cigarette before flicking it over the side and letting it fall down down down. "Now, is someone gonna explain what the hell is goin' on?"

"Speculating now is entirely pointless. Soon, we're going to find out the truth," Vincent says, though everyone still seems anxious and on edge, glancing at watches or looking up at the sky or trying to see if there's any sign of Cloud, Tifa, or Barret.

"It's kinda crazy that one little piece of materia could do so much damage," Cait Sith remarks casually, lounging atop his moogle.

They all talk for a few more minutes, but Charlie finds that she can't concentrate on their speech any longer. Her head is pounding, and she's so exhausted that she could sleep for years. She gets to her feet, holding a hand over her forehead, swaying back and forth.

"I don't feel so good," she announces to her friends.

"It's probably the drugs, kiddo," Cid replies, walking towards her to pull her gently away from the ledge.

"I don't know . . ."

"Y'know, now that you say something, I don't think I'm feelin' so hot either." Yuffie's eyes look heavy, and she looks like she hasn't slept in days.

"Me . . . either . . ." Vincent groans, holding his head in his hand and dropping to his knees.

"Vincent?" Nanaki calls out, nudging his arm with his nose. "Vincent! Yuffie?"

Charlie looks up at Cid for a brief moment, only to see him struggling to stand and keep his eyes open. She suddenly drops to the ground, either unconscious or asleep long before she feels the pain of her head connecting with the ground.

I'm flattered, you know.

"You're . . . flattered?"

That you still think about me, all these years later.

"Oh . . . well, you were my first love, and you broke my heart."

I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean to.

"I know, I know . . . I know everything now."

Everything, huh?

"I am so sorry for everything they did to you . . . for what Hollander did to you . . . for what the company did to you."

Oh, Charlie, you're cute. It wasn't your fault. None of it was ever your fault. When are you going to get that through your stubborn little head?

"Why didn't you find me? Why didn't you let me know you were alive?"

I couldn't let you see me like that. I was ashamed.

"Will I . . . see you again?"

You want to see me again?

"I never got to say good-bye to you."

Well, we can say good-bye to each other right now.

"All right . . . good-bye, Angeal. Thank you."

Hey, we'll see each other again, don't worry. Oh, and Charlie?

"Yeah?"

You're not just going to give up, are you?

"No . . . I . . . I think I want to keep going."

Good. I'm proud of you. We're proud of you.

"Wait . . . we? Tseng? Mother?"

Good-bye, Charlie. Now . . . wake up!

". . . wake up!"

Her eyes flutter open. Her back is pressed against the hard and rocky ground, and Cait Sith is looming over her, tapping her face softly. "Reeve," she breathes, closing her eyes again and sighing. "I think I just spoke to Angeal."

"What?" he asks incredulously.

"I don't know. It might have just been a fever dream." Opening her eyes once more, Charlie sits up and looks around. Everyone else is still out cold, and one-by-one, she and Cait Sith begin to wake them all. "Wait a minute—" It's only now that she realizes the effects the medicine had on her is completely gone—"Where's Nanaki?"

"Oh, shit," Cid groans, rubbing his head, blinking several times and yawning. "We gotta go after him—somethin' isn't right here."

"How long've we been out?" Yuffie asks no one in particular, jumping to her feet with agility only a teenager could possess.

"Only a few minutes," Cait Sith replies, as Charlie helps Vincent to his feet.

"We're wasting time talking about it," Vincent tells them all. "Let's go. It's been long enough."

"Mr. President, I have a horrible feeling about this place."

For once, Rufus agrees with her. At least he isn't going crazy. "All right, let's fall back to the ship. We're going to need to—"

There's a flash of bright light that blinds him. Rufus covers his eyes with his arm, groaning as stars pop behind his eyelids. When the light has gone, he looks back up to find they are no longer alone, instead joined by the former SOLDIER and his two Avalanche cronies.

Scarlet sputters for a second, scrunching her nose. "Where did you all come from?" she snaps. Rufus is wondering the same thing.

The SOLDIER lifts his head, speaking in a slow voice. "I . . . don't know . . ." He turns, looking around for a moment before settling his mako eyes right on Rufus's. "Things are going to get bad. Leave things to me, and get out of here while you can."

"Leave things to you?" Rufus takes a few steps forward, unable to believe his ears. This little gutter rat, telling him what to do? The leader of the band of terrorists who kidnapped his sister? "I don't know what you mean."

The SOLDIER slumps his shoulders, shaking his head, sounding almost defeated. "This is where the reunion is happening . . . where everything begins, and ends."

"Where is Char?" Rufus asks him, more concerned about his sister than anything else going on. "Where are the rest of your friends?"

"Like we're gonna tell you!"

Rufus turns around to find the leader of Avalanche looking very indignant. He scoffs, but he supposes he shouldn't have wasted the breath asking such a ridiculous question, because it isn't long until they're joined by the rest of the party, Char included.

How long has it been since he's seen her? Judging by her appearance, it might have been months.

She's definitely ill, there's no doubt about it. He knows his own sister well enough to know what she looks like when she's sick, and part of him suddenly fears for her safety, quite genuinely.

But she's still beautiful, and she's here now, and she's never going to leave him again.

"Cloud, we're here to help!" Yuffie bursts forth with enthusiasm, but they all stop dead at the scene that awaits them.

"Oh, shit," Cid mumbles.

Charlie's breath hitches. Nanaki has already reached Cloud, Tifa, and Barret, and they aren't alone. Rufus, Scarlet, and Hojo have joined them, and her brother is looking at her in a way she doesn't like one bit, hungry for something.

"Char, you don't look well," Rufus calls out to her in his most charming voice, a sneer curling his lips. "What a striking coincidence it is to meet you here."

Charlie doesn't falter. "Leave us alone, Rufus, if you know what's good for you."

"You need to see a doctor. Let me take you home to Midgar and—" As Rufus takes a step forward, everyone shifts at once, hands on their weapons. Cid and Vincent step in front of her, impeding her brother's progress. He stops, smiling pointedly. "Is this how it's going to be, Char? What have you been telling them?"

"Only the truth," she snaps.

Rufus bursts into laughter. "The truth has always been an unfamiliar concept to you, sweet sister."

She doesn't answer him, instead turning to Cloud, peering around Cid's torso. "Cloud, let's go," she urges him, hoping he's smart enough to leave here without causing any trouble, but Cloud doesn't move. "Cloud, let's go."

Cloud looks at them all, apologetic, something in his hand. Upon closer inspection, Charlie can see the Black Materia set neatly in his palm. When did that happen? What was the point of giving it to Nanaki if he was just going to take it back?

She looks around, hoping to catch sight of an easy exit, somewhere she can slip out of without drawing much attention. Something is wrong about this place, something about the atmosphere, something about the charged air . . . it reminds her of the Temple of the Ancients, and the magic she had experienced within, and it's not an experience she would prefer to relive.

"Isn't this perfect!" Professor Hojo cackles as Cloud approaches, curling his fingers around the materia. Charlie's attention is drawn away from the gleaming materia all around her, and that's perhaps when she realizes something is terrible, terribly with Cloud. "It means my experiment was a complete success!"

"What experiment?" Scarlet asks, looking at Cloud with obvious disdain.

"But you remember, Miss Shinra, don't you?" Professor Hojo asks, and Charlie doesn't miss the way Cid glances warily at her over his shoulder. "We spoke very briefly about a certain hypothesis of mine in Costa del Sol . . ." He looks Cloud over, examining him very critically. "Wait a minute . . . where is your tattoo? What number were you?"

"Professor Hojo, I don't have a number," Cloud replies. This ominous confession even makes Rufus look towards the professor, curious. "You never gave me one. You said I was a failure."

No, Charlie thinks, horrified, no, no, no, no . . . don't let him be like Angeal.

Professor Hojo's face hardens and he turns away, haughty and arrogant. "A failure!" he scoffs. "You mean only a failure made it here?"

Looking to her left, Charlie is able to inch closer to Cait Sith. As Cloud begs Professor Hojo for a designated number (no, no, no, don't make him be like those men in black), she's able to whisper discreetly into the cat's ear, hidden slightly behind Vincent's back.

"Where are you?" she breathes, lips nearly touching Cait Sith's black-and-white fur. "Are you safe?"

"I'm fine," he whispers back.

"Does Rufus know that I know who you are?"

"No."

She turns her face towards him, looking into those half-opened eyes. She's about to beg him not to make things worse by playing a hero when Cloud suddenly shoots upwards, hurtling towards the nest of materia above them. There are a few gasps, but Rufus's face seems to soften as he thinks, teeth digging into his lower lip.

"Who was that?" he asks, looking up still.

"The boy imagined himself as a SOLDIER First Class, even dressed like one, but . . ." Professor Hojo laughs again, looking directly at Charlie. "We both know that's not true, isn't that right, Miss Shinra? Surely you recognize the sword of your former lover?" The way he spits the last two words at her sends a chill down her spine. "He's no SOLDIER. He's a Sephiroth clone I created after the real Sephiroth died five years ago."

Charlie and Cait Sith look at each other for a moment, and it's as if she's looking right at Reeve, able to picture his face so clearly.

"Jenova cells and mako, along with my knowledge and expertise on the subject, were combined with both science and nature to bring him to life," Hojo continues, and Charlie feels frozen on her feet. "I confess, I am not thrilled with the failure part, but . . . at last . . . the Jenova Reunion Theory has been proven!"

"The Jenova Reunion Theory?" Rufus asks again, troubled. It's good to see that he recognizes trouble when it arises.

"Even if Jenova's body is dismembered, it will eventually become one again. Even scattered across the planet, the dismembered body parts will find their way to each other . . ." Professor Hojo continues, sounding delighted. "I have been waiting five years now for the reunion to begin, and now . . . finally . . . the clones have begun to return . . ."

"You were going to have the reunion at Midgar?" Charlie blurts out, unable to stop herself. "Is that why you were keeping Jenova at the Shinra Building?"

Hojo's eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. "Perhaps you're smarter than I give you credit for," he chortles, shoulders shaking with laughter. "Although, it never happened, as Jenova itself began moving away from the Shinra Building. But I, being the genius I am, figured it out . . . and it was all Sephiroth's doing."

"Sephiroth is alive, then?" she asks.

"It depends on what you might consider 'alive', Miss Shinra," Professor Hojo tells her. "Sephiroth is not just content to diffuse his will into the Lifestream. He wants to manipulate the clones himself."

For the first time, Charlie looks right at Tifa. If she weren't so far away, so close to her brother and Professor Hojo, she might break free of her friends and race to Tifa's side. Dropping to her knees, Tifa holds her head in her hands, but Barret is there to help her.

"I left Shinra in order to follow the clones, to see where it was they were planning to assemble, but I could never figure it out." Hojo smiles again, glancing up above them. Cloud isn't visible anymore, hidden completely in the roots, silent. "But I knew that, at the end of their journey, Sephiroth would be there."

"Sephiroth . . ." Charlie meets Vincent's eyes as he turns around, most likely thinking the same thing she is. ". . . is here?"

"We need to go," Vincent murmurs, just as the cavern begins to rumble and shake, the nest above their heads cracking and stretching.

Charlie hesitates, looking up as something drops from the nest, exposing itself to everyone below. She hardly hears anything around her, and Cid is letting out a string of curses as rocks and debris rains down upon them.

It's a large crystal of sorts (no, she thinks, mako), but it's the something within that interests her, a man that she recognizes very clearly. She's seen him before—not him, but a physical projection of him—in the Temple of the Ancients, and the memory of his sword being brought down upon Tseng makes her tense, her entire body freezing up.

"Lottie, you okay?" Cid asks, weapon drawn, stance wide.

No, she wants to say, eyes roving over the long, silver hair, the broad chest and smooth skin, muscles thick and eyes closed. No, no, no, no, no.

"There he is! Sephiroth!" Hojo exclaims. "How perfect! Sephiroth's will and the Jenova Reunion! They won't be diffused into the Lifestream, but gathered here . . ."

"Don't you realize, Hojo," Tifa begins desperately, Barret's good arm wrapped around her shoulders, "Cloud has the Black Materia! Sephiroth will be able to summon Meteor now! He's going to wipe out the planet!"

Rufus touches his chin, deep in thought. He looks very serious, very pensive, looking first at Charlie before the rest of her friends. "We must evacuate," he insists, and she can feel her heart nearly explode with love for him. "For protecting my sweet sister, I feel inclined to offer you a way of escape. All of you, come with me. There's much I still want to know."

"C'mon, Cloud, let's go! Stop fuckin' around!" Barret shouts, helping Tifa to his feet. No one seems at all hesitant to accept Rufus's offer for help, not when it's the only one available to them.

"Cloud!" Tifa screams, looking over her shoulder as Barret continues to drag her out of the cavern after Rufus and Scarlet.

"We aren't just going to leave him here, are we?" Charlie asks everyone at large, but no one seems to hear her, or they choose to ignore her.

"There ain't time for this, honey, we gotta go," Cid tells her, taking her by the hand and leading her from the cavern, their friends hot on their heels.

Charlie looks back one last time, just to see if Cloud is looking back, and watches him push his hand through the mako that surrounds Sephiroth, handing over the Black Materia and dooming them all.

It feels fucking good to be aboard his ship again, but he thinks the circumstances could be a little better.

The scumbag, asshole president had brought his sister onto the bridge immediately, leaving himself and the rest of his friends on the deck to witness the blast of energy that surges from the crater, forcing the Highwind to battle violent turbulence, throwing everyone around who isn't holding onto the rails with white-knuckle grips.

It's not just the pulsing white energy that shoots up from the crater, either. The beam of light isn't even the worst fucking part—not even close.

From the depths of the crater come the monsters—impossible big creatures that could crush the Highwind beneath their feet without even feeling it. Wings and horns and glowing hearts that seem absolutely fucking deadly—they have it all, and as one of them takes to the skies, the wind off of its wings shakes the Highwind once more, this time causing a little more trouble.

Yuffie nearly falls off the side, but Cid is able to catch her, and Tifa falls hard on the ground, landing headfirst and unable to get back up afterwards. Barret screams her name, but she doesn't wake, and he's forced to hold her tight in order to keep her from being flung over the railing to fall to her death.

There are five monsters in total, each deadlier-looking than the last, but the ship is able to outfly them, putting a healthy amount of distance between them.

Cid runs a hand down his face. This is bad. This is real bad. Tifa is unconscious, and now Rufus Shinra has Lottie, and he doesn't know what's gonna happen to her, and he doesn't know what's gonna happen to the world or him, and Shera, oh Gods, Shera is at his house with no idea where he is in the world, and he's on the ship with his name on it, and—

"Listen," comes Cait Sith's voice, and Cid jumps nearly six feet off the deck.

"What'dya want, you fuckin' cat?" Cid hisses, trying to think. "I'm tryin' to think of a plan to get Lottie back."

"That's what I wanna talk to you about," the cat says very gravely. "You can't cause a scene. If you do somethin' stupid, Charlie's gonna be the one who get punished for it."

Fuck. There goes every goddamn plan I had.

"I know you have no reason to do so," Cait Sith continues, "but I need you to trust me. I'm gonna take care of things with Charlie, okay?"

Cid narrows his eyes, reaching out to wrap his fingers around the cat's skinny little throat and lifting him bodily off the moogle. "Listen here, you Shinra fuck," he spits, right in the toy's face. "I'm gonna trust you 'cause I ain't got any ideas, but if that fuckin' girl has so much on a scratch on her when you get her back, not only will I throw this fuckin' toy body off the side of my goddamn airship, but I will come to Midgar to kill you myself."

"All right! All right! Put me down, would ya!"

Throwing the cat against the moogle's chest, Cid lights a cigarette, breathing deep.