"We have to go back to Midgar!" Charlie shouts, still cradling Cait Sith against her, her heart pounding a violent tattoo against her chest, leaping into her throat and choking her. Reeve captured, Rufus possibly dead, Shinra Inc. screeching to a sudden halt. "We have to go back for him!"

Barret moves forward, trying to swipe the cat right out of her arm, but she turns away from him, holding onto Cait Sith tighter. "You knew this whole time! You knew who he was!"

"Please, I can explain—"

"Explain that your fuckin' boyfriend has been followin' us around all this goddamn time!" Barret fires off his gun-arm towards the sky in a rage, looking murderous. "I knew that you two were in on it together—"

"It's not like that, Barret, please—"

"You've gotta believe her," Cait Sith says quickly, clinging to Charlie as if very aware what might happen to him if she allows the others to reach him. "We didn't want you to think Charlie was in on it!"

"Too late for that!" Barret replies, making another clumsy grab for the cat.

"Leave him alone!" she screams, stumbling backwards a little as she tries to get out of Barret's way. "He's only trying to help! We have to go back for Reeve!"

"Go back for a spy—"

"He's our friend! And he would do the same for any of you!" Charlie feels every second they aren't making for Midgar is another second wasted, another second that Reeve could be seriously hurt, all to get her to come back to the city. She looks towards Cid, who looks very pale and uncomfortable, his eyes fixed warily on the cat in her arms. "Cid, please, we have to go to Midgar!"

"I can't believe this," Barret scoffs, appealing to Cloud for help. "She's a goddamn liar! Why should we listen to anything comin' outta your mouth?"

"Reeve has been taking care of your daughter this whole time! You owe him this, Barret! He's been your friend, and he's important to me! Please—"

"I don't owe him nothin'—"

"Cloud, please," she begs, willing to get on her knees if it means getting to Reeve that much sooner. "We have to help him. You don't know him like I do—he's not a bad person, and he doesn't deserve this. He's not like them!"

"Yeah, yeah, heard that one before." Barret rolls his eyes, turning away from Charlie and Cloud, putting his back to them. "Thought you were different, Shinra."

"Then just take me back," she continues, tears stinging her eyes, getting desperate now. She has to go back for Reeve now, so she can comb through the remains of the Shinra Building to make certain that Rufus is all right. He has to be all right. Rufus is clever and calculating, and would have thought of something to escape death. "Just bring me back to Midgar, please. Please, I'm begging you. I'll do anything."

"If you come back by yourself, Charlie, you're gonna get yourself killed!" Cait Sith chides her, sounding angrier than she's ever heard him. "That's exactly what Scarlet and Heidegger want you to do!"

"I can't just leave you behind!" She doesn't know if she's talking to the cat or to Reeve, but she can't think straight, and her mind is on the fritz, and they're running out of time.

"I'll go with her. Hojo must be stopped."

Charlie turns quickly, smiling at Vincent. He doesn't look doubtful in the slightest, almost looking impatient. He nods curtly at her, and she's suddenly filled with hope. No one else speaks up, however, but she didn't really expect them to.

"Listen to me, Charlie," Cait Sith agrees, looking up at Charlie and nodding very quickly. "The Turks are in Midgar. They're gonna be looking for Rufus, so find them somewhere near the Shinra Building."

"You think he's alive?" she asks, afraid to hear the answer.

"The president's office took a direct hit," Cait Sith says quietly, apologetically. "But it's very possible that he was able to escape in time. The Turks will find him one way or another." Another long pause that fills her with dread. "If Rufus didn't make it, that makes you the president, Charlie."

"No one will ever listen to me." Charlie knows that it's true. Even if she were to waltz into the Shinra Building claiming she's the new president, it's unlikely that any high-ranking employees will listen to her (save for Reeve), and with both Heidegger and Scarlet attempting to end the Shinra line once and for all, she won't have an army at her disposal, either. "They all know that I'm a traitor. Some guards were willing to shoot me at Corel—"

"You need to be careful," the cat says with a very serious tone. "If something happens to you, it could very well mean the end of Shinra."

"Isn't that what everyone wants anyway?"

Cait Sith doesn't answer. Charlie knows it's true, knows that she's walking a very dangerous line right now, knows that she has a responsibility to the people and needs to put on a strong front for the world in the face of Meteor, but it's getting harder and harder to put on that front when her entire world seems to be falling apart by itself.

Cloud sighs very heavily, causing Cait Sith to fall silent. "Vincent's right. Hojo needs to be stopped. We need to go back to Midgar and finish him off before we head to the Northern Crater. That'll give Charlie plenty of time to stage a jailbreak."

"Even if we do go back to Midgar, it's not like we can walk right into the slums!" Barret protests, and this time, Charlie thinks he has a point. If she were to walk into the slums, it's possible that she would meet resistance right away.

"Did y'all forget we have an airship?" Cid interrupts, hands held behind his head as he rocks back and forth on his feet, looking as if he's been ready for this moment his entire life.

"You want to parachute into Midgar?" Charlie asks, bewildered. The idea is both parts terrifying and exciting.

"Got a better idea, princess?"

She doesn't, so she says nothing.

Cid takes her silence as her answer. "Everyone get ready. We'll be at Midgar soon."

Charlie packs everything she can into her backpack, forced to leave behind several clothes she's acquired over the weeks (not that they're very nice to begin with) in order to fit her mother's box inside.

She isn't going to come back.

Once she touches down in Midgar, she has no intention of leaving. If Reeve is in Midgar, if the Turks are in Midgar, if Rufus is in Midgar, then that's where she belongs. If Scarlet and Heidegger are actively working against Shinra's best interests, then Rufus will have no choice but to accept her help in regaining control of the company, in the hopes that Cloud and his friends can defeat Sephiroth and keep Meteor from destroying Midgar.

If Rufus is still alive, she thinks to herself, but the thought is so painful that she forces herself to believe it's not true.

The swift knocking at her door brings her out of her reverie, making her jump. She inhales sharply and turns towards the door, blushing at the mere sight of Cid. Trying not to look too guilty, she slings her bag over her shoulder.

"Did you know the whole time, Lottie?"

He's bracing himself against the doorframe, looking disappointed. She would much rather he yell at her, scream at her, get in her face until his cheeks are red and his voice is hoarse. When phrased like that, it sounds like an accusation.

"I found out after Aerith left," she admits sheepishly, not breaking eye contact with him.

Cid scoffs, as if this answer is worse than whatever he was expecting. To her surprise, he takes a few more steps into the room. "You made a fool outta me," he tells her in that same soft voice. "All that stuff I said to you in front of him . . . did he see me kiss you? Goddamnit, Charlie, why didn't you say somethin'?"

"I don't know," is all she can say. It seems so stupid now, when she really thinks about it. "I didn't want any of you to think badly of him. I didn't want any of you to hate him."

"Well, I do hate him. I think he's a slimy fuckin' goon—"

"Stop."

"What?" Cid asks, a little more like his usual self now. "You were the one flirtin' with me in front of him."

"That was never about getting back at Reeve. That was never about hurting him or humiliating him, or you." She blushes harder, wrapping her arms around herself. "Cid, I meant everything I said to you—"

"Don't do that," he frowns, "don't try and make me fuckin' feel better—"

"What do you want me to say?" she asks, watching several different emotions flicker across his face. "I never claimed to love you and only you. I never promised you a life. I thought we both knew how this was going to end from the beginning."

"If I had known, from the fuckin' beginning, that your goddamn boyfriend was watchin' us the entire time—"

"You would have what?" Charlie knows she doesn't have time for this, but it may be the last chance she gets. "You wouldn't have held my hand? You wouldn't have made me laugh? You wouldn't have comforted me when I needed it?"

"No, I—" Cid rubs the back of his neck, sighing. "I just would'a been a little more discreet about it—and—" He makes a sound that almost sounds feral. He's frustrated, and rightfully so. "Why'd you have to lie 'bout it?"

"What would you have said if I told you the truth?" she asks again, raising her eyebrows when he doesn't have an answer. "You would have hated me. They all would have hated me."

"So you lied to save your own fuckin' pride—"

"No—"

"That's what it seems like to me!"

Charlie shrugs, at a loss. She doesn't want to argue with him. She wants to go back to Midgar and rescue Reeve from whatever Heidegger and Scarlet have planned for him. She wants to meet back up with her brother, to wrap her arms around him to make certain that he's alive.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you," she finally says, "okay?"

"That's it?" Cid's face has hardened, and he's looking at her like he doesn't know her, the same way he looked at her after the failed launch when she sent him away like he was nothing to her, like it didn't break her heart. "That's all you gotta say?"

"I'm not going to apologize for keeping Reeve's secret from you," she snaps, suddenly feeling defensive. "He was risking everything to help us."

Regardless of the complicated feelings she has towards Reeve and Cait Sith at the moment, Charlie refuses to sit here and listen to Cid badmouth him, when Cid doesn't know anything about Reeve.

Reeve, who has always cared for Midgar and for its people, who has always cared for her. She had hurt him, and yet it hadn't deterred him from protecting her, rescuing her from Junon, saving someone that means the world to her, watching over her brother while she's been gone.

"I'm not coming back," she tells him flatly. "If Meteor is going to kill us all, then I'm going to spend my last days in Midgar."

Cid takes a step closer to her, testing her. She feels her heart flutter slightly, and instinctively takes a small step backwards, but that only spurns him on another step.

"I am so grateful for the time we spent together—"

"Don't. Don't say that."

"—and to be with you aboard our rocket when it launched . . . that was my dream—"

"Lottie, stop it."

The backs of Charlie's legs bump against the foot of the bed. He moves so slowly towards her, like they have all the time in the world. "What are you doing?" she whispers, wrapping her arms around herself.

"At least let me make my case," he tells her. "It'll be quick, I promise."

Her jaw clenches shut. He has her trapped between his body and the bed, and there is no escape. He's going to make her hear him out. "Please stop," she pleads softly, her cheeks on fire and her heart beating madly against her chest. "Please don't."

"They're only words, honey," he rasps, hunching his shoulders to put his face in front of hers. "You scared of a few words?"

"No—"

"You scared 'cause you might love me back?"

"Stop mocking me." Her face burns with embarrassment, and she looks down at the space between them, no more than two or three feet. "You don't love me, Cid. You have no idea what it's like to love me."

"That's 'cause you never let me try." A smile creeps onto his unshaven face, a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. "I would'a taken real good care of you."

"I know you would have." Charlie reaches out against her better judgement, touching the thick scarf around his neck, adjusting the jacket on his shoulders, wondering if she'll ever see him again, even if the world is miraculously saved at the final hour.

"I hope you're happy, Lottie."

She averts her eyes, waiting for the second half of that statement. She expects his hopes for her to come with conditions, to be accompanied by something cruel about Reeve, but it never comes. Instead, his hands find her face, and Charlie finds herself terribly uncomfortable, squirming against him, eager to get out of this confining space.

"Tell me you don't love me, or I'm gonna make my case with my mouth."

"I don't love you," she says, breathing the words as she exhales loudly, realizing what she's said too late. Cid pulls his hands away from her face, taking a step back and shoving them in his pockets. "I'm sorry."

"Charlie, are you ready t'go?"

She looks away quickly, blushing when she sees Cait Sith standing in the doorway awkwardly, his tail moving side to side at a leisurely pace. She doesn't know how long he's been standing there or how much he's heard or if Reeve was able to hear anything at all.

"I'll meet you on the deck. I'll be there in a minute," Charlie tells the cat, looking back up at Cid and frowning. She only continues speaking when Cait Sith has left the doorway. "Good luck, Cid."

"Don't need luck, honey."

Charlie smiles slightly, moving forward and falling into him without thinking about it. His chest is hard beneath her cheek, and she can both hear and feel the quickened beating of his heart. She slips her arms beneath his jacket to hold him close, closing her eyes to shut the rest of the world away for this moment, and Meteor is forgotten when his arms wrap around her shoulders.

Is it true? Does she really not love him? She can't say for certain.

If Meteor wasn't looming above them in the sky, if Sephiroth wasn't a deadly threat to the planet, if they hadn't been forced to bear witness to the murder of their friend . . . would their situation have changed?

Would she still have felt the need to kiss him so urgently? Would she still have told him all of her dirty little secrets? Would she still have trusted him to the fullest extent with her life? Would she still have fallen asleep beside him, with her palm resting over his breast to feel his beating heart?

Regardless of her feelings, this is a much warmer good-bye than they had gotten last time. She thinks, if the world is saved, it might be the first step to moving on. She and Cid had achieved their dream together, and now there's nothing left in their pasts for them to cling onto.

Charlie thinks it's then that she knows she will not see him again.

Cid presses a soft kiss to the very top of her head, his grip on her loosening. "I think someone's waitin' for you, kiddo."

She pulls away from him, feeling teary-eyed. "Why are you so good to me?"

"'Cause I love you, Lottie." The casual way he states it, like it hardly embarrasses him at all, knocks the wind out of her. "'Cause you were my best friend, and 'cause these last few weeks with you have been . . ." He smiles weakly, shrugging his shoulders. "I dunno. I'm not good at this kinda stuff."

Charlie sighs. She wishes she had something better to say. She wishes she could comfort him. He's done so much for her out of the goodness of his heart, the heart he claims to be cold and unfeeling. She knows it's not true, and she knows that some little part of her will always love him for it. "I still have our picture, you know."

"Thought you would'a sold it by now."

"It's precious to me." She blushes again. "And so are you."

He smiles, chuckling softly to himself. His heart isn't really in it. "I'll see you 'round, kiddo."

With the front of Vincent's body pressed against her own, she fights the fear the bubbles up within her, manifesting in the form of bile scratching at the base of her throat.

It's begun to rain in Midgar, putting out some of the fires that Weapon's attack had caused. The city is otherwise almost completely dark, making it difficult to discern their landing spot.

The top of the Shinra Building is collapsed and nearly demolished, and she's able to get a good visual of the wreckage as the Highwind passes over it. It seems as if the emergency system has kicked in, as she can see the red light shining dully through the windows of the upper floors.

"Remember," Cait Sith says to her as she and Vincent step up to the edge of the airship, tucked into a harness on Cloud's chest like a baby, "find the Turks at the base of the Shinra Building. I'm in a cell on the fiftieth floor, the end of the hallway."

Charlie nods, clambering awkwardly up onto the guard rail, inhaling deeply as she looks down at the city below.

She's done scarier things. She's faced scarier things. And even if Vincent doesn't pull the parachute in time, he can just . . . change, and fly them to the very top of the building.

She can't be afraid now. She has to get Reeve out of the cell Heidegger put him in, and she needs to find Rufus so she can prove to everyone that their president is still alive. She needs to be the best version of herself so she doesn't lose her head and let everyone down.

They're counting on her.

Taking one last look at her friends, Vincent places a hand on either side of her, fingers curling loosely around the railing as he prepares to jump. They're all looking back at her, parachutes on their backs and weapons in their hands.

"See you soon, Charlie, yeah?" Yuffie asks, bouncing on her feet and raring to go. "Gonna introduce us to your boyfriend later?"

Charlie scoffs quietly. "Sure."

From behind the others, Cid gives her a weak smile, holding up a hand in farewell. Charlie meets his eyes, receiving a small little nod from him in return.

"Are you ready?" Vincent asks, hardly giving her a chance to answer before he's leaping over the guard rail, and the two of them are launching into the wet night, free-falling towards a dark and quiet city.

She doesn't even scream.

With her arms spread on either side of her, she feels like she's flying. The rain soaks her to the bone, leaving her shivering and tense. As much as she trusts Vincent to handle the parachute, she thinks he waits a little too long to use it, but he lands gracefully on the tops of his feet despite the speed of their descent, sparing Charlie two broken ankles.

"Where are we?" he asks her again, unhooking himself from the harness around Charlie's shoulders and waist. "The city looks . . . different than I remember it. Bigger."

She looks around, pushing her hair out of her face. While the buildings are dark, she recognizes a park near the corner of the street. She and Reeve had attended the opening of that park together (though it had been more of a photo-op than anything, a way to slap their good deeds onto some piece of Shinra propaganda), and it remains unchanged even now.

"We're in Sector Three," she explains, turning to look up at the Shinra Building. Flames are still spilling out from a few broken windows, sending dark clouds of smoke up into the air. Pulling her gun out and making sure it's loaded, she exhales a shaky breath. If there was ever a time she needed to step up, it's now. "Okay, let's find the others."

Making their way to Sector Zero isn't necessarily hard, but making their way through Sector Zero is a little more difficult.

Wreckage from the top of the building has fallen to the streets below, blocking roadways and tunnels and bridges. Staircases have collapsed and a few buildings have been razed to the ground by boulder-sized debris. They hurry as quickly as they can, blinded by the rain and the tangle of wide pipes and sheet metal, the city full of shouting.

For some reason, she feels calmer than she thought she might.

The rain, while annoying and freezing, is comforting to her. Though it's likely due to the atmospheric changes because of Meteor's close proximity, it reminds her of what Bugenhagen had said about her mother, and the idea that those she's lost might be watching on fills her with courage.

It's almost second nature for her to stifle fear in order to project an image of strength.

After pulling her up over what must be the rubble of half the executive suite, Vincent speaks again. "You're staying here, aren't you?"

"Sorry?"

"You're staying here, in Midgar?"

"Is it that obvious?" she frowns, listening to glass crunch beneath her boots as they make their way towards the front of the Shinra Building, where there seems to be far more activity.

"I don't really think anyone expects you to come back." Vincent looks sideways at her before climbing over the hood of an abandoned car that blocks their pathway. Charlie follows him. "Except for Yuffie, maybe."

"And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Say we survive Meteor. Say Cloud and everyone defeats Sephiroth and the world continues," she begins again, taking hold of his hand as she leaps over some more of the wreckage. "What will you do?"

"I don't know yet," he admits carefully. "I haven't given much thought to the future, given the current situation."

"Well, you always have a place with us, Vincent. With the Turks, and with me. You would probably even like Reeve, if you gave him a chance."

"Is that what you think?"

Charlie smiles to herself. "He's a good man," she tells him, trying to be very serious. "I wouldn't love him, nor would I have returned to Midgar for him, if I thought he was anything else. It doesn't hurt that he's dead handsome, too."

Vincent hums, and then makes a noise that sounds like a strangled little laugh, choked out against his will.

"Think I'm funny, do you?"

"Maybe a little."

The front of the Shinra Building is crowded with people who hardly seem to recognize her. Security guards are helping escort panicked employees out of the building, while others attempt to get into the building in search of answers, of hope, of help.

With little light and all the chaos, it's easy for Charlie and Vincent to slip through the crowd, keeping their heads low to avoid attracting attention. She looks around desperately for a sign of the Turks, of any of them, but it's near impossible to make out anyone's faces, and in their dark suits, they would surely blend into the night.

Charlie wipes the rain off her face again, to no avail. She's starting to panic, thinking this all a waste of time. She doesn't need the Turks to help her find Reeve. So long as she has Vincent, they should be fine.

"We need to get inside," she tells him, wondering how many armed guards within would be willing to kill her on sight, wondering how many armed guards are taking orders from Heidegger and Scarlet. "The fiftieth floor, he said. That's Public Security."

"We're going to have to take the stairs," Vincent notes, craning his neck back to look up at the looming building in all of its glory. "I don't think the elevators are working."

He points upwards, where Charlie can see one of the glass elevators, stuck a few floors up with some people stuck inside of it, pounding on the glass and trying to catch the attention of the people below.

"Okay," she agrees. "Don't forget, we have to look for Rufus, too."

"We will."

Taking him at his word, Charlie leads Vincent around to the other side of the building and towards a half-hidden door meant solely for executive use. As she goes to open the door, someone shouts her name and she whirls around to find Vincent's gun already drawn and ready to fire.

She holds a hand out to lower his gun, able to recognize that voice if her life depended on it. Tseng runs right up to her, breathing heavy, and Charlie clutches onto his forearms, feeling truly confident for the first time all night.

"What are you doing here?" he asks her, the rain slamming on the pavement, cracking like thunder over their voices.

"Heidegger's put Reeve in a cell," she answers desperately. "Vincent and I are going to . . . She trails off, looking over Tseng's shoulder to see more approaching shadows, three of them—no five—but there's three more, and they're coming into focus, all people she recognizes, all people she has loved at some point in her life.

Most of them are out of uniform—the ones that haven't been around, anyway. Their waterlogged clothes hang heavy on their shoulders, but none of them complain or frown or seem to give any indication that this isn't where they want to be right now.

There's Veld, standing tall behind Reno, Rude, and Elena, waiting for their next command.

And there's Crisis, who used to turn the music up so loud in the house that it would rattle the fine dishes and cutlery and the windows and anyone could hear it from across the entire house, who used to take her for rides on his motorcycle when Veld wasn't around to put a stop to it.

And beside him is Cissnei, who used to lay on the beach with her and giggle at cute boys in their tiny bathing suits, who used to sneak liquor from her father's locked cabinets with her, who used to tease Tseng with her until he was red in the face.

"Where is Reeve?" Tseng asks her again, bringing Charlie forcibly out of her reverie.

Her fingernails are digging hard into his arms, and she pulls away, muttering an apology. "He's in a cell on the fiftieth floor." Charlie can't believe it—they all seem like ghosts to her now, and if she blinks, they'll be lost to her again. "What are you all doing here?"

"We're here to help, of course," Cissnei says, smiling sweetly and folding her arms over her chest.

"What're our orders, then?" Reno calls out, one of the only Turks in a suit, his pale chest shining in Meteor's glow, red hair falling into his face.

Charlie looks to Tseng, expecting him to start handing out commands, but he only looks back at her. She blinks a few times, about to ask why he isn't answering Reno's question, when she glances around at the others again to find all of their eyes on her.

Tseng, his face hidden to everyone but Charlie and Vincent, inclines his head very slightly at her and smiles. "Your orders, Madam Vice President?"

"My . . . ?" she chokes out, watching Tseng nod again, lifting his chin and his eyebrows.

Charlie looks around, standing tall, shoulders back and chin up, letting the rain wash over her face.

"We need to evacuate everyone still on the plate," she says, shouting over the noise, and when Tseng turns to leave, she reaches out for his hand. "No, you're coming with me. We'll need help looking for Rufus."

"Okay, okay! You heard the lady!" Reno elbows Rude, throwing a thumb over his shoulder. "We'll take Sector Two!"

As everyone partners up and Tseng divides sectors between the Turks, Charlie turns back to Vincent. "I'm in good hands here," she says. "Go on. Tseng and I can do this ourselves."

"You are sure?"

"Positive." She touches Vincent's arm, fingers curling around a skinny bicep. "I meant what I said, you know. You'll always have a family with us. We Turks have to look after each other."

He hums, chuckling very softly. The only reason she knows is because she sees his shoulders shake. "Be careful."

"I will. Now go. Cait Sith will let you know when we've found him."

She watches him dash off towards the Sister Ray, moving much quicker without her at his side, leaping from the top of debris to the top of a car, his crimson cloak being whipped and lashed around by the wind.

Veld lingers as everyone is sent off, walking up to both Charlie and Tseng as they check their weapons and prepare themselves for a fifty-story climb. She smiles at him, so genuinely and so tenderly that the last few weeks may never have happened, and when he smiles back, it fills her with a warmth that the rain can't dampen.

"The VP runs away and all hell breaks loose in the world, is that the way of it?" he asks her in his gruff and scratchy voice.

"Something like that," she replies, a million thoughts racing through her mind, a million things to say. "I missed you."

Veld touches the side of her face, glancing between her and Tseng. Without her permission, her eyes flutter closed at the contact, but she quickly snaps out of it when he speaks again. "I feel like all my kids grew up without me," he sighs, patting her on the cheek. "I'll see you afterwards, Charlotte, and then we can talk, got it?"

"That's 'Madam Vice President' to you," she teases. With this sudden burst of adrenaline coursing through her, she might be able to run all the way to the very top of the Shinra Building without slowing once.

"Forgive my insolence," Veld chuckles, teeth bright through the night, "but you'll always be 'little princess' to me."

Charlie blushes, catching sight of Tseng's mouth twitching. It's embarrassing, but it's the perfect amount of embarrassing. He doesn't mean to humiliate her like her father always sought to. "Better go, Veld," she says, sticking her tongue out at him, "or else your boss will have your hide. I heard he's very scary."

Tseng colors, scoffing as he adjusts the gloves on his hands. "Isn't someone waiting for you?" he asks pointedly, looking rather flustered, but it only makes her smile wider.

"That's right. Let's go."

With Charlie not in the best shape of her life, and with Tseng still recovering from the wound on his abdomen, it's a difficult and noisy climb all the way to the fiftieth floor.

She's already soaked with rain water, but soon starts sweating as she trails after Tseng, hurrying up the stairs as fast as they can, panting and heaving and coughing and wheezing (all right, she does most of that). Her thighs burn painfully and soon become numb, and she gets a second wind about halfway up, when she begins to think about how it might feel to throw herself at Reeve for the first time in what feels like forever.

They can't even speak, unable to finish a complete sentence the higher they get, guided by the red emergency lighting above each metal door that leads to the next floor and along the walls.

By the time they reach the thirtieth floor, Charlie can hardly breathe, her chest tight and her mouth dry and ready to collapse at any moment.

But the thought of Reeve spurns her onward, and when Tseng notices her begin to slow down, he comes back for her, holding onto her wrist with one hand, his other arm around her waist, keeping her moving even when it's the last thing in the world she thinks she can do.

When, at last, they reach the door to the fiftieth floor, she's fueled solely by adrenaline, pulling the door open and walking into the building proper.

While the Public Security floor seems relatively undamaged, there are signs of chaos everywhere. Papers are scattered on the floor, and things have been left at the front desk that seems to indicate that people had left in a hurry. The red lights don't give them much visibility, and another white emergency light flashes every two or three seconds.

"A little quiet, don't you think?" Tseng whispers, looking around before continuing towards the holding cells.

"A little."

"Stay behind me."

She does as he says, creeping down the long hallway towards the cells that once held Pia before her untimely demise. There's not a soul in sight, not a sound, but every so often the building seems to shift, and dust rains onto their heads from the ceiling.

"Do you think he's still up there?" Charlie dares to ask, still trying to catch her breath from the climb. "Do you think he's still alive?"

"Yes," Tseng replies, and she's unsure whether or not he's lying.

Her heart beats wildly as they get nearer to the cell. She half-expects someone to jump out at her, to start shooting without discretion, but nothing comes. Even Tseng looks into every office that has a door open, peeking around corners and glancing over his shoulder at her. "It shouldn't be this easy," she notes.

"It's possible that no one expected you to come so soon," Tseng muses, stopping her before they round the corner that should lead them to Reeve's holding cell. "Or whatever security Heidegger may have left behind could have fled the building."

Charlie sprints down the hallway with Tseng on her heels, making for the last cell at the end. "Go open the door. The emergency power should be enough to do it," she instructs Tseng, who immediately makes for the control room. As he hustles away, she slams her palm against the door, hoping she doesn't vomit at the sound of his voice. "Reeve!"

"Charlotte?"

His voice is muffled through the doorway, but it's still sweet, and it's still his, and it makes everything feel like it was worth it, even the pain in her legs. Especially the pain in her legs. "Tseng's going to open the door," she tells him, resting her forehead against the cool metal. "Hold on, okay?"

It takes no more than thirty seconds. There's a soft clicking and hissing noise that makes her take a step back, and then the door slides open with another quiet noise, revealing him to her, framing him in the doorway, taking her breath away. She's struck dumb all over again, just like the first time she had met him.

The bridge of his nose is slightly crooked, and there's bruising underneath both of his eyes that seems to be healing. If he had been wearing a jacket over his undershirt, it's gone now, his sleeves rolled up to his forearms and his tie loose around his neck.

And once the second is over, she allows herself to be swept into his arms, burying her face in his neck and soaking his shirt. She wraps her arms around his neck, holding him a little too tightly, threading long fingers through his dark hair and closing her eyes, strong hands around her waist and lips against her hair.

Charlie pulls away from him, only to look closely at his face. She touches his cheeks, meeting no resistance, brushing the pads of her thumbs over his bruised face. "What happened to your face?" she breathes, wanting to kiss him all over, wanting to count the light freckles on the bridge of his nose and on his cheeks. "Reeve, what happened to you?"

"Not important right now," he tells her, still holding her as if she never left. She's so happy she could die now and it would be all right. "Are you hurt? Are you all right?"

She laughs breathlessly, shaking her head. "Who cares about me?"

"I do," he says, placing his hands on her shoulders and squeezing. Slowly, a small smile begins to creep onto his face. "My hero."

As much as it makes her heart flutter, the sight of the bruising on his face discourages her. She touches his face again, fingertips over high and sharp cheekbones. His skin is warm beneath her fingers, and his eyes close when she cradles his face, the world standing still for a moment.

"Who did this to you?" She has a horrible feeling that she already knows the answer.

"Don't worry about me, Charlie."

"I'm always worried about you." Charlie pushes herself onto her toes, brushing her lips against the bruises just underneath both of his eyes. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you. I wish I didn't look like a drowned rat."

He chuckles, shaking his head. "You're the loveliest sight I've ever seen in the world right now. Now, we need to go look for Rufus."

Charlie softens upon hearing that, heart swelling. "I love you."

She blushes furiously, embarrassed that the words have escaped her without warning, but it's true and she isn't going to apologize for something she means wholeheartedly. Just knowing that Reeve isn't about to leave Rufus for dead means the world to her, especially given all that's happened since Rufus assumed the presidency of Shinra Inc.

But Reeve only gives her a tired smile, his cheeks pink, and he takes her by the hand and pulling her out of the cell, confident and level-headed and positively heroic in the fearless way that he pulls her towards the upper levels, back the way they came with Tseng following behind.

It's near impossible to reach the upper floors, let alone the president's office.

The stairs are blocked by debris that's far too heavy for the three of them to move alone, and without the elevators working, there's no other way to the top.

Charlie shouts her brother's name throughout every hallway, every floor they search. They comb the upper floors of the Shinra Building and call for him, but they never receive an answer, and with every passing second, Charlie seems to grow more panicked and frantic, shouting herself hoarse as she comes to the realization that it's very unlikely Rufus survived Weapon's attack.

And when it begins to feel as if all hope is lost, Charlie turns around to face him and Tseng, eyes wide and filled with tears. Reeve thinks it's very admirable of her to hold back the tears, considering everything about her relationship with her brother. Her hands are curled into fists at her sides, jaw set and tense, but there is the same horror in her face as she had worn at the Temple of the Ancients, unable to properly process the situation.

Perhaps it's worse than that horror, this look of heartbreak and defeat.

But she continues her search, pushing aside what she can to slip into small and confined spaces that might be trapping a body beneath them. She checks underneath every desk in every office, in every closet and every bathroom, double-checks areas the three of them have already triple-checked, and while Tseng seems to content to follow her around all night, Reeve knows that if they have not found Rufus by now, then he isn't here.

"Charlie," he says softly as she insists on trying the back staircase again, just to see if there's a hole big enough for her to crawl under, just to see if there's a loose piece of metal they might be able to push aside. "Charlotte, it's time to go back down."

"No," she protests, her voice breaking. "No, we can't . . . we can't leave yet . . . he could still be here . . ."

Reeve steps forward and takes her hand, holding it between the both of his. Holding her gaze for a moment, he shakes his head very slowly, wanting to apologize and kiss her all over, to comfort her as she attempts to accept the dire situation they've all found themselves in.

"I'll stay and look." Tseng takes a look around him, as if trying to find a hidden door or something they haven't already looked at. "We can all meet back at the estate. Do you have a phone, Director?"

He pauses, pulling away from Charlie to pat down his pockets. One of his phones had been left behind in the conference room after Heidegger ushered him out, but his burner phone is stuffed in his front pocket.

"Don't worry. I have the number already." Tseng doesn't elaborate any further, stopping Reeve as he opens his mouth to speak. "I'll call if I find anything, but . . ." He turns to face Charlotte. "Until the president's body has been found, we will continue our work under the assumption he has survived."

To Reeve, it sounds as if Tseng's words are meant to bring them both comfort, like speaking the words outloud might somehow make Rufus's survival at all possible.

"We should help evacuate the rest of the city," Charlie says firmly, looking up at Reeve. Her arms are crossed across her chest, and he knows there is no changing her mind. "Or at least make sure Cloud and the others are all right."

For half a heartbeat, Reeve's heart stops. He thinks she must be either very bold or very oblivious to speak openly of Cloud and his friends in front of Tseng. Surely the vice president should know better than to discuss treason so carelessly?

But Tseng doesn't bat an eye, and Shinra is in utter chaos and its president is missing, and Meteor hangs in the sky over Midgar, and it doesn't matter what Charlie does because they all might be dead soon, and even Tseng must know that Cloud is their last hope—the only ones who can defeat Sephiroth and potentially destroy Meteor along with him.

Reeve and Charlie leave Tseng among the wreckage, though the both of them voice their doubts about it. The upper floors of the building that remain are in danger of collapsing, and the fires that still burn up top could cause an explosion that might send him flying to the ground from two-hundred meters above the plate.

There's a cold look on her face after they agree to trust Tseng to get himself safely out of the building, like she knows she may have just condemned a man she loves to his death.

As the make for the stairs again, something catches his eye, something framed sitting upon the wreckage from the upper levels. "Charlie . . ." he begins, moving towards it. "Look."

She turns to face him, watching him pick up the framed drawing, the sketch of the home he had once drawn for her and that once hung on the hall in his office. The glass has been cracked in the front, but the drawing remains intact. Reeve holds it out to show her, a crooked smile on his face.

To his pleasure, Charlie smiles back. "Are you going to keep it?"

He looks down, flipping it over to remove the paper from the frame. "It's a good house," he says stupidly, feeling as if he needs to justify folding it up and tucking it into his pocket.

"Yes, it is. It is my dream house, after all."

He smiles at her, nodding slightly. "That's right."