Chapter 6: In Pursuit

Barret, Jessie, Red XIII, Parker, Sage, Cid, and Shera were seated at the long table in the lounge of AVALANCHE's Gongaga field office. They had all received the news, and were prepared to hunt Sephiroth down. Some found the situation exciting, some found it terrifying, and still others found it boring and unnecessary.

Of course, the events of the previous three years and the Geostigma Crisis had significantly dwindled their membership.

"This everyone?" Barret inquired as he eyed all of the empty seats.

"I'm afraid so," Red XIII answered, with a tone of regret in his voice.

"If everyone's here, where's Vincent and Lucrecia?" asked Jessie.

"The Eastern Continent," Parker replied. "My better half is looking out for them."

"Can we call them back?" Red XIII asked. "They're the only other ones we can reach out to."

"There's a situation going on with Midgar," Parker informed him. "Involving Deepground. Shit is about to seriously hit the fan."

"Deepground?" Barret inquired.

"I'll explain later," Parker replied. "Right now, it's irrelevant to our situation."

"I suppose we should get to the point," Jessie suggested.

Barret gave her the evil eye; she seemed very impatient for some reason. She had recently given birth to their son, so he figured it might be post partum, or the fact that she wanted to be home with him.

"We've had a Sephiroth sighting in our backyard," Cid began. "Literally."

"We were robbed," Shera added.

Jessie gave a skeptical look.

"That's it?" she asked. "Why us and not the police?"

"Because it's Sephi-fucking-roth, that's why!" Cid insisted. "He's never to be taken lightly!"

"You know," Red XIII began, "a robbery does seem out of character. And rather small for him."

"What the hell did he make off with, anyway?" Jessie asked.

"My Regenerator," Shera replied.

"You're what?" Jessie asked.

"Don't you notice all this nice food around our house?" Shera began.

Jessie nodded.

"I've been using my Regenerator on it," Shera informed her. "It looks like a magic wand, but it reverses decay in any fruit or veggie you have. And it prevents meat from spoiling."

"You invented it?" Barret inquired.

Shera nodded.

"And you didn't mass produce this?" Jessie asked.

"I wanted to wait a while," Shera explained. "Just to make sure it worked."

"It obviously works if Sephiroth would want to steal it," Sage pointed out.

"So that's it," Barret sighed. "Sephiroth wants to be a goddam farmer!"

"But why would he want to give back to the world all of a sudden?" Shera asked aloud.

"Guilty conscience?" Red XIII suggested.

"I meant that rhetorically," Shera said. "I wasn't seeking a response."

For a few moments, everyone sat in silence. It was quite baffling; Sephiroth usually seemed more interested in mass murder.

Then, one of them had an alternative idea for a motive.

"What would happen if that Regenerator was used on a human being?" Parker inquired.

"God only knows," Shera replied.

"In any event," Red XIII said, "we'll keep an eye out for sightings. I think we have a shot at recapturing him."

"And furthermore," fourteen-year-old Sage added, "we need to figure out who freed him."

"That was three years ago," Jessie dismissed. "That would be a waste of time."

"Well," Parker said, "we'll see."

THAT EVENING…

Barret and Jessie were seated on their bed in their pajamas in their home in North Corel. They had just gotten home, and it was late at night. Their son, Dyne, had fallen asleep while the nanny was there, so they decided to head straight for the bedroom and call it a night.

"That was such a waste of time," Jessie muttered with folded arms.

"Seriously?" Barret replied skeptically. "This is our first Sephiroth sighting in more than a year. This is our chance to put him away for good."

"Until someone breaks him out again," she added. "He's going to be about as long as he lives. But he's been roaming free for a year and hasn't done anything. Except for the petty theft just now."

"You can't underestimate this son of a bitch," Barret insisted. "He's beyond dangerous."

"So, he wants to rejuvenate some plants," Jessie sighed. "Big deal. Maybe he is saying he's sorry. Granted, he should have asked Shera for permission first, but maybe he really wants to redeem himself."

"Leopards don't change their spots," Barret commented. "There's something else."

"Like what?" Jessie asked. "I don't see how a Regenerator can be used to destroy the world."

"Why are you feeling sorry for him all of a sudden?" Barret inquired.

Jessie paused.

"I don't," she assured him. "It's just that I could really use a good glass of wine, and I can't have it while I'm nursing our son."

"That time will pass," Barret assured her.

Jessie looked up at the ceiling.

"Remember Christmas of 0008 when we had so much eggnog I wandered outside and woke up in a ditch?" she laughed. "I miss those days."

"That scared the shit out of me," Barret reminded her. "That was the same night Sephiroth escaped. I thought he got you."

Jessie then looked forward.

"I'll be back," she declared as she got up off the bed and began making her way out of the bedroom.

Halfway to the door, she pulled off her shirt, leaving herself topless. She then disappeared down the hall.

"Don't get the wrong idea," Jessie called. "I need to pump."

Barret sighed in disappointment.

THE STUFF THAT MIGHT HAVE GONE UNNOTICED:

Although Premonitions III and Premonitions IV are being released simultaneously, great care is being taken to avoid major spoilers for the former novel here. The outcomes of the 0008 presidential election and the Geostigma Crisis (which is to take place later in the novel) are not revealed. It is also reasonable to consider that anyone who does not appear in Premonitions IV could have died in Premonitions III.

So here's who we know survived the events of Premonitions III:

Vincent

Lucrecia

Barret

Jessie

Red XIII

Cid

Shera

Reeve

Parker

Sage

Sephiroth

And here's who might not have:

Zack

Yuffie

Tobin

Cissnei

Reno

Rude

Elena

Tseng

Marlene

Cloud

Tifa

We shall see.