THIRTY-SEVEN

I yawned a little as I crept quietly down the main road with Cloud, Jessie, and Cissnei toward the ruined reactor the next morning. Barely half past seven. Why couldn't Scarlet have flown out here a little later? I didn't really like mornings all that much and made a little mental note to catch a nap in the buggy once we left town. I was still a bit tired after being up so late with the other girls, but finding out all that weird stuff about Cloud and spending some time with my friends had been worth it. I just hoped we'd be able to help him somehow.

"Wake up, Yuffie," Jessie whispered. "We're almost there."

I slapped my cheek to help myself do that. "I'm wide awake, Jessie. Gawd, I hate mornings. You know, if Scarlet was gonna come here and inspect the reactor, she could've at least done it later in the day. Like in the afternoon. Who's even alert at this hour?"

Cissnei chuckled. "Be thankful you were never a Turk. Some of our missions started at five in the morning."

"Ouch," I groaned.

Cloud motioned to us as the reactor came into view. "Quiet down. Scarlet should be here soon. Let's find some cover."

"Right," Jessie agreed.

The road led out of the trees and into a wide clearing covered with debris. We hurried across it, stepping carefully over the shards of metal and wiring, and ducked into the shadow of the ruined mako reactor. It just sat there, abandoned since Shinra had never bothered to come and clean up their mess. Made me mad just looking at it, and I was glad we didn't have any back home in Wutai. We'd lost the war, but we'd at least held our ground on that. I swore that we'd be strong again one day, that I'd make my dad see sense and fight back.

Even if I had to, er, borrow some materia to do it.

Ah, yeah… that little adventure is still to come. Anyway, I followed Cloud and others around the right side of the wrecked reactor without a sound and crouched down next to Jessie amidst the rubble. Her eyes were hard as they scanned the cloudy gray sky, and I could tell she was pissed. To tell the truth, so was I. Scarlet had a lot to answer for, and I hoped I'd be able to get a shot at her today. Sonon deserved that much. I tightened my grip on my shuriken and waited.

We heard the chopper maybe fifteen minutes later, the sound of its rotors shattering the early morning silence as it flew in over the trees to the east and slowly began to descend. Before long, it had landed in the clearing right outside the reactor. Once the Shinra pilot had shut down the engines, Scarlet stepped out of the chopper with Tseng. He walked only a few steps behind her as they headed carefully into the ruins. My blood positively boiled at the sight of her.

"There's the bitch…" I muttered under my breath.

"Still dresses like a Wall Market whore, too," Jessie hissed. "I never did get her taste in clothes. Damn, I hate her."

Cloud shushed us. "Save it. Can't let her know we're here."

"Oh, I'd love to…" I growled.

Jessie gripped my shoulder and sighed. "I know, Yuffie. Believe me, I understand. But Cloud's right. Now's not the time. We'll get her later, though. Trust me on that. Her ass is ours."

I gave her a fist bump and winked. "On a platter."

"Damn right!" she agreed.

"Quiet, you two," Cloud whispered. "She's getting closer."

Cissnei nodded. "Let's see what she's after."

So we watched closely as Scarlet and Tseng made their way toward the reactor entrance. Stepping through the rubble, they headed inside a moment later. Them, with a quick gesture from Cloud, we snuck out of our hiding spot and slipped into the reactor after them.

The inside wasn't really in any better shape than the outside, full of broken pipes, burnt metal, and ruined panels. I swallowed nervously as I stepped over a cluster of twisted cables and an eerie thought occurred to me. I glanced over at Cissnei and did my best to act casual, although I was a little scared of what the answer might be.

"Hey, Cissnei…" I asked softly as we kept moving, my voice not as steady as I'd hoped. "There, uh, aren't any, um… you know… bodies… in here… are there? From when the place blew up?"

She shook her head as she answered. "No. They were buried in the town cemetery not long after the accident."

I sighed in relief. "Good. Gawd, this place is creepy…"

"Shh!" Cloud said. "Scarlet's not far ahead."

He was right. Although the elevator was busted, there were several abandoned control rooms nearby connected by long, sloping corridors that went down deeper into the reactor. Scarlet and Tseng headed that way, and so did we, far enough behind them that they couldn't hear us but close enough that we could still see them in the dimness. All of the consoles and computers were dark and dead, and the place was choked with dust and debris. It was like being in a tomb.

We kept going, following Scarlet and Tseng all the way down to the bottom, to mako storage. The huge vats were empty, although the smell still hung in the air. Mixed together with the odors of smoke and ash, it made my nose curl as we quickly hid out of sight amidst a large pile of rubble along one side of the wide metal platform.

While Tseng waited, Scarlet approached the shattered wreckage of what had once been the reactor core. After sifting impatiently through the debris, she straightened up again, this time with a round and shiny glowing red orb in her hand. I knew exactly what it was, of course, and gazed eagerly at it, my fingers twitching in anticipation.

"Materia!" I grinned.

Jessie nodded, keeping her voice down. "Yeah. A summon, by the looks of it. You think that's what she's after?"

"Dunno," Cloud shrugged. "Let's wait and see."

"Hmph!" Scarlet sniffed after inspecting the orb. "Worthless junk. There's nothing here, Tseng. Just crappy materia from a crappy reactor, as I suspected. This junkyard is a dead end."

Tseng sighed. "Are you certain?"

"Positive," she snapped, staring impatiently at him. "What I'm after is huge materia. Like the one at Fort Condor. It's bigger than this, more like a chunk of crystal than an orb. Seen any?"

"I'm afraid not, Director," Tseng shook his head. "Our intelligence gathering resources aren't what they used to be."

"Clearly," Scarlet sneered.

"I'll see to it immediately, however," Tseng assured her, although he didn't sound very enthusiastic about it.

She laughed coldly as she strolled back across the platform toward the hallway. "See that you do. With the huge materia, we could develop the ultimate weapon. Pride and Joy is nearly complete, but as powerful as it already is, this would make it indestructible!"

"Not if I can help it," Jessie growled under her breath.

"I'm dying with anticipation," Tseng snickered, his voice laced with sarcasm he wasn't even bothering to hide.

Scarlet paused for a moment close to our hiding place. "With Hojo gone, at least for the time being, Weapons Development has been given a bigger budget. I should have Pride and Joy completed and ready to go in another month, perhaps two at the most."

"What will you use it against?" he wondered.

"Whatever I want!" she cackled.

Tseng raised an eyebrow. "Avalanche?"

"To start with," Scarlet agreed. "And then, Wutai."

I clenched my fist. "The hell you will…"

She continued. "But even if I do create the ultimate weapon, could that idiot Heidegger even figure out how to use it? That fool can't even put his own worthless daughter into the ground."

"Neither can you, as I recall," Tseng pointed out. "Didn't she escape from your underground facility about two months ago and destroy one of your mechs when you tried to kill her?"

Scarlet glared at him. "Barely. And it won't happen again. The next time, she won't be nearly so fortunate. I'll see to that. Pride and Joy will leave my former assistant as nothing but a stain on the ground. I might even let Heidegger join me for the ride. The cockpit holds two, after all. Then we'll destroy that little bitch together."

Jessie sneered softly. "Good luck. You'll need it."

"I would be more careful if I were you," Tseng advised. "She's quite capable and much more trouble than she's worth. So you might want to reconsider this course of action. Such a battle could easily turn against you. Jessica is quite resourceful, as you well know."

Scarlet just brushed him off. "Bah! When did you become so weak, Tseng? Are you sure you're still a Turk?"

"Quite sure," he said.

"Hmph! Let's go," she shrugged.

After carelessly tossing the glowing red orb aside, Scarlet started to walk toward the corridor that led back upstairs. But just before she got there, Jessie quickly used her green Fire materia to light up the back of her dress with a little burst of flame. Scarlet jumped about a foot in the air and shrieked when she realized what was happening. Tseng looked on impassively, hands folded behind his back as she frantically beat her ass to try and put out the blaze. I tell ya, the sight of her like that made the whole trip into this creepy reactor worth it.

Tseng barely managed not to smile. "Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright!?" Scarlet snapped as she finally put out the fire. "I hate this place! Let's just go. Move it!"

"Very well," he replied, still straight-faced.

She glared at him. "Not a word about this to anyone. Clear?"

Tseng nodded. "Completely."

Then they left, Scarlet's dress more than a little singed where it had covered her ass. Her walk was a lot less sultry and sure now as she and Tseng went into the corridor. She stalked away like one of my cats back home in Wutai after a bath. Once she and Tseng were gone, I turned to my right, smiled, and gave Jessie a fist bump.

"Nice one, Jessie!" I laughed.

She smirked. "Thanks, Yuffie! Just a little present for her. The bitch is gonna learn that she can't mess with us!"

I pumped my fist. "Hell yeah!"

"Did you see the look on her face?" Cissnei chuckled. "Damn, that was great! I'm gonna remember it for a long time."

"Oh, it was priceless!" Jessie giggled.

Cloud let the corners of his mouth turn upward a little as he folded his arms in front of him. "Not bad, Jessie."

"Praise from the merc?" she teased. "My heart be still!"

"Don't get excited," he quipped.

Just then, I spotted a bright red glow nearby. It was the materia orb that Scarlet had found earlier and just thrown away like so much trash. It had rolled across the floor and bumped into a section of twisted and fallen railing near our hiding spot. I gleefully snatched up and admired it for a moment as I held it in my gloved hand.

"Score!" I grinned.

"What kind is it?" Jessie wondered.

Mesmerized by the orb's pretty glow, I stood up and gazed intently at it. "Hmm… Titan. He's all about earth magic. Does quakes and stuff. Not so good against flying enemies, but aside from that, he'll be pretty handy. And Scarlet called this worthless! Ha!"

"So what's this Pride and Joy she was talking about?" Cloud asked, glancing worriedly at Jessie. "Some kinda mech?"

I slapped my new Titan materia into one of the slots on my mythril armlet. "Do you know anything about it, Jessie? I won't let her use it to hurt my homeland. We've gotta stop it somehow!"

"Way ahead of ya!" Jessie smirked. "And yeah, it's basically a mech. But huge and really tough. I found the schematics for it when I was still at Shinra. Before I left, I altered them—payback for what Scarlet did to me. I added a hidden backdoor to her pet project."

"Cool!" I smiled as we all got moving. "So what's it do?"

"Once activated, it'll set off a massive overload in the mech's power relays and destroy it," she explained. "We're still gonna have to do a lot of damage ourselves first to take out the backup systems, though. If we don't, they'll just shut down the destruct sequence. But don't worry. I'll know when we've hit it enough."

I gave her a thumbs up. "We're really gonna light her up!"

"Hell yeah!" Jessie grinned, pumping her fist. "Once we leave town, I'm gonna get to work putting together a remote we can use to activate the backdoor. Just push the button and BOOM!"

"Oh, I can't wait!" I laughed as we made our way into the corridor. "Can you imagine the look on her face?"

She nodded. "I know, right? I am so gonna savor it!"

The chopper was already gone by the time we finally made it back outside, so we just strolled casually back up the road toward Gongaga. As we went back to town, I thought about Jessie's plan and didn't doubt for a second that it would work. She was really smart, and soon, Sonon would finally be able to rest easy with Scarlet blown to hell and back in her own favorite mech. And so would I.

We left Gongaga about an hour later. Aerith had spent most of the morning visiting Zack's parents while we'd been away. As a parting gift, they gave her a pair of small, round gold earrings fitted with fragments of materia. From what Cissnei said, they were sold at the shop that she helped the Fairs run and would enhance Aerith's magic, increasing the power of both her offensive and defensive spells.

"Thank you so much!" Aerith beamed as she put them on.

Mrs. Fair smiled. "You're quite welcome, Aerith. Please be safe out there, alright? And be sure to come visit us again every once in a while. You and your friends are always welcome."

"I will," she promised.

After Mr. and Mrs. Fair had both embraced her, she waved happily to them and headed down the road with us as they stood outside their house together and watched. Cissnei met us at the buggy, and I was the first to hug her, already missing my new friend.

"Bye, Cissnei," I said.

"Goodbye, Jessie," she replied, returning the favor. "And good luck. I hope you find what you're looking for."

I didn't doubt that I would. "Thanks. You too."

Once Cloud and the rest had said their farewells, we got underway. I took the wheel this time, driving out of town and on up the road with Barret in the front passenger seat and the others behind. As usual, Cait plopped up onto the console between us to chat and give us directions, and between him and the map display on the center screen, I soon had us heading steadily west out of the jungle.

We stayed off the roads as we traveled onward across grassy plains, wanting to avoid being seen as much as possible. At the end of the day, another lush tropical forest, larger than the one around Gongaga, came into view as I rode in the front passenger seat with Cloud driving. Tifa had taken over for me, Aerith for her, and so forth. We stopped for the night at the edge of the woods in a small clearing.

The forest went on for miles, and it took us over half a day to clear it, crossing another river or two as we did. But soon enough, the plains north of the trees dried out into a vast, rocky desert full of winding red sandstone bluffs and canyons. Red padded eagerly up front as we went north and west, his good eye gazing longingly at the sandy cliffs. By the time it was my turn to drive again, the sun was going down once more and he hadn't budged an inch the whole time.

I smiled fondly at him. "Almost home, Red."

"Yes…" he murmured. "Home… I know these lands quite well, and it's good to finally see them again after being away for so long. Though also difficult as well. My journey is almost over."

"What!?" Aerith stammered from the front passenger seat. "You're gonna stay there and not come with us?"

Red looked at her. "Did you forget, Aerith?"

She shook her head. "No. Just didn't want to remember, I suppose. You told us that this was as far as you'd go."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes," Red said. "My duty is to protect my home."

I patted his back. "We'll really miss ya…"

"And I you, Jessie," he replied.

"About how far away are we?" I wondered.

He looked out at the rocky desert. "We should get there in perhaps half an hour. It's only a few miles from here."

Aerith sighed. "Not much longer…"

"We'll need to resupply anyway," I said. "Will they have stuff for us, Red? Our food and gas are getting low. And I think the engines need a tune-up so we don't have a breakdown."

"Plenty," he assured me.

I nodded and kept on driving, not liking the idea of continuing our journey without Red but knowing that we couldn't get in the way if this was really what he wanted. He was a good friend and a valuable ally. As I drove, I tried not to think about what it would be like not having him with us, but I wasn't entirely successful. Neither was Aerith, by the look of it, and I remembered that she'd been imprisoned with him at Shinra before Cloud and the others had broken them out.

Her eyes widened as we turned a corner. "Oh, wow…"

"Home…" Red breathed.

Less than a mile or so ahead of us was a large town built right into the side of the cliffs on a high plateau, featuring both wooden huts and a network of caves, all of them connected by ladders and curved stone stairs. At the very top on a small bluff sat what looked like some sort of observatory with a large telescope. A long, winding set of steps rose up to the main plateau from the rocky ground, and the warm, welcoming glow of torches and lamps pushed back the gloom of the coming night. The whole place had a very peaceful feel to it.

Aerith smiled. "You were right, Red. It is beautiful."

"Very much so," he agreed. "Cosmo Canyon. We will find rest and friendship here as well as food and supplies. Once we arrive, we should speak with my grandfather and seek his counsel."

"Looking forward to meeting him!" I grinned.

"What's he like?" Aerith wondered.

Red chuckled. "Different from me, but very wise. And with a sense of humor as well. You'd like him."

"Oh, nice!" she giggled. "I bet I will!"

After I parked the buggy at the bottom of the stairs and turned off the engines, we all got out. Red bounded on ahead of us up the steps in a flash without a backward glance, but I couldn't really blame him. He'd been away from home for a long time. The rest of us climbed after him as the town loomed above us. As he neared the gate, which blocked off access to the main plateau, Red called out eagerly to a pair of men who were standing guard on either side of it.

"It's Nanaki!" he greeted them. "I'm home!"

One of the men smiled and waved. "Nanaki! I'm so glad that you're safe! You'd better let Bugenhagen know."

Cloud shared a confused glance with us. "Nanaki?"

"Red told me when we first met in the Shinra Building that he had another name," Aerith shrugged, just as baffled as we were. "So maybe this is it. I guess we'll find out soon enough."

"He does seem different, doesn't he?" Tifa added.

Aerith nodded. "Yeah, he does. Anyway, about this place… could it be connected to the planet? Or the Ancients?"

"Sure is," Barret replied. "I've been here before, long time ago. This was where Avalanche began. From research I did after I left Corel with Marlene. She an' I lived here for almost a year before movin' to Midgar, where we later met Tifa an' the rest of the gang."

I smiled. "So glad we finally made it here! I just wish Biggs, Wedge, and Lena were with us. I remember all those stories you used to tell us about this place, Barret. And how you were gonna take us all here once we'd saved the planet and celebrate. I can see why."

"We'll get 'em here sooner or later," he promised. "But I'm real glad you made it, Jessie. I guess… you never did before."

"I'm here now," I assured him.

He grinned. "That you are, girl. Still don't get all this stuff 'bout us doin' this journey before an' all that timeline shit, but seein' ya standin' right here with us now makes me think it ain't so bad."

I pumped my fist and smirked. "With you all the way, big guy! And happy to finally get here. Definitely gonna call the rest of the gang later. Now let's go inside so we can check it out and relax!"

"Sounds good, but we might wanna take Red's advice and talk with Bugenhagen first," Cloud reminded us.

Tifa nodded. "Yeah."

Yuffie looked eagerly through the gate. "Hmm… wonder if they've got any good materia around here?"

"Yuffie…" I said, looking meaningfully at her.

"What? Can't blame a girl for wondering," she quipped.

Aerith chuckled. "You never change, do you?"

"Not if I can help it!" Yuffie teased.

Cait gazed curiously up at the town. "So this here's Cosmo Canyon, eh? Heard a wee bit aboot it, but this is mae first visit."

"Are you familiar with it?" the guard that Red had talked to asked. When Cloud shook his head, he continued. "Then allow me to explain. Welcome to our town, travelers. Many people come here from all over the world to study planetology. And while we have a more natural way of life than you might be used to, we also use machines and technology as well and always strive to keep them in balance."

"That's a good idea," Aerith agreed.

He went on. "Indeed. Unfortunately, however, we're at capacity and can't allow you to enter at this time."

Red stared meaningfully at the guard. "They saved me from Shinra and have been a great help to me on my way here, Cortan. They are my friends. Please let them in. It will be alright."

"Oh, you helped our Nanaki?" he said, raising an eyebrow. Then he quickly opened the gate. "Then please come in."

"Who's Nanaki?" Yuffie asked.

Cortan pointed at Red, who was rushing further up the stairs until pausing at a wide landing a little under the plateau. "He didn't tell you? That's his name. Nanaki is Nanaki."

"Ah, yes…" Red apologized when we caught up with him. "It's as he says. I'm sorry. My true name is Nanaki. But you may still call me Red, if you wish. I'm sorry for not sharing it earlier."

Tifa waved it off. "No harm done."

I smiled. "Right! I think it's great, Nanaki."

Yuffie chuckled. "You'll always be Red to me, fuzzball, but Nanaki's pretty cool, too. Reminds me of my real name. Yuffie's just a nickname, after all. My dad's the only one who uses the real one, and usually only when he's really pissed. Then I know I'm in trouble!"

"What is it?" Aerith wondered.

Yuffie winked. "My secret! But maybe… if we ever go to Wutai, I'll share it with ya. My home's not far, actually. Just a short ways across the ocean to the west, you know. If we had a ship…"

Cloud shrugged. "Maybe later. We'll see. But for now, let's focus on what we're doing here and find out what we can."

"As all of you know, this is my hometown," Red explained as he sat on the landing. "Here is where I was born and raised. It was the duty of my tribe to guard and protect this town, its people, and the canyon. My mother fought bravely and died here. But my father… he was a coward who fled into the night when we needed him the most and abandoned us. I am the last of my kind. There are no others."

"What about that female you told me about?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Deneh is gone. Even if she lives, I have no way of knowing where she is. And we don't have time to search for her. So I alone remain to carry out my tribe's mission to guard this sacred place. I must stay here now. My journey is over."

Cloud sighed. "You sure?"

"Yes," Red replied. "Though I must admit, parting from you all will be much more difficult than I imagined."

"You did kinda grow on me," Yuffie admitted.

He chuckled. "Likewise, my friend."

Aerith knelt and hugged him. "I'm really gonna miss you, Red. You and I have certainly come a long way, haven't we?"

"Indeed," Red said. "The day we met in Hojo's lab was a pivotal one for us both. I won't ever forget it. Thank you, Aerith… all of you… for helping me to find my way home again."

"It was our pleasure," Tifa smiled.

I hid the lump in my throat with a smirk. "Really glad I was able to get to know you this time around, Red."

He nodded. "As am I, Jessie."

"We ain't leavin' yet," Barret said. "So there ain't no need for y'all to get all mushy right now. But if this is your stop, Red, then I guess that's how it is. You a good, uh… cat, um, thing."

"Lab rat dog," Red quipped.

I laughed. "Guess that about sums it up, huh?"

Aerith giggled. "It really does!"

"Sure you won't change your mind, Red?" Yuffie sighed.

"I make no promises," he replied.

Tifa flashed him a wry grin. "Just like Cloud."

"Good," Cloud said, folding his arms in front of him. He looked at Red. "Do what you gotta do. We'll be okay."

"Thank you," Red answered.

Just then, a man's voice called down from not all that far above us. "Nanaki! So it is you! It is! You've come home!"

Red whirled excitedly toward its owner. "Grandpa!"

Floating gracefully down from one of the caves on the second level of the town was an old man in a dark blue robe sitting cross-legged on what looked like a large green orb maybe four feet in diameter. He was bald with thick, bushy gray eyebrows, a short, matching pointed beard, and a long, flowing gray mustache that hung past his jaw. His eyes were hidden behind dark, round sunglasses with thin frames, and his mouth was slightly curled into a warm, relieved smile.

"Welcome home, Nanaki," he said.

"I've finally come back!" Red said, bounding toward him. "It hasn't been easy, but I had a lot of help."

Bugenhagen gazed intently at us. "So I see …"

"You're Red's grandfather?" I blinked.

"Yes, in a manner of speaking," he chuckled. "Red, you say? Then I assume he never told you his real name."

Red shook his head. "I didn't mean to hide it…"

"It's fine," Cloud said.

"Indeed," Bugenhagen agreed. "I understand the choice you made, Nanaki. And caution is never unwise."

Red nodded. "Thank you, Grandpa."

"Now, then," he went on, smiling at the rest of us. "I assume you're his friends? You have my thanks for bringing Nanaki safely home to us. Please make yourselves comfortable here in our little town. And when you're ready, come and see me in my observatory. It sits upon the cliffs above us. I imagine you all have many questions."

"You could say that," I laughed. "Nanaki's very important to us, and we're glad to be of help to him. He's been there for us plenty of times as well whenever we needed him. Always has our back."

Aerith gazed fondly at him. "We're so glad to know him."

"Even if he is a pain sometimes," Yuffie teased.

"Speak for yourself," Red quipped.

Bugenhagen chuckled as he stroked his beard. "Good, very good… now come along, Nanaki. It's time to go home for now. Let your friends rest a while. I'm sure they've had a long road to get here."

Red raced up the steps. "Yes, Grandpa!"

Then they were gone, Bugenhagen floating up into one of the caves on the second level while Red hurried after him. The rest of us talked it over for a bit and decided to split up for now and do what Bugenhagen had suggested. Once we'd climbed the rest of the stairs and reached the main plateau, Aerith turned and beckoned to me.

"Let's go, Jessie!" she giggled.

I bounced over to Cloud instead as casually as I could, though, still uneasy about being alone with her. "Thanks, but Cloud and I are off to see the sights! Maybe another time, alright?"

Aerith raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Are we… okay?"

"Nothing to worry about!" I assured her. "You and Tifa go have fun around town, Aerith. We'll meet up with you later."

She shrugged. "Alright. Meet you at the observatory?"

"In an hour," Cloud nodded.

"See you there, guys," Tifa waved. After sharing a look with Cloud, she went with Aerith to visit a nearby inn.

Barret lifted his good hand. "Catch ya later, you two."

"Time to find some materia!" Yuffie grinned as she sped off up the stairs to the second level. "See ya around, guys!"

"That lass is a handful, ain't she?" Cait laughed.

I smirked. "You have no idea…"

"Aye. I'll try ahn keep her out of trouble," he agreed. Then he called to his moogle mount through his little megaphone and bounded away after Yuffie into the upper section of town.

I smiled at Cloud. "You ready, SOLDIER boy?"

He gestured to me. "After you, Jessie."

We wandered around town but didn't go upstairs yet. Before long, I saw a huge bonfire right in the middle of the plateau, burning brightly on a large, irregular stone dais that was big enough to let several people sit or stand around the blaze. At the base of a short set of steps leading up to it was a young boy, his brown eyes fixed onto the roaring fire. As we got closer, he turned and gazed curiously at us.

"Nanaki's back!" he exclaimed. "All thanks to this flame! This is the Cosmo Candle, a sacred fire that protects us and keeps monsters away. It's burned for generations and has never gone out, day or night. Well, except once. The only time it did go out was long ago when something really bad happened. I don't know very much about it, though. But the elders do. You could ask them about it if you want."

"It's beautiful…" I breathed.

Cloud nodded. "Sure is. Pretty big, too."

"Yeah," I said. Then I had an idea. "Hey, Cloud. Let's all come back here later and just sit around the fire for a while. It'd be a good way for us to unwind after the long drive today."

"We'll do that," he agreed.

From there, we explored more of the city's main plateau. We found Aerith and Tifa inside the inn, sitting at a table near the bar and having a few drinks together as they talked. After chatting with them for a bit, Cloud and I went back outside and browsed through the shops. Not all of them were on the ground, either. Some of the homes and businesses had been built on smaller ledges reached by high ladders, the buildings plain but sturdy amidst small, cozy caves.

Cosmo Canyon's second level wove upward through several larger caves and tunnels that had been carefully shaped and molded over the years to be as much a part of the town as the buildings outside. Inside, we found more shops, homes, libraries, and even a few restaurants. As I'd expected, Yuffie was in the materia store, but she didn't look all that impressed as she impatiently scanned the shelves.

"Oh, hey, guys," she said as we walked in. "This place is a real drag, you know? Not as good a selection as I'd hoped."

"Red'll come with us," I assured her.

Yuffie blinked. "Huh?"

I went on. "You're worried about him, Yuffie. Not that hard to see, really. That's why you've been so restless."

"Yeah," she sighed. "I hope you're right, Jessie."

After leaving the shop, Cloud and I found another ladder set along the back wall of the main passageway. It led further up the bluff, and at the far end of the tunnel stood a thick, massive steel gate that had been sealed closed with some kind of machine. What was in there? And why was it locked up so tight? Was it to keep people out… or maybe to keep something in? I shivered, not sure I wanted to know.

We climbed up the ladder and found ourselves back outside, to the top of the bluff and right in front of Bugenhagen's observatory. It was a large building with a domed roof over the middle and a huge telescope on one side. The place had two smaller sections with sloping roofs like houses, one on each side at an angle, with where we'd climbed up from the ladder directly in between and in front of them. Running along the edge of the small plateau was a plain but sturdy wooden fence made of long, thick beams fastened to posts every few feet.

When I finally turned around, I gasped. "Oh, wow…"

"Whoa…" Cloud murmured.

Spread out in front of and below us for as far as we could see was a huge panorama. The vast desert stretched on for miles and miles to the south and east—sand and rock and rusty red canyons stretching all the way to the horizon with hardy shrubs growing here and there and even an occasional cluster of bright violet and gold flowers. And high above it all, the setting sun bathed the landscape in its warm light, orange and yellow mixed with the rich, deep blue and purple of the coming night. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

"Now I know…" I breathed.

Cloud glanced at me. "You know what?"

I walked over to the fence. "Why Red loves this place so much. He was right, Cloud. It's gorgeous… incredible…"

"Yeah," he agreed, joining me.

"Share a sunset with me?" I smirked.

Cloud nodded. "Love to."

So we did, just standing quietly together for a while as we watched the sun gradually make its way down over the desert. In the midst of it, my hand found his, and I gave him a small smile. He flashed me one in return, small but definitely there, and only for me. After a moment, we brought our gazes back to the wonderful sight in front of us. We didn't say anything—words felt almost intrusive, and neither of us wanted to spoil the moment—but simply enjoyed being in this vast and beautiful place with each other as the day came to a close.

In the midst of it, I was able to forget the troubles I'd been dealing with lately, even if only for a little while. Nightmares, the terrible future I'd seen with Aerith, whatever was going on inside me… all of it. Cloud seemed more relaxed, too. It had to be hard carrying so many burdens, and I was sure I didn't know the half of them.

But I intended to help him as much as I could. I loved him, and in this quiet, peaceful moment, that was all that mattered. It was almost like a glimpse of heaven. My fingers clasped his tenderly as they rested atop the fence together, and I felt his do the same.

We stayed like that until the sun had gone down.