FIFTY-TWO

"Jessie!" Yuffie's excited shout cut through the quiet of the gardens like a thunderbolt. "You gotta see this!"

I stood up as she ran toward us. "What is it?"

She grinned. "Check it out and see! It's from Hiroshi!"

"He's alive?" I gasped.

"It's not like that, although I hope he is," Yuffie panted as she came to a stop. She handed me the letter. "He sent it to my dad five years ago just before we lost contact with him."

I took it and started to read. "I see… this could really be a big help, Yuffie. Did your dad give this to you?"

"Yeah, he surprised me for once," she smiled.

As I read Hiroshi's letter, my eyes widened and I fell more than sat back down onto the stone bench, so stunned I could barely even think for a moment. I could hardly believe what I'd just found out. As Cloud sat next to me on my right, I looked over at him.

"Cloud… Hiroshi was at Nibelhiem! Had to be!" I breathed. "And I know you told us Sephiroth killed almost everyone in town, but maybe Hiroshi managed to survive just like you and Tifa."

"It's possible," Cloud admitted, although he didn't look convinced. "Zangan did say in his letter to Tifa that there were others who made it through that night alive. But Hojo and his men turned them into those guys in the black robes. Sephiroth clones."

I shook my head. "Maybe not all of them."

"Yeah!" Yuffie agreed. "Hiro'd never let himself be put through that hell! He'd sooner die than be Shinra's plaything!"

"Then why's no one seen him in five years?" Cloud asked.

She sighed. "I don't know…"

"What's the Kanshi Ryu?" I wondered.

"They're the Silent Dragon, an order of elite special operatives that leads our military and answers only to the Wusheng," Yuffie explained. "Kinda like what SOLDIER is to Shinra, but without the mako infusion and Jenova crap. They're still really strong, though."

Cloud looked thoughtfully at her. "And a First Sword?"

"I guess it'd be about the same as a SOLDIER First Class," she said. "There aren't very many, either. I remember Shake was so proud when he got promoted. He let her pin his badge on him."

"How sweet!" I smiled.

Yuffie laughed. "Yeah, it was a sight to see, I tell ya. Especially since she had to reach up on her tiptoes to do it."

I looked at the letter again, my eyes widening as understanding hit me like a punch to the face. "Hiroshi got his fake ID from an insider at Shinra. And I think I know who it was!"

"Who?" she wondered.

"Marissa!" I exclaimed, still in shock. "I had no idea. Of course, I'd only just started working for her at the time and barely knew her yet. It makes sense, though, since her husband was so sick and the company's health coverage was a joke. I don't blame her."

Cloud nodded. "It does explain a few things, too. Like how she was able to smuggle the Hardy into the Shinra Building and have it ready to go along with the truck when Barret, Tifa, and I went in there to rescue Aerith. And how she knew Domino would help us."

It made sense. "Yeah. Marissa was with Avalanche all along…"

"I didn't know she could make fake IDs, though," he said.

"Who do you think taught me how?" I laughed. "It did surprise me at first. It was almost a year after I'd started working there, and we had gotten to know each other pretty well and trusted each other. Now that I think about it, she showed me how to do a lot of little things like that when I was there. But I never knew why until now."

"Sounds like she meant to recruit you," Cloud mused, gazing at the letter I was holding. "Just like Hiroshi suggested."

I read over it again. "Yeah. Not sure I'd have joined yet, but I'd have kept her secret for her either way. Shinra hadn't pushed me enough yet to go that far. And losing her husband in the Reactor 3 massacre had to have thrown a wrench into the whole thing, too."

He frowned slightly. "Hold on… Hiroshi didn't get my description right. My hair's not black, and it's not long, either. I—"

"Cloud?" I looked worriedly at him as he winced in pain.

"It's nothing," he said, shaking it off.

Yuffie gazed uneasily at him. "It's not like Hiro to get things wrong like that, though. He's really observant. If he—"

I instantly silenced her with a glare. "Not now, Yuffie."

"Huh?" she scratched her head. "I don't get it."

"Save it for later," I told her. And then I quickly changed the subject before Cloud could think on it too much. "I'm gonna head back to the guest house in a minute and call Kunsel and Marissa, but can we go get that picture of Hiroshi from your place first?"

Yuffie nodded. "Sure, Jessie. It's just around the corner."

Her house was smaller than the main building of the estate but still big enough to give her plenty of space and let her feel like she was truly on her own instead of on her family's lands. And like her dad's home, it was built in the traditional style, with sliding screens and plain wooden floors, walls framed with thick red beams, and furniture that was both modest but well-made. Cushioned mats, fine dressers and tables, and a large bed in the other room with soft blankets and a mountain of fluffy green pillows. A set of stairs led downward out of sight.

And I could hear meowing coming from there. When Yuffie led us down into a finished basement, I couldn't help laughing as no less than half a dozen cats swarmed around us in a surge of whiskers and fur, all of them definitely hungry and clamoring to be fed. Yuffie knelt in front of them and cooed lovingly as they surrounded her.

"Hey, there, Mommy's here," she soothed, petting the cats. "I know, I know. I'll get you something to eat, don't worry."

I grinned. "Wow! You have even more cats than Wedge!"

Yuffie picked one up and chuckled. "Adorable, aren't they? Must be why he and I hit it off so well when we met. If he wasn't with Lena, he'd be in my sights for sure! But I'm happy for him."

"Maybe he and Lena can bring their cats to meet yours sometime," I suggested. "Or you can bring yours to meet theirs."

"Not a bad idea!" she chuckled.

After Yuffie had fed her cats, we went back upstairs, and she took a photo from her desk drawer and handed it to me. It showed Shake as a tiny but feisty thirteen year-old, her smile full of mischief as she looked at a young and very handsome Wutaian man who looked to be twenty or so. Her older brother, Hiroshi. His hair and eyes were dark, a lot like his sister's and Yuffie's, and he was tall and slim.

"You're right, Yuffie," I grinned. "He is cute. But not as much as my sexy SOLDIER boy here. To me, anyway."

"Ha! Told ya!" she giggled.

I nodded, then I remembered something. "When you first told me about him the night we met, you said he'd probably changed the way he looked. Dyed his hair, wore contacts to change his eye color, that kinda thing, so no one would know he was from here."

"Right," Yuffie said.

"He won't really look the same then as he does here, but that won't stop Kunsel," I assured her. "I think we can narrow down the search to the Nibelheim squad since we know Hiro was on it. And if Kunsel can get into the records, he might be able to find him."

She gasped and took my shoulder. "Oh, I hope so!"

Once she and I got back to the guest house, I quickly set up a video call on my tablet. Cloud had decided to do some training outside while we were busy, so it was just Yuffie and I as we sat on cushioned mats at the low table. I'd pulled out the stand on my tablet and set it upright so we could see it better. After a moment, the display switched to show us Marissa's apartment on the Sector 4 plate.

"Jessie?" Kunsel blinked in surprise. Then he smiled. "Good to see you! Marissa and I were just getting into bed."

I blushed crimson then, seeing the dark, smoggy night sky through the window behind him. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I totally forgot all about the time difference! It's only late afternoon here in Wutai."

He smirked. "It's alright. Biggs and the others have kept us updated on how you guys are doing, at least as much as they can what with how busy they've been at Fort Condor, but I'm glad to hear from you, Jessie. So you're in Wutai now? I hadn't heard that."

"We haven't had much of a chance to touch base with him, Wedge, and Lena yet since we've been here, but they're next on my list to call," I said as I leaned forward a little and grinned.

"Jessie!" Marissa beamed as she hurried over from the bedroom in a dark green robe. Like Kunsel, her hair was a little mussed from laying down—and maybe more—but she didn't seem to mind. "How are you? And is that a kimono? You look great in it!"

I laughed. "Yep! Thanks! Just sporting some local fashion today. It feels nice, too. Anyway, I've got some information for you, and I need a favor from you guys, if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course," she agreed, sitting down next to Kunsel. Her hand slid over his almost on its own. "Anything we can do."

Marissa's hair, still dark brown with a touch of red like mine was in my acting days on the plate, seemed a little longer it than had been the last time I'd seen her, and I figured she was starting to grow it back out again now that she didn't need to pose as me anymore. Kunsel's hadn't changed much, though. Still short and a slightly lighter shade of brown than hers. His bright, baby blue eyes glowed with mako as her emerald greens lingered on them before returning to me.

"First, though, this is Yuffie," I motioned to her, and she waved. "A friend of mine and the one I told you about, Kunsel."

He nodded. "Right, I remember. Nice to meet you, Yuffie."

"Pleasure's all mine!" she said. "And thanks for helping me try and find Hiroshi. It really means a lot to me."

"You're welcome," Marissa assured her.

I went on. "We've got a few new leads, but first, some news. When we got here, we caught up to Don Corneo. Seems he fled here after we chased him out of Wall Market. Anyway, me, Cloud, Tifa, and a couple friends of ours you haven't met yet tracked him down to Da-Chao—it's a holy mountain here in Wutai. And to make a long story short, he had a rather long fall off of it. After I shot him."

Marissa sighed in relief. "That's very good to know, Jessie. He was a literal terror to women everywhere. Even after he left Wall Market, the fear of him still stuck around. People were scared he'd be back one day. But now they don't have to be afraid anymore."

"The nightmare's over," I agreed. "And earlier today, Tifa and Yuffie found more young women locked underground like the ones we saved in Wall Market. Two in particular need our help."

"Who?" Kunsel wondered.

I smiled. "This is part of the favor. Can you contact Lydia? Tell her we found her friend Marcy and that she's safe and heading home as we speak. Marissa, do what you can for her, okay? She's been through a lot out here, and it's not gonna be easy for her to put her life back together again after everything that Corneo did to her."

She nodded. "Of course."

"The other girl's Merle, Leslie's fiancee," I went on. "He left Midgar to find her, and the Wusheng have their people looking for him to give him the good news, but they could use your help."

"I'll do what I can," Kunsel promised.

I nodded. "Thanks. Now here's where it gets interesting. Yuffie has a letter from Hiroshi that she just showed me. Turns out he was on the Nibelheim mission. He was worried that Sephiroth might lose it while he was out there, so he got himself assigned to the team. And although officially everyone's dead, the truth might be a little different. Tifa was there and she survived. So maybe he did, too."

"That'll help narrow down my search a bit," Kunsel said.

"So will this," I added, holding up Hiroshi's picture. After scanning it into the tablet's memory, I sent the image to Kunsel. "This is Hiroshi just before he left Wutai for his mission. He'd look a bit different in the Shinra records, though, since he changed his appearance to blend in so no one would know where he was really from."

Kunsel leaned forward to look at his screen. "I see it, Jessie. And it might take a little time, but I can check Shinra's military records to find him. Everything about the Nibelheim mission's classified top secret, of course, but troop listings usually aren't. If I can't access the files for the Nibelheim incident, I'll look in there and see what I can come up with. And we're still trying to dig into that deleted file we found a while ago and see if anything about him might be in there."

"One other thing," I said, lowering my voice as an idea came to me. I glanced at Yuffie. "And keep this between us, okay?"

"Will do," she promised.

I turned back to the screen and Kunsel. "See if you can find Cloud in the database, too. We know he was never a SOLDIER, but maybe he was at Nibelheim—as a regular Shinra trooper."

"I will," he said. "I want to know, too. He's my friend."

"Thanks, guys," I murmured. "I think that more happened that day than it seems. Tifa said his account of what happened didn't add up, as if he knew things he shouldn't and didn't know things he should. And I feel that way, too—I know he wasn't there, at least as a SOLDIER, since I met Zack just before he left for Nibelheim."

Kunsel nodded. "We'll figure it out, Jessie. For both of them."

"You can rely on us," Marissa added. "Is there anything else we can do? When do you think you'll be back?"

"That's about it for now," I replied. "And as for when we'll be going back to Midgar, I don't know. But I know we'll get there sooner or later. Our next stop is the Gold Saucer to link up with the others and get the keystone before Shinra. After that, we're gonna go to the Temple of the Ancients… to try and stop Sephiroth."

Marissa looked worriedly at me. "Are you okay, Jessie?"

A shiver had run up my spine when I'd mentioned the temple, and I'd remembered the warning Materia and my other self had given me. I felt such a foreboding about the place, and I wondered what was going to happen there. I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"I'm fine," I said. "Guess I'd better get you caught up on what we've been doing lately while I have you here. Oh, Hiroshi mentioned you in his letter, too. Seems you were in Avalanche long before I was, even if it wasn't the same part. I understand why, though."

She sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I meant to see if you wanted to join up, back when we were working together at Shinra, but then… well, it all came apart after Reactor 3 happened. I wonder… was it my fault, Jessie? The… the massacre? I heard from Zhijie that Shinra had found out one of us was leaking information to Avalanche and that they'd traced it back to my husband. I'd thought I'd done everything to cover my tracks, and he didn't know about it, but…"

I shook my head. "No, don't blame yourself, Marissa."

"Jessie's right," Kunsel agreed, sliding his arm around her. "You did everything you could to help him. We've talked about this. He wouldn't want you to be twisted up inside about what happened. There's no way you could've known Shinra would pin the leak on him. And you never meant for him or anyone else to get hurt. Reactor 3 was Shinra's doing, Marissa. Shinra's fault. Not yours. Never yours."

She leaned her head gently against his shoulder "I love you…"

"I love you, too," he murmured. "If it helps, I'll see if I can find out how Shinra traced the leak to him. They killed a lot of innocent people that day just to hide the fact they were really after your husband, and I think it's about time we found out why."

"Yes, I… I need to know," Marissa said softly, tears glistening in her eyes. "Thank you, Kunsel. We'll uncover the truth together."

I gazed tenderly at my friend. "I'm here for you, too, Marissa."

"You always have been, Jessie," she smiled.

"So, um, Marissa…" Yuffie wondered. "You're the one who gave my friend Hiroshi his fake ID, right? Do you remember him? You saw him while he was disguised, didn't you?"

Marissa sighed. "Yes, that's me. But he was in uniform by the time I met him, so I couldn't see very much. Just his face for a moment when he raised his helmet. He looked kind of like he does in this picture, but his eyes were blue, not brown. Contacts, I guess. I don't know what way he dyed his hair, but it was probably lighter."

"Thanks," Yuffie said. "It's about what I'd expected."

From there, I told them most of what had happened since we'd left Cosmo Canyon, about investigating Nibelheim, finding Vincent in the basement of Shinra Manor, climbing Mt. Nibel and searching the mako reactor for clues, meeting Cid and Shera in Rocket Town and escaping from Shinra on the Tiny Bronco, and our adventures in Wutai. I missed Kunsel and Marissa and was glad to be able to talk with them for a bit. I hadn't been able to do it much since leaving Midgar, and I wasn't sure when I'd have another chance for a while.

"Anyway, I probably oughta let you two lovebirds get back to bed," I laughed. "It looks like it's pretty late there."

Marissa grinned. "Yeah, it is. Not that we've really noticed."

"I'll bet," I smirked. "But try to get at least some sleep."

"Oh, we will," she promised, sharing a soft kiss with Kunsel before waving at me. "It's been so good talking with you, Jessie. Take care and stay safe out there, okay? We miss you."

I waved back. "Miss you, too, guys. See ya!"

After I said goodbye to Kunsel and Yuffie thanked him once again for his help and said her own farewells, I ended the call and sat back on the mat, happy that I'd been able to reconnect with my friends and sure they'd do all they could to help us unravel the mysteries around Cloud and Hiroshi. I hadn't told them about my dreams, Claudia, or my other self, and I hadn't said anything about my new powers and the change I was going through. They already had enough to worry about as it was, and I didn't want to add to it any more than I had to.

Since it was probably late at Fort Condor as well, I decided to wait until after dark before calling Biggs, Wedge, and Lena. That way it'd be morning where they were and I'd be a lot less likely to disturb them. So after Yuffie and I left the house, I went off to find Cloud. Seeing Kunsel and Marissa's deep affection for each other had put me into a romantic mood again, and I really wanted my SOLDIER boy. I wasn't ready to be frisky with him yet—I was saving that moment for our date at the Gold Saucer—but I could definitely use some kisses.

I found him in a quiet corner of the gardens. He was standing with his eyes closed, head bowed, and Buster held point up in both hands in front of him. I waited patiently, just admiring him as he stood there so tough and quiet. After a moment, he finally relaxed and shouldered his sword. I'd seen him that way before and wondered where he'd learned it from. Cloud turned and walked over to see me.

"All done?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. You could've stayed if you wanted."

Cloud shrugged. "Thanks. But you know them better than I do. So I figured I'd catch up on my training instead."

"What's that thing you were doing?" I wondered.

"Oh, it helps me focus," he explained. "I think I picked it up when I was in SOLDIER. Can't really remember, to be honest."

I smiled. "I'm sure it'll come back to you, Cloud. Don't worry."

"Wanna try it?" he asked.

"I doubt I could even lift that thing," I laughed.

Cloud glanced over his shoulder at Buster for a moment, then back at me. "Maybe. But you've got your own weapons, too."

"Yeah, but they're back at the guest house," I reminded him, sliding into his arms and drawing him closer to me. "So another time, I guess. Right now, all I need to relax is you, SOLDIER boy."

He gave me a faint smirk. "I'm here."

I answered him with a kiss, letting my lips and tongue talk for me, and as birds chirped around us and the sun shone brightly overhead in the late afternoon sky, we lingered there in the gardens for a while and enjoyed each other. I knew we probably wouldn't have many chances to be alone like this after our return to the Gold Saucer until this journey was over, so I savored it as much as I could.

We left the city early the next morning just as dawn was starting to creep over the eastern horizon and shine upon the Da-Chao mountain. Gorki and Staniv had arranged transportation for us, so after we'd said our farewells, we headed south. It was just a little past noon by the time we made it back to the field where we'd left the Tiny Bronco. When Cid saw us coming, he grinned and waved, taking a pull on the lit cigarette clamped in his corner of his mouth as he did.

"'Bout time y'all showed up!" he chuckled. "She's ready to go!"

Jessie eyed the repaired plane eagerly. "Awesome! I can't wait to get back up in the sky again! It's just too cool!"

"That's the spirit!" he laughed.

"Oh, do we have to?" Yuffie clutched her stomach.

Tifa patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Just think about Aerith and the others, Yuffie. It's been a week since we split up back at Nibelheim, and it'll be good to see everyone. Aren't you excited?"

She smiled a little and let go of herself. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"How about you, Cloud?" Tifa asked.

I nodded. "Same. It's about time we were together again."

Vincent strode toward the plane. "Let's not keep them waiting."

"Then get aboard, numbskulls!" Cid smirked as he put his cigarette out. "Oh, and Jessie, I got your gear all fixed up. It's inside waitin' for ya on your seat. You know the one, same as before."

She grinned. "Thanks! I'll go get changed right now!"

Ten minutes later we were airborne as the Tiny Bronco flew steadily southeast. Like last time, Jessie was up front as Cid's co-pilot. I relaxed in the front row, my eyes wandering inevitably back to her every time I looked away. She was back in her phoenix outfit again but had kept the white lily tucked neatly in her hair just above her ear by her temple. As I gazed at her, I wondered how long the flower would last. It had come from a dream, and I wasn't sure if that would make a difference. It also made me think of Claudia. I hoped she was doing well.

We stopped in Cosmo Canyon after a few hours to refuel, both the plane and ourselves. Bugenhagen mentioned that Aerith and the others had also passed through several days ago on their way south. As we all shared lunch together up in the observatory and filled him in on what we'd been doing, Jessie looked hesitantly at him.

"This temple that the keystone unlocks," she murmured. "What's it like? It was built by the Cetra, wasn't it?"

Bugenhagen nodded. "Yes, long ago. A great pyramid, constructed to guard and conceal a dark and terrible power."

"The black materia," I nodded.

"Correct," Bugenhagen confirmed. "Some say it's capable of calling forth immense destructive magic. That's certainly something Sephiroth would desire. But I feel there's more to it than that."

Tifa looked worriedly at him. "What do you mean?"

"I've been studying the lore of the Ancients very closely ever since you and the others first came here," he said. "It's difficult, and I haven't fully translated their language yet, but I've been able to piece together a few things, especially about the temple and the dark orb."

"What have you found out?" I wondered.

Bugenhagen continued. "The temple is a maze with many tests and traps to keep out the unwary. It can only be entered with the keystone. And at its heart is the black materia. A stone of shadows."

"Shadows?" Vincent looked sharply at him.

"Yes," Bugenhagen explained. "Unlike other materia, this one has a living presence within it. Dark and evil, with a will of its own. As far as I can tell from what little I've learned, the Cetra made both the orb and the temple to bind this thing. And yet, if what I've read is correct, what the black materia holds is only part of its essence."

Jessie frowned. "If that's true, then where's the rest of it?"

"I don't know," he sighed.

"We can't let Sephiroth get the black materia," I said. "But taking it out of the temple also means risking that thing inside it getting loose. I don't like it, but I don't think we have any other choice."

Cid shook his head. "Man, this is heavy. You're right, though. Can't be lettin' Sephiroth have that kinda power. And if that thing is alive, he probably knows it. So we've gotta beat him to it."

"Do you know where the temple is, Bugenhagen?" Jessie asked.

He shook his head. "I'm afraid not. It seems the Cetra didn't want it to be found. They left almost no notes regarding its location, at least as far as I could tell. Only that it lies deep in an island jungle. Which is a bit vague, to say the least. I wish I could be of more help."

"You've already done so much for us," Tifa assured him. "We think the temple might be far to the south and east of here, somewhere in the islands near Mideel, but that's about all we know."

"Shinra seems to have found it," I thought aloud. "Or at least Rufus thinks he has. And they have a lot of resources to work with, too. We'll have to wait until we meet up with the others and come up with a plan to find out for sure and get there ahead of him."

Bugenhagen nodded. "I told Nanaki and the others everything I've just told you, so you all know as much as I do about this. And please… do look after him for me. He's very important to us here. And I'm quite fond of him myself, as you've no doubt noticed."

"So are we," Jessie smiled. "We'll keep him safe and sound!"

We left Cosmo Canyon not long after that, flying east over the vast Corel desert, and finally landed at an old airstrip just a few miles from the Gold Saucer. Tifa had called Barret to let him and the others know we were on our way, and they were there waiting for us with the buggy almost as soon as we got off the Tiny Bronco.

"Guys!" Barret laughed, waving. "Good to see ya!"

Aerith giggled. "Hi, everyone!"

"We missed you!" Tifa wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"It's only been a week, guys," Yuffie smirked.

Red flashed her one of his wide, toothy grins. "And it's been much quieter since you've been gone, Yuffie."

"Not anymore!" she winked.

"What happened to your voice, Red?" Jessie asked.

He chuckled, and when he talked again, I realized he wasn't so low and serious anymore. His voice was higher, younger. "You all know my real age now, so I decided I might as well stop hiding it."

"Good idea!" she agreed, gently patting his nose. "I like it!"

"Aye, he's been more relaxed since ye left," Cait Sith added as he sat on top of his moogle mount. "We got tae that merchant's place without any fuss, but he'd already sold the keystone tae Dio by then. So it's up at the Gold Saucer now on display in his trophy room. He's willing tae let us have it, though, in exchange fer a wee little favor."

I folded my arms in front of me. "And what's that?"

"Since the Battle Square's reopened now after what happened with Dyne, Dio just wants tae see ye fight," Cait explained. "All ye gottae dae is win a few rounds against some holographic beasties and he'll give us the keystone right afterward. Pretty easy for ye, I'd say."

"Fair enough," I agreed.

Jessie frowned. "What about Shinra, though? If they're after it, too, why does Dio just have it out on display like that?"

"Well, he's always been a bit of a show off," Cait shrugged.

Although it sounded plausible enough from what I knew of Dio—he was definitely the flamboyant type—something felt a bit off about it to me. But I couldn't pin it down, so I let it go for now. And I knew that I wouldn't have any problem passing his little test.

"Oh, you guys made a new friend?" Aerith asked when she noticed Cid standing with us. She immediately held out her hand and smiled at him. "So nice to meet you! I'm Aerith!"

He shook it. "Cid Highwind, an' the pleasure's all mine, miss!"

Aerith's eyes widened. "Highwind? Like the airship?"

"The one and only!" Cid grinned proudly. "She's my baby, an' I aim to get her back from them Shinra bastards."

"We will," Jessie swore.

Aerith clapped her hands together. "Oh, flying must be so fun!"

"It's incredible!" Jessie agreed.

"Soon as I get my airship back, I'll take you ladies for a ride an' give ya the grand tour," Cid promised, sweeping his arm upward toward the sky. "You'll get to see the big blue right up close."

Jessie eagerly pumped her fist. "Awesome! There's so much I wanna know about her! I've learned a lot about Tiny Bronco during our flights and our talks, but the Highwind's gotta be even better!"

Cid laughed. "She sure is! Don't worry, Jessie. I'll ya everythin' you wanna know about her. Might even let ya have a turn at the helm once she's up and runnin'. You've been a helluva co-pilot."

"Really?" she gasped.

"You bet," he promised. "But for now, let's get our happy asses up to the Gold Saucer and secure that keystone."

I nodded. "Leave it to me."

"No worries, then!" Jessie smirked. "Just go in there and show Dio what a badass you are in a fight and its ours!"

I flashed her a faint, wry little grin. "I intend to."