THREE

CLOUD

The early morning sun was just peeking over the grassy hills to the east as Tifa, Barret, and I slipped quietly out of the Shinra scout ship to resume the chase. We'd reached the shore sometime after midnight, but Heidegger's men had kept the boat locked down until dawn, taking the opportunity to rest after the long run back on the island. We'd done the same and were ready to start fresh with the new day.

Two trucks waited nearby for the Shinra soldiers, those who hadn't been on the first ship with Yuffie and Red. That one floated nearby next to the one we'd ridden, but our quarry had already left before we'd even made it to the eastern shore. The ship that had brought them there was empty now, as we'd found out when we'd checked it just before dawn. It hadn't surprised us, really, but we'd had to make sure.

The small Shinra outpost bustled with activity as we ducked out of sight nearby and listened to the talk of the remaining soldiers that we'd followed here from the island as they got ready to board the trucks. We had to know where they were going. There were about a dozen men for each of the two eight-wheeled military transports.

"All-terrain cruisers," I noted quietly as we watched from where we were hiding near the docks. "Built for driving off-road. Yuffie and Red were probably put in one of those things when they were brought here. Which means Heidegger's men didn't want to be seen."

Tifa's gaze was pensive. "You're right, Cloud. And I think…"

I glanced at her. "What is it?"

"Got it!" She pulled out the detailed map she'd bought in Costa del Sol, laid it flat on top of a nearby crate, and tapped a point on the lower right part of it. "We're here, near the tip of this little peninsula. But this outpost is much too small for Shinra to transport anyone all the way to Midgar from here. There's no helipad or anything else. It was probably just built to give them a presence along the coast."

I saw right away what she was getting at and pointed further up the map. "They'll be heading here, then. Their staging area in the badlands around Fort Condor. We're not that far away, only a day's drive at most. Which could potentially work to our advantage."

Barret grinned. "I get ya, merc. We got friends up there, too."

"Call Biggs," I told Tifa. "Fill him in on the situation and have him and Edwyn send a team to intercept Heidegger's men before they get to the staging area. Tell him we'll catch up as soon as we can."

She nodded. "Will do, Cloud. But first, we should eavesdrop on the rest of the soldiers here to confirm that's where they're going. I'd rather not send Biggs and the others off in the wrong direction."

"Good idea," I agreed. "Then we'll find us some transportation."

"How?" Barret wondered.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I'm making this up as I go."

"Same as always, then," he quipped.

The Shinra soldiers who'd been on the boat disembarked just a few minutes later and headed toward the trucks, where the drivers stood at attention waiting for them. They saluted the sergeant as he approached, and we listened closely to see what we could find out.

"Sir!" one of the drivers said.

"At ease, private," the sergeant replied. "Is everything ready?"

The driver nodded. "Yes, sir. The first group left with the captives a few hours ago during the night. They're probably close to the badlands by now and should reach the staging area early tomorrow afternoon. A chopper's waiting there to take the captives to Midgar."

"Good, then let's get underway," the sergeant motioned toward the trucks. "Our orders are to go there and reinforce the garrison. Word is, the tunnel through the mountains is almost clear now, another week or so at the most. Then we'll finally be able to start getting reinforcements from Midgar. The president wants Fort Condor taken."

"And the general?" one of the soldiers asked.

The sergeant glanced around for a moment to make sure that none of the other troops working in the outpost could hear him. Just like the rest of Heidegger's personal detachment, he wore the typical dark blue uniform and metal helmet, and the general's emblem was imprinted on his white shoulder guards. An eagle in flight.

"He's sent his instructions," the sergeant lowered his voice, and we were barely able to hear him. "The lieutenant has them. Once we get to the staging area, he'll brief us on what to do. Right now he's on his way there himself with our guests. Keep a lid on it."

"Understood," the soldier nodded.

Once they'd climbed into the trucks and left, Tifa looked at Barret and I in confusion. "What are they up to…?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. Seems like Heidegger's got plans of his own. Ones that don't seem to line up with what Rufus wants. Makes sense he'd keep his personal guards in the loop while leaving the rest of the military out of whatever he's got in mind."

"Still gotta save Yuffie an' Red, though," Barret reminded us.

I hadn't forgotten. "We will. Let's go."

A small garage stood along the water not far from the docks, and I led the others there. Military cars and trucks were parked there as well as a few motorcycles, including one with a sidecar. A handful of guards stood nearby, but with how remote this outpost was, they looked bored and inattentive. Exactly what I'd been expecting.

One side of the garage was open to the water, with a line of smaller boats moored to it, and that gave me an idea. I went over to the nearest one, knowing that as soon as we started any of the vehicles, the guards would hear it and come running. Tifa checked the motorcycle with the sidecar, picking up on what I had in mind, and nodded.

"Goin' by boat, then?" Barret asked, not understanding yet.

I shook my head. "This is better than boats. Get in that sidecar and get ready. I'll join you and Tifa in a minute."

"But what about the boat?" he blinked as I started it.

"Forget about it!" I hopped back onto solid ground and untied the rope, setting the boat loose as it roared to life.

Grabbing Barret by the arm, I ran with him to the motorcycle that Tifa had already turned on, the sound of the boat's motor masking the rumbling of the bike's engine. I'd barely settled onto the seat in front of her while Barret had gotten into the sidecar when we heard the startled shouts of the guards. They rushed into the garage and raced toward the empty section of the dock, and a couple of them even got into another boat to give chase, not realizing yet that they'd been duped.

The bike was parked in the corner just out of the direct line of sight of where the boats were moored, and as I'd hoped, the keys had been in the ignition, just as Tifa had found out for me. With a little smirk, I hit the gas, speeding right past the surprised soldiers and even knocking a few of them into the water with a loud splash as they jumped backward to avoid being run over. Then we raced across the small compound and smashed through lowered arm of the main gate, speeding out onto the road and quickly leaving the small Shinra outpost behind.

We caught up to the two trucks before long, and I expected a fight. As soon as he saw us coming, the sergeant motioned to his men, and a swarm of slug-rays flew toward us from the backs of the vehicles where they'd been stored. Sparking with electrical energy, the drones flew like giant gnats, and I swerved to avoid their powerful blasts. Barret was on it, though, already firing back with his gun-arm and blowing two of the mechs apart in seconds. It was the Vulcan cannon Jessie had developed and built for him, and like all her creations, it hit hard.

Tifa took down three more with a barrage of matra magic from her yellow Enemy Skill materia. The enchanted missiles found their targets and destroyed them in blasts of magic while I finished off the rest with a blade burst from Buster and lightning spells from the bright, glowing green materia on my gold armlet as I drove. But oddly enough, none of Heidegger's men fired on us. They just sat and watched the whole thing as we took out the slug-rays in a matter of seconds.

"That's odd…" Tifa murmured uneasily from behind me. "Only the drones attacked. What are the soldiers waiting for?"

I shook my head. "I don't know."

Barret glared at them but didn't shoot. "Same here. Don't make no goddamn sense. The hell's goin' on with them Shinra mutts? That was a pretty weak ass attempt to try an' stop us, if ya ask me."

"Worry about it later," I decided. "Gotta keep moving."

Once we passed them, we sped on down the road, making our way steadily north and east through rolling grasslands. There wasn't all that much traffic since we weren't on a major highway. It linked up with one further on, but I kept us on the back roads. With their need for secrecy, Yuffie and Red's captors would've done the same. Behind me, Tifa used her map to guide us in the right direction as we set off in pursuit of our missing friends, determined to rescue them.

JESSIE

That odd smell that was a mixture of mako and dead fish still filled the air as Aerith and I looked around lower Lower Junon. After getting up early in the morning and having a light breakfast from our supplies, we'd headed quietly into the nearest town just a few miles away, picked up a few things, and worked on finding some transportation. Trying to walk all the way to Junon would've taken too long, over a week at least if not more, and we didn't have that kind of time.

But our ID's had been flagged by Shinra, so we couldn't just buy or rent a vehicle, either. So we'd had to improvise. Hot-wiring that junker at the Shinra impound lot hadn't been too hard for me to do, especially with Aerith distracting the two guards with a smile and some innocent conversation while I'd snuck quietly over the gate and found the car. By the time they'd finally realized what was going on, I'd already pulled up alongside Aerith just long enough for her to jump in before we'd raced off down the road and left them eating our dust.

"Well, we've made it this far," Aerith curled her nose at the smell in the air. "Now we just have to get across the ocean."

I nodded. "Any ideas?"

She shrugged as we started walking. "I'm not sure. There's a bridge west of Midgar that connects to the Northern Continent, but that's too close to Shinra. They have checkpoints on it, too."

"Yeah, too risky," I agreed.

"What about stowing away again?" Aerith wondered.

I shook my head. "That's not gonna be any good, either. Shinra still has cargo ships going to Costa del Sol all the time, but they've probably tightened security after what happened during our first trip. We'll have to look around and find another way to get there."

"The channel north of Costa del Sol is a lot smaller than the ocean, so it should be easier for us to cross to get to the Northern Continent," she said. "We'll just need to find ourselves a boat."

"Once we get there," I reminded her. "One step at a time."

We were making our way down Lower Junon's main road when we suddenly heard a familiar voice calling to us. The town was a jumble of old shacks and buildings on poles sprawled out under the massive bulk of the upper city, with the beach off to our left past a collection of small houses. The place had been a prosperous fishing town years ago before Shinra had arrived and built Upper Junon into the cliffs high overhead and its mako reactor underwater just off shore, polluting the beach and destroying Lower Junon's livelihood in the process.

"Jessie! Aerith!" a little girl in a bright yellow bathing suit and deep red skirt smiled and dashed toward us. "You're back!"

I waved and grinned. "Priscilla!"

Aerith laughed. "I was hoping we'd see you!"

"Did you guys make it across the ocean?" Priscilla wondered as she stopped in front of us. "What was it like? Did you get to see any—wait, where's everyone else? Where's my Cloud?"

"We're here by ourselves," Aerith admitted.

She frowned. "Why? What happened?"

I knelt in front of Priscilla, understanding that she was worried but also that she'd be safer not knowing everything that had been going on. "A lot, Priscilla. But Cloud's okay, don't worry."

I could tell she still had a big crush on him after how he'd saved her life during our first visit here, and while she'd eventually outgrow it, for now it was very much on her mind and in her heart. She was only ten, a spunky and energetic little brown-haired girl hopelessly caught in the midst of her first experience with puppy love.

"Are you sure he's alright, Jessie?" Priscilla asked.

I took her shoulder. "Positive. You'll see him again, don't worry. He likes you. And that materia you gave him helped a lot."

She beamed. "Really?"

"Oh, yeah," Aerith smiled. "Shiva saved us during a tough battle on the cargo ship. And that means you did, too."

"Aw, thanks…" Priscilla blushed happily and giggled.

She'd been pretty resourceful in other ways the last time we'd come here, too, and that gave me an idea. "Hey, Priscilla. Do you know a way that we could cross the ocean? Preferably without attracting too much attention. Aerith and I are trying to get to the Northern Continent and have to reach Costa del Sol first to get there."

Pricilla pursed her little lips in thought. "Hmm… there might be a way. There's an air taxi service in that big city above us that flies people across the ocean. Shinra owns it, but don't worry. My uncle's one of the pilots. I can ask my grandparents to talk to him for you."

I swept her into a hug. "Priscilla, you're the best! Thanks!"

She laughed. "You're welcome, Jessie. But don't think you're getting my man! Cloud's gonna marry me someday!"

"Still got your heart set on him, don'tcha?" I teased. Then I gazed at her intently as my hands rested on her shoulders. "If you happen to see him… if he comes this way… would you tell him I miss him? And that I don't blame him for what happened? It's not his fault."

Priscilla nodded with a little sigh. "Sure. I can do that. I'll give him the message. You… you really do love him, don't you?"

"More than anything," I murmured.

"Then I'll make sure he finds you," she said.

I hugged her. "Thanks, Priscilla."

She beckoned to us with a sweep of her little arm. "Follow me! My grandparents are at the inn right now. The air taxi won't be ready until morning, so you should get a room while you're here."

We did as she'd suggested, following her to the inn nearby. George and Helen, her grandparents, were there just as she'd said, busy behind the counter as they ran their business. They greeted us warmly as soon as they saw us, and before long, we had a room for the night. It was still late in the afternoon, so after leaving our things there, Aerith and I left, grabbed a bite to eat from a nearby restaurant, and did some checking around town for information to pass the time.

We'd both changed out of our normal clothes at the inn to blend in and be less noticeable—my hi-tech combat gear did tend to stand out a bit with its stylish and distinctive black leather and kevlar, the graceful phoenix emblem etched into the back and embossed on the large metal belt buckle, and the softly glowing white lines of energy that ran along the hip pad and the tops of my leather gloves.

So while Aerith wore the casual, slim white dress with cheerful red and pink accents that Tifa, Yuffie, and I had gotten her for her birthday during our first visit to the Gold Saucer, I'd decided on a sleeveless dark blue top, tan capris, and a pair of sturdy brown boots. But we both kept our weapons handy as we went exploring around town. She carried her Princess Guard staff and I had my blaze talons securely holstered along my thighs. I also wore my enchanted ribbon.

It was bright red like my old Avalanche headband and was fastened snugly around my upper left arm just under my shoulder. Aerith and I had found it in the temple of the Ancients, and its power could protect me from any debilitating ailments our enemies might throw at me, like poison, sleep, confusion, petrification, and more.

Aerith smiled. "Looks good on you!"

"Thanks!" I laughed, patting my ribbon as we walked around town. "At least now I don't ever have to worry about being turned into a frog again. That was pretty weird, to say the least."

"Oh, but you were such a cute frog!" she teased.

I smirked at her and rolled my eyes. "You and the others are never gonna let me forget about that, are you?"

"Not a chance!" she grinned.

"Well, now I know how Cloud feels about his dress," I chuckled.

Aerith giggled. "Gonna stop teasing him, then?"

I shook my head. "As if! It's way too—"

I cut myself off abruptly when I spotted a quick flash of movement out of the corner of my eye as we were passing an alley. I spun at once, drawing and lighting my blaze talons and slicing through the blades of the two thugs who'd been about to try and to grab us. Aerith reacted in a flash, moving just as fast and readying her staff.

"A little slow, boys," I growled.

"Shit!" one of them gaped as he dropped the pieces of his shattered weapon. "Thought we had ya! Two easy marks…"

Aerith narrowed her eyes. "Not as easy as you think."

"That bounty ain't worth our lives," the other thug muttered.

"What bounty?" I frowned.

The first one showed us a poster he'd taken from somewhere. On it were photos of me, Aerith, Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Biggs, and Wedge with the word "WANTED" above them in big letters and gil amounts in the thousands underneath each one. More writing below that described all of us but Aerith as terrorists responsible for the destruction of Sector 7 in Midgar who'd kidnapped her in the midst of it. Shinra was offering a reward for her safe return. As for us, it was dead or alive.

Aerith grimaced. "Well, this complicates things…"

"You Avalanche folks're tougher than you look," the guy said. "Not much like people who'd blow up a city, though."

"We wouldn't," I agreed.

Aerith nodded. "It wasn't us. It was Shinra."

"Do they know we're here?" I asked.

The other thug shook his head. "Not yet, least not as far as I know. We just took the poster after we spotted ya and thought we'd be able to earn us a nice payout. Ain't happenin' now, though."

I motioned with my right talon. "Damn right. Now get lost."

"We never saw ya," the first guy promised.

Once they were gone, I looked at Aerith. "Getting topside to reach the air taxi tomorrow might be harder than we thought. Lots of Shinra soldiers up there. That could be interesting."

Her expression was determined. "We'll find a way."

"Yeah," I holstered my weapons. "We're not turning back now."

"I doubt we can get up there the same way you and Cloud did," she went on as we made our way back to the inn. "Priscilla would help us, I know, but she's already putting herself out there for us as it is. I doubt if she knows about the bounties Shinra's got on us."

I shook my head. "No, and let's keep it that way. I don't want her to be in danger, either. If her grandparents had known about them, they'd have told us. So let's keep it to ourselves for now."

"Right," Aerith said. "Last time we were here, Barret and the rest of us tricked the guards at the elevator tower into letting us through while you and Cloud were taking Priscilla's shortcut. That's not going to work this time, though, since we don't have our disguises."

"We might still be able to persuade them," I flashed her a sly smirk. "I doubt they get to talk with many super hot girls in their line of work. And their pay's a joke, so we can use that angle, too."

She chuckled. "Devious plan, Jessie! I like it!"

"I thought you would," I winked. "We'll hash out the specifics once we get back to our room, then grab some sleep."

"Sounds good to me," Aerith nodded.

It was getting dark by then, lights shining bright all over town, and once we made it back to the inn, we settled in for the night, talking for a while and making our plans for the next day. It was a simple place, so the room had only a single full-size bed. I didn't mind, and neither did she, but it did make me think of Cloud and how we'd stayed in another room like this during our first visit here. More than anything, I wished I could see him again and have him hold me.

How the black materia ended up in my hand as I laid in bed facing away from Aerith, I still don't really remember. One moment, it was in my belt pouch on the nightstand next to me, and then it was cradled in my palm, as if I'd reached in and taken it without realizing it. I stroked it gently, gazing at it and hearing its dark whisper in my mind. I almost miss it, you know. I shouldn't, but… it's so hard to forget. So beautiful, so bright. And still out there somewhere…

I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't talk about it. Cloud worries enough about me as it is. Focus, Jessie. Take a deep breath. I didn't mean to get off track again like that. You'll understand later on why it affects me so much, even now all these years later. I just hope you won't think less of me when you do. In any case, I need to get back to the story. Cloud has my hand as we're sitting around the Cosmo Candle, and that helps me a lot when I have these little moments. It isn't easy, but what happened needs to be told, all of it. Especially the darkest parts.

Anyway, I don't know how long I laid there in bed, softly caressing the black materia and staring into its swirling depths. But after a while, I finally managed to gather enough willpower to put it back in my belt pouch. Aerith never knew. She'd fallen asleep fast, as soon as she'd told me goodnight and laid her head on her pillow, and it was pretty late by the time I crashed as well. But even then, I could still feel the dark orb's silent call reaching out to me, touching my thoughts. And even after all this time, in the late hours of the night, I still can.

That's why I have to destroy it. And someday, I will.

RED XIII

The squad of Shinra soldiers who'd captured us had finally stopped for the night many hours ago, setting up a fortified encampment at the base of a rocky hillside in the western reaches of the Condor badlands. Tents had been erected, and sentries waited where they could easily see the road while still remaining hidden themselves. Yuffie and I had been placed in a far corner of the camp with a single guard to watch us. Had we been armed and alone, escape would've been fairly straightforward. But Heidegger's men still had our gear somewhere and were all around us. So for the time being, we watched and waited.

Yuffie was tired but more herself as she sat quietly next to me. "You know, I might've made a mistake leaving Wutai…"

"Do you regret it?" I asked.

"I don't know, Red," she gazed out at the camp and sighed. "Sonon would still be alive if I hadn't, but then we'd never have met."

I nodded. "A difficult dilemma. One that I understand all too well. But I'm glad we did meet, Yuffie, though I wish it could have happened differently, without you having to lose your friend."

"Same here, old buddy," she smiled. "You know, you still talk kinda deep sometimes for a kid. Not that I'm complaining."

That was true enough. "Old habits, I suppose. After doing it every day for months in the earlier parts of our journey, I got used to it. Now it almost feels strange to talk like my normal self."

Yuffie laughed. "Well, either way, you're pretty cool."

"Thanks," I flashed her a toothy smirk.

"Anyway, looks like we're in the badlands west of Fort Condor," she went on, looking around. "I remember doing some scouting with Lena out this way last time we were here. I wonder…"

Just then, there was a commotion on the other side of the camp as a few of the moth slashers Heidegger's men had deployed to secure the perimeter suddenly exploded one after another, and in the midst of the confusion, several dozen men swarmed over the top of the hillside and struck at our captors in coordinated ambush. Yuffie gave a shout when she spotted a pair of familiar faces among them.

"Biggs! Wedge!" she grinned, waving as she sprang to her feet.

I pounced on the guard who'd been watching us and pinned him to the ground at once. "I'd stay still if I were you."

Wedge gave us a thumbs up. "Hey, guys! It's all good now!"

"Glad to see you two in once piece," Biggs added as he rushed over with Wedge. "Now let's get you outta here."

"Our things are likely in the main tent," I nodded.

We were just hurrying over there when the Shinra lieutenant raced out of it to see what was going on. Several guards were with him, and a few more had been stationed outside the entrance. They saw us coming and started to rush toward us, but then a second strike force from Fort Condor suddenly closed in from around either side of the hill, surging forward past the sentries they'd quickly overpowered and surrounding Heidegger's men in a pincer. They closed off any attempt at escape, and leading that group were two more old friends.

"Lena!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Edwyn!"

Amidst the shouting and confusion of the Shinra soldiers, the sight of Lena speeding through the night in the specialized wheelchair Jessie had made for her and blasting her way through slug rays with the twin gatling guns on its arms was a most welcome sight. Edwyn led his men into the fray from the other side, and between them, Biggs, and Wedge, our captors were quickly and efficiently subdued.

The lieutenant ordered his men to stand down once he realized the battle was lost, and Edwyn soon had them disarmed and bound. At the same time, Yuffie threw her arms around first Biggs and then Wedge in a tight, grateful hug. Once Lena had retracted her guns back inside her wheelchair's arms, Yuffie embraced her as well.

"Thanks for the timely rescue, guys!" she grinned. "It's great to see ya! But how'd you know we were in trouble?"

"Tifa called earlier and gave us a heads up," Biggs explained. "She's on her way here with Cloud and Barret. Went right after you as soon as Shinra took you. Cid flew that plane of his to Gongaga with Vincent to keep Rufus from finding it. Also to get Cissnei caught up on things. I'd imagine they'll head this way now that you're free."

I nodded. "Good. What about Aerith and Jessie? We were trying to give Aerith time to escape from the island when we were captured, but we didn't see Jessie anywhere. Are they alright, Biggs?"

"Tifa wouldn't say much about 'em," he sighed. "Just that Aerith left to go off and try to stop Sephiroth on her own."

Yuffie frowned. "But why, though? I still don't get it."

Wedge shook his head. "I don't know. I'm worried about her. Jessie, too. Think she went with her? You know, to help?"

"It's possible," I said. "And definitely something she'd do."

Yuffie glared darkly over at Heidegger's men, who sat under guard in the shadow of the hillside. "Maybe they know something. The guy in charge was telling his men to find Aerith and Jessie in particular while we were on the island. They did want all of us, though."

"I think you're right, Yuffie," Biggs agreed. "In any case, Cloud'll be here in an hour or so. He'll get us some answers."

Lena brushed a hand lightly through her short, dark hair. "Oh, you bet. With both Aerith and Jessie missing? He won't stop until he makes them talk. He'll find out what we need to know."

"For sure," Yuffie smirked. "But in the meantime, I'm starving. Any chance you guys brought any food with you?"

"Just some combat rations," Edwyn chuckled as he joined us. "Not the most tasty thing, I admit, but they do fill you up."

She curled her nose. "If they're anything like Wutaian field rations, no thanks. I'll see what I can find in the big guy's tent here. Gotta grab our stuff, too. If he's messed up my materia…"

"I could use a snack, too," Wedge looked hopefully at the tent.

Biggs lightly smacked him in the shoulder. "Hungry again already? You just got yourself topped off before we left."

"Well, you know me," he chuckled.

Lena reached over and took his hand in hers. "We sure do. But let's wait our turn. Yuffie and Red probably haven't had a whole lot to eat in the last day or so. I'm sure there's plenty of food in there."

Yuffie rubbed her stomach. "I hope so. But we'll be lucky if we find anything decent. Probably just more rations."

"Only one way to find out," I said.

As it turned out, her fears proved unfounded. Inside the large tent the Shinra lieutenant had been using were several stacked metal crates full of food and supplies. For over a day now, we'd only been given just enough to keep us on our feet. Yuffie squealed in delight, raced over to the nearest crate, pulled it open, and dug right in. No field rations here. The crates of fruit, bread, canned goods, meat, and more had probably been meant for the troops in Shinra's staging area. As my own stomach growled at the tantalizing aromas, I ate as well.

"Ah! Here'th our thtuff!" Yuffie smiled as she ate, her mouth full as she picked up her shuriken from where it rested nearby. "And it lookth like all my materia'th thtill there. Yourth, too."

I sighed in relief as we retrieved our things. "It's good to have these back. Now how about taking some of these provisions outside with us? We'll have more room to eat, and dawn isn't far off."

She gave me a thumbs up. "Great idea! We'd better share some with Wedge, though. Don't wanna torture the poor guy by having all this in front of him and not letting him in on the fun."

"Agreed," I chuckled. "Let's go."

The sun was just peeking over the horizon as Yuffie and I shared an early breakfast with the others outside (or second breakfast, in Wedge's case) when we heard the unmistakable roar of a motorcycle. Not quite as powerful as the one Cloud and Jessie had built in the Midgar slums, but the sound of its purring engine still filled the morning air as we all turned to see Cloud driving toward us from the south with Tifa sitting behind him while Barret rode in the sidecar.

Yuffie's face lit up at once, and she lifted her arm and waved as they pulled off the road and headed across the barren, rocky ground toward the hillside where we'd been waiting for them. Tifa smiled widely when she saw us, and even Cloud allowed himself a small, relieved smirk. As for Barret, when he realized that Yuffie and I were relaxing and eating, and very well at that, he blinked and groaned as the motorcycle finally came to a stop not far from where we were sitting.

"What the…?" he sputtered. "You two got any idea the damn chase y'all have led us on? Been followin' after ya for miles an' miles tryin' to track you down an' rescue ya, an' here we find ya jus' feastin' and takin' it easy! You got any idea how worried we was?"

Yuffie bowed with a cheeky little laugh. "We are sitting on a field of victory enjoying a few well-earned comforts after our long ordeal. The seasoned ham is especially good. You oughta try it!"

Barret eyed the food with interest. "Seasoned ham…?"

"Kids…" Cloud quipped, shaking his head.

Tifa had just climbed off the motorcycle when Biggs swept her into a tight embrace. After sharing a long, tender kiss with her, he let her go so she could greet the rest of us. It was a fond reunion, but even amidst the handshakes and hugs and laughter, none of us could forget the two friends who were still missing. Aerith and Jessie.

"Glad you're here, man," Biggs told Cloud. "We've got things pretty much under control, but there's another problem."

"Heidegger's men?" Cloud asked.

Edywn nodded. "Yes. While it's clear they were heading to Shinra's staging area, we still need to know why the general wanted you and the others brought back to Midgar. Alive and unharmed, from what Yuffie and Red told us. Aerith and Jessie in particular."

Cloud frowned. "I'll find out."

"We're only about two hours from Fort Condor," Edwyn went on as he slid a hand over his bald scalp. "So as soon as you're ready, we'll load up the prisoners and get going. Riding under guard in the back of their own transports should be pretty discouraging for them."

"Once we're at the fortress and you've got them bundled into a cell, bring the officer in charge to me," Cloud's eyes narrowed as he gazed at Heidegger's men. "I'd like to have a little chat with him."

Edwyn folded his arms in front of him. "Agreed. We need to know what Heidegger's doing and if Aerith and Jessie are in any danger. And also when Shinra plans to attack us again."

Cloud's voice was like steel. "Leave it to me."