I found myself outside Aerith's house, the gentle rush of the waterfall filling my ears. Flowers covered the hillside just like always, and streams flowed peacefully amidst the gardens. It was nighttime, the sky dark and the only light coming from a few standing lamps placed here and there as well as the warm glow coming from the windows.
But I wasn't alone. She was there, too.
As I crossed one of the wooden bridges, I saw her. Jessie was standing with her back to me in the midst of the garden, gazing up at the steel sky and the city looming overhead. We could just make out a few stars in the gaps between the plate sections. They shone brightly beyond the mist and mako constantly swirling far above us.
"Pretty, isn't it?" she asked, still facing away from me.
I nodded. "Yeah. Sure is."
Jessie turned around then, showing no sign of the injuries that might still claim her life. My heart raced when she smiled, and I stepped a little closer to her, not really sure what was going on but just glad that I could be with her here, even if only for a little while. I only hoped this wouldn't be the last time we'd be together.
"It's been quite a while since I was last here," Jessie murmured. "Lots of good memories, even though I only lived in this place for a short time. It really helped, though. I needed the calm here."
"Aerith told me she and her mom took you in," I said.
She picked up a flower. "That's right. Just after I left the plate. Found my outfit while I was here, too. Made it myself, you know. After that hell house did a real number on me, I knew I'd need more protection if I was gonna make it down here and survive."
I noticed her Avalanche gear was undamaged. "Did a good job. Kept you pretty much in one piece when you—"
"No, don't tell me," she said, lifting her hand up in front of her to cut me off. "You see, I... I can't remember what happened in the pillar after I stared down that chopper. I've tried, but... it's all blocked out. And I have to find a way to remember it on my own to get out of... wherever it is I'm at now. Don't ask me why, it's just what I feel."
"Alright, but... what do you mean, where you're at?" I asked.
She lowered her arm. "Thanks, Cloud. It's kinda hard to explain. I've been hovering in the dark, and I'm not even entirely sure if... if I'm alive. I know something happened up there, something that sent me to where I am now. If I'm not... dead... then remembering what happened is what I have to do to come back. I have to know."
I took her in my arms. "You're not dead, Jessie. I can tell you at least that much. You're hanging on, fighting like you always have. You're here, at Aerith's house, and we're gonna save you."
"So it really was you..." Jessie marveled, clinging to me.
"What was?" I asked.
She gazed tenderly at me. "This might sound kinda weird, but... I've been seeing images of my life, as far back as my Shinra days, almost as if I'm reliving them. And I think I understand what it is now. It must be my mind's way of trying to figure out what happened to me. By seeing how I got there, I guess. Anyway, in the midst of all that, I heard you talking to me, telling me to hold on and keep fighting."
"You heard me?" I stared at her, my jaw dropping.
Her lips touched mine. "Every word. It's helped me stay afloat. I also heard Barret and Tifa, too. I don't know what's going on out there, but... I'm glad you guys are still there for me."
I returned her kiss. "Always. You're gonna make it."
"Well, this is certainly helping," she teased.
"Then take as much as you need," I said, holding her close.
She smiled. "Oh, I intend to."
Then we got back to work, sharing soft kisses in the faint light of the garden. It felt so real, as if I was actually there with her. The moistness of her lips and tongue, the warmth of her body, the floral scent of her hair. I could sense it all, and it made my heart race. Eventually, we finally came up for air, our eyes lingering on each other.
"So anyway, are we... dreaming?" I wondered.
Jessie shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe. Or maybe not. I don't think it really matters. But whatever it was that happened in the pillar, I know you did everything you could. For me and Sector 7."
"Jessie..." I began.
She pressed her finger lightly against my mouth. "Ah, ah. Remember what I told you. I've gotta figure this out on my own. Just... be here with me for a while, okay? I've missed you."
I nodded as she let go. "Sure. Same here."
"Wanna know something funny?" Jessie smirked. "I was just thinking about you before I wound up here. Remembering, actually. The night we first met. When you saved me from those thugs."
"We kicked their asses," I nodded.
She laughed. "You're damn right! We made a pretty good team, huh? Those guys never stood a chance."
I knew we did. "Yeah. And we will again."
"Can't wait, merc," Jessie said, taking my hands in hers.
"Listen, Jessie..." I told her, not sure how much longer we had in this place. "We're inside the Shinra Building now—me, Barret, and Tifa. Met a new friend here, too. Red. You'll meet him when we get back. We came here to save Aerith, and we did. Got caught on the way out, but we're not giving up. We're gonna break outta here soon and escape. And then we're gonna save you. So keep holding on."
She gave my hands a gentle squeeze. "Will do, Cloud."
I reached into my shirt, knowing what I'd find in there, and carefully pulled out her star pendant. "Found something you left behind. When we fought Hojo's monsters to rescue Aerith, it protected me and kept me safe. You saved me, saved us all. So... thanks."
Her lips fused tightly with mine in a fierce kiss, and when she pulled away, she smiled brightly. "Happy to lend a hand! Remember what I told you before our first mission, Cloud? I'll always take care of my hero, just like he takes care of me. That's a promise."
I held her for a while, just enjoying this quiet moment together in the garden, flowers around our feet and the sound of the waterfall soft in our ears. As we stood there with our arms around each other, Jessie's head on my shoulder, I saw the Hardy parked over by the front patio of the house. Jessie looked up and saw it too, her mouth curling into a little grin when she did. And I knew exactly what she had in mind.
"How 'bout a ride, mister?" she teased.
I smirked. "Let's mosey."
We got on the bike, and I started it up as Jessie slid her arms around my waist and brushed her lips across my cheek. The sound of the Hardy's engine as we pulled out and drove down the narrow road was loud in the stillness, but we didn't mind. This was our time, and as we headed down the dirt streets of the Sector 5 slums, I realized it was empty. There wasn't anyone else here. We had it all to ourselves in this strange place that was more than just a dream. I didn't know what it was, and I didn't care. All that mattered was that I was with Jessie.
With the wind from our acceleration tossing our hair, she and I sped onto the tracks at the station and into the Corkscrew Tunnel. No soldiers bothered us this time as we drove upward toward the plate. We barreled our way forward along a narrow service road set in between the two sets of tracks, the red lights on the walls flashing past us in a blur. And then I noticed a ramp and barrels ahead of us.
"Hang on tight, Jessie!" I told her as I hit the gas.
She did, whooping in delight when we shot off the ramp, the Hardy's front wheel high in the air. "Whoo-hoo!"
I laughed a little as we came down. "You liked that?"
"Oh definitely, SOLDIER boy," she giggled. "You always know how to take my breath away. And my heart."
"Promised you a bike ride, remember?" I said.
She hugged me from behind as we drove on. "Of course! But we have to do this later after I'm back, too. And then there's that pizza I owe you. I haven't forgotten about our date, Cloud."
I nodded. "Neither have I."
We made it to the Sector 5 plate a short time later and raced out into the streets. It was dark aside from a few streetlamps and the pale glow of the Hardy's headlight as we went down the road. Those huge spotlights in front of the Shinra Building also shone out into the night and illuminated the city. The place, as usual, towered over everything, but I put it behind us as we pulled onto the expressway.
"You know where you're going, right?" Jessie asked.
"Yeah," I answered. "End of the line."
Her voice was quieter when she spoke again. "It was a new beginning for me. When I went there. Led me to you."
"And it will again," I told her.
We sped down the empty highway, the breeze and the purring of the bike's engine the only sounds we could hear along with the soft whisper of our breathing. The mako and mist rose overhead, and the stars sparkled high above them as the road lay open and inviting before us, a wide strip of gray concrete with its white dashed lines that curved first one way and then another as it wound above the city.
Eventually, we passed through an abandoned toll booth and came to a dead end at the edge of the plate. A guardrail stood on either side of the road, and some old construction equipment was rusting off to the left. A red light flashed at regular intervals at the highway's end, and as I finally brought the Hardy to a stop, I could see the badlands rolling away in the distance. The clear sky before us was tinged with the faint glow of dawn, and as I gazed at it, I felt an odd mixture of anticipation and foreboding, as if I was at a turning point of some kind.
"It's pretty..." Jessie murmured, looking with me.
I turned around on the bike so I was facing her. "Yeah. But... not as much as what I'm looking at now."
Her smile was immediate. "Come here..."
I did, wrapping my arms around her, and for a while we just kissed. Long, lingering ones, our mouths moving passionately against each other as our tongues danced, sending volts of current into my brain and setting my blood on fire. We took as much of each other as we could, knowing it would be some time before we could do this again, in the real world. And all too soon, we had to come up for air.
"We're almost out of time," Jessie murmured.
I felt it, too. "Yeah. It's getting darker now. Less real. But don't worry, Jessie. We're gonna come save you, I promise. Just like I told you. So hold on for as long as you can. Do whatever you have to do to stay with us. It won't be much longer. We're almost there."
She smirked. "I will, Cloud. Can't resist ya."
"Don't I know it," I quipped.
"You've just got that hunky SOLDIER charm," Jessie teased. "Gets me every time. And those baby blues of yours."
I kissed her. "All yours."
She giggled. "Lucky me! I could gaze at them for hours."
"I'll bet," I said.
"Oh, yeah," Jessie smiled. "But anyway, you know the elevator I used to get to the slums? It's right over there, past all the junk."
I followed her gaze and nodded. "I see it."
She clung to me as the world started to fade away around us. "Okay. Then you know where to go. Good luck, Cloud. And hurry back. I... I'm starting to fall away again. I can feel it. Back into my memories. But I'm not gonna forget the time we spent here."
"Me either," I told her.
Even as the darkness grew, Jessie still felt solid and real. I held her as long as I could. Soon there was just the road and the sky. The Hardy was gone, and we stood at the edge of a city being swallowed by shadows. We shared one last kiss in the midst of it, neither of us wanting to let go. But all too soon, Jessie started to fade away as well, and I knew that our time with each other was almost over.
She touched my cheek. "So long, merc. See you soon."
"You will," I promised.
Jessie kept smiling, her eyes never leaving mine as I suddenly realized I couldn't feel her anymore. She was transparent now, like a ghost, as the dream began to dissolve, and I knew that I must've looked the same way to her. But just before she disappeared completely and I felt myself pulled toward wakefulness, I heard her say one last thing. Her soft voice was all around me, and I clung to it in the darkness.
"I love you..."
— — — — — — —
When I woke up, the cell door was open.
Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I quickly got to my feet, shivering at the chill hanging in the air. It hadn't been this way earlier, I was sure. Memories of the dream still hovered in my mind, images of Jessie and I in the garden at Aerith's house, riding the Hardy up to the plate, gazing at dawn rising slowly over the badlands. Sharing tender kisses, the feel of her in my arms, and that sly, cheeky smile of hers. I wasn't gonna let those moments together be our last.
Tifa was still sleeping, so I crept into the hall as quietly as I could. I got to the far end, where it bent left toward the security office, just in time to see that little black tail again, swishing around the corner out of sight. But that wasn't what held my attention. I froze, forgetting for just a moment about our hidden ally as I took in the horrible sight in front of me and a shiver raced up my spine.
The guard who'd been assigned here was dead, lying on his back in a steadily widening pool of his own blood, his face frozen in terror. He hadn't just been killed. He'd been torn apart. His hand still clutched his gun, but it wasn't connected to his body anymore, and deep gashes had been ripped across his chest and throat.
I hurried back to the cell. "Tifa, wake up!"
As I shook her shoulder, her eyes flew open. "Cloud? Sorry, I didn't mean to drift off so much, I was just—is it me, or did it get a lot colder in here while we were asleep? And it's so quiet..."
"Door's open," I told her.
"What?" she sat up and looked for herself. "How?"
I folded my arms in front of me. "Our little friend. Saw him again for a second when I went out there to have a look around. Just the tail, though. But enough about that. Something's wrong."
Tifa stood up. "What do you mean?"
"Better have a look outside, Tif," I said. "It's not pretty."
She hurried out into the hall, and I followed her, not liking the odd stillness that seemed to have settled over the place. It was too quiet, not like when we'd first been brought here. When Tifa and I got to the end of the hall and she saw the body, she gasped, her eyes widening and her hand flying to her mouth as she fell back a step.
"Oh, my... what happened to him?" she shuddered.
I shook my head. "I don't know. But we need to get the others out. Their cells should be unlocked, too. Go get Aerith, Tif, fast as you can. I'll see to Barret and Red. Hurry!"
Tifa moved at once, racing straight to Aerith's cell while I made my way down the hall to the one Barret and Red were in. The door was, as I'd thought, unlocked, and I opened it and went in. Both of my friends were still asleep, Barret snoring loudly with every breath. Wedge hadn't been kidding about that. Red lay curled up in the corner, the end of his flaming tail floating just above the floor.
I hurried over and shook Barret awake. "Get up! Now!"
"Huh?" he blinked, quickly sitting up on the cot. "How'd you get in here, merc? Why's the door open?"
"Something's wrong," I told him. "Come on!"
Red stirred and got to his feet. "There is a strange chill in the air. It doesn't bode well. And I smell blood..."
Barret shivered. "Goddamn... this ain't good."
"No shit," I agreed. "Let's go."
We raced back out the door, Red easily passing us as he sped down the hall. Aerith joined us on the way, Tifa just behind her as they came out of her cell. When we caught up with Red, he was gazing intently at the body and sniffing every so often.
Barret clenched his fist. "What's the hell's goin' on!?"
"This is so eerie..." Tifa murmured.
"What could've done this?" Aerith shivered.
Red flattened his ears. "Nothing human. I'm certain of it. Our gear must be in the security office. I'll go first."
"Go ahead, guys," Barret said. "I'll watch y'all's backs."
I nodded. "Copy. Let's move."
A trail of blood led away from the dead guard in a thick line of red drops and smears around the corner and down the hall ahead of us. As Red padded off in front, I came behind him, my eyes and ears alert for trouble. The girls came after, and Barret brought up the rear. The door to the security office was open, sparks shooting up every so often from the jammed locking mechanism.
The lights were flickering inside, and the monitors were either full of static or a garbled mess. The second guard was slumped in his chair, his chest ripped open. Blood spattered the large console in front of him and coated the computer screen on top of it. His ID hung from a metal clip on what was left of his uniform. Aerith swallowed and reached out a trembling hand to take a look at it.
"Kellin Pierce," she read, her voice unsteady.
I laid a hand lightly on her shoulder. "Aerith. You okay?"
She looked at me uneasily. "About as much you'd expect, Cloud. It's frightening, what's going on. Like we just stepped into one of those bad horror movies, you know? I hate this..."
"Not too thrilled about it myself," I agreed.
"Mind distracting me for a minute?" she asked, turning away from the body. "I need something to keep me from getting too scared. After all, you are my bodyguard, remember?"
I nodded while the others spread out to search for our gear. "Yeah. Let's see now...ah, okay. Got it. While I was sleeping, I had another one of those dreams. But it was different. Better."
"What was it like?" she asked.
I led her away from the bloodied console. "Peaceful."
Aerith smiled. "You saw her, didn't you?"
"Right," I said. Then a thought occurred to me. "You wouldn't have had anything do with that, would you?"
She winked. "Maybe."
"That another of your abilities?" I wondered.
"Well, I don't really know," Aerith said. "After we finished talking, I just prayed for a little bit. To the planet, that is. About our situation and what we had to do. And for you and Jessie. I'm just worried about her. I could sense her spirit, trying to reach out. Trying to find herself. And I thought it might help if she could see you. And for you to see her. I'm a little surprised it actually worked, though."
I thought of all that Jessie and I had felt and shared together in that place. "Oh, it worked, alright. Helped us both."
"Good," Aerith said. "I was really hoping it would."
I nodded. "Yeah. And... thanks."
She beamed. "Anytime."
"Cloud!" Barret came over and held out Buster for me. "Found our stuff over in a supply closet. Here ya go."
I took it. "Alright. Better get set up quick, guys."
Tifa tossed Aerith her staff. "We're on it!"
"Ready!" she said, giving it an expert spin. "Whatever's going on, I don't think it's just Shinra anymore. They started it for sure. But there's another threat coming. A much bigger one. And I just want to help you all... and the planet... to stop it."
I felt the same way. Something that could just waltz into one of the Shinra Building's most restricted floors and so brutally kill everyone in its path was definitely a threat. One I intended to fight. Time was short and running out, but we had to know what was going on and who had done this. I had a hunch, a dark suspicion about who had to be behind it, but I hoped to hell I was wrong.
We quickly gathered the rest of our gear and materia, got it set and equipped same as before, and hurried out of the security office, Red in the lead again. Fortunately, the guards hadn't found Lena's medicine, so it was still safely with us as we made our way down the hall. The blood trail led us back to the main intersection and, just as I'd thought, made a right, taking us back into the Science Division.
"I was afraid of that..." Tifa sighed.
I grimaced. "I know. Me too. Gotta keep going, though."
She took a deep breath. "Right. Let's go."
Inside the storage facility were more bodies. Hojo's aides, sprawled out on the floor amidst a jumble of broken crates, their faces frozen in terror. Blood was everywhere, but the main trail still went on, winding past some of the clear glass cylinders for the specimens. I noticed with a start that a lot of them were broken, the creatures gone. My eyes went to the shadows, but there was nothing there. Only that cold, oppressive stillness. I swallowed and moved on.
We stopped short when we came to Jenova's dome in the middle of the area a minute later. A large puddle of blood coated the floor ahead of us, and in the middle of it was another body. The assistant Hojo had been talking to earlier. More blood was splattered across the side of the glass cylinder where we'd first seen Red. But what made a cold shiver of dread race down my spine was Jenova's dome.
It was open.
The thick steel door had been torn off its hinges, but I couldn't tell whether from outside or in. Either way, Jenova was gone. And that had to mean that he was here. Sephiroth. My blood boiled at the thought of him, of what he'd done to me so long ago. Had he really come back? As much as I wanted to, I couldn't ignore the possibility. And if he had, we had an old score to settle. He had to be stopped.
"Jenova..." Red murmured. "Hojo's most prized specimen."
I looked at him. "Where'd it go?"
Red padded forward a little. "Look, Cloud. The blood trail goes on. Jenova must've taken the specimen transport lift upstairs. But why did it awaken? It was dormant until now..."
"Do you think it wanted us to escape?" Aerith wondered.
Tifa glanced at her. "Why do you say that?"
Aerith sighed uneasily. "Both guards were killed. Certainly made it a lot easier for us to get outta there."
I had to agree. Didn't like the implication, though. Why would that thing possibly help us? It didn't make any sense. We had a clear path to the upper floors, if the blood trail was any indication, and I wasn't sure I liked the sound of that. Were we being led somewhere? I just hoped it wouldn't take too long for us to find out what was going on here. Jessie still needed us, and I meant to get to her.
"Too easy," I agreed. "How much time do we have?"
Tifa checked her phone. "Let me see... looks like we were out for... almost an hour! Aerith! Is she...!?"
Aerith concentrated for a moment. "No, Tifa. Jessie's still alive. But she's fading. We have to hurry. She's only got another hour left. But not any more than that. Time's running out..."
"Damn!" I swore. "What happened to the alarm?"
Red looked around. "This entire area seems to have suffered some kind of electrical disturbance while we were asleep, Cloud. See how all the lights and monitors here are damaged, flickering intermittently, or not working at all? Your phones may have been affected to some extent as well. Don't blame yourself for this."
I nodded. "Thanks, Red. Lead the way."
"Of course," he said.
As we hurried toward the main lift, three monsters swooped down at us from behind a stack of crates and another specimen cylinder that had been shattered open. They floated in midair with four arms, a long thin body, and two things like horns rising from their heads. Instead of legs, they had a thick tail with a sharp talon at the end, and they gazed at us with half a dozen bulbous red eyes.
Red growled. "Varghids. Mind the tails! They can paralyze you for a short time if they hit. Be careful!"
I drew Buster. "Copy. Take 'em out!"
The others didn't hesitate. While Tifa, Red, and I rushed in to work up close, Aerith and Barret hung back and gave us ranged support with gunfire and spells. It wasn't a long battle, but it was intense. I slashed at the nearest varghid, hitting it dead on and driving it back while Tifa hit another with a flurry of punches and Red pounced onto the third with a running charge that knocked it out of the air.
While he tore it apart with his claws and a blast of lightning magic, Tifa took a glancing hit from one of her varghid's arms in exchange for getting in a pair of diving kicks followed by a heavy punch that left the monster reeling. Barret finished it off with a hail of bullets. At the same time, I narrowly avoided getting stung by the first varghid's tail before I countered by whipping an arc of pale green energy at it with my sword as Aerith let loose with a fireball. The monster screeched and started to shake all over, then swooped right at me.
"Shit!" I swore, realizing what was about to happen.
I dove aside just as the varghid exploded, self-destructing where I'd been just a moment ago. Once the dust had settled, I glanced quickly at the others. They all seemed to be okay for the most part. While Aerith topped us off with a healing wind, Tifa hurried over and took my hand to help me get back to my feet.
"You okay, Cloud?" she asked.
I nodded as I stood up and shouldered Buster. "Yeah. Thanks, Tif. Didn't know they could do that."
"We do now," she chuckled. "Ready to move on?"
"Let's go," I answered.
We made it the rest of the way to the elevator without running into anything else, and once we were all inside, I pressed the button to take us back upstairs to the 68th floor. Jenova was up there somewhere, one way or another, and we had to stop her. And whoever had set her loose if she hadn't gotten out on her own. I had an idea of who that might've been, and my fist tightened at the thought.
If he was behind this, I was gonna take him down.