On the bridge of the Highwind, Rude tightly gripped the railing as the heart of the crater erupted in a spew of rock and green liquid; he only managed to catch a small glimpse of it before the airship's crew turned the giant craft southward. Then, a huge black thing rose up and blocked the bridge's large windows, and a deafening roar rattled them. A light formed around this monster, and then it shot out in front of the airship. The entire vessel shook violently as the gigantic monster passed, and Rude managed to wrap his arms around the rails in the nick of time, just barely keeping his footing. The three crewmen on the bridge had a touch less luck.
         As the Highwind settled and Rude started to stand straight again, he heard Rufus' voice speak up from behind him.
         "Captain, set a course for Junon immediately."
         As the ship's captain acknowledged the order, Rude turned around to see the President, along with Heidegger, Scarlet, and Hojo, entering the bridge. All of them, save for Hojo, wore blank expressions on their faces; meanwhile, the professor himself was grinning from ear to ear. Rude stared at them all and wondered about what had gone on down there.
         "Mr. President—?" Rude started.
         Rufus turned his head to face the Turk. All color had drained from the former's face. "What."
         "…Never mind."
         "Listen, Rude," Rufus said with a shaky sigh; Rude could tell that the President was trying hard to maintain his composure. "We've picked up some extra passengers. They're on the outer deck. Escort them inside and keep an eye on them until we get to Junon."
         Wondering what sorts of passengers the President would've picked up all the way out here, Rude nodded and left the bridge.
         Upon opening the door to the outer deck, Rude saw the passengers that Rufus had been talking about—the members of AVALANCHE. They were spread out all over the deck, many of them gazing out at the crater they had just left. The large dark-skinned man, on the other hand, was kneeling on the floor, gently cradling an unconscious Tifa's head in his good hand. Neither Cloud nor Aeris were anywhere to be seen.
         Rude walked up to the man, whom he recalled was named Barret, and stared down at Tifa. "What happened to her?"
         Barret glared at Rude for a moment, then sighed. "She was tossed around when the airship rocked."
         "How is she?"
         "She's got a pulse, but I dunno if she's gonna be all right. Hell, I dunno if any of us are gonna be all right."
         "What do you mean? Did something happen down there?"
         Cid glanced over at the bald Turk. "Didn't that fuckin' president of yours tell you anything? Sephiroth's just summoned Meteor. In other words, we're fucked."
         The four-legged animal with the orange fur explained, "What Cid means to say is that Sephiroth wants to wipe out every living thing on the Planet and use the resulting energy to become a god. I don't know if there's any way to stop him."
         "Oh god," Yuffie moaned. She kneeled on the deck, her head wedged between the rails and her mouth hanging open; occasionally, she would vomit some sort of foul liquid over the side. "Oh god… oh god…"
         Rude stared at the newcomers. This was indeed very bad, and like the President, he tried hard to maintain his cool; good thing he was wearing his shades, lest his widened eyes betray him. "What about Cloud? And Aeris? What happened to them?"
         No one answered Rude's question, at least not in a direct way. Many of them bowed their heads or turned away. Yuffie stared at Rude, her eyes glistening, before her next bout of sickness occurred.
         The crater soon disappeared from their field of view, but it was still a long way to Junon.

         Doing as Rufus had ordered, Rude showed the newcomers inside. All of them, save for the airsick Yuffie, filed into the large metal body of the airship. As Rude closed the door to the deck, he happened to catch Cid gazing all around him, breathing deeply.
         "Oh baby…" Cid murmured, running his fingers along one of the steel walls. "It's so good to be with you again."
         In the meantime, Vincent came before Rude and folded his arms across his chest. "You are one of Reno's comrades, am I correct?"
         Rude nodded. "And you're Vincent Valentine?"
         "Yes. Would you happen to know what your President has planned for us once we land?"
         "I have no—" Rude paused, having caught sight of Rufus out of the corner of his eye. The President walked toward him and the crew from AVALANCHE, stopping once he came to Barret, who held Tifa in his arms.
         "What happened to her?" he asked.
         "She had an accident when the ship lurched," Rude explained.
         "Is she alive?"
         Rude nodded.
         "We'll have to see she gets medical attention once we arrive in Junon," Rufus said. "Rude, take care of it."
         "Yes, sir." Rude drew out his PHS and placed the appropriate call. In the meantime, Rufus interrogated the newcomers. Once Rude was done, he turned his attention back to the others.
         "…So, the Black Materia Cloud gave to Sephiroth came from the Temple of the Ancients," Rufus murmured; he seemed troubled by this statement, but Rude wasn't sure why.
         Cait Sith nodded.
         "And what of the Ancient? Where is she?"
         The AVALANCHE members all looked at each other. Finally, Cid folded his arms across his chest and bowed his head. "Sephiroth got to her. She didn't make it."
         "I'm sorry to hear that," Rufus replied. "At any rate, we won't reach Junon for another few hours, so sit tight until then." He turned to leave, then looked back to Barret. "Oh, and you can set the girl down in the Operations Room for the time being, if you wish."
         Barret nodded, and Rufus made his way back to the bridge.

         Dawn was breaking as the Highwind began its final approach to Junon, the sun peeking out over the mountains that lay to the east of the fortress. Rude took this sight in, then did a double-take when he noticed a large crater that had apparently formed overnight, right in the path of a nearby river.
         The Highwind came to a smooth landing at the airport. Tifa was carefully lifted down to the tarmac, with Barret assisting the medical crew and accompanying them as they bore their patient away. Afterward, Rude escorted the other AVALANCHE members down to the runway, where Rufus, Scarlet, Heidegger, and Hojo were gathered; also present were three members of the Highwind's crew.
         "I've arranged for living quarters for you all while we figure out what to do about our current situation," said Rufus. "In the meantime, I trust none of you will try anything funny."
         Not one of the five gathered before the President said a word in response.
         "We'll have our best members of SOLDIER keeping an eye on you, of course. Also, I'll schedule a meeting where we shall discuss—"
         "Fire! Fire!"

*****

         Zack opened his eyes and was met with the sight of green stems, which led up to yellow lilies. He rose up from where he had been laying and found that he was in the middle of Aeris' flower patch, located inside the old abandoned church in the Sector Five slums. Sitting in the first row of pews was a young man with long black hair tied into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. This man wore the uniform of the short-lived S-Class of SOLDIER, also known as SOLDIER Special Forces: a dark blue jacket over a modified SOLDIER uniform, with a detachable holster at his thigh and a special mythril insignia on his collar. His dark eyes—which appeared not unkind, but not friendly either—were fixed on Zack.
         "I spent a long time looking for you, I'll have you know," the man said. "It comes as a bit of a relief that I no longer have to wonder about your fate."
         "Yoshiro…"
         "That was once my name, yes."
         Zack took in the familiar surroundings once again. There was something unsettling about it. "Where am I?"
         "You're in the Lifestream, of course."
         "So I'm dead?"
         Yoshiro sighed, exasperated. "Yes, Zack. You're dead. Haven't you been listening to a word I've been saying?"
         "Finally!" Zack exclaimed, getting to his feet. "Now I don't have to deal with that witch any more!"
         "What the hell are you going on about?"
         "Jenova," Zack said. "I was cooped up in a lab for five years, which is why you never found me. Me and one of the MPs assigned to Sephiroth escaped, but some men from Shinra caught and killed me, just outside of Midgar. Jenova made me an offer and saved my life. Biggest mistake I ever made, let me tell you."
         Yoshiro crossed his legs and stared at Zack. "Go on."
         Zack, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable under the weight of Yoshiro's stare, continued his tale. "Well, uh… she guided me to the Shinra Building, so I could free my friends. But that's when she grabbed hold of me, and I became her puppet. She forced me to free her, then she made me kill, and turned me into…"
         "Into what?"
         "Into Sephiroth."
         Tseng narrowed his eyes at Zack. "So the Sephiroth who murdered President Shinra was an illusion, created by Jenova."
         "Yeah."
         "You killed President Shinra?"
         "Jenova forced me to."
         "And myself?"
         Zack shook his head. "No, that was Sephiroth's doing. Sephiroth had his own 'clones' to push around, including my friend Cloud."
         "Your words in the temple…"
         "I tried to warn you."
         "It didn't do any good. With Cloud's help, Sephiroth has summoned Meteor, the Calamity from the Skies."
         Zack shook his head sadly and sighed. "I guess there was no avoiding it."
         "Just one more question, Zack. Aeris?"
         Zack averted his eyes and stepped out of the flower patch, being careful not to cause any further harm to the plants at his feet. "I don't want to talk about it."
         "You killed her," he heard Yoshiro spit.
         Whirling around, Zack snapped back, "It's not like I wanted to! I did everything I could to stop Jenova, but… but her grip on me was too powerful. You couldn't possibly know what it was like."
         Yoshiro didn't answer, but just stared at Zack with those cold eyes of his. Finally, he lowered his gaze and sighed, then held his head in his hands.
         After a long silence, Yoshiro said, "Aeris sent me here."
         "Huh?"
         "When you died, she sensed where you were. As a Cetra, her abilities are acute, even in the Lifestream. She told me to meet you, and her last words to me were, 'Please forgive him.' I didn't know what she meant at the time, but I think I do now."
         "So she was an Ancient, like Jenova said?"
         "Yes. The last one. Hojo experimented on her mother, Ifalna, and had been after them for years once they escaped his lab in Midgar. I'm sorry Aeris and I kept the truth away from you for so long, but it was done in her best interest. The Company used the Turks for years in an attempt to recapture her."
         "You've always been really protective of Aeris, huh."
         Yoshiro stood, looking at Zack once more. However, his eyes were not as cold and judgmental this time; rather, they were glistening with a hint of melancholy. "I love her, more than anything or anyone else, and in a way you'll never understand. Unfortunately, by the time I finally realized this, it was too late." He turned and started walking up the center aisle.
         "When was this?" Zack said, scrambling toward him.
         "Recently."
         "Oh, and you said we had work to do! What did you mean by that?"
         "Aeris will—"
         The space around them shimmered, and Yoshiro stood still with one hand raised, tilting his head as if listening for something. He turned around to face the flower bed once more; confused, Zack followed suit.
         Yoshiro came beside Zack and folded his arms across his chest. "I just got a message from Aeris. He's coming, and we're to help bring him back to the Planet's surface."
         "Who's coming?"
         Yoshiro looked up to the roof of the church. Following his line of vision, Zack saw a ripple radiating out from the ceiling. Then, without warning, something came crashing through the center of the ripple. Zack shielded his eyes as whatever-it-was landed in the flower bed, sending petals and green bubbles flying everywhere. When he opened them again and lowered his arms, he saw that Yoshiro's hair had become unbound and gotten longer, and his clothing had changed to a dark blue Turk suit; save for the small birthmark in the center of his forehead, he was the spitting image of his father, Tseng. Yoshiro was already walking toward the flower bed, and Zack ran up beside him to see what had fallen.
         Lying amongst the crushed petals, leaves, and stems was a comatose Cloud Strife. However, there was something about him that seemed odd.
         "He's still alive," Yoshiro murmured after examining him.
         "So what're we gonna do with him?" Zack asked.
         "She told me that we were to take him as far south as possible."
         "Huh?"
         Yoshiro reached around to lift Cloud up by his shoulders. "Grab his legs. We've got a long journey ahead of us."
         "Where are we going?"
         "The Mideel Islands. I last visited the place some six or seven years ago. The Lifestream springs to the surface just off the coast…"

*****

         The cry had come from the Highwind's outer deck and was followed by a small explosion, emanating from the main doorway. Rufus stepped back and swiveled his head toward Heidegger. "I thought you said the airship had finally been repaired!" he yelled.
         "It was!" Heidegger sputtered.
         "Never mind that," Scarlet said. "Look!"
         She pointed to the AVALANCHE members—or rather, where they once were. The five of them were running back toward the rope ladder, led by one of the airship's own crew members. As Rude started to give chase, Rufus silently swore under his breath as he drew out his shotgun and began to take aim. In the meantime, he barked, "Heidegger! Get your men out here immediately!"
         "Yes sir!"
         Rufus pulled the trigger, aiming for the largest target: Cait Sith's moogle body. Sure, Cait was a Shinra spy, but AVALANCHE didn't know that, and he thought it best to keep it that way—no matter what. Once the cat fell, the other four would surely stop to help him, placing them all right where Rufus wanted them.
         Cait jumped as the bullet grazed the moogle's leg, and the whole unit stumbled. The tall man in the red cloak stopped and turned around, his own gun drawn and aimed right back at the President. Rufus dodged the man's bullet just as reinforcements arrived.
         "Fire," Rufus ordered, "but try not to hit the airship!"
         "Yes sir!" the Shinra MPs replied before sending a hail of machine gun bullets at the escapees. Meanwhile, Rude was almost upon the group when he froze, looking up to the airship. The Wutaiese ninja was there, halfway up the rope ladder, a bright red glow radiating from her shuriken.
         "Now you're really asking for it, you jerks!" she yelled in a shrill tone. "Sorry, Bald Guy!"
         A booming roar could be heard from above, then a dark shadow crossed above the Highwind, its large wings dominating the sky.
         "What the hell is that?" Rufus yelled over the din of the machine guns, half of which were now firing at this new threat.
         "The summon beast Bahamut," stated Hojo's voice from behind him. "Looks like your friends have some serious firepower."
         Above them, a ball of light began to form before Bahamut's open jaw. The MPs who had been firing their guns at the dragon panicked and began scrambling away.
         "You cowards!" Rufus barked. He drew his gun again and aimed it at the ninja, who was still on the rope ladder, which was swaying in the morning breeze. However, before he could shoot, a beam of light shot from Bahamut's mouth, hitting the tarmac in front of him. This resulted in a large explosion, knocking him and the other executives off of their feet. As the noise settled, Rufus could make out the sound of propellers. The airship was taking off.
         The smoke began to clear, revealing a large black mark on the runway, numerous strewn bodies, and a soot-covered Rude on his hands and knees—the only evidence left of the summon monster's presence. Beyond the black clouds of smoke, the Highwind's distinctive form could be seen high in the sky, growing smaller with each passing second. A thoroughly frustrated Rufus gritted his teeth as he stared at the receding airship, his airship. It was an unexpected but fitting coda to these past few days, when everything that he thought was well under control ended up slipping through his fingers.

         Later that day, Rufus gazed out of one of the War Room's tall windows. Directly before him, the massive mako cannon pointed out toward the dark, forbidding ocean like a giant finger, and the clear blue sky hung innocently above.
         Rufus squinted at this sky rather hard, searching for anything that was out of the ordinary; namely, this "Meteor" that Sephiroth was purported to have summoned. Not that this was his only worry; there was also the matter of the Weapons which he had seen fly out of the crater during their escape. He idly wondered if these monsters would give them any trouble, and if so, then how much? He took a deep breath. All of this uncertainty was making him nervous. Would everyone on this planet die, like that AVALANCHE girl had told Hojo in the crater? Was there any way to stop the Meteor before it destroyed them all? Would Meteor hit tonight, swiftly and without warning, taking him and the rest of humanity with it?
         He sat down at the nearest desk, his weary knees threatening to buckle, and closed his eyes, taking deep, steady breaths. It was not like him to become this unhinged, but there was no other way to deal with his current situation. Here he was, the most powerful man in the world, and he felt damn near helpless. The theft of the Highwind only cemented this new fact. It was at that moment that he heard the door creak open behind him. His moment of peace shattered, an irritated Rufus took a deep breath and turned around.
         "Welcome back, Rufus," Reeve greeted. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."
         A small smile crossed Rufus' face as Reeve walked closer to him; with everything that was going on, this particular visitor was a welcome surprise. "No, not at all. When did you get here?"
         "Only about an hour ago, by helicopter. My most pressing duties pertaining to Midgar's construction have been taken care of for the time being, so once I heard of your return, I decided to come see you. Is it true that the long-range airship was hijacked?"
         "I'm afraid so, but that's only the icing on the cake."
         Reeve furrowed his brows. "Did something happen during your trip?"
         "You could say that," Rufus replied gravely. "We did find unbelievable amounts of mako and materia at the crater on the Northern Continent, but we also found Sephiroth."
         "Go on…"
         "Cloud Strife, or this 'clone' that looked like Cloud, or whatever it was, gave Sephiroth the Black Materia. The materia started glowing, and we barely managed to get out before the cavern collapsed in on us. Reeve, one of Cloud's people mentioned something right before our escape—she implied that the Black Materia's purpose is to summon Meteor, and that everyone on the planet will die as a result of this spell."
         Reeve paused, his eyes widening, before finally replying, " Do you think she was telling the truth?"
         "To be honest, I can't come up with a good enough reason to doubt her. She's being held in one of our medical facilities, but she's also a coma, so I can't question her further even if I wanted to."
         "There's no other prisoners?"
         "Only the suspected AVALANCHE leader, and he's not talking. The rest escaped on the Highwind."
         "I see. What do you plan on doing now?"
         "I believe we can find some use for the two that are in our custody; what that is, I'm not yet sure. In the meantime, I want to gather together you and the other executives so we can think some way out of this mess. I've already sent a Gelnika to take a look at the Northern Crater to see how much it caved in. As for the Meteor, I called Palmer and asked him to look into how long it will take for that rock to crash into us."
         Reeve nodded solemnly and paced away from the window. After a moment, he asked, "If you have the time, can we talk further in your office?"
         "Are you sure? We could all be dead within a week, and none of this will matter."
         In a quiet voice, Reeve answered, "My soul will not rest until it is bared to you."
         Rufus felt a sharp pang in his chest, and he turned around to look at Reeve, whose dark brown eyes were focused on him. He couldn't believe this was happening, at long last.
         Reeve continued, "Please grant me an audience, Rufus. I know so much has changed in the last couple of days, but I still wish to talk to you, alone."
         "Very well. I suppose I can spare some time. Come this way."
         Rufus led Reeve into his office and closed the door behind them. Reeve collapsed into one of the armchairs in front of the desk as Rufus sat down in the other. The President leaned back in the chair and folded one of his legs across the other. "Now, what's on your mind?"
         "I've discontinued my friendship with Reno."
         Rufus was simultaneously shocked and elated, but he tried not to let the latter emotion show. "Why?"
         Reeve sighed. "It's a long story, but basically, Reno wanted me to be something I'm not, something I could never be."
         "Which was?"
         "His."
         Rufus put on his best concerned face. "I see."
         Reeve scratched his chin, staring off to one side. "I decided it would be for the best to kill whatever personal relationship we had, so our professional ones don't suffer."
         "Always a prudent idea."
         "You think so?" Reeve asked, facing the President once more.
         Rufus paused. To be honest, he wasn't sure he liked where Reeve was going with this, but nevertheless, he nodded once.
         "I'm glad you understand."
         "First your marriage, then a close friendship." Rufus shook his head. "Forgive me if I'm jumping to conclusions here, but are you saying that you're the type of person who prefers to keep their personal life separate from their work?"
         "For the most part, yes."
         "For the most part?"
         "Despite my luck thus far, I still believe in exceptions." Reeve smiled at Rufus, a gesture which entranced the President all the more. Yet, Rufus was not one to completely melt over such an action. No, he had to use it to his advantage; he had to be certain.
         "Such as?"
         Reeve chuckled. "Do I need to name names?"
         They stared at each other for a few seconds before Rufus replied, "No, I don't think you do."
         Almost immediately, Reeve broke from his gaze and looked toward the desk. Following his line of vision, Rufus could see that Reeve was eyeing a glass ashtray, which had never seen use.
         "Rufus, do you mind if I—"
         "No, of course not. Go right ahead."
         Truth was, he did mind, Reeve's smoking habit being one of the few things Rufus didn't particularly like about him. The President therefore watched on silently, not moving much at all, as Reeve pulled the ashtray closer to him, then lit up a cigarette. Reeve took a deep drag and exhaled a long, thin stream of smoke, which wafted toward the ceiling. Then, out of nowhere, Reeve said, "That's not to say that I don't have reservations."
         "Well in your case, I suppose your concerns are warranted."
         "Yes, well… I just wanted to make that clear from the beginning, as we may not have much time left."
         A silence fell between them, during which their eyes were fixed on each other. Then, the phone on Rufus' desk rang. The President sighed and stood up, walking around his desk to pick up the receiver.
         "President's office, Rufus Shinra speaking," he replied.
         "Sir, this is the doctor currently stationed in the central infirmary. I'd like to see you concerning this young woman your men brought in. There's no telling when she'll awaken, and I don't know what you want done about it."
         "I'll meet with you in half an hour."
         This sounded acceptable to the doctor, so Rufus hung up the phone and turned back to Reeve. "Sorry to cut this short, but duty calls."
         "I understand," Reeve replied, standing up to leave. They shook hands, and as they were doing so, Reeve tentatively leaned closer to Rufus and carefully pressed his lips against the latter's cheek. Momentarily stunned by this gesture, Rufus said nothing as Reeve drew back.
         "Good day, Mr. President," Reeve said with a small, yet seductive, smile, before turning around and leaving the room.

         Very early the next morning, Rufus was awakened by an incessant ringing. Groaning, he rolled over and grabbed the phone he kept on his bedside table.
         "President Rufus Shinra speaking," he mumbled into the receiver.
         "Sir, this is Heidegger. Have you looked outside yet?"
         "If you mean this morning, then no. You woke me up."
         "My sincerest apologies, sir!" Heidegger blurted. "However, I really think you need to get up and look at the sky right now."
         A hard knot formed in the pit of Rufus' stomach as he pondered the implications of Heidegger's urgent words. "All right," he replied, pulling himself out of bed and walking over to the window. The first thing that caught his eye once he pulled back the curtains was a small brown spot, completely round and no bigger than the end of a pencil, hanging in the reddish-purple dawn sky. Unfortunately, it seemed as if that AVALANCHE girl had not been lying.