Red, Vincent, Yuffie, Kat, Striker, Zack, and Cait returned to Reeve's building in Midgar, after a visit with Tifa in the hospital. She was much better now, as she could walk around with ease and was much stronger and agile. Even so, despite her begging, Zack refused to allow her to accompany them on their voyage. The doctors said she could go home, but she was scheduled to have her fetus reinserted into her womb in another two weeks.

"What's HE doing here?!" Yuffie shouted, the first to notice Rufus. Cid looked at him.

"He helped us find this rocket," Cid said. "He's gonna help us."

"Help with what?" Zack asked.

"Precisely," Rufus said, folding his arms and glaring at Tseng.

Tseng remained stoic. "Rufus, you must help us. You're a decent fighter. We need all the help we can get."

"He's right," Reeve commented. "What have you got to lose, Rufus? You're company's gone. You've got nothing but that pack on your back and your damn dog."

Rufus looked down at Dark Nation, who looked up at his master with huge brown eyes. He turned back to Reeve.

"Fine. But only because I have no choice. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll die in space."

Reeve rolled his eyes.

"Don't think you're off the hook, Reeve," Cid said. "You've got to come along too."

Reeve sweatdropped, and Cait fell of his moogle in laughter. "M,me? Why?"

"You never do nothing," Barret said. "Time for you to get into action."

Reeve loosened his collar. "I... I have Cait Sith..."

"That ain't good enough, goddamnit," Cid said. "You have to come."

"But.. I don't have a weapon," Reeve argued.

"I'll get you a handgun, Reeve," Tseng said as if he was talking to a child. "I'm going to call the Turks."

"The Turks are coming?" Kat questioned.

"How many people do you need?" Reeve said.

"Alot, goddamnit," Cid answered. "I don't want no problems once we get there. We got to be prepared. We're gonna split up once we get there, everybody's gonna have different jobs."

Reeve slapped his forehead. "Well, if you don't mind, I think I'm going to ask Isabelle to come along."

"Who's Isabelle?" Zack asked.

"Oooh, Reeve's got a girlfriend just like Cid!" Yuffie teased. Striker burst out laughing.

"Shut the hell up!" Cid yelled.

Reeve blushed. "No, no... she works for me. She's sort of... my second in command. I believe she told me she met Aeris a few weeks ago. She's a good fighter, though."

Rufus laughed. "I think you just want her there to protect you, Reeve."

Reeve turned red. "No!"

"I don't give a damn!" Cid yelled, keeping Rufus from retorting. "Reeve, call the girl and tell her to come if she wants. Is that all? Anybody else got a new recruit?"

No one said anything.

"Fine. I guess... we outta do that thing... like Cloud did last time..."

"What thing?" Striker asked.

"Eh... you guys remember," Cid continued, scratching his head. "When he sent us home and told us to find what we were fighting for and crap."

"Ha! You just want to run home and see Shera again!" Yuffie laughed.

"Goddamnit!" Cid shouted. "I just saw freakin' Shera! She was here the other day helping with the rocket!"

Yuffie covered her mouth to keep from laughing.

"So... everybody got it?"

"I don't have anywhere to go," Striker said. "I don't have a home anymore..."

"I *can't* go home," Yuffie added. "My father will never let me see the light of day again."

Cid threw his hands up. "Whatever, if you don't have anywhere to go, stay here with Reeve! I don't give a flying fuck what you do! Just know we meet back here tommorrow afternoon! Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" Zack joked.

Cid lit a fresh cigarette and waved his hand. "Let's get on the Highwind, I'll start dropping you morons off."

She was lying inside a horizontally placed cylindrical tube, bright, florecent light blaring into her eyes. The ceiling looked as if it were made of steel, and there was all sorts of strange equipment lying around. She turned her head and saw Hojo standing over another tube that was like her own.

"Ah, Aeris, finally awake my dear?" she heard him say. "Here, let me get you out of there." He stooped over the tube and pressed a button, and the lid over the tube opened. Tayeko saw Aeris carefully sit up.

"Where am I?" Aeris asked. "What happened?"

Hojo helped Aeris climb out of the tube and stand on the ground. "Don't worry, child, you'll find out soon enough."

Tayeko began to bang on the lid of the tube, hoping Hojo'd let her out too. He looked over at her.

"Well, Tayeko! You're up as well! Wonderful." He walked over to her tube and also let her out, helping her regain her footing. He leered in her beautiful face.

"Tayeko, it's been years," he said. "I wonder, have you forgotten me?"

Tayeko frowned. "No," she said quietly.

"Well, don't worry. I've got plenty in store for you."

"Where are we?" she asked, looking around. "Something doesn't feel right. How did we get here?"

Hojo shook his head. "Not to worry," he said, taking Aeris' hand. "Now come, would you like to see Aeris tell me where the Promised Land is?"

Aeris tried to snatch her hand from him. "Promised Land?"

"Yes, yes, of course," he said. "That's all I need you for. Come along."

He took both girls by the wrists and dragged them out of the lab and down the hall, to another room. This room was dark, and a steel gurney with no acoutrements was set up in the center of it.

"Get in there," Hojo said, pushing Aeris towards the gurney. Fearing the consequences of rebellion, she obediently climbed atop the gurney and allowed Hojo to strap her in.

Hojo took Tayeko's hand and led her to a small glass observation room, where he promptly sat her down in a chair. He sat in front of a row of controls and looked at Aeris through the glass, speaking into a microphone.

"Alright, Aeris," his voice rang out to her. "Let's begin."

Aeris shivered. She was afraid. What would she tell Hojo? She didn't know anything about the Promised Land, except that the Cetra go there when they die. And she hadn't even been allowed in!

"Aeris, where is the Promised Land?"

Aeris stared up at the ceiling. "I don't know," she answered.

Behind the controls, Hojo sighed.

"Aeris, do you know what happens when you don't give me answers?"

Aeris didn't answer.

Hojo placed his hand on a button. "This."

A painful electric jolt rang its way through Aeris' entire body, coming from the surface of the steel gurney, causing her to scream out in pain. Her body writhed beneath the restraint of the straps.

"Oh, god!" Tayeko screamed, standing out of her chair. "Stop it!"

Hojo was quick with a pistol. Suddenly it was in his hand, aimed for Tayeko's head.

"Have a seat," he instructed. "And don't get up again."

Tayeko nodded slowly, sitting back in the chair. Her eyes filled with tears as she watched her friend cry out in pain, over and over again, the delightful look in Hojo's eyes as he tortured his victim.

Jenova appeared in the doorway, looking as gorgeous and seductive as ever. She licked her full lips and placed a hand on her shapely hip.

Sephiroth looked at her in disgust from where he sat on his bed, facing the window. "I can't believe you brought me to your filthy planet," he spat at her, gesturing to the window.

"It was the only way to get you, undisturbed," she said, taking a few steps closer to him. "Now, now of your little human "friends" are here to bother us."

"Stay away from me," Sephiroth warned.

Jenova hiked up her skirt and placed one knee on the bed, dangerously close to Sephiroth. "What's wrong? Don't you like what you see?"

Sephiroth glared at her. "What happened to the Mother - Son complex? First you wanted to baby me, now you want to lay me?

Jenova laughed. "I've always appreciated your sarcasm, Sephiroth," she said, touching his bare shoulder with her fingertip. "It makes you very sexy."

Sephiroth winged his arm around and knocked her way from him, as if he were swatting at a fly. "Don't start! I'll never 'mate' with you!"

Jenova stood up and stared at him. "What are you going to do when I enter your pathetic mind?" she said.

Sephiroth glared at her. "I refuse to succumb."

Jenova laughed as she walked back towards the door. "I've got some things to take care of... this was only a tease. Be ready for me next time, right?"

Sephiroth just glared daggers at her.

"Very well," she said with a laugh, leaving and shutting the door behind her.

The town was a mess. He knew about the tragic explosion of the Mako reactor that nearly destroyed the poor town, but he was still surprised by the way it ended up. If not for the people that walked through the quiet streets, he would have thought it a ghost town.

A lump forming in his throat, he walked towards his parents' old home, wondering if they were still there. He remembered Tifa saying something about them asking for him.

He stood in front of the door for several minutes before gathering the nerve to knock. In a few seconds, his father flung open the door.

"Pop..."

The man stared at Zack for a while. A woman with black hair pulled back into a bun came to the door and stood next to her husband.

"Mom!"

The couple stared at Zack a few more seconds before the woman exploded into tears, wrapping her arms around him. Zack hugged his mother back, and his father joined, the three hugging each other for quite a while in the doorway of their house.

They finally broke apart and Zack's father pushed the door closed, smiling at his now grown son. His mother covered her mouth.

"What happened to you, Zachary?" she asked. We haven't seen you in almost eight years!"

Zack scratched his head and blushed. I'm sorry... It's a really long story."

"Well, you've got to tell us everything!" his father said, clapping his son the back. "What's going on?"

Zack explained, in less than an hour the story of training in SOLDIER, going to Nibelhiem, nearly dying and his current mission. His parents were shell shocked when he was done.

"Zack, you can't possibly be thinking about going into outer space," his father said. "That's insane!"

"We lost you once, we don't want to lose you again," his mother cried.

Zack grinned and put his arms around both his parents. "Hey, hey come on now! I'm a tough boy. I think I can handle outer space pretty well."

Zack's father laughed, even if it was only to take his mind off the worry.

"Zack, please be careful," his mother urged.

"Hey, don't worry about a thing! I'm not leaving till tommorrow anyway."

Zack's mother sighed. "Always making light of everything, Zack," she said.

Is mom even still here? she wondered. Guess I won't find out unless I try...

"Kat!"

Kat was stopped from ringing the doorbell, turning around to see who had called her name. To her surprise, a young boy with suitcases was running towards the house.

"Timothy!"

Timothy ran to Kat and embraced her. "What are you doing here, Kat? Everybody said you ran away from the boarding school."

Kat smiled at her brother. "I did. What are you doing here?"

"I'm on a vacation from the academy," Timothy answered. Though pale skinned like his sister, Timothy's hair was a dark brown as opposed from her bright red hair, and his eyes a dark green. "But why'd you come here?"

"It's a long story," Kat answered, ruffling her thirteen year old brother's hair. "Come on, let's go inside. I'll tell you and Mom everything."

Timothy nodded. "Alright!" He opened the door with his key and the two walked inside.

The house was dark. Timothy called out for their mother several times, but he received no answer. Finally, they walked into the living room, where the television was on, though muted. Their mother was sitting in the recliner, a shot glass in her hand as she stared vacantly at the set.

"Mom?" Kat said, walking up to her. "Mom, are you alright?"

The woman, who's dark red hair was pulled into a bun looked at her daughter. "Katyrina..." she said. "Hi. I wasn't expecting you. Where's Timmy?"

"Right here, mom!" the boy explained hopping in front of her.

"Oh..." she mumbled.

"Mom, guess what!" Kat began excitedly.

Her mother yawned and looked at the television. "What is it, dear?"

"I'm part of AVALANCHE now! I'm going to outer space to fight Jenova!"

"Cool!" Timothy screamed. "Are you serious?"

"That's nice, honey," her mother said, uninterested.

Kat frowned. It was as if her mother wasn't listening at all.

"Did you hear me, mom? I'm going to outer space with a rocket ship. Cid's gonna pilot it!"

"Cid Highwind?" Timothy yelled. "That's awesome!"

"Wonderful, sweetheart," her mother mumbled.

Kat frowned. Nothing had changed. Obviously that shot glass was not the only one she'd had that night.

"Forget it, mom. I'm going to bed early tonight, I need my rest."

"Great, dear, just don't stay out too late," her mother responded, her eyes still fixated on the television.

Kat threw her hands up in disgust and stormed upstairs. She wondered if anything would be able to stop her drinking problem.

Casting his doubts aside, Vincent walked past the waterfall into the cave. The blue glow of the walls reflected off his hair, and Vincent looked around at the beautiful cavern. He slowly walked towards the alter.

"Lucrecia," he said quietly.

Nothing happened.

Vincent sighed, wondering again if these efforts were in vain. He'd never find Lucrecia. Why did he waste his time? His eyes downcast, he turned to leave the cavern.

"Vincent...?"

Vincent froze in his tracks upon hearing his name. That voice...

Vincent slowly turned on his heels, stunned to see what was in front of him. Lucrecia stood, her wavy, long brown hair askew and her bright, aqua colored eyes glowing. She was wearing a pale, thin blue dress. A single tear traveled down her face.

Vincent lowered the part of his cape that covered most of his face and looked at her. "Lucrecia...?"

Lucrecia smiled and ran to Vincent barefooted. He caught her in his arms, and she fell against him, sobbing.

"Am I real?" she asked.

Vincent ran his good hand through her hair. "You... you feel real," he said.

Lucrecia looked up at Vincent. "I've missed you so much, my love," she whispered.

"Lucrecia, what happen-"

Lucrecia silenced Vincent by crushing her lips against his in a deep, passionate kiss. Losing his composure, Vincent fell to the floor, still cradling Lucrecia in his arms.

Lucrecia covered Vincent's face in kisses as he fell on top of her, running his fingers through her soft hair and place soft kisses on her neck.

"I love you, Lucrecia," he said.

"I love you too, Vincent," Lucrecia whispered, running her hands down her back. "I should have listened to you."

"It's my fault," Vincent said. "I should have never let it get that far."

"It wasn't your fault, Vincent," Lucrecia whispered. "And it's all over now."

Vincent got to his knees and grabbed Lucrecia, holding her in his arms as they knelt on the floor together.

"My son... he is in danger?" Lucrecia said.

Vincent nodded.

"I have told him to be strong," Lucrecia said, laying her head against Vincent's chest. "Promise me, you will protect him, Vincent."

"I promise," Vincent said. "I will not fail you again, Lucrecia."

Lucrecia sighed in Vincent's embrace. "Vincent, I could stay like this forever."

"I want you to."

Lucrecia smiled. "You have work to do, Vincent. A mission to accomplish."

"We'll have the night together," he said.

Lucrecia nodded. "And you'll return to me, when it's over?"

Vincent nodded, his own eyes forming precious tears. "When it's all over. I'll return, I promise."

Striker frowned and threw his cards on the table. "I can't play poker with you, Yuffie!" he said. "You cheat!"

Yuffie leaned back in her chair and grinned. "You owe me a fire orb, Mister!" she laughed.

Striker tossed her the materia and got up from the table. "Let's do something else," he suggested.

"Oh yeah?" Yuffie said, stuffing the materia into her pouch. "Like what?"

Striker looked around. "Not much to do around here," he said. "Reeve doesn't really have an entertainment center in this place."

Yuffie shrugged. "There's a TV in the lobby. Maybe we can watch some late night TV."

Striker smiled and followed Yuffie into the lobby, where the two flopped down on the couch. Yuffie used the remote to flip on the TV.

"Oh, look! 'Late Night with Miguel Santos' is on!"

Striker wasn't paying any attention to the television. As Yuffie laughed at the television, he slowly slipped his arm around her.

"This is a great show," she said, looking up at him.

Striker was looking down at Yuffie, a playful smile on his lips.

It didn't take Yuffie long to get the picture.

Smiling back, Yuffie carefully pursed her lips and leaned towards Striker's face, preparing to kiss him. He cupped her face in his hands, closing his eyes as he leaned closer.

"Hey, has anyone seen - " Reeve came in, unaware of what he was walking in on. "Oh! I'm sorry..." he said, blushing. "Am I interrupting something?"

Yuffie and Striker quickly separated. "No," they said at the same time. Reeve looked away, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, it's just that I can't find Cait. He usually tells me when he's going somewhere, but he just left, and I'm getting rather worried-"

"Cait went to the bar," Striker said, cutting him off.

"Oh," Reeve said, clasping his hands together. "I see. He ought to tell me next time..." he walked out, mumbling to himself.

Yuffie laughed. "I like Reeve, but he sure is strange when it comes to Cait Sith."

Striker nodded. "What's up with that thing, anyway?'"

Yuffie shrugged. "He's actually a pretty good friend, for a robot," she said. "Even if the only thing he's good for is spying on people and comic relief."

Striker smiled, touching Yuffie's face again. "You look so cute when you're happy," he said.

Yuffie blushed.

"And even cuter when you blush!" he exclaimed. Putting his arm around her back, Striker leaned in, stealing a kiss.

"TIFA!!!"

Cloud sprang up in bed, screaming. He looked around at his surroundings, his body covered in a cold sweat.

He got up from the bed and paced. Where was he? Where was Tifa?

Cloud raced to the window and looked outside. He was stories above ground.

"Where am I?" he shouted to himself.

Cloud's attention was diverted to a bright light that formed in the center of the room. Growing into a flash, Cloud was forced to sheild his eyes for a moment. When he looked back, a beautiful woman was standing in his room.

She was floating above the ground, and she wore a pale blue dress. She had long, wavy blue hair, and a pair of eyes to match. Above her head, five, tiny bright stars hung, and a heavenly glow was around her.

"Cloud," she said, her voice sweet and soothing.

Cloud blinked, stepping away. "W...who are you?"

The woman smiled. "I am the Planet," she said.

Cloud didn't look convinced. "The Planet?"

"Yes, " she said, smiling. "In a human form."

Cloud looked frantically around. "What do you want?!"

The Planet reached her hand out to him. "Be calm, Cloud," she said. "I'm here to help you."

Cloud backed away. "With what?"

"Cloud, you've been fooled. Don't you remember?"

Cloud didn't know what she was talking about, but suddenly a surge of memories entered his mind. Grasping his head and crouching to the floor, he remembered the events... talking to Jenova... attacking Tifa... running Shin-Ra... listening to Hojo...

"What have I DONE!?" he screamed.

"Shh," The Planet tried to relax him, resting her hand on his shoulder. "It's alright... there's a way to fix everything."

Cloud looked up at her with tears in his eyes. "How?!" he asked. "I may have killed Tifa! I've done exactly what Sephiroth did five years ago!" The planet knelt beside him. "Tifa's alive. Go to the hospital and get her. Then you must go with AVALANCHE to Tzumron, to save Sephiroth, Tayeko, and Aeris, and destroy Jenova, once and for all."

"Tzumron?"

"Tzumron is the planet in another galaxy where Jenova's race lives," the Planet explained. "Jenova has taken Sephiroth, Aeris and Tayeko there, along with Hojo. Your friends in AVALANCHE have decided to take a rocket into space to find them, but they need your guidence."

Cloud began to stand. "I will go."

The Planet nodded and began floating again. "Good. Please, you must hurry. They are leaving tommorrow."

"Right," he said.

The Planet was beginning to fade away. "Hurry, go to Tifa!" she cried.

"Is everyone back?" Cid asked, hoping to take a head count. "Who's missing?"

"The Turks should be here any minute now," Tseng said, closing his PHS. "They just got off their copter at the helipad around the corner."

Cid nodded. "Alright! Is everything set?"

One of his tech's nodded.

"Good."

Reeve came running towards the launch area, Isabelle behind him. Her long, wavy, dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was wearing a tight fitting gray pantsuit with the "Reeve" logo on the left breast pocket. Her weapon of choice, a rough looking machine gun, was strapped to her back, and her hands, fisted on her hips, wore black leather gloves. She had a very no-nonsense attitude about her.

"Here I am," Reeve said. "This is Isabelle."

Cid smiled and stuck his hand out. "Nice to meet ya, Isabelle. Behind me is the rest of our group - I'm sure you already know Rufus and Tseng, and that's Zack, Striker, Barret, Yuffie, Kat, Red XIII, and Cait Sith."

Isabelle laughed. "I know Cait."

Cait bounced over to her bowed. "A pleasure, my Lady!"

Isabelle giggled and patted the stuffed cat on the head.

"That's quite a gun ya got there," Barret said.

Isabelle smirked. "And I handle it quite well," she added.

"Damn!" Tseng suddenly shouted. "Where are the Turks?!"

As if on cue, the Turks came walking towards the launch area, an extra person with them. Reno's sardonic grin was in place.

Tseng frowned. "Who is this, Reno?"

Reno turned to his companion. "Randy!"

Randy was a dark complected young man with bleached blonde hair and a strange dress code. He wore the baggiest, brightest red pants Tseng had ever seen. He had black boots and a heavy black hooded sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off. He wore a regular black headband, and black cut off gloves. His right arm was wrapped halfway to his elbow with medical tape. He had a crude looking baseball bat as a weapon.

Tseng glared at Reno, then looked at Cid. Cid shrugged and pulled out a cigarette.

Tseng crossed his arms. "I'm going to ask you again, Reno," he said sternly. "Who is this?"

Reno shifted his weight. "This is Randy. We met him at the Gold Saucer, and you said you needed more people, so I said hey, let's bring this cool character along with us. He's twenty, an awesome fighter and he ain't got nothing better to do."

"You should have asked me first," Tseng said.

"I tried to tell him, boss," Rude quipped. "He wouldn't listen."

"Hey, come on!" Randy spoke for the first time. "Give me a chance! I'm just a lonely traveler looking for some adventure. And I'm not too shabby with a bat either!"

Elena rolled her eyes. "I didn't want him to come along, Tseng, really!" she complained. "This was all Reno's idea!"

Randy looked hurt. "Come on, Elena, babe! Be nice!"

Elena balled her fists up in frustration. "He's so annoying!!"

"Enough," Tseng said. "It's Cid's decision whether or not this ragtag comes along," he said. "He's the leader of this mission."

Cid blew smoke out his mouth. "I don't give a fuck if he comes," Cid said. "Just start getting on the damn rocket and stay out of my fucking way!"

Randy laughed. "I like this guy," he said, going off to introduce himself to others.

Rufus walked over, shaking his head. "You shouldn't let the Turks get away with so much, Tseng," he said.

"Shut up, Rufus," Cid spat. "Go get on the damn rocket."

Rufus folded his arms. "You can't talk to me anyway you -"

"Yes I can, I'm the leader of this mission!" Cid yelled. "Now get on the goddamned rocket and take your fucking mutt with you!"

Rufus gave Cid a dirty look, and walked off to the rocket, Dark Nation behind him.

Tseng looked at Reno.

"Sorry, boss," Reno said sheepishly. "But Randy's a really cool guy. He's a good fighter, he's smart, funny, sassy,-"

"A drunk, aggravating jerk!" Elena screeched.

"Looks like you found someone just like you," Tseng said jokingly.

Reno made a face. "Give him half a chance, Tseng," he said. "He doesn't have nothing else to do but get kicked out the Gold Saucer for being publicly drunk."

Tseng frowned. "You think its wise bringing a drunk on this trip?"

"Why not?" Elena fumed sarcastically, sitting on the tarp. "We already have Reno!"

"Get up, Elena," Tseng said. "We're leaving shortly."

"Look," Reno continued. "All I'm saying is not to be so upset about this. You won't regret having him around in the end."

Tseng eyed Reno. "What next, are you planning to recruit him into the Turks?"

Reno threw his hands up. "I'm going to board," he said.

Randy walked over to where Striker, Kat and Yuffie stood, checking their items and materia.

"Hey, cuties!" he said, standing between Kat and Yuffie. "How's it going?"

Yuffie glared at him. "It's going fine," she said.

Randy looked at Striker. "Hey, my broth-ah!" he said, throwing his hand up at him.

Striker looked at him as if he were insane.

"Uh... right..." Randy mumbled, putting his hand down. "I like your tattoo, dude."

Striker's eyebrow went up. "Thanks..."

Randy gave them a thumbs up. "I guess I'll go get on the rocket. See ya around!" He ran off.

Striker scratched his head. "He's a strange one, ey?"

Yuffie shook her head. "I can see it's gonna be a barrel of laughs having *him* around," she mumbled.

He stopped in front of the receptionist's desk.

"President Strife!" the nurse gasped.

Cloud shook his head. "Look, I just need to see Tifa Lockheart immediately. Where's her room?"

The nurse pointed to the elevators. "Go to the third floor, room 319."

Cloud nodded and ran off towards the elevator. His forehead was perspiring by the time he left the elevator.

"Tifa's probably gonna be afraid of me," he thought as he ran towards her room.

He looked in the glass, chicken-wired window. Tifa was sitting up on her bed, dressed in her normal clothes. She was arranging things in her bag as if she were preparing to leave.

Here goes, Cloud thought, pushing the door open.

Tifa's head immediately snapped up to look at him. She dropped what she was holding, and slid frightened off the bed, backing up towards the wall.

"Tifa... don't be afraid..." Cloud said, walking towards her slowly.

Tifa swallowed and looked at him. "What do you want, Cloud?"

Cloud walked closer to her, until he was on the opposite side of the bed from her. "Tifa, its okay... you don't have to be afraid." Tifa's eyes filled with tears.

Cloud walked around the bed. "Don't cry, Tifa. Let me explain."

Scared to death, Tifa backed into the corner and slid to the floor.

"Please don't hurt me," she begged, Cloud coming closer to her.

Cloud kneeled in front of her. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said, slowly taking her hand. "Let me explain."

Cloud's eyes filled with tears. "Jenova had control of me," he explained. "That's why I hurt you. I'm sorry, Tifa. Jenova's been plotting on me for weeks now.

"She wanted me to rule Shin-Ra with her and Hojo behind it. They want the Promised Land. They've taking Aeris, Tayeko, and ... Sephiroth... to another planet. I have to help them. The Planet came to me and helped me."

Tifa shivered. "I know... Cid told me everything."

"Tifa, do you trust me?"

Tifa looked up into his eyes. They were soft, loving. They weren't the way they were night he attacked her, or the way they were when he was making speeches as President Strife. They were the way they were when he kissed her tenderly on the beaches of Costa Del Sol. He held his arms out to her.

Bursting into fresh tears, Tifa fell into Cloud's arms, both of them crying and holding each other as if it were the end of their lives. They kissed each other tenderly, Cloud running his fingers through Tifa's long brown hair. Cloud broke a kiss to look at her.

"I love you, Tifa," he said.

Tifa smiled and touched his face. "I love you too," she said. "I'm glad you're back."

Cloud looked down and touched the bottom of her tank top. "Lift this up," he said. "Let me see... what I did."

Tifa looked down, embarrassed. "I don't know, Cloud..."

"It's alright," he said.

Tifa slowly lifted her shirt, showing a long, sweeping, still fresh scar across her belly that Cloud caused. Cloud also noticed another long scar that ran diagonal across her chest.

He touched the tail end of it carefully with his finger. "Sephiroth...?"

Tifa quickly put her shirt down and nodded.

Cloud used his fingers to wipe tears off of Tifa's face. "The baby... what... what happened...?"

Tifa smiled. "It's okay," she answered. "They've got it in a artifical womb."

"Tifa, I need you to come with us to Tzumron," Cloud said. "Will the baby be alright?"

Tifa looked down at her hands, holding Cloud's tightly. "I guess..." she whispered. "They told me I could leave, but I have to come back soon for surgery to have the fetus re-inserted..."

Cloud made a face. "That's the weirdest thing I've ever heard," he said.

Tifa laughed for the first time in days. "I know... but, the hospital will keep the baby in the incubator until I return. I'll just leave a notice with my nurse of when I hope to be back."

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know when we'll be back," he said.

Tifa shrugged and grabbed her bag. "Two weeks should be enough time," she said.

Cloud whistled as they walked towards the door. "Your medical bills are gonna skyrocket."

"Whatever it takes to make the Planet a safe place for my son," she said, as they walked out.

"Ready when you are, Captain," the tech responded.

The passengers aboard the Shin-Ra 27 rocket were seated and ready for flight. Each row in the passenger area could accommodate four people.

In the first row, Zack sat with Barret. In the second row, Reeve and Isabelle sat, holding hands. Behind them, Yuffie, Striker, Kat, and Randy. The fourth row was comprised of the Turks. Rufus ended up being seated next to Vincent, Red, and Cait, who were strapped in the best they could. Even Dark Nation was strapped into a seat, for safety reasons.

"Great!" Rufus complained, folding his arms. "I get stuck next to the freaks!"

Vincent shot him a murderous look.

"Quit your bitching," Cid yelled before stomping off towards the cockpit.

"Wait!" Randy suddenly screamed.

"What, what?" Cid said, turning around.

"I see two people running towards on the launch pad!" Randy hollared. "I think they want to come!"

Cid scratched his head. "Who is it?"

"Shit!" Zack said, leaping out of his seat. "It's Cloud and Tifa!"

Immediately, Zack and Cid zipped out to the entrance and pulled the door open. There stood Cloud and Tifa, and a panicky tech.

"I didn't know what to do!" the tech screeched. "They wouldn't get off the launch pad!"

"Cloud?" Cid sputtered. "What the hell's going on?"

"Don't worry about it," Tifa said. "We have to come with you."

"But Cloud's..."

"I'm fine," Cloud said, walking inside. "I'm resuming my position as leader of AVALANCHE."

Cid blinked.

"Tifa, you can't come with us, you're injured," Zack said. "You have to get back to the hospital!"

"Move out of my way!" Tifa said, pushing Zack so hard he fell back. "We've got to get going!" She ran to the passenger area.

Zack and Cid followed Cloud to the passenger area as well.

"Alright, everyone," Cloud said, drawing the group's attention. "I'm back, and better then ever."

"What happened to ya, spike?" Barret asked.

"Jenova took over my mind," Cloud said. "The same way she did Sephiroth. But luckily for me, the Planet redeemed me before I did too much damage...though I almost killed the one I love." He slipped an arm around Tifa.

"Anyway, now that I'm back, I guess we're ready to - Hey! What's Rufus doing here?"

Rufus glared at him from his seat in the back.

Cid lit a fresh cigarette. "Rufus helped us get this rocket," he explained. "We figured the least we could do to pay him back was to force his ass to come along."

Rufus rolled his eyes.

"I see," Cloud mumbled. He pointed to Randy. "Who's that?"

Randy lept up. "Randy Robinson!" he exclaimed. "Reno brought me along to help you people kill aliens or whatever."

"He's just one of Reno's stupid drinking buddies!" Elena yelled.

"The Turks are here too?" Cloud scratched his head. "Right. I'm sure I don't want to know. Now who's this?" He pointed to Isabelle.

"This is Isabelle," Reeve said. "She works for me. I brought her along."

"Because he's too scared to go without her," Rufus said from the back.

"Shut up, Rufus!" Reeve yelled.

"Nice to meet you, Isabelle," Cloud said. "You're the lady Aeris told me about."

Isabelle nodded. "That's right."

Cloud looked at Reeve. "I'm surprised to see you here."

Reeve tightened his seatbelt. "That's because they forced me!" he said.

"Scaredy cat, scaredy cat," Cait teased.

Cloud sighed, and Tifa giggled. "Well, I guess that takes care of everything. Are we ready to go?"

The group, those that were interested, cheered.

"Great, that's what I like to hear," he said, as he and Tifa took seats in the front row next to Zack and Barret. Cid nodded and went into the cockpit.

"This is your goddamned Captain speaking," he said over the intercom. "Prepare for take off, you buncha morons. We're going into space!"

I'm coming, Aeris... Zack promised.

10....

Reeve squeezed Isabelle's hand. "I really am scared," he said.

She patted his hand. "Don't worry, Reevey. We're together."

9....

Vincent looked out the window. Wish me luck, Lucrecia, he thought.

8....

"I can't wait to get home to Marlene," Barret said.

7....

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Yuffie said, holding her stomach.

6....

"I'm doing this for you, Shera," Cid said to himself in the cockpit.

5....

"I can't beileve I'm here," Rufus complained again.

4....

"If grandfather only saw me..." Red smiled proudly.

3....

Reno pulled out his beer bottle and sipped it. "One for the road," he said, wiping his mouth.

2....

Cloud took Tifa's hand. "I love you, he said. "Be strong."

She kissed his cheek. "I love you too. And I am strong."

1....

"Happy New Year!" Randy shouted jokingly, as the rocket soared off into space, it's passengers screaming.