Rude piloted the helicopter out of the ruins of Midgar with practiced ease.� Reno sat beside his partner and longtime friend, shaking his head.� �You still haven�t told me where you learned to fly a helicopter.�
Rude shrugged.� �Does it matter?�
Reno sighed.� �I guess not.�� He turned to Rufus.� �So, Mr. President, since Hojo saw fit to provide us with almost no fuel, what do you suggest we do to get to North Crater?�
Rufus pointed to a blip on the radar screen, headed out of the southwest.� �Unless I miss my guess, Cloud�s friends are on their way to assist him.� All we need to do is hitch a ride.� Set a course to intercept near Mt. Corel.�
�What makes you think they�re going to help us?� Reno inquired.
�That former specimen of Hojo�s, the one he called Red XIII, is on board.� I did a little reading up on his species,� Rufus confessed.
Reno stared at him.
�Don�t look at me like that.� I make it my business to stay informed of all the aspects of my company.� At any rate, the people of Cosmo Canyon are a highly honorable race.� This Red XIII will have no choice but to acknowledge the fact that I saved his life in the Midgar slums.� He owes me.�
Reno nodded, not entirely convinced, as Rude flew to intercept the Highwind.
Yuffie stumbled to the bridge, trying to control her queasiness.� Thorn intercepted her as she reached the door.� �You feeling okay?� he asked.
�I�m fine, you little thief.� What�s it to you?� she snapped back.
Thorn smiled, shoving his hands in his back pockets.� �Nothing to me, sweetness.� Just curious, that�s all.�� He moved on without a backward glance, headed for the ready room, and wishing Seth hadn�t decided to stay behind.
That was harsh, Yuffie chided herself.� He was just asking how you were feeling.
Well, she shot back to her inner voice, it�s none of his business.
If it had been one of the others, would you have reacted like that?
She sighed.� Her conscience had a point.� �That�s different,� she muttered under her breath.� �They�ve been around me for long enough.�
So it�s only okay for someone to care about you after you�ve had the time to figure them out?
Yuffie sighed.� She knew she�d lost this argument.� The door to the bridge opened, and she stepped through.
The first voice she heard was Reeve�s.� �We�ve got inbound.�
Cid turned sharply.� �One of those beams?�
Reeve shook his head.� �A helicopter.� Looks like Shinra markings.� It�s sending a white flag signal.�
The others turned to stare at the approaching craft in shock.� As it grew near, Cid decreased speed to hover in place, and one of the passengers stuck his head out of the door of the helicopter, and everyone except Nanaki jumped in surprise.
�Rufus!� Barret gritted.
�Hello again, Avalanche,� Rufus called to them over the roar of the Highwind�s engines and the hum of the helicopter blades.
�What the fuck do you want?� Cid hollered.� �You�re not getting this ship back!�
Rufus grinned winningly.� �Rest assured, Captain Highwind, your ownership of this vessel is not in dispute.� I simply wish to book passage for myself and my associates.�
Cid squinted.� �I don�t follow.�
Rufus waved a hand.� �It�s simple.� You�re headed for the North Crater.� So are we.� Unfortunately, our helicopter hasn�t the fuel to get there.� We need to make it to the North Crater in time to stop Hojo from what he is planning.�
�Why should we believe you?� Cait Sith hollered.
Rufus spread his hands wide.� �If we were lying, we would simply fly there ourselves.� The truth serves us far better at the moment.� It�s your decision, but, quite frankly, you could use a few extra people.� Hojo has command of what�s left of my army.� There�s no telling how many have been sent there.�
The group pondered their options, huddling on one side of the bridge.
�We could just stall them until they drop out of the sky,� Yuffie pointed out.
Barret grinned.
�They may be telling the truth about Shinra�s army, though,� Cait Sith interjected.
Barret frowned.� �Ya had to go and ruin it for us, didn�t ya, cat?�
�I have reason to believe that Rufus Shinra�s intentions are truthful.� He does indeed seek passage to the North Crater.� Furthermore, we are indebted to carry him there,� Nanaki put in.
Cid turned to stare at the large cat.� �Why is that?� he growled.
Nanaki looked chagrined.� �Because he saved my life.�
The others fell silent to stare at Nanaki, who looked uncomfortable.
�I shall explain in greater detail at another date,� he allowed.� �For now, let us depart.�
The others mumbled a grudging agreement, and Cid turned to speak.� �All right, dammit.� Get your stinking carcasses on board.� And be quick about it,� he added.
Rufus and the Turks climbed on board the Highwind.� The helicopter hovered for a few moments longer, set to autopilot, before the engines sputtered and died.� The craft plummeted into the river below with a splash.
The members of Avalanche looked over the side in surprise.� �You weren�t kidding, were you, Rufus?� Cid observed.
Rufus shook his head.� �Truth be told, after another few moments of deliberation on your part, I was going to urge you to hurry.� We shall not interfere, as we agreed, but will repair to the ready room until our arrival.�� With that, he and the Turks departed the bridge.
The others were silent for several minutes after they departed.� After a moment, Yuffie spoke.� �Okay.� I�m going to find a place to throw up now.�� That said, she wandered off the bridge.
Another silence ensued, this time broken by Vincent.� �Very well,� he announced.� �Captain Highwind, take us to the North Crater.�
Cid nodded, still dumbfounded.� �This has been some fuckin� day,� he muttered as he pushed the forward thrusters.
Yuffie meandered her way along the corridor, bound for the stern, when she heard a cry of surprise from the ready room.
�What the fuck are you doing here?�
That sounded like Thorn, she mused, moving closer to the door.
�I could ask you the same question.�
That was Reno, she realized as she pressed her ear to the door.
There was silence.
�Will whoever is standing at the door, please come in?� Reno demanded.
Yuffie flushed red and pushed the door open.� Reno and the Turks were on the left side of the table.� Rufus was on the right.� Thorn was at the back of the room, staring openly at Reno.
�Miss Kisaragi,� Reno sighed.� �I should have known.�
�Sorry to interrupt,� she murmured, unable to think of anything else to say.
Reno waved her off.� �Not a problem.� Just a little reunion,� he added, glaring pointedly at Thorn, who looked away.
Yuffie was confused.� �Reunion?�
Reno half-smiled.� �Yes, indeed.� Or didn�t Will tell you he was my brother?�
Hojo looked around the massive chamber, taking everything in.� The walls were aglow with the green tint of untapped Mako, and the entire cavern thrummed with an audible energy wave.� He could almost feel the life form beneath his feet, eagerly seeking the extra energy that would be required to complete its resurrection.
�Not just yet,� he murmured.� �Not until your people come for you.�
He signaled to Scarlet, who shoved Tifa down in front of her and dropped to the ground.� He kicked her leg out and caught Tifa under the ribcage.� �Wake up, barmaid!�
Tifa groaned.� What was going on?� Ah, yes, she remembered now.� She was back in the North Crater, a place she wished never to be again.� That crackpot Hojo had dragged her down here-
-And that bitch Scarlet had killed the man she loved.
She got to her feet slowly, eyes blazing at Scarlet.� �Knock it off,� Scarlet groaned, rolling her eyes.� �You�re just lucky you didn�t get one between the eyes like that spiky-headed friend of yours.�
With that, she slapped Tifa hard across the face.� Tifa�s head jerked back, and Scarlet laughed, joining Hojo on the other side of the cavern.
�Just another thirty minutes before the ETA,� Hojo whispered, his excitement barely contained.� Scarlet merely smiled beside him.
�Your brother?� Yuffie echoed, surprised.� �Will?�
Thorn nodded.
�Go ahead, little brother,� Reno urged.� �Tell her how you turned away from your duties.� Tell her how you took everything your big brother did for you and threw it back in his face.�
As he spoke, Reno got closer, until he was toe to toe with Thorn.
Yuffie looked from one to the other.� �What�s he talking about, Thorn?�
Reno looked at him.� �Thorn?� Is that what you go by now?�
Thorn sighed, ignoring Reno.� �Reno and I were-that is, we grew up kind of poor.� We lived in the slums.� Reno got this great job with the Turks, and when they signed on with Shinra, Reno used his pull to get me into training to join the army.�
�Paid for your tuition, bought your uniform, the works,� Reno muttered.
�So, I went through training, and I excelled.� I even received an invitation to join SOLDIER.� I went to the academy and trained.� Then something happened.�� Thorn looked away.
�Something,� Reno mused.� �I never understood that something.� What was it again?�
�It was a mission.� I was supposed to follow orders.� I couldn�t-�
�You couldn�t,� Reno repeated, his voice filled with contempt.� �You couldn�t follow orders?� Little brother, here�s your wake up call.� You might not like the life I gave you, but it beats the alternative.� You should know that. �You�ve been living like a criminal ever since.�� He grabbed Thorn by the collar and thrust his face in front of his younger brother�s.� �You went running back to Junon!� You went back home to the man that beat us daily and called himself our father!�
Thorn pushed Reno off of him.� �And you think what you gave me was better?� Working for a faceless company that killed indiscriminately to serve its own goals?�
�At least I had three squares a day and a roof over my head, and I didn�t have to live like a thief!� Reno retorted.
�I�d rather live like a thief in the streets than be the man you wanted me to be,� Thorn gritted.
Cid�s voice broke in over the loudspeaker.
�Thorn, Yuffie, you might want to get up here.� We�ll be arriving shortly.�
Thorn smirked. ��Excuse me, dear brother.� My comrades are requesting my presence.�� He turned away from a glowering Reno and stalked out of the ready room, Yuffie following behind at a short distance.
Cloud stirred, groaning.� He climbed to his feet and tried to walk, then stumbled and fell face-first into the snow once more.� His hands fumbled for his shoulder, and he felt the wound.� Blood was trickling out of the hole that one of Scarlet�s bullets had made, but that couldn�t be the source of his weakness.� There had to be a bigger-
-There.
He felt it as he moved his hand higher.� One of the bullets had grazed his jugular.� There was no telling how long he�d been out here.� He had likely almost bled to death, however.� He pushed down, trying to stem the flow of the blood, and heard a wark in the distance.
The Highwind approached, cruising low over the crater.� Cid surveyed the area.� �Looks like another para drop.�
The others groaned, especially Yuffie.� �Gawd,� she muttered.� �Flying gets me sick enough.� I can�t even begin to tell you what jumping out a perfectly good airship will do.�
�Look!� Thorn cried out.� �Down there!�
The others rushed over.� Below, amid the snowfall, was a figure collapsed on the ground.� A lone Chocobo scurried frantically nearby.
�Bring us down a little lower,� Thorn demanded.� Cid complied, lowering the hovering Highwind a few hundred feet.� �Hand me those binoculars,� he requested of Vincent, who obliged.
Thorn put the binoculars to his eyes and peered for a moment at the man and beast below.� �That�s Tatya!�
�Who?� Nanaki asked.
�Tatya,� Thorn repeated.� �She�s one of Mr. Strife�s prize breed!� That must be Mr. Strife down there!�� He turned to Cid.� �Where are the parachutes?�
Cid pointed out the door of the bridge.� �In the storage compartment, aft of the ship.� Why?�
Thorn hurried for the door.� �I�m going down there,� he replied over his shoulder as he ran.
�Is he nuts?� Barret asked of the others.� �At this low altitude, and in that storm?�
Nanaki nodded.� �Much wiser to move further north and climb a bit out of the weather.�
Yuffie stood pondering a moment, then bolted out the door after Thorn.
Cid watched her go, and then shook his head.� �Kids nowadays.�
Thorn strapped the harness to his legs and gripped the railing.� Just like he had learned in his Shinra training.� This would be a low opening.� He would have to almost be on the ground before he opened his chute, or he would be blown way off course.
�Thorn!�
Thorn turned around to see Yuffie standing by the hatch, a chute pack in her grasp.
�I�m coming with you,� she explained.
Thorn shook his head.� �It�s too dangerous.�
Yuffie smiled.� �Now you sound like Cloud.� Besides, who says you get to have all the fun?�
Thorn was still shaking his head.
�All right, fine,� she huffed.� �I�m worried about you, OK?� Feel better that you finally dragged it out of me, huh?�
Thorn stopped shaking instead, and opted for a direct stare of open amazement instead.
Yuffie moved to the railing beside him.� �So, how are we planning on doing this jump?�
Thorn snapped out of his shock and sighed.� �There�s no convincing you not to do this, huh?�
Yuffie shook her head.
Thorn nodded to himself.� �Fair enough.� This is going to be a LALO.� That�s low altitude, low opening.� If we open too high, we catch the winds and get blown miles off course.� If we open to low, it won�t do any good to open them at all.�
Yuffie thought for a moment.� �How about if I strap in with you?�
Thorn agreed.� �That might be better than having me try to cue you on when to pull.�� He set about the business of harnessing Yuffie to him, and moments later; they were strapped together, with Yuffie in front of him, facing away.
�Ready?� he asked, gripping the railing.
Yuffie looked down, and took a deep breath.� �Almost.�
She reached around, grabbed Thorn�s face, and twisted hers around.� Their lips met, and Yuffie kissed him, hard.
After a few seconds, she released him.� �Now I am.�
Thorn blinked a few times.� �Me too,� he stammered, and then launched the two of them over the railing.� Yuffie screamed, and they plummeted into the icy air.