Several hours later, they pulled into the Costa del Sol seaport, and the car stopped itself on the golden sands. Jim and Yuffie both climbed out, and walked to Cloud's vacation villa. As soon as they were in the door, Jim got on the phone to Cloud and the others. "Come on, come on," he muttered to himself "Pick up the damn phone, you loser." He hung up the phone. "Great, he's not answering. Well, I guess he just doesn't carry it with him all the time." He walked over to the bathroom to find the door locked. Yuffie had already beaten him in there. "Yuffie?" he yelled. "What?" she yelled back. "Does Cloud always carry the PHS with him?" "What?" "Does Cloud always carry the PHS with him!" "What?" "Never mind." "What?!" She turned off the water, wrapped a towel around her body, and poked her head out the door. "What did you say?" "I said, 'does Cloud always carry the PHS with him'?" "Most of the time. Why?" Jim looked at her squarely. "We've got trouble. Cloud didn't answer. I'm going to go find him." "But you don't know where he went," she said. "I'll have to worry about that later. What's this?" he asked as he walked past the phone. A small light blinked on the phone. "Must be an answering machine." He pressed the "Play" button. "Hello, Cloud Strife," said an automated voice. "You have been entered in the Gold Saucer High Roller sweepstakes. Congratulations, and--"Jim fast-forwarded to the next message. "Cloud, it's me, Reeve. Look, I need you to come down to the main office in Neomidgar to check out some new weapons. Say hi to the rest of the group for me. Bye." The machine went on to its final message. "Guys, this is Cloud. We're still tracking the clone. The real Sephiroth turned up some info in the Shinra mansion in Nibelheim, along with Vincent. If you guys get this message, meet us in Nibelheim, and we'll brief you there. If you're in a hurry, call me on the PHS. The number is 23, 335, 819. Talk to you soon." The machine clicked off. "Well, that would explain why he didn't answer. I dialed a wrong number," said Jim. He picked up the phone, and dialed the number indicated. It rang a few times, then Cloud picked up. "Hello?" he asked. "Cloud? It's Jim." "Jim? How did everything go?" "Not well. We got caught. Yuffie and I escaped, but Reno and Rude are still there, spying for us." "This is not good news." "It gets better," he said, sarcasm slipping into his voice. "Guess who's still alive? Hojo." Jim winced as he heard the loud clatter of Cloud dropping the PHS on the deck of the Highwind. "Cloud?" he asked. "Hojo alive?! How? That's impossible! I killed him myself!" "Apparently, you didn't do as good of a job as you thought. Guess what else?" "Oh, no, there's more?" asked an exasperated Cloud. "Yup. Hojo put Mako in me. . .and Jenova cells. . .but don't worry. The cells aren't working on me, and all the Mako seems to be doing is sharpening my senses, which I have to say is an asset." Jim heard the phone drop again. "Cid, head for Costa del Sol, now!" he heard someone shout. Cloud picked up the phone. "We'll be right there." He hung up. True to his word, within an hour, the Highwind had landed outside of Costa del Sol, and Cloud was rushing in on D.C. The gold chocobo skidded to a halt outside the villa, and Cloud jumped in, closely followed by Nanaki, Cid, Tifa, and Shera. Jim met them at the door. "Come on in, all of you. We need to talk." They were all sitting in the living room, while Jim told everyone what had happened in Junon. "What have you found?" asked Jim. "Not much. Like trying to find a needle in a haystack," said Cloud. "The little ^@%^# won't show his face anywhere! How the hell are we supposed to kill the $^%%^*& if he don't show up?!" ranted Cid. "Have you felt any different since you were infused with Mako?" asked Tifa. "No, not really, except for a couple things. My senses are enhanced. I can see and hear things I never could before. Also, I'm a lot stronger. I broke through a solid metal door like it was tinfoil." "No ill effects?" asked Cloud. "None at all?" "Well, my mental powers are enhanced too...I can read thoughts now, where before I could only sense emotion, though I'm having a lot of trouble controlling it. Right now, it sounds quiet to you, but to me, it's a cacophony of noise and confusion. It's tough to sort out." "Are you reading my mind right now?" asked Cloud. "Probably, but I don't want to. I'm getting everything from everyone at once. It's like trying to pick out a voice in a crowded room. It gets lost in the din. I'll have to learn to block it off." "I see. That ability may come into use." "I know. I'm hoping I don't have to." "Could you read Sephiroth's mind?" "No. His mind is far too powerful. He could easily block me out." "Then what do we do? We can't just sit here," said Cid, annoyed. He lit up a cigarette. "That's exactly what we are going to do. Why waste our time and effort looking for him. As you said several times before, it won't do any good. Let him come to us." "Is that wise?" asked Nanaki. "It's all I've got. Can you think of anything?" asked Jim. "I am going to go back to Cosmo Canyon, and monitor the Lifestream." "I'm going to stay here for a little while. I need a break," said Tifa. Cloud nodded. "Maybe we should all stop for a little while and rest," said Jim. "We could use it." "Damn right! This'll give me a chance to fix up some of that damage we took from a while back." The party each went their separate ways, Nanaki going downstairs into the cool cellar. Yuffie and Cloud both sprawled out on the couches, while Tifa went to the shower. Jim walked outside, and over to D.C. "Hey there, DC. Long time, huh?" he said to the bird. "Wark!" said D.C., happily. Jim scratched D.C.'s head lightly, and D.C. cooed. Jim reached into D.C.'s pack, and pulled out some greens, which he fed to the chocobo. D.C. warked again, and started chowing. Jim walked back inside, to find every possible seat taken. He looked around. The bedroom door was closed, and locked. Cloud and Yuffie were both still sleeping on the sofas, and picking the lesser of two evils, walked over to where Yuffie was laying. She was snoring lightly. She stopped snoring, opened her eyes, and lazily looked at Jim. "Can I help you?" she whispered, tired. "Yes. I'd like to sit down, if you don't mind." "I do mind. I'm--yawn--trying to get some sleep." "Don't make me move you myself." "Go ahead and--yawn--try. . ." she said, and fell back asleep. Jim shrugged, and easily picked her limp body up, and shoved it over. He sat down on the couch, and quickly fell asleep. He woke up to sounds of gunfire. He sprang from the sofa, grabbed his staff, stuffed some materia in his pocket, and ran out the door to see Shinra soldiers laying the once-peaceful resort town to waste. Jim ducked as a bullet whizzed just over his head. As he was ducking for cover, Reno flew out of the bar window, landing on his back. Jim ran over to him. "Reno! What happened?" he asked. "Scarlet found us out," he said. "We're finished." "Not if I can help it. Where's Rude?" "Inside. I think he's hurt. Bad." Jim picked up Reno with ease and carried him back to the villa. Then he bolted into the bar. The scene he saw was one of utter chaos. The bar was riddled with bullet holes, there was broken glass on the floor and bar surface, and blood was splattered all over the floor. Otherwise, the bar was empty except for one man. Rude was lying crumpled in the corner, clinging to his side. "Rude! What happened? What's going on?" yelled Jim, over the gunfire outside. "Scarlet found out what we were trying to do. She lured us here, and pulled a trap." "Where is she?" asked Jim. "At the inn. Hurry. She's alone." Jim picked up Rude gingerly, and carried him into the villa with Reno. Then he sprinted across town to the inn, and bashed through the doors. Scarlet was sitting on the pool table just below him. She didn't look surprised in the least to see him. "I knew you'd be here," she said. "Can't you leave us alone for one blasted weekend? God, we can't even go on vacation without you or Sephiroth or whoever screwing everything up." "Sorry to disappoint you. Let me give you a permanent one." She held up a revolver, and fired off three quick rounds. Jim didn't even flinch as all three shots missed wildly. "And you were head of Weapons Development? No wonder the old Shinra fell." Jim tossed his staff at Scarlet's hand, knocking the weapon from her grasp. The staff stuck in the wall behind her. Jim held up the modified Motor Drive, and the staff returned to his grip. "Looks like you're outnumbered, Scarlet. What are you going to do now? Turn tail and run? That's what I thought. Go. Get out of here. Or next time, I won't be so nice about it." "On the contrary, I do have some leverage here." She snapped her fingers. Two heavily armed soldiers walked out, carrying a struggling Yuffie. "Let me go! Let me go right now! Jim! Help!" she yelled. Jim stared at Scarlet with an icy gaze. "Let her go, or I will pound you into dust." "Awfully threatening, aren't we? Now who holds the chips? Eh, big boy?" "What do you want?" he asked. "Tell you what. I'll let her go, on one condition. I want you to..." she walked over to him, and whispered in his ear. She stepped back, and watched Jim think it over. He smiled...placed his hand on Scarlet's shoulder, and softly said, "Never in a million years." He grabbed her shoulder tightly, and whirled her around, so that she was covering his body like a shield. He grabbed her revolver and pointed it at the guard. "If you want to continue to see Blondie here breathing, I suggest you let Yuffie go." Neither guard moved. "Perhaps I didn't make myself clear." He pressed the barrel of the revolver against Scarlet's temple. "Let her go, or Scarlet dies." Neither guard so much as did a thing. Jim pulled the hammer back on the pistol. Still no reaction from the guards. "Either you two are selflessly devoted to your duty, or you just don't like Scarlet. Knowing her personality, and human nature, I'd guess the latter. Sorry Scarlet. Time for your dirt nap." "STOP!" she yelled. "Let the girl go! Now! That's an order!" The two guards snapped to attention, and released Yuffie, who quickly ran to Jim. Scarlet ran off, and jumped into a waiting helicopter, which abrubptly took off and flew out over the ocean. "Come on! We'll follow her in that!" Jim pointed toward a second helicopter. "Do you know how to fly one of those things?" she asked. "Nope." "Are you nuts?!" "You got a better idea?" asked Jim. "Well, I, uh. . ." "That's what I thought. Now come on, before we lose her!" They both jumped into the cockpit. "I hope that Longbow sim was as accurate as they said it was," he muttered, as he flipped various switches. The turbine warmed up, and the rotors began spinning. Jim pulled back on the control stick, and the chopper lurched upward violently. Yuffie instantly turned green, and stuck her head out the window. The helicopter wavered in the air unsteadily for a few moments, then moved forward, after Scarlet's chopper. Despite Jim's total lack of knowledge of flying a helicopter, they quickly caught up with Scarlet. "Scarlet, there's another chopper following us," said the pilot. "Then shoot it down, you moron!" answered Scarlet. A guard leaned out the side with an assault rifle and began firing at Jim's chopper. "#$#@! They're firing at us!" yelled Yuffie. "As if I don't have enough problems trying to keep this damn chopper flying straight. . ." muttered Jim. The chopper darted and dodged wildly in the air. The guard stopped firing, staring in awe at the other helicopter. "That pilot is a certifiable genius." "If you don't get control of this thing right now, I'm gonna blow chunks all over the place!" yelled Yuffie, once again sticking her head out the window. "We've got bigger problems," said Jim. Scarlet was perched on the skids of her chopper, holding a grenade launcher. She fired, and the shot detonated several meters aft of Jim's chopper. "That was too close for comfort. Junon was in sight, and Scarlet's chopper dove in for it. Jim followed suit. Scarlet opened fire once again with the grenade launcher. This time, the shell detonated right in front of the chopper, sending shrapnel everywhere. The turbine coughed and sputtered, and the helicopter began to drop. Yuffie was holding her arm. "I've been hit!" she yelled. Jim also had a large gash on his forehead from a shattered piece of glass. He struggled to keep the chopper in the air long enough to ditch safely in the ocean. "Jump out!" he yelled as they were only a few feet over the water. They both leapt out of the now-burning chopper seconds before it hit the water and exploded in a fireball. They both burst from the water, gasping for air. Jim looked around and saw Yuffie not far from him, treading water. "Are you all right?" asked Jim. "Yeah, I think so. You?" returned Yuffie. "I'll live. Come on. We can swim for shore. It's only about a mile or so." The two swam for shore. About a half an hour later, they landed on the beach in Lower Junon, and pulled themselves out of the water. The two both walked up to the town, and bought replacement clothes to get out of their soaked outfits. "There," said Jim. "That elevator. We can get up through there." "But it's guarded. We'll never get past them." "Never say never. I'll get us past." Jim walked right up to the obviously bored guard. "Excuse me, can we use the elevator?" asked Jim. "This is restricted access. Shinra personnel only," droned the guard. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you correctly. Can we get on the elevator?" repeated Jim. This time, he waved a 1000-gil note in front of the guard's face. The guard snatched the bill and opened the doors. "Right this way, sir. Watch your step, sir. Have a very good day, sir!" said the guard, enthusiastically. When they arrived at the top of the elevator shaft, they both drew their weapons and cautiously peered out of the door into the brightly-lit hallway. Guards were scurrying about like chickens without heads, running through this door and that, attempting to do all the errands set to them. "How are we going to get through this mess? There's too many troops," said Yuffie. "Ever the pessimist. You forget I can read thoughts. They're all too preoccupied with whatever little mundane tasks that boob Heideggar gave them to be worried about us. But I can help. Here. Take my hand. I'm going to shield us psychically. We will still be visible, but they won't recognize our presence. But I can only shield you if you are touching me." Yuffie took Jim's outstretched hand, and Jim concentrated hard on his task. Then they stepped out into the hallway. As predicted, no one paid a second glance to them. They calmly walked, hand in hand, to the main exit, and headed right out, straight for the main Junon offices. Again, no one paid them any heed. They entered the lobby of the Shinra building and slowly walked up the stairs. "How you holding up?" asked Yuffie. "I have to stop. This is giving me a serious headache. There. We're no longer shielded. Though there aren't any security measures in this stairwell, so we should be all right till we get to the top." "What? You mean we gotta climb all the way to the 40th floor?" "Do you have a better idea?" asked Jim. "Take the elevator." "Too conspicuous. I want to be covert. In and out, with a minimum of disturbance. You are a trained shinobi ninja, surely you understand the element of surprise." Yuffie nodded, and began running up the stairs. Jim took off after her, taking whole flights at a time. He quickly overtook Yuffie, and stopped about 3 floors up from her. "Come on. Hurry up. Oh, wait. I forgot you can't move as fast as me anymore." He jumped down the center of the stairwell, grabbed the railing of the set of stairs Yuffie was standing on, and flipped himself up onto the landing. "I'll carry you." Before Yuffie could respond, Jim had picked her up off her feet and had continued bounding up the stairs with cat- like grace. They covered the 30 floors in no time, and they had stopped on the top landing, right next to the fire door. Jim wasn't even breathing hard, though his hair was a bit tousled. "Once we go through this door, there's no turning back. I won't think any less of you if you leave now. This is your last chance," said Jim, looking sternly at Yuffie. "Are you kidding? I've come this far, why stop now? Besides, I'm having more fun than I have in years!" "Then let's do it." Yuffie nodded. Jim nodded. Jim raised a heavy black boot and kicked the door open. It flew off its hinges and halfway across the room. "I thought you didn't want to make a scene," said Yuffie. "I figured it was inevitable. Come on. Get to the President's chamber." They both ran out, charging through a slowly-forming barricade of soldiers. Bullets whizzed by their bodies as they both dashed for the doors. They burst open, and the two tumbled to the ground. When they got up, they saw Scarlet's desk, with Scarlet in her chair, turned to the window. "Game's over, Scarlet. Give up," said Yuffie. Scarlet did not answer. "Turn around and face us!" yelled Jim. Scarlet did not move. Jim walked right up to the chair, grabbed it, and whirled it around. When he saw what lay before him, he jumped back in surprise. Scarlet's face was frozen in an expression of shock and fear. And that was the way it was to be for the rest of eternity. A large wound punctured her chest, blood everywhere around her. She was dead. Yuffie walked up, and saw the body now slumped in the chair. "We're gonna get blamed for this," she said. "They don't have a case. This wound was made by a sword. Neither of us carry swords, and your Conformer doesn't make punctures like that." "Who else carries a sword?" As if on cue, the room turned dark. A flash of light blinded everyone, and when it cleared, the Sephiroth clone was standing on top of the desk. His glowing green eyes met Jim's. "You have been given part of Jenova. Join me, and we can rule this puny world." "Never," was Jim's cold reply. The look he gave the clone sent a chill down Yuffie's spine. It even disturbed the clone. "Very well," said the clone. He raised his blood-stained sword to strike, and Jim raised his staff. The clone brought the Masamune down, but it clashed against Jim's steel staff with a loud clang and a shower of sparks. Jim shoved on his staff, sending the Sephiroth clone backwards, off the desk. Jim jumped up, thrusting his staff downward to impale the prone clone when the clone disappeared. Jim's staff buried itself in the tile floor. As he pulled it out, the clone reappeared just behind him. It made a motion to strike, and Jim brought his staff to bear just in time to parry the blow. He followed this with a quick roundhouse kick that sent the clone stumbling backward again. The clone shook his head, attempting to clear out the cobwebs. Jim delivered punch after punch, each one sending the clone reeling a little more. Finally, as he was about to deliver the blow that would send the clone to the floor, Heideggar showed up, screaming bloody murder. "Stop! Stop right now!" he yelled. The both of them paused, and turned to the portly general. "Sephiroth! Come here," said Heideggar. To everyone's surprise, the clone obeyed, walking out the door in front of Heideggar. The two talked for a few moments. "Gya-haa-haa! You have done what I asked, Sephiroth?" said Heideggar. "Yes. Scarlet has been eliminated. Give me what I want. And stop with that stupid horse laugh," said the clone. "A deal's a deal. Here," said Heideggar. He reached into his pocket, and he produced a small, black orb. Jim looked at it, and concentrated. Then he screamed, and fell to the ground, clutching his head in pain. "That's--that's the Black Materia! It's screwing with my head!" he yelled The clone took the materia, and grinned evilly. "Fool." He took his Masamune and ran it clear through Heideggar's body, sending first a look of pain, then surprise, to the man's face. He slumped over, and fell to the ground, dead. Then he turned to Jim, still curled up on the floor. "Now you will all pay." He rose into the air and flew through the window, off to the north.