To his credit, Reeve did quite a lot for me to compensate for the trouble he'd caused. He got me a WRO uniform and a fake name badge so that I could move freely around his headquarters without causing a fuss. He got me a shower, a few clean sets of civilian clothes, and some food. My motorcycle and phone were returned, though the Worldwide Network had been disconnected. He assured me that none of my belongings had been tampered with.

I wouldn't have believed him, had not the man with the deep voice been in possession of my belongings when I got them back. Irrationally as it was, I trusted him. He reminded me of Veld in his bearing.

Reeve told me that I couldn't be transported until nightfall. The unit who had come to get me wanted to see me dead, and he was having to burn through excuses fast to keep them from breaking down doors and giving me a street-style execution.

"As long as you're in the WRO uniform," Reeve told me, "you'll be safe. They won't gun down one of their own, no matter how much you look like the woman they captured."

We were on the top floor of his building in Junon, looking out over the water. "Why are you doing this for me?" I questioned. For all Reeve appeared harmless, I knew he had his share of tricks up his sleeve, and he was being a little too nice.

"You say you no longer have any ties to the ShinRa, fine. In that case, I'm doing it because you're trying to do the same thing I am."

"And what's that?"

"Atone. Find forgiveness for misdeeds. Undo the damage."

I turned that around in my mind, watching Reeve to see if he was lying. "And if I do have an in to the President?"

Reeve smiled. "Then I'm still doing the same thing. I've heard rumor that Rufus is still alive somewhere, that he's gathering allies." He shook his head and smiled. "Some of that is crazy talk, of course. No one would willingly go back to ShinRa now. But the intelligence I've gathered suggests that ShinRa played no small part in the construction of Edge."

I didn't like his smile. He was lying, trying to make me an ally by putting us on the same side, but I failed to see how that was going to benefit him in the long run. "How so?"

"The warehouses in Midgar that most of the supplies were taken from were passkey encoded. Only the President knew the emergency codes, and somehow they got opened. How?"

I shrugged. "Dumb luck?"

"No," Reeve insisted. "My people have seen glimpses of the Turks-Tseng, Elena, Reno, and Rude. They've been prowling old Midgar for some time. I know for a fact that they went up into the old ShinRa tower, looking for something." Reeve was watching me out of the corner of his eye. "If you did know where Rufus ShinRa was, would you help me find him?"

"No," I replied quickly.

"Why not? What if all I want to do is thank him?"

"I wouldn't help you with that even if I could."

"And why would that be?"

I pursed my lips. "You're asking a lot of questions for a man who claims to know all of the answers, Mr. Tuesti."

Reeve was affronted. "Pardon me?"

"What are you fishing for?"

He smiled at me in the way he had always done to the other Executives when he got caught doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. "Fishing? I don't know what you're talking about."


I was told that it was too risky to fly back to Edge. Reeve's organization only had a few working helicopters, and the absence of any of them would be sure to cause a stir. Instead, I was driven back in a large transport truck, and the man with the deep voice was sent along as a sort of escort. I sat back in the cargo area with him for the duration of the two-day ride. He wasn't a big talker, or so I gathered from two days of near complete silence. He kept a triple-barreled gun in the open and loaded at all times in case of an attack, and his eyes were ever vigilant. I wondered if he ever slept.

We couldn't have driven through the Mythril Mines now that they had been opened to miners again, so we took a path over the mountains. The road was bumpy and horribly kept, but it was passable. As we progressed, I kept my eyes peeled for something in particular and was not disappointed: though we passed it quickly, I caught a glimpse of the old, rusted gates to the ShinRa sanatorium. I wondered if that was where Geostigma patients were getting cared for. I knew the hospital was somewhere in the mountains.

Aside from thinking about the sanatorium, for two days I occupied myself by learning every inch of Cloud's study at Seventh Heaven from the pictures I'd taken. I spent most of my time studying the map. He had made several marks on the map annotating spots for reference. Most of them were marked in black ink, but one of them appeared to have been circled in pencil. It caught my interest because it was the only place that had been marked outside of Edge's city limits.

The driver had been told to drop the "cargo" off at Seventh Heaven. When we finally arrived, I wheeled my motorcycle out the back and pulled it up to the front of the bar. The man with the deep voice stretched his long arms and put the gun away.

"I wanted to thank you," I said to him, brushing myself off. "You pulled strings to get me out of there, didn't you?"

"You!"

A voice from the top of the stairs startled me. I looked up to see the male receptionist pointing at me from the top step.

"You-you're all right!" He came crashing down the stairs and stopped short in front of me. "Oh, I was worried…"

"Er, yeah, I'm fine…"

I looked to the side where the man with the deep voice once stood only to find that no one was there anymore. For someone who wore such an ostentatious cloak, he certainly knew how to hide. I could have learned something from that.

"What happened?" I asked the man in front of me. "Were you hurt?"

The receptionist shook his head. "No, not at all!" He told me about how, when the one soldier attacked me, he had managed to swipe the other's gun and run for Seventh Heaven, where Tifa smoothed things over for him. He admitted that he'd felt silly, running to the girl of his dreams for protection-but oh, don't tell her he said that…

It went on and on until I finally shut him up by asking, "Is Tifa there?"

"Yes, she is."

"Did you tell her about me?"

"What about you?" the receptionist asked, looking innocent. "I didn't want to spread any, ah, rumors."

I laughed and put my hand on his shoulder. "You know, you're a good man."

"I know." His face turned serious. "I only stepped out of the hotel for a few minutes to see if I could pluck up the courage to see her again. I should be going back. I'm waiting on a call."

I furrowed my brow. "You mean you didn't go in? Then how do you know she's in there?" The receptionist's face flushed and he pointed at the windows.

Just as quickly, the blush was gone. "Did they let you keep your phone?" he whispered, leaning in closer. I nodded, glancing around. "Then keep it on you. I may have a lead on Strife."

"All right. Call as soon as you know for sure."

He nodded and jogged across the street. I watched him until he was out of sight, then mounted the steps to Seventh Heaven for the third time.

Inside, Tifa was again washing dishes. The same look of hope I had seen before flickered across her face and died when she saw it was me, only to be replaced by one of shock.

"Oh!" she said, dropping the rag she'd been washing with. She walked around the bar and approached me. "I heard what happened at the hotel. Are you all right?"

"Of course," I replied, snaking past her to sit at the counter. "I wasn't in at the time. I heard what happened to the receptionist. He seems to have taken it well."

Tifa stood for a moment as if she hadn't registered my movement. Then, slowly, she returned to her place behind the bar.

"I heard," she spoke, staring over my right shoulder, "that they were tracing a ShinRa operative."

"I heard the same," I replied.

She bit her lip. "Was there one?"

"Maybe."

"Look, I'm sorry, Miss Drake, or whoever-"

"I don't know what you're apologizing for, and I don't want to," I said smoothly. "I'm not here because of the hotel, I'm here because I've got a lead. My assistant is currently double-checking the situation. He'll be calling shortly. When that happens, I'm going to go out and see for myself. I'll call you with the sure location."

I stood up and and walked to the door. I expected Tifa to say something at the very least, but she didn't speak a word. With deliberate slowness, I pulled the door open. Shame was creeping up my cheeks and running through my bones. She knew what I was now. She didn't trust me, and she didn't want me going out looking for Cloud.

"You're wrong, Miss Lockheart," I spoke. "Whatever you believe, you're wrong."

She didn't answer me at all. I heard the clink of dishes, and I closed the door behind me for the final time.


The first thing I did after leaving Tifa's bar was to go out and buy a handgun and several rounds of ammunition. Then I went searching for sweets.

I was sitting in the pavilion in the center of Edge eating ice cream when the call came through. I'd intended to see the monument that had been erected there, and I'd found myself less than impressed. With its chains and rusted scrap metal, it looked more like the sad excuses for fishing wharves that were spread across Lower Junon than a testament to the strength of the Planet and the folly of ShinRa.

Sitting back in the little bistro chair outside the ice cream shop, I answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Miss, it's me."

"What have you found?"

"A couple of fellows saw a man with spiky blond hair and a bad attitude in the Midgar ruins, Sector Five, the old church. They said that they were scavenging for scraps when he tore through on a motorcycle."

"Right. I'll check it out."

"Miss?"

"Yes?"

He didn't say anything for a long moment. "This is the most fun I've had in years."

"That's nice. Is my room still open? Our deal only lasted four days, but I think this is going to take longer than that."

He laughed shortly. "Do you honestly think we have paying customers lined up on the sidewalk for rooms?"

"Right. Keep me posted on your end."

Hanging up, I finished my ice cream with a sigh. My encounter with Tifa had left a bad taste in my mouth, and not even sweet ice cream could wash away the bitter taste.

As I paid my bill, I seriously considered calling the WRO office in Junon and thanking Reeve for the civilian clothes. Now that I wasn't walking around wearing a Turk uniform, dated though it might have been, I was treated better. I didn't call, though, and I never did thank him. Once I returned to Sector Five, things began moving so quickly that I thought I was spinning.


The same feelings of dread and remorse that I'd felt the first time came over me again when I caught sight of the dead city of Midgar. I had somehow hoped that the vision I saw before me of a necropolis was only an illusion. No matter how horrible it was for the people underneath, I wanted to see the Plate again, and the ShinRa building, and the once-active Mako reactors.

But it wasn't an illusion, and the feeling of watching a corpse decay refused to pass no matter how long I stared at the bones of what once was a great city. I told myself that Midgar's death was for the better. People would have better lives without the Plate and the ShinRa. The world I once loved was better left in the past.

I rode out of Edge, passed through Sector Four, and rode into Sector Five without a fuss. I kept my new gun close to me at all times, watching for monsters or robbers. After the incident with WRO, I made a point to keep aware of my surroundings.

I parked my bike in the same place I had on my first visit to the rotting trash heap and began walking toward the church. As I walked in through the doors, I realized that it was the first time I'd ever been inside. I had been to the church before, but I'd never come in.

The smell of lilies wafted over me as I stepped across the aging floorboards. Most of the pews were worse for wear, and many of them looked like they wouldn't be able to support their own weight for too much longer. White and pale yellow flowers had sprouted all over the place, but the majority of them were blooming in the middle of the church where there was the most sunlight.

Off to the right, I could see a small trunk, a lantern, and some basic supplies. Kneeling down, I saw a dirty bandage laying on top of a photo. I picked up the bandage and turned it over in my hands. It had been used to wrap Geostigma, of that there was no doubt. I put it down quickly, but not before I saw the photo: Tifa, Marlene, Denzel, and Cloud, all standing together. Only Cloud wasn't smiling.

Outside the church, I dialed the number and waited. It rang four times before someone answered.

"Hello, Strife Delivery Service, you name it, we-"

"Miss Lockheart, it's me," I said, cutting her off. She fell silent. "I told you I'd find him, and I believe I have. Whenever you're ready, come to the old church in the Midgar ruins, Sector Five, on the far side by Sector Six."

I hung up rather than hear her answer. Closing my eyes, I leaned against the stones of the church and let the sun beat down on my face. I had come there before, on a job, very hush-hush, many, many years ago.


Seven Years Ago

It was spring when Veld told me that I had to report to President ShinRa's office for a special briefing. He patted me on the back, the sign of affection he always gave when he suspected that one of his Turks was going to get a thorough roasting, and sent me on my way with no description of what was to come.

I got in the elevator and crossed my fingers. What could it possibly be about? Banora had been razed a few months ago. It was possible that the President wanted to make sure that there were no hard feelings there, but that wasn't really his style, and, frankly, I didn't care about it. Then, maybe it was that I had taken part in the successful recruitment of a man by the name of Azul in Costa del Sol not a month prior; could it have something to do with him? I'd heard that he'd surpassed all expectations in terms of physical testing.

Then again, as I always did, I began to get worried. There were rumors in every department that the Turks were in trouble. Between the disappearance of two 1st Class SOLDIERS, Genesis and Angeal, the Mass SOLDIER Desertion Incident, the disappearance of one Dr. Hollander and a large quantity of his research, the intensification of the fighting with AVALANCHE, and the army of men who looked amazingly like Genesis attacking Midgar, ShinRa had its hands tied in more ways than one. Thus far, we, the Turks, had been only so successful in keeping the peace. I had been doing my best, but so had everyone else. What if my best wasn't good enough?

The doors to the elevator opened, and I began the long walk to President ShinRa's desk. I kept my gaze level and even, watching the man cooly and with forced detachment. When I had reached a respectful distance, I stopped, clicked my heels and nodded slightly, holding my hands behind my back.

"President ShinRa, sir."

"Ah, Tanith," President ShinRa greeted, leaning back in his chair. His beady little eyes looked me over with interest. "I'm glad you could make it."

He pulled out a cigar and lit it. "You've been working with Tseng on the Genesis problem," he said. "Is that right?"

"Yes, sir," I replied.

"As of right now," he said, "I'm pulling you from that project. Tseng can handle it on his own." I nodded, my heart beating in my chest. I was sure I was going to be fired in just a few moments. He had a file in his hand, and when he opened it, I saw my picture in the front. I resisted the urge to bite my lip. What was he doing with my personal file? I didn't see it as a good sign.

"Veld has told me a lot about you in his reports. He calls you the Serpent," the President said, "because, 'she lays in wait for her prey and strikes at the unwary foe'. Would you consider this a fair description of yourself?"

I didn't know what answer he was looking for, so I replied, "I wouldn't know, sir. I just try to do my job with the utmost efficiency."

He laughed heartily, then his face became serious. "Just yesterday, I assigned one of your colleagues an assignment. Do you know what it was?"

"No, sir," I replied honestly.

"Good, you wouldn't. It's top secret." He turned to the side and took another long puff on his cigar. "Cissnei is to keep the newest 1st Class SOLDIER under surveillance." His face darkened. "She is to do so without notifying Lazard and without making herself a disturbance." He turned his chair back toward me. "Do you trust your colleague, Tanith?"

"Of course I do, sir."

His eyes were dangerous. "If she were to prove untrustworthy, would you hesitate to strike her down in the name of ShinRa?"

"No, sir. I would not hesitate."

He sat back and nodded, hardly aware of my presence anymore. "Then it is done. I want you to keep Cissnei under constant surveillance. You will speak of this to no one. I want a report every week detailing her work, and one for each day she does anything off-color."

"I understand, sir. It will be done."

"Very good. If you see Veld, send him up here. Dismissed."