"You gonna finish those?" Reno asked Zack as they sat on their own beds in the motel room they were staying at overnight, eating the meals Reno had picked up at the closest diner.

"Help yourself." Zack handed his to-go box to Reno. The fries were too greasy, but it was more how nauseated he felt about what Reno had told him that killed his appetite.

"Thanks." Reno said as he fed his face. "Might wanna get some sleep now, another long day tomorrow." It felt weird to Reno to have another person to talk to. He'd been alone for years now…

"Take her and run!" Tseng shouted at Reno and Rude just before Sephiroth nearly cut him in half. Reno and Rude ran for the armored vehicle that Aerith was hiding in when their caravan had been ambushed. They were almost to it when Cloud threw a grenade under the vehicle, and it landed right below the engine. Suddenly Reno was face down in the dirt as the grenade exploded, and the blast wave sent him and Rude flying. Rude threw himself on top of Reno to protect him from the shrapnel, and Reno's head hit the ground forcefully. He felt himself losing consciousness just as he heard footsteps approach. He didn't know how long he was out, but it couldn't have been too long, since he heard activity nearby and he recognized the voices. Reno had to constantly blink his eyes to clear them from something warm and sticky…blood?

"Here's the girl, my Lord." Cloud told Sephiroth. "She's still alive, but her eyes are bleeding. Shall I kill her now?"

"I've got a better idea for her, if she lives." Tifa interrupted. Reno didn't hear what her idea was, because he faded out again.

"Are they all dead?" Sephiroth was asking when Reno came around again.

"Yes." Tifa replied flatly, then Reno heard her give a pained cry. "Yes, my Lord." she corrected herself. "All were non-responsive and had injuries that were clearly fatal."

"Good. We got more than what we came for, let the turkey vultures feast now. They've been circling for an hour." Sephiroth commanded, and a few moments later Reno heard an engine start and a vehicle drive off before he lost consciousness again.

Reno woke up with a start. He had been able to avoid that nightmare for years, but now it was back, probably because he had to get Zack up to speed.

"Put this on." Reno handed Zack a baseball cap. "It'll shade your eyes til we get you some sunglasses. As far as the world is concerned, SOLDIERs are nothing but a myth now. And you can't wear contacts, the mako distorts the color. Now let's take you shopping. At least you get to keep your hair, you cheeky bastard." Reno said almost if Zack had common hair on purpose.

"What's that?" Zack asked as they walked down the street, pointing to a statue that he hadn't seen the night before when they arrived.

"Don't do that!" Reno hissed angrily, smacking Zack's hand down.

"What?" Zack was confused by Reno's reaction to a simple question.

"Act like you don't know how things are now. If you have questions, then ask me them in private, dammit! We don't want to appear suspicious. Here we go." Reno stopped in front of a store and walked in, gesturing for Zack to follow him.

"Why do I need new clothes too?" Zack asked when Reno wanted him to try some on.

Reno smiled indulgently to the salesman. "This is what happens when you try and help your hick cousin attend their first Bacchanalia. They think as long as they're clean, they're presentable anywhere."

"Ah, yes, of course. One's first Bacchanalia is such a special occasion, and does indeed warrant a new outfit. Let me see what we have in the back." The man scurried away.

Zack was sure he must be having some bizarre nightmare when Reno and the salesman nodded approvingly at the outfit he was trying on. It made him feel like a stud on display. "I don't think…" he started to say.

"The Bacchanalia isn't for thinking!" Reno exclaimed. "We'll take it."

"Your cousin is absolutely right, and he also has excellent taste." the salesman told Zack. "You can put your regular…clothes…on, and Anna here will ring you up."

Reno grabbed a random pair of sunglasses from the selection on the counter and threw them on top of the folded up clothes while Anna scanned the price tags.

"That is a statue of the self-styled God-King. Every village and town are required to have on, or else they cease existing." Reno informed Zack as they drove past it on their way out of town after lunch.

"You mean Sephiroth?" Zack asked.

"Yeah." Reno replied as he turned on the radio.

"And he lives in…Jenova Castle, with…" Zack had trouble getting the words out, not wanting to believe it was true.

"Sir Cloud and Lady Tifa." Reno's voice was a blend of mockery and bitterness. "He's nominally in charge of the military forces, but he's really just Sephiroth 'pet'. It's Tifa who is actually his chief enforcer. She's married to Cloud and is nothing but a psychotic bitch."

"So what is this Bacchanalia thing?" Zack wanted to know, but he also wanted to be distracted from Reno's horrid taste in music.

"It's a free-for-all party where people can get their rocks off however they want." Reno told him.

"So why are we going to one?" Zack wanted to know. He didn't see how that would help setting things right.

"It's the best way to infiltrate the castle without arousing suspicion." Reno answered, inadvertently smiling at his choice of words.

"And you don't know what happened to Aerith?" Zack continued his questioning.

"All I know is that they didn't kill her right away." Reno replied coolly. "No clue if they killed her later or not."

Zack looked out the window, trying to find something to be positive about. The world he had woken up in was just…was there anything to be hopeful about? He was thankfully diverted from his unhappy thoughts when a bump in the road caused the glove compartment to open up. "Hey, you had sunglasses in here the whole time! Why couldn't I wear these?"

"Don't you dare touch those!" Reno roared, taking one hand off the wheel and grabbing Zack's wrist painfully.

"Hey, I didn't mean any harm, Reno." Zack said placatingly. "Why are those sunglasses so spec…wait, are those…?"

"Yes." Reno's voice was devoid of any emotion as he answered.

Reno woke up, feeling something moving on his back. He groaned in pain and struggled til he heard a protesting squawk and flapping wings. Eventually something heavy rolled off him, then he was able to get up. Brushing himself off and rubbing his eyes to get rid of what he realized was dried blood out of them. With his sight now clear, he looked around, only to fall to his knees and throw up at the scene that lay before him. The Turks lay dead all around him, providing the wildlife with an unexpected feast. It was a buzzard feasting on Rude that had awoken him. The bird returned to resume its meal, and Reno lost it.

"Get away, you damned filthy bird!" he screamed, charging towards it. The bird flew off, complaining bitterly about losing its meal. Reno stumbled to Rude's body, gagging as he saw that Rude's throat had been cut. "I'm…I'm sorry, partner." Reno laid his hand gently on Rude's shoulder and bowed his head, unaware he was crying. When he raised his head back up, he saw Rude's sunglasses lying beside his body. He respectfully picked them up, unwillingly to leave them there. "They won't get away with this, I swear to you I'll make them pay." Reno vowed as he closed Rude's eyes and put the sunglasses in his pocket.

Reno smiled as the miles passed, bringing them closer to Jenova Castle. They stopped only when necessary for food and rest, and for combat practice. Zack was using just a regular sword, and he wasn't happy to find out that Cloud had the Buster sword. "It won't be much longer now." Reno muttered to himself, eager to satisfy his desire for vengeance. It wasn't until he found an abandoned shack after the bloodbath, that he figured out that the blood all over him was from Rude when his throat was slit.