We arrived at Shinra HQ, where I quickly identified a problem. The building was enormous at street level; a fact I had overlooked when peering down from 50-plus stories high. I had never been on the ground floor of the building, much less outside. How would I be able to find Reno?

"We're meeting up with Reeve's people a few blocks away," Yuffie explained, pointing slightly to our left. "We just gotta get around this giant hunk o' junk first."

The "hunk o' junk" being the remains of HQ, along with the assorted bits of it that littered the surrounding landscape. Lacking better options, I limped after the skipping ninja girl and the striding goth. Since the Turks were helping with the evacuation efforts, this mismatched pair's destination was as good a place to start as any.

A sense of unease settled in the pit of my stomach as we progressed. I had been in cities struck by disaster before and had experienced many kinds of misgivings and fear, but this sensation was new. My footfalls rang too heavy, with an imagined hollow echo. I wondered if the citizens of Midgar ever felt it, the emptiness beneath the plate they treaded upon.

A flash of red caught my attention. My heart skipped a beat when a second glance revealed it to be a wild mop of hair jostled by the wind, on top of a skinny figure in a dark suit.

"Shit!" Yuffie hissed, alerted by my instinctive change of direction. "It's the turkeys! Dammit, I so don't wanna deal with those guys right now. I mean, I could totally kick their asses if I wanted to! We just have more important stuff to do, right, Vinnie? Come on, let's get outta here before they see us."

Ah. That's right. I had neglected to mention what I came here to do.

Before I could come up with some excuse for staying, I saw Reno freeze mid-step, his eyes widening and jaw dropping. The man looked like he had seen a ghost. From his perspective, I supposed that was true. Even the mouth of his bald colleague opened slightly.

The blonde woman with them seemed confused by her colleagues' reactions at first, but a scowl appeared on her face as soon as she spotted us. Her heated comment brought the other two out of their stupor. After a brief exchange Reno, already recovered and sporting his game face, led the Turks down the street to meet us.

"Too late," Yuffie groaned. "That's just great."

Vincent's face remained as impassive as ever, but I sensed a tension creep into his hunched stance.

"It's okay," I said, raising my arm. "Reeve told me to meet them."

Two pairs of eyes turned toward me, one more openly incredulous than the other.

"What?!" the girl shrieked. "Don't you know who these guys are? They're Turks! Major Shinra bad guys!"

Her eyes were nearly bulging out of her head. In retrospect, perhaps I should have mentioned my intentions at some point.

"Please, let's keep things civil," I insisted. "We're all working toward the same goal right now."

"But–"

"Yuffie. Let's do as she says."

I thought I glimpsed a flicker of curiosity in the man's lifeless eyes before he shifted them toward the Turks. Vincent's interjection was unexpected, but it did shut the girl up. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, before she crossed her arms in a huff and glared at the approaching trio.

I followed their lead and shifted my own gaze toward the Turks, letting it rest on one in particular. A smile played on my lips as I took in the familiar swagger, the smirk and the lazily hooded eyes. Oh, how I had missed the cocky bastard.

"Well, well," he drawled once they were within earshot. "What a strange lil' bunch to run into here, of all places."

"Don't try anything, ya turkey jerk! I'm watching you!"

Reno smirked wider and held up his palms, stopping several paces away. He only glanced at Yuffie for a second; otherwise his gaze was riveted on me.

"Hey now, no need to get all het up, Princess. We're just curious 'bout the lady here, yo."

He sounded amused, but the raised eyebrow when he looked my way revealed his caution. Meanwhile, the ninja girl was not taking his dismissal well, judging by her expression. Before the situation could spiral out of control, I reached up and removed my helmet.

Now it was Elena's turn to be taken aback. I guessed she had never seen my suit before. Rude remained stoic, but Reno's eyes lit up with a joy that warmed my entire being.

"Damn," he stated. "You look like shit, Fitz."

I couldn't keep a huge, silly grin off my face.

"Yeah? Well, your hair still looks like a hedgehog on steroids."

Beside me, I heard Yuffie let out a rather unladylike guffaw. Reno snorted, but a small frown formed on his face when he looked me over again.

"Seriously tho', Reeve's gonna be pissed when he sees poor ol' Sparky. What'd you do, hug a grenade or somethin'?"

"Well," I said with a shaky laugh, "as it happens, that's pretty much the gist of it. I'll tell you the long version later."

He tilted his head to one side and fixed me with a thoroughly unimpressed look.

"I thought I told ya not to do anythin' stupid?"

"Yes, well, I guess I'm not as smart as I look."

He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, chuckling.

"For fuck's sake, FitzEvan."

"Well, Vince, looks like our job's done," Yuffie declared. "So long, Robogirl. Get bent, turkeys."

With a rude gesture aimed at the latter group, the ninja girl bounced off along the street. The man in red merely fixed each of us with an impassive stare, before turning on his heel with a dramatic swish of the cape.

As soon as they were out of sight, I was enveloped in a crushing hug.

"Ifrit's balls, Fitz" Reno laughed by my ear. "You sure have a habit of turnin' up in unexpected places."

Over his shoulder, I could see the stunned faces of his colleagues. The blonde woman I had briefly met during Orca's attack on Shinra HQ gaped at us in barefaced surprise. Rude was more restrained; only his eyebrows had risen far above the rim of his dark glasses.

"Yeah," I joked, my voice muffled by his jacket. "I'm just like the Spanish Inquisition."

"You're the what now?"

"Never mind," I chuckled and wrapped my arms around his waist.

Reno was obviously pleased to see me again, and I could happily admit the feeling was mutual. In that moment, for the first time in a long while, everything felt all right. I closed my eyes and smiled.

"Wa-wa-warning. Minor compressive strain de-de-detected."

"Minor?" he cried with mock indignation. "Is that goddamn suit of yours takin' the piss?"

He let me go and took a step back, scowling at the offending article with his fists on his hips. I laughed, and his feigned frown softened into a playful grin. He waved at my suit.

"All right, tell Sparky to do a full check on ya."

"I'm okay, Reno."

He crossed his arms and fixed me with a level stare.

"Your limp says otherwise."

"It's nothing. Part of the exoskeleton is just a bit bent out of shape, that's all."

The man arched an eyebrow expectantly.

"Seriously," I insisted, though I had begun to realize I was fighting a losing battle. "I'm fine."

"Quit bein' so damn stubborn, babe. You wanna stand here all day?"

I exhaled in a huff. "Oh, fine. Sparky, check user status."

"Wa-wa-warning. User heart rate e-e-elevated. Other vital signs, nominal. Wa-wa-warning. User history indicates prolonged e-e-elevation of stress le-le-levels..."

As the suit struggled through the rundown with its sad sputter, I took the chance to inspect Reno's companions. Apart from the layer of dust on his previously impeccable suit, Rude hadn't changed. I offered him a shy smile, then focused on the female Turk.

She was the youngest of us all, both in terms of physical age and years of experience. Unlike her male counterparts, the blonde didn't hide her thoughts as her suspicious eyes roamed Sparky's misshapen form. It was clear that she was consumed by wary curiosity, yet she hadn't addressed me directly. While Rude seemed reticent by nature, I got the feeling Elena left the talking to Reno due to seniority, or possibly because of the familiarity the man displayed toward me. I wondered how long that would last.

When the suit was finished, I turned back to Reno.

"Happy now?"

A grin had appeared on his face as he listened to the Sparky's report.

"Yeah, that'll do. That suit of yours sure sounds ridiculous, tho'."

I looked down over the dirty, bent and dented wreck that was my protective suit and patted the chest plate affectionately. A few flecks of paint came loose and drifted down, blending into the concrete dust piled up in the street.

"Sparky will be as good as new after some TLC. Reeve will make sure of that."

"Hah. I bet he will. Well, I dunno 'bout the rest of ya, but I need a smoke after all this excitement."

He shifted to the side to include the other two Turks in the conversation, digging out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter as he spoke, then lit up with habitual moves.

"So, Fitz," he said, shoving one hand into a trouser pocket while the other held up his cigarette, "why dontcha give us the short version of how the hell you found your way back here while I finish this."

I had more trouble finding the words than I would have expected, so my summary probably ended up shorter than Reno had intended. I couldn't keep my voice even when I mentioned James. My inability to keep my composure in front of three hardened Turks bothered me, but I couldn't help it. His desperate pleas, as I orchestrated what should have been the end for both of us, were seared into my mind.

Thankfully, Reno kept the snide comments to himself this time.

"So, the Gateway's definitely gone?" he asked when I fell silent. "No more Orca sneak attacks we gotta worry 'bout?"

I had forgotten how intense that aquamarine gaze could be when one was subjected to the full force of its scrutiny. I forgot to breathe for a second, before my brain kicked into gear and answered his question.

"It's gone, and so is James," I confirmed. "They won't be coming back."

He nodded, then hid those sharp eyes under heavy eyelids and sent an approving smile my way.

"Nice work, Fitz. That's all we need to know right now, yo."

Elena shot him a skeptical look.

"Don't you think we should–"

"I said, that's all we need to know right now. We got other problems to deal with."

She snapped her mouth shut and glanced sideways at Rude, but upon finding no support on the bald man's face, Elena nodded meekly and backed down.

As Reno exhaled a lungful of smoke, he gave me another once-over, that concerned expression returning to his face.

"You should go now, to an evac station. While ya still can."

The reluctance in his voice tugged at my heart.

"Trying to get rid of me so soon?" I asked with a crooked smile I hoped looked more confident than I felt. "I'll stay. I can help."

Reno frowned.

"FitzEvan, I don't think–"

"It's not the first time I've helped evacuate a city," I insisted, unwilling to give him the chance to turn me down. "Besides, my suit was made for conditions like these. Sparky may have taken a beating, but most of the systems still work. I'll be able to go into places you can't reach."

He narrowed his eyes at the interruption, but chose to just flick ash from his smoke as he eyed my suit.

"Look," I continued, pointing to Meteor, "you and I both know that if that thing hits us, we're all gone. If this is the end, there's no way in hell I'll waste my last moments running away. I've spent my whole life fighting to save a broken world. I won't give up now."

He examined the looming threat in the sky, taking a long drag of his cigarette. The smoke slowly escaped through his nostrils as he listened to my plea. When he lowered his eyes back to mine, the characteristic smirk had returned.

"I gotta hand it to ya, Doc. You got guts, that's for sure."

I gave him a relieved grin, though not without a small pang of guilt. In my little speech, I may have neglected to mention that my motivation for wanting to help wasn't entirely selfless. What I feared the most was meeting the end alone.

I suspected Reno could tell, though. I wondered if he felt the same.

The wind was picking up, whipping his ponytail around and ruffling Elena's neat bob. The smell of ozone was also growing stronger. A storm was approaching. After one last inhalation, Reno tossed the remaining stub onto the ground and crushed it beneath his boot.

"Break's over," he announced. "Let's get to work. You know what to do, guys. Fitz, you're with me."

I gave a mock salute.

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Reno made a face and cringed.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," he groaned, "don't you start. It's bad enough the rookie does it."

Beside him, I noticed a distinct reddening of Elena's cheeks. Her eyes narrowed and her fists tightened, but she stayed silent. If the redhead picked up on it too – as I'm sure he did – it didn't affect him in the slightest.

"So, this is Midgar," Reno said with a wry smile as we picked our way along the damaged street toward the nearest evacuation point of our assigned sector. "Told ya it looked better from up high."

"I don't think I'd want to be up there right now, though," I mumbled, glancing up at the ruins of Shinra HQ looming behind us.

"Got a point there, Doc."

"What happened?"

"One of the Weapons. Blew HQ sky high. That's when Superbitch and Fatso made their move. While everyone was runnin' 'round like headless chocobos, they took over Shinra and locked Reeve up."

I paled and whipped my head around to stare at Reno. The executive hadn't mentioned anything like that to me.

"Shit, really? Reeve's okay, though, isn't he?"

"Yeah, your new AVALANCHE buddies got him out. Snuffed Heidegger and Scarlet while they were at it. Did the world a huge favor in my book, yo."

"They're dead?"

I might have found the Cheshire grin on his face inappropriate, had my relief at the news not been so palpable.

"Yup! Thought ya might like that. I sure as hell do. It gets better, tho'. While all this shit was goin' down, Hojo was busy cookin' up some mad scheme, by the sound of things. AVALANCHE got rid of that freak too."

I slowly shook my head. This was too much at once.

"Damn. You've been busy in this universe."

"Interestin' times, yo."

We soon met up with Reeve's evacuation crew for the sector. This close to Sector 0, the city was demolished. Buildings lay in ruins, while rubble and destroyed vehicles cluttered the streets. Most of it was due to debris falling from Shinra HQ, rather than the Weapon's attack itself. I couldn't imagine what it had been like at the time. There must have been hundreds of casualties.

Reno handled the talking, though there was very little of it before we – that is, Sparky and I – were put to work clearing out rubble that kept the rescuers out of a crumpled building. Even with the suit's impaired exoskeleton, I cleared a path in less time than it would have taken the entire rescue team. It was still half an hour's hard work. Once the job was done, I sat down for a bit of a breather.

"Hey," Reno greeted as he approached, then nodded toward the building I had been working on. "Good job, Fitz."

"Thanks," I said with a faint smile. "Most of the credit goes to Sparky."

I didn't know what he had been doing, but it was clear from his appearance that he hadn't just been lazing about on his behind. A long dirty smudge had appeared on one cheek and the front of his jacket was covered in dust. He came to a halt beside me, then dug out a carton from a jacket pocket and shook out a single cigarette.

"My last one," Reno mused, holding it up between his fingertips for inspection before his gaze wandered onward to the darkened sky. He smirked darkly. "Best make the most of it, huh."

He smoked in silence, his face devoid of emotion. The observant eyes wandered over the destruction around us, the brightly-colored rescue teams scattered among it, and the menace in the sky. I wondered what he was thinking. The Turks seemed to act under the assumption that the threat of Meteor would be thwarted, but did Reno really think we would survive this?

Did I?

After a month and a half of planning what was ultimately supposed to be my own demise, my sense of hope was buried deep. I wouldn't go digging for it. All things considered, it was better to live in the moment than waste time wishing for a future that might not come.

Reeve's rescue teams were taking care of the people trapped inside the collapsed building, so Reno and I joined the group canvassing the blocks further away. We were assigned to one of the main streets leading toward the outer rim of the plate, mostly lined with residential buildings. Reno whined about the lack of shops to raid for more cigarettes. It had been less than half an hour since his last one, and the man's nerves were already fraying. This would be a long afternoon.

My suit seemed to unnerve people. At some point a disturbing thought occurred to me: what if others were as freaked out about a robotic humanoid pile of scrap metal as I was of robotic spiders? After that, I kept the helmet off unless absolutely necessary.

For the most part, I just guided people toward the nearest evacuation point. This late in the evacuation process, the ones remaining were reluctant to leave for one reason or another. Many were angry about having to do so. All of them were afraid. Once the electrical storm started I even had to physically escort a few back to Reeve's people. They were just too terrified to think straight.

Further away from Shinra HQ, the buildings were in better condition, but a few times I had to put Sparky to use to clear a path for trapped souls. These were the appreciative ones; the ones I cherished. It was a different world in different circumstances, but their gratitude helped ease my conscience.

Meanwhile, Reno tackled the task with his usual level of compassion and tact.

"The fuck ya holed up in there for?" I heard him shout from several buildings over, not long after we had started. "Evac station's two blocks that way. Get those kids outta here, yo!"

While I couldn't make out the words of the reply, it was clear the owner of the voice wasn't too pleased with his approach.

"Look, lady, if you don't get all of your asses under the plate on the double, you're gonna have a lot more to worry 'bout than my fuckin' language. Get goin' already! Chop chop!"

I could have told him to tone it down, but knowing his rebellious nature, it would just have had the opposite effect. I chose to preserve the eardrums of Reno's future targets, not to mention my own.

A couple of hours later, I was checking the rooms of yet another half-collapsed, abandoned home. It was empty, like most of the others. On my way out, a colorful little cardboard box on the kitchen table caught my eye; a half-full carton of cigarettes, of the brand favored by the Turk. I grabbed the pack on a whim, hushing the inner voice that was trying to say something about stealing, and offered it to Reno when we met up again. His eyes went wide and lit up with glee.

"Shit, you're a lifesaver, babe."

I raised an eyebrow in amusement as he snatched the pack out of my fingers.

"You do realize those will kill you?"

"Yeah?" he asked with a smoke already wedged between his lips. "Well, right now it looks like that thing's gonna get 'round to it first." He pointed to Meteor with the hand holding his prize while the other dug around his pocket in an impatient search for his lighter. "If we live through this, go ahead and nag me all ya want, but 'til that fucker's outta the sky, I'm gonna inhale every single cancer stick I can get my hands on."

"Fair enough, I suppose."

I decided to wait for him. Soon, I noticed that Reno was watching me instead of the scenery. I sent him a quizzical look. He shrugged.

"The helmet's cool and all, but you look better without it."

Just like that, a flock of butterflies appeared in my belly, challenging the numbness inside with their fluttery wings.

"That's funny, because earlier today, someone told me I look like shit."

His lips twitched. "Yeah? What a jackass."

"Oh, I don't know," I said with a small chuckle. "He's probably right."

"Still a jackass, yo."

Halfway through his cigarette, Reno checked his watch and declared it was time for a proper break. We made our way back toward the ruins of Shinra HQ to find Rude already waiting. Soon after, Elena showed up too. Meteor and its effects on the weather made the communication networks patchy at best, which I assumed was why the Turks opted for a face-to-face meeting.

After a bit of breaking and entering to access the nearest charging station for Shinra's robotic minions, and a few minutes of reciprocal reporting while my suit recharged, Reno decided to fill in the others on his personal trials and tribulations on the mission.

"Man, this job sucks," he sighed, bringing his cigarette to his lips and taking a drag. "People are fuckin' morons, and just get pissed off at ya when you're tryin' to help."

"Gee, I wonder why," I muttered under my breath.

Elena had more to say. Perhaps Reno's voice had carried all the way to Sector 3.

"Maybe if you tried to be friendly, sir, you would have less trouble with the civilians."

The redhead shot her an incredulous look.

"Friendly? Why the hell would I be friendly? I want 'em to fuck off as soon as possible, not stay for fuckin' tea and biscuits."

"Sir, I'm just saying that a tactful approach–"

"What, I gotta cry a goddamn river for every poor dumbass who's gotta leave their home? We're all losin' our homes! Cryin' about it ain't gonna change the fact that these idiots need to get the fuck off the plate."

He griped in the tone one might expect for something about as serious as than the coffee running out in the break room, but not even Reno could fully mask what was going on inside. As the day went on, it had become more and more evident in fleeting shadows across his eyes, in the tense set of his shoulders. It was there now, in the note of dejection sneaking into his voice.

Reno sent the blonde a dirty look at the end of his rant.

"And quit it with the 'sir' crap already. You're makin' me feel like an old man, yo."

Elena's response was not at all what I expected.

"But sir, you already whine like an old man."

Oh, what a beautiful deadpan. I snorted and quickly turned my head to hide the grin that appeared upon seeing Elena's wide-eyed, innocent expression. My gaze landed on Rude, who wisely chose to remain silent, but couldn't stop the twitch of his lips.

I wasn't sure if it had been her purpose, but it knocked Reno out of his funk. He stared at her, his mouth hanging open, then turned his narrowed eyes on me.

"This is your doin', ain't it?" he grumbled, pointing at me with the two fingers holding his cigarette. "You're rubbin' off on her."

I decided it best to neither confirm nor deny.

After the shared break, we split up again. I sighed, but disconnected the charging cable and picked myself up from the ground. It had been a long day, and it would be longer still.