"Rufus needs to get to the Northern Crater!" Elena cries in my ear. I flinch away from the phone, rubbing my temples. It's a wonder Tseng didn't have an aneurism working with these people every day. "We need that airship ready to go!"

"Why couldn't you call Rufus?"

"He kept ignoring my calls! Can you believe that?" Well, yeah. "What's so wrong with him that you can't deliver the message?"

"Nothing, I'm just tired." I toss my coffee cup in the trash and lift the orb of materia that Reno gave me. "I still have to speak with Elmyra about what happened to Aerith."

"The Ancient?" Elena goes quiet for a moment. Then she huffs. "Yeah… I hear that goddamn freak got to her, too."

"You think Sephiroth killed Tseng?"

"Yeah. There's no way Cloud could've down it. One hit and he rolled all the way down the slopes like a ragdoll." Do I even want to know?

"I'll let Rufus know."

"Good."

Elena hangs up and I press the materia back into my rod. I'm just as bad as Reeve. How could I blame him for not telling me about Tseng, my relatively distant uncle, when I can't tell a mother that her own child has been brutally murdered by a madman. Speaking of Tseng… I sigh, shaking my head. It's been exactly a week, but it feels like it's been an eternity. In the elevator to Rufus's office, Amelia distracts me from my dread.

"Hello, Kat. Doing alright?"

"I guess."

"Good. I haven't seen you around in a while." She tucks her hair behind her ear, offering a small smile.

"I've been busy."

"Oh." Her smile falters and she adjusts the weight of her omnipresent folders. "Am I bothering you? I'm really sorry about that little display—"

"No, you're not. It's just one of those days, I guess."

"I understand." The elevator dings and she steps off. "Hopefully I'll see you soon."

"Yeah."

Heidegger replaces her and my stomach twists into a knot. Now that Tseng's gone… The giant of a man clasps his hands behind his back, turning his scarred face down to look at me. From his height, I must look like a child.

"You're Kat?" One of his dark, thick eyebrows raises and I nod. "Tseng's niece. I've heard you have potential."

"From who?"

"Several people. Tseng and Rufus, mainly." He shrugs, his green coat shifting stiffly with the movement. "That'd better be true." I shrug, ignoring the stares of the unknown passengers in the elevator. "You don't think so?"

"I really don't know."

"Well then what the hell am I paying you for?" He throws his head back. "Gya ha ha ha!" Gods, what a horrible laugh.

"As far as I know, sir, you aren't paying me."

The air in the elevator simply ceases to exist. Not a single soul moves when Heidegger's smile fades and he turns his dark eyes down to me, scratching at his bushy black beard. Grunting, he shakes his head. The elevator stops.

"I'll have you know, Kat, that I was supposed to order your execution a decade ago. You might want me on your side."

With that, he's gone, towering over the rest of the Shinra employees like the goliath he is. Shaking my head, I cross my arms and look at my feet, ignoring the stares of the others in the confined space. No one speaks until I get off. From there, I head to the President's office, waiting for the guards to let me in before walking that long, grim carpet up to Rufus's desk. He glances up, setting his pen aside and straightening. He looks terrible. Dark circles trace his eyes and his suit is wrinkled in hundreds of places. The desk is a horrific mess.

"Can I help you?" he asks curtly, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Yeah. Elena called. She said that you need to get to the Northern Crater as soon as possible. Suggested using the Highwind."

"Why's that?" He turns back to his papers, sorting a stack and straightening them against the edge of the desk.

"She's located Sephiroth. Avalanche is headed there, too. You wanted to stop them still, right?"

"Yes. You said the Northern Crater?"

"Yeah."

"Very well. Is there a way for you to get a copilot and fly us to Junon?"

"Us?"

"Yes." Rufus raises an eyebrow, his eyes as cold as ever. Right. It was nothing. "Heidegger, Scarlet, Hojo, and myself."

"Hojo?" I repeat. He frowns.

"Yes. He's returned. You haven't heard?" He shakes his head. "Regardless, we need to get there quickly if we're to beat Avalanche."

"Right." My heart's racing. If Hojo's back, that means I can finally get some answers. He knew who I was before all this.

"Perhaps there's a chance of collecting more Huge Materia for Scarlet while we're gone," he adds under his breath. Gods, he's even talking to himself. What the hell happened to you?

"Should that be the priority right now?" When he scowls, I shake my head. Nevermind.

"Have that helicopter ready to go soon."

"Okay." I start to turn, but I stop myself. Upon seeing my hesitation, he sighs, setting another set of papers down.

"What is it?"

"Are you okay?"

"Pardon?" He's defensive, irritated by my care.

"You just… You look like you haven't been sleeping. If you're not feeling well, maybe—"

"Kat." Rufus pushes his hair out of his face and leans his head to the side. "Let me clarify something. What happened between us was a short-lived display of lust. Nothing more."

"I know," I frown. "This doesn't have anything to do with that."

"Then don't worry about it. Your job is to do what I tell you to, not to stick your nose in my business."

"Okay." I take a deep breath and turn on my heels, heading for the door. I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't that. I know for a fact that his lust wasn't the reason for his actions. Maybe that was the case for me, but for him… Something tells me it was something else.

"Kat."

"Yeah?"

"Just to be clear: we're not friends. I am your boss and I expect to be treated like it."

"Yes sir."

"Go."

I take the stairs, angry for a reason I can't find. Shaking my head, I push the door to the floor open and head straight to Reno's office. His ankles are crossed, his feet resting on top of his desk. He leans back, reading a paper he holds out to the side. I can't help but smile when a beam of light from the window catches his eyes and makes them glow. Looks like a fucking cat. He doesn't look up at first. In fact, he's been a little weird. Not because of me, but because of Rude.

Baldy wasn't pleased when he realized what happened, going on some long-winded rant about how he couldn't leave us alone for five minutes without getting into trouble, pacing back and forth with Elixir yipping at his heels every step of the way. I don't think we've spoken since. He's ignored us. But here's the thing about Rude: he hates change. He doesn't like it when everything goes from one way to another with little to no warning. He wants everything to be the way before I came along.

"Need somethin'?" Reno asks, quickly finishing his reading.

"Yeah, actually. We've gotta fly Rufus and company to Junon."

"You're takin' me?" He raises an eyebrow, smug, and glances over at me. "Heard Elena's tryin' to keep up with Sephiroth on her own right now."

"She's trying to keep up with Avalanche, too."

"Course she is. Let's go." He swings his legs off the desk and sets his paper down. Pressing his lips together, he jerks his head toward the door, ready to get out of here for a bit. "Boss have any requests?"

"The more room, the better."

"Right. So a two-seater?"

"No."

"Why not?" He grins at me over his shoulder, but it fades quickly. "You talk to Rude yet?"

"I was just thinking about how I haven't, actually. I've just been so busy with Reeve." I pull my hair up as we walk, tying it out of my face. "I really need to stop by Elmyra's to let her know about Aerith. Feel fuckin' terrible for holding out on her."

"We'll stop there on the way back, yeah? She's in Kalm?"

"Yeah."

"Shithole of a town. People know they've got it good and they make sure everyone else knows it too."

Reno opens the door to the hangar, and I catch it before it can swing back and hit me in the face. Shooting him a soured expression when he laughs, I follow him outside. He picks out a chopper that's big enough for the group and I take the copilot's seat, not willing to be responsible for this whole cast's lives. Without a word, we land on the helipad outside Rufus's office and the strange group of leaders piles into the back.

"Enough space?" I call into the back. I can't look back, not with Hojo back there.

Rufus nods once, eyeing Scarlet's shoulder as she scoots closer to him. "Plenty, thank you."

I exchange confused looks with Reno. Did the Rufus Shinra just thank me? Reno shakes his head, slouching in his seat and pressing a series of buttons on the ceiling.

"This is Shinra Shuttle One, ready for take-off," he mutters. I huff, shaking my head and wrestling a smile.

"Honestly, Reno darling, could you be any slower?" Scarlet asks, holding up her phone and swiping red lipstick across her lips twice.

"I can try," Reno murmurs as we head up into the air. "Woman's questioning my stamina."

"I don't think she is, no." I roll my eyes.

The flight takes close to two hours. My legs are stiff by the time we land. When we hit the ground, I hop out and pace the length of the helipad to get my blow flowing. I can feel Hojo's beady eyes watching me rather than admiring the spectacle of the airship across the hangar that everyone else stares at in wonder. Something about his beady eyes makes me shiver. What did he and Marx do?

"Go get 'im, Boss!" Reno calls after Rufus. The President ignores him, leading the entourage toward the Highwind. Once they're on their way, he rests an elbow on my shoulder. "Ready to hit it?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, did Hojo seem kinda weird?" he asks, frowning. I shrug.

"He's always weird, Reno." I shudder, reaching up to flip a few switches. "Guy's always given me the creeps. Don't really know why."

"I get it." Reno cocks his head to the side, eyeing me in the silence. "You don't know why?"

"No idea."

"Hm." He cracks a smile and I frown.

"What?"

"Nothin'. It's just…" He reaches out and tugs on the back of my ponytail, winding his fingers through my hair. "Always liked your hair like this. Cute."

"Okay." I scoff, rolling my eyes, but my face betrays me, going red all too easily. "It's just because it makes us match, Mr. Rattail." He laughs and shakes his head.

"Ain't a rattail."

"It is!"

"Too much hair."

"Reno, look up the fucking definition of a rattail. Right now."

"Can't, babe, I'm driving."

"You are not—"

We lurch into the air and my hands slam down on the dash to catch myself. He laughs when I punch his shoulder, turning us to Kalm. Once we're in the small town, he decides to follow me to Elmyra's house instead of leaving me to bear the burden alone. Marlene opens the door, beaming up at me.

"Miss Kitty!"

"Miss Kitty, eh?" Reno teases, elbowing me. I roll my eyes at him and shuffle into the house to see Elmyra approaching the door.

"Marlene, I've told you not to open the door for strangers."

"But it's Miss Kitty!"

"Miss…" She walks further into the room to see me and Reno, frowning.

"Reno, why don't you take Marlene to her room to draw," I suggest, nudging him forward. "Marlene, show him your room."

"Okay!"

"Mrs. Gainsborough, we have to talk."

"Is this about Aerith?"

"Yes."

She cries when I tell her, dabbing at her eyes with her apron. I know she tried not to, her strong jaw working and her eyes narrowed on the wall. But she couldn't help it. Even after knowing all these years that something might happen to her daughter, she could never prepare for the news. When I get her a glass of water and a box of tissues, she tells me that in some ways, I remind her of Aerith. I tell her that I shouldn't. We're not even close to the same. Reno and I leave the mourning woman when Marlene finishes giving him a tour of the house.

"Wanna get a drink?" he asks.

I shrug and follow him across the town to a bar. It's dark inside, lit by small neon signs and a glowing backboard behind the array of bottles of the back wall. I pull myself onto a wooden stool beside Reno and take a deep breath of the heavy air. The mere scent of someone else's stale smoke has me reaching for my pocket. My eyes close and my brows furrow when I'm disappointed. Forget them in Midgar…

Someone taps my shoulder and I turn to see a tall man offering an unlit cigarette. I glance up, eyebrow raised, and he huffs out a laugh. "You want it or not, Sweetheart?"

"Hey, if you're offering."

"Cig's a cig. Ain't worth much."

He lights it for me before turning it over. Reno raises an eyebrow, resting his cheek on his palm and looking the man up and down, eyes sharp as ever. The man stares right back, fearless. He's easily twice the size of Reno; I bet he figures he could take him if there's trouble.

"Y'all are Shinra, aren't you?"

"How'd you guess?" I scoff, taking a long drag and reveling in the feeling of heat in my lungs. "Thought we blended right in."

"In those suits lookin' ready to knock someone on their ass in the name of Rufus Shinra? Not likely," he grumbles, sitting beside me and raising a few fingers at the bartender.

"Ever heard of sarcasm?" I retort. He grunts.

"Have you?"

"Touché."

"What's it to you?" Reno asks, catching the glass sliding his way. Smoke pours past my lips and into his face. He grimaces, fanning it away as I suppress a laugh.

"Not much. Folks around here like to think y'all got no power outside Midgar. I tell 'em that's not true." The man takes the bottle the bartender hands him and looks back at me. "You guys related?"

"I really hope not," I laugh, shaking my head.

"Hm." He turns in his seat, facing us. "You know why there are so many monsters between us 'n Midgar?"

"Research department," Reno mutters, plucking the cigarette from my hand and having a go. I frown, taking a drink from my own glass. Twice now? "Release their shit to the wild without carin' what happens to the people."

"Sounds about right." The man stands, tipping his bottle toward us. "Well, y'all just remember that Turks ain't the rest of Shinra. You can make your own decisions." With that, he's gone.

"That really what people think?" Reno scoffs, shaking his head and passing the smoke back over.

"I guess. What a weird guy."

"Yeah." He looks over his shoulder, watching the man go. "Think he came over intending to hit on you?"

"I doubt it," I huff. "Probably just thought he'd take the chance to talk to some real, live villains."

"Hm." He tosses the rest of his drink back, motioning for a refill. "So, how'd Elmyra take it?"

"Not well, but what can you expect? She lost her kid."

"Except that wasn't her kid and she knew this was coming."

"Doesn't make it any easier."

"Don't think it'd make me cry."

"Yeah, well, you're a heartless bastard," I tease. He flashes a smile.

"Says you."

"Quite the pair."

"Power team." Not power couple? I cringe at my own thoughts and shake my head.

"How much longer you wanna stay?"

"Just a few more minutes."

"Okay." I finish off the cigarette and drop the butt in the ashtray.

"Lemme see… I spy with my little eye—"

"Gods, Reno—"

"Somethin' obnoxiously red."

"Your hair."

"Nope."

"My hair?"

"Goddamn, you're good." I roll my eyes and punch his shoulder again. Laughing, he empties his glass again, face twisting as he swallows it all at once, and stands. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

I toss a wad of cash on the counter and follow Reno out the door. He gets into the helicopter before I can say anything, so I follow suit, taking a breath to break the silence. He leans across the gap and cuts me off with a kiss I wasn't expecting. Smiling at my surprise, he pulls away and sits back in his seat.

"For the record, that asshole was about to get a beating if he made another move."

"Okay, Reno," I scoff, rolling my eyes.

Ears red and heart fluttering, I get us off the ground. Once we're back on at Shinra HQ, I head to Reeve's office to update him about Aerith's mother and look for anything to do. Without Tseng or Rufus, we're at a loss. Reno may have been Tseng's second, but that was only a ranking. He doesn't know how to lead the Turks, not on his own.

"Hey, Reeve. Need anything?"

"No." Reeve glances up and motions for me to join him. "Look. Rufus is arriving.

I stand beside him and lean forward, ducking low enough to see Cait Sith's full view. Scarlet, Heidegger, and Professor Hojo follow closely behind the President, all stopping to look around the crystalline cavern in wonder. A short distance away, Vincent, the spooky caped man, aims his terrifyingly bright red eyes at Hojo, clearly pissed at the man's presence. I feel you. I shudder when Cloud's feet begin to lift off the ground in what looks like a scene from a horror movie, tearing at a twisted collection of roots hanging from the ceiling.

"That's fucking terrifying."

"He's a failed Sephiroth clone, according to Hojo," Reeve replies. "His memories were altered somehow, but some he shares with Tifa. I suppose that's how we know which ones are true."

"What if she's lying?" I ask, glancing at the director. He shakes his head, going quiet. "Reeve?" He takes a deep breath, sighs, and then looks up at me.

"Their way of life bothers me. They aren't paid, they're willing to risk their lives for any one person, and—"

"They've got our lives in their hands. We both know Shinra can't do shit about Sephiroth."

"… I can't stop seeing her death." He tugs at his beard, dark eyes flitting across the screen. I can't even begin to understand what the hell I'm seeing, so I focus my attention on him. "Did she have to die?"

"If it happened, there was a reason." I lean against the edge of his desk and cross my arms. He huffs, looking back up.

"I didn't take you as the type to believe such things."

"Well, I don't really. I think there are important people here that have important things to do. She was one of them."

"I understand. I just wish I could do more than sit here and press buttons."

"Listen, Reeve." My face breaks into a smile and I rest a hand on his shoulder. "You're not one of us. You're too good for Shinra. For fuck's sake, you're working with the largest effort being made to save the Planet, and you're saying you want to help more? You're the inside man and you're doing the best you can. If anything, you could become one of them."

"… You want me to start spying on Shinra?"

"It wouldn't be hard. We're on the inside."

"You'd help me?"

"Maybe." I clasp my hands behind my back and turn back to the screen. "If all goes to hell, we need all the help we can get."

"Let me know when you decide."