A/N: 10 years to the day. I am finally publishing the last chapter. I don't think Internal Crisis is an accurate reflection of my writing now, but I am proud that I finished it.

The Turk offices had never felt so empty. There was an oppressive silence only interrupted by the click of keyboard keys as people did their work. Reno felt a nervous tick coming on, how could an occupied room be so empty?

"I can't do this," Reno stood up his chair, rolling back violently and striking another cubicle.

The other Turks looked up, but quickly looked away going back to their work, no one wanted to talk about it. No one wanted to acknowledge the emptiness of this room, no one wanted to talk about how the Turks numbers had dwindled to seven. Reno wished they would talk because it would at least fill the silence.

Rude stopped typing and looked up at Reno. "Veld and Tseng are recruiting new Turks. It's all that can be done." Reno and Rude were in tune with one another, their bond only growing over the last year as the Turks were overworked and understaffed.

"Yeah, I know," Reno said with a sigh as he grabbed his chair and wheeled it over toRude's desk. The redhead sat down next to his partner. "It's just stressin' me out." Reno leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees staring at Rude's computer screen.

Rude patted Reno's shoulder as a silent demonstration of sympathy and understanding. They were all feeling the pressure. Unlike Rude, Reno was not good at keeping his emotions in check.

"How about we go for a walk?"

Reno nodded, "Yeah, that sounds good," get out, get away from it all for a few minutes and clear his head. The redhead grabbed his PHS and wallet from his desk and shoved them into his trouser pockets.

Sector One was bustling with suits on their lunch break, cafes and restaurants were full of people living their regular lives. The war with Wutai was nothing more than meaningless lunch conversation. It was strange to Reno, to think he had helped cause a war, it seemed so small now, but he had no doubt that it would get bigger, ShinRa was already planting the seeds of propaganda in the media.

"Want to grab some lunch?" Rude suggested breaking Reno's train of thoughts. "It's a nice day, and we can sit in the sun."

"Good thinking, partner." Anytime spent out of the office seemed like a good idea to Reno. The redhead turned his face into the sunlight and closed his eyes. "Is it weird that ever since Wutai I have missed plants?" Rude gave a shrug of his shoulders and said nothing, but Reno understood what Rude meant. "It's just… plants are kinda nice, but everything around here is just dead, I mean… it is a wasteland out there. I wonder why..." Reno's thoughts trailed off for a moment, but then he spotted someone familiar. "Looks like Tseng had the same idea as us!"

Tseng was sitting in an alfresco dining area with a newspaper spread open in front of him. One side was pinned down by a cup of coffee and the other by his plate bearing a half-eaten panini. Reno hesitated to approach, wondering if he should leave Tseng to do what he had to do without disturbance. But Rude made the decision for them and approached the spot where Tseng was sitting.

"You two were struggling with the silence as well?" Tseng had not even looked up from his newspaper as Reno stood over him. Reno realised that Tseng was reading an article regarding the war that had started between Shinra and Wutai. The war they had started.

"How'd you guess?" Reno asked he was always a little put off by how easily Tseng could read him.

Tseng finally looked up from the newspaper and met Reno's gaze with his dark eyes. "It's hard to miss, Reno. And you've been quite vocal about your discomfort in the office. Are you two going to sit, or keep standing over me?"

Rude cleared his throat and took a seat. "You're struggling too?"

"Of course. I like quiet, but the silence in the office is eerie."

"You've got that right," Renos said, snatching up a menu.

Tseng took a long sip of his coffee. "There is no need to worry, our offices will never be so quiet again, the recruitment round has been highly successful, and we will be having ten new recruits starting with us."

Reno grinned. "That sounds great to me! No more silence!"

Six years later…

Reno recalled a summer's day in Midgar, it was a distant memory, but when he focused on it, he could still remember the scent of the fresh air. The wasteland that surrounded Midgar had been smaller then, and a few plants could still grow on the plate. He had sat at a table with Rude and Tseng, that cafe had closed down now and been replaced by a boutique clothing store. But back then it had been one of Reno's favourite places to eat. Reno remembered the weight he had been carrying on that day. The quiet of the office had been getting to him since they had lost many Turks over the years. But, Tseng had been positive, advising his two fellow Turks about the ten additional recruits who were set to join their ranks. Reno remembered being overjoyed by the thought, he had been swiftly promoted to a Senior Turk, and then the newbies had rolled in.

How had everything gone to shit? Sure, they had a few good years, hard years, but good nonetheless. They had lost older, more experienced Turks, while the recruits thrived building themselves up and becoming valuable assets. The office was never quiet with laughter and chatter, it had been a good time. But, Reno had learned that all good things come to an end. What an end.

"I doubt even Tseng's pretty words are going to be enough for this," Reno said leaning his head back against the headrest of the comfortable leather chair. Perhaps he and Rude should have made a run for it, go out in a blaze of glory and take as many people with them as they could. Instead, the two of them were sitting in the Turk offices just waiting for the Executives to sign the death warrant.

Rude's silence was driving him mad, the bald man had not said anything since they had been put in here, and Tseng had gone to face the Executives alone. Reno slowly spun his chair around staring at the ceiling. His eyes darted over to the large screen at the end of the room which advised the time was now four-thirty in the afternoon, they had been locked in this room since midday and Reno had no doubt that Tseng was trying his best to save them. Envy and anger rose inside of Reno as he thought about the other Turks. When Tseng had come back, he had said that the other Turks were 'gone', not dead, 'gone'. They had all escaped while he and Rude had been at Shinra. Tseng should have run too, but the loyal bastard had come back for Rude and Reno. Whatever end they faced, they were facing it together.

The hydraulic door to the Turk offices opened, and Reno leapt to his feet. It was not the firing squad he had expected. It was Rufus Shinra, the little bastard responsible for at least half of this mess.

"Hurry up, we don't have much time!" Rufus said before turning on his heels and walking away. Reno and Rude looked at one another before following after the Vice President, a strange escort to bring them to their deaths.

The three of them stepped into the elevator together, and Rufus selected the conference room floor. Reno glanced at Rude who cleared his throat and took the hint to talk. "Ah, Mr Shinra, what are we doing exactly?"

Rufus straightened his tie in the reflection of the glass elevator walls. "Tseng and I have an agreement, I intend to keep my end of the bargain even if his end is somewhat… lacking now." The elevator bell rang, and Rufus walked out towards the conference room. Once again, Reno and Rude had no choice but to follow.

"The Department of Administrative Research will be disbanded, and the remaining members will be executed," Heidegger said, sitting back in his chair.

"No," Rufus stepped into the room and came to stand beside Tseng. "Tseng demonstrated his loyalty to the company when he killed Veld. He came back to Shinra instead of fleeing with the others. The Turks that have remained with Shinra are loyal and assets to this company." His cold eyes looked over the Executives waiting for them to protest, and when they did, Rufus shot down their arguments.

When the three Turks stepped out of the conference room with Rufus, Reno let out a sigh of relief. "Fuck…" he breathed.

Tseng patted Reno's shoulder before stepping towards Rufus. "Thank you," he said, "I appreciate that."

"Don't be too flattered, Tseng," Rufus responded in his usual disinterested tone, "I plan to collect on our deal, and I can't do that if you're dead." Without another word, Rufus walked away, leaving the three Turks standing together in the hallway.

"Ah, what's going on?" Reno asked, turning around to look at Tseng.

Tseng reached up and pulled his hair free, the significance was lost on Reno who still knew nothing of Wutain culture. But Tseng smiled as his hair fell around his shoulders. "A new beginning for us." His dark eyes moved between Reno and Rude. "For all the three of us."