Reno tapped his kneebreaker against his shoulder, blood surging. He skipped his pills for the first time in a dog's age and it invigorated him to feel again. The sick pulsing of his heart that pounded against his ribs and heated his skin reminded him he was alive.

"I'm in position," he told his intercom. "Target expected any moment."

"You're too high up," came Rude's voice.

"Am not."

"You should move down."

"Should not."

"We could use a moment, anyway," said Elena. "These canyon walls are distracting! It's all rock and no bridge! Where's the ladders?"

"Might have burned 'em," Reno said. "How's your party holding up?"

"Well enough, thank you very much. Though Leonora's distracted with her form as usual."

"Any sign of Seifer and his girlfriend?"

"We'll find them further in with Paine, I'll bet. We can only hope they're still alive."

"Hush!" Elena hissed. "We're close. Time for quiet."

Reno shut his eyes against the falling sun, whose blinding rays radiated against the dry arches and made out the distant sandstorms that looked like carnival shows in all those golden hues. He rehearsed the moment in his head, training taking over despite the withdrawal symptoms pounding in his head and throbbing in his chest.

They got eyes on the target. That meant his time was close. That meant he was up to focus.

"Sorry about this," he whispered. Maybe the girl caught it. Maybe he had no place apologizing. Maybe it only made him look the fool. But he said it anyway because he wanted to. Then got to shimmying his way up the ladder to the left. Elena would use the travelers to distract the spirits while he and Rude did what they did best. They'd do their stupid dance, and then…

Reno hovered the drone into place. They'd get it right this time.

Rude took his place opposite Reno, across the divide, and settled with his own mechanics. Reno didn't need to message him to know he was ready. They worked like that, after all, two bodies one mind—

Scratch that. Reno was way smarter.

The party entered position and Leonora did her thing with Paine and that kept the party free of disturbance. No pesky spirits, no—

Red leaped in and snapped at them. Seifer and Fujin fended him off while Irvine served as backup. Lebreau stood sentry with Leonora and Paine, and Elena waited on the vantage point overlooking them.

All this setup and they didn't even see Aerith. Much less the target.

Reno set his eyes on the settlement itself, some distance to the north. It sat on top of the Lifestream like some unwitting ornament, but that wasn't where they could hurt the thing.

Reno pulled out a map and got triangulating. This was the closest they got before attracting Red. He put that on the map and marked the place they entered last time to find the circle. Granted, Red could come and go as he pleased, but Aerith didn't appear to. She had a ground zero. And it looked like Red stuck with her for whatever reason.

Reno noted the center of the circle-ish shape and shoved the map back in his pocket. Then marked it in his head about where that laid. They came in just south of Cosmo last time. It was between here and there.

The drone flew over the struggle below him like a bored camera looking for action. The stuff downstairs was nothing to what it sought.

He maneuvered the drone as far away as it would go—which wasn't nearly as far as he wanted—and he settled it on top of a malformed platform. Then hit the detonate button.

The explosion caught Red's attention and he howled before making for that center. The others chased, taking different paths through the canyon to keep up. Some did better than others.

Someone whistled and Reno jumped to his feet to find—

Zack Fair. Who put a finger to his lips and said, "Let's not bring attention to ourselves, okay?"

"You're dead!"

"Only technically, right now. I'm certainly not alive, but I'm not where I should be." Zack pointed to the blown platform. "That's where I should be. Got a vein of the Lifestream right there, you know. So concentrated, Cloud would find a way to fall in."

Reno put a hand on his kneebreaker. "You're not also possessed?"

"I just said I'm not where I'm supposed to be. If I was, then yes, I'd get all wonky. But for now, just appreciate the fact that we can be friends, okay?"

"We—" Reno forced himself to breathe. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving my girlfriend. Come on. I already talked to Tseng about it."

Reno followed Zack across platforms and toward that broken pillar. They navigated torn and blasted rock to find Rude on the platform adjacent to the Lifestream opening. Rude only spared Zack a second glance before accepting it and gesturing to their party that moved about the shattered pillar.

Green light encompassed the place in alarming starkness against the brown and red of the canyon. Seifer laid broken against a wall while Fujin faced Red. Aerith took people, but she acted like some doped-up child instead of a feral force like Red. Reno wondered why she even came out here if—

"Looks like it's time I made my entrance," Zack said before hopping from his side of the cliff. "Getting tired of this unrest, you know."

Reno followed him, not about to let this ghost from nowhere take over their operation.

"Aerith!" Zack put out his hands. "You needed me to come back, right?"

"Zack!" Aerith pulled away from the others and hovered near him. "I can't take you. Why?"

"Leonora!" Zack said, "Keep Red in one piece, for me, will you? Fujin's going to kill him at this rate."

"And that's a bad thing?" Lebreau asked.

"Yes," Zack said. "Aerith, I can't stay forever, but you gotta return to normal again, okay? Can't have you killing our friends."

"They belong in the Lifestream, like you do. They'll be happier with me."

"I'll need to get back to you on that," Zack said. "For now, how about we talk about a date? You know, just the two of us, no innocents or mortals… just us. Being pals. Or, you know, more than pals. Man, we haven't had a talk about that. Are we technically dating?"

"I wouldn't call it that."

"Then what are we? If we're not dating, then can I ask you out? We can tour the cosmos, check out the Crystalline Nebula between III and V and then coast along Ramuh's Stream. How does that sound?"

"You're distracting me."

"I am. And it's working, isn't it?"

"Yes." Aerith twitched toward him, motions unnatural and image flickering green. "I love that nebula. But you can't see it yet."

Reno stepped back, kneebreaker firm in his hands. He could still get away from these sickening lovebirds.

Aerith's eyes locked on him and Reno froze. Then she moved her attention to Leonora, who focused on Red too much to notice the crack by her feet.

Aerith disappeared.

Reno yelled for someone to get Leonora, but it was too late. Aerith gave her a push and that was all she needed to send the lady toppling into the green depths.

"Just like you pesky kids!" That third spirit from before joined them and coalesced to show Scarlet of all people. "You won't leave well enough alone, will you? Fine!"

"Back!" Fujin yelled.

"Your oaths mean little to an enlightened force such as we." Scarlet looked about her. "And what trouble you've made!"

Elena shouted and ran for the closest crack. Scarlet reached to stop her too late. Elena reached the Lifestream and dropped her bomb.

Screams erupted, distant and piercing, before Scarlet stole Elena and took Lebreau in a chokehold.

Red struggled with Fujin. Irvine didn't seem like he could decide if he should focus on them or Scarlet. Aerith disappeared.

Reno nodded between Rude and Scarlet. The bomb failed, but their goal remained.

Rude joined the struggle with Scarlet. Reno focused on Red. Zack wisped out of existence with a "Gimme a sec."

Scarlet possessed Lebreau and Rude tackled her. That sparked another game of chase as Scarlet moved between bodies faster than they could keep up.

"It's time we stepped this up!" Reno restrained Irvine in time for him to catch Scarlet. "Zack, if you're gonna pull your flashy BS, then you'd better get in here!"

"Gotcha!" Zack forced Scarlet out of Irvine.

She hissed as Zack re-emerged and Irvine struggled against Reno. "Hey, you can let me go, now!"

Howl ahead and Red hit the cliff face. Scarlet snapped about to find him, and Zack took her hand.

"Come on!" Zack said. "Just for a few minutes! You need to talk about Spira!"

"No!" Scarlet said.

Fujin came barreling her way and threw her disks. Paine hit them out of the way with her sword and demanded, "What about Spira?"

Zack struggled to hold Scarlet, but somehow kept her from hopping again. "Farplane looks like our Lifestream now and the Strifes are in trouble, but we can't help them like this!"

Paine swore and portaled right out.

Reno stared at the spot where she disappeared before moving to Red. "We need friends to break these guys out, right?"

Zack said, "Yes! But we don't have anyone nearby that traveled with Red, unless you happen to have Barrett in your pocket."

"We don't hold people hostage," Elena said. "Not… usually."

Irvine worked to restrain Fujin while Lebreau kept her sights trained on Aerith and Zack.

"Hey, Red!" Reno kneeled to the dog's level, though it barely breathed despite the green magic misting about its body. "You remember Hojo, right?"

It snarled, teeth long and sharp and bloodied, and glowered at Reno with its good eye. It unnerved him that this thing acted so aware despite being a dog. Cat. Thing. The fire on its tail scorched the dirt black.

"Guess what," Reno said. "We're not Hojo. Therefore, we're allies."

It snapped at him but couldn't get close enough with its damaged legs. "You don't choose who's allied and who's not," it growled.

"No, but I don't see any reason why we can't be friends."

"I see thousands!"

"It's not working!" Reno called. "Cat doesn't like me! Aerith, wherever you are, you have to help!"

"Never!" yelled Scarlet.

"Can't say I didn't try." Reno considered smoothing Red's mane, but the thought of touching it left a sickening anxiety in his stomach. "How about we make a deal? If you help us save the planet, I'll let you kill me. One life for many. Fair?"

"You hold no influence over this world."

"No, but I influence Rufus Shinra, who's got the entire surviving race wrapped about his finger. They just don't know it anymore."

"Edge does not contain the entirety of the surviving race. And there's no 'the' because it's not just you humans inhabiting this world."

"You get my drift, though?"

"… I do. But it's backwards."

"And would you rather follow this nebulous guy's bidding, or would you rather get revenge on one of the guys involved in Aerith's death? Better yet, the guy that dropped Sector 7? You cared about that place, right?"

"I never knew it."

"I think this is going somewhere."

"Do you want to die, Turk?"

"I just want the mission done, okay? Are you in or out?"

Red snarled and touched Reno's hand with his snout. "I care about life. I won't take yours as part of a deal, but as part of my mission. If I can bring clarity to Edge through your death, then that is what I'll do. I refuse your deal."

"What were you just saying?"

"It isn't fair to take someone without a weapon in their hands!"

"I've got one right here."

"I meant it metaphorically."

"Is it because you can't move? Because if you won't take me out just for your own dignity—"

"Cloud's on another world, now!" Zack yelled. "Aerith, he's fighting for the rest of us! He's been fighting since Nibelheim and he's been fighting since Cosmos! He's been fighting ever since we dragged him into our problems! We can't let him keep doing that!"

Scarlet screamed and the air rumbled.

"Oh," Reno said. "Looks like I stalled long enough. Even ghosts get worn out, looks like, and you know what happens when you hand a tired kid a candy bar? They go straight to sleep."

"I hate to think how you know that."

"Zack!" Aerith appeared after Scarlet vanished. "It won't hold! The damage will only keep him distracted for so long! You need to leave!"

"Not without you! Also, we need Red back."

Aerith looked at them and Reno raised a hand in greeting. She returned it with an awkward wave. "Fine, but what's your plan? Hold onto us long enough to chase him from the Lifestream? Inject us with a virus so we can kick him out ourselves? Are we stalling for time while the Council deals with it from another end?"

"That last one sounds good." Zack brought Aerith to Red and Fujin screamed against her captors. Reno wondered why she didn't think they could just heal Seifer later.

Aerith put a hand to Red's forehead and it relaxed. "We're free," she said. "For now."

"I don't like this one." Red looked at Reno. "I would like to eat him when the time comes."

Aerith said, "We need all of them together and un-maimed. For now, at least."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Reno said.

"Cloud's in trouble," Zack said. "We could help him instead."

Aerith pursed her lips. "We're on a time limit. Maybe only an hour before Bhunivelze reconnects with this location."

"Then let's get to work, already!" Lebreau shouted. "Sheesh, could you drag things out any longer? Fujin's gonna slit all our throats!"

Reno eyed Red and wondered when the next chance would be for him to deal with the thing.