"There ought to be a way to track her."

Veld glanced up from the map he'd been glowering at, arching a brow. He wasn't exactly in the mood for casual conversation with Rufus, but if he had something relevant to say he'd hear him out. "What?"

"Elfé," Rufus said. "She has a powerful summon implanted in her. There ought to be a way to track that."

Veld considered it, nodding slowly. "How do we track materia shipments?"

"That's more in line with SOLDIER or Science, but I imagine Reeve would have some idea," Rufus said.

Veld nodded, getting his PHS out and dialling Reeve. "Quick question."

"Hello to you too," Reeve drawled. "What can I do for you?"

"How do you track materia?" He asked.

Reeve was silent a moment. "Well. Active materia gives off energy, and a well-timed Sense spell could conceivably work. But you'd have to be in fairly close range - pinpointing someone in a room, or a building at best. Which is not to say we couldn't possibly rig something, but I'd need time."

"Time is something we don't have." Veld sighed.

"Some of the enhanced should be able to help," Reeve pointed out. "Being able to sense charged materia is vital, it tells you what direction a spell is about to come from. Depending on the particular type of spell, there would also be atmospheric disturbances you could scan for - temperature changes, for example."

"It's a summon, non-elemental," Veld said.

"Well, that's definitely a lot of power being spent," Reeve said. "Hmm… there ought to be a way to scan for that… let me talk to my engineers."

"Alright. I'll see what else I can come up with," Veld said. "Call me if you get something."

"Of course."

Veld sighed, hanging up. Every minute without a solution was another minute she was getting further away, and he didn't know what to do to fix it.

"He mentioned enhanced can sense active materia," Vincent said.

"I don't want SOLDIER in on this," Veld said. "Not if I can help it."

"I wasn't aware SOLDIER was your only option for an enhanced operative," Vincent said dryly.

Veld glanced at him, arching a brow. "You aren't exactly trained."

"I could sense magic before I was enhanced. I can figure it out," Vincent said. "Trigger one of your materia."

"I'm not triggering a summon inside, even if I had one," Veld said.

"Just a materia. Put up a barrier, something benign," Vincent said.

Veld arched a brow, humming, but went along with it. It was little more than a moment's thought and the spell was cast, a barrier glimmering around him. "Feel that?"

Vincent nodded. "I do, yes. So I'd be looking for something taking a lot more energy than that, constantly at least on some level."

"You think you can do that?" Veld asked softly.

"I think it's worth a shot," he said. "Where do you want me to start?"

Vincent moved silently through Sector 6, on the outskirts of actually entering Wall Market, senses stretched as far as he could reach. It was extremely uncomfortable, bordering on over stimulation, but if he could just find a direction to go in he could narrow his focus down. He refused to go back to Veld empty handed, even if it meant he was out for hours.

They'd agreed to equipping some of the others with Sense and setting out a search in other sectors - that anyone who found something would call him, and they'd go from there. But in the meantime it left him prowling, trying to focus and not overdo it so badly he wouldn't be able to help if he did find something.

When he did.

He could track as a Turk, he could absolutely track as whatever had been made of him now. Still a Turk, if he let Veld have his way. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Wasn't sure he deserved that, after failing his loved ones the way he had.

I won't fail you again.

The thought was barely passed through his mind before something pinged his senses. He turned sharply, arching a brow and reaching. There was most definitely someone with a very powerful magic signature there, packing some heavy duty materia. Frowning in concentration, he started that way at once, following his senses. The closer he got, the more distinct a feeling it was, but he was getting less convinced it was the right energy. It didn't feel like a summon. He wasn't sure what it was, though, it didn't feel like any materia he was familiar with. Maybe, if pressed, like some hybrid between a Restore and a Barrier - something at once protective and healing.

There was, to his knowledge, no such materia. Then again, who's to say what might have been invented? He'd been gone for decades.

Too curious not to check it out, he followed his senses to an old building that he remembered having seen back in his Turk days, the church to an unknown god. It was in better condition than he'd expected, though there was a distinct, large hole in the roof.

Someone was inside.

Carefully, he made his way in, sticking close to the shadows as he took in the person he'd been sensing, power all the more potent at close range. She was just a slip of a girl, somewhere in her teens if he had to guess, bent over a flowerbed growing in the middle of the broken floor. She didn't look like she should be anywhere near as powerful as she undeniably was.

It occurred to him, belatedly, that as powerful as she was, as clearly as she lit up his senses… it would be mutual.

She went still, not quite tense but most definitely aware, and slowly straightened, dusting dirt off her hands. "Hello?"

He couldn't bring himself to startle the girl and leave her wondering. He stepped out of the corner he'd been in, footsteps consciously audible. "Hello."

She turned quickly to face him, brows raising in surprise, but she smiled all the same. "Is… there something I can help you with?"

Vincent was silent a moment, debating. "I don't think so. I was looking for someone."

"It's just me here," she said.

"So it seems," he agreed. His senses said there was someone else, close and getting closer, but they didn't register as a threat so he ignored it.

It was her turn to be quiet, tilting her head as she watched him. "Who are you looking for?"

"A woman carrying a powerful materia," he said. "Different than yours. A summon."

"Different than…" Her eyes widened, hands half raising before she consciously lowered them.

"It's very unique," he observed.

"…yes," she said quietly. "Yours, too."

Vincent blinked. "Mine?"

She arched a brow. "You feel mine, but you can't feel yours?"

He looked down at his arms, as if a material bangle might have snuck on there when he wasn't looking. They were still bare.

"Never mind," she said. "It doesn't matter. You said you're looking for someone with a summon? How do you sense a summon, in particular?"

"It's active," he said. "Activated, rather. But the spell is incomplete."

She made a thoughtful sound. "You should be able to sense that, yes… but I didn't feel like that, surely?"

"No, not like a summon," he agreed. "Just… powerful."

"Powerful? Me?" She stared at him, genuinely surprised.

"You have a great deal of potential," Vincent said. "Perhaps not fully accessed."

She seemed uneasy with the comment, inclining her head but not committing to anything. "A summon is a particular kind of energy, it should be something you can pick out… maybe I can help you find it."

"Whoa, now, let's not."

Vincent half turned, a hand on Cerberus' grip, only to arch a brow when he recognized one of Veld's Turks. He looked between the girl - who looked distinctly annoyed - and the Turk - who looked very much alarmed - and came to a conclusion. "I was unaware there was a bodyguard rotation down here."

"I can handle myself, thank you, Rod," the girl said.

"Yeaaaah, look. I know him. An' I know you. An' I know this situation, which has the potential to go pear shaped real fast, so no matter how 'powerful' Valentine says you are, you're not gettin' in on it," Rod said. "Chief would have my head on a platter, an' I like it where it is, yeah?"

She arched a brow, giving Vincent a speculative look. "You work with the Turks, but you have no idea who I am."

"I'm afraid not," Vincent admitted.

She smiled faintly, oddly pleased about that. "Call Veld, then. Let him know I insist on accompanying Mister…?"

"Valentine," he supplied. "Vincent Valentine."

Her brows rose. "Goodness. Today's a day for surprises. I'm Aerith Gainsborough."

"A pleasure, Aerith," Vincent said quietly. "But I wouldn't want to cause trouble."

"A little trouble does Veld good," she said airly. "It keeps him young. Besides, you need help, and I'm probably the only person who can keep up with you."

"Aw, shi- shoot, you're serious?" Rod groaned. "Aerith, c'mon now. Don't do this to me."

"Call Veld," she insisted. "Or I'll do it myself."

Rod made several increasingly distressed faces while he dug out his phone, dialing. "Chief? Your buddy found Aerith, and she wants to help him look for AVALANCHE."

"Hiii Veld," Aerith called. "Remind him I can sense magic far better than he can."

Rod flapped a hand at her, scowling. "I think she's serious."

"Of course she is." Veld sighed. "Tell her this is our operation, and she'll do what she's told."

Rod snorted. "I can try."

"What did he say?" Aerith asked.

"He said this is a Turk operation; if you're gettin' in on it, you do as you're told," Rod said.

She hummed, clasping her hands. "I suppose that's fair."

Rod heaved a relieved sigh. "She said that's fair."

"Make her promise," Veld said.

"…good idea." Rod looked back at her. "Your word, Aerith."

"Doesn't trust me, hm?" She smiled. "He has my word. So long as they're reasonable orders."

"She says as long as it's reasonable," Rod reported.

"That's probably the best we're going to get," Veld admitted. "You all stay put, I'm sending Reno and Rude your way. Valentine's in charge of the op, but Reno's in charge of Aerith."

"You got it, boss," Rod said. "We're supposed to wait for backup."

Vincent arched a brow, but nodded. If Veld felt it was more important to wait for backup than to continue his search, he would trust his judgment. "Very well. We wait."

"Then I am going to finish weeding," Aerith said, and went back to tending her flowers.

Vincent settled in to watch and wait, and wonder just who this girl was.