The Vigo disappeared as quickly as it appeared, even with WRO soldiers spread throughout Junon. It made Yuffie uneasy. She winced as she rifled through her bag of Materia in the back of a WRO truck. She had gotten a few cuts on her leg from the Vigo. If she hadn't been so quick and if Vincent hadn't distracted the thing, she would be one leg short. She found a Cure and pulled her injured leg onto the bench. She unwrapped the gauze bandages and winced.

The three cuts were red and angry, but at least they weren't bleeding any more. She wet a square of gauze with peroxide and hesitated.

"This isn't gonna be fun."

She psyched herself up and began wiping the dirt and dried blood from the cuts. It stung like hell, but it was better than losing the leg. Casting Cure would heal the cuts and prevent infection, but it wouldn't clean her leg for her. Yuffie finished cleaning the cuts and cast Cure.

As she cleaned up, the truck door opened. She turned to the end of the truck expecting to see Vincent or a soldier. She frowned as a kid climbed in. He was around Denzel's age and he had smudges of face paint from the festival on his cheeks and forehead.

"Can I help you?" She asked. The kid smiled nervously.

"Your friend wants to talk to you."

"Which friend?" Yuffie wondered why Vincent sent a kid to get her instead of a soldier.

"He didn't say." The kid hesitated. "He's got red hair…."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. Of course, Reno was in Junon. Tseng and Elena were. She briefly wondered who was guarding Rufus. She hadn't ever seen Reno without Rude. She grabbed her shuriken and waved the kid to the door. "Alrighty. Take me to him."

She scoffed as the kid led her into a nearby alleyway. The kid approached Reno with his hand upturned. Reno gave the kid a few gil. The kid cleared his throat and didn't withdraw his hand. Reno sighed and gave him a few more. The kid thanked him and ran out of the alley. Rude was nowhere to be seen and the alley was empty but for the two of them. Yuffie approached Reno.

"Little grubby-"

"What is it with Turks and alleyways?" Yuffie punched Reno in the shoulder. "Seriously, you can't pick up a phone?"

Reno rolled his turquoise eyes. "Nice to see you too, Yuffie. But I don't have time to joke around."

Yuffie cocked her head and narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Reno looked around them but they were still alone in the stinky trash-filled alleyway. Yuffie wondered where Rude was hiding. He leaned toward her and whispered.

"I found Lyra and the Remnants. They made a friend and they're headed to Nibelheim."

Yuffie snorted and punched his arm again. "Shut up."

"I'm serious." Reno leaned back and put his hands in his pockets. "They're on a boat right now. I watched them leave."

Yuffie spun her shuriken in her hands. How the heck did he find them? And where the hell were they hiding?

"Is this gonna be a race?"

Reno shook his head. "Nope. We're still looking for them. I hoping we'll take a detour through Costa del Sol."

Yuffie considered his words. It was hard to tell if a Turk was lying or not, and Reno was one hell of a Turk. She looked around the alley behind him, wondering if Tseng or Elena or Rude were hiding from them. She mentally kicked herself. She should have taken Vincent or one of the soldiers with her.

"Thanks, I guess," she mumbled. Reno didn't move. He scratched at his head and took a few steps back. He got halfway down the alley before he sighed and turned back.

"Alright, the little shit made me pinky swear," Reno said. Yuffie crossed her arms and watched him curiously.

"The kid?" She gestured toward the alley behind her, where the little boy had run. Reno shook his head and guffawed.

"No. The other little shit. Lyra." He told her about Rufus and his plans to revive Shinra and SOLDIER. Yuffie almost didn't believe him.

"All the Cetra are dead," she reminded Reno.

"Not Lyra. And the other Project Starchild subjects."

Now that was interesting. Yuffie rose an eyebrow. Last she heard, Shalua and Shelke were still declassifying the Project Starchild files and the only subject mentioned was Lyra.

"Other subjects?"

Reno nodded. "Yeah. At least a dozen. I don't know how many are still alive after Meteorfall, but-"

"And Rufus wants to use them as new SOLDIERs?"

"Yes."

Yuffie couldn't help it. She burst into laughter. "That's hilarious! You sure Rufus isn't just using Project Starchild as an excuse?"

"I know what it sounds like, but I swear on my job that it's true."

That made Yuffie laugh even harder, doubling over and staggering back.

"And he wants to help the Planet, not hurt it," Reno continued. He waited until Yuffie's fit of laughter passed. "You'll pass it on?"

Yuffie snickered but she nodded. "Sure, I'll pass it on. I believe you, but I don't believe Rufus."

Reno made to leave again.

"Hey, I'm serious about the phone, Reno," Yuffie called after him. "Junon's alleyways are a health hazard."

Reno turned around. "Aw, is the little ninja scared?"

Yuffie shook her head. "No, but I'm worried about my nose!"

With that Yuffie turned and sprinted back to the truck. She opened the doors in the back and almost ran into Vincent. He stepped aside to let her in.

"Where were you?" He asked. Yuffie smiled at him and booted up one of the computers. She began to type an encrypted message to Reeve.

"I ran into Reno." She paused her typing and pat her previously injured leg. "My leg is fine by the way."

"I know that. You left your Materia out." Vincent sat on a bench behind her. "Anyone could have taken them."

Yuffie pressed send and spun the chair around. "Reno says Lyra is headed to Nibelheim. And she's with the Remnants and they've made a new friend."

"Really?" Vincent looked surprised for a moment. "Anything else?"

"Rufus is being Rufus." Yuffie grinned and swung her legs. "He's rebuilding Shinra and he's using Project Starchild as an excuse to rebuild SOLDIER."

If any of this surprised Vincent, he didn't show it.

"It's a bit odd for a Turk to provide information like this," he said instead.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Not really. Spies are always backstabbing their bosses. I keep a close eye on my spies in the WRO but they still talk." She spun in her chair. "Has anyone seen the Vigo?"

She stopped spinning long enough to see Vincent shake his head and continued spinning. But it made her dizzy and nauseous so she stopped.

"We should find a boat," Vincent said. He folded his hands and leaned on his knees. "See if we can cut them off or meet them in Nibelheim. I wonder who their new friend is?"

Yuffie shrugged her shoulders and stood to gather her Materia. She playfully punched Vincent's shoulder and sat next to him on the bench. "I don't know. Maybe their new friend is Reno."

The sea was calm and clear, but the sky was full of clouds. Kadaj hoped they wouldn't have another stormy night. They had a few more days left on their journey to the Western Continent and every night since they left Junon had been stormy. The bunkhouse was cramped and there was hardly any privacy. He had given up on the brown wig the day before and threw it overboard. It was itchy and uncomfortable.

Most of the passengers spent their days in the bunkhouse but some helped the sailors on the decks. It was Drew's idea that they keep their heads down belowdecks with the other passengers, but Lyra had left to get some air. That was hours ago when she first woke up and she hadn't been back since. Kadaj left Loz sleeping in his bunk and Drew doodling in her notebook. He took Yazoo to the deck to look for Lyra.

"I'll ask around," Yazoo said. His hair was hidden under a ridiculous blonde wig that was obviously fake but no one had said anything. Yet.

Kadaj nodded and let him leave. He went the opposite way. He gently tugged on his side of the bond and felt a soft tug back. Lyra was upset but he couldn't tell why. He followed her tug to the back of the boat. Lyra was leaning on the railing staring out into the ocean. The warm sea breeze blew the skirt of her lilac sundress around her ankles. She seemed lost in thought. He joined her by the rail but didn't say anything.

He tried listening to her thoughts but he never was as good as Lyra was with the bond. He could feel her emotions and sense her presence and communicate, but unless she sent them to him, he could never hear her thoughts. He looked at Lyra. Her large green eyes were puffy and red and fixed on the water beneath the boat. Her hair was tangled by the wind. She looked tired. Kadaj wondered if she was sleeping alright. He hadn't seen her in their dreamworld since they left Edge.

"I'm fine," she said in a quiet voice. He almost didn't hear her. "You don't have to worry about me."

Kadaj leaned over the rail. "It's what the Flower Girl asked me to do."

Lyra blinked and finally looked at him. "I know that, but not all the time."

She gave him a small smile and looked down at the water. She was silent again, which did nothing to calm Kadaj's nerves. He fidgeted with the thumb of his glove and tried gauging her thoughts through the bond again. Had she remembered something? His time in the Lifestream had eroded the memories the Calamity and Sephiroth had given him, but he tried his best to avoid bringing those memories back. He knew what Sephiroth had done in Nibelheim and that Lyra had been there. She had been a mess in the dreamworld after the Nibelheim Incident. She had begged Kadaj to ask Dr. Jael to let her come back, but when he had, Dr. Jael told him that Lyra had disobeyed orders and needed to be punished. When Vega overheard, she had almost clawed Dr. Jael's eyes out.

Kadaj wondered if Vega was still alive.

He glanced at Lyra again. The sea breeze blew her hair into her face but she didn't seem to notice. He reached to move her hair but thought better of it, remembering the funny feeling he got in Junon when Lyra leaned on him and then again when she told him she would kiss him on the cheek if he won the bean bag game against Loz. Lyra gave him that feeling before, but it was easier to deal with when they only could talk through the dreamworld. It was harder to ignore the feeling when she was standing next to him in the waking world. He withdrew his hand and stared at the waves below them.

"Is something bothering you?" He blurted. He cringed after asking. Lyra blinked at the sea and frowned. She was silent for another heartbeat.

"I've been having nightmares," she said. "Since we left Edge." She nudged him with her elbow. "I'm sorry for not coming to the dreamworld. I tried last night, but…."

She went silent again.

"What have you been dreaming about?" Kadaj tried not to get frustrated when she didn't answer. "I won't judge. Whatever you've done can't be as bad as anything I've done."

Lyra gave him a sad look. "You don't know that."

Kadaj waited. Lyra looked behind them but they were alone by the ship's railing. She inched close to him so their hands almost touched. Kadaj wished he had left his gloves in his bag. He didn't need them on the boat. They helped with gripping his sword in a fight, but there was no one to fight on the sea. And he hoped Lyra wouldn't look up again. His face was turning red and that funny feeling was back and rolling in his stomach and chest.

"I was in a room," she began, her eyes still on the sea. "And a lady dressed in red was asking me to kill someone. Their face kept changing and I couldn't get a good look at them. The lady in red gave me a dagger and made me…. She made me kill them." Lyra's voice broke. "My hands were all bloody, all the way to my elbow. She called me her favorite weapon."

Lyra sniffled and Kadaj made himself reach out and pat her back. That wasn't helping, he decided, so he pulled her closer. Lyra didn't seem to mind as he squeezed her shoulders. He tried to ignore the funny feeling in his chest when she rested her head against him.

"Do you have nightmares?"

It took Kadaj a moment to realize she had said anything. He was too busy trying not to smile. Lyra wasn't in the mood for smiles and he didn't want to scare her off.

"I do. Sometimes," he admitted. Lyra still didn't look away from the sea.

"About the things you did?"

"Yes." He wondered how much Cloud and Tifa had told her about him and his brothers. "I always make myself go to the dreamworld when they start. That's how she got in my head before. In my dreams, I mean."

Lyra frowned and looked up at his face. "Me?"

"No." His palms started to sweat and his stomach twisted. He was not going to throw up. Not in front of Lyra. "The Calamity, but I don't want to get her attention again. I'd rather not talk about her."

He had been harsher than he wanted to be but Lyra didn't flinch away. She laced her arms around him and hugged him instead. She sighed as she nuzzled her face into his chest. She smelled like vanilla and wildflowers. His face began to heat up again and the feeling was back in his chest stronger than ever.

"I'll be here if you ever need to talk." Lyra's voice was muffled by his shirt. He pushed the funny feeling as far away as he could and reached down the bond. She was still upset but her mood was brightening. He wondered what would happen if he touched her hair, but that made him wish he wasn't wearing his gloves again. Her curls looked soft and wild.

Someone cleared their throat and they jumped away from each other. Drew stood a little ways behind them. Kadaj immediately decided then and there that he was going to throw her overboard, but Lyra grabbed his arm and gave him a stern look.

"Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt," Drew said, walking closer. "I was just wondering where you guys were. Loz is snoring away and Yazoo is who knows where-"

"I'm right here."

Drew spun and punched at Yazoo but he seamlessly dodged her fist. He leaned with his back on the ship's rail and smirked at the Wutain girl. Yazoo seemed to enjoy pestering Drew. He had been sneaking up on her and trying to make her jump since they boarded the ship. And Drew didn't appear as annoyed as Kadaj wanted her to be. He hadn't outright told Yazoo to annoy her or anything, just to keep an eye on her.

"How the hell are you so quiet?" Drew asked with a laugh.

"It's a secret," Yazoo answered. Lyra danced towards Drew and looped her arm around Drew's. One of Kadaj's eyes twitched.

"Have you ever been to North Corel?" Lyra asked Drew. Drew shook her head.

"I haven't been anywhere but Junon and Wutai," she said. "And I haven't been to Wutai since I was a baby." Drew screwed up her face and placed her free hand on her hip. "I know that Corel is a ghost town. It was destroyed by Shinra or an anti-Shinra group, I forget which. The Golden Saucer was built on top of it. It's huge and every road on the Western Continent leads to it."

"Really?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah!" Drew nodded her head enthusiastically and looked down at Lyra. "No one goes to the Western Continent without passing through the amusement park."

Kadaj narrowed his eyes. "You're kidding."

Drew shook her head and continued to smile at him. "No, I'm not."

"Then you're trying to trick us into going to the Golden Saucer." Kadaj pointed a finger at her. "We're not falling for that again."

Drew rolled her eyes. "I told you, I didn't know the WRO or that wyvern thing was going to be at the festival. And I sure as hell didn't know about the Turk!"

Kadaj didn't believe that for a second. He questioned whether or not they should abandon her at North Corel or if they should continue to Nibelheim with her. He was half-sure she was working with the WRO or maybe even the Turks. Reno appearing in her apartment was too convenient.

"Your thoughts are loud." Lyra reached through the bond and attempted to calm him. "I'll keep an eye on her. Yazoo can't watch her all the time."

He met Lyra's big green eyes and she gave him a small smile. Yazoo coughed.

"I've been asking around, actually," he said. "There are some side roads that lead to Nibelheim from North Corel. They go through the Gold Saucer Area, but we can easily avoid the amusement park by going through the mountains. The mountain paths will take longer-"

Kadaj huffed. He leaned backwards over the rail and groaned. "I knew it. We chose the wrong boat."

"It's not like we have a deadline," Lyra said. "If it takes us another week to get to Nibelheim, that's fine. I don't see the issue."

Kadaj righted himself and stared at Lyra like she lost her mind. "Lyra, we have two powerful organizations and a deranged scientist searching the Planet for us."

Lyra began to scowl. "I'm not stupid, Kadaj. I know this."

"I never said that."

"Well, you're implying it!"

Drew laughed nervously. "You fight like an old married couple."

Kadaj felt his face heat up again. Yazoo chuckled.

"Yes, they do. And they're gross," he said. He smirked at Kadaj, but Kadaj didn't find any of this funny. Lyra sighed and rubbed her forehead. Kadaj sent a silent prayer to Aerith and the hair on his back stood up. He could swear he heard laughter back, which didn't help lighten his sour mood. If anything, it made him more annoyed. He ground his teeth and decided to ignore Drew and Yazoo.

"Lyra, I'm just…. I'm just worried." His face was burning hot and he knew he was bright red again. "And I don't like feeling worried."

Drew smirked and pinched her fingers together. She smushed them together and made kissing noises. Fuck it, he was going to throw Drew overboard and there was nothing Lyra could do to stop him.

Before he could take a step toward the girl, Yazoo pulled him away. He led him around the corner and knocked him against the wall. If that wasn't enough, Yazoo whacked the side of his head.

"Ow, what was that for?"

Yazoo gave him an annoyed look. "Aerith told us not to murder anyone if we can help it. Pushing every person who annoys you overboard isn't helping anyone."

"I wasn't-"

Yazoo didn't let him interrupt. "If you don't like Drew teasing you, maybe you should try being less obvious."

A flame of panic shot down Kadaj's spine. "What do you mean?"

Yazoo rolled his eyes. "Stop playing dumb. I've known since we were kids."

Yazoo left him and went back to the girls. Drew was still teasing Lyra, who was beet red and laughing. She was in a much better mood than earlier, which almost made him smile but he wasn't going to let his brother or Drew see that. He could almost hear Aerith laughing again. Kadaj huffed and turned to go back belowdecks. Loz wouldn't be this annoying.

At least Kadaj hoped he wouldn't.

"We found nothing in Junon and the Junon Area, sir," Tseng said. "Only Dr. Jael's wyvern. Which I find strange. Wherever the Vigo is, that's where Subject 6676 should be. The Vigo has her scent and it's never lost its prey before."

Rufus sat at his desk in the Healen Lodge before them silently listening. His eyes were fixed on his computer screen, where the newest video from Dr. Jael was paused. He didn't look happy. Dr. Jael had been sending his videos to the WRO as well as Rufus, but so far whatever techie magic the WRO had was keeping the general populace from viewing the grisly things. Reno scratched the back of his head as Tseng continued his report. He finished telling Rufus about Vincent and Yuffie. Rufus scoffed.

"The WRO had no idea what they had," he said. "They thought of Subject 6676 as a friend instead of the weapon she is." Rufus closed the tab holding Jael's video. "Maybe it was foolish to involve the doctor, but Hojo is dead and Dr. Azazel is the next best thing."

Reno didn't let his boss or colleagues see it, but he didn't feel comfortable calling the kid a weapon. She was, of course, she had been born and raised to fight Shinra's enemies, just as Sephiroth and many other SOLDIERS were.

Besides he could still remember the first time Sephiroth dumped the kid in his office. It was before she was ready to join him on his missions. She was a tiny scrawny thing and stubborn.

"Why can't you find someone else to watch her?" Reno had demanded. The SOLDIER only gave him an incredulous look.

"She's nine years old," Sephiroth had said. "And the scientists who left her with me aren't any help. No one is supposed to know I have a student."

Reno wasn't as concerned about that as Sephiroth was. "Find some other Turk. I'm not a babysitter."

"They're all busy." With that, he knelt in front of the little girl and told her to behave, and left. By the time Sephiroth came back, Reno had taught her how to pick locks.

Reno found the kid annoying at first. Lyra asked annoying questions and was always touching things that she shouldn't touch and sneaking around. She had quiet footsteps and could hardly control the fire and ice. And even worse, she greeted people with either a punch or a hug depending on her mood. And Sephiroth was no idiot. He knew exactly who had taught her to pick locks, even though Reno made the kid swear never to tell. Reno was the one they sent through the vent systems and the training rooms and empty labs she ran into when she didn't want to cooperate with the scientists.

Shit, if his office was still there in the ruins of the old Shinra building, he could probably find the drawing the kid gave him. She had been furious with him when he thought the silver-haired blob next to the dark-haired blob was Sephiroth. She had insisted that it was some boy in her head who she talked to in her dreams and drew Sephiroth on the other side of the dark-haired blob. Reno couldn't tell the difference, but he wasn't going to tell the little shit that. Lyra knew her way around a sword and was using her abilities like she should at that point.

Turks were discouraged from forming relationships with anyone outside the Turks to discourage disloyalty, but Reno eventually found himself enjoying the times he watched the kid for Sephiroth. He was relieved when she started accompanying Sephiroth on missions.

"Reno, what did you find in Junon?" Rufus asked. Reno stayed as cool and casual as usual.

"I searched all the inns and hotels," Reno answered. "Homeless shelters, a few camps, apartment buildings. Nothing. I had no more luck than Elena and Tseng."

Rufus closed his eyes and stood. He began pacing behind his desk. Reno shared an amused look with Rude. Rude shook his head.

"Sir, maybe we should reconsider convincing Valentine to rejoin the Turks," Elena offered. Rufus shook his head.

"No. Vincent Valentine is an excellent marksman, but he was a bad Turk." Rufus continued to pace. "He formed too strong an attachment to Dr. Crescent and interfered with experiments. We would have better luck with Yuffie, and she's Wutain."

Tseng took a step closer to the desk. "The WRO is already suspicious of your new developments."

Rufus kept pacing. "You shouldn't have bothered being friendly with Valentine or the ninja."

"Technically, Valentine saw us first," Elena said. Rufus stopped pacing and looked at the three of them.

"Tseng, I want you and Elena to check in with our new recruits," he said finally. Tseng and Elena shared a nervous look and left. Rufus turned to stare out the window behind his desk. Reno waited for Rufus to give him an order. This behavior wasn't unusual coming from Rufus Shinra, but it usually was Reno annoying Rufus, not Elena and Tseng. Reno gestured to Rude and Rude shrugged his shoulders. Eventually Rude cleared his throat. Rufus startled a little and sat in the chair at his desk.

"You're a good Turk, Reno," Rufus said. "You always do what you're told, no matter how hard the task."

A flicker of anxiety filled his stomach, but again Reno didn't let it show. He wasn't sure what Rufus was going to tell him, but it felt like he was about to be ordered to drop another Sector 7 Plate.

"I am."

"Good." Rufus folded his hands on his desk. "If Dr. Jael's wyvern should fail to retrieve her and the WRO gets ahold of her again, I would like you to eliminate Subject 6676."

Reno frowned. "Eliminate, sir?"

Rufus nodded. "Eliminate. Kill. Return her to the Lifestream, if you will. She is a Cetra, after all."

Reno shared another look with Rude, but Rude looked just as surprised. Reno honestly didn't know what to think.

"We have other surviving subjects from Project Starchild in the Woodlands Area," Rufus continued. "Losing the girl would be less than ideal, given her training under Sephiroth and in DeepGround, but the others should be just as effective."

That made sense but the order still left an awful taste in Reno's mouth. "And the Remnants?"

Rufus smiled. "What about them? I have no need for them and the world doesn't need another Sephiroth, just his student. Kill them if they get in the way and avoid them if you can. The Remnants have been killed before, it shouldn't be hard to get rid of them again."

Author's Note: Please leave a review if you enjoyed! I really like where the story is going so far. I'm working on the next few chapters.