It's been about a month and a half, they wandered around the massive city from September to October. Apparently on October 5th it had snowed, which was rare, and she missed it. She now has only 10 gil. She didn't expect her funds to be drain so quickly, but she also didn't expect the plus one.

Now, her 'Brother', the one she always claiming "My sick brother needs it!" to anyone who questioned her purchases or inn stays, had just slumped next to a train platform in who knows where.

I'm surprised we got this far, Wren looked around the train station, "Now… where are we?" She never had time to sightsee when sightseeing was only pertained to having hawk eyes on the blonde-guy she met outside of Midgar.

By now, she was used to it, she had taken care of him for this long. It's not the first time she had taken care of someone ill either. Whenever, 'Brother' needed to be cleaned up or bathed, she managed to get some good-will man to do it with her lying excuse, "Mom says I'm too young. I have to wait till I'm married to see a man naked." Fortunately, they were naïve enough to believe her innocence.

When they had stay at inns, she would remanence to 'Brother' on the things she used to do with Kai. Even the mannerism Kai had towards her with his saying, "Don't be a nuisance." At least, it doesn't make me feel lonely… 'Brother' doesn't say anything or respond. He is either mumbling incoherent nonsense, or staring off into space like a dead fish, or getting up to wonder off again. Even when she looked into his eyes, his thoughts are fragmented to the point that his identity still remains a mystery. The only reoccurring the phrases were 'Legacy', 'SOLDIER', '1st Class', 'Mercenary', 'Brother', and sometimes her name. However, that electric feeling when she first met him, hasn't happen again, but I feel I am connected to him somehow and don't want to leave him alone.

Her so-called "brother" eyes wandered as he had loosened his grip on the massive sword, "Uh… w-wre…. bru…aggh…"

Many people passed by whispering about the pair, this is making me paranoid, "Well brother," She crouched to check on him, "Hmm… How do I find out who you are?... Maybe I can try again…" She gently lifts his head with both of her hands to make eye contact with him.

'Legacy… Mercenary… Brother… SOLDIER… 1st Class…' His eyes were blue and had a distinct glow, "Wru…nn… bru…th…rre…" His eyes seem focused on her.

Huh? Even with his mind going everywhere, is he trying to say my name? She nods in encouragement, "It's Wren. Wren. W-R-E-N."

"Wr-e-nn…" he tried to imitate her gesture, "Bro-th-er…" but his hands only made it to her shoulders, "We…Mer-cen-ary…" His eyes slowly searched her curiously.

Huh? That's the closest he said to a sentence, she nods again, "Yep, I'm Wren. We are mercenaries" I think we are… "and you are…?"

'I'm… who… am… I...?' His brows furrowed, "Broth-er…?"

Hoo boy, didn't expect that… She sighed, "Your name. What is your name?"

'Name… my… name… Clo-'He struggled to answered, "Cl-ow-"

"What's the matter?" A gruff voice said.

"Whaa-" Wren flailed away from 'brother' before falling backwards. She looked towards the source of the angry voice.

She noticed the train coach glaring at them, "If you two aren't getting on the train, then move somewhere else. You're scaring people."

Wren noticed the people witnessing the situation as they continued to whisper rather than offering help.

Wren felt her eyebrow twitched, Great… Some help…What now… She took a quick glance at 'brother', Huh? She noticed his eyes seemed to be on her.

'Brother' tried to raise his hand to reach out, 'Don't… Go… Again…' She heard.

The train coach twitched at the girl ignoring him, "Well?"

'Again'? Is it… his memories? She shook her head to collect herself before getting up, "Um… Er- You see, my brother is-"

"Huh?" The man sees the state of the slumped man, "A mako junkie? That make sense. Poor kid."

Wren gritted her teeth, "No, he's not! He's-"

'Stupid kid. Losing time and money here,' The man rubbed his temples, "I don't care, just grab him, and leave!"

Such a vain man… She looks to the ground and clenched her fist. Wren then glared up at the man, "Who cares about your damn time and money!"

'How did she?!' The man was taken aback by the girl's intense feline eyes, "Hey- Tch... Fine, if you don't leave in 10 minutes, I will call security." The man stocked off.

After a few seconds, Wren relaxed, "Whew," She looked over to 'brother', "10 minutes… is not enough…" She bends back to him again, "Let's get going, okay?"

She heard a female voice, "Are you both alright?" Wren looked up to see a woman had ran up to them, "I just saw the commotion," She saw small glimpse of the woman's thought, 'They always treat the sick people like that.' The woman lightly pointed to him, "Is he okay?"

Wren noticed the woman's appearance. She wore a white tank top, a black skirt, had long black hair, earrings, and ruby eyes. Wren eyes widen when she forgotten the woman was waiting for an answer, "Uh no… Er- I mean… yeah… Er- I mean…he just needs a boost to get up."

"I see," The woman bends down to the man's level to check him, "Are you okay?"

When the woman made eye contact, the man's eyes widen a bit, "Uh…Uh… Tifa?" The man grabbed his head in pain for a moment, "Tifa?" He said more coherently.

Hoo boy… Wren inched a bit away.

The man stood up in realization, "Tifa!"

For a moment, the woman and Wren stared in surprised.

Then the woman blinked in realization, "Cloud!"

The man smirked, "That's right. I'm Cloud."

Wren stood there baffled; The heck?! Her name is Tifa?! Brother's name is Cloud?! Bw-what?! Wasn't he just a mindless body the past month?! She inched herself more away.

Tifa gotten a better look at his face, "Is it really you Cloud? I never thought I'd find you here?"

He hummed, "Yeah, it's been a while."

She noticed that his face is slightly pale, "What happen to you? You don't look well." She tried to put her hand on his cheek.

He had a strange feeling of déjà vu, but shrugged her hand off, "Yeah. It's nothing. I'm okay."

Wren looked to the ground while biting her nails; Crap, crap, crap, should I stay or should I go? Should I speak up? What if I'm some weird kid?! I am the weird kid! She felt her head spinning.

Tifa was taken aback by Cloud's demeanor, "How long has it been?"

He felt another headache come on, before collecting himself again, "Five years."

Tifa went quiet, actually, it's been seven years.

Cloud tilt his head in confusion, "What is it?"

Tifa shook her head, "…it's really been a long time." She gave a small smile before she realized, Oh, the girl. She turned to see the girl had stepped away from them and staring at the ground, why is she with Cloud?

Cloud followed Tifa's eyes that landed on the girl, That girl she's… He felt another headache, "Wren."

Wren gulped at her name being called, she slowly looked up to meet the couple's eyes observing her, Hoo boy…

~7~

He just finished the last report. The report he did as a distraction. He leaned back into his chair and massaged his temples recalling the conversation a month and a half prior. He was more than surprised to received a call from the man that he had now received credit for killing.

He was doing the report on the rogue Turk that was found dead in his home. Until his personal cell ringed, only a close few knew it. He looked at the number, UNKNOWN, but he knew exactly who it was.

He picked up the phone, "Veld."

The voice on the other line said, "Tseng."

"To what I owe the pleasure."

"What is the status on Kai?"

He paused. He shouldn't be surprised this man asked. He assigned Kai to what will be his final mission. The question is, why now? Unless-

"So, he is gone." The voice confirmed.

"What did you find?"

"More like who I found."

Tseng tighten his grip on his phone, "Where is it heading?"

"She is heading to Midgar."

"So, it's female. Any detailed appearance?"

"Emerald eyes, silver hair, pale skin, and slightly shorter for her age. Also, she carries Kai's weapons."

"Her age?"

"Hmm, from the last report Kai given me about seven years back, the child was about five. Calculating it now, she is around twelve."

Tseng felt a headache coming as he pinched the bridge of his nose before sighing. His former leader was the only one to see his stoic attitude dropped time by time, "We were given orders to dispose of S2."

"I assume by Hojo."

"Hojo through Heidegger, under the assumption that AVALANCHE had gotten their hands on S2."

"A clean-up job."

"More or less. What is S2 lethality?"

"Haven't seen in person. Elfe was vague on details too. She really became fond of the kid to let her be called by her given name."

Tseng read between the lines, S2 is innocent and naïve growing child, "Does it go by a name?"

"The kid calls herself Wren. She's keener than she leads on. There are two things to be aware of."

"That being?"

"Before going M.I.A., Kai's past reports stated she can read thoughts. She based her intuition on the person's initial thoughts. Her senses are also to be reported to be heighten if she feels threaten."

"Essentially, the child has untapped potential that can be molded."

"More of the reason to get rid of her, if she gets into the wrong hands."

Although he received a lead on S2 whereabouts and status, the situation of destroying Zirconaide escalated to where his men's lives were in danger. He chose the greater threat over the minor. Even now, his men are spread out. Most gone into hiding while few stuck to his side.

He opened his desk to grab Kai's old case file, and flipped through his medical record before his demise. The gears of his mind begin to turn; The only thing found at the cabin that pertained to documents is his medical record, but nothing about S2… like she didn't exist. Something is not connecting. If calling Wren 'S2' or 'it' makes it easier to deny the human identity, then it should ease the conscience of the order to kill the child created for the sole purpose of being a weapon. Why would Kai leave S2 alive and go rogue until the end? Now unless there is another use for S2 when we find her, her short life will come to an end.

Tsengs thoughts were cut off when the office door opened.

He sees Reno walking in with a to-go bag, "Hey boss, brought food yo."

Tseng looks at the to-go bag placed on his desk, his eyes narrowed, "What happened?"

Reno diverted his eyes for a moment and rubbed the back of his head, "Well, there's a situation, more like a manhunt going on yo."

S2 pursuit would have to be put on hold, Tseng closed the case file and puts it back inside his desk, "Details."

~7~

The food stand chef prepared the food for the waiting customers seated at the tables in front.

Cloud recounted his story to Tifa while they all ate, "Now, I'm a mercenary with Wren accompanying me." He gestured to Wren who was seated in the chair between the two adults.

Roll with it, Wren quietly sipped her juice while nodding, that was a close one earlier. She remembered the small event that brought them here to the food stand.

Hoo boy… Were Wren last thoughts before her stomach growled out loud. She felt her face grew hot.

Cloud and Tifa were surprised by the child's stomach.

Tifa broke into a small giggle when she noticed Wren's face flushed, "Why don't we get something to eat? I'm sure you both had a day." She smiled at the both of them.

Roll with it, Wren relaxed a bit hearing that and merely nodded. Then she boldly walked up to them then taking Cloud's hand, "Brother, don't worry me like that."

Cloud and Tifa blinked, "Brother?"

This is my chance, Wren puffed her cheeks, "Brother, how mean. That monster must of hit your head really hard." She let go and flailed her hands, "I had to practically chase after you in the state you were in before you collapsed here. You and I had mercenary work." She made eye contact.

'Was I that out of it? Right, I guess I've must of blanked on who Wren was. Wait, why'd she called me 'brother'?' Cloud stared at her, "Did I?"

Wren dropped her head, "Haah, Brother is brother." She accusingly pointed at him and Cloud took a step back, "Remember they don't take a minor seriously as a mercenary here. When we came to town awhile back, I called you brother so I can be on the jobs with you. I didn't expect you to run into your girlfriend here." She gestured to Tifa.

Tifa felt her cheeks heat up and looked away, "G-girlfriend?"

'Girlfriend?' Cloud diverted his eyes to somewhere else, "We're-"

They bought it, Wren nodded in approval and hugged his arm, "I'm really hungry, can we go eat now?" Then her face fell, "but we don't have enough gil…"

Tifa recovered and gave a sympathetic smile to Wren, "How about this, it's on me this time."

She's too nice… but, she is also aware Cloud is not really himself… Wren returned the smile, "Thanks Brother's girlfriend!" She felt Cloud stiffed.

M-Me dating Cloud?! That's-, Tifa flushed again, "Actually, we're childhood friends."

Is there a difference? Wren tilt her head, but still smiled, "Oh, okay."

Now, Wren is here. She lightly sighed into her drink while taking another sip, still is weird that he miraculously recovered with a personality intact. She recalled Tifa's and Cloud's expression when she accused them of dating, it's also weird their not dating, I read in a book Kai gave me that childhood friends become lovers. Ah, it was a good storybook.

Tifa hummed at Cloud's story as she swirled the drink in her cup, "Oh, so that's what happen."She looked over to Wren, "How did you meet Cloud, Wren? I want to hear your story."

Wren made eye contact with her before setting her juice down, "I was traveling to find another job and I… uh…ran into Cloud on the way. Been traveling with him since. He has been giving me pointers during mercenary work. As you can see, we had adventures." She smiled, but if he remembers this much with me as altered memories… then that person he was with before must have been important…

'So, they met after the Nibelheim incident,' Tifa took a sip of her drink, "I see, how long will you both be in Midgar?"

Cloud nonchalantly answered, "Not long. We will be leaving soon."

Tifa blinked in surprised.

Wren bolted up from her chair, "Uh-Brother why?!"

Cloud sighed, "If we couldn't get enough gil here, then we have to go elsewhere. I don't want to rely on Tifa too much."

They didn't notice Tifa's concerning look when she stared at her drink, if Cloud leaves, then I can't find out why he knows what happened from five years ago…

I can't leave, I haven't found anything about being S2! Wren's furrowed her brows together and bit her lip, "Um… That is true, but…"

This kid… Cloud gave her a stern look, "Wren, don't be a nuisance."

Wren freeze, Huh…

'I remember I used to tell her that a lot,' He gets up from his seat and put his sword back, "We should probably head back to the inn to prepare our leave for tomorrow. Let's go."

Did he merge my stories of Kai into his memories? Wren dumbfoundedly nodded, "Uh- Right…"

When Wren took a small step, Tifa stopped them, "Hold on Cloud, I think I have a good paying merc job in mind."

They looked to Tifa.

'Wren doesn't know Cloud's memories don't match from five years ago. I really want to keep an eye on him,' Tifa puts her finger to her lip, "It's a really big job, but I can't give any detail here in the open."

It might be a waste of time, Cloud paused.

Then Tifa put her hands together, "I can really use your help for this and you will get paid. You can be the SOLDIER for hire. Please Cloud." For me? She silently begged.

Is Tifa in trouble? Cloud saw Tifa's pleading eyes, but if Tifa is in trouble then…

Alright! Good job Tifa! Wren took the opportunity to tugged Cloud's arm, and he looked down, "Come on brother! Tifa asked as a friend."

He sighed in defeat, "It depends on the details."

Tifa's face brighten, "Really? Thank you so much Cloud! Why don't we head to your guys' inn room to discuss the job details. Oh, Wren I can also get you small jobs to help out."

Cloud nodded, "Sounds good. Let's go Wren."

"Got it!" Wren let go of his arm and lead the pair to the inn room she and Cloud stayed.

When they arrived to the room, Tifa explained the job details. They sat on the bed's with Cloud and Wren sitting on one bed while Tifa sits on the one across from them.

What a long job description, Wren began dosing off during the explanation while she leaned a bit on Cloud.

Tifa finished to let Cloud absorb the information. She noticed Wren's drowsiness and smiled softly, even if she put's a tough front with Cloud and me, she is just a child.

Cloud, not bothered by the leaning girl, hummed, "Sounds like a job. Who is this group going against Shinra?"

Tifa focused back on Cloud, she took a deep breath before answering him with determined eyes, "AVALANCHE."

A/N: So, I found out that Before Crisis still continued after Crisis Core. I was looking at the event timeline and wanted to align the story to that. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Leave a comment if you have any feedback. Until Next Time~ (-^o^-)y