A short one, but we're getting to the catharsis so…

Chapter 46

Quigley awoke and looked over at the clock, seeing that it was close to seven in the morning. He knew he needed to get up and start preparing to leave in a few hours for the trip to Junon, but the feeling of the warm body next to him in his bed made that entirely undesirable to do.

Amy stirred and looked over at him in the darkness. "Quig?"

"Yeah?"

She had an arm draped across his chest, and let her fingertips press into his skin. "You're not getting up yet, right?"

Quigley moved slightly and kissed her. "Not quite yet."

She nuzzled into him, her tiredness still obvious. "Okay…good."

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Porter was sitting on the edge of his bed, buttoning up his shirt. He was in the process of donning a counterfeit Turk suit, as Reno had decided that would be the best thing for the insertion team to wear since they were being escorted into the lab by Rude. There was something to be said about the familiarity of the outfit as he slipped on his zippered suit coat. It may have been just a few years shy of a decade since he'd been a Turk, but at the moment, it didn't seem near that long.

Rayna emerged from the bathroom and froze upon seeing him rise from the bed. "Oh, wow…"

He turned his evergreen eyes toward her and cocked his head. "What's up?"

She sauntered over to his side and reached out, straightening his tie. "It's just…well, this is what you used to look like when we first got together."

"Blast from the past, huh?" Porter offered her a smile.

"A very sexy one, I might add." Rayna placed her hands upon his shoulders. Her expression suddenly fell as the reality of why he was in a Turk suit settled in. "I really wish you weren't going in, Joseph."

To hear her use his real name let him know how serious she was. He gazed into her dark eyes and framed her face with his hands. "I know, and I'm sorry, but I can't let Quig go in there without me."

Rayna sighed, feeling her fear wash over her. She was aware, however, that Porter and Quigley were inseparable and that her husband would never let the researcher do anything even remotely dangerous on his own. In her heart, she knew that when push came to shove, Porter and Quigley honestly loved one another. There was no way that the former Turk would be dissuaded from this mission, no matter what protests she raised. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

His smile returned and he kissed her gently before stepping back. "Rayna, you know I will. Besides, this shouldn't be too bad. I mean, Rude's getting us in there so it's not like we're going to have to fight our way through the building."

Rayna remembered how close Porter and Rude had been during his Turk days and knew that the older man would do all that was in his power to see to her husband's safety. "Okay."

"I love you, Rayna." Porter went over to the dresser and picked up his gun, sliding it into his shoulder holster beneath his suit coat. "I have to go now."

Rayna closed the distance between them and launched herself into his arms for one last kiss. She was literally heartsick over what Porter was voluntarily walking into.

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It was eleven in the morning when everyone amassed on the airfield as the mission team was ordered to head out. Kimo, Quigley, Porter, Rayna, Amy, Reno, Angel, Ericson, Brad, Cid, Jin, Vincent, and Tifa were all present.

Reno and Angel came over to where Vincent and Tifa were standing. Angel leaned close to Tifa, seeing that Charlotte was sleeping in her arms.

The ASRIO leader looked over at Vincent. "Just think, if this all works out, you could be demon free pretty soon."

"I hope so." Vincent scanned over all those present dressed in Turk suits, feeling incredibly left out. He then looked back at Reno, noticing that he, too, was in such a suit. "I thought you weren't going?"

Reno waved his hand, seeming to dismiss Vincent's concern. "Aw fuck, I'm just riding along but I put it on just for the hell of it."

Vincent crossed his arms over his chest, doubt in his mind. "Right."

"He promised that he wasn't going in, but he is making the trip to Junon," Angel snapped, not one to entirely believe the things that Reno said.

"I'm not!" Reno turned his back on them. "I'm just riding along. I plan to stay the fuck out of the Shinra building, thank you very much."

Angel squealed in surprise when Reno whipped back around and took her into his arms, before planting a firm kiss upon her lips.

Reno finally let her go. "All right, Babe, I'm off. I love ya."

"I love you, too," she said after him as he pushed through the crowd and over to the helicopter.

"All right, let's get this fuckin' show on the road!" Reno called out, signaling that everyone on the team needed to board the chopper.

Good byes were given all around and all the men departing got into the helicopter. Brad fired up the engines and all those remaining backed away.

Vincent felt a lump come up in his throat as the chopper lifted up into the sky. The fact that he wasn't onboard and going on the mission was ripping him apart. Not wanting anyone to see the emotion that was creeping up within him, he turned silently and headed back down into the base.

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Porter was sitting in one of the helicopter's seats next to Quigley. He examined his best friend, seeing that the researcher's complexion was noticeably pale. "Quig?"

His dog-brown eyes turned to Porter. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" Porter asked, genuinely concerned.

"I'm…I'm scared to do this, Port. After seeing what's happened to the rest of you guys in the past going on these missions…and what happened to Spence…" Quigley hastily looked away, feeling a burn come to his eyes at the mention of his dead brother.

Porter knew that this was going to be unbearably hard on the other man no matter what he had to say. Not knowing what else to do, he put his arm around Quigley's shoulders.

Reno was sitting across from them, flanked by Kimo and Ericson. His first instinct was to taunt Porter and Quigley for their present position, but when he saw the hint of tears in the blonde's eyes, he actually managed to hold his tongue. This was not the time to harass Porter and Quigley for their remarkably close relationship. For agreeing to go on this mission, they deserved a break.

They made the three-hour flight to Junon more or less in silence.

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Jaras sat at the dinning room table in his father-in-law's home, with Jeanine at his left and Aaron at his right. Across from them sat Brandon and Janice. When Jaras had stopped by the night before to show Aaron Sephiroth's belongings, they had found the house empty as Brandon and Janice had gone out. Today, he'd returned again with Jeanine and Aaron in tow, still intending to show his younger brother the items that Brandon had kept. When Janice had opened the door upon their arrival, both Jeanine and Jaras had been dumbstruck. They were then invited in and now they all sat together in the dinning room.

Dr. Arlin had just finished giving her explanation for her resignation from ASRIO and a silence had fallen over the group.

Eventually, Jaras broke the quiet. "So, what are your plans now?"

"I'm going to stay here as long as Brandon can tolerate me, I suppose." Janice felt a blush come to her cheeks. "I really don't know what else."

Jaras asked the obvious. "Who's working as doctor in the base if you're not there?"

"They've had a few people that have filled in here or there over the years. I'm sure I've already been replaced." Janice dropped her gaze to the surface of the table.

Jeanine, having gotten close to the other woman, was concerned. "This just doesn't seem like you, Janice."

"That's what I told her," Brandon interjected, reaching over and taking up one of Dr. Arlin's hands into his own.

"Look, I just want to have a life for a while, that's all. It's not that I don't love being a doctor…hell, I'll even admit that I'm really attached to all of the people back at ASRIO, including Reno, but enough is enough." She hung her head and sighed.

Brandon, seeing that Janice was being hard on herself opted to change the subject. He looked over at the boy. "So, Aaron, you're staying with your brother?"

"Yeah," he looked over at Jaras, "for a while."

The old man seemed to take this answer at face value. "Well, I know Jaras probably is just delighted that you're here. He talks about you a lot."

Aaron's eyes lit up to hear this. "He does?"

"You bet he does." Brandon offered him a smile.

Jaras laughed quietly to himself to hear this, mostly because it was the truth. "Actually, I was bringing him here today to show him something. Do you still have that box stashed behind the couch in the family room?"

Brandon knit his brow. "Oh…he knows about that?"

"More or less he figured it out on his own." Jaras reached over and patted his little brother on the back. "He's intelligent."

"Well, yes, it's still in there. Go ahead and show him." Brandon motioned toward the family room.

Jaras nodded in appreciation and got up from his seat, taking Aaron's hand and leading his younger sibling out. Once in the family room, Jaras went over to the couch and knelt upon it, reaching back and pulling forth the wooden box that was kept behind it. He set it upon the coffee table and then smiled over at his brother who'd come over and sat beside him.

"I wanna see," Aaron urged him on.

Jaras gave him a quick nod and then flipped open the latch upon the box and pulled open the top. The smell of Mako instantly filled the room, making Jaras' gut knot at the memory of his recent treatment.

Aaron's eyes went wide and he stood up, leaning over the crate. "Can I touch it?"

"Sure, go right ahead." Jaras sat back and enjoyed the boy's amazed expression.

Aaron reached into the box and picked up the gloves that were on top of everything, examining them for a moment. He set them carefully upon the table then reached in and picked up the long leather coat within. The boy held it up before him, disbelieving that he was actually seeing these items in person. "This is really cool, Jaras… Have you ever put it back on?"

Jaras shook his head. "Never."

"I think you should. I'd like to see it." Aaron glanced back over his shoulder at his brother.

Knowing that he'd do anything to amuse his sibling, Jaras smiled. "Do you really want to see me in that stuff?"

Aaron nodded eagerly.

Jaras laughed to himself and stood up. He picked up the gloves and tossed them back in the box before claiming the coat from his brother and laying it back inside. That done, he took up the box and headed toward the bathroom.

Aaron landed back on the couch, tickled that his brother would do this for him.

Jaras went into the bathroom and stripped down to his boxers. That done, he began pulling things out of the box and getting dressed. It may have been ages since he'd been Sephiroth and had worn this outfit, but the act of putting it on and the feeling of the leather against his skin was still all too familiar. After getting it all on and pulling on his boots, he turned and looked at his image in the bathroom mirror.

His eyes narrowed as he studied his reflection, finding it familiar, frighteningly familiar. Slowly, he reached up and back, and pulled the rubber band from his hair that had been holding it in a loose ponytail, so that his silver mane cascaded freely about his shoulders. It was time to go show Aaron and he opened the door and stepped out.

The boy had produced his video game from his pocket while waiting, and had quickly gotten absorbed in it. When he heard Jaras clear his throat, he looked up, his crimson eyes going wide. "Oh wow…"

Jaras cocked his head to the side. "What do you think? It's a little ridiculous, isn't it?"

Aaron shook his head and got up, coming closer. "No, it's cool."

"If you say so." Jaras offered his brother a smile.

The others chose that moment to walk in from the other room, and they all stopped dead in their tracks upon the vision of Sephiroth standing there. They were all shocked to have this very concrete reminder of exactly who Jaras truly was displayed before them. No one knew what to say.

Upon seeing the expressions that everyone wore, Jaras suddenly felt more than a little self-conscious about having put on his old outfit. He felt the need to try and explain himself. "Aaron just wanted to see, that's all."

Jeanine, being the most in tune with Jaras' feelings, stepped forward. A smile came to her lips and she placed a hand on his shoulder. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, seeing him dressed like this was proving to be somewhat of a turn on. "It's all right. You actually look pretty damn good."

He cocked an eyebrow, catching the glimmer in her eye as she said this to him. "Thanks…"

Jeanine leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear. "I think it's about time you bring that outfit home, don't you? I might just want to see General Sephiroth again sometime."

Jaras felt his cheeks flush red and he laughed to himself. "I might just be inclined to do so."

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Rude was sitting in the bar in the lobby to the Junon Mayfield Hotel, nursing a beer. His nerves were frayed after assassinating the president of the company the night before. He knew that he hadn't done the best of jobs hiding the body, not that it mattered much. The minute Harwin was late to board the airship in Gongaga the alert would have gone out. Now, the Shinra head would have been missing for well over half a day and surely there was panic in the ranks. Still, he'd watched the afternoon news on the small television in the bar, and no mention of the president's disappearance was mentioned, meaning that the company wasn't yet giving up hope that their leader might still be alive. But as everyone knows, people of that level of power don't generally vanish and turn up alive.

Rude knew that it was only a matter of time before someone came looking. The blood soaked limousine would eventually be found in the parking lot of the Gongaga airport, and they would know that either the president was dead and his Turk probably was, too, or that worse yet, said Turk had killed the Shinra head. Either way, people were going to be on the look out for him shortly.

Suddenly, his whole body went rigid when he felt the unmistakable cold metal of a gun muzzle dig into the back of his neck.

Fuck, not already! he thought to himself, raising his hands slightly from the bar before him.

"Albert Dering Simmons?" growled out a voice behind him, "Better known as the Turk Rude?"

Rude knit his brow and narrowed his eyes behind his tinted lenses. That voice…it was just too familiar. He spun upon his barstool, spotting Reno behind him, a wide smile upon the redhead's lips.

Rude quickly snatched the gun out of the ASRIO leader's hand. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Reno shrugged. "Messing with ya."

Rude handed the gun back to Reno, motioning that he should probably get it out of sight. "You shouldn't be making a scene like that, retard."

Reno collapsed onto a barstool next to his old comrade. "Yeah, I missed you too, sweetie."

"Knock it off, this is serious." Rude pushed his glasses up and faced his friend. "There's some serious shit going on right now. Where are your men?"

Reno pointed out into the lobby, motioning to where his men were sitting off in some chairs. "Out there. Kimo and Porter are here."

Rude raised his eyebrows. He had been close with both of those men in their Turk days, and the thought of seeing them again was appealing. "Really?"

"Yeah, but what's this big deal you're talkin' about?" Reno asked, leaning against the bar and signaling over toward the bartender for a beer like Rude's.

The Turk's expression suddenly turned dark, and his voice barely audible, he replied, "I shot Harwin last night."

Reno's jaw fell open, he couldn't believe this. "The fuck you say?"

Rude took up his bottle and downed its remaining contents. "Yeah, I say."

"That's…" Reno actually smiled, "that's great."

"Yeah, but," Rude locked gazes with the other man, "that means the alert is going to be out on me pretty damn soon. We need to get into that building ASAP and get this done before I become real popular."

"Okay." Reno picked up his beer that had just arrived and slapped down a few gil onto the bar. "Then I'll just have this to go."

Rude nodded and stood up. "That sounds like a good plan."

They exited the bar and approached the ASRIO members in the lobby. Rude inspected all of them. "You all make one ugly damn bunch of Turks."

Porter and Kimo both grinned widely upon seeing their friend. Porter laughed to himself. "Yeah, at least the rest of us still have our hair."

Had that comment come from anyone else, they would have found a bullet in their brain, but Rude just grinned. "Hey Port, Kimo."

"So, shall we?" Reno asked, taking a swig from his drink.

"We?" Porter crossed his arms over his chest. "You're not going, Reno. You promised Angel that you would wait with Brad and the chopper."

"You ain't my fuckin' mom," Reno shot back. "I've changed my mind, and I am going and none of you are gonna say shit to Angel when we get back about it either, got it?"

"Reno, if none of us make it, that leaves Angel alone to run ASRIO, you know that," Porter retorted sharply. "And, need I remind you that you have a new baby on the way. It was you, after all, that gave Vincent crap about going on a mission with a new kid on the way."

Reno scowled. He had hoped to slip in with the mission team for old time's sake without being given any grief, but it was clear that Porter hadn't gotten that memo. "Damn it."

Rude locked gazes with his friend. "Reno, you don't have any business going. You just got half your face blown off not too long ago and I hate to say it but injury or not, you're a pretty well known face and it would make things a lot more risky."

Reno stomped his foot like a child about to have a temper tantrum. "God damn it! I want to fuckin' go!"

"Grow up," Rude growled at him. Acting immature had been one of his only beefs with his long time friend.

"Fuck you guys then." Reno took another drink from his beer. "I'll go back up to the roof and wait with the chopper."

"Good." Rude looked over at the other men. "Let's go."

Reno turned and stormed off toward the elevators, mumbling under his breath as he went. "Fucking fuckers telling me I can't fucking go on a fucking God damned mission. I'm the fucking boss…"

"I see he hasn't grown up much," Rude said as he began to lead the others from the hotel lobby.

Porter and Kimo walked at his sides, Quigley and Ericson trailing.

Porter smiled at the last remark. "No, he hasn't."

"How've you been? Still with Rayna?" Rude asked.

"Good, I've been all right and of course I'm still with Rayna, we're married." Porter gave him a sidelong glance.

"What about you, Kimo?" Rude looked over at the heavyset blond.

"I'm doing," he replied with a smile. "It's going to be nice for all of us to be together again, huh? Just like old times."

"Yeah, except Rasta ain't here," Rude said back quietly.

Porter and Kimo both nodded in a moment of silence. The dead Turk had been a close friend before things had turned bad-- very bad seven years before.

Quigley sighed loudly as he trudged along behind the others, not at all happy about what they were going to do. Porter heard this and dropped back to his best friend's side. "Quig?"

The researcher kept his gaze to the sidewalk before him. "Yeah?"

"Are you doing okay?"

"I just want this over with, Port." Quigley's heart was beating out of his chest and his whole body was shaking, although he was doing his best to hide it.

"Pretty soon, okay?" Porter looked down the street, seeing the Shinra facility less than half a block away. "Fifteen, twenty minutes from now, we'll be back on the helicopter heading home, all right?"

"Sure." Quigley forced a pathetic smile.

Rude led them straight up to the Shinra building, but stopped short of going up the stairs and through the door. He turned back and faced the others. "I'm going in first, just to scope things out. If they don't give me any shit, then I'll come back out and get you guys, and we'll head up, all right?"

Everyone nodded in unison. Rude knew best.

It was time.