:) Wow I'm so happy, thanks for reviewing everyone, I really appreciate it! hugs When I have time in return I will read and review all your fanfics :) Hehe I'm so pleased you liked the last chapter. Not long now till Advent Children on DVD! I'm so excited:)

Well here's chapter two, hope you like it!

Fated

Chapter Two- Snowy Business

"C'mon man, speed up!" Reno teased, in the process of being tossed around in the back of the old Shin-Ra van. Just 24 hours earlier, The Turks were assigned on a new mission, to check out some miss-happenings at the chilly town Icicle Inn. They didn't know much about the mission, that's what made them slightly self-conscious. They didn't know what to expect. All they knew is that there had been complaints of strong energy beams coming from The Northern Crater over-night, large shots of green light disturbing the towns people. Tseng was convinced it was only the Mako Energy healing the planet, but according to the people of the town, they much stronger blasts than ever before. They could practically feel the waves of energy beneath their feet.

Not that Reno was really bothered about this mission, because technically, it wasn't a mission. They weren't getting paid much, and also all they had to do was check out the town and stay a few nights to see if the towns people were telling the truth. Not that The Turks didn't believe them, just it would be easier if they saw it for themselves.

"..." Rude kept quiet over Reno's request. They were currently driving away from Midgar, across quite a cobbly road. Tseng was driving in the front, along with Rude next to him. The only space for Reno and Elena was in the back, so they had to somehow manage to last a bumpy journey to their hideout where their helicopter awaited them. Since the Shin-Ra were down and out, The Turks had set up their own hideout just outside of Midgar, where they were assigned on missions and dirty jobs just for money. They hadn't changed at all since a few years ago, they were still their own, cocky selves.

The awaiting 'copter may only be a few steps away from Midgar, but it was going to take longer than they all anticipated. There was extremely dangerous road works up the only road to their resting place, resulting in Tseng having to slow down, making each one of them impatient. And the heavy, bulky rocks on the road weren't making the journey any easier, especially for Reno and Elena, who were sat at the back of the van, with no seatbelt, getting knocked about like a hamster in a ball.

"You know we can't speed up, Reno. Besides, not long now before we get to our 'copter." Tseng assured the flaming haired guy, who sat with his back to the van wall, trying to use the wall as support.

"Yeah, well... the sooner the better, yo," Reno mumbled to himself. He was sat with his two knees pointing upwards, and his legs open. He rested his arms on his legs, and let his hands relax over the top of his knees. It seemed to work, he didn't get knocked about as much, although still it was irritating. Poor Elena didn't want to risk sitting with her legs open anyhow; One, it didn't feel comfortable. And two, she couldn't even manage to stand up without falling over again. Reno could see she was having trouble staying in one place, well for that he didn't blame her. He blamed those damn road workers!

'What a place to do work on anyway... it was fine as it was before! Meh...' Reno thought, as he amusingly watched Elena slide about. Earlier, Rude had offered to swap places with her, but she said no, just to be polite. Reno always thought Elena was a little TOO polite, she would always turn down offers which would help herself. But that's the way she was, she'd put others before herself, help out wherever she could... and hiding deep inside of her, a feisty side which only shows when she's truly angry. Reno loved that side to her, he even found her somewhat attractive that she had two different sides.

The van suddenly shook, making Reno jump up slightly and loose his balance. Elena let out a quiet scream, as she flew down the van. 'Shit, I'm gonna hit Reno!' She cried in her thoughts, as the force of the road make her slide down the van right into Reno. She landed in between his legs, stomach first, as she squeesed her eyes shut with embarrassment. She heard Reno let out a slight moan with shock, when she rammed into him, slamming his skinny body against the back of the van.

For a few seconds, Elena sat uncomfortably close to Reno, in shock. Their faces were incredibly close together, she could feel his soft breathes hit her face. Felt nice in a way. Reno just sat there and smirked down at her, amused that she hadn't yet moved off him.

"Heh heh.." Reno and Elena glanced up at a sniggering Tseng and Rude from the front of the van. Rude peeked steadily around the corner from his seat, smiling like he'd just got revenge on his worst enemy. The sight of Reno and Elena together made him laugh. Not just because the two of them were having a rough time back there, but because they were both so embarrassed. Maybe not Reno so much, but Elena's face looked like a tomato!

Suddenly realising she had been squashing Reno for some time now, she immediately jumped up from the spot. She took loud deep breathes with nerve, and moved further away from Reno. Reno sat back in his usual position, and glanced up at her with a nervous, cheeky smile on his face.

"Argh! Okay, Rude, let's swap places!" Elena boasted, pulling on the back of Rude's chair, like she was trying to rip it out. Reno smiled with a slight smug look on his face. He could clearly see she was terribly embarrassed. 'Bless her...' Although Reno was still feeling a little shaken. When she fell on him, he had been slammed into the wall hard, pain had shot up his spine. It felt awful.

"... You had your chance! Besides, my backs killing from sleeping on that damn hard mattress last night in that cheap scabby Inn in Midgar!" Rude complained, rubbing his back softly.

Elena sighed. "But...!" She couldn't finish her sentence, before Tseng but in.

"But nothing. You seem to be having fun back there, like when you fell onto Reno." Tseng smirked, enjoying winding Elena up. She was almost red in the face, with embarrassment and a little anger. Guys were her weakness. She couldn't ever win an argument with the Turks, and it had been years since she last had a boyfriend.

'Hmmmm...' Now that made her think. When was the last time she had a date anyway? She couldn't even remember, it made her even more annoyed. Tseng did once offer dinner, but he was hurt so that never went ahead. It was strange, her feelings for Tseng had just suddenly vanished after that. She thought he was dead and blew up in the explosion at The Temple of the Ancients, but she was wrong. He was well and alive, and back then, when she first heard Tseng was still alive, she almost wept like baby she was so happy.

But... when Tseng and her finally united together, she didn't feel anything. No heart racing, no butterflies. Just happiness that her partner in crime was alive. Her feelings for him weren't as strong as she thought they were.

Her thoughts almost trailed off, until Reno spoke up and replied to Tseng's comment.

"Hmmm... maybe Elena's 'falling' for me, yo?" Reno teased. Elena's face looked like it was about to explode with embarrassment.

"LOW BLOW, RENO! LOW BLOW!" She screamed, not at all amused by Reno sarcastic joke.

"Haha!" Reno smirked. He sat up slightly, and placed his hand on Elena's shoulder. He grabbed hold of her black jacket, and pulled her down gently, slowly making her rest against the wall next to him. "I'm just messing with you, yo!"

Elena looked away in a flush. She wasn't sure why, but lately she had been blushing alot around Reno. He had been flirting with her more than usual, teasing her and making sarcastic comments. It was in his nature, to be a jerk though. But in a way, Elena enjoyed it, but hated admitting that to herself. Lately she wasn't being honest with herself. She kept reassuring herself she had no feelings for Reno at all, and that he was simply her work partner and buddy.

Elena slid further next to Reno as the van jerked a little again. The two of them were squashed next to each other at the back of the van. They looked like a couple sat together, and that thought made Elena even more nervous!

Elena swallowed the annoying liquid in her mouth hard. 'Oh geez... I can't wait till I get in that 'copter!'

--

Tseng was the last to aboard the helicopter as it hovered patiently on the ground. He could hardly hear himself think. The main rotor was beginning to speed up, creating a mini tornado and making a loud racket. Tseng suddenly felt a rush of chilly wind run down his back, caused by the wind slowly building up. As he boarded the 'copter, the sound of Reno and Elena messing about in the back seats made him sigh; perhaps listening to the helicopter rotor was better than listening to them two messing on.

Rude was in the driver's seat, holding onto the controls, waiting for Tseng to give him orders. Tseng literally flung himself into the seat next to Rude, now the bickering of Elena and Reno beginning to get on his nerves. Sometimes it felt like Rude was the only decent member of the Turks- he was so relaxed, cool, almost perfect. Then there was Elena, the girl who never knew when to shut up. Typical girl. And Reno, the tease.

'It's like living with kids...' The broad thought soon vanished, as he realised his team were waiting for him to give orders. Moving his tie from side to side, trying to get it straight again, he slowly nodded at Rude, signaling him to close the 'copter doors. Rude didn't say anything back, but did exactly what the leader told him too.

The helicopter door slid shut, blocking out all possible wind and cold. Tseng finally felt relaxed; apart from now the noise of the wind couldn't hide Elena and Reno teasing each other.

"Reno! You've got your own seat! Stop coming onto mine!" Elena cried, only making Tseng boil up even more.

"Alright you two, that's enough. I know this is our first mission in ages, but stop acting like kids and cool it!" Tseng ordered Reno and Elena, who stared back blankly at him. Finally the two of them became silent, Tseng could put his mind at rest. "Okay; Rude, let's go!"

--

The black flip phone was laid on the table, next to a picture frame with the photo of the group which was took a year ago. Tifa, Cloud, Barret, Cid, Vincent, Yuffie, Red X111, all of them were there. Well, almost all of them.

Tifa picked up the photograph, and stared at it long and hard. Just looking at it made her happy; all of her friends were smiling, happy, because Geostigma was cured. But once again Aeris had wandered her way into Tifa's thoughts and memories, making her weak at the legs. She couldn't ever see that sweet smile of Aeris' again. Or hear her witty voice, listen to her girly jokes, or touch her warm hands.

Tifa tried to imagine Aeris in the photo. For some reason, she imagined Aeris stood next to Cloud, holding hands and smiling. Where she should be. At one point Tifa wished that would be her- holding hands with Cloud. But it never happened.

The ruby-eyed girl gently placed the photo back down on it's stand, and glanced at her black mobile phone. She knew what she wanted to do. But ringing The Turks so know one could hear her would be hard. Usually Reno would try to make a conversation about anything at all, and not realise it. That's what Tifa liked so much about Reno. He would make an effort and not know it, he had something charming, witty, almost attractive about him. He was so laid-back, and she knew that deep down inside, he was a right little softy. He had even tried to save some of the kids a year ago.

'He sacrificed his life for the orphans.. a true gentleman...' Tifa smirked, grabbing the phone off the table without a second thought. 'Here goes...'

She flipped open the phone, suddenly receiving a loud ringing noise like twinkling stars in the sky shooting down. A bold message appeared on her screen.

You have 1 new message.

Tifa raised her eyebrows. She hadn't had one of those in a long time. Maybe is was just one of the kids messing about. There was only one way to find out. Tifa slowly pressed the OK button on her phone, which would lead her directly to who had sent the message.

Total Messages; 1

Message 1: Yuffie.

"Yuffie?" Tifa shouted in delight, suddenly letting her smile rip across her face. She had been wanting to do that all day, just it could never come out right. Now it did, she felt so better. Warm bubbles swam through her body with total excitement and delight. She hadn't heard from Yuffie for ages, perhaps the same amount of time as Barret. Yuffie had went off to live in Wutai, where she collected materia as a hobby. Tifa was so glad to hear from her again.

She hesitated in pressing the OK button again, that would reveal the message. It had been so long, she just hoped it would be a friendly message with good news. She hit the OK button, still with a cheesy smile on her face. She couldn't wait to hear what Yuffie had been up to.

Hey Tifa! I might be coming home to see you!

I need more materia! Hey, is there any more

there for me? I'll pay you! Wait.. maybe not,

will you be nice and give it to me for free?

Anyway I've missed you all! I should have

called sooner, but I'll be back to lay

some flowers in the church for Aeris!

Cya soon, Yuffie.

Tifa smiled gently as she read the last words of her message. She held the phone closely to her chest, and rested it there for a little while. She closed her eyes, unbelievably happy Yuffie was coming home. It seemed lately everyone was returning to show their respect for Aeris. Typical, Yuffie was late. The anniversary was yesterday. But... speaking of being late, where was Cid? Red X111, Cait Sith and Vincent? They had all went their separate ways a year ago, but none of them had been in contact since then. Maybe the one of two text messages from Vincent, but they all seem to have vanished. Surly they would come home to see them? Especially Aeris' death anniversary.

Tifa shook her head in annoyance. 'How could they? This is Aeris we're talking about... but... I guess they might have their own ways of showing respect. Perhaps in Cosmo Canyon they held a remembrance, or in Rocket Town they had a two minute silence. Hmm... then again, not many people know Aeris. Maybe individually, each of them did their own little thing? People are ignorant, they'll never believe the story of one girl who saved the planet. They won't have a remembrance over one girl who they've never met, ever heard of, coming from us ex-AVALANCHE members.'

It made Tifa so angry thinking about it- she wasn't sure what to think. It would be nice just to keep the memories of Aeris between themselves. A secret. So each AVALANCHE member would have someone to thank for saving the planet. All the other people just say it was fate, that the planet had to live.

'No! This is no time to be thinking like this! I've got a job to do!' Tifa flipped open her phone again, and scrolled down her list of numbers. She scrolled down until she came to Reno. She stared wide-eyed at the name for a while, unsure if she should call it or not. She didn't want to seem a fool, but it was worth a try.

Reno

.Call

.Message

.Edit

.Delete

Swallowing hard, Tifa placed her thumb on the OK button to call him...

"TIFA TIFA!" Tifa jumped in shock, and spun around to face the door where the loud, excited screams of 'TIFA' had come from. Stood at the door, was Marlene, dressed in a cute white dress, and her usual tied back ribboned hair. She was smiling excitedly, seemed very positive and happy about something.

Tifa's bouncing heart suddenly slowed down with relief. She placed her hand over her heart, thanking herself for not ringing Reno sooner. If Marlene had over-heard, then there goes her plans, and Cloud would be informed which wouldn't be good.

Tifa smiled back at the hyper little girl. Marlene bent her knees, and jumped up through the air in delight. "Guess what, guess what?"

The long-haired beauty sweetly smiled at Marlene, playing along with her little game. "Ohh I don't know, what?" Tifa bent down next to Marlene, and pulled her an encouraging look.

"Papa and Cloud just got a call from Cid and Vincent! They are all coming home! Isn't it great?" Marlene almost squealed with delight.

As the words sunk into Tifa, her heart suddenly felt warm again, like her life was fulfilled. She truly was happy to hear it. "Oh, fantastic! That's great news, Marlene. When are they coming?" Tifa asked, interested in when their arrival would be. But at the same time, she knew it would cause problems, despite really wanting to see them again.

"Today! Papa's gonna try and contact Red X111 and Cait Sith too! We're all gonna have a big feast and a memorial for Aeris! I can't wait! All of the kids are ever so excited, Tifa!" Marlene beamed, jumping up and down on the spot.

"Haha," Tifa felt like she was going to cry. "That's the best news I've heard!" And she wasn't lying, it really did feel great. Seeing everyone again, sharing stories, hugging, just thinking about it made Tifa weak with happiness.

Leaning forwards towards Marlene, Tifa gently hugged her, letting Marlene rest her soft head on her shoulder. There was still something missing though. The reason she had to ring Reno, ask him to do this favour for her. A frown crept over her face, as she continued to hug Marlene. Her happiness was only half-fake- the depression had settled in.

--

The snowy town of Icicle Inn looked the same as it did 4 years ago. The wooden huts stood in the deep, falling snow, with the sturdy roofs which were floured in snow and ice. The screaming children could play out here 24/7 in the snow, at least it kept them occupied. Many of them were running wild, sliding down snowy hills in their sledges while adults were taking pictures or settling inside their homes with an open fire and soup. As usual, the sky was pale blue, from the chilly wind and snowy mountains. In the distance, stood tall cliffs, and the biggest one of all. The Northern Crater, stood quietly in the distance, not too far from here. The towns people got a perfect view. It was as beautiful as ever, the ice slide which surrounded the outside, and the deep hole in the centre where snow fell continuously.

A shiny, green wave of light was circling the Crater, healing it as the children played, and the planet got back to it's normal self. Nothing unusual about it, it had been like that for years and years. Rude began to wonder if this was all just a waste of time; and the towns people were lying, trying to get attention or cause a disturbance. Tseng however, had a feeling the so-called 'strong beams of light' happened every now and then, mainly at night, so they would have to stay at the Inn and wait.

"Shall we?" Reno asked, hinting he wanted to get right into the town into the warmth and not hang around the outskirts near their helicopter. Each Turk glanced at each other, and slowly nodded, agreeing they should get inside.

It had been a long time since the four of them had came here, but they remembered it well. Reno held his body as they walked into the town, the cold really getting to him. Elena rubbed her arms, trying to warm herself up. Tseng and Rude just walked in normally, like they couldn't feel the cold. The two of them liked to act the coolest, they didn't want any little bit of cold get to them and make them seem weak.

Finally into the town, they felt more at home, more welcomed. Each of them stared over at the huge Crater all at once, squinting their eyes as the cold wind stung their faces. Reno was too concentrated on the Crater to even think about the cold anymore. The spiritual energy had drawn them to the Crater. It was still healing, they wondered how long it was going to take. Thousands of years? Longer?

There was a silence between them all, as they watched the Life Stream swim around the Crater. Elena cupped both hands together, and held them up to her face. 'Wow...' From a distance, it looked different. She could see sparkles of light like stars, all around the crater like it was protecting it, a guardian angel. Now the Crater was about half-way healed, it looked so full of life and healthy, shiny and bright. Gorgeous.

Tseng finally spoke up, disturbing the silence and took them out of their own little worlds. "Alright, I guess now we wait. We all know what we're looking for right? Let's head over to the Inn."