Tired, I knock on Reeve's door. It takes a moment, but he finally calls me in. He glances up at me, pressing a finger to his lips. I close the door carefully and wait for him to finish talking to Avalanche. On his screen, I see two windows, both from different perspectives.

"Two Caits," he explains, pulling his headset off and straightening.

"Do you need help with them?" I ask, eager for anything to do. He shakes his head quickly.

"No, I can't have you do that."

"Why not? All I gotta do is keep him on track and answer questions through the program."

"Well, yes…" He sighs, holding his headset back up. After a moment, he sets it back down. "Sorry. Cloud was irritated about something. If you don't mind, you can sit for me while I run to get something to eat."

"Sure."

I pull the headphones on, watching Avalanche through Cait Sith's eyes. The Temple is a long tunnel, winding through corridors of ancient stone and shimmering mist that feel like something out of a fairy tale. A small group of them fight off a living wall (yes, that's right. A living wall.) with magic and Cloud's enormous sword, eventually breaking it to pieces. Cait's mog pumps out a paper fortune just as Reeve returns.

"Hello?" I ask, muting the mic. He motions for me to get up.

"Thank you. Rude told me to have you meet him in his home. Something about Reno."

"Of course it is," I huff, handing him the headphones.

He speaks again when I reach for the doorknob. "Kat?"

"Yup."

"Please don't take control of Cait when I'm not around. I have a very strict system to follow."

"You don't have to worry about me," I laugh, shaking my head. "That was boring as hell."

"Good," he smiles.

Irritated that Reno's upset yet again, I head down to the apartment floor and follow the sounds of arguing. Rude's standing in front of his door, his arms crossed as Reno paces, rambling. My friend turns to see me and throws his hands in the air.

"Speak of the devil!" he cries. "The royal bitchherself has arrived!"

"Reno, stop," Rude huffs, touching his glasses.

I cross my arms, stepping between the two. "What's your problem now?"

"Nothing!" Reno shouts, turning and running his hands through his hair. "Nothing's wrong, Princess."

"Then why are you acting like a child?"

"Oh, I'm acting like a child?!" He whirls back around to point a finger in my face. "You can't even breathe without my help! Quit actin' like you didn't do anything wrong!"

"I didn't do anything," I argue, pushing his hand away.

"Reno—"

"Oh, don't worry, Rude. I won't touch 'er. Go ahead! Take your girl and run off into the sunset with her!"

"Reno, what the—" I start, confused. He shakes his head, interrupting.

"No, really. You two were just meant to be!"

"Rude's really not my type," I scoff, glancing up at the bald man. "No offense, dude. Reno can keep you."

"Oh, sure, that's what I want." He throws a hand out in Rude's direction. "C'mon, Rudie, let's go have our happily ever after."

"What the hell do you want?" Rude sighs, annoyed by his partner's tantrum.

"I want her to admit what she did!"

"She doesn't—"

"Reno, you just told me you couldn't blame me for anything!" I shake my head, baffled by his sudden change of heart. "I don't remember!"

"I was wrong, okay?!"

"Then tell me what I did so I can make it right!" I shout. He's frustrating me out of my mind. He shakes his head. "Tell me or get the fuckover it! This is ridiculous!"

"You killed someone," he snaps, refusing to face me.

"And? You killed people, too. What's your point?"

"It fucking mattered."

"It? Doesn't sound like it mattered, Reno, because you're making this about you. Whatever it was is dead. Nothing now that—"

"Don't talk about him like that!"

My head hits the wall hard enough that I see stars and my vision triples. Blood fills my mouth when my teeth clamp down on my cheek from the sudden movement. Reno squeezes my shoulders, shaking me.

"I will fuckingkill you, you little—"

A loud crack cuts him off. Startled, we turn to see Rufus at the end of the hall, gun in hand as he walks toward us much calmer than he should be. The hole in the wall beside my head is enough to turn Reno's anger.

"What the hell—"

"Reno, violence is not permitted between members of your ranks. Let her go."

"Get the stick outta your ass," Reno snaps. Rufus raises an eyebrow and I try to push Reno off, knowing that look all too well.

"I won't tolerate insubordination." Another crack and Reno gasps, gritting his teeth and clutching his side. Blood oozes out between his fingers.

"Fuck off," he grits, glowering up at the president. Rufus remains composed, his gun raised at the ready. "I won't tolerate bein' fuckin'—"

"Learn to keep your mouth shut."

"Learn to mind your own goddamn business."

"Must I really aim to kill?"

"Okay, that's enough," I snap, stepping forward and clutching the hot barrel on the gun with a grimace. "Put the gun down. Reno, go take care of yourself."

"Whatever, man," Reno scoffs. He does as he's told, pride wounded more than his flesh.

"Of all the people for him to listen to…" Rufus watches Reno go, clearly irritated with his defiance.

"You're the one who came out here, guns blazing," I scoff, letting his weapon go.

"I can't have the rest of Shinra assuming the Turks are allowed to cause scenes during their petty arguments," he replies, turning his cold stare to me. "Your second is causing more problems than he's fixing."

"He's not my second."

"I saved your life."

"Is that a joke?" I huff, crossing my arms. Right now, I don't care if he lectures me about respect for a billionth time. He needs to know he can't just go around shooting his employees. "He wouldn't have killed me."

"No? Whoever you killed was obviously important to him."

"…" I take a deep breath, staring up at the ceiling. I flinch when I feel something touch my hip. Rufus holds my rod in his hands. "Hey, give that back!"

"Not until you can learn to control those… attacks."

"I didn't even have one!" I protest, trying to grab it. He holds it away, pressing a hand to my shoulder to keep me from getting around him. "And stop indirectly mocking my height!"

"Someone has to watch you while Tseng is away."

"That's not your job." Huffing, I turn back to Rude. "Can you believe this?"

Rude shakes his head and steps into his apartment. He's not happy. My heart leaps into my throat when someone grabs my arm. I pull away, scowling at Rufus.

"Don't touch me."

"Your rod?"

"Oh, so you had a change of heart?" I roll my eyes. "Why don't you keep it? Little momentum of how well you watched over me?"

"I don't appreciate your attitude."

"What, are you my father?"

"If I was, I wouldn't have left you as you were." He comes closer, looming over me. "I would not have tolerated your mother as she was. And I most definitely would not have allowed my brother-in-law to raise my other illegitimate children."

"The hell?" I frown, watching him turn the rod over and over in his hands. "How much do you know?"

"Enough." He tilts his head forward, his hair falling out of place. "Enough to know we're similar in more ways than I expected. It seems we're not always who we appear."

"What's your point?" I demand, my stomach twisting when his eyes leave mine, losing their edge.

He looks back at me, thinking. "… I don't know."

I gnaw on my cheek, wishing I could step back. "Is there anything else you need while you're here?"

"You don't have to be on the enemy's side."

"I'm not…?"

"Reeve. Where does he stand?" he asks, his voice taking an odd edge.

"He, um…" I shake my head, tearing my eyes away as my heart begins to pound. "I don't know."

"Is that why you're on edge?"

"No." I cross my arms. "It's a lot more than that."

"I see."

"Good…"

I glance up, shivering when he takes hold of my arm again. This time, I don't pull away. I want him to speak, to break the silence even if it means he gives me another review of what it means to be a good employee. But he doesn't. He only stares, reading me. I hate it. Gods, don't shoot me. I can't take it anymore, standing on my toes and giving in to the same heat that enveloped us mere days ago. I guess that's what he wanted because when I pull away, he's smiling again, smug.

"Don't shoot Reno again," I huff, my face going red as I pull away and head to Rude's door. We have to talk. Rufus hums in response, leaving and taking my rod with him. The door opens before I knock and Rude frowns down at me.

"What the hell was that?"

"What the hell was what?" I demand, letting myself in.

"You know what."

"Stopping Rufus?" I sit down on his couch and take a deep breath of the stuffy air. "Someone had to. Guy doesn't know when enough is enough."

"Kat." Rude stands before me, eyes stern. "I can see into the hall."

"How?" I demand, leaning back to see a peephole. "Shit." My heart threatens to choke me and I shake my head, defensive. "Look, it's just—"

"I understand you need power for others to listen, "he interrupts. "But this isn't—"

"Rude. That's not what this is about. I swear." I cross my arms and slouch. "You really think he'd let me do that if he didn't initiate it?"Rude goes quiet, pushing his shades up and looking past me to the kitchen. "I don't want to talk about it, okay? Just don't tell Reno."

"… Fine." He looks back at me.

"So… What was with Reno?" Rude sighs and sits down, knowing this conversation will take a while.

"He's figured something out."

"Without Tseng?"

"Probably."

"What was it?" I press, leaning forward to catch his eye. He shakes his head. "Rude, please. I need to know so that I can fix this."

"You don't remember anything?"

"Rude, it's getting pretty redundant at this point," I huff.

"You were twelve. This is before Marx's erasure."

"Rude…" I sigh, resting a hand on his knee when I turn in my seat to face him. He eyes my hand with a frown. "Either Marx is lying or something else happened to me. I don't remember anything from that year."

"Nothing?"

"I know that something happened to my family and I know Tseng says it's my fault. And I know I did something that hurt Reno way before I knew him. But that's just… It's all things I've heard."

"Tseng… How involved was he?"

Arms shaking, I hoist the garbage bag over my head and drop it into the tall can. I grimace when something sticky runs off the bottom of my bag and drips down my arms. Gross. Nose crinkled, I slam the lid down and hurry back inside. We have to do a lot more chores now that Mom's disappeared again. We're all mad at her; even Tseng's giving her the cold shoulder.

I kick my muddy shoes off at the door and shiver at the change in temperature. Mom's not really missing. We know where she is—on the other side of the rotting wooden fence in our yard, snuggling up with our neighbor, Jake. The familiar scent of cigarette smoke burns my nose when I pass by my older brother's room. I roll my eyes. Gonna die from lung cancer, dumbass. Instead of going to my room, though, I go to the bathroom, standing on my toes to look out the dusty window.

"What's she doing?" I whisper to myself, hoping for an answer. Jake presses a kiss to my mother's cheek, wrapping an arm around her narrow shoulders and holding her close. A girl plays in the dirt in front of them. She looks just a few years old, but she looks familiar too.

Receiving no answer, I head downstairs, waiting on the holey couch for her return. She's only ever gone for five days at a time. I guess some guilty part of her conscious makes her come back. That, or she doesn't want her belongings taken from her for neglect. The front door closes and Tseng comes downstairs, wincing when my little sister tugs on his earring.

"What?" Mom snaps upon seeing me watching. She scoffs, pulling her shoes off and setting her purse down. "Can I help you?"

"No."

I stand and head to the kitchen for water. I don't know what I expected. Maybe I was hoping she'd be happy to see me. That girl… I have to ask. She falls onto the couch, massaging her temples as the twins run past, screaming and laughing. When I come back out, Tseng's set my sister down, arms crossed as he watches his sister grumble to herself.

"Hey, Mom?" I start, clutching my glass close.

"No, you may not have your own room."

"I wasn't going to ask—"

"Good." She looks up, her eyes dark and sharp as daggers. "What do you want?"

"Taavi," Tseng murmurs, trying to remove the edge in her voice. She scowls at him.

"The neighbor." I chew on my lip, sucking on the cut that I keep pulling back open. "Since when does he have a kid?" The chill in the air only intensifies when Tseng stops breathing.

"Since she was born," she retorts. "Happy?"

"Whose is she? Does he have a girlfriend?"

"Sweetheart, I don't—"

"You're the only lady he's ever with," I accuse, squeezing the cup in my hands until I'm sure it's about to burst into a thousand shards of glass. Tseng's eyes are colder than hers, staring hard as he, too, waits for her answer.

"It's none of your business—"

"It is! Do I have a half-sis—"

"They're all your half-fucking-siblings!" she shouts, getting to her feet to corner me. Her pointy finger nearly jabs me in the eye as I press my back to the wall, trying to get away from her. "You know that! Don't fuckingget on my nerves just for the sake of—"

"Taavi!"

"Don't Taavi me, Tseng!" She turns to her brother, enraged. "You're practically raising the damn girl. Teach her some fucking manners!"

"She's not my daughter," he replies sharply, eyebrow raised. "She's yours."

"And now you're gonna turn it all on me!" she cries, throwing her hands in the air. "I told you, Tseng. I told you I never wanted to have him fucking up any child's gene pool, but there she is!"

"Taavi, stop," he commands, but she rolls her eyes, shoving him.

"Katie's perfect, you know," she continues, her voice shrill as she laughs. "That little girl? Precious. She was meant to be." She whips around, throwing her finger back into my face. "That thing?! Not my daughter, either." She turns to me, eyes alight with the fire of hatred. "Do you get it now, or do I have to spell it out?"

"I get it," I answer, my voice small.

"Good."

"Anna—" Tseng starts, trying to grab me as I walk past. I pull away, heading back up the stairs and locking myself in the bathroom. Katie's still there with her father, shoving fistfuls of sand in her wet, slobbery mouth. I grimace. Perfect?

She needs to go.

I know.

How will we remove her?

"The only way I know how," I shrug, heading to my shared room.

I get on my knees and pull a box out from under one of the twins' beds. Inside, there're a lot of dead bugs, feathers, and bones to dig through, but at the bottom lies a hunting knife. I tuck it into my waistband and put the box back. Quickly, I stand, rolling my shoulders back and taking a deep breath.

Tseng tries to stop when I pass him on my way out, but I shrug him off and lift myself over the fence. There she is—the bane of my existence. Jake looks up, his smiling faltering upon seeing his mistress's daughter. He can't move fast enough to stop me, either.

I go blind to the world, giving in the shadows that engulf. Stabbing, screaming, shouting—they all feel distant. Blood flows, the grass turns slick, and my skin is stained, so I revel in the warmth. A little girl's shriek hurts my ears, so I silence her. A man bruises my arm when he grabs me, so I make him let go.

Red. Everything is red. I smile. Red like my hair and like strawberries and like justice. Mom wails, gasping for air and gagging when she hits the ground. Tseng twists the knife out of my grasp, but he knows it's too late, his eyes trying to take in what his mind can't process. His horror stops him from comprehending the truth: this was necessary.

They're gone, Mom. You can come home now.