"Mornin', Sweetheart," Reno slurs around the toothbrush in his mouth.

I frown, sitting up and pushing my hair out of my eyes. I don't remember much past the conversation Rufus and I had last night. Reno and I probably talked and went to bed. Shaking my head, I get to my feet and stretch my back.

"Morning."

"How're you feeling?"

"A little queasy. Hopefully, it'll pass."

"Yeah." Reno crosses the hall to rinse out his mouth, scrubbing his face dry with a towel and pulling a white shirt off the rail on his tiled wall. Yawning, I close the gap and rest my head on his back, letting my eyes fall shut.

"I'm so tired."

"Yeah? You slept like a dead body," he laughs, buttoning up his shirt.

"Did I? Feels like I ran a marathon."

"Well, you better wake up fast. I got an actual assignment for us to do."

"No way," I gasp, grinning at his reflection. "I didn't know those were part of our job anymore. Thought I got paid to sit around and look pretty."

"You got the first part down."

"Hey!" I smack the back of his head and he ducks, reaching for his uniform jacket. "What're we doing?"

"I tell you when you get dressed. Stop stealin' my shirts."

I spread my arms out to show just how large the t-shirt is on me, laughing. It looks like I have wings. "What, when was the last time you repped the theater's production shirts?"

"Doesn't matter. It's mine."

"Then learn to share, Anus."

Rolling his eyes, he leaves me alone and I force myself to pull on my uniform from yesterday. Everything about my body is sluggish and slow. I feel like someone attached a hose to my back and sucked the life from my veins. I need another vacation. Reno knocks on the doorframe, catching my attention abruptly.

"Something up?"

"Yeah." He holds up his phone, a crooked smile twisting his lips. "A real assignment from the big man himself."

"You're kidding." I snatch the phone from his grasp, reading the brief message. Giddy, I toss it back with a grin. At least Rufus isn't babying the situation. "We're back to serving Scarlet, huh?"

"Better than sitting on our asses another day."

"Damn right."

The flight to Junon isn't as long as I remember, though I can't help but notice the distinct lack of Tseng's eye-rolls and Rufus's pouting from the back. It's kind of sad. I guess hauling Huge Materia into submarines doesn't require the extra company, but it would be nice to go back to those days for just a moment, wouldn't it?

The extra security feels a little unnecessary. I shouldn't have to show my ID every five feet to follow my orders. To be fair, I haven't instilled much confidence in these soldiers, but the accompaniment of Reno should ease their minds. How crafty do these people think I am?

"Let's get to the damn sub," I huff, tucking my ID away for what I hope is the final time.

Reno laughs, shaking his head and tucking his hands into his pockets. "Gotta load up the Materia first, Sweetheart. Didn't Tseng ever teach you patience?"

"No, but he'd be lecturing me about that now if he was here."

Reno nods toward a looming crane that dangles a gleaming yellow sphere over the open hatch of a scarlet submarine. The entire dock smells like seawater and rust, bustling with dozens of soldiers and crew members that eye us as we stroll past along the soaked concrete pathway. From here, the Huge Materia will be transported to Rocket Town to fill their looming old rocket and launch it at Meteor. All this in a baseless hope for a miracle.

"Do you think all this is gonna work?" I ask, crossing my arms and watching the crane operator poke his head out, waiting for a signal.

Reno rocks up onto his toes, bouncing on his feet when he sinks back down. Finally, he shakes his head, hanging it lower before glancing at me from the corner of his eye. "Have you seen the thing? Hurling rockets at that hunk's not gonna do shit, even with Huge Materia."

I nod, watching the operator place the Materia in a chamber inside the submarine. "I think so, too. What do they plan on doing about the barrier Sephiroth put up?"

"Dunno. They're moving the Sister Ray to Midgar, though."

"Why…?" I frown. "How do they plan on moving the entire face of Junon to Midgar?"

Reno laughs, shaking his head. "Don't ask me. They wanna power it with mako and that's where we have the most pumps, I guess." He turns his head to smile at me. "Had to sit on a boring meeting with Heidegger and Scarlet."

"Perks of being number two," I tease, nudging him with my elbow.

Someone steps up behind us and Reno rolls his eyes, shooting me a dry look. "Get back to work."

"No thanks. Manual labor's not my thing."

I frown at Reno and we turn to see Cloud, Cid, and Vincent waiting. The spiky-headed blonde smirks and Reno raises an eyebrow. Cid wrestles a smile when our eyes meet. I force myself to remain emotionless.

"What're you doing here?" Reno huffs. He shakes his head, his red hair bouncing with the motion. "No, nevermind. I don't have time to mess around with you losers." He jerks his head to the left, a smug smile tracing his lips. "But where are my manners? I'll leave you some entertainment."

Reno grabs my elbow and turns me. We run past a clanking robot with two enormous crane arms, ducking under a swipe from one of the claws. I look back when I hear Cid howl, laughing when I see him dangling over the ground by the ass of his pants.

"What the hell is that thing?" I call over the creaking and clanging of the fighting behind us.

"It's what happens when Scarlet lets me dick around with the scraps," he replies, grinning from ear to ear when he looks back at Avalanche. Hair flying back out of his face, lights dancing in his eyes, and arms pumping hard as he makes his great escape… It's like our youth all over again. Running, running, running. When will we ever stop? "Up!" he shouts, pulling me ahead of him toward the ladder on the side of the sub.

I climb up obediently, snickering at the sound of Highwind's curses. Wasting no time, I drop into the belly of the beast, waiting for Reno to follow suit. He leads the way to a control panel at the front.

"Smaller than I thought it would be," I comment, climbing in the seat beside him. A few crew members hurry around us, ordering the hatch to close.

"Quit whinin'," Reno mumbles, flipping illuminated switches. "That thing closed yet?"

"Yes sir!" a man calls.

"Thank fuck," he breathes, pushing a lever and sending the sub lurching forward as it sinks below the blackened waves. "Hope that little toy keeps 'em occupied long enough."

"It should. Cid looked ready to shit himself when he was swinging around like that."

Reno laughs, shaking his head. He takes a breath to speak when the entire body of the sub rumbles. Alarms begin to blare and red lights flash. Startled, I turn to Reno. He frowns, throwing a look over his shoulder. "The fuck?"

"They're in pursuit, sir," the man reports, hanging onto a handle on the wall.

"Damn radars don't work on this piece of shit," Reno grumbles, banging a fist on the blank screen. Another rumble rocks the sub and the crew begins to panic. "This fuckin' blows."

"Shoot back?" I suggest, heart pounding. How do things always go so wrong so quickly?

"Not gonna help us now." Reno huffs, gritting his teeth when the sub jolts and the lights flicker. Even with the front lights on, we can hardly see anything in the black ocean water ahead of us. "There's gonna be a lifeboat on board."

"What about the crew?" I ask, frowning at the empty hall behind us.

"Boat should be big enough." Reno gets to his feet. "And if it's not, we just gotta beat em to it."

"Reno, what—" I start, rolling my eyes.

A blurry beam of light cuts me off, blasting a hole in the thick glass that separates us from the water. The rush of salty seawater slams me against the wall on the backside of the room. My forehead stings where a thick shard of glass gashed through my skin and released a river of blood onto my face. Reno pushes himself off the opposite wall, also having been nicked by the glass, and clings to the wall to stay upright.

"Get to the boat!" he shouts over the rushing water, reaching across the gap to pull me in the right direction.

The crew scurries away, rushing for an open door at the end of the main hall. Stumbling and slipping, I drag myself through the rushing water as quickly as I can. Reno uses the wall to drag himself past, clawing at the shirt of the last crew member to enter the lifeboat's hold. The man slams his elbow backward into Reno's nose and quickly closes the door behind him, locking us out. Clutching his nose with an angry cry, Reno stumbles back into the opposite wall.

"Fuck!" he screams, lurching toward the door and slamming on the steel. I half expect him to burst into flames with his rage sparking in his eyes and the tension in his body as he slams the door with one strike after another. "Goddamn motherfucking cunts!"

"Reno!" I grab his arm and pull him back, anxiously feeling the water swell around my legs. "Are there any other exits?"

"I don't know," he huffs, catching his breath as his eyes dart about the cabin. "Could be another boat down the other side."

"Let's see."

Braced against the current, we wade through the blackened waves to find any escape route that doesn't involve us braving the cold and the crushing pressure at this depth. I nearly topple over when the sub rocks forward, tipping backward as all the air rushes toward the hole in the front. Clinging to the back of Reno's shirt, I peer over his shoulder and point toward a dim sign.

"There!"

"Fuckin' hope it's what we need," he grumbles, hurrying toward the door. He punches the button to open the door, but it flashes vibrant red, locked. "Shit."

"What do we do?" I ask, anxiously hugging my arms to my body to keep my warmth in. Already, the water reaches the base of my ribcage, freezing everything beneath.

"Switch's gotta be up front," Reno murmurs, turning back the way we came. The lights flicker and my blood runs ice cold in momentary panic. He has a look in his eyes that I don't like. "I'm going back for it."

"What?! We can't just pry it open?"

"Don't have time." Reno presses his lips together, thinking. "And I'm not dying here."

"But—"

"Stay here." When he turns to head back, the sub groans, tilting upward in a steeper incline that before. Reno grits his teeth, hanging onto a railing tightly.

"Don't go," I plead, shaking the stinging droplets out of my eyes. Reno puffs out a short, airy laugh and presses a kiss to my lips before dragging himself back up toward the controls.

Shuddering, I hang on to the doorframe tighter, keeping my head above the rising waves. The water's still rising fast, and if we don't make it out of here in time, we'll be nothing more than two bloated bodies at the bottom of the ocean. That's not how I want this to end. The lights flicker again, but this time, they don't come back on. Only dim red emergency lights illuminate the way, reflecting off the water in ways that hurt my eyes. How's he going to find his way back?

Just as I begin to panic thinking that he's been gone too long, the door slides open and the water rushes in, nearly sucking me under. Clinging to the edges of the frame, I swing myself inside and slam the button to close the doors with my fist. Behind me is our salvation, the interior of a rusty old lifeboat that was clearly meant to be removed years ago. My fingertips are eerily pale when I press them to the door, squeezing my eyes shut as drops of diluted blood drip from the tip of my nose. Please…

"Shit," I gasp, startled when the doors begin to slide open. Reno follows another rush of water, laughing hysterically. I close the door behind him and he hurries toward the panel.

"Sit down, Sweetheart. Let's get the fuck outta here."

"Don't need to tell me twice."

As soon as we're close enough to swim to the sandy shores outside of Junon, we jump ship, letting the rickety lifeboat sink as we drag ourselves onto the beach. We manage to make it to the grass before we collapse, exhausted, shivering, and relieved to be alive. Reno falls onto his hands and knees, pressing his forehead to the dry grass, eyes closed as he catches his breath. I roll out my back, letting the sunlight thaw my frozen bones.

"Shit," he whispers. "I love dry land."

"I'm never getting into one of those torture cans again," I retort, peeling my jacket off in an effort to feel less soggy.

"Gotta admit," he says, turning over onto his back and flopping an arm over his forehead. "Avalanche is a damn good shot with that thing."

"Screw that. I'm wringing Cid's neck that next time I see him." I force myself to sit up, shaking my head. "What about the Huge Materia?"

"Ain't worth the hassle. Gonna get those fuckers fired for tryin' to drown us."

"How're you going to do that?"

"Tattle. If that doesn't work, I'll kill 'em myself." Reno sits up and wrings his hair out, his hair spiking back up again as it dries.

"Fine by me."

After a moment of silence and soaking up the sun, we get back up. I squeeze the water out of my jacket and pull the unbearably damp material back on. Reno throws an arm over my shoulder, presses his lips to my temple, and turns to the city on the horizon.

"Guess we should deliver the bad news to the skank, huh?"

"Guess so."