The knack that Reeve had with puppetry came with an unusual side effect, one that very few ever took seriously: Cait Sith was every bit the fortune teller that he claimed. Cait Sith could know things Reeve couldn't explain, find things that others couldn't. It wasn't perfect clairvoyance, but it was more accurate than not. Perhaps it was some connection to the Lifestream that Reeve's magical puppets had that he himself didn't.

While under Shinra employ Reeve had kept his arcane talents to himself. He had wanted his mind to be what mattered, not his magic. Veld had admired and respected Reeve's knack…Had Veld been the one to tell Rufus about it? It seemed the only way Rufus could have learned and taken advantage of it…

Reeve was thinking of lost friends a lot lately.

Under the heavy shadows of the Junon city proper, Cait Sith's repaired mount waddled across the worn brick road. The cat waved jovially at any of the village-dwellers that threw them confused looks—after all, in lower Junon there was no risk of Shinra sympathizers. He kept pace with his escort, a young girl by the name of Priscilla. Of his own accord, Cait Sith had deduced she would help him locate the others.

"Is Mr. Cloud okay?" Priscilla asked while she led Cait Sith.

Cait Sith puzzled over the question. Reeve didn't need to prompt the soothsayer for him to reply, "Aye don't know. Aye have a feelin' he's alive, but Aye just don't know where, or how he's doin'."

Her sandy-brown eyes took a sad turn and she moved wisps of her rusty hair behind her ear. "I hope you guys find him."

"Aye do too, lass."

Priscilla's sandals tapped on the wooden stairs as she hopped up to a raised home, decades of smog damage staining its walls and shingled roof. She motioned for Cait to wait, then knocked on the door in a deliberate rhythm. Waving him to her, Priscilla opened the door to a cozy, welcoming living room. Around the table in the back of the room and next to the kitchen were familiar faces that filled Reeve's chest with warmth.

With a dramatic flourish, the mooglesaurus pirouetted on its heels, and both it and Cait Sith threw out their arms. "And greetin's, chums, Cait Sith has arrived!"

Seated in a backwards-turned chair at the table, Cid's eyebrows raised in shock and his cigarette nearly fell from his mouth. "What…What the hell are you doing here?"

In a blur, Yuffie pounced from her perch on the back of the sofa and landed silently in front of Cait Sith. She yanked him to her face by his tiny, red cape. "Why are you here! Did Shinra send you? Who else knows where we are? Were you followed?!"

Priscilla loudly gasped and covered her mouth. "H-He's Shinra? But he's so cute…!"

"Enough. Calm down," Nanaki snapped, slinking out from under the table. "Let him speak."

Yuffie let go of Cait and leaned back from him, propping her fists on her hips. "Well? So, talk!" she said impatiently.

"Aye know Aye've never earned yer trust," Cait began cautiously, his ears lowering. "But…the more Aye think of it, the more Aye know how wrong Aye was. For so, so much…" he added sadly. "But now ya need my help. Aye know ye canna get into Junon. Tifa and Barret are still in Shinra hands."

The group passed looks to each other, and Vincent stepped up to Cait Sith. "The upper city is on lockdown. Thus far we've found no way to infiltrate."

Anxiously, Cait Sith's mount shuffled its fluffy, pink feet. "There…There's somethin' else ya should know," Cait said. "Barret and Tifa…they're slated for execution."

"What?!" Yuffie cried.

"It won't be made public for another three days," Cait continued. "But either Tifa wakes up in the next seven days and they go through with it, or she doesn't and they do it in seven days anyway."

Cid slammed his fist on the table, crushing his cigarette between his clenched teeth. He plucked it out vengefully and stabbed it into an empty tea cup. "Those sons of bitches think they can pull this shit?!"

"We've wasted too much time…!" Nanaki hissed.

Vincent studied Cait Sith, his eyes thinning as he tilted his head subtly. He tapped his chin and mumbled, "Hm. Nothing about you suggests you're a Turk…But if you know this before it's announced, your position is much higher than I assumed."

Reeve often forgot that Vincent was once a Turk himself. "Aye cannae let something so cruel happen to them. Let me help ya."

Vincent knelt low enough for him and Cait Sith to see eye to eye. For a moment Reeve saw that same sliver of regret that had hung in his red eyes just before Vincent had said goodbye. "…Does anyone know what you are doing?"

Cait Sith quickly shook his head. "Aye swear it. Not a soul even knows there's a new Cait Sith runnin' aboot!"

"We've been fooled before," Yuffie reminded the room (ever the stubborn one).

Vincent continued staring, unblinking, into Cait Sith's face. Reeve wasn't entirely sure what Vincent thought he could read from his avatar's voice or expression…but there was no denying Reeve could feel the scrutiny over the distance. In a low murmur, Vincent whispered, "I gave you a way out. Are you really sure you wish to throw away that chance? There will be no going back this time. No matter how careful you are, they will find out eventually."

"Ah'm done playin' safe," Cait Sith replied with a firm nod. "Aye…Aye can't turn away from what Shinra's done anymore…and no matter how hard Aye try, Aye cannae change what they are on their own terms. Aye'll be fightin' to clean their midden until the end of my days, so help me. All o'ya put your lives on the line. Aye can risk somethin' too."

Vincent's face softened, and Reeve could see the barest hints of a smile as he straightened. "He's telling the truth."

"If you think so, Vincent," Nanaki affirmed with a nod, "then I'll believe him as well."

Cid chuckled, pulling himself from his seat. "Fine, fine. Same here."

Yuffie clicked her tongue loudly as the rest of the room awaited her response. "Don't push it."

Nanaki padded up to Cait Sith, sitting tall at his feet. "If you are offering help, does that mean you have a plan?"

Cait Sith nodded, patting his open palm with his fist. "This is cuttin' it close, but we cannae make a move until the day of the execution. Security's got no holes until then."

Yuffie scoffed and heaved herself back on top of the sofa. "I'm not liking the way this is going."

"But security will have a hole?" Vincent asked cooly.

Allowing an impish smirk, Cait Sith gave Vincent the thumbs up. "Shinra wants this as public as possible. There'll be outside press allowed into the city. And Aye can make sure at least a few of us can get in."

Doubtfully, Cid scoffed and shook his head. "Enh, I mean, it's a nice suggestion. But Vince and Nanaki ain't passin' off as press, and there ain't anybody Shinra that won't know this mug," he added, gesturing to himself.

Cait Sith propped his chin in his palm, locking his gaze with Yuffie and grinning largely.

Yuffie curled her lip and leaned back incredulously. "Wait. You mean just me?"

"Nonsense!" Cait chirped, the mooglesaurus pointing to itself with its thumbs. "Aye happen to be a super-spy and a master of disguise, ye know."

"…So, you're saying I'm gonna have to go in with you as my backup?"

Reeve took more offense to the way Yuffie said that than he would have imagined. "Not just me. Cid, Nanaki, Vincent…ye'll be handling a vital piece of this plan." Cait took a short pause for emphasis, and held out a hand toward the three. "I have detailed maps of security around the airport. We're gon' ta steal the Highwind."

An exaggerated snap of a lighter announced Cid readying a new cigarette. As he took a deep first drag, a hungry smile came to him—smoke trailed from his lips as he chuckled darkly. "Alright, cat. That's all you had to say. Let's goddamn do this."

The last two days had been a nightmare. Marlene had been asleep two nights ago while Emlyra had borrowed one of her coloring books and sat in the kitchen. There was something relaxing about it, nostalgic as she recalled doing the same thing when Aerith was younger but not since. Maybe she needed to get one of those more complicated, adult ones for herself. She filled in images of sickeningly-cute, chubby chocobos with the TV on as background noise. That was when she had heard Tifa and Barret's names.

She spun on the screen, her stomach lurching as though the floor had given way. The Midgar-based commentators were discussing the gravity and necessity for a public execution of known AVALANCHE members. Shinra was going to take the last of Marlene's family away from her.

Reeve hadn't contacted Elmyra in over a week, and every one of her desperate calls went to voicemail. He had promised to protect them, and when Elmyra needed him most had disappeared. Shinra had no plans to even inform the condemned man's child…

She didn't allow Marlene near a phone or a TV, wouldn't allow her outside and risk accidentally hearing the news. Marlene was distraught at Elmyra's lack of explanation, and kept begging her to explain what Marlene had done wrong. Elmyra didn't have an answer. She wasn't supposed to have to raise Marlene in her father's stead. Barret Wallace had said he was willing to risk everything, but Elmyra hadn't been willing to replace him. She wasn't ready to have to explain cruelty this unjust to a child like Marlene. Elmyra hadn't been ready to lose Aerith. She hadn't been ready to face the grim reality of Meteor. She wasn't ready.

Elmyra was going out of her mind and would surely drag Marlene down with her.

Marlene had protested being served bitter tea in the middle of the day, but had finally relented. Elmyra was deeply ashamed of herself that she was willing to resort to a sleeping herb, but she simply couldn't allow Marlene to watch the live feed with Elmyra, and Elmyra couldn't face not knowing.

She sat at the table, her eyes locked onto the TV. Holding her phone in a white-knuckled grip, Elmyra repeatedly called Reeve as she stared at the feed in a numb haze—simply hanging up and redialing each time voicemail picked up. Director Scarlet began her address to the world and Elmyra felt her throat constricting in agony. The way that woman smiled at a time like this…!

When Tifa and Barret were brought forward Elmyra felt a surge of nausea festering in the pit of her stomach. Tifa looked at death's door already. A distinctly pale, sickly pallor colored her face and her eyes were red and tired. Two security officers had to prop her up to walk, it didn't look like she had eaten in days. What had those monsters done to her?

Barret trudged behind Tifa, a resentful defiance in his eyes. While flashes went off around him, he scowled directly into the camera—as though he could see and judge Emlyra through the screen.

Elmyra stood and turned away, letting out a choked sound as she clutched the phone viciously. It was back to dialing. "You bastard…" she whispered shakily. "You coward…!"

The phone picked up.

"Reeve!" she blurted, shaking as she brought the phone to her ear. "I—Why? Why?"

His voice tense, Reeve replied, "Listen, I don't have time—"

"You son of a bitch!" she screamed into the receiver. "Why couldn't you stop them! You-You—What am I supposed to tell her? Shinra's ruined us. You ruined us."

"El—"

"And you wouldn't say until it was too late, you coward—! How could you? Just—You could have done something, I know you could have. You're a goddamn board member…!" Elmyra's voice broke and she buried her face in her hand. "You…You said you would protect Marlene…You said you would protect Aerith…"

A heavy silence passed on the other end, though she could hear trembling breaths. "Elmyra. Get Marlene's friend."

"What?!" she snapped, stunned. "Is-Is that all you have to say?"

"Get him."

Reeve hung up.

Letting out a shocked cry, Elmyra tried to reconnect and Reeve continued to ignore her. She sloppily sniffed and rubbed her nose, then a sound reached her and she stopped.

"—as the entity known as Sapphire Weapon approaches Junon."

Her prior thoughts screeching to an abrupt halt, Elmyra spun back to the TV. The news she was watching no longer showed the press room, and was now instead in the middle of the streets of Junon and fighting to get clear footage of an ominous wave—its trajectory aimed directly at the city.

Her jaw dropping, Elmyra rushed to Marlene's room. Marlene was still in a deep slumber, and in her arms layed Cait Sith. Elmyra very cautiously pulled the plush from her lethargic grip, and Marlene made no reaction other than a subtle sigh as she rolled over.

"I'm so sorry, dear," Elmyra whispered, moving several brown strands away from her round face.

Elmyra ran up the stairs back to the kitchen, then sat facing the TV and plopped the stuffed cat in front of her. For a moment she watched the lifeless cat anxiously, her hands balled into fists on her knees.

It stirred. Elmyra sat up straighter, in awe of the fact that Reeve's talent could reach the toy from wherever he was. Feebly at first, the cat heaved itself to its feet and looked up at Elmyra with its plastic, printed eyes. It eased up to her and gently patted her hand.

Wiping her face, Elmyra sniffed largely. "I—I'm just so scared, Reeve," she whispered. "What's happening? Did—Did they…?"

Cait Sith tilted its head slightly, then looked around the surface of the table. Spotting Marlene's crayons and a coloring book, the plush waddled its way to the paper and awkwardly struggled to pick up a crayon with its mitten-like hands. Elmyra helped the plush get a good grip on it, and Cait Sith nodded to her in gratitude. Elmyra watched it drag the crayon across a page with its limited strength, and bit by bit spelled out, Destroy phone.

In surprise, Elmyra's jaw fell open as she soaked in the words. Slowly, she held up her phone and pointed to it, lowering an eyebrow in confusion.

With exaggerated motions, the plush nodded.

Everything and everyone was insane, why not destroy a very expensive phone if a toy told her to? Elmyra rushed to the sink and filled a large glass with water, then went back to the table and hesitated only once before dropping it in. The screen flickered in a multitude of colors and then went dark.

Cait gave her a thumbs up and a nod, then tapped the word "destroy" with the crayon meaningfully.

"I-I'll take a hammer to it later," she promised.

Again it gave her a thumbs up, then gradually amended the word "phone" to now read, I'll send new phone.

Elmyra covered her mouth. Something very important was happening and she wasn't sure how to process it in the middle of the rest of her swirling emotions. "Reeve…Please, tell me what's going on. You haven't called in almost two weeks, Marlene is scared—I'm scared!"

Cait Sith made a motion like scratching its temple, then held up a hand to her and shook its head. Before she could argue, it then leaned over another edge of the page and spelled out "No" and "Yes."

Catching its meaning, Elmyra sighed and nodded. "Right, this can't talk. I get it, I get it. Reeve, is…" She took a deep breath to steel herself for the question. "Is Barret Wallace alive?"

Spinning once on its heels in delight, it pointed to "yes."

A relieved laugh tumbled from her, and Elmyra was overtaken by happy tears. She leaned her elbows on the edge of the table, burying her face in her hands as her shoulders shook from the release of stress. It took several moments to begin to think straight again. Wiping away moisture, she took deep breaths to recompose herself.

"Tifa?" she asked.

Hopping up and down happily it repeatedly tapped its foot on "yes."

This time Elmyra was unable to restrain herself. She grabbed the plush and held it in a fierce hug, laughing and squeezing it. "Reeve…Thank you. Thank you!" Holding it out from herself, she jumped to her feet. "You did this, didn't you? You did stop them."

The plush nodded largely.

"I'm so sorry I doubted you," Elmyra whispered. "I said such awful things…!" Oh, she had even just blamed Reeve for Aerith's death…! In horror at her own words, her eyes grew wide and her face paled. "What I said, I didn't mean it. Reeve, I promise I don't blame you for…I was just so upset…"

Cait shook its head and flopped a hand at her dismissively.

As humble as always. Rubbing her eyes with a small laugh, Elmyra sat back down, but kept Cait in her arms for comfort. It was incredibly soft, no wonder Marlene never wanted to let it go. Elmyra considered her next questions, but wracked her brain trying to think of ones that a simple "yes" or "no" would answer.

Finally, a distressing realization rose above her fevered thoughts. "Reeve…Have…you gone rogue? From Shinra?"

The plush stared at her for an uncomfortably long time. It nodded.

Pressing a hand to her chest, her face contorted in worry. "Oh, Reeve…A-Are you safe?"

Without pause this time, the plush nodded.

Doubtfully, Emlyra's lips tightened. "Are you…sure?"

Again it nodded, now adding a thumbs up for emphasis.

Letting out a long sigh, Elmyra closed her eyes for a moment. "Alright. You had better not be lying to me."

Cait gestured to the table, and she gently stood the doll back on the surface. It trotted to the coloring book page covered in writing, then wrote "page" under "destroy."

The lengths that Reeve was going through to ensure the conversation wouldn't be tracked worried Elmyra, but she supposed it was better to be cautious than not. She ripped the page out of the coloring book and tore it into small pieces. For good measure she shoved the shreds in the glass with the bobbing cell phone.

Cait silently clapped at the thoroughness. It then dropped the crayon and began tapping one set of its mitten fingers to its opposite wrist.

Elmyra curled her lip as she studied the motion. "Time? Are you out of time?"

The toy nodded repeatedly in reply.

Exhausted from the sudden absolution of the last few days' emotions, Elmyra let out a ragged sigh. "I understand." Gently, she took the toy's hands in her fingers and smiled. "Please take care of yourself. I'll wait for that phone. Next time, don't you dare let me go to voicemail."

Cait Sith eased itself from her subtle hold to pat her hand comfortingly. Still staring up into her eyes, the doll gradually sank to the table.

For a time Elmyra didn't move, stroking the toy's head as though it were a living cat sleeping in an undignified heap. Her stinging eyes drifted back to the TV. On the screen, Shinra security attempted to block cameras from recording the path of an airship escaping Junon. Beside these images were the gruesome shots of the mutilated Sapphire Weapon and its lifeless descent into the harbor.

While talking heads from Midgar colored the events as a disaster and rushed for commentary from Shinra media reps, Elmyra grinned at the broadcast. She eased herself from her chair and moved to a drawer. Pulling out a hammer, she found herself flipping it in her hands and snickering in glee. She discarded the pulpy water from the glass into the sink, and all but sauntered to the stone steps outside the house.

Elmyra set the water-logged phone on the ground and raised the hammer. With furious swings she smashed the Shinra-provided cell phone, watching glass and circuitry flying across the cobblestone. She imagined every single sickening crack and crunch could be felt by every last Shinra employee who had dared threaten Marlene's family and swung harder in pleasure.

As petty and tiny a gesture as it was, Elmyra hadn't felt so good in months. Bringing herself to her feet, panting deeply, she admired the unrecognizable shards. She hoped Reeve had felt even half as good to stick it to Shinra. She couldn't wait to ask.

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