It was a long, gut-wrenching walk to a detention cell. The damage to the windows and upper floors of the Shinra tower had activated automatic safety measures. Sinister hums from various security drones filled every hallway, trapping terrified employees inside their offices or in break areas. All elevators had come to a stop at the closest floor at the time of lockdown, depositing their riders and disabling until the emergency state was declared over. Who knew how long that would take? Any Shinra leadership with enough clearance to lift it was in disarray: one presumed-dead CEO, two executive directors more concerned with a blood vendetta, another at work hijacking the largest weapon in the world (to further empower the biggest threat to sentient life in the world), one sniveling director MIA, and the last currently under arrest.

This meant that Reeve's escorts had kept their aggressive pace while descending nearly ten flights of stairs. Any difficulties Reeve had in going down steps with restrained hands while being shoved was met with greater shoving and searing insults. Reeve was internally grateful to reach the security floors just to be on flat ground again.

Reeve and his escort's steps crunched over broken glass and left trails through the dust scattered by the Weapon's attack. As they approached a security clearance checkpoint, they passed a large, open area.

"R-Reeve?"

Reeve turned his head to face the familiar voice, seeing his assistant across the lobby. Her face was pale, her eyes wide as she trotted to get nearer. "Wh-What is—?!"

One of the soldiers leveled a handgun at her without hesitation. "Stay back."

Jumping and letting out a terrified shriek, she desperately clutched her tablet to her chest. From where she stood shaking, she called, "Reeve! What is happening?!"

Reeve strained to look over his shoulder at her. "Call everyone you know—Tell them to get off the plates! Everyone has to g—" A hand grabbed the back of his hair roughly and he was cut off as his voice strained in agony.

He could hear her voice plead fearfully for him, but with Reeve's head forced forward he couldn't give her any assurance. From this position it was not likely any assurance would work, anyway.

The soldiers brought him to a detention area, and as they neared a cell one of the soldiers took the opportunity to lead Reeve personally. "'Get off the plates,' huh?" she snarled viciously, spinning him around to face her. Reeve recalled the young woman who had helped him to his feet in the boardroom. "Did not being on the plate help my family in Sector 7?" she spat at him.

Reeve's felt his stomach lurch and he looked down at her in shock. Reeve hadn't made that call, but he hadn't fought hard enough against it, either—and what right did he have to claim no responsibility when his designs had ultimately allowed for such purposefully-exploitable flaws? His expression twisted in pain. "…I'm so sorry," he whispered.

What little of her face he could see beneath her trinocular visor went slack. Then her teeth clenched in fury and she swung her baton across the side of his head.

Immediately hitting the floor and his vision hazy, Reeve struggled to pull himself to his knees. "It…It shouldn't have happened…"

"Shut up!" she howled at him, twice slamming a steel-toed boot in his midsection. "Give 'em back, you son a bitch!"

Blinking stars out of his eyes and his body wracked by hacking coughs, he weakly heaved his head up to see other security members pulling his attacker back.

"You had your fun," one snapped. "Go cool off."

"I'm not done!" she shouted. "Lemme make the next one count."

While members of security argued, another simply grabbed Reeve's shoulder and dragged him into a cell. The door slammed shut and locked instantly. They hadn't bothered to release his binds. His head hanging, Reeve let out a long, ragged groan and he awkwardly pushed himself against the back wall of his prison.

Sitting up, he painfully panted and leaned his head back to force strands of his hair away from his face and the blood trickling down its side. As terrible a position as this was…eyes were finally off of Reeve entirely. He had no option other than aiding remotely and hoping the renegade planet-protectors actually considered Reeve a friend enough to rescue.

With a slow, steadying breath, Reeve shifted his focus.

The last of a hideous, bubbling rattle shook through the shuddering mass that was once Shinra's most respected scientist. The group waited, watching it grow still—and then continued to wait, just to be sure. Cait Sith adjusted his stance on his mount as it held its massive, fuzzy fists at the ready. Sizzling welts popped and steamed across the surface of the motionless flesh, and Cait watched his companions take steps back and their faces contort from a rising stench.

"That did it," Barret grumbled, waving his hand in front of his face. "Hoo damn, that shit's rank."

Letting out a drawn-out whistle and a trail of smoke, Cid rubbed the back of his head. "Good riddance to that bullshit."

Vincent was the only one to step forward and give a final inspection of the rapidly deteriorating pile. "…Hojo. Rest in peace."

Nanaki had moved the furthest from the remains, his wide nostrils flaring in revulsion. He let out a sharp huff and shook his head, his many beads clattering with the movement. "I don't hope for peace for him, but I feel a good deal more of it now that he is gone. Every life on Gaia is safer without him."

Sensing the distance between Vincent and the others, Tifa stepped up to Vincent and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey…you with us, Vincent?"

He made no response. Vincent's crimson eyes reflected the lights around the Sister Ray scaffolding as they stared off, further away than any of them could reach.

Cait Sith, gratefully not present enough to be offended by any fumes, hopped up to them as well. "Aye know this doesn't fix everythin,' Vincent, but it's a start, eh?"

"…His death prevents more suffering," Vincent relented, "but in no way can it fix what has already passed. What was allowed to pass."

"I know you think Hojo was your responsibility somehow," Tifa pressed. "But you can't blame yourself for all the…terrible things he did on his own. The terrible things he did to his own son…"

Vincent's brow hardened.

"There's a lot of us here with a burden to bear," Cait reminded Vincent. "But there's too much left undone to let it paralyze us."

Vincent glanced down at Cait. "I appreciate your sympathy. But nothing is ever going to compare to how much I could have prevented."

Cait lowered his head. "…Aye've spent the last few months thinkin' how Aye could've stopped the Sector 7 collapse. Aye tr…" Without electronic commands, Cait couldn't control his voice any more than Reeve, so he had to clear his throat gently to steady himself. "Aye…tried to reason with President Shinra…Aye tried to get to the sector and warn people…"

Tifa's eyes closed and she looked away. "…Please, don't. Besides, Cait, I've already got you covered on that one…I still hear that—sound—in my head. All the time. I was right there at the controls and I couldn't stop it…"

"But…now ye know who yer talkin' to…" Cait said sullenly, gesturing to himself. "No matter what ye think ye could've done, Tifa…Aye was in a better position…wasn't Aye?"

Tifa shook her head and gave Cait a brief squeeze. "Stop. Not now."

Vincent glanced between the two, his face soft. "I understand," he said with a short nod. "Cait Sith…Director. Isn't there something you need to finish?"

"Right!" Cait affirmed after a deep breath. "Aye'll need some help."

Cait hopped to the manual controls to Sister Ray, waving over anyone who would follow. "Aye cannae exactly reach it all…Tifa, pull that lever on your left. Cid, these fingers are shite fer typin,' so input what Aye say." Directing his companions, Cait Sith set to work on rerouting the gathered mako in the cannon back into the Midgar mainframe. As readouts showed the mako flow reducing, the ominous hum in the massive cannon gradually fell silent—and the distressing vibration through the scaffolding stilled.

"Barret!" Cait blurted. "Make sure no one can hijack these controls the second we turn our backs."

Grinning largely, he leveled his right arm at the rig. "And it ain't even my birthday."

Everyone backed off, giving Barret every bit of space he needed to make short work of the manual controls. As the gun powered down and smoked, the bullet-ridden panels sparked and its broken monitors flickered uselessly.

"We did it!" Cait announced to all of them, throwing his hands in the air in excitement.

All of them, technologically savvy or no, were swept up in this victory, passing congratulations, high fives, and hugs to one another. Tifa again had her arms around Cait Sith, lifting him up eagerly, and he laughed with her.

As she set the cat back on his mount, Tifa smiled in his face. "Good work."

"Everyone…" Cait began gratefully, rubbing the back of his head. "Thanks. Ye really came through…"

"Whatever, grandpa," Yuffie said dismissively. "You're one of us, aren't you?"

Everyone around the platform looked to Yuffie in stunned surprise.

Blushing deeply, she propped her hands on her hips. "A-And we were here for Midgar, right?" When her response was only amused grins, she folded her arms across her chest. "Whatever! Stop staring at me."

Cid began laughing, slapping Cait's shoulder and nearly knocking him right off the mooglesaurus. "Hey, lookit you, you've graduated to 'grandpa!' Welcome to the club, old man. Hell, ain't you older than me? This guy's the real grandpa here."

Smiling at the exchange, Cloud shook his head. "Alright. Ca—Um." He paused, grimacing. "…Do you…still want us to call you Cait Sith?"

"Aye'm Cait Sith right now, aren't Aye?" Cait assured him with a nod and a large shrug. "What were ya aboot to say?"

"Right." Cloud fumbled over his thoughts (Reeve liked this more awkward, less-assured Cloud that had awoken from the Lifestream a great deal), then asked, "Do you need help? Where are you?"

Reeve was about to answer, then paused. He brought his attention back to his cell, and the heated shouting going on outside its door. Swallowing nervously, he pressed himself further against the wall. "I'm on the fifty-fourth floor, there's a detention area here…something's happening. My equipment was taken, so I can't hear you and whatever's going on outside the door at the same time. D-Don't…Don't rush in just yet."

A weight slammed against the door loudly and Reeve flinched. With the interior of the building on lockdown, he couldn't demand the others put themselves at risk…it would be a fight the entire way with very little likelihood they could stop whatever was coming in time.

The door opened, and firmly Tseng stepped in, adjusting his cuffs casually. "Director Tuesti."

Gawking up at the Turk, Reeve glanced through the door behind him and saw Tseng's subordinates waiting. Several unconscious security officers had been moved to either side of the hall.

"You…?" Reeve breathed out dumbly. "All of you had the chance to abandon your posts and you came back? For me?"

Reno chuckled loudly, shaking his head as he turned on his heels. "Wow, don't make this weird."

"We have other reasons," Tseng said coolly. "But you are aware you're currently the only executive director capable of taking command?" He looked to Rude and nodded his head toward Reeve shortly. Rude eased in, and he and Tseng helped Reeve to his feet and out of his binds.

Gratefully, Reeve rubbed his wrists. "I…There is no Shinra," Reeve said grimly as he stepped out of the cell.

Whistling, Reno slipped a hand in his pocket. "Ya look like shit."

Allowing a sheepish grin, Reeve shrugged. "I'd say 'you should see the other guy,' but I don't think there's much left to see. But the stain looks worse, at least."

Elena covered her mouth to stifle a surprised snicker, the tiniest sliver of a smile crossed Rude's lips, and Reno genuinely laughed. "Whoa, what? Since when are you funny, Tuesti?" Reno said. "I thought that stick was so far up your ass it damaged that part of your brain."

"It's been an…interesting night," Reeve said. "One moment." He glanced away from the Turks, letting the others know through Cait that a rescue wasn't necessary and that Cait would follow them back to the Highwind. As he returned his awareness to the Turks, he pulled out his handkerchief, wiping the dried blood off his forehead that had been bothering him since the beginning of his incarceration. "I still don't understand," Reeve began cautiously. "You defied orders and let Strife's faction go."

Tseng folded his arms behind his back. "Chairman Heidegger had neglected to make his orders clear. We were unable to complete them as given."

Reeve half-smirked at Tseng doubtfully. "And unfortunately, Heidegger is no longer able to confirm that."

Tseng's trio of subordinates shared knowing looks, while Tseng mechanically lowered his head. "The loss of Chairpersons Heidegger and Scarlet is a terrible tragedy," he said. As he raised it again, Tseng's ochre eyes firmly locked onto Reeve's face. "The Turks await your orders, Senior Director."

The title caused his eyes to widen briefly, and Reeve shook his head. "I'm sorry, Tseng, but…look around you. There is no Shinra."

Tseng's lips tightened briefly. "With all due respect, sir," he said. "Those in this tower and in Midgar would disagree. It will take an executive override to lift the tower's lockdown, and that is only the beginning. Shinra and Midgar need leadership now more than ever, and your name has power. There is no one else who could step up who will be as instantly respected and unquestioned."

Swallowing, Reeve turned his eyes to the floor. He blinked numbly at the enormity of the statement.

"Your expertise in Midgar's infrastructure makes you the only logical choice for coordinating an evacuation," Tseng continued. "But no such efforts can be made unless someone takes command of the Public Security Division."

Rude added smoothly, "Leaving the armed forces without direction would be extremely unwise."

"Most of them are bad enough with direction," Elena agreed, throwing a glance at those on the floor.

Tseng allowed a moment to pass before speaking, his voice dropping meaningfully: "I will say again…the Turks await your orders, Senior Director Tuesti."

Reeve's dislike of the Turks was currently irrelevant. They were right. A nagging fear whispered at the back of Reeve's head, that taking up Shinra command was making a deal with devils all over again…but simply announcing Shinra was dissolved and walking away would be a disastrous mistake—and unforgivably irresponsible. He had once told Vincent he would be cleaning up Shinra's messes until the end of his days…Reeve had no choice but to make good on his word.

Straightening his tie and suit coat, Reeve nodded. "Will you please escort me to the boardroom and then my office? There's some equipment I need to collect before I can start."

Reno laughed and nudged Rude. "Will ya check this out, yeah? This director says 'please!'"

"We're moving up in the world!" Elena giggled with him.

Tseng's unmovable expression curled into a grin. "Please follow us, Director. If you think of anything else, please don't hesitate to say."

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