Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Phantom Trace

She has two weeks to do what she can to help improve the management of Gospel. There's not too much to be done, in all honesty, the set up is very much based on the Orphanage they have back in Edge. But she feels obliged to spend time here, in her hometown, to ensure everything is running smoothly and to make sure the kids here are happy.

The first three days have whirled past her. Annie and the two helpers; Maria and Toulie, had given her an extensive tour of the building, both complete and the in-progress sections, as well as demonstrating the schooling and activities they ran for the children. Tifa had met most of them as well, and gotten to know a few.

Tifa absentmindedly gnaws at the end of the pen with her teeth as she shuffles through sheets of paper. She is in Annie's office, looking at the expenses of the mansion's reconstruction. They have a very tight budget, and Tifa figures that she's going to have to wheedle some more funding out of Reeve and WRO once she returns to the city. It was not cheap to convert a decrepit old mansion into a place suitable to accommodate fourteen kids.

And there would be more to come, for sure.

Sighing, she taps the page on wood costs, pen now out of her mouth. There is precious little wood in the Nible area, most of it has to be shipped across from neighboring areas, which sucks up a lot of the money in itself.

Cid had fondly called her an idiot for not using cheaper building materials, but Tifa wanted Gospel to last. She wanted it to feel complete, whole, like a home. She wanted it to feel safe.

Scanning the page one last time, she thinks hopefully that the building supplies will come a little cheaper now that most of the floor and wall paneling had been completed. She files the documents neatly away before turning to the next lot.

A bell rings, somewhere, causing her to set down the paper work with a grin. Already the sounds of children scampering down stairs and through hallways can be heard as they rush to be in time for the second bell.

Tifa stands up from the desk, placing her hands behind her to stretch her back, before walking towards the door.

After all, no one wants to be late for dinner.

The rocky cliffs of the Northern Corel area were bordered by wind swept moors that stretched back far until mountains broke up the flat land. The sea wind that beat against these cliffs and these moors was howling now, buffeting her face and skin.

She scans the distant mountains again, eyes lingering on the dark smudge of construction that marks what will be the Planets first fully operational oil field. It fairly large, a little bigger then the old Reactors used to be. She has heard that the leader of Avalanche was responsible for finding the oil site.

A grim smile makes its way onto her face. That generation of the rebellion group had succeeded where she had only made failure. Even with all her fine 'Raven' warriors and enhanced strength, she had only played into the hands of a traitor.

She knew a little about that generation, she certainly knew what was like to be the torn in a lion's side. It seemed, however, that Wallace and his motley band of idealists, mercenaries and tag-alongs had possessed something she, Sears and the others had lacked.

They were all dead now, she was the only one left.

Sighing, she rubs her eyes before crouching back to the ground. Hand outstretched, she again tries to make sense of the fading tracks before her. Dark clods of earth reveal the skid marks of a heavy motorbike turning abruptly before speeding off.

The trouble is, there is nothing else to tell where they have gone from here. The earth is already sinking back into the long grass, worn down by wind and rain. Broken and bruised grass leaves have already grown anew. She cannot find any other markings after this, and that is what frustrates her.

This is the third time she has returned to this place, hoping that it will shed new light onto where the vehicle and its rider have vanished. But the markings are almost a week old, and sooner or later she has to admit that she has lost him.

Clenching her jaw, Elfe stands again, staring out into the coastline she has scoured during these past few days.

'Know when you're beaten,' she mutters to herself.

The trail's gone cold; she's going to have to start again.

'Wark.'

Absentmindedly, she puts a hand up to placate her feathered steed. The bird snaps out and Elfe barely avoids a nasty bite by snatching her hand out of the way.

'Do you not want to eat tonight, nasty bird?'

The black bird merely glowers at her before ruffling its dark feathers regally. The woman sighs again, approaching the bird and mounting it with ease.

'You could try to be nicer to me.'

It scuttles a little, and Elfe takes this as a no. Her chocobo, whilst being of good breeding, is very temperamental. She suspects this is why she was able to purchase it for a lesser amount then she would have expected for a black.

'Come on, then,' She clucks her tongue and urges it forward. It stretches out its neck and bolts.

For a moment she struggles to regain control before resigning herself to the fact that when Zirk wants to run, he will run. He falls back into a controlled sprint, at least allowing Elfe to guide them back towards the last town.

There she will be able to plan out another place to begin her search.

The boss had set Reno continual night watch of the woman as an example of how displeased Rufus was with him. The night watch wasn't the end of it, though, but he wasn't too fussed. It was not like Rufus could exactly 'fire' and 'remove' Reno, like the old days. The ex-president doesn't have that authority any more, and, most of all, he needs every last man who is willing to help him.

Which, in all honesty, is not a common thing.

So, he is here in the bleak white room.

His frustration at Strife's attitude has faded somewhat; it's hard for him to remain bothered at what the ex-Soldier thinks about Reno's ethical values. He got what he wanted, sort of, which was some information on the girl's condition. It wasn't much, but it more then his boss had revealed.

Reno checks his watch briefly as his flicks through one of Elena's trashy magazines. He doesn't know why he brought them in here. He supposes he thought that his charge might read them, when and if she wakes up.

Elena. He supposes she would be scowling at him if she had seen him riffling through her stuff like that, whacking him over the head with them as she chased him out the room. He would be over exaggerating his hurt to an unsympathetic Rude and a disapproving Tseng.

He misses the old stiff-face man and the determined rookie like family. He feels guilty too, leaving them there in the crater, despite the fact that that would have jeopardized the mission.

And nothing must be allowed to jeopardize a mission.

Reaching the end on the magazine, he turns it over and begins flipping through it again. He doesn't really take in the writing or the pictures, just the colours. Gaudy, bright and obnoxious, god these things made him laugh.

The night is not even young and he has nothing to do. Rude would probably read some book on philosophy. Actually, Rude would more likely be standing straight, alert and aware and on guard.

Reno just yawns and leans back into his chair.

The tinny light of the room is buzzing softly, flickering every so often. He scratches his and looks around the room. He's done this every night of the week. A slow breath is taken in and let loosely out again. Except it isn't his.

His eyes swivel to the bed on the other side of the room. It isn't new, she breaths loudly sometimes, but there's always the chance that she will awaken. Reno's hopes aren't up too high, though.

The bed-head faces away from him so he can't see her face, only bits of her blond hair poking out from behind the pillows that prop her up. All he can see of her is her left hand resting on the mattress.

He begins to look away again, disinterested, but his gaze snags on the woman's hand. He waits; skin prickling, for some reason.

A moment later, her finger twitches, again it seems. When it moves for a third time Reno, face bored and bemused, reluctantly drags himself up off the chair. Hand in pockets, he trudges over to the bedside.

'Yo.' He says absentmindedly, half wanting a response.

She looks like her sister, he thinks, for the millionth time. For a moment he even deludes himself into thinking it really is Elena. Reno shakes his head and gazes at the far end of the room; this whole business was heading nowhere. For Shinra, Soldier, even the Turks, it was over. It never could or would go back to the way it was before. Rufus was kidding himself if he thought people would ever trust the name 'Shinra' again. He knew he didn't, and he still worked for the guy.

When he looks down at the woman again her eyes are half open. He almost blanches because it looks like she's staring straight at him, but he realizes it must be just a nerve twitch or something. Sucking his teeth, he leans over to close them, only to jerk his hand back when she frowns slightly and turns her face away.

This time his jaw drops, and she's staring at him again.

He realizes he must look like an idiot and closes his mouth. He blinks instead. She blinks back in response.

'Uh…' Reno leans forward

She blinks slowly, as if she is regarding him. He feels tense, waiting to see what she will do, if she will have another fit like before. He hopes she won't.

'Uhng…' she groans softly, frowning as she moves her lips in a failed attempt to speak. She closes her eyes again, still frowning, and exhales. Reno considers her face, wondering if she has fallen back to sleep. Awkwardly, he clears his throat.

Her eyes open again quickly.

'Hey-ah…how'ya feeling?' Reno straightens; eyes still on her. He has no idea what to do.

Scrap that, he knows what he should do. He should get Rufus or Rude or something. But he's not going to, not just yet.

The woman is trying to speak again, he can see that she's frustrated with the trouble she's having. He chews on his lip for a moment before speaking again.

'Ok, before you hurt yourself trying to talk, let's sort out an alternative. One blink means yes, two means no, how's that?'

She scowls and shakes her head.

'Ah. Let's just stick to the good ole' nod and head shake, then, shall we?'

She nods, scowl fading a little. She leans back into the pillows and sighs. Reno begins pacing, trying to think of something to say. He can feel her gaze on him, the same way he felt Strife's. He shrugs casually and turns to stare at the other end of the room.

'So…welcome back, I should say, eh? Long time no see…' His voice trails off. It's a moment before he remembers she's mute, glancing at her to see her response.

She's staring blankly at him. He raises an eyebrow in response.

'Eh?'

The woman frowns softly again, averting her gaze away. Reno's puzzled, he steps toward her again.

'What, no recognition?' He tries to sound light hearted, as if it is no big deal. Inside him, a cord of worry sounds, and he can't help but remember Strife's words on the presence of Jenova.

He moves closer, trying to catch her eye. She is pretending to concentrate very hard on her hands, wringing them together.

'Hey…c'mon…'

Her eyes flash up angrily; brightly enhanced by mako, before falling back meekly to her hands.

'You don't remember me, do you?'

She shakes her head.

'Do you remember…uh…Elena?'

Another head shake.

'Ole' Veld?'

And another one.

'Tseng?'

Head shake.

'Rude?'

Nope.

'Shinra?'

Negative again.

'Do you remember your name?' he says, exasperated.

She pauses, seemingly lost in thought. She looks up at him slowly, before nodding carefully.

'Finally!' Reno's throws his hands in the air and turns away. He had begun to consider that they had got her identity wrong, and that her semblance was nothing more then a very curious coincidence.

Of course, true coincidence was a very rare occurrence in this Stone Age. Jittery, he stands with his hands on his hips before turning around again. She is watching him, warily.

'What?'

Frowning, she raises a hand from the bed. It trembles as she does so, like she has very little strength. Reno cocks an eyebrow, bemused as she cups it and lifts it to her mouth.

'Uh…'

Reno just stares at her, wondering what it is she wants. She is repeating the gesture slowly, looking at him expectantly.

'You…are…thirsty?' he tries out.

She gives a small, curt nod before leaning back onto her many pillows.

'Whaddaya want me to do about it?'

Her eyes widen and she looks at him confused. He tilts his head and gives a smirk.

It fades quickly when she lowers her eyes in resignation and turns her face away.

She is not Elena, he tells himself, angrily. He had forgotten that in the face of their likeness. Elena would have glowered at his smirk and ignored him haughtily, not accepted submissively. They were so similar, almost mirror images of each other despite the three years that lay between their ages. For a moment he had let the two merge, he had forgotten that this woman does not know him any more.

Reno glances at her again. Her eyes are closed in the semblance of sleep. He scowls at her profile, angry with her for causing his mistake. She shouldn't be here; Tseng and Elena should. She was dead, a part of the past, no longer a Turk.

A Turk's contract only ran out when you died. She had escaped that, which had been ok. What had not been ok was when, after three years of quiet inactivity, she had thrown her lot in the rebels, the members of Avalanche, the other side.

That was unacceptable, and this time, they could not afford to spare her.

He slumps back into his seat, despondently, mulling over loyalty and what it means to be a Turk.

Authors notes: So, she awakens. This character, as some of you may have guessed, is Shotgun, from Before Crisis. She was a Turk, and the older sister to Elena. As they don't actually have standed names, Shotgun is a sort of nick name while her birth name is Grace.

Now all I have to work with is the scripts, so forgive me if the characters are a little out of wack.

Yes, Elfe' makes an appearence too :) She is the former leader of Avalanche, but more will be revealed later on.

Hope you like!