I don't know about Cid…but I'm ready to kill Cloud and Ragnar.

Ever since they had cut out three days ago, Red XIII had once again been forced to take up the duties and responsibilities of the camp. In a way, he supposed he should be more understanding. After all, Ragnar dealt with this constantly whenever he was here. This should have been an exercise in sympathy for him. However…he was still, in many ways, an irritable "teenager", and all he felt was frustration at what had to happen.

Red XIII was currently holed up about ten miles outside of Midgar, although with the temporary base of operations for the PPA. Most of the smaller units were evacuating to Kalm, along with the citizens of Midgar. However, that small town had already been swollen to the point of overflowing by the influx of people from the much larger city. Hence, this camp that the PPA had struck was there both for purposes of controlling some of the overflow crowds as well as providing a relay point between the city and the village.

Yet that did little to alleviate the chaos that was going on. Currently, Red XIII was stationed inside an open tent that served as the main seat of command. It was pouring outside, making things an even bigger mess than before. However, it didn't stop some dozen officers from waiting outside, waiting for the current dozen that surrounded Red XIII to have their inquiries answered and then move out so that they could fill the void. The beast was finding himself constantly bombarded by one question or major decision to make after another. He was dealing with it the best that he could, but that was turning out to not be good enough. By this time tomorrow, Midgar was supposed to be a sizzling pit of mako. Currently, only 80 percent of the "residential" citizens were evacuated, while 50 percent of the homeless ones were still there. It wasn't helping that they had no place to look for them, or that the lines out of the city were already overcrowded. The only thing that could help was to give a public announcement of the situation and warn people away. But of course…Red XIII had been holding off on giving that announcement to prevent what happened in the wake…a riot. People hadbegun to flood the busses and trucks. Looters had begun to go to work. He even had to deploy teams of armed soldiers to control armed gangs that were using the situation to work their mischief. It was a nightmare…and he was the master sandman of it all, trying to weave his way out of it into some happy dream ending.

Red XIII wondered if human headache drugs would benefit him the same way at this point…

"Colonel, we have two more sighting of armed units, and one of our teams is pinned down."

"Utilize every non-lethal measure we've got. Pull the people from Kalm if you have to. Just withdraw until then."

"The latest riot caused another eight injured…"

"Then it appears the rioters accomplished their purpose, because they just got an immediate pass to Kalm's hospitals."

"We've used up 90 percent of our food reserves already."

"Contact Reeve and try to get him to negotiate with Kalm's mayor."

"We've got five tons of munitions and nowhere to put them."

"Then find a nice open spot of ground, pitch a tent, and leave them under it."

"I'm sorry sir…they put this on general radio. New Shinra has to have picked up on it by now."

"Feel free to add that to my list of problems-I-don't-have-time-or-resources-to-deal-with."

"Kalm's hospital is already overflowing."

"Move the field hospital surgeons out of Midgar and have them start erecting some in the safe zone. The injured must be moved there now."

"Hey Red!"

This unusually strong voice caused the beast to turn and look to the side. Around the mass of officers that was crushing in near him, one particularly large one was pushing his way through. The officers around him, faced with his strength and gruff personality, had no choice but to flee in his wake. Soon, he had made his way to the front, just as another officer was presenting him with a document to sign. Red XIII looked up to the man and sighed somewhat as he turned back down to the officer.

"Commander Barret…I trust you have a good reason for pushing through the rest of our officers who are struggling to save the some five million people still left in Midgar…" He remarked aloud, for once not really caring whether or not he sounded offensive. "What is this?" He addressed the officer in front of him.

"I jus' wanted to know if you've seen Tifa." Barret answered back. "Me an' Marlene have been waitin' fer her for hours, but she never showed up."

"We're paying Junon 50,000 gil to import 20,000 gallons of fresh water." The officer responded.

Red XIII snorted. "Not only are they milking us…but this is like buying fresh fruit from a maggot…" With that, he grumbled once as he reached down to do something he found rather demeaning. Red XIII couldn't sign anything, lacking an opposable thumb. So he had to do something rather unusual and…childish. He had to literally place his paw on an ink pad and then imprint it where he should sign. But as he did this, he spoke out to Barret.

"…Commander…I am up to my ears in bureaucracy and chains of command. I received word that Cloud and Ragnar finally returned only to abandon their posts again just as quickly. I am overworked, overswamped, and praying that some geological miracle will give me enough time to save who is left in Midgar. Kindly pardon the foul language…but I can't even find three seconds to piss in private, let alone keep track of Commander Tifa. Please do not bother me with, for lack of a better word, 'crap' like this again."

Barret froze at that. Although Red XIII's expression had stayed calm enough, his voice was clearly firm and strong, and rather irritable. Normally, Barret would have reverted to anger and yelled at Red XIII for talking to him that way. However, seeing the beast nearly snarl at him in his frustration, it instead made him pause. Without missing a beat, Red XIII was already turning back to the officers and working with them as fast as he could. For a few moments, Barret stood silently.

However, a new surprise soon came in. And this one did far more than just pushing through a crowd would. Abruptly, a small, lithe form bounded up and over the heads of the officers in the chamber, seeming to play leap frog with them to get over. On seeing this, the other officers looked up in surprise. Barret himself wheeled around to see the sight, mouthing out some words that appeared to be "what the (obscenity)". Only Red XIII continued to work without seeming to care or even notice it. At any rate, the lithe form soon made it to the front, and hopped down next to the beast, landing at last.

Red XIII continued to go about his work without looking up, but spoke out to who had arrived. "Lieutenant Yuffie…I suppose that the news you have is somewhat more pressing and urgent than Commander Barret's. I at least hope so…"

Yuffie panted a bit where she stood. She looked like she had been traveling very fast for some distance to get there, and even she was a bit winded as a result. That wasn't all. Her face looked anxious…and even a bit panicked. She swallowed once, and then reached into her pocket. She emerged with her own cellular phone a moment later, and flipped it open.

"Red…I just got a call from Tifa."

Barret stiffened at that. "Tifa? Where the hell is she?"

Yuffie looked up to him only for a moment. "She's at Kalm hospital, but that's not important right now." She looked back down to Red XIII afterward. "She's got a new friend…and I think it's kind of important that we do something about him right now. She sent me a picture on the camera phone."

Red XIII closed his eyes and groaned. "…Is it any more important than saving what's left of Midgar? Because that's what I'm trying to do right now. You know…I don't mean to get so irritable…but can anyone around here do anything for themselves? Why does everyone need to come to me for prior approval? Knowledge or not, there's something to be said for common sense…and I am getting sick and tired of having to handle every little damn-"

"Would you just look at him!" Yuffie cried before shoving the phone down in front of Red XIII's face.

The beast drew his head back a bit instinctively, but continued to frown and nearly growl. He was getting tired of this. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? Or why not bother Cloud and Ragnar? Find them and force them to do something about it? Make them handle something for a…

Red XIII's train of thought cut short when he saw who the picture was of. His anger faded in an instant, and his face slumped, forming astonishment instead.

After a moment, however, he sighed.

I definitely can't get a break…

"…I don't suppose you know what did this."

"…I was about to ask you the same question."

Vincent continued to look around at the area after that, not speaking anymore. Both he and his unwanted companion had been running through the caves of the Mythril Mines for hours, trying to get through them as quickly as possible. It didn't help that while running through the swamp prior to it that they had run into not one but two Midgar Zoloms. They apparently didn't like the scent of the two men, which seemed only typical. It had taken some time to kill both, further delaying them. But at long last, they had managed to get through. Only on doing so…they were in for an unexpected sight.

It was raining now, and raining hard. Water plastered Vincent's hair to his head, and water slowly dripped off of his cape and nose. However, his hard, calculating gaze never changed, and stayed entirely focused on their surroundings. From what it looked like…there had been a struggle here. At least, he assumed that was what had happened.

The area was covered with black scorch marks. Even the downpour wasn't washing it away that easily. It appeared to radiate from a certain point over the entire area. In particular, there was one point on one of the radiating circles where five especially dark streaks began, and then spread backward from the direction of the flame. They were somewhat oddly shaped,and Vincent couldn't make out what they had been beforea, no doubt, rather powerful source of heat had vaporized them.

However, as he came to a halt at the scorch marks, and then bent down next to them, he examined the area a bit more carefully. A few objects caught his eye, and he reached out and touched them. He ended up having to use his talons to pry them off the ground, but in the end he managed to pull off a flat metal object. It had been partially turned to slag and then fused with the ground, but there was enough of it left to tell what it had been.

Metal clasps and buttons from clothing.

"Now that's weird…"

Vincent dropped the metal foil to the ground, and turned his head behind him. "…What?"

Zola was standing over to one side, near one of the fissures between two boulders. His back was to Vincent and he looked focused on something. "It looks like there was some sort of heat that blazed out…burned everything to a crisp that got in its way, right?"

"Yes."

At that, Zola turned around and revealed something he was holding. Vincent recognized it immediately. It was a black suit coat, and it looked totally untouched by the fire. It was wet from the rain, but that was all.

"Then how come this didn't get incinerated?"

Vincent paused. That's a good question… He thought to himself. He began to rise from where he was crouched and turned to face Zola. Once he was standing, he pointed to him. "Put it on."

Zola raised an eyebrow to him at that. "…I don't think this is my shade." He sarcastically answered.

"Just do it."

Zola rolled his eyes and sighed. Grumbling a little, he turned the coat around, put his arms in it, and began to pull it on to himself. However, while doing so, it was stuck. It was obviously too small for him, even considering his thin frame. Once Vincent saw this, he gave a nod.

"You can take it off now."

Zola sighed again and began to remove it. "I trust that had some point other than seeing how good I'd look in a new suit."

"Turk suits are hand-tailored." Vincent answered. "The fact that the suitcoat didn't fit you means that it either belonged to Elena or to the new one you spotted. Furthermore, the fact that it is lying here after this incineration happened indicates that the Turks might have come by here."

Zola raised his eyebrows slightly to that. But after a moment, he formed a confused expression and shook his head. "No…that can't be right. I tasted the trail. All I detected were the mutant things and the girls."

"Perhaps you should taste it now, and see what you can find." Vincent responded. "Perhaps you can find the identity of what was probably five victims." Here, he pointed to the scorches on the ground.

The man looked to this…and he turned a bit pale. He swallowed once, no doubt fearing what Vincent himself did, although he wouldn't show it. If anything could incinerate people totally like that, it wasn't exactly high on their list of things they wanted to run into. At any rate, Vincent found himself being glad for this man or mutant that came with him. Much as he disdained company, his tongue was a bonus, and could find clues that even the experienced assassin could not. As he watched, Zola finally extended his long thin tongue and swept it around in the air. After doing so, he crouched down on the ground. He seemed to crack his legs and arms out, so that he could be like a four legged lizard again, and he proceeded to scurry along the ground. He swept his tongue out everywhere, including on the scorches. He then scurried over to the edge of the fire, and continued to sweep it out. His expression changed several times, indicating that he was thinking of something or had found something. In the end, however, he sucked his tongue back in, popped his limbs back into place, and then rose from the ground.

"Well?" Vincent asked.

"The oldest ones, and the ones that have a hint of charcoal on their scents, are the nonhuman creatures." Zola began. "I can't place how many. There are a lot of foreign scents around here I can't make out. I think I picked out both of the women, but I'm not sure. They're muddling me again. Those scents just seem to disappear, without going anywhere. Lastly, I detect some new humans. They were here the longest. They moved west."

"Is that all?"

"No. I also detect burnt helicopter fuel on the air."

Vincent frowned. He crossed his arms slightly and examined the area. "So…the Turks showed up…fried the enemy with some new weapon…and then regrouped and took off?"

Zola frowned. "No. I just told you…their scents disappear. The scents of the humans actually leave. I don't know what happened to either of them. It looks like they left, and left after the girls did. The oldest scent is that of the burned ones."

"Essentially…that means that one of those groups killed the creatures, the girls left, and then the Turks left." Vincent recapped. He paused after that, and thought over what he had just said. That didn't make sense. If the white robed one was with a Turk, then why didn't she leave with the others? What did they want with that woman anyway? Was she taking her somewhere? Was this some sort of escort job? And if it was, then why land right in the middle of Midgar? Why risk being hit by the PPA?

None of this made any sense at all. Vincent was starting to realize that this whole affair had implications of which he hadn't the slightest idea yet. Things were going on that he didn't understand. They were chasing after prey that had some significance, but goodness knew what. The only way they could possibly get any answers was to run into one of these parties and interrogate them. But until they did, they were up a creek. And now…the trail had just gone cold.

"As near as I can figure…" Vincent finally spoke up. "The girls have to have been on their feet for quite some time, and without any rest or food. They'll be running dry soon, especially if they somehow were injured in this incident. And there are only two places left for them to go. Fort Condor or Junon."

Zola sighed in response to that. "That's still one more place than we can go to…and that they could slip out of. I'm not splitting off from you, if that's what you're thinking."

"You don't have to." Vincent calmly answered. "We're going to Junon." With that, he turned and immediately began to walk in that direction.

Zola blinked again at that, looking puzzled. He began to take off after Vincent, but was still confused. "Wait a minute… You seem pretty certain. How do you know they're headed to Junon?"

"Whether they are headed there now or not is irrelevant. They will soon." Vincent answered. "No matter what…they are being chased. These creatures confirm it. They're trying to get away from them if nothing else. Fort Condor only offers a place to rest…not to escape. The only way off of this continent that's not through the PPA is through Junon. Inevitably, they will head there. And even if they don't…the nearest helipad is in Junon. If the Turks used a helicopter, they will have to take it there to refuel. If we can run into them, they might sort some of this out."

The man thought about this a moment, but he seemed to realize Vincent's logic. At any rate, Vincent didn't turn around to confirm it. He kept walking onward, letting Zola stay at the rear. In a way…he hoped that the girls had headed toward Fort Condor for rest first. If they did, that gave them the chance at last to move ahead and cut off their path before they could go any further.

And if there were any more of those creatures ahead…then perhaps it was best for the ladies if they did that.

Krystea felt terrible. Her mouth was dry and her head was pounding. She felt a chill in her blood too, as if she was sick with something. Whatever it was, it was fading…but it had left enough of an effect on her to still afflict her now. She was dizzy and weak at the moment, and she felt slightly nauseous. She had a hard time remembering where she was or what had happened… As she struggled to clear the cobwebs out of her head, she opened her eyes.

As she did so, her memory began to return, just as she noticed where she was located.

Suddenly, Krystea's eyes snapped open. In a flash, she rose up into a sitting position where she lay. However…that was a bad move. She suddenly felt very, very sick… She gagged once, cupped a hand to her mouth, and then finally turned to the side. She had just enough time to realize that she was in a bed somewhere before she threw up on the floor. It wasn't much. She had gone without food for so long that it was nearly a dry heave. Still, it exhausted her, and she gasped after she was done. Feeling a little better, she slumped back against where she was. She knew she shouldn't be lying here…wherever here was…but she was in no shape to do anything about it. She was so tired and sick… She had to rest a little.

Krystea took the moment to investigate her surroundings. She seemed to almost be in a rock cave. However, it had been fashioned into some sort of dwelling. The floors were wood paneled at least, and there were beds…and windows. It was night outside, and the rain was still falling from earlier. Occasionally, a bolt of lightning lit up the sky. She looked around herself a bit more. There were other beds to her sides, and medical equipment. This had to be some sort of infirmary or emergency room. But with rock walls like this, that meant it could only be one place. This had to be the medical wing inside Fort Condor.

Fort Condor… How am I in Fort Condor?

Where's Aerith?

"…Are you alright?"

Krystea turned her head to the sound of that voice, recognizing it immediately. Sitting up in bed next to her was none other than Aerith, her white robe gone but replaced with an equally white hospital gown. However…something was strange. She was sitting with her back mostly to Krystea. Her head was bowed, and she seemed unusually quiet…and sad. Her face was downcast, and her mood was somber and dark. Even the call to see if Krystea was alright seemed half-hearted.

"I…think so…but I feel sick." Krystea answered.

"It's because that mon-" Aerith had begun to explain…but then suddenly cut herself off. She stiffened slightly. It was as if the memory of what had happened brought her pain…and fear. She turned her head slightly away from Krystea afterward. The Turk was still a little too out of it to focus on that, but her memory began to work. That one creature…she was like a snake. She had decked her…but not before she bit her on the shoulder…

At once, Krystea turned and looked to her shoulder. She soon received another surprise. She too had been stripped of her suit and been put into a gown. But her shoulder was also bandaged. So…she had been poisoned. That's why she felt sick. Whether the poison was something she could recover from on her own or had been removed by whatever doctor was servicing them was irrelevant. The point was, she was clear of it now…at least for the most part.

But that left more questions. They were at Fort Condor… How did they get here? And what about the creatures that had been attacking them? Aerith had been helpless…and the Turks had been taken down by those things. What if they had finished them? The thought sent a chill into Krystea's heart. She turned and looked back to Aerith.

"What's happened to us?"

Aerith was still silent from the previous effect. But somehow, she managed to inhale and respond.

"…I woke up in this hospital. The field doctor said that we were found outside, both passed out. They treated us for dehydration, and looked to our other wounds and injuries. I've been…exhausted. I slept the rest of the day. I'm feeling strong enough now to stay awake… They said you had been poisoned, but that it wasn't fatal. They were waiting for you to clear it from your system and wake up on your own."

"But how did we get here in the first place?" Krystea answered. "We were ambushed…at the mercy of those things…"

On saying this…Aerith stiffened again. She suddenly raised her arms and wrapped them around herself. Her head bowed a little more…and she closed her eyes. She was silent. Krystea saw this…saw that the woman was suddenly caught up with fear.Her own face turned to concern. She slowly raised herself off of her pillows again, looking to Aerith. Despite how weak she herself was feeling, she reached out and began to pull back her covers. As she began to turn her legs out over the edge of the bed, ready to try and stand…Aerith finally spoke up.

"They…they were horrible…" She responded, in a faraway, fear-laced tone… "I…I didn't like the Turks…but they were savage… That…that leech thing…siphoning the fluid out of Reno…like a giant tick… That snake woman…biting you… And then that spider…covering me with…with that…stuff… I couldn't take it… I couldn't stand it any longer. I couldn't stand being so weak and helpless and afraid… I…I got angry… And when I got angry…it finally came out…"

Krystea continued to focus on Aerith, her face still full of concern. Biting as Aerith's remarks had been about her earlier that morning, the truth was that Krystea loved Aerith automatically and unconditionally when she learned she was her only family. That was the big reason she couldn't let her be used by New Shinra. To see her in pain put her in pain. Slowly, she got up from her bed. She was wobbly, but she only had to walk a few steps before coming over to Aerith's bed. She began to crawl on top of it, just like another sister coming to comfort her own over some breakup with a boyfriend or some bad test… She reached her at last…and then reached out her hand and placed it on her shoulder.

"I…I was so angry…so angry at them…for what they did to you…what they did to me…" Aerith slowly continued, even as Krystea edged closer to place her arm comfortingly around her. "I…I wanted to punish them… So I brought it out. I encouraged it. I brought out much more than I used on Reno… I wanted them…to be hurt…" She swallowed at this, and closed her eyes. "I never should have wanted something so terrible…but I was so mad…I wanted them to feel pain." Tears rolled from her eyes regardless as they closed, and the woman swallowed.

"I…brought out…far…far too much…" She continued, her voice quivering as she began to cry. "Once it was out…there was no way to recall it… I screamed…I thought I had killed everyone…that everyone would burn… But just like it didn't burn me…it didn't burn you… It didn't burn the Turks either… But…" She quivered more, and swallowed. "I saw…there was nothing left of them…and I screamed again… I just wanted to get away this time. I wanted to take you and go far away from all of that… And…I got my wish…"

Krystea held Aerith tighter, as the woman raised her hands to her eyes and began to sob. The Turk had no idea what she was talking about, but she tried to comfort her none the less. She held her tighter, trying to press her own body up to hers. She began to speak in a soft, soothing voice, just as Aerith had used on her earlier.

"Hey…it's alright. It's ok, Aerith…"

The woman didn't answer. She continued to weep for a few minutes. Krystea kept embracing her and holding her, speaking to her softly and rocking her gently. She let the woman get all of her tears out, and was there to support her while she did so. It did seem to work. Aerith allowed herself to be held, and finally rested her head against Krystea's shoulder. No one came to see them…which in Krystea's mind was a good thing. It appeared that the doctor had turned in for the night, and that most of Fort Condor was asleep. The woman stole a glance at a digital clock on the table once, and saw that it was past 0200 hours.

At last, Aerith sniffled a few times, and composed herself enough to speak again.

"Krystea…I have to show you something."

The Turk looked up a bit. As she did, Aerith inhaled deeply, and slowly raised one of her hands in front of her. She turned it so that the palm was facing upward. She quivered slightly in Krystea's arm, seeming to be nervous about this. But in the end, she inhaled once more, and closed her eyes.

Krystea watched intently as Aerith began to move her lips. She didn't know what this meant, and she couldn't make out what she was saying. She was close enough to her that she could hear a potential faint whispering…but the syllables were unintelligible.

After a moment, however, Krystea saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned to it…and immediately forgot about Aerith's words. A green light had suddenly lit up the room. Some sort of swirling, bright mist was encircling Aerith's hand, twisting and growing and shrinking in some sort of cosmic dance on the wind. Krystea gaped. She leaned back a little from it, shocked and surprised, and fearful that it would lash out at her. Was Aerith…doing this? Was she somehow creating energy?

Suddenly, Aerith made a gesture with her hand…and opened her eyes as she stopped speaking. Mist gathered in the air around Aerith's hand, and a few moments later…it abruptly collected and condensed. When it did, it grew into a solid crystal, and quickly expanded to become about a foot high. The green light vanished, and the swirling stopped. However, a crystalline spike had formed in Aerith's hand. It lightly hovered about her palm for a moment. Then, the power suddenly left it, and the room grew dark. The spike fell into Aerith's palm, and rested there.

Aerith slowly turned her head to Krystea, to see her reaction. The woman was still astonished, staring at the crystal with her mouth hung open. She paused for a moment…but then slowly closed her mouth and focused on the crystal. Very hesitantly, she raised her hand, slowly made a finger…andreached out and just lightly touched it. She immediately recoiled afterward. However, after hesitating again…she reached out and touched it once more, this time with her whole hand.

"You can take it." Aerith said.

Krystea looked to her sister once, and then looked back to the crystal. Again, she looked hesitant. But then…she slowly reached out again, and this time wrapped her hand around it. A moment later, she removed it from Aerith's palm, leaving only water in its wake. Aerith withdrew her hand immediately and pressed it against her clothing. Krystea moved the crystal in front of her, and continued to marvel at it.

"…Ice." She finally said, explaining the nature of the crystal with one word. "A crystal of ice… You generated this…" She hesitated here, and turned back to the Cetra. She looked her over once, quickly trying to see if she was hiding something. But she saw nothing…nothing that could hold a piece of materia. She looked back up to her, still incredulous.

"You did it…without materia."

Aerith's face grew dark again, and she slowly bowed her head.

"…You haven't heard the whole story about me, Krystea." She slowly uttered. "…But there's a lot more to me than you realize. I was…well…let's say that I was out of my body for an extended period. When I came back…almost right before you captured me…I was weak as a baby. But now, I'm getting stronger again…and I'm finding out that I'm different than before. Back with Reno, I did it as a reflex, and tired myself out. I drained myself this afternoon too. But I've rested up…and now doing something like this only strains me a little. I'm getting stronger all the time. I'm not sure what I'll be capable of when I fully recover…"

Krystea was silent, still marveling over this. She couldn't believe it. What exactly was Aerith? What was a Cetra?

"This has to be why they want you. They want to know how you do this, how you-"

"No."

Krystea was a bit surprised to find herself suddenly cut off, and she turned back to Aerith after she was. The woman was still very fearful and afraid looking, and had her head bowed slightly. She swallowed again.

"…There's a lot I didn't tell you, Krystea…mostly about the Cetra. I should have done it earlier…but now I have to do it. You have to know…because this concerns you too. If we have the same mother…then you're a Cetra too."

Aerith proceeded to tell her everything about her race…about their race. She explained who Ilfana had been, and who by birth they were. She told her everything she knew about her people and their responsibilities, as well as their natural abilites to speak with the Planet. She told her about the fall of their race, about Jenova, and about the Promised Land that they were to go to that Shinra had wanted her for. It took some time to say everything, but Krystea patiently listened. After all…things she had never expected before were revealed to her. No one disturbed them, however, and Aerith was allowed to finish with her story.

Krystea, in the end, was a bit overwhelmed. But at the same time, she found herself confused. The Cetra were supposed to be in a constant link with the Planet…and yet she had never heard anything before from it. She wasn't sure why… Perhaps she had learned to stop hearing voices. After all, as a child…there were many voices that came with the treatment she was subjected to that told her how small and worthless she was, forcing her to crowd them out or lose her mind. But then again…there were many other voices now that she was a Turk…small voices inside her telling her to constantly question what she was doing…voices she had learned to smother out and ignore. The thought of that brought back to mind what Aerith had said earlier…and it made her more uncomfortable.

"Krystea…if they find out you're related to me…that you're my sister…" Aerith went on. "They'll hunt you down like they did to me. They'll turn you into an experiment or worse."

The Turk hesitated after hearing this. She was still coping with what she had heard before. But in the end, she shook her head. "Don't worry. Nobody knows but me."

"Whoever wrote that paper you showed me did." Aerith responded.

Krystea paused again. That was unfortunately true, and she had no idea if the person who had done it died in the bombing of the Shinra HQ Building or was still working for the New Shinra. It was not a pleasant thought…and it was something she might have to deal with. But right now, she couldn't. She had to try and find time to think. She and Aerith had already spent far too much time here. They needed to move out while they still could. Krystea was just about to get Aerith to gather herself together and get ready to move again…when she heard something she didn't expect.

"…We need to get out of here and get back to Midgar…immediately."

The woman, shocked out of her thoughts by that statement, wheeled around to her relative. "…Excuse me?"

"I'm not sure why…" Aerith answered. "But when I was here, worn out with no choice but to rest, I finally gained enough strength and wits to be able to contact the Planet somewhat. It is urging me to return to Midgar. Something very important is going to happen there…but I need to be there. I need to go back there."

Krystea, despite all the astonishments she had received so far, was even more surprised by this statement.

"Aerith…we've nearly been killed three times over trying to get away from Midgar. It's suicide to go back now."

Aerith continued to stare at Krystea, unchanged. When she spoke again, her voice was firm and resolute.

"Krystea…right now, I am more confused and anxious than I have ever been in my life. I told you that I was…out of things…for quite a while. I barely know anything about this world we're living in right now. I'm still adjusting to being here. I'm scared about this power that I suddenly have. I don't know how much power I'm capable of…or if I'll lose control again and do what I did back at the exit of the Mythril Mines. I'm being chased not only by New Shinra but by these monsters, and I fear they'll do worse to me and you than New Shinra if they catch us. But despite all of this…I know without a shadow of a doubt that I have to go back to Midgar. I know the Planet wants me back there. The Planet once asked me to do something that meant abandoning my friends, the people who could protect me from danger, and giving up my life. I did it without hesitation because it was the kind of call that could not be denied…something that I knew deep within my soul was right. The same thing is happening again. I can't get there on my own. Please…get me back to Midgar."

Krystea paused. Aerith was insisting…nearly pleading now. Her eyes were focused and silently begging her to carry this out. The Turk was still at a loss, for the most part, as she knew Aerith had to be. Knowing who she was now…knowing what she was…knowing that Aerith suddenly had this amazing new power. It was enough to throw her ability to think things through to the four winds.

Going back was indeed practically suicide. There was too much waiting for them…and even more waiting for Krystea. She wouldn't be surprised if the New Shinra were already in the base of Fort Condor, inquiring about the both of them. Krystea wanted to be out of here with Aerith…find some place where they could rest and think for a few hours. But they were still stuck here, with three or more parties all after them.

Krystea had known Aerith only a short while, but she still felt that bond inside her. She felt it since they met. She trusted the woman and believed her…and wanted to do anything she could to help her. But this was risking both of their lives on what, in Krystea's estimation, was a whim. She had never heard of talking with the Planet before, and had no idea how much stock could be put in it. But again…Aerith believed it strongly enough. That was obvious from her appearance. And she had already done plenty to put Aerith against her… Krystea valued her sole family member more than almost anything. She didn't know why…but she felt more completeness with her.

And that brought a thought to mind. As far back as Krystea could remember…she felt something lacking…incomplete…alone. That was one reason why she had been obsessed with finding a member of her true family, and why she had devoted herself so much to Aerith now. But perhaps…it was only covering up her true desire. If she was a Cetra…then perhaps the true incompleteness was being "apart" from the Planet, of not hearing its voice constantly and having a relationship with it. It sounded almost crazy to Krystea. Talking to the world? It sounded like something out of an environmentalist cartoon… But Aerith believed in it…and did it. Maybe it was what she was missing…the reason why she always felt alone.

With that in mind…Krystea decided at last to try something. This would decide what she would do now. She let out a long slow sigh and closed her eyes. But she wasn't treating Aerith with disdain or reluctance. No…she was going to try something else, something she had never tried before.

She was going to try and talk with the Planet.

Um…Gaia, or whatever… If you're out there, and you can actually respond to my thoughts…then I'll let you decide this one…

"How do you feel?"

Reno couldn't really say. He couldn't remember anything. Darkness and lack of memories surrounded him on every side. Opening his eyes only made him dizzy, surrounding him with a world of swirling color and confusion, with nothing making any sense. Somehow he managed to hear that small phrase…but that was about all he was aware of. He felt sore, tired, dehydrated, and completely disorientated. He couldn't think of anything or focus on anything but that phrase.

But somehow…he managed to weakly answer.

"…You know how sometimes you squish a bug and it breaks up over your shoe treads, so you scrape it off but there's still a bit left in the cracks that you just can't get out because it's stuck in some old gum?"

"…Um…yeah."

"Like that…plus crap."

Reno forced himself to shake his head…much as it drove him into further pain.The world began to unswirl as he did so, and his surroundings slowly began to come into focus. He still couldn't tell much of what was going on, and his past memories were still fuzzy. What he was remembering of yesterday…of dropping the helicopter they picked up at Junon down in front of the Mythril Mines, intercepting Aerith and Krystea…and then getting ambushed by the local freakshow…didn't seem to match up with where he was now.

It looked like a small hotel room. And Reno had been in enough hotels around the world to know how the sun rose on them. He could see the sun rising outside through the large, walk-through window onto a small patio. The way it was reflecting, it had to be off of a large shining surface…such as an ocean. And since every window in Junon faced the sea, based on how the city was built, he guessed that might be where he was. The whole room was pretty classy and clean, just how the Turks liked it. Yet it was also small too. Evidently, this one was just for a temporary base, not anything that was planned for an extended period.

Reno groaned and looked down over his body. This room had to be a single, because there was only one bed and he was lying in it. His neck felt terrible…but he didn't quite have the bearings or desire to reach back and feel what the source of the pain was. It appeared that they had crashed in this room fairly quickly. Their usual toys and effects were scattered about helter skelter, and the first aid kit had been raided. He looked around a bit longer, and finally found and recognized familiar faces. Elena was sitting on the bed next to him, looking down over him with an uneasy look. Obviously, she was the one who had called out to him. As for Rude, he was sitting at the complimentary desk in the room. His head had a few bandages on it, but he was mostly preoccupied with what appeared to be one of their monitoring radios, holding a receiver to his head and tuning channels. All that left was Krystea, but…

Oh yeah…that's right.

"…I don't suppose anyone can begin to explain what the hell has happened to us?"

Now that Reno was more coherent, Rude turned his head slightly behind and looked to him. But after seeing him awake and able, he turned back to his own work. After all, Turks had to be able to depend on each other and work as a team without always focusing on who might be lacking. Elena, on the other hand, swallowed a moment. She turned back to Rude and looked to him uneasily. However, he gave no support. Reno noticed this…and he knew that look. Something was wrong. Elena wouldn't look this way for no small matter. At any rate, she turned back to him.

"We're in Junon right now, Reno. We're staking out for Krystea to come this way. Rude's listening to any blotters in the area. But he hasn't turned up anything in a while. The only thing we've got is that two women who were in the medical wing of Fort Condor escaped the moment they recovered. We're not sure it was them or not…but they'll be heading here next if they want to get off the continent."

Reno, however, frowned in response and finally reached up behind his head. He winced as he did. He felt a large bandage there, but the flesh beneath was sore and tender. On feeling it…he began to remember something. Remembered some hideous thing jumping on his back…and then biting him somehow on the back of his neck…before blackness and oblivion.

"How the hell did we get to Junon?" Reno answered. "Last thing I remember, we were surrounded by those freaks. Did you two take them out or something?"

Rude stopped for a moment where he was and turned his head slightly behind him. This coincided with Elena looking a bit more uneasy. She pulled a bit at the tie around her neck.

"…That's just it, Reno." She answered. "I was the last one to get knocked out. After Rude got assaulted by that bat thing, some leech-like guy jumped on your back and sucked on your until you passed out. Some ugly spider thing took my gun and Krystea's. Then some giant lobster man grabbed me and knocked me out too. I thought Krystea and Aerith were toast along with us. But when I came to…they were all gone."

The Turk in bed merely frowned. "That's not all that surprising. They probably took them and ran."

Elena shook her head. "I don't think so. First of all…they said they wanted to bring us in…I think to make more animal freaks like themselves. But the other thing is that when we came to…there were scoring marks all over the ground, like there had been some really big fire. And there were five charred stains against the ground. I think that's what was left of our assailants. Based on where they were centered…it looked like Aerith did it."

Reno paused as well here. He thought back to the Sierra. He had sampled a taste of powers he didn't know Aerith had. However…it hadn't been anything more than a painful jolt. Not enough to take out any of the freaks. It didn't seem likely that she could have incinerated them all like Elena was implying, especially if she could only do lightning and not fire. But then again…he wasn't sure of anything where this was concerned. Aerith had never attacked them with magical abilities without using materia before. However…she had demonstrated the ability to heal her friends before without materia. Maybe she was just moving into bigger leagues, so to speak… Still, that wouldn't explain why, or how, she had torched that group and not them… But as he thought again, he realized that Aerith had been a lot weaker before… Something had drained her of strength back on the Sierra. She was getting back more now…

Yet none of this made sense. This was crazy. No one could just perform energy attacks like that. That was something out of fairy tales…people able to use magic without materia. Yet as Reno thought on about this…he also began to think of other assumptions they had that were violated.

Cloud's group seemed to be totally convinced four years ago that Aerith was dead, and that's the same impression they gave us. That's why I entered that. After all…we searched high and low for her after tailing her to the City of the Ancients. Never found her there or at Icicle Inn. That old nut Hojo seemed to agree with us, which is why he looked for the Promised Land on his own afterward… Cloud sure as hell thought she was still dead back when we had that little jaunt in Edge with Kadaj's gang…

…It's not possible…is it?

That she really did come back…?

"There's something real important too."

Reno's train of thought broke, and he turned back to Elena on hearing this. In response, the woman began to reach into her suitcoat. A moment later, she pulled out something rather familiar looking, along with a folded up piece of paper.

"Aerith and Krystea left in a real hurry, obviously… They had to. I don't think they'd be sloppy enough to leave this behind if they didn't. This makes me think even more so that somehow the five were consciously roasted. The metal on their clothes was melted…but my gun and Krystea's was fine, lying on top of the ashes."

Elena dropped the familiar looking object down on Reno's lap. The Turk looked down, and recognized it at once. It was the Valentine. Krystea's pride and joy. She not only had a great affection for this weapon, but she was a Turk. She wouldn't be dumb enough to leave her gun behind. Something must have got her out in a hurry for it to be left. There was a chance she thought it had been destroyed…if Aerith had indeed fried their foes… At any rate, here it was now. It was all but useless as a weapon to them. Rude would have to use both hands and have Reno brace him to be able to fire it, and even then the recoil might be so great that it could be five feet off the mark. It was amazing how Krystea was able to do it, even with the special enhancements…

"That's not the important thing, though." Elena continued, causing Reno to look back up. She began to unfold the piece of paper soon after. This made Rude stop his work all together, and turn around to the two of them. That seemed to be his full concern now. "Krystea's suit coat had been taken off, but she forgot to take it with her. We decided to look in it for clues. Aside from extra bullets, a few little tools, and the dart containers…we found this. Read it."

Elena handed the paper out to Reno soon after. The Turk hesitated, but then reached out and took it. He leveled it in front of him in a good position, and began to read. Elena patiently waited, as did Rude, knowing that he would soon have a similar response to it as they did. Reno couldn't make out much of it at first. It looked like a fragmented decode of some file, but it was so old that Krystea had to have had it for some time. He read over what was decoded…

And after doing so…his own eyes widened a bit.

"…Well now, that is interesting."

"She must believe it's true." Rude spoke aloud.

Reno snorted and tossed the paper back to Elena. "Well, it can't be true, obviously. She always told us that old Vincent Valentine was her older brother." He hesitated after saying that, however, and finally gave a shrug. "Then again…maybe we're wrong. Maybe this paper is the truth, and she gave us the lie. Vincent Valentine spent thirty years in a coffin below the old Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim. Krystea isn't a day over twenty-one…unless she's been using some cosmetics that have found their new poster child…"

"This explains why she risked her neck to save Aerith." Elena threw in. "She thinks Aerith is her sister." The woman frowned soon after, and sighed. "Damnit…she should have told us about this. We would have been able to point out a dozen reasons why that can't be true."

"I think there's a bit more at stake than just that, Elena." Reno answered. "I'm thinking the New Shinra don't exactly know about this particular little document. If they did…then Krystea's own head is in a noose. They didn't think anything about her mother. Tseng spent his career in the Turks trying to nab Aerith. They could be looking to make her their guinea pig too if they find out about this."

The other two Turks went silent at that. Reno had a very good point there. The scientists at Shinra could be more ruthless and disgusting than even the Turks could tolerate. Much disdain as Cloud's group might have for them, they weren't above at least a tiny bit of honor or humanity. That was more than they could say for sadistic psychopaths like Hojo. Of course…this brought a whole new set of problems into play.

"So now what?" Elena asked. "I mean…Krystea thinks she's her sister. If it was any of us…wouldn't we have acted the same way? Tried to save her life? Knowing what New Shinra will do to her if they catch her?"

"Family ties mean nothing to the job of a Turk." Rude answered back. "We're supposed to do our job even if it means turning in our own mother." The big man paused after that, however, and then sighed and bowed his head. "…But in all honesty, I don't have a family. I've never had to test myself to see if I'd go through with it."

Elena frowned and bowed her head. "…I don't like that Cetra. I never did…and I don't like her even more now that she's some witch… But…it doesn't seem right to bust her if Krystea's involved…"

"We're in a bad spot." Rude answered back. "If we bring Aerith in, we'll either have to kill Krystea to do it, or bring her back alive and have them find out who she really is. Then they'll both be test subjects."

"But if we don't…then we're all fugitives." Elena answered back. She frowned soon after. "…And I, for one, will die before I go up to Cloud and beg him for protection or asylum."

Rude turned his head back to Reno. "…So…what's the move?"

Reno himself crossed his arms and bowed his head. Usually, he was a man of action. However, there was the rare occasion when he tried to think something through before carrying it out. Now was one of those times. Both Rude and Elena had brought up a number of good points. Rude was probably being more vocal now for just that purpose, to help elaborate on the pros and cons that Elena herself couldn't come up with. To say they were between a rock and a hard place was an understatement. It would take a miracle to bust them out of this one…and they probably weren't all that high on God's "favorite people" list. They had to make a choice here, and they had to make one soon…before Krystea and Aerith slipped out from under them and decided for them.

Finally, Reno gave the deciding vote.

"We're Turks." He began. "We do a job that we were told to do. No matter how unpleasant…no matter how dirty…we get the job done. What we feel about it was no longer a factor the day we put on the suit. It goes with the territory, no matter how bad or good we feel about it."

Rude and Elena were silent. They stared at Reno without expression change or rebuttal.

"But…" Reno continued, raising his head up again to look to them. "…We were screwed on this mission at the get-go. Rude is absolutely right about our commitment to the job…but it's because of a special case like he mentioned that we need to know everything about a mission before we begin. As any good assassin knows, you never make the matter personal. It screws up things far too much, and it's done so now. If we had known the full story before taking this mission, we never would have accepted. And that, I believe, falls under the jurisdiction of a problem that is in the client's hands. And it doesn't matter how bad or good he feels about it, or whether he wants our heads on his wall for it or not. It's still, at the end of all things, his lack of foresight."

For a rare time in his life…Rude cracked a smile. It was just a small one, but even a small smile on Rude's face showed his immense appreciation. Elena was different. She formed a much larger and warmer smile, and looked like she was getting enthusiastic. Reno was always in a devil-may-care attitude, and so it didn't matter one way or another. He always had that confident smile on his face. And now, as he brought it back onto his expression, he began to step out of the side of the bed.

"Alright then…let's get ready. When Krystea gets here…I guess we'll be helping her and Aerith to get off of this continent, and maybe getting ourselves off in the process…"

To be continued...