When night fell, four Turks slipped out of the ShinRa compound. Wearing hooded black combat suits, they were barely visible as they spread into fan formation, running flat out for the gate in the tall concrete fence.

Skidding to a halt, Tseng pulled off a black glove with his teeth and punched a ten-digit code into the keypad. With a groan, the gate began to open, sliding ponderously in its track. The Turks didn't wait for it to open fully, instead slipping silently through and hitting the lock mechanism on the way out. The four assassins sprinted alongside the road, hurdling dirt patches and staying in the shorter grass to foil any pursuers.

"So, tell me again why we're running away from ShinRa in the middle of the night, yo," Reno puffed, the words coming in staccato bursts between gasping breaths.

Rude glanced over his shoulder. "Liars," he said.

Reno rolled his eyes, a gesture that went unseen in the dark. "Expand, please."

Elena slowed her pace slightly so that she was running beside the redhead. "You remember the boss told us that Valentine bailed out on the Turks, right? Betrayed us and went underground?" Reno nodded.

Without looking back, Tseng said, "I overheard a conversation between Hojo and the President's son yesterday."

Reno's head tipped off to the side and an incredulous expression formed on his face. Tseng? Eavesdropping? He'd never thought that the by-the-book Turk leader had it in him.

Elena nodded, confirming the statement. "More specifically, he heard Rufus berating Hojo for letting 'the experiment' escape. Think about it. When we saw him last, before that incident with the materia, Vincent had metal limb replacements. Wouldn't it make sense that he was the experiment that Hojo was talking about?"

"So…we decided to run away because…Vincent was experimented on?" Reno sounded like he was seriously wondering if Elena had dropped her brain somewhere.

Tseng shook his head. "Not precisely. This is proof that ShinRa took one of ours, experimented on him, and then lied in order to sufficiently motivate the Turks to track him down. The truth positively rankles. Remember, loyalty to one's compatriots…"

"…comes above all." Elena, Rude, and Reno finished his sentence for him.

"Yes," said Tseng. "And we must sacrifice all we have ever known. ShinRa will come after us when they learn of our escape. But the Turks will fight to the last breath to see their honor venerated." He paused. "Agreed?"

Even in the dark, he knew that the others were touching two fingers to their own foreheads.

Faint dawn began to dissolve the stars nearest to the horizon as the Turks sped over the rough ground. Reno continued to grumble about all the running and the lack of food.

"You didn't even tell me what was going on before you dragged me out of there, yo. How do you expect me to be in a good mood?" he whined.

Elena suggested that he shut up before she made good use of the duct tape in her pack.

x-x-x

Aerith looped the basket handle over her arm and shrugged her jacket on with the other hand. The day had barely dawned, but she wanted to get down to the church and pick flowers for the day's business before the streets got too busy. She stopped by the kitchen and slipped a roll into her pocket before stepping outside into the chill morning air. Aerith shivered and walked briskly down the sidewalk.

Fifteen minutes later, she reached the heavy wooden doors of the church. Aerith set the wicker basket down on the flagstones and pushed on the door with both hands. As it swung open a fraction, she picked up the basket again. With a whisper of skirts, Aerith slipped through the door and was immediately struck by the sweet scent of the flowers growing everywhere.

She waded carefully into the sea of white and yellow petals and sank down in their midst. It was only when she reached out to pluck a nearby blossom that she realized she was not alone.

Carefully, Aerith looked over and saw the person curled up on the floor a little ways away. Her heart pounded faster as she realized that the man had black hair. As she moved closer, though, she could see that it was short and spiky and not that fall of ebony strands that she remembered so well. Long black eyelashes rested on pale cheeks as he slept.

Aerith lowered herself to the ground and sat cross-legged a short distance away, dragging her basket over to rest next to her. As if her presence had alarmed him, the man sat up and slowly blinked his eyes open. Aerith worked to conceal her disappointment.

They were blue.

For a moment, the two stared at one another. Then, slowly and carefully, the man reached down by his feet and gently extracted the perfect ivory blossom growing there. With a solemn bow of his head, he extended his hand and offered it to her.

Aerith reached for the flower. As her hand touched it, his black-gloved fingers closed over hers. He pulled her to her feet, rising at the same time. Aerith trembled; what was this strange but oddly familiar man going to do with her?

He reached up with his left hand and rubbed his eyes. He blinked once and then his eyes focused on Aerith again. She could not stop herself from gasping when she looked up into his face and saw flaming crimson eyes.

"Wh…I thought…I mean, after…you look…" Aerith sputtered.

He raised his hand and she fell silent.

"I missed you," he said. "Aerith."

She was astounded. He continually surpirised her with his depth of knowledge and uncanny ability to discover what he didn't yet know. And then she surprised herself by taking two steps forward and pressing herself against his chest. His arms came around her, and she felt his chin rest on her head. She rested in his warmth, in his comfortable strength, in the fact that she was with him again.

His voice rumbled through her when he spoke again. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

Aerith smiled. "I didn't." Resting in his embrace, it was easy to believe that all was right with the world.

Almost to herself, she whispered, "I do now."

And then the church doors flew open.