Hello everyone,

I ABSOLUTELY hate myself. I bet you all have forgotten my existence. Or this story's existence.
Reno: Duh. You kept this on hold for half a year. You kept ME on hold for half a year. You deserve painful death.

No, but really. I had lots going on (AKA college apps, always my excuse, I know). But I'm finally settled on the college (KCL, anyone reading? Ack), writer's block is gone, and the Turks are back. That is, if you're still reading this. If not, I'm SO SORRY! I don't know how to compensate, but I'm going to try. PLEASE dont' abandon me. I told you, I have abandonment issues.

Moonshine's Guide - Arien is one of the most amazing people upon earth who can become a dancing monkey in heels. See, I can't. I'd lose my temper and explode. Besides, I can't exercise that much. I tend to love every single bad food upon earth. Anyway, Jack is going to play a key role, so can't have him die right away. But he will not be happy in the end, I promise. God I hate him. I think Reno hates him too. And everyone else. By the way, are you one of the kind people who might be reading this still?

NarcissisticRiceBall - A lot of people either told me that A: Arien IS a sue, or B: Arien is an anti-sue. I'm trying hard not to make her into this Barbie doll who can do Jackie-Chan level kung fu, because that's just a comedy (yes, imagine Barbie doing kung fu...). Arien's a bit emotional at the moment, so we won't be seeing our gunslinging, cold-hearted Turkdom from her for a while. I hope you're reading this, because I'm finally getting somewhere with this story (yey!). Reno is turning into a turnip mush, though...

Raspberry Polar Bear - MY OLDEST READER, I HOPE YOU'RE THERE! Ivy makes an appearance in this chappie, btw. I know you're still on Arien doesn't really strike as a mother-type, does she? The bad parts of her (IE, the heartless part, the gore-loving part, e.t.c.) is based off me, and well, I'm not really the type who should go to elementary school teaching. Therefore I made Arien fluctuate between hysteria and "I have to keep cool to find him" mode. Reno's losing his catty nastiness, though. Must watch out.

itachi349 - I am utterly amazed at your patience. Even I can't read the entire story without wincing (I'm not a good writer, but I'm improving, and reading my previous works makes me feel embarrassed). But you did it! Did you like Arien? I hope you did. She's one of my darlings (I have a lot of female characters in stock, but she and another girl are the only ones who actually survived) but I don't exactly know if she's a sue or not. I hope you will stay with my slow writing and finish the story.

Cookiekitten - Reno talk is hard to imitate, especially because there's a special way he talks in Japanese that can't really translate into English. I'm trying not to use 3+ syllable words with him - he doesn't seem book-smart - but I bet he knows more slangs than I do (which isn't hard, I didn't know what lapdance was till 9th grade). I liked that particular phrase you mentioned. I think I copied it from somewhere though... the original phrase was "kiss your ass goodbye". Brains seem more gory, so there we are.

Echo - I updated, but I don't know if you're still interested! (cries) I hate Jack, both the character and the original jerk. He didn't pee in front of everybody, but he did cry in front of the class freshman year (best moment of my life... I'm so mean). Reno's tough, so I wanted to make Jack look like a wimp. I wonder how he went home with went pants. "Hello darling, I spilled water all over my pants." "Um, Jack, it smells like urine." "Uh..." (btw, congrats on getting an account! Love your name)

insanity - modelling is really tough, it seems. You need the looks, the smile, and the personality (don't know about the brains... I really wanted to do an IQ test though), and so I'm sure I'll never be Giselle Bundchen (I'm shot down by the first criteria). Arien's dead skinny, though, so I guess she can pull it off. Actually, everyone in FFVII: AC can pull it off except Barret, Cid, Nanaki and Cait Sith. Oh, and Tifa can't do modeling. Her boobs are too big. They look REALLY unnatural to me... yes, I did check Tifa's boobs out. No, I'm not a guy.

Now that apologies have been made (and hopefully accepted), here is the much-awaited chapter:

Chapter 10: The God, The Cult, and Greed

A hidden hand in the shadows, waving…

"Vincent?"

Then the body exploding, turning into pieces of flesh, blood everywhere, the most gruesome death…

And her own hands covered in blood…

"Vincent, no!"

The redhead just doing nothing…

"Reno, help me!"

Then he explodes as well, red hair dyed scarlet with the child and his own blood…

Her turn next… but with those two gone, what is there to live for…?

"Arien!"

"Go away!"

"Arien!"

"No! Get away from me!"

"Arien!"

Arien woke up, sweating. The show was over without much fruit. She was back at home, in her own bed, make-up off her face. Her raven hair was plastered onto her face like sticky tendrils. A slender hand supported her, got her up. Her white tank-top was drenched, as well as her white pants. Sweat. Not blood.

She could not believe it, stared at the white cloth entrapping her body for a few moments. Then she stared into the supporter's face, the familiar blue eyes, the red hair – insane for a Turk which required anonymity – the effeminate face that was hidden under a mischievous grin. Except now. The face was worried, showed immense concern.

Reno. He was alive.

Arien breathed a sigh. Then remembered that Vincent may not be alive. Another weakness in her armor.

Life was so easier when she loved no one, when she held no affection for no one. When no one except herself mattered. Loving someone should be a choice, she thought, not some ensnaring trap that trapped you before you realized that it was too late. Loving someone became a joy but in a short span – overall, it brought anguish, jealousy (which she admitted – grudgingly), and worries. All in all, she drew the wrong card. Picked the wrong bargain.

Reno's hand touched her face. Slightly callused from gripping the EMR, but gentle enough, delicate enough.

"Bad dream?"

"Don't ask." She flopped back down onto the bed with a thump. It was her house. Peaceful, orderly (for now, when Reno wasn't on his usual scavenge for clothes and or food), her world.

She thought of places she had slept in. The bed in her first apartment, where she first willingly gave herself to a man; on grounds; in Shira Tower; Reno's bed (when she had gotten drunk and crashed after Reno carried her in); it was in this bed (most likely) that Vincent was conceived.

So many times they had sought each other, blindly, at times to sate their yearning, at times for comfort, at other times for pleasure. The conversations they had, regarding the most trivial things to their future, uncertain, unplanned.

Arien felt tears running down her face. They were hot, scalding, burning with a living heat of its own.

She had no idea if she wept for herself, for her lover, or for her son.

The neither of them slept that night. They each kept their silence, Reno's arms wrapped around her body, both facing the same direction, saying nothing. But Arien knew that Reno was awake, as she was.

The call came at early dawn. Reno made a grab for it, releasing her from the warm sheath of his own body. "Hello?"

Arien could not hear the other side, and she gave up after few attempts to discern the caller. The call was short, and Reno's replies were terse, customary. After he hit "end", Reno did not turn back to her, but rather kept his face away from her.

"Reno?"

"Yeah?"

"Who was it?"

"Rude." He looked tired; exhausted, even. She realized that Reno was much more active than she was, working harder than she, to compensate for her inability, temporary and otherwise.

"What did he say?"

"We have a lead. Dunno how, but Vince is currently in Junon. The signal came back."

"Junon?"

"Yup."

Arien traced his scars on his naked back – sword slashes, bullet scars – with her finger. She realized that she never actually took a good look at his scars. They were too many to count – just like the hands of women that had touched the back. She felt weak, wondered what he would be doing if she did not enter his life. Probably not ensconced in this mess. It was her fault. "Reno, I'm sorry."

"Oh, my god. The world's gonna end." Reno turned, a faint trace of his old grin on his face. "Arie just apologized."

"Shut up." She smiled a little.

"Alright." He defied her order right away. "Anyway, what were you sorry about?"

"I haven't been much help to you," she said honestly. "I was wallowing in pity. And you were doing all the work."

"Yep."

"And you look so…tired."

"I do."

"And I'm so sorry."

"You should be." He grinned as Arien's expression changed to one of surprise from his audacity. "Just kidding, Arie. I don't expect much from you. Oh, you're capable," Reno amended hastily, realizing that he was talking to Arien, not Elena, and she could explode, "but you… you're a woman, after all. Women do tend to be emotional."

"What!"

"See?" Reno grinned again. "I don't expect you to be a Turk, Arie. I expect you to be my partner."

Arien did not go to Junon; instead she stayed with Rufus. She did not like the arrangement; but Rufus' order was absolute, and he demanded that Arien and Elena stay with him, while Rude and Reno went to hunt down the heir.

Just as Arien was sitting on a sofa, organizing a report for Rufus on her laptop, her phone rang. Elena, who was reading the newspaper, noticed it first.

"Arien, your phone's ringing."

"Thanks, Elena." She picked it up, hit "talk". It was Reno. "Hello?"

"Hey babe. It's me."

"Yes, I know. It's called Caller ID."

"Bad news and good news. Which one do you want first?"

"Give me the bad one."

"Alright. We were too late."

Arien's heart nearly stopped beating.

"They got away in a nick of time. God they piss me off." Reno sounded irritated.

"Who exactly is they?"

"Let me get to that in a sec. We're chasing them. They're trying to get to the Northern Crater."

Northern Crater. Where her "brother" Sephiroth had remained in hibernation for so long. Arien did not want to go there; she wanted no one to go there, period. And Vincent, who carried her blood, carried half her gene… she shivered.

"Okay. The good news. We know who's behind this shit."

"Who is it?"

"Clarissa's brother."

"What!" Arien shouted so loudly that Elena jumped. "Clarissa, you mean Rufus' fiancée?"

"Yeah. He hired people though."

Clarissa was the daughter of Junon's mayor. Demure, with auburn hair and bright green eyes, Rufus and she met in the hospital when Rufus became incapacitated. Surrounded by strong, willful women like Elena and Arien, this entrance of a demure, helpless maiden was something new to Rufus Shinra. With struggle, Rufus slowly "succumbed to love", and they became engaged. The Turks did not care much for Clarissa, but since Rufus loved her and well, the Turks loved him in a special way, they decided that Clarissa did not need to be hated.

"Who did he hire?"

"Some weird cult in Junon. They believe in old god and shit, and Clarissa's bro did some fast talking. Oh, and Rufus' lovegirl doesn't know this, don't break the news. We can't have her die on us."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why is he doing this?"

"Dunno exactly why, but simple reasoning." Reno's voice echoed. "Only a guess though, so talk over it with Elena before asking for my conclusion."

"But…"

"Gotta go. Oh, and pull up some files on the cult. It's initials are HM. Amedeo's doing some search too, but more info the better." Before she could say goodbye, Reno was gone. Arien shut her phone and sat into the sofa. This was too much. Clarissa…

"What was that? If I may ask?" Elena asked.

"Reno and Rude missed Vince by a nick of time, apparently," Arien explained wearily. "Apparently Clarissa's brother is behind this."

"Rufus' fiancée's brother?"

"Right. Don't tell Rufus. He'll go crazy."

The word crazy and Rufus in the same sentence made Elena giggle. "Alright. Now, why exactly is Clarissa's brother behind all this?"

"Reno didn't tell me. He said the reason is probably simple, but it's only a guess. So he didn't specify."

"Hm."

"What do you reckon?"

"Well," Elena said, putting the newspaper down, "let me ask something first. If Clarissa has a child after marriage, say, who's going to be the heir?"

"Technically, my son, but there's going to be a dispute, of course. But Rufus' infertile. He had mako treatment like us, remember?"

"Then wouldn't it make sense that Clarissa's brother wants Shinra for himself? I mean, if Vince is out of the way," Elena ignored Arien's wince, "Rufus' infertile, who's going to get the fortune after Rufus retires?"

"Rufus is going to retire?" Arien asked, making a strange face. That was a news to her.

"No, but people can be persuaded, even him. And most likely Rufus''ll say yes to anything Clarissa asks, seeing you and Reno."

Arien blushed.

"See? And Tseng listens to me most of the time. So, logic leads to Clarissa's brother getting the fortune."

"Then why don't they just kill him?" Arien asked. "I don't understand."

"I don't know."

Arien sighed. Elena returned to the newspaper. Arien reached over to her laptop and pulled up the search console. She typed in "HM" and "Junon."

It returned 59037 results.

She added "cult".

Still too many.

"I need some leads," Arien said to no one, then pulled out her cell phone from the space between the sofa cushions. She flipped it open, selected "contacts", and looked for the letter Z.

Ivanna Fletcher's voice sounded cheery as usual. When Arien asked to put Zen on, Ivy did it straight away. She knew that Arien used to be her husband's partner, and had no problem having her husband talk to her best friend.

"Zen? I need your help," Arien said without a salutation as soon as she heard the male voice.

"Hello, Arien. What is it?"

"I need some information on a cult."

"Cult?"

"Yes. It's stationed at Junon, and it believes in some old god. Its initials are HM."

"That's it?"

"That's what the news source told me."

"Huh." Zen fell silent for a second. "Okay. I'll send you anything I find."

"Thank you, Zen. I owe you."

"Yeah, you do." Zen's guileless laughter traveled into her ear. Arien sighed again. Why did some people live such carefree lives, while Reno and she always had troubles chasing after them?

When Reno came home three days later, he found Arien in a near nervous breakdown.

He first opened the front door, but to his dismay, the house was empty. Guessing that she was probably at the office, he drove to the new Shinra office. To add to his surprise, Arien was not in her office. Her things were there alright; jacket, laptop. But her physical body, her keys, her cell phone, her tags were not there. Nor her guns.

Fearing and hoping at the same time, he opened Elena's door. He sent Rude home at the airport, and no doubt that the bald partner was probably sleeping by now.

"Reno, can't you knock? What if I was busy?"

"What? With Tseng?" Reno quipped, trying to lighten his fears. "Have you seen Arien?"

"She's always in the training room from 9 to 12, 2 to 5."

"Why?" he asked himself as he walked the corridor and to the elevator. Arien's job was mainly dealing with information and new trainees, and had no business with physical combat that required that rigorous of training. Entering the elevator with a frown on his face that nearly scared the young male in the elevator into jumping out, he pressed number 3 on the side panel. When the door slid open, he walked out, nearly crashed into a secretary carrying a tray of cups of coffee. He reached the door that was labeled "Training – Lvl 8 and Above Only". He swiped his keycard through the slot and opened the door.

Arien was there, dressed in grey spandex suit that revealed her bodyline more than he cared for, sparring a young man. Or more accurately, beating him up.

"Arie!" He shouted, but the grunts and the harsh noises overruled his voice. "Arie!" he shouted louder. "Arien!"

Arien stopped, turned her head, looked at him. Her look told him that she did not register him.

"Arie, give the poor guy some break. You're not training, you're just beating the crap outta him. You're a Turk, he's not. Stop."

Arien's look was a clear refusal.

"Look. If you want to hit someone that much, I'll spar with you, okay, yo?" Without waiting for her reply, he nodded to the young lackey. "You can go."

The young man looked confused. This poor young being had no idea that Reno was a higher ranking officer than the she-demon that was beating him into a big bruised mess, he stood there. All he knew that Arien was one of the officers in command, and contradicting her command may mean death for all it worth.

"Look! I'm the highest ranking officer in this room! Now go!" Reno barked. "Or otherwise I'll have your ass roasted on the 8th floor!"

Everyone knew that 8th floor was Turks' floor, but nobody knew what really went on there. The man ran away faster than a rabbit being chased down by a hungry wolf.

"Okay. Now, Arien." He turned to the woman who was standing there. "I can't have you beating up young kids, alright? That's bad PR. That being said," he walked to her, "I'm back."

Reno expected some caustic reply. Instead, Arien crumbled in his arms.

"Dude! What's wrong, yo?"

"I don't know." She clung onto him like a small infant. Her grey spandex-clad arms looked thin, as if it was made of some glass and would break. She looked up at him. "It's really you, right? Reno? It's really you? I'm not dreaming?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm pretty sure I'm me." He made her sit, then kneeled. "What happened?"

Without a word, she began to cry. He scooped her up onto his knees – she was so small and slight these days, her face looked gaunt and skeletal – and embraced her. "Arien, what happened?"

Arien was soaked in sweat. Her hair smelled of lavender. He felt wet, warm tears on his neck. He bent his head, and continued to cradle her in his arms as she cried.

For the next mission, Arien's name was down on the list. Reno convinced Rufus that if Arien stayed in The Edge, she would cease to function as an agent. Rufus seemed reluctant, but finally nodded yes.

Zen and Amedeo had compiled a report about the cult. It seemed that they were waiting for the arrival of "The Old God", who was long believed to be the creator of the world in Junon before modern civilization arrived. He was a ferocious god, unwilling to be kind, vengeful, and angry. As Arien read the report, she thought that Junonese must have some fundamental fear that they harbored all their lives. Without question, of course; they lived by a large sea, prone to more natural disasters than say, Midgar, which used to be safely cradled by a prairie.

"According to the recent document which is believed to be created by some Junon priests couple of years ago, The Old God requires a receptacle to be reborn," the report said, "to be sacrificed at the next lunar eclipse. The receptacle must be a male child, said to be a miracle of some kind, born from a woman who lives twice."

"Man, that's Vince," Reno said as he read it beside her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we were supposed to be sterile. But you got pregnant, and that's already a miracle, and if you didn't sleep around, which I don't think you can, then he must be my kid, and that's another miracle, right?"

"Erm… okay. Me living twice, then?"

"Well, you were officially announced dead once, remember? I gave you a nice, expensive funeral. Which you wasted."

Arien's eyebrows shot up, which he saw. He laughed.

"Anyway, how many kids fulfill this list? Not many."

"Reno?"

"Hmm?"

"Do… do you think we'll find him?" Arien dared not add "safe and sound". Right now, it seemed to be too hopeful, and she did not want to get her hopes up.

"Sure we will. Why not?"

"Just asking," Arien said, and rested her head on his shoulder as they both leaned on the headboard. "Just asking."

They landed at the Junon heliport dressed in regular clothes, because, as Reno said, "it's easier to get people talking when we look normal."

It was extremely hot, and Arien was wearing a baby pink collared no-sleeve shirt with a dark brown light skirt. Reno looked less ordinary, with a bright colored short-sleeve button-down shirt and beige slacks.

"We look tourists," Arien said as she looked in the bathroom mirror.

"That's my point."

They checked in at the local hotel under the name Henderson – an ordinary name which Arien picked – and walked around the town. They took lunch at a small restaurant, trying to maintain calm but all anxious to get people to talk.

"Where shall we go?" Arien asked as the sun began to set. Reno's arm was around her shoulder, which was comforting.

"I know a place. Small. Not many famous people go there."

"Are you sure they won't know you?"

"I want them to know me, babe. They usually keep their mouth shut with a bit of gil, and local tourists wouldn't ask for news now, would they? Gun ready?"

Apocalypse and Cataclysm, Arien's gunblades, did not quite fit well under her arms without her uniform jacket. Therefore she was wearing a thigh holster with a small pistol sheathed.

"Yes."

"Good. Let's go."

The "local bar" that Reno had found was as dingy and small as it could be. Reno opened the door without hesitation, letting Arien in first. She looked around quickly; it was all males, mostly dirty, and all looked at her like she was some kind of delicious fruit ready to take a bite out of. She wished she was in men's clothes; this set made her feel awkward. Not vulnerable, but slightly different from usual. The counter was in the back, the only lighted place in the dark bar. Reno led her to the counter, dodging wandering hands.

"Beer," Reno ordered as he leaned on the counter. "Fay?"

Arien wondered who "Fay" could be for a second, then realized that Reno was using fake names. "fruit cocktail," she replied.

"Hey, any news lately?" Reno asked the bartender as he began to shake up the cocktail.

"Mm, yeah. Some odd news here and there."

Arien's mind wandered as the bartender talked about the local news; how Johnny from the street down had an accident; how the tides this year were higher than usual; the stories were so local, so ordinary, that Arien began doubting whether Reno really had used this old man as a source of information before. Then:

"The Hands of Mafi are active, I've heard."

"What's that?" Reno asked, drinking beer.

"You know, the local cult? The one who believes about The Old God? They're a bit noisier than usual, Feri said."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Well, they keep coming and going, and they have lot more people in the temple than usual, which is odd. Saw some of them leave town few days ago."

Arien grasped Reno's hand under the counter. Reno grasped back.

"Any other news?"

"Apart from Teena having another kid, no."

"Thanks. How much?"

"That's a beer and a cocktail, so 4 gils."

Reno slapped 80 gils. "Keep the change."

As they walked outside, Arien looked at the man walking next to her. He looked back. And smiled.

That night, Arien did not sleep. Now that few more keywords were available, it was time to put it to good use. Reno, exhausted, fell asleep on the bed, half-naked and sprawled across the sheets; Arien, sitting at the desk, was busy searching.

By the morning, Arien's head was fuzzy, her fingers were tired, but she definitely had a lead. When Reno woke up, there was a smile on Arien's face, the first in few weeks.

"Any good news?" He asked, stretching. He got off the bed and began to make coffee.

"Lots." Arien pointed to the document on the screen. "I made a report, but I'll tell you the main points."

"Yeah. I hate long stories."

"I know." She scrolled through the pages. "First, the Hands of Mafi is believed to have originated here, but the legends say that when The Old God is reborn, he will be reborn in an icy cave. Thus, they're heading to the Northern Crater."

"Mm." Reno handed Arien a cup, which she took with a word of thanks.

"Next, they're going to do some sacrificial ceremony spanning three days, the last day being the lunar eclipse."

"When is that?"

"In a month and two days. Third, they need certain members to be present at the ceremony, but the clues are cryptic, and I have no idea what they are."

"What are they?"

"A dotted priest, a traitor, the holy chalice, the jealous one's blood, and the claw. At the moment of eclipse, they will plunge a golden knife into the receptacle's heart, and The Old God will be reborn."

"Where is this cave?"

"Apparently the location is written within their temple, but the person couldn't read it."

Reno cocked his head. "I wonder why."

Arien's eyes widened. "We need Elena."