Cloud dumped the charred Cait Sith in a trash bin and headed off through the slums, Vincent at his side and Nanaki slinking through the shadows ahead of them. He pulled his hood tighter.

"Did Aerith say anything about the change in plans?" Cloud asked.

"Only that you should remember that Shinra still has the funds for surveillance toys."

The three of them slipped quietly through the slums all the way to Sector 5. He breathed a sigh of relief to see that Aerith was nonchalantly tending the flowers around Elmyra's house. If Zack had taken Kunsel to the church and somehow alerted all of Shinra's upper management to the Cetra's location, Aerith wouldn't be playing in the dirt.

Aerith caught their approach from the corner of her eye and stood with a bright smile, brushing the dirt off her hands.

"How did it go?" she called.

"Just fine. Zack was very enthusiastic."

"Let's go inside. Mom probably has some tea ready."

Nanaki came from behind the house and joined them in going through the front door. Elmyra did in fact have tea for them. Cloud pulled his hood and goggles off and took a seat. Vincent and the women joined him at the table while Nanaki declined and curled up out of the way beneath the stairs.

"Vincent told me what happened," Aerith said, "so there's no need to talk about it. But I've got news."

He couldn't help his slight smile on his face at her enthusiasm.

"There are rumors in the Lifestream about you Cloud."

Even Vincent straightened at that.

"None of the voices seem to know for sure, but there's whispers about Minerva."

An image flashed through Cloud's mind of a pale, regal woman wearing silver, blue, and gold armor. One of Zack's memories from the feel of it.

Cloud said, "That's new. I didn't think she really ever interfered with anything."

Aerith nodded. "The only incident I know of was with Genesis. Any other happening would have been too far before our time."

"Do you think Genesis has anything to do with it?" he asked.

"I have no idea and neither does anyone in the Lifesteam. And I find it interesting that the whispers are only about you, not me." She gave a quiet giggle. "Those souls in the Lifestream seem to be quite disbelieving when I tell them where I used to be."

He folded his arms and stared at the teacup in front of him. He was rather reluctant to rearrange the plans for Avalanche, but any lead on how he and Aerith ended up in the past needed to be investigated. Especially so if Aerith coming back with him was accidental. There shouldn't be any reason for him to deserve a fresh start more than her.

"I guess we're heading to Banora then," he said. "Or what's left of it. If we don't find anything there, we can try the caves up near the Northern Crater."

"The underground caves in Banora?" Vincent posed the question quietly.

He nodded. "Once we finish our tea."

"So soon?" Elmyra asked.

It was Nanaki who said, "We've been stirring up trouble most of the day and the storm above the plate will help with cover once we reach the desert outside the city."

Changing the subject, Cloud asked Aerith, "Any luck on your healing water, yet?"

She shook her head. "It's like it doesn't exist. I can't imagine where it could have disappeared to, though. It isn't one of my Limits, as you know, but something I drew straight out of the Lifestream." Aerith paused. "You know there's a chance the Geostigma won't ever appear. Without Sephiroth directing things from the Lifestream or all those dead clones, it might not."

Cloud frowned. "You should know better than to assume that, Aerith. It isn't as bad, but all those Angeal and Genesis copies are infected with Jenova, too. Every dead Soldier puts Jenova's taint into the Lifestream, too. The Jenova buildup is slower, but that doesn't mean it won't reach critical mass and push out the Geostigma again."

Aerith roached over to put one hand over his for a moment. "I know Cloud, but we can hope, can't we?"

He nodded a bit begrudgingly.

The silence stretched comfortably while they drank their tea, until Aerith giggled to herself. "Poor Reeve," she said. "That Cait Sith was probably one of his first."

One side of Cloud's mouth kicked up. It probably was.

Tseng didn't like waiting. Particularly in situations where he risked simply being knocked out when his target happened upon him. He also wasn't entirely sure he should have given the vice president a plausible deniability excuse. Backup would certainly be helpful at the moment. But his target was skittish and would no doubt remain elusive if there was surveillance or backup of any kind. That much was painfully obvious.

He'd positioned himself just around a blind corner, standing in full view on the poorly lit street. Even in his dark colors in poor light, he would be seen. The best path out of the city was easy to extrapolate once he understood some of the underlying patterns.

Quiet footsteps sounded around the corner, just on the edge of his hearing. He made sure he was staring at exactly the right spot, hands visible and relaxed. It wouldn't do any good to appear to be reaching for a gun, or even to be ready to do so.

They appeared from around the corner. CS Delivery in his sleeveless, black hooded sweatshirt, the red-clad gunman, and the giant cat, its tail tipped with seemingly live flames. The three terrorists froze in place some ten feet from him. Despite the obvious surprise, their expressions remained neutral.

Tseng's hand itched for his gun. This trio could probably pick him apart if they so chose.

After several silent moments, both the cat and the gunman stepped backward then slipped away in opposite directions. Tseng carefully kept his eyes on the swordsman's goggles. It wouldn't look good to eye one or all of those six giant swords strapped to his back. So far as he could tell, the swordsman stared back at him. If this was going to work, Tseng had to let the other man take the lead. Making the first move shifted the power to Tseng's field and he needed the power in the swordsman's field if he were to get what he wanted.

Several long minutes passed before the gunman and the giant cat reappeared, each from their separate directions. The swordsman eyed each in turn and got a negative headshake. Attention back on Tseng, the swordsman slowly reached into a pocket and pulled out a PHS. He waggled it around in the air and held out his free hand to the Turk.

Tseng took a deep breath and produced his own PHS. He stepped slowly toward the terrorist and handed it over. The swordsman stared at him for a handful of heartbeats then turned his attention to the PHS. He fished a short cord out of another pocket and connected the two devices. The swordsman spent several minutes fiddling with both before handing the PHS back.

Tseng frowned, eying the device. Perhaps the terrorist had been expecting surveillance.

"What are you doing here?" the swordsman demanded, voice confident and smooth in a way completely unlike the unassuming Strife.

"You gave yourself away keeping mention of the Cetra from being recorded."

CS Delivery lifted his head a little.

"I came straight to the slums after you shorted Tuesti's robot and did some long distance surveillance on Mrs. Gainsborough's house. It was a simple matter to figure out which path you would take to leave the city."

The swordsman nodded slowly. "I…forgot that you're…friends…of a sort."

Tseng's frown deepened. What was that supposed to mean?

The terrorist reopened his PHS and dialed. After a few moments, he said, "We're coming back…. I know. We ran into an unexpected guest…. A friend of yours…. Yes…. I'm sure he would appreciate it." Call ended, the PHS disappeared into his pocket. He stepped to the side and held up an arm in the direction he'd come from. "I assume you know the back way to Mrs. Gainsborough's house, to Aerith's house."

Tseng nodded and strode calmly past the trio of terrorists.

It seemed like the longest walk to the secluded corner of Sector 5 that he'd ever taken. CS Delivery quickly moved in front of him when they reached the quaint little house and opened the door. Tseng followed the other to find himself uneasy in the remarkably relaxed environment. Mrs. Gainsborough was in the kitchen washing dishes and Aerith was moving around the table, setting four places for tea.

The giant cat moved around him and curled up under the stairs. The gunman seated himself, immediately picking up his steaming cup of tea while the swordsman methodically removed each sword from the harness on his back and propped them up along one wall.

Tseng cautiously took a seat and waited. Once she was done with the placemats and tea, Aerith seated herself next to the gunman, across the table from Tseng, leaving only one seat for the swordsman. When that one sat, he pulled off the hood, revealing a large black bandana, which he promptly removed to allow a bright shock of blond hair free. Then the goggles were pulled down to rest around his neck, exposing mako bright blue eyes. And Tseng had visual proof of what he'd already known.

"It was easy to suspect everything you pointed the camera at to be a deliberate action, but I knew when you kept Fair from mentioning Ms. Gainsborough where it would be recorded that you knew her and I had only to follow her to find you."

"So you said earlier," Strife said.

Aerith said, "I've told you to call me Aerith, Tseng."

"And I've told you to remain inconspicuous," Tseng said. "I don't recall collaboration with terrorists falling under that category."

The Cetra actually had the gall to giggle. "Cloud," she said, "how much do you plan to tell him?"

Strife shrugged and took a sip of his tea. "I was figuring everything."

"Is that wise?" the cat asked from under the stairs, his voice not as deep as Tseng had expected.

"The cover is just a distraction anyway. If he knows this much, it's better to tell him everything. If he believes even a fraction of it he'll agree to keep the important parts quiet. It's too much of a risk not to."

Tseng narrowed his eyes. "Your cover is a distraction? Am I to think that means your friendship with Zack is as false as the reserve you show in his company?"

"No," Strife said, hints of a sneer on his face. "Zack is my friend. Always will be. But he, along with the rest of Shinra, are better off chasing leads and trying to make connections. It keeps them out of my way."

Tseng took a slow sip of his tea and processed those words. Meaning flickering to life in his mind. He offered a faint smile. "You made the possible connection between Strife and CS Delivery obvious on purpose." Strife didn't speak because he didn't have to. "Sephiroth, Vice President Shinra, and even myself have spent valuable time trying to find the links between Strife and CS Delivery when we should have been investigating your actions. Allowing Cait Sith to see Strife with your gunman gave them a morsel to keep them hunting down that path."

A faint smirk graced Strife's face at that. From the way the gunman was staring at Strife, Tseng suspected the red-clad man hadn't been entirely aware of that bit of a plan.

"Why were you in Shinra Company's army in the first place and why did you suddenly leave? What prompted this rapid series of terrorist attacks? Was it something to do with the Nibelheim experiments?"

Strife stared at him for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh. "Everything I told Zack was the truth. I woke up on the training yard with no memory of how I got there."

"So it was experimentation that produced this alternate personality of yours."

Aerith actually burst out laughing. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you Cloud," she forced out between sputtering laughter. "I didn't really think they'd actually believe you had some kind of split personality." Strife gave her a hard look. "Oh I know you sort of do have a split personality. But they really think you're some kind of spy or weapon with a manufactured personality."

Ignoring the giggling teenager, Strife turned his attention back to Tseng and said, "I'm from the future."

Tseng's teacup hung suspended halfway to his mouth. This terrorist was insane. And he kept talking.

"So is Aerith. I'm from about ten years into the future. When I was a teenager, I actually was in the Shinra army. I joined after the Wutai War because I wanted to be a hero." His mouth twisted somewhat disdainfully. "I was a stupid kid. Being a hero isn't all it's cut out to be."

"But someone has to do it," Aerith interjected with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

Strife ignored her. "I was a trooper in the army. Some really bad shit happened. Me and my friends saved the world a few times. A whole lot of people died in the process. The world was getting on alright when I was twenty-six—"

"You still are twenty-six," Aerith interjected again.

"—and then I just woke up in the Shinra training yard a few weeks ago and realized that I, as my adult self, have replaced my teenage self."

Absolutely certifiable. "You said Aerith is from the future also?" Tseng prompted, taking another sip of tea.

Aerith spoke instead of Strife. "I was twenty-two when I died," she said, smile small and soft. "I came back when Cloud did. But I was dead. I didn't have a body. I continued on in the Lifestream with the others, but I would have been twenty-seven were I alive. Much like Cloud, I woke up to find my would be twenty-seven year old mind had replaced my teenage mind."

In the silence that followed, Tseng asked, "Assuming I believe that…story, why in Gaia's name would you have traveled through time?"

Strife and Aerith exchanged a look. Strife said, "We don't know why. We don't even know how."

"And yet," he said dryly, "you felt the need to start blowing up Shinra facilities."

Strife actually cracked a half smile at that. The expression disappeared quickly as he began to speak. "My memory is pretty fuzzy about this time in my life but I'm reasonably sure that either this week or during one of the next couple weeks was when Shinra got a mission dispatch to Nibelheim. There were a few dragons and unusually strong monsters lurking around, and the locals asked for Soldier to come take care of them."

Tseng nodded. "Two days before you blew up the Nibelheim facilities, we did receive a mission request. If the Turks hadn't taken care of the mutated monsters on the mountain during our investigation of your attack, a dispatch of Soldiers would have gone out sometime the beginning of next week when it reached the top of the queue. That's hardly something significant. A small group of Thirds accompanied by a Second would have been sufficient."

Strife was already shaking his head. "Not if you'd gotten word that Genesis had been seen in the area. Sephiroth and Zack were both sent with a small contingent of troopers, including myself. Genesis really was there and what—"

"Was Genesis there? Did you kill him?" Tseng demanded, heedless of interrupting the delusional man. "Was he in the reactor when you blew it up?"

"No," Strife said sharply. "Pay attention, Tseng. In the future I came from, when Sephiroth, Zack, myself, and another trooper were dispatched to Nibelheim, Genesis was there. What Genesis told Sephiroth and what the general found in the reactor and mansion sent him off the deep end. Shinra's Soldier general, the hero of the Wutai War, went completely nuts. He razed Nibelheim to the ground and decided to destroy Shinra and kill everyone on the Planet after having a little cuddle time with oozing experimental material in the reactor. The other trooper died in Nibelheim but Zack and I followed Sephiroth to the reactor. Sephiroth mortally wounded us, but not before I managed to push him into the mako reactor core and kill him."

It was rather presumptuous of this clearly disturbed young man to think he could so easily kill the general. He mentally paused. Perhaps given his handling of Zack, it wasn't too far fetched.

Strife continued. "Hojo was furious that his ultimate creation was destroyed, so Zack and I became the first of his test subjects in attempt to create Sephiroth clones."

Tseng narrowed his eyes. "Like the Genesis and Angeal copies?"

Strife shook his head. "The copies were of Hollander's work. Hojo's project was entirely different. Anyway, Zack and I spent several years floating in mako tanks and being experimented on. When we finally got out, I was catatonic with mako addiction so Zack dragged me around trying to figure out what was going on. Just outside of Midgar, the entire Shinra army mobilized and gunned him down. I came out of my catatonic state just in time to watch him die. He gave me his Buster Sword and I set out to take down Shinra.

"Meanwhile, Sephiroth, though dead, hadn't dissolved into the Lifestream properly and figured out how to use most of his clones as avatars to make Jenova manifest herself as him on the mortal plane. He had his clones assassinate President Shinra and Rufus took the company. Suffice it to say, Sephiroth tried to destroy the planet several times and I had to keep killing him. He managed to kill Aerith, though, and turn Midgar into a ruin. In my time, people built a new city around the Midgar ruins and they lived there."

Strife shook his head. "Eventually, Sephiroth just came back to try and torture me because I'd killed him through his avatars so many times that my pain became more important than destroying the world. Go figure. But the most recent crisis in my time was Hojo. He was fundamentally the reason behind Sephiroth's psychosis so we killed him too. But he made an artificial copy of himself and hijacked Deepground. Then he tried to destroy the Planet. So when I woke up and found myself in a past where the worst thing to happen was the Wutai War and the mass Soldier desertions, I decided to start making changes."

That this terrorist knew of Deepground was another disturbing point. Even Tseng didn't have the clearance to know exactly what they did. He couldn't even fathom why or how a digital copy of the head of the science department would forcibly take control of it. "Meaning the first action you took was to destroy Nibelheim facilities and all the material there," Tseng said instead of voicing his true concerns, hoping to get Deepground information eventually.

Strife nodded. "If we get through next week and Sephiroth doesn't decide to kill every person on Gaia, I'll count that as a success."

Tseng really wanted to ask what any of that had to do with why Strife was now running around burglarizing Shinra facilities, and writing letters to the vice president, but didn't think he would get an answer. "So what about the other two?"

Aerith half glanced at the giant cat beneath the stairs. "In five years, shortly before I was killed, Hojo ordered you to bring me back to Shinra and you couldn't keep me hidden anymore so you took me back. Then Hojo tried to breed me with Nanaki over there. He was trying to get a longer lived specimen as Nanaki's people live several times longer than people."

"More than several," the so named Nanaki muttered.

Sheer lunacy. Tseng had to wonder if they all realized how crazy they sounded.

Strife leaned back in his seat and waved a hand absently at the gunman. "That's Vincent Valentine."

Something must have shown on Tseng's face because Strife didn't elaborate. Tseng said, "That's impossible. Vincent Valentine is dead. He was shot decades ago."

The gunman lightly tapped the center of his chest with one armor claw. "Shot through the chest at point blank range. Hojo used my half dead body in experiments meant to strengthen me and give me the ability to transform myself into monsters. I have three rather savage beasts I'm capable of becoming. Later, Hojo's wife attempted to fully revive me by infusing me with Chaos and succeeded due to Hojo's experiments making my body a strong and ideal vessel."

He stared at the calm, red-eyed man slowly sipping his tea and his conviction that these people were all crazy wavered.

He'd seen the reports. He'd seen Vincent Valentine's profile. If this man wasn't Valentine, then he'd been cloned and somehow given Valentine's sharp shooter skills. If Valentine was who he claimed, then that was one truth. If there was one truth, there might be something in the rest of it to believe.

Turning his attention back to Strife, he said, "Please start from the beginning and…explain everything about this…future you came from."

"Did Tseng tell anyone that he would be late to his own meeting?" the vice president asked flatly.

Zack shook his head. He and the other two Soldiers had already compared messages. Tseng had sent them all the same email requesting they meet in the briefing room regarding their special project. Tuesti, the vice president, Reno, and Rude were in attendance. Cissnei was still off hunting Dio.

The vice president posed his question to the two present Turks. "I know he didn't wish me to know expressly what he was doing for deniability's sake, but do either of you know what he went to do in the slums?"

Reno shook his head. "Boss just took off. He booked it outta the buildin' an' no one's seen 'im since. It's been hours. I was surprised when he sent the email. Tseng hates sendin' emails even more than Veld does."

"It's possible watching Cait Sith's video feed gave him a lead to investigate," Sephiroth said.

"That's what troubles me," Shinra said.

Tuesti nodded in agreement. "What if his lead panned out?"

"Our resources are spread too thin," Sephiroth said. "We don't have the manpower to search for Tseng, too. If there weren't so many different problems I would say CS Delivery was the source of all of them."

Vice President Shinra's PHS rang. The man frowned and arched one brow. "I do believe I turned the ringer off." His frown deepened when he spied the caller identification.

Zack leaned forward in his seat in anticipation.

"Where are you Tseng?" Shinra demanded. A pause, then, "Answer the question Turk." Reno winced. "Will you answer the question if I put you on speaker?"

Barely holding in a scowl, the vice president set his PHS on the table and said, "Everyone can hear you."

"Thank you for coming," Tseng said through the device, electronics slightly distorting his voice. "I felt it best to inform you all at the same time that I'm currently with CS Delivery and his comrades."

Questions erupted from nearly everyone.

"Is he Spike?"

"He kidnapped you?"

"Did you apprehend him?"

"Why haven't you brought him in?"

Rude didn't speak, and Tuesti had immediately produced a small, portable computer and was typing furiously.

"Please, hold your questions," Tseng said. "Vice President?"

"Go ahead, Tseng." Shinra's voice was smooth and polite.

"The situation requiring me to give you plausible deniability was in direct relation to CS Delivery, but he isn't the only party involved. I must inform you sir, that most of what I know will be remaining under the plausible deniability clause."

Shinra's expression tightened but he showed no other visible reaction.

Tseng said, "Given the current situation, there are two options. I can go with CS Delivery and act as a liaison between you and him, keeping the majority of his movements and motivations secret. Or I can return to Shinra Company and still keep the majority of his movements and motivations secret."

Zack scoffed. What kind of options were those?

Sephiroth seemed to agree. "That's no choice at all, Tseng. What was the purpose in your meeting him?"

Reno asked, "Has that asshole got dirt on you boss? Is he forcin' you to do whatever shit he wants?"

Some faint shuffling filled the pause that followed the question. "No, Reno. I'm doing this of my own accord. I understand CS Delivery's…position and am in agreement that certain things need to be kept secret from anyone actively involved in certain areas of Shinra Company."

"Are you claiming you aren't actively involved in certain areas of Shinra Company?" Shinra asked, tone positively glacial.

"If you require it, sir, I will offer my resignation, but I'm acting in your best interest."

Zack caught the faintest widening of the vice president's eyes.

"That won't be necessary," Shinra said, voice regaining its diplomatic lilt. In that case, I authorize your reassignment within the CS Delivery project. Please operate in a manner conducive to the positive image of Shinra Company."

"Yes, sir," came Tseng's immediate reply.

"Reno," Shinra said, the redhead straightened, "you have command of the Turks until either Veld or Tseng completes their missions."

A look of utter disbelief flashed across the general's face. Zack leaned over to Kunsel and whispered, "CS Delivery's going to win now."

Kunsel didn't seem to be sure how to respond and neither did Sephiroth as the general let the comment slide without so much as a reprimanding glance.

Shinra asked, "Is there anything you can tell us now Tseng?"

"It would be easier, sir, if you and the others would pose questions. I'll answer as many as I can."

Zack asked, "Is CS Delivery in the room with you?"

"Yes."

Zack's eyes narrowed. "Is this call on speaker at your end?"

There was a slight hesitation. "Yes, I assumed you would realize this as I requested you put me on speaker at your end. This is a conference call between Vice President Shinra's investigation team and CS Delivery's team."

From the expressions around the room, it seemed only Sephiroth and Shinra had realized it was probably on speaker at both ends. Zack just hadn't been sure.

"Is he scripting anything for you?" Zack asked.

"Not yet." Hints of a smile bled through the Turk's voice. "We discussed what I would tell you beforehand and for particular topics, he will be answering by writing a reply down with me reading it."

"Why's he so damn afraid to have 'is voice recorded?" Reno demanded.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss it," Tseng said.

Several moments passed before Tuesti asked, "What did you do to block the tracking capabilities in your PHS? I can't pinpoint your location."

"When I first confronted CS Delivery, he physically linked his PHS to mine. I can only assume he rendered it electronically invisible."

"You don't know?"

"It's not something we've specifically discussed yet."

Shinra asked, "What was the main reason for the destruction of the Nibelheim facilities?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss it," Tseng said.

"Can you provide any reason for the Nibelheim bombings?"

"It set back certain…undesirable situations."

Zack scoffed. That was too vague to be of any help.

"Scenarios of President Shinra and Hojo's making?" Shinra asked.

"Yes, sir."

Sephiroth asked, "Was there any sort of physical altercation when you confronted CS Delivery?"

"No, General. After tampering with my PHS, he and his comrades escorted me to another location, and tea was served while they explained certain things."

"Tea?" Zack repeated in disbelief.

"Yes, Zack," Tseng said, "tea. High quality tea at that. I found it quite enjoyable." The humor in the Turk's tone didn't escape Zack.

"Are you still in Midgar?" Sephiroth asked.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss it," Tseng said.

Zack sent a lopsided frown Sephiroth's way. If they'd been served tea and having a long conversation, odds are they weren't camped out in some random hut in the wastes between Midgar and Kalm.

Reno asked, "Is CS Delivery Zack's buddy Strife?"

Tseng said, "I'm not at liberty to discuss Shinra's ongoing investigations into CS Delivery's identity."

Shinra asked, "Does that mean you won't be contributing to said investigations?"

"That's correct sir. I'm sure you will find it in your best interest to conduct any investigations as you and the remaining members of the investigation team seem fit."

That was rather sneaky. The Turk wasn't even going to tell them whether or not they should keep trying to figure out who the terrorist was. He probably wouldn't have helped even if he wasn't planning on gallivanting off with CS Delivery.

Sephiroth asked, "How did you find CS Delivery?"

A long silence stretched over the PHS line before Tseng said, "Something I saw during Cait Sith's live video feed gave me the information necessary to track him down."

"Something before Strife separated from the two Soldiers?" Sephiroth asked, eyes sharp.

After a pause, Tseng said, "One moment please." After that, his voice dropped significantly in volume as he was clearly directing his speech somewhere other than the PHS. "Yes, I initially made my intentions to go to the slums known shortly after that and before seeing the gunman on the video feed…. That was hardly my intention and you know it…. No…." Voice returning to its normal volume, Tseng said, "Sephiroth, the answer is yes. I saw something before Strife separated from the two Soldiers."

"Had you not discussed that particular point with CS Delivery?" Shinra asked.

"No sir."

A shorter silence hung tensely in the briefing room. Zack couldn't think of any question that he thought CS Delivery would let the Turk answer.

"Tseng," Shinra said, tone taking on an air of authority.

"Yes, Vice President," Tseng responded formally, apparently hearing the difference.

"Does CS Delivery, or any of his allies, pose an immediate threat to Shinra Company or the citizens of Midgar?"

"No, sir."

"What makes you sound so sure?" Sephiroth asked.

The following pause was filled with what sounded like shuffling paper. "If CS Delivery's plans go accordingly, Shinra Company will remain intact and Midgar's citizens will adequately prosper. He has no intention to economically cripple the Planet or destroy all its inhabitants."

Zack frowned, scratching the back of his head. Reno moved closer to Vice President Shinra to whisper, but rather than listen, he leaned closer to Sephiroth, who inclined his head to accept Zack's whispered comment. "Wasn't that phrased kind of weird?" No one else seemed to hear the question, even Kunsel.

Sephiroth simply stared for a moment, then his eyebrows lifted minutely in a small show of surprise. In an equally low whisper, he said, "I wouldn't know how to properly phrase the question to ask about it."

Zack shrugged, "Me either. At least not without implying he isn't an inhabitant of the Planet or is planning on picking and choosing which people to kill."

"Something to save for later, perhaps," Sephiroth murmured.

Vice President Shinra quietly asked the general, "Do you have any more questions Sephiroth?"

"Not now," Sephiroth said, shaking his head.

In a louder voice that would more easily be picked up by the PHS, Shinra said, "It seems we'll need to have a private meeting on this end before we have a more comprehensive list of questions."

"In that case," Tseng said, "CS Delivery has a few things he'd like to say."

Zack shot a glance at Sephiroth but the general was paying rapt attention to the PHS sitting innocuously on the table.

"First, to Zack Fair," Tseng said.

Zack's eyes widened. CS Delivery wanted to speak directly to him?

"CS Delivery wants to make it clear that he never intended to damage your ribs in Junon."

"Is he asking for me to forgive him?" Zack asked incredulously. "I'm not going to just forgive him for raiding Junon and attacking Shinra Company employees."

There was a pause and the slide of paper on the other end. Tseng said, "CS Delivery says good, because he's not apologizing."

Zack opened his mouth to spit out a reply but stopped when Sephiroth touched his arm. Scowling, Zack reluctantly slumped back into his seat. If his commanding officer wanted him to pipe down then he was certainly going to follow orders.

Tseng went on unimpeded. "To Reeve Tuesti," the Head of Urban Development perked at mention of his name, "CS Delivery says that, though he didn't take particular enjoyment in disabling your prototype, its destruction was necessary. If you want to retrieve the robot, he left it in a trash bin outside the building of its last known location and that the area waste removal teams won't be by for three more days."

"Thank you for not completely annihilating my work," Reeve said, surprise evident in his voice.

Hints of a smile in Tseng's voice, he said, "CS Delivery says not to thank him. He's the one that destroyed it."

"Still," Tuesti said, "I appreciate the effort to not destroy Cait Sith in its entirety."

"Moving on," Tseng said smoothly, "for Sephiroth, CS Delivery asks if you think – " Tseng cut off abruptly. In a more muffled tone, voice clearly not directed at the PHS, Tseng asked, "What's the meaning of this question?" Some paper shuffling later then Tseng said, "You can't honestly me expect to pose this question to General Sephiroth."

Zack shot another glance Sephiroth's way and found a dark scowl on his commander's face.

Tseng sighed audibly over the line. "General Sephiroth," he started again, voice clearer and directed at the PHS again, "CS Delivery asks if you think using half a bottle of each would save a significant amount of gil."

While the general's fists clenched, his voice became eerily smooth, silk-like even. "That never was, and never will be, any of your business, CS Delivery."

A chill shivered up Zack's spine. If the terrorist were there in that moment, Zack was positive Sephiroth would have strangled him. Not even Reno looked like he was willing to question what CS Delivery was talking about.

Tseng broke the silence. "As there are no more questions on your end, and CS Delivery has nothing else to add, I suggest we sojurn until a later date."

Under his breath, Reno muttered, "I'd tell the asshole to watch 'imself because next time I'm gonna fry 'im."

Further away from the PHS, Tseng said, "I didn't hear him say anything." Tseng paused. "Reno, CS Delivery says he hopes you enjoyed receiving a concusion from the hilt of your own weapon and that he'd gladly brain you with anything you used to attack him, even if it's nothing but a materia ball."

After an obviously surprised silence on Reno's part, the Turk barked a laugh. "Try it, asshole."

Tseng sighed over the line. "Sir," he said, "we'll be in touch." Then the PHS line went dead.

"Tuesti," Shinra said, "after retrieving your prototype, go over every millisecond of that video footage of Fair's outing and figure out what Tseng knew that the rest of us didn't."

"Of course, Vice President," Tuesti said.

Zack eyed the quietly seething general while everyone but the three Soldiers filed out of the room. If nothing else, CS Delivery was putting himself on Sephiroth's bad side.

Kunsel's PHS rang and the Second excused himself before stepping outside. Zack continued watching the general, wondering if this was one of those times when he should try to befriend the solitary man again. Sephiroth didn't exactly encourage casual conversation, but at least he hadn't threatened to kill Zack if he didn't stop trying.

Kunsel drew Zack's attention by calling his name from the doorway. Zack sprung to his feet and hurried over. Kunsel stayed in the doorway so it must have been something quick. Kunsel said, "Cissnei finally brought Dio in. It took her a while to convince him we weren't planning on putting him in prison or something. Cissnei asked me to come help with the questioning." Kunsel's mouth twisted up in a smirk. "She says my never taking off my helmet puts some people on edge."

"Report back afterward," Zack said, throwing a glance over his shoulder at the general.

Kunsel turned his head, the angle of his helmet indicating he was looking at Sephiroth's back. He said, "I think we'd better both hope Cloud isn't CS Delivery. The general looks like he wants to skin that man, and I think Cloud's pretty fun."

AN: Any and all comments, disclaimers, and notes are on my profile page. If I get asked a question enough times, its answer is there too.