A/N: This is it. I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing.
Tseng led the mission himself. His team consisted of Magni, Wei, Elena, Rude, Kandi, and Niki-chan. He realized witnesses were needed to ensure the validity of the 'deaths'.
"Magni, Wei; head into the reactor and see if you can flush them out," Tseng ordered. "We'll stand by as back up."
"Sir!" they responded as they quickly made their way in. So far, it was a typical mission.
Tseng had told them they had three minutes to find the bunker and secure themselves inside before he would detonate the explosives. He checked his watch and heard the helicopter flying overhead. After the allotted time had lapsed, the explosion hit.
"Oh gods!" Elena cried, covering her mouth with her hands. Niki shrieked and covered her ears, diving behind Rude for protection.
"No," Kandi gasped, grasping onto Rude's arm. "Oh gods, what happened?"
Tseng stared in feigned shock, reaching for Elena and drawing her close. "Meth labs," he said quietly. "They are incredibly unstable. One may have exploded and caused a chain reaction inside the reactor."
Tseng's hair and suit jacket began to blow in the wind and he glanced up. The Shin-Ra helicopter was landing near them. Reno set the engine to idle and jumped out, helping Rufus down as well.
"We saw the explosion," Rufus said with concern. "Are all of our people accounted for?"
Tseng shook his head, knowing he needed to get the president and everyone else out of the vicinity so Magni and Wei could make their escape. "No, Sir," he stated. "I'm afraid Wei Yao and…Magni Zeal were inside when the explosion hit."
Reno bolted into the debris. "C'mon partner," he yelled. "We have to check for survivors!"
Tseng panicked. "Reno, no!" he called. "It could still be unstable!"
"Fuck that!" he replied back, Rude catching up to him quickly. "Kandi, scan the area. See if you can find their vitals."
Kandi ran her scanner across the surface of the debris. "There!" she yelled pointing to their left. "Two people are registering on screen! Careful guys! Could be the dealers!"
Rude began moving debris away from the bunker. Rufus glared over at Tseng, an eyebrow arched in question. The normally stoic Wutain could feel his emotions and his plans unraveling.
"It's them!" Reno called, pulling first Magni out and then Wei. He checked them over and then began searching the area with Rude for any signs of the dealers.
Rufus narrowed his eyes at the couple and reached inside his trench coat for his shotgun. They were not supposed to be alive. They deserved to die.
"Magni! Wei!" Niki shrieked excitedly as she ran over to the pair, glad to see her friends were safe.
The president raised the shotgun in his right hand, looking straight at Wei's face and fired. Wei's eyes shot to his as something dropped before him.
Niki hit her knees, a shocked expression covering her face. She looked down at the hole coming from her back to her chest and fell forward. Reno screamed as he watched her fall, leaping over debris and scrambling to her.
"Niki!" he yelled, gathering her up in his arms. "Niki, baby, no, no, no!"
Rufus stared, shocked at the scene before him. "No," he whispered. "No, Niki…no." The shotgun dropped out of his hand and he hit his knees in shock, watching now as Kandi and Rude ran to their fallen comrade.
"Niki-chan!" Kandi shrieked, pressing her hand to the wound, trying to stop the blood. She fumbled with her armlet and activated her Heal materia. The magic washed over Niki, but did nothing to close up the wound. Kandi felt for a pulse in her neck, in her wrist, but found nothing.
"No!" she cried hysterically, switching out her Heal for Full-Life. "Come on, little girl, you can't leave us now! Wake up!"
"Come on, baby, don't you leave me!" Reno was sobbing, pressing his cheek to hers. "Come on, baby. Come on! Niki!"
Niki's eyes fluttered opened momentarily as the spell engulfed her. "Ether!" Kandi cried, reaching out to Rude. "My magic is low!"
Rude passed her all the Ethers he had and she filled her magic a bit. "More!"
"I'm out."
Kandi turned to Reno desperately. He shook his head. She turned to the others. "Ether! We're losing her!"
They gave her all the Ethers they had and she used them, trying to keep Niki alive. But her magic was dying…as so was Niki.
"Reno," the little Turk said weakly. "Thank you for letting me love you."
Reno shook his head and pressed his face into her neck. "Don't talk like that, baby," he whispered. "Come on, you'll be okay."
Niki laughed a little. "I'm clinically insane, Reno…not…bullet proof."
The red-head sobbed again. "I can't let you go, Niki," he whispered. "Not like this."
"It's okay…I liked the Lifestream." She turned to Kandi. "I'll tell Zack 'hi' for you."
Kandi let her tears fall at that. She was losing another of her best friends and she hated it. Wiping her face with her bloody hands, she managed a smile. "You better."
Niki turned back to Reno. "I love you. You're the only one…I ever loved."
Reno bent down and kissed her lips sweetly. When he drew back, Niki was gone. The red-head held her to him and yelled his grief to the gods.
Tseng swallowed hard and turned to Rufus. "You see what your jealously, your pride has cost us?" he growled angrily. He walked over and picked up Rufus' shotgun. "You killed her."
"I was aiming for Wei," Rufus offered quietly. "I never meant for Niki…gods, Niki."
"Yes, Niki," Tseng hissed. "One of my best and brightest. One of my family. Dead. Because of you."
Rufus rose to his feet. "Gods, what have I done?"
Wei watched the scene before him, guilt consuming him.
"It should have been me," he whispered to himself. "I have dishonored our family, Tseng-sama."
Wei took a deep breath and reached for his sword. Kneeling on the ground in the debris of the reactor, he unsheathed the sword and laid the scabbard before him. Placing the point of his sword at his heart, he whispered, "May my death restore honor to me, to Magni, and to my family, the Turks. Forgive me, Tseng-sama."
Wei took one final breath and fell forward on to the steel.
Magni screamed when she saw him fall, but it was too late. Wei Yao was gone.
Never had a clean-up crew been called in for two of his own. Rufus had been returned to the Shin-Ra building, expressing deep remorse over the events of the last few weeks. But no amount of remorse could bring back Niki or Wei. Tseng had ordered Revan and Akalara to take Magni to the Northern Continent. He knew her brother was there, searching for her as she had been searching for him. They would meet again and she could hopefully find some measure of peace. Her career with the Turks was over.
Tseng looked at Kandi, his black eyes showing rarely expressed emotion. "I know you can find anything on anybody, anywhere," he stated, his voice barely an octave above a whisper. "However, what I'm asking you to do is to lose someone…completely. Can you do that?"
Kandi nodded, her filthy, tear-streaked face a mix of dirt and blood. "She'll be gone in less than forty-five seconds, Sir."
The Wutain inclined his head in acknowledgement, turning to the gurney lifting the body bag containing Wei's remains onto the stretcher. "It's the least I can do for him," he murmured. "To know the one he loved is safe…he can rest peacefully. Magni Zeal will fade into obscurity forever."
Kandi closed her handheld and gave him a curious look. "Magni who…Sir?"
Tseng couldn't help the smile that came to his face. "Thank you."
Reno climbed into the chopper, the pretty little urn containing Niki's ashes tucked safely into his bag. He'd take them to the place where they were happiest for a time, when they first became a couple.
"Hang on, baby," Reno said as he switched on the chopper. "I told you I'd take you back to Costa del Sol someday. Time to make good on that promise."
A/N: And...that's it. Reno goes to Costa del Sol to spread Niki's ashes along the beach. He meets up with Yuffie there and that is where 'What Happens in Costa del Sol' happens. I may revamp that story to better tie it in with this. Thank you to everyone who has followed/favorited/reviewed this story. Six-years later and it's finished.