A/N: Rated M for language and sexual content. I do not own any Final Fantasy VII content, obviously. I also did not write much of the dialogue in this scene – it comes from the original 1997 game and "On The Way To A Smile – Case Of Tifa." There are also some vague similarities to "Case of Shinra" as well.

Updated 6/14/20: I am rewriting much of this story and turning it into a Remake fic. Every edited chapter will have a note at the top like this one hinting at what was changed. This means that at some point the unedited chapters will seem really out of place with the timeline. Please bear with me as I continue to improve this work.

Edits in this chapter include a new opening, additional scene on the Highwind, and new content involving the Turks.

I would implore anyone who has already read this story to begin reading it again fully as there will be so many changes throughout each chapter.

Chapter 1:

Darkness had shrouded the planet as Meteor drew closer. From Wutai to Midgar, the sun had been blocked by the giant fireball as it approached the world's largest metropolis, which had already been reeling since Diamond Weapon's attack on the city.

Tifa Lockhart supported herself on the railing around the deck of the Highwind, watching the horror that was taking place on the ground beneath the airship.

Holy had not come fast enough, even though Aerith had summoned it before Sephiroth summoned Meteor. By the time Holy arrived, Meteor was close to hitting the planet where Shinra HQ once reached the sky. As Nanaki pointed out, it was too late for Holy; the heavenly summon was having the opposite effect.

Even worse, Meteor was threatening the planet despite their best efforts to change their futures. They had literally fought fate before leaving Midgar all those months ago, yet every horrible vision they had seen in the Shinra headquarters and from Sephiroth had come true. Aerith had still died; murdered by Sephiroth's masamune blade through her heart. Meteor was still summoned and was now destroying Midgar. They had done everything right, yet they had still failed.

Tifa watched as the city that had once been her home was engulfed in a bright orange light in the sky, and a bluish-white light on the ground. Cyclones reached from Meteor to the city below, destroying homes, businesses, and the plate itself. Though she couldn't see the people below, she knew the terror they were experiencing – it was the same terror she felt as she climbed the tower that held up the Sector 7 plate.

She and her fellow AVALANCHE members learned just before heading into the Northern Crater that Rufus Shinra had been missing and presumed dead after Diamond Weapon attacked the Shinra building. Even though the thought of Shinra falling had been AVALANCHE's ultimate goal in the beginning, she couldn't help but worry about the people who worked there just trying to make a living. Sure, Rufus was evil, but the average worker at the company, though they were contributing to the planet's destruction, just wanted to support their families. She didn't want them all to suffer.

They had seen the remaining living Turks – Reno, Rude, and Elena – in Midgar not too long ago. Were they still alive? If any part of Shinra deserved to perish, it was the Turks. They destroyed Sector 7 by dropping the plate and had continued trying to kill her and her friends as they tried to save the world and stop Sephiroth.

Tifa knew that Reeve, at least, had survived among the top executives of the company, but she only knew that because Cait Sith was still operational. The robotic cat had given them a message from Reeve worrying that he had sentenced more people to death by begging them to take shelter from Meteor in the slums. She didn't know what other choice the people of the city had, given the damage currently being wrought by Meteor. There was nowhere safe to turn, and escape wasn't an option as there were only a few doors along the outer wall allowing passage, and those had probably created a bottleneck of people trying to flee.

Tifa worried about Marle and Andrea Rhodea, hoping they were able to save the people of their respective sectors. Wall Market may have been an awful place, but not everyone there deserved to die. Andrea had helped Cloud rescue her and helped her release stress before they climbed the plate to save Aerith from Shinra. Chocobo Sam had helped her get a meeting with Don Corneo and had been kind to her. She knew others who had helped Cloud find her as well, and Leslie Kyle may still be in the city searching for his fiancée. Tifa didn't want them to suffer, nor anyone she had once called her neighbor in Sector 7.

And even though Midgar seemed to be Meteor's main focus, Kalm was close enough that it could be destroyed as well. Tifa glanced over in Kalm's direction. It was illuminated by the light of Meteor, but no cyclones appeared to have reached it yet. Tifa prayed that Elmyra and Marlene were safe.

Cloud stood next to her, leaning against the railing with his back to Meteor and Holy. He had already experienced so much pain and suffering in his life – Nibelheim, his imprisonment, Aerith – he didn't want to see any more. He also felt that if this were the beginning of the end, he would rather not see death coming for him. Instead, he stared intently at the wooden deck under his feet. He found himself studying the wood grain and counting the number of planks. He could only count a few before the Highwind would jolt due to turbulence and he would lose his place.

On about his fourth attempt at counting, Tifa suddenly spoke up. Everyone had become silent after they realized Holy was not stopping Meteor, lost in their own thoughts and fears. From up here, on a ship as fast as the Highwind, they might be able to survive for a while and outrun Meteor, but their loved ones below had no such option.

"What's that!?" she asked, extending her right arm and pointing off into the distance.

Cloud begrudgingly diverted his attention away from the deck to follow her gaze. He looked in the general direction in which she was pointing but saw nothing except for a black landscape silhouetted by the distant light from the calamity.

"Where?" he asked, squinting to try and see what she was referring to.

"There!" she said, jabbing her finger in the same direction as before. There really wasn't more she could do.

Cloud continued to squint and try to stare beyond where her finger was pointing. Barret was standing to Tifa's left, doing the same. Finally, they both saw it.

At first it was faint, just a small greenish-white dot somewhere in the mountains. But soon, the dot grew larger, and the light emanating from it began to elongate until it started snaking its way through the air toward Meteor and Holy. Each stream of light was white in the middle with streaks of green encircling it and directing it forward.

"What the hell IS that…?" Barret asked as more lights appeared, seemingly throughout the world.

"…..Lifestream," Cloud answered.

The three were joined at the railing by Vincent, Nanaki, and Cait Sith. Cid, of course, was helping to fly the ship, and Yuffie was trying to keep her motion sickness from getting the best of her.

The group watched as green tendrils of light streaked across the earth to meet Holy in the depression that it had created with Meteor over Midgar. No one said anything, wondering if the Lifestream would be able to stop the calamity. That was Holy's job, and look how that turned out. Tifa realized she was holding her breath as she watched the planet become enveloped in the green light. She let out a deep breath and watched as the Lifestream from around the world reached Meteor and Holy.

She had nearly resigned herself to watching the planet die from the airship before perishing herself, but now she had hope again.

The Lifestream seemed to be joining with the calamity. No, not merging; taking over. The streaks of green light didn't stop at the edges of Holy; they changed direction and began climbing up and onto Meteor. Within minutes of its first appearance (though it felt like an eternity to those witnessing the event) the Lifestream had completely covered Holy and Meteor. The outer shape of the calamity remained, but it was no longer blue and orange – it was now completely green. The walls within Midgar could no longer be seen.

For what felt like another eternity, the light remained this way, like a giant green mushroom cloud. And then… the Lifestream began to retract, as if being rewound to where it had come from. As the ends of the tendrils returned to the ground, the watching members of AVALANCHE noticed that Meteor was gone. There was no explosion, no crack of sound or additional flash of light. Meteor had just… vanished. As the Lifestream withdrew further, they could see the same had happened with Holy. It was as if the planet had absorbed them.

Tifa's mouth dropped open as she watched the scene play out in front of her. She couldn't take her eyes off of it. She didn't look around her to see the expressions on the faces of her friends, who were as stunned as she was. It looked like things were going to be okay – except for Midgar.

When the Lifestream retreated past Holy but not completely back into the planet yet, Tifa could see Midgar city partially illuminated. While it was not a crater, as had been expected, it was by no means in good shape. The twisters and Meteor had done considerable damage before Holy even arrived, and the power of the white light caused its own destruction. Tifa wondered if anyone was able to survive.

Satisfied that the Lifestream's retreat meant the planet had saved itself, Tifa looked up into the heavens.

"Thank you," she said softly, to Aerith.

She then looked around to her companions, who were still watching the event with awe. When she looked to her right, at Cloud, she noticed he was smiling. He wasn't looking at anything in particular, but she knew that he must have been silently thanking Aerith, as she had.

Tifa couldn't help but smile at Cloud. The last time he had looked that peaceful was when he had fallen asleep after their night together under the Highwind when she thought no one was watching.

Cloud suddenly felt that he was being watched. He glanced over to find that Tifa was, in fact, staring at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, his eyebrows knitting together with concern.

"Cloud, you're smiling," Tifa responded, tilting her head.

"I am?"

"Yeah," she said with a giggle.

Cloud knew he wouldn't be able to explain it to her. He felt a great burden lifted from his shoulders.

"Everything starts now. A new…" he began, searching for the right words. "A new life."

As he watched Meteor, Holy, and the Lifestream, he had felt hopeless. Yet now it seemed like the planet would survive. He would survive.

"I'm going to live. I think that's the only way I can be forgiven," he told Tifa. "We've been through … all sorts of things."

Tifa looked at him, her smile growing wider. After everything they had been through, after all of his misery and disinterest, maybe things were finally going to change for the better.

"I guess you're right…" she said.

He was not the only one who had been miserable all this time. Sure, she hid it better than most in order to be the rock the team needed, but inside she was struggling with so many emotions. She had never had a proper moment to grieve the loss of Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. She had not had time to grieve Aerith, even. After every death, they had to press on – something important would come up.

When the Sector 7 plate fell, they had waited a bit before rescuing Aerith at Shinra HQ, but even then, they dove right in to helping people in the surrounding slums instead of focusing on their own grief. Tifa had been struggling with the guilt she felt for her role in the sector's destruction. Shinra had targeted the sector because that was where her bar was, which served as the headquarters for AVALANCHE. And Aerith wouldn't have been taken if Tifa had not asked her to rescue Marlene. Of course, Marlene would not be safe in Kalm if Tifa hadn't sent Aerith to get the little girl. No matter what she did, she would have felt guilty.

Tifa hadn't even learned of Wedge's death in the Shinra tower until long after they left Midgar. He died alone while they were all focused on rescuing Aerith. Tifa hoped he knew how much he had helped them.

After Aerith had died, the group had been immediately thrust into battle with Jenova. And after that, they had resolved to settle their score with Sephiroth, who was heading North.

What would keep them from pausing this time? Tifa's concentration was broken by another statement from Cloud.

"But when I think about how many times I've thought about starting a new life, it's funny," he said.

"Why?" Tifa asked in response.

"I've always failed to do it," he said.

"That's not funny."

Tifa had to admit that he was right. He had tried to join SOLDIER to start a new life – to impress her. He tried to start a new life in Midgar after the torture he and Zack went through in Nibelheim, and they all knew how that turned out.

"After this… I think I'll be okay," Cloud said after a momentary pause. He let the words slip from his lips and prepared for Tifa to ask the obvious question. When she didn't, he gave her the answer anyway: "Because you're with me."

Tifa felt her heart flutter in her chest at his words, and she smiled again. While many thoughts raced through her head, she realized that she would not be able to express them. She choked, just as she had the night they were under the Highwind. They had been together physically yet hadn't said the words she had longed to say. Maybe those words would come soon.

She knew what he was saying, or at least, she thought she did, but she couldn't help being a tad bit hurt by the idea that all this time he hadn't noticed her by his side.

"But I've always been with you," was all she could say in response.

"That's how it will be starting tomorrow," Cloud told her, a smile returning to his lips.

They continued to look at each other in the darkness, illuminated only by what remained of the Lifestream cradling the planet. Cloud gazed into Tifa's wide, hopeful eyes, reflected in which was the green tendrils of their saving grace. He felt her face getting closer to his own and realized he was slowly leaning toward her. In that moment he forgot his other comrades were around him; all he saw was Tifa and all the hope that she encompassed. His greatest ally and his best friend, the woman he had loved since he was a kid.

He was beginning to close his eyes to kiss her when the Highwind rocked violently. Cloud instinctively reached out to grab Tifa to protect her, gripping the railing with one hand and holding her close with his other arm. Just as the ship steadied again, he let her go involuntarily, clutching his head as images flashed in his head, just as they had done before they defeated Sephiroth and Jenova.

He saw Tifa, sprawled out and bleeding on the platform where Aerith was killed.

The vision quickly vanished but his eyes remained wide and fearful when the headache stopped. He thought he was through with those after Tifa helped him find himself in the Lifestream and they defeated Sephiroth and Jenova.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked, one hand on his back and one on his arm for comfort. He could see the look in her eye – the look of fear and recognition. He didn't want her to worry, so he lied.

"Don't worry, it's not that," he said. Her expression didn't change. "I think I hit my head when the ship lurched."

Tifa seemed to accept that explanation. At least, she didn't question him about it further. He hoped that maybe it was just the result of Sephiroth and Jenova still dying in the Northern Crater. A one-time experience. Nothing to be concerned about. They were all exhausted after their journey; he probably just needed a good long rest.

Meanwhile…

"Reno, leave it!" Rude yelled at his partner as debris fell around them and the building shook.

"But, it's my favorite!" Reno mock whined.

"Forget it, we have to get everyone out of here!" Rude said more forcefully, grabbing the redhead by his collar and dragging him out of luxury apartments housed within the Shinra building where the Turks and other high-level employees lived if they chose.

Reno didn't put up a fight, having already realized that he could buy a new gun – a lot of new guns, actually – but he couldn't buy a new ass.

They had already helped evacuate the Shinra building when the Weapon attacked and Rufus went missing, but when Meteor started its devastation, many people in Sector 0 and nearby rushed into the building seeking shelter from the cyclones. The structure, however, was no longer sound, no longer the safest place in Midgar.

Reno and Rude had returned to their respective apartments to try and gather some of their things when Meteor struck. They had been helping rescue crews for some time prior to that, and were just getting freed up enough to see if they could salvage anything from their homes. They each had a duffle bag slung over their shoulders, having immediately grabbed their getaway bags upon first return to their apartments. Every good Turk had such a bag, stuffed with gil, fake I.D. cards, and various other items they would need to change their appearance and disappear in a moment's notice. The two nodded to each other when they exited and saw what the other was carrying. Great minds and all that.

But Reno had decided that he wanted to save his weapon collection as well and had run back into his home. He was gathering his guns (his mag rod was, as always, attached to his belt) when the building began to shake violently. It had seemed settled in its destruction after Diamond Weapon, so this was a new development. Rude passed Reno in his bedroom to look out the window. It was no longer dark outside. Instead, it was bright orange outside, the other buildings lit up as if surrounded by fire. It was bright enough to be day outside – which it was, but with the sun being blocked by Meteor, the whole city had plunged into never-ending nightfall.

"My Gods," Rude said as he looked out the window. In the distance, in every angle he could see, Midgar seemed to be enveloped in swirling orange light. From his vantage point, he could see several pillars of orange wind traveling through the city, pulling up houses, cars, and everything else in their path.

Reno stopped stuffing guns and ammo into another bag to figure out what had caused Rude's reaction. His thin, catlike eyes widened beyond what he thought was possible and his pupils dilated.

"Holy sh—" he started saying before Rude turned around to rush out of the room.

Forget the guns. Well, except for one. He ran to his closet and reached onto the high shelf, searching for a box. He heard Rude tell him to leave it behind and groaned. Of course Rude knew what he was looking for. He was already hightailing it out of the apartment when Rude followed up his comment.

The two Turks looked both ways down the hall outside their homes once Reno exited.

"You don't think anyone else came back, do you?" Reno asked.

"Not up here, I don't think," Rude said, pushing his sunglasses a little toward the bridge of his nose. "But there were people downstairs in the lobby."

"We just had to turn this place into a refugee camp," Reno muttered as he and his partner ran back toward the stairwell.

They descended the stairs as quickly as they could, though they were regularly thrown into the walls or nearly over the railing by the building shifting.

"Shit!" Reno yelped during one such incident as he was thrown into the railing, the bar colliding harshly with his gut. The force caused his arms to react, and his getaway bag fell off his shoulder and down the stairwell. "Fuck!"

He moved faster after that, with Rude keeping pace. He grabbed the duffle bag when they reached it and again threw it over his shoulder, this time with the strap diagonal across his chest like Rude had done. This was his life's work, his one-way ticket out, and though he never dreamed of leaving the Turks, he needed that security.

The two men burst through the stairwell doors and entered the upper level of the lobby, running over to the guard rails to look down below. Cots and sleeping bags had been strewn throughout the lobby and the car showroom downstairs to provide comfort for those who had lost their homes when the Sister Ray collapsed. Reno looked out at the sea of people and slammed his fist against the railing.

"Shit!" he yelled, though there was too much commotion for any of the refugees to hear him.

Before he and Rude could reach the stairs, they heard glass breaking behind them. They were more surprised that any glass was still standing that could be broken than they were to see the Director of Urban Development, Reeve Tuesti, lowering his leg from a kicking position and then walking toward them purposefully. He didn't notice them at first, however, as he had an odd contraption on his head. It looked like a headset with an attached microphone and one glass circle covering his left eye. He seemed to be talking to whomever was on the other end. He was also holding a complicated remote control that he was clearly familiar with, as he operated the numerous buttons and joysticks without looking at it.

Reno and Rude looked at each other a little confused, as they had never seen Reeve actually control the robot cat and moogle they knew he used to spy on AVALANCHE. It was an odd sight to see such a well-dressed man half paying attention to where he was walking and half paying attention to what seemed like a portable video game.

Reeve stopped in front of the men and clicked a button on the remote, apparently switching off Cait Sith's microphone so he could talk to the Turks. Reno and Rude didn't even think he had noticed them when he stopped, as he didn't appear to register their presence until they saw him make deliberate eye contact.

"Good, you're still alive," Reeve said to them in a tone that made them wonder if he was being sarcastic. Reeve had made no secret of his disdain for the Turks in the past, so they wouldn't have been surprised if he was disappointed to learn of their survival. He should have expected it though. There were no dead Turks, though, Reeve may not have known that as most of Reno's former underlings went into hiding, presumed dead or retired, shortly before Sephiroth returned.

"Sir?" Rude asked.

"I want you to get these people and anyone else you can down to the slums," Reeve responded. "I think that will be the safest place right now."

Reno and Rude again looked at each other to consider not only his request but the fact that he was asking them at all. He wasn't their boss, but with Rufus missing and all the other executives dead, it seemed Reeve was in charge.

"We were going to get them out of here anyway, but are the slums really safer?" Rude asked.

"Certainly safer than up here at the moment," Reeve shot back. "We need to get everyone off the upper plate."

"Gonna take more than the two of us," Reno retorted, waving his hand dismissively with the other on his hip.

"I'm aware," Reeve said, his eyes narrowing on the redhead. "After Weapon's attack I took it upon myself to request help from the only people left on the planet who lived for danger and were trained for this sort of thing."

"Sir?"

"Your former colleagues," Reeve continued. "They should already be here assisting. I also put out a distress call to AVALANCHE for more help. Now hurry, get these people to safety!"

So, apparently he did not about the Turks in hiding.

The Turks again glanced at each other in confusion before trotting down the massive staircase to the people scattered below. The walls shook as they did so, causing some signs and information terminals to tumble. They had to plant themselves to keep from falling and when they reached the bottom of the staircase, they were ignored by people too scared to leave.

"Please, we have to get out of here, the building's not stable!" Reno pleaded. He was met with glares from the refugees, who clearly still distrusted the Turks and recognized their dark blue suits. "Dammit!" he protested, looking around to see Rude was having similar luck.

The redhead looked around a moment for something he could use to get everyone's attention. At this moment, people were so afraid of what was outside that they didn't fear the suited men inside the building. On any other day, the Turks could have just intimidated people into following their orders, but apparently the refugees had found something worse. He spied a janitor's closet beyond the reception desk and darted toward it as Rude continued to try to persuade people.

Reno returned with a couple cans of spray paint and made his way through the crowd toward a Shinra Hauler SA-37 that had been pushed against the back wall. He climbed up on the hood and walked up to its roof, his boots causing loud, metallic echoes to ring throughout the vehicle showroom. It caught the attention of some of the refugees, who turned to look at the tall, thin man with the paint cans. He began to spray paint a message on the wall in bright orange: "HEAD 4 SLUMS."

Some of the refugees stared at him, confused, when Reno turned back to look at them, hoping he had their attention enough to make an announcement. Before he could say anything, however, another violent shake of the building caused one of the large overhead chandeliers to break. Reno was fast, but Rude was closer when the chandelier fell, leaping toward a woman and child who stood underneath it and shoving them to safely as they all fell to the ground just beyond where the chandelier landed with a crash. The woman thanked Rude before hugging her child close.

The crash of the chandelier quieted the room, giving Reno an opening.

"This building isn't safe, we have to get out of here!" he yelled. "We're going to the nearest train station. We can take the tracks around the main support beam to the slums from there."

The two Turks were able to usher the refugees out of the lobby, though they stopped in horror to gasp at the scene outside. Reno and Rude also took in what was happening. Experiencing it from within was much different than watching it through a window. The orange light had been replaced by white, from Holy, and reflected in their eyes as they stared up into it, two cyclones moving in their attentive orbs. Reno blinked and shook his head to come back to reality. These people needed help and the situation was not getting any better. Whatever this new white light was didn't seem to stop the destruction; just the opposite, in fact. The cyclones in the distance seemed to have picked up their pace, and pieces of buildings seemed to be getting sucked up into Holy.

He and Rude moved toward the front of the group and called for them to follow.

"The train station isn't too far," Reno shouted as he and his partner began walking away from the Shinra building.

The refugees huddled together but followed slowly, cautious of collapsing buildings and falling debris from Meteor. These had been their homes and businesses – and now they were rubble or on fire. The Turks, too, took stock of what was happening to the city they called home. This was their penance for the things they had done to the planet while working for Shinra. The company had taken so much from the planet – with the Turks' help – and it was time to atone. Reno and Rude quietly thought of what they had done to help Shinra and Midgar incur the Gods' wrath as they reached the abandoned train station and began following the tracks down into the slums, spiraling around the central pillar. The Sector 7 plate particularly weighed heavily on them, as always. Neither man had been particularly enthused about dropping it to begin with, but in the end, they followed orders and killed potentially thousands of people. How they were alive at all during this time still astounded them. If anyone deserved to die for their sins, the two Turks thought it was them.

Reeve hadn't given any other instructions other than to get people into the slums. It took quite a while to descend the train tracks to the ground and when they did, they came to a stop.

"Now what?" Reno asked his partner.

"If the plates fall, we'll all be crushed," Rude responded.

"Thanks for rosy picture, partner."

"I don't think we can get out of the city safely; it might be best to stay here for now."

Reno considered it for a moment, crossing his arms and shifting his weight to one hip. The plates were wobbling dangerously above, but if one were to break, it wasn't likely to hit the main support pillar. If they were in the middle of the sector on their way out of the city, however, they would be crushed. He sighed and agreed with Rude.

"I guess we're stuck for now, then. Hey, everybody!" he called. "Stay here, against the support pillar. Don't wander into the slums, the plates could collapse." He winced as he said it, remembering what it felt like to be the one making a plate fall. "We're going back up to find more survivors."

A few of the refugees insisted on returning plate-side with them to help others. Back on top, Reno and Rude were shocked to find that the sky was no longer orange or white. The swirling orange storm that surrounded Midgar was replaced with green – the Lifestream. Above them they could see the normal night sky, a hole in the cylinder of the Lifestream as the planet's lifeforce seemed to be disappearing.

"What the—" Reno said, really wishing he had a cigarette right about now.

The lights swirled in the frames of Rude's glasses as he stared up into the sky, trying to figure out what was happening now.

"AVALANCHE," he said simply.

By Gods, those do-gooders must have done something, must have stopped Sephiroth. It was the only explanation. Meteor had vanished in the time the Turks descended the tracks spiraling around the main pillar and returned. They couldn't have been gone more than an hour or two, due to helping the injured and weak among the refugees as they traveled.

When the small group returned to Shinra headquarters, they found Maur and Knife – two ex-Turks – outside helping first responders. Reno knew Knife wasn't her real name, but he honestly couldn't remember if she had ever told him what it was, so he would just have to call her by the name of her weapon, as he had done with all the former underlings. Reno tried to hide his excitement in seeing his old comrades for the first time in years.

"Maur. Knife," he said, nodding slightly to each of them. They returned the gesture.

"Glad to be back, Senpai," Maur said. Knife seemed annoyed, as usual. "The others are out searching the various sectors for survivors."

"Good," Rude said. "Is anyone helping the patients at the hospital?"

"Those new AVALANCHE do-gooders showed up. Reeve sent them there."

"You two stay here, we're going to go get Tseng ourselves," Reno instructed before waving to Rude to follow.

Maur nodded and returned to the first responders to give orders.

The two veteran Turks took off in the direction of the hospital where Tseng was recovering from his injuries at the Temple of the Ancients. After Sephiroth stabbed him, the Turk chief thought he was dead for sure, happy that he got to see Aerith one last time. But as one Cait Sith was solving the puzzle to create the black materia, a second Cait Sith was approaching to continue spying on AVALANCHE. That second Cait Sith dragged Tseng from the Temple and informed the Turks about his condition. Reno and Rude flew immediately by helicopter to find their boss, refusing to allow a distraught Elena to join them. Tseng had been recovering in the best hospital in Midgar ever since. He was about to be released when the calamity began.

Reno and Rude rushed inside the hospital lobby and looked for someone who could direct them to Tseng, if he was even still inside. Meteor may have been gone, but the damage done to Midgar still seemed to be taking its toll on the structures within. Doctors, nurses, and volunteers were all scrambling to move the sickest patients, pushing gurneys and assisting those who could barely walk. The little AVALANCHE ninja ran by while pushing someone in a wheelchair, nearly slicing Reno's leg in the process.

"Watch it, brat!" he hissed at her. She either didn't hear or ignored him.

The Turks struggled to run against the tide of escape, passing damaged walls in a building shaking just as badly as Shinra HQ. They bounded up a stairwell, dodging those trying to flee, and reached Tseng's room.

He was sitting on the edge of his bed looking fairly exhausted. He was wearing his dark blue suit pants, socks, and one shoe. His chest was still heavily bandaged, even though the wound was nearly healed. He was shirtless, apparently exhausted from dressing himself as much as he had. His long, raven hair hung limply about his shoulders, oily from lack of a shower.

"Chief!" his underlings said in unison when they saw him.

Reno grabbed Tseng's remaining clothes as Rude put the man's other shoe on and helped their boss to his feet.

"Time to go, boss," Rude said as he helped Tseng drape an arm around his shoulders.

"Please! You have to get out of he—" a feminine voice yelled from the doorway before realizing who was in the room.

Tifa Lockhart was gripping the sides of the doorframe with both hands, leaning slightly into the room. She looked stunned to see the three Turks looking back at her, most surprised that Tseng was alive. She thought she had seen him die in the Temple of the Ancients. She quickly closed her mouth and looked down the hallway as another voice called out to her.

"C'mon Tifa! This floor's clear!" Cloud Strife said as the Turks watched him run past the door, grabbing Tifa by the hand and pulling her with him. He didn't even turn to look through the doorway; didn't notice the Turks.

On their way out of the building, the Turks noticed a child crying by himself amongst the stampeding horde. The little boy was just standing still and screaming as people rushed past him, avoiding him without registering that he was even there. Reno wasn't exactly a fan of kids (people always suggested when children were around that he was just like them, which irked him), but since he was only carrying Tseng's clothes, he decided to pick up the child and take him with them.

Tseng and Rude looked at each other as the little boy wrapped his arms around Reno's neck so tightly the redhead nearly choked. They both smirked.

"One of yours?" Rude asked.

Reno stuck his tongue out at his partner and glared. "Shut up."

The group remained with other patients heading toward the train station, stopping to assist anyone who tripped or any gurneys that got stuck. Behind them, they could hear the boisterous growl of Barret Wallace, trying to reassure the people escaping that they would be okay and making sure the blame for this disaster was squarely on Shinra's shoulders.

Reno rolled his eyes and adjusted the child in his arms, who had finally settled down enough to stop wailing.

They returned to the end of the train tracks below in the slums. There were now hundreds more people crowded together than there were after they led the first group down here. There wasn't enough room for them all to stay close to the main support pillar, and the Turks noticed immediately the situation was getting out of hand.

"What now?" Reno asked as he looked across the sea of people before them.

Tseng lifted his head and tried to support himself rather than leaning so much of his weight on Rude. He, too, scanned the crowd for anyone he recognized. They were surrounded by strangers and a few members of AVALANCHE who also seemed at a loss for what to do.

"The city isn't safe anymore," Tseng said matter-of-factly.

They could see way off in the distance, beyond the outer wall of the city, the beginning rays of sun poking over a far-off horizon. Morning was coming, and the world still stood.

End notes: Just some housekeeping. Since Remake only lasted through Midgar, I am forced to accept the other events of the game as they happened in the original. Also, I'm keeping the Turks in their blue uniforms as their change was part of the original version of this story and I'm keeping it. Also, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie are dead in this story, relying on the assumption that Biggs and Jessie only lived in one of the alternate timelines.

Finally, this story does NOT take place in the Advent Children world. I am adopting Edge, Tseng and Rufus being alive, and some other really minor elements from the movie, but since Remake destroyed that timeline, I'm NOT bringing in Denzel, the remnants, or Geostigma. This story replaces Advent Children.