A/N: Rated M for language and sexual content. Standard disclaimer applies.

Updated 10/29/2020: Edits throughout. Added more information about the monster problem.

Chapter 22:

Reno sat on the white leather couch in the living room of the Shinra temporary housing unit that the Turks were currently occupying. One of his hands hung limply between his legs while the other clutched a frozen bag of something to his injured face. He hadn't checked the label when he grabbed it from the freezer. He could have cleared this all up with a Hi-potion, but there he sat, knowing he deserved the pain from Rude's fist.

The sun was setting outside, but he ignored the picturesque view that Junon offered in order to wallow in self-pity. He was alone in the apartment and figured that if he sat out in the open, he could get a reminder from the other Turks about what a jackass he was. He needed to hear it right now.

He had betrayed his best friend – a fellow Turk. It was a double betrayal. And so here he was, basking in his misery while trying to push images of Tifa from his head. Images of her pressed up against the alley wall, a leg lifted to rest on his hip as he pushed against her, the space between them completely nonexistent. Images of her hands clawing at his untamed locks, their tongues tangled, of an evening sun kissing their faces.

Reno decided that he couldn't pursue Tifa until Rude was okay with it, even if it meant he would never get to touch her again – even if it meant being the second man this year to leave her high and dry with an unsatisfactory explanation. Not that he felt Tifa would be too heartbroken; she still seemed a bit cool to him, but he figured she would at least be hurt by the abruptness of the halt and be reminded of Cloud's disappearance. He let out a heavy sigh at the thought of hurting her, which caused a sharp pain to the cartilage of his damaged nose.

She hadn't told him where she was actually going, leaving his mind to wander. Maybe she was traveling to see the little ninja or one of those other AVALANCHE pests. Come to think of it, they were almost all on the western continent now, except for Tifa and Reeve. Well, maybe Cloud and Vincent were there as well but who the hell knows?

He suddenly felt heat boil up to the back of his neck and into his stomach. What if Tifa were going to look for Cloud? He knew she still missed that walking research subject, but he knew that if she were looking for him alone, she could be in danger. But now he didn't know where she would be and he couldn't follow her because he was on bodyguard duty. Ugh.

He winced as pain shot through his eye and nose. He managed to get the bleeding to stop, but his face was now swollen and purple beyond recognition. He had a – perhaps exaggerated – sense of his own attractiveness, and his vanity was now preventing him from going anywhere where he might be seen by strangers. Well, that and the fact he felt he deserved more punishment. He knew if he looked as pathetic as possible, his colleagues would think he was looking for sympathy and give him extra criticism, which he desperately wanted. He could only beat himself up so much, metaphorically speaking, and was growing anxious as he waited for someone to confirm what a devious, rotten, no-good scoundrel he had been.

He was just about too bored to remain sitting and waiting when he heard the door to the apartment click open. He positioned himself to look at the floor beneath him, with one hand on the freezer bag as he hunched over his knees.

He knew as soon as he heard footsteps on the hardwood floors that it was Tseng coming back from who knows where. Probably wherever Rufus was at that moment. The raven-haired Turk didn't gasp when he saw Reno – Gods, sometimes he could be as emotionless as Rude – but stood a few feet back and crossed his arms.

"So, Rude found out?" Tseng asked, almost amused.

Reno snapped his head up to look at his superior, the twist of his neck causing a different kind of agony.

"How did you know?" He asked with the same level of shock in his voice as when he found out Elena knew.

Dammit, Elena must have told Tseng. She had such a big mouth and probably thought it would impress him.

"Do you think Elena is the only one skilled at perception?" Tseng asked, the corners of his lips curling into a slight smile. "I'm sure Elena thinks she was the only one who noticed…"

"…Sir?" Reno continued to stare at his boss quizzically.

Tseng stiffened, narrowing his eyes at Reno and losing the smirk, letting the redhead silently know he was about to be lectured. Reno was all for it. He would take whatever discipline Tseng dished out – a pay cut, a suspension, anything – to make him feel like he had made up for what he had done to Rude and the Turks as an organization.

"Look, Reno," Tseng's tone was mysterious, yet almost nostalgic. "I know I don't have a leg to stand on in this matter…"

Wait, what did that mean? Was it because of how Tseng treated that Cetra years ago? Or was he up to something else now…

"…but fraternizing with an enemy of Shinra has never worked out well for anyone."

For anyone? Was he referring to his near-death experience at the Temple of the Ancients? Rude's relationship with Chelsea the AVALANCHE chick? Who else suffered for something like this?

Reno hesitated to argue with his superior about whether AVALANCHE was really still an enemy since they had largely disbanded and had saved the planet. Besides, they were all working together to beat back the fiends in Edge and frequently attended Seventh Heaven, which was owned by a former member of AVALANCHE.

"Sir…"

"Always remember your job comes first, Reno," Tseng warned, giving Reno a pointed stare before turning on his heel and entering his room.

He closed the door behind him. The apartment was fully stocked and furnished for out-of-town employees but resembled an off-campus apartment complex more than corporate housing. The furniture, of course, was expensive and the place was professionally decorated, but the apartment had four separate bedrooms – each with their own private bathroom – and a common area that contained the living room, dining area, and kitchen. Shinra had several apartments like this and tended to stuff visiting employees in to each one to cut down on costs.

Reno stared after his boss for a moment, still shocked that seemingly everyone but Rude knew about him and Tifa until tonight. He thought he had been so discreet; how could they have known? Elena picked up on little signals, sure, but did Tseng pick up on them too? Or was he being followed?

He pulled the freezer bag from his face and reached his other hand up to feel his wounds. Except for the fact that his skin was now wet and cold, not much had changed. He thought ice was supposed to reduce swelling, be could barely see out of his left eye due to inflammation and he was now sure his nose was broken. He'd wait until Elena came back to give him a piece of her mind before asking her to check it out. If broken, he could shove it back into place himself – and gross out Elena to boot.

Elena entered the apartment a short time later. She didn't say anything to Reno but gave him a pretty nasty look before shaking her head in disgust and walking over to him to inspect the damage.

"Your nose is definitely broken," she said in a tone that conveyed her sense that he deserved the injury.

"Damn," Reno said. "Guess I should fix it then…"

He reached up his hands to either side of his nose.

"Wait! No! Let me get out of here!" Elena cried as she quickly got up and tried to get to her room.

CRACK.

Too late. She could hear the sound of bone and cartilage being reset and it sent a shudder down her spine. Reno knew she hated that sound.

"You. Asshole," she said.

Reno suspected she wasn't just referring to him fixing his nose.

"Ugh, and I was going to eat that cauliflower rice, too," she whined, noticing the freezer bag Reno was again holding to his face.

He pulled the bag away again and inspected it, horrified to learn that he had used something so girlie on his face. Where was the frozen peas or a good ol' steak? You know, like a man would use? He quickly tossed it on the coffee table as if it were suddenly oozing some kind of thick pus.

Elena walked back over to him and picked it up to return it to the freezer. When she came back, she gave him a knock on the back of his head.

"That's for what you did to Rude!" she said, proudly yet defiantly.

"Ow! Hey! As I recall, you knew about this even longer than I did, so how are you any better?" He stuck out his chin to show that he had taken the upper hand.

"Heh, suspecting something and being the one doing something are very different things," she said with a grin.

For once, Reno didn't have Rude to back him up against her. He depressed himself realizing he probably wouldn't have Rude to back him up for a long time, if ever again. He had thrown it all away, and for what?

Reno scoffed. He was doing something alright, but certainly not it, much to his dismay. Gods, Tifa hadn't even really touched him yet, and now he may never get that sensation. And on top of all of that, he lost his best friend.

"Well, I'll just leave you here to mope like Cloud Strife," Elena said, knowing that would cut Reno deeper than anything she could antagonize him with relating to Rude. Once she saw Reno's good eye twitch from holding back his emotions, she laughed and entered her bedroom, closing the door behind her just as Tseng had done.

Reno just had to wait up for Rude to come let him have it again. He stood up and walked over to the panoramic window that faced the harbor. The passenger ship was still docked, and he watched for Tifa to board. He watched for a few minutes before the captain blew the horn to signal the ship would be launching. He must have missed her.

He continued to watch as the ship slowly pulled away from the dock and began traveling to the other continent. A little panic settled into his gut as he found himself worrying about her. If she was alone, she could get hurt, and he was already beating himself up for not stopping that bullet. The next time she might need him he couldn't be there…

The door opened slowly behind him and he turned, expecting Rude to still be trembling with rage. Instead, the bald man looked as calm as ever. He didn't look at Reno, but the red-haired Turk kept his eyes trained back on Rude as he ambled into the kitchen, opened the fridge, pulled out the water filter, grabbed a glass, poured some water, returned the filter to the fridge and closed it, and then took a long sip from the glass, finishing with an "ah" of satisfaction.

Reno's good eye narrowed at his friend, who was clearly relishing the anticipation building up in the room. Rude brought his water glass into the living room and sat down on the couch where Reno had been sitting previously. At no time did he make eye contact with the redhead, who was still standing by the window.

"I saw her," Rude said after sitting in silence for several agonizing minutes.

"You… what?" Reno asked, worried that Rude had said something to Tifa that might… complicate his plans.

"I didn't talk to her. She didn't see me," Rude explained. "She was with that ninja girl. She looked… happy."

Rude's tone was neither pensive nor displeased. Reno decided talking right now might change that.

"I knew I couldn't make her happy," Rude continued. He then turned his head to look directly at Reno. "Don't hurt her."

Reno couldn't say for sure that he wouldn't. He found himself wanting to be around her constantly, but that was mainly due to his hormones. He couldn't say for sure he'd want to keep seeing her after a couple good screws. He'd never been in this position with a woman before. Usually he was already done with them. He knew he wasn't boyfriend material, but Tifa had "committed relationship" written all over her face. He couldn't live up to that.

"I don't want to," he said, half-lying. He was starting to find the idea of hurting her to be offensive, but he had no clue how he couldn't disappoint her, if she did, indeed, have feelings for him. He let out a smirk, "Besides, Strife could come back at any moment and none of this will matter."

He hadn't realized how much that last sentence would sting until he actually said it. Whatever his feelings were for Tifa, it was not just the two of them in this pseudo-relationship. The chocobo-haired freak was always there, hovering over them. Reno could feel Cloud's presence even when he was alone with Tifa. In the alley, the blond was next to them, silently judging, wishing he wasn't just a feeling so he could kick Reno's ass. Sure, it made Reno want to do even worse things to Tifa, but he always knew he was just a temporary distraction.

He now hated that. She was supposed to be a temporary distraction for him, but the tables had turned – and temporary had turned into six months so far.

Rude seemed on the brink of being pleased when Reno brought up Cloud.

"Are we gonna be okay?" Reno asked.

Rude sighed.

Meanwhile…

Tifa gripped the railing along the deck of the cargo ship as it sped away from Junon. She hadn't made too many trips to the western continent since she and Cloud built their home in Edge, and now she was making her third voyage in as many months, though this was the first of the visits where she traveled by sea.

She looked toward Costa del Sol as the wind blew her hair and spritzed her face with seawater. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear to stop it from whipping her face and took a deep breath of fresh, salty air. She was still thinking about her brief encounter with Reno in Junon, feeling a pulse deep within her when she now thought of him pinning her to the wall and groping her. Just a few months ago she would have been horrified by the idea. She still found it frightening, but no longer just because of their former enemy status. The very thought of moving on from Cloud was terrifying. The thought of enjoying anyone other than her former hero was downright devastating.

The air was filled with the sound of sea water crashing against the hull and the motor of the ship. But there was something else, too. Something that was ringing in Tifa's ears. Something she had recently managed to ignore until it just now flared back up. It was like this high-pitched blaring – like when a TV channel tested its emergency broadcast system.

"Who is it? Who is it? Who is it?"

There it was again.

Yuffie had pretty much not stopped asking that question once Tifa returned to the bar. Now that she was hearing it again, she was getting a piercing headache just behind her ears.

"Yuffie!" she yelled at last.

Tifa had thought the young girl would get bored, give up, or lose her voice, but clearly that was not the case.

"Just tell me who it was and I'll stop," Yuffie grinned.

"I… can't," Tifa sighed.

"Was it Rude?"

"Yuffie!"

The younger woman put her hands up defensively.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," she said, resting her forearms on the railing and leaning over.

Her determination to find out who Tifa secretly met with had done wonders for her motion sickness, but now that she wasn't annoying her friend, she suddenly felt extremely queasy. She leaned over the railing, convinced she was about to yack.

What was that thing Cloud told her about motion sickness? Oh yeah, being nervous could prevent motion sickness. Well, that wouldn't help right now since she was already sick. He also told her to… move around a lot and stretch.

None of those things seemed doable right now, however. Yuffie knew if she took one step, she'd throw up all over the place. As it was, Tifa was inching away from her slowly.

At least that meant she would be quiet for the rest of the boat ride.

Later…

Night had fallen when the two women disembarked from the ship. They picked up Tifa's truck and parked it in a secure lot before heading to the villa. At least they had a free place to stay for the night before trekking to Cosmo Canyon the next day, and in a city so protected for tourists they wouldn't even have to worry about monster attacks.

Now Tifa wished she hadn't gone into the villa on Sunday to check for Cloud. She knew what she would find and now had the memory of deflated expectations in mind as she opened the door to let herself and Yuffie inside.

"Whew, this place has seen better days," Yuffie said, acknowledging the dust that covered everything in the entrance area. "Hey, wait, there are footprints in the dust!"

Tifa stiffened her spine and froze. Yuffie followed the footprints into the bedroom, taking notice of the finger trails on the dresser and a further trail to the far bed, which didn't have the same coating of dust as the other bed in the room.

"Someone has been here!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Recently!" She rushed out of the room back to where Tifa was standing. "Do you think it was Cloud?"

Tifa bristled at the mention of his name. She sighed, turning to her friend to explain.

"Cloud wasn't here," she said, defeated. "I was."

"You? But how?" Yuffie asked. The truck clearly hadn't been used for months and the Highwind was out of commission. Unless Tifa walked there…

Tifa was in dangerous territory here. She didn't know what she could say that would satisfy Yuffie, at this point. Every answer seemed to be an avenue toward the young ninja learning about Reno.

"Barret and I came with Marlene," Tifa said cautiously. Yuffie put her hands on her hips and bent at the waist.

"Did Barret fly you here, hmm?"

"Um, no… we went in his truck," at least it was plausible. He had driven himself and Marlene to and from Edge. Hopefully that was enough to allay Yuffie's suspicions.

"So, if I call Barret right now, he'll say the same thing?" Yuffie asked, pulling out her PHS, flipping it open, and holding her thumb over the buttons, threatening to dial.

"….yes," Tifa couldn't stop lying. Reno was really having an effect on her.

"Well, let's just make sure," Yuffie grinned and pushed a button, then held the phone to her ear. Tifa could hear it ringing.

"Wait!" she called, reaching toward Yuffie, who pulled her phone out of Tifa's grasp. "It was Reno!"

"Hello, you've reached Seventh Heaven. We can't come to the phone right now, so please leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can, thanks," Tifa heard her own voice say from the other end of Yuffie's phone.

She closed her eyes and flared her nostrils, cursing herself for falling for Yuffie's ruse. That was something Reno would have done.

"Reeeeee-no, huh?" Tifa could see the gears turning in Yuffie's head as her eyes looked to the ceiling. "Hmm, yeah, I can kind of see it, if you can get past the whole he-tried-to-kill-us and also he's a whore, thing."

Tifa chuckled before quickly realizing she was letting Reno's flaws slip past her. He hadn't given any indication that he had changed since she first met him, yet she seemed to be looking past the horrible, disqualifying things that continued to scream at her to back away. Stupid hormones. And stupid Cloud for leaving her to fall into the arms of the first man who gave her attention. Wait, no, she was sorry. It wasn't Cloud's fault.

But Reno wasn't trying to kill them anymore, unless the Turks were waiting for some moment to attack, which seemed unlikely given how easy it would be for the four of them to take on Tifa by herself. And Tifa hadn't seen Reno pick up a woman in Seventh Heaven since, well, since before Cloud left. It didn't mean he wasn't finding women elsewhere, but he wasn't bragging about it like he used to…

"Tell me everything," Yuffie demanded.

Tifa sighed again and lowered her head. Might as well come clean at this point. She walked over and sat at the small dining table just inside the entrance, with Yuffie close behind.

And so, she came clean. She told Yuffie how Reno and Rude had been helping her fight monsters, about the stitches, her dream…

"Wait, hold up, you had a" Yuffie leaned her head closer to Tifa and lowered her voice as if someone might hear them in the otherwise empty villa, "sex dream about Reno? How was he?!"

Tifa brought a hand up to cover her face as she blushed. This was not a conversation she wanted to have, with anyone.

She told Yuffie about the dream and how she was embarrassed the next day when Reno pulled her onto his lap and then stole her phone and put his number in it. She told her friend about Reno's tendency to appear when she was alone, like in the alley behind her bar and in the mansion basement in Nibelheim. Yuffie had lots of questions about what happened in Nibelheim.

"He did that with his mag rod? How did it feel? How long did he have to use it on you? Can I buy one?" and others to that effect.

Tifa just shook her head and smiled at the memory. Now that she had a couple months to process it, she was actually hoping to experience that sensation again. Maybe Reno would let her borrow it (though she doubted he would let her use it without him present to watch).

"So, what else?" Yuffie prodded after exhausting herself of questions relating to the EMR.

Tifa groaned and continued. Just about everything she said regarding the night with Reno after her date with Rude elicited a "WHAT?" from Yuffie, begging for more details, as did Tifa's encounters with the red-headed Turk in Costa del Sol.

"He flew you, Barret, and Marlene to a resort town?" Yuffie asked. "That's kinda romantic."

Tifa closed her eyes and shook her head again. Yuffie may have seen it that way, but Tifa saw it as Reno trying to bribe Marlene into liking him so maybe Tifa would sleep with him.

Tifa next told Yuffie about what happened between her and Reno in Junon just a few hours earlier. Her cheeks flushed as she spoke and heat pooled deep in her belly.

"That is SO hot," the younger woman kept saying.

Next came a dizzying array of questions about Reno that Tifa absolutely did not want to answer.

"Was he cut? I bet he's super cut – and strong! So, did you see it? I bet it's big."

Tifa buried her face in her hands and contemplated how long it would take to dig a hole on the beach big enough for her to crawl into and hide.

"No, Yuffie, I haven't seen it."

"…Yet," Yuffie replied with a wink.

Tifa dropped her head to the table. This was the second-most humiliating conversation of her life, second only to the one Yuffie dragged her into after the ninja found out Tifa had slept with Cloud. Come to think of it, Yuffie had a lot of the same questions about Cloud then as she now did about Reno.

Tifa finished telling Yuffie about Reno breaking into her home, the flowers, and how he visited her in the hospital and would plant a kiss on her forehead, which Yuffie found terribly romantic and a little pathetic.

"That's it?" Yuffie seemed ultimately disappointed.

Tifa's jaw dropped open. That wasn't enough?

The rest of their trip to Cosmo Canyon was spent with Tifa trying to answer as few questions as possible and Yuffie constantly coming up with more to ask, such as whether Tifa wanted to date Reno and when she would sleep with him.

The roads leading south from Costa del Sol and west to Cosmo Canyon were plagued with monsters, but Tifa was able to speed past most of them or let Yuffie slow them down with materia. Unfortunately, some managed to attack the truck, and Tifa knew she would find even more scratches and dents when she arrived at the Canyon than after they had traveled to Junon.

After she parked her truck at the base of the steps leading up to the city (and pushed a couple larger boulders near it in the hopes it wouldn't get further damaged), she turned to Yuffie and gave her friend a stern look.

"Yuffie!" she said to get the ninja to stop talking. "You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone about this, okay?"

"Who would I even tell? You think Nanaki or Cid want to hear about that?" she asked, extracting a nervous laugh from Tifa.

They were greeted at the stop of the steps by the same man who always managed the entrance to the Canyon. Even after all their trips, Tifa was embarrassed by the fact that she still did not know his name. At this point, it was too late to ask.

"Hello, Miss Lockhart. Nanaki is waiting for you," he said, taking their bags for them.

He led them first to their hotel room and set down their belongings before taking them up to Bugenhagen's observatory where Nanaki was waiting. They didn't need the escort, but they were grateful nonetheless.

"Tifa! Yuffie!" Nanaki's voice broke into his natural tone as he cantered to the two women.

Yuffie knelt down to give him a hug and Tifa scratched him behind his ears.

"Hello, Nanaki," she said, bending over to his level and smiling.

"I'm so glad you're both here," Nanaki said eventually, reinstating his more dignified tone. "I think I've found something, come with me."

More walking. At least it wasn't too far. He led them into a large room they had never seen before on the top floor of the inner canyon. It was round, like most of the rooms and structures in Cosmo Canyon, but it was lined with shelves that were filled with books, most of which looked like they could be dozens, if not hundreds, of years old. The bottom three or four rows of shelves all around the room looked clean, but the higher shelves were covered with dust and cobwebs from lack of attention.

Upon entering the room, the women immediately noticed that it was not empty. Vincent Valentine stood with his back to them, holding a book that he was intently reading.

"Vincent!" the women said in unison.

After a few minutes of (awkward) silence, Vincent closed the book and clutched it back against his forearm before turning to face the rest of the group.

"Vincent, what are you doing here?" Tifa asked.

"He's found something," Nanaki informed her. The girls looked back to Vincent, expectantly.

"There was something in Hojo's research in the Shinra mansion that caught my eye," Vincent explained.

"But the Turks stole everything we found!" Tifa said, flapping her arms out to her side in exasperation.

"Ah but I kept this to myself," Vincent corrected. "I noticed it when we were searching, and after the Turks attacked us and gave up so easily, I figured they would try to steal what we found."

"So, you let them take all our work?" Tifa asked. Maybe Vincent wasn't so dense after all.

"…Yes. It was worthless anyway. This notebook contains the useful information," he said, removing an old journal from the back of his waistband. "It appears Hojo did inject some local monsters with Jenova cells and documented their reaction."

"What happened?" Yuffie asked.

"The monsters became much more aggressive," Vincent said. "Savage, really."

"Okay, that explains why they're so much stronger than before, but not why there are so many," Tifa mused.

"That's why I came here," Vincent replied. "The Elders of Cosmo Canyon have the foremost collection of data on the Lifestream."

"You think the Lifestream had something to do with this?" Yuffie asked.

"Perhaps," Nanaki answered. "The Lifestream did cover the planet when it defeated Meteor and Holy, it would make sense that it would inflict unknown consequences on the world."

"But, the Lifestream was Aerith!" Tifa interjected, her voice louder than she intended. She didn't want to think that the gift Aerith gave them actually caused its own damage.

"I know, but remember when you and Cloud were in the Lifestream?" Nanaki asked. Tifa nodded. "You were mostly unscathed, and Cloud only survived because you were there to help him. But remember before that, Cloud traveled through the Lifestream to Mideel. That, coupled with the Jenova cells and mako he already had in his system, nearly killed him."

Tifa didn't have to be reminded of that week.

"Each one of those elements had its own effect on Cloud, a human," Vincent explained. "We don't know what kind of effects it could have had on monsters – or those with Jenova cells injected into them."

"Wait," Tifa closed her eyes, her heart dropping. "Are you saying Cloud's headaches could have been caused by the calamity?"

"Cloud was having headaches?" Nanaki asked. Tifa nodded again, her eyes filled with concern and fear.

"Like the ones he had when I first found him in Sector 7."

"Weren't those the result of Sephiroth or Jenova calling him to the Northern Crater?"

Tifa suddenly looked desperate. "Do you think…?"

"Tifa, we don't know," Nanaki reassured her.

"Why would it take two years for all of this to happen?" Tifa asked.

"I'm not sure, but it may have been bubbling before this and is just now coming to a crisis," Nanaki mused. "I suspect it took some time to get their numbers up…"

"But why wouldn't humans be affected?" Yuffie asked.

"Well, we don't know they weren't," Nanaki said. "But I haven't exactly felt like walking up to people and asking if they were feeling more amorous than usual…"

Yuffie looked at Tifa as if this were an explanation for the barmaid's attraction to Reno. Tifa glared back at her friend and shook her head slightly. Yuffie shrugged.

"You've found nothing here yet?" Tifa asked.

Vincent shook his head.

"We still need to look at the books on the top shelves, but I'm interested to see what's in the other library," Nanaki said.

"Well, let's get to it then," Yuffie offered.

Meanwhile…

The four Turks were gathered inside Rufus' office in Junon. The relationship between Reno and Rude was still a bit icy, and there was a definite tension in the air, but Rufus was clearly choosing to ignore it along with Reno's clearly injured face.

They had been in Junon for days now, just twiddling their thumbs while Rufus did whatever it was he wanted to do. Reno had gotten antsy – and drunk – waiting for Rufus to stop talking to the Shinra scientists that were stationed in Junon and had survived Meteorfall. He knew that all four of them didn't need to be here, but Rufus wanted all the Turks with him nearly all the time now. Reno suspected he was becoming paranoid because nothing had actually happened to him or Shinra since the calamity.

Reno had been bored out of his mind, even more so because he was sticking to his plan of not contacting Tifa until he was sure Rude was okay. So, all he had were memories. He'd considered picking up some women at the bars in Junon, but he remembered what happened the last time he had done that to take his mind off Tifa. They weren't worth it.

"Are you with us, Reno?" Rufus asked.

The redhead realized his colleagues were all looking at him and that he had zoned out.

"You got it, boss," he said with a salute.

"Good," Rufus continued in an irritated tone. "I found something while going through Hojo's research and I wanted to bring it here to consult with our scientists."

Reno stifled a yawn. Normally Rude would be standing next to him to elbow him in the side when he got ornery at a meeting, but his best friend was next to Tseng today and avoiding eye contact.

"After multiple consultations – and some experiments – I'm confident that I have an idea about what's happening with the monsters of the world," Rufus continued. "Hojo had been conducting secret experiments in the basement of the old Shinra building. He didn't properly document what he was doing, but he did keep a personal notebook about the work."

Tseng shifted uneasily. The things Hojo properly documented were horrifying enough; he couldn't imagine what the man might be doing off the books.

"It seems Hojo was trying to come up with something more powerful than SOLDIER by injecting various monsters with Jenova cells, mako, or both," Rufus explained. "According to this journal, it looks like he started his research in Nibelheim—"

"—But we didn't find anything in that research," Reno interrupted.

"I'll get to that in a minute," Rufus said, nearly snarling. "It seems Jenova cells made them more aggressive, but mako rendered them rabid and, ahem, amorous."

The Turks looked stunned.

"What can we do about this?" Tseng asked, professional as always.

"We have a theory that the problem will take care of itself eventually," Rufus mused.

"But you're not convinced?" Tseng shifted his weight slightly.

"Hojo found that some species couldn't handle the injections and would die a horrible death due to disease," Rufus answered. "Based on what Rude and Reno have told me about some of the creatures they've encountered in Edge, I would say those species are taking care of themselves."

"But the others?" Rude piped up.

"We could wait it out, but I'm working to find a solution that can solve the problem quicker, however…" Rufus sighed with disappointment. "I suspect those AVALANCHE nuisances found something in Nibelheim that you didn't retrieve."

Reno and Rude looked at each other, their eyes narrowing (well, Reno's good eye). Rude's arms were already folded across his chest, and Reno followed suit. After all, Rude was the one who decided to break into their hotel room and steal the research. Reno's job was distraction, and he did his job just fine. He distracted the hell out of Tifa that night, so much so that he was still distracting her.

"Has there been any effect on humans?" Reno asked, getting Rufus' attention off of the Nibelheim caper. "I mean, we've all been injected with some level of mako, but we aren't violent and abnormally horny."

Rufus and the other three Turks stiffened at his word choices. Rude, Elena, and Tseng did look to Rufus for an answer, however.

"Well, first you'll have to remember that we were all in Midgar during the calamity and the Lifestream didn't pass through the city," Rufus explained. "But it also appears humans are immune from whatever the Lifestream caused, as SOLDIERs who were stationed in other parts of the world don't seem to have been affected."

Rufus paused, but no one else spoke.

"There's only one living human that we know of who was injected with Jenova cells," Rufus continued. "And as I'm sure you're all aware, Cloud Strife is currently missing."

Something sparked in Reno at that moment; a memory he had never given a second thought. He usually focused on the fun times and conversations with Tifa, but she at some point had mentioned something about Cloud.

He didn't leave because of the headaches or nightmares, he just didn't want to be with me.

Reno couldn't tell his colleagues about this since it would reveal Tifa had opened up to him and he didn't want to be used to get more information from her. It also wasn't that important in the grand scheme of things, since the effect of the Lifestream on one single person wasn't a priority.

He looked away from Rufus thoughtfully as he contemplated whether he would even tell Tifa about this theory. If he did, she might think Cloud was suffering from the same problems as the world's monster population and Reno's careful plans would go to waste. Shit, he had to tell her, which meant he was going to lose her before he even had a chance.

"How can we stop the monsters from reproducing and lower their numbers all at once, around the world?" it was Elena's turn to finally ask a question. Her voice snapped Reno out of his thoughts.

"I need more time to work that out," Rufus responded. "The scientists here have a hunch, and I'm going to let them keep working on it. In the meantime, we're going back to Edge."

Reno held back his excitement, even though he didn't know whether Tifa would be back in town yet. Rude looked over at him when Rufus said they were returning home and furrowed his brow.

Once the Turks were back in their apartment and packing, Reno took out his phone. He figured Rude was getting over it, so a simple text wouldn't be too devious. He couldn't tell her what he had learned over the phone or in messages, and depending on her response, he might not have much time to figure out how to word the information. Maybe Cloud really was done with her, which Reno found difficult to believe.

"Heading back to Edge. See you soon?" was all he sent.