Barret rushed through the streets of Midgar, dust kicking up beneath his feet and sticking to his pant legs. He did his best not to be too rude as he made his way to the clinic but also didn't hesitate to gently shoulder others out of his way if need be. Ever since people had realized the disappearances were a real thing and not some crazy rumor, he'd been in a state of perpetual worry, afraid that something would happen to Myrna. To say that she hadn't taken it well would have been a gross understatement.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much. I don't need you fretting about me like an overprotective mother hen."

He'd relented, somewhat, recognizing that maybe he was being overly paranoid, but had at least gotten her to agree to let him walk her to and from work every day. They got to spend a bit more time together this way, and she'd even admitted that she felt safer not making the trip on her own. His current rush was thanks to a minor accident at work today when a beam had fallen—thankfully no one had been hurt—and it had forced him to leave slightly later than normal. He didn't think she'd decide to leave the clinic and head home without him, but he didn't want to risk it by being any later. Rounding the corner, Barret heaved a sigh of relief as he saw her waiting outside the front doors. He hurried over to join her, Myrna raising an eyebrow as she turned and saw him.

"You were running through the streets, weren't you?" she asked, shaking her head slightly. "Don't try and argue, the dirt caked into your pants tells me everything I need to know."

His protest died on his lips. "I was just—"

"Worried that I'd head home without you, I know." Myrna took the sting out of the words by smiling at him before offering her arm. "Come on, it seems like we've both had a long day, let's get back."

Barret slipped his arm through hers—Myrna's head coming to rest on his shoulder—as they set off down the road at a much more leisurely pace. "You sound more tired than usual, any luck finding that cure?"

His wife sighed, her head gently shaking against him. "The experiment seemed so promising at first, and yet the end result was the same as all the ones before it. We're just as close to figuring out how to cure mako poisoning as we were years ago when it first showed up."

"I know without a doubt that I don't understand half of what you do, but . . . isn't that strange? Has it ever taken this long to find a cure for an illness before?"

"Never," Myrna said, her frustration clear in her voice. "But we've also never been so ignored before either."

Barret frowned. "Ignored? What does that mean?"

"Every other major illness we've discovered and worked to find a cure for had support from Shinra researchers. That collaboration—and funding—is what allowed us to find solutions many times in the past. Except this time, Shinra continues to turn a blind eye, refusing to acknowledge that mako poisoning is real—or even a threat."

Turning them around a corner, he glanced over at her. "How does that make any sense? Didn't you say people are still dyin'?"

"They very much are. Thankfully, the numbers remain low, but it's still too much. We should have been able to stop this by now." The pain and bitterness in her voice were more than enough to show how much this meant to her.

"Why are people okay with this? Shouldn't there be more of an uproar? I haven't heard anything at all except people grumbling about the food situation getting worse and more recently the disappearances."

Myrna snorted in disgust. "Because Shinra has full control of the narrative. They give everyone a television but then dictate what gets shown. If they don't like what you're trying to tell people then it won't be broadcast, it's as simple as that. I'm sure if they could they'd try to suppress the food complaints, but thankfully they can't stop people from talking. Yet."

"Then let's talk," he said, an anger growing deep in his chest. "I'll shout it from the damn rooftops if I have to."

"I wish it was that easy, but something this major? People are hesitant to trust. They've come to rely so heavily on Shinra that they won't believe anything we say. Trust me, we've tried. The only ones who truly understand are those who've lost someone."

Barret barely refrained from grinding his teeth, his free hand opening and clenching repeatedly. It was just so frustrating. There was a clear, painfully obvious problem. Why would they not want to fix it? It didn't make any damn sense. "You still think they're the ones at fault? That's why they don't care?"

Myrna nodded firmly. "You saw what happened since the Barrier fell. Just like before, the trees died and the desert set in. Once could possibly have been a coincidence, but the exact same thing happening back to back? I'm convinced the reactors are responsible, even if I can't explain why."

They reached their house and Barret pulled away from her to open the door, holding it open and following in after her. Closing it behind him, he flicked the lock as Myrna turned on the lights and went into the kitchen. He took a moment to use the bathroom and change into some cleaner clothes before joining her.

"I've got the salad," she said, gesturing to the bowl in front of her. "Could you get a pot boiling for some pasta and then heat up the sauce we made last week?"

"Of course," Barret replied, moving to do as she asked. Once the pot was on the stove and the sauce was in the microwave he leaned against the wall, watching her cut some carrots into chunks. "I believe you about the reactors," he said, returning to their earlier conversation. "I don't know if you've already heard or not, but the new reactor outside the city finally finished and there's already rumors that the area around it has started dying."

Myrna froze for a split second before she resumed chopping. "I hadn't heard about that, no."

"Makes you wonder how they work. Cause to me, it feels an awful lot like they're suckin' the life out of the very earth itself in order to generate power." The concept sickened him. Yes, everyday life had certainly gotten much nicer and more convenient with the benefits of mako power, but if it came at the cost of destroying the environment . . . There had to be a better way.

"That must be why they built it so far out," Myrna said, adding the spaghetti to the now boiling water. "If it overlapped with the already dead area around the city then it wouldn't be able to generate as much power."

"So they know. They know exactly what they're doing."

"It certainly seems like it . . ."

The kitchen went silent except for the noise of the boiling water as they each got lost in their thoughts. Barret could hardly believe it. They had no definitive proof, but all the signs pointed toward the reactors being the root of the problem. And if mako really was the extracted essence of the planet, then who knew how safe it was. There was just so much they didn't know, so much they didn't think to question. He wanted to continue to trust Shinra, but doing so blindly was becoming harder and harder by the day.

Once the pasta had finished cooking, Barret mixed it together with the heated sauce in a serving bowl before taking it and the salad out to the dinner table. Myrna followed after him with bowls and utensils and they sat down ready to eat. Except that right as Barret finished serving them each a generous portion of the food, a loud knock at the front door interrupted them. He glanced over at his wife in surprise. "Were you expecting someone?"

Myrna shook her head, looking at the door with a puzzled expression. "No . . ."

Pulling the napkin off his lap, Barret got to his feet and walked to the door. He flipped the lock and pulled the door open enough to see outside, while still bracing it against his foot just in case. Some of his tension drained as he took in the two men wearing Shinra outfits standing on the doorstep. "Can I help you?"

"Routine inspection, sir. It'll only take a minute," one of the men said, taking a step towards him.

Barret didn't move, frowning. "Inspection? What the hell are you talking about, there's never been anything like this before."

"New policy, from up top. Didn't you hear? We're looking into those missing people, gotta make sure there's nothing suspicious going on."

He did faintly recall hearing something along those lines at work, but the concept that they could be involved with the disappearances was so ridiculous he almost laughed out loud. "We've got nothing to do with any of that."

"Then you've got nothing to hide and it shouldn't be an issue to let us in," the other soldier said, also taking a step closer. "We'd already be halfway done by this point, although now you're starting to seem mighty suspicious."

Grumbling, Barret stepped out of the way and opened the door wider. "Fine, but get this over with quickly. Tryin' to have dinner with my wife."

The two men brushed past him, splitting up and going in opposite directions around the room once they were inside. Barret followed behind one of them, keeping an eye on the other. Myrna remained seated at the table, a clearly upset look on her face.

"Nice place you've got here," the one closest to him said. "Dinner smells great too. Is it just the both of you? No one else home?"

Barret nodded. "Yes. What exactly are you looking for? You're not going to find some secret room with a bunch of people stashed away in this small ass house."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, we know that. We're going to need the two of you to come with us now."

It took Barret a moment to fully process the words, and by the time he had, the soldier had already spun around, advancing on him while drawing the baton at his side. This couldn't be happening. How had a pair of burglars gotten their hands on full sets of Shinra gear?

"The hell are you talking about?" he demanded, taking a step back and raising his fists. His heart sank as he saw the other soldier approaching Myrna, similarly armed and too far for him to do anything to help.

"I feel like I was pretty clear," the man said with a smirk. "The two of you are going to be coming with us in order to help realize Shinra's goals. Don't do anything stupid and no one has to get hurt."

"Myrna, run!" Barret yelled, throwing himself at his attacker. All he could do was hope that she'd be able to avoid getting hurt before he was able to reach her.

The soldier let out a loud sigh, shaking his head. "Fine, I guess we'll do this the hard way then, old man." He swung his baton directly at Barret's head, the heavy weapon whistling through the air.

What he failed to realize was that Barret was no stranger to combat. Before he'd met Myrna and found his new job, he'd been an underground boxer and while it had been ages since he'd last fought, his muscle memory was still fully intact. Not flinching, Barret brought up his arm, deflecting the attack while at the same time taking a step forward and throwing a punch of his own.

The man's eyes shot open wide in shock, but unfortunately, his armor absorbed most of the force of the blow that connected with his chest. Not hesitating, Barret took another step, using his forward momentum to drive as much power as he could manage into his next strike. This time, the soldier stumbled back, gasping for breath. Before he could recover, Barret grabbed the chair he'd been sitting in and spun, swinging it with all his might into the man's torso.

There was a loud, shattering crack as the chair exploded into wooden fragments, the soldier dropping to the ground unmoving. Barret knew the blow wasn't enough to kill him—he didn't want to go that far anyway—but the man wouldn't be moving again anytime soon either. Spinning to go help Myrna, he instead froze up. For some reason, she hadn't moved and there was no way he'd be able to cross the room in time. In that moment, he realized he'd made a fatal mistake that she wouldn't be paralyzed by fear in a situation like this.

"Stay away if you don't want your wife getting hurt!" the other man yelled, already advancing on her with his weapon raised.

For her part, Myrna calmly got to her feet and Barret watched in fascinated horror as a blast of air erupted from her outstretched palm and smashed into the soldier, sending him flying into the wall with a loud crash before he slumped to the ground motionless. Turning to face him, his wife sighed as she took in the wooden fragments strewn across the room. "Did you really have to break the chair?"

Barret's mouth opened and closed as he struggled to come up with something to say. He wanted to believe it had been a figment of his imagination, but there was no denying what he'd seen—not with the dent in the wall or the unconscious man on the ground.

"You . . . You're—You're one of them!" The betrayal felt like a hand squeezing his heart. He'd loved her with all his being and yet she'd been keeping a secret this large from him.

Myrna visibly winced. "I'm still me."

"What are you even doing here?" he growled. "You a spy, reporting back on everything we do?!"

"I—Yes, Barret, I am."

He froze, shocked that she'd actually admitted to it. "This whole damn time . . ." he whispered.

His old rage was growing, deep inside him. The flame that had gotten him in so much trouble in his younger days, that only Myrna had managed to finally quench. She'd betrayed him. Lied to him since the day he'd first met her. Did she even love him, or was he just a convenient fool to help with her disguise?

"You—your people—you're responsible for all of our suffering! The pain and hardship we had to go through every, fucking, day, it's all your fault! And you think you can just use me to further your goals? I want you gone."

"Barret, please!" she pleaded. "It's not like that, I—"

"Get. Out!" he screamed, his vision going red. "Or else I'll drag you to Shinra myself and tell them everything." He took an angry step toward her.

"Please, Barret, if not for me, then for your daughter's sake!"

The words slammed into him like a boxer's punch, knocking the air from his lungs just as easily. "What are you talking about?" he gasped.

She smiled softly at him, her eyes wet. "I'm pregnant with your daughter. You're going to be a father, Barret."

"How could you possibly know that?" he asked in a whisper, his eyes flicking to her flat stomach.

"We—Cetra—can tell the gender of our children the moment they're conceived. I knew as soon as it happened last month."

A month. A whole damn month and he hadn't even noticed. Barret collapsed into the nearest chair, his anger slowly beginning to drain away. He ran a hand over his face, through his hair. "Shit." He expected her to complain about his language, but Myrna just stood there, biting her lip as she watched him. "How much of it was even real?" he asked slowly, a part of him dreading the answer.

"All of it," she replied without hesitating. "Or at least near enough. I'll admit that when we met for the very first time I thought a relationship might help me to blend in better, but all of that changed once I got to truly know you. I love you, Barret. More than I should, more than my mission, that's for sure. I've hated keeping this a secret from you, it's torn me apart for years. That's why I didn't hesitate to finally show you the truth tonight."

He wasn't sure if he should trust her, but his earlier rage was already fading away into a dull numbness. Well over a decade together and he'd never even suspected she'd been keeping such a massive secret from him. Myrna had always seemed so . . . normal. So Human. Weren't the Ancients supposed to be monsters, determined to wipe people like him out of existence? And yet, she'd become a nurse, literally saving lives.

"Wait, if you've got magic then why not use that to save people? Couldn't you have been curing all those mako infections?"

"It doesn't work like that," Myrna replied, looking away from him for a moment before meeting his gaze, tears pooling in her eyes. "I tried, Barret, I tried so hard. Even though it could have exposed me and compromised my mission I cast every healing spell I knew and none of them did anything to help. I've never heard of anything like it."

The look of pain in her eyes was too much for him to take. Getting to his feet, Barret walked over and hugged her tightly, her arms wrapping around him. "I guess that helps explain why you hate Shinra so much," he said with a small laugh. "Is that why they showed up tonight? Do they know who you are?"

Her head shook against his chest. "I don't think so. I don't know how they could, not with how careful I've been. Plus, if they had, I don't think they would have dismissed me so easily."

It was a valid point, but it didn't help to explain what had just happened. Thinking back on what the soldier he'd fought had said right before Barret had attacked, the pieces began to slowly click together. "It almost sounded like Shinra is the one behind the kidnappings . . ."

"I had the same thought," Myrna said softly. "I'm just as surprised as you. I obviously don't think much of them, but kidnapping their own people? I never imagined they would stoop that low."

"But why? Are they trying to build fear and then direct it towards your people? It hardly makes sense, there have to be any number of better ways to accomplish that."

"Well, whatever the reason, I can't imagine it's good. Do you think we're still in danger? Now that they've tried and failed? What if—"

Whatever else she was going to say was cut off by a frantic pounding on the front door.

Pulling apart, Barret eyed the door warily. The knocking had sounded considerably different—filled with panic—but it could still be some kind of trap. He grabbed one of the fallen batons and hefted it in his hand before cautiously walking back to the door. "Stay back," he cautioned Myrna. "If I give the word we escape out the back, okay?"

She nodded once, her tears gone and fiery determination taking their place.

Barret opened the door for the second time that night, weapon at the ready, but instead of more soldiers, he saw two, scared-looking teens. They both had black hair with red bandanas wrapped around their heads and they looked vaguely familiar—he was pretty sure he'd seen them running around the neighborhood occasionally.

"Sorry to disturb you so late, but please, we need help," one of them said in a rush. "Have you seen a tall girl recently? Brown hair, up in a ponytail? She was with us just a moment ago and then we went around a corner and she vanished. We thought she was just playing a joke at first, but then she never showed up."

"With all the recent disappearances we're worried she was taken," the other said, right after. "If you saw anything, no matter how small you think it might have been, please let us know."

If Shinra hadn't just attacked his home, Barret would have wished the two of them luck and not gotten involved. But now it was personal. "I think I might have an idea who took her. Let's make 'em pay, yeah?"

Realistically, he knew that right now he should probably be having a long conversation with his wife, what with the shocking revelation she'd just shared. Except, at the same time, he felt like it might be better to take a moment to finish collecting himself first. The last thing he wanted was to say something that could permanently damage their relationship, and taking his frustrations out on Shinra seemed like the perfect way to do that.

"Barret?" Myrna asked, concern clear in her tone. "What are you—"

"No one threatens me or my family and gets away with it," he stated, not turning to look at her. "Lock the door. Don't let anyone inside except for me. I'm going with these kids to get their friend back and to get to the bottom of this."

". . . Fine, but don't do anything stupid," she said, and just from her tone of voice he could tell she was frowning.

Barret nodded firmly and stepped outside, closing the door behind him and waiting to hear the sound of the lock before he turned to face the two teens. "So, where did she go missing?"

"Right there," one of them said, pointing toward the intersection that was two houses down on the right.

He hadn't expected it to be so close, although it did explain why they'd knocked on his door. Did that mean Shinra had been out in full force across the entire block? While it was tempting to go knocking on doors to check if their neighbors were alright, Barret also knew they had to hurry if they were going to have any chance of finding more of the attackers. One option would have been to interrogate the unconscious soldiers in his house once they woke up, but there was no guarantee they'd talk or even when that might be. A part of him was a little concerned to leave them there with Myrna, except after her little magical display he felt like she was probably more capable than he was at keeping them under control.

His wife was an Ancient. And pregnant.

It was an overwhelming amount to take in, but for now, Barret forced himself to push it to the back of his mind in order to deal with the issue immediately at hand. "Okay. Keep your eyes peeled for any Shinra soldiers, they're who we're after."

"Wait . . . Shinra? You're joking."

"Wish I was, but they just forced their way into my house and attacked me and my wife. I'm willing to bet they're the ones who grabbed your friend. Now let's go before we lose all signs of them."

The three of them hurried down the street, Barret leading the way with one of the teens on either side. For too long they walked in complete silence, not seeing anyone else at all. That alone was strange enough to cause the hairs on Barret's arms to stand on end. It wasn't nearly late enough for this lack of people. What had Shinra done?

Just as he was about to give up hope of finding anything, two shadowy figures stepped out of a house ahead of them. That in itself wasn't particularly strange, but what had really caught his attention was the motionless body they were carrying between them. Grabbing the teens by the arms, he dragged them into the shadows of a nearby house.

"That's what we've been looking for. Now we just have to follow them and see what they're doing with the people. Should lead us right to your friend." He hoped.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" the boy on his right asked, fidgeting in place. "This is wrong."

"Technically, you're right, we should, but this way we can help more people. I know it's hard, but trust me, we're going to save them."

Barret waited for the two suspicious figures to be far enough away that they shouldn't be able to detect their followers, but not so far that they'd risk losing them. Stealth wasn't exactly his strong suit, but the abductors seemed to be paying almost no attention whatsoever to their surroundings, making it very easy to keep track of them from a distance. He'd expected them to make their way deeper into the city, assuming their end goal was Shinra Tower, but instead, they were heading for the outskirts. After roughly ten minutes of following them, the two soldiers finally arrived at a huge warehouse where a large door slid open to give them access before slamming shut behind them.

"What now? We storm the building?" one of the teens asked, cracking his knuckles.

"No," Barret said softly, cursing under his breath. "This just got a lot more complicated. Look at the size of that place, we wouldn't stand a chance trying to force our way in there with only the three of us. We're going to have to find some help and come back later."

"I bet we could get some of the Fangs to join in."

Barret had no idea who the Fangs were, but if they already had people in mind then that was more than he could say. This wasn't exactly something he could just bring up at work and he was hesitant to go to his old boxing acquaintances for help on such a delicate matter.

"Sounds like a plan. We'll meet up again tomorrow, form a plan, and then end this after nightfall. Alright?"

The two of them nodded firmly, determined looks in their eyes.

"Good. Now, I need to get back home. My uninvited guests might be able to give us a better understanding of what exactly is waiting for us in there." Barret gave the warehouse one last look before turning and heading back the way they'd come. He wasn't sure what the hell he'd just gotten himself into but was determined to see it through to the end.


The spy's identity is revealed! I know there was a lot of speculation on who it might be, but Myrna ends up being the other character I mentioned in the notes all the way back in Chapter 4 as the third, Cetra-fied character. This reveal obviously has a pretty massive impact on Barret who's grown up and spent his entire life in a society that vilifies the Cetra. He's a reasonable person though, and this doesn't end up driving a wedge between our soon-to-be parents. Meanwhile, two completely unidentifiable teens show up saying that their friend has gone missing, and good guy Barret jumps into action, no longer content to just sit back and let Shinra have a free pass. Unfortunately, this turns out to be a much larger operation than they'd expected and they retreat for now, looking for help to rescue the captured individuals...

Next up we've got another mid-week update, and those of you who are Vincent fans should be particularly excited. ;)


Next Chapter: Vote