Water was raining on top of him, a stream of shining spheres that crashed reaching his skin. He thought he would never be able to wash that stink from himself. A smell of rotten, of death and fear. He was this close to die tonight. Being home again felt so good.

Reno's tomato red hair was in sharp contrast with his pale skin, he was just standing there while a shower rained on him like forever. Some soap foam running down his body, his eyes closed, head raised, lips partly open. Steam of vapor raised lazily around him, putting his senses to sleep. At some point he spit the water and passed his hand to the foggy shower window, leaving clear space where he could see the rest of his bathroom.

Shower shut, he got a towel around his waist and entering his room he got déjà vu. Almost expected her at the window again. Still wet, Reno went to his bed and collapsed there, leaving dark wet spots on the sheets. If tomorrow wasn't a day they expected abyssal events, he would sleep at least three days.

The Shield was dancing in front of his window, embracing the entire building with a green net of a life stream force. Shinra found a new way to protect the building and nothing, including a rocket could pass through it.

Nothing, but ... Akane passed it. What if that mutant was able to pass it too? What if he appears in his window now, just like she did?

Reno almost forgot about the snipers at the roof, the radars, the improved thermal sensors. He wasn't sure if they could catch a ghost, but he was so exhausted that he couldn't help himself and fell asleep.

Morning came earlier than the young Turk expected. Even before the alarm clock turned on, he was awakened by steps on the corridor in front of his door. He jumped and got a new pair of uniform, without spots of stain and blood on it. Putting his hair in shape and rushing through the door without even asking, everybody was going to the meeting hall.

When Reno entered, he wasn't the last, but most of them were already there, the place at the center where Rufus should stand was empty.

"Your coffee and breakfast" said the girl who was servicing the agents and left a cup with hot coffee, a few sugar bags and a still warm sandwich in dark paper in front of him, and moved to the next person.

"Are my eyes deceiving me?" Rude stood at his left and joked, when Reno pushed the sandwich away and drank the coffee on three large sips. "You are leaving the breakfast? Usually you are asking for a second."

"Usually we are not having dementor at the door "he paid him back."

Room soon became small. All the Turks, the current leader of Soldier with three of his best men, the leader of the guards, man around fifty and already grayed hair named Hawk, even Cloud Strife and Vincent entered and took a place among them.

People were whispering, worried, Tseng showing some diagrams at one of the tablets to Hawk, when Rufus Shinra entered and passed the room with a serious expression on his face, voices faded and there was silence.

He took his place before them, not taking a seat, none of them did, and crossing his sight over, he left a few seconds of silence.

"Soldiers" he started, loud, clear, gloomy. "Turks, friends… We lived with the fear our nightmare from a few years ago could return. Back then we lost many employees, civil people, beloved ones" with those words he looked at Cloud and Vincent. "Yesterday I was told a subject called Finis Vitae, the one responsible for the latest chaos is going to attack us. Tseng, please…

"The target is known for one of former members, Genesis, a copy." Tseng started. "For those of you who don't know, Genesis was one of the leaders of Soldier before the company collapsed. He ran riot against Shinra and in order to defeat us, he created multiple copies of himself and started degrading because of this. Before the rise of Sephiroth, he disappeared and we considered him dead. A few days ago that copy arrived in Midgar with the purpose to attack us."

"What is he?" one of the three Soldier members asked.

"A Mutant" said Tseng, whispers raised. "A very powerful one. We know a little about his nature, but we are not going to let him destroy us."

"And what do we know?

"We know he is almost invincible, he doesn't have a body like you and I, but can strike and hurt people."

"Then how are we going to beat him?" asked the same man.

"There are few things that can hurt him" said Vincent Valentine, all the eyes turned on him."His body deceased, yet his soul lives. He can't pass through the Shield because the force of the lifestream is deadly for him."

"Like kills like" Rude mumbled.

"We are already working on creating weapons powered by lifestream energy, but that hardly would be enough. We will need all the force we could use, every single man and woman of Shinra and support from outside."

"I would also like to present to you a new member, our ex-member, actually" Rufus took the floor again. "Akane is coming back to the Turks team."

For the first time people raised their voices and even took a step away from the short girl, who was giving the expression of a shy school girl. Reno didn't turn like others, but his eyes caught her for a while.

"But isn't she…"

"Isn't that the woman who killed our people?"

"How are you…"

"We have a contract" Rufus out voiced the angry and scared people, trying to keep the order in the room. "We need her to take down our target, and without a doubt she is the best for that. She knows more about the target than any of us."

"Yes, because she is a mutant too!" Hawk yelled, pointing at her.

"I advise you to watch your mouth" Vincent reacted faster than Rufus.

"A mutant protecting another mutant, how sweet!"

"And who will you collaborate with, when she stands against us and keeps killing us, huh, boss?"

A commotion started, people yelling at each other, arguing. Akane was standing at her place, ashamed.

"I forgot how fun it was at work" Rude shook his head.

"Leave, then."

Reno stood before the man and his folding rod rose at the face of Hawk, red haired was willing to use it.

"Walk through these doors and leave Shinra castle. You won't survive a minute against him."

"You survived" the man mocked him. "He can't be that scary since you with your two left feet made it."

Nobody was surprised when Reno hit him in the face and before the large man answered, he sent him on the floor with a second strike.

"I survived because "the mutant" Vincent Valentine saved my ass, ignorant douchebag! Now shut your mouth, or hit the road!"

Hawk was holding his broken nose and swearing at him, still in his feet.

Rufus was watching from his place, wondering if there's a point in scolding them for the chaos, or it would be a better idea passing it, like it never happened.

"You done, ladies?" Tseng interrupted. "Reno, do I have to remind you that personal weapons are only to be used against enemies, not your colleagues? Take your place, please! And Hawk, if you are not ok with the president's decision, make a complaint. This is not a marketplace to make scenes! Fifteen minutes break for a cool down. Act like adults, no fights!"

During the break, the crowd split into Turks, Soldiers, guards and non-Shinra members. Akane was crossing her arms and talking with Vincent and Cloud, none of them looked so happy.

"Seriously, aren't you gonna eat this?"

Reno shook his head, sitting on the window's sill and green rays of the Shield played on his back. Rude grabbed his sandwich and took a bite, it wasn't something special, but not too bad actually.

"I wonder where this will take us" Cissnei was unusually nervous."Do you really think we could trust her?" she nodded at Akane.

"I think we can" Rude got another bite. "Boss thinks she's dependable, so…"

"What is that contract, do you know anything?"

Reno was counting the ceiling lamps at every section and frowned with her words. He never told anyone about the last night, not even Rude.

"She is probably asking for a pet pony, who cares."

Rude almost choked with his sandwich, which made her laugh.

"I missed you" she told Reno. "Glad you are back. Nobody could replace your pepper sense of humor."

"At your service, madam!" he trumped. "Boss is coming back, let's go."

"Don't break any more noses; we need to finish this meeting at some point.

That "some point" went far in time. Every group made and shared their own plan, which all of them discussed, changed and refined. It was late afternoon when everybody left the meeting room exhausted. Cloud was about to share the final plan with his group, Vincent to find Yufie, Sid and Barret, Akane was noticed leaving with a huge bike she was almost disappearing on, yet driving with advanced skills.

Eagle flew over the canyon and found the little figure at the top of a rock, so high that only birds could reach. And mutants.

"Tired of being called a monster, aren't you."

"You are reading my mind." She turned her gaze at the man who just arrived. Just like her, Vincent sat at the edge and his red gaze crossed the desert of dust in front of them.

"Why you turn back, then?" he looked at her.

"Thanks for saving him" she answered another question he never asked."

"That Turk?" Vincent asked. "You have feelings for him?"

She shrugged.

"So that's all about."

"You were in love with someone from Shinra" Akane tried to defend herself.

"And look where I am now."

For a while they kept silent.

"We are what we are" the girl said."Genesis, Sephiroth, me… Even a human would seek their death if something like this happened to them."

"Monsters are made, Akane, not born. You and your Turk… There's no happy ending, trust my words."

"He told me to run" Akane was following a crack in the rock with her finger. "Told me to run and never come back."

"If I had that chance back then, I would listen" Vincent said.

Wind picked up and his red cloak spread behind him, like to cover him and her both from the wind.

"I wouldn't stay if… I think Rufus means no evil" she changed her line in the middle.

Vincent made a gesture of disappointment.

"Road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Then he jumped and she was left alone there. First stars start coming up in the sky. Something else was coming too.