"So wait—" Reno whispered, leaning closer to Rude, "—that little fucker Rufus is alive?"
         Rude nodded. It was true; he had received a call from Rufus Shinra earlier that morning, who asked the former Turk what he was doing these days, and would he bring the other Turks to meet with him. Rude had already told Elena the news, and now he had finally caught up with Reno, who was in the middle of a late lunch at the newly-reborn Seventh Heaven.
         "Do you know why he wants to see us?" Reno asked, still whispering.
         "He didn't say."
         "And you're sure it was him."
         "I'm positive."
         "Well damn." Reno slumped back in his chair and stared at the few small bits of food left on the plate in front of him. Neither of them said anything; after awhile, Tifa came up to their table.
         "Are you all done here, Reno?"
         "Yeah. Just bring me the check, please."
         "You're awfully tense all of a sudden."
         "You can thank your old buddy here for that," Reno replied, tilting his chin toward Rude. "He just gave me a piece of news that ruined my whole day."
         "And what would that be?"
         Rude started, "It's… err…"
         "None of your business," Reno finished.
         Tifa eyed them for a second, then shrugged. "All right," she replied, picking up Reno's dishes and taking them back behind the counter. The check was brought; Reno paid it, then joined Rude in saying goodbye to Tifa and leaving the bar. Once they were out in the grey streets of Edge—the "the" having been dropped from the popular vernacular within the last month or so—Reno leaned over to Rude and asked, "So when's this little meeting of his taking place?"

         The following morning, Reno, Rude, and Elena piled into a small van—an old Shinra model that had recently been fitted with a gasoline-powered engine—and drove from Edge toward the mountains in the east. This was the first time the three of them had been together in at least a couple of months, and they had all changed significantly since their Turk days. Elena's hair had grown long enough to brush her shoulders, and although Rude's trademark sunglasses still covered his eyes, the work shirt and jeans that he wore were a far cry from the crisp navy blue suit Reno had grown so accustomed to. On this hot summer day, Reno himself wore a white tank top and shorts; his goggles hanging around his neck and his pale, knobby feet clad in leather sandals as they worked the accelerator and brakes.
         Finally, they reached their destination: an old medical retreat located high in the Midgar Mountains. A recently erected sign near the entrance noted that it served as a refuge for geostigma victims, though the complex itself bore the telltale marks of older structures. As per Rufus' instructions, the three of them walked up the stairs toward the largest structure, a round, white building, and knocked on the door.
         "Come in," called a woman's voice. Reno didn't recognize it at first, but as he set his hand on the door handle, he realized that it belonged to Angela, Rufus' old secretary.
         Reno opened the door. Inside the room, directly in front of them, was a draped figure in a wheelchair; Angela stood off to the side.
         "Well, hurry it up and come inside," insisted the wheelchair person. This time, Reno recognized the voice immediately.
         "Rufus," he said, stepping further into the room. Behind him, Rude and Elena followed suit, and the door closed. "So it's true—you survived the Weapon's blast."
         Rufus chuckled, then broke out into a peal of laughter. With bandaged hands, he pulled the white cloth back from his head. The former Shinra President's hair was much shorter, as though his head had been entirely shaved a few months ago, and a bandage wrapped around his head and obscured his right eye. His left one squinted in the bright light of the room. "What, no 'I'm so glad you're alive, Mr. President'? No 'Mr. President' at all? Then again, I suppose I shouldn't have expected such bromides from the likes of you."
         "Cut the bullshit, Shinra. You don't sign my paychecks anymore, got that? I just want to know why the hell you called us all the way out here into the boonies. We both know it's not for pleasantries over tea and cookies—you want something from us."
         "Very perceptive. Do you know what it is that I want?"
         "Enlighten me."
         Rufus raised his left hand, unraveling its bandages with his right, revealing several black blotches that resembled ink stains. "A cure for this."
         The room fell silent. Then, Elena stepped forward.
         "Sir, I don't understand. We know as much about geostigma as anyone else. How would we be able to help you?"
         "By becoming Turks again, under my authority."
         The three guests from Edge froze upon hearing this new voice, which had come from an adjacent room. It was a voice that Reno had not expected to hear ever again.
         He looked over at Rude, who had taken off his shades and was now staring at the room's ajar door, his own eyes wide. A quick glance to Elena revealed a disquietingly calm expression on her face.
         "E-Elena… you know who that voice belongs to, right?"
         She didn't say anything, but simply averted her eyes and cleared her throat. Without giving much thought to this, Reno swiveled back around to face the door. The sound of hard leather shoes sounded from beyond it, and then, the creak of hinges.
         A man in a dark suit, with long black hair and a small mark right above his nose, stepped through the door. Reno felt his heart skip a beat, especially when the man turned and gave him a smile of the type that the former had only witnessed from him once or twice in all the years that they had known each other.
         "Hello, my friends," said Tseng. "I'm glad that you could all make it here today."
         Reno turned his attention back to Rufus. "Shinra," the redhead asked, his voice slightly cracking, "just what kind of cruel joke are you trying to pull?"
         "If you only knew just how cruel this 'joke' is to me," Rufus muttered.
         "Sir, if I may speak with Reno, Rude, and Elena alone for a few minutes," Tseng said.
         "Do what you want," Rufus replied, waving him off. "Take them back with you to whatever hell you crawled out of, for all I care."

         "Tseng, what…" Rude started after the front door had been closed behind them. The four were now standing on the patio just outside of Rufus' suite. "What's going on? Is it really you?"
         That particular smirk crossed Tseng's face; the type that only Tseng himself was capable of. "Do you want proof?"
         "If you wouldn't mind," replied Reno.
         "Very well. I shall tell you about what I left each of you when I died. To Elena I left my set of tortoise cufflinks. They are silver with jade inlays, and were originally given to me by my father when I became a Turk. In addition, they were hand-crafted in Wutai by Lord Godo's favorite artisan, and smuggled out of that country thanks to my father and his myriad connections. Does this answer satisfy you, Elena?"
         "Y-yes it does," she replied, rubbing her wrists and generally looking uneasy.
         "To Reno I left my dwelling at 246 Faris Boulevard, apartment number 302, Sector Eight, Midgar. One bedroom, one bathroom, a living room with several hand-painted scrolls and framed photographs on the wall, and an office cluttered with papers, weapons, and three boxes left unpacked from my move there five and a half years ago. Unfortunately, this gift didn't survive the Meteor disaster."
         Reno nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing in a tense swallow.
         "And finally, Rude. To him I left two katanas, which I received as a gift from a certain master weaponsmith in Wutai. Each of them is exactly half as long as the blade I had commissioned from this master, the Masamune. They were crafted specially for me as the old master had foreseen some trouble between myself and the Masamune's intended recipient sometime in the future, and upon our parting, he told me this: 'One with half his enemy's strength must work twice as hard to defeat him'. I had forgotten this advice by the time I was killed."
         Rude said nothing, but eventually nodded.
         "Also, about those twin blades. Rude, if you would be so kind, I need them back."
         Rude froze. "You mean…"
         "Don't worry, I have my doubts about Sephiroth returning, but we must be prepared, nevertheless."
         "But you're still saying it's possible," Reno said.
         "Yes." Tseng paced over to the railing and looked out over the forested hills. "I suppose I should tell you why I came back, and why I have chosen Rufus and you three to assist me."
         "Please do."
         "I am here, as Rufus has implied, concerning a possible cure for this 'geostigma'. This illness was created when the Lifestream began attempting to break down the base components of Jenova cells. Unfortunately for the Planet's human beings, it has chosen them as its test tubes."
         "You certainly know a lot about what's going on."
         "The Lifestream is incredibly vast in her knowledge."
         "Which is also how you learned to come back to life, I'm guessing?"
         Tseng narrowed his eyes at nothing in particular before answering, "In a manner of speaking. Technically, very technically, I am dead. However, I have learned to keep my mind and soul intact. I don't know how long it will last, though. Probably until the task is done."
         "And Sephiroth could come back as well, as you have," Rude added.
         "Yes, but let's not think about that now. At the moment, finding a viable solution to the geostigma crisis is my primary concern. If you haven't already guessed, Rufus' role in all this will be to fund geostigma-related concerns. He is still the richest man on the Planet, and, as you have seen, has his own incentives." Tseng smiled. "It did take me quite awhile to convince him to agree to my proposal, though."
         "Then what about us? What do you need us for?"
         "To don your suits and become Turks once more. The rest will be revealed to you in time. Is there anything else?"
         Elena looked like she was about to say something, but paused midway and closed her mouth. Tseng raised an eyebrow.
         "Hmm? What is it, Elena?"
         She shook her head. "Nothing."
         "Very well. So are you all with me?"
         Reno uncrossed his arms. "Yoshiro, you know I'll follow you to the ends of this world no matter what. Count me in." Rude and Elena seconded Reno's words.
         "Thank you all. I'm glad to hear it," Tseng replied. "The three of you will have to relocate out here, so I'll give you all a week to make those arrangements. I expect to see you then, in uniform."
         "Until next week, then," Reno said.
         "Yes. Now if you'll excuse me…" Tseng walked past them toward the front door, but paused as he gripped the handle. "By the way, before you leave, I just want you to know that it's great to see the three of you again. I'm sorry that I can't truly come back to life for you. For now, let's just make good use of the time we have together."
         Reno, Rude, and Elena stood there in silence as Tseng turned back toward the door and reentered Rufus' suite.

*****

         It was growing late in the day and Reno had not yet returned from his outing with Rude and Elena. He had not told Reeve where he was going, or why, only that he would explain later and be back as soon as he could. Without so much as a phone call, and Reno not picking up any of his, Reeve was starting to get worried.
         He went to Seventh Heaven, Reno's original destination, and happened to see Tifa standing at the front door.
         "Hello, Tifa," Reeve greeted. "Taking a break?"
         "Just waiting for Cloud to get back."
         "He's late?"
         "Yeah. Said he had to deliver something to Junon, but he should've returned by now."
         "Actually, I've been waiting for someone as well. Have you seen Reno recently?"
         "Not since this afternoon. He left with Rude shortly after Rude said something that upset him."
         "Oh?" Reeve found this highly unusual. "What did Rude say?"
         "I don't know."
         Reeve frowned and leaned back against the bar's outer wall. Tifa looked at him.
         "You and Reno are close, huh?"
         "Quite."
         Tifa seemed to consider Reeve's reply, then asked, "And Aeris? What about her?"
         "What do you mean?"
         "That first morning after Meteor, when we met in the church, you said something along the lines of, 'You're not the only one who lost her' to Cloud. What did you mean by that?"
         A faint smile crossed Reeve's lips. "All this time, you and everyone else have only known of half of my mission as Cait Sith—the half I conducted for Shinra."
         "You had another mission?"
         "Yes. It was done on behalf of Tseng, the Turk who originally hired me for Shinra's mission. I was to ensure that no harm came to his best friend Aeris." Reeve gazed up at the slowly darkening sky. "If you recall, I was with Cloud and Yuffie at the Ancient Capital when we found her, and just like them, I was unable to stop Sephiroth. We are, all three of us, failures. That is what I meant by those words."
         "Yuffie feels this way too?"
         "We've never talked about it, but surely you noticed a subtle change in her since that day."
         Tifa bowed her head. "I think I understand now."
         "You're the first person I've ever opened up to about this. Aeris had already been an acquaintance of mine for some time, but I never really got to know her—never became friends with her—until Cait Sith joined your group. We all lost a friend that day, and the three of us who witnessed that loss had been rendered helpless. It's something I can live with, but it's hard not to forget." He turned back to face Tifa. "Has Cloud ever said anything?"
         Tifa didn't reply, and they stood in silence for awhile. Then, Reeve's PHS rang. It was Elena.
         "Reeve, I'm sorry to have to call you like this, but it's been a rough day for all of us."
         "That's fine; I understand."
         "Rude and I just dropped Reno off at your guys' house. I saw you weren't in and figured I'd give you a call to let you know. Reno's too out of it to call you himself."
         "But he's all right?"
         "Yeah. Like I said… rough day."
         "Well, thanks for notifying me. I really appreciate it. Take care."
         "You too."
         As Reeve pocketed his phone, the distant roar of a motorcycle could be heard outside, steadily rising in volume.
         "That was Elena calling to tell me that Reno's home." He stood up to leave. "Please send my regards to Cloud."
         She nodded, and Reeve waved a goodbye, then walked off into the dim streets.

         Upon entering his building, a whiff of alcohol met Reeve's nostrils. He followed the scent to the master bedroom, where he found Reno asleep on top of the disheveled sheets, still dressed in the clothes he had worn earlier that day when he'd first left the house. Reeve stared at the prone figure anxiously, again wondering what Rude had told him in Seventh Heaven. Then, he felt a hand settle on his shoulder. Reeve spun around to get a look at their intruder.
         "I apologize if I startled you," Tseng replied. "Reno seems to have taken my… reappearance rather hard, wouldn't you say?"
         Reeve's jaw hung slack as he took a step backward, the only words managing to come out of his mouth being a whispered, "…the hell?"
         "It's a long story," said Tseng, "but for the time being, you should tend to your beloved."
         Nodding in reply, he glanced back into the bedroom, suddenly understanding Reno's inebriated state. "I… I just have one question."
         "Yes?"
         "Why are you here?"
         "Do you mean to ask, 'Why are you here in my home?', or 'Why are you here at all?'"
         "Both."
         Tseng smiled, an action that Reeve, considering the circumstances, found oddly disturbing. "I have returned to help rid this world of Jenova, once and for all. For that I need Reno's help."
         "So you're the reason."
         "Eh?"
         "Tifa told me that Reno got upset after Rude told him something in Seventh Heaven."
         "Hmph," Tseng replied, lowering his head slightly. "No, I don't think I'm the cause of that. None of the Turks knew of my return until after they came to the Healin Lodge. It was probably the news of Rufus' survival that Reno got upset about."
         "Rufus is alive?"
         "Yes, but barely. Perhaps you should have killed him when you had the chance, there, in his office."
         "I'm not—wait. How do you know about that?"
         "The tongue the Planet speaks is not foreign to me. I now serve her, and the Turks will soon regroup under me. Reno will give you the details once he awakens."
         Reeve nodded.
         "By the way, despite what I said earlier, I'm glad you didn't kill him."
         "Who, Rufus?"
         "Yes. It's just not in your character."
         "What about yourself? You've never wished him dead?"
         "Well, it's not in my character, either," Tseng turned to leave. "Besides, death would be far too good for him."

*****

         Later that week, Tseng came over to Rude and Elena's place to take back his two katanas. However, although he handled the swords quite a bit during his visit, he never physically removed them from the premises. Finding this odd, Rude reminded Tseng that the main reason for his visit was those swords. As Tseng shrugged on his suit jacket, he told Rude that he would simply use them when needed.
         "But what if neither of us are around when you come by to pick them up?"
         "Well I'll just have to find another way, eh?"
         Rude let this go, sensing that Tseng wasn't telling him something, but at the same time, assuring himself that if it was crucially important, Tseng would let him know.

         He and Elena packed many of their things that week, though not everything, as they planned on returning to Edge once all this was over, if it ever would be. In any case, they would have someplace to go on those rare days off. Though the orders came out of the blue, leaving little room for flexibility, Rude didn't have trouble adjusting to this sudden move, and he was sure that Elena was in the same boat. If anything, Reno was the one having the hardest time making this transition from Edge to the mountains, as Reeve was staying behind in the former.
         On the evening before the move, Rude sat alone in the kitchen, flipping through a newspaper and waiting for Elena to return from the hairdresser, where she was having her tresses cut, returning them to their previous length. Then, the house phone rang. Rude picked it up; it was Elena's friend—the former Turk Garamonde.
         "Hey Rude. Is Elena around?"
         "No. She should be back in a few minutes."
         "Ah. Well, I don't have much time, and you should know about this too. You know the Lifestream spring that cropped up here in Mideel village during the last major earthquake?"
         "Yes. What about it?"
         "For the past few weeks now, there's been… something not right about it. The animals won't go anywhere near the place, at least not like they used to. It's hard to explain."
         "I see…"
         "That's pretty much it. I'm just curious as to what the hell's going on. You haven't seen or heard anything up in Edge, have you?"
         "Nothing."
         "Right. I just hope it isn't a bad sign. It's got me kind of worried."
         "If we learn anything, we'll let you know."
         "Thanks, I appreciate it. I've got to go. Send my best to Elena."
         "Will do. Take care."
         "You do the same."
         Rude hung up the phone, then thought over Garamonde's call. It sounded like something wasn't right with the Planet—at least, this was the case in Mideel. This led him to wondering if it had anything with Tseng's resurrection, or his insinuations at the possibility of Sephiroth's return. He wandered into the living room and stared at the sheathed katanas sitting on their display rack over the mantle. Why hadn't Tseng taken even one of them with him during his recent visit, considering his stated desire to have them back?
         Carefully, Rude took down one of the swords. It felt lighter than it had before. Rude unsheathed it. The entire blade was tarnished black.