Elena felt the knot in her stomach tighten as the Shinra helicopter's drone echoed throughout the crater, growing fainter and less distinct by the moment. She did her best to blot the whirring blades from her mind as the explosions from the grenades she tossed took them from her ears. To her right, Tseng stood, pistol at the ready and eyes focused upon the black clouds her projectiles had left behind. Three figures emerged from the smoke, and she narrowed her eyes at them.
         They had ambushed her, Tseng, and Reno not long after the three Turks had finally located Jenova's head, a slimy, half-decomposed mess of a thing. Tseng ordered Reno to take off with their find, and without him and Elena. Even before she got a good look at their attackers, she got the impression from Tseng's orders that he was willing to do anything to prevent these strangers from getting Jenova's head. Now, as they stepped through the smoke, she understood why.
         All three of them were dressed in black outfits, and had grey hair and eyes. The smallest one in particular, a lean young man with short, straight hair that partially obscured his face, harbored a certain ferocity that unnerved her.
         "Kadaj," said the skinny one with the longest hair. "Mother's been taken away. What shall we do with these two?"
         The small man, Kadaj, replied, "We'll find out where they sent her, of course."
         As the silver-haired men drew closer, Elena shot a glance at Tseng in expectation of an order, but was startled to see that he had changed. His face, if it was possible, now looked several years younger, and his hair was some inches shorter and pulled back into a cascading ponytail. He wore a short, black military jacket and a turtlenecked shirt with a mythrill SOLDIER insignia on the collar, and his Turk suit trousers and shoes had been replaced by black SOLDIER fatigues, a holster-equipped belt, and laced black boots. Two slender sheathed swords crisscrossed his back. Tseng addressed the men.
         "Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz."
         The three stopped in their tracks. "You seem familiar with us…" the long-haired one replied.
         "I don't expect you to recall who I am, but I remember you three all too well," Tseng answered. "Yazoo, it looks like you survived that little incident at the Shinra Building. It's a shame what happened to Ziv, though."
         The long-haired one, who Elena guessed was this "Yazoo", said, "You heard about that?"
         "Of course. The men you fought are good friends of mine."
         A frowning Kadaj interrupted, "Where's Mother? Where have you taken her?"
         Tseng sighed. Looking at him from out of the corner of her eye, Elena thought that he seemed a little hesitant. Finally, he crossed his arms over and behind his head and drew out two katanas simultaneously, one in each hand. Elena recognized them as the twin blades that Tseng had bequeathed to Rude. "I don't want to have to fight you," he said, "but, circumstances being what they are, you give me no choice." He turned to Elena. "Ready yourself. These men are all excellent fighters. Watch out for Kadaj, especially."
         Like Tseng, she too had heard about Reeve and Reno's encounter at the Shinra Building, but suspected that there was something else going on here. "Do you know them?"
         "They used to be in SOLDIER," was all Tseng would say before throwing himself into battle.

*****

         After Reno returned to Healin and presented both his report and the remains of Jenova's head to Rufus, the blond man sat silently for a moment before speaking.
         "I'll have Angela look into procuring a special container for this thing," Rufus said, staring down at the head, which lay in a plexiglass cylinder sitting on the floor. "Stay close by in the meantime. I may have need of you again."
         "Sure," Reno shrugged, slipping an unlit cigarette into his mouth. "Mind if I step outside for a bit?"
         Rufus sighed. "Obviously, you've already decided to take a break whether I want you to or not. Go ahead."

         Reno walked out onto the small patio and lit up. Rufus hated the smell of cigarette smoke, and Healin Lodge regulations forbade smoking indoors anyway, so he had little choice in the matter. He plucked the cigarette from his mouth and exhaled, staring at it as he did. Reeve wanted to quit smoking, but he wasn't sure if he could give it up himself. Certainly, it wasn't good for him, but all the same, it provided him with an easy outlet for his stress.
         As he smoked and watched the sun set in the distance, Reno heard footsteps come up the ramp. He turned his head to see Rude, carrying a box of medical supplies, and waved to him. Rude replied with a nod and said, "I'll be right back."
         Rude entered Rufus' suite and came back outside a couple of minutes later, this time without the box. He walked over to Reno. "How did the mission go?"
         "We found Jenova's head, but ran into some trouble with three silver-haired guys. One of 'em looked like Yazoo, too. Tseng ordered me to come back here with the head. He and Elena are still down there, as far as I know."
         "I see…"
         "Don't worry about Elena, big guy. Tseng'll take care of her."
         "Hmm."
         Reno cocked an eyebrow at his friend, sensing that there was something he was keeping to himself. "What's wrong?"
         Rude seemed a little startled by this question. "Elena didn't tell you?"
         "Tell me what? We didn't talk much on the way to the crater. Come to think of it, she was a lot quieter than usual today."
         "Hmm."
         "There you go again. So what didn't Elena tell me?"
         "We broke up last night."
         "Oh…" Reno hadn't been expecting this sort of response, thinking that maybe they'd just had a fight or something. "I'm sorry to hear that, man."
         "It's all right. It's not like it was messy or anything. We simply decided that it wasn't working out."
         Reno nodded, even though he didn't quite understand how such a breakup worked. He took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled a thin stream of smoke.
         "You know, now that I think about it, I'm not surprised Elena didn't tell me while we were flying to the crater."
         "Why? Because Tseng was there?"
         "Yeah. He tried to help get you two together. Maybe she didn't want to disappoint him."
         "I don't think Tseng would've taken it badly."
         "Same here, but you know Elena."
         "Yeah, but not as well as I thought I did. And vice versa."
         Pained, Reno stared at his friend. Even though the breakup had sounded amicable, he could tell that Rude felt dejected by the whole situation. Reno drew closer and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a warm smile.
         "Let's sneak on over to Seventh Heaven and get a drink. We haven't been there since that time you told me Rufus was alive. A pint of beer and some of Tifa's cooking'll cheer you up."
         "I'm not sure now is a good time."
         "What do you mean?"
         "Those silver-haired men are after Jenova's remains, right? What if they find out that you've brought her head back here? And what'll happen if they get their hands on it?"
         Reno rubbed the back of his neck. "I see your point."
         At that moment, the door opened and Angela's head peeked out. "Sirs? The President wishes to speak to both of you."
         Reno extinguished his cigarette and joined Rude as he reentered Rufus' suite.

*****

         The water on the surface of the pond was still, just the way Vincent liked it.
         He was in his favorite place, the inner sanctum of the Citadel of the Ancients, where he could lose himself in thoughts and memories. Only six months ago had he finally left the cave behind the waterfall on the Great Continent. Even though Lucrecia remained within her crystal prison, as always, it took a great deal of time before Vincent realized that staying there was unhealthy, and he had to let go. Still, he could not give up his life of solitude, and thus turned his sights north, to the final resting place of another young woman he once knew, another who lost her life when she followed her feelings.
         As Vincent settled down beside a treelike husk of petrified coral, a ripple radiated out from the pond before him. He stood up again, flexing the fingers constrained by his metal glove as he stared at the ever-growing ripple, ready for anything. Then, a figure broke through the surface, gasping for air; it held onto another, smaller figure. Vincent slowly edged forward, then tore off his cloak and holster and waded into the water once recognition struck him.
         "Vincent," Tseng gasped as he treaded water, trying to keep an unconscious Elena from slipping beneath the depths. "Help me get her to shore. Please."
         Vincent nodded and did as he was requested.
         Once on dry land, Vincent watched in silence as Tseng checked Elena's vital signs. They were both injured, though unlike Elena, Tseng bore no cuts or bloodstains. Instead, a green glowing haze hovered about him, as though he might disintegrate at any moment. Vincent stepped toward them, cloak in hand.
         "I can take care of things from here. You should get some rest."
         Tseng replied, "I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine."
         "No you aren't. Whatever you were fighting against nearly destroyed you. Even a ghost like yourself is not invincible."
         "So I'm a 'ghost', now?"
         "I'd heard the rumors, that you'd come back to the world of the living." Vincent eyed Tseng warily. "How did you do it? Jenova cells?"
         "I'm merely here at the behest of the Planet."
         "Hmm," was all Vincent would say. He covered Elena—still unconscious but breathing steadily—with his cloak and drew out a Cure materia he kept on him in case of emergencies. He wasn't sure if it would heal Tseng's unusual wounds, but he cast a high-level curative spell on him all the same. "Who attacked you?"
         "Some former colleagues."
         "Eh? You mean from Shinra?"
         "Yes. One-time S-Class SOLDIERs like myself. We were an experimental class of sorts, limited to just one unit. Unlike other SOLDIER classes, we were never exposed to mako or Jenova cells, and had to rely on our own strength. The three we encountered however, though, obviously had Jenova's cells coursing through them, and thirsted for more."
         Vincent pondered Tseng's troubling words. "Do you know what happened to them to make them that way?"
         "I'm still trying to figure that out myself." Tseng stared down at Elena and muttered, "There is one thing that worries me about them more than the Jenova cells. Well, about one in particular: the youngest one, codenamed 'Kadaj'."
         "Which is?"
         "The weapon he wielded bore the spirit of the Masamune."
         Vincent said nothing, but simply continued attempting to heal the already dead Turk sitting across from him. Tseng held his palm out. "That's enough. Although I appreciate the effort, I'm not sure that it's helping."
         "So you intend to die here? To truly die?"
         "Not at all. Besides, if you want to kill me, you'd be better off using this instead." Tseng dug something out of his trouser pocket with his other hand and pressed it in Vincent's palm.
         Upon opening his hand and seeing what Tseng had placed there, Vincent stared back at him and wondered if he was insane. Tseng smiled—either with kindness or weariness, Vincent wasn't sure—as the world around them grew silent, and the waters of the pond finally regained their stillness.

*****

         It had been an unexpected move, but a nefarious one. Not only had they kidnapped Marlene, but the three silver-haired men who had given him so much trouble earlier that day had also taken Denzel and several other geostigma-afflicted children to the Forgotten Capital. After Reno and Rude had delivered the news to him—and rejected his request to rescue them so he could go talk to Rufus—Cloud took off on his bike, Fenrir, for the ancient city. Fortunately, he managed to successfully fight off the villainous trio with the help of his friend Vincent, who appeared from out of nowhere in the nick of time. Unfortunately, save for Marlene, all of the children had already been corrupted by Kadaj and whisked away to parts unknown.
         Vincent had plenty to tell Cloud after the battle: about the silver-haired men and Geostigma, and their relationship to Jenova. It was a lot for Cloud to take in, though he got the impression that he wasn't being told everything. Nevertheless, he put this concern aside, as there were more pressing matters to take care of, and as soon as possible. He mounted Fenrir and asked Vincent to meet him in Edge.
         Cloud sped through the shell and coral structures at a blistering rate, Marlene securely strapped down in front of him. They soon broke through the forest into Bone Village, and the dim light of early morning. Even at this hour, there were one or two archaeologists chipping away at the bedrock. He stopped and dismounted, then walked up to one of the workers and asked her if she had a PHS he could borrow, since he'd lost his own and Vincent wasn't of any help. Fortunately she did, and, after a moment of struggling to recall Cid's number, dialed the appropriate digits. Their second anniversary reunion would have to be pushed up a few days, and if anyone could gather his scattered friends together in time to thwart Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz's plans, it was the Captain of Rocket Town.

*****

         Cait Sith could tell that Nanaki wasn't enjoying this, but they had no other choice. The construction of Cait's new moogle had been hampered by numerous setbacks, and if they all had to head into battle, he needed some form of transportation. As they left the Gold Saucer in Cid's new airship, the Shera, Nanaki muttered, "At least you aren't as heavy as Cloud said you were."
         "Really? Maybe yer just stronger than ya think."
         "Aww, c'mon Red, it's just for a little while," said Yuffie, who leaned against the bridge's front railing. She was the first person Cid had picked up after getting the call from Cloud. Nanaki had been the second, and Cait the third. "And only if we have to fight those silver-haired creeps Cloud told Cid about. Might as well get used to it while we have the time."
         "This whole situation fuckin' stinks," said Cid, sucking deeply on a cigarette from his place at the ship's wheel. "A couple days from now marks the second anniversary of us savin' the Planet, and conveniently enough, a bunch of Sephiroth wannabes show up out of nowhere."
         "Well actually, we had a run-in with one of 'em a couple months ago, me and Reno, and Nanaki and Serchiro—Reno's brother," Cait replied. "His name was Yazoo. There was another one named Ziv, but he's not with this new group."
         "Oh yeah? Were they tough?"
         "Very much so," Nanaki said. "We managed to subdue them, and even watched Ziv die, but not before he defeated the two companions who were traveling with Serchiro and I."
         "Yeah, and I—meaning Reeve—woulda been dead if Nanaki hadn't shown up with his new Float materia."
         "What? Red, you have a new kind of materia?" Yuffie exclaimed.
         "Quiet down," Cid barked. "I'm about to move the Shera in for a landing so we can pick up Barret. North Corel ain't exactly airship-friendly terrain, so I need to concentrate."
         "Okay," shrugged Yuffie, edging closer to Nanaki and leaning over, examining his comb. Cait glared up at her and whispered, "Still addicted to the materia chase, eh Princess?"
         "You know what they say: old habits die hard."
         Cait nodded and grinned. "Speakin' a which, how's yer stomach been treatin' ya on this trip?"
         Suddenly, Yuffie clamped her hands over her mouth and rushed out of the bridge as Cait chuckled to himself. The Shera began its descent to the rocky, barren terrain below.

*****

         Though Reno was busy piloting the long-range Shinra helicopter he and Rude were now in, the fireworks the bald Turk had arranged had managed to catch his eye. "You were right—they're flashy as hell," Reno laughed. "Was this your first attempt at bomb-building?"
         "Yeah. Elena taught me a few things, but I haven't had a good excuse to use what I learned until recently. Put those bombs together a couple weeks ago out of stuff we found in Midgar."
         "Where in Midgar? At the factory that the Gold Saucer used to get their fireworks from?"
         "Very funny."
         "Anyway, I hope it takes care of those bastards. I don't want to have to face Yazoo again."
         As Reno continued to guide the helicopter back toward Edge, the sky before him suddenly grew dark.
         "Looks like a storm's coming in," Reno said, "but it ain't no ordinary one."
         "We should get back to town as soon as we can." Rude had a bad feeling about what these darkened skies portended, and he sensed the same from Reno.
         They flew on. As Reno scanned the ground below for possible landing sites, Edge's central square came into view. Rude recalled the bizarre Bahamut that had been summoned there earlier that day, as well as the armored wolflike creatures; the latter in particular bothered him.
         "Guess we'll land in the square," Reno said. "Place is wrecked and it looks like Reeve has it cordoned off now."
         Rude nodded. "Hey, Reno?"
         "Yeah?"
         "Remember when you told me about the two Kapa'a that Ziv killed?"
         "Yeah. It was pretty damn nasty, the way they went."
         "You think they might've have some kind of connection to those weird wolves that appeared earlier today?"
         Reno turned to look at Rude, leaving the helicopter to hover in mid-air. There was something in the redhead's eyes, some sense of horror. "What makes you say that?"
         "According to Rufus, Kadaj summoned Bahamut with a blue materia that he had absorbed into his arm."
         "Yeah, but gods can't be summoned from blue materia. They're used for support magic."
         Rude furrowed his brows. "I know that, but maybe… the blue materia was just used as a boost for his powers, so he could pull that monster from somewhere else."
         "Wait, so… you think that Yazoo and Loz called upon those wolf monsters in a similar way? And that the two Kapa'a that Ziv killed were used to create them?"
         Shrugging, Rude replied. "Yeah, more or less. It's just a theory. They didn't have materia, but the wolves weren't as big as that Bahamut, either. Might not've required extra magic…"
         Reno returned to the controls and began the helicopter's descent. "Summoning doesn't work like that; I should know. Still, there's a lot that doesn't make sense these days…"

*****

         Rufus sat in his wheelchair, cloth once again draped over much of his body, as the rain gently fell. The dark skies from before were now clearing, and a new sort of calm was settling over Edge. He watched as the raindrops not only fell on his geostigma-scarred hands, but absorbed themselves into him. He could feel an unusual sort of warmth spread throughout his body; not a searing, painful heat, but comforting, almost loving, like he was being held in someone's arms. How long had it been since he felt like this? He stared down at his left hand, now clear of the ugly black pox that had dominated his being for the past two years, then closed his eyes, squeezing away the tears that had formed in their corners. Maybe now, he thought, the nightmares would end, his nightly reliving of the Weapon's assault on the Shinra Building; his visions of Reeve aiming Foxglove just a little ways further to the right and pulling the trigger, of Yoshiro literally tearing his heart in two, of his soul being burned to nothingness within a mako reactor.
         The rain began to taper off, but the warmth was still there, embracing him. A feminine voice, warm and soothing, entered his mind, saying, "Thank you for all of your help. We couldn't have gotten this far without you."
         "Is that true?" Rufus said aloud to himself.
         "Is what true?" he heard Reno reply back.
         As the rain and its effects had distracted him, Rufus had forgotten that his four Turks were here as well, standing before him. He remained still as he felt the cloth being removed from his head. He opened his eyes, releasing a few more pent-up tears, to see Elena standing over him with a pained look on her face. Without another word, she leaned forward and embraced him. Though he was startled at first, Rufus leaned his head against hers and returned the favor.
         "Never thought I'd see Rufus cry," Reno quipped. "You can shed an ocean's worth of tears if you want, it's still not gonna make me change my opinion of you."
         As Elena pulled herself away, Rufus replied, "'Forgiveness is a fool's game for the pitiable. I will have no business being forgiven, for that will not change the past which I had designed for myself.'"
         "Loveless, Act Two, Scene Four, lines twenty-one and twenty-two," Tseng murmured.
         "I don't know about the specifics, but those words did capture my attention. I read Loveless for the first time six months ago. Now I see why you like it so much."
         "Rufus, I will never forgive you."
         "I know."
         Tseng turned and left, while the other Turks continued standing there. At one point, Reno got a call on his PHS, and turned away from the group for a moment to answer it. After a minute or so, he hung up and told the others, "That was Reeve. Looks like Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz won't be bothering us again any time soon. So are we dismissed now, or what?"
         "If you like," sighed Rufus. "Why do you ask? Do you have somewhere you have to be?"
         "Not that it's any of your business, but Cloud's reunion has been pushed up to today. Reeve invited me to join them."
         "Really?" Rude said. "I got an invitation from Tifa."
         "And I got one from Cloud himself," Elena added. "He wasn't clear about the time, though."
         "Reeve said he's heading over to Seventh Heaven soon," said Reno. "I'm gonna go there now, if you want to come with me."
         "Actually, you and Rude go on ahead. I'll join you guys shortly."
         "You sure, Elena?"
         "Yeah."
         After Reno and Rude had left, Rufus asked Elena, "So what is it?"
         "Huh?"
         "It's obvious that you want to talk to me about something."
         Elena rubbed her arm. "I've heard that you and Tseng used to be lovers, but then you separated, and you did something terrible to him afterwards."
         "That's true, yes."
         "Sir, I don't care what you did. When I saw how much pain you were in today, I… felt sorry for you."
         "Not that I don't appreciate your kindness, but in the future, please don't waste your pity on a bastard like me."
         Elena shook her head. "Someone told me recently that we owe all of our lives to you. If it wasn't for your leadership in getting the barrier over the Northern Crater destroyed, no one would've been able to stop Sephiroth. Even if it was for the sake of your own self-preservation, that fact can't be overlooked."
         "I see. Who told you that?"
         "Cloud. When he called me this morning to tell me that his reunion's been rescheduled, he asked if I could bring you along. Will you come with me to Seventh Heaven, sir?"
         "Hmph." Rufus bowed his head and smiled. Even though he could never be forgiven, perhaps there was still some time left for a personal redemption. "There isn't much of a charge left in my wheelchair's battery, so if you can push me there, I'd be glad to join everyone."