Cloud kept his right hand buried in a trouser pocket as he walked through the streets of Edge, gripping the Black Materia within, keeping it concealed, and at the same time making sure that it wouldn't go anywhere. The previous night, he was with Aeris for the last time. She told him of Sephiroth and Jenova's complete assimilation into the Lifestream, then suddenly kissed him on the cheek and slowly disappeared before his eyes. His thoughts were with her as he walked, but even more so on the dangerous cargo he now carried, the one which was the entire reason for his trip that morning.
         He soon arrived at his destination and knocked on the door. Reeve answered, dressed in slacks and a plain white shirt. He greeted Cloud and showed him inside. The younger man looked all around him.
         "Nice place you have here," he said to Reeve, "but why didn't you want to meet at your office?"
         "I have the morning off, and besides, it's not every day that you of all people request a meeting with me." As they walked past the kitchen, Reeve asked, "Can I get you anything?"
         "I'm fine, thanks." They continued on into the living room, and Reeve invited Cloud to sit. Cloud nodded and settled into an armchair while Reeve took a spot on the couch; before the latter, a mug of coffee sat atop a long, low table.
         Reeve picked up the mug, took a sip, then asked, "Did you hear about what happened to Vincent?"
         "Yeah," Cloud answered. Last night, after Aeris had gone, Rude had called with the news of Thanatos' transformation and subsequent defeat, and something else. Vincent had somehow summoned all four of his limit break forms simultaneously; together, they defeated Sephiroth, but at the expense of their host body's life. Cloud took a deep breath and hunched over, his forearms resting on his legs. "You seem to be taking it well."
         "I certainly wasn't last night, after Reno called me. He was rather shaken by the experience himself."
         "I can bet. So is he coming back into town soon? Rude said that he was, but he didn't know about Reno."
         Reeve shook his head. "Reno went to Cosmo Canyon, his old hometown. He said there was something he needed to look into before coming home. Why do you ask?"
         "Just need to pay him, that's all."
         "I'm sure he'd have no problem with you leaving his payment here, with me."
         "All right. I'll bring the cash over later." Cloud sighed. "Personally, I don't like Reno. If I had it my way, I would prefer not to deal with him at all."
         "Although I've tried to convince him to see things otherwise, he's not too fond of you either."
         Cloud stared at Reeve. "What about you? What made you wanna shack up with that guy?"
         "I simply love him," Reeve shrugged, smiling as he answered Cloud's inquiry. "You understand where I'm coming from, right?"
         "Not really."
         "Why? You've never been in love?"
         "I've heard that being in love is one of those things where you just 'know'. If that's the case, then… no, I don't think I have been."
         "You've been living with Tifa on and off."
         "Yeah, but we're not like that. The whole situation with her's kinda… complicated."
         "What about Aeris? You know, at the time, I really did mean what I said as Cait Sith back in the Temple of the Ancients, that you two would be a good match."
         "Yeah, but if you remember, I wasn't myself back then. We always were good friends, but maybe it was Zack's influence that made me look at her differently, I don't know. Oh, and speaking of the Temple, that's the reason why I came here today."
         "Eh?"
         Cloud reached into his pocket and pulled out the Black Materia The dark swirls within it shifted restlessly, and he tried not to stare at them for too long, lest he become hypnotized. "Vincent gave me this before he left. Said he got it from Tseng."
         His eyes fixed on the orb, Reeve visibly squirmed in his seat. "So what do you want me to do with it?"
         "I have an idea. The two of us should put it back. It's too dangerous to leave in this form."
         "You want my assistance in restoring the Temple of the Ancients?"
         "Yeah. Since Cait Sith was the one who—"
         "Impossible, Cloud. It can't be done."
         Cloud sat up in his chair. "Why not? Cait's been in here the entire time, and he might not have been crushed. He may've just shrunken along with the rest of the Temple."
         "Yes, I realize that, but even if that was the case, I can no longer control that particular Cait Sith unit. I destroyed all of his documentation—including passwords and such—shortly before sacrificing him, and I certainly don't remember how to connect to him now."
         "Damn," Cloud said, leaning forward again and staring at the floor. "You know, I thought I was on to something…"
         The room was silent for a moment. Then, Reeve suddenly stood up and said, "I'll be right back. I have to make a phone call."

*****

         Reeve's inquiry was unusual, and to confound matters, he gave no explanation for it. Still, after Elena hung up the phone, she dug out the requested information, which she had held onto all that time, even after learning who Cait Sith's controller was. Once she had stuffed the documents into a shoulder bag, she set out for Reeve's house.
         Upon arriving, she was surprised to see Cloud on the living room sofa, holding the Black Materia that she'd heard so much about. Then, Reeve told her about what had really happened to the Cait Sith unit she had tried and failed to track down nearly three years ago.
         "Wait—so you're telling me that the first Cait Sith is inside that piece of materia, which used to be the Temple of the Ancients?"
         Reeve nodded. "Cloud here believes that we may still be able to control him, and that by doing so, we could restore the Temple."
         "Seriously?"
         "I know my idea might sound a little farfetched, but we have to give it a shot," said Cloud. "How 'bout we try to connect to Cait Sith now? Just to see if we can get a signal and Cait can move around, then we can move on to actually restoring the Temple."
         "All right," Reeve replied. "Let me get ready." He left the room. Elena sat down in the armchair directly opposite of Cloud and pulled her old Cait Sith documents from her satchel.
         "How have you been?" she asked him.
         "All right."
         "Same here. You ever figure out who, if anyone, foresaw Zack's return?"
         "Nope. You?"
         "No."
         Cloud nodded and stared at the entranceway through which Reeve had just left. "I just had a crazy thought. What if it was Reeve?"
         "Huh?"
         At that moment, Reeve returned carrying his laptop. Cloud leaned his head to one side and asked, "Hey Reeve, got a question for you."
         "What is it?"
         "Did you have any visions with Zack in it before he came back?"
         Reeve stopped and looked at Cloud. "Yes. I suspect the three of them—Tseng, Aeris, and Zack—had anticipated this day, and that's why they chose us."
         "So you knew about the visions Cloud and I had?" Elena asked.
         "Not until you verified it just now. After Zack's return, I merely suspected it." Reeve settled back on the couch and turned the laptop on. "Now, let's begin the test. Elena, can you read off the connection information to me?"
         Elena sat down next to Reeve, drew out her papers, and did as requested while Reeve typed. Once the long strings of letters and numbers had been entered, Reeve said, "Here goes nothing," index finger hovering over the enter key. He pressed it, and a verification message displayed. Cait Sith was indeed still operational, confined to a small, dark space within the Black Materia. By this time, Cloud had now moved from his seat and taken the other space next to Reeve. He and Elena craned their necks to get a better look at the laptop's screen, which displayed, through Cait's eyes, the solved puzzle and the altar over which it hovered. Reeve himself stared at the screen for what seemed to be a long time, brows furrowed, rubbing his chin.
         "You think you'll be able to reconstruct the puzzle?" Cloud asked.
         "I'm not worried about that, but I do wonder if there's an alternate way to go about it, making it more difficult to solve than before."
         "Good idea. Any way we could help out?"
         "Possibly." Reeve took a screen capture of the image from Cait's internal camera, then slowly rotated Cait around the podium, taking more screens as he went along. "The way that the puzzle was originally designed seems to affect the form of the Temple itself, so I wonder it would be reconfigured as well…"
         "You mean we could make it so that the Temple looks completely different than it did before?"
         "I believe that's possible, yes. It will be tricky, but provided we put forth our best effort, it will be worth it in the end."
         "Let's do it, then," Elena said. Cloud and Reeve voiced their agreement, and their project got underway.

         As they all wanted to devote as much time as possible to the Temple of the Ancients' restoration, Elena and Cloud canceled whatever upcoming jobs they had, and Reeve took a leave of absence from the WRO. Over the course of the next two weeks, they held regular meetings at Reeve's house, discussing the new form the Temple would take and even a new location. Once they had ironed out all the details, they decided to set out the following day to finally turn their efforts into reality.
         They all met at Seventh Heaven that morning for breakfast. As Tifa served them their meals, Marlene and Denzel sat at an adjacent table, their own half-eaten plates of eggs going ignored as they chatted with her, Cloud, and Reeve.
         "Hey," said Marlene. "Wanna see what Aeris' mom gave me the other day?"
         Cloud replied, "Sure. What did she give you?"
         Marlene smiled, then pulled at the mythrill necklace she was wearing until the whole thing was no longer hidden by her dress. Dangling from it was a round, white stone. Elena exclaimed, "Wow, that's really pretty! What do you think, guys?" She turned to her companions, but found stunned looks on their faces. "Guys?"
         "Did Aeris' mom tell you where she got it from?" Reeve asked. Marlene shook her head.
         Denzel piped up, "Is there something wrong with Marlene's necklace?"
         "No, it's not that," said Cloud. "It's just that… that stone used to belong to Aeris, and we thought it had been lost."
         Marlene took the stone in her small fingers and stared at it. "Really?"
         Reeve nodded. "You may have been too young to remember, but she wore it in her hair, above the knot in her ribbon."
         "I wish I could see her so I could ask her about it, but she's gone far away again…"
         "I think she wanted you to have it," said Cloud. "She probably asked her mom to give it to you."
         Marlene looked at Cloud for a moment, head tilted slightly, then nodded. Silence fell over their corner of the room once again, eventually broken by Denzel's asking, "How're you guys gonna get to the site? Cloud, you're gonna ride your bike, right?"
         "Not today," Cloud replied, shaking his head.
         Elena smiled. "Yeah, because we're taking my car."

         Reeve let out a long, low whistle as Elena backed her red convertible out of her garage. After Sirpal and Xeno had been defeated, Zack had driven her home and given her this vehicle, but living in the tightly-packed, pedestrian-friendly Edge, she hadn't any excuse to use it until today. When Reeve asked if he could drive, she tossed him the keys, and Cloud quickly called "shotgun". Elena shook her head as they loaded their gear into the trunk; Reeve and Cloud were guys all the way.
         Soon, they were out on the highway, heading south. Traffic was light, and the weather was good enough to let the hood down. From the back seat, Elena leaned forward and said, "Do you like how it handles?"
         "Absolutely," Reeve replied. "I have to get myself one of these." Cloud and Elena laughed. "What's so funny?" the WRO leader shot back.
         "Well, your answer wasn't much of a surprise," said Cloud, "considering the way your stared at this car when Elena first brought it out."
         "Hmph," said Reeve, as he steered the car toward an exit. "Let's change the subject. I was surprised to see the White Materia around Marlene's neck."
         Elena exclaimed, "What? That was the White Materia?"
         "Yeah," said Cloud.
         "I thought it would be bigger. You know, considering how big the Black Materia is."
         "Trust us—that was it, all right. I know Aeris visited her mom a few times after she came back, so maybe Elmyra got it from her."
         "To eventually give to Marlene in the form of a necklace charm?" asked Reeve.
         "Well, obviously Aeris couldn't hold on to it…"
         "Do you think Marlene knows what it is? What it's capable of?"
         "I'm not sure. Don't think Barret or Tifa have told her, either. I'm gonna ask them about it once this is all over."
         The drive continued on. Crater Lake, the massive scar created near Junon around the time of the Weapons' awakening, soon came into view.

         The edge of the crater proved to be a steep climb. Once they reached the top, the three travelers stared at the dark water several hundred feet below.
         It had been Reeve's idea to restore the Temple here, at Crater Lake. He had come up with a way to add supporting buttresses to each side of the Temple, and figured that the lake itself could serve as a failsafe: if the Temple's puzzle would be solved again in the future, the Black Materia would fall into the deep water, impossible to retrieve, even via submarine. Elena loved the idea, as did Cloud, but that left them with the crucial problem of how to suspend the Black Materia over the lake while the Cait Sith inside reconstructed the Temple's puzzle. Many different options were discussed, and two possible solutions were decided upon: a net gun, similar to the ones Elena and Tseng had used to rescue Rufus during Kadaj's reign of terror, but modified with a tighter mesh, and a Float materia, a copy born of Nanaki's original, which he had been given to Cloud not too long ago. However, neither of these options had been tested beforehand.
         The net gun was tried first, but the grappling hook failed to reach the other side of the crater. Next, as a dry run, Cloud cast Float on a small rock they had brought with them and tossed it toward the center of the lake. The rock did float, but not as high as they had wanted. As the three of them discussed the feasibility of modifying the gun, a fourth voice interrupted their conversation.
         "Perhaps I could be of some assistance?"
         Along with Cloud and Reeve, Elena turned in the direction the voice had come from, which was, oddly enough, somewhere over the lake. Hovering before them, wings slowly beating at a steady rhythm, was a tall, demon-like figure. "Chaos?" Cloud exclaimed.
         "Yes, it is I," the demon, Chaos, replied. "I have watched your movements since leaving Edge, but never anticipated that you would choose this place to restore the Southern Temple."
         "You knew of our plans?" said Elena. "Who are you, anyway?" At that moment, she felt Reeve's hand settle on her shoulder. "Calm down, Elena. It's all right; he's on our side."
         "But how does he know about our restoration project?"
         "I'm not sure, but that's the least of our worries right now."
         Chaos came closer with one of his arms outstretched. "Give me the Black Materia, and I shall hold it aloft for you." Cloud nodded and handed it over. Once Chaos had taken the Black Materia, he turned and flew to the center of the crater, hovering right within their line of sight.
         Reeve nodded, "That's perfect. Let's get started."

         Sitting cross-legged atop the narrow edge of the crater, Reeve connected to the first Cait Sith via laptop. From there, he began working on the altar puzzle, beginning construction of their modified Temple—a building which had, up until now, only existed in theory. Elena turned to face Chaos after Reeve moved the first few pieces, only to find that a sphere of bright light had engulfed him, and was expanding ever outward. Agitated, she turned to Cloud, who was also staring at the light, though he seemed a bit calmer than her.
         "You all right, Elena?" he asked, not once turning his attention away from the light.
         She didn't answer, not wanting to lose face.
         "Hey, check it out. It's starting to take shape."
         Elena looked toward the crater again, and found that the light was slowly growing weaker, and in its place, a magnificent black castle now stood, a mass of walls, arches, parapets, and spires both reaching up into the sky and pointing down to the forbidding waters below; a double-sided palace resembling a gigantic crystal. The castle was held up by six massive, curved buttresses, each one guarded by a large stone gargoyle. Chaos stood on top of the northernmost tower for a moment before taking to the sky and disappearing.
         "Wow, I never thought it would look like this," Elena said.
         "Actually, it's just as I envisioned it," said Reeve, who was now on his feet and staring wide-eyed at the castle, his laptop now once again peeking out from the confines of its satchel. "The day before Zack surfaced in Costa del Sol, I saw him standing in front of the Temple of the Ancients, but it looked like this."
         She stared at Reeve, then shared a glance with Cloud. It had been like it was with her and Aeris, and him and Zack.
         Reeve, for his part, didn't seem to notice their reactions. His gaze still locked upon the castle, he said, "Well, shall we go take a closer look at our handiwork?"

         Elena, Cloud, and Reeve carefully traversed one of the buttresses, then passed a marble podium. Beyond it was an open doorway, which led to a couryard. It resembled the one within the original Temple of the Ancients, but contained even more arches, paths, and staircases—some of which were set sideways and upside-down.
         "I don't know if we should go much further," said Cloud. "We might get lost."
         Reeve replied, "I agree, but at the same time, I'd like to know how all the interiors turned out."
         "Well, you have Cait Sith for that."
         "That's true, but…"
         Elena didn't hear the rest of the conversation, as a figure in a hooded purple robe appeared from one of the far archways and began walking along a wall. It reminded her of the strange old men she and Tseng had encountered during their visit to the original Temple. "Hey guys, look!" she exclaimed, pointing at the figure. "Someone else is here."
         Cloud and Reeve stopped talking and followed Elena's line of sight as the figure reached the top of the stairs and promptly disappeared through a darkened entranceway. Meanwhile, Elena had spotted a second, similar figure out of the corner of her eye and likewise pointed it out.
         "Wonder if they're the new guardians of this place," Cloud mused.
         "An astute observation."
         The three visitors turned to look behind them, where one of the robed figures descended a set of stairs—normal ones this time, oriented right side up. Elena knew that voice very well, but couldn't believe she was hearing it again, especially in this place. "Mr. President?" she exclaimed.
         Sure enough, the figure pulled back his hood, revealing that familiar head of neatly-trimmed blond hair. "Just call me Rufus, Elena."
         "What are you doing here?" asked Cloud.
         "It's as you yourself said earlier; I've been called away from the Planet to become one of this Temple's new caretakers, as has the gentleman behind you."
         "Yes, although we thought it would've been reconstructed a little sooner."
         Elena, Reeve, and Cloud turned around to see the second figure approaching them, now unhooded. It was Vincent Valentine, his long hair drawn back and tied with his old headband. "It's good to see you all again, but your work here is complete, and you should take Cait Sith and leave. Rest assured that you have done well, and this Temple is in good hands."
         "So you're really going to stay here and not return to the Planet?" asked Reeve as he adjusted the sensor behind his right ear.
         "We have sins to atone for," said Rufus.
         "Yes," Vincent replied. "However, before you go, we must give something to each of you. Rufus?"
         The former Shinra President rustled beneath his cloak and pulled out an spherical turquoise stone, which he gave to Elena. "This looks like the Keystone," she said, "but it's smaller than I remember."
         "I'm not done yet," Rufus replied. He returned his hand to the folds of his cloak and repeated the procedure for Cloud and Reeve, giving each of them a stone similar to Elena's.
         "All three of these are Keystones," Vincent explained, "and they are all necessary to enter this Temple. May you and your descendants guard them well."
         As Elena and the others examined their new Keystones, Cait Sith—giant moogle and all—bounded through an entranceway and came to join the group. "Well, we're taking Cait back with us, as you've requested," said Reeve. "Now how do we get out of here? I noticed that the entranceway through which we had come seems to have disappeared."
         "Just like in the old Temple," said Cloud. "Does this place have another exit as well?"
         Rufus replied, "Yes, but we have to send you out through other means." All of a sudden, Elena felt herself slowly sinking into the floor. Next to her, Cloud, Reeve, and Cait Sith were also sinking.
         "Farewell, my friends," Vincent said, "and take care."
         "Will we ever see each other again?" Cloud asked.
         "I doubt it," said Rufus. "Oh, and Reeve?"
         "Yes?" Reeve replied.
         "I never got to tell you this while I was still alive, but I'm sorry about… well, you know."
         Reeve gave Rufus a single nod. "Yes, I do. Apology accepted."
         "Goodbye, Reeve, Elena, Cloud," said Rufus, and Vincent added, "Send our best regards to everyone."
         As they continued to sink, the floor now up to their chests, they returned Vincent and Rufus' farewells until they could see them no longer.

*****

         Reeve stood on the old maintenance platform attached to the outside of Midgar's Reactor No. 6, watching the sun disappear over the sea to the west. A week had passed since his journey with Cloud and Elena, but the calm he felt the moment they left the newly-reborn Temple had not. For the first time in his life he felt truly at ease with the world, and hoped that the Planet was now well on its way to recovery after having endured two thousand years of Jenova's presence.
         A speck on the horizon caught his attention, and he remained fixed on it as it steadily grew larger. It was soon apparent to him that it was Bahamut-ZERO, and what's more, someone was riding him. As Reeve watched, transfixed, ZERO circled the city before stopping in front of his platform. From the dragon's back, Reno leaped down before him; the dragon then flew off, swiftly disappearing into the clouds above.
         "Hi, Reeve. Sorry I'm late. So when are you gonna stop staring at the sky and give me a proper greeting?"
         Reeve said nothing, but instead looked at Reno, grinned, then grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him closer. Their lips met.
         "I missed you," he breathed, before Reno pressed him against the old reactor's thick steel wall and deepened the kiss.
         "Yeah, I missed you too," Reno replied, momentarily breaking away from Reeve.
         "So what happened to your ponytail?"
         "Huh?"
         By way of reply, Reeve ran his fingers through the shortened strands of hair at the nape of Reno's neck.
         "Oh, that. Can I tell you later? I've kind… of got my mind on other things right now," said Reno, casually fiddling with Reeve's belt buckle as he said this.
         "I couldn't tell," Reeve chuckled. "But—"
         Reno silenced Reeve with his lips, then whispered, "I know what you're thinking, but it's growing dark, and we're on the side of the reactor facing away from Edge, so…"

         Night eventually fell over Midgar, and the sky was soon bright with stars. Reeve leaned over the railing, with Reno leaning lazily against his back, a Zeio joint quietly burning away between his fingers. He removed the joint from Reno's dangling hand and took a hit.
         "Are you going to tell me now?"
         "Mmm?"
         "About your ponytail, and why it's not there anymore. As I recall, this hasn't been the first time you've cut it off."
         Reno said nothing.
         "What burdens are you attempting to release yourself from this time?"
         Reno stole the joint back away from Reeve. "If you're worried about me, don't. I did it because of Vincent, and everything else I've learned over the past several months—about the Turks, the summons, Jenova, the Planet, and so on. I want to restore the Turks to their former glory, instill in them a true, noble purpose. For that to happen, I had to make a fresh start."
         "It took you three weeks to come to that conclusion?"
         "Nah, I realized it as soon as Sephiroth was defeated. Vincent's four summon gods disappeared, and all that was left was his dead body. That's when I heard Vincent's voice and realized what was going on," Reno said. "Truth is, I went to Cosmo Canyon and spent those three weeks there trying to find a way to free Bahamut-ZERO."
         "Free ZERO? I'm afraid I don't understand."
         "Thousands of years ago, the Cetra tribes scattered across the world warred with each other, and they made weapons to fight these wars. Some of these weapons were made by trapping the gods of the Planet, creating summon materia."
         "Huh. So going back to ZERO—were you successful?"
         "I came close, but I'm not there yet. He's still bound to this damned thing." Reno drew out the Bahamut-ZERO materia and held it before Reeve. It was a duller shade of red than Reeve had recalled it being, but otherwise, it was the same orb he had once used as Cait Sith. Reno said, "You know, I seriously thought about going through the summonary mutation process again, so that he could be freed when I died, similar to Vincent's summons."
         Reeve was alarmed. "Are you serious?"
         "Yeah, but then I thought that there has to be a better way."
         "I'm glad to hear that," Reeve replied, relaxing once again.
         "ZERO and I saw a lot of each other during that time. We got to know each other better than we ever had before. I want to be able to free him someday."
         Reeve stood up straight, gently pushing Reno off of his back, then turned to face him. "Good luck, then, and if you need anything, I'll be here for you."
         "I know. Thanks." He finished off the Zeio and held his hands out to Reeve, which he took. Reno then closed his eyes and stood still. Reeve stared at his companion curiously, but not without a fond smile. Something had awakened within Reno over the past few months, a new sort of connection to the Planet, or perhaps a renewal. Whatever it was, it made Reeve love him all the more. After a minute or so like this, Reno laughed.
         "Beautiful. Can you hear it, Reeve?"
         "Hear what?"
         "Follow my lead and concentrate, and maybe you'll hear the Planet sing."