She was awakened from her slumber by a loud yet unmistakable ringing. It was Saturday morning, and still very early at that; she grumbled this latter fact to herself while reaching for the phone housed on the adjacent side table.
         "Hello?" she grumbled, her vocal cords doing every bit to express her exhaustion.
         "May I speak to Elena?"
         "Speaking. Who's this?"
         "Merrill, chief of security for Sector One. I'm calling on behalf of Chairwoman Hanover. We need as many of Shinra's top explosives experts as possible to come and help examine the Reactor #1 wreckage."
         "The…? Oh, right." She sat up and looked out the window, where an enormous black cloud rose in a pillar from the edge of Sector One. So it wasn't just a bad dream…
         Elena continued, "Please let her know that I can be there within an hour."
         She hung up the phone and slowly stood up, taking one more look outside the window before heading to the bathroom.

         Dozens of people were on the scene when she arrived, including rescue workers, firemen, military police and investigators, and a handful of top-level officials. After getting past a small crowd of civilian onlookers, she entered the disaster area and began her search for Scarlet. Instead, the first recognizable person she encountered was Reno, who was walking with two other men; all three of them were dressed in dark blue suits, though Reno's was far sloppier than the others'. As for the others, the first man was tall and bald, and his eyes were completely obscured by dark glasses. The second one had long black hair; stern, penetrating eyes; and a small mark in the middle of his forehead. Upon laying eyes on this last man, Elena was awestruck. For a moment she stood there, staring at him, before shaking herself back to reality and walking toward Reno.
         She tapped him lightly on the back. "Umm… sir?"
         Reno turned around. "Oh, hi Elena. What brings you to this mess?"
         "I got a call—my boss, Scarlet, needs me here. Unfortunately, they didn't tell me exactly where she would be, and I get a busy signal whenever I try to call her PHS line. You haven't seen her, have you?"
         "'Fraid not. By the way, while you're here, let me introduce you to these guys," Reno said, thumbing back at his companions. "This is Rude, one of my fellow Turks."
         The bald man nodded a hello and silently shook Elena's hand.
         "And this," Reno continued, clapping a hand on the dark-haired man's shoulder, "is Tseng. He's the head of the Turks. You want to be real nice to him if you ever want to be anything more than just a cadet."
         Tseng shook her hand. "So you're one of our cadets, eh?"
         Elena stammered, "Y—yes sir."
         "Well, good luck to you." Tseng turned to face the other Turks. "Gentlemen, we must get going."
         As the Turks left, Reno stopped to whisper to Elena, "You've probably heard already that AVALANCHE has claimed responsibility for the bombing of the reactor."
         "AVALANCHE? You mean that terrorist group that sprays that 'Protect the Planet' graffiti everywhere?"
         "Yeah. Seems like they're going big time. Anyway, don't let anyone know, but Rude got a hot tip about their next target. We're heading to the slums to investigate. Wish us luck!"
         "Reno," Tseng called, "are you coming?"
         "Yeah, yeah, be right there!" He turned back to Elena. "One last thing: in the future, you probably don't want to look at Tseng like that. He might get the wrong idea."
         "Look at him like what?"
         "Elena, your face was as red as a fuckin' tomato! Look, I've gotta get going. See you around."
         She said nothing as Reno ran to catch up with the other Turks.

*****

         Tseng didn't have to spend long briefing Reno and Rude about their mission; with an air of strict professionalism, both men took what little instructions their leader had given them and went to work immediately. He watched them leave, then started back to the disaster site. Just ahead of him, he happened to notice Elena standing in the same area where he had first met her, still asking people if they knew where to find Scarlet. He came up from behind the young cadet and placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and turned. When she saw who it was, she stammered, "H-hello sir! I thought you left with the others!"
         "They have their assignment, and I have mine, which requires me to be here." Tseng paused, eyeing Elena carefully. "Are you still looking for Scarlet? You haven't been able to find her yet?"
         She nodded, her head slightly lowered.
         Tseng hunched down a little so he could look into Elena's eyes. She shivered in his probing gaze.
         "Wh-what are you doing, sir?"
         The Turk stood straight again, but continued to stare at her. "You do realize that you're approaching this little problem in exactly the wrong way. Cadet, look over there; what do you see?"
         Elena's line of vision followed Tseng's extended index finger. "There's a bunch of MPs, some military vehicles…"
         "And over there?"
         "Some parked helicopters, pilots, men in lab coats, construction workers…"
         "And there?"
         "SOLDIERs, officers, some people I can't identify…"
         Tseng lowered his arm and looked back at Elena. "So, based on your observations, where is Scarlet's most probable location?"
         "Er, maybe in the direction of the helicopters?"
         "And why is that?"
         "Only highly-ranked Shinra personnel are allowed to use helicopters within city limits. Still, one would assume that she's been here for hours already. She could be anywhere by now."
         Tseng replied, "Very good. Chances are, you won't be able to find Scarlet there now, but it's likely you'll find somebody who knows where she has gone to. You'd have better luck asking someone there for her whereabouts than you would here."
         Elena nodded.
         "Remember, a Turk asks as few questions as possible, and relies on their own intuition and deductive reasoning to take them as far as they can possibly go. They must give the impression that they know anything and everything, for above all else, it is this appearance which strikes fear into the hearts of a Turk's victim."
         She mused on this before muttering, "I'll never make it as a Turk, will I."
         Tseng answered, "We shall see." He glanced down at his watch. "I have to go, and so do you. You still have to find Scarlet, correct?"
         Elena nodded affirmatively and headed for the parked helicopters. Tseng continued in the opposite direction, toward two men who were going over some papers attached to a clipboard.
         "Mr. Vice President, Mr. Reeves," he said, bowing his head in greeting. "Reno and Rude have gone to the Lower City to follow some leads regarding AVALANCHE's next move."
         "Tseng…" Reeve said, glaring at the Turk. A smile almost crossed Tseng's face.
         "My apologies, Reeve. It is merely a formality."
         "And one I can do without. Now, as for your own mission—Rufus?"
         Vice President Rufus Shinra, a blue-eyed young man dressed in a white leather trenchcoat, addressed the Turk. "Tseng, you are to accompany Reeve and his engineers into the remains of the reactor core. We believe that the full scope of the damage can be better ascertained with a more hands-on investigation."
         "Very well. Reeve, when will your team be ready to go?"
         "Within the hour. Rufus, are you sure you won't join us?"
         The Vice President shook his head. "I'd rather not, as I'd only be in the way. You're well aware that I know very little about how these reactors work." He smoothed back a few idle strands of golden hair with his fingers, then took a step toward the Turk.
         "Tseng, keep an eye on him, will you?" Rufus said, thumbing back at Reeve with a small smile. "He's a good friend of mine, but he has a bit of a tendency to get himself into trouble."
         "What was that?" Reeve chuckled. "And how many times have I had to bail you out?"
         Rufus replied with a smirk and a "Hmph", then turned to leave. "See you back at the office."
         Reeve nodded an affirmative, then flipped open his PHS and started making calls. In the meantime, Tseng stared at the retreating Vice President through narrowed eyes.

         The damage inside of the reactor was far worse than Tseng had anticipated. The solid steel walls bulged outward, dented with shrapnel, and many of the metal pipes and catwalks had melted and fused together in a disarrayed web. Crystallized mako—materia—had formed on every surface. As the group neared the heart of the reactor, the air grew hotter. Beneath his yellow HAZMAT suit, Tseng blinked away the sweat that had dripped down into his eyes and scanned the large central chamber. At his side, a slightly shorter figure in an identical yellow suit spoke to him.
         "It's bad enough the reactor blew up—we didn't need all of this materia clogging the pipes as well. What a waste of mako..." Reeve sighed. Turning to Tseng, he said, "Judging by the way the mako crystallized, it looks like some sort of extreme cooling agent was involved. However, I've never heard of a bomb that could do this sort of damage. What do you think?"
         "It definitely wasn't your average bomb. My guess is that after the initial charge went off, a secondary charge released the coolant into the distribution pipes, freezing the mako within them and causing an enormous buildup of pressure. Far more damaging than an ordinary explosive, and very ingenious. Of course, we won't know anything for certain until the Weapons Dev. technicians complete their own evaluation."
         Reeve nodded, then pointed to the other end of the room. "Out there—by the mako pump controls—is that a robot of some sort?"
         A few of the engineers shone their flashlight beams in the direction the executive was pointing. Tseng squinted his eyes to get a better look. What he saw was a massive machine that appeared to be heavily damaged.
         "A Guard Scorpion, by the looks of it. Standard security mecha for a central mako chamber."
         "Look at the surrounding walls. The black marks on them seem to radiate from somewhere behind the robot."
         "It's likely that that's where the bomb was planted. I doubt that any remains of the device would still be there."
         "Right. I'd like to get a better look at the Scorpion, though. Come with me."
         The footbridge that had originally linked the two ends of the reactor core was gone, and in its place was a tangled mess of pipes, metal, and materia. Before Tseng could stop him, Reeve was already traversing across the impromptu bridge, toward the large mechanical corpse. Without a word, the Turk followed him. By the time he reached the other end, Reeve was already examining the Guard Scorpion, whose outer casing had bulged and rippled like wet paper.
         "What do you think?" Tseng asked.
         Reeve looked up. "Eh?"
         "What are you thinking about?"
         "Oh—nothing."
         Tseng sighed; Reeve's mind was obviously somewhere else. The Turk turned his attention to the mecha before them. Although much of its outer armor had melted, there were some scoring marks and bullet holes visible here and there. Upon closer examination of one particularly deep gash on the underside of the wrecked Scorpion, he backed away, shaking his head. He called Reeve over to where he was kneeling and asked him to take a look at the mark. They both crawled underneath the large mecha and stared at the scarred underbelly. After a moment, Reeve replied, "It looks like a sword made this."
         Tseng nodded. "Precisely. However, what is especially interesting about this scar is the type of blade that made it."
         "You can tell these sorts of things?"
         "Of course, and in this case, it's unmistakable. The angle of the cut, the depth and length of it—I am absolutely certain that a standard-issue Buster sword did this damage."
         "A Buster sword. But then that means—"
         "Yes, Reeve. A member, or former member, of SOLDIER was probably involved in this incident. The President is not going to like this one bit."
         "I don't like it." Reeve examined the mecha's underside some more before speaking again. "All right, let's head back. I've seen enough for today."
         "Very well," the Turk replied.
         As the two men started shuffling out from underneath the Guard Scorpion, they heard a short creaking sound from above. Both of them froze for a moment, then quickened their pace. Just as Tseng emerged from under the mecha, another creak, longer and louder than the first, sounded. Reeve was still partially under the machine. Instinctively, Tseng grabbed the executive's arm and pulled him away, just as the Guard Scorpion's six legs slid outward, causing it to collapse to its belly with an echoing, metallic crash.
         Tseng let go of Reeve's arm once the executive had managed to regain his balance. From underneath his HASMAT hood, he could hear Reeve gasping. Silently, they walked back across the tangled mass of metal and rejoined the group of engineers. No one said a word until they were well outside of the reactor.

         Having freed himself from the confining yellow suit, Tseng smoothed back his hair, now slightly damp with sweat, with his palm. Reeve wasn't looking much better; the executive's shirt was soaked through at the back and under the arms, and his entire head appeared to be covered with a thin, slick layer of moisture. Reeve undid the knot in his tie and freed his shirttails from the waistband of his trousers. Some of the less seasoned Shinra employees regarded the Urban Dev. Chair's actions with a bit of curiosity. Tseng, on the other hand, nearly smiled in the knowledge that he was witnessing Reno's subconscious influence on the redhead's own best friend.
         As he stood off to the side away from the others, straightening his tie, Tseng heard footsteps approach him.
         "Thanks for helping me out back there," said Reeve.
         Tseng smoothed out the black silk and zipped up his jacket, not once looking at the executive. "I was only doing my job."
         "Just your job? You saved my life!"
         "As I said, all in a day's work. Now, if you will please excuse me…" Tseng began to step away, but Reeve moved just ahead of him.
         "No, stay right here and listen."
         Tseng was starting to grow impatient, but tried not to let this show. "I accompanied you into the reactor. My work here is done. My day is over."
         "I'm familiar with the Turk work ethic, but please, just spare me a moment. I have to tell you something."
         "Well then, go ahead."
         "To cut to the chase, I owe you one."
         "Eh?"
         "If you ever need a favor of me, just name it."
         Tseng stared at the executive in disbelief. At first he thought it was a joke, but the look on Reeve's face insisted that it wasn't.
         "You're serious about this. You are going to personally repay me for merely doing my job."
         "No, for saving me."
         The Turk pinched his eyebrows and stared off to the side, thinking over Reeve's words. Finally, he replied, "Very well. I'll give your generous offer some consideration."
         Reeve nodded and stepped out of Tseng's way. The Turk started to leave, when he turned back to face the executive.
         "Thank you, Reeve."
         The Urban Dev. Chair smiled. "No need to thank me just yet! You're the one deserving of thanks right now."
         Tseng stopped. Reeve gave him a small nod and turned to walk toward a waiting helicopter, pulling his PHS out of his trouser pocket as he did so. Finally, Tseng turned away and continued walking. As his feet drew him into the bustling city streets, he mused over the recent exchange and wondered why someone with such a great sense of integrity was working for the Shinra Electric Power Company.

         With no other assignments for the rest of the day, Tseng went to a small delicatessen on the Sector Seven plate and ordered lunch. Rude came in about ten minutes later and took the seat opposite Tseng's, at the deli's far left corner table. Tseng took a bite of his pastrami sandwich before leaning in to hear what Rude had to say. In a low voice, almost a whisper, Rude muttered, "We found out where they're going to hit next. Reno had some other business to take care of at HQ, so he volunteered to deliver the information to the execs."
         "Very good. Now the next step will be to locate their base of operations. I expect that will be our next set of orders from Heidegger, at any rate."
         Rude nodded.
         Tseng took another bite of his sandwich. "So what's this 'business' that Reno had to do at the Shinra Building? It seems like they're really working him today."
         "Has to do with Hojo… a kidnapping job," the bald man said. Then, peering over the rim of his sunglasses, he added, "I'm sure you know what that implies."
         "Indeed I do," Tseng replied, polishing off the last of his meal. He stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow. Don't try to contact me for the rest of the day."
         Rude nodded once, then went over to the counter to order his own lunch while Tseng left the deli.

         He found her right where he expected her to be around this time of day: in the busy marketplace of the Sector Six slums. This strip, known as Wall Market, was a vile place with a bad reputation. At all times of day, any number of illegal wares—and services—could be found for sale on its streets. However, despite the illicit nature of Wall Market, the locals had little to fear from either the Turks or the Shinra military. It was common knowledge that "Top-Platers" generally held little interest in the day-to-day activities of those who lived in the slums beneath their feet.
         Tseng wandered past the various stores and booths, keeping both eyes peeled for his oldest friend. He finally spotted her on a street corner near the tailor's shop, selling flowers out of a basket.
         "Fresh flowers, only one gil!" she called out. As Tseng approached, she turned her head in his direction. "Oh, hello Tseng."
         "Hello Aeris. I trust you're doing well?"
         "Yes I am. Would you like to go somewhere to talk?"
         "Read my mind," Tseng replied, as he led Aeris out of Wall Market.
         They ended up in a small, dusty park outside of the Sector Seven gate, the very place where they'd first met as children. Aeris explored all of the playground equipment before finally sitting down on one of the swings, setting her flower basket on the other.
         "It hasn't changed much at all, hasn't it Tseng?"
         Standing opposite of her with his hands in his pockets, he glanced around. "No, it hasn't. Funny how that never ceases to amaze you."
         "Well, that's because so much else has changed…" Aeris trailed off, then changed the subject. "I remember one time when we were younger, when the Turks chased me all the way here from Sector Five, and you hid me in that little utility shed."
         "Yes…" Tseng replied, slipping into the memory himself. "You know, my father never did find out about that."
         "He didn't?"
         Tseng smiled. "No. Of course, he would've punished me severely if he found out that I was interfering with his work. Good thing he didn't, eh?"
         "Your father was a clever Turk, but you were even more sneaky!"
         A silence descended between them. Tseng glanced down at his shoes, ponderously.
         "I just hope that he's in a better place now."
         Aeris gave him a reassuring look. "He is. He's returned to the Planet."
         "It's been four years and I still can't accept his death."
         "I understand. Don't be sad."
         "I try not to be. I remained with the Turks, like he would've wanted me to, and in general, I've have a good life, despite certain… events. You've helped me tremendously, of course."
         "So have you! I mean, in helping me. If you had never become a Turk, the Shinra would have me by now for sure!"
         "I wouldn't know about that, but I'm glad that I can do that much for you."
         Tseng and Aeris glanced at each other and exchanged smiles. Then, Tseng continued, "Speaking of which, I just got word today: Hojo will be sending one of us after you soon."
         "Who will it be this time?"
         "Reno. Make sure to be on your guard; I don't know if he'll have a chance to pick his own MP escort this time. The Professor has been growing rather suspicious of the Turks lately."
         "Oh, but isn't he suspicious all the time?"
         "These days, moreso than usual. Please Aeris, be careful. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." Tseng pulled his hands loose from his pockets and laid them on her shoulders.
         "I'm glad that you worry about me, but please don't do it too much."
         Kneeling down before her, he replied, "Never do. I have faith in your strength and resilience. But you know me, I have to be at least a little bit worried."
         Aeris smiled; a little sadly, Tseng thought. He looked her straight in the eyes.
         "I shouldn't be here much longer. I have to go."
         "All right Yoshiro," she said, giggling.
         Tseng suppressed an amused grin. "That's not my name anymore. You know that."
         "I know, but you will always be Yoshiro to me."
         Still sitting on the swing, Aeris leaned forward to hug Tseng. They held each other tightly before letting go. The Turk smiled and gave a small wave goodbye as Aeris retrieved her basket and stood up. Aeris returned both the smile and the wave, then dusted off the front of her dress and left the playground, going to her home deep in the Sector Five slums. Tseng watched her go, and when he could see her no more, he turned in the opposite direction and headed back to Wall Market.