Reno eased himself into a sitting position, pushing the weight of his body against his elbows. His recovery was going well, due largely to the materia-based treatments he was receiving. Outside, day was breaking, but with the thick mass of gray clouds that blanketed the city, it was hard to tell that without knowing the time.
         A brief succession of knocks sounded on the door; upon hearing them, Reno allowed a small smile to cross his face. He recognized his visitor by the staccato rhythm of his knuckles against the wood; it was someone who had promised to see him before he left town.
         "Come in, Reeve."
         The executive, casually dressed in a white polo shirt and khakis, opened the door and walked in. After setting his work satchel and small suitcase on a chair, he came to Reno's bedside. He stood there in silence, staring at Reno.
         "You're not going to sit down?" asked the Turk.
         Reeve shook his head. "I can't stay for very long. How have you been?"
         "Not bad. Doctors are saying I can go home within a week."
         "Glad to hear it," Reeve answered, smiling for the first time since he entered.
         "And how are you? Looks like you're all ready to go."
         "Yeah. I'm looking forward to seeing Costa del Sol again."
         "Have you and Kramler figured out what to do about that snitch?"
         "Not yet," Reeve murmured. "I can't talk about that here anyway. I'll tell you what went down when I get back."
         "Right. Tell Kramler I said hi."
         "Of course, and I'll see if I can pick you up a little— something while I'm there."
         Reno's eyes lit up. "Really? Just make sure it's none of that Bone Village—"
         "—hippie shit. I know, I know," Reeve finished, smirking.
         Reno returned Reeve's smirk. The executive seemed a bit more relaxed than he had been these past few days.
         "So, nothing else going on?"
         "You've probably heard about President Shinra's funeral, already."
         "Tseng told me about it last night."
         "The next big event coming up is that celebration of Rufus' presidency."
         "Funny… I didn't hear about that."
         "Not many have; Rufus told me about it just this morning. I went into the office to leave some last-minute instructions for my secretary and happened to run into him. He wanted my opinion on some banner designs before I left."
         "Where's he having this thing?"
         "Junon, a couple of weeks from now. Don't think I'll be able to make it, though."
         Reno nodded. He wanted to ask more about Rufus, but he wasn't aware of how much Reeve knew of the young Shinra's infatuation with him, and thought it better to leave the topic untouched. Somehow, thinking of Rufus made him think of Elena. She had called Reno last night, telling him of her acceptance into the Turks. He was happy for her, but sensed by her tone that there was something bugging her. He asked Elena if anything was wrong, and was met with a brief silence, interrupted by a, "No, nothing's wrong. Why do you ask?" Reno chose to wave off the topic and steer the conversation in another direction, but in a different manner than he was doing now.
         "Reeve, can I ask you something?"
         "What is it?"
         Reno stared at his hands, resting palms-up in his lap. He looked up again. "Why have you decided to go skirt-chasing now, after all this time?"
         Reeve sat down in a chair close to the head of the bed. The Turk raised an eyebrow.
         "What did she tell you this time?" Reeve asked.
         "She didn't say anything when she called yesterday, but I could tell that something was up."
         "I'm only trying to take some advice a friend gave me… back when Scarlet first betrayed my trust."
         "Touché," Reno countered. "All right man, do what you want with her."
         "Are you sure this doesn't bother you? I mean, considering how you feel about me…"
         "And how is that?"
         "You know. It's a way that you shouldn't feel."
         "Why?"
         "Because," Reeve said as he got up. "you'll only get yourself hurt. I have to go. I'm scheduled to meet the Highwind on the outskirts of the city a half-hour from now."
         "Reeve."
         "Yes?"
         "I'm… not afraid of pain, you know."
         Reeve turned around and looked at Reno, who wore a determined expression. The executive gave a small affirmative nod, then picked up his things and started for the door.
         "Reno," he replied, "it's not you that I'm worried about. I'll see you later."
         "Okay…" Reno said, pondering Reeve's words. "Have a good trip."
         Reeve nodded and left the room.

*****

         Tseng spotted Elena walking toward the Sector Five gate only a few minutes before their scheduled meeting time. She stopped in front of him and saluted. "Reporting for duty, sir!"
         Tseng and Rude exchanged glances before the former turned back to Elena. "No need for formalities here. We're Turks, meaning that we operate according to our own rules. I can already see that you have much to learn."
         Elena didn't reply as he turned his back to her and pulled out his Sector Five keycard. Tseng tried not to let Elena's inexperience get to him, but she was somewhat green, and as such, would have to be lavished with extra attention. Her crush on him, which he was well aware of, would only make things even more difficult. Thank goodness Rude would be with them for this first job.
         The Sector Five gate slid open, revealing four yellow chocobos chained to stakes, patiently waiting for them. As Rude and Elena loaded their bags and supplies onto the back of one of the birds, Tseng drew out a slip of paper with some numbers scribbled on it and undid the combination locks that kept the chocobos secure.
         "How did these chocobos get here?" Elena asked.
         "I had some MPs arrange them for our use," Tseng replied. "I would've preferred black ones, which are faster and a bit more reliable, but these were the best they could do on such short notice."
         "So where are we going first?"
         "Toward Kalm. It's quite the rumor mill; a great place for gathering information. There's a very good chance we can find out something about Sephiroth there."
         "What about AVALANCHE?"
         "What about AVALANCHE?"
         "Well… what if we run into them on the way? They're wanted criminals as well."
         Tseng paused. "Our priority is Sephiroth. Understood?"
         "…Understood."
         "Excellent," Tseng replied as he mounted his chocobo. Rude and Elena followed suit, and soon, they were riding away from Midgar.

         Early that afternoon, Kalm drew near; already, the Turks could see the parapets of the old castle walls that surrounded most of the town. Tseng cast a sidelong glance at Elena; as he had expected, there was a smile on her face upon seeing her hometown. He wondered if Kalm's penchant for Shinra-influenced rumor-monging had rubbed off on her, then remembered what she had said about the Sector Seven plate. In Midgar, even the lowly slum dwellers had suspected Shinra of being behind the plate's felling, but the "official" rumor that had been circulated was that AVALANCHE did the deed. He gazed back over the fields and let out a tired sigh. Elena was a Kalm girl at heart.
         As their chocobos continued galloping across the meadows, the Turks came upon flocks of grazing sheep. Many yards away, a lone shepherd sat on a gray boulder, reading a book. The sheep didn't pay any attention to the chocobos as they walked through the flocks. Then, all of a sudden, many of the sheep started bleating and running in all different directions. The Turks looked around them and saw packs of mutant wolves with indigo fur, running across the fields to attack the flock. Elena turned to Tseng, distraught.
         "We should do something!"
         Tseng said nothing. He looked at the scattered sheep, then at the frantic shepherd who had climbed on top of the rock to escape the wolves, which the locals called "Kalm fangs". A small, ponderous smile crossed Tseng's face.
         "Yes. We should, shouldn't we?"
         As Tseng drew his pistol from out of the folds of his coat, Rude jumped off of his chocobo and ran toward the nearest fangs, pummeling them with his fists. Elena drew a small device from her coat pocket, which Tseng caught sight of out of the corner of his eye.
         "What's that?"
         "A grenade. Scarlet supplied me with a few of them before I left headquarters this morning," she said as she hooked her thumb in the pin to pull it.
         Tseng reached over and clamped his hand over hers. "Do you want to blow up the sheep as well? I suggest you use something else—perhaps your gun or some materia."
         Elena bowed her head. "Sorry, sir."
         "It's okay," Tseng said as he removed his hands. "Now let's get rid of these wolves."
         "Right!"
         Tseng galloped off toward one pack of fangs, while Elena went after another. As his chocobo ran across the hilly field, Tseng drew his pistol and shot three of the wolves, catching one right in the skull. He maimed or killed another six in this manner, then rode back to his companions as the remaining fangs started to retreat. Rude stood by a small pile of bludgeoned wolves, while Elena cast a mid-level ice spell on one fang that had refused to run away with his brethren. She dusted her hands off as Tseng approached.
         "Looks like we haven't lost many sheep, sir!"
         Tseng nodded as he looked away beyond her. "The shepherd's coming this way. Let me do all the talking."
         "Y—yes sir."
         The shepherd stopped before the Turks and bowed. "Thank you ever so much for getting rid of those nasty fangs!" She turned to Elena. "Miss Elena, it is good to see you again!"
         Elena smiled, and was about to reply when Tseng broke in, "I'm afraid we're short on time. We're the Shinra Turks, and we're in pursuit of a man with grayish-white hair, dressed mostly in black. Our sources indicate that he was headed in this direction."
         The shepherd's face froze as she whispered, "Is it true that such a man killed President Shinra?"
         "Have you seen him or not?"
         "I did yesterday. He gave me and my sheep quite a fright, but he just walked past as though he didn't notice us."
         "In which direction did he go?"
         "Toward Kalm, where I live. Funny thing is, once I got back into town yesterday, I didn't see him at all. Maybe he had left by then."
         Tseng furrowed his brows. "I see. Well, thank you for your time."
         As Rude walked back to retrieve the pack chocobo as well as the one he had been riding, Tseng and Elena rode a little ways ahead toward Kalm.
         "We Turks never, ever do things without a reason," Tseng lectured. "We try to employ reciprocity whenever possible. As you just saw, our driving away of those Kalm fangs helped us gain a bit of valuable information. We must never overlook such opportunities."
         "Sir, why is that?" Elena asked.
         "Because not everyone trusts Shinra," answered Tseng. "Not even in Kalm."
         Elena nodded. Tseng wondered if it was because she understood, or because she was agreeing with him.
         "Kindness is more persuasive than force," Tseng continued, "and if we can temper the force of Shinra with a deliberate bit of kindness, all the better for us."
         Elena bowed her head. "Sir… but what if… I mean… can we ever do things out of our own kindness, without expecting something in return?"
         Tseng turned to face her, a little bit shocked. He had not been expecting a question like this. As she met his gaze, he found himself troubled; not by her innocence, or her idealism, but by her naiveté. The world was a very complex place, and true heroism was far more trouble than it was worth. This he knew from experience. He was deeply saddened by her question, but tried not to let it show.
         "We aren't allowed to be heroes, Elena. That's not our job."

*****

         Even though it had been well over a year since she had last visited her hometown, Kalm hadn't changed much. It was still the same small, quiet village it had always been. As the Turks dismounted from their steeds and secured their reigns on a railing near the town's wall, Tseng addressed his subordinates.
         "Now listen: we're here for information on 'the man in black', so don't get too distracted by anything else. Most of the people here are supportive of Shinra, but there are a few who aren't, so be tactful in your inquiries and don't say any more than you have to."
         Rude and Elena nodded, then the three went their separate ways.

         Elena's first stop was the local tavern; she knew that at this time of day, there would be a good number of people about. As she entered, she was surprised to find that most of the crowd consisted of miners. Kalm's biggest export was mythrill, dug out from the mountain caves beyond the Midgar Swamp; the miners had a camp there, and were usually away from town for months at a time. Just then, she spotted her half-brother, Steve, sitting at the counter, and snuck up behind him. She tapped him on the shoulder and he whirled around, almost falling off of his stool once they had come face to face.
         "Elena! What on earth are you doing here?" He got to his feet and looked her up and down. "Don't tell me. You made it, right? You're a Turk?"
         "That I am!" she answered, clasping her hands behind her back. "I'm on my first mission as we speak!"
         "Congratulations! Are the other Turks with you?"
         "Yeah, they're around. We split up to gather information."
         "Information? About what?"
         "A man wearing a black cloak. You seen him?"
         A shudder visibly ran down Steve's spine. "Yeah. Yeah, I've seen him. Got long silvery hair and a big-ass sword, right?"
         "That's him."
         "I saw a guy like that earlier this morning. He was walking east, toward the Chocobo Farm. He looked really scary… Who is he, anyway?"
         "He's Sephi—"
         Elena found her reply cut off by a hand clapped over her mouth. The hand was smooth, yet firm, and smelled faintly of gun metal. She tilted her eyes upward and found that her captor was Tseng.
         "Elena, remember what I said about tactfulness. Say only what you have to."
         Steve looked up at the stern Turk leader. "Is that your boss?" he asked, pointing to Tseng.
         Elena nodded through Tseng's grip; he let her go and she turned to face him.
         "I'm sorry, sir," she stammered.
         "Do you know what for?"
         "For saying more than was necessary."
         "Just don't let it happen again." He looked over at Steve, who had come to Elena's side. "And who are you, sir?"
         "Me? Oh, I'm Elena's brother, Steve."
         Tseng eyed Steve's hazel eyes, identical to Elena's own, and his reddish-orange hair, which wasn't.
         "Her brother?"
         "Well, half-brother, actually," Elena explained. "We both have the same father."
         "I see," said Tseng. "Elena, come to the inn when you have a chance. There's something I want to show you. And remember, watch your tongue."
         The Turk leader turned to leave, then looked back.
         "By the way, thanks for the information, Steve."
         Tseng left the tavern.
         Elena sighed and climbed up on a bar stool. Steve sat on the one right next to her.
         "So that's your boss, huh? Seems like a real hardass."
         "No, I deserved that," Elena muttered. "I'm still new to this job. I don't know all the protocols yet."
         "Don't they teach you that stuff as a Turk trainee?"
         "Not all of it…" Elena was about to tell him the circumstances surrounding her quick hiring, but thought better of it. Instead, she took another look around the bar. "Hey Steve? Why are all these miners here? Why aren't they at the camps?"
         "I guess you haven't heard. Monsters have been showing up in those parts lately. They say the biggest one is a serpent that measures thirty feet long."
         "Where did they come from?"
         "No one knows. There's a rumor going around that Shinra secretly makes them in their mako reactors. I don't believe a word of it, myself."
         Elena just nodded, wondering to herself if this was true. She glanced at her watch.
         "Oh! It's getting late. Sorry Steve, but I really have to go."
         "Hey, it's okay. You're on a mission, right?"
         "Yeah," Elena said as she slid off the stool. She gave her brother a tight hug, then started toward the door. "Say hi to Dad for me, will you?"
         "Sure thing! Good luck on your mission!"
         "Thanks!"
         Elena waved goodbye, then ran off toward the inn.

         As she entered the front lobby of the Kalm Inn, Tseng and Rude rose from their chairs and walked over to her. Tseng motioned to the vacant front desk.
         "There's something in the register I thought you should see."
         Elena walked up to the desk and read the book. The most recently written pair of names were Tifa Lockheart and Barret Wallace. She looked back up at the two men wearing a quizzical expression.
         "Why are you showing me this?"
         "Barret Wallace is the leader of AVALANCHE," Rude answered. "They were here last night."
         "Who is this 'Tifa', then?"
         The bald man furrowed his brows. "The last member of AVALANCHE."
         "Back when I was doing my research, I thought it strange that I could find record of neither her nor Cloud," Tseng said, "but after what Rude told me, it all made sense."
         "What did?"
         "Their records were erased," Rude replied as he started for the door, "Not only because they are natives of Nibelheim, but they also had the bad luck of being in Nibelheim five years ago, when the incident occurred…"
         Elena watched Rude go, gaping into the small crack where his past could just barely be seen. Tseng crossed his arms.
         "After I left you at the tavern, he told me the story of how he came to know Tifa. He spent the first seven years of his life in Nibelheim before his family moved to the Junon area. Tifa was an acquaintance from those days."
         "What about the 'incident' that he mentioned?"
         "That's an even longer story, but one I'm not qualified to tell."
         Elena nodded, wondering what Tseng meant by this. "So anyway, where are we headed next?"
         "The Chocobo Farm, of course. Didn't your brother say something about Sephiroth heading in that direction?"
         "Oh, right," she said, sheepishly scratching the back of her head.
         "On chocobo-back, it's only a few days' travel from here. If we're unable to find Sephiroth there, we'll stay at the farmhouse for the night, then set out again the following morning with whatever new leads we're able to pick up. I've already called Choco Bill to arrange for him to take care of our birds should we have to cross the Midgar Swamp."
         Tseng turned and left the inn. Elena followed him, and saw that Rude was busy securing the bags on the pack chocobo. The bald man furrowed his brows thoughtfully.
         "Hey, Tseng," he muttered. "Do you think Tifa and her friends are chasing after Sephiroth as well?"
         "I wouldn't be surprised. I'll call the President once we're on our way to the Chocobo Farm and let him know they were here. Considering the nature of our previous encounters, I hope they don't try to interfere with our work." Tseng mounted his chocobo. "Let's get going. Is everyone ready?"
         Rude mounted his own bird and nodded an affirmative; Elena followed suit. As they left Kalm, she thought about the conversation they had just had. Tseng didn't seem too concerned about AVALANCHE being on Sephiroth's trail. Didn't he want to get back at them for all the mayhem they'd caused? And what about what they'd done to poor Reno?
         As they galloped toward the eastern grasslands, Elena thought about Tseng; more than ever, she wanted to get to know him.

*****

         A soft cooing drew Zack out of his dreamless sleep. Cautiously, he opened his eyes, and was startled to see a large yellow and orange face staring at him. The frightened young chocobo screeched loudly and ran off.
         Zack pulled himself up to the top of the rock against which he had fallen asleep and looked out over the green meadows, softly lit by the rising sun. Nearly a week had passed since he, guided by Jenova's will, killed President Shinra and left Midgar. He was not sure why Jenova had wanted him to take this journey, nor where her ultimate destination was. Figuring that nothing worse could happen to him at this point, he let his will go, free for Jenova to control. She was his arms, his legs, his voice. However, even though she held dominion over his tongue, she could not completely disable his thoughts.
         "Jenova, where do we go from here?"
         "We must make our way across the wetlands," she answered, her voice ringing in his ear, melodic in a minor key. "There is a military base on the other side, where we will find passage across the sea."
         Zack understood; their next stop was to be Junon. He stood up, brushing his long black coat free of the grass and dirt that had accumulated on it. As he took his gray hair and tied it into a ponytail, he stared down at the slender blade leaning against the rock, its tip digging into the dirt. It was not the Masamune; rather, it was a replica made from Jenova's own flesh and bearing the sword's aura. Like his Sephiroth-self, this mock-Masamune was merely camouflage for Jenova's true form. He picked up the blade and began walking.
         Less than a mile ahead of him, a ranch came into view. With the outer pen empty of animals, the place was fairly quiet. An old man sat on a folding chair in front of the closest building, a farmhouse, smoking a long pipe. Silently, Zack walked past the pen, then headed southward toward the stagnant waters of the Midgar Swamp.
         "Hey!"
         The voice came from behind him. He turned around to see the old man standing up, his hands cupped around his mouth.
         "You aren't gonna cross the swamp on foot, are you?"
         "I was planning on it…"
         The man started walking closer, obviously in an effort to save himself the trouble of yelling.
         "You'd better catch a chocobo to help get you across. There's a huge monster that lurks in these waters—scared off all of Kalm's miners, it did."
         "A monster, you say?"
         "Yeah. A big water snake called the Midgar Zolom. It moves faster than most people can run. You'll definitely need the speedy legs of a chocobo."
         Zack's Sephiroth-self smiled cryptically. "I think I'll take my chances." He turned around and continued his trek toward the swamp. As he walked, he heard the old man sigh.
         "He probably thinks that I'm crazy," Zack thought. "What if this monster of his is really as dangerous as he's making it out to be?"
         "I wouldn't worry about that," Jenova replied. "If we do run across this beast, we'll take care of it."

         Deep in the swamp, with the Mythrill Mines just starting to come into view, Zack waded through knee-high water, thankful that Sephiroth always wore such tall boots. The bog was thick with algae, sawgrass, and mosquitos, but curiously free of wading-birds, lizards, and any other wildlife that would be typical for this environment. Zack thought that this may have been because of the Midgar Zolom. He wondered about all the monsters he had slain since leaving Midgar. In the past, the world wasn't as populated with such malicious beasts. Where had they all come from?
         A sharp pain hit his skull as this last thought materialized. He knew the answer—or at least, he should know. Someone had shown him something a long time ago… in Nibelheim. He fell to his knees, the pain overwhelming any control that Jenova had over him at that moment.
         "Get up," she demanded.
         Zack shook his head furiously. "I can't. It's my memory that's doing this to me."
         "Your memory?"
         "Missing… something's missing…"
         "Ahh…yes," Jenova replied after a brief pause, a sharper edge to her voice. "Of course."
         Zack leaned over, holding his head in pain. As he was about to topple into the water, he pushed his hands down beneath the surface and gripped at the mud and clay. He closed his eyes and took slow, deep breaths. The bog fell deathly silent; not even a ripple could be heard. Finally, he stood up, algae clinging to his gloves and armlets, and looked straight ahead. As he started to take a step forward, he was pulled back into the water, then whipped high into the air.
         His left leg was held in a tight grip by the forked, scaly tail of a massive beast. It was, like the old man had described, an enormous snake. The Midgar Zolom flicked out its purple tongue and flung Zack back into the water, where he quickly got back onto his feet, drawing his sword as he did so. Not bothering to wait for the Zolom's next move, he stepped forward, swinging the Masamune in a wide arc. The Zolom's grayish-green scales were barely scratched.
         "This beast is tougher than I anticipated," Jenova admitted. "I will need you in a more powerful form…"
         Suddenly, Zack felt a strange sensation running through his body. Two large things burst from his back as his feet left the ground. His right arm turned into a pinkish-purple tentacle, and his left gripped the Masamune's hilt tighter than before. He hovered before the Zolom as it drew itself to its full height, its forked tail twitching rapidly. Zack swooped forward, slashing at the Zolom's head in a move that was more powerful than his first, before Jenova's added mutations. The sword caught the Zolom in the eye; blood squirted out in a flailing stream, hitting Zack as the screaming serpent thrashed from side to side. With his adversary's blood dripping from his hair and chin, Zack plunged the blade into the torn eye, straight through to the creature's brain.
         "Incredible…" Zack thought as he felt the beast's final struggles through the vibrations of his sword.
         "I see you are in awe of my power."
         "I must admit… it is certainly something."
         For a moment, Zack thought he could sense Jenova smile. "Now, puppet," she answered. "Let us be rid of this nuisance and continue on our way."
         Still floating in mid-air, Zack twisted around the dead Zolom and dragged the beast behind him with the lodged Masamune. The waters of the Midgar Swamp began to recede as they neared the Mines, replaced by solid ground dotted here and there by the skeletal forms of leafless trees. Zack stopped before the first one they came to.
         "We will leave the beast here," Jenova whispered. "It will doubtless serve as a warning to all those who dare stand in our—"
         "What?" Zack interrupted. "You mean someone is after us?"
         "I have sensed two groups through my other puppets… A trio in dark blue suits, and those that you saw in the cells before you freed me."
         Zack nodded to himself as he impaled the dead Zolom on the chosen tree. The Turks—the "trio in blue suits"—he could understand. Doubtless, they were on a mission to catch the President's killer. Why Cloud, Aeris, and their friends would be following him, he wasn't sure.
         As usual, Jenova was reading his mind. "Your friends from the laboratory… they do have their reasons. You will discover them for yourself once your memory is recovered."
         "You mean my memories will come back to me?" he asked as he wrested the Masamune free from the Zolom's head.
         "In due time, puppet. Just trust in me…"
         Zack sighed as his body floated to solid ground. As his feet touched the soil, he felt Jenova's "wings" retreat into his body and the tentacle reform itself into a human arm. He stared into the dark cave opening that lay a few yards ahead of him.
         "I was afraid you were going to say that."