Zack's vision was still blurry as he and Jenova flew out of the ship toward the coastal town a few miles ahead of them. He was still in his ethereal Sephiroth form, and, try as he might, he just wasn't able to get used to it. Seeing Cloud again was a surprisingly overwhelming experience, especially since he was able to take control of his voice back from Jenova for a brief moment. It was just too bad that his immateriality affected his sight in such a way that he almost didn't recognize his old comrade. Why had he been able to regain control of himself, if only for a few seconds? Was there something about Cloud's presence that triggered it? He expected Jenova to cut in at this point with answers, but she remained silent.
         As they landed on a narrow peninsula, a little less than a mile away from Costa del Sol, Zack noticed that his vision was returning to normal. Curious, he lifted his hand before his face and saw that it was once again solid.
         "Now, puppet," whispered Jenova, "let us head into town."

         Costa del Sol was hot and bright, which only served to make Zack even more uncomfortable in his black and silver Sephiroth guise. However, under Jenova's control, "Sephiroth" didn't so much as break into a sweat. Calmly walking along the beach, Zack endured the curious stares of the surfers and sunbathers. Then, just as they were leaving the beach, a small, hunchbacked man in a white lab coat caught Zack's eye.
         "Who's that? I know I've seen him somewhere before."
         "He is Hojo, the head of the Shinra Science Department."
         "Hojo… He's the one who imprisoned me and Cloud!"
         Zack started toward Hojo, but was held back by Jenova's invisible strings. As he struggled in vain to loosen himself from her grip, Zack noticed that Hojo had begun watching him. The scientist grinned as he approached Zack, his thin lips stretching to the corners of his cheeks.
         "I see that I've quit at a good time," Hojo said, "though I must admit that I'm surprised to see you for myself…"
         "You underestimate the power of Jenova," Zack answered in Sephiroth's voice, his every word dictated by his puppetmaster.
         "I don't estimate anything. I only… observe."
         "Observe, eh? Well then, I trust that you won't get in my way?"
         "Ha ha ha… would I ever hinder you like that? In fact, I may even be willing to help you, though I'm sure you won't need it. This is the observation phase of the experiment, after all."
         "Sephiroth" smiled. In the meantime, Zack wondered what the hell Hojo was talking about.
         The scientist put one hand to his chin, propping up the elbow with his other arm, as he continued to stare at Zack. Doing the seemingly impossible, Hojo's grin grew wider.
         "I have to go," Zack said abruptly. He turned from the scientist, but as he walked away, he could still feel Hojo's eyes staring into him.
         Jenova guided Zack toward the tourist information booth. "Enough of this. We need to continue on our way. At the booth, you will get information about the amusement facility in the barren lands."
         "Amusement facility? What are you—"
         "Umm, sir? May I help you?"
         Zack quit focusing of his "conversation" with Jenova and looked at the tanned young woman manning the Costa del Sol tourist information booth. He replied, "Yes, I need some information on the local tourist attractions."
         "Well, there's a lot to see here in Costa del Sol, but if you really want to have some fun, you should check out the Gold Saucer, which is only a few days' travel from here."
         "The Gold Saucer?"
         "Uh-huh! It's a theme park, resort, and casino located in the Corel Desert."
         "Is this the 'amusement facility' you were talking about?" he quickly thought.
         "Yes. That is where we are headed next… to seek that which the Cetra concealed from me."
         Still aware of Hojo's presence, Zack looked over his shoulder and glared at the scientist.
         "What do you want?"
         "The Gold Saucer, eh?" Hojo murmured, licking his dry lips. "Why would you possibly want to go there?"
         Zack narrowed his eyes. "I am heading westward, beyond Mt. Corel. That is all you need to know. Now leave me be."
         "Very well, boy. Perhaps we'll run into each other again sometime."
         Zack watched as Hojo finally turned around and left. "'Boy'?" he thought. "Why did he call me that?"
         "Hojo's relationship with his son is quite strained," Jenova replied. "Though Hojo has proved himself useful to me, in his son's eyes, he is ever a fool."
         "Hojo's son?" Zack paused as he made the connection. "Wait a minute, you don't mean—"
         "Let us complete our exchange here and be on our way."
         Turning back to the woman, Zack immediately apologized for the interruption and asked for some maps and Gold Saucer brochures.

         Later that afternoon, Zack started down the stone path that led out of town. The next phase of the journey was going to be a rough one; he'd have to climb to the other side of Mt. Corel, then follow the railroad tracks through North Corel village to the Gold Saucer's Ropeway Station. After about an hour of walking across the grassy plains toward the mountains, Zack turned to look back at Costa del Sol, which was a bright patch of color on the green peninsula. It was then that he first became aware of a dark spot moving away from the town. It appeared to be a figure draped in a long black cloak, and it was following the exact same path he and Jenova took. Zack shivered.
         "What is that thing?" he wondered.
         Jenova replied, "Another puppet, albeit one of lesser importance. Don't worry… you have nothing to fear from him. We will encounter many more of them as we continue on our journey."
         Zack took another glance back at the figure in black, then turned toward the mountains. He knew Jenova was right, but also couldn't help feeling that the presence of more "puppets" was only the precursor to something greater.

*****

         Rufus sounded annoyed through the PHS' tinny receiver. As the President spoke, Tseng idly moved his index finger in small patterns on his laptop's trackpad, sending the Cait Sith prototype bounding in circles on the floor of the Turks' quarters in Junon.
         "So you've decided to go with my idea?" Tseng replied, a small smile on his face.
         "Isn't that what I just said?" Rufus snapped back. "After learning that both Sephiroth and AVALANCHE had stowed away aboard my ship, I don't see any other viable alternatives for keeping up with them, especially since Heidegger's so damned incompetent. Our leads indicate that Sephiroth is headed toward the Gold Saucer, so it looks like AVALANCHE will probably go there as well. And on top of that, there's no guarantees that we'll get there before they do, as much as I hate to admit it. So in short, I want you to get that fucking robot cat of yours into their party."
         "Very well, sir. I will have Cait Sith prepared for deployment by tomorrow morning, Costa del Sol time. Is there anything else, Mr. President?"
         "Only that I don't want you or any of the other Turks controlling it. Get someone else, someone trustworthy. Don't fuck this up, Tseng."
         "I won't, sir. I'm a professional."
         "Don't remind me."
         Tseng sighed. "Anything else, sir?"
         "Fly back to Midgar and report in to Scarlet. She wants to see you regarding the materia formations in Reactor #1—you'll have to get the details from her. That is all."
         The line went dead as Rufus abruptly hung up. Tseng turned off his phone and tossed it on his desk, not having expected any less rude a sign-off from the President. Of course, Rufus had every right to be pissed; the top people on Shinra's most wanted list had slipped by him yet again. However, Tseng knew that it was the admission that he was right that really riled Rufus. Even though he greatly disliked the President, this little bit of knowledge on Tseng's part didn't satisfy him as much as it could have. His war had been lost long ago; there was no point in trying to fight new battles.
         Tseng stood up and picked the prototype from off the floor. Carefully turning it over in his hands, he lay back on one of the beds and thought about who Cait Sith's operator could be. After disqualifying the other Turks, his list was a fairly short one. It had to be someone who was loyal to Shinra, and, more importantly, capable of protecting Aeris. With those things in mind, there was only one potential candidate; but even with the right qualifications, he had a few qualms about using this person.
         Tseng let out a deep breath and placed the prototype on the end table. He still had a little bit of time to finalize his decision. Right now, his primary concerns were packing and getting a ride back to Midgar.

         He managed to get out of Junon with little fanfare, which was just how he wanted it. His fellow Turks had received new orders, and would be flying to Costa del Sol shortly after his own departure. He said a quick goodbye to them, citing that he was in a hurry, so as to avoid any detailed questions. Tseng hated to leave his comrades in the dark like this, but he knew that it would be in their best interests. If they were to find out the identity of Cait Sith's operator, it would adversely affect their job performance, and possibly draw suspicion to the device from AVALANCHE. In this, the advantage he saw of having a controller who was a friend of the Turks—he was sure his candidate wouldn't turn him down—was also a potential detriment.
         Tseng's arrival back in Midgar was even more uneventful. After a brief meeting with Scarlet at the Shinra Building, Tseng made his way home through driving rain, where he changed into more casual clothing and dragged a briefcase filled with equipment out of his hall closet. He shrugged on his black trenchcoat and tucked the Cait Sith prototype into one of the coat's interior pockets. After double-checking both the time and his destination address, he picked up the briefcase and an umbrella, then left his apartment for a certain nondescript, yet familiar, building in Sector Two.
         The hallway of the building's eighth floor was dimly-lit as he stepped out of the elevator; it looked as though a bulb had recently blown. From this hallway, he could barely hear the thunder which was rocking the rest of Midgar. Soon, he found the door he needed, and rapped it with his knuckles. A moment later, it swung open.
         "Tseng! What are you—"
         The Turk clamped a hand over Reeve's mouth and looked about him cautiously.
         "May I come in?" Tseng asked in a low voice. "I have some business to discuss with you. It's rather confidential."
         Reeve scrunched up his eyebrows—Tseng couldn't tell if it was out of curiosity, annoyance, or both—and nodded, stepping back to allow his guest inside. As Reeve closed and locked his door, Tseng took off his trenchcoat and hung it up on the coatrack. He looked into the living room beyond.
         "Nice place you have here—although a bit too spartan for an executive, if you ask me."
         "It suits me fine," Reeve replied. "I wouldn't know what to do with the extra space if I had it. Now, what's this about?"
         "Let's sit down and I'll tell you."
         Reeve nodded and led the way into the living room, asking Tseng if he'd like anything to drink. Soon, the Turk found himself settled in an armchair with a mug of black coffee, watching as Reeve cleared off some newspapers from the sofa. Once the executive sat down, Tseng set the mug on the coffee table and crossed his legs, staring intently at Reeve.
         "Well, are you ready for me to tell you why I'm here?"
         Reeve nodded.
         "I am here because you promised me a favor."
         "Yes, of course."
         "However, I must warn you that it is a rather unusual request."
         "How unusual?"
         Tseng blinked, averting his eyes as he did so. How should he approach this…
         "Tell me Reeve, do you like cats?"
         "Not really," the executive replied. "Actually, I'm allergic to them. Why, did you want me to housesit one?"
         "No… nothing as pedestrian as that." Recalling Reeve's words back at Reactor #1, Tseng added, "I did save your life, after all."
         "Right. So just what is this unusual request of yours?"
         "Straight to the point, I see."
         "Are you afraid that I might back out once I hear it?"
         "No, but I don't want to hold you to it—"
         "Just tell me, Tseng. At the very least, I'd like to know what it is."
         "Only if you promise me that if you turn down my request, you speak to no one else of it."
         Reeve locked eyes with Tseng. "I promise," he said sincerely.
         Tseng scanned Reeve's expression, then nodded. "Very well. What I want is for you to infiltrate AVALANCHE on behalf of Shinra and the Turks."
         Reeve's eyebrows went askew. "Wait a minute. Are you saying you want me to be a spy?"
         By way of an answer, Tseng stood up and went to the hall closet. From his trenchcoat's inner pocket, he pulled out the Cait Sith prototype and walked back into the living room, where he placed it on the coffee table. Reeve still looked confused.
         "The Cait Sith beta?"
         "Yes. As you know, the full-sized model was to be activated next week. However, I have managed to convince Rufus and Heidegger to deploy Cait early and put him to another use; namely, keeping tabs on AVALANCHE as they follow Sephiroth's trail."
         "And Cait is fully equipped to do this sort of work?"
         "Yes. In this briefcase," Tseng explained, indicating the satchel he had brought into the room with him, "is a variety of sensory input devices, most of which were specially developed for controlling Cait Sith. He has full voice, motion, and materia usage capabilities and can be controlled from just about anywhere in the world."
         Reeve leaned back into the sofa, sipping from his own cup of coffee, looking at the small prototype sitting on the table. His eyes roved back to Tseng.
         "Somehow I get the impression that you aren't telling me everything," Reeve said. "There's plenty of people in Peace Preservation's Intelligence division who can do this sort of job. So why me?"
         Tseng smiled. "You are not suspicious without reason, Reeve. I'm sure you may have heard that Aeris is traveling with AVALANCHE. I saw her myself in Junon, but was not able to convince her to come back to Midgar with me. She is instead continuing on with Cloud and his friends, searching for answers about her past."
         "So basically, you want me to make sure that Aeris is all right, on top of spying on AVALANCHE."
         "Yes, exactly. Needless to say, not everyone can do this job. When Rufus disqualified the Turks, I naturally thought of you. So, would you be able to do this task?"
         "Of course. I'll have to rearrange my schedule, but I'm sure I can do it."
         "You do realize that operating Cait will be a full-time job. It does have a rudimentary AI interface, but other than that, you'll have to use your own discretion."
         "Yes, I'm aware of that."
         "Also, you must never reveal any information about yourself while you are speaking as Cait Sith, not even aspects of your personality. Ideally, Cait Sith and Reeve should be two completely different beings."
         "My acting skills are a bit rusty, but that shouldn't be a problem."
         Before Tseng could continue with additional warnings, he paused, turning over Reeve's last reply in his mind. He uncrossed his legs and reached for his mug.
         "You mean to say, you were an actor?" the Turk asked, genuinely curious.
         Reeve appeared to be taken aback by Tseng's reaction. "Well, yes. Back when I was in university. That was a long time ago…"
         Tseng took a sip of his dark coffee. "I studied acting myself. I used to love the theater."
         "Were you ever in any performances?"
         "I had a minor part in Loveless… that was my greatest theatrical accomplishment."
         "Huh. I was in the touring company of Loveless one summer. If you don't mind my asking, what part did you play?"
         Tseng took another sip. The warm vapors rising from his mug, combined with the steady patter of the rain outside and this unexpected turn in their conversation, felt pleasant. "I was one of the black mage apprentices to Red Tina. How about you?"
         "Nothing nearly as glamorous," Reeve laughed. "I was the mediator, Cole."
         Tseng placed one elbow on the arm of his chair and leaned his chin into his hand. A mediator-type would make a perfect personality for Cait Sith. "What's wrong with Cole? It's a good part."
         "Yeah, I guess… but it really wasn't the part I wanted to play."
         "I suppose that's understandable. I was never fully comfortable being a black mage myself."
         "So what makes Cole such a good part, eh?"
         "Because, he can convince nearly anyone of nearly anything," Tseng replied, smiling, "And that's exactly the kind of persuasive ability Cait Sith is going to need to get in with Cloud and his friends."
         Reeve returned the smile. "I see."
         The room fell silent. Tseng cleared his throat and set his mug down on the table.
         "So, are you going to accept this job?"
         "I said I owed you a favor, didn't I?" Reeve replied. "I'm a man of my word."
         Tseng nodded. "I can tell. I just have one more condition."
         "Which is?"
         "For you not to tell anyone about your alternate identity, including the President, the other executives, and the other Turks."
         "Even Reno?"
         Tseng replied, "Yes, even Reno. You and I are the only ones who know about this, and it should stay that way. This condition of mine is a security measure, but at the same time, I don't want my own personal motives to be revealed."
         Reeve nodded. "Right… Well then, I accept. I'll be your spy."

         Tseng pulled a wide variety of equipment from his briefcase, all different devices for controlling Cait Sith. Reeve assisted Tseng as the Turk installed a special wireless card into the former's laptop, and a small chip into his PHS. There were stand-alone devices as well; a small reciever to go behind Reeve's ear, an even smaller device affixed to one of his teeth, a special contact lens with video output capabilities, and an armlet containing a single manipulate materia and lots of microscopic electronics. Once Reeve was fully wired, and Tseng had installed and checked whatever software he had also brought with him, the Turk turned on the main control console for Cait Sith on Reeve's laptop. Splitting the camera views between himself and Reeve, Tseng asked the executive what he saw in the eye with the contact lens.
         As Reeve adjusted to his new frame of vision, Tseng heard him murmur, "Oh God, not this place."
         Tseng looked at the small computer screen. The camera feed from Cait Sith's eyes revealed a luxurious living room with a large leather sofa, bone white carpet, and mahogany coffee table. "The Executive Suite," Tseng murmured. He looked up at Reeve. "You have bad memories of this room, I take it?"
         Reeve shook his head. "Don't worry about it."
         "All right," the Turk replied as he turned back to the laptop.
         "Tseng, how do I talk as Cait Sith?"
         "You're doing it right now. There are other ways too, of course. You can type in phrases using your PHS keypad, or with your laptop. And if you're using either your PHS or the transceiver chip to vocally control Cait, you can say the commands or talk as quietly as you wish with the same results.
         Reeve nodded, and lifted his right hand in front of his face. On the laptop screen, Cait Sith's right came into view.
         "It's quite a sophisticated piece of hardware, eh?" Tseng asked.
         "Indeed it is. I just hope I can get accustomed to using it."

         Tseng showed Reeve a number of other basic controls and commands for Cait Sith, then left the executive's apartment shortly after midnight. By then, the rain had stopped, but the evening air still hung heavy with humidity. Tseng walked to the nearest train station and just barely caught the last local train of the evening. On the ride home, he thought of the job he had ahead of him: accompanying Scarlet into the ruined Reactor #1 to help look for salvageable weapons-grade materia. A fairly routine job, by all means, but in relation to this day's events, he couldn't help thinking of the atypical irony.

*****

         Whatever it was that had been wrong with the Highwind during the Welcoming Ceremony still wasn't completely fixed. The loud clanking of the engine made all on board nervous as the airship cruised over the vast ocean. Rude was anxious as well, though he was also annoyed; the constant noise irreparably disturbed what was supposed to be a fairly quiet trip to Costa del Sol. Along with Reno and Elena, he had been summoned there by Rufus Shinra, who had discovered—too late—that their adversaries had stowed away on the President's freighter. Their new orders were to travel ahead to the Corel Desert and await further orders. Apparently, Tseng was making arrangements for a spy to infiltrate AVALANCHE once the group reached that area; as soon as the spy had successfully joined the group, the Turks would be back on the move.
         Rude was relieved to see the Highwind go once they disembarked in Costa del Sol, and silently hoped that it would make it back to Junon in one piece. The crewmen aboard the ship assured the Turks that the airship would, though they'd have to travel at half the normal speed just to be on the safe side. Costa del Sol had no facilities that were able to handle airship repairs, so the Highwind's crew really had no choice in the matter.
         The Turks walked into town, taking in the bright sunshine and cool ocean breezes. It had been a long time since Rude had been to the Great Continent, especially these parts. He only wished that they could stay longer; they were due to depart for the Corel region the following day.
         "So, guys," Reno said, breaking the silence. "What are we all going to do while we're here? Might as well have a little bit of fun before we trudge off to Corel."
         "Shouldn't we be focused on the job ahead?" Elena asked.
         Reno shrugged. "I really don't see any incentive to doing so. We don't know what they're gonna want with us after the spy gets planted-- for instance, are we gonna end up following AVALANCHE or going ahead of them?"
         "Hmm," Elena muttered, lowering her head slightly. "I see your point."
         "Hey, what're you getting so down for? So you're still new and asking questions… big deal!"
         Rude added, "Reno's right. You haven't been on the job very long. We can't expect you to know everything."
         "I know that! But…"
         "But you're just afraid of looking like an idiot?" inquired Rude.
         "Yeah…"
         Reno said, "Don't worry about it. We've all been in your place… we know what it's like."
         Elena nodded. After a moment of silence, she looked toward the ocean and said, "As for what we're going to do in the meantime… I was thinking of hitting the beaches…"
         "Not a bad idea," Reno replied. "Think I might join you, at least for a little while. What about you, Rude? Gonna come to the beach with us?"
         Rude was curious to check out the beach, but he also liked the idea of seeking some solitude for awhile. "Maybe later… I just want to walk around town a bit right now."
         "Okay, that's cool. You really should come, though. I'm gonna get Elena here into a bikini!"
         That declaration earned Reno a burning glare from Elena. Rude quickly turned away.
         "I'll see you two later."

         Rude hadn't gotten too far into Costa del Sol before he heard someone calling his name.
         "Hey! Don't I know you from somewhere?"
         The bald Turk turned around in the direction of the voice. Through his dark glasses, he saw a skinny young man with a nervous tic and shock of short red hair.
         "Nibelheim, right?" the man continued as he walked up to Rude. "Didn't you used to live a few houses down from me?"
         "Hold on a minute…" Rude said. "You're saying we knew each other as kids?"
         "Of course! It's me, Johnny! Remember me now? And you're… Rudy, right?"
         "Rude," the Turk quickly corrected. "Rude Powers."
         "Powers, yeah. You're probably wondering how I recognized you, right? Well, a couple years ago, my brother saw your picture in the Midgar Times, and said, 'Hey, it's that quiet kid we knew in Nibelheim! He's a Turk, now!'" Johnny explained. "I mean, otherwise, I would've never recognized you, what with your dome and the earrings and all."
         Rude simply nodded. By this point, he had been able to call up a faint recollection of Johnny, remembering him as a talkative and excitable kid, but not really all that interesting.
         "Man, what a weird week this has been! I mean, I only just moved here, and I run into both you and Tifa!"
         "Tifa?" Rude exclaimed, taking a new interest in the conversation. "When did you see her?"
         "Just yesterday," Johnny said. "Man, it was great… me and her catching up on old times. She was traveling with a bunch of people, including someone claiming to be her childhood friend, though I don't remember him. You ever know a kid named Cloud Strife?"
         "Not really." It was true; he didn't know Cloud that well, even though they were raised in the same small town. Come to think of it, not very many of the other kids knew Cloud, either.
         Johnny shrugged. "Ahh, well. Whatever. Anyway, they're traveling around with a real motley crew."
         "I know."
         "I bet, you being a Turk and all. Let's see… there was some big guy with a gun-arm, a girl with her hair in this huge braid, some kind of big orange dog, and a Wutaiese girl."
         This last bit of information was new to the Turk. "A Wutaiese girl?"
         "Yeah. She was working for Butch yesterday, but for all I know, she was secretly stealing materia from behind his back. You can never trust those Wutaiese chicks, especially the cute ones. And boy, was she cute! Short brown hair, green top, hiking boots…"
         Rude nodded. If this girl was who he thought she was, then their adventures were about to get far more interesting than he had originally bargained for.

*****

         Reeve wasn't convinced that he really was controlling some reconfigured fortune-telling machine on the other side of the planet, at least not until he guided Cait Sith outside of the Executive Suite on the night following Tseng's visit. After taking the special access chute down to Speed Square, Cait walked up to the first set of tourists he saw, a pair of tanned young women from Costa del Sol.
         "'Afternoon ladies!" Reeve greeted them in the mock Corel accent he had decided on for Cait Sith's voice. "Would'ja like me to read your fortune? I ain't exactly the greatest fortune teller there is, but I've been told I'm pretty good! Whaddya say?"
         As the women agreed to have their fortunes read, Reeve punched in the commands for the moogle's dance, followed by the ones for the fortune-handing. One of the women took the slip of paper from Cait's hand, scanned it over, then smiled.
         "Well, how is it?" Cait asked.
         The woman read, "'A golden egg of opportunity falls into your lap this month.'"
         Cait beamed. "A very good fortune! Well, so long now! Enjoy your stay at the Gold Saucer!"
         As the cat and his giant moogle carrier bounded away, Reeve heard the women return the farewells. "Bye! Thanks for the fortune!"
         Reeve moved throughout the rest of the Saucer's squares in this manner, greeting customers and handing out fortunes. He quickly became accustomed to Cait's interface, and with some more practice the following evening, was able to utilize most of the tools Tseng had given him with a great deal of ease. After each session with Cait Sith, he would go over the outline Tseng had left with him: a small set of instructions detailing the best way to infiltrate Cloud's group. Three fortunes were included with the instructions, the clincher being the mysterious, "What you pursue will be yours, but you will lose something dear."
         On the third night after Tseng's visit, Reeve connected to Cait Sith and settled into his typical routine. He decided to hit Wonder Square first, where he worked the sparse crowds just outside of the main arcade room. Idling near the chutes for a moment, he snapped to attention when he saw a SOLDIER with spiky blond hair jump up out of a tube, followed closely behind by a girl in a pink dress, whom Reeve immediately recognized as Aeris.
         The executive's heart skipped a beat before he snapped back into character and called out to them. It was showtime.