"The so-called Black and White magicks are but the same to us, and both are equally simple to use. The true artistry of the Red Mage lies in the maintaining of the balance and harmony between them." —Loveless, Act II, Scene 4, Verses 52-53

         Wrapped in a silk bathrobe, he walked from the kitchen carrying a steaming cup of green tea, his father's favorite. He set the cup and its saucer on one of the end tables and reclined on the adjacent sofa, taking a deep breath as he did so. He was home; as much of a home as a two-bedroom apartment on the Sector Five plate could be. With only its bare walls and floors taken into consideration, this place was as plain as any other that existed on Midgar's Upper Plates. Yet he had made this otherwise ordinary apartment his own, its every corner bearing his signature; from the stark, postmodern furniture, to the bonsai tree, calligraphy scrolls, and other items that had been smuggled out of Wutai by various acquaintances during the war. He rubbed his bare feet together and took another deep breath before pulling himself into a sitting position.
         Tseng lifted the cup and took a sip, breathing in the scented vapor that rose from the surface of the hot liquid, relishing the relaxation ritual he always engaged in prior to an out-of-town mission. He would be leaving Midgar again the next morning, and—because of the nature of this particular job—he wasn't sure when he would be coming back. The salvage work at the city's Reactor #1 hadn't gone all that well; although there had been plenty of scrap materia created by the explosion, for one reason or another, none of it was useful to Scarlet. After this failure, she immediately began considering other locations where they could possibly salvage large chunks of materia. Late yesterday afternoon, they met with the Chair of Urban Development concerning the matter. A few old mines were briefly discussed, as was the long-disputed Condor reactor. Then, Scarlet mentioned the Mako reactor at North Corel.
         Corel. Of course, Tseng knew why Scarlet had brought up that location—the damage that the North Corel reactor received four years prior resulted in a fair amount of condensed mako. However, the first images that came to Tseng's mind when North Corel was mentioned were not of materia, but explosions, flames, and the corpse of his father. He wasn't there when the riots occurred, but he was for the aftermath, and that had been enough. He hadn't been to Corel since then, and had no desire to set foot in the place now.
         Reeve shook his head, saying that doing any salvage work at North Corel was unfeasible at this time; the peak tourist season had already started at the Gold Saucer, and as such, the facility required a steady, uninterrupted stream of mako-generated electricity. It would be too dangerous to go poking around a live reactor like that, without first ruling out all other options.
         Scarlet argued her case, which Reeve countered again; their voices slowly raising in volume and hostility. Yet all the while, they maintained a professional air, neither of them resorting to personal affronts. Tseng, who had stood a little ways apart from them, continued his quiet brooding as images of another town, another explosion, and another painful memory creeped into his mind. He addressed the two executives, interrupting their escalating debate.
         "Chairpersons, may I suggest the old mako reactor in Gongaga?"
         Upon Tseng's mention of this reactor, Scarlet folded her arms across her chest and swiveled her head away from her estranged husband. Meanwhile, Reeve had turned to Tseng with melacholy in his eyes; the Turk returned the gaze briefly, awkwardly. Of course, Tseng had long known that Reeve's parents had perished in the reactor's explosion, so he wasn't the least bit suprised by his reaction.
         Incidentally, Tseng had also personally known a victim of the Gongaga disaster. Her name was Sasha. She was his superior at the time; a strict, procedural woman from the Northern Continent who became Head Turk after the elder Tseng died. The last time Yoshiro had seen her alive was in a small, dilapidated house in Gongaga, shortly before the severity of her injuries did her in.
         The Urban Development Chair had nodded his approval, and Scarlet nodded back, without uttering a word. The meeting was adjourned, and Scarlet led Tseng to her office, where they planned their trip to Gongaga.

         Tseng stood up from the couch and took his tea to the closest window, one which faced the outskirts of the city and the barren lands beyond. So much had happened in the past few weeks—so much was happening now—and he was still trying to make sense of it all. Aeris was far away from him, further than she had ever been since he had first come to know her. She was out discovering herself, finding out who her people—the Cetra—really were. She was filling in blanks about her existence that even Tseng, a high-ranking officer within the Shinra Corporation, was unable to answer.
         He wished he could, though. He owed Aeris his life.
         She was the one who reassured him and stood by him the most after his father's death; the one who helped him retain his sanity and not lose resolve. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to say that she helped make him what he is today.
         Of course, Rufus Shinra helped shape Tseng's being as well, but in an entirely different manner.
         Rufus Thaddeus Shinra. Tseng pensively took another sip as the name rolled off his mind's tongue. Other named followed, names not as innocuous. Bastard. Asshole. Piece of shit. Motherfucker.
         Darling.
         A bolt of lightning lit up the sky. His last thought… he hadn't thought of Rufus like that since—
         The thunder came in to accompany the lightning. It was exceedingly loud. As sheets of rain began streaming down the window, Tseng walked away, back to the sofa, and lay down.
         He had once called Rufus by that latter name, a fact Tseng still couldn't convince himself of. Hard to believe that there was once a time when Tseng thought he was in love with Rufus. That time had long passed; nowadays whenever he met with the VP-cum-President, it was a mental slap across the face. Tseng utterly, thoroughly, completely despised him; and also hated himself for getting involved with such a bastard in the first place. Again, if it wasn't for Aeris—
         It was the ringing of his PHS which broke him from these destructive thoughts. Caught unawares, Tseng bolted up from the sofa and looked around for a few seconds before finding the cell phone on the kitchen counter. He picked it up and flipped it open.
         "Tseng here."
         "Hey, it's me. Just checking in."
         Tseng glanced at the clock on the wall. "Right on time, Reno. I heard from 'Cait Sith' a couple of hours ago."
         "Yeah? So what's up?"
         "They're in the desert prison. Our spy was short on details, but I wouldn't worry about it."
         "What about Sephiroth?"
         "Cait mentioned that Dio was approached by a man in a black cape. Reportedly the man asked if Dio had a 'Black Materia'."
         "A what?"
         "A Black Materia. Have you ever heard of such a thing?"
         "No… don't think I have."
         "I see…" This did not bode well. If Reno, a former materiologist, didn't know what a Black Materia was, then how were they to find out before Sephiroth got his hands on it?
         "No other news on Sephiroth's activities?"
         "None whatsoever. There was some trouble earlier at the Saucer, but that's a separate matter.
         "Right. Well, there's nothing here to report."
         "That's fine. Once I hear any news regarding either Sephiroth or AVALANCHE, I'll give you a call."
         "Likewise. Take care, Tseng."
         "You too, Reno. Send Rude and Elena my regards."
         "Will do."
         Tseng hung up and placed the phone back on the counter. He stared out at the driving rain. So far, Reeve was proving himself to be a fine spy. At least something was going right these days…
         It was at that moment when a thought struck him. Tseng left the kitchen and walked through the living room toward his personal office. As all Turks do, he kept a will which was constantly in revision; Tseng realized that he hadn't touched his in nearly six months, and had some important amendments to make.

*****

         In a small cavern tucked away in the mountains northwest of the Gold Saucer, Elena sat to one side and watched as Reno pulled his belt from around his waist and rolled up his left sleeve just past the elbow. Reno then picked up an empty syringe, which he carefully filled with a clear liquid from a small vial. He wrapped the belt around his upper arm and pulled it tight, then plunged the needle's tip into a vein bulging from the crook of his elbow. His left hand, curled into a fist, loosened slightly as the last of the liquid escaped into his bloodstream. Carefully, Reno pulled the needle from his arm and affixed a bandage over the needle's mark.
         This was the third morning Elena had watched him go through this routine, but it hadn't been any less disquieting. Overwhelmed by curiosity, she addressed her comrade.
         "Hey, Reno?"
         The redhead looked up from readjusting the belt around his waist.
         "If you don't mind my asking, what is that stuff that you've been injecting every morning?"
         "It's a tranquilizer. I need it to keep me calm."
         "What do you mean?" Elena asked, crawling closer to him.
         Reno tipped his head back and stared at the cavern's ceiling, as if in thought. "Well… have you ever heard of a Turk named Valentine?"
         "Only the name."
         Reno nodded. "Most have. He was one of the founding members of the Turks, and was said by some to be the greatest marksman who ever worked for Shinra. But what a lot of people don't know is how he disappeared."
         "Disappeared?"
         "Yeah. I don't know too many details, but it seems he got into a huge argument with Hojo, and the scientist strapped him down and carried out a series of experiments on him."
         Elena shuddered. "What kinds of experiments?"
         "Summonary mutation," Reno replied as he lit himself a cigarette. "The ability to transform into a summon god at will. It was one of the things I studied while I was in Rocket Town."
         Reno's eyes met Elena's. Her alarm and confusion was tempered by the sadness she saw in him; whether or not it was merely a side-effect of the tranquilizer, she couldn't be sure.
         "If I fight for long enough," Reno continued, "or if I otherwise get really furious, I get pushed right to the limit. And if I go beyond that limit, I transform."
         "What? You mean into a summon creature?"
         "Exactly. And I don't want to do that. Once was more than enough for me."
         Elena nodded slowly, falling silent. After a moment, she asked, "But why were you messing around with that stuff to begin with?"
         "Since I first learned about the Valentine experiments, I've been intrigued by them. But I'd say that what drove me to actually experiment on myself was…" Reno pinched his eyebrows and stared straight ahead of him, taking a drag from his cigarette. After exhaling a thick plume of smoke, he continued, "Well, let's just say that it wasn't for the purest of reasons. It's not something I'm comfortable talking about."
         "That's okay," Elena replied. "I'm sorry if I'm prying."
         "Don't worry about it. You have the right to be curious, after all."
         Elena froze, remembering that Reeve had said something similar to her in a diner back in Midgar. Reno must've noticed her reaction, because he immediately asked, "Did I say something wrong?"
         "Well no, not… really. It's nothing."
         "Hmm," Reno frowned. "If you say so."
         "Listen," she said, edging even closer to him. "You've known Reeve for a long time, right?"
         Reno looked at her, his eyebrows askew. "Where did this come from all of a sudden?"
         "Nowhere," Elena shrugged. "Can you tell me what he's really like?"
         For a moment, Reno hesitated. "Well… he's honest—brutally honest. Organized. Got a keen eye for detail. Keeps a lot to himself…"
         Elena listened, wondering all the while what Reeve saw in her. Naturally, the qualities that Reno were rattling off seemed to be good ones. Of course, she thought, it was because he didn't want to badmouth his friend. Elena decided to ask him for the dirt.
         "Isn't there anything bad about Reeve?"
         Reno sighed heavily. "He's married."
         Now it was Elena's turn to skew her eyebrows. "Huh?"
         Hastily, Reno explained, "Well, I mean, he feels somewhat attached to his wife even though he hates her, and his moodiness over the whole issue really bogs down our friendship."
         "I see."
         "There's that, plus he's got one hell of a temper. Those are his main flaws, as I see them. Doesn't make him a bad guy, though…"
         "Yeah, I suppose you're right."
         Reno tapped the ashes from the end of his cigarette onto the floor of the cave. "You like him?"
         "I don't know. Maybe."
         "Just be careful, okay? Like I said, he's married, and on top of that, he's been having mood swings over it. I'm just afraid he'll… do something he'll end up regretting."
         Elena nodded and looked closely at Reno. His face was racked with weariness.
         "You really care about him, huh?"
         Reno leaned back against the wall of the cave. "'Course I do. He's my fucking friend. Who else is gonna look out for him?"
         Elena smiled. "Well, I'm glad that you're looking out for me, too."
         "Eh?"
         "I'll be careful," Elena replied, bending over to kiss Reno on the cheek. "Thanks for the advice."

*****

         Reno watched as she stood up and walked over to the entrance of the cave. After she left, he smacked the spot on his cheek where Elena had kissed him with the palm of his hand, rubbing away the small traces of saliva left there.
         He smiled. Sure, she had seen a meaning in his words that, perhaps, he didn't intend, but maybe it was for the better. She was a nice girl, and a good buddy too—definitely one he wanted to keep.
         Standing up, Reno shook his head vigorously, trying to quell the sadness that was a side effect of the tranquilizer. He walked over to the mouth of the cavern to rejoin his fellow Turks. Rude was on his PHS, talking to Tseng, and Elena had climbed down to a nearby rock shelf, where she was feeding their three black chocobos breakfast.
         "So, any news from Tseng?"
         "Excuse me," Rude said into the receiver. He palmed it and turned to Reno. "We're to move out immediately. The spy has indicated that Sephiroth is en route to Gongaga, and that AVALANCHE will be heading there as well."
         "Right. By the way, did you ask Tseng about our vacation time?"
         "Ask him yourself," Rude replied, tossing Reno the PHS. The bald Turk walked by Reno and climbed down to assist Elena with the chocobos. Reno brought the phone up to his ear.
         "Hey, it's Reno. So AVALANCHE is back on the move, eh?"
         "Yes," Tseng replied. "They've received the gift of a buggy from Dio—had something to do with that 'unrelated incident' I mentioned yesterday—so you three are going to have to ride extra hard to beat them to Sephiroth."
         "Gotcha. Say we miss Sephy again. What do you want us to do when AVALANCHE gets to Gongaga?"
         "Deal with them accordingly. In other words, fight, but not too hard. Just do the minimum of what Shinra expects from you."
         "Of course," Reno replied, smirking. "Listen, there's one last thing I've gotta talk to you about this morning…"
         "Your vacation?"
         "Yeah. As you know, I haven't taken any time off in over a year, and Rude has a ton of vacation days as well…"
         Reno could almost hear Tseng shake his head as the latter said, "I know how you feel, Reno, but his is the wrong time to be discussing vacations. The President's killer is at large and we have been charged with finding him. Do you mean to just abandon your mission and--"
         "No, no, it's nothing like that. I was just thinking that since you planted Cait Sith in with Cloud's crew, the rest of us can breathe a little easier."
         Tseng's end of the line was silent for a moment. "All right," he finally said. "How about we wait and see what happens in Gongaga first. We may get new information, we may not. In any case, I believe that Cloud and his friends may continue on to Cosmo Canyon from Gongaga, regardless of what happens. You shouldn't have to follow them there, but that might change."
         "Cosmo Canyon? Why there?"
         "Do you remember the beast in their party I told you about, the one Hojo named Red XIII? My spy has verified that it is from Cosmo Canyon. Apparently, this 'Red XIII' has indicated that his own journey will end when he gets home."
         Reno raised his eyebrows. "Really. You know, I don't think you ever gave me a full description of this animal…"
         "I admit that the briefing I gave you in Junon was a bit rushed. The beast stands between three and a half to four feet when on fours. It has orange-red fur, three tattoos, and wears a headdress."
         "Nanaki!" Reno whispered to himself.
         "Did you say something?" Tseng asked.
         "No… It's just that the animal you're describing sounds familiar, though I remember him having just two tattoos. I haven't seen the kid in about seven years now… wonder why he's got a third one?"
         "I thought you might have known him."
         "Shit, Tseng. His father's only one of the greatest warriors the Canyon's ever seen!"
         "Greater than your father?"
         "That's debatable," Reno smirked, "though I'd have to say that from what my dad told me, Seto had some balls."
         "I'll take your word for it. So, what is your relationship to this creature?"
         "At best, we're like rival siblings. At worst, just full-on rivals."
         "I guess then pursuing his assistance would be out of the question."
         "Assistance in what? Finding Sephiroth or keeping an eye on Aeris?"
         "…Both."
         "Yeah. I don't think we should count on it."
         "I'll take your word for it," Tseng said. "One last thing… I'll be in Gongaga myself in a couple of days; I'm still helping Scarlet find some Huge Materia for her 'ultimate weapon', so we'll be checking the ruins of that town's mako reactor. Therefore, if you need to discuss anything with me, you can do so in person."
         "That's good to know. Thanks, man."

         The call ended a little while later. Reno tossed Rude's phone down to him, then went back inside the cave, where he cleaned up their campsite. He brought out the rest of their supplies and took them down to Rude and Elena, who strapped the items to the backs of their chocobos.
         "So, what did Tseng say about our vacation?" asked Rude.
         "He hasn't made any final decisions yet," answered Reno. "Wants to see what goes down in Gongaga first."
         "I see. Makes sense, I suppose."
         They mounted their chocobos and started the descent to the Corel desert. As they reached the base of the mountains, Reno said, "You know Elena, you should come with us."
         "Huh? You mean, on vacation with you guys?"
         "Yeah. We were thinking of going to Wutai."
         "Well, if it'll be okay with Tseng…"
         "I'm sure it will be," Reno replied, smiling. Of course, he not only wanted her company on their vacation, but he also wanted to set her up with Rude. Wutai, a picturesque locale far enough from the nearest Shinra settlement, would be the perfect place to do so. "What do you think, Rude?"
         "S—sure. It's fine with me."
         "Okay then, it's settled!" Reno proclaimed as he prepared to snap his chocobo's reigns. "Now let's get to Gongaga and take care of ol' Sephy, once and for all!"