Zack couldn't help recalling some words of Yoshiro's as he thumbed through the books in the basement of the Shinra Mansion. "There are some things you ought not to know," the intelligence officer had replied on the one occasion Zack asked why Aeris was wanted by the Shinra. When he pressured Aeris herself for the answer, she wouldn't tell him either, saying that Yoshiro had advised her against it, suggesting that the dynamic of their relationship would change if Zack knew. He'd always had the impression that Yoshiro didn't entirely trust this young SOLDIER with his best friend, and Zack tried his best to prove his sincerity. As it turned out, his best was never good enough.
         Sensing another presence in the room, Zack closed the book he'd been flipping through and looked up to see one of the robed beings—a "clone", according to these volumes—standing before the desk. The clone pulled back his hood, revealing those familiar feline eyes and silver hair. "You've learned a lot today, haven't you?" Sephiroth said. "I wonder why Mother insisted on showing you this library,"
         Sephiroth was right; Zack had. He'd learned about Jenova being found in the middle of a glacier, the Jenova Project to create people with the powers of the Ancients, the arson that befell Nibelheim during Sephiroth's visit five years ago, and the Jenova Reunion Project that followed. Yet he was still bothered by the fact that he couldn't remember his own trip to Nibelheim, not even after seeing that picture he was in, the one taken outside of this very mansion.
         Zack nodded and replied, "To be honest, I've been wondering that myself."
         "Well, why doesn't she tell us?"
         "I get the impression that she doesn't want to talk right now. She's made no effort to control me since we entered this room."
         "Interesting…" Sephiroth murmured, pacing about the room. "Perhaps she's mad at me."
         "Huh?"
         "I can't blame her, seeing as how I'm controlling her Reunion myself. If you were Mother, wouldn't that be cause for alarm?"
         "I guess so. How are you doing this anyway?"
         "I kept my will strong, no matter how much the Planet tried to tear it apart. During that time, I learned many things on my own, and waited. However…" Sephiroth trailed off. "At any rate, she can use you all she wants, but in the end, you will all be subjected to me. As for myself, I have my own chosen one—the beauty of him is that he has no idea what he's doing, a clone with no awareness of his role in the Reunion."
         Zack stared at Sephiroth, thinking about who this might be. Surely it wasn't any of the cloaked figures, as mindless as they seemed. No, Sephiroth was hinting at someone else, a clone that was out of the ordinary. Then, it struck him.
         "Cloud."
         "Very perceptive."
         Jenova finally manifested herself, breaking her silence. "Sephiroth, do you honestly believe that that failure is the key to success?"
         "Absolutely. His ignorance is my bliss."
         "He was never a part of the plan."
         "Maybe not yours…"
         "What happened to collaboration? Were we not to rule this world together?"
         Sephiroth smiled. "I wish we could, Mother, but on this Planet, there can only be one God. You know that as well as I do. Right now, we must prepare ourselves. The failure is on his way here." He pulled his hood back over his head and disappeared down the corridor. Zack let out a long sigh.
         "You're competing with him."
         "He gives me no choice. Even though he is my kin, I am still alive. I have lain in wait for over two thousand years, after the Cetra defeated me in my first attempt to rule this planet. But now, all the Cetra are gone, save for one, and if it weren't for Sephiroth's own delusions, I would become the supreme being of this world."
         "The Cetra? You mean the Ancients, right? But… aren't you an Ancient?"
         "No. I am of a far superior order, raised to be a Queen, cruel and merciless."
         "I should've known. So how do you plan to beat Sephiroth?"
         "It will be difficult, but the Reunion must commence first. That means gathering the parts of me that are within you and the others, including Sephiroth and the failure. What I fear is that Sephiroth will gain control of the Calamity before we do."
         "The Calamity?"
         "Yes. Unfortunately, we need to lead the failure there—keep him on our trail, as we have done with the others. The Reunion depends on you all. From there, it is only a matter of who reaches the Calamity first."

*****

         The following morning, the three Turks rode out from Nibelheim, over the stark, grey mountains to the grassy plains beyond. Off in the distance, a great leaning rocket broke the otherwise flat landscape. Once they reached the outskirts of the settlement at the base of the rocket, Reno took a deep breath and stepped foot in the dusty streets, doing his best to ignore the stares of the passers-by. Although this town had been rebuilt since his departure, many familiar faces still resided here—engineers, mechanics, and specialists who chose to remain, even after the launch of the Shinra No. 26 was aborted. Fortunately, these people made no attempt to greet Reno; good for him, since he wasn't in the mood for such pleasantries. Right now, he just wanted to get in, and get out.
         Reno had no idea where Cid Highwind lived, but he knew where to find out. He headed straight for the door of the Chief Inspector's house—traditionally the largest house in Rocket Town. It was in just such a house that he lived with the young woman who was the Chief Inspector during the Wutai War, along with a second housemate. The three of them had had plenty of good times there; that is, until Reno was betrayed by one of the Space Program's rocket mechanics.
         He knocked on the door of the current house, which sat to the right of the launchpad that housed the precariously leaning Shinra No. 26. A broad-shouldered man wearing a day's worth of stubble and a pair of tired eyes answered the door. Reno recognized him immediately.
         "Captain Highwind."
         Cid squinted at the Turk and his companions, expelling twin streams of cigarette smoke through his nostrils. "Mr… Cerise, right?"
         "Yeah. Been a long time."
         "Too long."
         "Nah. Not long enough."
         "Eh?"
         "Nothing personal, of course. It's just… this town."
         "Huh. Word has it you saved 'this town' during the war."
         "Yeah. That's why it pains me to come back."
         "Bad memories?"
         "Fuckin' awful memories."
         "Shit, well… that's war for ya. Now, what brings you here?"
         "I've been asked to tell you that President Rufus will be paying you a visit soon."
         "Yeah?"
         "Yeah. And Palmer'll be with him."
         The corners of Cid's mouth curled up into a slight smile. "No shit. Know why they're coming here?"
         Reno shrugged. "I have no idea."
         "Huh. Well, thanks for the news. I'm certainly glad to hear it. Something for this sorry dump of a town to look forward to."
         Reno glared at Cid. "Do you really think so little of this place?"
         "No, not at all. I'm sorta like you, Cerise. Been here too damn long not to care about it. But you know how people complain about their relatives? It's the same thing with me and Rocket Town. Now listen, you guys wanna come in and have some tea? 'Least I could do."
         Though Reno's gut instinct was to say "no" and get the hell out of there, he couldn't stop himself from instinctively turning around and glancing at his companions. They both seemed concerned about Reno, but at the same time, he could tell that they wanted to take Cid up on his offer. Even though it was still fairly early in the day, the three of them hadn't had much to eat for breakfast that morning, and there wouldn't be many other opportunities to stop for a bite between here and Wutai village.
         Without waiting for Elena and Rude to answer him, as undecided as they were, Reno turned back to Cid and said, "Yeah, sure. We could use a little break."

         "Goddammit, Shera! Where the fuck are you? We got guests!"
         Cid filled a teapot and put it on the stove, then excused himself to go look for Shera. Though Rude and Elena were startled by Cid's yelling, Reno calmly leaned back in his chair and stared down at the tablecloth. He heard Rude ask, "You sure you want to do this? I know we have a long ride ahead of us, but…"
         "Don't worry about me. I thought you guys could use the break."
         Elena picked up where Rude left off. "But if being here brings back bad memories…"
         Reno was starting to get irritated by all of this concern over his well-being. "Listen. Cid invited us in for some tea, and I've already accepted the invitation. What's done is done. So let's just drink his fucking tea and be on our way, all right?"
         Just then, the back door swung open and Cid marched back in, followed by a woman in a long white coat stained with engine grease. "This is Shera," Cid said to the Turks, as the woman took off her gloves and made her way to the sink. "She was the Chief Inspector on the Shinra No. 26."
         "'Was'?" Elena asked.
         "Yeah. Just like I 'was' gonna be the first man in space. But that 'was' may finally change back into an 'am', now that the new President's coming here." Cid settled into a chair and knocked the ashes from the end of his cigarette into a steel ashtray on the table. "Right?"
         "Yeah, maybe," Reno replied with a slight shrug.
         Silence settled over the table until the kettle whistled. Reno watched dispassionately as Shera prepared the tea and set the table with a couple of small plates full of cookies in this house that so closely resembled the one he had once lived in. A familiar deadness washed over him, and for the first time in years, he clearly remembered that battle which damn near destroyed his soul—the climax of a long string of experiences that, in the end, seriously shook his faith in humanity. In short, he remembered why he ended up as a Turk.

*****

         Tseng adjusted the scarf around his neck and peered through his shades at the icy expanse before him. He was on the Northern Continent, high in the mountains, where a chill wind blew and the snow was blinding white against the clear blue sky. After leaving Costa del Sol on a tip about Hojo's whereabouts, he made a stop in Bone Village to see if he could learn anything about the Black Materia that Sephiroth had spoken of. The archaeologists couldn't help him with that, but when Tseng mentioned the Temple of the Ancients, they all started chattering about some long-lost "Keystone" that was apparently needed to enter the place.
         "Where can I find this 'Keystone'?" Tseng had asked.
         "Can't tell ya, as we don't really know ourselves. It's one of those things that people like us have been trying to find for years."
         Another archaeologist had added, "I've heard rumors that there's some guy on the Great Continent who owns it. It's never been verified, though."
         Tseng had nodded, keeping their words in mind as he thanked the group of scientists and mounted Gau, making a beeline for the snowy mountains beyond.

         As his chocobo trudged carefully through the lightly-packed snow, Tseng kept his eyes peeled for any hints of the next village and drew out his PHS. He keyed in Reeve's number and waited for the executive to pick up.
         "Reeve here."
         "This is Tseng. Are you in the middle of anything right now?"
         "Just got out of a department meeting. I'm headed back to my office at the moment. What's going on?"
         "I've recently received some new information about the Temple of the Ancients. It appears that an item called the Keystone will be needed to enter the place."
         "I see."
         "You haven't heard anything about this Keystone via Cait Sith, I'm assuming."
         "No I haven't. Excuse me for a moment."
         Tseng heard Reeve give instructions to his secretary, followed by a door being closed. Reeve spoke again, his tone considerably subdued. "So where's the Keystone now?"
         "I don't know. The scientists I talked to in Bone Village had a couple of theories as to its whereabouts, but nothing concrete. Would you be able to look up any records of the Keystone in the corporate libraries?"
         "That shouldn't be a problem."
         "Thank you. And if you do find anything, either within the libraries or through Cait, be sure to let me know immediately. We can't let Sephiroth get inside the Temple… at least, not before us."
         "Right."
         At that moment, Gau was making his way over the southern tip of the mountains. To Tseng's right, a set of log buildings came into view. "Reeve, I have to go. You don't have anything new to report, do you?"
         "No. We only just arrived in Nibelheim. There's a number of strange beings in black cloaks all over the place."
         "Reno reported something similar last night."
         "He and the other Turks stopped here?"
         "Yes they did. They should be on the last leg of their journey to Wutai, about now. Listen, I must go. I'll be in touch."
         "All right. Take care, Tseng."
         "You too."
         Tseng disconnected and tucked his PHS back into the folds of his trenchcoat. He pulled hard on Gau's reigns, guiding the chocobo towards the buildings. It was here—the small resort town of Icicle Inn—that his leads told him Hojo would be. Snapping hard on the reigns, he pushed Gau to gallop at full speed, mentally preparing himself for whatever surprises may be in store.

         Icicle Inn was bustling with vacationers and locals alike, all out enjoying the bright sunshine and crisp air. Tseng led Gau toward the entrance of the town's namesake, maneuvering past various people carrying skis and snowboards, then secured the bird to a hitching post near the front door. After taking a look around, Tseng walked inside the inn and approached the front desk, taking off his sunglasses as he did so.
         "May I get you a room, sir?" said the man behind the desk.
         "No thank you. I'm from the Shinra Turks, and I need some information. Has a man named Hojo been in this area recently?"
         "Hojo?"
         "Yes. He's a scientist in his fifties. He has long black hair, wears glasses, and walks hunchbacked."
         "Oh yeah. I think one of my guests mentioned a guy fitting that description. Said he saw him hanging around the old Gast place."
         Gast? Tseng wondered. Does he mean Professor Gast? "Where is this place you speak of?"
         "Not far from here. Just go outside and make a right—it's the two-story house directly across from this building. You can't miss it."
         "Thank you."
         Tseng left the inn and headed in the direction the man had indicated. The windows of this house were completely dark, so he wasn't able to peer in; however, when he tried the front door, he was surprised to find it unlocked. He stepped into a dimly-lit laboratory filled with all manner of complex equipment. Off to his right, a set of stairs led down to a lower level.
         "Is there anyone here?" Tseng called as he took in his new surroundings.
         "So it's you, Tseng," he heard a familiar voice reply. "I should've known they'd come for me sooner or later."
         Professor Hojo came up the stairs, squinting at the Turk through his glasses. "That's why you're here, isn't it? Shinra needs something from me."
         "Yes, exactly. It's regarding Sephiroth, and what he's after."
         "Oh? But isn't it obvious as to what that is?"
         "To the President perhaps, but not to me."
         "What does the President believe?"
         "That Sephiroth is headed toward the Promised Land of the Cetra."
         Hojo placed one hand on his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. "And what do you believe, Tseng?"
         "To be honest, I don't know. However, I am skeptical about the President's theory. There's much about Sephiroth's recent actions that seem suspect."
         "Really? Such as…"
         "There has been at least one sighting of Sephiroth accompanied by figures in black cloaks. Similar beings have been seen in Nibelheim, where Sephiroth originally disappeared. The 'locals' there wouldn't say anything about them, but they didn't seem bothered by their presence in the least, so I'm guessing these cloaked beings had been there for quite some time."
         Hojo pondered Tseng's words, then answered, "I fail to see what you're getting at."
         "Then we're on the same wavelength," Tseng replied with a grim smile. "I don't understand it either."
         "Where is Sephiroth now?"
         "When my men last saw him, he told them that his next destination would be the Temple of the Ancients, north of the Mideel Islands. We're in the process of collecting information about the Temple."
         "The old Cetra Temple, eh?" Hojo walked closer to Tseng. "All right. I'll come back to Shinra with you, though I have no intention of repealing my resignation. This could be interesting…"
         Tseng eyed the scientist suspiciously. "What are you up to, Hojo?"
         "Nothing. I just want to see what's going to happen, that's all. Excuse me for a moment while I gather my things."
         Hojo walked to the table and started collecting various papers that were scattered across the top. Tseng watched him, as all around them, machines quietly hummed.
         "Hojo, what is this place? A man working at the inn mentioned someone named Gast in association with this house. Is this the same Gast that I've heard about at Shinra?"
         "The very one. He came to this town after taking an extended leave from the Company. However, something… unfortunate… happened to him after his first two years here," Hojo said, chuckling to himself.
         "I fail to see the humor in that," Tseng replied, at the same time wondering what exactly Hojo meant by his words.
         Hojo flashed the Turk a sadistic grin before walking down the stairs with an armload of documents. "I'll only be a few minutes."
         Tseng nodded and started to pace about the room, getting a better look at some of Gast's old gadgets. One machine, which looked like some sort of video control deck, caught his eye. Hesitantly, he reached his hand toward a large black button on the deck labeled "Power". Tseng was just about to press it when he heard Hojo coming back upstairs. He looked behind him to see the scientist climb the last step and turn around.
         "Don't bother with that old thing," Hojo said, a slight grimace on his face. "It's broken."
         Tseng lowered his hand and looked at the machine again. It seemed perfectly fine to him, but he didn't want to risk pissing off Hojo and coming back to Rufus empty-handed. He shrugged and walked toward the door, opening it for the older man, who carried a battered suitcase in each hand. With little more than a courteous nod to Tseng, Hojo walked out into the snowy village. As Tseng started to follow, he took a look at the door, loaded with complex locking mechanisms, and shook his head. Might as well leave things as he found them. He followed Hojo outside, closing the door of Gast's house.

*****

         Not five minutes had passed since the Turks were served tea when Shera excused herself to continue her repairs on an aircraft called the Tiny Bronco. Rude asked if it was okay to let her go, and Cid just shrugged and said, "She'll be out there all day anyway, the rate she works at!" Elena rolled her eyes and got up from her seat, following Shera through the back door. From behind her, she heard Cid start to question her leaving, only to be interrupted by Reno's saying, "It's okay, just let her go."
         Elena walked into the spacious backyard, where a pink twin-propeller plane was parked. Shera was sitting on top of the plane, just behind the cockpit, in the middle of screwing off one of the panels. She turned her head to look down at her visitor.
         "Oh, hi… Elena, wasn't it? What brings you out here?"
         "There's something I have to know. Why do you let him treat you like that? If I were you, I'd pop him one and get the hell out of here."
         Shera smiled thinly. "I can't blame Cid for how he treats me. You see, I was working in the engine room of the Shinra No. 26 while the final countdown took place. There was something that wasn't quite right with some of the oxygen tanks and I needed to check it out. Cid knew that if the rocket took off with me still inside that room, I would've burned to death from the heat. He aborted the launch at the last second."
         Elena stood there, riveted by her story. "So he saved your life? I still don't see why he treats you the way he does."
         "Well as it turned out, it's because he saved my life that he inadvertently lost his only chance to get into space. The Space Program has had major cutbacks since the launch was cancelled. Being an astronaut was Cid's dream, and just like that, it was destroyed. So that's why I don't mind Cid being angry with me. I can accept it."
         "And that's why Cid's so eager about the President coming here, huh?" Elena said, mostly to herself. She had no idea why Rufus would want to come to this place to restart the Space Program, with all the other things going on. It seemed a little bit odd to her.
         "Now can I ask you something, Elena?" Shera said, pulling a large metal plate off the plane's fuselage.
         "I guess so. What is it?"
         "I never heard anything about Tseng retiring. When did he leave the Turks? Or was he killed somewhere?"
         Thoroughly confused, Elena replied, "I don't know what you're talking about. Tseng's still active with the Turks."
         "Are you sure?"
         "Absolutely."
         "So there are four Turks?"
         "Yeah…" Elena replied, having a bad feeling about where this conversation was heading. "What's wrong with that?"
         "Well, it's just that my older cousin was a Turk, and he once told me about an unwritten rule of the group—that there can be no more than three of them at any given time."
         "What?"
         "I know it sounds silly, and the way he phrased it made it sound a bit like a superstition. However, I always thought that there was something to it, since I'd never heard of there being any more than three Turks at a time myself."
         "Who was your cousin?"
         "His name is Garamonde Adams. He retired about five or six years ago; haven't heard much from him since. I never knew him especially well… sorry that I can't tell you more."
         "No, that's all right." Elena replied, suddenly realizing that Shera probably knew what she was talking about. Elena was acquainted with Garamonde—she had met him some years ago, when he had come to Kalm scouting for SOLDIER candidates—and at that moment realized that Shera's features seemed to be very similar to his. "So what's wrong with having more than three Turks anyway?"
         "I'm not sure of that myself. Like I said, it's a superstition. Personally, I think it's nice to see that Tseng has chosen to break this tradition and hire more Turks, especially since I understand that the Company works you guys to no end. Strange, but nice."
         Elena tried her best to smile. "Yeah. Well… thanks for the chat. I should probably get back inside… don't want to worry the guys."
         "All right. I wish you three a safe journey."
         "Thanks again," said Elena, before going back inside the house.

         After leaving Rocket Town, the three Turks made their way across the shallow stretches of ocean to the mountainous continent beyond. They rode hard and fast, pushing their black chocobos to the limit, in order to get to Wutai before the sun set. As they rode, the wind at their backs, Elena thought she saw a hint of a smile on Reno's face. She didn't give much thought to it at the time; they were out of Rocket Town and well on their way to their final destination, so it seemed only natural that Reno would be smiling. It was only until after their arrival in the village of Wutai that Reno said anything.
         "You know, it's funny," Reno started as he dismounted from his chocobo and breathed in the crisp, dry air. "In a weird way, I'm actually glad we stayed at Cid's place for awhile. Even though much about the town's changed since I lived there, I was afraid that I would feel…"
         "Upset? Regretful?" Elena offered.
         "Haunted," stated Rude. Reno and Elena looked at him.
         "Yeah, exactly… " the redhead replied. "Anyway, I apologize for my behavior earlier today; I overreacted a little. Still, I don't ever want to go back there again."
         "It's okay, Reno," said Elena. "So where are we gonna be staying?"
         "Second floor of the Turtle's Paradise restaurant. I made arrangements with the owner shortly after Tseng approved our vacation. It was Rude's idea to stay at that place—he's been to this village before."
         "Yes, but that was a long time ago… shortly after the end of the war. I wanted to see the land that Master Zangan had come from."
         Reno acknowledged this with a quick nod. "Anyway, let's go get our chocobos taken care of and get something to eat. I think we deserve it after such a long day."
         He handed the reigns of his chocobo to Rude, then walked over to the Turtle's Paradise, disappearing behind its large red doors. Upon thinking over the day's events, Elena made a mental note to ask Reno and Rude about the superstition that Shera had mentioned. Shera had seemed fairly confident in her belief that it was nothing to worry about, but it bothered Elena nonetheless, especially since not one of her fellow Turks had ever made her aware of it. Maybe it was an unspoken thing; one that didn't get brought up very often. Or maybe they just didn't want to worry her?
         At that moment, Reno came back outside with two burly-looking men behind him. "Okay, we're all set! These guys are gonna take care of the birds, so you can just hand them over. Now, if you've unhitched your saddlebags and have gathered all your stuff, we can check in."
         Elena nodded an affirmation, and Rude did the same. As the handlers led their chocobos away, Elena and Rude followed Reno into the Turtle's Paradise.