Rufus stood on the helicopter platform outside his office looking down upon the mako cannon, whose installation was now complete. It was connected to pipes from seven of Midgar's reactors, including the still heavily-damaged yet just barely operable Reactor No. 1, and the greatest care had been taken to ensure both the accuracy of the targeting and the city's safety. He bristled impatiently as he gazed at the cannon, awaiting the arrival of his executives. He wanted to get at Sephiroth so bad he could perfectly recall the smell of the raw mako in the Northern Crater; soon, the former SOLDIER Commander would no longer upstage him. For if there was anyone to dominate this world, it would be Rufus T. Shinra—and he would do it without resorting to desperate measures such as Meteor.
         "Mr. President," he heard his secretary call from the door that led back into his office. "Heidegger, Scarlet, and Reeve have arrived, as you've requested."
         Rufus nodded affirmatively, then turned around and walked inside. Both Scarlet and Heidegger bore their typical smug, confident grins while Reeve just stared at the president, eyebrows pinched, hands shoved in trouser pockets, as if he, too was impatient. Rufus returned Reeve's staring with one of his own; the Urban Dev. Chair had, without warning, cast Sleepel on him the previous night, and just when things were starting to get interesting, too. He knew that there was something behind all of this, and Rufus would not let Reeve leave his office until they'd discussed it.
         The President cleared his throat and sat down in his chair, beckoning his executives closer as he did so. This meeting would have to be a quick one, as there was no time to lose.

         After the meeting had ended and orders were given, Scarlet and Heidegger left the office to prepare the "Sister Ray", as the former had now dubbed the mako cannon, for firing. As Reeve started to follow, Rufus called his name. The Urban Dev. Chair turned around to face Rufus.
         "Is there something else, sir?"
         "Don't you 'sir' me," Rufus replied in a smooth, yet icy, manner. Casually, he stood up from his chair, removing his shotgun from its place under his desk as he did so; from the top of his desk, his other hand picked up a stapled packet of papers. Keeping his shotgun out of sight, he held up the packet. "Do you know what this is?"
         Reeve took a deep, slightly shaky breath, but didn't say a word, and instead continued staring at Rufus. The President dropped the packet back on the desk. "It's an investigative report. Reno handed it in this morning. Basically, it says you're the operator of Cait Sith. Is this true?"
         "Sir, this is irrelevant right now. I have a cannon to power up."
         "You don't seem to get it, do you. When I ask a question, I expect an answer." In one sweeping motion, Rufus whipped out his shotgun and pointed it at Reeve. "Now tell me: is it true that you're the traitor?"
         "I could ask the same of you."
         "What did you say?" Rufus roared, his fury rising to the surface. Narrowing his eyes at Reeve, he happened to notice something from out of the corner of them; the executive was now holding onto something in his right hand. Rufus decided he'd take a quick look at what this thing was, but once he recognized it, he couldn't tear his eyes away. The grip on his shotgun faltered a little, yet he kept it pointed toward Reeve. A small smile crossed the Urban Dev. chairman's face, infuriating Rufus all the more.
         "Something wrong, sir?"
         "The Sniper CR-X in your hand. Where did you get it?"
         Reeve raised the weapon in question. "So that's its model name, eh? All this time I only knew it as 'Foxglove'."
         "Where the fuck did you get it?" Rufus repeated, considerably louder this time.
         "From someone who knew the truth about your past. And this gun is but one of the pieces of evidence now in my possession—there's plenty more where it came from."
         "What do you want, Reeve," Rufus snarled. Of all the few things which he felt he still had control over, Reeve was the one he had counted on the most. Now, it made him furious to realize that the tables had been turned the entire time, and he'd been used, blinded into trust—and lust—by this turncoat. "Is it my position you're after? Do you want the whole fucking Shinra Company?"
         Now stoic once again, Reeve shook his head, never taking his eyes from the President. "No. I might have at one time, but… not any longer."
         "What the hell do you want, then?"
         "For the people of this city to be safe."
         "That's it?"
         "It's certainly the most important thing to me."
         Incredulous, Rufus glared at Reeve. "You're fucking joking, right?"
         Reeve shook his head again. "Not at all."
         "You—" Rufus couldn't take it any more. He leveled the rifle and let loose a shot, which Reeve managed to dodge.
         "Cloud once told me that you were a lousy shot with that thing," Reeve chuckled as he pointed Foxglove at Rufus. "Now I see that he's right. Of course, Sniper-class firearms have a far greater degree of accuracy, as I'm sure you're well aware. "
         Before Rufus could reload and cock his shotgun, Reeve fired at him. One of Foxglove's gold-plated bullets grazed Rufus' right hand, and he lost his grip on his weapon. He fell to the floor, clenching his bleeding hand in pain, and listening to Reeve's footsteps as they drew nearer. When they stopped, he could see Reeve's feet, standing directly before the small pool of blood that had formed between them on the marble floor.
         "They aren't very accurate for you, I see," Rufus spat as he looked up at Reeve, who no longer held Foxglove in his left hand. "You had the perfect opportunity to kill me."
         Reeve's expression turned to one Rufus couldn't quite decipher, though it seemed to be somewhere between disgust and pity. "I'm not like you, Rufus," he replied in a flat tone. "Now, I have to get going."
         "What?"
         "You gave me orders, didn't you, sir? I have to make sure they're carried out."
         "Bastard…" Rufus muttered under his breath, but Reeve was already walking away.

         It wasn't long after that incident when word came to the President's office that a large white Weapon had emerged from the ocean and was heading straight toward Midgar. Rufus sat at his desk as these reports came in, rubbing his still smarting right hand; even after treating the wound with a high-level curative spell courtesy of his secretary's Restore materia, the pain was still there. As the wound was gone, so was the blood, mopped away by a cleaning crew he called up shortly after his secretary arrived with her materia. He could tell that all three of them—his secretary and the two janitors—were wondering just what had happened for the President to so badly injure his hand like that, but some quick glares pointed in their direction ensured that they wouldn't so much as think of asking him.
         Then, the moment of truth came. By this time, it was mid-afternoon, and the white Weapon had come ashore; aside from a brief pause, it didn't stop in its steady march toward Midgar. The latest coordinates that had come through over the company intranet showed the Weapon perfectly situated between the Sister Ray and the crater, and as a result, Rufus ordered Heidegger to make sure the mako shell was as powerful as possible; with any luck, they could take care of both the Weapon and Sephiroth's barrier in one shot. Roughly a half-hour later, Rufus received word from Heidegger and Scarlet that the cannon was ready. The President gave the order to fire.
         Afterward, Rufus took a deep breath and continued staring out his office window, waiting for the call that would tell him whether or not the shot was a success or a failure. Especially in light of recent events, he needed this plan to work, if not for the sake of saving the world than for quelling the anxiety within himself. With this single cannon shot, his reputation was on the line, and though a failure would certainly mean the end for them all, Rufus bristled at the thought of dying with a tarnished legacy, one that future historians—if any were to exist—to shake their heads over rather than admire.
         Much of it wasn't his fault, really. After all, he wasn't the one who had approved the Jenova project, or Sephiroth's mission to Nibelheim five years ago. There was no way he could've prevented his father's death, or predicted Jenova's disappearance from the Shinra Building. Still, there had been one constant thorn in his side that he thought he could keep under control: Cloud Strife and his little band of terrorists and deadbeats. However, that's where everything truly had gone wrong.
         For even the Shinra spy he had ordered planted into their party had loosened himself from Rufus' grip, while his controller enhanced the illusion of the opposite, likely for his own safety. Reeve had, in the end, made him look like a fool.
         Another pair of voices soon came in over the intercom, both bearing good news. The Weapon had been defeated, and the barrier over the crater destroyed. However, Rufus found that he couldn't relax just yet, as the first voice then suddenly warned of some sort of high-density energy making its way toward Midgar. Was this the Weapon's attack, still traveling over land even as the monster itself lay dead? The President spun back around to the window as the first balls of fire came into view. One in particular caught his attention, and he remained fixated on it until it engulfed his entire line of sight.
         As the glass shattered and the flames forced their way into his office, Rufus thought, So this is the price I pay for success…

*****

         Reeve, along with everyone else on the 65th floor, could just barely feel the impact of the Weapon's attack as it hit the largely sound- and shock-proofed Shinra Building. He was with seven of his department's Sector Managers, standing around the Midgar model in the center of the floor, its lights blinking in various colors. Everything seemed to have gone smoothly: the charging up of the cannon, the firing, and now, the cooling down process. However, it had not yet been an hour after the Weapon's flames had died down when a bright red light flicked on atop the miniature version of Reactor No. 3. The manager for that sector immediately barked into his PHS, demanding to know what was going on. As Reeve and the others watched, similar red lights appeared one by one for the other reactors. As more phone calls were placed, the Sector Three manager palmed his receiver and addressed Reeve.
         "Sir, the energy output of Number Three is increasing by itself!"
         The manager's words were met by a small chorus of similar reports, which led to Reeve's dialing a number on his own phone. Unfortunately, the President's receptionist would not pick up. Reeve turned to his left and spoke to the two closest managers on that side.
         "Please call Scarlet and Heidegger's offices and ask them to meet me in the executive conference room immediately! Let them know it's an emergency!"
         The Sector One and Sector Two managers nodded and began to place the calls as Reeve himself briskly walked out of the room and toward the stairs. The conference room was only one floor away.

         Fortunately, Reeve didn't have to wait long for Scarlet and Heidegger; they arrived together, gloating over their success in destroying the barrier over the Crater. The meeting was brief: a jumble of orders, explanations, and the typical pomposity of Gya Ha Ha and Kya Ha Ha. After finding out that Hojo was the one who had taken over the reactors' central mainframe and increased the amount of energy being routed to the cannon, the harried Reeve suddenly found Cait Sith's true identity exposed by Barret, far away from Midgar aboard the Highwind. As Cait, Reeve explained to his friends what exactly was going on with the cannon, and what would happen to the city if they didn't stop Hojo. After Cloud made his decision, Reeve turned back to his fellow executives. He didn't care if they knew whether or not he was the spy—his city was in jeopardy, and he had to do everything within his power to save it. However, his words fell on deaf ears, and guards were called in. Reeve was handcuffed, and his wife and her lover left to fire up her division's latest destructive creation.
         Unceremoniously, Reeve was dragged upstairs to the 67th floor and shoved into one of the Science Department's small containment cells, his hands still bound behind his back. On the Highwind, Cid had given the orders to fly back to Midgar, and Reeve silently vowed to help his friends any way he could. Just as he sat down on the cot, feeling fortunate that no one had thought to check him for his Cait Sith-related equipment, the door slid open. Scarlet strolled inside wearing a displeased expression that Reeve chose not to meet with one of his own, instead maintaining as neutral a look as he could muster. Although she was now dressed in a curve-hugging pilot's uniform, those cherry-red high heels of hers still adorned her feet, and they clacked across the bare tile floor as she came to stand before Reeve. The door slid closed once more.
         "My husband," Scarlet seethed, emphasizing the latter word in a condescending tone. "My hick husband from Gongaga, married off to me so that his family could raise their standing in the world."
         "Do you think I liked the arrangement any more than you did?" Reeve grumbled.
         "Of course not! Still, I must commend your efforts in trying to make it work over the years, though it's a pity you could never truly fulfill my expectations."
         "Is that right? Let me guess—it's because I had no sort of social status to begin with."
         "That's a start," Scarlet replied with a smirk. "You're a smart boy; I'm sure you could figure out the rest."
         "What, that I'm incompatible with a bitch like you?"
         The next thing Reeve knew, a loud clap sounded and he felt a stinging sensation across his left cheek. He reeled his head back around, trying not to let the slap faze him, looking up at Scarlet with her arms folded across her chest, staring down at him condescendingly.
         "It's true that we were never meant for each other," Scarlet huffed, "but I wasn't about to let a little thing like marriage get in my way."
         "…Heidegger."
         Scarlet burst out laughing. "Honestly, Reeve, you say his name like it's a bad thing!"
         Reeve replied only with a glare at first, but then he sank back against the wall and quietly asked, "Do you love him?"
         She seemed to be taken aback by this question, as it was now her turn to pause. Then, once she had turned her gaze away from Reeve to stare at the cell door, he thought he saw a smile on her face, unlike any he had seen her wear in the past. He had the feeling that she was not going to answer his question in words, but it didn't matter anymore, if what he saw for that split second was indeed real.
         As he had predicted, she waved off the inquiry. "It doesn't matter to you, now, does it."
         "No, I suppose not. But Scarlet, I do have something else to ask you."
         "Mmm?"
         "Why didn't you leave me first? Why have you been hesitant about getting a divorce? You know as well as I do that it's what we both want."
         "You wouldn't understand."
         "Try me."
         "Fine. It's because I'm not about to put my reputation at stake. My status. Do you have any idea how bad a divorce looks in the circles I travel in?"
         "Pretty damn bad?"
         "Worse than that. And besides, there's my family. When I was a little girl, my mother's sister got a divorce from her husband. I don't know the finer details, but after it happened, my family practically disowned her. I grew up swearing I wouldn't do anything like that to my family—that I wouldn't hurt them, or shame them."
         "Or yourself?"
         Scarlet sharply turned to look at Reeve again, a move which caught him off-guard. After a moment, she shook her head and sighed. "Why am I telling you of all people these things?"
         "I don't know, but I'm glad you are."
         Scarlet was about to say something else when a ringing sound chimed in the air. She unhooked her PHS from her belt and flipped it open. "Hello?… Almost. I'll be there shortly." She turned back to Reeve. "I have to go, but before I do, I have a question of my own. Are you the turncoat spy?"
         Reeve hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "What tipped you off?"
         "Oh, just the way you announced that Cloud is 'on his way'. On his way to do what, I wonder?"
         "Save this city from that madman Hojo. You gonna try and stop 'im?"
         Scarlet smirked and shook her head. "Ahh, there you go, speaking strangely again. And if your little friends do show up, then I see no other choice."
         "They'll kill you if they have to… We'll kill you."
         "Not if Heidegger and I kill them first—and destroy your precious robot kitty and giant moogle in the process." She turned to leave.
         "And what about Midgar? What do you plan to do about Hojo?"
         "You don't have to worry about that little detail. We'll take care of him, and we'll do it our way."
         Reeve didn't like the sound of that. "Scarlet, I'm warning you!" he called after her as the door slid open. "Don't you dare interfere."
         The only reply he got was a peal of high-pitched laughter as his wife left the cell and the door slid shut again.

*****

         The order had been given to the Turks by Heidegger, which seemed strange at first, considering that just about all of their assignments came from the President these days. However, according to Reno, the Peace Preservation chair was unusually insistent about their taking this job, as if he was President instead of Rufus. As for the assignment itself, it was to be expected, but was not something that Elena was particularly looking forward to.
         "We have to track down Cloud and his party and kill them," was what Reno told her and Rude. "No bullshitting this time, and no retreating."
         "What?" Elena protested. "But they have the airship—they could be anywhere!"
         "I know, but Heidegger told me he's gotten a reliable tip that Cloud is headed here, to Midgar."
         "How would he know a thing like that?"
         Reno shrugged. "No idea. It's possible that he somehow got ahold of the report I gave to the President this morning and forced some information out of Reeve."
         "Whoever his source is, it's not important," Rude put in. "Let's get ready."
         "Right," Reno nodded. "But first, I should probably call the President's office and let him know we're gonna be out on Heidegger's mission."
         "Wait a minute," interrupted Elena just as Reno was about to pick up his phone. "If Heidegger gave us these orders, then don't you think he's already contacted the President about this? It's standard procedure for him to do so in this kind of situation, right?"
         "Yeah, mainly for scheduling purposes, but something tells me that he didn't do that this time around. Much as I can't stand the President, I should probably double-check on this with him."
         Elena and Rude got up to prepare for their assignment as Reno dialed Rufus' office. He sat at his desk in silence, receiver in hand, for what seemed like nearly a minute. Finally, he hung up the phone and stood from his chair, pulling on his jacket as he did so.
         "No response?" Rude asked.
         "Nothing," Reno replied. "There's definitely something weird going on."

         The Turks left the office and made their way outside, finding the entire Upper Plate in chaos. Previously unbeknownst to them, martial law had been declared, and as such, Midgar's citizenry—including most of Shinra's civilian employees—had been ordered to go home and stay there. When Reno pulled aside a SOLDIER First Class and pressed him for details, the SOLDIER told the Turks that the highest levels of the Shinra Building had been struck by a blast from Weapon, and President Rufus Shinra was presumed dead. As such, Heidegger had taken control of the situation.
         "Control of what situation?" Reno asked.
         "Word is that AVALANCHE is on their way here. Seems they want to take over the cannon for their own twisted purposes."
         "Is that true?" said a man running out of the Shinra Building, who seemed to have overheard at least part of their conversation. "But the cannon's overheating! This is no time to worry about AVALANCHE—if the flow of energy to the cannon isn't properly handled, the resulting explosion could very well destroy the whole city!"
         "Are you serious?" Elena exclaimed.
         "Miss, I'm head of maintenance for Sector Five," he said, coming closer to the group. "I know exactly what I'm talking about. And these so-called SOLDIERs are doing nothing about it!"
         "There he is! Get him!"
         This new voice came from the Shinra Building's foyer. A brigade of MPs rushed out, machine guns at the ready. Reno stepped between them and the Sector Five manager.
         "What the hell's going on here?"
         "Sir," one of the MPs replied, "we were ordered to find and imprison a number of Urban Development officials. Seems they were in on a conspiracy with the chairman of that department."
         "And what about the chairman himself? Where is he?"
         "I'm afraid that's classified information, sir."
         Reno glanced back at the manager, the SOLDIER, and the other Turks before turning to the MPs again. "All right, I understand. Don't worry about this one—I'll take it from here. And if you let Heidegger know, tell him that we Turks haven't forgotten about our own mission!"
         The MP saluted. "Yes, sir!"
         Reno grabbed the manager by the arm and, after a quick salute to the SOLDIER, ran off with him. Elena glanced over at Rude, who merely shrugged before following the Turk leader. She shook her head.
         "This is insane," Elena muttered to herself, before taking off after Rude.

         The Turks stopped running once they came to an alleyway in Sector Six. There, Reno let the Urban Dev. manager go, but with a warning.
         "I want you to go anywhere but your own house—preferably a friend's place, someone who doesn't work in Urban Dev.—and stay there until things quiet down. If you go home instead, those dumbass MPs will hunt you down and lock you away, or even kill you."
         "Wh… why are you helping me out like this?" the manager gasped, out of breath.
         Reno didn't reply at first, but eventually he said, "I'm not really sure myself. All I know is that things are a mess right now. Now go, before I change my mind."
         The trembling manager nodded and ran off, escaping deeper into the alley. Reno slumped up against a wall. "Talk about fucked up."
         "You can say that again," Rude replied.
         Elena looked out into the wide thoroughfare. The Shinra Building loomed before them, its upper levels letting off thick grey clouds of billowing smoke. "Looks like that SOLDIER was right about the Weapon blast."
         "Huh?" she heard Rude say from behind her. By way of an answer, Elena pointed up to the top of the Shinra Building. Reno let out a long, low whistle.
         "Damn…"
         "What do we do now, Reno?" asked Rude.
         "Well," Reno pondered, "we were sent on a mission…"
         "You don't mean…"
         Reno nodded. "If AVALANCHE is on their way here, I want to know what they're really up to."

         Sure enough, the Turks soon got word that security droids had intercepted intruders in the service passages underneath the Sector Eight plate. Reno led Elena and Rude into the railway tunnel that snaked around Midgar's central pillar, as it was the most likely route that AVALANCHE would take to get to the mako cannon. Along the way, they saw Cait Sith up ahead, who seemed to be bounding toward the side exit that led up to the Shinra Building. Reno motioned for Elena and Rude to block the exit, causing Cait to stop in his tracks.
         "Where're you scampering off to in a hurry?" Reno asked. "The mako cannon's not this way. You of all people should know the layout of these tunnels better than that."
         "I told Tifa I had something to take care of real quick at the Shinra Building," Cait replied. Now that Elena had a name and face to match to the robotic spy, Cait's high-pitched, squeaky voice sounded even more odd to her. "It won't take very long."
         "What exactly do you have to do?" Reno continued. "Word on the street is that you got all the Urban Dev. managers in on your little schemes."
         "And what idiot told you that? Heidegger? I wouldn't be surprised; now that he's thrown my real body in the clink, he can lie about me and my division all he wants."
         "You're locked up?" Elena asked.
         "Reeve is, if that's what you mean. And what're you three doin' down here?"
         There was an awkward moment where Elena exchanged glances with her fellow Turks. Finally, Reno replied, "Heidegger gave us an assignment. That's all you need to know."
         Cait nodded. "Fine with me. Now I gotta go, if you'll let me through."
         "Gonna free your human self?"
         "Good guess. All I gotta do is enter some security overrides from the right maintenance panel, and I'll be good to go."
         Elena glanced at Reno, wondering what her leader's ultimate decision would be. After a moment, Reno took a step toward Cait and said, "Show it to me."
         Cait smirked, if such a thing was possible. "The materia?"
         "What else?"
         The cat raised his megaphone, turning it slightly so that Elena could plainly see a red materia of some sort equipped in one of its linked slots. "Don't suppose you want me to summon 'im again?"
         "You wanna get past us or not?"
         Cait chuckled. "You're a tough one to please, Mister Cerise. All right, here goes!"
         The giant moogle raised Cait atop its head as the red materia shown brightly. Soon, Elena felt some large and powerful force rush over their heads, but wasn't sure what it could possibly have been until she felt a searing heat surround her. When the explosion had subsided, she was on her knees, and her fellows looked quite a bit singed themselves. Rude quickly cast a high-level cure spell on her, Reno, and himself.
         In the meantime, Cait Sith had disappeared. Doubtless he had given the Turks the slip and was now well on his way toward the Shinra Building.