Reno groaned as he took the elevator down from the 67th floor of Shinra Headquarters; he'd just been up there by request of Hojo. Turns out that the mad scientist wants to put the young Turk on yet another mission to bring Aeris to the lab. The redhead sighed heavily, knowing that that girl would do everything in her power not to be caught. As usual. Well, at least Reno managed to convince Hojo to put off the hunt until tomorrow; for today was a special day, a solemn day, and, most importantly, a day off.
       Reno left the elevator and approached Reeve's office. He stopped short, in front of the door, upon hearing a heated argument, taking place inside. Reno leaned against the adjacent wall and listened.
       "Listen Reeve, you don't think you can just waltz out of here while Sector One is burning, can you?"
       "I've already discussed this with the President; and don't forget that I'll be back for the evening press conference. It's not like I was given much of a choice."
       "Well, you could choose to give up this little mourning ritual, at least for this year…"
       "Believe me, after last night's explosion, that was my original plan--"
       "Then why not go through with it?"
       "President Shinra insisted that I continue with our trip to Gongaga. He knew how much this meant to us and--"
       "I don't believe this nonsense."
       Suddenly the door swung open and a young man dressed in white stormed out. He flicked a strand of golden hair out of his eyes as he stopped to regard Reno. The Turk just shrugged and said, "A bit redundant coming down here this morning, eh Mr. Vice President?" The man in white just scowled and stomped off down the hallway.
       Reno entered the office, where Reeve stood, leaning slightly against his desk. He was freshly dressed in a black suit, black tie, and white shirt-- the uniform of the Turks. He nodded toward Reno upon his entrance. "Ready to go?"
       Reno walked over to the desk and plopped down in Reeve's swivel chair. "Yeah. What was all that about? I mean, that whole bit with Rufus?"
       "Ahh, you know him," replied Reeve, shaking his head. "He still believes I'm President Shinra's favorite executive. I'm afraid that kid's a bit delusional."
       At that moment, the phone rang. Reeve picked it up. "Hello?"
       "Reeve, this is Tseng. The Highwind is ready for us. I'll have a helicopter pick up you and Reno immediately."
       "Thanks Tseng."

       Within a few hours, the Highwind dropped off Reeve, Tseng, and Reno on the outskirts of Gongaga. Reno immediately led the way through the dense jungle, using his nightstick as a makeshift machete. Upon reaching the small clearing where Gerhard was buried, Reno stopped short. Reeve, who was right behind Reno, whispered, "Is there something wrong?" Reno just backed away into the bushes, so that he was by Reeve's side. Tseng looked over Reeve's shoulder. The three men gasped at what they saw.
       In the clearing, standing behind Gerhard's grave, was a figure cloaked in red. A helm made of some kind of reptile skull peeked out from beneath his long hood. On his hands he wore gauntlets, which were, again, made from reptilian bone. In his left hand he held a magnificent spear. The four figures stood there for what seemed like an eternity, staring at each other. Finally, the cloaked figure spoke, in a deep, yet gruff, voice.
       "Chosen heir of Spearstrength… I have watched you for ten years now, ever since his death."
       Tseng asked, "Who are you?"
       The man in the cloak simply lowered his head and replied. "Who I am is of no importance at the moment. What is of importance is the warning I bring. Do you wish to hear it?"
       The three Turks looked at each other and deliberated silently. Finally, Reeve replied, "Yes, we would like that information."
       The trees in the jungle rustled in the wind. The cloaked figure looked up. "I'm afraid this information is for you alone, chosen heir. We must be caution, ere ill tidings ride on the wind as we speak…"
       "What do you mean?"
       The cloaked figure fell silent.
       Reno whispered to Tseng. "This all seems a bit fishy to me. I don't know if I can trust that weirdo."
       "I'm not so sure about that", Tseng countered. "I feel we can trust him. Still, we should remain cautious."
       As the cloaked figure beckoned Reeve toward him, Tseng and Reno stayed behind, with alert eyes and hands on their weapons. Now, Reeve stood directly in front of the cloaked figure, who stood only a few inches taller than he. The figure smelled of smoke and ash, and his breathing was like that of a dragon. Reeve shuddered as he caught a brief glimpse of the figure's sharp blue eyes gazing out at him from reddened eye sockets. Somewhere beneath his helm, the cloaked figure smiled briefly.
       "I'll make this as short as possible… I know you probably have a lot to do today", the figure said in a low voice. "I had a feeling last night, that something terrible was happening. I dreamed of ancient enemies, and a prophecy told to me when I was but a child… about the Last Days, and the reawakening, and the human heir of Spearstrength's shard."
       "I don't understand…"
       "You will… do you have any Summon Materia equipped?"
       "Just a Choco/Mog… why?"
       "May I see it?"
       "Certainly. But I don't… see… why…" Reeve's voice trailed off as he looked down at his armlet. In place of the red Choco/Mog Materia was one that was… orange.
       The bright blue eyes flashed beneath the cloaked man's helm. At that moment, Reeve realized that a similarly discolored Materia, a brown one, was slotted in the figure's spear.
       "As I suspected. Be on your guard. We'll meet again." With that, the cloaked figure leapt high into the air.
       Reeve shouted, "Wait!" but he did so in vain as the figure disappeared deep into the jungle. He stood there for a while, taking no notice of the two Turks still standing alertly behind him. Then, he looked down at the orange crystal in his armlet and scratched his chin. Finally, he closed his eyes and focused on the Materia, in a test to see what it could do.
       An orange flash of light surrounded him, and Reeve opened his eyes and gasped. He was in his office.

*****

       "What the hell?!"
       Reno looked at the space where Reeve was just standing. The grass was still crushed by where his feet once were, but Reeve was nowhere to be found. Reno and Tseng immediately took off running in the direction that the cloaked man had gone, and caught up to him in another small clearing.
       "What did you do to him?" Tseng shouted to the red-cloaked figure. The Turk leader's gun was already pulled.
       "I did nothing. Our friend is part of something that you do not understand."
       "Bullshit! Where is he?!" There was an explosion of light as Reno's nightstick let out a small charge.
       The red cloaked figure simply bowed his head. Reno and Tseng both took a step forward. As they did, the trees rustled and shook with a breeze. The cloaked figure shot his head to the sky.
       "You must go! Now!"
       "We're not going anywhere." Both Turks raised their weapons.
       The breeze had grown stronger and in the distance, creaking and cracking could be heard as tree limbs snapped, and fell.
       "Fools."
       Reno began to feel dizzy. His eyes couldn't stay open. The last thing he saw before passing out was Tseng looking at him.
       "…Sleep…spell."
       The wind suddenly stopped. And the forest once more grew quiet.
       The figure in the red cloak peered into the sea of greens and browns. Small movements were everywhere but nothing out of the ordinary. Suddenly, he froze when a voice came from behind him.
       "I know you…but I don't."
       The man in the red cloak turned. Behind him, half-concealed by the forest, stood a tall man, clad in dark clothes. The red-cloaked man gave no reply, but tightened his grip on his spear.
       "And you know me, I can tell."
       Like lightning the man in red swung his great spear at the dark man but the only thing it hit was the surrounding forest. The dark man had leapt to the side to escape the blow and took hold of the red-cloaked figure's neck.
       "Are you all that stands against me? If so this world is doomed. But don't worry because you'll be dead. You'll be-…ahhhhhhhhh!"
       The grip was broken. The red-cloaked figure sprung back. The dark man was staggering around holding onto his head.
       "…Yes…yes…I'm coming…"
       The red-cloaked man charged forward but before he could reach his target, a gale wind held him in his tracks. A second later, the tall dark man was tossed into the air and carried away like a leaf in a hurricane.
       "Uhhhh…what happened?" Reno had begun to stir and was attempting to rise.
       The red figure look down at the Turk, then once more at the skyline, and disappeared into the forest.

*****

       It was after all this had happened that Reeve appeared again, in a burst of bright orange light. Reno had just started to stand, and Tseng was still out cold. Reeve looked at the two Turks, concerned. Brushing the dirt off of his suit, Reno said, "Just a sleep spell. He'll be all right."
       A slight breeze rustled the treetops above. "We should get out of here. There's something strange about all of this…"
       "Just one question, Reeve. What happened to you? Where did you go?"
       Reeve looked down at the orange Materia slotted in his armlet. Its color had grown dull, recharging itself for the next round of spellcasting. He looked back up at Reno.
       "I'm… not sure I should tell you here. Needless to say, it's done me no harm. The Highwind should be here any minute now. We should wake up Tseng and get out of the woods as soon as we can."

       Soon, the three men were on the deck of the Highwind, en route to Junon, where a helicopter was waiting to take them back to the Shinra Building in Midgar. Reeve paced back and forth on the deck of the airship, PHS cell phone to his ear, engaged in a conference call with the other executives. Reno lounged around the lower deck, while Tseng gazed out of the airship's large front window. Captivated by the movement of the clouds and ocean waves below, Tseng was startled by a dark streak that quickly passed through his line of vision. He turned to tell Reeve about it; but seeing him deep into his phone call, Tseng thought it better not to disturb him.

---

Completed January 2002 | Copyright 2002, Dravven and Reeve.

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