Rufus and Reno stared at each other silently, their breaths coming in ragged gasps, each of their coats stained with the dirt of the streets. No one spoke or moved, except for the rise and fall of their shoulders as they panted for air, the only sound that of the two men seeking to catch their breath. Reno, his arm still outstretched with the nightstick hovering inches from Rufus's face, was at a complete loss for words. He had just come within milliseconds of bashing in the brains of his former employer, the man who used to be the most powerful in the world. And all this for having attacked someone who had previously been his worst enemy. His mind was whirling with the impossibility, the absurdity of it all. Nothing was adding up anymore, nothing was making sense.

"What... the hell... do you think... you're *doing*?" Rufus hissed finally, his eyes boring into Reno, swirling with anger and Mako. "Were you trying to *kill* her? I *told* you not to harm them, I blatantly *forbade* it, and here you are, ready to electrocute her, with me not five feet away. What were you *thinking*!?!"

"And *you*!" Rufus continued his tirade, rounding on Tifa, who was standing apart from the two, bringing herself shakily to her feet. "What the hell were you *doing*, coming out of nowhere and attacking him like that!? Are you *insane*?"

She brushed herself off gingerly, looking up at him guiltily. "Well... He's a Turk. You know how they are. And he looked like he was about to attack you... So... I mean, I was only trying to *help*."

"Well, next time, wait until I *ask* for it," he spat, turning his back to her with a huff. He faced Reno again, who was looking at him warily, his nightstick clenched tightly in his hands, as though nervous that Rufus was going to attack him once more. "Reno, that was utterly disgraceful on your part. I would have thought that someone who calls himself a Turk would show a better-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Reno protested, shaking his head vehemently. "What the hell is going on here? You guys were worst enemies a matter of months ago, and now you're *defending* her against me? In case you've forgotten, you paid me huge sums of money to chase her around on a headhunt, and now- ... This is crazy."

Rufus curled his hands into fists, livid. "Look, Reno, it's not your problem! What matters is that I told you, flat out, not to kill them, or hurt them in any way, and the next moment you're about to fry her brains out! And you expect me just to sit by and *watch*!"

Reno's mouth was hanging open in shock. "Sir, this isn't making sense. What did they do to you? Brainwash you or something?"

"Look, if you're not willing to help me, then it doesn't matter what the hell I'm doing here. I wasn't brainwashed, I wasn't turned into a zombie or anything. What the hell difference does it make to you!?"

Reno's green eyes flashed with anger, narrowing at his former employer. "Well, sir, didn't I already explain? Whatever trick you're trying to pull, it's done nothing but fuck up my life, and the lives of Elena and Rude. That's no way to treat the people who committed murders on your behalf."

Rufus brushed off his black trenchcoat, his mouth pressed into a thin line of anger. He clenched his jaw around the words, spitting them like bullets at the Turk. "Look, just know that whatever I've done these past few months is against my will. That's all you need to know."

"So it's AVALANCHE," Reno accused again, pointing the nightstick at Tifa. The girl startled, but didn't step back, didn't take her eyes from Rufus.

The ex-President shook his head slowly at Reno. "AVALANCHE has nothing to do with it."

"Then why the hell are you waltzing around with them? You're worst enemies, sir. And they *still* hate Shinra, even after all this. And you're not the type to let bygones be bygones, to put it kindly," Reno added, twirling his nightstick meaningfully.

"Well... Look, they saved my life, in a way, Reno. I'm somewhat indebted to them." Rufus brushed his bangs away from his eyes and put one hand on his hip, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "It's as simple as that."

"Oh. *Oh*." Reno crossed his arms over his chest, clenching his jaw furiously. "*They* saved your life. You're indebted to *them*. Meanwhile, the Turks saved your life *countless* times, and that never stopped you from throwing us back out there, ready to risk our lives over and over again."

Rufus shrugged. "You were getting paid to do it. When the gil ran out, so did the Turks."

"You're wrong." His voice was flat, angry, hateful. "You're wrong. The *Turks* aren't the ones who walked out. It was Shinra. It was *you*."

Rufus took the blow with as much grace as he could muster, not making any move save a slight movement of his head. But his eyes, swirling turbulently with Mako, narrowed, hardened, became as cold as steel, as ice. His mouth, which had been open for a retort, closed purposefully, his jaw clenching with fury, his lips pressed into a thin line. He let out his breath in one, slow, shaking, enraged huff, his nails biting into his palms, before slowly, slowly, shaking his head. "It's not my fault."

"Of course. Nothing's ever your fault. All the murders we committed? Not your fault. It was all the Turks. The fall of Shinra? The draining of the Planet? Not your fault, either. But you can't buy your way out of this one."

"I'm not *buying* anyone," Rufus countered, his voice threateningly low. "It's the truth. How could I help it?"

"Well, you could have stopped lying to the public about your own death. You walked out on us, plain and simple. And here you are, after letting us get chased and hounded and ridiculed, with fucking Mako eyes, schmoozing with your archenemies, and you tell us it's not your fault. Bullshit."

"Reno-"

"Bull *shit*," the Turk repeated, quieter this time, but it was enough to quiet Rufus. They glared at each other, the animosity almost palpable in the air, the hatred tangible between them like an electric current.

"Shoulda known," Rufus muttered finally, turning away. "Shoulda known you would all stab me in the back someday. So much for Turk loyalty."

"We're still loyal to Shinra, you prick," Reno replied heatedly. "Problem is, Shinra doesn't seem to exist anymore. It all went to hell, and, frankly, I'm blaming you. So take your Turk loyalty and shove it."

Rufus didn't reply, his back to Reno, the only response the tensing of his shoulders. After what felt like an eternity, there was the sound of Reno's feet scraping against the ground, and his voice, directed at Tifa. "You were lucky this time, bitch." Then, footsteps, fading away down the alley, as Reno calmly, slowly, walked away from his former employer, the man he had committed all of his sins for. He'd had enough.

Rufus turned his head and watched the Turk go, watched the black trenchcoat grazing out behind him, the red hair swaying as he walked. The typical Reno swagger. Didn't he know he had nothing to swagger about anymore? That he was as nothing as the company who had made him?

"Are you alright?"

Rufus spun around to regard Tifa, who was toying with the end of her ponytail nervously. Her eyes were filled with something too close to pity for Rufus's liking, evoking a tired rage within him. But he let it go, just turned his head away from her and gazing off down the alleyway, in the direction that Reno had just left. "Of course I'm alright."

Slowly, she moved towards him, putting her hand on his arm. "Are you sure?"

Rufus lowered his eyes, pursing his lips. "Why do you care?"

"Because." She took hold of his chin and turned his head towards her, stepping back when his eyes filled with indignant fury. "Because I just do. I'm sorry, Rufus..."

"Don't be sorry. He has a right to be mad. With what he knows, it's not surprising. It's not his fault that he's ignorant of the facts." The Gold Weapon closed his eyes, rubbing his temple with two fingers, as though warding off a headache. "It's not important, anyway. I wasn't counting on the Turks in the first place. I figured that they would betray me, like everyone else."

There was nothing else for Tifa to say. "I'm sorry." She looked away, at the other end of the alley, the direction from which Rufus and Reno had originally come. There was a pause, while the two pointedly looked away from each other, as though pretending the other didn't even exist. Then, Tifa added, "Thanks, by the way."

He cocked an eyebrow at her quizzically. "*Thank* me? What the devil for?"

"For... You know. He was seriously about to kill me. And... I mean..." She faltered, raising her eyes up to him. "Thanks for fighting him off for me. That was-"

"It was nothing," he dismissed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his kerchiefs. He worked at retying them around his face, recreating his disguise. "Forget it happened."

"Well-"

"I said forget it." He walked away, adjusting the bandanna around his forehead, shifting again into his 'Scar' persona. "Where's Reeve?"

"I don't know." Tifa followed him from a distance, her hands behind her back, feeling an embarrassed flush creep up her neck. She should have known better than to express any gratitude for this heartless demon of a man. She should have known... "Last I saw, he was helping out that girl."

"You mean Elena?" Rufus queried, walking out into the main street and turning his head to search for the executive.

"Elena?" Tifa stopped, squinting at the ex-President. "What do you mean?"

"Reno told me. It was all a ruse to distract you two while I was called away by Reno. A pretty standard Turk maneuver. I'm surprised Reeve didn't see through it from the first."

As though on cue, Reeve appeared at the other end of the street, waving to his two comrades and starting into a slow lope towards them, the groceries still planted firmly in his arms. Rufus watched him, his eyes glittering, not moving a muscle. Tifa was at his side, smiling somewhat nervously at Reeve, rubbing at the back of her neck. "Hey, Reeve."

The blue-suited executive reached them, somewhat out of breath, and handed Tifa one of the bags. "Hey. Where did you guys go? Rufus, you just seemed to dissappear-"

"That was Elena you were helping out," Tifa explained, glancing at the Gold Weapon out of the corner of her eye. "It was the Turks. Reno pulled Rufus away and they were having words or something when I came up." She was about to explain how Rufus had saved her life, but she thought better of it and shut her mouth. As it was, Reeve had a perplexed expression on his face, his eyes wide in shock.

"Turks!? What're they doing in Junon!?" he yelped, looking from Rufus to Tifa and back. "I thought Yuffie said they had been thrown out."

"Keep your voice down," Rufus admonished, his voice muffled from behind his kerchief. The ex-President turned and began to walk down the street, while Reeve and Tifa merely stood and watched. "Yes, the Turks are here. I don't know why. Probably just sick of being kept out of their bars. It doesn't matter. Come on, it's late. Captain Highwind should be waiting for us."

Reeve and Tifa glanced at each other, but didn't protest, instead following the Gold Weapon from a distance. He didn't turn back to see if they were following, simply kept walking, as though he had other things on his mind.

"What happened?" Reeve murmured quietly, when it became obvious that Rufus was intentionally keeping his distance. "What did Reno say?"

"Nothing," Tifa replied in the same hushed tones, not taking her eyes from Rufus. "He said nothing."

Rude appeared from the shadows of an alleyway, without warning, startling Elena almost out of her mind when he jumped up out of nowhere. "For God's sake! Don't *do* that!"

"Sorry," he deadpanned, his deep voice characteristically emotionless. "Where's Reno?"

"I don't know. We're supposed to meet him here, right? Wonder if President Rufus is gonna be with him." Elena flicked a piece of hair behind her ear and looked around her expectantly, as though expecting her comrade to appear at any moment. "Did Tifa catch you?"

"No. She disappeared after a couple blocks." Rude shrugged, but didn't elaborate, rubbing his bald head distantly. He turned his head and glanced around, his eyes hidden behind his dark sunglasses. Like Reno, he had abandoned the blue suit of the Turks for a leather trenchcoat, but his wasn't as long as the red-haired man's, only falling to just above his knees. Elena, meanwhile, had kept the dress pants from the uniform, and instead donned a flowery white tanktop. The new clothes had taken most of their remaining gil, but they were relatively crucial if they didn't want to be recognized as Turks in this anti-Shinra city. Reno had said to consider them disguises.

Funny, Elena mused, that they used to be so proud of their title. Now, here they were, too ashamed to admit any connection to Shinra. She said as much to Rude, trying to make small talk, which was a daunting task with her tight-lipped colleague.

Rude turned his head to look at her. "We're not ashamed, Elena."

"We should be," Reno cut in sourly, appearing behind them without warning. Elena jumped, whirling around agitatedly, her face red after having been ambushed twice in a row.

"Pay attention, Elena," Rude reminded her, seeing the expression on her face. He said no more, but he didn't need to. She had been completely off her guard; pretty shameful for a Turk. Even a rookie like her.

"What happened?" she asked Reno, trying to hide the quivering tone Rude's reprimand had given her. "Was it Rufus?"

"Yeah, it was Rufus alright. He's got Mako eyes or something, and he's waltzing around with AVALANCHE. But, the thing is, he *wants* to." Reno scratched the back of his head, scowling, then rubbed the side of his face where a fresh bruise was forming. "That Tifa bitch came out of nowhere and attacked me, and I was about to kill her... but... But President Rufus *tackled* me to save her. It was the nuttiest thing I've ever seen in my life. I almost bashed his brains in."

"So does he want us to take care of them?" Elena wondered, shaking her head. "That doesn't make sense. He wants them dead, right?"

Reno squinted, blowing out his breath slowly. "No."

"No?" Rude's eyebrows rose pointedly.

Reno glanced between the two of them. "No."

There was a long silence. Elena stared off into the distance, trying to wrap her mind around what Reno had said. AVALANCHE and Rufus? Together? Actually *working together*? It didn't make sense. And Mako eyes? *Mako eyes?*

"Did he want the Turks's help?" she asked finally, her voice low, as though she already knew the answer.

"No. He said we walked out on him. That prick." Reno scowled down at the ground, brushing dirt off the sleeves of his black leather trenchcoat. "And there he is, completely abandoning us. Quite honestly, good riddance. Good fucking riddance."

Rude pulled off his sunglasses, passing a hand over his eyes, then replaced them, never once changing the expression on his face. "Reno..."

Elena's mouth was open in shock and indignance, not willing to believe the words coming from Reno's mouth. "Wait... you mean to tell me that...?"

"Forget it, guys. We're not Turks anymore. Let's go." Reno shrugged and turned away, walking off down the street, tapping his nightstick absently against his leg as he moved. "Come on."

He was stopped by Elena, grabbing hold of his arm and bringing him to a halt. "Wait, wait... What are you saying? We're not Turks anymore?"

"No, Elena. The Turks are a part of Shinra, and Shinra's nothing. So I'm breaking us up. Forget about it."

She shook her head vehemently, her breath coming in short gasps, not believing the words she was hearing. "No, no. Wait. I waited practically my whole life to be a Turk, and as soon as I make it, all of a sudden we're *nothing* again? This is... This is so unfair!"

"Elena..." Rude's hand was on her shoulder, but she pulled away, furious. His hand dropped to his side, and he just watched her, his face blank, offering no compassion or pity.

"You guys have been Turks forever! You know how it is! Think about Tseng. You think he would give up now? You think he would pull us apart? No, he'd tell us to keep going! He'd... He'd... I dunno, he'd... think of... something..." Her words were halted by the warmth rushing into her eyes, threatening to choke her with tears.

Reno and Rude both watched her coldly. "If Tseng were here," Reno replied bitterly, "the Turks would still mean something. Face it, Elena, we've lost our leader, we've lost our company. There's no need for us anymore. Let's go."

"No... but..." she protested weakly, feeling the tears spring from her eyes. But she knew what Reno said was right. The Turks had simply ceased to exist. It was over.

Rude wordlessly moved forwards and wrapped his arms around her, not flinching when she burst into tears on his shoulder. She stood, shaking, feeling like a complete idiot for being so helpless and weak, but... But what was the point? It didn't matter. She was allowed to be weak now. She wasn't a Turk anymore. She wasn't a Turk. None of them were.

Reno muttered a curse under his breath, then moved forwards and joined the embrace, rubbing Elena's back, vainly trying to stop her tears. But they just let her cry, the three former Turks sharing a group hug in the middle of Junon, the bonds holding them together, the organization that made them what they were, completely gone. Everything gone. Everything gone.

"Yes, I have stood in line
So the pain would all be mine
I've taken the bullet for you, dear
But you're not happy yet
It was all my chances, taken and wasted
I lay down the future on every line...

And is this the thanks I get?
Is this the thanks I get?
Is this the thanks I get?"

-L. R.

Cloud frowned at Tifa, his eyebrows pulling together in a look of disbelief and scorn. "The Turks?"

"Yeah." Tifa sat back in her armchair, her legs crossed and swinging nervously, squirming under Cloud's gaze. She had told him almost the entire story, except the part where Rufus had saved her life. She was in the habit of leaving that section of the ordeal out; she didn't know why. Something about the way Rufus had told her to forget it meant that he either wasn't proud of it or was unsure of himself. Anyway, after all of the discussions the two had shared, after all of his dark past she had uncovered in the past few weeks, it would have been twisting the knife in the wound to disrespect the fact that he had asked her to keep quiet.

And, though she hated to admit it, she didn't really *want* to tell anyone else. It was something private, something that she wanted to keep between her and Rufus. He must have... to save her... There must have been *something*...

Cloud drew her out of her thoughts by sighing and slouching further in his own respective armchair, shaking his head sourly at the ceiling. "I don't trust this, Tifa. Rufus and the Turks, happening to 'run into each other'? Seems a little fishy to me." He looked around the room, at the ornate furniture of Rufus's mansion, his Mako eyes tracing the riches around him. "How do you know that they're not really plotting something? I wouldn't put it past them."

She shook her head no. "I don't think so."

"But, Tifa, we all know how over-trusting you are," Cloud smirked knowingly at her. "Just because you don't think so doesn't mean that I trust him any more. I mean, what proof do you have?"

"I am *not* over-trusting!" she protested, furrowing her brow at him. "Look, I've spent a *lot* more time with him than you have, and... I mean, he's not as bad as you peg him to be. He's just... I dunno... *Prideful*... But he's not going to be plotting with the Turks anytime soon, I can guarantee you that."

"Tifa," Cloud sighed, getting to his feet wearily. He walked up to her and placed his palms on the back of her hands, looking into her eyes. "Look, I know that you *want* to trust him. And I'm not saying that you shouldn't still try to be friends with him. That's important, you know... Because we want him to trust us, too. Just don't let your guard down, alright? Promise me that."

She almost smiled at him, almost stared right back into his eyes, but then remembered Aeris, but then recognized the expression on her face. Not like a friend, not like a girl... He was looking at her like she was a child; like she was naive and didn't understand. "Cloud, look, *you're* the one who doesn't understand."

"Did you ever think that maybe he was being nice to you just to lull you into a false sense of security? Did you ever think of that?" Cloud straightened and looked away, crossing his arms over his stomach and letting out a sigh. "Don't put anything past him; remember, he once tried to execute you and Barret. And he would have succeeded, too."

"That was before. He *needs* us now, remember? We're the only way he's going to find that materia." She pushed a lock of hair back behind her ear, frowning.

"Not if the Turks help him."

She stared at the back of his head, an unknown rage building up within her. What did Cloud know? He hadn't been there. He had no idea. He didn't even know the full story. Rufus had told her things that he had kept hidden from everyone else. Who was Cloud to judge? Her voice came out angrier than she expected, startling even herself. "The Turks won't help him. Didn't you hear me tell you what Reno said?"

"That could have been a ruse, too. Tifa, when it comes to Shinra, you can't take anything at face value." Cloud started pacing, hands behind his back, his mouth tugging into a frown. "Even though you think you know him so well now, just keep your guard up."

"Why won't you just give him a *chance*?" Tifa protested, getting to her feet and reaching for Cloud's arm. "I mean, he hasn't done anything to endanger any of us, yet, has he? How can he? He's not the President of Shinra anymore. He's on our side, right? He's helping the Planet."

"Why do you think he's spending so much time with *you*, Tifa?" Cloud snapped in reply, tapping the side of his head with one finger. "Maybe it's because you're the most gullible, you're the easiest target. You and Reeve, you're the ones most likely to let yourselves believe him, and then he's just going to turn around and stab you in the back. I'm not telling you this to be mean, Teef, I'm telling you this for your own good. You have to believe me."

"I'm the easiest target!?!" she yelped, indignant. "What do you mean!?! That's a *terrible* thing to say!" She shook her head, incredulous, narrowing her eyes at him. "That's *so* mean, Cloud!"

"Sorry. I'm being honest." He walked up and put his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes again. Parent to child, adult to baby. "Please. Promise me, you'll keep your guard up. And if you see anything suspicious, let me know."

"Fine. But I promise you, he's not going to be doing anything suspicious. All he wants to do is find this stupid Jenova materia and end this, ok? He's not about to jeopardize himself just to get back at us, right? And, besides..." She faltered, shaking her head slowly. "I just *know* he wouldn't. Ok? Can you believe me?"

"I'd like to." He released her, and turned away, continuing to pace around the rug. "I really would like to."

She watched him, biting her lower lip, trying to force out Cloud's words, to disregard them. Only it wasn't so easy. But, no... Rufus wouldn't have stopped Reno from killing her. He wouldn't have said what he had to the Turk... He wouldn't have... Of course not... Right?

Days passed. Tifa couldn't even bring herself to look at Rufus anymore, she was so torn between the desire to believe in him and to heed Cloud's warning.

That's when Rufus began to carry his shotgun with him. Loaded. Ready.

That song quote was, believe it or not, my own. I'm in a crappy little one-girl band (I play a really crappy acoustic guitar), and I write music occasionally, and that was an excerpt from one of my songs. Called "Thanks I Get". Awright, now who wants to join my band? Anyone? Anyone?

By the way, about Reno's trenchcoat... think of Neo's in "The Matrix". Hoooooo ho ho. I just thought it would be kinda cool if he was wearing one of those. It's kind of Reno-ish, no? Besides, even though I risk sounding completely idiotic, *drool*. Whatever.

Like the chapter? Hate the chapter? Think I should keep writing? Think I need to hang up my pen for good? Wanna give me a record deal? Sure! Email me at japalac27@hotmail.com ... I love fan mail! I love fan mail!!!

***Oh, and one last thing.*** Any of you fanartists out there, if you wanna send me illustrations for Answer to the Planet, I will kiss your feet and love you forever. I wish I could draw some myself, but, unfortunately, I *suck*. Greatly appreciated would be, say, the portrait of Rufus and Dark Nation, or any other scene that grabs your fancy. Merci beaucoup!!! Over and out.