Bloodwitch Raven - I guess I'll append it to the final version of the fic, since I plan to release an ebook version of it after the final proofread. Last time I had a Reno's POV of their first night, so might as well, since I've already written it. It's pretty explicit, so I don't think ffnet will view it favourably if I did upload it.

Echo the Ethereal Swordmaster - I tried AO3 but I just didn't get into it. The chapter that got slashed was fairly steamy (and by that I mean Reno's bits in various places kind of graphic), so it'll be a bonus chapter.

Final scene! And for anyone who wants the ebook version of this or the previous fic with the bonus chapters, please PM me, and I can send you the link (as soon as I finish proofreading, anyway). It's been kind of a slow journey, but 2nd movements are usually slow. Hopefully I haven't broken too many canon plots and haven't made Reno too smushy.

Epilogue

THREE MONTHS LATER...

Reno looked out the window and down into the open area, where the construction was beginning to take place. He leaned onto the sill, pressing his forehead against the glass pane, his breath fogging the glass for a fleeting moment before the white disappeared.

"I don't fuckin' believe it," he said.

Arien DeVir, seated in a chair and flipping through a catalogue, looked up. "Believe what?" she asked.

"This. All of this." He turned around, facing the woman. "Dunno how Rufus convinced everyone that he was plopping down several trillion gil just out of his goodwill. Because, you know, he has that."

"Trillion gil?"

"No. Goodwill." He scowled. "Whatcha lookin' at?"

"Gun safes," said Arien.

"Why?"

"Because I like to keep several in my spanking new office, that's why," she said. "Unlike you, I only have one method of defence, and that's guns."

"If you ask me, you do a damn good job of it." He slid away from the sill, then walked over to her desk. "It's not like much would change, ya know, with the new office. Except, well, probably a lot more high tech stuff."

"That's going to be a relief," said the woman. "We don't have to run around doing all the legwork."

"You don't. I do."

Shinra was rebuilding at an alarming speed, something the two were slightly uncomfortable about. They had gotten used to the low-tech, low-key activities during the past year or two, and suddenly this propulsion back to where they had been was a little unnerving. They'd learned to make do. "This feels weird," said Arien, "just… you know. Having all this stuff."

"Well, at least the Intelligence crew's back on ship."

She nodded. Some - not all - of the Intelligence members, notably Section AA, were coming back to work for Shinra. They partly felt that they owed it to the company that had been a curse and salvation for them, and they also wanted a slice of pie should Rufus turn profit. And he would. There was a bunch of tech that Shinra had never released to the public that was all ready, primed and set to go, that would revolutionise society and become big hits. Rufus had been sitting on a pile of gold all this time, biding his time and seeking the best opening to enter the market. And he was seizing his chance as they came.

Reno looked out the window again. Cranes and other construction equipment dotted the centre of the square, the precursor to the construction in the months to come. He wondered where he was going with his life, but then he stole a glance at the woman, still poring over the catalogue. And well, he had been through hellfire and he had returned, but he was realising something else. He wasn't alone anymore, which meant he was shackled by the presence of the woman. He couldn't very well leave ehr behind anymore, so he'd have to save both. He'd have to work twice as hard.

The thing was, he wasn't too averse to the idea.

Was this a good sign?

Maybe, maybe not. But he'd tackle the problems one by one, and at least, he won't have to do everything by himself. He'd have to save her once in a while, but she would have to return the favour. And well, that wasn't so bad, was it?

He grinned to the window and was about to speak when the phone in his pocket buzzed. He slid it out, opened communication, then replied with a short yes. "Let's go," he said to Arien when the conversation ended.

"To where?"

"Kalm. Rufus called. Some emergency. His sleeve probably got caught in the fan or something." He strode out, felt - rather than see - Arien check the guns, then follow him. The door closed with a metallic click.

Across the town, a simple email flew across the wireless network and was delivered into an anonymous inbox. The reader opened it, the face expressionless, then looked out the window again, where people walked, going about their days, not a concern about the world amongst them. He read the email again, planning the next move to make on the gigantic chessboard of life, where the king of white was a young blond man who had been so close to getting checkmated, only for the plan to be thwarted by the agents outside the board and the king's lieutenants. He stood up and left the room, leaving the message flashing on the screen. It read:

The Turks are back.

Aaaaand we'll see the crew again with the next instalment of the trilogy! Thanks for reading, and see you in the next instalment!