Case of Shinra fin.

So Veld doesn’t do much. He does cause a minor rift to form in the remaining Turks, as everyone wonders who’s in charge now.

Veld informs everyone what he’s learned of Lieutenant Mutton Kylegate. He was on vacation but stopped in Junon to round up a few troops before heading to Midgar. The day Veld appeared before his former comrades, Kylegate stood outside Midgar and announced he’s building a city on the outskirts of Midgar. He then asked everyone to gather tools and whatnot to aid in the build. Later on, he’d mention Kylegate comes from a wealthy family from Kalm, where he still lived, with an inheritance he gained at a young age. He’s also known for being a ruthless man who joined the army, despite not needing to, to pursue his cruel desires.

Tseng then asks his former leader and father figure why he came to them. Veld answered, "Retribution or perhaps paying back a favour?" The Turks thanked him for the information but wondered about the reasons. Reno then got mad but was quickly quelled in a way I didn't fully understand, and he asked why a mere lieutenant would know the passkey. Telling everyone where the Kylegate manor is, everyone runs out to find Rufus after they managed to connect the dots on his whereabouts. Reno stays behind and asks Veld about the other Turks. Reno is informed they're out gathering info. Veld says he’s going to Junon, where Reeve is, and that’s the last we hear of Veld

Mutton Kylegate is trying to “interrogate” the new passcode out of Rufus. Since the Turks changed it, Rufus would have no way of knowing it. The two men argue, and we learn that Mutton’s plan is just Rufus’ plan. A maid comes to tell the master a visitor is here. Mutton tells Rufus he’s begun construction on the new city that he’s named Edge, before leavening greet the guest. Not long after, Rufus hears voices arguing, and a gun go off. The man who, presumably, shot the gun is looking for him. Despite being locked to the bed, Rufus does what he can to hide. Eventually, and with no difficulty, he is found, and a gun is aimed at him. Rufus tried to fight him off and somehow succeeded. He got shot in hand, however, but managed to grab a whip and smack the gun out of his attacker's hands. The man is the same guy who seemed to be leading the raid on the townhouse before losing the job to Mutton. As the two men stared at each other, smoke began to fill the room. We learn the man killed Mutton as he was treated poorly and wanted revenge. Suddenly, another man entered the room.

Refugees from Midgar had filled the streets of Kalm and had gathered around the burning mansion. The Turks asked the people if anyone saw anything. One said a middle-aged man carried a wounded person out. They assumed the wounded man was Rufus.

The doctor who tended to Rufus days before had just shot Rufus' new attacker. Unfortunately, one gun pointing man was replaced with another gun pointing man. The Doc also had a gun aimed at Rufus. Rufus pointed his gun and pulled the trigger. Nothing. The gun had been meant to kill Mutton, but the owner saved one bullet for Rufus. The bullet that shot Rufus' hand was the last in the chamber. The doctor tells Rufus his name is Kilmister, and he once worked until Hojo. He then asked his captive to sniff something. It was the same drug that knocked out Rufus at the townhouse and was just as effective this time around.

Rufus woke up in the back of a truck surrounded by several other people, all infected with Geostigma. A woman believes it is contagious. The truck stopped a few hours later at a coastal cave. Kilmister pointed the gun at everyone and told them to decent a ladder to a cavern, which is where they’d be living for a while. Down in the cave, we learn Kilmister is treating the people in the truck like actual patients. He’s feeding them and trying to find a cure for Geostigma, as well as treating the pain. He only used the gun to make sure Rufus followed without incident. Kilmister, as the name may suggest, has terrible bedside manner. Three months later, Rufus learns that Kilmister believes this disease is caused by Jenova and wants to know her whereabouts. Rufus doesn’t know. We also learn that Edge is still being constructed and is going well. There’s a number of people and organizations in charge. Geostigma is, sadly, running rampant. Kilmister asks Rufus about the Turks. More specifically, if they can get him things for "treatment.”

During those months, several of the patients had died. No clue if it’s from “treatment” or the diseases. One day, after Rufus heard one of the women cry in pain, he went to talk to Kilmister. They walked out of the cave, climbed the ladder, and Kilmister pointed a gun at Rufus’ head. The doctor demanded Rufus contact the Turks because he wanted the “treatment”, which were just painkillers. Painkillers that the bad doctor had been diluting to maintain his addiction to them. There was never any treatment, and this whole thing was a farce. Rufus scrawled a note telling the Turks to listen to Kilmister and told the doctor to travel to Shinra HQ and just yell for them. Kilmister left for a week.

It had been raining for some time, and the cave began to fill with water. Rufus concocted an idea to make rafts out of the beds to float the sick out, as they’re unable to climb the ladder. After floating up for a few hours in the rain, the puddle stopped rising. During the time, several of the patients had fallen in the water. Suddenly, a black snake-like form began to appear in the water. It slowly came up to Rufus and began to consume him. He then passed out.

Kilmister returned to wake him up and apologized for being late. There were only two patients left. The woman Rufus met in the truck bed cried in pain, and a gunshot ripped through the air. Kilmister said he put the woman out of her misery. The male patient yelled for Pamela and began to muster all the energy could to attack Kilmister. Rufus was able to talk Judd out of his attack, saying that they needed Kilmister alive. A surge of pain ripped through Rufus, and he wiped away liquid from his mouth. Geostigma. Hands came from behind Kilmister and knocked him out. The hands belonged to Rude, who reunited the team.

The whole group, including Kilmister and Judd, went to a place called Cliff Resort, a former Shinra sanatorium. We learn Kilmister had been commanding the Turks as he liked, and they followed to gain his trust. They tracked him, and now here we are.

While there, Kilmister kept working on the treatment, and Shinra took the blame for the state of the world. They started building the monument the kids surrounded in the movie as a symbol of peace and a memorial of That Day. Eventually, Judd snapped and killed Kilmister. Rufus informed the Turks that they would seek the remains of Jenova to keep her out of the hands of evil.

Fin.

I’ve been typing for what feels like forever, so I’ll make this short. I wish we learned more about Veld and his Turks. They’re the main characters of Before Crisis and even pivotal in Crisis Core. It just feels like a wasted opportunity and maybe even make me want to know more about the game. The scene where Rufus became sick with Geostigma was interesting. Even a man of his status and optimism isn’t immune from this stuff. A disease that attacks those who have given up really can strike anywhere. I skimmed a lot, but the last few pages are about Kilmister being a terrible doctor and not even trying to save people.  He's also too infatuated with Jenova and Sephiroth. It's never explained why he knew the whereabouts of Geostigma. He never says that he's seen Jenova Cells from the Lifestream or anything indicating this conclusion is anything more than just a hypothesis. Other questions I have: Why didn't the possible split mean more? Why were Rude and Reno looking for a toolbox the night Meteor fell? Why were the Turks in the jungle during the movie?

Regardless, I enjoyed the book, and I’d say it's definitely worth a read, just don't hold it to a high standard. Nothing is gained here, but I don't feel like I lost anything, either. Skip Yuffie, though. I still think Denzel was probably the best, but Shinra gave him a good run, just for its breadth and way it connected a bunch of stuff even if it did so poorly. I plan to start a new game on Monday, but I’ll do a quick write-up about White and Black tomorrow. Call it a two-and-a-half-day weekend, after which I start a game I played ten years ago but forgot everything about. Maybe, more importantly, it’s not a Square game! The first of its kind here. Legend of Dragoon on Monday.