"Another!" A weary hand reached up from underneath an even wearier head, his red locks fell in front of his eyes. The bar-keep, silent as usual, filled his shot glass again, which was drained before the first sweat drop from the glass hit the bar.
"You know, there will be other jobs, and with someone as talented as you-"
"Shut up Elena" Rude smashed his hand on the bar-top, then readjusted his shades. For the first time he wasn't wearing his tie, and his shirt was in the same fashion as Reno's.
"Bar keep!"
"You've had enough." The huge man said without even turning his back from The suited man's eyes.
"Service!"
"No. Either you step out of here with your rowdy friends, or I'll have you escorted."
The suited young man pulled his red hair from his face and stood up, pulling his night-stick from the inside of his jacket, "I am a paying customer, and when I say service, I expect there to be another shot of Wutai's finest in front of me!"
Three bouncers stepped out of the shadows and tapped the suited man's shoulder, "I will not go until I get another glass."
Somehow the night air didn't refresh him, and neither did the cold stone-work outside of Turtle's Paradise.
"You know Reno, this is the fifth bar you've got us kicked out of in a week, that's a record for this month, you know you really ought to start acting like more of a-"
"Shut yer goddamm mouth Elena!" Reno dug his crushed pack of Cigs out of his jacket pocket and lit the last one, tossing the empty box on the floor, "You know damned well that the Turks no longer exist. From the fires of Meteor come nothing. Seph is dead, and so is Shinra inc. there is nothing else in this world for me except for booze."
"You're a sad sight." A voice came from behind the three.
Rude turned, "You..."
"Your all a sad sight, if you ask me." Mr. Valentine stepped out of the shadows, a street-lamp catching a glint off of his golden claw.
"What're you doing here?" Reno took a draw from his cig and tossed it on the floor, "I thought you were with Cloud and the rest of those guys. Aren't you all supposed to be at Ft. Condor helping every get situated?"
Rude stepped forward and looked him up and down, the black and red clothes, the gold claw, the long black hair and dark eyes. It was Vincent alright.
They started to walk through the darkened streets of Wutai and ended up on the top of the mountain, the four of them, watching the sun slowly rise. The four were completely silent the whole time. Elena, unsurprisingly was the first one to speak, "So, Mr. Valentine, why're you here?"
"Because I've found Tseng, he entrusted me to find you people and bring you guys to him." He just stared at the rising sun, not moving his head at all.
"Tseng is alive?!" Elena could feel her heart rising, and quickly attempted to calm herself. "I mean, the boss is ok? Even after what Sephiroth did to him at the temple?"
"Yeah." Vincent turned around and started walking back down the mountain.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Reno took a step forward, but Vincent kept walking, not taking any notice to him at all.
Rude shrugged and started to walk after him, his old leather loafers picking up a rock or two on the way down. Elena was next to follow, running hectically down the side, and nearly tripping twice.
"Well, this is a fine way to start the morning." Reno walked calmly down the side, and caught up to the rest of them as they were pilling into Valentine's boat.
"Where did you get this? Did Tseng give it to you?"
"Yeah." Valentine jumped into the boat and revved the motor, the rest of the Turks piled in, and they sped off towards Junon harbor.
The party had been going for weeks, ever since Meteor was destroyed and Sephiroth was killed. Every other day they had one of Cloud's comrades up to speak, followed by a surviving Shinra executive that promised, "We will never use Mako energy ever again, or use Sephiroths DNA to make SOLDIERS. The new Shinra has washed it's hands of the old administration." Denying up and down the allegations that a 'Neo-Midgar' was being built in the far north where Sephiroth's last stand was held; where the most Mako in the whole planet was able to be pulled out.
Barret was the one to come to the microphone today, he had a little girl, presumably his daughter Marlene, perched on his shoulder, "Yo. How're ya'll doin today? Th' name's Barret Wallace and I'm glad ya'll called me up to speak in front of you today. I never imagined that the Shinra could reform in the way it did, but here we are. Ya'll shoulda seen the look of surprise on that bastard Seph's face when we blasted him inta orbit. And how about that light show afterwards? Wasn't it great?" Barret rambled on for a few more minutes, with Cloud moodily leaning against the wall behind him.
"Cloud, how much longer can he talk?" It was Yuffie. The little energetic ninja had matured a lot since they had first met, but she was still a sixteen year old and impatience was to be expected.
"Shhh...just listen. We'll be back at Cosmo before you know it. Relax." Cloud looked up at the sky, and was again amazed at the colors the sky took on as the sun set slowly. Red, orange and yellow, all of the colors then reflected off of the slowly healing ocean bay. A huge attack team had taken down Emerald Weapon and boats were sailing between Junon and Costa Del Sol daily again. Today a salvage team had returned with the remains of the crashed Gelnika.
Meanwhile, at the podium, Barret shuffled his cards around and then coughed nervously, "Well...I think that's all."
"Yay Shinra!" Marlene said cheerfully from her Daddy's shoulder. She beamed as his big hand ruffled her hair.
"Never thought I'd agree with that but...I kinda hafta agree with it." A thunder of applause over-took the assembly of citizens. Once it died down, Reeve, the new president of Shinra Inc. took the stand and started a spiel on the 'new face of Shinra' as the rest of Cloud's crew snuck off towards the air-pad.
"C'mon! Move yer goddamn asses woulda?" Cid's voice boomed out of a loud-speaker on the side of the restored and awarded Highwind. It was the least Shinra could do to say thank you to the pilot, give him his old ship back with all of the minor aches and pains of the ship repaired. Cloud, Barret and Yuffie climbed aboard and the rotor blades stirred up the air, the ship was soon soaring through the clouds on the way to Cosmo Canyon.
Fireworks exploded behind them, Cid's old weather-beaten face watched them intently, his face turning alternate shades of blue red and green. "We make some quality fireworks in Wutai, don't you think Cid?" Yuffie's bright voice came from behind him, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Hey! Tryin to give me a heart attack? Sit yer ass down and watch the fire-works, we'll be leaving as soon as the show's over." He stood at the bridge, his hands crossed behind him, he glanced into the reflection of Yuffie, then turned his eyes back at the sky, She's too young for you, so keep yer eyes off. He told himself. He stretched as the final firework went off, bright green, cascading in every possible direction, just like when Meteor was destroyed, it was to be the last day of the festivities, and the clan was about to claim a well earned time of peace.
It was noon when Vincent pulled up on the sandbar. "Mister Valentine, why did we stop? Isn't Tseng expecting us? Shouldn't we be going to Junon right now?"
"Do you want to eat, or not?" Vincent produced a key from his pocket and opened the cooler inside of the boat. He brought out a few sandwiches and a few cans of Junon Cola. He walked up the shore, letting the water lap over his shoes, not minding the dampness that issued inside of them.
Reno cynical blue eyes watched Vincent walk up the beach, shrugged and dug into his sandwich, it was turkey and lettuce, nothing else, damn cheap Shinra...never changes. He bit off of it, and wasn't surprised at all to find that the turkey was dry. He chugged down the nickle can of soda, and crushed the can between his hand and a rock. Soda sucks too.
Elena couldn't eat, her insides were in a confusion, she had no idea how to think, or even WHAT to think, it was all so exciting. She knew that Tseng had been recovered from the temple before it collapsed, but she had always been told that the injury was fatal, that there was no chance that he would survive. This was so wonderful, her knight in a black suit was going to return to her. She bit down on the sandwich and nearly chocked on the dry turkey.
Rude ate non-complacently. He set the turkey down on a nearby rock, and adjusted his shades, they reflected the boundless ocean, but he could care less for the view. He finished off his sandwich quickly and stood, dusting off his back from all the sand.
"Vincent!" The man in red nearly jumped out of his skin as Reno's voice rushed through the empty air. He turned quickly, and shot Reno an inquisitive look. "Shouldn't we be going now?"
He sighed and started to walk back towards the Turks. It had been years since he left the Turks, but like always, he had no clue as to how long it had been exactly. After all the fights he had with these guys, he never thought he would be travelling with them, let alone running a mission for big bad Shinra. He took a look at the mission statement, and grimaced, this wasn't going to be pleasant.
The boat skidded across the waves, Vincent handled the thing like it was a part of his body. Maybe the maker of the boat was the same as his claw? Reno chuckled to himself and stood up, his bright blue eyes wandering over the red and orange waves. Elena sat on the bench next to Rude, who was methodically cracking his knuckles, her eyes were directed in an opposite direction, looking up at the rising stars. She sighed and smiled, she thought she could see Tseng's visage up in the sky.
"How much longer?" Rude obviously didn't care much for the ocean.
"About five minutes." Vincents metallic claw grabbed a lever and pulled it back, suddenly the bottom of the boat was barely touching the water. What had occurred between him and Tseng?
Junon harbor grew larger and larger by the minute, lights covered the whole of the harbor, and the sounds of boisterous revelry filled the air. Reno was already tired of the dock. He sat, and pulled a brush out of his pocket and started to play with his hair.
Elena was on the edge of her seat, she was going to see her beloved Tseng again! She thought he was dead, after being skewered by Sephiroth...God. What kind of condition was he in? She knew that he would be fine because he was a Turk, and for God's sakes, Turks were nearly indestructible.
Rude was cold.
The waves rolled in front of Vincent's line of sight, the whole of the ocean a huge black expanse between the boat and the huge harbor. His eyes grow tired, he felt so much older than he was. A frightening thought occurred to him, as it often does. How old is he? He was thirty-seven before that bastard Hojo worked his dreadful magic on his un-willing body. And he seemed to have not aged a day since then, in fact he looked and felt younger than thirty-seven. And that was what? More than twenty years ago. If anyone knew anything about Sephiroth, they might've been able to solve the little quandary of his age, but no one really knew. He would look up Seph's old file at Junon, but he knew that would be fruitless and would take too long to begin with. His mind drifted, and he could see the old path leading from the well to Shinra mansion in Nibelheim.
"Hello Vincent, how goes the day? Isn't the sun-shine and the clear air refreshing?" Hojo's creepy little voice came from behind him. He whirled on him, and nearly seized the little twerp by the throat, would've too, if it didn't mean losing his job and his honor.
Instead he said: "..." and walked away.
"Hey Vincent..."
"...open your eyes and look-out!" Reno dove across the boat and grabbed the wheel, but to no avail, instead of heading nose first into the sandbar, the side of the boat was ripped wide open by a crag of rock, the four Turks were tossed onto the beach, and skidded for a foot.
"You know, there will be other jobs, and with someone as talented as you-"
"Shut up Elena" Rude smashed his hand on the bar-top, then readjusted his shades. For the first time he wasn't wearing his tie, and his shirt was in the same fashion as Reno's.
"Bar keep!"
"You've had enough." The huge man said without even turning his back from The suited man's eyes.
"Service!"
"No. Either you step out of here with your rowdy friends, or I'll have you escorted."
The suited young man pulled his red hair from his face and stood up, pulling his night-stick from the inside of his jacket, "I am a paying customer, and when I say service, I expect there to be another shot of Wutai's finest in front of me!"
Three bouncers stepped out of the shadows and tapped the suited man's shoulder, "I will not go until I get another glass."
Somehow the night air didn't refresh him, and neither did the cold stone-work outside of Turtle's Paradise.
"You know Reno, this is the fifth bar you've got us kicked out of in a week, that's a record for this month, you know you really ought to start acting like more of a-"
"Shut yer goddamm mouth Elena!" Reno dug his crushed pack of Cigs out of his jacket pocket and lit the last one, tossing the empty box on the floor, "You know damned well that the Turks no longer exist. From the fires of Meteor come nothing. Seph is dead, and so is Shinra inc. there is nothing else in this world for me except for booze."
"You're a sad sight." A voice came from behind the three.
Rude turned, "You..."
"Your all a sad sight, if you ask me." Mr. Valentine stepped out of the shadows, a street-lamp catching a glint off of his golden claw.
"What're you doing here?" Reno took a draw from his cig and tossed it on the floor, "I thought you were with Cloud and the rest of those guys. Aren't you all supposed to be at Ft. Condor helping every get situated?"
Rude stepped forward and looked him up and down, the black and red clothes, the gold claw, the long black hair and dark eyes. It was Vincent alright.
They started to walk through the darkened streets of Wutai and ended up on the top of the mountain, the four of them, watching the sun slowly rise. The four were completely silent the whole time. Elena, unsurprisingly was the first one to speak, "So, Mr. Valentine, why're you here?"
"Because I've found Tseng, he entrusted me to find you people and bring you guys to him." He just stared at the rising sun, not moving his head at all.
"Tseng is alive?!" Elena could feel her heart rising, and quickly attempted to calm herself. "I mean, the boss is ok? Even after what Sephiroth did to him at the temple?"
"Yeah." Vincent turned around and started walking back down the mountain.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Reno took a step forward, but Vincent kept walking, not taking any notice to him at all.
Rude shrugged and started to walk after him, his old leather loafers picking up a rock or two on the way down. Elena was next to follow, running hectically down the side, and nearly tripping twice.
"Well, this is a fine way to start the morning." Reno walked calmly down the side, and caught up to the rest of them as they were pilling into Valentine's boat.
"Where did you get this? Did Tseng give it to you?"
"Yeah." Valentine jumped into the boat and revved the motor, the rest of the Turks piled in, and they sped off towards Junon harbor.
The party had been going for weeks, ever since Meteor was destroyed and Sephiroth was killed. Every other day they had one of Cloud's comrades up to speak, followed by a surviving Shinra executive that promised, "We will never use Mako energy ever again, or use Sephiroths DNA to make SOLDIERS. The new Shinra has washed it's hands of the old administration." Denying up and down the allegations that a 'Neo-Midgar' was being built in the far north where Sephiroth's last stand was held; where the most Mako in the whole planet was able to be pulled out.
Barret was the one to come to the microphone today, he had a little girl, presumably his daughter Marlene, perched on his shoulder, "Yo. How're ya'll doin today? Th' name's Barret Wallace and I'm glad ya'll called me up to speak in front of you today. I never imagined that the Shinra could reform in the way it did, but here we are. Ya'll shoulda seen the look of surprise on that bastard Seph's face when we blasted him inta orbit. And how about that light show afterwards? Wasn't it great?" Barret rambled on for a few more minutes, with Cloud moodily leaning against the wall behind him.
"Cloud, how much longer can he talk?" It was Yuffie. The little energetic ninja had matured a lot since they had first met, but she was still a sixteen year old and impatience was to be expected.
"Shhh...just listen. We'll be back at Cosmo before you know it. Relax." Cloud looked up at the sky, and was again amazed at the colors the sky took on as the sun set slowly. Red, orange and yellow, all of the colors then reflected off of the slowly healing ocean bay. A huge attack team had taken down Emerald Weapon and boats were sailing between Junon and Costa Del Sol daily again. Today a salvage team had returned with the remains of the crashed Gelnika.
Meanwhile, at the podium, Barret shuffled his cards around and then coughed nervously, "Well...I think that's all."
"Yay Shinra!" Marlene said cheerfully from her Daddy's shoulder. She beamed as his big hand ruffled her hair.
"Never thought I'd agree with that but...I kinda hafta agree with it." A thunder of applause over-took the assembly of citizens. Once it died down, Reeve, the new president of Shinra Inc. took the stand and started a spiel on the 'new face of Shinra' as the rest of Cloud's crew snuck off towards the air-pad.
"C'mon! Move yer goddamn asses woulda?" Cid's voice boomed out of a loud-speaker on the side of the restored and awarded Highwind. It was the least Shinra could do to say thank you to the pilot, give him his old ship back with all of the minor aches and pains of the ship repaired. Cloud, Barret and Yuffie climbed aboard and the rotor blades stirred up the air, the ship was soon soaring through the clouds on the way to Cosmo Canyon.
Fireworks exploded behind them, Cid's old weather-beaten face watched them intently, his face turning alternate shades of blue red and green. "We make some quality fireworks in Wutai, don't you think Cid?" Yuffie's bright voice came from behind him, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Hey! Tryin to give me a heart attack? Sit yer ass down and watch the fire-works, we'll be leaving as soon as the show's over." He stood at the bridge, his hands crossed behind him, he glanced into the reflection of Yuffie, then turned his eyes back at the sky, She's too young for you, so keep yer eyes off. He told himself. He stretched as the final firework went off, bright green, cascading in every possible direction, just like when Meteor was destroyed, it was to be the last day of the festivities, and the clan was about to claim a well earned time of peace.
It was noon when Vincent pulled up on the sandbar. "Mister Valentine, why did we stop? Isn't Tseng expecting us? Shouldn't we be going to Junon right now?"
"Do you want to eat, or not?" Vincent produced a key from his pocket and opened the cooler inside of the boat. He brought out a few sandwiches and a few cans of Junon Cola. He walked up the shore, letting the water lap over his shoes, not minding the dampness that issued inside of them.
Reno cynical blue eyes watched Vincent walk up the beach, shrugged and dug into his sandwich, it was turkey and lettuce, nothing else, damn cheap Shinra...never changes. He bit off of it, and wasn't surprised at all to find that the turkey was dry. He chugged down the nickle can of soda, and crushed the can between his hand and a rock. Soda sucks too.
Elena couldn't eat, her insides were in a confusion, she had no idea how to think, or even WHAT to think, it was all so exciting. She knew that Tseng had been recovered from the temple before it collapsed, but she had always been told that the injury was fatal, that there was no chance that he would survive. This was so wonderful, her knight in a black suit was going to return to her. She bit down on the sandwich and nearly chocked on the dry turkey.
Rude ate non-complacently. He set the turkey down on a nearby rock, and adjusted his shades, they reflected the boundless ocean, but he could care less for the view. He finished off his sandwich quickly and stood, dusting off his back from all the sand.
"Vincent!" The man in red nearly jumped out of his skin as Reno's voice rushed through the empty air. He turned quickly, and shot Reno an inquisitive look. "Shouldn't we be going now?"
He sighed and started to walk back towards the Turks. It had been years since he left the Turks, but like always, he had no clue as to how long it had been exactly. After all the fights he had with these guys, he never thought he would be travelling with them, let alone running a mission for big bad Shinra. He took a look at the mission statement, and grimaced, this wasn't going to be pleasant.
The boat skidded across the waves, Vincent handled the thing like it was a part of his body. Maybe the maker of the boat was the same as his claw? Reno chuckled to himself and stood up, his bright blue eyes wandering over the red and orange waves. Elena sat on the bench next to Rude, who was methodically cracking his knuckles, her eyes were directed in an opposite direction, looking up at the rising stars. She sighed and smiled, she thought she could see Tseng's visage up in the sky.
"How much longer?" Rude obviously didn't care much for the ocean.
"About five minutes." Vincents metallic claw grabbed a lever and pulled it back, suddenly the bottom of the boat was barely touching the water. What had occurred between him and Tseng?
Junon harbor grew larger and larger by the minute, lights covered the whole of the harbor, and the sounds of boisterous revelry filled the air. Reno was already tired of the dock. He sat, and pulled a brush out of his pocket and started to play with his hair.
Elena was on the edge of her seat, she was going to see her beloved Tseng again! She thought he was dead, after being skewered by Sephiroth...God. What kind of condition was he in? She knew that he would be fine because he was a Turk, and for God's sakes, Turks were nearly indestructible.
Rude was cold.
The waves rolled in front of Vincent's line of sight, the whole of the ocean a huge black expanse between the boat and the huge harbor. His eyes grow tired, he felt so much older than he was. A frightening thought occurred to him, as it often does. How old is he? He was thirty-seven before that bastard Hojo worked his dreadful magic on his un-willing body. And he seemed to have not aged a day since then, in fact he looked and felt younger than thirty-seven. And that was what? More than twenty years ago. If anyone knew anything about Sephiroth, they might've been able to solve the little quandary of his age, but no one really knew. He would look up Seph's old file at Junon, but he knew that would be fruitless and would take too long to begin with. His mind drifted, and he could see the old path leading from the well to Shinra mansion in Nibelheim.
"Hello Vincent, how goes the day? Isn't the sun-shine and the clear air refreshing?" Hojo's creepy little voice came from behind him. He whirled on him, and nearly seized the little twerp by the throat, would've too, if it didn't mean losing his job and his honor.
Instead he said: "..." and walked away.
"Hey Vincent..."
"...open your eyes and look-out!" Reno dove across the boat and grabbed the wheel, but to no avail, instead of heading nose first into the sandbar, the side of the boat was ripped wide open by a crag of rock, the four Turks were tossed onto the beach, and skidded for a foot.