This is a visual of what happens beneath the fog within the first few moments of Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children with the Turks, the Silver Haired Men, and the crater—this is as accurate as I could get it, though I spiced up the drama a bit. There are NO spoilers for the best movie in the world in this one-shot. My only notes are that I changed Tseng saying "Hey, hey, hey!" to "Get down!"—it sounded more Tseng-y and when Elena cries out "Senpai," I am assuming she's using a term of endearment for Tseng, and I substitute his name in the hope of it making more sense. Also, just so you know, the silver haired men ARE wielding gunblades—they're just a different type than a certain lionhearted friend of mine uses…. Anyhoo, I don't own FFVII:AC, and yes, it is the BEST MOVIE EVER! Please R&R!
-K-
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Beneath the Fog
"Tseng!" the petit blonde cried, hurrying forward. She faltered on the broken, uneven ground, colliding with a jagged rock and snagging a tear in the side of her black suit jacket. Unabashed she continued on while, walking calmly behind her, Tseng watched the surrounding area with a thoroughness befitting an eagle's eye. "Look at this!" Elena had stopped running and was bent over double, head cocked sideways at the sight of an odd mass on the ground in front of her.
"Hmm?" The tall, dark man strode easily to her side; he had no trouble doing so for—rather unlike Elena—he wasn't wearing heels. He said nothing to her, opting to pull the small hand-held from his pocket and radio back correctly instead.
"Found it." A sudden, cold upburst of wind drove Tseng's attention back to the masses of rubble surrounding them, causing him to narrow his dark eyes as he gazed around suspiciously. A burst of air, in the middle of a crater…? The air was stagnant and stale otherwise, the fog palpable and thick: both indicated that no breeze had stirred in the crater in a long time. How then…?
Elena was more concerned with the stink of the fleshy mass, one she'd just gotten a big whiff of. Pinching off her nose with a manicured hand, she mumbled,
"…kinda gross, isn't it?" Tseng did not humor her with an answer though—internally—he completely agreed. Instead he dropped into a crouch, loosening the lid on the sterilized container they'd brought along with them. The Turk then proceeded to scoop the mangled thing into the tube, circumspectly using the top half of the flagon like a spoon. Elena turned her face away, looking slightly ill. Tseng, much more used to not-so-favorable tasks, shut off his senses as best he could and did his job.
High above the crater's rim a helicopter hovered steadily, blades whirling. The redheaded pilot drummed his fingers lightly on the arm of his chair, disclosing his only outward sign of true unease.
"Just hurry it up, yo," he muttered quietly, blue eyes vainly scanning the thick blanket of fog beneath him. What in the Hell was taking them so long…?
As though in answer he'd heard Tseng's deep, even voice affirming the location of the object and, a few moments later the fiery haired flyer heard him add: "I'm counting on you, Reno."
"Alright yo." He smiled a little in spite of himself, tilting the control stick to the right and feeling the helicopter bank correspondingly. The craft's blades split the clouds into wisps that instantly reformed as Reno descended into the crater.
Elena straightened as Tseng closed the container, still grimacing at the memory of what was inside. Tseng handed her the radio, nodding her call Reno back and make sure he was descending in the correct area. The woman understood: they were several hundred feet from the drop-off point and the fog was thick. She could hear the whirring of helicopter blades growing louder above them, and switched the radio on.
A gunshot tore the air; the bullet whizzed by, missing her head by inches. Elena started; Tseng, acting quickly, shoved her behind a large rock as a second bullet, moments later, ricocheted off the stone beside them.
"Get down!" Tseng ordered. The woman tucked the radio, still on, into her coat pocket as he shoved the container into her hands. She looked up at him, blue eyes fearful, but he was already turning back to the direction of the gunfire. He had drawn his heavy silver pistol.
The whirring of the blades grew louder still, and a black chopper set down a hundred or so feet to the right of their position and Elena, lurching back to her feet, took off at a run across the open area, tripping over her heels again. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Tseng standing stock-still, his body rigid as he stared. A third gunshot split the still air.
"Tseng, hurry up!" she cried, sliding to a halt on the loose stone beneath her feet. "Tseng!" The dark haired man did not heed her.
"…Who is that?" A youth clothed in black leather was striding towards him, a malevolent smile lighting his face. His chin length silver hair was parted over half his face; wickedly green slit pupiled eyes leered at Tseng through the distance between them, oddly alight through the wisps of fog. He had a hand behind his back—a moment later, he'd drawn a dual-bladed katana. He was still advancing.
A katana…
Tseng pivoted on his heel, locking his sights on the man who'd appeared out of nowhere to his left, wielding a bladed gun. This man too was wearing black leather, had glowing green eyes and silver hair. He was taller though, and his hair was swept up and shorter. Like his counterpart, he too was advancing on Tseng, who stalled, amazed by an unsettling resemblance...
Reno heard the firing and tried to radio back to his partners, but vainly; Elena had her transmitted turned to 'on.' Until she freed up the channel, he could do nothing but listen.
He'd been forbidden to leave the chopper, no matter what.
Elena was torn as she heard the sliding door of the helicopter clang open in front of her and the volley of gunshots behind. She opted to do her job first, and began running—as best she could—towards the waiting chopper, the container still in hand. She was so close to accomplishing their goal. She just had a few more steps, a few more feet to go. Her ankle rolled in a small hole and she hissed as she stumbled. The next pain tore into the back of her left arm, and merited half of a scream.
"ugh…" Tseng heard the shot and saw the third youth to the right, this one slight of build and with silver hair down to his waist. His gunblade was still smoking.
"Elena!" No sooner had he spoken than the bulkiest of the three youths, in a sudden burst of speed he could barely follow, appeared in front of him, moving the fifty feet between them impossibly fast. His mouth twisted up in a cruel smirk as he lifted his weapon and fired one well-placed shot into Tseng's left shoulder. He stumbled back, feeling the agonizing bite of two parallel blades a blink later as they sunk into his side, sliding neatly into his flesh between his hip and ribcage. It was as the sword was ripped free that Tseng had enough presence of mind open fire on the two silver haired youths.
Elena stumbled forward, finally reaching the chopper's open door. Throwing the container inside, she pivoted and pulled her own gun as her long-haired assailant raised his again.
"G-go!" she ordered as she witnessed Tseng faltering, blood pouring from his side as the bulky youth seized him in an arm-lock from behind. Reno shot her a hesitant glance; with very brief, uncharacteristic surety, she nodded him off and fired.
Reno pulled back on the controls, feeling the chopper rise easily into the air. Past the sealed hatch and whirring blades he was deaf, but for the radio: through it, he could hear the gunshots.
Gunshots.
They sounded for a moment longer; Reno swallowed hard. Orders were orders, but he was abandoning his brethren.
The chopper lifted above the fog.
The radio died.