Before Crisis 2: The Crisis

CHAPTER 14 – ROOKIE MISTAKE

December 14th [ ν ] - εγλ 0007, 10:30 AM

Rude couldn't believe that AVALANCHE was in Mythril Mine and heading his way. As their voices increased in volume, he found a tall rock ahead and tiptoed towards it, signaling for Elena to follow. "Come on," he hissed.

"What's going on?" murmured Elena. She had no idea who the voices belonged to.

"Cloud Strife and AVALANCHE are coming," he whispered, pointing to the ground below.

Her eyes widened and she crouched behind the rock. "What!?"

"I can recognize the voices," Rude looked down and saw Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith leading the way. Barret and Red XIII were close behind. "Down there, see?"

"Oh no!" Elena bit her lip. "What are we going to do?"

Thinking for a moment, he stood up and walked further towards the cliff, waving at her to come. He turned to her and said, "We're after Sephiroth. But now seems like a good time to introduce ourselves to AVALANCHE."

Elena shrugged. "Huh? But... why?"

"They're also after Sephiroth..." said Rude, stopping at the ledge. He thought about jumping down. "It's important to know where we stand with the enemy."

"Umm... is this really a good idea?" she asked as he climbed down twenty-five feet to the bottom. I get that we're outnumbered, she thought. It wouldn't be smart to fight them.

"Introduce yourself to them," he told her after reaching the ground. "But you stay up there."

Elena stopped at the ledge and watched as AVALANCHE approached Rude, who stood still like a statue. She'd seen mugshots of Cloud, Barret, and Tifa, and hadn't expected to see them in person on her first mission.

When the time came, Rude raised a right hand and yelled to the group, "Just a second!"

"The hell?" spat Barret. Towering behind the four others, the big man aimed his gun-arm at Rude. Cloud gestured for him to lower it.

"Who are you?" asked Tifa, who wore her usual clothing of a miniskirt and sleeveless shirt. As she was in front of the group beside Cloud, her rather attractive looks managed to catch Rude's attention for a moment. Standing behind her was Aerith and Red XIII, the specimens who escaped from Hojo's lab.

After making eye contact with everyone, Rude asked, "Do you know who I am?"

His question was directed at Cloud. "From the Turks, right?"

"Well if you know, then this won't take long," he nodded kindly as Elena looked on from above. "It's difficult to explain what the Turks do..."

At this point, he was praying for them to not mention Sector 7. "Kidnapping, right?" guessed Cloud.

"To put it negatively... you could say that," Rude looked at Tifa again. "But..." he paused for a second time, obviously distracted by her looks. "That's not all there is to it, anymore..."

But those were the last of his words, as he trailed off again and awkward silence fell over the cavern. Elena had expected better from the veteran Turk. To help him out, she decided to speak up and make her presence known.

"Sir!" she called out enthusiastically. Rude slowly turned to her while the members of AVALANCHE looked around and found her high above. "It's all right, Rude! I know you don't like speeches, so don't force it!"

"Then Elena, explain," he nodded.

"I'm the newest member of the Turks, Elena," she introduced herself. "Thanks to what you did to Reno, we're shorthanded... but because of that, I got promoted to the Turks."

Ending her sentence with a smile, she waited a few seconds for Rude to take over. But when he continued to stand there like a rock, she continued, "Anyhow... our job is to find out where Sephiroth is headed. And to try and stop you every step of the way." Still silence from Rude, and she scratched her head, stopping and thinking what she had just said. "Wait a minute, it's the other way around... you're the ones getting in our way..."

"...Elena. You talk too much." A voice... a familiar voice! Elena and Rude turned to the open doorway and saw Tseng walk in.

"Mr. Tseng!?" she squealed in surprise.

But he only looked at her sternly and shook his head. "No need to tell them about our orders."

She bit her tongue and looked down at her shoes. "Sorry... Tseng."

"I thought I gave your orders," he said, referring to the possible location of Sephiroth. "Now go. And don't forget to file your report."

"Oh! Right!" Elena looked at every AVALANCHE member and stopped at Cloud. "Very well. Rude and I will go after Sephiroth, who's heading for Junon Harbor!"

Tseng sighed. "Elena, you don't seem to understand."

"Oh! I'm, I'm sorry..."

After a short pause, he looked at Rude and Elena and pointed to the doorway. "...Go. Don't let Sephiroth get away."

His subordinates saluted him in unison. "Yes sir!"

With that, Elena climbed down the ledge while Rude took two steps towards Tseng before turning back to Cloud. "...Reno said he wanted to see you after the injuries you gave him healed," he warned him. "He wants to show his affection for you all... with a new weapon." Once he and Elena were together again, they jogged past their leader and out of the cave.

Seeing them off, Tseng stepped forward and faced the group. "Well, then..." he said as his hopes were confirmed. "Aerith, long time no see. Looks like you're safe from Shinra for a while, now that Sephiroth reappeared."

"What are you saying?" she replied with curious eyes. "That I should be grateful to Sephiroth?"

"No," Tseng shook his head. "I won't be seeing too much of you, so take care."

Before turning around to leave, he heard Aerith speak again, "Strange, hearing that from you."

"Well then, stay out of Shinra's way," Tseng nodded to her before walking away.

A/N: This is the scene in FFVII where AVALANCHE confronts the Turks in Mythril Mine.