Obligatory Disclaimer:
I don't own any characters (or anything else, for that matter) you recognize from Final Fantasy VII, they are all the property of Tetsuya Nomura and/or Square-Enix.
Author's Note: If I haven't mentioned it already, I'll be at Youmacon 2009 as Vincent Valentine, so if you're going to be there, let me know! Also, that means I can't post as much as I'd like right now v.v Sorry!
Thank you all again! xD
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Reno threw himself on a bed, cursing. How did he get to be such a moron?
"I'm such a friggin' idiot. She doesn't need me around, yo. Hell, she doesn't even want me around. She probably was just going off on her own. She doesn't want to piss around here when there's something that's got to be done ASAP. Probably going to grab Cyrene and run for it, yo. How stupid of me to think that she'd want me for this. Probably in love with blondie down there, yo."
What made him think that he would be special to her, anyway?
"Talking to yourself is a sign of madness."
Reno sat up, looked around, could find no one.
"What the…?"
As if out of nowhere, Vincent appeared.
"Will you stop doing that?!"
"What?" Vincent replied.
"Nothing" he sighed. "What do you want, yo?" Reno asked, flopping back down on the bed, scowling.
"Failed to impress her with your gallant rescue?" Vincent asked. Reno thought he heard a touch of sarcasm in the man's voice.
"I don't need to impress her, thank you very little. I don't like her that way, yo."
Vincent inclined his head, his gaze unyielding. "Suit yourself. But do watch out for her this evening. I expect that we will have some nasty company before the night is over."
Vincent disappeared through the door frame, leaving Reno to frown after him. What the hell was that supposed to mean? CEOs with bad manners or Ninjas? Reno put a pillow over his head. He didn't want to think anymore.
-~-*Å*-~-
Alcestis had smirked a little when watching Tseng pull at his collar and give assignments. The man had looked terribly uncomfortable, particularly in the presence of Oedipus, who Alcestis had later gathered was the ultimate assassin of ShinRa company. Cyrene had sat across the table from him, scowling a death sentence at him. Yetta had fallen asleep on the meeting table, drooling, having tired herself out with constant swimming. She had jerked awake and swore when Tseng banged his fist on the table, jittery as he was. Elena made no effort to calm him. Evidently, somewhere along the line, she had learned that it was impossible to calm the man when he was under pressure. Vincent had nodded sagely when Tseng had told him he was to sit in the security room with Oedipus and Cyrene, watching every second and every angle of the party. Obviously, Vincent knew that he was to play mediator for the other two, as he flashed them both warning glances. Reno had sat with his elbows propped on the table and his head propped on his hands. Alcestis had felt a small pang seeing him look so downtrodden.
Now that the party had begun and was getting into full swing, she found herself attached to his arm, and she knew it was going to be an awkward evening. Her, Yetta, and Elena were in matching ballgowns, in blue, green and red, respectively. The male Turks were in tuxes – Reno had been particularly thrilled when he found that his had tails. They were welcoming guests left and right, Mr. So-and-so from this-or-that company, The Duchess Whatever from Random Obscure City, and so on. The party-goers were obviously people that Rufus was sucking money out of, but threw little parties for so that they might not – or choose not to – notice.
Alcestis pressed the earphone in her left ear in a little bit closer. Each of the Turks and herself had one, so that they could hear anything those in the security room might have to say. It was rather entertaining.
"That one looks suspicious."
"So does your mother."
"Honestly, Oedipus, you've never met my mother."
"Fine then, Cyrene, so does your face."
"Both of you, just shut the hell up."
Her and Reno exchanged an amused glance, only to look away again, awkwardly. The audio onslaught continued.
"You shut up, sittin' there, all dressed in red. What is your deal anyway?"
"Oedipus, that's your name? Oedipus, I've never met anyone I wanted to shoot for peace of mind before."
"Sure you have. Hojo." Cyrene's voice sounded amused.
"…"
"Well?"
"Point conceded."
Alcestis sighed, and examined Reno's profile as he determinedly looked straight ahead, greeting guests. He was genial. Handsome. Polite. She had no idea he had it in him. He was surprisingly tame. Perhaps he had done this before? She sighed again, with a shallower breath. She didn't like whatever block there was between them. She was relatively sure that it was her fault. He had just been worried about her, that was all. She didn't have to get all feminazi on him. But why had he been so worried, so panicky about her condition?
"Reno, are you-"
"Maybe, yo."
"Would like me to-"
"I guess."
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine, yo."
"Reno, how do you-"
"I don't know."
"Is it possible that you-"
"Yes."
"Is it possible that we-"
"That depends on you, yo."
Alcestis was disconcerted that she hadn't finished a single question. But evidently they were on the same wavelength, because she got all of the answers she had been expecting. But really, what the hell did that mean? A question to be pondered…and resolved quickly, if she was going to get any sleep that night.
The argument blaring in their ear pieces continued.
"I'm serious, that guy over there looks suspicious."
"Oh, no he doesn't."
"Yes he does! He just pocketed one of Rufus' tropical fish."
"And how does one pocket a tropical fish, exactly?"
"He scooped it into a little baggie and popped into his coat."
"Cyrene…you're nuts."
"Oedipus, you are a jerk."
"Didn't I just tell both of you to shut the hell up?!"
"I'll check it out." Alcestis mumbled, pressing her earpiece in a bit. She meandered over to the described man politely, dragging Reno with her.
"Hello, sir. What is your name?"
"I am the Duke of Eleanor."
"Ah yes, and where is Eleanor?"
"The southern polar continent."
Reno and Alcestis exchanged a glance. There was no southern polar continent.
"Sir, I do believe you have one of our fish in your jacket pocket." She said politely.
"Oh, you mean this?" The man said, pulling out a baggie with a pretty red and pink fish inside. In her earpiece, Alcestis heard Cyrene screech "I TOLD YOU SO!" and Oedipus cussing.
The man leaned in conspiratorially. "I'm conducting an experiment on fish around the world."
"Is that so?" Alcestis asked, arching an eyebrow regally.
"Yes. Beginning with your nose." With no warning the man pulled out a gun and brought it down hard on the bridge of her nose. Reno was already reacting, pulling out his rod and shocking the man in the chest. Alcestis hit the floor, half conscious and bleeding.
"One, that doesn't make any sense, two, I'm going to apprehend you, yo." Reno said. The man brought his gun up as though to shoot, but Reno kicked it out of his hand and brought his rod down hard on the man's skull. Tseng caught the gun deftly and cocked it into position, pointing it over the crowd.
"Anybody else?" Tseng asked, his eyes turning into mere slits.
"Yes!" A young lady cried, leaping down from the balcony to land on Tseng's head.
"Stupid question, Tseng." Rude muttered, as he hauled the woman off of him, bodily restraining her to the best of his ability. She was tiny but determined, her legs were flailing everywhere.
Alcestis half stood, ruing the purple spots on her lovely blue ball gown as she wiped the blood from her nose. She snorted a bit, and spat out some more blood, looking up in time to notice a man about to bring a chair down on Reno's head. She flung her arm, which made Reno flinch but sent the offending man flying into the wall behind him, breaking the glass on one of many expensive portraits in the mansion. By now the small panic that had infected the guests was developing into full-blown hysteria. Yet another man had decided to attack the Turks, but was promptly gunned down by Vincent standing on the stairs, who glared malevolently at the man's bleeding back whilst he fell.
Another woman, this one blonde and dressed in some kind of exotic gown made to look like animal print, leaped forward and sunk her teeth into Yetta's neck, who screamed, put her hands behind her, grabbed the woman by the shoulders and threw her at Elena, who stopped the woman's momentum with the small heel of her shoe. The woman's sternum cracked loudly and she fell to the floor, limp. Oedipus, now dressed in pale blue armor from neck to toe, began to usher the guests outside, insisting that they remain calm in the face of any adversity. This failed to work, however, as the sight of his neon yellow eyes made most of them scream in fear. Cyrene, too, descended the stairs from the security room, waving her scepter. Alcestis felt the flow of blood from her nose cease with much relief. The woman that Rude had been restraining attempted a back flip, which was enough to loosen his grip. She streaked away from him, raising her fists to rain blows upon Elena's head. She was abruptly stopped by a shot to the gut, courtesy of Tseng, who was still on the floor.
Another man jumped down from the balcony, warbling some kind of war cry as he brought his feet down on Reno's shoulders. Alcestis flicked her wrist and the man was engulfed in flames, falling to the ground and writhing.
"What in the hell is going on here?" Tseng muttered.
"My guess is that someone has figured out what we're supposed to be doing, and they've decided to attempt to stop us." Oedipus muttered in reply, shuffling the last of the guests out of the door.
As they turned to face the inside of the mansion, something strange caught Alcestis' eye: a slow movement in the shadow under the balcony. She threw out her hand, a small bolt of lightning springing from her hand, knocking down the figure. The man slumped, dressed all in black with some kind of katana on his back.
Reno shook his head, remembering his earlier thought. Definitely ninjas, yo. Definitely.
Another man, dressed in a similar fashion came down from the ceiling, was promptly run through by Oedipus, who had produced a lance seemingly from nowhere to puncture the man's chest. Three more came down from the balcony, and began close range hand-to-hand combat with Yetta, Elena and Cyrene. What looked like a dozen more came thundering down the stairs.
Reno leaped onto one of the many plush couches in the room, springing. His brought his rod down hard on one of their skulls, leaving the ninja to slump idly to the floor. The next was not taken so unaware, and brought his katana up to hit him with the broad side, forcing him down onto the floor. Still more of them advanced on Elena and Yetta, who were fighting brilliantly hand-to-hand for wearing ballgowns. Cyrene took to leaping away from her combatants, sacrificing harm to them in favor of healing her companions. Vincent stood in the corner of the room, managing to shoot every enemy who came near him in the chest before they got a hit on him.
Oedipus, Alcestis decided, though a jerk, was every bit as grand a fighter as Tseng had told her he was. The armoring on his elbows protruded into sharp points, insignificant when his arms were straight, but with his elbows out he shoved the points into the throats of his combatants, trading punches and stabs. Oedipus' wounds healed moments after being inflicted – without help from Cyrene.
Alcestis waved her arms like a mad woman, in favor of summoning a creature to assist them. Summons exhausted her – she would be sleeping deeply that night – but perhaps another body in the fray would spare them. She summoned the first creature that came to mind – and a Gagighandi, a turquoise aquatic equine creature with four teal limbs like a lion's and a largely peaceful disposition appeared. Not the most powerful creature – but it had the ability to use stone stare.
She took to using more hand-to-hand variety tactics. Her staff was locked away in a room upstairs, but that didn't stop her from using her other skills, more martial-arts related. She silently thanked and mourned her lost brother as she brought her foot up and thrust it into the back of a man attacking Rude. The man stumbled, turned, surprising Alcestis. That blow should have been enough to snap his spine. He sprung at her, fists flying. Alcestis stuck her elbow out, allowing his neck to land on it, choking him temporarily as she swung her leg around to break his kneecap. The man stumbled, crying out in pain. She grabbed his face, her palms flat to his cheek, and turned his head past the point where it ought to have gone, issuing a crack. He slumped to the ground, his eyes rolled back into his head.
She turned to her next opponent – a ninja who was about to bring the blade of his katana down on Reno's neck. She flung her arm, making the man fly towards the couch. She leaped, bringing her heel down on his sternum. It gave a satisfying crack beneath the force of her blow and his chest caved in. Suddenly, she felt heat in the back of her skull – another of the ninjas had just sliced open her scalp, gripping the bleeding area with one hand, she cast a spell, electrocuting the man violently. He, too, slumped to the floor.
She felt the wound heal up beneath her hand, its only trace the blood staining her palm. She silently thanked Cyrene – though she did not like her very much – and surveyed the fray. In those few seconds, she took in that for every ninja she had incapacitated, there were at least three more. They kept on pouring in through every opening – every window, every door. They had to escape the mansion if they were going to make it out of this alive, or else be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
She ran her shoulder into the stomach of a man who was brutally attacking Tseng. She pinned his lower half against the wall and Tseng primly shot the man. Alcestis tossed his dead weight in the general direction of three ninjas who were doggedly attacking Yetta and Elena, who had both ripped their ballgowns to a shorter length to eliminate the hindrance.
"Tseng, we've got to get out of here. They're going to bring us down."
"I know. I've summoned a helicopter from our platform a few miles away. It ought to be here soon."
"You actually have a landing pad around here?"
"How do you think Rufus gets to his mansion?" Tseng asked, cocking an eyebrow with haughtier. Alcestis resisted the great urge to smack him and instead sunk her fist into the throat of the nearest ninja, the one about to bring a chair down on her head.
Rude and Cyrene stood back to back, Rude acting as her defense as she continued to heal. He wondered how much longer she could on like this without restoring her magic. The strain had to be driving her to madness.
Vincent shot a ninja. And another. And another. He sighed. You'd think they'd learn to wear bullet-proof clothing, or something. He shot another. And another. And another. And another. One after another, they slumped to the ground, instantly dead as their blood spilled out onto the floor, pooling on the linoleum and staining the fine ivory carpeting.
Oedipus wielded his large lance with great skill, bowling down a great many of them at a time. He swung this way and that, puncturing the flesh and muscle of ninja after ninja. They just kept pouring in… they were beginning to face impossible odds, and everyone there knew it.
The Gagighandi was a brutal fighter. The creature remained oddly unscathed, untouched by blade or by fist. The fins on the top of its head were apparently rather hard though flexible, and could be used as horns sunk into the neck of every opponent, mortally wounding them, with extra support from the creatures sharp, small tusks. The creature was without remorse, leaping gracefully from victim to victim.
A familiar sound was heard from above. "The chopper's arrived." Tseng said tersely. "Everybody move! Out, now!"
Reno turned, shocking the man closest to him as he made a run for the door. He grabbed Alcestis by the wrist and dragged her out with him, throwing her into the chopper. She landed on her shoulder with an "ugh!" and leaped up himself, Alcestis dragging him in by the hand. The Gagighandi leaped into the low-flying chopper after them. Tseng grabbed Elena, tossed her up and took a leg up himself. Vincent helped Rude and Yetta up before leaping in. Oedipus bodily threw Cyrene in (luckily for her, she was caught by a very surprised Rude) before using his lance to push himself up in all his armor. After very hasty instructions, the pilot chopper was thrown out of his seat by Reno, who muttered something about the pilot's incompetence (who looked no older than 19) and put on the headset, flying them swiftly but safely off towards the horizon's fading sun.
Alcestis, in her lovely azure ballgown with the bottom half torn just below her bum and shredded down to her knees, came up to the front cabin, leaving her squabbling party members in the back, (they were marveling over the Gagighandi, which was napping quietly on the floor) and sat down in the copilot's seat. She took a deep breath, and looked over at Reno, who was non-chalantly piloting, slumped back in his seat, one hand on the yoke and the other hanging off the arm of his chair.
"Are you all right?"
"Just fine, yo."
The last few ruby rays of sunlight glinted in his blue eyes, brought out the even more red highlights in his already red hair. He smirked lightly, causing the tattoo on the corresponding side of his face to shift just slightly upwards.
"Thanks for your concern, yo. I do appreciate it."
"I'm sorry I was so…well, you know."
Reno nodded, and looked over at her. "Like I said, it's fine, yo. You're way too self-sufficient to be needing me, yo, and I realize that." He sighed. "Wouldn't want me covering for you at all."
She sighed, almost exasperated, and put a hand on his knee, which caught his attention. "That's not true, Reno. I do need you. You saved me back on the ShinRa Ship. You're right. All it took last time was just to be knocked out and dragged away. It was right and even good of you to assume the worst. I appreciate your concern. Though I must say, I did not expect you to act so…rash."
"I was worried about you, yo." Reno muttered, his eyes staring forward but not seeing. "You've become a good friend of mine, and you've saved my life, and I like you enough to keep you around, yo."
She smiled. "Thanks Reno."
"Plus you're kinda hot, yo. Any chance we could-"
Alcestis laughed, now used to his antics. "Pig." She said.
"Damn." He said. "I can dream, right, yo?"
"Keep dreaming, Reno. Every once in a while, dreams come true."
"Do you mean to say that-"
"You're a pretty handsome sort of guy." Alcestis said, smiling enigmatically. She squeezed his shoulder and left the cockpit, leaving him to sigh contentedly as he searched for the lights of the newly built (by ShinRa, naturally) city of South Corel.