Before Crisis 2: The Crisis

CHAPTER 26 – WOUNDED TURK

December 25th [ ν ] - εγλ 0007, 2:55 PM

It had been silence for three minutes in the chamber. For three painful minutes, Tseng had been lying flat on the ground, eyes shut with a hand over his deep wound. Somehow and someway he was still conscious, wondering if Sephiroth had gone elsewhere. Leaving the chamber would be his only chance at survival, but at this point, he wasn't sure if he could even stand up.

It took all his willpower to stretch a hand into his pocket, and hit the emergency button on his PHS. From where he was, there was probably no way Elena could reach his signal, as she had returned to base camp to relay their status to the President. As for the Investigation Unit, Tseng hadn't heard back from them in quite some time, and he couldn't help but wonder if they had suffered the same fate.

There was a good chance at escape if he let his lower body do the work. Tseng began to wiggle his legs slowly, arranging them so his feet were correctly positioned on the ground. Gritting his teeth, he counted to three before throwing himself to his feet in one swift movement, using the wall for balance as his uninjured right shoulder leaned against it. With tears in his eyes, he glanced around the chamber. He was alone.

Where did Sephiroth go? Can I make it back safely? Those were his thoughts as he stood against the wall, struggling to breathe through the immense pain. With broken ribs, every breath he took only added to the suffering, but every breath also symbolized hope. The determined Turk had succeeded in getting to his feet, and now he just needed to limp his way out.

But one step later, he had tumbled over and found himself on the ground again. Greater pain struck him as his upper body took most of the impact. His eyes started to roll back as he heard the chamber door open, and then the voice of SOLDIER 1st Class Luxiere.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! What happened here?!"

And moments later, he blacked out.

Tseng was all Elena could think about as she frolicked her way back to camp. She couldn't stop smiling after he had asked her out for dinner, but she was also aware that the job was far from over. The rookie needed to focus as he had ordered her to send an update to the President.

The time was 2:59 PM when she returned to camp, stopping and thinking about what to say. It was the first time Elena had ever reported to headquarters, but she didn't feel nervous. She was the talkative type after all, and Tseng had always told her to keep it simple.

"Elena of the Turks speaking. We have gained access to the Temple of the Ancients. The investigation is going smoothly after two hours. If we find anything, we'll let you know as soon as possible."

When she finished, she let out a relieved sigh and waited for a response. When all she got back was "Thank you, Elena," she knew that her job was done. Now she only needed to return to the Temple and resume her investigation.

Elena jogged through the dense forest, eager to reunite with Tseng. But when she heard footsteps approaching her, she stopped. She hid behind a tree and crouched low, narrowing her eyes as the noise drew closer. Through the trees on another path, she identified two men running off in the opposite direction. Nothing suspicious... she thought initially... as they were only detectives from the Investigation Unit.

She didn't know why, but something seemed a little off on second thought. Elena shrugged as she stepped out of the tree and continued the path ahead. The path turned left after a few hundred steps, and suddenly, she found herself wincing at the sight ahead.

Slouched over on the ground was a SOLDIER beaten and bloodied, his body writhing ever so slightly.

"Luxiere!" Elena raced towards the swordsman. "What happened?!"

His head turned to her slowly. "T-they're... they're 'ere... AVALANCHE..."

She knelt down to him. "AVALANCHE did this!? They're here?!"

"They went... to the Temple... ugh," he whimpered, dragging himself to his sword. "I... I thought I could beat them, but they... they had numbers..."

"Oh no! Tseng's in there!" cried Elena, pulling out a Cure Materia. "And the others..."

"Cure won't help..." he interrupted her. "My ribs... I think... they're broken."

If his ribs were broken, then curative magic was definitely not going to help. Cure provided pain relief and not much else, and couldn't be used to fix fractured bones. "Hold on," Elena took out her only potion and placed it beside him. "Be right back. I'll call for help!"

With that, she ran back towards base camp.

When Tseng awoke, he was in a great deal of agony. He didn't know where he was initially, but soon found himself facing the exit of the Temple, his back leaning on the wall. Through it all, he was surprised to be alive. The last thing he remembered was Luxiere's voice, screaming at him as his body was discovered in the chamber. If anything, the SOLDIER must have carried him here.

Unfortunately, the pain in his body only expanded as he sat there, breathing and choking away perhaps the last moments of his life. The altar ahead was only a few steps away, and he wondered if removing the Keystone would be a good idea. With nothing more to lose, he limped towards the altar, clutching his wound with one hand, and reached into the slot with the other. The access to the Temple closed as the Keystone was removed, and he leaned back against the altar and prepared to die.

"Hey! It's Tseng!"

It was a familiar voice, a female voice, and one he recognized too well. He opened his eyes and came face-to-face with the person he had hoped to see, perhaps one last time. It was Aerith!

The young Ancient stood before him with a shocked expression, her mouth agape. Shortly after, Cloud, Tifa, and Red XIII entered the room to join her.

"Tseng?" Cloud grimaced at the horrific sight. "Of the Turks!?"

Somehow, he had the willpower to stand up and speak. "Uh... I've... been tricked," he moaned as pain slapped him for every syllable he spoke. "It's not... the Promised Land... Sephiroth's searching for..."

Cloud gasped. "Sephiroth? He's inside!?

"Look... for yourself..." he croaked, falling to one knee as he pointed to the altar. "Ugh... damn. Letting Aerith go was the start... of my... bad luck..."

Aerith put her hands on her hips. "You're wrong. The Promised Land isn't like what you imagined," she pointed out. "And I'm not going to help. Either way, there was no way Shinra could have won."

She was right and Tseng knew it. "...Pretty harsh," he muttered, struggling to his feet. "Sounds like something... you'd say." He pulled out the Keystone and limped towards Cloud. "The Keystone... place it... on... the altar..."

After handing him the Keystone, he hobbled a few steps towards a pillar and rested against it. His eyes closed as he prepared for his death once again.

"You crying?" he heard Cloud speak, presumably to Aerith.

She was surely crying as he could hear her sniffling. "Tseng's with our enemy, the Turks, but I've known him since we were little..." she explained tearfully. "There's not a lot of people I can say that about. In fact, there are probably only a handful of people in the world who really know me."

Tseng smiled faintly, content that Aerith had cared about him after all. A few moments later, he felt the platform shaking as the Keystone was placed on the altar. Surprised voices were heard as the platform opened for AVALANCHE, granting them access to the Temple of the Ancients. Tseng wondered if they'd be able to take the Black Materia from Sephiroth.

Back at base camp, Elena ran into the two detectives she saw earlier.

"What are you doing here?" she was short of breath. "Call help! Luxiere's in trouble!"

"Help is coming, ma'am," one of them answered. "The Rescue Unit from Junon is on the way."

"Luxiere shouldn't have attacked them... what was he thinking?" the other man spoke. "Tseng is badly hurt, too. I'm not sure if he can make it-"

"WHAT!?" Elena jumped up in shock. "Oh no, oh no, oh no! Where is he?"

"Oh, you don't know? He was passing out in the Temple. We carried him to the entrance."

She stood expressionless for a moment and thought about what to do next. Tseng had been ambushed, and she wasn't about to leave him alone for much longer. With nothing else to say to the detectives, Elena rushed to the back of a helicopter, grabbed as many first-aid items as she could, and ran straight to the forest. "I'm coming, Tseng!"

Elena sprinted with all she her power, not stopping when a few items dropped on the way. It didn't take her long to reach the Temple, where she still had energy to run up the massive staircase. In the first room, she found Tseng slumped against the pillar, motionless with blood all over his wounded body.

"Tseng!" she cried as tears trickled down her face. "What happened! Did AVALANCHE do this?"

His head lolled from side to side as his eyes slowly opened. "E... Elena..."

"Hang in there, sir!" Elena pressed against the wound and took out whatever bandages she had. "Please, please hold on! Help is coming!"

She did her best to apply them, but it didn't look like enough. "Tell... tell Rufus... th-the mission... is canceled..."

Elena nodded but continued to work on him, begging for him to hold on. "Please... just please hang on... Tseng..." She finally stopped when he extended a hand over her shoulder, and circled a thumb on her neck. The tingling sensation made her shiver and she looked him in the eyes.

"Elena... I... I want you to return to Midgar," he groaned weakly. "Don't worry 'bout me... I'll... I'll be fine."

She was surprised by his suggestion. Leaving him behind was the last thing she wanted. "But sir..."

"I... I trust I'll be fine," he affirmed, releasing his grip on her shoulder. "Now go... and return safe."

Having no choice, Elena took a deep breath and stood up. "Y-yes sir," she obeyed hesitantly. "I'll... I'll see you soon."

Tseng nodded back and closed his eyes. "Goodbye... Elena."

A/N: Part of this chapter includes the scene in FFVII where AVALANCHE confronts Tseng at the entrance of the Temple.