Chapter XXVIII: Godo
[Author's Note: I was originally not planning to write this chapter, but I figured that if I didn't the novelization would not be complete. However the segments taken from the Turks point of view are directly taken from my first fanfiction Day Off (with some minor tweaks).]
---
Cid was not the most attentive of audiences. Cloud repeated for what must have been his fourth time the details of their adventure thus far. Cid, however, seemed to have a different take on various choices made by Cloud and the party.
He would frequently interrupt Cloud to make his useless suggestions, such as: "you should have taken a fishing ship over from Junon, it would have saved you time," and "well if it were ME I'd have stopped this Sephy-something from leaving right then and there!"
Cloud did not lament the absence of Cid up to this point. When he finally finished his recount of the tales, Cid nodded.
"So…" Cid began, trying to pick apart what he'd heard. "You all are looking for Sephiroth… Sephiroth is looking for the Promised Land. Shinra is looking for all three of you?"
"Marvelously succinct," Red growled in annoyance.
"Well then, I'm glad you've got a method of getting around the world, because I've seen most of it from the air and I gotta tell you I ain't never seen anything that looked like no 'Promised Land'. I thought it was just," Cid looked at Aeris guiltily, "forgive me, an Ancient myth."
"The Promised Land is a real place. If anybody could find it, then we'd already know where it is. Only Cetra, and descendents of Cetra can find it. And it's not found by just looking for it. You will feel it," Aeris explained.
"Cetra?" Cid asked. "What's that, some kinda disease?"
Cloud smacked his head. "Have you been listening to a word I've said?"
"Oh yeah… that's the other name for the Ancients," Cid remembered suddenly. "Sorry about that."
"Well that's all well and good," Yuffie pointed out. "But as we're stuck in the middle of the ocean there's not a whole lot that can be done for that at the moment."
"Do you have a suggestion then?" Barret asked.
"We're near Wutai, I imagine," Yuffie explained. "My homeland. Let's land the Tiny Bronco there and then we can ask about the Ancients. My f… my people know a lot about the ancient legends and so on."
Cloud had once again caught the slip. It had been obvious that she was about to reference her father.
"That's actually not a bad idea. In case you've forgotten we're short on supplies thanks to leaving the buggy behind and I think we forgot to stop and grab food," Tifa noted.
"Alright then. We'll set sail for Wutai," Cloud said. "Yuffie, you'll have to navigate."
"Yes sir!" She smiled widely.
---
Reno had not been planning to invite Elena to join him and Rude on their vacation day. The President had allotted them one day in which to enjoy themselves and his experience with Elena thus far had been not so good.
She meant well, but that was the problem. Well-meaning rookies always cause trouble, and act as though they have something to prove. As they headed towards Wutai from their drop-off point on the steppes, Elena began to chide Reno about not hunting for AVALANCHE.
"Don't forget that just because we have a day off today doesn't mean we've stopped looking for AVALANCHE. We can rest up here, but if we see them…"
Reno chuckled, "Listen babe, I know you're a little new at this so I'll give you some pointers. A day off is a day off be you a merchant, a soldier or a Turk. Now naturally if Cloud and his gang show up here of course I'll bust them up, but it's not like they'd come to such an out-of-the-way place anyways."
Elena recoiled at Reno's over-familiarity. It was true that he was technically the leader, but that was no excuse for him to act as he did.
"Well then Reno, if I had just stolen a piece of Shinra property and crash-landed in the Wutai Sea, where would I go? Back to where the enemy was?" Elena asked.
Reno was still two-steps ahead. "Look I'm not saying there's not a chance they wouldn't come here. But even an idiot knows that Wutai is controlled by Shinra. Why would they come here?"
---
It was morning in Wutai. The spring air was gently blowing as birds chirped in the nearby Sakura trees. The sun crept over the horizon of the Wutai Sea, and a pale mist that had enveloped since the previous night was slowly dissipating. Merchants began their cacophonous callings, a gong in the village square was struck six times, and slowly but surely, Wutai was waking up.
Wutai had always been a peaceful place. That is, ever since the war where Shinra completely took over the city. It had been reduced to something of a resort town, which is exactly what the worn Turks needed.
"Well looky here," said Reno. "I see a bar, some hot springs and a buncha scared Westerners. We can have some fun today."
Suddenly the gong was struck again, seven times, and three Shinra soldiers went rushing out of the Turtle's Paradise pub. Two of them managed to get by the Turks, but the third was stopped by Rude.
"What the heck's going on?" Reno asked.
"We got a lead that says Cloud and his party AVALANCHE have landed on Adamantine Beach to the south. Apparently the Shinra airplane, Little Bronco, was damaged and unable to fly, and the terrorists were forced to sail," the soldier reported.
Reno nodded, and the soldier ran after his team. Elena pulled her phone and began to dial a number. Reno stopped her by playfully batting the phone out of her hand and catching it with his other.
"What are you doing?!" Elena demanded.
"I just told you, today is our day off," Reno said.
Elena grabbed her PHS from Reno. "You also said if Cloud was here you'd fight him."
Reno was, as always, quick on-the-draw. "Yes, operative word 'here', as in 'right here'. I'm not gonna hike back across the steppes and waste two hours outta my life. And on my day off, no less."
"But-" Elena was silenced by Reno playfully placing a hand over her mouth as he dialed using his phone.
"This is Reno. Yeah. Put me on with Heidi," Reno said. "Yeah I'll hold."
A few moments passed, and Elena couldn't help but notice that Reno's sleeve had a bit of chocolate on it.
"Thanks babe!" Reno said. "Hey Heidegger, have you heard the news? Cloud and the others have landed on Adamantine Beach. Yeah. Right. You're a doll, Heidi. Alright, buhbye," Reno hung up and took his and off Elena's mouth.
Elena wiped off her mouth, licked her finger and then attacked Reno's chocolate smudge.
"Hey, what the?" Reno asked.
"Sorry it's driving me nuts. I've learned to accept your horrible posture, dress and odor but could you at least wash your shirt?" Elena asked.
"Shouldn't you be asking me what our orders are?" Reno asked.
Elena stopped and sighed.
"Not very professional," Rude commented softly.
Elena mentally counted to ten, and swore she would tolerate this abuse as best she could. "Fine, what are the orders?"
Reno smiled. "We are to stick around here, and guard the city. Tseng and an entire company of Shinra's finest are on their way to apprehend them. Now, be a dear and go make sure there's plenty of breathing room in the Turtle's Paradise."
Elena sighed and walked off in the direction of the pub.
"You never called Heidegger," Rude noted.
"Like hell man, it's my day off." Reno said.
---
The Adamantine Beach was a fairly open spot to be noticed, but they had been left with no alternative. They set the Little Bronco in a small inlet, hoping it would be less noticeable, and then began their journey across the steppes with Yuffie in the lead.
They reached a small rope bridge which crossed over a large chasm.
"Mt. Tamblin," Cloud observed.
"Very good," Yuffie smiled. "You've been here before?"
"No, but I'd heard about it in SOLDIER. This was where the last of the Wutai War was fought," Cloud explained.
"Yeah," Yuffie's head hung at that statement. "Oh!"
Yuffie jumped as though she had almost forgotten something and she ran towards the bridge. She then turned and spread her arms wide.
"Um! You can't cross this bridge!" Yuffie called.
"Why not?" Red asked.
"It's, um… It's sort of not working right now," Yuffie explained.
"Not working? It looks fine to me," Tifa observed.
"Unless there's some other reason you don't want us to cross," said Vincent in a rare display of his own ability to speak.
Suddenly, four Shinra soldiers leapt up from the cliffs around them and drew their weapons.
"Halt!" The soldier shouted.
"They're certainly quick on the draw," Cloud cursed, glancing back at Yuffie.
"Yuffie?!" Aeris cried. "How could you do this to us?"
"No!" Yuffie cried back. "I swear I had nothing to do with this one!"
Yuffie had apparently not meant to say quite so much, and Barret caught it.
"This one?!" He shouted. "So you did have something planned!"
Several things happened at once. Yuffie rushed in front of Cloud, seemingly in an attempt to take the first soldiers bullet. Cloud was not sure how to feel. She had obviously been plotting something, but she was still ready to protect him.
Cloud rushed at the first soldier and knocked him off the cliff. He reached for his sword and swung at the second. Yuffie then darted past Tifa and jumped across Aeris.
Four more soldiers jumped up from the cliff and Barret raised his gunarm. Vincent fired two shots into a soldier that had appeared from his right side.
"Tifa, where's that summon materia you picked up a while ago, we could use a spell right about now!" Cloud shouted.
Tifa searched her pouch frantically. "I can't find it!"
Red got shot in the tail and hissed loudly.
"Damn it!" Red cursed, pouncing on the soldier that shot him and knocking him unconscious with his claws.
"Don't worry," Aeris said. "I can heal you…"
Aeris reached into her bag, but was unable to find the curative materia she had always carried.
"What's going on?" Cloud shouted. "Where's our materia?"
"Yuffie, do you have any… Yuffie?" Cait Sith asked, turning around.
But Yuffie was nowhere to be found.
"Enchanting dame," Cid said wiping his spear across two soldiers at once, knocking them back off the cliff. The last remaining soldier ran away from the group.
"He'll call for reinforcements," Vincent noted.
"Good. We'll kick their asses too, right after we string up that little brat!" Barret cursed.
"Why would Yuffie take us all the way out here and betray us after all this time?" Aeris asked, a note of sadness in her voice.
Cloud didn't care why she had betrayed them, the fact of the matter was without their materia, the journey ahead would be almost impossible.
"Maybe she was the one who was feeding Shinra information?" Tifa suggested.
"That doesn't make sense. If she was the informant, we'd have been caught in Junon," Cloud observed. "Maybe this was just her plan all along. Have us escort her home and then rob us blind?"
"Well we'll find out nothing just standing here. Let's head to Wutai and find out what she's up to," Cid said. "You all think about things too much. You know if I were in charge we'd be chasing after her right now instead of yapping about it."
"That's great, Cid. Why don't you take point, then?" Cloud retorted irritably.
---
Morning had passed, and midday was setting in, as the gong was struck eleven times. The Turks had eaten more than their weight in food, and with the exception of Elena, were currently inhaling the finest mead Wutai had to offer. The lightweight Reno was already feeling the effects of the intoxicating liquid.
"Now look Elena. It's okay if you like Tseng. He's a great guy. But what I can't understand is why you don't like hic me or Rude. I know, I know, I give you hell , so maybe not me, but what about Rude, here. Don't chicks like the strong silent type, heck if I was a woman I'd-"
Reno's ranting was cut off by a teenager bursting in on the pub. She wore shorts and a green sleeveless shirt and was carrying a bag filled with small orbs of various colors. Her short black hair and ninja shuriken gave away her identity to the Turks.
"Isn't that… Yuppie, Yippy, Buffy…." Reno asked.
"Yuffie," Elena said. "Should we apprehend her?"
"Are you sick? She's underage. God when you think you know somebody…" Reno said.
"That's not what I said!" Elena shouted.
Across the bar, Yuffie was desperately trying to communicate with the bartender.
"Olan!" Yuffie cried out. "I need a place to hide!"
The bartender sighed, "Yuffie, is it debt collectors again?"
"Shut up wise guy! It's a bunch of crazy guys who I sorta robbed," Yuffie said.
Olan cursed in his native tongue and then shot back: "How can one who comes from such a proud line of ninjas be so wicked. You're a descendent of Shinobi, all the great ones have come before you-"
"I know! I know!" Yuffie mocked. "Blah blah blah blah Edge, and then blah blah some history crap, blah blah Shadow blah blah blah! Are you gonna help me or not?!"
Olan just shook his head and went back to tending customers. Yuffie cursed, moaned, then cursed again and ran out the door.
"Hey should we follow her?" Elena asked.
"How many times am I gonna have to tell you? It's our day off!" Reno shouted drunkenly.
---
The sun was high in the air now, and the gong was struck twelve times. The fishermen had returned with some fresh salt water fish and baskets were sent down to the merchants for their midday rush.
The Turtle's Paradise was no exception, boasting five baskets and-despite the presence of the Turks-a full house. The sound of men shouting out orders, the chefs bickering, and of course the hammer-like sound of the knives cutting through fish against the cutting boards all echoed throughout the pub.
"Wow. Even if Yuffie did hide in here we'll probably never find her," Aeris said.
"We may as well look, it's not like we can go anywhere while she has our materia," Cloud replied.
Elena looked up over her glass and gasped. "Reno! Rude! It's Cloud!"
Reno looked over at the blond. "Oh, so it is. I'll be damned, I guess Tseng isn't as cool as you thought, eh sweetie?"
"That's not the point!" Elena said.
"The ancient is here too," Rude said.
"The rest of AVALANCE, the pilot who defected, and some guy I've never seen before. This is all fascinating," Reno said.
Suddenly Reno and Cloud's eyes locked. Cloud lifted his sword, and Reno pulled out his Tazer. Vincent lifted his gun, but Cloud set his hand on the barrel.
"No Vincent, not yet," Cloud said.
Reno and Cloud sized each other up for a minute, and then Reno lowered his tazer. "Alright you win tough guy. Da da de de, da-da, de de dum!"
Cloud lowered his sword. "Are you drunk?"
"Yes," groaned Elena, her head now resting on the table, covered with her hands.
"Look, normally I'd mop the floor with you and all but today just so happens to be my day off, so why don't we just agree to leave each other alone?" Reno said sitting down.
The members of AVALANCHE stood confused for a moment. Aeris spoke first. "I doubt even Yuffie would be so reckless to barge in here with the Turks sitting right there. Day off or no."
The men agreed and they left to continue their search elsewhere.
Elena stood up. "I don't understand! This time Cloud was 'right here' and you still did nothing!"
"When I said 'right here' perhaps I was vague. I mean there was a distance between us which his sword covered better than my tazer," Reno said.
"Some hero you are, no wonder you can't get a girlfriend," Elena said.
"Maybe not 'friend' but I get plenty of girls, believe you me," Reno said. "Now will you stop you're ruining our day off."
"Even the booze tastes bad now," Rude quietly observed.
Suddenly the door burst open again.
"Dammit is he back for round 2?" Reno asked.
In ran the three soldiers whom the Turks had dealt with before. They ran up to the Turks and saluted them.
"A bit more proper about authority this time aren't we?" Elena noticed.
"They want something," Reno said without even glancing at them.
"Sirs and Ma'am. We have reason to believe that the traitor Don Corneo is here in Wutai," the first soldier said.
Reno chuckled to himself and put down his glass. "'Reason to believe' just say you saw the guy already!"
The soldier turned crimson and continued. "Ah…yes, well anyways. We believe we have cornered him and want Turk assistance in capturing him."
"What about AVALANCHE?" Elena asked.
"HQ says that AVALANCHE can be caught anytime, but Shinra wants Corneo especially," the soldier replied.
"Too bad. It's our day off," Reno said. "Must I post it everywhere, on every sign in Wutai? 'Hey Wutai, guess what. The Turks have a friggin' day off'."
The soldiers got up and began to leave. The first one warned them as he left. "Don't think HQ won't hear about this!"
The door slammed behind them, and Elena's last nerve went with them.
"How can you guys act so unprofessional! Here we have a chance to catch both AVALANCHE and Corneo and you are just sitting there getting drunk!" Elena shouted.
"Elena, a professional isn't somebody who sacrifices themselves for their job. That's just a fool," Reno said.
"You're wrong!" Elena shouted as she ran out.
Rude started to get up, but Reno stopped him. "Just let her be."
---
Wutai was full of small homes, located along a thin stream where fish came in from the sea. The two most notable locations in town, however, was the massive statue carved into the nearby mountain Da Chao (which featured the carvings of the Five Gods of Wutai), and the royal square. Here a large gong, serving as the town "clock" sat across from the Imperial Residence and a tall five-story pagoda.
"That is the Pagoda of The Five Mighty Gods. In lie the Five Saints of Wutai, five warriors who protect Wutai above all others. They are believed to be directly descended from the Five Gods of Wutai," Red explained.
"You know a lot about the world, Red," Tifa noted, always impressed at the font of knowledge.
"There is but one warrior greater in all of Wutai and that is supposed to be that of the royal bloodline," Red noted.
Cloud's brain pieced together various clues from their encounters with Yuffie, and came to a horrible realization.
"Wait a minute… don't tell me…" Cloud thought.
"I have my suspicions," Red said. "But let us speak with Lord Godo before we jump to any conclusions."
The Royal Residence was surprisingly airy for the estate of the leader of a country. Two kimono-clad maids greeted them at the door.
"Are you here to seek an audience with Lord Godo?" One of them asked.
"Yes," Cloud replied, bowing his head.
"Weapons are not permitted within the estate," the maid commented tersely, noticing Cloud's SOLDIER uniform.
"Let them be," came a deep voice.
Lord Godo walked out from around a corner. He wore a black and gold kimono that hung loosely from him. Cloud noted with a mixture of interest and concern that the Lord of Wutai had armed himself with his own blade, a long katana that hung from his waist.
"It is not safe to be unarmed these days, even for a moment. Let them pass," Lord Godo instructed as he retreated to his chamber.
The maids bowed and the group followed him into a large golden chamber. There was no regal throne here, however, but rather a small garden, complete with a pond, where gold carp swam, cherry blossoms and a cobblestone path. Lord Godo took some food from a pouch and tossed it into the pond. Aeris was smiling, and even Cloud could feel the magnanimity and nobility of this man.
"You are no doubt here because of my daughter," Lord Godo began bluntly.
"So it's true. Yuffie is your daughter," Red observed.
"She is still young and reckless. She believes she can change the world, and will do anything to accomplish it," Lord Godo said, with a hint of annoyance. "She ignores training, avoids duty, and refuses to discipline herself. Always an adventure. Everything had to be an adventure. Without understanding the consequences of your actions, and a full understanding of yourself, how can you hope to become a warrior capable of changing the world?"
"Or rather," came a flighty voice from high in the cherry blossom tree. "How can she become the warrior you expect her to be?"
Yuffie jumped down from the tree and stood defiantly in front of her father. Barret and Cid made to grab her, but Lord Godo turned and drew his katana.
"I cannot allow you to harm my daughter in my own household. I apologize, but I still have a duty as a father," Lord Godo instructed.
"Always duty with you?" Yuffie hissed. "You think you understand duty? If you truly understood duty then you would never have surrendered to Shinra! What about your duty to our country?"
"I understand better than you about duty to our country, Yuffie-Chan!" Lord Godo bellowed in a voice of thunder. "You are so foolish and reckless that you believe that all problems must be solved with the sword! If I were to let my countrymen die over some foolish squabble with Shinra than I would be guilty of high treason to the country!"
Yuffie still seemed to have some fight in her. "The people wanted to fight. But your ego-"
"Enough, Yuffie-Chan!" Lord Godo shouted.
"Don't call me Yuffie-Chan!" Yuffie snapped.
"Why not? I do not see a warrior standing before me? I see a scared little girl, who has shamed her family and nobility by becoming a common criminal!" Lord Godo retorted.
The magnanimity of Lord Godo had been dampened. This was no longer righteous indignation, but bitter animal anger. He wanted to cause Yuffie pain.
"Your mother would be ashamed of you," Lord Godo said coldly.
A single tear fell from Yuffie's eyes and she retreated deeper into the estate. At her retreat, Lord Godo's hand fell. He slid his katana back into its sheath and put his head in his hands.
"How am I to govern a kingdom when I cannot even control my own temper?" Lord Godo sighed. "It would seem I am the one that needs to learn more about discipline."
"We are imperfect beings," Red noted wisely.
"As a descendent of a God, I should be closer to perfect than this. Why can I not even discipline my own child?" Lord Godo sighed deeply again. "When her mother died, I could never raise my hand or voice in anger to her. She reminded me too greatly of her mother. But by treating her as special, she became spoiled. She knows nothing of discipline because I failed in my duty as a father."
Aeris put her hands on Lord Godo's shoulder.
"You are Cetra?" Lord Godo asked.
"How did you know?" Aeris asked, stunned.
"I can feel the divinity. Your touch gives you away," Lord Godo said. "I can no longer protect my daughter until she learns the lessons that I failed to teach her. Chase her if you must, but please do not harm her."
"We're just going to get back what's ours. We won't hurt Yuffie," Tifa promised.
"Go. She must have descended into the storage room. There is a tunnel there that leads out into town, an escape route built during the days of the Wutai War," Lord Godo instructed.
The group ran down the hall, but Aeris stopped to take one fleeting look at Lord Godo before following.
The storage room held many jars and bottles, but it was also filled with people at the moment. Elena, and Yuffie were bound hand and foot and being held up by two masked men.
Standing in between them was Don Corneo.
"Corneo?" Tifa shouted.
"You couldn't stay put in the slums, I see," Cloud said coolly.
"No, alas, I could not," Corneo laughed. "Not when I could come here to Wutai and get two for the price of one."
"Hey! Let me go!" Yuffie shouted.
"I'll have your head for this!" Elena cursed as she struggled fruitlessly against her bonds.
In a puff of smoke, the men and women disappeared into the tunnel.
"Damn it!" Barret shouted. "Now I don't know who I wanna kill, but I think it's all of 'em!"
---
The sun slowly sunk down over the apex of the sky, and the midday rush was over. The gong sounded out twice over the village. And in the middle of Turtle's Paradise, Reno's PHS received a mayday from Elena.
Reno and Rude ran out the door and up the steps the village square. Running in the direction of the Pagoda of Five Mighty Gods, they just missed a large man in a red robe running back in the direction of the town. Two henchmen followed him carrying a bound Elena and Yuffie. Rude turned and saw them dart off in the direction of Da Chao.
Suddenly the members of AVALANCHE appeared behind them. Reno and Rude turned.
"Now is not the time," Cloud said.
"Jeez, is he telling me… You know they snagged one of ours too," Reno said.
"Look, it's not like I have any intention of cooperating with the Turks," Cloud said.
"The feeling is mutual, so let's just agree to do what we can to deal with this common foe for now and we can get back to killing each other when it isn't my day off, okay?" Reno asked.
"Got it. And don't worry we'll leave your friend alone," Cloud said.
"Yeah yeah, I've no intention of harming that kid," Reno said.
Cloud and Reno shook hands, forging a temporary alliance.
---
Da Chao was much bigger up close than it seemed from a distance. The giant Gods stood towering several thousand feet higher than them.
"He's somewhere up here, and somehow got here a hell of a lot faster than we did. Let's scout out the area real quick-like, who knows what kind of horrible things he might be doing," Reno said.
The five walked up the mountain path at the first landing could already see the sculpture. At the face of the head figure in the sculpture, stood Corneo, and Elena and Yuffie were both tied to the rock face.
"That's not good…" Reno said. "Okay, you three go ahead and distract him; Rude and I will give him a little wake-up call."
"And why should we trust you?" Aeris asked, matter-of-factly.
Reno laughed and then scratched his head. "You got a point, but please remember that our comrade is in a pickle too. Why are you trying to save that girl anyways? Didn't she steal your materia?"
Cloud remained silent for a moment and then said. "Well basically if we don't save her, we won't find out where she stashed it away."
"Oh, I thought you just wanted to beat the living snot out of her with your own hands," Reno said.
Cloud couldn't hold back his smile at that thought, but suppressed it quickly at Aeris's eye of shame.
Cloud, Aeris and Vincent ran up and confronted the Don. Though the Turks could not hear their exchange clearly, they did see a large wyvern fly down from over Da Chao and attack them.
"I'm so glad we're the backup on this one," Reno said.
"Now we know how he got here so fast," Rude noted.
"Yeah. Okay let's move!" Reno ordered.
As the gong struck six the wyvern fell to Cloud's blade. The sun was beginning to set behind Da Chao and AVALANCHE had at last cornered Corneo.
"Alright Corneo the games over, release our friends," Cloud said.
"I still have one game to play. Why do you think a scoundrel like me pulls off a stunt as ridiculous as this? 1) Because I'm given up all hope. 2) Because I'm sure of victory or 3) Because I'm insane?" Corneo quizzed.
Cloud raised his sword. "We don't have time for your nonsense!"
"Sorry, the correct answer is number 2!" Corneo said. He pulled out a remote and pressed two buttons which released the girls arm cuffs and sent them spinning around until they were both upside down.
"Not another step! If I push these other two buttons we'll end up with squashed tomatoes," Corneo giggled. "As you see fools, I am the one who laughs last."
"No that would be me," came Reno's voice as he walked down from behind the group.
Corneo's face became a mask of fear. "Reno of the Turks…."
"You should have known this would happen after you leak plans of our attack to these guys. Nobody betrays Shinra's trust and gets away with it," Reno said.
"Damn you all! If I'm going down I'm taking these two with me!" Corneo reached for the button. Vincent pulled out his gun, but Rude's was drawn first and sent a bullet flying through Corneo's hand.
"Excellent timing Rude!" Reno shouted. He kicked the remote to the side and then pushed Corneo back. Corneo reached out and grabbed a rock, and Reno caught his hand.
"Alright now I want you to think about this one. Why did I ally myself with my enemy just to take care of you? 1) Because I had given up hope. 2) Because I was sure of victory, or 3) Because I was insane?" Reno asked.
Corneo quivered. "Number 2?"
"Wrong," Reno said, letting go of Corneo's hand. Corneo screamed as he fell to the bottom of the statue. "The correct answer is…"
"Because it's our job," Rude said.
Elena's eyes began to tear up. "You guys, thank you so much."
Reno just shrugged his shoulders. "Don't act so weak Elena. You're a Turk."
Elena nodded. "Yes sir."
Reno's PHS rang. "This is Reno. Yeah. Uh-huh. Okay. Bye-bye Heidi. Uh, yes. Heidegger. Sorry…."
"Was that HQ?" Elena asked.
"Yeah, they want us to find Cloud," Reno said. He turned to Cloud.
Cloud lifted his sword, Vincent lifted his gun and Aeris stepped back.
"Are we on?" Rude asked.
Reno chuckled. "Not today. Today's our day off."
"Hey!!!!" Yuffie shouted. "I don't care about any of that! Get me down!"
