Saria: Christmas already...
Zas: And you're working six days a week.
Tori: We didn't even get Thanksgiving off!
SA: (groans loudly) Stop complaining, we still had turkey!
Saria: A meal provided to us by the airport caterers does not a Thanksgiving meal make.
Zas: Not to mention that stuff was dry, gamey, and kind of tasteless.
Normal
The collapsing of the illusion was disorienting and everyone stumbled slightly as the real world began to appear again in shimmering waves, almost like through a screen of water. Kunsel's cry of pain was what brought us all firmly into reality.
Zack yelled angrily as he rushed towards where his friend had crumpled to the ground clutching his foot but was beaten by Aeris and Yuffie. Both women were focused solely upon our friend but thankfully another was quick to join them who was able to take a more secular view of the situation.
"Shit!" Reno shouted as he snatched at the snake that hissed and writhed along the ground to try to keep away from him. "Get a net yo!"
"Why are you messing with that thing? Kunsel needs help!" Yuffie shouted angrily.
"And we might need ta ID this thing in case he needs special meds yo!"
Zack had been staring at the groaning Kunsel, uncertain of what to do but he quickly jumped up to help at Reno's explanation. I considered it for a moment but chose to try my hand at helping Kunsel.
"See if you can gather any of the remaining LifeStream," I ordered Aeris as I gently pushed Yuffie back a step.
"Won't it-"
"Just do it!" I ordered as I focused as well and tried to aim the trickle at the site of the bite. I didn't know what kind of snake that was but if it was venomous then we might be able to help Kunsel's odds by removing or neutralizing some of the poison.
Aeris seemed to understand after a moment and the talented healer focused as well. We could both tell very quickly that it was probably pointless though. The venom had spread fast and though we were able to force a bit of it back out of the wound, there just simply wasn't enough of the LifeStream remaining right now for us to make a big difference before it ran out. Yuffie's impromptu tourniquet that she had tied as Aeris and I tried to force out the poison was probably doing a better job at stemming the flow.
"Don't let it bite ya yo!" came a shout from behind us and I turned to see that while Alex and Cait Sith had moved closer to us, most of AVALANCHE plus two Turks were playing an odd game of Chicken with the snake. Zack was using Excalibur to attempt to sweep the snake into a net that Rude had created using his now soiled and stained Turk jacket. Cloud had grabbed a branch and was attempting to help as Cid and Tifa threw rocks at the snake.
"Schlange!"
My eyes fixed immediately on the shocked visage of the truck driver whose eyes were riveted on the serpent that so many of my friends were currently playing tag with.
"Hey! Need ta watch out fer these kids!" Barret shouted as he grabbed a small girl that Cid almost stepped on.
"Then move their asses!" Cid replied angrily as he kept his eyes focused on the snake.
Cait Sith finally proved to be the deciding force in the game as he used his robotic and thereby immune to poison body to grab the snake and shove it into the jacket which he then took from Rude as the thing thrashed.
With the remnants of the LifeStream now gone things quickly returned to a more "normal" state. Excalibur and Merlin's Staff both disappeared and though the woods remained creepy and had a weird vibe, the outright feeling of things being not right quickly faded.
The net/bag/jacket in Cait's paw also went still.
"What happened?" Tifa demanded as she headed towards where Aeris and I still hovered over Kunsel.
"We need to get him to a hospital!" Yuffie shouted as she hugged Kunsel's pale form close to her.
Reno glanced at the SOLDIER then looked to Rude. The bald Turk moved towards where we had Kunsel stretched out and glanced at the exposed and weeping wound.
We needed to get moving fast if we wanted to even hope to save Kunsel.
"Get the kids into the truck!" I ordered as my eyes locked on the bag in Cait's paw. It was doubtful we could take that damned hellion with us, at least not alive. It needed to be identified just as Reno had said and the carcass would prove our story.
The truck driver made no attempts to protest as the children were grabbed and loaded into the truck; six kids that varied in age from about six to teenagers.
As every else loaded the kids though, I drew a knife and approached Cait Sith. The robot knew my intent immediately and seemed to offer a grin as it reached into the bag to snag the snake again.
"Just the head," I instructed right before Cait's face fell into a look of shock.
"What?!"
It was such a weird exclamation coming from Cait that it was apparent something was wrong. And I found myself equally shocked when the cat robot drew not a snake from the bag, but an apple. A beautiful red apple, perfect with the exception of a single bite mark.
"KUNSEL!"
Yuffie's scream drew everyone's attention and we all turned to see that our comrade was white as a sheet now, his chest painfully still. Our miniature ninja was beside herself, crying as she clutched the still body to her.
Zack and Cloud exchanged looks then finished loading the still unconscious kids as Aeris burst into tears, Cid and Barret sat heavily on the back of the truck and looked more tired than ever, and Tifa moved to comfort Aeris. Reno and Rude helped load the kids along with Zack and Cloud while Alex stood to the side with a faintly lost look.
The truck driver moved to the edge of the road and seemed to be getting sick until something caught his eye and he leapt back screaming and pointing.
Feeling numb, I stumbled toward where the man was pointing even as my brain continued to sputter against snakes and apples and something scratched from the back of my head, screaming that something wasn't right with that.
Aeris and Tifa had also moved to see what was wrong and upon seeing the horror before us, we all had to turn away. The bodies of three children were crumpled on the side of the road, their limbs twisted into a grotesque dance. They looked to have suffered a bad fall.
Rude and Zack both rushed past us but there was nothing we had to cover the bodies and we couldn't just leave them. So despite the truck driver's alarm and weak protests, they hauled the bodies to the truck and gave them an impromptu burial under several of the mail sacks. Thankfully the children were still unconscious but that still left Kunsel.
Yuffie was still crying as she hugged the body to her.
"Let's get him in the truck," Zack suggested gently but Yuffie shook her head.
"I-I d-d-don't wa-wanna lose h-him!"
"But Yuffie..." Cloud was attempting to be gentle as he tried to explain the situation to her. "We don't want to leave him here, so we'll put him in the truck so we can bury-"
"NO!" Yuffie roared angrily. "He deserves to be in Wutai! We were going to be- And my old man even gave his blessing!"
A frog formed in my throat as I realized that Yuffie had made plans already and had likely shared them with Kunsel. An engagement.
"We ain't got time fer this yo!"
At that moment I don't think Reno had ever been closer to being murdered. If his sudden sweat was anything to go by, he must have recognized the danger.
"I don't want to lose him!" Yuffie insisted as she leaned closer to Kunsel. "He kept refusing to kiss me on the lips, said that was supposed to be special." Several more tears fell from her eyes right as something in my head clicked.
Yuffie's lips met Kunsel's in a gentle, loving manner. The kiss was filled with longing, love, and desperation.
As the ninja broke the kiss and dissolved into sobs, various people began to move. Zack and Cloud tried to lift their friend away from her while Barret stepped up behind Yuffie to offer support. They all froze when Kunsel gave a sudden wheezing cough and jerked, falling from the grasp of his fellow former SOLDIERs and back into Yuffie's arms.
He coughed several times, his color returning before settling again and realizing where he was.
"Could get used to this lovely view," he managed to say, his voice no louder than a whisper.
Yuffie gasped and choked before grabbing Kunsel and breaking into relieved sobs before they were helped up and towards the truck, Zack and Cloud insisting on carrying Kunsel between them to the truck.
The driver beat us all back to the truck this time and leaped behind the wheel, desperately twisting the keys. After a bit of sputtering, the engine turned over and started right up. It was not all that surprising considering what we had just gone through. Reno and Rude both sat in the front but no one else volunteered.
"Snow White?" Alex murmured as we finally got under way again.
"Say sumthin?" Cid asked as he checked one of the kids then shrugged off his jacket and covered the kid with it.
"The kiss, it's like a story here on Earth," Alex explained.
"That's because that illusion was created by storytellers," Aeris supplied as she drew her knees to her chest and shivered.
Yuffie, who was refusing to let Kunsel out of her grip now, glanced over as well. "Those Grimm guys?"
I nodded. "We were all in stories they helped compile."
"If it was all illusions then what happened to those kids?" Zack was the one to demand this as he nodded towards the stacked sacks. "The ones in our story were fine!"
"They came from the wolf, right?" I reminded him. "In The Three Little Pigs you are not supposed to fight the wolf, it is essentially immortal. That protected the kids when you tried to fight since killing the wolf isn't a possibility."
"Well what about our story?" Tifa demanded. "I axed the wolf! But the little girl was just fine!"
"And I shoved the witch in our story into the stove!" Alex also pointed out.
We all thought for a moment before the answers came.
"The oven wasn't hot enough!" Yuffie declared proudly. "It should have taken hours for that thing to get hot enough to cook anything!"
"Size!" Cid called a moment later.
Tifa blinked then nodded. "The girl was much smaller than the wolf, and the ax hit that thing in the head and it was a good foot and a half taller than her at least!"
"Kids?" Kunsel managed to murmur. "Monsters turned into kids?"
"Yeah, lucky you didn't face any, huh?"
Kunsel looked like he had just swallowed acid before his eyes glanced back at where Zack had indicated earlier. He swallowed thickly and the lot of us immediately understood.
"It was a troll and it fell off a bridge," Kunsel whispered. "They called me a billy goat."
Silence reigned for a moment and the mood in the truck was dark and sober. It was not helped in the least when Alex pointed out that that was how the tale was supposed to end.
Reeve
Picking Aiden up from the new daycare at the WRO was rapidly becoming Reeve's favorite time of the day and the reason was easy: Vincent.
With Rachas gone at the moment, Vincent felt it was important to ensure Aiden had continuous contact with a familiar face and since Reeve was working, that left him. It was made all the more hilarious in that the child was easily the youngest in the room since people were actively trying to avoid pregnancies at the moment and thus had the most attention.
Every time that Reeve had been by thus far Vincent was defending Aiden from the terror of becoming a "baby doll" for little girls wanting to play house or something. This resulted in Vincent allowing himself to be dolled up instead and caused two of the four employees of the daycare to swoon.
Once again the man didn't disappoint and Reeve was glad he had Cait Sith's mog with him.
Once everyone got back, they were going to get a serious kick out of seeing Vincent wearing a pink baby bonnet so a particularly vicious looking little girl would allow Aiden to have a late nap!
Normal
The kids began to rouse soon after we got rolling again, the smallest insistently crawling into Cloud's lap after letting out a wet sob. The teens gathered closer to Alex and looked mostly shell-shocked while the last two tucked themselves into the laps of both Aeris and me.
"Jag vill ha min mamma!" the one in my lap wailed as I wrapped my arms around her.
Aeris's charge had Cait Sith in his arms and though he was quiet, his eyes spoke of his fear and uncertainty.
"Où en sommes-nous?" one of the teens finally managed to force out and I stepped on the urge to bang my head against something hard.
"What did he say?" Zack asked.
"American?" one the other teens asked in faintly accented English.
"Yeah," Alex replied before anyone else could ask.
"The question of Jacques was 'where are we?'"
"Germany, soon leaving the Black Forest." I held back the 'hopefully' that I was sure everyone was thinking.
The three teens glanced at Alex who raised an eyebrow at them before all three began to jabber rapidly, my ears picking out only a handful of familiar words in the stream. One thing mentioned got my attention straight away though: tunicas negras.
"Black robes?" I demanded, pointedly remaining in English since this sounded like something everyone needed to hear.
The teen who had spoken before twitched uncomfortably at my raised voice and I gave a faintly apologetic look.
"We were... all grabbed by these... people in black."
AVALANCHE all exchanged looks, all of knowing what this meant though Aeris was hard pressed to keep from smiling and I knew why. Although she couldn't know right now due to the lack of power from the LifeStream, it seemed pretty certain these kids were Cetra. Her almost smile though very quickly became a grim look though.
"We won't let them hurt you," she informed the kids.
That statement didn't cause the kids to trust us though, if anything they were more suspicious. They seemed willing to speak to Alex though and after a few more minutes drew him into the conversation. Since he couldn't speak a language other than English it was easy to follow the conversation as they confirmed that he was actually with us, not another kidnapped youth. It seemed to surprise them that he was in fact with us but from then on they regarded him with suspicion.
The rest of the ride consisted of small conversations, usually only consisting of two or three people. The teenagers stayed well apart from us while the small children chose one person to stay close to, in this case it was Cloud, Aeris, and me. Thinking on that, I guess we looked the least threatening and most available, especially with Kunsel's head occupying Yuffie's lap.
We finally rolled into a fair sized town and as the truck began to slow I began to realize the precarious situation we were in. We had six kidnapped children who seemed to be from all over Europe, three dead children, and the driver had not seen what had happened. And though we had passports I didn't want to see how well they would hold up under inspection.
"Get ready to run," I instructed quietly as the truck slowed.
"The Turks?" Zack asked and I gave him a flat look. If the Turks who broke the law and covered up nasty agendas didn't know to run right now then they were hopeless.
All eyes turned to the kids before Cloud stood and carried the little girl in his lap to the teens. He was joined by Aeris and me as we tried to disentangle the children from us. Luckily, two of the teens spoke the languages of the kids and were able to coax them away from us.
"Stay with the truck," Cloud ordered quietly before straightening then gave them a second look. "And take care."
The kid who spoke English offered a halfway smile but said nothing more.
AVALANCHE gathered around the back of the truck, Kunsel being supported by Zack and Barret. His bag was grabbed by Cloud and the moment the truck stopped we were out.
"Hey! Warten sie!" a voice shouted from behind us and a moment later I was staring at Reno's back as we ran.
Reno quickly took the point for our group as we raced down the road then turned into an alley, continuing down that then turning onto another street. Ahead of me was Reno, Cid, and Tifa with Rude right behind me, followed by Cloud, Yuffie, Zack/Kunsel/Barret, Aeris, and Alex. Cait Sith had latched onto Cloud initially but quickly changed to Rude.
"Where to?" Reno shouted as we turned onto another back alley but the question answered itself at the sight of yet another open back truck that the driver was just climbing into. "There!"
Reno reached the truck right as the engine began to whine and leaped in then turned around to give Tifa a hand up. I grabbed Cid's hand as the engine issued another cough. It sounded to me like the starter was going to have to be replaced soon.
Rude jumped in unaided but Cloud needed help from Cid while Yuffie leaped in with the grace of a dancer. Rude and Cid both reached out and grabbed Kunsel's arms and hauled him in as the engine finally started and Barret scrambled in. Alex and Aeris reached the truck right as it began to move and the new mother was boosted in by Zack while Alex was assisted by Cloud. Zack was the last in.
"So, any idea where we're going this time?" Cloud asked as soon as he had caught his breath.
"Just need to get away from here yo."
The truck was filled with crates that looked to be filled with potatoes and we spread through the truck looking for somewhere relatively comfortable to sit.
Figueroa
The truck that the vigilante group had taken to Germany didn't have a radio so it was easy to get tabs from trucks about where the truck was headed. Thus far it had followed its normal route before turning off onto a back road that would take it to through the Black Forest.
The car he was sharing with a representative of the French authorities and a German representative was roughly two hours behind them for until the Black Forest and then a surprise call over the radio caused the eyes of the other two to widen before a reel of what Leo could only guess was profanity poured from the German's mouth.
"What happened?" he demanded and the French woman turned her head slightly to look at him.
"The truck made it to the town, we're thirty minutes behind them." She sighed slightly when he narrowed his eyes before continuing. "It seems there were more children recovered; six living, three dead."
"And the group?"
"Gone."
The rest of the ride to the town was silent broken by several further reports which the French Rep, who finally introduced herself as Sophia Moreau, informed him were just reports on the children and the panic/grief stricken truck driver. Already there were parallels occurring with the kids reporting they were taken by people in black cloaks.
Their arrival in the town punctuated by them being met by a police car that promptly escorted them to the police station where the truck had been repositioned to. The children and the driver were all inside, their various accounts on what had happened being recorded, several of them by means of interpreters.
Ms. Moreau zeroed in on one of the kids immediately who was speaking what Leo could only guess was French and made a beeline towards him.
For almost an hour he waited as the officers organized and interviewed the kids and driver then made calls and allowed the kids to make calls. One of the little girls actually started crying when she was handed the phone and wailed into the reciever at who he could only guess was her mother.
When one of the officers finally did approach him again, they had to call an interpreter over.
"Have you found the group?" he asked sttraight away, not even bothering to listen to what the officer had to say first.
The interpreter and the officer exchanged words but Figueroa knew that the answer was 'no' long before the interpreter turned to answer him.
"We have been attempting to track them but no sightings have been reported."
Before he could pose his next question though, the interpreter continued.
"There are several questions arising though, about what may have happened. Unbelievable questions. All of the children claim they heard and witnessed fairy tales coming to life!"
"Fairy tales?" Leo asked incredulously.
"Hansel and Gretel, Red Riding Hood, and The Three Pigs."
Leo's eyebrows rose. Even more lore? First going from the legend of Arthur and Merlin to the folktales of old?
"More importantly is what the kids claimed happened. All of them claim they were eaten, four by wolves and two by a witch then watched the monsters that devoured them fight the missing group. When they woke up, they were in a truck with those adults who then ran for it as soon as they arrived in town.
At the moment the police believe they were drugged and saw the group fighting their captors and their brains gave them a well known tale."
Under normal circumstances Figueroa would have agreed considering the stress the kids had to be under but now he didn't believe in coincidences, at least not with this group.
"What did the truck driver report?"
The interpreter and officer spoke again for a while before turning back to him.
"His story was that the truck suddenly broke down then the Black Forest came alive and the group began to enter the growing darkness. Finally it was just two of the women, the blond and the one with the green eyes. They entered the darkness and several minutes later it broke down and there were children all over and one of the adults had just been bitten by a snake that he couldn't identify. They loaded the children into the truck, he found the dead ones. They all looked upset but refused to leave them and loaded them as well. Then the one who was bitten by the snake who looked dead was kissed by the Asian and seemed to come back to life.
At the moment we don't believe the group was responsible and based upon the reports that you have forwarded to us, are just trying to avoid having their faces seen."
"So what is being done to try to track them down?"
Once more he was disincluded from the conversation as the officer and the interpreter spoke to one another.
"If you mean arrest, there are no plans."
"What?" Figueroa demanded.
"I'm uncertain as to how you treat informants in the United States, but we don't arrest them here."
"What about the dead children?"
"We believe they were dumped. You see, the trauma indicated a fall from somewhere high and there was some water in their lungs. There are no locations on the driver's route that this could have happened along, especially not where the kids were found."
"So this couldn't have been caused by them," Leo realized grumpily yet with odd relief. "And we don't arrest informants in the States either, we don't hesitate over vigilantes though. Especially ones who demonstrate that they have nothing against the use of violent practices."
Normal
It was a wonderful thing that the truck didn't head back towards the Black Forest, I probably would have jumped out and run the risk of dealing with the local police before going back in there again.
The truck drove on but this time I kept track of the direction which happened to be north for an hour before I nodded off only to be shaken awake by Barret some time later. The truck had stopped at a train station.
"Our stop yo," Reno murmured as we piled out and moved away from the truck before the driver or loaders could catch us.
There was already a train at the station, just one. It didn't matter where it was heading.
We moved up the tracks about a quarter of a mile as the train was loaded and watched as the compartments were loaded, the doors shut, and finally after almost two hours, the train began to move.
It was still slow enough when it reached our location that none of us even had to run in order to board the train, we could pretty much just set a fast walk and be able to keep up. The only trouble was with getting Kunsel on since he still couldn't move too well but a team effort from Cloud, Zack, Rude, and Cid saw him safely on board. This time Cait Sith rode on my shoulders.
As Cloud attempted to shut the car door a yell came and a moment later he reached out his hand and helped a young woman haul herself in while a young man pulled himself in beside her.
Both of the newcomers were obviously not foregn to train hopping or alternative living. Their clothes were worn and a little dirty but effort was put into making them look decent.
A tense silence fell over the car as we regarded the newcomers who in turn stared at us in surprise for several moments before grinning and getting comfortable, the guy stopping Cloud's hand when he again tried to close the door.
A guitar appeared from the woman's back a few minutes later and she began to idly pluck the strings as we watched the landscape outside slowly slide by, gathering speed little-by-little.
At no point did some sort of sing-along happen like it always seemed to do in the movies but the woman did notice the looks of longing that Alex kept sending towards her guitar. Almost an hour into the ride and she moved to sit beside him, allowing him to take a turn on the guitar every so often.
The ride was far from comfortable but most of us managed to doze during those brief moments. I found myself digging out the picture Reeve had smuggled onto Cait Sith and staring at their faces. More than once I wished we had officially announced our engagement or that I had worn the bracelet.
Pulling my pack around, I began to poke through the collection of items I was starting to collect. The Earth snacks still drew a sour look from me but I was half out of food from Gaia. What surprised me though was how... empty my pack seemed. Yes I had clothes and a sleeping bag as well as my fake passport but without all the extras such as potions, elixirs, and battle items that we collected during our first journey it seemed to not amount to anywhere near as much.
Maybe I should bring some things back for Reeve since I already intended to get some books for Aiden. He would probably adore an Ipad or a Kindle, possibly a phone. I knew Reeve well enough that he would tear them apart in a heartbeat to figure out how they worked, not resting until he did.
Aeris was sitting next to me, a distant look in her eyes and didn't react at all when I giggled at the thought of what Reeve's reaction to the technology would be. My own sounds of amusement snapped me back to my right mind and I observed her strange distance.
I took her hand and gave it a faint squeeze which caused her to turn her head, barely registering my presence. She returned to herself quickly afterwards and I felt the tension under her skin.
"You were a million miles away right then."
The former flower girl weakly attempted to smile but couldn't. "How can you stand... I keep thinking of them."
The twins. Not even a month old and she left them to try to ensure their safety and the safety of two Planets from an ancient, psychotic Calamity.
"I guess I understand my father a bit better now, especially about capturing every moment."
"So you'll know from now on to make every moment count."
My own words got me thinking and wondering though; about Shelke and Shalua, Shera, Vincent, Nanaki, Bugenhagen, Ruvie, Merlene, Denzel, Rick, Lily and Bryce, even Rufus crossed my mind right then. I also wondered if the Turks were still looking for the remains of Jenova and most importantly: if both the Turks/Shinra and Scarlet-the-bitch were keeping the hell away from my home and family.
There was going to be hell to pay if they didn't.
"How often do you think of them?"
Aeris was the one to snap me into reality this time and I had to take a moment to consider what she had asked.
"There's not a minute when I don't."
Yuffie stumbled past us then, enroute to the door which she stared out of with an absent look. Surprisingly she was not green and seemed to be holding her stomach pretty well.
"This Planets weird..." she stated in a voice that sounded like a cross between groggy and giggly. "All the colors are dancing!"
Another sharp giggle drew my attention and I felt my mouth drop at the sight of Cid holding a joint and giggling. Kunsel and Yuffie had been next to him and seemed to have been hit with the second-hand smoke.
"I can feel the Planet moving!" Kunsel announced happily as he stretched in a way that looked oddly boneless to me.
Cid laughed raucously and even Reno looked uncomfortable and discreetly set aside the joint he had been rolling in his fingers. The joint was grabbed straight away by the strange guy who settled it into a clear plastic bag that had several joints in it already. He was given a sharp and hard look from the woman who had the guitar.
Reno finally seemed to realize what had happened and was more offended than anything which was strange to see. He violently ripped the joint from Cid's fingers and tossed it out of the train door before turning his wrath on the provider of the drug.
"The fuck is wrong wit' ya yo?" he shouted angrily. "Wanted smokes, not ta be wired!"
Rude attempted to reach out then to take control of the situation by making Reno calm down but his attempts to calm the volatile red head were shrugged off.
"I drink and smoke and go through women like tissues but don't use drugs! And there's a good reason yo!"
No one was surprised at Reno's admissions though it was easy to see Tifa's eyes narrow the same way mine did. Aeris wasn't too pleased either but this wasn't something we could really knock heads over. But the women of AVALANCHE did decide on a new goal.
"Ya know what drugs do ta Turks?" Reno continued to rail at the man who I was beginning to think was a combination of high and a non-English speaker based upon the blank look in his eyes.
"So do we even know a woman that we could try to get Reno hitched to with clear consciences?" Tifa asked quietly.
I was about to say Scarlet but decided that he didn't deserve that level of suffering. Heck, aside from Hojo, the dead President Shinra, and Heidegger I couldn't think of anyone who did deserve that level of suffering. Scarlet was the type of woman who could pair with a troll and I would feel sorry for the troll.
Tseng
Rufus was becoming more upset with every day that passed that the majority of AVALANCHE was missing and Tseng was as well for the simple fact that he was now certain that Reno and Rude were either with them or dead. Knowing or finding their bodies was one thing but uncertainty was killing them all.
Rufus dealt with his mounting trepidation in the only manner he could: business. He created new offices and posts, dedicated money and time to hardware of all things. Toured his new building for the company. Looked over the plans, tossed them out, and redesigned/redecorated the Executive floor.
Some good had come from this though. Whereas Tseng was initially slated for a medium office a floor underneath Rufus's office, he was now in the large corner office instead because Rufus wanted to put in a two story shark tank right where his office was originally meant to be and had decided that the executive that Tseng had just displaced wasn't important enough to warrant an office on that floor.
Currently though, Tseng was off duty and just checking on his Turks that were assigned to watch the healing pool in the Edge park.
Katana and Shotgun were the main Turks on duty there but joining them were Two Guns and Rod. They were discussing the strange and quiet disappearance of Reno, Rude, and AVALANCHE.
Rod's voice could be heard even before he reached the building. "I mean come on, it's unnatural! Rude's 'bout as responsible as they come and Reno at least returns calls in a day. O'er a week they're gone! I'm telling you, AVALANCHE is doin' something like planting explosives all over Midgar so they can finally collapse the place!"
"Rod, stop." Katana must have been listening to this for quite some time if the flatness of his voice was anything to go by.
"Well what else can they be doin'?! I hear the tunnels under Midgar go deep, it would explain why we ain't getting phone calls!"
Tseng finally knocked on the door, ensuring to use the special sequence to let them know he was there and a Turk himself. He waited four seconds then entered.
Katana was sharpening his namesake weapon on the far side of the room while Shotgun cleaned her gun. Rod was moping and trying to look at the magazine Two Guns was reading from over his shoulder. The red head brightened though upon catching sight of his boss.
"Hey boss! A-"
"No."
Rod's face fell instantly.
"How's the President?" Shotgun asked as she ran a judging finger over the ejection port of her beloved shotgun.
"Erratic." It was a testiment of his trust for his Turks in that he was willing to be so honest about their employer to them.
"Are we going to get that soda fountain this time?" Two Guns drawled.
"No, but you might get some sharks in the office."
"That bad?" Katana asked with a raised eyebrow before turning his attention back to his weapon when he got a good look at Tseng's face. "Imagine the interrogation possibilities."
It was uncommon for Katana to joke but it was almost welcome right then.
"Did a fair number of people come through today?"
Rod nodded emphatically with a grin. "Whole troop o' people came from Fort Condor today. Some o' 'em knew the AVALANCHE members and were hoping to see 'em."
"Few people also showed up hoping to get a container of the water."
All five of them glanced at the pool then. It was slowly but surely running low and they had no idea when Rachas or Aeris or someone capable of refilling it would show up.
The door suddenly shoved open and the Turks found themselves staring at the new "guest" and more than one hand twitched with the urge to grab their weapon of preference.
"Tseng! How wonderful!" Scarlet was once again in a tiny red dress, her hair pulled back in an elaborate twist, make-up painted perfectly. She carried what appeared to be a white bakery box. "I thought it would be nice to bring some energy snacks for the guards."
The gesture was almost nice, far too nice for Scarlet. Her reference to the Turks as guards though was a give away on what she actually thought of his family.
Thus when Scarlet set the box on a small table meant to hold the personal affects of people that were using the pool none of them moved to see what her offering was.
The former executive glanced at all of them expectantly, obviously anticipating some sort of cheer or enthusiasm. She would have made a decent poker player based upon how well she covered up her disappointment.
"Perhaps later then." Her attention momentarily turned to the pool then and her eyebrows arced in minor confusion. "I do believe that is the lowest I've ever seen the pool."
"Ms. Kaze should come by soon."
Tseng's previous thought on the red woman's control was shot to pieces as he and the rest of his Turks noticed the way the woman stiffened and instantly began to ooze of fear and trepidation.
"How nice," Scarlet stated tightly, the slight tilt of her head indicating to all of them that she was trying to listen for any approaching persons.
There wasn't a single Turk present that didn't file away the thought of 'seems to fear Kaze' in relation to Scarlet.
"She likes to come by often you know," Shotgun stated with a sincere grin. "She loves taking her adorable little baby to the playground. He'll probably be the hit of the park in a few months when it gets warmer and he can walk."
Scarlet's skin was covered in goosebumps and she seemed to be shivering right then.
"That Shelke kid tags along often now, and her older sister! Yeowza!" Rod exclaimed with an exaggerated gesture of 'hot'. "If that kid looks anything like her sister in a few years then damn!"
Two Guns drilled the last nail into the coffin then. "I heard that that kid is training with Kaze, something about being like her."
Scarlet was so pale at this point that her dress may as well have been dyed from blood due to how dark it looked against her skin. She made a sudden grab for Tseng and only his firm control of his own reactions prevented the woman from having a bullet placed in her head.
"Wo-would you walk me out?" she asked, a faint pout trying to disguise the tremor of terror in her lips.
"I need to be here in case Kaze turns up."
Scarlet looked more terrified than ever for a moment before taking a calming breath and offering him a syrupy smile.
"There's a coffee shop near the park entrance, perhaps-"
"There's more than one entrance and she has two of my men with her. If they let her do anything the conventional way, I will be seriously surprised." It wouldn't surprise him actually if Rude and Reno hijacked a helicopter the first moment they could in order to check in.
Scarlet made doe eyes at him then as she moved towards the door but he didn't budge; if anything the expression reminded him of how much he disliked this woman who had teased and taunted him, almost had his Turks executed, and boasted the laugh of a harpy.
Everyone breathed more easily once the former executive had left.
"Geez, if I knew she was that afraid of Kaze then I woulda posted pics of her all over!" Rod declared.
Shotgun and Two Guns snorted in response while faint lines pulled around Katana's face. Tseng himself tried to imagine what Scarlet's response to that would be but also wondered what kind of run in the unpleasant woman must have had with the blond Cetra.
"I believe I would prefer to introduce her to some sharks as a way of training them for future purposes."
"By example?"
Various noises of amusement sounded from around the room.
"It's not just Kaze that she don't like though. That woman thinks Lockhart's pretty stuck up over her looks but has known better than to pick a fight since an incident in Junon."
Rod stared at Shotgun for a moment before grinning brilliantly. "Sweet! We can post pics of the babe of AVALANCHE to ward her off!"
Normal
The train finally stopped in a city and the entire car of people jumped out and ran as security began to move up the train. We were seen and yelled at, even chased a short distance, but easily got away.
Kunsel was able to move well enough now that he only needed Zack or Cloud to help him.
Unfortunately though, we were in some German city and not one of us knew the language beyond a few songs and cursing.
One thing though that I forgot was that this was Europe and unlike in the States, the various countries were so close together that many people learned more than one language and most signs were in multiple lanuages. I might not have been able to read in German but there was plenty of English and Spanish.
"Perdone, ¿donde estamos?" I asked a gentleman who looked a bit more Mediterrean. It might have seemed a bit persumptuous, but I was attempting to appear polite and lost.
The man blinked at me for a moment before offering a smile that grated on me because it seemed condescending then found myself guided to a stall where he pulled out a tourist map and unfolded it with flourish and pointed to our current location. The name of the city at the top of the map was what caught my attention though: Munich.
The man's Spanish was better than mine but I nodded and thanked him at the appropriate moments, committing as much of the map to memory as I could.
One thing was certain though: I had no idea what to do now. We could slowly make our way to Egypt but that could take months. We had money but it really wasn't a lot. I had also decided that I hated the Euro. It was overly bright and colorful which was supposed to make it hard to counterfeit but honestly just made me think of Monopoly money. It was like being back on Gaia when I was first puzzling over the goddam Gil!
The stall owner must have decided I was having a bad day right then because I started thumping my head against one of the posts for his stall once I realized the way my thoughts had wandered and gave me the map for free even after I attempted to hand over some money for it.
"So what now?" Cloud asked when I rejoined the group.
I shrugged and allowed Cid to grab the map as I attempted to clear my thoughts. We had several possible routes to consider: land or sea. Both had their merits but I didn't like the area of the world we would be nea-
"No plans yo?"
"Plenty of possibilities," I snapped back as I began to massage my temples. I had avoided the Middle East due to principle when I was originally on Earth because I was a strong willed woman who viewed the traditions of the area as oppressive and abusive practices meant to make feeble minded men feel superior. Much as I hated to admit it though, we may very well have to move through the area to get to and from Egypt.
"Don't look good," Cid stated bluntly even as I shot him a flat glare.
Barret was moving up the street then with Aeris since they seemed to realize there was no plan at the moment. We began to slowly follow them as Cid kept track of our progress on the map. The two led the way up the street, peeking through windows and were rapidly joined by Tifa and after a while Yuffie. Cid only showed interest when there was a technology store, Alex had to be pulled along from music and instrument shops, and everyone had to be reminded of the general flavor of food whenever we smelled something apetizing.
"What are you planning?" Rude finally asked, surprising the hell out of me.
I glanced at him then noticed the way Kunsel, Cloud, Cid, Tifa, and Cait Sith all seemed to lean in. Everyone else was near a crepe stand, watching as the crepes were prepped with hungry eyes.
"Wondering how we should continue from here," I admitted.
"Meaning what?"
"As in we have several different routes we can take from here and at least one takes us through some very... uncomfortable places."
Cid blinked in surprise. "Uncomfortable?"
The next few hours I explained the Middle East and the customs and what they appeared like to a woman who was used to having all the rights of a man, and more importantly was used to being in control and led a very free life. One by one, all of the non-Earth members of our party were drawn into the lecture.
"So let me get this straight: these guys wear dresses, force their women into subservience and to dress in funeral shrouds to allude that they got no identity, can beat and even kill them without trouble just 'cause they ain't preggers? And will beat, maybe kill women who ain't even a part o' their culture fer not conforming?" I was pleased that Cid looked honestly sick. "No wonder ya don't wanna go."
During the hours we had wandered we had found our way to a park, an excellent place for us to spend the night. Already several of the others were spreading out to look for an optimal place and locate any restrooms. Seeing as how everyone seemed to have caught the gist of what was happening and why I was divided, I joined the search and began to stomp through the bushes to find a sheltered spot.
Barret
Trudging through the park, the miner grumbled to himself as he considered what he now knew. Because they had not gone in the direction that Rachas had intended they had rescued a bunch of kids that were being controlled by Jenova but now were going to have to figure out a different route to their next destination.
This Ee-gyp place had better not be another bust for all the trouble getting there was proving to be.
"Oi, Barret!" Zack called as he joined the man on the path, eyes dancing over a group of bushes. "What'dya think of this?"
"We should be fine but the girls... Rachas seems to hate the culture."
Zack shrugged in response.
"So, we're headin' fer the desert next. Canteens ready?"
The miner reached back and shook his canteens, frowning to find one was empty and the other was only a quarter full.
"The desert?" a new voice asked from behind the pair and they turned to meet a man who looked to be in his late twenties with brown hair and eyes. His lips split into a grin after a moment. "Vacation in the desert?"
"Nah," Barret replied. "Trying to find someone."
The new guy smiled still though he looked torn. "You know that there's a lot of trouble in most areas that have deserts, right? Egypt alone is big trouble."
"That's where we're headed!" Zack exclaimed. "What's the trouble there though?"
Raised eyebrows were the first response. "You don't know? They've had a revolution! It's actually causing a big headache for me right now. My co-pilot backed out of a mission flight there!"
"Pilot? We got two of those!" Barret replied. "Both got balls!"
The three exchanged looks, the apparent pilot looking more excited by the moment.
"Would you mind if I met them?"
Normal
Aeris had found what looked to be a good place for us to squat for tonight and Rude had found the public restrooms. We were all doing the best we could to clean up then, using the paper towels and water to clean ourselves up a bit.
I had just changed into a somewhat clean shirt and my least dirty pair of pants before heading out, feeling better but not great.
Reno didn't look to have done much cleaning up aside from washing his hands and face while Cid was sporting wet hair. Rude was still in the bathroom as were Aeris and Tifa, Yuffie being the fastest of the girls to clean up.
Alex had seated himself on a bench near Cloud and Kunsel. The two SOLDIERs were waiting for Zack to get back before cleaning up since Kunsel didn't want to sit on the dirty bathroom floor with his injuries.
Altogether we looked like a rag-tag band of vagabonds.
"Hey guys!" Zack shouted from behind us and we all turned to where he and Barret were approaching with a new person next to them. Someone who I knew and had me gaping in surprise.
"Trey?!"
"Chris?!" the brown eyed man declared in shock before grinning in a winning fashion. "I don't believe it! Haven't seen you since your disappearance!"
"You know him?" Zack asked.
"We worked for the same company!" Trey replied. "Chris and I were hired at the same time and went through training together. I ran into some of your students though, they wanted to know what happened to 'Rachas'. Took a while to realize they were talking about you."
"You ran into some of my students?"
"Excuse us, but you two obviously know each other. Need a moment?" Kunsel asked.
"No, not really. But I heard you guys were heading to Egypt." Trey looked a bit excited right then. "I need a co-pilot getting there though you'd be on your own getting out. Would you happen to be interested?"
Cid looked ready to jump for joy, Yuffie looked ready to cry. Everyone else was divided though most looked interested.
"Why are you going into Egypt?" I asked as I realized there were several strange points that needed to be addressed.
Trey glanced around before focusing on us again. "After our old company collapsed I joined a company that serves as a government contractor. There are several low level government employees still in Egypt that wish to leave quietly and that's what I'd be doing. They have a pilot there, one of the reasons my original co-pilot backed out was because there wouldn't have been enough space for everyone. One person would have been left behind."
"So you need a disposable pilot."
"If you guys are already going to Egypt though, there really is no problem with this, is there?"
"No."
I did my best to keep my own disappointment in Trey out of my voice. A disposable pilot, or in this case an entire cabin and he just looked excited over being able to continue the contract.
"Want to wash up before we go?" Trey asked as his eyes roved over our group in an obvious head count.
"Don't I need to show my licenses?"
My former co-worker grinned. "Why? I already know you know how to fly, and you won't even be the official pilot."
Complete ghost crew. None of us would be there officially and if asked, neither Trey nor his company will have known we were there. The other pilot would be listed on both flights and claim to have flown in and out and no questions would ever be asked so long as money found its way into the right hands. I had always sworn to avoid this type of flying but it seemed that I would be breaking that particular vow.
"Happen ta be a pilot too," Cid said as he stuck out his hand to Trey whose smile didn't fall in the least.
It seemed that we had a ride to Egypt.