Before Crisis 2: The Crisis
CHAPTER 42 – SISTERLY LOVE
January 10th [ ν ] - εγλ 0008
Although it had been short, his meeting with Elmyra couldn't have gone better. She seemed to have gotten over her daughter's death and had approached him with no hard feelings. He was fortunate that Marlene had been there with her curious four-year-old mind, as the girl's presence certainly helped alleviate the guilt he had felt in front of the woman.
The next morning, Tseng found himself back in Veld's office to discuss Shinra's Rocket Plan and the accidental email sent by Palmer. More importantly, he wanted to know if his team had found anything regarding Holy and the White Materia.
"Chaku and Knife spoke with Elder Bugenhagen of Cosmo Canyon," Veld informed him. "According to Bugenhagen, the White Materia glows a pale green once the Planet hears the user's message."
For a few seconds, Tseng only responded with a long, puzzled look. "I'm... not sure I follow. User's message?"
"A prayer for Holy. If the Planet has heard Aerith's prayer, the White Materia turns green, and Holy is coming."
Still somewhat unclear, he remained silent and looked out the basement window, the Meteor's red glimmer flowing through the glass. "But nothing's happened yet."
Veld gave a dismissive gesture. "That's because Aerith never got the chance to send her prayer. But if she has, maybe Sephiroth himself is holding back Holy. We aren't dismissing either possibility."
"We need to find that Materia," Tseng said with urgency. "Nothing from the dive team?" He was referring to Balto and Maur, who went to search for the White Materia.
"Nope. They think AVALANCHE has it."
"AVALANCHE..." he gasped, only to be hit by a sudden realization. "I think AVALANCHE is aware of Holy." Palmer's email was running through his mind. "They know that the Rocket Plan is unnecessary. That's why they stole the Huge Materia..."
Veld's eyes narrowed as he tried putting two and two together. "So... you're saying that Holy..."
"Holy is coming."
"Psst..."
Elena groaned and rolled away from whatever it was that was making the hissing sound. Despite her efforts to keep her eyes closed, the sound wasn't letting her go back to sleep. She remained half-conscious for the next minute or so, allowing silence to take over and overwhelm her. After that settled, she found herself drifting off again... slowly... peacefully...
"Psst..."
She opened her eyes slightly and saw nothing but the wall and curtains. The hisser was either behind her or in her imagination, but she made no effort to turn over and find out. Instead, she brought the blankets over her head and took a deep breath through her nose. Silence overwhelmed her once again, and this time, she was certain nothing stood between her and a good morning's sleep.
"Psst. Oh 'Lena..."
Her eyes shot open and she sat up immediately, a look of shock on her face. "Sis?! Wha... what are you doing here!?"
"I heard my little sister got hurt," said Emma, her tone as stern as ever. "So I came to see how you were doing."
The rookie had her mouth wide open in disbelief. "B-but... how did you..."
"I still have my connections."
"No... but, I thought you were..." Elena stuttered a bit, and shook her head to reset. "Oh, never mind that. Do you have any idea what you're doing?! You're in Shinra territory! They're gonna kill you!"
"...Elena, relax. You're not helping by being so loud," Emma said bluntly. "The receptionist didn't recognize me. Neither did any of the doctors. No one cares. And what is Rufus going to do if he finds out?"
Elena frowned as her confusion only grew. "Rufus?!"
"Nothing's going to happen. We're safe with Rufus in charge," Emma ended her sentence with a rare smile. "Besides... at this time, our existence better be the least of Scarlet's concerns, should she ever find out."
"I'm confused..."
"Still as clueless as ever, aren't you?" she teased, rolling her eyes and leaning against her seat. "But you're not in your right mind so I'll let it slide this time."
Elena stayed silent and continued to gaze at her sister. When was the last time she'd seen her, let alone talk to her? It had to have been at least three months. There were so many things she didn't understand, so many questions she wanted to ask, but that could wait. For now, there was only one thing that bothered her. "Sis..."
"What's the matter?"
"Why... why did you come to see me? I thought, you..."
She stopped as Emma leaned over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "'Lena. You're my sister. We may have never seen eye to eye, and we may have never liked each other... but I still care about you."
Elena blinked as Emma's words touched her in a way she couldn't describe. "You... you do...?"
"I don't go a day without worrying about you," she clarified. "The world's in a crisis, 'Lena. Meteor, Weapon, Sephiroth. So much happened even before that. Sector 7 was destroyed. Thousands of people were killed. The old President was killed. And what happened on the day after that? You became a Turk. You joined the Turks at the worst possible time..."
"I..." she paused, thinking back to her first day, and everything that happened before and after. Emma was right. "I did join at the worst time..."
"I bet you're not even fully trained yet."
"No... not even close..." she murmured, her eyes filled with disappointment. "I didn't know what I was getting myself into..."
Emma let out a chuckle. "Yet, you have no regrets."
Elena bit her lip and looked down. "All I ever wanted was to be a Turk... to follow your footsteps. I looked up to you, Em. I hate to admit it, but it's true."
Her sister responded with another smile, changing her posture as she leaned back on her chair. Elena relaxed a little bit and lied down, her head still resting against the headboard. For the first time in as long as she could remember, comfortable silence settled between the two sisters. She couldn't recall the last time they coexisted without a verbal war breaking out.
"How are Reno and Rude treating you?" Emma asked in a soft voice.
"They're good..." Elena smiled faintly. "Took some time to get used to." She paused as Emma pulled out her PHS for a second, only to put it back in her pocket. "I don't think they're any different now than they were when you were here..."
A quiet giggle escaped her lips. "I heard Reno was promoted to supervisor."
Again, Elena didn't know how her sister got this information "Y-yeah, but..." she mumbled, repeating the word 'supervisor' in her head. She looked away from her sister and frowned. Whenever the word 'supervisor' came up, she thought about someone else, not Reno. Someone she missed dearly. "I miss... Tseng."
Emma watched her expression carefully, and saw real sadness in her eyes. "I'm sure he'll come back to the Turks someday."
Elena lifted her head and sat up, giving her sister another confused look. She wasn't sure she heard that correctly. "I'm sorry... what?"
Emma merely shrugged in response. "Tseng's with us now."
"Tseng's alive?!"
"Uh... yeah?"
"WHAT?" Elena couldn't help but shout, her eyes wide open in shock. She still wasn't sure she heard any of that correctly. "Emma. How? I... I thought he died..."
Emma went silent for a few seconds, wondering what the heck her little sister was blabbering about. Her confusion was confusing her, and as she thought of a response, Elena stayed completely still, staring wide-eyed at her like a confused puppy. "He didn't tell you?"
"He didn't say anything?" the rookie replied immediately.
"I mean, Reeve."
"Reeve? What does Reeve have to do with anything?!"
Again, Emma said nothing. She needed her sister to calm down before she could attempt to clear up the confusion. It annoyed her whenever Elena couldn't keep her emotions in check because they were running too high. "Elena," she spoke after things had finally settled. "You were there when Tseng got hurt at the Temple?"
Looking away, Elena remained quiet for a moment and hugged her knees tight. She nodded slowly as flashbacks ran through her mind. "Yeah."
"After you left, the Turks..." Emma stuttered slightly, "I mean, my former colleagues came to the Temple, and saved him before Shinra could. It was Reeve who contacted them."
Glancing back at her sister, Elena pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes suspiciously... only to bring back the same puzzled look from earlier. "But... but why?"
Emma dismissed her with a shaking head. "It's complicated."
"Huh?"
"He's alive, okay?" she assured, slightly agitated. "That's all what matters."
But for whatever reason, Elena still wasn't one-hundred percent convinced. She just couldn't believe it. "You're not joking, are you?"
"Seriously?" Emma rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Tseng is very safe with us. He's doing well, too."
Elena blinked a few more times, assessing the situation in silence before a smile crept across her face. The smile grew into a huge grin and she looked away in an attempt to hide it from Emma. Tseng was alive! This was the best news she'd heard all year. She closed her eyes and pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. For good measure, she pinched herself another three times on different parts of her body.
"Thank you..." she finally spoke, a voice barely above a whisper. Looking back, she didn't know why she'd said that or who it was directed to. "Sis... who told you I was hurt? Was it... Reeve?"
"Yes," Emma confirmed with a nod. "I'm surprised he never told you about Tseng. But it's possible that he told Reno and Rude, and they didn't tell you."
"That's alright... as long as he's alive..." Elena sighed in relief and closed her eyes. Still smiling, she settled and snuggled beneath the blankets, her head barely poking out. "I'm so... happy..."
"...Happy?"
"...Happy that you're here."
Emma sighed as she looked down at Elena, all snuggled up and ready to sleep. The girl needed rest, and after an unexpected and emotional reunion, her dear sister was finally going to allow it.
Reno snickered in amusement as he guided the Roboguard down the walkway towards the submarine dock. He'd never been fond of the company's automated combatants, but the Carry Armor was a thing of beauty. The metal monstrosity was about five times his size, with two crane-type arms designed for picking up prey, and a glowing orb on its body for firing a powerful laser. Supported by three legs, the Carry Armor was also capable of adjusting its height, running at breakneck speed, and jumping well over thirty feet into the air.
"...Sir, what's this all about?"
An infantryman had approached Reno with a curious question. "A present for AVALANCHE. Cloud Strife, specifically."
"Cloud Strife? You mean... Cloud's alive?"
"Yup."
"How?!"
"Dude was found washed up in Mideel, according to witnesses."
Mideel was a hot springs town located in the heart of the Mideel Area, along the coast of the Southern Islands. Although Cloud was last seen at the Northern Cave, the Mideel Area was known for its close depth from the earth to the Lifestream, with no oceanic layers or Mako Reactors separating the two boundaries. It didn't come as much of a surprise that Cloud had coursed through the Planet and surfaced in Mideel. The fact that he was still alive, however, was a miracle and a true testament to his toughness and will. The townspeople of Mideel had also confirmed AVALANCHE's presence, taking off in the Highwind with Cloud aboard.
"So he's coming here?" the infantryman asked.
"Most likely," Reno nodded. "Security oughta be real tight now. Keep your guard up."
A/N: Next up, the submarine game. Will Reno get away or surrender the Huge Materia to AVALANCHE?