Cloud-gazer: Here's some more Tammy for you then!

Chapter 250

Even at night, Junon was never silent. Like Edge, and Midgar before it, it was like a city that never slept. There weren't many people out on the streets, as most were packed inside bars, cinemas, or other nighttime activities, but the curbs weren't exactly empty. Some streets, which were mostly residential, were abandoned and silent, but on the main roads music echoed into the windy night.

We tried to keep to the shadows to try an avoid drawing too much attention to ourselves, but those we did run into seemed rather uninterested. Junon was a military city after all, and a band of fully armed people marching down the street wasn't anything new or uncommon.

As the seven of us got closer to HQ, the scenery changed somewhat. The unmistakable sound of gunshots reached my ears, and a few people came running past, shouting and fleeing the scene.

We kept to the darkness of an abandoned alley close to the entrance, hoping to get a good view and a better idea of how to handle this. Cloud positioned himself at the corner, the rest of us leaning around him or crouching to have a look.

Cars were haphazardly parked in front of the building, not unlike the way they had been back at Tifa's. The front entrance into the lobby had been either blasted away or shot to pieces. There was glass strewn everywhere, and the windows on the upper floors illuminated with gunfire every now and then. On some floors the lights were on, one window on the fifth floor was shattered. A body lay on the pavement below. There was no sign of anyone from our side, but there were more than a few men waiting outside by the cars, leaning against them as they smoked a cigarette and talked. I hoped we weren't too late, that Rufus had enough guards and military personnel in the building to protect the employees. Something told me that the underworld would kill anyone in sight, no questions asked. They were that kind of filth.

"...Shit," Reno cursed as he moved away from the corner, banging the back of his head against the concrete with a frustrated sigh. Clearly, he'd hoped we'd get here before the invasion had started. Then he looked at Cloud. "There's a back entrance, could get inside undetected."

"If they're unaware it's there, that is," I said. If they weren't that meant that both entrances were guarded.

"Not a lotta people know," Reno assured me. "Could be our best shot."

"So," I said, shifting my gaze from Reno to Cloud. "The million Gil question, front or back entrance?"

"I prefer the front," Tammy said airily. "Though if a guy really wants to…"

"Tammy…?!" I gasped indignantly, thinking no one should be that honest.

"What?" She shrugged. "It's important to keep an open mind."

"Wow…" Reno simply whistled, looking rather astonished.

"We go in both ways," Cloud opted seriously and I couldn't suppress the unladylike snort that escaped me. Reno and Cid snickered while Cloud was seemingly clueless as to why we were laughing.

"Now that's asking a bit much," Tammy said with a serious face, but Cloud's mind was preoccupied with other things.

Though he probably wouldn't have understood if it hadn't; he was so naive when it came to such things. Still, he was right to stay focused on matters at hand, there were more important things to be thinking about right now.

"We split up," Cloud continued as if nothing had happened.

"Roger that, Captain Oblivious," Tammy chimed with a smile on her face.

"We need a diversion," Rude opted.

As per usual, I felt the need to take this task upon myself, even though my diversions often went south fast. Still, someone needed to distract the small army of goons hovering around the front door, because starting a fight right outside might cause more trouble. There was no way of knowing how many of them were in there, and how many would come flying out at the sight of our arrival.

"Fine," I said and started removing my weapons. "Hold this."

Since Ollie wasn't here to assist me like he usually was, I shoved everything into Tammy and Reno's hands, the latter looking at me quizzically as he caught the various items I handed him.

"What are you doing?" Cloud asked me, looking equally confused.

"Creating a diversion," I simply replied, removing the last of my weapons; a set of throwing knifes I'd strapped to my upper arm.

Then I proceeded to rip my dress up the side, exposing more thigh than I usually felt comfortable with. Right now however, this was the perfect embodiment of a damsel in distress. It also made me feel less restrained.

"Uh, that's showing off an awful lotta skin, babe," Reno commented as he skeptically watched me tear up my sweetheart neckline a bit.

"Oooh, someone's possessive," Tammy sang before cheering me on. "Go on, girl, use those fine assets." Then she grinned when Tifa did the same beside me, ripping her own dress up the side.

I noticed Rude avert his eyes, but it was too dark to see whether he was blushing. He'd always had a soft spot for Tifa, and granted, she was rather beautiful. Not to mention in great shape.

Then Tifa flung my arm across her shoulders and together we stepped around the corner, stumbling over to the Shinra building.

She dragged me along with her, and I slumped in her grip, pretending to be close to passing out. From under my half-closed eyes, I could see that our presence had already been noticed, and the men were grinning and hooting at our appearance.

One of them pushed away from the car hood he was lounging on, holding out his arm to keep the others back.

"Take it easy," he said to them as he cockily stepped over to us with a shrewd grin on his face. "What's up ladies? Y'all look like y'all need a hand."

"Please," Tifa pleaded in a very convincing voice. "We need help, my friend got hurt. I don't understand what's going on."

There was no need for me to look to know his eyes were running over us. Her words were probably credible enough; there was more than a little blood on me, and our clothes were ruined. I remained silent at Tifa's side, waiting for the situation to unfold. With more patience than I thought myself capable of, I might add.

"Y'all been partying tonight?" The man didn't seem impressed with our current state.

"Please," Tifa pressed urgently. "She's hurt, I don't know where else to go. Can't you call somebody?"

"Sure," another called in a taunting tone. "I'll help you out!"

The others around him laughed and catcalled, and it made me sick. If Tifa was affected, she didn't show; she played her part well.

"Will you?" she asked the man desperately.

"For a price." More snickering traveled around the group.

"I think y'all are scaring our guests," the first man said, and his footsteps moved closer to us.

My body already tensed, making sure I was ready for a fight if needed. Beside me I could sense Tifa do the same. She held her breath as the footsteps stopped right by our feet.

"Your friend is hurt, huh?" The man's voice had transitioned from light to deep and I suddenly felt fingers curl around my chin and lift it. "Let me have a look at this here friend of yours."

His gaze assessed me, but I had to keep silent and most importantly; my eyes closed. If I opened them, they would see the glow, and it would most likely be a dead giveaway.

"Looks like she likes to party hardy, and I'm not sure I want some other lucky bastard's sloppy seconds." His boots crunched on the pavement as he turned to his boys. "Any of y'all like leftovers?"

"Please," Tifa tried again, her voice a little more strained than before. She clearly felt the tension rise in the air. "Can I at least borrow your phone?"

"A quick hose down is all she needs," someone commented, ignoring Tifa's need for help. "She'll be good as new."

"Is that what you're calling it now?" More laughter filled the air as everyone joined in on the fun.

"I'll take one for the team," a voice said. "But I prefer the one with the bigger personality." He howled at his own words, but he wouldn't be for long. If there was one thing I knew, it was that Tifa would seriously kick his ass for that.

No doubt the others were in position by now, waiting to engage. There was no way to be sure that they were ready, but Cloud and the Turks were swift, and we had managed to draw these men's attention away from their surroundings to give them time and opportunity. It was time to act.

I groaned and let myself sink to the ground, scraping my knees as I did so. Tifa gasped and attempted to hold me up, but she'd caught on quick, and only did so halfheartedly and very convincing.

"Oh look, she's already on her knees!"

A snicker followed, accompanied by multiple footsteps coming our way, drawn to the bait. "She's asking for it man."

"Just say aaah."

Right as I opened my eyes and raised a fist, a few bullets whizzed through the air in quick succession. Four bodies hit the ground while I executed my swing, punching the man standing before me square in the crotch. Now he was the one howling, though I doubted very much it was from amusement.

He sank down to the ground before me while in between the cars, guns were cocked and voices were raised. The men started shouting, though there was no one yet to be seen.

Tifa kneed the crying man in the face, and followed up with an exquisite looking combination of punches. He hit the ground in a moaning mess of blood and slobber, three teeth falling from his mouth as he did so.

My eyes met Tifa's for a heartbeat, and I knew what she was telling me; she wouldn't be killing anyone unnecessarily. It simply wasn't the kind of person she was. I nodded at her in understanding and she ran off, into the group of agitated men. They didn't even seem to have figured out yet that their leader was choking on his tongue on the ground somewhere, they were looking around frantically with their weapons raised, shotguns held firmly, or rifles pressed to their cheeks.

Then from somewhere to our left came a sudden roar, and Cid appeared from the shadows, swirling his Javelin over his head as he did. As soon as the men spun to take aim, Cloud was right behind them, already slashing through his first encounter.

More bullets were fired, and Tammy and the Turks joined in, Tammy and Reno both shouldering a rifle, Rude sporting a shotgun. One he immediately put to good use by blasting away one of the men that happened to show up in his line of fire.

The men were still yelling, their panicked screams drowned out by the sound of gunfire.

With a smirk on my face, I ran into the frenzy, thinking it unfair my friends were having all the fun without me. I leaped at the first goon I saw, not even caring he was over seven feet tall and could make Barret look like a school-girl. I was sitting on his neck before he even saw me coming.

"You like it big, do you?" Tammy hollered at me as she came running past, laughing loudly at her own joke.

"Size," I grunted while I punched the tree of a man in the neck over and over. "Doesn't– matter– and I'll– prove– it– to you."

The giant snatched my leg and tried to yank me down, only resulting in me hanging upside down from his neck. His meaty hands tried to grab hold of my head to no doubt rip it off my body, but I managed to evade them –surprisingly– and pulled myself up to come face to face with his massive noggin. He was as bald as Rude, but not nearly as handsome. Actually, he was ugly as hell. Even uglier after I punched him in the face three times in a row, his already crooked nose now completely off centre.

"Shit," I breathed, both from astonishment that he was still standing, and disbelief how anyone could be so hideous. "Honey, unfortunately for you, looks do matter."

A bullet passed right through his shoulder and by my face, missing me by a hair. The giant stumbled, giving me the chance to glimpse over his shoulder to see Reno reloading his handgun.

"You missed!" I shouted at him.

"No, I didn't!" he yelled back and darted off to his left, where Rude was beating someone to death with the butt of his shotgun.

A massive fist clenched in my hair, pulling my head back savagely. With a groan, I pressed my thumb into the fresh bullet wound and the man screamed –in a surprisingly high pitched voice. He swatted at my hand, but I grit my teeth and pushed my thumb in further. The squelching sound almost made me sick, but I refused to let go.

I was losing my patience fast, and this big guy was proving more of a challenge than I had expected. Usually my enemies weren't this resilient to my punches. While still digging deep into the wound, I continuously kneed him in the face, hoping it would knock him out.

The fight was waging on around me, I saw Cloud gracefully dance around with his blade –though I saw him upside down– and Tifa was running around taking down more men as she went. Tammy made quick work of ending their lives, something she seemingly understood Tifa wouldn't do. Then I witnessed Cid stab someone clean through the stomach with his spear, and hurl him into a group of three others, knocking them over.

I huffed at the scene before my eyes, annoyed that I was still occupied with this monstrosity, and let myself fall back. The palms of my hands hit the pavement as I stretched, my ankles locking around thick neck. With all I had, I began twisting his neck, groaning with effort. The hem of my dress fell into my face, and I was momentarily horrified to be reminded that I was wearing a dress and that gravity didn't care for decency. Fortunately, it only took about three seconds to hear that familiar snap, and the giant man slumped to the ground.

I quickly swung my feet back down to the ground to prevent the rest of Junon from having a good view of my underwear.

"Hey," Tammy suddenly showed up, shoving a gun into my hand and pressing her back to mine. "Don't worry, we left some for you."

In response, I aimed my gun and fired, taking down an enemy that was about to shoot Cid in the back.

"That was the best diversion ever," Tammy continued while we shot off round after round.

"Thanks," I replied, bringing down another goon. "But Tifa did most of the work."

"I was referring to you flashing off your undies." She grinned and ran off while reloading her gun, leaving me to groan in resignation.

The girl was simply incorrigible.

I followed after her, but joined Cloud's side instead. He deflected bullets coming from every direction, but there weren't a whole lot of goons left standing. Had they not been so armed, this battle would have been over long ago, but none of us were invulnerable to death.

Cloud moved his sword around swiftly, but the men remained out of reach, instead firing everything they had at him. I fired back in between the rotations of his blade, hitting another two square in the head.

Over by the cars, Tifa knocked someone out with a powerful elbow to the face. She ducked and Cid swung his Javelin over her head and into one of the goons that was taking cover behind a car door. More of our enemies were gathering around them, knowing they were unable to defend against their bullets.

Reno and Tammy were still firing, but our remaining targets were now hiding from us. We quickly regrouped, also taking cover behind one of the cars. Now that we had a moment's rest, Reno and Tammy took the time to hand me back all the stuff I'd shoved into their arms for safekeeping.

"Thanks," I said to them, glad to have all my gear back.

"Don't mention it," Tammy replied before she rolled across the pavement towards another car to get a better vantage point.

"Oh, great," Reno sang and shot me a look. "You're already rubbin' off on her."

I considered his comment more of a compliment rather than an insult, so I winked at him and grinned.

"So much for stealth," Cid grumbled.

"No," Cloud immediately said. "It's not over yet." He looked at me and I caught his gaze.

His eyes told me all I needed to know. Maybe it was a SOLDIER thing, or maybe we were both too confident for our own good, but our thoughts seemed to have lined up either way. He defused his sword and handed me one of his blades, his eyes already on the target.

"You ready?" he asked in a steel voice.

"Ready."

We sprung up and vaulted over the car, denting the metal as our feet hammered on the roof. With a leap we made for the enemy, Cloud rolling to the right, me rolling to the left. The men in cover got startled and confused by our sudden move, and we were upon them before they even had a chance to properly take aim. We deflected the handful of bullets fired at us, but they had been overwhelmed. Cloud's blade felt unnatural in my hand, but I had enough experience to handle it.

Blood sprayed as I cut someone along the chest, adding to the mess on my clothes. Cloud mowed down three men at once, his strike so powerful his sword cut straight through the trunk of the car. Behind us, the others had sprung into action, Tammy and Tifa already running over to join in on close-combat.

I slashed through another body while kicking another goon in the gut, sending him flying into Rude, who simply snatched him by the back of the clothes and hauled him up into the air. He held him there for a moment, suspended over his head, before he slammed him down onto the hood of the car with a crash, the windshield cracking as the man's skull hit the glass.

The man only got the time to utter a single sound, and then Reno was hovering over him, stuffing the barrel of his gun into the man's open mouth without a single trace of mercy on his features.

"Say aaah," he said calmly before pulling the trigger.

The body slumped as a spray of blood and brains splattered the car window.

And suddenly it was over. There were no groans, no cries of pain, only eerie silence. I looked around at the chaos at our feet, the numerous bodies that lay scattered in every possible position. We'd fought a small army, an army more challenging than we had anticipated. I considered it a warning for what awaited us inside.

"Nice panties," Reno teased under his breath as he showed up by my side. "Black. My favorite."

"Seriously," I retorted. "Do you notice everything?"

He grinned cheekily at that, but if he had intended to say more, Cloud put a stop to that.

"Listen up," he started. There was blood spattered on his cheek and upper arms, but he made no effort to wipe it off. Once his mind was focused on a mission, there was nothing that could distract him from it. "We don't know the situation in there. If we're gonna split up, be careful. Reno, Rude, you know how to get in from the rear?"

A suppressed smile appeared on Tammy's face, but she remained silent this time. Though she was obviously laughing on the inside.

Reno shot Cloud a disapproving look. "Whaddya take us for, man?"

"I'm going to take Tammy with me and enter through the roof," I chimed in while pointing over to the left. "The Turk building is right over there, we can get in and cross over the rooftops."

Cloud nodded in agreement. "Good thinking. Reno, Rude, back entrance. Eden, Tammy, rooftop. Tifa and Cid, you're with me. We're going in old-school."

A chorus of confirmation followed.