Cloud-gazer: You did! You did say that about Jona! I was soooo tempted to tell you, but I didn't! I love how wild you are going over this XD

HugsforEden: Whoo! Tammy's becoming a favourite? Even more so than Eden? :P I agree, she may be a lot more likeable than Eden. She's friendly and open, whereas Eden is bitchy and guarded. They do match very well though! Lol you can join Cloud-gazer's 'fuck Jona' club

So here's the next part of our massive battle!

Chapter 252

There was nothing to be found in the office, and they'd left everything untouched. Clearly, they hadn't been here to gather company secrets, they'd only had one goal; to find Rufus. Whether they wanted to kill him on the spot or take him away for some Saturday afternoon torture, I didn't know, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did. One thing was for sure though; they hadn't yet located him.

When I looked at the window, Ollie was waving at me again from across the gap between buildings. His shape was visible through the massive stars in the glass, caused by his bullets. Shinra sure knew how to protect their President. Him being in this aquarium was somewhat of a risk, so they had done well to prevent him from getting hurt. And from getting found.

When I glanced at Tammy, I noticed her looking up at the ceiling with a frown on her face.

"What's up?" I asked as I stood beside her, trying to see what she was looking at.

There was no need for her to answer; stumbling noises coming from above caught my attention, and I immediately raised my gun cautiously. Then suddenly, the grating fell away, landing six feet away from us on the polished floor with a loud clang. What followed was something bigger, something white, and something the size of a human being. Specifically, Rufus. He fell from the ceiling and hit the ground with a thump, the breath knocked from his system as he landed on his back with a grunt. His massive gun clattered to the floor beside him.

"What the –?" Tammy uttered in surprise.

He looked positively disheveled; his usually tucked shirt had come undone, and ridden up his stomach along with his vest, showing off smooth skin. His normally tidy hair was ruffled, making him look less like the stuck up nobility I knew him to be.

Rufus's eyes found us, and a scowl formed on his face. "Took you long enough."

"Tch…" I scoffed. "I have no trouble leaving you here a little longer. Just say the word."

In my ear, voices were already urgently asking for an update, all three Turks wanting to know whether we'd found Rufus and whether he wasunharmed. Now that I'd gotten over my initial surprise, I noticed there was blood on his thigh, and his pants were ripped.

"Heeey!" an obnoxious voice suddenly screamed from above our head.

I looked up to find Yuffie peeking through the hole in the ceiling, and the scene reminded me of when she had come to rescue me from that holding cell years ago.

"Some gratitude goes a long way, you know!" she chipped. "Anyway, I'm glad to be rid of him, so I'm outta here. Yuffie Kisaragi signing off!" Her head disappeared, leaving us alone with Rufus.

Where she was going next was a mystery, but she had a way of showing up when she was needed, as she just demonstrated. Actually, the young ninja had apparently saved Rufus's life, and he ought to be grateful she was here. She'd kept him safe. I made a mental promise to buy the girl some materia when we got out of here.

"You hurt?" I asked Rufus, trying not to sound concerned over his current state. The last thing I wanted was for him to get any ideas, I'd only just managed to get him to back off.

Rufus sat up, slightly wincing as he did. "Nothing to concern yourself with. I got hit by a rogue bullet earlier when we ran into some men. I managed to get away, but the guards…They were probably all killed."

Killed trying to get you to safety, I thought. I wondered if he cared about their lives, but I also realized that he had changed lately. He'd been less arrogant and a little more appreciative about the people around him. That much had been clear after his confession considering the Turks. Maybe he did see the people around him as more than mere tools and pawns. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

I held out my hand to help him up. "Can you walk?"

"I told you it's nothing to concern yourself with." Then his typical smirk appeared on his face. "But I appreciate your worry for me." He reached out and took my hand.

"I'm not," I simply replied. "But the Turks will kill me if I let anything happen to you, so get your ass up."

"Damn right," Reno said in my ear while I pulled Rufus to his feet.

"Eden," Ollie suddenly interrupted, sounding urgent. "There's a chopper inbound, and it's not one of ours."

"Get the President out of there," Tseng ordered. "There will be nowhere for you to go if they come in through the roof."

Meaning there was only one way to go; downstairs, and right into the chaos. At least we'd be supported by the WRO and our friends. If we stayed here, we'd have to fight them off alone, and there was no way of knowing how many men were about to burst through that door.

"Let's go," I said while picking Rufus's weapon off the floor and handing it to him.

Rufus calmly took his trusted gun from my grasp and motioned for us to move.

"My, Mr President," Tammy said coyly as she eyed the massive weapon in his hands. "Are you compensating for something?"

Rufus's cold eyes shot up to glance at her before he shifted his attention to me.

"I see your taste in associates hasn't improved in the slightest, Fox."

I ignored his words and focused my attention on Ollie instead. "Ollie, get out of there."

"Just wanna see what – Ah, damn, that's another small army. They're about to land. I'm out of here." He was clearly less than pleased with what his one eye was seeing, and I didn't like the sound of 'small army' either.

So without further lingering, I marched for the door. Unfortunately, Rufus took it upon himself to take the lead, pushing right past me like the arrogant bastard he was. My gaze was caught by the bloody footprint his boot left on the floor, and judging by the concerned frown on Tammy's face, she'd noticed it too. He deserved some amount of credit and respect for pretending he wasn't injured, but I also knew that his body might disagree at any given time. On top of that, he was limping, though trying very hard to conceal it.

"Rufus –" I started, but he cut me off with a scowl as he halted in the doorway.

"Didn't I say I was fine?" His tone made it clear his words were final. "Now I suggest we hurry before we're overrun and acquire some real damage."

"At least let us find somewhere safe for the time being and have a look at it," Tammy suggested, impressing me with her ability to withstand the infamous Rufus scowl.

"Agreed," I added with a scowl of my own. "I'm not hauling your dead weight around if you collapse on us."

Rufus closed his eyes for a second, almost as if praying for patience. And then he sighed. "Fine, as you wish. We will go to the armory on the fourth floor. We can prepare there. Any more wishes, or are we done here?" Without waiting for a reply he stalked from the room, simply expecting us to follow him like obedient subordinates.

"He's a real charmer," Tammy muttered to me as he went, watching Rufus with mild interest. "Must be popular with the ladies."

"He's a pervert," I grumbled, though loud enough for Rufus to hear. "I hear you're into castrating perverts."

Tammy snickered, and then we hurried after him.

"Oh, by the way," Tammy said once we'd caught up to him. She stuffed her hand down her pocket and presented Rufus with an ear piece.

He nodded briefly in thanks as he took it from her, and stuffed it into his ear while he continued down the steps. "Tseng," he said immediately.

"It's good to hear your voice, Sir." Tseng did sound truly relieved, but as expected, Rufus wasn't sentimental.

"Give me an update."

Tseng began to recount the happenings of the evening, including the assault on Tifa's bar. He hadn't been present for all of the events, since he'd been with the WRO and so had arrived later, but he did inform Rufus on the car chase and the fight outside. During Tseng's update, Rufus stumbled. He tried to cover up his weariness and quickly caught on to the handrail, but it had been impossible to miss.

"Rufus," I pressed, hoping he could at least admit it.

He ignored me and continued to listen to Tseng, who was now explaining about the battle going on in the large lobby at ground level. A battle that was now audible to us. When I stole a look over the rail, I could see the movement down there, little people the size of mice running around. Sounds of yelling and shots drifted up the staircase, combining with the noises in our ear pieces.

Above us, the door was blasted open, and in a reflex we all stopped moving to look up. Voices traveled down, and we all knew it was only a matter of time before they'd checked the office and came after us. So without asking for his consent, I grabbed hold of Rufus's arm and flung it over my shoulders, all but dragging him down the stairs.

It was a miracle he didn't push me away. In fact, he didn't even object, but for a glare.

"Tammy," I breathed. "Go see if we're clear."

After a firm nod, she began sprinting down the stairs, flinging herself around every bend as she went.

"If you tell anyone about this, I will have you executed," Rufus said, and I wasn't entirely sure whether he was joking or not.

Either way, he was now leaning on me heavily, finally admitting defeat. He was still leaving a trail of blood along the floor, another thing that might give us away if those goons paid a bit of attention to their surroundings. Which I hoped they didn't.

"Who's the brat?" Rufus asked after some time. With every step, he winced, but his voice was steady as ever.

"The brat," I hissed at him. "Is here to rescue your sorry ass."

"I didn't ask why she's here," Rufus replied coldly. "I asked who she is."

As always, he felt no shame showing me –or anyone else for that matter– that he felt superior, and his indifference towards those around himpissed me off. "The brat's name is Tammy, and she's here to rescue your sorry ass. You know, would it actually hurt to show some gratitude once in a while?"

Before, when we'd had a heart to heart in his office, when he told me he'd back off, I'd seen him more unguarded than ever. He'd shown me emotions I'd never seen in him before, and I'd begun to appreciate him a bit more. However it seemed that now he had returned to his cold, unsociable self.

"Do you expect me to fall to my knees before you?" His sneer was laced with sarcasm, a language I spoke well myself.

"As much as I'd love to see that happen, no. But it would be nice if you could be a little more grateful. In case you hadn't noticed, we don't owe you anything. We're here risking our lives for you."

"I'll make sure to send you a check," he replied, clearly unimpressed.

"It's not about the money," I growled softly, thinking my entire point went right over his head. Conceited asshole.

"I'll take the money." Tammy was standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for us with her arms crossed and a smirk on her pretty face.

"I helped too!" Ollie chimed in.

I sighed in defeat. "You guys aren't helping…"

Tammy informed us that all was clear, and Rufus pointed out the way to the armory. It appeared that our enemy was busy down in the lobby, and Jona was probably not that bothered with the two of us hanging around here. Most likely he'd sent the men over in the chopper to come take care of us, which reminded me that we had to hurry and get Rufus to safety. Once we reached the armory, we would be safe. Those guys would be crazy to attack us while we'd laid siege on all the weaponry Shinra had to offer. That is, if we found it clear of any surprises. For all I knew, they'd gotten the same idea and had decided to gather all the weapons for themselves.

Fortunately for us, they hadn't, and once Rufus had entered the access code –I wondered if it was his birthday again– we entered the large room and let the door fall shut behind us. It clicked as it fell in the lock and drowned out the sounds of battle coming from outside.

"Oh yay!" Tammy cheered happily as she hopped over to the back wall, her dark red pony tail bouncing along as she went. "More weapons! Screw sex dungeons, this is my ultimate play room."

It seemed that for once even Rufus was at a loss for what to say, and his slightly baffled face made me grin. Served him right.

I helped Rufus to a steel table displaying rather advanced looking rifles, and carefully set them aside so he could sit. He leaned back against the cold surface with a soft groan, telling me that he was indeed in more pain than he cared to admit.

Over by the wall, Tammy was taking things off the racks to admire them, turning guns and blades over in her hands.

"I'm ransacking this place," she said. "Forget about the check, Mr President, I'm taking this." Without waiting for an answer, she slid a largeknife with a black blade into the side of her boot. "And this," she added as she picked up a normal looking gun that was probably more than just that. "It fires exploding bullets, which you can detonate with a button on the side. Ugh, talk about climax." She pressed a kiss to the barrel and stored the weapon in her holster after having tossed her other gun onto a table.

I shook my head in amusement before bringing my attention to Rufus's bleeding thigh. The fabric of his pants was torn, and by the looks of it the bullet had gone clean through. Which was a good thing, in fact.

"Let me have a look." Tammy appeared by my side, already kneeling on the ground before Rufus. "I was a healer in the army."

Rufus narrowed his eyes at her, but he didn't comment for once. Maybe he didn't trust her, or maybe he didn't like her being so close, but he also knew that he couldn't leave his wound the way it was. And considering the fact I hadn't expected to end up in a massive battle tonight, I hadn't been carrying any materia. This time though, I felt I couldn't be blamed for that.

"I'll patch that up for you," Tammy said to Rufus in a soft voice.

At that moment, my eyes fell on something across the room. Something that might come in handy. Something that fired off grenades.

Almost as excitedly as Tammy had before, I moved over to the wall and lifted the massive thing off the wall. It was heavier than I had anticipated, and I almost dropped it to the floor. How could anyone walk around with this thing?

I carefully placed it on the ground and opened the door. After a quick glance outside, I found the hallway was still empty, and I hurried over to the metal railing. I leaned over to look at the fight going on below. It was utter mayhem. Enemies and allies were running around, bullets bounced off of steel furniture and slammed into walls. There was a lot of shouting going on, and a lot of roaring by both Barret and Cid.

Four stories down on the ground, the Turks were in hand to hand battle with two henchmen each, but they were definitely getting the upper hand. My eyes moved to the right, where more cars came ramming through the entrance, skidding to a screeching halt in the foyer.

I hurried away from the banister and hopped over to Tammy and Rufus. Tammy seemed to know what she was doing, but I still wished I had some cure materia on me.

While Tammy was wrapping Rufus's bullet wound with a strip of white fabric she'd torn off his clothes –much to his displeasure– I dragged the grenade launcher out of the room and over to the rail.

"Guys!" I shouted as I hauled it up into my arms with some effort and rested it on the metal rail.

Rude, who had a guy in a choke hold, looked up at the sound of my voice.

"Catch!"

"Are ya shittin' me?!" Reno exclaimed from below when he saw what I was doing.

I hadn't considered the fact that he might not be able to catch the thing, but then again, I hadn't meant to throw it at him, but at Rude, who fortunately tossed the guy he was choking aside and stepped up to save his buddy. He caught the launcher with both arms like the badass he was.

"Almost killed me!" Reno scolded loudly.

"Shut it, or I'll throw Rufus over next!"

Suddenly I was distracted by the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, and when I noticed quite an amount of feet on the steps, I cursed and hurried back inside the armory.

"They're here," I urgently informed Rufus and Tammy, the latter of who was just finishing up bandaging Rufus's leg. "Stay here and take care of Rufus. I'll be right back. I hope," I added with a grin.

But Tammy was already rising from her crouch. "I can help."

I shook my head at her. "Someone needs to stay with Rufus."

"I don't need a babysitter, Fox," Rufus pointed out calmly, and so siding with Tammy.

"Fine." I gave up and was already hurrying back into the hallway with Tammy right by my side. The door fell shut behind us, effectively shutting Rufus in.

And not a moment too soon. The men arrived at the bottom of the stairs, but fortunately there were only five of them,

As soon as their eyes fell on us, one of them started shouting, pointing his gun in our direction. "You two! Lose the weapons and get on your knees!" The words had barely left his lips when the door to the armory opened and Rufus appeared.

"I told you, I don't need a babysit–"

"There he is!" one of the other men shouted. "It's Rufus Shinra! Get him!"

Beside me, I heard Tammy gasp and she shoved Rufus back into the room none too gently. They tumbled to the floor together and she landed on top of him in a heap of limbs. I paid no heed and opened fire on the enemy. The group fell apart as they retaliated. Bullets flew around my head, impacting into the walls left and right, and even the ceiling wasn't spared. Plaster rained down around me, covering me in white crumble and dust. Knowing I stood no chance in the open, I dove back into the room and landed on the floor beside Rufus and Tammy, who were still entangled with each other.

"Do you work out a lot?" Tammy smirked down at him shamelessly while she pressed her palms into his chest. "Your body is really firm."

Even in my anger I noticed the unexpected faint blush that appeared on Rufus's face, but his glare didn't relent. Nor did mine. I didn't feel remotely sorry for him.

"What kind of stupid ass move was that?!" I demanded of him while he shoved Tammy off of him rather roughly, all but tossing her to the floor.

There was no need for him to answer, I already suspected what his reasoning was. He'd meant to lure the men towards the armory, but by the looks of it they weren't stupid enough to follow in after us.

Then to my horror, something that looked suspiciously like a grenade was tossed into the room, and I saw it sail through the air as if in slow motion. I reacted without thinking, twisting around on the floor and kicking the thing back outside, where it exploded mid air with a massive boom.

"The hell's goin' on up there?!" Barret's rough voice shouted in my ear.

The men outside were also shouting, and when one of them ran past the open doorway I immediately opened fire, but he was too fast and I hit nothing but the opposite wall.

"The same as down there," Tammy replied while she got to her feet and snatched her gun from her belt.

Another grenade was hurled inside, and this time Tammy knocked it back out with her gun. Again it exploded outside, and the men cursed loudly.

"We were kinda tryin' to not demolish the building," Reno said casually. "But, you started it. Hit it, Rude!"

As soon as he'd said it, a giant explosion followed downstairs, shaking the entire building in the shockwave that followed. Judging by the sound of glass and metal, Rude had completely blown out what remained of the front entrance with his newly acquired grenade launcher.

"Whooooo!" Ollie cheered loudly, always happy to appreciate things getting blown to smithereens. "Fire in the hole!"

By now I'd scrambled back to my feet as well, expecting another grenade any second now. Neither Tammy nor I bothered helping Rufus up off the floor, and it seemed I wasn't the only one who thought this was his fault. Or maybe she was simply upset because he'd shoved her off of him unceremoniously. It wasn't a very gentlemanly thing to do, especially considering she'd done it to protect him. He slowly sat up but didn't attempt to rise. Instead he unholstered his weapon and focused his attention on the door.

The battle in the foyer continued, and when Reno called for round two, I moved without thinking and rolled across the floor into the hallway outside. The second blast shook the building once again and as I had hoped, the men were momentarily distracted by the chaos and noise. Unlike us, they hadn't known it was coming, nor had they expected that I was coming.

Two of them went down with a single bullet each, and then Tammy was beside me, firing from inside the doorway. She hit two of them in the chest, and they stumbled to their knees. Perhaps it wasn't enough to kill them yet, but that would soon be taken care of-

The men suddenly exploded in a splatter of blood and gore, spraying onto the walls and all over us. I squeezed my eyes and lips shut in reflex, at least preventing any body parts from ending up in my mouth.

When I carefully opened my eyes, I felt like I'd stepped into a horror movie. The last remaining man had been torn apart by the blast of the detonations, and what had ten seconds prior been elegant brown wallpaper, was now red and murky. Pieces of unidentified matter were clinging to the walls and dripping down onto the floor.

"Holy…" Tammy whispered in awe as she stared at the gun in her hands in shock. Her finger was still resting on the small button used to set off the bullets.

Beyond Tammy, still sitting on the floor of the armory, was Rufus, watching us with a look of genuine astonishment on his face. It seemed even he wasn't entirely immune to surprises. In the silence a piece of what looked like liver slipped from my arm and fell to the floor with a squelch.

"Special de-livery..?" Tammy chuckled at me hesitantly.

"Remind me to add some of those to Ollie's inventory," I opted, not really sure whether to be amazed or appalled.