Quick Note: I've decided materia will play no role in this story. It would make things to, well, simple for some parts. So, basically, materia isn't in existence, ok? If I made any reference about it, I'll go back and fix it, but for now, ignore it. On with the chapter.
***
"Don't you think you overdid it a bit back there?!!" Tifa exclaimed as loudly as she dared as she and Reno strolled cautiously through the streets of downtown Wutai.
Reno grunted before answering, "He pissed me off."
"Yeah, he pissed me off too, but you don't see me slamming his brains out all over a sidewalk!"
The redheaded man said nothing in return, just kept on walking.
"RENO!" She halted in her tracks, glaring.
He sighed wearily as he turned to face her, having also stopped in his tracks. The streets weren't too busy, so they really weren't in anyone's way.
"Well what was I supposed to do?!"
"Oh I dunno, something OTHER THAN THAT!"
"You mean I should have just let him attack you? I should have just let him take you back to that cell? I couldn't do that Tifa!" He suddenly found he couldn't look her in the eyes. "I-I couldn't do that," he repeated, this time much softer.
Tifa's glance dropped to the ground. "I'm not saying you should have done that…it's just…gah, never mind. Forget it." She checked her watch, which now read almost ten thirty. "We still got a half-an-hour, wanna go get something to eat?"
"Yeah…sure."
***
Aeris stole a glance outside her inn room window.
"Did you guys hear that?"
Yuffie, Alli, and Zoë all looked up from their card game, shaking their heads.
"Nope," Yuffie voiced. "Why? What'd you hear?"
The half-Cetra narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as she stood from her chair. "I'm not sure…but it sounded like…a helicopter? But why would…huh…"
Suddenly, James burst through their door a look similar to Aeris plastered on his face.
"What was that?" They asked each other simultaneously.
"Looks like we've got a mystery on our hands!" Alli exclaimed, almost delightfully, as she and Yuffie sprung up from their places beside each other on the floor. "Let's go investigate!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it right there Holmes and Watson," James caught Alli by the shoulder as she led Yuffie out the door. They both looked up at him with the same, exasperated expression on the adolescent faces. "You two aren't investigating anything."
Alli glanced up at him, slight anger flaring in her deep blue eyes…incredibly familiar, deep blue eyes…
Biggs was right…there is something very familiar about her…
"What do you mean we aren't investigating anything?"
Taking her by both shoulders now, he led her over to the chair Aeris had been sitting in a moment ago, and sat her in it. "I mean you, and you," he added, glancing over at Yuffie. "Are staying here while Aeris and I go see if we can find anything." Her turned to Zoë and continued before Alli or Yuffie had a chance to speak. "You wanna stay here and guard them for us?"
"Do I want to?" She swiped a short lock of blonde hair out her face. "No. Will I? Yes."
He grinned at her as he started for the door, taking Aeris by the arm as he did so. "Ah Zoë, you're a doll!" Then, choosing to ignore the wink she sent his way, James and Aeris set out in the hall.
"I need to grab something out of my room real quick, and we should probably tell the others what we're doing." Aeris nodded in agreement.
"Did any of them hear it?" She inquired from him. James shook his head in reply.
"Nah, I think they all thought I was crazy." He grinned again as he spoke those words. "Although I'm pretty sure they already thought that."
Aeris let out a small trickle of laughter as they stopped in front of the room James was sharing with Reeve. "Why do you say that?"
He shrugged, digging around in his pockets for the key. "I think the fact that you and I aren't exactly human freaks them out a bit." With a small triumphant cry he produced the key and slipped it into the lock.
"Really?" She asked as they stepped into the dark room. The others were still gathered in Biggs's room. "They don't seem too…freaked out to me."
James shrugged as he dug around underneath his bed. "Eh, I don't think they even realize it. I'm not worried about it, I mean, it's not like they're afraid of us or anything. I just think we make them a tad uneasy. Ah-ha! Here we are." Sitting up, he drew out a long, wooden staff, and a short cylinder of metal. "Here, you take this," he told her, tossing the staff over to her lightly.
"Uh…alright," She tested the feel of the staff in her hands, then nodded to the small piece of metal in James's hand. "What's that?"
"This?" He waved the small metallic piece in his hand. "I'll show you." Turning it over in his hand, he pressed a small button Aeris had not seen and suddenly, the cylinder elongated into a metal rod, thinner than the rod she had been given, but about the same length, with pointed ends.
"Wow…impressive," Was all Aeris could manage. She had not imagined the Cetra to be one for weapons.
"Yeah, it's a pretty trusty weapon. The Silver Halation. Packs quite a punch," he added. "Alright, let's go over to the others. We should someone else to come with us."
***
"So we finally get to meet Avalanche face-to-face, huh?" Elena asked Tseng, who was seated beside her in the helicopter, which would be landing near Rocket Town any minute now. Tseng said nothing, only nodded.
The blonde woman sighed and turned to the man on the other side of her. "You nervous?"
Rude shrugged. She hadn't been expecting a verbal answer, so this didn't bother nearly as much as Tseng's silence. But it still bothered her.
Why don't either of them talk?! It's getting so that I almost miss Reno…at least he always wise-ass comments for me.
"Prepare for landing!" The pilot hollered back to them as he guided the helicopter towards the ground.
Moments later they were safely on the ground, standing beside helicopter.
"Wait here for us. But if we aren't back in three hours, go back tell them something happened." The pilot nodded and Tseng began to head over to the others, but quickly changed his mind, leaning in through open door of the helicopter.
"Remember, you are to remain radio silence. We don't know what sort of resistances are out here, if any, and we don't want to tip off anyone about our arrival."
"Yes sir," the pilot nodded, although the Turk was already heading for Rude and Elena.
"The town is about a quarter mile off. Let's hurry and get there." He began heading towards the soft light of the town in the distance. "And Elena, try and keep quiet, I can't think with all your mindless chatter."
***
"You two sure you heard something?" Barret asked as he, James, and Aeris walked along the perimeter of the town.
"Positive. Sounded like a helicopter, James thought so too," Aeris assured him, staring deeply around in the darkness.
"Well, I don't see noth-"
"SHHHH!!!"
They both turned to look at James, who was frozen in mid-step, a look of concentration placed on his features.
"I heard something," he stated plainly. "Someone's coming…over there," he pointed off to the left. "They're coming from there."
The three paused, listening. After a few seconds, the soft crunching of dead leaves and twigs could be heard.
"Well I'll be damned," Barret swore softly, giving James an approving look. "You got some ears on you, boy."
James said nothing in return, only straightened up and activated his Silver Halation. "Get ready, this could be trouble."
***
Reno stared dully into his cup of tea. Normally he wouldn't touch the stuff, but in Wutai, tea was like water. Everyone had tea. It came complimentary with his meal.
They had found a small diner near the address Jessie had given them. Neither had said much as they ate, and it was making Reno a tad uncomfortable.
Jeez, what's she so pissed off about anyway…Yeah sure, Shinra'll probably be down our backs tenfold now, but I had to do something. I had to. Ok, so maybe bashing his head in on the sidewalk but…gah! Stop thinking about it.
Tifa had begun drumming her fingers on the table, it made only a slight noise for she didn't have very long fingernails.
"You ready to go?" Reno asked her, sensing her boredom.
"Yeah, alright. We should probably be heading for the factory anyway." Before coming to the diner they had passed the address given to them. It appeared to be a factory of some sort, though as to what it made, they couldn't tell.
As they stood, each he threw some money on the table, and they left. Neither said a word as they entered the oddly warm night and began to head down the street. The silence seemed to flow out around them into the city of Wutai. Not only was strangely warm, it was eerily quiet.
The silence had spawned from the growing tension between them. Reno didn't understand it. All he had done was protect Tifa and she had almost blown an artery about it.
Guess girls don't want a Prince Charming nowadays.
***
Rude paused in his walking, a frown spreading across his face. Someone was waiting for them.
"What is it, Rude?" Tseng asked, noticing the expression on his face.
"Someone's out there," was all the reply he got.
Tseng nodded, knowing to trust the tall Turk's warning. "Alright, get ready, looks like we've got some company." Pulling out his gun, he nodded for them to continue.
***
"Get back, over there in the brush," James pointed. "Whoever it is taking care to get into town unnoticed. We don't want them to see us right away."
The others nodded and they all took cover in the brush nearby. It wasn't the most comfortable of places, low branches from the trees attempted to block them out, and thorns from bushes poked in their thighs.
Gradually, the sounds of snapping and cracking twigs came again, much louder and closer this time. It was followed by more. Each one louder than the one before.
"Get ready," James mumbled, barely audible.
***
The Turks were rapidly drawing closer to the town. Elena could already make out the dim outlines of buildings just behind the brush they were passing. She turned her toward Tseng for guidance. He was busy studying the layout of the buildings. Beside her, Rude tensed up. They were here.
That was all the warning she had before something hard quickly found its way to the back of her head.
***
James barely had time to duck out of the way into the brush as the two male Turks opened fire on the trio of rebels. He saw the blonde quickly raise to her feet, searching for her attacker.
Barret had begun firing away at them. They stayed hidden in the brush, having the advantage of visual of their enemy for now, but James knew that wouldn't win them the battle in the long run.
"Aeris!" He motioned for her to follow him back around behind the three gunslingers. They waited until all three had their back to them, then dashed through the opening, hidden once more in the darkness of nature. Once there he halted her, and leaned in close to whisper, "Follow me, I'll go for the tall one, you go for the girl again. As soon as you swung, it doesn't matter if you hit, dive back for the brush! Try and get as far from Barret as possible. Alright?" She nodded, unease showing in her eyes. "Don't worry you'll do fine. Ok, now!"
Keeping low he shot out into the clearing, Aeris right behind him, adjusting the wooden staff in her hands. Still miraculously undetected, she crept hastily along, and, finally, as she approached Elena, stood, swinging with all her might at the blonde Turk, who had sensed her and was now facing the half-Cetra, threatening to take aim at her when the staff came bearing down on her…
…and MISSED.
Aeris jaw dropped for a second until she recalled James's instructions and prepared to dive back into the bushes. She hitched up the bottom of her dress a bit and took a step, only to be tripped by Rude's quick foot. Obviously the blow James had dealt him hadn't slowed him a bit.
With a cry, she hit the ground, unable to move under the weight of the tall Turk's foot on her chest. Her green eyes went wide as his hand raised up, and he took aim. Not wishing to see anymore, she squinched them shut as tight as possible.
***
"Evan! Stop cheating!"
"I'm not cheating!"
"Yeah-huh!"
"No I'm not! I can't even cheat on this game!"
"Yes you can, now stop! Daddy!!!! Tell Evan to stop cheating!"
"Be quiet Diane. Hey, quit blocking me!"
"Will you three shut up! I'm trying to do my Geometry over here!"
"Why don't you go kiss your boooooyyyyfriend, Mandy?"
"Lienna! If you don't shut-up right now I'm going to go in there right now and shut off that game!"
"Hey, isn't past all of your bedtimes??"
The Highwind household suddenly fell eerily silent.
"Now if you all aren't in bed in five minutes you're all grounded from EVERYTHING for the five years!"
"Sorry mom!"
"I'm going mom!"
"'NIGHT MOMMY!"
"'Night-night mommy."
Within thirty seconds, the house was quiet, and all the children were tucked away for the night.
Cid shook his head as his wife, Shera, strolled back into the kitchen and seated herself once more across the table from him.
"So, where were we?"
"Well, Vincent says he'll-" he was interrupted by an explosion of sound somewhere near outside.
"What the hell is that?" Shera wondered aloud, standing.
"I dunno," Cid shook his, making his way for the door, pausing to grab something out of the tall closet before heading out the door.
***
James cried out as he felt his left shoulder ignite with pain from a blast of Tseng's gun as he leapt back in the brush for cover.
He saw the leader of the group looking for him, then raise his gun once more, only to be taken down by a blast of gunfire from Barret.
"Well what do you know, he can hit something after all," James thought out loud, clenching his teeth against the pain.
He had be driven away from the group some, dodging flying bullets and well aimed blows from the two male Turks, and now he could see nothing but Tseng kneeling on the ground. The darkness hid everything else. Otherwise, he would have noticed Aeris in dire need of help.
The brunette squirmed under Rude's hold on her, but to no avail. With a few final thoughts in mind, she braced herself for the end.
It never came. In fact, after a couple of seconds, she felt his foot slide off of her. Finally daring to open her eyes once more, she saw not the tall Turk standing over her, but instead a familiar, grinning face.
"Cid!" She took the hand he offered her and stood, noticing that Rude was now sprawled out on the ground, a large wound spilling blood out from his back. "Eww…"
"Hey, no one ever said war was pretty." The blonde man shrugged, then turned back to the remaining two Turks. The head of his spear shone dully in the muted moonlight the spilled chaotically into the clearing, most of it flittered out by the tall surrounding trees.
Tseng was kneeling on the ground, his right shoulder and hand bleeding furiously, obviously the result of Barret's gun. Elena, realizing the situation she was in, stopped firing in the direction of Barret's gunfire, and lowered her hold on the gun.
There was a rustling of branches, then James, grasping his left shoulder with his right hand, and holding the Silver Halation in the other.
"Well little missy, looks like we've got you outnumbered," Cid stated, leaning on his spear precariously.
"Might want to rethink that statement," a voice called out from farther ahead, followed by a rapid succession of gunfire. James went down with a painful cry as one struck him the side, and Aeris suddenly found herself being thrown to the ground by Cid. He grunted as a bullet grazed his back. They could now hear Barret opening fire in the direction of the voice, but it was no use. They couldn't see who it was, let alone where they were.
"About time you showed up!" Aeris heard Elena call out, obviously recognizing the voice. She couldn't put her finger on it, but Aeris could have sworn she'd heard it before.
"Yeah, yeah," the voice was closer now, and they could see the small figure of a girl approaching. "Just be glad I showed up." The figure dodged out of the way and into the trees as Barret shot once more at the figure, this time with a visual.
Cid pulled Aeris into the trees with him as he headed for where the figure had disappeared. They stumbled along through the brush, unable to hear anything but gunfire. Soon they come upon James. He sat leaning against the stump of a tree, eyes tightly cinched closed.
"Aeris, you stay here, I'm going go see if I can do anything up here," Cid told her, before dashing off.
Aeris turned her attention to James, who still hadn't said anything.
"James? Can you hear me?"
He opened his green eyes slightly, then nodded.
"Yeah," his voice was incredibly forced. "You ok?"
The half-Cetra almost laughed, almost. "You've been shot twice and you're asking me if I'm ok?" She shook her head. "I'm fine. We need to get you to a doctor. I'm not sure how much I can do." With this said, she bent over him, glancing at his wounds for a moment, then concentrating heavily. A soft glow of energy was visible between her hands, then a ball of light appeared, washing over them. When the light cleared, Aeris leaned in to examine his wounds once more.
"Well, the bleedings slowed down considerably, but we still need to get you to a professional. Do you thi-" She was interrupted by another bout of gunfire, this one much, much closer. Turning, she glanced through the covering bushes to see what was going on.
Barret had stepped out of the trees and was now firing away. Tseng was standing once more, this time firing left-handed. Cid was ducking in and out of the brush, attack whoever he could with his spear. Elena stood close to Tseng, firing away when Cid came into view, and not five feet from her crouched the newest member of the fight.
Looking at James she motioned for him to stay silent. He didn't argue, and she was soon creeping out of the brush, staying as low as possible, and drew closer to the figure. She saw them stand slowly, their back still to Aeris. She stood as well, careful not to draw attention to her, but as she was readying for another attempt with her staff the figure turned to face her. Panicking, Aeris swung quickly before the figure could fire at her. This time, she made solid contact and the figure fell to the ground, stunned. Standing, they shook their, brushing some blonde hair out their eyes, giving Aeris a clear view of who it was.
"Zoë…"
***
"This is it?" Reno asked dubiously, staring at the small room where six men sat. A small light fixture cast a dingy light over the room.
The man standing next to him scoffed.
"Of course this isn't it. We're merely the leaders. What, were you expecting us to be able to get the entire underground resistance together without Shinra noticing?"
Tifa and Reno both turned to him, glaring at his cocky expression.
"Shut up," Tifa said plainly. She still wasn't in a very good mood.
Reno elbowed her in her the stomach, replying, "Don't mind her, we had a bit of an…unpleasant experience earlier. Shall discuss business?"
The man nodded slowly, then sat at the table, motioning for them to do the same.
"So you're from Avalanche? We've heard of you. You've led some successful attacks on Shinra in Midgar," another man began. "What can we do for you?"
"We're separated from our friends," Tifa spoke up before Reno could. "They are in Rocket Town. We need a way to get to them."
The men all exchanged a glance, before the second one that had spoken to them replied, "I'm afraid that will be impossible."
"What?!" The two Avalanche members spoke with one voice.
"No one can leave Wutai," he continued. "without passing through incredibly tight security. I'm afraid you two would never pass."
"So we're stuck here?" Tifa asked, eyes wide. "We're stuck in her with Shinra?"
The men shared another look, this one seemed…almost amused.
"I wouldn't say that."
***
"Zoë, what…what are you doing?" Aeris eyes were wide as her supposed ally raised a gun on her.
"Oh, perhaps you would like to meet our newest Turk," Tseng called out.
"What…Turk?" She started walking around Zoë, almost as if she were trying to escape. Soon, they positions were swapped.
Anger flared in Aeris's eye. "You traitor! You lied to us?"
Zoë shrugged as if it were nothing. "So I did." A cry from Elena as Cid got her with his spear distracted them both for a second, and neither one was expecting it when James was suddenly standing beside Zoë.
"I knew there was something funny with you," he said before slamming his staff into the side of her head, then crumpling back to the ground. The blow didn't knock her to the ground, but it did set her off balance momentarily, giving Aeris enough time to bring her own staff down on top the new Turk, rendering her unconscious.
By now, Tseng had dropped to the ground as well, another shot from Barret had proved more than even he could handle, and Elena was suffering the same fate as Rude was.
Cid and Barret were looking around, making sure all the trouble was gone for at least now, and Aeris hurried over to James.
"That was a stupid, stupid thing to do," she admonished. "Thank you!" By now, the others joined them.
"Aeris," Cid began, kneeling by them. "Take James back to the inn where you guys are staying. Get three others and show them where we are then go get Shera and tell her what happened. She'll know what to do."
She nodded, slipping her arm under his and helping him to his feet. "What're you gonna do with them?"
Cid motioned for her to get going. "Don't worry about that now, just get him to the inn."
"Alright." As fast as possible for him, James and Aeris made their way to the inn. It took about eight minutes. When they got there, Aeris pounded on Biggs's door, yelling for them to open up.
"C'mon! Hurry!"
She heard the lock undo, then the door swung open. Biggs stood there, not facing them completely. "What is it Aeris?"
"Let us in!"
"Huh?" He turned his away from what Wedge was saying to her. "Oh…shit," throwing open the door he helped get James in the room and onto one of the two beds.
Aeris sat in a chair at the side of the room, panting. "Cid wants three people to go help him."
"Help him what?" Wedge asked distractedly as he and Biggs went about trying to help James. Reeve was kneeled beside Aeris chair.
"No time to explain, just come on," She stood once more heading for the door.
"What about James?" Reeve asked, motioning the Cetra, who was still bleeding heavily.
"Oh, I'll…I'll go get Yuffie and Alli! Be right back," Sprinting out the door she hurried down the hall, pulling out her key and unlocking her door. "Yuffie, Alli! Quick- oh my…" She shook her head when she walked into the room.
There, in the middle, sat Yuffie and Alli, in chairs that were back to back, tied, gagged, and very angry.
"MMMMM!!!!!" Yuffie squealed, unable to form any words.
Hurrying over to them, Aeris untied them and filled them in on the way to the guy's room.
"All right," Aeris said when they were all there. "Reeve, Biggs, and Wedge come with me. And hurry."
They made it over to the clearing much faster than she had come, and after directing them over to Cid and Barret, she took off for the Highwind household.
"Shera! Shera!" She pounded on the door as she had done in the inn, hoping the woman she had met earlier in the day would answer soon.
After a few seconds, she heard the lock disengage and the opened a crack, then all the way.
"Aeris? My god, what happened to you?" Shera asked in wonderment, seeing James blood all over the front her dress.
"Oh, it's not me, it's James. We ran into the Turks. They're all down, but we don't know for how long. They hurt James pretty bad. Cid said you would know what to do."
Shera nodded, grabbing her coat from the rack beside the door. "So that's what all that noise was. Come on, we don't have an actual hospital, but the doctor doesn't live to far from here."
***
Yuffie sat beside James's bedside as Alli did what she with his wounds. His eyes were closed.
"James?" She asked quietly. "Are you awake?"
"Yes," his voice was quieter than she had ever heard him speak. She looked over at Alli, who cleaning the wound on his shoulder, and bit her lip.
Alli stood, wiping her hands on her shorts. "I need some more towels, I'm going to grab some from our bathroom. Try and lie still, James. I'll be right back."
With Alli gone, Yuffie felt a sense of dread wash over her. Alli had more schooling in this area, what was she supposed to do if he started convulsing or something??
Stay calm Yuffie…stay calm. Talk to James. Try and keep him calm. Ok, you can do this.
"Hey James, you remember when we first left Midgar…that one night I come up to you, and you were saying that poem? What was that?"
The Cetra opened his eyes slightly, what might have been a smile forming on his face. "My father wrote that for my mother when they first met. My aunt, whom I spent much of my childhood with, found it and gave it to me. It's one of the few things I have to remember my parents by."
"Oh," she mumbled, not knowing what else to say. Luckily, Alli reentered, followed by Aeris, a woman they didn't recognize, and an elder man.
Immediately, the man rushed over to the bed, while Aeris introduced him, and the woman.
"Yuffie, Alli, James, this is Dr. Kelley," she motioned over to the man, then to the woman, "and this is Shera Highwind."
Dr. Kelley spoke up once hello's were out of the way. "Well, he'll make it, but I think we should bring him to the clinic for proper treatment."
Shera nodded then turned to Aeris. "Cid and the others will be going to the Underground buildings with the Turks. The clinic is located in that part of the town, so we can meet up with them there."
Aeris nodded in return and helped the doctor move James, following Shera out of the room, and finally out of the inn. Yuffie and Alli were close behind. Neither said anything as Alli placed a comforting arm around Yuffie's shoulders and were swallowed up by the darkness of the night.
Author's Notes: Woo! Got it done. I made up for lost action with this chapter I guess. That is the first action/battle scene I have EVER written, so if it was horrible, don't yell at me! I'm new to that kind of stuff. Trust me though, although that was first, it will not be the last. I'll write more Rufus next chapter! At least, I'll try. I was going to this chapter, but what I have planned won't work if it's night. So, until next time!
