Scars of the Past

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Here and now I wanna be the one for you - In everything you want me to - Cos I couldn't live if were apart - Time is running out on you and me - Cos nothings what it used to be - I guess I'm the only one to blame - But I promise you to make it right - Forget all the sorrows you bear within tonight - Believe in me when I say (Steps - Here and Now)

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Chapter 16 - Proud Clod

Reno was kneeling down, on a raised part of the sewers. Elena was stood, leaning against a wall about a foot behind the red head, while Rude was squatting on his knees, leaning against the same wall as the blonde about a foot beside her. Elena sighed. None of them had talked much since the top floors of the Shinra Tower had blown up. She turned her head to look at Reno's back.

"What are we still doing down here?" She whispered, trying not to break the silence too much. Reno turned his head to look at her out of the corner of his eye.

"It's safer than up there isn't it?" He whispered back. The blonde pushed herself away from the wall.

"For fuck sake Reno! Your kid is up there!" She pointed upwards in the direction the of Shinra building. "So what the fuck are you doing down here?" She shouted. Reno stood up sharp and stared her straight in the eye.

"Because I'm scared........" He whispered. She took a step back from him. "I don't wanna know if anything has happened to him." He kneeled back down. Elena sighed again. Rude stood up from his position.

"What about Reeve?" Reno stood back up again.

"Shit........ What if fat bastard realised what Ruffie and him were planning?"

"Won't Scarlet stop him from doing anything?" Elena asked. Reno turned to her.

"She would have to get away from him first, which would be damn right impossible since he'll want to use Proud Clod to try and stop Avalanche."

"You sure they'll use Proud Clod?" The blonde asked. Rude shrugged.

"They have nothing else to use." Reno turned sharply to look at an entrance nearby.

"Shhhhhhh" He pointed towards the doorway. "Someone's coming." Elena watched as members of Avalanche came down the ladder, landing onto the old subway tracks below them.

"Oh no! They're here!" She said. Reno glared at her. "Sorry it just slipped out." He turned back to look at the eight members who were deciding where to go next. "What are we going to do?" Elena asked. The red head grinned.

"We're going to have a little chat." The blonde looked at Rude.

"Oh this is going to be fun...." She said, sarcastically. Rude just nodded. The blonde sighed and ran off in front of Reno. The red head looked back at Rude.

"What's the point of all this?" The bald Turk asked.

"There is no point, my stoic friend. Just gonna say something to them I should have done a long time ago." He followed Elena's lead. She ran all the way to where Avalanche were then jumped up, splashing in a nearby puddle as she hit the ground. The terrorists all turned round to look at her. She smiled.

"Well hello there." She said in a smug voice. Reno just started laughing. Shaking his head, he walked up to where Elena was and put his arm round her.

"Yeah El, that's the way to greet them." He said sardonically. He looked at the blonde headed leader of Avalanche. "Ya know, we've never actually been ordered to kill you." He laughed again as he saw the puzzled luck he got from Cloud.

"How come you always attacked us then?"

"We never did on purpose. You always assumed we were out to kill you so we went along." Elena said quietly from beside the red head. Reno nodded.

"I'm not going to say anything about the reactors." He saw Barret roll his eyes. "Because I know none of you give a shit."

"That's not true......" Tifa said softly. Reno looked at her. "I think about it all the time." Cloud looked at her now. "How many people did we kill when we blew up the reactors?" The brunette looked at the coloured man, who looked at the floor. Reno coughed before speaking.

"Well after the fat ass President died, we were never out to kill you. Hell, we all thought you'd end up doing better than we ever would." Cloud looked puzzled again. "We kept it on the quiet, well Rufus did anyway. We have a certain employer who control whole armies who hate your guts."

"Heidegger, right?" The blonde man asked. Reno nodded.

"He's still out for your guts. So you'd better watch out for him."

"Are you helping us?" Vincent asked from the background. Reno twiddled his thumbs.

"Maybe......" He whispered. "You're kinda the world's only hope since Shinra's gone......." He trailed off and turned around, removing his arm from around the blonde girl. "Farewell. If we both survive... If we can save our lives..." Elena stared at Avalanche for a minute, then smiled.

"Remember the spirit of the Turks...!" She shouted running after Reno. The red head just laughed at her. She thumped him one when she caught up with him. Rude looked over his shoulder and nodded.

"Our mission's finished..." He strode to catch up with the other two Turks who were now caught up in a pushing fight.

"Remember the spirit of the Turks...!" Reno squealed in a girly voice.

"Shut up!" The blonde shouted. She pushed him, he lost his footing and landed in the sewage water yet again. She started smiling. Reno glared at her, mumbling obscenities.

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Reeve was sat in a prison cell, leaning his chin on his hand, that was propped up using his elbow on his knee. He sighed. God how much he hated Heidegger. The man had no idea how to handle anything. Reeve looked up sharp as the lock of the prison door made a noise. The door opened revealing a blonde woman.

"Scarlet?" He asked quietly. She nodded.

"Managed to get away from fat ass for longer than two minutes." She joked. Callum was hid in between her legs, shaking a little. "Look Reeve, I want you to get out of here. Take Callum with you and go to Kalm." She pushed the red headed child towards Reeve. The boy seemed a little reluctant to go.

"Where are you going?" He asked. She sighed.

"I've got to go back before fat bastard notices."

"Scarlet you......"

"I do" She cut him off. "I'm giving you the chance to get the hell away from this dump. Just go ok." She walked off. Reeve sighed and shook his head. He had a feeling he'd never see that woman again. Callum tugged the black haired man's trouser leg.

"Where's Grandma going?" He asked in a sleepy voice. Reeve looked at the boy for a while.

"She's just gone to sort something out." He stood up and held out his hand. "Why don't you and I get out of here? We'll go to Kalm and see Marlene." Callum's smiled.

"Ok." The boy grabbed hold of the older man's hand as tight as he could. Reeve smiled.

"Reeve!" He heard a faint female voice shouting him. He walked out the cell, dragging the little red head with him. Elena darted around the corner, nearly bumping into the man. "There you are!" She shouted. He winced a bit.

"I'm right here El, no need to yell." She smiled.

"Thank god, I thought fat bastard had gotten to you first."

"He did. Scarlet just let me out like five minutes ago." Elena frowned.

"Where she gone now?"

"Back to Heidegger." Reeve told her. Reno came round the corner.

"Daddy!" Callum shouted, before latching onto the red haired Turks' trouser leg.

"Hey kiddo." He bent down to the child's eye level, ruffling the boy's hair. "Why she gone back to Heidegger?" He asked the other man. Reeve shrugged.

"She just said she had to get back." He leaned against the wall. Callum interrupted the silence.

"Are we going to Kalm?" Reno looked at the boy. "Grandma said we should go to Kalm." Callum smiled. "I can see Marlene again." The Turk smiled.

"Yeah we'll go to Kalm." Reeve looked around.

"Where's Rude?"

"He's waiting outside." Elena said. She smirked. The black haired man looked nervously at the blonde.

"I don't wanna know do I?" Elena smirked even more.

"Nope."

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Scarlet sat in the Proud Clod, setting it all up ready to intervene Avalanche. She groaned. She had a huge feeling that even the Proud Clod wouldn't stop the terrorists from getting through. Not that she didn't want them to. The whole of Midgar would blow up, if Hojo wasn't stopped. Oh how Scarlet hated Hojo. He was a mad freaky psychopathic weirdo. The king of freaky stuff. She tried her best to stay away from him, only going near him during board meetings, another thing she loathed. She heard Heidegger come up behind her.

"Is this piece of junk ready? Avalanche are nearly here." He shouted in her ear. She gritted her teeth together.

"Yes it's ready." She spat out. She stood up and turned to look at him. She let out a small laugh, shaking her head. "You have no idea do you?" He stood back from her a little.

"What do you...."

"The Proud Clod is going to explode when Avalanche fight it and me and you will go bye byes." She waved at him as she said the last two words.

"You're being......"

"Stupid?" She interrupted again. "Nah I'm not. I'm being logical." She got out her seat and stood close by to the Shinra executive. "Avalanche aren't going to be stopped. There's no use in trying."

"Stop your whining." Heidegger shouted. "They're here." Scarlet looked through the window of the machine to see the eight members stood nearby. She sighed.

"Sit down then fat ass." She said. Moving her hand to the lever, she pulled it to her. The machine jerked, making Heidegger trip over the top of his seat. She giggled. She might as well have the last laugh. She scowled at him. "I thought I told you to sit down."

"Yeah yeah......." He mumbled, sitting down at his seat. Scarlet then pushed the lever away from her. The Proud Clod moved one of it feet. She messed around with some other buttons, making the machine move forward towards the group in front of them.

"G'yaaa, Haaa, Haaa!!! Here they come!" Heidegger stepped out of his seat, opening a door so he could go out and greet the terrorists. Stepping out onto the hand that Scarlet had held up for him, he spoke. "You sure did treat us like dogs up to now!!" He laughed. "G'yaaa, Haaa, Haaa!!! But let's see how you do against anti-Weapon artillery! What do you say to that Scarlet?"

"Go and fuck a tree for all I care, fat bastard!" She shouted through the intercom. Some of the members of Avalanche grinned a little. This just made Heidegger mad. He stared at the window for a while, then stormed back into the machine.

"What the hell was that for?" He shouted, sitting back in the seat.

"I'm telling you this isn't a good idea........"

"I don't care. I'm not letting Shinra go down without a fight."

"Heidegger, it's already gone." Scarlet turned Proud Clod onto Auto Pilot to fight Avalanche. She turned to the man. "Look I don't want this as much as you but it's over." He stared out the window, staring at the still burning Shinra Tower. The Proud Clod rocked about as a lightning attack hit it. Scarlet shut her eyes.

"Maybe you're right...." He muttered. Scarlet nodded and looked at the controls.

"It's going to blow soon." She whispered. Heidegger nodded. The machine began to shudder, glowing bright white as the mechanics started to overheat. She turned to Heidegger. "It's been nice knowing you." She then shut her eyes. Heidegger started for a moment, seeing a tear drop from Scarlet's closed eye.

"You too." He whispered almost inaudibly. The Proud Clod trembled even more, electrical sparks started to sprout off the machine. It then glowed an even brighter white, crackling even more. Scarlet closed her eyes even tighter. The machine fell to it's knees. Making it's last shudder, the machine blew up, taking whoever was in there with it.

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