The Last of an Elite
Chapter Thirty-Five: The Turks Will Be the First to Die!
By InterfaceLeader
-~-~-~-
Tapatapatapatap tap tap tapa tap.
Joanna stared at the ceiling, trying not to frown.
Tap tap taptaptap tapatapa pa pa tap.
Her fist clenched, knuckles going white.
Tap tap tap tapataptaptapa te te tep tap tap.
"Would you please stop that awful tapping!" her voice came out from between her gritted teeth, choked with restrained anger.
"What?" The man looked up blankly from where he had been drumming his fingers against the metal wall of the cell. "Oh, sure…."
They had been in the cell together for nearly a week and Joanna thought she might go crazy. When he wasn't tapping he was humming. When he wasn't humming he was scratching his chin stubble. When he wasn't scratching he was hammering out messages in code to the guards in the cells either side, despite the fact it was perfectly possible to talk to one another normally.
She blamed Rude completely.
Outside the cell there was the familiar and muted sound of a new guard coming to relieve the old one from his post. A brief, unintelligible conversation, a clunk as the keys to the cells were handed over. Joanna sighed.
Every hour. Every stupid hour of every stupid day I get that same noise.
I'm going to kill Rude for this.
There were footsteps as the old guard walked away, and then to Joanna's surprise the new guard came over to the cells and looked in at the ex-guards who had attacked Reno and been jailed for an indeterminate length of time.
"Guys." he spoke softly, as if afraid of being overhead. "I'm bringing you news of the revolution!"
"Revolution?" The four ex-guards came to the doors of their separate cells.
"Against Rufus and the new order! Scarlet is slipping us advanced weapons already, but we must proceed cautiously, finding out who is loyal to Rufus." The guard looked from cell to cell, and even with his face hidden by his mask you could sense his excitement. "But once the day comes the Shinra Guards will rise up against the oppressor and the corridors will run red with his blood!"
"And the Turks…?"
"Will be the second to die!"
"What do you want us to do?"
"Here." The guard opened each cell door and slid a small package in. "I'll drop off more equipment each time I'm on duty here, all you have to do is hide it until the day of the revolution!"
"Hey!" Joanna sat up on the bed and looked at the cell door. "I want to join too, if it means I can make Rude pay!"
-~-~-~-
Junon was wrapped in storm clouds when the Highwind came into land. The winds battered at it, but it held it's course and landed neatly.
"Tifa!" Barret leaned over his friend anxiously. "Snap outta it girl!"
"…….. Barret." Rude looked around the bridge quickly. It had emptied of both Avalanche and Shinra, Odin only knew what kind of chaos was happening elsewhere. "…… Bring her."
"Who do ya think yer givin' orders to huh?"
"………." Rude turned a blank gaze towards the muscular black man leant over the prone body of Tifa. "……. do you want to help her?"
Barret narrowed his eyes at the Turk. "Any tricks ya hear, any tricks and I'll blow ya away so @#* fast ya won't have time to scream!"
"………..I don't scream"
-~-~-~-
Tseng leant on his crutches and stared into the sky. The sky was a wide open expanse of blue, pale clouds scudded gently along.
Burning against the blue skies sat a red hot sphere, it's movement was imperceptible to the human eye, yet he knew it was moving incredibly fast. Flaming across the huge cold distances of space, ready to smash into the Planet.
A memory of the final panel from the Temple of the Ancients. Burning destruction, people screaming.
"What could it be?" the Nurse shook her head in puzzlement. "Do you think it's dangerous?"
"…"
"Well, I guess someone will sort it out." The Nurse shrugged, it wasn't her responsibility. "Are you sure you'll be ok…? Tommy said he'll do more than row you over to the Midgar continent if you need it…"
"I'm fine."
"Okay, if you're sure. Good luck."
"It can't get much worse at any rate." Tseng started his slow, painful journey towards Kalm.
-~-~-~-
The rain was battering against the windows of the Junon hospital room, and Rude pulled the shutters closed. Barret carried Tifa's unconscious body to the angular metal table at the centre of the room, pushing a mirrored lamp away from it with his foot.
"Look like a dentists." he grunted as he laid her down.
"……"
"Hmph. 'spose yer gonna try and put me under arrest or summat now."
"………….no." Rude stared at the shutters and tried to sort out his thoughts.
"No? What's up wit yer foo'? Yer mooning around like you was in love!"
Rude jerked. "In lo - …….."
"%^*&@#!" Barret flexed his shoulders and glowered at the Turk. "Ya stupid Shinra Turk! Yer outta yer stupid blue-suited mind! She hates everthin' ta do wit you! 'sides, she's interested in someone else!"
"……………" Rude studied the shutter, noting that one of the flaps had come slightly loose and a tiny kink of stormy grey light was showing through.
"You listenin' ta me!?"
"……yes….."
There was a sudden beeping from Rude's PHS and he answered it slowly.
"Rude." Rufus's voice was tight. "Where are you?"
"Hospital….."
"Didn't I tell you to watch Hojo?"
"…….."
"And are you aware that all of Avalanche has escaped us, again?"
"……..not all……."
"Not all?"
Rude turned his head and looked at Barret.
"No." he said deliberately. "I have two under arrest in the hospital….."
Barret glowered, his massive arms tensing as he cocked his gun arm. "&*@#~ Turk!"
Rude clicked the PHS off and looked at Barret.
"………….You're right………….." he said "I was a fool…….. All I can do is my job."
"Yer job! Nobody has ta do anything that col' hearted bastard tells 'em too! Why do it? Quit already - looking' out fer Hojo can't be that much fun!"
"….. it's better than some things…. " Rude shook his head. "….. once….. I was going to quit…. Helped her escape….. But….." he paused and stared into the distance. "…… things happened….."
"So #&%"£~ what?"
"………………………….. never mind." Rude frowned and walked towards the door. "I don't hate you….. But you hate me…. And so does Tifa…….."
-~-~-~-
Reno ran towards the Shinra HQ, swearing under his breath.
All I want is a little fun! Is that too much to ask? But no, first the girl decides she wants to "talk", and then the world has to decide to end. Someone damn well better be responsible for this so I can beat their brains out with a brick!
He rounded a corner and stopped in dismay. The front of the Shinra building was packed with shrieking people, their questions and demands riding the air as they pushed at the line of Shinra guards stood in front of the door.
"We pay our taxes and this kind of thing is allowed to happen?" a man yelled from the crowd.
"Total security you promised us!"
"We want to hear from Rufus!"
"I'm an upstanding citizen of the community and I want to be listened to!"
"Why is this even happening!?"
Bloody hell… Reno leant against the wall and sighed. Everything's always our responsibility isn't it?
He watched the crowd for a few more minutes but they clearly had no intention of shifting. Taking out his electro-mag rod he smirked to himself. I always wanted to try my hand at crowd control.
-~-~-~-
Elena sat with her head on her arms and looked out the window at the freak snowstorm that had blown up, effectively cutting off all exits and communication lines. She felt completely and utterly useless.
-~-~-~-
Tseng climbed with difficulty out of the boat. The sun beat down on him, it's light still brighter than that of Meteor. He wondered how long that would last, but pushed the thought from his mind.
"You sure you'll be okay from here?" the man who had rowed him looked as helpful as he could and Tseng felt a flicker of anger. He hated dependence, he hated owing people, he hated the twisting stabbing pains that still lanced through him giving the lie to what he had told the doctor.
"I'll be fine." he said grimly.
The man shrugged. "Come back and visit sometime you hear? Bye!" and he pulled the boat away from the beach with long even strokes with the oars.
-~-~-~-
Evening was drawing in when Elmyra heard the knock at the door. She pulled her skirt down nervously. She had been unable to turn down the Turk's request, especially after he had freed her from the Midgar slums, but he still brought shadows of fear into her mind when she remembered the way he had kidnapped Aeris at gunpoint.
Marlene let out a little squeak and hid behind an armchair. She was even more fearful of the 'sometimes evil man' than Elmyra was and calming her down had taken up the better part of the day. Elmyra pulled at her skirt again and hurried to answer the door.
She was stunned when she saw him. There were shadows of pain in his face, tracing lines around his eyes and tightening his skin. The air of easy, athletic confidence was gone, instead he was hunched and twisted over two crutches on which he leant heavily. The neat blue suit had been replaced with what must have been second hand gifts, ill fitting and badly matched.
"Tseng…."
He half shrugged, a different kind of pain becoming apparent in his eyes. "Pathetic, I know."
"I… You'd better come in."
He entered slowly, walking was difficult. She thought of the distance he had come and hastily indicated a chair before disappearing into the kitchen.
Marlene bent her head and peered through the narrow gap between the bottom of the chair and the floor. She could see Tseng's feet and the bottom of his crutches as he moved across the room and lowered himself into the opposite chair with a sigh. She frowned to herself as Elmyra returned from the kitchen and bent down, probably serving tea or coffee or something similar.
"Strange weather we've been having recently" Elmyra's voice was clipped and bright.
"…. yes."
Marlene stuck her tongue out at Tseng's feet and then jumped up and caught hold of the top of the chair, pulling herself up so her head stuck over the edge.
"Is it because of that thing in the sky?" she said loudly.
"Marlene!" Elmyra jumped, spilling her tea into the saucer. "Really …. "
"More than likely." Tseng turned his head to Marlene. "Meteor will disrupt a lot of the Planet's normal cycles, I imagine, including the weather."
"Did you make it?" Marlene pressed on.
"I…. Am not sure whether I helped or hindered it. I may have been completely irrelevant." Tseng said evenly.
"Did Shinra make it?" Marlene screwed up her nose at the word Shinra.
"…….. Well, they made Sephiroth so I suppose they made Meteor." Tseng frowned briefly. "Although Meteor has been possible since the time of the Ancients."
"Then it's your fault." Marlene said immediately. "If Shinra helped make Meteor and you helped Shinra you helped make Meteor so it's your fault!" and she slipped back down behind the chair.
"You've learned a lot from Barret haven't you?" Tseng said to the space where Marlene had been.
"Oh dear…" Elmyra sighed.
-~-~-~-
Rude found Hojo looking out to sea. This bothered him slightly, as he felt Hojo shouldn't be an outdoors kind of person. He took up position behind him, wondering.
"Did you see him?" Hojo's whispering voice was barely audible above the wind, and Rude leaned closer to hear. "A monster…. Never a man. He didn't see me…."
Rude blinked, trying to work out what the last sentence could mean. The rain was covering his sunglasses and making it difficult to see.
"That wife stealing monster! He's out!" Hojo leant into the wind, and his hands clenched around the safety bar. "He was meant to rot away in darkness, slowly killing himself, going insane! But he's out!"
Rude took a step back. The scientists voice had reached a crazed pitch, fighting against the wind for dominance.
"How dare he fight against me! Me, the man he should be on his knees begging forgiveness from! He should be crawling through the dirt, a worm, a tiny insignificant piece of spittle, and instead he defies me!" Hojo spun and walked slowly towards Rude, who backed away, noticing with some alarm that his eyes seemed to have gone almost completely dark and that his skin had started to move and stretch unpleasantly. "I hate Turks… you're all so arrogant! Think you can have whatever you want, take whoever you want…. Well you'll all pay!"
"….. sir….."
"He's my son! And he'll show you all!" Hojo broke down in a sudden fit of crazed laughter, falling back against the safety rail as the rain lashed around the two, catching his breath just enough to say "You Turks will be the first to die!" before breaking down again.
"…………" Rude started to call through to Rufus, before something caught his eye through the rain. A shape, far out in the ocean but so large it was visible from where he was standing. A dark silhouetted monster of a shape.
"………Weapon…."
-~-~-~-
A/N: I'm not going to tell you what's coming next anymore, mostly because I know basically what's going to happen but have no idea what kind of order it's going to go in ^_^ Plot lines start to come together now though.
Thanks for the reviews, as ever!