Chapter 8: Awakening
Elena slowly opened her eyes, a sort of groggy feeling plagued her sensitive senses. Her head throbbed and her nostrils beheld the faint scent of gas. She muttered something unintelligible and struggled to sit up. A rather large mistake, for as soon as she did so, her head seemed to explode with unpleasant sensations. She placed a finger on her forehead and began to massage it with care.
Damn Black Turks! she thought to herself. suddenly, Elena heard a familiar voice behind her.
ÒAwwwww! Geez Rude, be careful with her why donÕcha? This chick has been through a lot in the past few days!Ó
She heard a deep voice reply to the fiery one:
ÒIÕm sure youÕd know a lot about that. I am being careful, I donÕt want to draw any misdirected bad karma in my direction,Ó
ElenaÕa brown eyes widened as she spun around, forgetting her pain momentrarily.
ÒReno? Oh my god! What are you-Rude too? Why-why are you guys here? And in uniform too? And why does she get the bed and I get left here on the floor?Ó
Elena arched an eyebrow at LilyÕs delicate placement on the bed.
Reno stood up and scrathced the back of his head nervously.
ÒWell, ÔLena, ItÕs like this, we figured, as an Ex-Turk, youÕd find it insulting to be treated as a fragile blossom,Ó
ÒWhat?Ó Elena asked with a tone of disbelief.
ÒWe just didnÕt want to hurt your pride, gorgeous,Ó
Reno made a ÒtchÓ sound with his tongue and pointed towards his former companion, giving her a flirtatious wink before turning back to his previous task, which was apparently to do nothing in particular. Elena gave a sigh and turned to Rude.
ÒSo, Rude, Why are you two here again? I didnÕt seem to catch it from Red there,Ó
Rude continued to dab LilyÕs forehead with a wet washclothe ans spoke to
Elena without turning away.
ÒWeÕre here tracking the Black Turks. President Rufus has been kidnapped , the only clues to his whereabouts are with those wannabees. We tracked them to this point, but we had a momentary delay. You see, you two were unconscious on the floor and the said Turkish imposters were making a speedy getaway with a critically wounded Vincent Valentine,Ó
ÒShit! You lost them! All for us? Damn!Ó Elena cursed.
RenoÕs eyes lit up.
ÒNooooot quite, Sugar. See, I kinda, you know, ÔnudgedÕ that prissy, whatÕs his name? Jane? Joan?Ó
ÒJohn. John Extrenue, SOLDIER dropout,Ó Rude informed his somewhat oblivious companion.
ÒThatÕs right. ÔJohnÕ, wow, how damn original. His parents must be really unique people to name their kid something so fucking exotic as ÒJohnÓ,Ó
ÒGet to the point Reno!Ó shouted Elena.
ÒShhhh. Easy there, Turkish Momma, weÕve got a sick lady here,Ó Reno said motioning to Lily.
ÒReno-ÓRude started, but it was not necessary to finish, the tall manÕs tone was more than enough to inspire his companion to continue.
Reno cleared his throat and continued.
ÒSo, I nudged him and, well, put a bug on him. As well as one on Ôol VinVal,Ó Reno grinned and scratched his head with the tip of his nightstick.
ÒReno! YouÕre great! Ò Elena said enthusiatically.
ÒYeah, its about time somebody took notice. But, tell me, ÔLena, how come youÕre so into this? I mean, youÕre not a Turk anymore, so why should this matter?Ó
ÒThis goes beyond that, Reno. Based on what happened here tonight, thereÕs too much at stake here. Besides, my heart has always been with the Turks, in one way or another,Ó
ÒAwww, thatÕs so sweet, ÔLena! YouÕre gonna make me blush,Ó the red head winked at her again.
Elena laughed, sheÕd missed them both so much. If only-If only Tseng were there to whiper ÒidiotÓ under his breathe, then, then theyÕd all be together again. She couldnÕt help but get a little smile and become a little misty eyed. Rude noticed, but elected not to mention it. There was a brief movement on the bed. The bald Turk turned his head and removed his sunglasses, icey blue eyes shone from their sockets with a seemingly supenatural glow.
Lily was waking up.
Elena slowly opened her eyes, a sort of groggy feeling plagued her sensitive senses. Her head throbbed and her nostrils beheld the faint scent of gas. She muttered something unintelligible and struggled to sit up. A rather large mistake, for as soon as she did so, her head seemed to explode with unpleasant sensations. She placed a finger on her forehead and began to massage it with care.
Damn Black Turks! she thought to herself. suddenly, Elena heard a familiar voice behind her.
ÒAwwwww! Geez Rude, be careful with her why donÕcha? This chick has been through a lot in the past few days!Ó
She heard a deep voice reply to the fiery one:
ÒIÕm sure youÕd know a lot about that. I am being careful, I donÕt want to draw any misdirected bad karma in my direction,Ó
ElenaÕa brown eyes widened as she spun around, forgetting her pain momentrarily.
ÒReno? Oh my god! What are you-Rude too? Why-why are you guys here? And in uniform too? And why does she get the bed and I get left here on the floor?Ó
Elena arched an eyebrow at LilyÕs delicate placement on the bed.
Reno stood up and scrathced the back of his head nervously.
ÒWell, ÔLena, ItÕs like this, we figured, as an Ex-Turk, youÕd find it insulting to be treated as a fragile blossom,Ó
ÒWhat?Ó Elena asked with a tone of disbelief.
ÒWe just didnÕt want to hurt your pride, gorgeous,Ó
Reno made a ÒtchÓ sound with his tongue and pointed towards his former companion, giving her a flirtatious wink before turning back to his previous task, which was apparently to do nothing in particular. Elena gave a sigh and turned to Rude.
ÒSo, Rude, Why are you two here again? I didnÕt seem to catch it from Red there,Ó
Rude continued to dab LilyÕs forehead with a wet washclothe ans spoke to
Elena without turning away.
ÒWeÕre here tracking the Black Turks. President Rufus has been kidnapped , the only clues to his whereabouts are with those wannabees. We tracked them to this point, but we had a momentary delay. You see, you two were unconscious on the floor and the said Turkish imposters were making a speedy getaway with a critically wounded Vincent Valentine,Ó
ÒShit! You lost them! All for us? Damn!Ó Elena cursed.
RenoÕs eyes lit up.
ÒNooooot quite, Sugar. See, I kinda, you know, ÔnudgedÕ that prissy, whatÕs his name? Jane? Joan?Ó
ÒJohn. John Extrenue, SOLDIER dropout,Ó Rude informed his somewhat oblivious companion.
ÒThatÕs right. ÔJohnÕ, wow, how damn original. His parents must be really unique people to name their kid something so fucking exotic as ÒJohnÓ,Ó
ÒGet to the point Reno!Ó shouted Elena.
ÒShhhh. Easy there, Turkish Momma, weÕve got a sick lady here,Ó Reno said motioning to Lily.
ÒReno-ÓRude started, but it was not necessary to finish, the tall manÕs tone was more than enough to inspire his companion to continue.
Reno cleared his throat and continued.
ÒSo, I nudged him and, well, put a bug on him. As well as one on Ôol VinVal,Ó Reno grinned and scratched his head with the tip of his nightstick.
ÒReno! YouÕre great! Ò Elena said enthusiatically.
ÒYeah, its about time somebody took notice. But, tell me, ÔLena, how come youÕre so into this? I mean, youÕre not a Turk anymore, so why should this matter?Ó
ÒThis goes beyond that, Reno. Based on what happened here tonight, thereÕs too much at stake here. Besides, my heart has always been with the Turks, in one way or another,Ó
ÒAwww, thatÕs so sweet, ÔLena! YouÕre gonna make me blush,Ó the red head winked at her again.
Elena laughed, sheÕd missed them both so much. If only-If only Tseng were there to whiper ÒidiotÓ under his breathe, then, then theyÕd all be together again. She couldnÕt help but get a little smile and become a little misty eyed. Rude noticed, but elected not to mention it. There was a brief movement on the bed. The bald Turk turned his head and removed his sunglasses, icey blue eyes shone from their sockets with a seemingly supenatural glow.
Lily was waking up.
