Jade, Wine, and Turk training
By Kimetara
Multi-part
Disclaimer: C'mon, this is the 24th time now...
Chapter 23: Costa del Sol
Reno stared over the railing of the ship at the faraway speck of land, steadily growing closer.
*Costa del Sol,* he mused. *Land of the beach babes, pretty boy surfers, and gay perverts. Yep, it's paradise alright.*
"Hey! Turk!" Jason's voice called cheerfully. "C'mon, we gotta go get ready!"
"Ready?" Reno arched an eyebrow. "What're you talking about?"
Jason rolled his eyes. "To get the trailers! We have to get Lockheart in before we leave the dock, or else we're screwed."
"And how," Reno pointed out, "are we gonna get off this ship?"
Jason grinned. "Get your ass moving and I'll show you."
Ten minutes later, Reno was staring at a mini sub. "What the...just how rich is this Hojo guy anyway?"
Jason's usually friendly countenance darkened. "Doesn't matter," he responded curtly. "Let's go."
~~~~~
Tifa walked around the deck, searching for Reno again. *Where did he go?*
Finally, she got fed up with the whole thing. "Matt?"
Matt jumped. "Y-yeah?"
"Do you know where Reno is?"
"Reno?" The brown-haired member of SOLDIER looked surprised. "Why would you want to know where he is?"
Tifa sighed and turned back to her searching.
"He's not here, if that's what you're looking for," Matt finally spoke.
"Oh. Where'd he go?" she asked curiously.
"He went with Jason..." Matt shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't supposed to say anything more.
"He went with who?"
"Jason. You know, the blond guy."
"Oh..." The one she'd mistaken for Cloud. *Cloud...how is he? I haven't thought about him for so long...* Tifa almost felt guilty about how little she'd thought of Cloud lately. He was all alone, after all...
*But at least he isn't kidnapped with his only company a Turk,* she thought wryly. She had every right not to have thought of Cloud.
Besides...isn't that why she left him in the first place?
*Funny...something I couldn't do in two years, Reno did in two months.* Tifa's lips curved into a smile at the thought, before she realized the implication she'd made.
She frowned. Reno was...a friend, yes. But just how good of one...?
*Am I getting too attached...?* Tifa immediately shook the thought off. *Getting attached to a Turk? Ridiculous.*
"So Matt, do you know of anything we can do around here...?"
Matt started, opened his mouth, closed it, cleared his throat, then opened it again. "Umm..."
Tifa sighed. It was going to be a long day...
~~~~~
The pale light washed over a man clad in a knee-length lab coat. Even on the streets, he stood out as an albino, with bright, violet eyes.
Even more than that though, was the aura he generated. From the malicious smirk gracing his lips to the arrogant bearing he carried himself, he was a man that delighted in creating pain.
Hojo peered down at the many instruments before him. He spent hours in this lab, fiddling, refining, creating...all for one purpose.
To understand.
Once he understood the lifeblood of the Planet, he could control it...and gain power none could match.
*Fool.* Hojo sneered at the memory of his mentor. The Professor, despite all his planning, had still thought too small. His mind hadn't gone past superhuman cloning.
Why the need for superhumans when the life of the Planet was in your hands? From what little Hojo was able to gather, every little thing was a sort of solidified form of the Lifestream. With time, he could be able to control the life and deaths of this entire planet.
But he needed the knowledge of the Lifestream. It was for that, he bore the Professor's contempt. It was for that, he bore...
Hojo shrugged. In truth, he hadn't borne more than that. Creation of monsters? Breeding horrific new species? Recording the effects of Mako poisoning?
Human experimentation?
It never bothered him – actually, he enjoyed it as much as the Professor. However, the Professor was able to understand what was going on, unlike him.
Hojo knew he had kept the process secret for a reason. And it gave him a strange pleasure, to have the Professor realize his pupil could outdo him.
However, the frustration more than outweighed his pleasure. If the Professor had only been smart enough – or stupid enough – to pass down the information, he could have had control long ago. Hojo knew he was equal to the Professor. All of the Professor's knowledge had come from Gast; he had discovered very little himself.
And now, the Professor was gone...leaving only these tools.
These very useful tools. The light-haired man smirked, running his fingers lovingly over a strange device – the one he used to control his members of SOLDIER.
Very useful, his SOLDIERs. He had employed them for the past three years to keep watch over AVALANCHE, while he perfected his instruments. After all...he would need some way to get them to talk, wouldn't he?
Hojo grinned. It would be fun.
~~~~~
Reno and Jason slid stealthily from submarine dock into the edge of Costa del Sol. The authorities would probably notice a new sub, but that was okay – they wouldn't go crazy searching for its owner, cause heck, it saves money right?
Jason strode confidently through the streets of the beach city, obviously unworried about being recognized. Reno, coming from a much smaller organization, kept his senses on alert and made note of any possible getaway routes – an alleyway here, fire escape there, the occasional convenience store...
Eventually, the pair made it to the bar, thankfully without confrontation.
"Heyyy," a skimpily clad raven-haired woman walked over and winked at the two men. "You guys are cute. New in town?" she drawled, her eyes traveling up and down Reno's lean frame.
Jason grinned, nudging Reno between the ribs. "Yeah, you could say that..."
"How about I show you around?" The woman flashed them a smile.
"Terisa!" the man behind the bar hollered before either of the men could respond. "Get over here for a sec, will ya?"
Terisa rolled her eyes. "Sorry boys, be back in a minute." She gave her hair a casual flip, then strolled back to the bar.
"Well, Reno?" Jason snickered. "She was really into you."
"Not bad," he replied, before Terisa returned.
"So, you need a tour guide?" she asked, tilting her head so that her hair fell teasingly across her face.
"Ah, I got to go talk to the bar owner, but my pal here's free," Josh answered straight-faced. Reno shot him a "what do you think you're doing?" glance, but the blond ignored him.
"Hmmm...I don't think that'll be a problem." Terisa smiled invitingly. Reno mentally shrugged. She was definitely not as in shape as Tifa, but her legs were nice...
*Tifa...* The thought flashed through Reno's mind before Terisa sidled up to him.
"Why don't we check out the beach?" she suggested meaningfully. "I know this lovely little cove on the shore..."
"...yeah, sure." Reno gave a sexy grin. "Let's go..."
Hey, if he was gonna get laid, might as well use the old skills, right?
...besides...he really did need to get his mind off that brunette.
AN: Errr...long time no see? ^_^;; Hello everybody! I'm extremely sorry to all those that were reading this story before my sudden two-month disappearance. Life just became too hectic for me to keep up with writing.
On the upside, I'm happy to say that I've now made an outline for most of the story, which will hopefully reduce the amount of circling I've done (now that the plot is all neatly laid out). Many thanks to Lady-Daine for bringing it to my attention! (When I'm done, I'll also be going back over this entire story and editing.)
Oh yeah, and please review! (If I'm even remembered...lol...)