A/N: YAY!!!! NOODLE BURGERS!!!! I mean.....^_^ hehehehe. I'm SOOO happy, my beautiful, beloved, partner, Mai FINALLY wrote chapter 12!!! Blessed be the wonderful parents who raised her. (Can we tell I was getting impatient....^_^) Anywho, here is chap 13! Gee...I sure hope chap 14 comes out a bit faster. I was totally anxious to find out what happened next.
~*~*~
"Reno, I don't think we should trust those girls."
Rude stared out at the smoggy city view from the top of the apartment's stairs. Beams of light zipped across his dark, reflective glasses as cars drove past. Reno explained all about the Nadesiko and Lamirra's plan to, "save the world" as Reno had put it, and this information made him even more wary of the girls he had already found strange. Reno stared up at his partner incredulously.
"C'mon now, Rude. Why in the world would you say something like that? Those two girls just so happened to be the only people willing to risk their lives to save all of Midgar. Maybe even all of the world!" Rude peeked over the top of his sunglasses and looked intently upon the younger man.
"You have a point. But, they're, well...strange. It's odd that two girls would just randomly appear and want to work for the Turks, while seeming so..." the bald man struggled to find the right word. "...naive. And inexperienced. Besides, I get a weird feeling from Nadesiko. She's too jumpy." Reno simply rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"That's just how the girl is. Maybe you have a crush on her." the red head teased half-heartedly. "Look. If they're so naive-" Rude cut him off.
"That's my point. They aren't. You've seen them in action. It's a facade. I don't know...I'm not going to point a finger at someone when nothing's been done, but I don't think I'm going to trust them." Reno shrugged. He doubted his long time friend and partner was right about the girls. But the man had some excellent points that gave him reason to be suspicious about his new friends and coworkers.
~*~*~
Nadesiko looked quietly around her room as she packed her clothes. The two women had to be ready to move at a moments notice. With all the strange things going on who knew if Shinra would catch on to them. Lamirra had made it clear to her friend that the person who had hired them to retrieve the key was up to no good. With a heavy sigh she looked quietly at her chocobo through the open window. Soon, she figured, she would have to sell him and move into Midgar so she could keep a closer eye on the headquarters. Something she hoped she wouldn't have to do. She left her room and moved outside to the pen that contained the chocobo's.
"LAMIRRA!" Her voice rang clearly out into the field where the other girl stood digging a new hole for the sapling she had found uprooted about a mile from their home. Lamirra quickly finished her task and jogged to the fence where Nadesiko stood waiting for her.
"What's up Siko?" Nadesiko fingered the small key-copy in her hand and looked quietly at her friend.
"What happened to your old friend Jake? You know, the guy who taught you how to hack?" Lamirra raised an eyebrow and moved her hand to remove the key from the older woman's grasp.
"Nothing actually. Still lives in Rocket Town with his mom. Why?" Nadesiko allowed a small smirk to play on her lips.
"I've got a plan that could slow down Ronan. It'll give us more time to find the real key, the tablets, and a way to defeat Ronan." Lamirra shook her head in disbelief.
"Once again I can't figure out how you're brain works. I'm starting to think the cogs work backwards! Would you mind explaining?" Nadesiko motioned for Lamirra to follow her into the house. When the two girls were seated in the kitchen Nadesiko leaned forward resting her chin in the palm of her hand.
"I'm not a hundred percent sure it will work but...Jake knows how to make carbon copies, right?" Nadesiko continued as her friend nodded. "If you can get Jake to make a carbon copy of this key, we could turn it in to our employer as the real thing. While he's busy doing whatever it is to release Ronan, we can track down the real key and destroy it. We'll have to wait till Shinra gets a lead, but after that the plan's guarenteed to work. Since we have no idea where the key is, I did a little digging, and found out about a guy living in Cosmo Canyon."
Lamirra's eyes lit up. "Cosmo Canyon? Oh, I love that place! You can see all of the stars from there! And the astronomical information they've got there's astounding!"
Nadesiko gave her close friend a flat look. "We have more important things to worry about than astronomy. Supposedly this guy used to work for Shinra and knows a motherload of information. Once we destroy the key we can go to Limestone Hills, where we should find the tablets. Hopefully those will give us the way to destroy Ronan or at least clue us in on how to." Lamirra nodded. Her friend was finally making a little sense...but only a little.
"I know we talked about Limestone Hills already. But why are you so sure that's where the tablets are?" Nadesiko grinned, and tapped her temple.
"Seiki, the guy in my mind. It's his journal right? Well, if he wrote the journal about finding the tablets, and he was in the Limestone Hills.... he pieces put themselves together don't you think?"
"Are you sure about this?"
"What other options do we have Mirra?"
~*~*~
Elena brushed back her short blonde hair with an aggravated motion. It bothered her that these two girls showed up and basically tried to take over the headquarters. And besides, Nadesiko drove her nuts. The irritation the young women caused her finally drove her over the edge, and she began to search for anything that would get the two in trouble. At first, she had no leads, until she remembered there faces from somewhere...Her thin hands typed rapidly as she searched for documents on the two.
After about what seemed to be an hour of searching her eyes lit up and she leaned forward in interest.
'Naromi IceFire
Age: 20
Sex: F
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 135 lbs.
Hair color: Brown
Eye color: Brown
Skin tone: Fair
Charges:
Grand theft: Heavy artillary, Money, Materia, Ancient Artifacts
Murder: Government Officials, Supporters of Shinra Inc
Kidnapping: Government Officials, Supporters of Shinra Inc
Many times found in league with another young woman going by the name of R-a.
R-a Lamset
Age: 19
Sex: F
Height: 5' 6"
Weight: 123
Hair color: Brown w/ blonde highlights
Eye color: Green
Skin tone: Fair
Charges:
Petty Theft: Money, Food, Clothes
Assault and Battery: Misc. individuals (ex. Don Corneo, Beautiful Bro...)
Murder: Government Officials, Officers of Shinra, Supporters and Funders of Shinra Inc
Often works alone but has been seen with Naromi IceFire on a many of her own ventures.'
Her eyes widened as she scanned the charges the two girls had tagged to their names. It wasn't long before memories flooded her mind. About four or five years ago two women were being chased by the Turks for a number of charges. But the whole time the girls were able to avoid being caught. Eventually Shinra Inc called it off; they had said that the two women fell into the ocean and drowned. Being hardened criminals they were left in the sea to rot, because, as Shinra claimed, they were not considered to be worthy enough for any recognition of even existing.
The blonde sighed. She had a strong vendetta against Nadesiko, but even this news could get the two killed. But Elena soon remembered all of her fights with Nadesiko, and the way Tseng treated the two so well. Her eyes blazed, and she set her mind on proving the women were one and the same. At first, she had trouble finding such evidence, and then found a link to their profile images. She clicked on it and stared intently as the images slowly appeared on her screen.
Once they finished she printed both the profiles and the pictures with them. They looked exactly the same. Her eyes twinkled. One never knew if such information could come to use in the future. She pocketed the documents and ran out of the building.
~*~*~
The gray light of predawn reflected off of silver tendrils of mist, and caused the crystal drops of dew on numerous blades of grass to glisten. Lamirra tucked a blonde lock behind her ear as a gentle breeze wafted through the wide open window. She had hoped that the cold morning would wake up her sleeping friend, but since it the experiment didn't have immediate results, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Stomping over to Nadesiko's bed, she bent over and gentle smacked the brunette's head.
"Nadesiko! SIKO! Wake up you bonehead!" When groans were Nadesiko's only response, Lamirra tugged at the covers as she screamed at the older woman to wake up. If they were to carry out with Nadesiko's plan, they had to be in front of the Sector 7 entrance before 5 o'clock. Another low groan emitted from underneath the mass of covers and the older brunette sat up groggily.
"I'm up, I'm up. knock it off already, sheez..." The girl clambered out of bed and groped about for her clothes. She had arranged a very specific outfit for the day. A tight, black silk business tee-shirt over a soft mahogany velvet tank top, and smooth denim flare leg pants royal blue in color. She slipped on pair of well-loved combat boots, for she planned on a little outdoor activity after work.
Lamirra, already dressed in her usual tanktop and loose pants, was already prepared to go and sat impatiently upon her noble chocobo Kite. Nadesiko ambled out of the house and climbed onto her own chocobo, handing the reigns to Lamirra and leaning against the creature's neck.
"You lead. If I tried riding this thing right now, I'd crash into a bush or something..." her ebony chocobo Quill emitted an indignant "Kweh!" at being called a thing, but allowed itself to be led across the field.
"There aren't any bushes along the way you dork." Lamirra scoffed at her groggy friend, reluctant to have to lead another chocobo. She couldn't go as fast that way.
"I know. That's how tired I am."
Before the younger girl could retort, Nadesiko was snoring gently on her steed.
~*~*~
Rufus stared up at the orderly ceiling with a smile as he thought about the brunette Turk. Nadesiko had helped him realize that money ISN'T what life is all about. And strangely, that thought comforted him. But then a thought flashed across his mind. His blue eyes flickered slightly and he rolled onto his side with a groan. A dull pain filled his chest as he thought about the recent plans his father had come up with. The destruction of sector seven. He knew the Turks would be assigned to the job. And Nadesiko would flip out.
~*~*~
Nadesiko's big brown eyes slowly opened as they neared Midgar. In front of the big steel doors leading into sector seven stood a young man with medium length, wild black hair that was spiked in every which direction, save for a few loose locks that fell about fierce dark eyes. As the girls neared Nadesiko could see many piercings as the silver glinted in the artificial light. She counted eleven on his face an ears: one in the left eyebrow, one in his nose, and four on each ear. But the one that caught her attention was the one in the middle of his bottom lip. She grinned.
"Is that him?" Lamirra nodded proudly, causing Nadesiko to squeal with joy.
"He's hot!" the younger girl looked at her friend with an annoyed expression. Nadesiko's boy hunting had always been irritating to her. The two girls heard the young man's light chuckle. Nadesiko hurridly leaped from her chocobo, dashed to the guy and stuck her hand out for a good shake.
"Hey there! The name's Nadesiko, nice to meet you Jake. I've heard a lot about you." Jake smirked and took her hand in a firm grasp. Lamirra just walked towards the two at her own pacing, shaking her head in complete bafflement. How could Nadesiko, who was practically falling off her chocobo a few minutes ago be even more bubbly than she was after a shot of espresso?
Jake waved to his old friend Lamirra with his free hand, and then looked back down at Nadesiko. "I'm sure you have. Lamirra and I were best friends. Weren't we boyfriend and girlfriend at one point?" Lamirra smiled sheepishly and nodded. Nadesiko raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You? With him?!"
Jake smiled lopsidedly. "Don't look so shocked. You'll hurt my feelings. Now what is it you ladies wanted to meet me about?" Lamirra rubbed her head as Nadesiko pulled the fake key from her pocket.
"We need you to make a copy of this key. I'd rather not explain the reason as of yet." Jake nodded at Lamirra and took the key carefully from Nadesiko's hand, examining the piece of work with admiration.
"Whoa, there...I've seen this in books before. They called it the 'Demon Key' or something. But they said it was a Wutai legend...You definitely'll have to explain this one Mirra, or else I'll have to pretend I'm in high school and stalk you again."
Lamirra shuddered. "Eww...don't worry, I won't leave you in the dark this time."
"Feel free to stalk me anytime!" Nadesiko chimed. Jake laughed as Lamirra looked at her sidelong.
"You sound like a seventh grader..."
~*~*~
After what seemed like hours of hesitation, the sun finally broke on the horizon, spilling platinum light over Midgar. Morning and evening were the only times the citizens beneath the plate of the industrial city could see the sun, and everyone, even the Turks in the Shinra office building, relished the precious hours they had before the sun would hide behind the metal plates that served as their sky. Reno's attention was drawn away from the scene when he heard the office door open, and turned to watch as Nadesiko and Lamirra walked quietly into the office and into their cubicles. What in the world were those two doing here on time? He didn't even think those two woke up this early.
'Not like I'm normally on time either...' he thought to himself. Shaking his head he turned back to his computer and pretended to be working, while one hand reached for his paperclip chain.
Before he was successful in grabbing his center of entertainment, Tseng slid into Reno's cubicle and sighed.
"You and I have a job today." Reno looked up curiously.
"And this job is..?"
"We're blowing the support to sector seven." Tseng turned and left to his office leaving Reno to stare at the empty space where Tseng just was. His mind drew a blank for a minute, and he continued to stare wide-eyed at the doorway. Finally he breathed again, and slapped a hand over his eyes.
"Dammit. I hate this job."
~*~*~
During the Turks' afternoon break, Nadesiko walked idly along the hallways of the 64th floor. This floor being her favorite she spent most her breaks up here, learning about the research put into the usefulness of Mako. Most the time though she would kill an hour or two going through the old files pertaining to the old Space Program that happened a while back in Rocket Town. She smiled as she thought of Jake, living a peaceful life with his mother in the same town that the launch would have taken place in.
'Ah, he's not your type anyway.' she thought, grinning in spite of herself. 'But at least it gives me something else to think about...other than the emminent doom of the planet that is.'
A male voice caught her attention as a strong, but gentle hand took hold of her shoulder.
"Hello young lady. What are you doing up here?" Nadesiko turned to face a tall black haired man in a white lab coat. On it was a small name tag with the name 'Professor Hojo' etched in gold lettering. She smiled.
"Oh, just using my break time to get in a science lesson or two. My name is Nadesiko. I'm one of the Turks." Professor Hojo nodded and pushed his spectacles up onto the ridge of his nose.
"Anything I could help you with?" Nadesiko nodded happily. She could use this opportunity to learn about anything. She knew that Hojo was the lead man when it came to the science department. Hopefully he wouldn't cover anything up.
"Actually ya. Could you tell me the effects of Mako withdrawl? Not only the effects on the people of this planet but on this planet itself." Hojo looked at her curiously. His eyes made her nervous.
"Well you see..."
~*~*~
Lamirra wandered around, meanwhile, on the 63rd floor. As she walked about she nodded her head at the young men and women who were busy delivering papers to other workers. Surprisingly it was a quiet day, and she only required fifteen minutes to find out that Shinra Inc. had no leads on the key. So she was left to herself in the sluggish bustle of late morning. She turned around the corner of a large wall and stared in awe at the sight before her.
Only fifteen feet away from her was a large glass cage, imprisoning an intimidating looking creature that sat, sulking on the hard floor. She moved slowly towards the cage and kneeled down, placing her hand on the glass. The creature looked up at her with sad eyes, making her want to release the poor beast right away.
"You poor guy. Look at you. I bet your miserable."
"I am." Lamirra jumped at the sound of a calm, male voice. She looked around to see no one near her, and then turned back to the creature with a nervous expression. The cat-like being lifted its head and used a large fire red paw to scratch behind a tuft of bright spiked hair on its back.
"Yes." the voice came from the creature, "I can talk." Lamirra shook her head in awe and leaned forward.
"What the-? What are you? Why are you in here? What's your name? Wait, could I even pronounce your name?" The creature looked at her with his large intelligent brown eyes.
"I am the being you see before you. Must humans always question an existence?" Lamirra blushed sheepishly and allowed it to continue.
"Hojo calls me RedXIII. A name with no meaning to me. I don't know why I'm here. Some men just barged into my home and took me." Lamirra growled angrily.
"What a bunch of creeps! Hojo especially! I'm going to see what I can do for you RedXIII." She stood to walk out and smiled. "I'll be back, don't worry."
~*~*~
Nadesiko walked down the halls, a scowl deep on her face. She sighed in relief when she saw Lamirra marching towards her in a similar mood. Nadesiko nodded as her friend neared.
"Your news first." Lamirra rolled her eyes.
"Well Shinra Inc apparently captured this talking cat thing that can talk. And the poor guy is miserable. So I'm gonna either knock some sense into that bastard Hojo, or let the guy out myself." Nadesiko grinned.
"My turn. I just got done talking to Hojo and you'll never guess what I learned today." Lamirra shrugged.
"Tell me."
"Okay. Well, I'm half-guessing this stuff, since Hojo covered basically everything up. Actually, all I had to do was think of the exact opposite he said, and-"
"Alright already! Get to it." Lamirra cut her brunette friend off.
"Okay okay. Here are the effects of Mako withdrawls. Seeing as Mako is indeed the lifeblood of the planet, the more we drain the Mako the closer the world is to dying. The effect on people is the same. The population of the world is slowly but surely dwindling, as is life expectancy of all the living beings on this planet. There are more areas with no vegetation or life thanks to the reactors. Oh yeah, and Mako withdrawl is not only used to give us energy for our homes, but when condensed it becomes materia. AND a while back, or so I've been told, it was also rumored that Hojo was using the containers for materia and Mako storage to create monsters by placing soldiers in the holding tanks for a prolonged period of time. Anything else you would like to know? Aside from the fact that I currently wish I could quit this job?" Lamirra stared at her friend and shook her head.
"We have to get this done soon..."
~*~*~
Tseng walked quietly down the hallway towards Nadesiko and Lamirra. He had just gained information that Aeris would be in sector seven and he needed someone to intercept her and bring her to the headquarters before the explosion.
"Ladies." His voice echoed down the hall and the two women turned to him with curious expressions. Lamirra waved with a small smile.
"What's up Tseng? Finally got something for us to do?" Tseng nodded.
"As a matter of fact I do. There is a woman who we need here at Headquarters. Her name is Aeris Gainsborough. Generally, a Turk would have no right to know why we need this girl, but I think the information will help you rather than hinder you. We need this girl because she is what we call an Ancient, or the last remaining of the Cetra. Do you think you could do it?" Nadesiko looked at Lamirra with an uneasy expression.
"Sure I guess. But why can't you send someone else?" Tseng shrugged.
"Well Elena has been sent to Wutai for a day to check in on things there. Make sure peace is being maintained. Rude is paying a kind visit to Don Corneo and, well, Reno and I have been asked to blow out the sector seven support."
~*~*~
A/N:
Well kerspoof! what fun! I'll get the next chapter out...Eh, soon. ^_^* Sooner than last time, let's put it that way.
~*~*~
"Reno, I don't think we should trust those girls."
Rude stared out at the smoggy city view from the top of the apartment's stairs. Beams of light zipped across his dark, reflective glasses as cars drove past. Reno explained all about the Nadesiko and Lamirra's plan to, "save the world" as Reno had put it, and this information made him even more wary of the girls he had already found strange. Reno stared up at his partner incredulously.
"C'mon now, Rude. Why in the world would you say something like that? Those two girls just so happened to be the only people willing to risk their lives to save all of Midgar. Maybe even all of the world!" Rude peeked over the top of his sunglasses and looked intently upon the younger man.
"You have a point. But, they're, well...strange. It's odd that two girls would just randomly appear and want to work for the Turks, while seeming so..." the bald man struggled to find the right word. "...naive. And inexperienced. Besides, I get a weird feeling from Nadesiko. She's too jumpy." Reno simply rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"That's just how the girl is. Maybe you have a crush on her." the red head teased half-heartedly. "Look. If they're so naive-" Rude cut him off.
"That's my point. They aren't. You've seen them in action. It's a facade. I don't know...I'm not going to point a finger at someone when nothing's been done, but I don't think I'm going to trust them." Reno shrugged. He doubted his long time friend and partner was right about the girls. But the man had some excellent points that gave him reason to be suspicious about his new friends and coworkers.
~*~*~
Nadesiko looked quietly around her room as she packed her clothes. The two women had to be ready to move at a moments notice. With all the strange things going on who knew if Shinra would catch on to them. Lamirra had made it clear to her friend that the person who had hired them to retrieve the key was up to no good. With a heavy sigh she looked quietly at her chocobo through the open window. Soon, she figured, she would have to sell him and move into Midgar so she could keep a closer eye on the headquarters. Something she hoped she wouldn't have to do. She left her room and moved outside to the pen that contained the chocobo's.
"LAMIRRA!" Her voice rang clearly out into the field where the other girl stood digging a new hole for the sapling she had found uprooted about a mile from their home. Lamirra quickly finished her task and jogged to the fence where Nadesiko stood waiting for her.
"What's up Siko?" Nadesiko fingered the small key-copy in her hand and looked quietly at her friend.
"What happened to your old friend Jake? You know, the guy who taught you how to hack?" Lamirra raised an eyebrow and moved her hand to remove the key from the older woman's grasp.
"Nothing actually. Still lives in Rocket Town with his mom. Why?" Nadesiko allowed a small smirk to play on her lips.
"I've got a plan that could slow down Ronan. It'll give us more time to find the real key, the tablets, and a way to defeat Ronan." Lamirra shook her head in disbelief.
"Once again I can't figure out how you're brain works. I'm starting to think the cogs work backwards! Would you mind explaining?" Nadesiko motioned for Lamirra to follow her into the house. When the two girls were seated in the kitchen Nadesiko leaned forward resting her chin in the palm of her hand.
"I'm not a hundred percent sure it will work but...Jake knows how to make carbon copies, right?" Nadesiko continued as her friend nodded. "If you can get Jake to make a carbon copy of this key, we could turn it in to our employer as the real thing. While he's busy doing whatever it is to release Ronan, we can track down the real key and destroy it. We'll have to wait till Shinra gets a lead, but after that the plan's guarenteed to work. Since we have no idea where the key is, I did a little digging, and found out about a guy living in Cosmo Canyon."
Lamirra's eyes lit up. "Cosmo Canyon? Oh, I love that place! You can see all of the stars from there! And the astronomical information they've got there's astounding!"
Nadesiko gave her close friend a flat look. "We have more important things to worry about than astronomy. Supposedly this guy used to work for Shinra and knows a motherload of information. Once we destroy the key we can go to Limestone Hills, where we should find the tablets. Hopefully those will give us the way to destroy Ronan or at least clue us in on how to." Lamirra nodded. Her friend was finally making a little sense...but only a little.
"I know we talked about Limestone Hills already. But why are you so sure that's where the tablets are?" Nadesiko grinned, and tapped her temple.
"Seiki, the guy in my mind. It's his journal right? Well, if he wrote the journal about finding the tablets, and he was in the Limestone Hills.... he pieces put themselves together don't you think?"
"Are you sure about this?"
"What other options do we have Mirra?"
~*~*~
Elena brushed back her short blonde hair with an aggravated motion. It bothered her that these two girls showed up and basically tried to take over the headquarters. And besides, Nadesiko drove her nuts. The irritation the young women caused her finally drove her over the edge, and she began to search for anything that would get the two in trouble. At first, she had no leads, until she remembered there faces from somewhere...Her thin hands typed rapidly as she searched for documents on the two.
After about what seemed to be an hour of searching her eyes lit up and she leaned forward in interest.
'Naromi IceFire
Age: 20
Sex: F
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 135 lbs.
Hair color: Brown
Eye color: Brown
Skin tone: Fair
Charges:
Grand theft: Heavy artillary, Money, Materia, Ancient Artifacts
Murder: Government Officials, Supporters of Shinra Inc
Kidnapping: Government Officials, Supporters of Shinra Inc
Many times found in league with another young woman going by the name of R-a.
R-a Lamset
Age: 19
Sex: F
Height: 5' 6"
Weight: 123
Hair color: Brown w/ blonde highlights
Eye color: Green
Skin tone: Fair
Charges:
Petty Theft: Money, Food, Clothes
Assault and Battery: Misc. individuals (ex. Don Corneo, Beautiful Bro...)
Murder: Government Officials, Officers of Shinra, Supporters and Funders of Shinra Inc
Often works alone but has been seen with Naromi IceFire on a many of her own ventures.'
Her eyes widened as she scanned the charges the two girls had tagged to their names. It wasn't long before memories flooded her mind. About four or five years ago two women were being chased by the Turks for a number of charges. But the whole time the girls were able to avoid being caught. Eventually Shinra Inc called it off; they had said that the two women fell into the ocean and drowned. Being hardened criminals they were left in the sea to rot, because, as Shinra claimed, they were not considered to be worthy enough for any recognition of even existing.
The blonde sighed. She had a strong vendetta against Nadesiko, but even this news could get the two killed. But Elena soon remembered all of her fights with Nadesiko, and the way Tseng treated the two so well. Her eyes blazed, and she set her mind on proving the women were one and the same. At first, she had trouble finding such evidence, and then found a link to their profile images. She clicked on it and stared intently as the images slowly appeared on her screen.
Once they finished she printed both the profiles and the pictures with them. They looked exactly the same. Her eyes twinkled. One never knew if such information could come to use in the future. She pocketed the documents and ran out of the building.
~*~*~
The gray light of predawn reflected off of silver tendrils of mist, and caused the crystal drops of dew on numerous blades of grass to glisten. Lamirra tucked a blonde lock behind her ear as a gentle breeze wafted through the wide open window. She had hoped that the cold morning would wake up her sleeping friend, but since it the experiment didn't have immediate results, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Stomping over to Nadesiko's bed, she bent over and gentle smacked the brunette's head.
"Nadesiko! SIKO! Wake up you bonehead!" When groans were Nadesiko's only response, Lamirra tugged at the covers as she screamed at the older woman to wake up. If they were to carry out with Nadesiko's plan, they had to be in front of the Sector 7 entrance before 5 o'clock. Another low groan emitted from underneath the mass of covers and the older brunette sat up groggily.
"I'm up, I'm up. knock it off already, sheez..." The girl clambered out of bed and groped about for her clothes. She had arranged a very specific outfit for the day. A tight, black silk business tee-shirt over a soft mahogany velvet tank top, and smooth denim flare leg pants royal blue in color. She slipped on pair of well-loved combat boots, for she planned on a little outdoor activity after work.
Lamirra, already dressed in her usual tanktop and loose pants, was already prepared to go and sat impatiently upon her noble chocobo Kite. Nadesiko ambled out of the house and climbed onto her own chocobo, handing the reigns to Lamirra and leaning against the creature's neck.
"You lead. If I tried riding this thing right now, I'd crash into a bush or something..." her ebony chocobo Quill emitted an indignant "Kweh!" at being called a thing, but allowed itself to be led across the field.
"There aren't any bushes along the way you dork." Lamirra scoffed at her groggy friend, reluctant to have to lead another chocobo. She couldn't go as fast that way.
"I know. That's how tired I am."
Before the younger girl could retort, Nadesiko was snoring gently on her steed.
~*~*~
Rufus stared up at the orderly ceiling with a smile as he thought about the brunette Turk. Nadesiko had helped him realize that money ISN'T what life is all about. And strangely, that thought comforted him. But then a thought flashed across his mind. His blue eyes flickered slightly and he rolled onto his side with a groan. A dull pain filled his chest as he thought about the recent plans his father had come up with. The destruction of sector seven. He knew the Turks would be assigned to the job. And Nadesiko would flip out.
~*~*~
Nadesiko's big brown eyes slowly opened as they neared Midgar. In front of the big steel doors leading into sector seven stood a young man with medium length, wild black hair that was spiked in every which direction, save for a few loose locks that fell about fierce dark eyes. As the girls neared Nadesiko could see many piercings as the silver glinted in the artificial light. She counted eleven on his face an ears: one in the left eyebrow, one in his nose, and four on each ear. But the one that caught her attention was the one in the middle of his bottom lip. She grinned.
"Is that him?" Lamirra nodded proudly, causing Nadesiko to squeal with joy.
"He's hot!" the younger girl looked at her friend with an annoyed expression. Nadesiko's boy hunting had always been irritating to her. The two girls heard the young man's light chuckle. Nadesiko hurridly leaped from her chocobo, dashed to the guy and stuck her hand out for a good shake.
"Hey there! The name's Nadesiko, nice to meet you Jake. I've heard a lot about you." Jake smirked and took her hand in a firm grasp. Lamirra just walked towards the two at her own pacing, shaking her head in complete bafflement. How could Nadesiko, who was practically falling off her chocobo a few minutes ago be even more bubbly than she was after a shot of espresso?
Jake waved to his old friend Lamirra with his free hand, and then looked back down at Nadesiko. "I'm sure you have. Lamirra and I were best friends. Weren't we boyfriend and girlfriend at one point?" Lamirra smiled sheepishly and nodded. Nadesiko raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You? With him?!"
Jake smiled lopsidedly. "Don't look so shocked. You'll hurt my feelings. Now what is it you ladies wanted to meet me about?" Lamirra rubbed her head as Nadesiko pulled the fake key from her pocket.
"We need you to make a copy of this key. I'd rather not explain the reason as of yet." Jake nodded at Lamirra and took the key carefully from Nadesiko's hand, examining the piece of work with admiration.
"Whoa, there...I've seen this in books before. They called it the 'Demon Key' or something. But they said it was a Wutai legend...You definitely'll have to explain this one Mirra, or else I'll have to pretend I'm in high school and stalk you again."
Lamirra shuddered. "Eww...don't worry, I won't leave you in the dark this time."
"Feel free to stalk me anytime!" Nadesiko chimed. Jake laughed as Lamirra looked at her sidelong.
"You sound like a seventh grader..."
~*~*~
After what seemed like hours of hesitation, the sun finally broke on the horizon, spilling platinum light over Midgar. Morning and evening were the only times the citizens beneath the plate of the industrial city could see the sun, and everyone, even the Turks in the Shinra office building, relished the precious hours they had before the sun would hide behind the metal plates that served as their sky. Reno's attention was drawn away from the scene when he heard the office door open, and turned to watch as Nadesiko and Lamirra walked quietly into the office and into their cubicles. What in the world were those two doing here on time? He didn't even think those two woke up this early.
'Not like I'm normally on time either...' he thought to himself. Shaking his head he turned back to his computer and pretended to be working, while one hand reached for his paperclip chain.
Before he was successful in grabbing his center of entertainment, Tseng slid into Reno's cubicle and sighed.
"You and I have a job today." Reno looked up curiously.
"And this job is..?"
"We're blowing the support to sector seven." Tseng turned and left to his office leaving Reno to stare at the empty space where Tseng just was. His mind drew a blank for a minute, and he continued to stare wide-eyed at the doorway. Finally he breathed again, and slapped a hand over his eyes.
"Dammit. I hate this job."
~*~*~
During the Turks' afternoon break, Nadesiko walked idly along the hallways of the 64th floor. This floor being her favorite she spent most her breaks up here, learning about the research put into the usefulness of Mako. Most the time though she would kill an hour or two going through the old files pertaining to the old Space Program that happened a while back in Rocket Town. She smiled as she thought of Jake, living a peaceful life with his mother in the same town that the launch would have taken place in.
'Ah, he's not your type anyway.' she thought, grinning in spite of herself. 'But at least it gives me something else to think about...other than the emminent doom of the planet that is.'
A male voice caught her attention as a strong, but gentle hand took hold of her shoulder.
"Hello young lady. What are you doing up here?" Nadesiko turned to face a tall black haired man in a white lab coat. On it was a small name tag with the name 'Professor Hojo' etched in gold lettering. She smiled.
"Oh, just using my break time to get in a science lesson or two. My name is Nadesiko. I'm one of the Turks." Professor Hojo nodded and pushed his spectacles up onto the ridge of his nose.
"Anything I could help you with?" Nadesiko nodded happily. She could use this opportunity to learn about anything. She knew that Hojo was the lead man when it came to the science department. Hopefully he wouldn't cover anything up.
"Actually ya. Could you tell me the effects of Mako withdrawl? Not only the effects on the people of this planet but on this planet itself." Hojo looked at her curiously. His eyes made her nervous.
"Well you see..."
~*~*~
Lamirra wandered around, meanwhile, on the 63rd floor. As she walked about she nodded her head at the young men and women who were busy delivering papers to other workers. Surprisingly it was a quiet day, and she only required fifteen minutes to find out that Shinra Inc. had no leads on the key. So she was left to herself in the sluggish bustle of late morning. She turned around the corner of a large wall and stared in awe at the sight before her.
Only fifteen feet away from her was a large glass cage, imprisoning an intimidating looking creature that sat, sulking on the hard floor. She moved slowly towards the cage and kneeled down, placing her hand on the glass. The creature looked up at her with sad eyes, making her want to release the poor beast right away.
"You poor guy. Look at you. I bet your miserable."
"I am." Lamirra jumped at the sound of a calm, male voice. She looked around to see no one near her, and then turned back to the creature with a nervous expression. The cat-like being lifted its head and used a large fire red paw to scratch behind a tuft of bright spiked hair on its back.
"Yes." the voice came from the creature, "I can talk." Lamirra shook her head in awe and leaned forward.
"What the-? What are you? Why are you in here? What's your name? Wait, could I even pronounce your name?" The creature looked at her with his large intelligent brown eyes.
"I am the being you see before you. Must humans always question an existence?" Lamirra blushed sheepishly and allowed it to continue.
"Hojo calls me RedXIII. A name with no meaning to me. I don't know why I'm here. Some men just barged into my home and took me." Lamirra growled angrily.
"What a bunch of creeps! Hojo especially! I'm going to see what I can do for you RedXIII." She stood to walk out and smiled. "I'll be back, don't worry."
~*~*~
Nadesiko walked down the halls, a scowl deep on her face. She sighed in relief when she saw Lamirra marching towards her in a similar mood. Nadesiko nodded as her friend neared.
"Your news first." Lamirra rolled her eyes.
"Well Shinra Inc apparently captured this talking cat thing that can talk. And the poor guy is miserable. So I'm gonna either knock some sense into that bastard Hojo, or let the guy out myself." Nadesiko grinned.
"My turn. I just got done talking to Hojo and you'll never guess what I learned today." Lamirra shrugged.
"Tell me."
"Okay. Well, I'm half-guessing this stuff, since Hojo covered basically everything up. Actually, all I had to do was think of the exact opposite he said, and-"
"Alright already! Get to it." Lamirra cut her brunette friend off.
"Okay okay. Here are the effects of Mako withdrawls. Seeing as Mako is indeed the lifeblood of the planet, the more we drain the Mako the closer the world is to dying. The effect on people is the same. The population of the world is slowly but surely dwindling, as is life expectancy of all the living beings on this planet. There are more areas with no vegetation or life thanks to the reactors. Oh yeah, and Mako withdrawl is not only used to give us energy for our homes, but when condensed it becomes materia. AND a while back, or so I've been told, it was also rumored that Hojo was using the containers for materia and Mako storage to create monsters by placing soldiers in the holding tanks for a prolonged period of time. Anything else you would like to know? Aside from the fact that I currently wish I could quit this job?" Lamirra stared at her friend and shook her head.
"We have to get this done soon..."
~*~*~
Tseng walked quietly down the hallway towards Nadesiko and Lamirra. He had just gained information that Aeris would be in sector seven and he needed someone to intercept her and bring her to the headquarters before the explosion.
"Ladies." His voice echoed down the hall and the two women turned to him with curious expressions. Lamirra waved with a small smile.
"What's up Tseng? Finally got something for us to do?" Tseng nodded.
"As a matter of fact I do. There is a woman who we need here at Headquarters. Her name is Aeris Gainsborough. Generally, a Turk would have no right to know why we need this girl, but I think the information will help you rather than hinder you. We need this girl because she is what we call an Ancient, or the last remaining of the Cetra. Do you think you could do it?" Nadesiko looked at Lamirra with an uneasy expression.
"Sure I guess. But why can't you send someone else?" Tseng shrugged.
"Well Elena has been sent to Wutai for a day to check in on things there. Make sure peace is being maintained. Rude is paying a kind visit to Don Corneo and, well, Reno and I have been asked to blow out the sector seven support."
~*~*~
A/N:
Well kerspoof! what fun! I'll get the next chapter out...Eh, soon. ^_^* Sooner than last time, let's put it that way.