A/N:
I can't believe I actually forced myself to attempt to get this finished. I'm so bad at meeting deadlines. o.O Well, at least I'm trying. LET US SALLY FORTH INTO THE ABYSS! ONWARD, NOBLE STEED FARFIGNEWTON! WE QUEST FOR THE GRAIL!
~Mai
~*~*~*~
"What?" Nadesiko questioned as Lamirra stared in disbelief. She blinked twice and put a hand to her forehead, indicating an oncoming headache. "You and Reno are going to what?!"
Tseng met both girls' shocked faces as coolly as he always had, but even his calm gaze could not hide the sorrow-induced weariness that hung like old cobwebs in the dark corners of his eyes.
"I don't believe that I stuttered. Do you want me to repeat myself?" His sharp as a tack attitude quickly took over to mask his own surprise at such outrageous orders. Both girls shook their heads in reply. They understood exactly what he had said and Nadesiko's cold look of loathing gave him chills. That was not the look of a girl to be underestimated.
"Good. Besides, you ought to concentrate on your own mission. Your job is critical, and failure will not be taken lightly. Good day ladies." With that, the dark haired Turk bowed slightly and briskly strode towards his office.
Lamirra and Nadesiko were frozen in place as their minds registered the information they had just heard. Finally Lamirra broke the silence.
"If they destroy the support to the plate over sector seven..."
"Everyone there will die." Nadesiko finished her partner's sentence matter-of-factly. She solemnly looked down at the neat carpeting below her feet, her eyes showing mixed emotions of sadness and anger. The emotions were quickly covered over as she pulled a pair of glasses from her pocket. Their blue glass reflected the dim light in the hallway as she slid them on before turning to Lamirra. Lamirra narrowed her eyes as her clenched fist trembled in silent fury. Her voice tight with rage, she managed to speak.
"What could possibly drive them...to think that they could massacre...over a hundred people...." Her fist began to tremble even more. ".... And get away with it? What makes them think...that they have the right...to act like God!?" She slammed her fist into the wall, the impact sending shock waves down the hall. Nadesiko crossed her arms as she waited for Lamirra to finish. Lamirra's voice came out firm. "Do they think we'll allow it!?"
Nadesiko's eyes burned brightly with determination behind her blue shades. "Whether they think that they can escape judgment or not, we'll come after them. There's no way we'll let this slide." Lamirra gave her a quick nod, her eyes sharing in the common flame of fury.
"Until then..." Nadesiko leaned up against the wall and opened her hand for her staff to appear. "We should concentrate on our current mission. Cetra huh. I didn't think they existed anymore." Lamirra shrugged in reply, arms crossed she stared off down the hall. "Well apparently one does, and Shinra wants her. Damn bastards. I bet they'd put her in a glass playpen too, just like that poor beast down there." Nadesiko slid the staff through a small loop on her belt and adjusted her top agitatedly.
"All the same. It doesn't matter what they do. We should still bring her to them." Lamirra's eyes flew back to her friend with shock but Nadesiko continued, "If we arouse more suspicion than we already have we might end up losing more than our jobs." Nadesiko stared sternly, returning Lamirra's shocked look with one of reproval. She knew all too well that Lamirra would refuse the mission at the risk of her current career. 'If I could I'd refuse right along with her.' Nadesiko thought grimly. 'This is insanity.'
"If they threaten the Cetra's safety..."
"Then we stay out of the way." The older woman responded curtly. "Don't you ever think things through? If we were to interfere with any of Shinra's plans, we'd no longer be Turks. That threatens the bigger picture here, of Ronan and Tenshi. If we lose what we've got now, our job will be much, much more difficult."
"Then what'll we do?" Lamirra asked quietly, humbled by Nadesiko's sharp reply. It was clear that the older woman would need to steam quietly by herself for a couple hours after they finished their job. "What if they, kill her?"
The brunette didn't respond immediately. She clenched her jaw as her mind began to process the thought of the last Cetra's death. So many answers, to so many questions would be lost with the life of a single individual. With great reluctance, Nadesiko forced out her response. "We won't do anything."
Lamirra's eyes widened. This wasn't like her smiling, justice-enforcing friend at all. "What?"
"We won't do anything, as of yet. What if they don't kill her?" Nadesiko raised her vision from the floor to her partner. "We have to wait for things to clear out. There's an underlying pattern here, just beyond our foresight. We have to wait until we find that pattern, and go from that. Until then, we can't do anything that might make that pattern even more unclear."
"What's there to know about a pattern!? Why don't we just go in and..."
"Get ourselves killed! Brilliant Mirra! I can see it now. We both run in, me with a STAFF, and you with bare hands against Shinra troops armed with machine guns. We'll come out clean and victorious." She gave the girl before her a flat look. "As skilled as we both are, you know we can't go against tens of soldiers armed with those weapons! We'd double our weight in bullets before we could get near enough to kill anyone. Besides, once all the pieces of this insane, whacked out puzzle come together, we'll have even more material to go by to figure out what the hell is going on. Comprende?"
Lamirra gave the older girl a sidelong glare. "...Why cant you humble me once a month instead of fifty times a day?"
At that Nadesiko gave a hearty chuckle and patted her young friends should happily. "Because that's how many times it takes to get any sort of logical idea through your head."
~*~*~*~
Reno had spent his one-hour break in his cubicle, staring out the window at the vast blackness that was Lower Midgar. Lights from cars flew past the buildings causing the shadows to move in an almost circular motion, as if avoiding the light. From the Turk's office in the Shinra building he wasn't able to see Sector Seven but he knew that it was as dark and desolate as the sectors he was able to see.
'And I'm sure it's just as populated too.' He thought to himself. 'If we destroy that support pillar...' The redhead finally grew irritated from such bleak thoughts, and decided to work on his paper clip chain. It wasn't long before his limited supply of paper clips ran out, and his was forced to leave his cubicle in search of more.
'Eh...Elena's not around, but I'm sure she's already used all of hers...' the sly Turk thought about which one of his co-workers would have the largest amount of paper clips. 'And Rude has had this vendetta against them ever sense I had stuck a few on his ear and nearly cut off his circulation, but he could've looked for the humor in that...that leaves Siko, Mirra and Tseng.' He grinned at his options. 'Alrighty then, Siko'll yell at me, Tseng'll give me that creepy ass look, so let's see how good a mood Mirra's in.'
With his decision made Reno ambled out from his cubicle and started heading towards Lamirra's. When he reached the entrance to the nineteen-year-old's small workspace he leaned casually against the entrance and smirked.
"Yo."
Lamirra looked up and quirked an eyebrow at her co-worker. "Nice to see you too Reno. What do you want?" With out waiting for his reply she continued to shuffle through a large pile of papers stacked on her desk beside her computer. Seeing her concentration shift from him to her work, the redhead thought about the best course of action from there.
'She seems pretty busy...if I was nice, I'd just ask her from some paper clips...but that wouldn't be nearly as fun.' Grinning again, he sauntered over to Lamirra's desk and sat on it. She looked up at him, obviously quite irritated, and scowled.
"C'mon Reno. Don't you have that lame paper clip chain to work on?"
Reno acted shocked, and quickly retorted. "I'm crushed Mirra. Do you think that all I do is play with office supplies all day?" Nadesiko's voice barked from the next cubicle over.
"We don't think, we know!" He looked up and shook his head. Returning his attention to Lamirra, Reno shook a finger at her. "Assumptions start wars my friend. You shouldn't automatically assume that I don't do paperwork just because I'm more of an action guy."
Lamirra just stared at him flatly, and asked again, "What do you want Reno?"
"Why to se your beautiful face of course!" He leaned down until his nose was inches form hers, and smiled sweetly. "I missed you." He whined. Lamirra continued to stare levelly. Reno finally sighed and threw up his hands in defeat.
"Can I please have your paper clips?"
"Take them." She pushed a small bowl filled with paper clips towards him and continued her work. Reno gave her a lopsided grin, and swiped the bowl from her desk. Hopping off his position childishly, he began to exit Lamirra's cubicle. When he reached the alcove, he looked over his shoulder and winked at her. She rolled her eyes at the twenty-one year old child and grinned. When he was out of sight, she shook her head.
"That guy." As Lamirra thought about all his past antics, she smiled. But soon a puzzled look took her smile's place, as she asked the ceiling. "I wonder why they haven't fired him yet?"
~*~*~*~
While Reno was asking Lamirra for paperclips Nadesiko was busy contemplating their current situation.
"Tonight we have to kidnap the last Cetra for Shinra..." She mumbled aloud as she threw a stack of sheets into the shredder beside her desk. "And Reno and Tseng are gong to crush Sector Seven..." She stared blankly at her computer screen, hands poised to type but refusing to move. What would she do? She had firmly told Lamirra why they had to go through with the job, but she was beginning to have second thoughts. What if there really wasn't anything to know about a so-called 'underlying pattern?' And even if there were, would she and her partner even be able to find it if the continued to work as Turks?
'Despite the fact that we have access to almost all files of Shinra, our vision is being clouded by all the worthless information and red herrings set out by the faculty about us, maybe even the president himself. Do they really think that we don't notice that? They know something, and they want to keep it secret...but what? What could they possibly be hiding? Does it have anything to do with Ronan or Tenshi?'
Nadesiko sighed heavily, and brushed a stray lock of chocolate hair out of her face with a stiff hand. What's more, she and Lamirra had to worry about that man who hired them. He could be anyone, anyone who wanted the power of Ronan to himself. But what could a person want with such power?
She brushed away her uneasiness and tucked it behind determination as roughly as she had brushed her uncooperative tresses out of her eyes.
'No matter what the pattern is, no matter the man behind the curtain is, we'll find them. But for now, we have to concentrate on what's been set before us.'
Glancing at the wall clock, she smiled grimly. 7:30pm.
"Time to go."
~*~*~*~
Tseng walked curtly down the hall, Reno trailing a few feet behind him. Their faces were nset with grim determination; they entered the elevator and began their ascent to the helicopter-landing pad. Tseng stared out into the distance, eyes not quite focusing on anything in particular. The redhead leaned against the wall and watched the numbers above the elevator door change as they passed floors. The silence between the two seemed to drag endlessly, as did the journey to Shinra's roof.
Finally the doors parted for the Turks, and they stepped out into Midgar's dim lighting. Tseng paused a moment to straighten his tie professionally. When he finished he glanced up at Reno.
"Ready?"
The redhead grinned. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Picking up their pace, they walked to the helicopter that waited patiently for them. Reno continued to wear his cocky grin, as Tseng's features took on cold indifference. With their masks in place, perfected after long use, Tseng and Reno entered the machine.
~*~*~*~
"I don't want to do this." Lamirra mumbled to herself as she tagged along beside Nadesiko. The two women had changed into the uniform of Turks, looking sharp and businesslike as they walked quietly to their destination. Nadesiko looked down softly at the girl beside her. Lamirra had done things similar to this before. But she was used to having a just cause. Nadesiko on the other hand, was used to being hired for dirty work. Not that she liked it, but it paid well.
"I don't want to either, but they won't kill her. They need her. Just as badly as we do." Brunette hair bobbed between her graceful shoulders as she walked faster. Lamirra could read Nadesiko's indecisive expression as easily as if she had simply added, "I think".
" *We* need the Cetra?" Nadesiko nodded.
"Mm..hm. Cetra supposedly can talk with the planet remember? I'm hoping this girl can answer some of our questions. I have it worked out. I'll explain later. And she does have a name. It's Aeris." Lamirra sighed and slid a pair of soft black biker gloves over her hands.
"Alright. So let me get this straight." Lamirra struggled to keep up as she glanced at her watch. "We get Aeris, drive over to sector eight, and Tseng'll pick us up in a helicopter."
"You got it."
"Oh goody. I've never been in a helicopter before." Lamirra muttered under her breath. Nadesiko grinned at the remark.
~*~*~*~
It wasn't long before the two Turks reached the Ancient's home. Both gasped in surprise at its beauty. Luck had bored a hole through the upper plate, allowing twilight to seep through and coat the yellow flowers in a thin film of silver. The house itself was a charming two story; its feel was warm and welcoming. Both Nadesiko and Lamirra felt regret creep into their hearts as they got out of the car and trotted over. Nadesiko knocked forcefully on the painted door.
A long silence answered the summon. When the door didn't budge after Nadesiko joggled the handle, she shrugged at Lamirra. Grinning, the nineteen-year-old rolled up her sleeves and backed up. Getting a short running start, she rammed into the door with her shoulder. Upon impact the door swung open with a bang. The two Turks entered to find a beautiful young woman sitting patiently at the table. Her silky auburn hair was twined into a thick braid at the back of her skull, tied with a large pink bow. Her large locks of hair fell down into her face to rest near gentle emerald eyes. She turned to face the two women with a smile. Her lips parted to reveal a melodic and captivating voice.
"I knew you were coming for me." The woman voiced sadly. "I'm sorry I didn't answer the door." Standing gracefully she padded over to Lamirra and Nadesiko. None of the three felt like breaking the silence as they strode to the car. Just as they drove away, a middle-aged woman charged out of the cozy house, her brown hair disheveled, her apron crooked. Her voice rang clear, with such heartfelt anguish it tore at the two Turks' hearts.
"AERIS!"
With that she collapsed to her knees and sobbed into her hands. The auburn haired woman touched the cold rear window with gentle fingers. As she turned she let her hand slide back to her lap. A sad smile darkened her beautiful face.
~*~*~*~
At the same time Lamirra and Nadesiko retrieved Aeris, Reno was struggling with two men and a woman. The first, seeming to be the leader, was just a little shorter than Reno was, with spiky blonde locks and fierce blue eyes glowing from mako infusion. Flanking him was a large black man with a crew cut and a gun grafted into his right arm. Third was a woman, maybe only just taller than five feet with long chocolate brown hair pulled into a loose ponytail, which accented her emotion-filled crimson eyes. All three had received a beating from his electric nightstick, but he knew he didn't stand a chance against all of them together.
'D-Damn!' Reno swatted at the woman, knocking her back temporarily. Even though he had deflected her attack he couldn't avoid her constant verbal assault. Didn't this girl ever shut up? He leapt back, avoiding the large sword that the blonde swung at him. 'Where are you Tseng? The fricking support's gonna blow any minute!'
Just as he dodged the blonde once more, the sound of helicopter blades slicing the air met his ears. Straightening, he turned to the three vigilantes.
"It was fun. It really was. But I value my life." With that he jumped off the support. A few moments later the helicopter drew itself into view, just out of range of the black man's gun. Tseng looked at the three coldly.
"We're taking the girl." He threw Aeris to the helicopter floor before him, drawing an angered gasp from the blonde. Lamirra moved to grab Aeris but Nadesiko's hand rested on her shoulder, pinning her back on the seat. She growled angrily. Aeris raised her head and shouted out. "Marlene's safe! Don't worry!"
Tseng's eyes blazed. "Shut up!" She yelped as he slapped her hard across the cheek. Nadesiko released her friend and the girl pulled Aeris into the helicopter; wrapping her in her arms and looking carefully at her face. Turning back to the fighters below, Tseng smiled icily at their anger.
"Fare well!" With those final words the helicopter sped off towards Shinra headquarters. Lamirra and Nadesiko scowled in disgust at Tseng's actions, but before either could voice their opinions a deafening explosion sounded, rocking the aircraft. Reno and Nadesiko reached down to the floor, grabbing onto the two girls protectivly.
"And that," Reno said grimly with a glance at Nadesiko's hardened face, "is that last we'll ever see of Sector Seven."
~*~*~*~
A/N:
I like this one! Drama! Tragety! So forth and so on! Blah lah and Blah! ^_^ T_T Tseng's an ass....-_-
~Hika
I can't believe I actually forced myself to attempt to get this finished. I'm so bad at meeting deadlines. o.O Well, at least I'm trying. LET US SALLY FORTH INTO THE ABYSS! ONWARD, NOBLE STEED FARFIGNEWTON! WE QUEST FOR THE GRAIL!
~Mai
~*~*~*~
"What?" Nadesiko questioned as Lamirra stared in disbelief. She blinked twice and put a hand to her forehead, indicating an oncoming headache. "You and Reno are going to what?!"
Tseng met both girls' shocked faces as coolly as he always had, but even his calm gaze could not hide the sorrow-induced weariness that hung like old cobwebs in the dark corners of his eyes.
"I don't believe that I stuttered. Do you want me to repeat myself?" His sharp as a tack attitude quickly took over to mask his own surprise at such outrageous orders. Both girls shook their heads in reply. They understood exactly what he had said and Nadesiko's cold look of loathing gave him chills. That was not the look of a girl to be underestimated.
"Good. Besides, you ought to concentrate on your own mission. Your job is critical, and failure will not be taken lightly. Good day ladies." With that, the dark haired Turk bowed slightly and briskly strode towards his office.
Lamirra and Nadesiko were frozen in place as their minds registered the information they had just heard. Finally Lamirra broke the silence.
"If they destroy the support to the plate over sector seven..."
"Everyone there will die." Nadesiko finished her partner's sentence matter-of-factly. She solemnly looked down at the neat carpeting below her feet, her eyes showing mixed emotions of sadness and anger. The emotions were quickly covered over as she pulled a pair of glasses from her pocket. Their blue glass reflected the dim light in the hallway as she slid them on before turning to Lamirra. Lamirra narrowed her eyes as her clenched fist trembled in silent fury. Her voice tight with rage, she managed to speak.
"What could possibly drive them...to think that they could massacre...over a hundred people...." Her fist began to tremble even more. ".... And get away with it? What makes them think...that they have the right...to act like God!?" She slammed her fist into the wall, the impact sending shock waves down the hall. Nadesiko crossed her arms as she waited for Lamirra to finish. Lamirra's voice came out firm. "Do they think we'll allow it!?"
Nadesiko's eyes burned brightly with determination behind her blue shades. "Whether they think that they can escape judgment or not, we'll come after them. There's no way we'll let this slide." Lamirra gave her a quick nod, her eyes sharing in the common flame of fury.
"Until then..." Nadesiko leaned up against the wall and opened her hand for her staff to appear. "We should concentrate on our current mission. Cetra huh. I didn't think they existed anymore." Lamirra shrugged in reply, arms crossed she stared off down the hall. "Well apparently one does, and Shinra wants her. Damn bastards. I bet they'd put her in a glass playpen too, just like that poor beast down there." Nadesiko slid the staff through a small loop on her belt and adjusted her top agitatedly.
"All the same. It doesn't matter what they do. We should still bring her to them." Lamirra's eyes flew back to her friend with shock but Nadesiko continued, "If we arouse more suspicion than we already have we might end up losing more than our jobs." Nadesiko stared sternly, returning Lamirra's shocked look with one of reproval. She knew all too well that Lamirra would refuse the mission at the risk of her current career. 'If I could I'd refuse right along with her.' Nadesiko thought grimly. 'This is insanity.'
"If they threaten the Cetra's safety..."
"Then we stay out of the way." The older woman responded curtly. "Don't you ever think things through? If we were to interfere with any of Shinra's plans, we'd no longer be Turks. That threatens the bigger picture here, of Ronan and Tenshi. If we lose what we've got now, our job will be much, much more difficult."
"Then what'll we do?" Lamirra asked quietly, humbled by Nadesiko's sharp reply. It was clear that the older woman would need to steam quietly by herself for a couple hours after they finished their job. "What if they, kill her?"
The brunette didn't respond immediately. She clenched her jaw as her mind began to process the thought of the last Cetra's death. So many answers, to so many questions would be lost with the life of a single individual. With great reluctance, Nadesiko forced out her response. "We won't do anything."
Lamirra's eyes widened. This wasn't like her smiling, justice-enforcing friend at all. "What?"
"We won't do anything, as of yet. What if they don't kill her?" Nadesiko raised her vision from the floor to her partner. "We have to wait for things to clear out. There's an underlying pattern here, just beyond our foresight. We have to wait until we find that pattern, and go from that. Until then, we can't do anything that might make that pattern even more unclear."
"What's there to know about a pattern!? Why don't we just go in and..."
"Get ourselves killed! Brilliant Mirra! I can see it now. We both run in, me with a STAFF, and you with bare hands against Shinra troops armed with machine guns. We'll come out clean and victorious." She gave the girl before her a flat look. "As skilled as we both are, you know we can't go against tens of soldiers armed with those weapons! We'd double our weight in bullets before we could get near enough to kill anyone. Besides, once all the pieces of this insane, whacked out puzzle come together, we'll have even more material to go by to figure out what the hell is going on. Comprende?"
Lamirra gave the older girl a sidelong glare. "...Why cant you humble me once a month instead of fifty times a day?"
At that Nadesiko gave a hearty chuckle and patted her young friends should happily. "Because that's how many times it takes to get any sort of logical idea through your head."
~*~*~*~
Reno had spent his one-hour break in his cubicle, staring out the window at the vast blackness that was Lower Midgar. Lights from cars flew past the buildings causing the shadows to move in an almost circular motion, as if avoiding the light. From the Turk's office in the Shinra building he wasn't able to see Sector Seven but he knew that it was as dark and desolate as the sectors he was able to see.
'And I'm sure it's just as populated too.' He thought to himself. 'If we destroy that support pillar...' The redhead finally grew irritated from such bleak thoughts, and decided to work on his paper clip chain. It wasn't long before his limited supply of paper clips ran out, and his was forced to leave his cubicle in search of more.
'Eh...Elena's not around, but I'm sure she's already used all of hers...' the sly Turk thought about which one of his co-workers would have the largest amount of paper clips. 'And Rude has had this vendetta against them ever sense I had stuck a few on his ear and nearly cut off his circulation, but he could've looked for the humor in that...that leaves Siko, Mirra and Tseng.' He grinned at his options. 'Alrighty then, Siko'll yell at me, Tseng'll give me that creepy ass look, so let's see how good a mood Mirra's in.'
With his decision made Reno ambled out from his cubicle and started heading towards Lamirra's. When he reached the entrance to the nineteen-year-old's small workspace he leaned casually against the entrance and smirked.
"Yo."
Lamirra looked up and quirked an eyebrow at her co-worker. "Nice to see you too Reno. What do you want?" With out waiting for his reply she continued to shuffle through a large pile of papers stacked on her desk beside her computer. Seeing her concentration shift from him to her work, the redhead thought about the best course of action from there.
'She seems pretty busy...if I was nice, I'd just ask her from some paper clips...but that wouldn't be nearly as fun.' Grinning again, he sauntered over to Lamirra's desk and sat on it. She looked up at him, obviously quite irritated, and scowled.
"C'mon Reno. Don't you have that lame paper clip chain to work on?"
Reno acted shocked, and quickly retorted. "I'm crushed Mirra. Do you think that all I do is play with office supplies all day?" Nadesiko's voice barked from the next cubicle over.
"We don't think, we know!" He looked up and shook his head. Returning his attention to Lamirra, Reno shook a finger at her. "Assumptions start wars my friend. You shouldn't automatically assume that I don't do paperwork just because I'm more of an action guy."
Lamirra just stared at him flatly, and asked again, "What do you want Reno?"
"Why to se your beautiful face of course!" He leaned down until his nose was inches form hers, and smiled sweetly. "I missed you." He whined. Lamirra continued to stare levelly. Reno finally sighed and threw up his hands in defeat.
"Can I please have your paper clips?"
"Take them." She pushed a small bowl filled with paper clips towards him and continued her work. Reno gave her a lopsided grin, and swiped the bowl from her desk. Hopping off his position childishly, he began to exit Lamirra's cubicle. When he reached the alcove, he looked over his shoulder and winked at her. She rolled her eyes at the twenty-one year old child and grinned. When he was out of sight, she shook her head.
"That guy." As Lamirra thought about all his past antics, she smiled. But soon a puzzled look took her smile's place, as she asked the ceiling. "I wonder why they haven't fired him yet?"
~*~*~*~
While Reno was asking Lamirra for paperclips Nadesiko was busy contemplating their current situation.
"Tonight we have to kidnap the last Cetra for Shinra..." She mumbled aloud as she threw a stack of sheets into the shredder beside her desk. "And Reno and Tseng are gong to crush Sector Seven..." She stared blankly at her computer screen, hands poised to type but refusing to move. What would she do? She had firmly told Lamirra why they had to go through with the job, but she was beginning to have second thoughts. What if there really wasn't anything to know about a so-called 'underlying pattern?' And even if there were, would she and her partner even be able to find it if the continued to work as Turks?
'Despite the fact that we have access to almost all files of Shinra, our vision is being clouded by all the worthless information and red herrings set out by the faculty about us, maybe even the president himself. Do they really think that we don't notice that? They know something, and they want to keep it secret...but what? What could they possibly be hiding? Does it have anything to do with Ronan or Tenshi?'
Nadesiko sighed heavily, and brushed a stray lock of chocolate hair out of her face with a stiff hand. What's more, she and Lamirra had to worry about that man who hired them. He could be anyone, anyone who wanted the power of Ronan to himself. But what could a person want with such power?
She brushed away her uneasiness and tucked it behind determination as roughly as she had brushed her uncooperative tresses out of her eyes.
'No matter what the pattern is, no matter the man behind the curtain is, we'll find them. But for now, we have to concentrate on what's been set before us.'
Glancing at the wall clock, she smiled grimly. 7:30pm.
"Time to go."
~*~*~*~
Tseng walked curtly down the hall, Reno trailing a few feet behind him. Their faces were nset with grim determination; they entered the elevator and began their ascent to the helicopter-landing pad. Tseng stared out into the distance, eyes not quite focusing on anything in particular. The redhead leaned against the wall and watched the numbers above the elevator door change as they passed floors. The silence between the two seemed to drag endlessly, as did the journey to Shinra's roof.
Finally the doors parted for the Turks, and they stepped out into Midgar's dim lighting. Tseng paused a moment to straighten his tie professionally. When he finished he glanced up at Reno.
"Ready?"
The redhead grinned. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Picking up their pace, they walked to the helicopter that waited patiently for them. Reno continued to wear his cocky grin, as Tseng's features took on cold indifference. With their masks in place, perfected after long use, Tseng and Reno entered the machine.
~*~*~*~
"I don't want to do this." Lamirra mumbled to herself as she tagged along beside Nadesiko. The two women had changed into the uniform of Turks, looking sharp and businesslike as they walked quietly to their destination. Nadesiko looked down softly at the girl beside her. Lamirra had done things similar to this before. But she was used to having a just cause. Nadesiko on the other hand, was used to being hired for dirty work. Not that she liked it, but it paid well.
"I don't want to either, but they won't kill her. They need her. Just as badly as we do." Brunette hair bobbed between her graceful shoulders as she walked faster. Lamirra could read Nadesiko's indecisive expression as easily as if she had simply added, "I think".
" *We* need the Cetra?" Nadesiko nodded.
"Mm..hm. Cetra supposedly can talk with the planet remember? I'm hoping this girl can answer some of our questions. I have it worked out. I'll explain later. And she does have a name. It's Aeris." Lamirra sighed and slid a pair of soft black biker gloves over her hands.
"Alright. So let me get this straight." Lamirra struggled to keep up as she glanced at her watch. "We get Aeris, drive over to sector eight, and Tseng'll pick us up in a helicopter."
"You got it."
"Oh goody. I've never been in a helicopter before." Lamirra muttered under her breath. Nadesiko grinned at the remark.
~*~*~*~
It wasn't long before the two Turks reached the Ancient's home. Both gasped in surprise at its beauty. Luck had bored a hole through the upper plate, allowing twilight to seep through and coat the yellow flowers in a thin film of silver. The house itself was a charming two story; its feel was warm and welcoming. Both Nadesiko and Lamirra felt regret creep into their hearts as they got out of the car and trotted over. Nadesiko knocked forcefully on the painted door.
A long silence answered the summon. When the door didn't budge after Nadesiko joggled the handle, she shrugged at Lamirra. Grinning, the nineteen-year-old rolled up her sleeves and backed up. Getting a short running start, she rammed into the door with her shoulder. Upon impact the door swung open with a bang. The two Turks entered to find a beautiful young woman sitting patiently at the table. Her silky auburn hair was twined into a thick braid at the back of her skull, tied with a large pink bow. Her large locks of hair fell down into her face to rest near gentle emerald eyes. She turned to face the two women with a smile. Her lips parted to reveal a melodic and captivating voice.
"I knew you were coming for me." The woman voiced sadly. "I'm sorry I didn't answer the door." Standing gracefully she padded over to Lamirra and Nadesiko. None of the three felt like breaking the silence as they strode to the car. Just as they drove away, a middle-aged woman charged out of the cozy house, her brown hair disheveled, her apron crooked. Her voice rang clear, with such heartfelt anguish it tore at the two Turks' hearts.
"AERIS!"
With that she collapsed to her knees and sobbed into her hands. The auburn haired woman touched the cold rear window with gentle fingers. As she turned she let her hand slide back to her lap. A sad smile darkened her beautiful face.
~*~*~*~
At the same time Lamirra and Nadesiko retrieved Aeris, Reno was struggling with two men and a woman. The first, seeming to be the leader, was just a little shorter than Reno was, with spiky blonde locks and fierce blue eyes glowing from mako infusion. Flanking him was a large black man with a crew cut and a gun grafted into his right arm. Third was a woman, maybe only just taller than five feet with long chocolate brown hair pulled into a loose ponytail, which accented her emotion-filled crimson eyes. All three had received a beating from his electric nightstick, but he knew he didn't stand a chance against all of them together.
'D-Damn!' Reno swatted at the woman, knocking her back temporarily. Even though he had deflected her attack he couldn't avoid her constant verbal assault. Didn't this girl ever shut up? He leapt back, avoiding the large sword that the blonde swung at him. 'Where are you Tseng? The fricking support's gonna blow any minute!'
Just as he dodged the blonde once more, the sound of helicopter blades slicing the air met his ears. Straightening, he turned to the three vigilantes.
"It was fun. It really was. But I value my life." With that he jumped off the support. A few moments later the helicopter drew itself into view, just out of range of the black man's gun. Tseng looked at the three coldly.
"We're taking the girl." He threw Aeris to the helicopter floor before him, drawing an angered gasp from the blonde. Lamirra moved to grab Aeris but Nadesiko's hand rested on her shoulder, pinning her back on the seat. She growled angrily. Aeris raised her head and shouted out. "Marlene's safe! Don't worry!"
Tseng's eyes blazed. "Shut up!" She yelped as he slapped her hard across the cheek. Nadesiko released her friend and the girl pulled Aeris into the helicopter; wrapping her in her arms and looking carefully at her face. Turning back to the fighters below, Tseng smiled icily at their anger.
"Fare well!" With those final words the helicopter sped off towards Shinra headquarters. Lamirra and Nadesiko scowled in disgust at Tseng's actions, but before either could voice their opinions a deafening explosion sounded, rocking the aircraft. Reno and Nadesiko reached down to the floor, grabbing onto the two girls protectivly.
"And that," Reno said grimly with a glance at Nadesiko's hardened face, "is that last we'll ever see of Sector Seven."
~*~*~*~
A/N:
I like this one! Drama! Tragety! So forth and so on! Blah lah and Blah! ^_^ T_T Tseng's an ass....-_-
~Hika