A/N: I KNOW THERE WAS NO DEVELOPMENT IN THE LAST CHAPTER. O_O; DON'T KILL ME. AAHH *is mobbed by angry readers* X_O anyways, I've started up another fic. It started off kind of strange, but whatever.. Read it if you want, I guess.. who cares o_O
sappy moment there. Yes, in this chapter! O_O; AHHH *Is thrown out a window, shot, and run over by a taxi* ^_ itai
Disclaimer: NOT MINE X.o
---
"What...do you mean, HE'S GONE?"
Tifa's tone of voice was low, shaking, and rather dangerous as Barret fidgeted under her icy crimson glare; her eyebrow twitched, and Reno glanced out the window of the Highwind residence. All was not well.
"He can't be gone! Why did he leave? Did you make him leave? You kicked him off?"
I brushed against those freckles that I hated so,
Life goes on and I heave a little sigh for you.
Barret shook his head in his own defense, his shoulders hunched slightly as Tifa clutched her head with her hand, as if having a pounding headache. "Left without a damn trace. Took the rope down, though..." he mumbled. Tifa clutched her head, shaking it as if hoping to awaken from a bad dream as Reno made a short gesture outside; the door to Cid's house opened, and Reno, Yuffie, Reeve, Cid, and Shera crept out, watching from a safe distance.
"Why, why, WHY? Did you say something to him?" Tifa persisted, glancing up at Barret in the gap between her fingers. Barret was quiet for a moment, but something else answered.
It's heavy, the love that I would share for you,
But it dissolves like it was just a sugarcube.
-He didn't belong, so he left.-
Tifa blinked as these words flickered in her ears, glancing upward as they created a haunting echo. Could anyone else...anyone else at all hear this? A voice, hauntingly familiar... She glanced around, and noticed Reno's aquamarine gaze looking around. Why could he hear it, too?
"Alright," Reno began, raising his middle finger to some unknown spot three feet ahead of him, "who the FUCK is that?" Yuffie, Reeve, and Shera stared at him quizzically, or as if he was insane; he glared back, eyes almost reflective of the sunlight. "Did no one else hear that, or am I just going bonkers from hanging with Elena for too long?"
Elena glared, but she and Rude seemed somewhat aware of the presence of 'the Voice'...
"Okay then! Who the FUCK is in my head?" Reno said airily, sticking his hands in his pockets and glancing upward. "If you're God, then I SWEAR Elena made me steal all those goddamn Whoppers from BK last year. Spare me from thine wrath, O holy one?" He rolled his eyes.
-Aren't we cocky.-
Elena's chocolate gaze became transfixed monotonously at some place ahead of her, and Rude's gaze shifted down at her, but he said nothing; instead, he watched Reno swear out the 'Voice'. Ghostlike chuckles filled the air in the ears of Reno, Rude, and Tifa, and they each seemed partially disturbed. Well, alright, not JUST partially. Very disturbed.
-Tum de dum. I can get through to a lot of people due to the circumstances, you know. Watch closely.-
There was a glimmer in Elena's eyes until the sparkle that was usually there vanished, and replaced by a dull emptiness; the blonde Turk slowly drew out her gun, and in one fluid motion, aimed it at Reno with a shaking hand. The echoing, cadaverous laugh returns to their ears, and those without knowledge of experience of the Voice stared in shock and amazement as Elena pointed the gun at her comrade.
"'Laney?" Reno raised an auburn brow vaguely, his hands still in his pockets. "What...in seven hells are you doing?"
-Tsk. This one's feeling a bit underappreciated. Would this be your doing, Turk?-
Now the little pain sitting in my heart
Has shrunk in a bit, but it really does hurt me now.
Those silly horoscopes, I
Guess I can't trust them after all.
Reno turned to face Elena, whose face was like a desert: blank and devoid of emotion. Reno of the Turks, who destroyed the Sector 7 slums with little regard or remorse, who had probably screwed around 60% of the women in Midgar, and was probably one of the best assassins out there, had no idea what to do. He had never been faced with this situation. Not once in his career as a Turk had betrayal, willing or not, crossed his mind. And for once in a long time, Reno was freaked out.
"...Christ, what the FUCK did you do to Elena?" Reno whispered hoarsely, and a slight snickering rang in his ears, followed by laughter. The voice--the sound, the tone, it seemed familiar. It was on the tip of everyone's tongue, but no one could quite spot who or what it was... "Whatever you did, knock it off, goddamnit..."
-I don't think you're in any position to be handing out orders.-
Elena's other hand, however, shakingly rose and pressed down on her elbow, sweat forming on a twitchy brow as she attempted to resist this sort of spell or possession. Instead, as if lifted by invisible cables, the arm wielding the gun moved to her own forehead.
Her cinnamon-tinged eyes widened in terror as her fingers twitched daringly, ever so slightly, against her will; her teeth gritted in horror, and yet her eyebrows were furrowed as if trying to fight it off herself. AVALANCHE looked panic-stricken, yet Reno and Rude had a look unmistakably foreign to Turks: alarm.
-See how easy it would be for me to have her pull the trigger? Don't be hasty, now. This could happen to you...well, some of you. The others...just get lucky to see them die.-
Reno looked as if he was about to say something, but Rude gave him a knowing stare as if silently communicating to him with his...eye...brows. Reno stared back at him as if the bald Turk was insane, but nodded slowly; his cool demeanor was pulled back on as he stuck his hands back in his pockets and gazed at the Elena, the blonde Turk who looked (if you were there, but didn't necessarily know what was going on) like she was going to blow her brains out.
-Feeling lucky, Turk?-
Reno was silent for a moment.
"As lucky as ever." The red-haired Turk ran a hand through his lightly spiked hair, then began to walk towards Elena in a sluggish pace; her hand with the gun at her forehead began to shake with her own force she had applied, trying to pull it away to no avail. Reno came within short distance of Elena, and she glanced up at him, her eyes still rounded with fear, and he extended one hand to grasp the pale, slender one holding the gun. He smirked slightly, though trying to wrench it away with unseen force; when he discovered it wouldn't budge, he glanced back up at Rude, whose hand was in his own pocket. Reno shifted his sea-green gaze to the sky, then he lowered himself to her ear. "Don't worry 'bout it."
His whisper of reassurance was quiet and unwavering; Elena nodded slowly, her eyes somewhat calmer then they were four or so seconds ago. Reno continued to clutch the palm with the gun, and he leaned backwards again to throw a quick glance to Rude.
Rude nodded, and his hand retracted from his pocket; in one smooth motion, he drew a Lariat and shot with expertise at the Silver Rifle in Elena's palm. Elena gave a small shriek of panic as the gun flew out of her hand and onto the dirt, falling with a tiny thump.
-And the extent of the bonds of Turks never waver...ah, nothing changes over the years.-
If we could get further away,
I wonder what it would be like... ?
Yay!
I'd be so happy
Inside my heart.
The voice faded from mind, and there was a short silence. Reno glanced at the back of his hand, and he looked at Rude with a small grin.
"Rude, your aim was off." He held up one palm, where a bleeding streak crossed it in a diagonal formation, dripping slightly onto the ground. Rude shrugged, pocketing the gun and walking towards a shaken Elena and a Reno who was able to pretend it hadn't happened. Elena clutched her hand with a slight whimper where a cut mirroring Reno's was smeared across her palm, but looked up at fellow Turks with an expression of gratitude.
"Th-thank you..guys..." Elena stammered, prodding the bleeding hand slightly with her fingers and looking up at them. She sniffled slightly, glancing backwards at the gun behind her on the dirt; a lanky arm wrapped around her middle, and she glanced up at Reno.
"Ah, anything for 'Laney." The redheaded Turk grinned and ruffled her blonde hair; she beamed at him, tightly hugging his skinny middle. She pulled out and glanced at Rude, who remained silent and desolate. Reno turned around, the goggles on his forehead threatening to slide off his hairline, and he grinned at Rude. "Go on, Rude. I won't hold one hug against you. Maybe." Elena cautiously neared the bald, tall Turk with a small, nervous smile--an expression all too familiar.
All the memories I have are beautiful in my mind,
But they don't feed the hunger deep inside my soul.
And tonight I thought,
I'd be just sitting in my sorrow.
Rude sighed, and rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, silently swearing at Reno; Elena grinned and hugged him as well.
Tifa let out a short sigh of relief, as did the rest; she pressed her hand to her forehead in relief, watching Yuffie race over to Elena. //Who was that?// The voice became a primary concern for her once again, the voice that had performed some kind of enchantment on her friend--and also alerted her to the cause of Rufus's leave.
"Damn, what the fuck was going on?" Cid raised a brow, chewing on his unlit cigarette. "That was some weirdass shit, man, and the Turk over there looked like he was talking to himself."
"A voice." Vincent's cold voice came from above; he was stationed on one of the rails of the platforms that had once been used to station Rocket Town's rocket, balancing his feet on the rounded bars and yet completely still, as if a thin area under his feet at that height wasn't bothering him at all. Typical Vincent. "Only some can hear it, and not others."
"Why not others? What makes them so special?" Yuffie folded her arms imperiously, stomping one foot. Vincent vaulted into the air and landed gracefully, catlike, on his feet on the ground, sinking into a crouch in what I would say was for show, as there seemed to be little impact to absorb.
"Tifa, Reno, Rude, Elena, and...myself." Vincent paused. ".........Anyone else?"
Red XIII scratched his ear with his leg in a very wolfish manner, but stepped into the main of the town square where AVALANCHE and Turk alike stood, once apart but now united for a common yet unseen goal. "It's been troubling me for some time now, but I'm beginning to think not as frequently as Rufus Shinra and the Turks."
Cloud, who had been silently standing without much mention in the whole ordeal, nodded, his arms rather limp at his sides.
"...There is a trait among us that this certain group shares, Yuffie." Vincent said slowly and monotonously, folding his arms and grating the pointed "fingers" of his claw against the thick cloth of his opposite sleeve. His eyebrow tilted slightly in concentration. "...A noteworthy amount are in Shin-Ra, yet Reeve and Cid--more or less associated with the company once or twice--are unaffected."
There was a moment of silence.
"It's the Mako." Rude suddenly spoke up. "...Each person who has heard the 'Voice' has been put in direct contact with Jenova cells and Mako...Tifa being an exception..."
"Tifa was in the Lifestream." Red XIII responded.
"So that would mean the little person in the back of my head just happens to be some alien bitch who was supposed to be dead. Hunky dory." Reno snorted, rolling his eyes and making a short hand gesture to prove his...erm...dislike of the theory. "So Mister Shinra himself got the crap in him, too? I'm not surprised. The old president was one kooky old fart."
"Speaking of presidents, what about Rufus? He's missing, right?" quipped Yuffie. There was a short pause, and Barret nodded slowly. "So go look for 'im. He's probably off rotting in a ditch." She paused. "...Alright, fine! We'll come with you! Happy?"
And now I must wonder wonder why.
What did it really mean to you?
I just can't see it anymore!
I just can't see it anymore......
Tifa nodded slowly.
"Thanks, guys..."
sappy moment there. Yes, in this chapter! O_O; AHHH *Is thrown out a window, shot, and run over by a taxi* ^_ itai
Disclaimer: NOT MINE X.o
---
"What...do you mean, HE'S GONE?"
Tifa's tone of voice was low, shaking, and rather dangerous as Barret fidgeted under her icy crimson glare; her eyebrow twitched, and Reno glanced out the window of the Highwind residence. All was not well.
"He can't be gone! Why did he leave? Did you make him leave? You kicked him off?"
I brushed against those freckles that I hated so,
Life goes on and I heave a little sigh for you.
Barret shook his head in his own defense, his shoulders hunched slightly as Tifa clutched her head with her hand, as if having a pounding headache. "Left without a damn trace. Took the rope down, though..." he mumbled. Tifa clutched her head, shaking it as if hoping to awaken from a bad dream as Reno made a short gesture outside; the door to Cid's house opened, and Reno, Yuffie, Reeve, Cid, and Shera crept out, watching from a safe distance.
"Why, why, WHY? Did you say something to him?" Tifa persisted, glancing up at Barret in the gap between her fingers. Barret was quiet for a moment, but something else answered.
It's heavy, the love that I would share for you,
But it dissolves like it was just a sugarcube.
-He didn't belong, so he left.-
Tifa blinked as these words flickered in her ears, glancing upward as they created a haunting echo. Could anyone else...anyone else at all hear this? A voice, hauntingly familiar... She glanced around, and noticed Reno's aquamarine gaze looking around. Why could he hear it, too?
"Alright," Reno began, raising his middle finger to some unknown spot three feet ahead of him, "who the FUCK is that?" Yuffie, Reeve, and Shera stared at him quizzically, or as if he was insane; he glared back, eyes almost reflective of the sunlight. "Did no one else hear that, or am I just going bonkers from hanging with Elena for too long?"
Elena glared, but she and Rude seemed somewhat aware of the presence of 'the Voice'...
"Okay then! Who the FUCK is in my head?" Reno said airily, sticking his hands in his pockets and glancing upward. "If you're God, then I SWEAR Elena made me steal all those goddamn Whoppers from BK last year. Spare me from thine wrath, O holy one?" He rolled his eyes.
-Aren't we cocky.-
Elena's chocolate gaze became transfixed monotonously at some place ahead of her, and Rude's gaze shifted down at her, but he said nothing; instead, he watched Reno swear out the 'Voice'. Ghostlike chuckles filled the air in the ears of Reno, Rude, and Tifa, and they each seemed partially disturbed. Well, alright, not JUST partially. Very disturbed.
-Tum de dum. I can get through to a lot of people due to the circumstances, you know. Watch closely.-
There was a glimmer in Elena's eyes until the sparkle that was usually there vanished, and replaced by a dull emptiness; the blonde Turk slowly drew out her gun, and in one fluid motion, aimed it at Reno with a shaking hand. The echoing, cadaverous laugh returns to their ears, and those without knowledge of experience of the Voice stared in shock and amazement as Elena pointed the gun at her comrade.
"'Laney?" Reno raised an auburn brow vaguely, his hands still in his pockets. "What...in seven hells are you doing?"
-Tsk. This one's feeling a bit underappreciated. Would this be your doing, Turk?-
Now the little pain sitting in my heart
Has shrunk in a bit, but it really does hurt me now.
Those silly horoscopes, I
Guess I can't trust them after all.
Reno turned to face Elena, whose face was like a desert: blank and devoid of emotion. Reno of the Turks, who destroyed the Sector 7 slums with little regard or remorse, who had probably screwed around 60% of the women in Midgar, and was probably one of the best assassins out there, had no idea what to do. He had never been faced with this situation. Not once in his career as a Turk had betrayal, willing or not, crossed his mind. And for once in a long time, Reno was freaked out.
"...Christ, what the FUCK did you do to Elena?" Reno whispered hoarsely, and a slight snickering rang in his ears, followed by laughter. The voice--the sound, the tone, it seemed familiar. It was on the tip of everyone's tongue, but no one could quite spot who or what it was... "Whatever you did, knock it off, goddamnit..."
-I don't think you're in any position to be handing out orders.-
Elena's other hand, however, shakingly rose and pressed down on her elbow, sweat forming on a twitchy brow as she attempted to resist this sort of spell or possession. Instead, as if lifted by invisible cables, the arm wielding the gun moved to her own forehead.
Her cinnamon-tinged eyes widened in terror as her fingers twitched daringly, ever so slightly, against her will; her teeth gritted in horror, and yet her eyebrows were furrowed as if trying to fight it off herself. AVALANCHE looked panic-stricken, yet Reno and Rude had a look unmistakably foreign to Turks: alarm.
-See how easy it would be for me to have her pull the trigger? Don't be hasty, now. This could happen to you...well, some of you. The others...just get lucky to see them die.-
Reno looked as if he was about to say something, but Rude gave him a knowing stare as if silently communicating to him with his...eye...brows. Reno stared back at him as if the bald Turk was insane, but nodded slowly; his cool demeanor was pulled back on as he stuck his hands back in his pockets and gazed at the Elena, the blonde Turk who looked (if you were there, but didn't necessarily know what was going on) like she was going to blow her brains out.
-Feeling lucky, Turk?-
Reno was silent for a moment.
"As lucky as ever." The red-haired Turk ran a hand through his lightly spiked hair, then began to walk towards Elena in a sluggish pace; her hand with the gun at her forehead began to shake with her own force she had applied, trying to pull it away to no avail. Reno came within short distance of Elena, and she glanced up at him, her eyes still rounded with fear, and he extended one hand to grasp the pale, slender one holding the gun. He smirked slightly, though trying to wrench it away with unseen force; when he discovered it wouldn't budge, he glanced back up at Rude, whose hand was in his own pocket. Reno shifted his sea-green gaze to the sky, then he lowered himself to her ear. "Don't worry 'bout it."
His whisper of reassurance was quiet and unwavering; Elena nodded slowly, her eyes somewhat calmer then they were four or so seconds ago. Reno continued to clutch the palm with the gun, and he leaned backwards again to throw a quick glance to Rude.
Rude nodded, and his hand retracted from his pocket; in one smooth motion, he drew a Lariat and shot with expertise at the Silver Rifle in Elena's palm. Elena gave a small shriek of panic as the gun flew out of her hand and onto the dirt, falling with a tiny thump.
-And the extent of the bonds of Turks never waver...ah, nothing changes over the years.-
If we could get further away,
I wonder what it would be like... ?
Yay!
I'd be so happy
Inside my heart.
The voice faded from mind, and there was a short silence. Reno glanced at the back of his hand, and he looked at Rude with a small grin.
"Rude, your aim was off." He held up one palm, where a bleeding streak crossed it in a diagonal formation, dripping slightly onto the ground. Rude shrugged, pocketing the gun and walking towards a shaken Elena and a Reno who was able to pretend it hadn't happened. Elena clutched her hand with a slight whimper where a cut mirroring Reno's was smeared across her palm, but looked up at fellow Turks with an expression of gratitude.
"Th-thank you..guys..." Elena stammered, prodding the bleeding hand slightly with her fingers and looking up at them. She sniffled slightly, glancing backwards at the gun behind her on the dirt; a lanky arm wrapped around her middle, and she glanced up at Reno.
"Ah, anything for 'Laney." The redheaded Turk grinned and ruffled her blonde hair; she beamed at him, tightly hugging his skinny middle. She pulled out and glanced at Rude, who remained silent and desolate. Reno turned around, the goggles on his forehead threatening to slide off his hairline, and he grinned at Rude. "Go on, Rude. I won't hold one hug against you. Maybe." Elena cautiously neared the bald, tall Turk with a small, nervous smile--an expression all too familiar.
All the memories I have are beautiful in my mind,
But they don't feed the hunger deep inside my soul.
And tonight I thought,
I'd be just sitting in my sorrow.
Rude sighed, and rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, silently swearing at Reno; Elena grinned and hugged him as well.
Tifa let out a short sigh of relief, as did the rest; she pressed her hand to her forehead in relief, watching Yuffie race over to Elena. //Who was that?// The voice became a primary concern for her once again, the voice that had performed some kind of enchantment on her friend--and also alerted her to the cause of Rufus's leave.
"Damn, what the fuck was going on?" Cid raised a brow, chewing on his unlit cigarette. "That was some weirdass shit, man, and the Turk over there looked like he was talking to himself."
"A voice." Vincent's cold voice came from above; he was stationed on one of the rails of the platforms that had once been used to station Rocket Town's rocket, balancing his feet on the rounded bars and yet completely still, as if a thin area under his feet at that height wasn't bothering him at all. Typical Vincent. "Only some can hear it, and not others."
"Why not others? What makes them so special?" Yuffie folded her arms imperiously, stomping one foot. Vincent vaulted into the air and landed gracefully, catlike, on his feet on the ground, sinking into a crouch in what I would say was for show, as there seemed to be little impact to absorb.
"Tifa, Reno, Rude, Elena, and...myself." Vincent paused. ".........Anyone else?"
Red XIII scratched his ear with his leg in a very wolfish manner, but stepped into the main of the town square where AVALANCHE and Turk alike stood, once apart but now united for a common yet unseen goal. "It's been troubling me for some time now, but I'm beginning to think not as frequently as Rufus Shinra and the Turks."
Cloud, who had been silently standing without much mention in the whole ordeal, nodded, his arms rather limp at his sides.
"...There is a trait among us that this certain group shares, Yuffie." Vincent said slowly and monotonously, folding his arms and grating the pointed "fingers" of his claw against the thick cloth of his opposite sleeve. His eyebrow tilted slightly in concentration. "...A noteworthy amount are in Shin-Ra, yet Reeve and Cid--more or less associated with the company once or twice--are unaffected."
There was a moment of silence.
"It's the Mako." Rude suddenly spoke up. "...Each person who has heard the 'Voice' has been put in direct contact with Jenova cells and Mako...Tifa being an exception..."
"Tifa was in the Lifestream." Red XIII responded.
"So that would mean the little person in the back of my head just happens to be some alien bitch who was supposed to be dead. Hunky dory." Reno snorted, rolling his eyes and making a short hand gesture to prove his...erm...dislike of the theory. "So Mister Shinra himself got the crap in him, too? I'm not surprised. The old president was one kooky old fart."
"Speaking of presidents, what about Rufus? He's missing, right?" quipped Yuffie. There was a short pause, and Barret nodded slowly. "So go look for 'im. He's probably off rotting in a ditch." She paused. "...Alright, fine! We'll come with you! Happy?"
And now I must wonder wonder why.
What did it really mean to you?
I just can't see it anymore!
I just can't see it anymore......
Tifa nodded slowly.
"Thanks, guys..."