Chapter 10: An Unexpected Package

( See? It was serious! I'm sorry! :/ Well now, I'm on the 10th chapter and I'm excited! Thank you Neko Yuffie and Precious Fire! You guys are too awesome! :D Well this chapter won't be as serious ( or at least I hope it won't be ) and if it is, I'll have to have another mini story, won't I? Well again, I thank everyone for the support and I'll try to update as much as possible! I don't own any one, they belong to Square [Enix]. Enjoy! )

Yuffie walked into Reno's infirmary and saw him resting on his bed with a huge bandage wrapped around his torso. Reno's eyes opened slowly and he smiled softly as he noticed Yuffie walk in, "Hello, my love." Yuffie wobbled over with her crutch, "Hi Reno." She smiled back at him and sat down at a chair next to his bed, "How are you feeling?" Reno tried to sit up a little, "Sore." Yuffie tilted her head, "Well what would you expect? Are you feeling any better at all though?"

"Much better, now that you are here," He placed his hand on her cheek and softly rubbed it. Yuffie chuckled and lifted herself onto his bed and sat up as he laid his head on her lap, "My poor Reno. Please get better soon." Reno stared up at her, "You too. I have to get back at Cloud for what he did." Yuffie sighed, "Don't blame him. He had the eyes of Sephiroth. Too many emotions possessed his weak heart." Reno shifted and looked over at the door, "What did they do with him?" Yuffie started to rub Reno's hair softly, "I don't know. Maybe Vincent or someone else knows."

Some stomping was heard coming down the hall of the infirmary, and the door to Tifa's room slide open and in came a furious Rufus, "TIFA! How dare you! You got one of my best Turks hurt! It's your entire fault that Cloud came here and attacked Kanzaki, Reno, and yourself! I should get you fired!" Tifa whimpered and pulled the covers up. Vincent looked at Tifa than the Rufus, "Chill Rufus. It isn't her fault! It's not like Reno is dead! Just go away! We'll deal with this later." Rufus growled and walked out of the room.

Tifa hid under her covers and sniffled, "It is my fault. If I hadn't left in the first place, everything would be fine." Vincent sat next to her bed and tugged on the covers, showing her face, "It isn't you fault. You did what you felt was right, and Cloud just decided to come and get his love, but it seemed more like he was possessed. So it's not your fault."

There was a knock at the door and it slid open. Tseng stood in the doorway and walked in after a few seconds, "How are you feeling Tifa?" She nodded and blushed, "I'm alright." She looked at her blanket and thought, 'Why am I blushing? I might have a fever. Lose of blood can do that to a person.' Tifa looked up at Tseng, "Thank you Tseng." Tseng walked over to Vincent and looked down at Tifa, "It's alright. I hope you aren't hurt badly." She shook her head slowly and looked up at him. Vincent sat back in his chair, "She's recovering fast. Did you pay a visit to Reno already?' Tseng nodded and his phone vibrated. He then sighed, grabbed it and hung it up. Tifa gave a shocked look, "Weren't you going to pick that up?" Tseng sighed again, "I have other important matters on my hands, like visiting you and Reno."

Tifa smiled, "Thanks Tseng." He nodded and sat at the end of her bed, "Really, I'm not that busy of a man. If someone ever needs something, I sacrifice time and help them." Tifa messed with her blanket and pulled it away from her face, "Can I ask you something Tseng?"

"Yea go ahead." Tifa tried to sit up, but had trouble, so Vincent gave her a hand by placing a pillow behind her back and lying her against it, "How did you know where I was?" Tseng looked up at the ceiling, "Well, I was in the security room, and we got the message from the SOLDIER down below. It took us awhile to set the alarm because they seemed to be messed up for some reason. It's an old system and we haven't used it in a long time." Tifa nodded and bent her knees upward towards her chest. "So I finally fixed it and it went off. Once we got the location on Strife, we warned everyone. Since there were no SOLDIERs on that level, or there were, but they got killed, I decided to make my way down there. It took me a while because the elevators were stuck, so I took the stairs, and made it onto the level. I saw Kanzaki and Reno, and they were injured. I called for a medic and they were on their way. I then asked Kanzaki where Strife went and she pointed to the edge and I went over there, noticing an elevator with two people in there. I instantly thought it was you and Strife, because he'd only be after you, was my guess. I made the jump and went inside. I saw that you were hurt, so I fought Strife. I wasn't going to harm him at first, but he killed our SOLDIERs and harmed you."

Tifa looked at him with a bit of confusion, "What happened after you knocked him out?" Tseng gave a long sigh of exhaustion, "I then had security turn the elevators back on, and I rushed you to the medic and I took Strife to the Corel Prison. He'll be staying there for a while until he can recover from whatever made him do that." Tifa nodded, "I might have some information on why Cloud did that." She tried to shift but she winced in pain. Tseng and Vincent both sat forward, just in case she fell over, "Tifa, please rest. You had a tough night." Vincent helped her lie down. Tseng nodded, "I agree with Valentine. We can talk about it later." Tifa opened her eyes, "Are you sure?" Tseng gave a soft smile and nodded, "Yes I'm sure. Now rest." Tifa blushed at his unique smile as both of the men stood up and started to walk out of the room. Tseng left and Vincent turned to Tifa, "I'll be back later to check on you, alright?" Tifa nodded slowly and closed her eyes. The door shut and Vincent and Tseng headed towards the elevators to go to the President's office.

Elena was walking down the hall and she spotted Tseng and Vincent when they walked out of the infirmary. She gave a confused look, wondering what they were doing in there. She gasped, "Oh my gosh! Maybe they were in there... NO! My Tseng can't be gay!" She ran over to the room she saw them left and the door slid open, "What's this? Tifa Lockheart?! What is she doing in here?" Elena growled in a low voice, "He better have not been visiting her!" She walked in the room and the door shut. She walked quietly up to Tifa's bed and stared down upon her, "I'll be watching you Lockheart. Make another move on my Tseng and I will crush you like a bug."



Tseng and Vincent got on the elevator, "Hey Vincent. I have to stop by security for a moment, alright?" Vincent nodded, "Sure go ahead. I'll wait for you in front of the President's office." Tseng nodded, and the elevator stopped. Tseng walked out, turned and gave the ShinRa solute, receiving one from Vincent in return. The elevator went up and Tseng walked to security, "Hey Rude. Hey Reeve. On duty today?" Reeve turned around and waved, "Yea. Hey I think there is something you might want to check out." Tseng walked up to Reeve, "What is it?" Reeve turned his seat around and pointed to one of the TV monitors, "Isn't that your girlfriend on level 64? And isn't that Tifa?" Tseng gave an angry look at the monitor and ran out of the room.



Elena then sighed, "I guess I shouldn't be so jealous. I mean you do have a boyfriend. And he is psycho. Isn't that good enough? I mean..." She grabbed some papers that was clipped to a clipboard, reading, "Ambushed. Attacker: Strife, Cloud."

Elena laughed, "That's all I need to read!" She placed the clipboard down looked around the room, finding something interesting. She grabbed the plug for the heart monitor and for the call-for-help system and yanked it out of the wall, "That'll be a good starter. Pleasant dreams Tifa darling." She sneered and walked out of the room. At the moment she walked out, she bumped into Tseng, "TSENG! DARLING! How are you?" She hugged him and the door behind her closed. He pushed her back onto the closed door hard and it opened, causing her to fall inside, "OW! Tseng! What was that for?" He grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the room, "What are you doing in there Elena? You aren't allowed to be in there without permission." He said in his normal type of voice.

Elena whimpered and tried to pull her arm back from him, but his strength was no match for her, "Tseng! You're hurting my arm! Please let go!" Tseng's grip tightened, "Answer my question Elena. What were you doing in there?" Elena pouted, "Visiting her. I noticed she was in there, and I thought I would pay my respects." Tseng's voice rose a little, "You have no respect for her." Tseng then went towards Tifa's infirmary and the door opened, "Now show me what you did." Elena kept pouting, "I didn't do anything!" Tseng rose his voice even more, but tried not to disturb Tifa, "Show me!" He let go of her arm with a slight push. Elena hung her head low and pointed over to the plug. Tseng looked at it as it lied out of its socket, "Geez Elena. What do you have against Tifa? She hasn't done anything to you." Tseng went and plugged it back in.

Elena started to cry softly, "She's our enemy! She's thinks she's better than everyone! She's trying to steal you away from me!" Her shoulder shook in anger and her fists balled up. Tseng grabbed Elena by her shoulders and shook her slightly, "What are you talking about? She's a part of ShinRa. She never goes around and brags about herself. You have a higher priority than she does, AND I'M NOT YOU BOYFRIEND! I am only your mentor, and that's it. Get over your childish acts, or you can go back to where you first came from." Tseng walked out of the infirmary and went straight for the elevators. Elena stood there with a scared face and the last of the tears went down her face, "What?"



Back in Midgar, at the pub, Aeris was sitting at the bar counter, with her head down in her arms. Barret sat in his usual corner as Cid smoked a cigarette. Red lied under the counter as his tail twitched. The pub seemed quiet except for Marlene playing at the arcade game. Aeris quietly said, "Where's Cloud?" Barret sighed, "He better not be dead." Cid propped his feet on the table and leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling, "Dammit." Red continued to sit quietly, moving his tail occasionally.

Aeris sat up, "What happens if he was captured?" Barret kept his same position. Aeris turned around in her seat, "Where would he be? I don't even know where he went. Do you think he'll come back?" Barret kept the same some more and Cid squashed his cigarette, then flicked his butt somewhere. Aeris jumped off the stool and stomped her foot, and Red's head rose, "BARRET! ANSWER ME! What should we do?!" Barret growled, then quickly slammed his fist against the wall, startling everyone, except for Marlene, as she continued to play the game, "I don't know Aeris! I don't worry about him all the time! I'm just worried that our group will fall apart!" Cid placed his feet on the ground and straightened his jacket, "Well look at it. This is pathetic! It's just the four of us, until we get Cloud back." Barret growled at Cid, then Aeris stepped in, "Well!" She paused for a moment and then looked down at the ground with her fist balled up against her chest. The guys looked at her, "Well?" Red asked.

"Well... Maybe it's just our time." Aeris sighed. Cid turned in his chair, "What do you mean 'our time'?" Aeris looked up at everyone and smiled, "Maybe it's everyone's time to go their separate ways. To make their own decision." Aeris' smile disappeared after Barret stood up and slammed his fist against the counter, "It's not their time! Why? Because most of them went to ShinRa, our rivals, and the other two, I don't know where they went! Cloud's gone, and so is Yuffie! What kind of choice is that? They didn't tell us shit!" Aeris stepped back, "The planet is saved." Red walked from under the counter, "That's what we think." Everyone gave Red an odd look, "What do you mean?" Aeris stepped up to Red. He looked up at them, "ShinRa still has that huge plate. But the question is; does it operate?" Everyone thought for a second, but then Cid stepped up, "No. It doesn't work. I remember reading in the one of the latest ShinRa times that they are shutting it off, and since it's shut off, it'll possibly fall apart after awhile." Aeris gasped, "But that's a big risk to the people who live on it, and to the people who live under it!" Red nodded, "I wonder why they don't just take it apart." Barret grunted, "Because they are lazy slime." They sighed and got back to where they were first sitting. Aeris laid her head on the bar counter again and sighed, "Cloud... Where are you?"

There was a knock at the front of the bar and everyone looked to see whom it was. A package man walked in and looked around, "Uh... I have a package for a Red XIII?" Red lifted his head and walked over, "That'll be me!" The package man gave an odd look, "A talking dog?" Red barked, "Hey! I take that to offense!" The man stepped back, "Sorry. Here!" The man placed the package on the ground and ran out. Red looked at it, seeing it was from Taki Kanzaki from ShinRa Corp. He quickly grabbed the string that was wrapped around the package and took it into his mouth, "I'll be back later you guys." Everyone gave a confused look, "Wonder what's with him!" Cid lit another cigarette and leaned back. Barret sat back and Aeris didn't care about anything else except for Cloud.

Red ran after he left the bar to the exploded reactor that was just up the dirted path from the bar. He went beyond the fence and sat in a corner, "Who's Taki Kanzaki?" He started to rip at the package carefully and a note fell out, upon a sparkling, coloured statue. He took his paw and unfolding the once folded note. He read carefully:

"Hey Red! Guess who! It's me! Yuffie! How are you? I'm sorry if I confused you with the name Taki Kanzaki. It's my undercover name. I'm sorry I left, but I just needed to be with my 'big sis' Teef! Well she isn't my big sis, but she treats me like family. If you are wondering what the colourful statue is, well... I don't know what it is! But I know it's made out of materia. I stole it from Rufus' ship when I rescued Tifa from Rufus. Tee-hee! I know. Why wouldn't I keep it? Well... I wanted to give a present to a friend! I miss you a lot, and hope that I can meet up with ya again. Oh and Tifa says hi!

"Well I guess I better end this letter! You probably have better things to do! Tee-hee! By friend!

Yuffie"

"First I get a note from Tifa, and now Yuffie! I'm glad I'm not the one getting bashed here and also I'm glad I'm their friend!" He smiled and examined the oddly shaped, materia statue. He sat down and curled his tail around to his side to get better light on the statue, "This is the oddest thing I've ever seen!" He picked it up delicately with his right front paw and looked closely, "There are some markings on there! They look familiar." He looked up at the plated sky and thought for a moment, "Oh, now I remember! They are the ancient markings Grandfather showed me once. I can't remember what it means. He told me this chant that went with it." Red once again looked up at the plated sky, and then back to the statue, thinking hard, "Oh yea! I believe it was 'Bones of vires, lacertosus of vita, externus vita vivo, quod saeta in caput capitis.' Wow, what an odd chant. I never knew what it meant. Huh?"

He looked down at the statue and it started to glow, "Holy Bahamut!!" He dropped the statue, but it didn't shatter, or stop glowing. "What is happening?" Red looked at himself and started to glow. "Hey! What's going on!" He barked and growled at him, but then he started to feel off and a huge clash of light exploded there.

Back from the bar, the huge explosion of light was seen and everyone ran outside, "What in the high heaven's name was that?!" Cid ran out, holding his spear. Barret had Marlene behind him and Aeris ran down the stairs of the pub, "I don't know what it was! But let's check it out!" They started to run over there and spotted something, "Over in the reactor ruins!" Aeris yelled and ran passed the gate.

The rest followed her and spotted something unusual. "What's this?" Aeris picked up an odd looking statue. Nothing else seemed to be in sight. No package wrapping, no note from Yuffie, and no Red.

A strange figure stared around the corner with a glow in his eyes as he watched the group of people, "What are they doing with that?" The figure ran with great speed and stole it before they realized what happened and he ran off. Aeris turned in the direction the figure ran, "HEY!" She stepped forward, but then stopped, "Oh he got away too fast." She frowned, "Oh well. It wasn't ours in the first place." They shrugged and headed back to the pub.

Aeris stopped for a moment, "Huh? Now Red is missing. I wonder where he went." She shrugged and ran up to the others to catch up.