Reeve: How the hell did I get stuck with this job anyway?
Reno: Because you're a tool!
Reeve: I understand that. But why do I have to wear the mog costume?
Reno: Because you're gay!
Reeve: sigh. Tyramir doesn't own Final Fantasy. And he seems to enjoy making me do the thankless job of saying it.
Chapter Fifteen
Revelations
Dawn was approaching fast, and Rude knew he had little time. He had been following Yuffie around for the entire night, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, skulking about in search of Doctor Hargun. His prey was close, but he also knew that Hargun, being such a clever bastard, wouldn't stay still for long.
But now, as Yuffie approached a cleared off area, he began to think that maybe he had finally located his target.
The clearing was roped off from the general populace, and men wearing Shinra pilot uniforms guarded it from all sides. In the center was a plane, which he recognize to be the Tiny Bronco. Cid's ship. So, Avalanche had discovered Hargun themselves, and decided to keep the information from Yuffie. Why else would she be skulking around like this?
And there, nearby, was Barret, just entering the roped off area. In his one good hand he had a large travel bag, more than likely filled with food and supplies for a trip.
Rude began to wonder why Avalanche would be helping Hargun. They had no reason to help the insane scientist. Perhaps it was because of the shared relationship between Hargun and Vincent. Valentine was a legend among the Turks, as well as fragments of his tragic tale.
But something just didn't fit. If they were doing this on Vincent's behalf, where was the former Turk? Tifa had said that he'd gone missing during the Highwind crash, and the investigation on his part had not yet disproven that.
There they were. Coming from the direction of the hospice were two shapes. After a few minutes, Rude could make them out. In front, the Buster Sword strapped to his back, was Cloud, and at his side and slightly behind was a figure wearing a white lab coat. At last, he had found...
Something wasn't right.
He squinted, and as the shape came closer, he swore. Something was definitely wrong. Avalanche was being deceived, but into what, he didn't know. They obviously didn't know as much as they thought they did. Before Rude could even react, he watched the small group try to fit themselves into the two-seater plane. He had to do something, and quickly. Whatever Hargun was planning had to be stopped, but Rude didn't know how to disrupt those plans. He didn't even know what they were. The plane's propeller started, and the Turk cursed his hesitation. What to do? What to do? How would he stop Avalanche from making a potential colossal mistake? Tifa.
He turned away and began to race in the direction back to the Turk safehouse. In his haste, he nearly fell off the rooftops of Kalm twice, and at one point even dislodged a shingle, nearly hitting a man in the process. After that, he slowed his pace down, and even once again made an effort to hide, realizing that if someone like Red XIII were to see him, he would have no chance at all of getting Avalanche to believe him.
Even rushing, it took almost a full hour to reach the safehouse. He was lathered in sweat. It was beginning to soak through, and he was panting from exhaustion. Climbing down the ladder on the side of the building proved nearly disasterous, as his hands kept slipping from the sweat. Once down, he hurriedly unlocked the door with the key Tseng had left him long ago, and made his way inside. The door slammed shut behind him, and locked on its own.
"Tifa!" he yelled.
He ran across the room and opened the door to the only bedroom in the safehouse, the one he had given to her so she would have some modicum of comfort.
Once inside, he noticed her hurriedly sitting up. "What is it?" she asked. There was ice in her voice. It made his shoulders slump a little.
"Your friends are being deceived. They need to be warned. They won't trust me, though."
"Why? What's happening?"
He straightened himself out, and focused more on the events than the words, an old trick Tseng had taught him when he was supposed to debrief someone.
"I was following Yuffie Kisaragi around, hoping she would lure me to Professor Hargun. She was able to locate the doctor with little difficulty. That's when I saw the anomaly."
"Anomaly?"
"Doctor Hargun appeared to be an old man in his mid-sixties to his early seventies. This does not match my memory of Hargun, nor his file."
Tifa's face took on a confused look. "So he looks older than he is? I don't see how that's all that strange. Is this how Hargun is deceiving--"
Rude interrupted. "Doctor Hargun is female, not male. You see, Hargun's full name is Lucrecia Rose Hargun."
Author's Note:
I had fun with the idea of this twist, but not so much in the writing of it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to avoid the use of pronouns like 'he' and 'she' just to hide the truth from the reader?!
There, now new and improved, with a little bit of time thrown in to make it a tad more believable. Look for a re-write of chapter 18, as well. That one will have a major difference.
Reno: Because you're a tool!
Reeve: I understand that. But why do I have to wear the mog costume?
Reno: Because you're gay!
Reeve: sigh. Tyramir doesn't own Final Fantasy. And he seems to enjoy making me do the thankless job of saying it.
Chapter Fifteen
Revelations
Dawn was approaching fast, and Rude knew he had little time. He had been following Yuffie around for the entire night, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, skulking about in search of Doctor Hargun. His prey was close, but he also knew that Hargun, being such a clever bastard, wouldn't stay still for long.
But now, as Yuffie approached a cleared off area, he began to think that maybe he had finally located his target.
The clearing was roped off from the general populace, and men wearing Shinra pilot uniforms guarded it from all sides. In the center was a plane, which he recognize to be the Tiny Bronco. Cid's ship. So, Avalanche had discovered Hargun themselves, and decided to keep the information from Yuffie. Why else would she be skulking around like this?
And there, nearby, was Barret, just entering the roped off area. In his one good hand he had a large travel bag, more than likely filled with food and supplies for a trip.
Rude began to wonder why Avalanche would be helping Hargun. They had no reason to help the insane scientist. Perhaps it was because of the shared relationship between Hargun and Vincent. Valentine was a legend among the Turks, as well as fragments of his tragic tale.
But something just didn't fit. If they were doing this on Vincent's behalf, where was the former Turk? Tifa had said that he'd gone missing during the Highwind crash, and the investigation on his part had not yet disproven that.
There they were. Coming from the direction of the hospice were two shapes. After a few minutes, Rude could make them out. In front, the Buster Sword strapped to his back, was Cloud, and at his side and slightly behind was a figure wearing a white lab coat. At last, he had found...
Something wasn't right.
He squinted, and as the shape came closer, he swore. Something was definitely wrong. Avalanche was being deceived, but into what, he didn't know. They obviously didn't know as much as they thought they did. Before Rude could even react, he watched the small group try to fit themselves into the two-seater plane. He had to do something, and quickly. Whatever Hargun was planning had to be stopped, but Rude didn't know how to disrupt those plans. He didn't even know what they were. The plane's propeller started, and the Turk cursed his hesitation. What to do? What to do? How would he stop Avalanche from making a potential colossal mistake? Tifa.
He turned away and began to race in the direction back to the Turk safehouse. In his haste, he nearly fell off the rooftops of Kalm twice, and at one point even dislodged a shingle, nearly hitting a man in the process. After that, he slowed his pace down, and even once again made an effort to hide, realizing that if someone like Red XIII were to see him, he would have no chance at all of getting Avalanche to believe him.
Even rushing, it took almost a full hour to reach the safehouse. He was lathered in sweat. It was beginning to soak through, and he was panting from exhaustion. Climbing down the ladder on the side of the building proved nearly disasterous, as his hands kept slipping from the sweat. Once down, he hurriedly unlocked the door with the key Tseng had left him long ago, and made his way inside. The door slammed shut behind him, and locked on its own.
"Tifa!" he yelled.
He ran across the room and opened the door to the only bedroom in the safehouse, the one he had given to her so she would have some modicum of comfort.
Once inside, he noticed her hurriedly sitting up. "What is it?" she asked. There was ice in her voice. It made his shoulders slump a little.
"Your friends are being deceived. They need to be warned. They won't trust me, though."
"Why? What's happening?"
He straightened himself out, and focused more on the events than the words, an old trick Tseng had taught him when he was supposed to debrief someone.
"I was following Yuffie Kisaragi around, hoping she would lure me to Professor Hargun. She was able to locate the doctor with little difficulty. That's when I saw the anomaly."
"Anomaly?"
"Doctor Hargun appeared to be an old man in his mid-sixties to his early seventies. This does not match my memory of Hargun, nor his file."
Tifa's face took on a confused look. "So he looks older than he is? I don't see how that's all that strange. Is this how Hargun is deceiving--"
Rude interrupted. "Doctor Hargun is female, not male. You see, Hargun's full name is Lucrecia Rose Hargun."
Author's Note:
I had fun with the idea of this twist, but not so much in the writing of it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to avoid the use of pronouns like 'he' and 'she' just to hide the truth from the reader?!
There, now new and improved, with a little bit of time thrown in to make it a tad more believable. Look for a re-write of chapter 18, as well. That one will have a major difference.