Reno: Woohoo! The good guys are winning!
Reeve: Okay, were you dropped on your head as a baby, or held by your legs and smashed head first into a wall? Seriously, I want to know.
Reno: .... Why do you ask?
Reeve: Because the good guys are not winning!
Reno: But they made that evil Jenova confess that she killed Cid.
Reeve: This is not a mystery! And she didn't confess anything to anyone! Are you even reading the same story as me?
Reno: Sure. This is the story where Avalanche all jumps into the Mystery Machine and solves crimes, right? Last episode Jenova was all "And I would have got away with it, too, if it weren't for those damned kids!"
Reeve: I have one word for you.
Reno: Only one? You usually use more to insult me. What is it?
Reeve: Lobotomy.
Reno: What's that?
Reeve: Why don't you go stab yourself in the forehead with a chainsaw and find out?
Reno: I don't know why, but okay.
Reeve: While he does that, I'll just say the disclaimer and allow the story to continue. Sans Mystery Machine. Tyramir doesn't own the rights to Final Fantasy, or Scooby Doo. Nor will he ever do a Scooby Doo story. So don't ask.
Reno: Ahhhh! The blood! There's so much blood! Why would you ask me to do that?
Reeve: Idiot.
Chapter Thirty Five
Purchased Friendship
Rude focused on his fist, and called on the energy within himself. That feeling of something inside of him was always there, always waiting to be unleashed. Now was one of those times. Grand Spark fizzled around his fist, then went into the earth as he struck. The energy touched down, flying forward, and directly at Proud Clod. The attack struck the robot, staggering it slightly, but doing no real damage. It was just another nick scratched into the machine, another unnoticed wound that would help bring it down. Alongside him, Barret was blasting away with his gun-arm, and to his right was Tifa, concentrating hard on her Materia.
It felt good to be fighting again. Not that his time in Kalm with Avalanche and Tifa had been bad, but it had lacked something that he felt he needed. Something that kept his blood pumping, his body moving. He missed the battle, missed the risk, missed the urgency of having to ensure that the mission succeeded.
He kept his mind focused on his Materia, his own inner strength, and Proud Clod. He tried to keep his mind off the little things that threatened to distract him. The way Tifa's hair moved in the wind. Barret's constant swearing. The way Tifa carressed the Materia orb on her bangle. The sweat pouring down the side of his head. Tifa jumping to the side, pushing him...
He snapped back to attention, and swore as the return fire from Proud Clod nearly hit him. Only Tifa's push had put him our of harm's way. The two of them struck the ground and rolled. Coughing, he managed to croak, "Thanks."
She pecked him on the lips. "Just protecting an investment."
She scrambled off him, and he moved to his side to catch his breath, watching her trot away. A foolish grin appeared on his face as he slowly stood up.
"She does have a nice ass, I'll give you that."
Rude was instantly on his feet and in a fighting stance, staring at the source of the voice. Reno was sitting on a piece of rubble, an insolent smirk on his face. His staff was rested on his shoulder. Rude's eyes scanned the debris. Elena would be nearby somewhere.
"What're you doing here, Reno?"
"On Roof's orders. You know. President Rufus of Shinra. The guy you told me would be a good employer, the one you insisted we work for."
"I'm sorry about that, Reno, but--"
"Oh shut up, Rude. You're happy. I get that. But we're on orders from a paying client to distract Avalanche while Proud Clod fights Obsidian. Are you okay with that?"
There. In the shadows and to his left, a gun in hand, was Elena. "No. I'm not 'okay' with that."
Reno's grin turned into a frown. "I'm sorry to hear that. But we're on a contract, and the Turks never break a contract."
The red-haired Turk's eyes shifted to Rude's left, an obvious pre-arranged signal. Rude was already moving, charging at Reno. Light gun fire sounded and hit the pavement where Rude had been standing. That was supposed to be a wound, a hit in the leg. Elena's spirit was in this. Reno's eyes widened in surprised as Rude leapt on him, bringing him off his seat and onto the ground.
"Hey! No fair!" he yelled. "Time out! Truce! I have to take a bathroom break! Car! CAR!"
Rude's fist connected with the side of Reno's head, followed by another to the man's ribs. "This isn't a game, Reno. You want to fight, we'll fight."
Reno's feet jutted out and struck Rude in the chest, knocking the bigger man off and away. Rude stood up, and casually dusted himself off. Another gunshot fired, but missed entirely. He spared a glance to look over and saw Tifa send a swift kick to Elena's middle to follow up the disarming shot she had just placed to the Turk's hand.
"All right," Reno said. "Looks like it's just you and me. Sorry about this, Rude, but a job's a job. You used to know that."
The red-haired Turk gave a flick of his staff, and it extended, electricity bristling at the tip. He held it off to the side, away from them both, and pressed down on a button. A small fireball flared from it, striking a piece of rubble, blowing it up.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.
Rude nodded.
Gunfire blazed, striking the staff, breaking it in half. Both Turks looked over to see Barret, his gun-arm smoking.
The former leader of Avalanche growled, "We don't got no time for this. Rude chose his side. He chose decency over money. Why can't the two of you do the same?"
He indicted to Elena, who was held pinned to the ground by Tifa.
"We're on a contract," Elena said. "We don't abandon those. We do have some standards."
Reno threw the remains of his staff aside. "We don't want to do this. But we have never given up on a mission, and we're not going to, even for a friend. Sorry about this, Rude."
"Stop!" Rude shouted. He was startled at the tone in his own voice. "What's your mission?"
Reno looked a little confused. "Distract Avalanche. Rufus' exact words."
A sudden smile came to Rude's face. "Did he say for how long?"
Reno's answering grin sparkled on both his lips and eyes. "No, as a matter of fact he didn't. I suppose we're done here, then. Come on, Elena, we're out of here."
Tifa let the female Turk go, who stood up and brushed her suit off. She glanced over to Rude, and appeared hesitant. "Do we have to go, Reno?"
"You bet. I don't want to fight my bud. I figure after he's done here, we'll all get a drink together or something."
"No, what I mean is... can't we help him?"
The red-haired Turk arched upright, his normal slouch gone. "Well, uh... we're not heroes, though. We don't do this kind of stuff. And... well, Rude's a friend, but it's not like he's paying us..."
Rude asked, "What was my share for the Kalm mission? The store house retrieval?"
"Uh... about.... fifty thousand gil. I managed to haggle that much out of Rufus considering the risk of Avalanche, and the amount of stuff we got for him."
"I'll give you and Elena twenty five, each, if you help us."
Reno's eyes brightened even more. "Helping and friend and making a profit... well... I don't know. I don't have a weapon..."
"You have a spare staff under your coat. Don't give me that."
The red-haired Turk threw up his hands in disgust. "All right! Fine! I was just trying to weasel a few more gil out of you."
"I know. You in?"
"Sure, why not? Elena?"
The blond Turk also nodded. "Yeah. I suppose I am."
"Alright then. Let's kick some ass."
Author's Note:
Sorry about the lateness of this. Unforeseen problems with a third party. Doesn't help that the document manager on went down for a little while. Grrrr...
Reeve: Okay, were you dropped on your head as a baby, or held by your legs and smashed head first into a wall? Seriously, I want to know.
Reno: .... Why do you ask?
Reeve: Because the good guys are not winning!
Reno: But they made that evil Jenova confess that she killed Cid.
Reeve: This is not a mystery! And she didn't confess anything to anyone! Are you even reading the same story as me?
Reno: Sure. This is the story where Avalanche all jumps into the Mystery Machine and solves crimes, right? Last episode Jenova was all "And I would have got away with it, too, if it weren't for those damned kids!"
Reeve: I have one word for you.
Reno: Only one? You usually use more to insult me. What is it?
Reeve: Lobotomy.
Reno: What's that?
Reeve: Why don't you go stab yourself in the forehead with a chainsaw and find out?
Reno: I don't know why, but okay.
Reeve: While he does that, I'll just say the disclaimer and allow the story to continue. Sans Mystery Machine. Tyramir doesn't own the rights to Final Fantasy, or Scooby Doo. Nor will he ever do a Scooby Doo story. So don't ask.
Reno: Ahhhh! The blood! There's so much blood! Why would you ask me to do that?
Reeve: Idiot.
Chapter Thirty Five
Purchased Friendship
Rude focused on his fist, and called on the energy within himself. That feeling of something inside of him was always there, always waiting to be unleashed. Now was one of those times. Grand Spark fizzled around his fist, then went into the earth as he struck. The energy touched down, flying forward, and directly at Proud Clod. The attack struck the robot, staggering it slightly, but doing no real damage. It was just another nick scratched into the machine, another unnoticed wound that would help bring it down. Alongside him, Barret was blasting away with his gun-arm, and to his right was Tifa, concentrating hard on her Materia.
It felt good to be fighting again. Not that his time in Kalm with Avalanche and Tifa had been bad, but it had lacked something that he felt he needed. Something that kept his blood pumping, his body moving. He missed the battle, missed the risk, missed the urgency of having to ensure that the mission succeeded.
He kept his mind focused on his Materia, his own inner strength, and Proud Clod. He tried to keep his mind off the little things that threatened to distract him. The way Tifa's hair moved in the wind. Barret's constant swearing. The way Tifa carressed the Materia orb on her bangle. The sweat pouring down the side of his head. Tifa jumping to the side, pushing him...
He snapped back to attention, and swore as the return fire from Proud Clod nearly hit him. Only Tifa's push had put him our of harm's way. The two of them struck the ground and rolled. Coughing, he managed to croak, "Thanks."
She pecked him on the lips. "Just protecting an investment."
She scrambled off him, and he moved to his side to catch his breath, watching her trot away. A foolish grin appeared on his face as he slowly stood up.
"She does have a nice ass, I'll give you that."
Rude was instantly on his feet and in a fighting stance, staring at the source of the voice. Reno was sitting on a piece of rubble, an insolent smirk on his face. His staff was rested on his shoulder. Rude's eyes scanned the debris. Elena would be nearby somewhere.
"What're you doing here, Reno?"
"On Roof's orders. You know. President Rufus of Shinra. The guy you told me would be a good employer, the one you insisted we work for."
"I'm sorry about that, Reno, but--"
"Oh shut up, Rude. You're happy. I get that. But we're on orders from a paying client to distract Avalanche while Proud Clod fights Obsidian. Are you okay with that?"
There. In the shadows and to his left, a gun in hand, was Elena. "No. I'm not 'okay' with that."
Reno's grin turned into a frown. "I'm sorry to hear that. But we're on a contract, and the Turks never break a contract."
The red-haired Turk's eyes shifted to Rude's left, an obvious pre-arranged signal. Rude was already moving, charging at Reno. Light gun fire sounded and hit the pavement where Rude had been standing. That was supposed to be a wound, a hit in the leg. Elena's spirit was in this. Reno's eyes widened in surprised as Rude leapt on him, bringing him off his seat and onto the ground.
"Hey! No fair!" he yelled. "Time out! Truce! I have to take a bathroom break! Car! CAR!"
Rude's fist connected with the side of Reno's head, followed by another to the man's ribs. "This isn't a game, Reno. You want to fight, we'll fight."
Reno's feet jutted out and struck Rude in the chest, knocking the bigger man off and away. Rude stood up, and casually dusted himself off. Another gunshot fired, but missed entirely. He spared a glance to look over and saw Tifa send a swift kick to Elena's middle to follow up the disarming shot she had just placed to the Turk's hand.
"All right," Reno said. "Looks like it's just you and me. Sorry about this, Rude, but a job's a job. You used to know that."
The red-haired Turk gave a flick of his staff, and it extended, electricity bristling at the tip. He held it off to the side, away from them both, and pressed down on a button. A small fireball flared from it, striking a piece of rubble, blowing it up.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.
Rude nodded.
Gunfire blazed, striking the staff, breaking it in half. Both Turks looked over to see Barret, his gun-arm smoking.
The former leader of Avalanche growled, "We don't got no time for this. Rude chose his side. He chose decency over money. Why can't the two of you do the same?"
He indicted to Elena, who was held pinned to the ground by Tifa.
"We're on a contract," Elena said. "We don't abandon those. We do have some standards."
Reno threw the remains of his staff aside. "We don't want to do this. But we have never given up on a mission, and we're not going to, even for a friend. Sorry about this, Rude."
"Stop!" Rude shouted. He was startled at the tone in his own voice. "What's your mission?"
Reno looked a little confused. "Distract Avalanche. Rufus' exact words."
A sudden smile came to Rude's face. "Did he say for how long?"
Reno's answering grin sparkled on both his lips and eyes. "No, as a matter of fact he didn't. I suppose we're done here, then. Come on, Elena, we're out of here."
Tifa let the female Turk go, who stood up and brushed her suit off. She glanced over to Rude, and appeared hesitant. "Do we have to go, Reno?"
"You bet. I don't want to fight my bud. I figure after he's done here, we'll all get a drink together or something."
"No, what I mean is... can't we help him?"
The red-haired Turk arched upright, his normal slouch gone. "Well, uh... we're not heroes, though. We don't do this kind of stuff. And... well, Rude's a friend, but it's not like he's paying us..."
Rude asked, "What was my share for the Kalm mission? The store house retrieval?"
"Uh... about.... fifty thousand gil. I managed to haggle that much out of Rufus considering the risk of Avalanche, and the amount of stuff we got for him."
"I'll give you and Elena twenty five, each, if you help us."
Reno's eyes brightened even more. "Helping and friend and making a profit... well... I don't know. I don't have a weapon..."
"You have a spare staff under your coat. Don't give me that."
The red-haired Turk threw up his hands in disgust. "All right! Fine! I was just trying to weasel a few more gil out of you."
"I know. You in?"
"Sure, why not? Elena?"
The blond Turk also nodded. "Yeah. I suppose I am."
"Alright then. Let's kick some ass."
Author's Note:
Sorry about the lateness of this. Unforeseen problems with a third party. Doesn't help that the document manager on went down for a little while. Grrrr...