* A/N: This will be the only chapter up for the holidays. I've got to focus on fixing my
website since it's been on hiatus for a couple of months. This chapter will explain a little
more of what's going on. The last chapter was pretty vague so this'll clear it up a bit. *
## Barret's POV ##
When we got back to Carter's apartment we found Red sitting on the couch with a laptop
in front of him. He was wearing glasses (who knew?) and was leaning over as if he were
focused intently on something on the screen. He jumped when he heard the door slam
behind us.
"Hey," Tifa started, "where've you been this whole time? Here?"
"Here, at the library, walking down the street," he said fixing his gaze back on the screen.
"Why?" I asked.
"Research," he answered in an isn't-it-obvious tone. "I've found out quite a bit about
Prizmle and his gang. The gang started in 1997 in this area. Since then there are
headquarters in many major cities in the US."
"US?" Tifa said.
"The United States of America," Red responded. "The US is the country that we are
currently residing in. Anyway, since this country is one of the most dominant, or thinks it
is, naturally, Prizmle thinks he can take this country and the rest of the world over."
"So there are branches of his gang all around the #$^#$^in' US?!" I yelled.
"Yup," Red sighed. "There's more. It seems that Prizmle has recently gotten more people
to join his gang from false advertisement on television for the Shanrya computers. We're
going to have to look out for that commercial. I read that it's very effective. Thank God
it's on channels that most people wouldn't watch."
"What channels?" Cid asked.
"I think it's like Life and the Discovery Channel," Carter chipped in.
Everyone looked at Red. "Fine, I won't watch TV if you won't watch TV," Red said. He
was the only one who would be interested in Life and the Discovery Channel out of the six
of us.
"Okay," we all agreed.
Red looked up from the screen. "Where's Cloud? I haven't heard him say anything."
"He got caught back at the headquarters," Tifa said, frowning a bit.
"Oh," Red nodded, "he'll be fine."
"Yeah, he's got that fearless leader thang goin' on," Carter said.
Everyone looked at him but me. I could tell they were all thinking the same "thang".
"It's a black thang y'all," he shot back.
"What did you guys learn tonight?" Red asked.
"A lot," Yuffie said fishing in her dress pocket for her notepad. She walked over to Red
and told him what she found out and the location of the headquarters. Tifa told him about
the ninjas and the obstacles we went through to get back here.
"Oh, and Cloud totally showed up Carter!" Tifa added after everyone was done explaining
their night.
Carter clenched his fist. "That spikey ^%&#^% did not show me up, @$$%@Q$!!"
"Sure," Cid said sarcastically. "Sure."
"$#^$^ y'all. #$%$^ all of y'all," Carter said dismissing everyone's comments.
"We've had a pretty rough night guys," I finally said. "We should get to bed and then plan
our next move in the morning."
"You're right," Red said, closing his laptop. Let's get some shuteye." We all found a place
to sleep until morning.
The next day I woke up to two hands shaking me. "Hello? Barret? We're leaving for the
agency soon," a voice said.
I peeled one eye open to see Tifa staring down at me. I opened the other one and yawned.
Tifa fluttered her hand in front of her face. "Whoa there, big guy," she coughed out.
"Not my $#^$%^ fault you were leaning over me," I countered, sitting up straight. "Now
get outta here so I can groom myself properly, as you women call it."
Tifa laughed and walked out of the walk in closet I spent the night in. After I had finished
folding the blankets I was sleeping in I opened the closet door to see everyone dressed and
ready to go. "So I guess we're leavin' now?" I asked.
"Yupperdoodles," Tifa perked up.
"Where are we goin' anyway?" I asked.
"The agency," Red answered for her. He was wearing sunglasses "to look inconspicuous."
He may be the smartest one out of us, but he #$^$%!in lacks common sense. "I received a
phone call this morning from Durraine. He found out that Cloud was being held captive
somehow, and he said that he has someone to replace him for now. Someone he has been
meaning to put on the case but didn't when he saw how qualified we were. He says we
won't be disappointed because his unusual fighting qualities fit in with ours."
I nodded. "Well, let's go meet this guy, huh?" I said leading everyone out the door. We
took Carter's car to the agency with the same seating arrangement as before. Yuffie and
Tifa still find joy out of LA so they had to sit on the tops of the back seats.
"Quickly, agents," Durrain said when we had all gotten out of the car, "this way."
We all looked at one another before walking over to him. What was he going to show us?
We followed him into a dimly lit room in the far east side of the building. "The reason for
my hush-hush is behind this curtain," Durrain said, pointing toward the curtain across from
where we were standing. "I don't have time for explanations about this man right now. He
can tell you if he wishes after he is introduced. He has as much skill as you all do. I can
assure you he won't let you down. His name is-"
"Bruce Valentine!" a deep voice called from behind the curtain. A hand whipped the
curtain aside and a man appeared before our eyes. Bruce Valentine? This was no doubt the
man that tried to kill Prizmle but died trying. I gave Cid a look and he nodded,
understanding. "I know you're all just itching to know more about me so I'll give it to you
real quick. I'm twenty-five, outgoing, sarcastic, smart, and a bit of a jerk," Bruce said,
grinning evilly at Tifa and Yuffie. They giggled. Great. Just what we needed. Another
pretty boy. Why couldn't he just be silent like Vincent?
"Yeah, well I've got looks," Carter said walking over to Tifa and Yuffie with a sly grin.
"Girls, can you handle it?" he said with his hands on his hips. He turned to face Bruce as if
he knew what the answer was going to be.
"No," Tifa started.
"We're not worthy," Yuffie finished. They both walked over to talk to Bruce.
"I trust you'll all get along?" Durrain questioned.
"Of course!" Yuffie and Tifa chorused.
"Be on your way then," Durrain said opening the door for us.
Tifa, Yuffie, and Bruce left first, talking excitedly amongst themselves. We all followed
close behind.
"Let's go somewhere where we can talk," Red said to us as we were walking down the
street.
"May I suggest the Golden Corral just up this road?" Bruce said.
"All right," Cid nodded in agreement.
We all ate lunch at the Golden Corral. We had a discussion about the case.
"I had a feeling you would be our ally," Red told Bruce.
Bruce cocked an eyebrow. "Why?"
"This might be shocking to hear, but seeing as you're not freaking out over a talking wolf,
I think you can handle it."
"It's seriously some freaky #$%#, man," Carter warned Bruce.
"So, go on, explain," Bruce said, placing his elbow on the table top and resting his head on
his index finger.
Red explained how we were all actually from the past and were here to save his great
great great grandchild, Vincent. We told him about how we thought he was sent into this
time portal. "He resembles you a great deal," Red added, "only he's the strong silent type."
Yuffie sighed at this.
Bruce only nodded throughout the whole thing, but assuming that was the last piece of
information that Red could provide he spoke up. "So I've got a great great great grandson
who was sucked into this time period because of my wife's miscarriage?"
"Yes, that's the deal," Tifa said.
"Okay, then it's only fair that I give you some background information about myself and
my days with Prizmle," Bruce said, sitting up. "I was a very quiet child. In my youth I met
Prizmle. We had gone to school together. He was a brain. We were both kind of outcast
from the rest of the school so we would hang out. We were best friends. It all started
when he got involved with another gang. We were in college by this time. They called
themselves Shanrya. Prizmle was a loyal member of the group. Once he had gotten
involved he couldn't quit. They would find him and probably kill him. Prizmle came to me
because he needed money, clothes, and a couple of times he needed to use my dorm for
meeting purposes. I had a bad feeling in my guy about Shanrya, but I thought Prizmle
knew what he was doing. In our junior year I told him to break it off with the gang. They
were breaking him down. He never showed up at class, I could never find him in his dorm,
and if I did see him, he had a cup of coffee in his hand. I prodded him every time I saw
him to tell me why he got involved and if I could help him stop. He finally told me one
day. He had gotten desperate for some extra cash. He wanted to go out to clubs like a
regular 21 year old. He wanted to get a striptease or two. He wanted everything he
couldn't have socially. I don't think he had ever had a true friend other than me in his life. I
helped him forget about Shanrya. We fought against them. We won. In our senior year
Shanrya was out for both of us. They had a strong hatred against us. We fled the college
immediately. We weren't stupid. We knew they had probably had a huge plan to torture us
to death. We finished college in North Carolina, where he got his master's degree. He
went home to show his parents and Shanrya trucks were everywhere. They had gotten
their revenge...on his parents. Prizmle was infused with mako. Shanrya captured him.
Prizmle went mad. He's mad at everything. I haven't talked to him since college, but I've
seen him around. To tell you the truth, I almost feel bad for him. But the man's gone
mental, and I can't let my past interfere with what needs to be done."
We were all hanging on his every word. Tifa and Yuffie had tears in their eyes.
"That's so sad!" Tifa whispered.
"I know! Why can't anyone have a little striptease for free?!" Carter said, nodding.
"I think you're missing the point," I said seriously.
"Mako..." Red sighed and then hopped down of off the seat. "We'd better get going guys. We need
to recollect our thoughts and plan our next move."
We all got up and followed him, leaving the money for the bill on the table.
* A/N: Yay, another chapter accomplished. Please review and the next one will be up in
January! Merry Christmas!!!!!!! *
website since it's been on hiatus for a couple of months. This chapter will explain a little
more of what's going on. The last chapter was pretty vague so this'll clear it up a bit. *
## Barret's POV ##
When we got back to Carter's apartment we found Red sitting on the couch with a laptop
in front of him. He was wearing glasses (who knew?) and was leaning over as if he were
focused intently on something on the screen. He jumped when he heard the door slam
behind us.
"Hey," Tifa started, "where've you been this whole time? Here?"
"Here, at the library, walking down the street," he said fixing his gaze back on the screen.
"Why?" I asked.
"Research," he answered in an isn't-it-obvious tone. "I've found out quite a bit about
Prizmle and his gang. The gang started in 1997 in this area. Since then there are
headquarters in many major cities in the US."
"US?" Tifa said.
"The United States of America," Red responded. "The US is the country that we are
currently residing in. Anyway, since this country is one of the most dominant, or thinks it
is, naturally, Prizmle thinks he can take this country and the rest of the world over."
"So there are branches of his gang all around the #$^#$^in' US?!" I yelled.
"Yup," Red sighed. "There's more. It seems that Prizmle has recently gotten more people
to join his gang from false advertisement on television for the Shanrya computers. We're
going to have to look out for that commercial. I read that it's very effective. Thank God
it's on channels that most people wouldn't watch."
"What channels?" Cid asked.
"I think it's like Life and the Discovery Channel," Carter chipped in.
Everyone looked at Red. "Fine, I won't watch TV if you won't watch TV," Red said. He
was the only one who would be interested in Life and the Discovery Channel out of the six
of us.
"Okay," we all agreed.
Red looked up from the screen. "Where's Cloud? I haven't heard him say anything."
"He got caught back at the headquarters," Tifa said, frowning a bit.
"Oh," Red nodded, "he'll be fine."
"Yeah, he's got that fearless leader thang goin' on," Carter said.
Everyone looked at him but me. I could tell they were all thinking the same "thang".
"It's a black thang y'all," he shot back.
"What did you guys learn tonight?" Red asked.
"A lot," Yuffie said fishing in her dress pocket for her notepad. She walked over to Red
and told him what she found out and the location of the headquarters. Tifa told him about
the ninjas and the obstacles we went through to get back here.
"Oh, and Cloud totally showed up Carter!" Tifa added after everyone was done explaining
their night.
Carter clenched his fist. "That spikey ^%&#^% did not show me up, @$$%@Q$!!"
"Sure," Cid said sarcastically. "Sure."
"$#^$^ y'all. #$%$^ all of y'all," Carter said dismissing everyone's comments.
"We've had a pretty rough night guys," I finally said. "We should get to bed and then plan
our next move in the morning."
"You're right," Red said, closing his laptop. Let's get some shuteye." We all found a place
to sleep until morning.
The next day I woke up to two hands shaking me. "Hello? Barret? We're leaving for the
agency soon," a voice said.
I peeled one eye open to see Tifa staring down at me. I opened the other one and yawned.
Tifa fluttered her hand in front of her face. "Whoa there, big guy," she coughed out.
"Not my $#^$%^ fault you were leaning over me," I countered, sitting up straight. "Now
get outta here so I can groom myself properly, as you women call it."
Tifa laughed and walked out of the walk in closet I spent the night in. After I had finished
folding the blankets I was sleeping in I opened the closet door to see everyone dressed and
ready to go. "So I guess we're leavin' now?" I asked.
"Yupperdoodles," Tifa perked up.
"Where are we goin' anyway?" I asked.
"The agency," Red answered for her. He was wearing sunglasses "to look inconspicuous."
He may be the smartest one out of us, but he #$^$%!in lacks common sense. "I received a
phone call this morning from Durraine. He found out that Cloud was being held captive
somehow, and he said that he has someone to replace him for now. Someone he has been
meaning to put on the case but didn't when he saw how qualified we were. He says we
won't be disappointed because his unusual fighting qualities fit in with ours."
I nodded. "Well, let's go meet this guy, huh?" I said leading everyone out the door. We
took Carter's car to the agency with the same seating arrangement as before. Yuffie and
Tifa still find joy out of LA so they had to sit on the tops of the back seats.
"Quickly, agents," Durrain said when we had all gotten out of the car, "this way."
We all looked at one another before walking over to him. What was he going to show us?
We followed him into a dimly lit room in the far east side of the building. "The reason for
my hush-hush is behind this curtain," Durrain said, pointing toward the curtain across from
where we were standing. "I don't have time for explanations about this man right now. He
can tell you if he wishes after he is introduced. He has as much skill as you all do. I can
assure you he won't let you down. His name is-"
"Bruce Valentine!" a deep voice called from behind the curtain. A hand whipped the
curtain aside and a man appeared before our eyes. Bruce Valentine? This was no doubt the
man that tried to kill Prizmle but died trying. I gave Cid a look and he nodded,
understanding. "I know you're all just itching to know more about me so I'll give it to you
real quick. I'm twenty-five, outgoing, sarcastic, smart, and a bit of a jerk," Bruce said,
grinning evilly at Tifa and Yuffie. They giggled. Great. Just what we needed. Another
pretty boy. Why couldn't he just be silent like Vincent?
"Yeah, well I've got looks," Carter said walking over to Tifa and Yuffie with a sly grin.
"Girls, can you handle it?" he said with his hands on his hips. He turned to face Bruce as if
he knew what the answer was going to be.
"No," Tifa started.
"We're not worthy," Yuffie finished. They both walked over to talk to Bruce.
"I trust you'll all get along?" Durrain questioned.
"Of course!" Yuffie and Tifa chorused.
"Be on your way then," Durrain said opening the door for us.
Tifa, Yuffie, and Bruce left first, talking excitedly amongst themselves. We all followed
close behind.
"Let's go somewhere where we can talk," Red said to us as we were walking down the
street.
"May I suggest the Golden Corral just up this road?" Bruce said.
"All right," Cid nodded in agreement.
We all ate lunch at the Golden Corral. We had a discussion about the case.
"I had a feeling you would be our ally," Red told Bruce.
Bruce cocked an eyebrow. "Why?"
"This might be shocking to hear, but seeing as you're not freaking out over a talking wolf,
I think you can handle it."
"It's seriously some freaky #$%#, man," Carter warned Bruce.
"So, go on, explain," Bruce said, placing his elbow on the table top and resting his head on
his index finger.
Red explained how we were all actually from the past and were here to save his great
great great grandchild, Vincent. We told him about how we thought he was sent into this
time portal. "He resembles you a great deal," Red added, "only he's the strong silent type."
Yuffie sighed at this.
Bruce only nodded throughout the whole thing, but assuming that was the last piece of
information that Red could provide he spoke up. "So I've got a great great great grandson
who was sucked into this time period because of my wife's miscarriage?"
"Yes, that's the deal," Tifa said.
"Okay, then it's only fair that I give you some background information about myself and
my days with Prizmle," Bruce said, sitting up. "I was a very quiet child. In my youth I met
Prizmle. We had gone to school together. He was a brain. We were both kind of outcast
from the rest of the school so we would hang out. We were best friends. It all started
when he got involved with another gang. We were in college by this time. They called
themselves Shanrya. Prizmle was a loyal member of the group. Once he had gotten
involved he couldn't quit. They would find him and probably kill him. Prizmle came to me
because he needed money, clothes, and a couple of times he needed to use my dorm for
meeting purposes. I had a bad feeling in my guy about Shanrya, but I thought Prizmle
knew what he was doing. In our junior year I told him to break it off with the gang. They
were breaking him down. He never showed up at class, I could never find him in his dorm,
and if I did see him, he had a cup of coffee in his hand. I prodded him every time I saw
him to tell me why he got involved and if I could help him stop. He finally told me one
day. He had gotten desperate for some extra cash. He wanted to go out to clubs like a
regular 21 year old. He wanted to get a striptease or two. He wanted everything he
couldn't have socially. I don't think he had ever had a true friend other than me in his life. I
helped him forget about Shanrya. We fought against them. We won. In our senior year
Shanrya was out for both of us. They had a strong hatred against us. We fled the college
immediately. We weren't stupid. We knew they had probably had a huge plan to torture us
to death. We finished college in North Carolina, where he got his master's degree. He
went home to show his parents and Shanrya trucks were everywhere. They had gotten
their revenge...on his parents. Prizmle was infused with mako. Shanrya captured him.
Prizmle went mad. He's mad at everything. I haven't talked to him since college, but I've
seen him around. To tell you the truth, I almost feel bad for him. But the man's gone
mental, and I can't let my past interfere with what needs to be done."
We were all hanging on his every word. Tifa and Yuffie had tears in their eyes.
"That's so sad!" Tifa whispered.
"I know! Why can't anyone have a little striptease for free?!" Carter said, nodding.
"I think you're missing the point," I said seriously.
"Mako..." Red sighed and then hopped down of off the seat. "We'd better get going guys. We need
to recollect our thoughts and plan our next move."
We all got up and followed him, leaving the money for the bill on the table.
* A/N: Yay, another chapter accomplished. Please review and the next one will be up in
January! Merry Christmas!!!!!!! *