AHAHAHAHAHA! It's finished almost and hour and a half before deadline. AHAHAHAHA I have lost my brains in the toolshed of hopes...dreams...wallet...keys...
Throwing fiction to Earth...
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Shinra Kombat!
Choose your destiny
Flawless victory
Shinra kombat!
Fight
Shinra kombat!
Excellent
Reno
Tseng
Rude
Vincent
Elena
Doo doo doo dee doo doo
Shinra kombat
Excellent
Reno
Tseng
Rude
Vincent
Elena
Fatality
Fight
Choose your destiny
Reno
Tseng
Rude
Vincent
Elena
Shinra kombat!
I apologise
This chapter has no doubt been the longest so far. It has also been the most painful. I am in great pain.
I also wrote part of it in the lightest pencil I could find and it was quite a challenge to decipher.
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Day 4: What no man wants to lose.
Early in the morning Rude was sitting in the Turk's lounge enjoying a strong, black coffee when Scarlet let herself in.
"Good Morning." She greeted cheerily.
"'Morning." Rude replied cautiously.
Scarlet glanced briefly around the room.
"Is Tseng in?"
"He's out."
"oh…I see. Left for that errand already? You don't happen to know where he is exactly?"
Rude shook his head.
"Are you sure about that?" Scarlet queried, walking along behind the couch and following the edge with her hand. "I am entrusted to know confidential information."
Rude frowned as he felt long, lacquered fingernails land gently on top of his head.
A lot of bald men try and point out that they don't want people touching their scalps. Shiny, Stubbly, or fuzzy they're not good luck charms and very importantly they're not supposed to be 'cute'. It takes a lot of trust to let someone touch your head. This is probably because it's a part of the body which it very sensitive to things such as knives, bullets and general concussions.
Imagine someone walking up to a woman and running their hands through her hair. It's a fairly intimate gesture which works very much the same way for people with no hair. In other words it's only acceptable if you've just been or are going to be in bed with them very shortly.
Thankfully, it didn't take Scarlet very long to figure out that making circles on Rude's head wasn't going to get her the information she was looking for.
She leaned forward, pulling Rude's head close to her chest. If he had been wearing a red bandana he would have camouflaged fairly easily in her cleavage.
"Come now. He goes out on duty and you don't know where? I think Tseng might've left a note somewhere. Maybe in his office. Or maybe I should go check his room. Would you lead the way for me?"
Rude stood up and set his cup down on the coffee table. He doubted that Scarlet knew where Tseng's room was. He had made a point of getting a personal suite inside the building but not so close to the Turk's headquarters to avoid getting hassled in the off hours.
Scarlet smiled nicely as Rude opened the door out into the hallway for her.
"Maybe, "she began, stepping out the door, "We'll find something around the bed."
"Probably not." Rude replied closing and locking the door behind her.
Scarlet stared at the closed door for awhile as her face turned an angry red colour.
"Rude, sweetie, we were getting on so well!" she yelled through the door. "You must get lonely here. We could go for a coffee!"
Rude didn't hear any of Scarlet's offers; he had already left through a side door and was making his way to the pub.
It was either not to think about what kind of insult it was when someone as easy as Scarlet only wanted to use him to get to Tseng – nevermind the fact that he wasn't prepared to tell her anything about his whereabouts.
A drink might also help him not think about how slamming the door in her face was going to affect the business politics.
Jonah awoke later into the morning. He pulled himself out of bed and into the small washroom in the hotel room.
Jonah looked back at himself from the mirror. He looked like a wreck. Dark circles under his eyes blended in with pale, clammy skin and the hairstyle left something to be desired. There was a scratch on his cheek from something he couldn't remember.
The scientist took time to wash his face and fix his hair. He stood a little taller afterwards and smiled. Today he would leave Midgar and travel as far as he could. Hopefully he'd make it to Costa Del Sol and find work until he could afford a quiet little place to retire.
He hunched over a bit, holding onto his stomach. There were still some stomach pains that hadn't gone away yet but they were certainly not as bad or as frequent as they were.
Nothing a little breakfast wouldn't help, Jonah thought to himself as he dressed and headed downstairs.
The hotel was more known for its food and drink than its rooms but the fare was pretty cheap for both parts.
Jonah put in a request for a hearty breakfast and found himself a seat. He glanced around the room. It was a nice room. Not very good lighting, could've used some windows too.
In the room there was a mix of people you would find in the lower sectors. There was an old man spitting in a can, a younger man making rude jokes at a waitress, a woman who had already had too many drinks, a bald guy with sunglasses.
Jonah looked again. Something about the sunglasses had tipped him off but the suit was what gave it away.
And he was sure he was looking straight at him. Or was he? It was sort of an angle and you really couldn't tell. Rude looked more like he was brooding than anything.
Jonah would have to walk right by him to get to the exit but if he hadn't been recognised yet then it was worth a shot. Maybe he could even run for the door if he got close enough.
If he got caught he'd be back at square one. No Costa Del Sol. Maybe he could strike a deal with the bald man. Maybe he wouldn't even recognize him. Maybe he wouldn't care – not worth the effort to recapture a runaway scientist, no, a runaway spy.
The room started to swirl, clanging glasses rang out and the thrum of the people reverberated in his ears.
Jonah slowly lifted himself from his table and headed towards the door.
Almost to the door, he suddenly felt a firm grip around his arm. Rude dragged him back into the sitting area before sitting back down at his own table.
Jonah stood awkwardly next to him.
"Well then, I ought to be going you see." He said, no longer restrained and went to go back towards the exit.
"No."
Jonah stopped, partially because he didn't feel like being hunted down and partially because his stomach was starting to hurt again. He twisted uncomfortably.
"I'll just head back to my table then…"
"Sit." Rude might have let him leave but he didn't like to see a good day's work undone and having heard that the scientist escaped had been kind of disappointing. Secondly he was technically on duty and it would have felt wrong to let the man go. He watched Jonah pull out the chair on the other side of the table and slowly sit down. It may have also been that he was generally in a bad mood and needed to take it out on someone.
The waitress came over and set down both their meals and a pitcher of beer.
"Don't mind him, hun'" she said to Jonah, "Nobody likes to drink alone." She winked and headed back to the kitchen.
Rude poured himself a glass and took a swig, wiping off his fork on a napkin before spearing Midgar's greasiest french-fries.
Jonah watched him for a few minutes.
"Are you not going to take me back?"
Rude frowned. "Just because you're sitting here, doesn't mean I want to talk to you."
"So I'm just here for company?"
"If you're in a hurry I could take you to Shinra HQ and then come back."
"No, no. I can wait. Don't rush on my behalf."
"You can shut up now."
Jonah picked up a piece of bacon. "May I know who I'm having breakfast with then?"
"Rude."
"Ah. Well." Jonah ended the conversation and ate his meal in silence.
After they were both done Rude dumped him in the Shinra lobby and took off towards the office.
Day 4: Afternoon
Dylan Stephenson, the newly appointed Minister of Documents, stood in front of the large window of his new office. Through it he could see half of Midgar. This far up the Shinra building people were barely specks.
The whole city was dark grey with bits of brightly coloured lines. Around Midgar there was a brown ring of dead earth- sand and dead grass. Beyond that was a stretch of green plains and then the ocean.
Somewhere out there, between the dead ring and the ocean was Dylan's home, a small farming community and a haven for refugee's.
He gave his hometown a quick salute. Afterall, his soul purpose of working for Shinra was to benefit his small homeland.
Day 4: Evening
The Sun was just sinking under the horizon. The last of the birds had been replaced with owls which blinked sleepily and sat in the tree's, waiting for the sky to be just a tad darker before they began to hunt. Crickets made that sound that they make.
In the solitude and the dim light of twilight a loud bang interrupted the night followed by excessive cursing.
"I told you it was a glorified golf kart."
Tseng pulled a few small items from the vehicle. "Well we're almost there."
"Walking?"
"Do you have another idea?"
"I guess it's not very far from here." Reno said, heading Southwards.
Tseng checked the map, following shortly behind.
"You know," He said after a little while, "I didn't think there were this many trees out here."
Earlier they had been journeying through tall grass with the odd tree. The further south they went the more frequently the tree's appeared until they were well into a forest.
"Must be getting close." Reno said stooping in front of a sudden, thick, cluster of trees. There was barely a hand span in between the trunks.
"This must be the place." He added, tugging on a treebranch.
Tseng nodded. "Just watch out for anything suspicious."
"Sure thing. We just need a way to get in – Those trees are packed tight."
"Right."
"This must be the place." Reno said, tugging on a tree branch.
Tseng looked over. "Is that the way in?"
"No I said we need to find a way in."
Tseng thought for a minute before shaking his head.
"Are you going to help me find it?"
"Yeah…"
Tseng and Reno poked around the trees for a short while before finding a narrow opening that led into the tree-fortress.
Both Turks pulled out flashlights as the last of the daylight faded away.
Tseng entered first, the glaring flashlight highlighting plants and ferns along the ground. Small creatures ducked under the foliage, hiding from the light.
"Hey look at the little salamander!" Reno said, bending down to inspect the small amphibian.
Tseng turned around and saw himself and Reno walking in through the path.
"I'm pretty sure he must be a poisonous little guy – Hey, Are you feeling ok?"
"I think there's something weird around here."
"Could be the Mako fountain. Are you picking up signals from Earth with your extra eye?" Reno said sarcastically, pointing to his forehead.
"That's not funny at all"
"Yeesh. Did you want to go back and wait and I'll take the photos?"
"No."
"Well then, let's hurry up so we can ditch this place."
The Turks entered further into the woods. All the way along Tseng kept seeing quick flashes of himself walking along. Sometimes of himself in places he didn't recognize.
As they walked the visions became longer and more frequent.
Reno noticed Tseng's distraction and continually asked him if he wanted to stop or head back.
Eventually they spotted a small, glowing pool surrounded by a few gnarled trees.
Tseng had grown so disorientated that he asked Reno to collect data while he leaned against a tree for support.
"If you'd bother to ask my opinion I think that you're unfit to make decisions and I think we should go back." Reno said firmly.
"If you interfere with this job I'll kill you." Tseng replied hazily until seeing Reno's stubborn look which caused him to add, "And it'll only take a minute before we go back anyway. Pictures and Readings."
Reno shook his head and pulled out a camera and a power-meter as he sat down on a rock near the pool.
Tseng leaned his head back and watched as the forest blurred in and out of focus.
Soon the trees began to look taller and distorted. Everything was glowed a sandy gold colour.
In the gold-dream Tseng felt himself being pulled and pushed like he was floating on a tide. His body felt disconnected and loose. Looking at his hands and arms they seemed blurry and out of focus.
He felt his body be turned around to face a dark smear. The smear grew larger and as it drew close he could see it stretching out towards him.
The image slowly reached out with a spark of light which streamlined towards Tseng and entered his side with a stab of pain.
"Tseng?" Reno said, jumping up as he heard the scrumpling of underbrush behind him. He approached Tseng who had fallen on the ground and was staring forward blankly.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked nervously.
Tseng grabbed hold of Reno's hand and held it in a steadfast grip, still staring out into space.
The dark image wavered across Tseng's sight as he grabbed for the end of the long sword buried in his side. Slowly it withdrew and the whole golden forest faded into black.
Finally Tseng had closed his eyes and Reno sat next to him, awkwardly, with his hand in Tseng's firm grip whilea few owls were calling in the distance.
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Like OMG explicit! -sarcasm
Because I don't do drugs. Apparently 'scrumpling' isn't a word.
"Is his holiness done with the paper?"
"hmph." Sanzo replied, flicking the remains of a cigarette out into the landscape. "Since when do you read the paper?"
"There's a pageant in the last town we were in. I want to see the results."
"We should all show more interest in the local news." Hakkai put in.
"Hmph." Said Sanzo, handing the paper back.
"Does each town have it's own newspaper?" Goku asked.
Gojyo flipped to the page he was looking for. "Hey, I knew it! I was right."
"Right about what?" Goku asked.
Hakkai turned around in his seat. "Oh no. See she came in first for etiquette. It's split into five categories. Oh my, she did very poorly there." He added pointing to a section, "No surprise. That dress is quite tacky."
"I'm starving!" Goku mentioned loudly.
"Watch where you're driving!" Sanzo hollered.
"whoops!"
Everyone was rocked around as the jeep was steered back on course.
It was quiet for about five minutes before Gojyo spoke up.
"Sanzo. Did you put an article in here?"
"No."
"Funny. It reads: Religious figure seeks those willing to go west"
"Hand it to me."
"Must be quiet. Combat skills preferred. Helpful if you do not mind being shot at."
"Such a coincidence."
"Looking to replace current LACKEYS? Seek Genjo Sanzo for interviews?"
"That's not polite. Even for a joke, Sanzo." Hakkai said.
"It's hardly a joke."
"What d'you mean lackeys!"
'Just what it sounds like, bonehead."
"Sanzo. Are you ditching us."
"He can't ditch us. We're ditching him."
"Jeep."
Jeep changed back into a dragon and the Sanzo party stomped off. Minus Sanzo.
A few days later Sanzo was sitting in restaurant when a man walked in wearing a colourful outfit and stood next to the table.
"Genjo Sanzo"
"Who's asking?"
"You placed an ad in the paper?"
"Sit down. If you're going to travel with me you can't be wearing that stupid clownsuit."
"I have other clothes. This is just from my last job."
"and you need to get a haircut."
"…"
Ok yeah, that was Trowa. Fits the description. It's a joke. Yeeah, whatever, it's almost bedtime and I still have to write half this chapter.
