Chapter Fifty-Eight:

A/N: Two women with absolute hatred. Only one can leave alive. The final showdown between Elena and Tessa. You all know you've been looking forward to this. Don't deny it, or I'll have to send Yuffie after you! Oh, there will be other people fighting, so I'll probably do the character jumping that I've been doing lately. (Don't you just love it when writing styles change in the middle of a fic?)

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If Adette were still alive, Tessa might have been in rational enough of thought to feel fear. As it was, the only thought she had was to kill the one who had killed the only person she dared to fall in love with. She snarled and clenched her fist. There was no way the Blonde would win this time.

The last time she had fought Elena was Timber, where the Turks had her outnumbered 3 to 1. Now the odds were in Tessa's favour, with four to three. Of course, she wasn't thinking about the unconscious Squall clone or the frightened Eisis/Aeris. Vincent, however, was on a slightly more logical train of thought as he stepped forward and held out his hands to show that he wasn't attacking.

"Rude," he said to the Turk that hadn't spoken. "Just let us pass. Remember the sewers of Midgar? We aren't your enemies any longer."

The answer he got was a bolt of lightning to the chest. He went airborne and crashed against one of the glass columns, which failed to shatter. The most mysterious member of Avalanche stood up and pulled a long barrelled handgun with a scope out of his cape.

"Get them out of here!" Vincent yelled, and Tessa wasn't sure who he was talking to. Then the former Turk began firing at the current Turks, all of whom dove inside the room. Rude raised a green Materia and an icicle knocked the weapon out of Vincent's hand.

Fujin squared off with Reno, who held his crop like a sword and swung at her. She ducked and planted a fist in his stomach. Reno doubled over before jerking his elbow back into her jaw. Her lip began bleeding as she backed away.

Lastly, Elena glared at Tessa, who returned the look with mutual hatred. Even with the aide of a GF and magic, Tessa had never bested the Turk. She knew this and logged it in the back of her mind.

"You're dead. Nothing more than road kill to someone like me," Elena said with an evil grin. She cracked her knuckles and circled Tessa, who made sure to keep both of her eyes on her nemesis. This was the most dangerous foe that she had ever faced, and Tessa was at a definite disadvantage. She did have one thing in her favour, though. Tessa knew Elena's fighting style this time around, and would definitely use that knowledge to her advantage. Elena, on the other hand, had always caught Tessa off-guard. Now she would have no choice but to fight her (almost) fairly.

Both women screamed, sounds that were little more than their primal urges escaping through their mouths. They met in a flurry of punches and blocks, Tessa throwing up one arm to absorb a blow while lashing out with the other. Her left hand connected with the side of Elena's head as she Blonde drove a knee into her stomach. Then she put a hand on Tessa's face and pushed her back to the floor.

Tessa sprang back up and charged at Elena again, her right fist raised. Elena parried with a kick and knocked Tessa to the floor again. The Blonde laughed as the bald woman pushed herself off the floor and tackled Elena. The Blonde used the momentum to fling Tessa into the console that operated the glass cylinders. The buttons and knobs dug into her chest, but Tessa ignored the pain and concentrated solely on Elena. The Turk ran at Tessa, who met the Blonde with a foot to the jaw. A surprised look crossed Elena's face as she rubbed her jaw with one hand and clenched the other into fist.

"I can kick, too, Bitch," Tessa said with a smirk.

---

Reno lashed out with his crop and it hit Fujin squarely in the back. The woman said nothing as she sent a flurry of icicles at him. He deftly dodged them all and leapt at her, swinging his crop. Fujin ducked beneath it and struck back with a kick to the face. Her foot missed and Reno hit her with a Fire spell.

Even as her clothes erupted in an inferno, Fujin said nothing. She merely put the flames out with a blast of cold air from her Materia and formed a large icicle which hung in the air before her. The girl reached up and grabbed the makeshift spear before swinging it at Reno as though it were a sword. The Turk ducked beneath the blow, but his face met Fujin's knee. Reno's head snapped back. but he caught himself and flipped, kicking Fujin in the chest in the process.

"I guess SeeDs are good fighters after all," Reno said without knowing that Fujin wasn't a SeeD.

Silence was Fujin's friend once more, as she used the time he had allotted for a response as a time to attack. She threw the icicle and it missed Reno's head by inches. The surprised Turk readied his riding crop and held up his Fire Materia. Fujin raised her Ice Materia and aimed it at her aggressor. As fire launched itself at Fujin, a sheet of ice flew at Reno. They met in the middle and a small pool of water formed on the floor.

Using the brief moment to his advantage, Reno charged at Fujin. Unfortunately, he hadn't noticed when the girl froze the pool with her Materia, so he slid neatly into her foot. He rocketed back and flew out the door and into an open hallway, with Fujin sprinting after him.

---

Irvine had used the fight to his advantage, slipping through the door long before Fujin and Reno went through it. Eisis was close behind and the Squall look-alike was still unconscious in his arms. The young man was surprisingly light as the cowboy carried him.

"Where are we going?" Eisis asked in a small voice as they ran from empty hallway to empty hallway. Irvine didn't want to worry the poor girl by telling her he was lost, so he said nothing.

He could hear a familiar roar and knew someone had Summoned Ifrit. The sharpshooter just hoped that it was someone on his side or, at least, someone else fighting the corporation. Also filling the air was the sound of gunfire, and Irvine felt a familiar rush of adrenaline in his veins. Whenever he heard a gunshot, the Galbadian could smell the gunpowder and feel the kickback in his shoulder, whether he doing it or not. It was almost as though some higher power had modeled his body specifically for the purpose of carrying a firearm, because a rifle seemed to fit him like a puzzle piece.

"Do you know how to get out of here?" the small woman wearing Irvine's jacket asked.

"No," he answered. "I'm hopelessly lost. But at least I've got a pretty lady like you with me"

"What are we going to do?" the frightened woman cried, to frightened to realize Irvine was flirting with her. Tears began pouring down her face, and Irvine had to stop and face her.

"We'll get out of here. Trust me," Irvine said as he set the young man in his arms on the floor and propped him against the wall. He walked to Eisis and took her in his arms. The hug lasted for well over a minute and her body trembled against his. When they finally parted, Irvine stroked her hair and looked into her green eyes. "Are you ready to go?"

Eisis nodded and drew Irvine's duster tighter around her body. When the cowboy turned back around to pick up the man who looked like Squall, there was nothing there.

"Where is that guy?" Eisis asked. Irvine scratched his head and looked up and down the hallway.

"There's nothing we can do now. Come on," he said as he took Eisis's hand and led her down the hallway, cursing himself for being so careless.

---

Tessa took another swing at Elena. The woman was much quicker than her attacker and managed to avoid the blow, countering with one of her own. The medic fell back, landing on Adette's body. Without thinking, Tessa put her hand on the eviscerated head and cut her palm where the bullet had left the skull.

"Fuck!" she screamed in pain before being hit by a Fire spell. As her uniform caught on fire, Tessa cried again. Her skin was roasting and she couldn't move fast enough to pat out the flames. "Aah!"

"Allow me," Elena said as she reached out with her gloved hand and grabbed Tessa's shirt. She pulled on the younger girl until they were face to face. The heat didn't bother the Turk as she broke into a sadistic smile. "How does it feel to burn?"

Suddenly, Tessa found herself sliding across the floor and hitting Vincent's legs. As the two Shinra experiments collided, Vincent's cape also fell victim to the blaze. Reaching into the burning garment, he produced two green Materia. With one he put out the flames on Tessa and himself, then healed the other warrior with the other. He offered Tessa a hand, which she took, and pulled her to her feet. Right after this, though, he was tackled by Rude. The two men rolled on the floor, trading punches.

Elena struck again while Tessa was still trying to gather her wits, hitting her in the face with a shin covered by dark blue slacks.

Tessa grabbed her nose with her left hand, trying to block out the pain. It was a futile attempt, as she felt the shattered cartilage underneath her fingers. If she had Shiva back, or even some Materia, it might be a fair fight. However, as it stood, she was at a sore tactical disadvantage.

"Bitch," Tessa said in a nasal voice as she climbed to her unsteady feet. Elena merely laughed and tossed a red Materia into the air. It went up a few feet, spun in midair, and came back down into the Turk's grip. She waved it around and Tessa remembered the encounter in Timber where she had been assaulted with the use of red Materia. It meant Summoning and she couldn't flee on Phoenix this time.

"I don't know if you've met my good buddy here," Elena mocked as she nuzzled the rock affectionately. "You may remember her cousin Bahamut in Timber. I'd like to introduce you Neo-Bahamut. She's stronger, faster, and smarter than her male counterpart. She's a lot like me."

"An ugly and psychotic uber-bitch?" Tessa spat as the Materia began to glow. Elena merely grinned widely, so widely that it threatened to split her face in half. Quickly, the young woman looked about for a means of escape. There was none. Then, following a blinding light that Tessa was becoming oddly used to, a large red dragon appeared. It spread it wings and glared at Tessa before gathering energy in its mouth.

"Yes. Oh, Hyne, yes!" Elena shrieked as if in ecstasy. She threw her head back, blonde hair falling behind her. Then she looked back at Tessa, a dark glint in her eyes and hair covering her face. It was such a menacing gesture that Tessa felt herself shiver as she fell to the floor. She could think of nothing else to do.

The roar of the blast seemed to shake the room, and Tessa felt the heat brush her back. She screamed as she felt herself being cooked alive.

"Stop," a cold, male voice ordered. Surprised that she was alive, Tessa looked up and saw a blonde man in a purple jumpsuit standing in front of her. The girl guessed he had taken the brunt of the blast for her, though how he survived she could understand. Strapped to his back was a purple and red sword that Tessa recognized. It was called a Force Stealer, if she remembered correctly. One of the Sabres at Balamb Garden was training with a Force Stealer before she left. She hadn't seen him when she returned. Whether that was a good thing or not remained uncertain.

"Of course you're here," Elena said as she pointed a finger at the stranger. Tessa had seen him before, she just knew it. Where, though, she couldn't say. "I know you've been hunting me ever since I offed your precious dog."

"His name was Nanaki, and he wasn't a dog," the man said as he gritted his teeth and drew his sword. "I watched as you kicked him off the ship and into the water, knowing he couldn't swim."

"Of course I knew," Elena said. She licked her lips and smiled as though she were looking upon a delicious meal. "That's why I did it. Did you ever find the carcass? I'd hate to think that we're polluting the ocean with that trash."

The man screamed and ran at Elena, who ducked under his wild swing. Her fist connected with his stomach, and then she spun and kicked him in the side, sending him flying across the room. Tessa, meanwhile, was still lying on the floor and biting her tongue to keep from screaming from the pain. The most miniscule of movements would send a wave of agony and nausea through her.

Vincent, meanwhile, sent a large bolt of lightning at Rude, who easily dodged. However, the electricity did hit the stranger as he was standing up. The man fell back to the ground, breathing heavily, and Elena kicked him in the face before moving on.

"Look at this," Elena announced as she gestured at Tessa. "Why, what is such a young girl doing out by herself this time of day? Don't you know that all of the weirdoes are out in full force? You could get hurt."

Tessa tried to form a response, but was in too much pain. Elena grabbed her by the ear and pulled her head up. The pressure on Tessa's tender flesh was such that she nearly lost consciousness from the pain. The Blonde noticed this and twisted it, hard, before leaning in to whisper something in Tessa's ear. "After they're through with you, you're mine."

"Fuck off," Tessa spat. Elena responded by kneeing Tessa in the face.

"Die!" the man that had saved Tessa from Neo-Bahamut screamed as he fell toward Elena. Tessa was shocked, since she hadn't even heard him get back up. Apparently Elena had, because she got out of the way just in time. The violet blade bit into Tessa's chest, instantly punching the breath out of her.

She choked on a scream as she painfully looked down at the blade, which was still lodged in her. Then she looked back up at the new guy. A sudden recognition hit her as she fought back the oncoming darkness and desire o go to sleep. The man was Cloud Strife of AVALANCHE. The man who saved the world from Sephiroth. She had been mortally wounded by one of the "good guys."

"Shit!" Cloud shouted as he ducked under a blow from Elena and withdrew his sword from Tessa. The girl grabbed at her wound in a panic, a fountain of warm and sticky red liquid pumping out of her. Somewhere deep inside herself, Tessa felt a power that she had only felt once before. Even as she gasped for air and fought to stay conscious, the young medic's eyes began to glow.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Elena mocked as she watched Tessa go almost into a trance. Cloud, who wasn't paying attention to anything but the Blonde, continued to swing his sword at Elena. She easily dodged every thrust.

Without a warning of any kind, Tessa's jaw fell open of its own accord. A high-pitched tone seemed to fill every nook and cranny of the room, and the fighters winced but continued battling. Then it happened; an invisible force hit Elena and knocked her across the room. The Blonde hit the base of one of the cylindrical glass containers. The impact caused a loud crack sound to reverberate throughout the room, but the glass remained undamaged. Elena, on the other hand, wasn't quite so lucky. She grabbed her ears and screamed from the pain, of the attack and the crash.

Tessa then began seizing and lost her momentary surge in power. She jerked one final time and finally succumbed to the warm embrace of sleep.

---

Elena knew something was wrong; she couldn't move any part of the left side of her body. It was unfortunate, because she stored her Restore Materia in her left pants pocket.

Her entire life flashed before her eyes, and she knew that she was going to die.

The memories of her mother before she died from the Mako poisoning; her father turning to the bottle and beating his children to get over the loss; and then her own breakdown which led to her institutionalization in Midgar. That was where Shinra found her. They were looking for test subjects, and nobody would care about the crazy daughter of a drunk who worked the Mythril mines out of Kalm.

Before the first needle entered her body, Elena had snapped the neck of the surgeon. He hadn't been expecting it since she just sat on the examination table with a dull glaze in her eyes. Almost immediately afterward, a small group of soldiers broke into the laboratory to subdue her. They did so, but not until after Elena had managed to stab one with a scalpel and injected another with whatever the nameless doctor was going to put into her bloodstream. Shortly after that incident, a large and balding man who claimed to be the Shinra president asked her if she would join him. He was in need of a new Turk since one of his had been injured in the disaster that was Sector Seven, and she showed a lot of promise.

In her crazed state, Elena accepted and began the harsh training on the road to becoming a Turk. Every night she slept in a straight jacket until the doctors figured out the dosage of her medications, and during the day she whittled away what bit of humanity she had left until she became little more than a killing machine. After all, what was a Turk if not a glorified killing machine?

Even with her failure to subdue AVALANCHE and the deaths of two presidents, Shinra retained Elena's services as she slipped further and further into insanity. Rude and Reno weren't worried about being attacked, because Elena seemed to be easily manipulated and only attacked when ordered to until...

Antessence Matleo was supposed to be her breakthrough. Retrieve a young redhead from Balamb Garden and receive a promotion. Of course, being a Turk, there was no real promotion for her, but Elena didn't know that. So she set off to the small island nation of Balamb and awaited further instructions from Rude, who had accompanied her. The target had been sent into the woods where Elena had been sent to apprehend her. Even though she had a clear advantage, Elena somehow lost the girl and her false promotion. It infuriated her and she took it out on some slum dwellers upon her return to Midgar. Nobody said anything, either because they were afraid to or they just didn't care.

Then she was given a chance to redeem herself. The girl would be leaving Balamb and the protection of SeeD for her "exam." Little did the girl know that it had been set up by the Shinra-controlled Squall and the extorted Headmaster. Elena was to try once more to make off with the girl, and this time she relished the pain she caused. Unfortunately, the damn Sorceress had to interfere. At least now the fucking witch was dead. Driven insane by the sight of her father killing her friend and then threatening to do the same to her if she were bitten by one of the undead creatures.

But before that there had been Timber, a surprise to the Blonde. Her crimson obsession had wondered into Elena's clutches of her own accord, and this time the Turk had Rude and Reno with her. There was no chance of failure. Except for the accursed bird, the fucking Phoenix. Even as Rude was summoning Bahamut, Elena felt what little bit of lucidity she attained crumbling. The girl escaped because of her precious Summon.

After that, Elena had all but given up hope on capturing the girl. That was why she went ahead and had Bahamut destroy the airship. Then the little bug they had planted on her continued to pick up a signal and transmitted a broadcast. The little bitch was alive! Of course, she was trapped in Galbadia City, but that didn't matter. Elena wanted to go into the rotting metropolis and bring her back kicking and screaming, but Scarlet wouldn't allow that. Elena was too valuable.

So while the redhead fought for her life, Elena was sent out to try to assassinate the Prime Minister of Dollet. AVALANCHE had gotten in her way, as always, but before they drove her out she had managed to killed their precious little dog. Then upon her return to Junon, Elena learned that Shinra had managed to finally retrieve the specimen, the girl.

Now she was lying on the floor as the last of her memories rolled in front of her eyes. Then she looked up and saw Cloud standing over her with a victorious grin. Elena, finally plunging headlong into madness, laughed. She continued to laugh as Cloud drove his blade into every inch of her body, stopping only when he drove the blade deep into throat. But even after he ripped his sword free and her head rolled onto the floor, the echoes continued.

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A/N: Ah, the whole Elena business is finally over. Now we just have to have Tessa survive a sword to the chest. Stupid Cloud. And check out my new FFIX fic. It actually has humour! The link is in my profile.