Chapter Six: Calvin and Hobbes versus the Turks

The buggy that the crew was traveling in was indeed very handy equipment. It could cross rivers and it was a lot faster than it would have been if they had to walk. However, one of the downfalls was that it required gas to travel successfully from one place to another. They soon ran out.

"Jeez!" Calvin whined. "You think that Dio guy would have given us some gas to go with the car?"

"Look over there!" Tifa shouted.

The whole gang looked to where Tifa was pointing to see a nearby town. It was surrounded by many trees and it appeared to have a mako reactor off to the side. This, of course, made Barret quiver with anger.

"Think it's got any gas?" Aeris asked in hope.

"There's only one way to know," Cloud stated as he began to drive towards the village.

The buggy was spitting and starting to stall. They had just enough gas to make it to the entrance of the forest.

After they all exited the buggy, Cloud began to take the role of leader.

"Okay, as we all know, we all can't go inside the village at once. We'll have to split up into different groups."

"Um…can I go into the village?" Aeris asked. "There's someone I am hoping to see again."

"Me too," Tifa added in. "I'm going into the village. Plus, I'm going to buy some supplies we could use on our journey."

"All right then," Cloud spoke. "It's settled. Aeris and Tifa will go into the village. But we need someone to go with them to get the gas. Who will it be?"

"I'll do it," Hobbes immediately volunteered.

"Oh, please Hobbes!" Calvin shouted. "You couldn't even carry a chocobo feather with both of your hands talk about some gallons of gas."

"Yes, but we tigers are the fastest creatures on the face of this planet. If I run with the gas, it will seem like it weighs nothing."

"Barret, can you go into the town to get the gas?" Cloud asked.

"I could, but I was hopin I could go see that reactor. I'm hopin the Shinra scum are there so I can continue to take out my anger on them."

Cloud gave a sigh and said, "Fine, I'll go with Tifa and Aeris to get the gas."

Hobbes folded his arms with a look of anger on his face and muttered to himself, 'Lucky bum!'

"Okay, the village party is settled," Cloud continued. "Now, who wants to go with Barret to that reactor?"

"I will!" Calvin shouted.

"Like hell you will, kid!" Barret protested. "I'll take Red XIII and Cait Sith with me to the reactor."

"Well, what about us?" Calvin demanded.

"You and Hobbes can stay here and watch our…I mean…YOUR buggy to make sure no one steals it."

"Hey, why do I have to stay?" Hobbes questioned with a temper in his voice.

Tifa walked up to Hobbes and whispered, "Because you're the only one that can control the little brat."

Hobbes agreed with this statement and asked no more questions. After that, everyone went to their destined areas. Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa went to the village, Barret, Red XIII, and Cait Sith went to the reactor, and Calvin and Hobbes stayed with the buggy.

"I tell you, Hobbes, this stinks. We don't even get to be in the action for the most part."

"You should feel lucky," Hobbes stated. "I mean, you got to be in that race at least. I haven't gotten to do anything yet. Not even squish a little bug."

"That's because you keep eyeing those two girls! It's no wonder Cloud doesn't want you to go with him. He's ashamed of your thoughts of women!"

"I do not," Hobbes lied. "Besides, I didn't have to lie to get in action. At least I have their trust!"

Calvin couldn't argue with this.

"Besides, look at it this way," Hobbes added. "Those guys have things they have to worry about right now. Three of them are going somewhere dangerous just to find treasures. The other three are going to a village and have a lot to focus on. Here we are, sitting here next to a buggy in the great outdoors on this beautiful day."

"Yeah? So?"

"I think it's moments like this we should cherish because it's one of those moments where we don't have to worry about anything and we have a chance to enjoy what a beautiful day it is."

Calvin just sat there in silence, thinking about what Hobbes just said. He looked up at the sky. It was clear and blue without a single cloud in the sky. The wind was a perfect temperature. Not too hot or too cold, but just right. Plus, the woods they were in were beautiful. He got thinking had he gone with one of the two parties, he wouldn't have noticed what a beautiful day it was.

"I guess so," Calvin replied after a minute of silence. "But still, I think it stinks we haven't been let in on any action yet."

An hour passed and no one had returned from their destined areas yet. Calvin and Hobbes had started to become impatient from having no action. Soon, they started to walk down a path to stretch their legs.

"I wonder what's taking them so long," Hobbes pondered.

"Well," Calvin started. "Tifa said she was shopping. Enough said. Aeris said she wanted to visit a friend. That's also enough said. Cloud's probably having trouble with the gas. As for Barret and the others, I don't know. Oh, I wish I could've gone with Barret!"

At that moment, there was a rustle in some nearby bushes. Calvin and Hobbes started to become nervous.

"What do you think's in there?" Hobbes asked in a nervous voice.

"Probably some deranged monster that's waiting to pounce us and such our blood for food. Gross!"

At that moment, a figure jumped out of the bushes. However, it was no deranged monster. Instead, it was a little frog.

""Some monster," Hobbes said sarcastically to Calvin. "I soiled myself I became so scared."

"I admit, I'm disappointed," Calvin replied.

He then walked up to the frog and picked it up.

"You're just an innocent little guy, aren't ya," Calvin provoked. "I bet Susie would be frightened of you! But then again, that's only with the big frogs. You're just a little thing. You're not that scary."

At that moment, the frog gave Calvin an evil look. To Calvin's surprise, it rose its foot and slapped Calvin in the face. When that happened, there was a small poof and Calvin was gone.

"Calvin?" Hobbes asked in a nervous voice. "Where'd you go?"

At that moment, Hobbes heard shouting where Calvin was standing.

"HEY! WHAT'D YOU DO TO ME? YOU STUPID FROG! I OUGHTA…"

Hobbes looked to where the frog was and saw another frog. But this frog had yellow-spiky hair and was shouting to the other frog. It was Calvin.

At that moment, Calvin pounced the other frog and started to wrestle with it. Calvin was strangling the frog, demanding that it change him back to a human. However, Calvin accidentally strangled the frog too long, for it soon fell dead due to a lack of air. Therefore, it could not change Calvin back.

Calvin hopped up to Hobbes, angrier than ever before.

"Quick, Einstein, how do I change back to a human?"

"How should I know?"

"I thought you said that tigers were the smartest creatures on this planet!"

"We are," Hobbes replied, looking proud of this fact. "However, I never said we knew everything. This is one of those things tigers don't know."

By now, Calvin was literally jumping with fury. He didn't want to stay like this forever and he wasn't going to let it happen like that either. Quickly, he started hopping back to the buggy, hoping someone would be there with a cure. Hobbes followed.

"Stupid frog," Calvin grumbled. "Why couldn't have Cloud or Barret let me come with them and let someone else watch the buggy? This is their fault!"

"Well, you shouldn't have touched that frog," Hobbes reminded him.

"How was I supposed to know that frog was possessed? Do I look like the kind of guy that likes to pay attention in school?"

"Hey, who are those people?" Hobbes asked, pointing back to the buggy.

Calvin looked at the buggy to see three people in blue suits standing there, talking about something. One had reddish-hair and looked like a guy that would slit a throat for a nickel. The other guy didn't look much better. He had no hair and a tan to his skin. He looked like he had visited a gym more than once. The final person was a girl with blond hair. She didn't look as threatening as the other two, but that didn't shock Calvin at all. They were leaning against the buggy, as if they were waiting for someone. Maybe them.

"Do you suppose they're waiting for us?" Hobbes asked in a cautious voice.

"I don't care as long as they have a cure for this mess," Calvin responded as he started hopping over to the individuals. Hobbes tried to stop him because he had a bad feeling about those people, but he couldn't stop Calvin.

Meanwhile, the three individuals were talking about who they liked.

"So, Rude, who do you like?" the red-haired man asked the bald man.

Calvin was about to get their attention when he heard the name, "Tifa." Calvin stopped dead in is tracks. 'How does he know Tifa? And why the heck would he like a demon like her?'

"Really?" the red haired man asked in shock. "I thought you liked Elena," he said pointing over to where the blonde-haired woman was standing.

"Ah, she likes Tseng." Rude replied. "You should know that better than any of us Reno."

"Yeah, but Tseng likes that ancient and the ancient likes Cloud, I think. Wouldn't it be amazing if Cloud liked Tifa?"

By now, Calvin was freaked out by these men. How did they know Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris? If they knew those three, did they know about him and the others? He was about to hop away when a pair of hands grabbed a hold of him. He turned to see that it was Elena.

"Well look what I found. I bet you think I'm scared of you because I'm a girl, right?"

"That's the idea, lady!" Calvin replied.

With those words, Elena shrieked and dropped Calvin. She immediately ran to Reno and Rude.

"Guys! There's a frog over there that's possessed or something! It just talked to me!"

Reno and Rude looked at each other with looks of confusion on their faces.

"Elena," Reno finally spoke. "Maybe you need a vacation."

"You've got to believe me! He's right over there!"

With this thought, Calvin had an idea. He hopped up to where the three were standing. When Elena saw him, she immediately started freaking out.

"That's the frog!" She shrieked. "The one that can talk!"

Reno and Rude just looked at Calvin and started laughing.

"I guess even tough women are scared of frogs, huh Elena?" Rude teased.

Calvin then started to talk in a spooky voice. "I am the demon of, uh, the planet, um…Spiff! Yes! A demon from Spiff! You will obey my orders or else pay the consequences!"

As expected, a look of shock came over the faces of Reno and Rude. Elena's face was white by now. Calvin was laughing to himself at this appearance, until Reno walked up to him and picked him up.

"I bet I know what this 'demon' is," he said as he pulled something out of his pocket. He then sprinkled a powder over Calvin and put him on the ground. In a few seconds, another poof sounded and Calvin was a human again.

By now, Calvin was freaked out. Here he was, alone in front of three tough-looking people. And he had just fooled with them.

"Elena, you are such a rookie," Reno criticized. "A maiden's kiss reveals the true form of any talking frog."

"You mean that stuff was a maiden's kiss?" Calvin asked in shock. "EWWW! YUCK! I'M THE DICTATOR OF LIFE IN THE GET RID OF SLIMY GIRLS CLUB! MY REPUTATION! MY LOYALTY! RUINED!"

"What an annoying kid," Rude whispered to Reno and Elena.

"Wait a minute," Elena spoke. "An annoying, loud kid; red shirt with stripes; black pants…he fits the description he gave us."

"So, this kid is with Cloud?" Reno questioned. "Man, he wasn't joking about him being annoying.

"What are you talking about?" Calvin asked them.

"See, kid," Reno spoke. "Our mission here is to take out Cloud and all of his friends. Since you're the only one here, I guess that means that we start with you."

Calvin was literally too scared at this point to stand on his own two feet. His knees were shaking so badly, he fell over.

"Turks, attack!" Reno shouted as they started to walk up to Calvin.

They were almost up to Calvin when an orange blaze whirred by, taking Elena with it. Reno and Rude were shocked at what just happened. They turned in the direction the blaze had gone. As they looked, they saw a ditch that had just been dug that had stretched for nearly ten yards. At the end of the ditch, an orange figure climbed out of the ditch.

"Whoo-hoo! That was a good one! Look how far I landed!" Hobbes shouted in joy.

"Tall tiger that seems energetic about everything…that's the tiger that is with Cloud!" Reno exclaimed. "OW"

At that moment, Calvin had thrown a rock at Reno and made an attempt to run, but Reno pulled out his weapon and tripped Calvin with it.

"You're not going anywhere, kid," Reno shouted.

Quickly, Calvin grabbed another rock and was ready to throw it when he noticed it was glowing. He looked at it again and noticed that it was a yellow gem. He could feel a strange power within it.

Reno then picked up Calvin and was starting him right in the eye.

"Any last wishes, kid?"

"Just one…LOOK BEHIND YOU!"

At those words, Hobbes bit Reno in the leg. Reno yelped in pain and dropped Calvin. Now, Reno and Rude were running after Hobbes, who was laughing as all three Turks were chasing him around.

Calvin caught his breath and went back to the gem. He knew it had a special power within it. He just didn't know what. He then remembered something Cloud had told him in the buggy about materia. Materia was magic or special powers that resided in certain gems. This must have been one of those gems. "Calvin immediately grabbed his dart gun and saw materia slots. He quickly equipped it. He knew Hobbes would be needing help soon.

Meanwhile, the Turks were chasing Hobbes up a tree. Hobbes was many yards ahead of them and was eating an apple, waiting for the Turks to even get passed the next set of branches.

"Just wait until we get you, tiger!" Elena taunted. "We're gonna turn you into dog food when we're done with you!"

"Yeah? Well, let me know when you get up here," Hobbes taunted, relaxing in his branch.

"Why you…" Elena was about to swear when something gave a loud bang and snapped the branch the Turks were on. All the Turks fell to the ground. Hobbes was even shocked at this sound.

Everyone looked where the bullet had come from. They saw Calvin standing there with a look that even scared the Turks. He was clenching his dart gun, which was smoking from the shot.

"Feel lucky punks?" Calvin asked in his best Clint Eastwood voice.

"Why you little brat!" Elena shouted.

She started running for him when Calvin shot another dart. The dart, though, had extra speed, power, and velocity behind it. When it hit Elena, it sent her flying into a nearby tree. Not only was she in pain, but she looked like a fool with the dart stuck on her forehead.

Reno and rude gave a look of fear as Calvin pointed the gun towards them. They immediately helped Elena up and started walking away.

"We'll be back to get you guys!" Reno shouted back to Calvin. "Don't think you've seen the last of us!" With those words, they left.

Hobbes had jumped down from the tree in shock. He had never seen a dart that powerful before.

"How'd you do that?" he demanded.

Calvin pulled out the materia that was in his dart gun and explained how it gave his gun extra power.

"I found it when I was running from the Turks. I felt this power within it and…"

"Used a death blow attack," a voice said from behind them.

Calvin and Hobbes turned around to see cloud and the others standing there. Apparently, they had been standing there the whole time, watching Calvin and Hobbes fight the Turks.

"I have to admit, kid, I thought we were gonna have to step in and help ya," Barret stated. "To be honest, I'm shocked you two took out the Turks. They're a bunch of murderers, they are. I guess we misjudged ya both."

"Hey, forget about it," Hobbes replied.

"Tee-hee. That was funny when you jumped Elena," Aeris giggled.

Hobbes blushed at this compliment.

"I wonder, though," Cloud spoke. "How'd those Turks know we were here?"

"They couldn't have known," Tifa added. "Unless…"

"A spy?" Red XIII asked.