A problem.
Funny little woman, Elena. As if a word as simple as 'problem' would be enough to encompass the latest thing to land in their laps. No. This….. this was a catastrophe.
And even that wouldn't cut it as an apt description.
A full out panic situation might scratch the surface.
They rushed out into the hall, seeing Cid already out there, looking just as shocked and confused as they were, his mouth twisted into a scowl; pissed off. Though if it was due to being woken up so rudely by all the commotion, or the phalanx of body guards that were coming down the hall toward them, following the equally pissed looking man creating the disturbance, he wasn't sure.
Turning to get a look at who the Hell was coming for them, Barret flung his left hand up to cover his face instinctively as the blinding chatter of flashbulbs assaulted them.
Oh Jesus, who had let the Press in here? No, no, no, no, no. They didn't need this. Not now.
Reeve looked around, half frantic, trying to find some sort of answer, but all he saw was Reno through the mess of tresspassers, giving him a look that indicated they were all just as blindsided by this as he was.
He ripped his gaze from Reno as a hand closed down on the front of his already rumpled suit, his hands reflexively coming up to grip at the wrist, eyes snapping up to meet those of the man leading the charge.
"Where is she?" the intruder repeated, voice lower now, but still holding the same demand, the same anger.
Oh Jesus. This was his fault. He had told him that Yuffie was in Kalm, alive and recuperating after all the….. events that had transpired, and that when she was well enough, he would personally escort her back to Wutai. He had wanted to make a show of good faith, let her father know she was alive; safe. And he needed Wutai's aid in the rebuilding effort around Midgar, and he believed that the knowledge that his daughter was taken care of would help the process.
Of course, he wasn't quite surprised that this as well had blown up in his face.
And with all the photographers…..
He wanted to demand an explanation for this behavior, berate him for doing such a thing with no warning, and bringing outside forces into a matter he wished to keep tightly under lock and key. But Godo was the emperor of a country, and what was he, other than a wishy-washy individual, run ragged by all the responsibilities that he had never wanted to have heaped upon him.
Instead of any rebuttal; any bravado, his mouth flopped open several times like a gaping fish, strangled, uncertain half-words stuttering from his lips as any response he tried to make died on his tongue.
He never had been good at standing up to people in a higher position of power than him; never liked to be confrontational with them. He could run circles around those boneheaded nurses easily, flouting his old position in order to keep them in line, though dour as they were.
But Godo, on the other hand…..
Well, while Shinra was still around, the old man had been nothing more than a slight nuisance. A worthless, faded old figurehead, trying to uphold some air of regality, while his once powerful nation was transformed into little more than a quaint little tourist trap. There was no way he would ever regain his power, with Shinra constantly keeping tabs on his every movement.
But with no Shinra, no government, maybe he saw this as his chance. Throw his weight around, intimidate the 'new' government before it had time to establish itself fully, and reassert Wutai as the global power it had once been. After all, he was a leader, he had an organized country. He had been all too keen that Yuffie stay with AVALANCHE, once he had seen some of their materia.
And the reporters, the cameramen, would be getting this entire exchange. It would probably be all over every country's news by the early evening, those areas that still received television signals. If not, those with radios would certainly hear of this confrontation. Newspapers, even word of mouth would spread like a plague. Not only would he be outed as harboring criminals against the laws he was trying to keep in place, but if he didn't do something, he'd look spineless and inefficient against one of the world's only other established leaders, and the masses he was trying to gain the trust of.
Not very leader-like if he just cowed out of every whiff of a conflict that confronted him. Especially since Godo's sudden urge to reclaim his daughter had just sent all of his plans to keep AVALANCHE swept under the rug completely tits-up.
Clearing his throat and snapping his gaping mouth shut, Reeve composed himself, and grasped Godo's wrists, pointedly prying the other man's hands from his suit lapels. Godo allowed him to do so; if the Wutaian had objected to Reeve's movements, he would have probably had the executive laid out flat on the ground in a second.
"What are you doing?" He demanded lowly, leaning in close, his eyes never leaving the mess of reporters and photographers that mulled about eagerly behind the emperor's entourage, flashbulbs popping at anything and everything that might give a glimpse of the rebels. A reporter had her microphone practically jammed into Reno's mouth, firing questions a mile a minute, her tone demanding, rather than asking, that he tell them what he knew of Reeve's plans and the rebels, and even what part he had in the whole affair.
Luckily, judging by the number of expletives spewing out of the redhead's mouth the entire interview would be rendered completely useless to any sort of news outlet, unless the continuous squeal of a censorship tone could be conveyed as any sort of information to anyone.
Godo, unfazed, merely glowered at Reeve, motioning for his personal guards to begin examining the surroundings for any sign of his daughter.
"You said my daughter was here. I have come to take her home to Wutai; away from all of this."
"All of this?!" Reeve repeated incredulously, eyes widening, unable to believe what he was hearing. "This is happening because you brought them all traipsing right in here. Do you have any idea what's going on? How big of a powder keg you've just set off?"
"It is of no concern to me. I only wish to bring Yuffie home, so that she will not become some pawn to you." He replied lowly, a hail from one of his guards causing him to turn and see the young Wutaian peering through the window of one of the shut doors, motioning for the emperor to come see what he had found.
"It might not concern you, but it concerns Yuffie. It concerns her friends. Do you realize what you've done?! They're all targets. Even Yuffie, no matter how much security you can provide her in your own country. You think any of them are safe? Especially now; now that everyone is going to know exactly where they are?!" Godo made no answer, essentially ignoring his tirade, and made his way toward the door that his guard had pushed open, his face determined. "Don't you get it?! Answer me!"
But Reeve's protests resounded impotently to the emperor, who walked into his daughter's temporary quarters without any further acknowledgement of the executive.
"What a fucking jerk." Elena muttered weakly from her spot by the door to Barret's room, her arms folded over her bust as she took in the whole scene of chaos, clicking her tongue distastefully. One of the photographers swung their camera lens in their general direction, shutter chattering away as he snapped picture after picture, all of which would contain Barret and Cid half-heartedly trying to hide their faces, knowing they'd already been recognized and photographed, and some of which would, upon later inspection, contain the Turk making a distinctly obscene, rude gesture, making at least a few of the snapshots completely useless. "We need to get those fuckers out of here."
She reached down to her wrist and thumbed the button on her wrist communicator agitatedly, sending out another general distress alert to Rude and Tseng, figuring they'd need the help of the other two to try and gain a semblance of control.
Those two had taken off only an hour or so ago, leaving Reno and Elena to hold the fort, so to speak. They'd said they were going to the diner across the street to grab something easier to stomach than the fare available to them in the hospital cafeteria, and then come back to catch some shut-eye in Reeve's makeshift room. The room had been made to house two patients at once, so when they'd bed down, they'd pull the curtains to get some privacy.
She had run to that room first once all the commotion had started, ripping down the curtains to tell them to get up and get the Hell out there.
But both beds had been empty, meaning they were still out; and she had impatiently jammed on her signaler, getting more and more agitated by the second when they didn't appear.
Fucking great timing all around. She didn't even have her suit on. Of course, without her blazer on, she didn't even try to be discrete about reaching up and thumbing the safety on the gun tucked into her shoulder holster.
Somebody was coming into her room. It was the wrong time for one of the nurses to be making the rounds, and there was far too much commotion outside the door for it to just be one of her friends or one of the Turks. She stiffened slightly, pretending to still be asleep, but her left hand was under her pillow, grasping at the throwing stars she had taken out of her pack. Her shuriken was too obvious, too large to try and conceal for any sort of defense, but she had kept a piece of materia with her at all times, just in case anything happened. An entire gauntletful was too obvious, but one hidden piece would make due in a pinch. Once her pack had been brought in by Tseng during the previous afternoon, she had dug out the stars, slipping them under her pillow, just in case she needed to defend herself. With her legs bound and useless, she wouldn't be able to maneuver too well; if at all, but the stars, like the materia, could buy her some time if somebody came after her; some random crazy with a bone to pick.
She had thought that maybe she was just being overly paranoid; on-edge because the other were all talking and acting like they were on dangerously thin ice at all times.
But right now, it seemed like all the paranoia that was rubbing off from the others wasn't so far-fetched after all.
The door banged open, and she immediately twisted, dropping her façade, and bringing her hand out from beneath her pillow, the metal stars having been filed down, dull-colored steel that wouldn't catch the light. Her eyes fixed on her target, wrist twisted back in preparation to heave the weapons at her intruder, but at the sight of him, she froze; the weapons slipping numbly from between her fingers, clattering quietly on the tile floor.
"…..Dad?" She sputtered in surprise, wishing that he voice hadn't come out so tiny and child-like. "W- what's going on? What the heck are you doing here?"
"I am here to take you home. We are going back to Wutai immediately. I will have no argument from you in the matter, as you've gotten caught up in enough trouble with these criminals as it is. Now get up and grab whatever belongings you have. Our convoy is awaiting us outside of town."
She stared at him, dumbfounded, until she was able to gain a word edge-wise.
"Who the Hell are you to barge in here and tell me I have to leave?! I don't want to go, old man!" She snapped, face contorting angrily, spitting out the words insultingly. She knew Reeve had been in contact with her father, knew that he would want her to come back home. But he couldn't just up and snatch her away without even taking her opinion, her situation, into consideration.
Practically ignoring her, he made his way to her bed in two long strides, his hands clamping down on the siderail, glowering down at her, as if attempting to intimidate her into relenting.
"This is not open to discussion." He explained matter-of-factly. Now get up. We are leaving. Immediately."
Her lip curled back into a sneer, and she defiantly whipped her blankets away from her lap, revealing the casts that encircled her legs, eyes narrowed at him.
"I'm not going anywhere." She shot back challengingly. How dare her father come in here and boss her around. She didn't want to go back to Wutai and be holed up in that palace, suffocated by his rules and his strict attempts to control her life. He couldn't tell her what to do. Couldn't make her do anything now. She wanted to stay with her friends, not stifle away in their weak little town, every move she made shadowed by guards. Could he honestly not realize that was why she had run off in the first place? "I'm staying here. I'm not going to just take off and let them get thrown to the wolves because of you, you pompous ass!"
"Look what they've done to you!" He retorted, grabbing her by the upper arm. He looked around the dim room briefly, before his eyes lit upon the wheelchair folded up and resting against the wall, from where Tseng had left it when he had hoisted her into bed for the evening. "These people will be the death of you if stay here."
"These people?!" She half shrieked, trying to wrench her arm free. However, her position didn't afford for much leverage against him, and she struggled fruitlessly against his vice-like grip. Considering his age, and his declining health in the past few years, it sometimes took her by surprise how strong he still was. "They're my friends! This isn't their fault, and you can't blame them! Think that I got forced into this or something?! I went with them because I wanted to! I wanted to get out of Wutai, and get away from you! I am not going to go back!"
Godo held her gaze fiercely, not at all moved by her defiant words.
"As I said, this is not open to discussion." He turned to the guard by the door, and nodded to the wheelchair. Wordlessly, the young man went to it and popped it into position, releasing the wheel-locks, and moving it over to the bedside. Ignoring her protests, she was lifted from her bed and deposited none-too-gently into the thin, uncomfortable vinyl pad that made up the seat of the chair.
She was wheeled to the door, but attempted futilely to resist, bringing her arms out and bracing herself, straining against the force of the guard trying to push the chair out into the hall. He palms were clamped against the doorframe, arms locked, muscles in her arms locked in an attempt to keep herself stationary.
Wildly, she looked back and forth up and down the hall, seeing the members of the press at the far end, Reno attempting to throw them the Hell out of there, the scene partially blocked by a phalanx of guards, all in the garb of the Wutaian Royal Guardsmen. To her right, much closer, were Reeve, Barret and Cid, all staring at the scene helplessly, along with Elena, the petite blonde woman scowling and swearing under her breath as her thumb hammered away almost desperately on her wrist communicator.
Reeve locked eyes with her for a moment, silently pleading for her to understand; to forgive him for causing all this, unintended as it was. Cid and Barret just watched in utter confusion, just as blindsided as she was. They shifted uncomfortably and exchanged uncertain glances. They obviously wanted to intervene, but restrained themselves, knowing they wouldn't be able to dissuade Godo from his task at hand. They had overheard the entire conversation, and even though they hadn't understood a thing, neither of them knowing the Wutaian language, the argumentative fury, Godo's adamant tone, Yuffie's disagreeable retorts….. they understood perfectly what it was about.
It was about them. It was about getting her away from them.
"Why are you just standing there?" She howled at them in the common tongue, pitch of her voice frantic as her biceps began to tremble and her grip began to give. "You can't let them do this! H-hey, come on! Do something you guys!"
Barret looked away, almost ashamed, his jaw set in the same way she had seen a few times before. When he talked about the deceased members of AVALANCHE, any time they had ventured into Corel, when he'd found out Marlene had been taken hostage, when Aerith had died…..
There was no other visible sign of his agitation; his emotion, aside from the clench of his jaws, but having been around the older man for so long, she could pick up what it meant. By now, if they couldn't all read each other's little signs like a book, then what sort of relationship had they all had?
Cid stared back at her, just shaking his head; silently denying her pleas for help. He wanted to do something. She knew for damn sure that he didn't just want to stand there gawking.
"Kid….. he's your dad." He finally sighed defeatedly, mouth twisting down. "It's….. it'll be safer."
Safer? Oh Jesus, how selfish was she?
Sure, ending up back in Wutai would mean more security for herself in this whole maelstrom of backlash and uninformed hatred, but what about them? They didn't have a palace to be sequestered away in, no guards to watch their surroundings in case someone came after them.
All she had been worried about was having to go back, having to be separated from the only real friends she had. She hadn't even thought for a second about the real issue; the fact that she had a secure place; a defense against the world, while all they had was the flimsy little bit of protection that Reeve could try and give them.
"But what about you?" She squalled, gray eyes narrowing at the two men, her nails scrabbling against the wood of the doorframe. She winced slightly as some of the paint chipped off beneath her grip, stabbing into the soft part of the nail bed on her index finger.
Cid didn't even exchange a look with Barret this time, didn't hesitate.
"We'll be fine." He shrugged automatically, a bold faced lie if she had ever heard one.
The chair jolted beneath her, the guard having had enough of her protesting, and her hands were finally forced free from the doorframe, Yuffie biting back a shout of pain as two of the nails on her left hand were snapped off from the force of her grip being overpowered and the position her hands had been in when it happened.
She was wheeled into the hall, her hands balled in her lap, gripping at the pair of gray cotton shorts she was wearing, blood staining the fabric where her left hand was clenched.
She screeched wordlessly in protest and twisted around, looking over her shoulder as the guard immediately cut left, away from her friends, heading toward the mass of reporters, and the doors that led out of the wing.
They weren't even going to give her a minute with them. Weren't even going to let them have some privacy to say goodbye to each other.
"Stop it! We can't just leave them here! They- they need help! Let them come to Wutai! They aren't safe here!" She shouted in Wutaian, pleading with her father, though she knew it would probably just fall on deaf ears. After all, he wasn't even going to allow them to see her off.
"Make way! Clear a path! Aino, collect Yuffie's belongings from her room." Godo barked to his guardsmen, the young foreigners under his command moving in a quick, coordinated fashion to force the Press out of the hallway, while one of the women bowed slightly to the Emperor, and scurried into Yuffie's room. Leaning down close to her, he locked gazes with her, his own eyes a similar shade of washed out stone gray. "These people will not be allowed anywhere near you, or Wutai. Look at yourself. They nearly got you killed, forcing you into this murderous vendetta of theirs. Whatever they get, they deserve."
"They aren'tsome kind of cult!" She snarled at him, furious that he wouldn't listen to her. He had never listened to her; as if he didn't believe she could make decisions concerning her own well-being. "They're my friends, don't you get it?! I didn't get kidnapped, or brainwashed, or cowed into this or whatever the fuck you think happened! I joined them because I wanted to be out in the world! I wanted an adventure, not to be stuck sitting around the palace all day while you lamented and raved, and obsessed about how you were going to get our country back up to power!"
The wheelchair bumped to a stop suddenly, and both father and daughter broke from their argument, attention snapping to the obstruction that had presented itself.
A bare leg, bandaged from calf to ankle, was stuck out from the doorway to the left; the door which had been closed before, since the guardsmen hadn't even given the pitch black room a second glance as they had moved forward, ushering out all of the Press, not wanting any of them to get too close to the Emperor or his injured daughter. All of the Wutaians had been so caught up in getting the reporters out of their way, as well as the argument taking place between Godo and Yuffie, that the door being pulled open had gone by completely unnoticed.
Perhaps it had been their intention, to hide in the room, only until the guards had passed, and only then appear, having a clear shot at the emperor's daughter, not forced back, held at bay by the armed foreigners.
"You're acting like we broke her legs to try and force her to stay here." a voice half-crooned in Wutaian, the pronunciation not exactly perfect, but understandable nonetheless.
"Who dares-" Godo began indignantly, as the interloper stuck her head out of the dark offshoot, almost leaking from the shadows, into the harsh contrast of the fluorescent hallway lights. Her right hand, free of its heavy swaddling of gauze for once, snaked out, flat to the wall, the flesh mottled with painful looking blisters, some raw areas starting to scab over a bit, giving her leverage to twist herself fully in front of Yuffie's wheelchair, her calf still up against the left wheel, blocking them from being able to get past her.
She reached out with her left hand, placing it gently on Yuffie's shoulder, squeezing it, trying to comfort the younger girl.
"I dare, I suppose." Tifa shrugged, glaring defiantly back at the emperor, blotchy red eyes holding a glassy, unfocused sheen. Her stance was lax, and she seemed half out of it, judging by her slurred words to Godo. "Understandable you want to protect your daughter, and, judgmental as you're being, I suppose we can understand that you want to place the blame on us for her ever ending up in this position in the first place. Considering that she originally joined us just to rob us blind, her mindset now might seem like we influenced her somehow, but we never forced her to do anything. She could have left us at anytime she wanted, and Wutai's diplomatic immunity would have spared her any repercussions or accusations of treason from the Shinra. She stayed with us of her own choice. We are not monsters, sir. We're just people. People that, admittedly, have done some bad things, but all in the name of trying to help the world as a whole."
"Mongrel." Godo muttered distastefully, taking in her mixed features, her imperfect grasp of the Wutaian tongue. Due to Wutai's isolationist stance, their xenophobic stance on intermingling with outside races, in the emperor's eyes, the martial artist was something impure; a clear example of the failings of one of the dissidents that had been exiled from his country, likely by his own decree. How dare someone of her background speak so frankly, so disrespectfully toward him, butchering his mother-tongue no less? "You had better hold your tongue, if you know what is best for you."
Tifa ignored his threat, leaning down toward Yuffie, her hands braced on the chair's armrests, so close to Yuffie's face that their noses were almost touching. She offered a small, lopsided little grin, her hand coming up and brushing some hair away from her forehead, before planting a small kiss on the exposed skin.
Her lips were dry, slightly chapped, feeling almost death-cold against her heated, flushed skin. She had gotten so upset that she was red in the face, tears welling at her eyes. Tifa pulled back, resting her forehead against Yuffie's, her left hand cupping the back of the ninja's head, pads of her fingers threaded through the hair, rubbing against her scalp, trying to soothe her; calm her down a little.
"Go with your dad, Yuffie. I know you really don't want to, but we'll be okay. We've gotten through worse, yeah?" She paused, while Yuffie snuffled, grabbing her around the shoulders and pulling her into a tight hug, head buried in the junction where Tifa's neck met her shoulder, breathing hot and sticky against herskin, trying not to burst into sobs while everybody could still see her.
"I don't want to leave you." She whimpered into the other girl's collarbone, but Tifa just clicked her tongue a little, trying to calm her. If there was one thing that Tifa was good at, it was calming others down, trying to get them to see things positively. And hearing Tifa say that they would be okay, she wanted to believe it. She almost could believe it. Not like in the dead, automatic way Cid had said it. "What if people come after you?"
"Then we run and we hide." She replied matter-of-factly, crooning in her imperfect Wutaian into Yuffie's ear. "We fight; fight for our lives if we have to, just like we've done before. And when things are safer, when we have the chance, we'll see you. This isn't going to be the last we see each other, right?" She chuckled a little at that last sentence, almost sounding self-deprecating. "Yeah, no matter what, we'll all eventually see each other again someday."
Tifa was suddenly pulled backward, torn away from Yuffie's clinging grasp, the ninja gripping fervently at her left wrist, trying to keep Tifa there. She was stretched forward in her chair rather perilously, not wanting to let go, as two of the Royal Guards were attempting to haul Tifa out of the way, at Godo's insistence.
Yuffie was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder as pulled roughly back into her seat by the guardsman trying to wheel her out. She stared in shock as Tifa was dragged backwards by her upper arms, trying to shake the interlopers off. Mad as she was, Tifa wouldn't fight them, wouldn't cause any more trouble, wouldn't-
Her high-minded concept of Tifa's grace in the matter quickly disintegrated, however, as the martial artist planted her feet, refusing to move another inch, and twisted, ripping her left arm free of the restraining hold.
"-off me!" She snapped, bringing her fist around low, driving it into the breastbone of the Wutaian gripping her right arm, shaking him off as his grip faltered and he fell to the linoleum. She brought her left leg around, hitting the other guard in the backs of his knees, sending him sprawling backwards as well. "Just let us say goodbye, for fuck's sake! Just give us a minute with her!" She demanded, glowering toward the emperor, as she stepped forward again, reaching out for Yuffie, who reached out for her as well.
But Tifa's burned, wounded arm was grabbed in a tight, nearly crushing grip, causing her eyes to fly open wide as the pain shot up her nerves, registering in her brain. She gritted her teeth and winced, head coming up to see who had grabbed her-
And her head snapped back, as an open palm was thrust directly against the tip of her nose.
Reeve and the others stared in mute shock as Godo pulled Tifa toward him in one fluid pull on her arm, his other hand coming up and grasping the front of her top. He hefted her up and over in a Judo throw, sending her crashing against the wall, before falling into a heap on the ground, blood beginning to flow from her nostrils.
Yuffie let out a shriek at that, and twisted, trying to get to Tifa, hands scrabbling uselessly, and it felt sickeningly too much like déjà vu, trying to get a look at her, get to her, as she lay crumpled on the ground.
Tifa just lay there on her back, blood and fluid leaking from the ruptured blisters and torn skin on her arm that had barely begun to heal, her right hand pressed to her wounded side, having crashed to the ground on her left hip, jostling the heavily sutured area.
She stared glassily toward Yuffie, the blood flowing from her nose traveling sideways across her cheeks, before dribbling onto the slightly off-white colored tiles.
Godo made his way over to her, looming above her, the hem of his fine silk robes wisping across her forehead.
"If you ever come near my daughter; come anywhere near Wutai for that matter, I will have you imprisoned until the end of your miserable days." He warned, before turning away from her and back toward Yuffie, who was openly sobbing now, at the sight of Tifa just laying there, refusing to get back up.
"What the Hell are you doing?!" Yuffie shrieked at him "You didn't need…..She nearly died!"
Godo paused and looked back toward Tifa, who was still staring at Yuffie with that glazed, million-mile gaze.
"A pity she didn't." He muttered, half to himself, making his way toward the double doors, hailing for the others of his entourage that were still in the wing to follow him. The two guards taken down by Tifa got up and composed themselves, while the guard pushing Yuffie's wheelchair kept step alongside Godo, and the woman sent to collect Yuffie's belongings scurried out of the room, falling into step behind them.
Through her tears, Yuffie looked back, taking a final glance at them, seeing the shock, the barely concealed rage toward her father.
"I'm sorry!" She shrieked at them in the common tongue, shaking her head and reaching back fruitlessly toward them, despite the rapidly expanding distance from them. "Oh Hell, I'm so, so, sorry. I didn't….. I don't….."
"Not your fault, baby." Barret assured her, shaking his head helplessly. For a minute, she thought that was all he was going to say, but right as the chair bumped over the threshold of the doorway, the large man looked at her, his normally hard brown eyes missing their usual fire. "Be tough. We love you kid, don' ever forget that. You still one of us."
She held Barret's gaze until the doors slammed shut behind her, cutting her off from her friends with a very final-sounding bang. She buried her face in her hands, tears falling freely.
And they just kept falling, even after she made it home to her father's palace in Wutai. Home to safety.
Without her friends.