Tengoko: Sorry for the wait. Writer's block. This chapter was actually pretty fun to write though, once it got going. So, I hope you like it. Tell me what you think. Enjoy.
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Rated M for language and romance
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Chapter 11: The Omnipotent Tseng

She was alone. Both figuratively and literally. She sat curled up in a ball on the edge of her couch, vaguely listening to the television. But, her thoughts were somewhere else. On the past week. The pain she'd endured waiting for the ArgusinDSA to leave her system. She wanted to die. Wished she could. But the damned doctors wouldn't let her.

That feeling hadn't left yet. She still wished for death. Still longed for the cold, silent, grasp of the lifelessness to consume her, to take her soul, to end her longing. Longing. But for what? In the passed few days, she'd tried so many drugs, so many drinks. But nothing could replace the high that ArgusinDSA gave her.

Her apartment was a veritable mess. Even as she looked around now, she thought to herself that she needed to clean up. But, she couldn't muster the will or the want to stand up and get to the task. What was the point? What was the point of anything really? Her work, her home life, her life in general.

Suddenly, she heard a pounding on her door. Her hands went straight up to her temples, trying to drown out the reverberating ringing in her ears. Maybe if she was quiet enough, the unwanted visitor would assume she wasn't in, and then they would leave.

But that didn't happen. The door flew open and she looked up to see Tseng making his way towards her. He looked angry. Hell, he looked more than angry. In fact, she'd never quite seen him like this.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, kicking the trash around his feet. "More importantly, what the hell is this?" He threw a paper down at her and Elena only had to glance at it once to know what it was.

"I'd think it's pretty simple," she said. "My resignation."

Tseng sighed and cleared off a spot on the coffee table so he could have a seat. Grabbing the bridge of his nose he said, "I'm worried about you, Elena. Before now, you lived for the job. And out of nowhere, it's like you don't care about anything."

"I don't," she confirmed. "So, I'd appreciate it if you left now."

"I can't do that. I'm not going to let you quit, Elena. You need this job. You need it more than I need it. And I'll tell you, I need it pretty damn bad. Elena, you'll die without it. It's what motivates you. Keeps you going. I can't in good conscience let you leave now when I know it will destroy you."

"I didn't know Turks were allowed to have a conscience," she said rudely.

"Oh, cut the crap, Elena," he groaned. "You know me better than that. Or…at least I thought you did. Or, were you confused by the fact that I refused to respond to your romantic gestures? Well, if it means anything, Elena, I did like you. I liked you a lot. But, as far as there being an us, it could never have happened. I am your boss. And, to tell you the truth, for years, I gave you the easy missions just so I knew you'd be safe. It wasn't until recently that Rufus Shinra talked me into giving you the harder missions. But, by then, my feelings for you had become completely platonic."

Elena could only stare at him now. "But, you still care about me?" she asked, fighting tears that she was so reluctant to let go of.

"As though you were my own daughter, Elena. Don't ask me how I went from viewing you with desire to fatherly affection. I'm not even sure. Perhaps it's because I'm responsible for you, Elena. Everything you do, I have to worry about. And it's like that with Reno and Rude. Of course, I don't look at them as though they were my sons. Even I'm not that desperate for offspring."

Elena laughed. But then she coughed. "Tseng, I know that I'm losing control," she said softly. "I know that if I don't stop, I'm never going to find my way back. But, I'm not ready to get help yet."

"I think you are, Elena. For that matter, I think you need help even more than you yourself realize. I don't even know what's going on with you Elena. I know it's got something to do with substance abuse. Trust me, I've seen enough of that to recognize it. And I've see what it does to people who don't seek help before it's too late. I don't want that to happen to you, Elena. Nobody does."

"Who cares if it kills me?" she asked, reverting back to her melodrama. "I know none of the Turks give a damn about me, and I'm not even sure if I give a damn about myself. So what if I die from all this? At least it would mean an end to all of this." She looked around, motioning to the mess around her. But mostly, to the world. "Between this life and the next, I'd choose the latter any day."

"Oh Gods. You sound so much like he had."

"Like who?"

"Like…well, the thing is, we don't talk about it anymore. It happened so long ago, and we all agreed to forget about it and pretend like it never happened so long as it never happened again. And it never did. Until now. It's just, this time, it's you."

"If you don't start making sense, Tseng, I swear, I'll take my own life here and now."

"I doubt it," he said, leaning forward and pulling the throw off of her. "Get up and get dressed, Elena. I'm going to get you out of here for a little while." She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off. "Don't argue with me, Elena. You are still a Turk as far as I'm concerned, and therefore you are obligated to do whatever I order you to. And yes, it was an order, not a request. I'll wait here."

Elena scowled at him before standing up and staggering towards her bedroom. Damn him. How dare he do this to her; order her to go to some unknown destination with him when she'd rather stay at home and drink away reality. She sat down on the floor and pulled some clothes out of her drawer.

Long sleeves. She had to stick with long sleeves for a while. The tell tale bruises on the crux of her arm revealed what she was using to replace Argusin. Still, heroine wasn't enough. And soon, she'd have to find something to use in conjunction with it to get her in the same place that Argusin got her to.

After sliding on her baby blue turtleneck, her dark blue jeans and her black boots, she pulled herself up and walked back into the living room where Tseng was waiting. He was standing up, his arms behind his back as usual. He saw her and nodded before walking towards her and taking her by the shoulder.

"Let's go, Elena."

"Not like I have a choice," she muttered. He chuckled as he opened the front door for her and led her into the hallway. "Where are we going?"

"It doesn't matter where we go, does it? I just don't think staying here and wallowing in depression and self-resentment is the best way for you to spend the rest of your day. I would take you to get some drinks, but again, that would be a bad idea considering…"

"I get it," she said.

They stepped into the elevator and once the doors closed, Tseng turned to her. "By the way, Justus is wondering how you are doing. I told him not to bother you. Was I right in doing that?"

"More than right," Elena said, feeling her face heat with anger. The thought of Justus Marquis made her blood boil. "I do want to say, that if I am to continue being a Turk, I do want another partner. If Rude and Reno won't do, hire somebody else or go on the missions with me yourself, but I am not going to go anywhere else with him ever again."

"I'll see what I can do," Tseng smiled, stepping out of the elevator and pulling her along with him. "And, as it is, I don't think Reno and Rude would be entirely up to going anywhere with you at the moment."

Elena looked down. "Thanks. I needed that reminder. Why don't you just squirt lemon juice in my eye while you're at it?" To her chagrin, Tseng smiled again.

"Elena, I can't explain to you why they did what they did. I know why they did it, and I can assure you, there is good reason for it. As it is, I wouldn't partner them with you right now, even if they requested it."

Elena looked up at him to question that, but then realized that they were already out in the parking garage and at his car. He opened the door for her and she automatically got in. It took him a few more seconds to walk around and get in himself. He sat for a moment, staring passed the windshield. "Elena, I know I said earlier that I wasn't going to tell you what I was talking about earlier. But, I think it'll help you to know that you aren't the only one who's needed help. So, I know where I'm going to take you."

"Where?"

"You'll see," he said, starting the car up. "Elena, this has to stay between us. If either of them find out that I told you, there'll be hell to pay. But, maybe this way, you'll learn the motives behind their actions."

"Their actions? Meaning Reno and Rude?"

Tseng didn't answer. Elena didn't bother trying to ask again. Instead, she stared out the window, wondering. Waiting. What could possibly justify abandoning a friend? She knew that if Reno or Rude had ever needed her, she would have been there for them in a heartbeat. And now, here she was, on the brink of contemplating suicide, and where were they?

Well, at this point, she didn't care what Tseng was going to show her. Nothing in the world could endear them to her again. So, she had to earn her way beck to where she once was with them? Screw it. She didn't want to be their friend again. Not if she had to earn the right. Not if she had to prove her loyalties all over again, to spend another five years sucking up to them.

Suddenly, the scenery was cut off by a wall of stone. They were in a tunnel. She turned to look at Tseng, but he had his eyes fixed on the road. If she wasn't mistaken, the tunnel was heading downwards. That could only mean they were heading towards the slums. But, what could possibly be in the slums that would interest the Turk?

"You are aware, Tseng, that no matter what happens to day, I'll never forgive them?"

"I figured you say something like that," he smiled. "But you might be singing a different tune by the end of the day. And…just to make you aware, Elena, no matter how many turtlenecks you wear, you aren't fooling me with the long sleeves." He glanced at her knowingly and his smile faded.

"How…?" she asked, bemused.

"There's a reason I'm head of the most covert team that Shinra has to offer. I'm good at making observations. While you might be able to hide certain things from others, even the other Turks, I am not easily fooled. Besides, I'm Tseng. I know all."

"You are infuriating is what you are," she grumbled.

"I'm glad you think so," he said. "With that in mind, we're here." He pulled over to the side and stepped out of the car. Elena followed suit and watched as he pulled some keys from his pocket and unlocked a brown door on the side of the tunnel. "We've got quite a way to climb, Elena. Perhaps I should have told you to change shoes."

"That would have been considerate of you," she said, sighting the ladder. "I'll go first. That way, if I fall, I can take you with me."

"There's the vindictive bitch I know and love," he laughed.

"Where does this ladder go anyway?" she asked, starting the ascent.

"To the top of the Sector Seven Plate."