Chapter 6 - Well, Fuck.
Reno rolled out of the hotel bed and on to the floor. Grabbing the blankets he took down with him, he curled back up. Rude waited a couple seconds in good faith. Then Reno started to snore. Rude agitatedly sighed once, before kicking Reno hard where he assumed his ribs were. The sleeping Turk mumbled before rolling over and pulling the blankets tighter.
"Reno, get up." Rude was used to this after so many missions, but it never got any easier. He started walking over to the fridge. "Time to wake up." The first ice cube hit Reno in the back of the head.
"Fhmmk aahhff." Rude gathered some more ice from the bucket he had found.
"What was that?" He threw another one. Reno cleared the blanket away from his mouth.
"I said 'fuck off.' Asshole." Rude stepped up beside Reno and bent down.
"Are you gonna get up?"
"Are you gonna go to hell?" Shaking his head, Rude stood tall again. And dumped half the bucket on Reno. Rude braced himself for the explosion of swearing and wildly thrown punches that was sure to follow. To his surprise, Reno simply sat up and shook himself off.
"Alright, alright. I'm up." Rude turned away wondering just what was different from the countless other times they had gone through. Then it hit him. Literally. Right in the back of the head.
"Take this, you bald sonofabitch." Rude turned around and took the next ice cube in the nose. He dove for cover behind the table, flipping it as he went by and grasped for "ammunition" from his bucket. Reno had taken his blanket full of ice with him as he leapt over the bed to find his protection. And thus the ice war began. Using all their Turk training, usually applied in shootouts, the two fired the ice cubes when the opportunity presented itself, before ducking back down behind their cover. Reno kept swearing to distract Rude, and Rude kept silent to piss Reno off. And that was how Elena and Yuffie found them. Rude crouched behind a table in his full Turk suit, looking all business, but throwing ice. And a disheveled Reno behind the bed wearing nothing but black boxers with flames running up the legs.
"What the fuck are you two doing?" Elena stood with a hand on her hip. "We have a mission today and you're acting like God damn children." Rude looked as clearly embarrassed as Rude could possibly look. He seemed pretty normal to Yuffie actually.
"Uhhh Elena." Reno raised his hand like a schoolboy. "I act like a God damn child anytime we have a mission. Remember?"
"Shut up."
"Ok." Reno started searching for his pants while Rude walked over to the girls. He scratched his head and spoke quietly.
"Sorry."
"Hey, Rude." Reno called out from behind the giant Turk. Rude turned around to inquire what the hell he could want.
"What do you." Rude was cut off by a final ice cube flying at his face. It hit him right in the sunglasses and broke a lens. Time froze. The room went eerily quite as the occupants stared at the shattered left lens with held breath. Reno's panicked voice broke the spell.
"Oh, God, Rude man I didn't mean to." That was as far as he got before Rude's fist slammed into his face.
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"Ow."
"It's your own fault you know." Yuffie held the ice pack out to Reno, as he attempted to stop the flow of blood. Drawing his hand away, he inspected himself in the mirror.
"It's it crooked? I think it's crooked. Did he break it?"
"Awww, poor baby Reno can't handle a little punch." Reno growled and took an absent-minded swing at the ninja by side, which she easily danced away from, even in the confines of a hotel bathroom.
"Shut up brat, I'm not in the mood." Yuffie hopped back over and pulled his hand away from his nose.
"Well, the bleeding's stopped at least. Clean yourself up so I can take a closer look." He washed off all the dried blood and Yuffie leaned in, Yuffie took a better look than Reno was comfortable with. Then she flicked him. Reno let out a cry of pain before dashing to grab her. Yuffie spun away from his first grab, but found her backed up against the closed door. Reno was on her like a shot, pinning her between him and her obstacle to freedom.
"That." Reno practically snarled. "Wasn't cool." Yuffie couldn't help but feel a little nervous, but she pulled her courage together.
"Yeah, well you're a wuss." She said as she pushed him back.
"You're a bitch." He took a step closer as he spoke.
"You're a filthy slob." She refused to give ground to the Turk and stepped towards him, daring him to back down. She found herself toe to toe with him, looking up into flashing blue eyes
"You're a high maintenance, prissy little whiner." The insult was lost in the soft whispers of his voice as he slid his hands around her waist and pulled her closer.
"Smart mouthed asshole." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Stuck-up Princess" He leaned in, mouth parting slightly. Yuffie began pulling herself up to his lips when she put in one final shot.
"Murderer." Reno stiffened. Throughout the entire exchange, their eyes had remained locked onto the others, seeing nothing else. Now the Turk cast his eyes down. Slowly his hands left her waist and he gently put distance between them.
"Reno, I-I'm sorry." Yuffie stumbled out an apology.
"No it's ok." Reno smiled at the young woman in front of him, but the smile, Yuffie realized, didn't reach his eyes. "I am what I am and I'm damn good at it. Nothin' to be sorry about brat. Anyway, we'd better get going. We're late enough as it is."
Reno pushed past her and into the hotel room where Elena and Rude stood putting together the final details. Yuffie followed him out a few moments later, but he wouldn't meet her eyes. Loading up his handguns and EMR Reno opened the door.
"Well. Let's go."
By the time they reached the rented buggy waiting for them outside, Reno seemed to be back to normal. But Yuffie couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with the sunglasses covering his eyes.
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The Turks were already halfway to the ruins by the time Cid had landed the Highwind as close to the town as possible. The group of adventurers departed the airship, leaving its care in the hands of the crew till they returned. Barret was the most familiar with the new arrangement of the town-turned-city, and he led them to Cloud and Tifa's home. The two heroes were waiting from them on their porch. When Tifa saw them approaching she couldn't help but run out to meet them, Cloud walking slowly behind, a smile on his face. Barret was the first to reach the girl and he swept her up into a giant bear hug. After exchanged greetings and pleasantries, Cloud got right down to business.
"Yuffie didn't return I take it."
"No." Cid took a final puff on his cigarette, before crushing it beneath his heel. "Left her PHS behind too. Looks like we're going this one without her." Cloud's mouth set in a grim line, and Tifa looked sorely disappointed.
"We'll be fine without her. Would have been nice to have a little extra support though." Cloud shrugged at his own statement. "There's no point in worrying about it now. How close are we to going. Do you guys need any rest?" Barret and Cid both shook their heads, while Vincent did nothing. Red vocalized his opinion.
"We had more than enough rest last night in Wutai. I believe time is of the essence. If the Turks left Wutai last night, they could very easily have reached the ruins by now." Tifa nodded.
"You're right, Red. We should really get going. Reeve's transport is waiting for us at the western edge of town." Barret still wasn't too sure about the details of the plan.
"What transport? Where's it takin' us. Why can't we jus' take the Highwind." Cid turned his head towards his friend and answered.
"There's no way there's any safe place for the Highwind to land in that fucking wreck. As for the transport, Reeve's boys have cleared a path directly to the Shin-ra building, but the tower has been too dangerous to clear out so far. Reeve won't risk that shit." During the pilot's explanation, Tifa had started to lead AVALANCHE towards the edge of town. The group lapsed into casual conversation, but the anxiety of what this particular trip would hold had an almost physical presence among them. Cloud found himself deep in thought while the others chitchatted.
'What's going to happen if we confront the Turks out there. I hope I'll be able to talk them down without a fight, but I'm concerned about Yuffie. I don't like the lack of details surrounding her departure last night. What if they've kidnapped her, and know we're coming after them. This could all be one big trap. And if we get down to fight, I have a bad feeling it'll be to the bitter end.' Cloud looked at each of his friends as they laughed and smiled, even Vincent looking content in his company. 'Could I really handle losing any of these people, all over some stupid project of a dead man. Am I doing the right thing?' Cloud's thoughts trailed off as he absently grabbed the hilt of his sword, his eyes burning holes in the ground. 'Well, fuck.'
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Davis stepped into President Alexander's office, gathering a series of files neatly into his hands. Alexander sat at his desk, filling in various reports and sipping idly at a glass of red wine. Davis approached the front of the desk and found himself waiting for Alexander to finish a final paper. Corin placed the completed paperwork to the side and smiled up at his subordinate.
"What can I do for you Davis?"
"Surveillance teams are checking in from Kalm and Midgar. Looks like everybody's up and moving now."
"Wonderful. Where are they?" The president of A.E.C.'s smile grew even broader. Davis flipped open the top file, and held it out for Alexander to look at while he spoke.
"The Turks, Rude, Reno and Elena, arrived in Kalm by ferry last night, accompanied by AVALANCHE member Yuffie Kisaragi." Alexander quirked an eyebrow at the last bit.
"The ninja girl? Interesting. And of her own free will, no less." He hesitated after reading that part of the report. "I'm not certain that's such a good thing, Davis."
"It was unforeseeable, sir. They left for Midgar in a rented buggy early this morning, and have slipped by Reeve's men undetected. They recently reached the Shin-ra building."
"And AVALANCHE?" Alexander flipped the folder closed while speaking, and reached out for the next one Davis offered.
"The Highwind touched down outside of Kalm not too long after the Turks had departed. Cid Highwind, Barret Wallace, Nanaki, or Red XII, and Vincent Valentine met up with Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart. They then loaded onto a Shin-ra transport provided by President Reeve. AVALANCHE should be arriving at the edge of the ruins momentarily." Alexander stood up.
"Are the cameras operational?"
"Yes, sir."
"Take me there." Alexander slapped Davis on the back and slung an arm over his shoulders. "And why don't you have some popcorn brought up to us." He added with a bark of laughter. "Should be one hell of a show."
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The Turks stepped up in front of the shattered glass doors that once stood as the entrance to the most powerful building on the planet. Yuffie tried to brush the dust and dirt off her clothes and out of her hair in vain.
"This place is disgusting."
"Oh suck it up, princess." Reno sneered at her. He nodded to Rude, who walked into the dark building, shining his flashlight around, while Elena followed closely behind. Reno grasped Yuffie, his hand, covered in a fingerless and insulated glove, wrapped around her upper arm and pulled her with him. Once inside, she batted his hand away and absently massaged the spot where he had grabbed her.
"Now what?" She asked.
"The service stairs are this way. They go both up and down. Now come on." Reno pointed in the direction of the stairs he had mentioned and the group moved quickly towards them, Rude still leading. They found themselves at a split path of stairs, one leading to the upper floors, and the others leading below ground. Reno took charge.
"The lab is upstairs, but we're going to need the generator up and running to access the computers, provided any are operational. The generator is down in the lower levels. Me an Rude will get the generator running." He turned to the girls. "You two get up to the labs and collect the info. We'll either come get you, or meet you back here." Reno turned to leave, but was intercepted by Yuffie.
"Why are you two going downstairs? Us weak women aren't strong enough for it?" Reno slumped his shoulders.
"Never coming with us again." He said under his breath. "No, we're splitting this way because Rude knows exactly where to go, and I have to jump start the generator. We're not taking you two with because I don't know how much power we're going to get outta the old thing. As soon as the power comes on, Elena's going to be busy getting what we need, and you have to watch her back. Especially considering how much attention we're going to attract by lighting this place up."
Yuffie had her mouth shut when Reno finished. She mumbled out a "sorry" and accompanied Elena up the stairs.
"God, I hate it when women speak." Rude shrugged at his partners' complaint, and the pair headed down the stairs.
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The two Turks walked silently, their night-vision goggles easily piercing the darkness. They both knew they couldn't afford to give their position away to any monsters that roamed the dank basement by using flashlights. They had already slipped by a few packs of the mako-enhanced atrocities undetected, but Reno knew better than to push his luck. All that meant to him was that there was going to be at least two packs of monsters to fight through when the power came back on. Rude made a quick left turn, in what appeared to be a last second decision. Reno stepped up beside his partner and whispered.
"You know where we are right?"
"Yes."
"Just checking." Reno slowed up half a step to follow again. They continued on in uninterrupted silence before Rude abruptly stopped before a door.
"In here." Rude tried the door. It didn't budge. He looked back at Reno. "Locked." Rude stepped off to the side and Reno nodded. He produced a small cigarette case from his jacket pocket. Sliding the back piece down, Reno revealed the secret compartment and removed a small, yet durable lockpick. Kneeling in front of the door, Reno went to work quickly. Seconds later, he had the door unlocked and open.
"Ladies first." Reno smirked. Rude only shook his head and walked into the room. Reno entered a second later and shut the door quietly behind him. He stepped up to the generator and popped open the side panel. Finding the conduit he needed, he flipped open his nightstick. The whir of the EMR charging filled the room and Reno looked over at Rude with a smile. "Better take those things off man." He tossed his night vision goggles up onto his head as Rude dropped them down around his neck. "Don't know about you, but I kinda like my eyesight." For an answer, Rude covered his eyes with a new pair of sunglasses. Reno flicked a switch on the insulated handle and applied the EMR to the circuits. The entire room was illuminated by the power that coursed from Reno's trademark weapon.
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Yuffie and Elena moved quickly up the stairs. At floor 19, Elena stopped and opened the door. Yuffie put on her breaks and looked up the stairway confused.
"Cloud always said the lab was on the upper levels." Yuffie whispered.
"And he'd be right. But we don't need to go to the lab to access what we need." Yuffie cut Elena off.
"What do we need anyway?" Elena looked over apologetically.
"Not now. Once we have it, ok?" Yuffie didn't look too happy with the answer. "Anyway, I doubt the upper floors are even standing anymore. There's a computer lab in here that was networked to the entire building. If you know what you're doing." Elena smiled. "C'mon, this way."
The two women darted down the halls, Elena leading the way confidently. A snort and a growl ahead of them brought them to a halt. Elena held a finger to her lips and assumed Yuffie was rolling her eyes through her night vision goggles. Elena pulled a mirror on the end of a small, telescopic rod out of her jacket and used it to look around the corner. Down the hall, in front of the room they needed to get to, stood a giant, mutated rat. Elena held the mirror out for Yuffie, and pulled out her handgun. As Yuffie stared at the rat, a look of utter revulsion fell onto her face. The ninja turned back to witness the Turk attaching a silencer to her weapon. Yuffie held up a hand for Elena to stop. Elena looked at her quizzically, and Yuffie pulled out a small shuriken from a pouch on her hip. Before Elena could protest, Yuffie jumped out into the hall and let the small throwing star fly from her hand. It embedded itself in the rat's neck, and within a second the beast fell over dead. Elena looked out with a questioning eyebrow raised.
"What was that?" The blond asked.
Yuffie patted the pouch at her hip and answered. "Wutain neuro-toxin. The shuriken's edges were coated in it. It causes an almost instant shutdown of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Basically instant death, dependent on the size of the target."
"Oh." Elena pointed to the door behind the body of the rat. "Computer lab is in there."
The women stepped into the lab to find a section of collapsed ceiling covering most of the room. Luckily for the Turks, an entire row remained virtually untouched by the carnage. Elena sat at the closest one and Yuffie stood behind her.
"Now what?"
"Now, we wait for Reno and Rude to get the generator running." Elena hesitated for a second. "Or we're fucked." She then pulled the night vision goggles off her face. Yuffie did the same.
The two waited in silence and darkness, hoping the power would come on soon. When Yuffie couldn't stand it anymore, she tried to start conversation up.
"So. Rude, eh?"
"So. Reno, eh?" If it could have been seen in the dark, Elena would notice Yuffie blushing brightly. "How are things with you two anyway?"
"I. Don't know." Yuffie quickly tried to change the subject. "So can you tell me what we're looking for now?" Silence gripped the room again while Elena searched for the words.
"We're accessing Hojo's old notes." The lights slammed on, and screeches of pain flooded the entire Shin-ra tower.
Reno rolled out of the hotel bed and on to the floor. Grabbing the blankets he took down with him, he curled back up. Rude waited a couple seconds in good faith. Then Reno started to snore. Rude agitatedly sighed once, before kicking Reno hard where he assumed his ribs were. The sleeping Turk mumbled before rolling over and pulling the blankets tighter.
"Reno, get up." Rude was used to this after so many missions, but it never got any easier. He started walking over to the fridge. "Time to wake up." The first ice cube hit Reno in the back of the head.
"Fhmmk aahhff." Rude gathered some more ice from the bucket he had found.
"What was that?" He threw another one. Reno cleared the blanket away from his mouth.
"I said 'fuck off.' Asshole." Rude stepped up beside Reno and bent down.
"Are you gonna get up?"
"Are you gonna go to hell?" Shaking his head, Rude stood tall again. And dumped half the bucket on Reno. Rude braced himself for the explosion of swearing and wildly thrown punches that was sure to follow. To his surprise, Reno simply sat up and shook himself off.
"Alright, alright. I'm up." Rude turned away wondering just what was different from the countless other times they had gone through. Then it hit him. Literally. Right in the back of the head.
"Take this, you bald sonofabitch." Rude turned around and took the next ice cube in the nose. He dove for cover behind the table, flipping it as he went by and grasped for "ammunition" from his bucket. Reno had taken his blanket full of ice with him as he leapt over the bed to find his protection. And thus the ice war began. Using all their Turk training, usually applied in shootouts, the two fired the ice cubes when the opportunity presented itself, before ducking back down behind their cover. Reno kept swearing to distract Rude, and Rude kept silent to piss Reno off. And that was how Elena and Yuffie found them. Rude crouched behind a table in his full Turk suit, looking all business, but throwing ice. And a disheveled Reno behind the bed wearing nothing but black boxers with flames running up the legs.
"What the fuck are you two doing?" Elena stood with a hand on her hip. "We have a mission today and you're acting like God damn children." Rude looked as clearly embarrassed as Rude could possibly look. He seemed pretty normal to Yuffie actually.
"Uhhh Elena." Reno raised his hand like a schoolboy. "I act like a God damn child anytime we have a mission. Remember?"
"Shut up."
"Ok." Reno started searching for his pants while Rude walked over to the girls. He scratched his head and spoke quietly.
"Sorry."
"Hey, Rude." Reno called out from behind the giant Turk. Rude turned around to inquire what the hell he could want.
"What do you." Rude was cut off by a final ice cube flying at his face. It hit him right in the sunglasses and broke a lens. Time froze. The room went eerily quite as the occupants stared at the shattered left lens with held breath. Reno's panicked voice broke the spell.
"Oh, God, Rude man I didn't mean to." That was as far as he got before Rude's fist slammed into his face.
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"Ow."
"It's your own fault you know." Yuffie held the ice pack out to Reno, as he attempted to stop the flow of blood. Drawing his hand away, he inspected himself in the mirror.
"It's it crooked? I think it's crooked. Did he break it?"
"Awww, poor baby Reno can't handle a little punch." Reno growled and took an absent-minded swing at the ninja by side, which she easily danced away from, even in the confines of a hotel bathroom.
"Shut up brat, I'm not in the mood." Yuffie hopped back over and pulled his hand away from his nose.
"Well, the bleeding's stopped at least. Clean yourself up so I can take a closer look." He washed off all the dried blood and Yuffie leaned in, Yuffie took a better look than Reno was comfortable with. Then she flicked him. Reno let out a cry of pain before dashing to grab her. Yuffie spun away from his first grab, but found her backed up against the closed door. Reno was on her like a shot, pinning her between him and her obstacle to freedom.
"That." Reno practically snarled. "Wasn't cool." Yuffie couldn't help but feel a little nervous, but she pulled her courage together.
"Yeah, well you're a wuss." She said as she pushed him back.
"You're a bitch." He took a step closer as he spoke.
"You're a filthy slob." She refused to give ground to the Turk and stepped towards him, daring him to back down. She found herself toe to toe with him, looking up into flashing blue eyes
"You're a high maintenance, prissy little whiner." The insult was lost in the soft whispers of his voice as he slid his hands around her waist and pulled her closer.
"Smart mouthed asshole." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Stuck-up Princess" He leaned in, mouth parting slightly. Yuffie began pulling herself up to his lips when she put in one final shot.
"Murderer." Reno stiffened. Throughout the entire exchange, their eyes had remained locked onto the others, seeing nothing else. Now the Turk cast his eyes down. Slowly his hands left her waist and he gently put distance between them.
"Reno, I-I'm sorry." Yuffie stumbled out an apology.
"No it's ok." Reno smiled at the young woman in front of him, but the smile, Yuffie realized, didn't reach his eyes. "I am what I am and I'm damn good at it. Nothin' to be sorry about brat. Anyway, we'd better get going. We're late enough as it is."
Reno pushed past her and into the hotel room where Elena and Rude stood putting together the final details. Yuffie followed him out a few moments later, but he wouldn't meet her eyes. Loading up his handguns and EMR Reno opened the door.
"Well. Let's go."
By the time they reached the rented buggy waiting for them outside, Reno seemed to be back to normal. But Yuffie couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with the sunglasses covering his eyes.
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The Turks were already halfway to the ruins by the time Cid had landed the Highwind as close to the town as possible. The group of adventurers departed the airship, leaving its care in the hands of the crew till they returned. Barret was the most familiar with the new arrangement of the town-turned-city, and he led them to Cloud and Tifa's home. The two heroes were waiting from them on their porch. When Tifa saw them approaching she couldn't help but run out to meet them, Cloud walking slowly behind, a smile on his face. Barret was the first to reach the girl and he swept her up into a giant bear hug. After exchanged greetings and pleasantries, Cloud got right down to business.
"Yuffie didn't return I take it."
"No." Cid took a final puff on his cigarette, before crushing it beneath his heel. "Left her PHS behind too. Looks like we're going this one without her." Cloud's mouth set in a grim line, and Tifa looked sorely disappointed.
"We'll be fine without her. Would have been nice to have a little extra support though." Cloud shrugged at his own statement. "There's no point in worrying about it now. How close are we to going. Do you guys need any rest?" Barret and Cid both shook their heads, while Vincent did nothing. Red vocalized his opinion.
"We had more than enough rest last night in Wutai. I believe time is of the essence. If the Turks left Wutai last night, they could very easily have reached the ruins by now." Tifa nodded.
"You're right, Red. We should really get going. Reeve's transport is waiting for us at the western edge of town." Barret still wasn't too sure about the details of the plan.
"What transport? Where's it takin' us. Why can't we jus' take the Highwind." Cid turned his head towards his friend and answered.
"There's no way there's any safe place for the Highwind to land in that fucking wreck. As for the transport, Reeve's boys have cleared a path directly to the Shin-ra building, but the tower has been too dangerous to clear out so far. Reeve won't risk that shit." During the pilot's explanation, Tifa had started to lead AVALANCHE towards the edge of town. The group lapsed into casual conversation, but the anxiety of what this particular trip would hold had an almost physical presence among them. Cloud found himself deep in thought while the others chitchatted.
'What's going to happen if we confront the Turks out there. I hope I'll be able to talk them down without a fight, but I'm concerned about Yuffie. I don't like the lack of details surrounding her departure last night. What if they've kidnapped her, and know we're coming after them. This could all be one big trap. And if we get down to fight, I have a bad feeling it'll be to the bitter end.' Cloud looked at each of his friends as they laughed and smiled, even Vincent looking content in his company. 'Could I really handle losing any of these people, all over some stupid project of a dead man. Am I doing the right thing?' Cloud's thoughts trailed off as he absently grabbed the hilt of his sword, his eyes burning holes in the ground. 'Well, fuck.'
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Davis stepped into President Alexander's office, gathering a series of files neatly into his hands. Alexander sat at his desk, filling in various reports and sipping idly at a glass of red wine. Davis approached the front of the desk and found himself waiting for Alexander to finish a final paper. Corin placed the completed paperwork to the side and smiled up at his subordinate.
"What can I do for you Davis?"
"Surveillance teams are checking in from Kalm and Midgar. Looks like everybody's up and moving now."
"Wonderful. Where are they?" The president of A.E.C.'s smile grew even broader. Davis flipped open the top file, and held it out for Alexander to look at while he spoke.
"The Turks, Rude, Reno and Elena, arrived in Kalm by ferry last night, accompanied by AVALANCHE member Yuffie Kisaragi." Alexander quirked an eyebrow at the last bit.
"The ninja girl? Interesting. And of her own free will, no less." He hesitated after reading that part of the report. "I'm not certain that's such a good thing, Davis."
"It was unforeseeable, sir. They left for Midgar in a rented buggy early this morning, and have slipped by Reeve's men undetected. They recently reached the Shin-ra building."
"And AVALANCHE?" Alexander flipped the folder closed while speaking, and reached out for the next one Davis offered.
"The Highwind touched down outside of Kalm not too long after the Turks had departed. Cid Highwind, Barret Wallace, Nanaki, or Red XII, and Vincent Valentine met up with Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart. They then loaded onto a Shin-ra transport provided by President Reeve. AVALANCHE should be arriving at the edge of the ruins momentarily." Alexander stood up.
"Are the cameras operational?"
"Yes, sir."
"Take me there." Alexander slapped Davis on the back and slung an arm over his shoulders. "And why don't you have some popcorn brought up to us." He added with a bark of laughter. "Should be one hell of a show."
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The Turks stepped up in front of the shattered glass doors that once stood as the entrance to the most powerful building on the planet. Yuffie tried to brush the dust and dirt off her clothes and out of her hair in vain.
"This place is disgusting."
"Oh suck it up, princess." Reno sneered at her. He nodded to Rude, who walked into the dark building, shining his flashlight around, while Elena followed closely behind. Reno grasped Yuffie, his hand, covered in a fingerless and insulated glove, wrapped around her upper arm and pulled her with him. Once inside, she batted his hand away and absently massaged the spot where he had grabbed her.
"Now what?" She asked.
"The service stairs are this way. They go both up and down. Now come on." Reno pointed in the direction of the stairs he had mentioned and the group moved quickly towards them, Rude still leading. They found themselves at a split path of stairs, one leading to the upper floors, and the others leading below ground. Reno took charge.
"The lab is upstairs, but we're going to need the generator up and running to access the computers, provided any are operational. The generator is down in the lower levels. Me an Rude will get the generator running." He turned to the girls. "You two get up to the labs and collect the info. We'll either come get you, or meet you back here." Reno turned to leave, but was intercepted by Yuffie.
"Why are you two going downstairs? Us weak women aren't strong enough for it?" Reno slumped his shoulders.
"Never coming with us again." He said under his breath. "No, we're splitting this way because Rude knows exactly where to go, and I have to jump start the generator. We're not taking you two with because I don't know how much power we're going to get outta the old thing. As soon as the power comes on, Elena's going to be busy getting what we need, and you have to watch her back. Especially considering how much attention we're going to attract by lighting this place up."
Yuffie had her mouth shut when Reno finished. She mumbled out a "sorry" and accompanied Elena up the stairs.
"God, I hate it when women speak." Rude shrugged at his partners' complaint, and the pair headed down the stairs.
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The two Turks walked silently, their night-vision goggles easily piercing the darkness. They both knew they couldn't afford to give their position away to any monsters that roamed the dank basement by using flashlights. They had already slipped by a few packs of the mako-enhanced atrocities undetected, but Reno knew better than to push his luck. All that meant to him was that there was going to be at least two packs of monsters to fight through when the power came back on. Rude made a quick left turn, in what appeared to be a last second decision. Reno stepped up beside his partner and whispered.
"You know where we are right?"
"Yes."
"Just checking." Reno slowed up half a step to follow again. They continued on in uninterrupted silence before Rude abruptly stopped before a door.
"In here." Rude tried the door. It didn't budge. He looked back at Reno. "Locked." Rude stepped off to the side and Reno nodded. He produced a small cigarette case from his jacket pocket. Sliding the back piece down, Reno revealed the secret compartment and removed a small, yet durable lockpick. Kneeling in front of the door, Reno went to work quickly. Seconds later, he had the door unlocked and open.
"Ladies first." Reno smirked. Rude only shook his head and walked into the room. Reno entered a second later and shut the door quietly behind him. He stepped up to the generator and popped open the side panel. Finding the conduit he needed, he flipped open his nightstick. The whir of the EMR charging filled the room and Reno looked over at Rude with a smile. "Better take those things off man." He tossed his night vision goggles up onto his head as Rude dropped them down around his neck. "Don't know about you, but I kinda like my eyesight." For an answer, Rude covered his eyes with a new pair of sunglasses. Reno flicked a switch on the insulated handle and applied the EMR to the circuits. The entire room was illuminated by the power that coursed from Reno's trademark weapon.
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Yuffie and Elena moved quickly up the stairs. At floor 19, Elena stopped and opened the door. Yuffie put on her breaks and looked up the stairway confused.
"Cloud always said the lab was on the upper levels." Yuffie whispered.
"And he'd be right. But we don't need to go to the lab to access what we need." Yuffie cut Elena off.
"What do we need anyway?" Elena looked over apologetically.
"Not now. Once we have it, ok?" Yuffie didn't look too happy with the answer. "Anyway, I doubt the upper floors are even standing anymore. There's a computer lab in here that was networked to the entire building. If you know what you're doing." Elena smiled. "C'mon, this way."
The two women darted down the halls, Elena leading the way confidently. A snort and a growl ahead of them brought them to a halt. Elena held a finger to her lips and assumed Yuffie was rolling her eyes through her night vision goggles. Elena pulled a mirror on the end of a small, telescopic rod out of her jacket and used it to look around the corner. Down the hall, in front of the room they needed to get to, stood a giant, mutated rat. Elena held the mirror out for Yuffie, and pulled out her handgun. As Yuffie stared at the rat, a look of utter revulsion fell onto her face. The ninja turned back to witness the Turk attaching a silencer to her weapon. Yuffie held up a hand for Elena to stop. Elena looked at her quizzically, and Yuffie pulled out a small shuriken from a pouch on her hip. Before Elena could protest, Yuffie jumped out into the hall and let the small throwing star fly from her hand. It embedded itself in the rat's neck, and within a second the beast fell over dead. Elena looked out with a questioning eyebrow raised.
"What was that?" The blond asked.
Yuffie patted the pouch at her hip and answered. "Wutain neuro-toxin. The shuriken's edges were coated in it. It causes an almost instant shutdown of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Basically instant death, dependent on the size of the target."
"Oh." Elena pointed to the door behind the body of the rat. "Computer lab is in there."
The women stepped into the lab to find a section of collapsed ceiling covering most of the room. Luckily for the Turks, an entire row remained virtually untouched by the carnage. Elena sat at the closest one and Yuffie stood behind her.
"Now what?"
"Now, we wait for Reno and Rude to get the generator running." Elena hesitated for a second. "Or we're fucked." She then pulled the night vision goggles off her face. Yuffie did the same.
The two waited in silence and darkness, hoping the power would come on soon. When Yuffie couldn't stand it anymore, she tried to start conversation up.
"So. Rude, eh?"
"So. Reno, eh?" If it could have been seen in the dark, Elena would notice Yuffie blushing brightly. "How are things with you two anyway?"
"I. Don't know." Yuffie quickly tried to change the subject. "So can you tell me what we're looking for now?" Silence gripped the room again while Elena searched for the words.
"We're accessing Hojo's old notes." The lights slammed on, and screeches of pain flooded the entire Shin-ra tower.