Chapter 19 – I Really Would Like to Play the Hero.

Alexander sat in his office and swirled his drink. Reports of AVALANCHE and the Turks were pouring in from his men around the globe. It was an even more co-ordinated assault than he had predicted. And he certainly had never expected to see the co-operation of Godo and Reeve move so quickly. 'Do the Wutanese people have such short memories,' he thought silently. Smiling softly and letting out a slight sigh, Alexander opened his PHS.

"Davis, are you there?" he spoke at a regular pace. "It's time to kill Wallace and his brat," he said as if asking a waiter to return a cold meal. "Answer me will you?"

No answer. Corin Alexander pulled the device away from his ear and looked at it. Full signal. "Dammit," he said, with some anger finally entering his voice. "It was supposed to be easier than this." He smiled again. "Well, you can't win them all. I guess I'll just have to blow up the whole God-Damned world so that they know I mean business next time.

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The Shin-ra helicopter containing Yuffie touched down on the outskirts of Gongaga as close to the Alexander Electric Company building as possible. She dove out into the dark grass and sped away as the air-craft lifted off. She knew that it would not be her ride home and told the pilot to go evacuate anybody that needed help. Using her weapon to pry open a ground floor window, Yuffie hesitated for a brief moment as she considered Cloud's order to wait for everybody before entering.

"No," she steeled her nerves again. "He is Wutai's and Wutai's alone." She moved swiftly into the building and dashed off down the hall. Meeting no resistance, she found the elevator quickly, pressed up and stepped inside, taking a second to catch her breath.

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Cloud's Ice spell shattered the wall across from him. The last remaining pocket of resistance in Junon had bunkered down in a small room to wait it out. With the new hole in the wall, they were sitting ducks and they knew it. Throwing down their weapons, the A.E.C. blackout troops surrendered to Cloud and the Shin-ra military, asking only to be removed from the vicinity immediately. Cloud took this as a very bad sign. At his hip, his PHS began to beep.

"Cloud, it's Rude," the voice in the receiver spoke.

"Rude, how is Mideel? Did you get to the bomb? Is Elena alright?" Other than Cait Sith, this was the first contact Cloud had with his team since they split. His worry for the well-being of the others was evident.

"The bombs are remote."

"What?" Cloud yelled, not wanting to have heard correctly.

"Remotely detonated," Rude spoke in his usual way. "Clear out," There was an urgency that Cloud rarely heard in the Turk's voice. In any Turk's voice for that matter.

Just as his mind began to sort out the information handed to him, the PHS clicked off as the connection was severed. Staring at it for a moment, the bomb squad commander approached Cloud with his own version of the same bad business.

"It's remote bomb, Sir. Nothing we can do about it from here. We need to get the hell out of here as quickly as possible. I've already contacted the President and he's issued the evacuation order."

Cloud felt sick. Now more than ever he felt like he should have gone right for the source. Right for Alexander. His brain began to speed back up and he opened his PHS again. "I'll contact the other teams," he said to the commander. "You get that other chopper over here now, I need a lift," Cloud ordered.

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The evacuation calls came in quickly and people began to move. The entire planet was in an uproar. Few people knew the true ramifications of what was happening; if the bombs went off, it wouldn't matter how far out of town people got. All they could hope for was a miracle. AVALANCHE on the other hand, aimed to make their own fate. Suddenly the air space around Gongaga was fairly active. Between the Highwind and the Shin-ra choppers, the team was collected easily enough. The airships were quiet, no conversation was had. They knew what was at stake, who was at stake.

Cloud looked across at Tifa, Red and Barrett and made eye contact with the both of them. A silent, understood goodbye between friends was all that was needed for the four, just in case. They had done the same thing so many times now each had lost count, and they hadn't needed it yet. But it was necessary nonetheless. Despite his wounds, Barrett needed to be a part of this. They could never have hoped to convince him otherwise. Looking out the window of the helicopter, he could see the Highwind set down on the Gongagan soil where he knew the others were ready to depart.

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"Kaylynn, the trouble makers are here," Alexander spoke into the intercom. "Be a dear and send out Tseng to deal with them, please."

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Yuffie stepped off the elevator one floor below Alexander. Just like the precautions the old Shin-ra regime had, Alexander had adopted. It also gave a strong staging point for his personal body guards to gather and protect the one entrance to their employer. "Alright," Yuffie spoke with a smile as she looked them over. "Who's ready to fuck with Wutai?"

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"Where are Reno and Yuffie?" Vincent asked, his arm hanging dead at his side still.

"Not sure," Tifa replied over the roar of the helicopters. "Do we wait?" She asked Cloud.

"Fuck no, we don't wait," Cid answered.

"He's right, let's go," Cloud confirmed. The group of weary but determined individuals stepped forward, only to have the front doors swing open and reveal a pristine, deep blue suit and raven hair.

"Oh shit," Barrett said.

"Tell me about it, this is crazy, yo," Cait Sith spoke beside him, the moogle raising it's fists defensively. "Do… Do we jump him?" The cat scratched his head with the megaphone. "I think we should jump him."

"Tifa?" Cloud looked for her opinion this time. Her eyes were set on their opponent.

"Yeah," She said finally. "We jump him."

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Reno stepped out of the shadows and spied on the young woman that he felt he had been spending entirely too much time with. It was rare that he had an opportunity to admire her like this, in all her deadly beauty as she was a practical blur amongst her opponents. Knowing she wouldn't need the help, he just watched as the Conformer flew towards one poor fool and her armoured fist broke the nose of another. The weapon returned and a blaze of green light erupted as the lightning struck a small group that had stayed together.

"She really can throw down," Reno spoke out loud, knowing he would not be heard over the din of the battle in front of him. "She really, really can."

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By the time Kaylynn stepped out of the building, only seconds after her husband, Cait Sith was already down. The stuffed Moogle was already missing a leg and an arm, while the cat screamed for it to get back up.

Tseng's speed was incredible. The enhancements he had received made him both deadly and efficient. All recognition of past life was gone as he attacked, Elena and Rude simultaneously, delivering devastation blows to the nerves of the current Turks while ducking the singing blade of Cloud Strife behind him. Rolling backwards and launching himself up, his feet caught Cloud in the shoulder as the blond man spun away. The glancing blow alone was enough to knock Cloud into the dirt.

Fire burnt the ground where Tseng had been standing a moment before. Instead, Barrett's magic found it's target high above the group after he had apparently used Red XIII for a springboard, the cat groggy on his feet. Growling, Red took another step and then collapsed with an obvious concussion. Barrett held the material tighter and concentrated again, aiming where Tseng was going to be, not where he was. Immediately on landing, Tseng recognized the attack and dodged to the right, directly into the Bolt spell supplied by the injured Vincent.

Kaylynn couldn't help but be impressed by the way Vincent had used Barrett's spells to force Tseng into a vulnerable position. And as much as she wished Alexander to fail, she loved to see her husband succeed. Shrugging off the spell, Tseng was from behind by Cid, who quickly received a suit-covered elbow for his trouble. Rolling into a better position, Tseng drove his elbow down into the head of the pilot one more time, feeling the older man go limp underneath him.

Cloud and Tifa moved together. Tifa was amazed. Try as she might, she hadn't even gotten close to him yet and he had already dropped half the group. She already knew that Barrett and Vincent were sitting ducks and that this would come down to her. It would have to come down to her. Even as she thought, Tseng launched himself towards the two injured men, targeting Barrett first. Though incapacitated, Vincent was still mobile and stepped in between his friend and the attacker. Bringing up his golden claw, the metal prosthetic was knocked away by a kick and strong punch to the wounded shoulder brought the ex-Turk to his knees with a silent scream. Barely acknowledging Barrett, Tseng twisted his fist on the wound and drove his knee into Vincent's solar plexus. Tifa noticed the woman watching and remembered what Elena and Rude had told her. Sprinting to her, Tifa knew it would come to this.

"You have to stop this," the martial artist yelled at the doctor as she grabbed her by the shoulder."

"I can't," Dr. Howari said, shocked and afraid. "He was born for this."

Noticing the altercation between the women, Tseng deftly avoided Cloud's sword and brought his foot around to collide with the ex-SOLDIER's head. Cloud ducked quickly and was able to bring his elbow into the mid-section of his opponent and a brief flash of shock and surprise registered on Tseng's face. Flipping over Cloud, Tseng sprinted towards Tifa and Kaylynn, winding up. Tifa saw the assault coming and dodged, readying herself for the onslaught that was surely to follow. Instead, she watched as Tseng froze in his spot. On the ground in front of him was a crumpled and bloody Dr. Howari who had not proved to be as nimble as Tifa.

Tifa looked from the doctor to Tseng and noticed the look of horror on his face. Kaylynn noticed it as well. "You remember me!" she yelled as her 'husband' took a step backwards. "You remember me now, remember that you could never want to harm me," she wiped the blood from her nose. Tseng stood a moment longer. "I remember too sweetie, don't be afraid."

As Dr. Howari spoke one last time, the horror on Tseng's face did not disappear. Instead, the man turned and bolted for the nearest woods. Tifa and Cloud took a step to follow but decided against it. They had more important things to worry about. Cloud went to his teammates while Tifa went to the doctor.

"It's ok now," Howari spoke to herself in a disconcerting manner. "He remembered, so it's ok now. Don't be scared honey. Don't be scared. I love you too."

"Are… Are you alright?" Tifa asked. The doctor looked up at her.

"It's ok now. He remembered," this time she was speaking to Tifa. "Now he can go in peace. Now I can let him go."

"What do you mean?" Confused, Tifa looked over her shoulder to see Cloud helping those who were conscious enough to move.

"His body. It's not meant for the strain we put it through. He's degrading," Howari said, again talking mostly to herself. "But at least he remembered me."

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Yuffie stepped over the body of the last guard and kicked in the door to Alexander's office. He was seated, waiting for her.

In his right hand, he held a drink. In his left, a detonator. "If you take one step closer, I will destroy this planet."

Yuffie froze.

"Oops," Alexander said with a smile. "I lied."

Then he pushed the button.

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"We have to get to Alexander," Cloud yelled to Tifa, who let Howari sink back down to the earth. "The others will all be fine, but we can't wait."

Tifa nodded once and ran in directly in front of Cloud.

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Alexander sat with the same smile he had when Yuffie entered as the young ninja's face went from shock to anger.

"You – you monster," she stuttered.

Alexander took another sip from his drink. Then his face grimaced. He spun in his chair to face the monitors at the side of the room. "Where is the confirmation?" He asked himself. He pushed the button once again. Nothing. Frantically, Alexander began to panic as he hit the button repeatedly. "What the hell?" Alexander set his drink down as it finally dawned on him. Betrayal at last. "Davis… So Kassidy was right about you after all."

Alexander turned back to speak to Yuffie. He only had a second to blink before the foot collided with his head and flipped him backwards over his chair, spilling what remained of his drink all over the office.

Reno stepped into the room behind her.

Yuffie stood over Alexander's unconscious body, the rage flaring in her eyes as kneeled down and pressed the Conformer to his throat. Reno propped himself up against a nearby pillar and lit a cigarette.

"You've got him right where you want him, babe," Reno said. "One touch of that neuro-toxin in the right spot and nobody'll ever be any wiser. Just look like he had a heart attack, and we can walk away with no problems," Yuffie looked over at him, slight hesitation registering in her eyes that collided with the anger. "I mean, he's done so much to us all already, hasn't he? He deserves what he gets..." Reno spoke again, before taking a slow drag from the cigarette hanging lightly in his mouth. "He tried to nuke your home, take over the world, kill your friends. And now, here he is helpless, and you can make the world a better place with one stroke."

The sherukin came away from the limp body at her side as she looked over at the Turk, the anger slipping away from her.

"It's a good kill, right babe?" Reno spoke again. Yuffie stood up and backed away, looking down at the helpless man near her feet. He spoke once more. "Right?"

Yuffie looked over at him again. "But..." She felt lost and confused. "You've murdered people. You've killed so many people and..."

"Yeah..." Reno cut her off. "Wanna stay up with me some night and talk to them all?"

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Cloud and Tifa rushed out of the elevator and towards the stairs leading towards Alexander's office. They stopped at the bottom and looked up at the young girl descending slowly towards them. Yuffie had a look of relief and content on her face.

"Yuffie!" Cloud spoke first. "Are you alright? Where's Alexander?"

"It's ok Cloud," Yuffie answered with a smile. "It's over now. I took care of Alexander, his detonator didn't work and now Reno's tying him up," Cloud's PHS went off. "I bet that's Reeve calling to tell you that everything seems to be ok now."

Cloud lowered his sword and grabbed the PHS. Caller id read 'Reeve'. He smiled at his young friend and then Tifa.

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Corin Alexander came to and felt the ropes. Instinctively, he pulled against them but found them to be tied tight.

"Just once I'd like to play the Hero... Just once I'd like to do the right thing, you know?" Alexander looked up and saw Reno toying with the cigarette in his hand. He in turn looked down at Alexander, who still struggled with the ropes that bound him.

"Well here's your chance, isn't it Turk. To turn me in, to be the hero. But maybe that just isn't in you. Maybe it isn't you at all. I think you'd rather take the fifty million gil I'm about to offer you to set me free and become a paid bodyguard on my roster. Don't you want to go back to that? To go back to the glory days of Shin-ra, the most feared man in the world. Not some cheap mercenary working out of a run down tourist trap." Reno spun the cigarette in between his fingers, listening. "No, Reno, I don't think you're a hero at all. I think you just want money, and power. I can give you those things. What do you say?"

Reno looked thoughtful for a moment. "No."

"No?" Alexander looked surprised from his position from the floor. "You don't want my money?"

"No."

The surprise turned to anger. "And my power? I suppose you'll have nothing to do with that either?"

"Nope."

"So this is it then?" Corin raged. "You'll turn me in! You'll be the hero for a world that shunned you?"

"No." Reno leveled his gun at Alexander's head. "I never said I'd be the hero either."

The single gunshot froze the look of surprise that had resurfaced on the face of the President of Alexander Electric Company forever, the neat bullet hole in the forehead underplaying the destruction that had been caused by it. Reno, holstering his gun, turned away from the still bound corpse, and stuck a match on the nearby pillar. Breathing in deeply, he let the smoke curl out of his mouth and nose as he looked up towards the heavens.

"Y'know... Just once, I really would like to play the hero..."

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The three members of AVALANCHE had the smiles on their faces wiped away by the sound of the gunshot. Taking a quick second to share a glance at one another, they rushed up the stairs and threw up open the offices doors.

Once inside, all they found was the corpse of Corin Alexander and a single, still burning cigarette on the floor.

Yuffie's heart sank.