A/N: Yay, I still got around to updating this one as well. yeah, i've been doin a lot of writin recently.

Enjoy

Chapter 13

A slight gust of wind extinguished the one of the lamps outside the wooden hut in a puff of grey smoke. Although it made difference to the amount of light that Elena had, it still unnerved her slightly, making her feel even more nervous. As quietly as she could, the blond Turk took a few more steps forwards in hope of being able to hear the Shiso in the hut more clearly. She smiled slightly as she stepped into an almost entirely concealed area, where she couldn't possibly be spotted, but she could hear the previously inaudible voices much clearer.

"…the Turk is much weaker now." A voice Elena recognized as belonging to Rei said. "We must perform the ceremony." Another voice said. "But is it possible he is too weak?"

"No." Rei hissed. "We must use the redhead… the other girl is useless."

Elena narrowed her eyes as she continued to listen. She was hoping that one of them would actually mention what they were going to do to Reno. So far all she'd heard was about performing a 'ceremony' which was slightly worrying in itself.

"Are you sure?" the second voice said.

"Of course I'm sure." Rei said angrily. "We have to get on with it before the redhead actually dies on his own. I thought he'd last longer than that."

"When shall we do it, ma'am?" a completely different voice said.

"Tonight. Go and fetch him." Rei said determinedly. "And bring the girl as well."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Bring them to the lake. I'll take it from there."

There was the sound of people leaving the hut and Elena's heart began to race. She hadn't found out what they were going to do, and whatever it was, they were doing it now. She watched three women make their way over to Reno's prison cell with a lump in her throat. She had failed Reno…

Then it clicked. How could she have been so stupid? She had bigger things to worry about. Three Shiso were on their way over to the cell at that very moment, and Elena wasn't there. They were bound to look for her, and that would mean more trouble. The blond thought hard; what would Reno do?

"It's time I started acting like the Turk I am…" Elena muttered to herself, running her finger over the gun she'd had in her pocket the whole time. That gun had tempted her many times during her and Reno's imprisonment, but she had come to conclusion that killing one of the Shiso wouldn't get her anywhere; it would just mean more trouble for them. She had to wait for the opportune moment, and she thought she'd found it.

Taking her gun out of her pocket and crouching low to the ground, Elena made her way around the back of the hut, taking care not to be seen by the remaining Shiso in the hut. She could see as she got to the back of the building that the edge of the lake wasn't too far away. It was quite a beautiful site; the tall, white trees surrounding the crystal depths, and the large, mysterious looking rock in the middle of the scene. It would have been quite breath-taking in different circumstances. Elena quickly took everything in, noting the fire directly ahead. She figured that must have something to with the whole thing, so she had to stick as close to that area as possible. Daring to come out of her hiding corner a little further, Elena carried on scanning the scene. The only place she could hide was a group of trees about 20 feet to the left of the fire. She probably couldn't keep herself very well concealed but she didn't really have much choice. She couldn't really do much when she was as far away as she was. Checking around to make sure that no one could catch her, she crept forwards, staying as alert as her senses would allow her. She couldn't screw this up.

When Elena finally reached the trees, she found that they were a lot denser than she had first thought, which was an advantage for her. She crouched down as low as she could get, and then looked around her again. She could see the three Shiso she had spotted earlier, with one of them carrying a smaller figure, most probably Reno. Elena could also see another figure, this one closer by, coming from the hut. The blond Turk assumed this was Rei and smiled. Maybe she could actually get somewhere with this plan.

"Where's the girl!" Elena heard Rei shout as the two groups met up.

"I don't know ma'am… she was missing from the cell." The woman carrying Reno said as they walked closer to the fire. Rei growled softly in her throat.

"She's somewhere…" she said, looking around the area. "You!" she pointed at one of the other Shiso. "Find her."

The woman grudgingly left the group in what Elena was pleased to see was the complete opposite direction. Things were going well, but she couldn't let her guard down now – focus was crucial.

"Well?" Rei said smugly, looking at Reno. "You haven't even asked why we need you…"

"Can't imagine why it would matter, but go on, enlighten me…" Reno said. Elena was glad to here there was still a little superiority in the redhead's voice.

"You are going to help us revive the most important person on the planet…" The Shiso leader continued. "Our original leader… Irikushia. By giving your life, she shall return and continue her mission of ridding this planet of scum."

"Scum, huh?" Reno said. Elena couldn't see clearly enough, but she knew Reno had a smirk on his face. "Who's this Irikushia then?"

"A descendant of the great Jenova… maybe you're familiar with that?"

Everything seemed to stop dead. Even sounds from the water rippling around them seemed to fall silent. Elena's jaw dropped; a descent from Jenova? That only meant one thing to Elena, but apparently it meant something different to Reno.

"You're all Ancients? Cetra?" Reno asked in a shocked voice.

"That's right." Rei said smugly. "Aren't you happy? By sacrificing your life, you're helping a dying race."

"Whatever…" the redhead said. "I was never one for helping people who force me too."

"Well, it's too bad you don't have a choice." Rei practically spat. "Because we still need a leader."

"Well…" Reno sighed as the Shiso finally put him on the floor. "All this argument about leadership… someone's bound to get killed, I mean apart from me."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and one of Shiso fell to the floor. It took Elena a moment to realize it was Rei. Slightly puzzled, she lowered the gun that had been in her own hands, and looked around.

"Whoops…" Reno said sarcastically. Elena saw he had a gun in his hand. "Don't say I didn't warn ya though."