The file you are reading is not meant for your eyes; put it down and walk away or I Tseng Director of the Turks, or my successor, will find you and silently and effectively remove you from society, to then slowly starve and torture you to your breaking point. It is as this point that we will bring you do the absolute middle of nowhere where you will be given your freedom of choosing how you would like to die. Should you ever make it back to society the Turks will take this is as you rejecting our kindness of letting you choose your own death, and will be subject to a death at either my, or my successor's, discretion. This is the record of six of my most extraordinary Turks. They came from another world, a world where Final Fantasy 7 is owned by Square Enix but this is their story and theirs alone. For the sake of the future I left a record of their adventures locked deep in the Turk Archives but only if the fate of the world is threatened should this file be opened. You have been warned. Read at your own risk.
-Tseng Akira, Director of the General Affairs Department, Shinra Electric Power Company
Chapter Seventeen: Birthdays and Homecoming
Alanna crossed her arms over chest, as Genesis paced the width of his office.
"You're going to put a hole in the carpet." She told him. Gensesis turned to look at her.
"While I understand why you and Ryu dressed the way you did on that mission; I really must stress that proper attire is a must." He began, as he resumed his restless pacing.
"Define proper dress?" She muttered angrily, under her breath. Of course it would be way too much to ask for him not to hear it.
"If you are out of uniform, please dress fashionable and modest." He told her, a hint of irritation in his voice. Alanna gapped at him.
"You're upset because I wasn't dressed fashionably? Or was it the modestly part?" She asked incredulously. He shrugged.
"While the outfit was well enough, I could tell the designers weren't high end, and you were definitely flaunting yourself to the cadets." He said.
"You've got to be kidding me." Alanna muttered.
"I am not. I take fashion very seriously and in your case, modesty even more seriously." Alanna scowled at him, hit with a fresh wave of anger.
"Are you by any chance, I don't know, secretly gay or something? Because I can't believe I am hearing this. And I can't believe that I can't tell if you're more upset about the fashion part, or the immodestly dressed part." She snapped at him. Genesis flushed.
"For your knowledge, no I am not gay, Alanna. Straight men can be worried about fashion too. And of course I am more worried about the fact that you were flaunting your body before, only the Goddess knows, how many people. Ryu, who I thought was sensible, encouraged you!" He ended in a scolding tone, bordering condescension. Alanna scowled at him.
"You are just unbelievable." She told him before she marched out of the room, pausing briefly at the door to throw in an angry mocking salute.
Ryu slipped into the small training room, the lights were dimmed masking the room in false dusk. Ryu paused as she gently closed the door behind her, looking for Alanna. She was worried. Alanna had been sullen and quiet since Gen had lectured her about, who knows what. If she added that to Alanna's gloom about the likelihood of a relationship with Genesis, it spelled cause to be worried. It also called for the need to knock her out of it. Alanna had requested a chance to train alone to build up strength, speed, and stamina. Ryu had hinted, strongly, to Reno that he should send her down to keep Alanna company. Ryu moved to stand beside Alanna in the dark.
"You're doing that just to piss him off, aren't you." Ryu said, rather than asked. Alanna looked up from her crunches at her.
"Do we have a mission?" She asked hopefully. Ryu shook her head and sat next to her.
"No. I just came to talk."
"Well, I'll have to talk and work out." Alanna told her abruptly.
"I know, but Gen's been really grumpy lately. And you're wearing that uniform and corset all the time just to piss him off. How long is this going to last? And what did he do to piss you off so badly?"
"At least a week. He was all upset that I'd been immodest and not fashionably dressed on that mission." Alanna told her. Ryu sighed and shook her head.
"You're a masochistic, you know that right? That corset hurts, I've put it on to practice in and it kills by the end of the hour, let alone a day."
"All's fair in love and war. He said I couldn't dress properly, so I am dressing properly and modestly." Alanna snapped. Ryu sighed.
"Don't you think you're being a little hard on the both of you?" She asked.
"At least I haven't punched him." Alanna snapped. Ryu nodded her head.
"There is that. Hey, after your enforced stint let's go shopping; you know, for girly clothes. We'll find you something really snazzy to wear for your birthday party. And it'll be as modest or immodest as you like, and Commander Rhapsodos can go to hell." Ryu said. Alanna grinned as she rolled over to do push-ups.
"Are you trying to help me drive my point home?" She asked. Ryu shrugged.
"I figured after the uniform, you might want to be girly." Alanna nodded.
"We haven't gone shopping in a while. Just shopping, and nothing else." Ryu grinned slyly.
"Well, I would be chatting up my sources, but it wouldn't detract from the trip at all." Ryu told her. Alanna sighed.
"You are a true Turk." She muttered. Ryu grinned.
"And you're a stubborn pain in the ass." Ryu retorted with a grin.
"Damn straight. Right now I am being a pain in Genesis's ass."
"Errmmm, I think it's supposed to be the other way around." Ryu said laughing. Alanna giggled.
"Uh, no ass. New subject please?" She asked. Ryu grinned.
"Not the way you're thinking, no thank you. No, just you know if you think it through…" She said grinning. Alanna shook her head.
"I don't think I have to worry about that for a while." She said. Ryu shrugged.
"Maybe sooner than you think." She muttered just loud enough for her friend to hear. Alanna gapped up at her.
"What do you know that I don't?" She asked. Ryu grinned mysteriously.
"I am a Turk, we know a lot of things you SOLDIERs don't know." Alanna sighed.
"Not as much as Kunsel does. Tell me Ryu please?" She asked. Ryu grinned.
"After that crack about Kunsel, I'm inclined not to, but since it's you... I suppose I can divulge my precious information. Let's just say Gen inquired whether there were any other contenders, in the field for your charming self."
"And what did you tell him?" Alanna pestered her. She was starting to feel dread rising, and it was showing on her face.
"He's got the whole field to himself."
"RYU!"
"What was I supposed to say? Ever since Phil, you haven't even tried dating." Ryu snapped back. Alanna sighed.
"I hope maybe he'll make a move…"
"I'm sure he will, but the question is will we have gray hair from waiting?" Ryu told her. Alanna laughed.
"You'd just dye them red if we did."
"Well true, but that also means he'll be an old man, cuz he's two years older than us." Ryu pointed out.
"Maybe I'll just kick him in the right direction every now and then." She added looking thoughtful. Alanna gapped at her.
"I thought you were done being people's Cyrano?" Alanna said puzzled. Ryu laughed and stretched out next to Alanna on her back. She stayed silent staring at the ceiling.
"I said I was done with that after high school." She said finally, "that I was done being the middle man, people's Cyrano, their adviser; but you guys aren't like them. You don't take advantage of me. You've supported me when I needed it, and I truly want you to be happy; you and Mary both, because you're my friends. This is something I want to do, I don't feel forced into doing it." Alanna blinked rapidly. She knew about Ryu's less than stellar friendships in the past. She even knew things that only Morgan knew about, and some he'd only guessed at. She knew what it meant for Ryu to choose, of her own free will, to interfere on their behalves; to meddle for a better future.
"Thank you, Ryu, I... don't know what to say." She said. Ryu chuckled.
"Hey this is what friends are for right? And more than that, sisters, right? I mean we've all gone through so much, we're more like family than friends. And there isn't anything I wouldn't do for my family." Ryu said.
"But I know how hard it was for you..." Alanna protested. Ryu reached out to pat her shoulder.
"It's in the past, with people who aren't in my life right? My special skill is the fact that I am a peace keeper. I can't not use it, now can I?" She asked light heartedly, as she jumped to her feet. She dropped into a crouch, her fists raised.
"Come on 'Lanna, let's get some sparing in, blow off some of that steam." Alanna sighed as she climbed to her feet.
"Just so I can heal you when we're done?" She asked. Ryu laughed.
"You have to catch me first silly, and besides, I am wearing thin practice armor. Didn't you notice that I am bulkier than normal?"
"You'll be slower." Alanna pointed out.
"Not that much slower. And besides, you have to actually hit me. Gen hasn't taught you hand to hand, but it's good for you to know how to punch it out if you have to. Flailing around will only get you so far."
"No." She chuckled. "I dare say I have never grappled with him."
Ryu bounced around in front of her, laughing.
"Oh alright" Alanna muttered, throwing a half hearted punch at Ryu. Ryu slide to the side, and snapped a light kick to Alanna's knee.
"Put some heart in it 'Lanna" She encouraged, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
Morgan dodged to the side as Piper scampered past him laughing and out of breath. With a raised eyebrow he watched her round a corner. Noise from the other direction made him look, just as Zack and Cloud came barreling around another corner. Casually, Morgan stepped back into their way, causing them to land in a pile.
"Now why are you chasing Piper?" he asked them, as he climbed to his feet.
"Well, we're playing tag." Cloud said, a little out of breath.
"Why?" Morgan asked grinning.
"Well, she was sitting on couch mopping about Matti, so we decided to cheer her up. It started out as a pillow fight." Zack explained as he climbed to his feet.
"Then it became a tickle fight." Cloud added.
"And then it became tag." Zack finished. Morgan shook his head, amused.
"She went around that corner." He told them.
"Thanks Morgan!" Zack said as he charged forward, Cloud right behind him. Morgan shook his head laughing as he headed down to the Turk's archives.
"Got you!" Zack exclaimed, as he grabbed Piper around the waist and lifted her into the air over his shoulders. Piper squealed and flailed around.
"Not fair Zack." She protested. Cloud laughed as he leaned against the wall, catching his breath. Piper was fast, almost faster than them, but not quite. She was just fast enough to make them work to catch her, unless Zack did something crazy, like leap over equipment, rather than go around it.
"Put me down Zack!" Piper added when Zack made no move to do so.
"There's a toll." He said grinning. She eyed him threateningly and a tad bit nervously.
"Just smile." Zack told her. Piper stared at him and then smiled, it was small and still a little sad, but it was there. She realized he was only trying to make her feel better; it was hard being cheerful and happy all the time with Matti gone. Zack set her on her feet and dropped his arm over her shoulders as they all started walking back to the apartment.
"No more moping Piper Puppy. You know Matti will be back soon."
"I just miss him." She muttered. She found it so strange that in all the times he'd been away before because of school, she'd never missed him in quite the same way. When she confessed this to the others, Morgan had pointed out that never before had she had to worry about his safety; he'd never consciously put himself in danger before. But now he was risking his life to get information.
"Of course you do." Cloud said as he walked on her other side, "But just because you miss him doesn't mean you can't have fun. I think he'd be sad if he knew you were just sitting around being depressed." Zack nodded his head.
"Exactly so." Piper smiled, this time more cheerfully.
"Maybe, but it's so hard to do." She told them.
"We know, that's why we're here to cheer you up!" Zack said happily. Cloud smiled shyly. Piper reached out and hugged them both.
"Thanks guys. I didn't realize I was being so blue." She said.
"No problem, Piper." Cloud said. Zack wiggled free of her grasp. And dug around in the pack he was carrying.
"I got something for you, Piper Puppy, out of Supplies. You're going to need it now seeing as you're..." He pulled a brown paper and twine wrapped package and handed it to her.
"Seeing as you're a 2nd class SOLDIER now." He finished, as she ripped the paper off to reveal the blue 2nd's uniform.
"Perfectly fitted to your size. Guaranteed by Alanna." He said, grinning, he snapped his fingers as he remembered. "Oh, and I got you new paldrons since yours have taken quite a beating. You can use your old ones for practice, and keep the new ones for missions." Piper grinned and hugged the set excitedly to her chest. She bounced happily on her feet.
"Thank you Zack!" Zack grinned and scratched the back of his head.
"I wouldn't be a very good mentor if I didn't promote you eventually." He teased. Cloud smiled.
"I think you're a good mentor for Piper." He said. Piper grinned at him.
"I'm glad you think so Cloud, because I do too." She said. Zack flushed slightly.
"Aww shucks you guys..." He muttered. Piper grinned and dashed away.
"I'm going to try my uniform on. Last one home is a rotten egg." She called over her shoulder. Zack and Cloud traded looks.
"Rotten egg?" Cloud asked confused. Zack shrugged.
"Who cares, let's get her." He said taking off after her.
"HEY, no fair Zack!" Cloud hollered as he dashed after the two of them.
Ryu hummed contentedly as she moved about the kitchen.
"I didn't know you liked cooking." Angeal said from the doorway. Ryu turned to look at him. She grinned.
"I don't mind it. I am not the best; mom was only just beginning to teach me. She didn't trust me in the kitchen when I was little. Being a left-handed child has some disadvantages." She confessed with a laugh, as she turned back to peeling Banora Whites.
"And with that statement you think I should trust you in my kitchen?" He asked coming over and picking up a Banora White and a knife, and started peeling. Ryu scowled.
"I can bake just fine thank you. Contrary to popular belief, I can do domestic things." She snapped, irritated all of a sudden. Angeal grinned.
"Never said you couldn't." Ryu scowled.
"You don't have to help." She muttered.
"Mary is training with Piper right now under Cloud's eye, so you won't get any help from her and I don't think Morgan is inclined to help." He said. Ryu laughed.
"Hell no, I wouldn't let him in the kitchen. Last time he helped he packed the flour into the measuring cup so the cookies came out all wrong." She admitted. Angeal nodded his head.
"Genesis wouldn't help, he'd only recite LOVELESS at you," Ryu mock shuddered, "Zack would get under your feet. So it looks like I am the only one willing to help out. You shouldn't have to do all the work." He told her.
"Thanks 'Geal." She muttered.
"So you're left handed?" He asked after a stretch of awkward silence. Ryu grinned around the peel she was chewing on.
"Sure, have been all my life."
"What did you mean disadvantages?" He asked intrigued.
"Well most of the world is right-handed. Only like 11% of the world's people are left handed. And granted our world has a couple billion people on it, it's still a small amount and the odds of meeting others are slim. Not to mention most tools, even common household items like scissors, are designed for right-handed people. So by default most lefties learn how to be ambidextrous simply to survive." She popped another piece of peel into her mouth as she sliced the peeled Banora Whites.
"I don't know about other lefties, but I have terrible hand writing, don't ever ask me to write something you hope to read later." She told him.
"Duly noted." He said with grin.
"What about sports?" He asked. Ryu groaned.
"If it involved holding something in my hand to play I was below average. If I just had to kick something, or run or throw, I was okay. It took my gym teacher forever to teach my how to hit a wiffle ball left handed. Although my team loved it when they figured out I always kicked or hit the ball to the left, because no one expects it to go left so no one catches it and we have a chance to clear the bases." She said with a grin.
"Were you good at running?" He asked, recalling that in her duel with Reno she'd relied on running to win. She frowned.
"Not always, I had some problems. As a kid I was fine, I could run all over the place in whatever I wanted; although bare foot was my preferred method of being shod." She said with a grin, she kicked out a bare foot, "Still is, actually" she sobered though as she continued, "But as I got older I had problems, pushed myself too hard, tried too hard to please coaches that were never going to be happy with me. I hurt myself pretty badly; it took years before I could run without breaking down in tears from the pain or hurting myself again." Angeal nodded his head and realized she didn't want to go into it further.
"Have you ever met Mary's mother?" He asked, changing the topic to one of interest to him. He'd been dying to ask either her or Alanna about it since Mary's birthday.
"A time or two. Why?" Ryu asked, as she turned to make the pie crust.
"Do you think she cares about her?"
"Who cares for who? Does Mary care for her mom, yes without a doubt. That doesn't mean she isn't frustrated by the choices she's made, but she loves her. Does her mom love her? Again yes, but they don't see eye to eye on most things. Mary was the first on her mom's side of the family to go on to pursue college. They're all very proud of her for that. Always saying she's going to make something of herself." Ryu said.
"What about her father?" He asked. Ryu paused and turned to face him. She met his gaze her, expression somber and slightly angry.
"Never, ever mention her father to her. He has nothing to do with her life. As far as she's concerned, he's just the sperm donor and nothing more. She has no father. He would have never had anything to do with her if he hadn't been forced to, and so Mary kicked him from her life before he had a chance to be in it." Ryu told him. Angeal nodded his head.
"Again, duly noted." He said dryly. Ryu sighed and turned back to her pie crust.
"At least she knows who her father is." He whispered. Ryu glanced over her shoulder at him. He was studying the carrots intently, the carrots which Ryu had scoured the city for.
"Those need peeling. And sometimes not knowing is a blessing in disguise. What if you did know and he turned out to be a right royal bastard? At least not knowing you can imagine that maybe they do care but they can't be there." She said
"Do you think so?" He asked. Ryu winced, she knew who his father was.
"Yes. Most likely if he didn't care enough to look for his own child, he's a straight up bastard. But there is a chance he died, or he simply doesn't know, him moving away before the pregnancy. Who knows?" She answered him.
"Does she have a boyfriend back in your world?" He asked. Ryu laughed.
"What is this? Ask Ryu Twenty Questions? You and Gen both have been asking me a lot of questions lately." She told him, "And no, she doesn't, she's never had a boyfriend, ever."
"It's probably because you seem to be the most approachable." He told her, hiding his relief at her answer.
"It's cuz I am too nice." Ryu grumbled, "Well what's your next question?" She asked.
"Why hasn't she dated? She seems like a nice enough girl."
"Because the guys she's liked before have either been taken, jerks or intimidated by a girl who's clearly strong physically, mentally and emotionally." Ryu answered angrily.
"That makes you angry?" He asked somewhat surprised.
"Yes it does, what's it to you?" Ryu huffed.
"It's just you, Piper and Alanna pick on her…" He started. Ryu sighed.
"The being a guy thing? Yeah, but we don't mean it and she knows that, and when it comes down to the wire we support her. We might tease her, but we've done our fair share of match making with her as well as lifting her spirits." Ryu paused to give him another solid glare.
"She deserves to be happy. She shouldn't have her dreams crushed anymore." She said. Angeal met her gaze, realizing she was trying to tell him something.
"You're right, she does deserve that." He said. Ryu sighed and rolled her eyes at the pie crust.
"One point oblivious Angeal." She muttered to it.
"What was that?" He asked. Ryu cursed, she'd forgotten their enhanced hearing. She scrambled for something to say when Genesis came in.
"What do you need Gen?" Ryu asked.
"Does Alanna like wine?" He asked her. Ryu threw him a surprised look and her eyes widened when she realized he was dressed up. He was wearing nice fitted black slacks, a burgundy red long sleeved shirt and a black vest that looked like it was made from silk.
"Uh yeah, she does." Ryu said. She raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you ask?" she wondered out loud. Gen gave her a haughty look and nodded his thanks.
"Hey we all know you have to crap like the rest of us, so don't get high and mighty with me Genesis Rhapsodos!" She called after him. Angeal snickered softly as he heard Genesis gasp offended. It seemed Ryu was not above taking apart Genesis's desire to seem perfect to the world.
"Boys" Ryu muttered under her breath just as Zack came skidding in to raid the cookie jar. And for some reason after that, Angeal forgot to ask what she'd meant by that.
Matti paced restlessly in his rented apartment. It was Piper's birthday, and he couldn't even call her to wish her Happy Birthday. Tseng had been clear on that order. He sighed and threw himself down on his sleeping mat.
"This sucks." He muttered, wishing there was some way he could be there. He hated being separated from her.
"Why me?" Genesis grumbled. He had been tasked with the job of fetching Alanna from her room. He hesitantly knocked on the door.
"Come in." She called. Gen slowly opened the door. Alanna was in her bathroom, putting make up on.
"Um…" Gen said. The past week or so, Alanna had not said a word to him unless he addressed her or she had to talk to him as a SOLDIER.
"Can we talk for a minute, you and I?" He asked. Alanna walked out of the bathroom. She was wearing a mint green cowl neck sweater with a black pencil skirt, and tall black heels. Her dark blonde hair was down and styled in a more feminine version of his own hair cut. He had to admit, after the week of her in uniform, including the corset that made her otherwise feminine figure very boyish, it was nice to see her dressed nicely.
"You look, um, nice." He said. Alanna raised an eyebrow.
"Nice? You don't sound sure." She told him. Gen cleared his throat.
"I was going to say lovely, but I thought you might not like that, coming from me right now. I know you're pretty mad at me." He told her. Alanna smiled.
"I'll still accept honest compliments." She told him, "For the record you look very nice."She told him. He smiled, hoping if she was willing to compliment him it meant she would forgive him. Ryu had reassured him it would be so when she'd cornered him and told him he HAD to talk to Alanna. He didn't like being bossed around by a Turk, but she was right and he knew it.
"So what did you want to talk about?" She asked him, after a silent pause where they stared at each other, neither daring to speak.
"Huh? Oh, I wanted to apologize for what I realize was a very insulting conversation to you." He said. Alanna raised an eyebrow.
"Apology accepted." She said, after a moment's thought, "But never ever, Genesis Rhapsodos, address me like that again." She told him. Gen nodded.
"If I do, kick me please." He requested. Alanna smiled, a tad bid evily.
"Deal." she said. Gen nodded his head again.
"Come on, they're waiting." He took her hand and pulled her out of her room. Once in the hallway he placed his hands over her eyes, as Zack lead Piper from her room, his hands over her eyes.
"I think we've already figured out that it's party time." Alanna pointed out.
"Shhh, don't ruin our fun." Zack scolded her. Piper giggled. She was dressed in black dress pants and a pretty pink glittery top. Her feet were in sensible flats.
"I didn't know you were such a girly girl, Piper." Zack added. Alanna grinned.
"Of all of us, she really likes the color pink."
"It's a bright, pretty color." Piper protested.
"Nothing wrong with liking it, Piper." Alanna defended.
"Ryu would disagree." Piper muttered. Alanna grinned.
"Well true, Ryu has a thing against pink." She agreed, recalling how Ryu had screamed bloody murder the one time Mary had suggested she wear it. Then they were in the living room. Gen steered Alanna to a spot on the couch next to Piper. Once they were seated they took their hands away.
They both gasped. Sitting on the coffee table was a cake and two pies. The pies looked like they had just come out of the oven.
Mary and Ryu stepped up and took center stage. Together they sang a harmonic version of happy birthday.
"Sorry nothing, unusually strange from us." Ryu said as she lit the candles. Both of them closed their eyes and thought about their wishes.
Happiness, I want all of us to be happy. Alanna wished for.
Safe, I wish all of us will come through this alive. Piper wished. Together they blew out their candles.
Alanna bit happily into her pie, her eyes widened when she realized the truly special nature of it.
"Banora Whites?" She gasped looking at Ryu. Ryu grinned.
"Thank Gen. He got his hands on them for me." Alanna tipped her head back to look at Genesis, who was still standing behind the couch.
"Thank you." She said. Gen grinned.
"And you haven't even opened my present." He said just before he handed her the box. Alanna looked at it puzzled for a second before she ripped off the standard Genesis red wrapping paper. Inside was a copy of LOVELESS and a bottle of wine. Carefully she lifted the bottle and looked at the bottle.
"Banora White Wine" She read and then gasped as she realized what it was. Gen grinned.
"You're welcome." He told her. Alanna set the bottle gently on the table, before jumping in her seat to turn around and hug Genesis over the back of the couch.
"Thanks." She said, quickly realizing that she had her arms wrapped around his waist. She blushed at the knowing looks she got from Ryu and Mary. She turned to urge Piper to open a gift. Piper picked up her red envelope from Genesis. She opened the card and grinned.
"Thanks Gen, I do need a shopping trip, I suppose." She said laying the gift card to a nice clothing boutique aside. Zack bounced forward and handed each of them a card. Alanna's was a gift card to a book store.
"I wasn't sure which books you'd like." He told her. Alanna grinned.
"Thanks. I do like book shopping." She told him. Piper's gift was two tickets to the Golden Saucer.
"For when Matti gets back. The two of you will need some time alone from this puppy." He told her. Piper smiled and hugged him.
"That's very thoughtful of you Zack." Mary said. Zack picked up his food.
"I can be thoughtful when I want to be." He agreed.
"And you can learn new tricks." Alanna said. Zack grinned and threw a piece of pie crust at her. Alanna caught it and threw it back. Zack caught in his mouth and chewed as he grinned at her. They all laughed.
"Here." Ryu said handing them each a box. Alanna's had two books by a promising author they'd discovered. Piper's was a plushie of one of her puppies. She cuddled it.
"Thank you!" She exclaimed. Alanna grinned.
"I suppose you'll want to read these when I am done?" She asked.
"Well duh!" Ryu said.
"Well, I suppose you should have my gift Piper." Alanna said as she handed it to her. Piper dug in the pile and found her gift for Alanna. Piper ripped open the package to find the matching puppy plushie.
"Now you have both your dogs." Alanna said. Piper hugged her. Alanna opened her gift to find a four foot long snake plushie, with a happy grin she wrapped it around herself.
"Piper, you do remember what she did with the last snake plushie she had?" Mary asked. Piper grinned.
"I do."
"Why'd you give her another one?" Ryu elbowed Mary.
"Because she loves snakes. Remember, she's in Slytherin for a reason." She told her. Alanna grinned evily at Mary.
"I won't beat you with it, too often." She promised.
"Bullshit." Ryu muttered.
"Shut up, Ravenclaw!" Alanna said. Ryu grinned.
"Make me, Slytherin." She taunted. Alanna pointed a finger at her, dramatically.
"Silencio." She said. Ryu laughed.
"You left your wand back home, that won't work."
"What the heck?" Zack said, as he emerged from his food to watch them.
"Ignore them," Morgan said as he picked up two gifts, "They have geeked out on us." He explained. He shoved the gifts at their respect recipient and retreated. Alanna grinned when she saw the game. Piper squealed with delight when she saw the starter sewing kit.
"Ryu said you'd like them." Morgan muttered. They both laughed and nodded their heads.
"Here." Mary said shoving her gifts at them.
Alanna received a puzzle of materia floating on the lifestream.
"We haven't even started Ryu's." Alanna quipped. Ryu grinned as she took a spoonful of Morgan's neglected ice cream. He lightly bopped the back of her hand with his spoon.
"Get your own."
"We've been too busy." To Morgan she said, "Yours is tastier." He just shook his head at her. Piper also received a puzzle, with a basket full of puppies.
"Here's Matti's gifts to you guys." Ryu said holding out to cards. As expected inside were gift cards to a crafting store.
"Here you go, yo." Reno said dropping a chocolate bar each in their laps.
"Thanks Reno." They chorused, as Ryu muttered,
"Niisan, at least wrap your gifts next time."
"Why bother? They just get unwrapped." He told her. Ryu shook her head.
"Here are my gifts." Seph said, a bit hesitantly. Alanna gasped happily when she saw the case of energy drinks.
"Yes." She cheered. Piper grinned as she read the back of her new movie.
"Thanks Sephy." Alanna said. Piper nodded, still reading the back. Alanna picked up the small pot adorned with a nametag with her name.
"I have a black thumb. You would be amazed at the plants I've managed to kill." She told Angeal with a sad look at the new plant. He smiled.
"Leave it in the living room, and it will be cared for." He told her. Alanna nodded. Piper unwrapped a book on making a variety of different crafted flowers.
"Oh cool!" She exclaimed.
"Here." Cloud said shyly offering them each a card. Alanna's held a gaming gift card. Piper's held a gift card to a book store.
"Now we can each go book shopping." Alanna said grinning. Piper nodded her head.
Alanna picked up a small box, which was still on the table. She had a good idea of what she might be getting from Tseng. Inside was an armlet.
"That's a blaze armlet. You don't have to worry about Genesis roasting you anymore." Tseng told her. Alanna smiled.
"Thanks Tseng." She put the armlet on quickly, making sure it would stay in a comfortable position. Gen scowled at Tseng as the director shrugged casually. Piper opened her gift. Inside it was a small knife, designed to hide under clothes.
"Since you're so small, I thought you might find a knife handy." He told her. Piper nodded her head.
"I think it would be, thanks Tseng." She said. Grinning they both picked up their present from Rude.
Alanna's was a drawing of herself, Ryu, and Morgan sitting on the floor playing cards. Piper and Matti sat on the couch watching them. Mary was in the arm chair, looking off the canvas towards the T.V. That had been an interesting night, full of some very creative swearing as the game progressed.
Piper's picture was of herself and Matti arm in arm walking down the street. Ryu and Morgan were off to their left conversing together, Ryu's arm thrown over her shoulder to carry her bag more comfortably. Alanna and Mary were off to their right. Alanna was pointing out something that had caught her eye, while Mary patiently ignored her rambling after seeing what it was.
"Thanks Rude." Alanna said, standing to hug the silent Turk. He nodded his head. Piper followed her example.
"Movie?" Piper asked holding up her new one.
"Sure" everyone agreed.
Tseng walked into Reno's office and raised an eyebrow. Ryu was lying on the floor, a manila file folder over her face. Reno was tipped back in his chair trying to read his file folder.
"Yo, Bossman. Who do we get to kill today?" He jokingly greeted. Tseng sighed.
"Ryu…"
"I'm awake. I was hoping I could learn this file by osmosis, but it doesn't appear to be working." She said, as she pulled the folder off her face and looked up at him. She laughed.
"You look different from upside down." She told him.
"I do have a mission for Ryu." She sat up at that.
"I need you to fly to the western continent. Take Morgan with you, he needs to practice his co-piloting. You'll be going to a small town on the coast near Rocket Town. The ferry from Wutai lands there. Once there you will pick up Matti and bring him back to headquarters." Tseng told her. Ryu shot to her feet.
"Matti's coming home? When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow morning 0400" Ryu winced.
"You really want him back here tomorrow night don't you?" She asked. Tseng nodded his head.
"Not only does he need debriefing, but we have a mission coming up soon that we will need him for. And I need to make sure his skills haven't gotten rusty."
Ryu bounced lightly on her feet, even as she yawned. They were at the helipad. They weren't allowed to meet Matti at the dock, in case some rebels were watching. The helipad was also near the train transport. In fact, Matti was to buy a train ticket and then they'd get him on board the chopper in a crate they were picking up.
"This is awfully complicated just for an extraction." She muttered under her breath. Morgan shrugged.
"The director knows what he's doing."
"I know, I know." A crate caught her attention, "looks like there's our cargo." She said, as she headed back to the chopper. Morgan turned to supervise the loading crew. Once the crate was loaded, he closed the hatch and turned to secure the crate. Or so they thought. In actuality, even as Ryu started the engine for takeoff, Morgan took a crow bar and pried the lid off. Matti stood up and stretched.
"That box was a little too small." He said as he climbed out. Morgan looked at it.
"I could have fit in it comfortably." He said.
"You're also able to pack yourself up really tiny." Ryu called from cockpit, "Better buckle up boys. We're taking off."
Matti quickly claimed a seat in the back, while Morgan sat in the co-pilot's seat.
"So how was Wutai?" Ryu asked, once they were in the air and Matti had joined them. He shrugged.
"It is what it is." He said.
"You know, Tseng's from Wutai." She told him. Matti grinned ruefully.
"I figured as much already."
"So did you acquire any insight into our director?" Morgan asked. Matti shook his head.
"I hope you haven't lost what he taught you. He plans to throw you to the wolves on our next mission."
"Lucky me." Matti muttered.
Wisely Ryu opened the door to the apartment and stood back to let Matti go first. She'd texted Alanna to get Piper into the living room. As soon as Matti walked in there was a squeal of surprise, and then what sounded like somebody launching themselves off the couch.
Ryu and Morgan walked into the living room to see Piper hanging off of Matti, hugging him. And Matti didn't seem to mind in the least little bit.
"Get a room, you two." Morgan muttered to Matti as he walked by. Matti grinned and threw Piper over his shoulder, causing her to squeak in surprise, and then he walked off down the hallway.
"I didn't think he'd take me literally." Morgan said surprised. Zack was staring wide eyed after them, his head tilted to the side.
"He's not going to hurt her is he?" Zack asked worried. Alanna laughed and shook her head.
"No puppy, they've just got a lot of catching up to do, and it's best if we aren't there." Ryu crinkled her nose.
"They're going to get all cuddly and mushy." She added. Alanna grinned at Ryu and said to Zack, "Roll over and play dead." Zack rolled his eyes but obliged, as Ryu giggled. He was indeed laying on his back, arms and legs sticking up in the air, eyes closed, tongue hanging out.
"New trick?" She asked. Morgan smirked as Zack rolled to his side and sat back up, cross legged, hands on his ankles, looking excitedly at them all. Exactly like a puppy.
"Yup, we've been training the puppy. He knows all kinds of tricks now." Alanna said, laughing. Zack looked slightly put out.
"I only did it cuz you said it would make Piper laugh." He protested. Ryu sat down on the couch next to Alanna.
"Why don't you start at the beginning?" that's when she noticed the puppy ears on Zack's head, "Why is Zack wearing puppy ears?"
"I think they're cute." She added when Zack self consciously raised a hand to them.
"Piper Puppy was really glum this morning. And 'Lanna said maybe we should do something silly to make her laugh. So I've been acting like a puppy all day." He explained. Ryu bit her lip to keep from laughing. She'd known Alanna had wanted to teach Zack tricks, but she hadn't thought she'd use Piper as the bait. She nudged Alanna.
"The puppy idea was totally all you." She said. Alanna nodded.
"I tried to get Cloud to act like a Chocobo, but he refused. He ran out of the apartment, full tilt."Alanna told her. Ryu snickered.
"I can't imagine why." Morgan drawled.
"Zack!" Angeal suddenly called. Zack's eyes widened and then he jumped to his feet, and made to race off to Angeal.
"Zack your ears!" Alanna and Ryu called after him. Pausing, Zack took them off, and threw them back at Alanna before he dashed off. Ryu shook her head.
"He's such a little kid at heart." She said.
"Wait until he meets her." Alanna said. Ryu smiled and then snapped her fingers.
"I forgot to tell you, I got to meet her, briefly." Alanna nodded her head.
"Was it on rounds?" She asked. She knew the Turks all took shifts protecting Aerith; so she'd assumed they'd already met. Ryu shook her head.
"No, it was Christmas day." Alanna nodded her head.
"Can we talk about something more fun?" Morgan asked before he yawned. Ryu followed his example. Alanna laughed.
"You two should go get some sleep." She told them. Ryu nodded her head.
"You're probably right."
"I'm always right." Alanna told her. Ryu laughed and pushed her off the couch before she leapt over the back and ran down the hall laughing.
"I missed you so much." Piper said still hugging Matti.
"I missed you too. I wanted to call, but I wasn't allowed to." He told her. Piper nodded her head.
"I know, it's the job, but it still sucks." She told him. Matti smiled and hugged her.
"Now you know how I felt when we didn't talk for days on end when I was in Virginia." He teased her. Piper laughed.
"I am really sorry about that." She told him. Matti sighed.
"It's alright, we got through it didn't we? And besides, Ryu was nice enough to let me rant to her on Facebook when it got to be too much."Piper smiled.
"She also gave us a lot of advice for handling it." She agreed. Matti laughed.
"No, she gave me a lot of advice for handling you."He told her. Piper laughed.
"Do you really need advice on handling me?" She asked him. Matti sighed.
"You're a girl, of course I do. I don't understand half of what you do. But that's okay. I still love you because you're you." Piper smiled.
"I love you too Matti." She told him.
"You know what they all think we're doing in here." He told her after a while. Piper wrinkled her nose.
"Uh, no!" She exclaimed. Matti laughed.
"I'm just saying." He protested.
"Well they can just think what they want." Piper muttered. A strand of black hair caught her attention. She gently pulled on it.
"Ow." Matti protested. Piper sighed.
"I'm not sure I like the long black hair." She told him. Matti sighed.
"I don't, but as Tseng's doppelganger I have to." He said.
"You'd have to have long hair at the very least." She agreed.
"Can we not discuss my hair?" He asked her. Piper laughed.
"What would you like to talk about?" She asked. Matti hugged her tighter.
"How much I've missed you." He told her. Piper smiled.
"I've missed you equally as much." She frowned, "I've got so much to tell you. For example I got stuck on a Chocobo and met Zack's parents, and Zack and Cloud are only eighteen and seventeen; can you believe it?" She said rambling. Matti smiled and hugged her tighter.
How I've missed this. He thought. He'd even missed the building itself. He'd missed Piper the most, but he'd missed the others as well. Even Tseng, just a little bit, not much, but a bit.