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 27: Gaia's Wrath
"See for yourself, would like the epic music with it or not?" CAGS asked him.
"Oh, let's take it with music." Rude muttered under his breath, his glasses having tuned in by now. Reno sent him a disgruntled look, just before the satellite feed of the explosion and the canyon collapse came on the big screen in the room, the music from Crisis Core's fight scenes coming on.
The three of them watched in stunned silence, as the hidden rebel base was blown up. At the end they stared at the pile of rocks trapping the six doppelgangers. They watched as Mary feebly pushed a rock off herself, before collapsing again. Her arms, hands and shoulders clearly injured, her legs and abdomen buried.
Ryu was hanging upside down on the side of the pile. Her legs were buried, the arms of her jacket had been ripped from it and her no longer white shirt was ripped. The high resolution showing blood dripping down her arms from dozens of lacerations as a blood stain spread across her clothes. CAGS could be seen perched on a rock beside Ryu, vainly attempting to wake her by slapping her with one spider leg on the cheek.
Morgan was lying across the rocks pinning her. A large rock was partially lying on his chest, crushing him. His left leg was caught between the remains of his bike, and a jagged edged rock. A pipe from his bike could be seen sticking through his leg. His glasses lay crushed beside him.
All that could be seen of Piper was the top of her torso and her head, the rest of her was buried in the rocks. Matti could be seen behind her, laying face down. He stirred briefly, lifting his body up to show the jagged rocks that had sliced open his abdomen, before he collapsed, fainting again, having just caught a glimpse of Piper. There was no sign of Alanna, except for her mangled bike.
The five 1sts stepped into Tseng's office. They first saw Reno turning from the screen, Rude's hand on his shoulder. His face was a blank mask, until they saw his eyes they blazed with fury, the Mako glinting brighter.
"AVALANCHE is dead. I will kill every single one of them." He swore. They all looked beyond Reno and Rude to see the image on the screen. With a whimper of pain Zack sat with a thump on the floor.
"Piper puppy?" He whispered, in a child-like voice. Cloud moved to stand next to Tseng, wrapping his arms around him as he stared at the screen, dumbfounded. Genesis took a few stumbling steps backwards. Seph rested his hand on his back to steady him. Angeal closed his eyes in pain, as his hand lifting to his Buster's hilt.
They all watched, still stunned, as a huge dark skinned man appeared in the canyon with the fallen doppelgangers. He set about unburying them and administering a potion to each of them, before gently loading them into his truck. CAGS made to leap into the back with Ryu, but he caught her and shoved her into a bag, and the feed cut out.
"We've got to find out who that guy is." Tseng said, coming out of his funk. Rude nodded and released his hold on Reno. Tseng crooked a finger at the red headed Turk before he could dash off. Reno went over to Tseng's side and stood next to him with his shoulders hunched. Tseng reached out and pulled him against his side. Reno rested his head on his shoulder, ignoring Cloud's arms around Tseng.
"We'll find them."Tseng said, as he wrapped his other arm around Cloud, before the little blonde could slip away.
"We will find them." He repeated. Reno sighed and nodded his head.
"No mission is too great for the Turks." He replied dully.
"Well, there is that." Tseng began.
"But this is personal." Rude said. "The truck was registered to someone in Midgar, but was stolen. Chances are that guy is from Midgar, so he'll return." Tseng nodded his head and released both Reno and Cloud.
"We'll split into pairs, and search the whole city. We can't lose anyone else today." He said. Angeal reached out and grabbed the back of Gen's coat.
"Come on, you're with me." He said, before he turned and left, dragging Gen behind him. Rude walked over to Reno and rested his hand on his shoulder.
"We'll look together." He said. Reno nodded. Cloud looked up at Tseng.
"I'm not leaving you." He said firmly. Tseng nodded his head. Seph groaned.
"Great. I get to walk the puppy." He said. Zack, still sitting on the floor didn't protest the slight. He barely looked up when Seph pulled him to his feet.
"Piper?" He asked, looking around. Seph shook his head.
"We're going out to look for them." He told him. Zack nodded his head.
"Okay." He said listlessly. Seph steered him out of the room, Zack stumbling and tripping over his suddenly clumsy feet. Tseng looked at Reno and Rude, Reno having recovered from his shock.
"Be on the lookout." He told them. They nodded, and Reno swung his EMR on its strap.
"No one is hurting neesan." He said grimly. Tseng nodded his head.
"I know you'll do your best." He told them. They nodded and left the room.
"Are you really alright, Tseng?" Cloud asked. Tseng nodded his head.
"I'll be better when all my Turks are home, safe and well." He said.
Leviathan, keep them safe. He thought.
Alanna sat up weakly on the rough wooden floor. Goddess, curse whatever masochistic tendency kept me healing myself while being buried alive. Death would have been much less painful… in a couple ways. By the looks of it, they were in an old church somewhere. The sound of heavy boots stomping across the old floor had awakened her, and she was in a rather foul mood. Leaning against a pew, she watched the man whose clumsy, graceless, pounding gait was responsible for the loud noise.
Alanna groaned as memories of the past few days slowly returned. He must have found us knocked out after the explosion. Hmm… Damn! I know his face, but what was his name? Goddess my head hurts. Marelene's father… Her thoughts were interrupted when Ryuko groaned and pushed herself into a slumped sitting position.
"Lanna? Where are we? What happened?"
"The old church, in the sector five slums. Looks like we are back in Midgar."
"How the hell did we end up here? The bomb…" Ryu trailed off, as Alanna sent her a halfhearted glare.
"We didn't manage to outrun the blast, clearly." Alanna told her simply. She gestured weakly to the rest of the group. They were sprawled out across the floor in front of the pews. Everyone else was still unconscious, in various positions on the floor.
After a few minutes of silence, Ryuko followed Alanna's gaze to the doors at the other end of the church. She had gone back to watching the man who had woken her up, while Ryu was thinking.
"Oh, hey. Is that Barret?"
"Ah, so that is what his name was. I couldn't remember it." Alanna said calmly, before turning away again. Ryuko looked over at her friend with a smirk, and one raised brow. This was just like her.
"You would forget his name, wouldn't you? You do realize the importance...Aerith!"
Ryu started bouncing where she was sitting against a pew. She waved her arm, high over her head, reopening the long cuts along her upper arm. "Hey Aerith."
The brown haired girl, standing by the other end of the old church, rushed over to the mostly unconscious group. Ryuko's excited movements had caused her to go very pale and sway dangerously. Aerith knelt next to her as she rested against the old wood of the pew behind her, grimacing in pain.
"Ryuko! I'm glad you are awake, but please don't move too much. I did what I could, but your wounds won't heal," Aerith told her, rapidly fluctuating between being a mother chocobo and oblivious girl. "Where have you been? It's been a long time and you never visit."
"Goddess, I forgot how annoying that gets." Alanna rested her head on her knees that she had pulled up in front of herself. She groaned as Aerith started chattering at Ryu again. The girl could not remain focused on anything for more than a few moments.
"And I thought the puppy was bad." After resting her head for a few more moments, Alanna started digging through the many hidden pockets in her outfit. The material had taken a lot of damage when they were hit by the edge of the blast, and some of the pockets no longer existed. Who knows what had fallen out of them, and where. With any luck (not that their group was known for having any) whatever pocket held her curagra would still be intact. Ryu was still bleeding, everyone else was still unconscious on the floor, and every movement was causing her a lot of pain. Ah! There it was!
Alanna healed herself somewhat, and started patching everyone else up. While fully healing everyone was possible it was unwise. That would use a lot of her mana and they were far from safe. Healing each person to the point of being able to fight was their better option for now.
Ryuko and Aerith stopped chatting, and watched Alanna's progress. Ryuko laughed after catching Alanna grumbling about overfull pockets that needed to be cleaned out, organized, and refilled.
"'Lanna, you're as bad as Morgan. Filling your pockets with anything and everything you might need. At least he puts things back into the same pocket he took them out of."
"And without these full pockets you'd be dead twice over, on this trip alone." Alanna snapped back under her breath.
"HEY!" Ryu yelled suddenly. Alanna looked up, ready to defend the comment Ryu couldn't have heard, "Where the hell is my EMR?!"
At the loud yell, Barret took his first notice of them since they'd woken up. He walked over to them in response to her comment.
"All of your weapons have been taken, and moved to a different area." Barret snapped at her. "We don't make a habit of letting Shinra dogs keep their weapons." Ryu glared at the large man she knew before as only a kind father.
"What makes you think we work for Shinra?"Matti asked, having come to a few minutes before, while everyone was talking. He had nodded to Alanna when she healed him and then pretended to remain unconscious. Now he was sitting up straight and looking Barret in the eyes.
If he didn't already seem to know, that just confirmed it. Ryu sighed and leaned her head back. I think he's spending too much time around Tseng. He likes doing this too much.
Barret glared at the man sitting on the floor, staring at him. Reaching into a pocket, he grabbed six reinforced I.D.s, smeared with blood and dirt and slightly bent, and threw them at Matti's feet.
"Shinra dogs. You are all Turks. The girl just confirmed it by asking about her weapon that all Shinra assassins have."
"Then why did you save us?" Matti's voice cut through the man's bluster, leaving the dark skin of his face flushed with irritation.
"If that girl is to be understood and believed, you found us badly injured. You could have left us to die out there. Even if you found out what we are after saving us, you could have just killed us while we were weak and defenseless. Yet instead you chose to still bring us back to Midgar. Why?"
Barret looked furious with Matti's calm accusations. He took one thundering step forward before meeting Aerith's eyes and coming to a halt. Aerith was still kneeling beside Ryuko with a quiet smile. She shook her head in response to the unasked question in Barret's mind.
"I asked him to bring you all here." Aerith smiled at them, oblivious to all the animosity.
"Why?" Ryu asked quietly. She on the other hand was well aware of the growing anger in the room.
"She asked me to." Aerith said on a sigh. She looked over towards a bed of bright flowers, illuminated by light shining the broken ceiling.
"She is very worried about your safety."
"Sure she is." Alanna snorted.
"'Lanna..." Ryu warned. "Antagonizing her will only get you in trouble, well more trouble." She paused and felt around her head and neck, "Not that I don't agree with you..." she continued.
"Where are my goggles?" She asked, glaring at Barret. He glared back at her.
"They were moving all on their own. I locked them up with your weapons." He replied.
"Well give 'em back." She snapped back. He crossed his arms and glared.
"No." He replied.
"Ryu..." Alanna said warningly.
"It's not like we're still Turks, if they find us they will kill us, so..."Ryu snapped at the same time. Mary stirred as the loud voices drew her from her slumber. With a groan she sat up, holding her head.
"What happened and where are we?" She asked.
"Got caught in rocks." Alanna said.
"Midgar." Ryu added.
"Oh." She said, as Aerith rushed to her side to check on her.
"Stay still, don't move too much. All of you have been badly injured." She told her. Mary nodded her head.
"What the hell...?" Morgan suddenly snapped. He'd ended up under a pew somehow. He crawled out from under it, gasping for breath. He reached Ryu and let his head rest in her lap as he flopped back on to the ground.
"I knew I forgot someone." Alanna said, as she rushed to his side from where she was by Piper, who was still unconscious.
"Ow."He muttered, as she cast curagra on him and his ribs snapped back into place. Ryu rubbed her hand over his head.
"Relax." she told him, as Alanna checked his ribs.
"You're going to be in a lot of pain Morgan, so don't move around a lot." She told him. He nodded his head.
"I still want my goggles." Ryu snapped at Barret. He shook his head stubbornly. Aerith sighed.
"Please Barret." She asked, trying to keep the peace. Sighing Barret drew out a bag from his pocket and tossed it to Ryu. It smacked Morgan upside the head. He glared at Barret as Ryu tore up the bag pulling CAGS free. The spider goggles had seen better days.
Either Barret, or the rocks falling, had snapped the joints in one leg. Her lenses were coated in grime and her strap had frayed.
"My dear Creepy Ass Spider Goggles, you have seen better days." She told her. CAGS wiggled one leg at her.
"Good to see you Ryu." CAGS replied.
"The hell Ryu?" Mary snapped surprised. Ryu waved her free hand at Mary.
"Tell you later." She said, before she gently poked at the disjointed leg.
"I'll need to go back to the shop to fix that." CAGS replied. Ryu gently wiped the grime off and patted the top of the lenses.
"Who's nearby?" She asked. Barret stirred, taking a step toward her. Ryu glared at him.
"We have to avoid enemies, which means we need her."
"Several groups are within the area. I suggest that anyone who does not want to be caught with you leave." CAGS replied.
"She means you." Alanna said to Barret.
"I ain't leavin' Aerith here with you." He protested.
"You wanna take on 1sts and 2nds? They won't hurt Aerith, but they will kill you." Ryu snapped at him. He shook his head.
"I ain't going unless she comes with me."He protested. Aerith went to his side and placed her hand on his arm.
"Go, I'll be alright. If I'm not here the Turks will worry." She told him. He growled in protest he stormed out and came back in with a locked trunk which he dumped on the floor.
"Your weapons. Ya keep Aerith safe ya hear. I'll come after ya if ya don't." He snarled.
"We hear ya, yo." Ryu drawled as she stood, after lifting Morgan's head from her lap and made her way to the trunk of weapons. Barret turned and left after one more glare. Aerith watched as they sorted out their weapons. Morgan even drew himself up to a sitting and then standing position, his hand to his ribs and, made his way with a limp to the chest.
Matti knelt by Piper and gently woke her. She groaned and rolled onto her side.
"I dunno wanna get up." She muttered.
"Come on Piper, you gotta wake up." He told her softly. Sighing, Piper peeled her eyes open and looked around before climbing to her feet and leaning on Matti.
"Careful Piper, Matti's got some severe injuries to his abdomen." Alanna cautioned her. Piper nodded her head in understanding.
The sound of running footsteps could be heard over the roof. They all looked up and followed the sound with their eyes.
Something large and black fell through the roof of the church and landed in Aerith's flowers.
"Hey! I don't know who you think you are." She said sharply, marching over towards them. The rest of them edged closer to look.
"Oh shit." Alanna muttered seeing Zack laying in the flower bed. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Aerith.
"Heaven?" He asked, confused. She paused, and then smiled sweetly and shook her head. Ryu and Alanna silently gagged, while the other four laughed at their antics behind Aerith's back.
"Not quiet, church in the slums." She said. He slowly sat up and rubbed his head.
"Are you alright puppy?" Sephiroth called from where he crouched on the roof.
"Double Shit!" Alanna squeaked, looking up to see the silver general crouched on the roof. Ryu sighed and shrugged.
"Busted." She muttered. Zack jumped to his feet and stood staring at Aerith awkwardly.
"I see drool." Morgan muttered from behind Ryu. She giggled quietly. Seph jumped down and landed lightly on his feet, just missing the flowers. He pulled out his PHS.
"Found them..." He said he glanced at them. "No, they all seem to be alive. A church... yeah sector 5. How'd you know?... Of course." He said before hanging up. He grinned at them.
"Glad we found you. The puppy was getting anxious." He told them. They all gave him a leery grin, not really sure they were happy to see him. Zack meanwhile managed to pull himself away from Aerith to come running over to hug the group. After he had bounced from person to person, he turned to ask Aerith a question, just as Reno dropped in from the roof.
"Heya Aerith. Looks like you found our strays, yo." He said, as Rude slipped in the door. Aerith grinned.
"You know them, Reno?" She asked. He nodded as he hugged Ryu tightly.
"This one here is my sister, yo." He told her. Rude rested his hand on Morgan's shoulder. He half turned to look at him wincing, keeping one hand on his chest.
"You are alright aren't you?" He asked. Morgan nodded as Ryu squeaked and squirmed in Reno's tight hold.
"Niisan wounds... have some mercy." She protested. Startled, Reno let go of her so quickly Ryu landed on her butt.
"Ow!" She protested, getting back to her feet, rubbing her backside. Alanna sighed.
"Ryu, he opened your cuts again." She said. Ryu swore and looked down at her arms, there was in fact blood seeping from the scabs on her arms.
"Thanks, Reno."She muttered. He looked sheepish and pulled out his cure to fix the damage he'd done.
"So what now?" Morgan asked Rude. He shrugged.
"You come back to Shinra with us." He said. They all shrugged resigned to it.
There was a loud crash a few minutes later and the church doors burst open, as Genesis and Angeal came storming in.
"Uh-oh." Ryu murmured when she saw their faces. Genesis grabbed Alanna and pulled her tightly against his side.
"What in the name of the Goddess possessed you?" He snapped. Angeal was holding Mary a little less tightly but he also had one hand in her hair. Ryu shrugged in answer for them.
"We did what we had to do." Matti told them. Genesis glared at him, Angeal half a second behind him, each of them still possessively holding their Doppelganger.
Tseng and Cloud entered quietly and came up behind them. Tseng surveyed their injuries and their ripped and shredded clothes.
"Looks like things have been a little rough for you." He commented dryly. They grinned wryly.
"You have no idea." Ryu muttered, as Tseng's PHS rang he flipped it opened and answered. With a grin he closed it again.
"You'll be pleased to know the mole has been caught, so I have now reinstated you as Turks." He told them. They grinned, relaxing.
The doors to the church opened again and about twenty cadets filed in with Heidigger at their head.
He was tall, easily as tall as Matti and Morgan, if not taller. But he was also much fatter, his green and gold suit being capable of fitting Zack, Cloud, Morgan and Matti in it. His black beard and scowling face reminded Ryu of an evil Santa Claus, which caused her to shudder. He then laughed, which caused them all to shudder, the abrasive mule's laugh making them cringe.
"Step aside, Tseng." He boomed. "I have orders from the President to bring them back to Dr. Hojo." He said. Tseng scowled and flipped his PHS open again, dialing it. He motioned to Reno and Rude who moved up to flank him. Reno had his EMR out and Rude was drawing his black gloves on. Zack and Cloud looked at Sephiroth, anxious for orders. Seph looked at Angeal and Genesis and then realized their opinion was not a thought out one, but one based on their feelings. With a sigh he nodded to the other four.
"Until we receive orders otherwise, we back Tseng up. They are his Turks." He said, looking at Heidigger, who swallowed.
"Oh Yeah!" Zack said, rushing forward his Buster, Jr. drawn. Cloud raced after him, drawing First Tsurugi. Genesis and Angeal moved up to flank the two younger 1sts, while Sephiroth moved to stand on their other side. Tseng was talking furiously on the phone. Alanna growled and charged a fira.
"YOU arrogant ASSHOLE!" She yelled. Ryu moved closer to her and drew her own thundera, charging it.
"We'll go out with a bang." She muttered. Both of them charged their materia as Heidigger laughed.
"You can't do that, not if you want to live." He said arrogantly. Ryu shrugged. She could already feel the slight tingle of doom skittering over her skin, and a glance at Alanna confirmed a pale streak in her hair.
"We're already doomed, might as well do some good." She said under her breath.
"You arrogant asshole. You think you're so smart, but all you do is destroy EVERYTHING." Alanna snapped.
"If you'd just left shit alone, things would probably be fine, yo." Ryu added as, Alanna unleashed her fireball.
You've failedThe six doppelgangers heads snapped back with the force of Gaia's fury, I have no use for failures. She declared as the fireball died down before it reached Heidigger.
Reno felt a shiver travel down his spine suddenly he couldn't shake the feeling, so he half turned to look at the doppelgangers. His jaw dropped open.
"What the bloody..." He snapped, taking half a step toward them. Aerith was standing behind them wringing her hands anxiously.
"Tseng..."He started.
"Not now Reno." Tseng snapped. Heidigger even paused to stare at the scene. The rest of them turned to look as well. Rude reached out and placed his hand on Reno's shoulder again. Sephiroth caught Genesis and Angeal before they raced forward, Cloud grabbed Zack's arm.
"No, if we get close, who knows what will happen." Sephiroth said.
Alanna was sitting on the ground her head in her hands. Her body degrading rapidly, her hair was white, her skin pale and cracking, and even her clothes were turning gray. Mary was sitting next to her, blood rushing down her chest from a deep slash. Her arms, face, legs and torso were bleeding from smaller cuts as well, but the deep cut bleed quickly and heavily. She was already pale from blood loss and sitting in a pool of her own blood.
Ryu and Morgan were standing side by side, their fingers barely touching, as their bodies appeared to be slowly blown apart as if caught in some invisible slow motion blast.
"Matti!" Piper screamed silently, no sound coming from any of them. She was riddled with bullet holes, blood rushing from them and across her face from the gash in her forehead. She rushed toward him. Matti appeared to be slowly disappearing from sight. The bloody I.D's were still at Matti's feet, which were no longer on the church floor.
"This is not good." Rude muttered to himself.
NO! We did what you wanted, we did everything we could! NO! NO! You can't do this. Ryu shouted at Gaia mentally. All she heard was a cruel chuckle. Frantically Ryu looked to Aerith trying to convince the truth, but Aerith only looked at her confused. Tseng, meanwhile, was still talking angrily on the phone his back turned.
All the Turks, SOLDIERs and Cadets could do was stare in horror is the doppelgangers died before their eyes.
"RYU!" Reno snapped, coming out of his shock. She turned her head to look at him the invisible blast already burning and flaking off the skin of her face. She met his eyes and then closed hers, somewhat resigned to her fate.
CAGS crouched on the floor by her feet, one leg stretched out trying to touch her. The spider goggles were clearly attached to their mistress.
"NO!" Reno snapped, his exclamation jerking the others into taking a half step toward them. Tseng snapped his phone closed.
"Stand down Heidigger. They're still my Turks." He said gleefully, as he turned and then stared in horror. Alanna was almost pure white, Mary lay collapsed on the floor her eyes closed and her breathing barely discernible. Ryu and Morgan were all but gone, and in fact were a dissipated cloud of body parts hanging in midair, blood hanging in a fine mist in the air. Matti was gone except for his fingertips which Piper hung onto grimly. Her sword wedged into the floor as a prop to lean on, as her body became weaker and weaker. The lifestream snapped and swirled around them making them all glow with an eerie green light.
"Leviathan have mercy." He whispered.
A/N: I had thought about ending the chapter here, but two chapters like that in a row would just be mean.
It is fixed, the time of secrecy is ended. The doppelgangers, the five 1sts, and the three Turks heard. There was a bright flash of green light. When they all could see again, the six doppelgangers were collapsed on the floor, alive and uninjured.
"Ryu!"
"'Lanna!"
"Mary!"
"Piper Puppy!" All of them but Tseng rushed forward to hover over them. Tseng turned to look at Heidigger, who'd received a phone call and was scowling at him. Tseng gave him a small triumphant smile.
"Oh, and Heidigger. I don't like Turks who answer to other people... they tend to meet unpleasant ends. If Hojo tries to take my Turks again, you can assure him every single Turk will be up in arms. If we don't have assurance of safety from him, then there will be no new Turks." Heidigger scowled and marched out of there with his cadets. Only when Heidigger was gone did Tseng turn and go join the others.
Alanna and Mary were so wrapped up in Genesis and Angeal's arms all that could be seen of them were their feet. Zack was kneeling by Piper's side, unsure of what to do. Reno had Ryu's head resting in his lap as he checked her skull for signs of injury. Rude was by Morgan checking his ribs. He looked up when Tseng knelt by Matti.
"Sir, they don't appear to be injured at all."
"But we saw them dying." Cloud protested. Tseng pinched the bridge of his nose.
"The planet was mad at them, but she's not anymore." Aerith said, coming up to stand behind Zack. He whirled still on his knees to look at her.
"What do you mean the planet?" He asked. She smiled at him and waved vaguely around them.
"She was very mad, but now she's not." She looked right at the doppelgangers.
"She expects much from them and failure is..." Aerith shrugged. "She doesn't like failure."
"Who is she, yo?" Reno snapped. Aerith shrugged again.
"The planet silly."
"You act as if the planet has a consciousness." Genesis said startled. She smiled mysteriously and turned back to her flowers.
"Let's get them back Shinra and see if we can get some answers." Tseng said, standing.
All of them woke up with a splitting headache. Alanna slowly sat up, as Gen helped her to sit. Angeal was also helping Mary to sit up. The four remaining lumps on the mats on the floor didn't stir.
"Are you hungry? Thirsty?" Genesis asked her. Alanna shook her head.
"Are the others okay?" She asked. Gen nodded.
"All of you are as healthy as they day you left here." He told her.
"Although we did have to dunk you all in the Mako tanks. You were all drained dry." Genesis added.
"Did you know Ryu has green eyes?" Reno asked, as he came in with a tray of steaming coffee mugs and handed them out. Mary shook her head.
"Ryu has brown eyes." She corrected.
"Well she had green eyes when we checked." He said.
"That's weird..."Alanna muttered. Rude came in behind Reno with a tray of food.
"Well, when we put her in the tank her eyes opened and they were as brown as my eyes Reno." He told him. Reno looked puzzled.
"I know they were green." He muttered.
"Maybe you were seeing things." Genesis commented. Reno made a face at him, as Matti stirred fitfully on the mat next to Piper. He finally sat up and reached blindly for the coffee cup Reno held out to him. He took a huge gulp and finally opened his eyes.
"I feel like I was hit with mack truck." He groaned.
"Well you don't look it."Tseng said as he came in, closing his phone and putting it back in his pocket. He gave Matti a small smile.
"Cloud is keeping Zack occupied."
"Both of them, and Seph, might as well join us. Everyone might as well hear it at the same time." Ryu said, as she sat up, snatching Reno's cup from and chugging it.
"Gah... my head." She muttered, pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead. There was only a faint trace of Mako blue in her brown eyes. The others had the slight shine of Mako in their eyes.
"You fought the Mako a little bit this time, neesan. We pulled you out sooner, so you probably feel like crap." Reno told her, graciously handing her her real cup of coffee which, she also chugged.
"I smell coffee..." Morgan muttered, pulling the light blanket up over his head and burying his head deeper into the mattress. Reno laughed as Rude chuckled softly.
"Would you like a cup?" Reno asked teasingly.
"Actually, yes." Morgan said, sitting up and taking a mug from him. He sipped at it making faces, as coffee wasn't really his drink of choice, but he wanted the energy boost. Tseng left the room to fetch the others.
"You might as well bring Chloe too!" Ryu called after him, waking Piper.
Piper rearranged herself so her head was resting in Matti's lap as she woke up. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled sleepily at them.
"Are we alive then?" She asked. The others nodded their heads.
"Yeah, we made it." Alanna said with a slight grin.
Seph, Cloud, Zack, Chloe and Tseng entered the room. Tseng closed the door behind him and motioned to Ryu. She gave him a confused look.
"Secure?" He asked. Her confusion cleared and she dug around her in the blankets looking for something. CAGS crawled into her hand under the cover of the blanket. Ryu fiddled with her side band and then held her, absently running her finger over the curve of the lens. In her new earpiece she heard a purring sound.
"Yeah." She agreed. Reno leaned over and whispered in her ear.
"You and I are gonna talk about them goggles, Ryu." She nodded her head. Once everyone had settled Tseng looked at them. Ryu and Alanna traded a look with Matti. He nodded slightly. Ryu sighed.
"It would seem all of you were hiding the truth from us." Tseng said softly. Ryu winced slightly recognizing the tone of his voice.
"Not because we wanted too." She said quietly.
"Explain."
"Gaia said we couldn't tell. Even for a while she wouldn't let Alanna and I tell the others about it." Matti, Piper, Mary, and Morgan nodded their heads.
"We found out a few weeks before we left." Morgan added.
"Why were you brought here?" Tseng asked them.
"To save the planet." Alanna answered. That made them all pause in thought.
"So this Gaia wants the planet saved? From who?" Tseng asked.
No, you may not tell them of Jenova and her plans! Gaia said, her whiplash like voice making the doppelgangers heads snap back. Ryu bit her lip as she rubbed the back of her neck. Reno gently touched the back of her neck.
"You all right?" He asked.
"I hate when the bitch does that." Alanna muttered. Ryu nodded her head and looked at Reno.
"I'm fine." She assured him. His eyes widened.
"You're eyes are blue again." He told her. She nodded.
"Not surprised, niisan. That always happens when Gaia talks to us." Ryu told him absentmindedly, as she blotted the blood on her lip.
"So all those fainting spells were her talking to you?" Genesis asked, startled. They all nodded their heads.
"So what is the threat to the planet?" Tseng asked.
"She won't let us tell you. That was what she was screaming about just now." Mary said acidly.
"What happens if you disobey her?"Genesis asked, now very worried.
"We die, and everything in both worlds we care about dies." Ryu said. They all winced.
"She got you right where she wanted you, didn't she?" Tseng said. They nodded.
"She is a goddess. She's used to manipulating her pawns." Alanna said bitterly.
"A goddess?" Genesis asked, intrigued.
"Don't even Genesis. She is not worth the attention." Ryu said. He looked at her startled.
"We call her the bitch for a reason." Mary added. Now Gen looked slightly offended. Ryu grabbed a napkin from Rude's tray balled it up and threw it at his head. It bounced of lightly. He looked shocked.
"Until you've talked to her yourself, reserve judgment. She's already almost killed us once now." She said.
"The thing in the church, was that her?" Cloud asked. They turned to look at him.
"What makes you think that?" Tseng asked him. Cloud shifted nervously.
"It just seemed beyond anything a person could do." He explained.
"And yes that was her." Mary said.
"How much do you think she'll let us tell?" Matti asked. They all shrugged.
"We'll find out I guess." Ryu finally said.
"I don't like trial and error with her." Matti muttered.
"Understatement of the year." Mary muttered, from where she was contentedly wrapped in 'Geal's arms.
"So let me get this straight. This Gaia is dictating your actions, and what you can and can't say, and she wants you to save the planet, which is why you are here." Tseng said. They all nodded their heads.
"She made us go to Cosmo Canyon." Ryu added.
"Why, yo?" Reno asked.
"There was a missile headed for Shinra there." Matti said with a casual shrug.
"That explains the massive explosion, you blew it up. Why not disable it?" Tseng asked. Ryu blew a stray strand of hair from her face, embarrassed. Morgan shrugged.
"We didn't have time to get into the casing, nor could we get into the computer." He said.
"Why would she care if Shinra was blown up or not? Shinra is..." Reno trailed off under the stern look Tseng gave him.
"We know, but right now Shinra is... key." Alanna said, carefully choosing her words. The SOLDIERS watched them, slightly confused.
"So you may be going off and doing things that she wants, and if I want you alive I have to cover for you?" Tseng added. Ryu shrugged awkwardly.
"Well, it's more than that. If you want," She gestured to everyone, "them to survive, then yes. We value them and so their lives are on the chopping block too." The SOLDIERs seemed slightly taken aback by that.
"How often is she going to be making you do this?" Rude asked. They shrugged.
"It's hard to say. This is the first time she's bossed us around. She's popped in and taught us some stuff, but she hasn't made us do anything" Alanna replied thoughtfully.
"Does that mean we've been doing our job?" Piper asked sleepily, still cuddled in Matti's lap.
"Maybe, or she just hasn't had need of us yet." Ryu replied, rubbing her forehead, dreading the questions she knew would come up.
"So, did she just pick random deaths, or was there something more to them?" Rude asked. They all winced. Piper gave a small whimper and curled tighter into Matti's arms.
"There was a point" Matti admitted.
"And that would be?" Tseng asked. He glanced at Alanna and Ryu as they both sat up straighter.
"The ways in which you all die." They said softly. The room was silent as they all stared.
"What do you mean the way we die?" Cloud asked softly.
"We lied. We know what's going to happen, but she won't let us tell you that. See in our world, this world is a game. Not a story, a game. A game you play through as Zack, Cloud, Vincent, and the Turks." Ryu explained after taking a sip from Morgan's coffee.
"Soo, who dies how?" Zack ventured to ask. They all traded looks.
"Tseng doesn't actually die, which is why we think Matti was being pulled into the lifestream still alive." Alanna explained, hedging.
"So we blow up, huh?" Reno said, nudging Rude with his elbow. Rude merely grunted.
"There's a fifty fifty chance, not everyone knows about the extended scene where you're seen alive. So, a lot of people believe you die in an explosion you create." Ryu said. "They had some pretty fireworks though." Morgan added. Ryu smiled slightly.
"Yeah, the finest explosives in Shinra means Rude made them by hand." She added.
"So I get shot... a lot?" Zack asked. They nodded glumly.
"I hate that part of the game!" Alanna snapped.
"You hate all the parts where any of them die." Ryu pointed out. Alanna nodded. "True." She acknowledged.
"So I die in some kind of fight." Angeal concluded. Ryu and Alanna jumped forward both of them hugging Zack.
"You're a big meanie 'Geal!" They chorused together. He looked puzzled.
"Suicide by puppy."Rude said softly, something they had said before coming to mind.
"Zack kills Angeal?" Tseng asked, surprised. They all nodded glumly.
"'Geal makes him do it." Alanna said, scowling at him.
"Why would I do that?" Angeal asked.
"Can't say." Ryu replied.
"What about us?" Cloud asked, gesturing to himself and Seph.
"You live. Sephy dies...three times." Ryu said. Seph looked confused.
"So everybody but the Turks and Cloud dies? What happens the Wutai War?" He asked, confused.
"Can't say." Alanna said, repeating Ryu.
"And Genesis looks like he dies of old age."Zack said.
"Yeeeaaahhhh, we can't talk about that..." Ryu muttered.
"What?"They all exclaimed. Ryu flopped onto her back and closed her eyes.
"You heard me." She retorted.
"I assume you'll keep us advised when you are allowed?" Tseng said. They all nodded.
"Of course, bossman." Ryu said. Tseng smiled slightly as he stood.
"Perhaps we should let them rest. Representatives of a goddess or not, they still have to work." He said. Genesis and Angeal helped Alanna and Mary to their feet. Reno pulled Ryu up and Rude grabbed Morgan's arm and hoisted him to his feet. Zack rushed over and pulled both Matti and Piper to their feet.
"Hey bossman." Ryu said. Tseng turned to look at her.
"Yes Ryu?"
"We might not be truly loyal to Shinra, but in the end all that really matters, is that we're gonna look out for the people we love both here and back home. It doesn't matter which world we're in, that'll never change." Tseng nodded his head.
"I know. I always knew that. I never expected less from you." He told them, smiling.
"And I expect you to continue doing so." He added, before he walked out the door, Cloud racing to catch up to him.
"I want to know why Nicole was there." Matti muttered to Ryu as he passed her. She nodded her head.
"Next time I'm in the office I'll get on it."
"Have your bug look into it too." He said.
"Bug?" CAGS asked.
"Spiders are bugs." Ryu muttered, as she and Morgan made their way to their room.
Ryu smiled at the sight of Gen carrying Alanna into his room. She had her arms looped around his neck and her head pillowed on his shoulder. Morgan wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"All's well that ends well?" He asked. Ryu nodded.
"Yeah, we survived this time. But we'll have to train Zack and Cloud just in case." She told him.
"Can we worry about that tomorrow. Enjoy the victory while we can." He told her. Ryu smiled.
"All right." She agreed, as he opened the door to their room.
"And tell the bug to not crawl around too much, I might throw things at her otherwise."
"I am not a bug." CAGS retorted. Ryu laughed and let herself sprawl on the bed.
Mary lay cuddled in Angeal's arm. Since she'd woken, he'd not let go of her.
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
"For what?" He asked, his cheek resting on the top of her head.
"For scaring you." He smiled gently.
"Is it not a fact of our existence we must accept?" He asked. She smiled.
"Poof." She murmured.
"Hm?" He asked, confused.
"Ryu and Alanna used to tease me about my fear of what's after death. That we might truly be so insignificant, such small tiny specks in the grand scheme that in the end we just go poof and there's nothing left of us, as if we never existed." She explained. "They'd sneak up behind me and whisper poof in my ear. But it did help me get over that fear." He smiled and gently squeezed her for a second.
"We are SOLDIERs, it is our job, our honor to lay down our lives for the greater good. Death is not something we should fear. And when we die, we join the lifestream, our energy returns to the planet." He told her, acting calm. She laughed and gently poked him in the side.
"Admit you were upset." She teased.
"Of course I was. I did think you were dead, and yes it hurt." He admitted. Mary snuggled up closer to him.
"I'm sorry that there's someone else pulling my strings and that I couldn't just be here to be with you." She admitted.
"Don't be, you're here that's all that matters." He told her honestly.
"I'm glad we came here, I got to be with you." Mary whispered as she fell asleep.
"There is no hate, only joy, For you are beloved by the goddess. Hero of the dawn, healer of worlds." Genesis muttered, as he set her down on the bed. Alanna let herself flop onto it with a groan.
"Do you really hate the goddess so much?" He asked. Alanna rolled onto her side. She explained to him, meeting his gaze.
"I don't like that she'd throw you, my friends, the others, the whole planet to the dogs if it means she wins." She sat up and cupped his face in her hands.
"Do you get that, Gen? To her we're all pawns and I don't like that. I don't like that at all." He nodded.
"I understand. I am glad you are alive, but perhaps you should address her more respectfully in the future. Maybe she'll want to keep you around, hmm? I would prefer if my bodyguard stuck around." He teased her. Alanna laughed.
"I had no intentions of dying, and we were going to make it so the Turks caught us." She told him. He grinned.
"As if I would let you leave me." He said arrogantly. Alanna laughed.
"You're so vain, Gen. You think you own the world." She told him. He smiled and stretched out by her side.
"No, I don't. When we saw the satellite image of all of you caught in the rubble, looking dead," He paused and ran his hand lightly over her arm, he swallowed nervously. "I thought I would give up everything, anything, if you'd just come back alive. I would have willing given up my life or LOVELESS." Alanna smiled.
"Gen, you're being so sweet." She scowled at him. "I don't trust it. I know come tomorrow you're gonna be throwing the orders around, you bossy man." She half teased him. He grinned.
"I know, but I wanted you to know that I was devastated."
"I assumed you were." She told him. He scowled at her. She smiled and kissed the tip of his nose, making him crinkle it.
"I know you love me, Genesis Rhapsodos."
"More than I do LOVELESS." He admitted.
Aerith stood in the church in the slums of Sector 5 and smiled. Her lips were glowing softly in the afternoon sun, as she clasped her hands over her heart and looked up through the hole in the roof.
What should I do? She thought at the planet.
Help them. The road ahead of them is long. Jenova will not give up so easily, her pawns are just beginning to move into place. While Minerva aids them for now, I cannot count on her. You are the last of the Cetra, it is you who must act as my voice with them. I can no longer speak to them. Gaia told her. Aerith bowed her head and nodded.
"I understand." She whispered.
...
A/N: This is the last chapter of Pawns. The next segment of the story will continue in 'Doppelgangers: Counter Attack'. That story should be posted very soon. We had considered keeping it all in one story, but it would get ridiculously long by the time we had finished. The basic structure of the story has already been built and is just being filled in and edited, but will be much longer than this. We are roughly a third of the way done (we think) and can really get into the interesting parts of the story starting soon. Hope you enjoy!