Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Who's John ShinRa? ❯ The Secret of Teioh ( Chapter 30 )

Chapter 30: The Secret of Teioh

 

Eight hours. Eight hours of his life gone, never to return again. Wasted sleeping in the bed of a dead woman who he had only met briefly and the only thing he could remember about her was that she was a bitch. Life could have been much better for Reno, but at least he was able to get some sleep. He needed more though and would have wasted a few more hours in the bed of the bitchy dead woman if his PHS hadn't woken him up.

 

That was the reason why Reno was walking down a dark alley near the military district. Not something that the normal person would want to do near dusk or any time of the day for that matter. There was hardly a soul in sight and it was justifiably so as the smells of sewage and vomit covered the alley in a putrid mist. At the end of the alley was a beat-up wooden shack with the initials W.C. carved into the door. A faded `Out of Order' sign was nailed underneath the letters. Reno stared at the dilapidated structure for a moment with lazy eyes.

 

“Tch. Just my luck,” he said before kicking the door open.

 

The inside looked surprisingly well kept, except for the duct tape sealing the toilet lid shut. Reno held his nose as he entered the stall and silently debated whether he should sit down or not. He opted to remain standing wrinkling his nose in disgust at the thought of what may lie hidden in the toilet that it had to be seal off with duct tape. Searching the small outhouse, he finally found the lever to flush the toilet. The rusted metal was barely hanging onto the wall and beyond repair. Sighing, Reno pushed the lever in until he heard a distinct click and then pulled it out twisting the knob to the right. A sharp hiss was the only warning he got before the floor jerked to the left and Reno was almost thrown against the wall as the wall spun around quickly to reveal another room behind the outhouse.

 

“You could've sat on the toilet.” A deep voice said in amusement.

 

Reno straightened himself eyeing the toilet seat warily. “Do you ever clean that thing?”

 

“No.”

 

“Well, it's a good thing I didn't.” Reno said as he looked around his surroundings. The room was sparse filled with only a few electronic devices and a light bulb that flickered on and off. “Nice place ya got here, Walt.”

 

“Stop being an ass, Reno. I live in a hole in the wall. By the way, since when did you shave your head?”

 

“Since I noticed that Rude could pick up more girls than I could,” Reno joked. “Besides, I haven't gone covert in a while. It's always nice to brush up on the stealth thing, though you're probably sick of it by now.”

 

Walter smirked. “I'm starting to see why Tseng picked you as his successor.”

 

“What, you doubted me? I'm hurt,” Reno put his hand over his heart in an act of pain. “But seriously. You've got the information I need?”

 

“I've got better than just the location of that prick you're tracking. It turns out that piece of shit found a nice little septic tank of shits to join his cause. Not only that, but this particular septic tank is located in one of the Junon barracks.”

 

“Damn, that's not good.”

 

“No shit!”

 

“So do you think I should try to plunge those shits out myself or do I need to call a plumber?”

 

“Kid, at a time like this, it's best to pull out the big guns before the shitty water overflows onto the bathroom floor,” Walt looked at Reno seriously. “Here are the details of the people he's working with and where they're camped out. I'll do my best to get out of your way, but those guys have been pissing me off and though I'm old, I've been aching for a good fight. Maybe this'll be the one.”

 

Reno looked at Walter with a grave expression. “Are you still hung-up on going for that warrior's death or some shit like that?”

 

Walter closed his eyes and sighed before answering. “Fuck Reno, I haven't killed a man since I had to kill my best-friend.”

 

“From what I heard from Tseng, Zangan wanted you to kill him. He said that it was an honorable death.”

 

Walter rubbed his forehead gently tracing the many wrinkles on his face. He was feeling his old age catch up to him. It was times like this where he could almost understand Zangan's feelings that day: almost. “It was. I shouldn't have been surprised when he came to me with his request. We both believed in following a warrior's code of life.”

 

“Not much of a life if you have to ask your friend to kill you in a fight to the death.”

 

“It may not seem like much to you, but that's the life we both choose. Hell, haven't you ever considered dying in the heat of battle by a worthy opponent? That's the only way a hardened soldier should die.”

 

“Nah, I follow the wino's code of life. My ideal is to die getting wasted and choking on my own vomit while I'm still in my prime,” Reno said with a smirk. “That whole dying in battle stuff cramps my style. Plus, I think Rude loves me too much to be able to do me in.”

 

Walter scoffed. The two men stared at each other for a moment before the older man started to chuckle. “Only the good die young Reno. Besides, I hear that death by choking is rather painful.”

 

Reno shrugged. “That's okay. I think my second option would be for me to have a heart attack while banging a hot babe. So would something like that count as a warrior's death? I mean, there's definitely some heated stuff going on if you know what I mean.”

 

“No. But I think it could be labeled as a good death,” Walter smiled with a wink.

 

* * *

 

The atmosphere was tense. To say that Rufus ShinRa was nervous had to be the biggest understatement of the year. His stomach was twisted in knots as he checked and rechecked his equipment. If he only had to prepare for a confrontation with Chaos that may potentially lead to destroying the monster, he could handle that. If he only had to mentally prepare for a race with the reigning undefeated champion of chocobo racing, he could handle that. But the fact that he had to do both in one night was grating on his nerves.

 

“Hey, you nervous man?” Ace asked as he waxed his board blade.

 

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” Rufus's voice wavered.

 

“Don't sweat it man. You're cool. It'll be okay. If you need some last minute advice or anything, I'm game.”

 

Rufus gazed at the relaxed teen and wondered how he managed to remain calm throughout this ordeal. He didn't think that any advice from him would be worth his time, but he had nothing to lose. As long as he didn't have to smoke or inhale any illegal substances, he'd take any advice to clam his nerves: even Ace's. “So what's your advice?”

 

Ace gave a goofy grin before he answered. “Picture everyone in their underwear.”

 

Rufus stared at Ace for a second surmising that the boy had probably been dropped as a child. “What?”

 

“Picture everyone in their underwear. Trust me, it works.”

 

He didn't want to think too hard about Ace's advice. It certainly was something that Rufus wouldn't put past the hormonal teenage boy to do in his spare time whether he was trying to quell his nerves or not. Before he had any time to berate Ace about the unethical nature of his suggestion, Yuffie and Tifa entered the jockey staging area.

 

“Hey guys, you all ready to kick some demon butt!” Yuffie said exuberantly.

 

“You bet we are babe.” Ace smirked as he put the finishing touches to his board-blade.

 

Tifa turned to Rufus and gave him a reassuring smile. Upon seeing the busty martial artist, Rufus's thoughts lingered back to what Ace said and he silently wondered what Tifa looked like in a black, lacy bra.

 

“John, is something the matter? You look a little flustered?” Tifa asked.

 

Rufus snapped out of his silent musing and forced himself to look Tifa in the eyes. “Oh nothing! Just nervous.”

 

Tifa smiled as she pat him on the shoulder. “Don't worry, you'll do fine.”

 

She was completely unaware that her male companion was trying to picture her in something red and dangerously suggestive. Rufus made a mental note to punch Ace in the face for corrupting him and then later buy him a new board-blade to thank him.

 

“Tifa, John! Come on! I gotta show you your chocobos!” Yuffie said as she waved to get their attention.

 

Before them stood four chocobos warking in their stalls as they waited for the start of the `Weakest Chocobo' races. Two of the chocobos were looking around wildly as if they had a pot of coffee to drink mixed with a bag of sugar, or maybe two. The largest chocobo stood idly as it grazed on some greens nearby. The last chocobo warked happily as it stood there patiently waiting for the race like a well-bred racing chocobo should.

 

“Well, here they are guys! The two bouncy chocobos are Glue and Cannon Fodder. I gave them some hypers so they'll be ready for the race,” Yuffie smirked.

 

“Isn't that illegal under racing regulations?” Rufus asked.

 

“Yeah, but we're not racing to win so it's okay,” Yuffie shrugged. “The big chocobo pigging out on greens is Dog Food. I'm sure he'll be big enough for you to ride on.”

 

Ace looked up at the large chocobo curiously. “Are you sure this is a chocobo and not some giant mutant chocobo or anything?”

 

“He is kinda big,” Tifa wondered.

 

“I don't question these things. They just showed me which chocobos are racing and I figured that they wouldn't let giant mutant chocobos race so, whatever.” Yuffie dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand. “Now this beauty is the chocobo that John gets to ride on. John meet Princess Angelina.”

 

The chocobo warked happily upon hearing her name as she gave Rufus a friendly nudge. Rufus stared at the chocobo skeptically wondering who in their right mind would give a racing chocobo such a childish name.

 

“Princess Angelina? What kind of a name is that? Yuffie, can I get another chocobo to ride on?” Rufus complained.

 

“Um, no.”

 

“Better than the name Dog Food. I would name named this guy Chocozilla,” Ace said offhandedly.

 

“And that's why you fail in life as a human being,” Rufus shot back. “Seriously Yuffie, can I switch chocobos or something? Maybe I can ride Dog Food and Ace can take the Princess.”

 

Yuffie stared at John skeptically. “Dude, John. Do you seriously think that Princess Angelina can really hold Ace's weight especially considering that he's like a mini-Dio?”

 

“Well no. But, why'd they have to name their chocobo Princess Angelina? Why can't it be something strong and manly like `Warhammer' or `Bone-crusher'?” Rufus ranted, not paying attention to Tifa giggling behind his back.

 

“Well John, why don't you tell that to the little girl standing next to you?” Tifa asked coyly.

 

“Excuse me Mister?” A curly-haired blonde girl asked in a sweet voice.

 

“Yes, how can I help you?” Rufus asked, bending down so he was eye-to-eye with the young girl.

 

“Are you the one riding Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca the Third?”

 

Rufus paused and looked up at Princess Angelina who warked happily nearby. “Um, yeah. I am. And who are you?”

 

“My name's Dot.”

 

“Well hello Dot. My name's John.”

 

“I like you Mister John. I think you're gonna win. My Daddy won't let me watch the races cause I'm too little, but he let me name this chocobo.” Dot grinned widely.

 

“Oh, so you named this chocobo?”

 

“Yeah, isn't it a beautiful name?”

 

Rufus paused. “It's very beautiful, Dot. The prettiest name out there for chocobos. A nice strong name.” Rufus said as he cringed. Tifa and Yuffie's constant giggling didn't help the situation.

 

“I thought so too. Daddy let me name her when she was born. This is going to be Princess Angelina's first race ever. I hope you win tonight Mister. Good luck!” Dot stood on her toes and planted a kiss on Rufus's cheek before scampering off.

 

“So what were you saying again about Princess Angelina's name?” Tifa smirked.

 

“Nothing.” Rufus blushed as he rubbed his cheek.

 

“Aw, how sweet! John got a good luck kiss from a cute little girl,” Yuffie teased.

 

Tifa and Yuffie laughed while Ace merely shrugged as he muttered under his breath about not understanding women. Rufus grumbled to himself crossing his arms and purposely ignoring Princess Angelina's love bites on his shoulder.

 

“Okay guys, enough of the chit-chat. It looks like we're going to be on in a few minutes so let's start getting ready for battle,” Tifa said. “Remember, we need to disable his wings. Once we do that we can fight him on even ground. John and Yuffie, I'm relying on you two to take him down, once that happens Ace and I can join the fray. Are we clear?”

 

“Roger,” Rufus and Ace answered.

 

“Roger dodger!” Yuffie chirped.

 

The group stayed silent as they rounded their chocobos to the starting line. Colorful hues and lights did nothing to distract them from the mission. Each of them were mentally preparing for the fight and recollecting the various places where Yuffie planted traps on the track. The two rider-less chocobos warked nervously nearby. The other chocobos were fairing slightly better, feeling comforted by the presence of a rider or the effects of drugs. Princess Angelina was the only chocobo to wark excitedly at the starting line, having never raced in the `Weakest Chocobo' races before.

 

Outside, bystanders were curious as to why there were four people riding on the chocobos tonight. They watched the screen murmuring with each other or silently praying that neither of the two attractive women in the race got hurt. Leaning against a wall, a certain champion chocobo-racer dressed all in black wished for the painful demise of a tall member of the group who he was scheduled to race tonight.

 

Viewers watched as the camera showed the intensity in each of the rider's faces. The announcer's voice was charged with anxiety as he gave the audience the details of tonight's race. There was a new entry for gamblers to place their bets on: Chaos. So far the odds were 1 to 10 in favor of him getting killed tonight. Though on the flip-side, a few shady bookies were taking bets for the four-man AVALANCHE team biting the dust. So far odds were 1 to 4.

 

The buzz of bystanders began to die down as everyone waited in anticipation for the main attraction to arrive. The television cameras showed the hole that Chaos used to enter the race tracks. A newly built metal door was installed next to the hole, programmed to seal the hole with a push of a button. But the spectators weren't interested in the new door; they were interested in the dark being that flew into Gold Saucer with a hungry roar.

 

The spectators watched silently as they saw the line of chocobos rush forward along the track. The sounds of gunshots and battle-cries echoed off the screen. Blurs of movement flashed almost too fast for the spectators to follow. Chaos bobbed and weaved through the air dodging the bullets and shurikens that nicked his body. He was nearly snagged by a booby-trap that had been set on the ground as the beast ripped through the ropes and wire. The demon swooped down towards Ace and tried to swipe at the teenager. Luckily for Ace, the large board-blade that the teen carried deflected the attack, but it didn't spare him from getting knocked off of his chocobo.

 

“Ace!” Yuffie shrieked fearing for her boyfriend's life.

 

Ace grunted as he lay flat on his back before he felt a sharp shooting pain on his left leg and several ropes tying him down to the ground after springing one of Yuffie's traps. He screamed thinking the worse had happened and Chaos had ripped off one of his legs. Timidly, he looked up and saw the dark beady eyes of his chocobo, Dogfood as the dumb beast sat on Ace's left leg and sniffed the boy's dirty-blonde hair in worry. The spectators winced watching the scene broadcast in the betting arena. Seeing a rare opportunity, Chaos tried to sweep down again for either the boy or the fat chocobo, but was blocked by a speeding bullet to the shoulder.

 

Chaos turned to glare at Rufus who was readying his shotgun for another shot. Before either could execute an attack, Tifa and an angry Yuffie came up from behind Chaos, surprising him with a combination of fists and ninjutsu. The fight appeared to be in favor of the AVALANCHE team. Rufus pulled out the Death Penalty and took careful aim as he watched Chaos fighting between his teammates. The demon sensed the danger he was in and snarled wildly as he attacked the two annoying women.

 

The events that occurred next were like a blur. Chocobo fluff floated in the air as the two rider-less chocobos ran around in a panic. The spectators held their breath as they watched Rufus squeeze the trigger on the large rifle. Chaos was trapped between Tifa's kicks and Yuffie's shuriken. Someone was going to fall tonight and everyone knew it. In the split second it took for the bullet to reach its target, Chaos had somehow grabbed one of the panicked chocobos and used the poor beast as his shield. Maintaining his grip on the chocobo, he swung wildly at Tifa and Yuffie before throwing the animal at Rufus. In the moment of confusion, Chaos took that brief opportunity to fly out of the arena grasping his injured shoulder.

 

Outside, a few spectators cheered as they watched Chaos fly away through the hole as the metal door shut behind him. Several others ripped their tickets in frustration, resigned to the fact that they had lost another round of betting. Against the wall, Joe snorted in disgust hoping that his rival would have at least been hit by the chocobo thrown at him. The black-clad man walked away to the stables to make a few more adjustments before the start of his race.

 

On the racetracks, the AVALANCHE members were licking their wounds after the small victory they achieved. A medical team had already dragged the injured Ace away on a stretcher while mechanics sealed the metal door shut with blowtorches. The chocobos were being led away by their handlers who calmed them down with a few greens after their exciting night. Yuffie was frazzled looking back and forth between running to look after her boyfriend and making sure that the clean-up crew didn't accidentally set-off one of her traps. The plan wasn't a complete success, but it wasn't a failure either.

 

“Well, it looks like we were only able to chase him away. At least there weren't any casualties.” Tifa said as she surveyed the damage.

 

“No casualties? What about poor, You Should Be Shot? Chaos used him as a shield against John's attack. Don't you care about the life of a chocobo anymore? Or how about poor Ace? He could've been killed? What if they have to chop off his leg or something? What's going to happen to him?” Yuffie said in a panic.

 

“Yuffie, I didn't mean,” Tifa sighed. She pulled Yuffie into a hug and held her while the young ninja started to cry. “Shh! Ace will be fine. He's a big boy. You don't want him to see you like this, right?” Tifa cooed.

 

Rufus stood and watched the two women feeling frustrated with himself. To him, the mission was a failure. He had underestimated Chaos's speed and agility. His shots barely hurt the monster and though he saved Ace from an early death, Chaos was still at large. Rufus kicked the ground in agitation. “Fuck!”

 

“John, calm down! You have a race you need to get ready for and it's not going to help if you're pissed off.” Tifa shouted. She was still holding Yuffie keeping the young girl from breaking down, she didn't want to have to deal with another emotional teammate. “Things could have gotten much worse than they turned out. I should know.”

 

“Sorry about that. I'm just so angry at myself,” Rufus sighed. His face softened with concern when he thought about whether Ace was seriously injured and seeing Yuffie's grief over it. “How's Yuffie holding up?”

 

“I'm fine! Yeah, I'm fine.” Yuffie said waving her hand around as if it was the most natural thing in the world for her to do. Her words and gestures did nothing to convince her teammates, but the fact that she was pulling herself together was a good start.

 

Tifa wanted to stay with Yuffie a little longer to make sure the young girl was fine, but one of the Gold Saucer employees needed her to give Dio a report on the situation and then they needed to clear the track for the upcoming race against Joe. There were too many things running through Tifa's mind. Was Ace going to be alright? Was John mentally prepared for his race? Would Yuffie be okay?

 

“Yuffie, I'm going to go on up and report to Dio.” Tifa smiled at the girl. “John, do you think you'll be ready for the race?”

 

Rufus nodded as he pursed his lips in concentration. Somewhat satisfied, Tifa left the racetrack glancing back every now and then before exiting the area completely.

 

“Yeah, take care Tifa. I need to like, disarm all those traps and stuff.” Yuffie sniffed as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

 

Rufus remembered the plan he developed for his race with Joe. Quickly collecting himself, he walked over to the ninja. “Hey Yuffie, can I talk to you for a minute?”

 

“What?” Yuffie asked as Rufus bent down to whisper something into her ear. Her depression slowly lifted and her face brightened as she listened to her friend. By the end of the conversation, Yuffie had a twinkle in her eye and a grin that would put make any conniving thief proud. Someone was going down.

 

* * *

 

“So Jagger? Where're we headed to?” Shorty asked.

 

“I don't know and I don't care.”

 

Jagger wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. After having his pride stomped on by a middle-age woman no less, he wanted to get as far away from Fort Condor as possible. He had tried venting his frustrations on the local wildlife, but that didn't help quell the pent up rage. Jagger was near the boiling point and if he didn't find a release soon, he would explode.

 

“Hey Jagger!”

 

“WHAT!”

 

The man near the back of the pack paused before finally speaking again. “I see a bunch of people over there and was wondering if we could take a break and check it out or something,” the man's voice faltered.

 

Jagger looked over to where the man was pointing and saw a large crowd gathered around a certain spot. He raised his arm up and slowed his bike as the rest of the Red Riders stopped and stretched their legs. The crowd itself wasn't interesting as Jagger thought they were only pilgrims. However, what peaked his curiosity as well as his gang were the mounds of gifts and offerings that were piled nearby a large burnt pile of wood. Food, jewelry, wine and flowers taunted the tired bikers. Jagger's lips curled up in a predatory grin. It had been a while since the Red Riders had had any real fun.

 

“Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?” Jagger asked his gang.

 

“Yeah!”

 

Jagger smirked as he turned his bike towards the crowd. “Red Riders, let's roll!”

 

The bikers whooped and walloped as they took out their weapons and rode towards the crowd. The screams of panic echoed across the plains as the pilgrims ran off in different directions trying to avoid the pack of men. Jagger relished in the pain he was causing as he swung his baseball bat around striking people relentlessly. The fresh scent of blood and gasoline filled his nostrils as the sounds of anguish mixed with the sputter of motorcycles sang in his ear. It was absolutely horrifying and Jagger smiled.

 

Glancing at the pile of gifts, he smirked seeing that some of his men were already picking through it like children at a candy store. Shorty had found some bottles of vodka lying in the pile and tossed one over to Jagger before helping himself to the loot. Jagger took the vodka graciously as he gulped the burning liquid down. He looked around the plains to see a most of the pilgrims had run off or had been beaten within an inch of their life. There were a few brave people huddled together standing defiantly in front of the burnt heap. Jagger glared at them as took large calculating steps closer.

 

One man stood forward and spoke with fear evident in his eyes. “Please don't desecrate the sacred grave. You can take the offerings if you want, just ask your men not to destroy the grave.”

 

Jagger shook his head as he proceeded to walk forward. “We would have taken the goods even if you didn't ask. And by the way,” Jagger said in a low voice. He quickly grabbed the man by the collar and raised him up high in the air. “No one bosses around the Red Riders.”

 

“Hey, what about those Wuta--” One of the more incompetent members of the gang was about to say before Jagger threw the poor man he was holding at his gang member.

 

The remaining pilgrims huddled closer together in front of the grave staring wide-eyed at Jagger. Jagger merely sneered at them as he got into their faces.

 

“So who's grave are you pathetic people protecting, huh?”

 

“Cl-Cloud Strife, sir.” A woman meekly replied.

 

“Cloud Strife? What the hell did he ever do?”

 

Jagger pushed the woman aside to look at the grave. What he saw marveled him as he drowned out the voices of people telling him about the savior of the world and destroyer of Sephiroth. In the middle of the burnt pile of wood and flesh was the most beautiful sword he had ever laid eyes on. The blade was a vibrant blue crystal fitted to a dark silver handle covered with ancient markings. The brilliant blue glow hummed, practically luring his body closer to the grave. He moved forward as if in a trance stretching his hand closer to the object of his desires. Stepping on top of the burnt rubble, he frowned seeing the handle grasped tightly in the fingers of the burnt corpse. Reaching forward, he began to pry the sword away, oblivious to the negative energy circling him.

 

The winds howled as the biting frost crackled around him. It was as if the planet itself was trying to tell Jagger to stop his lunacy, but Jagger didn't listen as the glowing blue crystal enchanted him. The light was intense as it surrounded the burnt embers of the man the pilgrims were worshipping. Jagger finally loosened the sword out of the corpse's hands and watched as the glow slowly dissipated, as if it was asleep. The chilled wind whipped around him as if it was trying to blow the sword away from the man, but Jagger ignored this. All he cared about was the crystalline sword that he was not going to see go to waste being worshipped by a group of pilgrims. Though the glow that attracted him to the sword had now vanished, it was still beautiful.

 

After the trance was over, he finally felt the tugs of the pilgrims pulling on his arm. They were begging him to return the sword. He didn't want to return it. The sword was his now and no dead man had any use for it. The sword suddenly started to hum and a red hue formed around the crystal blade. The ancient writing on the hilt glowed momentarily as if the sword were waking up. The color swirled around inside the crystal as red overpowered blue and darkened the once brilliant blade. Jagger watched the change with morbid fascination ignoring what was going on around him. The air crackled with negative energy, swirling in heavy tones. Then something in Jagger snapped.

 

In a sweeping motion, he swung the sword down and marveled at how the man in front of him split in two so easily. The drops of blood swirled with the red glow in an enticing blend of raw energy. Jagger lifted the sword and swung it over and over and over again. He tore through the crowd caught up in the frenzied lust for death. He couldn't hear the screams of panic or pain. All he could hear were the sounds of the blade ripping through flesh and bone. The splatter of warm blood soaked his skin drenching his black leather vest. He felt electrified. A part of him came alive as he sliced through the air cutting up anything and anyone in his path. Jagger had developed a taste for blood and he was addicted.

 

Gazing at the bloodied plains, he marveled how things looked different when they were coated in a sheen of red. It had started raining a few minutes ago, but Jagger didn't even notice as he watched the red dissipate with the falling rainwater. A few of his gang members gazed at him warily as they heard him cackle. His laughter soon rose until it filled the plains as the sounds of thunder rumbled in the sky.

 

“H-hey, Jagger? You okay man?” Shorty hesitantly asked as he stood a safe distance away from the blood-soaked leader.

 

Jagger took a deep breath as turned his attention to his lackey. Shorty winced under Jagger's gaze. “I think things are looking up for me Shorty. Things are looking way up.” Jagger grinned, watching the sword pulse with a wicked glow before fading to a dull maroon.

 

* * *

 

The betting arena was again filled with eager gamblers waging vast sums of money on a 50/50 chance of hitting it rich. A majority of the gamblers placed their bets on the undefeated champion Joe and Teioh as a surefire win. A few risk takers decided to bet on the underdog John and Mortius, hoping that they might strike gold. Squeezed into the small security booth, Tifa and Yuffie sat next to Ester who was talking over the radio making sure that all the details for the race were set. The young ninja was busy typing messages to Ace through her PHS while Tifa watched the six different television screens relaying the images of the two racers waiting patiently for the start of the race.

 

“I'm so nervous Yuffie, do you think he'll win?” Tifa asked.

 

Yuffie didn't even look up from her phone when she answered. “Of course he'll win Tifa. John's the good guy and Joe's the bad guy and as we all know, the good guys always win.”

 

“Yeah, I guess.” Tifa sighed as she turned to Yuffie. “So how's Ace holding up?”

 

“His leg is broken in two places. The last message he sent said that there's nothing else wrong with him besides the broken leg and the breaks were clean. Aw, isn't he so sweet! He just messaged me saying that he wants me to be his personal nurse and that I would make the cutest nurse ever!” Yuffie squealed as she continued typing messages on her phone.

 

Tifa smiled watching the love-struck girl. “That is cute. Are you sure you don't want to be by his side right now? I think I can handle things down here.”

 

“Oh, don't worry Boobs! I wouldn't miss this race even if there was a one-day sale on rare materia.” Yuffie said with a twinkle in her eye. “You might want to pay attention to the monitors now. The race is gonna start soon.”

 

 

Deep within the gold-plated confines of the Gold Saucer, two men sat on their chocobos consciously ignoring each other. The air was electrified with tension. Even the two chocobos could sense the conflict between their two riders as they occasionally hissed at one another. The sounds of spectators roared through the speakers spread out through the track. But the noise was only like a faint buzzing to the two men preparing themselves for a fight. Rufus eyed Joe suspiciously with disdain. He wished he had his shotgun so he could blow the smug look off of Joe's face.

 

“Ready to lose?” Joe smirked.

 

“I'm not the one who's gonna lose.” Rufus glared at the man before he whispered in a low voice only Joe could hear. “I know Teioh's secret.”

 

Joe stared at Rufus with a startled expression. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

 

“Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm talking about.”

 

“Even if you do know this so called secret, do you have any proof? I highly doubt it.”

 

Rufus glared back. I don't have any now, but I will.

 

Both racers maneuvered their chocobos to the starting line. The room was filled with excitement ready to teeter over the edge. Both could barely hear the cheering of the crowds or the drone of the announcer's voice. Neither moved or even breathed until the sound of the starting gun fired through the air and the pair sprinted down the race track.

 

The two chocobos pumped their legs up and down briskly, almost flying as they sped down the track. They were neck-in-neck during the first leg of the race. Joe and Rufus glared at each other, focusing all their energy into beating the other. Occasionally, one of the chocobos would inch forward a bit more than the other, but that lead would shortly be erased as the other would take lead. The pattern repeated itself over and over again throughout the first half of the race.

 

Joe turned his head to Rufus and smirked as if he knew something that his competitor didn't. The champion chocobo-racer briefly checked his watch and pushed a few buttons before the chocobos made it to the mid-point of the race. Rufus watched impassively as Joe pulled Teioh forward steadily increasing the lead he had. Rufus knew that this was going to happen. Smiling to himself, he kept Mortius moving at a reasonable pace making sure to conserve some energy for the final stretch. Fans cheered as Teioh pulled forward gaining a solid lead. In the security booth, Tifa bit hard on her lip in worry.

 

They were now crossing the rickety bridge leading up to the final stretch. As Teioh reached the bridge, Joe felt their speed decrease slightly thinking the uneven logs were proving to be troublesome to cross. Their speed gradually picked up again and Joe had a triumphant gleam in his eye. He took the time to look back and see how far his opponent was trailing him, but was shocked to see blue-eyes glaring back at him as Mortius slowly closed the gap between the pair. Joe scowled and checked his watch again. Seeing the translucent track up ahead, he focused on pushing Teioh to the limit so he could cross the finish line first. It never occurred to him that there was a reason why Mortius was catching up to him or that the sounds of the crowds had died down to an eerie silence. All Joe was reaching for was the finish line and that was all that he got.

 

Jumping off of Teioh, Joe walked up to Rufus who had crossed the finish line only a second later. “Looks like I get to keep my title as the undefeated champion and I win the rights to Sabina.”

 

Rufus dismounted Mortius with a smirk on his lips. He looked at Joe impassively as he pointed down at Teioh's feet. “I think you ought to reassess that claim.”

 

Joe gazed down at Teioh's feet and felt his jaw drop at the sight. The animal's feet had broken ropes and wires hanging off of it as well as a bear trap snapped tightly around Teioh's left foot. There were even shurikens stuck onto various parts of the chocobo's legs. Traces of a dull gray metal could be seen shining through the large bird's black legs around the sharp teeth of the bear trap while Teioh warked nervously. It was in this moment that Joe finally noticed the lack of the cheering crowds or chocobo handlers rushing forward to congratulate him on a job well done. Instead, he was greeted by the shocked gazes of the spectators and the two frowning faces of Dio and Ester rushing onto the track. Ester raced past Joe heading towards Teioh while Dio grabbed Joe by the collar and lifted him up in the air.

 

“Boy, you have a lot of explaining to do,” Dio seethed.

 

Joe held his hands out in front of him, his feet kicking helplessly in the air. “Look Dio. It's not what it seems. There's a perfectly logical explanation for everything.”

 

“I don't think so Joe!” Ester said. “You implanted mechanical legs made out of titanium onto Teioh. You should know more than anyone else that that's illegal.”

 

“You've been cheating for years in the races, haven't ya boy?” Dio asked tightening the grip on Joe's collar.

 

“What? No!” Joe panicked. “I only did it for this race. Honest.”

 

“Wrong answer!” Rufus said as he stood next to Mortius. “You've had Teioh implanted with those legs for over a year now, maybe longer.”

 

Dio released Joe in shock as the chocobo racer fell onto the floor in a pathetic heap.

 

Joe coughed rubbing his sore neck before glaring at Rufus as he stood. “And how would you know? None of you can prove it, can you?”

 

“But I can.” Rufus said with a smirk before he turned towards Ester. “Dio, Ester. Up in the video room are a stack of tapes of Joe's races. If you watch carefully, you'll notice Joe checking his watch mid-way through the race whenever Teioh suddenly picks up speed and takes the lead. I believe Joe's been using his watch to control the speed of Teioh's legs.”

 

“That doesn't prove anything. I could just be checking my watch to time Teioh's speed.”

 

“Then how do you explain what happened during last year's spring festival race?” Rufus asked as he crossed his arms.

 

“It was just another race. The competition lost, I won. What more is there to say about it?”

 

Ester glared at Joe for a second before speaking. “Joe, you only won because one of the falling logs on the waterfall bridge accidentally fell onto the track and injured the other chocobos. We had to put down half of them because they weren't suitable to race anymore.”

 

“Not my problem,” Joe snorted.

 

“Well, it should have been,” Rufus said. “I recommend you review the tape on that race and you'll find that upon careful inspection, Teioh should have been crippled in that race by the falling log but wasn't. Instead he barreled through the log like running through air. Care to explain that?”

 

Joe stepped back looking around for any means of escape. Finding none, he shrugged his shoulders pitifully. “He's very resilient? Listen, Teioh's still fully functional so despite the circumstances I still think we could come to an agreement and keep Teioh's claim to mate with Sabina. They'd breed some great kids and their legs will be real. What do you say?”

 

“I think I've heard enough. Ester, take Teioh and keep him locked up in the stables so we can inspect him later. Boy, I'd like you to meet my two new security guards, Mukki and Bubbles.” Dio stepped off to the side to reveal two heavily built men wearing nothing but a pink thong, a bowtie and a smile. “Mukki, Bubbles, take this boy away.”

 

“With pleasure Dio,” Mukki said as he licked his lips.

 

Joe struggled to fight off the two burly men, but he was no match. The last anyone had heard from Joe, the former chocobo racing champion, he was seen kicking and screaming while the two bodybuilders dragged him away. Needless to say, nobody missed him.

 

Rufus breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that the ordeal was finally over. He barely heard the sound of two people barreling towards him. Rufus nearly fell over as both Tifa and Yuffie jumped onto him enveloping him in a group hug. Letting the excitement of the situation get to him, he kept both girls in his arms and twirled them around until they were all laughing joyously.

 

“John that was so totally awesome! Don't my traps rock?” Yuffie jumped off of the man and pounded her fist in the air.

 

“That was amazing. I never knew that Joe was cheating the whole time. What you did out there was absolutely brilliant!” Tifa smiled.

 

“Hey, I told you I would win and since he cheated, I win by default.” Rufus said as he ran his hands through his hair.

 

“So I guess it helped to review those tapes like you wanted. It looks like you really found his weakness. But if you knew about it, why did you keep it to yourself until the race?”

 

“Tifa, men like that should never be treated lightly. They need to be taken down in one fell swoop so to never rise again. Also, if I could do this again, it wouldn't change a thing. Just the look of horror on Joe's face was enough to placate me. Especially when he was dragged away by Dio's,” Rufus coughed and bent down to whisper into Tifa's ear. “ . . . personal guards.”

 

Tifa held her hand over her mouth and giggled. Her face was flushed with a tint of red creeping up her cheeks. “Remind me never to piss you off. I'd hate to see what torture you could come up with for me.”

 

“Who me?” Rufus tried to look innocent. “Why, I would never think of doing anything to offend an innocent woman like yourself. Of course, unless you have some deep dark secret you're waiting for me to exploit?”

 

“I know one! She has the hots for--” Yuffie tried to say, but was cut off promptly by Tifa's hand over the young girl's mouth.

 

“Yuffie!” Tifa screamed, her face even more flushed than before.

 

The two women bickered back and forth like sisters and Rufus couldn't help but smile. Suddenly his thoughts wandered to the advice Ace gave him before their fight with Chaos and his smile grew even wider as he watched the pair. It was times like these when he could have considered Ace a pure genius.

 

* * *

 

General Matthews frowned as he read over the reports in his hands. His frown only deepened as he looked at the bald-headed man in front of him. “Are you certain that these are accurate?”

 

“I got them from Walter himself. He's itching for a fight by the way,” Reno answered coolly.

 

“Tell him permission granted.” General Matthews said as he opened a drawer and reached for some files. “I won't be able to give you many men as back-up. From the look of things, morale is very low and I don't want to create a situation where my soldiers end up betraying us in the middle of battle. There is a group of men that I do trust and can join you in the fight, but I think that is all I can offer you.”

 

Reno nodded his head. “Reasonable. I'll have Rude and Elena with me so between us and Walt, we should be able to pull the plug before they get out of hand. It is our job after all.”

 

General Matthews smirked before passing a few files over to Reno. “Here are the files on the men I was talking to you about. They were hand picked by me to form a group similar to the Turks in case the need for them ever arose. As things stand, their talents are going to waste training, but I think you could put them to good use. They'd make great Turks if you feel the time's right for recruiting cause quite frankly, that's what they are.”

 

Reno flipped through the file skimming through the different profiles of soldiers. “Did Tseng know about this?”

 

“Yes, he knew. He probably never got the chance to tell you about it before he was killed. The group wasn't supposed to officially form until the right time.”

 

“You mean when Rufus got hitched.” Reno said bluntly.

 

General Matthews nodded. “Exactly.”

 

“Did Rufus ever know you were forming a group called `The Queen's Guards'?”

 

“No, he didn't. Believe it or not, it was a suggestion from Augustus ShinRa for me to form this group when Rufus turned eighteen.”

 

Reno's jaw dropped. “You mean the old fat bastard suggested this? I thought he hated Rufus?”

 

“I was just as surprised when I was given the order a few years ago. But Augustus ShinRa certainly gave me a convincing argument at the time.”

 

“Well yeah, I mean it's common knowledge that the families of important people get targeted for kidnappings and assassinations, but Rufus wasn't even dating anyone before he vanished. I don't even think he considered getting married.”

 

“Scarlet.”

 

Reno looked at General Matthews slightly baffled. “Huh?”

 

“Scarlet, head of Weapons Development. She was the main reason the group was formed.” General Matthews stated simply. “Augustus ShinRa may have been a lecherous man, but he also knew which women were dangerous to him and his company. He wanted to preserve the ShinRa name and its heirs and Scarlet was proving to become a danger.”

 

Reno paused as he nodded his head slowly in understanding. “Makes sense. She was trying to get into Rufus's pants and would be willing to kill anyone who stood in her way. She was too valuable as an employee for him to kill her off. But wasn't she like in her forties or fifties? That's kinda gross.”

 

The General sighed remembering how much easier meetings like this were when Tseng was still leader of the Turks. “Reno, is there any other information or things you need before the start of your mission?”

 

“No sir. I'll head on out and take care of things. I'll report back when the mission is completed.” Reno quickly saluted and left the office knowing that it wasn't time to goof around the General anymore.

 

He walked down the hall with purpose lettings his aquamarine eyes glint dangerously in the dim lighting. Making his way to the room he and Rude had agreed on earlier, he entered and smirked seeing Rude nod his way and Elena look at him with a confused expression on her face. That expression was short lived as her eyes widened and she pointed her finger at him in an accusing manner.

 

“You! You dirty little bastard! What the hell did you do to your hair?”

 

“What? You didn't hear? Rude and I became brothers!” Reno said with a smile as he put his arms around Rude. Rude only looked at Reno briefly before he stared at Elena and shrugged.

 

“Reno, you have a lot of nerve drugging me and then running off on a covert mission. You'd better have some damn results from your little escapade or there's gonna be hell to pay.” Elena slammed her fist on a nearby table.

 

“Hey save it for the bad guys, Elena. We've got a mission to do.” Reno said as he threw the files over to Rude. “Rude, those are the files of the guys who'll be joining us. Go ahead and gather them up and give them a quick briefing. Brief them as if they were Turks. Meet me here in half-an-hour and I'll have the weapons ready for everyone.”

 

Rude nodded his head and walked out of the room silently.

 

“Elena.”

 

“What Reno! Are you going to bench me on the sidelines or ask me to wear a pink dress to distract the enemies?” Elena huffed, still angry at her teammate. “Or are you going to drug me up again and laugh at how pathetic I am.”

 

“No.” Reno smirked as he handed her a loaded pistol from his jacket. “I want you to remember to watch your back. It's an important mission so we have to be sharp. Every shot counts so show me what you've got.”

 

“Reno . . . I,” Elena flustered before raising her hand up in a salute. “Yes, sir.”

 

“That's my girl.” Reno winked. “Okay, here are the details . . .”

 

* * *

 

It had been a few days since they had fought Chaos and effectively banished him from the amusement park. Dio had started donating proceeds from Gold Saucer to ShinRa and kept true to his word about not tarnishing Cloud's name. Tifa had a feeling that her business savvy friend John had a hand in that. His victory over Joe was a huge relief to her. Unconsciously, she stroked Sabina's mane as she stood watching the horizon, lost in her thoughts.

 

AVALANCHE had learned that Chaos was spotted somewhere near Mount Nibel and they were preparing to leave. The mere idea of returning to her old hometown brought a shiver to Tifa's spine. Nibelheim wasn't home for her anymore. Last she visited the place, it felt more foreign to her than any of the other towns she encountered. She wasn't looking forward to seeing it again. Turning to her companions, she saw Yuffie kissing Ace good-bye as the teenager stood on his crutches. The scene was almost too cute for words. She hated to leave Ace behind, but he needed to heal his broken leg and Yuffie didn't need any distractions while they were on their journey.

 

Tifa closed her eyes thinking back to how long it had been since she started on this adventure of saving the world. She couldn't fathom how things would have turned out if she hadn't agreed to join AVALANCHE; hadn't convinced Cloud to help save the planet; and hadn't promised herself to do everything in her power to rid the world of whatever evil was plaguing it. The sounds of Yuffie's cheerful voice brought a smile to her lips as she opened her eyes. Yuffie waved to Tifa while Ace gave her a thumbs-up. Nearby, the man named John Woolfe stood with a smile on his face and a shotgun slung over his shoulder. At least she wasn't fighting alone. She and everyone else on this planet were fighting to make things right and for that, Tifa was grateful.

 

“Ready to go?” Rufus asked with a playful look on his face.

 

Tifa smiled to him and turned to look over onto the horizon. “Yeah, let's go.”