Evolution of a Turk

The warnings remain the same: MPREG and Reno's dirty mouth, and a very quick (joking) reference to unrequited Rufus/Tseng and crossdressing. I'm using some of the in-game dialogue once again, but I've alternated it with my own stuff and changed the scenes a bit.

Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII characters, locations, etc. are all property of Square-Enix. I own nothing, I just do this for fun.

*************

It was the Turks' second day in Wutai. They had gotten the “shitty, responsible, obligatory stuff” done the previous day, leaving them with the better part of a week to spend however they chose. They were currently occupying a table right in the middle of the Turtle's Paradise. The atmosphere was a little too much like a funeral reception for Elena, as Reno and Rude had been reminiscing about the old days with Tseng, talking mostly about things that happened long before her time.

Needless to say that when the waitress came by and asked if anyone needed a refill, she wasted no time raising her glass.

"Someone's hittin' the sauce early today," Reno muttered.

"And for once it's not you," Rude remarked.

"Touché," Reno said, with a smirk. He glanced up from his plate and over at Elena. “Better slow down or you’ll get sick.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted, shortly, stirring at what little remained of her drink, as she was still waiting on her refill.

“I’m just saying...”

“I’m fine,” Elena repeated. “Like you’re one to talk,” she added, a second later, watching as Reno doused a generous helping of fried shrimp in chocolate syrup. She certainly wouldn't be able to keep that down. Sure, Reno had been looking quite a bit better, almost...did she dare think it...? Glowing. But still...

Reno gave a submissive little gesture, as he put the bottle of syrup down. “Fine, I won’t get in your face about it.”

It was silent for a moment, Elena still agitatedly stirring half-melted ice cubes around, waiting on a fresh drink, Rude much more casually enjoying his beer, and Reno swirling various sauces together on his plate -- the chocolate being only one of them -- with a fried shrimp.

Biting into the shrimp, he looked to Rude and asked, “Hey, Rude, you remember the costume ball?”

Rude chuckled and nodded. “Yeah.”

Losing to her curiosity, Elena sighed and asked, “What are you talking about?”

“Ah, it was probably about three years ago. Old man Shinra decided for his annual ‘I own the world’ soiree that he wanted it to be a costume party. He offered prizes for best costume. Tseng must’ve wanted it bad. What was the prize again, Rude? You remember?”

“Not anymore,” Rude replied. “But his costume...”

Both men laughed, and Reno seemed to be drawing little sauce pictures on his plate now, using a shrimp as a brush.

“What was his costume?” Elena asked, sounding decidedly less broody than just a few moments before.

“Hottest damn girl I’ve laid eyes on, maybe ever.”

Elena’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Yeah,” Reno confirmed. “I hit on him for a good hour before he came clean. I was laying it on pretty thick, offering to take him home-”

“Asking what a pretty girl like him was doing working for Shin-Ra,” Rude interjected.

The server returned with Elena’s drink, and was thanked.

Taking the straw between her thumb and index finger, Elena looked to Reno. “You didn’t!”

“Oh yeah. I did. Grabbed his ass at one point, too.”

“Reno!”

“Yeah, that’s when things went sour for me. Tseng just spun around and said he’d have me fired for sexual harassment. Couldn’t believe it.”

Rude looked down into his beer mug almost thoughtfully, and quietly mused, “He was really pretty.”

Elena gave him a funny look, but didn’t say anything.

Reno shook his head, and agreed, “Damn straight. Anyway, after that...”

“They got me,” Rude deadpanned.

Reno cackled, eating another chocolate syrup, cocktail sauce, ketchup and mustard covered shrimp and informing Elena, “Yeah, it was great.”

“You should’ve warned me,” Rude said. “Then again, I should’ve known something was up if you were just passing this gorgeous woman off to me.”

Elena was grinning from ear to ear. It was due in part to the alcohol, but her mood had improved considerably. “No way! Oh, this is too good!”

“Yeah. They double-teamed me,” Rude told her.

“That was as much his idea as mine,” Reno insisted.

“I bet.”

“How long did it go on before you knew?”

“Long enough,” Rude said, looking down.

“You couldn’t have done anything worse than Reno,” Elena pointed out.

“No. More embarrassing for me, yeah, but no worse,” Rude agreed, albeit slightly hesitantly.

“He asked Tseng out,” Reno chimed in. “You know, on a real date. Asked for his number.”

“And he gave it to me. That’s when I knew it was him,” Rude explained.

Elena giggled, and Reno and Rude smiled, satisfied she'd found their story enjoyable.

“Hell, that was fun,” Reno said. “I think Rufus was the only guy there who wasn’t all over Tseng.”

“Huh?” Elena asked.

“Come on, Elena. You know Rufus is...well, you know he bats for the other team, right?” Reno asked, having trouble believing Elena hadn’t figured that out about their dear company president.

“I...really?”

“Yeah.” Reno chuckled, then assured her, “Really.”

“That was probably the one time he wasn’t all over Tseng, actually,” Rude said, quietly.

Before Elena could try to defend her naivety, and apparent lack of gay-dar, the door to the pub swung open and she, Reno and Rude all glanced over to see just who thought they needed to make such a flashy entrance.

The blonde was seeing red, as Cloud headed for the bar. He was armed, and looked frustrated. He hadn’t even noticed the Turks. The nerve of him not noticing them. So what if they weren’t there on business. They were Turks.

Elena sprung up from her seat, grabbing at Cloud’s arm. “You!”

Cloud turned to face her, and looked down at the small hand on his arm with contempt.

“How did you get here?” she demanded.

Wrenching his arm from her grip, he turned, all but prepared to ignore her.

“Never mind that,” she insisted, sounding as if she were at her breaking point. “I guess it’s fate that brought us together. Get ready to die.”

Reno glanced at Cloud, rolling his eyes at him, then addressed Elena, telling her, “Sit down.”

“What?” she asked, in disbelief. “Sit down? Sit down?”

“What are we here for?” he asked her, simply.

Elena looked down at the floor. “We’re here to...” She pouted, not wanting to finish the statement.

“So sit down.”

“Hmm. You’re lucky, alright. Now get out of my sight,” Elena muttered, disgustedly, at Cloud, reclaiming her seat next to Reno and across from Rude.

She was so busy sulking she hardly heard the desperation in Cloud’s voice as he asked the man behind the bar, “Do you know a girl named Yuffie? She’s about sixteen, short black hair. I thought I saw her come this way. She took something of mine.”

Elena picked up her drink and took a generous swig. She was through being ladylike.

Neither of her companions made a comment about it, Reno merely said, “What a killjoy.”

“...so-rry,” she mumbled, defeated.

Without warning, two Shin-Ra guards entered, immediately taking notice of the Turks, one of them quick to spout off some nonsense about using them for back-up.

Reno sighed, and looking annoyed, told the soldier, "Right now we're off duty and can't run off to save your butts."

The soldier shook his head, and somewhat guiltily admitted, "We know you're off duty, but..."

"Then get the hell outta my face."

"But you all have orders from headquarters to look for him too!" the soldier shouted. "Alright, that's it. We'll get him without any help from the Turks, just you see."

Once he and his companion were out of the pub, Reno went back to his food, commenting, "You do that, you overeager little prick."

"Reno," Elena called out, giving the redhead a scolding look, "do you think that was really such a good idea? I mean, is that the way a professional, a Turk would act?"

Reno met Elena's gaze, and very seriously told her, "Elena, don't misunderstand. A pro isn't someone who sacrifices himself for his job." He paused. "That's just a fool."

"Rude?" she asked, hopefully.

Rude said nothing.

"Some leader you're shaping up to be, Reno," Elena muttered, clearly disappointed in both him and Rude. She stood up and headed for the door.

Rude gave Reno a look.

He shrugged it off. "Relax. She's not a child. Let her have her way now."

*************

It had been quite some time since Reno and Rude had seen or heard anything of Elena. Long enough that the duo was starting to wonder if she hadn't gotten herself into some kind of trouble. Her eagerness had proven to be both a strength and a weakness.

Outside the pub, and headed north, Reno and Rude spotted Cloud once again. He wasn't alone this time, but was walking along, agitatedly, with two Reno and Rude immediately recognized. Barret Wallace, who had been a thorn in Shin-Ra's side for too long, and Cid Highwind, who they'd met briefly when the space program was still up and running. Reno sped up, with Rude alongside him. When he figured he was close enough to be heard, he whistled, and called out, "Yo, Strife!"

Cloud looked back.

"You used to run with a much hotter crowd, Strife," Reno remarked.

Cloud glared at Reno, but said nothing.

"Just sayin'."

"Aeris is...not here..." Cloud's voice faded out. Stopping himself from saying anything more about Aeris's absence, he added only, "Corneo's got Yuffie, and Yuffie's got...everything."

"Corneo?" Reno asked. "The Don's got your girl?"

Cloud nodded, and took a moment to think things over. He finally looked up and said, "He's got Elena, too."

Reno actually looked shocked for moment, but was quick to regain his composure. "Let's go, Rude. We'll give him a taste of what the Turks can do."

Rude nodded, and stepped out in front of Reno. "I'll go ahead."

"Sounded pretty good," he said, with a slight chuckle. But he wasted no time turning serious. "If Elena's in his hands, that's gonna make things a little difficult. And uh..."

Understanding the redhead's meaning -- he wanted to call a momentary truce -- Cloud agreed, "Okay. Corneo took Yuffie from us," he repeated. "And without Yuffie, there's no way to get our materia back."

"Yeah, the no good, thievin' little-" Cid muttered.

Reno cackled a little. "So you got jacked, eh?"

Cloud frowned and gave Reno a dangerous look.

Matching his expression, Reno warned him. "Don't misunderstand. We have no intention of joining you. But for now, we'll agree not to bother each other. That's all."

Cloud looked at both Barret and Cid, then back at Reno and said, "That's fine. We have no intention of cooperating with the Turks either."

*************

Rude looked back casually as Reno approached him.

"Been waiting long?" Reno asked, hushed, nearing his partner.

Rude shook his head. "Few minutes."

"How'd you know it was me?"

"I can always hear you coming," Rude replied.

Reno batted his eyelashes. "Oh, Rude."

Rude rubbed at his temples. "You got a sick mind, man."

Reno raised his eyebrows and flashed a big grin. He turned serious a second later and asked, "What'd I miss?"

"He's got 'em both tied up," Rude answered, nodding his head in the direction of the mountainside where Corneo had both Elena and Yuffie strung up.

"No shit. I can see that," Reno said, his sarcasm obvious. "They okay?"

"Seem to be."

"Good. Then I guess we better get Elena down from there," Reno commented, taking a step forward.

"Hang on," Rude told him.

Both men watched as Cloud, Cid and Barret approached Corneo.

"Fuck. They better not..."

"Which shall it be?" Corneo asked, almost thoughtfully. "Hmm...hmm..."

"He- hey! I'm one of the Turks! Don't you think you can get away with this!" Elena shouted, absolutely furious.

"Think she's getting a little impatient," Reno guessed.

"You think?" Rude asked, deadpan, not moving, but also not taking his eyes off of Elena, or the Don as he gyrated his hips before her and Yuffie.

"Oh, fuck. Fucking stop shaking your shit. That's disgusting," Reno grumbled. "That's it-"

"Hang on," Rude repeated his statement of a moment before, more firmly this time around.

"What the hell for?" Reno demanded, in an angry whisper.

Cloud, Cid and Barret seemed seconds away from confronting the Don.

"We all rush him, he might hurt Elena."

Reno frowned, and sighed. Rude was right.

Corneo fell to one knee, raised both arms to the sky and called out, "Rapps! Come here!"

"Rapps?" Reno wondered, and when the creature swooped down in front of the Don, he let out an exasperated, "What the fuck is that thing?"

Cloud, Cid and Barret each assumed their fighting stance, and Barret made quick work of "Rapps," shooting it out of the sky without a moment's hesitation.

Looking utterly distraught that his "pet" had been killed, Corneo pleaded, "Wait! Just wait a second!"

"Shut up!" Cloud shouted.

"Just listen to me. It won't take long," Corneo insisted. Dejectedly, he continued, “Why do you think a bad guy like me would swallow his pride and plead for his life?" With nothing more than several annoyed glares as encouragement to continue, Corneo said, "Because he‘s ready to die? Because he‘s sure to win? Because he‘s clueless?”

“I don’t care,” was Cloud’s answer.

A look of fury in his eyes, Corneo spun Elena and Yuffie on their heads. Seeing the shock on Cloud’s face, he told him, “If I push this button, they’ll fall.” He nodded, and chuckled. “I guess I’m the one laughing last.”

Reno stepped forward. “No, that would be us.”

“The Turks!”

Smoothly, Reno said, “You knew this was gonna happen ever since you leaked that secret. We’re gonna take care of you...personally.”

“Damn it,” Corneo spat. “Then they’re all goin’ with me!” he declared.

Before he could make another move, though, he took a bullet in the shoulder and nearly fell from the side of the DaChao to his death.

Reno glanced at his partner and complimented him. “Good timing, Rude.”

Rude nodded as he put his gun -- obviously equipped with a silencer -- back in its holster and buttoned his jacket.

Reno strolled to the edge of the DaChao and looked down at Corneo. “Alright, Corneo. This’ll be over quick, so listen up.” He stepped on the Don’s fingers. “Why do you think we went to all the trouble of teaming up with those guys to get you? Because we were ready to die? Because we were sure of victory? Because we were clueless?”

The Don grimaced and groaned, nodding frantically. “Two...number two?”

“All wrong,” Reno said, tonelessly.

“No! Wait! Stop-”

Reno lifted his foot, and leaned forward to watch Corneo plummet to his death. “The correct answer was...”

Rude stepped up beside him. “...because it’s our job.”

Red-faced from being hung on her head, and probably because she was somewhat drunk as well, somehow Elena was smiling, as she happily shouted, “Oh, thank you very much! I never expected you to come help!”

“Don’t act so weak,” Reno said, sternly, but gave her a smirk. “You’re a Turk.”

“Yes sir,” she said, simply.

Rude got in close enough to untie the girls (Elena first, of course) offering each his hand as they stepped down. Yuffie didn’t so much as thank him, just rejoined her party, opposite the Turks. Rude and Elena looked to Reno as his PHS rang.

He didn’t say much and the conversation was over as soon as it had begun, it seemed.

“Was that...?” Elena asked.

Reno nodded. “Yeah. They want us to find Cloud.”

“Are we on...?” Rude asked.

Reno almost smiled as he said, “No, today we’re off duty.”

*************

Elena's muffled sobs could be heard, despite how hard she was trying to be quiet about it all. She was sitting at the edge of her bed, head in her hands, bare feet just touching the hardwood floor, tears slipping through the space between her fingers and hitting the lace trim of her chemise and her exposed thighs. She'd laid down for bed, feeling exhausted, after the day she, Reno and Rude had just had, but she couldn't sleep.

She stared out the window, up at the ceiling, at the wallpaper, at her own eyelids, but all she saw was Tseng. She'd thrown the covers off and sat up when her nose stuffed up from all the crying and she couldn't breathe. She just couldn't force the image from her memory, of him slumped against a pillar inside the Temple of the Ancients, pale and bloody, telling her not to worry about him. Telling her to get out while she could, and that Cloud had already used the Keystone, so there was nothing more they could do. She'd told him not to move, and demanded to know who'd done it to him, fumbling with her materia, trying to think of some way to help him.

"I should've done more..." she murmured, during a short break between weeps.

"It's over."

Elena looked up at the shirtless, boxer-clad man in her doorway. "Did I wake you?" she asked, pathetically.

Rude shook his head and slowly neared her. "Doesn't matter."

"I should've closed the door all the way," she paused, shuddering a little. "Sorry."

Rude sat down on the bed next to Elena, but didn't say a word.

"I didn't do enough," she whispered.

"Today?"

"No," Elena whispered.

"Tseng?" Rude asked.

She nodded.

"Nothing else you could've done."

"Or maybe I did too much...? Did the wrong thing...?" Elena wondered, sighing, then sniffling.

"Don't question yourself."

Rude and Elena both looked to the entryway where Reno was now standing, dressed in a plain white t-shirt and boxer shorts, looking even sleepier and more disheveled than usual.

Elena shook her head, ruefully. "I woke you too?" She immediately felt guilty.

He cocked his head to the side. "Elena."

"Don't act so weak, I know. I'm sorry."

"I never would've thought to do what you did," Reno told her, absently bringing a hand to his belly -- a gesture Elena was too distraught to notice.

"No, you'd have come up with something better," she said, hushed, but bitterly.

"Quit beating yourself up. Stop spell. That was really clever."

"What was I thinking?" Elena asked herself, horrified.

"You were thinking you needed to stop the bleeding."

"But I- I stopped his heart, and his breathing. I stopped everything!"

"He'd have died from those injuries if you hadn't cast the spell. He wouldn't have lasted more than a few minutes," Reno insisted.

"And now? What about now?" Elena demanded.

Rude nodded, thoughtfully. "He's home now."

Elena gave a little headshake, acknowledging Rude's statement. It wasn't very comforting, but it was fitting. And that was the best she could hope for.

*************

A/N: Yeah, Rude shot the Don, with a silenced pistol, no less, because, well, I still haven’t figured out what he hit him with in the game. Looks like he shot a spit wad out of a straw to me. And that makes Rude so uncool...he’s so not a spit wad and straw kinda guy. Reno, maybe. But Rude? Review, please and thanks. You know I'd love that.