ShinRa's Shake Up

Rude glanced over the file in his hand and sighed as he looked up at Tseng, who was sitting across the small table.



“So, where do we begin?”



“I thought that was obvious” Tseng said with a slightly irritate tone. “We have to initiate contact with them.”



“Any idea where they have been hiding out?”



“Not a clue. No one has seen AVALANCHE for almost six months.”



“Then how do we go about contacting them?”



“We have him make the call.”



Rude looked down at the file in front of him as he scanned over the pages- Tifa Lockheart. AVALANCHE member. Primary contact source- He read down the page to the last line which made a reference to Reno’s file.



“We have him make the call” Rude repeated simply.



“Do you think they will cooperate?”



“I doubt it Tseng, and I really can not blame them. Cooperation is asking a lot. However, I do think they will at least give us a chance to be heard. Tifa is fair and wise and Reno’s known her for years. I think she will listen.”



“Then we need to make the call. Where’s Reno?”



“Where else would he be?”



“With the boss…”



Rude nodded as Tseng sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.



“I saw him earlier when I stopped by his apartment on the way here. He was busy cooking and said he was going to see the boss. He’s probably still there.”



Tseng nodded as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, flipped it open, and dialed Reno’s number.





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Reno was sitting on the foot of the bed laughing as he and Rufus talked and ate. He had made Rufus’ favorite dishes, including the sushi he had become famous for. He had hoped Rufus would like it and he was relieved that so far, everything had gone perfectly. It was true he had changed, he wasn’t exactly the same man Reno remembered form a year ago, but Reno had decided months ago that he would learn to live with it- he would take any Rufus, as long as he had him back. As they finished eating and Reno started gathering everything together, his phone started to ring.



“Oh for the love of…”



Reno grabbed the phone off the table and flipped it open.



“Yo. Yeah Tseng, things are good here. Listen, I really need to… What? Ummm… yeah. Ok… Ok I won’t.”



Reno hung up and felt Rufus’ eyes on him.



“Tseng has another mission for me. I’m sorry Rufus. But I need to go” he whispered softly, watching the man before him closely.



“Then go. He needs you. ShinRa needs more like the four of you.”



Reno nodded and gave a small smile. It was the closest thing to a direct compliment he would get, and he was grateful.



“You take it easy boss. I will be back soon- I promise.”



“I know you will.”



“There’s still some sushi and fried rice left, Im leaving it here for you.”



Rufus nodded, a soft smile on his face as Reno left, closing the door behind him. Reno stood there a moment and sighed then started down the hall at a light run.



“Tseng… this had better be bloody important…” he muttered as he left the hospital and ran down the street.







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Tseng hung yp the phone and glanced at Rude, who was cleaning off his sun glasses carefully.



“He’s on his way.”



Rude nodded silently as he slipped the shade back on.



“Seems Rufus is doing well. That’s good. Reno will be more willing to help now.”



“Tseng, just do me on thing alright? Don’t lie to him. If we are going to use Reno to get in contact with AVALANCHE he deserves to know why. He is a Turk, same as any of us, and doesn’t deserve to be used.”



“Reno is no longer a Turk. He gave the position up over a year ago.”



“Tseng, that’s a load of crap and you know it! Reno may have said the words but you know as well as I do is possibly the most loyal of us all. Reno is a Turk, and I want you to treat him like one, not as a tool to be used and twisted. He is one of us.”



“Alright, alright… I got the message Rude. You cans tip the lecture now.”



Rude looked at the mane before him and nodded slowly. Just then, the door opened and Reno ran in, slightly out of breath.



“Alright.. Im here Tsneg. Whats going on? What’s so… bloody important that I cant say anything to Rufus about it?”



“Reno, you remember Tifa don’t you?”



Reno blinked slightly, that was not the question he was expecting to be asked.



“Tifa Lockheart? Y..yeah I remember her… but what does she…”



“She is the only contact we have for AVALANCHE.”



“And why exactly do we want to contact them?”



“Because, if we want to have any chance and hope of saving ShinRa and our way of life, we need their help. Tifa is the one closest to Cloud, and we have only one way of contacting her.”



“Me,” Reno said simply as Tseng and Rude nodded silently. “So what exactly am I suppose to tell her?”



“That’s what I called you for… now listen.”







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Tifa was busy at the bar cleaning up after a rather busy day. She was finishing whipping down the counters when the phone started ringing in the office upstairs.



“Never fails….” She muttered as she climbed the stairs and answered the phone on about the twelfth ring.



“Tifa… don’t know if you remember me or not, its been a while. It’s Reno.”



“Yeah, I remember you,” Tifa said with a slight grin and laugh in her voice. “Haven’t heard from you in a while Reno, what’s up?”



“Look, Tifa… I hate to have to ask but can you track down Cloud for me?”



“I would if I could Reno, but no one has heard from Cloud since he left a few months back.”



There was silence for a moment.



“What about the others- Barret, Yuffie, Cid, Vincent?”



“Barret, Yuffie and Cid are around and so is Nanaki. Vincent has gone missing in action again.”



“Tifa, could you get whoever from AVALANCHE will come together?”



“Reno, what’s going on?”



“Tseng and Rude want to talk to you guys. It’s all cool Tifa. Nothing’s up, no tricks. We… we just need to talk to AVALANCHE.”



The line went silent once more for a few minutes.



“We will even let you guys pict the meeting place Tifa.”



“Alright, Reno.”



A few minutes later Reno closed his phone and turned to face Rude and Tseng. He slipped it back into his pocket with a small nod.



“She agreed. She’s going to see who is willing to meet with us and will call us with the meeting location.”



“Very good,” Tseng said as he started rearranging the papers in the file.



“Who do you think will show?’



“Anyone will be good at this point and time, Rude. Of course, I had hoped Cloud would be one of the ones there, but this is a start at least. Maybe Tifa can talk him into coming around and he can see that we are sincere.”



“Tifa said she should be able to get two or three of the others to agree to meet and that she would call us and let us know.”



“In that case, you are staying right here with us until she does. I want to know the instant she calls. The future of this company and our way of life depends on these meetings.”



Reno sighed as his shoulders slumped slightly. He really didn’t want to be trapped in the office with Tseng every moment of the day light hours until Tifa called back. He wanted to go back and see Rufus again… but he knew how important this was and he would do whatever he could to help/



Tseng turned his attention back to the papers in front of him. Rude took off his sunglasses, rubbed them with the corner of his shirt tail, and slipped them back on. Reno glanced back and forth between them and then sat down, leaned back in his chair, and propped his feet up on the table and waited.







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“I don’t like it Tida, I don’t like it one damned bit!”



“Barret, I know this is difficult for you; it’s not any easier for the rest of us. But we have to give them a chance.”



“Why? What has ShinRa done that warrants us giving them another chance?”



Cid stood against the wall, spinning his staff in his hands as he looked at Tifa and Barret.



“Can’t believe I am saying this but I agree with Tifa on this one Barret.”



“I understand how you feel Barret, trust me I do” she said softly.



“What have these two-leggers done other than destroy the very planet they and the rest of us must live on?”



The three clanked tot eh corner at the far side of the room, where Nanaki sat. He sat tall and unmoving, save for his tail which twitched now and then, sending up a small twisting trail of smoke.



“Nanaki,” Tifa said kindly as she walked over to him. “How can you, of all of us, be so quick to judge? Have we still not convinced you that not all of us two-leggers are evil?”



“Perhaps. I am a creature of the earth. I have no need for the things ShinRa makes. For me, for my kind, there is nothing the humans provide that we need. As such, it is hard for me to justify any action that destroys the very planet we live on.”



Tifa sighed softly as she started to turn away.



“However, that does not mean I will not listen to what they have to say if it is what you want Tifa.”



“Thank you Nanaki,” she said with a big smile.



“Well, I still am not convinced!” Barret said as he turned towards the door and stopped his back to the others. “I have spent too much of my life fighting ShinRa and trying to reclaim my life. I can’t do this Tifa. Not right now. I’m sorry.”



Barret looked at Tifa for a moment then turned and left, the door closing behind him.



“That makes two no’s” Tifa said softly. “Yuffie wont come either. She said she can’t trust ShinRa after what they have for so long. I understand how they feel; I just wish they would give them on more chance. I really think they are serious this time and sincere.”



The room fell silent for a moment and then Cid stood up from against the wall.



“I am willing to give them a chance. Cant’ really say I know why, but it just feels like something I should do.”



“Thank you, Cid. Any word from Vincent?”



“Nothing yet, but I am going to go talk to him tonight. Tifa, tell Reno I will be there and I will try and get Vincent to come too.”



“So that makes you, me, Nanaki, and maybe Vincent. Thank you Cid, I really appreciate it.”



“I’m just curious to see what it is they want and plan to do this time.”



Tifa nodded silently in agreement.







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“Vincent, I understand how you feel, but you should at least hear them out. ShinRa may have really changed this time. Isn’t that worth hearing them out for?”



“Cid. You know all too well that is not possible.”



Cid stood in the small clearing, the moonlight shinning down through the bare branched of dead trees. He had managed to trace down where Vincent had hidden himself away this time. Now all he had to do was convince him to come back with him.”



“Vincent…”



“I won’t go back. ShinRa stole everything from me. They may have taken a few years of your life and stolen away some of your dreams Cid, but they destroyed mine. I gave them everything and they took that and more. ShinRa is why I am who… what I am today- a monster, feared and hated by all but a few. The President lied to me, the Turks deceived me, the SOLDIERS betrayed me, and Hojo turned me into what I am. How can you ask me to go back and possibly even help them?”



“Vincent, this may be something bigger… ShinRa wouldn’t attempt contact after all this time unless something big was happening. Something we may find ourselves fighting on the same side against. Should you work with them if it came to that?”



“The next time I am with anyone from ShinRa, they will find a bullet with their name on it if they bet between me and my target.”



Cid sighed as he watched Vincent turn and walk away, fading away into the darkness and vanishing between the trees.



“You always were the difficult one, even after all these years,” Cid said as he turned and headed back in the opposite direction Vincent had gone.



As Cid walked away, a dark shadowy figure emerged form the trees and watched Cid as he walked back towards Midgar. Silvery hair shone in the moonlight, blown by the gentle breeze. Bright green eyes peered out from the shadowed face. The cloaked stranger gave a laugh and faded back into the darkness as a flock of crow flew overhead, cawing loudly.