paixaorpg | Hi ho, hi ho... [Active]

Entry tags:

Hi ho, hi ho... [Active]

Character(s): Lorie, Sabra, and Rufus.
Content: Lorie and Sabs leave the cafe, only to run into, somewhat literally, the president himself. :')
Setting: Just outside a Cafe Ersesat, then heading to the train station~
Time: Um... dayish?
Warnings: BAM. 8D

Well, after about an hour of comment-warring via the journals (Lorelei looked up and across at Sabra every now and then, watching her relatively dull expression which seemed to be unable to waiver, while she was full of giggles, blushes and soft "oh my's"), the thread had died down and, laughing softly, the blonde shut her journal and began to stand. "I think we should get going, then. We'll have to be out of this place so Rufus will be able to see us."

Slipping the small black object into her pocket, she bent down to hoist her shotgun-cannon onto her shoulder, and began to head for the door, but not before glancing over at the people who were still huddled up, frightened. She sighed, and shook her head. "You guys can relax now, all of the white things are gone. We have to get going though... don't worry about repaying us, we were only doing our job, hehe!" With that, she gave them a double-fingered salute, and continued on.

"I can't wait to see everyone again!" she chirped gleefully as stepped up to the door and nudged away all of the tables and chairs, after that beginning to push it open. "Do you think Mr. Rufus looks any different now?" she asked, giggling girlishly.

Once the door was clear, she placed her hand on her shoulder to steady her weapon, and promptly gave a swift kick to the wood to force the exit open. "You know, I bet he's grown a few inches since we last saw—"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Rufus Shinra studied the readout on the screen before him, that consuming most of his attention. One foot in front of the other was easy enough, the man well used to crowds moving before him versus he for them. It wasn’t the dead returning that bothered him on the whole. While he had no desire to explain the intricacies of how they had died (that task shoved quickly onto Reno) it was Kadaj that had taken his attention. While he didn’t have Jenova here, he had no suicidal desire to tell Kadaj that he had shot the box containing her and that mommy dearest had seeped out onto the garbage slicked pavement of a street of Midgar.

Something like that probably wouldn’t go over well.

If worse came to worst, he could always lie. Kadaj was generally gullible enough to buy most any excuse. Rufus supposed he could always claim that Jenova had gone into him or something foolish like that and he was cured that way. It would most likely stop the insane man from killing him for awhile. Kadaj might figure out it was a lie. Eventually.

Intent on what Kadaj’s next response away, his eyes were fastened to the screen when the boom came from the other side of the door. Next thing he knew, pain and the white light of something impacting hard with his face wiped all other concerns away.

Sabra was slowly turning over the conversations she had with Rafael and Reno. How odd, to know that she was dead in Reno's future, but that seemed irrelevant, as she was still here. It also didn't seem like it was going to interfere with their current progress or objectives, so it seemed like a topic best left for a rainy day.

"...he's probably taller," Sabra was agreeing as she let Lorie talk. It was nice, in a way, to have someone's voice in the background. Not like she was actively ignoring Lorie, but she 'tuned out' the other Turk sometimes.

Oh. Oops.

It appeared like they had found the "President", which, even if Tseng called Rufus the President it seemed ... unlikely in her mind. From what little contact she could recall with Rufus the young ShinRa never seemed quite as charismatic. Too angular for a proper, well oiled public appearance. And then Lorie hit him in the face with a door. Charming.

Lorie blinked, hearing the door abruptly contact with something rather solid on the other side. Her eyes widened and she gasped as the door only swung back to close, but she caught it with her free gloved hand, and peeked around the corner.

She let out a screech. "Mr. Rufus!" she cried and instantly, her face turned a wonderful shade of beet-red. All she could do at the moment was quickly reach up with her hand and cup it over her "O" shaped mouth, frozen in terror for a few moments. I JUST KICKED A DOOR IN MR. RUFUS' FACE. OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY...

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Rufus!" She bolted forward, carelessly letting her shotgun canon fall to the ground behind her. She placed both hands over his shoulders, not even thinking to ask permission to touch him. "It's me, Lorelei, in case you didn't notice, and oh my god I am so sorry I'm so sorry are you hurt does it hurt I think it'll be okay are you okay please be okay Mr. Rufus I didn't mean to I honestly didn't mean to I didn't mean to do it I'm so sorry I'm so sorry!!!"

She didn't seem capable of shutting up.

Pain began to recede and be replaced by what sounded like a chipmunk chattering away at him high speed. For the moment, he let the touch go, not having enough balance to jam the business end of his rifle into the gut of whoever was stupid enough to touch him. Words began to filter through as he glared up at the cause of this all.

Lorelei.

Lifting a hand, he gingerly pressed his fingertips to his face. Bruises were already blossoming across his skin, a slick of blood dripping down onto his white suit. His left eye was going to be sporting an impressive shiner soon enough.

“That’s never going to come clean,” he muttered more to himself than his present company.

Getting his feet back under himself, Rufus pushed her grasping hands off him, dusting himself off and trying to regain what dignity he could after be sprawled in the dirt from a well-placed kick to a door. A handkerchief was dug out of one of his pockets, pressing it to his nose. At least it didn’t feel broken.

And these were the ones Reno said would protect me, he thought sourly.

“Miss Sabra and Miss Lorelei I presume?” he asked, composed as he faced the pair. Wiping the blood away, he held the material to his nose still, unwilling to let more damage come to his clothing.

“Interesting way of introducing yourselves, ladies.”

While Lorie apologized and continued apologizing, Sabra got a good look at Rufus ShinRa, President. He looked a lot like the Rufus she knew, albeit, a bit older. His hair had changed and now she had to tilt her head a bit to look him in the eye. Taller. Oh, right, they'd just nailed him in the face with a door. Her eyes dropped, briefly, to the blood stain (or what would become one) on his suit. That's what you get for wearing all white, really, it was a hard color to wear.

"...Sir," Normally, for Sabra, 'sir' was reserved for a few individuals. However, this was a situation where she thought it deemed necessary. He certainly held himself like a president, and was recognizable as Rufus ShinRa (despite the gap in years, now). "Apologies, did we break anything?" There wasn't any notable humor in her voice, but Sabra wasn't about to pay him the deference she did Tseng or Veld.

Biting her lip nervously, her face still flushed, Lorie stood up and stepped away from him, folding her hands and bowing her head apologetically. "I'm... I'm very sorry, Mr. Rufus," she muttered under her breath. Stepping back, she tried to seem as dismissive as possible...

That only resulted in her tripping over her shotgun, of course. She'd let it fall carelessly to the floor before, and now it came back to haunt her- she let out a shrill cry and then promptly fell on her bum, legs over the long weapon. She let out a loud "Oof!" and her eyes momentarily crossed in confusion. All in all, Lorelei looked quite comical.

The Turk was hesitant to look up to either of her superiors. She just didn't. Keeping her eyes averted and hidden by her hangs, she forced a nervous laugh and began to shift to stand. "S-sorry again, I- clumsy me, heh, clumsy Lorie..."

It was really hard to look down when both of them were shorter than you. She settled for first kneeling properly to pick up her weapon, then stepping back, "hiding" behind Sabra and looking to the side. "Won't happen again. Sorry."

“No, nothing broken,” Rufus replied, studying the pair with the same cold gaze one might size up a pair of prize racehorses. Both looked fit enough, and about the same as they were in the few memories he had of them. In that era, the Turks had been mostly his father’s except for Veld and Tseng. That line of thought was one he recognized would have to be broken. The Turks were his now, not his dead father’s. His father had foolishly relied on the Mako mutated SOLDIERS more anyways, letting Heidegger fight for them.

Giving Lorelei a withering look, his gaze shifted back to Sabra. Like Tseng if he remembered right. That much he could understand. Until they were separated, he didn’t realize how much he relied on the Wutian. Cut off from Tseng and his cold practicality, he felt the loss. If Sabra could step up and fill his place for the time being, he wasn’t about to complain. Lorelei was another story.

“I would suggest it doesn’t happen again. I take it that you two have read that the others will be arriving soon? Have you two found a place here that could serve as a temporary shelter for all of us?”

Giving orders made him feel better, more in control of a situation that was so far out of control that there might be no saving it. They were trapped in some place none of them recognized with the dead walking once more, not to mention Kadaj and perhaps his brothers out there somewhere. He took his comforts where he got them. Dabbing at his nose, he tucked the stained material away, waiting for an answer.

What he pointedly didn't think about was what Reno and Tseng were going to think when they saw his face.

Well, that was reassuring. Had Sabra known any of Rufus's thoughts she would have given him a disdainful look. She was hardly President ShinRa's. She might be more inclined to listen to the man than other people, but she was loyal to the Turks first and last. Which led to further appraisal. Yes, definitely older, she came to that conclusion, by the tone and control he held himself. Rufus ShinRa was used to being in power, that so much was clear.

Sabra let her gaze slide back to look at Lorie, without turning her head and tried to give Rufus the impression she was giving him her attention. They had already started off on the wrong foot and it would do no good to continue the pattern.

"There is the option of staying here, we found the cafe a suitable place to defend from. However, a rendezvous with Tseng and the others seems to be more appropriate. We can meet with them at the Central station. It is advised that we move quickly," She rattled off the two best options in her mind at the moment.

Lorelei let the two talk, feeling a bit like a scolded child standing behind the adults and letting them go about their business. She held her large weapon on one shoulder, the other arm acrossed behind her back. She felt completely, utterly embarassed and really wanted to curl up into herself and hide. Things weren't looking so good anymore. I wish Raffy was here...

She also refrained from any comment. Truthfully, she wanted to go the station. It would take less time to meet up with the others and she would feel less stupid in a group, especially with less imposing figures like Reno and Raffy. But she told herself not to let this happening get her down- she could always redeem herself to Mr. Rufus, she supposed.

Maybe she'd buy him a gift or something? It probably meant nothing to him at all, and yet... in a place like this, he probably wasn't as loaded as he had been before he came here. And who knew when they were getting out?

A pang of fear struck her, and her head tilted up abruptly. Who knows when we're getting out? "I think we should go to the station," she pressed. "I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this place." Her eyes shifted back and forth, like a scared animal. It was the same look she had when it was just her and Sabra.

Touching his nose one last time to reassure himself that it wasn’t broken, Rufus stifled the wince as best he could. His face hurt all over. He had to give that girl the credit for being able to kick a door hard enough to knock him down. Now if they could get past the clumsiness. His eyes moved between the two, taking in their suggestions and giving them due consideration. He’d come to trust the instincts of his Turks while sick if not before. Sabra struck him as qualified and attentive, a capable woman, something most welcome.

“I agree. It would be best to meet up with the others. Lead on.”

He waved a hand towards the rest of the town, having no idea in which direction the station lay. His first concern had been contact those that were always at his side. Rufus’ gaze narrowed on Lorelei, her expression not a welcome one. Fear would do them no good, especially in this odd place. A frightened Turk wasn’t something he was used to dealing with either. Something had caused that change in her from worried to what looked to him as flat out scared. That had to be squelched right off. Stepping past Sabra to near Lorelei, he leaned as close to her.

“We’re armed, Turk. Get ahold of yourself,” he said quietly but firmly, stressing the word ‘Turk’. “I don’t remember if you all were regarded as much next to the SOLDIERs in your time, but in mine, my Turks are feared and fearless. Reno told me that I was safe in your hands, and I expect you to not let him or me down. Whatever got in your head to spook you needs to be forgotten. You have a job to do, so do it.”

Stepping away, he turned to Sabra, smoothing down his overcoat and trying to conceal the bloodstain as if he had said nothing more to Lorelei than asking how the weather was. He gestured again for her to lead.

“If you wish, I can catch you two up to date on what has happened since your… leaving.”

The situation had changed rather quickly. From being just her, to her and Lorie and now they had been charged with the protection of Rufus. Sabra was someone who read shifting social lines rather well and had acted accordingly with the addition of Rufus, meaning it was time to stick strictly to business. From the actions of Lorie, however, it seemed her companion had not done the same. Unwilling to say anything, Sabra was surprised when Rufus made the move to speak to Lorie.

This was a welcome change from what she had expected. Well, with all the proper assumptions and asessments of Rufus out of the way, this could prove to be far more enjoyable than she had first thought.

"To the Station then, Sir," Sabra nodded to Rufus in a half-bow. It seemed natural to do so. She remembered the map on the journal well enough, and turned to take lead. She would be glad to see Reno and Rafe, however, and to have Tseng there. While she could take lead, it was not in her nature to, and was far more comfortable when her superiors gave her an objective. "That would be useful, especially since it appears we have enemies here."

The white things, Kadaj, Paixao... Sabra wasn't liking any of it at the moment.

Lorelei walked. She tried to be as calm and rigid looking as possible but when there's a President whispering things in your ear...

Well, for courtesty's sake, she bent down slightly so he could talk to her better, but kept her eyes focused and ahead. Her expression changed subtley with every word he spoke, understanding them. She could feel her heart racing as he talked to her- it was the President's son... no, it was the President she was being addressed by now, after all.

For a moment, she had nothing to say to his statement, and did her best to acted like nothing at all had happened after he had said what he did to her, and take the comment submissively. However... she found even herself bothered with her attitude as of late. Usually, she was a go-get-'em girl... but there was truly something odd about Paixao that made her feel different. Rufus' disdain for her, once she properly gathered her thoughts, filled her with a strong desire to prove herself to him.

She cleared her throat suddenly, after he was finished. "If... if you'll excuse me, Mr. Ruf- Mr. President, but I've thought something in response to your... wise words." She forced a smile, but felt sick in her stomach, moving a bit closer to him. "Fear is something that is... uncontrollable, you know. It's instinct. What Turks require is courage, and courage is being able to stand up to what scares you, and dealing with it." She turned her head away from him, and tilted her chin up proudly.

"You are safe in our hands, sir. In mine." She laughed softly. "I think the way your Turks work is a bit different from us old schoolers, but just the same, we'd do everything in our power to protect you. I apologize, sincerely, for my... antics, but I can promise it won't happen again. Okay, Mr. President?" She winked, for encouragement.

The old Turks certainly were a lot different. And she was just asking to be smacked, wasn't she? Lorie tried too hard sometimes, in all honesty...

Rufus had been about to answer Sabra when Lorelei spoke. Admittedly, he did hate looking up to her when she spoke. It could have simply been his mindset, but he didn’t feel safe with her, and the more she spoke, the less he did. The look he gave her could have frozen water, one that would have probably sent his Turks taking a step back. His temper and ways of handling things was not one of Rufus’ shining points. The wink she gave him brought one of his eyebrows up. It took him a moment and a clamping down on his initial reaction before he trusted himself to reply to her. The first things that came to mind would do nothing more than estrange her from him and probably lead to him ripping into Reno later since he vouched for her.

“Then I suggest you deal with it, Turk and do your job. Show me that you can do it and not look like a frightened animal. You do that at the wrong time, and you might get me, your partner, or another Turk killed at worst or simply disgraced at best. It gives the enemy the impression that you’re nothing.”

Turning away from her, he followed after Sabra, forcing his thoughts off his own annoyance and back onto explaining things. These two were different, but then again, their entire world hadn’t come to an end and restarted only to be nearly ended again. Explaining that wouldn’t be easy. Editing events in his head as he spoke, Rufus’ gaze took on a distant air.

“Sephiroth killed my father. That much I believe I’ve told all of you. With his death, I took control of the Shin-Ra Company. Needless to say, I wasn’t sorry to see the bastard go. I’d been trying for awhile to get rid of him. The company went through some changes then.”

Old man tried to control the world with money. It seems to have been working. The population thought that Shinra would protect them. Work at Shinra, get your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army will help you. It looks perfect on the outside. But, I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man.

“My initial idea didn’t work in the long run. Sephiroth had set himself in the Northern Crater and was attempting to destroy the world long story short. We brought the Sister Ray… as massive cannon of Scarlet’s design… to Midgar in order to fire it and try to break Sephiroth’s barrier spell after it defeated the Sapphire Weapon at Junon. You see, at the same time we were fighting Sephiroth, we had the planet’s own defenses working against us. I’m sure you remember those after the Jade WEAPON was activated. The Diamond WEAPON was heading towards Midgar. The Sister Ray fired and struck down the WEAPON but not before it fired repeatedly on Midgar. Sephiroth was defeated though by Strife and his friends after we neutralized Sephiroth’s barrier.”

The windows all around had shattered when the Sister Ray was fired. The blinding light of Diamond’s blast had reflected off the shards as it headed right for where I was. I had my own barrier, and that partially saved my life as I stood there on the seventieth floor and watched.

“The Shin-Ra building was destroyed.”

Someone was yelling ‘Here! Here!’ as the debris atop felt like it was crushing the life out of me. The weight was gone suddenly and someone was lifting me up. I could hear voices all around, Tseng’s and Reno’s, I thought, Elena’s and Rude’s getting louder as they scaled their way down the twisted metal landscape that even the emergency workers had been afraid to go in since the whole works could have fallen in any second.

“In that and the battles leading up to the end, we lost most everyone else. Heidegger and Scarlet died aboard the Proud Clod. Reeve Tuesti and Palmer lived, but they’re not with Shin-Ra any longer. We had to rebuild and in two years, we had done well. Midgar was destroyed, of course, so a new city was built on its outskirts, named Edge. Then came Geostigma. It destroys a victim, rotting them from the inside out painfully. One could watch the black lines of infection as it wound through them. I was afflicted with it. There was no cure. Supposedly, it was caused by a person’s body fighting off Jenova’s cells. Jenova is Sephiroth, Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz’s mother."

The first black lines had appeared just beneath my left ear, slowly creeping outwards. Another started on my wrist two days later. There was no cure all the doctors said.

“Kadaj is a little upset that I hid his mother from him. Had her in a little box at my side the entire time while I ran him all over the planet looking for her. He wants her to help destroy all life, feed her the souls or something like that. He’s dangerous. He dropped Reno and Rude in a second, not to mention managed to capture and torture Tseng and Elena. Bear that in mind. He has two brothers as well, Loz and Yazoo.”

Two ID cards tossed before me with a smear of blood running across them. I sent them there to die. On my orders. Rude and Reno with that explosive. Make sure they don’t make it past you two. Buy Strife time at any cost.

“Long story short, he failed and was destroyed by Strife. Rain fell, Geostigma was cured, and the end. That's what you've missed and why Kadaj is not someone to cross. Ever. He needs me alive to find Jenova. You all...”

His words trailed off there, leading to what he thought was an obvious conclusion. Kadaj might not kill him, but they were fair game.

There was only a short walk to get to the trainline to catch a ride to the Central Station. Sabra had it in mind as she led them through the Muspelheim area, keeping an eye out for more ... things. She was casually tuning out what Lorie was saying, understanding that on some level it would make her wince. At least Lorie had perked up again, a depressed Lorie or frightened Lorie was not as useful for one, and Sabra preferred her coworkers to be happy. It made for a better atmosphere for all.

She did look back, however, to catch Rufus's reaction. Ehhhh, that was not a good sign. He had The Glare down, something that was important for all leaders, she supposed. On one hand, Sabra never felt like she had to worry about Lorie being a liability. Sure, the other could seem a bit airheaded or silly, but Lorie was a competant Turk and did her duty when she needed to. Sabra had never felt unsafe with her... but Rufus didn't know that, as he'd only been introduced to Lorie today. That was unfortunate, things would work better if they were all on the same page.

Sabra turned her attention back to their walk, listening to Rufus with one ear. She couldn't let herself be completely absorbed by his story ... and yet, the more he talked the more she found herself distracted. When Rufus got to the part about torture she turned her head sharply. She did not know Elena, but was hazarding a guess that it was the blonde girl, the one who wanted nothing to do with the Turks ( ******'s sister). With a frown, Sabra forced herself to return her gaze forward, but she had a new goal the next time she 'chatted' with Kadaj. He was dangerous, being able to do all of that, so she would keep that in mind. But he'd hurt what was hers and by all logic, therefore had to die.

"...I see." Which was really rather an understatement. Sabra was still sorting through the details of what had happened, unhappy with the knowledge that she didn't know any of it and it might be important. "Thank for the information." She was stalling her reaction.

Things didn't go as well as planned; whatever Lorelei could think to say apparently only made things worse. She did her best to quiet herself and look away, as she was very ashamed at this point. She supposed, though, actions spoke louder than words. Next time a problem arose, she decided, she'd be the one to help the President out! Her disdainful pout turned into a bright smile, but she made sure to continue looking away. Lorie didn't want to weird him out, after all.

When he went on to explain the things had had happened after their... untimely deaths, though, the Turk's face grew serious. She turned her head to look (down) at him, and seemed to droop a little. The future didn't sound too promising. Even if, in the end, it seemed everything had been okay... well, it didn't matter when time was warped. Kadaj was still alive, he was still a threat, and... she sighed.

"It all makes sense now..." she said quietly, almost morose. And then, her voice crescendoed in confidence: "Well, whatever happens..." She suddenly straightened up and thrusted her fist into the air. "We'll take on Kadaj again! And beat him again! ShinRa's gonna win again, and this time we'll be alive to see it! ...Right Sabra?" Lorie's hand lowered, and she peeked hesitantly over at the shorter girl.

“Kadaj is dangerous. I’d prefer it if the two of you remembered that. As I said, he incapacitated Rude and Reno, not to mention Tseng and Elena. There aren’t enough Turks to lose any to foolishness.”

Lorelei puzzled him for the most part. He’d expected sullen silence or something of that sort in response, not a rallying against Kadaj. Reno must have failed to impress on her just how dangerous the man was. Letting it go for now, Rufus figured she’d learn first-hand eventually. All he could hope was that it didn’t prove to be a fatal lesson. Had he known of her intentions to ‘help’ him, Rufus’ reaction might have been far more

Drawing out his own journal, he eyed the screen. Kadaj’s words scrolled across the screen, bringing a bitter razorblade smile to Rufus’ lips. Tseng and Reno would probably be less than pleased with him, but it kept Kadaj’s dangerous attentions on him instead of the Turks. He was relatively sure the silver haired man wouldn’t kill him, roughly eighty percent. The other twenty percent he’d worry about if and when Kadaj found him.

“How long do you think it will be until they arrive? I did tell them to get us some of whatever passes for currency here. Let us hope that the train arrives in one piece and without Reno, Tseng, or Rafe being arrested."

It was a good thing Lorie didn't know what Rufus was thinking, because she would have been ten times more eager to prove herself and try to take on Kadaj, but... well, the time would come for her to learn her lesson a little later. For now, she was distracted from whatever words the president was saying by the sound of a rather loud TOOT TOOT.

"The train!" Lorie cried excitedly, her face brightening with excitement. She hadn't even noticed how close they were to it. Any thought of currency had slipped her mind; the blond bolted toward the station and was about to amble her way past the turnstyle, completely unaware of the booth that stood next to it. Well, that is, until the thing jammed her in her gut and she was abruptly held in place with a loud "Oof!" That was familiar.

She pouted, and looked to the side. The man within the booth, who seemed to be asleep, didn't budge. Biting her lip, the tall woman headed over and gently prodded the screen that seperated them. "Um, hello? Helloooo. Is this the center of Paixao~?"

The guy grumbled and slowly awoke, groaning as he did so, and rubbing his head. "Center.... naw. Naw, this is just one of the stations... in Muspelheim," he drawled groggily.

Lorie blinked, and looked over her shoulder a moment. "Oh. So... what would we have to do to get to the center?"

"You'd have to take the train."

"...Right! But the... thing... it..." She jabbed a finger in the direction of the turnstyle.

"Yes, well, in order to get past the thing, yer gonna hafta pay up."

"...ahhh, yes, about that."

Sabra offered Lorie an almost smile. Right, rallying against Kadaj, they could certainly go about defeating him in a more effective way, perhaps. She wasn't about to pump her first in the air, but she had come to the same conclusion herself. "...Right." Her agreement was softer and less energetic than Lorie's initial statement.

"...apparently we've arrived at a station," Sabra said outloud, and then heard the thing about money. That could be a problem. She wasn't carrying any money on her at the moment. It hadn't seemed practical to fill her pockets with money when she could use the space for other things such as her shuriken or whatnot. She almost let her gaze slide back to Rufus, as a President should always have money, but she resisted. That would be just a little rude.

For the time being, Kadaj was shoved to the back of Rufus’ mind after sending one last reply to the man. Closing it device and sliding it back into his pocket, his attention moved to the train. Gone were the good days when he would have had the entire thing to himself. For a thankfully short moment, he considered refusing to go on such a contraption. Security had not swept it for attackers, bombs, or any other dangers; it was most likely filthy inside; and… he was a Shinra, damn it.

Taking a deep breath, Rufus resigned himself to fate. This was not shaping up to be one of his better days. First he’d ended up here, then he’d gotten smacked in the face with a door, and now he was going to be forced to use public transportation. It was all well and good for Reno, Tseng, and Rafe to ride one of these trains to get to him but the other way around? No. However, it looked as if he weren’t going to be given a choice.

At the talk of money, Rufus drew his chocobo hide billfold from his inner pocket. Drawing out seven credit cards, he tapped Lorie on the shoulder to let her take them. All were of the same dull brick or black shade, the Shin-Ra company logos on the cornres.

“Use these. I forget which two of them have no limits.”

Lorie blinked and looked down at the credit cards. Ahhh, so many. In any other situation, her eyes would have been stars. But all she did now was smile, nod shortly, and take them hesitantly from him. "Thank you Mr. President~!" she chirped, and turned to face the man.

She didn't know which one to pick, so she eyed the wallet for a few moments. "Um, so, which card do you think would give us the best benefits?" she asked, looking over them.

The man just gave her a look. "We don't take cards."

Lorie froze. "You- what?"

"What would we want with a card? It's useless."

The Turk swallowed hard, and suddenly, felt very sick to her stomach. This didn't sound very good. Not at all. "Um, so... what do you propose I-"

"Well, those would work." The man lifted a hand and flicked his own ear. Lorelei just gave him a blank look, apparently not understanding what he meant.

"Your earings."

"My ear-... my earings?!" she cried, not at all understanding the strange ways of this Paixao place. "But these were so expensive! How do you propose they are worth a simple train ticket!"

"What are you talking about? They're pretty much worthless, you should be thankful I'll accept that. They're tiny and all, so..."

Lorie looked like she was about to cry. Her face reddened, and she sniffed. "But daddy gave me these..." Even so, she hesitantly reached up and undid the piece of metal from her ear. "...Anything for Mr. President," she murmured to herself. "I promised."

Grudgingly, she placed the back of the earing down on the countertop. "Ah-ahhh," the man chided. She placed down the front of it. No way was he going to get both of them! "That's better," he cooed, and then three pieces of paper slid out toward her.

She pouted, but took them. "Okay, guys..." she said, turning to face them. "Here... here you go." She also held out Rufus' wallet, looking down shamefully.

Sabra blinked, and couldn't help the look of surprise that came across her face. No cards? They didn't take cards but ... Lorie's earrings? Apparently they were more of a barter system than a card or cash system. Peculiar, but not at all unreasonable. That made it easier, though, having discovered what they took as money. "...thank you, Lorie." Sabra gave the other Turk a warm smile, because it was obvious how much Lorie liked her earrings. (But daddy gave me these...)

She moved to go forward first, practically feeling the unease as it radiated off of Rufus. Ah, now that was easy to understand as well. Rich Rufus ShinRa riding the train with the common people, it was almost amusing to think about. However, there were some practical risks, like enemies or just anything unsafe. Sabra moved through the 'thing' that had been impeding Lorie's progress and looked around. Well, so far it was just a train.

“Don’t take cards?”

The very idea had Rufus Shinra stunned. Who didn’t take credit cards? It wasn’t as if he carried gil around on him like everyone else. A small flare of annoyance lit up in him as Lorelei handed over her earring, not understanding that her father was important, but even he could grasp the idea that they were important. Studying the man, Rufus made a mental note to send Reno to retrieve said earring later from him. And enjoy it for the man's mannerisms towards them. Whatever it was these people held valuable, he hoped Tseng managed to acquire enough of it to get them good rooms for the night.

Taking his cards, he carefully slid them back into his wallet. While people in this area didn’t take them, there was a chance someone else would. Wealthy all his life, Rufus refused to let himself be anything else.

“Thank you as well, Lorelei. They will be recovered later.”

Watching Sabra, he followed her example. Reaching the platform, he waited for his guards, used to letting them do the safety checks and the like before he went aboard anything.

Lorie smiled brightly at the condolences of Sabra and Rufus both. The promise to have it returned delighted her, and she nodded gratefully as he passed her. "Thank you Mr. President!" And with that, she followed after the two, covering Rufus' back just in case, of course. Her canon was still slung over her shoulder, so she looked pretty intimidating.

Turning her back a moment, she gave a final look around before moving toward the train. Were they supposed to look it over before he went in? That was what they did with Mr. ShinRa sometimes, so...

"Sabra, why don't you go inside it and see if it's okay? Don't want to run into anymore white things, you know! I'll watch Mr. President's back out here!" She smiled brightly and held up her fingers in a "V" sign. "We should be okay!"

A nod was given to Lorie. She entered the train slowly, looking to either side of the doorway and the ceiling. Nothing seemed out of place on the train's walls or physical make up, so her gaze shifted to the other riders. It also seemed fairly empty, which was nice. Fewer people to keep an eye on. Sabra walked the aisle looking for anything that might be a little suspicious. Nothing, so far. Just chairs and floor and typical train parts.

"...Looks clear," And none of those weird white things. Sabra waited for Rufus to enter the train, a hand in her pocket. If she had somehow missed something (which was highly unlikely) it would be dealt with shortly.

Rufus had to admire the easy way the girl carried the cannon. Then again, she towered over him and probably had the physiology to match. While he was capable of firing his shotgun and engaging in limited hand to hand combat, Rufus had no illusions in that his Turks were far superior in such. That would be why he paid them instead of taking care of himself. Then again, her perky manner left him puzzled. He definitely had to question Reno and make sure she’d always been this way. Perhaps she’d hit her head or something on the way into this strange land.

“What are these… white things?” he asked the pair as he gave Sabra a short nod of thanks. Anything more would have been acknowledging that she’d done nothing more than her job. The inside of the train was given a look that bordered on contemptuous. Rufus found himself longing for the sterile pristine white walls and floors of his office suddenly. He wouldn’t have turned down one of Shin-Ra’s sleek black limos either.

Taking a place in the centre of the train, he drew the folds of his longcoat against him as he sat on the edge of the seat. While he would have preferred to lean back, he doubted anyone would appreciate him needing to shift his shotgun into view for comfort. Like he had told Lorelei, at least they were armed. It was the lack of places he thought ammunition could be bought that worried him.

"White things~" Lorelei chirped, following after Rufus as he moved into the train car, "I encountered them when I first came here," explained as she moved beside Rufus, sitting down next to him and letting her huge shotgun canon sit down in the empty space beside her. She smiled and patted it, like it was a good child.

Looking back to the blond man, she continued, "They're some sort of monster, but I've never encountered them before. Neither has Sabra. They're whitish and grey, have poky arms and are about the size of a tall child. They have a funny symbol on their head, and a zipper mouth. Um... they're really, really fast and make wooshy noises a lot, too." She narrowed her eyes, staring at the ceiling in thought.

"And ahhh... oh yeah! Sabra and me defended some people on a cafe from them! We had to barricade the windows and doors, but they broke through, and," she took a breath, apparently absolutely loving this opportunity for a 'story time', "And, and... every time one slipped through the door I was like BAM and shot 'em! Right in the head, real easy like!"

By the time she was 'finished', she was panting softly. A giggle, and she added, "Oh yeah, and Sabra helped too. She hit 'em with her shuriken, the ones that I missed~! We came away unscathed, and it was... fun to say the least!" And Rufus had chided her about fear earlier, hadn't he?

Sabra listened to them talk, letting Lorie do her storytime. She didn't really want to sit, but it was a train. She chose a seat behind Rufus and Lorie. It left some avenues open if they needed to escape, as well as watching his back. Not that she expected them to be attacked on the train. She waited until Lorie had finished speaking, before giving her own opinion of the 'white things'.

"That's pretty much most of it, the white things are ... durable," She didn't have many other words for it. Her voice had relaxed a little, but there was no indication of laxness in her posture. "Rafe says he has been observing them and may know their movements better than we do." Was added in as she recalled the conversation with the other Turk.

Now that they were sitting down and it seemed like immediate danger had passed, Sabra was thinking back to what Rufus had said, and what Reno had said. How odd would it be to see them, and know that they were different? It was a bit melancholy, honestly, but, she supposed it was easier on her side where she was unaware, and not on theirs, where they were faced with the past. Even with the melancholy, she was looking forward to reuniting with them, this was as close to a family reunion as she got.

Rufus sat listening to Lorelei with the growing certainty that he would never, ever allow her to make reports to him. Sabra or Tseng would be editing and rewriting those reports before he ever saw them. Otherwise, he was going to have to make it mandatory that all Turks attend a class for doing so, and that would cost Shin-Ra Company money.

Since when did I start thinking of these two as part of my Turks?

That was a mildly disturbing thought. It had taken his Turks years to get to where they were in the trust department with him. He had scarcely known these two an hour. Still, if they were able to return to their world, Rufus was going to attempt to take them with him. In their time, the Turks had been left with only the four. These others would alleviate that loss of personnel.

He nodded slowly to what they said of the white creatures, a hand raking his hair back from his face. What he wanted most was a shower right about now.

“What defeats them? Gunfire or what?”

"Gunfire, yeah, but it doesn't always work the whole time. They don't die easily," Lorie went on, sounding a bit more calm now that she had gotten her little 'story time' out of her system. She bit her lip for a moment, in thought. "I still don't know what they are, but no one seems to have seen them before. They leave a bad taste in my mouth." Her eyes narrowed.

"It's not fear, but I have a really, really bad feeling about this place..." She lifted her head and stared almost morosely out the window, across Rufus, and frowned a bit. The train started to move, but she hardly shifted. "It just doesn't make sense that we'd all end up here... and some of us from different times..."

A blink. "Maybe it's got something to do with Jenova. And Kadaj and Sephiroth... what if they're doing this on purpose?" She looked at Rufus then, a bit concerned.

Sabra herself had the same concerns, and she was glad Lorie voiced them first. She doubted that Jenova could turn back time, but she shouldn't discount it. However, there had been no other hints that Jenova was somehow a time-altering ... thing. She shifted in her seat as the train moved, taking one last survey of the train interior. "...You can defeat them with bladed weapons as well, however, it seems considerably more difficult."

"...something does seem off..." She agreed, before leaning back, indicating that she was exiting the conversation. Sabra would listen, but she didn't have anything to contribute. She would prefer to have all of the facts in front of her before she joined in any real conversation.

“There is something not right here, I will agree with you there. However, I sincerely doubt Jenova had anything to do with it or Kadaj. The first was last splattered all over a street in Edge and the other isn’t bright enough,” Rufus murmured as he opened his journal and began scanning over it. Even though he wasn’t conducting business for Shin-Ra, he was in no way letting matters move him. A sharp watchfulness came over his face as he worked intently on what he was doing. Although he nodded to Lorelei’s words, one could tell that he’d fallen into what he was planning. Were they attacked right now, one would have to elbow him for him to realize it.

“Elena and one of your people, Aki I believe Lorelei called him, will be catching later trains and meeting us at Central Station.”

Typing away, Rufus suddenly went still. His eyes narrowed on the screen, studying the words there as if they were top secret military plans. Rising to his feet, it took him a few seconds to catch the sway of the train. Not saying a word to either woman, he began pacing back and forth through the length of the car. His gaze stayed on the floor, fingers tapping against each other, thumb to first finger then on to the second, third, last and beginning the pattern again. Had any of his own Turks been around, they probably would have cleared out of his way. Rufus plotting was not a Rufus that wanted any interruptions. He wasn’t above shooting whoever broke his train of thought.

Rufus came to a stop suddenly, flipping back open his journal and hurried working at it again. A rare smile had come to his lips, cruel and calculating versus holding any warmth. It was the look of the wolf just before it closed its jaws on the rabbit.

“I will be informing the rest of the Turks as well, but from this point forward, you are not to mention in front of anyone who is not one of us that Sephiroth was responsible for my father’s death. The same goes for anything you two write out there where others can see it.”

Points were ticked off in his head, trying to find any weak points in his plans. Said plans weren’t explained at this point, and Rufus had no intentions of mentioning them to the other Turks either. Tseng would ferret them out eventually, but he wanted time before that to set events in motion. Chances were that Tseng wouldn’t approve, but if he was moving before then, there was little the Turk leader could do. Reno, on the other hand… well, he’d just have to present this in the right way to them when the time came to explain his plans. Failing that, he was the President, and that meant that he was right.

"Are we close to arrival?" Rufus asked, mind more on what he was doing than anything around.

Sabra looked up as Rufus began to pace. She watched him, eyes falling on the journal he was looking at. The expression on his face was ... interesting, and not reassuring as she was supposed to be watching his safety. She was supposed to be keeping him safe and he was wearing an expression that clearly said he was going to do something that would either compromise his safety. She just had that feeling, and instinct had served her well before.

Then he mentioned Sephiroth, and she nodded to him in affirmation, before flipping open her own journal for a brief look. She came upon Rufus's MB post, where he spoke of Sephiroth and then interestingly enough there was immediate negative backlash from Tseng and Reno. She skimmed a few more posts and found one from Tseng.

"...I'll go check," She replied to Rufus immediately, shutting the journal a little harder than necessary and sticking it into her pocket. Sabra tried to catch Lorie's eye, to tell the other Turk to keep an eye on Mr. President (who appearently was attempting to get himself horribly maimed or something else as such). Then she stood, and headed for the front of the train.

Hopefully the train had an engine or control panel in the front. Sabra moved through the compartments fairly quickly, looking out of the windows. It didn't look like they were there yet, so there was still some time to stop the train. She reached the cabin and tested the door, which was locked of course. A mild exasperated sigh escaped her lips as she jimmied the lock, yanking the door open.

"Hey! You can't be here!" was met with a stare, and then she raised an eyebrow and didn't bother to respond as she looked around the cabin for a way to stop the train. These were out of date, and she couldn't see an panel with buttons, but rather levers. A scowl, and Sabra pushed the driver out of the way to go to the small window and look back at the train. A large gear system moved the train along the tracks and steam billowed out of a smockstack. Sigh, again.

Of all the ways to stop a train ... Sabra heaved herself up into the window, sitting on the ledge and pulled a few of the small exploding shurikens out of her pocket. That was the last of them, and it better work. As an afterthought, it might have been more intelligent to ask Lorie to stop the train. Oh well. She three the shurikens, watching them slide between the gears and propelling bar. Then ducked back inside the cabin for the explosion as it rocked the train. "...Sorry." She offered the driver, pulling all of the levers down, kicking one of them to break it off.

This seemed to anger the man. She didn't really have time to deal with angry citizens. Ducking under his first punch she came up under his chin and then dropped him over her hip. All the while the train rocked and halted, it's mode of propulsion eliminated. But it did stay on the tracks, she hadn't derailed it completely. Straightening, Sabra headed back to where Rufus and Lorie were.

“Thank you, Sabra.”

Caught up in his own planning, Rufus barely heard the Turk leave, his eyes moving over the small screen before him. Occasionally, he would type something, but otherwise he was simply reading and trying to outmaneuver Tseng. That in itself wasn’t exactly an easy task. To be fair, he had expected resistance, but having Sephiroth simply drop out of the sky at the Central Station would have been much more dangerous.

Rufus Shinra didn’t fear much of anything or anyone, but he did Sephiroth. His father’s passing hadn’t affected him in the least, but the method of murder and who had committed it had stayed with him. Security around his office was always tight due to that. Tseng and Reno were right on several of their points. He had to give them that. Balancing out the benefits of having Sephiroth with them versus with Kadaj though made him willing to take the chance.

The sudden rocking of the train brought him out of his thoughts. Grabbing the bar next to him, Rufus pocketed his journal and held on. It figured that the one time he took public transportation that it would break down. A curse was uttered under his breath as he stood after things ground to a halt.

This was just not turning out to be his day.

By the time Sabra returned, annoyance was plainly written on his face, blue eyes narrowed down. “We cannot afford a delay at present. How far are we from the station?”

He really must be in a rush if the Shinra heir was willing to walk.

Well... this was certainly an interesting turn of events. She watched how odd Rufus acted, and bit her lip, keeping silent the entire time. She also nodded to his statements.

When Sabra got up, all she could do was blink confusedly, but regardless, nodded to her orders. She wasn't quite sure what was going on at this point, but was it really any different from the norm? She decided to remain silent and sighed, leaning back in her seat, eyes focused on Rufus for a few moments.

When Sabra's actions resulted in the stopping of the train, she gasped and clutched her weapon tightly, sitting up straight and looking around to see what had happened. Upon the female Turk's arrival back, she turned her head to look at her, but decided not to question it.

They'd be getting to the other's soon, she knew. She itched, almost anxiously. Well, if the train stopped, and walking was in order, she supposed it would happen all the sooner...

Oh, he was in a hurry wasn't he? Sabra considered, for a moment, letting her eyes run over the people in the cabin. Then she focused on Rufus again. "I'm sorry, Sir." She was hoping that this negation would be enough to stop him. It didn't seem likely, however, if he was determined enough to walk to the station.

"I have orders to hinder your progress," Now, to see what he would do. Sabra was half expecting him to pull a weapon on her. If he did she was confident that it could be dealt with, even though she was supposed to be prioritizing Rufus's safety... Her hand dropped back into her pocket, just in case. Hopefully Lorie would stand with her on this as well, it would be easier to slow Rufus down between the two of them.

This whole affair was rather messy, however. Sephiroth, Rufus, Tseng ... and no one seemed to be telling all they knew.

“You’re sorry.”

The tone was flat and dead as Rufus studied the woman. Were she anyone but a Turk, he would have drawn his weapon by now and started firing. His eyes flicked towards the direction of the main engine and back to her, his lips thinning. She had purposely delayed them when it was critical they reach Sephiroth before Kadaj managed to say the wrong thing or somehow find the other man.

“You seem to have accomplished that, Turk.”

Just how much time was this damned breakdown going to cost him? Damn it all! His fingers curled into loose fists, fingernails cutting thin crescents in his palms before he made himself calm down. Were Tseng in front of him, Rufus may have lost his composure for once. Seeing as how the Wutian was not and taking it out on two workers merely following orders would accomplish nothing, Rufus’ mind switched back to the matter at hand.

“Move, Turk. I imagine it’s a long walk to the Central Station. I am not staying here and doing nothing.”

Lorie was confused.

She wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she sensed obvious tenseness in the air. Frowning, she looked back and forth between Rufus and Sabra, unsure of who to side with. Those orders must have been from someone like Tseng. Perhaps he knew of something that was not right, maybe Rufus was being a little bit too ambitious...

...But she didn't want Rufus to look down on her again. She frowned deeply, and felt very conflicted. Why ever would they need to delay his progress? They needed to go meet the others and gather as soon as possible! Still... ah...

"I'm sorry Mr. President," she said suddenly, standing up and blocking his path. She was a tall girl, and that heavy weapon was thunked down on the ground, standing upright. He probably wouldn't be able to get out into the aisle unless he climbed over a seat.

Sabra was somewhat relieved when Lorie came to stand. She was glad for the intimidation factor, usually, and Lorie looked as if she could take down Rufus as well. Sometimes being small was nice, but it was hardly useful when it came to threatening people to do as they were told.

"...Tseng's orders, sir. If we have to injure you to keep you from reaching the station... I won't hesitate." It was fair warning, at least. Rufus knew what he would be getting into if he chose to try and escape then. Sabra couldn't speak for Lorie either, she'd take the blame if it came to that. Besides, she really didn't want to blow a hole in the president, just slow him down a little. "I'd tell you it was for your own safety ... " Sabra let the sentence trail off. She wasn't normally this talkative during business, however, the whole Sephiroth situation seemed to be a bit more complex than it should be. There were two sides to it, and each one seemed valid.

But she was a Turk, and Turk orders came before Rufus's.

Rufus’ eyes moved between the two women, his displeasure at being held against his will clear on his face. Walking, they might have actually made it to Central Station and he not be too late for his meeting with Sephiroth. Cut off from even that option, he was left with little else. His fingers curled again, mentally debating whether or not it would be worth it to try to engage them in a fight. Were they his four Turks, that would have never crossed his mind, but these two were unknown factors that he needed to learn. However, now was not the time. These Turks from his father’s time didn’t know him, and he didn’t them. If he wanted their loyalty, he was going to have to tread carefully when needed.

“Very well then. I suggest you two arrange for alternate means of transportation for us then and ensure that none of those creatures attacks us now that we are little more than sitting ducks.”

Taking his seat once more, Rufus reopened his little computer. He retrained the smile wanting to rise to his lips, the barest twitch betraying him. This had been foreseen as well, an option he had considered when informing them of Sephiroth. If nothing else, Rufus was a planner, one who had contingency plans for contingency plans, twisting loops and mazes that ran in all directions. Momentary targets may change, but the end objectives did not. Tseng had played a response to his gambit, and Rufus made his in reply.

“While I do appreciate you and your concern for my safety, Sabra and Lorelei, injuring me is not the best way to go about things. I am sure that Tseng, Reno, or the others could inform you that I tend to shoot back in automatic reaction. I do not know how things were between the Turks and my father, but we tend to try to find a middle ground instead of… tackling me or the like unless it is an assassination attempt. That tends to go over badly in a boardroom.”

With that, he began typing away on his journal as if he were doing nothing more than sitting at his desk at Shin-Ra Company and going over the daily reports. Playing the mad prince wasn’t his forte`, but Rufus was willing to give it a try in order to get what he wanted in the end.

Lorie breathed a sigh of relief when she saw he wasn't going to put up a fight. She was sure they were going to have to do something- Sabra's idle threat to him did make her gasp softly (she wasn't sure if she would have been able to hurt Rufus really...), but she would have to do whatever Mr. Tseng wanted them to do, she supposed. And Sabra was also her superior. But Rufus...

Gah. This whole attempt at a good impression wasn't working well at all.

Still... "Ah, well... I saw some strange carts in the streets as we passed the streets while the train still moved. They're drawn by people, but they're fast, so... I guess we could get one of them..." Or two. Lorie and her weapon weren't the lightest of things, after all. But these words were really the only condolences she could give Rufus, honestly.

"And as for hurting you, well, I certainly wouldn't do anything serious! Maybe sitting on you would work just fine," she beamed, hoisting her heavy shotgun canon over her shoulder again, "This weighs a lot you know! If I just set it in my lap..."

Lorelei really needed to stop babbling on, didn't she?

Sabra shrugged at his response. She'd be a poor Turk if she couldn't take down a man, wouldn't she? However, it would be the least favorable option, because then she'd have to explain to Tseng exactly why Rufus was injured. That would not be a conversation she was looking forward too. The Turk looked between Lorie and Rufus briefly, before deciding to respond.

"Tseng has given express orders to wait for him to contact us."

And that was really that for her. She would wait, and Rufus would wait with her. If he decided to try and leave, she'd stop him. While the image of Lorie sitting on Rufus was comical, if needed it would be a viable option.

Rufus looked up from the edge of his journal, eyes coldly bitter. He disliked being held against his own will more than anything except for being shot or shot at. Falling from a building was preferable. Taking a deep breath he reminded himself that neither of these women were responsible for his current predicament and attempting to go through them would probably rank right up there with the worst ideas ever. Both were trained Turks whereas he only had only the rudimentary knowledge of defending himself. It would be a short fight ending in them embarrassing him and then him having to shoot them to regain his pride.

That was an unacceptable outcome.

This knowledge, however, didn’t lessen the chill look he gave Lorelei as she babbled on through his thoughts. He needed to talk to Tseng about her and find out just what it was that made her good enough to be a Turk. There had to be some hidden asset that he just wasn’t seeing yet. Shifting his gaze to Sabra, his eyes narrowed faintly, sizing her up as he would anyone standing in his way.

“Inform Tseng that I want us moved immediately to Central Station. Immediately.”

That said, he glanced back down to his journal, waiting with the little patience he could muster.

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