Advent Children(M/private)

Van's drunken eyes locked onto the Innkeeper. Even in his tipsy state, he could tell that something was wrong. NO ONE was that kind to members of soldier. They were among the most hated/feared of Shrina's lackies. Van forced himself to get up. Technically, the correct move would have been leave him behind, kill the innkeeper, then quickly find a way to escape. However if they did so, there was no telling how much longer Van's wounds would go unattended. "We need to leave. Stitch me up. I'll clean and wrap the wound later once we've put some distance between us and this place." Van explained in somewhat of a slurred tone of voice. Unlike the other test subjects, Van hadn't scored highly on his alcohol tolerance. The stuff usually went right through him, which was why he hated drinking. 

As Riese started working on closing his wound, Van bit down hard on his bottom lip. The alcohol he had drink was helping a little to numb the pain, but only a little. Once Riese was done Van let out a deep sigh of relief. He pressed his right hand against his forehead. "Damnit..this day has just gone from bad to worst.." he muttered while shifting his gaze down to his stitches. To his surprise, Riese had done a good job..no..she had done a perfect job. "T-Thanks.." Van mumbled as softly as he could. "You're...not as useless...as I thought you'd be..." he muttered again.

Riese wrinkled her nose as the stench of alcohol found her. "Van..." It was pointless to ask how he was doing. It was obvious. What was more obvious is how unhelpful standing around was! "I doubt any of the rooms will have a first aid kit, but maybe downstairs." She hadn't thought about telling the innkeeper to get any needles while she out. "I'll be right--"

"H-Hello?"

The female soldier whipped around and exited the bathroom, stationing herself firmly between the bathroom entrance the intruder. "Who...?" But as Riese's gaze settled on the petite figure, she realized it was only the innkeeper. "You weren't gone long," Riese pointed out. "Why?"

"There's a small shop just down the way. Your friend, he's injured, is he not?"

"Get to the point," Riese snapped. "Why are you back so quickly?"

"W-Well..." The innkeeper looked uneasy, terrified even, but in her small hands was a black pouch of some sort. "I purchased a large medical kit," she finally said and extended the bag toward the soldier. "I'll get clothing, but I didn't feel right just leaving when your friend was so severely injured."

It was highly unusual for any civilian to pay any such respect to anyone who worked for Shinra. Not out of the goodness of their hearts at least. This woman before Riese could have easily just taken her time in hopes that Van died and she wouldn't have to deal with them anymore, yet instead she purchased a medical kit? It seemed all too convenient. But rather than say a word, Riese nodded and reached for the bag. "Thank you... If you wouldn't mind, we need a change of clothes."

"Yes, of course. I'll go find some now." The second the innkeeper left, Riese went back into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. "Either luck is on our side or the shit is about to hit the fan..." she murmured grimly. She set the black bag down and undid the tie, folding it out to reveal several rolls of gauze, alcohol pads, needles, and real thread. There were a couple of items she didn't know the use for, but the fact that there was thread and needles was enough to satisfy her for now. She took one of the needles out and threaded it before turning to Van and grimaced. "I'll be quick," she promised, and moved in close. She rested her hands beside the ragged wound, positioning the needle toward the top, lining it up before beginning what seemed to be an excruciatingly long process. But the second Riese reached the end of the wound, she exhaled in relief and knotted the thread. She grabbed a few of the alcohol pads and handed them to Van while she worked on unraveling the gauze. "Clean up the wound a bit and then I'll help you wrap it. I hate to be pushy, but the sooner we get out of this place the better. I have a bad feeling about that innkeeper, Van."

Van gave Riese a weak nod while grabbing the towel. He pressed against his side, which caused his body to flinch from the pain. What he really needed was some form of antiseptic. A bottle of alcohol would have helped the tore pieces of tissue along his side to regenerate. If they couldn't find any, then a bottle of Vodka would be the next best thing. 

With Riese gone, Van summoned every bit of strength he had and forced his body to rise. He held the towel tightly against his side, but that didn't stop him from tracking blood across the bathroom floor. He searched the cabinets for a bottle of alcohol or peroxide. All he found tho were bottles of toothpaste. "Fuck.." Van mumbled. His eyes shifted towards the bedroom. Inside, there was a mini fridge next to the bed.

Van slowly inched his way out of the bathroom. Every step he took shot violent streaks of pain throughout his body. Of course, the pain was nothing compared to what he had endured at the hands of Shrina's scientists. The soldier pushed his body forward till he was standing in front of the mini fridge. He opened it, and pulled out anything he could get his hands on before with his left hand before returning to the bathroom. Once he was seated, Van popped the lid on the first bottle. He had manged to grab three small bottles of vodka, one bottle of whiskey, and two smaller bottles of rum. "God I hate drinking..." Van muttered as he tilted the whisky bottle upside down and chugged the contents. The liquor would help dull his pain a little.

Next, Van popped the lids on the vodka bottles and emptied the contents onto his bloody towel. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before pressing the soaked towel firmly against his wound. Suddenly, Van's body fell forward! He pressed his face into the tiles of the bathroom floor as his jaw clenched shut. He couldn't scream. Doing so would draw too much attention.

When Riese returned, Van was laying on the bathroom floor. He had emptied the bottles of rum, tho they hadn't really helped with his pain that much. Van was panting softly when his eyes met Riese's. "Fuck...you..." he muttered after hearing her ask if he was still alive. She was right however about needing to stitch his wound shut. "Just..find something..sharp. A hook or something.." Van breathed.

Riese's breath caught in her throat. What was left of Van's shirt fell around his shoulders, fully exposing his chest. "Right..." She tore her eyes away to search the bathroom. It was small, but fully stocked with towels to which she made a grab for. "Try and stop the bleeding as much as possible," she said softly. There wasn't much that Riese could do wearing the bloodied clothes she had on, not to mention the first sight of a Shinra uniform could cause a world of problems. Which then reminded Riese of the innkeeper.

Riese stood and looked down at Van. "I won't be long," she said softly. She had to find that innkeeper before she tried reporting them. She couldn't blame the woman, they had probably terrified her. She gave Van a faint smile before disappearing through the door.

The innkeeper was standing nervously in front of the check in desk rubbing her hands together. Her eyes darted from the door to the hallway leading to the soldier's room, as if she was contemplating something. Of course the second she spotted Riese, her eyes widened in fear. "I-Is everything alright?" she stammered nervously.

Riese nodded slowly as she approached, stopping just at the end of the hallway. She didn't want to risk anyone walking by the doorway to spot her and grow curious. "I need a very large favor," Riese said. Attached to her side was a small pouch filled with a generous amount of gil. She tossed it and watched it land at the innkeepers feet and then motioned toward it. "Take that and use it to buy replacement clothes for myself and my partner. By no means are you to tell anyone what you saw today."

The innkeeper didn't make a go for the gil, but instead watched Riese hesitantly. "What if I refuse?" she meekly challenged.

Riese pointed to a patch located on her uniform. "Official business of Shinra. Failure to cooperate is punishable by death. Find replacement clothes...and sweep the area for any Turks. Go now before my patience runs out." As if Hell's flames were breathing down her neck, the innkeeper nodded vigorously and grabbed the gil and took off, leaving Riese alone. The perfect opportunity to grab the guest list.

"You're not dead yet, are you?" Riese called as she entered the room. She had the guest list in her hand as she entered the bathroom. There was blood everywhere. "I know we heal fast, but we need to stitch that wound up until it does or you're not going to have any blood left." She knelt down beside him and grabbed one of the unused towels and ripped it, fraying the edges to where she could grab individual threads. "Just need a needle or something."

Van remained dead silent while on the road. A few times, he had almost passed out from loss of blood. However, every time he came close the image of Sephiroth flooded his thoughts. His rage returned, stronger than ever. He couldn't die, no..not until Sephiroth was dead. He'd sacrifice everything. He had already sacrificed everything. His body had been turned into a lethal weapon. He had undergone painful experiments which had killed about half of the other children on the first day. He couldn't stop, not now...

When they reached the inn, Van was just barely hanging on. He had slowed the rate of his heart beat in order to lessen the amount of blood he was losing. Unfortunately, do so made him sluggish. Riese would be doing most of the moving for them. As he was leaned against the bathtub, Van let out a low groan of pain. His body hurt all over. "C-Check...perimeter..." Van mumbled even while Riese was undoing his shirt. Once it was off, the brilliance of Shrina's science was transparently displayed. For someone who had went through so much hell, Van's body should have been covered from head to toe in deep jagged scars. Yet, there was hardly a hair out of place. Every portion of Van's body was toned for killing. The only blemish on his body came from the wound on his side. His blood had seeped through his makeshift bandage and was now running down his side, and inbetween his rock hard abs. "C-Check..guest list..make sure..we're..only...." Van groaned. Even while on the verge of passing out, his training demanded action. The city was probably crawling with Turks. If Van and Riese were discovered, their mission would be over. The Turks would not stand for two soldiers interfering with their business.

ooc: I can imagine. Lol

ic: Van looked up into Riese's eyes. He gave her a bloody smile and nodded. "This pain is nothing." he confessed. The soldier had suffered harsher agonies from undergoing Shinra's experiments. His arms weakly grasped onto his shoulders. He took a moment to brace himself. The moment Riese gave the order Van began to push against her as hard as he could. Van's jaw clenched shut as his body was freed from the metal impaling his side. He refused to cry out. No, he would endure the pain no matter how great it was. 

Van's body fell limp against Riese's. His arms hung loosely around her hips while his head came to rest on her shoulder. He was panting softly, trying to control his blood loss. "Just peachy.." Van grumbled while closing his eyes. "Lay me back and tear off my sleeves. Use the cloth to make a bandage for my wound and tie it tightly around my side. We dont have time to stop and rest. We'll continue on foot to Junon." Van stated stubbornly. Sephiroth was right around the corner. Van would die before allowing his target to slip away. "F-Fuck it hurts..." Van muttered. Unfortunately, Van was strictly an offensive type of soldier. He had no defensive, or healing types of materia. The brilliant scientists at Shrina had designed Van to be the ultimate berserker. They hadn't even considered, nor cared, what would happen to Van if he was ever critically wounded..

OOC: Yup and thank you :) Definitely got my hands full lol

IC: Riese's head jerked in Van's direction, her entire body momentarily freezing. She was more startled than horrified. In training they had seen and done far worse than any jagged piece of metal had, so seeing a pool of her partners blood at his feet hardly fazed her. "Van!" Snapping back into realty to ran to her partner's side, her eyes falling to the wound. The metal had ripped through the seat and was wedged into Van's side at a slight angle, making her stomach churn. The blood loss wouldn't be signifiant to a Soldier, but if she wasn't careful, the risk of damaging the muscle always presented itself. 

Riese lifted her eyes to Van's. He must really be in a bad spot to have even considered asking for her help. "Put you hands on my shoulders," she ordered softly. "On my mark, push against me while I pull... I won't lie, this is going to hurt like hell." She moved toward him, closing the space between them and carefully put her hands on either side of the ragged metal. It was blunt enough to where her hands would be protected from any deep cuts, or so she hopped. When Van had his hands on her shoulders, Riese nodded to him. "Now, Van!" With their combined efforts, it took less than a second to pull the metal from Van's side, spilling with it fresh blood. Riese instantly discarded it and threw her arms around Van, bracing him against her body to keep him from falling. 

"Van, can you stand?" she asked softly. With his clothes and skin so coated in blood it would be impossible to tell what kind of damage there was until they were able to get someplace safe to look at it. "The town is nearby, we should find an inn and get that wound taken care of..."

ooc: Wait, you had your baby as in, you gave birth?? If so, congratz!

I'm working on a post tonight. I had my baby, so things got really hectic over here as you can imagine lol Will have my post up when i can get to it :)

Van let out a violent cough. His dull blue eyes slowly peeled open. It took a few minutes for his blurred vision to clear. It took even longer for the ringing in his ears to fade. Once it had tho, Van tried moving his hands. He needed to make he hadn't lost any limbs. As far as he could tell, he still had both his hands. He could move his fingers easily and flex his toes. It seemed like he hadn't suffered any nerve damage. 

Then, pain shot rapidly through Van's entire body. He released a violent cry. A jagged piece of metal had pierced the left side of Van's seat. There was about a foot's worth of metal sticking out from Van's side, covered in blood. "FUCK!" Van screamed out. He grabbed his head set and tossed it to the side. His dull blue eyes shifted over towards Riese. She looked in much better shape than him. Van looked down at his wound. He'd need help pulling his body 'off' the metal. Normally, doing such a thing would cause immense bleeding, but Van saw no other choice. Besides, his body was pretty sturdy. He wouldn't die from a little blood loss.

With a deep sigh, Van closed his eyes tightly. He couldn't believe he was about those four special words. "I need your help.." He whispered, his eyes still closed.

"Van!" So much for impressive. The alarm shot through her eardrums and Riese looked around desperately at the buttons and levers stationed on the dash. Like Van, she didn't have a damned clue. And then Van sent his whole hand through the control panel. Relief came to her ears, but it didn't exactly solve their problem. Points for trying, at least. "What the hell are we supposed to do?" There wasn't time for an answer. The helicopter was plummeting fast and the only thing Riese could do was brace herself against her seat. She pulled the headset off and tossed it aside and felt around. There wasn't even any seat belts on this thing!

"Damn...damn..." Crash.

Everything was a blur after that. Riese awoke and let out a pained groan. She felt like her body had gotten been hit by a train over and over again. She was pressed against the dash of the helicopter with her head just inches from the windshield. "...Van?" Slowly she pushed herself upright. The door on the passenger side had been completely ripped off it hinges and lay as a metallic heap against a neighboring tree. Her head was pounding. "Van," she called again, her voice a bit louder. "Where...?" As Riese turned her head toward the drivers seat, her eyes widened. "Van!"

Van was surprised. His first impression was WAY off. Most of the children that were sucked into Operation Black Box were in fact orphans. Technically Van had been one of them too. He at least had his memories, tho he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. His memories tended to bring him more pain than good. "I see. Well...we're not too far. I'll find a building or something to land on. There are plenty of them in Junon, most of which have helipads." Van replied softly. Things got quiet again after that.

Suddenly, an ear piercing alarm sounded off throughout the helicopter! Van eyes scanned all the various gauges and instruments. It would have helped if he knew how to read them...especially the fuel indicator. As the alarm continued to scream, Van began to grow frustrated. So, he did what he did best. In a fit of rage Van slammed his fist right into the dashboard of the helicopter! Sure enough..it stopped the alarm.

"T-There we go..nothing to worry about it." Van smiled. His smile soon faded tho as he noticed power dropping throughout the helicopter. It wasn't long before even the blades stopped rotating. "Oh..." Van blinked as his eyes shifted between Riese and the busted dashboard. Right by the whole his fist had made was a big meter displaying the amount of fuel they had. At take off, the helicopter had only been fueled half way. "I think we're empty..." Van blinked. He was pretty calm considering that the machine they were riding in was dropping right out of the sky! Van gripped the arms of his seat. The force from the sudden drop sent the helicopter into a sharp spin!

Perhaps, if Van hadn't drilled a hole through the dashboard, he could have at least guided the helicopter down towards the ground. However, even the controls had stopped working! "Fuck!!!" Van screamed out just before they crashed. A huge fire ball suddenly lit up the night sky! Smoke and ash filled the air. 'Luckily' they had managed to crash in a small clearing rather than in the forest. The damage was done though, and Van sat unconsciously glued to his seat

Riese swallowed hard. Not yet, but who's to say you won't start by crashing this helicopter!? she thought grimly. She had to admit though, it was impressive when Van lifted them into the air without a single ounce of training...cracking a jke while he was at it, too! Maybe there was hope yet. She swallowed again and put the headset on. "Here goes nothing."

But as minutes turned into an hour, Riese caught herself rummaging around in all the cubby holes she could find in the helicopter. She wouldn't admit it, but she was curious about what sort of things Reno of all Turks, would store in this thing. Her findings brought up a couple porno magazines, three maps, and a brief case with useless paperwork. She took hold of the maps, unfolding one at a time. The first one was an atlas. Nothing special, very basic. The second map was of the surrounding areas of Junon and the neighboring cities. The third map... Well, Riese couldn't determine its importance, but something about it bothered her. It was identical to the second map, but various cities were crossed off with a big red X. Was he searching for something? Sephiroth perhaps?

As her thoughts began to cloud with speculation, Van's words brought her back to attention. She lifted her eyebrows at him in surprise. Why would he ask? He didn't seem to care about anything that involved her from the second they met, why now?

"Well...truthfully I didn't choose to join Shinra," she said softly. "I was an orphan, I think. The past is a little lacking in details, but I remember a Turk bringing me in to see a man." She folded the map up and tucked it into a small pocket in her uniform. "I never fought it because it was better than living like a rat on the streets." His invasive inquiries didn't seem to bother her. She told him all there was to tell, really. Orphaned, extremely fuzzy memories about her time on the streets, and her reason for not fighting back. She remembered the words Van spoke at the bar to the woman, and it told her then that Van's past wasn't as simple as, 'I don't remember'.

"I think whether they joined willingly or not, each one that fought to become a soldier had their own reasons for not fighting back," she said. She cleared her throat suddenly. "How much further to Junon?"

ooc: Dont worry about it. I had to deal with midterms and other stuff this week so its fine :)

IC:Van shifted his gaze over toward's Riese. He handed her a head phone set so they'd be able to communicate. "Come on! When have I ever let you down?" Van grinned. Had he just made a joke?! Van wasn't the joking type tho. Either hell had frozen over or things were about to get really bad. Van's eyes had even lit up a little. He didn't realize it..but he was actually having fun. Hijacking Reno's helicopter was just the thing he needed to bring a little light to his day.

A hour later,
Van and Riese were on their way. Van had managed to get the helicopter up into the air without crashing. That had to be a good sign..right? They were just a few miles away from Junon. So far everything was going well. Then, Van decided to break their hour long silence. "So..why did you join soldier?" Van asked. The question came completely out of the blue. "I mean...its not like I care...because I dont." He stated bluntly. He couldn't have Riese thinking that he had taken an interest in her after all. "I'm just a little curious. You look the type who maybe came from money. Whats daddy's little girl doing with Shrina??" Van asked in the most intrusive way possible.

He only half expected her to give him a serious answer. The odd thing was that if she had reflected the question, he wouldn't have told her a thing. No..some memories he didn't care to relive. It was bad enough that Sephiroth was walking around taunting him, constantly reminding him of his own weakness. Van would crush him. It didn't matter what it took or what/whom he had to sacrifice. He'd kill the former the soldier. Whatever happened after that...well...who cared?

OOC: Sorry for the delay. Things got a little hectic here lol

IC: Give a warrior the world and they become nothing but overpaid brown-nosers. Van and Riese could take on a dozen Turks without breaking a sweat, yet send a bunch of them after even a single Soldier and someone was going to die. Chances were is wasn't the Soldier. Why would Shinra take such pride in weakness?

Riese quieted her mind as they reached the helipad station. Her stomach churned and a grim look appeared on her face. "You've got to be kidding," she murmured. Of all the training and torture they went through to become Soldiers, not once were they trained to operate any other machines outside regular vehicles. Yet here they were about to steal a damned helicopter. Well, if Sephiroth didn't kill Riese, Van would!

But as soon as the two guards appeared before them and witnessing that grin of Van's, Riese knew he was dead set on getting to Junon as fast as possible. The guards fell quickly, holding no chance against the hotheaded Soldier. Riese stepped over their unconscious bodies and hurried through the steel panned doors, taking a quick glance at the first helicopter. Turks must've pissed someone off bad for one of their favorite toys to get so beat up. It didn't matter now, Van was making a run toward the third helicopter, having no hesitation hopping into the pilot seat. Riese got in on the other side and slammed the door shut. 

"I really hope you know what you're doing Van!" she shouted over the raging blades above them. The damn thing was a lot louder than she expected.

Van continued walking as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn't just been shot at. The girl had been lucky. The situation could have easily gone worst if Van had chosen to deal with her differently. His pulsing blue eyes shifted over towards Riese after she asked what his plan was. "I could tell you...but I think it would be more fun to show you." Van stated with a wide mischievous grin. It was a sign that something very bad was probably going to happen soon.

When they got back to HQ, Van headed directly for the helipad station. The Turks were truly privileged. They had their own helicopters, refueling stations, and even their own vending machines! As Van approached the steel doors that separated him from the helicopters, two armed guards quickly moved to bar his path. "Turks only. You'll have to turn around, now." One of them barked. A wicked grin quickly spread across Van's lips. As if two guards could stand up against a soldier.

Van made quick work of the men. He had broken the first guard's nose and a few ribs of the second. "This way." He smiled as walked past the open steel doors. On the helipad there were three helicopters. Two were in the process of being repaired. It looked like they had been shot up pretty bad. Van raced towards the third helicopter. By luck, it had just been refueled..or so Van thought. "Move it!" he shouted back at Riese as jumped into the pilot's seat. Then, Van noticed something. There was a small sticker on the dashboard that read, 'property of Reno.' Van's grin grew even wider! What better way to flick off the Turks than to steal one of their helicopters? Now, did Van know how to fly one? Technically...no, but that wasn't going to stop him from getting to Junon.

The bullet spiraled off Van's chest and bounced off the asphalt til it landed firmly at Riese's feet. She leaned down and picked it up, assessing the compressed metal before looking back at Van and the woman. Not even a scratch. Their training exercises had prepared them to be ready for anything, so why was her heart beating so erratically all of the sudden? She shuddered and tossed the bullet against the bar wall as if it had burnt her. 

"Van..."

The woman's eyes widened, focused on Van's chest. "You weren't... You're not..." She stumbled back, dropping the gun before collapsing to her knees. All she could do was stare at them both. Her sullen eyes filled with tears as she broke down, listening to the soldiers words. 

Riese was stunned beyond belief. Everyone she knew at Shinra always warned her of Van's temper, of his ability to be reckless...but never in a million years would she have guessed such wisdom could reside in such a hot tempered warrior. She felt chills race across her skin and before she allowed herself to over think anything, she approached Van. "We should get to HQ..." She followed him quietly, her gaze resting on his broad shoulders. She could only imagine what his life must have been like for such words to form, what trials he'd faced long before Shinra. Guess even a soldier possessed more than one side to them, she thought. 

"What's the plan when we get to HQ?"

Had Van been a 'normal' human, taking a bullet to the chest would have killed him immediately. However, members of soldier were built take all sorts of abuse. In addition, for the purpose of killing Sephiroth Shrina's scientists had made both Van and Riese stronger than the average soldiers. So when the bullet hit Van's chest, his body barely flinched. Actually, the bullet never even made it past his chest. It simply bounced off. 

"I cant decide..." Van whispered as he rubbed his chest. "If you're either very brave or very stupid." Van stated as lightly pulsed around his right hand. It was clear what would happen next. Van would kill the girl. He wasn't the type to show mercy when attacked.

"But you know..." Van sighed suddenly. "IF you're strong enough to face a dog of Shrina...you should be strong enough to clean yourself up." He replied softly. That was a shocker. Van, a renowned ass hole had actually said something nice! Maybe the world was ending. With another sigh, Van turned around and began walking back towards Riese. He stopped for a moment tho and slightly turned so he could see the girl one more time. "Feeding your addiction wont set you free. The peace you're experiencing is only temporary. If you lack the resolve to improve your life...then you should turn that gun on yourself. For you see...only in death...can we become free from life's torments."

"Back to HQ?" Now what was he planning... Regardless, Riese followed Van through the the spilled poker chips and cards to the outside of the bar. Miraculously hardly anyone was around. One would figure being a cesspool of crime that this sort of thing wouldn't be enough to scare off the locals. 

The muggy city air hit Riese hard when they took their leave. She couldn't tell which was better, cars fumes and garbage or stale cigarette smoke and sex. She decided fumes were more toxic, but still more preferable. She glanced at Van, stopping the second he did. 

"You got a deathwish?" 

Riese turned toward the shadows, her eyes resting on the tattered woman. Another difference between her and Van. Van seemed to be suspicious of everything and anything, even just a drug addict trying to get her next fix. Riese on the other hand didn't care to deal with such trivialities. In fact, she was surprised Van wasn't just walking away. Did he just enjoy confrontation altogether? 

"Van, we're wasting time..." she insisted, yet made no move to stop him from approaching the woman until her gun was firmly pressed against his chest. A normal bullet would hurt, but it wouldn't kill them. "Van?"

The woman shook, speechless at Van's bold approach. Uncertainty crossed her bony features and it became clear she was both afraid and disappointed that the situation seemed to turn on her. "S-Stop..." she pleaded. Her hands could barely hold onto the gun, but even so, the woman squeezed her eyes shut, let out a loud yelp, and pulled the trigger...

Riese stood there motionless. She didn't think the woman would shoot, but she had. She looked at Van, curious to see what his next course of action would be.

Willy quickly shook his head. He slowly picked himself up and started backing away. Van hadn't stopped him, so he took that as his chance to run for it. Van thought for a moment. Even if they did manage to grab a car it would take at least eight hours to reach Junon. No..they'd need to get there as soon as possible. Suddenly, a wicked grin formed across Van's lips. Such a smile usually meant that he was about to do something foolish.

"Follow. We're going back to HQ." Van smiled while stepping over the broken table. When they got outside, Van stopped dead in his tracks. They were being followed. He could feel the presence of someone hiding in the shadows. "You got a death wish?" Van blinked while turning back towards the pub. A pencil thin young woman stepped out from behind the door. She had matted shoulder length red hair and dark bags under her brown eyes. She slowly approached the two soldiers. She had watched trash Willy around the bar and figured that since they were Shrina they had to be packing cash. "Give me everything you've got, now!!!" She screamed while pulling a gun out from her purse. Her body was shaking. It had been two days since she had last had her fix. Her body was covered in dark bruises. She had reached the point in her young life where she could no longer use her body to barter for drugs.

"I'm warning you..I swear I'll shoot!" She hissed. Van closed his eyes. "Then shoot." he replied softly, his eyes slowly opening. "But know that if you dont pull the trigger within two seconds, I will kill you." Van stated, his words as cold as ice. Suddenly, a small orb located within his right wrist began to glow. It sent several sharp bolts of lighting up along Van's arm. Slowly, Van approached the girl until her gun pointed firmly against his toned chest. He gazed down upon the drug addict, his eyes holding little sympathy for her. "Well? You're two seconds are over. What will it be?"

Riese nodded in response. Willy had become pitifully humiliated, spilling everything he knew on the subject. Deep down, she knew Van only wanted Sephiroth, but if either of them intended to stay alive long enough to meet that bastard head on, they needed to see the whole picture. The Turks could put a huge road block into their plans. 

Sighing heavily, she crossed her arms and turned her head up toward the ceiling. "Shinra isn't big on lending machinery out," she mused and then turned back toward Willy for a moment. "Hm, you wouldn't have a vehicle by any chance?" If he didn't, they'd have to get crafty and take one without notifying local authorities. Last thing they needed was to to leave a trail giving the Turks every ounce of information they needed to see they were coming. "Any ideas how to get there?" She turned to Van.

"I DONT KNOW! HOW MANY TIMES TO HAVE TO SAY IT?!!" Willy screamed just before Van shoved him back onto his ass. "Willy...do you enjoy having testicles??" Van asked innocently. He pulled his spear from his back and jammed the blade right between Willy's legs, just inches from his crotch. Willy's eyes tore wide open. He had almost wet him self...well...he had actually, but had managed to hold a little back.

"O-Ok.." He whimpered. God, why did he have to suffer so much?! What had he done to deserve being bullied by a psychopath like Van Highwind? "Look..the source of the information came from Rude, Reno's right hand man. I overheard him explaining a few details to some other Turks." Willy explained. "I swear thats really all I know! I dont know why you guys are hunting the same target. IF you wanna find out you'll have to find a Turk and ask him. N-Now I've told you everything..c-c-can I go now?" Willy pleaded. Van pulled the bladed end of his spear out from the wooden floor. It still didn't make sense, but then, Van's objective wasn't to figure out why Shrina did the things it did. He could have cared less why he was 'created' or what Rufus was plotting behind his father's back. "Alright. I believe you." Van finally admitted, which made Willy release a deep sigh of relief. "In any case.." Van sighed as he turned to Riese. "Our target is Junon. We need to go there and figure out what the hell is going on. If Sephiroth is coming, I want to be the first to welcome him."

The entire place seemed to grow quiet after Willy hit the tabletop. Riese glanced speculatively at Van for a long moment before turning back to the snitch. Her boots clicked against the hardwood floor as she approached him. "You mean to say that Shinra's sent Turks to reel Sephiroth in?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow. She nudged the table with her foot. "The source of this information didn't happen to mention why both Soldier and Turks would be sent after the same target, did they?" Her tone held a dangerous edge, posed more as a demand rather than a question. 

Willy's information didn't sent right. Why would Shinra go through the tremendous effort to create little Sephiroth Jr.'s and then turn around and send Turks? 

Riese moved aside. "Remember, Willy...you have a chance to keep your beating minimal if you stay truthful. Cross that and things can get ugly." She balled her fists up and brought them up and then stretched her fingers out, almost as if she were warming up. "Van doesn't seem to like you as it is. You wouldn't want to piss two Soldiers off." The men still hovering around the poker table took one look at each of the "monsters" before they decided they were too close for comfort and took off. Now it was only the three of them in the back of the bar.

Willy trembled as Van's grip around his neck tightened. The snitch began gasping for air, begging for someone..anyone to help him. Unfortunately, no one was going to interfere. There were steep penalties for disrupting Shrina business. No one was fool enough to tear Van's attention away from his target.

However, when Riese spoke, Van's eyes shifted towards her. "Minimal damage? Heh, what a good idea." Van grinned wickedly. He picked Willy up by his neck and threw the poor man right into the middle of the poker table behind them. A combination of beer, cards, and chips flew everywhere! Willy let out a pained drunken cry as his back slammed into the table, breaking it in two. The men around the table jumped to their feet. They looked pissed, but weren't drunk enough to raise their fists. They simply took a few steps back while Van stepped forward. "You have her to blame for this." Van sighed as he hovered over Willy. "I was just going to choke you out. Its my partner who suggested I step things up." he grinned and grabbed Willy by his shirt. He yanked him back up to his feet. "So..since this is only 'minimal damage' I'll let you pick how many teeth I knock out." Van stated. Who said he was cruel? He thought himself to be a fair man. 

"W-Wait!!!" Willy cried while holding his hands up in defense. Blood was trickling steadily down the back of his head. "R-Rufus...the word is that he's plotting to bring in Sephiroth on his own. He intends to use the Turks to lure Sephiroth into Junon. I dont know how, but the Turks have been preparing for months." Willy admitted. "I think you're lying.." Van growled darkly. He had heard nothing of any plan to lure in Sephiroth. "I'm not! Th-This is a fucking Turk operation. They're more or less taking orders directly from Rufus now. A-Also you know that they hate people from Soldier...tho more specifically...they hate you." Willy coughed. Van sighed deeply. "So...Tseng is still holding a grudge hm?" Van groaned. Willy shuddered. He wished he had never gotten involved with Van. "N-Not just him...Reno too. You're good at pissing people off.."