Tock Tick

AN: I own nothing in this story. This is for ToWriteLoveOnHerArms08 so enjoy! Please R&R.

"So why are we in Hojo's old lab of all places again?" Tifa asked.

"Because Reeve asked me to. Though why you and your Turkey of a boyfriend are here, I have no idea," Yuffie replied from her position on one of the upper levels.

"Reno was assigned to work with you and WRO and I decided to tag along," Tifa answered. She felt an arm encircle her waist then and turned her head back to see Reno and his trademark smirk.

"Thanks for that, babe. If I were here with the ninja all day I might just go crazy," he said, kissing her deep on the lips.

The moment was ruined however by a shout.

"Oi you two! The sooner we check out this whole place, the sooner we can get out of here!" Yuffie yelled. Reno broke apart then and was about to yell at Yuffie when he was cut off by Tifa's hand on his shoulder.

"We understand Yuffie, sorry about that."

Twenty minutes later Tifa and Reno were investigating a large pod together, Yuffie having moved to a wall of switches, buttons, and levers.

"What could Hojo have used this for?" Tifa asked aloud.

"Who knows? That sick bastard was the only one who really knew. I'm glad he's dead," Reno stated.

But before Tifa could speak, Yuffie gave an excited shriek.

"Time to pull a switch!" She did so and the pod Tifa and Reno were in instantly closed up.

"What did you pull- Reno started to say before electricity crackled around the two of them. A blinding burst of it came to life and when it dissipated, there was no sign of the Turk and his girlfriend.

"Whoops..." Yuffie said to herself, staring at the empty space her friends used to occupy.

She needed to find Tseng.

Tifa looked around, Reno beside her. They had arrived in a wooden attic like room, boxes and other items littered around. The Turk spotted a calender on one of the walls and when he saw the date, he turned to Tifa.

"We're...in the past," Reno observed.

The young woman ran from her pursers, ducking through passageways she knew like the back do her hand, her white cloak covering her face so she couldn't be identified. Finally certain that she had led them on a good goose chase, she ducked through several more passageways before emerging in her hideaway. But just as she was relaxing, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Whirling around, she was met with two pairs of eyes.

"Who are you?" Reno asked the cloaked figure who had suddenly shown up.

"Why should I tell you?! You just want to take all my Materia!" the woman yelled, her voice revealing her to be a teenager.

"Yuffie?" Tifa said.

"Yuffie?! How dare you compare me to that traitor!" Here she threw back her cloak and both Tifa and Reno went wide eyed. For standing in front of them, with her hands on her hips, dark brown hair trailing behind her, was a teenage version of Tifa Lockhart. "I'm the Great Ninja Tifa Lockhart, at your service!" Here she extended her hand while observing Tifa. "You know you look a lot like me, what's you name?"

Luckily, Tifa was quick at thinking on her feet.

"I'm Rinoa. Rinoa Branford and this is my boyfriend Reno," she said, shaking her counterpart's hand.

"Well nice to meet you. I was just running away from some of daddy's guards."

"Why would you do that?" Reno asked. The teenage Tifa just shrugged her shoulders.

"For fun of course. Daddy doesn't mind, or at least he doesn't get really upset about it. And I think I need to take you to him, he doesn't like having strangers snooping around in the palace."

"We'll go," Reno said. Tifa nodded and then they followed after the Materia obsessed brunette.

"What's going on?" Tifa whispered.

"I don't know, it's like we're in some alternate reality version of the past," Reno replied in equally hushed tones.

That's for sure, Tifa thought to herself as they followed the teenager to a pair of large doors. Opening them up, the Materia obsessed Tifa walked towards a gilt throne and bowed low to the figure sitting there. Tifa and Reno fought to hold in their shock and luckily didn't make a big scene although their eyes widened a little as they too bowed.

Sephiroth was the King of Wutai. The silver haired man had a robe covering his lithe body and he smiled warmly at both of them. His daughter approached closer then and whispered in his ear. He gave a nod and addressed them.

"My daughter tells me you were found in one of her hideouts around the palace. Would you mind telling me just what you were doing there?"

"Please...Your Majesty...we got lost and were just trying to find a way out," Tifa said, as polite as could be.

Sephiroth nodded and looked at her and then to his daughter.

"You almost look like twins...how odd. Anyway, feel free to stay here as long as you like. After all Wutai is one of the last havens in this world from Shinra and their greed."

"Thank you Your Majesty," Reno said, bowing before taking Tifa by the arm and leading her out of the throne room.

"Reno, what are you doing?"

"We've got to get out of here. I don't trust that silver haired jerk as far as I can throw him. And we were accepted far too easily. The sooner we leave the better."

"You have a point..." Tifa said. Reno nodded as they walked out of the palace and headed into town.

"Tifa, what did you make of them?" Sephiroth asked his daughter.

"Well they're obviously Shinra spies, daddy," Tifa answered.

"Wouldn't it be terrible if some accident were to befall them before they could report to their superiors?" Sephiroth remarked calmly. Tifa beamed then and nodded.

"Yeah, I better go track them down, huh?" Sephiroth nodded and Tifa vanished then. "Leviathan I do love my daughter so. It seems only yesterday I was teaching her how to break someone's neck..."

A few miles above the range of Wutai's radar, a black Shinra helicopter hovered. Binoculars spotted Tifa and Reno walking out the main gate. One of the Turks inside turned to his comrades.

"Alright people, targets sighted, let's mosey!"

Reno and Tifa were just a few feet from the main gate when they felt a pair of hands encircling them and felt themselves being lifted into the air.

"Turk snatch and grab!" Reno managed to yell at Tifa as they ascended to the waiting chopper.

Back on the ground, Tifa watched as her targets were taken from her and she clenched her fists.

How was she supposed to kill them now? However her thoughts of tracking them down were put on hold when she saw a nearby traveler with Materia overflowing in a bag strapped to his chocobo.

"Materia!" she exclaimed and started to run towards the man, who quickly turned in the other direction and spurred his chocobo as fast as he could as soon as he saw the fanatical gleam in her eye.

Aboard the chopper, once the couple had managed to collect their senses, they found themselves staring at a group of more familiar faces, all decked out in Turks uniforms.

"They're awake sir!" one of them said, turning to the spiky haired commander.

"I see that Aerith," he said with a shake of his head.

"Cloud?" Tifa said.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," he said with a smile. "You two aren't from around these parts, are you?"

"And how did you figure that out?" Reno cut in. Cloud looked at him then and grinned widely.

"Hojo told us. She said there was some temporal anomaly around Wutai and that it was coming from you two. So we're taking you back to base and try to find a way to send you home."

Tifa and Reno looked at each other.

A cheery Cloud who was a Turk? A female Hojo? A lying, deceitful Wutai with Sephiroth as it's king and a teenage Tifa as it's princess? And to top it all off a Shinra that was actually nice?

Wonderland would have made more sense than this place.

After landing at the Turk's base and being led to an interrogation room, Reno and Tifa awaited whoever would question them. The door opened a few minutes later and the clacking of heels rang out on the stone floor.

Yuffie looked at them with a deadly serious expression on her face, a dot in the middle of her forehead.

"According to our scientists you don't belong here," she started off, her tone cold. "So then why are you here?"

"We got transported thanks to some weird lab equipment," Reno answered. Yuffie looked at him then and studied his face.

"And I suppose next you're going to say that you're a member of the Turks in whatever reality you're from, correct?" Reno nodded and Yuffie then turned to Tifa, studying her as well.

"And who are you?" Under her intense gaze, Tifa decided telling the truth would be best.

"I'm Tifa Lockhart and this is my boyfriend Reno. We honestly didn't mean to come here and if we could leave that would be wonderful."

Yuffie nodded at that and looked at them both one more time before turning her face towards the door.

"Ruda, you can come in now," she ordered. The door opened then and a petite young woman came in, her head full of dark hair matching the dark sunglasses covering her eyes and she grinned widely at Yuffie.

"Sure thing boss, what do you want me to do with them? Take them to the cells, the labs, to space, anything you name it and I'll- but the shades wearing young woman was cut off by a stern glare from Yuffie.

"Just take them to Hojo and don't- however the head of the Turks was cut off as electricity began to coalesce around the couple she had been interrogating. A burst of light blinded the two Turks for a moment and when it vanished the suspects were gone.

"Boss, did you see that? That was so weird but kinda neat too! Don't you think it'd be neat to go to where they live? Maybe I'm bald there and you're obsessed with Materia or something silly like that, wouldn't that be the best bo- but Yuffie again glared at her loudmouth of a subordinate and Ruda took off her sunglasses, brown eyes looking at the floor. "Sorry..." Yuffie sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Just try to keep your mouth shut sometime Ruda, please..." Yuffie asked. Ruda perked up immediately and saluted.

"Sure thing! I'll be so quiet even cats won't hear me sneak up on them! I'll knock them out and take them home and cuddle them all day long! Because I'm the best Turk ever!"

All Yuffie could do at that point was groan and lay her forehead against the cool metal table.

She really needed a vacation.

Tifa and Reno blinked a little as they found themselves back in the pod, the doors opening to let them out.

"Turkey, Tifa, it worked!" Yuffie's excited voice rang out. As the couple got out of the odd device they were suddenly tackled to the floor, a pair of arms hugging the both of them. "I'm so sorry that happened and I'll do anything to make it up to you!" Yuffie said, eyes pleading for forgiveness. However she was shocked when the two merely smirked at her.

"It's alright princess, we're just glad you're you," Reno said.

"Yeah, don't ever change, okay Yuffie?" Tifa put in. Yuffie let them get up then and watched as they walked away, the two laughing at the sight of Rude standing there stoically.

"Reno, I'll be expecting a full report about where you two ended up on my desk tomorrow!" Tseng called out to the retreating red head. He only received a wave of a hand in reply. Looking to Rude, Tseng raised an eyebrow. "Why were they laughing at you?"

"I don't know," the bald Turk answered.

Yuffie was wondering if they suffered brain damage. I mean the two of them actually thanking her for being herself? No one had ever done that!

Getting some new Materia, Yuffie decided to herself, would help her get over how confused she was.

Later that evening, Tifa snuggled against Reno on their couch.

"That was some day, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, you looked cute as a teenager, that's for sure," Reno said with a chuckle. Tifa gave a mock glare before losing it and laughing as well.

"And Ruda...I don't think I'll ever forget about her," Tifa said. Reno nodded and nuzzled her neck a little.

Returning home had never felt this good, the Turk thought to himself as Tifa started to kiss him on the lips.