By: Albedosreqium / Soyna
Warnings and Genre:
Reno angst. Mention of yaoi but nothing explicit. Adult language. Violence and injury. A lot of unanswered questions too.
Word Count:
10886 (without the disclaimer and warnings, it is still a little over))
Setting:
After all has been said and done from FF7… after Advent and Dirge.
Disclaimer
All related Final Fantasy names and characters are copyrighted by the almighty Square Enix©. I do not profit from this endeavour.
Summary:
A Hojo-made Materia is found that will allow people to go back in time and change events. Reno was not the one that they intended to send back.
VERSO
Reno wanted to leave.
It had been three incredibly long hours sitting and listening to Reeve babble about the new materia that was found. He knew he should be paying attention because it was important enough to mobilize WRO, Shin-Ra, and AVALANCHE all together.
It was a strange reunion of all the factions' big names on Gaia. Everyone kept to their little cliques. Reeve was the centre of it all, as at one point or another he had been a part of all the groups. WRO scientist's and members surrounded Reeve. Cloud and Vincent, who were the representatives from AVALANCHE, sat across from the engineer. Then there was his own group -- Shin-Ra. Rude and Tseng stood by Rufus.
He didn't want to be anywhere near the President at the moment, and was sitting near the WRO guys. He didn't know them and that meant they weren't inclined to talk to him; he was not in the mood for any sort of banter.
He wasn't really paying attention to the rambling of the 'people in the know'. His focus was on Rufus.
Rufus was trying to be strong. He was ignoring all his injuries that nagged him and Reno could tell that it was wearing him out. Rufus should have been using his cane as he walked around the meeting room, and he had taken off his eyepatch again. Reno could see that he was tiring quickly. The President's hip was not strong enough to handle all the walking that he was doing. The scars from Diamond Weapon still took a toll on his body as much as he wanted to pretend that they weren't there.
Rufus had made it abundantly clear that he had new 'priorities' in his life now, in the form of a painful announcement earlier that week about how he was going to marry a bimbo from Costa del Sol. He didn't remember what her name was and didn't care. He had listened to Rufus calmly explain to him that he couldn't indulge in his childlike whims anymore and it was time for him to move on so that he could start a family.
Reno had been unable to say anything. He had been too stunned at seeing Rufus wrapping his arms around the tanned woman with overly bright teeth and bleached hair.
By the time that he got over the shock of being so utterly rejected, they had been interrupted by an urgent call, and now they were all listening to an animated Reeve talk about the multicoloured materia that sat in the middle of the table.
"So, Verso, will allow us to reverse events that happened in the past," Reeve said finally and the room erupted into a flurry of voices
All the talk was about how they could stop Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal before they went insane, while others talked about Deepground before the conversation ultimately turned to talk of Hojo.
"Yo, maybe I can go back and make sure I don't crash that last chopper."
All eyes turned to him. "Did you not understand the potential for this, Reno?" Rufus said in a cold, annoyed tone.
"Most definitely," Reno said and rolled his eyes at the coloured ball on the table. He did pay some attention to their babble about the compression of a huge list of materia -- Time, Demi, Escape, Debarrier, Morph, Manipulate, Sense, Mime and Exit -- into the small, unassuming ball. "It means we can go back and kill all the bastards that caused the world to be such a mess, yo."
Reeve sighed. "It's not as simple as that. Killing someone in the past could have catastrophic effects on our timeline and make things worse. We have to be strategic in the plans as to who and when we send back to talk to critical people at the 'moment of truth.' We will only have an hour to do these tasks. We can change things to help preven…"
"Whoa! Really. You think that sending people back in time to talk to them about how bad their decisions are for the future is a good idea? That is so fuckin' lame! Are ya gonna walk up to Sephiroth and tell 'em that he really should get over his Oedipus Complex?"
A few people smirked and he got a chuckle out of one of the members of the WRO, even Cloud cracked a smile.
"I think you should leave now, Reno," Rufus said with a deep chill in his voice.
Reno stood, nearly causing his chair to topple over. "I think I should. Don't think I'm needed anymore, yo."
Tseng stood from across the meeting place and gave him a concerned look. Rude was giving him the same pitiful look and it was not being disguised by his sunglasses.
Reno didn't want their pity and he was ready to leave everything behind, after all, he didn't have anything to look forward to any more.
Reno stared at the ball. They were still at the stupid camp and they were still talking about the materia and how they should use it. He heard a noise behind him and he already knew who it was. It was a conversation that he had been trying to avoid since the announcement made about the bimbo.
"Reno."
He turned to see Tseng standing with his head tilted slightly, giving him a concerned look. "What do ya want?" he said as he crossed his arms to look at the leader of the Turks. "I'm doin' my fuckin' job and watchin' the damn ball, as scheduled."
"That's not why I need to talk to you."
"I don't wanna talk about anythin'," Reno snapped.
Tseng was silent for a little while. "Rufus is doing what is best for him and the future of Shin-Ra. He was supposed to tell you the night before the announcement."
Reno closed his eyes and clenched his fists. "Well, he didn't tell me. He didn't give me any indication that he was bored with me. He told me at the same time that he told everyone about that bimbo."
"Her name is Bambi."
"Bimbo, Bambi -- same diff," Reno muttered under his breath.
"I'm sorry." Tseng placed a hand on his shoulder.
Reno shrugged it off and turned on Tseng, suddenly very angry at his boss. "You knew!" He yelled. Tseng did not deny it. He stood there with his hand still outstretched. "Yo, you knew all about it and you let me be humiliated like that." Reno spat.
"It is for the best…."
Reno cut him off. "For the best! Bullshit!" He knew that yelling at Tseng was not going to make himself feel better over the fact that Rufus was with the woman now. "He didn't say a thing and then –- bam –- he's announcing his marriage to the ditzy woman and sleeping in our bed the next day!"
"Reno," Tseng said in a low warning tone.
"You can shut it, Boss. I will just do my job," Reno said, turning his back to him. "I will stay away from him and his bimbo and move on with my life." He doubted he could stand to be around Rufus any longer. It would hurt too much to remember that he had been duped.
"I am glad that you understand," Tseng said.
Reno closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. He heard Tseng leave and he was alone in the room again. "But I don't understand," Reno whispered as he placed the ball back in its little box.
He wished he had never been a Turk to begin with.
Reno looked at the unused stone that he was guarding again. He knew Tseng was just putting him in this position because he wanted to keep him out of trouble and away from Rufus. He kept staring at the odd magical ball and wondered if they were ever going to do something with it.
"Ah, Reno. You are on duty here again."
He looked to see Reeve enter the tent. "Of course," he muttered and pointed to the ball. "So have you guys decided anything yet?"
"We are still going through the probabilities," Reeve said as he looked at the notebook in his hands.
Reno muttered. "Are you sure that it'll work?"
"We have performed enough tests to get an understanding of what it can do. Now it's just determining which five events. It only allows us an hour window for each event to alter things, so we must hit the critical moments to have the biggest effect." Reeve rubbed his temple. "We don't want to make it worse."
"Nothin' could be worse," Reno whispered as he picked up the ball. He was familiar with the smoothness of it and it was always a little startling, considering that it looked so rough.
"Plenty things could be worse," Reeve said as he looked at his notes.
"Who ya gonna send?"
"It has yet to be decided."
"What events are ya gonna change?"
"It has yet to be decided."
Reno rolled his eyes and tossed the ball in his hand. "You guys have been talkin' for days and ya haven't come up with anythin', yo?"
"These decisions are critical," Reeve said without looking up from his notes. "They can not be made lightly."
"I still think you should go back and kill Hojo," Reno muttered as he thought of a few other things that he would like to change as well. "He is the bastard that started this whole mess."
"It's not that simple. Such a drastic change can snap the timeline, instead of nudging it into a new flow. The snap created from a death could be disastrous."
Reno didn't really understand what Reeve said. He placed the ball back in the box and pulled out his EMR. "Couldn't be more disastrous than what we've already been through." Reno placed his EMR on the table by the box.
"Quit playing with Verso. Leave it alone, Reno. It's not a toy," Reeve said, now sounding annoyed.
"Yeah, sure," Reno said. He still had a slot available in his weapon. He had three slots and the other two were full. He didn't really think as his hand reached for the smooth ball again.
"No!" he heard Reeve yell as he inserted the ball in his EMR. It started to glow immediately. He tried to grab it, meaning to pull it out, before it activated
But it was too late.
Reno suddenly blinked and looked around him. He wasn't in that tent or with an alarmed Reeve reaching for him anymore.
He looked around and swallowed hard.
This was his home.
His real home.
The small little ground floor apartment that he and his mom had shared before she was killed. He had loved the apartment because he had a yard and he was allowed to play outside in the dirt with the other kids. His mom would always be in the kitchen, and on Wednesdays she baked cookies. He had always looked forward to coming home from school on Wednesdays; it was the best day of the week.
He inhaled deeply and looked over to the window and saw his mom quietly working in the kitchen. He could smell the familiar scent of her baking and he still remembered how much he had loved them; no one made cookies like his mother had.
"Mom." He let out a sob and just about jumped through the window to hug her. He was home and his mom was still alive and making cookies.
It had to be Wednesday.
He wondered if this was the day that his mother was killed; the day that he came home from school to find her brutalized body on the kitchen floor. It was the day that the smell of blood and burnt cookies started to haunt him.
He looked at Verso in his weapon. He had activated it somehow.
This was the day that changed his life, made him want to get revenge and ultimately led him to become a Turk. At least, that was what all the counselling that they had forced him to go through told him.
Did Verso get him here in enough time so that he could save his mom?
He walked to the door, knowing that it wouldn't be locked, and opened it. He could hear the familiar and long gone sound of his mother's humming. The small apartment was as he remembered it, and it made him smile softly as he walked deeper. He looked at the calendar and clock that hung on the wall by the door. It confirmed that this was the day that his mother died. The clock told him that he still had time before her killer was to invade the peaceful home.
He walked slowly into the kitchen where he knew she always was. He smiled as he watched her. His mother was a simple woman who wore simple clothes, and he always remember her as surely most boys thought of their mother at the age of ten. She was beautiful. She was tall, thin, and her pale skin was the only thing that he inherited from her. Her hair was black and her narrow eyes a deep chocolate brown. Her face was square and dotted with freckles. He had heard all the stories about how he looked like his father, and it was a shame that he had died so young, as he had only ever known his mother.
His chest hurt with how much he missed her.
She was performing the simple action of pulling the baking from the oven when she noticed him. The pan of delicious cookies went crashing to the ground as she gave a startled yell. She grabbed the nearest utensil and held it in front of her in her oven mitt.
"I'm not here to hurt ya," he said and raised his hands, realizing that he had his EMR still in one of them.
His mother's pale skin was turning whiter and she was shaking. "My boy will be home soon. You better leave."
A little part of him wanted her to recognize him for who he was, but the other part didn't want her to know the type of man that he had become.
"Please," she whispered, the wooden spoon shaking violently. "School is almost out."
He looked at the clock on the wall. He had always got home at three forty-five and it was three now. He knew the time that her attacker arrived was three-fifteen. The guy that killed his mother would be here soon.
"You need to go," he said simply. "Go get your son and go." He took a step forward and she took a step back.
"Wh-what?" she said as tears started to come down her face. He wanted to hold her and tell her that she would be okay and that he would be okay, if she were to just go.
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out all the gil that he had. "He'll still be at school." He held out the money. There was a lot -- a couple of thousand. "Get out of here. Go to Kalm, Gongaga or Rocket town, just get outta here." He leapt forward and grabbed her hand. She gave a small yelp and tried to pull away. The wooden spoon fell to the floor and more tears fell; he hated making her cry. He thrust the money harshly in to her hand. "Go. Don't look back. There's not much time."
He let go of her hand.
She stood shivering, and he wanted nothing more than to hug her.
"I... I," she started and stared at him.
"Just GO!" he yelled.
She jumped and moved slowly around him. "But... but…."
"I'll take care of everything here," Reno said.
"Do I know you?" she whispered. She was in the kitchen doorway; her eyes were really focusing on him now.
"No." He never wanted his mother to know this side of him.
"Are you…"
"GO!" he yelled, causing her to jump. It hurt to yell at her like that. She started running to the door, stuffing the money into her pocket. She burst out of the apartment, the door securely closing behind her.
He sniffed and scrubbed at his eyes and mentally scolded himself for being such a mama's boy. He watched her through the kitchen, running towards the school where he was just getting out, thinking about how he was going to get an extra cookie before dinner.
He then walked to what was his mom's favourite chair. He looked at the clock and calculated the time he had to wait before his revenge. He sat impatiently for the bastard that killed his mother to come through that door so he could finally kill him.
The clock had been knocked off the wall when the door had been burst open and showed him the exact time that his mother had been assaulted. He had ten minutes to think about all the ways he was going to kill and torture the guy that raped and hurt his mother.
Reno felt very satisfied. More than he had felt in a long time. His mother's killer was dead and a bloody mess in the living room.
He had washed the blood off his hands and had cleaned up the cookies that his mother had dropped. He had eaten a couple after brushing off the dust and sat back in his mother's chair and admired his bloody handiwork. He pulled out a pack of smokes that he had confiscated from the dead man.
He hadn't smoked in years because it had always bothered Rufus, and he quit to appease him. He didn't need to worry about that anymore. The first drag made him cough, but the next one got him the old familiar nicotine rush that he didn't realize that he missed.
He twirled the rod in his hand and examined Verso. He thought of how pissed off everyone was going to be at him, and the rush he had from protecting his mother lessened. She was now off somewhere with childhood self, hopefully, making a better life for them.
They would most likely string him up and they would never find his body.
He took a deep drag of his cigarette.
He hoped that he really was changing things.
The idiots back at the camp didn't know what they were being to indecisive. They couldn't even decide what they were doing, or where they were going, and didn't have the balls to take the necessary action. That was what needed to be done and now he was going to do it for them, even if he was covered with blood in the end.
He toed at the leg of the body on the floor. "Killing is the only way we were goin' to stop ya?"
Action was required and he was a man of action. They were thinking too hard about this and meeting about it endlessly was never going to get things done. He looked at Verso and it gave him a flash.
"Time must be up," he whispered as he touched the orb. He leaned forward and put out the cigarette in the bloody mess that was all that remained of the guy's chest and waited for the next flash.
He was going to make sure that action was taken. He closed his eyes so the next bright flash wouldn't blind him and he felt the air around him change.
He had only been in the basement once and that was after all the stuff with Meteor occurred. He had been assigned to clean it up and gather all the remaining documentation, but the look of the place was distinct. He was in the secret lab in the basement of Nibelheim.
This was the core of all the problems. Hojo was here and he was going to take care of the bastard once and for all. He didn't understand why the group was so hesitant to kill him. If Hojo was killed, then all his little experiments, including Sephiroth, wouldn't happen and all those problems that had been created would no longer exist.
What was so hard about that?
He looked around at the creepy tubes. He twirled his still bloody EMR and grinned widely. He would enjoy killing Hojo.
"What are you doing here? I was not aware of another Turk arriving today."
He startled at the familiar voice, and he turned to see a young Valentine standing at the end of the hall. His red eyes were focused on him immediately and examined him in a way that only Turks could.
"Short notice change of plans, yo," Reno said so that he wasn't lying. "Was jus' gonna come lookin' for ya."
Vincent raised an eyebrow. "Oh."
"Was supposed to report to Hojo 'bout some change of orders," he said simply, bouncing his EMR on his shoulder.
"May I see them?" Vincent said and held out his hand.
He sighed heavily. "Yo, I don't have time for this shit. Jus' point me towards the madman so I can be on my way."
"Make time," Vincent said, his voice stern and his creepy red eyes narrowing.
"Great," Reno mumbled. "Quit being a damn stick-in-the-mud, Vinny. Just let me kill Hojo and I will be on my way!"
A hand grabbed his shoulder and he found himself being thrown against the wall. Reno twirled out of the grasp and brought his rod out in front of him and stood in a combat stance. Vincent already had his gun out and was aiming at his head.
"I believe you should surrender," Vincent said in a cold voice.
"Pfft. Yeah right, Vinny. Just let me kill Hojo. Believe me, you'll thank me later, yo." Reno watched Vincent's trigger finger. "You can't have all the fun." He was pleased to see a confused look on the stoic gunman's face.
"My job is to protect them. You are a Turk as well. Why are you here?" Vincent seemed to have affirmed his stance.
Reno shrugged. "I think I just quit, yo."
Vincent's gun lowered slightly. "You don't quit the Turks."
Reno snorted at the irony of this conversation. "Yeah. I'm aware of that." Was he still a Turk? Did it make a difference that he had more time with his mom? He was beginning to wonder if he should have paid more attention to what they were saying during those meetings. Reno shook the babble from his head and looked straight at Vincent. "Are ya gonna let me kill him or do we have to fight?"
Vincent raised his gun and pulled the trigger. Reno was able to dodge and lunged forward, raising his rod to knock the gun out of Vincent's hand. He was a little surprised at how easy it was to track the young Vincent's movements. He knew that it would have never worked on the demon-infested Turk. He made sure to shock him, causing Vincent to jump back and let out a scream.
"Thought you were tougher than that, Vinny."
A sneer formed on the dark-haired Turk's lips. "It's Vincent." Vincent lunged forward and Reno realized that not all his skills were from his demons.
Reno felt a firm grip on his throat. He realized that it was the hand that was normally sheathed in that crazy gauntlet, and he was grateful that it wasn't, because Reno was certain he would be dead otherwise.
"Who are you?" Vincent growled.
"Nobody," Reno gasped.
He brought up his fist and clipped Vincent's jaw. The gunman grunted and let go of his throat, but Vincent's other hand connected quite firmly with his stomach, causing Reno to double over. He then felt a quick sharp pain in the back of his neck before he lost consciousness.
He groaned and opened his eyes. He tried to rub the ache at the back of his neck but he found his arms were securely cuffed behind his back. He had to blink a few times before he could see Vincent standing a few feet away, holding his EMR and looking quite smug.
"Yo, Vinny. You gotta let me go," Reno said. He hoped that he hadn't been out for long. He did remember that he only had an hour to do what needed to be done and he hoped that there was still time to kill Hojo.
"You will be shipped back to Midgar. They will decide your fate there," Vincent said simply.
Reno realized what room they were in. Vincent was standing where his coffin would eventually be placed. "Can you live with that, yo?" Reno asked.
"Why couldn't I?"
"What about your precious Lucy?" Reno sneered, as he knew that this was a sore spot for the ex-Turk. He began to wiggle his arms to get them in a better position.
Vincent stiffened. "What about Lucrecia?"
"Doesn't it bother you that she's with Hojo? Your heart's desire is screwing that creepy mad scientist." Reno groaned as he positioned his hands so he could dislocate his thumbs. He watched Vincent closely as he stiffened further and he received the full glare that could match any of the demons that he would come to possess. "And all you do is stand back and watch."
"Shut up."
"Or does that turn you on?"
Reno's head snapped back as Vincent hit him with his own EMR across the side of his head. The strike allowed him to dislocate his thumbs and slip out of the cuffs without Vincent noticing. He blinked back the darkness that was threatening to consume him. He licked his bloody lips. "Yo, did I hit a nerve?"
Vincent was shaking in front of him, looking like he was unsure of what he was supposed to do next.
"If you let me kill 'em, you can have her." Reno slipped the cuffs off and pressed his thumb painfully back into place. He placed the restraints into his back pocket, not wanting to give away that he was free just yet. He grunted but kept talking. "You'd be doing the world a big favour, yo."
Vincent's hand tightened around the EMR. "It's my job to protect them."
Reno rolled his eyes. "Hojo will have no qualms about shootin' ya through the heart and placing ya in a tube. Your sweet Lucy will go along with it all in the name of science and how much she loves you, yo."
Vincent's red eyes were hard to read. His face didn't betray any of what was roiling through his head.
"If you won't let me, why don't you do it? I know you'll enjoy it," Reno said, ensuring that his thumbs could move without too much pain.
Vincent rotated the EMR in his hand.
"Let me kill him."
"I cannot shirk my duties."
Reno couldn't help but roll his eyes again. "If you're gonna talk 'bout your sin and tarnished soul, you can just kill me now, yo. Ya wanna redeem yourself? Jus' kill the fuckin' man."
Vincent's eyes flashed with fury.
Reno was aware that his EMR was coming at him again, but with his hands free he was able to grab the arm and twist his weapon out of his hand. Vincent had a shocked look on his face.
"Hojo needs to die!" Reno stated, glad to have the weapon back in his control.
"You're insane."
"Yeah, yeah, heard it before," Reno tried to hit Vincent, but the Turk easily dodged.
"I must protect…."
"Shut up!" Reno yelled. "Just kill the bastard. He's out for nothing but his own personal gain. Shin-Ra is just his financier. Take your Lucy and live, for fuck sake. Pick the damn girl and not the fuckin' company. All they are gonna do for you is place ya in a coffin in the corner over there."
Vincent had his gun out again and had it pointed at him.
Verso flashed in his weapon announcing that his time was just about up.
"Kill him or you will forever live in regret with demons haunting your soul."
Another flash.
"Literally, yo."
"Why should I listen to you?"
Third flash.
"Quit being such an ass! Why do you trust Hojo?"
Vincent lowered his gun and looked like he was going to say something, but the orb flashed again.
He thought that there would be a fight or alarms or something. After all, he just destroyed the Calamity.
He was aware of the damage that Sephiroth did to the reactor trying to get his 'mother' out. But all it took was moving a few switches and valves and he had the slimy thing out of its confines. He dragged the body out and threw it to the ground and was glad that he had a Fire materia equipped, because he burned that bitch to a crisp, then stomped and spread the remaining ashes for good measure.
And it only took him fifteen minutes.
"Truly lame," he muttered as he kicked the last of the ash around. He rubbed Verso. "Yo, I am ready to move on." It did nothing. "Great. Wonderful," he muttered. He had another forty-five minutes of sitting on a mountain doing nothing.
He started to walk down the path, not wanting to be near the infamous reactor. He was tired and he felt dirty. His jaw and head ached from the struggle with Vincent, his hands hurt from dislocating his thumbs and he was also aware of the revolting smell from burning Jenova.
He couldn't remember how far it was to the town, but he was hoping that he could use a bathroom or something to wash up. He also realized that he was getting a little hungry and thirsty; his mom's cookies weren't enough to keep him going. He could try to look pitiful enough to get someone's to pity him enough to heal him. Fire and Lightning were the only materia that he had. He had always counted on Rude to have the healing materia. He would have to rethink that, now that he wasn't a Turk anymore. Once he was done with Verso, and if he was allowed to live, he would have to dig up a Cure to slot in.
So he walked.
His thoughts turned back to Rufus. His pace quickened to a run as he thought of the betrayal and tried to suppress the anger, but it only seemed to bring forward more thoughts of how Rufus thought of him as a childish whim.
Rufus, who was now with a woman who didn't know how to take care of him.
Rufus, the man that he….
"Hey! Don't run away, ya runt! Take your punishment like a man!"
"You stay away from my girl!"
"Pussy!"
"Twerp."
He blinked at the rough words and the small-sounding voices that spoke them. He heard grunting as he turned a corner in the path. He saw a small spring with four boys around it. One of the boys was curled up on the ground as another took his boots to him. The boy on the ground let out a small, pitiful-sounding cry.
"HEY!"
Three heads turned his way. The boys gave a flurry of curses and ran, leaving the small kid in ragged and dirty-looking clothes at the base of the spring, curled up in a tight ball.
"Fuckin' bullies," he mumbled as he walked forward. The boy didn't uncurl, but whimpered.
"Hey, kid, they're gone now."
The kid sat up and looked at him. There was a bruise on one of his cheeks and it looked like he had a cut on one of his arms.
"You've gotta be shittin' me." Reno gasped as he looked down at the small yellow pony-tailed, spiky-headed, blue-eyed boy that could only be one person.
Cloud gave him a scared look and scooted back from him.
"Hey, sorry 'bout that, yo. I jus' wasn't expectin' to see ya," Reno said to the boy.
He received a confused look and Cloud moved closer to the water. "Who were you expecting?" It was strange to hear such a small, scared voice coming out of the boy that was supposed to become the hero of Gaia.
Reno shrugged. "Dunno really. Was jus' kinda lookin' for a place to lick my wounds, yo."
"Did you get beat up too?" Cloud said.
"Yeah," he said, and was still in awe as he was looking at the kid. He was so scrawny and his long ponytail was almost cute on him. Cloud wasn't the biggest guy in the world, but he had an aura of strength around him, and this kid was not projecting that. "Do those boys pick on you a lot?" Cloud nodded and pulled his scraped knees up to his chest. "You look like you need your wounds cleaned up too, yo," Reno said.
Cloud nodded, "I got stuff." He watched as Cloud turned and leaned into the spring. He reached around, moving some rocks, and pulled out two small round bottles -- potions.
"You get beat up a lot?"
Cloud blushed as he nodded and handed him a bottle. "I spend my allowance on them." Reno took the bottle and it nearly slipped out of his hand, but he caught it in time. His hands were quite swollen from his activities with the cuffs and the work of destroying Jenova. He gladly drank it, and was relieved to have some of his aches wash away. He saw Cloud was sipping his.
He washed his hands and face in the small spring. It didn't get all the grime off, but he did feel a little better. He sat down by Cloud who was looking at him with bright eyes, still with half a bottle of potion in his hands. "Do ya stash a lot of these potions around here?"
Cloud nodded and took another sip.
"Why don't ya fight back?"
"I can't fight," Cloud whispered and drank the last of his potion.
Reno laughed.
Cloud's face twisted into a pout.
He couldn't resist but to reach over and ruffle the long wild hair. "Oh man, kid. Can't fight, yeah right." He snickered at the thought of Cloud not being a fighter. He looked at the scrawny arms of the kid and small hands; he was still so young. Cloud twisted his head away from his touch, tugging his ponytail after smoothing out the ruffled spikes.
"Is that what those bullies been telling ya?"
Cloud nodded and hugged himself.
"Shouldn't listen to those bullies. I mean, they ran like chickens when I yelled and what they do isn't fightin'. I bet you could whoop 'em if ya tried."
Cloud shook his head and rested his chin against his knee. "They call me weird."
"Yeah, well, I was called weird too," Reno said and stretched out his legs. He placed his EMR in his lap with a heavy sigh, as he wondered where Verso could take him next.
"You work for Shin-Ra?" Cloud asked in a small voice as he pointed at the small company insignia that was on the handle of his EMR. He quickly pulled his hand back and chewed his lip.
"I think I quit," Reno said simply as he looked at the insignia.
Blue eyes blinked at him in confusion. "But you're a Turk, right?"
"Yup."
"I thought Turks weren't allowed to quit."
Reno snorted and threw his head back to stare at the sky. "Yeah, that's right."
"Is that why you're all beat up?" Cloud asked.
Reno nodded and looked back at the bright blue eyes. "One of the reasons." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the smokes that he took from his mother's killer. He tapped one out and lit it.
Young Cloud wrinkled his nose. "I need this, yo," Reno said, taking a deep drag and sighed. "It's been a rough day, kid."
They sat in silence for awhile and Cloud finally spoke after Reno put out the cigarette in the dirt beside them. "What's your name?"
"Mud," he muttered.
Cloud gave him that cute confused look again as he rested his cheek against his knee. "That's a silly name."
"Like yours is any better, Cloud."
Cloud's eyes grew wide and his whole little body tensed up.
"How'd you know my name?"
"Those bullies said it," he quickly countered as he realized his mistake.
"They never call me my name, I'm twerp or weirdo. How do you know me?" Cloud scooted a little further away from him. He looked like he was going to run.
"I'm a Turk, yo. I know everything," Reno said and was surprised that it seemed to ease Cloud's fear.
"Really?" Cloud said. "Turks know everything?"
"Yo, Department of Investigative Research, kid. It is what we do." Reno looked at Cloud and unconsciously held onto his EMR. He may have been a kid, but he was now seeing that aura of power, even though it looked like Cloud was going to use it to run.
"Do you know if my dad is ever going to come home?" Cloud blurted and looked at him expectantly.
Reno didn't know how to answer that. He had read Cloud's file and there was nothing about his father, and anything else was destroyed in the fire.
"Do you know if he is?"
"Shit, kid. How would I know that?" Reno tapped his weapon against his leg and looked away from those pleading blue eyes.
"You're a Turk!" Cloud yelled at him. He looked back to see that Cloud was kneeling with tears streaming down his face. "If I had a dad, they wouldn't be able to pick on me. If he was coming back, I would have a normal family. If I had a dad," Cloud let out a sob, wiping tears from his cheeks, "then I would be normal."
"Fuck, Cloud. Why'd ya wanna be normal?" He stared over at the whimpering kid.
Verso flashed.
"I don't want to be the weird kid!" Cloud yelled as new tears flowed out of his blue eyes.
"So you rather just fit in with the rest?"
Another flash.
"YES!"
"You'll never get anywhere in life fittin' in with the crowd, kid," Reno said as he ran his hand over the magical stone.
"I just want to fit in!" Cloud sobbed. He looked so pitiful that Reno almost forgot that the boy was supposed to become strong enough to defeat Sephiroth.
Flash.
Reno stared at the sobbing boy to be greeted by large eyes that were looking for answers that he couldn't give.
"You'll never be a hero, fittin' in with the rest," Reno muttered, as he closed is eyes as the next flash consumed him and carted him away.
When Reno reopened his eyes he didn't know where he was. He didn't recognize anything about the area. It looked like an orchard. He sighed as he wandered around, not sure what direction he should be going.
"What the hell?" He held up his EMR and looked at the stone. "What ya want me to do here, yo?" He looked around the quiet orchard that had apples –- blue apples -- hanging in the trees.
His stomach grumbled. He was still sore, tired and getting very hungry. The potion that Cloud gave him had helped with his hands but his body was beginning to feel the toll of this little trip. He licked his lips at he looked at the bruised-looking fruits. He started to climb a tree and plucked an apple that was near.
"Hey!"
He looked down to see two kids looking up at him. Familiar faces, but he couldn't remember their names.
"What are you doing in my tree!?" the small one with reddish-brown hair said with his hands on his hips. The bigger kid with short dark hair gave him a stern look and crossed his arms.
"Gettin' an apple," he said as he straddled the branch. He had a bad feeling about the two kids. They looked around twelve or thirteen years old. They shouldn't be a threat, but they had that same aura that Cloud gave off.
"Get out of my tree! I'm using those to make my apple juice!" the redhead yelled.
"I'm fuckin' hungry and I am havin' a damn apple!" Reno promptly bit into the fruit that he had picked. He yelled back with a mouthful of apple, "Damn good apples too!"
The temperamental kid's face turned bright red and Reno remembered who they were. He sighed as he took another bite and looked down at the young Genesis and Angeal.
"I recommend that you come down before we force you." Angeal had his deep commanding voice that he remembered being able to hear across a battle field.
"Make me!"
He didn't like how the two looked at each other before he saw them both rush the tree. Angeal's large size and strength rammed into the trunk with the force of a Grand Horn, whereas Genesis jumped to the higher branches and shook them vigorously.
"Shit," he muttered and tried to get a hold on the branch, but his hands were still not fully healed and his grip failed.
He landed with a solid thump. He let out a yelp as the handcuffs, which were still in his back pocket, dug into the small of his back. He tried to roll over, but a large foot landed on his stomach and another boot was on his shoulder.
Angeal, even if he wasn't fully grown yet, was a very imposing teenager. Genesis struck him as very different from what he remembered. He was softer-looking and hardly looked the type that wouldn't make it into SOLDIER, almost girlish.
"What the hell is a suit doing in a tree?" Genesis said and dug his toe into his shoulder.
"I'm not dealing with this kinda shit!" Reno raised his EMR and slammed it into Genesis' knee. Genesis howled and fell back. Reno didn't have time to go for Angeal. He tried to swing for the boy but his wrist was grasped and he was pulled roughly to his feet. His EMR was shaken from his hand and he was pulled into a very firm headlock. Angeal was nearly the size of Rude and already seemed to be aware of how to use his strength.
Genesis was getting himself off the ground and brushing himself off. He looked pissed. Reno didn't have too many dealings with him before he went AWOL, but knew that the man had a temper.
He tugged at the arm that was cutting off his breathing. It lessened a bit so he could take a shaky breathe, only to have Genesis lean close to him and yell, "That fucking hurt, you bastard! Who the hell do you think you are by pulling shit like that?"
"Hmpf, I thought you were more poetic," he muttered into the crook of Angeal's arm. "Let me go, you lug! All I was doin' was gettin' an apple. I'm havin' a crappy day and now dealin' with you two clowns ain't helpin' me feel better 'bout my life, yo!"
Angeal did let him out of the hold, but didn't let him go, and he held his EMR in one hand and his neck in the other. Angeal was strong even without the mako treatments that were to come.
Genesis glared at him. "This is my tree!"
"Greedy bastard, aren't ya?" Reno muttered, only to receive a fist in his gut. Angeal let go of his neck to allow him to double over and kneel on the ground between the two that were destined to become powerful Generals.
"What the fuck is your problem!?" Genesis said, stooping to one knee so that they were eye to eye.
"You want a list?" Reno felt the anger rising in him that he had been fighting since he got the news from Rufus. "I just killed a fuckin' rapist that was going after my ma. I torched one of Shin-Ra's most secret and profitable experiments. I got beat up by an emo with my own baton. I scared a bunch of kids who where beatin' up another kid who gets all weepy on me. I'm gonna be killed for treason when I get back. And, we can't forget that my fuckin' boyfriend of eight years decided that a blond bimbo would be better for him since I'm nothin' but a childish whim."
He was panting after he was done. He didn't look at the two boys. "I'm sore and wanted a damn apple, because I was fuckin' hungry and could use a stiff drink, but you two look like you're too young to get me that."
They stared at him for a bit before Genesis spoke. "Wow, you're really fucked up."
Reno stood, his legs a little shaky, and he focused on Genesis. "Like you're one to talk, Loveless-boy."
He felt the large hand of Angeal on his shoulder again. "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm a dead Turk." He started to giggle.
They gave him strange looks.
"Did you hit your head on the way down?" Genesis asked.
The giggle moved into all-out laughter that made him fall to the ground, causing those cuffs to bruise his butt further. He didn't care about the strange looks that the two future SOLDIERs were giving him.
"I think we should get mom," Angeal said and he looked a little scared.
The thought of his own mother stopped his laughter. He wondered what his mom was doing now and if she was okay. He wondered if he did the right thing by sending her off with all his money. He still didn't feel like anything was different. Maybe all this was a stupid dream and nothing was really changing after all.
Tears, that he had been denying since he was ten years old, started to fall. He had not cried since he had become a Turk. There was little room for compassion in that profession, as Rufus had recently reminded him with the painful shun.
The two future SOLDIERs looked at him as if he had some sort of disease, and it caused him to laugh through his tears. Angeal said something about getting someone from town. Genesis argued with him, but he wasn't able to make sense of the words through his hysterics. He wondered if this was what insanity felt like.
He looked up at Genesis who looked mighty uncomfortable. He saw that Genesis was holding his EMR as if it were a sword. Reno was able to get his laughter under control and he scrubbed at his face. "So, you gonna join SOLDIER?"
Genesis stood straight. "Of course. I will be even a greater hero than Sephiroth."
Reno barely manage to control a new burst of laughter but managed to stifle it into a snort. "And why would you want to be greater than Mr. High and Mighty?"
"Pardon! He's the greatest hero at Shin-Ra and I plan on surpassing him," Genesis said smugly and twirled his rod as if he could spear things with it. "He can't stay at the top forever. I'll become the next hero. There is no hate, only joy / for you are beloved by the goddess /Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds."
"It's a piece of fluffy poetry, Genesis. You really need to get over it," Reno said as he sat on the ground, crossing his legs and rubbing his neck. Between Vincent beating his face and Angeal stretching his neck, he was really starting to ache.
He could see the fury Genesis' young face held at his insult about the poetry.
"If you live by that drabble, you're gonna die by it," Reno said. "And let me tell you, it will not be a hero's death. It'll be the death of a monster."
Genesis grew stiff and he could see the glimmer of the insanity that the future General would develop and caused him to go MIA and nearly bring down Shin-Ra single-handedly. He could see that Genesis was looking for the right words to throw back.
"You should talk to your parents about where ya came from," Reno blurted.
"What? Y-you're insane," Genesis said, stiffly pointing the rod at him.
"Yeah, yeah, insane. Get it, yo. Ask 'em. I bet you'll get an answer ya weren't expectin'," Reno said. He could see the alarm in the blue eyes.
Verso flashed.
"Can I have my rod back? I need to go now."
Genesis just shook his head and took a step back from him as if 'insane' was a disease.
Reno sighed and stood up.
Flash.
"It's my last chance to change things. I'm going to get my boyfriend back and you're gonna hand me my EMR." Reno was shocked at how strong his voice sounded. He didn't know how he was going to do that, but he needed his rod back.
Genesis held the rod and pointed it at him like it was a sword again.
Flash.
Reno lunged forward. He couldn't waste his last chance. He had to do it now if he was going to change the most important thing of all. He got his hand on his weapon and tried to pull it from Genesis' grip. Genesis was not as strong as Angeal, and Reno could see a little bit of fear showing through, now that they were face to face.
"Ask 'em who your real parents are, and maybe, just for kicks, ask them about Jenova, yo," he whispered, but from the look on Genesis' face he was getting every word of it.
Reno closed his eyes as the last flash surrounded him. He felt the air change around him again into something that felt air conditioned and quiet. He cautiously opened his eyes and hoped that Verso had listened to his wishes.
He was standing outside a familiar office in a building that was destroyed by the Planet's defence system. The lights around him dimmed. He knew that he didn't have much time.
He threw open the door of President's office as the building shook beneath his feet. He had to cover his ears at the horrific sound of the Sister Ray firing and the windows shattering. Diamond Weapon was attacking and time was short. This was where Rufus nearly died. This was where he got so hurt that he had to spend most of his time in a wheelchair and wrapped in bandages to help manage his pain. This was where he nearly lost him and the pain in his chest wasn't going to allow him to do that again.
He saw the most magnificent sight –- Rufus -- young, healthy and standing, looking out the broken windows.
It made his heart skip a beat at the sight. How could he have ever forgotten how good he looked? He had regretted not acting on his feelings until Rufus had nearly died. He had always held back, afraid of the rejection and always having the hope that he could be more than just a Turk to him. He still wanted to be more than just an employee and he had to make sure that Rufus didn't replace him with a bimbo.
It had nearly killed him when he had thought that Rufus had died and so Reno had gone searching for his body amongst the rubble of the destroyed Midgar. He had been the one to find the man broken and barely breathing. Reno had been the one that had taken him to Healin to take care of him and he had made sure that the first words Rufus heard when he woke up was how much he loved him.
Reno wasn't going to let Rufus get hurt like that again and he was not going to let him go for anyone, especially a dim-witted bimbo that he was sure was just in it for the money.
"Rufus!"
Rufus turned with a confused look on his face. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving your butt! Come on. We have to leave now. The cannon won't stop Diamond's attack. I need to get you safe!" He ran forward and grabbed Rufus' arm and tried to drag him to the door.
"I'm not leaving." Rufus pulled his arm away.
"We don't have time to argue this shit! Yo, come on!" Reno grabbed for him only to get hit back.
"You don't have to die because of all the shit your father did!" Reno yelled. He didn't have time to give Rufus a therapy session about his martyr complex. He remembered the cuffs that Vincent had put on him and that still resided in his back pocket. He would do whatever it took as he latched one onto Rufus' wrist and then his own.
"How dare...."
"Punish me later, yo," Reno yelled and began to drag Rufus, pulling him harshly out the door and into the executive elevator, which was supposed to have power even in the direst of situations. He mashed at the buttons as the small box shook but gratefully started to move.
Reno ignored the tugging at his arm, but he couldn't ignore the slap across his face.
"Don't ignore me!" Rufus yelled right in his face, tugging at his cuffed hand.
The room shook as they fell into each other. Reno hung onto the warm, healthy and strong body closer to him. "I need to get you safe," he whispered into the unmarked face and clear eyes.
"Did you not trust…?"
"Just shut-up," Reno said and moved his free arm to wrap around Rufus and started to rub his back. He gave a small sigh at the feel of Rufus against him.
"Reno! What are you doing?" Rufus sounded startled.
The building around them shook and groaned. Reno held him tighter. "I won't let you be hurt again. I don't want to lose you to anyone." He heard the President gasp and tried to pull away. Reno wasn't going to let him, no matter how tired he was, he was not going to let him out of his grasp again.
"What are you doing?" He felt the body beneath him stiffen. He sounded almost scared.
"I'm gonna fight for you, yo," Reno whispered near his ear and he pulled the struggling body closer to him. "I'm not gonna leave ya."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Rufus yelled and tried to pull away from him.
Before he could say anything more, the elevator made an ear splitting screech. It lurched, swayed and then dropped.
Reno closed his eyes and held on to the screaming Rufus and prayed that things would be better after all he just went through, and it wasn't just a sick mako magic-induced dream. He hoped that even over all the noise, that Rufus heard him whisper, "I love you."
He felt familiar fingers in his hair. He turned his head into the touch and groaned. They felt good. It was the only part of him that didn't ache. "Am I dead?" Reno whispered.
A comforting voice chuckled. "No. Go back to sleep." It was so soothing, that he did.
He woke and his throat hurt and he couldn't suppress a painful cough. Reno felt a straw being placed by his lips and he took a sip of the cool water. Reno blinked and opened his eyes and he was pretty sure his eyes were screwed up. He had to close them again and reopen them. He stared for a moment at the man that was taking care of him.
"Is there a problem, sir?"
He started to laugh at the man who had given him water. There was no mistaking who it was, despite the very different clothes. It was Cloud, and he was in a Turk suit.
"You need to lie back down, sir. You were severely hurt from that mako explosion. You need to rest." Cloud pushed him back down on the bed and Reno realized that he was in some sort of hospital.
He obeyed the Turk version of Cloud, but kept staring at him.
"Are you hungry yet sir?"
He shook his head and looked in awe at this strange version of Cloud that was calling him 'sir'.
He tried to move his arms but they were full of IV lines and various other cables. His legs were there, but he couldn't feel them and it looked like his right one was covered in a bloody bandage. He didn't want to know why the rest of his body felt strange and numb.
"You should remain still if you want to recover," a stuffy voice said. He turned his head to see an older lady in a white coat that reminded him suspiciously of Lucrecia.
He obeyed as his injuries were examined by the woman. The name on her coat did confirm his suspicions. Every time he tried to talk or ask a question, he was told to be silent and let his throat rest. She rattled off a long list of things that were wrong with him before she gave him a needle that knocked him out.
He lay silent as he shifted between sleep and a foggy conciousness. He spent most of the time watching the differences in people as they walked in and out. Cloud being a Turk still set him into a fit of giggles every time he was near. He overheard Cloud asking Tseng to a change of venue because of how weird he was acting.
Rude and Elena looked the same. Tseng didn't change too much, but his hair was a lot longer than he remembered it ever being. It reached to the middle of his back now and he wore it loose, and from what he overheard, Reno was still a Turk too.
He had changed things, but he still didn't know if he had changed the most important things to him.
Seeing the SOLDIERs startled him. The four big names entered the hall; Sephiroth followed behind Angeal and Zack who were carrying a cursing Genesis. Lucrecia went over as they placed Genesis on the bed and gave a needle to shut up the whiner.
"Thanks mother," Sephiroth said and gave Lucrecia a kiss on the cheek.
After Reno got over the shock, he started laughing at the odd scene. Zack and Angeal gave him nearly identical disgusted looks. Sephiroth gave him a death glare. "I think he needs to be put out too."
"I think the Turk has gone stark raving mad, Mrs. Valentine," Angeal added.
"Pfft, he was already insane. Now they just have him strapped to the bed so that his madness can't infect anyone else," Zack said with a smile. "How ya feeling, bud?"
He continued to chuckle, unable to get a coherent thought or word to come out of his mouth. Lucrecia gave a motion for them to leave. "Get out of here and go eat something. I will take care of these two and go tell Vincent to get his butt up here."
"Yes mother," they all said at once. Zack gave him a crooked salute that earned him a slap from Sephiroth as they left. He could hear Sephiroth snapping at Zack for mocking his mother.
The little bit of activity had exhausted him and he fell asleep again before he could say anything further or ask about Genesis.
He woke to see Vincent talking with Lucrecia. Vincent looked like he did when he emerged from the coffin, but his mannerisms were different when he wrapped his gauntlet-clad arm around the doctor and gave her a kiss before he left. Reno wondered if he still contained those demons.
The drugs took him to sleep again before he could ask the question that he wanted answered the most.
When he woke next, Reeve was sitting beside his bed, holding the ball that must have been Verso. It was small and grey now.
"Feeling better?" Reeve asked.
"Not really." His voice sounded horrid. Reeve offered him some water and he took a soothing sip. He still didn't know if Rufus was alive or not.
Reeve gave him a stern look that he thought only Tseng could give. He threw the stone at him so it sat in his lap. "It's useless now."
He didn't answer. What could he say? 'He didn't mean it,' it would be a lie. He didn't intend to do what he did? It would be another lie. "It worked?"
"Yes. I don't know all the consequences of your changes yet, but so far, they haven't destroyed the universe."
Reno gave a croaking cough. "It seems I'm still a Turk?"
"Yes."
He was scared to ask the question that was sitting on the tip of his tongue. "Yo, what happened to me?" he asked instead.
"You were caught in a mako reactor explosion. You were not expected to recover." Reeve sighed and looked at the orb that he had thrown on the bed. "Only I know about the stone, as I saw you use it upon your first exit."
"Does anyone else know?"
Reeve shook his head and offered him some more water.
"What about Rufus?" he whispered, almost afraid of the answer.
"Go back to sleep, Reno," Reeve said as he stood to leave. He wanted to yell at him and demand an answer when a woman in pink came over to him and checked his chart. Reeve gave the woman a small nod. "Mrs. Fair."
"Reeve. You really shouldn't be bothering him. Reno needs his rest," she said in a sweet voice. Reeve smiled and went on his way.
"You didn't answer me!" Reno tried to yell, but it came out as a small hoarse whisper. Aerith moved forward and sat beside him on the bed.
Her hand patted his and in a voice that was too sweet for any one woman, she asked, "And what question would that be?"
He fought the tears. "Rufus," was all he had manage to get out. He looked at the green eyes of the woman he used to watch.
She gave him a small sad smile. "You poor dear, don't you remember?"
He closed his eyes to prevent himself from crying, and he didn't want to hear anymore as he was grateful for the consuming sleep.
He felt fingers in his hair again. He opened his eyes to see a changed but familiar face. He couldn't choke out words. Dark eyes were full of tears and formerly black hair was peppered with grey, but there was no mistaking his mother.
"Oh, my poor baby," she whispered as her hands caressed his cheeks.
"Mom," he finally managed to get out.
"I'm going to help take care of my little hero," she said and she leaned forward to kiss him.
The fingers in his hair moved again and he realized that they weren't his mother's. He looked over and saw Rufus smiling down at him. "I went and got your mom."
He blinked and felt his chest start to swell. The tears that he was holding back started. He reached out his arm, trying to touch him, to make sure that it wasn't a stupid dream and that he was really there.
A healthy-looking Rufus, uninjured without his hair hiding the cloudiness in his right eye. He had colour to his skin, and it looked like he had more muscle on his shoulders than he remembered.
"Hey, don't cry. Don't cry," Rufus said and wiped the tears off his cheeks. "Why are you crying like that?" His voice was soft and laced with concern.
"I thought you left me," he managed to get out, not caring at how pathetic he sounded.
Rufus just smiled down at him, stroking his cheeks gently as he did so. "How could I ever leave you?"
Reno closed his eyes and moved into the caring, gentle touch and was finally able to rest.
Well... this may be expanded on depending on how well received it is.