Notes Before the Story:

Author's Notes: I am extremely excited to finally be posting this fic. It started out as a totally different plot, and I wrote myself into a corner. After much contemplation and plotting and revising and head-banging with my sister, she finally helped me put a new plot together, and co-wrote several of the scenes. I owe her many MANY thanks, and could not possibly express my gratitude in words. This fanfiction would not have been completed OR as awesome without her.

Full Summary: It's been seven years since Reno mysteriously vanished after a confrontation with the estranged Professor Hojo. No one ever imagined he'd turn up in the basement of Neo-Midgar. But what did Hojo's experiments really do to the laid-back Turk?

Characters/Pairings: Primarily revolves around the Turks, Reno most obviously. Also contains an OC of my sister's creation, but necessary for the plot. Mentions of Tseng/Elena, and Elena/OC.

Setting: Takes place almost nine years after Meteorfall in a rebuilt Neo-Midgar. Based more so on the original game, excludes DoC and AC, mentions BC and CC, but no prominent references.

Rating/Plot Warnings: Rated T for violence/blood and mild language.

Disclaimer: Like so many others, I only wish I owned any of the original characters and plots from SquareEnix. The world, overall idea basis, characters, etc, belong solely to SquareEnix. I do not profit from exploiting their characters and subjecting them to my own plot and ideas. Lyric/Poetic quotes in chapters are owned by original writers and/or producers.

Without further adieu, enjoy! Don't forget to review!

Prologue:
Fading

"The sadness that continues to fall changes to pure white snow, I kept looking to the sky."

The wall was cold against his back – even through the navy jacket and untucked dress-shirt. A sense of helplessness caught in his throat, alive with its own heartbeat. A smile slithered across the Professor's face and eyes gleamed wickedly as he approached, gun drawn by his side.

"Hojo, there's no need to do this," Reno pleaded, raising his hands in a signal of surrender. He swallowed dryly against the lump, willing his confidence to fight through. "I'm only trying to help you."

"Help me?" Hojo chuckled. "I need none of your help."

"Then I-I'll just let them know that there was…a mistake – in the test. I'll let them know that treatment is unnecessary," Reno stammered quickly, trying to inch his way towards the door. In the state Hojo was in, the Turk knew it wouldn't take much to provoke him, and his temper could flare at any second. 'Just keep him talking…get to the door…'

"You aren't going anywhere," Hojo replied sternly, raising his gun. Reno froze. "Do you know what happened to the last Turk that meddled in my affairs?" Reno felt a drop of sweat slide across his brow and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "So you don't then. That's too bad."

"Hojo, please," Reno said, attempting to stifle the nervous shake in his voice. "Just…just put the gun down. Why don't we talk about this?"

"Talk?" Hojo sneered. "Ha! What's there to talk about?"

"Hojo, you don't want to do this," the redhead protested, feigning confidence.

"Oh? And why not?"

"Because…" Reno began, mind scrambling to create a convincing bluff. Eyes cut to the door out of the corner of his eye. His eyes had adjusted to the incredibly dim lighting of the room and the eerie fluorescent glow of the Mako tanks, and he could see that the door was still far from his reach. Even if he managed to escape this room, it didn't mean that he could make it out of the lab with his life. Unable to think, he sighed, exasperated and desperate. "…Hojo, you aren't sane. There's a tumor –"

"Not sane, you say?" Hojo replied sardonically. "Oh, I beg to differ."

"Hojo, you're experimenting on people – on human beings!" Reno retorted. "You're not supposed to do that! Not to mention, you're pointing a gun at a ShinRa employee – at a Turk!"

"Ha, and what about that makes me not sane?" Hojo chortled. "I cannot allow you to live. You've seen too much. Nothing about it has to do with my sanity – I am simply protecting my precious experiments."

Reno knew it was over. If he was protecting his 'precious experiments,' there would be no reasoning with him. His only chance was to call someone – anyone – or make it to the door. He slowly reached inside his coat pocket and felt for his phone as cobalt eyes fixated intently on the door, hoping the scientist would see him planning an escape rather than calling backup; Hojo wasn't a fool.

"If you call someone, I'll kill them as well," Hojo said. The gun was still aimed, but for some reason, Hojo had so far hesitated to pull the trigger. Either that or he was merely savoring the fear that flickered across the Turk's pale features.

Reno withdrew his hand as Hojo approached. His tongue stuck to the roof of his dry mouth, and goosebumps crawled across his skin. He imagined for a fleeting moment that it was just a little colder, where he could see shallow, frightened breaths escape in tiny wisps before wide eyes. The door is my only chance…' Reno took it. In one swift move, he ducked behind one of the nearby Mako tanks, catching the deranged scientist off guard. Before Hojo could recover, the Turk knocked the scientist's legs from under him and dashed for the lab door. His vision tunneled: sweat soaked his mess of fiery hair and through his uniform, and ears frantically recognized the sounds of the Professor as he struggled to recover. Feet caught on a broken office chair and the Turk slid on loose sheets of paper that had been left scattered across linoleum tiles. Fueled by adrenaline, he recovered quickly, and scrambled desperately to escape. It was almost in reach.

He wasn't quick enough. A bang echoed in the sound-proof lab and Reno felt the world stop as heat seared through him. He collapsed to his knees and placed a hand over the left side of his abdomen. Sticky red warmth leaked from the through-and-through, spilling on to the floor. A palm hit the floor as his balance faltered, and blood smeared tile like children's finger-paint. Unfocused eyes watched weakly as droplets slipped over his fingertips, dripping like a steadily leaking faucet onto the floor. Footsteps resonated around the room, both sharp and indistinct – as though coming from every direction. The sound grew louder, signaling the Professor's approach. His heart pounded in rhythm with each reverberating pang.

"I told you," Hojo's voice mocked from behind him, soft and calm, "you're not going anywhere." Reno heard the gun cock again, and didn't need to turn around to know the Professor was smiling. His vision blurred with tears as he watched the stain spread against the starch-white dress shirt, almost black in the dim lighting of the lab. He closed his eyes, knowing what was about to happen.

The bang was muted in Reno's ears, though he knew it was loud and powerful. He couldn't resist its force, and he crumpled to the ground. The white linoleum tiles felt like snow against his stomach; blood tore through his body like water from the North River as it cascaded through the Northern landscape. Eyes fluttered open weakly, and Reno made out the scuffed, coal-black boots in front of him. He tried to move – to speak, but he couldn't; breathing was a struggle in itself. The frigid, musty air of the lab hung heavily in his chest, thick with the bitter scent of metal. A tear slipped from his eye and rolled across the bridge of his nose, warm against death-chilled flesh. It quivered there for a moment, as though it was frightened, then seemed to fall forever before he distantly heard it splash into the growing puddle around him. Eyes felt weak and heavy, and his muscles grew limp. Pain swallowed him and everything blurred, fading until the dark lab around him drifted away completely, buried beneath an avalanche of ice and powdered snow.

"If now my wish reaches you, before by body fades away, hold me tight one more time."

Quotes by: Last Song, performed by Gackt; English Translation.