Warnings:
Prologue – Streets of Midgar
Year 485
A crimson stain spread rapidly around the boy's feet. He stood in his kitchen, the broken-down shack silent except for the sound of flies, buzzing erratically around the corpses. A knife hung loosely in his hand; the dark blade was coated in the same blood that stained the floor. Some of his own was probably mixed in with the other's; the wounds on his cheeks still oozed their testament to the cruelties that this knife had already performed this day. The boy turned slowly towards the hallway, his blank eyes reflecting neither the grisly scene in front of him nor the turmoil that slowly threatened to fracture his mind. His bare feet left a trail of bloody footprints behind as he headed for the door.
Veld leaned forward on his desk, staring past the steeple of his hands at the two Turks standing before him.
Vincent was an old friend; they had gone through the Training Center together, years before Vincent was assigned to the Science Department and ran afoul of Hojo. His stoic friend had died and been, for all practical purposes, reborn, locked away in a mako tube that froze his age and his features. He was quieter now than he had ever been; although the physical scars of his time in the labs had healed, Veld doubted that some of the mental wounds ever would.
Tseng, on the other hand, was new to the Department. Trained in the temples of Wutai, the impassive young man was already skilled in the martial arts when he was recruited. A sharp mind had lent itself well towards excelling in the Turks, but in spite of his skills he was unable to fully avoid persecution as a result of his heritage. He had developed a cold, unforgiving disposition as a result, as much an armor as Vincent's brooding.
Veld had long hoped that the two would one day work together; he'd thought that they would find commonality and friendship in their haunted pasts and similar natures. He was, unfortunately, wrong. They didn't fight, per se – they were both too well-controlled to stoop to such levels. They simply… tolerated each other. Barely. Veld sighed internally. Their enmity was only going to make his announcement more difficult.
"Gentlemen. You're both aware that I've been reviewing the senior Turks for a second in command, correct?" They nodded, both tensing imperceptibly at the implications of that statement. One of them would be SiC, or he wouldn't be telling them this. What remained to be seen was why they both were present; he couldn't have two Seconds. After giving them a few seconds to process, Veld continued.
"Vincent, you've been my friend for a very long time. You're a highly capable operative, skilled at both field and garrison work. You're capable of managing people, capable of managing this Department, but… you are not the best person suited for this job. You have trouble forming personal connections – you brood far too much to be healthy – and you have a tendency to overthink your reactions to people and events. Tseng. You are also highly capable, skilled, and have excellent management abilities. Unfortunately, you also have difficulties forming personal connections – people find you cold and unapproachable, and you do nothing to alter that perception. You do, however, have a more instinctive grasp of how to react in certain situations.
"For these reasons, Tseng will become my official Second-in-Command. You, Vincent, will be his partner." Veld almost smiled, watching them react to his last sentence. Controlled and emotionless as they both attempted to be, Tseng couldn't quite keep his jaw from clenching, and Vincent couldn't quite keep from tucking his chin defensively. Neither of them wanted anything to do with each other as partners. "Your personalities and differing approaches to problem-solving will complement each other, whether either of you think it's a good idea or not." They both looked a little guilty at that, although they did their best to hide it, and Veld couldn't prevent the dry chuckle this time. "You two will get along, eventually, whether you ever grow to be friends or not. I expect professionalism and civility out of both of you; set the example for the junior Turks in the Department. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Yes, Sir."
Tseng's response was frosty, Vincent's a little more morose. Veld managed to contain his laughter until they were gone, the sound-proofed door securely shut behind them
A/N:
I'm sorry, I know I just said that I shouldn't do this, because I have a handful of in-progress stories already, but I've had this Reaper-alternate stuck in my head for way too long to let it go, now that I'm in a writing mood! Some of this will parallel the events of the original Reaper story, but this is a stand-alone fanfic, not part of the Reaper Arc.
