Author's Note:
For new readers: This is a part of the 'Day in the Life of...' series. You do NOT have to have read the previous segments, but it is recommended.
To old readers: This will be the final installment of the Day in the Life of series. My energies are being focused elsewhere – both to my book, and to my webcomic, Welcome Back to Eden. A link for the comic can be found on my profile.
To all readers: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters.
A Day in the Life of Shinra
4:26 AM – Midgar
Midgar had a long memory.
It's said that the city was built upon many older towns, each merging together to form the metropolis of steel and concrete and Mako that it had become. Above and below the Plate, people always bustled, constantly jostling into each other, pushing one another around, just trying to breathe. Some would dream of the sky. Some would take the view they had for granted. Some would revel in riches. Some would knife another man for the seven gil to be found in the victim's pocket. But everywhere, the people of Midgar always had one thing in common. They always had somewhere to be, somewhere to hurry to.
But not today.
Today, the people looked up at Reactor One, the ruined hull it had once been, and gazed up. Many in fear, some in awe, some in anger, some in grief. But for now, everyone had stopped to look at the smoking debris. And everyone remembered.
And Midgar had a long memory.
5:03 AM – Rufus Shinra
"Tiffany!" Rufus yelled. "Answer the phone!"
It wasn't the first time Rufus had made that command. And it wouldn't be the last. But once again, he was reminded that his assistant, Scarlet's little sister, was dead, being stuck doing inventory or inspections or personnel or who knew what, inside Reactor One when it blew. Rufus couldn't remember what he'd ordered her to go there to do that night. It hadn't really been important.
And then it hit him. Something Rufus Shinra was not familiar with, and found he did not particularly care for.
Guilt.
In all his life, Rufus had never felt guilty over anything. He'd been guilty before, but that was something else entirely. It was the idea that he'd been responsible for Tiffany Scarlet that bothered him so much. That she had been under his wing, and as such, he was supposed to protect her.
Yes. It was definitely the idea of responsibility that Rufus was not comfortable with.
He needed to clear his head. He needed to stop doing all the paperwork that involved repositioning troops and Soldiers and just start doing something.
And the first thing he needed to do was stop the ringing of that infernal telephone.
He contemplated throwing it against the wall, crushing it with the full might of his strength, or maybe even pulling a gun from his desk drawer and shooting it, but quickly filed these responses away for the immature lashings out of a lesser person. Instead, he calmly picked up the receiver, and answered, "Vice President Rufus Shinra speaking."
"Mr. Vice President, this is Harlon Jenkins, and I write for the..."
Rufus did not even wait for the man to finish his sentence. Yet another vulture reporter had managed to swoop past his screening – made woefully inefficient without Tiffany herself there to answer the phone – to attempt to peck at him, thinking the Shinra Empire was wounded, and now was the time to feast.
"Mister Jenkins," Rufus said calmly, cutting the man off. "I do not care who you write for. As a matter of fact, it's best you not tell me. Because in all likelihood, either myself or the company that I represent controls a majority share in your newspaper or television station, and simply by coming to me in this time of urgency and interfering with my response time, I could get you terminated in such a blinding display of misuse of personal power that you would not even be able to go to a pawn shop and buy a broken typewriter. Do not call this line again."
"Can I quote you on that?"
Rufus made a mental note to call the Turks and have this Harlon Jenkins found and expunged as he hung up.
The phone rang once more. This time, Rufus nearly did open the drawer with his gun inside, but once more restrained himself, and answered.
"Vice President Rufus—"
"Of course you are, son," came a grating voice, whithered down with years of contempt, egomania, and insanity. His father, the President, continued, "There is an emergency meeting to be held tonight at six. Be there."
The phone clicked as the old man hung up without waiting for a response. This time, Rufus didn't even need to wait for the blasted machine to ring again before actually pulling his gun and shooting it.
5:46 AM – Scarlet
"Where are my pants?"
It wasn't the first time Scarlet had awoken to those very words. It hadn't even been the first time she'd awoken to them when they were uttered by Reno. Still, they allowed her to awake with a smile on her lips.
"You threw them from the balcony last night," she replied, rollng to her side and letting the silk sheets that barely covered her form to shift ever so slightly.
"Why would I do a stupid thing like that?" the redhead asked.
He stood over her, looking down. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair even messier than normal, and he was fully dressed, even with shoes on, save pants. And underwear. But Reno never wore underwear anyway.
"Something about declaring yourself as 'Penis Man' to the masses of Midgar. I'm not entirely sure, as I didn't think to ask. It sounded like your typical brand of madness."
"I didn't really, did I?"
"You did."
"But... I already made that joke. I ran around the offices of Shinra Tower without pants, and wore a mask, and kept shouting that."
"While you chased my sister about with a sword. I recall. I was there, for part of it."
"But there's more to me than a single joke!" His tone sounded a trifle sulky.
"I'm sure there is," Scarlet said reassuringly, even if she didn't particularly mean it. Reno was an energetic lover, but that's all he was. A man to be enjoyed, and not one to form any sort of bond with. For one, he was more than a little insane, broken in a way that was necessary to become a member of the Turks, and for two, Scarlet didn't do emotional bonds.
"What was that explosion last night?" Reno asked.
Scarlet slowly stood up, letting the blanket fall where it would, and lazily made her way to her vanity.
"I can't say as that I know. We were a little preoccupied by other things."
"I was pretty awesome last night."
"Meh."
Reno made a startled sound in his throat. "Meh? Meh! I was not meh! I was the Baron of the Bed! The Coitus King! The Sultan of Sex! I... was... Penis Man!"
Sitting down at the vanity and taking her own reflection in, Scarlet saw a small smile play over her lips. "I thought you said you were more than just one joke?"
She began to run a brush through her hair, and caught Reno's scowl in the reflection.
"Why are we awake so early anyway? Not that I could sleep with that phone ringing every five minutes."
As if to demonstrate his point, the phone began to ring again. Even somewhat awake, Scarlet chose to ignore it, just as she knew Reno would. That man couldn't be reached by phone unless it was via his PHS, which was a Turk-dedicated line.
"You said something about guard duty and a punishment from Tseng. I, on the other hand, must always be up this early. Being a Department head is no task for those who require rest."
"Says the person who decided to sleep through the fifty calls last night. I'm going to see if I can find my pants."
"Reno, dear, you threw them out the window. I already said that."
But he was already striding to the terrace, and she glanced over in exasperated amusement as he, half-nude, hung himself over the balcony and declared, "Aha!"
"I take it you found them?"
"They're caught on the balcony railing below yours. If I just swing myself over, and jump down..."
He began to do just that. Scarlet let out an exasperated sigh. She could just imagine it now, having to explain to Tseng why Reno had fallen twenty-seven stories to his death, to land on the pavement, wearing – mostly – Turk blue, his privates exposed to the world, albeit in gory fashion. With Scarlet's luck, Reno would probably have a hit ordered on whomever was closest to him during his time of death set in his last will, only able to rest peacefully in the Lifestream with the knowledge that someone had died with him.
"Reno, come away from there, please?"
"No can do! I need my pants."
He was dangling now on the other side of her railing, both hands gripped onto it, his weight shifting as if he were kicking, probably trying to reach his goal with his feet.
Scarlet was considering trying to drag him up forcibly, but decided against it. Reno, the twisted little maniac that he was, would inevtably grab her, hurl her over the railing, and make her fetch the pants for him, threatening to drop her should she not be able to do so. And the last thing she needed was to be dangled from her own balcony while nude just to fetch a half-naked Turk's pants.
The phone began ringing again, just as it stopped the last round of bleeting, but this time with a priority ring. Which meant from President Shinra himself. Ignoring Reno's antics, which was always a difficult task, even in the best of circumstances, she picked the receiver up, and answered, "Yes, sir?"
"Scarlet. There's a priority meeting tonight at 6 pm. Be there."
The phone clicked, even before she could ask what the meeting was about. She placed the receiver gently down, and frowned, turning her thoughts inward. A priority meeting. And without explanation. And the President himself had called. He hadn't done that in years. Five, to be precise. Not since Sephiroth had gone rogue.
Something had happened. That much was obvious. The phone ringing all night. Someone – several someones, possibly – had been trying to get in touch with her. She quickly checked her call history.
Rufus. Tseng. Reeve. Rufus. Rufus. Tseng. Tseng. Heidegger. Tseng. Midgar Central Hospital. Midgar Central Hospital. Midgar Central Hospital.
Her blood ran cold.
And then Reno, climbing over the balcony with his pants in his hand, said, "Hey, looks like Reactor One's on fire."
She didn't even call to confirm.
She didn't even wait to get fully clothed. She could do that in the elevator. She grabbed yesterday's dress, threw it over her shoulder, and hurried from her apartment, slamming the door behind her.
She only barely heard Reno's call as she left, "What, you're not even going to make me breakfast?"
6:13 AM – Rude
Rude was quiet.
Everyone knew that. But today, it seemed like everyone was just as quiet as he was. Scientists and businessmen alike scurried about the labs, always moving, always in a hurry, but they were quiet about it. No one stopped to chat. No one talked about their day, or the weather. No one talked at all, except to confirm that someone else knew that Reactor One had blown.
He could feel it in the air. It wasn't a feeling that Rude had felt since the Nibelheim incident, or since the Wutai War. These people had grown so complacent, so used to their security and their way of life. But now it was back, and it clung to everyone and everything like a shroud.
Fear.
It was a feeling Rude had missed. It meant you were alive, but might not be soon. It meant to get on with your life and do something. It meant to live.
The feeling almost made Rude smile. But that wasn't something he did, and if he did now, he'd likely panic the little sheep that were flitting about from task to task, trying to regain some sense of normalcy in the event of the attack.
But still, something bothered Rude. Elena, who was standing guard next to him, was a little too quiet. She was normally a little chatterbox, better suited to manning a desk in the Turk Offices than to pulling guard duty. He'd expected her to be talking incessantly when he'd first shown up, to discover her there before him, which in itself was unusual. Rude was always the first man to arrive for assignment. That was a given fact, just like Tseng was always the first man to be in the Offices come morning.
And with how little Elena was talking, and how she was there so early... It made Rude a little edgy. Even more than over the bombing of Reactor One. Suddenly, he had an insight as to how other people probably felt around him.
The door opened, and Rude glanced over from his post to see Reno stumble in. He was obviously hung over, but that was hardly surprising.
"Hey, you guys hear about Reactor One?" the redhead asked.
Rude grunted. Elena managed a curt nod.
"You know, when we got that Intel last week that Avalanche might get some balls and try a major hit, my first thought was, 'Well, time to sell some of my stock in Shinra.' Am I ever glad I did that."
Rude tightened his lips a little, an equivalent to a frown. Elena didn't even do that. She actually managed to completely ignore Reno's remark. Something was going on there. Still, it wasn't his business. He wasn't going to ask, and if it became an issue, then that was Tseng's job.
"Hey, I hear Tiff, the Happy Lesbian, died in that explosion!" Reno suddenly blurted. "And I never once got to video tape her—"
Elena's fist took Reno full in the face, knocking him right off his feet. His head slammed against the door frame with a wet crunch, and he collapsed limply.
Elena's face was a picture of mortification. "Did... Did I kill him?"
Rude nudged Reno with his foot. Reno groaned.
"No."
"Damn. Still, I feel better."
"That's nice."
7:29 AM – Reeve
"I can't believe they did this."
It wasn't the first time Reeve had said those very words. He'd been walking amongst the wreckage for some time now, his suit jacket abandoned, his sleeves rolled up, directing efforts to put out the fires while personally pulling survivors and the dead out from the wreckage where he could.
Yesterday, he would've been willing to lend a sympathetic ear to the demands made by Avalanche. He'd personally spent time in Cosmo Canyon himself, hearing the theories of the Lifestream under the Elders there. Most of the Shinra management had, even if none of them fully believed it. But they'd been required to, in order to 'better understand the extremist mentality.' Still, before this day, Reeve had understood them.
Now, he was enraged by them.
It was a quiet rage. One with focus. He had to make change. He had to help people. So he sifted through the brick and the mortal and the steel that used to be Reactor One, he cut his palms and knuckles on whatever debris was between him and whoever he could still help, he stained his expensive suit with soot and crime and smoke and ash, he shouted his voice hoarse bellowing orders and seeing if any survivors could still answer him.
Reeve did the only thing he knew how to do.
He did the right thing.
"President Shinra's been trying to get in contact with you."
Reeve ignored the voice behind him, which was Tseng's, and moved to heave at a piece of sheet metal. He gripped it, then hissed and jerked his hand away. It was hot. Meaning, it was probably covering a fire somewhere below. He'd have to warn the fire fighters about that.
"You're apparently a very difficult man to find for your fellow executives," Tseng continued. "Some thought you might be dead. But I knew where to look."
"I'm surprised they even thought to ask after me," Reeve replied over his shoulder.
"You're not the only one missing. No one's seen Heidegger or Palmer today. Both of their PHS's seem to be dead, and there are power fluctuations all over the city, even in Shinra Tower, making them difficult to locate even by video surveillance."
"We can do without those two for now anyway. You can run the Turks without Heidegger, and I'm not even sure what Palmer does. Are the power fluctuations the reason behind the delayed response of the rescue efforts?"
"No." Tseng's voice took on an obvious note of distaste as he continued, "There was no contingency for this. There was no plan. President Shinra's locked himself in the Honey Bee Inn, and is only making calls to people in between making mad speeches about the Promised Land and seeing whatever whore is new on shift for the hour. Rufus is actually displaying human emotion for a change, but it's mostly anger, and undirected anger, at that. Hojo is oblivious to the situation, but that's nothing unusual, and no one can seem to get in contact with Scarlet, but Reno's seen her recently, so we know she's still alive."
Reeve's feet collapsed under him, tripping over an errant rock. He landed on his knees, bracing himself with his hands. Tseng was at his side instantly, offering to help him up, but Reeve pushed him away.
"I pulled Scarlet's sister out of the wreckage myself. She... I've called Scarlet, but she hasn't been answering, and... I don't know what to do."
"We go to the hospital," Tseng said. "We meet Scarlet there. It's all we can do."
Reeve nodded. That made sense. He stood up on his own, without the Turk's assistance. And then he looked around, and let himself actually see how bad the wreckage was. Not focusing himself on what needed to be done, or his own anger. He just saw.
And said, "This is our fault, isn't it?"
8:03 am – Heidegger
Reactor One had blown late the previous evening. It had since been well more than twelve hours. Or so Heidegger assumed, considering it was dark and he hadn't bought the watch with the light function. No. He'd had to go with the classic watch. One that his father and his father before him would have worn. Bulky, with hands on it, numerals instead of numbers, and incredibly hideous. That was the number one rule of watches for men. The uglier it was, the more expensive it was.
And all of that time, he was stuck. In an elevator shaft. With Palmer.
"I'm hungry."
"So you said," Heidegger growled.
The first time Palmer had made the complaint, he'd let loose a long and loud laugh at the other man's expense. Now, he was beginning to fear that the ever-hungry Palmer was getting close to cannibalism.
"No, I'm really hungry!"
Dangerously close.
Heidegger just hoped someone rescued them in time.
8:36 am – Scarlet
Traffic had been jammed in all directions. The trains weren't running on time, and the stations were overcrowded. It would take all day to get them back on time again, and when they did, they'd probably be barren. Somewhere in the back of Scarlet's mind, she was already coming up with motivational speeches laced with implied threats that would ensure no one missed too many days of work.
After all, Shinra couldn't stop running in the event of such a small crisis.
Small crisis. Those were the words that were foremost in Scarlet's mind as she pushed her way through the crowded hospital corridors. So many people in gurneys, sitting in chairs, laying on couches that were now improvised beds. Many of them weren't even people who were in the Reactor when it blew. Random passersby who'd been hit by shrapnel and flames, people who lived nearby whose houses hadn't escaped the fire, and victims from a train that had derailed after the explosion.
Even waving her Shinra identification hadn't managed to get her a prompt response. It'd taken hours to get everything sorted, and to get her to the right room. All the while, Scarlet had wanted to dash from door to door, shouting Tiffany's name.
But now, here she was. Sitting in a chair, looking at her sister's still form. And she didn't know what to say.
Tiffany was a mass of bandages and burns and cuts that had been stitched up. But underneath it all, her beautiful face was still recognizable, still perfect, still smiling, still the same. But her eyes were closed, and she was entirely too still. Only the rise and fall of her chest told Scarlet that Tiffany was still alive.
A knock at the door made Scarlet turn to see Reeve and Tseng, both standing respectfully outside. She nodded, and the two entered. Neither said anything. They didn't have to. The two knew that any platitudes would not only been unwelcome, but would've been construed as insulting.
And so they stood in their vigil, until finally Tiffany's eyes fluttered open.
"Hospital?" she rasped.
She was asking where she was, Scarlet realized. She stood, moving closer to her sister, but didn't touch her, almost afraid that any contact with her might kill her.
"Yes, Tiffany, you're in the hospital."
"Wh... happened?"
"The Reactor was bombed. By Avalanche." She paused, and then added, as if it made perfect sense, "You're in the hospital."
"Geo... hippies?" Tiffany managed a smile. "Hippies... killed me?"
"You're not dead," she replied firmly. "Not dead. You're in the hospital. They're going to make you better. Just as soon as you've rested, they're going to give you some Materia healing. They said your body wouldn't be able to handle the shock right now, but just as soon as you're rested."
"Don't... feel so good."
Behind her, Scarlet heard Reeve make a noise. Was he crying? Why was he crying? Tiffany was going to be fine. All she had to do was rest for a bit. But Tiffany shuddered, and coughed, and some blood spurted from her mouth.
"We need a doctor!" Tseng yelled.
The machines hooked up to Tiffany began to make erratic noises, and the girl herself seemed to be having trouble breathing. But Scarlet couldn't process what it meant.
"Scarlet," Tiffany creaked. "... Love you. Find... find who did this..."
"Yes, I'll find who did this," she said, nodding numbly.
"Get me a fucking doctor," Tseng said angrily. Scarlet frowned. Tseng swore. Tseng never swore. It just wasn't something he did. But the man continued on anyway, "We need some fucking Materia healing in here now, I don't fucking care what the doctors say. Do it, or I start giving this hospital new patients to worry about."
Scarlet thought she heard Tseng cock his pistol, but she was no longer paying attention. Her focus was only on Tiffany now.
"I'll find them, Tiffany," Scarlet said between tears.
Tears? When had she started crying? Why was she crying. Tiffany was going to be fine.
"Find them... and..."
"And I'll kill them all, I promise."
But Tiffany smiled, and shook her head, and said, "Give the first one you find a slap for me, okay?"
Scarlet couldn't explain why she did it. But she felt her mouth quirk into a smile. And then a sound escaped from her throat. It started small, but grew steadily louder as she went on, until the room was silent save for it, and the sound of Reeve's sobs, and the heart rate monitors making a long, steady beep.
"Hah. Ha ha. Ha ha ha. Kya ha ha ha ha ha! Kya ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
10:00 am – Barret
"To victory!" Barret Wallace said, hoisting a mug of beer in the air. "Down wi' those Shinra scum! For the Planet!"
"For the Planet!" echoed Avalanche.
11:12 am -- Elena
"Tseng is so fucking petty," Reno muttered.
It'd been the first words he'd said since the various scientists scurrying about Hojo's lab had patched his split scalp up with Materia. Still, Elena really had felt better in the wake of her striking the man. Even the horrors that occured in the lab could bring down her mood, the best she'd felt since getting news of Reactor One.
"You kidnap your boss once, make him think Eco-Terrorists did it, and he sticks you guarding Professor Quackjob's lab."
"It's not so bad," Elena said, looking at the furry red beast in a nearby cage. "I wonder if this is a dog or a cat?"
"It's a cat," Reno said. "And sure, you say that now. Wait til Shinra finds some excuse to have you put under Hojo's knife. Trust me, that's not fun."
"Red XIII!" Elena said, looking at the brand of the number on the beast's flank. "That's what I'll call him."
The creature made a sound that was suspiciously not unlike a disgusted snort.
"Just leave the damn cat alone," Reno said. "I'll be happier once the day's over and we get the fuck out of here."
"But he's so cute!"
Reno and the cat both seemed to roll their eyes at the same time. The redhead said, "Listen. Don't get attached. The furball's a patient in Doc Quackjob Hojo's lab. Do you know what that means?"
She hesitated before admitting, "No."
"It means he's gonna get all cut up. Hojo's gonna fuckin' pull a godamn knife out and start cuttin' him one day. See that brand there?" He pointed to the 'XIII' on the cat's side. "That's just the start. Hojo likes numbering his specimens. Where he puts the number all depends on the experiment."
Elena shuddered. "That's horrible."
"That's Shinra." Both Turks nearly jumped at the sound of Rude's voice, the comment being completely unexpected from the normally silent man. Elena was tempted to press him for more of his infamously rare insight, but the way he turned from her, staring straight ahead like the good little guard, aware of everything around him and ignoring what he deemed unimportant, the blonde decided to let it drop.
She had to focus on the guard duty. It was punishment. No more fooling around. And she still had this heavy feeling on her shoulders from the attack by Avalanche. But at the same time, she still felt good somehow. That, despite all of Reno's attempts to be an utter ass, or maybe because of them, she was feeling okay.
Even if he did sometimes push a little bit too much.
He liked to crack his knuckles. He did it repeatedly. Then he began to hum off tune. And then, when that wasn't enough, he upgraded to whistling. Which he danced to. After half an hour of listening to Reno whistle, he began to announce what songs he was about to 'perform', what artist originally did them, and even said how long each song was. After a moment, she realized that every single one of them was from her playlist on her computer back in the Turk Offices. She grit her teeth, and as Reno did each song in his painstaking whistling, each so off tune as to be hardly recognizable, she made a silent vow to purge her machine of her formerly beloved songs.
Elena watched the clock, and was grateful that it was nearly lunch. Even as she thanked the heavens, Reno stopped his whistling, looking at the time himself, and a devilish smile came across his face. The redhead looked around, and then very deliberately left his post. Elena's jaw dropped. Rude made a sound that was suspiciously not unlike a moan of despair. She looked to him in horror. If Rude was being this obvious about his feelings…
The redhead looked around conspiratorially, being obvious in his movements, and made his way to a refridgeration unit. Elena made as if to call out to him, but looked around, and saw that the scientists in the room were busy prepping the vat and the funny pods that circled it. They had no idea that Reno had left his spot. And if she called him, she'd only alert them.
Opening the fridge, Reno took a small bag from it. Elena could only stand helplessly and watch as Reno took out what looked to be someone's lunch, open it up, and then spit into the sandwich that lay within. He then methodically performed this on every bag within until he reached one tin box. The Turk stopped, looking at it for a moment, and seemed to be considering. He abruptly tore open the box, spilling its contents onto the floor. A sandwich wrapped in plastic wrap, an orange, and a thermos all fell. Reno hurriedly picked up the sandwich, unwrapped it, then undid his belt. Elena and Rude could only watch in horror as he dropped it down the front of his pants. The redhead then took it out, frowned at it, then put it down again. A second later, he put his hand where the sandwich had just been, and made a grunt. When his hand reemerged into the light, in his hand were grasped fine strands of pubic hair, which the Turk then sprinkled inside the sandwich. Wrapping it up, Reno tossed it back into the lunch box, then produced a knife. Ever so carefully, he made an incision on the orange. Then, giving another paranoid look around, and giving a wink to his fellow Turks, he ran to the bathroom, clutching both orange and thermos.
Several minutes passed.
Elena couldn't help but stare at the lunchbox, left out on the floor as it was, the entire time. After a while, shock and horror began to fill her as she realized there was a name printed on the front. A name that read, 'Norman Hojo.'
"What is he doing?" Elena asked in a hushed whisper.
"He's dunking the orange in the toilet right now," Rude answered.
"And the thermos?"
Rude looked as if about to respond when Reno strutted out, his fly undone. He casually zipped it, making a great show of it, then walked to the lunchbox, where he rearranged everything back to where it had been, then carefully placed it back inside the fridge. All the while without being noticed by the scientists on duty.
As Reno walked back to them, his smile broadened. "Well, I hope Hojo likes cream in his coffee."
12:47 pm – Heidegger
"I really need to pee!" Palmer abruptly exclaimed.
Heidegger inwardly promised to himself that if someone rescued him from the elevator, he would quit Shinra, shave off all his hair, and become a Wutaian monk.
1:37 pm – Rufus
There were three lab facilities in Shinra Tower. Hojo's, which was the most prominent and dealt with everything from advanced genetic enhancement to theories on the Promised Land. Palmer's, which was considered a joke, and dealt with the fancies of space flight. And Scarlet's, which was dedicated to one purpose, and one purpose only. Finding new and exciting ways to kill things.
And it was for that purpose that Rufus had come.
What he didn't expect was to find that others had beaten him there.
Reeve, Tseng and Scarlet were all there, each of them covered in grease and dirt, despite their fine clothes. Scarlet herself was working at a large contraption with a welding torch, her face covered with a welder's mask, while Reeve was on the opposite side, tightening bolts with a wrench. Tseng was running between the two, fetching tools and seeing to their needs.
"What is this?" Rufus asked.
"They're calling it Air Buster," Tseng answered. "It's the instrument of Avalanche's demise."
"Then you're ahead of me," Rufus mused. "I've already surmised that the object of my father's meeting is about finding a method of rooting out and destroying Avalanche. There are three steps to this."
"Locating them," Tseng said. "Isolating them. And destroying them."
"Correct. The three of you seem to be working splendidly on the third portion of this, but unfortunately, we need to be able to trap them first. I need you, Tseng, to find them."
The Turk nodded, and looked pensive for a moment. "Don Corneo in Wall Market will likely know where to find them. At the very least, he'll be able to narrow down the Sector where any weapon shipments have recently gone devestation caused at the Reactor will need to have required heavy explosives. Even if Avalanche made the bombs themselves, they still would have required components. Corneo will know, at the very least, who was selling."
"That's a start," Rufus said. "Get on it."
Tseng gave a small bow, and left the room. Rufus smiled to himself as Tseng left. Years ago, when he'd first sent funding to Avalanche, he'd had no idea that they'd grow so bold, or do so much damage. They'd always been meant to be a small thorn in his father's paw. But now they were the spear in his side, and when Rufus crushed them, he would be the hero of Midgar. It wouldn't take long to manipulate the Board into a vote of no-confidence against the Old Man. From there, Rufus could become President.
And all it had cost was a small amount of gil and one intern.
2:12 pm – Reno
Reno looked about, once more making sure no one was watching. He was like a stealth master. A stealth master ninja. No ninja in Wutai had shit on him. He'd out-sneak any of those pansies any day of the week. Pulling his tie from his pocket, he wrapped it about his head, so he had a proper bandana like all good ninjas did. He didn't like wearing ties. It almost made him feel dirty. Almost. But good ninjas did not feel soiled while working their stealthy trade.
Confident that no scientists saw him, he launched Phase Two of Operation: Relieve Boredom. He made a break for the animal cages.
Crossing the room in an exaggerated walk, every moment carefully pronounced in such a way as to scream 'Look at me, I'm trying to sneak!', Reno made his way to the cages, a devious look on his face. The scientists once more didn't notice him. Either they were blind, or his master ninja skills of silent death were working.
Diving the last three feet to the cages, he rolled, came up instantly, darted a conspiratorial glance about, and then heaved a sigh of relief. The only people paying attention to him were Rude and Elena, and they obviously had some sort of Mako enhancement to allow them to see him in his ninja state. Two scientists who were talking to each other, both holding clipboards, walked by, and the Turk was forced to duck down until they passed. Once gone, he gave one final glance about again, and then leaned towards the wall of cages behind him.
Monkey, gerbils, guinea pigs, mice, rats, orangutans, dogs, cats, hamsters, porcupines, birds of all kinds, and any number of Mako-mutated animals were held in the many steel prisons. The only exception was the curious cat that was on the other side of the room, closer to Rude and Elena. Well, it'd just have to stay in there for a bit longer.
"I've come to grant you promises of freedom and nachos!" Reno said. The animals ignored him, continuing on their normal animal-like routines. A nearby hamster hopped on a wheel and began running. He snorted in disgust. Hamsters weren't really animals anyway. Little fuckers were clearly too stupid to exist. Evolutionary dead ends were what they were. Couldn't even make a decent hamburger out of them. At least the rats had that going for them.
He began opening cages with a fervor, leaving only those that belonged to the hamsters untouched. Some of the animals stayed in their dwellings. Others, clearly the smarter ones, especially the ferrets, launched themselves from their prisons, and leaped to the floor. Once he was done, the Turk grinned broadly, and held both arms to the sky, and shouted, "FREEDOM!"
It was at that point that Hojo, alongside Tseng, walked into the lab. Both stopped, and stared at him.
"Oh. Shit," the Turk said. Fumbling in one pocket, he produced a smoke bomb. All good ninjas had smoke bombs. Well, this was more of a grenade, but that was besides the point.
He pulled the pin, tossed it into an empty animal cage, and ran for it. He would've made it, too, if the resulting explosion didn't knock him from his feet to land right in front of Tseng.
2:13 pm – Heidegger
"Oh no!" Palmer wailed.
"You already pissed everywhere, and began to eat at the cuffs of your suit. What could possibly be wrong now?" Heidegger snapped.
"I have to go number two!"
2:19 pm – Tseng
"I demand an apology!" Hojo said with barely restrained fury.
Tseng managed to keep a perfectly calm face while inspecting his nails for any dirt. After all, with the explosion from Reno's 'smoke bomb', all manner of dirt may have found their way under them. He didn't even look up from them when he said, "No."
"No?" Hojo hissed.
"No," Tseng repeated. Keeping the steady expression was difficult. He wanted to smile.
To be perfectly honest with himself, he'd expected Reno to do something disastrous when he'd assigned the man to guard Hojo's lab. Tseng had even counted on it. He loved to tweak Hojo's nose whenever he could. But he honestly hadn't expected Reno to set off a live grenade. Perhaps relabel some samples, or leave a surprise in Hojo's lunch. This might have gone a step too far.
Still, it was interesting to see Hojo actually enraged.
"If you don't discipline that... that... child...!"
"I'm not a child!" Reno protested, "I just need to be supervised like one sometimes."
Tseng looked up from his nails, and Hojo glared balefully at him. Tseng wasn't sure which look Reno shrank back from more. Finally, he said, "I'll send him to Wall Market. I need someone to go see Don Corneo, and I think Reno is our man."
"As punishment for destroying my lab—"
"A few cages!" Reno protested.
"—you're sending him on a stroll into Wall Market?"
Tseng shook his head. "This isn't any ordinary stroll. Don Corneo doesn't particularly like Reno. As a matter of fact, Corneo has every reason to want Reno dead. Furthermore, I'm placing a restriction on him that he's not allowed to kill anyone while there. It's a fact-finding mission."
"No body count? That's no fun," Reno said with a pout.
"He's been reprimanded. I'm sure he's even learned a lesson."
"Yes, sir! Lesson received, sir! Do not get caught next time!"
"See?"
Hojo growled, "Get your people out of my lab now!"
2:39 pm – Heidegger
"We're going to die in this elevator," moaned Palmer. "No one's looking for us. No one knows where we are. Scarlet's never liked me, and Rufus always calls me names, and the President never gives me funding, and Reeve's been eyeing up my parking space! They all want me dead!"
"They're not the only ones," Heidegger said darkly.
"I don't want to starve to death!"
"Believe me, you'll die from asphyxiation first."
"What does that mean? Is that like that time I nearly choked on those cookies during that quarterly meeting?"
Something in Heidegger finally snapped. Maybe it was the idiotic comment. Maybe it was the memory of that particular event, Palmer choking on cookies he'd brought into a board meeting, or maybe it was the smell of sweat and feces and urine in the small elevator. But abruptly, he was on top of Palmer, both hands trying to clasp about the man's chubby neck.
"Kill you!" he growled. "Kill you so dead!"
Palmer flailed about like a fish on land, and it didn't help that the fat and double chins kept Heidegger from getting a grip around the man's sweaty throat. His efforts to throttle him more resembled trying to grip a buttered eel.
And then the lights flickered on, and the doors opened to reveal all four Turks.
"Ah man," came Reno's voice. "Are those two fatties trying to have sex?"
"We'll use the stairs," Tseng said.
3:58 pm – Scarlet
Scarlet looked up at her work. It wasn't her best. It wasn't her most destructive. It wasn't even her sturdiest design. But for this purpose, for squashing the bugs that were Avalanche... it would do.
Reeve, standing beside her, wiped sweat from his brow, and shook his head. "I'm not sure about this. It's very... bulky. Not subtle at all. I still think we should've worked the Cait Sith doll some more, work it as an infiltration unit."
Scarlet laughed. "Kya ha ha! No. No, Reeve. Avalanche doesn't need that kind of finesse. They're bullies and brutes, so they'll face Air Buster, a bully and brute itself. Let them know a taste of their own tactics."
"Do you think this will work? It's not very well armored in the back. If someone gets behind it, the fight's as good as over."
"Don't worry," she said, waving him off. "Somehow I doubt that they'll prove to be a big enough threat to defeat Air Buster. And if that fails, we can still fall back on my Proud Clod design."
"Sounds a little too sledge hammery to me. Cait Sith first, then Proud Clod. And only if we're really drunk, okay?"
"I say that exact same thing to many of my lovers," Scarlet said with a laugh.
4:00 pm – Rude
Rude wasn't sure what he'd done to once more get paired up with Reno on an outting. But then, he'd been wondering about that for five years solid now. But what really confused Rude was why he was chaperoning Elena as well. By himself, this was an easy assignment. With Reno, it had the complication of turning into a giant clusterfuck. With Elena as well, he then had to worry about her gun accidentally going off into his own spine.
And if there was one thing Rude didn't need, it was a bullet lodged in his spine.
"Tseng said we weren't allowed to kill any of Corneo's men, right?" Reno asked, eyeing up the men on the walls surrounding the Don's manor.
"Yes," Elena answered.
"Why did he put that stupid restriction on us again?"
"Probably as a form of punishment. Or maybe he thinks we'll need Corneo again."
"Yeah, but I have this problem with Corneo."
"What, that he's a giant pervert?"
"That's not just it."
"He's rude?"
"That's not just it."
"He has more money than us?"
"That's not just it."
"He has stupid hair?"
"That about covers it."
"Oh, well, I'm glad I could help you narrow it down."
Reno plugged a cigarette in his mouth, and turned to face her. "Why haven't I slept with you yet, rookie?"
"Standards, sir."
"Oh right, I forgot, I don't sleep with Sevens."
"Seven?" she asked, confused.
Rude cleared his throat, "He means that you rank a seven out of ten."
Her jaw dropped. She got that indignant look in her eye. She even fondled her gun a little bit. Rude groaned. He was going to get shot while she tried to shoot Reno.
"I am not a seven!"
"Sorry," Reno said. "I meant to say 'six.'"
"I'm a nine, you ass!"
Reno made a loud guffaw that would've done Heidegger proud, and said, "Yeah, maybe in the Slums, but above the Plate, where we know what a good looking girl is, you're a six."
This time she drew her gun. Rude's hands moved in a blur, striking her wrist with his left, and grabbing the gun with his right. Before Elena could even register what had happened, he already had it tucked into his belt. Reno laughed, pointing a finger in her face.
Rude would've sighed if he did that kind of thing.
Instead, he decided to play referee by pulling Reno's own 'mag-rod out from his belt, telescoped it out, and whacked it hard cross his knee. Even as the redhead gave a bellow of pain and began to hop up and down on one knee, Rude had already placed the 'mag-rod beside Elena's pistol.
People sometimes wondered why Rude went around without weapons. The simple truth was, if he didn't, he'd have nowhere to put the toys he had to confiscate from his coworkers.
"How are we going to be able to intimidate Corneo into giving us information without weapons?" Elena said.
Rude raised an eyebrow at her, and strode forward. The guard at the door eyed Rude warily, but seemed more aggrivated by Reno's presence. The man was well-equipped. His gun and body armor were all shiny and new. Recent additions. Probably from Reno antagonizing Corneo just a few days before.
"What's your business?" the man said.
Rude, as always, let his fists do his talking for him.
A minute later, he was handing a brand new and shiny assault rifle to Elena to hold onto. Reno kicked the unconscious guard, saying, "That's what you get for fucking with us!"
Corneo met them at the front door, which was a pleasant change. Normally, these petty Slum lords liked to hide in their offices behind waves upon waves of guards, which Reno said he had a theory on. The average guard strength was usually proportionate to the amount of guards a place had. Ergo, a place with twenty guards tended to have twenty weak and lazy guards, while a place with only five had five competent people.
"What do you want?" Corneo said.
"Avalanche. Who they are, where they're based out of, and where we can find them," Reno said.
"You paying?"
"With bullets," Reno said. "As in, the more you tell us, the less we send your way."
Corneo's eyes widened, but he nodded. "I'll get some men on it. But it'll take a day or two. Word is, though, they're hitting another Reactor tonight."
"Which one?" Reno demanded, a note of urgency in his voice.
"Just a rumor, but some busty broad was sniffing around earlier, trying to nudge some people into not being above the Plate in Sector 5 tonight."
Rude didn't bother to listen to the rest. The Turks had their information now. Worse, it sounded accurate. And he wasn't sure what to do about it. He turned and walked away. Behind him, he heard Elena say, "Where's Rude going?"
"Probably to Sector 7. He has a bar he likes to go to there." And then, a little more loudly, Reno said, "It'll probably be the last time he goes, too."
Rude almost turned around at the remark. So, Reno knew. Knew that he knew. Where Avalanche made their headquarters. And he hadn't done anything about it.
Reno was smarter than Rude had given him credit for.
But if Reno knew, then that meant that Tseng probably knew, too. And hadn't tried to compromise Rude's position by making him give the secret away. It made Rude feel rotten, almost like he was betraying them.
But if there was one thing Rude needed less than a bullet in his spine, it was to choose between his job and a girl.
6:00 pm – President Shinra
"Today, we change the world."
President Shinra's words were meant to have a large, dramatic impact, but no one in particular seemed impressed. Heidegger appeared surly, Palmer was busy working on a bag of chips he'd brought to the meeting, Scarlet was pencilling at some plans to her Proud Clod project, Hojo was absent, and Reeve just seemed tired, as if he were barely there at all.
Only Rufus and Tseng showed any indication that they were listening, and Rufus had that same arrogant smirk on his face that he always did. But that didn't mean anything. Tseng, as always, stood in a corner, completely silent and uninvolved.
"Today, we crush the last bit of resistance this city has to offer, Avalanche. And we will do it in dramatic fashion. Thanks to Intel received from the Turks—" Heidegged gave a nod as if to accept praise for something he had personally done, "—we know that these so-called 'guardians of the Planet' will attempt another attack tonight, this time on Reactor Five."
"And what do we plan to do about it?" Rufus asked.
President Shinra shrugged. "Crush them, of course. But with their own bombs."
"What?" Rufus demanded, as if the words were not what he had expected.
"Scarlet has developed an obstacle to kill Avalanche called 'Air Buster.' An impressive machine, given the amount of time it took to create, but I am unsure if it is suitable for the task. There are rumors that an ex-Soldier is with Avalanche now. But it doesn't matter. Air Buster won't need to kill them. It will just need to distract them long enough inside the Reactor after they've set their explosives. Then, while they are entertaining themselves fighting it, the Reactor will explode."
"And we'll lose another eighth of our income!" Rufus growled.
"Not so, son," he said with a grin. The little bastard actually hadn't anticipated this. That was good. It showed that he wasn't ready to assume the throne yet. He still had a few more years. "With another Reactor gone, we can reroute the others to accomodate. And then charge recipients an inflated amount, citing how high the demand is. On top of that, we can even add an 'emergency relief' tax, to better improve the lives of those who suffer in the explosion. We will, of course, provide as little relief as we can manage, and keep as much to line the company's pockets as we can without being caught."
"I see you've thought everything through."
President Shinra smiled. "Yes. Everything. Which brings me to my next point. Tseng. The Ancient. Sightings have spotted her in Sector Seven. Send a team to apprehend her come morning, or you and you Turks will serve as the next distraction against a rebel force."
Tseng nodded once, taking the ultimatum in stride, but President Shinra knew that the Wutaian had been dithering on that task for too long. The question was, why? A question of loyalty? Was Tseng or one of his Turks going to betray the company to an outside power? Or was it really just gross incompetence? It didn't really matter now, though. The search for the Promised Land was finally coming to a close.
"That is it. Dismissed."
7:01 pm – Reeve
After the meeting, Reeve went home, made himself some coffee, and reminded himself that by being a member of the inner councils of Shinra, he was doing the right thing.
7:04 pm – Rude
Rude drank his beer, watching the bar of Seventh Heaven, hoping to get one glance of the bartender before she died. But by the way that the little girl, Marlene, was cleaning the counter, Rude knew it was already too late.
7:16 pm – Scarlet
Scarlet smiled to herself, looking from her apartment balcony to Reactor Five, off in the distance. Tonight, she would avenge her sister, and then, maybe, maybe the world wouldn't just seem so ridiculous and insane.
7:27 pm – Rufus
Yes, his father, the President, had out-maneuvered Rufus tonight. But he wouldn't always be able to. One day, Rufus would become the President. And then, he could stop this nonsense of ruling the world with money.
And concentrate on ruling it all with fear.
8:14 pm – Tseng
Tseng envied Rude. There was still a chance for the unnamed girl from Avalanche to survive. She could escape the trap. But Tseng had no choice, had no chance.
Tomorrow, he would have to apprehend his best friend, the girl he loved, in to Shinra. In to Hojo. And for the thousandth time that day, Tseng repeated to himself that he loved his job, even though the words tasted of bile and ashes.
9:45 pm – Hojo
Hojo smiled to himself. Everyone seemed to be living with their drama, and none of it mattered. Soon, the Reunion would come, and happiness and despair would finally be equal in the world. Because neither would exist.
10:03 pm – Reno
Reno snored softly in his bed. For all the other things going on, there was one person in the middle of it all who didn't care.
11:59 pm – Midgar
Midgar had a long memory.
As Reactor Five exploded with torrents of fire and electricity and hurtling shrapnel, people called out in panic and terror, wondering why anyone would do such a thing. People scattered in all directions, fleeing the latest reprisal from Avalanche.
Many cursed their names.
Some silently praised them for striking another blow against Shinra.
And in a small house, a young woman looked from her window to the Plate above, watching the scene unfold, and knew that her life was about to change. She didn't know Avalanche, or the politics of Shinra, or the battle that was to come. But with the explosion of the Reactor, for a brief moment, she could hear the Planet itself heave a sigh of relief, as if some stress were lifted from its shoulders. It seemed grateful, and finally able to rest just a little bit more.
Aeris smiled, and was glad. Because the Planet had the longest memory of all.
Author's Note:
And that's it, folks. My final piece of FF7 fanfiction. Once again, I'm saying go to Welcome Back to Eden, my comic, which can be found at welcomebacktoeden(dot)com . Hope you enjoyed the read! I enjoyed the writing. Good night, folks.