-'Things We Can Change'-
-A 'Final Fantasy VII' fanfiction-
=^w^=
Summary: Snatched by a group of idiots who are out for Cloud's and her blood, Tora learns that living in the past...really sucks.
=^w^=
A faint throbbing in her chest and hips brought Tora back to the world of consciousness, the hard floor she was lying on not really doing anything to help ease her pain. As her senses slowly came back into focus, she noticed three things about the current state she was in.
One: She was sore from the shoulders down, but that was nothing the mako couldn't handle; it was already busy at work, actually.
Two: She was slightly chilly, which didn't surprise her because there was a draught coming in directly behind her and it was hitting the back of her exposed neck; why did she put her hair up today?
Three: She was bound wrist-and-ankle by rope and what felt like handcuffs; an attempt to wriggle out of them revealed them to be mako-enhanced, the only kind she couldn't get out of.
Whoever snatched her knew about the mako in her body.
Tora groaned as she moved around to sit against the wall and the draught, several smaller bruises being bumped along the way. Casting her golden eyes around, the orphanage owner blinked at the large desks that were in front of her, computer screens and keyboards fitted into them. Most of the screens were still online and working, data from years long gone whirring across them like rabbits running away from a ravenous wolf. A long window served as the opposite wall, giving her a perfect view of the corridor outside and its slight tattiness. An insignia suddenly caught her eye, and Tora squinted slightly to see it.
"Shinra..." she murmured, "I've been taken to the old Shinra building in Midgar?" Casting her eye around again, she confirmed her suspicion by spotting the Shinra insignia on several large electronic box-like things that she assumed were used for powering the computer's internal drives. She'd never been good with technology, even when she was just a prisoner in the labs.
The automatic doors opened suddenly and a man stormed into the room, his dark grey eyes alight with a fury Tora only thought existed within something like a Behemoth. He strode right up to the orphanage owner and, by grabbing the front of her shirt, lifted her into the air effortlessly.
"Where is he, you scum?" he growled, small droplets of saliva flying from his mouth. Tora blinked.
"That's a little general, don't you think?" she replied. The man growled louder and lifted her higher into the air, unconsciously tightening the ropes around her chest in his grip. Tora hissed as she felt the rope dig into the exposed skin of her collarbone, her muscles contracting to prevent the bone from being broken.
The man shook her. "Where is he?"
"Günter, put her down," The ground formally met the orphanage owner's backside and legs again, "We need her alive, remember?" The man spat at her feet before stalking back around the desks toward the voice that spoke, which turned out to belong to a fair-skinned, blue-eyed man who looked to be about Cid's age. Mouse-brown hair the length of his shoulders was pulled into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck, while a simple black suit was his attire.
Tora let her mouth hang open for a while. "Epson?"
"So glad to see you remember me, Miss Altona," Epson smirked, "That is, unless you're Mrs Strife now."
"I honestly thought they executed you for treason against Shinra, but instead you've been downgraded to mocking me about my sex life, something I noticed you never had." The smirk quickly faded into a scowl, and Epson walked through the desks to the Wutaiian. Tora kept her gaze level and her face impassive as the man crouched down to her level and placed one hand on her knee, "Why am I here?"
"You, my dear, are going to be my bait for Mr Strife. You see, I haven't had my opportunity to carry out my revenge on the two of you for having me dishonourably discharged from SOLDIER because of my attempt on Shinra's life, but now..." The hand crept higher, "I can."
"So if you're just going to use me to get to Cloud, when are you going to kill me?"
"Now now, I can't give too much away, Miss Altona." Epson smirked as he allowed his hand to rest in the middle of her thigh. Saliva suddenly hit him in the eye and he fell backward, wiping the offending liquid away and glaring at a smirking orphanage owner.
"I'm still a good shot, even when I don't have my guns." Tora wriggled about again, feeling her backside go numb, "I suppose you frisked me while I was unconscious?"
"All we found on you were your staff pieces." Epson admitted, slightly dejected.
"Bet you enjoyed that."
"You always were a rare gem, Miss Altona. Why you chose that blond buffoon is beyond me; I was a Second Class SOLDIER before you two had me thrown out."
"Unlike you Epson, Cloud has a heart and he uses it for the right thing. The fact you failed the assassination attempt on Old Man Shinra just added to the evidence we had against you." The hand that used to be on her thigh suddenly twisted itself in her hair, and Epson pulled Tora forward, smashing his lips against hers. Tora's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he attacked her mouth, so she waited until his eyes were closed before biting down on his lip.
Hard.
"You bitch!" Throwing her against the wall, the ex-SOLDIER wiped away the blood from his chin and glared at her again, before suddenly smirking, "No wonder so many SOLDIER personnel lusted after you all those years ago; you would be fun in bed."
Tora unconsciously squeezed her legs closed a little tighter and glared at the ex-SOLDIER. "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"
"Why yes, I would." Standing up, Epson sauntered back to Gunther, "Set up the camera. We'll send them the tape as soon as we can get it edited."
"Camera? Tape? What the hell is this, 'Midgar's Got Talent'?" Tora curled away from Epson as he advanced on her again, "You touch me again and I'll rip your jugular out with my teeth."
"Trust me, there won't be any removal of clothes at this point in time; I'm just going to contact Mr Strife, that's all. Now, because I can't have you talking during my fifteen minutes of fame..." A sharp pain shot through her arm, and Epson stood up with a wide smirk on his face. Tora tried to throw herself at him, but she crumpled at his feet in a heap, the drug he'd shot into her arm already taking over her body.
Curse her mako and its ability to increase potency of drugs.
"Fuck you." she spat weakly, and as she slowly faded back to black she heard the ex-SOLDIER whisper sweetly in her ear, "I have."
=^w^=
"I've never seen Cloud so agitated before."
"You haven't seen anything; he was worse during Meteor."
"What could possibly be worse than-" Blue eyes glared at Tifa and Shelke, "I see what you mean." Standing up, the martial artist moved toward the swordsman, who was trying to pace himself to the other side of the Planet. Cloud made no move to acknowledge she was there, but he did slow down so she could talk to him.
"We're going to find her, Cloud," Tifa said, "The Turks and the WRO are out there scouring everywhere now."
"It's been four days, Tifa."
"I know Cloud, but –"
"Mail call!" Yuffie suddenly bounced into the room, waving about various envelopes, "Let's see...bill for Tifa, bill for Tifa, some credit card thing...oh, and a package for Cloud!" The ninja handed him the package, then curiously peered over his shoulder as he opened it to reveal a single disc lying on what appeared to be black cloth. Lifting the disc off the cloth, Cloud pulled it out and unfurled it, nearly ripping it in half when he realised what it was.
"Isn't that Tora's shirt?" Shelke asked.
"That means she's still alive!" Yuffie cried, snatching the disc from the blond, "Let's go watch this and get more clues!" She tore into the living room, everyone present – AVALANCHE, Ethan and Rufus Shinra – following her like sheep. Sticking the disc into the player, she turned on the system and the picture flickered to life.
"Mr Strife, it is a pleasure to see you again." said a familiar voice that made Cloud's blood boil.
"Epson..." he growled.
"Who?" Barrett asked.
"I understand that my followers have taken something precious of yours, and I understand that you wish to have her back. Well, unfortunately I can't comply with that unless I kill both you and her and satisfy my craving for revenge against you. Did you know that it was I who took away her innocence?"
"Just tell me where you are." the blond snarled, gripping Tora's shirt tighter.
Video-Epson smirked suddenly. "Here, have a look at what you'll spend eternity with." He stepped aside, and everyone present gasped. Tora was lying prone on the dirty ground, unconscious and beaten. To replace her missing shirt, a white men's shirt had been carelessly thrown over her torso to give her a little modesty. She was bound by rope, her hands held behind her back by a pair of handcuffs that glowed with the telltale signs of mako.
"Come to the old Shinra Building in Midgar alone and I'll see what I can do to make your deaths a little easier." Epson laughed and lifted the orphanage owner off the ground, sitting her head on his shoulder and leaning down to the exposed column of her neck, giving it a lazy lick.
The screen went blue just as he finished his lewd act.
"Cloud?" Ethan turned to the silently fuming blond, "Who was that man?"
"His name is Epson, and he was a Second Class SOLDIER while Tora and I were there," Cloud replied after a period of him taking calming breaths, "He'd plotted to assassinate Rufus' father with a group of people who wanted the same thing, but the assassination attempt failed and Tora and I reported him to Zack who reported him to Sephiroth who dishonourably discharged him. We'd suspected something from the start but we didn't have the evidence to prove it."
"So...is that guy still out to assassinate the new head of Shinra?" Rufus recoiled slightly.
"It doesn't look like it, but he still wants to get back at us for stopping him."
"So as long as he kills someone he'll be happy?"
"Yes."
"Hell no!" The others were silent as Ethan stood up, fuming, "He can kill me for all I care, but I won't let him kill Tora! She's way too close to me to let that happen."
"Then you're coming with me."
Tifa gasped. "But...Cloud, he's just a boy!"
"I'm no kid, Tifa; I'm seventeen. Besides..." Here the teen's face turned sly, "I know that she didn't take her guns with her." Cloud nodded and stood up, leading the smaller blond out to Fenrir who gleamed with the recent polish it had been given.
"Wait," Reeve and Rufus appeared at the door just as the two blonds clambered onto the great motorcycle, "Let us all back you up."
"Reno's been unbearable since he found out Tora was abducted; anything to restore a little order to the office." Rufus added.
"Well, Cloud?" Ethan looked at the swordsman, "They can help us apprehend Epson and Reeve's medical units can heal Tora."
Cloud just nodded.
=^w^=
Ethan quietly crept around the rubble that surrounded the back entrance of the old Shinra Building, keeping his brown eyes ahead and on the two burly looking guards that stood guard. Epson didn't want to take any chances; being an ex-SOLDIER, he supposed that paranoia was a prerequisite to the job. Hiding behind a large chunk of old wall, the teenager studied the area around him and the guards for an opening, finally spotting a small hideaway that slum children may have used.
"Score!" he whispered, then slumped visibly, "That guy's standing over it. Hm, wonder what's in there?" Kicking at a small rock at his foot, he suddenly had an idea and picked it up, throwing it a good few metres from the back entrance.
"Who's there?" As the two guards moved away, Ethan slipped into the hideaway and closed the covering, glancing around the room. It glowed with the various materia orbs scattered around the place, some of them even stacked neatly on shelves against the back wall. A single table stood in the centre of the room, Tora's staff pieces lying haphazardly on it. More materia surrounded the pieces, their glow glinting off the metal and making it look shiny.
It looked like somewhere Yuffie would stash her materia in case of emergency.
"Tora's going to freak out when she finds out what Epson did with these. Better get them back to her..." Ethan walked forward and took the pieces, hiding them on himself before he looked back at the materia, "Now what did Vincent say was the secret of these things? Right, they need to be activated before I can use them..." Picking up a dark blue orb, the teenager clasped it tightly and closed his eyes. Within seconds, felt the magic swirl underneath his fingers; he'd done it!
Loading Tora's guns with two more orbs (she could activate them later) he quickly peeked outside. The guards had returned, which meant he had no way of just waltzing through the front door.
"Hm..." Looking down at the materia in his hand, Ethan quietly pushed open the covering and fired the spell the materia contained. Large chunks of ice flew from his hand and clocked the two guards on the head, forcing them to crumple to the ground out cold. Climbing out of the hideaway, the teenager slipped through the back entrance and fired more ice at the camera sticking out at the end of the corridor. The melting ice dripped into the electric circuits, effectively short-circuiting them and making his journey inside so much easier.
"Tora?" Ethan gazed around, "Tora, where are you?" Clanging outside directed his attention to the window, where he saw Epson and Cloud fighting at the front entrance, "Ugh, trust Cloud to get into a fight with the guy who wants to kill him."
"You're starting to sound like me, kid; that's unhealthy." The teenager snapped around sharply and ran toward the sound of the voice, skidding to a halt outside a locked room filled with technological advances in computing. Tora was sitting at the single window to the corridor, the ropes and handcuffs from the video still binding her body, but there was a large grin on her face.
"You're alive!" Ethan cried, kneeling down to the orphanage owner's level.
"Not for much longer; as soon as Epson's bodyguard gets here I'm going to be knocked out, then thrown into the path of his blade and then he'll run Cloud through," she explained, "That's how he's going to kill us."
"I'm not going to let them do anything worse than death to you, Tora." Standing up, Ethan shot more ice at the window, which effectively broke it and made the gunslinger fall onto her back with a soft WHUMPH. Scrambling up, she waited patiently for the teenager to untie the rope before quickly threading her legs through the hole her arms made and standing up, examining the handcuffs.
"Hm, they need a key," she mused, "Let me guess, you have it?" Looking behind him, Ethan saw the grey-eyed 'bodyguard' Tora had talked about standing behind them, a length of thick chain in his hand. He snarled something in another language and lunged forward, barely missing both of them thanks to a quickly executed dodge roll.
"What did he say?" Ethan asked.
"He just said 'Time to die, scum'. Nothing too serious." Tora translated while mentally slapping herself; of course Günter was Wutaiian. Günter whipped the chain around his head then slammed it into the wall, debris flying all over the place. Ethan rolled away again and fired one more shard of ice at the man, making him stumble backward. Seeing his opportunity, the teenager ran forward and yanked the keys to the handcuffs from his belt and threw them to Tora.
"Scum!" Günter yelled, running at Ethan. Fear froze the teenager to his place, the fury in the bodyguard's dark grey eyes fair scaring the life out of him. As he saw his life flash past his eyes (okay, so he might've forgotten to let his mother know where he was going once!) a loud THUNK alerted him to Günter scrabbling to his feet, the fury still present.
"If you're going to take your fury out on anyone, take it out on me," Tora stood at full height, Trigger nestled nicely in her hand and held on its side, "I'm the one who ratted out your boss, not Ethan."
"Scum!"
There was a sigh, then there was a bang. "Having no brain must be a prerequisite to being a bodyguard, I swear." Said bodyguard collapsed to the ground, unconscious and bleeding from a gash on his head. Ethan released the breath he had no idea he was holding and ran to the orphanage owner, wrapping his arms around his 'sister'.
"Let's go help Cloud." Tora said, leading them away from the unconscious man.
=^w^=
Cloud wiped at a small trickle of blood seeping out from underneath his hairline and jumped backward as Epson swiped at him again, landing deftly on a large boulder a metre or so away from the ex-Second Class. Epson scowled and charged at him, his sword pointed in front of him like a javelin. First Tsurugi deflected the parry, then immediately thrusted forward again. Epson twisted away from the great sword and jumped backward, landing on another large boulder.
"Any minute now Miss Altona will be joining us," he sneered as he wiped blood from his chin, "and soon the both of you shall join your friends in the Lifestream."
"If that is the case, then at least Tora and I will be together." Cloud replied.
The ex-Second Class sighed melodramatically. "Oh, how sweet. Everyone could tell you were in love with her, you know? While you were there protecting her no-one else had a chance. That is...not until I got to her."
"Why do you want us dead? The past is the past; nothing you can do will change it."
"On the contrary Mr Strife...your deaths will make my past seem meaningless compared to my future!" As Epson rushed forward again, something knocked him off his flight path and sent him sprawling into the ground. Cloud watched the metal rod clatter to the ground, then looked back toward the Shinra Building.
"There's no sense focusing on the time you can't change, when you need to focus on the time you can."
Epson struggled to his feet, gripping his sword a little tighter, "Ah...Miss Altona...I was expecting you a bit more...asleep." he said, glancing over at the orphanage owner and the teenager, "And who is that strapping young lad?"
"This 'strapping young lad' happens to be the reason you fell to the ground like a fat pigeon," Tora replied, her eyes sharp, "Ethan, get back inside and deal with the rest of the clan then contact Reno. Tell him I sent you."
"Got it, Tora." Sending a glare the ex-Second Class's way, Ethan turned and ran inside, the orphanage owner covering his path by blocking Epson's attempt at running after him. Pushing him back with the second piece of her staff, she clicked her fingers and the first part rushed back to her hand, tugged by a brand of mako connection otherwise unheard of.
"Why won't you two just die?" Epson cried suddenly, his anger turning into power, "I dedicated my life to eradicating you from my memory forever, but...but..." Speechless, he snarled as Cloud joined Tora at the entrance to the building.
"Your constant dwelling on the past has inhibited your ability to focus on your life. Your single-mindedness won't kill us." Tora said, connecting the three pieces of her staff into the one long rod.
"I learnt not to focus on my past mistakes a long time ago," Cloud said, getting into a fighting position again, "Tora taught me."
"JUST DIE!" Powerful waves of energy were slashed in their direction, but the blond quickly defeated them all which left Tora free to charge forward and swipe at Epson. He flipped backward and sent another energy wave at the orphanage owner, this one catching her on the chest and pushing her back into the ground.
"Tora!" Cloud quickly ran over and knelt down beside her, "Are you alright?"
"Damn drug hasn't quite worn off yet..." she grumbled, then looked up as Epson's sword pointed directly at her partner's throat.
"You first, Mr Strife." he growled, raising the blade. As soon as it was raised he dropped it, the silver handgun in his line of vision making him freeze. Tora slowly staggered to her feet and pulled Rapid out as well, aiming them both at the ex-Second Class's chest.
"Game fucking over, Epson," she spat at him, "For my innocence, for Old Man Shinra, for my orphanage, and especially for Cloud and myself. Ethan!" The teenager ran outside at the call of his name, quickly followed by Reno and Rude, the latter holding the handcuffs the orphanage owner had been bound in.
"Remember us, Epson?" Reno's voice was the epitome of furious, "We were the ones who caught you the first time."
"Yet I still gave you the slip, Red." It took Tora and Ethan to restrain the redhead from choking the life out of the ex-Second Class. As Rude led the now-cuffed man to the Shinra helicopter hovering only a few centimetres from the ground, Reno turned around and squeezed Tora tight.
"When Tseng told us what happened, I sadly assumed the worst," he mumbled into her dusty hair, "Why are you wearing a man's shirt?"
"When he took my shirt off while I was under the influence of the sleeping drug he gave me he took my shirt off and sent it to Cloud while giving me his own to cover up with," Tora replied, "I'd take it off but I'm not sure Ethan wants to see what colour bra I'm wearing today."
The teenager snorted. "Pft, I've sadly seen you naked too many times to count, Tora."
"Well, that certainly makes me feel – oh, pain..." Her knees buckling, Tora grabbed at Cloud's outstretched arm and allowed him to hoist her into his arms as they headed for Fenrir, which had been hidden about fifty metres away from the building behind an old jungle gym.
"I'll go with Reno!" Ethan called as the two walked away, "I wanna catch up with him, anyway."
"Of course, Mini-Turk." Grinning at the nickname, the teenager followed the redhead to the helicopter just as the black motorcycle appeared beside them.
"Let's go." Cloud said, revving the engine and taking off.
=^w^=
After a thorough examination both by Reeve's medical team and Rufus's medical team (why two, she had no idea) Tora was fit to return to the orphanage, which erupted into cheers and whoops as Fenrir edged toward the front door. Five of Tora's six full-timers led the charge to the owner, tackling her to the ground in what appeared to be a violent hug, while some of the younger ones managed to floor Ethan at the same time. Standing up, Tora dusted herself off and ushered everyone inside with orders to march straight up the stairs and into bed; they would talk more in the morning.
"You too, Ethan." The teenager gaped at her.
"B-but I helped Cloud save you and everything!" he exclaimed before yawning loudly. Tora laughed.
"Now, Ethan," Sighing he began to climb the stairs but was interrupted by a call, "One more for the road." Grinning, Ethan ran down the stairs and wrapped his arms around his 'sister's' waist again as she returned the gesture warmly, a kiss pressed to the crown of his head for good measure.
As the teenager left, Tora turned to Cloud. "Are you alright, Cloud?"
"Relieved that you're alright," he replied, "When you were shown on that video Epson sent me I honestly thought he'd killed you."
"He wanted to wait for you so that he could kill us together. I guess that some people just can't accept their past mistakes and move on from them."
"Tora, I want you to answer me honestly: was Epson telling the truth when he said that he'd..." Cloud couldn't bring himself to face the fact that the ex-Second Class actually had been telling the truth about –
"Yes, he was," Tora replied softly, averting her eyes from her partner's blue ones, "He did it to keep me quiet after I'd found the written plans of his attempt at Old Man Shinra's life." Wiping at the stray tear on the orphanage owner's tattooed cheek, the blond pulled her closer to his body and held her tenderly as she tried to forget the memory of the man who had taken her innocence from her. When he was sure she'd stopped shaking, he gently guided her chin so that she was looking directly into his eyes.
"You've moved on from that," he said softly, "You're stronger for all that's happened to you Tora; you practise what you preach." Laughing softly, Tora took Cloud's free hand and intertwined their fingers, licking her slightly dry lips.
"You're right, Cloud. I am a stronger person for everything that's happened to me. Thanks for helping me see that again." As an added thank you, the gunslinger shook his hand off her chin and pressed her lips to his, tasting her blond after four days of separation. Cloud quickly relocated his hands to her back, while Tora's arms slowly slid around his neck, her tongue gently swiping at his closed lips. Soon his lips opened and their kiss became more passionate, each gripping the other like a life line.
Soon after, their lungs reminded them that breathing was a necessity. "You can stay the night if you like." Tora said, smiling with slightly swollen lips. Cloud quirked his lips up a little.
"I think I'll do that." he replied, following the orphanage owner upstairs.
Epson could rot in hell for all he cared; he knew that the past was for learning from, not living in.
=^w^=
DISCLAIMER: The disclaimer applies to the characters and settings of all 'Final Fantasy VII' games – SquareEnix – and Tora Altona, the Lost Pathways Orphanage and her orphanage children – me.