A Job Gone Awry
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Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 or its characters. Talk to Squaresoft (or whatever it is now) about that. Raven is a character of my own making for a novel I'm working on. This fanfiction is giving me a means too flesh out her character.
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This was supposed to be a route job…Go in, kill the damn thing, collect my fee, and leave. Simple. I should have known something was fishy when my client wasn't at the rendezvous point. Hell, I should have known that this job was a crock of bullshit when my danger sense kicked in while I was taking it. Figures that the first time I ignore my instincts is the time that everything goes straight to the Ninth Layer of Hell…
…But then, you probably have no idea what the hell I'm talking about, do you? I don't quite understand what's happened myself, so bear with me. My name is Raven. No last name, just Raven. I'm a Hunter. Specifically, I and others like me hunt vampires. That's right; I hunt down the filthy bloodsuckers and end their damned existence, usually in a very messy fashion. You see, the best way to kill a vampire is to cause an injury that makes the vampire lose a lot of blood at once, so I always take a sword with me. Slicing its head off or cleaving it through the stomach does the trick. A stake through the heart works too, IF you can get close enough. Holy water's effective; it doesn't kill them, but if you throw it in their eyes, they'll be blinded long enough for you to use something that WILL kill them.
But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. It all started normally, I had received phone call a few hours ago about a vampire terrorizing a small hamlet. Same old, same old. I agreed to meet the client and left my office, ignoring my danger sense. What do I mean by danger sense? Whenever I'm in danger, about to be ambushed or tricked, I get a persistent prickling feeling in the back of my neck. The more danger I'm in, the more intense the feeling gets. Anyway, by the time I reached the rendezvous point, my neck was killing me. NOT a good sign…I started to unsheathe my sword when a blunt object struck me in the back of the head. The last thing I remember is laughter…
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"…alright?"
'Huh?'
"…you alright?"
'Ugh…not so loud, my head's killing me…'
"Hey man, are you alright?" Raven opened her eyes with a soft groan and was puzzled to find herself facedown on the pavement. 'What the hell…? Did I go on another drinking binge?'
"Can you stand?" Raven slowly pushed herself into a kneeling position and immediately regretted it when her head began to pound. 'Damn…I haven't felt this bad since I drank fifteen shots of vodka straight.' She gingerly touched the back of her head, wincing at the pain. She pulled back her hand to find blood on her fingertips.
"Easy there, it looks like you took a nasty blow to the head," a hand took a hold of Raven's arm and pulled her to her feet, "A potion will take care of that bump your head. You watch yourself, all right?" Raven was vaguely aware of footsteps moving away from her before she leaned against a nearby pole, pinching the bridge of her nose. 'Ugh…I'm so dizzy I can barely focus…' She looked around, squinting slightly. 'Where the hell am I?'
"Oh my goodness!"
'Now what. . .?' Raven felt someone take hold of her arm.
"You shouldn't be walking around while in such a state! Let's get you inside and get a potion for that head injury," the owner of the voice, female from the sound of it, tugged on her arm, "Marlene, please grab this man's items."
"Okay, flower lady." The 'flower lady' steered Raven to a nearby bench and gently pushed her onto it. She pressed a small glass bottle into Raven's hand.
"Drink this; it'll heal your injury." Raven stared at the bottle and then at the woman. 'Hmm. . . .My danger sense isn't kicking in, so I guess it's okay. . .' Still, she unstopped the bottle and gave it a cautious sniff anyway. 'Floral smell…herbs? Water…and something else…downed it in one gulp. An icy sensation engulfed the back of her head for several seconds before receding, taking the pain with it. The young woman smiled brightly as Raven carefully reached back to touch her head.
"There. Feel better?" Raven stared dully at the woman before nodding slightly. The woman dusted off her skirt and sat down beside her, "I don't recognize you; are you new?" Raven glanced at her out of the corner of her eye.
"Hn. That depends…where exactly is here?" The woman smiled, and one of Raven's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"You're in Midgar, specifically in Sector Five." Raven pinched the bridge of her nose.
"…And where, exactly, is THAT?" The woman now looked a little worried.
"You must have hit your head harder than I realized, if you can't remember Midgar…Well, your memory will return with time." Raven rose gruffly to her feet and glared down at the woman.
"My memory is perfectly FINE. I have a map of the world with me and there is no city called 'Midgar.'" Raven pulled a ragged old map out of a side pack on her belt and thrust it into the woman's hands. She unrolled it slowly and looked at it.
"Ah…? How can you understand this? I've never seen this language before…" Raven's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What do you mean…?"
"I mean that the words on the map make no sense." Raven took the map from her and pointed out various locations.
"This is Densric, a metropolitan city…This is Hilltop Manor, home of Sir Isaac DeFure…And this is…" Raven trailed off when she felt the back of her neck prickle and several new scents wafted into the area.
"We've got company…" she muttered, standing slowly. Just then, a man with long, black hair in a navy-blue suit and flanked by two others in police-like uniforms approached the women and child. The black-haired man glanced at Raven and the child, making the prickling in Raven's neck increase tenfold, before addressing the other woman.
"Aerith Gainsborough?" Aerith sighed and looked annoyed.
"What do you want, Tseng?" Raven watched the man carefully as he glanced at her again.
"President Shinra has asked that we escort you to the Main Building. Please…come along peacefully." Aerith jumped to her feet and glared at Tseng.
"No, I will not! When will you people ever quit?!" Tseng shook his head with a sigh and snapped his fingers. The soldiers flanking him raised their machineguns. By now, the prickling had become a throbbing pain. Extreme danger.
"I figured you would refuse, so we're prepared to take you by force, if necessary." Raven stepped up and held her arm out in front of Aerith. A fight was inevitable anyway.
"You heard the lady…she doesn't want to go with you…or do you get your kicks harassing young girls?" Raven's hand moved slowly toward the hilt of her sword. Tseng stared calmly at her.
"Very witty…kill him." Raven's sword was drawn and ready before the soldiers could react. She wound up and sent the blade flying. The sword spun at the speed of a buzz saw and sliced neatly through the first soldier's neck before spinning back to Raven. She caught the silver hilt deftly with one hand and dropped back into a defensive position. The last soldier trained his gun on her, but he was shaking so badly that he couldn't aim correctly. Raven sprinted forward and thrust her sword and through the soldier's stomach. She turned it sideways and sliced out through his side. Just then, a shot rang out and Raven fell to one knee with a pained growl. She had been shot in the leg. Tseng walked in front her, a pistol pointed at her head.
"You're very quick, boy…so quick, in fact, that I had trouble reading your movements…but…are you quick enough to dodge a bullet shot from point-blank?" He smirked as Raven glared up at him and pressed the gun to her forehead, "Are you scared?" Raven's eyes narrowed and she spat at him.
"Do your worst. A Hunter fears nothing." Tseng's smirk left his face as he began to pull the trigger…
"STOP!" Aerith grabbed Tseng's arm, "Please…I'll go with you…just don't hurt him anymore." Raven couldn't believe her eyes. She was certain that Aerith would have run away. Tseng stared at Aerith for a moment before lowering the gun.
"That's better…" He grabbed Aerith and started pulling her in the direction he came from. Aerith looked over her shoulder at Raven.
"Please! Take Marlene to my house! It's the large one with all the flowers!" With that, she disappeared around a corner. Raven continued staring toward where they had vanished before sitting heavily on the ground. She rolled her pant leg up carefully and inspected the wound. Just grazed it. She twitched slightly when she felt a small hand touch her shoulder. Raven turned to see a cute little girl staring up at her with large eyes.
"…Does it hurt?"
"Nah…it looks worse than it really is. I guess you're Marlene…?" The little girl nodded, "Okay, I guess we'll head to Aerith's house…" Raven stood slowly and limped in the direction Aerith had indicated, Marlene trotting obediently behind her.
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"…Now that's a lot of flowers…" This was true. A large section of cliff was covered in nothing but flowers of all colors. The house was very nice looking, considering the conditions of the general area. Raven limped up to the door and rapped lightly on it. A few seconds later, a middle-aged woman appeared at the door.
"…Can I help you?" Raven shifted slightly to take weight off her injured leg before answering.
"Is this Aerith Gainsborough's house?"
"…Why? You're not with Shinra, are you?" Raven frowned slightly. 'There's that name, again.' Raven shook her head and took Marlene's hand, gently pulling the child forward.
"No. She asked me to escort this little girl here…and…about Shinra…" she trailed off, trying to decide the best way to break the news. Marlene did it for her.
"The bad men took the Flower Lady away!" Raven blinked and scratched her head awkwardly.
"Err…yeah…pretty much. I'm…really sorry…" The woman sighed softly.
"It's alright…I knew this day would come…Would you like to come inside?" Raven shifted again.
"Sure, all this pollen is making my nose itch…but first…do you have any potions? I got shot in the leg when I got in a scrap with those Shinra ba…" She glanced at Marlene, "…bad men, and I don't want to drip blood all over your floor."
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Leg fully healed, Raven was relaxing in the spare bedroom that was given to her for the night. Elmyra, as she later found out, felt it was the least she could do since Raven had gotten injured while trying to protect Aerith. Even though Aerith had gone with Tseng willing, Raven thought that she should have done something.
'Failure…I'm a complete and utter failure…Last time, it was Zack…' Raven slammed her fist down on the bedside table with a growl, "NO! This is not the time to think of that…' To take her mind off it, Raven took advantage of her privacy and unhooked the sheath from her belt. Something had felt off about it when she was fighting Tseng. She inspected the hilt carefully. Sure enough, she found two round grooves side-by-side with a line linking them. 'I wonder where these came from…'
"Hey Mister!" Raven looked up as Marlene trotted up to her with something clutched in her little hand, "Look, look! Isn't it pretty?" Marlene opened her hand to reveal what looked like a green marble that glowed faintly. Raven took the marble from the child and rolled it around in her hand. The word 'RESTORE' was printed across its surface. She looked at the strange marble carefully and then looked at her sword. It looked about the right size…
"I wonder…" Raven picked up her sword and pressed the marble into one of the grooves in the hilt. It clicked perfectly into place, "Where did you get this?"
"Flower Lady's mama gave it to me to give to you, Mister." Raven sighed.
"Marlene…I may not look it, but I'm actually a girl, not a boy…wait…Flower Lad…isn't Aerith your mother?"
"Nope!"
"Then, why were you with her?"
"She said Tifa asked her to take me somewhere."
"Oh. Is Tifa your mother?"
"Nope!" Now, Raven was confused.
"Eh…? Then, where ARE your parents?"
"Papa's working!"
"Really."
"Yep! He works hard with Tifa and Cloud to stop the bad men!"
"I see…" Just then, there was a loud groaning sound and the ground began to shake. Then, there was a horrible creaking sound that was followed seconds later by a deafening crash. An eerie silence fell over the area.
"What was that…?" Just then, Elmyra rushed into the room, pale as a ghost.
"That…h-horrible noise…c-c-came from S-sector Seven…" At this, Marlene started crying. Raven knelt down beside her, touching her trembling shoulder uncertainly. She really wasn't great with kids.
"…What's wrong…?" Marlene sniffled and looked up at her with watery eyes.
"Papa and Tifa and Cloud were there!" She started crying again. Raven patted the child awkwardly on the head while turning her option over in her mind.
"Hey…um…I'll bet your papa and his friends are…just fine. In fact, how about I go over and look?" She straightened and turned to Elmyra, "How do I get to Sector Seven?"
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"…How do I get myself into these situations…?" Raven muttered as she climbed precariously up a makeshift ramp. Her ears perked up when she heard voices a few yards away: two males and a female. Raven crept as close as she dared and crouched down, listening intently.
"You're going to help Aerith?" the girl asked. The man with spiky blond hair turned toward her.
"Yeah… But before that, there's something I want to know."
"What?"
"It's about the Ancients…" Raven's brow furrowed in thought. Ancients…?
"Yo! Who's out there?!" Gunshots rang out, causing Raven to take cover behind a piece of broken-down machinery.
"Barret, wait!" The gunshots stopped, "Hey, are you all right?" Raven waited a few seconds before peering around her hiding place.
"Considering my recent track record, no, I'm not all right." Raven stepped out from behind the machine and gazed dully at the trio, stuffing her hands in her jacket pockets. The woman and the blond-haired man she recognized; the burly man was new. He was a heavily-built man with what looked like a gatling gun where his hand should be. She guessed he was 'Barret.'
"Who are you? What are you doing out here?" Raven dusted off her pants before answering.
"Raven, and I'm here because I promised a little girl I'd look for her father and his friends…" The woman blinked and peered closely at Raven.
"'Little girl?'" Raven nodded, looking at her.
"Yeah, Marlene. Ya know her…?"
"Marlene!" Barret's hand shot forward and grabbed Raven by the collar.
"Where is she?! Where's Marlene?!" Raven calmly pushed Barret's hand away and brushed off her jacket.
"She's perfectly fine; don't blow an artery," She cracked her neck leisurely while Barret glared down at her, "She's with Elmyra." The blond-haired man looked up at the name.
"Elmyra? You mean Aerith's mother?"
"The same. I guess you met her?"
"Yeah…how am I going to break the news…?"
"…That Aerith was taken by Shinra? Don't worry about it; Marlene and I already took care of it." The younger man's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"…You saw it?" Raven sighed wearily.
"Yes, much to my displeasure. I managed to kill the two guards before getting gunned down by…what's-his-face…guy in a suit. Anyway, he was gonna shoot me when Aerith turned herself over…" She frowned grimly. Barret growled and punched a nearby piece of machinery, leaving a dent.
"Tseng…that fuckin' bastard…!"
"I don't know…I'd recognize him if I saw him again."
"Hmm…Regardless, maybe Elmyra knows why they wanted Aerith…" He paused and looked almost hopefully at Raven. She knew exactly what he was asking.
"Sorry, he didn't say anything. Must be important, though…." The man frowned and turned toward the others.
"Let's go see Elmyra, maybe she'll explain." He nodded to Raven as he walked passed her. She paused for a moment before turning toward the retreating party.
"Hold up." They turned back to her. "Care to hire a Hunter? I feel responsible for this…" They looked at each other. Barret looked at her suspiciously.
"What's yer fee?"
"Merely the essentials; food, lodging, the means for weapon maintenance…you know. Is this agreeable?" Barret blinked, a little surprised, and looked at the long-haired woman before turning back to Raven.
"…That's all?"
"That's all. I'll have little use for actual money that way." Barret turned back to his companions and they started talking amongst themselves. Raven's lycanthropic hearing managed to pick up snippets of their conversation.
"What do ya think…?"
"We could use the extra help…"
"But we don't know a thing about him…"
"He must be a decent person if he tried to protect Aerith and Marlene from Shinra…" Raven rolled her eyes. Yet another bunch who thought she was a man. The blond-haired man walked toward her.
"…What skills would you bring to the group?" Raven crossed her arms in front of her and shifted into a more relaxed position.
"…Sword and firearm mastery, proficiency in hand-to-hand, heightened reflexes and senses, and a sixth sense."
"A sixth sense?"
"Correct. I have the ability to sense danger and falsehood." The blond looked over his shoulder at Barret and the woman, who nodded, and looked back at Raven, holding out his hand.
"All right, we accept your offer…uh…" Raven reached up slowly and grasped his hand grimly.
"Raven. My name is Raven."
"Well, Raven, my name is Cloud, and this," he motioned to the woman, "is Tifa. The one that shot at you is Barret." Raven tilted her head politely. Tifa walked up beside Cloud, looking concerned.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Raven waved a gloved hand dismissively.
"Like I said, I've been better…but I've also been a lot worse, so it pretty much evens out."
"Eh?" Raven looked off to one side, ignoring Tifa's questioning look.
"…Stories for another time. We have more important things to worry about, like rescuing Aerith." Cloud nodded in agreement.
"You're right. Let's go." He turned to walk toward Sector Five and stopped short, staring in front of him apprehensively. Raven followed his line of sight to…
"…Is that a…house?" Raven glanced at her new employers to find them readying their weapons. She looked back and forth between the house and the trio for a few seconds.
"…You're joking. You're going to fight… a house." Tifa glanced at her.
"You must not be from around here, Raven, if you can't recognize a Hell House."
"Eh, I wouldn't be so sure. I've been in a lot of houses."
"LOOK OUT!" Raven had the wind knocked out of her as she was tackled to the ground. An explosion rocked the ground half a second later. Raven's eyes opened to find glowing blue eyes staring back at her.
"'Heightened reflexes,' huh? You nearly got Hell Bombered." Raven grunted in response and shoved him off her.
"Shut up, smartass." Raven rolled to her feet and drew her sword. The house…definitely didn't look like a house anymore. It had sprouted legs and looked decidedly unfriendly.
"Well, there's something you don't see everyday." Raven muttered, scanning the "house" for weaknesses. Meanwhile, Barret opened fire with his gatling gun while Tifa and Cloud appeared to be in deep concentration. Suddenly, a green glow flashed from Tifa's glove and she thrust her hands forward, bathing the 'Hell House' in flame. Raven raised an eyebrow. Strange…The same thing happened with Cloud, except this time there was lightning. Raven pondered over this recent revelation before spotting it; a green marble, similar to her own, near the hilt of Cloud's gigantic sword. Interesting…I wonder…She looked up when she heard Tifa cry out. The Hell House had gotten in a blow and left a deep laceration in Tifa's arm. Cursing under her breath, Raven stared down at the green orb in her sword. Restore…to fix or repair…to mend…mend…heal, perhaps? As soon as the thought entered her mind, the word "RESTORE" faded from the surface of the ball as another word swirled into existence: CURE.
"Of course…" Raven frowned in concentration, imagining the wound on Tifa's arm closing. Sure enough, an energy force started building in her right hand as the marble flashed green, and Raven quickly pointed her palm toward the injured girl. Her arm was surrounded by a shimmering green light and the wound closed slowly, leaving a faint scar. She turned her attention back to the Hell House just as it swung one of its new arms at her. Raven side-stepped it and brought her sword down, slicing its hand off. The monster shrieked in pain and fired off what looked like a mini-nuclear bomb.
"Hell Bomber! Everyone move!" Cloud shouted before diving for cover. Barret followed suit while Tifa grabbed Raven's arm and pulled her behind a crane. The area shook from the following explosion. Raven peeked around the crane to find Barret and Cloud back in the fray. Raven grit her teeth, annoyed.
"Dammit…this is taking too long…we can't waste anymore time…" Tifa looked at her, troubled.
"What do you propose…?" Raven shook her head, even more frustrated.
"I don't know…we need some way to take it out in one shot…" She looked up at the crane, "…I wonder if this thing's still operational…"
"What?" Raven pulled herself into the driver's seat and looked the console over.
"Keys still in the ignition…that's convenient. Now to see if it'll start…" She turned the key. The engine sputtered several times before turning over. Raven half-smirked as she acquainted herself with the crane's controls. Tifa climbed in beside her as Raven lowered the large crane hook so that it was level with the Hell House's roof.
"What are you going to do, Raven?"
"We don't have time to mess with this thing…so it's time to get a little…creative." Ignoring Tifa's puzzled look, Raven swung the hook back and forth, jamming the hook under the House's roof. Tifa's eyes lit up in realization.
"Of course! It can't attack properly while dangling in the air!" Raven nodded as she reeled the hook in, the Hell House flailing its arms as it was lifted off the ground.
"Exactly. Now then…" She threw the crane in gear and it rolled forward, the wheels grinding and screeching in protest.
"Now, what are you doing?"
"See that cliff up ahead?" Raven was vaguely aware of Cloud shouting something, but his voice was overwhelmed by the engine noise.
"Yeah…"
"I'm going to lock the steering and let this crane roll right over the edge…" Tifa quickly caught on to the plan.
"…Taking the Hell House with it! Good thinking, Raven!" Raven pulled some wire out of the seat and used it to tie the steering wheel in place.
"That should do it; time to bail out." Raven and Tifa jumped from the cockpit seconds before the crane carried the screeching Hell House over the side with a loud crash. Cloud and Barret ran up behind them. Barret let out a low whistle.
"Damn, Shorty…I never woulda thought of that…" Raven blinked.
''Shorty…?'' Before Raven could question the nickname, Cloud was talking.
"…Reckless, and you could have gotten Tifa killed, Raven!" Raven gave him a flat look.
"…Thank you for showing so much concern for 'our' safety…Spike. Tell me, did you stick your sword in a power conduit, or does your hair naturally look like that?" Barret barked a laugh and slapped Raven heartily on the back, making her stumble slightly.
"HA! I like ya already, Shorty!" Barret gave Cloud a pointed look, "That kinda clever thinkin' is just what AVALANCHE needs." Raven shrugged carelessly.
"Opportunities abound if you know where to lo-" Raven stopped short when Tifa leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Raven gave her an odd look while Barret laughed and Cloud looked on in stunned silence. Tifa smiled shyly.
"That was for getting rid of the monster…and this…" She moved in as if to kiss Raven on the lips, but seemed to think better of it, kissing her on the cheek instead, "…is for healing my injury." She blushed and moved away, coughing awkwardly. Raven watched her for a few seconds before clearing her throat and straightening her jacket.
"*Ahem* Now then…I believe we need to rescue someone…" Cloud snapped out of his state.
"Right. Let's go." Cloud stepped quickly through the hole in the wall, followed by a still laughing Barret, a blushing Tifa, and a very troubled lycan.
'This…has gotten VERY complicated…'
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Now, before I get people asking about this, this is NOT Tifa/Raven. Everyone is ASSUMING that Raven is a boy. Yes, Raven is a werewolf. Yes, she will transform during the full moon. No, this will not be Red XIII/werewolf!Raven. That's wrong on several levels _;; . There are no plans in the future for Raven to hook up with ANY of the FFVII characters.
