Fanfic Title: Remnants Left Behind

Game: Final Fantasy VII

Pairing: Vincent x Reno

Author: TheIdiotandtheSardonicWench

Summary: Both have had their bodies ravaged by scientific experiments. Now both will come to rely on each other after they are set free from their containers. VincentxReno yaoi.

Disclaimer: We do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

Warnings/Notes: yaoi, AU, slight-OOC, violence, language, angst, lime, lemon, neko!Reno

A/N: Original concept from The Idiot, written by The Sardonic Wench. Because I know more about FFVII than he does. Please enjoy.

Side A/N: This is set in the original FFVII. I don't know when exactly, but it at least has to be sometime before Cloud and party arrive at Nibelheim. The contents of the basement lab have been slightly modified. And, if you don't know what I mean by 'neko!Reno', you'll find out later.

~**Chapter 1**~

Located in the abandoned mansion residing at the end of the mountain based town named Nibelheim lay the left behind secrets of the ShinRa Electric Company, lingering beneath the initial interior of aged wood and tarnished furnishings. To those who would dare enter such a place forsaken by events of the past, their eyes would be full of the deceit and classified goings-on of the corporation whose presence still can be felt in the rural community. Though not a soul had the nerve to explore the manor in depth, it stood as an old testament to the destruction the once great ex-General Sephiroth caused.

Book after book littered the lowest level of the mansion, forgotten tomes stacked high on dusty shelves. It was contained in these printed texts the information regarding Mako, Materia, the Lifestream, and a few other things only known to the higher officials of ShinRa.

But there were other secrets stashed away in the deeper recesses of this place that were not categorized in the written word.

Biological experiments, individuals altered by the workings of science and an insane interest of transforming the normal human physique into something not quite human. Poked and prodded by sterilized needles and scalpels, they alone knew the torture of what the so-called art of science has done to them.

And yet, they continued to suffer unaccompanied, not knowing of another person who was victimized by the perversities of scientists who were too hyped up on making their visions a reality to comprehend or even be concerned about the damage they inflicted upon the innocent.

Or rather, they were alone for the moment…

Enclosed in a tube filled with Mako next to one of the many bookshelves in the basement area was one of the human casualties of science, one who—in a sense—was rightfully unique when making comparisons to the others who have dwelled in the same place as he, but in another time. Though no one could see him because of a black veil enveloping the exterior glass. He remained a mystery to the prying eyes of humans, who would surely turn their backs upon him without a second thought.

Situated on the other side of his container was a cold machine with multiple screens and keyboards, showing displays of his vitals and whatnot. But on one of the monitors was a digital countdown, silently winding down as time slowly passed by.

It was the countdown to his awakening…

'2hrs10mins34snds'

Green eyes snapped open suddenly, the first thing he saw being the floor he was now sprawled out on, however indistinct it was. He turned over to his back, rubbing at his eyes the best he could since the appendages were covered in what looked like green slime.

'Ugh, where the hell am I?'

He thought and thought, but he couldn't remember how he got here, or even where here was now that he was thinking about it. It was a deep blank hole in his memory; one that almost seemed like it had been implanted there on purpose. But he did remember who he was fortunately.

Reno, a Turk under the employ of ShinRa.

At least he remembered that much. Having to find his way out of here without that information would have been hell.

Reno stood up, almost slipping because on the green liquid on the floor. Glancing down at the rest of him, he discovered that not only was he covered from head to toe in the same green fluid, but he was also as naked as a newborn child. His face showed a slight grimace at his nudity and apparent state of extreme filthiness.

Gaia, he really needed a good shower…

And some clothes.

But the first order of business was to get as much of this fluid off of him as he could.

His initial thought was to lick the liquid off his skin, an idea that left him feeling a little disgusted afterwards. Reno resigned to simply wiping the substance off with his hands and then flicking it off to the side. Vaguely listening to the splatters made when the slime hit the ground like down pouring rain droplets, he used a nearby glass tube that was leaking the green goo from its opening as a mirror. He figured that this was the tube where he had been residing in since it was the only one open.

Everything looked in order, though he was still a little peeved at being stark naked in some foreign place. The band that normally held his long red hair in a low ponytail was missing, leaving the mane to trail down the expanse of his slender back. He'd have to get another one later, he supposed. He also noted with an air of annoyance that his Electro-Mag rod was also nowhere to be found, all items having apparently been taken from him whenever he was apprehended. Yet another thing he would have to buy if he managed to find a town after escaping…

…as soon as he managed to get his hands on some Gil, that is.

Continuing his body check, Reno looked at the top of his head, eyes widening when he found—

"What the hell?" he shouted, almost stumbling back from the alarm he received.

Cat ears.

Resting on top of his head were furry red cat ears that twitched to and fro every now and then, catching the sounds of still working machinery.

Reno touched the furred appendages hesitantly, as if he didn't believe they were actually there. Realizing that they weren't a trick of the light, he rubbed at the area where his human ears should have been. He felt around repeatedly at the side of his head, but still he didn't feel anything except flat skin. And frankly, it was a creepy kind of unnatural.

After discovering his human ears weren't there anymore, he felt something slapping the back of both of his legs in the same frantic fashion as his racing mind that was being filled with question after question, all remaining unanswerable. Looking down to see an equally red tail still wagging about had shocked him as well, but he had expected it in the back of his mind since he did have ears.

And what would a cat be without a tail anyway? Speaking of which, the tail was very hirsute and bushy, the hair not being particularly tame. It went in every direction imaginable! Up, down, left, right—his tail was in dire need of a good and thorough brushing.

Just what the fuck had happened to him?

Calming down from the shock, Reno focused on the area around him so he could figure out just where the hell he was and if he could get out.

Though having to use a different pair of ears would be really weird…

But he found, however, that the sounds his new ears caught were a lot sharper and more profound than usual. The room was dark except for the haunting glow of Mako filled tubes and computer screens, and yet he could see clearly like it was as bright as day. Gazing once again at the glass tube very closely, he saw that his pupils had been reduced to thin slits, much like a cat would have.

Out of all the things chosen to alter him by whoever had done this, why in Shiva's name did he have to be more like a cat?

Well, that would explain the momentary urge to lick the green liquid off his skin earlier.

Reno shook himself violently, more of the liquid flying off his skin and landing on everything with reach. He had becoming impatient with trying to wipe the stuff off anyway. Green eyes scanned the area, only to be greeted with Mako filled cylinders and machines, along with numerous bookshelves filled to the brim with books. Sliding one of the books from its place on the shelf, Reno opened the front cover to find that it was about Mako—the very thing he had been contained in. Only one company had these types of resources laying about.

ShinRa. The very company he worked for had used him as an experiment. The mere thought brought an unpleasant shudder to his frame. Did his colleagues even know what had happened to him? Or even where he was for that matter?

Sighing to himself, Reno placed the book back on the shelf. The records of his employment had most likely been expunged after he became a test subject. And his coworkers still had their jobs to worry about so it wasn't like they could idly spend their time searching for him unless the President ordered it, which was highly doubtful.

His eyes landed on a doorway not ten feet away from him. And, thankfully, next to the door was a coat rack with one lab coat hanging from it. At least the Gods were considerate enough to provide him with clothing, even if it was just a flimsy coat. Slipping the white item on, Reno opened the door, a long dark pathway making itself present before his eyes.

"Out of all the places to be trapped in…" Reno mumbled to himself.

He stepped outside briskly, wanting to get out as soon as possible. Reno pulled the coat closer to his body, crossing his arms over the front.

'Shit, it's cold…' he thought to himself.

Talk about stating the obvious…

Walking not several feet away from the first door, Reno spotted another door in the periphery of his vision. Suddenly, he felt very curious. At first, the urge to open the door was a controllable one, but the more he stared at the door, the more he wanted to open it. The impulse grew and festered like a bad rash.

'Ugh, this is ridiculous! I've got to go!'

Finally, he conceded to his odd wanting, and stepped towards the door. A slight jiggling of the knob indicated that the door was locked, and an annoyed expression crossed the redhead's face, his eyebrows furrowed in displeasure. Gaia, he wanted to see what was inside! His insides were chiding at him to open the damned door before he lost his mind with wondering what was in there!

And since when was he this curious about something? Sure he had the normal amount of human inquisitiveness as everyone else, but this was just bizarre.

Reno tugged lightly at the handle at first, hoping the aged appearance of the wood meant that the door could be easily dislodged without having the key to open it. But alas, the timber proved very sturdy and immobile to his meager efforts. Somewhat frustrated, Reno pulled slightly harder at the doorknob, expecting the entrance to still remain unopened.

He was surprised, however, when his yanking of the knob ripped the wooden doorway right off its hinges, splintered wood falling from the broken item onto the floor. Reno stared bewildered at the door in his hand, doing several double takes between the busted door and where it had originally been.

Well. That wasn't weird at all.

Reno settled for simply dropping the wrecked thing and figuring out where he got all this excess strength from later. After taking a good look around this room, of course.

Stepping a cautious foot into the eerily dark space, he suddenly felt chilled to his very bones. His instincts were telling him that this room felt…off, in the dangerous sense. He wasn't welcomed here and was to leave immediately without disturbing what lay inside. The room practically screamed the message of 'go away!'

…if only he would listen to such things.

'Aw well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained,' he dismissively thought before taking another step inside.

Directly in the middle of the room was a just plain black coffin. Not exactly what he had expected to be within, but it was something. Finding an empty room would have been disappointing anyway. The feeling of overwhelming danger had not left him however, but he chose to shove it down. He just needed to see what was in the box, and then he would leave. It was simple enough, and surely whatever was laying in the box wouldn't care about him sneaking a quick peek just to satisfy his curiosity, right?

Right.

Crouching down next to the coffin, Reno lifted the lid, the hinges giving a hair-raising creak with the movement. It was like he was opening the resting place of a vampire or something, and he couldn't very well say that he wasn't creeped out by what he found.

Just as he had thought. There was a dead body in the coffin. Or at least, he presumed it to be dead since it wasn't moving at all, nor did it react when he opened the casket. Plus, it was in a coffin for Shiva's sake! Only weirdoes and freaks put living bodies in caskets, or the same group laying themselves in coffins for no real reason other than pretending to be a blood sucking creature of the night. Either way, they were all messed up enough to do anything involving living bodies and coffins.

But for a dead body, it sure was handsome. The person in the sarcophagus was definitely male in appearance, the muscular build being verification to that. He was very slender in figure, the outlines of his body made visible by leather that seemed almost too tight to be comfortable. A red outfit that looked very much like a cloak covered the majority of his frame much like a blanket would. An equally red headband was wrapped around his forehead, long black hair that was slightly spiky at the top flowing around the item and coming to rest on top of his chest. The skin of the man was pale, almost too pallid to be considered alive. If this person really was dead, then he must have been put here recently for the putrid smell of decaying flesh was not there.

Then again, he couldn't detect any kind of awful stench coming off the man. If anything, he smelled rather nice.

'Yeah, for a dead fuckin' body…'

From what Reno could gather about the appearance of this person, maybe he did manage to open the coffin of a vampire.

…or perhaps the theory of this person being one of those freaks that lay in coffins wasn't too far off…

No, this one had to be dead. By Gaia, he wasn't even moving! Reno was about to reach over and close the coffin when a voice spoke to him.

"What do you want?"

The redhead stumbled back with a yelp, falling to the floor with an ungraceful and rather loud smack. He bunched up the lab coat as best he could to cover up the skin the fall had relieved, his knees pressing against his chest to help in wanting to hide his naked self under the coat. His ears stood erect, and the hairs on his tail were sticking up and spread apart, showing just how much of a scare he had recieved.

To say the least, Reno was dumbfounded and a little frightened. He had assumed that the person in the coffin was dead, and rightfully so, considering the man was in a sarcophagus. And just when he was about to leave, the body suddenly started talking to him, and for a split second, he thought that the person really was one of the undead or something.

…what an idiot he felt like at the moment.

Reno continued to stare at the man who was now sitting up in the casket and returning his gaze with unwavering blood red eyes that seemed to pierce through Reno's head. Reno couldn't make his lips move in response to answer the man's question, and he honestly wanted to leave right now.

Dear Leviathan. This was just all too much for one day…

A/N: Set up is a little different than what I usually do, but I think it worked out okay in the end. Besides, I think my normal choice of writing probably wouldn't have worked here for some reason. I'm just trying out something different. Please Review!