"I can't believe it all went down to this..."
"... I know."
Reno, a short red haired man, was walking aside Rude, a much taller black bald man, in what appeared to be ruins of a massive city.
"With Shin-Ra gone now, what are we supposed to do...?"
Reno kicked some dirt on the ground. Not like there isn't a lot already. Meteor came very close to completly destroy Midgar a few weeks ago and if not for some Holy power, the whole planet would have been destroyed. At least, the peoples of the city are strong and have already got back on their feets, rebuilding the place.
Avalanche is also there, in another sector, helping out as best they can. Even now, Reno can't make up his mind about them. Were they the threat or the cure? They did save the planet, by defeating Sephiroth, but their actions were totally wrong at first. Many peoples have died because of them.
And what about Shin-Ra? He was protecting that compagny, so many were, but in the end, it turned out there was too many corrupted peoples in it and it lead the compagny to it's destruction.
And what of the president?
Killed by one of the WEAPONS, those huge creatures created by the planet, which she would awake as soon as she would be threatenned. In a matter of weeks, Shin-Ra went from a worldwide compagny to nothingness.
Reno rubbed his temples, sighing, before laying his back on a nearby wall and let himself slip to the ground. Rude crouched beside him, putting his hand on his partner's shoulder. Both men shares a bound that only brothers should have. Not bad, for 2 persons who are each other's opposite. He squeezed Reno's shoulder and offered his other hand, which the red haired grasped before being pulled back to his feets.
"You're right, it's not time to give up. Elena is working hard to put her life back on the track. So should we, no?"
Rude nodded his approval and faintly smiled.
"So where should we start?"
"...hmmm, We can al-..."
"Reno! Rude!"
A feminine voice cut Rude short and both men turned around to see a small blonde woman running toward them, like if Hell was chasing her. Reno instinctively grabbed his electro-mag rod, ready to see something bad appear behind the woman.
"Elena, what's going on?"
The woman stopped in front of them and put her hands on her knees, panting.
"It's... it's ... the...pre...the...ali-live...he"
Reno putted is hands in front of himself to halt her.
"Woa,woa! Calm down, i can't understand a word you are saying."
Elena nodded and took a deep breath, standing back up.
"It's... the president. He is alive!"
Both men were taken aback. President Shin-Ra... alive ! Rude was the first one to recover from the shock.
"Where did you learn that?"
"Someone i know, who works at the hospital, said it to me. She told me that since i was a Turk, it might have interested me. I've been searching for you ever since."
Reno shook his head to get back to reality.
"Then let's go!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Rude only nodded and all 3 left, lead by Elena. If this was true, if President Shin-Ra was really alive, this meant that the compagny wasn't completly gone, only the corrupted ones were taken down and there would be a chance that everything would get back to normal. Like if nothing hapenned, only memories and lessons learnt.
After a good hour long race, they arrived at the packed hospital. Elena looked for the woman who informed her, without success. She halted an incomming nurse.
"Excuse me, I have been informed that Mr. President Shin-ra was here, is it possible to know what his room is?"
"Are you familly?"
"no, we are - "
"Then i am sorry, I cannot give this information to peoples who are not direct familly."
"But madam we -"
Reno sighed, those procedure can be so irritating.
"I am sorry, I do not care who you are. Rules are rules and i got patients to take care of."
The nurse motionned to walk away but was stopped by 2 ID cards, 5 inches away from her face, held by Reno and Rude. She grew pale and shivered.
"My..my apologies Sirs, please follow me."
Elena stared at her friends, dumbfounded. Reno laughed and Rude turned to her.
"You have to learn when to use your title to your advantage."
Elena sighed.
"No matter how hard i try, i always do something wrong..."
"Come on 'lena, it's not time for that, let's go."
She nodded and all 3 followed the nurse to a room, away from all the chaos. Even weeks after the catastrophy, the hospital was still in complete havoc .
"Now, before i let you in his room, allow me to explain you a few things about his condition. He has suffered from a few major burns. I have to say he has been extremely lucky to have this habit of wearing so much clothing: they are the ones that took most of the fire damage. However, his left hand is severely burnt. He had underwent surgery but it's not over for him right now. A part of his face was also affected, but there should be no scars left"
Elena seemed relieved to hear that.
"Well those are still good news, no?"
"I would love to have your enthusiasm, however there is a strange illness that has started to make it's apparition. It mostly affects children, but we have some cases where adults are affected."
Reno rubbed his forehead.
"And lemme guess, he is one of those i>some case /i>."
The nurse nodded.
"And what is that strange illness?"
"It has been given the name i>Geostigma /i>. It's symptoms are pain, physical marks, loss of consciousness, infection on the marked area, dizziness and we had some cases where it lead to death. This disease appeared soon after the destruction of the city by meteor. This is all what we know about it and unfortunatly, there is no cure. Mr. President is still in an early stage so we can hope the cure is found before his case degenerate."
Elena gasped, Reno sighed and Rude remained emotionless.
"Do you have any question?"
All 3 shook their head.
"Very well, you may enter. Now if you excuse me, i will go see the other patients."
She shown them another door before leaving. Reno knocked on it.
"Come in."
He entered the room, motionning to his friends to wait for a moment. Better to see if the president is in a mood for "guests" before invading him.
Rufus was sitting in a wheelchair, with bandages covering part of his face and left hand. He also had a long sheet covering the rest of his body.
"Ah! Well if it isn't Reno. I am surprised to see you here."
Reno saluted him.
"We have recently learnt of your condition, Sir. We came here as soon as we've been told you were alive."
"Who is with you?"
"Rude and Elena. I told them to wait for a moment before entering."
"Very well, you can let them in."
"Yes, Sir"
Reno reopened the door to allow his friends in. Both saluted the president."
"I am relieved to see all 3 of you made it out of this mess alive. Now, what has the nurse told you?"
Elena told him they learnt of Geostigma and of his burnings.
"Very well. I have requested to be transfered at Healin. It is a new construction outside of the city, for peoples infected with Geostigma. Once i recover, because i assure you that i will, I plan to rebuild the compagny and restore the world back to normal. Now... I want to know what you will do. I give you this choice: Stay, and remain in the same position you were in before, or leave and start a new life. In my current situation,I am stranded, but it is only a matter of time. I am not asking of you to reply right away. Take an hour and come back with your decision."
"Sir?"
"Yes, Rude?"
"With all your respect, my presence here shows my will to remain at my current position."
Reno and Elena both agreed.
"You are certain of your decision?"
The trio saluted.
"Yes, Sir!"
"Very well then. I will ask you to escort me to Healin. From there, we will be able to rebuild the compagny. The transfer will be tomorrow morning. You are dismissed until then andI do not want my transfer to be known by anyone in the public."
"Yes, Sir!"
Reno turned around to leave, followed by Rude. Elena waited for both men to have left.
"What is it, Elena?"
"Sir,I would like to know ifI can be of other help. Before becoming a Turk,I studied in human biology and medical researches. MaybeI could put this knowledge to good use and see ifI could find a cure to Geostigma. Of course,I do not have the expertise of a professor, like Hojo, but the more who works toward something, the faster it can be achieved."
"I wouldn't want you to be another Hojo. One demented person was enough and it's thanks to him that we are where we are. I accept your request. However, are you going to be available ifI need you?"
"Yes, Sir. No matter whereI will be,I will return on call."
"So be it. Keep me informed of any developpement on your researches."
"Yes, Sir!"
On this, she left. Rufus moved his wheelchair around and picked a letter in which was written:
i>I know you have information on what hapenned and where is Mother. I am keeping my eyes on you." /i>
He folded the letter and tucked it under the sheet that was covering him. With Reno and Rude back as bodyguards, he would easily get rid of this new "threat". And if Elena finds how to get rid of Geostigma, then he may be able to get rid of that person with his own hands.
"But you'll have to find me first. Let's see if your eyes are as open as you claim them to be."
° ° °
"What took you so long 'lena?"
Reno waved at her, drawing her attention. She walked to him.
"I won't be going with you, guys."
"Why not? You decided to quit?"
She gasped, shocked by the swift reply of her friend.
"What ! Reno,I cannot believe you think that of me!"
"Don't mind what he said, why are you not comming?"
"BecauseI will search for a way to cure Geostigma."
"You're kidding?"
"Unlike you, most of the times, no. IfI can find it, not only with he recover but also all those who are afflicted with that disease."
Reno seemed deceived with that turn of event. They lost Tseng, their leader, during what lead to the meteor events and now, Elena is going away.
"Your decision is taken, huh?"
"Yes, I'll go gather my things and start searching right away. Be carefull ok?"
Both men nodded and Elena left, running and waving back.
"I'll keep you guys in touch!"
Reno passed his hand in his hair.
"Who would've thought..."
"She was always more dedicated to the job than you."
"Hey hey! A pro isn't someone who sacrifices himself for his job. That's
just a fool! "
"She is still more dedicated."
"Some friend you are... guess i am stucked with you again hey partner?"
Reno grinned and walked away.
"Of course you are,I got to make sure you stay in line."
"Whatever!"
Both men left the hospital, more confident about the future.
