Before Crisis: The Beginning

By DarkAngel

Disclaimer: I don't own Before Crisis or any part of Final Fantasy VII. Square-Enix does. The only thing that's really mine is this kernel of an idea and the name for Playable Character (Rod), whom I have taken the liberty of naming St. Andrew. If you don't know who Rod is or what Before Crisis is... I'd provide you with links, but for some reason FF.N's editor keeps eating them. . So... Google it.

Chapter One: The Beginning (St. Andrew)

Today just wasn't his day. St. Andrew swore under his breath.

It was supposed to have been an easy round. Go in, grab the bike and get out. How the hell was he supposed to know that it'd end up like this?

Wiping the blood out of his eye, he glared up at the smirking redhead standing above him. The redhead – Reno, he had said his name was – was idly tapping his EMR against his shoulder, watching him. St. Andrew snarled. "What are you waiting for?"

Reno shrugged, his smirk melting instantly into an expression of affected boredom. "For you to get up. How long are you gonna stay down there with that look on your face?"

Huh? What the hell was this guy on? There was no way he was just going to let St. Andrew go, right? He looked warily at Reno. Reno rolled his eyes.

"Come on, get up. I don't have all day."

"Like hell," St. Andrew grated. "I'll fight you again."

"I don't think so." Reno gave St. Andrew a sharp poke with his EMR, sending the other man sprawling onto the floor again. Around him, the other security guards and the medical staff that had arrived in response to the ruckus watched the Turk and the intruder warily. Nobody was sure what to expect.

"You're in no position to fight anymore. Look around you." That smirk was back in place again. "Shin-Ra's got the best security in the world, kid, and right now you're right in the middle of all of it." He shrugged. "I'm not gonna stop you though. If you want to fight me – and the guards – and the robo-security then go right ahead. You'd have to be pretty fucking stupid, though."

"It beats being caught," St. Andrew said, grinning viciously. It wasn't that he was confident he could get out with his hide remotely intact, but damned if he was going to show weakness in front of this guy. He was too arrogant for all that.

Reno shook his head, his face twisted into an expression of tragic despair. "You don't get it, do you kid? I'm trying to say that if you fight again, you're gonna die." He swung his EMR around, pointing the business end at St. Andrew's jugular. "Why don't you take the high road?"

"What do you mean?" St. Andrew ignored the weapon at his throat.

"I mean, join us. The Turks could use someone like you." Reno grinned. "You put up a good fight. You even managed to put a couple scratches on me. What do you say?"

St. Andrew gaped. "What?" He couldn't be serious. Wasn't he going to be arrested?

"Oh, come on. Stop looking at me like that. I'm serious. I'll just talk to Tseng and you'll be in before you know it."

"In what?"

Reno looked surprised. "You mean you don't recognize the suit?" He laughed. "I mean the Turks. What else would I be talking about?"

St. Andrew blanched. The Turks? He'd heard of them before. Everybody had. They were supposed to be one of the Shin-Ra Company's elites. He'd never seen one before, though they were said to be a dangerous bunch to get caught up with. Suddenly his glare was back. "How do I know you're not lying?"

The redhead threw back his head and laughed. "You think I'd waste my time trying to convince you if I was lying?" Reno's head snapped back, and suddenly his expression was completely serious, despite the fact that there was still a trace of a smile on his thin mouth. "Kid, I wouldn't bother. I'd have just killed you or hauled your ass in."

Touché. St. Andrew rubbed at his head, which was still smarting from their earlier fight. "Okay, say I believe you. What do I have to do?" There had to be a catch somewhere, after all.

"Nothing." Reno shrugged. "Just come with me. Like I said, I'll clear the way for you. It's better than running around with a bunch of street punks stealing crap for the rest of your life, isn't it?"

St. Andrew bristled. Stealing crap? What did he take him for?

"You and your gang are small fry," Reno said bluntly, apparently reading St. Andrew's thoughts. "Not even worth the time it would take to deal with. You'll never go anywhere with them."

St. Andrew smirked. "And you're telling me I will if I join you?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

He considered this. St. Andrew had been made the leader of his gang in Junon less than a year ago. He was the best there was, nobody doubted that. But if Reno had beaten him so easily, what did that say?

If he stayed with the gang, he would have respect and authority, unquestioned by no one – until one day someone tried to challenge him. He would constantly be fighting to keep his place. And say he did manage to hold on, then what? He would stay in Junon, dealing and stealing, fighting turf wars with other gangs. It was fun right now, but what about when it stopped being fun? What would he do then?

He laughed, a sound that was more like a low bark than anything else. So that's the way it was, then.

"Take me to this Tseng," St. Andrew muttered.

Reno leaned forward. "What?"

"I said take me to your boss," St. Andrew said loudly, glaring at the other man.

Reno laughed. Offering his hand, he pulled St. Andrew up. "I knew you'd make the right choice. Come on rookie, let's go."

"Who are you calling rookie?" he demanded.

The redhead only laughed harder, leaving the bewildered security and paramedics behind them.

So this would be St. Andrew's future now. He didn't know what to expect, but he swore that one day he would beat Reno. Not only that, he would beat everybody else in the Turks and stand on top as number one. With that goal in mind, he walked with his strange companion to the elevators.

Afterword: I know. I'm alive. o.o;;; Worse yet, I'm writing again. I've been working on these little Before Crisis things for a while now. I recently looked at them again and decided they weren't so bad, so I'm putting them up here. I'm not 100 percent sure where I'm going with all this, but I do have about 15 chapters already done, so I must be going somewhere. XD