Chapter: 2, Hotel Dystopia
Summary: Reno's gained her trust and brings her for a little tour through Midgar's ruins and the newly established Edge. What surprises lie ahead for then?
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the main character, Rayne. Final Fantasy is a product of Square Enix, while Kingdom Hearts is a join production of Square Enix and Disney Interactive Studios (Buena Vista Games.)
Dedication: Muh bestest buddy Zeak who pretty much demanded a second chapter.
Midgar looked far from the dystopian metropolis that it was when she left it last. Shin-Ra Headquarters in ruins, the slums squashed beneath what had been the upper plate... the ghastly sight of it all sent a chill through her bones.
"That Tranquilizer kick in yet?" Reno asked nonchalantly, drawing the chopper in closer to the fallen city.
"Huh?" So far into her thoughts and memories, she had nearly missed his inquiry, but as she sat back, it managed to make its way to her brain. "Oh! Mhm... thank you."
A wry smile came over his features as he swooped down further, letting her see the wreckage that seemed to still smolder though life had started to grow over it. "Good. Couldn't have you yacking in my chopper, yo."
Rayne glared at him, turning her head to look back out the glass. "Glad to see you were so worried about my discomfort, Reno. Your concern has been noted." She crossed her arms across her chest, though sudden turbulence nearly had her hood fly back, in which she quickly snatched and held down.
"What's a matter? Afraid your hair'll get messed up?"
It was her turn to give him a coy smile as she shook her head. "Afraid you'd see something you may like... then I'll never get rid of you."
Reno hadn't expected the witty retort and found himself, for once, speechless. Instead, he offered a lame, "Heh, in your dreams kid."
Taking another half-lap around the destroyed city, he started heading them towards another city, this one smaller and seemingly still under construction on the outskirts of old Midgar. "Now let me show you Edge."
As they came to land on the formal helicopter landing pad, Rayne had thought really nothing of it. When the uniformed soldiers exited the WRO building to meet them, she had to wonder just what threat, if Sephiroth had truly been defeated, could cause a need for such force.
Then she caught Reno's Electro-Mag Rod to the back of her neck where it met her skull and as her vision flickered and grew dark on the edges, she realized her mistake...
Never trust a Turk.
"Kind of risky to be carting a rogue experiment, fully functional, without any form of constraints," Tseng murmured as he looked in at the girl who lay on the examination table behind the protective glass as a pair of scientists began evaluating her unconscious form. Reno didn't watch, his back against the glass as he lit up up a cigarette and took a deep drag off it, enjoying the way it burned.
His superior officer glanced to him and shook his head. "Don't tell me you're feeling bad about bringing her in."
"I did what I was told!"
Reno's retort was quick, full of anger. Tseng knew there was a nerve there he hit. The red-haired Turk looked at him with a tinge in his light-hued blue eyes and it only made him smile more.
"She's a creation of Hojo... nothing more -"
"I know that!"
Tseng turned back to the glass, his dark orbs seemingly looking past the events before him to something to come before he closed them and crossed his arms. "Good, because I wouldn't want any drama when we exterminate the experiment."
"Exterminate?!" Had Reno turned his head any faster toward him, he probably would have gotten whiplash. "She's just a chick, yo!" He proclaimed, pointing his rod at the glass, hitting it on accident, but with enough force to cause the scientists to look towards them and ponder what the silent argument was about.
"If XIV was made by Hojo, then they're far from anything but an abomination."
Reno grit his teeth, a quiet growl of frustration escaping his lips at he turned toward the glass and glared. "Rayne."
"Excuse -"
"Her name is Rayne." He clarified.
"Did she tell you that?" Tseng chuckled darkly, opening his eyes to gaze sideways at his co-worker. "You're not getting soft on us, are you Reno?"
From anyone who watched the two, it would almost seem like the older Turk got some satisfaction out of getting a raise out of Reno as he held his rod in an aggressive way. "Notta chance! I just think if we're trying to save the Planet now, we can't go and be killing girls off the streets!"
"She was created by -"
"But she's not Sephiroth."
The two men stood in silence for a moment, before Reno spoke again. "Lets make her a Turk."
"Are you out of your mind? We've barely got the money in the budget to pay you goons, what makes you think we can afford another?"
He shook his head, his wild red hair falling into his eyes some. "Does she look like she's going to be asking for money? Besides... she's got Jenova cells in her and a good command over them. Think of what she could bring to the team."
"Those Jenova cells are the very reason she should be exterminated, along with whatever other research that idiot Hojo dreamed up."
Reno turned back towards the glass, a small pang of guilt for having tricked the woman into following him. "She's different."
Tseng sighed heavily before turning towards the door. "48 hours, Reno."
"Huh?"
"I'll take care of Reeve, and you've got 48 hours to find proof that we can benefit from keeping XIV alive," he began before glancing over his shoulder at him. "But after that display you put on getting her here, our word isn't going to be the only one you're going to have to earn to get her into a suit."
Reno turned back to the glass, a hand against it as those working on Rain began to draw blood. Why did he even care what happened to her? He'd got his target, he wrote up his report... she wasn't his problem anymore. But something inside him told him differently...
There was something about that girl that just wouldn't leave him be.
(( A/N: Yay! End Chapter 2! Sorry the chapters are rather short aren't they? I'll see if I can do something about that when I get to Chapter 3. ! Remember, your comments are what keep me writing. Just no flames, criticism is great though, so long as its constructive. ))
