By: Albedosreqium / Soyna
Warnings and Genre:
Angst. Alternate Universe. A continuation of Verso, but can be understood without it.
Setting:
Before FF7.
Disclaimer
All related Final Fantasy names and characters are copyrighted by the almighty Square Enix©.
Summary:
A Hojo-made Materia is found that will allow people to go back in time and change events. Reno was not the one that they intended to send back:
Before Reno was a Turk. When he was a boy.
This chapter entails a young!Reno and his mother. After the scene where the older!Reno tells his mother to run and don't come back … this is what happened.
VERSO - COOKIES
Reno was thinking of cookies; it was Wednesday after all. He was thinking of delicious, yummy cookies with large, melting chocolate chips coming straight out of the oven. Reno knew that his mom had bought chocolate chips the last time that she got groceries. He liked her oatmeal cookies, but the chocolate chips were the best.
He had done all his homework, brushed his teeth without complaining, and had even eaten all his carrots at dinner. He knew if he was good, mom would put extra chocolate chips in and because he was behaving, he may even get an extra cookie.
He loved Wednesdays and he loved his mother's cookies.
"Reno?"
Reno looked over at his friend who bounded to catch up to him. "Can I come over and study at your place?"
"You just want to come over and eat my mom's cookies, Joey," Reno said and adjusted the books in his hands.
"Well, duh. Your mom makes the best cookies!" Joey said and flashed him a large smile that Reno returned. He liked Joey's upfront style about things. There were no games with Joey as a friend and that was nice. He didn't have to worry about him ridiculing him about the holes in his clothes. Joey never teased him about the fact that he sometimes had problems with math and couldn't draw a circle if his life depended on it.
"Don't you have swimming on Wednesdays?" Reno asked as he stopped walking to let his dark-haired friend catch up to him.
"Pool's closed. Plus, I have to work on that project about how mako energy works, remember?" Joey said with a smile. "We can work together." His big eyes were hopeful.
Reno nodded. "I get first dibs on the cookies though," Reno said with a smile. It was easier working on projects together. I meant that he only had to do half the work and the bonus was that Joey had a computer so they could type things up. He knew his writing was horrible and a few cookies seemed like a fair trade.
"Perfect," Joey said with a large smile. He watched his friend furrow his eyebrows as he looked over his shoulder and pointed. "Is that your mom?"
Reno looked over to where Joey was looking. It was his mom. He looked at her in confusion. She never came to the school unless he was in trouble and he had been good lately.
"Reno!"
Her voice was loud and shrilled. It startled him as she frantically hurried towards him. She wasn't even wearing shoes and was still wearing the apron that she always wore when she was baking. He didn't even get a word out of his mouth as she dove for him. He was not expecting to be grabbed and nearly knocked over.
He was also not expecting her to be crying. She was sobbing and dropped to her knees in front of him. She was shaking like a leaf and was frantically running her hands over him. "Mom?" he said, a little scared. Her quivering hands came to his face and her thumbs pressed against his cheeks.
She was babbling, "It's okay," over and over again. He found himself being pulled into her chest as he was crushed against her. He didn't think she was that strong.
Joey was standing with wide, scared eyes and looked uncomfortable.
"What's going on, mom?" he finally yelled and pulled out of her arms. He looked around at all the adults that were looking on. He knew they weren't going to tell him anything. When they got like this, they were going to send him off to get something from the store. He knew how this all worked.
She let go of him and he noticed that she had a very large wad of gil that she pulled out of her apron pocket. She was clutching at it the wad tightly. "I don't know if we can go home." Her voice was shaking and tears were falling out of her dark eyes.
"What?" Reno felt scared. They couldn't go home? "What happened to our home?"
"Mrs. Sinclair?"
Reno looked to see Mr. Biggs walking towards them. Mr. Biggs was his gym teacher and a decent guy, if not a little bit pushy.
Things started to get weird. His mom started to babble about how a strange man that had broke into their house. The whole time she talked she held him closer nearly to the point that he couldn't breathe.
"He was so much like my husband, it scared me. I think I was seeing a ghost," she finally babbled. Mr. Biggs was giving a concerned look and said that they should probably call the police.
His mom nodded furiously and held him tighter. Joey's eyebrows were just about in his hair at the scene.
"Mom," Reno finally said as he wiggled in her uncomfortable grip.
"Yes, hun?" her voice was distant.
"Can ya let me go?" Reno was certain that he was going to have bruises on his arms from the tight grip of his mother. She lessened her grip but did not let him go. She turned him briskly and was looking at him oddly. She began to run her hands over his face and caressed his cheeks.
He twisted his head to try to get out of her touch, but she was persistent. This was completely and utterly embarrassing.
Mr. Biggs was on his fancy PHS calling someone. She started to cry again as she suddenly handed him the whole wad of gil. "Put this in your bag." She patted him on the head and stood up, finally letting him go. She went and took the phone from Mr. Biggs. He did as he was told and put the money in his backpack. He knew it was a lot of money and he was curious as to where she would have gotten so much from.
"That's a lot of money," Joey said in a hushed tone. "Where did your mom get it?"
Reno shrugged. "I dunno." He looked over to his mom who looked like she was sobbing into the PHS and Mr. Biggs was getting too close to her. He had his arms wrapped around her shoulders.
He tried to listen to her words which were not very coherent, but he couldn't understand what she was saying to the person on the other end of the phone. He really didn't like how Mr. Biggs moved to rub her back and caressed her shoulder.
"So," Joey drawled out, "Does that mean we don't get cookies?"
Reno frowned at him, but he was right. It was Wednesday and mom was wearing her cooking apron, so there were either undercooked or overcooked cookies in his apartment.
"Mom, can we go home now?" he called. She shook her head at him and waved a hand as she continued to talk on the phone. She was crying again and he was starting to feel frustrated at not knowing what was going on. It was Wednesday and cookie day, and for some reason he wasn't going to get any cookies.
"Do you know what happened?" Joey said again, like Reno had magically got the answer in the last few seconds.
Reno shrugged. "Some guy gave mom money and told her to leave," Reno said even though that really didn't make any sense. He just wanted to go home now. He wanted to know what made his mom cry so much into Mr. Biggs' phone.
He also wanted Mr. Biggs to stop touching his mom.
"Mom?"
She waved him off again and that was really getting annoying. He wanted to know what was going on. He had felt a little bad that his mom was crying and all, but she wasn't telling him why. Mr. Biggs seemed way too comfortable rubbing his hand on his mother's back, and Reno certainly didn't like men hitting on his mom … especially his teacher.
"Mom!" he yelled and she turned sharply, pulling the phone away from her ear and giving him an angry look.
"I am busy right now, Reno!" she yelled and then turned back to the conversation on the phone.
Reno frowned as he held his backpack. More people were looking at them. He didn't like being the center of attention. He got enough attention with his bright hair and the stupid freckles.
"So," Joey said, rocking on his heels. "Does this mean that we aren't getting cookies?"
Reno wanted to slap his friend, but just glared at him instead.
"Well, we can use some of that money your mom gave you to go buy some cookies," Joey said as he patted Reno's backpack. "Do you think she would mind?"
Reno frowned at Joey but then looked over at his mom who was no longer talking on the phone but full-out crying into Mr. Biggs' chest. She was letting his hands wander way too much on her back.
He didn't want to watch him mother being felt up by his gym teacher.
"I am hungry," Reno whispered and gripped the backpack. The idea of going to buy some food was sounding like a very good idea.
"Mom?" he called again. "Can we go to the store and get something to eat?" His stomach grumbled at the thought of getting some of the cream cakes that he usually didn't have the money to buy. He was sure that mom wouldn't mind him getting a couple for Joey and himself with all the money that was stuffed in his bag.
She shook her head violently. "No! You stay close to me! Come here!"
He rolled his eyes and walked over to his mother. At least she pulled away from Mr. Biggs and was now paying attention to him again. He found himself being squeezed tightly again as he looked apologetically to his friend Joey.
The next hour was a mess. Mr. Biggs kept talking on his cell phone as they approached his little apartment that was now surrounded with troopers. He even witnessed one of them run out of his place and puke behind the bushes.
He was soon trapped on his mother's lap as they sat on the bench outside their place and watched. He endured being petted and treated like a baby as one of uniformed men talked with his mother.
He listened to the odd story about someone breaking into his house, giving her money and telling her to run.
"Can you describe the man?"
She nodded and started to sob as she did so. "He looked just like my husband." She sniffed and buried her face in his hair. He knew his mother was upset, but he was not appreciating being treated like a stuffed animal. "He was just under six feet with bright red hair." She played with his hair as she said that. "He was wearing it long and in a pony tail. He wore a dark suit that was rumpled." She hesitated and gripped him tighter. "He was quite thin and he had some marks under his eyes."
"Can you describe those marks?"
He couldn't see what his mother was doing with her hands but she let go of him for a moment. "They were here and red ink."
The man nodded and wrote something on his notepad. "Wait here, please. We will have more questions."
His mom nodded and wrapped his hands around him tightly again and rested her chin on the top of his head. The man with the red scarf opened up his PHS and started to talk into it.
He then noticed that she was shaking. He rubbed her cold hands and tried to comfort his mother. He was trying to figure out what to do but he couldn't think of anything that could make her feel better, or to make the whole situation better, and he couldn't think of anyway he could make himself useful.
The trooper came back and stood beside them for a bit, listening to whomever was on the other end of the phone before saying a very nervous-sounding, "Yes, sir," before he flipped it shut.
"We shall be having some investigators arriving shortly that wish to talk to you," the trooper said and then stood there. He didn't know if mom noticed, but Reno did. The guy was standing all stiff and uncomfortable-looking.
Everyone else was just standing around and not doing anything. He was forced to sit on his mother's lap like a baby. He didn't fight it though. His mom was not the type of person to get upset over stuff and there was obviously something that had happened inside that was freaking everyone out.
He was curious as to what was happening inside his apartment but he didn't ask yet. He knew asking wouldn't get him answers, so he listened to what the other troopers were saying.
The one that puked his guts out stood the furthest away from the whole scene. He made out a conversation saying that the man had never seen anything so gross in his life.
"There was blood everywhere," were the words he heard.
That made him even more curious. He figured out that it wasn't his mom's blood and mom didn't say anything about that. He heard something about the fact that the guy was still warm and something else about a cigarette still smouldering in his chest.
He really wanted to see what was going on in his own apartment but his mom kept him effectively trapped in her lap.
That was when a dark car with tinted window showed up. He knew that type of car. It was a Turk car. Everyone would scatter when that car would drive up so that they wouldn't be the ones that would be the one that was disappear.
He held his breath as the door opened and he saw the first man exit. He was a stocky man that had a stern look to him. He had a mop of dirty brown hair and a short, boxed beard. He was wearing dark glasses so that Reno couldn't see his face, but he had a rather nasty-looking scar that ran down his cheek and into his beard.
He was one scary-looking Turk as he arranged his jacket and examined the scene.
The man that got out of the other side of the car was even more startling. He as a tall man with matted black hair that had a red bandana wrapped around his forehead. A red cape surrounded the man as he strode forward. He couldn't see much of the man's face from the angle that he was walking. The rest of his clothes were odd as well. Tight, black leather and a lot of buckles adorned his legs and chest. There was a large gun strapped to one of his thighs. Reno found himself focusing on the odd and pointy golden boots that didn't make a sound as he walked forward.
Reno was glad that he was still in his mother's lap because that guy didn't look like a Turk. He looked like something out of one of the horror stories that he often heard about. He looked like he was some sort of vampire.
Turks were a scary bunch.
The trooper with the red bandana ran over to the two Turks that now stood in front of the entrance to the apartment. He strained to hear what they were saying, but he couldn't make it out.
He became a little frightened when both the men turned to look in his direction as the trooper waved a hand over in his direction.
He felt a chill run down his spine as he noticed the one in the cape focusing on him and even at the distance between them, he could see the red eyes. He could see the face now and his angular features looked … displeased.
The one in the suit put a hand on the caped one's shoulder but he got shrugged off. It looked like there were some angry words between them.
And then the one in the cape started to stride toward them. He clung to his mother and didn't care that he looked like a baby doing it.
"Vincent!" The other Turk yelled. "We need to check out the scene first."
"I am not interested in the scene," the caped man said and strode towards him. That was when Reno noticed the fact that the man had a glove that matched his boots. Only one, though, and it wasn't really a glove, but looked more like a claw.
That was when his mom started to pay attention to them. "Are you the investigators?" He could feel her start to stand but he refused to move from her lap; he clung to her tightly.
There was no way that he wanted to be the center of attention for these guys, even though that it didn't seem that it was going to be an option.
Vincent was staring right at him. He could see the man's mouth twist into a grimace. There was no other way to describe the look on his face. Reno had seen that look on some of his teacher's faces before they would stop themselves, count to ten and then talk to him in a curt voice.
He was pretty sure that this guy wasn't going to calm down and count to ten.
He was not prepared for his arm to be grabbed and yanked from his mother's embrace and lifted by the man to meet his crimson gaze with his own. The man's eyes were cold and a strange mixture of confusion and anger was written there. Reno was startled as the metal hand touched his face and he became very frightened.
It felt like knives were touching him as the metal-covered fingers traced under his eye. "It's you," the man growled. He could see that the man had fangs as he actually growled. The metal scrapped his skin and he was afraid that he was going to be cut. The touch was not gentle.
Reno felt himself being pulled back and heard his mother yelling at the crazy guy in the cape. The other guy was grabbing the crazy caped-man, and he was finally back into his mother's arms.
He was able to notice that the man in the normal suit had an odd hand as well; it wasn't just as noticeable. The hand was a dull, grey metal that looked like a hand.
He began to wonder for a moment if a prerequisite to being a Turk was to give one's arm.
"He's a boy," the other man said as he grabbed the man's cape and shook him.
"It's him!" Vincent roared and turned his intense gaze towards him for a second. Reno was very happy that he was being held by his mother. He was not the type of guy that normally that would run to his mother, but there were still times when he felt like he needed to, and this was one of them.
These guys were scary and he didn't like the fact that one of them looked like he crawled out of a B-rated movie.
"I can't be him!" the other man yelled. "He is all of eight years old!"
He didn't correct them that he was ten. Now wasn't the time for that.
"We shall see about that," the caped man said with one angry look at him before he pushed off the other Turk. "Take them into custody and I want a full investigation done."
"Vincent," the other man started.
"Veld," Vincent said in a heated and angry whisper. "The evidence will provide the information to prove that he," his golden hand pointed at him, "is the same one."
Reno leaned against his mom as she increased the grip around him. "Mom," he found himself whining. He was scared. He did not get scared easily, but this man terrified him, and he also had no idea what he was talking about.
The other man in the suit sighed. The look that he gave was a little bit more sympathetic but it was still rather stern. Both men were dangerous. "Take them into protective custody," Veld announced and pulled out his phone. He gave them a quick look but then started to talk into his phone. He could hear his mother demanding answers for why they were being taken into custody.
He felt himself start to shake and watched as the man with the golden claw walked into his apartment, pushing past the trooper that was guarding the door.
He wondered what he meant by that he was the 'one'.
He didn't think he liked Wednesdays anymore.
Verso is continued. A snap shot of past events. These will be short and little glimpses that I will write when I feel inclined. I do like how this story developed and I do wish to continue it. This one is rather intense for me to write so you will have to have the patience of a saint to deal with how slowly I will be writing these.
Young!Reno here and Jerk!Vincent is not pleased. Veld is a Turk from Before Crisis and I do like the cold bastard and I think he may be the only one that can really deal with the madness that I have given Vincent.
Reno just wants a cookie!