A/N: Before Crisis is finally here! The special episodes at least! Tseng's episode takes up a majority of this chapter, as well as Shithead!Rufus. Also yeah the part where it says Tseng was a rookie Turk during his Special Episode? Nah. I'll try to make some things new to him, but nah. He's no rookie.
So yeah if Tseng had only just met Rufus, then Rufus would probably turn out the same. He wouldn't have a positive role model, so he'd probably be a shithead even faster, but his potential for goodness still stands.
(Also sorry for slow as heck updates next one will probably be late December after this Hell Semester is over please god save my ass)
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Before Crisis
Eventually Tseng forced himself out of his depressive state, telling himself that he wasn't helping anyone by moping around. Losing the seniors was hard on everyone, not just him, and even though they'd all accepted it they were still bitter about losing two of their best in a mere explosion. It was the same after the other senior died and Nadya left, and he had to get used to the idea that his friends weren't invincible. He wasn't invincible. They could all die if they weren't careful.
However even if they were careful, things could still go wrong. They hadn't anticipated that Wutai had joined forces with anti-Shinra sympathizers. If they wanted to survive future battles, they would need to plan for every possibility.
They never found the man with the sunglasses, or any leads to him or his allies. The president was becoming irate about weeding out any local sympathizers, but also keeping the rest of the people from rebelling against such treatment. He shoveled money into their programs to keep them placated, but still neglected the slums against Veld and Reeve's advice. The slums were where most of the unrest was located, and it was foolish to neglect them, but the president was set in his ways, it seemed.
Because of stubbornness like this, the war was still going strong. The investigation hadn't revealed any leaks, so the threat was still considered external. Nothing was progressing, the people were more angry and demoralized than ever, so Heidegger finally suggested putting out all the stops and destroying Wutai, using everything Shinra could offer. The Weapons Development department had finally designed some prototype war machines that were ready and waiting to be tested on Wutai troops, and Lazard had trained numerous new SOLDIER operatives to form a small army. Shinra was going to deploy their full force, and they would level the Wutai frontier. Tseng had numbed himself to the idea long ago.
Fortunately for Shinra, the populace was very excited to see the top operatives of the SOLDIER program in action. Well, they wouldn't actually see it of course-that would be too graphic-but they would hear about it on the news and in the papers. Heidegger was doing his very best to make the silver-haired First Class, Sephiroth, the poster boy of SOLDIER. Tseng understood what the people saw in a hero like that, in both his strength and his looks, but he was immune to the media's charms and preferred to think about the program as a whole. After all, there were two other First Class SOLDIER that never got any attention, and they were of the same caliber. Nevertheless, having strong protectors released into the battle would raise morale for everyone. Except Wutai. Tseng didn't think about that.
The Turks weren't called to the battlefield again, luckily, and Tseng hoped Heidegger finally understood that a full-frontal assault combined with an espionage team was not a good mix. He hoped Veld could stave off the man's stupidity enough to keep the Turks out of main assaults.
He hadn't gone to see Aerith in months, he realized. Shinra hadn't even bothered him about it at all, since they had more pressing issues with the war. The next time Tseng visited her, she pouted at him saying he missed her birthday. He apologized, saying he could bring something next time, but she objected to that too, saying she didn't want any gifts from Shinra. Tseng was glad at least one thing hadn't changed.
Tseng was looking forward to the war finally ending, one way or another, so the world could go back to the way it was. He was tired of two sides fighting with stubborn belligerence and no willingness to compromise. When leaders waged war, it was their people who suffered, and there was no need for it. At this point, Tseng only hoped for a swift end so that Shinra could get what it wanted, and Rufus could take over later and lead the world into a more peaceful era.
It had been over a year-Tseng had lost track after three months because it was too distracting. He could figure out exactly how long easily, because he remembered the exact day that Rufus had been placed under house arrest, but he didn't care to. He put it out of his mind until he received word from Veld that his bodyguard assignment was being reinstated.
First, Tseng couldn't believe his ears. Then his heart leapt unexpectedly. Rufus was free. Tseng was surprised and concerned at how happy that made him, but he decided to sod all and just enjoy it. Maybe things were already going back to normal.
On the designated day, Tseng received a schedule from Rufus. Communications between them had been restored immediately, and Rufus had taken full advantage of that it seemed. Unless he was reading too much into it. Maybe Rufus had grown out of him in a year. Tseng decided to simply act the way he always had, and keep his anxiety to himself.
He showed up at the Shinra residence at the designated time (a little early, but that wouldn't be a problem), entered through the servant's entrance and waited in the lobby as he always did. Exactly at nine o'clock on the hour, Rufus came down the stairs from his quarters, with a slight skip in his step Tseng was amused to observe.
Rufus still had that ridiculous haircut that fell into his face, and Tseng was almost relieved to see it. That could be an indication that he hadn't changed at all. Other than that, Rufus' outfit seemed more elegant and personalized. There were small, grey accents as opposed to the plain white suit the boy used to wear, and he wore a black ascot tie. They were small changes, but Tseng was impressed. He didn't show it though, because that was unprofessional and he didn't know how else to act when he was meeting his charge for the first time in over a year and he'd actually missed the boy.
He just settled for a slight smile. That was okay, right? "How are you today, sir?" he asked, casually.
Rufus actually beamed. "Ecstatic," he said in a surprisingly deeper voice. Tseng supposed he should have expected that, eventually. "It will be good to have someone competent around again. I'm glad to get out of the house and get back to work, and show Father that I've learned my lesson. Shall we?" Rufus led the way out to the transport and they sped off towards Headquarters. Rufus had a very busy day ahead of him, it seemed, compared to his days that were full of studying before.
Tseng spoke up again, glad that the young man was smiling, at least. "You seem to have turned over a new leaf, sir."
Rufus continued to beam contentedly, a complete turnaround from the angry and impatient teen he had been the year before. "I have!" Rufus said with delight. "I'm going to be a model son." And then suddenly, his delight dropped to something more sinister, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Model indeed. The perfect figurehead. Like a porcelain doll sitting on a shelf for everyone to see." Then, almost flippantly he switched right back to the carefree expression he'd had before. "But when nobody's watching I can do as I please. As long as Father is happy he doesn't care what I do. I intend to keep him that way."
Tseng ignored the sinister face Rufus had used, passing it off as 'calculating' instead. Rufus was merely proud and confident again, as he had always been. He sounded like he had genuinely changed his views. "You seem to have matured much in the last year, sir," he said probingly.
"Yes well, sitting by yourself unable to leave the house for a year can do that to you," Rufus said nonchalantly. "You learn that you're willing to do a lot more than you initially thought."
Tseng felt excitement at how things were turning out. "It isn't a bad thing, sir."
Rufus looked ahead, pensively. "No, maybe not." And after another beat, he turned to Tseng and smiled, genuinely. "It's good to have you back."
Tseng smiled back, feeling better than he had in months. "Likewise, sir."
Rufus smirked back. "Did you miss me?" he teased.
Tseng would bite. He could play along. "Of course, sir. It just wasn't the same not having to shepherd you around everywhere."
Rufus laughed. All was well.
Rufus stated that his first destination was Floor 69 to speak with Veld, but Tseng suspected that it was mainly to see if he could catch a certain redheaded Turk. None of the Turks save for the commander (and sometimes Tseng) spent a lot of time up on the office floor, but Rufus didn't have access to Headquarters, so it would be unlikely to dramatically meet Reno at this specific time, and Rufus was lucky to find Reno sprawled out on the sofa. Reno sat up immediately upon realizing who had just walked through the door. "Hey, Look what we have here!" he drawled as he sprung up from the sofa, languidly. "Your old man let you out of the doghouse?" He trotted over and offered his fist to Rufus.
Rufus grinned amusedly, and bumped Reno's fist with his own. "Hah, it was way more than that. A doghouse would have been more appealing."
Reno gasped dramatically. "And your voice! You don't sound like a ten-year-old girl, now!"
"That is not how you should be speaking to the future vice-president," Rufus pouted, also dramatically.
"Oh excuse me, Your Highness," Reno said with a low, exaggerated bow, and Rufus almost kicked him in the face.
Tseng looked on amusedly, glad that they were at least in high spirits. With this one aspect of life returning to normal, perhaps everything else would follow. Once the war ended, maybe the most difficult job they would have was keeping the drug lords in line, again. Or weapons manufacturers. Compared to a long, violent and impassioned war, these were simple tasks. Tseng had never believed that Wutai had a chance of winning, and now with Shinra's recent plan to completely annihilate them he was rooting for his company to end it. As long as Shinra policed the entire world when it was over, everyone would be safe. Hopefully Wutai wouldn't hold onto their animosity forever, and they would forgive the next leader to come along.
Maybe Rufus would be a good president. He cared about the people. He had already outlined many changes he would make if he were president, and Tseng approved of them. He felt optimistic for the first time in a long time.
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Because of the office vacancies on Floor 69; Dakota, Jet, and Adrian were each assigned one of their own. That was awkward to bring up, but at least Tseng had friends up on the floor, now. He could hear Jet grumbling about paperwork through the wall, sometimes, and it was more of an amusement than a distraction.
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If there was anything Rufus had all the time in the world for while he was under house arrest, it was learning how to break in and out of databases undetected. He was soon able to access all Shinra intelligence databases, including those of SOLDIER and Administrative Research. If he ever needed to know something about the company, he had access to it.
He hadn't decided how it was going to happen, but he'd decided that the very base necessity was to remove Father from office. The easiest way would be to simply assassinate him and take his place of course, (because really, who else was more qualified for the Vice President position than Rufus? It was practically a given that he would be elected, and then made President if Father were removed) but that would involve having someone else to do it, and then having to tie up that loose end. Either he could do that, or he would have to find someone who would be loyal to him after the assassination. It was risky, but Rufus was confident that he could find a way. And of course there was always the blackmail approach to get Father to step down, but gathering enough evidence against the man to make his supporters abandon him would be quite a task.
He supposed he had time. He wasn't even Vice President, yet, so assassinating him now would only cause chaos. He would have to cement his position as Vice President before carrying anything out. In the meantime, Rufus could relax and plan without any worries. Father would never suspect a thing, because he never believed that anyone could possibly go against him.
Rufus began searching in the more covert places of the Net, mostly for anti-Shinra rhetoric and their authors. These were the kinds of people he would have to deal with if he became president, and he could eliminate the threat by convincing them that he would be a different president. Doing that under Shinra's nose undetected would be rather difficult, so he decided to keep his identity hidden while gathering followers. Once he secured their loyalty, he would reveal his plans to them.
Rufus wondered if the Turks had ever roamed these parts, deciding they hadn't reached his level of expertise once he saw anti-Shinra dogma running rampant with no fear of retaliation. Even if they had, the Turks probably couldn't find a way to track these posts to their sources, so there was little use in surveilling the area. Rufus, however, had more tricks up his sleeve that allowed him into places that others couldn't get to. He roamed the message boards and articles under a multitude of random pseudonyms, and hid his location as well as he could from these types of people (because if he could find them, they could probably find him), and made himself look as inconspicuous as he could while he searched. And finally, after scouring the Net for the most radical anti-Shinra activists, he found one.
This avatar had numerous followers, despite being completely anonymous. For all Rufus knew, it could be a collective of people. A collective would be better, since he needed more people to support him anyway. The avatar raved eloquently about how Shinra practices were killing the Planet, and that if they didn't end the atrocities then everyone would suffer. Rufus didn't care much for the rhetoric, but he read it anyway so that he knew what he was dealing with.
It was true that the reactors polluted the atmosphere, but was taking the Lifestream from under the earth really doing anything to damage the Planet? It was said that the Lifestream (so aptly named, he thought) was made up of dead souls, but such a thing was scientifically preposterous. It was simply a more efficient form of natural fuel that was renewable. When the Lifestream was pulled out of the Planet, it was processed to create electricity, and in the process burned and released into the atmosphere as noxious smoke. That part was harmful-Rufus wouldn't deny the obvious, even if Father would-but not to the Planet. Rufus theorized that the chemically-transmuted particles remained in the atmosphere until they combined with water and rained down to the surface again. Perhaps it would have to be chemically changed once more in order to be a part of the "Lifestream" again, but it wasn't just being burned and ceasing to exist. Matter could not be destroyed. The Planet would be fine.
He thought about the barren wasteland around Midgar, though, and frowned in distaste. Using the Lifestream as an energy source might have been sucking vital minerals and microorganisms out of the earth, and in that case it would be wise to slow down the consumption of it. It was either that or find a way to replace the minerals and microorganisms that were being sucked out of the earth. Then again, it wasn't a problem around Midgar, since nobody lived outside the city walls for miles, so nobody would be interested in changing practices just to save some plants and bacteria. Rufus was interested in reducing emissions, however, and finding a way to make this Lifestream more renewable. Perhaps these anti-Shinra fanatics would appreciate help from such a person.
If it came down to it, he would phrase his goals in such a way, but for now he depicted himself as an avid supporter, someone very interested in everything this anonymous avatar had to say. If anything, they were skilled in getting their points across, with scientific data to back it up. Rufus wondered if they were a scientist. If so, he had found someone who could put Hojo in his place, he thought with a smirk.
And so, he began his conversation with the avatar.
Fortunately for him, he was a fifteen-year-old boy that had no friends or current romantic pursuers, so he hoped to mask his encrypted correspondence as an attempt at courting. Father would approve of him trying to talk to people, finally, albeit uncomfortably because of it needing to be encrypted, and therefore would leave the matter alone. Rufus smirked at the idea of making his father uncomfortable again.
He was correct, in every way. He forced himself not to smirk when his father brought it up, finally, and called Rufus into his office.
"You're speaking to someone on an encrypted channel a lot," the man said absently while shuffling through some papers, as if he weren't uncomfortable with it.
Rufus answered coolly, as he often did now. It masked his complete delight. "It's simply for privacy."
The president looked up, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Who do you need privacy to talk to?"
Rufus fought the urge to correct his father's grammar and kept his cool facade. "It's a friend." He said it as if it was not just a friend, just to mess with Father even more. And what was the gender of this friend? Father wouldn't know unless he asked, and that would imply that he was thinking about Rufus having a "friend" that was male, and that made him uncomfortable for both the obvious reason of Rufus being his son and it was weird to think about his son in that way, and that the social implications were usually negative for people of their stature. It wasn't bad to have a homosexual relationship, unless you were rich and in a position of power, because then it usually involved adultery. Because powerful icons always had to marry the opposite gender to carry on their legacy. Rufus gagged internally at the thought.
The president frowned in discomfort. "What... What kind of friend?"
"Do you really want to know?" Rufus finally smirked. Here it was acceptable, he thought. "I'm sure you understand." Father most definitely did, and wouldn't ask about it because it made him uncomfortable. Rufus' delight grew exponentially.
The president frowned, obviously trying to get ideas out of his head. "Wh... Why don't you do that at your home office instead?"
"Shinra has the best security," Rufus said, as if he hadn't been planning his answer for weeks. "The encryptions at my home office have only a fraction of the strength they do here. If my friend's identity were to get out, it would inconvenience them severely." That was a lie, of course, but he didn't want Father finding out that he'd added security to his home office. This was just another added security measure so the man would never even consider it.
The president finally found his resolve again. "Do it at home," he said with an annoyed expression.
"I won't promise anything," Rufus said, not moving his gaze. He was confident that Father would drop the subject, if only out of discomfort. Father ran away from things he didn't understand.
He dismissed himself from the office, heading back to meet Tseng down in the lobby. When Rufus wasn't in meetings with subdepartment heads, he was researching and corresponding with the Avatar. He thought with slight disappointment that he never had time for "hanging out" anymore. Reno had bugged him incessantly before Rufus had rather rudely told him to stop texting while he was in meetings. To be fair, that was most of the time, and Reno could never know what his schedule was. But also to be fair, Reno was probably too busy and should have been working. They weren't kids anymore. They could meet in the halls and during off time, but actual "hanging out" never happened anymore. Rufus had too many things to get done as soon as possible.
There were more important things than friendship.
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Tseng had been on numerous solo missions before, but this was the first major assignment that he would be conducting without any type of aid. There had been no prior investigation-he was to find out everything on his own. There was a single lead to go on, and the rest was up to him.
To be fair, he was old enough to take on the responsibility. Other than Goran, he was the most experienced out of everyone now. It was his turn to take up the mantle.
A Shinra security guard had been reported missing from one of Shinra's reactors. The only lead was an unmarked and unregistered vessel that had recently docked in the water at Costa del Sol, and even that was stretching it. His job was to investigate the vessel, and see if he could find a connection to the missing security guard.
Tseng reasoned that the only reason to kidnap a reactor guard would be to learn more about the reactor itself. And an unregistered vessel could be a hiding place for some unsavory characters that were interested in Shinra's reactors, so it wasn't completely illogical to search there. The problem was, were they too late to stop the leak of information? Tseng had to find the soldier before the man gave up anything.
He arrived on the beach and located the vessel, right in the place it was first sighted. There wasn't anyone outside guarding it, since non-Shinra guards probably would have given the illegality away immediately, and Tseng boarded without a problem. He stepped quickly and lightly, to avoid making loud tapping noises with his shoes that echoed through the metal walkways and alerted any potential enemies. He made his way down and peered around the corner.
Sure enough, there were armed guards. If they were confirmed enemies, Tseng would be within orders to take them out immediately. However, they were simply standing in an unregistered vessel. Tseng gave them the benefit of the doubt, even though be doubted that they were innocent in any way. He called out to them. "Shinra security, state your business!"
The response was immediate. These men were not interested in dealing with Shinra. Tseng took them out quickly and efficiently, having desensitized himself to this aspect of his work by now. It was just a job, and these people were probably interested in hurting innocents, anyway. Yes. Okay, maybe he wasn't completely desensitized. They deserved what they got if they were going to hurt others.
The militants down in the ship weren't expecting any opposition, let alone from Shinra's most elite covert operations task force. Tseng dispatched them without incident, and headed to the control room to figure out what they were doing. He took a look at the surveillance monitors to make sure nobody was headed up to engage him, and he noticed with a pump of adrenaline that there was a Shinra security guard on the floor of the confinement room. There were no other enemies. They probably hadn't posted many troops because they hadn't expected opposition.
He quickly found the quickest route to the room, finally feeling some sort of nervousness. He'd been calm before because he hadn't had any real orders other than 'investigate the vessel', but now he had a clear objective. He had to get to that soldier, and get him out of there.
He ran to the confinement area and frowned at the open door. Perhaps they'd simply run out of the room and left the door open, unafraid that the injured guard would try to leave. He lay on the floor, motionless, and looked to have multiple serious injuries resulting from torture. He knelt down next to the guard and felt for a pulse, and the guard stirred, groaning.
Tseng couldn't waste time. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked.
The guard groaned again, so Tseng continued to speak and keep the guard's mind alert. "I'm Tseng, of the Turks. I've been looking for you. Did they torture you for information?" It sounded insensitive, but he had to know if any information had been leaked, and to whom.
The guard finally opened his eyes, grimacing in pain. "No sweat… Didn't talk…"
Tseng felt relief flood through him. There would be no need to track down and get rid of people with illicit information. Those jobs were cold and he didn't look forward to the day when he was finally given one. "You did well," Tseng said, in a tone he hoped was comforting.
The guard started desperately gasping words that sounded disjointed and nonsensical. Tseng asked him to slow down and take his time, because he was safe now. The guard spoke slowly, and with great effort, and Tseng's eyebrows drew together in concern at what he was hearing.
The militants had been buying stolen Shinra weapons from a black market weapon seller, and had stocked them aboard the ship. The guard hadn't given up any information about the reactors, but the enemy still had Shinra weapons and files. Tseng grew outraged at hearing that a black market dealer had the gall to sell to anti-Shinra militants. There was no time to take out every illegal dealer in the world, but this one was causing big trouble by selling to an enemy of Shinra instead of the common street thugs that were usually the main customers. This would not be tolerated.
However, first, Tseng had to get out of here. He couldn't allow the guard to be kept prisoner, but there was also the threat of the arms dealer. Tseng decided that he had better complete his initial mission of investigating and finding the guard, since failure to do that would guarantee more information falling into the wrong hands. That, and he couldn't just leave this man here to die. If he went straight after the arms dealer, he would have to take care of the guard, to make sure he wouldn't talk-even though he had proven his mettle by telling his torturers nothing. Rules were rules, and Tseng could make no exceptions.
He decided that carrying the man out of there would do the most good and the least bad. The guard objected, telling Tseng to leave him, but Tseng wasn't about to turn into a heartless monster. There was nothing more important than saving innocent lives.
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Tseng understood that his duty should have been to investigate the weapons dealer. But his first mission was to investigate the vessel and to figure out what happened to the guard, so he decided to complete that task first. It was logical. It wasn't solely to convince himself that saving a life was more important.
Tseng realized his mistake when he was met with Veld's ireful gaze after returning to Shinra. Veld reprimanded him, saying that it was wrong to choose the guard's life over company secrets, and that he had failed in his duty.
Those words were like a dagger in Tseng's heart. Not only was he deeply ashamed, but he still wasn't convinced that what he'd done was wrong. He couldn't accept that he should have killed the guard and gone after the weapons dealer. He couldn't say as much, however. Veld did not look like he would take kindly to insubordination.
Veld went on to detail Tseng's new mission-a direct order from the president. He was to destroy the weapons and data, as well as locate the leak who gave the dealer info on the stolen weapons' existence. And as a final detail, Veld stated that he would be accompanying Tseng on this mission.
Tseng couldn't breathe. Was Veld going along to make sure he didn't screw up, again!? Surely he had more important things to do! All the same, Tseng had made a mistake, and now he had to prove to Veld that he could handle the job. It was his own fault that Veld had to act as his babysitter for this mission, and Tseng would take full responsibility for it by doing exactly as he was told.
They made it back to the dock where the ship had been before, and they were surprised to find that it was still there. What in the world had possessed them to keep their vessel in the same place that had been attacked the day before!? Tseng didn't question the actions of fools, and the pair entered without incident.
They met opposition inside as Tseng had before, and he had to wonder what kind of anti-Shinra militants these people were if they hoped to face Shinra. They were sloppy and unprepared, and Tseng almost felt bad for them. They aimed to harm innocent people like that reactor worker, however, and so he didn't hold back.
Veld stopped after they cleared the first hallway, and turned to Tseng. "You go to the control room to find and delete all files regarding the weapons," he said. "I will go find the hangar and destroy the stolen weapons."
Tseng nodded. "Yes, sir."
Veld gave him a long look, and Tseng hesitated, feeling his insides spoke again, "Abandon your fear. Take back your pride. You are a Turk."
Tseng nodded. He felt like a child being lectured by a teacher. Would he never reach the standard that Veld called for? "Yes,sir-"
Suddenly they heard footfalls coming down the hall, and Veld nodded for him to go. Veld took off down one end as Tseng went the other way, putting those words out of his mind and focusing on the task ahead of him.
Tseng retraced his steps back to where he knew the surveillance room was, dispatching the militant crewmembers as he went along just as before. Half of the time they didn't even know what hit them, and the other half they couldn't react fast enough to put up a fight. Either these guys weren't trained, or Tseng was just too good for them. He was a Turk, after all. They didn't stand a chance.
He made it into the room and immediately went up to the computer, opening up the screen with all the files on it. He sighed to himself, thinking that a lot of this could have been avoided if he'd just deleted the data the first time he was here. He deleted the data regarding the stolen weapons, and then noticed a notification in the history. It had been backed up onto a hard disk somewhere. Shit.
He was about to continue searching for the backup when he heard the click of a weapon, and spun around just in time to dodge a flurry of bullets. He rushed to hide behind the wall as they fired into the room from the doorway, and heard them speak.
"He's destroyed the data, don't let him follow us!"
Well. The only reason they wouldn't want Tseng to follow would be if they had the backup copy of the data, right? Tseng had to get it back.
One of the soldiers stayed behind and kept firing at him, but the poor man was no match for Tseng's speed. Tseng waited until the man had to reload, and then lunged out of his hiding spot and around the corner where the man had retreated to to reload. He was dispatched quickly with a merciless punch to the abdomen, then Tseng raced back to the computer to see where the other two had gone.
He searched through the surveillance feeds to find his targets, but came upon a large open room with Veld at the center. He was surrounded by several of the weapons that were stolen from Shinra… and they seemed to be activated. Tseng gasped.
He scrambled for the mic button, and pressed it. "Veld!"
Veld's figure on the screen looked up and around. "Tseng?" came the distorted voice from the small speaker.
Tseng's chest clenched. "Sir! Get out of there!" Why was he just standing there!?
Veld didn't budge. "Not yet! What about the data?"
Tseng fought the urge to sigh in frustration. "It's almost done, I just need to find the backup data!"
"The get it done!" yelled the commander. The huge metal golems moved to attack him, then, and Veld moved into a defensive stance.
"Veld!?" Tseng yelled. There was no way he could survive that kind of fight, right? Those weapons were designed for warfare, against armies. He had to get down there and help-
"Tseng, don't you get it!? You're about to repeat the same mistake! What should a Turk's top priority be!?"
Tseng's mind raced. He knew he had to finish the mission above all else, but Veld could-!
He stopped that thought in its tracks. Veld told him to do something, and he would do it. He couldn't betray the commander's trust, not again. Tseng's failed mission was the reason Veld was here, after all. He couldn't fail again! He finished his task and pulled away from that screen just as Veld began fighting those weapons. He put it out of his mind.
Tseng found which route the crew members that found him were taking to escape, and dashed out the door again. They were slow, and stood no chance against him. Tseng didn't feel bad, this time. Once he recovered the drive with the data on it, he rushed towards where he knew the weapons were fighting the commander.
He made it inside the room to see Veld pinned down, but still alive, thankfully. Tseng immediately went into action drawing them away from the commander. Veld scolded him, saying he told the young man not to help him, but Tseng pridefully responded that his mission was accomplished. Now all they had to do was destroy the stolen weapons.
With the combined power of two of the highest level Turks, they were able to fight off Shinra's prototype golems without too much trouble. They emerged from the carnage with a few scratches and maybe a slight burn, but nothing that wouldn't heal quickly.
Veld turned to him, that familiar glint of amusement in his eyes, "You're pretty good now, rookie. You've finally learned your way around a gun."
Tseng frowned, his face heating up uncomfortably. "Sir, I'm hardly a rookie. I would hope that I am proficient by now."
Veld chuckled, then went back to his calm and serious demeanor. "Good job. The mission was a success. We now have information on who could have leaked the weapons location." He paused, and continued. "You finally understand your duty?"
Tseng blinked, then nodded. "Yes, sir. I must finish the mission, by any means necessary. Even if… it meant leaving you to fight these weapons off yourself."
Veld nodded. "Good. Let's get back to headquarters."
Without another word, they headed out. Tseng didn't like what his orders had forced him to do, but if he'd simply completed his mission before, then Veld would not have had to get involved. Tseng should have judged the situation better, and he would do so in the future.
Just as Veld turned to leave, there was a massive explosion that rocked the ship. Veld stumbled and caught himself before he fell to the floor. "What in the world!?"
"They could be trying to trap us in here, sir!" Tseng yelled. "We have to get out of here!"
"Come, the exit's this way!" yelled Veld.
Tseng didn't get to see his superior in action very often, and when he did he was always amazed. Veld was the oldest out of all of them, yet he still moved like the younger Turks. Tseng raced along right behind his superior as the ship rocked and shook. One of the hallways was already taking on water, and a beam fell from overhead, falling behind Tseng in a noisy heap.
Close to the entrance, another explosion happened overhead, and they both looked up. Veld was a little ways ahead of Tseng, and he turned to yell, "Tseng, look out!"
The section of the ceiling that separated from the top of the ship was already too close to Tseng for him to do anything, and he yelled out in shock as he was suddenly driven into the floor with a loud crash.
"Tseng!" Veld yelled, looking up at the unstable ceiling and debating if he should run across to save his subordinate.
Tseng's torso and leg were on fire. Did he still have that leg? It screamed in pain as his torso was crushed under the weight of the metal beams, making it impossible to breathe. He would have cried out in pain if he could breathe in enough to do so. Shit. He was trapped.
"I… can't… move…" he forced out through his grimace. "Sir… please… go…"
"What did you say!?" Veld barked at him. "Get up!" He sounded almost angry. Tseng could understand.
Tseng tried once more to free himself, but it only caused pain to lance through him once more. He would tear his body apart if he tried to escape. He stopped struggling, realizing that there was no way for him to get out alive anymore. This was it. He was going to die on a sinking ship, because he wasn't fast enough. He looked up to Veld one more time to say goodbye, but to his surprise, Veld rushed back towards him, and cursed as another heavy beam fell and forced him to dodge.
Tseng could barely keep his head up, the pain quickly overcoming his senses. "Sir… Just go…" If Veld didn't hurry out, they would both die! What was he thinking!?
Veld lunged forward, but stopped too late to avoid another beam and pulled back just in time to have it glance off of his face. He grunted in pain, and Tseng would have been worried if the pain weren't pulling him from consciousness. If he just went to sleep, the pain would stop. But he had to get Veld out of there, first. He had to do everything he could.
"Any means…" he forced out. "... and doing… successful…" He finally let his head fall against the floor of the ship, the pain overtaking him.
Veld shouted back at him, through his hazy senses. "No! You still don't get it!"
Tseng finally let the darkness take him. This was his own fault, and he would pay for his mistake. His time had finally run out, just as that old man in Junon so many years ago had warned him. He had been lucky to survive this long.
As he crept deeper and deeper into the darkness, he thought he heard words.
Tseng. Abandon your fear. Take back your pride. You are a Turk.
And then he heard nothing.
########
Tseng woke up.
Tseng did not realize at first that he was awake. The first thing he noticed was that everything hurt. It was mind-numbing and caused him to not think about anything at all until the nurse came around with another dose of pain medication. After that, he realized he was alive. He opened his eyes.
He had been taken to a Shinra hospital close to Costa Del Sol to heal his most serious injuries, and then he was transferred back to headquarters once he was stable. He asked where Veld was, and the nurse told him the Turk commander was in the ICU.
Tseng's heart dropped into his stomach. The commander was in the ICU because of him? How badly was he injured?
He had little else to do but wait until the commander was released so they could speak. Tseng waited impatiently all day; the endless amount of free time he suddenly had to enjoy did nothing for his overbearing feeling of shame.
He must have eventually fallen asleep again, because he was awakened by the nurse when Veld came by. He was okay? Did he get healed artificially? He scrambled to sit up, jostling his injured ribs in the process. "Sir-!" he started.
Veld looked none worse for the wear-except that a long and angry-looking scar ran down the side of his face. Tseng tensed. "I'm so sorry, sir, because you helped me, your face is scarred."
Veld waved him off. "Don't worry about it. Because of that, I get to take a vacation. My daughter Felicia seems rather pleased."
Tseng blinked. "I see..." He hesitated, then went on. "Sir... Why… did you help me?
The commander looked rather nonchalant, despite the danger they had been in. "Since the mission was already complete, I saw no reason not to help you. It's the same as when you completed your mission before you helped me."
Tseng frowned. "But...Sir, you acted recklessly."
"Hmph," replied Veld. "Now you're starting to sound like me. Perhaps I'm still too soft."
Tseng was still pondering Veld's words. He'd never considered that one could complete the mission and save everyone. It seemed like too much to hope for. "Sir… Thank you."
Veld said that he would be taking a vacation, but only after he found and terminated the leak. The traitor was hiding out near Kalm, and Veld would be heading the operation himself since his family lived in Kalm anyway. Then he gave Tseng a Curaga materia and said to keep it safe while he was away. Tseng didn't have any idea why he would give something like that when he was about to go back out into the field, but he accepted it nonetheless. Veld then let him rest before his drug-addled brain became any more incoherent.
########
Tseng would have to stay in the hospital for another week, they said. That left him with too much time and nothing to do with it, other than sit there with his own thoughts.
He had a lot of work to do after this. He would be ready to support Veld out in the field, and doing research on the case if asked, and there were new missions to plan while Veld was away-not just for the rookies this time, for everyone-and he still had Rufus' schedule to attend to, even if it had been rather sparse lately. The president's son no longer needed a bodyguard for every function that he attended, and he often called upon Shinra Security for such things, along with his trusted guard hound. He hadn't seen Rufus in a week.
And so, when the young man pushed his way into the recovery room without regard for the poor nurse that was escorting him, Tseng was rather surprised. His eyes widened and… his heart leapt. The hours alone with nothing to do had taken their toll. "Sir-!" Tseng struggled to sit up again.
"Don't move," said the teen in a firm voice, as he looked Tseng up and down.
Tseng paused in his motion, and relaxed back against his pillows.
Rufus stood there, staring for a moment before finally speaking again. "... Are you okay?"
Tseng nodded, noting how tense the boy seemed to be. Was he worried? "I'll be fine. They sped up the healing process to augment my natural capabilities, so I should be okay to walk again in a week, sir."
Rufus seemed to be having trouble finding words. "You've never been hurt before."
Tseng frowned in concern. "Not this badly, no, sir."
Rufus began throwing off some statistics. "Half of the new recruits die within the first year. You've been lucky not to have lost any of the new ones, but the next forty percent are killed in battle. Every one of the original Turks is dead except for Veld and our operative in Junon. There is only one left from the second generation of Turks. Are you nearing the end of your rope?"
Tseng shook his head. "I don't plan on being a mere statistic, sir."
"Nobody plans it!" Rufus suddenly cried, clearly upset.
Tseng was shocked into silence. Rufus never raised his voice, except for when extremely upset. Rufus stood there with that outraged look on his face for a moment before calming himself, settling back into his trademark disapproval. He huffed, then folded his arms. "I'm going to visit you until you get better. It won't do to have you out of the loop."
Tseng shifted uncomfortably. "You don't have to do that, sir."
"Yes, well, perhaps you shouldn't have gotten injured," Rufus countered. "Now you are at the mercy of my every whim."
Tseng couldn't help but chuckle nervously. "That isn't how it usually is, sir?" His lips betrayed a fraction of a smirk.
Rufus frowned, his cheeks reddening. "N-No. You're gone all the time, now."
Tseng gave him a break. "I understand, sir."
Rufus paused, staring at him again. "You're never going to call me by my name, are you?"
"No, sir." Tseng wasn't going to lie. His habit of formality would not be broken.
Rufus huffed again, looking frustrated. "Get better. I don't want some inexperienced Turk looking after me."
Tseng's lips twitched upward again in amusement. "Reno isn't good enough for you, sir?"
"No," Rufus said. "He's too lax. I'd hang out with him, but I don't trust him with my life. Yet."
Tseng nodded. "I'll do my best, sir."
"Good. I'll come by tomorrow. Get better." And with that, the son of the president turned and left the room.
It wasn't much of an interaction, but at least it gave Tseng something to think about while he sat alone in his hospital room. He had something to look forward to every day, now, even if he wouldn't admit he needed it.
########
Veld left the day that Tseng was discharged from the medical wing. He left detailed instructions on how to manage the department while he was away, and answered any questions that the younger Turk might have had, then sent him on his way. Tseng hadn't thought about the idea much since he'd been under the influence of medication, but Veld had effectively left him in charge. He had never considered the fact that Veld might need a replacement or substitute, since he didn't count on Veld retiring any time soon, even if he himself was the most experienced Turk other than Goran. And Goran made it very clear that he was not interested in a leadership position. So naturally, Tseng was next in line, even if there were three Turks older than him.
His mind raced through all of these things as he made his way back up to Floor 69. Veld was gone. He was in charge. This was a thing that was happening.
He felt a little awkwardness at the situation because he had barely survived his first real solo mission, even if it was successful. He had been left in charge of the entire Department of Administrative Research, immediately after almost dying during a mission. How could he expect the others to accept him as their superior when his own judgement had almost gotten him and the commander killed?
All he could do was trust Veld's judgement for choosing him. He wouldn't let the commander down, even if the others didn't accept him. He would fulfill his role regardless of the magnitude. He made his way slowly up the stairs to the 69th floor, discovering with distaste that something he did easily for years while healthy was quite a struggle after lying in a bed for a week. He would be heading to the training room at every free moment. He slid his keycard through the reader and the doors slid open to the 69th floor, and he made his way over to the Turk's corner.
He was still sore about that. It had been years, but he was still sore about being shoved into the corner of one floor. He looked up to see Knife at the coffee table reading through a set of files, and Reno messing around in the tiny lounge, as usual.
Reno turned away from the coffee maker, which he seemed to be making some odd concoction in, and brightened at Tseng's entrance. "Hey, you're back from the dead! The commander said you got really messed up, yo."
Tseng frowned. "How many times have I told you to be more formal in your speech, rookie?"
"Ah, sorry boss-sir!" Reno stammered.
Tseng nodded. "There you go." The kid was trying, at least. And he responded to Tseng's warnings instead of ignoring them out of disrespect-something Tseng did not expect out of the kid when he first met him. He had to admit that giving Reno a chance did gain them a skilled Turk.
Knife nodded in greeting her superior, and Reno kept talking. "But seriously, does Shinra not have the money to equip its best soldiers with Cure materia? That would save us a lot of trouble. It's like a free pass to do dangerous shit with no consequences."
"Natural healing is better," answered Knife. "Besides, you wouldn't know how to use one even if they gave you one."
Reno jabbed a finger in her direction. "Bullshit! I've had a mastered Cure since I was six!"
Knife gave him an incredulous look and argued with him, while Tseng pondered that for a moment. A six year old with red hair. Suddenly came into possession of a mastered Cure materia. Tseng had lost his to a small child-possibly a six-year-old-eleven years before, and Reno was seventeen. He narrowed his eyes. "Really. Whom did you get it from?"
Reno turned from his argument with Knife. "Huh? Oh, who?"
"Yes," Tseng pressed. "Whom did you get a mastered Cure from?"
Reno blinked. "Uh, from some guy, he was-" Then his eyes widened. "Wait. Wait. The dot on his forehead! You!?"
Tseng took great pleasure in watching the young man squirm, and smirked wordlessly.
Reno grimaced in his embarrassment. "Oh, shit. You're the guy. This is awkward."
Tseng's narrowed gaze didn't waver. "Do you know how long it takes to master a Cure materia, Reno?"
Reno swallowed nervously. "Uh… It depends on the rate of use?"
Tseng nodded. "Correct. I think you should find out how long it takes you." He reached into his pocket and took out his almost brand-new Cure he spent a small fortune on only days before Veld gave him that Curaga. This was unfortunate for his wallet, but fortunate for Reno because now he had a brand new materia to train with. He held it out to Reno, smirk unwavering.
"Ah come on," Reno complained. "It's got sentimental value, now!"
Tseng drew his mouth into a thin line, his stance standing firm. "You can have it back once you master this one."
"Damn it…" Reno complained again under his breath.
Tseng frowned harder. "Damn it, what?"
"Damn it, sir!" Reno yelled in response. He slapped his old materia into Tseng's hand.
Tseng gave a curt nod, then placed the new materia into Reno's hand. "Better. Now go train with that until you drop."
"Sir, yes sir!" Reno saluted, then ran off down the stairs to Turks HQ.
Knife welcomed Tseng back to work, and then went to go turn in her paperwork, supposedly, and Tseng was left with nothing else to do but his own paperwork. So he set about doing that for the rest of the day, pausing occasionally to take a run up and down the stairs for exercise. Jet bugged him through the wall, as she'd noticed she could do with the thin walls, and things were back to normal, it seemed. Except that the commander wasn't there.
Nothing seemed different, except that Tseng was the one giving the orders. Nobody questioned him or gave him any trouble, as he had feared would happen. There was no complaining about who got to be in command while Veld was away. It was fairly obvious that nobody else wanted the job, and that they were comfortable with Tseng in command.
It was clear that Veld had chosen Tseng as a successor. Once Veld decided to retire, Tseng would most likely take over.
Tseng decided to not think about that, and go about his duties with the comforting thought that Veld would return, soon.
########
Tseng was on his way to deliver a report on a mission that was being transferred to Lazard's department when he first met the Puppy-SOLDIER.
He had just made it out of the stairwell on the 51st floor, and down the hallway a few steps when a boy with unruly black hair and the uniform of a Third Class bounded down the hall towards him, with a huge grin on his face. Tseng's eyes widened and he dodged to the side just in time for the boy to run past. Moments later, another Third ran after him, shouting "Zack, don't bother the Firsts or you'll die!"
The Puppy-SOLDIER's name was Zack. Noted.
########
Tseng received one last update on the leak investigation Veld had been heading. He would send an airstrike to the enemy hideout, killing the leak, and putting a stop to his treasonous operations.
The next report that Tseng received said that the entire town of Kalm was destroyed, and Veld was in critical condition.
… What!?
He read the report further, unable to understand how such a thing had occurred. The air strike was ordered to descend over Kalm, instead of the target that was a few miles from the town. Had the target moved? Were there complications? How had Veld gotten injured?
Wasn't his family in Kalm? That had been why he was eager to go, right?
Tseng's mind buzzed with these thoughts as he tried to put together a coherent announcement for his Turks.
########
Adrian tapped his foot nervously. He'd seen the report. They all had, Veld was in critical condition, and dear Professor Greasy Hair was trying to keep him alive. Kalm had been destroyed in the attempt to eradicate a leak.
The final report had been that there was a misunderstanding. The audio cut out right when Veld had given the location of the leak. All they heard was "Kalm", and they didn't question it. The air squad responsible was being dealt with severely for failing to confirm the target before firing. Such a mistake had cost the lives of everyone in the town… including the commander's family. And if the Professor didn't have his way, then Veld would be lost as well.
The worst thing about it was how easily the world took the news. An entire town had been wiped off the map, but nobody was up in arms about it. They went about their daily lives, and forgot about it. Even the president, who had been so incredibly angry about losing a senior Turk to defection the year before, cared nothing about an entire town. It was merely a simple mistake, and as long as the responsible parties were being dealt with then there was no problem. It was sickening.
Meanwhile, until Veld returned-if he returned-Tseng had ordered Adrian and Cissnei to find the leak and eradicate him. Just rush in, rush out. No fuss at all. That's the way it should have been done in the first place, instead of sending a fucking air strike down on the target. But the president did love his toys, and wanted every reason to use them it seemed.
Adrian sighed. It was time to get dirty again, and then come home and remain utterly unaffected by the job. Slicing and dicing anti-Shinra personnel, just all in a day's work.
########
Veld was alive. He was stable.
Tseng released a breath he hadn't known he had been holding as he read the report. The commander was being held in the ICU, and it was unclear when he would return, but Professor Hojo was sure that the procedure had been a success. Tseng had wondered what procedure until he read the medical report.
Patient received prosthetic replacement for upper-left extremity. Materia enhancement requested, currently researching.
Veld's arm was gone? And it seemed he'd asked for the materia enhancement so he would not be kept from fighting alongside his men. He wasn't about to give up. The thought was heartening, even if it was coupled with the fact that Veld had lost his arm.
He'd lost his arm, and his family. Would he really be fit to work, after this?
He was brought out of this reverie temporarily with a report notification. Apparently, Hojo was miffed that one of his research samples got out in Nibelheim. He sighed, and looked through his list of available Turks to assign the job to. At least Rufus was understanding about the whole Tseng-can-never-be-there-for-you-because-he's-the-backup-commander-for-the-Turks thing. Tseng offered to have Rude be his bodyguard until Veld was back, but Rufus politely declined. He said that the Turks had better things to do, and that he would choose his own private security from then on, and only use the Turks if absolutely necessary. He was old enough to decide these things himself, now.
Tseng sighed. Did that mean they would see each other even less? Probably.
########
The Avatar's financial benefactor had been taken out. They no longer had a steady source of income, thanks to the Turks.
Rufus saw this as a golden opportunity.
He messaged the Avatar.
[10:46:37] ND_457802 My intelligence claims that the mole for Shinra's enemies was found and eliminated. I assume that was your financier?
[10:47:09] En-7843 It was merely someone that helped us find funds, nobody of consequence. We are still in a good position.
That meant that they still had a pool of resources, but it would dwindle if they didn't find another financier, Rufus mused.
[10:47:28] ND_457802 I think I can help you get into a better position, with my access to resources and information.
There was a pause. Rufus sat on the edge of his seat.
[10:49:32] En-7843 We would accept anything you have to offer.
Rufus smirked. It was time for business.
########
It had been eleven years.
Eleven years since the SOLDIER parade, where he'd fucked up and let that woman see him. Eleven years since all this could have been avoided, and instead he'd messed up and started a war.
Their second attempt some years back had been a complete bust, but at least they'd tested the building's security. It was almost impenetrable, and then SOLDIER was too strong and too fast in their reactions for anyone to get anything done, let alone find the president and assassinate him.
When they'd tried to take out the Turks in Wutai, they'd only hit two of them. They wouldn't be so easily tricked in the future. Nothing that AVALANCHE tried was going right. And then there was the issue of that weapons dealer betraying Claude's faction earlier in the year. They hadn't found Claude's body, so he was probably just gone. No one blamed him, after losing all of his men to betrayal.
Then suddenly this new guy walks in like he owns them? Like he's gonna save them? He says he has a financial backer, but where the fuck did this all come from? Now he was bringing in gangs and mercenaries and consolidating all of AVALANCHE's power that had been previously autonomous to regions. He said that centralizing their force would only pack a bigger punch against Shinra, and the people of AVALANCHE were believing him. This new guy was their leader, when they hadn't really had one before.
He didn't wanna fight anymore. But they had to. Shinra was killing the Planet. If this new guy Fuhito could save the planet, then he would stay.
########
A/N: Disclaimer: I'm not a hacker I just looked up pictures of what hacker conversations look like lmao those user handles are just random numbers and letters I chose. Yaaaaay, Rufus is a patricidal traitor!
