I hope you enjoy!

I do not own FFVII characters – though I wish I did. lol

I do own my own character – Jalyne

Chapter 3 – The Awakening

"Sir," Tseng said when he entered Rufus's office. "Reno and Elena believe Midnight is about waken. They are sensing movement and she is starting to stir."

Rufus looked up from his desk. "It's about time. It's been three days."

Tseng let the corners of his mouth lift upward in mirth. "If what Rude surmised by the scene, she caught a blast by your guns while you were fighting the ex-SOLDIER."

Rufus stood and made way to exit the office, Tseng following close behind. "Perhaps." Rufus smirked as he opened the door to exit. They made their way down to his receptionist where he stopped to give instruction. "Cancel all of my endeavors." And made his way to the elevators.

As they descended to the Turk's quarters each of them was lost in thought. Tseng was thinking of Elena and how good she will be as a Turk. She had some rough edges to get through and she was quite excitable, but Tseng believed she was the right pick by Reno of all the candidates. She was smart, attractive and a dead shot with a gun.

Rufus thoughts drifted to the files that he had read on Midnight. He could understand the reasoning behind what his father did but did not agree with the method. Handing her over to the madman, Hojo, would be the last thing he would do. That man gave Rufus the creeps and the President put his trust to his Turks. As hard as the Turks were and the reputation that they carried, he believed they could have gotten answers much easier.

The elevator sounded and stopped and both men exited down the sleek modern hall of the Turks residents. The boardroom and offices were off to the right while apartments where further down and around the corner with some beautiful sites of Midgar. No one stayed at the apartments anymore, not since Rufus' father handed down judgement on the previous Director Veld. The current Turks kept residence out in the city, making the commute every day.

The President and Tseng entered the complex where they had Jalyne. Spacious was an understatement since this apartment housed the previous Director. It was modern and luxurious, contained its own gym, sparring center and training modules. The sitting room was antique furnished in reds and golds and the two made their way to the bedroom. Upon entering, Reno looked up and held a finger to his lips from his chair by the bed. Tseng quietly shut the door and stood by the President. Rude and Elena were already present and stood to be next to the President and Tseng.

"What's the plan?" Rude questioned Tseng quietly.

"I want to test her. When she awakens, we'll take her to the training module and see what she can do." Rufus answered. Tseng raised an eyebrow at that statement. "How long?" the President continued.

"I don't really know." Reno stated, rising from the chair and standing at the wall next to the headboard of the bed. "She's showing signs of waking. Her eyes are moving, and she's been shifting a bit."

"Hn." Rufus scoffed and ran a hand through his hair, settling to lean against the door frame.

Jalyne could feel herself beginning to wake. Her dreams were jumbled, reliving some of her most horrendous experiences. She relived the recent events – the crash, the torture and the escape. In many ways she hoped all of this was a dream. She stilled herself as full consciousness arrived and Jalyne kept her eyes closed for a moment, listening for any movement or sounds. The smell of cologne caught her attention and she knew then she was not alone. She detected three distinct colognes and one perfume. Jalyne vaguely remembered one of the smells; it reminded her of coast, salty but warm and rich. Deciding that she couldn't fake sleep any longer, Jalyne slowly opened her eyes.

Raising her head lightly, Jalyne looked across the bed and saw four people. Three of them were in black and one in white. The blonde one in white stood regally by the door with his eyes a piercing blue hue. He smirked a moment looking over Jalyne's form above the blankets. Her eyes quickly shifted to the exotic one with long black hair and appraising brown eyes. There was not a strand misplaced and he exuded ceremony and properness. The bright blonde lady looked tiny but the determination in her eyes bespoke of great talent with a need to prove oneself. The larger man standing on the other side of white suited one, was pure menacing to Jalyne. He oozed confidence and cooperation that anyone would immediately crumble if imposed upon by him. The shades that he wore hid his calculating eyes.

Knowing what the black color meant on her home world; and the sleek style that they wore she panicked; rolling off the bed, across the chair that Reno was previously occupying and landing in a crouch, balancing with her left hand forward. Her body ached as it felt like she had not moved in months and she took a silent deep breath, waiting for the next move.

No one moved for a few minutes, each studying her and sizing her abilities. Finally, Jalyne relaxed a bit and stood straight up, sweeping her white hair to the left side. She started to bring the palms of her hands together in greeting. The motion startled the exotic one and he started towards her. Bewildered and shocked now, she stumbled two steps back, and felt hands grab her right hip and left shoulder. Jalyne did not like being touched.

Reno had been studying her intently from behind. He allowed his eyes to roam her figure, but what caught his eye was the marking along her back, sweeping from her left shoulder down to her right hip. It intrigued him to no end so when she accidently backed into him, he did not resist the urge to touch her.

Cursing to herself that she did not even sense another behind her, she whirled around to stare directly into the aquamarine eyes that haunted some of her thoughts. Jalyne paused and studied the person in front of her. Wearing a black jacket with a white shirt halfway buttoned and fire red spiky hair. Goggles sat on top of his head, two red marks framed his eyes and he wore a relaxed smirk. Her emerald eyes penetrated his in contemplation and after a moment he raised his eyebrows ever so slightly. Jalyne raised her chin and took a step back, brought her hands together and bowed in greeting, dipping her head slightly.

Suddenly Jalyne heard the chirping of the language that sounded so strange to her. She glanced back at the red head only to see his smirk disappear. Nerves formed at the pit of her stomach.

"Reno, bring her." Rufus commanded. "I want to see what she can do. Bring her to SOLDIER simulation room 1." And he turned to leave with the other three following behind in escort.

Reno snatched Jalyne's wrist to drag her along. She stumbled a few steps and then yanked her wrist out of his grasp, raising her head defiantly. Rather than trying to force himself upon her not knowing her strength, Reno paused and pointed to the door, silently asking her to follow. Jalyne looked inquiringly at him and against her better judgement fearing danger ahead, acquiesced his request and moved forward. Reno guided her to the elevator and down to the simulation room where the others were waiting by the door.

"Are you sure about this, Boss?" Reno questioned. "Shouldn't we…wait a bit?"

Rufus opened the door before answering, "Are you getting soft, slum-rat?" Rufus grabbed Jalyne's upper arm and shoved her through the door. "Try not to kill her. I have plans for her, depending on what she does here." Reno looked to Tseng for backup with no avail.

"Have it your way, yo." And sauntered through the door.

"We'll be watching from the observation room." Tseng added calmly, trying to implore Reno to not disobey orders.

Jalyne had stumbled through the door with the force of Rufus' push, sliding slightly on the polished surface. She walked further into the room to look around. The simulation room was massive; the ceiling around one hundred feet tall and a polished metal was on all surfaces. She looked over to the left and saw where the others had gathered behind a glass-like shield. To her credit, she never uttered a sound, never spoke a word and tried desperately to keep her emotions in check. Jalyne's forced herself to be calm as losing control can have dire consequences upon all that is near. She circled back around and faced Reno with her head high and defiant.

At Reno's nod, the room shifted taking her off guard and Jalyne found herself in the middle of large grassy field. The wind blew softly around her, and she tried to gain her senses. Even the smells were real as she captured a hint of sage in the distance. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she never saw Reno coming until he connected his fist into her shoulder, sending her backwards.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, she struggled a moment to get up. Instantly, Reno was upon her again, ready to strike on the other side, only this time Jalyne dodged and rolled out of the way. In the distance there were trees and she attempted to take cover in the forest. Using his speed, Reno took her legs out from under her, sending her faltering to the ground.

He is quick. She thought, rolling out the way and taking off in a run, knowing Reno was on her heels. What is the point of this? I must counterattack or else.

Jalyne stopped near the edge of the trees, turning quickly and catching Reno's jaw with her open-handed jab. He stumbled backwards, caught off-guard but regained quickly. Staring her down, Reno's eyes glinted dangerously and Jalyne sensed a shift in his demeanor. She quickly engaged him in hand to hand combat. She kept up with him, blocking his moves and striking him occasionally. He managed to backhand her across her face, sending her into a nearby tree and falling to the ground.

Rufus watched with interest from the sidelines. Tseng kept an impassive face, but as Elena glanced at him, she could see he was not happy with what the President was doing. The tell-tale tightness around Tseng's eyes gave him away. Rude was watching appraisingly at Jalyne's hand to hand combat style. It was something he had never seen before.

"Let's change this up a bit." Rufus commented reaching for the control panel in front of him. The scene in front of them disintegrated into the normal simulation room.

"Why not just let them go? Midnight is already hurt. Have you not seen enough, Sir?" Tseng questioned.

"Not enough, no." Rufus answered smugly but did not continue to change the simulation.

Jalyne was breathing hard as she half knelt on the floor. The landscape changed back to the original room and made her nauseated for a minute. She looked up at Reno, gauging his intent.

"Use the mag rod, Reno." Rufus commanded over the intercom.

With a sigh, Reno extended his weapon and advanced on Jalyne. He really did not see a point of continuing, but he was not going to disobey his orders. He stalked toward her in his relaxed stance, swinging the mag rod.

"Are you ready to give up?" he questioned; his eyes haughty with confidence. He studied her a moment, waiting for a reply. Reno was in the zone of fighting. He switched on the weapon and the electrical charge crackled through the air. Reno watched her eyes widen in response to the new threat and smirked. So, she understands danger.

Jalyne stood slowly, acutely aware of how much her body ached. Her ire was rising as she was tiring of this game. I must stay under control. She thought while watching him advance slowly. Reno sped behind her and before Jalyne could turn around, he kicked her in the small of the back sending her forward. He jumped high and brought his mag rod to the floor, sending electricity outward along it. The electrical fan caught Jalyne, sending her into spasms and collapsing, sliding across the floor.

The materia that Reno possessed, he was very proficient in. He raised his arm to cast Lightning, pointing his rod upward. With a downward swipe, he unleashed the damaging spell at Jalyne. She brought her arms up over her head, crossed at the wrists, to block the attached. Lightning fizzled as she absorbed the spell.

"How did she do that?" Elena questioned from the observatory room.

"She does not have materia." Rufus mused.

Jalyne decided to go on the offensive, charging at Reno in the hopes of disarming him. She grabbed the wrist holding the rod and twisted, almost bringing Reno to his knees. Before she could kick the back of his leg, he launched himself upward and flipped backwards, coming out of the move and hitting Jalyne square across the jaw. She flew across the room and slowly brought herself back to her knee and a low crouch. Blood dripped out of her nose and sweat adorned her brow. She stared at Reno as he charged to attack, mag rod ready to strike. Her hand dipped behind her white cape and as Reno struck his blow, it was met by a blade. Astonished, Reno took a few steps back as the force of the clash forced him to retreat.

Jalyne stood confidently, brandishing her blade. Smirking slightly, she extended her left arm outward. The air crackled with power and from it came a staff. She tossed her blade upward for attachment to the staff. When it finally reached her hand, two curved blades adorned the tip and she readied it for battle. Jalyne could finally feel it, her power returning. She was healing and acclimating to this world.

The four onlookers stood wide-eyed, uncertain on what they just witnessed. The cameras caught everything, and a review will be necessary.

"What did she just do?" Elana whispered to Rude.

"I don't know."

Reno stared at her. He was a loss for words at what he had just seen. Was this magic? What is this power? This is not the result of materia. Distracted by the beautiful sight in front of him, he almost missed her smirk and her aggressive charge to combat. He dodged with speed, but Jalyne seem to know where he was headed and blocked his path. His mag rod came across his face in defense as her staff slashed at it. They combated for a few minutes, each trading blows and Jalyne clipping his arm and tearing the fabric with a blade.

She was tiring and she knew. Using her staff as a weapon was slowing her down. Jalyne hopped performing a backward somersault to get some distance between them. He is an excellent fighter. She thought idly. Outward, Jalyne was the picture of calmness. Inside though, she warred with her emotions. The darkness inside of her was slowly winning. She had to put an end to this before long. Jalyne held her staff loosely and disengaged the blades from the tip. She preferred fighting with double blades as she was faster with them. Taking a minute and keeping an eye on Reno, she closed the staff down, much like how Reno's mag rod can collapse, and attached it behind her.

Reno took the moment to breathe. He was getting tired and his arm ached where she nicked him with a blade. He watched her steadily, deciphering her next move. He assumed his relaxed stance and lifted his mag rod to his left shoulder.

"You 'bout ready to quit, yo?" he asked nonchalantly. Jalyne peered at him and swung her blades in reverse and crouched low, ready for any attach. "I'll take that as no."

Reno lifted his rod and pointed it at her, releasing a pyramid to entrap her and hopefully ending this battle. He was torn emotionally between accomplishing his orders and not hurting the woman who has yet to say a word. He assumed she did not understand the language or possibly that she was a mute. Either way, he needed to end this.

Jalyne was alert as Reno released another spell. She raised her blades, crossed them and sent a wave straight through the pyramid, disintegrating it. In an instant she was in front of him, attacking. Jalyne swept low with the flat end of the right blade trying to take his legs out from under him. Reno jumped just in time and flipped backwards. He idly noticed that she was not using the sharp edge and wondered if she really did not want to hurt him and that she was holding back.

Reno sped forward, mag rod electrified and attacked. He had lowered the setting as he wanted to disarm her, not kill her. They traded blows, one defending and one attacking for what seem like eternity. Reno was getting angrier and Jalyne saw the fire light in his eyes. She was tiring out and bound to make a mistake. She brought both blades crossed in front of her, protecting her torso as Reno planted the rod directly in the center. They held that position for a heartbeat and electricity filled the air.

"You're good, yo." Reno commented and they locked eyes, the determination flaring in both. Reno half-smirked returned. "But I am better." He swept his right leg behind her left one to put her off balance and in a fluid motion, turned Jalyne and planted the electrified mag rod at the lower back, electrocuting her spine. Reno pushed her forward with force sending her across the room in a heap with her blades loudly clattering to the floor.

"Sir," Tseng started, "You have to stop this. Before they kill each other."

"Why? Are you not enjoying the show?" Rufus said sadistically. Tseng stared at him with a disapproving look long and hard. Rude had started for the door to reclaim Reno before he went down the dark path of vengeance, anger and hatred.

"Do not dare to move!" Rufus snapped commanding the Turk to stay in his place.

"No! You will end this now, Rufus!" Tseng asserted. They locked hardened eyes for a moment before Rufus relented. Tseng only used his name when making a point. All four of them snapped their heads at the sound of an explosion.

Jalyne had enough. She was tired, confused and her emotions led her down the darker path. She could not control her power any longer. In a fluid motion she extended her right arm forward and trapped Reno, paralyzing him and lifting him thirty feet in the air. She lifted herself into the air effortlessly and her power detonated, causing an explosion. The clouds that formed were a deep red with tiny flecks of lights floating all through them, like a nebulous cloud. They twinkled, flickered and swirled all around them. Jalyne sensed the four others in shock and not wanting to be interrupted, extended her left arm to the side, locking them in place.

Jalyne's power roiled off from her and in one wave the connection was made. She absorbed visions, language and communications from this planet. Her green eyes were lit with midnight blue power as she hovered in the air. She closed her eyes for a moment.

The Awakening. My Midnight's Kiss. She surmised. I can feel everything. See everything. Do anything. The power to create and the power to destroy. I have not had this in a long time. I am free. Jalyne was losing herself and she knew it. However, she could not just turn it off. She reveled in the power, the feel of being truly alive. It circled around her, billowing her white half cape, penetrating her entire being. She had to expel the excess as it was building rapidly. She had to finish Midnight's Kiss and the ending could be fatal, for she could not control it and that is part of what led to her exile. Flashes of her past floated in her mind. Her shame, the injustice, the consequences of her history on her home world came to the forefront of her mind. It was pulling her into the darkness that she created in this room. It was like yin and yang, split down the middle between light and dark.

When Jalyne opened her eyes, she stared at Reno. His expression was shocked, not being able to move. I could destroy him. There was something there, something hidden within him that called to her and reached to her. As she floated within the dark clouds, her body starting to tremble from the power and the need to be rid of it. Jalyne studied Reno, appraising his entire being. The attractiveness of him, his gorgeous aquamarine eyes, his half smile and simply the way he looked at her. Her expression changed from darkness to light as that calling became stronger. Though he could not move, Jalyne felt his aura and sensed his emotions and reached out lightly with her mind to brush his. Reno was angry, yes, and that anger and frustration led to something she could not quite ascertain. She expected him to be terrified, but he was not. He was trying to keep his true thoughts stable and hidden. His eyes locked with hers and jolt ran through her.

Jalyne twirled around behind him, creating trails within the lighted clouds. She decided to give into a whim and play the role of a woman instead of the fighter. Reno was an incredibly attractive man and that did not go unnoticed by her. He had an allure about him that she could not resist. An addictiveness that she remembered was often used as a weapon in her culture. Gaia was a different world, but emotions were universal. She leaned into his ear and after all this time, she finally whispered words.

"What is it that you want?" she questioned seductively betraying her accent at speaking foreign words.

Reno's eyes widened like he was electrocuted. The jolt of desire in Jalyne's musical voice shook him to the core. While he had no idea, what was to happen in the next few minutes or whether he would even be alive, it paled to comparison of what sexy thoughts were in his mind. He watched perhaps the most beautiful, confusing, dropped into his lap woman he has ever seen, skimmed around him to hover a few feet away. She was struggling, he could tell, to decide the course of action. Reno would not deny that she aroused him in many ways. The mysteriousness of her was alluring and the fact that she could hold her own in a battle, endeared her to him. Jalyne had asked a question and he answered it, though not in words.

Jalyne pulled her hands together to her abdomen, right hand up and left hand down. As her power flowed through her, she stared at Reno. She brought her fingers to her lips, ready to give the kiss and blow her power forward, disintegrating anything in its path when she paused. Jalyne's eyes widened as Reno's answer touched her mind, something that had never happened before, a connection being formed. She could not hurt him or kill him. He was puzzle, and she had to put the pieces together and figure it out, as the chemistry between them suddenly grew stronger. Jalyne pulled her power inward, knowing the consequences could be fatal, and reigned in the darkness of her past and soul. She lowered Reno so he would only drop a few feet and let the power consume her. The building shook from the implosion and Jalyne fell to the ground, motionless.