I hope you enjoy! Please let me know your thoughts.

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

I do own my own character – Jalyne

Chapter 4 – The Decision

Reno looked across the room to where Jalyne was on the floor. It looked like she was not breathing from this distance. Shit. Darting across the floor and sliding on his knees to her, Reno lifted her to his lap. Her eyes were slit, and he could see the tendrils of power receding in on itself. He leaned down to detect breath, sighing when he felt a bit on his cheek.

The three Turks and the President rushed from the observation room, stunned. As they were nearing him, they saw him lean down. Rude got to Reno first and knelt beside him.

"Is she…? Rude questioned quietly.

"No."

"Did you see that?" Elena asked wide-eyed.

"I believe we all saw it, Elena." Tseng chided dryly.

Rufus turned to Reno, still on the floor and paused, collecting his thoughts. His cerulean eyes narrowed intently before he asked his question.

"What did she say to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"We all saw her, Reno." Rufus started. "When she was behind you. What did she say?"

"She asked what I wanted." he answered. "However, she didn't speak." Reno lied. "It was more like planted into my mind. If she spoke, I did not hear it per se." Reno didn't know why he did not want them to know she could speak.

"And your answer?" Tseng inquired. They watched while Reno ran his free hand through his hair nervously. He really did not want to answer that question. Not because he was embarrassed, but more because he was supposed to be in battle mode. Thoughts like he had should not be anywhere near fighting.

"Well?" Rufus insisted impatiently.

"I..um…" Reno fumbled, "Well...I kinda replied thatiwannafuckher" he finished hurriedly and at a whisper, a blush ascending his cheeks and he looked away from them. Rude raised an eyebrow and the corners of his mouth twitched. Tseng managed to keep an impassive face and Rufus just shook his head. "What? I mean look at her!" Reno stated glancing to the woman in his lap and at that moment, Jalyne unconsciously curled closer to him. "Don't tell me none of you have not had that thought. Hell, Elena may have thought about it!"

Elena's cheek turned a light shade of pink and she chuckled at her fellow Turk. Tseng just pristinely stood there and rolled his eyes. Rufus sighed before continuing.

"She is under your care. Put her through training as a Turk. You have 3 weeks. She will join your ranks."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"We have to keep her close. We cannot let that power go anywhere else. If Sephiroth has indeed returned, we must be ready." Rufus commanded and turned to leave. He paused a moment, sliding a stray blonde strand from his eyes. "You will hand her over to me for the final test." And with that statement, he left the room, a devilish grin adoring his face as he planned his encounter with her.

Tseng turned to Reno, who was still seated on the floor. "Are you okay to get her back to the apartment?"

Reno shifted to a kneeling position and reached underneath Jalyne and picked her up bridal style. "Yeah, I'll be okay." And started making his way to her apartment.

"You don't think Reno's…" Tseng stated to no one in particular.

"Oh, most definitely Sir!" Elena chimed in excitedly. "He most certainly is!" and chuckled.

"Ifrit help us all then."

Let me die…please

No.

Have I not been through enough?

Not yet. You are stronger than you think.

But I do not want this anymore. I cannot control it. I almost killed him.

But you did not. You will learn more control.

What if I do not?

Oh, the Fates have need of you, my daughter.

"Mother?" Jalyne awoke fully and sat up as if from a nightmare. She was shaking, trembling and breathing hard. She massaged her temples to alleviate the splitting pain in her head. No, it cannot be my mother. I never knew her. Only had stories. She glanced at the floor and around to her right recognizing the room. She laid back down on her right side and scooted inwards a bit on the bed, unaware that she was not alone. She was lost in her thoughts when an arm unceremoniously draped across torso and pulled her lightly. Jumping up with a gasp, she turned to face the intruder.

The fighter. She thought. Her heart pounded rapidly, at the intrusion, and she gazed at the flame haired Turk incredulously for a moment. Kneeling lightly on the bed, she crept closer, her curiosity winning. His suit coat was off and was lying at the end of the bed. His hair was splayed outward on the pillow as he slept on his right side, right arm underneath the pillow. He looked so peaceful to her. Raising her hand, Jalyne lightly traced the crescent tattoo framing his eye.

Reno's subconscious was gently pulling him awake when he felt the light feathery touch around his eye. Startled and not fully awake, he sprang into action as his defenses and self-preservation kicked in. A heartbeat later, he was straddled over Jalyne, her arms pinned above her head and his firearm pressed against her right temple, all while his eyes were barely open. Reno snapped his eyes open further to stare into emerald ones, one hidden behind a mask. Jalyne was about to say something but instead bit her lower lip. That look inspired Reno's thoughts further and the Turk scrambled off her hurriedly before something regrettable happened, and holstered his gun, looked at her.

"I'm sorry, yo." Reno stated. "Did not mean to pull the gun on ya. I don't wake up well."

Jalyne nodded slowly in understanding. She pulled her legs under her and sat crossed legged on the bed. Shaking her hair out with her fingers, she adjusted the collar of her bodice and dropped her hands to her lap, not sure what to do next.

"I'm Reno," he continued, "Second in Command of the Turks."

She glanced at him but did not say anything at first. After a moments' pause, she tried his name. "Rayno." Jalyne stated with her accent heavy.

"Reeno." The Turk drawled out.

"Reno."

"That's it." Reno stated with a slight grin. "What's your name?"

"Muye meinaie i Jalyne." She stated musically in her native tongue, not giving it a thought that Reno would not understand.

"Come again?"

Jalyne took a deep breath to gather her thoughts, remembering what she absorbed of the language on Gaia. When she spoke, it was slightly broken apart. "I…am…Jalyne."

"Jalyne."

It was then that she noticed the cut on his arm from her blades. Reaching out, Jalyne lightly grabbed hold of Reno's arm to look at it better. "I am sorry."

Before she could say anything else, Reno interrupted. "A Cure Materia will take care of it, no biggie."

"Cure Materia?"

"Sure." He started to explain. He unhooked his mag rod and ejected the green orb, holding it out for her to see. Jalyne shied back instinctively, looking at Reno apprehensively while shaking her head. "We use these to help heal." He placed the materia back into its slot and clipped his weapon back onto the belt.

"It is easier to do it this way." She stated and reached for his arm again. Closing her eyes, Jalyne trailed her fingertips over his cut and bruise. As her brows knit in concentration, Reno began to feel a slight tingling. Not wanting to take his eyes from her, he glanced at his arm, only to be astonished at seeing the blue tendrils penetrating and closing his wound.

"T-Thanks." He stammered flexing his arm. Jalyne passed a hand over her left eye, slowly rubbing her temple.

"How did I get here?" Jalyne suddenly questioned.

"Well, I found you up north and,"

"I mean here… in this room, after we fought." She interrupted. So many questions were filling her mind now. For once, she was not being forced into a situation. It was nice to just have a conversation. Jalyne reached for her left arm where it was bandaged, absently pulling on it. Reno eyes narrowed as he spied the wrapping. That was the result of being with the madman, Hojo. Pushing his anger aside, he responded.

"I carried you here."

Jalyne looked at him with grateful eyes. "And…what happens to me now?

Right now, I really want to just have my way with you if you keep looking incredibly appetizing in that outfit. Reno thought indecently. He took a deep breath to shake that thought away. He had a job to do and that job consisted of training her like a Turk. This is not going to be easy if I am aroused just being near her. Reno shook his head and looked at her intently.

"Well," he started to say, "The President wants me to train you. To be a Turk like the rest of us." He shrugged.

Jalyne paled at that statement remembering what training was like on her home planet. It was brutal to say the least. Jalyne swung her legs off the bed and stood to stretch, turning away from Reno, not wanting him to see her expression of fear. His eyes trailed the entire length of her body appraisingly, noticing how low her bodice was cut in the back. He could see the design of her tattoo a little better in the light and thought the design was very intricate. It almost looked like feathers to him. He resisted the urge to reach out and touch her, wondering if she would shudder in pleasure at the touch. She turned then, giving him a curious look.

"What does this training entail?" she questioned. Reno stood to join her, releasing his gun from his holster and showing her.

"For one," Reno started to explain, "you'll need to learn how handle a gun." Jalyne looked at him quizzically at first before reaching out to the proffered weapon. She carefully lifted it from his hand, held it a moment and gave it back to him in disgust.

"I do not like it." She stated. "We do not have anything like this at home. Our weapons can be more…sophisticated." Reno shrugged and placed the firearm in his holster and continued.

"I'll help you there. There is also hand to hand combat and Materia training."

"I can not use 'Materia'" Jalyne emphasized and her green eyes faded as she was lost in thought. "It will not respond to one such as I, at least to my knowledge." She idly reached for her bandaged arm again. Reno quirked an eyebrow at that statement but decided not to press the issue. He suspected that Hojo had done something to her. He reached for her left arm, taking hold of it lightly in his hands.

"Can I see?" Reno inquired.

"If you wish." She responded. "It hurts. I…I am not sure what he did to me."

The words came painfully, and Reno knew that he had his answer. Oh, how he loathed that scientist. He started unwrapping the bandage, slowly and carefully. When he finished, his eyes widened at the sight. Reno could see where the puncture mark was on her forearm. It was inflamed and weeping and ugly color. Jalyne's forearm was bruised heavily with ugly purple and green splotches around the cut. Reno palpitated the area, slowly feeling around the damaged area. The Turk was disgusted at the thought of what Hojo had done to her, wondering if it was a ploy to collect data.

"Jalyne?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?" he questioned watching her scrutinize the wound. She was mesmerized at what the wound looked like. "Can you heal it? Reno continued. "Like you did to me."

"I have only been awakened for a bit." Jalyne mused. "I do not know." She glanced down at her left forearm and raised her right hand over it, allowing the tendrils of her power take shape. The extraction was painful, and she winced slightly as she extracted what she presumed was a foreign material. Jalyne closed her eyes in concentration.

Oh, do not do that, my daughter. The scientist was only doing this at my instruction.

Mother? Why would I not? This is not a natural part of me. I will return to normal.

A chuckle graced her mind – You are not normal, daughter. And you never will be. You will evolve.

Evolve?

Into something much, much more. Leave that trace there on your arm.

The connection would be broken.

Yes and no. This enhances my communication with you; however, you are of my blood. The connection will never be broken.

All the more reason for me to do it. Jalyne angrily cut the connection and surged her power to remove the foreign substances and disintegrated them.

Jalyne looked down at her arm, noticing the figure eight symbol on her arm. She was still stunned at hearing the voice. It was so different from the original one she had heard. Jalyne looked at Reno, a shadow crossing her eyes.

"What is it?" he questioned.

"It is nothing." Jalyne replied. Reno reached out to inspect the marking.

"Infinity?"

"Yes." She replied. "I've always had this." Jalyne said and rubbed her arm, lost in thought. She looked at him then. "Training? When?"

"Tomorrow."

"It is late?"

"Yes" Reno stated. "You should rest." He got up then and walked to the armoire and opened it. He was pleased to see the clothes hanging there. Elena did good before he passed out next to Jalyne. "There are clothes here for you. Our standard attire."

"Is this all for me?" Jalyne questioned waving her arms around the area.

"Yep." Reno grinned suddenly.

"Thank you." She said humbly and bowed lightly. Reno walked around back to her and looked into her eyes.

"You'll be okay, yo." It was a statement, not a question. "The boardroom is down the hall." He slid his card to her. "And my number is here. I'll come and get you in the morning." And with that turned to leave, knowing she was not telling everything to him. He was okay with that, knowing he also needed to give her time. Besides, he loved a good chase and puzzle.