Reeve: Right. So I'm back.
Reno: Haha! You are such a sucker!
Reeve: Oh shut up. At least I'm getting paid for this now. You didn't when you got tricked into it. Twice.
Reno: ...
Rude: That's my line, fucker! ::stabs Reno::
Reno: Ow, my pancreas!
Reeve: That's right. Tyramir doesn't own FF. You get the point.
Chapter Nineteen
Lost Dreams
Reeve awoke with a start. He cast his eyes about, frantic to discover where he was. The room was dark, but from the little light, he could tell it was richly furnished. The bed he lay in was comfortable, and the sheets were silk. He nestled back, trying to remember what had happened.
And found that he couldn't. He desperately clawed at his memory, trying to get some sense of what had happened in the past day. He remembered something about Palmer... and President Rufus... a betrayal? Oh right. Rufus was rebuilding Shinra from the rubble it had become to a super power again.
Why had it been destroyed in the first place?
Flashes of a giant white shape, lumbering through an ocean and over fields of grass towards Midgar flew through his mind. A name. Diamond Weapon. A creature born from the planet to protect itself from being wounded.
But why had it been wounded? Who had done it? What had stopped it?
Reeve found that the images of the events were spotted, filled with large holes. He remembered Scarlet with her Sister Ray, and Heidegger priding himself on his Proud Clod. Hojo with his insane experiments. Rufus commanding them all, to destroy Weapon, to destroy... who else? There was someone else.
And that someone else had killed Scarlet, Heidegger and Hojo. He wasn't sure how he knew, but the certainty was there. Those three homicidal maniacs were dead. Only he and Rufus remained of the original government.
Reeve looked about in the dark, and on the stand next to him was a pistol. It was a standard, Turk-issue glock, more than likely filled with bullet piercing rounds, with a special quick reload stock, and weighted at the back making it an efficient club at close range for when a target had to be taken in alive. He reached over and picked it up, stroking it gentley. The safety was on, but he made sure he was careful. The weapon seemed to have something of a special memory for him. Of course. This was the weapon Rufus had used to kill Palmer, the one Reeve had been awarded for his loyalty. A ghastly trophy. He would have preferred a plaque with his name on it.
The door opened and light spilled in.
"You're awake," a female voice said. Elena. That was it.
He nodded. "What happened to me? Where's President Rufus?"
A look of confusion came over Elena's face, which passed quickly. She flicked on the light. He winced and shielded his eyes with his hand. After a moment of adjustment, he took it away and looked at the Turk. She had approached his bed and sat down on the corner.
"I'm not surprised that you don't remember. What, with the implant frying in your brain and all. I'm surprised you're still alive. You must have been insane to try controlling so many of those Cait--"
"Elena, that's enough."
The two both looked around and saw Rufus standing at the door. The now unquestioned President of Shinra stood in the doorway, now wearing his old white suit. Reeve also noted that a small bulk was underneath the great overcoat on his left side. Rufus obviously still doubted his power to be carrying a shotgun on his person.
Behind Rufus stood Reno, who gestured to Elena. The girl nodded to Reeve and patted him on the leg, then got up and left the room. Rufus closed the door behind her.
"Sir," Reeve said, trying to sit up straighter.
"Don't, Reeve. Be at ease." When Reeve relaxed, Rufus continued. "I'm going to be straight with you, Reeve. A Shinra implant in your brain malafunctioned and overloaded, causing severe hemmoraging, seizures, and we're fairly certain, memory loss. The doctors are unable to remove the implant from your brain. It has permanently fused itself into your nervous system. We're not certain how safe it will be for you to use it in future situations. As a result, I'm ordering you to never use it again."
Reeve nodded dumbly. "This implant... what was it for?"
Rufus sighed. "I was afraid it would be this bad. Does the name 'Cait Sith' sound familiar to you?"
"No. Should it?"
"Yes. We'll review that later. How about Avalanche?"
"Sure, I remember avalanches, but I don't know what the significance is."
"It's a rebel faction against Shinra. Now, do you remember Meteor, and Sephiroth?"
"Of course. The details are a little hazy, but I remember some of it. What does all this mean?"
"For a short while you used the implant in your brain to control a robot device known as Cait Sith. Through the Cait Sith unit, you were able to effectively spy on Avalanche, and limit their attempts to damage Shinra. Unfortunately, after Diamond Weapon attacked, they were able to use the chaos to their advantage and cripple Shinra. Afterwards, though, with the threat of Meteor and Sephiroth, you recruited Avalanche to do your bidding to help destroy the incoming disaster. When the dust of Meteor cleared, being completely obliterated by a powerful Materia attack by you called Holy, Avalanche abandoned you in the ruins of Midgar. Together, the two of us began to rebuild Shinra, and I'm sure you remember the rest from there."
Reeve nodded again. He remembered some of those events, but none of the ones that had anything to do with this... Cait Sith. "Uh, sir... if you will, can I have a moment to think about this? On my own?"
Rufus smiled, then turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him.
- - -
After the door shut, Rufus nodded to both Elena and Reno, who stood guard at both sides of the door. No outside influence would be allowed near Reeve until Rufus allowed it. This would take careful manipulation. Rufus trusted Reeve, and knew the man who stand behind him, but in the end, the man was torn between loyalty to Shinra and admiration of Avalanche.
The convenient memory loss worked perfectly for the President of Shinra. Now, with the heroic Cait Sith persona gone, Reeve could be the efficient, heartless second in command that Rufus needed in these dark times.
All in all, the day had turned out rather well.
Reno: Haha! You are such a sucker!
Reeve: Oh shut up. At least I'm getting paid for this now. You didn't when you got tricked into it. Twice.
Reno: ...
Rude: That's my line, fucker! ::stabs Reno::
Reno: Ow, my pancreas!
Reeve: That's right. Tyramir doesn't own FF. You get the point.
Chapter Nineteen
Lost Dreams
Reeve awoke with a start. He cast his eyes about, frantic to discover where he was. The room was dark, but from the little light, he could tell it was richly furnished. The bed he lay in was comfortable, and the sheets were silk. He nestled back, trying to remember what had happened.
And found that he couldn't. He desperately clawed at his memory, trying to get some sense of what had happened in the past day. He remembered something about Palmer... and President Rufus... a betrayal? Oh right. Rufus was rebuilding Shinra from the rubble it had become to a super power again.
Why had it been destroyed in the first place?
Flashes of a giant white shape, lumbering through an ocean and over fields of grass towards Midgar flew through his mind. A name. Diamond Weapon. A creature born from the planet to protect itself from being wounded.
But why had it been wounded? Who had done it? What had stopped it?
Reeve found that the images of the events were spotted, filled with large holes. He remembered Scarlet with her Sister Ray, and Heidegger priding himself on his Proud Clod. Hojo with his insane experiments. Rufus commanding them all, to destroy Weapon, to destroy... who else? There was someone else.
And that someone else had killed Scarlet, Heidegger and Hojo. He wasn't sure how he knew, but the certainty was there. Those three homicidal maniacs were dead. Only he and Rufus remained of the original government.
Reeve looked about in the dark, and on the stand next to him was a pistol. It was a standard, Turk-issue glock, more than likely filled with bullet piercing rounds, with a special quick reload stock, and weighted at the back making it an efficient club at close range for when a target had to be taken in alive. He reached over and picked it up, stroking it gentley. The safety was on, but he made sure he was careful. The weapon seemed to have something of a special memory for him. Of course. This was the weapon Rufus had used to kill Palmer, the one Reeve had been awarded for his loyalty. A ghastly trophy. He would have preferred a plaque with his name on it.
The door opened and light spilled in.
"You're awake," a female voice said. Elena. That was it.
He nodded. "What happened to me? Where's President Rufus?"
A look of confusion came over Elena's face, which passed quickly. She flicked on the light. He winced and shielded his eyes with his hand. After a moment of adjustment, he took it away and looked at the Turk. She had approached his bed and sat down on the corner.
"I'm not surprised that you don't remember. What, with the implant frying in your brain and all. I'm surprised you're still alive. You must have been insane to try controlling so many of those Cait--"
"Elena, that's enough."
The two both looked around and saw Rufus standing at the door. The now unquestioned President of Shinra stood in the doorway, now wearing his old white suit. Reeve also noted that a small bulk was underneath the great overcoat on his left side. Rufus obviously still doubted his power to be carrying a shotgun on his person.
Behind Rufus stood Reno, who gestured to Elena. The girl nodded to Reeve and patted him on the leg, then got up and left the room. Rufus closed the door behind her.
"Sir," Reeve said, trying to sit up straighter.
"Don't, Reeve. Be at ease." When Reeve relaxed, Rufus continued. "I'm going to be straight with you, Reeve. A Shinra implant in your brain malafunctioned and overloaded, causing severe hemmoraging, seizures, and we're fairly certain, memory loss. The doctors are unable to remove the implant from your brain. It has permanently fused itself into your nervous system. We're not certain how safe it will be for you to use it in future situations. As a result, I'm ordering you to never use it again."
Reeve nodded dumbly. "This implant... what was it for?"
Rufus sighed. "I was afraid it would be this bad. Does the name 'Cait Sith' sound familiar to you?"
"No. Should it?"
"Yes. We'll review that later. How about Avalanche?"
"Sure, I remember avalanches, but I don't know what the significance is."
"It's a rebel faction against Shinra. Now, do you remember Meteor, and Sephiroth?"
"Of course. The details are a little hazy, but I remember some of it. What does all this mean?"
"For a short while you used the implant in your brain to control a robot device known as Cait Sith. Through the Cait Sith unit, you were able to effectively spy on Avalanche, and limit their attempts to damage Shinra. Unfortunately, after Diamond Weapon attacked, they were able to use the chaos to their advantage and cripple Shinra. Afterwards, though, with the threat of Meteor and Sephiroth, you recruited Avalanche to do your bidding to help destroy the incoming disaster. When the dust of Meteor cleared, being completely obliterated by a powerful Materia attack by you called Holy, Avalanche abandoned you in the ruins of Midgar. Together, the two of us began to rebuild Shinra, and I'm sure you remember the rest from there."
Reeve nodded again. He remembered some of those events, but none of the ones that had anything to do with this... Cait Sith. "Uh, sir... if you will, can I have a moment to think about this? On my own?"
Rufus smiled, then turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him.
- - -
After the door shut, Rufus nodded to both Elena and Reno, who stood guard at both sides of the door. No outside influence would be allowed near Reeve until Rufus allowed it. This would take careful manipulation. Rufus trusted Reeve, and knew the man who stand behind him, but in the end, the man was torn between loyalty to Shinra and admiration of Avalanche.
The convenient memory loss worked perfectly for the President of Shinra. Now, with the heroic Cait Sith persona gone, Reeve could be the efficient, heartless second in command that Rufus needed in these dark times.
All in all, the day had turned out rather well.