Author's Note:
Reno: And here it is! The fate of me!
Reeve: I can hardly wait. Yai.
Reno: But I might die!
Reeve: Somehow I doubt it.
Reno: Oh sure. Pretend to not care. This is my life at stake!
Reeve: Exactly. And for some reason, despite his constant abuse of you, Tyramir likes you.
Reno: I know. It's because I'm so--
Reeve: No! You are not sexy! Get over it!
::Reno flexes::
Reeve: God I hate you. Tyramir doesn't own the rights to Final Fantasy or any of its characters.
Chapter Forty Four
Fate
I don't wanna die.
Reno's back arched as the electrical explosion burst around his body, lifting him bodily off the ground and throwing him forward an impossible distance.
The streets floated beneath him; monsters, Soldiers turning and breaking in their unstoppable advance towards Jenova to register this new attack. Maybe they were trying to protect Jenova from harm. Maybe they were thrown off from their frenzied advance by the enormous blastwave emanating from behind them.
Maybe they liked to look at the pretty light. How in the crap was he supposed to know?
He turned in the air, coming to face the sky. Something was wrong. Forcing his mind to work, Reno focused. Why was this wrong?
He frowned. Then it hit him. The shadow.
Proud Clod had stepped forward, obstructing the sun. But now it was toppling towards the ground. Something must have blown when Reno's staff did - the fighting with Avalanche and Obsidian Weapon must have damaged the enormous machine to the point of failure, and the electrical explosion had just finished it off.
He twisted around again. He'd run a long way - no sign of Avalanche yet. He figured he'd give Barrett a cocky two fingered salute before he hit the ground and smeared the floor with his insides. Something to remember him by.
He could recognise shell shock from past experience, and was glad it had deadened the fire in his side so at least it would be quick and painless. At least, he imagined it would be. He wouldn't have to wait long to find out. The street started getting closer.
Twisted again. Proud Clod was falling towards him now; it must've slipped on some building or a Behemoth. So, which would get him first? The mechanical monstrosity or gravity? He suddenly wished he had more ammo and his gun - the sight of a wounded Turk soaring through the air firing off rounds at a monster horde beneath was a powerful image - those Avalanche suckers wouldn't forget that for a while. Elena, too, if she wasn't already dead.
Facing the street again. Definitely getting closer. The monsters were back running towards Jenova. At least he'd distracted them for a few minutes. Avalanche should have more than a fighting chance now - his plan had worked flawlessly. The shadow got darker.
Proud Clod was almost on top of him. Then, it was, give or take a few metres. Somehow he escaped the crush of the metal gargantuan and the enormous crash right behind him informed Reno Proud Clod had impacted. Dust and debris billowed around him and the world turned to black.
Then it appeared again. He shot out of the cloud of dust just in time to see the street rushing up at him at point blank range.
Woah.
Lights flashed in front of his eyes. Then he hit the ground.
Everything jolted, but there was no crunch, no splat, no smoosh. There weren't even any birds or stars floating around his head. He rolled, then stood up, feeling perfectly fine.
"I've alive!" he shouted. "Ha! I do a suicide attack and survive! Oh yeah. Score one for the Turk."
He shook of the bemusement for a moment and wondered at how he was still alive. He looked down at his hands, and there, shimmering ever so slightly, was a green energy. He moved his hand, and the colour changed, going from red, to blue, to yellow, always shifting, with no set pattern. A Shield spell. But who--?
He looked up and saw Tifa, casting spells furiously at a group of Soldiers who had broken off from the main group and were headed directly at her. He sat down, admiring her shape as she moved about frantically. He could definitely see the appeal. No wonder Rude left the Turks for her.
"Some help would be nice," he heard her growl.
"Sure thing. Just toss me something I can use." The distinct lack of any of his own weapons or Materia definitely turned him off from participating further in this battle. He supposed he could pick up a rock and throw it at some Soldiers, but that would only attract their attention. He'd already cheated death once today. Why bother again?
Tifa turned about, and something green flew at him. He caught it, not bothering to stand up from his comfy piece of rubble. He looked at it and frowned. Magic Materia. But what kind?
"Hey, hot stuff. What spell is this?"
"Fire! Quit fooling around and start casting!"
He sighed, then stood up. Focusing on the Materia, he pictured fire, and looked at the Soldiers charging at Tifa. Waves of fire rolled from the ground, burning the enemy. Tifa followed up the spell with Lightning, chasing the remaining elements back. When they finished fleeing, she collapsed.
"Ah hell," he said, quickly moving to her side.
He bent over her, and took a quick look over her body and grinned. Then he grapped her glove, and looked over the Materia there. Three green orbs were placed there, as well as several blue, yellow, and red. He discarded the other colours and focused on the green. He needed a Magic Materia right now. One was paired with a Support Materia of some sort, while the other two were matched with a Summon Materia. He took one of the ones paired with a Red, focused on it, and unleashed its power on a wounded Soldier nearby. Lightning struck down, electrocuting the man, but not quite killing him.
"Nope. That's not a Cure."
He pulled the other Magic Materia paired with a Summon, focused on it, and cast it at the same Soldier. Ice covered his body. The man began to convulse.
"Nope."
He pulled the last one, the one paired with the Support Materia. Drawing its energy, he cast it on the barely alive Soldier. Instantly the man began to move.
"Bingo."
He calmly picked up the Fire Materia, and threw a strong fire spell at the now recovered Soldier. The man screamed and fell back. Reno took the Cure Materia in hand, and sent a small wave of energy into Tifa, just enough to get her over her fatigue. She inhaled deeply, then opened her eyes. He smirked at her, then used to Materia to heal the wound in his side.
"What happened?" she asked.
"You passed out. Used to much Materia, exhausted you. Have you seen Rude? I figured he'd be with you, but I guess not."
"What? I thought he was with you!"
"Why would he be with me when he's got a hot chick like you to hang out with?"
She growled, then stood up. She looked down at her gauntlet, then frowned at Reno. He shrugged, then handed her Materia back.
"So, if he's not with me, and he's not with you, where is he?" the Turk asked. "You don't think he was dumb enough to try to get to Jenova with the others, do you?"
"No. He thought about it, but he knew it wasn't the smart thing to do. He can't get too close to Jenova's influence because he was in..." she trailed off, looking at the hordes of Soldiers and monsters.
"What?"
"Jenova's influence extended. She could reach him anywhere. This is the Reunion. I think she might have control of him. Come on, we have to find him!"
Author's Note:
I'd like to thank Nisus for this chapter. The first part was written by him (and it was very well done, too. So well done that I just had to use it!), while the last part was done by me. I wasn't sure what to do with Reno, because a part of me really wanted to kill him off, since a lot of people seem to like him. Now, where's the logic in this? Simple. I want to make you people laugh, and I want to make you people cry. If I can do that, then I've done a good job as a writer. Unfortunately, because I'm such a sap, I couldn't bring myself to do it. That, and not a single person who mailed in wanted to see Reno die. So, he gets to live.