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Chapter One: Minden, the fisher town

Minden was a small town on the continent controlled by Shinra, on the northeast section. There were a little north of the Mythril Mines, in fact those who didn't work as a fisherman usually worked at the Mythril Mines, or at a shop in the town. Working at the mines made a lot of money, since the mines were filled with mythril, which was very popular metal that the people of Minden used and it was pretty cheap.

Minden boarded the ocean and was about twice as large as Kalm, and even a little bigger because of their harbor. The harbor of Minden had to be very large, because almost everyone in the village worked as a fisherman, and most of them owned their own ship. The town was a fairly rich town, since they could live off the land pretty well, since the land was fertile, and not only could they fish and mine, but there were also quite a few farmers in the area.

However, farmers were a dying breed, since the land was beginning to grow muddier and much less fertile, due to the wastes Midgar left on the land. According to the miners, the mud around the mines were getting so thick that they may start to getting chocobos to get to the mines, otherwise it would take a lot longer for them to get there. However, farming was still good, and they may need to start worrying about the muddy lands taking over their farms.

Over all, Minden was a good rich harbor city, that was certainly a good and rich place for several people to live, but who still liked that homey feeling. Unlike Midgar, where there were to upper class, and the dirt class, nothing in between. Either they lived in upper Midgar, where life was great and carefree, but it was still a metal town, with no grass or dirt or anything, just a metal ground. And if the people lived in lower Midgar, like most of the people, and lived in their dirty litter filled land, with their poor homes.

Minden was very similar to Kalm, a town that they commonly traded with, since they didn't have to cross the mines to reach it. The homes were built in a similar fashion, except they were generally bigger and in better condition. The town's roads, however, were different than Kalm's, as they were not just around a main center, but were more like straight lines, with intersections, these, unlike the roads in Kalm, were for the cars owned by the people in Minden. However, Kalm didn't need the roads, since most of the villagers didn't have a car, and if they did it would be rarely used, unless they traveled to different towns, since the town was so very small, they could just walk around the town.

Reno was average height for a fourteen year old, and he was one of the most popular kids in his school. He had messy red hair and was in excellent shape. He had a perfect six pack on his abs, and had awesome arm muscles, but you wouldn't be able to tell it by looking at him. He was very fast, too, he could run a mile in about five and a half minutes. All that made him not only an excellent football, soccer, basketball, and baseball player but it also made all the ladies want him.

Reno was only fourteen and he had already slept with three different young woman all his age or a year older. He had a small fling with each of them, dating them each as little as two months and to a max of six months. However, none of them really seemed to be his type, not enough for a real good time together. Actually, for the one girl that he had been together for six months, he would probably had broken up with her within a month. Her name was Jamie Kennedy, and had a really nasty attitude, but looked great. She had long red hair, though it would get darker in the winter, and brown eyes, and stood a couple inches lower than Reno.

Rune could still remember that he had set up the date to break up with her and everything. He decided to let her go really easy, and he had some flowers and cheap earrings to give her, when he broke up with her, so there would be less hard feelings. But then, when she came over, she immediately saw the flowers and the flowers, but seemed to think they were a gift for her as his girlfriend, not as a break up date.

She, however, thought of it as a gift, and Reno tried to stop her, but then she said she wanted to reward him for the gifts. At this point, Reno couldn't, nor wouldn't want to, stop her. Jamie was excellent in bed, and that outstanding ability gave her five and a half more months with Reno. However, despite the excellent ability, Reno could only put up with her annoying attitude for so long, and he broke up with her. That time, he didn't give her any parting gifts.

Reno's father was a miner named Robert at Mythril Mines, he was a man who looked very much like Reno except his muscles bulged more and he had smooth black hair. Reno's mother worked part time at the local materia shop, and would occasionally buy some materia for Reno to use. She, her name was Julia, thought Reno was a natural, and she would know, since she was in the Shinra military. She never became more than a foot soldier, and she only went on a few missions that helped people from monsters, but she was still given some basic materia.

So far, she had given Reno a fire, bolt, and a cure materia. Reno trained with his fists, and would put the materia in his fighting knuckles, but Reno really wanted to use guns, but he was too young to use them yet. Reno had never been in sports, and instead he would train for about two hours a day with his fists and his materia. Generally, he would train more with his fists instead of his materia, since he always thought that anyone who wasn't strong enough to hold up in a fight, that person wouldn't have time to use their materia.

However, Reno would always be sure to spend a good thirty minutes a day, at least, sometimes he would spend as much as an hour and a half and never even notice it. Reno, however, didn't like using materia. It seemed to mess with his head, like he remembered the first time he had ever used materia, it had been a bolt attack.

Well, firstly, he was two years younger than the recommended age for using materia, but he had gotten his hands on his mother's bolt materia. He ran off with it, like a thief, and went about half a mile away from the town. Then, he had used the bolt materia, and he found it fairly easy to use. However, afterwards he had suffered from a terrible migraine, and he was lucky to have been found by some miners returning from the mine.

He had spent one night in the hospital, and they had said he was physically and mentally alright, but since he was so young, he would be suffering from migraines for a while. he ended up suffering from migraines for the next three weeks, and every day of that he had spent in his bed with a temperature of 103 degrees. Ever since then, Reno never really cared for materia or magic, but he did realize it's power, and had great respect for any wizard or magic user. Also, he had always been very good, his mother says that it was because he had used it when he was so young, but even back then, he had been able to use it his first time. That was a great accomplishment, since all the other people who used materia, had to try it at least three times before they were able to use it.

Reno was training in the valley between Kalm and Minden, where he usually did, and fought against the small beasts. He was wearing his usual training clothes, a white muscle shirt and red jeans which matched his hair almost perfectly. He was just about to start training with his materia, but then he heard an ear piercing scream. Reno instantly turned to the source of the sound, which means turning towards Kalm, and began running towards it.

There, he saw a carriage that had been tipped over, lead by two chocobos that seemed to be either dead or badly injured. There was a young woman who looked about Reno's age, and a young boy who looked about two years younger than Reno, and an older woman, about thirty, and a man a little older than the woman. Probably a family, Reno thought, and then he saw what they were hiding from. There was a Wutai soldier standing, and there were about three around him, dead, and about three dead Shinra soldiers on the ground.

The Wutai soldier was shouting someone at the family, with a machine gun raised in their direction. The soldier sounded insane in the way he had shouted, maybe he was just angry with anger, since it seemed that the soldier had lost all his allies. Reno didn't doubt that the soldier would be insane, if Reno were in the same situation, he probably wouldn't be able to restrain himself from shooting the people.

"Mom! Dad!" the young woman cried.

Aw shit! I have to help them! Reno thought, then thought of a way. There was only one of them, and a surprise attack would be able to take him down, even if it was a soldier. But what could he use? He didn't have a gun, only his fists, and that wouldn't be very secret, nor would it be enough to take care of the soldier. But then he remembered, he could use his materia. However, his magic may not be enough to take out a soldier, but he had to try, right?

Reno closed his eyes and focused deeply on his bolt materia. The materia on his knuckles began to glow, and then Reno screamed, "BOLT!!!"

All the people turned to him, including the soldier, but the soldier wasn't able to look at him for long, when the lightning bolt struck him. However, that didn't take the soldier down, so Reno ran up to the soldier and began beating him as hard as he could in the face. The soldier hit Reno's face with the but of his machine gun, and Reno fell to the ground, now his face stinging, but he had bigger problems.

"Say goodbye, motherfucker," the soldier said with his machine gun in Reno's face.

Reno, thinking purely on instant, kicked the back of the soldier's shin, making him fall, however, his machine gun went off, each bullet shooting up dirt right next to Reno's face. Reno then rolled on top of the soldier, his crouch on the soldier's stomach, and began beating the soldier's face. Reno knew which areas were weaker, and he had to use that to his advantage. Reno punched the bridge of the soldier's nose three times, make certain that it was broken, but he was pretty sure it was broken after the first punch.

Blood was now smeared on Reno's fists, and then Reno began punching the soldier's jaw, knowing that was another weak point, and he was about to dislocate it, when the soldier regained his strength. The soldier punched Reno cleanly in the stomach, making Reno instantly clasp his stomach, and then the soldier punched Reno in his ribs, so hard that it made him fall off the soldier.

The Wutai soldier reached for his machine gun, that was just out of his reach before, and then tried to aim it at Reno, until a fire began on his chest. The soldier shouted, dropping the gun instantly, and then tried to ripe off his shirt, until he fell down.

When the soldier was down, Reno began slamming his boot into the soldier's face, making sure the soldier was dead. Reno then began kicking the soldier's chest and neck, putting out the fire and separating the bones in his throat.

Suddenly, he felt scared. Had he really just killed someone? Certainly he didn't. He doubted that he could take away a human life. Reno crouched down next to the soldier's body, and felt his neck for a pulse, but his neck was so smashed up, Reno could feel and move the bones that were in the soldier's neck. Once Reno, obviously, didn't find a pulse, he checked the man's wrist.

His wrist was in much better condition and was actually together, however, the only pulse Reno felt was the one beating through himself. Oh my god... Reno thought. I... I killed someone...

Suddenly, Reno felt like he wanted to run. Like he wanted to get out of here. As if he had done something against the law. Obviously he hadn't since Shinra and Wutai were at war, but he still felt worried. He stood and was about to turn, when he heard:

"I-Is he dead...?"

Reno turned frantically, and saw the people standing there, the people that he had protected. Suddenly, he remembered how he felt when he saw that those people's life were in danger, and nodded, "I... I'm pretty sure he is," Reno answered, he was still scared, but he suddenly felt like he had done the right thing, and the confidence that he had before he killed the soldier returned, "Where were you headed? Maybe I could help you the rest of the way."

"Oh, we were heading to a town called Minden," the older woman answered. "Have you heard of it?"

"Yeah," Reno chuckled. "That's where I'm from. It's not too far from here. We should be able to make it there in about two hours or so. By the way, I'm Reno."

"Hello Reno," the older man said. He had a thick brown mustache and matching brown hair that was currently messy, and he had a bloody nose. He had light brown eyes, still coated with fear, which wasn't surprising after seeing a battle, and he was tall, probably around six feet. The older woman next to him, the woman who Reno guessed was his wife, had long smooth black hair, that was thinning at the temples and had some, though few, gray strands. She was fairly short, nothing over five foot seven, and had dark brown eyes. They were both wearing very fancy clothes, the old man was wearing a black suit, it looked suede and must have cost at least three hundred gil, and the woman was wearing a now dirty red dress. "Do you know which village is closer? Kalm, or Minden?"

"Definitely Minden," Reno answered. "I'll escort you there, Mr..."

"Oh I'm sorry," the old man responded with a chuckle, though Reno could tell that it was a fake chuckle, he was probably still recovering from his attack. "I am Charles Nettle," he then pointed to the older woman, "this is my wife, Lucy Nettle," he then pointed to the children. The boy had black hair, like his mother, but with the thickness of his father's. His dark eyes were wide, probably replaying the events that had happened to him and his family, and that almost made Reno pity the boy. The young woman was gorgeous, much more beautiful than Jamie ever could be, and Jamie was the prettiest young woman in Minden! She had long black hair, like her mother, and had stunning bright green eyes, also wide with fear, but she didn't seem as dazed as her brother, and she stared at Reno, with what he thought was either amazement or honor. Both the children, like the parents, were wearing very fancy clothes, the boy in a suit almost identical to his fathers, and the girl in a dress similar to her mother's except much shorter, and Reno felt a small hint of red go to his cheeks when he saw her, but the family probably dismissed it, since he had just killed a soldier. "And these are our two children, Maximus and Raine."

Reno showed a small smile to the two children and waved, the young woman waved back with a small, fake smile, but the boy remained silent, as it was all probably replaying in his mind. "Well, I would be happy to bring you back to Minden," Reno told the old man, who smiled graciously.

"Thank you very much, young man," the elder man smiled. "And you will be well rewarded for all this, why, you saved our lives!"

Reno felt the blush returning, and said, "It's alright, Mr. Nettle, I'm sure if anyone else were to have seen you, they would have done the same."

"Perhaps," the old man replied. "But you did do something. And I gratefully thank you, young Reno."

"If you want," Reno told them. "We can talk when we get back. For now, we should be probably start heading back. Less we want to battle more Wutai soldiers."

"Yes of course!" the old man said, and turned to his family. "Get all the valuables from the carriage! Be sure to grab only the things that you think you can carry all the way to Minden, once you are there, I shall hire a few brave men to come back here and get the rest."

The family all headed back to the carriage, and seemed to be taking their sweet time looking through their things. Reno really wished they could just leave, unless the valuables they were grabbing was worth all their lives, since he would guess that more soldiers would be coming back soon, unless they hadn't heard the screams, or it was just a small group set on the continent. But then, Reno remembered some of the miners, including his father, saying that they ran into some Wutai soldiers the other day, and that they had to fight them.

Reno then walked up to the fallen soldiers and looked over the remains. The Wutai foot soldiers all were trained like normal militia, with guns, but they also had samurai and ninjas, who were specially trained, and could probably easily take down about five or ten Shinra soldiers alone. Reno inspected the body and took out two guns, the machine gun that the soldier had been pointing at the family, and a decent sized silver pistol.

Reno liked the pistol, it had about a six inch barrel, and a ridged handle, made of something that felt similar to rubber, and had a very smooth, welcoming trigger. Reno also took off the belt of the soldier and strapped it around his own pants, and then put the pistol inside it's holster.

Reno then walked down to the family, and tapped the man's shoulder with his left hand, holding the machine gun in his right. Mr. Nettle turned around, saw the machine gun, and fell on his back, with his arms covering his face. "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" he screamed. "YOU CAN TAKE ANYTHING YOU WANT FROM THE CARRIAGE! JUST DON'T KILL ME OR MY FAMILY!"

Reno shook his head, embarrassed, and said, "I'm not going to kill you! I'm handing you this machine gun. In case we run into any other soldiers, we should be ready."

"Oh... yes..." Mr. Nettle responded as he stood up. Reno handed the machine gun over to the man, who seemed to inspect it for a minute, then strapped it over his shoulder. He then turned back to his family, and said, "Everyone ready?"

They all nodded, all of them still seemed scared, but then began to follow Reno and the man as they walked across the plains. Reno kept his right hand on the pistol's handle at all times, because it felt nice against his hands and because he really was expecting an attack. Reno and Mr. Nettle talked, speaking mostly about the event that had just occurred. "We were going down to Minden in our carriage. Then, almost at once, all the chocobo were shot, and the Shinra soldiers leapt from the carriage and outside. One of the Wutai soldiers must have thrown a grenade or something, because the carriage tipped over, that's how I got this," the man said, pointing to his nose which was bleeding through the cloth that he had stuck up there, which made Reno wonder if it was broken. "But anyway, me and my family escaped, and hide behind the carriage. I was lucky, and found a steel pipe that must have been attached to the bottom of the carriage, and used it for protection. One Wutai soldier came down with his pistol, one identical to yours, Reno, and told us to come out with our hands up. I hit him with the bar. He went down, at the time I thought he was unconscious, but now I'm certain he is dead. Anyway, I was about to check if he was dead or not, when some bullets flew down from behind the carriage. I wasn't hit, but a couple of the bullets hit the fallen soldier. He threw another grenade, this one landing behind the carriage, and me and my family ran out just in time, since it blew up right behind me. That was when the soldier had us cornered, and my daughter screamed when she saw him. He began making some demands, and then you showed up."

"You really saved our lives," Mrs. Nettle added, now, like her husband, more happy to be alive than frightened of the events.

"As I said, anyone would have done the same," Reno told the two.

"And, as we tell you," Mr. Nettle said. "You did. And I doubt that anyone would have done the same, and if they did, I doubt they would have been able to kill the soldier."

Reno winced a little at the word "kill," but the Nettles either didn't notice, or chose not to, and Mrs. Nettle added, "We owe you so much. We'll give you anything you want! You saved our lives! We owe you everything!"

"It's alright," Reno told them. He really didn't feel comfortable talking about how he killed that soldier. Afterwards, he began to think, what if that soldier had a family or something. What would they think of them? How terrible he would feel if he found out such information. So, he decided to change the subject, and hoping not to return, at least until the next day, "But ah... I noticed that there were Shinra soldiers with you. Why? Do you work for them, or did you hire them or something?"

"Oh," the man smiled. "I used to work for Shinra. I was one of the top people in the weapons department, and when I retired, my apprentice, a young woman named Scarlet, took my place. I retired, and wanted to move into Minden."

"Why Minden?" Reno asked.

"It's a homely place," the man responded. "And it's rich, and has grass. I want my kids to see grass, since I never did until now. I lived in Midgar all my life, and I never seen grass or any plant life in all my life, but I didn't my kids to be like that."

"Oh," Reno nodded. He was surprised by the softness that the man was showing, since when many people think of Shinra and the employees, they think that the people are cruel and harsh. But this man seemed quite the opposite.

"Yes, and Shinra agreed to send us with some soldiers, since some Wutai soldiers have appeared from... somewhere..." Reno had a feeling that this man knew where the Wutai soldiers were, but he didn't want to push it, especially after all they've been through.

"Well, you'll be safe in Minden," Reno told Nettle.

He laughed, and responded, "I know I'll be alright in Minden. I doubt Wutai has any interest in a small town like Minden."

Reno chuckled, and responded, "Yeah, you're right. I don't know why any military group would come to Minden."

They shared a laugh.

How wrong they were.

Hey, thanks for reading it.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!

More to come.