Prenote: Thank you to an anon reviewer who pointed out that FF.N ate my section dividers. I have fixed the problem and also added a bit to the end to coincide with a key point in the game. Well, maybe not key, but Elmyra character dev't. So here it is again. :)

Those Chosen by the Planet
Final Fantasy VII Twisted.
by Sweetest Oblivion

Chapter 5
"A Flower Blossoms in the Church"

It felt like a veil. Like mists in a long-forgotten chasm. Or something. Truth be told, Reno was in far too much pain to be the least bit poetical. In the slightest.

He was seeing things in black and white, upside down and all around. And red. Red. Red. Red. Shaking, mobile images. An explosion. A fire. Screaming, crying, red. A knife – slicing, blood. A red rose, fallen, trampled, red.

'No… no, no, nonono!'

Fear.

'But that's it, isn't it Reno. It's everywhere, this blood, this guilt. And there's nothing you can do about it. You will never be free. You will never forget.

Your fault. Your fault.'

Doubt.

'I would have never allowed it. I had no idea.'

Rationalization.

'Your fault. Heh.'

Insistence.

'They held the gun…'

'…I pulled the trigger.'

Acceptance.

He had fallen through her ceiling, unceremoniously, crashing through the thin and rotted wood planks of her sanctuary, her church, the one place she felt safe. It was a small abandoned church, one of the few sanctified areas in Midgar, a small religious haven in a not-so-fiery pit of hell. She loved it there.

But nothing all that interesting ever happened there. Until someone came crashing through her roof and gave her one of the biggest frights of her life. He had hit the ground with a sickening thud – the kind of thud that you'd hear from a bag of potatoes being thrown off a roof.

Though you never fear that the potatoes will be dead when you recover them…

So mouth agape she crept up to the broken, battered man who was lying, spread out, crushing the flowers that grew on the sacred, holy ground of her church. He was a vision in dark blue – a coat and pants, his hair a fiery red mane, tied back haphazardly. And breathing. Actually breathing. She was about to nudge his beaten form with a boot when he jerked suddenly and moaned.

"Oh!" Surprise. She dropped to her knees and shook his shoulders gently, hoping for another response. Simply incredible. She had to wonder where he had fallen from… and how he had managed so survive such a fall. "Are you alright?" She mentally kicked herself. Of course he wasn't alright!

"Unh…" His eyes still closed, clenched in pain, he raised a hand slowly to his forehead, rubbing the tenseness. He turned slowly, rolling to his side, slightly, and opened glazed over blue green eyes. "Hello… Flower girl."

Her green eyes opened wide in surprise as everything came together in her brain. He had seemed familiar when she first glanced at his inert form – the eyes sealed this vague feeling. She smiled. "Hello."

"Where in Shiva's name am I?" He thrust himself in a sitting position, groaning softly and attempting to catch his breath.

"You're in a church in the Sector 5 slums. I was about to ask how you got down here in the first place… Gave me quite a scare."

Reno took in his surroundings, aghast. Wood lay broken all around him, old and somewhat worm-eaten. He raised his gaze upward, spying a large hole in the ceiling, chunks and planks of wood mysteriously missing. The redhead rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. "I came crashing down?" His throat felt as dry as the wood around him, his words coarse.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I was attending to… errands in here when all of a sudden – Boom! There was an explosion or something and there you were in my flowerbed." She clasped her hands in front of her. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine… I've been through worse." He slowly got to his feet, staggering a bit, but managing to find his footing. "Flowerbed?"

"You're standing on them." She got to her feet and pointed down, grimacing at the trampled tulips and daisies. His feet were big, his boots were clunky, and it would take weeks to undo the damage. But she had to laugh at the panicked look that crossed his face as he hopped out of the spot and found hardwood to step on.

"Oh, don't worry! The flowers are resilient. They'll be fine." She inched closer to him, smiling innocently. "The ground here is sacred."

"Sacred?" He looked her over quizzically. This girl couldn't be for real. Nothing was sacred in Midgar.

"That's what I've figured! Nothing can grow in Midgar. Not even weeds. And yet…" She motioned toward the flowers. He followed her lead. Then she cleared her throat, bent forward playfully and looked him straight in the eyes. "I don't think I ever got your name…"

She was smiling at him, almost radiating light. It occurred to Reno that she smiled a lot. Almost too much. Something seemed amiss and he almost wanted to stick around to find out exactly what it was she was that she was hiding behind a smile and nod. He pushed this back, however. She was waiting for a response. "It's Reno. And you are…?"

"Aerith Gainsborough." She bowed. "Thank you so much for buying my flowers!"

Reno shrugged and thrust his hands in his pockets. That had been yesterday… After the previous reactor explosion… Reactor. Shit. He looked back up to the hole in the ceiling and everything hit him, suddenly. This was great and all, really, but he had people to get back to. And as much as it pained him to realize it – he still had a job to do and he still had to get back to Avalanche.

'I need a cigarette.'

But of course he didn't have one. He sighed and shook his head, then opted to wander the church a moment.

He had to admit – the building was beautiful for what it was. There weren't too many churches still around in Midgar. Most plate dwellers worshipped one bright and shiny golden entity – the one that brought, or rather bought them whatever it was they could desire. Slum rats… well… they didn't have time for worship. Midgar drained them of any sense of hope, it seemed. To see this church in the slums was... nice to say the least.

It was simple, constructed mainly out of wood – something Reno had gotten used to not seeing on the Plate where everything was full of metal and lights and buttons. The pews were likewise made of wood, worn after years and years of use and misuse. The varnish and finishes had all but vanished over time. He ran a finger over the fine grain. The wood was of okay quality. Not great, but not the kind of crap you find all over Midgar and definitely not some sort of particle board.

"Oh! Er… Reno!"

He whipped around, toward the voice, startled, grabbing for his holster and finding nothing. An old habit. Realizing it was the flower girl, he let go of the stance and loosened up. "Hmm?"

She was gingerly holding his nightstick in her hands, looking it over. "This fell down about the same time you did. I mean, a lot of things fell, sure, but this was obviously not scrap metal. Does it belong --"

"Yes." He stepped forward and took it from her outstretched hands, twirled it and fit it back into his holster. Now he felt complete.

"What was that?" She stared at him quizzically, a strand of dark hair falling into her eyes.

"Electro-Magnetic Rod… EMR for short. Kind of like a nightstick, but with an added kick…" He trailed off, knowing that he had perhaps said far too much.

And he had. Her face scrunched up in thought. "I see…" She crossed her arms in front of her chest, rubbing her shoulders as if a cool breeze had blown in. Aerith seemed less than comfortable with the thought of this… weapon. Sure she knew that battle was necessary to survive, but this EMR almost seemed… cruel. "And what exactly do you do, anyway?"

He raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure what to answer with. He couldn't say 'terrorist,' but 'former Turk' didn't sound to great either. "I… er… do things."

"Things?" She leaned forward playfully. "Like what?"

Reno was about to throw out some retort – any retort, when the sound of a door swinging wildly open caught him off guard. He swung around, startled. And then things got worse.

"Oh, all sorts of things. Why don't you tell her the truth, Reno."

Blonde with a blue suit that accentuated the curves of her hips, it was Elena of the Turks. On either side of her stood a lower ranking Soldier. She casually held a gun in her well manicured hand and stared at him with murder in her eyes. He stared back at her calmly and moved in between the approaching figures and the flower girl.

"Elena." He stated as she approached.

Aerith watched Reno and Elena – the familiarity they had with one another, and shrank back, her eyes narrowing. "You know her? You aren't… I won't let you take me!"

"Yes, that's precisely what he is." Her voice cut through the air of church. "How does it feel to be buddy-buddy with a Turk, Ancient?"

"Former Turk." Reno growled, icily. "Why are you here? Had a change of heart? Grew a conscience?"

Elena chuckled and clicked back the safety of her silencer fitted pistol. "Oh, I will miss you so much when you are dead. But orders are orders… or have you forgotten?" She moved forward, slinking to his side.

Reno leaned back, considering the woman before him. Shinra had her ready, should anything… happen to him. She had taken over when he had gone on "vacation," after his wife's death. She had been acting Turk when he had been injured, whenever he had been injured. And it was clear why – she wasn't that great at what she did. She was ruthless but jumped into things without thinking, like an over-enthusiastic puppy.

Reno smirked as he considered her. A Golden Retriever.

Elena was only really suitable to short term employment in the Turks. As a replacement – nothing more. Reno's grin widened, knowing all this. "What? Did you come all this way to taunt me?"

"You think so highly of yourself! No, no, no. President's orders – find the Ancient and bring her back to Hojo's lab."

Reno narrowed his eyes. "And… why is that?"

"She has information locked away in that pretty little head of hers. We're looking for something now, though I'm not entirely sure what it is. All I know is that we need her alive, but we can take you dead." She examined her fingernails bored, then turned back to him. "If you turn her in, Reno, I'm sure the Company will forgive what you have done."

He turned to Aerith who stood pale against the wall, her green eyes like saucers.

"Hey, Laney!"

"Mmm?" She moved closer.

"You talk too much."

"I take it that's your final answer?" She paused a moment and winked. "Oh well!"

And aimed the gun straight at Reno's head. He stared coldly at her, watching her finger hit the trigger, millimeter by millimeter.

And then, a flash of light, and a ball of flames struck the Turk in the hands. She gasped, shrieked, and dropped the gun to the ground. "You!" Reno turned around, bewildered, and saw her. The flower girl was holding a long metal staff in her hands, materia shining brightly in its slot. She was no longer fearful, but determined. Determined to get back at them. Determined to escape.

"I…I shouldn't trust you, but something is telling me to give it a shot. If you've been a Turk than you must know how to bodyguard. Get me out of here."

Reno shook his head slowly. He had other things to do – more important ones, but it occurred to him that he probably owed the girl now… and that she might better understand this area of the slums. He was shaken out of this brief reverie by the sound of the blonde, growling from her spot on the ground, searching under seats trying to find her weapon.

"Do what you want with him, but make sure to take the girl alive!"

"Yessir!" Both Soldiers leveled their guns toward the redhead. And… with a roll of his eyes and a smirk they were both encased in Pyramid spells, unable to attack or even move." Reno relished the brightness of the spell, the golden glow. It was a pity that more people weren't acquainted with it. Not so much a pity that it's usage was so... rare.

"Siiir…" They called out to Elena, pounding on their sealed cells. But she snorted angrily as she pulled herself to her feet and watched the redhead and the Ancient run to the back exit of the church. She would get them. She would make sure of it.

And Reno would pay. He had embarrassed her for the last time.

"She failed."

Tseng turned to Rude from the coffee maker in the Turk's lounge. The taller man stared soundlessly at the Wutaian from his spot on the sofa, peering at him through dark sunglasses. "I was already made privy to this knowledge." And turned back to the screen of a large television.

Tseng ambled over, closing the door on the way over.

"What you haven't heard, however…" He hushed his voice considerably. "Is that it was Reno who stopped her."

Rude raised an eyebrow, thoughtfully. "Reno?"

"Yes. It appears that he may be made our top priority sooner or later." He sipped his coffee. "Just thought I should give you a heads up."

Rude nodded and turned back to the television. "It's a pity we can't give Reno a heads up."

"Yes. I know."

With a leap and a climb, Reno and Aerith stood on the roof of the church, staring down to the streets and roads below. From the distance, two battered Soldiers and an enraged Turk begrudgingly left the scene, empty handed. Reno watched, wondering if this would have been him, if he had decided to stay with the Company.

"You were one of them?"

"I was never that incompetent." He sat on the shingles of the roof, staring up at the metal work of the upper plate and wondering when he'd get to see sunlight again. Would he live to help finish AVALANCHE's task? Or would he die before ever meeting up with them again? And did it even matter in the end? He shrugged. "I was actually one of their best." Reno's voice was sardonic and bitter. A year ago he would have been proud to be one of their top Turks. Now? It had all been for nothing. He didn't care anymore.

"But… that's terrible! How could anyone?"

"You do what you have to do." He cut her off and stared blankly her way. "Anything is better than starving and dying in the slums." He considered this a moment, recalling the profession his mother had when he was a child. The bedraggled way in which she had come in from work in the morning, sometimes as he was about to leave for school. Bloodied, hair bedraggled, clothes torn. There were worse things than being a Turk, he thought. Likewise, there were probably worse things than just giving in and dying. And while he knew than his mother had done what she had to do to keep him alive, he still wasn't sure if this was a good thing. And so he had no qualms with voicing this belief, his voice scratchy as he replied, "Well… almost anything."

She approached him cautiously and sat at his side, still holding the metal staff. "I suppose I can almost see your point… by the way… this is yours." She plucked the glowing green stone from her staff and placed it in his hand. Fire materia. "It fell along with you."

He placed it in the empty slot on his wrist bangle, feeling the aura of fire magic racing back into his body, a light fluttering that told him what was possible. "I thought it was yours… had no clue it fell out."

"Oh, Materia's too expensive around here. I only have one. It came from my mother."

He raised an eyebrow. "What kind?"

"I'm not entirely sure." She stood up and looked down cautiously from the roof. "It's pretty useless, though."

He followed suit, standing up and leaning against a chimney. "There's no such thing as a useless materia. That's one of the first things you learn in training. Lemme see it."

She reached up to her hair, unclasping something from the bright pink ribbon that encased her locks in its braid, and pulled out a small circular stone, the shape and color of a pearl. She placed it in his hand, noting with some humor the look of sheer confusion that washed over his face.

"I've never seen anything like it… but…" He closed his eyes, the stone emitting a radiance, a warmth that flowed into his palm. "It is materia. I can feel it." He turned to her, his eyes glistening in the setting sun. "What does it do?"

"Nothing!" She took it from his hand and placed it back in its hiding spot. "It's useless… it doesn't do anything!" She seemed almost bemused by this notion.

Reno shook his head. "It has to do something. Maybe that's why you're being followed?"

Aerith shrugged. "I don't even know who they are. I mean... I know they're with Shinra, but why? They come every once in a while, especially lately. For a while I thought they had gotten bored with me and decided to give it up, but suddenly…" She trailed off. "I should be getting home. My mother will get worried about me if I don't."

Reno grinned, staring at the setting sun, or at least the bits that showed through the cracks of the plate. He began wondering about his lifespan again and a tremor threatened to burst forward, some primal desire to live. Ah, he needed some nicotine, and so he formulated a plot. "You buy me some smokes and I'll take you back home safely."

She smiled and hopped down from a higher shingle of the roof. "It's a deal!"

Within a matter of a few minutes they reached the ground, soft and dirtied in the setting sun, Reno first, then Aerith. "Good, then let's get a move on." He made a move to lead the way to the point where the three Sector's met when a hand grabbed his wrist. He turned suddenly and there she was, her grip firm and warm.

She paused a second, staring into his now obviously glowing green eyes. Mako. "I just noticed it now." She let go and Reno involuntarily grabbed the wrist in his other hand, staring at her in confusion. This girl could be so bold and vague at the same time. "Huh?" was all he could let out.

"Your eyes. You were in SOLDIER?"

Ah, the Mako. It suddenly made sense. "Standard procedure in Turk training. Though some bypass the step entirely, like our good friend, Laney there." He smirked but she didn't seem to notice. In fact, Aerith seemed to be in her own little world, pondering half to him and half to herself.

"Did you ever meet someone named Zack while there?"

Reno was beginning to sense a pattern here. First Tifa and then Aerith. Did anyone not have a missing loved one in SOLDIER? He decided to play along, though. Let her at least think that he was trying to remember. "Not sure... what'd he look like?"

"Mmm..." She came closer to Reno, unnerving him yet again. "About your height, maybe a little shorter. Black hair, spiky. Last I heard he uses a Buster Sword."

Reno's eyebrows furrowed, knowing all too well who she was talking about. Zack... Montero? Something like that. He remembered him vaguely from a few years back when he was involved in a reconnaissance mission. This SOLDIER had escaped from a Shinra base with what was said to be a "valuable asset." What it was, Reno wasn't sure. At the last moment he had been called away and Tseng, head of the Turks, had gone with a different set of assassins. All Reno had to go on was paperwork, but the paperwork spoke volumes of this Zack character. He had been on duty during the Nibelheim incident as well, had watched the great general, Sephiroth go virtually insane. Zack Montero was allegedly very strong, very smart...

And now very dead.

But looking into Aerith's pleading eyes, he couldn't bear to tell her the truth. Reno cleared his throat. "All I know is a Commander by the name of Zax... but he's pretty old." He was lying and doing it rather well. "Why? This guy a boyfriend?" He cocked a grin as best as possible, trying not to think about the truth.

She smiled and blushed slightly, "He was something like that, but that was a few years ago. We ended on friendly terms. I think he wanted me to be happy in case anything happened to him..." Aerith looked to the setting sun. "But what are we sitting around here for! C'mon Bodyguard!" She giggled.

Reno smiled. There was definitely something behind all of this smiling and laughter. Something peeking from just beyond the surface and for a moment he knew that she had almost let it slip. This Zack... this man she had been in love with. He would find out eventually, if he stuck around long enough. For now, Reno had to get going. Aerith needed to get him and he needed to find Tifa and Barret. "Lead the way!"

After about twenty minutes of hopping from trash heap to trash heap and dodging shifty individuals, Reno and Aerith made it to a small alcove in the slums. It was a pretty little area, hidden away behind a deadened overpass and a particularly foreboding heap of scrap metal. Reno's breath caught in his chest when he saw it -- a small cottage, two story yet quaint sat before his very eyes. Beyond it lay an otherworldly little bridge and a large flower garden.

There was something magical about this girl.

"C'mon! What're you waiting for!" Aerith called from the front door of her house. She opened the wooden door and waited in the glow of the indoor lighting for Reno to come to her side. "Mom! I'm home!"

"Thank goodness, Aerith! I was worried si--" She looked up suddenly, taking in this man before her. Tall, thin, flaming red hair, blue suit and Mako green-blue eyes. Elmyra Gainsborough was immediately displeased with her daughter.

"Oh!" Aerith said sharply. "I almost forgot! Mom, this is Reno. He's my Bodyguard."

Reno smiled and held out a hand, but Elmyra just looked at it, then back to his eyes. "Pleased to meet you." She said a little too gruffly. "I take it those... men were after Aerith again?"

Reno winced, knowing that Aerith's mother was staring at his blue-black suit. Odds are she was not so naive -- she knew what the uniform for the Turks looked like. Especially if they made it a common habit to go after her daughter. "I... we took care of them." He looked away. Elmyra nodded and made her way to the small kitchen. Reno had a feeling that she wouldn't be going far.

Aerith's lilting voice soon shook him out of his reverie. "So what are you doing now?"

He looked up. "Ah... er... Is Sector 7 far? I need to get to a bar called the Seventh Heaven. My friend Tifa works there and I need to get in touch with her."

"Hmm... It's not that far. I can show you the way, if you want..."

"It's getting dark out, Aerith!" Elmyra's voice shouted from the kitchen. Just as Reno had thought -- this woman was keeping a very close eye on her daughter.

"Fine then. I can take you in the morning, Reno. We have a guest room for you to stay in. It's not much, but it's better than traveling at night." She made her way over to the small wooden staircase. Reno could hear the creaking of aged wood. This house was old but homey. Despite the attitude Aerith's mother displayed toward him, he could feel the love within it's walls. This family was very special. Especially when compared to many of the other slum families.

Reno blinked back a memory of the truth and moved to follow her up the stairs to the bedroom.

"You were a Turk, weren't you?"

Reno halted but didn't look toward the woman. He had a feeling that Elmyra was not so naive. She knew the uniform.

"I want you out of here by sun-up. I don't need any more trouble for Aerith."

He nodded, silently, knowing that he didn't want to mess with this woman. An overprotective single mother was one of the last things he would want to deal with and so he bit back the jarring retort that itched to scream its way past his lips. Trudging forward, up the stairs where he would paste on a smile for the sake of the flower-girl, he knew he could feel the piercing gaze of Elmyra Gainsborough on his back. She didn't want him there and now he had proof. He didn't want to be there any more, either. She had a point. He was a threat to Aerith if she decided to play the fool and tag along on his trip the Sector Seven.

Reno watched Aerith smile and say a sweet 'Goodnight.' Closing the door and plopping onto the scratchy wool blankets that covered the worn twin mattress of the guestroom bed, Reno knew what he had to do.

He set the alarm of his standard issue watch for Six AM.

Author's Note: Watching Advent Children gave me an added push to start writing again. So here is the next part which was halfway done until sometime yesterday. It's not too long, but I felt it had to end with his going to sleep. The next part will most likely contain the trip the Sector Seven along with the Wall Market scenes. Don Corneo and his mansion may also come about there as well. It should be very... interesting.

I've also signed up for a Livejournal challenge by the name of 30 Kisses. I will be writing thirty shorts -- most likely of drabble length but maybe a few longer ones that will all be in some way connected. Each section will contain a kiss of some sort, whether metaphorical or with entirely different characters than my chosen focus couple. Odd? It gets weirder. To challenge myself even further, I have chosen Tifa Lockheart and Rufus Shinra as my focus. They're going to be in for a bumpy ride!

Thanks for reading and see you soon. :D