Chapter One:
The helicopter slowly landed, the land all around whipping around viciously as Reno and Rude jumped out. "C'mon, kid!" he called as I threw my bag at him.
I jumped down, stumbling a bit at the ten-foot drop. Reno laughed at me, as Rude, politely, handed me my bag.
"At least one of you is nice." I hissed at Reno as Rude muttered into his cool microphone thing. "So, where are we?"
Reno motioned towards a giant hangar sitting right beyond the town. "Welcome to Rocket Town." It was a grimy looking town that probably could've been compared to…a town in Ireland. There were several bars, a weaponry, an inn, and other such things. It smelled a bit strange too. Like…oil…and grease…Hell, I was used to shitty smells.
"We need you to board here until Rufus Shinra arrives." Rude confirmed, as they lead me into town.
"And why do I need to see Rufus?" I asked, shifting my bag on to my back. "Does he want to propose to me?" I joked, faking to swoon and falling into Reno's ever-so-waiting arms. He looked at me with an expression of disgust and amusement. "Haha, I'm joking, dumbass."
He pointed an accusing finger at me. "You refer to my ass a lot. Are you attracted to it or something?" I shivered and walked closer to Rude.
"Ewww, no." I blurted. "Rude, tell him he's wrong!" I left Reno's arms, as he began to poke my sides. I saw Rude smirk amusingly at Reno.
"You're wrong." He said pleased with himself. "After all, she is a lot younger than you. You don't have any right to make any comments referring to your body parts."
"Ah, what d'you know?" Reno teased. "You're eighteen. And, Rude…You're…"
"Big?" he replied as if he was asking a question.
"Yeah, you could say that."
Reno suddenly pulled out a strip of fabric from under his "jacket." He didn't exactly proper pull off the Shinra dress code. It was suits! Okay! Suits! And Reno, he wears hoodies…or like…something close…blazers!
"C'mon, Pente," he said, trying to get me to head over into his direction again. "I'm not going to hurt you." He hid the strip of fabric.
"If you're going to blindfold me, Rude's leading me."
"I hate you, Reno." I grumbled, as Rude lead the blindfolded me into a loud, and very crowded building. "If you're taking me somewhere you know I'm going to hate, I'm going to cut your balls off!"
I was stopped.
"Wow, first my ass…now my balls." He paused. "You must want me really bad."
My leg extended quickly, and I obviously missed.
God damnit! I mean, he must have known that I was going to say something like that, and took advantage of the situation with the fucking blindfold, and moved literally to the side as soon as I aimed to kick him…Damn he's good, he's learned my moves…Fuck.
"C'mon, Pente," he teased, obviously, right in front of me and taunting me and my lack of depth perception. "I know you can do better than that."
Rude coughed, and we came to a stop. I heard a door open, and the sound of two people talking. One, who sounded like a Nibelheim accent, and the other…well let's use this word: Southern.
"Fer the last time, Spiky, I ain't lettin' some little girl stay in my town!" the man with the Southern voice shouted.
I coughed, hoping to get his attention. "We'll be back later." Reno said. "I looove you, honey!" I reached around to attack him but missed as he left the room.
"Cid, Reno says she might be—" I coughed again and hoped the two men saw me.
I waved and stood in place as I tried to get the blindfold off…Damnit Reno! How tight did you tie this fucking thing! "They like to play games with me."
One of them walked over to me, and began to untie the blindfold. "Are you Pente?" it was the non-Southern sounding one.
"Yep, that's me." I said, as the blindfold fell off and I jumped back, seeing who it was. "Y-You're…Cloud Strife!" I covered my mouth and began a mental explosion of fandom.
He stared at me, and his hair really was that "gravity defying spikiness" and what made it even better is that I lived in the same town…But how the hell didn't I even meet him? I'm younger than him!
"I know your father." He said, without even introducing himself…Oh that's mean!
I crossed my arms. "Y'know, I was expecting you to be all…nice." I grumbled. "I didn't know you didn't even go through formalities."
"Roll up your sleeve." He ordered, ignoring my comments. He looked at the man named Cid.
"Do I have to hang around here still?" he asked, heading towards a door that probably lead outside.
"Prepare Shera…Not the person." Cloud said. "We'll be needing it." Cid shouted "HER!" across the room and left…Damn, that man must love his…ship…plane…I don't know.
"Why?" I asked Cloud. "Is my arm important or something?" He didn't answer, and he grabbed the upper part of my sleeve and yanked, revealing a discolored patch of skin that looked like a bruise.
"You still have geostigma." He commented, pulling my sleeve down. He began muttering something about how Reno was an ass…I completely agree with him. "How do you know Reno?" he asked.
"I was left in the care of his mom, so I kind of grew up with him." I said, finding a chair and sitting down. "I'd kind of like some answers, please."
Cloud sighed and knocked on the table nearby a few times. "Vincent, you can come in now."
The door that Cid had walked out, opened again…revealing, "Dad?" I asked, remembering this man from all the dreams I had had.
The man nodded slightly, a minor grin on his face. "It's been twenty-three years too many."
I looked at Cloud, who was thoughtlessly leaning back in his chair, letting it tip back and forth. Clearly, he had seemed to stop caring. "I'm eighteen…I think you might have the wrong person."
Vincent…or Dad I guess shook his head. "I'm afraid I have far too many questions to answer now, and quite a bit of explaining to do myself." He headed for the door again. "Just think of it as a matter of suspended animation." And he exited.
"That was your dad, kid." Cloud said. "Care to explain how he's only twenty-nine and you're eighteen?"
"He was eleven when I was conceived?" I responded as in a question. Cloud laughed dryly.
"You're terrible at taking hints." He mused. "He said, suspended animation. When he joined us, we had to fight his demons and free him from a coffin in which he was stored…and where he didn't age." He rose from the chair and leaned against the wall, in between two windows in which the light was peeking through the curtains. "Vince claims that you, as a baby were put into a coffin for a few years…And why, we don't know. The only ones with the actual answers are dead."
"But, I keep having these dreams about him, leaving me, when I was little." I said. Cloud shook his head.
"Those probably aren't yours. It might be someone else's." Cloud went on. "I want to know why, and how you have geostigma." I started to answer. "When Reno tells me you're forbidden near materia and anything infused with any sort of mako."
I bit my lip. "I sneak into the old mansion." Cloud let out an amused laugh.
"Of all places…" he laughed, heading to the door. "By the way, Reno lied to you. You're not here to meet with Rufus. He knows you have a crush on him, so go smack the ass and tell him to get his ass back in the chopper."
How the hell did he know that! Damnit, Reno! I'm gonna fucking kill you! Who else knows! I told you to keep that a secret!
I was left in the room and I pushed open the door, actually smacking Rude in the face. Jesus, not again, I'm always smacking the poor guy.
"Smooooth," Reno laughed, drawing out the 'oo' sound. Rude stepped out from behind the door, and discarded a pair of sunglasses…which I must have broken, and put on a new pair.
I glared at Reno. "You told Cloud Strife!" I shouted, smacking Reno across the face. He rubbed the spot and pouted.
"Told him what?" Reno asked, pretending to seem oblivious. "I didn't—"
I grabbed him by the collar, "About Rufus Shinra!" I hissed. "Why the hell did you have to tell him!"
"I didn't tell Cloud anything except for your geostigma!" Reno shouted, as the three of us started to leave the bar.
"What the hell is geostigma?" I asked. We stopped as we left the bar. Reno grabbed my sleeve and grabbed that bruise looking section, causing me to cringe. "But why won't anyone tell me what the hell it is!" Reno dropped my arm and avoided me and kept walking. "Reeeno!"
I looked at Rude. "Would you tell me?" I asked. Rude coughed, and sadly shook his head as he followed Reno to the chopper.
Those two should stop lying to me.