My Vietnam
9 June 2014
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This is a FFVII fic by klepto_maniac0. I own no concepts and no characters except the ones you've never heard of, which means they're ones I've made. I freely admit I will take liberties with the FFVII canon because this is an alternate universe fic (in case you haven't figured that out already.) That's why some details are different, some events are ignored, and some people don't exist or act in a different capacity. Ain't fanfic fun?
"My Vietnam" (henceforth shortened to MYV) is a continuation of "Put Your Lights On" (PYLO), but it is not necessary to have read PYLO before reading this story. Whenever PYLO-specific events are referenced, the pertinent chapter will be indexed in the author's note.
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Once I fed the homeless
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Scarlet left the lodge two days later, citing work. Toriko scanned her and reassured herself that it actually was work, and while she was poking in the blonde woman's head she got a few more reassurances too.
"Noninterference is probably the best we'll get from her," said Toriko to Rufus as they watched the helicopter fly away. She always used doubtful language when talking about information gained psychically, so to normals Toriko always appeared very intuitive rather than freakishly accurate. "I think she's intrigued."
"I wasn't expecting her to say yes," said Rufus, folding his arms across his chest. "Scarlet always needs proof."
Then he looked at Toriko, his eyes narrowing. Not in an unfriendly way, simply considering.
"You never told me about your...mark," he said.
Toriko self-consciously tucked her hands behind her back. Even though she hadn't taken her gloves off since, the double zero tattoos felt like they were glowing through the fabric. Though showing Scarlet the laboratory tattoos had definitely proven a point, she didn't care enough about Scarlet's opinion to be worried about what the woman thought. But Rufus...
"I can't have him thinking of me as something lesser for having been 'worked on'. I am a partner in this, not a pet or an object of pity."
"I don't blame you," said Rufus, which made Toriko sigh in relief. "And it explains some things. But are there any other earth-shattering revelations you want to drop on me before we get started?"
"No," Toriko lied. If she said anything about Sephiroth being alive and confined in a lab someplace now, she'd look like a crazy person. "Do you have any for me?"
"Hardly," said Rufus. They walked back to the manor, ambling more than striding. It was a cool morning with just enough bite in the air to stimulate the senses. "Are you sure about this?"
"Of course," said Toriko. "Wasn't I the one who suggested it to you?"
"It doesn't mean that you've thought it through." Rufus looked at her, his eyes darkening. "Scarlet's not lying. The Old Man didn't get to where he is by being stupid, and you're only fourteen."
"And you're twenty-four," said Toriko. "He'll be underestimating both of us."
"Not with his paranoia."
"Traffic noises."
"Excuse me?"
"You've been having trouble sleeping without them, haven't you?" As Rufus quirked his brow, Toriko explained, "You're used to an annoying noise, so you've tuned it out. I believe President Shin-Ra's ongoing general suspicion may similarly deaden his senses."
"You think he won't suspect us because he's too paranoid?" Rufus said, a rare smile touching his face. He scoffed, but at the same time his eyes turned calculating and he said, "It wouldn't be the first time he's...miscalculated. That's how your father ended up in charge of all the armed forces."
"Really? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."
"Oh yes," said Rufus, looking off into the distance. "The Old Man is a lot of things, but a military strategist isn't one of them. He was all gung-ho about destroying as many Wutaiese as he could get his hands on, but he didn't know anything other than open warfare. Sephiroth's guerilla tactics with the Seventh were way more effective."
"I see."
Rufus glanced at her. "That doesn't bother you, does it?"
"What, that my father was a peerless killer?" She shrugged. "It's a fact of life. And I daresay that your father has hurt and killed many more. The Shin-Ra Company's supremacy is built atop a mountain of competitor's corpses, to say nothing of the collateral damage incurred from fighting with AVALANCHE and infrastructure collapses."
She jerked when Rufus unexpectedly ruffled her hair. As she stared at him, he walked on like nothing had happened.
"The Old Man is very attached to his image," said Rufus. "So the best way to depose him is to damage it somehow."
He said nothing about her supposed violation. He had that much integrity.
Instead Rufus said, "There are two very big projects going on right now that the Old Man's been talking up for ages. One is the Highwind—"
"I remember seeing that," said Toriko. When Rufus looked at her in surprise, she said, "Father took me on an inspection."
"So you can appreciate how much money is wrapped up in that thing."
"Oh yes," said Toriko, though truthfully she could only imagine. Even half-completed, the Highwind had been a ridiculously huge machine. Completed, it might house a small city.
"Well, as expensive as the Highwind is, there's something even flashier and riskier," said Rufus. "The space shuttle, Shin-Ra No. 26."
"What happened to numbers 1 through 25?"
"Short-circuited, exploded, or just plain failed to launch," said Rufus. "The Old Man is obsessed with being a visionary, and getting up into space is his next big thing."
"What about the Promised Land that Scarlet mentioned?"
"That's his long-term big thing," said Rufus. "Pure religious nonsense, except he has the power and money to waste on it. Going back to No. 26, it's supposed to be the first manned flight into space. Lots and lots of publicity there. If it falls flat, it'll go badly for him."
"Sounds like you've already chosen your target," said Toriko.
"Well, I know which one I'd pick," said Rufus, looking at Toriko. They were at the manor now, entering from a side door. Rufus held it open for Toriko and asked, "What about you?"
"Whichever is more expensive and embarrassing to have fail," said Toriko.
"The rocket it is, then. The only problem is getting in there and making it fail."
"Can't we use a Turk?"
"We could," said Rufus. "But generally speaking, it's a poor idea to use Turks to sabotage Company property. They have their loyalty and all that."
"A mercenary?"
"Possibly, except the best ones have been hired into the Turks already."
"I could probably do it," thought Toriko. "The runaround in the lab worked surprisingly well. But do I want to show off how capable I am? Rufus is currently an ally and I can't imagine that he'd oppose me rescuing Father, so having him see my strength would not hurt me in any way that I can think of... And he has seen me fight in Wutai, so it's not like I need to pretend to be useless..."
Still, her rarely-used strength was a trump card. Toriko decided to keep it to herself for now. Just because Rufus was helping her now didn't mean he always would.
They took seats at the kitchen table, which was still highly polished and grand but less intimidating than the formal dining room. Malcolm was not present, but freshly baked rolls with preserves and artisan butter were waiting for them. Toriko ate a croissant plain while Rufus stuffed one with blackberry and raspberry jam.
"I wonder if we could make AVALANCHE do it," Toriko mused. "It's a big Shin-Ra project, and if it fails to launch or is destroyed by terrorists, it's egg on the President's face either way, isn't it?"
"I don't want any more focus on AVALANCHE than there's already been," said Rufus, his lips thinning. "The Old Man uses them as scapegoats for everything and the Company needs to look foolish, not beleagured."
"How hard would it be to make the rocket fail?"
"Not too hard, I would think," said Rufus. "It's a very complex machine. Lots of moving parts, levers, buttons."
"Could we bribe a technician, then? Someone has to need money for something."
"And how do we prevent them from talking afterward?" Rufus asked. Toriko felt an odd sense of deja vu; Sephiroth had played these sorts of question-and-answer games with her, though the scenario was usually 'if someone were to attack you right now, what are your options?' Rufus had that exact same look in his eye.
"Blackmail," said Toriko. "The fact that they accepted the money is a stain against them."
"But they got the money from us."
"Says who? A random, unbalanced nobody or one of the literal Shin-Ra?"
Rufus smirked, but it wasn't in approval. "It's more efficient to blackmail them first," he said only a little condescendingly. "And save yourself the money."
Personally, the more chains of indenture the better, but Toriko pretended like she thought Rufus's idea was a good one. "I suppose that makes sense."
Rufus didn't say anything, but he did eat the rest of his roll with a bit of a smirk. Slightly irritated, Toriko scanned his mind and found that his amusement came from a surprisingly non-pompous place. In his mind, this scene between them in the kitchen was overlaid with one of a much younger him and a younger Scarlet.
"Interesting. I had no idea that their relationship went back that far."
The image slid away in the blink of an eye, but not before Toriko had already figured out the next best way to manipulate Rufus.
"Fine then. I'll let him 'teach' me a thing or two. It's not like he'll be able to do anything without me knowing about it, anyway."
And while he drew her close to mold her in his image, just as Scarlet had done to him around the same age, Toriko would be that much closer to his soft center.
"When the time comes, he won't just give me all the reports about Father. I'll have him give me Father's location too, if I haven't found it by myself before then.
"And then we can all go back to having nice, peaceful lives, doing whatever we want."
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a/n: Two-chapter update since I'm going to be away on vacation for 3 weeks and I want y'all to be stewing. STEWING, I tell you!
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