This Bitter Earth

Of men and gods…

His navy blue suit was neatly pressed, but his pristine white shirt looked crumpled, as if he had fallen asleep in his shirt. His fire, red hair was pulled back into a careless ponytail and a few errant strands fell down each side of his face. His dark blue eyes were focused at some non-existent point in space. The man looked almost as if he were thinking terribly hard on some major, life-altering event. The drink in front of the man had barely been touched, and the cigarette he was smoking was long forgotten in a gray, round ashtray.

And it scared the hell out of Rude. Normality to the bald-headed Turk consisted of Reno babbling on and on about nothing in particular while the drinks kept flowing and the cigarette buds kept piling up. For a moment, Rude was tempted to remove his infamous sunglasses and peer at Reno just to make it sure his eyesight was working properly.

Reno was supposed to be the life of the party and Rude was supposed to be the quiet, emotionless, and eerily calm partner that bailed Reno out of trouble. The fact that Reno turned down three beautiful women and had been drinking the same drink for an hour was not normal. By looking at his face, one would never know it was eating Rude up inside. In fact, this serious-minded Reno troubled Rude so much that he broke his silence, something that he didn't often do.

"What the hell happened?"

Reno raised his eyes, quirking one eyebrow which was interpreted as, 'What?'

"Why are you being so damn serious? What happened man?"

"What?" Reno asked, smirking at the man, "I'm not allowed to think about things?"

Rude shrugged. "Sure, but… it's just weird. You're acting weird."

Reno merely nodded his agreement, but offered no further explanation. He knew Rude was going insane trying to figure out what cause this sudden change in him. However, tonight, he just wasn't in a playful mood. "Hell, Rude. Confessing is good for the soul, right?"

"That's what they say," Rude replied, taking a sip of his drink.

"I went looking for the Ancient again."

"Did you find her?"

"Yeah," Reno mumbled, "She was in her Church, digging around in the dirt and talking to the flowers. She grows really pretty flowers, Rude. It's amazing how she produces life where life shouldn't exist. She's so innocent and naïve, but still so worldly and mature. I don't know how she does it."

"You got a thing for her, right?"

"That's beside the point."

"So, what is the point?" Rude asked. He leaned back in his chair and cracked his knuckles, and waited patiently for Reno to continue.

"I went to the Church to capture Aeris. The President himself ordered me to take her into custody. He's my employer and pays damn well. I had no other choice."

"So? What happened?"

"I get to the Church… and I walk inside. Aeris is facing the door, but she doesn't notice me. She's just talking to the flowers, but Sephiroth is standing right behind her. He's just staring at her as she's working."

"Sephiroth!" Rude yelled.

A couple of people glanced back at the duo but immediately resumed their business. Reno noted how uncharacteristic it was of Rude to yell, but he couldn't blame his partner. The legend of Sephiroth was infamous, but the man himself was a living mystery. Reno couldn't put his finger on it, but something was different about Sephiroth. It was almost as if he some otherworldly god, outcast and fallen from Heaven… or maybe an angelic demon thrust from the lower reaches of Hell.

"What the hell was General Sephiroth doing there?" Rude asked, leaning forward slightly.

"Just watching her. He looked so indifferent. And his hand kept clutching the hilt of that big ass sword! It was as if he couldn't decide whether or not he really wanted to kill her."

"What did you do?"

"I calmly walked towards her. Aeris looked up in surprise, smiling delightfully. Sephiroth just kept staring at her, like she was some kind of puzzle he couldn't figure out. I pretty much figured he already knew I was there. Anyway, Aeris says hello and asks me how I'm doing. I told her that I was doing great, but I had to take her back to Shinra. She smiles sadly and she looks at me with those round, emerald eyes so full of life… dude, I almost let her go. But I didn't. Just as I'm about to grab her, Sephiroth whips that sword of his out. And his eyes never leave Aeris."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Reno said, "His eyes, dude… his eyes freaked me out. The glow in his eyes is far too bright for normal members of SOLDIERs. Looking into Sephiroth's eyes is like looking at death. And in that moment, I came to a conclusion. Death by Sephiroth is not a normal death."

"Hey man, don't try to explain. I've seen him up close once or twice in my life, and it was enough to freak me out. That guy is fucked in the head."

"Ya think?"

"Definitely," Rude said, nodding his head for emphasis, "There's something evil growing in him… something fearful and deadly. And his presence radiates it. Even Zack, his second-in-command, commented that Sephiroth unnerves him sometimes."

"Damn," Reno muttered. "In any case, I had to tell the President that the Ancient was under his protection… and that if he wanted the Ancient, we'd have to kill Sephiroth."

"Shit."

"And get this! The President looked so shocked. He falls back into that leather chair of his and starts mumbling some shit about divine punishment and the re-awakening of a Queen and some blue-eyed devil. He said there's no one who could possibly hope to defeat Sephiroth."

"I don't believe that. Sephiroth is just a man."

Reno rubbed the back of his head. "I believe it, and Sephiroth ain't human. That freak of nature is definitely not human."

"Whatever man. Is that all that's got you shook up?"

"I was going to take the Ancient regardless of what Sephiroth said. He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. I swear I didn't even see him move. I stared into his eyes… I saw hell in his eyes for those few brief moments, and with one hand, he threw me like a ragged doll across the church. I would have died today if Aeris hadn't healed me. Her healing powers are amazing man. No wonder Hojo wants her. But anyway, I didn't even thank her man. I just got up and fled like coward."

Rude said nothing more. It couldn't possibly be true? Reno was not taken down so easily, but then again, he had the whispered stories of Sephiroth. One man couldn't possibly possess the power of a god, right?

"Hey Rude," Reno called out.

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Something about the way the winds have been blowing lately don't feel right."

"Quite that gypsy shit, Reno," Rude sighed, "You ain't a fortune teller with mystical powers."

"I could have been in a past life," Reno countered. He downed his drink in one big gulp and motioned for the waiter to refill his glass. "I'm tired of thinking. Let's drink to our much beloved off-days! And the fact that Elena the Brat – Her Royal Pain In The Ass, is stuck in Midgar doing paperwork."

Rude smiled. "Don'y over do it, Reno. We have to escort that cadet…"

"What's his name? Sky Life?"

"Cloud Strife," Rude corrected. "Our mission object…"

Reno made a face that bordered somewhere between disgust and amusement while holding up one hand to silence Rude. "We're off-duty. Don't make me sober with talk of work."

Rude shrugged, and returned to his role as the silent the partner. Good, he thought, things are getting back to normal.

A/N: I kept rewriting and rewriting this chapter. This chapter didn't work with me just focusing on Aeris or Sephiroth or Zack. Out of sheer frustration, I decided to write Reno and Rude (who you probably won't see much of) and this chapter happened. I've already started working on the next part… so hopefully it'll get done quickly. And of course, I do appreciate all the reviews. Thanks! ^__^