A.N: Hey all! I hope the New Year is treating you well! Sorry for the late update- I was trying to make the plot movement all subtle and add in drama and all that jazz and it all just exploded into a nearly-6000-word chapter LOL! Anyways, enjoy and let me know if it's confusing! I may re-work this chapter after posting a few more chapters because I still haven't figured out who knows what and who and etc etc... Thank you Anonymous Potato for your fabulous review :D I enjoy them very much teehee! I also enjoy the messages I get from you asking me for the next chapter HAHAHAHA! Sorry for making you wait so long. Also, thanks to Bunny for being so supportive and encouraging of this fic and its progress! *hearts*! Becca... when I finally link this to you after I read 20,000+ words... I hope you don't kill me for your obnoxious-like characterisation! IT JUST HAPPENED AND I LOVE MY FICTIONAL VERSION OF YOU, KAY?!
Also, special thanks to Aeris Cetra for the favourite and follow! :) I didn't know anyone else was reading this! :D
On with the story now! :D
Chapter Two- I am Grateful
Location: Sector 5- Gainsborough Residence
Using her fingers, Hannah brushed her messy coffee coloured hair out of her face and took a few moments to re-orient herself with her surroundings. It had been approximately two weeks since she'd been welcomed warmly into Aerith's small, yet welcoming family. Elmyra Gainsborough was more than happy to provide a warm shelter and emotional support to the scared young woman who was clearly from another reality. Hannah did often find herself thinking about exactly why these people were being so good to her without reason, but she didn't have the guts to ask them about it. She'd probably end up offending them or something, and that was the last thing the young woman wanted to do.
"Aerith, you are not to step out this door until the laundry is done! The flowers can wait." Hannah grinned impishly as she tossed her warm patchwork quilt from her body. Letting herself shiver from the contact with cool, morning air, the young brunette rubbed at her eyes before slipping out of bed and padding her way to the dresser she had been given to put Aerith's hand-me-down and a few of Elmyra's hand knitted cardigans and sweaters. Not paying too much attention to coordinating her outfit, as she was not dressing to impress- she was living in the slums for goodness sake; they had bigger problems than honing in on self-proclaimed fashion terrorists- she pulled out a white blouse with black frill details on the short sleeved shoulders and a pair of faded blue jeans. Grabbing other feminine necessities, Hannah dragged her feet towards the bathroom and religiously performed her morning hygiene routine. As she brushed her teeth, she could hear Aerith's airy voice carry through the closed wooden door.
"Mom, you're no fun!"
"Don't pout at me young lady, you live in this house, you have to help me out with the chores."
"Aww, okay…"
"That's my girl. Don't worry, Hannah's here to help you out so you'll get it all done quicker than usual!" Hannah rinsed her face, a cheesy smile fixed onto her face. Aerith and Elmyra were so sweet with each other, and they had no qualms about sharing the family vibes with her. It was strange but Hannah felt little anxiety when she was constantly interacting with the Gainsboroughs. For that in itself, she was infinitesimally glad. Hannah quickly dried her face and got ready for the day ahead. After dressing, the young woman wrenched the bathroom door open, as it had an inconvenient tendency to wedge itself shut early in the morning, before jogging quietly back to her room and sliding on her new Titan Bangle. She smiled down at it fondly, lightly tracing over the two glowing marbles that were slotted into the grooves. Elmyra provided Hannah with 280 gil (Hannah had a hard time getting her head around the fact that the currency was named after aquatic breathing apparatus) to buy some armour just in case.
Apparently, the slums were home to a few low level monsters. This gentle admission by Elmyra had almost sent Hannah into a panic attack had it not been for Aerith's reassuring words that reiterated the fact that it was really easy to outsmart and outrun the monsters. Still, after buying the Titan Bangle, Aerith and Hannah quickly returned to their home where Aerith fished out a green Level 2 Restore Materia and a red Level 3 Shiva Materia. Hannah didn't know much about Final Fantasy VII as she hadn't really played it, but from what she heard from Michelle, summons were hard to come by and levelling up material was a pain in the butt. Hannah tried desperately to refuse Aerith's selfless gifts, but the younger girl would not hear of it. Levelling Hannah with a stern gaze and frown, Aerith had merely slotted the two magical marbles into Hannah's new bangle and murmured something about 'protection'.
Hannah shook the thoughts out of her head and rushed into the small wooden platform that led to the stairs. Bounding down energetically, Hannah resisted the urge to enter the small kitchen using cartwheels. The last time she tried such an act in the small space, she'd nearly decimated Elmyra's favourite vase. She'd received a stern scolding from the motherly woman, and Hannah knew that it was well deserved. The older girl broke into a quiet giggle as she remembered Aerith's mirthful eyes barely succeeding in containing her laughter at Hannah's expense. She was definitely the little sister Hannah never had.
The brunette's giggles quietened down as her lips gave way to a sad smile. She couldn't help but wonder what the Gainsborough family dynamic would be like if Michelle had been with her. Surely, Michelle would be that over-cautious older sister type who goofed off at any opportunity afforded to her.
"I wonder where she is…" Hannah spoke quietly to herself.
"You mean Michelle?" Hannah jumped, raising a hand to her racing heart as she whirled around to be greeted with a wide-eyed Aerith Gainsborough, her hands resting behind her back as she leaned towards Hannah. Her body language screamed 'curiosity'. Hannah took a deep breath to calm her racing heart as she dramatically threw her arms around the younger girl.
"Oh, don't do that!" Hannah felt Aerith's gentle arms wrap about her in a loose embrace.
"I didn't mean to scare you," Aerith giggled. Hannah shook her head and pulled away from the flower girl and took in her appearance. Today she wore a knee-length, sleeveless green summer dress with her usual white sandals. Her long, chocolate brown hair was tied back in the usual braid, with her side bangs framing her feminine facial features. Her green eyes were full of life and warmth, as per usual. Hannah found herself wanting to hold the same extent hope and positivity in her own eyes. Not that she wasn't an optimist, it was just that there were times where her dark thoughts would take her away to some place that was hard to get out of. Still, it had been a while since she spiralled head first into her negative vibes and she wanted to keep it that way.
"Sure you didn't," Hannah grinned, tucking a stray strand of her own hair behind her ear. "So… laundry!" Hannah exclaimed, her eyes bright as they darted this way and that in anticipation of the mundane, ordinary task. The past two weeks had been so full on, despite all the hospitality Aerith and Elmyra offered, that laundry was something Hannah looked forward to doing simply because it was such a normal thing to do. Aerith frowned and shook her head, pointing a dainty finger towards the kitchen.
"We should have breakfast first." Hannah blushed as her stomach rumbled just as Aerith finished her sentence. Hearing this, Aerith giggled into her hand. "Oh, what am I going to do with you, Sis?" Hannah's eyes widened at Aerith's endearment before she grinned at the petite flower girl.
"You're going to march into that kitchen with me and watch me eat my toast, that's what!" Dramatically waving her hands in a flourish, Hannah turned on her heal and skipped into the kitchen, her spirits high, as a giggling Aerith followed closely behind.
Location: SOLDIER Floor Level 49- ShinRa Headquarters
Reno grinned at Tseng as he ambled into the SOLDIER Briefing Room with Ilona, Rebecca and Sean in tow. Tseng nodded at them in greeting, his stern facial expression well in place. Sean nodded back in return, slumping down into the nearest chair, as his body was still quite sore from his 'miraculous' appearance. Rebecca pulled Ilona into a chair next to her, opposite to where Sean sat. Tseng raised his eyebrows at the seating arrangement and turned to look at Reno who merely shrugged jovially in return.
"Don't look at me, soldier boy here decided to call the girls 'Little Turds' on the way here and they had a minor falling out." Tseng's eyebrows were still raised as he sent a pointed look at the newly appointed SOLDIER. Offended at the negative attention, Sean raised his hands so that they were on either side of his head in a gesture of surrender.
"Hey, Michelle loved it when I called her that! How was I supposed to know her best friends didn't take well to endearment?" Rebecca scoffed, nudging a slightly affronted Ilona with her elbow.
"Do you hear this asshole? He claims that Moosh actually liked being called a little shit," Reno chuckled at Rebecca's comment, but immediately stopped when both Tseng and Sean glared at him.
"Geez, guys! Just lighten up already. He's the chick's older brother, he's got all the right to call her anything he wants." Tseng's eyebrows could not raise any higher as he took in the sight of Reno actually saying something that made sense for once. Sean made a noise of affirmation and turned his gaze to Tseng and cleared his throat.
"So, what's going on here? Where's their ballerina friend?" Sean glanced at the peeved Rebecca and sulking Ilona. "Hannah is her name, yeah?" Ilona nodded, a thoughtful look on her face.
"That's right, where is she? You said you knew where she was. If that's the case, shouldn't you have just brought her here to headquarters?" Tseng shook his head and took a seat at the head of the conference table. Reno's face, which was usually fixed with a goofy expression, was now somewhat subdued. Rebecca glanced up at the red-head and refrained from asking about his sudden change in demeanour.
It was really weird, seeing the man being serious for once. To her credit, Rebecca sobered up from her foul mood and sat up straight to pay attention to what was being said. Ilona, who was already sitting up straight, ended up leaning forward in her seat eagerly. Sean tilted his head to the side, ready to listen to what the second-in-command of the Turks had to say about the situation. Tseng took a moment to glance at the newcomers before nodding at Reno and pressing a switch on what seemed to be a small remote in his hand. The blank screen behind him suddenly flared into life, a picture of three females sitting around what seemed to be a hearty breakfast meal. Rebecca's mouth fell open as she recognised the coffee-haired young woman who was pictured just as she took a bite out of her toast.
"You… took a picture of them… eating breakfast." Rebecca deadpanned. Tseng nodded in return as their gazes met.
"It is our job to keep constant surveillance on the Ancient and those closest to her. From here on in, the Ancient will be referred to as 'Aerith'," Sean nodded, while Rebecca and Ilona exchanged incredulous looks with one another. Ilona timidly raised her hand, stopping Tseng from continuing his briefing. Sending her a pointed stare, Ilona took his stern look as permission to ask her question.
"Um, why do you call her 'ancient'? She looks like a teenaged girl." Rebecca turned to Tseng, curious for an answer. Tseng sighed and raised a hand to his forehead as he shook his head in disbelief.
"We do not reference her age when we label her as an Ancient- rather, it's more of a classification of species." Rebecca's gray-blue eyes widened in surprise.
"What? Is she not human?" Tseng sighed and turned his head towards the screen, his back facing the newcomers and Reno. Rebecca rolled her eyes and glanced at Reno, whose sharp features were now solely focused on the screen before him. With-holding an exasperated sigh, Rebecca decided to keep her questions to herself for now. For now, she would just listen and try to make useful contributions with whatever information could be afforded to her.
"Aerith is very important, and it is our duty to keep her safe from harm. If we were to approach the Gainsborough household in the company's time, we'd be putting Aerith and the planet in grave danger. We must keep ShinRa away from her. That being said, the Turks must remain present at and around the Gainsborough residence. It is imperative that no unsavoury characters have access to her." Ilona and Rebecca nodded, a little confused, but not willing to interrupt Tseng's barrage of information. Sean let out a frustrated sigh.
"So you don't want to let ShinRa guys near her, but at the same time you want to keep ShinRa's assassins around for surveillance duty? I don't understand this at all!" Sean's voice rang loudly in everyone's ears. Ilona winced while Rebecca glared at Sean.
"Well, as much as I'd hate to admit it, we're not the experts here. They are. They've been keeping an eye on this Aerith chick for a while now and that's obvious based on their creep-tastic photo collection," Sean scoffed and turned his head away from Rebecca. In turn, the blond took in a deep breath. Continuing to speak, her voice took on a soft tone. "Look, I get it. You're worried about Michelle- heck I'm scared that we'll be looking for Michelle only to be told that she's dead or something. That doesn't mean that we stumble head first into a mess that we have little knowledge about. That will just get us killed." Sean's shoulders slumped as Rebecca's reasoning got through to him. Ilona smiled at her best friend, moving minutely closer to offer her silent support.
"Damn, at least she's got her head on straight! Tseng made the right call, recruiting you." Rebecca turned to the goofball who had just spoken, a mixture of shock and smugness making up her facial expression. Reno rolled his eyes as he caught sight of it. "You're still a rookie though, so act like one sweet cheeks." Rebecca's face immediately took on an affronted expression as she crossed her arms and looked away from the red-headed trouble maker.
"I resent that." She deadpanned. Tseng cleared his throat, gaining the attention of his Turks and the lone SOLDIER in the room. Reno turned to Tseng with a content grin on his face.
"I appreciate your concern and can empathise with your frustration SOLDIER, however this is a delicate operation that is much bigger than you can possibly imagine. If anything goes wrong, the fate of the Planet will be greatly compromised." Ilona frowned at this admission.
"Essentially, you're trying to tell us that Hannah will be safest with Aerith at this point of time. Is that right?" Tseng nodded curtly before pressing a button on his hand held remote. The screen immediately changed and the previous picture was replaced with a large profile picture of an auburn haired man. Sean's eyes widened in recognition as he stared at the screen.
"Is that…" Sean trailed off. Reno glanced at the new SOLDIER from his peripherals and hummed in affirmation.
"Yup, Commander Genesis Rhapsodos- the former resident diva of ShinRa Electric Company, yo." Tseng rolled his eyes at the extra, unnessecary description but let Reno continue filling in the young new recruits. "He deserted ShinRa a few months back," Reno leaned back in his chair, linking his hands behind his head as he glanced lazily at Sean, Ilona and Rebecca. "Took a bunch of seconds and thirds with him." Before Rebecca could ask what Reno had meant by 'seconds' and 'thirds', Sean leaned forward on his elbows and clarified for the two near-clueless girls.
"He means SOLDIERs," Sean turned to his new fiery friend and narrowed his eyes in concentration. "Why are you showing us this?" Tseng smirked as he pressed another button, which brought up a picture a picture of a strong, broad man with a large sword strapped to his back, apparently running off after a winged, humanoid figure in a jungle. Seeing the confusion on the two junior Turks' faces, he turned to Reno and tilted his head in invitation for Reno to take the lead.
"We recently got word that SOLDIER First Class Angeal Hewley may have deserted as well during his assignment in Wutai. Zack was supposed to be there with him at the time but… things happened and it all got screwed up," Reno sighed and shook his head forlornly before turning to the screen and pointing at the picture. "We need to get Angeal and Genesis back to our base in Mideel before Hollander screws them up beyond repair." Rebecca groaned and buried her face into her palms.
"This is so complicated! Who are these guys and how are we going to find them and what the heck is a Mideel?!" Rebecca shook her head in her palms, her voice muffled by her hands and the table. Tseng nodded towards Reno in thanks, standing and taking over the briefing yet again. Sean raised his eyebrows at Reno who merely winked and sunk back deeper into his seat.
"Mideel is a relatively small settlement located on the Southern Continent- the Lifestream is able to reach the surface of the Planet over there and we believe that the strong influence of the Lifestream will quell the degradation of Angeal and Genesis' bodies until we can get Aerith to Mideel without being detected." Rebecca's eye twitched at all the new information. Ilona felt herself develop a terrible headache. Still, she sat up straight and tilted her head in concentration.
"Sorry to interrupt Tseng, but I just want to clarify a few details," Tseng stood still, gazing at Ilona emotionlessly. After a few moments of silence between the two, Reno rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"You can start 'clarifyin' your 'details' doll." Ilona spluttered at this, her cheeks turning pink as she began to gather her thoughts. Tseng's mouth twitched in what both Sean and Rebecca thought looked suspiciously like a smile.
"It's just that… you mentioned degradation and a Lifestream and Aerith. Are those two SOLDIERs sick or something? Is the Lifestream some kind of spiritual entity? Does Aerith have some kind of special power or something?" Sean smiled into his hand as he switched his gaze from Ilona to the table. She was definitely asking the right questions. The two girls had little exposure to the Final Fantasy VII franchise, so Sean wasn't surprised that they didn't know much about the people and the lore. Not that Sean claimed to know much more about the alternate universe himself- it was just nice to see that he wasn't the most clueless person in the room for once.
"I am not at liberty to say so in the presence of other ShinRa personnel," at this, Sean adopted an offended looking facial expression but remained quiet. "However the circumstances call for ignorance of company protocol." Tseng levelled at glare at Sean. "The things you will hear in this room are only to be discussed with those present at this moment- is that clear SOLDIER Third Class Sean?" Sean hummed in affirmation.
"Of course, I'm not at complete dumb ass." He deadpanned. Tseng ignored Sean's attempt at back-sass and gazed at his subordinates.
"Listen carefully. What I'm about to tell you might not make a lot of sense, but you will have to take my word for it," Rebecca held in a snort of laughter at Tseng's completely serious tone of voice. Leaning towards Ilona, she poked her face, gaining the small girl's attention briefly.
"This should be good," Ilona nodded, a small, humoured smile on her lips.
"Jenova… the Calamity of the Skies- when Professor Gast first discovered it at the Northern Crater with his team, he's classified the thing as an Ancient," Rebecca gasped dramatically.
"Are you saying that Hannah's staying with an alien Ancient thing?" Tseng finally broke composure and rolled his eyes.
"No, just listen to what I'm saying. No talking. Just listening. Just shut your lips for at least five minutes before you interrupt me again!" Reno whistled lowly.
"Damn girl, you're so hot when you piss Tseng off like that," Rebecca glared at Reno, feeling slightly embarrassed for being told off in front of everyone.
"Bite me." Rebecca snapped back before casting her eyes down to her twiddling thumbs. Truth be told, she did feel quite silly for being told off the way she had been. Strange situation or not- Tseng was kind of-sort of her boss and it was never fun getting told off by the boss in front of colleagues. Especially in front of dodgy colleagues like Reno.
Tseng took a deep breath, looking away from the two trouble makers and continuing his explanation.
"I apologise for my harshness, but what I am about to say needs to be heard. Jenova was classified as an Ancient but in reality she was not even remotely part of the Cetra race. As a matter of fact she was not even part of this world. So in a way, you can say that she was an alien. The Ancients are of this world, and Aerith is an Ancient- a Cetra. Therefore, she is not an Alien. Do you follow Rebecca?" Tseng levelled his gaze on the surprised blond. She nodded, deciding to keep quiet and not retort back.
Ilona glanced at her friend and nearly giggled. The struggle on Rebecca's facial expression showed that she was definitely trying hard to stay put. Poor Rebecca…
Sean leaned forward, his form still clad in black jeans and a generic graphic t-shirt.
"Tseng, just tell us what you know. Quickly. You seem to know more than I want to think you know and that's unsettling. You know that Jenova's a bitch, you know we're not from this world and you still recruited us into your ranks and you insist on protecting your target. From what I know about you mate, you're a company man through and through. Your actions and words here, however, go completely against what I expected. So dish already, what the hell are we here for?" Ilona blinked at her missing friend's brother in surprise before nodding up at Tseng in support of Sean's questions. Rebecca hummed quietly to show that she also wanted those pressing questions answered.
Reno tilted his head at Tseng and sighed.
"You… should probably tell them what you told me. I mean, all that other shit you planned to drone on about it in the file. I presume the rookies know how to read and Sean here has reliable contacts already," Sean spluttered at this.
"I do?" Reno nodded.
"Yeah, I got ya back bro." Sean couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. Seeing this, Ilona nudged Rebecca, a small grin on her own on her lips.
"Aww, bromance!" Rebecca rolled her eyes, but let out a low laugh in response. Tseng cleared his throat, gaining the attention of his subordinates.
"Very well then, I shall get to the point," Tseng turned to Ilona. "How old do I look right now?" Ilona blinked in confusion. She wondered what her superior was getting at.
"Um, to be completely honest… you look like you're in your early twenties sir," Ilona briefly glanced into Tseng' slanted eyes before looking away in embarrassment as she spied a hint of a smile on the man's lips.
"I am twenty eight at this moment of time, yet my mind is thirty seven years old." At this admission, Rebecca, Ilona and Sean shared an incredulous look before turning back to an impassive Tseng. Ilona decided to speak up.
"So, uh, ignoring the fact that you may have discovered the secret to immortality, you're saying that… your mind ages at a faster rate than your body?" Tseng shook his head.
"It seems that I have travelled backwards in time. By orders of the Goddess herself," Rebecca gasped, breaking her reluctant, effort filled silence. She grabbed Ilona's arm and gazed defiantly into Tseng's eyes.
"Don't tell me we've just joined a religious cult following!" Sean groaned and shook his head in disbelief. He definitely knew why the two were Michelle's best friends. Tseng took Rebecca's reaction in stride and shook his head.
"No, this has nothing to do with religious affiliation. This is about… putting things right," Tseng trailed off, a distant look in his eyes. "This is about second chances." Rebecca raised her eyebrows at this but chose not to say anything.
"This Goddess… sent you back in time with all your memories- past, present and future- intact so that you could repent for your sins?" Sean trailed off uncertainly. Reno gazed at the SOLDIER, a troubled glint in his glowing emerald eyes.
"Pretty sweet deal, if ya ask me. We Turks… we do so much crazy shit that would grant us a ticket straight to Ifrit's fiery hell," Reno sighed, finally sitting up straight in his seat for the first time. Rebecca narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. The man seemed to gravitate between two personalities: apathetic pervert and alert professional. "I didn't know if I could believe Tseng when he told us what was going on. Fuck, I still don't know if I can trust the crazy shit that comes out of his mouth these day," the red head turned to his superior, locking gazed with him. "But, shit, even if I find out he's feeding us delusions and hallucinations or something like that- I'd still hold on to the hope his crazy story gives me. I… can't fucking ignore this golden opportunity to get me some good karma." Reno turned to Tseng, a pained look in his eyes. "Sorry Tseng but… I gotta ask again. Are you for real?" Tseng sighed and raised a hand to head. He rubbed his scalp as he averted his gaze from Reno's broken look.
Reno was the Turks' 'ace', that was for sure. But that title didn't come without blood. Tseng couldn't look into the younger man's eyes, for he knew he would see into the battered soul of a broken man. So instead, Tseng stared into Rebecca's inquiring eyes and nodded to her.
"This is real. I had trouble believing it myself, but when Aerith and Rufus had informed me of their similar situation…" Rebecca let out a high pitched, startled noise. At this, Ilona gasped and stood up from her chair.
"So this Aerith chick knows who Hannah is! She knows that Hannah's not from here!" Rebecca exclaimed, a huge smile on her face. This was great! At least she knew one of her friends was with a knowledgeable ally. Rebecca's smile fell though, as she realised that no one had confirmed the Ancient was on their side. "She is an ally, right?" Tseng's lips twitched upward in amusement as he nodded.
"Yes, which is why we must do everything we can possibly do to protect her from this company," Ilona waved her hands around in a frenzy.
"Wait a second! Isn't Rufus one of the executives of this company?" Ilona piped up, panic laced in her airy voice. Sean nodded along.
"You want us to go against the company while one of its benefactors knows exactly what's going on?" Tseng's lips formed a grim line on his face, his eyes filled with regret. He wanted to look at someone and tell them with utmost confidence to trust in his words, but even he knew the ShinRa Company's legacy was full of sin. Having Rufus Shinra as an ally would be more of a curse than a blessing if he wanted these people to understand their plight.
"Rufus Shinra has assured me of his cooperation. He will do all he can to prevent his father from carrying out the terrible deeds he did in the name of the company," Tseng caught Reno's eyes and almost winced at the blazing trust he saw in them. The young man was a Turk. He was a killing machine. He was their ace… and yet, he was still innocent. Far more innocent than his future self.
Tseng vowed to himself that he'd do everything possible to maintain that dreg of innocence he saw in Reno's loyal gaze.
The Sector Seven plate would not drop. Thousands of people would be spared. This young man would not be broken like his future self.
No, Reno would remain as ignorant and self-assured as he was at that moment.
Nodding to himself, Tseng ripped his gaze from his trusted Turk and turned to the new additions to his team.
"We must protect the Ancient whilst working under the guise of maintaining the interests of the company. That is, of course, what the Turks specialise in." Tseng stopped abruptly as Rebecca's head fell onto the conference table dramatically.
"This is so damn complicated!" Rebecca vented. Lifting her head from the hard surface, she shot Tseng a weak smile. "But, since you're so passionate about the cause, I guess I'll do what I can to help. I mean… dying in this world is not something I plan to do. Not before we find Michelle, that is." Ilona smiled kindly and raised her hand in agreement.
"I'm not entirely sure what's going on but… you're the boss. So, I'll only answer to you," Ilona cheered brightly. Tseng couldn't help but smile at the small girl's enthusiasm.
"You do understand that I am not currently the Director of the Turks? Veld's orders 'take priority' over my own." Reno stood up, loudly scraping his chair in the process. Sean shot him an annoyed look, which the red head promptly ignored. Turning to the two rookies, Reno made quotation marks in the air with his fingers.
"Yeah, they 'take priority'," Reno winked. Rebecca rolled her eyes at the joking man, somewhat relieved that he was back to being a dick. His serious face was very unsettling.
"We picked that up… under the guise of company interests and all that, yeah?" Tseng nodded, glad that the new recruits were actually intelligent enough to read between the lines. Ilona stood up from her chair and stretched, glancing at Sean who was beginning to stand himself.
"So, who does Sean answer to?" Ilona inquired. At this, Reno grinned and shrugged his shoulders.
"Oh, no one. Just the Silver General," he drawled. Rebecca cringed.
"Sounds like something you'd name a sadistic robot," Rebecca remarked dryly.
As she spoke, she didn't realise that there was a rather intimidating man with long, silver hair standing at the door, outside her line of vision. Ilona glanced over her shoulder and couldn't help but gasp as she took in the impressive shock of impossibly long, silver hair and leather. Her eyes widened further as she took in the man's absurdly long weapon. It immediately made her think that the guy was trying to over compensate. However, one look at the man's no-nonsense face dispelled all nonsensical thoughts from her mind. She didn't know whether the tingly feeling she felt in her tummy was from awe or pure fear of the man. Ilona immediately clutched onto Rebecca's arm, shaking her.
"Um, shut up!" Rebecca glared at her best friend.
"Why? I know you were thinking it too!" Ilona shook her head, casting a glance over towards the stoic man who had now moved into the room. Reno chuckled.
"Speak of the devil! Punctual as always, General," the man nodded in response, casting a withering glance at the now alert Rebecca. Rebecca let out a sound that sounded suspiciously like a whimper of 'oh shit!', before averting her gaze and twiddling her thumbs to distract herself. Ilona tilted her head as she got enough control of her fear-stricken body to raise her arm and pat her extremely mortified friend on the back in an attempt to comfort her. "Girls and guy, meet General Sephiroth, SOLDIER First Class!" Sephiroth ignored Reno's theatrical introduction, turning to the tall blond woman and shooting her a withering glance.
"I resent that," his velvet voice permeated through the SOLDIER Briefing Room. "I am no robot, nor am I a sadist- despite popular opinion." With that said, the imposing presence turned his attention towards the saluting SOLDIER Third Class standing in the room. Briefly taking in the new recruit, Sephiroth nodded in approval. He could tell this one had a brain in him. That was always nice.
"At ease SOLDIER," Sephiroth turned to Tseng. "Are you finished? Hojo's just left for some seminar in Junon and Dr. Sykes would like to get the treatment started as soon as possible." Ilona stiffened at the mention of treatment. Sean's eyes widened.
"Treatment, sir?" Sephiroth nodded, staring into his inferior officer's slightly glowing dark eyes.
"Yes. The mako immersion. All ShinRa field agents go through the procedure. It's routine and non-fatal, unlike the injection Hojo administered to you earlier today." Sean grimaced at the memory of the greasy scientist. His gaze softened as he took in Sephiroth's stoic features… this strong man was that deranged scientist's son. How sad…
"Well, if we're done here," Sean turned to Tseng, who merely nodded in affirmation, "we should get going. Before that asshole Hojo shows up again." Sephiroth nodded in agreement. Turning to Tseng and Reno, he nodded stiffly before gesturing at the two young women in his presence to follow him. With a hasty wave of farewell to Tseng and Reno, Rebecca and Ilona scurried out after Sean and Sephiroth. As they walked, Sephiroth spoke- somewhat startling the trio.
"After the treatment, you'll be taken through a brief, yet strenuous training orientation." Rebecca and Ilona exchanged wary glances but chose to remain silent until they were not in Sephiroth's presence any longer. Ilona was particularly worried about the 'strenuous' exercise part. However she didn't voice her worry. Rather, she scurried along the endless hallways, walking side by side with her taller best friend. Ilona smiled as Rebecca's arm brushed against hers accidentally. At least she had someone she knew with her. She refrained from giggling as Sean tripped and nearly fell into Sephiroth if it weren't for the impressive man turning and catching his subordinate before he fell.
Yeah, she definitely didn't have to go through any of this alone. And for that, she was extremely grateful.
However, Ilona thought, she couldn't say the same for Hannah or Michelle. Sure, Hannah looked like she was well in the picture she saw. That didn't mean that she wasn't scared in an unfamiliar environment. And Michelle… who knew where she was! Ilona sighed as she speed walked towards an open elevator, the last one in. Sephiroth glanced at her and nodded curtly, which made her avert her gaze.
Being with people she knew still didn't calm her mind as she struggled to get used to the new people, places and protocols of this new workplace… this new world. Still… she supposed she had it better than Hannah and Michelle, and for that reason, she would have to feel grateful.
Forcing herself to straighten her back and smile lightly, she glanced at Rebecca and Sean, who were looking at her with concern in their eyes. She smiled and shook her head at them, focusing her gaze onto the elevator console.
At least she had people who genuinely cared amidst all the confusion.
That was enough to be grateful for.
Note: Let me know what you all think in a review if you can spare the time :) Thanks!