Disclaimer: Final Fantasy does not belong to me...however much I may like it to. I own no characters, places etc. etc. so please don't sue me! I'm a nice person :)
Author's Note: Chapter Five...PLEASE review as I really enjoy reading your views and they inspire me to get better! It would make me very very happy! Anyway stop reading this and get on with reading the fic! Hope you enjoy! :)
Chapter Five: The Reality of Nightmares
The purest, whitest, unclouded snow covered the once payne's grey shaded rocks, the layer upon the ragged edges of the slate slightly thinner, thus making the ice partials sparkle like a sheet of perfectly cut jewelled crystal.
Black, hardened leather shoes crunched softly against the cold, frozen mix of snow, water and soil, and with the added pressure from the weighted, trained body, sunk ever so slightly with every, slowly controlled step.
The young man was seemingly invisible within his new, yet not entirely unfamiliar surroundings; his form blending seamlessly among toweringly sinister cliffs, that cast darkened shadows across the otherwise whitened plane, and the snow dusted pine trees, whose emerald green spines poked through the pale blanket, like prickles on a camouflaged hedgehog.
Yet he couldn't help but feel an extreme sense of vulnerability, and confusion at his hidden shape, the suited uniform which he wore was so different and bold compared to the desolate space, and yet seemed able to hide him so easily, it felt strange; as if he wasn't even there, as if he wasn't even real, as if he wasn't even alive.
He was seemingly alone, with only his movements echoing around the hollow, eerily pristinely, haunting beautiful scene, and yet he did not feel as such, his mind unsure or unable to believe completely what his body was telling him, the feeling similar to when a person is knowingly alone in their house, yet no matter how hard they try to convince themselves otherwise, they still feel uneasy, the smallest creak or lightest brush against their skin, intensified within their brain, alerting their senses and racking them with an uncomfortable amount of fearful concern.
Suddenly, without any real warning or sense of impending presence, the young man found himself face to face with the black, void like, looming entrance of a cave, and as he peered within its darkened, unknown depth, the realisation hit, that his body had drawn him there unknowingly; this place was there for him to find.
Again within one blink of his aquamarine eyes, he found himself a good way inside the cavernous centre, though now, he knew for a fact he was not alone.
''Rude?'' The bald Turk had appeared soundlessly on his right, his form unmoving, his hidden stare directed straight ahead, as if transfixed.
''Rude...?'' The young man tried once more, and this time he received a response.
The bald Turk turned his head around in one swift motion, along with his left hand, within which he held a crimson stained knife, the handle facing towards his aquamarine eyed partner, and spoke clearly, his voice as steady and emotionless as always, ''Did you want this back?''
It was then that he noticed the darken red line running from Rude's outstretched arm and all the way round to his upper chest, where a dampened patch had been formed from a small, yet deep wound, which looked shockingly fresh, and still leaking bright red liquid.
Before he could react in any way, the bald Turk had disappeared into the shadows as quickly and as quietly as he had arrived, leaving the young man with the knife now grasped within his own hand and yet he had no memory of taking it.
A softly feminine, mockingly familiar voice echoed around his ears, ''Reno, what are you standing there for like a goon! You're missing all the fun!''
The instructing call seemingly directed his body further into the cavern, forcing him to enter a very much shadowed plane, in which nothing moved, except under the two dim rays of whitened light that flowed down from unseen holes, as if there were spot lights hanging from above, where a surreal scene was now playing out underneath and within them.
''Tifa...'' His brow furrowed and contorted, both in confusion and anger, as he watched the brunette twirl around within the arms of an unknown red head, whose face was blurred and hidden, yet his laugh could still be heard, as the young woman's body pressed against his own as they danced together to unheard music.
His eyes shifted slightly into the direction of the others within the opposite light ray, and this time his brow no longer showed signs of aggravation, just confusion, as he observed the three familiar forms.
Elena and Tseng sat back to back, heads lolled forward as if unconscious, through sleep, or violence, he couldn't tell, yet their legs were bent and propped up, and their arms locked together, as if they were bound with invisible restraints.
Behind them was the towering vision of the blond haired President, his form leant lazily against the hilt of a sword which was held in position, the red tinted blade pointing down and half buried within the unseen ground.
A smirk appeared upon the pale, authoritative face of the blonde male, as he gazed over at the dancing pair, and as the red haired male spun Tifa away from him, he seemed to share the expression, as though having an unheard conversation.
Tifa was now facing the watching young man, her form trembling, almost as though suddenly waking up from a coma, not knowing where she was or what was going on, yet seemingly aware of the danger surrounding her.
Her deep, crimson tinted eyes were wide and fearful, her lips parted, and the whisper that escaped them was filled with such terrified desperation, it almost sounded like a plea, ''Reno?''
The young man couldn't move or speak, but only watch, as the gloved hands of the unknown red head grasped around the brunette's neck and with one forceful motion and a deafeningly exquisite crack, severed the bones within, from one another, killing her instantly.
As her limp, broken body fell to the floor, her eyes remained open and fixed on Reno, yet they were now blank and lifeless; everything that had been present just moments before, now gone, hollowed out and leaving nothing behind.
The invisible hold upon the young man ceased the moment her body hit, and within seconds he was charging towards her killer, but before he could even raise his arm in attack, his entire form was enveloped within a whirlpool of black, burning feathers...
Reno shot up upon from his warmed mattress, the small beads of cold sweat which had formed a damp, clammy blanket upon his brow, were now able to roll freely down the sides of his face, as he gasped desperately, in some sort of attempt to calm both his body and his mind.
What the hell...? His hand shook slightly as he ran it through his sweat drenched locks, the red head still in recovery; he had never been so terrified by a dream in his life, and yet it had seemed so real, so vivid, and that's what freaked him out the most.
His vision was still slightly dazed as Reno's aquamarine eyes flickered over to the wardrobe opposite him, and it took him more than a few moments to focus on the item suspended from the door by the metal hanger inside.
It was only when the young red head managed to make out the newly bought, tailored suit, that the realisation hit him; it was Saturday morning, that night, would be Shin-Ra's ball.
The pieces of material hanging in front of him, swung almost ominously with the breeze that entered through the small gap from the opened window, whilist Reno proceeded to eye the clothes thoughtfully for a few seconds, before letting out a light, slightly shaky sigh.
His expression tightened slightly, as though his mind was forcing it to forget or ignore everything running through in the back of his psyche, and after taking a few steadying breaths, the red head raised from the bed and walked ever so calmly over to the bathroom to take a shower.
''Punch?''
''Huh?'' The young Turk raised his head from its lowered position, and turned to face the brunette with ever so slightly dazed eyes, the soft voice reverberating within his mind, just enough to surface his concentration.
Tifa's perfect brow furrowed lightly, enough to hint both her confusion and concern, and as she directed her right hand towards the beautifully dramatic crystal bowl, which was filled with a deep, orangey-red liquid, she asked again, ''Punch...?''
The red head observed the brightly coloured beverage intently for a few moments, before nodding quickly, though his darting eyes seemed to reveal that his mind was still not completely focused on the present.
The young woman sighed as she begun ladling some of the fruity punch into a small glass tumbler, ''You ok Re? You seem a little...distracted?''
'Yeah...sorry, just...tired.'' As Reno spoke he ran two cooling fingers over his lightly inflamed lids, and after being handed his beverage he took a large gulp, in the somewhat desperate hope that it would clear his troubled mind, even if only slightly.
The young Turk's usually bright aquamarine eyes seemed somewhat dulled as they surveyed the ballroom, which had quickly been filling since the pair had first arrived at the new Shin-Ra HQ.
There was no avoiding, both the immense surprise, and also tinge of annoyance that the brunette had expressed when she'd first arrived at the rebuilt, and redesigned building, after all, Shin-Ra had supposedly scaled down, to some extent any way, and yet their new headquarters seemed to suggest otherwise.
The moment she'd stepped out of Reno's car, she'd shown some suspicious confusion at the strange sort of imposing resemblance which the building held, maybe not in the exact same way that old, Midgar based site had been, but there was no doubting that they'd kept gentle, almost ever so slightly concealed hints of their previous image, and yet, supposedly, this ball was their attempt at changing the way both the public and the investor's viewed them.
Tifa couldn't help but find the whole thing ridiculously contradictory, an opinion which she shared, rather forcibly with the red head, whom in turn, had no choice but to defend the company to which he dedicated himself to so completely, even though, much to his own distress, a niggling set of doubts had slowly begun to grow in the depths of his mind.
Though of course he had to mask it away, after all, he was a Turk, he lived for his work, and there was no way he was about to let it either affect him, or dissuade him from the job he loved; he refused to let stupid ideas alter either his belief or commitment to Shin-Ra.
His gaze soon shifted back to the young brunette at his side, whose deep, crimson-tinted eyes were busy admiring the dancing couples, whose forms were gracefully twirling around upon the darkened polished wooden floor, and in that instant he decided to cheer up, and make the evening enjoyable, even if just for her.
In one swift, let softly smooth motion, Reno locked his hand around hers and raised it in a courtly fashion, before letting a gentle smirk play across his thin lips, ''My lady, will you allow me the pleasure of a dance?
Tifa was unable to hold back the genuine smile of gratitude that soon formed upon her soft features and within moments she replied, in much the same fashion in which she was asked, though notably with lesser charming calm and more than a hint of playful excitement, ''Why Sir, it would be my honour!''
Reno returned her smile, and began leading the young brunette towards the dance floor, weaving their forms, ever so delicately through the other dancing couples and into the centre, before wrapping a suited arm around her smooth, silk covered waist.
It wasn't long before the pair were spinning along with the rest of the floating guests, their bodies moving so rhythmically within the twisting, turning sea of seemingly perfectly bendable colours, the different fabrics and styles all melting into one as they twirled between one another.
Within the whirling masses, the red head caught sight of Elena, her form leaned against a neighbouring wall, and her gaze locked on the other side of the room, a somewhat alertly pained expression hidden beneath the blank one which she was displaying. In the end she had come alone, which had, in no terms of amusement, surprised him, after all, for all the jokes he made at her expense, he did in fact believe her to be one hell of a woman.
Whist his body spun once again within the dance, Reno managed to follow the young blonde's eye line, and soon found his aquamarines orbs locked upon his raven haired superior, whose body was almost held in exactly the same position as Elena's, even his expression was similar, the same blank emptiness, and yet with a hint of something underneath.
Reno's brow furrowed as he looked on at the pair, whom never seemed to speak, and in fact went out of their way to avoid one another's company, yet now, were both gazing at the other, though not lovingly, and yet not angrily either, just as if they both...
Hollow...
The red head had been so distracted in his observations, he had seemingly failed to notice the approaching form, that is until a gentle, yet slightly threateningly firm hand, rested upon his shoulder.
''May I cut in?'' Rufus stood beside the two, whose bodies had halted in their rhythmic motions, flashing a creepily fake smile at the red head, as though telling him what he already knew; his question wasn't really a question, but an order, and to refuse wasn't even an opinion.
Without a single word, the red headed Turk nodded nervously and stepped aside, letting the young President take his place, before hastily rushing through the other dancers and away from the floor, not even daring to look at the brunette, whom he was sure would be writhing at being left in the company of the arrogant blonde.
As Reno hide behind on of the pillars littering the room, he heard a familiar, if rather unimpressed voice sounding from his left, ''Tifa looks pissed...''
The bald Turk had somehow managed to glide over to him without Reno's realisation, and now just stood there, steady as ever, supposedly looking on at the President and his new found dance partner.
The red head chuckled lightly and somewhat half-heatedly, ''She's dancing with Rufus...what do you expect?'
His bald co-worker proceeded to put on a display of his trademark silence, and if he was being honest, Reno hadn't really expected to receive a response from him anyway, so instead decided to carry on as he always did; filling the gap with more questions.
''So Rude...about this mission...where are we going?...Do you know?''
''No.''
Reno raised a solitary eyebrow before letting out a deep sigh, again another moment of quiet proceeded to settle down around them, though this time, quite surprisingly, it was broken by Rude, who spoke with just the smallest hint of concerned emotion, ''Have you told Tifa?''
The red head knew what he was talking about immediately, and in actually fact he'd somewhat forgotten about it, after all his mind had been on other things, though when he thought about it, there was no getting away from the feared realisation, ''Nope...still haven't gotten up the balls to tell her...''
''Well...don't just go and disappear.''
It would have been an understatement to have said the red head looked insulted, ''Hey! What kinda of a friend do you take me for! I will tell her...later!'' He shifted his gaze away before continuing in a mutter, ''Once she's hammered.''
Before Rude could protest at this idea, a rather loud huff sounded from the very centre of the ballroom, to which then proceeded a flash of sapphire blue material and darkened brunette locks storming from the room and out onto one of the floors marble white balconies, leaving a smirking Rufus strolling away and up to the raven haired Turk, who was now seated in one of the surrounding booths.
Reno's brow furrowed slightly as he observed the scene, That smirk... it had seemed so similar to the one within his dream...his nightmare, but as soon as he realised what he was thinking, he quickly shook his head, He smirks like that all the time...all the time...
The bald Turk turned to face his younger co-worker, ''Aren't you going to go after her?''
''Yeah...of course.'' Reno's voice had seemed honest in it's conviction, yet there was no denying it also sounded distantly distracted, and as he quickly took off towards the correct balcony, Rude looked on, his eyes narrowing in thought, beneath his darkened shades.
A cool breeze rippled over the thin, light material of the young Turk's suit shirt, the surface free from the restraints of the overlaying jacket, whose buttons had been undone fully, and now floated by his sides comfortably.
As the red head proceeded forward, his hardened soles were seemingly undetectable against the smooth surface of the marbled balcony, though as he continued to approach the young brunette, the small shifting motion her form gave, silently told him that she'd known he was there from the very moment he'd stepped out from the ballroom.
Before he could raise his hand to her shoulder, a trembling, yet undeniably pained whisper escaped from her pale pink lips, and out into the cold night air, ''How could you?''
Reno's brow furrowed immediately, being neither completely sure of his misdeed or whether he'd actually committed it, though he didn't have to wait long for an answer, as the brunette swung around to face him, her skin littered with glistening, reflective tear trails, ''Did you just bring me here to be some sort of...company aid?''
Oh shit...Rufus...what have you done... The genuine expression of remorse that lined the contours of the young Turk's face told her everything she needed to know; that he wanted her here regardless, but...well, whatever Rufus wanted...that was just another bonus...for Shin-Ra anyway.
A small, bitter-sweet smile graced the corners of her softened mouth, and when she spoke, her words sounded more like a statement than a question, almost as if admitting it to herself, ''Nothing's changed has it...''
A few moments passed as they shared a look of quiet understanding with one another, though after giving a deepened sigh the brunette continued, ''This company...it's still as twisted as it ever was.''
This seemed to strike up something within the red head, and within a flash his expression had changed completely, from one of apology to one of offence, ''That's not true!''
''No? Well you would try and defend your beloved Shin-Ra...''
An almost mocking chuckle sounded out from the red head's thin lips, ''Are you jealous of a company?''
''No, I just...I just don't want you to turn into one of them...'' Tifa gazed straight into the Turk's aquamarine eyes, her own glinting with a wet, reflective sheen, and as she spoke, her voice shook ever so slightly, ''I'm scared for you Re...''
''You really care about me that much?''
''Of course I do...I've lost to many people...people I care about because of this...because of Shin-Ra...'' She lowered her gaze now, as if somewhat ashamed of the prickly tears now sliding down her cheeks, ''I'm not prepared to lose any more.''
Reno himself was now having a rather hard time suppressing his own emotions, which were threatening to boil over at any moment, and before he knew what he was doing or how he had gotten there, he was locked in a tight, warm embrace with the young brunette, his arms wrapped around her smaller form, whilst her head lay buried within his chest.
They stayed like that for more time than was comfortable, though neither seemed to notice or even care for that matter, but as Tifa's gentle sobs slowly ebbed away, the red head's own pained expression ceased from existence, and was replaced with another, rather more apprehensive one.
''Tifa...''
''Hm?'' Her voice was ever so slightly muffled against the material of his shirt.
Reno took a light breath in a somewhat vain attempt to calm his now rapidly beating heart, ''I'm...I'm going away tomorrow...''
When all he was met with as a response was silence and a slight tensing of the body locked within his grasp, he continued, though his voice decreased in confidence with every word uttered, ''I've been given...well there's a new mission and...it's gunna take awhile so-''
The brunette moved forcibly now and stepped back, though not completely out of his arms, ''How long?''
He gave a genuine gentle shrug, before answering, a saddening smile hinted at upon his thin lips, ''Months maybe.''
''Months...?...Well...What are you gunna be doing? What's it about? Will it be dangerous...?''
He shrugged once again, and when he spoke his voice was noticeably softer, ''I don't know...''
''And you never did ask...'' Her tone had been lined with a somewhat knowing disappointment, though it definitely held more than a hint of anger within its bite.
Reno's gaze shifted down to the floor as he sighed, before it raised once again to meet hers, ''It's my job Tif...''
Fresh, sparkling tears flowed down the sides of her face as an overwhelming stream of emotions seemingly broke their banks,''I wish it wasn't...'' Tifa gasped in beneath her lightened sobs, before taking in a shaky breath and muttering ever so softly, ''I don't trust them Re...I don't trust Shin-Ra.''
Reno lifted his right hand up to her tear stained cheeks and began wiping away at the warmed trails, ''Well...if you can't trust them...trust me...please.''
A few moments of deafening silence passed between them, as the young woman seemed to somewhat observe the Turk, seemingly debating the unknown thoughts, which were battling for conquest inside her mind.
In one smooth, slow motion, Tifa slipped out from under the red head's hold and begun strolling away and back towards the ballroom, muttering quietly as she went, ''I'm not sure I can...'' though it wasn't till she had seemingly disappeared from sight, that her words appeared to reach him, and as he turned to gaze back at the starry twilight above him, he whispered softly to himself, ''I'm not sure I can either...''
A/N= Ok I feel I have to apologise for the lateness of this and of my other stuff as well...but I do have reasons! My family went away on holiday last Saturday and I've been home alone for the week, thus I've had to spent a good deal of my time looking after the chickens (yes I have pet chickens...lots...and they all follow me around!) mostly due to the fact each one kept knocking over their water containers, and I had to keep going back and refilling them! And it's been really hot here and I didn't wanna wake up one morning to dead, dried out chickens!
Also, I literally haven't managed to get to sleep till either 5 or 6 in the morning for two weeks now, and because of getting up for the chickens, and to put the bins out and to collect the post...I've basically had to get up after...4 hours of sleep? Which is ok for a day or two...but a whole week...well it's been ROUGH!...Hopefully once they get back, I'll be able to get some more sleep into me... and I'll be able to churn out chapters a lot quicker!
Anyway, on to the chapter! I know this one was a LOT more serious than the previous one...hope that doesn't put anyone off...but yeah, it needed to be! The next two chapters will have very little Tifa in (if any at all) though she will be hinted/mentioned etc!
Oh and for all the people that read my RufusxTifa fic: I know this chapter started out a lot like my most recent Rufus Tifa chapter, but I'd already written the beginning ages ago, and this one is an actual dream and it's on a completely different subject...I wanted it there...it wasn't that I was copying my own idea or anything XD
And about the dream...well obviously it is supposedly hinting at things in following chapters and the sequel...though it's not a word for word thing, or even a definite, anyway...it's meant to be more...symbolic! It was actually hard to write...cause I could see it in my head, but it was hard to describe...hopefully it came across all right...