The next morning was the second training with Marlene, where they both appeared inadequate and with hangovers.

"What happened to you?" the girl was shocked.

"Elena" Reno was having double coffee and seeing flying pink elephants.

"You have a relationship with a colleague? Is that allowed?

"He means, she got us to a party and he cut his head off." Rude tried to put some order in the situation.

They were again at the same training room, birds singing, butterflies flying around them. He lowered the levels of light and tried to remember where they were with the lesson.

"Heavy night, huh" Marlene noticed.

"Perfect night, morning was heavy" Reno was keeping his eyes closed and found the dummy touching objects around.

"What have you drank?" she was looking at him scared.

"Why, are you my mother?"

"Dude!" Rude scolded him.

"Let's finish this, so I can rest in peace."

Marlene showed them the moves she trained, and asked for help with that kick again. Rude was showing her while Reno was absolutely wasted, sitting on a stone, as it appeared, and sleeping in a straight position.

"Get up" Rude pushed him. "She needs support for the next move."

"What move?"

"I'm starting to think dad was right about drinking."

"Come on, man, put yourself together." Rude took a position and Marlene stood against him, of course she was ridiculously weak compared to the Turk.

"You are really annoying, you know" Reno also put on some glasses and got Marlene's back.

"Remember what I told you, kid?" he was closely behind her. "Protect face, switch hands. Eyes, neck, abdomen, crotch. Now… A playtime!"

Rude attacked and Marlene was too short to hit him in the teeth or neck, Reno lifted her and raised his hand along with hers. His fist reached Rude's jaw, not too hard to hurt him, enough to show her how to do it. Fast spin and he put her on the ground. She was still dizzy from the attack.

"I'm your partner now, your shadow. When I go left, you go right. Your life is at stake. Show me what you've got, girl, don't make me regret you."

Rude attacked again, Reno got in front of her and raised forearm, taking an angle to hide her, the moment he moved she attacked. She kicked at Rude's ankle, holding hands in front of her face. Reno immediately covered and again lifted her, her foot reaching Rude's shoulder. Rude answered and red haired lain over her, taking the attack with his shoulder and back. His elbow reached Rude's chest. They both spinned and he supports her to kick at his unprotected abdomen.

"Break!" Reno was out of breath, and looked so happy. "Brilliant!"

Marlene shone like the sun.

"You think it was good? For real?"

"It was impressive" Rude approved. "Of course you have much to learn, but it was… Wow!"

Girl smiled, she was so happy that hardly could be seen.

"Can you be my partner?" She asked Reno. "If I become good and get accepted as a Turk…"

"Turk can only have one partner. In a crisis you will be stuck in between who to save. You need no such distraction."

"But you said we are doing well… That you are my shadow… Don't give up on me!" her face faded.

"Till the moment you apply for a Turk, there will be new agents to meet." Rude tried to help the situation. "Trust me, there is someone better than him. He is good for nothing."

"Screw you" Reno said. "Let's go buy her a lunch, she will disappear soon, so skinny she is."

"I'm not skinny" Marlene looked offended. "I'm economy package!"

"I like this kid." Rude grabbed his stuff and three of them left for the cafeteria.

Somewhere else, not far from the Shinra castle, a couple had lunch.

Cloud and Tifa were sitting in their renovated apartment and having noodles with vegetables, eating in silence. Since that fight none of them picked the topic again. Cloud was helping Rufus find new soldiers for the army, but was against fighting Genesis and whoever was coming with him.

"We should talk about this at some point" Tifa said.

"Should we?" he was punching his noodles like they were his enemy.

"Cloud, you are replaying the same story from before. There is something coming for us."

She was about to lose her calmness and good face and smash the noodles cup in his face.

"I'm just sick of Rufus and his puppets coming here every time something gets wrong. They created Sephiroth, they created Genesis, I am the one who loses people fighting them."

Tifa looked hurt.

"I lived with the death of Zack for so long. Now we created a family, we started over, and that idiot is coming here, asking to throw everything away AGAIN!

Cloud's fist hit the table and some sauce from his bowl spilled on the table. "I can't lose you, Tifa. I've lost too much."

She was keeping silent, at some point looked at him and left her chopsticks.

"Reno is not an idiot." Her voice was trembling. "He lost his girlfriend in this fight."

"The mutant…"

"Don't even!" She cut him. "I knew her. She died to protect him. Just like Zack died to protect you."

Cloud's face twisted, shocked.

"They are trying, can't you see it? They also have families, friends, lost beloved people, all of them have their own hell they are fighting in every day! I'm gonna fight, Cloud." Tifa rose and hit the table, it was her turn. "I'm glad Denzel went studying and he is not here now, endangered. But you and me, we go together. Or we don't."

She left the room, leaving him there.

Reno was doing some Reno stuff, pretending to be on shift and throwing micro bombs at some rat, hiding at the ruins of the building he was guarding in front, when a small black motorcycle arrived, scaring the animal, leaving a trail of dust.

"What the…"

Female figure dressed in black took off her helmet and he recognized Tifa Lockhart.

"Hi." She was pretty angry. "Can we have a talk?"

"Oh, girl, give me a break, I'm not your family therapist!"

She ignored his protest and sat next to him on the ruined fence. Reno supposed Rufus was punishing him lately, sending him to the worst locations. There were barely any people around.

"Do you…" she tried to start. "Are you… For god's sake, am I supposed to leave him?"

Reno turned to look at her, trying not to stare at her big improvements.

"I think you got the wrong guy to ask. Try Tseng."

"He lost his will to fight again, I can't deal with this. I fell in love with that Cloud who was fighting, no matter what. When Sephiroth returned, Cloud got alive. Now…"

Tifa hid her face in her palms, not finishing the line.

"What would you do?" she looked at him. Almost wanted to shake him to get answers out of him.

"You know" Reno started, and kept throwing those micro bombs at the place rat must be hiding. "Turks, Soldiers… Take a look and you will get your answers."

"What that supposed to mean?" Tifa got even more angry.

"You see some of us living a perfect life? Having kids, pushing baby carriages? Didn't that friend of yours die this way? Running after a perfect future, trying to switch between a soldier and a boyfriend?

"You mean Zack?" she asked, surprised by his comment. Reno nodded.

"What he got? What Sephiroth, or Genesis, or Rufus or whoever the fuck you know got from this life?"

"I don't understand…"

"I think you do" he turned his gaze to her and his blue eyes filled with the green glow made her tremble. "You want your man to switch between a Peaceful-life-Cloud and the Soldier-Cloud. At some point you will lose one of them, girl. You can't have everything."

Tifa was shocked by his words. Reno was looking like a man who lived at the moment, not putting emotions in anything. She realized he was keeping so much from the look of others that was probably destroying him.

"I'm sorry for her" Tifa reached for his hand with hers, covered in black biker leather gloves, and held it for a moment.

Reno clenched his fingers, trapped into the grip of her hand. He wasn't ready for that.

"Go away, girl, deal with your stuff and leave me alone."

"Nobody deserves to be alone."

This part is like a response of the comments around internet that Reno and Tifa hate each other. For me that Remake is a true crime that ruined all of the characters, absolutely fanservice and nothing to do with anything from Crisis Core, Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus. I based my stories on characters on these, and for me what they did with our beloved series is an offense.

Back to the topic: At the end of Crisis Core where we see Reno and Rude for the first time, they are sent to save Zack and Cloud, but they are too late. At Advent Children we see Tifa talking with Reno on the phone in very good manners, and lately he and Rude shooting at Loz and Yazoo to save Cloud. The idiotic scene from Remake they are trying to kill Tifa and Cloud, and the pathetic way they turned Reno into insolent male whore I am completely ignoring. Again, what I write is based on the original games and the movie. This is as a travel guide for those who read my story, and I am very thankful for the support. I am trying to hold to the actual events in the game and not changing them, more like of continuing them. I've always liked Genesis and he is the only one left alive from the three angels.

I am trying to do my best here. Regards!