Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Intervention ❯ Hearing Voices ( Chapter 5 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Phantom StarWolf 
Reloaded due to formating problem
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 12.24.2005 | Updated On: 12.31.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 303 | Status: Work In Progress
Reloaded due to formating problem
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 12.24.2005 | Updated On: 12.31.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 303 | Status: Work In Progress
Story title = Intervention
Story Description = Reno finally succumbs to the dark and destructive nature of his unstable emotions. When his bosses Tseng and Rufus do nothing & his partner and friend Rude stands in the wings and watches mutely, it's up to Elena to step in and save him from himself. (Post Game, Elena/Reno, Het, Yaoi, Drug & Alcohol abuse)
Author's Note = Characters may appear OOC. Tried to keep them as close to cannon as possible, but considering I'm writing this not the people at SquareEnix, you'll have to deal.
Disclaimers = I don't own the boys and girls of Final Fantasy 7, SquareEnix does.
-----------------------
5 - Hearing Voices
I try so hard not to get upset
because I know all the trouble I'll get
oh, he tells me tears are something to hide
and something to fear
and I try so hard to keep it inside
so no one can hear
-- Voices Carry by Till Tuesday
It was mid to late afternoon before Elena made it home. Her shift had lasted close to an hour longer then she had anticipated, but she didn't mind that much. She had then spent another hour or so searching the area where she had seen Reno vanish that morning. No luck on finding anything. Even the bums hadn't admitted to seeing anyone matching Reno's description and that was with an offer of money, booze or both. Something wasn't adding up and that disturbed Elena more then a little.
Taking her laptop to the second bedroom where she had set up her computer system along with the rest of her electronics, she plugged it in to the system and let it start to synch up. Turning she exited the room, heading to her own to change. With a soul weary sigh Elena reached up to loosen the scrap of black silk that was her tie before slipping her coat off and hanging it up. Even though she had several others, this one was still clean enough to wear tomorrow. She left her white blouse on along with the shoulder holster and gun. After all, even if she was off duty it didn't mean she was safe. Only after she had something to eat, double checked her apartment and showered was she ready to look at the video from earlier today.
Settling in the chair in front of her computer desk, a cup of tea cradled in her hand, she brought the system online. It took her several minutes before she found the starting place for this afternoon's meeting. While normally she would be listening to music at the same time as going though the video images and audio tracks, this time she didn't. She didn't want to miss anything.
~!*!~ Audio begins ~!*!~
"Tell me Rude, how long have you known?"
"…Sir?"
"Elena, return to your post."
"uh.. Yes sir!" The sound of the door closing followed.
"Do I need to repeat myself?"
"No Sir." Several long, painfully silent moments, he spoke. "Officially? Since I became his partner. I had my suspicions before that though."
"So you have known about Reno's… problems.. for the last ten years and failed to inform me of it?" Slight surprise tinted Tseng's voice.
"Veld was aware of it. I presumed he passed on his notes to you when you became the leader of the Turks, sir," Rude answered. His deep voice soft in the quietness of the room.
"Seems I must have missed the memo then." A soft scraping noise as Tseng sat down. "Please, enlighten me. And by all mean, don't leave anything out. I'd like to hear it. All of it."
"Yes, Sir." Heavy reluctance colored Rude's words. Several more minutes of silence before Rude began speaking. "From the beginning?"
An exasperated sigh. "Yes."
Again the silence dominated the room. "It was during the last three years of the war with Wutai that I met Reno for the first time. He was maybe 15 years old, though he looked younger."
~*~ Audio paused ~*~
'Unless you look into his eyes, then he's much older' Elena thought to herself as she stood up and stretched. While it was something of a shock that Reno had practically grew up in the middle of a war, she wasn't surprised. There was an entire generation born during the long war with Wutai. Looking at her now empty tea cup she went and fixed another one before returning to the computer. Once settled again she started it back up.
~*~ Audio restarted ~*~
"Half way though the war, I was assigned to the M.A.S.H. unit that was attached to General Sephiroth's company. During that time, I was introduced to a group from Cosmo Canyon. They were the General's private couriers, snipers, and spies. They were also the best Chocobo handlers around. By the General's orders, if they came in injured they received priority treatment. Each member was easily identified by the tattoos on their faces."
"What tattoos?" Tseng questioned.
"The bright red stripes that framed their eyes. The are.. were called Crimson Tears, sir."
"How many have these… tattoos?" Rufus's voice this time
"That were known to be still alive by the end of the war? One."
"I presume Reno is one?" Tseng again.
"Yes sir."
"And those not confirmed dead?"
Silence. "Veld started an investigation into the rumors of a possible second survivor."
"What happened to that investigation?"
"Unknown sir."
"Hmmm… Doubt it matters at the moment.. Continue," Rufus said.
"It was after the death of Reno's father, a man known as FyreShadow and the disappearance of his father's partner, Tezcat, that the problems started. The General requested me to keep an eye on Reno at the time. Once the war was over, Veld recruited Reno into the Turks. He was later diagnosed as having a Bi-Polar disorder and was put on a regiment of medications to keep him stable."
"Well, we've seen how well that worked," Tseng said in a scathing, sarcastic voice.
"Reno was stable before the order to drop Sector 7 Plate was given. It was only after he returned from the mission that his mental stability began to shift unpredictably." There was a hint of accusation in Rude's voice. "After the report of your death sir, that is when his drinking problem started to get worse. When Weapon attacked ShinRa Headquarters and reports of President Rufus's alleged demise started circulating, Reno went on a drug binge. He nearly overdosed several times."
"Are you saying he was drunk and drugged when he allowed Cloud and his group to pass in the tunnels below the tower?" there was a dangerous edge to Rufus's voice.
"No sir. It was after that but before Midgar was nearly destroyed by Meteor."
The overwhelming silence was laced with the beeps and blips of the monitors working away tirelessly to keep track of Rufus's health. The scrap of the chair legs on the floor indicate that Tseng had stood up again.
"And what happened afterwards?"
"Elena, Reno and myself were separated in the chaos and confusion. I was the first to find Reno after the Lifestream erupted to stop the meteor…" Rude trailed off.
"And?"
"I… We, the Turks and ShinRa that is, nearly lost him."
"What do you mean 'We nearly lost him'?" Incredulous disbelief from a man that never gets ruffled.
"Just that sir."
~*~ Audio paused ~*~
Elena gasped, hitting the stop command on the computer halting the playback. Did Rude mean what she thought he meant? She got up from the chair and started to pace the room. One hand on her hip as she ran the other through the blonde strands of her hair. She couldn't understand why the thought of Reno's death upset her, but it did. "Ok, rookie," she muttered to herself, "he's not dead. So there's no need to get worked up over it. Just calm down and.. and… aw fuck!" She threw herself back into the chair, biting her fingernails. Her near panic turned to sudden anger. "You bastard, you had better not be dead or so help me I'll use a Revive or a Phoenix down on your ass then beat you to death myself!" With that she hit the play button again.
~*~ Audio restarted ~*~
"Explain," Rufus said sharply.
"I don't know the exact sequence of events, but just after a practically active part of the Lifestream passed my location, I heard someone screaming. When I found the person, the screaming had stopped and the person was having major convulsions. I was unable to hold the person down without causing greater damage then what was currently taking place. So to less the chance of causing greater harm to themselves, I cast Stop."
There was that silence again. "Oh.." the sound of anti-climatic let down in Tseng's voice.
"I thought you said that he almost died. Hardly sounds like it to me." A dismissive tone in Rufus's.
"No Sir. YOU don't get it. I cast STOP. I nearly killed Reno while trying to save his scrawny ass. I stopped his Hades damned heart and I didn't have a fucking remedy or Heal materia on me to reverse it. I had to do CPR to get his heart started again. He was in a coma for a week. A week that I didn't know if I'd be burying a partner and fellow Turk or not."
Rapid steps across the floor then the sound of flesh hitting flesh as Tseng ruthlessly backhanded Rude, sending the bigger man crashing to the floor with the unexpected display. "I'd advise you to watch both your attitude and your language while around myself or Rufus."
~*~ Audio ended ~*~
Elena shut down the player before the rest could play. Now she knew why Rude refused to this day to tell her what happened during that time they were separated. And it also explained why Rude turned a blind eye to the problem. He was afraid he'd cause more harm than good, when in truth he was causing it at that very moment. Simply by not lifting a hand to help Reno. With a shaky sigh she shut down the entire system and headed to bed. She doubted that she would get much sleep before she had to be back on shift. If anything though, it made her more determined to find Reno and give him the help be needed. Whether or not he wanted it.
Story Description = Reno finally succumbs to the dark and destructive nature of his unstable emotions. When his bosses Tseng and Rufus do nothing & his partner and friend Rude stands in the wings and watches mutely, it's up to Elena to step in and save him from himself. (Post Game, Elena/Reno, Het, Yaoi, Drug & Alcohol abuse)
Author's Note = Characters may appear OOC. Tried to keep them as close to cannon as possible, but considering I'm writing this not the people at SquareEnix, you'll have to deal.
Disclaimers = I don't own the boys and girls of Final Fantasy 7, SquareEnix does.
-----------------------
5 - Hearing Voices
I try so hard not to get upset
because I know all the trouble I'll get
oh, he tells me tears are something to hide
and something to fear
and I try so hard to keep it inside
so no one can hear
-- Voices Carry by Till Tuesday
It was mid to late afternoon before Elena made it home. Her shift had lasted close to an hour longer then she had anticipated, but she didn't mind that much. She had then spent another hour or so searching the area where she had seen Reno vanish that morning. No luck on finding anything. Even the bums hadn't admitted to seeing anyone matching Reno's description and that was with an offer of money, booze or both. Something wasn't adding up and that disturbed Elena more then a little.
Taking her laptop to the second bedroom where she had set up her computer system along with the rest of her electronics, she plugged it in to the system and let it start to synch up. Turning she exited the room, heading to her own to change. With a soul weary sigh Elena reached up to loosen the scrap of black silk that was her tie before slipping her coat off and hanging it up. Even though she had several others, this one was still clean enough to wear tomorrow. She left her white blouse on along with the shoulder holster and gun. After all, even if she was off duty it didn't mean she was safe. Only after she had something to eat, double checked her apartment and showered was she ready to look at the video from earlier today.
Settling in the chair in front of her computer desk, a cup of tea cradled in her hand, she brought the system online. It took her several minutes before she found the starting place for this afternoon's meeting. While normally she would be listening to music at the same time as going though the video images and audio tracks, this time she didn't. She didn't want to miss anything.
~!*!~ Audio begins ~!*!~
"Tell me Rude, how long have you known?"
"…Sir?"
"Elena, return to your post."
"uh.. Yes sir!" The sound of the door closing followed.
"Do I need to repeat myself?"
"No Sir." Several long, painfully silent moments, he spoke. "Officially? Since I became his partner. I had my suspicions before that though."
"So you have known about Reno's… problems.. for the last ten years and failed to inform me of it?" Slight surprise tinted Tseng's voice.
"Veld was aware of it. I presumed he passed on his notes to you when you became the leader of the Turks, sir," Rude answered. His deep voice soft in the quietness of the room.
"Seems I must have missed the memo then." A soft scraping noise as Tseng sat down. "Please, enlighten me. And by all mean, don't leave anything out. I'd like to hear it. All of it."
"Yes, Sir." Heavy reluctance colored Rude's words. Several more minutes of silence before Rude began speaking. "From the beginning?"
An exasperated sigh. "Yes."
Again the silence dominated the room. "It was during the last three years of the war with Wutai that I met Reno for the first time. He was maybe 15 years old, though he looked younger."
~*~ Audio paused ~*~
'Unless you look into his eyes, then he's much older' Elena thought to herself as she stood up and stretched. While it was something of a shock that Reno had practically grew up in the middle of a war, she wasn't surprised. There was an entire generation born during the long war with Wutai. Looking at her now empty tea cup she went and fixed another one before returning to the computer. Once settled again she started it back up.
~*~ Audio restarted ~*~
"Half way though the war, I was assigned to the M.A.S.H. unit that was attached to General Sephiroth's company. During that time, I was introduced to a group from Cosmo Canyon. They were the General's private couriers, snipers, and spies. They were also the best Chocobo handlers around. By the General's orders, if they came in injured they received priority treatment. Each member was easily identified by the tattoos on their faces."
"What tattoos?" Tseng questioned.
"The bright red stripes that framed their eyes. The are.. were called Crimson Tears, sir."
"How many have these… tattoos?" Rufus's voice this time
"That were known to be still alive by the end of the war? One."
"I presume Reno is one?" Tseng again.
"Yes sir."
"And those not confirmed dead?"
Silence. "Veld started an investigation into the rumors of a possible second survivor."
"What happened to that investigation?"
"Unknown sir."
"Hmmm… Doubt it matters at the moment.. Continue," Rufus said.
"It was after the death of Reno's father, a man known as FyreShadow and the disappearance of his father's partner, Tezcat, that the problems started. The General requested me to keep an eye on Reno at the time. Once the war was over, Veld recruited Reno into the Turks. He was later diagnosed as having a Bi-Polar disorder and was put on a regiment of medications to keep him stable."
"Well, we've seen how well that worked," Tseng said in a scathing, sarcastic voice.
"Reno was stable before the order to drop Sector 7 Plate was given. It was only after he returned from the mission that his mental stability began to shift unpredictably." There was a hint of accusation in Rude's voice. "After the report of your death sir, that is when his drinking problem started to get worse. When Weapon attacked ShinRa Headquarters and reports of President Rufus's alleged demise started circulating, Reno went on a drug binge. He nearly overdosed several times."
"Are you saying he was drunk and drugged when he allowed Cloud and his group to pass in the tunnels below the tower?" there was a dangerous edge to Rufus's voice.
"No sir. It was after that but before Midgar was nearly destroyed by Meteor."
The overwhelming silence was laced with the beeps and blips of the monitors working away tirelessly to keep track of Rufus's health. The scrap of the chair legs on the floor indicate that Tseng had stood up again.
"And what happened afterwards?"
"Elena, Reno and myself were separated in the chaos and confusion. I was the first to find Reno after the Lifestream erupted to stop the meteor…" Rude trailed off.
"And?"
"I… We, the Turks and ShinRa that is, nearly lost him."
"What do you mean 'We nearly lost him'?" Incredulous disbelief from a man that never gets ruffled.
"Just that sir."
~*~ Audio paused ~*~
Elena gasped, hitting the stop command on the computer halting the playback. Did Rude mean what she thought he meant? She got up from the chair and started to pace the room. One hand on her hip as she ran the other through the blonde strands of her hair. She couldn't understand why the thought of Reno's death upset her, but it did. "Ok, rookie," she muttered to herself, "he's not dead. So there's no need to get worked up over it. Just calm down and.. and… aw fuck!" She threw herself back into the chair, biting her fingernails. Her near panic turned to sudden anger. "You bastard, you had better not be dead or so help me I'll use a Revive or a Phoenix down on your ass then beat you to death myself!" With that she hit the play button again.
~*~ Audio restarted ~*~
"Explain," Rufus said sharply.
"I don't know the exact sequence of events, but just after a practically active part of the Lifestream passed my location, I heard someone screaming. When I found the person, the screaming had stopped and the person was having major convulsions. I was unable to hold the person down without causing greater damage then what was currently taking place. So to less the chance of causing greater harm to themselves, I cast Stop."
There was that silence again. "Oh.." the sound of anti-climatic let down in Tseng's voice.
"I thought you said that he almost died. Hardly sounds like it to me." A dismissive tone in Rufus's.
"No Sir. YOU don't get it. I cast STOP. I nearly killed Reno while trying to save his scrawny ass. I stopped his Hades damned heart and I didn't have a fucking remedy or Heal materia on me to reverse it. I had to do CPR to get his heart started again. He was in a coma for a week. A week that I didn't know if I'd be burying a partner and fellow Turk or not."
Rapid steps across the floor then the sound of flesh hitting flesh as Tseng ruthlessly backhanded Rude, sending the bigger man crashing to the floor with the unexpected display. "I'd advise you to watch both your attitude and your language while around myself or Rufus."
~*~ Audio ended ~*~
Elena shut down the player before the rest could play. Now she knew why Rude refused to this day to tell her what happened during that time they were separated. And it also explained why Rude turned a blind eye to the problem. He was afraid he'd cause more harm than good, when in truth he was causing it at that very moment. Simply by not lifting a hand to help Reno. With a shaky sigh she shut down the entire system and headed to bed. She doubted that she would get much sleep before she had to be back on shift. If anything though, it made her more determined to find Reno and give him the help be needed. Whether or not he wanted it.