Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Those Chosen By The Planet ❯ Chapter 1 - "Explosive Beginnings and Conclusions." ( Chapter 1 )
Final Fantasy VII Twisted.
By S. Rena Valentine
Chapter 1
"Explosive Beginnings and Conclusions."
"Goodbye to you.
Goodbye to everything
I thought I knew
You were the one I loved,
The one thing that
I tried to hold on to..."
~ Michelle Branch, "Goodbye to You."
Dark, damp, and disgusting. There were a lot of different and likewise negative adjectives that could describe the great Shinra city of Midgar. It was one of the few consistencies in the desolate, corrupt metropolis. Why, there was the wafting scent of burning rubber, coupled with that of slowly decaying rotten garbage and rusted metal. The rain, when it fell, was almost always acidicly inclined and collected in gutters and sewers, occasionally overflowing in a burp of blackish, brownish watery liquid that nobody wanted to acknowledge... In short, it was a dump. A wasteland.
He stared out, coldly toward the terrain of a place he never wanted to see again. Lower Midgar, a realm all its own, and a place he would never call home. Home implied family, warmth, love, and security, of which Reno had none. He sighed as he noticed the slowing speed of the train. They were getting off soon. Things were about to get interesting...
Therein lay another consistency. The Midgar Express. Spanning the giant city from sector to sector, it was one of the most prized developments Urban Development had to offer. It ran cheaply, efficiently, and almost always on time
And their security was a mess. A horrible, wonderful, hole filled mess.
"C'mon, Turk. Le's get a move on."
The train came to a screeching halt that made Reno wince internally. Sure it was well made, but the Midgar Express was shit in comparison to what the upper plates had to offer. He shook his head and slowly rose to his feet. His new boss was a large man, quick to anger, and had a gun grafted onto his arm. Not that Reno was intimidated. He just didn't want to spend his precious hours picking bullets from his hide.
Today's gonna suck... First day on the job. Avalanche were horribly annoying. Planet this, save that. If it weren't for the money, and the satisfaction involved with helping take down the company... Well, he would probably be plastered in Costa Del Sol.
Reno stepped off the train and noted, from the corner of his eye, the oncoming Shinra soldiers. With a roll of his eyes and a flick of his wrist, they were immediately trapped within individual pyramid spells. He continued walking, unscathed.
If his new boss was bad, the three lackeys he toted around were horrendous. It was like being trapped in a old television show. He was just waiting for one of them to say "Golly gee willickers." They were so... good. Clean. Nice.
"Wow! You used to be a Turk all right! I would never have dreamed that one of you guys would come on down and join our cause!"
So naive. It was scary. He ignored the man. Biggs. Probably one of the most effeminate looking men he'd seen in a while. Then there was Jessie. Now, she was a cute one, so far as Reno could see. Totally not his type, but she'd be a decent fuck. And there was the other guy... the pudgy one. Reno wasn't quite sure what his name was. He obviously had some sort of self esteem issues. Not that Reno knew anything about that, but the man barely said a word, and didn't do much else. Sheep. The lot of them.
Jessie and Biggs were squabbling in back of him, obviously concerning the idea of a dreaded, hateful Turk in the presence of their high and mighty terrorist group. He smirked and continued on his way.
"What the hell you doin?"
Yup. Barret Wallace seemed less than thrilled with his team. Bad enough Reno was there, but the people he actually trusted were acting like a trio of two year olds.
Today's gonna suck, but it may be... interesting.
The larger man looked over the smiling Turk and seemed less than pleased. Reno had a feeling that Tifa had pleaded with Wallace for a while to get him to take him along. He had to hand it to Tifa. She could be very persuasive when she wanted to be. Maybe it was all that time working in a bar...
"Turk eh? Don't trust yah."
He fought back a snort. Now there was a understatement if Reno saw one. The very thought of Barret Wallace trusting anyone from Shinra, much less a Turk was ludicrous at best. Then again, the same could be said of Reno. He followed the Avalanche leader deeper into the bowels of the reactor. It was only a job. Nobody said they had to be friends.
"This your first time..."
Reno rolled his eyes and continued walking. What was with all the small talk? "I'm a Turk. I've seen enough of Shinra to walk through here with my eyes closed. Backwards. With..." He was cut off.
"I've deciphered the code, if you two'd like to come along." Jessie motioned to the two men and walked to the elevator. She could tell Reno was an ass, and she had to hide her amusement after watching Barret's face go from curiosity to extreme annoyance. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be around or not, should Reno decide to stick with Avalanche... She hopped into the elevator leaving Barret and Reno behind.
"The Planet's full of Mako energy... People use it here everyday... It's the life blood of the planet, but Shinra keeps sucking it out with these weird machines..." Barret seemed wistful. He obviously felt strongly about this cause. Reno was almost taken aback. Almost.
"If I wanted a lecture, I'd go to Midgar U. Either we both go now or I torch this place myself and watch your ass fry on the way out." He twirled his nightstick absent mindedly as he watched the elevator return to their floor.
"That's it! You comin' with me now."
"Why Wallace. I didn't know you liked me that way!" Reno smiled maliciously and followed Barret into the lift. This was more fun than he'd thought it would be.
The elevator was small, as all reactor elevators were. They were usually meant to hold five people at most. Reactors generally had small numbers of actual qualified workers, and a likewise small number of human security guards. Less people on the payroll.
Reno pressed the button and leaned against the cool metal of the lift, careful not to press any buttons in the process. It was cramped in there. He had a feeling Barret counted as two people.
"Little by little, the Reactor'll drain out all of the life" He was persistent, Reno had to give him that. Like a yammering guard dog. Reno looked up to the ceiling of the elevator and noticed his reflection staring right back.
"Not my problem." He squinted coldly, his reflection returned the look.
"The Planet's dying!" Barret was shocked. How could anyone claim that something so important wasn't their problem? Sure, this man was a Turk, but he was still human...
Reno glared at the man. He was tired of the constant tirades. Blah, blah Shinra. Blah, blah, Planet. Wasn't it enough that he was helping them out. Leading them into the Reactor so they could blow it into oblivion?
"The only thing I care about is finishing this job, getting my money, and getting the hell out of Midgar. You got that?" The elevator came to a stop, the door opened, and Reno left. He had a feeling Barret was in no way pleased.
Screw him...
The reactor was large. Reno hadn't exactly lied to Barret, he'd been in this reactor with Kalie when she first got the job. She was so excited. All those years studying and she had finally made it as a Mako technician. She had to show Reno. Hell, she had to show everyone she knew. That was just the way Kalie was...
"When we blow this place, there ain't gonna be nuttin' but a hunk of junk."
Reno smiled coldly. He liked the sound of that.
"...Set the bomb."
Reno was dumbfounded. Barret, wanting him to handle the heavy explosives? Something seemed out of whack. "Well this is a surprise."
"Don't go thinkin' I'm trusting you. I just gotta make sure you don't pull nothin."
"Blow this place up? Gladly..." Reno knelt down and stared at the numerous colored wires that were attached to the mechanism. Explosives were one of Reno's fortes. Time bombs, motion sensors, you name it, he knew it. He leant forward and set the wires in place, punching in the codes and data for the timer. He paused as he stared down at the final button, the button that would finalize this action.
"Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"I have a surprise for you..."
"I love you..."
"What's wrong? Hurry it up!"
Reno shook his head. Now was definitely not the time... He squinted angrily, pushing back any emotions that dared enter his being, and pressed the button. Ten minutes.
"Here they come, Turk-boy. Show me what you got."
Reno glared at the oncoming robot. He wasn't in the mood for any of this. It was a Guard Scorpion. Easy to dispose of when you knew what you were doing. Keep away from the tail and you're home free. Nothing to worry about.
He moved in for the first move, shocking it with a Lightning spell. Barret then moved in with a barrage of bullets. The man was pretty powerful. They continued, leaving the machine little time to counterattack. Easy, but tiring.
Search Scope. The Scorpion was weakening but still a threat. Barret moved in for another attack and narrowly missed hitting the tail.
Reno winced in anticipation. Just a few more inches and they would have been in trouble. This thing wasn't that bad, from what he'd heard, but they were in a hurry and the Guard Scorpion's attacks hurt. "Watch it big boy! Hit that tail and we're both fried."
Barret took a step back and growled. He hated being corrected. "I ain't no fool."
The tail lowered and Reno sprang forward, dashing to the machine, his nightstick raised. He'd had enough of this endless battle. It was boring. He jammed the weapon into the Scorpion's mechanical abdomen and raised the setting. The machine jerked suddenly and grew still.
"I never liked bugs..."
I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot!
Jessie stared down at her leg. She had been running away from the reactor when her foot fell through a loose metal shaft, wedging itself in the floor. She was in a hurry. This was definitely not something she needed.
C'mon! She continued jerking, but it seemed useless. She sat back and stared toward the core of the reactor.
I hope they get out in time...
"Is it broken?"
Jessie looked up, startled. Reno stared back, his green eyes flashing in amusement. She wasn't surprised.
"Naw. Doesn't hurt much. I was an idiot. Didn't look where I was goin.'"
He knelt down, and carefully unhooked her boot from the metal floor. Odds are, she had been struggling too frantically to notice just how easy it was for her to get free. Reno grinned devilishly as he pulled himself to his feet. "Nice legs."
Jessie's smile of thankfulness fell as she tested her foot out and waltzed past him. "Too bad you'll never get that close to them again."
He continued smiling as he watched her leave him. A good fuck indeed...
Barret ran; Jessie, Wedge, Biggs, and Reno behind him. So much to do. So much relied on them all. The Planet, the human race, even their enemies.
One down. Seven more to go.
They had about a minute until detonation. Shinra wouldn't see it coming. Tifa was right, Barret hated to admit. Reno wasn't all bad. Maybe only half.
Though he was still annoying as hell.
He skidded to a halt, safely outside of the range of the explosion. The couldn't have much more time left.
"Jessie?"
She looked down to her watch, the seconds ticking away. "Four... three... two... one."
The explosion shook the compound, sending Wedge, Biggs and Jessie to the ground. Barret stood firmly on the ground, staring as flames of orange and red danced along the destroyed metal building.
Reno, braced himself against the wall and smiled. He hadn't seen anything so beautiful in a while.
"Goodbye Kalie..."
A/N - Okay. I think I know more of where I"m going with this. Now I have to rework my prelude/prologue. It doesn't make nearly as much sense with this following it. And there's a few interesting plot holes that I need to clear up.
I'm really liking where this is going... If anyone has any thoughts on this - comments on the storyline, characterization, etc, I'd love to hear them. ^_^