--Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 or its characters/gangs/locations. I only own this idea. Don't flame me, or I'll report you and do horrible tests on you too.--
AN:
No real Authors notice here…just the full summary! This might be a
one-shot…depends on interest. Curse fanfiction (dot) net for their small summary
boxes!!!
If I get a few reviews I'll make
this a long-shot!
Well…there is ONE authors notice here…this
chapter will feel a little rushed, that's because I cut out the
scenes where Reno actually got drunk and got caught in bed with
Elena…I wanted to keep this at T and not go to M! T is a wider
target audience!!
So, sorry this chapter will feel a little
rushed.
A cheat, a liar, rude boy and slacker. Reno
was known and loved for his antics as a Turk. But when Tseng
catches him in bed with Elena things turn nasty. Rufus isn't
taking it anymore and wants Reno out of the Turks and away from
SOLDIER...permanently. So when the opportunity to throw him into a
new science project comes up, Rufus quickly forces Reno into it.
But
after the strange experiments and a nasty bang to the head, Reno
awakens with horrible visions and dark powers...scared of what he
sees and of what he is slowly becoming he flees into the darkness of
Edge...hunted down by his old colleagues like a dog, waiting to be
shot.
T for very strong language and violence, plus mild
horror.
No slashes or pairings other than obvious Tseng/Elena,
Cid/Shera and Cloud/Tifa.
The Fall & Rise of Reno of The Turks
Part 1:
A Set Up To Set Things StraightSlick,
smooth…he could walk the walk and talk the talk; a real popular guy
in the ShinRa Corp after the building was reconstructed, all thanks
to him and his 'new ideas' for ShinRa.
Slumped down in his new
office chair in the Turk HQ, the red-haired hipster snoozed with a
magazine covering his face, a lollypop hanging from his mouth.
Lounge
music was quietly playing from the heavily labelled stereo behind
him, most of the yellow sticky labels being addressed to him directly
and where signed by Rufus…in red ink.
"Hey Reno, when are you going to actually take up your post in security!?" came a voice, the tone of irritation breaking the harmony of the lounge atmosphere.
"Wuuuuhh??" slurred the red-haired Turk
as he slowly lifted one side of the magazine from his face to get a
glimpse of who it was that awakened him; the white suit and
strawberry-blonde hair would cause any worker to pack up their
attitude and get back to work…and the irritated tone in his voice
was a cause for concern to the person who he was directly speaking
to.
After all; everyone here worked for Rufus ShinRa.
"And
when are you going to actually install the new computer software? In
fact...when are you going to do anything you promised you'd do?"
Rufus questioned irritably.
Reno blinked his drowsy blue eyes at
Rufus before letting the magazine rest over his eyes again, yawning
heavily and waving tiredly towards his boss.
"Just give me ten more minutes…I'll get right on it, yo." Reno slurred before letting his tired arms fall down both sides of the chair, instantly drifting into slumber once again.
"You've been drinking too much at those parties, Reno. It use to be fun for both of us and everyone else here at ShinRa, seeing you stroll around like an idiot and fall over yourself. But this is the new ShinRa now; you need to shape up quickly to fit into the brand new system Tseng put into place for the Turks…I know you hate working with files and paperwork, but you could at least try…and I know I promised Tseng I would never say a word about this…but the Turks are sp---" Rufus explained, but got interrupted quickly by an angry Tseng storming in through the nearby door the President was stood by…shifting his balance slightly and jolting Reno into sudden panic.
"Reno
you little slug!!" Tseng growled at the red-haired Turk, slamming
both his hands onto Reno's desk as he leaned over to gaze directly
into the slightly worried Turks face.
Reno shifted his posture
quickly to fit the chair, rather than slump all over it, before
slowly shifting the chair that tiny bit further away from
Tseng.
"Hey…boss…I was just---" Reno laughed nervously
before springing into panic as Tseng grasped the front of the
slackers shirt and hauled him forwards, staring directly into Reno's
blue eyes in anger.
Rufus sighed heavily and folded his
arms.
"Tseng, what has happened now?" Rufus questioned.
"Reno! I've had enough of all of this! What made you think that getting all the new recruits drunk was a good idea!?" Tseng snapped, blinded with his fury enough to not take notice of the President…who just looked on like some parent who is far to use to seeing their children squabble and fight.
"Boss…they looked bored like death! I thought they needed to…you know…unwind a little." Reno laughed nervously, still being grasped by the front of his shirt by the infuriated Tseng.
"You read and should know the new codes of the Turks! Rule number 46: No Unscheduled Outings!!" Tseng growled.
"But Boss…" Reno whimpered.
"And rule number 24: No Alcoholic Consumption in the ShinRa HQ or Turk HQ!" Tseng added, before having his attention gained by Rufus…who coughed to gain his attention.
"…exceptions, of course, to the President." Tseng added.
"Look Boss…I've been doing a lot of beating this weekend and had some things to take care of outside on the streets, so…" Reno began after regaining his cool, slowly edging Tseng off his shirt and making his way towards the nearest door…edging very slowly and carefully just so Tseng didn't go for him again.
"…I had to chill out myself…and these news kids wouldn't take the stress and wanted to chill too, yo…" Reno added before finally making it to the Presidents side, patting him on the shoulder gently before giving Tseng a smug look now that he felt secure by Rufus.
"It
wasn't just the new recruits getting drunk that has put your job on
a thin line, Reno!" Tseng growled, angry of Reno's cowardice and
how he was trying to take advantage of Rufus.
Reno's eyes
gradually started to shift from side to side nervously, he was
obviously aware of what Tseng was going to say.
"Mister
President, I have a formal request into delivering all these issues
to you. A certain someone, who wishes to remain anonymous, took it
upon himself to monitor Reno's behavior so we could officially
prosecute him…do you wish to hear the issues we uncovered?" Tseng
requested, reaching into his jacked to reveal a brown envelope.
Rufus
sighed heavily as a response before reaching out his hand to take the
envelope, a quick nod of the head to signify his approval of the
request.
Tseng handed Rufus the envelope and folded his arms
angrily as the President opened it and began reading the letters
contents; Reno trying to get a peek over the Presidents shoulder,
only to get a smack in the face from him.
"Mmmhmmm…oh…now
I get it…" Rufus muttered and began to hum what he was reading,
before finally starting to think up what to make of the whole
thing.
Tseng remained stern and serious, whilst Reno franticly
tried to make the President take his mind off what he just read by
waving his arms around and protesting.
"They where spying,
yo!! What makes you think that they aren't doing the same to the
others, yo!?" Reno protested.
Tseng clicked his fingers once it
became apparent that Reno was becoming restless, the click was a sign
to all Turks to come into the room for back up and assistance if the
situation or event was planned.
Basically Tseng planned this whole
thing out and had Rude, Elena and other new recruits that where not
drunk standing by.
Rufus lowered the letter he was reading as Rude
blocked the exit for Reno and two new recruits held him back from
irritating the President any longer.
Elena stood beside Tseng,
quiet as a mouse, looking anywhere but at Reno.
"Vandalism, consumption of alcohol on the premises, planning outings without my consultation, stealing office equipment, coming to work drunk, getting other employees drunk, harassing female workers, questioning the president, not doing tasks set, sabotaging science experiments, not cooperating in group assignments…the list seems to go on and on Reno; I never saw you do anything like this." Rufus said, looking almost gob-smacked.
"I didn't do any of that, yo!" Reno whined.
"After reestablishing ShinRa, we noticed a few problems in your behavior. So we got Mr. Anonymous to spy on you for a month, then we got him to do it again at the start of this month…that letter is all the findings during that first month, the second letter is even bigger." Tseng said.
"And we are
spying on three other ShinRa employees, none of them are Turks or
Scientists though…just plain old regular members of staff. We do
not spy on workers without the Presidents permission though…" one
of the new recruits explained, directing their gaze towards the
President.
Reno stopped struggling and looked towards Rufus as if
he was betrayed.
"You let them spy on me!?" Reno whimpered
as he was trying everything he could mentally to gain sympathy from
someone; but everyone expected him to try it, so ignoring him was a
little bit easier.
Everyone stayed silent for a minute or two as
Tseng whispered some 'extra information' to Rufus; but once he
was done the President knew he had no options left.
"Reno, come up to my office. The rest of you should come too." Rufus sighed before being escorted from the room by Elena and Rude; the two new Turks remained holding Reno back as Tseng approached, a grin planted on his face.
"This will teach you to try and steal her from me." Tseng chuckled.
"I wasn't stealing her from you, boss!" Reno growled, finally getting the two new recruits to release him.
"If you where not trying to steal her from
me, then why did I catch you with her?" Tseng lowered his
tone.
Reno smugly brushed a hand through his red hair before
drifting the same hand down the side of his face, trying to appear
calm and slick as usual.
"She made the first move, yo. I
just followed what she put out to me. If anything, she was cheating
on you." Reno smugly answered.
Tseng immediately grasped Reno by
the front of his shirt and slammed him into the nearby wall, still
grasping the younger Turk with both hands.
"She…would
NEVER sleep with you willingly…she told me you took advantage of
her when she became drunk, much like the sleaze you really are! And
if the tests she let us take prove positive, you'll be out of this
job…and I'll be able to hunt you down and beat you like we use to
beat all our enemies!" Tseng explained in a growling tone, easing
off his pressure on Reno gradually after finishing what he had to
say.
Once he released him, Tseng brushed himself down and made
sure he looked calm and stern once more, before clicking his fingers
to order the two new recruits to escort Reno to Rufus' office.
"If
you really want to get through this without a beating, Reno…I
suggest you keep your mouth shut and only speak when you are told to.
Right now you are under probation; one slip of the tongue could end
everything." Tseng finished as Reno was hauled out of the Turk
HQ.
----
Reno was lightly escorted from the elevator up to
the Presidents office; instead of rebelling and protesting he was
trying everything he could to think up some excuse to sum up his
actions.
'I was drunk' wouldn't work like it use to, all the
Turks know that Reno has to drink something incredibly powerful now
to get so drunk to sleep with another worker…especially one he knew
was going out with his boss.
Finally reaching the top of the stone
stairs to the velvet-feeling red carpet of Rufus' office, Reno had
to quickly choose which excuse he was going to use.
"Sit
down you two, Reno…stand in front if you would." Rufus sighed as
the two new recruits backed off and took their seats at the back of
the room.
Reno looked to his left and saw Rude guarding the
stairway; and then he looked to his right and saw Elena guarding that
stairway.
Tseng was stood beside Rufus' desk, his hands behind
his back and looking very serious. Reeve was there too, stood behind
Rufus and seemed to be helping him make sense of the letters and
paperwork he just received a few seconds ago.
But Reno didn't
know where that paperwork came from or what it was about, it must
have been 'social related'…otherwise, why have Reeve there to
help him make sense of it?
"Reno, Tseng broke the news to me
just a few minutes ago about a certain event that occurred two nights
ago…and today we have solid enough proof over your future here at
ShinRa…" Rufus began in a light-hearted tone, resting one hand on
his desk whilst using the other to rub his chin.
Reno took in a
heave of air and gulped, the tone in Rufus' voice was enough to
make him feel a little nervous…it wasn't often he heard the
President talk like that.
"…if Tseng hasn't told you
already, we had to take a quick 'test' on Elena to prove, or
disprove, a claim made earlier. If her test scored positive you would
be prosecuted and stripped of your Turk career, and any future
careers with ShinRa other than one would be out of your reach. But if
she scored negative, you would be left on probation. After all, you
did commit all these other breaches…usually I would throw them
aside, but questioning my authority flushed that benefit down the
toilet." Rufus added; rubbing his head tiredly before examining a
thin pink slip of paper Reeve handed to him after he finished
speaking, Rufus shaking his head after reading whatever was printed
on it.
Reno narrowed his eyes for a second before widening them to
their regular shape, jolting his head to look in Elena's direction;
she quickly looked away from him once she realized he was looking at
her for some kind of support.
This whole thing seemed like it was
set up.
"Reno, look at me when I'm talking to you."
Rufus ordered in the same light tone.
The red-haired Turk squinted
and twitched as he slowly turned his gaze back to Rufus, like an
injured animal Reno began to use his youthful and playful nature to
heal his soon to-come wounds.
As soon as something bad gets thrown
at him, Reno will jolt into using his 'youthful' nature to gain
sympathy like he always does…and when he finally gets it; he'll
use the more 'playful' side to regain Rufus' trust and faith in
him.
Little did Reno know, that his old tricks where past their
expiry date.
"These are the test results from the lab…and
it says here that Elena scored…" Rufus began.
The tension
built up as the President paused; Reno began to kick into his
'youthful panic attacks' by breathing heavily and trembling,
Tseng had a sinister smirk planted on his face, Elena and the two new
Turks just looked eager to hear the results whilst Rude stayed silent
and motionless…as usual.
"…it says Elena scored positive. So…that's it. We only have three options for you now Reno, no matter what you come up with the tests don't lie and we can not change our decision." Rufus explained.
"How can you get results for that like…really quick, yo!? I was told it would take like…a month before anything showed up!" Reno protested.
"Don't speak unless the President asks you to!!" Tseng barked.
"Tseng, please…let him speak when he wants to…Reno, this wasn't a pregnancy test. It's a new test made especially for work-related relationships, like certain youngsters stealing other workers girlfriends or boyfriends." Rufus explained.
"But I….she…Tseng said…awww shit, man." Reno huffed in defeat, none of his excuses seemed to surface. He was left speechless for once.
"Reno, I'm doing what is best for the new ShinRa. You've done some great things for us, but you've been more of a burden than anything else. That's why I'm giving you three options…" Rufus began, sighing heavily as he gazed at the shocked and almost petrified Reno stood before his desk.
"One, you can simply leave ShinRa right now and try to live a 'normal' life. I hear your parents have gotten back together and would willingly take you back…" Rufus' began.
"Two, you can enroll in our science program as a test
subject…but I'm afraid there is only one slot available for
someone like you, and to be honest I would hate to see you so
humiliated." Rufus laughed.
Those first suggestions made Reno
shudder; move back in with his parents? He hated them both with a
passion…his mother would go on and on about how successful he would
be as an artist, whilst his father would shout at how pathetic he was
and how he would never be in SOLDIER or the Turks.
Reno only
joined the Turks to get back at his dad, but even now his father
would be shouting and laughing at him.
The 'being a test
subject' was a big NO; Reno saw what happened to previous SOLDIER's
who got fired and forced into the programs, and Rufus wasn't
kidding when he said Reno would be humiliated.
They'd cut his
hair and start pumping all kinds of drugs into him, all the subjects
Reno saw became unstable and died…or had to be killed because they
where uncontrollable.
Reno sighed heavily and hoped the third
option would be lighter hearted.
"And the third
option…well…err…there is no third option. I made that up just
to make it sound like I had more ideas…anyway! You have to choose
now, before I choose for you." Rufus finished.
Hearing that
there where no other options hit Reno hard, being fired knocked him
over…but only having two options was a kick in the face and a blow
to the gut.
Before Reno could blurt out over choosing his first
option, a quartet of scientists stormed up the stairs and flooded
over to the president's desk in a panic.
"Sir, our latest subject was a failure! They did not meet the requirements!" the oldest male scientist blurted out.
"Uh…couldn't you have called me on the phone about this, I'm in the middle of---" Rufus began in a slightly irritated tone.
"I am greatly sorry, but I insisted they come up immediately if something went wrong, sir." Tseng interrupted, bowing his head in apology before delivering a slightly sinister smirk in Reno's direction.
"Fine…did the subject die or did the project flunk again?" Rufus questioned, sighing heavily as he began his sentence.
"The dosage was
lethal, sir. They perished instantly. We have come up to put out a
request for more test subjects, we direly need more!" the elder
male scientist explained in a slightly frantic tone.
Rufus quickly
clicked his fingers and nodded, before directing his gaze to
Reno.
The ex-Turk now felt the gaze of everyone on him, as did he
feel his heart racing.
"Reno here has just sadly departed the Turks…so…if he meets the requirements you could snap him up right now." Rufus suggested.
"Rufus!!" Reno cried out in
a desperate attempt to sway the President's idea.
The three
younger scientists surrounded Reno and quickly began inspecting him,
whilst the elder smiled in a pleased manner and nodded.
"Oh yes, he fits the requirements ever so nicely! We would love to start work right away!" the elder male scientist thanked.
"Rufus,
man! I'm not working with ShinRa anymore, yeah!? So you can't
just throw me into a science project, yo!!" Reno barked, getting
heavily worked up over how excited the scientists where getting.
Much
like a pack of starving wolves being fed prime meat, the scientists
where not going to let Reno slip by quite so easily.
"If I
recall, Reno…we haven't officially fired you yet. We only got
around to helping you decide what to do. So, you are still officially
licensed as a worker of ShinRa. So the President can put you into
whatever role he wishes!" Tseng answered with a slight chuckle in
his tone.
Then it finally hit Reno.
"Shit…this
was a set up!!" Reno thought angrily as
he growled in Tseng's direction.
It explains everything; why
Reno never got told about new science projects, why Elena was so
desperate to sleep with him, why the new recruits said that the boss
gave them the OK to drink out…and why Tseng ordered the scientists
to come upstairs whenever they felt like it.
One thing remained
unclear though, why him? Why not another member of SOLDIER or one of
the new Turks?
Even if this whole thing was planned to get him
into the science project, they wouldn't just do any old experiment
on him…all these previous tests must have been 'trail and error'
tests for a major project.
What it was, Reno didn't know…because
nobody told him about the new science projects after ShinRa was
rebuilt.
In a desperate attempt to escape whatever lab-bound fate
awaited him, Reno lunged himself backwards and out of the horde of
scientists…only to stumble over and fall right into the arms of
Rude, who remained silent and motionless…simply keeping Reno from
falling to the ground by holding him up from under his arms.
Whilst
Reno sighed with relief over his best buddy making sure he didn't
hurt himself, he didn't take notice of the elder scientist
approaching.
As Rude hauled Reno back to his feet, the red-haired
ex-Turk turned to face his best friend to thank him…only to feel
the sharp pain of something jamming into his neck, quickly followed
by a mass of dizzy spells and a headache, before finally falling
unconscious.
Once again Rude stopped Reno from falling over and
hurting himself, but now that the once frantic ex-Turk was sleeping
things could finally go on ahead.
"That should make things a bit easier…but we really must find a way to tame him, if we go ahead with the project with his anger and fear still loitering about we could end up with another…ahem!...you-know-who." The elderly male scientist explained.
"Don't worry Professor Sago…once
you've commenced with the operation and the Mako enhancement, not
to mention injecting him with our 'special something'…I am sure
he will settle down. It's just needles he's scared of." Rufus
chuckled before waving to the unconscious Reno, who was being carried
downstairs by the three younger scientists.
Professor Sago
followed quickly behind them, his grey hair but balding-head catching
the light of the stairway lamps causing a sinister feel.
"Make sure to clean and return that uniform to us!" Tseng yelled down to the scientists before making his way to the centre of the room, whistling to the remaining Turks to all gather and begin discussing new security measures, well…everyone but Rude, who remained silent and glanced down the stairs...watching his best friend be hauled off, possibly wondering what kind of horrible experiments are waiting to be done on him.
END
OF CHAPTER 1. AN: I only put
this chapter up right away because I can keep jumping back to it
whilst I write out the next few chapters. I know I got
Reno to say 'yo' a lot after every sentence he said (other than
to Tseng every now and then) but in the Japanese version of the game
he says 'zo' after every sentence, and 'zo' is basically
translated to 'yo'. I am basing this story on GAME events,
I haven't played Dirge Of Cerberus yet but that would count…events
of Advent Children happened…but won't be mentioned. Here's your
teaser. "Yep…he's just been slumped in that
corner for hours like that, just keeps saying something about
'somebody being out to get him'." "Maybe he's
finally lost his marbles!" "…out to butcher me…slay me
like I did them…" "He's scaring the shit out of
me…can't we beat him to shut him
up!?" "…dark…horrible…blood-feasted visions!!" "It
could be a mental disorder. Even if we wanted to beat the crap out of
him we still couldn't, he's got a head injury after all."
Usually I just write the
whole thing from ending to beginning, but this time I'm doing it
the 'right' way as many keep saying to me.
ShinRa
Corp and Midgar have been rebuilt and they no longer use Mako energy
as a power source, ShinRa now invest into the Space Program and
Science.
Edge still exists, but not as many people live there now.
(More moved to Neo Midgar)
Explanations OVER! And don't expect
the next part too soon, college is death.