The cold wind caressed his body. It was the only thing he could feel other than the pool of blood growing around his neck and dripping out of his mouth and ears. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. This wasn't what he wanted at all. His vision was so blurry, he didn't even think he was alive anymore. He caught a glimpse of two leather Turk uniform boots stepping in front of him. He could hear his smooth calm voice claiming over the radio, "It's Tseng. Target has been eliminated, sir."

"Good. Dispose of him, please. the gate will open any minute now."

"Yes sir."

He didn't think it would ever actually happen to him... but it did.

Harmonixer Harmony

By Stormes_Jay

His orders were simple; Hunt down the target, and by whatever means, capture the possible threat. He had perched himself on the edge of a building like a cat, peering down through pitch black sunglasses to the streets below. The mako had given him superhuman eyesight; he was perfect for this. A lit, nearly finished cigarette clung to his lips, a thin screen of smoke raising from its lit tobacco. A smirk crossed his face. He took the cigarette from his lips and flicked it away, "This is Reno. Target sighted." he said into the mic of the small communicator on his ear, "Commencing elimination."

"Roger that, Reno. Move in." Rude's voice chimed over the radio.

He stealthily climbed down the fire escape, making his way tot he ground. He was silent, closing in on his prey. The man was short and skinny from behind, dressed in a black suit with light blonde hair. He was just another man who had gone against ShinRa, and was planning to welch on Rufus. Nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary. The guy didn't even see him coming. It was almost too easy for Reno to yank him back into an alley.

He slammed the man into a the wall, "You really should've seen this coming." He rammed his fist into the man's stomach, hunching him over just as he shot his knee into his jaw, "What were you thinking? Once you leave ShinRa, you just gotta die." He yanked the man up by his collar again, this time pulling his gun from it's holster, "Sorry 'bout this, pal."

/Don... sto... le-im-oh../ Pain shot up Reno's spine. He stopped, freezing in place to try and ignore the pain. Luckily, his target was too dazed to do anything about it. He shook his head before repositioning himself, aiming his gun again. /on't... top... et-hi-go.../ He stopped again, grabbing the back of his neck. The words made no sense, and with every whisper came a bounty of pain. He looked to the side, wincing. He opened his eyes.

There she stood, her silver hair tied back in a braided bun. White lace and blue silk wrapped around her body, and a gold cross hung around her neck, "Don't. Stop. Let him go." She said softly.

He blinked, ".. Who-..?" He shook his head, and as fast as she came, she was gone. He looked down with a pause. Wait—the target! He looked back. He was still there, hanging by his collar, unconscious. This wasn't the time to drift off. Reno held his gun and turned the man against the wall, pulling a pair of hand cuffs from his back pocket and clamping them to the target's wrists.

"Good work, Sinclair. I'll be sure to have this man punished for his... questionable faith in the company." Rufus gave a confident smirk, "Go back to your quarters, if you may."

Reno sneered, "Yeah, whatever you say, Boss..." He shrugged and turned for the door.

"Before you leave, however, I have some orders for you."

He turned back, leaning mostly on one leg and dropping a shoulder, "Yeah?" he tilted his head.

"Please take this to Captain Kisaragi." Rufus gestured to a filled envelope, "This is private information, so please, no peeking."

Reno took the envelope with a blank stare, "Okay, whatever..." he headed out the door.

As he headed down the hall he saw the portraits of previous Turk squads. The further he went, the closer they came to his. He always stopped at the final two. Both of them had Alvaus Brechlyn. He had known him almost all of his career, he was almost a second father to him. It was surprising he left so suddenly, never even writing. And it didn't help that Tseng was already anxious to take over his position as captain, and he never spoke of him again. And then there was Erika Hartley. He missed her so much. He didn't even want to think about what happened to her. He turned away and continued down to Tseng's office.

He knocked—nothing. Again. He sighed and opened the door, poking his head in, "Hey, Tseng-..." No one was there. He quietly walked in, placing the envelope on Tseng's desk, "Hey, Tseng, where are ya?" He stuck his hands in his pockets, "Fine, whatever. I'll ask you for a raise next time..." He headed for the door.

"... You're sure it matches?" Tseng covered his mouth and closed his eyes thoughtfully.

Hojo rung his hands, "Yes. As I was trying to find matching DNA samples to Mr. Valentine for experiments, his name came up. There is no doubt, he and Mr. Sinclair are kin."

Tseng looked to the side, "What else can you tell me about Valentine's DNA? What makes it so special?"

"As you know, I have been trying to repeat my experiment on Mr. Valentine. But even if subject is dead, they don't revive with the same powers. They are merely... reanimated. They have no powers to shape shift or... anything abnormal. It because of a type of genetic mutation in the DNA."

"And it reacts to Jenova cells by giving the body supernatural powers of shape shifting?"

"The beauty, yes? You're wrong, Mr. Kisaragi. As my experiments have shown, the DNA had already given him those powers. They simply had no... souls to act upon." Hojo grinned hauntingly.

Tseng furrowed his brow, "What are you saying?"

"Mr. Kisaragi, there is a world beyond this one. There has to be. The lifestream, yes? This stream carries the souls of the lost in it. Demons, angles, monsters, miracles of nature, even. If only there were some way to open a gate to this world!" Hojo grabbed his chin, "The possibilities are endless. There are no bounds to what can be discover! Controlled! Conquered!" He cackled.

Tseng closed his eyes, "And what exactly are you planning to do about this... portal?"

"When Mr. Valentine died, the portal was opened. He brought back friends." Hojo leaned in, "I would need another death to reopen that gate." he said slowly, backing up to a sheet covered object. He grasped the sheet and yanked it off, "Here is my conductor." He smiled devilishly. The contraption was a large ring on a spinning dial, charged with electricity.

Tseng sighed, "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to reopen the gate for me." Hojo walked over, ringing his hands again, "Kill the boy."

"And the location?" Tseng lifted his head.

"The location doesn't matter. Just do it tonight." Hojo tilted his head with a grin.

Tseng closed his eyes in thought, "Fine. I'll do it."

"Good. The way he dies isn't any of my concern. Do as you may." Hojo turned back to his creation, laughing as Tseng left.

Rude pushed up his glasses, "Reno?"

Reno looked up from his shoes while tying them, "What is it?"

"I'm not sure how I should say this... Are you feeling alright? You've been looking around corners all day."

Reno blinked and blankly stared, "Oh... It's... It's nothing. Just keep seeing something in the corner of my eye I guess." He stood up, "It has to be all of this work, I can't remember the last time I went home. Been spending all of my time here and the damn ShinRa housing. I just want to go back to my apartment, you know?"

Rude smiled ever so slightly, "Yes, I understand. I'd go if I had somewhere else."

"You know, there's nothing stopping you from moving in with me. I still have a couch open for friends." Reno put his hands in his pockets.

Rude shook his head, "No, thank you. I don't like imposing."

"Fine, whatever floats your boat. The couch is always open to ya." He gave a two finger salute as he headed out the door.

It had just finished raining, and the air was so cold it made his face go numb. It was at times like these Reno wished he could just move back to Kalm with the folks. He tucked his neck into his scarf and kept walking. His house wasn't too far, just about a mile away. It was almost midnight, from what he could tell. Just when the town lit up with neon signs spelling out strip club names. He made his way around the corner and into an alley; it was the short cut. The puddles of water splashed out of place as he walked into them. He stopped, hearing footsteps behind him, "... Tseng." he didn't turn around.

"Reno. You know why I'm here?" Tseng said calmly.

Reno shrugged.

"..." Tseng narrowed his eyes, "You honestly don't know, do you?" There was a pause as Reno heard the all too familiar sound to a gun loading, "Turn around, Reno."

Reno raised his hands, feeling the gun press against his head. He looked back, his head turning to the side, "What did I do?"

"Nothing. It's your genes that are the problem. Don't worry." Tseng smirked a bit, "I don't blame you. I'll take good care of Elena and Rude."

Reno's eyes widened as he turned a bit. Unfortunately, not in time to dodge the bullet Tseng fired. Reno fell limply to the ground, all feeling but the cold air disappearing.

Thank you very much for reading! Now if you please... Review? 83

Just to let all of you know, this story takes place on year after the original game. The gang's split up to do their own thing, ShinRa is a small, scientific research and development plant just outside of Midgar's 'Region of Natural Habitats' or Sector A, and Hojo survived and is still working as the head scientist of ShinRa, because I'm sentimental. XD