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Fantastic: Sector II

Fantasy 11: Shinra Burger

Reno and Rude were happily walking towards a fast food place. They entered the cheerful colored building and took in the scent of the not nutritious yet extremely delicious junk food. Pictures of the Turks, ex-Turks, Soldiers and ex-Soldiers adorned the walls and there was a life size cardboard Rufus near the service counter. There was a plastic box attached to it as if he was holding it in front of him. In the box there were several little action figures.

Everything was well for the Turks though Reno wished for something exciting to happen. For him peace and quiet equaled boredom. As they approached the counter to buy their food Reno's whispered something in Rude's ear. "Don't forget to buy the you know what."

With a heavy sight and slightly shaking his head, Rude made the order. "Two orders of hamburgers with fries and large sodas and a... that thing" Rude felt a bit embarrassed.

The girl taking the orders looked at him confused. "What thing?" She wondered what he wanted. "A salad?"

"No I mean... that little toy thing," Rude replied quietly.

"Oh! You want to order a toy too!" The overly cheerful ninja girl spoke loud enough for everyone there to hear. She then looked around as if trying to find a child.

"No kids here. It's just that Rude loves those toys," Reno cheerfully said.

Rude laughed nervously and Yuffie smiled amused. They got their order and paid for it then went to sit down and eat. "Thank you Yuffie," Rude's voice held a clear hint of sarcasm.

Yuffie shrugged and continued her job with the next customer. She never thought she would be working for Shinra but at least Shinra Burger didn't suck the life out of the planet. Barret argued that it instead sucked the life out of the paying customers but what fast food place didn't? It was perfectly normal and the materia stealing business had been low so Yuffie took the job.

Once at a table Reno and Rude started eating. Curious so see what toy he got, Reno reached into the colorful little box and pulled out a tiny Vincent. "Look Rude! I got a Vincent action figure! Now I just need Sephiroth and I'll have all of them. That Sephiroth is hard to find. Maybe Yuffie has one. Do you think she'll trade it for a materia? A toy materia I mean." Reno had a few repeated materias so he won't mind trading. In fact he would even throw in a two for on deal since Sephiroth was the last one he needed to complete the collection.

"She probably will and next time buy your own toys," Rude replied.

"Aw c'mon it just doesn't go with my cool guy image." Reno had thought of a plan B in case Rude got tired of buying his toys. He thought it would be a good moment to show his partner that he sometimes did plan ahead. "I could just offer to baby-sit Marlene and Denzel and bring them here. Then I'll buy toys and everyone will think it's for them."

"You'll have to convince Tifa and Cloud to let you baby-sit first and besides wouldn't they want to keep the toys?" Rude asked.

"I'll buy three and say the third one is for some other kid they adopted who couldn't come that day," Reno grinned victoriously at his genius plan. The two Turks continued their meals until Reno noticed someone at a table near by. "Rude look! Vincent's here! What a coincidence that the day I get a Vincent toy the real Vincent happens to be here. He used to be a Turk you know."

"Yes, you have told me several times before," Rude reminded.

Suddenly a random girl pointed at Vincent and said. "Vincent is a vampire!" Everyone stopped eating to stare at him. He was one of the available action figures after all. He didn't exactly give his consent to that, but didn't do anything to stop Rufus either.

"I'm not a vampire" Vincent said calmly trying to ignore the fact that everyone was staring at him while their food got cold in the freezing air conditioner of Shinra Burger.

"Yes you are! You look like a vampire, you dress like a vampire and you have blood in your mouth. That's proof enough! Who did you bite? Are you still hungry? Bite me next!" The crazy fangirl squealed.

"Security!" Yuffie's voice was suddenly heard all over the restaurant. "Code red on table five, I repeat code red on table five!"

Suddenly Tseng and Elena came out of the kitchen. "I can't believe we got the Shinra Burger mission today," Elena complained.

"It helps with the publicity," Tseng tried to console her. That's what Rufus had told him. Having real the Turks in the kitchen would certainly help the business since the sales for their 'Chibi Shinra Meals' with collectable action figures were going great.

Rufus decided that Tseng and Elena would be the best team for the job since Reno might start goofing off in the kitchen and burn down the restaurant or somehow convince Rude to have an eating contest with him. No one knew how but Reno could get Rude to do almost anything sometimes. But what really made Rufus make that decision were Reno's countless attempts of trying to convince Rufus to give him the collectible action figures. Of course, Rufus had said time and again that those were for the paying customers and if Reno wanted them he had to buy a 'Chibi Shinra Meal'.

"But then everyone will know I'm collecting them," Reno had complained.

To that Rufus simply answered "be proud to purchase Shinra products" and that had been the end of the discussion.

"Step away from the paying customer" Elena said pointing a gun at the crazy fangirl.

Tseng stood at the other side cornering the fangirl also pointing a gun at her. "We're going to have to ask you to take your order to go."

"But I want Vincent to bite me. He's a vampire look at the blood in his mouth!" The girl protested.

"The only things that people are allowed to bite in this building are the food products that they purchased here," Elena insisted.

"It's just ketchup" Vincent explained. "They don't give us enough napkins."

The fangirl stood there embarrassed as everyone stared at her. "The service here stinks I'm never coming back unless Vincent admits that he's a vampire!" Unable to take it any longer she ran away leaving the echo of a high pitched squeal behind.

"Nice work!" Reno gave Tseng and Elena a thumbs up.

Elena was not in the best of moods that day. "Reno, you have the right to chew with your mouth closed. If you refuse that right your food will fall out of your mouth and I will shoot you." Without giving Reno the chance to reply she went back to the kitchen with Tseng following.

"I wonder why we didn't get this job?" It would make it a lot easier for Reno to find his missing action figures if he worked there.

"Here you go Vinnie, you should have told me you needed another napkin. I was told it was one per customer but I'll make an exception for you." There stood Yuffie with a handful of napkins.

Vincent's gaze went from Yuffie to the napkins and back to Yuffie. Then he discretely looked around. Everyone was looking at them from the corner of their eyes because they didn't get any extra napkins. He didn't like it when people stared at him like that. "...thank you."

"You're welcome!" Yuffie cheered. Then she returned to the service counter where several hungry customers were waiting in line.

When the next day came and Rude refused to visit Shinra Burger, instead deciding to go to Shinra Pizza, Reno was forced to carry out plan B. As much as he liked pizza they didn't have the action figures there. Pizzerias should also give out toys like burger fast food places did. Reno would bring up the idea to Rufus as soon as he saw him.

It looked like Lady Luck was on Reno's side that day, even if she was known for changing her mind quite often. Asking Tifa if he could take Marlene and Denzel to Shinra Burger was a lot easier then he thought. After several dates in which they had to bring the kids along, Cloud and Tifa needed some alone time. Of course, Cloud had been quite clear with Reno. "If anything happens to Marlene or Denzel my sword and I will torture you in such a way that you will wish Sephiroth had destroyed the planet and you along with it."

Reno agreed, it would just be a quiet lunch at Shinra Burger and it was, until Denzel accidentally fired ketchup at Marlene while he was trying to open the little plastic ketchup bag. He kept trying to put ketchup on his fries as if he didn't notice the bag had burst open on the other side and the ketchup was now on Marlene. While Reno was too busy concentrating in opening his mouth big enough to be able to take a bite of his oversized burger, Marlene returned fire. Soon it turned into a mini food fight between the two kids who where actually behaving like little kids today. The children were usually more mature with the geostigma situation and all that had happened, but now that it was all solved they could just be kids.

After chewing and swallowing the first big bite and before taking another, Reno noticed the mini food fight taking place on their table. "Stop that, yo!" Of course he was ignored and soon his face was decorated by bright red ketchup to match the color of his hair. He shrugged, a little fun never hurt. "Food fight!"

Thinking it was all part of the entertainment since it had been a Turk who made the announcement, many of the customers of the full restaurant started throwing food in hopes of winning some kind of prize from Shinra. Reno joined in while Marlene and Denzel wondered if they should blame themselves or Reno for the food fight that was taking place, either way they participated too.

Yuffie watched the war take place from the counter. She dodged several biscuits heading in her direction before jumping over the counter and joining in. She held fries in her hands as if they where kunais and started throwing them hitting all her targets, unfortunate random customers, with perfect accuracy.

As the food fight took place, Vincent innocently wandered into Shinra Burger. They did make really good junk food and he was trying to get with the times and eat what people ate those days. He had been sleeping in a coffin for too long. A plastic glass flew over his head loosing its plastic cover and dumping its contents on his head. Now his hair had Pepsi in it, complete with ice and a straw. Vincent wanted to leave but first he searched for Yuffie. He saw her and it looked like she was having fun. Maybe this was a recreational activity that he should also try. He had decided to be open to new things.

Tseng and Elena heard the commotion and emerged from the kitchen still in their kitchen gear which they had removed before coming out the day before. Besides the matching aprons, Tseng was wearing a bandana with the words 'kiss the cook' written on it. He had lipstick on his face of a suspiciously similar color to the lipstick Elena was wearing. Suddenly a loud 'bang' was heard silencing all other sounds in the restaurant. A cheeseburger fell on the floor with a burnt hole right in the middle and a couple of feet from the unfortunate cheeseburger stood a very angry looking Elena. "I'm not going to clean this!" With that said she threw her apron on the floor and walked out of the restaurant. Tseng took off his apron forgetting about the bandana and followed her. He never thought he would have to protect Rufus from one of his team but as angry as Elena was, it looked like that's what Tseng would need to do.

It was then that Yuffie noticed Vincent's presence. "Hey Vinnie join us!" She was standing on a table extending her hand to him.

Vincent approached, took her hand and climbed on the table. "What should I do?"

"Throw food at everyone, except me of course," Yuffie answered. "Let the food fight continue!"

Later, the night after the food fight had ended, it was Rude who turned out to be the unfortunate soul who got sent to clean up the mess. The other Shinra employees were scattered all over the globe taking care of other fast food restaurants and so Rufus' Turks and a few other people he hired were left to take care of the local places. Yuffie was fired. As Rude stared at the mess not knowing where to start, he spotted a little Sephiroth action figure someone dropped. Reno had mentioned that he got another one of himself that day while Marlene and Denzel got Tseng and Elena, which Reno also had so no trade offers took place. Rude didn't know who dropped that Sephiroth there, but he did know one thing, he wouldn't be the one cleaning that mess tonight.

Fantasy 12: Chocobo

When Elena arrived at the Turks’ office that morning, the first thing she noticed was the chocobo pecking at random paper work. The second thing she noticed, which was somehow more surprising than the chocobo, was that Reno was already there, before her, it was unbelievable. She quickly made the connection between Reno and the chocobo, because it had to be his doing, who else could it be? She concluded this, not only because Reno was the only one there, but because she couldn't imagine Rude or Tseng bringing a chocobo to work. Elena had eventually learned that Reno was the Turk who was most likely to do something out of the ordinary, such as bringing a chocobo to the office. She decided that she would not humor Reno and simply ignored the chocobo and its playful warks.

"Good morning," Elena politely said her usual greeting as if she were completely oblivious the big yellow animal's presence.

"Morning Elena!" Reno noted that Elena did not ask about the chocobo. It couldn't be that she missed it, a bird big enough to carry a man could not be easily missed, especially if said bird was noisily chirping a loud wark. Well Reno wasn't going to mention the chocobo if Elena didn't ask so it was left at that.

Rude soon arrived at the office. He was usually earlier than this. He immediately noticed the chocobo, which could not go unnoticed. Elena was calmly working on some papers, or at least she made it look that way. She was a Turk but so was he, so he could tell if she was hiding something and he knew she was full of questions about the chocobo, ready to burst if she didn't ask; but she didn't. Rude was usually quiet and today wasn't the exception. The sat down at his desk to work on that boring old paper work and remained quiet, only nodding as a greeting.

Tseng had a meeting with Rufus that morning and was the last to arrive at the Turks’ office. He wasn't sure what was worse, a boring meeting first thing in the morning or a finding a chocobo pecking at random things in the office, and no one doing anything to stop it. "Reno," it was his first thought, the most obvious one.

"Yes, sir?" Reno tried to fake innocence.

"Why is there a chocobo in the office?" Tseng asked, looking cool, calm and collected.

"It followed me to work and I thought the Turks needed a pet, er... mascot." The chocobo had somehow gotten a hold of a marker and was now scribbling on the walls, the Shinra property walls.

Tseng looked towards Rude who shook his head. He looked towards Elena who mimicked the gesture. Right, this week it was Tseng’s turn to make sure Reno didn't do something he shouldn't do. There have not been any really interesting missions lately. Boredom and Reno, simply do not mix.

Fantasy 13: Lost Time

A waste of time, a waste of his very precious time; that is what it was... But he sold his time to Shinra for some gil so he had to waste it in whatever way he was told, even if he rather not. He was supposed to get there, press a button then leave. His lunch break would start soon and he didn't want to waste it in that place. He had a strict personal policy about not working when he was on break. There was interference but the mission was accomplished, yet time was lost, along with so much more...

Fantasy 14: Regret

The way Barett kept muttering something about guilt and regret without actually saying it directly; was starting to bother the person whom it was not meant to bother, Tifa. Meanwhile, Reno continued playing the role of a good little customer, happily drinking at the bar, occasionally asking Tifa for a refill. The redhead was blissfully unaware of the fact that Barett's comments were directed at him, and simply assumed the man with the arm gun was performing the ritual known as drowning away the sorrows.

Tifa cleared her throat, in an obvious sign of irritation. Not wanting to deal with a bartender who was unwilling to give him more alcohol than was healthy, even if it was his problem anyway not hers, Reno placed some gil on the counter in the form of a generous tip, not that Tifa intended to deny him the liquid goods anyway. She wiped the bar, even if it was already clean; and burned Barett's forehead with her gaze as he stared into his half full, or half empty, glass. Reno continued being blissfully unaware that Barett's comments were directed at him, and also blissfully drunk.

At the end of his patience, Barett decided to speak to Reno directly. "Don't you regret it?"

"Huh?" Reno blinked and tried to figure out what Barett was talking about. Might as well be sympatric, then maybe his unwilling duty as a bar buddy would end before Barett decided to recite his life story, and Reno would be left alone to focus on creating a lot of profit for the Seventh Heaven. "It's regrettable yes..." It was the most obvious fact, that Reno has no idea what he was talking about. Barett saw that, Tifa saw it, the whole bar noticed, and the bartender sighed predicting an inevitable argument.

"You... you don't regret it at all!" Barret was annoyed of course, yet after having his past kindly shoved in his face by a wise robotic cat, he had learned not to complain too much about the outcome that he in part provoked.

"It's not my fault, yo! It's not my fault you got dumped by whoever for whatever..." Reno closed his eyes and pushed any and all coherent thoughts out of his head. He had paid good gil for the state he was in and he intended to keep it, at least until it was time to go home.

"That's not it!" It was a classic drown your sorrows excuse, yet that wasn't it, Barret was simply remembering the past and wishing to hear something he knew he wouldn't, something that he wouldn't say if the tables were turned, even if Tifa already had spoken those words in response to the accusations of the cat; regret. "It's about the plate, about Sector Seven! Do you regret that?"

Reno was no longer the drunken sleepy-head he was a split second, with a loose grip around his glass, and half closed eyes. Right now he was wide awake, gripping his glass so tightly it could almost shatter and with an energetic yet carefree spark in his eyes. "I regret that you weren't under it when it fell, because you just made me sober!" Why couldn't people learn to stop talking to him when he was drinking? Reno possessed the blessing and the curse, to somehow become sober at a moment's notice, even if he didn't want to. Now all the gil he spend on his drinks would go to waste with their effect severely shortened.

Barett opened his mouth to speak, but before any sounds came out, Tifa slammed a new glass in front of him, filled to the brim, splashing a few drops of the bronze colored liquid on the previously clean counter. Barett closed his mouth, paused, picked up the new glass ignoring his previous half full or half empty one, and drank. After drinking it all in one gulp, Barett proceeded to speak. "As long as you regret somethin', I guess that'll do." If it was the need to leave it all behind, or a massive amount of concentrated alcohol that brought about those words, Reno did not know and neither he nor Tifa cared as long as he could return to the task of becoming drunk without being bothered and she could maintain the peace of her bar without losing a profitable customer.

Fantasy 15: Saw it Coming

It was quiet and still, as dark inside as the night outside; and it was at times like this when Rude wondered how in the world Reno became his best friend. The two were quite different from each other. Rude was very quiet and Reno had no problems rambling away when ever he was bored. Rude was often seen with a serious expression while Reno was smiling or grinning most of the time, even in the mist of trouble.

Rude was sure that nothing good would come out of their current situation, yet somehow, Reno managed to talk him into it. There they were, sneaking into the Shinra building. "Reno..."

"No turning back!" They had miraculously gotten past security and where now actually inside. The problem was that camera set at an angle that was not currently filming them, but would if they made a move.

"This will only end badly..." Rude thought about turning back on his own, but he couldn't leave Reno, his best friend of so many years. Rude knew very well that Reno would jump into a bottomless pit after him in a foolish and suicidal attempt to save his life should Rude ever fall in first, and it was that kind of rash action that prompted Rude into staying out of trouble, so Reno wouldn't be dragged along.

For Reno it was different, he naturally attracted trouble and he actually enjoyed it. Bringing Rude along didn't feel like causing his best friend despair, it was about sharing the fun. "Relax, when was the last time we did something cool?"

"By your definition, this morning when you threw a water balloon at the major during his public speech," Rude wondered what Reno was planning to do with his life. They had joined Shinra together at a young age. Reno kept talking about being a Turk someday and Rude liked the idea so he decided to make it his goal as well, but he wondered if it would happen any time soon.

"That was great! He went retreating into the Shinra building and then Old Man Shinra took over." It's not like he had been caught, so from Reno's perspective everything was fine. Besides, he had been told countless times that being a Turk was a serious job, so he might as well joke around as much as possible while he still could.

Rude shook his head, "we're going to get caught." They had not advanced since they got to the area with the cameras. They were already a few floors past the level they were allowed in.

"We're not going to get caught," Reno tried to keep a positive outlook, or rather, he simply didn't care. He certainly hoped they didn't get caught, even if Rude was certain they would and he was almost always right. But if they did get caught, it wouldn't be the end of the world, and hopefully, not the end of their careers. "I have a plan."

Much to Rude's disappointment, Reno's plan consisted of wearing Shinra cadet helmets to hide their faces from the recording. Even if Rude was sure they would be caught, he played along.

Disregarding the watchful cameras, Reno and Rude made their way up the Shinra building, picking locks and taking advantage of stolen keycards, or borrowed as Reno would say. They decided to make the major of Midgar their victim again, breaking into his office and stealing his keycard to go further up.

The two best friends, continued to climb the building until they reached the top, and realized that the major's keycards could take them no further. The last lock, the one leading to their goal, the place where they wanted to leave their victorious mark, required a key.

Reno looked towards Rude, both of them still wearing helmets.

"Pick it," even if Rude was still certain that one way or another they would get caught, and Reno was still hopeful that they wouldn't, they have come too far. They were a mere few feet away from their goal, to make a chaotic mess in the president's office that would inevitably convince him that his security needed an upgrade. If the president thought that anyone could sneak in and take his life, he would want to have more Turks, and the Turk candidates' chances for a promotion would increase.

"That's the spirit!" Reno started working on the lock. The redhead felt that nothing could go wrong, and his accomplice became certain that something would.

With a click, the outdated lock gave in and the door to the president's office was open. Reno confidently walked inside, while Rude felt like he was being watched. Then, the lights went on and the two intruders froze.

A man in a navy suit approached them while a woman in the same uniform moved away from her position near the light switch and looked out the door. She shook her head indicating that there was no one else out there and closed it.

Two other Turks stood left and right from president Shinra who had stayed in his office late plotting how to gain more control over Midgar. The incident with the major and the water balloon was actually quite beneficial towards the president's plan to make the major look like a coward.

All four Turks were armed and ready to fight the two mysterious intruders. "Take off the helmets," the president ordered.

The Turk that stood closest to them received the two helmets as Reno and Rude revealed their identities. "Traitors!"

"It's no like that!" Reno tried to defend himself and Rude, he tried to think of an excuse, but the situation looked pretty accusing. "We were just testing the security system, isn't it our duty?"

The president took a moment to think about this then reached a decision. "Starting tomorrow, you two are in my main team of Turks."

Fantasy 16: Kiss the Girl

He was a handsome young man and she was an exotic older woman. This is the story of the kiss that never happened. (Crack-fic, just for laughs.)

When he first saw her he couldn't turn away. It was natural of course; she was a rarity, not an average woman at all. Her body was femininely shaped with perfect curves and there was something very special about that look in her eyes. She was fascinating in every way, but that didn't mean he liked her, goodness no.

She was an older woman, she was foreign, and she was completely out of reach. Yet that one time, be it by a drunken stupor or sheer curiosity, he had approached her and almost kissed her.

No one knew if he did it in a rebellious act to spite his father and his outdated friends, or maybe he was simply responding to the challenge of his so called ally who was, with no doubts, taking advantage of his drunken state in hopes of obtaining a good show and maybe even some prized blackmail.

It never happened; his father's friend arrived and took the lady away, guarding her jealously. At the time, he had scoffed and threatened to leave the old man jobless or lifeless in the near future.

The next morning, upon realizing his grave mistake, he instead threatened to leave his so called ally jobless and lifeless and changed his mind about firing the old man. He did not fulfill the threat upon his comrade, but he never fully forgave his so called protector who had nearly doomed him and he swore never to taste alcohol again.

If he had ever been thankful to Hojo for anything, it would be for stopping him that night. If he had ever hated Reno for anything, it would be for daring him to kiss Jenova; and to this day Rufus Shinra still shudders at the thought of what he almost did.

Fantasy 17: Gratitude

Someone's Point of View

"You killed them..." My tone is devoid of emotion, almost indifferent.

He gives me a puzzled look. "You'll have to be more specific."

"Of course you don't know. The statistics might give people some numbers, but can anyone ascertain beyond a doubt how many people were sent to the life stream when the plate fell, or rather when you dropped it?"

"It would be hard to keep count." He seems to be indifferent to the gun I'm aiming at him, as if he's cocky enough to think he can dodge a bullet at point blank, or survive the hit and take me down first.

"Certain people that I knew were there. It was not were I lived, but certain people were there..."

"And now you want revenge? You wouldn't be the first." The Turks must be used to this, I'm sure.

I approach, he eyes the gun. I take another step and he kicks the weapon of my hand; but before he can catch it I tackle him in a kiss.

The gun lands on the street, making a loud noise in the silence of the night, but fortunately it doesn't fire off on impact. I part from him and note his confused look.

I walk away a few steps and retrieve my weapon. I only look back once and say "thank you," before disappearing into the night. Some people are better off being sent to the life stream.

End of Someone's POV

Fantasy 18: Noble

Their paths had crossed once or twice before but each time it had been in silence. The Turk walked by on his way to work, passing next to the Soldier. They did not know what the other's business was and neither asked. The red haired man simply walked past, minding his own business. The dark haired man looked up as if to acknowledge the presence of another person but said nothing when his gaze was not met. It happened a few times, once, twice, maybe more than that, the Turk didn't remember. He had no business with the Soldiers and information in Shinra was given out in a need to know basis.

xoxox xox xoxox

When the Nibelheim incident occurred, many lives were lost including one of a legendary Soldier, or so they had thought at the time. Everything was in chaos, Shinra was out to cover up the catastrophe as fast as possible and the Turks were immediately sent on a special mission.

As soon as he landed the helicopter near the ruins of the burnt down Nibelheim, Shinra soldiers were already loading it with what few valuable things could be saved, that is valuable from Shinra's point of view.

Rude and Tseng who had been riding on the helicopter were now outside getting the latest report of the situation from a Shinra soldier. Another helicopter landed near by. Inside were Gun, Cissnei and someone else. Reno, knew all the Turks but he didn't have time to identify the other person before a half-dead man was placed on his helicopter.

"Take him to Shinra Headquarters, they're expecting him. Return as soon as possible," Tseng said.

"Got it!" As soon as Tseng cleared the way, Reno took off. From the air he looked down at Nibelheim. He wasn't pleased with what Shinra did sometimes, but he was only following orders. If he didn't do his job someone else would.

"Cloud..."

Reno looked at the supposedly unconscious Soldier. His mako eyes were wide open and he kept muttering incoherently. They didn't even strap him down assuming he wouldn't be able to move. For the most part he couldn't, but he was a Soldier, he was a fast healer.

"Cloud..." He trembled and struggled to get up to no avail.

"Relax, I'm taking you to a doctor."

Zack decided not to argue and did as he was told. There wasn't much he could do anyway. "Where is he?"

Cloud... Reno didn't have the slightest idea who he was talking about. He knew a few of the more famous Soldiers such as Sephiroth. How could anyone not know Sephiroth? But Cloud? He had never heard such a name. "He's fine, Soldiers don't die easily."

"He wasn't... he was a Shinra cadet but he could... he could be... I'm sure..."

"Hey, don't try to talk."

"Cloud..."

"Just rest."

"Did he stop... Sephiroth? The truth..."

Sephiroth, the legend, the man who was once thought to be invincible, he was dead. "Sephiroth is dead, that much I can say for sure."

"Then Cloud must be... alive." Zack closed his eyes and slept, Cloud had made it, he must have survived. The boy had courage and strength beyond what he was given credit for. He was Zack's best friend. Cloud... He truly had what it takes to be a Soldier, someday.

xoxox xox xoxox

After the helicopter landed at Shinra Headquarters, a team of doctors and scientists arrived to take Zack inside. Hojo was their leader. "This specimen will do nicely... and the other one, the one who was surprisingly strong should be here soon."

Reno never liked Hojo; the man was disturbing beyond what he thought possible and had a certain cruelty to him that was just crossing the line. Creepy, that was the word that best described the scientist.

The Turk gave the sleeping, dark haired man one last glance as they took him inside. The helicopter took off once again as the Soldier's name finally surfaced in Reno's memory. Zack, he was Zack, a first class Soldier. For him the word that best seemed to fit was... noble.

Fantasy 19: Evolution

Mystery Girl's Point of View

There was something special about finding a childhood friend nearly a decade since the last time I saw him. But it also made me doubt if he was just a childhood friend, or if maybe he had somehow become more, and I didn't realize it until I saw him again.
No, that couldn't be it; this wasn't about the past at all. It was all about the future, it was all about me realizing that the cool boy I used to play with, and occasionally pick on, was no longer simply a cool boy; he was a hot young man.

It wasn't just a matter of growing up; he had done so much more. He had evolved, undergone a metamorphosis. There he stood before me, with his unmistakable flaming red hair that confirmed his identity, despite how much he changed over the years.

The boy I played with long ago had become a man. But he was never really a child, just smaller, chibified in a way. Reno, the polygon boy I played with so long ago, had become a CG man. And the first thought that crossed my mind was "evolution has never been this hot..."

End of Mystery Girl's POV

Fantasy 20: To Make a Difference

Start POV

Have you ever felt conflicted, but at the same time reassured? I know it's a contradiction but that's how I feel right now.

Marlene smiles at me, she always has for as long as I can remember. She wasn't sad or disappointed by my choice; she was the first one to understand why I'm doing this.

Tifa smiles too, but I know she still doesn't understand. She wonders if she failed me somehow, made me run away. But it's not like that at all. Tifa was always there for me, she always took care of me and I assured her of that. I'm very thankful, that's why I chose this.

Cloud was upset, he thought I was making a mistake, he thought he had made a mistake as well. From his stories I don't think he did, I think he did what he had to do, he held on to his dreams.

Barret was shocked to silence then enraged, he spoke the word 'traitor' before Tifa slammed her fist on the table, leaving an indentation, and silenced him with her eyes.

Cid only said, "good luck to ya, kid!" and Shera smiled, I think she understood too, but Cid only accepted it, maybe without fully understanding. But he accepted it none the less.

Nanaki tilted his head to the side and asked "are you sure?" with the most puzzled look I've seen him wear. I think I later heard him mutter something about not understanding humans.

Vincent was quiet, speaking only a barely audible, "find your path..." that I'm not sure if he actually spoke or I only imagined.

Yuffie only said "what?!" Then blinked and looked around adding "I don't get it!"

Reeve was disappointed, he wanted me to work with him, but he forced himself to be accepting of my choice.

Tseng was as I imagined, though I never knew him well before this, and there is still a lot I don't know. I also still don't know a lot about Elena or Rude.

Reno was surprising. I've seen him come to the Seventh Heaven, order a drink and hang around, joking and relaxing, and seemingly slacking. But he gets his job done and takes pride in it. Sometimes he seems different, the relaxed Reno can occasionally be replaced by a Reno who shows his experience with the Turks, he's not an easy trainer, but its best that way, I want to learn.

Marlene still smiles, I always tell her how I'm doing, as long as it's something that can be told. There's no need to push my family into anything too secret, not that I have been assigned anything like that yet.

Tifa's smile seems more sincere, she finally understands.

Cloud helps me train in my free time, though the training is quite different from what I do with Reno. Soldiers are strong; Turks have to be strong too but also sneaky, quick thinking and cunning. I was surprised to learn how much control the Turks had from the shadows while the Soldiers were sent to the front lines. It's still useful though, and I'm glad to train with Cloud, he said he remembered something that made him change his mind about my choice.

Barret has not yelled since that time, but he has not spoken to me either. He did eventually stop giving me those unpleasant looks when I tell Marlene about Shinra. He needs more time and maybe we'll actually talk again someday.

Cid always has a "glad to hear it!" for my news and Shera congratulates my achievements, even if they're only small steps and I still have a long way to go.

Nanaki has told me "I think I understand it now," and I'm glad he does.

Vincent is still quiet as always, but the look in his eyes says it all. I should follow what I think is right.

Yuffie gave me a thumbs up the other day. I don't think she gets it, but at least she has taken a positive attitude about it since almost everyone else has.

Reeve has mentioned that I'm welcomed to work with the WRO if I change my mind, but he doesn't sound as disappointed as he did before. He might be starting to understand my reasons too.

I see Tseng, Elena and Rude occasionally at work and sometimes catch a glimpse of Rufus, though I'm still technically in training.

I finally understand that Reno was only joking when he used to say "keep your friends close and your enemies closer." As true as it may be, if he doubted I could develop a loyalty to the Turks, I know he wouldn't have trained me.

Have you ever felt conflicted, but at the same time reassured? The path I chose is not an easy one and it's not the path I was expected to take. None the less, I need to hold on to my dreams and pride, just as Cloud said. As a Turk I can make a difference, because this world still needs the Turks to watch over it, and Shinra has been changing and keeping it stable.

Sometimes I feel conflicted, but soon after, I'm reassured. This may not be what was expected of me, but it is the path I chose, and I know I'm doing the right thing. Some have already understood, and others will understand some day. To make a difference, to achieve my dream, with pride I am... Denzel of the Turks.

End POV

End of Sector II

Disclaimer, I do not own Final Fantasy VII. Fantasy 15 was written for Snow's "Saw it Coming" challenge. Fantasy 16 was inspired by Snow, Cherri and Hikou. The identity of "Someone" in Fantasy 17 and "Mystery Girl" in Fantasy 19 are left up to interpretation.