Categories > Games > Final Fantasy 7 > When your heart stops beating
Mostly Memories
1 reviewThanks to ron337 for always reviewing. Yuffie and Vincent's Journey gets off to a good start and Reno reminisces.
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"Soooooo how long do you think it will take to get to Kalm? What will we do when we get there? Do you mind if I liberate some materia on the road? Will you HELP me liberate some materia on the road? I mean, only if we happen to bump into anyone, we don't have to go LOOKING for it, unless of course, you want to... Hey Vincent, do you want to go looking for materia?"
He doesn't say anything, but raises his cape slightly, showing off his impressive array of guns, and looks at me out the corner of his eye. I'm about to ask if he heard me but think better of it. I've been threatened with those guns before, I don't think he was serious but you can never tell with Vincent. So I shut up, for now at least.
**********
I press my thumb against the fingerprint scanner at the door to Rufus's place. It's a fairly smart house on the edge of town, not exactly Shinra manor but it's not bad. I open the door and walk down the hall into his living room cum briefing room. Rufus is sitting on the sofa, looking impeccable as always in his usual white suit. Rude is standing next to him, looking like a bodyguard.
"Ah Reno, last again. I see little has changed since we last met." says Rufus, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow.
I'm about to point out that there's only two of us here, but then I remember, this is all there is now, there's no Tseng to tell me off, and no Elena to make me laugh as she stands up straight and tries so hard to be professional and not laugh at the faces I'm pulling at her. I stand up a little straighter.
"Sorry sir" I say blankly.
He stands up, instantly commanding the room.
"As you know, since mako energy has become obsolete, many people claim oil is the way forward. Now, currently, any oil discovered is automatically under the ownership of the one who discovered it. You can see how disorganised this will become. I believe there is the potential for one company to monopolise the industry. I believe Shinra should be that company. I also understand this may take some persuasion... He looks pointedly at me and Rude. We get the hint.
***********
Our first monster appears a little way out from edge. It's an ugly looking thing but shouldn't be hard to beat. Vincent cocks his gun and shoots. The monster backs off a bit, but doesn't go down. I've been dying to use my materia for ages, so I ready a fire spell. The familiar green light envelops me as I send out a fire3 spell that totally envelops the monster... and very nearly Vincent. He just manages to jump out of the way as the flames spurt past him. He sends a last shot into the monster and it dies. I turn to grin at him, then notice the flames creeping up his cape.
"Shit Vincent! You're on fire!" I yell. He turns in alarm, noticing the flames for the first time. "Don't worry I've got it!" I shout, casting the water spell as I speak. Water materia was a very rare little beauty I got off an explorer who probably didn't know how to use it.
"Yuffie don't!" Vincent cries in alarm, but he's too late. A jet of water streams out and soaks him, extinguishing the fire. I lower my arms and look over to him, expecting a thank you at the very least. I am greeted with a soaked, slightly singed, very angry ex Turk.
"Well, the fires out..." I point out hopefully. His expression shows he is not at all grateful. Well at least our journeys off to a good start...
************
That night I think about Elena. The mission had gone well, no one had to be killed, and the owner gave in without a fuss. Lying in my bed I let my thoughts wander for the first time in a long time.
It seems strange now, but I knew her sister before her. That was back when the Turks really were a force to be reckoned with, there were fourteen of us. That was when we all had codenames, the only one whose real name I knew was Rude, because I'd known him before we joined the Turks, and Tseng, because he was second in command The codenames were for professionalism, to stop us getting to close. It worked, and I never had the same affection for "Gun (female)" as I did for Elena. They're dead now, eleven men and women, killed by meteorfall and the lifestream as they attempted to evacuate Midgar. Strange how after all the killing, it was saving lives that sent them to their death.
I remember hearing the news that she had replaced me. "It's only temporary" Tseng had said warily, knowing my difficulty in controlling my temper. "Just until you're out of hospital"
"It had better be" I had snarled at him from my hospital bed. Those AVALANCHE punks had beaten me pretty bad, but that didn't mean I wouldn't be up and about in a week at most. I wasn't having some jumped up little wannabe thinking she could take my place. To be honest, the thought terrified me. That job was all I had.
I hated her on sight. Her idiotic professionalism, always desperate to follow the rules, the way she was always messing up, her sheer naivety. What irked me most though was the way she looked at Tseng, like he was a fricking god. The way she would go all simpering and gooey around him, it made me sick.
What with the chaos of Sephiroth and then meteorfall, she ended up staying. I remember the end of it all, staring at the ruins of Midgar, realising our friends, our families, and over half of our colleagues just got wiped out. Her sister was one of them. I expected her to cry, scream, do something, but she just stood there. All that came after. She had always hated her sister, but now she was gone it hit her hard. She locked herself in her room in the house we had rented out, wouldn't come out for anyone. In the end I picked the lock. She started up from the bed where she had been lying, looking shocked and angry.
"Get the fuck out Reno" she has said coldly. I could see she had been crying.
"Elena, you can't stay in here forever" I replied, equally coldly. "What the hell gives you the right to sit in here moping, when the rest of us have to carry on with our lives?"
She had gasped at that, like I'd physically hurt her.
"My sister is dead" she said softly, dangerously. "She died believing I hated her"
"Sitting in here isn't going to help that" I snapped
"You don't understand! How could you understand?" she had yelled, tears beginning to spill over.
"Fucking hell Elena do you think you're the only one who's lost someone? My sister was in Midgar, my little baby sister. I haven't seen her in three years. She'd be nine years old by now, still a kid, whole life ahead of her. If she wasn't dead before she will be now. So don't you DARE say I don't understand"
"Reno..." she said softly. She had looked at me like I was a stranger she'd just met. There were tears running down her face, and she looked so pathetic I couldn't help it. I pulled a tissue out my pocket and wiped her face. I sat down on the bed beside her and to my surprise she put her face in my shoulder. Awkwardly I put my arm around her. After a few moments she had looked up at me.
"What happened?" she asked.
"What?" I replied confused
"Your sister" she said quietly
"She lived in the flat with me. I wasn't around much; she had to look after herself more or less. One day we went on a mission, and things didn't go to plan, ended up as hostages for about a week. When we got out and I got back to the flat, she was gone. I searched, but I never found her. A six year old out on the street... I doubt she survived long"
She hadn't said anything, but had nuzzled closer to my arm. After that we didn't hate each other as much. We got closer, and when I finally kissed her it just seemed natural. We were inseparable after that.
I remember that day up and the northern cave. She was down there with Tseng; I was waiting in the helicopter. I was jealous, she swore she was over Tseng, that it was just a pathetic infatuation, but I was still jealous. When I heard that gunshot, heard Tseng scream her name, my blood went cold.
When I saw her in that hospital bed, I thought my world would end. If she died, I would, that's what I decided. I remember her and Tseng saving Rufus, they had finally been deemed fit to leave the hospital, had come to join the fight, and got there just in the nick of time. But she wasn't better, neither of them were better, the damage went to deep. What destroyed me was that now; it was Tseng she turned to. Together they had been through something I couldn't understand, I would never understand, the horrors they had suffered at the hands of Kadaj and his gang. Together they faded away in a lonely corner of Kalm. When she died, I didn't have the courage to follow.
I drift off into an uneasy sleep. I dream I am back in the forgotten city, looking down at her broken body. But it's not Elena who lies there covered in blood, it's Yuffie.
He doesn't say anything, but raises his cape slightly, showing off his impressive array of guns, and looks at me out the corner of his eye. I'm about to ask if he heard me but think better of it. I've been threatened with those guns before, I don't think he was serious but you can never tell with Vincent. So I shut up, for now at least.
**********
I press my thumb against the fingerprint scanner at the door to Rufus's place. It's a fairly smart house on the edge of town, not exactly Shinra manor but it's not bad. I open the door and walk down the hall into his living room cum briefing room. Rufus is sitting on the sofa, looking impeccable as always in his usual white suit. Rude is standing next to him, looking like a bodyguard.
"Ah Reno, last again. I see little has changed since we last met." says Rufus, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow.
I'm about to point out that there's only two of us here, but then I remember, this is all there is now, there's no Tseng to tell me off, and no Elena to make me laugh as she stands up straight and tries so hard to be professional and not laugh at the faces I'm pulling at her. I stand up a little straighter.
"Sorry sir" I say blankly.
He stands up, instantly commanding the room.
"As you know, since mako energy has become obsolete, many people claim oil is the way forward. Now, currently, any oil discovered is automatically under the ownership of the one who discovered it. You can see how disorganised this will become. I believe there is the potential for one company to monopolise the industry. I believe Shinra should be that company. I also understand this may take some persuasion... He looks pointedly at me and Rude. We get the hint.
***********
Our first monster appears a little way out from edge. It's an ugly looking thing but shouldn't be hard to beat. Vincent cocks his gun and shoots. The monster backs off a bit, but doesn't go down. I've been dying to use my materia for ages, so I ready a fire spell. The familiar green light envelops me as I send out a fire3 spell that totally envelops the monster... and very nearly Vincent. He just manages to jump out of the way as the flames spurt past him. He sends a last shot into the monster and it dies. I turn to grin at him, then notice the flames creeping up his cape.
"Shit Vincent! You're on fire!" I yell. He turns in alarm, noticing the flames for the first time. "Don't worry I've got it!" I shout, casting the water spell as I speak. Water materia was a very rare little beauty I got off an explorer who probably didn't know how to use it.
"Yuffie don't!" Vincent cries in alarm, but he's too late. A jet of water streams out and soaks him, extinguishing the fire. I lower my arms and look over to him, expecting a thank you at the very least. I am greeted with a soaked, slightly singed, very angry ex Turk.
"Well, the fires out..." I point out hopefully. His expression shows he is not at all grateful. Well at least our journeys off to a good start...
************
That night I think about Elena. The mission had gone well, no one had to be killed, and the owner gave in without a fuss. Lying in my bed I let my thoughts wander for the first time in a long time.
It seems strange now, but I knew her sister before her. That was back when the Turks really were a force to be reckoned with, there were fourteen of us. That was when we all had codenames, the only one whose real name I knew was Rude, because I'd known him before we joined the Turks, and Tseng, because he was second in command The codenames were for professionalism, to stop us getting to close. It worked, and I never had the same affection for "Gun (female)" as I did for Elena. They're dead now, eleven men and women, killed by meteorfall and the lifestream as they attempted to evacuate Midgar. Strange how after all the killing, it was saving lives that sent them to their death.
I remember hearing the news that she had replaced me. "It's only temporary" Tseng had said warily, knowing my difficulty in controlling my temper. "Just until you're out of hospital"
"It had better be" I had snarled at him from my hospital bed. Those AVALANCHE punks had beaten me pretty bad, but that didn't mean I wouldn't be up and about in a week at most. I wasn't having some jumped up little wannabe thinking she could take my place. To be honest, the thought terrified me. That job was all I had.
I hated her on sight. Her idiotic professionalism, always desperate to follow the rules, the way she was always messing up, her sheer naivety. What irked me most though was the way she looked at Tseng, like he was a fricking god. The way she would go all simpering and gooey around him, it made me sick.
What with the chaos of Sephiroth and then meteorfall, she ended up staying. I remember the end of it all, staring at the ruins of Midgar, realising our friends, our families, and over half of our colleagues just got wiped out. Her sister was one of them. I expected her to cry, scream, do something, but she just stood there. All that came after. She had always hated her sister, but now she was gone it hit her hard. She locked herself in her room in the house we had rented out, wouldn't come out for anyone. In the end I picked the lock. She started up from the bed where she had been lying, looking shocked and angry.
"Get the fuck out Reno" she has said coldly. I could see she had been crying.
"Elena, you can't stay in here forever" I replied, equally coldly. "What the hell gives you the right to sit in here moping, when the rest of us have to carry on with our lives?"
She had gasped at that, like I'd physically hurt her.
"My sister is dead" she said softly, dangerously. "She died believing I hated her"
"Sitting in here isn't going to help that" I snapped
"You don't understand! How could you understand?" she had yelled, tears beginning to spill over.
"Fucking hell Elena do you think you're the only one who's lost someone? My sister was in Midgar, my little baby sister. I haven't seen her in three years. She'd be nine years old by now, still a kid, whole life ahead of her. If she wasn't dead before she will be now. So don't you DARE say I don't understand"
"Reno..." she said softly. She had looked at me like I was a stranger she'd just met. There were tears running down her face, and she looked so pathetic I couldn't help it. I pulled a tissue out my pocket and wiped her face. I sat down on the bed beside her and to my surprise she put her face in my shoulder. Awkwardly I put my arm around her. After a few moments she had looked up at me.
"What happened?" she asked.
"What?" I replied confused
"Your sister" she said quietly
"She lived in the flat with me. I wasn't around much; she had to look after herself more or less. One day we went on a mission, and things didn't go to plan, ended up as hostages for about a week. When we got out and I got back to the flat, she was gone. I searched, but I never found her. A six year old out on the street... I doubt she survived long"
She hadn't said anything, but had nuzzled closer to my arm. After that we didn't hate each other as much. We got closer, and when I finally kissed her it just seemed natural. We were inseparable after that.
I remember that day up and the northern cave. She was down there with Tseng; I was waiting in the helicopter. I was jealous, she swore she was over Tseng, that it was just a pathetic infatuation, but I was still jealous. When I heard that gunshot, heard Tseng scream her name, my blood went cold.
When I saw her in that hospital bed, I thought my world would end. If she died, I would, that's what I decided. I remember her and Tseng saving Rufus, they had finally been deemed fit to leave the hospital, had come to join the fight, and got there just in the nick of time. But she wasn't better, neither of them were better, the damage went to deep. What destroyed me was that now; it was Tseng she turned to. Together they had been through something I couldn't understand, I would never understand, the horrors they had suffered at the hands of Kadaj and his gang. Together they faded away in a lonely corner of Kalm. When she died, I didn't have the courage to follow.
I drift off into an uneasy sleep. I dream I am back in the forgotten city, looking down at her broken body. But it's not Elena who lies there covered in blood, it's Yuffie.
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