ABSOLUTION

By the way, Final Fantasy is not mine. However, the story line, the original characters and the ranking system are.


Convict_Panthress Presents:

ABSOLUTION
Chapter II

Blood red hair swayed and fluttered lightly nearly reaching the floor as Reno slouched in his desk chair, hair pouring over the back of the rolling seat. A pen twirled in his fingers as his extended legs pushed him slowly and gracefully side-to-side. His other hand was occupied by a slip of satin he was rubbing together to feel the soft sliding texture.

Thin brows furrowed, ignoring the presence at the other desk, parallel with his and yet he tried not to think about the other two desks that were empty. Reno could feel eyes staring at the back of his head, but he knew that if he were to look he would encounter a pair of dark shades shielding those eyes. Silence reigned between the two of them before it was broken by the only other First Degree SOLDIER officer.

“Where are Mr. Maxwell and Mrs. Winston?”

“The Third and some of the Second Class Warriors are questioning them.” Reno glanced at the bald man from the corner of his eye. The red haired SOLDIER twirled the pen a couple of times more before letting his head thump on the back of the chair, his hand dropping into his lap, motionless.

“What the hell went wrong?!” he asked, Adam’s apple straining in his throat as he looked at his partner upside down. Although the shrug was executed nonchalantly, the action itself looked mighty unprofessional in the black suit.

“Rude, man— I just can’t wrap my mind around it, yo!” Reno nearly yelled, feeling helpless as he flew up in his seat, hands to either side of his head, pulling the blood colored strands.

Rude watched as the weapon’s master proceeded to bang his head on his desk. “Hn.” He grunted in amusement. The sound of the elevator doors opening caused Rude to tilt his head, earrings glinting in the dim light that came from the windows, and the Explosive Ordinance Chief noticed his partner peek up through his long stringy bangs out of the corner of his eye. Shaded brown eyes collided with grim cobalt, and Rude was not happy about what he saw. “Hn.” This time his grunt displayed his dissatisfaction. Something was wrong. He could almost smell it. And if it involved Reno then there had to be trouble brewing.

“Reno,” Duo’s usually cheerful voice was strained; its new turn since coming back from SRC-3. “Mr. Shin-Ra would like to see you.”

Emerald eyes narrowed, straight nose twitched. Something was up; his subordinate Degree officer wasn’t saying something.

Dark blue eyes moved from their position on deep green orbs and focused on the red slash mark on the cheek of his superior’s pale skin. “They’re trying to find First Class Warrior Strife.”

Calling in Cloud? So that’s what it was then. It was a lot worse than he had been expecting.

Thoroughly searching the compartment, Reno found no sign of his rising blond haired Grade Graduate Officer. “Where is Kyya?”

Duo shook his head as he stepped out of the elevator, crossing the carpeted floor to his desk. “She wondered off towards the gym after Valentine and Lockhart let us go. I think she wants to exercise the imagery from her mind. Don’t expect her back for a while.” And with that the braided Fourth Degree SOLDIER jiggled his computer’s mouse and began working.

Emerald eyes slid over to gaze at his partner, both sharing a look before the red-headed First Degree slid lazily from his seat, titanium retractable wand adjusted against his hip, and headed for the top floor on the patiently waiting elevator. Reno found that although his mind had many things to pick from to chew on, he was clear minded the whole ride up, dazed and unaware as his feet led him to the central interrogational offices of the Shin-Ra company.

He pushed open a metal door with the ease accompanying years of devotion to training Grade Soldiers in the martial arts and testing weapons. ‘Not nearly as strong as Cloud though…’ was his out of place thought as he slowly came to a stop in front of his blond haired boss. “Rufus,” a quaint smirk lifted Reno’s dreary lips, “what’s up, yo?”

Reno considered himself lucky to be one of the few SOLDIERs below the Class Warriors to have a good hand in knowing what was happening to the Shin-Ra Company. And he owed this to being great friends with Rufus Shinra. So when the president of the company got up from his seat, and crossed the floor just to give a friendly hug to the First Degree Martial Artist/ Weapons master, the redhead thought nothing of it. Well if you count ignoring the little voice in the back of his head reminding him about the time when the blond had tried seducing Reno into his bed. The ex-Turk knew he was hot, but damn. For his own boss to go after?

However, Reno had politely told Rufus that he didn’t swing that way. Awkward apologies were made, and things had been set straight…er…well right. ‘Yeah, but that’s been over a century ago.’ And yet Reno still felt his mind freeze, just waiting for that a hand to slip.

Pulling away all thoughts of shits and giggles were thrown out of his mind as he gazed towards the bloody black furred corpse strapped on a gurney and the only thing the ex-Turk First Degree SOLDIER could say spilt from his thin lips, “Where’s Cloud?”


***


The large holster for his swords thumped lightly against his lower back and rear as he walked, steps silent, relaxed yet with a purpose. His ribbed vest zipped half way, just allowing a peek at his muscled chest and his strong collar bone. The ring within the silver mounted wolf’s head clank a quiet music to the blonde’s ears as he ignored the people in the halls who saluted him as he past by. Although his deep blue eyes were closed, he did not need them on this path. He was well familiarized with it even if he’d only walked it five or six times previously within nearly two centuries. The half cape covering his left shoulder armor fluttered in his wake, teasing the toned muscles, and sending tingles through the arm that once held the evidence of his geostigma before the Lifestream had healed it.

“Hey, Spiky!”

Cloud turned to the sound of the deep bass voice. Dark skin and warm hazel eyes registered in his mind. Barret Wallace, the ex-commander of the resistance group AVALANCHE. Even after nearing the second century mark, it was still strange to see the black man in the ranks of Shin-Ra’s SOLDIER. But then since the looming threat of Sephiroth every fifty years many other changes had occurred.

‘Why am I here? Shin-Ra destroyed what I made for myself. I should be eliminating Rufus Shin-Ra, not collaborating with him.’ This thought ran through his head every year that he came back to SOLDIER and in turn back as a Warrior. Except this time there was no other best. Cloud himself was the only ranking First Class Warrior.

The Turks were also no more. Rufus had reconstructed Shin-Ra and SOLDIER entirely. The lowest SOLDIERs were categorized in Grades beginning at twelve to six. The Degrees came next from five to one. However, while it was quite simple to move up in the Grades, it was much harder to even get into Degrees let alone the highest level of SOLDIER being Classes of Warriors. There were only four sections of Classes.

Cloud snapped himself from his thoughts as soon as Barret began speaking again. “Vincent and Tifa are looking for you. They said that anybody who sees you to tell you to go to interrogations.”

The blonde nodded, once down, once up, before turning back on his path. It wasn’t like he didn’t know when he was being sniffed out. The wind had ears and it spoke. All you had to do was listen. He didn’t pause in front of the titanium door, instead he pressed his right palm flat to the knob-less plane and pushed with ease. Quickly he drew his sword. The sound of electrically charged titanium and steel-tanium rang in the room as blue eyes clashed with green. Cloud watched the red haired ex-Turk draw back a couple of feet as recognition lighted his emerald eyes.

“Cloud,” the now First Degree SOLDIER smiled playfully, “fancy meeting you here, yo.”

The blonde swordsman watched as Reno retracted the electrical baton and put it away. Quietly he holstered the steel-tanium reinforced First Tsurugi. Blue eyes locked with grey-blue.

“Rufus Shin-Ra.”

“Nice of you to join us, Cloud.” Rufus’ voice was just as calm and sophisticated as it had always been. “Every time I see you around here, I’m pleased that you’re not just a ‘delivery boy’ anymore.”

“Hm.” Cloud narrowed his eyes on the original Shin-Ra president’s son. The insult hadn’t gone undetected. “Only when danger’s around.”

“Or is it when there is the impending threat of Sephiroth looming over you?” the other blonde retorted slyly.

Cloud tensed and turned his head, “I’m leaving.” Turning he headed towards the door. Is this all he had been called here for? To be picked apart? Shin-Ra be damned, he hadn’t signed on for this. ‘And how many times have I thought that and never acted to it?’ All of these things ran through his head simultaneously before he was stopped by Rufus’ strained voice.

“Cloud, I need your help.”

“And why do you need me?” came the swordsman’s retort, his blue eyes caustically glaring over his shoulder as if telling Rufus ‘to hell with you.’

“Why, you’re the last of the best original SOLDIERs, aren’t you?”

Cloud paused; “Only in my head…” was the almost inaudible reply.

There was a silence between both men. “I want to get rid of him almost as much as you do, Cloud. And if you are the SOLDIER you once claimed to be, help me.”

The Warrior turned, his eyes blue fire…and nodded.

Rufus noticed the reluctance in that motion, but was relieved nonetheless. “Thank you…Cloud.”