Loveless: Ato 1 – Cena 7

Act I: The Ruby Dragon

Scene Seven

Reno stared at the blank wall in front of him, bored out of his mind; he was tired, but not enough to fall asleep. His eyes gravitated toward the clock. It was only a quarter past seven. With a sigh, he shifted his head around, causing his neck to crack out of its stiffness.
A soft knock came at the door. “Yeah?” replied Reno.
The door opened and Reeve poked his head into the room. “Thought you might’ve been asleep. May I come in?”
“Sure.”
Reeve promptly entered the room and closed the door behind him. He walked over and sat in the same chair he had occupied that afternoon. Reno turned his head to face him, eyelids heavy with exhaustion.
“How are you doing?” Reeve asked. “Not in too much pain, I hope.”
“Nah, ‘cept that the stitches are still a little itchy. But enough about me—you just coming back from work?”
Reeve nodded. “We had a meeting about Sector Seven. It didn’t exactly go the way I would’ve liked it to.”
Reno examined Reeve’s face. Since Reno had last seen him earlier that day, Reeve had been in a state of numbness. Apparently, it hadn’t completely worn off yet.
“What happened at the meeting?” Reno inquired.
“For starters, Shinra isn’t going to rebuild Sector Seven.”
“Why not? Would it be too expensive?”
Reeve chuckled ruefully and shook his head. “No, that’s not it. Now that the Company finally has the Ancient back in their custody, they’re restarting the Neo-Midgar project.”
Reno’s eyebrows raised for a moment as he processed Reeve’s words. “They’re going to go out looking for the Promised Land?”
“Yes. Of course, provided that they actually find it, it’ll be a great opportunity for me and my department. They’re even raising the mako rates to help fund the project.”
“How much?”
“Fifteen percent.”
“Oy, that’s a bit steep.”
“Tell me about it. I tried to argue against the rate hike, but President Shinra simply ignored me. I pretty much gave up after that.”
Silence filled the room. Reno lowered his eyes. “Look, I’m sorry about the plate,” he said, echoing words that he said to Reeve that afternoon.
“It’s not your fault,” Reeve said, waving it off. “You were just doing your job.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean that I had to like it. You think Tseng liked the mission he had today?”
“Heh, not one bit.”
“You know, most of the time I don’t mind my work, but then there’s days like today where being a Turk just plain sucks.”
Reeve nodded. “I think I know what you mean.”
“I don’t know, man. At least you execs get a great deal of power and influence. We Turks don’t have any, not where it counts, anyway.”
“I have power and influence? With the way things have been going today, I’m starting to doubt that…”
Reno shrugged. Reeve stared at the Turk’s bandages.
“Listen,” the executive said. “I’m going to take a short vacation. With everything that’s been going on, I need to get out of the city for awhile.”
“Yeah, you look really beat. When was the last time you took a few days off?”
“About a year ago.”
Reno froze, staring at his friend. Reeve’s expression didn’t change, nor did his eyes divert from the bandages.
“I’d like to visit Costa del Sol this time,” continued Reeve.
“Going by yourself?”
“I was planning on it.”
“Gonna visit your buddy Kramler?”
“Probably. Which reminds me, I got a call from him today.”
“Oh yeah? What’s he up to?”
Reeve leaned in close to Reno’s ear. “Some of his in-laws found the guy who snitched me out to Scarlet.”
“Glad to hear it. So what happens now?”
“Not sure yet… we’ll see,” Reeve answered as he got up from his chair. “I should get going. Tomorrow’s my last full day of work before I leave and I need to start packing. I’ll try to drop by sometime tomorrow.”
Reno nodded and watched his friend as he walked toward the door. “Okay. Oh, and one last thing…”
“Yeah?”
“How’d your lunch with Elena go?”
Reno said this very straightforwardly, trying to make it seem nothing more than a harmless question. Still, there must have been some accusatory tone in his voice that he hadn’t intended, one that Reeve happened to notice, because then the executive averted his gaze from him.
“She tell you about it?”
“Called me from work a few hours ago.”
“What did she say?”
“She didn’t know how to take your advances. You know, the whole playing footsie thing.”
Reeve turned to face Reno once more. “She wanted your advice?”
“I told her I had none to give her.”
“I see. Listen, Reno. I have to tell you something… some advice of my own, if you will.”
“What, to stay out of your business?”
Reeve scratched his head. “Exactly.”
“All right. I’ll leave you alone.”
“Hey Reno,” Reeve muttered.
“What?”
The executive’s dark brown eyes flitted away again. “Nothing. Just… take care of yourself, all right? I have to go.”
Confused, Reno replied, “Okay. Good night, Reeve.”
“Good night, Reno.”

Only about an hour after Reeve had left, Reno was startled by another knock at his door. “Come in,” Reno called.
Tseng strode into the room, closing the door behind him as swiftly and silently as he had opened it. “Hello, Reno. I trust you’re doing well?”
“For the most part. The stitches are still itchy as hell.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Tseng said as he walked up to the side of the bed opposite of the one where Reeve had been.
As he had done before with Reeve, Reno quickly changed the subject. “So, anything new and exciting happen at the Shinra Building?”
“The surviving members of AVALANCHE came to rescue Aeris,” Tseng reported, quietly adding, “as I thought they would.”
“So what happened? Did they get away?”
“No. Rude and I were ordered to stop them. All of them, including a lab specimen which lent its assistance, are now imprisoned on the 67th floor.”
Reno’s face drained of all its color. He motioned for Tseng to lean in closer, which the head Turk did.
“They were your only hope as far as freeing Aeris goes, right?”
“Yes, they were. Rude and I are meeting later tonight to discuss what we should do.”
“Wish I could help out.”
“I know, and I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Unfortunately, we have little control over circumstances the way they are now.”
“You aren’t just talking about my injury, are you Tseng.”
The head Turk shook his head and smiled. “Is it that obvious?”
Reno managed a smirk. “It was just in the way you phrased it, that’s all.”
“I’ve taught you well, Reno. You’ll make a fine head Turk when the time comes.”
“Heh, when would that be?” Reno replied, still smirking. “We both know it’ll be a long time before that happens!”
Tseng simply returned the smirk, not saying another word.

*****

A few minutes past midnight, Zack crept out of the Shinra Building’s main fire escape stairwell into the 59th floor lobby. He moved amidst the shadows toward the elevators for the upper levels, being careful not to set off the motion-detectors of the various Shinra mecha that patrolled this floor. As he entered an elevator, he took out a keycard that he had happened to find in the stairwell and swiped it through the elevator controls’ card reader. The device identified the card, authorizing Zack to take the elevator as far as the 69th floor. On a screen just above the card reader, a description of the chosen floor scrolled on.
“The lower lobby of the President’s office, huh? Might as well start there and work my way down. I’m sure I’ll find out where Aeris is eventually.”
He pressed the button for the 69th floor.

After he made a thorough search of the 69th and 68th floors, Zack took the stairs down to the 67th. Upon leaving the stairwell, he looked around, surprised at what he saw. This floor was more dimly-lit than the others, and overhead, he could see exposed pipes and wiring. Much to his surprise, a familiar voice whispered in his ear, louder than ever.
“Turn right, and walk down this corridor.”
“You!” Zack whispered. “But how are you speaking to me? There’s no wind in here!”
“Never mind that. Just do as I say.”
Zack sighed and followed the directions, soon finding himself at one end of a long hallway. At the other end stood a lone MP.
“At the end of this hall are a number of cells. You will find your friend there… but first, you will need to take care of the guard.”
“Agreed. What do you suggest?”
“Go into that room just up ahead, to your right.”
Zack sneaked further down the corridor and inside the room. It was the Sample Maintenance office, and it was currently unoccupied. From the neighboring storage area, low hissing sounds and the rattling of cage bars could be heard. Zack grinned.
“I get it. We unleash the lab’s specimens on the guards, then slip down there home free.”
The voice didn’t reply as Zack fiddled with the computers, in an attempt to unlock the cages. He succeeded, and soon, many genetically-mutated monsters were roaming about the floor, preying on the 67th floor’s unsuspecting workers. After waiting a few minutes, Zack walked out into the main corridor again, back toward the hallway that led to the cells. He passed the freshly-killed guard and examined the set of doors in front of him. There were small slits near the top of each door. Zack peered through the first one and gasped.
There she was, sound asleep; his girl Aeris.
Suddenly, he felt himself pushed up against the opposite wall by an invisible force.
“I have found her for you… but, dear boy, you have yet to fulfill your end of the bargain.”
“You know, you’ve never told me exactly what this deal entails.”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Now, take the keycards from the guard.”
Zack picked up the guard’s keyring and walked back toward the cell doors. He was startled when his feet carried him, not to Aeris’ cell, but to the one next to it. With the quick glance through the slit that had been afforded him, he was able to see an attractive young woman sleeping on the bunk; opposite of her was a guy with spiky blond hair fast asleep on the floor. Zack recognized the latter immediately.
“Cloud!” he whispered.
Controlled by the unknown force, Zack pushed one of the guard’s keycards into the electronic lock on Cloud’s door and swiped downward. There was a low electronic hum as the door swished open. The keycard was pulled out again, and the keyring placed back onto the dead guard’s belt. Zack’s mind overflowed with angry thoughts as the voice told him, “Come to the storage area. Don’t worry about your friends…”
The deadpan voice reverberated in his mind as his feet—which were no longer his own—walked toward the storage area.
“After I see what this is all about, I’m coming back here.”
“If you so will it…”

Zack walked back down the hallway and to the right, past the Sample Maintenance room to where a vast storage area lay. Amidst all of the crates and scientific equipment, there was a large, round containment unit, with numerous pipes emanating from it. Welded into this unit was a solid mythrill door with a steel nameplate that read “JENOVA”. Inexplicably, Zack found himself drawn to this door, especially the small window located just above the nameplate. Peering inside, he could see what appeared to be the headless body of a woman, albeit one who was terribly deformed, with bizarre-looking wings protruding from her back and an eyeball lodged into her right breast. Zack pinched his eyes shut as a terrible stabbing pain penetrated his skull. He fell to his knees, grabbing his head with both hands, the high-pitched sound from before flooding his ears louder than ever. He tried to scream, but nothing came out of his mouth. The only sound he could hear was the beating of his own heart.
“Zack… free me…”
“Wha—what is this thing?” Zack thought to himself. “Have I seen it before?”
“Don’t concern yourself with my identity now. Just free me…”
“You can read minds…” Zack thought again.
“Yes. Now free me, my puppet. I’m growing impatient.”
“Puppet?”
As Zack thought this, a will stronger than his own made him stand up and grip either side of the door with his hands, pulling at the hinges and locks.
“What are you doing to me?”
“I need you. More specifically, I need your body.”
“Listen, I have no time to deal with headless perverted freaks!”
The voice, who he now recognized as the thoughts of this “Jenova”, explained, “Your physical being is no longer your own, ever since Hojo made you a part of me. As you can clearly see, you are my slave, created to do my bidding.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Zack fumed as his arms yanked the door off of the containment unit. Inside, Jenova floated limply in a smelly gelatinous substance. Zack picked up the strange body, pulling it loose of the various tubes and cords that were connected to it. From these reopened orifices, blood began to drip out.
Dragging Jenova behind his back, Zack started walking toward the freight elevator. Just then, from directly behind him, he heard a man’s voice.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” he demanded. “You’re the one who let the Zenenes and Vargids loose, aren’t you?”
Zack, his body completely under Jenova’s control, whirled around to face the man, a grey-suited lab assistant who was busy entering a security code into his PHS. Zack rushed toward the man and punched him hard in the chest. His fist came out through the other side, splattered with blood and pieces of flesh and bone. In his mind, Zack was completely horrified. Ignoring Zack’s reaction, Jenova directed, “Now, to the freight elevator. We haven’t much time…”

Much to Zack’s dismay, he killed numerous people on his way back up to the 69th floor. Executive assistants and receptionists fell like flies as Jenova guided her puppet through the upper floors. Finally, after the last employee collapsed, Zack’s head swiveled to a display case shadowed by one of the massive staircases that led up to the marble-floored office of President Shinra. Walking closer, he could see that it contained a long sword, forged in the Wutaiese tradition. Without reading the brass nameplate that accompanied it, Zack knew what the sword was, and whom it once belonged to. It was the Masamune, the legendary blade of Sephiroth, Shinra’s greatest warrior. Zack turned to wondering what had become of Sephiroth, when he felt his fist break through the glass, and his hand clench the sword’s hilt. Sirens immediately started to go off, but with the guidance of Jenova, Zack was able to quickly locate and slice through the alarm system’s wiring.
“My puppet, you are probably wondering what this is all about. This sword, which I have just given to you, is only a part of the answer.”
“How do you have any right to give me this sword? It doesn’t belong to you, it belongs to Sephiroth!”
“Yes… yes it does. Sephiroth, the greatest, most powerful slave to my manifest destiny. Come, let us assume a new identity…”
A bright light surrounded Zack and Jenova. Zack felt a searing heat in his back, as though something was melding into his body. When the light subsided, he felt the weight of Jenova gone, and in its place, an unbelievable strength. His feet began ascending the stairs.
“Jenova, where are we going?”
Jenova didn’t answer. Even though he could no longer feel her physical weight on his back, he felt that somehow she was still with him. His swiftly moving feet, dashing toward President Shinra’s desk, were proof of that.
“No, Jenova… you can’t make me…” thought Zack as he realized what her plans were. “I won’t—”
Unfortunately, his defiance was to be in vain. Zack leapt high into the air, landing on top of the President’s desk. A fat executive in a brown suit started running for the nearest exit, pulling out his PHS as he did so. Zack pointed the Masamune toward the fat man and said, in a voice that wasn’t his, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The executive whimpered and edged closer to the desk, finally choosing to hide behind a pillar.
President Shinra spoke. “What is the meaning of this? You disappeared five years ago and have finally returned only to barge in here like some crazed maniac! What’s gotten into you?”
Zack bent down and held the sharp edge of the blade to the President’s neck. “You want the Promised Land… and I can’t have that. I will do everything in my power to keep it out of your hands.” He pulled the sword away and leapt off of the President’s desk; in his mind, he was feeling utterly confused by the goings-on.
“Sorry, but I’ve committed my resources to finding the Promised Land and establishing Neo-Midgar. You honestly don’t think that you…”
President Shinra trailed off as Zack walked around the desk, behind the President’s chair, and jumped up into the air. He kicked the President’s head forward, then plunged the Masamune sword deep into his back, which is where he held it. Looking over to the terrified brown-suited executive, he smiled wickedly and pulled something loose from the sword. He couldn’t see it… but he could feel it.
“What’s happening to the sword?”
“We are leaving the physical form of the Masamune with Shinra, but the sword’s spirit will need to come with us. That is what you pulled out of the Masamune. Now, we must leave. The Reunion will begin soon… and it will not benefit us to stay any longer.”
“You’ve mentioned this ‘Reunion’ earlier… What is it?”
“You will find out before long, puppet. Now, to the roof.”
Zack walked out to the rooftop patio. He wasn’t sure what Jenova was up to, but it was undoubtedly evil… and he was entirely helpless to stop it. As he walked over to a parked helicopter, he happened to turn and glance at his reflection in the plate glass window. What he saw took him completely by surprise. He had long silver hair, eyes turquoise like Junon’s Dolphin Bay, and incredibly taut and sculpted muscles. The black outfit that he now wore was all too familiar.
“I’m… Sephiroth?“
Jenova didn’t reply, but in her silence was all that he needed to know.