So, I haven’t managed to motivate myself to write a word in months. But with Nanowrimo getting close, we met with those who will participate in my area and I finally found the will to put words in Evernote.
So, in order to force myself/keep myself going, I’ve decided to publish as I go, everything that I write. So, beware, it’s unbetaed, short and unfinished :D
Today is the beginning of a Final Fantasy VII fanfiction, in which Rufus and the Turks takes things Hojo in hands during the days before Crisis Core/when Angeal and Genesis are still Sephiroth’s Commanders.
Rufus slammed the report on his desk, holding back a growl of rage with difficulties. His father might have promoted him to the post of vice-president as a way to bribe him and keep him from making waves after the AVALANCHE incident, but it was more of a boon for him. Despite his cold demeanor and usual uncaring ways, a few of the Turks - Tseng, the first - had shown him that Rufus did matter for a few people. And now that he was in a position of power, Rufus was going to return the favor by making sure that said Turks were protected from within the company itself.
The files littering Rufus desk were proofs of his new-found resolution. The first step was to determine the risks and Rufus had barely started his project that he was already hitting a snag. Obviously, a lot of Turks’ deaths happened because of an assignation turned wrong or an act of rebellion or revenge from the slum people or ShinRa’s enemies. Despite the clear explanation, something had caught Rufus’ attention. He wasn’t sure what, but evidently, his instinct was good enough, as some of those deaths didn’t actually hold up to a more thorough investigation. His inquiries had brought up a few too many links leading back to the Science Department. Something was going on and when the Science Department was involved, nothing good ever came out of it.
A knock on the door brought Rufus’ attention back to the moment. He had to be careful with this investigation, as Hojo was a favorite of his father for an unknown reason. Of course, he would find out, one way or another, what hold Hojo had on ShinRa senior, as it was potentially an useful information. In the meantime, he needed to be cautious.
Rufus quickly stacked together the various incriminating files, putting on top a random report from the Weapon Department. “Enter!”
”Rufus.” Tseng glided in the room with his usual smooth walk, impassive as always. “You have been auditing the Turks.”
Of course, it was stupid to think that Rufus could get anything past him, especially an investigation on the Turks. “Yes.” There was nothing he could say. Denying was useless and potentially dangerous. Rufus had no other choice but to trust Tseng anyway. He wouldn’t survive in this company if he couldn’t count on Tseng to have his back. “Some things don’t add up. I’m surprised that you never followed up on some of those deaths.”
”You assume that I suspect fool play of some sort.”
”Of course you do. If
I managed to find hints of fool play, you had to be aware of the problem. Why didn’t you act?” It was a valid question. The Turks were known for their strong sense of family and loyalty to each others and the company, and yet Tseng didn’t try to protect them?
”You know the answer already.”
There were few people who had enough power to stall the Turks. With the Science Department involved… Hojo.
Rufus frowned, barely stopping himself from baring his teeth. “And yet, you must have done something. I know you.” It was only because Tseng had almost raised him that Rufus caught the almost imperceptible twitch of uncertainty that the Turk couldn’t suppress.
”I have… gathered information,” was Tseng’s quiet answer.
What an innocuous word, ‘information’. But, wielded by a Turk, it took a very different meaning and importance.
”Information leading to whom?”
Tseng glared at Rufus who merely shrugged back. He knew that they couldn’t afford to voice their suspicions aloud. Still, he wished that Tseng would tell him that he was wrong and that Hojo hadn’t been disappearing Turks for a little over twenty years, without anyone being able to oppose him. Rufus felt like hiding under his bed from the monster and letting Tseng, who could do anything, deal with it. However, despite his skills and position as the Director of the Turks, Tseng hadn’t been able to protect his men. It said everything you need to know about Hojo’s reach.
Rufus pushed away from the desk and stood in front of the floor to ceiling window, gazing outside without really paying attention to the view. “My father appointed me to the position of vice-president of the ShinRa Company,” he said quietly.
Tseng didn’t react to the non sequitur, staying perfectly composed despite the obvious statement.
”I don’t think he realized how much power he was giving me at the time.” Rufus turned around, staring straight at Tseng. “Hojo is using my Turks as lab specimens.”
It wasn’t a question, but Tseng answered anyway, after a moment of hesitation. “Yes, he is.”
”Who else?”
”SOLDIERs. Army grunts. People from the Slums. Political enemies of the ShinRa.” Tseng shrugged. “Whoever you can think of.”
Rufus jerked, surprised. “SOLDIERs? If Sephiroth was aware that some of his killed-in-action and missing-in-action SOLDIERs had ended up in Hojo’s hands, he would burn this whole company to the ground,” he exclaimed, holding back a shiver of dread.
”I’m aware of this. It would be why I haven’t briefed him. As most cleans-up are done by Turks, I don’t believe that he has any suspicions yet.”
Rufus sighed. This was going to be even more dangerous that he had anticipated. “I want you to gather everything you can find against Hojo. Proofs of kidnapping, stealing, anything. Unearth every little dirty secrets of his that you can find. And for the love of Gaia, write up a report about the SOLDIERs and make sure that Sephiroth will understand that I’m on his side.”
Rufus didn’t need to explain that he
had to get the support of the Silver General, as well as his two Commanders. He wasn’t sure why his father couldn’t acknowledge the fact that if he lost control of the three super-SOLDIERs, his entire empire would crumble within days. Rufus was determined to foster some good will with the SOLDIERs. With the backing of both the Turks
and the SOLDIERs, nobody would dare oppose him.
TBC
:D
1'000 worth of words written on Monday and Tuesday, go me \o/ Okay, it's really pathetic, but it's about all I wrote this year, so I still consider it a victory. Am gonna try to write some tonight too, but I'm pretty wiped, so we'll see :)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
