[Introduction]

[shinraco]

He was glad to have left the wheelchair behind. The geostigma had gone at last and the weakness he'd felt for some time in his body had finally disappeared, leaving Rufus Shinra feeling again like the healthy, confident young man in his twenties he'd been before that horrible disease had infected him

Comments

[shinra_dog]

At the risk of being cliche & soap-opera-y, I'm just thrilled to see this guy. Post-wolves.

Reno was suffering some serious cabin fever after his forced bedrest, and while "nature" wasn't really his thing, he couldn't wait to get some air. He bursts through the door of the Mansion as if he can't get out fast enough, then stops dead in his tracks. Time seems to stand still as he takes in a sight he thought he'd never see again.

"Boss!" he manages when he recovers, his voice filled with surprise and relief.

[shinraco]

Rufus turns his head sharply toward the voice and a sense of relief hits him upon seeing the man he recognises but he isn't one to let that show and he isn't going to tell him so.

He walks toward the redhead briskly, all business in his voice. "Reno. Where are the others?"

He's also wondering where he is and how he got here but first things first. Where there is one Turk he expects there will be more. Rude, in particular.

[shinra_dog]

Reno moves quickly, but gracelessly, down the porch steps to meet Rufus halfway. He's trying for nonchalance, but he's still more sore than he'd like to admit.

He clenches his jaw and sighs through his nose before he answers, knowing who Rufus is expecting. "I don't know, sir," he answers, his voice low and serious. "To be honest, I'm still surprised you're here."

[shinraco]

Rufus gives him a direct look. His expression clearly wants answers and fast.

"What is going on?"

[shinra_dog]

Reno knows that look well, and he knows he better deliver. "Long story," he says. "And, for better or for worse, you now have all the time in the world to hear it."

He gestures over his shoulder. "They call this place the Mansion. Doesn't look like much, but there's some kinda magic on it. Tons of people livin' here, somehow all fittin' just fine, plenty of food, clean water. It's a paradise. Problem is, no one knows just how ya get here and ya can't leave."

[shinraco]

Rufus' expression darkens but he frowns more toward the building rather than at Reno. He is silent for a long moment before he turns his eyes to Reno once more.

"You say a lot of people are here. Who?" Yes, he is expecting a list of people that they know, not thinking that this is a different world entirely.

[shinra_dog]

Reno almost laughs at the situation. He spreads his arms and then lets them fall to his sides. "I don't even know all of them, an' the only ones I know I've met here. Boss - you're the only one here I recognize. We're it, yo."

He shakes his head. "No one knows Midgar. No one knows Shinra. Which, considering all, might not be a bad thing."

[shinraco]

The blond opens his mouth then closes it again. Nobody knowing Shinra... At first he finds that thought offensive but then, as Reno said, it may not be such a bad thing. A fresh start. Isn't that what he wanted in some way too?

"Why would we be here? Just the two of us?"

He would have prefered being stuck with Tseng, if he'd had a choice. Reno could be a bit too... enthusiastic. Tseng was much more controlled and calm. Not that he didn't trust Reno to do his job when it counted though, of course. Or else Reno would have been fired long ago.

[shinra_dog]

Reno shakes his head. "No clue. But hey, ya never know, maybe the others'll show up at some point, too. I mean - I was alone, 'til you showed up." He tries to sound hopeful, though he wonders if they'd be better off staying in Edge.

"We can make sure this place is good an' ready for them in the meantime." He expects no less of Rufus, anyway. A born leader will always find themselves a leadership position.

[shinraco]

Rufus nods. He was thinking something along the same lines.

"Who is in charge here? Who is running things?"

[shinra_dog]

Reno stands a bit more relaxed and puts his hands in his pockets. "No one, as far as I can tell," he says. "Everyone just does their own thing. But I get the impression there's a little more trouble under the surface."

[shinraco]

"Nobody is in charge...?" Rufus's lips form into a very small, calculating smirk, a little of the young President who believed in spreading fear as a tactic to gaining power showing.

"Then we shall have to do something about that, won't we? If there is trouble brewing we must put a stop to it and keep everybody in line."

[shinra_dog]

Reno knows that look too, and he raises an eyebrow.

"I better catch you up, then," he says. "The only trouble I've heard of so far that keeps this place from being my definition of idyllic, is that there's some Hojo-type character running around. In fact, I offered to help find him, for the guy who's been chasin' him for years. Imagine the odds of the two of them both bein' transported here and still runnin' in circles, right?"

He rolls his eyes at that. "Anyway... I wouldn't mind makin' it official business." He doesn't disguise the hatred in his voice for the freak doctor.

[shinraco]

"Is this person performing some illegal experiments?" Rufus is wondering why they should get involved in somebody else's problems.

[shinra_dog]

"Yes," Reno says confidently... even though he hasn't heard of any recently.

Well, if he did it before, he's probably doing it again or he's going to, he justifies it in his mind.

[shinraco]

"So why have you not already apprehended and restrained him?" Rufus says plainly, eyes focused on Reno sternly as if he thinks Reno must have been slacking off instead of doing his job.