[RL with Rei]
After picking Rei up in a car with world-hopping abilities, Tseng took her to the small office where ShinRa did most of their business these days. It was a far cry from the tower they had once had, and the sign needed to be replaced every week or so, since it was often defaced
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She didn't answer immediately, hands clasped in her lap and legs together. It was a prim posture lent not from true propriety but rather the rigid mandates and adherence to rules that had governed her life. Finally, she said, "I was created as the Commander's puppet in the struggle to preserve our world. His plan came to fruition, and my world is no longer inhabitable.
"But it is... uncomfortable, to be unattached to purpose," she went on after a brief pause, red eyes blinking once. "I lack direction. He that contacted me offered it."
It was a veritable speech, for her, but Rei was off-balance lately. Everyone she'd met on the community had been vocally pushing her to be more communicative, more trusting and more understanding. It was a slow process, and it made her shift, slightly, in her chair, a small unconscious allowance to her own uncertainty.
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He leaned back, sipping at his own coffee and regarding her. It had been a difficult question to open with, he knew - he'd wanted to catch her off-guard slightly, and see what she said. He felt rewarded for his efforts, so far.
"ShinRa Company once ruled this planet," he explained. "It invented a form of energy which utilized the life blood of the planet and was able to bring electrical power all over the world. It revolutionized our culture, and brought such wealth to its board of directors that they could fund research and create the largest standing army in the world. Any who didn't want our reactors were conquered and subjugated 'for their own good'."
He watched her as he spoke, gauging her reactions to this sordid tale. "The Turks were a special branch of the company. We do the things that the soldiers couldn't be asked to do. When the planet ultimately fought back and destroyed the Company, we survived. We took the President and kept him safe, and we are all that's left of the Company. We are hated and feared, almost universally. Rufus ShinRa spends what little wealth he has attempting to atone for the sins which were committed in his name, but he does this in secret, also as part of his penance. He is a difficult man to work for. Our purpose is to protect him, and to do what we can to promote his efforts to rebuild our planet, and these are our only priorities."
This was also a long speech. He leaned forward, the end of his ponytail falling forward over his shoulder. "What do you think of that?"
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Unlike Gendo's. The Commander. She had known all along that his ends were for his own benefit, to be with his wife again... that she was not enough to fill his heart, and was only his tool. For years she had thought that was enough for her, for her heart, and then his son had showed her that loneliness was not the end.
It suited her to protect a world once again, to have this new beginning. A cycle, as she'd referred to. Rei didn't think she could find happiness in the mundane occupations of others. She needed a grander motive. She needed to think that Shinji would approve. Even now and in her mind, she could not stand alone.
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"Good answer," he said, and leaned back again, steepling his fingers together. "Now then, why should we want you? What skills do you have? What can you offer the ShinRa Company, keeping in mind what you now know about our goals."
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Trying to sell herself, almost, to persuade someone of her worth... It was difficult beyond what she'd expected. Rei spent so much time shoring up her own sense of purpose on her own. She didn't like having to prove herself, but she pushed aside that feeling as unnecessary and unproductive.
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He cocked his head. "If you can't explain, maybe we should explore it a little. You can show me what you can do."
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That, too, was strange to her; Rei had lived her whole life as a secret. Speaking freely and openly now was only logical, and so she adhered to it - but it still gave her pause.
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He glanced back at her with a faint smile. "Do you have any innate abilities that go along with being an 'Angel'?"
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