The light... it blisters... (Open)

[turks_reno]

Characters: Reno & Anyone in Lindblum that crosses his path
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: Reno is getting rather irritated with the moogles...
Location: Lindblum
Date: July 23, 1804
Warnings: Reno's colorful, frustrated language. It's Reno.

Comments

[chaos_vessel]

Lindblum had taken something of a beating recently- a large section of the Business District had been brought down by Lightning's errant blast, and many of the people in the city had been injured by it. Lindblum was not at its most impressive any longer. Vincent considered it fortunate that the shop/house he shared with Cid had not been destroyed, but he was not reveling in that good fortune. Instead, he had been assisting in removing as much of the wreckage as he could.

He had been taking a break from the work to wander the city sans cape, when he spotted a familiar suit. The Turk uniform stuck out amongst the clothing of the natives, and the bright red hair of this particular Turk stood out even more. He was surprised for a moment- he hadn't kept track of the presence of the Turks in this world, but he had been under the impression that Reno wasn't on the world any more.

He didn't precisely approach the Turk, but his path led him close. If Reno wanted to acknowledge him, that was his move. The Turks might not be his enemies any more, but that did not mean that he wanted to seek out conversation with them.

[turks_reno]

Despite the enormity of the city, it was clear that -something- had happened to it. There was rubble everywhere, though some spots seemed to be far worse off than others. And many people around him were hard at work, nailing boards in place, hauling brick and stone around, and truly working to rebuild their city. Which begged the question - what had happened to this place?

He bent low to pluck up half of a sign that didn't seem to have a match anywhere near by, turning to look for wherever it had come from... and his earlier wish was granted. A familiar face. Not exactly an enemy - not after what had happened with Kadaj's gang - but ...

Vincent. He'd know -that- face anywhere. The former Turk stood out among those in town just as much as he did. Blue eyes searched the face from a few feet away, and when Vincent showed no signs of animosity (to be honest, Vincent looked about as indifferent as ever), he deemed it safe to approach.

His free hand - unattached to his EMR - reached up to scratch the back of his head as he reached the dark-haired man, a brow raising in curiosity. "Hey! Vincent!" Was it a hallucination, or did Reno actually look uncomfortable? Just a tad. He smiled despite it, and gestured around them with his EMR. "So you're here too?" He paused for a second, brows furrowing and smile fading. If only he knew where 'here' was! Or what he was doing 'here'.

At least he wasn't completely alone.

[chaos_vessel]

When the redhead approached to him, Vincent drew to a stop and acknowledged Reno with a tilt of his head. "Reno. What are you doing in Lindblum?" The uncomfortable gesture from the Turk made him suspicious of his motives, but he knew that no one from his world had caused the explosion only a few days ago, and that was the only reason he could think of for a Turk to be unsettled.

“Of course I’m here. I’ve lived here for several weeks.” He said. He hadn’t made it obvious that he was living in Lindblum, of course, but he had made several posts to the moogle’s network, that were obviously from this city.

“What do you want?” There was no point in being anything but blunt. He was no longer a Turk. He knew how to dance around a topic and eventually get to what he wanted to know, but he wanted to get back to repairing the city, and asking a direct question was faster. He and Reno didn’t exactly like each other, so there had to be some reason for the Turk approaching him. He had no idea what the motive was, but hopefully Reno would give him the straight answer he wanted, instead of avoiding the question.

[turks_reno]

What did he want? He gave a faint snort at that. Then again, Vincent had no reason not to want to be done with him as quickly as possible. While they could no longer be considered enemies, it wasn't as though they were buddies or anything remotely similar.

However, the familiarity at which Vincent regarded him, and his comfortable nature to which he spoke of this place had Reno even more confused. Of course he was there? There was no 'of course' about it! And several weeks?

His jaw dropped, then closed a moment later. What the hell?

"I have no idea where the hell 'here' is, and I got less than an idea about how I got here," he finally uttered. What choice did he have? Wait till another Turk found him? Were there even any Turks here, besides him? No, he couldn't do that. "We were supposed to look into those disappearances in the southern sections of Edge. Next thing I know, there's this bright light and then.." He shrugged, scowling a little. "I was face-down in the dirt outside this place, and a moogle's stuffing this thing into my hand," he held up his Sky Phone, "and he runs off before saying much of anything else. So. What the hell is going on, Vincent? You said you've been here for weeks?" At least he didn't sound panicked. Thank goodness for small favors. He certainly -felt- like it.

[chaos_vessel]

Oh, that certainly explained everything. Reno had probably just arrived on Gaia, with no memory of the times that he had been here before, if the man’s description of his circumstances was any indication. He was certainly confused, but at least he had kept his head, instead of freaking out to find himself in a completely new place. That might change, of course, but it hadn’t happened yet.

Vincent sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Listen closely. I’m only going to say this once,” he said briskly. He didn’t want to be the one to give a “welcome to Gaia” speech, but he would, since it had become necessary. “I know this will be hard to believe, but I’m telling the truth.”

“You’re in a new world, called Gaia. Specifically, a city called Lindblum. You were transported here from our own world by some force- I don’t know what. This power also has the ability to take people from different points in time. There are several others from our world who are here. They may remember more than you, or they may remember less. Some, like Aerith, were brought from points of time before they died.”

He paused for a few moments, to let Reno take that part of it in. “In addition, there are people from worlds neither this one or our own. Anyone from a world other than this one is referred to as a Sky Person, just so you know. The force that has brought us here has even managed to transport locations as well. Midgar and Wutai from our world can both be found in this one, but Midgar is an overgrown ruin, and Wutai is from a time before Shinra had control of it.”

The explanation, brief though it had been, was finished, and Vincent’s posture showed it. “Is there anything else you need to know?”

[turks_reno]

The sigh tipped him off that this was something rather drastic, even before the dark-haired man began to speak. As did the crossed arms - Vincent was putting him at a distance without even uttering a phrase, yet it was also obvious that yes - he was going to give Reno the information he wanted. Or at least some of it. Reluctantly, grumpily, but the information would be divulged.

He perked slightly, shifting a bit at the news that Aerith was here. Her death had been something everyone seemed to lament after the meteor-incident. To see her alive and whole again would be a relief. As messed up as this world was, and as bonkers as it might make him, this was something they could be thankful for. And he -was- thankful for the pause Vincent had given him. Did the reclusive man actually know him well enough to understand that he'd -need- that time? Or was it just that everyone had a hard time wrapping their heads around information like that?

Vincent went on, and Reno did listen - quite intently at that. People from -other- worlds were being brought there, too. And cities. Midgar was there? Overgrown or not, that was at least something he could hold on to. It was Midgar, and covered-in-plants or not, it was his home. He probably couldn't even live there anymore, but it'd be a comfort just to see it. And Wutai, too? That lil chunk-o-islands?

He could adapt to this.

When the question was asked if Reno needed to know anything else, he gave a nod. "You said people had come from our world... that Aerith's here. Could ya tell me who you know's here?" He shifted a little, flashing Vincent a bit of a grin. "So I'm not running around on a wild-chocobo-chase trying to find someone who isn't actually here?" He wouldn't say specifically that he was looking for the President and his Turk pals. But Vincent probably already knew that if he could, he'd gravitate toward them. They were his family, much like the Avalanche members were family. A dysfunctional family, perhaps, but family all the same.

[chaos_vessel]

“I do not know if any of the Turks are present. You should use your Sky Phone, if you wish to find that out.” Vincent said. That was the first thing Reno would probably want to know, after all.

He pulled out his own device to show it to Reno. “These allow communication via the mooglenet. It can be used to make callsor video recordings, or text messages. These can be broadcast to the public, or directed toward a certain person or group.”

“As for others… perhaps the most important thing to know is that Sephiroth is here, from a time before he was driven to the point where he wished to destroy the world. He is no longer an enemy to any of us. Zack Fair, Genesis Rhapsodos, and Angeal Hewley are present in this world. Genesis and Angeal are no threats either. There are various members of Avalanche- myself, Tifa, Aerith, Cid, and Yuffie. ” He wasn’t about to mention the children or Shelke. Reno could learn of that for himself, if he decided to look into it.

[turks_reno]

No Turks? Well.. that didn't mean they weren't around. It just meant that Vincent hadn't run into them. He had to hold out -some- hope that some of his crew was around! He couldn't be the only Turk here, could he?

But any thought of how lonely that would be flew out the window as Vincent made the effort to educate him further. He'd have to show his gratitude somehow, later on. In the meantime, he watched Vincent show him how to access the different features of the Sky Phone, then frowned when the contraption was put away. He could send out a message to everyone - and if Rude was here, he'd get it. Perfect!

Of course, the rest of the news that Vincent delivered had him balking. Sephiroth was here? And he was ... well.. not crazy? At least, not crazy *yet*. Zack was here. Genesis. Angeal? And Avalanche...

He gave a little nod at the end of the list of names, gaze dropping from Vincent to hit the ground, trying to grasp it all. To take it all in. Of all of the people who could have come here, why did one of them have to be Sephiroth? True, the General had been a great ally and ... well... not a friend, but friendly enough. But there was so much that had gone wrong in him since that point in time - could he really look at that silver-haired man and see the ally he once had been?

He lifted his gaze back up to Vincent, offering the former Turk (and former foe, at that!) a genuine smile. "Thanks. Y'know. For everything. It's a bit to take in, but yeah - thanks a bunch for sharing. At least I know I got a chance at meeting up with -someone- from ShinRa, yeah?" So what now? Did they shake hands and part? Did Vincent just disappear? Did they talk shit about how pleasant the day was, and how a lot of work could be done to repair this city on a day like today? He gave a soft sigh, glancing around the place. "Eh, I should probably try to find some of the other Turks, if any exist here. Duty and all that. And I've stolen enough of your time away, I'm sure. So... Thanks again? And hopefully I'll see ya around sometime, yeah?" Really? Hopefully?

Well, sure. Vincent was a pretty awesome guy, for as reclusive as he could be. He had to be, to be able to put aside their differences to help him out like that.

[chaos_vessel]

“No need for thanks. You needed to know it, so I told you.” If the moogles had told Reno the things he needed to know about Gaia, the conversation probably would not have been more than a brief exchange. Reno might have still needed to know who from their world was here, and how to work the Sky Phone, but most of the other things would have been unnecessary.

When Reno asked if he would meet Vincent again, the former Turk simply shrugged. “As I said before, I live in Lindblum. If you stay here, you’ll see me. I’ve been staying with Highwind at his shop for the moment.” Of course, “for the moment” had somehow been stretching on for longer than he ever intended, and he wasn’t feeling restless yet, so he would probably end up staying for even more time. It was a bit strange, to think that Highwind’s shop/house was becoming more and more of a home for him.

“If you need me, you can always use the sky phone to contact me,” Vincent said, before turning away. There was plenty more to do in repairing the city, and Vincent had taken a long enough break.