Advent Children(M/private)

Willy upheld the look of snitch quite eloquently. The way his body trembled beneath Van’s steely gaze made Riese feel pity for the man. What a sad life to revert to, sinking to the slums where the brightest part of his day was being confronted by Shinra’s lapdogs. She shook her head the moment Van’s aura shifted. She was impressed he was showing as much patience as he was, yet Willy didn’t seem to acknowledge how quickly his luck was running out.  She idly glanced around the bar. The group around the poker table focused their attention on them, averting their gazes only when they briefly made eye contact with Riese. If their uniforms didn’t give them away, their eyes certainly did.
 
Turning back to Van and Willy, she watched the snitch continue to deny them the information they came here for and Riese felt a tinge of impatience. She didn’t know if it was Willy herself that was annoying her or if it was this place.
 
The women at the bar watched Van with intrigue running through their eyes, yet they shied away in fear. The only thing that kept them from running scared so far is that they undoubtedly found the male soldier attractive. It likely wasn’t often when someone attractive came in this dump and stirred things up.
 
Riese turned back to Willy and Van and stepped forward. “You realize the more you keep this information, the more physical pain you’ll cause yourself,” she stated, her eyes gleaming dangerously. “Tell us what you know and you might get away with minimal damage to yourself.” She watched his face carefully, almost as if he were pondering his next set of words.

Van released a low growl as he moved past the blonde. He had no interest in whores. No, there was only one person he wanted to see that night. When they got the back Van's hawk like eyes locked onto the back of a lone male drinking at the far end of the bar. He looked at Riese giving her a nod. "Willy the Snake. How's it going?" Van grinned as he walked up behind the man and slapped him hard across his back. Willy nearly jumped right out of his skin! Van watched as the startled snitch did his best to clean his beer up. "You got something for me?" Van asked, his brow slightly raised.

Willy's body began to shake. His voice was shaky and he was doing his best to avoid looking directly into Van's cold eyes. "N-No...I-I mean..look I made a mistake! A big mistake! Larry the Pinch and Stevie the Arm never made it out of Junon. Fucking Turks!" Willy spat. That got Van's attention.

"Turks?" Van repeated, his body tensing. The Turks were both Shrina's police force and elite undercover agents. They were given even more freedom than those who were employed by Soldier. They were the true dogs of Shrina...and Van despised them with every fiber of his being. The Turks had intentionally made his training missions ten times more complicated. In their opinion, Soldier was done. It had failed the moment Sephiroth had gone berserk. That made all other Soldiers useless in their eyes. "Willy..." Van whispered. Suddenly, a twisted death-like aura consumed his body. Van stepped forward and with his right hand, wrapped it tightly around Willy's throat. "You WILL talk. Whats going on in Junon?" Van asked darkly. Willy's face turned a ghostly white. He gripped Van's muscular arm and began squirm. "NO NO NO! I wont talk! I dont know anything. I swear!!!!"

"Brutality at it's best," she murmured softly. She had to hand it to Van, his methods were effective when it came to information. She followed him inside, pausing to look at man. "Monsters who have a higher purpose than serving alcoholic nymphomaniacs." She breezed past him, following Van inside. Excitable moans released into the air, mixing with the agitated shouts of men. 

Riese followed Van's gaze toward the back. "Let's hope he's sober enough to answer questions," she said and started walking. To the left there was a petite young woman with long blonde hair. She was smiling wide as an older gentlemen fondled her from behind, raising her dress up. She looked at Van and winked, giggling. 

When they entered the back, there were a couple tables occupied by a group of men playing poker. At the bar, a few more women and men, then a lone man toward the far end. Riese motioned toward him. "Willy?" she inquired to Van.

"Willy the Snake." Van stated with an irritated groan. "He's a card shark/dead beat from Junon. As I'm sure you know...or maybe you dont...Junon is Shrina's secondary HQ. Vice President Rufus Shrina conducts most of his operations there. Lately, there's been allot of movement throughout the city and apparently Willy overheard a particular conversation. At the time, he wouldn't say who he had heard talking or what it was about. All he said was that it was Sephiroth related." Van stated as he moved to open the door. He'd let her comment about him being a hot head slide.

Once inside, Van's eyes locked onto the barkeeper. He walked up to the bar and leaned forward a bit. "Let me in." Van ordered. The barkeep looked up and shot Van a cold glare. His eyes shifted between the Van and Riese. It was easy to tell they belonged to soldier. Their eyes gave them away. "Fine, but you have to leave your weapons here. You can collect them on your-" he stated just before Van grabbed him by his head and slammed him down into the counter. "Fuck! What the hell are you-" the barkeep yelled. Van simply smiled and placed more pressure on the man's head. "Official Shrina business. You'll let me in with my weapon. You understand dont you?" Van grinned and after a few seconds finally released the poor man. He stumbled back holding his bloodied head. "Fucking monsters.." he grumbled while reaching for a hidden lever behind the bar.

Van stepped back. As soon as the barkeeper pulled the lever a hidden portion of the wall left to the bar slid back. Van stepped through. They'd have to walk down a few flights of stairs before they reached the bottom. Once they did, Van's ears filled with the sounds of drunken brawls. "Right down this hall there is another bar, only larger. There we'll find Willy." Van explained and started walking. Along with the sounds and roars of drunks, they'd also be able to hear the lustful moans of men and women. There were plenty of prostitutes in the slums and even more men willing to pay for their services.

Ignoring his bump and comment, Riese followed Van. Small talk wasn't necessary, but figuring out what exactly Van had planned and why they were following his lead was. She stopped beside him in front of the pub. It's reputation exceeded even the grimiest of reputations and she could only imagine what kind of contact Van had. 

"What leads do you have?" she inquired. If they both had their own leads, why be partnered up at all? Why not monitor their movements? The whole thing didn't make sense and felt sloppy almost. They were less likely to turn at the same time if they were on their own seperate paths. 

She motioned toward the door and waves her hand at it. "Hotheads first."

"Surprised?" Van blinked. As she stepped away Van lowered his weapon. Inside he felt a pinch of disappointment that his new partner had backed down. How boring. "You're one to talk. You look like a doll that could brake at any moment" Van sighed while positioning his spear onto his back. The weapon was the only physical proof he had belonged to a family. The spear, 'Highwind,' was a gift from his grandfather. Although technically it was suppose to have been passed to his mother, the woman found no use for it. Van was delighted when his mother, after insistent begging, finally allowed him to start training with the spear. Those were happier times tho..and far removed from Van's memory.

Van sighed again as he moved past Riese, all while harshly bumping her shoulder. He led her out of the park and into the deeper, more cut throat, part of the slums. No one cared about the 'poor' leaches who fed on the coattails of the elite. It didn't help that the cops, who had sworn to uphold the peace, were corrupt. Back ally dealings were common in the slums. Van led Riese through the trash covered streets and in front of a small pub. "We're here." Van stated as he stood in front of the door. On the outside the building looked like a normal bar, but on the inside it was actually one the city's largest underground underground sex & gambling rings. "My contact is inside. For his sake...he had better have what I want.."

OOC: Thanks :)

IC: Riese's eyes wandered idly over Van's weapon. Each child had been allowed to carry a weapon of their choice, something that belonged to them and only them. For Riese, she chose a chain whip with a small blade attached to the end. It wasn't fancy, but effective for close and far range fighting. 

She had no intention of using said weapon on Van until his hostility took hold and she found her throat millimeters away from being finely sliced flesh. Her gaze pulled away from the spear and she looked at Van straight on. "I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did," she said softly and stepped backwards. His words and actions were a mere warning. Had he wanted her dead there wouldn't be chitchat, but rather bloodshed. 

"If you're done, can we go now?" Time was slipping past. The sooner they disposed of Sephiroth, the less time she and Van had to deal with one another. She could only imagine how much rejoicing she would do when that day came.

ooc: awesome post :P

ic: Van's dull blue eyes slowly shifted up from the ground. He stared hard at his new 'partner'. For someone who was supposed to be as strong as him, the girl looked weak. How had someone like her survived all the hellish experiments? "Riese right?" Van asked as he stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn't exactly thrilled to be working with a partner. "Listen up because I'm only going to say this once." Van sighed deeply. He pushed himself off from the slide and stood up straight. The dark haired boy stood about 5'10. His body was nice and toned thanks to all the training he had gone through. On his back, he carried a long spear. The blade held a slight curve to it and was perfect for impaling or slashing both monsters..and people. 

Van gripped the handle of his spear with his right hand. He pulled around from his back. With a hard thrust, he placed the tip of the spear's blade half an inch from Riese's throat. "I could care less about the selfish whims of Shrina. Get in my way and I'll kill you." Van stated bitterly. The threat was real. Riese would get only one warning. As he stood, Van was tempted to test Riese's abilities, however he was already running late for his appointment. "Do we understand each other?"

The stench of the city assaulted Riese’s nose as she rounded the corner and saw Van Highwind. She had become officially informed of their dictated partnership hours after it was decided they would not meet against each other in battle. To Shinra, the defeat of Sephiroth would only come if another equally powerful soldier emerged, yet with their fears of another going on rampage, two were allowed to exist to balance out the other in any failed attempts to escape or turn. To Riese, it made little sense.
 
True as it was to create a powerful soldier to defeat their first mistake, what was stopping a second mistake from happening? Her and Van were partners, but was it ever taken into consideration of them both turning rampant at the same time, or one killing the other and then going crazy?
 
She sighed and pushed her thoughts aside as she approached Van. During training, she often wondered about the pasts of the other children, what brought them to such a terrifying point in their lives that they became pawns for Shinra. Riese never remembered her own past; only through broken nightmares did she ever piece bits of her past together. Unwillingly.  At this point, having been spared as the second child, she could only imagine remembering anything of her former life would only create problems.
 
“Shall we get started?” she inquired finally.

Nibelheim...like any other small town in the mountains it's existence was practically unknown. That all changed however when a representative of Shrina came with the offer to build a mako factory. The machines were renowned for supplying cities with energy, but at the cost of the planet's life. The villagers were told that the factory would more than double their normal amount of revenue. It would be a vast improvement over mining and fur trading. It wasn't hard to suck the people in, they were after all simple 'hick' folk. However, there were a few that were opposed to the ideal. The former village elder and a certain young woman...

The duo argued that the construction of a mako factory would do more harm than good. The elder argued that Shrina was killing the planet and that soon mankind would would have to suffer for its ignorance and mistreatment of the planet. The woman who stood by his side...she could see the glances filled with contempt among the other villagers. Everyone completely brushed aside the Elder's warning. He was old, blind, and half dead...what did he know? Within a few years after the debate the mako factory was built. For the most part, life within the village remained the same. There were a few cases of Mako poisoning...but those cases were covered up so quickly most of the town people assumed that they had been nothing more than rumors. As promised, the mako factory did increase the town's revenue...not as much as was promised...but still it was something. All in all the new village elder and the people were happy. None of them could have guessed that within a few years the name Nibelheim would be associated with one of the bloodiest massacres known to the planet...

It was on that day two strangers approached the village. One of them had spiked jet black hair and wielded what must have been a very heavy buster sword. The other...the other was a tall man. His cat like eyes constantly pulsed bright shades of a greenish...cyan color. The two men were from SOLDIER and were apart of Shrina's elite military. No one wanted to get in their way. There were penalties for obstructing official Shrina business so the men were allowed to do as they pleased.  It was on that day that I left the village to go hunting for mother. Little did I know that when I would return, the night would be forever carved into my memory...
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Streaks of flame tore through the village! They ran rampant like a pack of ravenous wolves and consumed everything in sight. Those who were scorched by the flames were considered to be the lucky ones. A river of blood poured down the streets of Nibelheim. Those who had escaped the flames of the village were quickly cut down before they could reach the town's exit. The cry's of men, woman, and children bellowed throughout the night as their lungs filled with smoke, ash, and death. A boy by the name of Van Highwind had been hunting in the woods just north of the town. His blue eyes widened with fear as reached his home town. There was death everywhere he looked. He could hear the screams, he could hear the cries for mercy. He could smell the scent of burnt flesh all around him! For a moment his body become paralyzed. It wasn't until he heard the scream of a familiar voice that he snapped out of his trance and rushed to find what was left of his home. 

Van had somehow manged to make his way through all the smoke and debris. There, laying in a pool of blood right in front of his now burning home was his mother, Victoria Highwind. Van quickly rushed to his mother's side and turned her over. IT wasn't long before her blood stained his clothes. He was just a young boy...what could he do? How could he save her? Van's eye's began to fill with tears. Suddenly, his mother let out a violent cough. She opened her crystal blue eyes and stared up at her son. She placed her bloody hand on his cheek as she attempted to speak her final words.


Suddenly, a great blast of flame erupted from a few buildings over! Van quickly covered his mother with his own body as pieces of wood, metal, and earth fell from the sky. As van looked up, his eyes came to rest on a dark figure standing within the center of the flames, within the center of all the death. That man...the one called Sephiroth. He stepped through the flames with his blade in hand. His cold cat like eyes shifted down to Van as the fire around him danced. It was almost as if he were some sort of...god...and the dancing flames were in a state of worship. Van's body began to shiver. He had never felt fear like this before. He knew that within a single second his life could end if this SOLDIER wished it. Suddenly, a dark malicious grin spread across Sephiroth's lips. "Follow..." he mumbled before turning his back to Van as if to further taunt him!  Van's fear was quickly replaced by rage. He clutched the ground beneath him as he bit down hard on his lower lip. "V-Van..." came a soft whisper from his mother's lips. Van quickly looked down. Suddenly, the sky began to darken and rain began to pour as if to wash away the scent of death. "Y-Yes?" Van whispered as he held his mother tightly in his arms. It took a moment for him to realize that she had already passed. His entire body began to shake as droplets of rain poured over his already teary face. Just as Van was about to cling to his mother's lifeless body, it suddenly broke down into small partials of energy. The green particles circled Van before drifting up towards the Life Stream. Why had this happened? What had the towns people done to deserve such a death? What had his mother done to deserve being stabbed and left for dead?!  His mother had always told him that if he loved the planet and took care of it, someday he would be able to enter "The Promised Land". Where was that promised land now?! Van found himself staring up at the dark rain filled sky. The brightness in his eyes had vanished leaving behind nothing but a dull void like gaze behind...

That was five years ago...
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Ever since the Nibelheim incident, Van had devoted himself to finding the SOLDIER who had destroyed his life. He learned that Sephiroth had gone insane and that Shrina was desperate to put an end to him...or so he was told. Shrina was now putting together a huge experiment called Operation "Black Box". Could the limits of the human body be pushed? Could it withstand higher doses of "Jenova" cells? Originally, scientists had tried infusing Jenova cells into the fertile eggs of pregnant women. This method however produced few successes, Sephiroth being one of them. Shrina needed new results. For their latest experiment, 150 children were gathered together. Some were orphans from the slums, others were purchased from the black market and human trafficking organizations, and a few had come from within some of the more shady divisions within Shrina. OF those 150 nearly half died within the first week of the experiment leaving only 75 children left. They were the lucky ones. 35 more children had to go through the painful process of "Rejection". Their bodies were mutilated and transformed into violent monsters. 30 more children were able to beat the Rejection process only to have their bodies break down and decay. It seemed that the body bags grew in number after every other week. With just 10 children left they were given the statues of SOLDIER 2nd class. Shrina had no need for low level grunts however. Only the best of the best would do. The 10 remaining children were forced to fight and kill each other. It was cruel, yet a highly effective way of weeding out the weaklings. The scientists in charge figured it would best to pin all their hopes on a single child. However, Shrina's President raised deep concerns. The last thing Shrina needed was another Sephiroth; another unstopping monster. No, they needed two children instead of one. Should the worse happen, one child could eliminate the other. The scientists agreed. Their project had been a success! Who cared if the lives of 148 children were sacrificed in the process?

Now 16, Van Highwind had become an official 1st class SOLDIER. He had become a doll over the past 5 years. He cared nothing for his life or the lives of others for that matter. He had only one objective which was to find and kill Sephiroth. He didn't give a damn who he had to cut down in order to complete his objective. Van closed his eyes and sighed softly. Today, his mission would officially start. He stood waiting in a park located under Midgar. The slums were a nasty place to live and Van absolutely hated walking through the area. Murder, rape, and thievery seemed to run unchecked. "Where the fuck is she?" Van mumbled as he leaned against a slide...which had been made out of trash and unused metal. Though Van had never actually spoken to the girl he was to meet, he had seen her during a few training exercises. He had also watched a few of her 'matches' against the other children during the final testing stages. The word from HQ was that she was every bit as strong as he was. Apparently she also had orders to execute Van on the spot if he ever attempted to abandon his mission. Naturally, Van had been given the same order should his partner try to run. Their lives belonged to SOLDIER now. Only in death would they be free...