The Unforgiven



          Smoke and the smell of alcohol assaulted him as he walked into the

bar.  It took him a moment to adjust to the dim red light of the bar.  As his

sight adjusted he saw the people.  They were mostly former Shinra employees.

After Meteor had destroyed most of Midgar and president Rufus had been killed

in the fighting, Shinra had gone bankrupt.  The company did not have the money

to rebuild, and most of the executives had been killed in the aftermath.  This

bar was filled with Shinra nostalgia.  Pictures of the many accomplishments of

the company were displayed all over the wall.  In the back were video games

from the Gold Saucer.  In the front was a large projection screen displaying

the local news.

         The man walked to an empty seat in the bar.  As he sat down the

bartender came up to him.  He was probably a former Shinra employee.  He was a

black-haired man about six feet tall.  His face was cold and expressionless.

          "Whatcha want?" asked the bartender.

          "Strongest thing you got," replied the man.

          As the bartender bent under the counter and rummaged for a bottle,

the man looked at himself in the mirror behind the bar.  He was a young man in

his twenties.  He admired his slicked red hair and his clean, sharp angled

face.  His slim white arms leaned on the bar.  He was dressed in a black

leather vest and matching attire.  On his right shoulder was a tattoo of a

wolf on a snowy landscape.  On his left shoulder was a tattoo of a heart with

a dagger through it.  The word 'Biggs' was under the dagger.

          "Here you go,"said the bartender as he poured a shot.  "This stuff

was made twenty years ago in the fields around Costa del Sol.  This drink was

the Turks very own brew.  It is very rare now that the machines that made it

are dead and rusting like the rest of Shinra and the Turks."

          The man stared blankly at the bartender.  He reached for the chromed

shot glass.

          Clang!  "Gimme another one."

          The Shinra bartender went red in the face.  Then he sighed and

poured another shot.  He left the bottle as he stalked away from the man.  The

man silently chuckled to himself.

          The man looked up at the mirror again.  He looked around the bar

through the reflection.  Most of the people were in black suits.  Mourning for

the old glory, he guessed.  They were trying to get plastered for the most

part.  In the back near the video games he noticed a man staring right back at

him through the reflection.  He was thin and balding with a red ponytail.  He

leaned on a black cane with a gold handle.

          The man at the bar looked closer at the shadowy figure.  He thought

he recognized him from somewhere.  Then he shook his head and poured another

shot.





          The kid watched as Biggs climbed the stairs of the Sector 7 support

pillar.  Biggs was dressed in tattered rags.  He carried a Shinra assault

rifle.  Biggs seemed to be having the time of his life.  Two Shinra soldiers

were holding their postions on the stairs.  Biggs dropped them with a flurry

of gunfire.  He signaled for the rest of the Avalanche team ahead.  A fat man,

a woman, and a well-muscled black man charged past him.  As Biggs turned to

follow, a figure raced up the stairs behind him.  Biggs turned to face his new

opponent and brought up his rifle.  He was too slow.  The figure swung a cane

over Biggs's head.  The assault rifle flew from his hand as he fell.  Then the

figure pulled a pistol from his suit.  The kid watching screamed as Biggs was

shot in the back.  Biggs's head popped up for a moment, then his body went

limp.  For a second the figure turned to face the kid.  The figure was young

and lean.  He had spiked red hair with a red ponytail.  He tapped a black cane

with a gold handle on his shoulder.  Then the figure raced up the steps after

the rest of the Avalanche team.

          The kid raced towards Biggs.  Tears filled his eyes as he stumbled

up the steps.  He stopped when he hand reached a small puddle of blood.  Biggs

was lying face down in a larger pool of blood.

          "Big brother!" cried the kid.

          Biggs raised his head to look at his brother.  He smiled and reached

under his jacket.  He produced a pistol and handed it to the kid.

          "Take my gun and get out of here," Biggs croaked.

          Tears welled in the kid's eyes.  He looked up at where the red-

haired figure had gone chasing the rest of Avalanche.  Just then two people

came racing up the stairs.  One was a man with spiky blond hair and a huge

sword.  The other was a young woman with a claw on her fist and revealing

clothing.

          "Biggs!" exclained the blond haired man.

          "Don't worry about me, Cloud," Biggs whispered. "Just get up there

and save Sector 7."

          Cloud nodded.  Then he and the woman were racing up the stairs

again.

          "What do I do?" asked the kid.

          "They'll take care of the Shinra.  You just get out of here."

          "But I-"

          The pillar started to shake just then.  A helicopter roared past

them going up to the top.

          "Get your ass out of here Mick!"





          Mick snapped his head off the bar.  He could feel his mouth was dry,

and he could feel the echoes of a headache.  Mick checked the clock on the

wall.  He had been out for almost an hour.  He looked at the rest of the bar

again through the reflection in the mirror.  The bar still had the same old

crowd.

          "Strong stuff, ain't it?" asked a person to Mick's right.  It was

the shadowy figure at the back of the bar.  Mick tried to focus his vision on

the man.  He could swear he recognized that face and that red ponytail.  Mick

shook his head 'yes' at the figure.

          "It is rather rare stuff nowadays.  It is said that this particular

brand was infused with Mako for an added kick," commented the man.  The man

sat down next to Mick.  Mick could swear he recognized him, but his hazy mind

would not function.  

          "So what's your story soldier?" asked the man.  "You a former Shinra

like the rest of us here?"

          Mick picked up the bottle and poured another shot.  "Me?  Oh, I am

justht theeking revenge, that'sss all," slurred Mick.

          "Revenge? That's a rather unprofitable trade."

          "Well, I ain't no goddamn Shinra!  That's all Shinra ever thought of

was money!  They killed hundreds because they didn't pay their Mako bills!"

yelled Mick.  Mick felt his mind become a little cleared due to the anger.

          The people in the bar looked up from their drinks.  Mumbling rippled

through the crowd.  A couple of them started to reach inside their coats.

          "Whoa there kid.  A lot of people here have fond memories of the

Shinra.  Don't you start a riot 'cause you're drunk," said the man.

          Mick turned around slowly.  He gave the crowd a drunken smile and a

wave.  Most of the crowd mumbled and turned away.  Mick turned back to face

the bar again.

          "So tell me kid, what sort of revenge are you looking for?"

continued the mystery man.

          "ME? oh yeah."  Mick belched loudly.  "Me?  Yeah.  About fifteen

years ago my brother was killed when the Sector 7 pillar collapsed."

          "Oh yes.  That was an unfortunate accident," replied the man.  His

eyes fell to the bar.  He looked tired and sad.

          "Weren't no $%^!!@ accident!  The Shinra and those #$!!% Turks blew

up the pillar!"

          The man's head snapped up.  His eyes were still sad.  "Calm down

kid!  You're gonna get killed if you keep on yelling like that," consoled the

man.  "It was unfortunate.  I am sorry."

          "Yeah, well I don't need no 'sorries' from some ex-Shinra bastard,"

growled Mick.  "My brother wasn't killed when the plate fell.  He was killed

by one of the Turks!"

          The figure turned to face Mick.  He gripped the black cane in his

hand.

          "Kid, did you see the Turk who killed your brother?" asked the man.

          "Yeah, I saw him."

          "What did he look like?" The man's face was a trio of melancholy.

          "Well, he had a red ponytail..."

          "Go on."

          "He kind of looked like you.  Only he was younger and had a

black...cane..."

          Mick's eyes flicked toward the cane, then to the red ponytail, then

to the man's face.

          "...with a gold handle!"

          "Now kid, hold on!

          "It's YOU!!!"

          "Kid, I was young.  I'm sorry-!"

          Mick didn't let the man finish.  He grabbed the bottle and swung it

at the man's head.  The vintage liquor bottle burst into pieces as it made

contact.  The man went sprawling on the floor.

          The other Shinra, seeing one of their own fall, were instantly in

action.  A few of them pulled knives and metal clubs from their belts.  Far

more pulled guns from their coats.  The bartender swore as he dove for the

floor.

          Mick dove over the sprawled figure of the mystery man.  The barstool

where he had just sat burst into pieces.  Mick felt adrenaline rush in and

clear his head.  He ran and took cover behind the video games.  He took out

his brother's pistol from his vest.  He also took out his special surprise: a

small black sphere with a hoop coming from the top.

          Mick fired blindly over the top of the video game he hid behind.  He

felt the ground shudder as people dove for cover and unended tables.  Mick

rolled the dice.  He pulled the pin on the grenade and lobbed it.  He lost

sight of it as gunfire swept his position.  He had to get out now!

          Mick jumped up and sprinted towards the bar.  He dove and slid

headfirst across the bar towards the entrance.  He fired back as the bar

erupted around him.  Then there was a deafening roar, and the world went

black.





          Mick awoke to find himself in a world of pain.  As his vision

cleared, he saw he had been blown clear out the bar.  He saw the bar was

virtually destroyed.  The world was strangely quiet as he got up.

          Mick heard the crunch of broken glass behind him.  He turned in time

to see the cane swing right onto his face.  The world spun as he felt the cane

jar again and again with his ribs.  The ground rushed to meet him.

          He slowly turned onto his back.  He felt his eyes widen as he saw

his brother's killer.  The man stood tall over him.  The man was covered in

soot, and blood ran down his face.  He tapped the cane against his shoulder.

          "After all these years, the past catches up to me," the man said.

"I am still unforgiven after all that time.  Tell me kid, do you even know my

name?"  The man drew a pistol from his coat.  "Well kid?  You been hinting me

for fifteen years, you should have learned my name."

          Mick coughed up blood.

          The man shook his head.  He looked back at the bar.  A tear ran down

his face.

          "That bar was where Rude proposed to Elena.  That was where I hoped

to live out the rest of my days.  Just forget about all the wrong things I had

done.  Especially Sector 7."

          Mick stared at the sad and tired man.

          "It was where rude and Elena had their wedding reception.  I just

wanted to sit back and remember the few good times I had with them."

          His face hardened.  He pointed the gun at Mick's face.

          "But you had to destroy it all.  You couldn't just forgive and

forget."

          Mick looked at him.  "I still don't know your name."

          The man looked right down the barrel into Mick's eyes.

          "Want to know my name now kid?"

          Sirens could be heard down the street.  Flashing lights could be

seen faintly in the distance.

          The man looked at the lights.  He withdrew the gun and put it back

in his coat.

          "I'm Reno of the Turks!"

          Mick's eyes widened.  He spat at Reno.  Reno just chuckled though.

          "See you around kid."

          Mick felt sleey then.  He watched Reno disaapear into the shadows of

the back alleys.  The last thing Mick remembered seeing was a huge black man

in a sailor suit looking down on him.





          "I didn't recognize that kid at all," said Barret.  "The last time I

saw him was before the Sector 7 pillar collapsed."

          "I didn't recognize him either.  It has been fifteen years since

Sector 7 was destroyed," replied Marlene.

          Barret looked out from his office at police HQ in Kalm.  He stared

out at the wreckage of Midgar.  He was dressed in the uniform of the Kalm

police.  Marlene said he looked like a sailor with a badge.

          He turned around and faced his daughter.  She had grown up to be a

striking young woman.  Tall and gorgeous she was.  Barret was filled with

pride as he looked at her.  She was also doing so well at the school at Cosmo

Canyon.

          "I thought that he had died with all the rest of the people of

Sector 7," said Marlene.

          Barret's pride was melted by the sense of loss over Biggs's brother

Mick.  Mick had escaped from jail a couple days after he was locked up.

Barret figured he was long gone, looking for Reno.

          "It is so unfortunate that his life's work is revenge," said

Marlene. "I remember when he used to just stare at that pillar for hours."

          "Marlene."

          "Yes, daddy?"

          Barret turned and stared out the window again.

          "I got to thinkin' after Mick got done with his story."

          "What's wrong, daddy?" asked Marlene.

          Barret sighed.  "You know, that kid is really no different than when

Reno was a Turk.  Reno destroyed whatever for Shinra an for money.  I think he

liked the money more than Shinra.  Mick killed all those ex-Shinra bastards

for revenge.  Mick didn't know any of them.  They were just in the way.

          "That's not what's troubling you daddy.  I know you.  You don't care

one bit about anyone from Shinra."

          Barret looked at the floor.  He took a deep breath and continued.

          "What if this kinda thing could happen to me?" asked Barret.

          Marlene sucked in her breath.  "Why would anyone want to kill you?"

          "You remember Mako Reactor Number 1?"

          Marlene nodded.

          "A lot of innocent people were killed in that explosion.  What if

one of the survivors is out there now, waiting to get even with me, wishing me

dead?"

          "Daddy, you are a hero.  You are renowned all over the world as one

of the people who stopped Meteor.  Nobody wants to kill you," consoled

Marlene.

          Barret shook his head.  "I bet you didn't know, but Reno is a hero

too.  He helped rescue some of the Midgar residents trapped in the shelters

after Meteor destroyed the town.  Nobody heard about it because the world was

focused on Cloud and the rest of us.  Reno is actually an unsung hero."

           Marlene's eyes widened.  "I didn't know that.  Poor Reno. He should

have been honored somehow."

           Barret paused.  Then he asked,"What if I am unforgiven like Reno

is?"

           Marlene didn't say anything for a few minutes.  Then she broke the

silence.

           "Did you forgive Reno?"

           Barret raised his head.  He still stared out the window.

           "No, I guess not," he replied.  

           The two did not speak after that.   After a few minutes Marlene

left the room.

           Barret pressed a hand against the glass.  His head leaned forward

onto the glass.  He stared at the wreckage of Midgar for a long time.