Categories > Games > Final Fantasy 7 > Baby Reno
Baby Reno 3
0 ReviewsDue to an accident in an old Shinra lab Reno is turned into a baby. After he causes trouble in the Turks Rude seeks the help of Tifa as a babysitter.
Baby Reno
Part 3
"Hey Vincent... Vincent!" Yuffie shook him until he woke up. "You sleep like a rock. Guess what happened just now?"
"You woke me up" Vincent said.
"No! Well yes, but beside that" Yuffie said in a quiet yet exited voice. Vincent sat up leaving enough space on the couch for Yuffie to sit down as well. He had a feeling she had a story to tell. "I went out for a walk then I heard something in the kitchen so I looked in from the window and saw Tseng and Elena hugging. Those two are a couple I was right! No doubt is Elena having Tseng's baby. He told her she would be a great mother. Now no one can deny I was right about them!"
"I suppose there is a possibility that you are correct" Vincent said wondering why in the world she was telling him this. Perhaps it was the ancient art known as 'gossip'.
"That's not all. A little while after that I saw Cloud and Tifa kissing outside! I came inside before they saw me" Yuffie said.
"You were spying?" Vincent asked.
"I was only passing by" Yuffie said. "I also think there might be a reason why Cid and Shera decided to stay in Sierra."
"Because they knew there wasn't enough space for everyone here" Vincent said.
"Besides that!" Yuffie said. "Ah, love is in the air! Isn't it romantic?" She sighted happily dreaming about the day her prince charming would come for her.
Vincent looked a little confused. He sniffed as if searching for a particular smell in the air. "I don't know."
"Oh, quit being so angsty Vinnie! Why must you live in angst all the time?" She had to cheer him up if it was the last thing she did. Determined to some how, some way, by some unexpected miracle get a smile out of Vincent, or something closely reassembling a smile, Yuffie got an idea. "Tomorrow we'll take Reno to the toy store! That's a cheerful place to be. I'll take him toy shopping and you will come with me!" She wasn't giving him any choices, the decision had been made.
When the next day came Yuffie and Vincent headed off to the mall towards the toy store after getting ready in the normal morning activities that included changing the baby's diaper, feeding him and getting him dressed in a costume that Yuffie stole the previous night after talking to Vincent. She explained she wanted Reno to wear something special for the day. If not for the fact that he heard the word 'toy' being said several times and concluded that he would get plenty of toys by the end of the day, Reno would have been screaming to get out of the clothes Yuffie picked out for him.
At the mall Yuffie could be seen carrying a little ball with hands, feet and a head sticking out of it. That ball happened to be baby Reno dressed up as a materia. Needless to say it was really hard to move in the costume filled with plush in some areas to make the ball perfectly round. While her right arm was occupied carrying the baby materia her left hand was used to tug on Vincent's cape when ever he lagged behind.
Vincent didn't like the mall and the crowds. The entire atmosphere was making him very nervous. Why Yuffie appeared to be so happy to be in such a place was beyond him. "Can we leave?" Vincent's voice was lost in the noises of the busy crowd. "Yuffie, can we leave?" He repeated a little bit louder.
"Did you say something?" The ninja asked looking back at her uncomfortable companion. He looked so lost and scared.
"I want to leave" Vincent said. He wasn't sure he could stand being in such a crowded place for much longer. The mall was quite full that day and he didn't like it when a random person would bump into him especially when it was some hormone high teenage girl bumping into him on purpose. It made him feel very uncomfortable.
"Don't be silly we just got here!" Yuffie cheerfully said. She was looking forward to a fun day of shopping and maybe a little bit of stealing here and there.
The little ball in her arms started moving impatiently, as much as the costume allowed him to move. "Uffie!"
"We better get to the toy store quick. This little materia is just about ready to summon a Meteor on us" Yuffie said.
With a hopeless sight, Vincent fallowed Yuffie to the toy store. The store was full of bright colors that certainly didn't fit his gloomy mood. He couldn't help it but to feel as if something would go wrong.
Yuffie was like a child poking at the toys and asking Reno in a baby voice. "Does baby matewia wike this toy?" Reno tried to reach the little soft plushie shuriken which was near impossible dressed up as a materia. Yuffie decided to have mercy on the little guy before he started crying and after making the plushie shuriken go 'squeak' twice she gave it to him. "See Vincent? This isn't hard. You just find a nice toy and ask Reno if he likes it and that's all it ta- Vincent?" She looked around but he was nowhere to be found.
"I insist that you let me go" Vincent said with deadly seriousness as a young man wearing a cheap Cloud disguise that was absolutely obviously a disguise, continued to pull him away. Obviously he wasn't listening to reason so instead Vincent firmly planted his feet on the floor and refused to move.
"What's with you? You're supposed to be other there!" The Cloud impostor pointed to a chair. Next to it many children were in line looking rather impatient. "Come don't be shy." He adjusted his spiky blonde wig hiding a few short brown hairs under it and approached the children while Vincent hid behind a life sized cardboard Sephiroth.
"Cloud! Cloud! Cloud!" The kids happily cheered.
"I have to go on another very secret mission" the young man said in a terrible imitation of Cloud's voice.
"Aw!" Clearly the kids didn't want him to leave. A few parents gave their disapproving looks. The 'heroes' were supposed to be available the entire day for the children to get their picture taken. They would alternate their turns so another actor had better show up to take Cloud's place. They certainly didn't want to think they stood in line for nothing.
"Don't worry! My friend Vincent will take my place here and secure the sector!" He made a pose and a silly looking salute as the children cheered. That guy certainly looked ridiculous. Cloud wouldn't like it if he saw this.
Vincent wondered what this was all about. He had seen kids with action figures and toys that looked like him and the others before. He wondered who was behind that marketing campaign and why they didn't hire the real Cloud for this. Before he could come to a conclusion the Cloud look alike removed the cardboard Sephiroth he was hiding behind and the children rushed towards him. If not for all the young little witnesses Vincent felt like he could have killed that guy.
"Vincent! Vincent! Vincent!" The kids surrounded him like rabid little hungry monsters and pulled on his cape. Some of them even stepped on his feet saying something about his 'funny shoes'.
The store manager quickly pushed him to his seat. "You're holding up the line, get on with it" he whispered to the 'Vincent actor'. The torture began. They wouldn't let Vincent leave and he was sure Yuffie, Reno and the others would be quite upset if he destroyed the dreaded mall trying to escape. He tried his best to stay human and as calm as possible. He wished Yuffie would find him she was better at handling people than he was.
"That's not Vincent!" A boy slightly older than the others pointed an accusing finger at Vincent. "He's a fake! He's just dressed up as Vincent but he's not the real Vincent!" The children started talking among themselves while the parents glared because the Vincent actor wasn't very convincing.
"He is Vincent!" a little girl said. She stepped forward from the line and argued with the boy. Vincent took the opportunity to get up and tried to sneak away.
"He's escaping!" Another child pointed out.
"He's a fake! Fake! Fake! Fake!" The same boy from before said.
"He's real!" The girl argued.
"He's a fake! He doesn't have fangs. Vincent's a vampire so he has to have long sharp fangs sticking out of his mouth!" The boy yelled.
"He's not a vampire he's a man!" The girl then hugged Vincent's leg in a deadly grip. "He's a very handsome man who can make really good chocolate fudge."
"What does fudge have to do with it?" The boy asked confused.
"I don't know but I like chocolate fudge it's yummy and my older sister once said 'Vincent would certainly make a yummy fu-fudge.' That's what she said" The girl pointed at her older sister who happened to be the one who brought he there.
The girl who must have been around eighteen or nineteen was obviously quite embarrassed. She immediately pulled her sister away by the arm. "Time to go!" She ignored the little girl's cry as her own embracement was much stronger and rushed out of the mall.
"Me next!" Said another little girl smaller than the first, holding on to Vincent's leg.
"Let me go" Vincent requested but he was ignored. Suddenly he saw his savior, the materia stealing ninja. "Yuffie!" He had never been happier to see her in his entire life.
"That's right Yuffie's here!" Suddenly from a line of cardboard figures of Cloud, Tifa and some others jumped a young woman dressed as Yuffie while the real Yuffie gave her an odd look.
"What's going on?" The real Yuffie asked.
The girl in the Yuffie costume whispered to her. "You're supposed to be Tifa, I'm Yuffie remember?"
As if on cue the store manager returned with none other than Rufus Shinra. "As you can see sales are going quite well. This special promotion with the children getting their pictures taken will boast sales even more."
"Very good, Shinra Inc. shall rise again." Rufus was about to give an inspiring corporate speech when he noticed that there was something wrong. There were two Yuffie and one of them looked too much like the real Yuffie. That Vincent also looked like the real Vincent.
"You've been marketing us?" Yuffie had been flattered by the fact that she became an action figure at first but to be marketed in such a way and by Shinra Inc no less. That was too much.
"Let me explain what I had in mind" Rufus said. It was a fine day for Tseng and Elena to decide to disappear. Rude had gone off to find them and baby Reno leaving Rufus without his Turks.
"No need" Yuffie angrily said. He handed Reno to Vincent and chased Rufus around the cardboard display accidentally knocking down Kadaj.
As Rufus ran cursing the fact that he left unarmed thinking the mall would be a harmless place to be, he grabbed baby Reno from Vincent's arms. "Do something Reno. Fulfill your duties as a Turks!"
"Ufu!" Reno said happily. He squeezed the toy shuriken making it squeak and continued saying his own version of Rufus' name. "Ufu! Ufu!"
"A hostage? That's not fair! Not fair!" Yuffie yelled.
"Reno is part of my Turks team. He's coming with me" Rufus declared. "Excellent work Reno, I knew I could count on you" he whispered. The baby had no idea what he was talking about.
"Absolutely not!" Yuffie yelled. "Where were you when he got kidnapped by Don Corneo? Did you even try to save him?"
"He was kidnapped?" Rufus asked. "Why wasn't I informed of that? Clearly he's better off with me. He won't get kidnapped now." Rufus then walked away.
Of course Yuffie tried to stop him but Vincent placed a hand on her shoulder and stopped her. "He's right Yuffie, Reno is his Turks. We have to let them go."
"He was my little materia." Yuffie sadly hugged Vincent who awkwardly yet pleasantly hugged her back. "This doesn't end here. I'll certainly tell the others about Shinra's marketing issues unless I gt reno back within an hour! Then and only then will I keep my silence!" Vincent as about to suggest she told everyone anyway but decided to remain quiet.
The little girl who had been attached to Vincent's leg the entire time finally let him go. She stood in front of Yuffie and stepped on the ninja's foot as hard as she could. "Man stealer! Why don't you stick to stealing materia?" The little girl then ran away.
"Ow! Come back here you little brat!" Yuffie yelled while hopping on one foot using Vincent for support.
"Let her go Yuffie" Vincent calmly said. "Let's leave this cruel place."
Yuffie agreed to leave and as she and Vincent walked towards the exit of the store the alarms went off. Vincent looked at her suspiciously. "I didn't take anything!" She stepped back and let Vincent pass first. Then she tried to exit herself and the alarms went off again. "Honestly I didn't steal anything this time!"
"This time?" The store manager asked with a disapproving tone.
"Innocent until proven guilty" Yuffie said. She lifted her foot to walk out and suddenly felt a cold metal hand on her ankle. "Vincent, you almost made me fall!" She said with a slightly pink color in her cheeks.
Vincent removed a tag from Yuffie's foot. "This must have been triggering the alarm."
Yuffie recognized that tag. "It's from the Shuriken toy. Rufus must have removed it and tossed it on the floor for me to step on as he left. He set a very sneaky trap."
"I doubt he knew you would step on it" Vincent commented.
The store managed then cut in. "Who will be paying for the toy?"
He received a double deadly glare from Yuffie and Vincent. "Rufus" they both said at the same time.
Meanwhile Rufus wasn't exactly having the time of his life. "I can't believe this, Reno. Couldn't you wait?" The baby only complained. He needed his diaper changed and he was tired of waiting. "You can say goodbye to that bonus I was going to give you for assisting me back there." Perhaps it was best to return the child to his babysitters but Rufus didn't want to give up so easily. He suddenly got an idea and pulled out his cell phone. "Hello, Elena? Yes it's Rufus. I'm sending you on a mission."
Elena was a bit surprised since everything appeared to be so peaceful. "What's the mission? Should I get Tseng and Rude?"
"I'm sure you can handle it yourself. Women usually make better babysitters but they can come if they want to" Rufus said.
Immediately Elena knew what the so called mission must be about. "It's about Reno isn't it? Somehow you ended up with him and don't know what to do?" She started hearing faint cry of discomfort in the background that soon turned louder and louder. "Is that Reno? Do something he's crying!"
"That's what I was trying to tell you. He needs a diaper change. I'm over at the mall." Rufus was interrupted by the sound of the communication link being ended. The cell phone beeped as it displayed a message on the screen indicating that Elena hung up. "She hung up on me... The Turks are not supposed to hang up on their boss." He was in disbelief.
"Found you!" Yuffie yelled pointing at Rufus and Reno them as if the crying materia baby didn't attract enough attention already.
"Let me guess Reno's cries led you to me? Very well I return him to you. Take good care of my little Turks." Rufus gave little Reno back to Yuffie.
"Oh sure! Give him back when he needs a diaper change!" The materia stealing ninja glared. "Hmp! Men. C'mon Vincent let's get him changed." Vincent paused looking at Rufus then at Yuffie as she walked away stomping her feet. Without saying a word he went after her. She stopped in from of two doors. One of them had a little blue sign with a white stick figure painted on it. The other had a little pink sign with another white stick figure painted on it that one had a triangle on the bottom half as if wearing a skirt.
Assuming Yuffie would take care of the diaper change in the women's bathroom Vincent stood there waiting. "I'll wait here" he said when she didn't move as if to assure her she could go in and take care of everything and he would still be there when she came out despite how much he disliked being at the mall.
"Normally it's fine for a woman to change her child in the girl's bathroom but Reno's a boy, furthermore he was once a grown up. I'm not sure it would be ethically correct to take him in there now" Yuffie thoughtfully said. Reno was screaming impatiently and kicking as much as the round costume allowed him to. He didn't care were he got changed as long as someone changed his diaper.
How Yuffie managed to gather the energy to overanalyze the situation despite Reno's cries and complaints was beyond Vincent. His brain was just about ready to explode. "No one will know."
"That's exactly what makes it even more unethical but I have the solution. You will take Reno to the boy's bathroom and change him there" Yuffie said. Then she overanalyzed the situation even more. "Now that I think about it Reno might be a little uncomfortable knowing Tifa, Elena and I all changed his diapers. I wonder if he'll ever be able to look at us in the face after he grows up again."
"If he ever changes back I doubt he would remember" Vincent said.
"If... I hope he doesn't but I have a bad feeling that he will" Yuffie said. She was observed in her motherly attachment to the baby when a soft little shuriken hit her right in the nose squeaking as it made a direct impact on its target. "Ouch! Alright, I get it you need to be changed now." She handed the child to Vincent. She then dug into her bag which had all the necessary supplies and pulled out a soft glove that looked like a bath glove. "Here you go." She covered Vincent's metal claw with it. "There now you'll be as gentle as you need to be."
"I don't think that was necessary" Vincent said. "Most importantly, there is no need for me to change him. I do not have the knowledge of skills in such matters. It would be best if you did this."
"Gotta learn some day" Yuffie said. Poor Vincent looked helpless. He really wasn't getting out of that one. The truth sunk in, there was no escape. "Go on in. I'll tell you what to do. Here's the new diaper and everything you'll need." She handed him the clean diaper and baby cleaning supplies and practically shoved him into the bathroom.
Yuffie appeared to have a very special talent for ignoring people's odd looks. Although Vincent was inside the bathroom, with no one else there other than him and Reno, he was embarrassed as he imagined the looks people must be giving Yuffie as she shouted instructions behind the closed door. It took him a while to figure out how to free Reno from the materia costume to get the dirty diaper off and it only got worse when the tape part of the diaper wouldn't let poor Vincent go. Making a disgusted face and trying to hold his breath Vincent finally managed to throw away the diaper and was about to get to work on the new one.
"Don't forget to clean him up!" Yuffie shouted from outside the bathroom's closed door. Random people who were walking by couldn't help it but to stare at her oddly.
Vincent sighed in frustration. He better get a good amount of experience points after such a torturous task. After a long hard battle and a lot of instructions from Yuffie, who could only picture in amusement what was going on, Vincent was finally victorious. "Don't do that again" he seriously told Reno. "Don't ever do that again until you learn to use the bathroom." It took him a long time to get enough of those little scented soft baby cleaning sheets out of that box that refused to release more than one at a time and even longer to figure out how the diaper worked. In the end he felt very accomplished. He was proud of himself for achieving that very challenging goal. He felt as if he had learned a lot.
"Yuffie!" Someone called. The ninja turned in direction of the voice and found Elena. "Rufus called saying that Reno needed a diaper change. Did you find him?"
"Yup, Vincent already took cake of that." Yuffie proudly announced. As if on cue Vincent emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of baby powder. He was holding the materia baby which Elena soon picked up.
"You dressed him up as a materia? Somehow I'm not surprised you would do this" Elena said.
"Yes, doesn't he look cute?" Yuffie gave him back his shuriken toy which Reno happily squeaked.
"Well, I guess this means it's my turn" Elena said.
"Not fair! Not fair!" Yuffie immediately complained.
"Elena!" Tseng called running towards her. "You said it was an emergency. What happened and why did you tell me to meet you here? Surely headquarters is a much better place to discuss an emergency than a mall."
"Reno was crying but that's ok, the emergency was solved." Elena said. Tseng only looked surprised. That was the emergency?
Then endless argument of who would baby-sit little Reno continued. That is until Tifa arrived. She and Cloud happened to be at the mall along with Marlene and Denzel and thought it was time to take Reno with them. "It's my turn" Tifa said taking the child in her arms. Before anyone could protest she added. "Red XIII is at home. He wants to spend some time with the baby. Even he is amazed by the story of the Turks who turned into a child." They had to be fair. Red XIII still hasn't had a turn to play with Reno. So it was agreed.
When Tifa, Cloud and the kids got home, Cloud changed Reno out of the uncomfortable looking materia costume and into clothes that made him look like Red XIII. A little humor never hurt. "Here he is" Cloud said placing Reno on the floor in front of Red XIII. "Keep an eye on him and the kids ok?"
"No problem" Red XIII said. Reno was dressed like a cub of his species which Cloud probably thought was funny. Not that it bothered Red. He could still easily tell this was in fact Reno. The scent was slightly different, like baby powder but he still knew who he was.
"Puppy!" Reno said happily. "Puppy!" The small child hugged Red XIII.
"I'm not a puppy" he corrected but Reno wasn't listening.
"My puppy!" It was hopeless to try to explain it so Red XIII aka Nanaki let him be. Then Reno tried to climb on his back.
"I think he wants a ride" Marlene said.
Red XIII didn't see any harm in that after all Reno was only a baby now, an innocent little human cub. "That sounds alright." So the children placed little Reno on Red XIII's back. Poor unsuspecting Red, for the rest of the day he was running in circles for little Reno would start crying when ever he stopped. After that Red XIII certainly got plenty of exercise and was very tired. The day couldn't have ended soon enough yet at the same time Red was happy. He wondered if having a cub would be this much work.
The night was spent at Healin Lodge which was big enough for everyone to fit. Rufus had requested that Reno stayed there so of course everyone else wanted to stay which he agreed to. The sun had already set and Red XIII could be seen sleeping soundly on the carpet at Rufus' feet. He could have a room but he liked the floor so no one argued with his choice of sleeping there. Rufus sat on the couch holding little Reno. He wasn't so bad as long as he didn't have to change his diapers or feed him or any of the hard stuff.
"I believe it's my turn" Rude pointed out as he extended his arms to receive the baby whom was not given to him as he expected.
Rufus protectively held on to Reno who was sitting on his lap wearing red pants and a white t-shirt with the word 'I' fallowed by a picture of a heart and 'Shinra Inc.' It was advertisement but at least it was more comfortable than the costumes they usually made him wear. "I will say when my turn is over."
Rude wasn't happy with that. Reno was his partner. Sure at first he needed a break from babysitting as did the other Turks but it came to a point when the group had grown used to having little Reno around and they all wanted to spend time with him.
It wasn't until later when Reno had already fallen asleep that Rude finally got a turn to hold the baby while Rufus went off to get some sleep. After a while Rude placed his little partner on a crib making sure he had enough baby toys and plushies to keep him company while he slept.
Meanwhile in his room Rufus was watching a recording. He recognized the scenery as belonging to an old Shinra laboratory that hasn't been used in years. The place was a mess, it was practically in ruins waiting to fall apart any second but for some unknown reason the camera system was still functional recording everything that went on in the lab. He watched as Reno who was still an adult at the time and his partner Rude came into view.
"I don't think we're supposed to be here" Rude's voice was heard.
"Relax, nothing bad will happen" Reno said sounding as carefree as usual. He approached an odd machine. The large metal casing of the machine was cracked forming a gap that was at least four inches wide allowing Reno to take a look inside.
Rufus could see what was inside the machine from the angle the camera was positioned so he knew what was causing Reno to look so surprised. It was a failed project but that didn't mean it couldn't be used for other purposes. Rufus had sent a team to investigate while his Turks were busy babysitting so he was already informed of certain things he had no idea were taking place before. Then it happened, there was a strange explosion and when the smoke cleared up Reno was a baby.
"Reno!" Rude yelled as he rushed towards Reno. "Reno?" Reno then started crying until Rude got him to calm down by picking him up and singing an off key lullaby during which Rufus hit the 'mute' button.
By examining some older records Rufus was able to come up with some theories as to what had happened but he didn't want to jump to conclusions yet. He still wondered for how long things would remain the way they were. He had a feeling that the event that was to come could only be delayed so long. Either way they should best be prepared. He would tell them everything the next day.
The hours slowly passed until around two thirty in the morning a soft cough was heard. Elena jumped out of bed wide awake and wondered if it was only her imagination. The sound was heard again and she rushed to Reno's room. At the door she found Tifa, Yuffie and Shera who had also heard. The sound was rather quiet but somehow they all heard it quite clearly.
In his room Cid rolled over half asleep and almost unconsciously extended his arm. He only touched the empty bed. He turned around to face the opposite direction and also found nothing but empty space. He sleepily opened one eye then slowly sat up. As far as he could tell in the darkness he was alone. He shrugged and lay down again. Maybe Shera got up to drink a glass of water or something.
Moments later his wife had still not returned and he was curious to know where she went. Cid got out of bed and stepped out to the hall. There was a light coming from one of the rooms. That was baby Reno's room. He stood at the door and took a look inside. The women were there and they appeared to be upset about something. They paced around the room, whispered to each other and were constantly showering Reno with attention. Making a mental note to watch his language or be murdered by their motherly instincts, Cid asked "what the, what is going on?" He almost slipped, almost.
"Reno's sick, he coughed" Shera answered with absolute concern and worry. She sounded as if the world as they knew it had come to an end.
"I'm sure it's nothing. Babies get colds just like everyone else. In fact they even get them for no reason. He's a kid it's supposed to happen." He stopped seeing Shera's disapproving look. Clearly she was very worried about Reno.
At that moment Rude had decided to leave his room to drink some water or milk before falling back asleep. He saw the lights in his little partner's room were on and went to investigate. He was informed of the terrible tragedy of Reno's sudden illness that had everyone so worried. Since Reno was his partner Rude was certainly concerned but he wondered if baby Reno being sick would be anything like when he caught a cold as a grown up. Reno would exaggerate his cold and claim that he was dying. He would complain and make Rude baby him back to health. Rude didn't mind too much but he did find Reno's behavior a little exaggerated for just a common cold. Either way he was concerned.
It didn't take too long for the sounds of a worried conversation to become louder as they realized that no matter how quiet they were Reno just wouldn't fall asleep again. The poor child had a strong fever. It was then that everyone else at the Healin Lodge woke up and was informed of the tragic situation. By then the sun had already started to shine its first rays of light upon the land and most of the group had gotten little to no sleep that night.
As they stepped outside to take Reno to a doctor the child began to glow floating away as life stream came from the ground in front of Healin Lodge and appeared to reach for him. There was a bright light and everything ended as quickly as it had begun. There were no signs of damage to Healin Lodge or even the spot on the ground where the life stream had come from. There was just a very confused fully grown Reno. "Where are the lab and the strange materia?" He looked at the ground and saw the materia glowing at his feet but as he reached for it, it sunk into the ground. He also noticed that his clothes were missing as his baby clothes were torn apart when he grew too big for them.
"Go inside and get dressed, quickly!" Rufus ordered.
Reno snapped out of his surprise and rushed inside. A few minutes later he came out fully dressed to find everyone examining a spot on the ground. "Could someone tell me what happened? One second I was trying to pick up an odd materia and the next I was here."
Yuffie looked very upset. "This day can't get any worse! Our baby grew up and I couldn't even touch that rare materia." Vincent was trying his best to be supportive. Yuffie hugged him. "I'm going to miss Reno so much!"
"Me too" Elena agreed.
"But I'm over here" Reno tried to get their attention but it was as if he was invisible.
"So what? We miss the baby not you" Elena said.
Tseng nodded. "It's true that we will miss baby Reno but this is the Reno we have now."
"Yeah but there will be another baby soon since Elena's pregnant and all" Yuffie said.
Tseng could have died there and then if not because Elena immediately denied it. "I'm not pregnant!"
"You mean Tseng and you are not expecting a baby?" Yuffie asked disappointed. After they had learned to divide the work among themselves and become a little more skilled in the ancient art of babysitting it was nice to have a baby around.
Elena and Tseng's faces became a little red as they looked at each other then at Yuffie and shook their heads. Although they didn't say it the thought of having a child did sound pleasant. Not yet, they weren't ready for a little Turk yet but maybe someday in the future.
"I know what's going on" Rufus said. Surprised everyone turned to face him. "I sent a team to conduct an investigation."
Cloud stepped forward looking as upset as the others. Rude, Elena and Tseng, who was currently hugging Elena to try to make her feel better given the situation, made no effort to stand between Cloud and Rufus. "Tell us everything you know."
"There are dark secrets of Shinra that not even I know" Rufus had a feeling this wouldn't be the last secret to pop out. "It was a failed experiment... Hojo was trying to clone Jenova. He wanted to make a living clone." It was hard to believe. One Jenova was enough trouble two would be too much especially if it was a living clone. "Jenova could not be cloned. All the clones were failures that were quickly destroyed. He tried to force the cloning process with mako energy which didn't work either. The Jenova cells and the mako energy were left in the container of a modified reactor thought to be a failed experiment. From the information I could recover apparently the mako surrounded the Jenova cells creating some kind of materia. That is what Reno found." Rufus explained.
"And it turned him into a baby, but why?" Tifa asked.
"The materia was being influenced by Sephiroth. It was to make him return, to make him be reborn. Reno is already alive in this world so instead it had a different effect on him turning him into a baby. He absorbed the effect that was meant for Sephiroth thus preventing him from returning." Rufus explained. Finally all the information he had gathered fit in together like peaces to a puzzle.
To further emphasize Rufus's point Reno's eyes glowed at that very moment. "That felt weird" he said. "So I stopped Sephiroth without even knowing and turned into a mako freak." At this point he caught an annoyed look from Cloud and paused. "Not that there's anything wrong with being a mako freak. What was that about a baby?"
"You don't remember? Do you at least remember the explosion at the old Shinra lab?" Rude asked.
"Yeah, I remember that but what happened afterwards?" Reno asked.
"You were turned into a baby. We've all been taking turns helping baby-sit. You were quite a handful you know" Rude explained.
"I was a baby?" Reno said in surprise. "I don't remember any of that. Well I'm glad that's over."
Tifa tapped her foot impatiently and placed her hands on her waist. "Is that all? 'I'm glad that's over.' You have no idea how much we'll miss the baby!"
"You sound as if this baby you speak of wasn't me, as if he's gone forever. I'm right here" Reno said.
"He felt like a different person to us. He was our little baby" Elena said.
"Yeah and we all changed your diaper so be thankful" Yuffie said.
Reno looked horrified. "I didn't need to know that but how many people changed my diaper, no wait don't answer that."
"I changed your diaper too" Rude said.
"You're not making me feel any better Rude!" Before Reno could further complain there was a strange glow on the ground. It was the same light that came when Reno turned back to normal.
Life stream came from the ground and began to take shape. Soon a little Sephiroth appeared before them. The light disappeared and it all went back to normal save for the fact that there was a baby Sephiroth there.
Cloud stared at the scene before him. "I will never be a memory." The words replayed over and over in his head. Sephiroth certainly meant what he said for there he was right in front of him except he was much smaller now. "Sephiroth!" Cloud readied his sword but this Sephiroth was too small, too innocent, too cute, he couldn't attack the child he was just a baby. He stopped and Vincent approached.
"Let me see" Vincent said picking up the little Sephiroth. 'Lucrecia... your son...' he thought. "This time he might not turn out to be so bad. I will take care of him." Suddenly he was thankful for all that Yuffie made him do. All the babysitting experience would certainly come in handy.
"I'll help you!" Yuffie cheered. The Turks save for Reno who was still a bit confused also agreed to help. Shera and even Cid agreed as well. Even Barret had hopes that the child would turn out to be good and make up for all the things his past self did.
"Cloud?" Tifa said.
Cloud approached Vincent who was holding the little Sephiroth. His guess was that even if in the end Sephiroth absorbed the materia from his connection to the planet's life stream the materia's energy had been drained during the time Reno spent as a baby so it wasn't powerful enough to bring him back as an adult. For a second Cloud thought he saw Aerith and Zack in the distance nodding their approval. It appeared that everyone accepted the little Sephiroth and Cloud sensed no evil from the child. Perhaps Sephiroth's plan back firing thanks to Reno's interference was the best thing that could have happened. "I'm willing to help too. I've had too many near death experiences with Reno to be afraid of babies anymore."
"Near death experiences?" Reno asked.
"You tried to drown me while I was giving you a bath" Cloud said. It sounded kind of odd to say it now that Reno was grown up but at least they would have another baby to keep their lives interesting.
"Maybe it's time Reno learned what it's like to baby-sit" Tseng said. This would be good training for the Turk.
"Just don't take him to a chocobo petting zoo dressed as a chocobo" Rude said.
Reno blinked. "That is a story I have to hear." Vincent gave him the little Sephiroth. "Babies aren't too hard to take care of, right little guy?"
The silver haired child looked at him curiously before grabbing the stray red hairs that fell in front of Reno's face. "Stop yo!" Luckily he didn't pull them out. "I didn't do things like this did I?"
"You did worse, but don't worry you'll have time to get the full experience" Cloud said.
"Yes, carrying you on my back all day was quite exhausting" Red XIII commented.
"Puppy!" Sephiroth let go of Reno's hair and pointed at Red XIII.
"Me and my big mouth I should have stayed quiet" Red XIII said. He had a feeling he would end up giving Sephiroth rides quite often. "If it helps Sephiroth become good I guess it's ok."
It had been the end of a great adventure and the beginning of another one as they shared stories of Reno's time as a baby and prepared themselves for Sephiroth's babyhood.
To be Continued
Part 3
"Hey Vincent... Vincent!" Yuffie shook him until he woke up. "You sleep like a rock. Guess what happened just now?"
"You woke me up" Vincent said.
"No! Well yes, but beside that" Yuffie said in a quiet yet exited voice. Vincent sat up leaving enough space on the couch for Yuffie to sit down as well. He had a feeling she had a story to tell. "I went out for a walk then I heard something in the kitchen so I looked in from the window and saw Tseng and Elena hugging. Those two are a couple I was right! No doubt is Elena having Tseng's baby. He told her she would be a great mother. Now no one can deny I was right about them!"
"I suppose there is a possibility that you are correct" Vincent said wondering why in the world she was telling him this. Perhaps it was the ancient art known as 'gossip'.
"That's not all. A little while after that I saw Cloud and Tifa kissing outside! I came inside before they saw me" Yuffie said.
"You were spying?" Vincent asked.
"I was only passing by" Yuffie said. "I also think there might be a reason why Cid and Shera decided to stay in Sierra."
"Because they knew there wasn't enough space for everyone here" Vincent said.
"Besides that!" Yuffie said. "Ah, love is in the air! Isn't it romantic?" She sighted happily dreaming about the day her prince charming would come for her.
Vincent looked a little confused. He sniffed as if searching for a particular smell in the air. "I don't know."
"Oh, quit being so angsty Vinnie! Why must you live in angst all the time?" She had to cheer him up if it was the last thing she did. Determined to some how, some way, by some unexpected miracle get a smile out of Vincent, or something closely reassembling a smile, Yuffie got an idea. "Tomorrow we'll take Reno to the toy store! That's a cheerful place to be. I'll take him toy shopping and you will come with me!" She wasn't giving him any choices, the decision had been made.
When the next day came Yuffie and Vincent headed off to the mall towards the toy store after getting ready in the normal morning activities that included changing the baby's diaper, feeding him and getting him dressed in a costume that Yuffie stole the previous night after talking to Vincent. She explained she wanted Reno to wear something special for the day. If not for the fact that he heard the word 'toy' being said several times and concluded that he would get plenty of toys by the end of the day, Reno would have been screaming to get out of the clothes Yuffie picked out for him.
At the mall Yuffie could be seen carrying a little ball with hands, feet and a head sticking out of it. That ball happened to be baby Reno dressed up as a materia. Needless to say it was really hard to move in the costume filled with plush in some areas to make the ball perfectly round. While her right arm was occupied carrying the baby materia her left hand was used to tug on Vincent's cape when ever he lagged behind.
Vincent didn't like the mall and the crowds. The entire atmosphere was making him very nervous. Why Yuffie appeared to be so happy to be in such a place was beyond him. "Can we leave?" Vincent's voice was lost in the noises of the busy crowd. "Yuffie, can we leave?" He repeated a little bit louder.
"Did you say something?" The ninja asked looking back at her uncomfortable companion. He looked so lost and scared.
"I want to leave" Vincent said. He wasn't sure he could stand being in such a crowded place for much longer. The mall was quite full that day and he didn't like it when a random person would bump into him especially when it was some hormone high teenage girl bumping into him on purpose. It made him feel very uncomfortable.
"Don't be silly we just got here!" Yuffie cheerfully said. She was looking forward to a fun day of shopping and maybe a little bit of stealing here and there.
The little ball in her arms started moving impatiently, as much as the costume allowed him to move. "Uffie!"
"We better get to the toy store quick. This little materia is just about ready to summon a Meteor on us" Yuffie said.
With a hopeless sight, Vincent fallowed Yuffie to the toy store. The store was full of bright colors that certainly didn't fit his gloomy mood. He couldn't help it but to feel as if something would go wrong.
Yuffie was like a child poking at the toys and asking Reno in a baby voice. "Does baby matewia wike this toy?" Reno tried to reach the little soft plushie shuriken which was near impossible dressed up as a materia. Yuffie decided to have mercy on the little guy before he started crying and after making the plushie shuriken go 'squeak' twice she gave it to him. "See Vincent? This isn't hard. You just find a nice toy and ask Reno if he likes it and that's all it ta- Vincent?" She looked around but he was nowhere to be found.
"I insist that you let me go" Vincent said with deadly seriousness as a young man wearing a cheap Cloud disguise that was absolutely obviously a disguise, continued to pull him away. Obviously he wasn't listening to reason so instead Vincent firmly planted his feet on the floor and refused to move.
"What's with you? You're supposed to be other there!" The Cloud impostor pointed to a chair. Next to it many children were in line looking rather impatient. "Come don't be shy." He adjusted his spiky blonde wig hiding a few short brown hairs under it and approached the children while Vincent hid behind a life sized cardboard Sephiroth.
"Cloud! Cloud! Cloud!" The kids happily cheered.
"I have to go on another very secret mission" the young man said in a terrible imitation of Cloud's voice.
"Aw!" Clearly the kids didn't want him to leave. A few parents gave their disapproving looks. The 'heroes' were supposed to be available the entire day for the children to get their picture taken. They would alternate their turns so another actor had better show up to take Cloud's place. They certainly didn't want to think they stood in line for nothing.
"Don't worry! My friend Vincent will take my place here and secure the sector!" He made a pose and a silly looking salute as the children cheered. That guy certainly looked ridiculous. Cloud wouldn't like it if he saw this.
Vincent wondered what this was all about. He had seen kids with action figures and toys that looked like him and the others before. He wondered who was behind that marketing campaign and why they didn't hire the real Cloud for this. Before he could come to a conclusion the Cloud look alike removed the cardboard Sephiroth he was hiding behind and the children rushed towards him. If not for all the young little witnesses Vincent felt like he could have killed that guy.
"Vincent! Vincent! Vincent!" The kids surrounded him like rabid little hungry monsters and pulled on his cape. Some of them even stepped on his feet saying something about his 'funny shoes'.
The store manager quickly pushed him to his seat. "You're holding up the line, get on with it" he whispered to the 'Vincent actor'. The torture began. They wouldn't let Vincent leave and he was sure Yuffie, Reno and the others would be quite upset if he destroyed the dreaded mall trying to escape. He tried his best to stay human and as calm as possible. He wished Yuffie would find him she was better at handling people than he was.
"That's not Vincent!" A boy slightly older than the others pointed an accusing finger at Vincent. "He's a fake! He's just dressed up as Vincent but he's not the real Vincent!" The children started talking among themselves while the parents glared because the Vincent actor wasn't very convincing.
"He is Vincent!" a little girl said. She stepped forward from the line and argued with the boy. Vincent took the opportunity to get up and tried to sneak away.
"He's escaping!" Another child pointed out.
"He's a fake! Fake! Fake! Fake!" The same boy from before said.
"He's real!" The girl argued.
"He's a fake! He doesn't have fangs. Vincent's a vampire so he has to have long sharp fangs sticking out of his mouth!" The boy yelled.
"He's not a vampire he's a man!" The girl then hugged Vincent's leg in a deadly grip. "He's a very handsome man who can make really good chocolate fudge."
"What does fudge have to do with it?" The boy asked confused.
"I don't know but I like chocolate fudge it's yummy and my older sister once said 'Vincent would certainly make a yummy fu-fudge.' That's what she said" The girl pointed at her older sister who happened to be the one who brought he there.
The girl who must have been around eighteen or nineteen was obviously quite embarrassed. She immediately pulled her sister away by the arm. "Time to go!" She ignored the little girl's cry as her own embracement was much stronger and rushed out of the mall.
"Me next!" Said another little girl smaller than the first, holding on to Vincent's leg.
"Let me go" Vincent requested but he was ignored. Suddenly he saw his savior, the materia stealing ninja. "Yuffie!" He had never been happier to see her in his entire life.
"That's right Yuffie's here!" Suddenly from a line of cardboard figures of Cloud, Tifa and some others jumped a young woman dressed as Yuffie while the real Yuffie gave her an odd look.
"What's going on?" The real Yuffie asked.
The girl in the Yuffie costume whispered to her. "You're supposed to be Tifa, I'm Yuffie remember?"
As if on cue the store manager returned with none other than Rufus Shinra. "As you can see sales are going quite well. This special promotion with the children getting their pictures taken will boast sales even more."
"Very good, Shinra Inc. shall rise again." Rufus was about to give an inspiring corporate speech when he noticed that there was something wrong. There were two Yuffie and one of them looked too much like the real Yuffie. That Vincent also looked like the real Vincent.
"You've been marketing us?" Yuffie had been flattered by the fact that she became an action figure at first but to be marketed in such a way and by Shinra Inc no less. That was too much.
"Let me explain what I had in mind" Rufus said. It was a fine day for Tseng and Elena to decide to disappear. Rude had gone off to find them and baby Reno leaving Rufus without his Turks.
"No need" Yuffie angrily said. He handed Reno to Vincent and chased Rufus around the cardboard display accidentally knocking down Kadaj.
As Rufus ran cursing the fact that he left unarmed thinking the mall would be a harmless place to be, he grabbed baby Reno from Vincent's arms. "Do something Reno. Fulfill your duties as a Turks!"
"Ufu!" Reno said happily. He squeezed the toy shuriken making it squeak and continued saying his own version of Rufus' name. "Ufu! Ufu!"
"A hostage? That's not fair! Not fair!" Yuffie yelled.
"Reno is part of my Turks team. He's coming with me" Rufus declared. "Excellent work Reno, I knew I could count on you" he whispered. The baby had no idea what he was talking about.
"Absolutely not!" Yuffie yelled. "Where were you when he got kidnapped by Don Corneo? Did you even try to save him?"
"He was kidnapped?" Rufus asked. "Why wasn't I informed of that? Clearly he's better off with me. He won't get kidnapped now." Rufus then walked away.
Of course Yuffie tried to stop him but Vincent placed a hand on her shoulder and stopped her. "He's right Yuffie, Reno is his Turks. We have to let them go."
"He was my little materia." Yuffie sadly hugged Vincent who awkwardly yet pleasantly hugged her back. "This doesn't end here. I'll certainly tell the others about Shinra's marketing issues unless I gt reno back within an hour! Then and only then will I keep my silence!" Vincent as about to suggest she told everyone anyway but decided to remain quiet.
The little girl who had been attached to Vincent's leg the entire time finally let him go. She stood in front of Yuffie and stepped on the ninja's foot as hard as she could. "Man stealer! Why don't you stick to stealing materia?" The little girl then ran away.
"Ow! Come back here you little brat!" Yuffie yelled while hopping on one foot using Vincent for support.
"Let her go Yuffie" Vincent calmly said. "Let's leave this cruel place."
Yuffie agreed to leave and as she and Vincent walked towards the exit of the store the alarms went off. Vincent looked at her suspiciously. "I didn't take anything!" She stepped back and let Vincent pass first. Then she tried to exit herself and the alarms went off again. "Honestly I didn't steal anything this time!"
"This time?" The store manager asked with a disapproving tone.
"Innocent until proven guilty" Yuffie said. She lifted her foot to walk out and suddenly felt a cold metal hand on her ankle. "Vincent, you almost made me fall!" She said with a slightly pink color in her cheeks.
Vincent removed a tag from Yuffie's foot. "This must have been triggering the alarm."
Yuffie recognized that tag. "It's from the Shuriken toy. Rufus must have removed it and tossed it on the floor for me to step on as he left. He set a very sneaky trap."
"I doubt he knew you would step on it" Vincent commented.
The store managed then cut in. "Who will be paying for the toy?"
He received a double deadly glare from Yuffie and Vincent. "Rufus" they both said at the same time.
Meanwhile Rufus wasn't exactly having the time of his life. "I can't believe this, Reno. Couldn't you wait?" The baby only complained. He needed his diaper changed and he was tired of waiting. "You can say goodbye to that bonus I was going to give you for assisting me back there." Perhaps it was best to return the child to his babysitters but Rufus didn't want to give up so easily. He suddenly got an idea and pulled out his cell phone. "Hello, Elena? Yes it's Rufus. I'm sending you on a mission."
Elena was a bit surprised since everything appeared to be so peaceful. "What's the mission? Should I get Tseng and Rude?"
"I'm sure you can handle it yourself. Women usually make better babysitters but they can come if they want to" Rufus said.
Immediately Elena knew what the so called mission must be about. "It's about Reno isn't it? Somehow you ended up with him and don't know what to do?" She started hearing faint cry of discomfort in the background that soon turned louder and louder. "Is that Reno? Do something he's crying!"
"That's what I was trying to tell you. He needs a diaper change. I'm over at the mall." Rufus was interrupted by the sound of the communication link being ended. The cell phone beeped as it displayed a message on the screen indicating that Elena hung up. "She hung up on me... The Turks are not supposed to hang up on their boss." He was in disbelief.
"Found you!" Yuffie yelled pointing at Rufus and Reno them as if the crying materia baby didn't attract enough attention already.
"Let me guess Reno's cries led you to me? Very well I return him to you. Take good care of my little Turks." Rufus gave little Reno back to Yuffie.
"Oh sure! Give him back when he needs a diaper change!" The materia stealing ninja glared. "Hmp! Men. C'mon Vincent let's get him changed." Vincent paused looking at Rufus then at Yuffie as she walked away stomping her feet. Without saying a word he went after her. She stopped in from of two doors. One of them had a little blue sign with a white stick figure painted on it. The other had a little pink sign with another white stick figure painted on it that one had a triangle on the bottom half as if wearing a skirt.
Assuming Yuffie would take care of the diaper change in the women's bathroom Vincent stood there waiting. "I'll wait here" he said when she didn't move as if to assure her she could go in and take care of everything and he would still be there when she came out despite how much he disliked being at the mall.
"Normally it's fine for a woman to change her child in the girl's bathroom but Reno's a boy, furthermore he was once a grown up. I'm not sure it would be ethically correct to take him in there now" Yuffie thoughtfully said. Reno was screaming impatiently and kicking as much as the round costume allowed him to. He didn't care were he got changed as long as someone changed his diaper.
How Yuffie managed to gather the energy to overanalyze the situation despite Reno's cries and complaints was beyond Vincent. His brain was just about ready to explode. "No one will know."
"That's exactly what makes it even more unethical but I have the solution. You will take Reno to the boy's bathroom and change him there" Yuffie said. Then she overanalyzed the situation even more. "Now that I think about it Reno might be a little uncomfortable knowing Tifa, Elena and I all changed his diapers. I wonder if he'll ever be able to look at us in the face after he grows up again."
"If he ever changes back I doubt he would remember" Vincent said.
"If... I hope he doesn't but I have a bad feeling that he will" Yuffie said. She was observed in her motherly attachment to the baby when a soft little shuriken hit her right in the nose squeaking as it made a direct impact on its target. "Ouch! Alright, I get it you need to be changed now." She handed the child to Vincent. She then dug into her bag which had all the necessary supplies and pulled out a soft glove that looked like a bath glove. "Here you go." She covered Vincent's metal claw with it. "There now you'll be as gentle as you need to be."
"I don't think that was necessary" Vincent said. "Most importantly, there is no need for me to change him. I do not have the knowledge of skills in such matters. It would be best if you did this."
"Gotta learn some day" Yuffie said. Poor Vincent looked helpless. He really wasn't getting out of that one. The truth sunk in, there was no escape. "Go on in. I'll tell you what to do. Here's the new diaper and everything you'll need." She handed him the clean diaper and baby cleaning supplies and practically shoved him into the bathroom.
Yuffie appeared to have a very special talent for ignoring people's odd looks. Although Vincent was inside the bathroom, with no one else there other than him and Reno, he was embarrassed as he imagined the looks people must be giving Yuffie as she shouted instructions behind the closed door. It took him a while to figure out how to free Reno from the materia costume to get the dirty diaper off and it only got worse when the tape part of the diaper wouldn't let poor Vincent go. Making a disgusted face and trying to hold his breath Vincent finally managed to throw away the diaper and was about to get to work on the new one.
"Don't forget to clean him up!" Yuffie shouted from outside the bathroom's closed door. Random people who were walking by couldn't help it but to stare at her oddly.
Vincent sighed in frustration. He better get a good amount of experience points after such a torturous task. After a long hard battle and a lot of instructions from Yuffie, who could only picture in amusement what was going on, Vincent was finally victorious. "Don't do that again" he seriously told Reno. "Don't ever do that again until you learn to use the bathroom." It took him a long time to get enough of those little scented soft baby cleaning sheets out of that box that refused to release more than one at a time and even longer to figure out how the diaper worked. In the end he felt very accomplished. He was proud of himself for achieving that very challenging goal. He felt as if he had learned a lot.
"Yuffie!" Someone called. The ninja turned in direction of the voice and found Elena. "Rufus called saying that Reno needed a diaper change. Did you find him?"
"Yup, Vincent already took cake of that." Yuffie proudly announced. As if on cue Vincent emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of baby powder. He was holding the materia baby which Elena soon picked up.
"You dressed him up as a materia? Somehow I'm not surprised you would do this" Elena said.
"Yes, doesn't he look cute?" Yuffie gave him back his shuriken toy which Reno happily squeaked.
"Well, I guess this means it's my turn" Elena said.
"Not fair! Not fair!" Yuffie immediately complained.
"Elena!" Tseng called running towards her. "You said it was an emergency. What happened and why did you tell me to meet you here? Surely headquarters is a much better place to discuss an emergency than a mall."
"Reno was crying but that's ok, the emergency was solved." Elena said. Tseng only looked surprised. That was the emergency?
Then endless argument of who would baby-sit little Reno continued. That is until Tifa arrived. She and Cloud happened to be at the mall along with Marlene and Denzel and thought it was time to take Reno with them. "It's my turn" Tifa said taking the child in her arms. Before anyone could protest she added. "Red XIII is at home. He wants to spend some time with the baby. Even he is amazed by the story of the Turks who turned into a child." They had to be fair. Red XIII still hasn't had a turn to play with Reno. So it was agreed.
When Tifa, Cloud and the kids got home, Cloud changed Reno out of the uncomfortable looking materia costume and into clothes that made him look like Red XIII. A little humor never hurt. "Here he is" Cloud said placing Reno on the floor in front of Red XIII. "Keep an eye on him and the kids ok?"
"No problem" Red XIII said. Reno was dressed like a cub of his species which Cloud probably thought was funny. Not that it bothered Red. He could still easily tell this was in fact Reno. The scent was slightly different, like baby powder but he still knew who he was.
"Puppy!" Reno said happily. "Puppy!" The small child hugged Red XIII.
"I'm not a puppy" he corrected but Reno wasn't listening.
"My puppy!" It was hopeless to try to explain it so Red XIII aka Nanaki let him be. Then Reno tried to climb on his back.
"I think he wants a ride" Marlene said.
Red XIII didn't see any harm in that after all Reno was only a baby now, an innocent little human cub. "That sounds alright." So the children placed little Reno on Red XIII's back. Poor unsuspecting Red, for the rest of the day he was running in circles for little Reno would start crying when ever he stopped. After that Red XIII certainly got plenty of exercise and was very tired. The day couldn't have ended soon enough yet at the same time Red was happy. He wondered if having a cub would be this much work.
The night was spent at Healin Lodge which was big enough for everyone to fit. Rufus had requested that Reno stayed there so of course everyone else wanted to stay which he agreed to. The sun had already set and Red XIII could be seen sleeping soundly on the carpet at Rufus' feet. He could have a room but he liked the floor so no one argued with his choice of sleeping there. Rufus sat on the couch holding little Reno. He wasn't so bad as long as he didn't have to change his diapers or feed him or any of the hard stuff.
"I believe it's my turn" Rude pointed out as he extended his arms to receive the baby whom was not given to him as he expected.
Rufus protectively held on to Reno who was sitting on his lap wearing red pants and a white t-shirt with the word 'I' fallowed by a picture of a heart and 'Shinra Inc.' It was advertisement but at least it was more comfortable than the costumes they usually made him wear. "I will say when my turn is over."
Rude wasn't happy with that. Reno was his partner. Sure at first he needed a break from babysitting as did the other Turks but it came to a point when the group had grown used to having little Reno around and they all wanted to spend time with him.
It wasn't until later when Reno had already fallen asleep that Rude finally got a turn to hold the baby while Rufus went off to get some sleep. After a while Rude placed his little partner on a crib making sure he had enough baby toys and plushies to keep him company while he slept.
Meanwhile in his room Rufus was watching a recording. He recognized the scenery as belonging to an old Shinra laboratory that hasn't been used in years. The place was a mess, it was practically in ruins waiting to fall apart any second but for some unknown reason the camera system was still functional recording everything that went on in the lab. He watched as Reno who was still an adult at the time and his partner Rude came into view.
"I don't think we're supposed to be here" Rude's voice was heard.
"Relax, nothing bad will happen" Reno said sounding as carefree as usual. He approached an odd machine. The large metal casing of the machine was cracked forming a gap that was at least four inches wide allowing Reno to take a look inside.
Rufus could see what was inside the machine from the angle the camera was positioned so he knew what was causing Reno to look so surprised. It was a failed project but that didn't mean it couldn't be used for other purposes. Rufus had sent a team to investigate while his Turks were busy babysitting so he was already informed of certain things he had no idea were taking place before. Then it happened, there was a strange explosion and when the smoke cleared up Reno was a baby.
"Reno!" Rude yelled as he rushed towards Reno. "Reno?" Reno then started crying until Rude got him to calm down by picking him up and singing an off key lullaby during which Rufus hit the 'mute' button.
By examining some older records Rufus was able to come up with some theories as to what had happened but he didn't want to jump to conclusions yet. He still wondered for how long things would remain the way they were. He had a feeling that the event that was to come could only be delayed so long. Either way they should best be prepared. He would tell them everything the next day.
The hours slowly passed until around two thirty in the morning a soft cough was heard. Elena jumped out of bed wide awake and wondered if it was only her imagination. The sound was heard again and she rushed to Reno's room. At the door she found Tifa, Yuffie and Shera who had also heard. The sound was rather quiet but somehow they all heard it quite clearly.
In his room Cid rolled over half asleep and almost unconsciously extended his arm. He only touched the empty bed. He turned around to face the opposite direction and also found nothing but empty space. He sleepily opened one eye then slowly sat up. As far as he could tell in the darkness he was alone. He shrugged and lay down again. Maybe Shera got up to drink a glass of water or something.
Moments later his wife had still not returned and he was curious to know where she went. Cid got out of bed and stepped out to the hall. There was a light coming from one of the rooms. That was baby Reno's room. He stood at the door and took a look inside. The women were there and they appeared to be upset about something. They paced around the room, whispered to each other and were constantly showering Reno with attention. Making a mental note to watch his language or be murdered by their motherly instincts, Cid asked "what the, what is going on?" He almost slipped, almost.
"Reno's sick, he coughed" Shera answered with absolute concern and worry. She sounded as if the world as they knew it had come to an end.
"I'm sure it's nothing. Babies get colds just like everyone else. In fact they even get them for no reason. He's a kid it's supposed to happen." He stopped seeing Shera's disapproving look. Clearly she was very worried about Reno.
At that moment Rude had decided to leave his room to drink some water or milk before falling back asleep. He saw the lights in his little partner's room were on and went to investigate. He was informed of the terrible tragedy of Reno's sudden illness that had everyone so worried. Since Reno was his partner Rude was certainly concerned but he wondered if baby Reno being sick would be anything like when he caught a cold as a grown up. Reno would exaggerate his cold and claim that he was dying. He would complain and make Rude baby him back to health. Rude didn't mind too much but he did find Reno's behavior a little exaggerated for just a common cold. Either way he was concerned.
It didn't take too long for the sounds of a worried conversation to become louder as they realized that no matter how quiet they were Reno just wouldn't fall asleep again. The poor child had a strong fever. It was then that everyone else at the Healin Lodge woke up and was informed of the tragic situation. By then the sun had already started to shine its first rays of light upon the land and most of the group had gotten little to no sleep that night.
As they stepped outside to take Reno to a doctor the child began to glow floating away as life stream came from the ground in front of Healin Lodge and appeared to reach for him. There was a bright light and everything ended as quickly as it had begun. There were no signs of damage to Healin Lodge or even the spot on the ground where the life stream had come from. There was just a very confused fully grown Reno. "Where are the lab and the strange materia?" He looked at the ground and saw the materia glowing at his feet but as he reached for it, it sunk into the ground. He also noticed that his clothes were missing as his baby clothes were torn apart when he grew too big for them.
"Go inside and get dressed, quickly!" Rufus ordered.
Reno snapped out of his surprise and rushed inside. A few minutes later he came out fully dressed to find everyone examining a spot on the ground. "Could someone tell me what happened? One second I was trying to pick up an odd materia and the next I was here."
Yuffie looked very upset. "This day can't get any worse! Our baby grew up and I couldn't even touch that rare materia." Vincent was trying his best to be supportive. Yuffie hugged him. "I'm going to miss Reno so much!"
"Me too" Elena agreed.
"But I'm over here" Reno tried to get their attention but it was as if he was invisible.
"So what? We miss the baby not you" Elena said.
Tseng nodded. "It's true that we will miss baby Reno but this is the Reno we have now."
"Yeah but there will be another baby soon since Elena's pregnant and all" Yuffie said.
Tseng could have died there and then if not because Elena immediately denied it. "I'm not pregnant!"
"You mean Tseng and you are not expecting a baby?" Yuffie asked disappointed. After they had learned to divide the work among themselves and become a little more skilled in the ancient art of babysitting it was nice to have a baby around.
Elena and Tseng's faces became a little red as they looked at each other then at Yuffie and shook their heads. Although they didn't say it the thought of having a child did sound pleasant. Not yet, they weren't ready for a little Turk yet but maybe someday in the future.
"I know what's going on" Rufus said. Surprised everyone turned to face him. "I sent a team to conduct an investigation."
Cloud stepped forward looking as upset as the others. Rude, Elena and Tseng, who was currently hugging Elena to try to make her feel better given the situation, made no effort to stand between Cloud and Rufus. "Tell us everything you know."
"There are dark secrets of Shinra that not even I know" Rufus had a feeling this wouldn't be the last secret to pop out. "It was a failed experiment... Hojo was trying to clone Jenova. He wanted to make a living clone." It was hard to believe. One Jenova was enough trouble two would be too much especially if it was a living clone. "Jenova could not be cloned. All the clones were failures that were quickly destroyed. He tried to force the cloning process with mako energy which didn't work either. The Jenova cells and the mako energy were left in the container of a modified reactor thought to be a failed experiment. From the information I could recover apparently the mako surrounded the Jenova cells creating some kind of materia. That is what Reno found." Rufus explained.
"And it turned him into a baby, but why?" Tifa asked.
"The materia was being influenced by Sephiroth. It was to make him return, to make him be reborn. Reno is already alive in this world so instead it had a different effect on him turning him into a baby. He absorbed the effect that was meant for Sephiroth thus preventing him from returning." Rufus explained. Finally all the information he had gathered fit in together like peaces to a puzzle.
To further emphasize Rufus's point Reno's eyes glowed at that very moment. "That felt weird" he said. "So I stopped Sephiroth without even knowing and turned into a mako freak." At this point he caught an annoyed look from Cloud and paused. "Not that there's anything wrong with being a mako freak. What was that about a baby?"
"You don't remember? Do you at least remember the explosion at the old Shinra lab?" Rude asked.
"Yeah, I remember that but what happened afterwards?" Reno asked.
"You were turned into a baby. We've all been taking turns helping baby-sit. You were quite a handful you know" Rude explained.
"I was a baby?" Reno said in surprise. "I don't remember any of that. Well I'm glad that's over."
Tifa tapped her foot impatiently and placed her hands on her waist. "Is that all? 'I'm glad that's over.' You have no idea how much we'll miss the baby!"
"You sound as if this baby you speak of wasn't me, as if he's gone forever. I'm right here" Reno said.
"He felt like a different person to us. He was our little baby" Elena said.
"Yeah and we all changed your diaper so be thankful" Yuffie said.
Reno looked horrified. "I didn't need to know that but how many people changed my diaper, no wait don't answer that."
"I changed your diaper too" Rude said.
"You're not making me feel any better Rude!" Before Reno could further complain there was a strange glow on the ground. It was the same light that came when Reno turned back to normal.
Life stream came from the ground and began to take shape. Soon a little Sephiroth appeared before them. The light disappeared and it all went back to normal save for the fact that there was a baby Sephiroth there.
Cloud stared at the scene before him. "I will never be a memory." The words replayed over and over in his head. Sephiroth certainly meant what he said for there he was right in front of him except he was much smaller now. "Sephiroth!" Cloud readied his sword but this Sephiroth was too small, too innocent, too cute, he couldn't attack the child he was just a baby. He stopped and Vincent approached.
"Let me see" Vincent said picking up the little Sephiroth. 'Lucrecia... your son...' he thought. "This time he might not turn out to be so bad. I will take care of him." Suddenly he was thankful for all that Yuffie made him do. All the babysitting experience would certainly come in handy.
"I'll help you!" Yuffie cheered. The Turks save for Reno who was still a bit confused also agreed to help. Shera and even Cid agreed as well. Even Barret had hopes that the child would turn out to be good and make up for all the things his past self did.
"Cloud?" Tifa said.
Cloud approached Vincent who was holding the little Sephiroth. His guess was that even if in the end Sephiroth absorbed the materia from his connection to the planet's life stream the materia's energy had been drained during the time Reno spent as a baby so it wasn't powerful enough to bring him back as an adult. For a second Cloud thought he saw Aerith and Zack in the distance nodding their approval. It appeared that everyone accepted the little Sephiroth and Cloud sensed no evil from the child. Perhaps Sephiroth's plan back firing thanks to Reno's interference was the best thing that could have happened. "I'm willing to help too. I've had too many near death experiences with Reno to be afraid of babies anymore."
"Near death experiences?" Reno asked.
"You tried to drown me while I was giving you a bath" Cloud said. It sounded kind of odd to say it now that Reno was grown up but at least they would have another baby to keep their lives interesting.
"Maybe it's time Reno learned what it's like to baby-sit" Tseng said. This would be good training for the Turk.
"Just don't take him to a chocobo petting zoo dressed as a chocobo" Rude said.
Reno blinked. "That is a story I have to hear." Vincent gave him the little Sephiroth. "Babies aren't too hard to take care of, right little guy?"
The silver haired child looked at him curiously before grabbing the stray red hairs that fell in front of Reno's face. "Stop yo!" Luckily he didn't pull them out. "I didn't do things like this did I?"
"You did worse, but don't worry you'll have time to get the full experience" Cloud said.
"Yes, carrying you on my back all day was quite exhausting" Red XIII commented.
"Puppy!" Sephiroth let go of Reno's hair and pointed at Red XIII.
"Me and my big mouth I should have stayed quiet" Red XIII said. He had a feeling he would end up giving Sephiroth rides quite often. "If it helps Sephiroth become good I guess it's ok."
It had been the end of a great adventure and the beginning of another one as they shared stories of Reno's time as a baby and prepared themselves for Sephiroth's babyhood.
To be Continued
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