Chapter Text
The Soldiers froze as they were met with blood red eyes of a man with long black hair and a red cape. The rest of his attire was black with golden boots and his left arm covered with a gold gauntlet.
Beside the man, half leaning against him was River. The boy's skin was burned in several places and a large gash marred his right cheek. He looked absolutely exhausted.
Blue eyes blinked slowly as they flickered towards the Soldiers. Recognition shown in them soon. "You... came." he whispered. "You really came."
Before anyone could say anything else an alarm sounded and Vincent cursed.
"They know we broke out. We need to get moving. Now!" the ex-Turk said.
"Back this way." Tseng said. "We came from that direction. It's clear."
Vincent gave a quiet nod before gently tugging on River's hand. "Come on." he whispered.
Soon the group was hurrying on their way, trying to avoid any scientist or guard they might have come across.
Once out of the building they were met with several troopers who rushed at the group with guns ready. They faltered once seeing the General.
Hojo suddenly rounded the corner of the building. "What are doing just standing there idiots!" he screeched. "Get them! I want my project back!"
The troopers raised their guns again, unsure of exactly what to do.
Sephiroth took a threatening step forward, lifting Masamune. "Don't. Troopers take orders from me, not him. I won't hesitate to kill you if you shoot." he said.
"You imbeciles!" Hojo yelled, his face growing red with anger. "That project's mine!"
River flinched and moved closer to Vincent's side. Vincent's arm tightened around him. His gun was held in his free hand, ready to shoot if necessary.
Hojo was not getting River back.
Guns were cocked then fired. A barrage of bullet flew.
River screamed. The troopers collapsed.
River glanced up at Vincent before stepping closer to the man.
Hojo looked shocked before screeching, "What did you do?!"
River shivered. He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder before Vincent's warmth vanished from his side.
The Turks and Soldiers took up a protective stance around River.
"River?" Angeal asked, making the red headed boy turn to look at him. "What did you do to them?"
River tightened his grip around himself before answering. "I just knocked them out. That's all. I guess... That's what I wanted to do at least." he replied quietly.
Angeal nodded. It definitely looked like the kid had just somehow managed to knock the troopers unconscious. They were still breathing.
Hojo was red faced and angry as he glared at the group before focusing solely on River. "Project C you belong to me."
River stepped back, shaking his head. He didn't belong to anyone, especially Hojo.
Before Hojo could say anything a gunshot went off. The professor was still before suddenly dropping to the ground... dead.
Tseng went to check to make sure he was dead as Vincent silently stepped up behind River once more.
Standing up Tseng order Reno and Rude to take care of the professor's body before taking his phone out of his pocket.
Looking over at everyone else the Turk said, "Let's go. We have a president to arrest and I think River needs some place to get cleaned up."
The group then headed back to the inn.
Once there the Turks went to deal with the president, arresting him.
In a room of their own Vincent helped River clean up and bandage his injuries once more.
"We maybe should head somewhere else for a few days and let River rest up and heal before heading to Shin-ra. Let everything be dealt with there and not drag him into it." Angeal suggested and with ease everyone else agreed.
Soon they were heading back to Costa del Sol with Rufus Shin-ra's agreement.
Once at Costa del Sol and after some rest the Soldiers managed to find out what Hojo had done to him in full details. Hojo had been trying to make the perfect Soldier/ Turk hybrid.
River had several different abilities but he was constantly terrified of using them.
They also learned about Vincent Valentine and the fact that he was Sephiroth's real father, not Hojo.
A couple of months later the president was found dead. No one knew who did it. Rufus Shin-ra was officially the new president and Lazard became the vice president.
It wasn't long before several other members of Shin-ra turned up dead like Scarlet, Heidegger and Hollander.
A year later Shin-ra was making new changes to itself and the environment with some of River's help too.
River had healed from his injuries and was slowly adjusting to his new found freedom. He was doing better but he still woke up screaming ever so often and at times had certain situations that had him internally freaking out but it was a slow recovery.
River sat quietly under a large oak tree not far from the Soldiers vacation home in Mideel. Vincent sat beside him, eyes closed.
Now that the ex-turk was an official turk again he had taken to wearing the black dress suit the other turks wore with a red shirt underneath. His hair was tied up in ponytail but he still wore the blood red bandana.
There was a loud laugh and suddenly Zack skidded to a stop in front of the red head. River closed the book he had in his lap and looked up. "Hi, Zack." he greeted.
Zack grinned and plopped down to sit in front of him. "Hey!"
River tilted his head. "Is there... something you need?"
Zack shook his head. "Nope, just wanted to see how you were doing and all." he replied, seriousness seeming to creep into his voice at the moment.
River silently regarding Zack, thinking. He then gave a nod. "All things considered... I'm doing great." He looked away and add shyly, "Thanks to you all. You don't know how grateful I am to you."
Zack gave a gentle smile at River and the red head smiled back.
A moment later Genesis' voice could be heard calling the three of them to come in for supper.
Zack jumped up to his feet before lending a hand to River. Once he was standing the raven haired man placed a hand on his shoulder. "You know... I'm glad we met you." he said.
River looked over at him, slightly shocked before a soft smile spread across his face. "I'm glad I met you too."
Zack grinned once more before heading towards the house.
An arm wrapped around River's shoulders. River glanced up at Vincent.
"At least everything is alright for now." Vincent spoke.
River nodded as they headed towards the house. "No more trouble to deal with. Thank the Goddess for that. Healing can finally start."
River stepped into the kitchen to see Angeal swat Zack away from the food he was bringing out of the kitchen. Genesis and Sephiroth were finishing setting the table.
The Cetra smiled. Everything was okay. Well, actually... Everything was great. He couldn't ask for anything better than this.