Reno and Elena ran, not knowing just how they would make it out of this alive. They had already been separated from Tseng and Rude and it was just getting hard to outrun the black monsters swarming around them. Reno had given up trying to fight them a long time ago. Elena still fired as they ran, trying to take out as many as possible, but Reno knew it was worthless to try. The things would just come in greater numbers, attracted by the remains of their fellows.
They found an abandoned hotel, most things were abandoned here, and they went inside. They ran up several flights of stairs before finally hiding in a room near a pool. Reno had figured out that water seemed to deter the creatures and he hoped it would work now.
"H-how ya f-fee-feeling Laney." Reno panted, clutching the stitch in his side.
"I-I don't know." She panted just as heavily. "Tseng and Rude?"
"No idea." Reno sat on the floor rubbing his tired legs.
"Do you think they might be-" Elena began, but Reno cut her off.
"Don't think about that. There's no way a few of those...those.....things could kill a Turk." Reno said crossly.
"But Reno they were covered in them! I've seen that happen before and you know nothing good happens once they get you like that!" Elena sank to the floor beside Reno and began to cry. "Rude...Tseng...they're-"
Reno cut her off again, "I know what they probably are Elena. That doesn't mean I'm going to just accept that fact." Yet. He added to himself. "They could have made it out, they've been in worse situations than this."
"But never with creatures like these!" Elena wrapped her arms around her knees and cried weakly into them. "Reno these creatures go after your heart! How can we fight them when we can barely hurt them? Guns won't work! Everytime we kill one it's like five more come!"
Reno wrapped his arms around her small frame, giving her a hug that he hoped was consoling. "Their hearts were strong Elena, they couldn't have just been taken like that."
They sat in silence, Elena still crying and Reno holding her tighter to try and convince her that there was hope left, even though in reality he had none himself.
They could hear scratching at the door and they bolted upright, pulling out their weapons. They could tell that the things..the heartless things were trying to break the door in as they heard heavy slams on the other side. Reno looked around, trying to find an exit, but the hotel had no balcony to leap from, no back door to run though, not even a window to throw themselves out of.
"Reno." Elena said timidly, her voice almost asking a question as the tears continued to fall down her face.
"I know Laney." Reno knew it would be impossible for them to make it out of this alive. It would take a miracle, but since Reno didn't believe in any God's miracles seemed like an even greater impossibility. "We'll go out fighting if we go out at all."
Elena nodded. "I don't want to die." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but through the splintering noises the door made Reno was able to hear her.
"Me neither." Reno flicked on his EMR, "Let's make sure we take a few out with us." He gave her a cocky smile that she timidly and fearfully returned. He would make sure she had hope until the last second, he wanted her to see him fighting for his life, to see how many he killed and he wanted her to see that they could make it out, even if he knew otherwise. He wanted to at least try to get her out alive, even if he died in the process.
The door finally gave way and heartless spilled into the room, swarming over them as they tried to force their way out of the room.
When Reno woke up his first thoughts were for his fellow Turks. Laney?........Rude?......Tseng?.....even Rufus would be a welcome sight right now! PLease just let someone be here when I open my eyes! Then again, in his mind being alive might just be the worst possible thing to ever happen to him.
He sat up and groaned. His body hurt, everywhere, yet it didn't feel like it was his pain he was dealing with. Almost as if the body beneath him didn't hurt and the pain was outside him, almost like it was a separate being entirely that was seeping through his skin. He swept a hand through his hair and paused, his hair didn't feel right. He ran his hands along his face, that didn't feel right either. He looked down at his body, noticing that he might as well be nude with how tattered his clothes were, he also noticed his skin wasn't damaged at all. He looked around, he had somehow ended up in the pool room of the hotel. He couldn't see Elena anywhere. He bent over the water, fearing she might have fallen in and drowned, and then he saw his reflection and screamed. His face was not his own, his tattoos had changed from two swooping lines to two near triangular dashes under his eyes. His hair was a darker shade of red and his eyes seemed to be the only aspect of his face that remained unchanged. He heard a small noise behind him and whipped around, searching for the perpetrator of the sound.
"Elena?" He asked, his voice fearful.
"Reno?" She gaped openly, nothing seemed to be the same about her.
"Your face." Reno paused.
"Yours too." Elena bent over the pool and gave a scream similar to Reno's. She rounded on him, "What happened!?"
"I don't know! I just remember getting attacked by the heartless and everything going black and now here we are." Reno held his head in his hands.
Elena sat down with her back to the pool, trying to get the image of her new face out of her mind. "How are we going to explain this?"
"I don't think we'll have to worry about that Laney." He sighed heavily, "Everyone else we know is dead or left a long time ago and wouldn't give a damn."
She wrapped her arms around her knees. "How can you say that?"
"I can say it because it's true! Even our enemies are gone! Cloud and the others left with that freak Highwind months ago! Rude and Tseng died last night!" Did it really only happen last night? It was so hard for Reno to take in the reality of what he was saying. "Rufus was on his deathbed when we left and considering the fact that those black blobs of shit don't give a damn about hospital manners he's probably been killed by now too. We are fucking alone Laney! There's no life left here! Look around! Open your eyes and take a good long damned look! It's all fucking gone!" Reno was standing up now, waving his arms as he raved. "I don't know about you but I'm pretty damned sure that even if someone was left I wouldn't want to try to explain this to them! I just wished the things had killed us and this was all done with! This nightmare is never going to fucking end Laney! We tried to protect this world, Rude and Tseng and countless others died trying to do so so why couldn't we? Why can't we just have an honorable death?" Reno was starting to cry at the thought, he had known when they left Shinra the night before that they probably wouldn't be going back. He had expected to simply die though, to be taken back in a body bag if there were enough pieces of him left to need a bag. He hadn't wanted to be around to deal with this when the fighting was over, that meant he would have to face the truth that everyone was gone. He sat on the ground and groaned, a desperate low sound.
Elena looked up, she looked so unfamiliar to Reno, even her voice seemed different, "Do you really wish we were just dead Reno? Last night, when you were trying to comfort me, make me feel better, were you just trying to prepare me for death!?" She stood up hands balled into fists, tears that had started earlier now falling thickly down her face. "You said last night that they couldn't be dead. That there was hope!" She was screaming now, "You were just trying to make sure we died thinking good thoughts didn't you? You know what happens when you die thinking good thoughts when those things get you? You fucking get left behind like we did! You aren't dead, you aren't alive, you aren't darkness, you aren't light, we're just fucking shells now! Without our hearts look how different we are!" She pointed at the pool where their reflections faced them in an almost accusing manner, "If you had simply let us die in fear and helplessness you would have gotten your death wish, but no, you had to go out like a fucking hero trying to fight for people and you had to drag me behind you!" Elena didn't know why this made her so mad, she had wanted to die last night, to simply let the things eat her alive like they had so many of her friends and loved ones but she had also wanted Reno to get out alive, she had wanted him to stay around and be able to help Rude and Tseng, where ever they could be. Now that she knew he hadn't meant a damn word about them being alive she was simply furious that she had fought like that. She couldn't explain why but it seemed like he had taken something from her in letting her go like that.
Reno simply sat with his head bowed, he raised a hand and gingerly touched his face, he knew this was his fault. He knew she was right, he had no response, no apology worthy to make what he had done alright. He had screwed them both, denied them the death they deserved and kept their souls around, he had to try and do one last noble thing and fight for Elena, try to keep her alive as long as possible. For once, he wished he was as cruel as everyone thought him to be. He wished that he could be the sly, sinister, cocky, arrogant bastard that everyone thought he was.
"I'm sorry Reno. That was uncalled for it's just, why couldn't we be dead too? Why can't we go to heaven? Why can't we just go somewhere other than here?" Elena's voice cracked and she lowered herself down to Reno's level and wrapped her arms around him, trying to get some comfort from him,
"There is no heaven for people taken by those things. There's just an end." Reno rubbed the arms that wrapped around him, trying to make her feel better.
"Even just an end would be better than this." Elena sniffed.
"I know." Reno sighed.
They sat in silence for awhile, just trying to feel some kind of comfort from each other even though neither had any to spare. They didn't stir as they heard feet walk up to them, didn't move as a shadow fell across them. They barely even registered the fact that anyone had intruded on their solitude.
The man cleared his throat and Reno looked up reluctantly, "Yeah?"
"I'm guessing you've just been attacked by heartless?" The man said it nonchalantly enough but Reno could tell he was interested in their reactions.
"What was your first clue hmm?" Reno pushed Elena off him and stood up, he might be broken, tattered, and filthy, but he wasn't going to let someone look down at him.
"The clothes and your friend's sobbing." Reno looked at Elena and saw her hastily wipe away tears that he should have noticed her crying.
Reno looked back at the man, "Listen yo, we don't exactly need patronized right now, say what ya gotta say and we'll work on pleasantries afterwards."
"If you insist." The man flicked his hand over his shoulder and a large black doorway appeared from no-where. "I suggest however that we get to a location that isn't quite so open and get you and your friend some clothes. Then we can discuss my proposition."
Reno took in the man's appearance, trying to ignore the huge swirling black vortex behind him. His hair was blue, an eccentricity Reno didn't find unusual, he had seen and had weirder hair than that, the large X-shaped scar on the man's forehead, however, was a bit more intimidating. Reno had seen scars that were larger and even had a few of his own, but none were on his face. He also noticed that the man carried an aura of power around him, one that was accentuated by the fact that he could pull a fucking vortex out of thin air with a flick of his fingers. He couldn't tell if he liked the man or not but he could tell that they would get off to a rough start, Reno didn't exactly mesh well with people who didn't like to be disobeyed or disrespected.
Reno nodded and pulled Elena off of the floor where she had been simply staring in awe at the black portal. She was shaky and he really hoped he wouldn't have to support her weight through the portal, she wasn't weak and he didn't want this man to think she could be taken lightly.
The man extended his hand and gave Elena a smile, which she returned weakly before taking his hand. The fuck? Reno thought as they walked through the portal. He had never seen Elena look so nervous before, but then again, he knew it probably had something to do with the fact that the man had amazing power and he might not be a girl, but he had to admit this guy was attractive.
Just before he entered the portal he looked back over his shoulder, giving a fleeting glance to a world he doubted he would ever want to see again. He sighed and walked through the portal with his head held high, preparing himself for whatever surprises might be on the other side.
Authors Note: I know that Reno isn't Axel's original self, I know that Elena isn't Larxene's original self. I know this isn't how SquareEnix said it happened. I also know that if anyone wants to flame at me about it it's pretty darned wasted effort because I'll just ignore ya alrighty? Reviews are super awesome and make me happy inside so please, review.