"Kadaj? Here?"
The Redheaded Turk looked from his boss to the two people beside him, exchanging confused glances with them before Tseng continued
"Yes, we don't know how he got in but I expect it has something to do with these two here"
Tseng paused the CCTV footage to show Kadaj standing between two people, all too familiar to the three.
"But that's…"
"Rod…and My Sister!"
Reno looked across at Elena, taking her hand in his as she stared at the screen.
"But Tseng isn't there a possibility of them being controlled?"
The director looked up at Rude and sighed…
"I had hoped that was the case but this footage isn't enough to go by, we'll have to apprehend them if we want to know what's really going on"
The three nodded and left, walking back to their office swiftly to prepare. People were speaking in hushed whispers which told the trio that most had already been informed of the intruder.
"Black Materia Control…must be that, I'm pretty sure of it"
"Yeah but Rude, Black Materia's almost impossible to find, how in Jenova's name would Kadaj of all people gotten his hands on some?"
"Not sure Elena, but I don't want to think about that, come on"
They entered the office, each to their own desk and took the necessary equipment, Reno his EMR, Elena her Gun and Rude his Fighting Gloves. Then they left for the lobby, Rude going on ahead, leaving Reno and Elena to talk for a moment.
"Laney don't Worry, I'm sure Rude's right, and no matter where Kadaj got the stuff, he ain't getting outta here with it, ok?"
The blonde nodded and looked up at the Redhead with a short smile and turned away to follow Rude but Reno stopped her, grabbing her wrist and turning her back to him. Lifting her chin gently with his hand, he kissed her lips softly. When he pulled away, Elena looked up, raising an eyebrow.
"Reno, people saw that…"
He shrugged and pressed his hand to her cheek, stroking it softly.
"If we survive after today, after dealing with Kadaj…Hell I don't give a Damn who knows"
She smiled and he leant down again, pressing his lips against hers, smiling inwardly as she moved and hand up to his neck, pulling him in a little closer before breaking off and turning away, following after Rude, Reno walking beside her. He was waiting for them in the elevator and smirked when they walked in.
"You took your time"
Reno gave the bigger Turk a look which said 'shut up now or else' and rude just sighed, turning and pressing the button for the ground floor.
Upon reaching it, they readied their weapons and stepped out.
Kadaj was stood ahead of them, staring at a small black orb in his hand, Rod and Shotgun either side of him.
"Wondered how long it would be before they sent in the three of you"
He looked up, Green eyes watching as Elena stepped forward.
"What did you do to them?"
"Who, these?"
He motioned to the two stood beside him and they looked up, stepping forward, faces blank. Both Turks eyes were clouded black and Reno gritted his teeth.
"Damn it Kadaj, why use them, why not get your brothers to do the dirty work like last time?"
He stood now at Elena's side and Rude motioned for them to move away, slowly circling the Remnant. But Kadaj smirked and shook his head, lifting the orb up.
"Because my brothers, sadly, are no longer with me…I have you to thank for that Reno, as for these, they are merely my toys, I can use them all I like knowing that you can't do anything without hurting them…"
As if on cue, the two controlled Turks snapped into action, Rod and Shotgun both going for the two slowly advancing Turks, taking each by surprise. Reno raised his EMR, deflecting a kick from the female Turk just in time and dodged another, moving backwards, looking across to Elena
"Oh…Reno just Smack her Damnit"
He nodded and looked back at the girl, ducking out of the way and kicking out, catching her in the stomach, sending her backwards with a stagger. Rude meanwhile had found it a little easier to go about his opponent, blocking hits from the EMR and hitting wherever he could. All that left Elena to do was…
"And so I have the pleasure of meeting the pretty little girl again"
Her eyes widened, remembering everything she went through in the cave and gritted her teeth, reaching for her gun. Kadaj drew his Sourba and lunged for the girl, a wild grin spreading across his lips. Elena took aim and began shooting, causing Reno to look up from his own fight, seeing what she was doing and kicked Shot Gun again before turning to her
"LANEY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"
He began to run but Shotgun was there first, grabbing his shirt and throwing him across the room. Elena however, paid the Redhead no mind, continuing. Kadaj ducked again, his grin replaced by a look of confused concentration and one of her bullets caught him in the shoulder and he dropped down, looking at the girl.
"You've…gotten stronger I see…"
She stood over him and kicked across his face, sending the Remnant sideways, the Black Materia falling from his pocket in the process. Across the room, Rod now had Rude at gunpoint on the floor whilst Shot Gun had hold of Reno's wrists, standing with her gun pressed against his throat from behind. Elena was on her own. She dropped down for grabbed the Materia as Kadaj stood up, wiping his lip and glaring at her.
"You'd better hand that right over or else"
Elena looked from Kadaj to the Materia then over her shoulder at Reno and Shotgun. He nodded to her and she turned back to face him, a smirk crossing her face.
"Over My Dead Body"
He could do nothing but watch as the girl threw the Materia onto the ground, resulting in a smash as it broke, curling wisps of black mist disappearing into the air. From behind, the two heard Shotgun and Rod drop, crying out as their minds were freed of Kadaj's grip and Reno and Rude knelt at their sides to assist. Elena turned back to Kadaj…
"You Lose Kadaj"
The Remnant scowled and lunged forward with a yell, driving the Sourba into the girl's body. She hadn't moved fast enough. He pushed it up, deeper into her and then released her. She looked into his eyes before dropping down, hitting the floor with a thud and Reno looked up.
"ELENA!"
He stood and ran across the room, skidding to a halt beside her and dropping down to his knees. Tseng walked in from behind Kadaj and several other Turks darted forward, grabbing the boy and forcing him to his knees, snapping on handcuffs and watching him. Reno knelt at Elena's side, brushing hair from her face shakily, taking her own hand in his and gripping it tightly. Her chest rose and fell but each breath was hard and painful and Reno could see this.
"Laney what…what the hell were you thinking?"
"I…I wasn't…how's it looking down there Rude?"
The Redhead looked across; Rude had knelt beside Elena, checking the area where Kadaj's Sourba jutted out of her skin. He looked up at Reno, shaking his head. Reno felt his heart freeze and he turned back to Elena, rubbing her cheek.
"It…it's fine Laney, You're fine…"
"Well…can we at least…get this thing out of me…it hurts"
She moved a little, wincing but Rude shook his head and Reno knew why, if the Sourba was taken out then Laney would bleed out in a matter of seconds. He shook his head shakily, smiling faintly and leaning in closer.
"No…Not yet Laney, we can't take it out yet…"
She rolled her eyes and let out a painful sigh before laughing softly.
"I…always imagined my death…to be on a mission…not here…"
"Stop It, Laney ok? Just…you're not dying, you're gonna be fine…"
The other employee's had drifted in now, watching as the couple said their final words. Tseng stood just behind Rude, looking down sadly at the girl. Reno finally gave in to the emotion inside and he looked up at Rude, silently begging for there to be something, anything, that they could do for her. Rude could do nothing but watch as his friend broke down before him, and it was a frightening sight. He'd never seen Reno cry before. No One had…
"Reno…"
He turned back to her, pressing his forehead against hers gently.
"Yeah?"
"In…my pocket…there's something…something I need"
"Pocket? Oh right…"
Careful, so as not to move the Sourba, Reno reached into the girl's pocket, his eyes widening when he pulled out a ring. A simple silver band that was all too familiar to both of them. He looked down at her as the fellow Turks looked on in silent shock.
"You said…that you don't care who knows…well neither do I…"
He nodded, lifting her left hand and sliding the ring onto her finger before looking into her eyes. He pressed a hand to her cheek and leant in, kissing the girl. Hushed whispers echoed round the room but Rude and Tseng stayed silent. Of everyone here, they had been the only two that knew about Reno and Elena, and they had done their part in helping them keep it that way. Reno pulled away gently and looked down.
"I Love You…My Wife…"
"And I Love You…My Gorgeous…Daredevil Husband…"
He smiled and leant in closer.
"My Pissy Little Bird…"
She lifted her hand up to stroke his cheek, pulling him down for one last kiss, moving her other hand down to where the Sourba was and gripped it tight. She hurt so much, and she knew this was just stalling the inevitable. Reno wouldn't do it so she had to. When Reno pulled away she smiled sadly…
"Goodnight…My Love"
She then pulled the sword, ripping it from her body with as much strength as she could, crying out in agony. Reno looked back at what she'd done and shook his head, looking back down at her as she dropped the weapon down beside her.
"No…Laney, Shhh"
He stroked her cheek, moving his hand down to cover the wound, pressing down on it but the damage was done.
"Laney, don't you dare…DON'T YOU DARE!"
She smiled faintly before giving her final breath and her head fell gently to the side.
"Elena…"
Reno lifted his head a little, staring down at the peaceful face of the girl, more tears running down his face…
"Elena?"
He ran a hand through her hair softly, gritting his teeth…
"Laney…"
He lifted the girl of the floor, pulling her in close, burying his face in her hair and wept silently. Others bowed their heads sadly; Kadaj stared through widened eyes at the scene before him, speechless for the first time in his life. Reno sat, cradling the empty shell of his 'Rookie' shaking with grief and anger and hatred. He lifted his head up and rested his chin atop the girls head, breathing in deeply before shifting, laying the girl back down on the ground and kissing her forehead. Then he looked at Kadaj and stood, walking over to where Elena's gun had landed and picked it up. He walked back over and stood beside the Remnant, aiming the gun at the boy's temple, closing his eyes.
"Go on then, do it, kill me…it won't make any difference, you Turks are all the same as me, you kill without mercy, you kill without thinking, it's just you and the target…you don't think about others…"
Reno's face remained blank, staring at nothing, all emotion gone from his features…
"You are just Like Me…"
Reno's eye's snapped open and he pushed the gun against the boy's head harder, looking down at him with cold eyes and Kadaj stared back, afraid of the Redheaded Turk. Then Reno knelt down beside him and locked gazes with the Remnant.
"I am Nothing Like You…"
He stood again, watched by the wide eyed teen as he threw the gun across the room and turned away, walking back to Elena, kneeling down beside her and sliding his arms under her, lifting the girl up. He looked back at Kadaj once more.
"And I Never Will Be."
And with that, Reno turned and walked across the room carrying Elena's body. The employee's moved aside to allow him access to the door and he walked out. Tseng and Rude nodded to one another and followed after him, disappearing through the doors.
The Turks…
Were Finished.