A/N: Yes!! I finally get to start Slither! I've been looking forward to it so much. Oookay, so in case ya don't know, this is the first chapter of a sequel to my story Lithium. I left that story on such a cliffhanger, I know. But whatever, this is set about a month and half after Lithium, and it's also from Rude's point of view (don't forget!)
I decided to put some more new recruits in as well, as you'll see further through the chapter. Everything that happened at the end of Lithium, with Reno and Carrie, hasn't been forgotten, so don't worry about that. Also, I decided to actually introduce Commander Veld in this story, because it makes more sense. I will justify the delayed intro later!
Also, some parts of this story are inspired by a great story called 'Stability' by NarcissisticRiceball(sp?). I have her permission to use her ideas, so don't flame me later on!
I think that's all, hope you enjoy the first chapter! Please review!!
Chapter 1
The cold, dry wind blew steadily down the various alleyways of the dark and dismal slums. The large, suit-clad man paced down one of them, his sharp footsteps echoing through the emptiness. There was no one around.
The man took a PHS out of his pocket as it began ringing quietly. He pushed a button and held the device to his ear.
"Rude, status?" came a stern, yet calm voice down the line.
"All clear, Tseng, sir." Rude said to his superior calmly.
"Alright. Head back for today then." The line clicked and went dead, and Rude put the PHS back into his pocket, and carried on walking, exiting the alleyway, and entering the more open air. The Sector 8 slums were never a good place to work, but he would do as he was told.
Rude was never quite sure when it was actually dark in the slums, and when it was light, but as he approached the Shin-Ra building, he was pretty sure it was getting late. He had lost count of the amount of days he had spent patrolling the Sector 8 slums; he was usually a patient person, but the work was starting to irritate him slightly. He had already been delayed in starting his job in the first place, something about a mess-up caused by another employee, and things still hadn't smoothed over yet apparently. He hadn't been told why he hadn't actually started his proper missions yet, but Tseng had mentioned something about a still-pending mission that was currently going on. Apart from that, Rude was left completely in the dark.
Still, no doubt some light would be shed on the situation soon. Rude pondered on this as he entered the Shin-Ra building, only to run directly into Tseng.
"Ah, Rude. You're back." He said fairly contently. "No trouble?"
"No, sir." Rude should his head.
"Good… good." Tseng seemed distracted. "Ah, before I forget." He held up a keychain, from which two small keys hung off; a silver one and a brass one. "I told you that you wouldn't be able to move into your new apartment for a while, but change of plan."
Rude nodded, recalling Tseng's point. When he had first started the job, his boss had mentioned apartments that the Turks had to stay in. The bald Turk had been told he couldn't move in yet, but as with everything else, he didn't know why.
"You can move in tonight if you want, or you can go back home and move tomorrow." Tseng handed the key to Rude, who took it and pocketed it. "When will you move, do you think?"
"Thanks. I'll probably move tonight, sir." Rude said quietly. It wasn't too late; probably about half past 8.
"Okay…" Tseng looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think it would be a good idea for me to take you over there, and I can explain a few things to you on the way."
"Yes, sir." Rude nodded and began to walk alongside Tseng. He knew the Turks apartments were somewhere outside the Shin-Ra building, but he wasn't sure where, so he was quite glad that Tseng was going to come with him. That and the fact that he was pretty desperate to know what was going on.
"Okay…" Tseng said as they stepped outside. It was still cold, but the wind had died down slightly to a fairly refreshing breeze. "Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the lack of work you've been brought into. I know it's inconvenient and probably quite tedious for you…" the raven-haired man paused and looked at Rude, as though expecting him to say something, but the bald Turk stayed silent. "… the last Turk we employed, your partner, has caused us some… problems." Tseng continued. "He wasn't brought in the same way you were, or the other new recruits that will be starting soon… a problem occurred; a kind of grudge between him and one of his old acquaintances. You may have heard about the large amount of mako theft that's been going on?"
Tseng looked at Rude again as they walked, turning a corner to enter an alleyway. The bald Turk nodded. "Yes, sir. I heard."
"We're not sure whether it's connected, but there were also some papers stolen regarding the reactor in Junon." Rude looked across at his superior; he had a grim expression on his face. "That's where you're partner is now… not in Junon, though. He's trying to find out whether the two incidents are connected, or whether they have anything to with a grudge some slum-dwellers have against him…"
Tseng paused a moment as they reached a large building. Rude looked up, taking the building to be a regular block of apartments; there were only a few windows lit up. The bald Turk watched as Tseng took the silver key and unlocked the door, opening it for Rude to enter. Rude did so and waited while Tseng locked the door back up again behind them.
"Unfortunately…" Tseng said as they began to walk up a set of stairs. "Things didn't go as planned."
Rude's superior seemed reluctant to carry the story on, but the larger Turk stayed silent, waiting patiently for Tseng to continue as they made their way up the stairs. After one flight of stairs, Tseng stopped outside a large, walnut door. Tseng took the brass key this time and unlocked the door. This time, the dark-haired man entered first, flicking a light-switch on as he did so. Rude entered after, closing the door behind him, and followed Tseng into a large living room. It was quite spacious, but there was a strange scent lingering in the air, like the one that resides in a derelict building; no one had been living there recently.
"Your partner returned last week after losing contact with us for over a month. Unfortunately, he didn't get anywhere, so he has returned to continue his work." Tseng shook his head and his gaze was cast over the various objects in the living room. "Something happened to him… but I don't know what yet."
"What?" Rude couldn't help himself; he was genuinely interested, but he was slightly confused about what Tseng was saying.
"When he came back last week, he met Commander Veld for the first time since he came here. I never bothered before because I thought he would be killed within the first few days. Something about him was a little off, and when I suggested introducing him to you, he said he had to hurry, and disappeared. I haven't heard from him since."
"I see." Rude said, as he nodded. It was slightly unnerving to hear that his partner was reluctant to meet him. The bald Turk had heard nothing about his partner, and he didn't even know his name, but he didn't want to get on anyone's wrong side before he even met them.
"Don't take it personally, Rude." Tseng said as though reading Rude's mind. "You will see for yourself soon enough… hopefully, but I think you and your partner will get along fine."
"Okay." Rude said. He still wasn't sure, but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.
"Now, I mentioned other new recruits, I believe?" Tseng looked at Rude and raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, sir."
"There will be two more Turk that will be joining us soon; Sharon and Benjamin. They, like you have been to the academy, but advanced so much I've decided to bring them in now. You three will be working together to begin with. We can't wait for your partner forever, but as soon as he returns, you will be working with him. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir." Rude said again. He vaguely hoped that these other two recruits wouldn't be too irritating.
"Okay… I'll leave you here tonight. Report to my office at 0700 hours tomorrow, you will meet Commander Veld, okay?" Tseng made to leave, but turned just before he reached the door. "Oh, and that room-" he pointed to the closed door opposite the walnut front door. "-That is your partner's. The other one next door is yours. Ignore any junk that's lying around. Okay."
"Yes, sir. Thank you." Rude said quietly, as Tseng opened the front door and closed it subtly behind him, leaving Rude alone.
The bald Turk looked vaguely around the apartment. It looked comfortable enough, with an open-plan kitchen and living room, but there was an air of angst about the place that Rude didn't like. He had the feeling that when his partner had left for his mission, it had been grudgingly.
Rude was desperate to know for about his partner though; after all, it was human instinct to want to know more about the man he was going to have to work with for the rest of his life, however long that might be.
Despite the small voice in the back of his head that was telling him not to, Rude stepped over to his partner's bedroom door and opened it slowly. He just wanted a quick look; just to get an idea of what he was dealing with.
What shocked him most was the mess in the room, but although there were things all over the floor, everything that was important seemed to be in an appropriate place. There was a suit hanging on the handle to cupboard high up on the wall; the wrinkles in it told Rude it had been worn. It looked quite small width-ways, and Rude took his partner to be a little shorter than he was, but a lot less intimidating. Lying on an unmade bed, there was a PHS, similar to Rude's; a pair of black goggles; and a long, silver stick Rude recognized as an electro-magnetic rod. It seemed odd to Rude that his partner would leave such objects behind on such an important mission. Still pondering on this, the bald Turk left the room and closed the door.
Rude sat quietly down on the couch in the living room, still thinking about his partner. He knew it was wrong for him to be concerned for someone he didn't know, especially as a Turk, but he couldn't help but wonder where his partner was spending the night, and what had happened to him to make him act so apparently oddly toward Tseng and Commander Veld.
These thoughts were still on his mind when the time reached 9:50, and Rude decided to surrender and go to bed. He felt slightly uncomfortable staying in a place in which none of his possessions were, but he would get his belongings as soon as he had the opportunity. He went into his bedroom, which was similar to his partners, took his shoes, suit trousers, jacket and shirt off and slipped between the sheets of the bed, feeling slightly cold. He stared out of the window through the basically transparent curtains, looking at the various streetlamps outside. His thoughts kept wondering back to his partner, and what was to come until he drifted off into a shallow and disturbed sleep.
A/N: And there ya go! Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'll try and make the other OC recruits have a part in the story more than I have done in some of my other stories (and I know I suck at names.) Please review, and let me know anything I can do to improve, bits you liked, hated, or just to tell me you enjoyed the chapter. I don't mind getting repetitive reviews, because I know people are enjoying it, but if you have anything helpful, please share. Also, I'm not sure how long it'll be before I update any story, including this one, because I'm pretty sick at the moment. I'm going into hospital on Tuesday for a scan, and hopefully it'll all come up clear, but if not, I might not be around for a little while. I'll try and update as soon as possible though!!