Scars

by Scribhneoir45

One shot from my story Elysium. Reno attempts to infiltrate Corneo's den in search of Cloud.

This is a chapter from my longer fic Elysium. I decided to post it as a one shot here because it deals mostly with Reno.

Disclaimer: I do not own final fantasy or any Square Enix characters.

This fan fiction contains dark, upsetting psychological and sexual themes so if you are not comfortable with that kind of thing then please don't read because I don't want to upset anyone.

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"This is insane."

"…Yeah"

"We're gonna die."

"Could be the best case scenario."

The two looked at one another, the same expression of dubiety showing on each of their faces. Zack was the first to turn away; he walked to the edge of the wall and peered out past it.

"I just wish I could go in." He murmured quietly, eyes catching sight of a moderately sized building located a small distance away. Compared to other edifices in the slums, this one was in relatively good shape; its walls were painted a deep and slightly faded green and all of its windows seemed to be intact. There were a few shops around it, selling items such as snack, junk and fast food, cigarettes, newspapers, condoms and so on but it was clear that the reason so many people littered the area that evening was due to the presence of that one building. Bright yellow letters attached to its front wall identified it as 'The Honeybee Inn'.

"We've been through this shit. Yer too identifiable." Reno said lowly, joining Zack at the corner of the building's wall they were concealing themselves behind. Zack looked at him with a glum expression and the redhead just held up his hands in a surrendering gesture.

"S'not my fault yer uncle is the big shit in Shinra. An anyway." He lowered his arms and smirked a bit. "You aint got the drawl like us slum rats. They'd sniff ya out ina second. Now, how do a' look?"

Zack rolled his eyes but then conceded; reasoning yet again that the boy was right on all accounts. He mumbled an 'alright' and then stood back to scrutinize the other's appearance critically.

Reno had dressed for the occasion. The black jeans were the ones he wore on a regular basis, but he sleazed them up by adding a silver chain belt around his waist and adorning his feet with shin-high, silver buckled brown boots-they were Axel's. He was wearing a coat at the moment, both because it was cold and he couldn't walk around Midgar proper with the flimsy green, ripped up tank-top he was wearing underneath. Some chains, bracelets and rings were added to his fingers and arms to enhance the look. His hair was in its usual unkempt ponytail, if a bit more dischevelled, and overall the visage was quiet convincing. He looked like a slum boy out sniffing for tricks.

"You look fine… well. Not fine but…y'know..." Zack scratched at his scalp and pointed a thumb back over his shoulder. Reno walked over to him and patted his arm.

"S'what I'm going for," Reno blew some air out through his teeth and kicked idly at a rock on the ground. Zack crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back against the wall.

"Waiting around again," he murmured to himself, eyebrows drawing together. "It's all I've been doing for a month now. Sick of it, y'know?"

"A month?" Reno said with a small frown. "Sounds long when ya say it like that…" He considered something silently for a moment, letting his hand drop and looking towards the ground. A second later he perked up and shook his head as if he were shaking water out of his hair.

"Anyway, we only got one shot at this and ya aint gonna waste it, are ya?" Zack looked at him as though he was going to disparage his words, but then seemed to change his mind.

"No." He conceded, kicking the heel of his black boot against the ground. He was wearing all dark clothes that night, to help him blend in better with the shadows. His own kind.

"Alright." Reno echoed, bringing his hand up to the collar of his coat. "I aint gonna stay long." He explained, pulling the zip downwards, "Just go in, ask some questions and try not ta get noticed."

"It's well guarded." Zack cut in skeptically, stealing a glance out at the building again.

"I'll get ma'self in." Reno smirked, pulling the jacket down his arms. Zack watched as the pale skin was exposed, and his eyes widened.

"Holy!" He exclaimed, "what happened to you?" Reno gave him a confused look for a moment before it clicked in his mind what he was referring to.

"Oh," he said, looking down at the limbs. "Relax man. I did it myself. Y'know they aint gonna buy it if I aint got no marks."

On both of Reno's forearms several small cuts could be seen, mostly around the cubical fossa where they gathered in a group of dots and small gashes that stood out vividly against his white skin. There were more scrapes running down the inside of his forearm and some were visible beneath the bracelets he was wearing. Wherever the cuts gathered large bruises surrounded them; visible even in the dim light due again to the white pallor of Reno's skin. Zack ran his eyes along the marks, his stomach churning.

"Alright there buddy," Reno muttered, knitting his brows together as he looked at him with a slightly amused expression.

"Did it hurt?" Zack asked, grimacing at the thought.

"Nah," Reno shrugged, running his left index finger along his right forearm. "The bruises are fake, I used some makeup, Axel's by the way, and other shit. The rest'r just pinpricks. Now," he stated handing his jacket to Zack. "It's time ta get going."

"Yeah okay." Zack took the coat and then gave Reno's form another once over. "You look… like one of them."

"Shit, thanks." Reno muttered, chuckling sardonically. "Alright. Just in an out. Eh… hopefully won't die. Or end up on ma knees sucking some junkie dick with a gun to the head."

"Just alert me if anything goes wrong. I'll come help. Or get help." Zack said, holding up a small silver crystal to emphasize his point. The small rock was a common communication device bought at most materia stores. They came in a pair and one simply had to touch the surface of one and say 'veni' and it's twin would light up in a reddish-orange glow for several seconds. They could only be used once and turned to black stone afterwards.

"Yeah alright" the redhead said offhandedly. His crystal had been secured to the back of his own belt, hidden behind the shining silver chinks.

"Alright." Zack repeated, puffing his cheeks up and letting the air go out through his partly closed lips. He shrugged at Reno, who straightened his shoulders and mussed the top of his hair with his hand.

"Off I go then…"

"Good luck."

"Yeah…"

Zack nodded and with that Reno left their hiding place and commenced his short walk towards 'The Honeybee Inn'. He was mildly impressed by the way the red-head immediately took on an exaggerated but natural looking swagger. However, his mind was more focused on the feelings of guilt and worry he was experiencing. He shouldn't really allow this; Reno was walking into one of the most dangerous places in the slums on his own. They were just kids; they hadn't a clue of what went on in a place like 'The Honeybee Inn'. It was partly the other boy's plan, but Zack knew that he was the one pushing it. Even now, though he was feeling guilty, he still couldn't bring himself to call Reno back.

It had been a month.

An entire month since his friend had been seen. There was just nothing. No evidence, no suspects, no motives, no anything. He just disappeared one morning without a single trace and no one could find him. Not even one thing to give them a clue as to where he could be found. If there was just one thing then at least his mind would have something to focus on and he wouldn't be feeling so useless all the time. It was getting harder every day to go around the city, searching every building and showing Cloud's picture to people in hopes that a spark of realization would light up their features.

The media had been pretty bad at first; following those involved to the extent that it could be called stalking; crowding around Sky's home, the school, Sera's apartment and anywhere else they though they might stumble upon something juicy. It had made Zack extremely mad, and he had snapped at an idiotic reporter more than once. The reporters weren't the only thing either. He began to realize the extent of human ignorance when he saw people, people who lived in the same building as Cloud or students who went to the same school, talk to the reporters. They didn't even know the boy, several had never even spoken to him but yet they took this chance to get attention for themselves, spewing lies and false emotion at the cameras just so they could be seen as someone important for five seconds. It made him sick, and he had said it to several of them. He called them out, making them blush with embarrassment and perhaps a bit of shame. However, he knew they didn't really care about what they had done. The idea had made him depressed, so he tried to ignore it.

Considering all of this, he found himself surprised when instead of being relieved that the media circus had died down by the third week, it made him feel worse. They were moving on to the next big story, leaving this one behind. Leaving Cloud behind. It would be in the news for several more weeks, but the sensationalism had disappeared because after a month people start to loose hope and there is no suspense left. It was just horrible to think of, and Zack refused to. Cloud wouldn't become a thing of the past, not as long as he was alive. Everyone could give up if they wanted, he wouldn't.

He saw that Reno was approaching the buildings front door now, standing amongst the crowd waiting to get in. He wished he was over there, not solely because he worried for the other boy's safety but also so he could be doing something other than watching and waiting.

But there was nothing he could do about that now. He just had to be ready if things went bad.

Knowing Reno, they probably would.

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Reno felt like his body was incapable of containing the amount of energy in his system. He tried to expel some of it by keeping his limbs active; tapping his foot against the ground, rubbing his hands together, rolling his shoulders and so on, but it didn't much help.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacck Huuuuuuuuugh"

He looked to the side and his face twisted in disgust at the sight of something that might have once resembled a man but now looked like some sort of sewer creature, coughing and sputtering while vomiting a yellow vicious substance onto the ground. He stared at him for a moment and then brought his eyes over to where a couple was standing against a wall, completely oblivious to the sickly creature as they all but ate each others faces. They were both so decrepit looking, him fat and almost bald and her as thin as a lat with stringy black hair and yellowish skin. He could see their loose flesh jiggle and flab like putty as they roamed their hands all over each other. It made him sick.

Everyone down here was damaged.

He could have spent the night staring at the people around him, marveling at the fact that every time he thought he had seen the lowest level of opprobrium a living person could sink to, he was proved wrong by yet another revolting spectacle. However, the group in front of him soon gained access to the building and as they cleared away he was left standing in front of three very rough looking body guards. Henchmen epitomized.

Showtime.

His heart was beating a thousand beats per minute, his mind spinning as sweat formed rapidly along his back and neck, but he managed to keep a cool façade and gave the three an awkward smile. He was tall -not overly so but he wasn't small- yet these three beasts made him feel like a little five year old at his first day of school. Two of them were white skinned, and one black. They all had large beefy bodies which were adorned with the same grey pants and tight black T-shirt that had the Honeybee slogan stitched onto the left breast.

"Ya lookin for the playground milksop?" The tallest of them sneered; he looked like he should have been an army commander or something along that vein, with his blond crew-cut hair and a scarred, weathered face. Reno inwardly gulped but didn't change his expression.

"Yeah…" He said, awkwardly putting a small smirk on his face. "I'm lookin ta play." The man raised a brow, taking a step forward.

"This aint prom lily," he said, running his eyes over the teen's form in an obviously demeaning manner, but Reno could also see the glint of seriousness there. The man was looking for something on him, weapons or something else that could hurt their boss in any way. He wasn't just a brainless thug, and that made him extremely dangerous.

"I know." He said, his mouth going a bit dry as he looked into the steely blue eyes. There was something odd about them, like they were glazed over with ice. And wide, very wide. Madness.

"Yeah," the dark man at the door spoke up, his voice hoarse and gravely. "Him's be look'in for cock I say. He have the look of em faggot's" He snorted in disgust, looking at Reno like he was the lowliest thing on the planet. It wasn't a new concept for him.

"It aint cock he's after." The red-head almost jumped out of his skin when his right arm was caught and jerked roughly forward. It was the blond man again; he was holding his arm out straight and studying it.

"A' heard." He started lowly as the mans eyes flicked to his, "that this is the place ta-"

"Where d'you hear that boy?" The man tightened the grip on his wrist, pulling him closer. They assessed each other for a long moment, and then Reno shook his head.

"Just heard is all." He said defensively, raising his eyebrows to convey a look of innocence. The man clicked his jaw, pulling back a bit.

"We don't take kindly ta spys. You don't want to cause trouble with us." He warned, dropping his hand. Reno inhaled and then shook his head.

"I aint look'n for trouble. I just want what I want." He explained, running his hand through his hair in an exaggerated manner as though he were restless; craving.

"It aint cheap either."

"I got Gil," Reno stated quickly, running his eyes over the three. They all laughed a bit.

"Hear that boys? He's got money." The blond looked back at his co-workers and shared a short chuckle, then turned back to him with the amused expression still on his face. "And how does a milksop like you have that kinda money?"

"I got my ways." Reno replied calmly, purposely scratching at his right arm as though it were unconsciously done. The black man let out a loud snort again.

"Them twink's know hows ta be getting 'em Gil. Down on thems knees tak'in it in both ends." He made a lewd gesture with his hand and the man beside him laughed. The blond in front of him cocked an eyebrow.

"That true. You play tricks?" He asked. He was trying to act nonchalant, as though he were having fun with him. But again Reno could see that this man had purpose in his eyes. This wasn't a joke, it was an interrogation.

"I do what I need ta." He said flatly, giving the man a meaningful look. There was a tense moment where he felt that all three of them were looking right through him, before crew-cut straightened his shoulders and let out a huff of air.

"ID?" He asked. Reno mentally congratulated himself for not being cast aside yet, and fished into his back pocked for the card in question. He handed it to the man with a steady hand. The bouncer read the details of the card, his eyes flickering up to him several times and then he sighed and handed it back.

"You understand that we like discretion here Mr Leradine. No tricks or you'll be one sorry piece of shit." Reno nodded, scratching his arm again.

"I won't cause trouble," he repeated. "I just need to…unwind."

"Yous let'in the puff in G?" The dark man asked, his eyes fixed on Reno. He looked surprised, which made the red-head suspicious.

"Yeah." The man replied, giving Reno a dark smile. "Got a soft spot for pretty things." He finished by looking back at his comrades and waving his hand which must have meant open the doors because that's what they did.

"Go on. Drake." He ushered the teen with a wide smile.

For Reno it felt like the longest few steps of his life. He kept expecting one of them to pull him back at the last minute or to feel something like a knife or bullet to pierce his skull. None of that happened though, and when he walked through the heavy doors and the boom of the music and a cloud of smoke hit him, he felt immense relief.

He walked in a bit further and took a few calming breaths of the putrid air, wiping at his forehead and holding his chest. Fuck, that had been stressful.

The smoke caused his eyes to tear and he could barely make out the walls of the corridor as he walked blindly through. He had been in clubs before, a lot of clubs, but they were never this… polluted. He felt like he was breathing in the breath of the soulless and hoped it wasn't infectious.

"Fuck! Shit hole." He hissed under his breath as he almost went foot first into a dark puddle of vomit not yet soaked into the carpeted floor. He sidestepped it and continued down the dimly lit hallway, the music getting louder the further he went.

It was strange, the music was booming through the walls, a strong and quick dance beat that would be playing at any establishment such as this, but there was nothing else. He couldn't hear anyone talking, or dancing or doing what they normally did at clubs. It was as though the music were playing in an empty room. Confusing, considering the reputation this place had.

He finally reached a large door at the end of the hall, it was made of metal which seemed to be badly scratched and dented, as though an explosion had taken place against it. He flexed his fingers a few times and then with a preparing breath, pressed the horizontal bar downwards and pushed the door open.

If the smoke out in the hall was bad, it had to be ten times worse in here. He actually gagged when the smell hit him too fast, and was tempted to recoil back into the hallway. It wasn't anything he'd ever smelled before; it was acidic and heavy and burned his face. Slightly similar to meteor dust, but much more potent perhaps. That, mixed with the scent of alcohol, human sweat and Gaia knew what else made for a disgusting emission.

He cleared his throat and pressed his lips together as he walked into the room, letting the door shut softly behind him. His eyes scanned over the place, making out what they could in the foggy environment. There were people here, if they could be called people.

They weren't talking or dancing, as he assumed they would be. They were all lying on the numerous couches and settees scattered about the room, up against the walls and strung across the centre of the floor. The people lay amongst the cushions; either in the process of injecting themselves, snorting something, smoking something else, or too baked already to do anything but lie back and stare at the ceiling with lidded eyes. It was an unsettling spectacle when repeated over fifty times, like he was in a room full of scattered dolls. And what was he?

"Hey, bubba. Ya looking for a seat. I can shaaaaaaaaare." He almost jumped out of his skin when a cold sweaty palm grabbed onto his elbow. He gritted his teeth together and pulled away, trying his very hardest not to turn around and smash the piece of shit's teeth in. That was the second time someone had grabbed his arm in the last half an hour and he wasn't fucking happy about it. He didn't like people touching him without his explicit fucking permission.

He walked a bit faster now, trying to look as casual as possible and avoiding eye contact at all costs. The music was pounding into his skull, and he thought it unnecessary since everyone here was just lying around, oblivious to the world, let alone a catchy beat.

He walked until he reached the far end of the room then stopped, momentarily stumped. He wasn't going to find anything out here, that was for sure. Even if these people were alert enough to give information, he didn't think they would know anything useful. He turned and leaned against the wall, looking around through lowered lids. He then saw that there was a door at either side of him and knew he would have to go through one. It was just a matter of choosing…

Just then the door to his left opened quickly and he watched as a woman came through carrying a tray of multicolored cocktails. She was a voluptuous number, with a large chest, rounded hips and thick meaty thighs. Her black dress barely reached end of her ass, exposing bare legs which were adorned with shin length black boots and a frilly garter around her right thigh. She had left the laces at the front of the dress open, exposing her cleavage in an obscene way which gave the illusion that her breasts would fall out if she moved too much. He couldn't make out her face in the dim light, only her hair which was tied high on her head in a mess of black curls. He ran his eyes over her with a bit of interest, watching as she walked over to a table near him and set some glasses down on it, giving the patrons a half-hearted smile with rouged lips.

She was a waitress, or something near to it.

"Hey," he called as she made her way back to the door. She didn't hear him so he rushed forward and caught her shoulder lightly.

"No fucking handsies." She shouted suddenly, making him jump back instartlement. She turned to him with a snarl on her face and he held his hand in the air in a surrendering motion.

"What the fuck you want?" She spat in a thick accent, her eyes running over him slowly. The sneer soon fell from her face though and she gave a small smirk.

"Sorry," he drawled, lowering his arms and giving her a wide eyed look. "Didn't mean ta be sneaky there, tuts." She narrower her eyes but it was more in amusement than anger.

"Never be too sure." She countered. "Lots a freaks about."

"No kidden." He gave a low chuckle.

"Ya need something bab." She questioned, shifting the tray in her hands.

"Yeah," he leaned in closer to her. "I was told ta talk ta one of the Bee's. Bout getting some…stuff."

"Stuff?" She repeated, her heavily lined eyes crinkling at the corners. "We got stuff out here,"

Shit

"Not that shit," he said quickly, "real stuff." He waited for her to ask what the hell that meant, but to his immense fucking relief she looked him up and down once more and asked.

"You sure bout that baby?"

"You aint got no idea."

"Alriiiiiight…The bee's are through there." She pointed at the door across from them. "Prep'n for something now so customer's aint really allowed in, but I think you'll be let off."

"Alright… thanks." He said, and then made to turn. She caught hold of his arm.

"Don't go ask'n the wrong questions in there boy. Get in, get you're stuff and then get out. Ya don't wanna get noticed. Piece like you." She ran her eyes over him again and then winked and went back the way she came.

He couldn't help but let his eye follow her as she walked away with a trained swagger that made her large hips swing. If he wasn't busy…

He shook his head and looked over at the door.

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Zack tapped his foot repeatedly against the ground as he stared up at the starry sky. His whole body was buzzing with impatience and he felt like he was going to out of his mind.

"Come on Reno." He whispered, clicking his tongue several times in succession. The longer he waited the more he was starting to feel that this had all been a bad, bad idea. He wished he had been able to go in. The suspense was worse than anything else. His heart had literally tried to jump out of his throat as he watched the red-head get interrogated by the security at the front door. He didn't think Reno would pull it off, the teen was a bit of a maniac when it came to people getting in his face and Zack was sure he'd end up in an ill-favored brawl with the three giants. To his surprise, and relief, his friend had actually gotten in. He'd pulled it off.

He had been in there a while now. Zack was dying to know what was happening. Had he found anything? Was Clouds disappearance actually connected to all of this? If it was, was there something there that could help them find the boy? They could find Cloud and everything could go back to the way it was. Well, not exactly because Gaia knew what the boy had been put through, but he would be back and they could work from there.

He pushed himself away from the wall and stretched his arms above his head to release some tension.

Hurry up Reno…

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Reno's eyes widened as he looked around the room. So this was where the living people were?

There had to be over thirty girls in here, all fluttering and skittering around in skimpy white garments that barely passed for socially acceptable clothing. They ran about the room, laughing and chatting as they collected items of clothing, makeup and Gaia knew what else. Some of them sat at the numerous dressing tables lined against the walls, prettifying their faces or having it done by someone else. It reminded him of the time his school had put on a ridiculous school play, and they all had to get into their costumes in the small room behind the stage. He was an Ochu. Wasn't fair; Axel got to be a Chimera.

It took him a while to notice that there were also some boys in here; probably because the term 'boy' was used very loosely on the slim, fluttery creatures that skirted and danced around the room along with the girls.

He scratched the back of his head and stared around himself with a lost expression on his face. To say the spectacle didn't have an effect on him would be a lie, it was straight out of a wet dream.

Focus Reno.

He shook his head and rubbed his palms together. Where should he start?

"Uh," he took a few steps and tried to get a girl's attention in front of him. She turned to look at him, her attractive heart shaped face flushed as she held some pieces of material in her hand, and a small red bag.

"Yes?" She asked in a breathless voice, blowing a brown curl out of her eyes.

"Uh," he said, "I was told ta come in here ta see if I could get some-"

She interrupted him by waving her hand and then pointing to the end of the room. "Go see Lorraine in the back. I don't have time for this." And with that she fluttered off, like a busy little honeybee.

He pressed his lips into a line and shrugged. Go see Lorraine… Okay.

He walked through the crowd, banging into a people several times and receiving glares. He didn't really have the decency to apologize. Eventually he got through and spotted who he thought was Lorraine sitting in the corner at a lit-up dressing table.

She looked like she belonged in some sort of old painting. Her large form was swathed in several layers of material, all different shades of wine and golden. The only flesh besides her head which was showing was her red tipped hands which stuck out from beneath the fabric as though they were attached to her torso, absent arms. Her plump fingers were adorned with golden bracelets and diamond rings the size of his eye. Her face had been painted white; too white to be natural, and her eyes and lips featured colorful makeup that wouldn't be amiss on a clown. That, tipped off with the plastic looking set of reddish brown curls on her head, made her appear as some sort of Parody of a queen. A regal jester.

She saw him as he approached, her big painted eyes fixing on him and following his stride until he stopped in front of her. She looked away then, and down to the counter where a small bronzed case lay beside a pink bottle of nail polish remover. He watched as she picked it up and clicked it open with the small nub on the side, revealing a set of perfectly aligned cigarettes strapped to the soft inner encasing by a golden band. She plucked one out with her index finger and thumb, and he marveled at the length of her obviously fake nail. They just weren't practical.

"Hey," he started but was quickly cut off when she held up a silencing finger. She pointed at the small stool across from her and by the time he had pulled it over and seated himself, the woman was already puffing away at the lit cigarette.

"We hove uh show tonoight young mon." Her voice was deep and drawling, emphasizing the vowels and dragging the end of each word.

"Yeah, uh, I just need ta ask ya some'tin." He said, leaning forward. She raised an extremely thin brow and took another long puff as she waited. "Yer in charge of the Bee's yeah?"

"I om." She nodded, her jugular fat giggling with the movement.

"An ya see a lot a who comes in an out of here?" Another nod. "Alright… Well I think… one a' ma buddies might a came down here. Couple a' weeks back."

"Oh, uh lot of young people come down here." She said, waving her hand out towards the crowd behind them.

"Yeah, I know." He said quickly, pushing some hair back that was falling into his eyes "Listen, the boy I'm talk'n bout. He's younger than me, has big blue eyes an a shit load a blond hair on his head." He placed his hands on top of his own head for emphasis. "All up in these weird fuck'n spikes."

He stopped talking and watched as she seemed to think over something, her eyes trained on him. There was very little chance the old weirdo would actually tell him the truth, especially if Cloud had been taken here by force, but her face would betray something. He was good at reading people, had to be. His stomach flipped when he saw her open her mouth and nod her head.

"There wos a boy here." She said, lifting her thumb to rub at her chin. "He was one of moy bee's. Smoll ond blond but his eyes wore green I thonk. You sure you're boy had blue." He felt like slapping his hand against his forehead.

"Yeah. M'sure." He said testily.

"Hmmm, this boy wos working for us for over two yeors though." She blew out some smoke and looked at him. Her eyes were empty.

Reno inwardly sighed. Two years. That wasn't Cloud then. Fuck.

"Don't look so down bubba." Lorraine said, noticing his despondent expression. She shrugged her colossal shoulders. "Thot boy went off with someone a few months ago ond never came bock. Huh." She gave the most insincere look of regret he had ever seen in his life and then flicked the ashes onto a tray on the table, where they floated down to join the already sizable pile of their siblings.

"Yeah?" He said with only half interest, bored of her now that she was no longer useful. "You're sure there aint no one else?" He questioned, staring at her intently.

"No, ond I would know." Just then the chorus of humming and chattering behind him decreased in volume and soon disappeared altogether. He spun around to see that everyone was looking at the far side of the room, opposite him and Lorraine. He looked over to see a small group of men emerging from a formerly sealed door. The group seemed to consist mostly of bodyguards, two goons that looked similar to the ones he had met at the door, and two others dressed in more formal looking grey suits. The four were standing silently at each side of two men, their employers presumably, who were busy shaking hands and greeting one another.

If there were ever a definition of what opposition meant, it wouldn't do as good a job as the picture these two men presented. One of them was a short blond man with an unhealthy milky pallor to his skin that touched on deathly. He had a rounded form, with a potbelly, chubby small legs and too many chins to count. He was dressed in a tacky red leather coat with leopard print fur around the collar and sleeves. That was bad enough, but Reno really felt like rolling his eyes at the amount of jewelry hung around the implied neck and hands. He guessed that this must have been Don Corneo, from what he had heard of his description.

In complete contrast, the other man was tall, slim and dark skinned. He was extremely attractive with chiseled Wutian features and long dark hair that looked that took in the light of the golden lamps scattered about the room. As he stood there in a long well cut coat which ran to his knees, his body language and manner of holding himself spoke of high class and wealth more than a truckload of jewelry over could.

Reno felt his eyes linger on the man, drawn in by something more than his looks. It was his air. Cool confidence tinged with a casual kind of alertness, nothing like he'd expect down here. If Lorraine was a parody of regality, then this man could have been the real thing.

He finally took his eyes away from the two-or one- when he felt the large woman beside him pull herself noisily to her feet, taking a few breaths once it was achieved, and then waddle across the room to the two men.

As they talked amongst themselves Reno moved his attention towards the door they had come out of. These two men had being doing some kind of business back there, so he guessed that was where he needed to be.

Across the room Lorraine let out a loud laugh, which was echoed by Corneo but not the other man. Then she waved her arm outwards and the three of them began walking towards another door to the left, the bodyguards going with them.

He picked at the cuticle of his index finger as he waited for them to leave entirely, and then for the rest of the group to resume their fast paced dressing routine.

The red-head stood up slowly, keeping his eyes alert for anyone who might be watching him, and then started towards the door.

He actually managed to get over and in without a problem, which made him wonder at the security of the place. Seriously, this shit had been too easy. The small room he was in now had but one door which he walked over to. Again it wasn't locked. He turned the handle and pushed it open, expecting someone to jump out at him any minute.

Nothing happened, and he found himself in an averagely sized room that, judging from the desk and numerous file cabinets, was an office.

"Shit." He murmured to himself with a light chuckle. He had actually gotten in here without having to sneak or avoid anyone. Maybe this place wasn't as dangerous as he'd been led to believe. It was all just a group of slum-rats and wasters with some money in their hands. Too up their own asses to suspect that anyone could actually be trying to pull one on them. Fucking shit-eaters.

He went over to the desks, which was a slightly scratched but still handsome looking piece of furniture made of dark oak wood with golden trimmings around the edge. It didn't look right in this room, with the crumbling green walls, filthy carpet and metallic file cabinets surrounding it.

There was nothing on the desk to help him, just numerous sheets of papers containing billing for orders of Gaia knew what and an ashtray overflowing with burnt tobacco and crumpled buds. He checked the inside drawers, his hands shaky from the rush, but again all he found was more paper and forms dealing with the Don's elicit business. If he was a cop he was sure there would be enough on this desk alone to put the man away for a while, but that wasn't his prerogative.

The place had been left unattended for too long so he didn't waste any time in running over to the file cabinets and looking through the drawers quickly, his heart going crazy in his chest.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon." He whispered, looking over at the door as his fingers flicked through the files. More forms and orders, nothing useful. He moved from cabinet to cabinet, every second making him more anxious.

On the third cabinet, second drawer, he finally found something of note. It was a heavy blue folder with no label and as he pulled it out a small piece of paper slipped through and onto the ground. He put the folder under his arm and bent down to pick it up.

It was a photograph, depicting an attractive young woman possibly only sixteen. She was looking at the camera with dull brown eyes, her face pale and dark hair loose around her head. He turned the photo around and saw that there was a number written on it, and nothing else.

The folder contained several more pictures, all of girls and all looking at the camera with different expressions of fear, sadness and numbness. He shifted through them, momentarily forgetting about his rush.

That was one bad fucking move.

"Well well."

The voice hit Reno like a giant needle to the centre of his spine. He snapped up straight and looked towards the door with wide, stunned eyes. The only thing that ran through his mind as he stared at the familiar form of the blond bouncer standing within the frame of the door was…

Fuck.

He'd been unforgivably stupid. He'd taken too long in here. He should have just had a look and then left. Now there was a good chance that he would be dead within the hour. Fuck that, within the minute.

"Aint no drugs in here sop." The man said in his low, gravely voice. Reno was able to get a better look at his face now, the scars dotting his cheeks, the line across his chin, the veined eyes. Damaged like the others, but his hurts ran deeper.

"Heh," he inwardly cringed at the pitch of his voice, reminding himself to at least act like his balls had dropped. "I was just-"

"I know what you were doin, rat." The man cut him off, walking fully into the room which seemed to become very, very small. "Knew from the minute I saw ya. You aint no pissin' junkie."

Reno thought this over. Was the man just saying that now that he had been caught? Or had that been the reason he'd been aloud in in the first place; to prove something already guessed. It had been easy to get in here, too fucking easy. But the latter idea was a bit of a blow to his self-made ego.

"Question is. What the fuck is a rat like you look'n for here?" The man moved forward and Reno took a step back, keeping his eyes on his assailant's face in case he tried anything too quick. "Who ya working for? Hah?"

"Wha?" Reno questioned, slowly, slowly bringing his hand around his back. Slowly so as not to alert this fucker to anything. "I aint working for anyone." His fingers found the device, attached to his underwear underneath the rum of his pants.

"No?"

"No. Veni" He pressed the button.

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Zack's eyes shot open the moment he felt the tingling vibration. He sat up straight and hastily pulled the small crystal out of his pocket. It was glowing the promised colors between his fingers, only giving off a small, tickling warmth.

So Reno was in trouble. His eyes darted back and forth as he tried to think. The crystal system was a good idea; fast and easy. Only, they hadn't exactly worked through what would happen after Zack got the signal. Should he call for help and wait? But that meant Reno would be left to fend for himself for Gaia knows how long.

He scratched at his head and looked at the two bouncers standing outside the building's door. He could probably take them, maybe, but that would cause a ruckus and then there'd surely be about twenty more of the same on him. He didn't think he could fight twenty men, he was no SOLDIER. And they most likely had weapons. He had a knife and some materia.

"Ah, okay…" He pulled his hair straight up from his head and took a few steps forward, and then back. He had to think of something. Reno could be in real trouble in there. He didn't need to lose another friend.

His hand reached down and he fingered the cell phone in his pocket for a moment, his stomach tightening into a knot. Oh Gaia, he had no choice.

He pulled the device out, dialed the number, brought it to his ear and listened to it ringing. His eyes peered out at the building again, as if its exterior visage might offer him an insight to what was happening within its body.

"Zack?"

"Hey Angeal…"

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"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck."

Reno's head flew to the side, blood projecting from his gashed lip and onto the wall beside him. He took in a few deep gulps of air, not bothering to turn his head back. His hands twisted in the cuffs, vainly trying to loosen something.

"C'mon red. Tell us some'tin ya know." He looked back at the man, who had identified himself as Gau while he had wrestled him into a chair and tied his hands behind his back. The bastard was stronger than he'd expected. Madness trumped muscle.

"Uh," Reno grunted, spitting some blood onto the floor beside him. "Alright…. Shit…I know-"

"Yeah." Gau leaned in close to him, his bitter breath reaching his nostrils. Reno turned his head and sneered at him.

"That yer a son of a bitch Malboro fucker."

Slap.

"Hm, mh," Reno pressed his lips tightly together so he wouldn't scream, even though his face was stinging like holy hell. He gritted his teeth when he felt a hand going around his neck, pressing tightly.

"Ack, ck hn." He gagged, the fingers pressing into his esophagus, taking his air away. The man turned his head to face him, a cruel glint of sadism shinning his eyes.

"Ya got a pretty face boy. Maybe we should decorate it? That make ya talk? Hah?" With that he let go, almost pushing him backwards as he did. Reno took in several loud lungful of air and watched through his lashes as the bastard exited the room.

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Zack drummed his fingers against the wall, looking around himself impatiently. Nothing. This was taking too long. Reno could be dead by the time his uncle came. He couldn't let that happen now. He couldn't just wait around while another friend disappeared.

He bit his bottom lip and walked over to the edge of the wall, looking at the building in thought. They wouldn't recognize him straight away, would they? They wouldn't know he was Angeal's nephew. If he went in and found Reno he might be able to help him, or at least postpone whatever was going to happen until help arrived. He had to do something. He couldn't just wait here while Reno got hurt or Gaia knows what else.

"I'm going." He whispered to himself, nodding to affirm it.

And so he went. The walk to the inn wasn't long, nor was it pretty. Everywhere he looked there were malnourished, filthy people smoking or lying on the ground or engaging in other antisocial behavior. He ignored them and rushed to the entrance of the inn, gearing himself up for what was going to happen.

A couple in front of him got turned away, mumbling obscenities as they went. Zack rubbed his hands together and looked at the two bouncers, one pale and one dark as soot.

"Hey," he said. They remained silent so he raised a brow. "Uh…"

"No one else is allowed in tonight." The pale one said, and his tone implied that there was no room for argument. He cleared his throat and scuffed his shoe against the ground.

"Oh. Uh you see I-"

"Ya 'ear 'im bitch?" The black man cut him off with a growl, taking a giant step forward. Zack stepped back and looked up at his face. "It closed. Go fin' somewhere else ta stick i' dickwad."

Zack tilted his head, considering what had been, rather rudely, conveyed to him.

"Alright." He said after a few minutes, holding his hands out and giving them a wide eyed look. "Didn't mean any harm fellas. But…"

"No bu's bitch. Get yo ass outta ma fuck'n sight fore I brain ya."

"Okay, okay," Zack snapped his head down to the ground for a minute. He looked up and tried to put on his best, innocent expression. "It's just that group over there-"

Both of their eyes followed where he was pointing, and without a moments hesitation he lunged forward and darted between them.

Their combined shouts of surprise followed a second later but he was already at the door by then. He hastily pulled it open and managed to slip in, barley getting his arm in before it was grabbed.

His body was shaking as he slammed the door harshly behind him and then sped away from it quickly. He couldn't see a thing with the darkness and thick smoke but he still hurried down what he thought was a hall. It was only a few seconds before he heard the door behind him being pulled open and loud footsteps banging against the carpeted floor.

He picked up speed and raced through the corridor, biting his tongue from the pressure. He was immensely relieved when he saw a large metallic door and all but slammed into it as he pushed the bar down and let himself in.

"Ack, uh." He chocked as he inhaled a good lungful of the most revolting smoke he had ever tasted. He squeezed his eyes shut and hurried aimlessly through the dark space, not having a clue where he was going. It took him a few seconds to recall his senses and when he did he berated himself for not being quicker, especially when the door behind him opened again.

"You're dead." One of them roared behind him so he took off running again, blearily noticing that there were several people in the room and not one of them had looked up with interest but just laid around, half dead on the couches and tables.

He hurried forward, darting between tables and chairs and eventually he could make out the far wall. He couldn't see a door though.

"Crap!" He whispered, but then he looked to his left and saw a door there. He was just thanking Gaia for that when an intense pain in his back knocked the wind out of him. He gasped and lunged away from where one of the men was attempting to catch his hair.

"Piece a shi'" the goon roared, throwing himself forward and clamping a hand down on Zack's shoulder. The other was coming around to help him and when he was in front of Zack, the teen jumped up and kicked his legs into his chest, sending him stumbling backwards. A few people around them had gotten up now, and were looking at the scene with confused eyes.

The man behind him attempted to get his hand around his neck but Zack ducked and then threw his elbow back, feeling the pain as it collided with fairly hard muscle.

The man grunted and released his hold for just one second which allowed Zack to get free and make a charge for the door. He managed to get to it and without thinking or even looking properly, he opened it and went through, slamming it behind him again.

Of course, he probably should have looked where he was going. If he had then he might not have found himself where he was at that moment, standing against the door of a brightly lit room, staring like an idiot at the numerous faces who stared back at him with varying degrees of interest, confusion and anger.

"Uh… um." He tried to say but then shut his mouth when the door behind him pushed open and threw him forward. He stumbled a bit as his pursuers passed clumsily into the room.

He looked at them, then at the four other men walking towards him with blank expressions on their faces. More bodyguards.

"What's going on here?" A loud, nasal voice broke through all the other sounds and Zack snapped his head over to see a small and extremely ugly fat man stand up from his chair, where he had been sitting watching the scantily clad people do Holy knew what on the stage in front of him. The dancers were all still now, looking at the scene as they huddled together like spooked chocobos.

"This boy got in." One of his bouncers answered, taking a few steps towards Zack, who was trying to calculate a way out of this mess. This was pretty bad, and he couldn't see Reno anywhere. That wasn't good.

"You let a whelp get past you. Oh ho, what imbeciles do I have working for me?" There was a comedic air about the man, the way he moved and the sound of his high nasal voice in exaggerated despair. He turned to another man still sitting down beside him, the only other in the room that didn't look like a bodyguard. "Good muscle is hard to find. Ho…" Then he turned back to the bouncers and waved his fat little arm.

"Get him out a here." He answered. Zack braced himself for a fight as with leering smirks the men began to close in on him. He had aimed to kick the closest one somewhere that hurt and try to create a gap for himself, when they were all caught off guard by a new voice.

"Wait." It was the man beside the fat man. Zack watched as he stood from his chair, revealing his tall slim build and giving him a better look at his face, which was composed of the best features the Wutian heritage had to offer; oval eyes with dark lashes and eyebrows, a chiseled slim jawbone, small nose and thin lips, topped off with soot black hair that fell in dead straight rivulets behind his back. He shouldn't have seemed imposing, considering the size of the men around him, but Zack knew for some reason that he was the one you wouldn't want to cross. There was something in his air…

"Is something wrong, Tius?" The fat one asked, looking up at his companion in confusion.

"Yes." The man said, stepping away from his seat and walking towards the group. His movements were very straight, almost to the point of being mechanic. His bright brown eyes locked on Zack. "I know this boy."

Zack inwardly winced but kept his face blank.

"You do, oh ho. Who is it?" The blond man crooned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Zackary Fair." Zack pressed his lips together in a line as the man kept eye contact. "The nephew of Angeal Hewely."

The whole room broke out in a chorus of surprised grunts and whispers. The fat man's face lost all of its humor and he looked at the Wutian with a frown.

"Are ya sure, ho?" He questioned, walking over to them. Tius nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Fuck fuck fuckady." He stomped his pudgy legs against the ground and threw his fists in the air. "Oh ho, I hate those military apes."

"So wha?" The black man, who was now standing right beside Zack, said loudly, slamming his fist down on his shoulder. "I' was 'im tha' tried ta break in ere'. We aint afraid of no SOLDIER scum." Zack rolled his shoulder as the large fingers dug into his bones.

"Oh, why did ya break in here boy. You a spy?" That was the blond man again; he was peering at Zack through narrowed eyes.

"No," he said defensively, jerking his shoulder to try to get it free. "My friend… came in earlier and I was just looking for him." Honesty was the best policy here, mostly. "He was just trying to get some stuff but he hasn't come out."

"Friend. Ho… no friends in here." The man cooed, holding his arms out.

"He is. He has long red, red hair." Zack spoke slowly, looking from face to face inquisitively. "Lanky…" He stopped talking when he saw the sly smiles the bouncers from outside passed to one another. He looked at them both, raising a brow.

"Where is he?" He asked, giving them a mildly threatening look. They both looked at the fat man, who was clearly their boss.

"This 'friend' was caught poking around in our business Don. G's questioning him now." Zack took the words in, his stomach clenching with tension. So that man was Don Corneo, well that wasn't good. And they were questioning Reno? Gaia only knew what their method of extracting information was.

"Ho, really." The man, Don Corneo, crooned, clasping his hands together in front of him. "So we have little spies here hah? Ho, well that's not going to work. No, no."

"Perhaps," the Wutian man cut in, uncrossing his arms and putting them at his side, "we should go see this other boy. This isn't the place for this." He motioned towards the group still standing on the stage, looking nervous and afraid.

"Oh ho!" Corneo exclaimed, shaking his head. "The goon's will take care of this. You can stay and enjoy the lovelys." He chuckled, sounding completely deranged, and pointed at the stage.

"No," the other man shook his head. "I would sooner watch how you're business deals with this sort of thing."

The small man's whole demeanor changed at this. He stopped moving and narrowed his eyes until they were but slits as he regarded the other,

"Alright then." He said, and then nodded at the goons who closed in on Zack and caught his arms. "Off we go."

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The first thing Zack saw when they opened the door to the room was blood. It drew his eyes in instantly; there may as well have been nothing else there. He let out a shout and threw himself forward, only to be held back by several pairs of large hands.

He stared in horror as the huge man stood away from his friend, the bloody instrument held in his hand like some sort of trophy. Reno's head was being held back painfully by a strange looking woman, and that the red-head was panting heavily in his seat.

Blood was literally covering most of his face, streaming down from his eyes. In a moment of intense sickness and panic Zack had actually thought they had done something to the red-heads eyes, but was mildly relieved when the woman let the boy go and he was able to see that both orbs were still there. Thank Gaia.

Reno panted, letting his head fall against his chest, large amounts of blood spilled down past his chin to stain his shirt.

"What the fuck d'you do?" He shouted, struggling in the many grips. He looked at the man holding the knife, who gazed back at him with a sick, cruel smile.

"You know this sop," he asked, jerking his head in Reno's direction. Zack nodded.

"He didn't do anything." He argued, shaking his head.

"He wos poking oround." That was the woman, a strange, grotesque thing with a body the shape of a boulder swathed in different fabrics. He looked at her pudgy hands, noticing the blood there.

"Knew from the second I saw him." The torturer said again, and then he turned and looked at someone behind Zack. "Told Lorraine ta tell me if he was up to anything suspicious. Asking about a boy he was, and poking around your office."

Fuck, Zack inwardly exclaimed. He looked at his friend, who seemed to be breathing better now, although his head was still hanging down on his chest. His hair was covering a good portion of his face, but what skin Zack could see was covered in blood.

"Oh ho, two little Shinra spies." Corneo croaked, clapping his hands together. "They send boys. Ho ho!"

"Shinra?" The man said, "didn't know that. Haven't been able to get a word outta this one. Gave him some nice marks though. Think they'll suit him."

"Heh heh," the man beside Zack chuckled, leaning down closer to him. "G's a real artis'. Cuts em up good.'"

"Ffff," Some mumbled sounds came from Reno's direction as he tried to lift his head. "Fuck'n…peon'sss."

Zack watched tensely as the blond man walked back over to the red-head and grabbed his hair, pulling his head upwards.

"Think he needs a few more..." He whispered, staring down at the teen with a strange kind of eagerness that made Zack worry for his friend's flesh.

"Why… doncha try ta make em hurt…this time." Zack wanted to tell Reno to shut up and keep from provoking them further, but he didn't get the chance when a deep voice spoke up behind them.

"May I ask," it was the Wutian man again, "If you are here. Who is manning the door?"

"Oh ho, yes." Corneo agreed, and Zack saw him wag his arms about as though he were a orchestral conductor. "You and you, back to them doors. We can take care of this here, oh yes."

The men didn't seem too happy about this, especially the black man holding Zack's shoulder. He let out a loud grumble and Zack was expecting him to stomp his foot on the floor and shout 'it's not fair', but he didn't. He and the other man walked out with a few heavy breaths, leaving Zack to be held by another two goons.

"So," the Wutian started, crossing the room with almost soundless footsteps and stopping a few feet away from where Reno was sitting. "I think it's best if you leave mam. This is no place for a woman such as yourself." This was directed at the obese woman, who stood close to Reno's chair, her large left hip jutting as she leaned to the side a bit.

"Oh honey, I'm tougher thon you think. Hm," Zack watched as the man looked at her with an emotionless face, certainly not interested in her attempts at flirting. How could he be?

"Please," his tone was low and firm and she seemed to understand that because she sighed dramatically.

"Alrighty, I'll leave you boys to play thon." She gave him a wink and then waddled on. As she passed Zack she smiled at him, a sadistic smile that made her face wrinkle and her eyes narrow into black slits. He felt like he was glimpsing her true persona behind the comic mask, and it was as dark and cruel as a Behemoth's core. Who was she?

"Can we get this over with, got some girls to show ya, ho ho." Don Corneo walked over to the large oak desk in the centre of the room. The man who had been torturing Reno nodded.

"Cant get anything outta him. Only started though, I'll have 'im blabbering soon." He smiled down at Reno, who grunted and sneered at him, the blood dripping over his lips.

"Ya couldn't get… water outta a tap." The red-head spat, blood splattering with the saliva. Zack jumped when his friend received a very harsh back-hand across his face for his comment.

The Wutian cleared his throat.

"Well," he said, walking over to stand beside Reno's assaulter. Zack watched them tensely, preparing himself for the worst. "Which of you intends to fill us in on what two boys," he dragged out the word, looking at them both in turn, "are doing sneaking around a place such as this."

The two teens looked at each other, and then at the man, remaining silent. He raised a thin brow.

"Gau will have them talking. Hah," Corneo piped in, shaking his shoulders excitedly.

"No," Tius said briskly, waving his hand as if to swat away an insect. Which, in Zack's opinion, Corneo was. But what about this man? He was the dangerous one. Cold and calculating and not a bit phased by the whole situation.

"We weren't spying." Zack said quickly, trying to get the man to look at him. It worked and soon he was at the center of attention once again. Reno shot him a look, as if to say 'what the fuck are you doing'.

"No, then why was lily here asking Lorraine about our business." The tall man, Gau, asked with a threatening tone to his voice. Reno sighed and shook his head, the blood was still wet on his skin but had dried enough for the two gashes beneath his eyes were visible. They looked brutal and deep. Scarring.

"He wasn't," he said before his friend could say something to earn more punishment. "We were just, uh… our friend went missing and we thought-"

"We don't give a shit bout yer friend." Gau hissed, holding the knife in front of him. Zack felt a flash of intense anger go through his entire body, heating his blood and making his thoughts turn to ash.

"Well I do," he hissed, leveling the man with a stare. "I give a shit. And I want to find him."

"What was his name," the Wutian asked, his eyes moving back and forth as though he were thinking about something .

"Cloud." He was surprised to feel his throat tightening and had to stop for a second to clear it. "Cloud Strife."

"Cloud Strife. Uh…no no. No boys here called Cloud!" Corneo said, smacking his chapped lips together and shaking his head. Zack looked at him, trying to read whether he was lying or not. He honestly couldn't tell though, the guy was a loon with a capital L and they were the hardest to read.

"He has blond hair. Big shock of it on his head. Blue eyes." But the man just continued to shake his head and he sighed in defeat. "Whatever then."

"Don't fancy boys me. Only girls. Hmmm."

"Still not the point," Gau said, pointing the small knife at Zack's face. "These shits were snooping around, that ai-"

Zack barely had time to register what had happened. In the blink of an eye the huge man went from standing and roaring his words, to letting out a long drawn gasp and slowly collapsing to the ground like a pile of bricks.

He jumped back to avoid the man hitting his legs and then brought his bewildered eyes up to where the dark man, this Tius, was standing with a glowing ball of orange materia in his hand.

"Wha-" Coreno's cry of confusion was cut off when a loud ruckus erupted behind the dark-haired teen. He was released and took a few steps forward until he was standing at the side of the desk. As he turned he saw both of Corneo's bodyguards get taken down by the two that belonged to Tius. Their falls shook the room, actually causing a bit of dust to loosen from the ceiling, and Zack watched the two men move to the door, halting Corneo in his attempts to skitter away.

"Oh, what is this?" The small man cried in anger and fear, looking at Tius in utter disbelief. There was actually water in his eyes.

"Nothing personal." The man said coolly, tucking the instrument somewhere inside his jacket.

Zack's mind was spinning. He hadn't a clue what had just happened, but he wasn't complaining.

"Knew…it."

Oh, Reno. He turned and looked at the red-head, who was looking up at the Wutian with an-amazingly enough- smug smile on his bloodied face.

"Reno," Zack said, walking over to him and kneeling down. He looked up at Tuis, questioning him with his eyes.

"I assume the keys are somewhere on this man's person." Was all he was given, and he did as advised. Crawling over to the comatose Gau and checking his pockets for the keys. He found them in the right one, along with a few Gil notes, a faded packet of chewing gum and a small piece of paper that he didn't read.

He quickly unlocked the cuffs holding Reno's hands behind his back and then helped him get to his feet.

"Gaia Reno," he said as he studied his face. The gashes under his eyes were two long lines that followed the curve of his cheekbone. It was hard to make out their shape with all the blood but they looked big.

"Son of a bitch," the red-head spat, bringing his hands to his face. "Cut my fuck'n face. Piece of shit." Zack moved aside as Reno let out a strong kick that caught the thug directly in center of his stomach. His nostrils were flaring and he wiped his arm across his nose, smearing the blood.

"Where's the bitch. Gonna fuck that pig up." He grumbled, clenching his fists at his side.

"Calm down." Zack warned, motioning towards Tuis who was looking at Don Corneo with a stony expression.

"You'e a betrayer." Corneo shouted, sounding like a little child instead of a crime lord. "We done business together. Ho. Good business."

"Sleep him as well," and with that one of Tius's men raised the materia and the cowering man was out like a baby.

"I'm confused." Zack said flatly, scratching the back of his head. He looked at the Wutian, who smirked a bit.

"You've gotten yourselves into a bit of trouble." He remarked, fixing the end of his coat so it wasn't folded back.

"Uh… are you good. Or just gonna kill us in a different way." He asked with a nervous chuckle. The man looked at him, his face devoid of humor but not unkind.

"I work for Shinra. With you're uncle. I can assume he doesn't know you're here."

"He does actually. On his way." Zack replied, giving Reno a sheepish look when he stared at him curiously. "I didn't know what else to do?" He said defensively.

"May as well be dead then," the redhead hummed, touching one of his ruined cheeks with his fingers. "Fuck. Shit stings like hell."

"I have no potions with me unfortunately." The Wutian cut in, running his eyes over Reno's wounds. "I hadn't expected my mission to be interrupted in this manner." He did sound a bit moody.

"Knew there was some'tin bout you." The red-head said. "Ya aint in this buiz. Could tell the minute ah saw ya." He clicked his tongue when he was done. The dark man smiled a small bit and lowered his eyes to the ground.

"Could you…"

"Zack."

All three looked over to the door where Angeal stood; his eyes alight with an anger rarely shown. Zack lowered his head guiltily and stared at him.

"I want to thank you Tseng." The raven haired SOLDIER said, eyes still on his nephew. "And to apologize for this disruption."

"Yes well," Tius, no Tseng, folded his arms. "These things cannot always run as predicted."

"Indeed." Angeal said, and Zack thought he might have been talking about much more than a mission.

"Well, I'll take my leave. I must see to our felons. The young man is in need of medical aid, I shall have that arranged." With that, Tseng left the room.

"He's hurt." Zack mumbled, holding up a flagging Reno. Angeal walked over silently and caught the red-head by his chin, examining his wounds.

"Hm," his face creased, deep lines forming around his eyes and mouth. He stepped to the side and caught hold of the boys arm, slinging it around his shoulders which were so high and broad that Reno was practically lifted from the ground. Zack's support was rendered obsolete.

"Fuck." Reno mumbled tiredly.

"Come on. We'll bring him outside." Angeal said and so they did. Zack took off his jacket and allowed Reno to press it to his face to slow the bleeding. The cuts were deep.

The rooms had all been emptied out by then and so as they walked their footsteps echoed loudly throughout the spaces. There was a tense atmosphere surrounding Zack which was both thicker and more stifling than the malodorous smoke this club seemed to specialize in.

When they got outside there was a scene of controlled chaos happening as Corneo, the fat woman and the unconscious goons were loaded into small black hover vans and driven away from the club. A small crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle, and they scattered like flyaway sparks when another vehicle drove into the scene. It was a black Gelnika model. It pulled up just outside the door, near to where Zack and Reno were standing. Angeal had gone over to converse with some official looking men.

"This vehicle will take your friend to the nearest hospital."

Tseng slid up behind them, without one hint of a sound. He sidestepped the two and went to open the car's door, revealing the neat leather interior.

Zack moved forward to help Reno get in and once the boy was sprawled ungracefully across the backseat he made to get in himself.

"No Zachary." Tseng placed a palm on his shoulder to halt his movement.

"…but."

"Your uncle insisted."

Zack glanced briefly over at Angeal, who was still occupied with the other officials, and sighed.

"Alright." He conceded, holding up his arms and shaking his head. Then he turned and leaned into the car.

"I'll see you later Reno. At the hospital or at home. Whichever." Reno was slipping into unconsciousness, so he didn't respond. Zack bit his lip for a moment.

"…Thanks Reno. You're a real friend. And I'm sorry."

And so he stood back and allowed the door to be closed and the car to pull away from the scene.

Tseng left shortly after, he didn't know where he went. Zack sat down on the pavement waiting for Angeal to finish up. As he sat there, amidst the worst filth of the slums, he felt his spirit fall to a new level of despair. They hadn't found Cloud. They hadn't found one single clue to suggest he was involved with any of this. He realised now how much he had been clinging to this hope, how it had allowed him to avoid any thoughts of a future without… without him.

He bent forward and rested his head in his hands, pulling his hair at the roots. How could he do this? How could he face the possibility that Cloud wouldn't be found? Oh, he couldn't even think about it. Wouldn't think about it. It just wasn't a possibility. So this was a dead end, that didn't mean it was over. It wasn't over. Reno had been hurt and he was sorry for that, but he was going to be okay. They could recover from this and keep looking. He would keep looking.

"Zack,"

He looked up at his uncle, feeling drained and so utterly weary. But he didn't want to sleep. He was in limbo.

"Hey... I'm really sorry Angeal. It was just… I dunno."

Angeal gave him a long look; perplexity and contemplation clear on his face. Zack braced himself for a torrent of anger, and he was extremely surprised when the taller man eventually just sighed softly and then held out his hand.

"Let's go home." He said. Zack stared at him.

"…okay."

He took his uncles hand.

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Reno groaned, scratching at his arm where the Gaia damned needle was shoved into his skin. He gritted his teeth and fell back against the pillows with a huff, bored and agitated and not. Fucking. Tired. He was in a private room, obviously courtesy of his Shinra buddies because if he'd been in on his own he'd be home by now even if his bloody arm had been taken off. The lights were turned out because it was around four in the morning and the television in the corner of the room was switched off. He couldn't be bothered getting up to turn it on.

He lifted his fingers to run along the smooth bandages covering the cuts on his face. A twinge of worry sickened him as he pondered how they'd look. Would he become a monster? A physical reminder of who he had spawned from?

He dropped his hand and looked around the room, remembering now how much he hated fucking hospitals. Hated the Gaia damned memories.

His cheeks were stinging badly, as well as the numerous other bruises and cuts he'd received. The doctor had left two potions on his bedside locker in case of the very thing. He didn't think he really needed one yet though, he wasn't a pussy who couldn't handle a bit of pain.

About a half hour passed, and Reno was finally about to give in to taking a damn potion because his cheeks were burning like holy hell. However, before he made a move for the night stand a clicking sound at the door averted his attention.

He watched as the door opened, expecting some white coat to walk through for a nightly check. However, when he glimpsed the charcoal suit and equally ink-black hair his stomach did a strange flip and he felt moisture accumulate at the back of his neck. He automatically hoisted himself up in the bed, feeling a need to look as composed as possible in the presence of this elegant, impressive man.

He watched as the other approached his bed, so blended in with the darkness it seemed he was a part of it, only his face and hands visible as though the whole room were his body. A creature of the shadows. Deception is strength.

"Hello Reno." He stopped at the foot of the bed. Poised and tall.

"…Uh, hi." Reno muttered back, baffled by the situation. He hadn't exactly expected a night-time visitor. Certainly not this person.

"I expected you to be asleep." Tseng murmured, looking about the room.

"Uh… but ya still came here anyway?" He chuckled awkwardly, twisting the edge of the sheet in his hands. "…Most people'd wait till morn'in." Tseng nodded, as though he'd made a good point.

"Yes. Well, I only came to leave this with you." And with that he moved forward and stretched out his arm, revealing a small white piece of paper tucked between his dark fingers. Reno cocked a brow as he took the offering.

"Wha's it?" He mumbled, looking at what appeared to be a phone number printed in black ink. He turned it back and forth in his hands but there was nothing else to see.

"You're actions tonight were quite commendable. For someone of your age, breaching the heart of a criminal base of that scale shows impressive cunning and innovation. You displayed an ability to deceive and to withstand pain and intimidation under stressful circumstances. Though you did ultimately fail," he stopped then, as though to ensure Reno had taken in that last point. He barely had, his mind was still chewing over everything else being said. "I feel that with proper training and conditioning, you could prove to a very useful addition."

"To what?" He narrowed his eyes in confusion.

The man leaned down so that his face was just barely lit up by the green light of the drip monitor. There was no emotion of his face, but it wasn't black. Just… hard.

"Our organization. You might have heard of them. There known to most as the Turks."

The boy felt something click inside his mind at the word, and he didn't understand it. Stunned, he could only watch as his mysterious visitor straightened again.

"Anyway, I'll leave you to mull this invitation over. If you reach a decision, use that number." Reno nodded dumbly as the dark man turned to leave. He had questions, a lot of fucking questions, but he couldn't ask them now. His tongue was gone comatose in his mouth.

Before Tseng went out the door he gave one last look back at him. "Keep in mind, Reno, that this is a very rare invitation and one that will not be offered twice. I would think very carefully about your answer. If you're out, you're out forever. If you're in, you're in forever. Understand that."

And so he was gone, Reno was left alone in the room again. He looked down at the card on his lap, partly illuminated by the weak green light. The idea was bizarre to him and he couldn't be sure it was actually real. He'd taken a lot of meds; they could be fucking with his brain. Yeah, that sounded right. A lot more right than the alternative.

That he, Reno, could be a Turk?

Reno the Turk.

Yeah, that just sounded fucking weird.