This story has been posted before, but thanks to my ongoing war with how to use this site properly, I accidentally deleted it like an idiot. (Damn you technology, my nemesis!)

This first chapter is the pilot of the story.

Premise: A story featuring the other favorite redhead. Reno is attacked one night, and his life begins to spiral further and further into the bizarre. Just a story about what was happening to the other Final Fantasy characters during the events of Kingdom Hearts 2. Slightly AU - though not in the most obvious way (Watch as I twist canon in magical methods to make it the same, but different!).

I hope that you enjoy it.

Midgar; Three Years Ago

"Rude. Hey."

The bald Turk was deeply engrossed in the pile of paperwork on the desk in front of him. Consequently, Rude had long since tuned out the occasional sounds of dissatisfaction from his partner. If he allowed Reno to charm him into conversation, then there was no way that they would possibly be able to clock out on time. Frankly, Rude wanted to enjoy a rare evening with no overtime.

He grunted when a ball of paper came flying over to tap against his cheek. Rude determinedly hunched further over where he was writing his report on their efforts during that day. It wasn't like he could trust Reno to perform a task as simple as filling out his own report. Rude had to balance the books for the both of them.

Then a wad of paper wedged itself between the left lense of his sunglasses, invading his line of sight altogether. It was unfortunate that his partner had such good aim. "Reno…" Rude sat upright and pulled them off. The ball of paper fell forgotten to the floor below as his dark eyes blinked disapprovingly towards his partner. "I need to get this finished. You don't want to be here all night, do you?"

"Of course not." Reno was smirking triumphantly. Now that he had Rude's attention, the fiery-haired Turk quickly shifted gears. He had been kicked back on two legs of his chair, lounging in an effortless display of pure boredom. Now he practically melted himself over the top of his own desk, mewling his displeasure as he rolled his forehead back and forth over that surface in a fan of red strands. "But it's so boring sitting here while you fill out that stupid report. Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"You could always fill out your half on your own." Rude suggested, his baritone voice carefully schooled to avoid any trace of reproach.

Reno breezily waved a hand in the air above where his head lay, dismissing that notion immediately. "I can't do that. It's just not my thing, you know? You like the technical part. I like the violence part. It's how we work, partner."

"Precisely. So let me finish this."

"Whatever."

Fortunately, this exchange managed to keep Reno quiet. Of course, Rude wagered that since his head was still on his desk, the other Turk might have simply fallen asleep. If napping kept Reno silent until the task was finished, then Rude was happy for his partner to doze. His work went much quicker without interruptions. Rude glanced towards the clock as he filed the completed pile into his box for outgoing materials.

Right on time.

"You ready, Reno?"

Reno unfolded himself up from his desk, not bothering to hide his wide yawn as he stretched his arms out to either side. "You bet! Man, that was hard work today."

They stood in unison, the two men long since synched from years of operating as one unit. Rude pulled his black jacket off the back of his chair where he had carefully folded it, slipping it on. He was still belting it neatly in place when Reno tossed on his own jacket, the redhead ignoring the buttons altogether. Rude led the way out as they headed for the elevators, murmuring, "I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early. Unless you're going to need another ride home?"

"Nah, got my bike out of the shop." Reno answered.

"Finally?" Rude glanced back to the smaller man. "I didn't think that it was damaged so badly. What took them so long to release it to you?"

"Uh, well." With a wry expression, Reno reached up to scratch at the back of his head. "I kinda had to pay them first. Which took me a while. But in my defense, I'm pretty sure that they charged me double, being a Turk and all."

"In other words, you were broke and they were holding your bike for ransom."

"Something like that."

Rude shook his head. "I still can't figure out where your salary goes when it disappears so quickly. You make as much as I do."

"It's a mystery to me as well, man." Reno laughed weakly as they stood near the elevator doors, waiting for it to reach their floor. A small chime sounded when it finally arrived. The double doors slid open and they both moved to step inside. However, they found the way blocked.

Both men blinked uncertainly at the imposing figure of their leader, Tseng, as the lead Turk stepped out of the elevator to stand in front of them. Tseng quirked a dark eyebrow at the pair, his voice professionally cool. "Leaving for the night, gentlemen?"

"Just on our way out the door, boss man." Reno's smile lacked any true power. If Tseng was here, then there was an almost certain chance that their efforts to leave on time had just been ruined. "We'll see you tomorrow!" The redhead waved casually as he made a break for the open elevator doors and the freedom beyond.

He groaned as the back of his jacket collar was snatched.

"Not so fast, Reno. I just received a report. We have an assignment and I will need the two of you to assist with the investigation."

"Can't it wait until later?" Reno whined half-heartedly. He knew that protesting was pointless, but part of him had to try to get out of it.

Tseng shook his head. "No. This is an urgent situation. We've been getting reports of unidentified hostiles threatening citizens in the Slums. This order has come directly from upstairs; our mobilization is immediate, and after we access the situation, it will be our call whether to bring in troops or not to handle the developing crisis."

Reno sighed. "Okay, okay. People in danger. Turks save the day. Good 'P.R.'. I got it."

"Shit!"

Reno swore loudly as he took another wrong step, icy water splashing up over the legs of his pants. He swung his flashlight wildly down to reflect on the slick surface of his shoe as he shook it firmly to chase off some of that foul-smelling water. The longer that he stayed in this situation, the angrier he was growing.

How the hell had he ended up being the one stuck investigating in a rank old sewer tunnel? Tseng was undoubtedly mad at him for something. This was his superior's torturous method of punishing him for bad behavior. That was the only explanation that Reno could come up with as to why he'd been assigned to this specific area, while Tseng and Rude got to search through more inhabitable areas above.

Tseng had filled them in on the situation on their way over from their headquarters at Shinra. They'd been receiving reports from the locals in the Slums that people had been spotting unusual activity throughout the area. Residents claimed to have spotted strange creatures roaming through the Slums. Dark creatures. The descriptions they had to go on were vague. No one had risked approaching these unknown creatures to get a better look.

Now Reno was looking for little monsters in this nasty place. Yet so far the only "dark little creatures" that he'd encountered had been the rats scurrying around his feet. He could have just parted from the others and hit one of the local taverns instead of following through with his orders, but it was a matter of pride. Since he was getting paid, Reno was going to make an effort to earn that overtime.

"And why is that, Reno? 'Cause you have a grudging respect for your superiors? Nah. 'Cause you're a masochist that likes to live dangerously? Maybe. But really, it's because you're just a nice kind of guy." He snorted to himself as the echoes of his own voice floated back to him from the darkness.

He reached a branch in the sewers, the tunnel spreading out in two different directions. Reno squinted to see as his flashlight illuminated either one. The light revealed nothing except for the pathetic drips of water that rained down from above here and there throughout the tunnels. This was really making him crave a cigarette. He had his lighter with him, but had left his pack of smokes back up in Rude's car.

Freezing, cranky, wet, smelly, tired, and suffering a nicotine fit. Something was bound to burst.

"What the hell. I'm feeling like taking a left first." Reno muttered sourly to himself as he shuffled forward in that direction, picking his steps carefully to avoid slipping down into that dirty water again. There was debris that made the going more tentative than he would have preferred; rocks, rats, and some items that Reno did not want to even guess on littered the path ahead.

Aside from the occasional rumble of a car passing above him, these tunnels were silent. If someone like Reno could barely tolerate being in this kind of environment then he strongly doubted that anything else would want to dwell down here. Except for the rats, of course. Reno's progress slowed to a stop as he passed under a shaft of light from a grill overhead, a few dull slivers of streetlamps breaking through the monotony of the darkness around him. He angled his flashlight up towards the grill to watch a few drips fall from the earlier rain of the evening. "Man. If I get a cold from this, then they're going to owe me some sick leave."

"Reno."

His interest in the grill was abruptly interrupted by the sound of his own name being barked at him. That sudden burst of noise in the relative silence startled Reno badly enough that he lost his grip with the flashlight in his hand. The Turk juggled it desperately in an attempt to save it, but could only sigh in defeat as he heard a dull splash somewhere beside him. No way in hell was he going to reach into that muck to get his flashlight back!

"Reno, report."

Exasperated, Reno's temper flared up as he snatched the communicator up from where he'd latched it to his hip, yelling, "What? You scared the hell out of me!"

Tseng was slow to respond. When he did, he seemed immune to Reno's explosion of emotion over the line. "Reno. We have gone over the topic of appropriate protocol for communications several times already. When I call to you, you are supposed to say, 'Go for Reno'. Copy?"

"Yeah, okay! Go for Reno or whatever."

"And you should acknowledge the end of your transmission by saying 'Copy'." Tseng added.

Reno felt tempted to punch the wall beside him. However, a surge of rational thought reminded him that it would just result in a sore hand and a whole lot of lingering dissatisfaction. He grit his teeth together, features pinched as he counted numbers in his head. When he keyed his communicator again, Reno pitched his voice towards calm, though it ended up sounding more like sweet poison. "Go for Reno and copy, boss man."

"What's your status?"

"Oh, I don't know. I'm in a tunnel. It's freezing and wet. The smell of this pit has long since burned an impression into my brain, and I left my smokes behind. I've seen nothing but rats and drips for the past half an hour. How the hell do you think my status is? Copy?"

"So you haven't seen anything, then. Rude is heading to our meeting point and also has nothing to report. Start making your way back to us and we will try another location."

Reno deflated slightly with relief. Finally, he could get out of here. "Copy that. Though I dropped my flashlight when you spooked me. Might take me a bit longer to find my way back, and-"

He paused, releasing the button to talk as Reno swung his head towards the deeper end of the tunnel. Had he just… heard something?

"Reno?"

"Yeah. Hold a sec, boss." Reno responded distractedly, squinting in that direction. He strained his ears in an attempt to listen in the silence in the wake of Tseng's voice.

The redhead fished his other hand into the pocket of his jacket. He closed his fingers around the trusty metal of his lighter, pulling the square of silver out. With a practiced motion of nimble fingers, Reno brought the flame to life, a dull shuddery illumination bathing the walls of the tunnel around him. It might have just been more rats. Or perhaps it was a particularly large rat. Yet it didn't sound anything like the scurrying vermin that had been plaguing him this entire trip.

His instincts warned Reno to play it safe. And instinct was something that he relied on heavily to keep his ass alive. The Turk felt his adrenaline building; whatever it was out there, it was going to be the lucky recipient of Reno's foul mood. "Yo, bastard! Stop hiding back there and come the hell out. You're messing around with a Turk now. If you give up right now, I might be nice. If I have to come down there, though, then there is gonna be pain. You get me?"

Reno didn't expect a verbal response to his words. However, he was counting on a reaction to his cocky bravado. That was universal, no matter what the species.

The scrambling sound in the tunnel ahead of him grew louder as whatever it was came towards him. Reno raised the lighter up higher to try and cast the light a little better in that direction. "That's right. Come on, I'm right over here." He slowly lowered his communicator back to his belt, clipping it into place. That freed his hand up to creep towards the weapon stationed at the lower part of his back. Reno wrapped his fingers tightly around the mag-rod so that he could slide if out quickly if needed. He smirked in anticipation.

Then the shadows in the tunnel ahead of him began to move, which drained all the bravado out of him and dropped that smirk off his face. Reno watched as that inky blackness began to pull itself from the surface of the tunnel walls, taking on substance right in front of him. The Turk felt his heart leap up in his throat as it began to beat dangerously fast. "W-what the… hell?" Reno whipped his weapon out, clenching it tightly at his side as he took a step back. The lighter was getting hot in his fingers. However, he did not want to plunge himself into blackness with these developments.

As Reno skidded back a step, those shadowy blobs continued to approach. They looked as if they had sprouted limbs as they took on a more solid form. Reno could see them wavering there like patches of walking darkness. He now understood why no one could describe these things as any differently than 'dark creatures'. How was he going to successfully apprehend shadow monsters?

The tunnel was beginning to clog with those shadowy figures. Reno took another few steps back in retreat, whispering to himself. "Shit, shit, shit." He needed to alert Tseng to the situation. It was a choice between losing his light or else losing his weapon. Reno hated either option.

The light sputtered and died as Reno quickly snatched his communicator back up. "Reno to Tseng! I found 'em. Requesting backup right fucking now!"

"Reno? Talk to me. What is your location?" The alarm in Reno's voice was enough that his superior spared him another lecture on radio protocol.

"I'm in the tunnel still. Maybe under Fifth Avenue. I have found the creatures. Shadow things. Tons of them!"

"We're on our way, Reno!" Rude's voice sounded over the line, offering him some mild reassurance. If Rude said that he'd be there, then he'd be there, come hell or high water.

Not that it did him much good at the moment. Reno felt his stomach twist as he watched a flood of baleful yellow eyes opening up from that mass, glowing in the darkness. He sighed heavily, wryly murmuring to himself, "It just isn't my night, yo?"

Then that writhing mass burst forward towards him, and Reno didn't even have time to raise his weapon before he felt the frozen touch of that darkness envelope him completely.

Static.

The world shimmered in a chaotic blend of black and white.

It took on substance little by little, and brought with it the sounds of voices that he did not recognize.

"This is proof that our experiment appears to have been successful."

"The little buggers appear to have some use after all!"

Where the hell am I?

"Ah, good. He's sentient. I was half-afraid we were going to end up with another brainless copy like the others."

The world materialized around him, as faces formed against the background of all that white. He did not know any of these people. Something inside of him told him that things were not as they were supposed to be. This was not natural.

"Can you hear me?"

Of course I hear you. You're standing right there, aren't you? I'm not deaf.

"Bit of an attitude in this one already. That should be interesting. Let's take him to Xemnas. He's waiting for us."

Who the hell is Xemnas? ….. For that matter, who the hell am I?

"You?" One of those faces bent closer to him, the scar on it dark in his blurred vision. "You're Nobody."

Rude and Tseng hurried through the dank maze of the sewers in search of their comrade. They had lost radio contact with Reno after that last transmission, which could only mean that the redheaded Turk had been incapacitated – or worse. The two of them searched thoroughly with the light of their flashlights, trying to find some sign of which direction Reno had gone. Reno's claim to have been near Fifth Avenue had proved inaccurate. So they had to branch off from that point, since it was the only reference which they'd been given in order to operate by.

"He can be terrible with direction now and then." Rude muttered darkly. Internally, he was cursing himself for having let his partner end up in this situation. It was his place to make sure that the redhead had him for backup, no matter what.

Tseng made a soft sound in his throat. "I shouldn't have sent him down here alone. But now isn't the time to beat ourselves up over the situation. Finding him is our priority. Then I'll go meet with the troops and you take Reno to the Shinra medics if he's injured."

"Understood."

They continued for some time, until Tseng caught sight of something shining in the mucky water between them. Despite the horrid smell of it, the Turk knelt down to examine it more closely to confirm the source. "Reno's flashlight. He dropped it when I last contacted him. He's close. Very close."

"How far do you suppose he-?" Rude's question was cut off by a few loud explosive sounds further down that left corridor. Both of them knew immediately, from their extensive training, what it was.

Gunfire.

Rude took off ahead of Tseng, not even waiting for his superior to stand back up as the larger Turk hurried in that direction. If someone was shooting a gun down here, it had to be someone other than Reno. The firepower sounded far too impressive for any Shinra-regulated handguns. It might very well have been the assailant attacking their fellow Turk.

Tseng had the clarity of mind to draw out his gun. Rude was prepared just to charge in with bare hands to fight the attacker. They rounded the corner together, prepared to do battle, yet stopped themselves just short of launching their surge when they took in the vision of the tunnel ahead of them.

The shadow creatures that Reno had reported were scattering, surging wildly around in the deeper end of the tunnel. They were running away from the threat that had come upon them. That threat which fired shot after shot into the depths of their shadow forms, shattering their solidity with the efficiency of a machine. In the flash of that gunfire, the sharp bursts of light highlighted back across a wraith-like figure that was poised defensively there in the tunnel, a pool of blood spread around it.

No, not blood. Fabric.

A crimson cloak.

They had come expecting a battle. Instead, they found Vincent Valentine.

The mysterious man lowered the triple barrels of his gun as the creatures vanished from the tunnels, his head turning slowly in the direction where the two Turks were standing there behind him. He did not seem the least bit alarmed nor surprised with their presence, Vincent's eyes shining red as they seemed to swallow up the light coming from their flashlights. "You finally arrived, I see."

"We're looking for Reno." Tseng had not holstered his weapon. He kept his gun gripped in both hands, knowing that he could take a steady shot at Vincent if needed.

"He's right here." Easing slowly up, Vincent's empty hand swung down, gold-plated claws sweeping aside his cloak to reveal the figure of Reno lying unconscious on the stone floor of the sewer. "Those creatures had swarmed him. It's fortunate that I arrived when I did."

As the man stepped away from where he had been protecting the Turk's prone form, Rude hurriedly approached his fallen comrade. He immediately felt for Reno's vital signs. The redhead was paler than usual, features unnervingly relaxed. Vincent crouched down on the other side of Reno as he made his own study of the unconscious man. "I couldn't tell exactly what they were doing to him. It appeared as though they were pulling something out of his chest. I didn't have time to examine him – is he alive?"

"Yes." Rude reported, as he felt the weak rhythm of Reno's pulse underneath the pressure of his fingertips. "But barely. I can use a materia cure for him now, but it will probably take an actual medic to do the rest."

Tseng was already on his communicator before Rude even glanced his way, giving directions to the units that were stationed above them to send a medical team down. Rude slipped an arm underneath Reno's shoulders, elevating that limp form further upright. He did not like the state that the redhead was in right now, nor did he like the way that Reno's head rolled lifelessly against his shoulder. Vincent watched Rude work, detached from the scene, as if nothing in this situation truly involved him.

"Thank you for protecting him." Rude said quietly to the other man, keeping his volume low so that Tseng could continue giving orders.

Vincent blinked up from Reno's pale face to peer at Rude. Despite priding himself on being a tough guy, something about that gaze still managed to intimidate him. Vincent's flat voice didn't do much to improve that. "I hadn't set out with that intention. Things simply worked out that way. It was those creatures that I was after. Apparently they have been victimizing people in this area."

Rude nodded. "That's why we came here to investigate."

The shadow of Tseng shifted, as the lead Turk came to stand close to his teammates. He peered down at Vincent as he lowered the communicator back down to his side once his orders had been completed. "I am surprised to find you down here, Mister Valentine. I was unaware that anyone other than Shinra had acted upon this situation."

"It occurred to me that I should attempt to do something about them." Vincent murmured quietly as he regarded the dark-haired Turk.

Tseng nodded curtly. "I can understand your interest in acting. It is what a responsible citizen might do. However, I hope that you can understand what I mean when I tell you that you should leave these affairs to the proper authorities. Namely, Shinra and the Turks."

"I understand perfectly well what you mean, Tseng." Vincent answered, and Rude detected a hint of underlying amusement or even sarcasm in the man's muffled voice. "However, I hope that you can understand what I mean when I tell you that I will do as I please, regardless of Shinra or the Turks." The man straightened, tatters of fabric sweeping around his feet as he rose to his full height. "Though I will leave you to manage the rest of this on your own. Your men are on their way and the threat has gone for the time being."

"Let him play hero if he wants to. Not many around anymore."

The three men looked down as Reno's nasal voice slurred drowsily from below. Reno's color had improved considerably already, the man's eyes fighting to open as he fought to regain consciousness. Rude gave him a light squeeze in the grip of his arm to reassure the redhead that all was well. That calmed Reno's struggle for now.

"He is right. I may be the only one left." Vincent surmised, mostly to himself. He looked past the trio as noises began to sound in the tunnel that they had traveled. There were more lights bouncing off the walls down the corridor, heading in their direction. "Your men are here."

"So it would seem." Tseng and Rude swung their heads around in that direction. Tseng flashed his own light in that direction, using the beam to signal against the opposite wall to give the others an indication of their location. He then turned back around, words reluctant. "Still, Rude was correct in expressing our gratitude for your…."

Tseng blinked at the empty tunnel, voice trailing off. Vincent had vanished silently, as if some breeze had carried him away into the shadows. The lead Turk shook his head, then stepped to meet the medical crew.

A/N: Just to clarify, italic text in unbroken format is how I separate the events pertaining to Axel apart from Reno. I had to fix some formatting errors from the last time this was published.