A/N: Poor, poor Cry. Forced to stay in Reno's apartment. O_o

Oh well, nothing we can do. Well, actually, I'm the author, so I can do something, I just don't want to.

Disclaimers: I do not own anything Final Fantasy related, Square enix does.

Well, in comes Deryk…

NOTE: I edited the edits…

Chapter 3: An old Friend

Runaway Nightmares

I sighed as I leaned back on the couch in the Turk's break room. After about 4 hours of training with some of the other Turks and getting to know them better, I had decided to come here. I learned a lot recently. 1st: The Turk's sector was kind of like the investigation/intelligence section of ShinRa, 2nd: ShinRa had an annual Christmas party, and, though apparently it is rare, both SOLDIER and Turks alike show up, and 3rd: I might just be joining them eventually.

Wow. Well, that was pretty fast. After all, how could I have known back then that in a few days, I would be found by Cissnei and Reno, be staying in Reno's apartment, get some actual friends, and possibly be joining the Turks? Don't get me wrong, It's not that I didn't have friends. Well, I had two. Deryk (A/N pronounced Derik) and If you could count her, for a while, Shelke. Not getting to far into that, Deryk was much closer. Come to think of it…he…was sent back above ground…they never told me why…but he might still be in SOLDIER… That didn't bother me now, though. I missed him, but Deryk was probably either dead, or not in SOLDIER anymore. Probably dead.

My thoughts were interrupted as Reno came in the room. "Hey, cutie! Wanna train? Or are ya ready to go home?" I looked up at him, arching my eyebrows. "Cutie?" I asked calmly. "Yep, from now on, one of your new nicknames, yo." I sighed. "Well, training would be okay, but honestly I'm still tired, I already trained for…about 3 of the 4 hours I've been here." Reno grinned. "Good, cause I was leaving and I've got the keys." I smiled and stood up. "Let's go then."

I pulled down a plate from one of Reno's cabinets. "Hey, you wanted chicken, right?!" I yelled to him. Reno was sitting on the couch and I decided that since I was staying here, I would make dinner, and of course, Reno didn't object. "Yeah!" "Alright, It'll be done in 'bout 10 minutes!" I took out some of the chicken strips and put them on the plate and stuck it in the oven for ten minutes, as well as getting some for myself. This left me some time to think, and almost instantly I remembered thinking about Deryk earlier. How did I meet him again? Oh! I remember now!

I stood in the center of the Deepground training room, my last opponent of the day had just left, leaving me to just glance around at the metal walls before I had to go see the new scientists and explain everything to him. boooriiinggg… As if on cue, the door creaked and I jumped.

A DGS stepped in. He smiled at me. "Hey, you have time for one last fight?" I smiled.

"Sure, sure. I guess." I pulled out my gun and aimed it at the SOLDIER opperative. "Let's start!" He pulled out his gun and quickly fired a few bullets at me. I bent down, then moved to the left, bending back up.

"Wow. You suck." I accused. My opponent fired again, which frankly, I wasn't expecting. His gun had been angled downward, and one of the bullets lodged into my ankle. Not deeply, but enough to cause blood to spurt out, and I collapsed. The SOLDIER ran over, pulling his helmet off, to reveal bright mako blue eyes and ruffled brown hair, and he seemed as though he couldn't be more than 15. Young for a Deepground SOLDIER. Young for a SOLDIER in general. He looked over my ankle. "You okay, girl?" He asked worriedly. "Y-yeah, I'll be fine, I just have to get the bullet out before…it heals…" I said quietly. With that, he put his hand over the wound. "Here, I'll get it out, this is my fault…" Somehow, he managed to pull the bullet out, and instantly the wound closed. I winced. "Thanks…hey, what's your name, mysterious SOLDIER person I have never seen before- your from above ground aren't you?" I said. "heh, I'm Deryk, and yeah, I was sent down here a week ago. What's your name?" he said, smiling brightly. "I'm Cry."

"Cool name!" he smirked and stood up, extending a hand to me. I smirked back, and grabbed his hand, but instead of pulling myself up, I pulled him down. His eyes widened as he fell on top of me and I laughed at his expression. I smirked at him, and he grinned back. Deryk kissed the tip of my nose gently then stood back up, this time, picking me up.

"Your pretty cool, you know that Cry? Oh, and one last thing. Never - and I mean NEVER - tell this to anyone, okay?" he whispered.

Unbeknownst to me, Nero had walked in at that moment, and for the next few months would mock me about this incident.

I finished my train of thought just as the oven beeped. "Reno, your food's done and why do I feel like I'm calling a dog to his bowl."

Reno came in through the door. "Hey! I'm no dog, yo!" I laughed. "Ye-ah, right, well, here you go." I said, handing him the plate. I got some chicken for myself and went to my room. "I wonder where he is now…" I wondered to myself.

Oh well, time to sleep…

Once again I wandered aimlessly around the Turk's headquarters.I hated being caged up like this in a building for so long, which was surprising considering I had spent most of my life caged up inside a giant metal box death trap, but this was different. It was all…officey and…and …plain…

Stuck amidst my thoughts, I failed to notice the other person walking my way, and I'm guessing he didn't notice me either.

I walked straight into the oncoming person and immediately tripped and fell backwards.

"Oh! Hey I'm sorry!" The other person reached out their hand and I took it, then looked up at their face. I my widened, but soon a smirk came over my face. "Hey, mysterious SOLDIER person I've never seen before." He smiled back, pulling me up to him. He pulled me into a hug. "Cry?! I can't believe it! I thought I'd never see you again!" He kissed the top of my head. "What happened, how are you up here?!" I laughed and pushed him away. "I would say the same thing Deryk, but I know how you got up here." He looked at the floor. "Yeah…I still can't believe they sent me up here in stead of keeping me down there…" he trailed off. "Well, back to your question - I tried to run, of course some other SOLDIERS decided to help, and it worked, but after about 2 hours, I collapsed, was found by Reno and Cissnei, now here I am! But…Deryk…I thought you were dead!" He frowned a little. "I thought you were dead."

I looked him over for a second. He was wearing the usual SOLDIER uniform, and he hadn't changed too much from when I last saw him, considering it was 2 years ago.

"Hey…I forgot, how old are you again?"

"19" he said happily. "You?"

"17" I replied.

He thought for a second. "Hey, do you wanna…go get dinner later? I could come get you at 6:00?"

I frowned. I really want to go, but If I'm not back by the time Reno's asleep, I'll be locked out…plus, It's supposed to snow tonight…

"Yeah, I'll come! Oh and I'm staying at Reno's apartment, kay? You know where that is?"

"Yeah, I know where he lives. Wow that sounded creepy…well, okay, see you at six!"

I sat on the couch in Reno's apartment. It was 5:00, and I am not a very patient person.

Reno walked up to me, now standing behind me, hands on the back of the couch.

"So, you going out with that SOLDIER guy tonight, yo? You two got something going on?" he said shiftily. I smacked him in the face. "Shut up Reno, I just knew him 2 years ago…"

I lyed on a small metal ledge in one of the main rooms of Deepground, staring up at the ceiling. It was one of those few times I had nothing to do. I heard one of the metal doors open then clank closed, and a pair of heavy boots running over to me. The oncoming SOLDIER operative knelt down next to my head, his eyes level with mine when I turned my head to face his. "Deryk? Why, may I ask, are you so excited? Did the bread mold already?!" He frowned.

"What orange?"

My eyes widened. "You heard nothing. Now, why are you excited?"

He grinned widely. "They're sending me above ground, to join the other SOLDIERs!"

I gasped. "They are?! This is amazing!" I sat up , making room for him to sit beside me.

"But- there is one problem."

"What is it?"

"I'm probably never going to see you again, Cry. If I go up there…I can't come back." he said sadly.

I looked at the ground. "Don't worry. It's fine with me. I think you should go…" I said quietly.

"Well…if your okay with it…"

Alright! Whoot! Finally done…it took two days to do the edits! Actually, I edited the edits…so yeah…Hope you enjoy