I'm baack~ Again. wOOt. Hopefully with some Relena this tiem c:

I hope my chapters aren't too short . I'm no good at writing really lengthy chapters xD Fail.

The full moon illuminated the veil of clouds that guarded it, sending soft rays of light through cracks in the skies' curtain, where it gently dappled the grey city beneath. There was an unmistakable chill in the air tonight, one that kept small children and their families tucked in the warm safety of their blankets. However, Rude and Elena were not small children, and they no longer had a family to protect them. They were dependant on themselves to guard them from the unsafe mysteries of the night. Their only protective blanket was their revolver.

As the two Turks approached the seemingly empty Karaoke Bar, they slipped their guns from their holsters and held them close to their face. The entire street was completely silent, and the only sign of movement came from a few dozen moths swarming around a street lamp. Each Turk took care to take hushed steps as they split into different directions, Elena heading for the back entrance and Rude for the front.

Peering through the darkly tinted windows, Elena could make out the dim glow of a light somewhere inside the building. She continued to step swiftly around the outside of the bark, squinting in the dark as to find an entry point. She could hear no voices from inside to guide her-the mindless chirruping of the crickets droned out all sound but the soft crunch of her boots against the fallen autumn leaves. Sticking close to the wall, she traced her fingers across the brick until she felt an entry point. For several moments all she felt was the coarse texture of the stone. But then her fingers came upon a smooth surface-a door. She felt around for the handle, and when she found it, was relieved to find that it was unlocked. It was the little things like that; she found, which made a mission much more bearable.

She slowly turned the icy-cold knob until the door gave way and opened with a soft creak. The moment it did so, the unpleasant taste of blood entered her mouth, and she realised that she had been anxiously biting her lip for the past minute or so. It seemed to be becoming a regular habit of hers nowadays.

With one last deep breath, Elena willed herself to calm down before entering. As much as she hated to admit it, she was afraid of what was beyond the door. She was a Turk, yes, but she was also a woman, and these people had taken advantage of that fact once before.

I'll just have to give them a taste of my Turk self tonight. Elena decided, trying to sound more confident than she felt.

And with that, she let go of her worries and entered the bar, closing the door sharply behind her. Her momentary pride was forgotten when the pungent smell of stale alcohol and drugs filled her nostrils. Through the darkness, she could see that it was accompanied by food scraps and broken glass littered across the floor. She did her best to survey her dirty surroundings, and ended with a huff. To say it was foul would be an understatement. How anyone could live in such an environment was beyond her. However, criticising the standards of bars was not the reason she had come. She had to find Reno.

Elena began to walk tentatively across the carpeted floor towards a glow in the corner of the room where a staircase to the basement was probable. She could tell the floor was carpet by the squelching sound she heard every time she took a step. Clearly no one in here had heard of the term 'cleaning'.

There was suddenly a difference in the sound of her footsteps, where she had stepped onto a matted tile floor-wet with some sort of fluid.

"Hey!"

Elena instinctively aimed her gun in the direction of the voice. It was a gruff male's, and it was emerging from the glow in the distance.

Suddenly, she felt herself being pushed into a small corridor in complete darkness. Her quiet gasp was muffled by a hand pressed tightly to her mouth. The heavily breathing, warm presence was quite clearly a man. And judging by the way he had her pressed against the wall with his face next to hers, it was-

"Elena," Reno murmured into her ear. He was trying hard not to let his rugged breathing alert the other man of their presence. "It's me."

Elena resisted the urge to whisper back 'well duh', and instead nodded, though it seemed nothing more than her cheek rubbing against his own. She began to bite her lip again when she realised how close Reno was to her. She could feel his heat against her chest. She could have sworn she felt fear, too. Fear or resentment. Whatever it was, she could feel that Reno was hurting inside.

They stayed there in the darkness for at least ten minutes, though after a few less, Reno had pulled away and stood silently beside her. This relieved Elena. It was slightly awkward having your business partner situated against your chest. Though she had to admit, she didn't mind it. She was just glad that they couldn't see each other at that moment, because Reno would have easily noticed the blush that had crept onto her cheeks.

Rude relieved them of the uncomfortable situation by dragging them from the dark corridor and leading them towards the back door. It was as silent and empty as it had been when Elena had first entered, but the suspense had definitely grown. All she wanted to do was throw questions at Reno-there was so much she wanted to ask. Something that had happened in there had changed him. She could tell by the empty expression on his face. Anyone would have considered him merely tired or bored, but after nearly four years of knowing Reno, Elena could see it in those aquamarine eyes of his that he was hurting.

Relief flooded Elena as she stepped outside into the crisp night air. She could breathe properly again. Almost instantly, she turned to look Reno straight in the eye. He looked well and truly exhausted.

"What happened in there?" She demanded, wincing upon hearing her own sharp tone. She hadn't intended to sound so bossy. "Sorry. Reno?"

The redhead averted his gaze. Elena was shocked to see how different he looked. While physically there were no real changes, he seemed emotionally drained, and it showed. He looked so...hollow. And then she realised. He'd gone after Sierra.

"No..." Elena whispered, shaking her head in denial. She couldn't comprehend how anyone could be so cruel. "Reno..."

But he had already begun to walk away.

Reeview~! c: It will make me very happy indeed ^-^Is it too cliché/boring? o: Let me know so that I can try and make it a bit more exciting :DD