A/N: I got flames! It wasn't from this story, one for Memories and Regrets though :'(
Oh well... I kinda tried to move this story along a little bit, because I thought it was going a little slow. So this chapter is pretty vital. I've put in a few details that have already been said earlier in the story, just to remind you all of what's happened, but if you have a bad memory (like me) it might pay you to re-read some of the earlier chapters. But yeah, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and please review!
Chapter 9
The next few days created a dilemma for Elena. The fact that Reno's mood changed so much in such a short period of time made it difficult for her to bring up any previous situation. Both she and Rihanna had agreed not to bring up the encounter with Yuffie again, and the fact that the redheaded man's mood seemed fairly stable for a few days was a good sign.
What amazed her though was the speed of the young man's recovery. Considering it was a shot wound, and several months of wear and tear, she would have expected it to be much more difficult to move around. For a brief time, a few days after their run-in with Yuffie, it was almost like having Reno back again for good. Elena tried to trick her mind into thinking things were back to normal, but she was struggling to enjoy it. She knew he would just drop like a stone again, and Phoenix would strengthen. More than once, Elena had thought about what might be going on in the redheaded man's head, and which way his mental battle with Phoenix was swaying.
On this particular good day, Elena had taken the opportunity to catch up on some paperwork in her office. She had dragged Reno along with her, since he was allowed out of the infirmary; she wanted to keep an eye on him. It was like the old times, with the old office and the old paperwork. Reno was always sitting opposite her with that smug grin on his face 90 per cent of the time, annoying the hell out of her. She had shouted before, and despite all they had been through, it seemed things were never going to change.
"Please, 'Laney?" the redhead moved his head down so he was looking up at Elena through puppy-dog eyes. "Please, please, please?"
"No, Reno. Please be quiet while I finish this." Elena frowned at Reno then looked back down to her work. She felt a little bad for getting mad at him while she had been so worried only a few days earlier, but that was how it went. That was also the way Reno wanted it to go.
"But, 'Laney-"
"Reno, for the last time, I am not giving you money for you to go and buy things you're not even allowed." Elena sighed and put her pen down, deciding she wasn't going to get much work done right now.
"It's not like it's illegal-"
"Beer, Reno! Beer?" Elena replied exasperatedly. "You want me to buy you beer? You're supposed to be in the infirmary."
"Okay… no beer then." Reno pouted slightly. "How 'bout candy?"
Elena smiled slightly and picked up her pen, completely ignoring the redhead. She scribbled across a few pages before he piped up again.
"Candy?" he said in a childish voice. "Candy, candy, candy, can-?"
He stopped talking as soon as Elena looked up and shot him a venomous glare. Reno smirked.
"How about-?"
Before the redhead could finish his sentence, Elena's office door opened and Rihanna entered, looking positive. Reno turned and grinned at his sister, who smiled in return.
"You okay?" She asked him.
"Good as ever… what?" Reno raised an eyebrow and stared at his sister. Elena could see a confused expression on the redheaded girl's face as she looked into her brother's eyes.
"Have… have you been crying?" She asked steadily. Reno stared at her incredulously.
"No…" he said, slightly disgustedly.
"Maybe he's tired…" Elena suggested. Rihanna took one last look at him and nodded, fairly satisfied.
"So, what you up to?" the new-comer asked, sitting on the edge of Elena's desk. The blond cut herself out of the conversation as she took a good look at the siblings. The two of them looked perfectly happy in themselves, but Elena could see why Rihanna had asked Reno if he'd been crying. There was a funny look about his face that told her that there was something wrong. His darker than usual eyes kept flicking back and forth and he looked drained, as though he had been sleep-deprived. Elena had to admit, the situation was obviously taking its toll on Rihanna as well, and probably Elena herself. The redheaded girl looked like she hadn't slept or eaten much in the past few days, but the cheerful expression on her face was always a good sign. It was always easy for Elena to forget how much everything was affecting Rihanna as well, but she was getting better.
"-I'm gonna go now…" Reno stood up suddenly. He didn't look particularly bothered by anything, and Elena hadn't been listening hard enough to hear if there had been some kind of harsh words between the two of them, but it seemed random all the same.
"… You're not supposed to be on your own." Rihanna said unsurely.
"I'll be fine… I just wanna get some air." Reno smiled convincingly and turned to Elena. The latter thought for a second, then nodded her head, even though she knew she would regret it.
"Yeah… he'll be okay, right Rihanna?"
Rihanna smiled. "Yeah, go on. I'll see you later."
"Yeah… later." Reno waved the two other Turks off and left Elena's office rather hastily. There was something about the vagueness of Reno's last line that made the blond Turk slightly reluctantly to let him go.
"Reckon he's okay?" Rihanna asked slowly, staring at the closed office door.
"Not sure." The blonde replied truthfully. "But since we're here, and he's not bugging us, why don't we carry on planning what we're going to do?"
"Yeah, okay." Rihanna got off Elena's desk and took the seat which had been previously occupied by Reno. "… you know… looking at it realistically, we're screwed."
"Why?"
"Well… according to that book we found, Phoenix is an Emerson, not a Rye."
"Yeah, so?"
"So…" Rihanna raised her eyebrows. "The Emerson's are normal vampire's… which means only another vampire could kill him."
"And we don't have a vampire on our side." Elena smiled grimly, a dawn of realization washing over her.
"Right. And do you remember what Reno kept saying before… how he thought he was the only one that could stop Phoenix?" Rihanna shook her head, as though disbelieving her own speech.
"You don't think-?" Elena paused and thought for a moment. There were all sorts of things that proved Reno wasn't a vampire; his eyes were still a pure aqua green for a start. But then the redheaded man must have something on his mind that he wasn't letting on.
"Nah… I don't know what to make of it." Rihanna carried on. "I guess we could look through some more of that book, see if we get any clues."
Completely at a loss as to what they should do, Elena agreed and opened her desk drawer where she had hidden the book. Her heart leapt to her throat however when she realized it was missing.
"It's gone?" she said lightly. Rihanna stared at her, her jaw slack.
"Gone?" Emerald eyes widened. "Where?"
"I don't know…" Elena shook her head. "There's only one person that could've taken it, because it was there this morning…"
"Reno…"
There were a lot of awkward predicaments that both Elena and Rihanna had to deal with every day, but one of the worst, in Elena's opinion, was trying to find a person when you had no idea where they were, or what was running through their head.
Luckily for the two Turks, common sense worked well for them, and luck was obviously on their side, albeit temporarily. They could hear low muttering as they approached Reno's office door, and Elena pushed the door open reluctantly, bracing herself for whatever was to come.
"You came after me then?" Reno smirked lazily as his two fellow Turks entered his office. The man was sitting in a familiar position, with his feet up on his desk, and the missing book in his hand. "That's nice to know."
"What are you doing with that book?" Rihanna demanded.
"You two are too slow. I want to end this, once and for all." Reno sniggered, his spiteful laugh ringing around the office. "The Planet is full of scum. We will drive you out."
"Drive who out?" Elena asked.
"You. Us. Everyone. Who else?" He laughed again.
"You're not making any sense." Rihanna spat. She stepped forward and pushed her hand forward, slapping Reno on the fact forcefully. "Quit… quit toying with us!" On the last word, Rihanna's hand lurched again, but Reno was too fast for her. He grabbed her wrist before her hand made contact with his face, and practically threw it back down. His sister made no attempt to lash out again.
Elena stood speechless. She didn't dare say anything, not while witnessing the sparks flying between the two other Turks. She was tempted to question Rihanna's statement about 'toying', wondering if she was talking to Reno, or to Phoenix.
Reno didn't seem to register being hit, despite his reddening cheek. After a few silent moments, he spoke again, his voice shaking.
"You are weak. My mind has no room for weak people. Take my word for it, you will be driven out."
"Your… mind?" Elena looked at the redhead, who promptly dropped his head in his hands, as though in pain. Could he possibly be talking about Phoenix…?
"Rihanna, Elena…" Reno looked up at the two Turks in turn. "Please… take me to Sector 6."
A/N: Eep, that last bit was hard to write. I was originally gonna leave it at 'you will be driven out' but i figured that would get pretty confusing. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please review! Let me know what you thought, be please don't be too harsh, I've had enough of that :)
