A/N: Mwahahaha, I updated despite the multiple papers and midterms! That's why I did nothing over my spring break...I lost all motivation to do anything. But now, the chapter is typed and ready to be read. Some minor swearing, a little messed up violence...nothing too dramatic. Just offers a little more insight into the developing partnership of Rude and Reno. So, without further ado, enjoy.

I don't own FF7

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The question was, did he really want to know more about Rufus? From what he could tell so far, hanging around Reno and Rufus could be potentially detrimental to one's health. But then, he was a Turk and sacrifices must be made.

"But ya know, I wasn't expectin' that last part."

Reno gently rubbed a finger over the bandage covering his eye and chuckled softly.

"At least I'm positive I know who's been causin' all these problems, yo…Aw crap!"

He looked at his watch and then bolted out of the apartment and towards the elevators. Pulling out his PHS, he hit some buttons and frowned as Rude did his best to keep up with what was happening.

"I got an appointment, yo! C'mon, I'll explain on the way."

They stepped into the elevator and the redhead pushed a button for a few floors down. When it began to move, he took a deep breath and leaned against the wall.

"Anyways, ya know that guy I chased after?"

Rude nodded his head.

"He was the one who also had a hand in that little massacre, yo. I'm wonderin' if he was the one who messed with your guys' first mission."

Not really sure how his partner came to that conclusion or any other conclusion for that matter. However, to have been involved with the last few missions would mean that the person was fairly high up.

"Who would know the Turks' workings?"

"A Turk, yo."

Before he could say anything, the little bell dinged and the doors slid open. They stepped off and Rude found himself in a reception room reminiscent of a physician's office. The walls were white and the whole floor smelled sterile.

"Wasn't one for too long but long enough to be a pain in the ass, yo...The doc in?'

He did not even pause as he asked the receptionist. She nodded her head without looking up from her computer work.

The hallways were just as white as every other part of the floor and the tile was squeaky clean. Reno paused in front of a door and knocked.

"You're only fifty minutes late."

An average sized woman with green eyes and a frown glowered at the redhead over the rims of her glasses. Rude found her oddly intimidating.

"At least I showed up, yo."

"Yes, quite the miracle. Room 1."

She slammed the door in their faces after pointing down the hallway.

"Dr. Annette Blackwell. Great doctor, really scary lady sometimes, yo."

"Check up?"

"Yeah, ya might not know it, but I do got a second eye...Do ya know how annoying it is to only have half your vision?"

They slipped into the empty room and waited. Reno took a seat on the examiner's table while Rude remained standing in the corner.

"Back to the ex-Turk. The commander and Tseng are lookin' into it, especially after this morning. There's lotsa people who don't like Shinra and it's never good when ya got an insider givin' out info."

The large Turk nodded. He turned his head when the door opened and closed.

"Apparently you have a legitimate excuse."

Doctor Blackwell was curt not only in speech but in action too. Whenever she moved or placed something down, her movements were short and wasted no extra movement. It took no time for her to finished the initial check-up including checking Reno's reflexes with more force than was probably necessary.

"Right. How do you feel?"

Reno rubbed his somewhat tender joints as rolled his eyes.

"Good, yo."

"Your answer sucks."

With deceptive speed, the doctor reached out and poked Reno under the eye forcefully.

"Ow!"

"So it still hurts."

The redhead rubbed the spot gingerly.

"'Course it does, ya poked me, yo!"

"If only we could fix your volume and speech."

Rude cleared his throat in an attempt to keep down a chuckle. The redhead getting owned by a fairly old lady was amusing.

"Alright, let's see."

She rolled across the floor on her chair and pulled out a pair of small scissors. Rolling back over to Reno, Blackwell carefully snipped away at the badages around his head.

"Hmm, at least they're symmetrical."

Thin lines formed two pale, crescent scars around the sides of his eyes.

"See, told ya I had another eye, yo."

Rude just nodded his head. For some reason, seeing the redhead with both his eyes made him look all more mischievous and looking for trouble. Both eyes were the same odd bright blue.

"Can you see?"

"Yup...Gya! Warn me before ya shine that light, yo!"

The doctor flashed the light in his other eye and jotted down some notes.

"Good. Proper response to light. You, turn off the lights."

The bald Turk was surprised at her request and fact that she was talking to him. He decided that the quicker he obeyed her commands the better as he flipped off the switch.

"Alright let's see...Great, everything still works, I can see everything just fine."

Rude wondered how anybody could see clearly in the dark room with no windows and the door shut. As he scanned the room, he stopped when he locked eyes with Reno.

"Pretty freaky-cool, huh?"

Reno's eyes had a faint glow much like a cat's does in the dark. So he had not imagined it at their first mission. His partner's eyes did glow.

"The mako in your system sped up the healing process. You're an unusually lucky bastard. Lights."

Rude obliged and turned on the lights. Doctor Blackwell turned back to her clipboard.

"How's your leg working?"

She reached over and began poking and moving Reno's leg.

"Pretty good, yo. Doesn't hurt anymore. Back's still good from last time, yo."

"Take off your shirt."

"Aren't ya a bit old for me?"

The doctor smacked him upside the head as she studied her clipboard once again. Reno chuckled as he slipped off his jacket and quickly undid the few buttons on his shirt.

"Turn around...Good, it doesn't look like it will leave too damaging a scar. Not that it matters...Alright now. Leave."

Blackwell snorted as she shook her head, stood up and headed for the door.

"Anythin' ya say, gorgeous!"

Reno snickered as she curtly walked away and flipped the redhead off over her shoulder as she left.

"She loves me, yo."

"I see that."

Stretching and yawning, Reno rubbed at the scar on his back. It was at an angle and started from the middle of his back and ended at the side of his waist.

"Ya know, it still feels weird when I do that. It's like it's gonna tear or somethin'. Not very painful, just kind of freaky. Yeah, courtesy of said ex-Turk."

He slipped his shirt back on and then his jacket. Jumping off the table he walked out of the room.

"But Doc's right. I am lucky bastard...or he just sucks...I'm guessin' it's a combination of the two, yo."

At this point, the redhead was mumbling to himself about something that Rude could not really catch and the parts that he did made no sense. He took the time to study his partner out of the corner of his eye.

In the light, there was no sign of any mako at all. His eyes were just blue, an odd shade of blue, but normal compared to SOLDIER whose eyes had an eerie glow and color all the time.

That then made him wonder about where Reno got the mako from. As far as he was aware of, Reno was taken straight from the streets having not even participated in the training school. Mako was something that was only given to those in SOLDIER or for some other special case. He decided that the redhead could not have been in SOLDIER before becoming a Turk since he would have been far too young.

"Ya there?"

Rude realized that his partner was knocking on his head.

"Welcome back, yo. Where'd ya go?"

"Sorry...The mako?"

He figured it could not hurt to ask. There did not seem to be much that the redhead would not talk about.

"What about it? Oh, ya mean me? Well, yeah, I got some mako in my system...eh..."

Reno scratched his head while he attempted to figure out what he should say.

"Why?"

The larger Turk helped him out. He may not talk much, but he could still lead a conversation.

"Oh. I wasn't ever in SOLDIER. I guess it was like a test, experiment, whim or somethin', yo. I'm actually not sure why I got Mako treatments. Well, it helps out osmetimes. I don't need as much equipment."

He got an answer but he did not get an explanation. Then again, it seemed as though Reno did not really know either.

"I think...they're tryin' to decide if they should do it for all Turks, yo. Since we're different from SOLDIER, we don't need or want as much mako. Ya know how some of those SOLDIER guys are kinda off the deep end? Mako can mess with your head apparently and they don't want Turks goin' crazy, yo. Crazy Turks wind up like Rusty."

Rude recalled the energetic gunslinger and his craze that led him to take his own life away. Then he looked at his partner and softly sighed.

Now there was a different kind of crazy. While Reno was not "off the deep end" per se, he certainly was not what a psychiatrist would call average. Something funny went on in his partner's head and Rude had no idea what most of the time.

"Hehe, I'm told I was a screwball before the mako, yo."

The redhead laughed. The larger Turk wondered if mako allowed people to read minds or something. How Reno always seemed to know what Rude was thinking was beyond him. As irked as he was about being read so easily, he could not help but be somewhat impressed with his partner's insight.

"I've got it, yo!'

Rude slightly twitched at the sudden outburst and volume change. He cocked an eyebrow at his partner.

"It's obvious, yo...Yeah, I'll go tomorrow or somethin'."

Reno brightened up considerable for a reason unknown to Rude. He got the feeling that Reno was not always talking to him or another human being for that matter.

"Fix what?"

"Fix your problem, yo."

The redhead looked up at him like he asked the dumbest question in the world. Rude just decided to leave it alone. As far as he was concerned, he was not the one with a problem needing to be fixed. However, keeping true to his skill, he remained silent.

"Glad you agree, yo...Huh, what's up with those two?"

Throughout their previous conversation, the two Turks gradually made their way to towards their floor. They had just stepped off the elevator and noticed the twins in a heated conversation.

"I can't believe you Todd! What are you getting all worked up about?!"

"You saw what they did. Do you want to keep that up? For them?!"

"It's my job, Todd, just like it's yours."

"This will not work!"

Victoria and Todd's voices were in harsh, whisper-like yelling tones, like they were trying not to disturb anybody else. It was not his business but apparently Reno decided it was his.

"Man, what's got ya guys so uptight?"

The twins whipped their heads around at Reno in surprise. Todd just seemed to glower at the redhead while Victoria marched up to him.

"May I speak with you privately sir?"

"Uh, sure, yo."

Reno cast Rude a questioning glance before leading her down the hallway. Todd continued to glare daggers at the redhead's back.

Now, Rude was left alone with the other Turk. The silence between them was tense and awkward. As far as what to do next, he was clueless. Social situations were not his forte.

"Would you kill like that again?"

He was caught off guard by the sudden question. Todd appeared more relaxed as he waited expectantly for an answer.

"Like what?"

Rude knew what he was talking about, but he asked in hope that Todd was asking about something else.

"Killing people who have done nothing wrong."

Just as he thought. Rude unwillingly remembered the young secretary, her pleas, and her ending anger and resentment. He lightly shook his head. It would haunt him forever, but he would still move forward. They did not pick the Turks because they wanted to be heroes.

"This job...innocents will always die..."

"So...you're like them...Don't you care that people, who have done nothing, are being killed? How many people have died innocent but were charged accusingly?"

"Our job is not to care. It's to do our job."

Todd's expression passed through various emotions until his head drooped and his hair hid his eyes.

"I see...I see now...See you around, Rude."

"Odd..."

Rude was suddenly suspicious of people's new behavior. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw a blur of red race past him and tackle Todd down the hallway.

"You said..."

He looked over at Victoria who slowly stepped next to Rude and watched as Reno dragged Todd somewhere else.

"I just told him that Todd started acting weird after he met this guy. I got a glimpse of him and before I finished, Reno bolted off."

They stood silently, staring down the hallway where Reno and Todd disappeared. After several minutes of silence, Reno and Todd stumbled out of a room. Victoria raised an eyebrow.

"What were you two doing?"

"Nothing."

They gruffly answered simultaneously as they walked away from each other. Victoria shot Rude a questioning glance before running after her brother. Reno walked up to Rude dusting off his jacket.

"Sheesh. He's got a good stranglehold, yo."

"Wrestling?"

"Ya do what ya gotta do to get the info, yo."

Rude sincerely hoped his job would not often require him to randomly tackle co-workers into submission. For some reason, beyond his comprehension, that method did not suit his fancy.

"C'mon, we really gotta talk to the commander."

Reno sighed before walking over to the offices. As they approached, Tseng was exiting Commander Veld's office.

"If you're looking for the commander, he's at a meeting."

"That's fine, you'll do, yo."

"Thank you. I am glad I meet your standards."

Tseng guided them to his office and then sat down behind his desk. Rude carefully shut the door and stood next to his partner.

"Now, what is it, gentlemen?"

"I spoke to Todd and found he was approached by the same guy who attacked Rufus and most likely the guy who's been a general pain in the ass."

Tseng neatly folded his hands, closed his eyes, and sighed.

"I see...But do we have any idea where we could find him?"

"The thugs that tried to kidnap the president's son."

Rude recalled that pathetic gang of wanabes. Nobodies like them would never attempt something like kidnapping Rufus Shinra unless there was a bigger person behind them.

"Right, he showed up there, yo. There were some still alive, right?"

The field commander quickly pulled out a file and thumbed through it.

"Yes. There's still one who hasn't been interrogated yet. Go see what you can find."

"Sir!"

Rude and Reno saluted and filed out of the office. However, before shutting the door behind him, Reno looked over his shoulder.

"Any rules?"

"Try not to kill and do try to keep the mess to a minimum."

"Got it, yo."

Reno practically hop-skipped down the hallway followed closely by Rude. The silent Turk debated whether or not he should be concerned at the redhead's sudden enthusiasm at torturing somebody.

"Try not to kill?"

"'Kay, totally not my fault, yo. I was interrogatin' this one guy and threatened him some way or another."

Reno paused when he got to the apartment.

"Hold on a sec."

The redhead ran inside and Rude could hear things being moved around without much care. Then he came back out again carrying a book and rope. He shrugged the rope onto his shoulder and walked towards the elevators.

"Part of the questionin' process, yo...Anyways," They stepped inside and Reno pressed the button for a floor four levels below. "This guy was totally panicking, yo. Now, I was under orders not to really harm him, but a little bluffin' goes a long way."

The doors slid opened and Rude was led down a beige colored hallway.

"So I get ready to do whatever it was I threatened to do and did it, 'cept I never actually hit him. Still, the guy, like, dropped dead literally. He just collapsed. Dead."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Somebody said he actually died from relief, yo. How screwed up is that? Let's hope this guy does better."

At the end of the hallway, it split into two branching hallways. Sitting at the cross-section was a guard reclining at a large desk.

"Room 4."

"Thanks, yo."

Reno took the right branch and stopped at the second door. With his hand on the handle, the redhead turned to face Rude.

"Not that I really need to tell ya, but, keep your cool, and be an overall heartless sonuvabitch, yo."

"Your explanations are so wonderful."

"I know. Maybe I should take up public speakin'?"

He chuckled as he opened the door and strode in confidently. Rude shook his head as he followed his partner in.

"Afternoon, sunshine! 'Sup?"

Reno cheerfully waved and set down his book and rope. He sat on the solitary table in the center and smirked at the man scowling at him.

Rude stood stoicly by the door and studied the captive. He was sitting feely in a chair.

"Alright. You've seen the movies, ya know the drill, yo. Answer my questions and I won't have to exhibit my creativity."

The man before him scoffed at the redhead.

"How am I supposed to take a little kid seriously?"

Reno continued to smirk at him. With practiced skill and speed, the redhead had a switchblade out and brought it down.

"That's how, yo."

Rude noted the man's reaction with some kind of morbid interest. The redhead moved faster than the captive could react and it took a sickening few moments before the man's eyes slowly went wide as his mind registered what happened.

The blade had pierced the top of his hand and went straight through the palm. It looked like he was trying to scream but had lost his voice. Reno continued to stare at him and grin sadistically.

"How's that? Takin' me seriously yet?"

In a poor attempt to hide his pain and fear, the man shook his head vigorously.

"Too bad. Guess I'll have to practice expressin' my creativity."

Reno wiggled the blade loose from the man's hand and flicked off the blood so it splattered on his captive's face.

"Unfortunately, I ain't that creative. However, i got this book I've been wantin' to try out, yo."

Rude raised an eyebrow as the redhead grabbed the book and began flipping through the pages. Every once and a while would pause on a page, stare that the captive thoughtfully, shake his head, and move on.

"Okay, this sounds good, yo! Let's see...First, be sure to tie everything down tightly."

He walked over and pulled out the length of rope he grabbed earlier. The redhead motioned for Rude to hold the book.

"Hold that while I tie him down, yo"

Rude grabbed the book and studied the page. He was pretty sure there were no books that were dummy guides to torture. As he scanned the pages he was at first surprised and then amused. He certainly had a clever yet twisted partner.

"'Kay. What's next?"

He took the book from Rude and read some more of the writing.

"Make sure blade is sharp."

Reno examined his blade and then stared questioningly at the captive.

"Was the blade sharp?"

The captive gulped as Reno casually flipped his blade up and down.

"N-no."

He feigned surprise at the response and studied the blade.

"That's too bad, yo..."

There was a visible sigh of relief from the captive.

"Guess I'll just have to tear through with more jagged cuts, yo. It's not gonna look as pretty."

Rude snorted at the sudden expression of fear. Reno took his blade and tore through the man's shirt. After that task was completed, he positioned the tip of the blade at the top of the man's collar bone.

"Keep blade at about a forty-five degree angle and apply as much pressure until blade touches bone."

The man screamed as Reno dug the knife down and smiled knowingly.

"I see why ya have to tie 'em down, yo."

The captive was squirming as much as he could while fastened to the chair. Rude walked over and tapped his partner on the shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"What are you going to do about this much heat?"

Reno pouted as he thought about it. Rude chuckled to himself when the strugling ceased and the man was frozen still from fear.

"Aw man...I really wanted to do this one, yo. There isn't any other way around it?"

He whined like a child as he stared pleadingly up at the larger Turk.

"I have master level fire materia...or Ifrit...Both would work."

"Ooh, let's use Ifrit, yo! Not only would it get the job done, but it'll look really cool too!"

"I DON'T KNOW HIS NAME, BUT HE WORKED FOR SHINRA! HE PROMISED US A CHANCE TO GET BACK AT SHINRA IF WE KIDNAPPED THE KID!"

Reno plugged an ear as the man literally screamed out a rapid stream of information into his ear. The redhead scooted away. When there was a break in the man's screaming, Reno asked more questions.

"Why would ya want to get back at ShinRa?"

"HE'S DESTROYING THE PLANET AND WE WANT IT TO STOP IT BUT SHINRA WOULDN'T LISTEN!"

"Okay then..." Reno spoke in a deliberately quiet voice, most likely to encourage the other to speak quieter. "Why does this former ShinRa employee out to get ShinRa? He's obviously smarter than all of you, yo."

"HE WANTS TO SEE THE COMPANY END 'CAUSE THEY'RE EVIL KILLERS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT! HE SAID THE COMPANY NEEDS TO END FOR SOME IDEAL-"

Reno smacked the man upside the head forcefully. The man's face smashed into the table causing him to quiet down to a whimper.

"Alright...Good, yo. So you don't know his name, but you've seen him, right? And if ya value any part of your body, you'll answer quietly,yo."

Another pathetic whimper and the man continued.

"He's tall and kinda scrawny, but he's a lot stronger than he looks..uh...dark, long hair..and uh, looks like a nice guy and all...likes dark clothes, like black and stuff...And...uh, that's all..."

"Ya don't say...So, we've got a bunch of tree-huggers growin' violent and bein' led by an ex-ShinRa worker who's bitter at the company's methods and wants us all dead?"

The man nodded his head vigorously. Reno stood up from where he was sitting on the table and began circling the man menacingly.

"Now who's your leader? Surely a group of idiots like you have a smarter leader? And it's this leader that dealt with the former employee..."

Rude wondered what was causing the captive more fear; what was being done to him, or Reno. In all honesty, the bald Turk noticed a definite shift in personality.

The redhead's eyes appeared brighter than before and no longer was there any type of expression. It was completely blank causing one to be drawn to those eerie eyes.

"Want to give me a name?"

"I don't know-"

A loud thud echoed in the room as Reno viciously kicked the man's chair over and firmly planted his foot against his throat.

"Wrong answer bitch. If ya don't want to breath through a tube the rest of your life, answer the question!"

Rude was not sure whether or not he should intervene. He understood that they were required to use any means necessary, but could not kill him. At the moment, Rude wondered if Reno even had that in his mind. A little while ago, he would say the redhead was in control. But with the abrupt mood swing, he was not so sure anymore.

"Nobody except the main branch knows..."

The man was wheezing under the redhead's heel.

"Main branch? What does that mean?"

"Every city has a group...Nobody...in the cities know where the...headquarters are..."

"And headquarters is your leader...Pretty clever, yo."

In another odd mood swing, Reno was calm and almost chirpy. It was a bit of a relief for Rude.

"I take it ya don't know anymore?"

The answer was a gurgle and gasping.

"Alrighty then. I'm done, yo...And I didn't make that much of a mess."

He lifted his foot up and kicked the man so that he was lying on his side.

"Not that much of a mess?! You psycho! You call stabbing me and slicing me open not a mess?!"

Rude was mildly shocked at the sudden burst of energy. Reno just snorted in disgust.

"One, your hand ain't bleedin' that much. Two, I barely gave ya a paper cut, yo. Suck it up ya sissy."

Indeed, the cut along his collar bone did not really even qualify as a cut. Only a small bead of blood slowly oozed out. The man's hand was the worst and even that ceased bleeding.

Reno grabbed his book and set it down so the man could read the page.

"You are sick!"

"And you're an idiot. Bye-bye."

The redhead slammed the door shut as he followed behind Rude. As they walked, Rude looked down at his smaller partner.

"Why do you keep a cookbook?"

"What? I don't always eat out, yo."

A small smirk crept along his face.

"You really are twisted to have done that."

"You're the one who offered to bake him at 425 degrees, yo."

Reno was smirking the whole trip up to Tseng's office. Rude just shook his head as he knocked on the door.

"Enter."

They walked silently into the office space and stood in front of the desk.

"I take it he talked?"

"Screamed more like it, yo."

Tseng finished signing off on a paper before setting down his pen and making eye contact.

"What do we know?"

"A bunch of nature goody-goodies don't like mako bein' taken from the planet so they're on some high-flutin' mission to stop the company. They're like bugs and are in every city, but there's a headquarters somewhere but nobody knows where. The leader of all those tree-huggers talked to the guy that attacked Rufus and that guy is a former employee...What?"

Both Rude and Tseng were staring at him.

"Did you even breathe during that?'

"No."

"Ah, I see."

Tseng cleared his throat and smoothed back his hair as he attempted to hide a chuckle.

"This 'guy' you talk about, who is he?"

Rude decided he should explain.

"He didn't know, sir. But, he did give a description."

"Proceed."

"Tall and scrawny, dark hair-"

"Nernst. It's definitely Nernst."

Rude turned questioningly to his partner who was currently pouting angrily off to the side.

"You're sure?"

Tseng gazed solemnly at the redhead. Reno snorted and crossed his arms.

"Of course I'm sure! It's Nernst and I swear that bastard is gonna die!"

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A/N: So how was it? Not as long as some of the other chapters, but it gets things moving to the next part. Again, more allusions to Before Crisis. As for Dr. Blackwell, her name was taken from a religious woman's right person who ended up being killed. No real reason behind naming the good doctor after her other than that the name suited me at the moment. No, she does not die. And she is loosely based off my own doctor. She's a lot nicer, but still very down to business. As for Nernst, that's a social justice philosopher judge person. And you will find out more about him later. Next up, more thrilling excitement as people are killed. Ha, big surprise there. Well, hope you enjoyed!