Yes, another chapter for you all. I must give apologies for not staying on schedual with this, some chapters come the day after the last, some come a week later. I just write when I'm in the mood. I have doubts about this one, however, it's not that great, in my opinion. I tried, and had to cram in a lot of things at once. I apologise, too much drama in the old social life is bringing me down. Hope you enjoy, anyway.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Square.

I tore through the files like a scavenging animal as I searched in haste. In my current situation, being caught rummaging through old confidential files would not to be my benefit. However, I needed to find what I was looking for. I needed to find this one thing out before it drove me insane. I pulled folders out, flipped through, briefly looked at the picture in each one, then crammed them back into the filing cabinet. As I searched through these files, it dawned on me how many people there were on record in here, and it was only old Turk files.

I swore under my breath when my still-injured chest stung again from the strain and rush I was putting on it. I tried to ignore it, and kept searching. Finding nothing in this drawer, I growled and shut it violently before turning my attention to the drawer below it. Hopefully nobody would come down and notice the abused folders that were uncaringly stuffed back into the cabinet. Halfway through the new drawer, I pulled out one file labelled "Valentine, Vincent" I opened it and flipped to the picture, and my heart jumped and sank in the same two seconds. The red eyes of the dark, caped man looked up at me, looking much more human, and full of pride and seriousness. His hair was considerably shorter, and he donned the same dark blue suit I did. I stared at the file for a full minute.

So, he really was a Turk.

I looked around out of paranoia and closed the file. I knelt down and threw it into my briefcase, wondering if I really should be stealing the documents. When I stood up again, Karma hit me on the head in the form of a metal filing cabinet drawer. I swore loudly and brought my hands to the top of my head. In my momentary fit of pain and dwindling temper, it was fortunate the cabinet did not catch fire. I growled several angry words and made another attempt to stand up, this time careful not to hurt myself again. I threw the drawer shut and picked up my briefcase. Stupid drawer. Stupid everything.

I made my way out of the basement floor of the ShinRa building and had to sneak around as I did, not wanting to raise suspicion. I walked to the elevators and slammed my palm against the lift call button. I then sighed and reached up to my head, where I felt a little but of blood drying in my hair. Great, can't I go a few days without spilling my strange blood?

As I got to the right floor, I immediately walked to my office, which was still empty. I found a tint of amusement in that I had arrived earlier than Rude for once, as I flicked on the lights. Before I could take two steps into the room, a wave of dizziness swept through me. I stopped in my tracks and dropped my briefcase. The room swirled around me, and colours became distorted and bright. I tried to walk foreword again, but I stumbled in my uneasiness and fell to the floor. I tried to push myself up, but my body gave up on me. My muscles felt like mush as I slumped onto my side. Through the blurriness and dark that was coming over my vision, I saw the shoes of a man walking towards me. Slowly, calmly, he stopped as I lay at his feet. I saw a flicker of his long white coat before I slipped out of consciousness.

"Reno!" the voice was distant, it sounded miles away, but it was urgent, pleading. I was motionless and thoughtless for a moment, consciousness melting into me slowly.

"Reno!" the voice was familiar, but masked with a desperate tone. I stirred a little, my eyelids tightening and my lips parting slowly as I sucked in a breath of cold air.

"That's it, buddy. Come back to me!"

I let out a low groan, attempting to open my eyelids. They were so heavy; it was hard to do so. Every inch of me ached, and I felt a dreadful familiarity toward that feeling. The dread formed into a cold pit un my stomach.

"God…" I said softly before forcing my eyelids open. My vision stood in a frustrating blur for a moment before everything melted into place. I saw Rude standing over me, looking pale beyond belief. I blinked up at him several times, both confused and grateful.

"Reno, are you okay?" my friend asked while helping me sit up. I looked around and felt my blood run cold upon seeing our surroundings.

"Oh Lord, please…" I choked, pulling my heavy-feeling arms up and burying my face in my shaking hands. "Tell me I'm dreaming. Please."

Not the lab, anything but back in the lab. I felt my body shuddering violently. I prayed for it to be a sick joke.

"Reno, c'mon, let's get you out of here." Rude said quietly, turning me around on the lab table I had been laying on. My legs dangled over the edge of the table, and I sat there for a moment, frozen in a calm trance. I lowered my hands and looked at Rude, who's hand was on my shoulder. It was then I noticed he was bleeding. Bleeding crimson, the human colour. I shuddered again at seeing it, but had to inquire.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice cracked from suppressed sobs. Rude looked at his cut and bloody hands and forearms silently. He didn't respond, as if it had just dawned on him now that he was injured. "Rude…?"

I saw him gesture silently to behind me. I looked around slowly, careful not to make myself dizzy. I sucked in a quick breath of shock, a small gasp of surprise. I stared at the large glass object, a cylindrical and clear container that reached from ceiling to floor, about six feet in diameter. The front of it was broken, the shards littering the floor, accompanied by droplets of red blood.

"You were out cold inside…" Rude told me, his voice so quiet I could barely hear him. "I think Hojo was planning to keep you here for a long time…"

I started shaking violently again. He had broken my glass prison and saved me. I felt his hand grab my arm gently and guide me off the table. He turned me around so I wasn't looking at my would-be cage.

"Rude, you're bleeding really badly." I said, eyes now locked on one of his injured fists. He was cut and bleeding through his suit sleeve, even. I didn't want him getting hurt for my sake, it wasn't right. "You shouldn't have done that." He dismissed that with a snort and started helping me walk. I silently insisted on walking on my own, but like last time, he had to catch me as I fell.

"Let me help you, Reno."

I sighed and let him help me walk all the way back to the office. We decided that from there we would figure out what we were going to do. At the moment, I just needed to get out of that lab and rest. I sat back in the leather couch that sat in the corner of our office. I was grateful to be sitting, my energy was down to almost nothing. I ended up laying down after a minute, feeling a horrible sense of déjà vu.

"Are you okay?" Rude asked.

"Fine." I lied. I sat up slowly and pointed at my desk. "Can you get me my briefcase? I gotta show you something."

Rude reluctantly left my side for a moment to fetch my case, which he handed to me slowly. I opened it and pulled out the file I had stolen, and let by briefcase slide to the floor. I flipped to the paper with the picture of the man named Vincent, and showed it to Rude. He looked pretty shocked.

"He's in Avalanche!"

I nodded and had to force myself to keep sitting up, despite my exhaustion. "He told me he used to be a Turk." My face and voice then went solemn, to match the feeling within me. "And that Hojo had got to him."

Rude, understandably, looked unsure under his surprise. "But he can't be thirty! And I've never even heard of him."

I checked the date on the file, that was on his profile. I pointed out that he had been recruited a few decades ago. We exchanged curious and unsure looks before Tseng's voice cut into our conversation.

"What is going on?" I quickly stuffed the folder under the couch cushion, thankful that Rude's large figure had been blocking Tseng from seeing this. We both then turned to our leader, and I felt a chill from the look on his face. He looked almost angry as he stepped into the office and towards us. "Rude, why did you- How did- Ugh!" he looked so frustrated he was at a loss for words. He looked my friend with intense, cold eyes. "Why did you bring him here?" Rude was speechless, as was I, but I was first to find faith in my voice.

"You know about this?" I hissed, forcing myself to stand up. I felt rage boiling inside me as I glared at my boss. "You're letting him do this?" I felt that dizzy, hot feeling inside me, and a florescent light above started sparking wildly. Rude quickly sat me sat and tried to calm me. Tseng didn't't look more than a little shocked.

"I am under strict orders not to interfere with Hojo's actions." He said calmly. "And so are you." He growled at Rude. I started to get up again.

"How dare you!" If he was any other man than my boss, I would have immediately set him on fire. Rude sat me down again.

"Rude, take him back." Tseng ordered without even looking at me. "Hojo is not done with his-"

"Say specimen, and you better start running!" I spat my threat angrily, shaking so violently it almost hurt. Tseng still didn't look at me, like he was afraid to.

"Just take him back…"

"Sir!"

We all looked to Elena, who practically ran into the room and over to me. She told me to calm down in a quiet, gentle voice, which actually was quite effective, and sat me back against the couch. She then looked to Tseng.

"I can't believe you, Tseng!" She snapped, taking all three of us men by surprise. "How dare you treat one of your Turks like this? He's your best friend, don't you have any respect for him?"

Rude and I had low-hanging jaws as we watched her for a shocked, silent moment. Elena yelling at Tseng? Since when did this happen? Did I miss that memo? Tseng looked no less taken back by her outburst. His eyes were widened and he was once again at a loss for words for a moment.

"Elena…" he finally managed to say. "It's Rufus' orders-"

"Does it look like I care about what Rufus says?" Elena hissed before turning back to me and sitting beside me on the couch. I could see pained tears in her eyes, and it tore through my heart like it was paper.

"Elena!" Tseng barked after he gained his composure back. "He's going back to the lab, and you two are taking him there. Now."

Elena and Rude looked up at him silently, both looking angrier than I had seem either of them before. There was a silence that followed, which seemed to last forever. The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it in half with a knife. The yelling had worsened the headache I had, and my heart was pumping so fast it felt unnatural. Tseng eventually sighed and crossed his arms, looking defeated.

"Take him home, I will deal with Rufus." He said quietly before turning and walking to the door. "But don't expect this to just blow over." He told us before disappearing into the hallway.

It wasn't long after he left that Elena burst into tears.

Hope you liked it! I tried to add a subtle hint of comic relief in the beginning, but failed. Some characters may seem a little OOC, especially Elena, but in her case, I meant for her to totally freak out on Tseng. Hope you liked it, I promise it'll be better next chapter.

Reviews! You guys are too good to me.

Nando the RPS King: Thank you so much! Yes, sappy seems to be a reacurring theme here, eh? -sigh- I'm trying to cut back on all the mushy stuff in the fics in the future. And one day Reno will get his revenge... hopefully. Thanks again!

Lucifiel: Thanks! I'm glad you think that, sorry if it's getting boring or too emotional or anything. And Yes, shirtless Reno... -drool-

Orphen27: -gasp- I could NEVER forget about Elena! -hugs Elena plushie- And thanks for the sweet review, I'm glad you appreciate my quick update.

Thymine: Wow, thanks! I didn't think the interactions were that good. Now I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But, I promise a bit more action soon, before this story starts to bore people (if it hasn't already) Thanks again!

TruebornChaos: I'm glad you liked it. But I promise less sap later on, Reno is completely Emo after all XD He'll do some ass-kicking soon, I hope. Thanks for the review!

Delusion48: Thank you! I love showing the Turks interacting as really good friends, I think it's cute (even if they are all bad-ass and tough) And you are too kind to me, your review was lovely. Thank you so much.

Cueball: Sorry, I meant to have the interaction with Vincent longer, but for some reason, I couldn't pull it off. However, I promise they will meet again in future chapters! Anyway, wasn't Advent Children awesome? I think Reno and Rude stole the show, they were just so funny. Thanks for the nice review!

DeafLizgon: Yes, Reno and Vincent will meet again, but maybe not for a while, sorry. And Hojo is stupid, I say we kill him! Well, I can... because I have the power! AUTHOR POWER! -evil laugh- ...-cough- sorry... anywhoo, thanks for the review!