Attaining the Prize

"What the hell do you mean, 'You've lost him'?"

"He picked some man's pocket and it turned out to be Cloud."

"Cloud? Cloud… Strife?"

"How many people named Cloud do you know?"

"Enough with the bullshit, Marcus. How in the hell did Cloud get out of prison?"

"Apparently, he was released."

"How long ago?"

"Why would I know that?"

"Fuck… For your sake, you'd better get him back now, Marcus!" Ten-ji yelled into the PHS before furiously hanging it up. Then he threw it against the wall where it shattered and fell to the floor, "I don't fucking believe this! You tell that little shit to do one fucking thing….! 'Keep an eye on him, Marcus,' I said. 'Make sure nothing happens.' 'How hard can that be?' He says."

Suddenly pacing due to the onslaught of uncontrollable adrenaline running through his system, the stalky-built Wutian brushed a black lock with a silvery band running through it behind his ear in irritation after it fell forward. Then he added angrily while tensing nearly every muscle in his body, "I told that Fucker not to let him out of his sight!"

"Trouble with Renault?" Darius smoothly asked, as he walked over to his Boss' cabinet to pour the man a glass of sake in hopes of calming him down.

"Trouble with Renault…" the Wutian muttered back, while he sat roughly in his chair as if he was suddenly exhausted, "Hm… More than likely, it's trouble with fucking Marcus."

Not about to say 'I told you so', the dark Mideelan man simply nodded and handed Ten-ji the drink he poured for him.

Then with nothing more than a grunt as a thank you, the Wutian sat there in thought for a moment before leaning forward and meeting the eyes of his friend and curiously asking, "Did you know Cloud was out of prison?"

"No," Darius replied as he proceeded to seat himself comfortably in the chair across from his boss, "When did that happen?"

"Fucked if I know," came Ten-ji's snide reply as he started tapping his ring on his glass, and then in an attempt to make sense out of everything, he verbally worked his thoughts out, "It must have been during one of Rufus' notorious disappearing acts."

"That doesn't make sense," Darius thoughtfully replied, "Rufus views Cloud as his greatest nemesis."

"Mm," Ten-ji agreed, "Maybe he really has lost his mind."

With a slight chuckle, Darius situated himself more comfortably before voicing his own opinion, "Or maybe it was Tseng… He's another one we keep losing track of."

"That would certainly make more sense," the Wutian mused, and then he looked his friend over and asked, "You just got back from the Villa, right?"

"Yes."

"How's the girl?"

"Frightened," he casually answered, since it was really no surprise, and then he brushed a small piece of lint from his suit-jacket. Then, with a bit of concern he turned his dark brown eyes over to his Boss, "Do you think we should raise the security at the Villa?"

"What for?"

"Well…" he mused as he relaxed a little more, "What if Renault returns to the Villa."

"All the more reason for us to stay here at the office then," the Wutian snidely joked, and then he shook his head before taking a drink and elaborating his thoughts on the matter, "Besides, I don't think he'd go back to the Villa."

"Why not?"

"For one, he knows nothing of the girl, and even if he did, I doubt he'd know who she was, or that he'd even remember her parents. For two, if his memory starts to come back to him, the last place he'll probably want to go is to the Villa."

"Unless he decides to finish what he started all those years ago," Darius reminded him, "If he remembers, he'll know where they all are now."

"Hm."

With a slight distortion to his face over the thought of the gruesome massacres Renault was responsible for before he was taken in by the Turks several years ago, Ten-ji tapped his ring on his glass again while looking out the window of his Kalm-located office and let out an almost bored-sounding sigh.

"From what I understand, his memories aren't likely to hit him like that."

Then he turned his attention back over to Darius and added with a sarcastic tone, "And if Marcus knows what's good for him, he'll turn on that fucking tracking system and get Renault back and under control before anything that out-of-hand happens."

It was the last ship leaving Wutai for the evening, and its destination was for the Grasslands near the Midgar area. That was fine though. Even though it wasn't his destination, it at least got him on the right continent and only two hours from where he wanted to go.

Then from there, he could take Cloud's bike, which he brought on board with him, to get to the location he was aiming for. It was a three hour trip at best across the ocean, and even though that was something he wasn't particularly fond of, there wasn't much he could do about it.

After all, it was the only attainable way off of Wutai within the time-frame he felt he had, and he decided he could always bide his time in ways that would help him keep his mind off the lengthy duration of the trip. So with a tune stuck in his head that he just couldn't resist whistling out as he walked the deck of the large ship, he couldn't help but set his curious attention on a beautiful and young blonde with baby-blue eyes that had her fine hair pinned up with a very attractive clip.

Hm, he thought to himself, as he almost walked by and found himself irresistibly drawn to it. As a result, he wound up finding himself standing beside her and pointing out what a lovely evening it was in a very educated way.

Catching her attention, she leaned back slightly and looked the man over, taking note of the apparently expensive black suit he was neatly adorned in and the long crimson hair that was tied back with something that looked like a string.

She might have been impressed if it wasn't for the scars on his face that set off a slight warning that he might not have been within the class he was presenting himself in. But his grammar was impeccable, despite the strong rasp that his voice carried and it left her somewhat confused and curious about the story behind him.

And as the minutes passed, she found herself wrapped up in an intelligent conversation with the man and finding herself almost enchanted by him from the puzzling inconsistencies in his appearance. Maybe he was a victim of some sort, she thought, in an attempt to make sense out of the scars and the voice, and she was nearly ready to take him up on whatever offer she might find herself presented with.

But what he said next, kind of took her off guard.

"That's a really pretty hairclip you're wearing," he commented, and she couldn't help but note that he seemed more interested in the clip than in her.

"Pardon me?" she asked, wondering if she'd heard him right. But then again, maybe it was his way of complimenting her, and she blushingly moved her hand back to draw attention to it while commenting that it was an old family heirloom.

Liar…

"Would you be interested in selling it?" he asked, as he straightened up and met her eyes as if he was serious.

"What?"

A little taken back, she found herself speechless and suddenly not sure where things were going all the sudden.

"I'd like to buy it," he answered, and then he pulled out his wallet and confessed, "To be honest, it's the only appealing thing I noticed about you."

Suddenly insulted and not knowing how to respond, the only thing she was able to get out was, "Are you serious?"

"Yes," he assuredly answered, as if he hadn't said anything unusual, and then he pulled out one-thousand Gil and showed it to her while saying with a tilt to his head to pretty-much show that he knew she was full of shit, "Since you say it's an heirloom, I assume this will make up for the loss."

"Where do you think he's going?" Cloud asked, as he and Vincent entered the private shipping lanes to see if they could find alternate transport since the next ship leaving Wutai wouldn't be for another seven hours.

"I'm not sure," he answered, as he attentively looked around while keeping his appearance hidden as much as he could, "That last ship was going to the Grasslands." With that being said, Vincent figured it would be the best place to start.

"The Grasslands…" Cloud mused, as he followed cautiously behind and worried about what Reno was planning, "You don't think he's going back to Shinra, do you?"

"No," Vincent assuredly answered, rewarding himself with a suspicious glance from the ex-Soldier.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because he told you Shinra was responsible for the state he was in now."

Figuring the information he managed to gather from Cloud on their way to the shipping lanes would have been a good enough reason for Reno to avoid Shinra, Vincent decided that it simply seemed logical.

"Hm," Cloud mumbled, wondering if there was something the ex-Turk wasn't telling him. "That newspaper clipping…" he started, as they continued to search for a transport operating at the late hours, "The one he took… What was it?"

"You didn't read the paper?"

"I don't read Wutian."

"Then why did you buy it?"

"It was in my room when I got there." With a shrug, Cloud stopped behind Vincent when the man finally found someone that appeared to still be open.

Strange, Vincent thought to himself. The picture pretty much spoke for itself, and then he realized, "You didn't look at it?"

"I didn't see a point."

Sinking his face farther into his mantle, Vincent said, "Junon," to the operator and then handed him some Gil.

He doesn't know.

Then to elaborate in hopes that maybe Cloud could help him with his other concern in regards to finding Tseng's daughter, he decided it wouldn't hurt to tell him, "It was a picture of Tseng's daughter, along with Tseng and Elena."

"You think he recognised them?"

"I'm not sure." Then he let his hair fall farther in front of his face as they boarded the small ferry before he elaborated further, "She'd gone missing a couple of days ago."

"Their daughter?" Cloud asked, with a sudden concern that he was unable to hide. He may not have cared much for Shinra or the Turks, but a child was still a child.

"Yes."

"So, you think he might be going after her," Cloud pointed out as he put the pieces together, but still not quite understanding why that would be.

I have no idea what he's going after, Vincent thought. But he decided to keep his musings to himself. Listening always bared better results than talking as far as he was concerned.

"Why do I get the feeling there's something you're not telling me?"

Probably because you're right.

Keeping silent again, Vincent walked over to the farthest and darkest end of the deck to rest against the railing as the ferry started to move, leaving Cloud to watch him with a slight scepticism.

Pulling his tie loose in annoyance and then wrapping it around his wrist and tucking the ends to keep it neat, Reno stood on the docks of his destination, reading the signs in search for items and direction.

He wasn't the least bit concerned about the odd looks he was getting when he started to unbutton his shirt and pull it out of his pants. He figured most people had seen stranger things than a man purposely dishevelling his suit and fastening a prettily adorned clip into his hair while standing next to an obviously oversized and overpowered bike.

Sweet ride though, he thought, and started chuckling to himself while gaining the rewards of even more sideways glances than he'd already received.

Then, with the return of that annoying tune in his head again, he decided he'd start whistling it out in order to expel it from his mind while commencing to push the bike forward. But then he stopped when he noticed a beautiful young woman wearing a very lovely pearl necklace, and he simply couldn't resist.

The clasp on it was amazing.

What the hell? Cloud thought to himself, as he listened to the stories Vincent was collecting from the people on the docks of the fairly new town located near the shores. It all started when they overheard one of the guard's mentioning something about finding a half-naked man in the men's washroom back in Wutai; someone had apparently attacked him and stolen his clothes, a black suit, and then left the man with nothing but a ratty brown cloak to wear.

But that wasn't the strangest story they'd heard as they continued with their search. Apparently, some man paid one thousand Gil to a woman for a cheap hair-clip, and then a man wearing a hairclip bought a pearl necklace off of another woman for triple what he paid for the hairclip. Then he offered the expensive pearl necklace, minus the clasp, to a little girl for her cheap, instant camera.

"Do you think he's doing this on purpose?" Cloud thought out loud, "To leave a trail?"

"I don't know," Vincent answered honestly, because even for Reno, Ren, Renault… or whoever the hell he'd managed to turn into, this was by far the strangest thing he'd ever done.

Well, with a little more research, the two men discovered that a red-haired man wearing a woman's hairclip purchased an outrageous number of fishhooks and a rather unnecessary amount of fishing line in different diameters shortly after he started asking people what the fastest path to Kalm was.

"I told him he didn't need that much line," the man at the shop said, "Fishin's always been good in this area. But then he said he was goin to Kalm… and I thought 'Who the hell fishes in Kalm?'"

Curious.

"But who am I to argue with someone who's offering me double what I'm askin for, eh?"

Kalm, Vincent thought, not really paying too much attention to the shop-keeper's rambling as he felt a deepening sense of urgency, Something tells me he isn't going fishing.

With a careful look over to Cloud who'd turned his attention to one of the displays on the wall, Vincent decided that he really needed to think of something to lose the man as fast as he could. After everything he'd learned from him in regards to who let him out, the clause involved, and the fact that Kalm wasn't really all that far from Midgar, things could become rather complicated quite quickly.

So, with a quick thought and an uncanny movement that was too swift for anyone to notice, Vincent slipped a tagged item into Cloud's pack in hopes that it would set off the alarms when he tried to leave. Then just as unnaturally, he disappeared before anyone even noticed he'd gone.

Forgive me, Cloud.

But it was too dangerous and too much was at risk to let him come along.

"Vince," Tseng said as quietly as he could after being startled awake by the low ring of his PHS sitting on the nightstand by the bed. Then he took a quick glance around as his eyes adjusted and he hit the light on his watch to check the time.

"Tseng."

"What's going on?"

"He's going to Kalm."

Almost feeling like his heart stopped for a moment, Tseng's voice caught in his throat and he reached over for a shirt to loosely throw on as he quickly got up and left the room. Leviathan… he thought, as he crept over to the balcony and quietly opened it to find himself some better privacy.

"Tseng?"

"I'm still here," he quietly assured, and then he took a deep breath and leaned against the stone wall by the rail before barely whispering, "Rufus never let Cloud out."

Following Tseng's sudden lack of composure as he confided his findings was a hesitant, "I know."

"Leviathan… Why weren't we informed that he escaped?"

"Because he didn't," was the reply Tseng was hoping he wouldn't hear.

"I don't understand." Not really meaning it, he was at least hoping he could convince himself that he did, and then he rubbed at his upper lip to wipe away the imaginary sweat.

"You're not going to like what I'm going to tell you."

"Say it anyway."

After a short break of silence, Vincent wound up telling Tseng everything the ex-Soldier told him in regards to his release, "He was convinced it was Rufus."

"You didn't tell him otherwise, did you?"

"I felt it was best not to."

"Good call," Tseng muttered, and then he asked for some sign of futile assurance while knowing he wasn't going to get it. "Tell me this isn't happening," he basically pleaded, while smoothing the loose strands of his hair back that got caught in the breeze, "Tell me this has nothing to do wi –"

"I think you should tell Rufus. If it's what we both suspect…"

"I can't tell him just yet," Tseng confessed, and slid down the wall to sit on the hard concrete, "It would devastate him." Then he added, "Especially if it's what we suspect." And as far as Tseng knew, Rufus was already devastated enough as it was.

"I'm sorry," Vincent apologised, "If I'd known, I wouldn't have –"

"It wasn't your fault," Tseng muttered, not really wanting to hear the rest of the sentence and staring at the balcony door in fear of what ghosts might have been listening. Then he pulled himself together as best as he could and asked Vincent to let him know the moment he located Reno's exact location again.

In the mean time, he had to figure out exactly what he was going to tell Rufus, and how.

And then he thought, maybe it wasn't really that bad of an idea to bring Reno back home. Maybe he could help them from the inside.

Then… Maybe… Rufus' spirits would be high enough for Tseng to feel confident enough to tell him something he'd kept hidden from him all of the younger President's life.

"Did you hear that?" asked one of the men to the other as they sat lazily on the terrace outside. They were assigned to keep an eye on the grounds outside of Ten-ji's Villa, located on the outskirts of Kalm. Neither of them ever really knew why though.

Nothing exciting ever happened due to the place being well-secured and kept secret, and as a result, they often sat outside, drinking, and not taking their assignments very seriously. There was ten of them altogether, and although they felt there was never any substance to their Boss' paranoia, they still continued with their rounds in a manner to remain compliant to their paycheques.

"Sounds like Murry had one too many," the other man jokingly commented, before lighting his cigarette and stretching out his legs.

"Ya think I should go check on him?"

"What the fuck for? He's a grown man."

Only partially agreeing with the sandy-haired man at his side, the younger male couldn't help but feel that the sound he heard didn't quite sound right, and he wound up sitting forward with a nervous anticipation.

"Would ya fuckin relax?" said the older man as he playfully kicked the kid in the calf, and then he chuckled at the boy's inexperience and confided that, "Ain't nuthin ever happens around here."

"I dunno…" the kid said, while shaking his head. Then he looked at his partner's lack of concern and decided the man probably knew best. So in a weird sense of trust, he figured he'd follow his lead. But just as he was about to brush the sound off and sit back, he heard another similar noise in a different direction.

"I think we should check on that," he quietly muttered as he sat up again, "That doesn't sound normal."

Chuckling lightly, the man took another drink and mumbled out, "Normal…" with a slight mockery, "Ain't nothing normal about this place, Kid… Thought ya knew that."

"Hm."

With a shake to his head, he couldn't really disagree. But if one of the guys were out there getting sick, it probably wouldn't hurt to go and check on him just to make sure he was okay. "Well, if you're not gonna come with me, I'll go check on it myself," he said, and got up to start making his way in the general direction of the sound.

"Have fun," the older man tauntingly said as he watched the kid make his way into the woods surrounding the property, and then for kicks, he decided to add with a laugh as the younger male disappeared out of his sight, "You might want to arm yourself, eh?"

"Could say the same ta you," came a quiet and raspy voice from the dark corner of the terrace, just as the kid screamed from the woods at the massacre he was suddenly presented with. Then chuckling as the man jumped from his seat and knocked over his beer, the redhead decided to step forward to reveal himself with a long winding of fishing line draped over his shoulder.

"Fuck!" the man stammered and took a step back before he nervously laughed, "Renault… When the fuck did you get back?"

With a slow shake to his head as he advanced with creeping and unnatural movements, the redhead stepped forward while fastening a hook to the end of one of the lines and chillingly said, "I'd prefer it if ya called me Ren." Then he added as his eyes met the other man's while paying no mind to the gun threateningly pointing at him, "Ya know… When I said ya looked familiar… before?"

"Yea…" the man carefully answered, and then he ran his eyes over the crazed looking maniac slowly advancing towards him as he cautiously took a step back, "Why is Ray screaming?"

"The kid?" Ren asked, with his brow raised in thought, and then he chuckled with a toothy grin while looking maliciously to the side, "My guess would be 'cuz 'e can't 'andle dead people smilin at 'im."

Then he held up two hooks at his cheeks and gave a big smile to the man in semblance of the hooks pulling his grin into play, "Maybe 'e don't think it's as funny as I do."

After that, he chuckled again and ran his fingers along one of the finer lines that was almost invisible while musing like he was really giving it some serious thought, "An maybe 'e got nervous from it'n got caught up in somethin."

"What the fffuck are you on?"

"Nut'n…"

Then like the flip of a coin, the redhead's look turned direly serious before he lunged with an unnatural speed and without warning, and the last thing the other man heard him say was, "Ya sick. Perverted. ASSHOLE!"

After another couple of hours passed, Vincent made another call to Tseng as he cautiously walked over the lines spread throughout the woods and witnessed an exasperating aftermath of what looked too disturbing to be real. To add to the unholy mess, photos were taken of each victim with a disconcerting smile, and they were stuck to all of the surveillance cameras in the area, even though none of them were working.

"It looks like Ren hasn't forgotten the past," he informed as he walked towards a strange whimpering sound near the open grounds. Then he stopped for a moment and curiously noted the strange contraption that looked like it was made up of a hairclip and a clasp lodged into some wires dug out from the ground.

Creative way to short out the surveillance, Vincent mused, and figured it was best that he kept that observation to himself.

"Leviathan. I thought they were all killed," Tseng muttered, with an almost deadened tone.

"Rude arrested Reno before he ever got to finish… remember?"

"That's right. Where are you?"

"Outside some villa on the outskirts of Kalm," Vincent answered, before he knelt down to help out a kid that appeared no more than seventeen from of an entanglement of fishing line, "I think it might be best to take Reno home… Leaving him like this could have more repercussions than it's worth."

"I agree… Is he still there?"

"Yes," Vincent answered and cautiously looked over at the villa through the trees, "It shouldn't take you more than half an hour to get here by chopper." Then he turned on an emitter he kept fastened to the inside of his gauntlet before telling Tseng to, "Follow my signal."

Chuckling softly, the redhead simply stood in the hall of the basement with the last two men at his feet and leaning against a door among many. He felt sick, and he didn't really know what he found so funny, but he couldn't seem to stop himself.

During the whole time, he knew what he was doing, and he was well aware of what he'd done. But he couldn't seem to stop himself from doing it. It was almost like someone else had taken control of him.

"Gaia," he breathily muttered, and placed his hands over his face while slumping to the floor, "What the fuck've I done?"

Ten-ji was sure to kill him for whatever madness had taken over him.

Maybe he really did need to be taking those pills, he thought, suddenly more confused than he was about who was telling him the truth and who was lying to him.

Then with a strange assurance and a nod, he decided he was going to go up the stairs and grab a spare bottle of his medication from his room in hopes that Marcus hadn't gotten his hands on that one too. After that, he could simply flee.

Although he wasn't exactly sure about where he was going to flee to or what his plan was going to be, because he honestly couldn't seem to come up with anything that made him feel secure.

But he stopped the moment he heard a strange and whimpering noise on the other side of the door he was crouching across from. And out of curiosity, he looked around cautiously before getting up slowly to test the door only to find that it was locked.

Suddenly suspicious and concerned, he found himself pressing the palms of his hands to the door lightly as he leaned closer to make sure he wasn't imagining anything.

"Hey…" he shakily said, but loud enough for whoever was on the other side to hear, "Someone in there?"

"I wanna go home," came a soft and frightened voice on the other side. It sounded no older than a child's, "Please? I want my mommy."

Fuck…

That's a fuckin kid.

"H-hang on," he consoled, and took a wary look around the hall while rubbing his hands nervously on his pants. Maybe the men on the floor had a key. After all, they were down there, simply sitting outside the door before he…

Don't think about that right now.

Maybe they were guarding the room, he wondered in another attempt to shake off what he'd just done. Then he took a deep breath and figured he'd have to suck it up and look for the key while telling himself he had to.

"Well?" Rufus asked, as he stood in the doorway of his room, taking Tseng slightly off guard, "I'm assuming you have something to tell me, given the secrecy of that call."

"Rufus," Tseng muttered, and looked at his watch to note that it was four-hundred hours in the morning and still dark as night outside, "He's gone after the men that kidnapped him and Aldrich."

"I thought they were all dead."

"No," Tseng informed, and then he let out a heavy sigh while smoothing his hair back and putting his phone in his pant's pocket, "Rude and I managed to take all the ones down that had Reno, but the men that had Aldrich all got away… They were in another building we had no knowledge of."

"That was all in the report," Rufus commented with a slight suspicion. In all honesty, he was finding it a little difficult to trust Tseng at that moment. "But from what I recall from later reports, Reno had managed to find the men and…" With a tired shake to his head, Rufus cocked his brow in memory of how, when, and why he found that information, and then he brushed his hair out of his eyes while trying to find a pleasant way to finish his sentence, "Take care of the situation."

"Your father kept him too busy after he recruited him to ever let him finish," Tseng informed, and then he started to walk towards the kitchen to see if his coffee had finished brewing while Rufus followed and grabbed a cup of his own. "And then in time, he started drinking heavily, and it appeared as though he simply forgot," Tseng added with a shaky sigh.

"I see."

"I'll wake up the others," Tseng informed, after taking his first sip and straightening out his clothes, "I think you may have been right about the need to bring Reno back."

"I'm going with you."

After reluctantly digging around in the pockets for a key and talking to the girl in an attempt to try and keep her calm, as well as himself, he found himself standing with the key in front of the door and shaking nervously.

Ten-ji's gonna fuckin kill me.

But his fears didn't stop him from opening the door and stepping in to quickly close it behind him in an attempt to hide the horror that he didn't want her seeing.

"What's yer name?" he meekly asked, while keeping his eyes on the floor and adjusting his shirt to try and hide the blood-stains behind the black jacket of his suit.

"Allysia," the little girl answered with a strangely widening smile on her face as her eyes lit up when she studied the man's appearance. Then she walked up to him as if she suddenly felt safe and looked up with deep-brown and admiring eyes, "I know who you are."

"Ya do?" Reno sheepishly asked, before he knelt down to meet the girl's height while still avoiding her eyes.

Nodding while biting on her bottom lip, she smiled at him again and assuredly told him, "Your name is Reno… My mommy talks about you all the time…"

"She does?" Somewhat curious, the man dug into his pocket for a toothpick while trying to be mindful of the fact that he was in the presence of a little girl.

"Mm-hm…" she answered with a nod, and then she started to elaborate as if there were so many things she wanted to talk to him about, "She shows me pictures of you and says that you're cute… Then Daddy gets mad and Mommy laughs at him."

"Really?"

"Yeah… But she said she only slept with you once, and that it was a long time ago. And Daddy shouldn't get so upset because you turned out to be a big jerk."

Then she took another trusting step forward and looked curiously at his scars while he practically cringed over what she was so innocently telling him.

"I don't know why Daddy gets mad though," she confided, while tilting her head, "I sleep with Mommy sometimes too. But that's usually when I have bad dreams… Is that why you slept with my mommy? Do you have bad dreams?"

Great… I slept with this kid's mom…

While still keeping his eyes nervously away from her, he suddenly wondered what the hell he was getting himself into while she continued to openly talk to him before he answered her quietly. "Yeah," And then he dug into the pocket of his pants to pull out the newspaper clipping he suddenly remembered and looked at it curiously.

Allysia Kiukan… Daughter of two notable Turks, Tseng and Elena Kiukan… Was abducted from the Shinra Tower from the bedroom of her own home in the late hours… Shinra is asking anyone who may have information…

Shinra?

With a confused focus on the word, Reno finally looked at the little girl in an attempt to compare her to the clipping while she continued to smile at him.

Turks?

Fuck.

"Why are ya here?" he finally asked as he placed the clipping back in his pocket and wondered if maybe he should leave, lock the door back up, and bolt for his fucking life.

"Bad men took me," she answered with a convincing nod and wide eyes.

"Bad men?" Reno repeated, and then with a sudden and strange concern over the child, he found himself looking her over for any marks, "Did they hurt ya?"

"No. But I know they're bad. Mommy told me people who take kids are bad."

Smiling slightly at the innocence of her comments and the seriousness of her tone, he looked around at the comfortably decorated room and wondered why they put so much effort into it. Then he mumbled in admittance, "They generally are."

Nodding in agreement, Allysia grabbed onto Reno's hand and asked with a concern that she must have learned from her mother, "How come you look so sad?"

"Because I think I'm in trouble," the redhead admitted, and returned the oddly comforting hold on her small hand.

"My daddy said that if anyone ever knew how to get out of trouble it was you," the little girl said with a soft voice in an attempt to comfort the man that looked like he was afraid, "He said that you were so good at getting into it that you got really good at getting out of it."

"Yer daddy told ya that, huh?" he asked with his brow raised and a sheepish smile. Despite the fact that she was the daughter of two Turks, he couldn't help but like the kid a little.

Nodding while biting on her lip again, she placed her other tiny hand above his and repeated the words of her father once more, "He said it was like you had a horseshoe up your ass."

"Huh-uh…" he choked out with is brow raised and suddenly scratching at the back of his neck, "I don't think ya should be usin that kind'a language," Reno admitted a little bashfully.

"It's okay, my daddy says it all the time."

"An yer daddy lets ya say it?"

"No. But he shouldn't say it if he doesn't want me to."

"I bet yer a real handful," he thought aloud, and then he turned his head slightly to listen for any sounds in the hall to add to the ones he thought he just heard, "Hey…"

"Mm-hm?"

"I can't leave ya here."

Despite the fact that part of him was telling him to do just that, he found he was unable to actually go through with such an act. Regardless of whose kid she was and who'd taken her, the bottom line was that she was still a kid. And something just wasn't right about holding her for whatever reason she was being held for.

Then he turned his attention back to the little girl and looked her over in an attempt to try and convince himself that he was doing the right thing. "I want ya ta do somethin fer me," he said, and started to remove his jacket to wrap around her, revealing the blood-stained shirt underneath, "Ya trust me?"

Only nodding as an answer while staring at the shirt, the little girl looked into the man's eyes and asked, "Are you hurt?"

"Don't worry about me."

"But if you're hurt, you should see a doctor."

"Look," he said, in hopes to try and keep her attention away from being concerned for him, "I'm gonna carry ya outta here, an I want ya ta keep yer hands over yer ears an yer eyes closed tight." Then he leaned forward and attempted to pick the compliant little girl up without threatening or scaring her, "Keep yer head buried in my chest… all right?"

"Are you taking me home?"

"I can't," he confessed. About the best he figured he could do was take her to one of the trustworthy Inns in town and get them to call her parents for her.

"Why not?"

"Cuz ya live at Shinra."

"But that's where you live too."

Hm?

"Don't worry. I've got men going in as we speak."

"You stupid fuck, Marcus! How in the hell did this happen?"

"I don't know. Perhaps Cloud had something to do with it."

"Fuck… I want Renault alive, Marcus," the Wutian warned over the PHS.

"And how would you suggest I do that?" he coldly asked while standing atop the small hill, a fair enough distance from the Villa, "Surely you'll be able to tell by the pictures plastered all over your surveillance cameras once you've got the system back up and working that he's gone fucking insane."

"He's always been insane, you idiot!" Ten-ji yelled, and then he added, "Fucking stun him, or sedate him… or something! I'll deal with him personally when you bring him back un-harmed."

"Why? So he can turn on you again?" Marcus mockingly asked as he heard the distant sound of something that sounded like a motorbike approaching.

"Enough with your fucking insubordinate bullshit," the Wutian warned, before he angrily added, "For all I know, you're the one who's behind this fucking mess."

"Honestly," Marcus replied flat-out, "Why would I want to do something this extreme when I'm well-aware of what you'd do to me over it?"

"Because you're just as nuts as Aldrich was," Ten-ji answered with a slight chill, before he enlightened the blonde with the fact that he wasn't as ignorant as he pretended to be, "And I know that you would do anything to seek out revenge over your sickly infatuation with that man."

With his knuckles going white over the confrontation, Marcus simply replied with a tight throat, "I'll fix this." Then he motioned for the other men he was with to follow his lead by backing into the woods to keep out of sight from whatever it was that was approaching.

"You'd better fucking fix this!" the Wutian threatened, right before the line went dead.

Then with darkening eyes and his finger pressed to the disconnect, Marcus watched as the bike approached closer and came to a sudden halt when a Shinra helicopter came out of nowhere and headed straight for the villa.

"Fuck," he muttered.

But he suddenly smiled when he recognised the man dismantling a bike that didn't look like it belonged to him and throwing his over-sized sword angrily to the ground and muttering out the exact same word.

Suddenly unable to hold back a sickly snicker, Marcus hit the number on the PHS to contact the Wutian's men entering the Villa to give them their orders.

However, it wasn't exactly the order that he was supposed to give.

"Shinra is on their way… Make sure Renault doesn't get out of that Villa alive."

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Renault," came the sound of one of Ten-ji's men as he placed his PHS back into its case while aiming his gun at the cornered redhead. They must have just arrived and there were several of them blocking the entrance Reno was headed for.

If only he'd decided to leave sooner instead of wasting all that time listening to the girl, he could have probably made it out. But unfortunately, all he met at the door was a large number of guns pointing straight at him.

With a nervous chuckle, he took a step back and protectively placed his hand over the little girls head and muttered, "Keep yer eyes closed an yer ears covered… Kay?"

Nodding into his chest, the little girl did exactly as she was told and adjusted herself more securely into his arms.

"Heh… somethin goin on?" he stupidly asked, as he tested the waters and took another step back, "Ya know… Maybe I can help ya's all out…"

"Very funny, Renault," the man at the forefront replied with an unimpressed sneer, "Put the girl down."

"Can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Be – cuz… yer… stupid?"

"Really."

With a lack of fascination towards Reno's more-than-elaborate explanation, the man motioned his free hand to inform the men behind him to advance on the redhead that was slowly making his way into the large room at the end of the hall, "It's going to be a real shame to have to shoot you while you're still holding that kid, Renault."

"Sounds like a good 'nuff reason not ta do it then," he playfully said, before he rested his cheek against the top of the little girl's head and quietly muttered to her, "Whatever happens… even if I fall down… Promise me ya won't open yer eyes… Can ya promise me that?"

"Yes," the little girl murmured, as frightened tears started to fill her eyes and Reno stepped into the large opening of the room behind him.

"Don't cry, Baby," he soothed, and stepped farther back as the men advanced, "They won't hurt ya."

With an assured nod, he was more than certain he was telling her the truth and wrapped his arms more securely around her in the knowledge that he knew the same didn't apply to him. Then he added with a slight choke to his words, "Be strong for yer mommy and daddy… 'Kay?"

"Don't make this any harder on yourself, Renault… Put the girl down."

"I can't," was his sad admittance, right before his whole body froze from the unexpected shock of the loud bangs and he dropped to the floor.

"Shit," Cloud muttered when he heard the sudden shots being fired, and then he ran to grab his sword from where he threw it in an attempt to run down there and help out.

It no longer mattered to him that Shinra had approached and landed. He figured he could always deal with the repercussions of his actions later. At that moment, the only thing that mattered to him was that Reno was in trouble and that he could probably use his help.

But just as he was about to start his approach, something stung him in the back of his shoulder and he found himself uncontrollably dizzy. Then with a quick reaction in hopes he could get whatever it was out before it was fully injected, he reached back and pulled out a dart of some sort with a shaky hand, and stared at it in confusion.

"I believe I told you not to go anywhere near Midgar," came a smooth and suave voice from behind him, causing him to drop the dart and stumble as he turned around to regard whoever it was that was talking to him, "In fact, I believe I told you the penalty was death."

Perhaps the man shouldn't have trusted the shot to work quickly enough for him to approach that closely yet though. Because the moment he was within an acceptable distance, Cloud swung his sword blindly at the man and grazed his throat enough to draw blood, but not enough to cause any serious damage.

"Actually," Cloud slurred, while trying to fight the onslaught of whatever it was he'd been injected with, "You said I'd be killed on sight."

"Indeed."

With an almost satisfied sneer, the man held his hand over his throat and watched the ex-Soldier stumble to the ground as the weight of his sword pulled him down before he dropped it from a weakening hold, "Too bad you didn't listen."

Then with a strange confusion, Cloud noted that the men accompanying the man were not Turks. Then with an even stronger confusion over the black and careless attire of the man, he tried to clear his vision enough to ensure that he was seeing things right, before he muttered out, "Rufus?"

Then he fell unconsciously to the ground.

He knelt there, on the floor, with his body protectively around the child and his eyes shut as tightly as her own. It seemed like he'd been there for hours, wondering whether he was dead or not as he listened to the crossfire he'd found himself in the middle of.

Why was he still alive?

"Oh, Gaia…" came a woman's urgent voice while he heard someone else mutter in a negative tone, "So the fag really is alive." Then he heard a dire voice with a slight Wutian accent say in a disciplinary tone, "Jared," While someone else with a deeper and commanding voice yelled out, "Get up!"

"I can't."

He was still frozen, and from the looks of things, so was the little girl in his arms. He'd basically thrown himself over her to keep her safe and remained in a state of shock from the uncertainty of his predicament.

That was, until someone came over to him and literally tore the child unwillingly from his arms while she shouted out, "Daddy!" and he started muttering, "nonononono," with his arms wrapped around his gut as if he was in some kind of pain.

Then with an unpredictable movement, he found himself suddenly with his gun in his hand and aiming it face to face with the first person he came in contact with.

"YOU CAN'T TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME!" he frantically shouted with a growling undertone as he stared furiously into the ocean of icy blue before him, completely aware of the barrel that was pressed to his forehead in warning.

"It's okay Reno," came the Wutian-accented voice again, knowing full-well that the man was still in a state of shock as he handed Allysia over to his desperate wife, he added, "She's safe."

Fuck!

"You!"

Pulling back the safety on his gun, he ran his eyes over the familiar blonde in front of him that was challengingly staring back as he mirrored the man's action and pulled the safety back on his own.

"You set me up!" he yelled at the man he was sure he knew, and realized he'd definitely feel no remorse for pulling the trigger.

"Drop. The damn. Guns!" commanded the deep baritone voice, as Reno pressed the barrel of his own farther, with a testing reflex, into the unflinching man's face.

"What the fuck is goin on?" he shakily demanded, like a cornered animal as he continued to stare into that relentless and taunting blue. Then he realized from what he gathered in his peripheral vision that he was in the presence of Turks, "You can't possibly be with them!"

But there was no answer. And there was no expression. All that existed was simply challenge and a hunger in the blonde's eyes that practically dared him to pull the trigger.

"We're here to help you, Reno," the Wutian calmly said in an attempt to try and get the man to calm down, "No one's going to hurt you."

"Bullshit!" he retorted, and nudged his gun farther into the blonde's forehead as the action was coldly mirrored by the silent man in front of him, "He does nothin but FUCK with my head!"

"Drop the guns!" the man with the shades commanded again, and he readied his own in hopes that he wouldn't have to use it on either of them. From the looks of things, they were both somewhat unpredictable and disturbing… almost like old times.

"Fuck it," the redhead muttered, as he started to pull back on the trigger. He was screwed. He was sure of it.

At least you'll go out with me.

But the bullet never got the chance to move.

Because something was blown into his face from someone he didn't see coming…

And about the only thing he ever got the chance to see before he nearly hit the ground was an unexpected swirl of red.

"Now…" Rufus calmly said as he pulled the redhead he managed to catch more securely into his arms, "I want the grounds searched for Cloud."

After that, he placed his gun back in his holster and lifted his long-awaited prize into his arms so he could carry him out.

Then with a cool and assured tone that no one had heard Rufus speak in for years, he simply added, "And I want that man put back in jail, Tseng."

Revised: August 24, 2010