I do not own any of the characters from any of the FFVII games, movie, etc. Though I do love them all. =3=

Chapter 10. Out of the Pan and Into the Fire

Reno woke slowly, all the aches and pains from the day before coming into awareness. He could feel a warm presence behind him, arms wrapped loosely around his waist, but he didn't fight. For one thing he was tired and another was that this was going to happen no matter what he did. Might as well accept it or at least until they were able to leave this place.

So he just lay there, listening to his peaceful breathing. And it wasn't bad or anything like that. It had been years since he'd had a warm body sleeping next to his and he'd forgotten what that could be like.

It was just the oddness of it being his owner that threw him off. All his previous master's had never done this. They had just slept with him than sent him away once they were sated, not caring for whether he was hurt or unsatisfied. Well most had been like that. There had been one who was at least descent, but he was dead now, killed when he'd lost all of his money and couldn't pay off his debt.

He winced when the arms around his waist tightened against a bruise. He could tell Kadaj was awake, mainly by the fact that the arms had tightened even more when he'd winced, but he could also hear that his breathing had changed.

"So you're awake." Kadaj murmured into his ear, pulling himself even closer to his naked body, which he just now noticed. He felt his face heat up, but didn't say anything. "Ready for the next challenge?"

Reno just shrugged. "Do I have a choice even if I weren't?" He asked him, not turning to look at him.

Kadaj sat up, pushing his back into the mattress, looming over him, face close to his own. "Since when do servants ever have a choice?" He asked softly, a sadistic smile creeping over his face. "It's time to get up. Don't want to keep him waiting."

Kadaj crawled off the bed, heading for the screen behind which he changed. Reno just lay there for a few seconds, trying to convince his aching body that it was now time to move.

After awhile, it complied, though grudgingly. Stifling a groan, he headed towards his bag, not caring if Kadaj watched him. He just pulled on the first presentable clothing he could find. Running his hand through his hair, he tied it back in a loose tail.

Kadaj walked back out, looking of course at his finest. He looked him over before nodding. "You'll do." He strode out of the room, not even looking to see if Reno followed.

They were in the same room as last time, but one thing was different. The Pharaoh was there before them, sitting perched on his throne still as a statue. Reno watched him discreetly as they waited for the last brother to arrive: Yazoo.

As he stepped through the door, the Pharaoh seemed to come alive, moving after so long being still. He motioned for them to gather. "So it appears that Yazoo has won the first challenge, since his body guard was the first through. Followed by Kadaj's, mine, than Loz's. Now it is time to pick the next challenge." He motioned for two people behind him.

They stepped forward, each with a box in their hands. "You will pick your challenges from the boxes. The body guards will pick from the left, and my brothers will pick from the right. The two coins you will draw will tell you what you will have to do. Yazoo."

Yazoo stepped forward with his body guard behind him. They drew a coin from their boxes and stepped back. They held them up. Yazoo's was blue with a design carved into it. His body guards was plain bronze, but had the carving of a sword on it.

"So you have picked out water and the sword. His challenge will be a duel in the Nile against our master sword fighter. Beware of crocodiles." He warned with a cruel smile as they bowed and left to go prepare. "Kadaj."

They both walked forward, Reno going to the left box and Kadaj to the right. Reaching in, he grabbed the first piece of metal that touched his finger tips. Pulling it out, he looked down, examining it. It was painted bright red, the subtle carving of flames engraved into it.

He held it up for the Pharaoh to see. "Hmm, fire…" He looked at the one Kadaj held. "and the fist. Looks like he will be in the steam room for hand to hand combat." Kadaj just nodded and dragged Reno from the room. They needed to prepare for his fight and didn't have time to stick around to see what the other two drew.

Two hours later, they stood in front of a solid wooden door. Kadaj had explained the mechanics of this room. It was like a giant sauna. But instead of the hot coals being in the center of the room, they were everywhere along the floor. Huge metal grates covering the red hot coals. One miss step or one wrong fall and he'd land on sizzling hot metal.

The Pharaoh stood off to the left of them waiting for the last person to arrive. They heard footsteps coming down the corridor and turned to see the last arrivals appear around the corner. Two men, both dressed in the uniform of the Pharaoh's army.

"Ah, General Rufus, Colonel Tseng, glad you could join us." The general was a hard looking man, short cut blond hair hard blue eyes and an air about him that demanded respect. The other, the commander was just as hard looking, long black hair held back in a tail, hard dark eyes, a small dot tattooed onto his forehead between his eyes. They both saluted him, hand over their heart and bowed slightly to him. "Come, meet the man you will be fighting."

Was he supposed to fight both of them? But only one stepped away. The Colonel stepped forward, striping off the heavy ornaments of his command. He stopped in front of Reno, chest bare and only a pants and shoes on. Reno likewise, looked back at him, studying the way he moved. Hand to hand combat wasn't his best skill, but it was good enough to last. But for how long, he wasn't sure.

"You may go in. When the room starts to fill with steam, you will begin." They both nodded and bowed to him. Servant ran forward and opened the door, letting them in in a rush of heat, bringing sweat to their bodies instantly.

The door closed behind them with an ominous thud. Sending them into near darkness, only the burning coals giving off any light that gave the room a slight red hue. He examined the floor. The grates were in rows, six of them, about five feet between each row, with a central column going up the center. Each grate was about a foot in width, and ten feet in length. He'd have to keep an eye on where he stepped, his shoes would stand up to the heat for long.

Stepping away from the man next to him, he walked towards the other end of the room, putting some distance between them. Standing there waiting, he could feel the sweat sliding down his skin. That had been the one thing Kadaj had warned him about. The heat could kill him alone. It would suck every ounce of moister from him if he wasn't careful.

He readied himself as he heard the hiss of water hitting the coals. He could last about thirty minutes in here, if he didn't hit or step on any grates. He only had to last for fifteen minutes to get thru this challenge.

He watched him steadily as steam rose around them, making them sweat even more. His hair was clinging to his back, face and arms. Slowly, he took a step forward, taking himself closer to him, but moving to the right, circling him. He copied, moving the opposite of him. They continued this for about a minute until they were only a few feet from each other.

Finally, he struck out, arm snapping forward to be easily blocked. The brunette was moving after that, a blur of motion that he tried to desperately defend himself against.

He was able to block most of his attacks, but because he only defended, he was unable to land any blows of his own. He just kept moving, dodging, waiting until he could get a chance.

He was sweating even harder now, the fluid dripping into his eyes. He ignored it, waiting for his opening. There. He struck out, catching him in the stomach than jumped back out of reach. He jumped to far, because the heel of shoe landed on a grate, the heat burning the leather. He jumped again, saving his flesh in time.

Gasping for air, they continued to circle each other, wary of the grates. He was about to make another move, but he heard a noise behind him and turned. The door was being opened, letting in some air and light. He squinted, trying to make out who it was that was standing there.

They motioned and he stepped forward, jumping over grates on his way to the exit. The other man, close behind. Once out of the room, it was closed to them. The Pharaoh was gone, but Kadaj, the General, and a few servants waited for them.

Servants came forward, towels and cups of water in hand. Drinking down the liquid, he whipped his face on the clothe. He glance over when he felt a tap on his shoulder. The man just bowed to him and walked off towards the General who stood there waiting. He watched him, a slight limp in his step and wondered when he'd stepped on a grating.

The General ignored them all, pulling the mans arm over his shoulders as he helped him away. Reno smiled at the image. The look of worry on the General's face, though masked showed that he cared for the Colonel a lot.

Kadaj stepped into his view. "Come." He turned and walked off, Reno trying to keep up. They reached his room a few minutes later. Inside, a bath waited, and an old woman with a basket waiting for them.

"I am here to treat him for any injuries." She said softly. Kadaj nodded to her.

"He's all yours." He turned and went across to the other side of the room to sit at his desk as he began to work on something. Reno just sighed, but didn't fight her as she stripped him of the rest of his clothes. The bath was lukewarm which helped cool his heated and burned flesh. Once clean she sat him on the bed, still nude, and got to work rubbing odd smelling lotions onto his worst burns.

Once done, she wrapped them in loose bandages. Wrapping a blanket around his frame, she handed him a plate of food. "Eat." She told him. He obeyed, shoveling it down as fast as he could. Once done, he sighed as sleep started to drag at him. "Sleep. You'll feel better in the morning." He just lay down and slept. He didn't even hear her talking to Kadaj or the door closing as she left.

Poor Reno, nothing's easy on him. The last challenge will be a bit of a dozy, even though I don't even know what it is yet. This was fun writing though. And Rufus and Tseng were in it. YAYS!!!!!! The next chapter will be up when I get around to it.

Until Next Time

~Reiya

Reno: HOT!!!

Kadaj: Oh, don't be such a baby.

Reno: Alright, you go in there than.

Me: Enough you two. Stop fighting.

Reno: But he started it.

Me: And I'm finishing it. Well that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed this new chapter. [Smiles and waves to all readers.]