Cave
Early the next morning, for Reno was one of those rare early risers despite what people thought of him, he went down to the desk to check on messages in case someone couldn't reach him by his PHS, check for mail though he had low hopes of that one, since nobody bothered mailing him anything, and to carry up some of the complementary breakfast up to Cissnei to surprise her, as she was a heavier sleeper and liked sleeping in more than she did getting up.
Piling a plate high with strawberry pancakes and crepes, a specialty of Junon, he walked back up the stairs to their room when he overheard a television newscast.
"The crash of the banks and the economy last night did not take serious investors by surprise, but those who conduct business on a day to day basis were balked by mysteriously disappearing accounts due to the bank's confiscation of money. We have not heard word on how big business will retaliate on the banks gross misconduct, nor has Shin-Ra Company offered any comment." The reporter was a voice he recognized. A woman from his past and a one time Shin-Ra employee. He went back to the room he heard the newscast in and peeked in. "Wutai has already insisted that the banks return their user's accounts or face consequences. Lord Godo of Wutai has specified, on location in Midgar, that he will tolerate no interference in the recovery of Midgar and the world on the banks' part. Business leaders have suggested that new laws be passed to prevent these types of things from happening again, however-"
That was as much as Reno needed to hear. He rushed back to their room in a run, trying to be considerate of the plate of food he still had, and almost slammed the door behind him. He had a feeling this was a gross abuse from the banks' end, taking advantage of the relief efforts to put the people in a pinch. They couldn't do that! Had Shin-Ra been up to snuff... hell, even if it just had Rufus, the banks wouldn't have...
So that was why they had a fit at him at the spa. This was going to cause a crisis on a huge scale, bigger than just one city... it affected the whole world.
He set the food down on the end table and started to get ready, prepared to do whatever had to be done to fix the problem. Cissnei woke up and stretched when he came in, blinking at him sleepily while he pulled on the last of his uniform. "Are we leaving today?"
"No, just the banks went and did something stupid and I have to go take care of it. Don't worry about it, Ciss. I brought up breakfast for you." He mumbled, shoving his feet into his boots and lacing them up a bit sloppily, but with practiced ease, a million times of having to put them on in a hurry.
She sat up and frowned. "What did they do? Are you going to call Tseng?"
"Closed everyone's accounts and kept the money. Yeah, I'm calling Tseng. He can't do much with his wound, Rude is off somewhere, and Elena isn't experienced enough." Reno mumbled into his coat, sliding it on over his head. "So, babe, you keep the fort warm, eat breakfast. I'll be back in a jiffy."
"Reno..." She reached out and grabbed his arm as he walked by on his way to the bathroom. "You don't have to keep protecting us like that, we're grown up now, we can take care of ourselves. I'll go with you. You'll need help."
A warm hand covered hers, and he sighed. "I was hoping ya wouldn't notice. You guys need your rest."
"So do you," she countered, pulling him down for a kiss. "Let me get dressed, we can eat, and then call Tseng. If it's already done, there's no use in rushing off and getting our heads chopped off. Listen to what Tseng has to say."
"Wasn't he supposed to meet us here anyway?"
"I think so... that's what I remember him saying. Anyway, maybe he knew about it and was busy with it then. Let's get something down first, ok?" Cissnei was speaking the voice of reason, and Reno had to admit. He sat down next to her and rested his head against hers.
"You're right. I guess I'm just used ta running off at the slightest sound of trouble these days. If Tseng doesn't call us himself, I'll be very surprised."
"Of course I'm right! Didn't you know that the girl always has to be right, otherwise she gets cranky?" The smile on her face was mischevious, and she tweaked his cheek. "You got strawberry pancakes? Romantic, aren't we?"
"You're my strawberry pancake." He teased her right back, rubbing her back gently.
She laughed and reached for the plate, stretching long across the bed and nabbing it from the end table. "I'm only a pancake because you laid on me last night."
"Still..." Reno growled, tickling her side and earning a squeak from her. "You're as sweet as one, babe. I already had somethin' to eat, by the way, so I'm gonna go down and watch the news. Out of all the rooms in the place, ours has got to be the only one with a broken TV." Grumbling in general, he got up from the bed and stretched out long, and noticed her blush something awful, watching him. Grinning like a cat, he leaned down and kissed her passionately, causing that blush to turn into a wave of red that went down to her neck.
"A strawberry, huh..." She mumbled, feeling the heat radiating off her skin and blushing more. "I'll hold you to it later."
"I bet you will." Reno smirked, and flopped down on the bed to stretch out lengthily, giving a huge yawn. "Last night should be every night..."
She shot him a glare, kissed his lips gently, and got up to get her clothing from where it was dropped on the floor. She thought she would like a change of clothing, but it was all that was available right then. She would have to make due until they got new things from the Junon Branch. So would Reno, for that matter, and his were a lot worse off. Holes, stains that couldn't come out, even a large tear on the inner lining... he was quite rough on his clothing.
Cissnei decided to do something about that, if they got enough time... and if they couldn't get their new uniforms any time soon. Reno would start looking like a ragged transient if he kept up on the wear.
She went back to the bed and sat there eating her breakfast, watching the lanky turk stretch out and rub at his eyes, feeling along his cheeks for scratches and bruises he'd gotten after tearing through the jungle. She thought he needd to see a doctor, if just for testing for common tropical diseases, but she probably shouldn't worry too much... they had gotten their shots up to date before heading out the last time. Still, she was worried for him, a lot more than she should have as just a friend...
That reminded her. Were they just friends, or was there something more between them now? She wanted to ask, oh, she needed to ask... but... now wasn't the time. Men were odd like that, they had to be given time, left alone until they came to you... and if they wanted you, they would certainly let you know. The trouble with that was, men had odd ways that she didn't always understand.
"Cissnei?"
That snapped her out of her thoughts, just as she finished the last bite of the pancakes. "Yes, Reno?"
"Do you want to go to Costa sometime?" He asked, looking up at the ceiling and making a face at what he found there. "After all of this is over, I mean. If it ever is... just, y'know, when we get a chance. Spend time down there for a week or so."
Mutely, she nodded, reaching for his hand. She remembered the last time she spent time at Costa, and was happy... Zack had been alive then. Her traveling companion. They talked of... well, that wasn't important. He was dead, and she had to come to accept it. She was a turk, she was used to losing people, but when it was someone you cared about deeply for, it was that much worse... and she still missed Zack. There was nobody quite like him.
"Whatcha thinking about?" Reno asked her, squeezing the hand she put in his, almost to remind her that he was still there.
She blinked and smiled. "Oh, nothing really, just remembering things. I haven't been to Costa in a while."
Reno's face fell slightly, just enough for someone, if they had noticed, to tell that her words hit off a red flag in his head. The last time she had been in Costa... well, it didn't take a genius to tell she was thinking of Zack. It started to tick him off, so he got up and let go of her hand, heading for the bathroom again since he hadn't managed to the first time. Cissnei blinked after him in confusion- she hadn't seen his face or did she realize what he'd been thinking about, but she felt bad all of a sudden.
Here was Reno, willing to be with her, sleeping with her, and she was thinking of someone else. A dead someone, yes, but that was in the past... it should be behind her. It should be, but it wasn't. She really wanted someone to talk to about it, someone who would understand and hold her while she cried, for real and finally, but had a feeling Reno wouldn't be a good person to tell...
She couldn't tell anyone else, either. She would look weak... and she was not weak! Not that they would get the idea, they hadn't been there much. Reno had, and he would have understood. If he had been just a friend... I'd be able to tell him anything. Why do I get myself in messes like this? She sighed and laid back against the pillows, feeling her uniform tear a bit from some seam. Oh well... she shook her head and sighed.
When Reno came out, he looked a lot better, and though he had wet spots on his uniform, they looked cleaner as well. He kissed her on the check, then left the room, remembering that he had been going to go down and watch before he got distracted by kissing her. She smiled after him, and curled up on the bed to sleep some more, still in her uniform should anyone call her PHS and need her for anything.
Several hours later, Reno came back, rubbing at his eyes. He had gotten in contact with Tseng, and the news wasn't looking very good. He was stuck in Midgar with Godo, and he said that the two were discussing ways of dealing with the situation. Reno, Rude and Cissnei were free to do what they wanted in Junon, but should be aware of world events and what was going on via the news, to check back with him sometimes and also remain on call, but said they needed a rest regardless. Reno appreciated that Tseng was trying to spare his already tired turks, and he even said that he'd call on Elena before he would the others. That stung on some deep level of Reno's ego, having her go before him, but he wasn't inclined to argue right then. So, he found himself at loose ends, pissed off that his money was gone, and needing to let some tension loose by something. Some sort of activity... the problem was, Junon was big, but it was damned dull. Nobody had much entertainment outside of movies, the bars had their games, but that was pretty much it. Fishing was popular, so was going on boats for short trips up the coast... but anything really and truly entertaining? Nope!
There was one place, though. A bit of culture in a military city... and that was the Theater. It was an old place, the props were worn and costumes frayed, but the cast did their best to entertain the masses. He thought about taking Cissnei to a play, but... there was that issue of money again.
She understood perfectly. "If we could leave, I'd buy tickets for Costa, but Tseng said to stay here, didn't he?"
"I never did like staying here. It's too damned dull." He grumbled, sitting against the wall and folding his arms with a pout, making himself look like a little boy. Cissnei laughed and kissed his cheek.
"Let's just stay here and watch movies, then. We can make our own fun." He did a double take at the look she was giving him, was she really suggesting what he thought she was suggesting?
He was pretty eager to find out, actually... it'd be really fun, he felt. Worth lots of fun... then his PHS rang, and he groaned, for he was just about to give her a kiss. She sighed and shrugged, leaning against him with a sigh. Pulling out the PHS, he flipped it open and allowed irritating to creep into his voice. "Reno here. Better be good." She snickered at him, pulling up against his side.
"Reno?" That voice... that was one he hadn't expected on the other side. It was deep, not like Elena's, but higher than Tseng or Rude's... His mouth dropped open.
"Rod? Wha-..." He was almost speechless, and Cissnei sat up with eyes wide. "W-what the hell are ya doing callin' me?"
"We need help..." Rod's voice was harsh sounding, in pain, like he was injured. Reno sat up to focus better on what Rod was saying. "We're... ugh," the younger man coughed, and took a wheezing breath in. "Outside of Junon... strange cave... materia-" Then the transmission stopped, and the line went dead. Reno stared at his PHS as if it had turned into a snake and bit him, while Cissnei looked pale.
"That was Rod..." He finally said, looking over at her. "What is he doing, calling me? He said they needed help."
Her face turned stark white and she clapped hands over her mouth. "Oh no... oh no, I told them not to."
"Told them not to what?" His voice was stern, and he grabbed her arm tight, but not too tight, he didn't want to bruise the girl.
She shook her head and swallowed. "They're looking for a huge materia. They said they could try to blow up the main mako valve in Midgar and it'd send shockwaves up the piping and explode all the reactors without harming anyone still inside, and we wouldn't have to worry about the monsters... I told them it'd be easier to help us find the scientists, but Rod didn't think it was a good idea if they kept getting killed..."
"Great..." He was up and getting his boots on again, dialing a number on the PHS so he could get backup. "Yo, Rude. I'm gonna need your help, meet me up on the platform in front of Junon Tower. We're going to pull some asshole kids outta trouble today."
"...helicopter?" Rude's voice didn't sound excited, just cool and composed, as he was used to such things. Reno could hear that he was already in action though, working to get his own boots on, or something that required a lot of soft grunting and tugging.
"Yeah. Get it fixed up so we don't have to wait. I'm gonna be a few minutes late." Reno hung the phone up and shoved it in his pocket, turning around to realie that Cissnei had done the same in getting ready. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I... they didn't want me to. I didn't think it was that important." Cissnei felt her face grow hot in a blush, and she shook her head. "It's not important now, is it? They're in trouble..."
Reno sighed, and ran out the door, Cissnei close behind.
"Just where did they expect us to start looking?" Reno growled under his breath, as they pulled away from the third cave they checked. It seemed that there were more than one cave in the direction Rod had indicated, and the search was starting to irritate and tick Reno off. Cissne didn't know any better which cave they had meant, and so they were stuck wasting time following down false leads. There were many more materia caves than Reno remembered in the area... and that was a cause for some interest. The upheavals in the earth must have opened all these extra materia caves, hidden for eons under the earth, unaccessible and isolated. He got a shiver thinking about that, if a human had wandered into one in prehistoric times and had the cave shut behind him only to open up now. That would be pretty cool, he thought, finding a complete skeleton of an Cetra or something.
"There are more than you know, Reno." So you're back, I was wondering what happened to ya. Thought I was getting better or something,
The voice did not respond again to his comment, and he wondered if he'd just imagined that one... but shook his head and continued after Cissnei, swearing that this would be the last cave before he called Rod back to bitch him out for worrying them and sending them on a fruitless (and perhaps needless) mission. They turned the corner and walked through the less than comfortable opening, having to adjust their eyes again, and Cissnei turned on her flashlight to see better.
Bright green and yellow materia lit the place up like a christmas tree, reflecting and refracting the light into all nooks and crannies of the cave. The materia, of course, glowed with its own internal light, giving the cave a very odd and otherworldly feel. It was quite beautiful, and Reno would have stayed a minute or two to marvel at it if they didn't have such a pressing mission at hand. So pressing, in fact, that when Cissnei shined her light around, he realized that one strain of red wasn't materia... it was blood.
"Hey! Look there," grabbing the flashlight from her without even so much as a by your leave, he went over to the blood spot and checked. It was definitely blood, turning the green and yellow a hideous shade of brown and ochre, and there, little dropps of blood from what looked to be a splatter... and it trailed, going deeper into the cave. "This is it, Cissnei. This is where they were. It's fresh."
Cissnei's face grew pale when she saw the blood, but she nodded and squared her shoulders, ready for anything that lay deeper inside the cavern. It wouldn't be the first time she saw her friend's blood, she need to keep up a stiff spine, and a good clamp on her stomach. "Let's go. Rod's in trouble, we need to get them out of here, or help, or something..."
Placing a hand on her shoulder gently, his face grim, he realized just how much the others meant to her, and why she had gone with them when they disappeared. "We'll find them. I also called Tseng before I left, so if something happens he'll send someone after them again."
She sighed. "Right..."
They went through the small exit, on Reno his shoulders touched either side, and he had to sidled through. "I'm gettin' fat." Which made him snicker at the bad joke, but they needed something to break up that sad, anxious tension that followed them from the sight of the blood.
"Reno..." She huffed out her cheeks, waiting for him on the other side, in what appeared to be an enourmous cavern of an impressive size. Twice the size of Floor 70 in the old tower... and wonders of wonders, the streaks of materia in the sides appeared upright, like pillars. It really was a cathedral... that was what it was. A natural cathedral that put anything man made to shame. They stopped and stared for a moment, taking in the sight, until Reno spotted another pool of blood near another passage... and the thought that it was a trail of bread crumbs popped up in Reno's head, an odd feeling that wouldn't go away, a small curl at the base of his neck. He glanced over at Cissnei and saw she was feeling pretty much the same from the look on her face. A heavy weight suddenly dropped on his shoulders, and it felt like wading through jello trying to go to the passage.
He forced his feet to move, and it got easier as he continued along, that weird, oppressive feeling still telling him that if they went on, something horrible would happen...
Nothing happened, however, by the time they passed through the arch, for it couldn't have been anything else with the way the mako had flowed around the hole and hardened into materia, and the feeling lessened until it was almost gone. Just unsettled now, they found themselves in a low ceiling, long hall, with many passages leading off into more darkness. This room was red and purple, stalactites and stalagmites forming columns in the middle. If they ever had a chance to go back and look at it, Reno promised himself that they would. A wealth of marvels in this system of caves... what scientist or writer wouldn't love exploring this place as much as they could?
A scientist! Reno's heart started beating fast, but remained silent on the subject. They did have a mission, after all... they would address that question later.
"Reno... I can't see anything, I can't tell where they might have gone..." Cissnei said, after looking at each exit and turned back to him, stomping a foot in urgency and frustration. "There's no blood, they could be in any of them! It'll take too long to look..." Then tears showed in her eyes, despite her efforts to hide it. Reno walked over and wrapped his arms around her.
"We'll find them, Cissnei." He promised, squeezing gently. She was surprised at the actions, but relaxed. When she had better control, he walked to the wall and touched it, frowning. "There should be some sort of sign of them...
"The one to the right." The voice speaking in his mind was a different one, completely strange to him, and surprised him with a chuckle. It appeared so suddenly, right when he touched the materia... what the hell was that?
"The one to the right." Reno mumbled, hoping that the the voice was right, and that this would be the one they wanted. It wasn't as if they could just sit around and not choose, right? At least they would know it wasn't at the end. With a sigh, he grabbed her hand and followed the glowing red passage, finding it roomy enugh to run with her for a good part of it, until it narrowed and they had to slow, and finally squeeze through... and what they saw in the other end brought them both up short.
"Reno!" Rod's voice rang out, from where he sat by the form next to him. Brown hair... a long pony tail. Rod touched her shoulder and she looked up, seeing Reno and Cissnei and looking relieved. "Thank god you're here..." The younger man was off in a bad way. His left arm hung wrong, he held it in tightly to his body, and Reno could tell it was broken. There were gashes and claw marks in the girl's back, obviously where the blood came from, but not bleeding anymore, and she seemed stable.
"What the hell happened here?" Reno said, jogging forward to sit next to her and look at her back. "Did you guys run into a wolf or something like that?"
Rod shook his head. "No... we don't know what it was. It appeared at the entrance to the cave and chased us all the way in here, and there was some man following it, laughing like it was his pet..." His face was pale and he was in a lot of pain... and Reno did what was natural, casting Cure on him if to just alleviate it a little. Rod let out a breath, but his arm wouldn't heal with just that. Cissnei sat next to him and saw what she could do to secure Rod's arm to his body so it wouldn't get jostled around.
"Why where you looking for huge materia? Rod..." She brushed hair out of his face like he was a small child that had scraped a knee, looking uncertain. Reno's heart thumped and in that moment he wanted to backhand Rod into the wall, then felt his face burn, thinking something like that. Was he really so jealous of just a simple gesture of concern? It wasn't fair...
"Because it was the only way." He mumbled, shaking his head. Reno noted how much he had changed since they last saw each other. No more crude language, no more goofing off... such a serious face on a guy he didn't expect it from, even in a situation like this.
"It isn't the only way, you idiot." Reno hissed, making his materia glow green to cast on the girl and seal her wounds, for she was starting to whimper whenever he could touch her, and she immediately stopped twitching and jerking in pain.
Though, he noticed Cissnei jump a little, a surprised look on her face. She reached into her pocket and pulled out his cure materia, handing it to him. "I forgot I had this, but Reno... what are you using to heal them?"
Rod and his partner glanced over at him, she twisting around to lay on her back, wincing because it still stung. With an raised eyebrow, he lifted his sleeve to look at his materia band, and no... no cure materia. "Huh, that's damned odd."
"Whatever," Rod hit the wall with his fist a little, "let's get her out of here so we can call for help from this stupid place. The materia distorts the reception and we can't call out to anyone."
Reno nodded. "Yeah yeah. Help me with her, Ciss." Picking up the girl gently, by the shoulders, Cissnei took her legs. It was not comfortable by any means, but the only way they could get her through the narrow passages of the cavern system. There wasn't far to go, thankfully, but several places gave them trouble, and they finally had to let her get to her feet and just support her on either side while she pulled herself through. It wasn't very fast going, but a gallant effort ensured that they didn't take forever about it, either... mostly on Reno's part, as Cissnei was short and light, and Rod had a broken arm. He didn't mind at all, it was almost as if he had need to take more on himself to help the others out. It was a strange change he was seeing in himself since the Meteor Crisis, and most people would have told him it was for the better... but he was getting a bit worried, thinking that maybe, he would have to see a shrink anyway.
Time for that later, he had people to take care of now.
Huffing and puffing, it was an hour before they got out of the cave, letting the girl rest on the ledge and take a deep breather for themselves. Reno pulled out his PHS and called Junon for a pick up, a helicopter specifically, and someone to pick up the one they had taken there, because he did not feel like going back to where it was through all of that. In fact, he didn't want to leave just yet, he wanted to go back in and explore for a while. There was something about this cavern that intrigued him, something that ate away at his inner consciousness and would not leave him alone. It felt like a good something, though, and he wanted to follow this feeling to where it led him. No... he needed to follow it, an urge that was getting stronger as time went on.
He turned back to the cave when they got Rod and his partner situated, and glanced over at Cissnei. "Ciss..."
She seemed to know what he was thinking. "You're going back in, aren't you?"
"There's some answers in there. I know it. Maybe about these people that are murdering the scientists. I got no doubt it was the same, see the wounds on her back, right? They look the same, don't they?" Reno mumbled, walking forward to the cave entrance. Cissnei reached out a hand to stop him, a gentle touch doing the job. Looking down at her, his face was pinched as if he had some sort of headache.
"...yes, they do, a little, but it's too pat. But you're right, there's something different about this cave. I'm going with you." She firmed her lips at him, showing that she wasn't about to take no for an answer.
Shaking his head, he motioned to the other two turks. "No, you should take care of them, I'll be fine on my own. I'm not really alone anyway..."
"What do you mean by that?" She asked, sincerely worried for him now.
"Just... trust me, all right?"
"No, I want to go with you. Rod, you can take care of her, right? Until the helicopters come?" Cissnei looked over at the boy, who nodded.
"Damned straight, I can. I got a broken arm but I still got my rod. I haven't forgotten how to use it either, Reno." That was said with some challenge, Rod's eyes defiant and glimmering with energy despite the pain in his arm. Reno had to smile at the kid.
"Yeah yeah, just don't screw it up, slick." Reno shook his head with a mock disappoving frown, stuck his tongue out at him, then ran off with Cissnei into the cave.
The way back to that long, low ceiling chamber was shorter than before, now that they knew where to go. When they got there, Reno walked into the middle of the chamber and looked around, feeling the movements of mako and energy in that room. It was almost like he could see it, the soft glows layered over his regular vision. Such a view of the mako and life energy could be viewed with a special camera, or goggles... it was strange that he was seeing something like that with his bare eyes. He frowned, and on inspiration, closed his lids tightly over his eyes, and yes... there it was. He could see it all as if he was looking through a pair of goggles on the highest cutting edge of technology. Started, he blinked them open, and went to look for Cissnei.
"Ciss... is there something strange about this room? I mean other than the mako and the columns." He asked her, taking her hand tightly.
She squeezed back gently, and looked, taking care to examine all the oddities of the cave before turning back to him and shrugging. "It looks like an ordinary mako cave to me... what do you see, Reno? You've been acting odd for a while now... it makes me worry about you."
That snapped him out of his focus on the room and rested his eyes on her, seeing her so concerned and serious, he felt a knife stab his heart a little. He had to tell her... this was the place to do it. "I see," he started, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and guiding her to a wall where the energy was thickest, "a massive vein of energy right here. Mako, life energy is behind this wall, it flows from here," pointing he measured a space from the top right, to the other side of the room, "to there, right in front of where we are standing. Like I was wearing a pair of goggles, except crystal clear."
"Reno..." Her voice sounded worried, frightened even, for him, she looked up into his eyes and saw that he was telling the truth. "Why are you seeing this?"
"I don't know. Maybe I got hit on the head or something. The energy is massive... it's almost like this cave itself is alive." He whispered, hanging his head. "I know it sounds crazy, Cissnei, but ya got to hear me out." Taking a very deep breath, he hesitated, worried at what she would think, why she would even believe him, but out of everyone, he had to trust her and know that she would believe him, because he had no one else to tell, and that, if anything was what would drive him crazy. "A voice... I've been hearing voices." Her eyes widened and she tried to move away a little to look at him better, but he held her still. "I've been hearing voices since Meteor. In fact, they kept me alive when I went to Junon. The voice led me to Rod. It's way I... kinda seem to know what to do. I don't know if it's split personality, or shizophrenia or just plain crazy, but Cissnei, I swear it's not, it's really someone talking to me inside my head. I can hear so many sometimes, it's confusing... and whenever I touch a materia, I feel a sense of connection. I think it must be because I almost died or something in the Fall, but you gotta believe me I'm not making it up."
He fell silent, breathing heavily, for his words had been coming fast and furious the past few sentences, on a roll now that he had started and worried that Cissnei would interrupt and he would never be able to finish what he needed to say to her... but she didn't say anything, just stared at him a few good minutes with a strange, shocked expression on her face.
"Cissnei..."
She shook her head, worked her mouth a little bit and hung her head, folding her arms close against her chest and backed away from her. "Reno..."
"Please don't look like that, babe. I'm still Reno, you know?"
"...we'll get you help."
Those were the last things Reno had wanted to hear, much less from her, but he dropped his hands helplessly, and nodded. "...yeah." That single word summed up the heartbreak he was feeling. She didn't believe him. That was his entire world hinged on one thing, and it didn't work... she didn't believe him, and would probably never believe him. That it was her probably hurt the most. The one person he felt comfortable telling...
"Come on, Reno... let's go find the others." Cissnei's face was tear streaked, but there was no sign of the actual tears, and she tugged his arm when he didn't immediately respond, staring at the energy flow going across the room. So visible to him, so transparent to her. "You should have told us sooner..." She chided gently, bringing him along the path of the cave, unaware of the well worn spots here and there where new mako flows hadn't covered it.
Reno kept his head down, a hand in his pocket, and tried to pretend he didn't care that his entire world would come crashing down once they got back to civilization. He knew Cissnei, and knew that she would be entirely too worried for him to let it lapse. She would tell Tseng, Tseng would ask him about it, and then he would probably end up in Fettwellis, the mental institution in Junon. It was as sure as apple pie on harvest festival time.
He had no idea how to convince her of what he was saying...
"You're a fool, aren't you?" There it was, that voice, taunting him, mocking him... feeling sorry for him? It really did sound like it felt sorry for him. "Of course she wouldn't believe you. You have no proof to back it up. You should have waited until the time where you could have proved it." Have any helpful suggestions?
"Yes, I do, actually... don't let her take you out of here. Convince her to go back, and take the yellow passage on the right. Tell her it's the control room for this city, and that it used to be very beautiful, sitting at the top of this peak, with the waterfall at it's base... and it still has a working projector."That information stunned Reno, in fact so thoroughly that he stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the wall, for once now realizing what he was seeing. "Cissnei..."
"Hmm?" She turned back and looked at him, wondering why he was stopping so suddenly. "Reno, are you all right? I mean..."
"I know what you mean, but no, that isn't it! Cissnei, look at the walls! The floor!" He was frantic, pulling her closer and pointing at the part of the cavern that looked like it was almost, but not quite square. "Look at it, Ciss! It's a city! A Cetran city! Up here by the water fall. Come on, let's look! There's got to be something like in the one in Ajit." Excited now, forgetting his torment of the past few minutes, he rushed back inside, a very worried Cissnei in tow, and took her to that yellow passage that the voice spoke of. It was a very small, cramped passage, and Reno had to hunch down to get past the low ceiling, but there they were, suddenly stumbling out into bright light, and what looked to be a control area in front of them, coated with yellow materia, but now the floor and walls were shining through the materia coating, showing what really was underneat.
The room was a huge catherdral, much like the first room in the cave system, but it was bright, and tall. Where they were standing was a tall ledge jutting out from the wall, overlooking the rest of the hall. In the center of the room across from them, another hole was in the wall, letting out a stream of crystal clear water, as pure as one could want, tumbling down into the depths below and into a pool that just barely glimmered in the light from above. It seemed to be an audience chamber of some sort... holes dotted the walls, some covered over by the materia, some broken by earthquakes and made larger, knocked into their neighbors. Every hold had a ledge to view the water fall by... and the in the center of the ledge they were standing on, several levers and grooves in the floor, accompanied by Cetra hieroglyphs.
"This is..." Cissnei gasped, holding on to Reno for fear that she would swoon and fall.
There was one word on Reno's lips, for it seemed like his heart and breathing stopped with the wonder and majesty of it all. "Xanadu." "That's it, my boy. You found the mythical city."
With a scream, the two turks went tumbling over board and down into the darkness, plummeting headlong into the water in the midst of gravel, materia, and lifestream.