Chapter 21: I Won't Let You Die

It was getting late and Rude wanted to get some sleep before sunrise so he hurried along the hall toward the elevator. He'd just finished with his meeting with Alistair and Tseng discussing who the traitor could be and the lack of evidence pointing in any direction. It was a little frustrating that nothing had come to light as of yet but he was certain it wouldn't remain that way for long. They also discussed what they'd learned about the blueprints from the creator. Unfortunately the mechanic could give them no hints as to what the late Shady Larry had indicated with his personal notes.

He glanced down at the blueprints in his hands knowing that they contained the instructions for constructing a portable version of the mako cannon. It was a terrifying thought that the Wutain army had managed to get one built under Shinra's nose. He couldn't help but feel grateful toward Reno's ex-guardian who had build the object in such a way that it was unusable. They'd all be in trouble if he hadn't.

Now he had orders to take the blueprints to said redhead and see if he could make out his old man's chicken scratch and tell them exactly what he'd done to the machine. With any luck he'd tell them the thing was damaged beyond repair and they'd have to start from scratch if they wanted it done right.

As he was getting into the elevator, he heard his PHS go off and pulled it out to check the caller ID. Surprisingly it was from his sister and although he did love hearing from her he hesitated answering it. After the fifth ring, he finally caved and opened his phone placing it casually to his ear.

"Nina," he greeted with a sigh. "Can't talk right now. I won't be available for the next few days."

He waited to hear her pout like always...but nothing came. Then finally a voice answered with a cold and taunting tone. "I already knew all of that, Rookie." Rude's hand tightened on his phone as he stepped off the elevator. It wasn't his sister. "I know you're getting really tense and upset right now. I did read your file after all. I know all about what happened with you and your family."

Rude grit his teeth trying to stay calm. It wasn't working. Someone had his sister and was using her phone to call him. He had an idea of who it was but didn't think it would be wise to try and out them. "What do you want?" he asked surprising himself on how calm he sounded.

"I assumed that was obvious," the woman replied. "All I want are the blueprints that I know you found, and Red. Either I get them or I kill your sister. You know I will too, Rude."

The way she referred to Reno and the way she said his name confirmed his fears. He knew who it was and she was right; he knew she'd kill Nina without a second thought. Still, the idea of giving up everything the Turks had against this group made him sick to his stomach. He couldn't betray their trust in him and he couldn't bring himself to just send Reno to his death. Not after he'd saved his life.

"I know how hard a decision this is for you considering so I'll simplify it for you," the woman murmured in a sultry voice. "It's either Red or your sister. Which one would you rather watch die? You have an hour to figure it out and call this number back with your decision. Only then will I tell you where you can find her. Oh, and don't bother letting any of the others know. The moment you do I'll hear about it and then she dies regardless."

With that the phone went dead and Rude was left standing in the hall clutching angrily at his phone not knowing what to do. After several moments of just standing there like a statue, he finally set off arriving shortly there after at Reno's cell where he opened the door and went inside with great authority.

"Hey, buddy. Wasn't expecting to see you so soon. What's the occasion?" Reno asked as soon as the bald Turk entered his room. He didn't make a sound but closed the door and went to sit on the bed next to the redhead. "Uh...hey you okay?"

"No," Rude answered clenching and unclenching his fists. "Reno...I need...your help."

"Woah...it's got to be something bad if you're asking me," Reno commented taking in the obvious state of anxiety the Turk was in. "What, did you finally figure out who framed me?"

Rude nodded but he couldn't manage to say anything. No matter how much he wanted to save his sister he found that asking Reno to die for it was impossible.

"Well, tell me what happened." Rude didn't respond. "Come on man I can't say if I can help you if you don't tell me what you need my help with." Still nothing, though now he was gritting his teeth in frustration. "Rude, tell me what's going on."

Hearing the redhead use his name somehow made him calm down a little and he looked over at the prisoner. "T-they have Nina," he finally answered making Reno tense. "I have two choices. Hand you and the blueprints over or lose her."

"So what are you doing here chatting with me for?" Reno demanded getting to his feet. "Why not just drag me out there already?"

"I can't," Rude answered staring at the floor. Reno caught on to the underlying message. He couldn't force him to give up his life for his own selfish wish. "I won't make you go."

"Rude, you don't have to," Reno told him seriously. "I want to save her too. I'll take the hit this time."

"They'll try to make you build it," Rude pointed out.

"Heh, no dip," Reno chuckled getting his smirk in place. "They'll have a hell of a time convincing me to do it though."

Rude stared at the red head in confusion over his immediate acceptance. "Are you sure?"

"Rude, ol' buddy, how could I possibly ignore a damsel in distress?"

Rude chuckled at this and got to his feet standing a head taller than the redhead, but with the weight of possibly losing his sister he seemed to have shrunk a foot or two. Then he slowly reached up and removed his sunglasses. Surprised teal eyes met with grateful brown. Reno could see water gathering at either corner of the man's eyes and knew that he was only holding on to his determined cool by a thread.

"Tell me you're going to save my sister."

Reno stared into those honey brown eyes and nodded. "I promise, Rude. We'll get her out of there."

The bald Turk nodded and replaced his glasses completely changing the way he looked. All that intense, deep emotion gone in a blink of an eye, though shadows of it still remained in the tense lines of his face. Then he pulled out his cell phone and dialed his sister's number. It rang a few times before the person on the other end answered. "I'll do it. Where is she?" he demanded calmly. Reno waited a few moments as Rude received the directions. He muttered a few forced okays then hung up.

"So...?"

"They're waiting in the sector 4 slum area," Rude answered slowly. "Across the street from some bars. Chances are this is going to be a trap."

"No sweat," Reno replied easily. "Now let's get movin', your sister's countin' on us." With that he held out his wrists and Rude tied them together with a length of rope after removing the weights. "Wait! I just got an awesome idea!" He whispered his plan to Rude who raised his eyebrow at him.

"You're going to get her killed with a stunt like that," he grumbled in irritation despite feeling so on edge. "You can't guarantee that'll work."

"No, but it sure as hell has a better warranty than simply trusting they'll keep their word," Reno pointed out. Rude looked in the opposite direction and Reno sighed. "Look, I know I'm not the person you want to be trusting right now, but my plan is the only one we've got. Will you trust me just this once?"

Rude looked him over and remembered the time he'd been forced to trust the redhead. It was just earlier that day but already it seemed like it was forever ago. Still, the redhead had come through for them then...

"Alright, but we do this on my terms," he reasoned firmly. Reno shrugged his acceptance and they readied themselves before heading out the door.

The tension in the air was thick enough to cut as Nina waited in the slums for her brother to come rescue her. She had no idea what the Wutains had forced Rude to agree to, but she severely hoped he wouldn't do it. Saving her would mean betraying all his friends. Maybe Reno could talk some sense into him and they'd leave her behind to save the company. She didn't really think he would but hoped that might be the case.

Her hopes were dashed when she spotted her brother and Reno both approaching the large group of Wutains. Her heart sank at the sight, but she thought she could at least alert her brother to the danger of the hidden enemies on the rooftops nearby.

She never got the chance, however, as the woman beside her placed a warning hand on her shoulder. "Glad you could make it, Rude," the woman greeted silkily.

The bald Turk grunted in irritation as he made Reno stand before him. The redhead kept silent as he stood there looking the entire group over. But at the sight of the woman holding onto Nina's shoulder he had to say something. "Woah, wasn't expecting you to screw your own men over, Karen."

The Turk pointedly ignored him as she looked at Rude. "Where are the blueprints?" she asked calmly. He slowly pulled them out of his jacket and slid them into Reno's. "Good." She gripped Nina's shoulder rather painfully as she spoke next. "We'll send them both at the same time. Move wrong, and I shoot her regardless of where she is."

Rude nodded his understanding before pushing Reno slightly. The redhead started moving forward and Nina was made to start heading toward her brother. It was then she realized Reno had been who they traded her for and she felt sick to her stomach. What were they going to do to him?

No upsets occurred as the two made their way across the gap and Nina didn't dare look around until she reached her brother and he knelt down giving her a heartfelt hug. She realized then just how worried he'd been and found herself hugging him back almost in tears.

Rude was so happy his sister was alright as he continued to hug her and whispered a few words to her. He had to make sure she made it out...and he needed to make sure Reno survived too, if for no other reason than he'd been willing to do this for her sake.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you," Karen simpered as she forced Reno into the waiting arms of her comrades. "Now, you should probably send your sister on. You'll be sticking around after all."

He felt Nina tense at this and he tightened his hold for just a second. "Go on, I'll finish up here and meet you later," he told her calmly.

Nina stared at him in surprise having nothing to say back to him and he nodded in reassurance as he pulled away and returned to his feet. He watched his sister clench her fists before turning her chair and rolling off toward the buildings behind him.

"We don't have all day, Rude," Karen ordered pulling out her gun and pointing it at him. "Let's get moving."

He nodded slowly and glanced back at his sister just in time to see her disappear around the corner. Then he glanced back toward the enemy and met Reno's gaze before nodding once more. As soon as he did, Reno tore out of his captor's grip, pulling his EMR from his belt and releasing a Thundaga that struck every enemy present.

Karen was the only one who managed to avoid the blow, but Rude was right there to receive her as he drove his fist into her jaw sending her flying. Then he joined Reno in the center of the enemies as they tried to return to their feet but Reno's lighting attack had done more damage than they expected.

"Ready to get moving?" Reno asked lightly as he shifted his arm to ease the pain from the man who'd been holding him.

"Are you certain she's safe?" Rude asked looking at the downed enemies and trying to determine which direction they should flee.

"You bet," Reno answered confidently. "Now what do you say to ditching these losers?"

Rude nodded and the two turned in the opposite direction Nina had left and took off. They didn't get very far, however, as they quickly found themselves entangled in a bunch of wires strung from building to building. Any movement on their part caused the wires to tighten around them and draw blood.

"Shit, what'd they do to this place?" Reno demanded not being able to see what was holding him in place.

"I don't know," Rude replied nervously. He was worried the same trap had been set up where Nina had left and that she'd been caught again.

"You boys weren't thinking of leaving just yet, were you?" a cold voice asked calmly. Reno and Rude both tried to look around and see who was speaking. Eventually their eyes landed on a tall man with slicked, pin-straight, black hair as he approached them. "It's a pleasure to see the both of you once more."

It was darker behind the buildings as Nina slipped into one of the alleyways, maneuvering her wheelchair around the debris like a pro. She still couldn't believe what had just happened and only wanted to make sure she could find help for her brother. Once she was certain she was out of sight she pulled out the piece of paper Rude had slipped into her pocket along with his phone.

"I gave you my phone and directions," he'd whispered. "As soon as you're out of sight, follow them and don't look back. I'll be just fine." His words still rang in her ears forcing her to believe he had a plan to get them all out of the jam unharmed.

Willing herself not to go back and check on them she opened the paper and read what was written.

"In the back of a bar called Slum Rats you'll find a door in severe need of repair. It should be one of the first places you reach. Knock on it until you can talk to the owner. Tell him you're a friend of Reno's and ask for help. He'll keep you hidden from the Wutains."

Nina immediately began searching around for the place they'd mentioned and realized the building she was currently hidden behind was called "Slum Rats". Finding the door described, she began pounding on it furiously. "Please let the owner be here," she pleaded silently.

After a moment, she heard someone shout on the other side of the door, though she couldn't understand what was said, followed by the door flying open. The man who stood in the doorway was tall and lean with dark hair in long dreadlocks. "Sorry miss but I ain't hirin' at the moment," he grumbled turning to close the door.

"Wait!" she exclaimed throwing herself into the path of the closing door and startling him. "You have to...you have to help Reno."

The man stared at her dumbfounded for a moment before squatting down in front of her. "How do you know that brat?" he asked coldly.

"He sent me here because he thought I'd be safe," she answered quickly. "But he and my brother are going to be killed. You have to help them!"

He didn't know what to say and just watched as the girl's excitement seemed to finally get the better of her and she passed out on his floor. At the same time, he heard the sounds of people creeping around the nearby roofs so he quickly pulled the girl and her chair inside, closed and locked the door. Then he turned to the poor girl and took her up to his room where he placed her behind a screen along with her chair.

Once that was taken care of he noticed the phone and paper in her pocket pulling out each to take a look at them. The note must have been written by the girl's brother because it certainly wasn't Reno's chicken scratch. The phone, was a Turk PHS. He swore under his breath as he took the back off and examined it. Only once he was certain the GPS wasn't inside did he close it again.

After that he strolled casually back downstairs to the front of the bar where he had a full house and all his hired hands were working tirelessly to keep the drunken customers happy. Many seemed to be on edge thanks to the commotion going on outside, and several others were only staying because they'd seen a Turk and a group of Wutains outside. Or so they said.

The man meandered over to the front window, waving at guests as he passed and took a peek through the blinds. He could see a mane of red hair that seemed to have his arms and legs pinned in odd positions, though it wasn't clear by what. The people around him obviously were of Wutain descent, all except the lone woman. She was clearly his type, but the Turk uniform she wore said more about her than her looks.

He grit his teeth and let the blinds snap together. "Dammit, Reno," he muttered darkly to himself. "I told you not to drag me into this and you go and drop this girl on my doorstep. What the hell do you expect me to do, boy?" He turned and headed into the back room once more where he pulled out the phone and started scrolling through the information.

After a few moments of scrolling through the contact list, he paused and shook his head. "I get it, kid," he sighed openly. Then he began typing up a message and hit send. "You can't say Blay didn't do nothin' for the kid now, Larry. I just hope it's enough."

It'd been a couple hours since Alistair had sent his candidate to ask Reno about the blueprints and he was starting to get antsy. It shouldn't take that long for the boy to look it over and explain what he was able to read. What was taking Rude so long?

He shook his head and got to his feet before heading out of his office. He'd waited long enough, now it was time to see what was taking the two of them so long. Just as he was reaching the elevator, his PHS went off and pulled it out to see who'd sent the message. When he saw that it was sent from Rude's phone he immediately pulled it open to read.

It read: "Do yourself a favor and check out where the owner of this phone is."

He didn't understand what it meant exactly, but it obviously wasn't Rude who sent it. Who had his phone then...and why didn't Rude have it? Deciding to follow the advice, he pulled up the AP that allowed him to know the whereabouts of the GPS signals from each phone. Then he focused in on Rude's and found the signal coming from the sector 4 slums. What was he doing down there?

An idea struck him and he quickly took the elevator down to the holding cells where Reno should be located. At the same time he called Tseng. "Tseng where are you right now?" he asked the moment the Wutain answered.

"Sector 1," came the reply. "Is there something wrong?"

"Not sure just yet," Alistair muttered darkly as he started traveling down the hall to the redhead's cell. "I just received a text from Rude's phone telling me I needed to figure out where he was. I checked his GPS and it said he was in sector 4." There was silence on the other end and he knew the darker Turk was trying to figure out the meaning behind both.

"Reno?"

Alistair didn't reply to the question until he'd opened the cell and stepped inside, to find it completely empty. "He's with him apparently. The cell's empty which means they must have gotten to Rude somehow," he grumbled running a hand through his hair.

"Nina perhaps?" Tseng suggested.

"Yeah that would probably do it," Alistair acknowledged. "Which means the mole struck again. Listen, I want you and Talli to head to sector 4 and see if you can find the two of them. I'm going to alert Veld to the situation and grab whoever isn't on assignment and join you. If they get their hands on Reno now we'll be in it deep."

"I understand," Tseng murmured before hanging up.

Alistair shook his head before dialing the Commander's number and letting him know about the new developments. When he'd finished, he found himself in front of the TK, which he entered hoping he'd find at least one person.

As he stepped inside, he found Haruto in the kitchen making himself a sandwich. "Hello," he greeted cordially. "Is something the matter?"

"I believe the enemy may have managed to acquire the boy," he explained quickly. "I need you and your partner to come with me down to the slums."

Haruto looked confused at this. "I thought he was being held in a cell. How would they be able to remove him without alerting anyone?"

"I'm pretty sure they used Rude's sister against him to force him to bring the boy down," he explained quickly. "The point is we need to reach sector 4 before the signal on his GPS vanishes."

Haruto nodded in understanding, abandoning his unmade food and following his superior out the door. "How do you suppose they knew about Rude's relation?" he asked trying to gather all the information he could before engaging in battle.

"I don't know for certain," Alistair returned as he quickly checked his supplies while stepping onto the elevator once more. "However, there is reason to believe we have a mole within the company."

"Any ideas who?"

Alistair paused as he thought over whether or not he felt the man next to him could be trusted with the information. After a time, he decided it was worth the risk. "One of us." Then a thought hit him as the two of them began to leave the company building. "Where's your partner?"

"I sent her a message, but there was no response," Haruto answered. "I haven't actually seen her since our return earlier this evening."

Alistair's face grew grave at this, though he did not voice his thoughts. "Come on, we need to reach that spot before it's too late."

"It's a pleasure to see the both of you once more."

Reno swallowed back the retort he had as he was certain he was seeing a ghost somehow. Rude took another approach to the situation, the man had simply managed to escape the last encounter though it was impossible to determine how.

"Hsing," Rude muttered under his breath.

He ignored the both of them as he went to see to his men, restoring all of them to their normal status and helping Karen back to her feet before healing the bruise that was taking up half her face. "Where's the girl you mentioned?" he asked her calmly.

"Heh, I have men going after her to bring her back," she promised staring up at him with admiration. It made Reno want to hurl.

Hsing frowned in annoyance and to both Reno and Rude's surprise, he slapped Karen across the face. "At what point did you believe I would approve of going back on a deal?" he demanded.

Karen looked both abashed and deflated as she diverted her gaze at the ground. Reno raised an eyebrow to Rude in confusion. Why was he getting upset?

Just then a few Wutains showed up and relayed a bit of information in their own language. Once they finished Hsing nodded. "It's alright. There was no reason to keep her after the transaction was completed," he murmured calmly. "I may have lost my home to Midgardian savages, but I am a man of my word. I expect my subordinates to do the same."

"Yes, sir. I apologize," Karen said, keeping her gaze downward.

Rude felt relief rush through him at these words. His sister had made it, they were unable to locate her, and the leader had no desire to find her. Reno's plan had worked...mostly.

Hsing looked his two captives over, his eyes lingering for a moment on the weapon Reno had kept hidden. "We have what we came for. Take them back to the base, but make sure you frisk them first."

Karen nodded and began searching each of their outfits. She started with Rude, noting that his phone was indeed missing. She thought she'd seen him slip it on his sister but not finding it on his person just confirmed it. Other than that, she pulled his gun, a few materia, and his combat gloves off his person. Then she turned to Reno and began rifling through his clothing.

"Hey, don't you think you're moving a bit fast there?" Reno asked lightly. "I mean we haven't even had a real date yet."

She ignored his jab as she continued to search. She was able to take his EMR from him, finding the little strap he'd used to keep it hidden inside his jacket, as well as the lightning materia fitted in the one slot at the bottom. In his pocket she found the cure materia and double checked that the blueprints were there and weren't fake. She was just about to finish up when she noticed something solid in his jacket. Her hands swiftly moved over the lining of the pocket until she found a small hole and pulled a small chip out and looked it over. Realizing what it was, she threw it to the ground and crushed it beneath her heel. Then she kneed him in the gut before returning to her leader.

"It seems they removed the GPS from Rude's phone before handing it over to his sister," she murmured apologetically.

Hsing nodded in understanding before giving the two boys an amused smirk. "It was a good attempt, but pointless in the long run," he murmured in almost a taunting tone. Then he turned to his men and declared to them all, "The boy will now fix our machine. Shinra will fall by tomorrow."

The men nodded in understanding before reaching the pair and using a sleep materia to knock them both out. The last thing that Rude was aware of, was that Reno was giving him a reassuring look as the wires around them seemed to loosen. Then everything went black.

Tseng and Talli were just entering the sector 3 slums when the signal from Rude's GPS vanished. Seeing this the two increased their speed. Shortly after they made it to the area where they'd last seen his signal come from. It was a small clearing in front of a group of shops and bars. The bars were just starting to close up thanks to the extremely late hour.

Despite knowing they were in the right place, they could see no sign of a fight. Nothing to indicate what became of their comrade. While Talli went to speak with the locals and see if they'd seen anything, Tseng knelt on the ground to try and see if he'd missed something.

The ground was covered in dirt and rocks making it difficult to see if there were any footprints, not like he really expected to find any even without the rocks as the place had heavy traffic this time of night. He returned to his feet at this point having found nothing.

"Tseng, any sign of him?" The call made the dark haired Turk turn to see the second in command and the swordsman approaching.

He shook his head. "There's nothing," he sighed. "And it looks as if they located the GPS. The signal's gone."

"They were here though!" Talli called out catching up to them. "I just talked with this guy, drunk off his ass, but he said he saw a bald man and a redhead meeting with a large group of people. He also said he saw a girl in a wheelchair disappear between the shops."

"So, Nina was used," Haruto murmured sadly. "Do you believe they released her once they had Reno?"

"No. They would want to use her to force him to fix the machine," Alistair answered shaking his head. "Which means they have two ways to convince Reno. Threaten Rude, or Nina."

Talli rubbed her arms for a moment as her worry over Rude continued to grow. She, Haruto and Alistair continued to discuss how they were going to track down their missing comrade and try to keep the enemy from completing their machine.

Meanwhile, Tseng was continuing to examine the immediate area. Something about it seemed off to him but he couldn't put his finger on it. Walking to the edge of the cleared area, he found a building with a damaged roof. It wasn't exactly unusual to find a damaged building in the slums, but something about it struck him as familiar.

As he drew closer, he nearly tripped over a group of rocks that seemed to have been pulled together and sliced nearly all the way through. He knelt down once again and picked one of the rocks up, turning it over in his hands to see all of it. "Hsing..." he murmured softly.

"Find something?" Alistair called out again. He'd been watching the dark haired Turk out of the corner of his eye and noticed his sudden fascination with the rubble.

"Nothing to determine our comrade's current whereabouts but I did discover evidence that Hsing has returned to Midgar," he answered getting to his feet and showing the damaged rock. "His weapon of choice is piano wire, which he has mastered control over. Chances are the only reason the two of them were detained was because of his arrival."

"That makes sense," Alistair murmured. "Alright, I need you all to spread out. I'll get a hold of Cissnei and George, assuming they're back, and have them join you. We need to find them, and fast." The group nodded and turned to leave, but the second in command stopped the swordsman. "Haruto, keep trying to get a hold of your partner and see if you can at least locate her with the GPS. I don't want to believe that she's the mole, but if she continues to remain out of reach we'll have to consider her as such."

Haruto nodded his understanding and pulled out his phone as he moved on to search for any sign of the missing rookie and the brat. Despite the amount the redhead irritated him, he hoped they'd be able to locate them quickly. No one should be subject to seeing those they care about harmed in front of them.

It was dark when Rude began to come to. At first he assumed his sunglasses were simply dimming the light like usual, but then he realized they were missing. He struggled to move and try to find a source of light to see what was around him, but soon found it impossible as his arms were bound tightly to a chair.

"Hey, Rude, you awake?" He recognized the voice and felt relief sweep through him to know the redhead was still alive.

"Reno, are you alright?" he asked cautiously. There was no telling if anyone else was in the room with them.

"Yeah," the redhead replied. There was the sound of mild shuffling. "Can't move anything thanks to these stupid ropes. No worries though, I've almost got them loose."

"Where are we?"

"No idea," Reno replied after a moment of grunting. "I think it's got to be underground though. I don't see any windows in here and it feels pretty damp."

"You can see?" Rude asked in surprise.

"Sort of...I guess it's from that little bit of mako," Reno replied. If Rude could see he was sure the redhead would have shrugged. "I can only really make out basic shapes though, there isn't enough light to allow more than that."

"Where's the door?" Rude asked as he began straining at his own bonds. If they could get loose, they may have a chance at escape. Assuming Hsing didn't have the place rigged that is. He doubted they'd make it out in nearly the same number of pieces if they were caught again.

"Just to your left," Reno responded. A moment later he laughed in triumph and the bald Turk felt the boy approach him and feel around for his ropes. "I'll have ya out in a sec...then we can blow this joint."

Rude nodded knowing the redhead could see at least that much. It took the redhead a few minutes, but pretty soon the bald Turk could feel the ropes begin to loosen. Just as the ropes were falling to the ground, the door suddenly opened and the room was flooded with light blinding the two occupants.

They heard a few muttered exclamations in the Wutain language before they were rushed and Rude once again found himself being tied, though this time he was allowed to remain standing. He heard Reno let out a few shouts of indignation as he was also restrained once more.

"Did the two of you really believe you'd be able to escape so easily?" a sultry voice asked.

"Karen...why did you turn your back on the Turks?" Rude demanded harshly. Now that his sister wasn't in any danger he felt a little braver about things like this.

"Rude...don't you see? I never turned my back on anyone," Karen replied. He felt her fingers stroke the side of his face as she did so. "I've always been indebted to Hsing, and when he called for my assistance I was simply repaying that debt."

After that she moved away from him and he could barely make out her silhouette moving to the opposite side of the room as his eyes began to recover. Slowly he was able to see that the room they were in was indeed below ground and now housed six Wutain soldiers, Karen, himself and Reno. The redhead was pinned roughly against the far wall by two burly Wutains, holding his arms to the stone.

"Now, Reno, it's high time you started giving us a reason not to kill you like your old man," Karen murmured silkily as she slowly pulled the blueprints from her tight clothing. "You're going to read what your mentor wrote and either tell us how to get this contraption working or, you're going to fix it yourself."

"How about I skip the fixing the machine part and we go right to you giving me an amazing reward," Reno suggested with his smirk in place. "Enemy or not I'd still love to see how well you dance the horizontal..."

Karen didn't wait for him to finish as she lashed out and his head jerked to the side. Rude winced involuntarily knowing just how painful the female's strikes could be. "I don't have all night, Red. Now get reading."

She shoved the blueprints at him and he groaned. "I like playing around as much as the next guy, but don't you think mechanic is kind of a terrible getup for foreplay?" Reno asked despondently. "Granted I love your role, but I feel I need something a little more..."

He didn't get to finish as her fist landed on the side of his face once again. She then went on, striking him multiple times on the face and in the stomach, probably cracking a few of his ribs. When she felt he had enough she ordered him once again to read the blueprints. Again he made a smart alec comment refusing to even acknowledge that he understood what she actually wanted.

"That's it...hold him still," she ordered to the Wutain men who still had a firm hold on the redhead. She walked towards him and pulled out a knife. Rude grit his teeth seeing this and a part of him wondered why the redhead still refused even in the face of something like that. "I'll give you one last chance before I start on the more painful methods. Read it."

"Baby, I'm trying to read your signals, but they're all over the place," Reno replied with a cheeky grin.

Karen had enough of his lip, however, and she bent over him to where Rude couldn't see what she was doing. Seconds later he could hear Reno shouting in pain and saw blood fall to the floor. When she moved away, he could make out one long mark along his cheekbone. It was deep and bleeding heavily, but still the smirk on the redhead's face remained.

"Who'd have thought you were so into S&M," Reno chuckled, though it was clear he was in a lot of pain.

Karen lifted the bloody knife once again and was about to continue when a voice stopped her. "Karen, remember we need the boy to remain alive long enough to fix it." Rude glanced over to the door to see Hsing entering the room. His hair was still pin-straight and nearly perfect; the few strands out of place he was certain were from the stress of having to deal with a Turk and Reno all at the same time.

The Wutain drew closer to Reno and looked him over carefully as Reno just grinned cheekily back at him. "Hey, it's dot boy's younger brother," he greeted. "It is brother right? Cause frankly you're way to girly looking so I couldn't really tell."

Karen moved to strike him again, but Hsing caught her arm. "He's merely blowing off steam," he murmured confidently, the kid's comments having no affect on him. "Understand, Reno, that unless you start giving me what I want, you will start to lose something important to you."

Reno crossed his legs as best as he could in his beat up condition and pressed against the wall. "You're a real asshole you know that," he grumbled defiantly.

Hsing ignored him and Rude had to mentally applaud him for it; that is until he felt the same bindings from before begin to wrap themselves around his limbs and pull him up enough to where he was standing on his toes. For the first time in a long time he was grateful for the thickness of the Turk uniform as it kept the strings from biting into his skin, for now at least.

"Let's try this again," Hsing murmured. "You will fix the machine, or the Turk here dies." As he spoke, Rude felt the wires begin to wrap around his throat. It wasn't tight enough to bite into the skin but he was sure that any tighter and there'd be no saving him.

"I take it back," Reno grumbled causing all in the room to look at him. Then he smirked and venomously spat, "You still need three promotions to get to be an asshole."

Hsing didn't respond. Instead he tightened the wires around Rude's throat and the Turk winced as he felt the sting of splitting skin and the warmth of blood dripping down onto his collar. "Care to try that again?"

Reno grit his teeth before finally answering. "Fine...I'll fix your fucking machine."

Hsing nodded and released Rude from the wires before walking over to the redhead and gesturing to his men to release him and back away. When he reached him, he placed a firm, commanding hand on the boy's shoulder and directed him to the door. "Let's get started then."

Rude was once again restrained to a chair as he watched everyone file out of the room, Reno included. When they were all gone, the door closed and he was once again left alone in the dark room. He grit his teeth and felt tears of frustration sting the corners of his eyes. The enemy now had exactly what they wanted, the only mechanic who could understand the original builder's methods, and a way to force him to willingly assist them.

The machine was going to be repaired and all the things he'd been fighting to protect for so long were now in danger...and it was all his fault.

Shippoman: Sorry about the time gap between chapters but we are still working on it. Just life seems to be taking more out of us than it used to. So please bear with us. Anyway...now the Wutains have the weapon they'd been working hard to obtain and Reno and Rude are in their clutches. What will happen to the two captives and how will the Turks handle the growing threat? Please stay tuned and remember to R&R.