Chapter 25: Pursuance and Congregation

"Shiva… You're fuckin heavy…" Erryn muttered, while trying to push the unconscious redhead off of her. Then she paused for a moment to catch her breath and grimaced from the pain in her stomach from when Ren threw her into the table, before pushing his hair back and staring at the wound on his head while frowning and muttering to herself. "Talk about a short-circuit… Poor thing…"

For the short while she sat there, she simply patted his hair down, not really understanding why she felt sorry for him at all. But she decided it was best to not try and think about it too much while giving it another try at attempting to push the deceptively light-looking man off of her.

"For someone who never eats, you weigh a fuckin ton." She grunted, as her efforts came to an abrupt stop when the door swung open and a torn, beaten, and blood-covered Rufus stood there, peering at them both like he'd found a tasty meal.

"Well, well, well…" He crooned, as he scratched at his chest and brushed his hair back before stepping into the room with a strange swagger. "Isn't this a lovely pairing… A dried up whore and an unconscious slut."

"Sir?" Erryn asked, unable to hide the confusion in her eyes or her voice, as the man she thought was Rufus snickered at them both while running his eyes dreamily over Reno as he adjusted his torn, black, shirt and ran his finger underneath the black binding he had around his neck.

Then he knelt in front of them and started to wind his hand into the length of Reno's hair until it was wrapped tight around his fist. All the while, he smiled provocatively at Erryn and appeared to be quite pleased with what he was looking at. And before Erryn really knew what the hell was going on, the blonde reached out with his other hand and stroked the scar along her cheek while smoothly stating in a seductive tone. "I quite like damaged goods."

After that, he stood up while pulling Reno along with him, by the hair, and dragging him from her, causing Erryn to return to her defensive mode that she often displayed when it came to her patients as she quickly tensed up and tried to stand while demanding. "What the hell do you think you're doin?"

"Making your dreams come true." He answered, before he took the gun out of his holster and pulled back the safety. Then he fired a shot into her shoulder and practically purred before walking out of the room and slinging the redhead over his shoulder. "Too bad you won't be around long enough to enjoy it."

- - -

"Fuck…" Rufus muttered, before he brushed his bang back and wiped at his upper lip while trying to absorb what the hell just happened. He understood. But it took him a moment. And when it finally sunk in and the lights started to flicker as if they'd been tampered with, he wound up saying it again, only louder, before he suddenly realized he needed to stop Marcus from doing whatever it was that he came to do.

Then he ran to grab a different gun from his cabinet and went straight for the door, before he went straight for the stairwell, as fast as he could, while ignoring the nagging throbs of his injuries and reminding himself that he'd murder that psychotic bastard in the worst way possible if anything unfortunate were to happen to Reno.

- - -

When Marcus arrived five meters from his intended destination, he cursed at his Materia and smacked Reno across the face as if they were both to blame. It didn't really matter that the redhead was unconscious and couldn't feel it, because it still made Marcus feel better. But he wound up getting a little pissed off when he went to start walking the rest of the way to Ten-ji-s office and met a resistance from the redhead, as if something was holding the useless mongrel in place.

"What the fuck is it now?" Marcus demanded, as if he expected an answer. Then he moved Reno to the side and noted the man's pant-leg had materialize partially in the wall that surrounded Ten-ji's Office and started chuckling about it. "Well… Aren't we the lucky one…?" He muttered, before he reached over and tore that part of his pants off before making his own distasteful observation. "At least you're starting to dress appropriately."

After that, he leaned Reno against the wall and held him in place with the aid of his own body while he brushed the man's hair from his face and squinted his eyes to blur the redhead's image. Then he muttered out while running his fingers lightly along Reno's jaw and tilting his unconscious head upward. "I'm surprised Adrienne even noticed the two of you could have passed for brothers… Useless twit that he was…"

Once he was done making his comparison and discovering he could almost see Aldrich if he squinted his eyes enough, he brushed his thumb along he redhead's bottom lip, and then snorted. "It should have been you." He muttered, before he snorted again and gripped his fingers with a bruising force into the redhead's arms while wishing the man was conscious enough to respond to him. Then he slung Reno over his shoulder again and started making his way to Ten-ji's Office with a strange grin that completely conflicted with the darkness in his eyes.

- - -

With shaky hands, Erryn pushed herself from the floor and clumsily grabbed a liberal amount of gauze before stumbling to the door while wrapping it as best as she could around her shoulder, in hopes that she could make it to the emergency supplies at the end of the hall before she passed out. All the while, she found herself uncontrollably concerned about what Rufus' intentions were toward Reno, and couldn't seem to shake the feeling that she needed to do something about it.

While letting out a pained grunt, she grabbed onto her shoulder and held tight to it with her other hand, before stumbling against the wall and nearly falling to her knees. All the while, growing dizzier from the strange, flickering lights in the hall, as if all the ballasts were all malfunctioning at the same time. "Shiva…" She muttered with an aggravated roll to her eyes, when she was more than halfway to her destination. Then she slid down the wall and closed her eyes from the weakness she could no longer fight, before stubbornly shaking it off and almost crawling the rest of the way toward the supply's room.

- - -

With the leaves rustling in the mild breeze and the sound of the harmless, night-time creatures making their presence known, Vincent sat, resting his back against the trunk of a tree, while the Wutain slipped from an exhausting consciousness, and innocently rested in his arms. All the while, the gunman's expression remained cryptic and unreadable as he mindlessly stroked the silken hair in a caring and calming manner while he stared off into space and rested his cheek against the top of the man's head.

He was completely unaware of the fact that he was even touching the man, as he attempted to make the effort not to disturb him or wake him, or least of all, start another conflict that seemed to stem from nowhere in particular, other than Tseng's own frustrations to having his life figuratively taken from him. But he understood Tseng's feelings of condemnation, and he understood why Tseng was taking it more personal than most people probably would have.

And like usual, he couldn't help but feel like he was the one responsible for it all.

However, he had no intention of sitting there uncomfortably and worrying about disturbing the man when he felt he had more important things to do. And with a mid-stop from the, almost paternal-like, strokes, he simply rested his hand in the back of the man's hair before coming to a solid resolution.

Then, once he felt secure in his decision, he pulled the man a little more into his arms as if he were hugging him and removed his gauntlet, before he cradled the back of his friend's head and guided him as gently as he could to rest on the ground. After that, he rested the gauntlet near the man's head and then stood to remove his cloak. All the while, he kept his head tilted and his expressionless eyes on Tseng, as if he were watching for any signs of the man stirring and possibly awakening from the change in his position.

And for a moment, he simply held the cloak in front of him and hung onto it, with a mild grip, as if he were hesitating or contemplating something unknown, before he lowered his head with a subtle nod and knelt down to regard the Turk, once more, before carefully covering the man with it in order to ensure he stayed warm. He didn't really know if he was doing the right thing, and he didn't really know if it was something Tseng would have approved of.

But he simply couldn't seem to forget about what Tseng claimed bothered him most, and he suddenly felt a strong desire to make amends with the man, regardless of whether or not he was making another mistake. However, before he left, he subtly brushed the man's hair from his face and pulled the loose strands out of the corner of the man's mouth, as if he were in a strange daze, and wound up smiling subtly when Tseng snorted, murmured something out, and then fell silent enough to ensure the ex-Turk that he was still in a deep sleep.

Then he lowered his head and assured himself that his old friend would be just fine on his own as he checked to make sure the Turk's gun was fully loaded, and then he stood and quietly made his distance, and disappeared altogether.

- - -

After a burning run to the infirmary, Rufus swung open the doors to the main hall and was thrown off balance from the way the lights were flickering. Then he found himself feeling suddenly ill, as if he were about to be sick to his stomach. But he forced himself to shake it off as he reached out to get some added support from the wall to his right and started moving quickly through the hall, looking for any sign of either Erryn or Reno.

"Reno!" He called out, with a faint hint of panic to his voice that he made no effort to hide in the least, before he waved his hand above his head in irritation as if he was swatting at a bug and squinted his eyes from the sickening malfunction in the lights.

And when he received no answer, he started moving forward with a quickening pace. Then he called out Erryn's name and stopped dead at the sight of the mess in the room they must have been in. "Gaia…" He muttered, as he limped in and took note of the shattered glass and instruments strewn about, suggesting some kind of struggle had taken place, before he nearly slipped on something that triggered an even stronger alarm in him when he looked down and saw the dark, sticky, red streaks and droplets leading into the hallway.

With a new sense of panic, Rufus swallowed hard and quickly stepped out of the room to take note of the streaks along the wall as if someone was dragged along it and found himself nearly praying to the Lifestream that it wasn't Reno's, before he started running in the direction that it led to.

- - -

"There you go… prepped and primed for your entertainment." Marcus cockily stated, as he dropped Reno's body to the floor in the middle of Ten-ji's office. Then he let out a deep sigh and pulled out a cigarette and lit it, while noting the angry and questioning glare from Ten-ji. "What's the problem?" He asked, as Ten-ji looked at the clock on his desk while pursing his lips and then back over to Marcus' beaten up appearance. "Are you disappointed that I actually made it back alive?"

"Try surprised." Ten-ji stated, while narrowing his eyes in distaste and tapping his ring on his glass. "You were gone for over a fucking hour… What hell happened?"

"I got lost." Marcus answered, as if Ten-ji was stupid for not figuring that out on his own. Then he nudged the redhead with his foot and tapped his ashes on him while Ten-ji sceptically looked him over and snorted.

"I'm beginning to think you're not worth the trouble, Marcus." The Wutain commented, before he came around his desk and waved at Darius to do something with Reno. Then he paused for a moment and held up his hand in a stopping motion while giving Marcus a weary look, before he slowly knelt to his knees and turned Reno over to get a better look at him. "So, what was your plan…? Bash him until he turned into Ren and then bring him here to go berserk on everyone?"

Taking note of the wound on the ex-Turk's head and the large bruise on his neck, along with the markings on Marcus, Ten-ji looked up with a sneer. Then he took a quick look over to Darius and let out a deep sigh before returning his attention back to Reno and lifting the lid of one of his eyes.

"I found him like that!"

"Sure you did…" Ten-ji sarcastically replied. Then he muttered under his breath while gritting his teeth. "His eyes are fucking blue, you dipshit." After that, he turned his attention back to Marcus in wait for an explanation, before commanding Darius to take the blonde out of his sight while he pulled out a strong rope from one of the drawers in his desk and knelt back over Reno to ensure nothing unfortunate happened when he awoke.

"What the hell are you doing?" Marcus demanded, as he tried to struggle out of Darius' grip to try and express his disapproval with the way things were suddenly going. "I thought you were going to kill him!"

"Plans change." Ten-ji answered, before he tested the knots he tied and stood back up to walk over to the two men when Darius stopped to open the door. Then he let out a cheeky smile and placed the palm of his hand against the side of Marcus' face. "You should be used to that by now."

- - -

"Yuffi…" Vincent muttered under his breath, as he walked into the Seventh Heaven and found she was the only person present

With a broadening smile, she yelled out "Vin!" and hopped over the counter to greet him, before stopping dead and setting her focus on the red orb he was holding out as an offering to her. "Oh Leviathan! Is that…?"

"Yours under one condition."

"Name it!"

"Quit calling me Vin." He demanded, and then he tossed it at her and went to sit at the bar.

"Vince?" She asked, while placing the Materia in her armlet and clasping her hands together in front of her.

"Vincent."

"Hmph…" She snorted, before whining out as she walked back, toward the kitchen. "But that sounds so formal." Then she playfully pouted and wondered why he wasn't wearing his cloak or his gauntlet, but thought best about asking, before she disappeared for a moment.

"That mission Tseng sent you on…" Vincent started, with a raised voice, so she could hear him, and in hopes that she'd found out more than what she was asked to. "What did you find out.?"

"Lots of things." She answered, mischievously, as she walked back in with a couple of plates full of food and placed them on the bar. "But nothing about Exit Materia… except that it's still being sold…"

"What about a man named Ten-ji or Tjen Syn?"

"You mean Tseng's uncle?" She asked innocently, while pulling the wrapping off the plates and setting them in front of Vincent, reminding the man about the tight click that existed between the Wutains while he suddenly regarded her with a slight caution. "Last I heard, he's still at his office somewhere in Kalm." Then she leaned over and rested her chin on her fists while smiling at the gunman, and lowered her voice. "Wanna know where it is?"

For a moment, Vincent simply sat there and stared at her with an unreadable expression, before he picked up one of the rolls from the plate and sniffed at it. "How much do you know?"

"Well." She toyed. "I know about a certain, torrid, affair, a murder, and a kidnapping." Then she looked at Vincent and shook her head, before turning to the bar and muttering out "Wutain Politics… only half-truths…"

"Affair…"

"Yeah… Something about Tseng having an affair with another man and killing his father to try and cover it up." Yuffi answered while pouring herself a soda. Then she shook her head in disbelief and muttered. "I always wondered what he did…" After that, she turned around to fill a glass with water for the gunman. "Something sounds fishy about it, though…"

"Why's that?"

"Well… I don't know Tseng all that well… But he has a reputation." She answered, before placing the water down in front of the man. "And from what I know of him… Well… I can see him killing someone in cold blood… he does it all the time… But…" With another shake to her head, and a slight giggle at the thought, she leaned over the counter again and confided with a slight disbelief. "I just can't see him having an affair… Not with a man."

"People are full of surprises."

"Mm… Yeah…" Yuffi mused, before pushing herself up to sit on the counter and snickering again. "But Tseng?" She asked, disbelieving the whole story. "I mean… he's such a perv."

"Perv…"

"Oh, c'mon, Vin-cent… His wife is half his age… and don't tell me you never noticed the way he's always checking out the younger girls."

"I've noticed." Vincent answered, while avoiding her eyes as he put the roll down and picked a wrap up to inspect it.

"Mm…" With a short nod, Yuffi placed her hand on the counter for support and leaned over to Vincent confidingly. "Did you know they banned him from ever using his last name and were going to exterminate him as well?"

"I heard about it."

"Imagine that… Not being allowed to use your own name…"

"He seems to be fine with the one he has now."

"Yeah… But it's not from his lineage… What if he has a son…? He won't be able to pass on his heritage."

"Wutain's put too much focus on things of little importance." Vincent muttered, before he tossed the wrap back to the platter and simply stared at it. "DNA gets passed on… There's nothing in a name."

"Well…" Yuffi started, while being slightly offended by his comment and grabbing a small bun from one of the trays and stuffing it in her mouth before continuing without swallowing. "Maybe you just don't care because you can't have kids."

Suddenly realising she'd gone too far with her comment by the way Vincent immediately closed himself off, Yuffi jumped off the counter and sat in the stool beside the man while swallowing back the remainder of her bun. Then she made an attempt at an apology that appeared to go unheard before the gunman muttered out. "I'd prefer it if you kept everything you've heard about Tseng to yourself."

"Seriously?" She asked, with a genuine surprise, before she explained it was just too juicy to keep under lock and key. "But… Think about it Vince-ent… It's almost too comical… How could you not entertain the idea?"

"Because none of it's true." Vincent answered, still staring at the plate, before he decided to inspect another roll.

"But he's so uptight… It would serve him right to –"

"It's the reason he's uptight."

"Really?" She asked suspiciously, before she leaned over to Vincent and quietly confided. "I heard there were photo's" Then she casually grabbed another bun while neglecting to notice the man beside her had literally stiffened up and continued carelessly with her mouth full again. "Of course… No one's ever seen 'em… So, it's prob'ly just a rumour…"

"I have to go." The gunman suddenly said, as he tossed the roll back on the platter with a sickened loss of appetite, before he immediately stood and started walking toward the door.

"But you just got here!" Yuffi complained, as she got up and went after him.

"You said you knew where Ten-ji's office was." Vincent pointed out, as she grabbed him by the arm to stop him, encouraging him to turn and face her. "Where is it?"

"I can show you."

"Just tell me."

- - -

When Rufus made it to the back room by following the streaks, he found Erryn, unconscious on the floor, and nodded before busting the lock on one of the cabinets and grabbing a mastered Restore Materia. "Cure2" He muttered out, hoping he wasn't too late to find out what happened while he knelt down to check her pulse as her body stiffened and she cried out.

"Erryn…" He whispered, with a strange softness to his voice, while he lightly shook her to get her attention and tossed the bullet that came out, carelessly to the side. "Can you hear me?"

"Shiva…" She breathed out, and immediately pushed herself away from the man as if she was looking at her own death. "Stay the fuck away from me!" Then she took a panicked look around before setting her wild eyes on the President and demanded. "What the fuck did you do with Reno?"

"Erryn." Rufus started again, with a more stern approach, as his desperation went into overdrive. "A man that looked like me… wearing black… Did he take Reno?"

"Wearing black?" She confusingly repeated, as she studied Rufus' clothing and torn appearance before falling into a searching daze and muttering out "Shiva…" while trying to make sense out of the scenario. Then she returned her attention back to Rufus and stared at him challengingly in the eye. "What the hell is goin on?"

"I don't have time to explain." Rufus informed, as he grabbed some gauze off the counter near him to quickly tend to her condition. "I simply need to know what happened." Then he shook his head after quickly fastening the gauze and keeping his eyes fastened to where she was shot. "In the quickest version possible."

"Reno… Ren… He… He attacked me…" She started, as her eyes wandered like she was trying to replay it in an attempt to make sense out of it and waved her fingers about as if she was pointing to all the directions she was tossed. "I don't think he knew where… Or even when he was… I had to sedate him."

"Ren?" Rufus asked, as a new element arose to his concerns. "You sedated him?"

"Yeah… H-he was gonna… kill me…"

"I see."

"Then you… came in…" She continued, before she returned to looking him up and down in confusion. "But it wasn't you… was it?"

"He took him…" Rufus concluded, as he stood up and avoided her eyes while brushing his hand through his hair and avoiding her question. Then he pulled some Hi-Potions out of the other cabinet and tossed them at her before rushing out and telling her to get herself cleaned up.

- - -

"I thought you assholes were going to kill him." Marcus venomously spat out, as he was being dragged against his will, down the hall and toward his room by Darius. "I thought that was the whole fucking reason I brought him here!"

"You know how Ten-ji changes his mind." Darius replied, unaffected by the blonde's behaviour and demands. Then he pushed the man over to his bed and pointed at him to sit, as if he were a dog that needed scolding.

After Marcus complied, the dark man clasped his hands behind his back and turned to scout the wall at the opposite end, where the door was, and settled his eyes above the frame while sighing. "When Hakiou caught word of Reno being returned to us, he offered to return and work for Ten-ji, unconditionally." With a slightly wry grin over the blonde's sudden confusion over the unexplained information he was suddenly receiving, Darius turned to face Marcus and leaned over confidingly and patted the blonde on the top of the head. "And you know how much Ten-ji likes having Hakiou around."

"The guy's a mind-fucker."

"Yes… He is…" Darius agreed, before straightening up and smiling again. "Isn't he…" Then he scanned the images on the wall behind Marcus and returned his attention back to the blonde before continuing with the same, emotionless, smile. "But we never forgot how much more agreeable you were when he was around, and we'd like so much to have us all as one big happy family again."

After that, Darius chuckled with a dark amusement before turning and staring above Marcus' door again, and then he oddly asked. "How long do you think it will take Rufus to come looking for Renault…? Hours…? Minutes…?" Then he took a step forward and kept his eyes above the door before continuing. "I wouldn't doubt that Rufus has developed some way to track Reno… Particularly after everything that happened to him the last time…"

"What the hell are you getting at, you manipulative peon!"

"Manipulative?" Darius asked. Then he turned around and stared Marcus in the eye with a strange glint. "Ah… Yes… You'd know all about being manipulative, wouldn't you?" Then he grinned again, and let out a satisfied smile before commenting that it was such a shame that Marcus had to be locked up again, and commenced to slowly walk out before pausing in front of the door and feigning a stretch while his fingers playfully tapped above the frame. "I certainly hope, for your sake, that Ten-ji won't get any bright ideas in regards to having that madman actually re-condition you this time."

After that, he chuckled again and returned his hands to being clasped behind his back. "After all, threats can only be carried out for so long… And eventually, one will have to actually carry through if they want to have any impact." Darius mused. Then he started to open the door as he turned to face Marcus again while stepping out, backwards. "And if that doesn't work, I'm afraid he might just wind up giving up on his plans altogether and killing you to save him the ongoing headache of your demented head-games."

- - -

Rufus made no hesitation in leaving Erryn on her own as he ran back up the stairs, to his office, to start up his laptop so he could search for the signature of the tracking system he had injected into Reno, and the moment he found it, he stood with narrowed eyes and tapped his fingers on his desk as if he were deep in thought. Then he nodded and slammed the lid shut before rifling through one of the drawers in his desk for more ammunition and for a remote locator.

All the while, he assured himself that he could get to the redhead in time before anything unfortunate happened. Then he stopped for a moment and paused, realising that there was no way for him to actually get where he needed to go within a short enough time to ensure such a thing, and he wound up rushing through the combination safe for his spare keys to the cabinets in his office.

As he rifled through years-worth of paperwork, things confiscated throughout, and a secret stash of alcohol that he'd been hiding from pretty-much everyone, he paused and found himself having to fight the urge to ease his concerns and cripple his own judgement. Apparently, quitting drinking had proven to be a little harder than even Rufus had anticipated, and he chose to keep it hidden from everyone.

But that was beside the point, and when Rufus finally found what he was looking for and toyed with it for a moment while contemplating the risk he was about to take, all manner of weaknesses were forgotten.

"I always knew you were trouble." He quietly confided, before he grabbed an old armlet in the same cabinet, that he figured Reno had probably stolen from someone important, and put it on before placing the Materia into it. Then he stood there for a moment and took a deep breath while taking a careless note of the mess he'd just made, before he stared at one of his drawings he'd done of the redhead that must have fallen from one of the cabinets and muttered out. "But you were always worth it."

Then he closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and swallowed back his concerns before muttering out "Exit."

- - -

With a mischievous grin, Ten-ji ran his fingers along the case full of serum, that Darius brought in, and decided it was a good thing to have, should the need arise. Then he closed the lid and pulled a syringe full of hyper out of one of his drawers and moved to kneel in front of Reno before injecting him, and smacking him, to jolt the man back to consciousness.

"FUCK!" Was about the best reaction, and the most expected one, that he got when the redhead opened his eyes, wide, and realised where he was.

"Well, well…" He started, as his eyes ran over the redhead's face in amusement, and then he grabbed onto the man's thighs to hold him steady while scooting closer and grinning at him with a tilted head. "It's been a long time since I've had the pleasure of seeing you again, Ren." Then he wiped at his face after the ex-slum-rat spit on him and yanked on his legs to pull him more to the edge of the seat while watching the younger man grimace. "I know Marcus asked you to kill me."

"'E did'n ask…" Ren replied through clenched teeth, before leaning forward as far as the ropes would let him and hissing. "Would'a been glad ta try it anyway, though."

"So, the little fuck demanded it then…" The Wutain mused, before he smiled slyly and looked to the side as if he were slightly impressed. Then he turned his attention back to the unstable redhead and turned completely serious. "I'm impressed… However, I'm not concerned about that."

"'Course not." The redhead commented, as Ten-ji let go of one of his legs to toy with the empty needle. "S'long as ya got Darius kissin yer ass, ya'll never 'afta worry." Then he chuckled and tried to pull his other leg free of Ten-ji's hold while sarcastically commenting. "Ya mus pay 'im well."

"He's generously taken care of." Ten-ji admitted. Then he smacked the ex-Turk's thigh and smiled with a mischievous glow. "But I didn't bring you here to discuss the payment of my employees… After all, you were once quite familiar with the rewards."

"Rewards…"

Taking note of the sarcastic snort that followed the bitter reflection of the man in front of him, Ten-ji chuckled lightly and tapped his ring on the needle. "That's right, Ren… I almost forgot… You have an inability to let go of the wrong-doings you feel I bestowed upon you."

"Ya fucked us both!"

"I NEVER EVEN KNEW UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE, YOU UNGRATEFUL PIECE OF SHIT!" Ten-ji suddenly bellowed. Then he took a deep breath to try and calm himself down in an attempt to avoid bashing the redhead across the face before he looked to the floor and muttered out. "Mind you, I honestly didwish they'd have finished you off… But Aldrich…"

For a moment, Ten-ji simply stared into space before he subtly shook his head and tapped his ring on the needle again. Then he sighed and shook his head once more while he muttered under his breath and placed it on his desk. "He was never the same."

Then with another shake to his head, the Wutain straightened up and grabbed Reno by the bang to arch his head back. "You, on the other hand, haven't changed one bit." He observed, before he moved closer and pressed his thumb against the gash in the redhead's forehead. "You're still as unpredictable, untrustworthy, and backstabbing as you always were."

"Got my reasons."

"I know." Ten-ji agreed. "What happened to you both was unjust… I actually felt sorry for you both… The way the two of you would cling to each other, and literally freak out when you were separated." With a feigned, kind, stroke across the redhead's wound that caused him to grimace, the Wutain smiled, almost sympathetically before wryly adding as he leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Of course, all of that changed when he started forcing himself on you, and you tried to counter-act it by turning to women that you had to pay since you couldn't get it for free if your life depended on it."

"Ya tryin ta kick me where it 'urts?"

"No…" With a mild chuckle the Wutain let go and straightened up. "You wouldn't know what hurts…" Then he narrowed his eyes and returned his attention back to the redhead with a devilish glint. "At least, not when it comes to anything that requires emotions… However…" Ten-ji added, as he leaned closer again and placed his hand on Reno's shoulder to attract the redhead's full attention. "I'm willing to bet that I know what would hurt."

After that, Ten-ji straightened up again and smiled as if he'd seen heaven when a subtle knocking sound filled the room, and he turned to look at the closed door from where it came…

- - -

"Gaia damn it, Cloud!" Cid yelled, when the younger man carefully guided the last of the guards to the floor. "You've gone too far this time!" Then he looked around in expectation of more guards showing up, as the ex-Soldier ignored him and pulled the keycards from the pockets of the men he'd taken down.

"I told you… Something's going on."

"Yeah," Cid agreed, as he eyed the man up and down and took a drag. "You losin your fuckin mind about sums it up." Then he started to quickly hover about the man as the ex-Soldier started to walk down the halls of the precinct with one of the guns readied that he stole from the guards.

"You don't find it odd that there aren't more guards?"

"It's fuckin Shinra!" Cid pointed out. "They probably didn't even expect ya to fuckin pick the damn lock on the fucking cell… Let alone take out their fucking rookie guards!"

"You swear too much." Cloud commented, as he kept his focus on his surroundings and motioned for Cid to stop when they came near a corner. Then he whispered without turning to regard the man as he peered carefully around the corner. "You're also too loud… Shut up."

"Too fucking loud…" Cid muttered, before he took another drag and slouched to one side while looking at the blonde lunatic as if he'd truly lost what was left of his feeble mind. "'Course, it's got nothin to do with you rampaging your way out of here, and gettin us both into more trouble than what we started out with."

"I told you, you were more than welcome to stay in the cell." After that, Cloud cocked the gun and cautiously moved forward, still wondering why there weren't any more guards coming to stop them. Then he paused for a moment and let Cid walk passed him before he violently hit the man across the base of the scalp and knocked him out. "In fact, you'll be better off if you don't get involved."

After that, Cloud knelt down and apologised while explaining that he couldn't shake the feeling that something serious was happening. "I wish I could explain what it was." He muttered, before he stood up again and started moving toward the armoury to see if he could find his sword that was taken from him, along with anything else he might need as well. "But I need to get to Kalm… Fast."

- - -

"Ah…" Ten-ji gleefully started, as he opened the door and welcomed Darius and another man, who was carrying a small medical bag, standing on the other side. "Dr. Hakiou… It's been a long time."

Then he chuckled and turned to watch the sudden alarm take over the redhead, as the ruffian violently attempted to struggle free from his restraints when he recognised who the man was.

"I believe you two have met." The Wutain stated, while stepping out of the way to let them both enter and carefully watched the vengeful appearance take over the doctor as the panic continued to take hold of the redhead. "Back in Nibelheim… Wasn't it?"

"Yes." The Doctor calmly agreed, in a soft voice, while eyeing the redhead up with nothing but contempt, in his clear, green eyes, as he gripped the small case he was holding, hard enough for his knuckles to turn stark white. "I worked as one of Doctor Hojo's assistants… Long before my son took my place…"

"Ah, yes." Ten-ji agreed, before he smacked the doctor on the back as if they were old buddies, and Darius moved out of the way to take up an empty corner in order to silently stand by. Then he turned his attention back to Reno and grinned hungrily. "Kurn… Right?"

"This is a fuckin joke…" The redhead spat out nervously, as he continued to struggle with his bonds as they dug in enough to make his wrists bleed. "Right?"

"I'm afraid not." Dr. Hakiou responded. Then he walked up to the redhead and pushed the man's head back to look into his eyes and study them. "It's a shame Haldric is no longer with us… Unlike Hojo, I was always interested in the progress of both of you." Then he leaned closer as he forcefully held the lid open to one of Reno's eyes. "But progress is of little importance to me these days." He admitted, confidentially. "Particularly when the loss of my son seems to take precedence over my better judgement."

"Ya sick bastard…" Reno rasped, as he tried to pull his head away while trying to fight the reminder of his experience in Nibelheim. "Yer psycho son tried ta kill us."

"Us?" With a quirked brow, the doctor straightened up and turned to regard Ten-ji with a frightening lack of emotion.

"Yes." Ten-ji confirmed, with a nod, as he humbly stepped forward. "Despite his lack of better judgement in his defence, the little fucker still has a problem with his limit thinking he's an actual person… different from his host."

"Interesting." The doctor mused. Then he returned his attention back to the redhead with a cold indifference. "Perhaps continuing where Dr. Hojo left off will have some benefits for us all then… I take it you've prepared my facility?"

"Yes… Everything you requested is ready."

"And there'll be no interference?"

"As I already said, carry out the task as you please… All I care about is that Renault becomes more agreeable, and you return your services to us."

"Agreed then." The doctor stated. Then he turned toward the other door while ignoring the growing panic and protests from the redhead, and commenced to lead the way. "Bring him down… I'd like to get started right away."

After nodding in compliance, Ten-ji motioned for Darius to take over. Then he started walking out of the room while commenting that it would be nice if the Doctor could be successful in permanently reconditioning the little rat, and decided he'd ignore the irrelevant name-calling from the hysterical little traitor.

"Now, now, Ren… Once it's all over, you won't remember a single thing… Just like Reno." Ten-ji chuckled out, while continuing to leave, and musing over the irony, as Darius came up to the redhead and unfastened him from the chair to bring him along. "Hell… If everything works out… You won't even exist…"

"Fuck…" Reno muttered, while he was being pulled to his feet, unable to tear his eyes away from the door. "Darius… Ya can't let 'im do this… Ya promised ya'd pr–"

With a sudden hand pressed firmly against the redhead's mouth in warning, he met a foreboding glare, as the dark man stood between him and the door, where Ten-ji had disappeared from, and shook his head slowly while hissing under his breath, in a tone that only he and the redhead could hear. "Shut. The fuck. Up."

- - -

"Hakiou…" Marcus muttered, as he sat on the edge of his bed and shuddered at the memory of all the things Aldrich told him about that madman, along with his own memories of his own alterations that were done by the very same person. Then he bitterly murmured out "Hack-surgeon…" before he turned his attention to the top of the doorframe and suddenly wondered what Darius' fascination was with it.

Then, with a strange grin creeping in on him at the sound of Reno's screaming from somewhere else in the building, Marcus moved more to the edge of his bed and continued to stare at the top of his door. He couldn't help but wonder what in Gaia's name Darius getting at, and found the urge to find out what it was too irresistible to ignore.

But he didn't fall to the temptation right away, and wound up sitting there, for moments more, and continued to listen to the heavenly raucous from the redhead after Ten-ji and Darius left him solely entrusted to the doctor's private devising. Then he gripped the edge of his bed when he heard Ten-ji and Darius enter the hall and walk by his room, as Ten-ji mentioned something about being in the mood for ice-cream and that the Inn's kitchen was open all night, while Darius agreed that it couldn't hurt to have a drink or two as well.

Idiots…

While sneering at the thought, Marcus looked back above his door and waited for the sound of the two men to make a fair enough distance. Then he got up and quickly walked to the door as silently as he could and started running his hand along the top of the frame before he suddenly stopped and cursed Darius for being such a manipulative son of a bitch, and wondered what the man's game was, as he pulled the object down and stared at it.

It was a small key, a master key, to be exact, that opened all the doors in the building, including the one to Marcus' room. But his concern over what Darius' angle was had been overridden by his own desire, to go about his own business, when he heard a familiar sound on the outside grounds that didn't belong to anyone that resided or worked within the building.

- - -

Rufus cursed quietly, as he grimaced and stepped on a branch that snapped, causing him to stop dead in his tracks and quietly observe his surroundings. Concerned that it might have given his presence away, he cocked his gun and waited for a few moments until he was secure enough in his assumption that he hadn't been heard.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have cared very much, and would have been ready to take care of himself. However, he wasn't there to take care of himself that time, nor did he want to waste any time having to do such a thing.

No. In fact, his agenda had nothing to do with himself at all that time, and the less time he had to spend dealing with anyone else, the more time he had to attend to the real reason he was standing in the shadows of the grounds of an elaborate and seemingly ordinary, yet successful looking, business office close to the outskirts of Kalm.

And unlike the last time Reno had been captured and tortured, Rufus was dead-determined to ensure that he would be the one to save him this time, and he wasn't willing to let anyone get in his way or stop him, not even his own nagging injuries.

Nor the sudden inconvenience that snuck up on him from the left and stabbed him with something that felt like a pin-prick, causing him to quickly retaliate and pull it out to stab the remainder of whatever was in that needle into his attacker.