The Experiment

Authors: Yahnkehy and The Prince's Jewel

Notes: This is a collaboration fanfic, not role-play, per se, but similar being as it is a joint effort.

Genre: Final Fantasy VII, post AC, post DoC

Spoilers: Possibly a few, but mostly just mentions of major happenings in the original FF7 game, some for Advent Children.

Warnings: Uniquely done MPREG *ducks rotten tomatoes*, angst, broken Cloud, pissy Reno, slight OOC, hurt/comfort, yaoi, kissing, brat.

Pairing: Cloud x Reno

Disclaimer: Not mine; there'd be more yaoi if it was.

Chapter 34: Aftershocks

The drive to Rufus' home was mostly spent deciding what should be said and what should be left unsaid. It had been obvious over the phone that Cloud had been distraught despite how the blonde had attempted to keep his voice toneless and reserved. The fact that Cloud had left Shinra to his command for the time being combined with the distress, however, was not exactly a good sign.

Reno's disappearance added a touch of insight to what might be bothering Cloud, but that alone shouldn't have been enough to make the president take to the hills, as it were. The obvious attachment between Rufus and Cloud should've at least softened Reno's leaving, if appearances were to be believed. The two blondes were very close, and if he didn't know better, Tseng might almost misconstrue their relationship as being much more than that. Gods knew that Reno thought so and had moped and complained over that possibility a few times when he'd been over to visit in the last month.

Tseng pulled the car around the drive and stopped at the door, hopping out and heading inside with a nod to the Turks guarding the former president's home as he passed through the entryway.

"Rufus, it's Tseng; may I enter?" he called as he tapped on the former president's bedroom door.

Rufus jerked awake, confused and disoriented. Hadn't he just been in the office? It took him a moment to realize that he was, yet again, in his bed. But what had woken him? A voice? A knock? He rubbed fitfully at his eyes, and decided the easiest way to find out was to simply raise his voice. "What?"

"Sir, it's Tseng; may I come in?" he repeated.

"Tseng?" Rufus forced himself to the edge of the bed, sitting woozily. His wheelchair was still kept close, and he transferred to it. He jiggled the controls, found the battery dead, and wearily wheeled himself to the door. He fumbled with the lock. "It's… unlocked, now," he said as soon as he'd gotten the chair out of the door's path.

Tseng pushed the door open carefully and peeked inside before stepping in fully and closing the door behind him. "Sir, we have a situation."

"A situation?" His head felt fuzzy. "What kind of a situation?"

"President Strife has… taken a leave of absence and left me in charge of the company." Tseng shifted slightly, squaring his shoulders. "And I've been in contact with the doctor that was assigned to Reno. The report is one that I can only guess spurred the sudden, ah, vacation."

Rufus' lips thinned. "He left… my brother."

"Ah, so you've been made aware of that." Tseng nodded once and then shifted his gaze to the tussled bed. "It seems that Professor Hojo never intended Reno to ever become impregnated outside of a laboratory and to insure that ever happened the good doctor was kind enough to infuse his blood with a neurotoxin which will kill him in a matter of months."

"You knew? That Strife was my brother?"

"All of us knew," Tseng replied bluntly, staring down at the blonde.

"For how long?"

"I've known since before the heat cycle, before the rooms were upgraded. I'm not sure about Rude. Reno's known since just after he woke up from the coma."

He'd known. He'd known they were related before Strife stole samples for Hojo's daughters to test. He'd known before his brother had come to ask for help with Reno's heat. Every time they'd kissed, every time they'd touched, every time they'd…. Tseng had known. The whole time. And said nothing. Given him no warning.

Rufus smiled brittlely. "I see. So, Reno has only a few months to live, and Strife is on an unexpected vacation."

"Yes, sir."

"He has left you in charge of his companies." Rufus tilted his head. "I fail to see a problem."

A black brow arched in silent question. "I beg your pardon? The president leaving me in charge of his companies presents a rather large problem. President Strife is not one to shirk his duties—something is wrong, sir."

Rufus pressed the control on the wheelchair, forgetting for a moment that it wouldn't work. He dropped his hands to the wheels, his weakened grip slowly inching the chair towards his bed. "His lover left him, Tseng. He has left the most competent and—" Rufus' hand slipped from the wheel, and he paused as he tried to regain his grip. Failing, he settled his hands in his lap, "—able of his employees in charge while he deals with the breakup. As I said, I fail to see a problem with his decision to place you in charge."

Tseng's lips thinned and he stiffened his shoulders, staring coolly at the back of Rufus' head. "Yes, sir." He'd keep his observations to himself for the time being. Little would sway the blonde at this point, and it was useless to try.

"I suppose I should—" The door burst open and Tseng had his gun drawn before it even hit the wall, pointed and cocked at the intruder until he realized just who it was. "Come back, I see."

"Get. Out." Reno shoved his hands into his pockets, gazing at Tseng lazily through hooded eyes. "Right now."

The gun never wavered. "I don't think so."

A chilling smile curled Reno's lips and he rocked back on his heels. A moment later he had his EMR drawn and extended, head tipped to the side. "Get out now and I won't kill the heartless little shit," he amended, thumbing the charge release on his weapon.

"Stand down, Tseng. He is still carrying the children."

"Yeah, Tseng, stand down or you could hurt the babies," Reno echoed with a little snarling curl to his smirk.

"Sir, I advise against it. I can wound him so that he will not be able to strike without harming the babes."

Rufus sent an irritated look at the older Turk, and a rather desperate one towards his hopelessly out-of-reach bed. "I am aware of your skill; however, I prefer not to take the chance of my nephews coming to harm. Stand down."

No sooner had Tseng's gun shifted to point at the floor than Reno sprang at him, EMR raised over his shoulder. He stopped the weapon just short of Tseng's jaw, gazing at his former superior from a breath away before dropping the weapon to dangle at his wrist and shoving Tseng toward the door. "Get out while I chat with my ex-brother-in-law, would ya? Go talk to Rude; he needs to fill you in."

Once the door closed behind a rather disgruntled Tseng, Reno turned to face Rufus and leaned back against the door. "So, I hear that I'm no longer worthy of your time because of a really fucked misunderstanding," he said casually as he pushed off of the door and sauntered slowly toward Rufus.

Reno took hold of the handles on the back of the wheelchair and wheeled Rufus over to the bed. "But, turns out that you're even less worthy than I am; you kicked a chocobo when he was already down. I left him because he was in love with you, or so I thought, and because I didn't know of a way to save my skin and the babies.

"Figured that even though I'd be gone on a permanent basis, he'd still have you to take care of him. I didn't know that you were gonna bite it soon, too. Nobody told me until after I took off. Anyway," Reno stopped the chair beside the bed and put the brakes on, and then all but dumped Rufus onto the bed unceremoniously, "Now, well, now we've both lost the most important person in our lives. Cloud took a vacation with Jenova. I figure even after I take a bath in Lifestream and my brain comes back online, if it does, that he's not gonna give me a chance to prove myself again; kinda ate up all of the free passes he gave me, ya know?"

Rufus pitched forward, landing face-first at a bad angle. Unable to maintain any semblance of balance or to catch himself, he collapsed in a twisted heap over the feet of the wheelchair. Rufus drew short, ragged breaths, unable to think beyond the pain for several long moments.

"Was… everyone informed… about… my death before… I knew?" he gasped out when he could speak again.

"I found out barely an hour ago. From what I understand, you found out just before Cloud tried to kill himself in the Nibel Mountains." Reno pushed the chair aside and took a seat beside Rufus, rolling him over more out of curiosity than care. He'd left Cloud to Rufus and then Rufus had pushed Cloud away, which was what caused Cloud's suicide attempt.

"Nice way to show how much you appreciate his help while you've been sick, by the way. I can't think of a better way to say thanks than to stomp all over an already broken—" he gulped down a panicked breath, feeling his heart seize a moment as the neurotoxin flirted with his involuntary muscle controls. "All sarcasm aside," Reno said in a rush, "if he comes back before you bite the bullet, you need to apologize for being an asshat."

"St—" Again, his ability to speak was short-circuited by pain. The chair's rattling as Reno shoved it aside masked the gasp when his already twisted ankle protested the treatment. Getting rolled only amplified the injury, and he almost missed Reno's momentary panic.

"Tseng… said he took… leave. Nothing about… suicide."

"Tseng didn't know; Rude's probably fillin' him in right now." Reno calmed himself down and tipped his head to the side, watching Rufus' face twist in pain, but could only call up fleeting worry.

He'd trusted Rufus to shelter Cloud and help him along until he could move on, instead he'd—Reno shook his head and forced himself to take slow, even breaths. Getting angry or excited in any way only sped the toxin through his system. "Why'd ya throw him away, boss?" he asked quietly as he reached over to gently card his fingers through Rufus' hair, allowing pity to fill in where the anger had been.

Rufus flinched from Reno's touch, body tensing as the redhead began petting him. He was trapped, caught by his own weakness, unable to defend himself from the former Turk. He closed his eyes, allowing himself that small favor. Reno wanted an answer, but… "I didn't," he whispered, bracing himself for the retribution he expected for his answer.

Slim fingers stilled for a moment and then resumed petting, his touch lightening further. "It looks like you did to me and it seems like it to him; so why do ya say you didn't? He said that you told him you didn't need him anymore; that sounds like throwing him away to me."

"You can't throw away what you never had," Rufus replied in a strained whisper.

Reno chuckled and eased down beside Rufus and tucked one hand beneath his chin, the other tracing feather-light over the blonde's face. "And they say that I'm stupid," he said with a sigh. "Ru, all you ever had to do was smile at him and he was yours. See, Cloud has a thing about family; he craves closeness and attention and I'd pretty much guess that, even though you're his brother, if you wanted a physical relationship with him he'd give you that because you're his family. I mean, it's obvious that he has no qualms with being physical with you and he's known you were his brother for quite some time."

"He's known since before our father fucked us together the first time," Rufus said bitterly, finding strength in his anger. "He's known all along that he was my brother, and he never said anything. He was never mine to have, so how could I throw away what was never mine?"

"You're missing the point." Reno sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing his thumb over Rufus' cheek. "Whether or not he said anything isn't the point; he was yours long before I even knew what Shinra was simply because you're his brother. I'm jealous as fuck of all of the attention he lavished over you, attention that he's never given me and probably never will. Do you know how hard it is to compete with you for his heart knowing that I'm never gonna win?"

"Do you want to know what happened, Reno? Is that it?" His anger provided the strength he needed to finish untangling his wounded ankle from the wheelchair and claw his way up. The seated position put his back to Reno, but he was willing not to see the redhead's expressions – and to miss seeing any blow that might come. He wouldn't be able to dodge them anyway.

He kept a white-fingered grip on the bed, clutching at the framework. "He came to me before your heat, knowing that he was my brother, and went down on me to demonstrate the pleasures that would come from helping. He offered something that meant more to me than pleasure, though. He showed me something afterwards that I'd had little of my entire life, and promised more.

"I knew I wasn't entirely recovered. I knew that there were days that I relapsed. But I wanted that. It wasn't anything more than cuddling, but… such tenderness is something that I rarely got to experience. I agreed, knowing that it was solely for your sake that he'd come. He didn't come because he cared for me, but because he cared for you.

"No one has ever treated me so carefully, so much like I mattered. Not the President's son, not the President, but me. You and Tseng are the only other two who ever spoon-fed me when I was sick. Tseng is the only other who has ever put me to bed… though that might just have been because it was part of his job."

His grip weakened, as did his voice. "I never once believed that he loved anyone but you, though I knew he cared for me. How could I believe otherwise, when he reminded me at every turn that there was no opportunity for us? Then today he came to tell me that you had left him because he wasn't good enough. It had been his greatest fear, that you would decide he wasn't worth building a relationship with, and it had just happened."

Rufus drew a deep breath, expecting a blow, an interruption. But no, that wouldn't happen. What Reno wanted to know was what had happened next. He could feel the former Turk's tense anticipation, the silent urging for him to continue. He sagged as his grip loosened more. With an internal sigh, he gave up the last of that fight, and collapsed back beside Reno.

It wasn't an unfamiliar position. He'd lain naked beside the redhead often enough over the prior year that being clad in sleep pants made the familiar feeling of laying beside the other almost uncomfortable. He could feel the heat of Reno's body, and feel the soft swell of breasts against his bare skin. One of his hands had landed on Reno's hip; the other lay just as limply at his side. They ached, a softer counter-pain to his throbbing ankle, a little stronger than the headache hitting his head on the floor had produced. He discovered he could barely shift his fingers; so instead of removing his hand from Reno's hip, he inadvertently gave a light caress.

It took much of his willpower to focus enough to make the ceiling stop swimming. A dry tongue attempted to moisten drier lips. The ceiling swam out of focus again, and he fell, body jerking involuntarily against the landing that couldn't happen. Rufus' illness snatched his awareness, and he sank again into the blackness of another involuntary sleep, Cloud's name a breathy sigh as he slipped away.

Reno cuddled with Rufus for another few moments, kissing and stroking the damp blonde strands. "Ya know," he whispered, "I think you're crazy about him." A sad grin curved the redhead's lips and he sighed heavily. "And I think he's insane for you. And, hey, you won't have to worry about hormones and shit like that. Once we figure out how to cure you, you and Cloud can be…" his throat closed up and he swallowed hard before easing away from the blonde and getting to his feet. There was no way he could risk lifting Rufus, despite how light the man had gotten, so instead he went into the hall and called for Rude.

Rude glanced up from a low-voiced conversation with Tseng. "Yeah?"

"Need your strength, aibou," Reno stepped back from the bedroom door and gestured inside. "He's on the floor and I can't lift him. Will you put him to bed for me?"

Rude nodded shortly, long strides taking him past Reno. Tseng followed close behind, moving immediately to check Rufus' condition. When he moved aside, Rude lifted the limp form, holding the younger man until Tseng had arranged the blankets and pillows to his satisfaction. Rufus whimpered when Rude inadvertently bumped his ankle against the bed, prompting a more thorough examination by the Wutaiian.

"I didn't know he was so fragile," Reno defended when Tseng took a moment to glare at him before going back to his examination. "I was just a tiny bit rough. I actually meant for him to fall out of the chair onto the bed, not on the floor. Even I'm not that much of a heartless bastard."

"What part of 'dying' didn't congeal in that pea-brain of yours, Reno? You can't be even a little rough with him, you witless idiot!" Tseng seethed quietly through his teeth, but his hands remained extremely gentle. "Your fit of temper could have killed him."

Reno's face blanked of all emotion and he shrugged a shoulder. "Just fix him up, yo." He looked at the trio dispassionately and strolled out of the room with his hands in his pockets.

"Sometimes I wonder if he has two working brain cells to rub together," Tseng muttered as he stood from the bed and moved around to get the first-aid kit from Rufus' dresser. "Get him taken care of, Rude. And don't bring him around Rufus until he learns some common sense."

"Sir." Rude headed out the door after Reno. "You want to go get your daughter now?"

"Yeah, I guess I should say bye to her, at least." Reno started down the steps, hands in his pockets and visibly bored.

"Say bye?" Rude questioned, following his former partner.

"Dunno how takin' a bath in Lifestream is gonna effect me; might end up smarter and drooling creamed spinach, yo."

"You don't like creamed spinach."

Reno stopped and shot a faintly curious look at Rude before shrugging it off and continuing his way out to the car parked outside. "Let's just go see Temp for a bit. Maybe Elena wouldn't mind keeping her for however long this shit takes."

Rude snorted. "You'll come home to find she can field strip a gun while refreshing the make-up she's been taught to apply."

"She might need those traits when she grows up, yo. Nothing wrong with knowing her way around weapons; less chance of finding out she's pregnant at seventeen and having to go and find…" Reno sighed and popped his neck, walking around to the passenger's side of the car and getting in. "Why does everything remind me of him?"

"Because up until you walked out on him, he was your fiancé?" Rude suggested.

"That was a rhetorical question, aibou."

Rude started the car and swung smoothly into traffic. "I gotta feel for the guy. Know what it's like to have you walk out with no warning."

"Yeah" was Reno's flat reply. He stared out at traffic, unblinking, and wondered again just why he was doing this. He wasn't suicidal. Well, not much, anyway; it took a level of nonchalance about dying to be a Turk, after all. But, he wasn't actively looking to die. Just, it seemed…

"Hey, aibou, can ya do me a favor? If this thing doesn't exactly work out right, can ya just… I dunno, not leave me as a vegetable? Yeah, it might be just deserts and whatnot, but I'd rather Temp, Zack and Cloud didn't see me like that, ya know?"

"Zack's dead and Cloud's gone off with his… mother." Rude shook his head. "I doubt you need worry about them."

"You're right, aibou. Dunno what I was thinking," Reno sighed and leaned his forehead against the glass, just wanting the drive to be over with.

Rude shot a glance towards Reno, and decided that maybe another topic was in order. "Have you picked out… oh. Zack and Cloud are the twins, aren't they?"

Reno shrugged minutely and closed his eyes. "Probably not." Rude didn't press, and the rest of the trip was spent in silence.

~*~

Interlude: Cloud

Cloud sat quietly beneath the tree for several hours, slowly letting go of all the worries that had sent him running. He relaxed into the warm sun and gentle breeze; the smell of the flowerbeds and grass; the sounds of insects and chocobos. He could feel Mama's presence, as well, warm, comforting, there; but not intrusive.

It occurred to him that maybe he should rid himself of some of the more tangible reminders of his pain. Or perhaps… yeah, he'd do that. Cloud tugged his phone out of a pocket and flipped it open. There was no reason not to notify everyone… even Cid and Tifa.

Rei has left. Pregnant with my twins. Complications of experiment expected to kill all within weeks. Staying with Mama. That the weeks could mean a few months didn't really matter. His fam – former family wasn't expected to survive. That no one would know who Mama was really didn't matter. Cloud studied the message, and then sent it to everyone in his phone book.

After that, he began paring through the listings. Tifa's number, deleted. Cid's, deleted. He left a voice mail for Vincent telling him about their relationship. Reeve's number, he deleted. He hesitated for only a moment before decisively deleting Reno's number, but Rufus' he stared at. His brother.

He remembered how disgusted and angry Rufus had been. Remembered the force of the blow that had broken bones in his hand. Remembered, "I have no use for you. Get out.", and deleted the number.

Tseng's number, he kept, because even though he'd put the former Turk in charge, he wasn't leaving his businesses entirely up to the man's discretion. Probably, Tseng would consult with Rufus, since his brother was the Vice-President, and now that he thought about it, that wasn't such a good idea. Especially given Rufus' health.

He pondered that for some time. Unlike his father and brother, he had no board of directors. He'd been accustomed to running his own affairs, and Rufus' board had been one he hadn't been willing to keep. They'd been the first he'd fired. He'd offered Rufus the position he held more because Shin-Ra, Inc. was considerably more of a handful than his other businesses were, with all its multiple branchings and interwoven contracts. He'd needed the other man's experience in those matters, but since he had finally begun properly reshaping the business to suit his values and needs – which meant a hell of a shake-up to the little empire – he didn't really require the knowledge of how things used to be. Rufus could be let go.

Cloud nodded. He'd relieve his brother of the stress working put on him, and make sure the severance package looked more like a retirement package. After all, his brother was being retired for health reasons. It only made sense to ensure that he was able to receive the best medical care and a monthly stipend. If his cousins couldn't find a way to heal him, he'd be dead in less than a year. And if he did heal, then the package would allow for rehire. That would work.

He'd promote Tseng to Vice-President. The ex-Turk practically held the position anyway. Rude… he'd have to talk to Rude to find out if the man wanted to remain as a bodyguard to Reno and the children, or if he would like to be a department head, most likely for security. Espionage was still a possibility, but he wasn't the type of man his father had been, so putting Elena in charge of intelligence would be safe enough, especially since she'd matured out of her habit of spouting things she shouldn't.

His phone rang. "You speaking to me again? Yes, we are. You're my grandmother's cousin. Well, I suppose it makes us –" Cloud flapped a hand Vincent couldn't see. " – grand cousins or something equally generational?" A tired little sigh. "All right. Don't worry about it, Vincent. I won't bring it up again. You… just… you just take care of Shelke. Bye."

Cloud disconnected before he had the phone completely away from his ear. He stood slowly before deleting Vincent's number from the phone as well. He turned to face the approaching footsteps. "Hi, Mama."

"Something has happened, child?"

"Yeah." Cloud shoved the phone back into its case. "I just lost another member of my family."

Jenova's eyes narrowed; her head cocking. "I still sense all of them," she replied after a moment.

"Losing someone doesn't necessarily mean they've died."

*.*

"He fired me?" Rufus looked up from the paperwork Tseng had just handed him. "Is this a joke?"

"No, sir."

Rufus shook his head slightly, looking both betrayed and disbelieving. He gave a little, shaky shrug. "Would you see to packing up my office, Tseng?" He waved a hand at his bed. "I am currently incapacitated again."

"I will see to it." Tseng bowed, and left.

"Fired me." Rufus managed a stuttering laugh. "Guess… he didn't have any use for me, either."

Interlude: Reno

"I'm gonna miss you, babydoll," Reno murmured into Tempest's wayward spikes, clutching her tightly. The toddler nuzzled her face against Reno's chest and made happy noises, reveling in the overly snuggly attention. "You be good for Elena, okay?" he asked and pulled back enough to gaze down into her pretty face, eyes soft with obvious love for his little girl.

"I be good, Mama. Girl say play lots and you be back soon."

"My name is Elena, Tempest," the female Turk grumbled and held out her hands for the child.

"Girl so funny, Mama," Tempest giggled and snuggled under Reno's chin.

"Gotta go," Rude intoned casting a glance at the window and the darkness beyond. "Long trip."

"Yeah, we're going," Reno said and then hugged Tempest even tighter, squeezing her until she protested before handing her over to Elena. "You had better hope that I never wake up if something happens to her, kid."

Elena waved off the threat and settled Tempest onto her hip. "Get going before she starts crying."

"I not cry! Mama be back soon; no need cry." Tempest crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her nose into the air haughtily.

"That's my girl," Reno chuckled and followed Rude out of the apartment.

Neither spoke during the drive to the chopper pad, and still the silence stretched until they were in the air and well on their way to the Lifestream pools that had sprung up at the old Gongaga reactor site.

"Where am I gonna go while I'm… after I take a swim? I mean, I kinda doubt that C—doubt that he would appreciate it if I went back to the hotel for any length of time. Tseng's probably moved the funds back into the company account by now anyway. And I kinda doubt that he'd be real thrilled if I went back to the island or the farm. So…"

"I'll check. You can stay with me if he has." Rude maneuvered the chopper south west over open water, barely sparing a glance at the redhead.

Reno smiled wistfully and shot a curious glance at Rude. "Hey, aibou, if things work out and I wake up minus this toxin; wanna… give me a shot? I mean, I might be able to go back to Turk, if Tseng will have me and if C—" he swallowed down the lump in his throat, "Cloud doesn't forbid him from hiring me, and I'd… like to see about… trying out a, u-um, r-relationship… with you, if-if you'd have me." He looked at his knees and bit his lip, hands fisted nervously in his lap.

The only way to move on and let Cloud go would be to try with someone else, and Rude was the only one he'd even think of trying with now that Cloud was… out of the picture. "But, uh, hey, if you'd rather not, I understand, yo." Reno smirked sardonically and turned his head to stare out at the ocean. "Wouldn't blame you if… nah, never mind. Forget I said anything, okay? It was pretty stupid of me to even think of, much less ask, right?"

"You left Turk to raise your daughter. If you come out of this whole, you'll have two newborn boys as well. What will you do with the children?"

"Babysitter, I guess. I'm gonna have to have a job to support them anyhow and I already know how to be a Turk. I can't mooch off of everyone else the rest of my life, and I kinda miss being a Turk, being out on missions with you, getting a fuckin' boner when you blow shit up." Reno chuckled at the last bit, completely honest but amusing because of the truth in that statement; Rude plus explosives was seductive.

"You will have to discuss it with Tseng. There is also your heat—you can't work during it."

Reno frowned and turned away from the window, looking at his former partner unsurely. "Well, I was kinda hoping that this dip would fix that for me, too. Kinda… um, kill two chocobos with one sword, sorta deal. The cause of the heat and the toxin are chemicals that Hojo shoved into my system; maybe this will fix both problems?"

Rude grunted. "Remember the Jenova reports Gast made? It was capable of both male and female form. And if you read the reports about what Hojo did to you, you know that what he did was basically lock you between forms."

A disgusted snarl curled Reno's lips and he turned back to the window. "Then I guess I'll have to find a doc that can inject the sperm in there because I am not taking your fat cock in that pathetic excuse for a birth canal—Cloud's almost killed me and his isn't as big as yours."

Rude snorted. "That's what chocobo basters are for."

Reno laughed at that and shook his head, unable to keep the cheesy line from passing his lips. "You gonna baste my chocobo, big guy?" The coarse comment sent the redhead into another gale of laughter, shoulders shaking and eyes crinkled at the corners.

"Rather ride it," Rude admitted calmly. "We're almost there."

"You're on, yo. Soon as the toxin's gone and I'm back to normal, I'll take you for a ride."

Rude landed the chopper just outside the old reactor site and the pair made their way to the smallest of the pools. Reno paced at the perimeter, staring at the glowing blue-green essence like a particularly obstinate target.

"I think I'm gonna try to stay near the edge so you won't have to dive in after me and leave us both incapacitated for however long it's gonna take for brain function to come back online." Reno stripped off and tossed his clothes aside, leaving him in only a pair of boxers that featured little cartoon-ized chocobos and a white undershirt.

Rude nodded and gathered up Reno's clothes, folding them over his arm. "Jump in."

Reno gulped and nodded, staring at the wispy, thread-like liquid. He moved over to the edge and licked his lips, hesitating now that the moment was on him. "Fuck it," he grumbled and dove in.

He gasped, unconsciously dragging in a lungful of mako and swallowing reflexively, as the essence burned and tingled against his skin, through his veins, and whited out his world.

A tug, warmth over his mouth, and an oddly familiar scent scuttled over Reno's senses. And then the world went black.

~*~