Smoke and Shattered Mirrors,
By Ealinesse
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. And a rusty truck that, apparently, Reno and Yuffie don't want any more… not to mention a couple more trashed vehicles, the shards to a broken locator… and well, not a lot else. Go me!
Summary: A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane.
Warnings: Language, (Kiwi Spelling), More Language, a little Violence.
Category: Action/Adventure, Bad Humour, Angst, Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie Arguing… Nothing too unusual, really.
Chapter Eleven: Return…
Elena sighed and leaned back in her seat, taking another sip of the super strong coffee that had become a staple part of her diet since joining the Turks. With a weary gaze she eyed the GPS monitor located on the desk in front of her, mentally willing the thing to either spontaneously combust, or make the small green icon that had disappeared a few hours a go, reappear. With habit she glanced briefly at the cameras they'd placed around their hideout, but to her chagrin there was no movement; nothing stirred. A yawn bubbled up and with a scowl she realized this time that it just wasn't going to hold back any longer. She raised a tired arm and covered her mouth, then let it drop back to her lap in disgust. It had been a long three days.
… Three days… already?
Elena rocked the chair back in frustration, once, then twice. On the third swing she jumped carelessly off it, not caring what happened to it after she'd left it. The small wooden armchair hadn't needed much encouragement. With a groan of tortured protest it tipped backward and crashed to the ground, causing the other two people in the room to look up at her in question. Muttering a small apology and ducking her head, she shuffled nervously around the room, realizing that she was beginning to pace, but unable to do anything else of use but worry to death.
"Stop it."
Elena halted mid-pace, and turned to face Rude, who was standing by the large, curtained window overlooking the street. "… Sorry," she said quietly after a second. "It's just-"
"Pacing is not going to help anything. Neither is sitting there, staring at that monitor." This came from Reeve, who was sitting on the only couch in the upper floor, a maze of papers laid out on the desk before him. He didn't look up, but the tone in his voice was clear – 'we are just as concerned as you'.
Elena screwed up her face, then let out a tense breath, turning back to Rude. He was looking at her with a blank expression, his glass-shielded eyes expressionless. Without a word she walked over to him, toward the lit-up window, and lifted an arm and placed it around his waist, settling herself comfortably against his body in a loose hug. She felt an arm snake around her shoulders, pulling her into him, completing the circle, and she tipped her head against his chest, feeling the reassuring rhythmic beating of his heart pounding in the background.
A small sigh escaped her lips, and she cast her eyes to the closed curtains, where the early morning sunlight was beginning to filter in. "Where is he, Rude? You'd think the crazy bastard'd be home by now, if he was coming."
"If he was coming," Rude repeated.
"Do you think… the reason that his signal disappeared is because… Donovan found him?"
Rude didn't answer for a moment, but his free hand came up and ran through her hair and down the back of her neck, finally stopping just under her jaw. At the slight pressure, Elena tilted her head up to face him. She looked into his eyes, past the glasses, and nodded silently, biting her lip.
"I know," she said. "I know, I know. The Shinra guard are out looking for him as we speak, you've said that. But why can't we go out? Surely we could do better than they could!"
"When was the last time you slept, Elena?" Reeve's voice cut in. "In fact, when was the last time either of you slept? You both arrived the other day, together, after being on the run for hours. Despite that fact, and despite the fact you're exhausted, both of you have yet to sleep. The last thing I need is two of my best bodyguards to collapse from exhaustion. I already have the possibility to face that I've lost one of you, I don't need to lose the rest. Now, please…"
She understood. Hell, more than that - she knew where Reeve was coming from. She even knew why Reno had demanded that if the mission be botched they return to the safehouse, and stay there until anything sure was known. But… it didn't make it right. They'd fled with their lives, and now all they were allowed to do was wait as their leader was left out there, alone. And waiting, when a comrade was missing, despite who they were, despite what they were, didn't make it any easier. Not when that machine had decided to go and fry itself. Not when they had no communication between them… not ever.
"It's been seven hours," she muttered tiredly, her dark eyes closing as she leaned further into the warm body she was resting against. "And they still haven't found anything. Have they even reached the point where the signal has disappeared, yet?"
"That team is scouring the roads heading toward it as we speak. They haven't seen it, no."
"Then what about-"
Elena found her words cut off as a loud ringing caused her to snap her mouth shut. Her head snapped around to face the noise, and she watched as Reeve began to rummage around in the stacks of paper to find the phone, sheets upon sheets of documents sliding to the carpeted ground as the hands scoured the coffee table. After what seemed like forever she watched the President fish a small black flip-PHS from the mess, before flicking it open and raising it to his ear.
"… Reeve, here."
The silence was threatening to make her pull her hair out in frustration as Reeve began to ask questions, and then simply listen, nodding and 'yes-ing' as he deemed fit. Elena scowled, unable to ignore the tight-lipped expression forming on Reeve's face, nor the corresponding sudden tenseness in her partner's frame. After a long moment, the phone was snapped shut, and Reeve faced them with a drained expression.
"Well?" Rude asked.
"Who was it?" Elena questioned at nearly the same time.
"Aden," Reeve filled them in.
"Who?"
"He's a guard at the Shinra outpost, at the entrance to Junon."
Damn it, that tone was not a good one. "What… did he want?"
"I'm not sure what to make of this, really. It could be very bad. Aden received a call earlier this morning notifying him that one of their guards had been knocked out and found around the side of the small office. The man was unable to say who it was that had done this when he woke up, but was babbling some incoherent nonsense about 'no such ID' and some 'crazy bastard' with a battered red car that had refused to take no for an answer."
There was a long silence, during which Elena felt her thoughts run wild. We haven't heard anything for days, and then all of a sudden Reno's signal disappears and someone is demanding entrance to the town without an ID? She didn't know what to think, and by the looks on the faces of the two men in the room, neither did they.
"How long ago was this?" Rude asked.
"They're not sure. Perhaps as little as half an hour ago. It's out of range of their cameras."
"And they think it could be Do-"
"They don't know who it is, or whether it's a related incident. But how often does something like this happen around here, especially now?"
"So basically we're on watch?" Elena asked slowly.
"Armed watch," Rude mirrored, pulling his gun from his jacket with a resolute set to his jaw.
"Exactly. We have to be prepared… "
For the worst… Elena heard her thoughts finish off, and she scowled, retrieving her own gun from her shoulder holster. Without another word she slipped over to the desk where the cameras lay, her eyes zooming over the various small monitors sunken into the panel. She pushed a few buttons, rotating angles and cameras, her eyes ripping the scene to pieces in order to spot any possible movement or differences…
Like the battered red car that had suddenly appeared behind their own.
"Uh, guys…" Elena bit out, unable to tear her eyes from the screen. Two figures were suddenly behind her, and she pointed to the vehicle that was parked on the curb, passenger and driver's door still open. "That wasn't there before."
"A battered red car…" Reeve mumbled, frowning.
There was a click from beside her as Rude flicked his safety off and spun around, stern eyes scavenging the area for anything out of the ordinary. Elena got to her feet as well, prepared to move her and Reeve into a more defensive position in the house if need be, when there was a loud, repetitive banging…
A knock on the door, and all heads turned in the direction of the insistent noise.
Elena's eyes shot to the cameras, but she saw nothing. There had been no movement indicative of anyone in their general vicinity. None of their alarms had gone off. And that could mean one of two things: someone had deactivated them at their power source, or knew where they were. Her gaze met momentarily with Rude's and they approached the two sides of the door warily, prepared to shoot if need be when a distinctively familiar, muffled voice rung out on the other side.
"Pizza delivery for baldy and bimbo. Pay up or I break the fucking door down!"
Reno continued to kick loudly at the door, not quite ignorant of the chaos he knew he was probably causing inside, but not quite caring either. The smirk plastered on his face had by this stage grown into a full-fledged grin. By avoiding the cameras, and leaving the car parked behind theirs in plain sight, he'd no doubt cast suspicion on the current situation. And if he was right in thinking that the other situation at the gate he'd caused would be reported directly to Reeve, then they'd be on strict watch. He only hoped that the man he'd knocked out hadn't given up a description, or it would all be a dead giveaway.
Readjusting the sleeping figure slung over his shoulder, he aimed a final kick at the door. "Pizza delivery for baldy and bimbo. Pay up or I break the fucking door down!"
For a moment there was no answer. Then came the sound of multiple locks switching off, and the door creaked hesitantly open. Reno wiped the smile from his face, affecting a look of pissed disinterest at his two partners. "Fuck, took you long enough."
No one said anything for a long moment, and Reno took that opportunity to gauge the reaction of the two standing before him. Rude… well, the corner of his mouth was twitching, and his gun was slowly lowered, then placed back in its holster. Elena's eyes were wide, and she was trying hard to look angry, but succeeding really in only looking like a gaping fish.
"Well, are you going to let me in, or just make me stand there all day?"
"… You're safe," Elena said slowly, ignoring his comment, quite obviously shocked. Then she seemed to shake off the reverie she'd fallen into, and Reno couldn't move fast enough to avoid the punch she aimed at him. "Idiot!" she exclaimed. "Why couldn't you have let us known you were okay the normal way!"
Reno flinched slightly at the bony fist that landed against his injured shoulder. "What fun would that be?" he asked. "Now… "
The two moved aside, and it was then that Reno noticed the third person in the room. He smirked and walked over to the couch, which Reeve was standing silently by. He took in the slight frown of disapproval and the posture, and then looked straight past him. He lowered himself down on the sofa and then slipped his burden from off his shoulder, ignoring her weak protests at being pushed around like a 'sack of potatoes'. Only once he'd settled them both comfortably back, ignoring his aching muscles and sinking into the cushy confines of the couch, did he pay any more attention to the others in the room.
"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?"
Reno looked pointedly at Reeve. "Didn't I tell you that stupid disguise wouldn't work?"
Reeve didn't answer, but his expression was mildly apologetic. Reno watched as Rude and Elena made their way around the couch, and he felt himself suddenly on the receiving end of three very curious gazes.
"What happened?" Elena asked after a moment. "You obviously escaped, but-"
Reno shrugged a shoulder. "By the time we'd all realized that he knew we were there, his men had managed to sneak around the area. I don't know how he knew, but he did. We got away, eventually, but it was a pain in the ass. Donovan was chasing us the entire time."
"Us?"
Reno nodded toward the slumbering figure on the couch beside him, and the others took in the sight as if seeing her for the first time.
"Yuffie?" Elena asked, incredulous. "But-"
"She didn't listen when I told her to. The brat hung around and… " Reno let his voice trail off, and a frown crept onto his face.
"And what?"
"She knocked Donovan out in the alley. It was the reason we got away at all."
"She ignored you and came back?"
"Yup."
Elena snorted. "Well, then apparently, she has the same regard towards a practical mission as you do." She paused, then walked over to the couch and crouched beside the sleeping girl, placing a hand on her forehead. "She went with you the whole way…" she whispered after a moment, shooting him an expression he didn't like. "Is she okay?"
"She'll be fine," Reno said. "Donovan got her with the drug a while ago, but not too badly. She just needs to rest, I'd say most of it has worn off by now."
"Well that also explains that little mystery." Everyone in the room looked up at Reeve, and seeing the question in their eyes, he began to explain. "Yuffie didn't turn up at Tifa's birthday function. I vaguely remember her mentioning that she hadn't seen her, and she found it odd. After ringing her PHS, Tifa received no answer, but didn't think too much of it. Yuffie always does as she pleases, and it wasn't unusual for Wutaian business to stop her from attending things. It wasn't until late the next day, when she didn't return home on her scheduled skycab, that Godo noticed she was missing. He called Tifa, who of course hadn't seen her either. There's been a missing person's notice out ever since. I should probably call Lord Godo and inform him otherwise."
Reno eyed Yuffie with amusement. He lifted his good arm and reached over to shake her. "Oi, troublemaker, wake up."
"Told ya, ya stupid Turk… 'm already 'wake."
Reno snickered, seeing the confused expressions on the faces of the rest of the group. "Concussed," he offered with a slight shrug.
"Oh," Elena said, wincing. "Then what about-"
"And Donovan? He's not around here still, is he?" Reeve asked abruptly.
"Dead," Reno replied with some satisfaction for the second time that night. He didn't offer any more details, aware that the brief answers he was giving were no doubt annoying the hell out of the others. He leaned back with a smirk, closed his eyes. "He tried to chase us down while we were on the road," he added when he heard Elena's sound of protest at his evasiveness.
"And…?"
"He failed," he offered smugly.
"So the mission was successful, then," he heard Reeve muse. "Good."
"What took you so long? Why three days?"
"Yeah, what'd you do, take a bloody vacation?"
Reno's eyes snapped open and he sought out the voice, raising an eyebrow at Rude, noticing the mirrored, vaguely amused expression that came with the question. "Why three days?" Reno countered. "Feh… I'll explain later."
"No. We'll debrief now, thank you very much."
Reno scowled at Reeve. "You want a summary, I'll assume."
"No, more than that, but I'm willing to bet that's all you're going to give me for now until I make you sit down and write a report."
Reno shrugged a shoulder again, and his smirk deepened. "Damn straight. But you know what?"
"… What."
"I'm not telling you even that much until I get some food, some coffee, and some materia." With that he got to his feet, wincing at the resulting twinge in his shoulder. "And not in that particular order."
The room bustled into activity, and within twenty minutes Reno found himself faced with a full plate of hot food. He eyed the overflowing platter with delight, and grinned openly up at the blonde woman who had seated herself across from him at the table in the small kitchenette. Lifting the fork with his good arm, he took a bite, his mouth practically watering as he inhaled the contents as fast as his mouth would let him. In between bites he heard his empty stomach rumble in approval, and Elena nodded in satisfaction.
"Three days," she said slowly. "You are such an idiot. How can it take three days to get from Midgar to Junon?"
He shrugged, mouth full, and transferred his grip to the steaming mug of coffee that Reeve placed before him. Washing down the bite with the strong liquid, he continued gulping it down until it was empty. "Elena's coffee," he said after a second, when the taste lingered. He turned to the blonde and lifted the drained mug. "Please, miss, may I have some more?" He blinked his vivid blue eyes rapidly, his expression dissolving into a smirk as Elena gave him an exasperated look.
"Ass," she said, snatching the cup from his fingers and returning to the counter. "We worry for days and then you turn up, fine, with the 'missing' heir of the Wutai slung over your shoulder, demanding food and drink."
"He's not quite fine."
Reno looked up as Rude walked into the room, eyeing the stack of clothes the large man held in one hand, then the pulsing orb of green materia in the other. He rocked back on the chair as the other man halted beside him, glancing at him appraisingly through dark lenses.
"You look like shit."
Reno screwed up his face. "Thanks."
"You've dislocated your shoulder. Again."
Reno looked down at the offending joint, following the tilt of his partner's head. "Observant, as always. I'm guessing you're going to be a sadist, like usual, and ask to pop it back in?"
The corner of Rude's mouth twitched. "Not ask."
"Fine. But only if it's not too swollen. I remember happened last time I dislocated it, and you and Tseng offered to 'help' me." But he shrugged off the filthy navy over-jacket anyway, wincing when the fabric tugged against the injury.
"That's what this is for." The bald man lifted the materia, then proceeded to cast it directly onto his shoulder.
Reno felt the warm glow begin to spread over him, scanning over his body before focusing mainly on his right shoulder. In a haze of emerald light it settled on the dislocated joint, then, with a slight breeze, faded out. A part of the burning pain subsided, and he saw the swelling visibly go down from through the torn segment on his bloodstained shirt. "All right, you sadist," he said, when the materia had done its work. "It's ready."
Rude stepped up beside him, and without a word braced his shoulder with one strong hand, then his arm with the other. Reno squared his jaw, clenched his teeth together, then nodded slightly. Sudden, intense agony flared up his shoulder and down his arm, then gradually died into nothing more than a slight ache, fading into the background with the rest of his hurts.
"Thanks," he said after a second, flexing the suddenly complying arm with a slight wince.
"Sling?"
"Not yet," Reno replied, shaking his head, retrieving the change of clothes Rude had placed on the table. "I still want a shower."
"Well, you know where it is." Reeve piped in. "But don't take too long, it wasn't part of that deal, you know."
"Why not?" Reno retorted, leaving the corridor with a slight grin. "What's half an hour compared to three days?" And before anyone else could complain, he went into the bathroom and locked the door, leaning against it with a smirk. Damn, it was good to be back…
He felt… remarkably… human again. Reno stepped out of the shower and snatched the towel off the rail, scrubbing it vigorously over his face and back into his hair. The practically-boiling water had done wonders for his exhausted body, not to mention filled in the blanks that the Cure Materia hadn't been able to reach. Drying off the rest of his body, Reno wrapped the towel around his waist and secured it. He yawned, stepping up to the vanity, and that yawn soon led to a full-out stretch, his muscles twinging in pain but feeling surprisingly good as well. Finally, done, he looked back to the sink, and then up to the large, fogged-up mirror in front of him.
Remembering what a surprise he'd had last time he looked in a mirror, he curiously swiped the mist off it with a careless arm, and took a step back.
Crap.
Reno raised an eyebrow, then smirked as his reflection did the same. Rude was only partly right, he realized – he definitely looked like crap, but shit was still a long time in coming. It wasn't near as bad as when he and Yuffie had come off that farm and turned up at that inn in Trent. No, this time he just looked worn out, and… well... Reno raised an arm and traced the new, pink scar on his abdomen. Without thinking his gaze drifted up to the healed slash on his shoulder, at the equally new mark there, too. He cocked his head to the side, and took a further step back, nodding agreeably as they faded in with the rest of them.
Nothing permanent then, his mind assured him, and he fingered the golden chain he had yet to remove. And the key that wasn't his…
With a scowl he looked down, eyeing the items scattered across the small sink. His scowl faded into an amused expression, as he realized that in all the bustle Elena had even laid out his toothbrush and razor. Pursing his lips and shaking his head, he made short work of the accumulated stubble, before brushing his teeth. That done, he pulled on his clothes, dumped the towel, and headed out to the lounge where everyone was no doubt waiting.
Reno settled on the couch, prepared to answer the barrage of questions, when he noticed something odd. He looked down at the empty space on the sofa where Yuffie had previously been, then looked questioningly up at Reeve, who was the only other person in the room.
"Rude took her through to the spare room. She's sleeping through there."
"Ah," Reno said, and left without a word. He navigated the corridor to the usually empty room and settled himself in the doorway, watching as Rude and Elena helped to maneuver her into the large bed. When they were done, Rude glanced at Elena as she placed a couple of pills beside the bed, along with a glass of water and a note.
"Heavy for a runt, isn't she?" Reno said as the two began to leave.
Rude grunted in acknowledgement, and Elena shrugged.
"She woke up before," the blonde offered. "Asked if you'd crashed the car yet, saying something about how she could drive?"
Reno smirked. "Later," was all he said, and they left the room. On second thought, Reno closed the door a little, his gaze lingering slightly on the slim form in the bed before he shook his head and met the others in the lounge. He settled back into the couch, and destined to annoy, he lifted his feet so the others had to work around him.
"Where do you want me to start?" he asked, smirking at the impromptu seating arrangement he'd caused. He had to admit, it was kind of amusing to see Reeve, the President of the new world order, and two of his bodyguards sitting on uncomfortable wooden chairs while he lounged about in the lap of luxury.
"The beginning, would be nice," Reeve offered. "Like usual," he added, on second thought.
Reno shrugged. "Summary it is, then. You all know what happened in the alley?"
Rude and Elena nodded, while Reeve lifted his hand in an iffy gesture. "I've heard their side, but not yours."
"Oh-kay," Reno said. "Then I guess I'm explaining that, too?"
"Yes." Reeve's tone brooked no argument.
"Well, after we'd moved into position, Rude spotted someone in the alley, then Elena did as well. I went down to check it out, and it was then we established it was Yuffie. When I caught up to her she said something about how some kid had stolen her present, and she was chasing after the little shit. I told her to get out of the alley, and she did. Assuming she'd listened, which was probably a bad idea, I chased after the kid then went back to the rooftops. We're not sure how Donovan knew we were there, but it's possible someone was keeping watch. Either way, when I went to his door ten minutes later I was greeted with his gun."
Reno paused for a moment. "That fill in the blanks?"
"Sure does," Reeve replied. "Continue."
"Well I'm not sure what happened to Rude and Elena, but I had to slip into a slight side alley to avoid getting my head blown off. After that, and after killing the idiots he had working for him that were on the ground, Donovan came after me. We ended up facing off in the alley. That was when Yuffie turned up again."
"She came back while there was gunfire?" Elena asked. "Why?"
"Said she was curious as to what was going on, and said she knew that I'd get into trouble."
"Ah," the blonde replied, smirking. "She picked up on that little habit, did she?"
Reno chose to ignore her offhand comment, and instead continued with his story. "When she arrived was just after Donovan had shot me. She knocked him out, as I told you earlier, and then we fled."
"You were shot?" Reeve frowned. "Where?"
Reno lifted his shirt and showed the small scar from where the bullet had penetrated. "All gone, mother hen. Anyway, as I said, we fled, out past the alleys, then stole the truck Donovan had had with him. It took us ages to get the fucking thing going, and when we did the remainder of the guys were almost on us. We escaped out through the back gates, and began toward Junon with our first car, but-"
"Your first car?" Rude's voice sounded amused.
Reno ripped the fingers. "I'm getting to that. We got about a half hour out of Midgar before something on the road made the car spin out. The stupid top-heavy truck rolled down the embankment, and landed upside down. I think I knocked myself out, because next thing the brat is nagging me to get out of the car. Eventually we did, and without a choice with what to do, we headed into the forest along the roads. The last thing we needed was to flag down a car only to find it was Donovan's. So we walked, traced the road through the forest until later on when a car headed down the road..."
"You walked that far?"
"That's not all," Reno replied, shaking his head disgustedly. "That's not even the half of it. When the car pulled past slowly, we gathered it was Donovan, or someone that was too nosy for their own good. So-"
"So, naturally, you went deeper into the forests."
Reno scowled. "We didn't have any choice. It was quite late that night, when the torches got closer, when we realized that we were too close to them. We knew we weren't getting away, not without being able to see anything in the dark or being able to risk a torch, so we climbed into one of the trees." Reno paused, snickering.
"What?"
"Well, the last thing I remember after that is waking up, finding Yuffie tied to a tree."
"What!"
"Well, apparently, something hit my side, and I passed out."
"Apparently," came Elena's voice again. "Idiot," she added. "Was she okay… and why didn't you Cure your side?"
Reno shrugged. "I didn't have the chance, and we didn't have any materia on us, or potions. I think I woke up later the next day. It was light, and I climbed down from the tree. I don't know how long Yuffie'd been tied there, but man was she pissed. I untied her, she threatened to kill me, then explained that said thugs that had been chasing us had found her later in the night. I think she fought them to start with, but she couldn't see. In the end she convinced them that I wasn't with her, that I'd abandoned her somewhere along the road, and that she was lost. They headed away, but not before tying her to the tree and leaving her there for making them storm through the forest on a wild goose chase all night for nothing. The brat wasn't hurt, just really annoyed. And before you ask, no, Donovan wasn't with them. Yuffie would have been dead or captured if that had been the case."
"Understandably."
"What happened after that?"
"We kept walking. Since we were in the forest and had looped around so many fucking times we had no idea where we were, we just picked a direction and stuck to it. It wasn't until later that night when we reached the outside edges of a road. Not sure where it was, but apparently we'd ended up in the right direction. We stole a car from a farm shed, took it up to the outskirts of Trent, and dumped it in by the trees. After that we snuck into Trent, and ransacked the inn there."
"What do you mean… ransacked?" Reeve asked, wincing. "Is it something I'm going to have to pay for, or do I just not want to know?"
"We'd been on the run for two days by then, Reeve," Reno said derisively. "Ransacked meaning we didn't care that we didn't have any money - and no, we didn't trash the place. Much. We went into the inn, and when the guy refused to give us a room, we simply… disagreed with him."
"Reno, you didn't!"
He smirked. "No, actually, Yuffie did. She jumped over the counter before the poor kid could stop her, grabbed a key, and demanded that he leave us alone. When she pulled out her bloody shuriken the boy didn't stand a chance, only stuttered and nodded, and she left. When I'd made him assure me that no one would annoy us and that he wasn't going to report anything, I went to the room." He glanced at Elena. "She pulled the same fucking trick you used on me to get first shower."
"What, threatened to use up all the hot water if you didn't leave her alone?"
"Yeah, that."
"I wouldn't worry. It's a girl thing. Guys generally smell, and half the time they don't even care about it."
Reno scowled, fixing Elena with a mildly annoyed look. "Thanks. Anyway, while she showered, I fell asleep and… "
"And what?"
"Nothing," Reno cut in. He would not discuss the finer points of his nightmares with his partners. Things like that were not supposed to happen, not to a Turk. "After she woke me up, I had a shower, during which Yuff knocked on the door and said she was going to sneak around town to find anything useful."
"You let her?"
"I didn't see the point in arguing. She seemed fairly set on the idea, and I wasn't going to argue, I was in the shower. It was a good idea at the time, anyway. We needed food, materia, potions, fresh clothes, weapons… a car."
"I see."
"It took her a while. When she was gone, and after I was in the shower, I fell asleep again. The next thing I know she's yelling at me to wake the hell up, because she'd run into trouble when she'd broken into a shop."
"Donovan?"
"Donovan. Apparently, he hadn't been overly swayed by Yuffie's attempts to steer them away. He'd guessed I'd be heading this way, and not on the northern roads, and had come with his men. While sneaking into one of the shops, she heard a noise and fled. Donovan and his useless excuse for henchmen heard her, and nearly caught her. After recognizing them, she managed to kill the two men that were with him, and then got away from Donovan with the stuff she'd stolen."
"Stolen? She wasn't hurt? Godo'd kill me if… "
"No. Not hurt. When she got back and after she'd told me he was here we got ready, I got changed, we grabbed the bag, and then managed to find another car – a farm ute this time."
"Another? What is that… the third?"
"Yep."
"So I take it he found you?" Reeve asked, switching them back to the topic at hand.
"Right. I took the car down a small side road to see if we could lose him, but apparently he'd wagered that I'd do that. His car was a great deal faster, and it didn't take long for him to catch up to us. At that point he had someone else driving, and he was shooting the odd bullet. Occasionally he'd ram the car with his, and since the road was shingle it'd cause us to nearly spin out. Since we were ahead of him, we couldn't really do much. I didn't have any weapons, the gun that I had had was out of bullets, and we were stuck, even though Yuffie eventually managed to find a shotgun in the back seat. She didn't know how to shoot one, so..."
"So what'd you do?" Elena asked, seeing the amused expression finding its way onto Reno's face.
"I let Yuffie drive." The initial part of the phrase had no effect. He hadn't expected it to. Reno smirked, shrugging at the expectant looks of the other three. "She doesn't know how."
"You're kidding."
"He's not," Reeve said, shaking his head and lifting a hand to rub wearily over his face. "He's mad, you know."
"How can she not know?"
"She's never had to before," Reno said. "She's been able to rely on lifts from others all her life, and where she can't drive to, she walks to, or takes a chocobo, apparently. It's never occurred to her to learn."
"So you just… gave her the wheel?"
"I explained things a bit, and since it was a fairly modern truck it was an auto. It also had cruise control."
"And that was that?"
"I gave her some instructions, told him to keep ahead of Donovan if she could. Then I smashed the back window and began shooting. They couldn't see me through all the dust to begin with, but later they obviously knew I was there. Donovan had only one other person in the car with him, and that was just one of his men – the driver. I took him out fairly easily, and because his driver was dead the car slowed. He managed to catch back up, though, and so when the road widened out into a normal one he pulled up beside us. I faked a shot at him, he pulled up further, rammed us, and I shot out his tyre." He scowled then.
"What?"
"Well I thought then that I'd stopped him, but apparently I'd just given him more reason to get to me. He jumped onto the bonnet just before I shot out the tyre, and we ended up fighting it out on the back of the truck's deck."
"While it was moving!"
"Ah… yeah. But that wasn't for long. The fact that we kind of ended up going over the edge of a washed-out bridge didn't help things." He turned to face Reeve, rolling his eyes slightly. "Oh, by the way, Reeve, there's a washed-out bridge just outside of Trent. Did you know that?" he asked in a light, conversational, seemingly uncaring tone.
"Say what?" Elena asked.
"Yuffie tried the brakes; Donovan had disconnected them." He snorted. "She pulled the key out, but it didn't slow it enough, and without anything else to do she yanked on the handbrake. Of course, we spun out, but we definitely slowed. Apparently it wasn't enough. Before either of us knew what was going on, we're rolling down this bloody river bank."
"I take it that's how Yuffie got her concussion?"
"You guess right. She hit her head on the wheel while we rolled. She's damned lucky that she was wearing her belt, otherwise it could have been a lot worse. After I'd managed to figure out which way was up again, I pulled her out, away from the truck. That was when it first occurred to me that Donovan had disappeared."
"He ran?"
"No. I thought perhaps he had… but he was hiding. It wasn't until I'd left Yuffie for a moment to look around that I realized I'd fucked that up. By the time I'd picked up on what was off, he had Yuffie. She wasn't too awake, and since he had a knife to her throat she wasn't moving that much."
"He… made her a hostage?" Reeve paled. "Did he know just who she was?"
"Not a clue, as far as I know. Kind of didn't give him the chance to find out, either. But he let her go, eventually – well, he didn't have much choice. Not after both of us 'persuaded' him to… but not before slashing her shoulder with the knife, either."
"The knife…?"
"The knife."
"Why… did he think it was a good idea to fight you?"
Reno offered a cold smile. "He was convinced he was going to win."
"What? You two were always a fairly even match, I'd thought."
"We were. But that was when we were on even ground. He had a knife, and I still had a bullet hole in my side, and a dislocated shoulder."
"Typical," Elena commented. "I suppose it was your idea to take on an armed man in a death-duel."
Reno only offered a grin. "Like I had much choice, Yuffie couldn't do a lot. Anyway, to cut a long story short, he fucked up, I took the opening that Yuffie provided, and proved that he's eaten one too many pizzas since he became a turncoat."
"So… where is he now?"
"I left him," Reno replied, shrugging. "I wasn't exactly going to drag him back here. I know he's dead, I was right there when I killed him. Anyway, I had enough trouble getting Yuffie back."
"… How?"
"How… did he die?" Reno guessed. "With his own knife."
There was a moment's silence, followed by a slight yawn. Reno frowned, then realized that it was coming from his own mouth. "And there's your not-so summary," he said, curling backward and stretching slightly.
"Wait a minute." Reeve had a frown of his own on his face. Reno felt his gaze, and he turned toward the suited man.
"What?"
"How did you get from there, to here?"
"The fight was last night. Or this morning… I've no idea which. After that, and after making sure it was okay, we found a low-level Cure Materia that Yuffie had stolen, used that up, and healed ourselves up a little. The materia got rid of my shoulder slash, and my bullet wound. It also healed the gash on Yuffie's cheek, and the one on her head from the crash. When we'd done that, we hauled ass, left Donovan behind, and walked back to the car of Donovan's after establishing that the truck we'd stolen wasn't of any use."
"This morning? Then you-"
"Quit interrupting, 'Laney," he said. "After I'd gotten Yuffie to the car, I changed the tyre I'd shot out with the spare, fixed up the broken glass, and started driving."
"Broken glass?"
"When I shot that first guy, I had to shoot through their windscreen to do it. I guess when it crashed after I'd shot the tyre didn't help things."
"And then… okay, so why'd it take you so long?"
"Hello? Car with no windscreen, and a temporary tyre?"
"Oh."
"Yeah. Oh."
"And I assume that's when you knocked out the guard at the gate."
Reno grinned, and didn't even bother to try and look innocent. "So you did hear about that."
"Yes. I did. Please explain why that was necessary, and why you didn't just get him to patch a call through to me?"
Reno frowned, pursed his lips, then raised an eyebrow. "Didn't occur to me, I guess."
"It never does," Reeve replied tiredly.
"And it's not like it's my fault, anyway," he said, pointing an accusing finger at the man who had just questioned him. "You have my ID, remember?" At Reeve's slightly guilty expression, he snickered. "See?"
"I do. I suppose that's my fault, then?"
"Damn straight."
"All right. Blame accepted."
"There anything else you nosy bastards want to know while I'm at it?"
There was a slight pause, then Elena spoke up. "Didn't you say that… you didn't cure your side until after you had killed Donovan?"
"Yeah… so?"
"The bullet wasn't still in there, was it?"
Reno winced, knowing full-well the effect that would have had. "Do you think I'm stupid?" he asked incredulously. "I've been shot enough times to know what little good that'd do!"
"Then you got it out?"
"Yuffie did," he said hesitantly. "She dug it out after we found a stream, on the second day. Wouldn't let me walk any further until I had it removed." He glanced at Rude. "You two would get along real well, ya sadist."
"I'm sure," was Rude's blunt reply.
Another yawn bubbled to the surface before Reno could reply. With an exaggerated sigh he leaned further back on the couch, stretching his tall form out to take up the remainder of the little free space left. There was a slight noise beside him, and then another. Opening eyes that had slipped inconsiderately closed, Reno looked sideways at his two partners, only to see their hands covering their mouths. Elena scowled at him, while Rude only looked mildly surprised.
"Tired?" he asked, amused at the chain reaction he'd caused by simply yawning.
"Only slightly. We've been awake just as long as you, you know."
"You should have slept, then," he returned carelessly.
"I see that now that you're fine," Elena snapped.
Reno frowned, then turned puzzled Mako eyes to the blonde woman's, then to Rude's. "You two get back fine?" he asked boredly, though he was more interested in the answer than he was willing to admit.
"Fine," Rude replied.
"Just fine?" he pried.
"We made it to where we'd parked your car earlier on in the evening without a hitch, and took that back. Didn't you notice it parked on the curb?"
"I noticed it," Reno said. "So no trouble at all, then?"
"No. We got separated on the rooftops to begin with, but I just followed the gunfire and we managed to get out okay. It seems the bad luck, like usual, stayed with you."
"Thanks."
"No problem," Elena offered with a slight wink, which soon dissolved into a yawn.
Reno cursed as his jaw began to open against his will, and with a futile expression he let his corresponding yawn go, stretching once again. When done he let out a low whistle. "Fuck."
"No. Sleep."
The three Turks turned to face Reeve, who was looking at them all with a vaguely mirthful expression. "Are there any more immediate questions?"
"Hell, no. I'm all questioned out."
"Me neither."
"… "
"Then that's that. You three have the day off. No. Scratch that, you can have the week off."
"A… week?"
Reeve glanced at Reno, his expression thoughtful. Reno scowled, seeing the shrewd gleam enter the dark eyes.
"Yes. A week. It begins after you've filed your report."
"… Now? Are you kidding?" Reno exclaimed, sitting bolt upright. "I just told you what happened!"
"No, not now. After you've all had some sleep. Later, I want that report. For now, you're all going to bed."
"We aren't kids, Reeve," Reno said. "You're not my mother. We'll sleep when we fucking well please."
"No, but you're perfectly capable of acting like children. When was the last time you all slept?" After a moment of silence, Reeve continued. "Exactly. Now, Reno, stop being spiteful just to mock me. Consider this an official order. Go to bed, all of you. Anything else that I can't do can be better taken care of later."
"But first can't we-"
"Sleep!"
"… Yes, mum." But Reno didn't argue anymore. He got up and pulled the fingers mid-stretch, heading down the hallway to the room he usually slept in while here. With a final grunt of effort, he sunk onto the bed, barely managing to pull the covers over his still-clothed body before he felt all his energy leave him and everything else diminished into oblivion.
Author's notes: Okay guys, I'm back, and man have I been busy! The story is now finished… but here's the deal: Apparently I had more left to write than I'd assumed, and so instead of one chapter left… you're getting three. Yep, three. Who would've thought it? I hope there aren't any complaints… The chapters are going up once a day from hereon-in. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!
motoko: I really hope you're not complaining about all the chapters? I just basically decided that it was time to get it on the go, before I procrastinated a little too much. Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Tijuana Pirate: Okay… so you don't have to be sad yet, lol, since there's more chapters left than I thought I'd need… Thank you so much for your compliments on the characters and the dialogue – you should know by now that I hate it when a character is OC. And yes, you were right, there is the possibility of a sequel… it all depends how the last chapter is received, really. Tell me what you think!
Eternal Wanderer: Shudders I didn't want Donovan taken alive, no… and it made a lot more sense to finish him off. In a way, it really is tying off loose ends, as opposed to jailing him and leaving it all hanging; more closure, this way. And as for Reno giving his friends a fright… what can I say… he's an asshole.
Riyue: Thanks for you comments, and the next chapter is done… as is the next… and the next…
Angel Yuffie: Yup, concussed Yuffie is still capable of being the great annoyer… just another aspect of her charming personality. Lol. And thanks for your support on the sequel, we'll see how it goes…
The Burning Misery: As to the idea of how materia works, I decided it probably wouldn't be such a good idea to let it run like it did in the game. I've worked out a system, and you're right, it is one that seems to be quite commonly used: the idea that an ether doesn't restore a person's mp, but restores the materia's mp instead. In a story, it makes a little more sense, and helps to make things a little more realistic. Thanks for your review! I appreciate your comments, and it's good to see you're still reading. And like I said to the others… the sequel is always a possibility!
See you all next update (tomorrow, if ffnet doesn't crap itself again)!
Ealinesse.