In Another's Arms
Rayzor
Dislaimer: I own nada!
Chapter V
Darkness...
Dark eyes watched the prisoner awake slowly, his target opening sleepy blue eyes. Reeve stood clumsily in the dark room, reaching around to find a wall to lean against. He pricked his hand on a spike and withdrew his hand quickly, cursing to himself. He tried to make out shapes in the dark, but his eyes had not yet adjusted to the void.
"Welcome to Hell, Mr. Henley."
Lights, bright and startling, came on, revealing the man standing near a wall with spikes. He stared at it for a minute, then looked down at his injured hand, blood dripping steadily from the wound. Where are we?
A man stood in the doorway. He was tall with long dark hair in a ponytail trailing down his back beneath a black cowboy hat. He looked the part of a cowboy, even. A long black duster was over jeans and a white shirt and black vest. Black cowboy boots covered his feet. His eyes seemed to be black, they were so dark. He watched Reeve, unmoving, unblinking. It disturbed the man, having someone stare at him.
"Who are you?" Reeve asked in a calm voice, remembering the training that every ShinRa employee had been put through.
The man stood up straight, revealing his other hand, where a sniper rifle was in a firm grasp. "Hello, Mr. Henley. I am Hunter. Miss Laura asked me to do a favor for her and have you play a game."
Reeve scoped the white room for a possible exit. Nada. "Really? What game? Chutes and Ladders? Because I suck at that."
Hunter remained looking at the man, no emotion what-so-ever. "It's a game of choices, Mr. Henley. And if you choose wrong..." He trailed off, glancing down at his weapon. Looking back up, a sadistic gleam shone in his eyes. "Then we'll have a race between you and my bullet... And no one will hear you scream."
Silence...
Vincent looked around the small room, avoiding the spikes on the far wall at all costs. He was unsure how he got here, but knew that he honestly did not care. He needed to get out and find Yuffie. Surely the red-haired bitch had not harmed the princess yet. She would try to get information first, then try to get Yuffie on her side... And Yuffie was a master at delaying, as most of AVALANCHE knew.
Crimson orbs watched the only door open and he clenched his claw. A woman stepped into the room with two children. They were twins, he noticed, and wondered who she was and why she was in the same room as him.
"Boys," she said in a motherly fashion, "Play with your trucks, okay?"
The twins nodded and sat in a corner of the room, ignoring the tall, vampiric man staring in wonder. He looked at the woman, whose eyes glanced back at the boys occasionally. "Baby-sitter's in another room," she said, somewhat apologetically. He found this somewhat ironic. An enemy who did not have a baby-sitter, so she brought them to work. Almost as if her job did not include murder.
"Where am I?" Vincent asked in his cold, calm voice.
She nodded. "Nice question, but I'll only answer three. Are you sure that you want it answered?"
"Yes." It was a simple reply, devoid of any real emotions.
"You are in a room." Her voice mimicked his cold, unfeeling voice.
He nodded. "Fair enough. Where, exactly, is my friend, Yuffie Kisaragi?"
She smiled discreetly. "A room two doors to the left of this one. Unharmed when she awoke, but being interrogated by Laura soon enough."
Vincent's eyes widened. If interrogation was like a Turk's interrogation...
Pain...
She clenched her teeth, eyes shut tightly against the pain in her thigh. Her hands were tied behind her, ankles tied together, and she was strapped to a metal pole that was attached to both the ceiling and the floor. She had awoken to the pain in her back from being tied so tightly against the metal, but Laura had seen to it that her thigh soon hurt. A dagger was embedded in her left thigh, Laura's hand still holding onto the handle. She twisted it, enjoying the tears streaming down the ninja's face.
"Scream, bitch," she taunted. "Give up your loyalty to your friends and country... Give up your honor, wretch!"
Yuffie's head swam, the pain making her nauseous. Although there was no gag to keep her from speaking or screaming, she refused to give the red head that satisfaction. The woman said something else, but Yuffie could not hear her, for she had passed out from the pain.
Regret...
Reno stared at the spiked wall with glazed aqua eyes. He had been sitting there for nearly twenty minutes, according to the clock on the wall, and was beginning to think that the assassin who was supposed to take him had forgotten him. He had tried the door... Locked. And no way out. Just his luck...
He began to sing a random song as he sat there in his infinite boredom. Since he did not have his EMR and he had quit smoking and drinking, he nothing better to do. And, of all the possible songs to choose from, he picked a song that he had heard on his first date with Yuffie. It was a slow song by some singer-like-guy, but he couldn't remember who sang the song or what the title of the song was.
"Oceans apart, day after day... And I slowly go insane. I hear your voice, on the line... But it doesn't stop the pain. If I see you next to never. How can we say forever?"
The door opened and he stood from his sitting position to face his assassin. He had not expected to see the crazy red head from the bar. She smiled cheerfully at him as if they were old lovers that had been reunited... It was not a safe smile.
"Well, well, Mr. Zanard. Want a cig?" she extended the lit cigarette to him, but he shook his head, eyes locked with hers the entire time. She shrugged and took a long drag, letting the blue haze escape her slightly parted lips slowly. "Lemme guess... You quit for your girlfriend?"
He nodded.
She shrugged and dropped the cigarette to the floor, crushing it beneath her heel. "So, what kind of music do you listen to?" He did not reply, but barely kept his anger in check. "Fine, don't talk to me. But the less information you give me and the longer you take, the longer the princess is being hurt."
"Prove it," he snarled, fear hidden tactfully and undetected.
She smiled her cheery smile. "Why do I need to prove myself to you, Mr. Zanard? After all, I'm just some random chick, right? We're all only here for a good fuck, right?" He stared at her, emotionless and cold. "Anyway, I was just wondering if you were going to talk or not."
He caught her fist before she could get a gut punch in, but her other fist came around twice as quickly. He felt the stinging pain in his jaw and squeezed her right hand tightly, feeling bones break.
"You wanted me to talk?" he asked, staring down into her emerald eyes as shegasped in pain and dropped closer to the floor. "Fine, bitch... I'll talk.
The woman smiled at Vincent, knowing that he would ask her the last question and her game would be over. She awaited for another question about Kisaragi or one of the others. What she did not expect was what she got.
"What are your sons' names?"
She looked taken aback. "Pardon?"
"Your sons... What are their names?"
She looked back at her dark-haired, blue-eyed sons and smiled softly, looking back at the man whom she was supposed to be playing a game with. "That... Was the right question, Mr. Valentine. They are Jared and Derek. Three more questions are yours to have answered."
He smirked. "How old are they?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Wasting your questions or buttering me up?"
"Neither," he replied. "I was merely asking about the two boys."
She let another smile creep across her face. "They are nine."
He nodded, thinking about another question that he could ask. "Can you get me out of here?"
"Yes."
"Will you get me out of here right now?"
She stared at him, confused at the question. "Will I?" He nodded, stoic as always. She thought about this. Laura's guards were obviously not there and she knew that the others were being interrogated. Would she? She saw him cast a glance at the playing boys and looked back at them.
"All we need is for you to find your children, then. Get them away from the festival tonight, Tammy. We don't want them to see the things that we've seen. You are dismissed to take them wherever, even if it includes you being gone tonight."
She looked at Vincent, her mouth gone dry. "I... I..." She saw Jared and Derek playing and smiling. They were too young to witness the things she had seen and done. "I..."
Reeve stared at Hunter, eyes carefully devoid of emotions. "I'm game," he told the cowboy. "First question."
Hunter nodded, leaning casually against the door frame as if he had nothing better to do. "Left or right?"
Reeve glanced both directions; the left wall was the one with the spikes, to his right was a blank white wall. Or did the man mean something else? Reeve glanced down at his hands, his right one bloody and his left one shaking ever-so-slightly. "Right," he said.
Hunter nodded in agreement. "Up or down?"
"I'm optimistic," the man replied. "So, up."
Once again, Hunter nodded his agreement. "Airship or Train?"
"Airship."
"Day or night?"
"Day."
"Guns or fists?"
"Guns."
Hunter raised an eyebrow at how quickly the man was replying to the questions. "Fine, Mr. Henley. One more question... Kisaragi, Valentine, or Zanard?"
Reeve narrowed his eyes, trying to read the man's emotions. No such luck. The man was too professional... Too cold... More so than Vincent. Going with his gut instinct, Reeve answered. "Kisaragi."
"Wrong." Slowly, Hunter brought up his sniper rifle and took aim at the wide-eyed Reeve. "The answer was Henley if you wanted to save your own ass."
Yuffie opened her eyes to see a blurry figure hovering over her and felt more pain in her thigh. That was all that she could take and she passed out once again.
Laura swallowed a scream and stared into the former Turk's aqua eyes. His jaw was clenched and he had her on her knees, wrist bent at an unnatural angle. "Jesus," she breathed, pain erupting in her wrist as the bone snapped. "Let go," she pleaded, tears in her eyes. "Let me the fuck go!"
Reno's eyes were cold and he grabbed her by the hair, dropping her wounded hand. He pulled her up, then slammed her into a wall. "Let me out," he snarled as he pinned her to the wall, her back to him. She did not reply, so he took her for another spin, throwing her like a ragdoll into another wall. He was behind her in an instant, slamming her face into the white wall, drawing blood from her nose. The crimson streaked down the white wall in a morbid manner.
She choked on a sob and let the tears roll down her cheeks, making everything seem like a water painting to her. He dropped her to the floor and straddled her, grabbing her un-injured hand and taking hold of her pinky. "I'll give you until the count of five... here, help me count."
He snapped her pinky. "One." He grabbed her ring finger, but she stopped him by sobbing out, "I'll let you out!"
He grinned that boyish grin and got up, leading her toward the door. "Now, Laura," he said in a threatening voice. She took a breath before calming herself to a hic-coughing. (Like after you cry really hard for a long time, y'know?)
Hunter pulled the trigger and Reeve fell to the ground. The door burst open to reveal a tall man wearing mostly black. Hunter turned but did not have the time to react as a gun levelled to his forehead. Black eyes locked with crimson and a shot rang out. The sniper fell to the ground, eyes dilating.
Laura fumbled the door open with her wounded left hand, her right hand being of no use. Once she had done that, Reno guided her down the hall. "Where's Yuffie?"
She nodded to a door two to the right of the room they had come from. He made her open the door, but they were not greeted with a pleasant sight. Blood covered the floor where the ninja had been tied up and the body of a guard was on the ground, recently shot. She stared in disbelief and he chuckled.
"Valentine..."
Chucking her into the room forcefully, he grinned at her. "Don't worry, doll... I'll find 'em so we can go home. You just chill out in here." He shut the door and locked it behind him, ignoring the fact that she had a key. He could catch her easily.
Lilac-gray eyes stared at the wall across from her and heard the thud, thud, thudding of boots pounding on linoleum. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she prayed that it was Cloud or Reno or Vincent... Maybe even her dad or Reeve. Logic over-ruled and told her that it was Laura, coming after her again. The throbbing in her left thigh had lessened considerably and she leaned her head back against the wall, wondering idly why her wrists were no longer bound... Same for her ankles.
"Cure 3."
She looked up, but the movement made her nauseous.
"Sleepel."
She fell into a pleasant, warm, embracing sleep with dreams of Wutai and Reno.
TBC...
Rayz: Bleh... Lost steam there towards the end, huh?
Surka: how many more chapters, Yk2- er, Rayzor?
Rayz: About... One? Maybe two?
Dracon: Is Reeve dead or alive?
Rayz: Dunno... Haven't written the next chapter yet. Thanks for the reviews, guys!
Emrabace-the-Darkness: Okies! I'm definitely doing the alt. endings... As a diff. fic? Because the outcome will be completely diff. if I do the alt. endings... Hmm... Where's Tael when I need her?
DeomnSurfer: heh... Did he shoot someone? Or didReeve duck? I'm so evil! Which end of the bet are you on? Did he shoot someone or not? That, my friend, is the question!
xXxDarkMessengerxXx: Glad you like! Read onward!
Neko-Yuff16: Told ya the decision was there! Didja like?
Rayz: So, only four this chappie, but oh well... Like I said before, only a few more chappies. Uhm... If you want the alt. ending, and I think most everyone does, then please tell me - in a review - if it should be in a diff. fic. There's the new poll!
POLL: Should the alternate ending be in a different fic, starting the same but having a different outcome. If so, got any title suggestions?
- Rayzor & Gang