Chapter 22
Disastrous Affairs
"I don't believe he didn't come out," Reno muttered. Alim sat next to him and wrapped a bandage around his wrist while the others sat and cried quietly. Reno merely sat in shock and muttered the same thing over and over. When his wrist was cleaned up, he started trembling and, face buried in his hands, wept uncontrollably.
"Reno," Yuffie whispered soothingly. She wiped her own tears from her eyes and hugged him.
"I can't believe Rude's…" Reno trailed off. "He was my best friend. I lost Elena, Tseng and Rufus. He was all I had left, and now he's gone," he choked. The rest of them fell into silence, broken only by Reno's crying.
"He's not really dead, is he?" Kali finally moaned into Devin's shoulder. Devin lifted his head and smiled slightly.
"I don't think he is."
"You sound pretty sure," Kadaj replied bitterly.
"That's because he's right over there," Devin pointed. Everyone's gazes turned towards Reno and Yuffie.
"Shut up Reno," came the quiet voice behind him. "You're always such a wimp."
"Rude?" he snapped as he turned quickly. Rude smiled weakly and with difficulty as he dropped to his knees and blacked out. A few minutes later, Reno, the reason unknown to everyone else, joined him in unconsciousness.
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"You're awake," Kali whispered three days later. Rude looked up at her as she smiled.
They were in a house in Junon, across the continent from Ath Midgar. Alim had bandaged Rude before they carried him and Reno to a train yard. They explained that they had to get to a doctor in Junon, so the director of the line let them on without question. They had silently snuck into an abandoned house near the entrance of the small village under the base.
"Where's Reno? He looked beat up."
"He's still asleep. He blacked out just after you did. There," she pointed. Rude sighed at the sight of his friend's flaming red hair in a bed only a few yards away.
"I feared the worst when I saw that he sliced his wrist," he muttered. Rude closed his eyes again and Kali left him, assuming that he was going back to sleep.
"Is Reno any better?" she asked her cousin as he checked up on the man.
"No. I haven't found a reason for his unconsciousness. But there's no need to worry. Probably just blood loss," he replied. As he spoke, Yuffie, Cid, Kadaj, and Devin came in.
"How are they?" Cid asked as he straddled a chair at the foot of Rude's bed.
"Reno's still the same. Rude woke up a moment ago, but I think he's sleeping again," Kali explained. Kadaj stood thoughtfully against the wall and glanced out the window.
"Did anything seem odd to any of you when we were in Ath Midgar?"
"What do you mean?" Kali asked.
"Is it just me, or did something seem to have happened between Rude and that guard?" Kadaj continued. He looked back at them. "Rude sounded like he knew the guy."
"You know, I think you're right," Yuffie said thoughtfully. She nodded. "Yeah, it does seem that way."
"What do you think it is?" Devin thought aloud. The next voice made them jump.
"I do know him," Rude muttered. He pulled himself up so he was propped on the pillows and his eyes were half open. "We go way back, actually."
"You do?" Cid said. They stared at Rude.
"His name is Bao," he said quietly. He sighed. "And… he's my kid brother."
"Your brother?" Kadaj repeated. "But Reno told us you had no living family."
"I never told anyone I had any siblings. I feared that he had died when Midgar was destroyed. Besides, I was too ashamed of what I did. I didn't want to think about him."
"What happened?" Kali asked. She sat next to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Please tell us."
"Okay," he muttered. He closed his eyes and they thought he had fallen back under. When he started talking again, his voice was so quiet they had to strain to hear him. "There's eight years between us. When I was about Kali's age, I, being the typical older brother, didn't want to be around him much. He was bugging me, so I went out for a walk to get away from him. I was gone about two hours. When I got back, he was sitting on the front steps of our house, crying. I asked him what was wrong, and he told me that our parents were dead. I went inside, I didn't want to believe him, but when I saw them…" Rude shuddered at the memory, but continued talking. "My mother's face was blue and there were slight cuts around her neck. She was strangled to death. My father's neck was sliced open and his blood was covering the floor. I started trembling and walked outside. I asked my brother who murdered them, but he didn't know. He had started to run after me earlier, but he heard them yelling and went back. He got there as the killer ran away, so he didn't see his face. When he said that, I started shaking even worse and got scared. I started running away. Bao followed me for almost a quarter of a mile. When we got to the park he used to play in, he grabbed me around the waist and begged me not to leave him. I grabbed his wrists and pushed him. He fell on the ground and started crying as I began running again. He didn't follow me and I never looked back. I finally stopped and cried.
"A few days later, I found Bao walking to a friend's house. I tried to talk to him, but he ignored me. All he said was that he had a foster home and they were looking for me, that I needed to be in one as well. Bao and I never saw each other again. After he left, I started thinking. I felt ashamed of myself. The Valentine gunmen of the Turks never ran away from anything. They were the two men I looked up to more than anyone."
"Valentine gunmen?" Kali repeated.
"Vincent and his father," Kadaj explained. Rude nodded.
"I decided to join the Turks then. I was the approved age and thought that was the only way I could track down the man that murdered my parents. I told the Turks that tracked me down what my intentions were, so I had no other choice after that. I studied to be a gunman for five years, but I never got through it well enough. When I continued to fail, they transferred me to martial arts and weapons training. That's when I met Reno. He had just entered, and I had to start over again, so we had the same training sessions. We've been best friends for the past thirty years," he whispered. He glanced at Reno for a moment, then turned to Alim. "If he dies, so do you. We're like brothers. Yuffie and I are all he's really got, and I know he's the closest friend I'll have. I'm not letting him go like I did the other Turks and the President."
"I'm sure he'll be fine shortly," Alim assured him somewhat nervously. Rude closed his eyes and began falling asleep again. Kali stood and turned to her friends.
"I think we should let them rest," she said quietly. Nodding in agreement, they all followed her downstairs, Alim saying to keep an eye on the two invalids. The small group sat in the living room and discussed their next course of action.
"What now?" Cid whispered.
"We go find Sachiko," Kadaj said promptly. He shook his head. "I don't want her away from me… us any longer."
"Kadaj, do you really think it'll be easy to break her out?" Kali asked. Kadaj lowered his eyes.
"We can try."
"Don't kid yourself," Devin said. "With you guys out of there, they'll have stepped up the security. We'd be in there less than a minute before the entire guard is on us."
"How the hell would you know?" Kadaj snapped immediately.
"He's right. They know you slept with her. They know that you two love each other and you'll want to get her out," Yuffie reminded him. Kadaj closed his eyes, knowing deep down that she was right. "They'll want to keep an eye on her for awhile, make sure nothing comes from you two screwing around, you know?"
"Are you saying I got her pregnant?" Kadaj muttered. Yuffie shrugged.
"I don't know, maybe, but highly unlikely. Either way, they'll be keeping her under observation for a while. I say we wait until they least expect an escape attempt."
"What are we supposed to do until then?" Kadaj whispered. "I can't stand the thought of what they might do to her. What do they need her for, anyway?"
"Maybe Alim knows something. We'll talk to him when he's done taking care of Reno and Rude. Those are their names, right?" Devin asked. Kali nodded.
"Rude will be fine. I hope Reno is, too," she said softly. Cid smiled suddenly.
"I think I have an idea," he muttered. He looked up at them. "Reeve."
"Reeve?" Kadaj repeated. Kali gave him a sideways look.
"Who's that?"
"Another ex-Turk. He was a traitor back when we went after your dad," Cid explained. "Did Vincent tell you about Cait Sith?"
"Yes," Kali nodded. Her mouth opened a little as she thought a moment. "Oh, him. Yeah, Vincent told me about Reeve. What help will he be?"
"Valda seems to be a lot like Rufus. If she's doing things the way he did, Reeve should know about it and be of some help in getting Sachiko out," Cid suggested. "Besides, he loves giving away secrets and confidential information. I'm sure he's been keeping an eye on things out in Ath Midgar."
"Where is he?" Yuffie asked, all of them becoming excited at this thought. Cid hesitated a moment before scratching the back of his head.
"I… really have no idea," he admitted. They sighed with heavy hearts and turned at a voice coming from the stairs.
"He's been living in Corel and spends most of his time at the Gold Saucer," Rude said. He winced as he walked into the room.
"How do you know?" Kadaj inquired.
"Reno and I have kept in touch with him over the years. Last time we heard from him was just before Kali and Vincent came. Unless he moved between then and now, he should still be there."
"What are you doing down here?" Kali asked suddenly. She gave him a stern look.
"Alim sent me down. He said he needs to check Reno out in private. He said something about not wanting to scare me. I don't know what," he shrugged as Kali began asking. She furrowed her brow and glanced at the floor.
"So I guess that's it. We'll wait for you two to get well enough to travel, then go find Reeve," Kali finally shrugged.
"We'll hide out here until then, okay?" Yuffie piped up. They all slowly nodded their agreement.
"Since Alim sent you down, I guess there's no change, huh?" Cid sighed. Rude shook his head.
"Reno seemed to be regaining consciousness, but I guess he wasn't," Rude shook his head.
"You seem to care about Reno a lot," Kadaj pointed out accusingly. Rude glared at his smirking face.
"I know what you're thinking. Do you honestly think I would love Tifa so much if Reno and I are in love? Or Reno love Yuffie the way he does?"
"Good point," Kadaj nodded. "Sorry, it's just the way you talk sometimes."
"I know. But you and Kali talk the same way about each other, and you're siblings," Rude reminded him. Kadaj and Kali couldn't help smiling at each other. "Like I said, Reno is like the brother that Bao never was. Rather, the Bao that died with our parents."
"You know…" Kali whispered. She looked up at Rude. "If you want, you can stay here and we'll go find Reeve. I'm sure we'll see Tifa on the way, and I'm sure we'll have to…" she trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence for fear it would upset him. To her surprise, Rude shook his head.
"No. I prefer being with my loved ones when they die. I would rather be able to say goodbye."
"You're sure?" Cid asked. Rude nodded.
"He's got a point," Yuffie sighed. "I think back on how I reacted when Vincent died. Sometimes I wonder, 'What if I had seen it? What if I had the chance to be with him until the very end? Would I have had closure, or would the pain be greater?' At times, I envy you, Kali, for being able to actually say farewell. Other times, I can't even imagine how painful it must have been."
"It was very painful. My heart's never been so broken," Kali whispered. Devin wrapped his arm around her waist and held her hand. Kadaj stiffened, but he remained in place.
"It's the same with me and father," Kadaj agreed, his eyes never leaving his sister. "I saw one of his deaths but was unable to say goodbye, I was with him only a few minutes before he took the last breath of his next, and I only saw him be placed in the ground after his last. I never saw him actually die and be able to talk to him until the very end at the same time."
The group fell silent. They all noticed the tears forming and decided not to pursue the subject any longer. After a few minutes, Cid and Yuffie left them to go to bed. Rude wrapped up under a blanket on the couch in the room and fell into an uneasy sleep. Kadaj, Devin, and Kali were the last to go upstairs. Devin parted at the top of the stairs, but Kadaj stopped Kali for a moment outside of her room.
"Kali, if you need me, I'll be right next door, okay?" Kadaj assured her. Kali nodded before turning to her room. She smiled at the sight on her bed. Pradipa was curled up tightly, one of her boots clutched in his paws. Kali gently pulled her boot out of his grasp and picked him up.
"Kali?" Pradipa squeaked softly. Kali smiled and lie down, the small Tonberry snuggling up against her breasts.
"Yes, little Pradipa. It's me. Good night," she whispered. He licked her hand before falling back to sleep. Kali joined him for a few moments before a movement next to her woke her up. She opened her eyes as Devin sat on the edge of her bed and kissed her. She pushed him away as he began to gently move Pradipa with one hand and slide the other up her shirt.
"What?" he whispered as he sat up. Kali shook her head.
"No. I don't want to have sex," she muttered. Devin stroked her face.
"I love you, Kal. I've wanted to tell you for so long," he said softly. She smiled back.
"I love you, too, Devin. But you know Kadaj is in the room next to this. He doesn't like you, and I have no idea why. I don't think he wants to wake up and walk in here to find us fucking around. Knowing him, he'll think you're raping me or something."
"Hmm. You're right," he nodded. He stretched out next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Kali laid her arm between Pradipa's paws and rolled onto her side. She laid her hand and head on Devin's chest before closing her eyes. "I don't think he'll mind this as long as we have pants on, right?"
"I guess not," she muttered sleepily. Kali snuggled up against him as tightly as she could. "Good night, Devin. I love you."
"I love you, Kal," he replied just as tiredly. Kali was asleep in seconds, but Devin had a little bit of trouble, especially after catching a glimpse of white clothes, black hair, and furious red-violet eyes staring angrily at them through the window.
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"Kali? Kali, get up!" Devin snapped quickly. He started shaking her.
"Devin, I told you, no sex," she moaned. She looked up to see his worried face. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know, but something's up with Reno. Come on, Alim wants to see all of us now," he said shakily. Kali felt her breath catch in her breast for a moment before she leapt out of bed, Pradipa still in her arms, and ran with Devin to Reno's room. Rude and Kadaj were entering at the same time they were.
"What's going on?" Rude asked worriedly as Devin and Kali followed them in. They both shrugged. When they saw Reno, Rude started shaking and Kali found it impossible to suppress her gasp.
Reno was wrapped up in the bed, just as he had been the night before, except without his clothes on. He and the bed were also covered in sweat. Tears clearly stained his face and he was twitching slightly. His eyes were half open and they were glowing even more than Cid's or Kali's. He glanced at all of them, but didn't seem to actually see them. His breathing remained inconstant as well. One moment he was literally gasping for breath, the next it was shallow and uneven, the next it was normal, then it seemed to stop completely, and then it began all over again with a random breath. As they watched, Reno suddenly gave a heave and was vomiting violently into a bucket next to the bed.
"What's wrong with him?" Cid asked Alim nervously. The scientist wiped Reno's mouth before he checked his pulse and sighed.
"I examined him all through the night. Reno, as you know, cut his own wrist back in the lab. He used one of our Mako injection needles, but the syringe was still partly full of Mako. The needle slipped and he injected himself, but the Mako he received as a Turk did not wear off as much as it has in other previous Shinra employees. A few moments later, we had a slight tussle and a jar of the substance was knocked over. It shattered next to Reno's head and some of it dripped into his mouth and nose. More of it flowed into his wrist and the Mako-covered glass dug into his skin, thus putting even more into his system."
"What does all of that mean?" Rude asked, but the look on his face told Kali that he already knew.
"Like I said, I examined him all night. There's only one conclusion I've come to. I'm sorry," he said quietly as he looked at all of them in turn. He took a breath before answering. "Reno has a severe and advanced case of Mako poisoning."
"No," Yuffie shook her head and raised a hand to her mouth. Cid looked to the ground and Rude started shaking even more. Kadaj only closed his eyes while Kali and Devin stared at Alim.
"What is it? Is it bad?" Kali asked, although she already knew the answer. Alim nodded.
"Very bad. It only happens when a person either ingests it or too much is introduced into the bloodstream. I understand that Cloud almost died of it when he was going after your father. In mild cases, which are very rare, the victim recovers fully. In normal cases, the victim lives, but remains insane for the rest of his life. In severe cases like Reno and Cloud, which like mild ones are rare, it's very unlikely that the inflicted person will live. I'm very sorry."
"Reno, no!" Yuffie yelled. She sat on the bed and threw herself against him, her tears flowing nonstop onto his chest. To Kali's surprise, Rude looked like he was nearly ready to do the same. Instead, he walked quickly out of the room. Kali buried her face in Devin's shoulder as she, too, began sobbing.
"Reeve," Cid whispered. "We need to find Reeve. There's nothing we can do for Reno except let him rest," he added at a glare from Yuffie. "You and I both remember what it took for Cloud to recover. All we could do was try to stop Shinra and Sephiroth and let Tifa look after him."
"Then I'll stay," Yuffie said quietly. "He needs someone who loves him here. I'll stay and look after him. The rest of you go get Reeve."
"Where's the president…?" Reno muttered suddenly. Yuffie closed her eyes tightly.
"Now the delusions begin," she said shakily.
Kali gave Reno a small kiss on the cheek before she picked up Pradipa and walked out. She walked to the living room and saw Rude sitting on the couch, his head resting against his hands. She sat next to him, Pradipa sat in her lap, and she wrapped her arm around him. He hugged her back and rested his face on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry Kali," he muttered shakily. "I can't help it."
"I know. We all need to right now. Go ahead," she whispered gently. She began to cry as she realized the true horror. In that moment, she knew how terrible the Mako poisoning was, for she somehow knew that she was the first person in their group to ever see Rude shed tears.
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"You'll be fine by yourselves?" Cid asked Yuffie the next afternoon. She nodded.
"Yes, we'll be great."
"You'll send word if anything happens to Reno, good or bad, right?" Rude asked for her reassurance. Again, Yuffie nodded.
"Of course I will. You'll be the first to know," she said gently as she laid a hand on his shoulder. Rude and Cid turned to Kali, Kadaj and Devin.
"Let's go," Kali nodded. They began walking away from the house slowly. Five minutes later, they were stepping onto the elevator that would take them up to the old base. Kadaj held Kali's hand as they rose.
"You okay with all of this?" he whispered.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just really worried about Reno," she replied quietly. Kadaj stared at her.
"What about Devin?"
"What about him?"
"You said you never wanted to see him again, that he found you before I did and he left you to die."
"I don't think it really happened."
"What? You sounded so sure before," Kadaj gasped. Kali looked up at him.
"My dreams have been so real lately. You saw it last time we got pulled to the Lifestream. I can't tell what's true or false, I can't even tell for sure if this conversation is real or dream. Kadaj, tell me I'm not going crazy."
"You're not crazy," he whispered gently. At that moment, the platform came to a stop. "This is it. Come on."
Kadaj led them out of the lift and looked around. They were in a narrow hallway. To the right side was a short, dead-end hall with a large glass window looking out at the airship and plane landing pads. Straight ahead was another short hall with two doors. One led outside where the pads were. The other led to the city.
"This way," Cid pointed at the one leading to the city. They walked through and were instantly blinded by the sudden sunlight. After adjusting to the brightness, the group walked through the abandoned streets. A few merchants stood outside their shops to try and sell something, but nobody stopped. They came to a long tunnel and stared down it.
"Which way?" Kadaj muttered. They looked from the entryway across from them to the one on the left. Rude pointed.
"That way," he said and began walking forwards. They left the tunnel and in a few moments were standing on the docks, a small ship conveniently ready to set sail.
"How will we split up? I don't have enough gil for my own room," Kadaj said as he pulled his pouch from his pocket. The others nodded in agreement.
"I guess I'll bunk with Rude and Devin," Cid offered. Kadaj nodded his agreement.
"Then Kali and I will share a room."
"No, I have enough for my own," Devin piped up. They stared at him. "I've been in enough fights and have enough gil left from what that woman gave me for the daggers."
"Okay. I guess we'll meet up in the mess hall for breakfast tomorrow morning then," Kali smiled. They bought their tickets and boarded the ship. As Kali and Devin parted, Kadaj winced at the length of their goodbye kiss. Kali finally went into their room before her brother approached Devin.
"You leave her alone," he warned. "You and I both know you're the one that's been trying to rape her and kill me."
"And yet we're the only ones," Devin smiled. "Who do you think they're going to believe? A girl who's known me her whole life or an overprotective older brother?"
"You better watch yourself," Kadaj threatened. Devin smiled again and turned away. Kadaj waited until he was in his room before entering his own to find Kali readying herself for sleep. "You're going to bed already?"
"The past two days have been really long," Kali whined. She stretched out on the bed and scratched Pradipa's chin. "Besides, I'm the one that stayed up to help look after Reno last night."
"Yeah. I guess we could all use a little extra sleep, huh?" Kadaj agreed. He hung his coat on a hook and stretched out next to his sister. "I'm actually a bit tired, too."
"Then I think we should sleep. Kadaj?"
"Hmm?" he sighed as he closed his eyes and held her close.
"You're worried about Sachiko, aren't you?"
"Very worried, yes," he replied quietly. "Why do you think they need her that badly?"
"I remember what Vincent told me about Aeris. Shinra wanted her to find the Promised Land, just like daddy wanted to. Maybe they're trying again."
"Maybe. We'll ask Alim when we get back. Hell, Reeve might even know."
"We'll find out soon. Goodnight, my brother."
"Goodnight, kid," he muttered. They fell asleep within a few moments.
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NM: Yet another emotional chapter. Honestly, who ever thought of Rude crying or abandoning a little kid? And the Mako Poisoning is a bit FF7 reminiscent, eh? Anywho, I don't have much else to say except sorry for updating a little later than usual. Replies:
Soul Vagabond: You're back! ((POUNCE)) I know I'm definitely getting my ass kicked for that, too. As for the motorcycle thing, we already argued about that over the phone, so let's never speak of it again. And get reading to this part! XD
Sayahiei: Thank you so much for reading my poem! You're the only one so far. And I explained the whole Nanashi monster thing the other day. Okay?
Mediciner: Not haikus, but things like sonnets (I have one up right now!) and ballads (wrote a great one for Nanashi) and the like. Yeah, I try to give my characters names to fit their personalities. I wanted to give Pradipa a name that had to do with 'knife' or something, but, alas, there were none. So I went with lantern. Yeah.
NM: And just so you know, I have a poem in my collection thing now. Please read it! If you don't mind spoilers, that is.
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