A/N: 8th chapter, we all know how it works. Please review! .
Cloud narrowed his eyes further, but followed without a verbal protest.
They made their way up the steps, leaving the others behind in the living room. Silence stretched out between them. As they passed the bedrooms again, Reno pivoted and ducked into his. "I gotta get something."
Cloud didn't bother to follow, so he stood there and waited in silence. Well, as much silence as he was capable of having.
-They will die-
Cloud flinched, the voice wasn't LOUD, in fact it was really quiet, but it came out in hiss.
-They will all die-
Cloud shut his eyes and sighed, "Blondie?" Cloud's eyes snapped open to see Reno standing in front of him with a gun and a smirk.
Cloud raised his eyebrows, "What kind of doctor are you?"
Reno blinked, "One that doesn't trust psychopaths like Peter."
"That is all sorts of illegal." Cloud muttered, but kept quiet after.
"Not when you're in a hostage situation." Reno responded.
Cloud gave a small smirk, "Let's go find him." Reno nodded and they headed down the hallway.
When they came to the scientist's door, Cloud knocked. No answer. He knocked again. Still no answer. He knocked one last time. Same thing. He turned to face Reno, "So Red, what should we do?"
Reno gave him a look that said 'What the hell do you think?' "Go in." He said.
Cloud shrugged and twisted the knob, the door opened with a loud creak, their breathing quickened as they waited for someone to come out. No one did. They stepped into the dark room to find it completely deserted. There was no Hojo and no Lucrecia, but there was a light coming from the bookshelf.
"Hidden passages?" Cloud wondered.
The sound of footsteps caused Reno and Cloud to both jump. They looked down the hall and saw a figure disappear around a corner. Both men made a silent agreement not to follow whatever it was. Sliding through the narrow passage they arrived in a room with monitors.
"What the hell?" Leaning in, Reno tried to make out what it was that he saw walking on the screen. "Is that some kind of doll…or puppet?"
At that moment all but one screen in the room shut off, but the one that remained on was the one with the doll-like figures on it. Reno swallowed and all three of the figure's heads snapped as if they were looking at Cloud and Reno.
Both men back-pedaled, their eyes wide. Reno fell into the bookshelf and something landed on him. After a moment of silence, he screamed.
Cloud flinched and stared wide-eyed at-what appeared to be- a cat that had choked to death on a rat. He swallowed, and stared nervously at the cat. "Um, that's unusual." He said, "Maybe we should leave?" He suggested. Reno nodded and they took off running.
Reno and Cloud dashed up the hallways, sliding slightly before rushing back down the staircase as though hell itself were behind them. They made enough noise to cause everyone sitting in the living room to stand.
"What's wrong?" Tifa asked as soon as Both Reno and Cloud slid to halts, panting and looking wide eyed back up the stairway.
Reno shook his head, "We need to look for a way out. NOW."
Tifa nodded and looked over at Vincent, Vince took the hint and walked over to the window and tried to open it, but it wouldn't move.
"It's locked." He said quietly.
Reno growled, "We have to search the whole house. We'll go in groups, Tifa Vincent, and Cloud. And me and Yuffie."
Cloud's blue eyes narrowed, "I don't think so. I'll come with you and Yuffie." He said, his voice leaving no room for argument. But Reno did anyway.
"No way Blondie, you stick with Tifa and Vincent."
"No." Cloud snapped.
"Why? Why do you want to come with us anyway?" Reno questioned.
"Because I don't trust a girl with a drunk who is carrying a gun." He snarled.
Reno's harsh green eyes grew cold and he glared, "Do you want those two to die?"
"Of course not." Cloud said.
"Then go with them. They have no form of protection." Reno said, annoyed.
Cloud opened his mouth to reply, but Tifa interrupted him, "Now Reno, how many times have I had to throw you out of my bar?" Reno shot her a look that clearly said 'shut up' but she didn't take the hint, "You're nicer when you're drunk. And that's saying something."
Reno continued to glare but gave a defeated sigh, "Fine, come on Blondie."
Tifa watched from behind Vincent as he tried another window.
"Any luck?" She asked.
Vincent stood up and turned to face her, "No."
Tifa sighed, "Does Hojo really want to kill us?"
Vincent gave a slight shrug, "I don't know."
Tifa blinked and her and Vincent continued their search, but always came up with the same result. They finally arrived at a door at the end of the last hallway, Tifa reached out to open the door, but Vincent's hand stopped her.
"Let me go first." He said. Tifa nodded and watched him disappear into the dark room. She stood with her hands behind her back waiting for a few minutes. When it finally dawned her that it had actually been a few minutes, she grew worried. All these thoughts jumped into her head 'What if something got him? What if he got hurt? What if he isn't in there?' Finally telling herself to go in the room, she strode forward into the doorway and cautiously stuck her hand in to switch on the light. And when she did, she gasped.
There stood Vincent, unmoving as if he were in a trance, staring at a message that appeared to be scrawled in blood on the white wall.
-The clouds that veil his life within Are thy thick woven webs of sin,-
Tifa stood in the doorway, shocked, 'This isn't here, it's my imagination.' She thought desperately. "Vincent? Are you alright?"
Vincent stared at the wall; suddenly he was back when he was thirteen at school. He had gotten up in the middle of his class and wrote that same saying across the blackboard.
"Vincent Valentine! What are you doing!" The teacher had yelled.
"I'm writing what Chaos told me to write." He had replied. The room has filled with laughter of the kids, and the teacher had looked horrified.
"Come on; come with me to the office." She said while dragging him out the room, he had followed silently. And now, years later that same message was written on a wall and he could do nothing but stare.
"Are you okay?" Tifa questioned again. She had come up behind him and she gently placed her hand on his shoulder; he jumped.
Vincent was silent for a bit longer before replying, "…What?"
"Are you okay?" She repeated.
Vincent gave a slight nod, "…I'm fine. Just got a bit of a scare." He explained.
Tifa gave him a suspicious, but understanding look, "Alright. Should we move on?"
"No, I think that's enough for tonight." He said, wanting to get back to the safety of his own room. 'But is it really safe there?' A little voice in his mind questioned. Vincent ignored it as he and Tifa walked out of the room and back to theirs.
"Anyone here suicidal?" Reno questioned from his position at the open window.
"No…" Yuffie said in confusion, "Why?"
"Cause unless anyone is planning on jumping to their death it's another dead end." Reno said, turning to face his two companions.
Yuffie groaned, "Great."
Cloud sighed, "How many more do we have to check?"
"We still got this whole hallway." He replied.
Yuffie whimpered, "Damn, I'm tired."
Cloud nodded his head in understanding, "I bet." He said softly.
Reno thought for a moment, "Why don't you guys go back? There's only a few more windows, and I bet they aren't open. So, head on back." He said gruffly.
Yuffie's eyes widened, "No!"
Reno raised his eyebrows "No?"
"Yes, no." Yuffie repeated, "You've seen what has happened. We can't leave you out here alone."
Reno looked ready to retort but Cloud interrupted, "She's right, it is dangerous."
Reno smirked, "Who's got a gun?"
Yuffie placed her hands on her hips and Cloud grimaced, "We can't leave you."
"I'll be fine." He barked.
Yuffie looked as if she were going to argue some more, but Cloud placed a hand on her arm, "Just…leave it. If he wants to die he can." Reno glared and Cloud gave a slight shrug. An eerie silence passed over them before Yuffie shivered.
"I guess we should go." Yuffie admitted.
Cloud and Yuffie began walking away; Yuffie glanced over her shoulder at him and cast an unsure look but continued. Reno waited until they were out of sight before turning to the door.
He hesitantly reached out to grab the handle, after what he and Blondie saw earlier, it wasn't unusual that he was wary. He slowly opened the door, expecting to see nothing but darkness, but instead saw a very familiar place.
His old home, the slums.
"This is impossible," He muttered, "This can't be real." He began walking slowly, glancing at the towering buildings with confusion and amazement. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked all around him. He spotted the very same building where he grew up and froze. "Fuck no." he swore. He walked steadily over to the building and threw open the door. "This can not be true. I'm hallucinating."
The smell was the first thing that assaulted Reno's nose. He stepped backwards, feeling for the door handle…
…It wasn't there.
He froze, his arm extended behind him and his eyes wide. He slowly pulled his arm back to his side and he hesitantly began to look over his shoulder. Instead of the door that should be there, the red porch light of a brothel loomed at him from across the alley.
Reno Capellarossi was in the slums again.
Snapping his head forward he took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, "its okay Re, you know this isn't real. You've been under a lot of stress lately. This isn't real, you can't be back there. This isn't real; it's just an illusion…"
"Heya Red…." The voice was deep and he couldn't quite place it. But the taunting tone in his voice explained that he didn't need to know the voice to know the intention.
"I have a name." He spat, moving his hand so it rested on his gun.
Reno spun around to face the man, but jumped back when he saw their face, their eyes were sunken and dark circles resided under them. Their teeth were an ugly yellow, and their skin was an ashy grey. Forgetting about his gun he took five steps back.
The man gave a hoarse laugh, "What's ammatter, Bookworm? Too good for the Slums now? Yer a fuckin' doctor now right? Fergot where ya came from?"
Reno stared at him for a moment before turning around and running. Nothing had changed, all the people were the same. Nothing was different. He'd always been fast, and before he knew it he was running across a parking lot to the old run-down hotel he had called home.
When he reached the door, he hesitantly opened it and stepped inside. The smell, just like the other building was as nauseating and sour as ever.
He glanced around a bit before heading up the steps to his old room. When he arrived, the already sickening smell was stronger, almost making Reno fall backwards. He opened the door and a man he hadn't seen in years was lying on the bed. By the look of his old friend, Reno knew he had been dead for a long time.
"Tseng?" He asked, though in the back of his mind he knew better. He knew better than all of this. He glanced to his right side, where he knew he kept the alcohol and opened the door. He threw a few shirts and pants out before his hand felt the cool glass of a bottle. He picked it up and turned it around in his hands for a few moments.
He glanced back at Tseng and shook his head. He and Tseng had been study buddies. He looked at the bottle in his hand again. If Tseng hadn't killed himself, Reno would have, they were too…dependant.
"Not anymore." He said aloud, and with that be slammed the bottle on the corner of the desk, spraying nearby books and objects with whiskey. He picked around in the broken glass until he found a sharp enough shard.
"Sorry buddy." He said as he walked towards his body. He brought the sharp piece to Tseng's chest and had only put a small puncture in his skin when he felt a cold waxy hand on his wrist. Reno's heart sped up for a second, but he shook his head. He was a doctor; he knew that dead bodies could grab someone. He knew they could even groan or sit up if the right set of circumstances were met. So there was no reason to be scared.
Reno slid his hand out of Tseng's grasp. Once again he raised the shard to the body, but it sat up and turned his head to look directly at Reno. Though Reno was a doctor, and had seen many interesting things, he was positive dead bodies could NOT do that.
"Hey Re." His voice rasped. It was dry, which proved that he had been dead for awhile. "Long time no see eh, buddy?" He snarled.
Reno jumped back, eyes widened with surprise and fear. 'Fuck, this can't be happening. This can not be real.'
Tseng's dull eyes stared directly at him, a smug expression written clearly across his face, "What's wrong? Feeling guilty?"
Reno's mouth was open, as if he wanted to speak. But his mouth was dry and seemed unable to form any words. His body felt cold and clammy and he felt that he would vomit because of the lump in his throat. His body felt cold, clammy and sudden nausea made it difficult to fight the lump in his throat
"Re, I died because of you, and you have got nothing to say?" Tseng was on his feet and standing in front of Reno as if he were living again.
"Y-you're…" He choked.
That mocking smile was still on his bluish lips, "Dead? Have I not just said that?" Reno stared, frozen, fear gripping every part of him. This wasn't right, it wasn't real. It couldn't be. "Oh Re, how I wish you could have been there."
Reno continued to stare at his friend but took a few shaky steps backwards. He felt as if his knees would give out beneath him. Tseng must have noticed he had moved because he began to stiffly walk towards him. Tseng's smug look seemed to grow more amused as Reno became more frightened.
When Tseng was within reaching distance, Reno's breath caught and his heart began beating so fast he could hear it in his head. Tseng slowly reached out and grabbed Reno's arm with an unusually strong grasp. Reno let out a choked scream and jumped back, slamming into the wall. He fell to the floor, but quickly scrambled back up, he slid to the side and made for the door, but lost his footing. The next thing he felt was a sharp pain on this back of his head. He crumpled to the floor; his blood dripping from the corner of the desk.
A/N: Alrighty! 8th chappie up! wh00t! Slight VinTif in here I think. Who's happy:grins: Hope ya'll enjoyed it. Please review! Thanks so much to all who have reviewed! I noticed I got a lot of hits on it, so other people must be reading. Just not reviewing...hmm...