Tengoko: Sorry for the long wait. I kind of got caught up on my other story. I know this chapter is kind of long, but it's what you have all been waiting for...angry Reno...grr! I enjoyed writing this chapter so much. But not as much as I'm going to enjoy writing the next chapter. That's all I'm going to say about that. Well, anyway, like I've said so many times, I really love reviews. Thanks. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Not mine. The story is. But the characters aren't. More's the pity.
Rated M for language and romance

Chapter 9: Materia and Gunfire

"What took you so long?" Lucius asked just as Wesley jumped over the wooden fence to meet them. He didn't say anything at first; he just walked over to Kristian and nudged him. Kris handed him a can of beer, and as Wes opened it, Lucius asked again, "what in the hell too you so long to get here, man? We've been waiting for over thirty minutes for your lazy ass."

Wesley shrugged. "My mother found out that I was coming," he informed them all. "Let's just say it got pretty nasty. But, I'm here now. So what's the big deal?"

"It actually works this way," Viggo said, taking a drag from his cigarette. "The fires are mostly out now, it'll make it a lot easier for us."

"Yeah, there's still smoke to cover us, and at least the chances of getting hurt have gone down."

"Whatever, Kris," Wesley said, after taking a chug. "The danger of getting hurt is what makes it so thrilling."

"Well then," Lucius began, refusing Kris' offer of beer with a shake of his head. "Are we just going to stand around like idiots or are we going to go?" His answer was Wes throwing his empty beer can over the fence, and his slow departure. The three boys followed him down the street.

"What are you doing?" Viggo asked. "Do you know where you are going?"

"Sure do," he replied, coming to a halt at the tracks. "The train is scheduled to go by any minute. As you dorks well know, it goes through Sector Eight's Resident Sect. It'll take us right to it if we time our jump. So, don't be stupid and die, because I'm sure I'll feel no pity for you."

"What a kind and devoted friend," Lucius joked.

They all laughed. According to the time schedule, they'd only have to wait two minutes before the train came by, and since it operated on electricity, it was timed perfectly. The only trouble was, the train usually went faster than hell. It was a good thing Wes and his friends were no stranger to car hopping.

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"I'm going to kill him!" Tifa screamed, her feet pounding against the stairs as she rushed down. Cid looked up at her, annoyed at first that she had just stirred his sleeping babe, but then he stood up and handed Iris to Shera. "He's gone, Cid. He snuck out. Damn, I should have seen this coming. I should have known he would try something like this."

"That little…" Cid sneered and took a deep breath, suppressing the overwhelming urge to break something. He looked up at Tifa and sighed. "Do you know where he went?"

Tifa was frantic. She never could have imagined Wes would do something like this. Sure, the child was a pain in the ass, to say the least, but she thought that he had some respect for her. She was so distraught over the whole situation that she hadn't even heard Cid's question, just began pacing back and forth thinking about what she should do next.

"Tifa, calm down," Cid ordered, taking her by the shoulders to keep her still. "We'll find him, alright? I promise you that he'll be fine."

"I just can't believe he did this," she cried. "To think of the example he's setting for Lena Mae."

"She'll be fine too. Hell, she's better behaved than most kids her age anyway, so don't you worry about her."

"You were right, Cid. Had I just punished him like you said, he never would have thought to do this."

"Well you can't go blaming yourself now, Tifa," Shera said, trying to rock Iris back to sleep.

"Do you have any idea as to where he could have gone?" Cid asked, grabbing his coat and his keys.

"Most likely he's trying to get to Sector Eight. Oh, it's dangerous there. He shouldn't be there."

"Tifa, calm down," Shera said. "Isn't your husband there?"

"Yes. Tifa, call Reno. Tell him to keep an eye out for him."

Tifa nodded, finally a good idea, and quickly ran to the kitchen to grab the phone. She dialed so quickly that she actually messed up the first time, pressed to many numbers, before getting it right the second time. Two rings. Three. "Hello." His voice was like music to her ears.

"Reno!"

He could tell right away that something was off. Even though she had tried to keep her voice level, Reno could tell there was a bit of shakiness, and Tifa never got shaky, unless there was a damn good reason. "Tifa? What's the matter?"

"It's Wesley," she informed him. "He snuck out Reno. I think…I know that he and his friends are heading over to Sector Eight. That's what I overheard him say on the phone."

"What?" There was a pause. Tifa could only guess why, but Reno's reaction had apparently drawn the attention of some of his team members. He scowled at them and said "It's nothing. Get back to work." Then to her, "There's no possible way he will be able to get her fast enough Tifa. Just get in the car and start looking for him. You'll probably find him."

"And if he won't come with me?" she asked. "I know he'll refuse to come with me. He'll run again, and his friends will do everything they can to stop me from finding him."

"Tifa. You're the boy's mother. If he doesn't want to go home with you…make him." He paused again, this time to let the words sink in. "Look, I'll keep an eye out for him here, but I really doubt that he'll get here before you find him. On the slim chance that I do see him, I'll give you a call. Okay babe? Just relax. You'll find him."

"…Reno," she groaned. "What if something happens to him?"

Reno wasn't so worried about that. He had a good feeling that Wes had spent enough time in the slums and the ruins of Sector Seven to be perfectly capable of handling himself. So, unlike his wife, he wasn't afraid for his son. If anything, he was livid. "Something is going to happen to him," Reno said ominously. "He'd better hope you find him before I do, because I'm going to make sure he doesn't do this again."

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It took about half an hour for the train to get to Sector Eight, and then another fifteen minutes to walk to the ruin. It was chaotic to say the least. Shin-Ra had people running every which direction putting out flames, digging out survivors, and surveying the damage. It was really quite easy for the four boys to slip by unnoticed.

"Hey!" Viggo called out. "Cool. I already found something." He picked up the glowing orb and held it eye level. "How much do you think this will fetch?" he asked.

He handed it to Wesley who observed it carefully. "This will get us a hefty sum. There aren't many of these left."

"What spells does it cast?" Lucius asked, stepping closer to get a better look at it.

"Sleepel. I can see how this thing would come in handy. I'll bet it could work wonders on my mother." This elicited a laugh from all of them. "Come on, let's keep looking. I'm sure there are plenty of things to uncover."

They continued to go deeper into the rubble, towards the epicenter. Along the way, they uncovered potions, some more, common materia that wouldn't be worth too much, but enough, and a lot of antidotes. It wasn't surprising. Ever since the Shin-Ra Corporation replaced the Mako Reactors with Power Plants, it became apparent the sacrifices that had to be made. In short, many of the factory workers would sometimes fall ill do to some toxic gases that resulted from the burning of rare fossil fuels. So, antidotes had to be made expressly for factories.

"Not a bad day," Wes said, cramming a bottle of antidote into Kristian's bag. "That should do it."

"We're going to have to walk back, huh?" Viggo asked, getting down heartened.

"But look on the bright side," Lucius began.

Unfortunately, they never got to find out what the bright side was. Between a flurry of 'halt' and 'freeze,' all the boys really thought to do was run in the opposite direction. But it was pointless to try to outrun the troopers. There was only one thing left to do, and Wes would be damned if he surrendered.

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"That's right. He's about this tall, dark hair that comes right down to his shoulders, and blue eyes. Like mine." Reno had described his son more times than he could count within the last five minutes. He told everybody who could spare a second to keep an eye out for Wes, even though he hoped his son would have enough sense not to come.

He was about to walk off when somebody tapped him on his shoulder. Reno wheeled around and reflexively put his arms up in defense. Rude jumped back a bit and did the same. "Whoa, Reno. You'd been a Turk for too long, I'd say."

"Oh. It's just you," he said, putting his hands down.

"I heard the boys talking about Wes. You know, if Rufus finds out that he was here…"

"I know very well what would happen."

"And the press…if they…"

"Rude!" Reno snapped. "I don't need to be reminded. But, as it is, I could care less about the fucking campaign right now."

Rude didn't say anything. In fact, Rude appeared to have not heard a word Reno said at all. Instead, he removed his shades and squinted his eyes. "What in the bleeding hell…?" Reno turned around to see what he was talking about. "What are the firing at?"

The gunshots had only now began. But something had made the troopers start shooting. Something…or some one. A trooper began running passed them towards the fight when Rude put a heavy hand on his shoulder and pulled him back. "What's all this about?" he asked.

"Some kids…they attacked Shin-Ra troopers with magic."

"Kids?" Reno turned pale. In that same instant, Rude and Reno took off. It was then that they saw them, in the distance, hiding behind scraps of metal, occasionally firing spells from materia. The dark mop of hair was all to recognizable. "STOP!" he screamed. "CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE! THAT'S MY SON!"

Reno actually grabbed onto one of their rifles and yanked it away from them. Rude kept going forward, dodging a bolt spell that Viggo had just cast, and in next to no time, had grabbed Wes by the collar and lifted him off the ground. Wes responded by kicking and screaming, struggling to get out of the iron hard grip that Rude had him in.

"Put me down damn it!" Wes wondered why the others weren't helping him. It hadn't occurred to him that they'd bolt the second they saw Rude coming. Some friends they were. It didn't matter though, Shin-Ra troops would catch them soon enough.

"You've gone too far this time," Rude said, carrying him back to his father.

Wes' eyes finally found Reno who looked beside himself with anger. Rude dropped Wes in front of him, only so he could be grabbed by the back of his neck and yanked back up to his feet. Wes didn't bother trying to fight him. It was useless. All he could do was run to keep up with his father's long strides until he was thrown into the passenger's seat of a van.

"Rude. I leave this in your hands. I won't be coming back tonight."

Rude nodded and then tapped the door, signifying that he could go now. Reno didn't need his permission. He practically floored it, and sped off. Of course, he eventually did call Tifa to tell her that he had him, but other than that, he was hauntingly silent.

"Dad. Go ahead and yell at me. Take her side, just like you always do."

"You don't want to talk to me right now, Wesley," he warned.

"I knew it. You're going to be mom's little lapdog again. What a fucking coward."

Reno suddenly slammed on the breaks and grabbed Wesley's ear. They were face to face now, and a fire that Wesley had never seen was burning in his father's eyes. "What did you say?" It was as if he dared him to say it again. And Wesley was either bold enough, or stupid enough to do it.

"I said that you were a fucking coward." Then he let out a cry of pain as Reno pulled at his hair and brought him even closer. "Dad…stop! You're hurting me!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He screamed. It was rather intimidating. Wesley had never heard his father yell before. "Those were mighty big fighting words for somebody who can't take pain. I can't believe I've raised you to be such a fucking pain in the ass."

"…dad?"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Again, Wesley was stunned into silence. "You might be able to get away with saying things like that with your mother, but I'll be damned if I let you say them to me. You've been taking too many things for granted lately, and it's time that I give you a dose of reality, even if I have to beat it into your fucking skull all night."

"Fuck you!" Wesley said, getting bold again. Then he yelped as Reno actually pulled him so hard, that the seat belt snapped in half.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!" He shouted dangerously. "IF I HEAR ONE MORE FUCKING SOUND COME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH, YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET THE FUCKING DAY THAT YOU WERE BORN! HELL, I KNOW I DO!"

Then there was silence again, mostly because of Reno's words. Even he had shocked himself by saying them. And he felt horrible about it too. Not because he didn't think that Wes didn't deserve it. No, he knew he deserved it, and more, which is what he was going to get. But that was just it. It could only get uglier now. Damn, what a mess.