Ah, yes I know, I haven't added a new chapter in a long time, but blame it on contact troubles. First I couldn't get a hold of Cless so this chapter was not edited by him, so I had to find a new editor (I think she'll only be temporary, don't want to bug her too much). Kiara is the one who edited this chapter and much thanks goes out to her; she did a very wonderful job I think.
Also, Happy Holidays, you can think of this as your late/early holiday gift.
I would like to also thank my reviewers so far, I like to get feedback a lot.
rufustehshinra >>> I hope I keep up with this "something" that's got you hooked
Santuary of Darkness >>> The reason I don't portray Reno as a drunken/smartass/womanizer is because he doesn't seem that way to me. Okay, yes, he is a smartass occasionally, but that shouldn't overshadow everything else in my opinion. Bleh, the stereotype of males is already bad enough (me being one of them), I don't need to add to it fictionally.
What's The Cure For This Valentine Of Mine?
Written by: Viewing Pleasure; Edited by: Kiara
The hallways of Shinra Incorporated, so dull and unwelcoming, my hand flowed with ease across the depressingly grey walls as I walked along in my torment. My appendages felt ghostly and foreign; I'd never imagined it was possible to be so numb.
A grimace set in stone on my face, I stared blankly at the face of Tseng when I exited the meeting room; his own body language told the very same story. "Reno, did you get the—?"
"You mean the little note Elena left me? Yeah, I got it, yo." My feet shuffled uncomfortably with regret. Events today were making me sad as hell; I couldn't turn a corner without feeling an emotion such as regret.
"You didn't tell the Boss about what happened did you?"
My eyes glared with a fiery intensity at him. "What did you just say!"
"There's no reason to raise your voice at me. I just—!"
"I'm sick and tired of dealing with your stupidity! Always trying to cover your own ass! If something goes wrong you cover it up and put on the most innocent facade you can dream up!" My words scared me because I meant every bit of it.
He stared to the ground.
"If I wasn't so sure you'd rat me out to Rufus, I'd beat you up for asking me such a ridiculous question!"
"Are you done?" It wasn't meant to be insulting to me in any way; Tseng was just as uncomfortable as I was about the recent occurrences.
"No! I'm not done! With all the tribulations going on you act as if you're the only one who matters! Well guess what, you're not the only one with problems! Three people died today and I figure it was my entire fault!"
"Are you done, now?"
"Yeah, but only because I need to visit Rude…I'll finish with you later, yo." As I turned to leave, I shot one last glance in his direction; Tseng was motionless in the hallway before he suddenly turned towards the elevator. Its cold metal doors closed behind him, and the all too familiar "Bing!" called out to me. I winced at the memories it brought me.
Refocusing my attentions on Rude was a last ditch effort to hold the pieces of my sanity together. I was yelling at people left and right, first Rufus and then Tseng. Who next? It could be Elena, Pree, or even Rude of all people.
Irony settled into the dull throbbing pain of the headache in my skull, "Are you keeping the burned pilot company, yo?" The poor pilot that had exploded a fuel tank by lighting a cigarette too close for his own good; I'd laughed at him out of arrogance, I guess Rude's pain was payback for my cruelness.
The emergency center was now in sight, its white scenery standing imposingly around the bleak wallpaper filling the hallways.
"Sir, you can't go in there! Sir—!" A nursing student stood before me with her arms extended trying to stop me from going further as I tried to enter one of the rooms. A love-bite, also known as a hickey, was plain to see on her neck; out the corner of my eye I could see a flustered office worker hiding from my view. I didn't make a big deal about it for a few moments, but then a cruel part of me kicked in.
"I bet the Boss would find it real interesting…yo." I put some well-placed emphasis on the 'yo'.
"Find what interesting?" Fear shot through her senses in a brief fashion, I only had to keep her mind going so it could imagine the worst possible scenario. A hand went up to try and conceal the less-than-flattering mark on her neck.
"A little nurse gal is attempting to do her work," if by any chance my inferences were correct, it was by pure coincidence, "when a desperate man from one of the offices on the third floor arrives to get a little paperwork. His wife has been giving him troubles at home, and he's been a little…frustrated lately. Surely no one would mind if he just messed around a bit with the cute nurse, but I bet the Boss would find it real interesting." I turned to her desk and snatched a picture of the nurse and her husband posing for a picture; it was all made to seem as if it wouldn't bother me in the least to make her entire world come crashing down.
"But—but, sir! If I let you in there I'll lose my job!"
"It's your choice…either you lose your job and I mind my own business, or you could lose your job, your husband, and your happiness." Why was I being so manipulative?
She seemed troubled, almost as if she was having real conflict inside.
Without receiving her blessing, I passed by her and forced my way directly into the only occupied medical room. The scent of medicines and old blood reached my nose, sending a flare of sickness through my abdomen. I called out weakly, "Rude?"
There was no answer.
I tried to coax a reply even further, "Rude, are you there?"
The room was dark and gloomy, but even my eyes could see a figure shifting about at the sound of my voice.
"The nurse wouldn't let me in, yo. I had to force it on her."
"You shouldn't have come, Reno."
"Why not?" I wasn't expecting an uplifting explanation.
"You should be working; I'm fine."
"But Elena left me a note and all, so I figured I'd—" Why was he being so difficult?
"You shouldn't be here."
I repeated myself again, "Why not!"
"Because…"
There was barely any time for thought amongst our rising voices.
"Because what!"
"I can't tell you…"
"Tell me!"
"I can't!"
"Tell me why!"
"You wouldn't understand!"
"Try me!"
"I don't feel like it!"
There was finally a moment of silence before I started up once again, this time with a little more compassion in my voice, "We're partners, Rude. What happened to us? We used to tell each other everything; we could joke about the dumbest things, so why now of all times do we keep secrets?"
Rude laid silent, so silent I figured he'd passed out or something. His voice reached my ears soon enough; it was soaked with bitterness and sorrow, "The wraiths, their claws do something to the body. Rufus sent a few specialists in to examine me upon my arrival…they say that something is changing inside of me. They also told me that there isn't a damn thing they can do to save me with their current knowledge."
"Like what; the changing I mean?" I leaned forward; my fists were clenched tightly in anticipation, I could feel a thin layer of moisture forming on my palms.
"They say they don't how long it will take, but eventually I will become a wraith myself."
The very same nurse who I had blackmailed only moments ago nudged her head through the doorway just as I was about to ask Rude a very important question, "Sir…I understand that you won't like it, but there's something I need to discuss with you in private. Besides, this man needs his rest. If you'd please—" She motioned me over with her hand, well-manicured fingernails adorning the otherwise boring appendage; it only caught my attention when they shined a strange bright light from the outside right into my eyes. I winced.
"Sir, if you'd—"
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you, yo!" I followed her against my will. Rude's dark form once again laid motionless on the stiff hospital beds. My foot tapped the edge of a bed-post on my way out, sending a shriek of surprise from the patient sleeping on it; my stay in the dark room caused my pupils to dilate, and by now they were able to see nearly everything in the blackness. The patient was none other than the scorched pilot; I quickly fled the room upon seeing his horribly disfigured face, his suffering was worse than I had first thought.
So Rude was turning into one of those wraiths? What did Shinra plan to do about it? They wouldn't do anything at all as usual; they probably had a cover-up already planned for his sudden disappearance the day he actually turned into one of those things.
The nurse seemed nervous facing me, not that I blamed her, "Mr. Reno, President Rufus has requested that I send you down to the parking garage; he didn't tell me what it was about."
I started to walk away, "Don't worry, I won't snitch on you or that man you're cheating on your husband with."
A sigh of relief was heard, and then nothing at all after I rounded the corner.
Rufus had something very important to tell me, there was going to be nothing casual about this meeting in any way. Perhaps it was about the slip-up I'd made to him upon entering the building; I had mentioned the Ex-Soldier's friends, just not what had happened to them.
I entered the very same elevator Tseng had used what seemed like hours ago to me; the time in the gloomy confines of the hospital room had felt longer than it actually was. One of my hands reached out and pressed the button labeled PG for parking garage. Well the button was supposed to say PG, but part of the letters had been scratched off with something and now all that you could see was FC; such pointless vandalism was most likely brought upon by the life of a bored worker.
A chill swept over me when the elevator reached the designated floor, it was getting colder outside every day; the temperature must've dropped at least ten to twenty degrees in the past week. It was almost as if I was back at the crater yet again.
Not too far through the garage were Rufus and a person with their back turned to me; something was familiar about their hair, their flowing red cape, and their side-arm. "Ah, Reno, just the man I wanted to see. I believe you and Valentine know each other?"
"What's he doing here, yo?" I'd despised Vincent ever since he'd left the Turks. It was strange really, my personality I mean; I had gone from depression to venomous hate in mere seconds.
"I brought him here so he could inform the Ex-Soldier of the unfortunate accident the back-up had."
"You know about—"
"Of course I do! Tseng blabbed the entire story to the Rescue Squad, and as per usual they forwarded the issue to me."
"Boss, I'm not proud of what happened, but please don't throw too much of a fuss about this please."
"Request fulfilled, in fact, I hadn't planned on worrying about this at all; things happen in our line of work, and everyone has to be aware of the consequences to their actions."
"Yes, Boss, but why did you bring him here instead of one of the others? What makes him so special, yo?" I prodded a finger in the traitor's direction.
The voice of the red-caped visitor was as cold and lifeless as always, "Because, I'm also here on personal business."
"Oh yeah, and what's that?"
Rufus glanced to Vincent and then to me. "I can see you two need some time to talk, I'll just make sure the comatose bodies of the Ex-Soldier's friends get sent to critical care immediately."
"Wait, what!"
"You can see for yourself after you finish with your chat." The Boss headed off in the direction of the elevator, leaving me alone with the man who I hated with my every being.
"Reno…Cloud has disappeared."
"What does that have anything to do with me? He can take care of his own ass for once." I cared for the spiky-haired Ex-soldier, but he only showed up to help when it was convenient for himself.
"You misunderstand, I'm not here to ask you to find him; I'm here to offer you the opportunity to save the lives of the ones your crew put in danger…and to do something for me on the side."
"And what does the Ex-Soldier have anything to do with that?"
"Cloud left sometime last night, so there's no way I can contact him about Yuffie, Barret, and Cid."
Yuffie, so that was the name of the young Shinobi.
"Since he won't know what has happened, he won't know to look for an antidote for their coma; however, you are in the best position and most eligible for finding the medicine they need."
"Oh yeah, and where exactly can I find this remedy you speak of?"
"The crater…"
My eyes widened in fear, and I stared at the traitor as if he was insane. It was one thing to think about the crater, but going back there was another thing entirely; my mouth grew dry as the unbearable images tainted my otherwise sane mind. "I can't, yo, that place will be the death of me."
"We all have bad memories of that place."
"Not like me, yo."
"How so?" His eyes showed no sign of false interest.
"That thing, Jenova, or whatever it was…it was inhuman. Then Sephiroth…and then those spawn of the hellish being. The darkness was constantly impairing my vision, making it near impossible for my natural instincts to work properly; it felt as if something would jump out at me at any moment and end my life. I've always been afraid of the dark, yo. It's not a flattering fact, but it's true."
"If that's all that scares you then you really can't compete."
"I wasn't finished."
He became silent again and listened for me to continue.
"Tseng and Elena…so much had happened. They were attacked by those spirits: Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. Those things moved so fluidly through the darkness that I lost all ability to react; I was afraid that if I took a single step they'd kill me," I began to stare at the ground as if compelled to do so, "Tseng ordered me to retreat, but I'm still not sure I did the right thing. I could still see the faces of Elena and Tseng as I started to ascend out of the crater; the accusing faces of those that think they'll soon be nothing and have nothing more than another cover-up story when the press comes knocking on the Big Man's door. Do you know what that's like, to know that you had the chance to do something but chose not to out of pure terror?" My hand rested casually in my pocket, eyes staring at Vincent with great intensity.
"No."
"Is that all you have to say?"
"It's what you wanted to hear, isn't it?" Was he mocking me? "In any case, I can see you won't be willing to help. The mighty Turks have obviously fallen."
"How can you say something like that when one of them is standing right in front of you, yo?"
"Believe what you wish—it's time for me to leave."
Curiosity got the better of me, "Just for reference, what's the name of the medicine your friends need?"
"Why? You want to help now?"
I made no reply.
"Existus…it comes in the form of a white flower; it is known as "White Beast" in certain regions, prominently in towns around the crater itself. They can tell you why it is dubbed the way it is if you decide to check this out for yourself. And if you go, I wouldn't mind if you looked for an amulet very dear to me; it should be in the area just before the one where the battle with Sephiroth occurred. I must be going now…I'm sure Tifa and the last remaining few of the group would want to know what has happened."
Thought it pained me to do so, I managed to say with a halfway decent smile, "Take care."
Almost as if he'd practiced this scenario, his eyes looked into my very soul before he replied, "You too, Reno." His red cape fluttered behind him as he exited the building through the parking garage, the echoing trail of his departure lingered for a few moments after he was gone.
"The traitor does come in handy I have to admit." Even though I knew that mumbling to one's self wasn't very healthy, I happened to do it from time to time, and this was just one of those occasions.
My guilt had been lifted considerably; Cid, Yuffie, and Barret weren't dead if what Rufus had said was to be believed. A sense of satisfaction coursed through me. With luck on my side, I was ready to take on the world; that is until I remembered the little matter of finding an antidote. The guilt returned, weighing even heavier upon me than before. Not only had I rejoiced for the loss of my own mistake, but in doing so I'd opened myself up to even more self-pity.
The elevator opened up as if expecting me when I grew closer, two Shinra Soldiers were aiming their rifles directly at me from inside the cozy little convenience.
"Get in!" It was a gruff voice, but one I was very familiar with; James Peterson. His tone left no room for argument. I carefully approached them, making sure my hands were in clear view, and entered the elevator with nothing but worry to my name.
The other Soldier was eyeing his rifle, trying to see if any of its gleaming design was scratched or tarnished in any way. This was Dustin Krummweide; a man who was a proud collector of guns, but not just any guns, there were rare guns, quick-shot guns, harmless guns, and even peculiar guns in his collection. Nearly every week he'd have another one with a story to go along with it; all of his guns were supposed to have been used by legendary people at one point or another, it was up to you if you believed him or not.
I'd been very sociable with these two many times during my stay at Shinra Inc. What were their orders?
"Hey, how's that girlfriend of yours doing? Are you two still together, Jimmy?"
"…"
"Dustin, I've got a friend who knows where to find that firearm you've been obsessed with, yo."
"Are you serious!" That had gotten him off his guard, much to my own satisfaction.
"Not now Krummweide…"
Dustin tried to ignore the subject of the gun, but I could tell it was really bugging him inside.
"What's the problem, Jimmy? You've never minded an informal conversation before." He didn't turn to face me even as I spoke.
"Sir, I'm not allowed to discuss with you our escort job."
"Where are you escorting me, yo?"
James didn't continue any further.
Fidgeting anxiously, I was edgy for the moment we reached the level they were forcing me towards. Was today my day? For my mistakes in the field would they assassinate me?
The doors opened as we slowed to a stop, and at the end of the hallway before me were many more Shinra Soldiers, some of which I knew personally just like James and Dustin.
With the butt of his rifle, Jimmy shoved me out the door; friendships died easily at Shinra Inc. We were moving at a pace I didn't quite like. My mouth was even drier than before; it seemed to me that even cotton wasn't this dry. There was a drinking fountain coming up on my right; a plan formed quickly in my mind.
"Jimmy…"
"Yes, what is it?" He was eager to get this finished with; maybe my strategy wouldn't work.
I was eyeing the water fountain; it would be my salvation if everything worked out as I hoped it would.
"Reno?" Dustin piped up as he stared at me with curiosity.
"Quiet!" It appeared that Jimmy didn't like to have me talked to at the moment in such a laid-back fashion.
"Boy, my mouth is dry; I sure wouldn't mind a drink of water." My eyes hinted at the water fountain directly beside me.
He was reluctant about it, but in a hurried tone he agreed, "Alright, but hurry up! I'm already getting too much over-time because of you!"
I leaned forward and sipped from the fountain; with a careful glance I made sure Jimmy and Dustin weren't watching. It was time for me to become an actor; stages beware of Reno, man of impeccable talents. A very realistic choke ensued from my mouth, causing my escorts to look at me with panic. When James came forward to empty my lungs of the imaginary blockage that only existed within his mind, I cuffed him right in the groin with my fist; he fell down with his hands reaching in pain for the aching appendage.
I moved forward to take out Dustin and slammed his head directly into the water fountain.
As they both tumbled on the ground, I mumbled, "No hard feelings, eh, boys?" Their muffled groaning was the only reply.
The guards that had been waiting for me at the end of the hallway were now rushing towards me with purpose; I made my escape to the elevator before they could catch me. The doors closed, securing me inside; I felt so safe that only the fear of being caught by the Soldiers kept me moving. The elevator dropped at a steady speed on its way to the Parking Garage. It was obvious someone would be looking for me there; I pressed the button for the basement just as the elevator slowed to a stop in the Parking Garage. A few Soldiers saw me, but had no chance to snatch me as the elevator started downward again immediately…they had been waiting for me.
From the basement there were only two ways I could escape from Shinra Inc. with my life intact; I was liable to choose the ventilation ducts, but then again I was also prone to choosing the Emergency Elevator. Oh what to do?
Alright, another chapter read and done with, and I've already got the next one in the works. If you're all good little boys and girls (men and women) maybe I'll get it out before New Years...hmm...I hope I didn't just promise the death of my Christmas break. Oh well, please review, criticism/compliments always help.