A hard day's work?

by DarkToLight

Half a year before Advent Children, a night out drinking has some unexpected consequeces for Reno.... RenoxElena My first fic, so please R&R! Might change the screwyness in chapter 6 at some point. Oc warning, ON HAITUS

6. Elena acts a little OOC Sorry

A hard day's work?

Reno stalked along the corridors of the Turk's new base in a foul mood. The base was filthy, run-down and stuck in some Godforsaken place in the far reaches of the planet, it was cold; the roof was leaking and judging from the amount of water cascading from the roof it was a veritable thunderstorm outside. Reno was so absorbed in hating his life he nearly walked into Elena.

"Watch it!" She called as she quickly stumbled out of his way. Reno looked up.

"Oh, sorry Elena," He apologised. Elena looked at him.

"You jolly well should be," She replied. "Tseng wants to see you. He asked me to give you this." She handed him a note. Unopened. Typical Elena. Reno would have read it and resealed it, but she just gave it unopened. Silly girl.

"Thanks," He said absentmindedly, then looked up at the ceiling in anger as it dripped on him. "Damn roof," He muttered. Elena edged out of his way. When Reno was in a mood, people got prodded with his Nightstick. Reno looked back at her. "What?" he asked.

"Um… nothing," Elena said quickly. "Leaks a bit, doesn't it?" She added, glancing at the roof herself. The fact that they were on the ground floor and there were three floors said a lot about the state of the place. And the walls were painted brown. Brown. Elena shuddered. She hated brown.

"Yes," Reno replied. "And anyway, I have to see Tseng."

"Yeah…" Elena said.

"See you later?" Reno asked. Elena nodded.

"I'm not going anywhere. Nowhere to go!" Reno nodded and continued down the corridor, giving the ceiling dirty looks whenever it dripped on him. He wondered what state Tseng's office would be in. It was on the third floor, after all.

When Reno reached the stairs he had to stop. There was water streaming down them in a tiny torrent. He sighed, and got out his phone, putting in Tseng's number. He didn't have to wait long.

"Shinra Manufacturing in Administrative Research. This is Tseng. How may I help?"

"By bloody well fixing the stairs!" Reno replied.

"Oh. Reno." Tseng said, his manner changing from I'm-only-here-to-help-because-I'm-forced-to and switched to you-are-in-lots-of-trouble-mate. Reno winced. He couldn't remember doing anything wrong… but then again, some of the what he politely referred to as "lesser Turks" often blamed stuff on him… Reno belatedly remembered the note and unfolded it. It said: USE THE LIFT, DAMMIT! In Tseng's ever-so-neat writing.

"Ah," Reno said. "Um, Sir, where is the lift?" He asked hopefully. He heard Tseng sigh on his end of the phone.

"Reno, I showed you where the lift was last week." Reno thought back to last week.

"Er… which day would that have been, Sir?" He asked, crossing his fingers and thinking please not Wednesday, please not Wednesday…

"Wednesday, Reno. Remember?"

"Er… I may have been… slightly tipsy… at the time… Sir," Reno admitted. Wednesday was a beer-and-other-spirits induced blur. There may have been lifts involved, but Reno was not likely to remember.

"Oh, Reno,." Tseng sighed in exasperation. "I thought you were walking funny. I have half a mind to ban you from drinking altogether."

"Sir, please-"

"Shut up and listen," Tseng cut in. "It is down the corridor with the shades of Ghastly Pink on the walls."

"The pink Elena hates?"

"YES!!!! NOW GET MOVING!" Tseng's side went dead. Reno could have sworn he heard the slam from where he was standing. Reno swivelled round; creating a current of ripples in the mini waterfall around him, and headed towards the Corridor of Ghastly Pink. He remembered Elena saying she hated the colour… that was pretty much all he could remember form Wednesday. Strange that he only remembered Elena… He shook his head to clear his thoughts and proceeded through the Room of Disgusting Yellow. He and Elena had come up with the nicknames on their last joint day off. He could remember Rude's annoyance at such "childish games". Reno tried hard not to laugh.

Well, the place had a lift! Reno stepped inside it, a little worried at the slightly wrong mechanical noises it was making. If it broke down with him inside… someone would get bashed with his Nightstick. Probably not his rescuer, however. Just an annoying little recruit. Yeah. Maybe he would hit one anyway… the lift shuddered to a halt on the third floor. Well, hopefully the third floor. The lift doors slid slowly open, scraping rust off as they did so. Honestly, if he had more power, Reno would have made heads roll for sticking the Turks in this horrible place.

Reno stepped out of the lift, wincing as he heard the noises it made when it travelled back down. When Reno turned down the corridor, Tseng was standing outside his door, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Um… you wanted to see me, Sir?" Reno asked, uncertain of Tseng's mood. Tseng in a bad mood was not to be crossed.

"Damn right I did," Tseng snapped back. "And I would have thought you would have had the brains to at least read the damn note before calling me."

"Sorry Sir…" Reno mumbled, playing it safe.

"Reno, sometimes I just don't know what to do with you. If you weren't so damn good at your job you can be damn sure I would have fired you by now." Reno looked at the floor, trying to project an image of being humble (even though he wasn't) and trying to avoid Tseng's stare at the same time. Reno, at times like this (i.e., when he was being told off) got very good at taking in details. One rather worrying detail was that the floor seemed to be made of mould. "I'm half tempted to remove all alcohol from the damn building- but I doubt any of us could live in this place without alcohol. Just… try to behave a little more, why don't you?"

"Yes, Sir," Reno mumbled. Black and green mould…

"Just… get out of my sight, Reno." Reno looked up gratefully.

"Yes, Sir!" He said, and turned around.

"And stay off the alcohol!" Tseng yelled at his retreating figure.

Reno walked as fast as he dared towards the stair, not wanting to stay too long in the presence of an angry Tseng. He'd had too many bad experiences on that front. He rounded the corner and reached the stairs, unwisely taking them two at a time. The severely rotted stairs gave way when he was about half way down, and Elena found him five minutes later muttering extremely inventive curses.

"Have you been talking to Cid Highwind again?" Elena called up to him. Reno looked up from his mutterings of how much the stairs would suffer.

"I have had it up to here with this building," He replied. "Someone will suffer for sticking us in this Godforsaken place!" Reno tugged uselessly at his leg, which was stuck in what was left of the stair. Elena laughed.

"I guess I better get you out," She surmised, and started to carefully make her way up to Reno.

"Watch out for the rotted parts," Reno warned.

"Like you're not warning enough!" Elena replied, trying not to laugh. Reno watched her carefully skirting parts of the stairs that were obviously about to fall apart. That was a relatively hard thing to do, as water was still pouring down them. That thought reminded Reno that his jacket was most probably ruined.

"Damn!" He cursed.

"What now?" Elena asked, nearly at Reno's level.

"My damn jacket's going to have to go to the damn cleaners all because of this damn building!" He yelled in frustration. Elena burst out laughing.

"Is that it?" She asked. Reno nodded slowly.

"For now," He said in a threatening voice, giving the stairs evil glances.

"The stairs aren't alive, you know," Elena told him, examining the board his foot had gone through.

"It makes me feel better," Reno replied, well aware that he had probably just made himself look like a fool. Elena didn't reply. "Can you get me out?" Reno asked, hopefully. Elena nodded.

"I think so," She replied. "But… if it goes wrong, you may end up slightly hurt…" Reno sighed.

"Better that than this," He said in disgust. "This damn building is on the verge of falling apart!" Elena nodded emphatically.

"I agree. Now, don't move," She cautioned him. "And put your hands on the stair above. It could stop you falling." Reno was a little nervous now, but he did as Elena asked. She looked up at Reno. "Sorry if this doesn't work," She apologised in advance, and hit the board with her fist. It fell away, and Reno (who had been expecting something of the sort.) quickly grabbed hold of the stair above him and pulled himself up.

"Let everyone know that I hate this building," He growled. "But don't tell them why," He added quickly, aware of what would happen if this little incident got around.

"If you like," Elena replied, looking grateful that she hadn't sent Reno crashing down to the floor below.

"Elena, you are a Godsend. I mean it," Reno said emphatically. Elena blushed.

"It was no problem; really, I couldn't just leave you stuck there…" She trailed off. Reno carefully stepped onto the stair she was on.

"My jacket," He started "Is flipping ruined." Elena laughed.

"Being a little more polite now you're out of the stair, aren't you?" She observed. Reno shuddered at the memory.

"I am going to get a dry shirt," He stated, and walked down the stairs. Elena followed him. They ended up in what Tseng had called the "common room", and what Reno and Elena had renamed the "that blue does not go with that green" room. This was where a collection of "various spare shirts" was kept. There were also two other drawers marked "Various spare jackets" and "Ties." Reno didn't often bother with the latter. He absentmindedly took off his jacket and, leaning out of the window, attempted to wring out most of the water. The water which came out was a horrible green colour, the same colour of the walls in fact, and Reno winced when he thought of how much the cleaning was going to cost him.

"That is not the right colour for water!" He yelled in frustration. Really, he wasn't having a good day.

"It's not the right colour for this room either," Elena decided, prodding a wall with one finger. Reno nodded while trying desperately to wring out more of the water. His poor jacket was looking rather limp. Reno threw it down on the floor in disgust.

"That," he said, prodding his jacket with a foot. "Is going to cost so damn much!" Elena laughed. "It's not funny!" He protested.

"It is, Reno. Admit it," Elena replied. Reno made an annoyed noise and grabbed a towel from the table (when the roof leaked as much as theirs, you needed lots of towels around the place.)

"I hate this place," He stated, and started unbuttoning his sopping wet shirt. Elena went over to the only chair in the room not currently soaked and sat down. Reno peeled his shirt off (he was certain it had a slight green tinge) and started to try and dry himself off. Elena walked over to the "various shirts" drawer and started searching through it for a shirt for Reno. She found one and threw it at him. Reno caught it. "Cheers." He thanked her. When he was certain he was as dry as possible, he chucked the towel on the (very damp) floor and started putting on the clean shirt. He noticed that the towel had a very definite green tinge, and winced again. At this rate, he was going to need a whole new wardrobe. Elena walked over to the towel and prodded it with a foot.

"That is proof that this place is in serious need of repairs," She decided in disgust. Reno nodded, finishing buttoning his shirt. "You forgot the top one," Elena pointed out. Reno shook his head.

"I never do that one up,." He replied. "Ugh… I'll go out to the tow- village tonight and get this jacket to the dry cleaners," He stated. "And then maybe I'll get drunk," He added as an afterthought. Elena shook her head.

"Heaven knows you deserve it, but is that really wise after you've just been shouted at by Tseng?" She asked him. Reno looked a little shocked.

"How in hell did you know he'd just shouted at me?" He asked.

"I could hear him from downstairs." Reno winced. Tseng must have been loud.

"If you're going out, fine, but promise me you're not going to get plastered," She insisted. Reno sighed.

"Fine, fine," He gave in. "Hey… why don't you come along to make sure I don't?" Reno reasoned that her coming would stop him getting too drunk (he was still planning on drinking a little.) And it would give her something to do. And Rude was 'out', so he couldn't ask him. Which was a shame really, as Rude was a good guy to get drunk with. He usually stayed sober enough to remember how to use a phone.

"Well…" Elena hesitated. "I guess… there's no harm in going. I mean, I had some paperwork to do…"

"Stuff the paperwork," Reno told her. "It ain't going anywhere." Elena sighed.

"All right," She agreed. "If it means you don't get plastered." Reno thought abut the time he last got that drunk. He couldn't remember much. Last Wednesday came back to haunt him with its memorylessness.

"Come on then," He said, grabbing her arm.

"Hey, hey, hold on a second…" Elena protested. "You're going into Yemouth dresses like that?!" Reno stopped.

"Damn right. And you look too much like a Turk," He replied. Elena started to stutter protests. "Oh, come on! Do you seriously think you can have a night out in uniform?" Reno stopped her.

"Well…" Elena started. Reno shook his head.

"Oh no. You're dressing down a little for once. Let your hair down!" He looked at Elena's almost-shoulder-length hair. "Not that you ever have it up…"

"Oh, fine,." Elena agreed. "What do you want me to do?" Reno looked at her.

"Well…" He started. "I'd undo this button, and this one…" He undid the top two buttons of her shirt. "As if you do up the top one…" He muttered. Elena went red.

"At least I follow the rules!" She protested as Reno undid the buttons on her sleeve.

"Yeah, whatever. Roll up your sleeves," He told her. Elena looked a little confused.

"How… far…?" She asked.

"Two turns, I reckon," Reno replied. "And untuck your shirt," He added. Elena did so, reluctantly. "Oh, and take off your jacket." Reno said.

"Are you mad? It's freezing out there!" Elena protested. Reno considered it.

"Fine. Keep the jacket," He agreed. Elena leaned past Reno to look in the window at her reflection.

"I look like a tramp!" She wailed. Reno clapped his hands together.

"Perfect!" He declared. Elena looked at him like he was crazy.

"What?!" She demanded.

"It means you don't look like a Turk!" Reno explained happily. "So come on!" He continued, grabbing her again. Elena allowed herself to be lead through the building by a far too overenthusiastic Reno. His occasional dirty glances at the walls reassured her that he wasn't too exited about simply going to the cleaner's.

They ended up in one of the company cars, with Reno driving.

"Slow down!" Elena wailed as they spend past another car far too fast for her liking. Reno looked over at her.

"What?" He yelled. He had the window open and the air was rushing through very fast and loudly. Elena clung to her seat in desperation.

"I knew it was a mistake letting you drive!" She moaned as another tree sped fast far too closely. Reno hit the breaks as the village appeared on the horizon, and the car eventually slid to a halt with lots of squealing of brakes. Elena exited the car hurriedly, practically kissing the ground.

"Stationary…" She murmured gratefully. Reno walked up to her after locking the doors with his remote locker. The car made a couple of beeping noises to show that it was locked. Elena stood up slowly. "You are not driving on the way back!" She said insistently. Reno shrugged.

"I'll probably be drunk anyway," He admitted. Elena shook her head.

"Surprising as it may seem, you do not have to get drunk every time you go out," She told him despairingly. Reno smiled at her.

"I was kidding," He replied. He took hold of her hand and started walking towards town.

"I don't know what the attraction is to getting drunk anyway…" Elena continued.

"Well…" Reno considered it. "It helps you to cope with that damn building." He threw a filthy look in the direction of 'that building'. Elena laughed.

"I don't need to get drunk to cope!" She replied. Reno gave her a look.

"Have you ever been drunk?" He asked her.

"Not really, I guess," She replied, feeling a little embarrassed. Reno sighed.

"You need to learn how to really get drunk," Reno declared. Elena looked a little worried.

"What does that involve?" She asked warily. Reno stopped momentarily and considered it.

"Learn the 5 Steps to a Reno Hangover tm!" He declared eventually. Elena groaned.

"What does that involve?" She asked in despair. Reno laughed.

"Well, you need to drink the following:

15+ pints of beer

8 shots of Tequila

5 shots of Vodka

As much Gin and Tonic as possible

More beer."

By the end of the night, Reno was on step 4. He stumbled through the blurry streets clinging to Elena's shoulder for support.

"One more drink he says, I'm not drunk at all…" She muttered miserably.

"wha'd'you shay?" Reno said in a slurred voice. Elena shook her head.

"You're heavy, Reno," She told him instead. Reno looked up at the three Elenas swimming in his line of vision.

"Eh?" He settled for confusion. Elena sighed.

"I wish you knew how drunk you were!" Elena said, exasperated. Reno attempted to understand through the drunken haze of his mind.

"'Lena…" He started. "You're my… my… my besh' fren'," He said eventually. Elena sighed. If he wasn't drunk out of his mind, she'd be touched.

"You…" She started "Got wasted, even though I specifically told you not to!" she said, annoyed. Reno stumbled a little and ended up on the floor.

"Wha' happen'd?" He asked, confused. Elena shook her head and bent down next to him.

"You fell over," She informed him. "Come on." She grabbed hold of his arm and tried to pull him up, with mixed success. He ended up sort of collapsed across her. "Reno…" She muttered.

"I… lo' you," Reno told her, kissing her drunkenly. Elena was shocked. Even drunk, he was still quite a good kisser… oh no…

Reno was so plastered he couldn't see much beyond the area just in front of his face. He could work out from the noises Elena was making that he was either being carried or she was supporting most of his weight. He felt slightly guilty about getting so plastered when Elena had asked him not to… thinking about it (well, what passed for thinking in Reno's current state) Tseng had yelled at him about it.

"'Lena…" He started.

"Y-Yes, Reno?" She asked, struggling under his weight,

"Whe'…whe're we goin'?" He asked slowly. It was hard for him to form complex sentences when drunk.

"The coffee shop," Elena answered. "They've got coffee strong enough to send even you over to the other side of sober," She explained, trying not to drop Reno when he reacted in a rather over-the-top manner."

"Wha'!" He yelled (well, slurred.). "I don' wan' to be sho... sho… thingy!" Elena laughed.

"Do you want to risk Tseng's wrath?" She asked slyly. Reno stopped moving, which wasn't good news for Elena…

"Ple' God no!" Reno said. Elena collapsed under his weight.

"Reno!" She yelled in frustration. "You're damned heavy!" Reno moaned slightly.

"sh'ry… 'Lena," He replied eventually, trying to stand, and managing a wobbly stand for long enough to allow Elena to roll out of his way. He fell to the floor after about three seconds, hitting the floor hard.

"Ow…" He complained, trying to rub his head but, not being able to find it, gave up. Elena got into a sitting position.

"Reno, you need to sort yourself out." She told him.

"Wha'? 'Lena, I-I-I'm perfe… perfe…c'ly fi… ne, than's v'ry much," Reno argued. The fact that he had to think about the long words made it obvious that it wasn't, however. Elena knelt close to him.

"You're not." She whispered in his ear. Reno looked up at her. There were still three of her swimming in his line of vision. He tried his hardest to remember what had happened in the past few minutes, but it was all an alcohol-induced blur.

"'Lena…" He muttered. "Wha'… wha' hapn'd?" He asked. Elena shook her head… heads, from Reno's perspective. Elena smiled at him.

"You are so drunk you can't remember?" She inquired. Reno nodded. "Fine. It's the coffee shop for you!" She declared. Reno moaned. "Was that for the coffee or the potential hangover?" Reno moaned even more.

"Oh… God… han'ovver…" Reno moaned. "was f' the cof… coffee… bu'…"

"Oh, goodie," Elena smiled evilly. She hauled him up and continued on a (slightly wavy due to Reno's inability to walk) path to the coffee shop.

The shop had one of those annoying ringing bells that tingled when you opened the door. This made Reno resume his groaning.

"A bell…" He moaned in a tortured voice. Elena's grin widened. She dragged the moaning Reno up to the counter.

"Your strongest coffee," She ordered.

"Which… one?" The counter girl asked, glancing at the moaning Reno.

"I want to send him to the other side of sober," Elena declared evilly. Reno slumped down on the counter, still moaning.

"I see," The counter girl turned and yelled into the back of the shop. "What did he drink?" She asked. Elena thought back, wincing when she remembered exactly what Reno had drunk.

"18 pints of beer, 8 Tequilas, 5 Vodkas and… 12 Gin and Tonics," Elena replied, wondering how he had managed to convince her he wasn't drunk for most of that. Then she remembered how much she'd paid for.

"Reno…" She started.

"Wha'?" He asked in despair.

"Where's your wallet?" She asked him. Reno tried to see through the haze of alcohol to remember something about himself.

"To'… pocke'…shir'…" He mumbled eventually.

"Thank you, Reno," She said, fumbling in his top pocket and eventually finding his wallet.

"Here you go," Said the counter girl, returning with a steaming mug of thick black coffee. Elena fished some money out of Reno's wallet.

"There," Elena said. Reno lifted his head, possibly to protest. "That makes up for the drink I bought you." She told him. Reno slumped back onto the counter.

"My… hea'…" He muttered. Elena shook her head.

"Sorry about him." She apologised to the counter girl, who shrugged. Elena dragged Reno over to the nearest table and then returned to the counter to grab the coffee. "Drink," She ordered Reno, who looked up at the mention of a word he connected with 'alcohol'.

"coff'…" he murmured.

"Yes, Reno. Coffee. It'll make you sober." Elena explained slowly. Reno tried to look up. Elena saw rings of red in his eyes.

"shobe'," Reno repeated.

"Close enough," Elena replied, handing him the coffee. Reno, capable of getting any drinks receptacle to his mouth even in his most plastered state, drank the coffee very quickly, before placing his head back on the table. "Good Lord, that coffee was piping hot!" Elena said.

"Mmmp," Reno protested, clutching his mouth. "That hurt!" He cried. He shook his head back and forth.

"Are you OK?" Elena asked, worried. Reno looked over at her.

"There's only one of you…" He murmured. Elena looked confused for a second.

"It worked?" She asked tentatively. The memory of the night's events came back to Reno in a rush.

"Oh my God…" He muttered.

"Is that… a yes?" Elena asked.

"Yes. Hell yes," Reno replied. "The depressing thing is that I'm probably still going to get the hangover." Elena patted him on the shoulder.

"Never mind," She comforted him.

"Oh, dear God…" Reno repeated. He thought through the night's events, most of them characterised by the all-too-familiar blur caused by excess alcohol. He sat up suddenly. "Did I… kiss you?" Reno asked, dreading the answer.

"Um… yes," Elena replied. Reno relaxed slightly. She wasn't yelling at him. Good.

"What on earth do they put in that coffee?" He asked. Elena consulted the menu.

"Something Materia related…" She squinted at the tiny writing. "Oh! They cast Esuna on it." Reno thumped his head back on the table.

"Great…" He moaned. Elena looked confused.

"What's so bad about that?" She asked. "You're not drunk any more…" Reno shook his head.

"It won't last. And I'll still get the hangover!" He moaned. Elena sighed.

"Well maybe you shouldn't have drunk the damn alcohol in the first place!" Elena tried very hard to stop herself from shouting. She was quite pleased when her voice barely quivered. Reno, his head still on the table, merely waved a hand.

"Can't stop myself," He mumbled. Elena shook her head. Reno lifted his head off the table. "What?" He asked. Elena just shook her head again. Reno sat up properly, a little worried. "Did I say something wrong?" He asked. Elena put her head in her hands.

"It's just…" she started in despair.

"What?"

"Well, you know you have a drink problem, but you don't care! Reno, you could lose your job!" Reno got up and went over to her.

"Elena…" He started. Elena looked at him. "I… I know I'm sometimes a little over the top with the drink, but…"

"Reno! For God's sake, sort yourself out!" Elena replied.

"Elena, why does it matter to you what I do to myself?" He asked, confused. Elena hit the table with her hands.

"Because I'm not heartless, unlike some people I won't mention!" She screamed at him. Reno took her hand.

"Elena, I'm sorry, but drinking is my way of coping with things," He tried to explain. Elena looked at him, shaking her head.

"Reno, there are so many other things you could do!"

"Like what?" He asked. Elena sighed.

"Coffee works," She replied. Reno nodded.

"I tried coffee. I can't forget if all I'm drinking is coffee!" Elena blinked.

"What do you want to forget?" She asked him. "The job's not that bad, is it?" Reno thought about it.

"These days, mostly the building," He admitted. Elena laughed, and Reno smiled at her. "Glad you're not mad," He told her. "I don't think I could cope with having you and Tseng on my back." Elena shook her head.

"I wasn't going to be 'on your back'. I just wish you'd sort your life out," She replied. Reno smiled.

"I'll try," Hedecided. "Now, shall we head back in case the drunkenness comes back?" He asked. Elena laughed again and nodded.

"But I'm driving!" She insisted.

"Fine!" Reno agreed, and they headed back to the car.

By the time they got back the sky was black, with the stars showing as little pinpricks of light. There were no clouds.

"You drive really slowly!" Reno complained.

"Well at least I don't put my passengers in mortal danger!" Elena retorted. They started walking up to the building. Elena started to try and start tidying herself up a little. Reno looked over at her.

"Don't be a goody-goody, Elena," He told her. Elena glared at him.

"Just because I like to look tidy doesn't make me a 'goody-goody'," She retorted. "The fact that you don't, however, makes you a slob." Reno laughed.

"It's usually only one button. But seriously, you don't need to be so picky when you're not even on a job! It's not like Tseng minds." Elena gave him a withering glance and started rolling down her sleeves. Reno sighed and grabbed her hand. "Elena, no," He ordered in a commanding voice.

"Hey!" She protested, struggling against his hold. "Let me go!" Reno smiled and shook his head.

"Oh no. You need to learn to be a rebel!" Reno teased, not letting go despite Elena's best efforts.

"Let go, Reno!" She insisted. Reno shook his head again, and started dragging her into the building. Elena gave up and went with him. "You're annoying!" She informed him, fuming.

"Ah-ah-ah, you shouldn't go around insulting people," Reno teased her again. Elena tried hard not to lose her temper. Reno swivelled round and grabbed her other hand. "Can't give you any opportunity to tidy yourself up, can we?" He said, smiling. Elena laughed.

"You just don't give up, do you?" She asked, wondering why she wasn't resisting. Reno was thinking the same. He stepped a little closer to her.

"Of course not," He replied. "You've got to learn!" her skin felt soft against his…

"Teach me, then," She whispered, smiling. Reno released one of her hands and reached up to touch her cheek.

"Elena…" He murmured. She smiled at him, reaching up and taking his hand again.

"I don't mind, Reno," She told him.

"This time, I mean it," He told her, and leaned over and kissed her. Elena returned it passionately, moving an arm over his shoulder around his neck. He couldn't half kiss…

Reno had had plenty of experiences with girls, but Elena was something new. It felt… different, somehow. Her touch sent shivers running through his body, and he clung to her, not daring to let go. He hadn't planned this, but… he was glad for it. He had always liked Elena, in fact practically everyone liked her as a friend, but he had never really thought of her like this before…

After what seemed like an eternity for Reno, they broke apart. "Elena…" He whispered. She smiled shyly at him, the starlight sparkling in her eyes. Reno reached out and brushed a stray strand of her beautiful blonde hair behind her ear. Elena caught his hand as he took it away. He smiled at her. "Elena, I'm sorry… for being such a fool tonight," He admitted to her. She laughed.

"Reno, I… I don't mind," She replied. "I just… was worried for you," She admitted. Reno watched the way she moved.

"Just tell me what to do," He whispered. "And I will do it for you." Elena went bright red.

"Reno, you don't…" she started, but he kissed her again, she couldn't finish, but she didn't resist.

"Come inside, it's cold out here," Reno suggested when they broke apart. Elena nodded slowly, and they walked indoors, hand in hand.

When Tseng walked into the common/ "that green doesn't go with that blue" room the next day, he found them both asleep on a sofa. Elena stirred as he walked up to them, and opened her eyes. Once she had properly focused on exactly who was standing in front of her, she woke up fast.

"Sir!" she said, sitting up quickly.

"Morning, Elena," Tseng greeted absentmindedly. "Would you mind waking Reno up for me, please?" Elena, a little confused, shook Reno awake.

"Wassa?" he said. "'s not morning, is it?" He asked the world in general.

"Yes, Reno, it is," Tseng told him. The sound of his boss's voice woke Reno up faster than having water poured on him (which, in this building, was not unusual.).

"How nice of you to join the waking world," Tseng said sarcastically. Reno looked over to Elena, who was looking very worried.

"Er… good morning, Sir," Reno greeted, deciding to play it safe.

"Indeed," Tseng muttered. "I want to see you in my office, Reno. Soon." The unspoken threat of what would happen if Reno didn't comply was enough to scare him, which didn't happen often. He was a Turk, after all. Tseng walked out of the room, muttering about poor choice of colour on walls. Elena looked over at Reno, worried.

"What was that about?" Reno wondered out loud.

"Do you… do you think it's bad?" Elena asked him, worried.

"Hmm? Knowing Tseng? Probably," Reno replied, thinking about his various meetings with Tseng and trying to find one which had been good. Out of the ones he could remember, there weren't any.

"Oh, Reno, if I've got you into trouble…" Elena fretted, wringing her hands.

"Don't worry, Elena. Even if I am in trouble, it won't have been your fault," He tried to reassure her.

"Yes, but…" Elena started. Reno sighed and took her hands to stop her wringing them.

"Elena. Clam down," He ordered. "I am going to see Tseng. No, don't argue," He replied, when Elena started protesting. "If I don't go I don't even want to think about the consequences." He winced when he remembered the last time he had been late (and he had had a good reason for it, too. He had been unconscious). He let go of Elena's shaking hands and stood up.

"Reno…" She started. Reno shook his head.

"Tseng isn't going to eat me, Elena. I'll be fine," He reassured her. Elena still looked worried, but she had stopped shaking. Reno turned to walk out of the room. "I won't be long," He told Elena, adding 'hopefully' in his head.

"A-alright," Elena replied, her voice shaking. Reno walked out of the room.

The one thing that all of the walls in the building had in common was a complete lack of taste colour wise. Even colours that normally went together well, like orange and yellow, seemed to visibly resist each other when put on the walls of any room in the building. Reno was currently walking down a corridor that looked like it had been painted by a colour-blind mouse. Purple and bright glaring orange… what were they thinking? Had Rufus ordered it painted like this to punish them? No… Reno doubted Rufus would have spent that much on them. If it was for vengeance, putting them in this building was enough. Whoever had painted this deserved to go to the deepest circle of hell, and then some. Purple and orange… Reno shuddered. He reached the stairs, looked at the state they were in (They hadn't been fixed since Elena destroyed part of them) and kept on walking. There must be some other stairs in this building, surely? And if worst came to worst, he could always take the lift… but that was a very last resort. Reno wasn't in the mood for risking his life in that thing so early in the morning.

After wandering lost through several more corridors (lime green and lilac? No! No, no, no!) Reno found some more stairs. They looked suspiciously like they might be worse than the others, but at least they were all there. Reno ascended carefully, being careful not to step on any suspicious bits (i.e., most of the stairs.) and eventually made it to the top. Now he just had to find where Tseng's office was… another floor up. More damn stairs. This building was about to fall apart, and Tseng had an office on the top floor? Typical Tseng, with a death wish. If this building fell apart he'd be the first to go. That was some consolation to Reno, climbing up another set of stair, which seemed to have once had a carpet with a rabbit pattern on it. Honestly, if the designer/painter/decorator of this place was still alive, he'd be seeing the business end of Reno's Nightstick in the near future.

Once Reno was past the danger of the stairs it was relatively easy to get to Tseng's office. Maybe this time he wouldn't be in trouble… unlikely, knowing Tseng, but still, the possibility was there.

The only room occupied on this floor was Tseng's office, it seemed. Walking past empty rooms was beginning to creep Reno out. The place was almost deserted as it was… Reno reached Tseng's office. He knocked tentatively on the door (disturbing Tseng was never a good idea).

"If it's Reno, get in here. If not, go the hell away," Came the reply. Reno opened the door and stepped in.

"It's me, Sir,." He announced. Tseng looked up.

"Good," He replied. "Sit," He ordered, indicating a chair in front of his desk. Reno felt like a naughty child about to be disciplined. Trust Tseng. No-one else could make Reno feel bad. Tseng looked at him. "You're not in trouble," He stated, as if to get a point across. Reno's relief was clearly visible on his face. Tseng laughed. "Did you think I was going to discipline you?" Reno nodded slowly. Tseng shook his head. "I don't call you to my office just to tell you what you've done wrong, Reno!" He said.

"Ummm… actually, Sir, I can't think when you haven't…" Tseng sighed.

"Mission briefings, Reno?" He suggested.

"Usually handed to me via Elena or told to Rude, Sir!" Reno replied, a little worried that he might have made Tseng mad, which was never a good idea.

"I see," Tseng replied. Knowing Tseng, he probably did, Reno thought miserably. "Well, this time I'm talking to you." Reno realised two things: a) he was definitely not in trouble and b) Tseng wasn't mad. Both of those things were good. "I've got a mission for you. And Elena."

"And Elena?" Reno asked, confused. "But Rude's my partner…" he trailed off. Going with Elena wouldn't be that bad, after all…

"Rude's… job… has run into unforeseen circumstances. He's not going to be back for a while, and this needs two good people. So, you and Elena. I don't dare leave this place on its own," Tseng explained. Reno nodded. That was usually the best thing to do when dealing with Tseng. "Don't you want to know where you're going?" Tseng asked. Reno nodded again. "Wutai." Reno groaned. Tseng looked at him. "What's wrong with Wutai?" Tseng asked. Oops. Tseng was from Wutai.

"Nothing, Sir!" Reno answered, hoping Tseng wouldn't get mad…

"Hmm." Tseng wasn't pleased, but he wasn't mad either. Reno cursed himself for being so stupid. "Here's your briefing." Tseng added, handing Reno a sheet of paper. "Be quick, and…" Tseng trailed off.

"Yes, Sir?" Reno asked, now thoroughly worried.

"Look after Elena," Tseng finished, not really looking at Reno. Reno remembered that Tseng had asked Elena to dinner before he was attacked by Sephiroth in the Temple of the Ancients, Elena had told him a few months back. Was he jealous? Oh, Holy. That would not be good.

"I'll do my best, Sir!" Reno replied.

"Hmm. Go," Tseng ordered. Reno left quickly. He told himself to go slowly down the stairs; he couldn't bear being stuck again… the ceiling dripped on him. Raining again. There was another good excuse to get a move on with leaving… apart from the stairs he ran the rest of the way back.

"Reno!" Elena greeted when he walked in. "What did Tseng want?" She asked. Reno handed her the piece of paper.

"Mission. Wutai," He told her, before collapsing on the chair in sheer exhaustion brought on by fright. Elena read the briefing, and her eyes widened.

"Reno, have you read this?" She asked. Reno shook his head; he was too tired to speak. And the walls were giving him a headache. "I wonder…" Elena said almost to herself. She sat down next to Reno. "Don't you usually go with Rude?" She asked him. Reno nodded, he wasn't wasting energy on words. "Did you run all the way back?" nod. "Even down the stairs?" He shook his head. "Oh, Reno, you must be shattered!" Nod. Elena searched her armlet. "Aha! Cure2!" She cast the spell on Reno. He felt energy flowing back into him.

"Elena, I love you," He told her, and kissed her.

"Well, I'm flattered," She admitted when they broke apart. "But it says here we've got to go quickly…" Reno nodded again.

"Tseng mentioned that." He decided not to tell her that Tseng had asked him to take care of her. "And I am never again going to groan when I hear the name Wutai!" Elena laughed.

"You didn't?" She asked. Reno nodded.

"I did," He replied. "I think I have a death wish." The ceiling dripped. Both of them hastily moved to the only chair that didn't get dripped on as water began to cascade through a hole in the ceiling. Well, several holes in the ceiling.

"A plus is that we get to stay somewhere that doesn't soak you when you're inside," Elena commented, looking at the miniature waterfalls in disgust. Reno agreed heartily.

"Shall we go pack?" He asked. Elena nodded. "Meet me by the chopper in half an hour, then," He suggested. Elena nodded, and they went off to pack.

Once in what passed for his room (with an unslept in bed. Good Lord.) Reno surveyed the mess and decided to opt for the 'chuck it all in the suitcase and it'll sort itself out' method. He was halfway through initiating this when Elena walked in.

"I knew it," She declared. Reno stood up.

"Am I not allowed to pack my own things?" He asked. Elena shook her head.

"Not if you pack like that!" She replied, and started to fold everything he'd already packed. Reno watched, fascinated. Elena was very fast at folding… "Your clothes are all creased," She observed. Reno winced. It was true, he rarely bothered with folding stuff, but they weren't that bad… were they? Elena finished all his packing for him faster than he had done half of it in.

"Flipping heck Elena, that was fast!" he exclaimed. Elena stood up and smiled at him.

"Comes through practice." She told him, glancing around his room. "Shall we go?" She asked, carefully changing the subject. Reno nodded, glad for that sudden diversion. They walked together down to the helicopter.

When they got there, Tseng was waiting for them.

"About time," He muttered to himself.

"Sir!" Elena and Reno both said, saluting. Tseng sighed.

"In. Now." He gestured to the helicopter.

"Yes Sir!" Once more in unison. They both climbed in to the helicopter.

"My apologies, Elena, but Reno is driving," He told them. Elena cursed and Reno grinned. This was going to be fun… "Now, be careful, and please try to be quick." Tseng ordered. "Oh, and Elena…" She looked up from her creative cursing about people letting maniacs drive helicopters.

"Yes Sir?" She asked. Reno looked round also. Maybe he should have told her…

"Take care. And… don't let Reno fly it too fast, will you?" He said. Elena nodded slowly, a little unsure. Tseng pulled the door of the chopper shut quickly, and it hit the metal with a crash that made Elena and Reno wince.

"Tseng?" Elena wondered aloud. Reno winced again at the noises the chopper made when he turned the ignition on. Horrible noises. He shuddered. Elena turned to him. "What do you think's the matter with Tseng?" she asked him. Reno shrugged, and tried to encourage the chopper off the ground. It went, but reluctantly, and making worrying noises all the way.

"Someone's left this out in the rain," Reno muttered through gritted teeth. Elena looked out of the window, watching Tseng walk back into the building.

"There's something the matter with him," Elena decided.

"Maybe us? He did ask you to dinner," Reno replied, concentrating more on the chopper than the conversation. Elena nodded.

"I guess," She said. "How long do you think it'll take us to get to Wutai?" She asked, changing the subject. Reno shrugged.

"Depends on how long this piece of junk stays in the air," He replied, twiddling several dials on the board. Elena realised that he was trying his best to keep it going, and stayed quiet. Reno was a tech wiz when it came to most things, but only if you left him alone. This was going to be a long flight…

After about an hour and a half, with lots of cursing from Reno about rotting pieces of junk, they had made it across most of the sea.

"I can see Wutai!" Elena called to Reno, who merely grunted. The chopper had not got any easier to drive during the journey, quite the opposite in fact, and Reno was having to use all his expertise just to keep it in the air. After five minutes of Reno keeping them mainly in the air mostly by praying to every deity he knew, they landed just outside Wutai. They got out quickly and Reno kicked the helicopter, and something fell off it with a crash of metal.

"If that gets off the ground again I'll… I'll give up drinking!" He exclaimed, as one of the windows made a horrible cracking sound. Elena nodded.

"I'll try and get it off the ground again, then," She replied with a grin. Reno sighed, and locked the door, carefully so the door didn't fall off. Reno surveyed the helicopter.

"I think we'll have to commandeer something for the journey back," He concluded. The propeller was leaning on a strange direction. Reno was amazed it had lasted the journey.

"Shall we just leave it here?" Elena asked. Reno nodded.

"Seems like the best thing," He decided. "Anyone trying to steal it would have to get it off the ground first, anyway!" Elena laughed. Reno turned in the direction of Wutai. "Shall we go?" he asked, and Elena nodded. They started to walk towards Wutai. The sun was starting to set, the sky was cloudless and the moon was out. It was a full moon.

"How romantic," Elena murmured. Reno looked over at her. She was looking up at the sky. Reno glanced upwards. The setting sun made the sky glow an orangey-gold colour. He could just see the first stars appearing.

"It is, isn't it?" He whispered in Elena's ear, putting his arm around her shoulder. She turned to look at him.

"Reno…" she replied. He ran a hand through her hair. She smiled at him, the light from the setting sun reflecting in her eyes. "Reno, I…" She started. Reno pulled her towards him.

"It was your idea," He replied, pulling her close and kissing her.

They didn't get into Wutai until long after sunset. The town was brightly lit with lanterns outside shop doors and neon signs, and the light from the main town bathed the nearby Da-Chao Mountains in a faint misty glow. It was almost like a scene from a story-book.

"How clichéd," Reno muttered as they walked along the streets towards the inn. Elena turned.

"What was that?" She asked. Reno shook his head.

"Nothing," He murmured in response. He looked over the mini-canal to the inn. It was newly built, constructed soon after the destruction of meteor to help Wutai attract more tourists. It was more brightly painted than some of the other buildings, and had a neon sign over it saying "Inn" and a smaller one with "vacancies" all in green. Reno sighed. He hated Wutai. It was boring. And it brought back memories of the last time he had come here… and ended up saving Elena and that annoying kid Yuffie from Don Corneo, of all people. He shuddered. That Corneo had made quite a mess at the foot of the mountain, too. For some reason Cloud and the others had found it ironic that Reno had given him three choices… he shrugged it off. The past was, thankfully, the past. Reno fervourently hoped that Yuffie was either out of town or had moved away. He hated her. Stupid Materia-stealing ninja. He wished he'd let Corneo… but then Elena would have fallen too, and he couldn't have allowed that. No-one kidnapped a Turk. The ironic role-reversal was too much to bear.

Reno and Elena walked across the bridge and along the path towards the inn. Reno looked at the pagoda in the distance. It was lit up with bright white lights. Reno hoped the inn had very thick blinds, or he'd never be able to get any sleep.

"What exactly are we here for, Elena?" he asked, wishing he'd read the mission briefing. Elena took said briefing out of her pocket and handed it to him. He stuck it in a handy pocket. "I'll read it later," He told Elena. She shrugged.

The inside of the inn was very similar to the outside: very brightly lit, and painted in vibrant (and, thankfully, matching) colours. The receptionist on the desk had a smile that looked like it had also been fitted with lights.

"Welcome to Wutai! How may I help?" she asked in a pleasant, cheery voice. At 10pm at night, it had to be coffee-fuelled. Why did she need to ask how she could help? They were in the inn, they weren't about to ask for anything but a room.

"We've got a reservation," Elena told her.

"We have?" Reno asked. Elena sighed. Maybe he should have read the briefing… the receptionist took out a book and flicked through it.

"Which one of these?" She asked, handing Elena the book and giving Reno a funny look. Elena took the book and scanned the page.

"This one," She replied, showing the receptionist, who took the book back and turned around to take a key off its hook.

"Room 10." The receptionist told them. "Enjoy your stay!" Yeah, right. In Wutai? Not likely. Elena took the keys and thanked the receptionist, and they made their way up the stairs.

"You really should have read that," Elena told Reno, pointing to the paper sticking out of his pocket. Reno shrugged.

"I guess," He replied. Elena sighed.

"Reno, sometimes you're just impossible," Shedecided. Reno shrugged again. It was probably true. He often relied on other people more than he should. Their room was at the very end of the corridor. Typical. Elena unlocked the door and they went in.

"As long as I can't see any of Wutai, I don't care where I am," Reno told Elena, before collapsing on a handy sofa in exhaustion. Elena was about to say something, but decided against it. He had flown the chopper all the way here without incident, after all. She went to examine the room. Two separate sleeping areas, a bathroom (well, a shower) and the area Reno was currently in. Elena went for the room facing away from the rest of Wutai (she was feeling mean) and put her suitcase under the bed. Reno watched her from his sofa. If he had any spare energy, he would have moved, but his legs weren't currently capable of normal movement. If he had tried moving, he would have seemed drunk (and most people would make that assumption, considering that he usually was). She spent a few moments just staring out of the window.

"Hey, Elena!" Reno called. She turned; a questioning look in her eyes. "How's the view?" He asked. She considered it.

"Nice," She replied eventually, turning back to the window. Nice. What a word. Possibly the most undescriptive adjective in the world. Reno realised that he would have to get up, either that or sleep on the sofa, which he wasn't planning on doing two nights in a row, especially on his own. He sighed, and got up off the sofa, willing his legs to keep him upright.

"Reno, come here," Elena suggested. He shrugged and complied, but sat down on her bed as soon as he got there. "Look out there," Elena instructed, pointing. Reno tried to look from the bed. "You'll have to get up," Elena told him, not looking away from the window. Reno sighed and got up from the bed. Really, did she know how tired his feet were? He walked over to the window, which Elena had opened as far as it could go (and it was a pretty big window). The Da-Chao Mountains were bathed in a cool yellow light, and the moon had risen just above the highest peak. The stars were out, like little pinpricks of light trying hard to be seen above the glow of Wutai's many lights.

"I don't like Wutai," Reno told her "But that," He pointed out of the window. "Is, as you put it, nice." She turned to face him.

"And dark, compared to the rest of Wutai," She replied, smiling. Reno groaned.

"Thanks," He muttered sarcastically, before turning and walking into his room, where he promptly collapsed on the bed. Elena walked in.

"Tired, Reno?" she asked, a smile on her face. He waved her away.

"You try getting that damn piece of junk over the sea. Then you can criticise me," He replied, closing his eyes and willing his energy to return, without much success.

"You could at least read the briefing," Elena hinted. Reno sighed and pulled it out of his pocket. Elena could be very persuasive sometimes, and she had some quite powerful Materia. He scanned the page briefly.

"We're going monster hunting!?" Reno said incredulously, not believing his eyes. Elena laughed.

"Sort of," She replied. Reno read it again. Definitely monster hunting… on the outside. Damn.

"I refuse to go monster hunting," He stated. "Even if that's only part of it," He added, seeing the look on Elena's face. She sighed.

"You don't really have much choice," She replied, leaning over and taking the very creased briefing from Reno. He let her have it, too tired to resist, and too deep in his despair at having to go monster hunting to care. She straightened up.

"I'm going to bed," She told him. Reno nodded miserably. He was tired and in Wutai. Not a good combination. Plus the light filtering in even through the thick blinds was enough to give him a headache, and certainly enough to keep him awake for most of the night. He groaned and put his head under the pillow. If he could, he'd just sleep like this. He was damn well going to give it a try, anyway. He heard Elena walk out of the room, presumably towards her own, but Reno wasn't going to be moving his head any time soon. He tried his best to ignore the sounds and lights of Wutai, and drifted in and out of sleep, which simply left him feeling even more tired. At around midnight he gave up on ever getting any sleep in his room and used what small amount of energy he had to search his pockets for Materia… nothing, as usual. He had plenty of attacking Materia, but nothing healing. Fine. He'd go and beg some off Elena, if she was still awake. He tried to lever himself off the bed. That was a challenge in itself, trying to persuade his aching muscles to do more work. He staggered towards the door, cursing the amount of light being so bright he couldn't sleep, but not bright enough for him to see the various hazards on the floor. He tripped over one such hazard (possibly an empty cup?) and fell onto the door, hard. He swore loudly. His head now hurt along with the rest of him. Great. He fumbled with the handle and eventually got it open with a bit of creative swearing. Light from the corridor outside filled the room he almost fell into. There also appeared to be lights on in the room itself… he stumbled across the room and fell into Elena's door.

"Ow," He mumbled, having exhausted his supply of swear words. He tried to straighten up and knocked on the door.

"I heard you swearing," Came Elena's muffled voice from the other side. "Come in." He pushed the door open and nearly fell on the floor due to lack of support. "What do you want?" Elena asked. She was sat up in her bed, looking like she'd just woken up. That had probably been his fault…

"Can't… sleep…" He muttered, stumbling towards her and collapsing on the bed, falling asleep straight away.

"Yeah…" Elena muttered, shaking him lightly. He didn't stir. "Couldn't sleep, you mean," She said. She doubted she'd be able to move him, so she left him lying where he was. It wasn't that bad; really… she lay back down and went to sleep.

When Reno woke in the morning his first feeling was one of confusion. Not at being in a strange place, as a Turk he was used to that, and not at there being someone next to him… it was the two combined. That was unusual. When on a job, Reno always concentrated on the job. He didn't even drink, let alone pick up women… it took him two seconds to remember exactly what had happened. He moaned when he realised, making Elena stir.

"Hm?" She said sleepily. Reno hastily got off her bed. "Reno?" She asked in a sleepy voice.

"Morning, Elena," Reno replied cautiously. Elena blinked open her eyes and looked over at Reno.

"Hm? What's the matter?" She asked, looking at his face. Reno blinked.

"Nothing…" He replied slowly.

"You were very tired last night, weren't you Reno?" She asked. Reno put his head in his hands.

"Sorry, Elena…" He murmured. She laughed.

"That's fine," She replied, before turning to glance at the clock on the wall Reno was standing in front of. "Hmm… you're up early," She said. Reno turned to look at the clock. It was 6:45. In the morning. Reno groaned.

"I hate mornings," He stated simply. Elena smiled.

"Not a morning person?" She asked.

"It's not that…" He replied. Turks had to be morning people or they'd never get anything done. Even if you didn't join as a morning person you quickly became one, or got kicked out. Elena gave him a questioning look. "Never mind." He said, walking over to the window. Elena turned her face away to avoid being blinded as Reno threw open the blinds. Light poured into the room. Reno looked out of the window at the Da-Chao Mountains, and then pulled a miniature telescope out of his pocket and staring through it at one spot.

"What is it, Reno?" Elena asked, getting out of bed. Reno held up one hand and she stopped.

"We're being watched…" He muttered, closely scrutinising one point on the mountains. He could see someone in the mouth of one of the caves on the mountains, and they had something in their hand which was reflecting light like glass. He slowly turned and stepped away from the window. "From the mountains." He added, seeing a confused look on Elena's face. She nodded.

"Not just monster hunting," She told Reno with a smile. He nodded.

"Meet me by the exit in 15 minutes," He told her. She nodded, and Reno turned and left the room. Once back in his own room, he tried to smooth some of the creases out of his jacket, with varying degrees of success. He grimaced at the state of his clothes and opted for just getting completely changed.

14 minutes and 35 seconds later he was by the exit to the inn. Elena walked up a few seconds later.

"You beat me!" She realised. Reno smiled good-naturedly.

"Tough," He replied. Elena sighed.

"Shall we go, then?" She asked in a hinty way. Reno nodded and they walked out of the door. Reno immediately glanced in the direction of the Mountains.

"We're going up there," Reno told Elena. It wasn't a question. Elena shrugged. She trusted Reno. He knew what he was doing. They started following the path up to the mountains. Reno stopped suddenly when they reached the foot. "Have you got any Pre-Emptive Materia?" He asked Elena. She nodded.

"Why?" She asked.

"Equip it," Reno ordered without explanation. Elena did so wordlessly as Reno got his own Pre-Emptive out and slotted it into a hole on his Nightstick. If it was who he thought he'd seen on this damn mountain he'd need it. They continued walking up the mountain path in silence. Reno didn't like it because it was in Wutai, and Elena didn't like it because… well, she'd been kidnapped and dragged up to the top by the madman Don Corneo. She shuddered. He'd made a very satisfying splat on the mountain floor… Elena shuddered at the fact that she was even thinking like that! "Something wrong, 'Lena?" Reno asked, without looking at her because he was concentrating too hard on a cave in the middle of the Mountain.

"Not really." Elena answered. "You see something?" She asked, trying to change the subject. Reno motioned suddenly for her to get down, and they both dropped to the floor. He held a finger to his lips for silence. Elena nodded. Reno risked a glance over at the cave. The person he'd seen had definitely spotted them, and was moving down the mountain path.

"Damn," Reno whispered. Elena looked over at him questioningly. Reno shook his head, reaching for his Nightstick and checking the Materia. No healing magic! He really should have brought some… well; Elena would definitely have some on her. She always did. He looked back up at the path again, putting his Nightstick back in its holster carefully. Damn. They'd gone. Suddenly alarm bells went off in his head, and he whirled around. Thank God for Pre-Emptive.

"Long time no see, Reno," Said a voice. That voice. Reno shuddered. It was none other than Yuffie Kisaragi, the most annoying ninja ever to mar planet earth.

"Good morning, Miss Kisaragi," Reno said with a forced smile. Elena looked round. Her Pre-Emptive wasn't as high a level as Reno's (which was level 4, he used it a lot) so she hadn't noticed Yuffie's approach. Yuffie had her shuriken out. "Planning on relieving us of our Materia, by any chance?" Reno asked in a very false happy tone. The edge of his mouth was beginning to twitch.

"Well…" Yuffie started, eyeing up the Materia in Reno's Nightstick. "You've got some nice lookin' summons there, Reno…" Reno's Nightstick was suddenly only a few millimetres from Yuffie's face.

"Just you try it, Ninja-girl. I've been looking for an opportunity," Reno growled through gritted teeth. Yuffie backed away uncertainly.

"Geez, Reno…" she said, looking at the Nightstick warily. "What's up with you?" Elena laughed. Reno thought about turning on her, but he couldn't miss any opportunity to hit the damn Ninja.

"Strangely enough, I don't like you," Reno growled. Yuffie backed off uncertainly, holding up her hands.

"Hey, hey, no need to get all mad!" She insisted. "I was… only jokin'. Yeah, only jokin'," She told him. Reno waved the Nightstick in her direction threateningly.

"You… you better be," He managed eventually, trying hard not to give in to the part of his mind screaming 'hit her, damn it!' in a loud, insistent voice. His hand was shaking. "'Cause I ain't giving you any Materia. And I'd just love you to try and take it by force." Even Elena had backed off slightly. She knew from (other people's) experience that Reno in a foul mood like this one was not, under any circumstances, to be crossed, unless you really wanted a Nightstick across the face/hand/nearest available body part. From what she'd heard people say (or, in some extreme cases, scream) it hurt considerably. Yuffie had taken the hint and was putting away her shuriken.

"Well…" She started. Reno lowered his Nightstick, but his hand was still shaking in anger. Yuffie eyed the Nightstick nervously before stepping forward.

"Why have you been spying on us?" Reno asked her suddenly.

"What?" Yuffie asked, confused.

"I saw you, this morning, looking at us from that cave." Reno pointed. Yuffie shook her head slowly.

"Wasn't me," She told them. "I've only just come up here. Haven't been in that cave for ages," She admitted. Reno looked confused.

"Then who was in the cave?" He wondered aloud. Yuffie shrugged.

"Search me. Hey, why are the Turks in Wutai?" She asked suddenly.

"Monster hunting," Reno replied through gritted teeth. "Damn monster hunting. Ugh, if he wasn't my boss I'd make Tseng suffer for this!" Reno started ranting. Elena walked up to him.

"Calm down," She insisted, putting a hand on his shoulder. Reno took a few deep breaths and holstered his Nightstick. Yuffie watched with interest.

"Yeah," Reno muttered. "There's something in the cave." He turned to Yuffie. "If you don't mind, Miss Kisaragi, we're working. So don't bother us." Yuffie tilted her head.

"Sure you don't need a guide?" She teased. Reno tried to stop his hand from shaking, unsuccessfully.

"If I spend another minute in your company I will go mad," He replied. "So please leave." Yuffie looked hurt.

"Aw, please, Reno?" She asked, trying to look cute. Unfortunately, that only made Reno worse.

"Two reasons," He started. "One: I hate you. Two: I hate Wutai. The two combined will not make me happy," He informed her. Yuffie looked at him indignantly.

"What's wrong with Wutai?" She demanded in much the same voice as Tseng had. The difference was he could answer back to Yuffie.

"It's Wutai," He stated simply. "It has crappy cheap bear, daylight-strength lights at midnight and it brings back some very bad memories. That involve you. Now please remove yourself from my sightline," He informed her, turning away. Elena looked at Yuffie and shrugged.

"He's having a bad day," She told Yuffie, looking over her shoulder at Reno. Yuffie tilted her head to one side.

"You're pretty friendly with him," Yuffie remarked. Reno heard that and made a rude gesture over his shoulder in Yuffie's direction, without looking round. Elena shrugged.

"I guess," She replied, and turned back to Reno, who had his eye on the cave.

"I'm going up there," He told Elena, who nodded.

"I'll go another direction. Meet by that cave if you don't find anything," She suggested. Both of them were pointedly ignoring Yuffie, who was staring at them in amazement. They stood up in unison and turned and walked off in different directions. After about five minutes just thinking in amazement of the prospect of Reno and Elena together, Yuffie shrugged and walked back down the mountain to her house.

Elena walked up one of the paths and spotted a cave opening in the side of the mountain that was emitting a strange orange glow. She got out her phone, flipped it open and pressed the button for Reno's number. He picked up instantly.

"Yes, Elena?" he asked, his voice slightly distorted because the reception was bad up in the mountains.

"I've found something…" Elena told him. "A cave, it's glowing strangely. I think you should come over here." There was a slight wait while Reno considered this.

"You go on ahead, I'll come over now," He told her.

"Sure thing. I'll keep you informed, don't hang up," She told him before stepping inside the cave and walking down the long passage in front of her. The whole cave was lit with an eerie orange light which didn't seem to have any source. She could hear Reno humming off-key on his end of the line. Elena reached an intersection. "Reno, I've reached an intersection," She told him. Reno stopped his humming.

"Which way are you going?" He asked. Elena considered it. The left fork certainly seemed brighter…

"Left fork," She told him, and proceeded down it. A little way along there was a three-way branch.

"Oh," Elena said.

"What?" Reno cut in. he had been humming again…

"Three-way fork," She told him. "How close are you?" another pause while Reno thought.

"Near the cave entrance. Which way are you going?" Reno asked. Elena looked down all three forks.

"Middle," She replied, walking down it. She wondered where the strange light was coming from… there were several strange holes in the side of the walls in this passageway. Elena could hear a dripping noise from further down in the cave… she suddenly stopped and checked her Materia. Pre-emptive. Yeah. Maybe she should have levelled it to the same level as Reno's… she shrugged it off and started walking down the path again, when suddenly she was grabbed from behind. When she tried to struggle, the barrel of a gun was suddenly in front of her face. Great.

"Move and you're dead," Growled the gun-holder, a male by the sounds of the voice. Elena sighed.

"Damn," She muttered.

"Elena? Something wrong?" Reno's voice came from her phone. The gun-holder grabbed it from her hand and threw it across the cave. Elena felt like kicking them, but with a gun in her face that wouldn't be wise. She just hoped Reno would keep coming and would have the brains to be quiet…

"Let her go!" Reno yelled from further down the corridor. Typical Reno, making an entrance. So much for hit them in the back of the head before they could react… the man holding the gun turned, Elena could feel his movement.

"Why should we?" He sneered. Elena wished she could see Reno…

"You'll regret it if you don't," Reno snarled. The two people holding Elena turned around, taking Elena with them. Good… their first mistake. Reno looked worried, which was surprising, and angry. Only Reno could combine the two without looking stupid. The man who held the gun was a scrawny-looking middle aged man, and he was acting like he was in control. He obviously didn't know they were Turks… Reno was getting out his Nightstick. He shot a look at Elena which worried her. It was a 'protect yourself the minute they let you go' look. That was never followed by something good. Well, she had Barrier Materia equipped. Reno's Nightstick was worrying the two men holding her. Well, they should be worried.

"Why will I regret it, Shinra-boy?" Said the gunman. That was definitely a mistake. Reno hated being called 'boy'.

"You…" Reno started, the rage clear in his voice, "are about to find out!" He touched one of the Materia on his Nightstick and started glowing with a red light… red? A summon? Was he mad?! Elena quickly shook off the guards, not wanting to take any chances with an enraged Reno.

"Wall!" She yelled, and the protective barrier appeared in front of her.

"Bahamut!!!" Reno yelled in a very scary voice. Bahamut!? Elena cowered behind her shield. She didn't even know he had Bahamut! The cave filled with mist which condensed rapidly to form the giant Dragon, which had been shrunk considerably so it fit inside the cave. Elena heard it claw the ground and roar loudly. She was never going to forgive Reno for this… Bahamut unleashed a blast which rocketed past so close to her Barrier she recoiled towards the other side. Those blasts could disintegrate people! Judging from the scream behind her, it just had… Elena shuddered. Bahamut roared again and she heard it claw up the two men who had held her back and… crush them. Elena really hoped Reno had control of the summon, or she'd be next… the dragon disintegrated the gunman and she could see it through the wall, turning towards her… it disappeared with an explosion of mist, and Elena could see Reno's outline shimmer back into vision. Just then Elena's wall shattered. Reno turned towards her and walked up.

"You… idiot…" Elena muttered, her voice shaking in fright. Reno put his hands on her shoulders.

"Sorry," He apologised. "I just… lost my temper." Elena nodded, extremely angry now her fright had worn off. Reno stood up, looking at something on the wall just behind her. "What's that?" He wondered aloud, walking towards it. Elena reached across the corridor and grabbed her phone, which promptly started ringing. She looked at the screen.

"Oh God…" She muttered, pressing the 'answer' button. Reno looked over, and she mouthed 'Tseng' at him. "Yes, Sir?" She said into the phone. Reno heard a voice in the phone, but he couldn't make it out, he was too far away. "Yes, Sir…" Elena muttered. "No, not yet Sir…" It was a very one-sided conversation. Elena was only saying 'yes' and 'no'. Oh, and 'Sir'. That one was important. Elena shot a hopeless look at Reno, her quarrel with him temporarily forgotten. Talking to the boss was not often high on anyone's list of priorities. After a short conversation, Elena flipped the phone shut and turned to Reno.

"Checking our progress…" She told him. Reno nodded. Typical Tseng.

"Shall we go further in?" Reno asked. Elena considered it.

"I think so," She replied. Reno turned back to the wall, and the orange glowing stone he's found on it. He reached into his pocket, bringing out a largish pocket knife and chipping away a part of the stone.

"It glows…" He muttered. Elena nodded, and scanned the tunnel ahead of them, and Reno held up the glowing chip.

"Let's go," Elena decided. Reno had turned to look at the remains of the attackers.

"Let's search them first," Reno replied, pointing. Elena glanced at the remains. Two disintegrated piles of ash and two horrible mangled corpses. Lovely. She walked over to one of the piles of ash. Reno laughed at the look on her face.

"Get used to it," He told her, walking over to the mangled corpses and quickly lifting anything of value on the bodies. He ended up with wallets and a crumpled piece of paper. "Come on, secret instructions," He muttered, unfolding it. Oh goody, a map of Wutai. How useful. He pocketed it in disgust. Elena was doing a thorough, if slower, search of her bodies. Her search turned up nothing more than Reno's had. Wallets.

"How useful," She muttered sarcastically, getting up. Reno walked up to her and she handed him the products of her search. He took them and pocketed them without much enthusiasm, and they started walking down the corridor. Reno hoped Elena didn't suddenly remember she was mad at him…

After about half an hour of walking they reached what looked like a dead end. And abandoned dead end, which meant either the dead people were all that was there or they were behind them… or weren't even in Wutai. Reno sighed.

"Did we take a wrong turn?" He wondered aloud. Elena had walked up to the wall and examined it.

"No sign of any sort of entrance…" She muttered. Reno grunted.

"Fine," He decided. Elena took the hint and stood behind Reno. She wasn't going to suffer another repeat of Bahamut. Reno examined the Materia in his Nightstick.

"Fire3," He muttered in a bored voice, and a huge blast of fire shot towards the offending wall. Lots of rock crumbled away, revealing a passageway behind. "Genius," Reno muttered, and started walking down it. Elena decided not to argue and merely followed him. The orange light was dying down and this corridor was lit with blue lights hammered into the walls. Reno, who was getting very bored with walking through caves, hit a couple as he passed and they shattered into tiny pieces.

"Don't hit the lights," Elena said in annoyance. Reno glanced at her.

"Why?" He asked. "I've got the glowing stone thing." He pulled it out of his pocket, and the queer orange light filled the corridor. Elena sighed, and she looked so annoyed that Reno stuck the stone back in his pocket and stopped hitting the lights. "Geez…" He muttered. Elena was quite cranky today… maybe he shouldn't have used Bahamut… Reno heard voices from further down the corridor, and put out his arm to stop Elena, who wisely kept quiet. Reno heard footsteps.

"Back down," He whispered, pointing down the corridor. Elena nodded, and they went backwards slowly, trying not to make any noise. "Barrier?" Reno asked, and Elena nodded.

"Wall!" She whispered and a fuzzy multi-coloured wall appeared in front of them both. Reno muttered something about vision and Elena thought go clear, which it did. Reno gave her a startled look, then turned back to watching the corridor. Two men walked down it, chatting. They didn't notice Reno until he'd hit them over the head with his Nightstick. They collapsed soundlessly. Elena gave Reno a thumbs up and she broke the Wall. Reno walked over and gave the bodies a quick search. He was certainly very fast at that… he turned up not much more than the others had.

"Damn," He muttered, handing Elena the products of his search. Two wallets and another map of Wutai. "Shall we carry on?" Reno asked. Elena nodded, putting the items in her pocket. Reno gave the unconscious men a look. "Hmm…" He said. Elena suddenly got a little worried.

"Don't kill them," She told Reno. He looked at her incredulously.

"Why not?" He asked. Elena shrugged.

"I just don't like it," She told him. Reno sighed.

"Well, I'll just make sure they have a nice long stay in sleepy land, then." He decided. "Sleepel!" The two men began to snore. "Happy?" He asked Elena. She was shocked he'd actually listened. She nodded carefully. Reno holstered his Nightstick. "Good," He replied. "Let's go." They continued on warily. Reno could hear sounds of people talking further down. He stopped at the next turn and glanced round. There were five people in what looked like the end of the cave. Four of them looked like hired thugs. Reno took his head away and sighed. Hired thugs. That was almost as boring as monster hunting. He mouthed 'hired thugs' at Elena. She replied with 'how many?' Reno held up 4 fingers. "Plus one." He whispered. She nodded, holding up her Materia questioningly. Reno took it from her and examined it. Barrier, Restore, Heal, Revive (Revive? He hadn't known she had that), Lightning, Pre-Emptive, Earth and Shiva. He handed it back. "Lightning." He whispered. "Get it ready, just in case." She nodded, slotting it into one of the spaces on the gloves she wore. Reno had never noticed the slots before. He guessed he had never really looked. He got out his Nightstick and they crept around the bend. Reno hastily added an All to his Seal Materia. "Sleepel." He whispered. The four thugs dropped like stones, but the smaller person simply turned. "Damn." Reno said. They must've had something to protect them… Reno realised with shock that it was a woman! She had long dark hair, Reno couldn't see her eyes…

"Oh, hello." She greeted. "I presume you are the ones who killed my men?" Reno nodded in shock. She surveyed the two of them. "Hmm… Turks." She concluded. "How interesting." Elena shot a look at Reno, who shook his head.

"Who are you?" He asked the woman. She laughed.

"Such an interesting question, but not one I feel inclined to answer." She replied. Elena was fumbling with her Materia. "What are you doing?" The woman asked, in a tone that implied she knew full well and Elena better stop it now. Elena straightened up, shooting a look at Reno, who shook his head again. "Do we have command? How interesting." The woman mused.

"Tell us who you are or I will have to use force." Reno told her. She laughed.

"Oh, you will, will you?" She raised her hands as if to cast a spell. Reno nodded to Elena. He knew what she'd been doing with her Materia.

"Bolt3!" Elena yelled just as the woman yelled 'Mbarrier'. Lightning bolts flashed and completely fried the thugs that were 'off in sleepy land', as Reno had put it. The woman lowered her hands and laughed.

"You anticipated me." She murmured. "How interesting…" she eyed the guards around her. "Quite strong… Yes…" She muttered.

"I'm losing my patience." Reno informed her. She looked up at him, an amused look in her light green eyes. Light green. That always made Reno think Sephiroth. Poor green-eyed people. She wasn't a Sephiroth.

"Ah, is the little Turk getting bored?" She taunted. Reno gripped his Nightstick tightly and glanced at Elena, who nodded. "We all tire of this little game, it seems." The woman observed. "Well, I will draw this out no longer. Farewell." Before either of them could react, she had… vanished, in a column of orange smoke.

"What the hell was that?" Reno yelled in annoyance. Elena stared at the spot where the woman had been. Reno suddenly realised something. "You killed them." He told Elena, pointing at the bodies of the thugs. Elena realised that at about the same time.

"Oh…" She said, her voice shaking a little. Reno put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sometimes you have to." He told her. "It's part of the job." She nodded slowly. Reno let go of her and walked over to where the woman had been standing. "Monster hunting…" He murmured, thinking. There was no sign that the woman had ever been there.

"I killed them…" Elena murmured, walking over to the corpses. "Get used to it…" She repeated. Yes, it was part of the job. Her sister had always been so… so uncaring about it. Well, Elena was better than her.

"Find anything?" Reno asked. Elena shook her head. There was nothing there but char.

"Nothing, Reno." She told him. Reno shrugged and turned back to where the woman had been. The 'little Turk' comment was bugging him. He hated being called 'little'.

"Who was she?" Reno wondered aloud. Elena walked over to him. There was absolutely no trace of her.

"Shall I call Tseng?" Elena asked him. Reno considered it.

"Go on then." He replied eventually. "Tell him… the target got away." Elena nodded. Not that they had been given a specific target, but… Tseng would understand what Reno meant. Elena took her phone from her pocket, wincing when she saw a huge crack in the case which had presumably been caused by it being thrown into a rock wall. She quickly dialled Tseng's number.

"Hello, Elena." He greeted when he picked up. How on earth did he know it was her? She'd called his office phone.

"Sir…" she started.

"Got away, did it?" Tseng asked. Elena was shocked.

"Yes, Sir, she did." Elena replied. Reno looked up in shock, and mouthed 'he knew?' Elena nodded at him.

"A she? Hmm." Tseng said thoughtfully. "OK, come back here as soon as possible." He ordered.

"Um, Sir…" Elena started.

"Did Reno break the helichopper?"

"It was already broken, Sir." Elena replied, although she could see Tseng's reasoning. Tseng chuckled.

"Ok… I'm surprised the thing got off the ground, to be honest, bit it's the only one we… had. Ok…" Tseng paused to think. "I'll make some calls." He said eventually.

"Yes, Sir." Elena replied, snapping the phone shut. Reno gave her a questioning look. "He's making calls." Elena told him. Reno nodded.

"Back to Wutai?" He suggested. Elena nodded. "And we've got a free day…" He murmured thoughtfully. Elena laughed.

"No drinking." She told him. "But apart from that, I don't care." Reno smiled at her.

"Deal." He replied. Elena nearly fell over in shock. She hadn't expected him to agree! "Shall we go?" He suggested, holding out his hand to Elena. She took it, and they made their way back to Wutai.

Later that day, Elena's phone rang again.

"Yes?" She asked, picking it up.

"Ah, Elena, I've got you two some transport." Tseng said.

"Oh, thank you Sir." Elena replied. Reno looked up from the couch he was sitting on.

"Is it the boss?" He asked. Elena nodded.

"don't expect him to be happy about it, though." Tseng warned.

"Sir?" Elena asked, confused.

"You'll know when he arrives." Tseng replied cryptically, hanging up.

"How useful." Elena said sarcastically, snapping her phone shut.

"We got transport?" Reno asked, not moving from his couch.

"Yes." Elena told him "But I don't know what!" Reno smiled.

"Knowing Tseng… something unexpected." He replied. "Come over here." He suggested to Elena. She sighed and walked over to Reno's couch.

"Lazy…" She muttered. Reno laughed.

"I am never lazy." He replied, taking her hand. Elena glanced out of the window. The sky was depressingly transport-free.

"Of course not." Elena muttered sarcastically. Reno shrugged and ran a finger up and down her hand.

"Stop it…" Elena muttered, trying not to laugh.

"Ticklish, are we?" Reno replied, pulling her down to a sitting position.

"Reno, no…" She replied without much conviction. He laughed and kissed her hand. "Stop it…" She mumbled as he ran a finger up her arm. "That tickles…" She told him, trying not to laugh. He smiled at her.

"Knew it!" He declared triumphantly. Elena sighed. Now she'd get no escape… A very loud noise from outside made both of them look up, then rush to the window.

"He didn't…" Elena muttered in fascination.

Parked outside was the Highwind.

"Flipping heck." Reno muttered as they walked up to the ship. Cid was standing by the door.

"Turks…" He muttered. "I'm only doin' this for a favour, you understand?" He told them. They both nodded. "Good. Now get your &£$# bodies in here before I change my mind!" Elena shot a look at Reno.

"Hmm… that's quite uninventive for Cid." Reno muttered. Elena shot him a look that said 'and don't you just know it'. Reno grimaced, remembering some of the more creative words he'd used last night in Wutai inn… they walked inside, on the lookout for any remnants of AVALANCHE, or, God help Reno, Yuffie. Reno felt that being beaten once in a day was enough.

"Right." Cid's voice came over the intercom. "I'm in a $(?£ bad mood so don't come near the $£&? Cockpit, you hear?" They both nodded, not that Cid could see them. "Oh, and I've been instructed not to let Reno near the controls…" Cid then muttered something that sounded worryingly like 'not that I'd let that £$? near my precious baby' before continuing. "So don't et any funny ideas, sunshine." The intercom made a crackling noise and disconnected.

"Wow, so polite." Elena said sarcastically.

"You don't know him if you say it sarcastically." Reno muttered, thinking of times when Cid had been with the Shinra and had been having a bad day. Elena wandered over to the nearest window and stared out. The sight of the world rushing past never got old… well, not for her. "Nice view?" Reno asked, wandering over. "Oh… the sea. How interesting." He said sarcastically. Elena shot him a look. Reno smiled at her. "Hey, enjoy what you like." He told her, putting an arm around her shoulder and watching the view with her. He was quite willing to put up with endless sea if it got him some time in Elena's company.

"I always like watching the world go past…" Elena muttered.

"Sure, 'Lena." Reno replied. She smiled at him, happy. Reno was happy because they were finally out of Wutai!

"Home again…" He muttered. She nodded.

"Back to the shed." She replied. It was now, unchangeably, the Shed.

"I've got to have a go at driving this…" Reno muttered, talking to himself. Elena shook her head.

"Oh no. I actually value my life." She told him. Reno looked hurt.

"Are you saying you don't like my driving?" He asked, feigning shock. Elena laughed.

"Not really. Some vehicles shouldn't go that fast." She replied. Reno smiled good-naturedly.

"I try." He told her, and they went back to staring out of the window.

After a while they came to a halt and Cid stormed into the room, a cigarette in his mouth. Elena had a coughing fit.

"Take it… away!" She spluttered. Cid smiled evilly and blew a huge smoke cloud into the room. Reno stepped forwards.

"She asked you nicely." He told him, and unspoken threat in his voice. Cid laughed.

"Pretty pally with her, ain't you?" Cid asked, taking out his cigarette and stumping it out in a nearby ashtray, before sticking it behind the ear that wasn't occupied with the cigarette packet.

"What's it to you?" Reno demanded angrily.

"Please, Reno, don't get into a fight with him." Elena asked, still coughing a little from the smoke. Cid looked over at Elena, before turning back to Reno.

"Get the hell outta my ship." He ordered, walking off muttering swearwords under his breath. Reno waited until he was out of earshot before moving. He muttered something uncomplimentary about Cid before turning to Elena.

"You OK?" He asked. Elena nodded.

"I'm just a little allergic to the smoke." She told Reno, who immediately looked concerned.

"Let's get you off this ship, then." He stated, manoeuvring Elena along the ship with protests of 'no, really, I'm fine' all the way. As soon as they were out of range of the Highwind's engines Cid took off. Reno watched him go with a few comments as to what he thought of him, none of them good.

"He did fly us home." Elena pointed out. Reno shrugged.

"And do you like being here?" Elena shook her head reluctantly.

"More than Wutai for you, I bet." She pointed out. Reno nodded.

"I guess. We've got to see Tseng now, haven't we?" Elena nodded this time, and they walked into the building, to be greeted by a small group of recruits in the hallway, making snide comments. Reno gave them all murderous looks.

"Get the hell out of my way." He suggested. The unfortunate recruits looked up.

"Free country." One of them replied. He obviously had a death wish. Reno's hand strayed to his Nightstick.

"I suggest you consider my request." He muttered evilly. Several of the more intelligent recruits moved hastily out of Reno's way.

"No." Replied the mad recruit. Reno shrugged.

"Fine." He said, and hit the recruit over the head with his Nightstick. He fell to the floor, unconscious. "Idiot." He muttered, stepping over the prone figure and continuing on down the hall. Elena followed after him, shooting an apologetic look to the conscious recruits, who merely started giggling. When she caught up with Reno he was muttering about idiot recruits and what he was going to do with them. Elena sighed.

"You really don't like them, do you?" She asked. Reno shook his head violently, still muttering. They reached the stairs, and Elena noticed Reno was very careful going up them, even if he was still muttering threats. The memory of being stuck must be fresh in his mind… Elena tried hard not to laugh as she remembered. Poor Reno. He'd ruined his jacket! Although the aftermath of the event had been quite nice… Very nice indeed.

When they reached Tseng's office Reno stopped muttering immediately, throwing a look at Elena. She sighed and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Tseng called. Elena opened the door tentatively.

"It's us, Sir." She told him nervously. He smiled as they walked in, making both of them a little less nervous.

"Ah, good. That was rather fast." He commented. Reno shrugged.

"The Highwind's pretty fast, Sir." He replied. Elena just knew he was wondering if it could go any faster. Reno never thought about anything else when a moving machine was involved.

"Oh, so Cid agreed? Wonders will never cease, it seems." Tseng said, looking like he was about to laugh.

"Must've been some pretty important calls, Sir." Elena reasoned.

"Indeed." Tseng replied, not really answering. He glanced down at the papers on his desk. "Well, your mission appears to have achieved mixed success." He muttered to himself.

"The… target teleported, Sir." Reno informed him. "Either that or she wasn't there in the first place." Tseng nodded.

"How many were there?" He asked. Reno added it up in his head.

"Ten, not including the target." He replied. Tseng nodded again.

"So. How many were neutralised?"

"Eight, four by Elena and four by myself, Sir. Two of them were just Sleepeled." Reno replied. Tseng looked at Elena in surprise.

"Four people? You've really come along, Elena." Elena looked at the floor.

"I didn't mean to…" She mumbled. Tseng sighed. Elena's only failing was that she hated killing people. A Turk usually had to kill at some point. It was part of the job.

"Well, it's a start." Tseng sighed. "In general, well done. Rude'll be back soon-"

"Really?" Reno cut in. He'd been missing his partner.

"Yes, Reno, or I wouldn't have started to say it. Anyway, if this mystery woman turns up again I'll send all three of you. Just to be safe, you understand." Tseng explained. Reno and Elena nodded in unison. You didn't argue with the boss. Especially is you'd just interrupted him.

"Whatever you say, Sir." Reno replied. Tseng put his head in his hands.

"I'm surrounded by 'yes' people…" He muttered in despair.

"But Sir, you get mad if we argue." Elena pointed out, feeling brave. Tseng looked up at her, confused.

"Not all the time." He said, a little hurt. "Well, get lost, you two. I have paperwork to do." He glanced at Reno. "And so do you. And…" They had turned to leave. "Please don't hit recruits without warning me first. Dismissed." Reno groaned, and Elena dragged him out by his sleeve.

"How does he know that?" Reno moaned in despair once they were out of the room.

"Cameras." Elena replied. "Now come on!" She dragged him halfway along the corridor before he came to his senses and started walking.

"That's the reason I hate having damn briefings…" He muttered. Elena pushed him along the corridor.

"Come on." She insisted. Reno nodded.

"Yeah…" He replied, walking on ahead of her quickly so she had to jog to catch up. "Want to go out tonight?" He asked her. Elena nodded.

"To stop you drinking!" She replied with a smile. Reno shook his head.

"Just once, I'd like to see you drunk." Reno said. Elena shook her head.

"Oh no. I'm not drinking." She replied definitely. Reno smiled.

"Good. I like a challenge!" he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the nearest door.

"Reno, I said I was coming!" Elena protested, trying to pull Reno's hand from her arm. He had a very strong grip!

"Don't want you changing your mind!" He replied, teasing her. She gave up and tried walking fast so he wasn't actually pulling on her. He pulled her out and to the nearest car.

"I'm driving." Elena insisted quickly, and got in the seat before Reno could protest.

"Fine, fine." He agreed, before walking round to the other side and getting in. "But you're really slow!" She gave him a look of disbelief before starting up the engine and driving into town.

When they got there, Reno insisted they went to the nearest bar.

"It'll be fun!" He insisted, and dragged a protesting Elena halfway through town to a pub called 'The Leaky Tap'. Elena moaned.

"I just know I'm going to regret this…" She muttered as he pulled her inside. Most of the people there seemed to know Reno, which wasn't much of a surprise to Elena, who knew just how often he drank. Basically, whenever he was off duty. The idiot.

"Got a new friend, Reno?" The bartender asked. Reno shook his head.

"Old friend." He replied, pulling up a stool. "Sit down, Lena." She did so, reluctantly, hoping this place sold something non-alcoholic. "Give us a drink." Reno asked the bartender, who nodded.

"And what will you have?" He asked Elena. She started to reply when Reno cut in.

"Give her the same as me." He answered for her.

"Reno!" She protested. "I refuse to drink!" He laughed.

"Lighten up. You're not going to get drunk with one measly drink." He replied, handing her one that the bartender had just pulled. She sighed, giving up.

"Well, maybe…" She replied. up.

her one that the bartender had just pulled. lcoholic. called 'wn.979797979797979797979797979797979797979797979797979797979797979797979797979797979797Reno cheered inwardly. Maybe he was finally getting somewhere! She took a swig of the drink (She hadn't bothered checking what it was) before downing the whole lot in one go. "What the hell is that?!" She asked shortly afterwards, glancing at the bottle. Reno just sat there looking shocked. "Give us another." She suggested. Reno figured it may not have been such a good idea to give her a cocktail… the bartender passed her another drink. She examined this one. "It's blue." She pointed out to no-one. Reno nodded.

"Drink it, then." He suggested. She did so. She was easily swayed! She'd been protesting earlier!

"It's nice." She remarked, downing the whole lot in one go. Reno watched in shock as she managed another three before he even started drinking. Upon remembering his drink, he picked it up and drank a little. "You're slow." Elena remarked, grabbing another drink.

"Damn it, Elena, slow down!" Reno suggested. "Even I couldn't get through that many in the time you've had!" Elena looked a little shocked.

"Not even well into the night?" She asked, before drinking another half-glass. Reno shook his head. Elena shrugged and drank the rest. "This is nice." She repeated. "Why did you never give me any of this before?" Reno sighed.

"You asked me not to." He replied, finishing his own drink. Elena looked a little confused.

"I can't think why." She remarked, taking another drink and downing the lot. "It's amazing!" Reno held out a hand.

"I think you should slow down a little." He repeated. Elena shook her head.

"I'm drinking." She insisted, her voice a little slurred. Reno shook his head, and drank some of his drink. If she wanted to get drunk, fine, but who was going to drive the car? Reno decided to take his usual course of action, which was 'worry about it later, and maybe it'll sort itself out'. It only worked if there was someone mildly sober present, however, and Elena didn't look like she was planning on staying sober…

"You're going to end up completely plastered if you keep that up." Reno remarked. Elena looked slightly past him.

"I'm not drunk." She declared. "I'm never drink… drank… drunk… oops." She had tried to pick up her glass and missed. "Damn." She said, using both hands to try and get the glass to her mouth, before attempting to drink the lot. Most of it missed. "Damn." She repeated. Reno laughed.

"Sure you're not drunk?" He asked. Elena shook her head violently.

"I'm… never drunk." She managed eventually. "An'… if I am… it's your fault." She told him, pointing an accusing finger at a point above his shoulder. Reno shrugged.

"I can live with that." He replied, taking another drink.

Later that night, Reno and Elena were staggering down the streets holding on to each other for support.

"I'm… not… drunk…" Elena muttered, swaying back and forth and struggling to keep her balance. Reno muttered something unintelligible. He was possibly slightly less drunk than Elena, but the difference was minimal. They made their way up the street in a very wobbly line. When they reached the car, they stopped.

"Whoshe… car'sh… that?" Elena muttered.

"Ours…?" Reno wondered. "Do we… have a car?" Elena shrugged, or tried to.

"Dunno." She managed eventually. "Le'sh walk back." Reno nodded drunkenly.

"Shure." They started to walk back.

"Whassa time?" Elena asked eventually. Reno looked at his watch, but it was an alcohol-induced blur.

"Dunno." Reno replied. "Ash' when we get back." They spent the entire half-hour walk in silence, with the exception of a few colourful swearwords from Reno when they tripped. They did, however, make it back in one piece, even if it was one extremely drunk piece. Tseng was waiting for them at the door. He looked shocked that Elena was drunk.

"Wer' are we?" Elena asked. Reno looked around.

"Home?" He suggested. He looked up at Tseng. "Goo' Mornin', Shir." He greeted, waving drunkenly.

"Where is the car?" Tseng asked, still shocked that Elena wasn't sober.

"Car? Wha' car?" Elena looked around, confused. Reno's expression was similar.

"Huh?" He replied. Tseng shook his head in disbelief.

"Inside. Now." He ordered, pointing inside. They complied eventually, Reno walking into the doorframe as he did so.

"You lookin' for a fight?" He challenged the door. Tseng sighed and dragged him inside, muttering about drunkards and what he was going to do with them.

"I hope you wake up with a killer hangover." He muttered to Reno.

"Wassat?" Reno asked. "You shay summat?" Tseng shook his head.

"Get out of my sight." He ordered, walking off. Reno grunted in confusion and staggered towards what he thought was his room, intent on collapsing. He did just that, but before reaching the room…

Reno woke the next day with what he could only describe as a killer hangover. His head felt like it was trying to bash its way out of his skull with a blunt instrument. The fact that he appeared to have slept on the floor couldn't have helped much. He tried to sit up, but that just made the pain in his head worse.

"Ow." He muttered miserably. He thought back to the previous night, or what he could remember of it. Most of it involved blue drink. Perhaps that would take the hangover away… he struggled to his feet, then thought the better of it and sank back to the floor, cursing. He looked up and down the corridor and tried to work out where he was. The fact that he got lost when he didn't have a hangover didn't help much. The walls were a horrible bright orange, but that didn't really help because that disgusting shade coloured at least three corridors. He groaned when he saw someone walking down the corridor.

"Reno?" A voice asked. Female. Not Elena.

"Shuriken…?" He guessed. She walked up to him. Browny-red hair, large shuriken on her back. It couldn't be anyone else.

"Oh, Reno, have you been out drinking again?" She asked. It was a rhetorical question. "Here, I've got Cure on me somewhere…" Did all the female Turks have Cure?! She found it and slotted it into an arm circlet. "Cure3." She cast, quietly for the benefit of Reno's throbbing head. The hangover subsided a little.

"Cheers." He thanked her. She smiled.

"No problem." She turned to walk on down the corridor. "I think the boss wants to see you." She added before continuing down the corridor. Reno swore, struggling to his feet. Not even Cure could get rid of the headache… he guiltily remembered Elena. Now, if he could just remember where he room was… presuming she'd made it that far, of course. He hadn't, and she'd been worse than him… slightly. Well, if Shuriken was around maybe Elena was too. He wandered around the various horrible corridors before he found her, in the common/that blue does not go with that green room, nursing a coffee and probably a sore head.

"Morning, 'Lena." He greeted quietly.

"I hate you." She muttered in reply. "You got me drunk… and in trouble with Tseng." Reno winced.

"Sorry, 'Lena." He apologised, walking up to her, trying to ignore his own headache. Elena was more important.

"You say that, but…" She trailed off. "How come you don't have a hangover?" She asked accusingly.

"I do. And I met Shuriken." He explained. Elena rolled her eyes.

"There's a surprise." She muttered sarcastically. "Did you really sleep on the floor?" He winced again.

"I was trying to forget that. Who told you?" He replied.

"Tseng." Elena muttered. Oh dear. He appeared to have got Elena into serious trouble.

"How mad is he?" Reno asked tentatively. Elena sighed.

"Very. Luckily for you, he's gone to get the damn car." She replied. Reno sagged with relief. "Not that it makes any differenced to me…" She added. Reno walked over.

"What about your Cure?" He asked, taking it from her circlet and placing it in his own. "Cure2." He cast, the familiar green light dancing around Elena for a moment before fading out. He gave her the Materia back. She looked up at him.

"I've still got the headache." She muttered. "But… thanks, Reno." He smiled at her.

"Still hate me?" He asked. Elena thought about it.

"Maybe." She decided eventually. "You got me drunk!" Reno laughed.

"There's a first time for everything." He muttered, before leaning over and kissing her cheek.

"Go away; I can't be mad at you if you do that!" Elena protested, but she smiled anyway. Reno sat beside her on the sofa.

"I don't want you mad at me." He muttered.

"Reno!" Came a yell from the door. Tseng.

"Damn." Reno cursed, standing up and saluting. "Yes, Sir!" He replied, going for the 'good little Turk' approach, considering what Elena had said about his mood.

"Get you goddamn hung-over self over here right now!" He yelled. Reno went as quickly as his legs would let him.

"Here, Sir!" He replied smartly, wishing his head would stop aching.

"Reno, do you have any idea of how much trouble you've caused?" Tseng asked, an exasperated/angry expression on his face. It made him look scary. Wutians apparently did that look very well.

"No, Sir!" Reno replied smartly. Answering back with Tseng in this sort of mood was also known as job suicide.

"Reno, sometimes I just don't know what to do with you…" Tseng said in despair. "Ah, I'd shout at you but poor Elena has a hangover. I'll yell at you later." He threatened, before turning and walking out. Reno turned to see Elena holding her ears with a pained expression on her face.

"He's not happy." She pointed out needlessly, rubbing her head. "And I still hate you." She added.

"Hey, Tseng shouted, not me!" he countered. Elena shook her head.

"It's your fault I'm like this." She muttered miserably. He walked back over to her.

"What do you think Esuna'll do?" He asked. She shook her head.

"Try it…" She muttered, waving a hand in despair. "It's in my circlet." He took the Materia from her and equipped it.

"Esuna." He whispered, and Elena glowed white. She shook her head once it cleared.

"It's gone! Oh, Reno, I love you!" She declared, jumping up and kissing him passionately. He smiled as she broke away.

"Good." He declared. "It means I can kiss you." Which he did.

Five minutes later, Reno was in Tseng's office, feeling a little nervous. Well, very scared would be more accurate.

"I'm not due to go on a mission, Sir…" He mumbled tentatively.

"No, Reno, but things can come up suddenly! And, Elena…" Tseng replied.

"Er… she drank it, Sir. And I appreciate that these things happen, but thee are plenty of other Turks…"

"Yes, Reno, but you are one of my best, as much as I hate to admit it. And Elena would never have drunk that disgusting stuff you call drink if you hadn't persuaded her!" Tseng yelled at Reno, who cowered slightly. Tseng was scary when he got mad.

"Well, Sir, I…" Reno couldn't think of what to say. Tseng could do that to people.

"I swear, if I ever catch you doing that again…" Tseng let the unspoken threat hover.

"Sir, not even on my day off?" Reno replied hopelessly. He knew he'd lost.

"I really couldn't care less what you do to yourself as long as it doesn't affect your work, but I know that Elena abstains from drinking for the very reason that made her out cold on the floor last night! For God's sake, Reno, at least give her a break!"

If Reno didn't know better, he'd have sworn that was favouritism.

"I'll try, Sir." He replied, trying not to show fear in his voice. He'd be just screwed if that happened.

"You'd better." Tseng said threateningly. "And speaking of sudden missions…" Reno groaned. "You're going to Mideel with Elena and Rebecca. I've been asked by the WRO…" That meant Reeve. Damn, and Rebecca! "To assist with the preparations for the new oil well they are experimenting with. Apparently the residents aren't too happy." Reno laughed.

"Crowd control. Got it, Sir." He replied. Tseng nodded.

"I'd prefer no deaths, if it's possible." He added, and Reno nodded.

"Yes, Sir! I'll tell 'Lena, Sir." He replied. Tseng nodded again.

"And Rebecca. Oh, and Cid's kindly offered to lend you another ride, since we've got no transport and it's Reeve." He added. Reno nodded, saluted and walked out, breathing a huge sigh of relief when he was out of earshot. Crowd control in Mideel wasn't so bad… he just wish Rude would get back. As much as he loved Elena, it just wasn't the same without his partner. He walked quickly back to the common/that blue does not go with that green room. Elena was still there, finishing her coffee.

"I'm never drinking again." She declared to the world, before turning to Reno. "Got that?" Reno nodded.

"Tseng says we're going to Mideel." He informed her. Elena looked confused.

"Just us?" She asked. Reno shook his head quickly.

"Rebecca too." He replied, wincing when he saw the look on Elena's face. Reno knew all too well that Elena hated her. He wondered if Tseng did? He nearly cursed when he realised he was going to have a jealous Elena for the whole trip. Rebecca always flirted with him. Damn, damn and double damn. He always ignored Rebecca (He used to hold strictly to the 'never date a co-worker' rule- that had gone out of the window, but he could still ignore Rebecca) and she knew it, which made her try harder every time.

"Why Rebecca? Why?! Is he punishing me?" Elena wailed. Reno sighed.

"I don't think he knows, to be honest." He replied. But come on, the quicker we go, the sooner we get back, and the less time you have to spend with her." Reno said in a soothing voice, trying to calm the wailing Elena down.

"What about you?!" She wailed at Reno. "She's always flirting with you! I'm not blind, you know!" She screamed. Reno put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"And I ignore her. She gets on my nerves." He told Elena, who didn't look convinced.

"I bet." She muttered, but at least she wasn't hysterical any more. Reno looked hurt. "Oh, come on!" Elena said. "I know exactly how much you used to get around!" Reno was glad she'd said 'used to'. That meant she trusted him, which meant a lot.

"I'll go and tell her, you go and wait out-" There was a noise that sounded like a landing airship outside. "Go wait in the airship." Reno changed hastily. Elena's eyes widened.

"Cid again?" Reno nodded, seeing the look in her eyes. She hated Cid, he swore and smoked.

"It's a favour for Reeve, who commissioned this." He told her. She nodded and ran off to pack. Reno sighed. Now for the tricky part… Rebecca.

Reno knew exactly where to find Rebecca. The training area, sharpening her shooting skills (not that she needed to.) He had to yell loudly to get her attention, and she put down her specially-customised shotgun and walked over to Reno. Her dark blonde hair was tied back, as usual, and there was an evil look in her dark brown eyes.

"Hi Reno." She purred. Reno sighed and resigned himself to a long journey. "What brings you down here?" She was so obvious it was laughable.

"We've got a mission…" He muttered resignedly. Rebecca's eyes lit up.

"You don't sound too happy? Is it just us?" She asked, leaning towards him. He tried not to shudder.

"No. Elena too." The disappointment in Rebecca's face was very visible.

"And I was hoping it'd be just us two…" She muttered. Reno shook his head.

"'Fraid not. Meet us in the airship. Don't be late." He warned, before turning sharply and walking out. She was so… so… so damn flirty. He walked quickly out to the airship, determined not to have to speak to her again until he absolutely had to. "Think of Elena, think of Elena," he repeated under his breath. What made it worse was that Rebecca was actually quite good looking, too. Damn. Ignore it. He made his way up the plank that lead on to the airship, and was immediately greeted by Elena.

"Let's go before she gets here!" Elena insisted. Reno shook his head reluctantly.

"Sorry, I'm in enough trouble with Tseng as it is." He replied. Elena moaned in annoyance and settled for clinging to his arm. "please don't be clingy, 'Lena." Reno begged. She looked up at him in annoyance and loosened her grip slightly. "Thanks." He thanked her. She gave him a look before turning to watch the horizon like a hawk. Great. He was going to have two women fighting over him. Just what he needed. This really wasn't Reno's day.

Rebecca arrived five minutes later, probably on purpose to see if Reno would wait. Elena scowled at her as she walked up, and Rebecca glared back when she saw that Elena was very much 'with' Reno. He sighed. Not that he hadn't been expecting this, but…

"You're late, Rebecca." He informed her.

"Oh, sorry, Reno." She purred. Elena glared at her. Reno motioned for her to get on.

"Don't do it again." He ordered Rebecca, who brushed past Reno (far too closely, in his opinion) and kept scowling at Elena. "I'll go and see Cid." He whispered to Elena. "Try not to kill each other, OK?" Elena scowled.

"I can't promise anything." She replied, reluctantly letting go of Reno's arm as he walked off in the direction of the cockpit, determined not to look at Rebecca. He was pretty sure he knew what she'd be doing anyway. He reached the cockpit quickly.

"Let's go, please." He told Cid. The despair was clear in his voice.

"The quicker the &&$)& better, hmm?" Cid replied, pulling a few levers. "We're off. And don't you so much as think about touching the controls, you little &$(&, understood?" Reno nodded, reluctantly.

Elena felt the floor vibrate as the engine started up. Rebecca walked up to her, apparently oblivious of the vibrations.

"You think you can steal my man, think again." She hissed. Elena glared at her.

"He's mine, you little £$, so hands off!" She replied, with more venom in her voice than she'd known she could have. Rebecca laughed.

"You wish." She replied, and evil look in her eyes. Elena's glare intensified.

"If you didn't realise you're blind." She spat. "So stay away!" Rebecca gave her a condescending look.

"I'll have him. He's only with you temporarily." She replied airily. Elena noticed her hand was straying to her gun. Elena spat some very insulting words at her.

"You dare make a move on him-" Rebecca pulled her gun.

"I'll have him." She repeated. Elena raised her hands, ready to fight.

"Put the damn gun down." She spat. Rebecca laughed.

"Not likely." She replied, about to fire. For the millionth time Elena wondered why she had hardly any attacking Materia

"Barrier! Bolt!" Elena yelled, both stopping the bullet and striking Rebecca, who dropped her gun with a yell, before launching herself at Elena, who fought with everything she had. (Which was a lot, since she fought with her fists)

Reno heard Rebecca's yell from the cockpit, and he swore. Cid looked impressed with the 'quality' of his language.

"What is it?" Cid asked gruffly, not taking his eyes from the controls.

"The girls." Reno muttered in despair. "I swear… I'm going back." He told Cid, turning and running from the cockpit.

"Bolt2!" Elena yelled. "Take that, you little £$!"

"Fire2!" Rebecca yelled back, giving as good as she got. Reno skidded to a halt on the deck in horror as he watched them.

"Elena! Rebecca! Calm down!" He yelled. They both stopped and turned to look at him. They also kept shooting dirty glances at each other, and Elena smoothed down her very creased shirt. "Honestly…" Reno muttered. Rebecca sidled up to him, causing protests from Elena.

"You know you like me more." She said in a seductive voice. Reno pushed her away.

"Sorry, no." He replied. "I'm with Elena. Shove off." Looking murderous at being rejected, Rebecca backed off a little.

"This isn't over." She muttered threateningly in Elena's ear before sauntering off down the deck away from them. Reno shook his head in despair, and Elena walked up to him, trying to sort her hair out at the same time.

"She shot at me!" Elena complained. Reno put his head in one hand.

"You're both behaving like children." He muttered, which made Elena give him a murderous look. He pulled her close to him and ran a hand through her hair. "The only difference is it's damn hot when you do it." He told her. She laughed and tried to uncrease her jacket. Reno pulled her hand away with his spare hand. "Don't." He told her. "You look just fine like that." She laughed and nodded.

"Whatever you say…" She mumbled, leaning her head against him. Hell, it was better than her being clingy! He put one arm around her, the other hand still fiddling with her hair.

"I'd always choose you over her. Always." Reno reassured Elena. (Not that she needed reassuring).

"I love you…" She murmured, almost in a trance. Well, it didn't look like he'd be moving for a while…

When they arrived in Mideel, Cid came to fetch them, a very angry Rebecca with him. He found them both on a sofa, with Reno muttering in Elena's ear.

"Get the hell up, lovebirds." He told them. "We're here. Now get the hell off my &$$ ship!" Reno got up, with Elena protesting a little before doing likewise.

"Cheers, Cid." Reno thanked him as he walked past.

"Whatever." Cid replied, lighting up a cigarette. Elena gave him a disgusted look, then threw an evil one at Rebecca, not letting go of Reno. He sighed, but he didn't try to remove her. He was quite happy for her to be there. This didn't please Rebecca much, and Reno hoped that he would be separate from the two of them, or he'd never get any sleep… they walked off the ship and into the jungle just outside Mideel. Reno could see the newly-built houses in the distance, and he headed towards them, followed closely by Rebecca and even closer by Elena. When they finally reached the town, Reeve was there to greet them.

"Long time no see, Reeve." Reno greeted, waving his free hand. "How's the WRO coming?" Reeve shrugged, shaking Reno's offered hand.

"We're doing fine." He replied. "But the crowd round here aren't happy about our plans." He motioned towards the various buildings, and a rather large crowd outside a construction site. "We've told them it's better than Mako, but they aren't having it…"

"Who discovered the oilfield?" Reno asked, interested. The machines used to pump it up were new tech. Reno liked new tech. He also liked to take it apart.

"Barret Wallace." Reeve replied. Reno did a double take.

"What, AVALANCHE Barret?" He asked. Reeve nodded. "Well, I never. Is he here?" Another nod from Reeve. "great." Reno sighed. "I hope he's forgiven us for the… er… little incident from a while back…" Reeve laughed.

"He'll forgive you, I'm sure." He replied. "Come and see the tech." Reno's eyes lit up at the mention of tech, and Elena rolled her eyes. Boys and their tech… honestly. "Follow me." Reeve walked over towards the construction site, followed by Reno and, obviously, the girls. Elena wasn't letting Reno go any time soon. As they approached, the crowd started yelling loudly. Reno made some hinting gestures with his Materia-loaded Nightstick and the ones nearby quickly subsided. Reeve gave a glance to the crowd in mild surprise, before noticing Reno's Nightstick. He shrugged and carried on, waving to someone on-site before ducking under the security tape, closely followed by Reno and the girls. "Barret, over here!" Reeve yelled, and he came over.

"Hey Barret." Reno greeted. Barret shook his hand.

"Been a while" He greeted. "And we ain't fighting!" Reno smiled.

"No. quite the opposite." He replied. Maybe some people could be forgiving, unlike certain Materia-stealing Ninjas… the crowd started chanting something along the lines of 'no oil!' and whatever Barret said next was drowned out by the noise.

"Shut the hell up!" Reno yelled, waving his Nightstick in the air and 'accidentally' pressing the activation button for its electrical surge. A jolt of electricity shot into the sky above him. Needless to say, the noise subsided extremely quickly. "Please repeat that, Barret." Reno requested. Barret shrugged.

"I'm surprised the Shinra're agreeing to this." He repeated. Reno shrugged.

"It's only 'cause we're being paid." Reno replied. Reeve nodded. Reno noticed for the first time that Reeve had his little cat robot standing next to him. Where had that come from? Reeve noticed him looking at it.

"Yes, I've still got him." Reeve said with a smile. "He comes in useful on occasions." Reno nodded. After all, robots could go places humans couldn't. In fact, it had been an original model of that cat that had originally turned the Temple of the Ancients into the Keystone… crushing itself in the process, but hey. It was a robot. "And it's kinda like a permanent part of my life now. Ever since…" He trailed off. Reeve had been kicked out of Shinra after the WEAPON attack on Midgar, and had helped defeat Sephiroth with that 'little cat'. It was quite rightly a treasured possession. "Anyway… to business." Reeve added, suddenly in full blown business mode. Reno nodded.

"Is it just crowd control?" He asked. Reeve shrugged.

"Hopefully." He replied. "But, you know, it depends on the crowd…" Reeve, being formerly of Shinra, knew all the terms. 'Crowd control' meant 'get rid of the audience' and occasionally meant 'really get rid of the damn audience', or in other words, kill them.

"I can live with that." Reno replied, then he turned to the girls (not that he had to turn far). "You ok with that?" He asked them. Elena nodded, still with a hand on his arm, and Rebecca took some time off from glaring at Elena in hatred to nod as well, as much as it pained her to agree with Elena on anything. When the crowd tentatively started up again with the chanting, Reno waved his Nightstick again in a 'hinty' way.

"I could just cast Silence on the lot of them." Rebecca suggested.

"I could, Reno." Elena added. Reno sighed.

"Well…" He started.

"Not her." Elena whispered in a threatening tone. If she hadn't got hold of his arm, he would have backed away.

"I'll do it." He decided, to prevent any arguments, and 'borrowed' Elena's Materia for a second. "Silence!" He yelled, and the crowd suddenly found that they couldn't speak. They were going to protest about that too, when they remembered that they couldn't. The crowd began to dissipate, presumably to look for Echo Screens.

"Cheers." Reeve thanked him, as Reno gave Elena her Seal Materia back. Elena shot a look at Rebecca, presumably to say 'ha-ha, he chose my Materia'. Reno sighed.

"No problem." He replied. "Shall we stay on site?" Reeve glanced at the sun, which was almost set.

"No, I think we're done for today." Reeve replied. "Just head off to the inn." Reno nodded, turning.

"Come on, you two." He told them. They were both all too happy to follow Reno to the inn. To be honest, he was starting to get a little tired of their 'Reno's mine!' fight. At least they had toned it down to simply glaring at one another. Reno had a sudden thought, and fervourently hoped that there were more than two rooms.

When they reached the inn, it turned out that there were only two rooms. Just his luck. He couldn't put those two in the same room if he wanted to wake up in the same place (presuming he got to sleep, of course. They were fighting over him) and he couldn't choose one of them, that'd be favouritism… but, then again…

"I'll go with Elena." He decided. The look on Rebecca's face would have killed if she'd had half the chance. Reno could practically feel heat on his face. Elena's face lit up.

"Thanks, Reno!" She replied. Reno laughed, thinking about what she would have said a few months ago (namely, 'HELL NO!')

"Sure, 'Lena." He said, turning away from them and walking off towards the rooms. On reflection, maybe he shouldn't have left those two alone… he was back in there a couple of seconds later trying to prise an extremely angry Rebecca from Elena's wall. "For God's sake, grow up!" He yelled. They both gave him angry looks, Elena because she'd been mature and hadn't fought back (because she'd won) and Rebecca because he was making her look like a fool in front of Elena. "Come on!" He said to Elena, as she let down her Wall. Rebecca glared at Elena. It was the sort of glare that promised extreme pain in the near future. The receptionist gave Reno an understanding look and politely requested that Rebecca followed her. She did so reluctantly, still fuming. Elena gave Reno a look that made him go all fuzzy inside.

"Thanks, Reno." She muttered, tracing a finger up his arm. He smiled.

"I said it'd always be you…" He whispered back. They walked slowly, arms linked, towards their room.

"Reno…" She muttered as they reached the door.

"Hmm?" He replied, while fumbling one-handed with the key, the other hand being occupied by Elena's. He unlocked the door a few seconds later. "Bingo." He muttered.

"Why do you like me?" Elena asked suddenly, catching Reno off guard.

"Oh…" He started. "Like or love? They're different things." He asked. Elena's eyes widened.

"You love me…" She muttered, slightly surprised. Reno looked offended.

"I wouldn't be with you if it didn't." He replied. Elena snorted with laughter.

"Yeah, right." She said. "I know what you were like." Past tense. Wow.

"Were…? You trust me, then." He muttered. She nodded, running a hand through his hair.

"Of course." She told him. "I know you well enough… for that." She replied. He suddenly surprised her by picking her up, and she cried out in shock. "Reno!" She protested. He carried her over to the nearest piece of furniture, which happened to be a sofa. He put her down and sat next to her. "Reno!" She repeated in frustration. He laughed.

"Know me well enough…" He repeated, teasing her.

"You're impossible." She decided, but she didn't back away when Reno leaned in and kissed her passionately. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and willingly returned his kiss.

"Elena…" He whispered when they broke apart. She smiled and put a finger on his lips.

"Don't." She replied, her voice barely audible. He laughed softly and kissed her again. Elena moved her hand slowly down his neck, making him shiver with pleasure. Really, he should have had a more serious relationship before… his rather numerous previous encounters had never been anything like Elena… although, he doubted anything could be.

"I love you." He whispered in her ear, and he meant it. He really did. She smiled at him and moved her hands to his front, under his jacket in a very hinty way. Reno laughed and let her take it off him. She was being very attentive today… the reason was rather obvious: Rebecca. Not that Reno was complaining… he idly brushed a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. She did look lovely tonight… well, when he thought about it, she looked lovely every night.

"You never said why you love me…" She reminded him. Reno considered it, still playing with her hair.

"You're beautiful." He replied, making her blush. "And I love your personality." He added. Beauty wasn't everything. You couldn't hold a conversation with it, usually. Not that it had ever bothered Reno before, but still. Elena was different.

"Thanks." She thanked him. He smiled.

"It's true, no need to thank me." He replied. She laughed and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Stop it." She insisted, running her hand down his neck. He caught her fingers with his hand, bringing her hand to his mouth and kissing it. She smiled at him, one of those looks appearing in her eyes. "Want to lose the shirt?" She asked. Reno was mildly shocked for a second at how forward she was being, before remembering that Rebecca was in the same building. He shrugged.

"Why not?" He replied mischievously. She grinned and started undoing the buttons. (Well, the ones that were done up. An amazing four out of a possible eight.)

"Scruff…" She muttered under her breath. He laughed.

"What do you expect?" He replied. "I don't bother with that stuff. It ain't worth it." Elena laughed.

"I'm surprised Tseng doesn't make you." She replied. Reno shrugged.

"He used to try." He informed her. She shook her head in despair, and undid the last button. Reno was quite happy for her to get rid of it. He liked the feel of her touch on his skin. He leaned over and kissed her again. Looked like he was in for a long night…

Reno awoke the next morning with the dawn. He'd been a Turk for so long, he'd trained himself to do it, if he had to. The fact that he'd reverted to instinct… he wasn't fully awake. He turned around, his memory of the previous day still fuzzy with sleep…

Elena. God damn it. Elena. He reached out to her, and whispered her name.

"Hmm?" She queried sleepily. "'S not morning, is it?" She murmured. Reno silently cursed himself.

"Elena… sorry." He whispered. She sat up, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

"Reno…" She muttered, taking his outstretched hand. "Don't be sorry…" He stopped himself from replying, and kissed her hand.

"I love you." He told her. A simple statement, but enough for her. Still half asleep, she reached up to his face with her hand, murmuring unintelligibly. He ran a hand through her hair, and kissed her. Well, he was awake, even if she wasn't. they spent a few minutes together like that, Elena waking up properly only after about five minutes.

"Oh God, Mideel." She muttered eventually. Reno laughed.

"Properly awake, then?" He asked. She shot him a 'what do you think?' look, but smiled at the same time. "At least it's only crowd control…" He muttered, swinging himself out of bed and put his feet on the floor. Elena mumbled something in response that Reno couldn't quite make out. He wandered over to the sofa and pulled his shirt on, looking a little concerned about the creases. Ah well. He'd live. He turned to look at Elena… she was fully clothed, staring out of the window to the town below, her beautiful hair reflecting the sunlight…

"Hurry up then." Elena told him, not looking round. "It's quite late already." Reno glanced at his wristwatch. 7:30am was not late. Not by most normal people's standards. Well, he was a Turk. He shrugged and pulled on his jacket, which was even more creased than his shirt. He grimaced at the state his clothes were in. You should never, ever sleep in your trousers…

Reno and Elena both turned as there was a loud hammering on the door.

"Get the hell up!" Came Rebecca's voice from the other side.

"We are." Reno answered, amused. "No need to yell." Rebecca came storming in, fuming.

"I hate you!" She yelled, looking at Elena.

"Oh, and all this time I thought you cared." Reno said, deliberately misdirecting her comment. Elena tried hard not to laugh.

"N… not you, Reno." She said in a strangled voice. "Her." Elena smiled sweetly.

"Really, Rebecca, that's not a very nice thing to say." Reno scolded her like she was a child. Rebecca's hands shook with rage.

"Just… just get ready." She muttered eventually, finally realising that she'd lost. The fact that it was against Elena made it all the worse. She spun around and stormed out, one hand on her shotgun. Reno and Elena watched her go, and then simultaneously burst out laughing.

At noon, Reno was sat lounged against one of the big construction machines, which had stopped for lunch. He was watching the crowd. They were silent, having taken the hint from his demonstration of his Nightstick's powers yesterday, but most of them looked like troublemakers. One or two of them were certainly giving him looks. They came in on the scale at 'I don't like you', just above 'I'm going to be rallying my mates and then you'll hear about this'. Reno sighed and took a bite of his sandwich. Chicken and mustard. Oh yes. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and waved as Reeve walked up to him, carrying a sandwich and… Cait Sith.

"They don't look too bad." He remarked. Reno nodded.

"That'll jinx it, though." He remarked in reply. Reeve simply nodded, and they both turned to watch the crowd.

"What's this I hear about you and Elena?" He asked suddenly. Reno gave him a look.

"Did you hear it from Rebecca?" He asked. Reeve nodded, looking amused. Reno guessed there had been a lot of insults involved. "Well… we're together." He admitted. Reeve looked shocked.

"I thought it was just her." He remarked. Reno shrugged.

"She's jealous." He told him. Reeve was about to reply when something in the crowd caught Reno's eyes. Silver and green. A weapon, with Materia… he held up a hand to Reeve. He searched the crowd for the owner of the weapon. He didn't have to search for long…

"Bolt2!" Cried a deep voice, and lightning lashed down from the sky and onto the unsuspecting crowd. Reno swore loudly, grabbing his walkie-talkie and calling for Elena and Rebecca.

"Trouble in my area!" He yelled. After they answered, he charged towards the crowd. Elena ran up to Reeve soon after.

"What's wrong?" She yelled over the noise. Reeve struggled to make his voice heard.

"Materia caster in the crowd! Bolt2!" He told her. She nodded, and didn't move.

"I'll be your bodyguard! Rebecca and Reno can handle it!" She replied, yelling above the crowd. A panicked crowd of this size was very, very loud. The sound of casting could be heard from the direction Reno had run off into… and it soon became apparent that someone had cast Ice. Elena's walkie talkie suddenly crackled into life.

"I need some help here, 'Lena!" Reno's voice said. "Something long range, and good, preferably!" He added.

"I'll get right on it." Elena replied, sliding her gun out of its holster, and motioning for Reeve to pass his over. He did so, and she proceeded to pick up the walkie talkie again. "Which ones?" She asked.

"They're in green!" Reno yelled back, and she heard him swear as the sound of gunfire came over the com. Elena shrugged and shot two green-clad people in the head. No time to think… Several green-clad people began running towards them. Elena shot them down, but… by heck, there was a lot of them!

"There's too many! I'm going to summon!" Elena yelled to Reno. His reply was lost in a buzz of static and Reeve backed away as she yelled "Leviathan!!" At the top of her voice. The green-clad people paused, and Reno looked over to her position from where he was.

"Leviathan?! Elena, what the hell are you thinking?!" He yelled as the giant water serpent appeared in Elena's place. How in the name of Holy was he supposed to hide from that thing?! It turned and sent a giant wave of water rushing towards the oncoming people, and Reno turned and ran in Reeve's direction as quickly as he could, narrowly avoiding the giant tsunami. When he reached Reeve, he was surprised to see a faint outline of Elena still there… she was trying to make it only attack the people in green!

"She's got a powerful summon there." Reeve observed as the serpent jetted down fleeing people with water jets. Reno nodded.

"She's getting me back for summoning Bahamut on her." He muttered in reply as the giant serpent shimmered and disappeared form view, and Elena returned, panting for breath.

"That… enough… for you?" She gasped, practically falling on Reno, who kept her up.

"More than enough." He replied. "Have you got life?" She shook her head. Rebecca ran up just then.

"What the hell was that for?!" She demanded. She was very wet, obviously she had only just avoided Leviathan's attack.

"Reno said…" She muttered. Rebecca looked furious.

"Oh, I just bet he did!" She yelled. "You quite happily do whatever the hell he tells you!" Reno gave her a look.

"There's no need for that." He cautioned her. "Do you have Life?" She shook her head. "Great…" He muttered, before having a thought. He gently rested Elena on the ground, before stepping away and saying "Phoenix!" He shimmered out of view as the magnificent, fire-red bird descended from a tiny yellow egg, its radiance extending out from the wings and washing over the crowd, reviving anyone that posed no threat to Reno. Several townspeople got up, groaning, but there were a few who were beyond rescue, and who quickly disintegrated into the Lifestream as Phoenix disappeared again, its purpose fulfilled. Reno shimmered back into vision.

"You… have… Phoenix…" Elena muttered through gritted teeth. Reno turned to look at her.

"It was a present." He replied. Elena's eyes widened.

"From…?" She suggested. Reno sighed.

"Gun." He muttered. Elena's eyes narrowed.

"Why did she give you Phoenix?" She questioned. Reno sighed.

"I'm not sure. I didn't ask for it." He replied. "Hell, I was surprised to get anything from her. She never really liked me." He added. Elena relaxed, slightly reassured, but with some doubt still lingering in her eyes.

"If you insist." She replied, getting up from the ground and walking up to him, noticing his wet hair. "Did I get you wet?!" She muttered, worried. The look on Rebecca's face made Reeve burst out laughing.

"Excuse me!" She yelled, turning and storming off back to the inn. Reno and Elena watched her go.

"Do you still need us here?" Reno asked. Reeve shook his head slowly.

"I think it's safe to say Elena got the lot." He murmured, amused. "I doubt there'll be any more protests after that." Reno smiled slightly. Elena simply shook her head, still watching the direction Rebecca had stormed off in.

"Call us if you need us." Reno said, taking out his phone and putting in Tseng's number. It was just typical of the Wutian that he picked up almost immediately.

"This better be Reno." He said as a greeting.

"Yes, Sir." Reno replied. "We're heading back… and… I have a lot to report…" Tseng made a noise of acknowledgement.

"Give my regards to Reeve. I'll give Cid a call." He replied and hung up.

"Tseng says 'hi'." Reno informed Reeve, who nodded, amused. He and Tseng had been friends of a sort when Reeve had been in the Shinra. "I'll go tell Rebecca to pack…" he muttered, and Elena nodded as he walked off to try and find Rebecca.

When he finally caught up with her she was trying unsuccessfully to wring her hair dry.

"Damn Leviathan… damn Elena…" She was muttering under her breath as Reno walked in.

"Rebecca?" Reno queried, and she spun round to face him, letting her long hair go.

"Hi, Reno." She muttered. "Come to help me get dry?" She tried hopefully. Reno shook his head, mildly amused by her persistence.

"Sorry, Rebecca, no." He replied. "Cid's coming shortly to pick us up." She looked dejected. Whether it was because Reno had rejected her (again), she was still wet or she would have to suffer Cid Reno couldn't tell. "Here." He threw her a towel. She scowled at him as her walked out. Reno hoped that Cid would arrive soon… and he'd have Rebecca and Elena at each other's throats either way… he sighed and sat down to wait.

Cid, surprisingly, didn't take that long to arrive. Reno had left the two girls alone (probably unwisely) and was up in the cockpit with Cid.

"Show me how it works!" He insisted. Reno loved driving things. Cid reluctantly agreed and within five minutes Reno knew nearly every control in the airship (he was a fast learner). He also learned soon after that the engine making funny noises was a "&£(($ damn disaster" and Cid stormed off down to the engine room with the instructions that Reno was "not to £$& touch a $£? damn thing"… or else. Reno waited until he could no longer hear Cid swearing before turning to the controls. cid had it set on autopilot. How silly of him. He obviously didn't think Reno could drive! Well… he didn't have to drive to experiment. The speed setting certainly wasn't on auto. He twiddled a few dials that he happened to know adjusted the speed. Not much happened. Reno could hear that the engine noises had stopped, however. Maybe the speed settings were on high… Reno bent down below the cockpit and inspected the collection of wires. One of them controlled speed… he shrugged and took a penknife with a nasty selection of blades out of his pocket, and proceeded to cut the green wire (he'd had enough of green for one day). The airship lurched forwards, gaining speed. Reno had a sudden thought that of that was the brakes; they wouldn't be slowing down… ah, too late for regrets. That was one of the main reasons why no sane Turk would let him drive the car. In fact, no-one who knew him would let him drive anything but the helichoppers, and Reno took great pride in his helichoppers. That was why several people had been fired after one had been left out in the rain. The Highwind continued to lurch forwards at increasing speeds. Reno looked for the brakes. He was rather disappointed to find that they were flashing with the "broken" light. That meant he'd have to find another way to stop… and an explanation for Cid… the man in question walked in through the door soon after, looking furious.

"The brakes have gone!" Reno yelled. He was glad he'd put the penknife away. Cid swore violently and started hitting buttons. Reno spared a moment to glance out of the window. He'd managed to coax some speed out of the old bucket! cid gave up hitting buttons and turned to the intercom.

"This is Cid." He growled. "I want both of you girls to get yourselves up here quick-time or suffer the £$& consequences!" He spat before flinging the mike down and returning to button-mashing. Reno eventually saw a pattern to his hitting of buttons… but no slowing in the speed… Reno had pretty much been counting on Cid's ability to mend flying things. Both girls came running in about three minutes after Cid's intercom call.

"What's up with the ship!" Rebecca cried, as Elena shot an 'I bet you're involved' look at Reno, who held up his hands, protesting innocence.

"The brakes went funny!" He yelled over the rapidly increasing noises of protest from the airship. Cid swore violently.

"Summat's chewed the brake wire clean through!" He told them, before cursing again and returning to quick button-mashing in an attempt to slow down the rapid gain of speed the airship was suffering form.

"Can you fix it?" Reno yelled. cid shrugged, and swore violently when the airship jerked around and threw all of them off their feet.

"We may have to bail!" Cid shouted, before saying a stream of loud swearwords involving what he was going to do to rodents who chewed his 'beloved Highwind's' wires. Reno winced slightly. Maybe he shouldn't have cut the wire after all… but high speed was so much fun… Reno had never even known the Highwind could go this fast! Another jolt from the Highwind sent Rebecca hurtling into him. Reno yelled in pain and pushed her off him.

"I knew you loved me." Rebecca said sarcastically.

"So you can't stop it?" Reno asked Cid, judiciously ignoring Rebecca's comment.

"Hell no! Not without brakes!" Cid yelled in reply. "Grab a parachute…" Cid muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'Midgar all over again' before grabbing three parachutes and throwing them to the three Turks, who put them on as quickly as possible.

"I know it was your fault." Elena whispered playfully in Reno ear, and he shrugged. He couldn't hide much from her, it seemed.

"Those damn vermin, they get everywhere!" He replied with a smile on his face.

By now Cid had managed to get his parachute on and was doing what looked suspiciously like saying a tearful goodbye to his… was that 'precious baby' Reno had just heard?!

"Come on, Cid, this thing's gonna crash any second!" Reno yelled, and Cid looked up with an expression of annoyance on his face.

"Don't rush me." He yelled before muttering something that probably contained a swearword or two. "I'll open the hatch, and you jump." He instructed. "Whatever you do, don't open the damn parachute until you've counted to three, otherwise it'll get caught in the ship…" He gave them a look. "I trust we can all count to three?" He asked sarcastically. They all nodded, wordlessly. "Good. Then jump. Reno, Elena and Rebecca walked up to the hatch.

"Ladies first." Reno insisted. Elena gave him a look, then pushed him forcefully out of the ship. Reno was so shocked he almost forgot to count. Almost. "One… two… three…" He muttered before pulling the ripcord on his parachute. It opened with a vicious tug, jerking Reno to slow speeds. Elena, Rebecca and Cid quickly caught up and slowed down just as violently when they opened their parachutes. Reno noticed the look of sadness on Cid's face as they watched the Highwind plummet through the sky and, eventually, into the sea with a rather large splash, followed a few seconds later by an explosion of water as the airship exploded.

Reno would be glad when they got home again…

"You did what?!" Tseng yelled at the top of his voice.

"It wasn't… me, Sir…" Reno muttered, trying to avoid looking Tseng in the eye. "It was rodents chewing through the wires." Tseng sighed and sat down at his desk.

"I bet." He muttered. "You're a regular little rodent, Reno." Reno was about to protest before thinking otherwise. This was his boss, after all. And even though that wouldn't normally have mattered, this was his boss angry. Not a man to be crossed if you wanted to wake up whole the next day.

"As you say, Sir." He replied, hoping Tseng wouldn't say any of his suspicions to Cid. Reno did value his life, and he wasn't sure it would be ranking higher than the Highwind if Cid found out.

"I think… I need some time off…" Tseng muttered. "Don't think I'm taking any." He added, seeing a hopeful look in Reno's eye which he quickly tried to remove by looking anywhere but at his boss. Reno decided on floor. That was usually the best bet with Tseng in one of his 'moods'. "And, when Rude returns with our one remaining helichopper…"

"Rude's coming back?" Reno interjected hopefully. It had been a very long time since he'd seen his partner.

"I wouldn't have said it otherwise. Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted…" Reno looked a little sorry, so Tseng continued. "When Rude gets back I want you and Elena to do a little recon for me." he looked at Reno, who looked a little dejected. "Don't give me that look. Rude deserves a break. One mission?"

"I wasn't complaining about being with Elena, Sir," Reno replied, immediately regretting it as he saw the look on Tseng's face.

"I bet," He muttered. "Anyway, you're dismissed. But I expect you back here the minute you hear that helichopper," he ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" Reno replied, saluting smartly in case Tseng was still in his 'mood'. He turned sharply on one foot and sauntered lazily down to the common/that blue does not go with that green room.

"Hey," he greeted Elena with a wave. She smiled and waved back.

"How mad was he?" She asked. Reno shrugged.

"He was OK, actually," Reno replied. "He says Rude's coming back." Elena laughed.

"About damn time." She replied. Reno laughed lightly.

"So eager to get rid of me?" He asked her, teasing. Elena went red.

"No, but… he's been away a long time…" she muttered in reply. Reno laughed and put an arm around her.

"I was only teasing you, hon," he reassured her. She went even redder. "And anyway, you're coming on a recon mission with me once Rude gets back. That OK with you?" He asked, knowing the answer. Elena nodded readily. "Good. Now all we need is for Rude to come back…" Reno told her, hinting that he'd need to be kept occupied while they waited. Elena laughed.

"You're impossible, Reno," she told him.

It took two days before Rude actually returned. Elena and Reno were sitting in the common/that blue does not go with that green room when they heard the sounds of the returning helichopper.

"Rude!" They both cried at once, getting up, startling two of the recruits in the room. They rushed out to the helipad, where they were greeted by Tseng.

"That took you a while!" He shouted over the noise of the chopper.

"We got up here as soon as we heard!" Reno argued back. Tseng shrugged, not wanting to waste his voice arguing over the chopper. The rotor blades swished to a slow halt, and the door was slid open, revealing a tired looking Rude. He raised a hand and waved, but didn't say anything. Tseng stepped up and slammed the helichopper door shut.

"Welcome home," he greeted formally.

"Rude, buddy! About damn time you got your ass back here!" Reno cried, bear-hugging his unfortunate partner, who looked rather worried. Elena had her hands over her mouth and was trying not to laugh. She wasn't very successful.

"Get off, Reno!" Tseng ordered. "You may celebrate Rude's return later… due to the lateness of his arrival I need the two of you to leave. Now," he ordered. Reno let go of Rude before hastily scrambling to attention beside Elena.

"Sir, yes Sir!" They both cried, before bursting into a fit of giggles. Tseng shook his head.

"Why do I employ you morons?" He wondered, walking off down the hall. "NOW!" He shouted as a reminder, and Reno and Elena hurriedly got into the recently vacated helichopper, Reno in the pilot seat. Elena pulled the door shut as Reno started up the engine, and the helichopper hummed slowly back into life, the blades turning slowly and picking up speed. Reno eased the chopper off the ground, and they were airborne.

"Got the map?" He asked Elena, who nodded and pulled it out of her jacket as proof. "Time to do some navigating then, hon," he told her. She nodded, and they started on their way.

Reno hummed absentmindedly as he guided the helichopper towards their destination. He spotted Elena with her hands over her ears because he was badly out of tune, and he stopped. She lowered her hands slowly, looking relieved when she realized he'd actually stopped. He gave her a thumbs-up and she grimaced.

"Don't do that again," she begged.

It took them a full two hours of flying to get to their destination. Reno landed the helichopper outside an empty-looking village.

"You sure it's here?" He asked Elena. She nodded, a bit uncertainly.

"Well, it's the right place on the map…" she started, examining it. Reno shrugged. He trusted her navigation skills. They were a lot better than his, at any rate.

"Got Pre-emptive?" He asked. Once she had nodded, he slid his own into his Nightstick. Some people called him paranoid, but it'd saved his life on more than one occasion. And Reno was pretty sure some of those people who'd called him paranoid were now dead…

After securely locking the helichopper three times… not paranoid, not paranoid at all… Reno and Elena set off into the abandoned-looking village.

"Isn't this place meant to be… occupied?" Elena asked warily as they trod further in. Reno grunted, and Elena lapsed into silence.

They never got further than the middle of the village.

"Stop," Reno ordered when they reached the square. Elena did so. "I think I hear something…" he started, wondering why his Pre-emptive wasn't going off.

That was when the trap was sprung. About a hundred men, dressed in dark green uniform similar to those in Mideel, leapt out at them. Some were on quad-bikes, a few were on chocobos, but most were on foot. Reno swore loudly. "Run!" He yelled at Elena. She didn't need telling twice, and the two of them ran as fast as they could in the direction of the chopper. "Bolt3, Fire3, Bolt3," Reno muttered, casting magic over his shoulder desperately. When one of the men on quads got close to him, he shocked him with his Nightstick and grabbed the bike. Elena was quickly a passenger, but the men had started shooting strange ninja-star type objects at them, and Reno could see more men in front of them. "Looks like it's running over time," he muttered through gritted teeth, barely wincing as a star thudded into his leg. What he hadn't expected was the tank. Swearing loudly, he swerved the bike to avoid crashing into it, and both he and Elena had to jump. The bike went crashing into the tank and exploded. "Start running!" He cried, realizing in annoyance that he couldn't actually do the same himself.

"I can't leave you behind!" She cried to Reno.

"Just go! Or they'll get both of us!" He cried, feeling his heart break at the look on her face.

"I'll come get you," she told him, and started running. Reno turned to face the group of men that now surrounded him.

"Come on! I'm not going down without a fight!" He cried. He was right, and he took down at least 70 before they knocked him out.

"Let's get him away before Mistress gets mad," were the last words he heard as he sank into unconsciousness…

Elena ran with all her might for the helichopper. She received a ninja star in one arm and a bullet in the other for her efforts, but she got there, and did a very non-textbook takeoff. She also took off a few heads with the rotor blades. Gritting her teeth against the pain in her arms, she started to fly it back to base. She knew, from the noises she heard, that it would have a few extra bullet-holes when it landed.

Rude and Shuriken ran out looking worried when she landed, looking worried.

"You're not supposed to be back yet!" Shuriken cried. "And where's Reno… oh, by Holy, your arm!" Elena gritted her teeth and waved it away.

"I need to see the boss. Now," she told them.

"He's in a meeting-" Shuriken started.

"Now," Elena repeated, walking off without paying any attention to them. Shuriken sighed and they both turned to the chopper.

"We'd better sort this thing out, or Tseng'll kill us… and Elena," she told Rude, who nodded, but didn't say anything.

Elena burst straight into Tseng's office without knocking. He was talking to Rufus and a couple of Shinra executives, but he stood up as Elena entered.

"Elena, what the hell do you think…" he started, trailing off when he saw her arms.

"They… got… Reno…" She managed, before collapsing to the floor in exhaustion. Tseng looked at her, concerned, and Rufus eyed her with slightly raised eyebrows.

"Do all your employees do this?" He asked. Tseng gave him a vicious look, before going over to Elena and casting cure on her. She opened her eyes slightly, with a moan.

"Who got Reno? I need to know," Tseng asked her quietly.

"Dark… Green… suits… he has… a locator…" she managed, before falling back into unconsciousness again. Tseng stood up grimly, as shuriken came racing in.

"Sir, I swear we tried, but we couldn't save the chopper," she told him in a rush.

"Get Elena to the Infirmary. When she's awake, we're taking the official one," Tseng told her with finality. She nodded and picked up the unconscious Elena, taking her gently out of the room.

"Tseng, you can't just take my chopper," Rufus pointed out coldly. Tseng turned to him.

"Reno is my best. I am not about to let him go. If you're so worried about it, you come too," he told the President of Shinra, inc. firmly. (If that isn't job suicide, I don't know what is.) Rufus, unusually, merely nodded.

"This. Once," he allowed slowly. Tseng understood his tone, and they both walked out.

When Reno came to he was in a rock-walled room with an eerie green glow on the walls.

Almost like Materia… where am I? He thought, attempting to move and finding that he had been chained to the wall, wrists and ankles. There was also a shooting pain in his leg, and he grunted in pain. He decided stillness would be a better idea. I recognize these rocks… I think…

"So, Turk-boy is awake!" Cried a voice from somewhere above Reno's head. He looked up. His sitting position put him in a bad place if he wanted to escape.

It was the woman from Wutai! Green eyes, dark green clothes… there was no mistaking her face…

"What… do you want with me?" He asked her, wondering why his voice was so hoarse. As far as he knew, it hadn't been that badly abused…

"Good question, my dear Reno," she replied, grinning. "I am Myla. You may call me Ma'am," she instructed.

"No fucking way," he spat back. "Am I going to call anyone 'Ma'am'," he finished. Myla, looking annoyed, smacked him across the face. He didn't flinch, but continued to stare at her. He realized, glumly, that all of his possessions had been removed. Including his Materia, his Nightstick, and the watch Elena had given him for his last birthday. Elena…

"Oh, you will," she assured him in a threatening tone. Reno simply stared at her coldly.

"If you think a Turk is going to be worried by threats-" He started, stopping as Myla let out an insane laugh.

"I don't care what you think, bait," she growled. The word 'bait' made Reno's blood run cold. "I know you were in possession of a locator when we brought you in," Myla continued. Reno looked at her expressionlessly, not letting anything show on his face. "I need you to be alive when they get here… not necessarily in one piece…" She seemed a bit put out when Reno didn't move a muscle, or say a word. Inside, he was worried to the core, but he'd been trained not to let emotions show. And if there was one place that applied, it was here.

I don't want to be the one that draws them here… I don't want Elena hurt…

"Once they get here, you're dead," Reno vowed. It sounded strange coming from a man in chains. Myla laughed.

"We shall see, we shall see…"

"Cure3. Come on, Elena…" Elena heard the voice of the infirmary doctor through the blackness, and she groaned. Trying to open her eyes resulted in fuzzy blackness, so she abandoned it. "Cure3. No? Regen… This better work…" Elena blinked a few times as her vision cleared, before sitting up, rubbing her head slightly.

"Ugh…" she groaned, before realizing where she was and what had happened. "Reno!" She cried, looking wildly around the room.

"Hang on, hang on," the doctor cautioned her in a laughing tone. "Cure3." Elena felt her head clear, her injuries were gone, and she had her energy back.

"Where's Tseng?" She asked the doctor.

"Waiting for you," she replied, smiling. "On the helipad." Elena nodded and swung off the bed, hurrying to make her way there.

Reno's eyes flickered open briefly, and he realized he'd been tranquilized. He could feel a throbbing pain in his arm, so he presumed it had been some sort of dart or injection… Reno glanced around the room without moving, and, once he had made sure there was no-one in the room, cautiously examined his painful arm with his other hand. His fingers ended up with blood on them, but he couldn't feel any obvious wound, and he couldn't feel it bleeding badly, so he left it. Instead, he shifted around into a slightly more comfortable position against the hard rock wall, wondering why he had been left alone. A superficial examination of the wall revealed no cameras but, since he couldn't really see above his head or behind him without causing himself a lot of pain, he didn't dare risk an escape attempt just yet. He'd just have to wait until Myla made a fatal mistake…

"So, our little pet is awake?" Came her voice from out of nowhere, making Reno jump in surprise.

Speakers… I should have guessed… that means there's a camera, too, I bet.

A pneumatic hiss issued from on of the rock walls, and a part of the wall slid away. Clever, Myla, very clever. But I'm not impressed.

"Hello, Reno," Myla greeted. Reno didn't like the look on her face one bit. And she was alone. That wasn't a good sign.

"Coward," he spat back at her. "Leaving me chained up." Myla laughed.

"Like the dog you are, my pet," she told him, making Reno hiss in annoyance. He didn't, however, try to break his chains. He could tell just by looking at them that they were made of Mythril, and he didn't stand a chance of breaking that.

"I am not your pet, woman, nor am I a dog," he spat back. Myla's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I said call me Ma'am," she ordered in a low voice. Reno simply laughed.

"Fuck you," he replied, spitting at her. She twitched in annoyance.

"You'll learn, my pet," she told him dangerously, and Reno's eyes widened slightly as she produced a whip from somewhere on her belt.

"What in hell…" Reno whispered as she advanced towards him. He knew full well what she was going to do, his mind just didn't seem to be able to comprehend it. She knelt down briefly beside him, and Reno could see an array of knives in her belt. For the first time since his capture, a little fear showed on his face.

"By the end of our time together, you'll call me Ma'am," she threatened, standing up, and pressing a button on the wall that Reno hadn't seen earlier. He let out a yelp of shock as the chains moved, forcing him to his feet, hands in the air above his head, like a prisoner. I am a prisoner…

"Think what you like, bitch. I'll never call you Ma'am," he vowed. She smiled slightly.

"We shall see," she replied simply. Reno accompanied that phrase with pain, he'd been tranquilized the last time she'd said it. Myla smiled a sadistic smile, and cracked the whip hard against Reno's chest, causing him to flinch in pain and hiss through his teeth. "I don't think you'll need that shirt," she told him, moving closer. Reno flinched at her touch, and she drew a knife and used it to slowly slice away the few buttons that Reno had done up on his shirt. He hissed in pain as the broken material was pulled out of the welt left by the whip. Myla, a slight smile on her face, traced one finger down her handiwork, making Reno shudder in disgust at her touch.

"Is that the best you can do, Myla?" He taunted once she'd removed her hand. She regarded him coolly, whip in hand.

"You'll be hard to break," she decided, tilting her head slightly.

"Harder than you think, bitch," he spat back. She twitched in annoyance again, and gave him another sharp crack with the whip, leaving a cross-shaped wound in his chest where it met the original welt. Reno hissed slightly as the whip met his skin, but didn't cry out. He was a Turk, after all. Myla smiled and got out a knife, the same one that had originally destroyed his poor shirt.

"How much would you like to bleed, Turk?" She asked him, politely.

"I wouldn't," he spat back, defiantly. Myla sighed.

"Well, we can't always have what we want," she informed him, tracing a slow cut down his chest. Reno didn't even hiss. A wound like that, he could take.

Myla suddenly left without warning and went to the control panel. Reno was puzzled, but he didn't show it. He let out a small cry of pain as his arms were nearly wrenched out of their sockets when the handcuffs moved, his hands ended up level with his waist, and he looked at Myla dubiously.

"Is that it?" he mocked. Myla was a short woman.

She walked back over to him, grinning.

"Oh, no. we've only just begun," she promised him. Reno didn't like the sounds of that one bit. He could already feel blood running down his chest from the vicious whip-welts and the knife wound. Myla took hold of his wrist, laughing as he flinched away from her touch, and carefully drew the knife up his arm, following the line of the vein. She laughed even harder when he actually yelled out slightly, and he moaned in discomfort as he felt the blood flow freely down his arm and onto the floor.

Does she want me to bleed her a flaming river?! He started to feel a little weak, but Myla didn't seem too bothered by the pool of blood on the floor, and instead took his other hand and made a brutal slash across it. He hissed in pain.

"That's my gun hand, bitch," he snarled at her. She laughed.

"Why do you care? You'll never have another opportunity to use a gun," she crowed. Reno paled a little. The prospect of actually dying had never really come up before, but, for the first time in his life, he feared dying. I'm trapped in a small room with a psychopath… great… Myla spun the knife around on her fingers. A little of the blood on it hit Reno, and he flinched slightly. A glance at the floor showed that more of his blood seemed to be pooling around his feet than was left in his body. This worried Reno a little. If she doesn't cure me, I'm actually going to die, he thought with a shudder. "Feeling some discomfort, my pet?" She asked him sarcastically. Reno was shaking due to the blood loss. He spat at her.

"Not as much as you'll be feeling when I'm out of these chains," he retorted violently. This only served to make her laugh.

"You'll never get out, so I need not worry," she assured him confidently.

We'll see about that… he thought, feeling dizzy. His vision was blurring at the edges, but he fought to stay awake. Sleep meant death, and a victory for Myla. He couldn't have that. Despite his good intentions, he couldn't fight the blood, and he started to sink towards unconsciousness…

Myla watched Reno's efforts with a smirk.

"Cure3," she said in an offhand way, and Reno could feel his vision starting to clear. "You're hardy, but not hardy enough," Myla whispered to him, her mouth so close to his ear he could almost feel her teeth biting him. He suppressed a shudder valiantly. As Myla moved away from him, he could hear her footsteps splish - splash in his blood. He had bled her a river… "Will I have to stop you bleeding?" She wondered absently, tracing the blade along the surface of the skin of his left arm, not quite breaking it. "No… you'll survive…" Reno spat at her.

"I'll do more than that, I'll kill you," he vowed fiercely. "Healing me just gives me more strength to do so." Myla laughed aloud when she heard this.

"Do you really think you can break out of Mythril? Do you really think I'd let you out?" She mocked him, pushing the tip of the knife in a little. Reno eyed the trickle of blood absently. He was past caring point. "Do you think you can escape me?" Her voice had become low and dangerous, and Reno hissed and exhaled through clenched teeth as she drove the knife in so hard he could feel it scrape the bone. He actually let out a yell of pain when she twisted the knife so viciously he was afraid she'd sever a nerve, or a vein, or an artery.

"Ah… don't…" he said involuntarily, cursing himself for his brief slip.

"What was that? Don't?" Myla asked gleefully. "you have to beg me… call me Ma'am…" she punctuated each comment with a jab to the shoulder. He cried out slightly in pain, his defenses down because of the unexpected, unprovoked attack. He cried out when he felt a shoulder bone splinter. "you're pathetic, Turk," she told him, ripping the knife down his chest. Her face was red with his blood. "I doubt they're even coming…"

"Elena… won't leave me behind…" he gasped weakly, the sudden flurry of attacks leaving him weak.

"Elena? A girl?" What would a girl want with a wreck like you?" Myla taunted. Reno moaned in pain as she tore open his left upper arm in a fury. "Worthless, pathetic, moaning WRECK!" She screamed, driving the knife into his right hand so hard he felt it go straight through and out the other side.

He screamed. Myla simply laughed and pushed the knife in to the hilt, trying to see if she could make him cry out louder. "She won't come for you," Myla told him in a whisper. "I'm all you've got," she hissed in a low whisper, and she saw a tear run down his cheek.

"No…" He replied. "No… she won't leave me…" He stopped when she twisted the knife, effectively ruining his hand and causing him to scream in agony as nerves were torn in half.

"Call me Ma'am?" She offered. "Ask me to stop?" Reno was crying openly now, unable to hold back tears of pain. He couldn't bear it.

"P-please… please stop… Ma'am…" He begged in a whisper, and the hint of a smile touched Myla's lips.

"I told you you'd break," she whispered in his ear, slowly taking the knife out of Reno's ruined hand, smiling as she saw broken bone. His hand was a mess of blood and broken skin. Reno simply whimpered, scared of her now. The pain in his hand was so intense, he could hardly feel her pull the knife down his lower arm. "You're mine," she told him.

"P-please…" Reno stammered again, too weak to finish. Myla, laughing, reopened the thin scars below his eyes, and licked the blood from his face.

"D-don't…" Reno begged weakly. When Myla looked at him expectantly, he forced himself to swallow his battered pride. "Ma'am…"

"You belong to me. Admit it!" Myla demanded. Reno groaned in pain.

"I-I… belong to you… M-ma'am…" he stammered, broken, weak and bleeding. Myla smiled

"Excellent," she murmured. Reno looked weakly up at her.

"P-please… don't hurt me again… M-ma'am," he begged, not able to stand any more. Myla cocked her head to one side.

"I don't think so," she replied, and Reno let out a strangled cry. He was too white already to go any paler.

"B-but-" he started, somehow finding the energy to flinch away slightly.

"I like the sound of your screaming," Myla told him in a low, dangerous voice, and Reno tried so hard not to whimper, but didn't manage. That was the moment Myla knew he was definitely hers. Smiling, she held the knife at an angle to his chest and pressed it hard against his ribs, grating on the bone. He screamed, loudly. He had lost so much blood, he didn't know where he could find the energy to scream from, but he did. He couldn't take it any more, and he broke down into sobs, tears mingling with the blood running down his face… He was crying crimson tears. Crimson tears of despair, hopelessness…

He had given up, even within himself, of anyone coming for him any more. He had given up on them all, even Elena. His world was only pain, and the giver of it… pain and Myla. He would have done anything she asked, right then, if she would only stop the pain, take even a little away… anything she asked. He was a broken man, and they both knew it.

Myla smiled.

"Well done, Turk," she told him unexpectedly, and Reno looked up, pain in his eyes. "I didn't expect you to survive… but you did," she continued. "I'll leave you for now… I'll even let you watch me kill your friends, how does that sound?" Reno couldn't talk. He didn't have the strength. "I'll be back later, my pet," she told him happily, and thumped a button no the wall that made the handcuffs slide back down to the position they'd been in before she had arrived. He slid down with them, his blood on the wall lubricating his descent. He watched her walk out, leaving him lying there. His eyes narrowed, and he saw her through the haze of pain she had created for him.

"Bi... tch…" he managed, before unconsciousness claimed him.

The helichopper belonging to President Rufus was currently hovering high above the Mythril Marsh, with three of its occupants watching the Midgar Zolom slowly circling below.

"Definitely here?" Tseng asked, shouting above the noise of the chopper.

"It's traced to the mines!" Elena yelled back, a locating device in one hand.

"Land it!" Tseng ordered, and Rude looked at him dubiously.

"What, in the marsh? With that thing down there?" He asked.

"I'll distract it!" Elena offered exuberantly, already taking Materia out of her pocket. Rufus shook his head.

"You are a fool," he told her mildly.

"Get ready to land!" Elena called, and Rude nodded, taking the chopper down to the little patch of land outside the mine entrance. Elena was ready as the Midgar Zolom reared up to attack. "Bolt3!" She cried, frying its head and causing it to veer away in annoyance. When they landed, the Zolom was circling around the marsh again, probably with a large burn mark on its head and feeling very put out.

The group of Turks that made its was carefully into the mines was comprised of Tseng, Elena, Rude, Rebecca, Marcia and, unusually, Rufus.

"This is the stupidest thing you have ever done," the latter informed Tseng in a whisper.

"Whatever you say, Sir," Tseng replied in an annoyed tone of voice.

"I've got a reading! Wow… I never knew the mines went that deep…" Elena murmured. Tseng glanced over at the monitor and raised an eyebrow.

"Someone's been renovating," he commented, giving the walls a cursory glance. "Now, the problem is, how to get in to the new part…"

Reno's eyes flickered open slightly when he heard a commotion outside his cell. He couldn't, from his vantage point, see anyone, so he closed his eyes again, willing unconsciousness back. It didn't come, and he let out a low groan. His hand felt like it was on fire. He didn't dare look at it. His chest, on which his head was currently resting, was bad enough. He really didn't want his boss to see him like this… maybe a more understanding Turk would come in first…

If they ever come. Reno shifted his head slightly, but even that slight movement caused him some pain. He let out a ragged sigh of despair, before his trained ear picked up the sound of gunshots. They've come!

Elena was impressing her boss. She had currently shot 13 people, and was racking up a higher total than even Rufus, who had trained so much with a gun he could shoot his shotgun one-handed. Apparently, no mercy was involved where Reno was concerned.

"You're doing well today, Elena," Tseng commented as she took out another two green-clad soldiers with shots to the head.

"They shouldn't have… taken Reno then," Elena replied in-between shots. Tseng nodded slightly, adding another to his total.

"So… how close are we?" asked an impatient Rufus. He was both shooting and talking at the same time, which was no mean feat considering he was holding a shotgun and not even looking in the direction of those he was shooting. Tseng consulted the monitor Elena was holding by looking over her shoulder.

"Nearly there, Sir," he reassured Rufus, who merely grunted and shot the head off a soldier who threatened to come too close.

"These soldiers… are crap…" he murmured, looking at the piles of bodies in disgust.

"Probably grunt rejects, Sir," Marcia chipped in, kicking one soldier while he was down. Elena, tired of shooting soldiers to hell, kicked the wall in annoyance.

"Flaming…" She started, trailing off as the wall started to open. They had got rid of all the soldiers, and the noise of moving rock filled the silence. Elena darted in the gap as soon as she could.

Reno looked up sadly at the sound of the opening door. Please, not Myla, please, please, not Myla…his heart jumped when Elena came through the gap.

"'Lena…" He managed, coughing at the end of the sentence, a little annoyed to find that he was coughing blood.

"Oh, by Holy… Reno…" She murmured, entranced by the sight of his ruined hand. "What did they do to you!?" At the sound of that, Marcia put her head round the door, and was nearly sick.

"By Holy…"

"What's wrong with him?" Reno heard Tseng's voice. Elena walked slowly towards Reno, and he could hear her footsteps splash in the blood. His blood.

"What happened? She asked softly, lightly touching a wound on his chest. He didn't flinch, but it hurt. The other Turks and Rufus came in, and Tseng's eyebrows shot up at the sight of Reno, and then deepened into a frown when he saw his hand.

"My…la… watch out… for her…" Reno stuttered, collapsing into another coughing fit.

"Myla?" Tseng asked. Elena touched Reno's ruined hand, and he cried out weakly.

"He means me," a voice rang out, and Myla stepped into the room. "I must say, you all walked straight into this…" As every Turk bar Elena slowly aimed their guns at her, Elena lightly held Reno's hand and cast Cure3. he let out a sigh of relief, and his eyes closed briefly.

"Thank you…" He managed, and Elena nearly cried. She got up and turned around to face the woman who had done that to Reno.

"I'll kill you," she vowed. "For doing that to him!" Myla simply laughed.

"I doubt it. I'm no fool…" She started, as six guns fired off at once. "What made you think I was ever really here?" She continued, laughing manically as her body disappeared in a whirl of smoke, leaving a diaphanous column hanging in the air. Tseng and Rufus both simultaneously muttered curses, and Elena turned back to Reno, her jaw set, trying to stop herself pounding the wall in frustration.

"We'll get you home. We'll get you better," she promised Reno, but he was unconscious.

When the chopper landed, there was a crowd of people around the landing pad. Everyone form the senior Turks to the Rookies wanted to find out just what was worth Tseng gambling his job for. Those that knew wanted to see how Reno was doing.

Marcia was first out of the chopper.

"Everybody stand back!" She ordered curtly, and everyone did so. "And… get the rookies out of here…" There was mass grumbling, but the threat of punishment got them all moving. Thee were whispers going around the crowd now. "I need a path through to the door!" She ordered as Tseng got out, looking grim.

"Get them away," he ordered, and she nodded.

"Move it people! Out of the way!" She cried, and the Turks slowly dissipated.

"Run down to the Doctor and tell her to get every curing Materia she has, and to expect Elena and I down there soon," Tseng added, and Marcia nodded and set off at a run.

The Doctor looked up when she came in.

"What's the rush?" She asked.

"Bed ready, all your Curing Materia, expect Tseng and Elena with Reno," Marcia gasped out. The Doctor nodded, and hurriedly arranged a bed before going to the cupboard, taking out a few pieces of Materia and slotting them into an armband. A few seconds later, a grim looking Tseng and a pale Elena arrived, carrying a stretcher with Reno on it. The Doctor's hands flew to her mouth when she saw the state Reno was in.

"It's a good job you brought him back!" She exclaimed, looking horrified when she saw the state of his hand.

"He was worse when we found him," Tseng told her bluntly, placing the stretcher down on the bed. "I'll leave Elena with you… I'm sure you'll need some help. Give Marcia a call," and here he indicated the worn-out Turk, "if you need any extra help. I expect," he added, looking at the room's occupant's threateningly. "Him to be back at work within the month. Understood?" The Doctor and Elena nodded quickly, Marcia a little more slowly. "Good," he grunted and walked quickly out of the room.

"How can he be like that?" Elena wondered weakly.

"That's his way… you know he can't show affection, especially towards Reno," Marcia told her soothingly. "Anyway, I need to get up to his office… give me a call if… he gets too bad…" She trailed off and exited hurriedly before Elena or the Doctor could answer. The latter turned to Reno and sighed.

"It's a blessing for him that he's unconscious.." she muttered, giving Elena a sideways glance.

"I cured him, so many times … he won't get better…" She fretted, stroking back his blood-soaked hair. The Doctor sighed.

"Well, let's see what Cure3 does…" she murmured, and they started the long process of healing Reno.

Later that day, long after the sun had set, Elena was sat on the side of Reno's bed, and the Doctor was sleeping off her exhaustion in a nearby chair. Elena couldn't sleep. Reno was tossing feverishly.

"It's ok, Reno, it's ok…" Elena murmured, stroking his hair. He moaned, and his eyes suddenly shot open. "Reno?" Elena asked, concerned. He moaned quietly.

"Ah… 'Lena? Where am I?" He asked her, slowly looking around the room, or, as it was from his vantage point, different parts of white ceiling.

"The Infirmary. Don't worry, Reno, we're all here for you," she told him, whispering so she didn't wake the Doctor.

"The Infirmary…? I'm… I'm back at base? Ah… oh, my hand…" He managed, deciding not to try and move anything for a while.

"We got you home, Reno. Took out every damn soldier in those mines to do it, too," Elena told him softly. "Don't you worry. Go back to sleep. You need to rest, get better," she ordered. Reno simply groaned, although Elena couldn't tell whether it was in pain or annoyance. "I'll sing you to sleep," she promised him, and he leaned back and closed his eyes, sighing. Elena took a deep breath, and began to sing softly. "Sleep,
Sleep softly my love,
Guided by the starlight above.
Let the moonlight take you to another place.

And if...
if you remember me
I'm happy to be there,
But all I really need is for you to forgive me.

I know it may be hard, but please forgive me.

When you're hurt, I'll be there for you
When you're weary, I'll support you too
All I need, all I need is you." By the time she had finished, Reno was snoring softly. Well, I guess the sleep is a good thing, Elena thought, pulling up a chair nearby and trying to get some sleep herself.

In the end, it took them half a month to get Reno back on his feet, with a lot of help from every Turk. The rookies, who weren't to keen to help their tormenter, were pulled in on pain of being beaten up by a senior Turk if they didn't help. Tseng was rather annoyed to find that 'back on his feet' didn't equal 'ready for work'.

"I don't see why he can't work. He can stand, can't he?" Tseng demanded of Elena, who was stood in front of his desk, feeling scared.

"Well, yes, Sir, but-"

"Then I don't see why he can't work," Tseng surmised, glaring at Elena.

"W-well, Sir, he still can't really use his hand…"

"He can use his other one."

"He can't fire a gun with his left hand, Sir!" Elena complained. She knew from experience just how hard it was to fire a gun with your subordinate hand.

"He can bloody well learn. Fast," Tseng decided, his tone dark. Elena sighed.

"I'll ask the Doctor, Sir," she promised him. "permission to leave?" Tseng sighed.

"Granted. Get away with you," he told her, waving his hand in a dismissive manner. Elena saluted smartly and walked out of the office, relieved to be out.

The building had had a lot of work done to it in the few weeks Reno had been incapacitated. Tseng had had a long talk with Rufus, who had eventually agreed to have some structure work done. The walls, unfortunately, were still the same terrible colour schemes they had been before. However, they weren't in mortal danger of falling down at any second, like they had been before. Privately, Elena still preferred their old HQ, back in the Shinra building, before it had been blown to tiny pieces by Diamond WEAPON. The whole of the upper city had basically collapsed, and what was left was basically a ghost town full of refugees. Elena understood that it was called 'Edge'. It had some nasty illness going around too, something called 'Geostigma'. Elena didn't plan on going there unless she had to. It was just a shame that their old HQ had been obliterated…

"Ah, Elena, I thought I saw you!" Came a voice from further down the corridor. Elena looked up.

"What is it, Marty?" She asked. The male Turk was quite heavy-set, and the only weapon he carried was the compulsory gun. He usually let his fists do the talking. Or his feet.

"The Doc's looking for you," he informed her. "Wants to know about the Boss, and Reno," he added, twitching his head back to indicate the direction he'd come from. "She's down in the infirmary."

"Thanks, Marty," Elena thanked him, and set off, passing him on her way. He shrugged and smiled.

"Any time, El," he told her, and continued on towards Tseng's office.

Elena ran into the Infirmary to see a concerned looking Doctor and Reno sitting on a bed, holding his damaged hand with the other.

"Tseng says… you've got to learn to shoot left-handed…" Elena panted out, the quite long run making her slightly out of breath. Reno cursed colourfully, earning a raised eyebrow from the Doctor.

"I can't shoot with either hand!" he protested, waving his good hand in the air to emphasize his annoyance.

"Take it up with Tseng, then," Elena retorted. Reno shook his head.

"I don't dare," he replied, rubbing the palm of his injured hand.

"Don't do that!" The Doctor reminded him sharply, and he stopped, looking sheepish. Elena shook her head.

"Then you'll be working," she told him, going over and taking his injured hand to have a look at it. "At least it seems to have healed reasonably well… can you bend it?" She asked. Reno flexed his fingers, grimacing at the pain, but managing to bend them pretty much as far as he had been able to before his kidnapping.

"Not too bad… I don't want to overwork it…" Reno told her, shaking his hand a little and letting it fall onto the bed.

"Want me to Cure it again?" She asked him. He nodded, holding his hand up to her.

"Cure3," she said, and a green light enveloped Reno's hand. He looked at it and grimaced again.

"I'm gonna have one hell of a scar, aren't I?" He asked rhetorically, as both Elena and the Doctor nodded. The latter sighed and got up.

"I wouldn't recommend using the hand so soon, but, if the Boss says…" She started, before going to the cupboard and taking some Materia out. "take this… it's mastered, so if your hand gives you grief, just cast Cure3 on it," she recommended. Reno nodded gratefully and took the Materia from her.

"Thanks," he thanked her, getting quickly up from the bed. "I guess I'd better go and see the boss…" Elena and the doctor once again nodded ni unison.

"I'll come too," Elena told him, and they set off.

Reno received a number of hellos on the journey, because the senior Turks were glad to see him better again. He dismissed the evil looks the rookies threw his way with a wave of his hand.

"Useless layabouts," he declared, pushing one of them into the wall with his good hand. Elena sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You'll get into trouble for that one day," she told him. He merely shrugged.

"Whatever," he replied.

As they reached the door of Tseng's office, they could hear shouting, and stood well back. They could identify an angry Tseng from a mile off. It was a tactic learned quickly when you entered the Turks, if you wanted to keep your job/limbs/pay. The other person was talking calmly and quietly, or not talking at all, so he was hard to identify.

"Is it… Vincent?" Elena questioned in wonder, listening hard. Reno listened to the shouting coming from Tseng.

"Probably," he deduced, and they crept a little closer to the door.

"I cannot control these things, Tseng," Vincent's voice came from the other side of the door. Reno and Elena looked at each other, suspicious.

"What's he here for?" Elena asked. Reno shrugged.

"How the hell should I know?" He replied, equally perplexed.

"I just thought you ought to know," Vincent added, and Elena and Reno hurriedly stood back as they heard his footsteps. Vincent exited the room shortly after, to find Elena and Reno standing there as if they'd only just arrived. Vincent regarded them with a neutral gaze.

"Reno… Elena…" He greeted, glancing backwards into the room he'd just left. "I hear you got yourself into a spot of trouble, Reno," he added, glancing at Reno's hand.

"I guess…" Reno murmured, a bit freaked out by the cold ex-Turk.

"I wouldn't advise that," Vincent continued quietly. "What with all the soldiers in green around, you may get yourself… more hurt…" he murmured, looking somewhere above Reno's head. "I will, for a short while, be down by the helichoppers. I presume, by the essence of your presence here, that you are being sent on the next mission. I will await your arrival… you will doubtless need my help," he told them, before turning shortly and walking out.

"He scares me," Elena told Reno in a whisper once Vincent had gone.

"Hell, he scares Tseng. It's nothing to be ashamed of," Reno replied, going up and knocking on the open office door.

"Get in here, you reprobate," Tseng ordered curtly, seeing Reno standing there. Reno shuffled in sheepishly, followed by Elena.

"Sorry it took me so long to recover, Sir!" He told him smartly, saluting with his left hand. Tseng spared his right hand a glance before turning to the pile of papers on his desk.

"No doubt you met Vincent," he said eventually. Elena and Reno nodded. "Did he tell you why he came?" They shook their heads. "Well, there's been an outbreak of Myla's soldiers in Nibelheim. He thought we would be the best people to check it out… he didn't really want to come, either, so don't get on his nerves," Tseng informed them curtly, not looking up. Apart from Reno flinching at Myla's name, none of the room's occupants reacted. "You two are going. With… Thomas," Tseng decided, before waving a hand. "Go get him. Out! Now!" Reno and Elena saluted and complied quickly. Tseng's mood was even fouler than usual.

Thomas was quickly located, engaged in his usual activity of cleaning his guns. He was a bit apprehensive to learn about Vincent, but he didn't want to argue with a mad Tseng, so all three of them walked out onto the helipad. Vincent turned at their approach.

"You took your time," he remarked quietly, making the three of them feel guilty. "Standards have obviously fallen since I left…" The three of them looked at the floor. Vincent shook his head slightly. "We are taking this new-looking helichopper," he informed them. "It seems Rufus has been spending a lot more on this department than his father did…"

"Nah, he just didn't want Tseng borrowing his chopper again," Reno cut in. Vincent raised his eyebrows but said nothing, instead reaching over and opening the door.

"I must say, neither Veld nor I would have dared," he told them, stepping back from the door. "I hear you are quite the pilot, Reno…" Reno grimaced.

"Maybe not so good with this hand," he replied, but he still stepped in and took the pilot's seat. Elena and Thomas glanced at each other, before simultaneously climbing into the back, leaving Vincent with the co-pilot's seat. He sighed.

"You all still seem to be as scared of higher-ranking people as the others used to be," he murmured. "although I technically no longer count…"

"Was Tseng scared of you?" Reno asked conversationally, firing up the chopper. Vincent slammed the door shut.

"They all were," he replied, smiling slightly. Reno tried to stop himself from laughing at the thought of Tseng being scared of someone, and gently lifted off the helichopper.

"Nibelheim, then," he murmured to himself, and Vincent nodded slightly. Reno turned the chopper in the direction of the old town and they set off.

They got there fairly quickly. Reno knew where it was because it used to be almost like an auxiliary base before Sephiroth had… changed… and Vincent sitting in the seat next to you really inspired fast driving, even with a brand new chopper and Tseng on Reno's back.

"We're here!" Reno announced, jumping out of the door on his side of the chopper before Vincent could say anything. The latter merely watched him go.

"So eager…" he murmured, slowly climbing out of his side. Elena and Thomas both opted for the driver's side door.

"You sure about this? I mean… with your hand…" Elena started. Reno waved her away.

"If I've gotta work, I'll damn well be happy about it," he told her, glancing around at the scenery. The town was deserted.

"Guess they're not too happy to see us," Thomas remarked. Vincent grunted negatively.

"I believe they are more scared of… them…" He replied, gesturing towards a group of soldiers who had just rounded the bend from the path to the Nibelheim Mountains. Reno smiled and got out his gun.

"I think my total is rather behind," he murmured, making Elena laugh weakly. Both she, Thomas and Vincent drew guns also. The Cerberus was, by far, the most impressive of the group. Reno, somewhat desperate to prove that he could still shoot with an injured hand, took out the first three, before Vincent moved in and equalized.

"What's the symbol on the chain?" Elena asked him, bringing her running total to a round 30 by taking out another 2. They had all taken cover behind the old bonfire, as the soldiers had opened fire on them by now. These soldiers had the little shuriken-stars that had been the bane of Reno and Elena earlier on.

"It's the Cerberus. It is… good luck, you could say," Vincent replied eventually. Elena nodded, not really wanting to continue a conversation with the gunman whilst he was firing.

"You didn't need us," Reno stated, pausing to cast Cure surreptitiously on his hand. Vincent shrugged.

"I was… requested to enlist your aid," he informed them, not stopping his shooting, except to reload. Elena gave Reno a 'look', and he shrugged.

"Hey, I've got to work. It isn't that bad," he told her. Vincent raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. Elena merely sighed and shook her head.

"If I didn't know you better, I'd say you were being a workaholic," she told him, making him do a double take.

"Excuse me? ME, a workaholic? Who the hell do you think you're kidding, girl?" He asked her, disbelieving.

"If you had been listening, you would have heard her say 'if I didn't know you better'," Vincent cut in quietly. Despite the lack of volume, he was heard. There was something about him that made you want to listen. Reno merely grunted and took up his gun again, cursing violently as a shuriken grazed past his arm, making him drop it again. Elena flinched out of the way of another, almost adding to Reno's curses as he cast Cure2 on his cut.

"What do they put in these things, anti-curing agent?" He cursed, as his curing went unnoticed by the cut on his arm.

"Possibly," Vincent replied. Reno decided that it would be best not to point out that his question had been rhetorical. Vincent proceeded to shoot a star out of the air, and Reno, Elena and Thomas watched in awe as it landed at his feet.

"Wow, man… that shot was amazing," Reno breathed.

"I wish I could shoot like that," Thomas murmured appreciatively. Vincent glanced at them all and picked up the star.

"It is merely a matter of practice," he told them, a slight smile on his lips, before turning to examine the star in his hand. The Turks turned back to the pressing task of shooting the soldiers in green.

"That one's for my hand," Reno growled, shooting one down. "that one's for reopening old scars… That one for the scars on my chest…" He gave each soldier a sin. Vincent glanced over at Reno momentarily as he heard the list of injuries.

"Looks like you got into a little more trouble than Tseng let on," he murmured. Reno didn't even look over.

"The boss doesn't tell you everything, it would seem," he replied simply.

"Indeed," Vincent answered, staring at the star in his hand. "My… these are remarkably similar to the stars Angeal used to use…" He murmured.

"Angeal used stars?" Reno wondered aloud, taking out another three soldiers despite the pain in his shoulder. And that's for my shoulder… bastards.

"In private," Vincent replied curtly, taking up the Cerberus again after pocketing the star. Reno shrugged. He hadn't really known Angeal. SOLDIER tended to keep themselves to themselves… Vincent had known everyone, it seemed. Maybe Head Turks had to. Reno didn't dare ask Tseng.

"There's a hell of a lot of these!" Elena cried suddenly, once they had been there for a good quarter of an hour. Vincent nodded slowly.

"They're up at the Reactor," he told them, never taking his eyes from the soldiers. "Useless, Grunt throwaways," he added under his breath.

"How can we get up there?" Reno wondered aloud.

"I can provide you with a… suitable distraction…" Vincent told them, and suddenly none of the Turks wanted to be part of said distraction.

"You… you just go ahead and do that," Reno told him moving away slightly. Someone who has been in the vicinity of Vincent when he was fighting never usually wanted to get too close again. Elena gulped and moved backwards a little. An indecipherable look appeared on Vincent's face, but none of the Turks got to see what he was going to change into, as an airship, considerably smaller than the Highwind but still rather impressive, roared into view above their heads.

"What in hell?" Reno asked, understandable perplexed.

"You are a little late," Vincent remarked, far too quietly for anyone more than a few feet away to hear.

"Sorry about that. Got tied up," a voice came from somewhere on Vincent's person, sounding as though it was being said through a crackly speaker.

"Indeed," Vincent replied, before turning to the Turks stood around him. "There. Shalla will take you up to the reactor, I am certain," Vincent told them.

"One teleporter, coming up," Shalla's voice came from the speaker. It was rather odd to hear a disembodied voice, especially coming from Vincent.

"Teleporter?" Reno managed, before a flash of light almost blinded them and they were up on the bridge of Shalla's airship. She wasn't looking happy; the soldiers had started firing at the airship.

"Get a move on, Vincent," she told him. The Turks heard an affirmative from Vincent, before Shalla took hold of the controls and swung the airship around, making everyone on board grab for a handhold. Shalla turned briefly to see who her passengers were.

"Long time no see, Reno," she told him briefly, steering the ship in the direction of the Nibel Mountains and looking at a few dials with a concerned expression. Reno shrugged mildly.

"I guess," he replied simply, earning himself a sharp look from Elena. All three of them had put their weapons away by now.

"Here we are," Shalla told them suddenly, abusing the airship controls even more by roughly pulling it around and landing it. She flicked a few switches and looked at the monitor in front of her with a frown. "I swear… Vincent doesn't leave my settings the same," she muttered to herself, before turning to the Turks. "There's stairs," she told them, pointing in the correct direction. Reno looked at her.

"I've never understood you," he told her, walking off. Elena shot Shalla a look that was a mixture of apology and despair at Reno. Shalla merely shrugged.

"I don't understand myself either," she said bluntly. On that note, Elena and Thomas left the airship. "Vincent, anytime you're ready," Shalla told him over the com, before locking the controls and stepping out of the airship.

"So, what do we plan on doing to this place? Because if I damage any more Shinra property, Tseng'll fire my ass," Reno asked, watching the empty hulk of the Reactor. The humming sound that signified Mako was being processed could be heard from outside. Shalla was stood quite far back from the Reactor itself.

"It is not the place itself, more the space underneath…" Shalla started, but they were interrupted by a flying soldier, who crashed into the wall and fell to the ground, looking very, very dead. Shalla gave it a hard look. "Oh, Vincent, must you always be so violent?" She wondered aloud.

"You have a problem with it?" Vincent's voice came from behind the rocks, and Chaos flew over the wall and landed neatly on the ground in front of Shalla. "Would you rather they shot me with those foul stars of theirs?" Elena, Reno and Thomas all simultaneously took several steps backwards.

"Stars?" Shalla questioned as Chaos glowed dark green and transformed back into Vincent.

"These," Vincent replied simply and handed her the star from inside his cloak. She took it and examined it, a puzzled look on her face.

"Well, I never…" she murmured, before turning back to Vincent. "Vincent, you take those three down under the Reactor. I don't think I can manage it, they're processing a lot these days," she requested, and Vincent nodded. The three Turks stepped forward again, slightly worried.

"Er… will there be any more Chaos?" Reno asked, a little concerned. Vincent sighed and shook his head.

"I very much doubt it. You have nothing to fear from me. My anger is not directed at you," he replied simply. The Turks, despite his words, didn't look too convinced. Shalla turned to watch the path up to the Reactor.

"Fire4," she murmured, watching it spread down the path and eat into the rope bridge.

"How many times must I tell you about burning your bridges?" Vincent told her, 'sternly'. Shalla looked at him.

"I'll go and burn the other end, if you want," she offered, but Vincent merely shrugged. "And anyway, it isn't my bridge," she continued.

"Indeed," Vincent replied, turning around. "Come. We have a lot of work to do," he told the three Turks, who followed, not entirely happy with the situation. Shalla turned away from them and walked down the path away from the Reactor.

"I hate reactors," she told the empty air. "Wall2."

Once the group was inside the Reactor, Vincent calmly blasted a hole through the floor.

"Whoa, man! Are you crazy?" Reno cried, watching the floor section fall down to the rock floor below, smouldering slightly from the Fire spell that had been used on it.

"No, merely in a hurry," Vincent replied, jumping down the sizable hole. The three Turks watched as he landed perfectly on the floor.

"No flamin' way am I jumping down there," Reno decided. "I'm not superhuman like some people around here!" Vincent looked up at them.

"It is perfectly survivable for a Turk," he called up to them. Reno rolled his eyes,

"Fine, but if I die, I'll come back just to sue you!" He told Vincent, making Elena burst out laughing.

"I'll sue him for you, Reno," she told him, and he took a deep breath and jumped.

"Float," Vincent said suddenly, slowing Reno's descent.

"What in hell? Float?" Reno asked as he landed, perfectly unharmed, on the rock floor.

"I have borrowed it from Shalla. Do you not remember her exit from your helichopper?" Vincent replied. Reno looked up at him dubiously.

"She told you about that?" He asked, still not convinced.

"Can we come down? Are you dead?" Elena called down from above.

"Yeah, come on, I'll move," Reno called back in reply, getting up and moving to the side.

"Are you sure?"

"YES!" Reno yelled, impatient, making Vincent chuckle slightly.

Once they were all safely down, and the mystery of the Float Materia explained by a slightly annoyed Vincent, they proceeded to the centre of the cave.

"Watch out for Dragons," Vincent warned them, being well versed in the monsters of the Nibel mountains both from his time spent in them as a Turk and during his travels with Cloud and co. half a year ago.

"No need to tell me twice," Reno replied, Elena nodding vehemently. Vincent raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. The room, although empty, almost encouraged silence.

"Here," Vincent spoke up eventually.

"'Here' what?" Reno asked, perplexed.

"Here is where we set a bomb," Vincent told them smoothly.

"Whoa, wait a minute! How will this do us any good?" Reno asked, watching Vincent produce a bomb. He was never all talk, it seemed.

"It disrupts one centre of communication for the soldiers in green," Vincent replied.

"Yeah, and Tseng will flaming murder me!" Reno cried in protest.

"It might not damage the Reactor…" Elena reasoned. "I mean, look how far away the ceiling is…" Reno looked at her in disbelief.

"You're all crazy," he decided, turning away from them, before quickly turning back. "Er, hate to rain on our parade, but… Dragon…" He told them quietly. Vincent looked round.

"This could be a problem," he remarked, as everyone got into some sort of a defensive line. "I would say… hmm… does anyone have Bio?" He asked. After some quick checking and shaking of heads, he sighed. "fine, we shall kill it the old-fashioned way," he decided, drawing the Cerberus from its holster.

"Eat Bolt, freak," Elena told it, casting Bolt3 on it as it reared towards them. It flinched away, but came back even angrier than it had been before.

"I would say that evasive action is the best strategy," Vincent told them. The three of them backed away from him, in case he used Chaos again. "If you three would provide me with a suitable distraction, I can set the bomb," he continued, mildly annoyed at their reaction. There was a collective sigh of relief from the Turks, which was quickly cut off as the Dragon roared in anger.

"Distraction. Check," Reno told Vincent, aiming his Nightstick at the Dragon and pressing fire.

"Fire2," Thomas added, and the Dragon reared in pain from the twin attack, before stamping down hard and almost catching Reno with its huge claws.

"Damn it, I'm not going to let another shirt get destroyed! I'm on a tight budget!" Reno complained, casting Ice3 at the Dragon. This made the dragon very mad, and the Turks stepped back as one as it started to inhale.

"Um, Elena…" Reno prompted.

"Wall!" Elena yelled, as the dragon let out a huge burst of flame, so hot it nearly burnt through Elena's Wall. It certainly singed their clothes a bit.

"That was rather close," remarked Vincent from somewhere behind them, causing them to spin around.

"Hey, don't do that!" Reno cried in protest. "I nearly had a heart attack!" Vincent smiled slightly.

"I would suggest we leave, and promptly," he suggested, and the three Turks didn't even protest, just followed him as fast as they could.

"I'm so dead," Reno lamented as they ran.

"I doubt it'll be that bad," Elena soothed.

"Oh yeah? Who made the bomb?" The last statement was directed at Vincent.

"Shalla," he replied simply.

"Dismembered and left to rot at the bottom of a pond," Reno summarised glumly. Vincent almost laughed.

The group had made it out of the cave and to the opposite side of the bridge to the Reactor when a huge explosion sounded, and a colourful orange-yellow flame spouted up into the sky.

"Reminds me of the corridor outside the canteen," Elena commented, as Reno wailed in despair about being brutally killed by his boss.

"Nah… too colour-co-ordinated," Thomas decided. Vincent rolled his eyes.

"Do we have transport?" He wondered idly.

"In a second!" Shalla's voice sounded over the comm., and seconds later the airship appeared above them.

"That thing's pretty stealthy!" Reno remarked.

"It was well-designed," Vincent replied.

"OK, standby to teleport!" Shalla warned them, and they ended up on the bridge in a flash of light. Once they had stopped having retinal flashbacks, they could see the image of the explosion frozen on-screen.

"He'll hang me from the roof of the building," Reno murmured in despair.

"That was a little stronger than I thought it would be," Shalla told Vincent. "Took out a good number of the Soldiers, too," she added. Reno snorted with laughter.

"Good riddance!" He decided. "That'll give Myla something to think about!"

"Myla?" Shalla and Vincent asked simultaneously. Reno looked confused.

"What, you know her?" He asked.

"Myla Crescent? Lucretia's kid sister?" Vincent asked in reply.

"Angeal's… friend…" Shalla added quietly, making them all turn to look at her. Reno seemed a little uncertain.

"She's… got green eyes… short, dark brown hair… short woman, comes up to here on me," Reno described for Shalla, indicating a point about one head below his chest for her height. Shalla nodded.

"Myla Crescent," Shalla confirmed. "That… that could explain the stars, Vincent. Angeal used them all the time… Myla knew him well…" She told Vincent, her voice low, looking nervous for some reason. Vincent looked at her.

"I wasn't there, Shalla," he sighed. "Tell us all… if you would be so kind…" Shalla shook her head.

"I… shall try…" She replied, uncertainly.

"Wouldn't Myla being Lucretia's sister make her-" Elena started to whisper to Reno.

"Shalla's aunt? Yes. Don't press it," Reno whispered back.

"She was… Angeal's… friend," Shalla started. "She found out about… about… do you know what they did to Angeal?" She asked the assembled crowd. There was a mixture of nodding and shaking of heads, so Shalla decided to explain. "He was the second part of Project Genesis," she explained. "Although, to start with, he didn't know. When you were being processed, a normal human couldn't tell the difference between normal Mako and the G substance," she told them. Vincent nodded slowly.

"But you could, I presume," he said. It was a rhetorical question.

"Well… Myla, she… she found out. Before Angeal did. She… she went to Hojo, confronted him…" Vincent and Reno winced together. Shalla took a deep breath. "I… I heard it from Hojo. He used her as another experiment into the Project, but something… went wrong. Everyone was told she was dead… even Angeal…" She trailed off. Vincent shook his head, sadly.

"The things life does to the Crescents…" he murmured. Shalla looked at him, a mixed expression in her eyes.

"Hojo never seemed to care," she decided, turning back to the controls of the airship, which had been hovering whilst they talked.

"Well, Hojo's a bastard, isn't he?" Reno reasoned, quite correctly.

"What's Project Genesis?" Elena asked suddenly.

"You may have heard it called 'Project G'," Shalla replied. "Not many people were told… I heard from Seph myself," She explained. "It involves taking corrupted lifestream, called the 'G' substance… hence the name of the project… and treating people with it in much the same way as a SOLDIER is treated with normal Mako. There were a few failures… Genesis, he was the perfect specimen, and Angeal almost that. Myla, presumably, didn't take too well to the substance," she decided. "But Angeal, well… He didn't… he wasn't happy when he found out that he was a specimen. He almost went crazy… almost. Zack, he pulled him back. Angeal gave his life to lock Genesis away," she added.

"So that's why he died," Reno replied in amazement. Shalla nodded.

"He was the only one who could face Genesis," she told them. "Except, perhaps…"

"Chaos," Vincent cut in bluntly. "Don't be scared to say it." Shalla shrugged.

"Angeal and Myla, they were going to get married," she revealed sadly. "When Myla went, well… it all went downhill fast for Angeal then." Reno sighed in dismay.

"It's just Shinra screwing people over, as usual," he muttered in dismay. Shalla shrugged.

"I couldn't do much for him. Zack tried, but… well…"

The rest of the ride back to Nibelheim was spent in silence.

When Reno landed the chopper and the three Turks had got out, they found Tseng waiting on the helipad for them.

"how did it go?" he asked them.

"Vincent and Shalla blew up the Nibel reactor," Reno told him wearily. Tseng shook his head in despair.

"I'm going to get it in the neck from Rufus, then," he decided. "Ah, well, at least I can blame it on Vincent…" Reno seemed surprised that he wasn't being killed.

"Wise move, blaming it on Vincent," Thomas whispered to him.

"It was Vincent," Reno snapped back. Thomas shrugged, and the group made its way inside and towards Tseng's office. They passed Shuriken on the way.

"Hey, Reno! How's the hand?" she asked him.

"Fine, thanks," he replied. "Shalla cast Cure4 on it. It's fine," he told her. She nodded, smiling, and continued walking. Elena narrowed her eyes, but since Shuriken's comment seemed to be innocent, she left it.

Once they reached Tseng's office, they noticed the addition of a coloured map pinned to the wall.

"What's the map for, Sir?" Elena asked. Tseng turned to them.

"It shows concentration of Geostigma," he replied. "There's a key somewhere… ah, here it is," he pointed to a key on the map. "The President is a bit concerned with unusual outbreaks in Mideel and Wutai," he added, indicating those areas on the map. "Thomas, would you mind fetching Rude and Shuriken for me?" He asked, suddenly changing the subject. Thomas saluted and walked out. Reno and Elena listened to his footsteps as they echoed down the hall.

"What do you want them for, Sir?" Elena asked, bravely. Tseng chuckled lightly.

"You're going to Edge," he told them. "The President thinks the outbreak may have originated there." A frown appeared on Reno's face.

"You said Wutai and Mideel…" He started.

"And?" Tseng questioned. There was an unspoken threat in his voice.

"Those are the places… Myla went to…" Reno said slowly, afraid of invoking Tseng's wrath. Tseng let out a sigh of frustration.

"I knew it! I just knew it!" He cried in annoyance, slamming his fist down on his desk hard, making both Reno and Elena jump in alarm and surprise. He made a noise of frustration through his teeth. "Reno, Elena… I trust you to keep quiet on this," he told them quietly. They both nodded, mutely. "Good," he murmured, turning back to his map. "Anyway… Edge," he continued, back on topic once more. "The President wants it investigating… he mentioned something to do with Jenova, too, but I don't think he has immediate plans for that," Tseng informed them. Reno and Elena looked at each other. Neither of them were particularly fond of Jenova, Sephiroth, or any business connected with those things, after the Meteor incident six months ago. "Well, despite your theory, Reno, you know what the President can be like," Tseng added, wryly. Reno shrugged.

"We don't know where Myla is, or what she can do," he replied. "For all we know, she could be based in Edge!" Tseng nodded his agreement.

"Which is why you are still going," he told them, as Rude and Shuriken walked in.

"You wanted to see us, Sir?" Shuriken asked. Rude said nothing.

"Yes," Tseng confirmed. "I'd like you to go to Edge with Reno and Elena… there's something the President wants investigating," he told them. Shuriken and Rude nodded shortly.

"Yes, Sir," They both replied.

"Good," Tseng muttered, and once again turned to his chart. "Anyhow, I'm sure, if you need to, you'll be able to ask the townsfolk of Edge to assist you, if they feel so inclined," he told them. "Oh… that reminds me…" He spoke up suddenly, turning to his desk and rummaging through a neat stack of papers on top of it. "Where is… ah, here we go…" He picked up a sheet of paper, handwritten writing showing through. "I had a message from Tifa Lockheart – we all know her – asking about a bit of trouble in Edge. I'd watch out if I were you… oh, it appears it's Myla's soldiers…" Tseng trailed off, frowning, and studied the paper. "That's interesting… there's a strong concentration in Edge…"

"Er… my theory, Sir…" Reno cut in quietly. Tseng nodded sadly.

"According to Shalla, when a person with Geostigma dies, they don't turn back to normal lifestream, but corrupted lifestream," Tseng told no-one in particular. "So far, there is a 0 survival rate… no-one has ever been cured." Tseng's face had a sad expression on it. "Over half the people in Wutai have Geostigma. Good luck, and come back safely," Tseng told them, turning sharply and exiting the office, the piece of paper floating to rest on his desk as he released it. The other Turks watched him go.

"Poor man," Elena murmured. Reno nodded.

"It's Wutai," he replied simply.

"All those people…" Shuriken murmured.

Rude, as usual, said nothing.

Reno hovered the helichopper over the deserts on the outskirts of Edge. The ruins of Midgar towered imposingly in the background, like some sort of horrific monument. The black, charred ruin of the Shinra building leaned at a dangerous angle, the plates were cracked and broken, the most prominent reminder to the world of Meteor. And of Sephiroth.

"Prepare for landing, guys!" Reno called to the occupants of the chopper, gently easing it down to the floor, about three metres from the entrance to Edge. Despite what Midgar looked like, repairs were going reasonably well, the WRO had control of the most part of it. There were highways up to the plate sprouting up all over the place. Most employment in Edge revolved around the rebuilding of Midgar.

"Looks pretty busy today," Elena remarked, watching the traffic on the roads. Reno nodded appreciatively. Shuriken, shading her eyes against the sun, looked up at the ruins of the Shinra building.

"How long do you think it'll take to rebuild?" She asked. It was a rhetorical question, and everyone knew it. There was no answer.

"Let's go," Reno suggested quietly. The other three nodded, and the four Turks set off across the wasteland.

Edge was fairly easy to get into. Apart from the danger to the common person of getting mugged, which didn't bother the Turks in the least, you could basically just walk right in. there was a lot of Geostigma about, mostly children.

"Right, then… I guess we find Tifa," Elena surmised as they looked at the crowded streets.

"Seventh Heaven it is, then!" Reno declared, heading like an arrow in the right direction. Shuriken and Elena looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Give a man a bar…" Elena started, not needing to finish. They followed after Reno, finding it hard to keep up with him now that he had been given the incentive of beer and Tifa.

"Slow down, damn it, Reno!" Elena called. Reno, already far ahead, turned and stopped.

"Slowpokes," he decided, but he waited anyway.

Getting to the Bar was fairly easy. It had been moved since the collapse of the Sector Seven plate, and now rested in a fairly busy part of Edge. Although edge was not a place the Turks visited often, because of the Geostigma, Reno still knew it well enough to know the placing of every bar.

"Here we are!" He declared, standing outside the entrance.

"Will she be in?" Shuriken wondered.

"Seventh Heaven is always open," Reno reassured her, steeping through the door. Tifa, working on the bar, looked up as they approached.

"Remember us?" Reno asked flirtatiously. Elena's eyes narrowed, and she grabbed Reno's wrist in a painfully tight grip.

"You. Dare," she threatened. Reno gulped slightly. Tifa laughed.

"Sure, I remember you," she told him, putting down the glass she was washing and leaving the bar in the hands of a capable-looking Marlene, who seemed very enthusiastic. She walked over to them. "Did Tseng send you?" she asked. Reno laughed.

"No, we just came for the beer," he replied, not sounding sarcastic enough for the other three.

"Yes, Tseng sent us," Elena cut in quickly before Reno could get any ideas. Tifa nodded, looking serious now.

"Marlene, could you take care of the bar for a while? I've got a few errands to run," she told the girl at the bar, who nodded enthusiastically. "There's been an increase in some of these green-clad soldiers lately, and Geostigma is on the rise…" Tifa told the Turks in a whisper. Reno nodded.

"There's been outbreaks in Wutai and Mideel too," he added, and Tifa's eyes widened.

"Wutai?" She breathed, in shock. "Oh, I need to give Yuffie a call… poor Tseng," she whispered. "Speaking of calls…" Tifa dug her PHS out of her pocket and pressed a speed-dial key, and held the phone to her ear, tapping her foot impatiently. Eventually, the line crackled to life. "Hey, Cloud? It's Tifa…" She started, pausing as Cloud said something. The Turks couldn't make out the words. "Yeah… I need you to come back here… yeah, I know… It can wait… ah, stop being so silly, Cloud… you've got five minutes," she finished impatiently, flipping the phone shot. Reno raised an eyebrow in query.

"Cloud knows more than I do," she explained. As far as Reno was concerned that wasn't an explanation, but he didn't want to anger Tifa. Her punches hurt.

"Will he be long?" Shuriken asked.

"He'd better not be," Tifa said in a low, dangerous voice. Reno and Rude simultaneously took a step backwards, worried, but the two girls stayed put.

Cloud was there in four minutes.

"Hey," he greeted the Turks. "I guess it's been a while." Reno shrugged.

"Times change," he murmured. "And… hopefully, so does the Shinra." Cloud nodded curtly.

"You've come about the soldiers?" He asked.

"And the Geostigma," Elena added. Reno noticed the long, black cloth down one of Cloud's arms. The other was bare. As far as Reno could remember, he's not been wearing it last time he'd seen him. Strange…

"Where?" Cloud asked.

"Wutai, Mideel, and increased cases here," Elena replied promptly. "We think it's connected to the soldiers in green…"

"Myla's soldiers," Reno cut in bitterly. Cloud gave him an indecipherable look.

"They come from the ruins of the upper plates," Cloud continued, the Myla comment not being mentioned. "They're… odd, to say the least. We think they've all got the Stigma, but it doesn't seem to affect them so much. They're carriers at least," he surmised. Reno nodded.

"Their leader has G substance in her bloodstream. That probably offers some protection… I don't know how it's caused…" Reno informed him.

"G substance?" Tifa asked. Reno smiled.

"I'll tell you later," he promised. "But, right now, I'm guessing we need to get up to the upper levels?" Tifa and Cloud both nodded.

"And I have some transport," Cloud told them. "I presume you came in a chopper, one of those fancy things the Shinra always seem to own?" The Turks nodded in unison.

"But it's right on the outskirts," Elena pointed out. Cloud rolled his eyes.

"Typical Turks," he muttered, causing Reno and Rude to both become annoyed.

"How is it 'typical'?" Reno demanded, one hand on his hips. Elena elbowed him. "What?" He asked, turning from Cloud, who laughed slightly.

"It doesn't matter. I can find you bikes, if you'll share," he told them. Reno and Elena both nodded, but Shuriken and Rude looked a little dubious.

"If you insist…" Shuriken sighed eventually. Rude said nothing.

In half an hour they were on the current part of the Sector 3 plate that was being rebuilt.

"The bikes won't go past here!" Cloud yelled to the other four. "We need to stop!" He swung his bike to a halt and expertly flipped on the handbrake with one foot. Reno, who could drive anything, did almost the same thing, except not quite as violently. Rude merely braked his to a slow halt, and carefully applied the handbrake with a hand, bending down to reach it.

"This bike is.. amazing," Reno decided. Cloud gave him a long look.

"You can't have it," he warned him, turning back to his bike and elbowing open the holders. They sprang open to reveal six sharp-looking swords, which cloud quickly and expertly slotted together. The Turks watched the display, quite impressed. Tifa had seen it times before.

"Come on, show off, let's get going!" She demanded, pulling on Cloud's uncovered arm. He went almost without protest. Most men were scared of Tifa. The four Turks followed quickly, as they started picking their way through the rubble that hadn't yet been shifted.

"We've got quite a way to go," Reno observed. Cloud shrugged.

"This is nothing," he informed them.

"For people who don't come here often, it is," Reno replied, a bit put out. Cloud laughed softly.

"It's not as bad as it looks. You've been through the sewers, right?" He asked them. All of them but Shuriken nodded. "It's similar, just a little more… uneven," he explained, picking through the rubble carefully. Reno nodded slowly.

"the sewers were the bane of my Midgar-based career," he spat, annoyed. Elena laughed.

"Cheer up, Reno," she demanded, and Reno forced a weak smile. The ruins had an aura of death and destruction about them, they smelled rather bad, were waterlogged in places from collecting rain and were like a bombsite.

"I'm going to suggest that the recruits come here for training," Reno muttered venomously.

"Tseng would never allow it, what with the Geostigma," Elena reasoned.

"You're not helping my mood," Reno warned her. Cloud raised his eyebrows and kept his distance.

They were walking for a good hour before they reached the ruins of the main Shinra HQ.

"Wow… it's been a while since I've been here," Elena remarked, staring up at the giant hulk that was all that remained of the Shinra building.

"Heads up, guys. I trust Myla about as far as I could throw her," he told everyone.

"You could probably throw her quite far, she's pretty small…" Elena started to point out, petering out as Reno glared at her. The memory of his torture still haunted his dreams at night.

"Who's Myla?" Tifa asked, unable to resist asking the question. Reno looked at her.

"Evil little… woman…" Reno started, thinking ahead in his sentence and erasing the swearwords. "decided it'd be fun to set an army on me and 'Lena, and… never mind," he trailed off, not wanting to mention that he'd been tortured by the small woman. It seemed rather embarrassing.

"Will she be here?" Cloud asked, examining the entrance to see if it was get in-able.

"If she is, she probably isn't anyway," Reno sighed, unaware of how cryptic he sounded.

"Excuse me?" Tifa asked, confused. Cloud grunted and kicked the door of the Shinra building, making everyone look up apprehensively as rubble clattered nosily down an unseen side.

"Oh… Myla's never really there…" Reno muttered bitterly. "Although she feel real enough!" Tifa nodded, understanding.

"Cloud, can we get in?" She asked, changing the subject away from Reno's bitter topic.

"Yes," he replied curtly, heaving a door open, before standing back, holding his injured arm lightly, without even realizing he was doing it.

"You hurt?" Reno asked. Cloud turned sharply, his hand off his arm.

"I'm fine," he replied curtly, turning around again and walking through the now-open door.

"Yeah, about as fine as I was," Reno murmured.

"You admitted you weren't fine!" Elena cheered. Reno mentally cursed himself for saying that out loud. Tifa gave the two of them a questioning look, and quickly followed Cloud. Shuriken rolled her eyes.

"You know he wasn't fine. Come on, we don't have all day!" She demanded, pulling Elena and Rude towards the now-open door.

"Actually…" Reno started, following them. Rude said nothing.

Shalla was staring at a console screen aboard her airship, looking concerned.

"Vincent," she called softly, and he quickly arrived in from the adjoining cabin.

"What's wrong?" He asked, going over to her, his cape billowing out behind him with the speed.

"Look at this," she replied, pointing to the screen. "Concentrations of Geostigma… they've shot up…" Vincent frowned in worry.

"And in the places Reno told us Myla had been…" He observed, looking slightly worried.

"It's not natural," Shalla agreed. "And, I'm worried, because Tseng said…"

"Who did he send?" Vincent cut in instantly. Shalla shook her head.

"I don't know… what I'm concerned about is that the soldiers of Myla's have been moving… they're convening on Edge," she replied. "What Tseng said was that they were investigating Edge…" Vincent nodded slowly.

"How fast, how far, and where from?" He asked. Shalla's shoulders sagged with worry.

"At least 2000 from Wutai, 1000 from Mideel and the surrounding area and 500 from Junon… there's already a good amount in Edge and Midgar itself…" She told Vincent. He nodded slowly.

"I think I need to call Reeve," he muttered slowly, reaching for his PHS. Shalla nodded, and brought up the Turk's number on the ship's comm..

"You'd better pick up," she murmured as an unheard threat to Tseng. Luckily for him, he picked it up almost immediately.

"Shinra department for Administrative research. This is Tseng. How may I"

"Tseng! It's Shalla," she cut him off mid-introduction. "Please, tell meno-one's gone to Edge…"

"I sent Reno, Rude, Elena and Shuriken out only half an hour ago… why? Is something wrong?" Tseng replied, sounding ever so slightly concerned during the last part.

"Oh, Holy…" Shalla murmured, as Vincent was having a heated, but quiet, conversation with Reeve.

"I don't care how, just get to Edge… take Barret if you must…" He was saying.

"What's wrong?" Tseng repeated, a little more urgently. Shalla sighed, and shook her head, although Tseng couldn't see her do it.

"There's at least 4000 of Myla's Soldiers… going to be there soon…" She told him, in a low voice. She could hear a sharp intake of breath from Tseng's end.

"Karl!" She heard him yell. There was a pause, apparently for the aforementioned Turk to reply. "I want you to get every senior Turk in my office within five minutes, or you're all fired! Yes, I mean it!" He yelled at the unfortunate Karl.

"We're going there now," Shalla told Tseng, watching Vincent, who had moved to the controls and was jerking the joystick in a rather dangerous fashion, apparently unable to use the autopilot. "Reeve's on his way over… I know that Yuffie left Wutai a while back, she might turn up, I don't know… oh, Tseng, at least 50 people died today!" She cried in despair. "I can't do anything against it… the Stigma… it's corrupted, somehow…"

"It's alright. All of the Turks-" There was a pause, and Shalla could hear footsteps and talking over on Tseng's end of the line. "We'll go… get them out if we can. I'll…"

"I'll give Rufus a call," Shalla cut him off. "I can threaten him! He'll give you an army for backup if I have anything to say about it… Vincent, give me that PHS…" The last comment was at the angry-looking Vincent, who threw it over without a word. Tseng could be heard shouting orders at unfortunate Turks, and Shalla carefully put in Rufus's private number.

"Who the hell is this?" Rufus's voice rang out, sounding extremely annoyed, after a while.

"It's Shalla, and if you hang up, I'll come right over there and skin you alive," she greeted in a calm tone. Rufus didn't hang up.

"What is it?" He asked, trying obviously to sound calm, and not managing.

"You have a very large problem," she told him.

"And what would that be?" He asked, still sounding impatient and angry.

"4000 enemy troops converging on Midgar," she replied calmly. She heard a sound that sounded like Rufus was spitting out a drink.

"You're kidding me!" He cried, exasperated. "Since when?"

"About half an hour ago," Shalla replied, giving her screen another worried glance. "Tseng's sent some Turks over, the Senior ones," she added, hearing an exasperated cry from Rufus.

"If you're pulling my leg, I swear I will kill you," Rufus replied, before shouting to a far-away secretary.

"Do I ever kid?" Shalla asked, annoyed, and she heard a chuckle from Vincent.

"I guess not… yes, right now!" Rufus replied, the last part shouted to the unfortunate secretary.

"We'll be in Edge in…"

"Five minutes," Vincent supplied.

"Five minutes. I expect you there soon, got it?" She demanded. Rufus sighed, annoyed.

"I hate owing you favours," he decided, and hung up. Shalla grinned triumphantly.

"Let's go rescue some Turks!" She told Vincent, who sighed and shook his head.

There was chaos in the Turk HQ. The rookies were being ordered around by a nervous-looking Rebecca, and the rest of the Turks were crowded on top of the helipads. All of the choppers were out.

"I want teams of three! Understood?" Tseng yelled in a threatening tone.

"Yes, Sir!" Every Turk replied as one.

"Rod, Nia, you're with me! Thomas, Nathan, Marty, you have chopper three! Marcia and Karl, you take chopper four with Rebecca when she gets here! Do you understand!?" Another resounding chorus of 'Yes, Sir!' filled the air. "Good!" Tseng declared. "We are going to Edge! If anyone falls out of formation, they will have me to answer to! And I will not be happy! Understood?"

"Yes, Sir!" At this point, Rebecca came running up.

"Rookies are organised, Sir," she gasped out, and automatically filled the gap in the group of two after quickly scanning the formation.

"Excellent, Rebecca. Now, Turks, move out!" Tseng ordered.

"Yes, Sir!"

Reno had just stepped inside the building when he heard the sounds of a helicopter.

"People outside!" He yelled to the rest of the group, and quickly doubled back outside. A WRO chopper came down to land in a very precarious position only a few metres form the abandoned Shinra building. Reeve stepped out of it, quickly followed by Barret.

"What is it?" Reno queried, perplexed. The others had by now left the building and were standing close to Reno. Reeve looked as though he had been flying hard.

"You've got a major problem headed your way!" Reeve told them once the noise of the chopper rotors had died down. When all six of them looked a little confused, he continued. "There's a bunch of… well, Vincent described them as 'G soldiers', but…"

"Wait, Myla's lot? How many?" Reno cut in quickly. Reeve sighed.

"About 3500 of them," he told them sadly. Reno did a double take.

"Whoa… that's a lot…" he whistled appreciatively.

"Are we leaving?" Elena asked. Reeve shook his head.

"Tseng'll be here soon with the rest of the Turks, Shalla's coming with Vincent, I think Cid's on his way and Vincent said something about contacting Rufus… so we'll have backup," he informed them. The Turks sighed with relief, and Cloud stepped up.

"Should we continue inside?" He asked quietly. No comment was made between any of them about the covering on his arm.

"You can, but… watch out," Reeve replied. "There's a good number of soldiers in Midgar itself." Cloud nodded.

"Come on, then," he told the Turks and Tifa. They nodded.

"Keep in contact," Reno suggested, throwing Reeve a walkie-talkie. Reeve caught it expertly.

"We'll be in touch," he promised, and the group were quickly back inside.

Tseng arrived a few minutes later, the anger rising from him visible from a good five metres away.

"Where the hell are they?" He demanded of Reeve, who backed away slightly. Even Rufus had been known to flinch when Tseng was in a really bad mood.

"In there," he replied, indicating with a jab of his thumb the open door behind him. Tseng muttered something dark and indecipherable, and grabbed the walkie-talkie from Reeve's unresisting hand.

"Reno!" He barked into it, choosing the most likely person to be in possession of the other.

"Yes, Sir," Reno's voice crackled over the connection, a decidedly nervous tone in his voice.

"What in hell's name do you think you are doing?" Tseng yelled back viciously, and Reno held the walkie-talkie far away from his ear nervously until Tseng had finished yelling.

"Completing the mission, Sir," he replied, looking around at the group for support. Shuriken was almost laughing, Elena was holding her hands up in a 'surrender' pose, and Rude said nothing.

"Get back out here right now," Tseng ordered, an evil undertone in his voice implying what would happen should his order be disobeyed.

"But Sir-"

"NOW!" Tseng's yell was so loud it caused a hiss of static from the walkie-talkie, and he handed it back to Reeve in disgust. "Stupid idiots," he muttered, meaning to continue, but his angry tirade was ended before it started by the twin roar of airship engines. It was Vincent and Shalla's airship, along with one that looked as though it had been borrowed from the official fleet. As the latter landed, the other one was put on autopilot and Shalla and Vincent appeared moments later, having exited via teleporter.

"Tseng!" she cried, upon seeing the head Turk. "Where are-"

"Getting themselves here, if they know what's good for them," Tseng growled, cutting her off. The unspoken threat in his voice made Vincent raise his eyebrows.

"How very… forceful…" he murmured, almost causing Tseng to round on him, but he stopped himself just in time.

"You need to be, sometimes," he replied, still seething. The other Turks, stood behind Tseng, shot Vincent worried looks.

"Where's Rufus?" Shalla demanded, almost as dangerously as Tseng.

"Coming," Reeve supplied helpfully.

"Good," she growled, scanning the assembled crowd. "You know, if they're in there… they might as well finish their mission. We'll have enough once Rufus gets here," she surmised, making Tseng twitch.

"Fine," he growled dangerously, snatching the abused walkie-talkie from Reeve again.

"Reno!" He barked.

"Yes, Sir?" Reno sounded very nervous.

"You can stay," he told them, but his voice sounded strained.

"You need a holiday," Shalla told him.

"Turks don't take holidays," Vincent cut in curtly before Tseng could reply.

"Stay, Sir?" Reno asked, perplexed. "Are you sure?" Tseng looked as though he was about to burst a vein.

"Yes, Reno," he replied in a long-suffering voice. "Send… send Shuriken and Rude back, though, would you?" He added, after doing a quick count-up. By this time the other airship had landed, and Cid and Yuffie walked up.

"What did we miss?" Yuffie asked, exuberantly. Tseng nearly rounded on her, too, but she was saved by the walkie-talkie.

"They're coming now, Sir," Reno's voice came, followed by a grating buzz of static.

"Good," Tseng growled, slamming the walkie-talkie back into Reeve's hand, making him wince.

"You'd better hurry," Reno advised Shuriken and Rude, and they nodded and left hurriedly. Cloud watched them go.

"Will you be all right on your own?" He asked, carefully. "Because, I think we'll be needed more out there…" he trailed off as Reno nodded.

"Go," he allowed, turning and continuing into the bowels of the Shinra building, a nervous Elena following close behind.

When Rufus arrived he was accosted by Shalla as soon as he stepped out of the door.

"How many have you brought? What level?" She demanded, and Rufus held up his hands in a surrender gesture.

"Don't bite my head off!" He begged, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Why? You never listened to me!" Shalla told him, prodding his outstretched hand to emphasize her point. Vincent looked daggers at the Shinra President, and he gave in.

"There's enough. They're down in Edge," he replied, and Shalla, nodding, left him be.

"About time you started paying attention!" She told him, turning back to Vincent, leaving Rufus standing there, speechless.

"I hate owing people favours," he repeated, annoyed. Tseng was ordering the Turks into new teams. The Turks were complying with his every order, trying not to make him any angrier than he already was.

"Right!" He declared, turning to the other non-Turks present. "Reeve, you're with them," he pointed to Thomas, Nathan and Marty. "Vincent, I'd appreciate it if you'd help Marcia, Karl and Rebecca," he requested, polite to his ex-senior even when seething mad. Vincent inclined his head in agreement, looking slightly amused. "Barret, Cid, join Rod and Nia," he ordered. Cid raised his eyebrows and complied, and Barret shrugged, muttered something about working with Turks and followed Cid. "Shalla, you're a team on your own…" Shalla burst out laughing at this comment, but nodded anyway, knowing how volatile Tseng could be. "Yuffie, you go with Shuriken and Rude when they, ah, here they are." Rude and Shuriken were running out of the open doorway as he said it, looking out of breath.

"Reporting, Sir!" They both said crisply. Tseng nodded. "You're with… oh, for Holy's sake!" He cried as Cloud and Tifa ran out soon after them. "You're ruining my numbers," he informed them darkly. Cloud shrugged nonchalantly in his trademark way.

"You look like you could use some help," he told Tseng, who simply shook his head.

"Tifa, go with Yuffie," he requested, waving a hand in dismissal. "You can fight with Shalla, I suppose, Cloud," he decided, and Cloud nodded slowly in agreement, and walked over in Shalla's direction.

"Rufus…" Shalla started, making him look over in annoyance. Not many people got away with calling him that any more.

"What?" He demanded icily. Shalla looked uncomfortable.

"Are you fighting?" She asked him. A confused expression appeared on his face.

"Of course…" he started, rubbing his hand nervously when he saw Shalla giving it a worried glance.

"You're all right, then?" She queried, making him frown in annoyance.

"Yes," he snapped, turning away from her. A mixture of worry and annoyance appeared on Shalla's face.

"I'm just trying to help," she muttered angrily.

Reno and Elena made their way nervously along empty, abandoned corridors, always on the lookout for any sign of Myla's soldiers.

"It's too empty," Elena remarked, shivering. Reno nodded. The last time they had been in that particular building it had been full of people. It didn't help the atmosphere to know that most of them had died in the building, either.

"I'd rather it be empty than filled with Myla's soldiers," he commented, causing Elena to nod in agreement.

They made their way up a few flights of battered stairs, the lifts no longer being in operation, until they got to the entrance to the stairs that lead to the 67th floor. They both stopped due to a large buzz of static from the comm. system.

"Tseng?" Reno asked into it, wondering what could have set it off.

"Hey, Reno, it's Shalla," came her voice from the other end, interrupted with a static burst. "You appear to be breaking up. Everything all right down your end?" Reno looked confused.

"You're the ones breaking up!" he yelled exasperatedly. He could hear Shalla chuckle.

"Having a hard day's work?" She asked him. He growled.

"Don't get me started," he threatened.

"Tseng's has been worse, I can tell you that… oops, got to go… got some soldiers to fry… better fix that static," she told him, and he stared at the comm.., looking confused.

"What's wrong with it?" he wondered aloud. Elena shrugged, and he sighed.

"You go back with it. Tell them I'm going on ahead," he ordered. Elena scowled at him.

"I'm not leaving you on your own!" She protested. Reno gave her a hard look.

"Just do it. They'll get worried if they can't contact us, and you're… far more…"

"Don't you finish that sentence, Reno Kiribani!" Elena cut him off, sounding annoyed. "Tseng didn't get you out of that hell hole in the Mythril Mines for you to say I'm more valuable than you!" Reno looked at her.

"You do yourself down… Rookie," he teased, reminding her of when she'd first started. She glared at him.

"Don't you dare," she threatened him, and he held his hands up in a 'surrender' gesture.

"Just go!" He ordered, and she gave in and turned to leave.

"But if you die, I expect you to come back and haunt me" don't you go leaving me alone!" She threatened, and he nodded, laughing.

"Sure thing, 'Lena," he promised her, and she ran off towards the exit. Once she was fully out of sight, Reno took a deep breath to calm himself and stepped up the stairs.

The situation outside was bad, but not terrible. A good number of the soldiers in green had either sneaked past or broken through the lines of SOLDIERs and Grunts in Edge, so the teams guarding the old Shinra HQ were actually having to put in a bit of effort.

"It's your Turks getting lazy!" Shalla informed Tseng, who growled in annoyance. The three teams of Turks had been sent down to Edge. "Standards have obviously been slipping since I've not been around to keep them in check," Shalla continued. "Bolt4!" All of the enemy soldiers in a two-metre radius were instantly fried with super-charged lighting bolts. Tseng sighed, irritated.

"Go away. You make me look bad," he told her, and she laughed good-naturedly.

"If you insist," she replied, going over in the direction of Rufus, who looked as though he was enjoying himself firing the heads off soldiers with his shotgun. "Need a hand?" She whispered in his ear, causing him to miss a shot.

"Go away," he growled.

"No," she replied stubbornly. "I've had a change of heart."

"I'll hold you to that," Rufus threatened, and Elena ran out of the door before Shalla could reply.

"Reno's gone on alone! I've got the walkie-talkie; there was some sort of interference!" She explained in a rush. Shalla nodded, but Tseng rounded on her.

"You let Reno go in alone?" He spat at her, and she cowered.

"He says if he dies he'll come and haunt me, so we'll know!" She protested in defence. Tseng stopped whatever he was about to say, and, unusually, smiled slightly.

"I'll know anyway," Shalla cut in curtly. "You can join me and Cloud! We're killing soldiers," she explained, worryingly pleased about that task. Elena nodded.

"Just tell me where to point my gun," she threatened, sliding said weapon out of her holster with a deadly look on her face.

Reno made his way into the ruins of Hojo's lab apprehensively. Judging by the state of it, some of his 'specimens' had been fighting it out, and there were a few unusual looking skeletons on the floor. Reno shuddered. Out of everyone at Shinra, he'd despised Hojo the most. It was probably the way he kept inquiring about his health, and assessing how good a 'specimen' he'd make…

His Pre-emptive Materia shot him a warning, and he spun round and straightened up in time to transfer a kick that would have been to the back of his head to his ribs instead. He crashed to the floor, the wind knocked out of him, trying to catch a breath. Standing over him was a triumphant-looking Myla.

"Has my little pet come to pay me a visit?" She asked with mock delight, clapping her hands together excitedly. "How perfectly lovely!" Reno growled and heaved himself into a sitting position, and then stood back up, still panting. By the way it hurt to breath, Myla had probably bust one of his ribs. Another sharp, painful breath caused him to recalculate it at several.

"Back off," he warned, reaching for his Nightstick. "I'm not chained up any more!" With that, he swung for her, but she moved at lightning speed and grabbed his Nightstick mid-swing. He was so surprised he almost let go. Almost.

"I'm not as weak as you think," she growled, a throwing star appearing in her other hand as if from nowhere. Reno let out a grating laugh.

"Angeal teach you that?" he asked sarcastically, quickly pulling his Nightstick from her grasp and stepping backwards. Her expression changed in an instant from happy to very, very angry.

"None of you pathetic Shinra will ever be half the man he was!" She screamed, launching at Reno, who couldn't move out of the way fast enough because of his side and ended up with a throwing star pressed suggestively against his neck. Reno eyed it dispassionately.

"You think that's a threat?" He asked snidely. She glared at him.

"How do you know about Angeal?" She demoded of him, the star cutting painfully into the skin of Reno's neck. He laughed.

"Remember Shalla?" He asked her, and she went white.

"You can't…" she started, but Reno's hand suddenly tightened on her wrist, and he twisted the nerves, making Myla cry out and drop the infernal star.

"Yes I bloody well can," he replied, not letting go of her wrist. Myla's answer to this was to hit him, hard, with her other hand and drop-kick him in the stomach, which he certainly hadn't been expecting, and he fell to the floor again, hard, letting go of her wrist. He'd had the wind knocked out of him. Myla bent down next to him.

"If you ever speak about Angeal like that again, I will kill you. Slowly," she promised him. A slight movement let Reno see that she still had her full arsenal of knives handy. "I will take you apart… piece… by… piece…" As if to illustrate her point, she jabbed him with her retrieved star with each of her last three words. Reno barely winced.

"I doubt it," he spat, scanning the room. He couldn't see anything that would obviously be blocking radio communications… maybe it was Myla herself? That was an interesting thought…

Myla viciously pulled him up, barely allowing him time to stand before kicking him down again, sending him flying across the room. He thudded hard into an old holding tube, and he could almost feel another few ribs go. He coughed, and was disconcerted to find that he was coughing blood. That was never good. An evil smile spread over Myla's lips.

"Do you still doubt it, Turk?" She spat viciously, picking him up and slamming him bodily against the already much-abused cylinder. It cracked a little, as did Reno, and he grunted in pain.

"Keep trying," he taunted, hoping he wouldn't have to come back and haunt Elena. He wasn't the type to haunt. Myla scowled at him.

"Stupid Turk," she decided, kicking him and making him double over in pain. His hand caught the crack in the glass and pulled open the scar. As Myla turned away from him, he stole a glance at the object of his pain.

She was inside the tube as well. Turning quickly away so Myla didn't notice, he tried to figure through how that could even be possible. So, she was an experiment… they went wrong somewhere… that's how she can disappear, she's not even there… wondering if his theorizing was correct, he realized that his best chance was to pull the plug on whatever part of her was in the tube. Maybe, if he could just get her to hit him around until he reached that part… he staggered to his feet, one hand on his side, and spat blood on the floor to clear his mouth. Myla looked around, amused at his defiance. He staggered to the left, unable to manage more than a few paces without collapsing to the floor. Well, he could always try crawling… Myla got there first, hauling him roughly to his feet.

"Where do you think you're going?" She demanded forcefully. Reno, trying not to panic, thought his answer through carefully.

"Out," he settled for, hitting her across the face and causing himself an awful lot of pain in the process. He cried out almost as loudly as she did, and she pushed him down. Closer. He could see the tubes running from the larger cylinder, now all he had to do was reach them… deciding that a bit of pain was worth it to get rid of Myla, he grabbed his Nightstick and, from his position on the floor, swung in round, shattering the glass casing and tearing a few of the wires. Myla went white.

"You… dare… Turk…" she gasped, suddenly clutching her throat as if she couldn't get a breath. "No…" she choked out, her outline starting to fade. "Angeal…" With one last whisper, she was gone, and Reno lay on the floor, bleeding, covered in fluid from the tube, and wondering if he was going to die. He could see Myla's still form in the cylinder, lying in much the same way as she had before, arms crossed to her shoulders over her chest. She seemed at peace.

Reno wished he was. He scanned the room again, and, with a cry of relief, spotted Hojo's old radio set, apparently still intact. He crawled painfully over to it, grabbing for the receiver and hauling himself up to the table. He winced when he realised he'd left a trail of blood. Now, every Shinra walkie-talkie was on the same setting, so… he twisted the dials and prayed, hoping against hope that this one piece of equipment would still work. Myla's life support certainly had. He almost cried with relief when he heard the set crackle into life.

"Hello? Someone there?" Elena's voice was speaking. She'd taken the walkie-talkie.

"Elena, I can safely say I've never been more glad to hear your voice," Reno told her, praising every God he knew.

"Reno?!" She asked, worry and happiness present at the same time in her voice. Reno heard shouting in the background, and the next voice he heard was Tseng's

"Reno, get out here this minute," he demanded. Reno laughed ironically.

"I'm in a bit of a pickle, Sir… can't move on account of having a few cracked ribs. I might need one of those fictional 'holidays' you keep mentioning," he replied, coughing up more blood. He wasn't sure if it was healthy for someone to lose that much blood… he heard an argument on the other end, two of the people involved being Tseng and Elena, before Shalla spoke up.

"We're coming in to get you," she told him with finality. "Tseng, Rufus can handle it… no, he'll be… don't argue!" The last sharp comment caused the background talking to basically stop, allowing the sounds of battle to filter through to Reno's end.

"Do I have to stay conscious…?" He asked, seeing black at the corners of his vision.

"Reno-"

"Too late…" he murmured, and he slid into blessed, pain-free oblivion.

"He wasn't joking about having a hard day's work," Shalla murmured appreciatively when Reno's end went dead. Tseng seemed torn between going and rescuing Reno and the battle raging both within edge and up on the plates of Midgar. Elena was anxious to leave.

"He'd better not die, I'll murder him if he dies on me…" she was muttering.

"Come on," Shalla urged Tseng, dragging him away from the fight, closely flanked by Elena. "He's not going to die, not on my watch," Shalla reassured her. She nodded, but didn't seem too happy about it.

Shalla calmly Bolt4ed her way through the masses of soldiers to get through the door. Aside from some appreciative looks from Turks who'd known her when she refused to hurt anything living, nothing was said. She and Elena made their way up to where Elena had left Reno half an hour previously, before Shalla stopped unexpectedly. Elena looked back at her.

"What's wrong?" She asked. Shalla looked pale.

"I promised myself I'd never go up those stairs again…" She whispered quietly. Elena gave her a sympathetic look. She'd heard from Reno what Hojo had done.

"Hojo's dead, Shalla," she reassured her. Shalla shook her head.

"He's still here… I can feel it…" She murmured, scared. This was the first time Elena had seen Shalla look frightened, and it creeped her out.

"It's ok… Myla's gone, and Reno needs our help… there's no other danger…" she tried. Shalla took a deep breath at the mention of Reno's name.

"Another person I promised myself I'd never help. How times change," she muttered, almost inaudibly.

"Why, what did Reno do?" Elena asked as they walked up the stairs. Shalla gave her a long look.

"You… you don't want to know. It's not fair on him," she replied eventually. Elena shrugged, but left it.

They walked slowly into the room, to see Reno slumped across the table, unconscious and apparently bleeding from an unseen wound.

"Reno!" Elena cried, running over to him. He didn't move. "Oh, don't be dead… don't let me be too late…" Shalla stood in the doorway.

"He's alive," she told Elena softly. "You're in time." She walked quietly over to where Reno lay, shaking her head. "So very brave…" she murmured to no-one in particular, picking up his hand and seeing the wound on it. Elena gave Reno a worried look, before scanning the room.

"Where's… oh, my goodness…" she started, before seeing Myla's still form within the cylinder.

"Hmm?" Shalla turned, and went slightly pale. "So… they didn't save her after all…" She muttered, almost in a daze. "He'll not have you too," she decided, turning back to Reno.

"He'll?" Elena wondered, as Shalla cast cure4 on Reno. He grunted and his eyes flickered open.

"Where…?" He wondered, before he took in where he was. "Oh… damn…" He muttered, realising he couldn't move.

"We're going to get you out," Shalla told him. "Did you break the glass?" Reno tried to nod, but couldn't summon up enough energy.

"Yes…" he groaned eventually. "But, there were two of her…" Shalla nodded.

"It was the Mako within her. Don't try to talk, we're going to get you out," Shalla repeated, casting something on him that made him float upwards.

"Bloody float again…" he murmured, having no control over his arms or legs.

"This could be difficult," Shalla decided, using her control over the magic to move Reno along and out of the room.

"VINCENT!!" Shalla demanded in a loud voice as soon as they got back outside. Vincent immediately ran up, closely followed by his 'team' and a very angry Tseng.

"That idiot better not be dead…" he started darkly, before catching sight of Reno's rather still form.

"Reporting, Sir," Reno managed weakly, closing his eyes and trying to fall unconscious again.

"You'd better stay conscious," Tseng threatened darkly, before Vincent cut in.

"What is it, Shalla?" he asked, as Tseng shooed the other three Turks back to the fighting.

"I want my float Materia back," she demanded. "And… we need somewhere to put Reno," she added meekly. Vincent nodded, slowly.

"I'll take him up to the airship…" he started, before Tseng cut in.

"He can damn well stay in the chopper," he ordered angrily. "Reno, you are never to do that again!" He threatened, and Reno groaned.

"Don't want to, Sir," he replied. "And… will you please put me down?" He asked Shalla, who laughed.

"Taste of your own medicine," she told him grimly, and he went whiter than he already was.

"Sh-shalla, I apologised," he begged, but Shalla ignored him. He whimpered slightly, but didn't protest.

"What did you do?" Elena asked, confused.

"Yes… do enlighten us…" Vincent cut in. even more colour drained from Reno's face.

"Oh no. I've already been skinned alive by Sephiroth, I don't want to add you to the list," he told Vincent, making Shalla laugh.

"You can go in the chopper," she decided, dragging him along in the air and bringing him down onto the back seat of a nearby chopper. He breathed a sigh of relief when her Float-induced control lifted.

"Thank you," he told her desperately, making Elena laugh.

"It's not funny," Shalla and Reno replied in unison, annoyed, which didn't help.

"Do your job, Elena," Tseng told her, equally annoyed, and she quickly got out her gun and started to shoot.

"Who's winning?" Shalla asked Vincent in a whisper.

"Up here? Rufus," he replied, an evil glint in his eyes. "But I'm second." Shalla laughed.

"Well, I can beat Rufus!" She declared. "Bolt4-all!" every soldier in a 5-metre radius of Shalla was instantly turned to char.

"That's cheating," Rufus called over calmly from reloading his shotgun. Shalla simply stuck her tongue out at him. "Still changed your mind?" He called back, and Shalla instantly retreated to Vincent, who gave Rufus a long, cold look, before turning back to shooting. Rufus muttered something inaudible, and it was probably fortunate for him that Vincent didn't hear it.

"Fire4-all! Certaindeath-all!" Shalla yelled in succession, another wave falling to her powerful Materia. Rufus glared at her. In three castings, her total had passed his. "Bio4! Earth4! Comet3-all!" She cried, before collapsing to the floor in exhaustion. "Whew… can't do… much more today…" She decided, before collapsing backwards further into Vincent, who supported her with one hand and continued fighting with the other. She was unconscious. She had also taken out a good half of the army.

"How am I supposed to beat her total now?" Rufus demanded, very annoyed.

After Tseng had put a bullet through the head of the last soldier, the united forces split up again, Cloud and Tifa going back into Edge to clear up the mess. Cid departed with Yuffie muttering about Turks who destroyed his property, and Reeve and Barret bid the Turks and Rufus farewell and went back to Mideel in Reeve's helicopter. Tseng was ordering the Turks around, shouting loudly, and Rufus was idling next to Vincent and Shalla, earning himself dirty looks from the latter.

"Go home, Rufus," she demanded. He laughed.

"I'm the President of Shinra. You can't order me around," he replied curtly, watching the Turks file into one line and salute smartly. A chorus of "Yes, Sir!" Rang out across the now-empty area. Rufus chuckled lowly.

"He's good at what he does," he observed needlessly, watching the Turks enter helicopters. Shalla shrugged.

"He was my favourite when Vincent left," she murmured, making a hint of a smile touch Vincent's lips.

"We should leave," he told her. She nodded slowly, and they made their way back to their still-hovering airship and were out of sight before the first helicopter got off the ground. Rufus waited until all of the Turks had left before turning to his own army.

When Tseng and Elena arrived in the infirmary carrying a protesting Reno, the doctor sighed and shook her head.

"Does he ever learn?" She asked despairingly, causing Reno to cry out in protest.

"I'd like to see you get up after being drop-kicked twice in the ribs!" He protested, making Tseng and Elena wince in unison. The doctor sighed.

"Put him down, then," she told them, sighing and going to her Materia cupboard. "Cure, Heal… No, that's the higher level…" she murmured to herself, going through her stocks.

"Yeah… I've still got your cure," Reno cut in from the bed, annoyed to find his voice croaky even after a Cure4 from Shalla. The doctor sighed.

"You're useless," she told him, before turning to Tseng. "Sir, I'd appreciate it if.." she trailed off as Tseng nodded.

"Come on, Elena," he told her curtly, turning and walking out, followed by Elena, who didn't dare risk his wrath.

"'Lena! Come back!" Reno begged, but he knew she wouldn't risk Tseng's wrath after he'd had a tiring day.

A fortnight later, Tseng was in the infirmary demanding to know why Reno wasn't back at work.

"He needs rest!" The doctor protested. Tseng eyed her dangerously.

"He'd better be back at work within the week or… or I'll take his beer," Tseng threatened, making Reno cry out in horror. He knew when Tseng wasn't kidding.

"I'm fine, really I am…" Reno started to protest. He was also bored, being stuck in the same building/room for a fortnight, not allowed to do anything more strenuous than paperwork… which he'd had a lot of. Probably enough to mean every other Turk had none at all.

"Stop arguing," the doctor ordered curtly, annoyed, as Elena came rushing in.

"Sir, the President's in the phone for you…" she started, trailing off as Tseng glared at her. "Don't shoot the messenger?" She suggested, and Tseng grumbled and stormed out of the infirmary. Elena watched him go, looking slightly worried. "He's… gone," she waited until he was out of hearing and sight range before breathing a huge sigh of relief. "Phew… thank Holy for that…" She walked over to where the doctor and Reno were.

"'Lena, tell her I'm fine," Reno protested, swinging himself off the bed and standing up. "I've had enough paperwork to last me two lifetimes!" he wailed, and Elena laughed lightly.

"Stop moaning," she teased him. Suddenly the doctor's phone went off, and she flipped it open.

"Hello? Yes Sir…" She replied, starting to walk out of the infirmary. "I'll be right there, Sir… yes…" she walked out an down the corridor. Reno and Elena watched her go.

"I'm glad you didn't have to come and haunt me," Elena told him suddenly. Reno laughed slightly and shook his head.

"Me too," he replied decisively. Elena nodded.

"Despite what Shalla said, I was so worried…" she trailed off. Reno took her hand.

"I solemnly promise you I will never get myself half-killed again," he told her, his voice serious.

"Or worse," Elena added in.

"Or worse," he repeated obediently. "I… I couldn't die, because…" he trailed off, looking at the floor.

"What? What is it, Reno?" Elena asked, looking concerned. He sighed.

"I'd never have been able to do this," he told her, bending down on one knee. "Elena… will you marry me?" He asked her, looking embarrassed. Elena's hands flew to her mouth in shock.

"Oh, Reno…" she murmured, speechless. He looked a little worried. "Of course I will," she said in a rush, trying to alleviate his fears. Reno breathed a sigh of relief, before standing up and kissing her thoroughly.

"I'd gladly have a hundred hard day's work for you," he told her, and he meant every word.

The End

'A Hard Day's Work?' Page 97 of 97