A/N: Hey, I'm back! And thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I really appreciate it! Okay there is a DOC spoiler in this so DON'T SUE ME!!! I warnned you before hand! Anyway, keep the reviews coming please. LOVE YA!!
Disclaimer: How many times do I have to tell you?! I don't own it! Only the story idea... So don't sue me, I'm only doing this for fun, not making money off of it.
Disasters
Chapter 5: I Can't Go Back
Another week passed without Reno. Both Elena and Rude began to see changes in Rufus as well as Tseng. Rufus was ranting more often about, well, almost everything to Tseng and the rest of the staff. Minus Elena and Rude for some reason. They figured Rufus' ranting was out of frustration and he didn't have Reno to blow off some steam by deliberately telling him off when he pulled a prank. The 3 Turks had taken note that the silence was beginning to drive Rufus mad, because without Reno, the Turks, nor Shinra Inc, was the same. Scarlet had begun her scheming to take Rufus' place along with Heidegger, without Reno to disrupt their plans, it would be that much easier to succeed.
"I think... we should go see Reno..." Elena said quietly to Rude, coming into work for the morning and walking up to the 15th floor to their offices.
"You may be right..." Rude responded as Tseng joined them, looking miserable.
"Are you okay, sir? You look like you haven't gotten any sleep." Elena observed.
"I've been up all night filing papers, while President Shinra was trying to deal with Scarlet. I thought I'd never say this, but we need reno back." Tseng, Elena and Rude agreed to go visit Reno during lunch break that afternoon. Reno sat on his couch, watching the Chocobo races with a bowl of popcorn sitting next to him and a bag of chips. His apartment wasn't that bad, he kept it clean enough and it wasn't a pig pen.
"This is boring..." Reno sighed, flipping channels when there was a knock at his door, that he wasn't expecting and made the tin popcorn bowl clatter onto the hard wood floor.
"What the-?" He jumped off the couch, turned off the T.V. and went to answer the door. Reno sighed heavily, looking at the 3 Turks at his door.
"What did i do this time?"
"May we step inside?" Rude asked. Reno sighed again, letting them enter his apartment.
The 4 of them took a seat at the kitchen table
"Reno listen, Shinra has changed. A lot, since you've been gone. None of us like it. Not even Rufus." Elena explained in her quiet voice.
"Who cares? Hell will freeze over before he calls me back." Reno said while crushing a soda can.
"That's what you think..." Rude stated, as Reno stood up and went to the fridge to get 3 beers and a soda for Elena.
"Whatever, man. All I know is, I can't go back. Not now. Not ever."
"You may be surprised, Reno. Reeve informed us the other day that Rufus, I mean, President Shinra wants you back despite what he says in the open." Tseng said, trying to convince the ex-Turk.
"I can't go back until Rufus says I can."
"That may be sooner than you think, Reno." Tseng assured him, standing from his seat at the table.
"Just think about it, okay?" Elena asked, giving a small smile.
"We'll call you if anything happens." Rude said following the other 2 Turks to the door.
"Yeah, sure thing..." Reno replied, watching his friends leave, closing the door behind them.
He snuffed.
"It won't be anytime soon... I'm sure..." Reno went back to sit on the couch, then was up again because he couldn't decide what to do. He wanted to know if they were telling the truth, by going back to Shinra Inc., but decided against it. That would make him appear desperate for his job back. No, he'll wait until Rude calls. If he calls. Reno caught himself pacing inside his living room out of confusion and stopped. He obviously had to do something to distract himself.
"Chinese takeout doesn't sound that bad..."
"Do you think we were able to convince him, sir?" Elena asked Tseng as they entered the office building and took the elevator up to their floor.
"Would Vincent come back and be a Turk after what Hojo did to him? Not a chance. Reno was crushed, but it's hard to say. The thing is, I don't know. It's up to Rufus mainly, if he really wants Reno back like the rest of us. But the final decision falls to Reno. If he wants to come back. I can't make that decision, Elena." Tseng explained as he entered his office.
She sighed heavily, walking in the direction of her office. Which was right across from Reno's. Elena missed the occasional small pieces of popcorn being thrown into her office, when she didn't close her door. While Reno watched the Chocobo races during lunch break. Rufus sat in his office, watching the streets of Midgar below, before getting back to straightening out the matters of WRO's funding and concerns about the Mako reactor in Neblhiem. The silence was beginning to drive him insane, without Reno to direct his fury, instead of random people like Tseng, who didn't need it. He fought himself many times not to call Reno himself and tell him to get his ass back inside Shinra Inc. He of all people didn't want to sound desperate.
"Give him a month of so..." Rufus told himself quietly, turning back to his desk with folders piled on it. Scarlet as always, was being bothersome with her ranting about how big she wanted to make a certain weapon. And how she wanted to rebuild the "Sister Ray".
Many times did Rufus tell Scarlet that they were no longer placing much profit into Mako and were searching for a new energy source through help of Barret, who surveys oil fields.
"Listen Scarlet, we aren't placing anymore profit into Mako. I thought you would've changed like the rest of us with your brush near death..." Rufus reminded her, removing his neck brace. He had a doctors appointment the other day, who said he could remove it when he felt ready.
"But Mr. President, could you really trust that fool with his terrorist group, Avalanche to discover a new source of energy?!" Scarlet countered ready to explode.
"Barret is fully capable of surveying for new energy sources. And like I said, we are no longer turning to Mako. If you don't like it, feel free to leave the corporation. I can easily find a replacement for you." Rufus stated, unphased by her reaction. Scarlet scowled at Rufus and stomped out of his office, throwing a hissy fit. If she continued on throwing these fits, he would gladly let Reno pull an ultimate prank on her.