Tengoko: Oh, I'm so sorry for taking so long. I don't know what happened with my time. I, stupidly, have begun another story. And, I've said it before, but in this case, writer's block was particularly hating me and I just couldn't figure out what to do. Well, I've solved the problem, after five different versions of this chapter. I hope you like this one. And, again, I'm so sorry to keep you all waiting. Thank you to everybody who's reviewed. Please, keep reviewing. Enjoy.
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Rated M for language and romance
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Chapter 22: Nerve Agents and Moon Light
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He didn't know why he'd come here. Perhaps it was because there was nowhere else to run. Maybe it was because he knew it was only a matter of time before they killed him. Well, it was both of those reasons. But, mainly, it was because this is where they'd died. The last place he'd seen both of them alive. The last place he'd kissed them good-night.

He walked slowly towards the stairway, the only part of the building that looked stable, and sat down on the steps. He buried his face in his hands and dropped his gun in the process. But, suddenly, he wrenched himself away from his palms and looked with horror at the blood. A mixture of his blood from where he finger had once been, and her blood from where he'd plunged the knife deep into her chest.

It was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. She looked so much like her. The wife that he'd lost in the explosion. For a second, when he'd looked into Elena's hazel eyes, he could have sworn he'd thought it was his Ame.

"Gods, what have I done?" he cried, stumbling to the ground, and pounding his fist on the hard ground. "What have I become?"

A few months ago, he'd never before killed a man. He was just a small member of a rebel faction meant to peacefully protest against the reinstatement of Rufus Shinra as the president of the newly rebuilt Midgar. Havre had convinced him to join, told him that it was for the best, that his family would benefit from it.

"How much longer do I have now?" he wondered aloud, picking his gun back up. "Can't be too long now. All they have to do is follow the trail of blood." He looked at where his finger had been shot off. While the flow of blood had slowed, it was still coming out. It hadn't even occurred to him to try to stop the bleeding.

Rising to his feet, he leaned his back against the wall and took in a deep breath. He heard footsteps approaching and knew exactly who it was. He didn't run. There was nowhere left to go. He just stood, waiting and thinking.

He heard the sound of a gun being cocked, and he shifted his head to find the source of it. He smiled when he saw Reno standing fifteen feet away, his gun raised, ready to kill him. Justus chuckled and raised his own gun. "How're we going to settle this, then?" he asked, pushing himself off the wall. "We both have nothing to lose. My family and my best friend have all been killed by your fucking organization, and…well…you never had much to begin with, but I took away the one person you've ever really cared about. So…what's death to men like us?"

"I am nothing like you, Justus, so don't compare the two of us." Reno looked very different than what Justus was used to. Usually he was a man who carried himself with an air of egoism and humor. And, then of course, there was the fact that he looked like the type of man not to mess with. Now, however, he looked like a man who'd been through hell and it'd gotten the best of him.

"You look like shit," Justus said after making the observation. "Is it possible that I've finally broken you?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Reno gritted. "Don't mistake me for somebody who's become weak. On the contrary…now is the time you don't want to piss me off. Though, no matter what you do, there really is no escape for you this time."

"Then, why waste time with this conversation? Why don't you just pull that damned trigger and kill me like you've been wanting to?"

Reno finally smiled, a cold, calculating smile. "Because I want you to suffer, Justus. Just pulling the trigger would end it much too quickly."

"Then allow me to end this," he hissed, cocking his own gun. But, before he could do anything, a gunshot ran through the destroyed building and ripped the pistol from Justus' hand. He looked quickly to the side and his eyes widened when he saw Rude walking towards them, his gun raised just like Reno's was.

"Did you honestly think that I'd let him come alone?" Rude asked.

"I was actually expecting all of you to come. After all, I did kill your favorite little Turk."

"You didn't kill her," came another voice. Tseng walked up behind Rude and Reno and put his hands on their shoulders, silently ordering them to lower their guns. "After everything that has happened, Justus, have you still not learned that Elena just won't give up without a fight?"

"She's not dead?" he exclaimed, his face paling.

"No," Tseng answered shortly, putting his hands behind his back. "And, that is something we plan on ensuring."

"We aren't going to let you hurt her ever again," Rude said.

"Her heroes 'til the end, I see," Justus smiled. "Oh well…at least I can take comfort in the fact that when she does die…her soul will rot in hell."

"Reno!" Tseng shouted, but there was no stopping what happened next. In seconds, Reno had lunged towards Justus and tackled him, making him hit the wall hard before falling to the floor. The red-head pinned him to the ground and then beat Justus across the face with his gun.

But, there was only so long that Reno could hold the advantage. Justus was a much bigger man. With a show of great strength, he was flung off of him, and Justus jumped to his feet and kicked him hard in the side.

Reno saw stars for a moment, not expecting it at all. He coughed, trying to get his breath back. Thankfully, Rude stepped in at that moment, and took Justus down again. It didn't look as if he'd be fighting. He just looked up at Tseng as if he were waiting for instructions.

Tseng helped Reno stand up and then told Rude to pick Justus up to his feet. Rude did as he was told , but he held onto Justus, his hand tightening around his arm.

"Don't let that happen again, Reno," Tseng said coolly. Then he turned back to look at Justus. "Now…as for you. Rufus Shinra has ordered all of us to bring you in…alive. He says that you are to be put on trial, and your conviction will fit the crime." There was a short pause. "I, however, do not want to take the chance that you could possibly be shown mercy. You are the last person that deserves that. You deceived me, managed to earn my trust on false pretenses, joined the most distinguished organization that Shin-Ra has to offer, and then betrayed us all. Worst off all, you used, wounded, and did everything you could to kill a person that means a lot to all of us."

"So…why don't you cut this all short and say you are going to kill me."

"Gods, man, you don't have to be that accommodating. Besides, I'm not planning on killing you. As it turns out, it seems that somebody else has promised you that they'd dispatch you."

"What?"

"I did warn you," Rude whispered.

"Wha…" Justus was suddenly flung back against the wall, his head cracking against the stone making his vision blur. He groaned aloud, but suddenly found that he couldn't breathe. Rude's gloved hands were around his neck.

"Should have made sure I was dead, you little bastard. It seems to be one of your biggest problems."

"Wait," Reno said, stepping forward and then holding his hand out to Tseng. "You said you brought it with you."

"I did," he nodded, reaching into his coat and handing Reno a small vial filled with an brown liquid. He saw Justus eyeing it warily, despite the fact that he was still trying to pry Rude's hands off of his throat. "You didn't really think we'd let you die so easily, did you?"

"Do you know what that is?" Rude asked. "It's called EA1205. A few years ago, a single drop of this stuff was spilled on a lab bench at the research and development agency. The two people who it affected needed three weeks to recover from it. See, what it did was make them experience miosis. You know what that is, don't you?"

"Stop teasing him," Tseng ordered. Rude turned to him, slightly upset that he couldn't continue with the verbal torture, and he lessened his grip without realizing it.

"It's when the pupils contract," Justus said with strained breath.

"So, he is smarter than he looks," Reno said, standing closer. "You see, after that…" he continued, ignoring Tseng's order to stop, "they became dizzy, and could barely breath. So, if one drop could do that…imagine what an entire vial could do. Well, you can pretty much assume it works like any other nerve agent."

"Well, in that case…it's either got to be inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Not in liquid form."

"Not as smart as I'd assumed. No. EA1205, while deadly when absorbed through the skin, is just as lethal when dropped in liquid form through in the eye. You'll have anywhere between a minute to ten minutes. Eventually, after you lose control of all your muscles, and the typical SLUD reaction occurs, you'll lose control of your respiration, and you'll die from asphyxiation."

Tseng shook his head. "Was all that necessary?"

"Yes," Rude said, tightening his hold again. "Look at him. He's afraid."

"I'm ready, Rude," Reno said.

"Be careful," Tseng said, removing three face masks from his jacket. "If we inhale any of the fumes, it's our asses, too. Don't let any on your skin."

Rude and Reno took two of the masks and put them on. Justus really began struggling now, and he tried his hardest to get out of Rude's hold. Finally, Rude just punched him, knocking him to the ground, and then pinned him to the ground by putting his foot on his chest. Tseng came forward and held his hands above his head allowing Reno to kneel down.

He reached into his pocket and grabbed a leather glove, folding it up and using it to pop the cork from the vial. He let both the glove and the cork fall to the floor before looking down at Justus.

"You'll never hurt anybody again," he promised. Justus closed his eyes tight, and gasped when he felt the cold liquid pouring down on him. He knew that it'd get through.

"Let's get out of here," Tseng said, letting go of his hands. Reno threw the vial against the wall and the three Turks quickly walked towards the exit, turning around when they were at a safe distance to watch. It didn't take long for the poison to take effect, and watching the young man die was one of the most difficult things to do, but they all did it. They all had to be sure that he was dead.

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She'd been awake for a while now. The nurse had opened the blinds to her window so she could look outside at the garden. The moon was up now, and the pale light shone into the room. She was urged to go back to sleep by the nurse, but there was no way she could sleep.

She sighed heavily before slowly sitting up and sliding off the bed. Even though she was still wearing her socks, she could feel how cold the floor was, but she didn't care. Grabbing the stand that her IV was on, she walked towards the window and looked up at the moon. "Reno," she said softly, putting her hand over her heart. It stung…more than stung actually. It still hurt when she breathed, but she knew she'd be fine.

Suddenly, the room was illuminated by a bright light, and she turned to see who was responsible for it. Her face literally lit up when she saw him in the doorway. He wasted no time crossing the space between them. His hand gripped her shoulders and he looked at her severely.

"Why aren't you in bed?" he asked, as though scolding her. "You should be resting, Laney." She smiled and reached up to put a hand to his cheek. He closed his eyes but then groaned irritably. "Damn it, don't do that. I'm still mad at you."

"I know," she said, still smiling. "Is he dead?"

"Yes," he nodded, putting his arms around her. "How are you feeling, babe?"

"About as well as can be expected," she said, looking up at him. "So…am I going to have to wait a few minutes, or are you going to kiss me hello already?"

Against his will, he chuckled. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Laney." He bowed his head down and pressed his lips to hers. After a few minutes where they just held each other and kissed, he looked down at her lovingly and said, "nothing will ever hurt you again, Elena. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

She giggled happily, kissing his cheek, and then taking both of his hands into hers. "You get so cute when you're being protective."

"Shut up," he whined, though he started laughing.

"I love you, Reno," Elena said.

Reno stopped laughing, and he kissed her again. "I love you too, Laney." He was about to kiss her again, but then there was a knock on the door, and the two of them turned to the doorway to see Tseng and Rude.

"What's going on?" Reno asked, knowing by the way that Tseng was standing that this wasn't a normal visit.

"Well, Justus' autopsy revealed to Rufus what we did. We have to go, Reno. He wants to talk to us."

"Already?" Reno asked, surprised. "I thought that those things took time."

"Well, Rufus was suspicious about his death. He knows us too well, it seems. Come on, Reno. Elena needs her rest anyway."

"How did you kill him?" Elena asked, slightly confused.

"I'll tell you about it later, babe. Tseng's right. You need to get some sleep." With those words, he kissed her good-bye and then joined the other Turks at the doorway. They waited for Tseng to close the door before speaking again. "So, has the shit hit the fan for us…again?"

"Well, I don't think he'll fire us," Tseng said. "He'd be stupid to. Still, I don't think he's been quite this mad in a long time. We could be facing a punishment worse than probation."