Chapter 12: Insania

Screams, terrible screams echoed over and over in my head. I watched as innocent people were torn to shreds by my very own hands. Bloody, sickeningly warm hands. I cried helplessly since I couldn't control my actions. Why couldn't I stop this massacre? Why was I even doing this?!

Strangely, I could feel warm arms wrap around me. The familiar sound of a guttural song began to drown out the screams and my vision blurred to a comfortable grey fog. Clawed hands rubbed my shuddering arms calming me down. Finally having a moment of rest, I leaned back against the warm figure and allowed myself some much needed rest.

"Reno? You need to awaken soon, but for now you can get some rest. As a matter of fact, your children would probably appreciate you chilling out for a bit."

"My children…are they ok? I mean, they…won't know what I've done, will they? And they're all right?"

"Rest for now, my son," the voice whispered soothingly, "they will be fine as long as you don't harm yourself any further."

"Chaos, I'm…scared of what's happening…"

"I know."

Cloud paced nervously beside the hospital bed as Vincent's head rested against Reno's forehead. He had been in the same position for several hours without so much as twitching, and it was agitating the blond. Rude sat on a stool in a corner of the room watching the entire scene with a grave air about him. He was just as worried and frustrated, but all the years of training and working in the Turks had given him better self control than the screwed up experiment pacing the floor. Rude's dislike for Cloud was the only thing that he didn't bother hiding at the moment.

Finally, Vincent stirred and sat up wearily. Cloud stopped his pacing and stared intently at the ex-Turk. Even Rude seemed to be waiting.

"Vincent, how is he?"

Crimson eyes looked up into the Mako blue ones and let a weary sigh brush past his pale lips. The golden gauntlet brushed back the thick chocolate hair from his face.

"I've managed to get him to rest a little, but it won't be for long. We have a serious problem here."

"Problem?" Cloud hissed angrily. His eyes narrowed dangerously and both hands clenched until his knuckles were white. "This whole situation is a fucking problem! What else could be wrong?!"

Rude shot out of his seat and clenched his fists angrily. He wasn't about to let Cloud be a jackass right now.

"Shut your mouth," he growled dangerously. "Reno's trying to get some much needed rest, and if you wake him up now, I will not be held responsible for kicking your ass."

"Hah, you think that you can do something to me?" Cloud challenged. "You and your Turk entourage couldn't beat me on a good day, so what makes you think that you could take me out alone?"

Vincent rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Those testosterone loaded idiots had been tense the moment they got within spitting distance and it was beginning to seriously annoy the older man. There were more important problems right now and they decided that talking trash was the appropriate thing to do? Pathetic.

"Now, now boys, put your dicks back in your pants and let's get down to business."

All three of the conscious people in the room turned in surprise to the calm blond standing at the doorway. Rufus was holding his white leather suitcase in one hand while his other hand was busy with his PDA.

"Rufus," Vincent sighed in relief. "I'm glad you got my message."

The President nodded his head absentmindedly and walked into the room, his face still glued to the screen of his mini supercomputer. Rude pulled a chair up for the Shinra and obediently backed down. Once again his calm demeanor masked the wrath bubbling up inside of him.

"Listen, Rufus," Cloud spat, "this is not the time for your little mind games, or your fucking speeches. What do you plan on doing now? That's all I want to know."

Finally placing his PDA into his pocket, Rufus looked up at the irritated Cloud and smiled a little.

"Dearest Cloud, I think the correct question to be asking now is, 'what are you planning to do'? After all, you don't seem too happy to be here."

The Mako blue eyes flared briefly as he stared down Rufus.

"It's none of your business."

"Then quietly remove yourself from this room," Rufus demanded almost cheerfully. "If you aren't willing to confide in me or even have the decency to offer your help in this precarious situation, then you will not be privileged enough to hear what I have to say."

Vincent looked curiously at Cloud to see his reaction, and was not disappointed as a multitude of emotions crossed his young face. During these last few hours, Cloud had been showing more emotions than he had shown in the past few years. If the situation wasn't so dire, it would have been comical.

"Listen, Shinra, I've just found out about this entire situation and I have the right to be a little pissed off."

"And your point would be?"

Cloud clenched his teeth and took a few calming breaths. "My point is, I don't want to be in this situation at all. If I wanted to deal with a fucking pregnant person, I would have banged Tifa a long time ago. I don't like kids, I don't like mad scientists chasing after me, and I sure as hell don't want to deal with a fucking pregnant psychopath named Reno!"

"Then why are you here?" Rufus questioned quietly. Not once did his cold eyes turn away from the fiery Mako eyes, yet there were no visual signs of anger or any other emotion. Rufus was in absolute control, and it was clear to everyone in the room, including Cloud.

Cloud's eyes dropped to the floor as he considered the question.

"You don' hafta force yourself ta stay with me, yo," Reno's soft voice whispered.

Everyone turned to face the bed and they were surprised to see the redhead awake. He was still too pale to be considered healthy, and his green eyes looked at his lover sadly.

"That's not what I-"

"I know that you didn't want commitment, and I tried hard, I really did…" Reno's voice dropped and he watched his fingers fidget with his sheets. "Really, 'm sorry for lying, kitten, but I didn't wanna let you go, I didn't think that you would stay. Now I know that you won't stay, 'n I'm ok with that. It wasn't fair of me to hold on to you for so long."

A sigh escaped the blond hero and he ran shaky fingers through his spiked hair.

"It's not you, Reno. Damn, it's just…"

Shaking his head, Cloud couldn't finish the sentence. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a few more breaths, but he couldn't hold his composure for long. Turning on his heels he left the room hurriedly, leaving Reno lying dejectedly on the bed.

"Who told him?" Reno asked quietly.

"I did. Sorry." Rude answered. He shook his head in regret; he had hoped that Cloud had cared more for Reno and would be strong enough to stay with him. Sadly, he was wrong.

"Did you tell him that I was carrying his child?"

Rude shook his head. "I didn't know you were."

"Let's jus' leave it that way, alright, yo?"

"Reno, you need to rest. Your body can't handle all this stress," Vincent said worriedly.

"I know, I just w-wanted to see Cloud," he choked out, closing his eyes so that the tears wouldn't fall.

With a gentle green glow, Vincent cast a mastered Sleep on the weary Reno. Once his form slumped and his breathing evened, everyone calmed down a little more. Rude shuffled his sheet uncomfortably as Rufus turned his attention to the Turk.

"Rude, I need you to take Elena and Tseng and all of you guys need to get a hold of all of our weapons and defense contacts. It seems that the shit is about to hit the fan, and I intend to be ready for that."

The Costan man nodded and left giving Reno one last glance. It was obvious that he felt very bad for bringing Cloud into this and speeding Reno and Cloud's relationship into the fiery end everyone was expecting. Rufus shook his head and looked towards the ex-Turk.

"So, Vincent," he sighed, "how is he?"

Vincent stroked Reno's hand affectionately before he turned his attention to Rufus. Those sharp blue eyes looked tired, but the President's entire body language spoke of something else entirely. He was carrying himself as if he was ready to be threatened and he had every intention of fighting back.

"Reno is almost broken."

A perfect eyebrow rose. "Almost? That is almost?"

His manicured finger pointed to the angry red gash across the redhead's neck. The poor Turk had lost so much blood that the wound hadn't been able to heal all the way. The bag of transfusion blood dripped slowly in order to mix in properly with the Mako that the doctors suggested should be given to him before he suffered from withdrawal.

"I know he looks bad, but I can in all honesty tell you that he hasn't lost it yet. Reno's been pushed to edge and he's lost his balance, but that's all. Someone can still grab him and pull him back."

"Nice metaphor, but how exactly do you suggest I pull him back?"

Vincent pulled his hand away from Reno and stroked Rufus's cheek. Almost immediately, he pulled away, as if surprised by his own actions.

"You can start by letting him know that you're here for him. He's a Turk, so asking for help is not an option to him; his pride is too strong for it. If you stay with him every step of the way, he'll begin to heal mentally."

"And physically?"

"Well, there seems to be another problem with that."

"Damn," Rufus whispered in agitation. "Are the babies ok?"

Crimson eyes faded into gold and Vincent's skin paled considerably. Thankfully, Chaos had gotten a lot better and only transforming halfway so there was no need to worry about wings and crazy hair. However, seeing any part of him always brought up that heated feeling, making him nearly light headed.

"The babies are a little shaken up, but that's not what I'm worried about," Chaos growled. Rufus leaned back in his chair and just waited for the demon to explain. "I'm beginning to feel another presence, like a shadow, in his aura."

Rufus tilted his head and looked straight into Chaos's animalistic eyes. With his mind running at full speed one answer stuck out far above the others. "Are you saying…as his father, is it possible that you…could he have a demon inside of him?"

Chaos looked down and nodded. "It is a possibility that we need to be prepared for."

"Tch, and how does one prepare for this, exactly?"

He growled in agitation. "I don't know, why don't we just kill him to be safe huh? Or did you learn better than that?" His tone was mocking and angry and it stung at Rufus more than he would have liked to admit.

"There's no need to get angry," Rufus hissed as he stood up. "I'm trying to work things out, here, and contrary to popular belief, I don't just sit on my royal ass doing nothing for my company!"

Chaos got up in a blur and shoved Rufus against the solid white wall. "Listen, you pompous bastard, you think that you have it rough? Are you the only one with problems on this PLANET? You still don't understand anything! Damn it, Rufus, you are still nothing but a child." His clawed fingers clutched both of the Shinra's arms painfully, but not enough to draw blood.

The Shinra prince looked away. "Let go of me, Chaos. I…still have work to do."

Clawed hands released him, before a decidedly more human hand grabbed his chin and pulled him into a crushing hug. The gauntlet hand pressed against the smaller man's chest, gently holding him still before a soft kiss was pressed against the thin lips. Vincent paused for a quick "Sorry," before he plunged back into that sweet mouth. A few minutes later, he pulled away and sighed as he saw that Rufus still wasn't looking at him. They walked back to the chairs and settled down heavily.

"So, what can we do about Reno's problem?" Rufus asked quietly.

"I'm not sure if there is anything that we can do," was the somber reply. "Rufus, I'm really sorry. Chaos was wrong, and it was not in his place to say such cruel things. I understand how hard you are working; we're all just under a lot of stress."

"I know," he sighed. "I don't hold it against him."

Even though Rufus had said it without wavering, Vincent saw the damage had been done. Everyday people, even people like the ex-AVALANCHE members, didn't truly understand how much the President worked in order to repair the damage he and his father had done. As well as the work he was continuing to put into trying to reform the Shinra Company and make it the best it could be. He would work until near exhaustion before resting only long enough for a snack and a nap before he was right back at it. Even their nightly trysts didn't keep him in bed all night. For Chaos, who had seen all this, to chide him so sharply…well, it wasn't encouraging in the least.

"Rufus, you should stay and look after Reno. I'm going to head over to Nibelheim to scout out the area, and then I'll report back to you."

"That'll be fine."

Vincent looked over at Rufus sadly, and sighed quietly. It wasn't good that he was beginning to worry over the younger man so much, but he felt that he owed it to him. Another sin to repent for, but how could he do that when he was still suffering from Lucrecia? He couldn't suffer for the both of them at the same time. Already, the Shinra was back to clicking away on his PDA. He flipped his cape and melded back into the shadows, his last glance of the proud blond was to see him slump in the chair and sigh.

Gradually, I became more and more aware of my surroundings. There was a fat nurse who would come in and check to make sure I was comfortable every hour or so. She would even help me to the bathroom, not at all flinching. This shameless woman became the constant thing in my life for several days, weeks, months, whatever it was. I could always count on Debbie to show up on the hour. There was another chick, but she only came during the night hours to make sure that my arms were strapped in properly. Yeah, this fucking shit was also SOLDIER proof.

Rufus would sit silently by my bedside for countless hours, many of which were spent clicking away on his hand-held computer. He would sometimes talk to me, but I couldn't bring myself to listen most of the time. It was too tiring.

Another constant was held during my stay at the hospital; Cloud never again came to visit me. I couldn't hold it against the guy because I knew that this was exactly what was going to happen. The guy was so insecure about everything, especially anything regarding a serious relationship and yeah, a kid would equal a serious relationship even if it wasn't exactly his. A small part of me had hoped that I meant a little more to him, that he wouldn't throw me away so quickly, but I knew better than that. It had been wishful thinking.

Today, Rufus had accidentally fallen asleep in the chair in the middle of typing something. The guy didn't look like had he slept any, but I wasn't one to judge. Debbie came in with a large smile and a tray of semi-edible looking food. She tiptoed around the Boss, and set the tray on my nightstand.

"How are you today?" she whispered.

I just stared at her like I've been doing ever since I met her. This woman here had to be a fucking saint to deal with me. It's not like I was trying to make it easy on her or anything. Sometimes I felt bad because I knew that I shouldn't be so rude; I just was.

"I think a little walk will make you feel much better," she continued. Quite easily, Debbie sat me up and strapped on my straight-jacket. Ever since I lashed out at another nurse and put him in intensive care, my straight-jacket was a requirement. "How are the little darlings?" Ah, the babies. I didn't give them much thought these days. I was aware that my stomach was beginning to swell already, but other than acknowledging that, I tried not to think about them.

Debbie took a hold of my shoulders and walked me around the room. She was careful not to let me fall or walk too fast, and she continued to chatter about nonsensical things. I found it funny that the Boss was so tired that he continued to sleep in that awkward position even when the nurse talked.

"All right, deary, it's time for your lunch." Sweet Debbie sat me down on the hospital bed and pulled up my tray. "What would you like to eat first? Some of the mashed peas? Or would you like to start on the turkey?" Ah, so that's what that shit was. Good to know. "Let's see, I think that you'd like to start with the turkey."

Still in my straight-jacket, I wasn't able to feed myself, so I had to depend on her steady hand to supply me with nourishment. She gave me a piece of turkey to munch on before getting a large spoonful of green shit, er, mashed peas. Just as she lifted it to my mouth, the door slammed open making all of us jump up. The peas were now smeared across my face and poor Rufus was standing with his gun pulled out and pointed at Tseng. The Head of the Turks had sweat on his forehead and his hair wasn't as impeccable as it usually was.

"Tseng?" Rufus choked out before putting his gun down. "What's wrong?"

"President, the Tower's been attacked, as well as the WRO's headquarters."

"What?!"

"The doctor's are on a man hunt for Reno, and the Tsviets have made their move at the same time! We need to get him out of here, now."

I looked between the two of them in amusement. They were both so worked up and in such a panic. How precious, they were worried about me. Debbie had already cleaned up my face and was now looking at the other two. I also vaguely wondered who these Tsviets were.

"Do you want me to prepare him, President?" she asked worriedly.

"Please," Rufus replied. "Tseng, do you have the transportation secured?"

"Yes sir."

"Very well, we need to take Reno into hiding. Reno, listen, you're going to be taken by Tseng into one of our safe houses. Debbie? I would like it if you went along; Reno seems to have taken a liking to you, and someone needs to tend to him."

"Yes sir," Debbie said with a nod.

It took us all of ten minutes to get completely packed up. I was shoved in the back to sit with my nurse and a few necessary medications. Tseng got in the front, and Rufus drove off in another car, heading straight for the danger. Hmm, I remember when I used to head for the danger too. That was quite a while ago wasn't it? Who cared?

Our old unassuming car drove along the streets of Midgar back and forth until he finally stopped in a quiet little middle-class neighborhood. By this time, Tseng had the nurse remove the straight-jacket; at least he wasn't scared of me. The neighborhood we drove into was as silent as a grave. Its perfect and well watered lawns a mockery of the slums that barely had enough water to drink. Was it a wonder that everyone turned to alcohol? Strangely, I couldn't bring myself to be angry; I was too numb for that.

Practicing more caution then necessary, Tseng surveyed the area before hurriedly carrying me into the house. All of our things were quickly put away so that Tseng could set up the state-of-the-art security system. As he was doing that, I wandered through the house, wondering how Cloud was doing. Did he already have another lover? Was he happy? These thoughts made me miserable as I walked through the small yet clean house, running my sensitive fingers over everything. It all seemed too perfect, as if no one had ever actually lived in here. Debbie tried talking to me, but I ignored her because it was too wearisome to have a conversation. Eventually, I made my way to a bedroom and sat on the soft mattress. My mind began to wander back to the strip club where I had lost it. There was no doubt in my mind that I was the one who had murdered everyone in there, but I couldn't figure out why or how. One thing I was certain of was that it had something to do with Sheryl saying that my time was running out. A tap on the shoulder brought me back to reality and I turned to face Tseng.

"Reno, how are you doing?" he asked honestly.

Tseng, the man I worked under and loved dearly sat next to me and looked over my sick body. The pregnancy had been taking its toll, and I've been needing more and more Mako shots. The sad thing was that we were running out of the Mako shots since we were no longer pumping it up through the reactors. The only pluses I got from the pregnancy so far were softer hair and cleaner skin. Not sure how that worked out, but I'm not one to complain. Being acne free was fine with me.

"Reno," Tseng asked again, shaking me out of my thoughts. "How are you doing?"

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"That's not what I asked." I looked down and he decided to move on. "Fine, I'm just going to fill you in a little. A group that seems to have been gathered by the Franklins has launched an all out attack on the Tower under the assumption that you were being cared for in there. I haven't gotten any news from Rufus yet, but I'm sure that the others are ok. Still, that was a brash move on those doctors' part, so we need to keep you in hiding. Can you work with that?"

"Sure, yo."

Nice, undercover work. At least it was a break in the monotony. Too bad I was hiding instead of sneaking behind the enemy line.

"Who're the Tsviets?"

He looked at me and paused before deciding that I could handle some new information. "They're a part of the Deepground thing we were looking into."

"Ah." Nope, I didn't care.

"Well, it's time to put your disguise on. I'll try to make it low maintenance." Tseng was watching me carefully, seeing if I could understand what he was saying. Bastard, I was crazy, not stupid.

"Sure thing," I answered softly. Getting a makeover just might make me feel a hell of a lot better. At least that's what all the girly gossip magazines I've been reading lately said.

His cold hand led me to the bathroom that had already been prepared. I sat on the toilet seat and looked into the full sized mirror he had out for me. I looked like utter shit; my skin color was a shade darker than death and you could see the green veins right through it. Dark crescents contrasted my Mako green eyes making both stand out even more. Debbie had done wonders with my hair, but it was still messy. Its luster was unmatched but with my uncaring attitude, it was nothing like the crimson glory it had been before.

With one of Elena's already present headbands, he held back my bangs as he applied a special spray paint like to cover up the tattoos under my eyes for a few months. The spray felt cool to my skin, a comforting pressure.

"Since you're pregnant, you're going to have to have to pose as a woman while we stay here. This way, no one suspects a thing."

"What, yo, I can't dress up as a dude with a beer belly?" I teased weakly. Tseng smiled a little as he finished up covering my twin tattoos.

"You're too pale, so you need to get some sun while you're staying here. That and eat better. The paint covering your tattoos is a little darker than your skin so it'll stick out if you don't get a healthier look."

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "I don't think anyone's gonna get close enough to notice, yo."

"Just do what I say."

"Yes, sir," I grumbled.

"Here, pick one out," he said pulling out a few wigs.

Another sigh brushed my lips as I looked at my choices. They were natural hair colors in some popular female haircuts. Ugh, the typical blonde hair with the perfect layers, brown hair with the honey highlights, and a black bob. What the hell? How was that s going to match me at all?!

"They're all ugly," I replied honestly.

Pulling out a pair of scissors, Tseng shook his head. "You'll just have to deal with it, that's all we have."

"Tch, if I'm putting on one of those fugly things, you're gonna have to shave my legs, armpits, and manscape."

"Tell that to Rufus, my contract doesn't cover that."

Shaking my head and smiling, I closed my eyes and told him to switch up the order. If I was gonna have to pick this shit, I'd let luck dictate that. I wriggled my finger around and finally paused.

"Reno, you're pointing between heads." I twitched my finger to the right. "Ok, got it. Now loosen your hair."

It was going to be painful parting with the hair I've been growing since…for a long time, but it was necessary. All of the hair wouldn't fit under the wig right, so he knew that it was going to happen. "Jus' do it quick," I grumbled.

His delicate fingers took a hold of my silky locks and held it together as he took it off in one snip. I had my eyes closed because I just couldn't see it finally gone. Damn, that was rough.

"There, I left it to your shoulder blades, so that should be enough. Now let's put on the wig."

I just dreaded finding out which one I picked. Tch, it's sad how I'm worrying about hair when there were crazy people after me, and I was sure that I wasn't mentally stable. Nice.