A/N: I finally got this chapter done. It's been hanging around in my folder for what feels like weeks.

Okay, I have an important thing to say about this, coz when I leave out points like this, I get asked anyway, so here goes... I know that in the game of FFVII, Bone Village leads to Sleeping Forest, then you have to do that stupid snowboarding thing and climb that mountain, but it wouldn't work if I put all that in, so just forget about the snowboarding and the mountain... it's AU, 'kay?

Enjoy

Chapter 7

The breeze; it was weak, yet it somehow comforted her. It was all Elena felt as her soft hair was blown onto her face. She felt like she should open her eyes, but something in her mind was telling her to keep them shut. She felt completely numb all over, even thought she knew she was lying on the hard ground, and it should have felt uncomfortable. Inhaling her next deep breath of fresh air, she slowly forced herself to open one eye. After that one crack of bright sunlight entered her vision, everything hit her like a brick. The numbness left her body, and she felt the gritty floor that she was laying on. Both her eyes snapped open and she stared at the floor ahead of her, for some reason not daring to move.

'Wait a second… why am I on the floor anyway?'

Then, everything hit her; the shadow on the bank next to her, Reno's scream, and then the passing out…

"Reno?" she said loudly, sitting up sharply. "Reno!"

She looked vaguely around her, but the redhead was nowhere to be seen. Elena felt her heard leap to her throat; she had never been able to turn around to see Reno before she passed out. She remembered his desperate scream; one that was truly sincere – a scream of someone that really needed help. What could have happened to him?

"Reno?" she shouted unsurely again, just to make sure. She got slowly to her feet. Knowing him, he was messing around, and just hiding behind a tree, waiting to scare her. But she searched, albeit slowly, and no sign of the redhead anywhere.

"Oh… no…" Elena muttered. She sat down on the bank, and then looked up at where she had seen the silhouette. There was nothing there, not even any trees in that area, so she must have seen something, as it was impossible for her mind to play tricks on her if there was nothing to mistake as a figure.

Sighing, she decided that the only thing she could do was to keep walking, and to attempt to call Tseng. Of course, being so deep in the forest, her cell signal wouldn't be very good, but it was worth a try.

She pulled out her cell phone from her pocket and began to walk as she dialled Tseng's number. She kicked a stone on the floor as she heard the call immediately clicking off.

"Damn it." Elena said angrily pressing redial only to hear it click off again. She sighed and put the cell back into her pocket. The only way she was going to get out of this mess would be to find Reno and high-tail out of the forest. But the problem was, Reno could be anywhere.

'Well… the longer I stand wasting time the further away Reno's probably going to be…' Elena thought to herself. She made the decision in her head; she would find Reno. That way, she could also prove herself as a Turk to Tseng… and to Reno for that matter. She didn't know why, but Reno's opinion mattered more and more to her lately.

Feeling slightly more confident, Elena carried on walking down her path, which was heading further and further down hill. She had to admit to herself, she was worried. Both about Reno, and what would happen to her. How would she find Reno in this forest? She'd never been here before in her life, and she had been counting on Reno to lead the way.

"Where are you…?" she muttered quietly to herself as she walked. All of a sudden, she stopped as she got a shiver down her spine. A unfamiliar voice spoke behind her.

"I wouldn't go that way."

Elena turned around to see a fairly old man standing behind her. He stood fairly tall, but leaning on a cane which he held in his left hand. How she hadn't noticed him before was beyond her.
"What? Who are you?" Elena said defensively. Just because he was an old man, she wasn't going to take any chances.

"I can't tell you that." The man said. He had very kind blue eyes, and his face was wrinkled. "But please, for your sake, don't go that way."

"Have you seen my friend?" Elena asked him quickly. "He's got red hair…"

"A redhead?" the man's blue eyes lit up and Elena's heart jumped. "No, sorry… I don't often come down to these parts… they don't let me. They seem… preoccupied."

"They?" Elena said, her eyebrows knitting. "Who's 'they'?"

"Ah… I'm sorry, my dear. Perhaps I've said too much." The man said, closing his eyes. "They would never forgive me if I gave away their secrets."

"Wait!" Elena said loudly as the man began to walk away. He ignored her and carried on walking until he was finally out of site.

If there was one thing Elena had learned during her short time with the Turks, it was to always do exactly the opposite of what a completely stranger told you. Or at least, that was what Reno had said to her, and he seemed to always make it out of situations just fine.

Elena carried on down the path she had been following, albeit a little less confidently. All around her seemed to be getting darker the further she walked. She would have said it was the denseness of the trees, but strangely enough, there seemed to be getting less and less of them as she walked. She wasn't sure why, but she was getting a feeling in the back of her mind, like a little voice telling her to get out of there, but she was determined to find Reno.

A bird crowed somewhere in the forest causing Elena's heart to jump. She hadn't really thought about how frightening a place like this could be when you were alone. She stepped cautiously forwards into an open clearing. The trees surrounding the disturbingly empty plain made the whole situation even more eerie, and just ahead of her, she could see a large lake.

"What are you doing here?" came an angry sounding voice from somewhere nearby. Elena turned to see a woman standing to her right, and she did not look happy.

As Elena stared, several more equally angry looking women stepped out from various hiding places. They all stood tall; taller than Elena, and well built, with pale, almost silvery skin and black hair. Elena could tell from the gaze from deep red irises that they were not human.

All of them were scantily clad, with beautiful decorations on their skin in some sort of black ink. Whether they were permanent or not, Elena could not tell, but it was obvious to her that the first woman was of utmost importance, since she was the most decorated of them all. What first struck Elena though were the markings on the leader woman's face; two crescent-shaped ones under her eyes; exactly the same as Reno's except they were black.

"Who are you?" Elena asked, turning to face them directly. She didn't know that anyone lived in the Sleeping Forest, or the Forgotten City, as she was more likely in now.

"That…" the leader woman said in a slightly snobbish voice. "… is none of your concern. Now I suggest you leave."

"And what if I don't?" Elena asked daringly. Her burning desire to find Reno was giving her confidence.

"Well then…" The woman smirked and turned to her companions. "Kill her."

Elena knew she would be over-powered as she backed automatically away from the advancing tribe. She didn't want to go out without a fight though, so she launched a punched at the nearest one, only to be instantly blocked. Then a kick lead to the same thing.

"NO!" She screamed and the grabbed her. "Reno! Where are you?!"

"WAIT!" The leader woman shouted. "Don't kill her… not yet. She could be of… some use after all."