A/N: Thanks a lot for all the... interesting reviews for the last chapter. This chapter is a little bit shorter than usual, but I needed to get this one out of the way so I can finish Recruitment. Hope you enjoy :)

Chapter 10

Elena had dreamt, she knew that. But what she had dreamt about, she couldn't say. She didn't like it though, and it got her thinking. With her eyes still shut, memories of what had happened before she had dropped off flooded her mind. Then it clicked in her mind that her current situation had changed quite a drastic amount.

The blonde opened her eyes, realizing that she was not where she had been before she fell asleep. Instead of her head resting on the redhead's lean chest, she was on the floor, and looking around, Reno was nowhere to be seen.

Elena sighed, half of her glad that she didn't half to face a confrontation with Reno as soon as she had awoken. She knew that under normal circumstances, she would have never heard the end of her impulsive act the night before. Putting these thoughts to the back of her mind, she set her mind on thinking about where Reno actually was. Could it be that the Shiso had actually taken him again? If so, what could she do? There was a huge chance that whatever the Shiso were up to, it wasn't good on Reno's side, and something had to be done about it, but Elena just wasn't sure what. There was definitely no obvious way out of this prison cell, with its small, barred windows and permanently locked door. The only time the door opened was when Rei felt like taking Reno away. Other than that, they were ignored all day long, no food, no water, nothing. Elena was desperate for something to eat, but luckily she had found a leak in the roof and in the long hours with nothing to do, she had collected a small amount of moderately clean rain water from the roof for her and Reno to keep themselves alive. Neither of them were going to survive much longer without food, and Elena could tell that Reno especially was starting to suffer from lack of nourishment. Elena scanned the area and noticed the green duffel bag that they had brought with them laying on the floor. She couldn't remember it ever being there before, but Elena crawled over and picked it up.

Everything was inside as she had left it, except for one thing; their materia was missing. Elena shook her head, realizing the misfortune of the situation. There was no food in the bag, since it was something Elena had never thought of. However, the main problem was the lack of cure materia. Elena could be guaranteed that when Reno returned he would be hurt, and they had nothing to help him with.

Just as Elena was lost in thought, the lock on the door clicked and it opened slightly. Instead of Reno being returned however, someone pushed a bowl inside, then slammed the door shut.

They were feeding her? Then for some reason, they didn't want her dead. But where was Reno, and was he receiving the same treatment? Elena wasn't even sure what it was, but she picked it up, satisfied that it smelt edible, and drank it gratefully. Despite its slightly rancid taste, Elena felt a lot better on finishing it. Putting the bowl back by the door, Elena sighed. She wondered vaguely when Reno would be back as she scooted back to lean against the wall. Her eyes still felt heavy because of lack of decent sleep, but she didn't want to sleep until Reno returned.

There was a loud bang, and Elena opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was Reno laying on the floor, and also that the bowl by the door was gone. She rushed over to the redhead, her heart pounding. If he was in any fit state, he wouldn't waste time in laying into her about the night before.

"Reno, you okay?" Elena asked, shaking his shoulder. Reno nodded imperceptibly and Elena dragged him backwards to lean against the wall. "What happened?"

"Don't know…" Reno said. Elena could barely recognize his voice. "… don't want to go back."

"Back where?" Elena asked desperately. "With them?"

Reno nodded, breathing heavily. Elena stared at him, her heart pounding. How could they have gotten into a situation like this? She had always relied on Reno to put her right when she strayed away from the correct method of doing things, but it was finally sinking in that now Reno was entirely dependant on her. The pressure was so overwhelming, Elena didn't understand how Reno could have been such a good role-model for her since day one.

"Don't worry." Elena told him reassuringly. "We'll get out of this, I promise."

Reno smiled weakly, unable to say anything in return.

"Reno…" Elena said, suddenly thinking of something. "Have they given you any food?"

"No…" Reno said, his eyes lighting up. "Why?"

"No reason." Elena lied. She didn't want to mention the food to him since he wasn't getting any. She came to an immediate decision that the next time they gave her food, she would save it for Reno. She was safe now, food-wise, but Reno definitely wasn't.

"Um… Reno?" Elena asked nervously. After an hour or so, she had grown tired of listening to nothing but the redhead's slow, heavy breathing. "Are you sure you don't know what's going on?"

"What do ya mean?" Reno asked. Elena was happy to hear his voice was starting to sound a little stronger.

"Where do the Shiso keep taking you?"

"Dunno, they were on 'bout some weird, medieval medicinal crap…" Reno said. "Can't really remember."

"Why do they keep hurting you then?"

"'Cause they're freakin' crazy, 'Laney." The redhead said fanatically. "Who the hell's stupid idea was it to come here anyway?"

"Uh… that would be Tseng." Elena said. "I tried getting in contact with him after you went missing the first time, but I can't get through."

Reno nodded and bit his lip, with a strange expression in his face that Elena didn't see very often. He was thinking something through very hard.

"Where is it?" he asked finally.

"What?"

"The cell phone; gimme it." The redhead held his hand out and Elena dropped her cell-phone into it. Elena watched silently as Reno pulled the back off, and pulled a pocket-knife out of his pocket. He picked around inside until eventually something cracked, and Reno dropped something plastic onto the floor. Smirking, he put the of the cell phone back on and handed it back to Elena.

"What the hell did you just take out?" Elena asked exasperatedly.

"They're company cell phones." Reno explained, his voice sounding much stronger, but still hoarse. "They got that little insulator thing in so they don't react to static electricity an' sparks an' stuff. Bein' in an electric company, that helps a little ya know… anyway, they cut out when ya get in contact with static. That's why the bastards never work when ya inside reactors or whatever."

"So you took the insulator out?" Elena double-checked. "I don't think you should have…"

"It's alright." Reno reassured her.

"If they were alright without them, they wouldn't be in there in the first place." Elena argued.

"Well, there's a small chance of static shock." The redhead said awkwardly.

"How much is a small chance?" Elena asked.

"Uh… 20 percent chance you won't…" Reno replied. He already had his hand held out, knowing that Elena would force him to make the call instead of her. Smiling, Elena handed it to him, and watched as he dialed Tseng's number.