A/N: Okay, okay, I KNOW I said this would be the last chapter, but unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how much you like the story) I wasn't able to fit everything into this chapter. But I'm absolutely positively sure the next chapter will be the last one!! I got to nearly 2000 words, and thought, screw it. So yeah, enjoy!!
Chapter 19
Not much more was said on the situation as the two Turks made their way back to the helicopter. The journey seemed much more strenuous than it had done on the way to Bone Village, but they managed it. As the helicopter came in visual range, Elena looked at the redhead. He had a slightly fed-up expression on his face, and there was a layer of sweat on his brow. This was unusual considering the redheaded Turks unusually high endurance, but Elena but it down to what he had been through the past few days.
As they reached the helicopter, Reno stretched his arms out above his head and sighed loudly.
"Never thought I'd be glad to see this piece of shit." The redhead muttered, kicking the side of the helicopter, resulting in a loud thud.
"Don't break it before we get out of here." Elena laughed lightly.
"I don't think that's likely." Reno said as he opened the door and climbed inside the helicopter, Elena at his heels.
"Well, we haven't exactly had the best of luck lately, have we?" Elena smiled at Reno, who flicked a few switches on the dash of the helicopter, and started the engine. It made a worrying whirring noise as it kicked into life.
"Prepare yourself for a bumpy ride, 'cause we're gettin' outta here no matter what." The redhead muttered while making a few alterations to the controls.
"Wait, wait… what do you mean?" Elena interrupted abruptly. "What's wrong with it?"
"Nothin'." Reno said quietly. "But given our position, there's still static in the air. It'll just be a little rough, that's all." Elena stared at him, still not convinced. The redhead sighed. "Look, would you prefer to stay here?"
"No." Elena said quickly. "It's just-"
"Don't worry." Reno interrupted her. "I'm pretty good with this thing; I've been through worse than this shit anyway."
Elena closed her eyes and felt herself ascending, but to her shock she didn't find herself that scared. Maybe it was just the fact that nothing could compare to what they had just made their way out of; maybe it was the fact that she had grown to know that Reno was a lot more competent than he let on; maybe she just felt safer with Reno now. Whatever it was, it was enough to enable the blond to open her eyes, and realize there wasn't much to be afraid of. She looked over to the redhead, who had that less-than-familiar expression of concentration on his face that said he really did care what happened to them. Just like Elena, all he seemed to want was to get back home safely.
A warm wave of relief washed over Elena as she felt the helicopter descend over the Shin-Ra headquarters. It was a place she never thought she'd be so happy to see. Reno carefully landed the helicopter with a slight bump, and the engine droned into silence. Reno tapped his feet quickly on the floor before opening the door to the helicopter and jumping out. Elena followed suit and made her way around to stand with Reno.
"Well." Reno said in a slightly defeated tone. "That's the last time I'm doin' Tseng a favor… damn dot-head's too busy to help out his favorite pair of Turks…"
"Reno, it wasn't exactly a favor, we get paid to do this." Elena said bluntly as the two of them walked away from the helicopter.
"Yeah… well, I don't get paid anywhere near enough for all that crap." The redhead muttered as he began to make his way down the stairs into the Shin-Ra building.
"Just be thankful we got about alive…" Elena called after him as she followed. Her voice echoed hollowly around the stairwell as they practically sprinted their way down. Upon entering the actual building, Reno threw open the door nearest them and sauntered down the hallways to the Turk's offices, obviously not caring whether Elena was following him.
It didn't take long for them to make their way down to the offices, although everything seemed strangely quiet. Reno seemed oblivious to this, and marched straight up to Tseng's office door and threw it open.
"Hey, boss-man." Reno said, as said superior's head shot up sharply. "How ya doin'?"
"Nice of you to show up." Tseng said. His voice was slightly blunt, but Elena could see the relief in his eyes.
"Well… I'm sorry if it's a bit of an inconvenience to ya." Reno said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I would've got out sooner… but ya know, attempted murder, et cetera."
"What happened?" Tseng asked, obviously trying to ignore Reno's satire.
"If it's of no further nuisance to you, sir…" Reno said in a mocking tone. "I can't really be bothered to talk right now… I think I'm just gonna…"
The redhead stopped at that and leaned heavily on Tseng's desk. He took one deep breath in, and promptly collapsed on the floor. Elena rushed over and leant down to check if he was okay.
"Sorry 'bout that." The redhead slurred, opening his eyes slightly.
"Are you okay?" Elena asked, putting a hand on his forehead. It felt slightly clammy, but nothing unusual.
"Yeah…" Reno muttered and stumbled to his feet again.
"I think maybe it would be best if you went to the infirmary to be checked over…" Tseng said eying Reno suspiciously. "I don't know what happened to you two while you were out there, but to put it bluntly, you both look like crap."
"Well, thanks for that vote of confidence, sir… c'mon 'Laney, let's go." Reno motioned for them to leave, and they did so, closing Tseng's office door behind them. "Ass-hole." He muttered under his breath.
"Reno?" Elena called. "Are you going to the infirmary? I think you should."
"Yeah." Reno said over his shoulder. "You should probably get checked over anyway, better to be safe than sorry."
Elena sighed, hurrying after the redhead. It was typical of him not admit to being hurt. The blond had to admit though, the further she walked, the more her body began to ache, and there was a distinct pain in her left knee. She knew that Reno had definitely got the raw end of the deal, and he probably felt terrible, although he would never admit it. Elena quickened her pace to walk next to Reno, who was walking inhumanely fast for some reason.
Upon reaching the infirmary, Reno tapped loudly on the doctor's office door. Elena found it slightly curious that the redhead would knock on the doctor's door, but not on Tseng's, but cast the thought aside.
"Oh, hey there." A tall, blond woman opened the door and smiled at the two Turks. "What've you been getting yourselves into now?" The doctor made a 'tsk' noise under her breath, and made her way into the room next door. Reno and Elena followed her into a small room, similar to that of an average doctor's surgery. Reno plopped down on a chair and sighed.
"So, what is it this time then, Reno?" the doctor asked. Somehow, it wasn't surprising that the young, curvaceous doctor knew Reno's name.
"Just general shit, ya know?" Reno muttered. "I got pretty… what?" The redhead paused and looked at the doctor, who appeared to be staring blatantly into his eyes. "Don't you start as well… I've had enough of that kinda thing…"
"Be quiet a minute." The doctor said subtly but sternly. Still staring into Reno's eyes, she held up her pen in front of him. "Follow this with your eyes."
Elena watched as the redhead did as he was told and followed the pen with his pale eyes… left… right… up then down, until the doctor finally rested the pen on the table. "Have you been hit on the head while doing whatever you were doing?"
"Erm… I dunno, maybe?" Reno said vaguely. He scratched his head. "What?"
"You have a concussion." She raised an eyebrow. "I notice your uniform is covered in blood, are you cut anywhere?
"Yeah…" Reno grudgingly unbuttoned his shirt and showed the doctor the cuts across his stomach. Elena felt a familiar pull in the bottom of her chest as she looked over the redhead's bare torso. She couldn't help but notice that the cuts didn't look like they had completely stopped bleeding.
"That's going to need some stitches." The doctor said, tracing a finger over one of the cuts. "I'll get to it in a minute. First, I need to see to your friend here." The doctor smiled over at Elena. "You don't look so bad… anything you think needs checking out?"
"No, I'm okay." Elena said. She decided her recently aching knee wasn't as important as Reno's injuries. She would be fine.
"Okay then." The doctor nodded in a satisfied manner. "I'll get Reno sorted out then."
"I'll see you later, Reno." Elena smiled and waved at the redhead, who granted her with an irritated rolling of his eyes. The blond decided it would be best to leave the doctor in peace to stitch Reno's cuts.
The blond paced down the corridor, wondering what to do with herself. She wasn't sure how long the doctor would be in stitching the redhead's wounds, but she decided she didn't really have the energy or the patience to do anything work related. Smiling slightly to herself, she pushed 'down' button next to the elevator and waited patiently.
"So, after all that, was the mission a success?" came a voice from behind. Elena turned to see Tseng standing behind her, his arms behind his back. Elena smiled and held up the green bag she had forgotten had been on her arm.
"Yes, sir." She said. "We got the materia back. I think all of it's here." She shook the bag gently as the elevator made a sharp, ringing noise, signalling its arrival. Smiling, Elena passed the bag to Tseng. "Could you take that sir? There's some of Reno's materia in there as well, but he's over at the infirmary being patched up."
"Okay." Tseng took the bag gratefully. "Well done. I'm glad you both got out okay. I'll see you later." Elena's raven-haired superior walked away, leaving the blond to enter the now-open elevator. Hastily, Elena pushed the down button, intending to go to the entrance of the building. The doors slid closed and the blond felt the familiar dropping sensation in her stomach as the elevator descended. There was another ringing noise, and Elena stepped out into the Shin-Ra building's foyer.
It was slightly cold outside, but it didn't bother Elena, she was used to it after being out in the open so much. The slow breeze pushed her hair across her face as she looked out into her slum surroundings. It wasn't much, but it really was good to be home.
A/N: There ya go! I'm sorry if it seemed a bit rushed, i was trying to squeeze it all in ya know? Hope you enjoyed it, and you'll all see me again when I upload the last chapter, shouldn't be tooooo long. :) Sees ya!!