Title: When Rude Met Reno
Authoress: Vitalini
Rating: T
Summary: Its not easy being a Turk, but what does it take to become one? While Rude is discovering what it really means to be a Turk, Tseng finally thinks he's found a way to calm a certain redheaded devil causing havoc in the Turk department. Join Rude and many new faces as they come to face the reality that is ShinRa.

Warning: Violence and language if there is anything else I'll warn you about when it comes.

Disclaimer: I only own any original characters and the fic- obviously, apart from that I own naught

Author's note: Guess what I just realized after my friend informed me, but I had to think about it but anyway, Reno is left-handed another interesting fact to add to my 'Renoology'. Well I hope you enjoy this chapter, its quite long, just 13 pages in word so I could say I've been working hard at it.

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He couldn't remember when his head had ever hurt this much. But then he couldn't remember a lot of things; such as why his head hurt so much in the first place. Perhaps this is what it felt when those massive Midgar signs fell right on your head. However, as his head was pounding in two places at different rhythms, he must have hit his head twice. His chest burned as he struggled to breathe.

Gritting his teeth Rude calmed his turbulent thoughts. After all, it hurt to think and the pain was obviously stopping him from thinking straight- signs falling on your head where did that come from?

Soft groans drew him back to reality. Why was he here again? With a surprising amount of difficulty, Rude moved his head round and forced his eyes to open. It hurt him to do so, since someone had the bright idea of shining a blazing white light at him. Nevertheless, he made himself look, in the hopes of getting some idea of what was going on.

Ignoring his natural alarm that was telling him dawn was approaching; he focused on the important things. He believed that if he kept staring long enough he'd see past the blinding light. Blinking away tears, he started to regret not bringing his eye drops. Then again when would he have use them on a mission? They wouldn't be much help since he felt like he was tied up from head to toe. It would be nice to know why he was tied against a steel pole, in the middle of- what he was beginning to see- a warehouse filled with crates, metal barrels and various junk. Then again, you cannot have everything in life.

Finally, he managed to make out the still forms of Lithia and Jim. The other blurred bodies beyond he presumed must be Trent, Marco and Robin since Trent's bulk was particularly distinguishable and he couldn't see anyone else. Further strained observation revealed the others appeared to have had a rougher time then his group had. At least his team looked like they had had an epic battle with just nature and mothballs.

"Looks as if like baby brown eyes has finally joined the land of the living."

A loud chuckled quickly followed this comment. Rude, compelled to find the owner of the voice, tore his gaze from his companions. Squinting helped and he soon found the figure leaning over a catwalk leering down at him.

He did not realize his body was completely numb and stiff, until the sensation began to ebb and he slowly felt beyond the contents of his insides again. Suddenly able to move parts of his body again he feebly struggled against his bounds. He was not truly free but he was relieved to have the ability to move a digit or two. After a minute, he could achieve bending the digits simultaneously. The sense of achievement was shattered as the chuckle from above burst into uncontained laughter.

"How pathetic." The laughter subsided to a soft chuckle once again. Under other circumstances, Rude guessed this man could he seen as a jolly fellow. "So, ShinRa thought they could get rid of me with a butch of inexperienced green horns. Tut tut."

Looking into the smirking face Rude concluded he wanted to hit the man.

"Doesn't look like any help is coming for you either. Your big friend will be disappointed." The mystery villain pulled out something from his pocket and dangled it in front of him, "we found his PHS was on, no doubt calling for help. Rude flinched as the man emitted more mad cackles. Remembering the mission, it was a rush of images but enough to explain the current situation. Was this the target?

Cursing his stubborn eyes he blinked, warm tears streaked his cheeks. White spots blocked his vision. If only someone would turn those damn lights, off. His reviving senses and subsiding headache was the only good thing. He wished that the tape on his mouth were removed, so the man could hear the stream of abuse Rude was mentally sending in his direction.

The site of the man irritated him to hell. The fact that he could not get hold of the irritant and snap his neck was infuriating. He shut the man out. Returning his attention back to the surroundings, he concluded they must on the ground floor. The place was crawling with Guards. They patrolled the catwalk. More stood on and around the large crates scattered by the walls and in corners, surrounding them. In fact, the places as much cramped with people, as it was junk. Last night activities had ceased. Uneasy anticipation hung in the air.

The others began to stare. Why they hadn't been killed yet was beyond him. Whatever their target had in store for them he knew wouldn't be pleasant. Now that the rest were waking up things would gather pace. The man however, appeared to content himself with watching them suffer as they turned from the bright light as Rude had done before.

"It's a shame really. You dying on your first mission. After getting so far, though be content to know I've killed more experienced and skilled punks than you." He continued smirking to himself, eyes looking towards the windows beyond the six trainees.

The others struggled in vain, they were stuck, end of. Lithia gave him an apologetic look. As if it was her fault, they were in this mess. If anything he was more to blame, his plan had been fool hardy, he hadn't thought it through.

The lights flickered off. Rude's breathe caught in his throat. What was this? The other gasps of surprise from all around in the slight gloom, reassured him. This wasn't planned, perhaps it was just an electrical failure. A moment passed before some lights started shine above them. The place was lit up in an orange glow.

There were some nervous shuffles around them, a few guards slipped from the room. The man, Rude was certain was the target, coughed.

"Anyway," his voice faltered slightly but when the man spoke, again his tone was as mocking and confident as before, "How shall I have fun with you?"

He motioned to a guard, who promptly began to tear the tape from their mouths. He struggled with Trent and Rude, as he was a short man, thus making the experience more painful. They glared defiantly at the target, acting braver than they felt.

The target laughed again, though it had a nervous edge to it. Rude knew they hadn't brought on this fear, but what had? The target was being careless, they were trapped but there were many flaws in the security, if help was coming they'd have no trouble taking out the guards or the target. Despite what the man claimed, Rude guessed he had few dealings with the Turks.

He desperately wished that things would speed up. The damp heavy moss smell made him want to gag.

The man stepped out of the shadows. With nothing to blur his vision Rude finally could seen the man clearly. The word toad came to mind. The target was big and blubbery, with shiny skin and fat lips twisted into a sickly smile. He was as grotesque as his vocals.

"Firstly, while you're still reasonably sane I would prefer you to tell me why you were sent here,"

They looked at him questioningly, that was a good question all they knew was that they were supposed to capture the target. Unfortunately, the man had a short temper.

"Well! Didn't they inform you as to why you were sent?"

Again they didn't reply, watching the last hint of mirth drain from the mans ugly face.

"What was your purpose?"

Rude felt some satisfaction with the target's annoyance. Trained never to allow a single bit of information about any of ShinRa's doings or reasons to pass their lips, they dutiful held their tongues.

With another jerk of his thick hand, he signaled another guard to come forward. This one had a machine gun, which was soon pointing under Lithia's chin.

"Now gentlemen are you going to keep playing dumb? Surely, the information isn't worth dieing over. After all, I doubt it'd even be of use to me."

"Then why ask?" Robin burst out, glaring dangerously at the their captor.

"I would like to know what've I've done to offend Mr. ShinRa, so maybe I could make …amends." He smiled menacingly down at them, "I wouldn't throw my generosity back in my face boys, unless you want her brains to decorate the floor. You have until the count of five."

It suddenly hit Rude how depressing the situation was. When you consider that, the climax of his life was going to be shot in the head in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere.

"One"

Not even that but at the hands of someone who couldn't even hold a gun straight. Even worse, by the orders of some pompous, pathetic, fat man that was not worth the air he breathed.

"Two"

Had he trained so hard for this? Lived and survived that short period in the slums for it to end now? Had he given up his friends; his family; his simple, comforting if a little patchy and unsatisfying life to die for no reason?

"Three"

It struck him that he did not even know why he was here. He had no idea what ShinRa wanted with this man, didn't know what good would come of it. Is this what happened to so many Turks, did they give their lives up not knowing why, not sure if what they were doing was worth dying for?

"Four"

"…"

"Five!"

"NO"

BANG!

"…Shit, yo"

There was a pause. Slowly everyone turned to look at the door that had slammed open. Rude watched as the guard that had just rushed into the room, flop lifelessly to the ground. A bullet hole through his head.

"Quick lock the doors" The man bellowed as he retreated into a thick nest of guards.

Lithia released a soft sigh as the guard, who'd been so close to putting a bullet through her head left to help the others. Despite the fact they were being barricaded in Rude couldn't help but feel things were turning in their favor.

Everyone settled again. Guns aimed at every conceivable opening and there was much agitated fidgeting. Muffles footsteps sounded from the floor above accompanied by uneasy creaking of the floorboards. A tense silence hung in the air. they were surrounded.

A sudden loud metallic thud startled everyone. Instantly hundreds of guns swung round to be aimed at the metallic door. More banging ensued, becoming a continuously rhythm as their rescuers fruitless tried to bash their way through the heavy metal doors. Rude assumed they were there to save them since he couldn't imagine anyone who would want to get in so badly. Maybe he was just assuming what was bad news for their Target could only be good news for them….he hoped.

"I don't think that's going to work."

"Shut up, if you idiots had any aim we wouldn't have to do this." Rude eyes widened as he recognized the clipped voice of none other than Surph, their examiner.

"Why don't we use the explosives, yo?"

Even through the thick door, Rude could tell the man was talking through gritted teeth as he replied, "Because, if you hadn't noticed, this warehouse is as structurally safe as a tower of playing cards so any explosions will cause the whole section to collapse on us!"

"Whatever yo, but I meant the small ones to go on the hinges or lock."

"That would be great if we had any of those… okay everyone push!"

There was another loud bang, louder than any before. The sound bounced off the walls to cause a painful vibration in everyone's ears. It was followed by a creaking noise.

"Harder!"

The door released an alarming screech. They were finally making headway, but the lock still wasn't budging.

"That still ain't gonna work."

"Well unless you have a better suggestion shut up and stop arguing. Now get out of the way scrawny"

Rude felt his heart drop as each renewed effort flailed. Jim gave him a sad smile, preparing himself for the worst. The others had similar looks of defeat. He struggled again against his bounds but like the door, they weren't giving. They were so useless that no one paid them any heed. All they could do was wait.

"We're going to die aren't we?" Jim mumbled.

"Hush" Trent scolded, the pounding masked his loud voice but they could clearly hear him.

"Hush! Hush! Why do I have to hush? Its true isn't it. The only way they're going to get in here is by blowing the whole place up, that is if they don't give up, and allow Mr. Fat Guy to do what he likes with us!"

"Calm down," Lithia whispered eyeing the nearest guards, "yelling and getting angry isn't going to help anybody."

"Yeah, but what exactly can we do, since you know we're kind of stuck." Robin so kindly reminded everyone.

"Just you wait, they'll get in." Trent gave them a reassuring smile.

"You sound too sure," Marko finally joined in, voicing what everyone else was thinking "How do you know?"

Trent only shrugged and returned his attention to the door. The others shared quick confused glances before following his example. Rude felt an expectant and impatient feeling bubble up inside of him, he silently cursed Trent for causing it.

"Red, where are you going? Get back here!"

"Red!"

The angry words seeped into the room as the banging stopped. Whoever this Red was, they sounded like a handful and Rude guessed that was the Turk that had been arguing with the superior before. There was a pause; people on both sides were no doubt looking at each other nervously. However Trent was positively beaming, was this what he'd been waiting for?

"WHAT THE-"

He didn't know why, but he looked up. Just in time to see something black, red and blurred hurl towards the window before crashing through it.

The thing landed beast like, all its limbs extended so it was practically flat on the ground save for an inch or two. For a brief second it seemed too stayed like that as it took in the impact of it landing. Glass shards cascaded down in a sparkly shower. There was a pause, then all hell broke lose.

Was that a man or a woman? Whatever, the Turk had some killer moves and already thirty guards were withering on the floor with broken body parts. Bullets flew madly in the air and Rude feared they'd get caught in the cross fire. But the red headed Turk didn't seem to notice them as he or she quickly dispatched all those in their way.

Rude an achieved martial artist found it hard to identify exactly which art was being used by the new arrival. He vaguely recognized some moves so assumed that is was a mixture of styles or a totally new interpretation. The effect was far from amazing. It was deadly.

The Turk was swift; he had never seen anyone move so fast. This advantage appeared to give the redhead an edge despite being ridiculously outnumbered. Taking out several more guards before the last victims had even hit the floor.

They gawked as the redhead ran up a far wall, narrowly avoided the pursuing bullets, he or she flipped to land on two guards before running head on into another pair. He watched the reckless move with horror and anticipation. The Turk jumped at the critical moment and kneed both in the chest, sending them sprawling to the floor. Without stopping, the Turk high kicked the next guard in line who failed to raise their gun in time. A successive spinning kick to the jaw sent them flying into a group of approaching guards. A smirk was clearly plastered on the new-comer's face.

The sun ascended lazily over the horizon, finally casting its golden rays into through the windows. The previous shadows disappeared and every guard was clearly illuminated, the room went further back than he thought. The catwalk the target had previously was in fact like a bridge over the mountain of boxes that sectioned one side of the room to the other.

The never-ending army of guards launched towards the redheaded Turk, who appeared to glow standing under the bright sunbeams. Lithia let out a gasp as the Turk launch himself or herself up, just in time to avoid being tackled to the floor, grapping onto the catwalk and hoisting themselves over so stand high above them. It was annoying that he couldn't tell the gender of their rescuer. Not that was the most pressing issue, but since he was a mere spectator at this current time Rude couldn't help but think of tonnes of things at once, that question appearing to be the most prominent.

"Give up!" one bold guard called up as she aimed her gun at the tied up trainees, "or we'll shoot them."

The rest followed her example and once again, hundreds of guns were pointed at them. This did not faze the redhead, who simply cocked their head and calmly strolled forward.

Rude noticed for the first time, the person was covered in bandages; one eye was completely hidden behind the thick wraps that encased half their face and a good potion of the other side. The Turk's hands were also bandaged, a fact he noticed as said hands were raised in the gesture of surrender. Already?

Still the redhead was smiling. There was a long metal instrument in his grasp that hadn't been there before. Something was off.

Everyone ignored the furious curses of the Turks still locked out. Rude wondered why no one else had followed the redhead in. Sneaking a quick glance at the broken window, he knew why. He hadn't appreciated how high up the window had been and it was a dangerous drop on the other side. He concluded this Turk must be insane.

Before he could continue his thought process, a strange pale green glow snapped him back into attention.

"Bolt4"

A bright light flooded the room, rivaling that of the sunlight as the surge of electricity flowed across the floor, striking very guard. Rude was amazed they hadn't been caught up in the attack. The catwalk cackled with electricity but the Turk was no were in sight.

Abruptly, he felt his chest was relieved and his movement was no longer restricted. Stumbling forward, he saw the redhead move from one to other of his comrades and free them at remarkable speed. Once Trent was free, the redhead spun round and bounded behind the nearest stack of boxes. Of course, they followed suit.

Crouching behind the boxes allowed Rude to get a better look at the Turk who had been sitting waiting for them. He still had no idea what gender to classify the Turk; he was getting a little obsessed about it. It was just niggling at him; the redhead was either a very feminine man or a particularly handsome and attractive tomboy. However, the red head was looking straight past him. The single bright blue orb was intently staring at Marko.

"What do we do now, sir" All belief that this was a woman was thrown out the window, and many blanched at the soft masculine voice. Marko glared angrily at the mocking title the Turk gave him.

Then again, was this a Turk? He had assumed it was, but then they could easily have sent the nearest trainee squad. Giving the guy another look over he hardly looked like a professional. His tie was missing and his shirt was hanging out with the top and bottom buttons undone. Dark shades kept fiery bangs out of the way. The rest of his hair was a mass of messy and crazy spikes, which varied in length. At the back his hair terminated in a long ponytail that was currently dangling over his shoulder as he lent forward. A smug look on his face.

"Well the target must be trapped on the other side of this room, so we charge the enemy and grab him."

Lithia, who was the only one bothering to keep a look out, frantically shook her head. Ducking down she informed them of the guards beginning to stir.

"Should have used a more powerful spell, yo." He snorted to himself and peeped over the boxes. Rude felt happy to clarify that this must be Red by matching the odd speech pattern they had heard earlier. He concluded from all his observations that this must be another trainee; he could not imagine a superior or a qualified Turk acting in such a reckless manner.

"Yo, anybody got a gun on them?"

Jim and Robin raised their hands as Red raised an eyebrow surveying their weapons and nervous posture. Swearing softly he returned his attention back to the wakening guards. After a minute or two of sitting in silence, Red looked down at them expectantly. They had to make a game plan.

"They have more guns than us, charging them wouldn't work. Got anymore bright ideas?" Trent asked.

"Well we could split up-"

"Bad idea. I don't know about you but I don't want to die tonight." Lithia cut him off, much to the Marko's irritation.

"Okay, what do you propose then?"

"…"

They really had no clue, and the longer they took the less chance they had of getting out of here alive. The vain banging against the metal door had restarted a while back but only now were they aware of it. The rhythm matched his pounding heart perfectly, but that made it more difficult to think. Then again, considering how his last idea had turned out it was perhaps best that he didn't come up with anything.

"Well, we have shot guns, a rifle, a Sansetsukon, a sword and two fist fighters against a horde of guards armed to their eyeballs." Jim counted on his fingers. His face suddenly light up as if he'd realized something fantastic and he immediately turned towards the new comer. "Do you use a weapon?"

Red had been calmly observing their limited conversation with a slightly curious expression (that made him look like a confused puppy). With a snap of his wrist, the silver rod they had seen early appeared in his hand again.

Jim's face fell. Everyone recognized that as an electromagnetic rod, or more frequently abbreviated to an EMR. Why anyone would pick that as their weapon of choice was a mystery to them all. It went without saying, such a passive tool wasn't going to be much use here.

"…okay…" Jim's face had quite literally drooped at the sight of the silver stick. Red laughed, something that would have been more appropriate in an entirely different situation.

"Got any suggestions then, or are you just going to sit there and laugh?" Marko was glaring daggers at the redhead, who clearly was paying much attention to him. Rude wondered what was bothering the class superstar more, the fact that Red appeared to have a better idea of what was going on then he did or that he appeared unfazed by the predicament, unlike the rest of them.

"Thought you'd never ask yo…you guy with the rifle."

"Robin."

"Go up those crates behind you and help give cover fire but also be a lookout… Old guy with guns you give cover to birdie and the rest of us."

"I'm not old and the name's Jim."

Red blinked at him for a second then shrugged it off, "…okay. The model and Sir Leader can open those doors and let the rest in."

Lithia was caught between a blush and a scowl whereas Marko just continued to death glare Red, who held up his hands defensively.

"Sheesh, It's not like I know ya, yo… Okay you two come with me." Before anyone could object, he leapt over the crates and ran off, Trent in hot pursuit. Rude shook his head and bounded into action, just as the rest did as they'd been told.

Red was frighteningly quick, and Rude wondered if he'd be able to catch up. Completely ignoring the guards, Red jumped, rolled and twisted out of their line of fire, speeding past them so fast that many flinched as he passed.

This allowed Trent and himself to take care of them. He watched as Red skillfully maneuvered around, practically gliding up the stairs and disappearing round a corner before they'd even reached the bottom. It was hard not to feel like a lumbering giant as he followed in the shorter man's wake. Storming up the stairs, he glanced over to see Robin easily taking out guards. Lithia was already working on the lock and Marko was slicing through the few that still stood in his way.

Reaching the top of the stairs, they rounded the corner only to be confronted by a long row of stunned and injured men. Rude frowned, trying to make out any unseen threats in the heap of bodies. Trent tapped him on the shoulder and he nodded. Taking deep breath he sped on, lashing out at anyone that was still conscious.

Red had put a surprising amount of trust in their hands. Leaving most of the guards for them to deal with, thus depending on them to take care of the guards and stop them shooting him.

A well-aimed punch sent a man flying over the railings while Trent dispatched another with a swift snap of their neck.

They finally rounded the last corner panting. Looking down he choked on air. The warehouse extended further than he had guessed and somewhere in the vast expanse of colored boxes gunshots and yells could be faintly distinguished. How were they going to find Red now?

Trent pointed to the left and Rude's his jaw dropped. Red was running along the wall, as one would the ground, no doubt in pursuit of the target. He disappeared from view. Disconcerted on how far behind they had fallen he sped up, Trent following at a furious pace.

Choosing to travel over the boxes, they rapidly gained ground and the yells of pain gradually increased in volume. A second glimpse of red ahead was reassuringly close. Trent jumped down; a thunderous thud indicated his landing. Rude stayed on top of the boxes, they were right behind Red who was following the Target like a demon.

The end of the warehouse was in sight and the gentle glow of after dawn brightened the room. Rude lost the target and Red as they dived into a tunnel composed of boxes. He stopped. Where had Trent disappeared?

Walking cautiously forward, with only an eerie silence behind him, he wondered how the others were fairing. He felt terribly exposed and looked nervously around. The smell of old dust crept into his nose. Sneezing he figured this was an unused part of the warehouse.

Walking over a wooden cage, he made the stupid mistake of looking down. The bleached bones of a giant chocobo stood out against the dark and long rotted wood. The cage creaked and without a second thought he jumped the rest of the distance and ran. Make that a very, very unused part of the warehouse.

"AHHHH!"

Halting yet again, he tried to pick up where the scream had come from. Not considering what he was running into he went in the direction he thought the noise had come from. However, he was much warier of his surroundings and took extra care of where he stood.

Skidding to a stop, Rude crouched down and observed the scene before him. He was impressed. They had cornered the target. But Trent was down clutching his shoulder and Red had crimson speckles splattered across his bandages. He was glaring menacing down at the fat man as he prowled around him. The Target shakily pointed a gun at Red, sweat pouring from his fleshy brow.

"Now, now Mr. Toad," the red head cooed, "we only want to talk to you, yo."

"Ha, as if I'm going to believe that now stay back or I'll shoot."

Red smirked, bringing out his EMR, he twirled it between his fingers continuing his leisurely stroll. Sudden he stomped at the man.

Startled he dropped the gun and wailed, "Please don't do anything!"

The trainee had already kicked the weapon out of reach and leered over the sobbing disgrace.

"Lucky for you, we gotta take you alive" The man perked up at little at this. "Don't get all excited yo, nobody said I couldn't have a little fun with you first."

Blue electricity crackled along the length of the EMR as it came down in a swift arc. Rude was amazed, yet again, as the rod stopped just above the unconscious man.

Red paused, his weapon still hovering over the passed out target, his head tilted to the side as he listened. That was when Rude finally heard the people calling to them. Turning round, his watched as Surph bounded towards across the boxes, followed by other Turks.

"There you are!" the examiners voice could be heard clearly despite the distance, "Red, I'm going to throttle you and-"

"AH!"

Further threats were disrupted, as Surph turned round in time to see one of the other Turks fall down as a box gave way beneath them.

"Fuji, you Idiot!"

"eww, there's a dead Chocobo down here!... It stinks!"

"Carta, get that moron out of there!"

"Fuji, I think you need to go on a diet, yo!" Red cackled madly beside him. Rude jumped, he hadn't heard or sensed his approach and even more surprisingly he was shouldering Trent.

Trent was in bad shape, he could see now he'd taken a bullet to the shoulder and the wound was leaking blood all over the smaller man who was physically shaking under the weight. Quickly he took Trents other side and together they met Surph half way.

"The target is back there, yo."

Rude blinked at the blatant disregard to proper conduct, he didn't even say sir. Surph overlooked this, too concerned about Trent's injuries. He waved some more Turks that had followed to go and retrieve the target and took the shoulder Red had been carrying. Rude felt the weight on him decrease considerably as the older man could shoulder more than the slender Trainee could.

"Scrawny, go ahead and report to Tseng he's on the radio."

With a sloppy salute Red ran off, still full of energy.

"Trent, are you okay?"

"I'll make it; it's not as bad as it looks." Trent smiled but his voice came out strained spoiling the act.

"I beck to differ," Surph swiped blood off his face and sped up. Fuji and Carta following them and behind them the rest carried the unconscious fat man. Rude thanked Gaia for adrenaline rushes, otherwise he was sure he would have collapsed along the way.

It didn't take long for them to get back to the other side. All the guards had been cleared away and tied up waiting for transportation back to head quarters. He wondered what was going to happen to them.

Rude was pleased to see that no one else was injured, though they were all pretty beat up. Lithia was flopped on the floor nursing a stiff hand, Robin sat next to her and they were chatting quietly. Marko was surveying the room, looking in control and content once again. Jim was standing in the corner out of the way. When he saw Rude, he brightened and hurried over, but his face darkened at the sight of their largest comrade.

Surph waved him off before he could say anything. Rude picked up the pace as they rushed to the nearest exit, wanting to get outside as soon as possible since there was no doubt transport and medical supplies waiting.

Shielding his eyes, they stepped outside. The examiner tugged him off to the side in the direction of a large helicopter settled on the dewy grass. Had it rained last night? He glimpsed Red talking into a radio, no doubt to Tseng. He didn't look happy and there was a obvious pout on his thin face.

Once they'd handed Trent over to the medics, Surph immediately stormed over to the Redhead. Rude stayed with Trent, who was quietly frowning. Rude let him brood; he didn't really know what to say anyway. They'd failed their mission that was for sure. It wasn't long before the rest of the team came over. Lithia and Jim quickly fawned over Trent's injury as soon as he was all bandaged up.

"Does it hurt?"

"What happened?"

"Is it serious?"

The large man just smiled and shook his head, trying to calm the chorus of frantic fussing. "I'm fine."

"But you lost so much blood!" Lithia said weakly eyeing his soaked suit as she tenderly rubbed his back. She was very pale which surprised Rude considering she used to work for a gang that had most probably been all but slaughtered when the Turks decided to eliminate her old boss. Guess she cared more about this job and her fellow colleges or maybe it was something else.

"I'll live, I've known people to survive worse, just be thankful we have the best medics working at ShinRa." Trent waved her concerns off, indeed he appeared to hardly notice the injury now. Rude guessed some materia had been used.

"You sure you're alright?" Jim pressed, the bandage already had a bright crimson patch showing, which was steady spreading as they spoke; he'd need a new one soon.

"Yes! You lot are worse than my mother and she's-"

"DON'T YOU EVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN!"

Spinning round they saw Surph really laying into the red-haired young man. Trent's expression soured once again and Rude could not help feeling sorry for him. Abruptly, Trent stood up and walked away. They followed averting there eyes from the scene as everyone else was. Usually a telling off happened in the superiors office, where it was more private, they couldn't help but feel disrespectful just overhearing the lecture. Shutting off their ears, they scurried towards the aircraft that they recognized.

"Poor guy, huh?" Robin said, as soon as they were boarded and out of earshot. "That's a real ear bashing he's getting."

"I wonder what he did wrong." Lithia mused as they sat down in the seats they'd been in yesterday. She was still a little paler though they all were.

"I don't know, maybe argued with a superior, jumped through a window that was fifty foot high, could have killed himself and the rest of us in the process, and showed complete disrespect for a Turk." Marko so kindly enlightened them of their savior's crimes. Rude felt like punching the jerk, no wonder John hated him so much.

"But if it wasn't for him we'd still be in there. Let's face it they wouldn't have gotten through no matter how long they kept bashing those doors." Robin argued, ignoring his seat belt since he was too busy staring down their "leader".

There was a round of nods to this statement. Marko just shrugged it off and took his seat, muttering something under his breath.

"Say, what happened after you guys disappeared round that corner, I heard someone fell into a box with a Chocobo corpse in it?" Jim in his usual fashion brought up some gossip to lighten the mood. The man didn't like awkward situations and had to keep things moving unless he was sulking or something. Funny how they hadn't changed at all, the bald trainee mused.

"They were just bones." Rude assured him.

"You make it sound dead boring, lighten up, we're alive, be happy." Jim chided, everyone gave him a look recalling how he had freaked during the mission.

"What?"

Rude just smirked, shaking his head, definitely no change there. Trent had gotten up and was sharing a quick word with the pilot.

"What happened on your side?"

"Oh my, he even asks questions now!" Jim was lucky there was nothing he could throw within reach.

"Not much, Robin and Jim pretty much covered us and the guards were still too stunned to put up much resistance so it looked far more exciting then in actually was. Not that I'm complaining, it's just a shame we had to get caught because they would have been real easy to beat." Lithia explained, leaning against the wall.

"Was there an information leak or something?" Robin asked.

"I think the target indicated there was but either way there must have been one, why else would there have been a gazillion guards?" Jim pointed out, "I hope that guy gets what's coming to him."

"Why Jim, I never struck you as the revengeful kind." Trent joked as he joined them again.

The shorter man just shrugged and changed the subject, "how did you get shot?"

That was a good question, funny they hadn't asked sooner.

Trent was quiet, considering how best to answer, "Basically I walked in at a bad moment. Ren…Red, looked like he was about to be shot, I blew the whole situation out of proportion and my interference resulted in my injury. I underestimated Red and over estimated the Target. Therefore, when I grabbed him to get out of the way, the Fat man took the opportunity to shoot. Ironic, no?"

"Well its bad to under estimate a Targets abilities so what you did was understandable." Lithia reasoned as she returned to her seat.

"If a bit over dramatic, yo."

"That's not very – whoa how did you get here!" Jim in all subtly blurted (out not to mention jumped out of his skin while he was at it, but since he wasn't the only one Rude couldn't exactly tease him about it later.) How did this trainee manage to be so damn quiet?

Red, who was casually leaning against the door frame smirked, "I walked through the door, yo."

The smart-aleck strolled inside and plopped down next to Rude's feet, ignoring the spare seats.

"Okay, let me get this straight, yo" he started, appearing to be in deep thought, " James bond over there is Trent, Marko is the male Model, Little Jimmy is the old guy, Birdie is Robin and Lithia is the Chick, so that leaves Mr. sheen."

He looked up at Rude, wearing a cheeky smile, not sure how to react to being called after a furniture polish he simply snorted.

"Not very talkative are ya, yo?"

Make that how was this trainee able to be so damn quiet when he was so talkative, he'd been here for what, just over minute and already said enough to cause everyone's hairs bristle.

"Red, get out of here before Surph comes and gives you another ear whooping" Trent advised, easily lifting the skinny man up from the floor.

"Sure thing hero," The red haired man grinned as he leapt of out the aircraft, sprinting away into mesh of helicopters and planes. Soon after the engine roared and before they'd slammed the door shut they were already airborne.

It wasn't long before they were back at headquarters the quiet journey back had lulled yesterdays and the days earlier events to a mere memory and all he wanted to do as go to bed.

Finally, they landed and everyone hurried to get off. Waving to each other as they departed to do there own thing, many heading towards there respected dorms, something Rude was planning on doing. However, that idea was shattered when Tabby and John came bounding towards them.

"You're back!" Tabby squealed launching herself at Rude who automatically spun round to stop him falling.

"What took you guys so long?" John grinned as he made his calmer approach.

"There were a few issues." Jim scratched the back of his head nervously, grinning like an idiot.

"So how did your first mission go?" John pressed, taking his usual relaxed stance.

"Complete failure, and yours?"

"I've never been so bored in my entire life." Tabby giggled at John's dramatic sigh.

"You two look the worst for wear, what happened?" She asked, "You must have had a more interesting time then we did, I never want to guard a lecturer again!"

"It's a long story," Jim sighed.

"Isn't it always?"

"Oh yes dear, it is."

Rude rolled his eyes as they began their typical routine conversation pretending to be an old married couple, it was as if nothing had changed. He allowed Tabby to tug him along, away from the direction of his room.

"Guys we have three hours to kill before curfew, who wants to go information gathering?" She butted in after a few more minutes of senseless play-acting.

"Information gathering?" John asked instantly pulling a face.

"Well since were in the main building I thought we could, you know, find some more stuff about that Reno."

John gaped at her incredulously for a second, crossing his arms he said, "Your still obsessing over that guy?"

"I'm not obsessing I'm just curious."

"…suuuure."

"Remember what curiosity did to the cat Tabby, this is ShinRa we can't just go snooping around." Jim added in an odd spur of wisdom.

"I know but this is our best chance and you two have to report back to Tseng as he evaluates your performance in the morning so we should take this opportunity just to check the building out." Rude had to hand it to her she was persistent. Shame she could not be more like that around other people she would go far.

"We have to report?"

"Yeah, you'll get a notice about it." John elaborated mid yawn, "Tabby, why so insistent on this Reno quest, I thought you were all gaga over Lyon our supervising Turk."

Tabby turned a deep shade of crimson at this, "Shush, that's not true." Still she buried her face behind Rude anyway.

"We might as well look around, that flight's made me stiff and if were lucky we may come across something about this Reno." Jim decided.

"Whatever, but you do realize he'll either be a boring scientist, dead or boring strict official, in fact I bet he'll be ugly and fat and plain." Rude wondered how many times John had used the word boring so far, must be his word for the day.

"JOHN!" It was Tabby's turn to look at him incredulously, "how can you say that?"

"I don't know… but I just did. Come on I did not mean it, but I don't think he's someone to get to hyped up about. It will be a major let down, we may never see him."

"Lets just go" Rude said, gentle ushering them along the corridor.

"Oh yeah so about your mission, guys what was it like?"

"Don't ask."

"I just did, didn't I?"

"Damn you….okay from the beginning-" Jim really didn't need much convincing did he?

Sighing, Rude followed his friends down one of the many winding corridors. He shut out their conversation and allowed his thoughts to move to the days events. However, the more he thought the more the image of the red haired trainee flashed across his mind. He was an oddball that was for sure, would he ever see him again?

"….But we were saved by the really strange trainee, I could have sworn he was a woman but …."

Rude sighed, at least he wasn't the only one who'd thought that and Jim was right about the strange part.

"So let me get this straight you were saved by a crazy, suicidal, transvestite trainee, Jim this isn't like those stories you were trying to pull the other day?"

"They are not stories, Rude help me out here, what I'm saying is true, right?"

Rude nodded in confirmation and John's reaction was priceless, "No joke! Sign me up to your team. I want some action and this wacko trainee sounds interesting, more interesting than a computer nerd." This last comment pointedly aimed at Tabby, who pretended not to get the hint.

Rude quietly agreed, if he was going to miss out on some sleep he'd much rather do it tracking down the redhead that looking for this mysterious Reno, at least he knew the former existed.

There you go Reno's grand arrival, I know could have been a lot better but I'm not sure how to improve it so hopefully my next chapters will be better please tell me what you think your opinions are very helpful and valuable!

More Reno in the next chapter!