Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, scenery, or towns; Square Enix does.
02 - Confusion, Anger, and Blackness
"What? Where?" Reno yelled and abruptly stood up. The movement was so fast that Genesis lost his grip on the Turk's shoulder and stumbled, barely gaining his footing before he fell backwards. Reno however was not so lucky. He should have known the movement was too much for him, but in his haste he forgot. The redhead ended up toppling over the rock backwards, landing flat on his back, feet where his butt had been only a few seconds before.
Genesis was left staring at the soles of Reno's shoes and listening to the stream of profanity escaping his mouth. He was in awe at the word combinations Reno was throwing out, at least what he could understand. The profanity was stung together in such a way that it was almost poetic instead of vulgar.
The SOLDIER finally shook his head to clear his thoughts and moved forward. Gaia this guy was a pain in the ass. Couldn't he just not hurt himself for five minutes? He placed his left knee on the rock in between Reno's legs, his palms on the outside of each leg. The result left him scowling down at Reno.
By now Reno had stopped his tirade. He lay completely still, eyes closed and scrunched up in pain. Genesis swept his gaze over him to see if anything had begun bleeding again. Of course he wasn't one hundred percent sure just how bad the Turk was hurt, or where for that matter, but if he saw a big blood stain or a large pool of blood... well an idiot could figure there was a major problem. He really wished he had a Potion or Cure Materia. He hadn't taken anything figuring he wouldn't need it; showed what he knew. Also showed how much he listened since instructors drilled 'always be prepared' into their heads time and time again.
Not seeing anything of great concern Genesis lifted his head toward where he thought he had seen the figure moving before. Sure enough he could make out the outline of what appeared to be a large man heading their way. The figure was still some distance off, but it was moving. Genesis couldn't tell how well the figure was moving or how fast, but he figured if the guy was in an upright position he was doing better than his partner.
"Ya know, I'm not really up ta anythin' at the moment, but if yer interested..."
Genesis snapped his gaze back to the Turk below him. He hadn't thought about the position they were in until the Turk had mentioned it. While he was relieved Reno felt well enough to joke, that wasn't what came out of his mouth. "You're hardly my type you narcissistic prick," he snapped.
Reno was struck speechless. Damn this guy was touchy. He was pretty sure if glares were physical, he would be imbedded into the ground. More like burnt to a crisp.
"I'm not..." 'narcissistic,' was what he was about to say, but Genesis cut him off.
"What's your partners name?" he asked.
The abrupt change of topic was too much for Reno to follow and he just stared at Genesis, wondering why he wasn't glaring at him anymore. The SOLDIERs eyes were almost the same color as his own: a deep sky blue. The biggest difference was that Genesis's eyes were bright and clear whereas his were dulled by grey. Maybe it was the Mako... when did they give SOLDIERS... "OUCH!" Reno yelped as Genesis poked him hard in the leg. "Wha' the hell..."
"Focus Reno. What is your partners name?" Genesis asked.
"Did ya have ta poke so hard?" Reno asked, wincing again.
Genesis sighed. "I'm sorry. I couldn't get your attention and I need you to concentrate."
"Couldn' get me ta... how long was I starin'?" Reno asked.
"For about five minutes," Genesis replied.
Damn, Reno thought, I'm losing time. Not good. "Sorry, yo."
"I understand but please, for the third time, what is your partners name?" Third time's the charm, Genesis thought.
Reno seemed to lose focus again. Genesis was about to give up when he finally said, "Rude, my partners name's Rude."
Rude? What the hell kind of a name is that? Genesis thought. "Alright. I'm sure I don't need to say it, but stay here. I'm going to go see if the guy out there is your partner. If so I'll bring him back here. Maybe he has a Potion or Cure Materia," Genesis said, standing and heading toward the figure.
Before the SOLDIER could get far Reno called, "Flashbang."
Genesis stopped walking, turned around, and went back to Reno. Instead of leaning over the rock he went around and knelt by the right side of the man's head. "Flashbang?" Genesis parroted, a look of confusion on his face.
"If ya... if it's... Rude... he'll know yer... with me," Reno said.
Genesis couldn't decide if the Turk was having trouble breathing or if he was simply concentrating on his breathing to control the pain he was in. Either way he didn't like it. The SOLDIER cocked an eyebrow. "So what, I just walk up to him and yell 'flashbang'?"
"Well... no... don' get... too close 'fore... ya yell it. He migh'... attack ya. He also migh'... attack if ya... don' say it," Reno said. "Never know... who is friend... er foe."
"I understand," Genesis said while standing. He started to step away again before adding, "Please don't die... okay?"
Reno opened his eyes and focused on Genesis. "I won't yo," he said before closing his eyes again. "Told ya... I'm not a wealkin'." A small smile danced upon his lips.
Genesis couldn't help returning the smile with one of his own.
Genesis half ran, half trotted for what seemed like forever though it was probably only a half hour too an hour at most. During the journey he wondered how in the hell a helicopter could fall out of the sky right behind him and he hadn't heard the crash. Even if he was lost in thought that didn't seem possible. He wasn't that much of a rookie. The crash site was far, but not so far as to be out of his hearing range for something like that.
The crash also made him wonder what brought the helicopter down in the first place. There were no rebel troops this close to Midgar and there certainly weren't any anti-aircraft weapons that weren't under Shinra control this close to the city. There were a few aerial monsters, but nothing so vicious or large that could bring a chopper down, especially since all Shinra choppers were equipped with missiles and machine guns.
Lost in thought, Genesis almost tripped on a rock. He stopped moving for a second to catch his breath and take in his surroundings. Looking around he realized he was much closer to the mysterious figure than he thought. Well that wasn't smart, Genesis thought. The Turk had told him the guy's liable to pounce and here he was not paying attention. Maybe I'm no better than a rookie after all. He could blame the loss of focus on his concern for Reno, but that was an excuse; he hated excuses.
The figure, what did Reno say his name was... Rude, had stopped moving as well and stood perhaps 300 meters away. Genesis was relieved to see that Rude didn't seem to be holding any type of firearm since he knew some guns would have no trouble killing from 300 meters away. From what he could see, Rude's clothes weren't as bad off as Reno's and he hoped that meant he was in better shape physically. Looking at the guy, he knew it would be challenging if he had to carry him. The weight he could handle, but the extra length... that could be a problem. Placing his hands out and away from his body, he began to close the distance between the two.
As the distance shrank, Genesis could make out more details of Rude. The guys Turk uniform was covered in dust and dirt similar to Reno's, but unlike his partner's it didn't seem ripped or shredded. Another curiosity was the unbroken sunglasses perched on his nose. How the hell does one survive a helicopter crash and not break their damned sunglasses?
When the distance between the two was almost cut in half, Genesis stopped and yelled "Flashbang!" loud enough that he figured Rude could hear him. He had barely closed his mouth before Rude started trotting toward him at a steady pace. Genesis was relieved as it appeared Rude was in much better shape than his partner.
Rude stopped about 7 meters away from Genesis and the two stared at each other for a few minutes. Genesis figured the guy would ask questions but he didn't, he just kept starting at him. The silence stretched until Genesis finally couldn't take it anymore. "What, no smartass comments like your partner?" he snapped.
In response Rude shifted and straightened his tie, wiggling his neck around in the process. He wondered why Reno had to piss off everyone he came into contact with. Couldn't he ever just keep his mouth shut and be professional? He quickly cleared his thoughts, deciding that didn't matter right now. What mattered was that his partner was obviously alive and at least well enough to annoy people.
Genesis watched Rude adjust his tie and cocked an eyebrow. He waited for him to respond but still the Turk said nothing. Genesis crossed his arms and looked at the ground. Okay, there really wasn't a reason to rip the guys head off just because his partner was irritating. He kicked at a pebble on the ground before looking back at Rude. "Okay sorry, I take it you are Rude?"
Rude smoothed out the front of his dirty uniform before replying, "I am. Why did Shinra send SOLDIERs?"
Send SOLDIERs? Genesis thought, and then it hit him. "Oh, you mean me? Shinra didn't send me. I was standing on that cliff over there when your partner came stumbling in and destroyed my solitude," Genesis replied. "Speaking of which, we need to get back. When I left I don't think he was doing too good."
With that Genesis turned and started heading back the way he came. He didn't see the look of relief followed by concern on Rude's face.
Getting Rude to talk during the journey back was like trying to tame a Behemoth King. Genesis did manage to learn that Reno had basically thrown Rude out of the helicopter when it was close to the ground before it actually crashed. Reno on the other hand had stayed in the chopper to control the crash, which explained why he was hurt worse than Rude. Genesis figured Reno was either very smart or very stupid to stay in the crashing chopper. He was leaning towards stupid. There weren't any towns, villages, or even small bands of people that the crash could have hit, so why not just jump out? Maybe the guy was an adrenaline junkie.
He also learned that the crash had happened the night before which explained why he hadn't heard it. Rude had gone to the crash site to look for Reno but when he didn't find him and couldn't contact him via PHS, he headed back toward Midgar. That meant Reno had to have been walking almost all night considering he couldn't move very fast with his injuries. Genesis was impressed.
What Rude wouldn't tell him was why the helicopter had gone down or what the two Turks mission was. He couldn't really blame him on the mission thing since he probably wouldn't give out mission details to a stranger either. He didn't really get why he wouldn't tell him what brought the chopper down though.
The pair made good time in getting back to the cliff, however the sky was quickly darkening. Genesis thought about the ass chewing he was going to get when he returned back to headquarters after curfew. SOLDIER Second Classes had a bit more freedom, but they still had a curfew. Genesis mentally chastised himself; lives were more important than curfew. Plus with the Turks to back up the story of why he was late, he shouldn't get chewed out anyway. What the hell was he supposed to do, just walk away? Regardless of rules and regulations he couldn't do that. It was inhuman.
Finally making it to the cliff site, Genesis headed over to the rock where he had left Reno and panicked: Reno wasn't there. He quickly spun and darted his eyes this way and that but could find no sign of the missing Turk. Had Shinra sent out more Turks? Had they had found him and taken him back to headquarters? Surely if that were the case Reno would have told them about Rude and himself. Unless he was unconscious. Shit.
Reno could have crawled off like a wounded animal to die. That thought pissed the SOLDIER off, even though he knew it was extremely unlikely. He said he wouldn't die, he thought in a whiny voice. Oh yeah, like he could help it if he died, came the sarcastic reply.
Genesis knew the Turks were mysterious but he was pretty sure they couldn't just vanish. That being said, there had to be a sign of something around here. Oh Gaia, what if a monster got him? He was pretty sure the Turk couldn't defend himself very well in the condition he was in. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Genesis thought, I never should have left him! He vowed that from this point forward he wasn't going anywhere without something to heal himself or others with.
Rude was giving Genesis a look that clearly said 'where the hell is my partner' and Genesis had no idea what to tell him. Just as he was about to open his mouth to say as much there was a faint noise behind him. The SOLDIER whirled and used the last threads of light to scan the darkness. He thought he saw movement and bolted in that direction.
Rude had no idea what to do at this point. He knew the man had met Reno because he knew the code word, yet he didn't see Reno anywhere. The bald man was thinking about rebel traps and terrorists when Genesis spun and took off running away from him. Rude instinctively crouched down in case he had walked straight into a trap and there was a sniper somewhere. He knew it wasn't logical, but training overtook logic at times.
After a few minutes of nothing happening, Rude stood, wondering where the hell the kid went to. Damn SOLDIERs and their Mako enhanced speed. He tapped the left side of his sunglasses and they switched to night vision mode. Rude was getting ready to tap them again to go into infrared mode when he heard Reno's voice.
"Told ya I wouldn' die on ya yo." Rude felt profound relief upon hearing his partner's voice. He started walking in the direction Genesis had disappeared when the SOLDIER yelled at him.
"Rude, a hand please?"
At the voice Rude changed direction slightly and picked up his pace. There was a small cluster of rocks jutting up in front of him and as he rounded them he realized there was a decline. Genesis and Reno were at the bottom of it. As he got closer he could hear Genesis rebuking Reno.
"Stupid me, I figured you would stay where I left you," Genesis said.
"It gave me a headache layin' like that. 'Sides, it wasn' comfy for long an' I had to piss. I wasn't about to piss layin' down," Reno replied. "I jus' tried standin' and I kinda rolled down here or somethin'."
"You... don't know how you got down here?" Genesis asked.
"Ah... no. Musta passed out yo," Reno said. "Least I didn' piss myself. Lucky me."
As Rude came up behind Genesis he heard him audibly sigh. "Alright, alright," Genesis said. "Rude will you help me get him back up to the top? Then we can decide what to do."
Rude nodded and bent down to help his partner stand.
"Rude!" Reno exclaimed. "So glad ta see yer livin'. I'd never forgive myself if I killed ya."
"Touched," Rude replied as he hoisted his partner off the ground. Genesis came up on the other side of Reno and together they made their way back to the landing.
"Let's sit him in front of that rock. That way he can't topple over backward," Genesis said. Rude agreed and together they placed Reno in front of the rock he had tipped over earlier that day.
"I hate this damn rock yo," Reno said once he was firmly on the ground.
"I'm sure the feeling is mutual," Genesis chuckled. "So, what now? Call an evac team?" He was kneeling next to Reno, checking the man's injuries.
Before Rude could reply, Reno had grabbed the SOLIDER by the front of his uniform and yanked him closer; almost close enough to kiss. "No, we don' do nuthin' righ' now," Reno said. "I need ta confer with my partner fer a min. Gimme yer phone."
Genesis was startled when Reno had grabbed him and shocked at what the Turk said. He opened his mouth to reply but Reno shook him, stopping the words in his mouth.
"Look man, I like ya and I don' wanna be a dick. I'm not even up ta it righ' now but that won' stop me. 'Sides Rude could pound ya fer me. So please, jus' gimme yer PHS and a min," Reno said.
Genesis glared at Reno before replying. "I have to stand up then. I can't get my PHS out of my pocket in this position." Reno let him go so fast he almost fell on his ass.
The SOLDIER was absolutely furious. Ifrit's Hellfire! He had helped both of them, albeit he hadn't done much but he'd tried. This was his repayment? If they didn't want to call a team that was their call. He could leave them out here and return to headquarters for his ass chewing. Reno did not have to threaten him or demand his phone to keep his mouth shut.
Genesis reached into his pocket and retrieved his PHS. Perhaps he could outrun Rude or even kick his ass and he knew he could kick Reno's ass, but neither option seemed like a good one. Besides he'd probably just have problems with the two later and to be honest, he had enough enemies. Don't need to create more.
Once the phone was in his hand, Genesis flung it at Reno without really aiming. Apparently he threw it harder than he meant to and his aim was dead on. Less than 10 seconds after the phone left his hand he heard a crunching sound, almost simultaneously followed by another Reno tirade.
When the SOLDIER had flung the phone he had already begun to turn away from Reno. Hearing the crunch and Reno's fit, he started to turn back around. Before he could complete the move something hit him in the side of the head. The last thing he saw was Rude's face above him and he thought he heard him say 'sorry' before everything went black.