Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 29: Lockdown

“So… Rude. I hear you’re takin’ up Wutaiian cooking now…”

“…” Rude shrugged noncommittally and speared a bit of slightly undercooked garlic roasted potato with his fork. One of these days, he was just going to start bringing his lunch from home. The Shinra cafeteria seemed to get worse by the week. A multi-billion gil company, and still, they apparently had chosen to employee the rejects from nearby school cafeterias to handle feeding their personnel instead a trained chef…

“Ya know, if you need someone to test things out…”

The bald man snorted softly. Reno’s less than subtle hints about wanting to join him for dinner… or lunch… or breakfast… or any meal in between, if Rude was doing the cooking… had never bothered him in the slightest. Reno always made for good company. But the idea of his best friend ‘testing’ anything at the table was laughable. The redhead generally inhaled food so quickly that Rude sometimes wondered if he even had time to taste it.

Now Elena, on the other hand, knew how to appreciate a dish… though, she could be a little too complimentary at times. Once in awhile, Rude desperately craved constructive criticism over flattery, especially on new ventures.

Besides which… if anyone in their little circle was an expert on Wutaiian cuisine, it would be Tseng. And he was more than willing to be upfront about it if Rude was going wrong somewhere.

“Really? Nothin’?” the younger man prodded.

“Still working a few things out,” he replied, “You’ll just have to wait.”

Reno scowled and shoved his empty plate aside. “‘Lena got to try it…” he muttered, nearly pouting.

“Hmph… You would’ve, too, if you were more willing to give Shadow & Sword a chance…” Rude needled him, smirking slightly.

Of course Elena had gotten the chance to sample… she’d become his favorite guinea pig, and he loved trying out new recipes on her. Dinner and the latest episode had become an easy tradition for the pair of them, and Rude found that he looked forward to Sunday evenings even more than he used to, now that he had someone to share them with. Reno was willing to do a lot to appease those closest to him, but Rude had never been successful in converting him into a Swordie. And it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying… the man just didn’t enjoy the show. To put it mildly. The few times the bald Turk had managed to talk him into joining him for an episode or two – usually having lured him in with the promise of feeding him – the redhead had been less then enthralled… though he had seemed to perk up during some of the more elaborate death scenes. Apparently the sporadic carnage wasn’t enough to hold his interest, however, and eventually, even a free meal wasn’t enough to tempt him into another viewing. Rude had finally given up… more or less.

Reno gave him a dramatic roll of his eyes. “Ugh… don’t you dare start in on that again. Rude, you’re addicted to that damn show. You and ‘Lena both. I’m seriously thinkin’ about stagin’ an intervention for you two one of these days…” He picked up his discarded fork and reached across the table, stabbing one of the sad-looking strips of baked chicken on the other man’s plate and shoving it in his mouth. “Fuck, man… How the hell do they manage to make this shit both dry and greasy at the same time?”

Despite his better-than-average culinary knowledge… Rude frankly had absolutely no idea. The Shinra Building Cafeteria’s ability to ruin nearly any food that had the misfortune to pass through its kitchen was a complete mystery to him. To Rude’s unending amusement, though, the chicken’s questionable method of creation didn’t stop Reno from swiping another bite before his partner could respond.

“Don’t know… But does it matter? You’re going to eat it anyway…”

“Were you plannin’ to?” Reno queried, raising an eyebrow. His partner glanced down at his plate. It really was a lot worse than usual today. He’d managed only a few bites before pushing it to one side in favor of the far more appetizing salad and potatoes. Rude shook his head in the negative and Reno smiled triumphantly. “Well… There ya go, then.” He pointedly skewered another strip. Rude nudged the remaining chicken off of his plate and onto the empty one his lunchmate had abandoned.

“Enjoy.” If Reno really wanted to voluntarily choke down that abomination, he’d happily let him… but personally, he thought incineration would have been far more appropriate.

“You could just go and order more if you’re still hungry, you know,” Tseng commented as he joined them at the table. “It’s not as if they impose a limit. Not even on you.”

“Could… but why walk all the way over to the counter again when Rude doesn’t want his?” Reno asked with a grin.

Rude chuckled, but really, he knew there was more to it than that. Sure, the slender rail of a Turk could eat more at any given meal than should have been physically possible for a man his size – and Rude couldn’t be certain, but it was quite possible he had no viable tastebuds remaining at this point, given some of the things he managed to swallow – but there was also the simple fact that Reno didn’t like seeing food go to waste. Not even some of the more questionable things the cafeteria had the audacity to label as such. It legitimately bothered the younger man. Rude wasn’t sure even Tseng understood just how much.

Moreover, he knew why, though he didn’t like thinking about it. Reno had grown up in a world of not enough. Not enough money, not enough love, and most definitely, not enough to eat. They all joked about the questionable nature of the cafeteria’s menu, but some of the things Reno had resorted to eating to stay alive when he was younger turned Rude’s stomach in ways the chicken the redhead was presently devouring couldn’t even begin to compare to.

When he’d first been recruited, he’d even been in the habit of hoarding food for a brief time… right up until he was finally convinced his being added to the Turks roster wasn’t merely a temporary situation. Once, Rude had caught him at it and the teenager had, quite literally, begged him not to say anything – not because he was embarrassed, but because he genuinely feared it would be taken from him if anyone found out. Years of scrounging for meals had made him disturbingly protective of whatever happened to land on his plate. Rude had grudgingly promised to keep silent on the subject, and ten years later, still had never uttered a word to anyone else about it.

Thankfully, those days were well behind them. Though he still seemed to find himself with the strong desire to ensure that his partner at least occasionally ate better fare than simply whatever happened to be offered by the nearest take-out menu.

Tseng shrugged in response and started in on his own lunch as Reno polished off the last of the chicken.

“So where’s ‘Lena? Haven’t seen her since this morning. You’re not commandeering my rookie, are ya, boss?”

“Of course not.” Tseng gave him an indulgent smile. It had been meant jokingly, but Reno was undeniably possessive of the youngest of the Turks – something for which Tseng really had only himself to blame, Rude mused. He’d been just as possessive of Reno when the redhead had been starting out. Tseng had consistently referred to his young protégé as ‘his rookie’ right up until he’d been promoted out of probationary status, and Reno had apparently learned the lesson well.

“She volunteered to reorganize the archives,” the Turk leader continued, “You have a truly aggravating habit of not putting things back where you find them.” Rude snickered softly and Tseng fixed him with a stern look. “Both of you.”

“…” He awkwardly cleared his throat and returned his attention to his plate. He hadn’t left that many files laying out… And at least he didn’t have a tendency to misfile things when he did put them away, unlike a certain redhead.

“Tch… Poor ‘Lena. Stuck with the crap jobs just ’cause she the new kid,” Reno lamented… rather unconvincingly.

“If you’re feeling so sorry for her, you could always go help her out,” said Rude, pointing out the obvious. Elena was, in Rude’s opinion, a little too accommodating of the rest of the team’s laziness sometimes. For instance, she had confided in him just that past weekend that she was getting a little tired of being stuck with everyone else’s incident reports all the time. He was forced to admit to himself that he’d been just as guilty as the other two Turks in taking advantage of her general willingness to tackle the unending task of data entry. Until she’d mentioned it, though, he hadn’t even realized just how badly he’d begun to slack off in that department lately, and he suspected Tseng hadn’t either.

As for Reno… well, to be fair, he’d been terrible about keeping up with the backlog even before the rookie’s promotion. He probably couldn’t have made less of an effort at it if he’d tried.

She’d been dismissive about the complaint… it hadn’t even been a complaint, really. More of a passing comment. But resentment had a tendency to grow if left unchecked. He had intended to say something about it to Reno earlier in the week, but his own assignments had kept distracting him. The redhead may have had a passionate hatred of paperwork, but he wouldn’t be pleased when he learned that Elena was beginning to suffer because the rest of them couldn’t be bothered to do their share.

“Nah… She can manage. How’d ya talk her into it, anyway, boss?”

Tseng calmly swallowed a spoonful of soup. Of the items on the menu, it had seemed the safest today. Rude resisted the urge to smirk at the grimace on Tseng’s face. There was a reason he himself always avoided that particular offering on Wednesdays. Whoever prepared it seemed to have a strong affinity for salt.

“I didn’t have to talk her into anything. As I said, she volunteered… right after I just happened to mention that I wasn’t looking forward to cleaning up after you two yet again.”

Reno frowned, vaguely annoyed. “Wish ya wouldn’t manipulate her like that. You know damn well she’s still kinda hung up on you…”

Rude briefly wondered if the cafeteria even used real garlic. It had the look of the real thing… but certainly not the pungent flavor it should have. He also wondered if the other two were aware that Elena wasn’t nearly as “hung up” on the Turk leader as she had been when she’d first arrived. Oh, she was still somewhat enamored of him – Tseng was undeniably exotic and commanding, and could probably have even given the redhead a run for his money with the women of Shinra if he’d been interested in doing so – but she wasn’t nearly as smitten with the man as she once had been.

In fact, Rude had recently come to the conclusion that Elena really ought to give Reno far more serious consideration in that regard. The rookie was unquestionably close to him, and, Rude was fairly certain, attracted to him as well. And if anyone could get the redhead to finally settle down a bit, it was Elena… On top of that, he knew that Reno adored her. He tended to make a point of keeping things platonic between them, but Rude got the impression that was really only because Elena hadn’t expressed an interest in anything more… and perhaps also because Reno still felt a little guilty about his behavior during the early months of Elena’s life as a Turk and just couldn’t bring himself to make a serious effort at a more intimate relationship. Rude couldn’t deny that some of of the things he’d done in the name of training had been pretty tasteless at times, even by Reno’s standards. Effective… but tasteless.

Now, although the redhead still openly flirted with her, it was always in a joking manner. Elena never took it seriously, and usually responded with feigned – and occasionally, legitimate, depending on the circumstances – annoyance, while Reno happily laughed off her constant rejections. As much as he claimed not to care about being friend-zoned by the rookie, however, Rude very much doubted his partner would have turned down the opportunity if she’d ever flirted back.

But… he wasn’t about to try and play matchmaker just on the off chance he might actually succeed in getting them together, no matter how good it might be for them. Meddling in people’s relationships almost never ended well for anyone involved, and both of them were much too important to him to risk hurting them.

“I’m aware… and it wasn’t entirely intentional,” Tseng confessed, drawing Rude out of his own thoughts, “Though I will admit, I didn’t make much of an attempt to dissuade her, either. I have no more desire to spend the next few days in the archives than you do…”

Rude nudged a bottle of hot sauce from the collection of condiments on the table toward the Turk leader. It wouldn’t really fix the soup, but it would at least make it slightly more palatable. Tseng flashed him a grateful smile and took the silent suggestion.

“Tch… Better her than me, I ‘spose. She workin’ through lunch?” Reno asked.

“No. I tried to coax her downstairs for today’s… dining experience. She declined and mentioned having a personal errand to run.”

“… She may be better off going hungry,” Rude commented, prodding the remaining potatoes with his fork. He was definitely going to start bringing lunch from home.

---

Reno stared at the rookie as she silently read over whatever was printed on the card for the fourth time since she’d sat down.

Tseng had recruited Rude for a tour of the Sector 5 slums after lunch. Although the Turk leader spent relatively little time down below these days – especially compared to Rude – he still liked to be knowledgeable about what was going on under the Plate. Reno had considered accompanying them, and bringing Elena along as well. A little extra training never hurt, after all – but he had ultimately decided against it. Something had been bugging her for the past couple of weeks, and given the irritated expression she’d greeted the latest stack of incident reports on her desk with, he had a pretty good idea what it was. He was a bit annoyed himself that she hadn’t bothered to say anything to him about it, if there was an issue. It was time to have a little discussion with his rookie.

For the moment, however, he was slightly more interested in whatever she found so captivating about that card.

“Okay… whatever the hell’s written on that, it can’t possibly be that fascinating.”

She jumped slightly, startled by the unexpected interruption and Reno grinned. Sometimes, it was just too easy. Elena set the card aside, and settled back in her chair trying to look casual and unconcerned. Reno wasn’t buying it.

“It’s nothing. It’s just… Nothing.”

“Yeah… sure sounds like it. So what’s up?” he asked, propping his feet up on the edge of his desk and leaning his chair back at a somewhat precarious angle. He laced his fingers together behind his head and stared at her.

“Really, it’s nothing.” Elena slid the card into one of her desk’s drawers.

“Tch… Fine. Don’t tell me, then,” he shrugged, staring up at the ceiling. It was her business. Unless that was what was bothering her lately – which he was pretty sure it wasn’t – he was content to let it remain so. “Movin’ on… what was the big errand ya had to take care of? You missed out on all kinds of shit the cafeteria thinks is edible.”

“… Reno?” she began, suddenly looking up at him almost pleadingly, “Can I ask you for a really big favor?”

“Ya can always ask…” he replied, ignoring the fact that she had just ignored his own query. Though really… it would have to be one hell of an inconvenience before he’d consider refusing her. He typically enjoyed helping out his friends… Elena in particular. That didn’t mean he wasn’t still fond of making the rookie squirm a little from time to time. Old habits were hard to break, after all…

Elena pulled the card out again, looking it over for a moment, and seemed to come to some sort of decision.

“Will you be my boyfriend?”

“What?!” Reno tried, and failed, to sit up from the entirely too relaxed position he’d let himself fall into. With his feet on the desk, he couldn’t find the leverage needed to push himself upright, and the redhead suddenly found himself tilting dangerously in the opposite direction he currently wanted to be moving in. The chair toppled over backwards, spilling one very surprised Turk onto the tile floor with a resounding crash. His head hit the wall behind him, and he yelped in pain.

“Are you alright?!” Elena was on her feet by then, moving toward him to help. Reno winced and dragged himself upright again before she could cover the distance between them, staggering slightly as he nearly tripped over the fallen office furniture in the process. He rubbed the back of his head, glad it had only hit the drywall and not the decorative steel rail that circled the room.

“Uh… ‘Lena, don’t get me wrong… you’re awesome and I love ya and all, but… where the hell’d that come from?”

The rookie sniggered quietly and picked up the chair for him. “I need a boyfriend,” she reiterated, far too calmly for Reno’s taste. “For a wedding.”

“Okay… first of all, I don’t really do the whole ‘boyfriend’ thing. Too much monogamy ‘n commitment ‘n shit required. And second… Wouldn’t that make me your fiance?” Reno asked, looking at her askance, with no small amount of trepidation.

“Oh, for… I. Need. A. Date.” She shook her head, giggling a little. “You know… someone to take me to a wedding.”

He sighed in relief. For a moment, he’d thought… well, he wasn’t entirely sure what he’d thought, actually, but it had certainly thrown him a bit. “Why the hell didn’t you just say that in the first place? I ‘spose you think that was cute… Fuck, ‘Lena, ya sacred me half to death just now.” He mentally told the little voice in the back of his head… the one that was insisting it wasn’t fear that had caused that reaction… to shut the hell up.

“Well, it’s just that… I need you for a little more than just a date…” she explained, hesitating.

He flashed her a teasingly lecherous smirk and sidled up to her, falling easily back into their usual routine. “Yeah? How much more?” Elena rolled her eyes and removed the arm he’d draped over her shoulders.

“I’m serious.”

“‘Kay… So ya want me to… what? Sweet-talk the maid of honor into a quickie in the coat room at the reception or somethin’?” he joked, wondering just what it was that Elena was planning.

“NO!” she all but shouted at him. Reno blinked, slightly taken aback by the angry look in Elena’s eyes. She dropped her gaze, and he noticed she was blushing a little. “Sorry. Look… This is going to sound really, really shallow, okay? The wedding is for one of my best friends from school, and I really want to go… but…”

“But… ?”

“But, her maid of honor is a girl named Penta, and… ugh. That woman made high school a living hell for me. The only reason she’s even the maid of honor at all is because she’s the groom’s sister. Chai doesn’t even really like her… but her choice had to bow out at the last minute. She asked if I’d do it… but you know what our schedule can be like. If we get called in for a mission, I can’t exactly tell Tseng I’m busy that afternoon…”

“Still not quite seein’ how I fit in here…”

“You absolutely cannot laugh,” she said firmly.

“Me? Laugh?” He let his grin widen at the sight of her scowl. She had to know better by now… saying something like that was the best way to ensure that’s exactly what he’d do.

“Penta stole every guy I was even remotely interested in in high school. I couldn’t even get a date for senior prom because of her and she did it just to spite me.”

“… Why?” he asked, feeling perplexed as to how someone could dislike Elena to such an extent. Sure, maybe he was just a little biased… but Elena was incredibly sweet – even if she could, admittedly, be kind of scary when she was pissed off. He’d always had her figured for one of the popular kids. Maybe even a cheerleader. She certainly fit the stereotype, anyway. Blond, pretty, outgoing… annoyingly perky at times…

“Because I offered to tutor her boyfriend in history once. I felt bad for him… he was a nice guy, and he was failing the class because his mom was sick and he didn’t have time to study. She thought I was trying to hit on him, and… yeah. The usual high school mean-girl bullshit ensued. After that, I was pretty much a social pariah until I graduated.” The bitterness in her voice was practically tangible. Reno found himself instantly disliking this Penta woman.

“So… basically ya want me to be your trophy boyfriend for the night so you can rub it in her face…” he snickered. He could handle that. Elena flushed bright red.

“… No! Well… kinda. Yeah. Look, I told you it was really shallow! I just want to see the look on her face when I walk in with…” She looked away slightly, not quite able to make eye contact. “… someone like you.”

“Someone like me? Come on ‘Lena… just say it. I’m pretty…” he teased, though he couldn’t help but feel a little flattered by the request. It wasn’t every day he was essentially asked to be eye candy. Elena rolled her eyes yet again. “Ya keep doin’ that, they’re gonna get stuck back there…”

“Will you do it or not?”

“Open bar at the reception?” he asked. Of course he was going to do it… but he might as well find out what he was getting out of the deal before letting her know that.

“Yes. And a buffet.”

“Ah, what the hell. Count me in…”

The rookie gave him a relieved look. “Thanks, Reno…”

“… IF ya tell me I’m pretty…” He couldn’t resist… He’d come close a few times to getting the young woman to admit she found him attractive, but had never gotten her to actually say the words. It had become something of a personal challenge, and Reno just couldn’t resist a challenge. And he certainly didn’t mind having his ego stroked once in awhile, particularly when it was coming from someone he personally thought was quite lovely herself. Besides which… it was good for the rookie to be shoved out of her comfort zone every now and then. Kept things interesting.

“W-what?”

“Two little words and I’m all yours.”

“Are you really serious?” she asked, hands on her hips, her posture radiating annoyance.

“Come on… You can do it…” he prodded her, grinning maniacally.

Elena groaned and rubbed her temples. “Fine… You’re pretty. Okay?”

“There… now was that so bad?”

She shook her head and walked back over to her desk. “You’re pretty, alright… pretty irritating.”

Reno laughed, unable to honestly deny the accusation, and followed her. “Never claimed otherwise. So when’s this wedding?”

“… Um… Next Saturday,” she replied, awkwardly.

“Next Saturday? As in the Saturday after this one? Geez, ‘Lena… your friends sure like cuttin’ things close.”

Elena sank down in her chair a little, looking embarrassed. “I-I’ve actually had the invitation since this past summer. I was originally just going to go alone, but then the whole thing with Penta happened a few weeks ago, and… I just… I kept putting off finding a date and I felt really weird asking you to do this for me.”

Reno cocked an eyebrow. “Why?” he asked, sincerely curious. He’d thought he’d made it pretty clear that he was always there to help when asked. And, typically, when not asked, as well.

“Well I already had to take one brother to prom because of that witch,” she muttered, before apparently realizing she’d said something out loud that she hadn’t intended to. “And I… I mean, you’re not going to know anyone there besides me. And it’s a really formal wedding, too, and I know you hate getting dressed up…” she said in hurried attempt to amend her previous statement, gently chewing her lower lip for a moment – a habit Reno had noticed she displayed when particularly worried about something – before she continued, “… and anyway, I don’t really like the idea of… using you like that.”

Reno smiled and leaned against her desk. “Tch… Don’t worry about that.”

“I know you’re going to say that you don’t mind, but… but it’s just so demeaning. It’s sort of like the way Scarlet treats you, and I don’t want you to think that I…”

“‘Lena, you’re nothin’ like Scarlet,” he interrupted, shaking his head. “Seriously, you’re makin’ way too big a deal outta this.” He grinned somewhat evilly. “Now… which brother did you take to prom?”

The rookie groaned in dismay.

---

Sector 5 was probably his favorite of the slums, Tseng mused as he trailed along behind Rude. On the whole, it was slightly less grimy and run-down than the other sectors, though still decidedly poor, and still retained many of the buildings from the original town Midgar had swallowed up during it’s construction. The two Turks were presently making their way past an old church.

As they approached, one of the heavy wooden doors creaked open, a young woman stepping out onto the crumbling steps. The duo paused… they hadn’t yet been noticed. Tseng smiled to himself, motioning for Rude to remain where he was, and slipped silently out of her line of sight on the other side of the door. As it closed behind her, he stepped forward.

“Aerith.”

The woman jumped, uttering a soft squeak of surprise and dropped the basket she was holding as she spun to face him.

“Oh! Tseng… It’s you…” she replied, a little hesitantly. He couldn’t really blame her for being cautious. Many people might have taken the girl for a little naïve at first glance… but he was well enough acquainted with her to know she was perfectly aware of who he was and what his interest was in her. The Turk leader knelt down and retrieved the basket, gathering a few stray flowers that had escaped in the fall.

“You can relax. I’m not here for you today,” he said, returning it to her, “I only wished to say hello. It’s been quite some time.”

Aerith did relax then, calmly accepting the basket from him and looping the handle over one arm. She glanced over his shoulder, spotting Rude. “You only ever seem to send him down these days,” she replied, carefully rearranging the blossoms.

“I trust he doesn’t inconvenience you too much…”

She shook her head and smiled a little. “He doesn’t talk much. But I don’t really mind him.”

Tseng nodded. Technically, he should have returned the girl to Shinra years ago. Why he hadn’t, even he couldn’t entirely explain. He’d first met her when she was just a child… and at the time, he’d been fully prepared to finish his assignment. Locate, capture, retrieve. Simple. He didn’t know what had possessed him to explain himself rather than simply snatching her and carting her off, back to the Plate. It wasn’t as if it would have been difficult. Her sole protector was lonely middle-aged woman. Somehow, though… he’d felt she deserved to know why.

And then he’d learned how she had come to be in the slums in the first place, and couldn’t bring himself to send her back to that life. Aerith reminded him a little too much of his younger sister… a loss he’d still been reeling from at the time, and a pain the girl had seemed to sense in him. Ultimately… she wasn’t a priority target back then. ‘Accidentally’ losing track of her was a simple enough report to file, and Veld didn’t question it. The Turks had more pressing matters, anyway. A war had begun, and that was of far greater concern than one little girl.

By the time all of that was over, and Shinra’s interest in Aerith had come back to the forefront, Tseng was in command of the Turks, and had the ability to shield her without hindrance… which was precisely what he’d chosen to do. Still… he couldn’t do so forever, and that was why he kept a close eye on her. He’d never hidden his actions from his subordinates. Tseng trusted them implicitly. And if they had to bring her in, he wouldn’t hesitate to give that order… but it was to be avoided for as long as possible.

As long as possible, however, seemed to be growing shorter with each passing week. ‘Not today,’ he’d told her… but that certainly didn’t mean ‘not tomorrow’ or ‘not a month from now’. He wasn’t looking forward to the day he finally did have to take her freedom from her again.

“Rude generally prefers to listen rather than speak, unless you’re especially persistent,” he acknowledged quickly, before he completely lost himself in his own thoughts, turning to rejoin his fellow Turk. “I know circumstances mean you’re not fond of running into any of us, but… it was good to see you.”

---

“You’re still guardin’ your right too much…”

Elena narrowly avoided a blow from Reno’s EMR on her left as he used her over-defense of her other side to his advantage. He never used the weapon’s electrical capabilities in a training match, but he didn’t go to great lengths to hold back on physical blows anymore. It wouldn’t have injured her, but she definitely would’ve felt it if he’d made contact.

“Only because you’re still left-handed,” she panted. They’d been at it for almost twenty minutes, but the way Reno moved, it felt more like an hour. “You attack to my right more often.”

“Expectin’ it leaves ya open, though…” He smirked and went for her right shoulder, only to switch tactics at the last moment and attack with a kick to her left leg. Elena went down hard on the mat. “See?”

“Ow.”

Reno snickered and offered her his hand. The rookie suddenly grinned and caught hold of his ankle instead, using her weight, and a well-placed leg sweep, to force him off-balance. Reno’s world tilted… and rotated… and a moment later he was flat on the ground, facedown.

“Son of a bitch… When the fuck did Tseng teach ya that?” he groaned. He hated that move. He never seemed to be able to counter it in time, and dammit, landing flat-out on his chest like that hurt!

“Last week,” she replied in a smug voice as the redhead picked himself up.

“Great… ’cause I don’t wind up with nearly enough bruises when I spar with him…”

“So… what were you saying about leaving yourself open?” she taunted him. Whatever his reply was going to be, he never got the chance to make it. A loud alarm sounded, catching them both off guard.

“The hell’s goin’ on?” he muttered, running for the door and poking his head out into the hallway. Elena joined him seconds later.

“What is it?” she asked. She’d never heard this particular alarm before. Several of the people in the hallway seemed just as confused.

“Lockdown protocol…” His hand instinctively went to the pocket he usually kept his PHS in… only to realize that it was in his locker with his uniform. “Fuck. Stay here,” he said, heading for the locker room. He paused abruptly, and turned back. “On second thought, go get changed… and make it quick. Unless this is a surprise drill, we’re bound to be needed somewhere.”

Elena nodded, and rushed off in the opposite direction. Reno, meanwhile shoved open the door and made a beeline for his locker. Not surprisingly, his PHS was screeching just as obnoxiously as the alarm. He acknowledged the emergency notification that was demanding his attention, stripping out of his workout clothes as he did so, and the device fell silent. Shortly afterward, the building alarm went quiet as well, though he suspected the lockdown indicators out in the hall were probably still flashing.

The Turks second in command frowned as he read the alert. The biologics lab. Wonderful. Something of Hojo’s was loose. Worse, the staff in charge of the specimen apparently didn’t know where it had fucked off to… hence the building-wide lockdown. Reno hurried to get himself dressed. As he made his way back towards the rookie, he was already dialing the main security office. He swore loudly at the sound of the busy signal and entered the override code to cut in on the call.

“… stupid alarm’s really annoying…” a voice was saying.

“Hey, asshole… You guys awake down there or what?” he interrupted, stepping back out into the gym.

“Who is this?” the person on the other end of the line asked. “This is a secure line. Authorized personnel only!”

Reno rolled his eyes. Fucking security newbies… “Yeah? Last I checked, the Turks are authorized to do whatever the fuck we want with your secure lines. Now… ya wanna tell me what the hell I’m dealin’ with and maybe give me some idea of where it’s at? Or were ya sleeping through that lockdown alarm?”

A frantic shuffling could be heard over the phone, and a few moments of muffled chatter, before a new voice took over.

“I apologize, sir. He’s new. I can assure you that…”

“Look, spare me the bullshit, be glad I’m not my boss, and just tell me what’s happening,” he snapped, cutting her off. Elena reappeared, back in uniform, hurrying anxiously toward him. He switched the security office over to speakerphone.

“Yes, sir. Biologics Lab Six reports a containment breach. A biological specimen was discovered to have escaped from its enclosure, whereabouts unknown. Total lockdown of the building has been requested by Professor Hojo.”

She had just read him, almost verbatim, the very alert he’d already received. He resisted the urge to yell. “Yeah… that much we already knew. What escaped, and how long has it actually been runnin’ around outside the lab?”

“I… I’m not sure, sir. The followup report from the biologics lab just states ‘juvenile specimen 14-A attached to project 514′. There’s no further description.”

“Well, that’s real helpful… Call the idiots up there back and get me somethin’ I can actually work with.”

“Yes, sir!”

He ended the call, shaking his head. “Unbelievable…” he muttered. He’d never been especially impressed with the building security staff, but this was a new level of incompetence even for them.

“What now?” Elena asked.

“Can’t do much ’til we know what we’re dealin’ with. Tch… Heidegger picked a hell of a day to run off to Junon. Hate to admit it, but for once, I actually wouldn’t mind havin’ him around to threaten security into doin’ their fuckin’ job. It’d save me the headache. Come on… let’s get back to our office. Maybe we can dig up a project summary or somethin’ on project 514 while we’re waiting.”

The two Turks pushed through the small crowd of employees in the hall and made their way to the elevator. Elena frowned as she realized that even that was in lockdown mode. No one could move around the building at all. Reno swiped his access card, and punched in an override code. The doors opened and he hurried her into the car before any of the other nervous employees could try to follow.

“I didn’t know we had access to do that…” Elena said, as they were whisked upwards towards Turk headquarters.

“Heh… We don’t. Tseng does… I do… director of Soldier and head of building security do. And the execs, naturally. Whatever’s out, must be nasty… Hojo ordered the highest level of security lockdown we’ve got. Nothin’ gets in, nothin’ gets out, and everyone who doesn’t have at least a level 8-Delta security clearance is stuck on whatever floor they happened to be on when it went into effect.”

His PHS rang, startling them both as they were dropped off on their floor. He accepted the call, raising the phone to his ear.

“You’re not allowed to leave the office anymore, boss. Every time ya do I get stuck dealin’ with some pain in the ass emergency,” he said, in lieu of a greeting.

“Yes… I saw the alert. Do you know what it is yet?”

“Juvenile specimen 14-A attached to project 514,” the redhead repeated from memory, sounding decidedly annoyed at the lack of information. “Still waitin’ on someone to elaborate on what the fuck that means. I’m guessin’ you two are still down below…”

“I’m afraid so. We’re on our way to the station now, though I don’t know how much help we’ll be once we’re back up top. Even my access code won’t allow me to override the external doors without secondary approval from Heidegger. You and Elena will have to handle this on your own for the time being.”

“Yeah… Understood.” He ended the call and turned back to the rookie, who by then had made it to her desk and was scouring the company network for any mention of a project 514. “Got anything?”

“Not really. It’s mentioned in a budget report from four years ago. It doesn’t say was it is though. That’s all that came up.”

“Tch… Hojo’s probably got anything useful locked up tight.” His PHS rang yet again, and Reno smirked. “Speak of the devil…” he said, before taking the call and switching it to speakerphone so Elena could hear as well. “Reno here, sir.”

“I want to know what you’re doing to get my specimen back,” the scientist’s voice intoned. Reno cocked an eyebrow. Get it back? He’d just been planning to shoot it before it killed someone.

“At the moment, sir, very little. We haven’t even been told what we’re looking for.”

“Specimen 14-A from project 514, you useless fool,” he responded, exasperated, and Reno was forced to bite back some rather choice words.

“Yes, sir… But what is Specimen 14-A?” he said, keeping his voice as level as he could. Why the hell did the science types always want to assume he had the faintest idea what the hell they were talking about?

Hojo made a noise of long-suffering frustration. “Specimen 14-A is a three and a half year old female arachnid-hybrid approximately two meters in height. It escaped early this morning, thanks to the incompetence of the project’s junior supervisor. That specimen represents countless hours of painstaking research and genetic manipulation. I want it back, immediately!”

Reno blinked and glanced over at Elena, silently asking her if he’d heard that correctly. “Sir, just to clarify… We’re looking for a six foot tall spider?” he asked, trying his best to keep the incredulous tone out of his voice.

“If you insist on using such plebeian terms…” the scientist scoffed angrily.

Okay, then. Giant spider. Terrific. “And this… excessively large spider… exactly how dangerous is it?”

“It’s a natural predator… and fairly aggressive,” Hojo replied, “It is only mildly venomous, however. In addition to the venom, it is also capable of secreting a highly corrosive acid, and produces a very high tensile webbing. The venom, incidentally, won’t kill you, but it does contain a paralytic agent, the effects of which can last several hours…”

An acid-spitting, paralysis-inducing, web-slinging, six foot tall spider. This just got better, and better. Reno was beginning to think he ought to have stayed in bed that morning.

“I want it back alive. Do you hear me? Alive! And preferably undamaged,” Hojo continued.

“Understood, sir,” Reno replied. He hung up the phone. “Undamaged my ass…” he muttered.

“He can’t be serious…” Elena said, guardedly.

“Oh, he’s serious alright. And we’re expected to deliver, so no fatal shots unless it’s absolutely necessary.” The redhead wrenched open a drawer in his desk, and rummaged through the contents. “Matter of fact… No guns, period, unless it’s absolutely necessary. Here.” He tossed her an electro mag-rod. “Use my spare. Keep it set low for now.”

Elena fingered the settings panel a little uncertainly… it had been awhile… but eventually was able to assure herself that the voltage was set to a non-fatal level. She’d trained with the weapon, and several others, as a recruit, but it had never really appealed to her. She was much more comfortable with her gun.

“Yeah, I know… Not really your style,” Reno acknowledged.

“I’ll manage.” She gave the weapon an experimental flick, extending it to full length, and triggered the electrical discharge. The EMR obediently crackled with the sudden power surge. Satisfied, she collapsed it again.

“Now the only question is where is the damn thing?”

Elena turned back to her computer. Reports from security were finally starting to come in, but nothing very useful had popped up yet.

“There have been four possible sightings… but none of them seem very definite.”

“Where were they?” Reno asked. Maybe they could at least narrow it down at bit.

“All over the place. One on sixty-one in the atrium, one on fifteen, one on forty-five outside of the archives, and another on the first floor concourse.”

“Not a lot of help there…” he said shaking his head, “No way the thing’s gettin’ around that fast. ‘Least a couple of those have gotta just be people panicking…”

“Soldier reports all of their floors are clear,” she added as another notification arrived, “And building security is checking every camera.”

“Took ’em long enough,” he said, less than impressed. His PHS rang, and he glanced at the screen, an eyebrow rising in surprise. “Doc?” he answered. It wasn’t often Ward got in touch with him… unless he was due for a flu shot or some other medical procedure he’d have rather avoided.

“Either having yeh as a patient has finally driven me mental, or yeh need ta get down to medical… now!” the woman’s voice responded, sounding decidedly shaken. That alone was enough to raise several red flags with the Turk… Justinia Ward was not easily intimidated. “There’s some great hairy thing trying ta get into my exam room… and it’s none too friendly.”

Reno started for the door, beckoning the rookie to follow. “Hang in there, Doc… we’re comin’.”

---

“We’ll try ‘n take it down before it knows we’re here. You see an opportunity, you take it,” Reno said in hushed tones as the elevator doors slid open. Farther down the hallway, the two Turks could hear a persistent banging, coupled with frequent shrieking cries. Whatever it was, it sounded big… and angry. Elena nodded her understanding and they started toward the source of the noise.

As she rounded the corner, her eyes went wide and she repressed a shudder. Hojo’s ‘specimen’ was huge… The massive spider easily dwarfed Reno in height. It was definitely taller than six feet. More than that, its long, spindly legs were spread out across the entire width of the hallway. It brought its frontmost set of legs down repeatedly against the metal door that led to the medical suite at the end of the hall… part of the door was already badly dented and bowed. For whatever reason, it seemed determined to get inside. Reno waved her to one side of the hall, and readied his weapon to attack. Elena did the same, as they moved as silently as possible toward their target.

Not silently enough, it seemed. They were still several yards away when the creature realized they were there and turned on them, moving shockingly fast for something so large. It screeched, and Elena got a good look at it’s fangs… each one nearly the length of her forearm and needle-sharp. Apparently Reno appeared to be the greater threat – or was simply more appetizing – because it ignored her, charging at him instead.

“Look out!” she shouted, though it was unnecessary. Reno was already moving. Instead of moving away from the attack, however, he was headed straight into it, falling into a diving roll between the spider’s huge legs and thrusting his EMR upwards into its abdomen. The spider squealed in pain, but didn’t go down. It whipped around, as Reno shot to his feet, knocking him into the wall. The Turk crumpled to the floor moments before the creature took off down the hallway and vanished around a corner.

“Higher voltage next time,” he said with a groan, dragging himself upright again.

“Are you hurt?” Elena asked hurrying over to him. Reno shook his head.

“Gonna feel it in the morning, but I’ll live.” He swiped his access card in the reader next to the medical suite, then forced the somewhat distorted door open as much as he could. “Check on the doc… I’m goin’ after that thing.”

She nodded and wriggled her way through the partially open door, leaving Reno to continue the hunt. At first, she thought the room was empty, and wondered if Ward had found another way out before they’d arrived. But then she spotted the blood.

“Dr. Ward?” she called out, as she moved to follow the trail. It led farther into the suite, back to the doctor’s private office. Her query was met by a low, pained moan, and she quickened her pace. “Doctor?”

She opened the door and found her on the floor, propped up against her desk. Dr. Ward looked up at her.

“Where’s my favorite troublemaker run off ta?” she asked, a little weakly. Her right leg had obviously been bleeding badly from a deep gash. The doctor had slowed it considerably with a tourniquet, but not before she’d lost quite a bit of blood.

“Oh, you know Reno…” she said, trying not to let the significant worry she was feeling show too much. She knelt down next to the older woman. “He has to be dragged in here kicking and screaming every time.”

Ward managed a laugh. Elena grabbed a sheet from a pile of linen and pressed it against the wound, applying pressure. “Tell me what I can do…” she said.

“Ideally yeh could get me outta here and inta a hospital… but I’ll wager that’s not too likely at the moment.”

Elena shook her head. “The whole building’s sealed off.”

“A good thing, too… I’d hate ta think what that monster’d do if it got out inta the city,” the doctor replied, “Nothing else for it, then… I’ll just have to try and fix this mess as best I can.” She nodded toward a door on the far side of her office. “Gauze and a pressure bandage if yeh would, please… ”

---

Reno had been over nearly the entire floor and found nothing. The spider was gone, and he had no clue where it had disappeared to… or, for that matter, how something that big had simply vanished. It was far too large to have crept into the ventilation system. The elevator shafts maybe? If that was the case, it could be anywhere in the building by now. The cars were frozen in place without an override code, but the shafts themselves were still open.

His hunch was confirmed seconds later as he rounded a corner and saw the destruction. An elevator’s sliding doors had been all but torn out. He wasn’t sure if it had been done during the spider’s escape or if this was where it had initially entered the floor… either way, it had moved on. They’d have to start from scratch.

He growled in frustration and headed back to where he’d left Elena.

“‘Lena?” he called out, shouldering his way through the damaged door. He froze momentarily when he spotted the blood on the floor… It couldn’t have gotten past him and doubled back. There was simply no way…

“Back here!”

The response was a relief, despite the note of distress, and he quickly found his way back to Dr. Ward’s office.

“Ah… there yeh are…” the doctor said as he entered. He could clearly hear the pain in her voice. “I hope yeh haven’t managed ta hurt yerself… I don’t think I’ll be much good to yeh at the moment.”

He stood there, silently, for a moment, taking in the old woman’s condition. In all the years he’d known her, he’d never once seen Ward sick or hurt. He’d half come to believe she was immune to such things due to sheer stubbornness. Elena was wrapping a bandage around her thigh, but it was abundantly clear that the freshly-dressed injury was serious. There was blood everywhere.

“Evil thing nicked a vein when it tried ta take a bite outta me,” the doctor said, following his gaze, “Bleeding’s under control, but if yeh could take care of that thing in a timely manner so I can get it seen to properly, I’d appreciate it.”

Now wasn’t the time to worry about the sudden revelation that Ward wasn’t indestructible.

“Count on it,” he responded, “Are we okay to move you? There’s no way we can secure this room, and that fucker seemed pretty anxious to get in earlier.”

“Watch yer language,” she chastised, purely out of habit, before answering, “It was the blood. Second it got a whiff, it went berserk. Normally, I’d recommend against moving the patient, but… given the circumstances…”

“What about the venom?” Elena suddenly asked, and Reno paused in his efforts to reach the doctor. He’d nearly forgotten that little detail.

“Hojo did say it wasn’t lethal…” he replied. But on the other hand… Ward was hurt. Badly. And she wasn’t exactly in the prime of youth.

“Wouldn’t worry… The fang went clean through. I don’t think it managed ta envenomate me. I’d be feeling it by now.”

“Then let’s get you outta here,” said Reno, as he knelt down and lifted the doctor carefully off of the floor. “‘Lena… grab some more supplies, just in case.”

They would take Ward back to headquarters… It was probably safer than just about anywhere else in the building at the moment. And then they’d find that stupid insect and electrocu-… stun it. Stun the giant spider. Reno had to emphatically remind himself that taking it alive was a mission priority… though had it been up to him, he’d’ve turned Elena and her gun loose on that eight-legged freak the next time they saw it. And if that didn’t work, he’d see what sort of effect a full-strength jolt from his EMR had on it. Not only was it endangering everyone in the building, it had just tried to eat the one doctor on the planet he could actually tolerate. Ward deserved a little retribution for that.

As they made their way down the hall, he briefly wondered if it was worth the risk taking the elevators, knowing that the creature was actively using the shafts to get around. On the other hand, the medical suite was on the ninth floor. Their offices were on fifty-eight. That was a hell of a climb, if they took the stairs, especially carrying an injured woman. They’d just have to chance it.

“Don’t let your guard down…” he said as he paused to override the lockout on the elevator. “That thing tore it’s way into an elevator shaft on the other side of the building. Ifrit only knows where it might be crawlin’ around right now…”

“Yeh couldn’t have just kept that to yerself, I suppose…” Ward groused, looking more than slightly concerned by the information. Elena pressed the button for the Turks main office, and the car began to rise.

“Heh… don’t worry, Doc… Worst case scenario, we –” The elevator suddenly gave a violent shudder as something heavy landed on the roof of the car. “Of course…”

Elena cried out as the lightbulbs above them shattered in a shower of sparks, plunging them into darkness, and a long, narrow leg stabbed downwards into into the elevator, slamming her against the side. Reno dropped, shielding the doctor as best he could, and gripping his mag-rod as the leg withdrew, tearing away the maintenance panel on the roof in the process. Thankfully, the opening was still to small for the creature to get through… but he had a feeling that wouldn’t keep it out for much longer. Sure enough the spider punched through on the other side of the roof, narrowly missing Reno and Dr. Ward in the process. The elevator finally stopped at their floor, the door opening only about halfway. The redhead threw his shoulder against it, forcing it a few inches farther and awkwardly pulling Ward into the hall.

“‘Lena… out! Now!”

Elena rushed for the opening, but she wasn’t fast enough.

“Reno!” she cried out, as a strong, sticky webbing shot down from above, enveloping half of her body as she tried to flee. The redhead abandoned the doctor for the moment, and latched onto Elena’s arm, trying to pull her free, to no avail. Seconds later, Elena was jerked upwards, straight out of the top of the elevator.

“‘Lena!” he called after her, staring up into the dark shaft. The only response he received was a distant scream.

---

“Sir… At present, I have two Turks facing an unknown threat inside a sealed building, with no support,” Tseng said, “I realize giving me your executive override code violates several dozen security protocols, but unless I can get inside, I can do absolutely nothing to assist them.”

Heidegger had been unreachable… apparently, he had decided to insert himself into an inspection team that was touring the underwater mako reactor just offshore of Junon. Tseng had ordered a messenger to try to reach him personally, but it was unlikely any response would be timely. What interest the man had in the reactor, Tseng had no idea, but he couldn’t possibly have picked a worst time to be out of communication.

Thus, he’d opted for plan B, and made a second phone call.

“Father rescinded my security code, you’ll recall,” Rufus replied. The Turk leader forced himself to maintain his calm demeanor. As much as he generally liked Rufus, he didn’t have time for a lengthy back and forth right now.

“You’ll have to forgive me for being blunt, sir, but we both know you issued yourself a backup. I need it. Now.”

---

Elena groaned… or at least she would have had she been able to. Her voice didn’t seem to work at the moment. As her head cleared a bit, she realized, with a sudden terror, that neither did anything else. She tried to move… her legs, her head, her fingers… anything. They might as well have not been there at all.

What was going on? Her chest tightened in panic, as her breath began to come in short, rapid gasps. She couldn’t move. She wasn’t restrained, as far as she could tell, but she couldn’t move. She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t see anything but the floor she seemed to be lying facedown on.

But she could breathe.

Elena focused on that, forcing herself to calm down. Letting her fear take over wouldn’t do her any good. She needed her wits about her. She took slower, deeper breaths, and the tightness in her chest began to ease. Finally able to think a little more clearly, she remembered being attacked in the elevator, and the sudden sensation of being pulled upward like a marionette… the look on Reno’s face when she’d been hauled out of his grasp, and the stinging pain in her side a few moments later. After that, everything was a blank.

She must have been bitten, she reasoned. That was why she couldn’t move. She’d been paralyzed by the spider’s venom.

She heard a soft, skittering sound to her right and suddenly a heavy weight came to rest on her back. It rolled her, and if she’d been capable of it, she would have screamed. Huge, glassy eyes stared coldly at her, and she was certain she was about to die.

Instead, the spider roller her again. And again. And after a moment, she realized that she was being cocooned… wrapped head to toe, in strong, sticky spider silk. Hojo had said the effect of the spider’s venom was temporary. Apparently the spider knew that, too… and was making sure its dinner didn’t run off.

A random bit of trivia… probably from some school assignment years ago that had somehow crept into her long-term memory… vied for her attention. Spiders wrapped their prey until they were ready to eat. And then they liquified it with digestive acids in order to consume it… sometimes while it was still alive.

This time, when it took hold, the rookie Turk couldn’t force the panic to abate…

---

If it hadn’t been for Ward, he’d have climbed right up that damn shaft in pursuit. As it stood, however, civilians took priority, and the doctor wouldn’t have been safe if he’d simply left her in order to go after Elena.

He’d brought her into Tseng’s office. The wall that separated it from the rest of the room was reinforced and soundproof. Ward would be secure enough there while he went back to spider hunting.

“Are yeh alright?” she asked as he was doing his best to make her comfortable on the floor behind Tseng’s desk. He snorted derisively.

“Fuck, no, I’m not alright, Doc. The fucking building’s still on lockdown, fuck only knows where that thing fucked off to, and I just fucking lost a rookie Turk to a goddamn fucking giant spider. I am a long fucking way from alright. And don’t you fuckin’ tell me to watch my goddamn language, either.”

“I can always tell exactly how angry you are by the amount of swearing…”

Reno turned at the sound of the familiar voice, looking up in shock. “Boss! How the hell you’d manage to get back in here?” Tseng and Rude had both appeared in the doorway, looking anxious to know what they’d missed.

“Rufus,” Tseng said, simply, “What happened?”

“Hojo’s mutant pet took ‘Lena, that’s what happened. I was pullin’ the doc out, and… it just grabbed her. Hauled her up the elevator shaft before I could do shit to stop it.”

“Then I suggest we hurry and locate it.” He nodded to Rude, who was already pulling up all available information on his terminal. Tseng, meanwhile, knelt down beside the injured doctor, looking her over. “Are you badly hurt?”

“I don’t think I could honestly say I’ve ever been much worse…” she acknowledged, grimacing in pain as she shifted position slightly. “But I’m not on my way out just yet. Yeh go an’ take care of yer own. I’ll still be here when yeh get back.”

He nodded and turned his attention back to Reno. “What exactly are dealing with?”

“Spider… Really fuckin’ big spider. Thing’s gotta be close to eight feet tall, and about three times as wide from one leg to the other. Mean bastard, too… and, if that wasn’t enough, apparently, it’s venom can paralyze ya. Hojo wants it back alive, naturally. We almost had it outside medical… but I underestimated just how much voltage it could take. Hit it dead center, and it barely even phased it. Just pissed it off. It took off into an elevator shaft, circled back, and hit us on our way back upstairs. Doc and I made it out okay, but…”

“It took Elena with it,” Tseng finished for him. Reno nodded. It wasn’t his fault, he knew… logically, he knew that he’d had no way of knowing when or where the creature would attack. Taking the elevator had been a necessary risk. Still… it had been his decision, and now Elena was in trouble. Or worse.

“Two people have gone missing from the fifteenth floor,” Rude interjected, “And one from twelve, and three from thirteen.”

“Hunting near home, perhaps? I assume building security has been watching their monitors for any sign of it…”

“They’re ‘sposed to be, anyway,” Reno confirmed.

“Then I think our most likely chance of success would be on a nearby floor that is not actively monitored.”

“Makes sense,” said Rude, “Fourteen’s empty… and inaccessible to general personnel. Nice and dark and quiet… perfect place for a spider to set up shop.”

“My thoughts exactly,” the Turk leader agreed.

“Then let’s get movin’, already.”

---

There was nothing on the planet worse than this, Elena thought to herself – being able to see and hear and think and feel, but completely incapable of even the smallest movement of her extremities. In fact, the only thing that still seemed to be under her control her her eyes, though even that took far more concentration than it should have. Otherwise, she was entirely trapped within her own body.

It was terrifying, even though – as far as she knew, at least – it was temporary. All she could really do was think. And her thoughts, no matter what train they started out on, always seemed to end up on the track that ended in a horrifically painful death that she couldn’t even fight back against.

The huge arachnid hadn’t touched her again after wrapping her and hanging her from a massive wall of webbing, but she knew it was still nearby. She was presently dangling high off the ground, near the ceiling, upside down. Wherever she was, it was dark… she couldn’t make out much of her surroundings. Light filtered in from the somewhere, but it was faint, and didn’t help her to do much more than make out the hulking silhouettes of what looked like large shelves in the high-ceilinged room. Something about them seemed vaguely familiar, but she was having trouble concentrating long enough to figure out why, as her heart had stubbornly refused to stop pounding against her rib cage, and every little sound from the darkness brought with it a fresh wave of fear. The creature had been coming and going frequently, and each time it returned, she feared it might finally be getting hungry. For the most part, all she could do was listen to it crawling around. The last time it had come back, though…

The spider had been just barely in her line of sight, and it hadn’t been alone. It was carrying something that looked suspiciously about the size of another person. Elena had watched as it had carefully wrapped and hung the body and disappeared back into the shadows. She hoped desperately that it wasn’t Reno or Dr. Ward.

---

“I trust you have your backup weapon…” Tseng said as he and Reno boarded the undamaged elevator outside of the main office. Rude had circled around to the elevators on the other side of the building… if they were lucky, they could pin the creature between them and take it down.

“‘Course I do…” He seldom had need of firearms, but that didn’t mean he didn’t make a habit of carrying one. “You givin’ me permission to ignore Hojo’s orders?”

“We will make one attempt at taking it alive. Failing that, kill it immediately. Though I hope we discover otherwise, Elena may already be lost. I will not sacrifice anyone else over one of Hojo’s pet projects.”

Reno could clearly hear the simmering anger in his mentor’s voice. It matched his own… though his was tempered with a deep-seated fear of what they might find. In the back of his mind, he saw Elena, broken and lifeless, with that thing looming over her. He was having a very hard time shaking that image.

There had been numerous Turks who had lost their lives since he’d been accepted into this strange little family and each death had cut him deeply. Somehow, though, he felt as though Elena’s loss would devastate him in a way no other had. In fact, all three of of his remaining fellow Turks had come to mean more to him than his own life, and losing any one of them would have been indescribably painful… but Elena was different. She was his.

And he wanted her back.

The doors opened on fourteen, and both men stepped out into the darkened floor. A soft sound pinged from Tseng’s PHS, barely audible even in the quiet of the abandoned level.

“Rude is in position,” he informed his second in hushed tones as he acknowledged the notification. Tseng moved silently toward the switch on the wall and glanced back at Reno, who nodded. The Turk leader flipped the switch, and the overhead lights buzzed to life. From somewhere among the maze of empty shelves and filing cabinets, they heard a furious shriek.

“Watch yourself, boss,” Reno said, as he and Tseng entered the labyrinthian storage area, separating and moving independently towards the source of the noise.

Turning on the lights had been a calculated risk. It took away their opportunity of surprising the monster, but it leveled the playing field a bit. They could see it coming just as easily as it could see them. It also, apparently, had just saved them the hassle of determining whether or not the spider was here at all and had given them at least some indication of where it was.

---

Elena’s pupils contracted painfully in the sudden brightness, and it took her a moment to force her eyelids shut against the the harsh lighting. The spider seemed equally as surprised by it, and it screeched loudly, much too close to her ear for her comfort. Soon, however, it was moving away from her. For a second or two, after she dared to open her eyes again, she caught sight of it scaling a tall bank of shelves that reached nearly to the ceiling.

And then, she finally realized where she was. With the lights on, if wasn’t exactly hard to figure out. The fourteenth floor was the only place in the Shinra Building that had the appearance of a giant maze. Even more so, suspended as she currently was.

He breathing quickened… someone had to have turned those lights on. That meant someone was on the floor. When she spotted movement below in one of the rows, it was too fleeting to make out who it was, but, she reasoned, it almost had to be Reno. Who else would be here?

To her surprise, that question was answered mere moments later, as, not Reno’s, but Rude’s familiar figure emerged into the open area just below her. A wave of intense relief washed over her… If Rude was here, then Tseng was here, too. And if they were both moving in, Reno wouldn’t be far behind them. Between the three of them, that creature didn’t stand a chance. She strained, trying to call out to her fellow Turk… to let him know she was there. All she succeeded in producing was a heavy breath, but it didn’t matter… they would find her. Once the threat was neutralized, they’d scour every inch of the floor until they found her.

Her elation was short-lived, however. Rude didn’t see her… and he also didn’t see the spider as it clung to the ceiling over his head. But Elena did. And she watched as it dropped, landing with a crash behind the man.

Rude managed to dodge the initial attack, and she could hear the familiar crackling of an EMR. The spider screamed in pain as Rude’s counterattack seemed to hit home, and it staggered, legs shifting awkwardly as it tried to stay upright.

“Over here!” Rude shouted, and the rookie caught the faint sound of running from somewhere behind her. Rude, meanwhile, moved in for another attempt… but Hojo’s specimen, it seemed, wasn’t quite finished. Elena watched in horror as it reared back, and brought it’s front legs down on the Turk. The EMR clattered to the floor, and seconds later, the spider sent him flying into the shelves with an angry howl.

‘No…’ she thought, watching him fall to the ground, and a split second later, her breath caught in her throat as the shelves shuddered and began to collapse. The spider scurried back, leaving Rude to be buried in the rubble.

---

Reno watched the towering storage piece crumble, the debris trapping his partner, and he growled in fury.

“Enough of this… Take it down!” Tseng ordered, emerging from the twisting paths a short distance away. The redhead was only too happy to oblige.

A volley of gunshots rent the air. Blood spattered the floor as the shots hit their target, Reno andTseng advancing as they fired. The creature gave one final cry and collapsed, it’s legs curling underneath it as it went motionless. The two Turks approached cautiously. Tseng lowered his weapon, satisfied that the threat had been dealt with, but Reno’s remained steadfastly aimed. He fired again… and he didn’t stop until he’d emptied the entire clip.

At Tseng’s raised eyebrow, he shrugged. “Just makin’ sure.”

“I suppose it’s fortunate you don’t favor firearms. I’d forever be requisitioning ammunition. Let’s get Rude out of there…”

The pair of them worked to clear away the rubble, at last locating the other man. Rude groaned softly as they lifted away a heavy piece of wood had him pinned.

“Still in one piece, partner?” Reno asked.

“… Feels more like two or three,” he replied, grimacing as the redhead helped him sit up.

“Meant your sorry ass, not those damn glasses of yours.”

Rude gave a soft laugh, and pulled the cracked sunglasses off, inspecting them briefly before tossing them into the pile of broken shelving. Reno crouched down beside him, frowning as he took in the visible injuries… a gash above the other man’s left eye being the most obvious. He also seemed to be favoring his right arm, keeping it tucked in close to his chest.

“Seriously, though… How bad ya hurt?”

“Nothing that can’t wait. Go find Elena.”

“I believe I just have,” Tseng interjected. “Along with the other missing personnel.” Both men turned to look at him, and followed his gaze towards the ceiling. Numerous, web-wrapped bundles hung haphazardly from the chaotically web-coated space.

“Got a knife on ya?”

Rude grunted in affirmation, and drew a switchblade from his jacket, tossing it to the redhead. Reno was halfway up the nearest shelving unit before Tseng could say anything. It took the wiry Turk no time at all to reach the top, perching himself mere feet from the cocooned woman, and cutting away some of the webbing. “‘Lena?” He sliced through several layers, partially freeing her, “Hey… Can ya hear me?”

For a moment, he feared the worse… she was so unnaturally still… until he realized she was watching him. “Come on, ‘Lena… Let me know you’re okay.” She blinked, slowly and purposefully, and the redhead sighed in relief. “Don’t worry… we’re gonna getcha down.” He glanced down at Tseng, who by then was on his phone, probably, Reno assumed, calling for medial backup. As soon as he’d tucked the PHS back into his jacket, the redhead shouted down to him. “Gonna need someone to hold her while I cut. She can’t move. Spider musta got her with its venom.”

Tseng hurried to join him on his perch, though the Turk leader was far more cautious making the climb than the redhead had been.

“I don’t suppose I can talk you into waiting for further assistance to arrive…” Reno’s expression was all the answer he needed. Tseng smirked and shook his head. “I thought as much. Alright… I’ve got her.” It took them both a fair amount of effort, but several minutes later, Elena was safely on the ground again. Reno was hacking away at the remaining webbing as additional Shinra personnel began to filter out of the elevator and find their way to them.

“What have you done?!” an irate voice hissed. Tseng’s hand quickly clamped down on Reno’s shoulder, preventing the man from getting to his feet and confronting the scientist himself.

“I’m afraid it was unavoidable,” he replied, and began directing members of the building security team towards the other victims of the creature’s hunting trip. “We made every effort to recapture it alive, but ultimately, it was impossible to do so with the available resources.”

“That specimen was irreplaceable! We could breed a hundred generations and never achieve the same result!”

Tseng’s eyes narrowed at Hojo. “My Turks are just as irreplaceable As I said… we did attempt to take it alive. I nearly lost two of them in the process, and will now have injured personnel to contend with. If you have a problem with my decision to dispatch that creature before any further damage was done, then you may take it up with Heidegger when he returns from Junon.”

“Oh, I will,” Hojo muttered, beckoning to his own staff to begin loading the carcass onto a large cargo sledge, before turning his back on the Turk leader.

“Tseng seems a little annoyed with Hojo,” Rude commented to his partner. By now, he had limped his way over to where the rookie was still being extracted from her prison. He lowered himself painfully to the floor next to her, trying his best not to bend the injured knee that was now starting to swell.

“Maybe just a little,” Reno said, smirking.

“How’s she doing?”

“Kinda hard ta tell… Doesn’t seem to be injured, ‘cept for that bite on her side. But apparently she’s not speakin’ to me at the moment. ‘Course she’s not tryin’ to beat me senseless for lettin’ that spider get away with her in the first place, either, so I guess that’s a good sign,” he teased, stroking a hand along her cheek in comfort.

“Hmph… Think that’s only because she can’t move.”

Reno snorted in laughter. “Wonder how long she’s gonna be like this?” he said, stripping away one last large sheet of webbing. He took hold of her hand, gently rubbing his thumb across the back of it as he held it. He was rewarded with a weak squeeze from her fingers.

---

“Hey, Doc… Shouldn’t you be takin’ it easy for awhile?” Reno asked, as he strolled into the office. The fact that the elderly doctor was already up and about was surprising enough… He certainly hadn’t expected to find her waiting for him the moment he returned from lunch. He had to admit, though… he was glad to see her back on her feet so soon. He’d been a more than a little worried.

Dr. Ward glanced up from her examination of the cast on Rude’s arm. “Well, now if yeh’d bothered ta visit me I wouldn’t’ve had ta come and check on yeh myself, now would I?”

Reno scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I spend too much time in hospitals as it is.”

“And besides… he did check in on you. He’ll just never admit to it. You hadn’t come out of the anesthesia from surgery yet,” Rude added, and the redhead glared at him for the betrayal.

“Always knew yeh had a soft spot for me…” Ward picked up the pair of crutches she’d left leaning against Rude’s desk and hobbled over to the other Turk. She patted him on the cheek. “If only yeh’d put as much effort inta taking care of yerself. How’s our girl doing, by the way?”

He was, frankly, a little concerned about the rookie. Physically, she’d been given a clean bill of health and cleared to return to duty almost as soon as the paralytic venom had worked its way out of her system… which it hadn’t completely done until mid-afternoon on Thursday – though thankfully, it had been a period of slow, but continuous improvement rather than nearly a day of being a prisoner in her own body. She had returned to work this very morning, in fact, but looking noticeably tired and distracted.

Reno was intent on pulling her aside, but hadn’t yet had the opportunity… due in large part to the not-entirely-unexpected reaming out he’d had the pleasure of taking part in with Tseng almost as soon as he’d entered the building. Hojo had made good on his promise to go to Heidegger, and Heidegger, in turn, had laid into them both for more than two hours over the complaint. By the time they’d been released, Reno was already late for a meeting with Lira in Wall Market for an update on Corneo’s recent activity and had to rush off before speaking to Elena. Then Lira had insisted on treating him to lunch, so he’d missed the rookie then as well.

“When I finally get a chance to find out, I’ll let ya know,” he replied.

“See that yeh do.” She turned back to Rude. “And you go easy on that knee. I don’t care if it doesn’t hurt anymore, yeh shouldn’t be putting weight on it ’til the swelling goes down.” Dr. Ward cast Reno a reproving glance as she made her way out the door. “Bad enough this one never listens to what I tell him do. I won’t have the rest of yer lot doing the same.”

When she was gone, Reno let himself drop onto the couch by the window. “Sure… I never listen to her. Please.”

Rude snorted softly, but said nothing.

“What?”

“Of course you listen. After she tells you three times, attempts to bribe you into compliance with candy, and finally threatens you with extra injections…”

“Ah, shut up,” he muttered, only to be met with unabashed chuckling. “Anyway… Ya seen ‘Lena anywhere lately?”

“Firing range. Been down there since before lunch.”

“She pissed off or somethin’?” Reno asked, cocking an eyebrow. The range was one of Elena’s favorite stress relievers. He didn’t frequent it himself, but he’d heard rumors that she occasionally liked to tape photos of whomever she happened to be most upset with to the targets. He was pretty sure his had to have made it up there more than once, if it was true. Hell, if there was really any truth to the rumor, it had probably been a permanent fixture for her first few months as a Turk.

“Or something.”

“Yeah… I kinda picked up on that, too. Guess that means she wouldn’t talk to you about it?”

“Didn’t push… Figured you’d want to do it.”

Reno smirked. Rude knew him entirely too well. He got to his feet, and headed toward the door with a casual wave. “Ya need me, ya know where I’ll be.”

---

Her posture was stiff. So much so that it was throwing off her aim… which, where Elena was concerned, was saying something. Reno had never met anyone who was more of a natural with a gun than the rookie. She didn’t miss. Period.

Except today, apparently. He watched silently as she hit the switch to bring in the target, tearing it from the clips once it was within reach and crumpling it furiously. It joined several others that littered the ground at her feet. She replaced it with a fresh one and sent it on its way, back to the far end of the range. Her first shot was so far left of center it barely nicked the edge of the target, and Elena screamed in frustration, slamming the weapon down hard in front of her, next to a nearly empty box of ammunition.

“Targets must be defective…” Reno said, taking the opportunity of the brief lull in her firing pattern to interrupt.

Her hand clenched instinctively around the grip of her gun for just a moment, and he realized she’d come very close to drawing on him. He hadn’t known she was so skittish. If he had, he would’ve been far more cautious in approaching her on the range. Thankfully, recognition beat out paranoia, though, and Elena released the gun, turning to face him.

“Wanna talk about it?” he continued, choosing not to acknowledge the over-reaction.

“About what?” she asked, a little defensively.

“Well, we can start with why ya look like hell today, and then maybe move on to why ya can’t hit the broad side of a barn…”

Elena glared at him. “It’s fine. I’m fine.” She went to push past him, and Reno grabbed her by the wrist, spinning her back towards him.

“No you’re not. You’re jumpy as fuck. You’re distracted. You’re in an all-around shitty mood. Rude said you skipped out on lunch, so you’re obviously not eatin’, and I’m gonna take a wild guess here and say ya probably haven’t slept, either.”

“I said I was fine,” she said, though her heart really wasn’t in it, and she was having trouble looking him in the eye. Reno smirked.

“You’re still a shit liar, ‘Lena.” He watched as her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Come on… sit down,” he said, pulling her along with him, over to the benches that lined the back of the range. “So… ?”

“I… I can’t stop thinking about it,” she confessed after a moment, looking down at her hands in her lap. “I was completely helpless… That thing could have finished me off at any time, and I couldn’t have even tried to stop it from happening. Do you know what that feels like?!”

Reno wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and pulled her against his side. He smiled slightly to himself… apparently the fact that he’d been in a similar situation not all that long ago had momentarily slipped her mind. But under the circumstances, he couldn’t really hold it against her. “Yeah… I do. And I know how that feeling latches onto ya and lingers no matter how much you tell yourself that it’s over and you came out okay.”

“How do you get rid of it?” she asked in a small voice.

“By not givin’ in to it. Bein’ stuck in a situation like that with nothin’ but your own thoughts can really fuck ya up. You can’t let it eat ya alive.”

“Right now, I don’t feel like I can stop it…”

“Yeah, well… that’s why I’m here and not makin’ plans with Rude to hit up the Phoenix Nest after work,” Reno replied, chuckling softly for a moment, before turning serious again, “Look… we’ve got a fucked up job. Sometimes it gets to ya. Doesn’t make ya weak unless you give up and stop tryin’. You’re not alone, ‘Lena. You’ve got all of us… Doesn’t matter if you’re in the middle of a firefight, or just havin’ bad dreams. We got your back.”

He felt her relax a little, and he gently lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Feel better?”

“Kind of…”

“How ’bout I go home with you tonight?”

Elena rolled her eyes. “Reno… I’m really not in the mood for your jokes.”

“Not even remotely what I meant, but it’s nice to know I’ve finally got ya to the point that your mind goes straight to the gutter soon as I open my mouth…” he said, grinning widely… even more so when Elena’s cheeks reddened at the realization that he really hadn’t been teasingly propositioning her for once. “Trust me, you’ll feel better if you’re not all by yourself all night. We can watch a movie or somethin’… The Brain that Ate Mideel sound good?”

“I don’t think horror movies are going to do much to calm me down,” she said, shaking her head as she recovered from her embarrassment. Reno sighed.

“‘Kay, so… and I can’t fuckin’ believe I’m sayin’ this… we can watch Sword & Shadow. If ya want. Just don’t tell Rude. He finally quit tryin’ to make me like that shit awhile back and the last thing I need is for him to start in on it again.”

“You’d really do that?” Elena looked up at him with such a hopeful expression, that even if he hadn’t been serious he would never have been able to back out now.

“Subject myself to endless hours of an inane, over-acted political drama to the point I start desperately prayin’ someone’ll shoot me just to keep ya company… again? ‘Course I would.”

Elena leaned over slightly and kissed him on the cheek. “I… guess I wouldn’t mind having someone to torture with my inane, over-acted political drama,” she said, smiling for the first time all day.

“Good,” Reno replied, “… I think.” The rookie looked at him, almost expectantly, though for once, Reno was at a loss as to what she was thinking. “What?”

“Usually, by now you’d be making some obnoxious comment about how if I wanted to do something else you’d be happy to oblige…”

“Thought you said you weren’t in the mood for my jokes…”

“When has that ever stopped you?”

“Fair point,” he acknowledged, “I just figured I’d give ya a break.”

She shifted awkwardly next to him. “It’s just… weird… when you don’t do it.”

“Careful, ‘Lena… You start sayin’ things like that, I’m gonna start thinkin’ maybe you’re a little more tempted than you let on…”

“In your dreams,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, dear Ifrit, I hope so,” he said with a dramatic sigh, “I’m skippin’ out on hookin’ up with Lira tonight to hang out with you and your collectors edition of Sword & Shadow. Dreams are all I got.”

“Ugh… Reno, you really are a pervert,” she said, laughing softly.

~fin~