Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 13: A Real Life Shitty Horror Flick

“So… You and I haven’t had much of a chance to catch up, what with me busy training the kid. How have you been, Tseng?” Ashland asked, as he leaned back against a bulkhead, waiting for further word from the redhead. Tseng chuckled softly and at last took a seat.

“Well enough,” he replied. “I assume Veld told you of our… losses… last year?”

“Mmm… yeah. I was sorry to hear about that. Didn’t sting quite the way it did back when I still knew the team, but… always hate to hear we lost someone. And I was downright gobsmacked to hear about the traitor. Never would’ve thought a Turk, of all people, would go rogue.”

“Nor I,” Tseng agreed, “It was painful for us all… but it was especially hard on Cissnei. The Turk in question was one of her best friends. Between his betrayal and his death, I was rather worried about her for a while. She has no family but us, after all.” He smiled for a moment. “Fortunately, we are a very close family. Reno and Rude, in particular, saw to it that she recovered quickly.”

“And what about you? I heard tell you had your own recovery to deal with…”

“I… would prefer not to discuss that,” Tseng replied, in a somewhat clipped tone. “Suffice it to say that, like Cissnei, I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by those who refuse to let me wallow in my own self-pity for too long.”

Ashland nodded in understanding. “Fair enough,” he said, and then grinned, “So… speaking of family… tell me a little more about the kid. You really dig him up in the slums and then storm into Veld’s office demanding to train him in the field the very next day?”

Tseng snorted in contempt, and rolled his eyes. “Your former partner tends to exaggerate more than slightly when it comes to that story. Yes… I met Reno in the slums. And then spent over a year observing him before making my exceptionally well-thought-out and thoroughly documented case to Veld. There was no storming involved.”

The former Turk laughed and shook his head. “Oh, really? Because Veld said you were positively champing at the bit to get your hands on the kid. Said you wanted him for your First and no one else.”

“Oh, for Leviathan’s sake…” Tseng groaned, “I was certainly enthusiastic at the prospect of a new recruit… and a First Rookie… but I was hardly ‘champing at the bit’. I was simply convinced that Reno would make an excellent Turk.” He shook his head slightly, and glanced up at Ashland. “Though I will admit to being rather insistent once I had finally made the determination that he would benefit us. He was… a rather unique case. Reno was on his own for a very long time, and from an exceptionally young age. He was used to relying solely on himself, and he desperately needed someone to mentor him… which is why I didn’t mark him for the recruitment program. I don’t think he would have done well in that particular environment, and I wanted to see to it that he got a fair chance at success. And, in point of fact, I was absolutely right about him.”

Ashland snickered and strolled over to the Turk lieutenant, taking a seat next to him.

“Always gotta do things the hard way, don’t you, Tseng?” he teased, “But why him, if you don’t mind me asking?” he queried, and Tseng raised an eyebrow in challenge. The older man laughed again. “Put that damn eyebrow back where it belongs. I’m not saying anything against the kid. From what I’ve seen, I don’t disagree with your assessment at all. I’m just curious.”

The Wutaiian Turk leaned back in his seat, silent for a moment.

“It’s… difficult to explain,” he began, doing his best to put into words something that had been almost entirely instinct from the start. “To be honest, I was all but certain the first time we ever met. He saved my life… though I don’t think he fully realized that at the time.”

“Do tell…” Ashland prompted, an undisguised look of interest on his face. Tseng chuckled and made himself more comfortable. The older Turk always had been one for gossip. It seemed that some things never changed.

“I was on assignment in the slums. The details aren’t important, but the end result was that I was badly injured and being hunted. It was late and I needed a place to hide. I eventually staggered into a bar in Sector 3,” he began, and then laughed softly, “In retrospect, a bar may not have been the wisest choice… but not many respectable businesses are open after midnight, even in the slums. I suppose the sight of other people being there was simply too great a temptation. Had my pursuers caught up to me alone, I doubt I’d have walked away from it, and I had no particular aspirations to die that night.”

His hand unconsciously went to his right side. He still bore the scars from the bullet that had struck him there before he could flee the ambush… and from the one that had lodged itself in his shoulder during his escape. All things considered, it was a small miracle he’d even made it to the bar. He’d been outnumbered, and caught off-guard. By all rights, he should have died that night. It was only by luck or fate that he’d managed to evade them and slip into the bar unnoticed.

“When they walked through the door a short while later, Reno very quickly surmised that it was me they were after. He hid me. He professed to them that he hadn’t seen me, and… was attacked himself when they tried to intimidate him into revealing me. And he did all of that without me even having to ask for his help. He was a child of just fifteen at the time, and not only capable of instantly assessing a situation with great accuracy, but also willing to put himself in harm’s way for the sake of a stranger. I slipped out the back shortly after the bar’s owner arrived with a shotgun. They never even realized I was there because of Reno.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I still very nearly bled to death before I finally made it topside… but I wouldn’t have even stood a chance if it hadn’t been for his timely intervention.”

Ashland snickered. “Hmph. Well… you certainly can’t say he didn’t earn his place. Little unconventional… but I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes something just feels right. So… no regrets, I take it?”

“Reno has more than met my expectations. He’s far exceeded them, in fact. I will concede that he can still occasionally be a bit… wild… but frankly, I cannot imagine having made a better selection.”

He wasn’t exaggerating, either. The redhead had proven himself a dozen times over by now. The pride Tseng took in his young protege’s achievements was a triumph not only for Reno, but for himself as well. But more than that, Reno meant more to him, personally, than he could put into words.

Ashland regarded him for a moment and then laughed, shaking his head.

“You know… you were a bit wild back in the day, too, as I recall…” he said, pointedly, “Or have you forgotten all those times Veld had to forcibly remind you to keep that temper of yours in check before you went off on one of the higher ups?”

Tseng glared at him. “I have been trying for many years to repress the memory of the follies of my youth… but of late, a certain someone keeps reminding me.” He sighed softly, “Just how many more… stories… have you told my protege, anyway?”

“Oh, just one or two,” Ashland chuckled, ignoring the Turk lieutenant’s annoyed expression. “Oh, come on, Tseng. I tease, but you weren’t really that bad. You were just a kid learnin’ the ropes. Every Turk goes through that stage. And I’m sure you’ve got some stories of your own now that’d make that little redhead of yours blush.”

Tseng couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped at that declaration.

“Ash… there is very little in this world that makes Reno blush.”

---

Reno had amassed a small collection of random equipment, but suddenly found himself standing in front of a gigantic hunk of electronics labeled “Plasma Separator”. He consulted his list and shook his head as he confirmed that the item was indeed one of the high priority requests.

“You have got to be fuckin’ with me…” he muttered. A moment later, his earpiece buzzed faintly as Tseng reopened the channel.

“Is there a problem?” the Turk lieutenant inquired. The redhead laughed.

“Tch… nah, it’s nothin’. Just wonderin’ how the fuck someone can be so completely outta touch with reality. I’m standin’ in front of that plasma separator thing. Damn thing’s bigger than me. No way in hell I’m gettin’ it outta here. Definitely can’t moveit on my own. Hell, I’m not sure Rude and Sykes combined could move it more than a couple feet at a time.”

He heard his mentor chuckle softly. “Some of the science staff aren’t exactly the most… pragmatic… of people. Are you nearly done?”

“Yeah… just about. I’m gonna do a walkthrough of the living quarters, ‘n see if I spot anything on the list, and then I’m headin’ back to the airlock with the shit I can carry.”

“Alright. Let us know when you’re ready to depart.”

“Will do,” the redhead replied, taking one more look at the over-sized machine and shaking his head again. As he made his way back out into the hallway, however, he froze momentarily before spinning around to look behind him. That uneasy feeling of being watched was back. He’d initially dismissed it as his imagination playing tricks on him, but now… now he was all but certain that he wasn’t alone down here.

“Uhh… Boss?” he said, dropping the volume of his voice, “There’s nothing left down here that’d be… ya know… alive still… right?”

A shiver went down his spine… and it had nothing to do with the air temperature. He slowly turned around, half-expecting to see some bloodthirsty creature mere inches from his face… but the hallway remained empty.

“There was no mention of living specimens… What’s going on?”

Reno was just about to answer when he heard it… A slurping, sucking sound, like walking through gloopy mud. He turned in a full circle, trying to find the source, but the sound echoed in the empty corridor, making it impossible to pinpoint.

“… I dunno,” he replied, “But…uh… I don’t think I’m alone…” Something from above him dripped onto the back of his hand, and the redhead blinked, staring at it in confusion. The glob of purplish-black slime quivered, almost as though it was alive, and he instinctively flung it aside. Dread growing, he slowly lifted his gaze upwards. “Oh, shit…”

Whatever the hell it was, it was in the air ducts. The vent above his head was already blocked off entirely by the gelatinous goo that was slowly seeping through the slots in the cover.

“Reno?!”

“Yeah… definitely not alone, boss…” he said, backing away from the opening.

His footsteps echoed off the metallic walls of the research lab, ringing out loudly in the still air… but not loudly enough to cover up the loud splat as whatever the thing was exited the vent and landed on the floor of the corridor. The redhead paused for a brief moment, eyeing the creature. Maybe this wasn’t as bad as he thought… Maybe it was harmless.

It was… like a mound of living jelly. He could see tiny protrusions from its center that looked like makeshift arms… and as more of the slime dripped down from above, the thing grew larger and larger. A moment later, it opened its eyes… or what Reno supposed were its eyes. They were more like pitch black pools embedded in the side of the thing more or less where the head would be. A slit opened further down the body, like a mouth, widening as it made a sort of gurgling scream. By then, the blob had grown to roughly half his own height and was still expanding.

“Oh, hell no… Nope. No fuckin’ way. I’m outta here.”

He’d seen enough movies to know how this sort of shit ended. Screw the list. He had no weapons… no protection… no backup… and he was being chased by some sort of slime creature. Fuck. That. He hightailed it back in the direction he’d entered from.

The lab, from his understanding, was largely dedicated to the biologics department… so whatever that thing was, it was almost certainly something they’d created. And given that Hojo was head of the biologics department, it was almost certainly dangerous, as well. It was the Ifrit-be-damned zenenes all over again.

“Reno… what in Leviathan’s name is going on?” Tseng demanded, and he could faintly hear Ashland in the background ordering the submarine’s crew to prepare for an emergency rescue.

“Boss, I’m not sure you’d believe me right now even if I told ya…” he panted, as he rounded a corner. Just a little farther to the airlock. Behind him, he could hear the squelching sound of of gelatinous pursuit and the creepy-as-all-fuck gurgling noise the thing emitted from its gaping maw. Reno skidded around another corner, racing past the power room. Almost there…

It was only then that he noticed a puddle of blackish slime on the floor in front of him, as well. By then, however, he was running full tilt down the corridor. He tried to stop, but it was too late… and as soon as his bare feet came in contact with the slime, he slid and went down, hard. The redhead tumbled to a halt several feet later, slamming into a wall.

“Ow…” he groaned, forcing himself upright. Before he could stagger back to his feet, however, the creature, too, rounded the corner, sliding its way down the hallway, leaving a trail of goo behind in its wake. He’d had no idea it could move so fast!

Reno dragged himself up with the help of the wall, and flinched in pain as a burning sensation seared the bottoms of his feet where they’d come in contact with the slime. His hand burned, too, where that first glob had landed on him, and the skin was red and blotchy with narrow ribbons of black beneath the surface. Great… Shit was probably eating him alive or something. The creature was getting closer, though, and it was more than evident that whatever the hell it was doing to him was the least of his problems at the moment. He ignored the pain as best he could and stumbled his way into the airlock. Before his could shut it, though, a dripping tendril of goo shot out from the thing’s body, wrapping around his face and neck.

The redhead yelped and dug his fingers into it, trying to pull it away, to no avail. It encircled his head, covering his nose and mouth, leaving him unable to breath. In desperation, Reno threw himself against the airlock door, forcing it to shut on the long, slimy tendril. He heard the creature howl… though whether it was in pain or in anger he didn’t know. And he didn’t give a shit. Once severed from the main body, the tendril’s grip on him loosened and he was able to claw it away from his mouth, gasping for air as he did so. He hurriedly spun the valve on the door, sealing it shut. He could still hear the creature on the other side.

He paused for a moment, to catch his breath… and suddenly realized that it was far harder to breathe than it should have been. His fingers immediately went to his face, and he could feel raised welts where the slime had touched him. They continued down around his neck, as well.

“Fuck… Boss? You still with me?” he asked, hoping that the damn microphone hadn’t been damaged in the attack.

“Yes, I’m here,” Tseng’s voice replied, and the younger Turk breathed a sigh of relief, “What’s happening in there? Are you alright?!”

“Tch… if your idea of bein’ alright is almost gettin’ eaten alive by some kinda Jell-O monster, then yeah. Never better,” he replied, and coughed harshly as he started pulling his air tank on. “You, uh… might wanna have the medical assholes standin’ by, boss. I got that thing’s slimy shit all over me ‘n it burns like hell… and it’s makin’ it kinda hard to breathe…”

“Understood…” his mentor replied, “We’ll be waiting for you. Please… be careful.”

Reno tried pulling on one of his fins, only to find it far too painful on the irritated skin of his feet. He tossed it aside, and grabbed his mask instead. That was going to hurt, too, he was sure, but he needed to be able to see. His gloves, he simply left in the pile, not even bothering to try.

The last thing he snatched up was the bag with the data drives… because there was no way in hell he was coming back empty handed after all that. He slipped the strap over his shoulder, carefully settled the diving mask over his abused face, and slid into the opening in the floor and into darkness.

The ice-cold water felt surprisingly good on his damaged skin. So good, in fact, that he very nearly abandoned the tether that was supposed to guide him back to the submarine. Thankfully, his more rational mind took over before he did something that stupid, and he quickly clipped it back onto his belt before starting towards the narrow exit from this hell hole. He reached the crevasse and slid the air tank’s straps off before he eased himself into the uncomfortably close space.

Just seven feet or so… Then he’d be in the clear. He could do this. He was almost there.

The moment he’d convinced himself of that however, there was a loud rumble somewhere behind him, and Reno found himself showered by tiny rocks and shells and other bits from the bottom of the ocean. He lost his grip on the air tank he’d been dragging along behind him, and nearly panicked as it was quickly covered in a layer of debris. The only thing that saved him was the fact that he still had the regulator in his mouth. He could still breathe.

Reno swallow sharply and forced down the rising panic. It was still okay… he wasn’t trapped. All he had to do was pull the tank loose, and get the hell out of there. He tugged at it experimentally. It didn’t so much as budge. The Turk mentally groaned. He tried again, pulling harder this time, and the only reward he received was another shower of small stones.

‘Okay… Don’t fucking panic…’ he thought to himself, ‘Do not fucking panic. I’m fine. I can still get outta this… The sub’s not that far away…”

He turned his head to glance out at the bright spotlights mounted to the underwater vehicle. He had maybe another two feet to go before he was out of the opening, and then it was a clear shot to the sub. thirty… maybe forty seconds of swimming, tops. He could do that without the air tank. And if he couldn’t… well… they could always reel him in with the tether line. Preferably before he drowned…

The seafloor above him rumbled again, and he realized that he didn’t really have a choice here. He had to move now… or risk getting buried when all that shit up there finally gave way and sealed up the entrance to the lab again.

“Boss?” he queried, trying out the sub-vocal mic, “You still there?”

It took several seconds for a response, and for a moment, Reno was worried Tseng hadn’t heard him. He’d forgotten to account for the time it took for whatever the tech was that translated for him to kick in.

“I’m here,” Tseng replied.

“Tank’s stuck in the opening. Gonna have to leave it behind and swim for it.”

He heard Ashland order someone to be ready to start the winch.

“Tell us when you’re clear. We’ll pull you in,” Tseng’s voice said. Reno took several deep breaths and then reluctantly removed the regulator. He hurried to to wriggle his way out of the narrow space. It took far longer than he’d anticipated. Near the end, he got stuck, and for a brief, terrifying moment, feared the worst… that he was trapped just out of reach of his air supply and wedged in too firmly for the sub to yank him free. It took him several more seconds to work himself loose.

“Okay, I’m clear,” he said, lungs starting to ache from lack of oxygen, “Get me outta here!”

His mask was beginning to fog up, by then, the edges of his field of view clouding as the slack in his tether was slowly taken up. The next thing he knew, he was yanked bodily forward, moving through the water far faster than he could have managed on his own… but still far too slow given that he was desperately holding his breath. He reached forward, gripping the line tightly as he drew closer and closer to the sub. His lungs were practically on fire now, and he wanted nothing more than to inhale. His body was begging for oxygen. He coughed violently, expelling a cloud of bubbles into the cold water. It took everything he had left to forcibly ignore his body’s instinct to breathe in.

His vision clouded further, and with a growing sense of urgency, he realized that it wasn’t the mask this time. He was dangerously close to passing out.

“… Hurry…” he managed.

---

It only took about a minute to haul the redhead back aboard the submarine. It was, Tseng was quite certain, the longest minute of his entire life. Time didn’t seem to speed up any, either, even after his protege was hoisted into the safety of the vessel, limp and unresponsive. The medical officers converged on him immediately, effectively cutting Tseng off from the younger Turk.

Ashland’s hand came to rest on the Turk lieutenant’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He didn’t acknowledge it. All he could do was stare silently at Reno’s slack expression and unmoving body. The skin around his nose and mouth was an angry red. The welts continued down, wrapping around his neck as well. He could see further evidence of injury on the younger Turks’ hands and feet, and wondered what in the Nine Hells Reno had run into down there. There was nothing in the briefing about the lab housing any dangerous specimens… though it surely had to have been one of Hojo’s many experiments. That facility had been cut off for years, and it was highly unlikely that a foreign organism could have gotten inside. A surge of rage cut through him like a knife. How dare Hojo and his ilk endanger one of his Turks like this?! Why hadn’t they been warned?!

His anger was tempered only by his mounting concern for the redhead, who, in spite of the team’s efforts, lay still and, so far as he could tell, not breathing.

Suddenly, Reno coughed violently, expelling a mouthful of seawater before pulling in several deep, shuddering breaths, interspersed with still more coughing.

“Oh, thank Leviathan…” Tseng breathed, as blue eyes slowly opened and locked onto him a moment later. He pushed his way forward, close enough to rest a comforting hand on the younger man’s chest. By now, the redhead was shivering from the cold. “You’re alright,” he said, reassuringly, “You’re safe.”

Reno, coughed again, closing his eyes.

“I am gettin’ hazard pay for this shit… right boss?” he said, still trying to catch his breath.

“And at least a few days additional vacation time, if I have anything to say about it,” Tseng assured him, laughing softly in his relief.

---

His head was spinning… and at first, he had no idea where he was, or how he’d gotten here. It took several minutes of intentional focus to remember. The alley. The loud crack. The sharp pain in the back of his head.

He looked around at his surroundings, but the small room held few clues for him to decipher. He lifted a hand to massage his throbbing temples, only to realize that he was restrained by heavy chains.

Rude still had no idea where he was. But he was fairly certain that he hadn’t come here willingly…

~end chapter 13~