Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 9: We All go a Little Mad Sometimes

There was nothing else he could do to stall for time. Tseng was watching him impatiently, arms folded across his chest, waiting for him to get up. Elena was standing, all prim and proper, by the door, ready to go. Reno sighed, hoisting himself off the sofa. Might as well get it over with. For just a moment, he could have sworn he saw a smirk flicker across Tseng’s face.

“You’re enjoying this far too much, you know that, right?” Reno said, escorting Elena out the door. Behind him, Tseng chuckled. Reno ignored him.

“Maybe it won’t be so bad…” Elena said hopefully as the two Turks made their way down the hall. Reno snorted.

“Right. We’re stuck with a week of guard duty for Dr. von Creepmaster… I’m sure it’ll be great!” he groused. Any amount of time in Hojo’s company was far too long, in Reno’s opinion. The obsessive scientist just had an air of… wrongness… about him. Not to mention a tendancy to reguard every living thing that crossed his path as a potential “specimen”. The two Turks stepped into the elevator, and Reno hit the button that would carry them up several floors to the high security research labs.

“But… it’s just guard duty, right? How bad could it be?”

“You ever actually been IN that lab of his, ‘Lena?” Reno asked.

“W-well, no, but…”

“Heh… Didn’t think so. If you had, you’d never have asked how bad it could be,” he admonished, “Seriously, ‘Lena. There’s some weird shit going on up there. Watch yourself.”

Elena very nearly laughed, but the serious expression in Reno’s eyes didn’t waver for an instant. She swallowed nervously as a chime announced their arrival at the labs and the doors slid open. She half expected to see some bizarre scene unfolding before her, like something out of an old monster movie. The sterile white tiled hallway, humming with the activity of dozens of people in lab coats was so far removed from what she’d pictured, she snickered. Reno eyed her strangely, but shrugged it off.

Organized chaos. If Reno had to come up with a term to describe it, that would have been it. Technicians in white coats scurried to and fro, checking and rechecking the crates and containers that were being carted into the hallway. Those were what he and Elena would be guarding. According to their briefing, due to the increasingly sensitive nature of Hojo’s experiments, several of his current projects were being transfered to the military installation at Junon… not only for the added security, but also because the Midgar research staff simply couldn’t handle the workload any longer. Teams in Junon would be taking over a total of six projects over the course of the next week, during which time all specimens and research materials relating to those projects were to be transfered from the Midgar labs to the Junon labs. The Turks were there to provide security during said transfer. And of course, Hojo himself would be traveling with his “precious specimins” to ensure that they were treated with the proper care.

“It’s about time you arrived. The first shipment has been ready for nearly an hour!” a thin, bespectacled man with long, slightly greasy hair shouted over the din of the bustling lab assistant. Reno inwardly groaned. Speak of the devil…

“Yes, sir,” Reno replied, subtley stepping in front of Elena. Hojo shuffled forward and glared at him. Reno was easily a head taller than the man, but his grey-eyed gaze was still slightly unnerving. Even more so when Reno realized that Hojo was looking him over rather intently.

“Hmm… A good physical specimin,” he stated, clearly speaking to himself, rather than the Turk, “Prehaps lacking in higher intelligence, but decently suitable.”

Reno narrowed his eyes, feeling more than a little insulted, and opened his mouth to comment on that remark, but Hojo had already turned his attention on Elena… who had, Reno noticed, taken a half-step backwards. He smirked slightly. Maybe now she’d believe him about just how bizarre the guy was.

“Yes, excellent. Excellent. Very healthy-looking, strong, of prime age… likely very fertile… This one would make a fine breeding specimen for project 217…”

“E-excuse me!” Elena squeaked. Reno smoothly stepped between the rookie Turk and Hojo.

“If the preparations for transport are finished, sir, perhaps we should get going,” he ground out, suddenly feeling very protective of his fellow-Turk, and not about to let things go any farther down THAT road. Hojo gave him a cold look.

“Very well… If you’ll not indulge my research, we shall be off,” he said, turning on his heel, and began issuing instructions to his assistants. Reno turned back to look at Elena, who was obviously unsure of what had just happened.

“Told ya the guy was creepy,” he said, smirking at her bewildered and slightly disgusted expression.

———-

It wasn’t often that Reno got to ride in one of ShinRa’s massive airships. The things were damned impressive… and generally reserved exclusively for Junon’s military troops. In fact, this was only the third time he’d ever been inside one of them. For Elena, it was a first, and despite the fact that she was trying very hard to be professional, Reno had caught her, more than once, looking around, awed by the complexity of the machinery that was keeping them aloft.

“Fuckin’ cool, huh?” he commented.

“Y-yeah…” she breathed.

“Heh… Better go look around while you can. You probably won’t get another chance for a long time.”

“Er… But we’re supposed to be on duty. I can’t just go wandering off,” she protested, though he could tell that she really did want to do a little exploring while she had the opportunity.

Reno shrugged.

“So call it a patrol,” he replied.

“R-really?”

“Go,” he said, smirking, “I’ll cover things here. Just watch out for Hojo. Wouldn’t wanna wind up as one of his “breeding specimens”, after all.”

“Ugh…” was Elena’s only reply to that.

“By the way, while we’re on the subject of breeding…” Reno said, a note of mischief in his voice, “How was dinner with Tsengy-kins?”

And Reno couldn’t help but laugh as she rolled her eyes and walked away from him.

———-

Elena peered over the railing as the ground far below raced by, feeling exhilarated. They would be arriving in Junon very shortly, and from there, she and Reno would be supervising the unloading and transport of all of Hojo’s materials. It was going to be a very long week, but the airship ride almost made it worth it.

Not long ago, she’d caught sight of Hojo below deck… which was, primarily, why she’d come out here. Reno had been right about him, though she didn’t shared his apparent distrust of the scientist. He didn’t seem dangerous… just very, very odd. Which, she supposed, was a trait that went along with being a genius. Her thoughts were interupted by the insistant ringing of her PHS. She quickly moved to answer it.

“Elena here,” she said.

“Yo, rookie… Get back down here. We’ve got a problem,” Reno’s voice responded over the handset.

“On my way, sir,” she replied, and hurried back to where she’d left her partner.

When she arrived in the cargo bay, things were definitely not as she’d left them. Where once it had been only she and Reno, and the occasionally cursory inspection by Hojo or one of his lab assistants, now, it seemed, his entire staff was on alert, checking containers, flipping though checklists, and generally buzzing about with an air of repressed panic.

“W-what’s going on?” she asked Reno.

“Not sure… Someone was down here. Almost had him, but one of those idiots got in my way, and he slipped past me,” Reno said, annoyance clearly evident in his voice.

“Is anything missing?”

“That’s what they’re checking on right now,” the other Turk replied, “But there’s a lot to check. You and I are going to look for our intruder. He can’t have gone too far.”

———-

Their search was going nowhere fast. Whoever he was, he seemed to have vanished into thin air.

“Could he have left the ship?” Elena asked, her sidearm drawn and poised to fire, should it be necessary. They were searching one of the aft compartments, gradually making their way forward. The bowels of the airship, however, were like a maze, and their target could be hiding anywhere. Both Turks were on alert, and moving cautiously.

“Could’ve, if he had a parachute, I guess… But I think someone would have noticed a guy bailing out of an airship five miles above the ground. Nah, I think he’s still down here somewhere.”

A loud clang sounded behind them, and both Turks spun toward the noise, weapons raised, as a mangy-looking cat darted out from behind a crate.

“Shit,” Reno muttered, rolling his eyes, “Fucking cat almost lost about six of his lives…”

He lowered his electro-rod.

“Come on, ‘Lena… Let’s keep go-AHHHH!”

Elena jumped at the pained cry, gun aiming automatically in the general direction of danger.

“Reno!”

The sight that met her eyes was not one she’d ever wanted to see. Reno had been ambushed from behind. A short, rotund man in a dirty blue and white shirt and jeans had a firm grip on Reno’s hair. But that, Elena saw, was not what had made the Turk cry out. Implanted firmly in the side of his neck was a rather large syringe. A now-empty syringe. Reno himself had gone frighteningly pale, and beads of sweat rolled down his face. Whatever he’d been injected with was taking effect quickly.

Elena fired once, hitting Reno’s assailant cleanly in the shoulder. He released his hold on the Turk and staggered backwards. Reno collasped, shivering, on the floor, eyes rolled back in his head.

“What did you do to him!” she shouted at the man, gun leveled at him.

“Why don’t you ask that bastard of a scientist you’ve got workin’ for ya? He’s the one that made it,” he sneered, reaching into his pocket.

“Don’t move!” Elena warned, but the intruder apparently had a larger agenda than simply escaping with his hide intact. He withdraw a small remote control, thumb poised over the single large button in the center of it. Elena didn’t give him a second chance. She fired, putting a bullet right between his eyes. He died instantly, but it was too late. At almost the same instant, his finger hit the button. Elsewhere on the airship, there was a massive explosion, and the entire vessel lurched to one side. Elena felt the sickening sensation of rapid decent in the pit of her stomach.

‘This is how I’m going to die,’ she thought, and was surprised that it didn’t frighten her nearly as much as she thought it should. Suddenly, there came a jarring impact, and the screeching of metal against metal. Elena was thrown forward, slamming hard into the wall directly in front of her, and her world went dark.

———-

“Ohhh…” she moaned. For a moment, she was certain that she was dead… but a sharp pain in her side, followed by the near-blinding light of the sun as her eyes snapped open quickly convinced her otherwise. Elena slowly sat up, feeling vaguely dizzy, and very much in pain. Her head throbbed, and when she raised a hand to her scalp, it came back coated in blood. Shakily, she staggered to her feet, wincing as what could only be several broken ribs sharply protested the movement. Her entire body felt bruised, though judging by the wreckage that surrounded her, she’d gotten off relatively lucky.

Where once she had been in an hallway enclosed by cold metal walls, she was now very nearly out in the open. The floor was tilted at an angle, and the deck above had been ripped away completely. It took her a moment to remember what had happened. The memories came back one by one. She recalled shooting the man… the explosion… being thrown off her feet.

Then she recalled something else.

“Reno…” she gasped. She had no idea what had happened to the other Turk. Still not entirely steady on her feet, she stumbled across the debris-strewn floor.

“R-Reno? Can you hear me?” she called, taking a few steps forward… and promptly tripping over a large object in her path. She fell, letting out a scream as her already-traumatized ribs hit the floor hard. She lay there for a moment, dazed by the pain, vision dimming as she came close to passing out again. She fought it, taking a few slow breaths. Eventually, her head stopped spinning and her vision cleared, though each time she inhaled, her chest felt as if it were on fire.

Her gazed travelled to whatever it was she’d fallen over, eyes locking on the face of the dead man. The one who’d attacked Reno. Vindictively, she gave the corpse a sharp kick in the head.

“Asshole,” she spat. But if he was here, then Reno had to be close by, too. She hoisted herself to her feet, using an overturned crate for leverage. She clambored over the wreckage, eyes scanning every inch of it. As she moved slowly down what was left of the hallway, a soft sound met her ears. It was barely audible, and she paused, straining to hear it. After a moment, she began to think that she’d simply imagined it, but then, suddenly it came again. It was muffled… a whimper. She hurried in the direction she thought it had come from.

“Reno?” she called, hopefully, silently begging every diety she could think of that he was still alive. She was getting closer now. Elena shifted a large metal panel to one side, revealing the object of her search. Reno was curled in a fetal postion, eyes squeezed tight shut, his face pale, his entire body shaking.

“Reno!” she fell to her knees next to him, pressing two fingers against his neck. His heart was racing. His skin was clammy and damp with cold sweat.

“Oh god…” she whispered. Reno’s eyes opened, turning to look at her.

“‘Lena…” he rasped, “It… h-hurts…”

———-

The call had come in less than five minutes ago. Junon had recieved an emergency signal from the Torrent… the airship that had been carrying not only Hojo and several of his projects and staff, but also two Turks. It was the latter that Tseng was currently more concerned about, though had anyone he and Rude met in the hallway asked, he would have said otherwise. He’d tried several times, unsuccessfully, to contact them.

It was supposed to have been routine. It was supposed to have been merely a formality, taking along two Turks as part of security… a favor he’d called in, in truth. The airship was a floating fortress, after all. It had no need for extra security.

He blamed himself. There was no real reason for them to be there. He’d only wanted to teach them a lesson, and there were few things less appealing than time in Hojo’s company. It had all been meant in the spirit of fun, but now things had taken a decidedly more dire turn.

He and Rude boarded the helicopter that waited for them on the rooftop of the ShinRa Building.

———-

He wasn’t injured, at least not as far as she could see. It was the syringe, then. Whatever had been in it was making him sicker and sicker by the minute. Possibly… probably, she amended… even killing him.

He was beginning to have difficultly breathing now. Elena simply didn’t know what to do for him. It tore her apart her to see him like this, even more so because she was helpless to do anything to ease his pain. She had resorted to rubbing gentle circles on his back, offering what comfort she could. But she knew that if she didn’t so something soon, there was no hope for him at all.

“I-it’ll be alright Reno…” she said, though her voice was far from convincing, “I’ll go get help. Just… hang on, ok?”

“N-no…” Reno managed, through clenched teeth, “Don’t… leave me, ‘Lena. Please… Don’t leave me… alone…”

Her stomach twisted as she read the meaning behind his plea, and she felt ill. He was giving up. He didn’t want her to leave, because he was afraid he’d be dead by the time she got back… and he didn’t want to die alone. She swallowed harshly and blinked back the tears that had welled up.

“So… the two of you DID survive after all,” a voice stated in a rather bored tone. Elena turned, utterly relieved that someone had found them. Hojo and two of his staff stood at the far end of the destoryed hallway.

“Oh, thank Ifrit,” Elena sighed, “Reno needs help!”

The three of them came closer, and Hojo joined her at Reno’s side.

“Well, well… How interesting,” he commented, “I take it that this is our theif’s doing?”

“H-how did you know?”

“We had just determined what had been taken when the explosion occured. This is obviously the effects of project 1071,” Hojo replied.

“Is there are cure? An antidote? Something?” Elena pleaded.

“Certainly,” said Hojo, and Elena sighed in relief, “However, like most of the cargo, it was destroyed. Nearly all of my specimens… gone…”

Her heart sank. That was it then… There was nothing they could do for him. So upset was she, that she didn’t notice what Hojo was doing until it was nearly too late. The scientist’s hand had crept into Reno’s jacket, pulling the Turk’s sidearm from it’s holster. Hojo leveled the gun at the suffering Turk. Elena’s eyes widened as realization dawned and she grabbed his arm just as he pulled the trigger, jerking the gun upwards. The bullet sailed high off course, striking something metal in the distance. In a matter of seconds she’d disarmed him and taken the gun for herself.

“What are you doing!” she shrieked.

“Hmph… it would be far kinder to end this for him now,” Hojo said coldly, “And far safer for us.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, eyeing him suspiciously. The two members of Hojo’s staff had hung back, unsure of what to do, and as Elena glanced back at them, she realized that they seemed extremely concerned about something.

“This is only stage one,” Hojo replied, “The pain will continue to increase, but eventually, it will subside. Once he enters stage two, he will gain strength very quickly, seemingly returning to normal.”

Reno was going to be alright? She hardly dared to hope that she had heard correctly.

“Don’t look so relieved. I said ‘seemingly’,” Hojo continued, “Once stage three begins, he will become violent. Very violent… He will attempt to kill anyone he comes across. Myself… my staff… even you. He will lose himself completely and no amount of pleading will dissuade him. And then, when the effects of stage three have worn off, he will slip into a coma and approximately 12 to 24 hours later, he will die. If we were in my lab, I could administer an antidote, however…”

He shrugged, gesturing to the wreckage around them. Given the situation, there wasn’t much chance of getting Reno the help he needed before the drug in his system took full effect.

Reno gave a low, pained moan.

“‘Lena…” he gasped, and Elena turned her attention to her colleague, soothing him. It was getting worse just as Hojo had said it would.

“Why do you continue to hesitate?” Hojo asked, shaking his head, “In such a situation, it is best to destroy the specimen. He’ll kill us all!”

“Reno is NOT one of your specimens!” Elena protested, stroking the red-head’s damp hair with her free hand, while her other held tight to the gun.

“Fine… stay with him, then. But mark my words, in the end you’ll have to finish him off before he finishes you,” Hojo said, climbing to his feet, “As interesting as observing this would be, I think I shall err on the side of safety and put some distance between myself and your friend there. When help arrives, I’ll let them know where to find your bodies.”

Elena glared at him as he and his assistants left them. Reno shifted slightly, looking up at her.

“It… It doesn’t hurt… as much anymore,” he said, panting softly. Elena’s attention immediately shifted back to the other Turk.

“Reno? Are you… are you alright?” she asked, before mentally kicking herself.

‘Well, that was a stupid question. Of course he’s not alright,’ she thought angrily.

“Tch… As ‘alright’ as anyone who’s going to go completely insane and attack anything that moves can be, I suppose,” Reno said weakly, some semblance of his usual twisted humor surfacing.

“Don’t say that,” Elena said.

“Elena, listen…” Reno said, “If things get bad… If what Hojo said actually happens… I want you to protect yourself by any means neccessary.”

“Reno…”

“That’s an order, Elena,” he said, sternly, “Handcuff me… Knock me out… Shoot me if you have to. Just don’t let me hurt you. I’m fucking serious.”

Elena couldn’t respond. She looked down at the gun in her hand, and nodded silently.

“Give me your handcuffs,” Reno demanded.

“W-what?”

“Chain me to something sturdy, yo, so I can’t get loose.” he clarified, nodding to the gun “Long as I can’t reach ya, you won’t have to resort to that, right?”

Elena looked around and spotted the flight have stairs that would have led up to the upper deck had it still been there. There was a heavy metal handrail welded to the support beam on the wall. That would certainly be sturdy enough.

“Come on…” she she said, wrapping an arm around Reno’s waist and helping him to his feet. Her injuries protested, but she ignored them for the time being. The two Turks slowly made their way to the stairs, and Elena handcuffed Reno to the railing. The red-head settled himself on the bottom stair.

“Make ’em tight,” he instructed, and Elena hestitantly forced the cuff around his wrist as tight as she dared.

“You look like hell,” he commented, smirking.

“You don’t look so hot yourself,” she countered.

“Please… I always look hot,” Reno grinned, “Just ask Julie… Or Cynthia… Or Laurie… Or…”

“You are such a pig,” Elena cut him off, grateful that he was trying to lighten the mood a bit. Reno smiled widely, with pride.

“Prude…”

“Jerk.”

“Big-mouth…”

“Creep.”

“Virgin.”

“Ugh… Pervert,” Elena said rolling her eyes, before adding, “… and I am not.”

“Oh really,” Reno replied, suggestively.

“Dream on, Reno,” she sighed, shaking her head, but she couldn’t quite surpress the snort of laughter that escaped.

“Gonna deny a man his last request?”

The small smile faded from Elena’s face.

“That’s not funny,” she said softly. Reno shrugged.

“Who said it was a joke?”

“Can’t you ever be serious?” she asked, glaring at him.

“On occasion… but I try to avoid it,” he grinned in reply. Suddenly, he closed his eyes, drawing in a sharp breath.

“Reno?” Elena queried, concern quickly replacing annoyance.

“S’ok… Just kinda dizzy there for a second,” Reno replied. But that didn’t alieviate her growing worry. In the back of her mind, she knew… just knew that this was the beginnings of stage three, and Hojo’s words came back to haunt her. Finish him off before he finishes you.

No… She wasn’t going to do that to Reno. As long as he was chained up, it would be fine. They would wait for help to arrive. They would get him back to Hojo’s lab at Midgar, and Hojo would give him the antidote… or she’d tear the little bastard’s his head off herself. Reno leaned his head against the railing, closing his eyes.

“H-hey… Reno?” she said, moving toward him, intent on checking to see that he was alright. As soon as she was near enough, he lunged, backhanding her with his one free hand. Elena was sent flying back, and landed sprawled on the floor just inches outside his reach, gasping in pain as, for the second time that day, her broken ribs made contact with the floor. She turned and met his gaze, and a cry caught in her throat. His eyes were wild… there was nothing of the Reno she knew in them. He glared at her, pulling so hard at the handcuffs that held him that they dug into his wrist, tearing the skin and coating his hand in his own blood. Elena scrambled back several feet, snatching the gun from where it had landed as she went.

Her retreat seemed to anger him even more, and he pulled harder and harder at the handcuffs, mindless of the injuries he was inflicting on himself. The only thing on his mind seemed to be getting ahold of Elena.

———-

Tseng scanned the area from high above. The base in Junon wasn’t entirely certain where the airship had gone down, but they had a pretty good idea. Luckily, something that big ought to be fairly easy to spot.

“There,” he said at last. Curls of black smoke rose from the plains. He could just make out the shaped of the downed aircraft. Rude turned the helicopter towards the crash site.

———-

“R-Reno, calm down,” Elena pleaded with the captive Turk, “It’s me… It’s ‘Lena. Oh… Please, Reno. I know you’re in there somewhere…”

Reno screamed in frustration as he fought wildly against his bonds. She held the gun like a lifeline… If he managed to get loose, it would be the only thing that stood between her and Reno tearing her limb from limb. But could she really do it? Could she really kill someone she considered both an ally and a friend… even if it was to save herself? She desperately hoped that she wouldn’t have to find out.

But it seemed that hope alone wasn’t enough.

There was a loud ping as the chain linking the handcuffs together snapped, and now Reno was free. He growled animalistically and flung himself at her. Elena backpedalled at the last second, narrowly eluding him.

“Reno! Stop!” she cried deperately. The other Turk paused momentarily, a flicker of recognition flashing across his face.

“‘Lena?” he said, shaking his head violently, as if to clear it.

“Yeah… yeah, Reno. It’s me. It’s ‘Lena!” she cried, hopefully.

Reno squeezed his eyes shut, fighting valiently against what Hojo’s drug was telling him to do.

“Elena… shoot…” he managed before it overtook him again, and he resumed his attack. Elena scurried back farther, but Reno was too fast. He was suddenly on top of her, pinning her, his hands around her throat. She couldn’t call out for help… couldn’t breath. Reno was choking her… cutting of her airway completely. Her vision was growing fuzzy at the edges. The gun was clenched in her hand.

She pressed be barrel against Reno’s belly.

‘I’m sorry, Reno,’ she thought, and pulled the trigger.

———-

The helicopter landed near the crash site, and the two Turks exited. It was bad. The survivors were clustered near what remained of cockpit. Several people had been killed outright, and lay covered in the shade of the debris. Several more had been injured. Tseng realized with dread that neither of his Turks were among those he could see. Hojo, however, was… and was approaching quickly.

“You certainly took your time getting here. At this rate there will hardly be anything left to salvage,” he snapped. Tseng fought the urge to punch him. Rude wisely stayed out of it.

“We…”

Suddenly, before he could finish his reply, a gunshot rang out from somewhere among the wreckage.

“Ah… I guess she decided to take my advice after all,” Hojo commented.

“What are you talking about?” Tseng asked narrowing his eyes.

“I told her she’d have to put him down. The drug he was given is very potent. You can’t fight it,” the scientist responded, “But not to worry… I’m sure you can replace him.”

“Reno…” Tseng whispered, and took off at a sprint in the direction of the gunshot, Rude not far behind.

“Elena! Reno!” he called out, not sure where they were exactly.

“Sir!” came Elena’s voice. The anguish in it was unmistakeable. Tseng raced toward the sound, and stopped short at the sight that greeted him.

Reno was slumped over, his breathing ragged, a pool of blood growing beneath him. Elena was sobbing quietly, one hand covering her eyes, the other limp at her side, a gun resting on her palm.

“Rude, get him back to the helicopter,” Tseng ordered, snapping into professional mode, “Don’t wait for us… get him back to Midgar. Now!”

Rude didn’t need to be told twice, and Elena watched sadly as Reno’s limp form was carted off by her fellow-Turk.

“I’ve killed him…” she whispered.

“Hush, Elena,” Tseng said calmly, “He’s not dead yet… They’ll do everything they can to save him.”

“He told me to,” she said, taking a deep breath, and wiping her sleeve across her face, fighting to regain her composure, “He ordered me not to let him hurt me, whatever it took.”

“That’s enough Elena,” Tseng replied, “You can fill me in on what happened later. Right now, you need medical attention, as do quite a few other people.”

He helped her to her feet, and Elena let him lead her off in the direction Rude had taken Reno. She felt numb, and she was grateful for that, because at the moment, she didn’t think she could deal with what she’d been forced to do… not without humiliating herself, at any rate.

———-

She must have passed out at some point while waiting for transport back to Midgar… because she awoke in a dimly lit room decorated entirely in white. Elena had no idea how long she’d been asleep. She didn’t even know where she was at first, until her mind woke up a bit more, memories returned, and logic kicked in.

Of course, it must be a hospital room. Where else would Tseng have taken her?

But where was Tseng now? Had he been shooed out by the doctors and nurses, told to leave her be and let her rest. She doubted it. If Tseng had wanted to stay, nothing short of physical force could have moved him… and she had her doubts that even physical force would be sufficient.

Had he been needed elsewhere? That was perhaps more likely… but then, Rude could have handled anything urgent. On the rare occasions when Reno or Rude had been badly injured, he’d always stayed until they woke. Why, then had he left her? Was it because of what she’d done? She felt a bit dejected by the thought, as she stared up at the ceiling, though now her thoughts were drifting elsewhere. What about Reno? Had he made it back to Midgar? Had the doctors been able to save him? Or was he…

“Typical… I step out for two minutes and you go and wake up while I’m gone,” a familiar voice said from the doorway, “We really have to do something about your impatience, Elena.”

She lifted her head slightly, and there was Tseng, striding calmly into the room.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Sore, sir,” she said. The corners of Tseng’s mouth twitched into a smile.

“Understandable.”

“S-sir?” she began, desperately wanting to know the answers the the questions plauging her.

“Hmm?”

“What about… What about Reno? Is he ok?” she asked, swallowing the lump in her throat.

“I don’t think “ok” is the term I would use… but he’s very much alive,” Tseng replied, “Nine hour of surgery later, that is. At the moment, he’s in the ICU. If you’re feeling up to it later, I’ll try to convince them to let you visit him for a little while.”

He paused for a moment, hesitating.

“I should warn you… It isn’t a pleasent sight. And they’re keeping him sedated until the drug is completely out of his system. Hojo filled me in on the effects of his little experiment. Apparently, even after recieving the antidote, it would cause unbearable pain if he were awake. One of Hojo’s favorite projects, I’m sure…” he said, sounding disgusted.

“H-how badly did I hurt him, sir?” she asked.

“Elena, this is neither the time nor the place for such discussions.”

“Please… I want to know.”

Tseng sighed.

“You only just missed his heart,” he said at last, “The bullet pierced his stomach, collapsed a lung, bounced around a bit, and finally came to rest in his liver. All in all, he was lucky. Half an inch to the left or right, and it probably would have been immediately fatal.”

———-

Elena was released the following day, with strict orders to take it easy for at least the next couple of weeks. Reno, however, remained in the ICU for more than a week, before finally being transfered to a recovery room. As much as Elena wanted to visit, if only to assure herself that he was alive and relatively well, she couldn’t bring herself to face him. She was the one who’d almost killed him.

After several more days of avoiding the inevitable, Rude told her that Reno had been asking about her, wondering when she was going to come see him, and she knew she couldn’t put it off any longer. As she stepped silently into his room, she realized that she had no idea what to say. It was, therefore, almost as much a relief as it was a disappointment when she found him asleep.

She crept up to him, and settled herself nervously in the chair beside his bed. Elena couldn’t get over how wrong it seemed to see the usually-hyperactive Reno lying there so still and quiet. And she couldn’t quite rid herself of the guilt she felt for putting him in such a state.

“You gonna sit there starin’ at me all day or you gonna say somethin’?” Reno asked, and Elena jumped, nearly falling out of the chair.

“You’re awake!” she blurted out.

“Heh… Nothin’ gets by you, does it, ‘Lena…” he replied, opening his eyes and grinning weakly, “What the hell took you so long? You shoot me, and then don’t even bother to visit? You have any idea how fucking boring it is around here? It’s fucking torture… Have you SEEN the nurses on this floor? All guys! ‘Cept for Hilda… and no way in Hell am I flirting with that.”

“I wasn’t sure you’d want to see me…” Elena said, staring down at the floor.

“… Where the hell’d you get an idea like that?” Reno asked, bewildered.

Elena didn’t answer.

“Oh, I get it…” Reno said, catching on, and rolling his eyes, “You’ve been beating yourself up for the last… what? Week and a half? Oh no, I hurt Reno… He must hate me… Oh, how could I do something like that to him? Why didn’t I sleep with him when I had the chance.”

Her head shot up, and she stared him in the face, and despite the fact that he was right… she had been beating herself up – and doing a damn good job of it, too… she started to laugh.

“Oh sure… laugh at me,” he said in a mock-hurt tone, “That’ll make me feel better.”

He watched her, amused, until she composed herself.

“I guess this means you’re going to be fine,” she commented. Leave it to Reno to make HER feel better when he was the one in the hospital.

“Much, I’m sure, to everyone’s dismay, yes,” Reno replied.

“I’ll try to break it to the secretarial staff gently.”

“Hey ‘Lena,” he said, tone turning serious, “Look… I’m sorry.”

“W-what?”

“I’m sorry you had to do what you did,” he replied, “I know how much it must have hurt you. I’ve been there.”

She very nearly proclaimed that she was the one who owed him an appology… but something about the way Reno was looking at her made her hold her tongue. Instead, she leaned forward and lightly stroked his hair.

“I hope I never have to do anything like that again,” she said seriously, before adding “They told me that I shouldn’t stay long, because you’re supposed to be resting.”

Reno snorted in annoyance.

“Figures…” he muttered, “Personally, I think they enjoy watching me go stir crazy…”

“I-is there anything I can do before I leave?”

“Hmm? Yeah, acutally, now that you mention it…” he said, grinning and beckoning her to come closer so that he could whisper something to her. Elena leaned down.

“Go find me a cute nurse…”

-fin-