Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Between the Lines ❯ Speed Reading ( Chapter 10 )

Between the Lines

 

Description: What happened to Reno and Rude in Advent Children during the times they were off camera. How and why they showed up where they did when they did. Rated T for language and descriptions of torture.

 

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. Everything in this fic is just speculation on my part. I have no insider information. I also have no money, so suing me would be pointless.

 

Ten: Speed Reading

 

From the shuffling sounds and muted cursing, Rude could tell that Reno was awake albeit not pleased to be so. He knocked on the door again.

 

"I'm coming already!" the angry voice informed him.

 

Rude sighed. He had known after dragging a nearly unconscious Reno back to his apartment the previous night that this would happen. So he had come prepared. He took one of his secret weapons, which had been carefully balanced on top of the other, in his right hand so that he had one in each. Then, he waited.

 

Eventually, the door opened, revealing a rather wet Reno in nothing but a navy-blue towel. He glared at Rude with blood-shot eyes. "What the hell do you want?"

 

Rude blinked, impressed. He hadn't expected his partner to have showered. "I've come to pick you up. Rufus wants us to meet him at the hotel this morning."

 

Reno growled, pinching the skin between his eyes with two fingers. He muttered, "It's too fucking early for this."

 

"It's 8:45," Rude informed him. "The President quite graciously let us sleep in."

"Yeah, but I didn't get to bed until 4 AM."

 

"I know. I had to haul your sorry ass back here."

 

Reno laughed briefly, but he soon stopped, grimacing in pain. Rude offered the large cup of coffee he held in his left hand. Reno took it gratefully.

 

"Thanks." He turned back into the apartment and disappeared from view. "You can come in if you want."

 

"No thanks," Rude replied. He knew that any living space Reno occupied always looked as if a bomb had exploded in the middle of it. Trying to find a detritus-free place to sit was not an activity he wanted to pursue at the moment. Plus, he had just seen the towel soar through the air and land on the back of the couch.

 

"I'll wait out here if it's all the same."

 

"Suit yourself."

 

A few minutes later, Reno appeared again, this time fully clothed with a set of keys in one hand and the coffee in the other. He stepped out into the hallway, closed and locked the door, and put the keys in his pocket. Then he lifted his hand to his head and ruffled his damp hair in an attempt to get it a little bit drier. A few stray drops of water smacked Rude in the face. He swallowed his annoyance and instead offered the anti-hangover weapon in his right hand.

 

"Here. I got this for you, too."

 

Reno's bleary eyes lit up and his whole face brightened when he saw the cream-filled donut. "Excellent! Rude, you are absolutely the best!" He lovingly took the sweet treat in his free hand; all his previous irritation had disappeared.

 

Rude nodded to himself, satisfied. Caffeine and sugar. Worked every time. He began walking to the elevator, and Reno followed him, happily licking chocolate frosting from his lips and making little purring noises in the back of his throat.

 

By the time they reached the street, Reno had finished the donut and was sucking his fingers, trying to get every last bit of sugar that still clung to them. Once he was convinced that he had succeeded, he downed the rest of the coffee and then squeezed the empty cup until it collapsed with a satisfying crunch. He wandered over to a nearby curb-side trashcan to throw the cup away. Rude watched him out of habit.

 

The street they walked was currently empty. Rude could see a few people some ways down going about their business, but on this block the two men were alone and something close to silence surrounded them. So when engines roared behind them, Rude instinctively turned to investigate the approaching vehicles.

 

Two motorcycles and a truck. Coming fast.

 

He whirled around, hand outstretched, and cried, "Reno! Look out!"

 

Before Reno could react, the first motorcycle flew past him, billowing out his jacket and whipping his ponytail horizontal. Rude saw his partner open his mouth, but the passage of the other two vehicles drowned out the subsequent string of curses.

 

"--vabitch! Watch it, will ya?" He turned a grouchy face to Rude, expecting sympathy.

 

But Rude's eyes had followed the truck, and what he saw in its bed stunned him. Dozens of children. Hunched and motionless. Little bundles of silent suffering.

 

The truck continued on towards the heart of the city, but the two bikes had pulled over to the side of the road. Their silver-haired drivers looked back at them. Rude's stomach clenched. He easily recognized Kadaj, and the other looked just as dangerous, if not more so. Based on the short spiked hair and the thick, muscular arms, Rude concluded that this must be Loz, which left the as-of-yet-unseen Yazoo driving the truck.

 

"The hell?" Reno's eyes had finally followed Rude's gaze.

 

As the two shocked Turks looked at them, Kadaj leaned over to Loz and said something in his ear, all the while smirking at the men they had nearly run over. Loz laughed at Kadaj's comment. For several long seconds, two sets of sharp green eyes stared over shoulders with menacing amusement; then the two riders coaxed their bikes into life again and sped away.

 

"Shit," Reno commented predictably.

 

"Indeed," Rude replied. He shook himself from his stupor and forced his feet to move. "Come on."

 

"Where we going?" Reno called after him, trying to keep pace with Rude's fast stride.

 

"Rufus. To report."

 

Rude's thoughts raced through his mind even as his feet sped over the sidewalk. What had happened to Cloud? He had clearly failed to eliminate Kadaj, and although it was possible he had saved a few of the children, he had not rescued them all. Was he lying dead in a snowbank somewhere? Or had the adversaries crossed without their knowledge, causing Cloud to search the northern mountains for an enemy that was no longer there? Why had the three returned to Edge and why had they brought the children with them? What had they wanted them for in the first place?

 

By the time they reached the hotel and had traveled to Rufus's suite on the top floor, Rude still did not have answers to any of his questions, but all the same he put them aside. Questions could wait for personal time. Now he was back on the clock. The President's man. Rude opened the door to the apartment and stepped inside, Reno on his heels.

 

Unsurprisingly, Rufus was not pleased to hear of Kadaj's return. All the while Rude gave his report, the President tapped angry fingers on the box in his lap, and when Rude had finished speaking, he rose and paced the room, muttering darkly to himself. Reno and Rude waited patiently for him to formulate a new plan and to give them new orders.

 

After several minutes, Rufus finally turned to them and said, "See what you can find out at Cloud's place. If he's returned or if Tifa knows something. Then meet me in the city square. I'll be with Morgan at Sharon's café."

 

Rude blinked. No, that was not acceptable. "Excuse me, sir," he responded, "but I do not think that is wise." Out of the corner of his eye, Rude saw Reno's jaw drop and his eyes open wide in disbelief. Yes, I'm questioning the President's orders. No, I'm not insane. "We don't know where Kadaj and the others went. Going to the square could be dangerous at this time."

 

Rufus smiled slyly at him. "Your concern is gratifying, Rude, but it is unnecessary. Kadaj will not harm his 'brother'."

 

"So you've said, sir, but he has proven he has no qualms about kidnapping them. And honestly, Mr. President, ShinRa cannot afford to take the risk."

 

Behind the mask of authority, Rufus's resolve wavered, but only slightly. Rude sighed to himself. A compromise then. He walked over to the President's personal supply of weapons and selected a light but powerful gun. Approaching Rufus again, he offered it to him. "If you must go, sir, do not go unarmed."

 

Rufus took the weapon reluctantly. "Damned uncomfortable," he muttered, hiding it in his jacket. With that accomplished, he glared at Rude, hands on hips, and sneered, "Am I allowed out of the house now?"

 

Rude nodded, accepting the scorn as payment for his insolence.

 

"Good. Now get out of here. Both of you."

 

"Sir."

 

"Yes, sir."

 

Back on the street again, Rude waited for the flood of sarcastic jokes to envelope him, but it never came. Reno held his tongue. As they walked, Rude stole the occasional glance at his silent partner: the gravity in his eyes, the strength in the set of his jaw. A serious and focused Reno was a pleasant change, but Rude hoped it wouldn't last too long. Reno without the snarky comments and the teasing just wasn't Reno. And although Rude didn't have the faintest idea why, their team worked perfectly just the way it was.

 

Once they arrived at 7th Heaven, it took only a few minutes to determine that no one was at home. In a surprising change of roles, Reno insisted on checking the alleys behind the building before leaving. Rude waited out in front for him to return.

 

Several people had passed by him, intent on their own business, and Rude had paid them no mind. When a larger group approached at a run, he flicked his eyes over them, determined they were teenagers, and dismissed them. But then one stopped and stared.

 

"Hey!" A familiar figure waved and ran toward him. "You're that Turk!"

 

Rude regarded the panting boy in front of him. "… Aaron, right?"

 

"Yeah. The kids are back." Aaron pointed in the direction he had been running. His friends had stopped several paces away, waiting.

 

"Yes, we know."

 

"You know? Then what are you doing here?"

 

"We don't know where they --"

 

"In the square!" Aaron interrupted. "At the Meteor monument."

 

Rude's heart plummeted. "The square," he echoed. Shit. He turned on his heel and yelled, "Reno!"

 

But Reno was only an arm's length away. "Yeah, I heard," he replied. "We gotta go."

 

Rude nodded and tried to move but discovered Aaron's hand on his sleeve. The boy's frosty eyes were alive with worry.

 

"Jimmy acted like he didn't know me! It's like they brainwashed them."

 

Rude locked gazes with Aaron while removing the hand from his sleeve. "Go home," he ordered.

 

Aaron shook his head. "No, I--"

 

"Do you want your mother to have no sons?" Rude interrupted, his normally calm voice rising slightly. Aaron stared at him in shock and understanding. More gently, Rude continued, "We'll do what we can." He turned to his partner. "Let's go, Reno."

 

"Right behind you," Reno answered, although under his breath, he added, "Running again. Geez, can't we hotwire a car or something?"

 

Leaving Aaron behind to explain the situation to his friends, Rude ran. His calf muscles ached from the abuse, but he pushed forward. Doubts and worries harassed him, but he tried to push them aside, focusing instead on the gun and the knowledge that the President was not completely defenseless.

 

Still a few blocks from the square, Rude suddenly stopped. Reno, who had indeed been right behind him, nearly crashed into him. Instead, he unleashed several colorful phrases which Rude ignored. His thoughts had turned to the sight of them bursting into the square at full speed. Sharon's had an indoor dining area as well as an outdoor one, so it was possible Kadaj had not discovered Rufus's presence. If that was the case, they hardly wanted to make a spectacle of themselves.

 

"This way," he told Reno, motioning to a side alley. "We'll go around the back."

 

"Whatever, man, just don't do that again."

 

They altered their course and continued on, slowing in speed the closer they came to the café.

 

They heard the laughter first: high in pitch, low in sanity. Rude glanced at Reno and saw the red-head flinch in recognition. So much for that hope. Carefully, Rude edged to the corner of the building and peeked around.

 

The first thing he saw was a terrified Morgan, sitting at a table with a double-bladed sword at his throat. His fears confirmed, Rude turned his attention to the President. Rufus seemed extremely calm, sitting in his wheelchair like always, the sheet covering his face. For a moment, Rude wondered how he could inform his boss of his presence without alerting Kadaj, but then Rufus's head lifted slightly. As if expecting him, Rufus's good eye settled on Rude and flashed an order. Rude obeyed, pulling back.

 

"What -- ?" Reno started.

 

"Shhh. We wait."

 

"Now, now, Kadaj," Rufus's voice floated to them, "we both know you're here for me, so there's no need to scare my companion. Why don't you go back to work, Will? I'm sorry our meal was cut short."

 

A scrape of chair on stone and Morgan sped past Rude's line of sight and down the street.

 

"Your group seems to have grown. It's good to have allies, but your new recruits seem a bit young."

 

"They're my brothers and sisters. Their age doesn't matter. It's quite fortunate that you are here, Mr. President. I had thought the Reunion would go on without you."

 

"The Reunion? I see. So you've found your Mother then?"

 

"Not yet, but the children will lead us to her, and then the Reunion can begin."

 

"Interesting. That is a sight I'd like to witness. Oh, but you're starting to draw a crowd. I'll have to get a better view. Hmm … that building should do nicely."

 

"Ha. You think I'd let you leave so easily?"

 

"Of course not. If I left without an escort, I'd just go get help, right? No, you will come with me. We can watch the scene unfold together."

 

"What?"

 

"Unless of course you're afraid your brothers will be helpless without you. As a leader, Kadaj, you should learn to delegate."

 

"Tch. Fine! It might even be enjoyable, seeing your reaction as our revenge begins."

 

Rude had heard enough. He pulled away and started back down the alley. Reno caught his arm as he passed.

 

"Where are you -- ?"

 

"We're to get Tseng and Elena and then come back and engage the other two."

 

"How -- ?"

 

"Rufus told us to," Rude explained.

 

Reno frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "I heard everything he said, and nothing sounded like that."

 

Rude sighed slightly. "You need listen, not just hear." He gazed patiently at Reno's unchanged expression. "Trust me. Come on."

 

He continued on down the alley; after a moment Reno shrugged and followed.