Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Between the Lines ❯ Mind Games ( Chapter 3 )

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.

 

Three: Mind Games

 

Reno carefully surveyed the situation. This was it. His next move could end the battle right here, or it could cripple him substantially. He was fairly confident in his strength, but clearly so was his opponent, who had gone so far as to risk everything he had left. Reno pretended to double-check his own weapons while secretly he scanned the other man for weakness. Even the slightest hint of it, and he would pounce.

 

There!

 

Internally, Reno laughed in triumph. I have you now, my friend. You are dead.

 

With carefully practiced nonchalance, Reno said, "I call. Whatcha got?"

 

Rude laid his cards on the table. "Two pair, Jacks and threes. You?"

 

Reno fanned the cards out in front of him, smiling. "Trip nines."

 

Rude's fist smashed down on the table, making the ice cubes in his drink jump. "You cheated!"

 

Laughing, Reno leaned back in his chair and offered his hands, palms up, in a gesture of innocence. "How? I've already taken off my jacket and rolled up my sleeves. Would you like me to strip down to just my modesty?"

 

"No. Thank. You," Rude replied with a force that sent Reno into another round of laughter. Rude leaned back into his own chair and folded his arms angrily over his chest. "Why can't I beat you?" he growled.

 

"Because your tells are as obvious as a reactor explosion. Now, enough stalling, man." He reached out a hand and wiggled his fingers enticingly. "Pay up."

 

Still grumbling, Rude removed his sunglasses and, after a noticeable hesitant pause, lowered them carefully into Reno's waiting hand. Reno joyfully placed them on his own face.

 

He threw out his arms wide. "How do I look?"

 

"Like someone who used to be my friend."

 

"Yeouch. Well, why don't I bribe my way back into your good graces by changing that ringtone you hate so much?" Reno dug the phone out of his pocket, flipped it open, and started pushing buttons. "You like the theme song to My Magic Moogle?"

 

"No!"

 

Somehow Reno managed to control his laughter. Didn't know Rude's eyes bulge when he's upset. Good thing he wears the glasses. "Then how 'bout a sample from an underground punk band?"

 

"How about a ringing sound?"

 

"You're kidding, right? Okay, let's see what else I --"

A sharp cry from the other room cut him off and drove both men to their feet. As Rude pushed past him to the door, Reno felt his good mood crumble into dust. That kind of sound from Rufus's lips meant only one thing. Resigned to the inevitable, he shoved the phone back into his pocket, picked up his jacket, and, throwing it over one shoulder, followed Rude into the main room.

 

They had left Rufus stretched out on the bed, resting, but now he was sitting up, left hand clutching his right wrist. Reno grimaced at the layer of black pus that had formed on the President's hand, not from the sight itself but from what it represented. A Geostigma flare-up. That ugly reminder of mortality and its impending conclusion. And, more importantly to Reno, a warning that a powerful man in pain would soon be taking it out on the people who worked for him.

 

Rude had already fetched a clean cloth from a drawer and had begun dabbing at the sticky mess as Rufus commented, "This one wasn't that bad. Not like last time." His uncovered eye casually flicked over Reno, standing in the doorway, but it quickly returned and fixed him with a piercing stare. "Why are you wearing Rude's sunglasses?"

 

"Poker," Reno explained. "I get to wear them for an hour."

 

"Hmph." Rufus frowned, and Reno braced himself. "You look like a Wall Market pimp." He returned his gaze to Rude, who had ducked his head in an attempt to hide his laughter. "Get in here. You need to get ready for Cloud's arrival. And put your jacket back on."

 

"Yes, sir." That wasn't so bad. He wandered over to the couch and draped his jacket over the back. Rolling down his sleeves, he asked, "What do you want me to do?"

 

"Make sure the door is unlocked. Then when Cloud comes in, I want you to engage him."

 

The jacket slipped through Reno's fingers and fell to the floor in a wrinkled heap. "Engage him?" Reno asked, shocked. "You mean, like, attack him?"

 

"Yes." Rufus's mouth curled into one of his little evil smiles. "Consider it a reflex text."

 

Reno frowned heavily. "Whose reflexes are you testing? Cloud's or mine?"

 

"Yes."

 

Great. Reno bent down, snatched up his jacket, and, straightening, angrily thrust his arms through the sleeves. He should have known he wouldn't get away with only one little insult. The President was never that considerate, small flare-up or no. Now he was going to get his ass handed to him on a plate. If he was lucky, maybe the surprise attack would allow him to get one decent hit on Cloud, but he doubted it would be enough to save him from a shitload of pain. Nothing short of decapitation could stop that guy. Maybe if he intentionally fought poorly, Cloud would take pity on him and only hurt him a little …

 

Rufus's annoyed voice cut through his planning. "Where is that music coming from?"

 

Reno suddenly realized he seemed to have a brass marching band in his pocket. He dug out his phone, saying, "Sorry, sir. It's my phone. Rude didn't like the ringtone, so I was changing it when …" He trailed off, gesturing at the President's hand, now clean and resting in his lap as if nothing had happened.

 

Rufus wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Isn't that the nauseatingly cheerful piece they played incessantly at my inauguration?"

 

"Um, yeah, I think so."

 

"What was your ringtone before?"

 

"Gold Saucer music."

 

"Change it back."

 

"Right," Reno replied, enjoying the look of displeasure on Rude's unobstructed face. A small grin tried to creep into Reno's lips, but another thought banished it again. The condition of Tseng and Elena and the current presence of Rude and Rufus severely limited the number of people who would be calling him. It was either that busty blonde from last weekend or …

 

He checked the ID; it confirmed his suspicions. Growling slightly, he violently flipped the phone open and lifted it to his ear. "You'd better not be calling looking for your Father this time 'cause we have a strict one parent policy here."

 

"Such a pleasure to talk to you again, Reno," Kadaj's voice oozed through the speaker.

 

"Yeah, yeah, I hate you, too." In the background, the roaring sounds of motors and … gunshots? "So what do you want?"

 

"I'm beginning to think your boss wasn't entirely truthful last time."

 

"That so?" If he tried hard enough, Reno could visualize his hand passing through the phone and emerging from Elena's, his fingers wrapping around Kadaj's neck and squeezing …

 

"Don't tell me you're leading me on."

 

"What makes you say --"

 

"Because I think you do have Mother there."

 

That was it. Reno had had enough. All the stress and guilt over Tseng and Elena, being bullied by Rufus, and now being interrupted and condescended to by this Sephiroth-wannabe prick. His rage exploded, stripping away all the sarcasm and trickery and leaving only a fiery core of raw, intense emotion.

 

"You little son of a bitch --"

 

A mocking laugh. "No need to shout."

 

"-- I am gonna fucking kick your ass! I'm gonna --"

 

"I don't want to talk to you anymore," Kadaj cut in again, and this time the tone of his voice stopped Reno's tirade dead in his throat. He sounded bored. "Put the President on."

 

Reno's fury boiled over, filling his lungs with burning steam. With excruciating control, he held out the phone and enunciated, "President Shinra, sir. Phone call for you."

 

Rufus and Rude had frozen into a tableau of surprise and confusion, the President sitting on the bed with his legs over the side, Rude with one hand pushing the wheelchair and the other holding the covering sheet that Rufus used for visitors. As Reno sucked in great breaths to hold himself in check, Rufus slowly stood and walked over to him.

 

He reached out and took the offered phone. "Thank you, Reno," he said calmly.

 

The plastic had barely left his fingers when Reno slammed his fist into the wall next to him, knocking the framed ShinRa logo askew and loosing a fine rain of sawdust that fell upon his head. Rufus smiled at him encouragingly -- the first non-mocking smile that Reno had seen in weeks -- and raised the phone to his ear.

 

"Yes, Kadaj, what can I do for you? … But of course. Did you actually think I would give you that information so readily? … Ah, but you can't play that card anymore, can you? … No, I think we're done. Oh, and thank you for eliminating Cloud for me. I truly appreciate it."

 

He pressed the button to end the call and handed the phone back to Reno. Reno took it quietly. His anger had drained, leaving him depressed, empty, and confused at the President's final remark.

 

"Eliminate Cloud?"

 

"Yes. It sounded like he was in trouble, so I helped him out."

 

"But …"

"It's called psychology, Reno. Or, in terms you'll understand, a high-stakes bluff."

 

Reno nodded. That made sense. And he realized that Rude was right. Rufus was an arrogant, self-centered jerk who liked to see others squirm, but he could play the game better than anyone else on the planet. A true master of manipulation.

 

Rufus had wandered back to his wheelchair. As Rude handed him the cloth, he asked Reno, "Are you calmer now?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"Good. Call Tifa again. Have her hurry Cloud's ass up."

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"And Reno?"

 

"Yes?"

 

"Give Rude's glasses back before you break them."

 

"But I still have -- !"

 

"Now, Reno."