Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Between the Lines ❯ Lilies in the Valley ( Chapter 7 )

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.

 

Seven: Lilies in the Valley

 

Reno turned off the car and flung open the door. He could see the church ahead; it was one of the only buildings still intact in the entire sector. Unfortunately, one of the less sturdy buildings had fallen across the road in a jumble of rock and metal, leaving a gap too small for the car to fit through. They would have to walk the rest of the way.

 

As soon as the memory had popped into Reno's head, he had known that this was where Cloud would be. He could still remember Cloud glaring at him, hatred for ShinRa all over his face, and the girl telling them both not to step on the flowers. Reno smiled to himself. Man, had Tseng had the hots for her. In a sick way, it had almost been fitting for Sephiroth to turn them both into shish kabob. But then Tseng had lived, and the girl hadn't.

 

"Reno."

 

Reno looked up and saw, as Rude had, the massive motorcycle parked in front of the church entrance.

"Ha, what did I tell you?" He stopped and, hooking his thumbs in his pockets and leaning back on one foot, gazed with self-satisfaction at Rude. "So, what should we do now?"

 

"Go in."

 

"Just like that?"

 

"Just like that." Rude started to move forward again. Surprised and a bit worried, Reno followed. He truly doubted Cloud would be happy to see Turks in that church again, not after they had stalked and finally kidnapped the friend who used to spend so much time there.

 

"Do you know what you're going to say to him?"

 

"Not yet."

 

"You have a death wish, partner?"

 

"Not to my knowledge." Rude had reached the doors, which were standing open, and walked through without hesitation. After a slight pause, Reno went in as well, deciding that even if Rude had lost all sense of self-preservation, he should be there to provide backup if needed.

 

To Reno's surprise, the church looked completely empty and almost unchanged since the previous time he had seen it. A row of pews sat on each side as they walked in, although some of them lay scattered about. Great stone columns rose to the ceiling. Double-stacked stained-glass windows that had miraculously survived the years unscathed sparkled with a wide variety of color. In fact, the only sign in the entire building that the city above it had fallen was the great hole in the back wall that let the light pour down on a large field of white and yellow flowers.

 

Rude had stopped several steps in, and Reno walked up beside him. "So, where is he?" Reno asked. Rude merely shrugged, still scanning with his eyes. Reno sighed and looked around again, moving a bit further into the room. His gaze wandered over the flower bed again, and this time he noticed two black lumps lying in the middle of it, neither of them moving.

 

"Shit!" Reno cried, suddenly realizing what they were, and ran across the room to them, Rude following on his heels. A quick check reassured him they were both still alive, but neither looked very good. Tifa looked like she had been smacked around quite a bit, and Cloud had turned an ugly shade of white. Neither responded to anything Reno did.

 

"Damn it," Reno said after a few minutes. "What happened here?"

 

Rude had wandered off to inspect the area. He replied from the remains of a stone column, "Looks like a fight."

 

"How can you tell?"

 

"This damage is fresh." Rude sifted some of the dust between his gloved fingers. Then he wandered over to a shoulder-high dent in the back wall. "This one, too."

 

Reno looked down at Tifa's face, her bruises telling new stories. "Must have been one of Kadaj's creeps."

 

"Very likely."

 

Reno stood from where he had knelt next to the pair and brushed the dirt and petals from his pants. He turned to Rude who had walked over to him again. "So, hospital you think? Or home?"

 

"You know where 'home' is for them?"

 

"Not exactly, but I have their address, so I can figure it out."

 

Rude gazed down at them for a long moment before replying, "Home." He bent down and scooped Tifa up in his arms. He had turned and begun to walk out when Reno stopped him.

 

"Wait a minute! How come you get to carry the pretty and, more importantly, light girl while I get stuck with the sword-toting musclehead?"

 

Rude looked down at Tifa, then back up at Reno, and replied seriously, "Because I picked her up first." He turned and carried her out.

 

Grumbling, Reno glared down at Cloud. He had half-raised a foot to kick him in frustration when he saw something all too familiar. Black. Everywhere. The removal of Tifa had revealed a patch of flowers covered in Geostigma discharge. Cloud's ashen face suddenly meant much more.

 

Reno knelt down again, this time scanning Cloud for the signs he had come to know so well from taking care of Rufus. The glove of Cloud's left hand, he discovered, had a thin film of discharge along the outer line. The stigma could have settled on his hand, the way it had done with the President, but the long billowy sleeve on Cloud's left arm drew Reno's eye. Gently, he reached out and pushed the fabric up towards Cloud's shoulder, exposing the flesh hidden underneath.

 

Reno sucked his breath in sharply through his teeth. The poor sap. No wonder he wants to be alone. He stared at it a moment more, hypnotized by the horrific sight, before releasing the sleeve and sitting back. This terrible disease. How many would it claim before it was finished? Reno didn't know much about it -- no one did -- but it looked to him like Cloud didn't have much time left. And then those who cared about him, Tifa in particular, would be heart-broken.

 

Very slowly, a sly grin spread over Reno's face. He took Cloud's wrists, wrapped them around his neck, and, with a fair amount of difficulty, stood up, hefting the other man onto his back. As he shuffled out of the church and began the all too long walk back to the car, his mind plotted. Oh yes, Rude would pay for leaving him to carry this idiot. Reno was going to tease him within an inch of his life.