Crawling

DISCLOSURE: I don’t any of these FFVII characters, they are owned by Square Enix and not by a poor UNI student such as myself

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CHAPTER ONE

Reno pressed his face against the glass, his warm breath misting up the glass as he observed the slim figure in the corner of the room. A tight ball of black leather and silver hair was all he could make out; as the figure was curled up so tightly into himself Reno couldn’t see his face or any distinguishable features.

“So which one is it?” he heard Rude ask, from behind him but he zoned the voices out as he continued surveying the clone.

He had long since guessed it was the longer haired one of the trio, the one he, himself, had fought, due to the fact Kadaj had gone willingly to the life stream and this man was too slim of body to be the other, larger built one. Though, a frown now appearing on his brow, he had no idea what his is and it irritated him to no end.

However he clearly remembered the way this clone had been before the explosion, tall, proud and bloody arrogant, though not as much as Reno himself.

Long platinum hair flowing loosely down his back and over a well chiselled, beautiful and familiar face, the resemblance between this man and Sephiroth both creep and somewhat worrisome.

His cat-like eyes peering at him from behind silver strands, the green pools mocking him while his quiet, calm and velvet sounding voice had taunted him with words that had wounded his Turk pride, enough that he had no control over the blind rage that had filled him, the red overcoming his senses.

Every movement graceful, almost feline-like, every attack timed perfectly with his, almost like they had been dancing, a dangerous and deadly dance.

Now look at him, broken and shattered, reduced to a shuddering mess in ShinRA Headquarters.

Reno shook his head, Tseng hadn’t held back to get him to talk, most likely getting some pay back for the torture Elena and himself had gone through by this clone’s hands. Reno, however, felt some pride that through all the pain inflicted on him the clone hadn’t said a word or even made a sound.

Reno lent his forehead more against the glass and closed his eyes for a moment, he pitied the clone, strange as it sound and he didn’t know why. But that was all he could feel, he couldn’t feel any anger or hatred towards him. Not even when he thought on what this man and his brothers had done to Tseng, Elena and all the children stricken by the Geostigma.

As he reopened his eyes he noticed a pair of pain filled eyes peering out of the ball of tight leather that lay in the corner; the clone was looking directly at him.

Reno turned away, unable to stand the expression in those eyes. The hurt, torment and anguish in them were ripping his soul apart and it hurt, bad.

The door behind him opened causing him to turn as Rufus Shinra entered. Following close on his heels was Elena and a doctor that Reno was sure he had never seen before.

Rufus looked at each Turk in turn, his steel blue eyes assessing them with his intense gaze before he looked back at Tseng.
“Well?” he asked, a fine blond brow rose in question. Tseng shook his head.
“Sorry Sir, we haven’t been able to get anything out of him just yet” he replied turning his head to look at the clone.
“He sure is a tough one” he continued, slight admiration in his voice.

Rufus scratched his chin slightly as he listened; then walked into the room holding the clone.

The Turks quickly followed their weapons in easy reach, though Reno could feel that the clone poised no threat in his current condition, they had to be prepared for anything and they didn’t know what the clone is capable of when pushed to far and clearly in a painful and unstable state of mind.

Rufus bent down to peer at the clone’s face, his blue eyes softer in colour. The clone met his eyes for only a moment before recognition flared in his eyes and he flinched and looked away.

Rufus straightened, brushed down his pristine white suit and looked at the doctor now standing at his shoulder.
“Fix him up then have him moved to more comfortable settings” he said before walking out of the room, Tseng and Elena following.

Reno decided to stay behind and so did Rude, his large frame filling the doorway as he kept an on the clone from there.

The doctor reached down gently towards the clone but quickly pulled back his hand in shock at the cry of fear that issued from between the clone’s pale lips. At that cry Reno felt his heart break, it was a cry that a small child made when terrified beyond measure.

Reno glared at the doctor before he cautiously walked up to the clone, not sure of what he was doing, and making sure his movements were as less threatening as possible, reached down and placed a hand gently on the other man’s shuddering back.

The clone stiffened at that gentle touch and quickly looked up at the Turk now leaning over him. Fear filled eyes fixed onto the other man’s as he watched Reno kneel down and smile at him kindly.

“Its ok, we’re not going to hurt you” he said softly, the words came out of his mouth unbidden, shocking himself. This was totally beyond his true nature but strangely he felt the need and also the want to help this usually strong clone, this man who lay before him now in such a fragile way.

The clone just stared at him, confusion evident in his green eyes, a tilt now to his head as he surveyed Reno’s face for the hint of hostility of falsehood.

Reno’s smile widened and he reached out a slim fingered hand once again towards the clone. He could feel the gazes of both the doctor and Rude on his back but he easily zoned them out, so it was just him and the clone alone in the room, no other distractions or causes of fear.

The clone’s eyes held his as he was clearly assessing him, but then the clone reached out with one of his own slim, long fingered black clad hands to grasp Reno’s.

Reno gripped his hand in a comforting but strong grip, feeling how delicate this clone really was. The clone’s fingers, as they wrapped tightly around his own, were almost like fine china, brittle but with a strength holding them together.

Reno stood up, pulling the clone up with him. But he had to quickly grab his arm tightly as he staggered on a clearly broken ankle.

The clone looked at him from behind long silver strands, his eyes pleading with him, pain flowing from them in waves.

Though he seemed to be in great pain, no moan, grunt or cry issued from his mouth.
“Come on man, sit down here and we’ll fix you up” Reno said, as Rude quickly grabbed a seat, placing it behind the clone, so Reno could gently lower him down.

He indicated to the doctor, who came up, his bag in a tight grasp, his fear of the clone apparent in his eyes and body language. He got no closer than two feet from him before the clone stiffened and sunk further down in his seat. His white, even teeth were bared in a silent snarl, his eyes glowing with anger as they fixed onto the doctor coming towards him.

That startled Reno; it was the most threatening thing he had done all day. Reno looked down and he could still see the clone’s hand grasping his tightly. He couldn’t help but wonder if the clone trusted him.

Rude’s tap on his shoulder brought him from his thoughts. “What?” he asked looking up at his partner. Rude waved a large hand towards the doctor’s clean white coat.
“I think his fear has something to do with his white coat.” He said softly. Reno raised an eyebrow in apparent confusion.
“Eh?” he managed to mumble. Rude sighed.
“You read the reports right?” Rude asked, Reno nodded then it dawned on him.
“Oh right, the labs” he said almost slapping his forehead.

He turned to the doctor, who still stood in shock his eyes fixed onto the clone in fear.
“Take off your coat and hide it” Reno instructed. The doctor frowned at him in confusion, causing Reno to grin at him.
“Trust me, it’ll help” he said. The doctor sighed but did as instructed and quickly undid his coat. He looked around before hiding it under the table.

The difference it made in the clone was astounding, his eyes weren’t as wide, his body had relaxed slightly in the chair and his grip on Reno’s hand was not as strong.

The doctor looked at Reno in amazement and question; Reno just shrugged in answer but he still had to hold back the laughter that wanted to issue from his mouth. The look on the doctor’s face was just priceless.

The doctor shook his head to regain his composure before he bent to check over the clone.

His wounds had already begun to heal, some needing only slight attention, making Reno wonder about the strength and endurance of the clones.

The cuts on the clone’s face were already totally healed leaving only bruises in there place. But even those were fading, sending chills down every spine of those watching on.

The bad slashes on his chest and back were half healed, however the clone did tense up when the doctor cleaned them up before bandaging his chest.

The only thing that seemed to worry the doctor was the broken ankle; it had already started re- setting itself, but not in the right position.
The doctor explained to the clone that he has to re-set it properly by re-breaking it and setting it himself.

The clone looked at him for a moment before nodding his head in both understanding and acceptance.

Reno was astounded at this clone’s pain tolerance, he had only flinched and gritted his teeth when the bone had been re-set, Reno himself admitting he would have probably had cried out.

After his assessment the doctor packed up his gear and left, leaving Reno and Rude with the task of escorting the clone to his allocated room. Before hand Reno had to call Tseng twice to find out the exact location of the room.

It was slow due to the fact the clone was now limping in pain, though most of his weight was supported by Rude as the cone lent against him, an arm around his broad shoulders, one of Reno’s arms around his waist in extra support, not going unnoticed by the clone. His eyes filled with thanks, which Reno acknowledged with a nod.

When they entered the room however he promptly fainted into a pain filled sleep, the days of sleeplessness and running finally catching up to him.

Reno watched Rude lift him gently and laid him on the bed. Reno went and sat in the not so comfy looking chair next to it and looked up at his partner.
“I’ll take first watch.” He said in explanation to Rude’s raised brow. Rude nodded, before patting him on the shoulder and exiting the room.

Reno sighed quietly and lent back more in the chair, his gaze never leaving the sleeping clone.

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Well there you have it the next chapter.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Please read and review. I really appreciate them. If you find any grammar and spelling mistakes please let me know.

Thanks

CrIpPlEd AnGeL