(no subject)

[midgarhorizon]

Characters: Reno
Setting: The days following the evil league meeting
Format: either
Summary: Dealing with the aftermath and general "wtf reno" catch all.
Warnings: It's Reno




All around the Tower: Various places

Reno was going about his business, almost a bit too normal, though he did look confused once in a while, pausing and looking around. Of course, he was keeping his eye out for Xion to talk with her about what happened, but so far, he hadn't seen her... he wanted her to know he was all right, that nothing bad had happened, just some torture and a death. It seemed like the best thing to do, considering the circumstances.

And the fact he couldn't find her, or Elena for that matter (hadn't Ganondorf said something about a blond friend?) that had him just a bit worried. Nothing was wrong, right? They'd both escaped, so she... should have been somewhere he could find her, at least. Right?

.

Comments

In some random hallway

[provenworth]

Elena had been in a panic since hearing the story from Xion as to what happened to Reno during the convention of evil doers. The fact that Ganondorf was involved was even more alarming. That man did not sit well with her at all - he had this vibe about him that made her hair stand on end. A vibe she should have picked up on. Sure, he had been polite and conversed with her before the event started. Until he did that little magic trick on her...

That asshole was the cause of her current....ailment. He had eyed her in such a way, almost like hatred, and it was one that she wouldn't ever forget. So now, because of her slow reaction she was stuck in this unfortunate state of being less than six inches tall. Thank Shiva Xion had found her, or else who knows how long she would have been stuck in that crystal?

An additional downside to the obvious one of being so damn small was her new mode of transportation. It was absolutely embarrassing that she had to utilize a pilfered hamster ball to get around the tower in some semblance of efficiency. But pride came secondary to her current mission - one she'd expanded to the new recruits as well - which was to find Reno. From what Xion had told her, he was in far greater danger than she had been. If Ganon touched just one hair of his head...

It was the familiar gait, red hair, and lanky build that caught her eye as it rounded a corner, disappearing down another hall. She called out his name, hoping that despite her even smaller stature, that his ears would pick up some sort of noise she could make. Picking up speed, Elena pushed at the plastic around her, attempting to turn sharply at the corner to chase after him. However, she overshot, the plastic moving too quickly beneath her feet, turning not quite sharply enough, and it ran straight into the wall. Like a ping-pong ball, the little hamster ball skittered across the floor, going from one side of the hallway to the other, with Elena trapped inside and hanging on for dear life.

Re: In some random hallway

[midgarhorizon]

The skittering of plastic and the ping! of something hitting the wall made him turn around, EMR suddenly in his hand. Monsters liked sneaking up on people even when people least suspected it, and Reno was always prepared for a fight.

But when he saw the ball, he blinked, and squinted, trying to see what was inside.

He bent down and picked it up, and finally realized it was a tiny human.

"....Elena? W-... what the-.... What the hell are ya doing in a hamster ball?! The hell happened to ya?! I didn't know anyone had a mini materia."

[provenworth]

Round and round she went and when she would stop she could never have guessed. It was both her luck and dismay that the inside of the ball had little curved pieces, obviously meant for some little critter to get a hold of to keep moving. She'd been knocked against several of those before finally grabbing hold of one the the end duration of her spin. That is, until Reno finally picked her up.

Holding her head, she finally got to her feet, holding onto one side of the ball, attempting to at least get her hair back into place. Hopefully the pain in her ribs would die down eventually.

"Reno! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

At least getting out of the ball was no trouble for creatures with thumbs, using the bends in plastic to twist the round opening unlocked and pushing it off. Holding onto the edge, she leaned out and forward, looking very much put off by the entire situation.

"You want to know why I'm in a hamster ball? Its because that orange-headed asshole shrank me! That bastard mini-ed me, stuck me in a crystal, left me on Xion's pillow, and now the only way I get around is in this damn thing!"

[midgarhorizon]

Reno had to pause to process that for a moment, just staring at her in astonishment hanging out of the hamster ball.

"He... shrank you?"

Giving another good ten second pause, he burst out laughing. He couldn't help it. The absurdity of Ganondorf shrinking Elena so she had to run around the Tower in a hamster ball.

[provenworth]

Lips pursed into an angry frown, hardly able to understand how he couldn't see the severity of her situation like she did. With so few experienced Turks around, and two new recruits that needed extra attention, being stuck this size did nothing to support their efforts.

"I don't see what's so funny about this..."

No. She wasn't going to laugh - no matter if she could see some humor in it. While she wasn't normally the tiniest of Turks - Cissnei held that title - the title would fit perfectly right now.

"But, seriously Reno, that guy is serious bad news and dangerous if he holds this type of power. Or worse." Worse being the most important word there. Because there was just something about that man that oozed power. Power that could be lethal.

"Where have you been, anyway? Xion told me about what happened after the Big-Old-Bad-Guy Meeting - about how Ganon used her against you, outright attacked you and Xion." Her frown shifts into a furious scowl. "Just who the hell is that guy? What is your connection to him?"

[midgarhorizon]

Something in his head swam, and he felt rather sick to his stomach. Just making a face, he gave a sheepish grin. "Yeah, well... uh... he sort of tortured me and then killed me, so it isn't like I've just been hiding out." Yes it was.

"Look... I know. I know! That's the whole point. He's easily the baddest dude in the entire Tower. I was sort of spying on him. I know he's really that powerful, that's why I was keeping an eye on him. But that's all over with now. I got found out, so... no real point going back."

Now he was frowning at the tiny Elena. That same old 'you messed up big time, rookie' frown he used to use on her when she did silly things like getting kidnapped by mob bosses. "Why'd you follow me down there? I left a letter explaining it all." Pause. "You could have read that, or something. 'Sides, I thought you'd heard about it from one of the others. I know I told Rude and Siira when they were here, and I definitely told Tseng."

He carefully brought the ball in and tucked it between his arm and stomach, for better stability. "So how're you expecting to get unshrunk? I don't exactly have a heal materia on me. 'Suppose you could ask Cloud, but I haven't seen him in a while."

[provenworth]

"Sort of tortured you?! And then killed you?!" Elena was livid. It was bad enough that they were all stuck in this tower that had people in charge that liked to do horrible things to the people inside it. But to know that there was danger even amongst the trapped individuals only emphasized the struggle to survive.

She stayed quiet, listening to his excuses, but it doesn't stop the knots in her stomach from tightening and the itchy trigger finger. Neither does it soften the furious look on her face. With Tseng, Rusty, Rude and all the others gone, he was all she had left. And she would be damned if she let anything happen to him. Especially anything that involved that man. "What in Gaia's name made you think that taking him on alone would be a good idea? If you knew he was that tough, you should have had back-up. Something! Anything!"

Oh no - that look. The one that normally shut her up, think back to her actions. And she had over the past week, seeing that there wasn't that much she could do in her current condition. Which is why she's able to hold his gaze, her mouth a straight line in utmost seriousness. "I'm sure I heard something, but that's not the point. It's my job as a Turk to keep aware of the movements of major players. Furthermore, You were acting alone – you know how dangerous that is! And, in case you haven't heard yet, they're all gone. Rude. Rusty. Tseng. All of them..."

Elena paused, giving him a moment to let the news sink it. It had been hard news to accept – she had gone from room to room, trying to find them with no success. They were, in fact, the last two of original Turks left in the Tower. Little hands reached out, hesitating before touching at the white of his shirt, head craning upwards to look at him. "We'll figure that out later. But, firstly, I need you to stop doing things on your own and tell me what you're doing from now own. You're taking too many risks and I don't like it."

[midgarhorizon]

"Elena." Reno snapped, a little bit too sharply. "I know they're gone, but I'm not acting alone. Zelda and Gandalf are aware of what I'm doing. And it was better this way." His angry look remained, focused on her, though that was a little bit more difficult now that she was tiny.

"If I had backup, he would have found me out sooner. He's dangerous, and sinister, and he could easily have the population of the Tower under his control. I felt any risk was worth keeping an eye on him in order to protect the rest of them. So what if I got tortured and died. It wasn't that much worse than other things I've been put through here. Unless this guy leaves the Tower there's always going to be that danger of full on war between the inmates. Look..." Now his expression melted into something like helplessness, even a bit of sadness thrown in, too. "I got a lot to make up for, Elena. This is my way of doin' it."

[provenworth]

Elena visibly flinched, his tone and volume overwhelming to her smaller size, but kept her attention focused on him. "Oh really? Then where the hell were they when you were being attacked? Hmm?"

Arms folded over her chest, mouth scowling up at him. Okay, so there was a little bit of logic behind why he was being so careless with his own life. But on the other hand, he was still risking his life - even if a person was brought back after each death. Giving an audible sigh, she leaned back against the opening.

"While I agree, he needs to be watched, I don't agree what you're doing. You're taking on a great deal of risk all by yourself and he-."

She stopped, surprised by the shift in tone. Hard lines softened and she was damning her small size, otherwise she would have hugged him. Anything to get that heartbreaking look of his face.

"If that's how it is, then at least let me help you. You don't have to be in this by yourself. And I don't think you're considering how the people around you are being affected by watching everything that happens to you. Do you think Xion and Shion like seeing you hurt?"

So like the 28th? What is time

[savedbyasong]

Shion continued fighting, fear wild in his arms, he still held Elena's gun but it had long ran out of bullets and now he was just thrashing around with it when he felt himself being pulled up again and he was falling once more.

He screamed, our of rage and fear trying to see through the blood that had coated him, trying to find out what was coming, what monstrosity he had to face next.

It was probably best he didn't know, because he was falling right on top of Reno.

yeah!

[midgarhorizon]

Being hit unexpectedly was sort of a common occurance in the Tower, what with the monsters sometimes bothering him and then other things happening, but being dropped on was a new one.

Especially when the dropper was covered in blood.

The boy collided with Reno, sending them both to the ground, but hey, at least Reno broke his fall?

Groaning, Reno lifted his head and pushed the kid off, and then... just stared at Shion.

"...What the hell did you do now?"

[savedbyasong]

Shion was still panicking, kicking out at everything that came close to him. Which included Reno. But the voice calmed him, he scrambled up looking for monsters or other horrors.

He was still clutching the gun in his hand, even if it was useless now. He blinked at Reno. "I... Ganondorf..."

He was shaking like a leaf. "Reno..."

[midgarhorizon]

With great dignity, Reno stood up and brushed at his clothes, frowning at the blood. He could take a few kicks, but the blabbering had his attention.

"Ganondorf?! What did you do?! Did you go see him or something? Dammit, Shion! You should have come talk to me."

[savedbyasong]

"He hurt you!" The cold anger hadn't left him yet, he still wanted to hurt him. He was still out there, he could hurt Reno again, or Xion or Elena...

He stood up, shaking with fear but calming. And with calm came anger, "Do you have spare bullets?"

[midgarhorizon]

Reno snorted, and shook his head. "No, and I wouldn't give ya any even if I did. And so what if he did? I'm fine now. Here, and healthy. Nothin' that hasn't happened before."

[savedbyasong]

Shion glared at him and turned to walk down the corridor, he thought Elena probably had some bullets in her trunk; he probably should have taken them to begin with.

"He hurt Xion too."

And she wasn't fine. No matter what she said.

[midgarhorizon]

"...I know. I was there. But she has you and me and her other friends to help her." Reno frowned at the kid. "Look, Shion. It's become really clear this guy is really bad news, there's no way of me going head to head with him and winning. It's best not to provoke him. Besides..." He trailed off, taking a deep breath and placed both hands on Shion's shoulders. "Shion, I need ya to stop flying off the handle. I'm getting worried about you, and it's worse because you don't have the mental training I do when going int a battle. You totally lose it whenever something happens, and that's gonna get you killed a lot more than you need to be. You need a cool head in times like that. On top of it, I can brush that kinda crap off, you can't. And neither can Xion. I'll be having a talk with her, too."

Prooooobably the 30th?

[attheclocktower]

[The reason he can't find her is probably because she's been laying low. If he looks long enough though, he'll find her, in a quiet corner of the library with a book in hand, curled up with her hood up.

She's clearly nervous though, not keeping her eyes on the page for too long, and jumping at noises, to the point where unless Reno is silent as he approaches, she'll probably hear him coming, and have wide eyes fixed on him.

And if he is silent? Well, when he does finally catch her attention he'll probably find a Keyblade between them before she realizes who it is.]

[midgarhorizon]

[Reno could definitely be silent when he chose, and that was precisely what he did up until he settled in the next chair over and touched her shoulder.]

Xion.

[attheclocktower]

[Xion started, almost violently, jerking away from the hand so far that she slipped off the chair, her feet getting caught in the table's legs, causing her to fall onto the ground with a thump. She ignored it though, turning to face the person who'd spoken and...

The tension leaked out of her almost at once, though her heart was still pounding.]

Reno?

[Don't scare her like that ;~;]

[midgarhorizon]

[And this is him pulling away a bit]

You okay there, kiddo?

[attheclocktower]

I'm fine.

[She rubs her side a little, untangling her feet and pushing herself back up into the chair. Once there, she stares down at her hands, occasionally glancing over at him, wondering. She... hasn't seen him since the meeting, since...

At last, she mumbles]

Sorry.

[midgarhorizon]

Don't be sorry.

[Shifting in his seat.]

Hey... uh... so where have ya been? What happened after you escaped?

[attheclocktower]

[Xion shifts a little.]

He didn't want us to leave. We had to fight our way out. After that... Riku took me to the room of someone from our worlds... I don't think you know him but... he's... a friend.

[A little bit awkward of a way to refer to him, because of who that particular Terra... reminded her of a great deal, but... he'd proven that he cared, enough that Xion trusted him too.]

[midgarhorizon]

So it was Riku I saw... but you got out without being hurt, right? That's good.

[This felt so awkward.]