A/N This story is in the pre-slash stage at the moment. For those of you who clicked on this fiction and don't know what that means, it means there is not yet, but there are full intentions of a yaoi or homosexual relationship. If this squicks you, feel free to pass this fic by. All of the rest of you, please be patient as I do enjoy building a relationship up. Trust me, I want it just as much as you. Enjoy!

A faint groan, hoarse in his throat, alerted him that he wasn't dead. However, it may have been less painful. He could feel the crush of the rocks above him and all across his body.

He had to get up.

This decision also brought some new pain to light. His chest screamed at the movement, his forehead throbbed anew and his right arm was useless to try to push off the rubble.

His left arm, badly bruised, finally was able to clear off enough of the dusty stone for the light to stream onto him--turning his vision red behind his eyelids. He furrowed his brow as he forced his eyes open. The light hurt just as much as his other injuries. His head pounded as he pushed himself up weakly, and he had to catch himself from falling back down into the blackness the small movement invited.

Bits of the ruined building fell from his form as he moved slowly, extracting himself from underneath the rubble. Another groan of pain caught in his dusty throat, and he blinked for a few moments, looking at the destruction around him.

Big Brother was very thorough... That thought spurred another however.

Loz. Was he still alive? Could he even hope? He sought desperately through his mind to catch even a glimpse of a memory that could say if he too had survived the explosion, what had happened to him, or if he could feel him near at all. He could not.

Then, with a dry sob, he remembered again. Kadaj. Kadaj could not even be hoped for. He'd seen him returned to the lifestream with his own eyes.

He closed his eyes and drew up his good arm ineffectually to block that memory from flashing before him. Another small gasp of pain, both from his injuries, and the loss of his brothers.

He could not allow himself to stay here. He saw the slow drip from his forehead stained on his glove when he pulled it away. He needed to get away; to rest, and allow his body to heal. It was still too dangerous in this place.

He stiffly pushed his knees up, gathered what little strength he had with new determination. Already, he could feel the tissues of his wounds starting to knit together--to find their places in joining again, and he grit his teeth against the discomforting feeling. He had never liked the feeling of the healing tissues... and it was made worse by the extent of his injuries.

His legs were unsteady beneath him, and he staggered slightly, tripping over the uneven terrain of the wreckage. He cradled his fractured arm, holding it against the spasms that came with the setting bones as his genetically altered system treated the internal break, and began his exit.

It was a slow and laboursome process. The air was still thick with the cement dust that clung to the inside of his lungs, and he had to stop often to catch his breath and check that the wound on his head was not bleeding more profusely. It seemed that the building that they had found Big Brother on had collapsed only partially, and had thrown him into the interior that still stood.

It would seem this way, especially as he faced the darkening depths of a stairwell that would have to be his only way down. He leaned against the jutting structure of wall that still remained intact above the stairs, and took a deep breath as he forced himself not to grimace as he took the first step down.

The daylight was starting to fade on the scene of the most recently destroyed building of Midgar, and Reno kicked at a stone with the side of his boot.

"Hey Rude, I don't understand why Shinra thinks it's so important we have to stay here and guard this heap of rubble." His nightstick rested casually on his shoulder, and he leaned up against a large piece of cement that jutted out of the road as a monument to the powerful explosion that had rended it from the building.

Rude crossed his arms, his expression hidden, as always, behind his dark sunglasses.

"Maybe he knows something we don't huh?" Reno chuckled. Thank god it was almost time for the Turks to change watch shifts. Reno always hated doing these bogus jobs; nowadays Shinra seemed to just be looking for something to keep his most notorious agency busy while his company started finding ways to get back the trust of the people; but he was glad that Tseng and Elena (who had recovered from their painful encounter with those Sephiroth clones), would be taking over at sunset.

Rude nodded, a hint of a smile curling the corners of his lips, and joined his partner, leaning his shoulder against the chunk of cement.

"Stop complaining." He said, still with that small smile, "You just don't like it when you don't get to kick anyone's ass on the job."

"That's why I'm still here, ain't it?" Reno smirked, his eyes narrowing as he smiled back. "But with the direction that Shinra seems to be taking now, I doubt that we're going to be able to--"His sentence cut off, and he squinted towards the remnants of the building in the declining light.

Rude saw it at the exact same moment, their attention caught by the movement of a figure emerging from the dark hollows between the columns of concrete.

"What the hell?" Reno said, instantly pulled from his bored stance, and the two Turks passed a look between them. An understanding.

This was why Shinra had them here.

With an indistinct nod, the two split up and slunk towards the building, and that dust covered figure.

Reno noted the slight stumble of the figure's gait, and as he got closer, the obvious injuries that he was cradling.

It was also obvious now who this was.

One of those silver-haired brothers. One of the clones; the one who'd kicked his ass before. He cursed at him silently.

The clone's head turned at the sound of Reno's boots as they carelessly snapped a chunk of rubble beneath them. For a moment, Reno could have sworn he saw a glimmer of hope in those stark cat-slitted eyes, which narrowed at his appearance.

For one brief instant, he had thought--wished it had been Loz. But as soon as he saw that flash of red hair through his clouded vision, he had snarled at the Turk's timing.

'I need more time before this', he thought as he grit his teeth against the pain in his limbs, and dropped his arm to his side as he faced the redhead.

"You..." He said simply, pleased that at least his voice was working and didn't betray the hurt he felt.

The Turk only smirked, his nightstick tapping threateningly on his shoulder.

"You are a tough little bastard aren't you? You should be dead." Reno said, looking far too self satisfied for the clone's tastes, whose nostrils flared slightly.

"I should be." the clone said blankly, eyes searching for a way around the obstacle, trying not to show his favoured side, his weakness. "But I'm not. Too bad for you." He said with false bravado.

"Oh, and what are you going to do? Fight me in your condition? You're obviously hurt." Reno grinned again. "From where I see it, you have no choice."

That was right, he didn't have a choice. But that didn't prevent him from trying. The clone turned, darting back towards the ruined building--the only direction away from the redhead, but was dropped to one knee by a sharp crack on his injured shoulder.

He caught himself from crying out, and straightened himself up, slowly, purposefully, never breaking eye contact with the other.

Fine.

The clone struck out quickly, launching himself at the Turk, and his last chance of freedom.

Reno blocked the punch with his nightstick, swirling it off his shoulder and pushed the clone backwards. He was surprised the man could move as much as he did--no one looking that hurt should be able to bend away from his kick that way...

The clone, however, was acting purely on instinct, the pain was blocked out by the simple need to escape. He could feel it hammering in his temple along with the gash on his head, and he fought one-handed for that increasingly futile possibility.

The EMR contacted the silver-haired man square in the chest (had he had his other arm functional, he would have blocked it), and the shockwave that issued from it knocked the wind from him, and he crumpled back down to the stone, coughing strings of blood.

Yeah, the clone was in no condition to fight really, and thank god. If he could fight like that on the brink of survival, it was no wonder Reno hadn't been able to land more than a few hits before.

Rude appeared on the sidelines of Reno's peripheral vision, gun out and aimed at the silver-haired man on the ground.

"Too late Rude, the threat has been neutralized." Reno threw a satisfied smirk at his partner.

Their earpieces crackled to life.

"Rude, Reno, where the fuck are you? We were supposed to change shift ten minutes ago" It was Elena, and she and Tseng were obviously at the meeting place.

"Sorry Elena, we had an incident. We'll be bringing back one of the clones to custody." Rude said, lifting his wrist with the transmitter to his mouth. The intercom was silent for a moment.

"Where are you? We'll arrange transport."

As Rude gave the exact coordinates of the block they were on, Reno stood over the broken man on the pavement. It looked like all of the fight had suddenly evaporated from his body, as he struggled for even the shallowest of breaths.

"We'll take you back to Shinra, find out what he wants to do with you." The redhead said aloud. He wasn't sure why he felt he needed to explain himself, but something about the clone was unsettling. "You'll be fine."

"Fine?" the other repeated, his voice echoing the weakness he didn't want to show, but had no choice now. "If that will make you feel better about what they will do to me, then be it on your own conscience." He managed to lift his head from the pavement weakly, and looked into the startling blue eyes of the redheaded Turk.

Reno was taken aback by the emotion shown in those eyes. Spite, hate--fear? Fear of what? But before he could discern more, the clone's mako eyes rolled back and the silver-haired man fell back in unconsciousness.