I was never really inspired by 'Turk in Training'. I couldn't find the information I needed to continue. This, however, seems to be coming quite naturally for me ^.^ I hope you enjoy it. This is based a year after the events of Advent Children c:

I do not own Final Fantasy VII or its characters-they belong to Square-Enix/Squaresoft :3

Two days had passed since the Turks had heard any word from Elena, the youngest and most determined of their covert group. She hadn't answered her phone once during this time, which wasn't like her at all.

Though the Turks had cause to worry, they displayed no such emotion. There were reasons behind everything, and they knew that Elena was strong enough to take care of herself-she was a capable woman. Yet still, Tseng felt the need to send his most valuable Turk to check up on her.

After banging heavily for several moments on the front door of Elena's new house, Reno decided to open it himself. He pulled his keychain from his pocket and went through them all, but couldn't find the key to this house. He'd been expecting as much. Whilst all the Turks held keys to all their member's households, Reno hadn't received the key to open Elena's. He was left with her old apartment key, which he tossed casually into to the garden by his side.

Observing her house, he couldn't help but sigh. The two-storey building was made of a strong, cream coloured wood that gave it a cottage-like feel, and when combined with the sight and scent of the many yellow flowers that bloomed throughout the garden, it made his apartment look like trash. He would have had the money to buy his own house, after so many years of working for the Turks, if he hadn't spent it all on the flashy black Verona he barely used. He regretted that.

Reno stepped over to the window by the front door and tried to pull at it, but as he'd suspected, it didn't budge. The new homes that Midgar had built after the events of Meteor were kept very secure, unlike the older buildings who's front doors swung open by a mere push.

However, this place was not secure enough to stop a rock from smashing a window.

An alarm sounded instantly, but Reno didn't care. He could explain everything to the police later. He had only been inside Elena's new home once before, yet as a Turk, he had learned to survey and remember places exceptionally well. He checked every room of the house, until he finally reached her bedroom.

It was there she lay, handcuffed onto the bedpost and naked, with a long, yet thankfully thin red line trailing from her waist to her breast. The cream coloured sheets that lay crumbled at the end of her bed were spotted with blood. It was then he noticed the large gash that coursed down her upper leg.

Reno almost choked, frozen in place for a moment. His emotions prevented him from crying out to her and the horror he was seeing.

His panic and shock quickly formed into rage, a rage that melted down his defenses and gave him the will to speak again.

"Elena!" Dialling Tseng's number, Reno bolted over to the unconscious woman and checked her pulse, his breathing rapid and his hand trembling. It was beating faintly. Relief swamped him.

"Tseng? Tseng, Elena's...Well to put it simply..." He observed the ruffled and blood stained bed with a grimace. "Elena's been raped."

The Turks were thankful that Elena hadn't died of blood loss. The two gashes could have proved to be fatal, and combined with the fact that she was found unconscious, bound and with her mouth taped, she was very lucky to be alive.

There were two inevitable questions in all three men's minds that couldn't be answered until Elena awoke. How did this happen? Who did this? Surely there couldn't be someone with a grudge against her.

Tseng left the hospital room first after saying one final goodbye. Rude followed suit a few minutes later, when the tense silence between the three Turks became unbearable. But Reno stayed for a while, having nothing better to do than watch and wait.

As he sat backwards in his chair, he found himself being fascinated by the way her eyelids twitched unwillingly. He'd heard that when a person did this, it meant that they were in a stage of sleep known as 'REM' or 'Rapid Eye Movement'. It was the stage where dreams occurred.

He wondered what women dreamt about. Girl day outs? Hot boyfriends? Prancing chocobos? He almost fell asleep thinking about it, and when he realised, he jerked up from his seat. He'd probably overstayed his welcome. Walking towards the door, he looked back at the sleeping figure, scanning her expression. She looked peaceful.

The faintest of smiles crossed Reno's lips. He was proud of her. "See ya, Elena."

"No, stop."

Reno's eyes widened in hope and he turned around abruptly. But she was still asleep. Her brows were creased in frustration, and her lips had curled into a scowl. She was having a nightmare.

'Or maybe,' he added, 'remembering.'

With a weary expression, Reno left the room.

The doctor's report returned the next day, Friday, when Elena had woken up. She had two wounds, one on the upper leg and one on her side-both which would heal within a few weeks. She was not pregnant, and suffered from no other injuries-physically or mentally. This was due to the fact that on the night of her attack, she'd been injected with a substance that would make her forget what had occurred. She couldn't recall anything from the time she went home from work on Tuesday, which had its positives and its negatives.

It seemed to be a simple situation. The person that had done this to her had an intent of harming her, but seemingly only as a warning. It was as if the person had known she would be rescued. Either this person was well trained and had other motives, or this person was simply an old acquaintance that wanted to teach her a lesson.

After hearing the doctor's satisfying report, the three Turks entered Elena's room. She was smiling faintly, but it was laced with puzzlement. As they were expecting.

"So, Elena, do ya remember anything?" Reno started instantly, earning the sharp glares from the two men next to him. They didn't protest, however, as they were both inwardly wondering the same thing.

Elena's soft smile morphed into a frown of concentration. She shook her head. "I remember going home Tuesday night and that's it."

Reno scowled. He never was a patient guy. "Well 'aint that just damn great."

"Reno!" Tseng hissed. He cleared his throat. "That's perfectly fine, Elena. We will begin work on this case immediately. As long as you're healthy, which we have heard, we will leave you to rest."

Elena blinked back befuddlement. "Sure..."

Rude nodded and turned to leave with Tseng, but once again, Reno remained, determined to get the answers he sought.

"Nothing?" He asked, more to himself than Elena. He huffed. "Are there any guys out there that have a grudge against you?"

Elena closed her eyes and thought. Reno didn't trust her eyes being closed anymore. He sat down backwards in a nearby chair and watched her closely.

"Mmm... Nope. I don't think so. And I've never had a boyfriend." She almost choked as she realised what she'd just told him. Of course, the doctor must have had her on some form of relief drug that had loosened her tongue. But Reno didn't seem concerned with that at the moment- he was focused on something. She looked at him expectantly, noting the steely glint in his aquamarine eyes that suggested he had learnt something unfortunate.

'It 'aint often a guy gets away with doin' that to a Turk.' Reno thought, 'So he must be…'

It was then he remembered a case much like this a few years back. After being ordered to assassinate a dangerous threat in the Slums, Reno had been attacked by the wife of the man he had killed. Her escape had led to many troubles afterwards.

"Dammit. Then that means someone must have a grudge against us Turks. They're trying to warn us. Crap freakin' crap!" Reno scowled and slammed his fist against the back of the chair in protest.

Elena winced at his sudden outburst. "We've had heaps of grudges put against us. We've been in danger like this so many times before. What makes this so different?"

Reno crossed his arms defiantly. "Take a look at yourself. No one's ever 'cuffed a Turk to their bed and raped them. Whoever did this really means business."

The woman stared at him, stunned. It seemed as if she had no clue as to the events that had occurred.

"Oh dammit woman, didn't anyone tell you!?"

She looked away hesitantly. Everything was finally making sense, yet to her dismay, she didn't like it. "No."

"Well, whatever." He muttered, hastily shaking away the subject. "I've gotta get back and start work on this. You start Monday."

And with that, Reno left the room.

So, how was it? ^.^

Reviews make me happy c: