Betaed by; goodbye_sun of the awesome editing.
Summary: Shit just hit the fan.
Warnings: AU! Angst.
AN: note the warning folks! And for those who wonder, then i am actually working on the other part of the other story i promised. :) Anyways not much to say, enjoy.

40,000 stars in the evening
Look at them fall from the sky
40,000 reasons for living
40,000 tears in your eye

I would give my life to find it
I would give it all
Catch me if I fall
Catch me if I fall

-REM.

15. 20,000 chances I wasted.

The impact with the ground as the car stopped rolling didn't knock Reno completely unconscious, but he found it difficult to keep his eyes open. Moaning in pain against the dashboard, he willed himself to keep his eyes open. He could hear his dad in his head, 'this my son, is why you should wear a seatbelt'. Reno blinked heavily, and tried in his confused mind to make an assessment of the situation. Someone had shot his car, maybe that someone was on their way, so he had to get out of here and hide. He knew it was a crap plan, given the fact that he was sure he had suffered a concussion and would probably not survive if he fell asleep, but right now he had to get out of here, no matter what.

Using whatever strength he had left in his arms, he turned on his shoulder, cursing that the damn cheap ass car had had to land on its roof. He tried to open the door, but found it was pressed shut from the crash. ”Fuck,” he whined, allowing himself to panic slightly, he pushed the car door once more, but it still wouldn't budge. ”Fuck, fuck!” he panted. He looked down his body to find his leg was caught in the seat. He tried to move it, but nothing happened, it had to be broken. His left leg was fine, just a little bruised, he tried to place his foot on the back of the seat and free his right leg by force, but as he pulled, a excruciating pain shot up his leg. It was broken alright, probably horribly mangled, and he couldn't see it, he could only see some blood tickle down his calf.

He must have dozed off, because the next thing he realized was a voice speaking. ”You had your fun, kiddo, now come out from that damn car,” the voice said.

Reno blinked again, his eyelids heavy. ”I can't,” he croaked in a whisper.

”Did you hear me? Get out of the fucking car, now!” the voice yelled, ”I will give you to the count of ten.”

”I can't,” Reno slurred, not even having the strength it took to raise his arms to try and free his right leg once more.

”Wait!” another voice yelled, a voice that Reno knew all too well. ”Let me talk to him.” Raiden squatted down and looked inside the car, ”You heard him. Get out of the car Reno, now is not the time to play tough.”

Reno starred at Raiden cross-eyed. ”I... Can't,” he mumbled again, ”Stuck.”

Raiden stood up and turned to Constantine. ”I think he's stuck,” he said, ”Should we just pull him?”

Constantine nodded, turning his rifle around using the other end to crash the window in the car door. ”There, you pull him.”

Reno had tried to shield his face from the shards, but had only somewhat succeeded. In his mind he knew this was bad, it was way bad! He would probably die within the next hour, at least he had told Cloud he loved him over the phone, and he hadn't cursed out Tseng either, maybe this was as good as it got? Maybe it was okay if he just closed his eyes and slept like his hazed mind wanted him to? It would sure as shit save him from a lot of things he was sure he didn't look forward to. ”Reno,” he heard Raiden say, ”Give me your hands.”

”No,” Reno mumbled.

”Don't worry brother, I will get you out of there,” Raiden said softly.

”Fuck off,” Reno managed to sneer.

Raiden just reached in through the shards left in the car door, and grabbed Reno's wrists, without too much of an effort. ”Come on,” Raiden said with a smile that looked more predatory than soothing.

”Rai, don't.” Reno turned his head and looked directly at what he assumed still carried something inside that used to be his brother, ”Please.”

”What's taking so long?” Constantine asked in the background, impatiently.

Raiden didn't say anything, but just pulled with all his force, Reno could feel the joints in his shoulders pop, but it didn't hurt, not as much as his leg which felt like it was being seized by some metal under the seat. Reno felt totally disconnected as he felt someone else grab a hold of his other wrist, knowing they would both pull the next time. And when they did, all he heard was his own screams.

Raiden and Constantine stopped for a moment, to get a better grip. ”Please,” Reno cried, ”Stop.” Neither of them answered, they just lifted his arms, to pull once more. Reno could feel warm blood run down his leg, and he wished desperately that he had just turned around when Tseng had asked him to. In the distance he could hear weeping, wondering what it was, until he realised it was his own voice. It didn't really surprise him, since he had been trained for this, to withdraw inside himself to minimise the pain inflicted upon him. He didn't hear the crack as his leg gave in to the angle and the pressure, but he felt it. Like someone had dealt his calf a blow with a sledgehammer. The darkness lured right in front of him, and he welcomed the nothingness, at least darkness was painless.

-*-

Tseng looked at the clock, Reno had not called like he said he would. Was he just being a jerk or did something happen? Tseng decided he would give him another hour before he called. It had proven very difficult indeed to find any information on operation Dust, and the little he had found made no sense. His phone beeped on the table as a text message came in, he reached for it with a sigh, ”Reno.” He smiled, he was really glad he hadn't called and made a complete fool out of himself. He flipped the phone open and realised it was a movie clip sent, not a text message. A little puzzled, he pressed play, and watched the video unfurl; He could see the car, it was totalled, and then the camera angle shifted to the ground where Reno lay, bruised, swollen and bleeding. He could hear steps in the gravel and dust, and then a voice said, ”He screamed, cried and begged, you know.” The voice laughed softly, ”He was always a wuss.” The camera zoomed in on Reno's leg which was sliced all the way down to the bone, from the middle of the calf to the ankle, and right before the ankle, the bone stood out at a crazy angle. ”This looks pretty bad, I don't think your little girlfriend is gonna make it, are you listening to me Tseng?” The camera shifted again, and a hand reached down and grabbed Reno's collar hard, shaking him violently, Reno's head just lulled from side to side. And then the video ended.

Tseng tossed the phone across the table as if he had been bitten by a viper. ”Holy shit!” he whispered to himself. Should he call Rude? He wondered for a moment if he was more loyal to Shinra, than to Reno, and what would he have said if he had not been the one sitting here, but the one called? Wouldn't he have gone to Rufus? Yes, he would.

He grabbed the papers on the table, the scarce information he had been able to find on operation Dust, and then his cell phone before he literally ran outside. Reno had the car, so he would just have to run the distance from the Midgar Police Station to the new Seventh Heaven, hoping someone there would listen to him. He wrapped his suit jacket around the papers so they wouldn't get wet, or worse, destroyed.

-*-

When he finally opened the door to Seventh Heaven, he was beyond soaked, water was dripping from his hair, and he had to brush the moisture out of his eyes with his hand. ”Tifa!” he panted, half collapsing on the bar, ”I need y-our help.”

Tifa clapped in her hands and yelled, ”Bar's closed, get out folks!” And the couple of patrons there left with a sour expression. Tifa served a drink straight up for Tseng who accepted it with a shaking, wet hand. ”Thanks,” he whispered, his hand was still unsteady as he rose the glass to his lips. Sighing with the welcome warmth the alcohol spread inside him, he placed the papers on the desk, and handed Tifa his cell phone. ”I know you hate Reno,” he said with a tiny voice, ”But I am asking you to help me find him, before its too late.”

Tifa frowned, but looked down on the phone as she pressed play on the video message.

Tseng sat in silence sipping his drink, watching Tifa's reaction. When she finally looked up as the video ended, she wet her lips nervously before she said, ”Why me? Why not the other Turks?”

”Because... because...” Tseng said, ”Because, I can't be sure they would kill them.” Tifa just stared at him, and Tseng nodded towards his empty glass, letting her fill it again before he continued. ”In short, I want these two dead for did what they did to Cloud, and what they are doing to Reno right now. And not just dead, but burned into ashes, so nothing of them can ever be retrieved. Ever!”

”And Shinra did this?” Tifa asked.

”In some roundabout way,” Tseng admitted reluctantly. ”Listen Tifa, I can't remember when I last begged someone, but I am begging you right now. Please help me find Reno.”

”Why me?” Tifa asked puzzled, pouring herself a drink too.

”Because I don't know anyone here who I can trust who is not Shinra.” Tseng said, ”And besides, Reno is my friend, and he trusts Cloud, and Cloud trusts you, so I figured... that I might be able to trust you too, just this once.”

Tifa smiled but her eyes was cold. And Tseng knew what she was thinking, why should she help either Tseng or Reno? And honestly Tseng couldn't tell her why, he just hoped she would. She reached under the bar, and produced her own phone. ”Sit tight. And lend me your phone,” she said before she left the bar to the back room.

Tseng sat and waited patiently, he expected Tifa to say no. And he expected who ever she called to decline as well, after all, she was right, he had no right to ask for help. Both he and Reno, and not to mention Shinra as a whole, had been responsible for the deaths of many of their friends. He would have to go to Rufus and ask for his help, maybe he would let him take out a team of SOLDIERs, if he was lucky, and Elena and Rude would follow too, that he was sure of. But the problem was what kind of story he would have to feed them? And just the thought of how difficult it would be to incinerate those two bastards as soon as they were in Shinra custody.

Tifa interrupted his train of thought as she came back in the bar. ”They are on their way,” she stated, ”And you owe me big time.”

Tseng wanted to come up with a variety of snappy comebacks, but they all failed him, and all he could say was, ”Thank you Tifa.”

-*-

Tseng was swirling the glass between his fingers, sitting at Tifa's bar, trying to make sense of the papers from operation Dust, when the door went up. Vincent stood out in the rain, shielding Cloud who slowly made his way into the bar. ”Tifa?” Cloud called out.

Vincent went straight to Tseng and sat down next to him. ”This was what you could find?” he asked casually.

”Its above my security level,” Tseng said with a shrug, ”And this makes no sense.”

Cloud came and sat down on the other side of Tseng. ”Show me the video,” he said calmly, commanding.

Tseng pushed his phone over to Cloud, ”It's the first one in the inbox.”

Cloud flipped the phone open, and looked at the horrors unfurl on the small screen. ”Gaia!” he whispered, and then looked up at Tseng and Vincent. ”He won't survive that wound unless they do something to stop the bleeding and keep off infection.”

”I know,” Tseng muttered, ”Which is why I need you, Mr. Valentine, to show me where you found Cloud.”

Vincent nodded.

”Reno called me, telling me that was where he was going. I asked him not to go alone, but he was determined to investigate while I was supposed to dig up everything I could from Operation Dust,” Tseng said, careful not to look at Cloud.

Vincent sat and stared at Tseng for the longest time, ”I can draw you a map.”

All colour drained out of Tseng's cheeks. ”But...” he muttered, and with a clumsy move tried to gather all his papers together. He could have expected nothing less, and going there by foot was simply too slow and dangerous, so Rufus it was. How he hated to lie to Rufus.

”Not what you had in mind?” Vincent said with a slight smile, resting his claw like hand on the bar desk.

”No,” Tseng admitted in a near whisper, ”But I will take it, a map is better than nothing.”

”Tell me, Mr. Tseng, what did you have in mind when you came here?” Vincent asked coldly.

”Vincent, we need to go! You're wasting time with your stupid testosterone games!” Cloud argued, but was silenced by a hard look from Vincent.

”I...” Tseng, swallowed the last bit of liquor in his glass, and got off his chair. ”What is you want to hear, Mr. Valentine?” he asked, his voice even and proud, ”You of all people know exactly why I came here, I don't understand why you need me to tell you.”

”Do it anyway,” Vincent scoffed.

”I love Rufus Shinra like my own son,” Tseng said, staring up at Vincent stubbornly, ”And Reno loves him like his brother, if we didn't we would not be Turks.”

”True,” Vincent agreed with a nod.

”And, I am sure that he did not mean for operation Dust to be reopened, I am sure he had some very poor counselling, or someone lied to him.” Tseng said, ”I would stake my life that he did not mean for this to happen, and...”

”It is up to you, to clean up your masters mishaps, like always?” Vincent asked.

”You could call it that,” Tseng admitted vaguely. ”But this is not really about Rufus, or Shinra Corp. This is about Reno, and I can't just sit here and play battle of the ego's while he is dying, or worse!” He looked up at Vincent's huge frame, and took a deep breath, ”The map please.”

To Tseng's surprise Vincent smiled, ”I will take you there.”

”We,” Cloud corrected behind Tseng's back, ”We will take you there.”

Tseng wasn't about to argue, but he didn't miss the look Cloud got from both Tifa and Vincent.

”But first,” Tifa said, ”You all need to dry off. And then you can take the truck.”

-*-

Tseng felt pretty stupid in only his briefs wrapped in a pink blanket, waiting for someone to bring him some clothes, as Tifa ordered. Cloud opened the door and couldn't hide his amusement by the sight. ”Here,” he said clearly amused, ”I think it should fit you better. It's Cid's but he's not really around, and I don't think he will miss it.”

Tseng watched as Cloud placed the bundle of clothes on the bed. ”Cloud?” He said, smiling at the blond, ”He'll be fine.”

”Reno always bounces back, I know,” Cloud said, trying to sound convincing, but Tseng wondered who it was he was trying to convince, Tseng or himself? ”Oh,” Cloud said, ”I forgot something, wait here,” and then he hurried out of the room.

Tseng stood up and looked at the clothes in the bundle, ”Jeesh, doesn't this guy wear anything that's not fit for a Rodeo?” He mumbled under his breath. But nevertheless, it was dry, so it was better than his own. He threw a look over at the door, before he carefully stepped out of his wet briefs, and reached for the dry ones. Cid was a little broader than Tseng, so he just opted to loose the briefs, and pulled on the pants without them. He'd need a belt, or it could get pretty bad, pretty fast.

”Here,” Cloud said, holding out a pair of boots.

Tseng turned around, holding the pants up with one hand. ”Thanks,” he said taking the boots with his free hand. ”Do you think I could, maybe... eh... get a belt?”

Cloud nodded, ”I think there is one here somewhere.” Cloud suddenly focused on Tseng's body, which made Tseng awfully self concious, even in the dim light. ”Wow,” Cloud whispered, stepping closer, ”That is one serious scar.” He looked at the long fine line that went from the bottom of Tseng's spine to his right nipple. Cloud mesmerised by the moment, stepped closer to Tseng, in the half light of the sunset. ”What made that?”

”A hunting accident,” Tseng said with a little nervous laugh.

Cloud looked up at him and arched a brow.

Tseng looked directly into Clouds blue mako eyes, and for a split second he saw what Reno saw, which only made him more uncomfortable. With a little disarming laugh, he stuffed some of his black stray hair behind his ear. ”Okay,” he admitted, ”I don't know if you know this little blond guy with a huge buster sword?” he said, trying to take the piss out of this increasingly strange situation. Tseng felt the air in the room vibrate, and he had to futility tell himself that he was not gay, and that this was nothing.

Cloud looked utterly surprised, ”I made that?”

Tseng nodded, fighting the urge to cover up, under Cloud's examining gaze.

Cloud bit his lip, ”Can I?” he whispered.

Tseng lifted his arm, not really sure why he would think it completely normal in this situation, that his lover's lover, who would most likely deal him one more of these when he found out, would want to touch his scar.

Cloud gingerly reached out and ran a calloused fingertip over the scar, smiling to himself as Tseng squirmed slightly. Vincent had told him on the way home, that he should give Tseng a chance, that the Turk was much more than just a Turk, that under the suit and his position was a just a man, and that this man was Reno's friend. Cloud had come up here with the clothes, having every intention to be friendly, but as Vincent's words rung in his head, he had suddenly seen Tseng without all that which made him Tseng, head of the Turks. This was just a guy in a pair of pants that were too big, and a very beautiful man at that. He knew he shouldn't but he couldn't help it, he had to touch, just this once to see if Tseng might be as soft as he looked. That's all. ”It's old huh?” he asked.

”Yes,” Tseng said, turning a little, letting Cloud trace the scar to his back. The scar came to an end, and Cloud rested his hand on the small of Tseng's back for a moment. ”A belt, please?” Tseng reminded him, trying to sound casual.

”One belt, coming up,” Cloud said, removing his hand,

-* -

Reno woke as a bucket of water was thrown in his head, gasping for breath, he spat out water as well, blinking it out of his eyes. ”Wakey, wakey.” Raiden said. ”How good of you to join us again.”

”Raiden...” Reno muttered. He looked around seeing walls, so they had moved him inside. Looking down himself he noticed he was naked, and tied to what seemed like a regular kitchen chair. ”Where the hell am I? And why am I naked?”

”Now,” Raiden said, ”I was told that people like you were trained to withstand any form of torture, no matter the consequences, amirite?”

Reno just stared at Raiden. ”Where am I?” he asked again. ”And why the fuck am I naked?”

”AM I RIGHT?” Raiden yelled in Reno's face.

”Yes,” Reno agreed with a sneer.

”Good, we're on the same page now,” Raiden said.

”Can I ask you one thing?” Reno asked. ”What the hell did you need me for? I never did anything to you that would justify this, neither to you, Raiden, or to you, Nimrod, or to Constantine for that matter, I don't even know the fucker.”

Raiden seemed to be thinking of it for a moment. ”Truthfully?” he said, ”It was not you we wanted. You are our decoy, just as Mr. Strife was.” Raiden laughed softly, ”Strife was easy to get, and we knew you would eventually do something stupid as come running.” Raiden started to pace the room back and forth, ”And we need you, 'cause you will make them all come.”

”Who is all?”

”Tseng. We want Tseng,” Raiden hissed. ”And with a little luck, we can get both you and Cloud.”

”If you want Tseng, why the hell didn't you just get Tseng?” Reno asked, squirming his hands, trying to figure out a way to get out of his handcuffs.

”Cause that is not the deal we had,” Raiden said, ”You interrupted us as we were about to finish the masterpiece, you killed us as we were about to taste that sweet little peach.”

Reno forgot all about the handcuffs, his jaw just hung loose for several moments. ”Marlene?”

”With you and the two others out of the picture, there ain't none left to interrupt us,” Raiden said, proud of himself.

”What makes you think that Tifa and Barret wont mop the floor with you?” Reno asked.

”Barret ain't here, he is far away, and so is the Shera and the rest of those obnoxious twats, and Tifa... she's just a girl, maybe we should even taste the boy too?” Raiden said as he turned to Reno with a big smile, ”So be a good boy, and send the message to your friends like I ask you to.”

”Like fuck I will,” Reno growled.

”Oh I think you will,” Raiden chuckled, picking Reno's phone up from his pocket, flipping it open, ”When I tell you to, you are going to call for them, agreed?”

Reno just frowned, staring at Raiden as he could tell that he had started to film. ”Now, Reno. Say something.”

Reno just shook his head, tugging his handcuffs a little, cursing under his breath.

”Come on, smile,” Raiden giggled, stepping closer to Reno, letting the camera travel down Reno's abused, bruised body. Glass shards still lodged in his flesh. ”Give your lovers a little sugar, come on Reno, I know you like to be filmed. You pervert.” Raiden's voice dropped to a mock sensual insisting tone. Until he giggled again, ”Seriously man, you can do better than that.”

For a moment he just let the camera zoom in on Reno's face. ”Call them,” he said.

Reno shook his head.

”Fine.” Raiden kicked him hard over his broken shin. The close up of Reno, showed his pupils dilate, and his eyebrows knot, and his lips turn to a white line, as he struggled to keep silent.

”You always were a stupid fuck, Reno,” Raiden huffed, grinding the snout of his boot in Reno's splintered calf. And this had the reaction he had waited for. Reno struggled for a little while, until he just screamed, a chilling high pitched scream, like a pig that was on its way to the butchery.

”Good boy.” Raiden petted Reno on the top of his head affectionately, ”That's all I asked for.”

TBC