New OC in this chapter. She is a female who identifies as male, and passes herself off as such to the world.

Warnings: Language, some strong imagery

When the family arrived at the factory to report for duty, they would be surprised to find that Mr. Barnes was far too nervous and distracted over the 'important visitors' set to arrive that day that he was not his usual angry, bitter self. Much to Renata's relief, that also meant that Barnes was too preoccupied to be bothering her. She was happy to see that his attention was redirected elsewhere.

"Guess we should have presidential visits more often, " Renata muttered under her breath to Reno, who smiled. He got what she meant, though Aylinn gave both of her children a smile along with a warning.

"We must be mindful of what we say, you two...particularly today, when all will be listening," Aylinn said lightly, Elias nodding along with her. She didn't want to feel overly paranoid, but she knew Barnes had his spies amongst them, ready to report back to the domineering foreman if anyone were so much as to stare cross-eyed at President ShinRa.

"The Turks will be coming too, to guard the president," Elias reminded the children, as they each punched their time cards.

"Turks?" Reno repeated, his curiosity aroused. While he'd never actually seen a Turk in person, Reno had heard plenty about them from other kids in the slums, and at the factory. The word itself, Turks, carried with it an air of mystery and intrigue. The Turks were much feared by reputation alone, and Reno found himself feeling more nervous about the prospect of meeting one of these trained assassins, than he was about meeting President Shinra.

"I wonder what they're like...the Turks," Reno said softly, with a bit of wonder in his voice. Elias gave him a cautionary look.

"Don't get too curious now, son," he admonished his son. "The Turks are nobody to mess with." Renata nodded, wondering herself just what these Turks were all about. Were they good guys, or bad guys? Word on the street was that they were black ops, or the 'Shinra mafia.' The girl vowed to stay away from them, and the president too if she could manage it. She worried that she'd have to speak to President Shinra or his son, Vice President Rufus.

"Okay, papa," Reno replied obediently, though of course he was now more curious than ever about the mysterious Turks. "I have to give the other boys their assignments for the day, I gotta go." Young as he was, Reno had taken Talan's place since the boy was let go following Fletcher's unfortunate accident with the machine cutter. Reno shuddered slightly at the memory of that day, blood pulsing out of the stump of Fletcher's arm, and how quickly Aylinn had been able to mend it.

"Be safe, Reno," Aylinn told him, her own thoughts going back to the tragedy that day as she silently prayed for her family to be safe. She didn't like the idea at all, of either of her children being around such dangerous machinery, but it was not as if the family had any choice. They had to work to survive, and all of the good jobs were above the Plate. The Cetra woman smiled, knowing that today would be the last day of backbreaking work at the factory; she and her husband were still sticking to their plan, to move the family above the Plate, out to the Chocobo farm owned by a cousin of Elias.

"Renata, do your best," Aylinn said to her daughter as Renata shuffled off to the sewing room. A quick, furtive glance at Elias before he departed to the depths below in the boiler room - "At sunset, my love?"

Elias turned and smiled at Aylinn, blowing her a kiss. "Yes. Sunset," he replied, grateful that the children were no longer within earshot. Reno, in particular, would have peppered his father with questions about 'what's happening at sunset?"

A new life, Elias said to himself, humming a happy Cetran tune as he descended the stairwell and busied himself right away, getting to work. That's what's happening at sunset, a new life, a new chance at happiness. I owe it to my family, to get them out of this Hell.

Reno hurried his pace as he got down to where the other children were; kids just like him, who were forced into a life of child labor for slave wages, just to help their families put food on the table. "Yo, guys...come gather over here," Reno called to the boys - and one girl - who were filing into the work area, each wearing their best clothing which, according to Upper Plate standards would be deemed 'shabby' or 'threadbare.' For those who dwelled below the Plate, it was the best they could manage.

The one female who was a floor runner was about Reno's age; her hair, instead of being done up in braided plaits as was common amongst the young women who worked as seamstresses, was shorn into rough, jagged layers and kept cropped short. Reno smiled and nodded as she trotted up, acting like just one of the guys. Twy passed herself off as a boy, identifying more as a male than a female, and having no talents in the supposed 'traditional' female jobs such as seamstresses or fabric cutters. Twy's true gender was common knowledge amongst this small group of child laborers, but it was a secret she kept hidden from the adult workers at the factory; particularly the horrible Mr. Barnes, who was known to prey upon young women. Twy had seen Barnes' sudden interest in Renata, and it concerned her, being Reno's friend. She didn't want to see any more young women fall victim to the lech, but especially the sister of her friend.

"Hey, Twy," Reno greeted her. "Ya got any ciggies for us, for later?" he asked, a slight smile on his lips. Besides being a factory floor runner, Twy was a pickpocket and a thief who kept the boys supplied with cigarettes. Though they were too young for an adult habit such as smoking, the truth was that these children were expected to act like miniature adults, and work just as hard as the grownups did. Aylinn frowned upon Reno's smoking habit, and could always smell the tobacco on him when he'd slipped off with Twy and the others for a quick cigarette break.

Twy smiled in return, tucking her long, flopped-over bangs up under her newsboy cap. "Maybe. You guys meet me by the scrap pile later, okay? Near the church."

"That means yes, then," one of the other boys interjected with a snort. "She's got something."

Reno laughed lightly, then shook his head. It was down to business now. "We gotta do our usual gig, boys and girls," he drawled, trying to take on an air of authority that he did not yet feel. The job he'd been handed had only been vacated when Fletcher lost his arm under Talan's watch. An accident, plain and simple, but Barnes needed to blame someone, and Talan had been a convenient scapegoat. Reno's nerves were on edge though he tried to fight the feeling, knowing that at any moment, anything could go wrong - and he would be the one to suffer, to take the blame.

The young boy pushed these thoughts away and cleared his throat, again trying to sound much more grown up than he really was. "Y'all know that President Shinra and his son are comin', and if you don't know that you've been living under a gods-damned rock," Reno told them all with a bit of a smirk. "So Mr. Barnes is gonna be on us more than usual, an' it's my job to make sure he doesn't have to be on us in the first place. So let's get out there, get through today, an' our friend Twy here is going to share with us some treasure at the end of the day, am I right, Twy?"

"Yes, sir!" Twy said with a grin, and gave Reno a salute. The smile vanished from her face as Barnes approached, leering, hands clasped behind his back. He studied Twy's face with a sneer.

"Got your assignments, boys?" Barnes said, frowning at the lot of them, glaring at Twy in particular. "Enough milling about here, then! Get to it, lazy bunch of brats!"

"Yes sir!" Reno said loudly, with a lot more cockiness and confidence in his tone than he actually felt inside. Still, he hated Barnes so much for harassing Renata, and just for being the miserable lout of a man that he was, that he wasn't about to let the oaf try to intimidate him or his friends. Though he was small and still just a boy, Reno was brave and loyal; sometimes to his own detriment.

As the group dispersed, Barnes grabbed Twy by the shirt collar as she turned to leave. "What's your name, brat?" he said gruffly, trying his best to look menacing though Twy was having no part of it. Barnes lived off the fear of others, it was the very thing that fueled his cruelty; Twy and Reno and the others had come to learn this the hard way.

"Gilmour, sir," Twy replied, using her surname as she always did with the adults. The less they knew about her, the better. She scoffed inwardly at Barnes asking her name; as if he even cared what her name was. They were all nameless to him anyway unless Barnes took a fancy to someone, as he had with Renata. Twy considered herself very lucky indeed that Barnes didn't know a female body was hidden beneath the loose clothing, though the way his eyes crawled over her thin frame, she began to grow slightly nervous. Sweat trickled down her neck into the small of her back, though she stood her ground, staring calmly at Barnes. No fear, Twy. No fear.

"Hmpf," Barnes grunted dismissively, finally releasing his grip on Twy's shirt collar, wiping his sweaty hands off on his pants, as though he'd touched something filthy. "Off with you." Reno had glanced back to see Twy running after him, trying to catch up.

"What'd he want with you, Twy?" Reno said in a low voice. Reno had seen that feral look in Barnes' eyes before, when the foreman was chasing after Renata.

"I think he's trying to figure out what's what," Twy said lightly, trying to sound indifferent; the truth was, though, that she was repulsed. "He been bothering you, Red?" Twy asked suddenly as the pair headed out, the older teen giving Reno a sharp glance.

Reno shook his head. "Well, I mean...he sucks, but I don't let 'im get to me," Reno told Twy. "He's after my sister though, wants to marry her." Reno's face went hot, anger boiling up as he thought again about Renata's torn dress. Before he could stop himself, Reno blurted out the very thing Renata had made him swear he wouldn't tell to another soul.

"He grabbed Renata the other day," Reno said suddenly. "Tried to feel her up and ripped her dress." Shit! I promised I wouldn't tell - me and my big mouth...damn it, 'Nata's going to kill me if this gets out. "Twy, please - don't tell nobody about this, I wasn't s'posed to tell - "

"He what?" Twy said in a low tone, her eyes full of anger, her expression cold and taut. "He did what to your sister?" Fury and a sense of protectiveness flared up within Twy; she'd been friends with Renata since childhood, and the girl was, in fact, Twy's unrequited love. Twy had never confessed her feelings to Renata, keeping them to herself out of pride, and not knowing how Renata would react.

"Please, don't say nothin', Twy," Reno begged, before heading off to the machine room, his assignments taking him to another floor for the day.

"Oh, I won't say a word, Reno," Twy said with a frightening kind of coldness to her tone. She set her jaw, tucking her stray bangs up under her cap, eyes steely as she headed to the weaving room, where she knew Renata and Aylinn would be assigned for the day.

Won't say a word, but I may well want to kill the bastard if he so much as looks at her funny, Twy silently vowed, planning to keep a very close eye on Renata from now on. Even if they couldn't be together the way Twy wished they could be, Renata was a forever friend, and the teen pledged to keep her safe from harm - and from Mr. Barnes.

Deep in the bowels of the factory, down in the basement boiler room, Elias fretted and paced. The boiler was acting up again, just as it had a few weeks prior. Elias had told Barnes about the need for replacement parts, and ultimately a new boiler. There was only so much spot-welding Elias could do, eventually the system would have to be replaced due to age, and wear and tear from regular use. Of course, the miserly Barnes refused to spend any company money on new equipment, and claimed it was entirely Elias' fault that the boiler was breaking down. Elias had summoned Mr. Barnes down earlier, and he'd been none too pleased about being pulled off the main floor on such an important day. Barnes couldn't have President Shinra - of all people - thinking that the Mako-powered boiler wasn't operating properly. Everything must appear perfect for President Shinra and his son Rufus, the eventual heir to Shinra, Inc. Even if things were not perfect, Barnes wanted it to appear as if they were.

"If you did your job right in the first place, we wouldn't have these kinds of problems!" Barnes had snapped before ascending the stairs once again. "Now stop bothering me with this nonsense, Elias. I have important visitors due to arrive any minute now. Don't bother me with your trivialities again, Elias. I'm warning you."

"And I'm warning you," Elias snapped. "I need to shut this boiler down, and it needs to be replaced. If you won't listen to reason, I can't be responsible for what may happen."

"Is that a threat?" Barnes said, turning back with a sneer on his face. "Listen here. I am not shutting down production - no way, no how, but especially today. Now you keep that thing running, or you're fired. I've had it with your nonsense, you lazy slum-dwelling scum."

Elias swore, throwing his hat down on the floor, but by then Barnes had left to greet the Presidential party. "Cheap bastard!" he cursed in frustration. He cast a nervous glance back at the pressure gauge, the needle moving and twitching alarmingly as the old boiler shuddered and groaned, unable to keep up with the increased demand of supplying heat and steam power to many of the factory's machines.

"To hell with this," Elias finally muttered, racing toward the stairs as he heard bolts popping out of the boiler; it was clear now that the thing was about to blow. Elias knew he had to get his family to safety, and warn President Shinra if he possibly could. He knew Barnes wouldn't be happy, but Elias did not care; the thing that mattered now was evacuating everyone as quickly as possible. He knew Aylinn, being an empath, could help instill a sense of calm amongst the workers as they evacuated them from the building.

He tore upstairs to the main factory floor, and Reno spotted him right away, their eyes locking on each other. "Papa?" Reno said, moving toward his father, knowing right away by his father's panicked expression that something was wrong. Very wrong. "What's going on?"

"Reno, get Renata and your mother over here, please," Elias said in a low tone, smiling at one of the seamstresses nearby who eyed him curiously. He was not about to start a mass panic by announcing that the building was about to blow up. Across the room was Barnes, flanked by the President and Rufus, along with two others in dark suits; Turks, Elias presumed. One had a distinctly Wutaian look to his features, and an eerily calm manner about him.

"Never mind that," Elias said quickly, and stooped down a bit to whisper in Reno's ear. "I will collect your mother and sister, but listen to me closely, please, Reno. The boiler is defective. Barnes wouldn't listen to me about fixing it, and now it is about to blow. We will all die if we don't get out of here quickly, do you understand me?" Reno nodded, his mouth hanging open in the shape of an O.

"Yeah," Reno whispered, fighting back tears. He was scared, damned scared, though he didn't want to show it. "What do you want me to do, papa?"

"Go talk to that man over there, the Wutaian," Elias told Reno quickly. "He is a Turk, and he is with the president. Be discreet, we don't want everyone in a frenzy and start to stampede. Tell him what I've just told you, and I don't give a damn what Barnes says. He'll argue, he'll try to shut you up, but don't let him. Be my stubborn boy, and don't let that bastard shout you down. Our lives depend upon it."

"I will, papa, I will!" Reno said, and ran right toward the two Turks, undaunted. The red-haired youth drew a curious look from the President and his teenaged son, and a decided glare from Barnes.

"Boy, you need to be back at your post!" Barnes chided, forcing a smile for the benefit of his guests, but inwardly wanting to beat the hell out of this insolent brat. "Now, off with you!" he added.

Reno shook his head, ignoring Barnes, but instead focusing upon the Wutaian Turk. "Sir? My father has asked me to speak with you. It's important."

"Oh?" the Turk replied, cocking his head as he motioned the boy over to the side. He'd correctly surmised that Barnes would simply butt in and cut Reno off. "Now, what is it, young man?"

"My name is Reno," Reno told the man, ignoring the hateful looks he was getting from Barnes. Rufus and his father had pulled Barnes into a conversation about Mako conversion, and were oblivious to the young boy speaking with one of their Turks.

"My name is Reno," he went on, catching his breath, "and my father Elias is the maintenance man for the building. He told me that the boiler is in bad shape, Mr. Barnes wouldn't listen to him that we needed a new one, but now it's too late. It's gonna blow, so we all have to get out. Please, you gotta believe me. Please get Mr. President and Mr. Rufus safe."

The Wutaian frowned, then straightened up. He patted Reno on the head, almost affectionately. "You have done the right thing, Reno," he said. "My name is Tseng. Please, return to your family - " The floor seemed to buckle and groan as the boiler began building up enormous pressure from many floors below, and Tseng's eyes widened. He returned to where the President was standing, interrupting the conversation with Barnes.

Reno ran hard and ran fast to where his parents and Renata were. Twy had appeared, her eyes wide and fearful as she swallowed hard, reaching for Renata's hand, hoping to comfort her. They could all hear Barnes protesting that the boiler was 'safe', and just like that, the President and his entourage were gone - Barnes running out behind them. Aylinn was using her powers as an empath to try to calm the frightened workers as they quickly made plans to exit the building.

"We need to find the nearest exit, Twy," Aylinn said calmly. "Can you show us the way?"

"Yes ma'am," Twy replied, trotting off, waving everyone to follow along.

"Calmly, everyone," Aylinn shouted over the din of the crowd. "Do not panic, that is the last thing we need. We must be quick to exit, but let us be orderly."

"No! No, you bastard, no!" Twy broke into a run, Reno right behind her as they heard the frightening sound of a door being slammed - and locked. Barnes grinned a sick grin through the small window at the top of the heavy metal door.

"I'm safe, the President's safe, it's not like I give a rat's ass about the lot of you," Barnes said with a cruel laugh. "You want to blame anyone, blame Elias. You're all gonna die because of him."

"Open this fucking door!" Twy said angrily, kicking at it with her steel-toed boots, chest heaving with exertion and rage. "It ain't his fault, it's your fault for not listenin' to him!"

"To the windows, everyone!" Aylinn cried, her innate sense of calm quickly beginning to dissolve. Reno had tears running down his face as the crowd, now panicking, shoved him along toward the set of windows near the street side of the building. "Renata! NO!" Reno screamed as he was separated from his sister. "Mama, papa, please! My family, please - " Once again the building shuddered and groaned; suddenly Elias and Aylinn appeared by Reno, Twy and Renata just behind them.

"We don't have much time, we need to break a window," Elias said, panting. He grabbed a metal chair and threw it at the thick glass windows that lined the walls from ceiling to floor, and other workers followed his lead, grabbing tools, chairs, machinery - anything they could - and pitched it toward the window to try and break it.

"Cover your heads, children," Aylinn told them, using her shawl to cover Twy from the flying shards of glass. A piece stuck in Twy's cheek, sticking out just so, and the teen barely realized it until Renata reached out and gingerly pulled it away.

"You're bleeding, Twy," Renata said shakily, her fingertips coated with her friend's blood. "We have to get out of here!"

Twy nodded, and Aylinn shoved Reno toward the window. "Reno, please - jump. We're three stories up, but there is a dumpster below. Try to land in there," Aylinn told her son, her voice shaking. She kissed him on the cheek, pushing him toward the open windowpane. "Go on, now. Twy - you too. Renata, Twy will catch you, won't you dear?"

"I will," Twy said quietly, her eyes on Renata's. The teen snapped into motion, pulling Reno up by his collar.

"Come on, Red!" Twy shouted, both of them clambering up on a table, holding his hand. "We'll jump together. I promise, I'll get Renata next, okay?"

"...okay," Reno replied, feeling as though he might faint. Damn you, Barnes, you sick bastard, locking us in here like fucking animals. I swear to Gaia, if I get out of this alive, and I find you... Reno felt the air rush around his face as he and Twy jumped, landing somewhat roughly on top of the bags of garbage in the dumpster below.

"Fuck," Twy cursed, shaking her head. "Red, get outta here. I'm gonna catch Renata - "

"No, I am not leaving!" Reno interrupted, chin jutting out stubbornly. "Don't argue with me Twy, I'm staying with you right here!"

Twy groaned, then nodded wearily. She stood up in the dumpster, holding her arms out as she looked up toward the windows to a trembling Renata. "'Nata, just jump! I'll catch you, I promise!" Twy shouted at her, trying to sound more confident than she felt.

"Okay!" Renata replied, her parents right beside her, helping other children and parents to their safety, so many jumping out of the window and landing in one of the many large dumpsters lining the streets.

"We'll be right behind you, Renata," Aylinn told her daughter as she squeezed Elias' hand. The floor buckled again and pitched wildly, flinging Aylinn off of her feet.

"Mama!" Renata shrieked, and Reno was up like a shot, trying to climb his way out of the dumpster. Twy still stood, holding her arms out dumbly, urging Renata to jump, tears running down her own face now. "Renata, please! Trust me! I love you!" Twy cried out pleadingly. Renata grasped onto the window frame, ready to jump, when she suddenly fell backwards, and out of sight.

A sickening groan came from below the ground, and the entire building seemed to lurch to one side, the trapped workers falling over themselves and each other. A massive fireball shot up from the basement, up through all the floors to the main factory floor. Aylinn, Elias, and Renata were lit from behind, and all Reno could hear was screaming. All he could see was the bright yellow and orange of the fire, smell the acrid tang of smoke and charred flesh, and in the distance - the sound of sirens from the fire truck.

Gloved hands reached in, pulling Reno and Twy from the dumpster, both kicking and fighting whoever it was - it was nearly impossible to see with the heavy smoke now pouring out of the building. Reno was hysterical, crying and kicking this unknown attacker, until a hand shot out and slapped him across the face. The boy blinked as he was dragged off to the side and wrapped in a blanket. It was the Turk, Tseng, who had grabbed him. Another Turk, one with a scarred face, had pulled out Twy, and was restraining her, just as Reno was being restrained.

"Let me go! My mother and father are in there, and my sister - " Reno choked on a sob, tear-stained eyes staring at the big hole in the brick wall that used to be a window, flames and smoke pouring out, and no signs of movement from within the factory building.

"Shove off, asshole!" Twy snarled, her arms held back by this other Turk. She wound her legs up in a ball then shot them up and back over her own shoulders, trying to kick her assailant in the head. "Someone I care about is in there, and I'm gonna get her out!"

"You can't help her." Tseng's voice was calm, firm, and weary. "I'm sorry, but you can't. Veld...put the young man down," he told the other Turk, nodding at Twy. Veld put Twy down and released her; Twy immediately spun around, trying to deck him, but the Turk was quicker. Veld's hand shot up, blocking the punch.

"Don't do that again," Veld warned, giving Twy a stern look. "We're just trying to help - "

"Help? Fuck you, you fucker!" Twy shouted, face stained with tears for her lost love. "Don't touch me again!" She knew, but did not want to admit, that Tseng was right - there was no way they could have survived. Renata was gone. Too late, Twy had finally told Renata her true feelings, not even knowing if she'd been heard in all of the chaos. Twy turned to Reno, and her heart went out to the kid. He'd lost everyone now, his entire world. Twy's father was the slum drunk, he'd never wanted her around anyway, and she had no desire to return home to him, or to that life.

She wrapped an arm around Reno's thin, drooped shoulders; the boy's chest was heaving and he felt himself crumple against Twy's skinny body, sobbing.

"They're all gone," Reno hiccupped, crying so hard he could barely breathe. "I know they're gone, Twy...I can't feel them in here anymore." His dirty, sooty hand tapped against his chest, right above where his heart was. "...just gone." Reno's hands balled up into fists as he pictured Barnes' hateful face, that sneer as he locked all the workers inside, trapping them, and dooming them to a fiery death.

"Where is he?" Reno growled. "Mr. Barnes. Where is he? I want to kill him. I want to fucking kill him!" Twy's lips peeled back in a snarl, and she nodded along. She desired revenge as well, just as much as Reno did. Twy put an arm around Reno, pulling him in protectively.

"Yeah," Twy said coldly, looking first at Tseng, then Veld. "You know he locked us all in there, right? Left us all to die?"

Tseng nodded, not looking away from either Reno or Twy. "Yes...I know about this," he replied coolly. "As does the President. He was not pleased to see the one he entrusted to run this factory behaving like a coward, and a cruel one at that. I took care of him." Tseng offhandedly gestured several yards away to an unmoving mass on the ground. Squinting through the clearing smoke, Reno could barely make out the outline of a body.

"...Is he dead?" Reno asked quietly, hoping the answer was yes. Tseng merely nodded in reply.

"As I said...I took care of him," Tseng said dryly, with a look at Veld, who seemed anxious and ready to leave. "Veld...one moment, please." Tseng paused, and leaned down to Reno, his face grave and sympathetic.

"I am terribly sorry for your loss," Tseng told him, and Reno felt that the Turk's words were actually sincere. Tseng hastily scribbled something on a sheet of paper, and handed it over to Twy.

"It's a youth hostel, located in Wall Market," Tseng explained. "My cousin is the proprietor. Tell him Tseng sent you. He might be able to accommodate you temporarily, until you find something more permanent. There are showers available there, and food."

Twy stared at the paper suspiciously but nodded, placing it in her pocket. "Thanks, man," she said softly, the tracks of her tears highlighted against the blackness of her face. "Reno...we better go." The fire department crew had finished battling the blaze, and Twy didn't know if Reno would be able to bear seeing the burnt corpses of his parents. Nor did Twy know if she could handle seeing her beloved Renata like that.

Feeling bewildered, Reno nodded, zombie-like, though he was still staring at the still form of Barnes, unable to look away. "Wait a minute, Twy." He rubbed his eyes, sore from crying, and bit his bottom lip, trudging over to the corpse lying on the ground. Reno drew his foot back, and as hard as he could, hauled off and kicked Barnes in the ribs. Fresh tears threatened to spill out of Reno's eyes, but he stubbornly blinked them back as he walked back toward Twy, nodding his head.

"Okay, Twy," Reno said softly, his heart aching, his body stiff and sore. A hot meal and shower, and a clean bed to sleep in sounded pretty good to the boy right now. "Let's go. " As they walked away from the burnt-out shell of the factory, heading toward the Wall Market, Reno cast a final glance at the window where he'd last seen his family.

I'll see you all in the Lifestream, Reno offered up a silent prayer, hoping his mother at least would hear, wherever she was. The Cetran bloodline was strongest in her, and she'd hinted at being a direct descendant of the goddess Minerva herself. As a younger boy, Reno thought that these were simply fairy tales his mother had constructed to entertain her children. As the soft breeze rushed through and around Reno, he wasn't so sure about that anymore. He breathed in the air, drinking in the scent of carnation water.

"Mama...it is you!" Reno cried, leaning against Twy. "It is you...oh, mama." The boy wept, exhausted, and Twy fairly had to carry Reno out of the Sector in her arms as they trudged on toward Wall Market. Twy assumed the boy was simply emotionally spent, perhaps even hallucinating in his grief. It wouldn't be until many years later until Reno would share with anyone what he'd experienced that day.

"Almost there, Red," Twy murmured, holding Reno up as they stumbled along. "Almost there."

A/N: I do hope everyone enjoyed this, sorry for the delay. And I hope y'all liked Twy. She is a new OC and will figure prominently in at least the next chapter or two. Oh, and sorry about the massive amounts of angst. :(