Liana Is No More Chapter 7

Storming Nightmares in the Hospital

By Amber Gehrke

"Are you all right?"

His fingers curled under her chin as her eyes remained shut. His soft but low and deep voice trickled inside her ears and out the other end. Her eardrums picked up the vibrations in the air.

"Ugh… oohh…" she said, pulling her body up from the bed.

"You had the people on the streets freaked out about it…" the man said as he pulled a loose strand of her from her head. "Thank God I was there to help."

"I guess…"

"What happened? Do you remember anything about it?"

Liana tried to open her mind to remember, but a few roadblocks were in the way. She didn't seem to remember anything about earlier that day.

"When did you bring me here?"

The man brought his head up to think about it. "Oh… it had to be about…" He gazed at the watch on his wrist. "Damn, you've been in a coma for seven years."

"What?!" Liana said, bringing her shoulders up.

"I'm just kidding!" he replied, laying her gently back down. "It was yesterday I brought you here. You're safe, you slept peacefully through the night."

"Oh… that's good."

The man's brown colored hair hung in long strands down his face. He looked like Lance partially, only he didn't have spiky hair like Lance did. His features appeared to have been strained to hold a smile on his face. Obviously, he appeared to be a wealthy businessman of a large company or something, and his face looked like he hadn't smiled in a long time. Or laughed for that matter.

Liana held her hand out, wincing a little bit as she did. "I'm Liana."

The man took her hand firmly. "Carian, pleasure."

They nodded their heads faintly at each other and released their grip on the other's hand. Liana fell back onto her pillow slowly, and glanced quickly out the window. She was in the hospital on top of the Pillar. It had to be on top, there were thunderclouds above her head and the windows were damp with raindrops. She swiftly turned her head back and watched as Carian sat down.

"How did you rescue me?"

Carian faced her partially confused.

Liana continued, "I mean, what happened out there?"

Carian's hand flew up to his chin and he scratched it, it was smooth. He replied, "Well, I heard a scream from somebody to call an ambulance and I saw you on the ground, holding your… head in pain you see. So, naturally I took you to the hospital like any other normal man would. I saw that your ankle was twisted, but it seemed the people were more frantic about your head being probed or something…"

"It was more than that, I know…" Liana said. "But that's all I wanted… anyway." She clutched her arm, as though it was sore and harmed. She twisted it around a bit.

Carian sat silently in the chair. "You know…" he finally responded. "I swear I know you from somewhere. I think… that's why I rescued you on the streets."

Thunder roared outside. A bad storm appeared to be coming its way to Midgar. Liana watched the lightning dance outside.

"I think…" Carian continued. "I believe… damn I can't say it! It's on the tip of my tongue…"

"Was it something I was thinking about at that time?" Liana asked.

"Perhaps it is…" he said. "Like fate maybe. Fate brought us together like so."

"I don't know."

"That's it. I know why you were hurting so bad!"

Liana smiled, slightly. She was famous for her cocky half smiles on the edges of her lips. "So you're still working on why you rescued me?"

"Yeah…" he replied, and snickered a little. "But I've seen this before. My father had this type of condition. I was so little when he died… but I can still remember the trips to the hospital we made. You know where Gongaga is right?"

Liana nodded.

Carian said, "That's where we lived. We would have to travel all the way to Cosmo Canyon to get to a hospital, a long time for my father, even longer for my mother and myself. I have no clue what this condition is called, but it occurs in people that are somehow connected to the Ancients, or the Cetra. Are you of Cetran descent?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Well then… I don't see how this would happen to you. Did you somehow visit the Forgotton City? Or the Temple of the Ancients?"

Liana shrugged her shoulders. "Perhaps as a kid…"

"You can get that condition if you visit a place where the Cetran prosper still. It's weird! It was devastating back in Cetran times, thousands upon thousands of years ago. People who were plagued by it were sealed away underwater. I hear people are finding their dead bodies in Bone Village. It was a plague, the type of magic that causes it is believed to be witchcraft. I'm not sure for myself, but I even get it too. Not as horrible as my father did though."

"Goodness." Liana said.

"Insane, I know it."

"So… why would it happen to me?"

"I'm not sure…" Carian replied, his hand unfolded out. "But, I'll be sure to look for the cause of it."

"When do I get out of here?" Liana said, partially restless. "This place gets boring to look at!"

"Tell me about it. I've been here a couple times before in my life as well."

"Can I go soon?"

"Well, I can take you now. I know how you feel about getting out of here. Perhaps we can disguise ourselves. I have clothes you can wear right here."

Liana smiled. "Why do you have extra clothes around with you?"

"Beats me!"

Liana laughed, heartily. It somehow made her happy. She liked to be happy, it made the other people around her feel the same way. But, a thought occurred to her. "Wait a minute… what if it happens again?"

"Oh trust me, it won't. It doesn't happen again for a while. And besides, if it does, it won't be as bad as this one. If you pass out, you have to go see someone about it, because if you're not treated…" He slashed his finger across his neck. "Say goodbye to happy times."

Liana nodded. She knew what that meant. "I'll come with you. I don't need to be here that long!"

Carian agreed. "Where are you supposed to be headed right now?"

Liana tried to remember what she had gone to do. Then, as she looked around, she noticed her shopping bags on the floor. "Oh!" she said. "I was going back to my hotel and then all of a sudden, thoughts of my older brother, Kaiba, came into my head and the next thing I know, I'm sitting in here."

Carian's eyes widened. His sharp and keen blue eyes squinted down, and his muscles twitched. A drop of fresh sweat rolled down his forehead. "K-Kaiba?"

Liana smiled as her head came back. "Do you know him?"

"Uhh… yes I do. In fact, I uh… just saw him on the streets today. Y-You are Liana, his little sister Liana?"

"Yes sir, that's me."

"Unbelievable. I never thought I would ever see you again! His mother was always so angry with him, how he never grew up to be the son she wanted. So she totally excluded you from knowing him."

"How do you know all that Carian?"

It was Carian's turn to smile. He threw the bag of things over to her and she caught it. "I was his best friend, but we grew apart. Find some clothes and put them on. Hurry, I need to be somewhere in one hour."

"All right…" Liana said, her hands digging through the bag. Her face lifted and her sharp dark cerulean eyes met him. "No peeking!" she exclaimed.

Carian laughed. "I won't, I promise!"

Liana couldn't help but laugh too. She had only known him for ten minutes or so, and already they were friends. Or so she thought. Carian seemed really nice. Liana smiled as Carian turned away from the bed and shut the drapes to the window, she wouldn't want anyone outside to see.

Liana quickly undressed and dressed into Carian's old clothes and proclaimed she was decent. He smiled and threw the hospital dress under the bed and they left everything in neat order. Carian cleaned off the tables and removed the clipboard from the end of the bed, while Liana made the bed neatly and reopened the drapes. After they were finished and made sure the hallway was clear, they began to walk down it normally.

When they reached the front desk, nobody seemed to question their authority or their business being there. Carian smiled. It was going perfectly…

But Liana only glanced around nervously, she knew this was too good to be true. Someone in this hospital had to have known about what happened to her or about Carian. And as Carian and herself passed the waiting room, she knew what was going to happen. She saw Rude off in the corner of the room, reading a magazine. When his bald head looked up, he gazed into her eyes with his sunglasses. He stood to greet her.

"Liana!" he called, waving his hand. Usually he didn't make much of a nuisance in public, but he knew her well. "Good to see you!"

"Good to see you too Rude." Liana said, making sure nobody had seen her flushed cheeks.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something…"

"I'm so sorry Rude, I don't have the time right now."

Rude nodded, but he didn't seem to understand her question. "Reno has been wondering about you."

"Reno? Why?"

"Maybe you should see him right now, he's in Room 397."

"What?!"

"We admitted him here last night, I don't know what it was, a nervous breakdown? He's been sick since then. We were coming back from somewhere when suddenly, Reno fell over and didn't wake up. He just woke up, a couple hours ago."

Liana looked around then whispered into Carian's ear, "I'm in Room 213 in the hotel by Shinra Headquarters. You can meet me there at ten o'clock tonight to pick up your clothes or whatever time. Call first."

"I assume you'll be busy?"

Liana nodded, and smiled. "I guess I am now." She laughed a little. "Besides, I still have a few things to settle."

She watched as Carian waved his hand and left the hospital with his bag. She looked around again to make sure nobody recognized her, then walked into the waiting room to talk with Rude.

"How's he doing?" Liana asked, concerned.

"He's ready to kick some more big ass. And he's about ready to tear our throats out for admitting him here in the first place. He's pretty ticked, but feeling well."

"That's great to hear, I'm so glad."

"Yeah…" Rude said, tossing the magazine back on the table. "But I'm going to miss working with him."

"He's not working now?"

"He won't be for the next two weeks, and we're heading out tomorrow on another mission. They're not assigning anyone else to go with us."

Liana frowned. "That's sad to hear."

"Well, that's life for you."

Liana nodded. "I know how that is."

Rude looked into her eyes, his memories of the airport, the airship, and the smiles on her face all coming back to him. He asked, "What were you here for with that guy?"

Liana blushed. She knew he would tell someone if she told him about how she had spent the night. "I uh… was here to see… Carian's sister who was sick."

"Carian? That guy I assume?"

"Uh huh. That's him."

Rude only stared out into blank space with his eyes. There were moments of dead, and uncomfortable silence. Then, all of sudden, he said, "You were sick here too weren't you?"

Liana trembled a little in the small chair. She admitted, "All right, yes I was. That Carian rescued me."

Rude rose from his seat and Liana said, "No! Don't tell them! I'm fine, see?"

"It's not that!" Rude said, calming down a bit. "Rescued? What do you mean rescued?! What happened?"

Liana's eyes were beginning to water. She was becoming really embarrassed by the commotion this was creating. "I was on the streets of Midgar, and the next thing I know, Carian is sitting next to me while I'm conked out on the hospital bed!"

Rude's muscles remained calm for the moment. But then, he whispered in her ear, "That's what happened to Reno! What time yesterday?"

"What time? Oh, I don't know!" Liana said, wiping her eyes. "Just don't ask! I'm embarrassed enough!"

Rude nodded, his hand itching to rub her shoulder for comfort. "Well why don't you visit Reno? You both might feel better."

Liana smiled a little under her small tears. "Yeah… what room?"

"Room 397."

"Will you come with me?"

Rude shrugged his shoulders. "That's why I'm out here. He kicked me out."

Liana laughed. "Oh come on. I'm sure he's blown off a little steam. Let's go!"

And without another word, and without looking behind her, Liana ran off in the direction of Reno's room, a little off to the left. She didn't look back to see if Rude was following her. She didn't know it he was or not.

She just assumed I was coming… or maybe… maybe she just knew…Rude thought. That's what so special about her… her charm is unmatchable…

And without thinking any further, he began to follow her tracks.

Liana smiled as she began to walk down the hallway to his room. She had a feeling she would be seeing him again, and she didn't mean seeing him in Shinra Headquarters. She meant seeing him personally, where they could spend a little time. Liana knew… she knew when she saw him, she was in love at first sight. Something about Reno… was different than what Lance or Tseng had, something was just… different. Liana couldn't tell what it was. Reno was probably her first girly crush since Lance and Tseng.

She smiled again as she remembered something her mother had told her, from long ago.

When you're friends with your soul mate for a longer time… you last longer in the future…

Maybe, maybe Tseng was supposed to be her husband. Maybe Lance was. Perhaps Reno was to be her mate. Liana didn't know. She was still in love with all of them, she had known them too long to like them as just friends.

Room 397 approached quickly on her left and she almost missed it. She turned back to the door and softly opened it, just in case Reno was sleeping.

She smiled as she saw him lying on the bed, flipping channels quickly on the television. Once he saw her, he dropped the remote on his bed and said, "Liana!"

Liana rushed up to him, and gave him a huge hug. Reno wrapped his arms around her back and rubbed it gently. "I was hoping to see you!" he said.

"Me too Reno."

"How in the world did you find me here?"

"It was…" Liana didn't want to stumble over her words and tell him that she had a nervous breakdown too. "It was fate, I guess."

"Whatever it was, I'm glad you're here!"

"I'm so happy to see that you're fine, but what in God's name happened to you Reno?"

Reno slapped his hand down on the chair next to him so Liana could sit down to keep him company. Liana sat, and he replied to her, "Actually, I was flying home from Nibelheim yesterday… when I got this, pain, in my head. Then, I fell on the floor, trying to hold the pain down, but I couldn't. I felt… connected to something else in horrible pain. It was strange."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Did you just wake up?"

"I've been up for hours."

"I see. Yeah, I did too. It was a bad night huh? The storms were pretty bad."

Reno nodded as a huge flash of lightning danced across the sky, then thunder followed. They heard a scream in the room next to them. "It only seemed to be getting worse. You know?"

"Yes. It was getting pretty bad. But, I think storms are cool. The light and thunder seem to calm me in a way. It doesn't bother me."

"Me either. I like storms."

Liana giggled. "I wasn't awake last night to hear the commotion. I heard there were rumors and things about a tornado appearing last night near here?"

Reno laughed too and replied, "Yeah! The nurses got everyone to the lower levels when they saw it outside, I know, I was awake for it! It never even scratched the hospital! But… wait a minute here… how would you know about it?"

"Rumors."

"You…" Reno squinted his green eyes just a bit. "You were here in the hospital weren't you? You were here sleeping too, weren't you Liana?"

Liana blushed in her cheeks. She didn't turn her head as the door swung open and shut back up as Rude walked in. She knew it was him, his boots clicked hard on the floor like the boots he always seemed to wear. "Yeah, Rude kind of figured it out too."

"Oh Liana! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to worry you any more. Isn't that why you had a nervous breakdown?"

"Well, worry, stress, it all has a part in it. It's not just stress or worry alone… I didn't know what caused it really."

Rude walked across the room and sat down in a chair next to Liana. He held his hand out and said, "Well you know, just as long as you're fine Reno, that's all that counts. We're going to miss you on our next couple missions."

Reno looked over to Liana, who's expression had gone a little numb. He asked, "Don't you have to go to work on Monday?"

"That's right. I suppose you can wait for that huh? I'll be fired within the first two hours!"

"Don't say things like that. That's kind of rude to yourself."

Rude contributed, "I agree. You shouldn't be saying things like that."

Liana hung her head down, her arms resting on the armrests of the chair. Her eyes wanted to sting with tears. She felt so strange right now… a small headache was coming on. A peaceful scenery came into her head, an image so strong, it seemed real. A garden of flowers flowed around her, colors of white, yellow, pink, purple, you name it. It was strange, why would these images come to her now? She was in a hospital, the day was storming, the room was dark, and the conversation was deadening. Her image was peaceful, sunny, fragrant and cheerful. Outlandish indeed. Her head came back up and she could only stand up to leave. She didn't really want to talk right now. She wanted to go back to her hotel.

"Liana?" Reno asked.

"I got to go now, Reno, Rude. Sorry about this, but I really don't feel well. I'll just head back to my hotel room."

Rude got up from the chair. "You're in a hospital! Why don't you just rest right here?"

"I don't have a most comforting feeling about this place."

Rude replied, "I don't either, but it's storming outside, you're off balance, and what if you should black out before you got there?"

"I won't."

"You might, that's what I'm afraid of."

"I won't, let me go now." Liana said, opening the door to walk out.

Rude came up behind her to try and get her to come back, but she slammed the door behind her, so he couldn't. He sighed as she slammed it shut, and began to walk back.

"What's up with her?"

"I don-"

That's when Reno and Rude heard a soft scream from the hallway. Rude didn't need a moment to think to know who it was. He dashed to the door and whipped it open. He gazed to his right and found Liana lying down on the ground, not moving. Either someone had stabbed her or something, or something had hurt her to where she screamed before she fainted. Rude didn't notice any blood, so he assumed something in her body had caused it. He didn't know so he rushed up to her to make sure she was still alive. Thank God she was as he placed his fingers under her chin. Her pulse was beating, and not only was it beating, it was throbbing. Quickly throbbing at a fast rate.

A doctor came into view as he heard the scream and he rushed over to Rude to help out.

"What just went on?"

"I don't know." Rude replied. "I heard her scream, the next thing I know, she's lying here."

"I'll help carry her."

Rude lifted her shoulders and the doctor grasped her feet and they took her into an unoccupied room nearby. They laid her softly on the bed and the doctor began to do his work. Rude just stood behind him, waiting to see what would happen. Liana wasn't moving so far… but the doctor was able to make a quick, but most likely inaccurate diagnosis of what just happened.

He turned around to face Rude. "Can you run up to the front desk and ask for information about the disease cecrolius?"

Rude nodded, and without saying anything he left to do his job.

Quickly, he ran to the front desk and asked the nurse to give him some information about the disease. She handed him a couple of old, yellowed packets and an old book dated years ago and he ran back. He handed them to the doctor who began to flip through the pages as Rude came up to hold Liana's hand.

"Hmm…" the doctor said, flipping the pages. "I believe my diagnosis is correct."

"You know what she has?"

"This girl I believe, has a rare type of disease called cecrolius. This disease is very complex."

"Why does she get all of the attention?"

The doctor ignored Rude. "She has some of the symptoms. What have you seen from her lately?"

"I'm not sure, a headache or something? Oh, she's really moody. She'll be happy a minute later, she's all depressed. It's weird. It's like her character isn't fully laid out."

The doctor nodded, placing the packets down on the desk. "Does she have strong images in her head? Like, memories of the past? Dark, disturbing feelings? Pleasant cheerful pictures in her mind?"

"I wouldn't know that, I don't ask."

The doctor nodded again. He licked the tip of his finger as he flipped the page. "When she wakes up, let me know. Beep the front desk with this button so they can page Dr. Jayne to Room 399."

"All right. I'll stay here with her."

"I have business to take care of elsewhere. Thank you, young man."

The doctor set the book on the table and left the room as fast as he could. Rude sat there with Liana as her mouth twisted.

"Liana…" he said softly. "Wake up please?"

She made no response at all. Her mouth still twisted about a little. A drop of sweat came from her forehead. He sighed and set his palm down on her soft body.

He turned from her, and with his other hand, he grabbed the book about diseases, which had yellowed from age. He turned to the table of contents to search for cecrolius, and he would be able to find it at page 135. He turned there quickly, moving his head back and forth to check on Liana. Then, with his fingers, he traced down to the results of cecrolius:

If this rare disease is not treated immediately by a doctor, the final results could lead to severe brain damage, swelling of the body's veins, and death.

Rude shivered a little. The room somehow got a little colder. He continued on.

The history of this disease is said to go as far back as two thousand years ago, where the Cetran still lived. This illness was common back then, and can only be traced down to surviving Cetran today. This disease occurs in the brain. It messes with certain sections of the brain, including the imagination, emotion, and others. This can cause mild or severe symptoms, including headaches, feelings or images coming to your head for no odd reason at any given time, and sweating. Other symptoms include, allergic reaction to Mako, difficulty breathing, and nausea. Not all symptoms will appear with everyone.

Rude didn't really want to read much more. This disease seemed to be dangerous. Since the disease only occurred through hereditary, Liana had to be of Cetran descent. She just had to be. Rude wouldn't be able to understand or think of any other way it could happen. But then again, the doctor was making a prediction, that didn't mean he was right. It was a fifty-fifty chance here.

He looked over to her again. No change. Her eyes still remained closed.

Rude just didn't understand how Liana worked inside. How did she tick, what made her tick? It had only been a small amount of days since he met her, and in that time, he found out that he had a crush on her. Next, he started falling in love with her. Last, he knew she was the right girl for him. But now… Rude didn't know what to feel. He was happy, and depressed, angry and fulfilled yet, all of those weren't the right ones. Maybe Liana… maybe she wasn't the one for him. Rude wished it so, but she probably had many love relationships in the past, so he guessed it didn't really matter that much. He should ask her when she woke up.

He shook his head. What the hell was he thinking? That would definitely clue her in that Rude liked her! Plus, not only would that be rude to Liana, it would be embarrassing for the both of them!

Rude dropped the book on the table and it made a loud thud in the room. "What the hell am I thinking?"

He slipped his fingers over his face. He took his sunglasses off and rubbed his eyes. A long night, and another long one to go.

Liana was a nice girl, she was caring for other people and she always had nice things to say. Rude sighed as thunder harshly rumbled outside. He saw swirling clouds in the distance, twirling around as lightning struck in the air. The weather was alike to Liana; they could change into something new so quickly. The sky was dark gray or black, with a hint of faded green. The storm would subside soon.

His mind started to drift as the minutes ticked away from time, without anyone entering or leaving the room. His mind began to drift on the oncoming mission that he was supposed to leave on the following day. He would be searching with Tseng for a natural Materia fountain. Rude sighed and shook his head. He almost laughed now that he thought about the mission. Not only were natural Materia fountains hard to find, what use would Shinra be able to do with them? Make more Materia, or Mako reactors? The mission seemed so ridiculous. Materia fountains were extremely rare to be seen by a human being, and there weren't any colors or signs from the air or over the horizon line by how they could find one.

Rude shook his head again and began to adjust his knuckle busters. This mission was totally ludicrous.

A large flash of lightning and a deafening crash of thunder tore away his thoughts. His ears rang with shrilling annoyance. Rude cursed slightly and tried to cover his ears as the next flash of lightning and boom of thunder followed. He heard screams from other rooms, side by side and across the hall. The weather wasn't exactly shaping up to be promising today. Rude felt a little glad Liana had fallen in the hall, not the fact that she was hurt, but the fact that she wouldn't be able to run outside and try and get back to the hotel.

As the lightning and thunder subsided a little, he was able to uncover his ears and breathe a small sigh. He never exactly cared for storming weather; he had grown up under usually sunny skies and the sound of waves crashing against the cliffs. His life had been peaceful in the beginning, and secretly inside his mind, he was afraid when the storms hit, because they were usually nasty and unpredictable. Since they had lived by the sea, who would guess what the waves would bring in next?

Since he had joined the Turks, he learned to control the fear, but still, it roamed inside him.

He glanced over at Liana again, who had moved slightly, but not nearly enough for him to call a doctor. She had probably just twisted in pain or something. He didn't know.

Rude turned to the door as he heard a small knock. He said, "Come in!"

The door just barely cracked open when he saw Reno's face. "Is she all right?"

Rude motioned for him to come in, and Reno nodded the acceptance. He edged his way into the room and closed the door behind him.

"I don't think anyone will miss me not being in the other room."

Rude didn't laugh. He sighed and placed his fingers under his chin. He breathed slowly in and out as Reno calmly sat down in another chair and folded his hands behind his head. He gazed up into the ceiling, watching the lights from above dance and flicker on and off.

"Weather's pretty bad out there… eh?"

Rude softly jerked up. "Huh?"

Reno chuckled. "Are you alive?"

"Yeah, somewhat."

"You look like you just saw a fricking ghost. Something up? Or are you just leaving a poor excuse for being tired?"

Rude just shrugged his shoulders. He began to fidget with his knuckle busters again. Thunder rolled outside the window.

"I just wish I hadn't seen Liana in the hospital, she knows how much we care for her. Why did she have to put us through so much pain?"

"Don't ask me…" Reno said, shrugging his shoulders. "I wouldn't have a clue. Liana… she's very… uh… unpredictable."

"Tell me about it."

"Liana isn't perfect, but I know she's the closet one to being perfect right now in my life. It's a real relief to be a friend to her, I never really get any friends due to my job, and finding friends isn't exactly on my list of things to do. Besides, how can you find any when you have a large reputation to uphold, and you're feared by a lot of people?"

"I feel the same way, but finding friends is a little more important to me."

Reno laughed. Then, he placed his fist over his mouth to cough. "You're still a kid Rude, even if you're older than me. But you never really had any friends; I think that's why. But you know, Rude, you're my friend ain't you?"

"Well… in job related terms, I suppose." He took off a knuckle buster.

"Well then, finding people to hate and love shouldn't be hard for you."

Rude wanted to laugh right there, but under the circumstances he was in, it would be considered almost dangerous. He sighed instead and continued to play around with his knuckle buster.

More thunder and lightning were clashing outside. Reno didn't wince as the light came to greet his green eyes. Rude turned away, not showing the grimace on his face. Reno glanced out the window to watch as swirling clouds began to come down. His eyes widened.

Sirens began to blare all around the hospital, loud and shrilling. Reno knew what it was already. He leaped to take on the action. It wasn't far off and he could already feel the winds trying to pry in and destroy. He ran to pick up Liana, even though his body was still a little weak. He grasped her gently under his fingers and motioned for Rude to open the door. Rude followed his directions and together, they both ran down the hall with their possession. Rude was trailing behind as he opened other doors to scream the warning and help the sick citizens. Reno continued to run in the direction the nurses and staffs were going, pushing wheelchairs and soft cots to the elevator and to the steps.

There wasn't too much time right now. He knew that everyone wouldn't be able to get them all downstairs by elevator. The power would go out, he knew it would.

"Don't get in the elevator!" Reno screamed, his legs kicking faster.

Nurses and staff didn't turn their heads to look but instead turned their bodies and began to move the people down the steps. Reno hurried down them quickly, avoiding people left and right. At last, he got to the bottom and found several stored boxes under the steps. He took Liana and gently placed her down under the steps, where it would be safer then in her room. He began to open and search the boxes for blankets and necessary items. He threw out the blankets to people as they came rushing down the stairs. The lights flickered on and off a lot as the noise from above began to grow louder, and finally, they shut off entirely and the emergency lights were turned on.

"Damn!" Reno said, tossing some of the boxes to nurses and others. He glanced around, as the emergency lights were bright and glaring. "Where the fuck is Rude?"

He paid no mind as he heard more footsteps and he assumed Rude was well on his way. He grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Liana's body, holding her hand and squeezing it gently.

"Gee…" he whispered in her ear. "I bet you wish you were awake to be seeing this…"

She made no response; the only sign of indication that she was not seriously damaged was when a small drop of sweat came down from her forehead.

Reno only looked down at her with his green eyes. "I know how much this must make you hot, but glass or other things won't be able to cut you now. I'll crawl under with you once it gets really bad out…" He looked around again. "Once Rude comes, we'll all be able to crawl under…" He whispered softly to her as the room hushed with a small silence. The only noise was crying children and comforting staff. "This blanket can hold all of us."

Roaring winds were heard as even more people, but growing less, were pounding their feet on the stairs. Reno glanced up to see Rude, carrying a small child. Rude saw them as well as he stepped off the stairs and came over with the small boy.

Reno motioned to him. "We need to all crawl under. Hurry!" The roaring was growing much louder as the winds whipped around as the funnel approached even closer to the building.

The three all crawled under the enormous blanket and they made their way closer to the stairs. If they all got under the steps, they would have a lot better chance of not being hurt. But then again, that excluded the fact that the stairs could fall right on top of them. It was the smartest choice right now.

Reno watched as the young boy covered his ears to block out the boisterous hell. Liana still made no reaction to whether she was going to wake up or not. Reno could feel her body heat, and she seemed pretty hot. His fingers gripped her wrist to find that her pulse was racing, racing as fast as a Chocobo in S class, on a winning streak. He tapped Rude's shoulder to ask about it.

"Rude!" Reno shouted as the terrifying deafening sound grew even louder. "Why is her pulse racing like that?!"

"That's the way it was when she fainted!!" he shouted in response.

Reno turned away he motioned for the kid to come closer. In a sense, he could feel the boy's pain. His ears were ringing and trembling greatly.

The boy came closer and Reno wrapped his arm around him and Liana. The winds were starting to throw debris into the walls of the hospital, Reno could hear it outside. He heard stone and cement being pulled off the building of the hospital, and being thrown far into the air. As soon as the walls were ripped away, the winds began to pick up a lot in the room. It started getting cold. Reno's ears were popping as the pressure began to drop, rapidly.

Rocks and pebbles were being tossed about. Reno's foot was sticking out from the blanket and his bare leg was pulled up by the winds and rocks and pebbles began to pound it, creating bruises and irritating cuts. Reno could feel his blood being stripped away by the fierce winds.

Rude had his eyes clenched shut as his sunglasses were ripped away. The blanket was swaying up and down as the winds tried to force it away. His grunts of pain and struggling to hang on were growing more understanding. Reno tried to hang on to the blanket, Liana and the boy at the same time. He pulled them all closer yet to the wall and found out he couldn't even pull them any further. They slid off into the little corner, which was only about two feet anyways, but the winds seemed to calm down some. The roaring was still loud and crashing, if not louder.

It was a bad time for Reno to glance over at Liana, for a small rock got under the blanket and slashed across his face. But as he looked, he realized that Liana was beginning to wake up. Bad timing.

"Liana!" Reno cried. "Cover your ears, Liana!"

Liana wasn't fully awake, but by instinct, her hands flew up to her ears and covered them. The pressure continued to drop even further. Everyone's ears were popping now.

Reno came closer, and the boy did too. He kissed her lightly on the lips and yelled, "You're all right!!"

Crumbling rocks were beginning to crash down, cement and torn wall were raining. Several chunks nearly landed on Reno's feet. The winds grew even stronger yet. The blanket began to loosen from Reno's grip. Glass showered down from above, and more rocks too. Soon the whole world seemed to be raining chaos. Reno winced as the blanket was torn from his grip.

"Dammit!!" he cried. He glanced over to see Rude, who had his hands over his head. His body was slipping, Reno knew he would have to do something about it.

"Rude!!" Reno yelled out, letting go of Liana for a moment and hunching closer to Rude. "Grab on now!"

Rude pried his hand away from his head and wrenched his hand around Reno's. Reno quickly reeled him in like a fish, taking no pause to rest his hand. Rude slid in closer to Liana, who immediately grabbed his body to hug. The boy trembled near them.

Reno came in closer to them as he saw a support beam from above break and crash down. The beam crashed down through the levels and landed on the ground…

… right on top of Reno's left foot.

He grimaced in pain and hissed, but his voice didn't scream. At least the beam would keep him down and pin him so he wouldn't fly off. Liana heard his hiss of pain and grabbed his hand to hold. The beam cracked loudly.

"Liana!" Reno hollered. "Don't let go please!!"

Liana nodded, the reality coming back to her head. The winds continued to scream, but they could tell it was fading somewhat. The tornado had already passed over their area. Now it was headed to finish the building and head for the rest of the city.

Reno began to pray softly in his head that the Pillar holding the hospital up wouldn't go. If it did, that was it. Not any of them would survive that fall down into hell.

The winds and thundering noises began to subside a little as the cloud of gray and black dust disappeared back into the sky. Torn papers and junk whirled counterclockwise in the direction of the spinning vortex.

Reno lifted his head to look up, hoping dust and debris wouldn't rain down on them. He hoped the storm wouldn't come back either.

"Liana…?" he said, closing his eyes.

"I'm here Reno. I won't leave you."

"Help…" Reno choked. "Get the beam off my foot, it's killing me for Christ's sake!"

Liana nodded and Rude got up to help as well.

They together pulled it off as the people were beginning to get up form their spots to inspect everyone.

A nurse came by to check on the four. She called out to someone else, "Get a med pack! This man's leg is injured!"

Reno rolled his eyes as he heard approaching footsteps. "Oh God… the attention of the crowd… eh?"

Liana giggled slightly. Reno laughed as well. He meant it as a joke to have her at least laugh a little. Reno smiled. He loved her beautiful features… especially when Liana grinned. He was beginning to agree with everyone else who had told him about Liana. He was falling in love with her… how? He didn't know, he just felt like he was falling in love with her, even if he had only known her for a few days. Reno smiled as Liana lifted the heavy beam with the other people.

Rude held onto the child and got up to look for his nurse. Reno and Liana remained there together watching the blue skies appearing after the storm.

"… Liana?"

She looked down to him as her fingers curled under the beam. She heaved it up with everyone else. "Yeah? Reno?"

He grinned as the beam finally was pushed away. Liana shoved away the nurses, declaring that he was fine. "What is it Reno?" She finally admitted to grab a med pack to help the wounds on his leg.

"I… I…"

Liana smiled as she saw Rude come back over.

"I…"

Liana gazed into his green eyes with a passionate stare and winked her eye. Reno smiled, he knew it would be all right.

"Liana, I love you."

She stopped momentarily as she was gauzing his bleeding cut and her eyes turned to face him again. She smiled, showing a few of her beautiful teeth. Her hair hung in small strands around her face and the rest was hanging down limply, full of sweat and grime. "Reno…" she said, getting down closer to his soft body.

"I think I'm… falling in…"

"Shh…" Liana said, putting her finger over his lips. She leaned even closer to his body and near his ear. Rude smiled as he watched from behind her.

"I love you too…"


Amber Gehrke's Fanfiction