Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy characters, places and names are the rightful property of Square-Enix. I do not own them and this story is a non-profit departure from the original storyline, written for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of readers. I gain no monetary profit from it.

Chapter 3: Cat and Mouse

True to her word, it didn't take Rui long to locate the reactor and thus, the flight was relatively short as the helicopter made its way up over the mountains. From the looks of the terrain below, Zack could tell that, had they trekked through the mountain pass by foot, the trip would have taken them at least several hours if not an entire day.

A gray mist collected along the base of the reactor as the Apache neared the drop zone.

"Spooky." Kunsel spoke up beside him. "Will Rui be able to land in all that?"

"I've landed in worse." Rui called from the front of the Apache. "Just hang tight. I'll have you groundside in no time."

"Not sure I want to be groundside." Kanos mumbled, rubbing the side of his neck.

"Lock it down, private!"

Zack unbuckled his harness and hoisted himself up to a standing position as the Apache made its final descent. "I want eyes and ears sharp. I want everyone focused and I want chatter to a minimum. This was the general's last known location as far as our limited intel is concerned so our first priority is to look for survivors. Now we're entering a hot zone with a potential biohazard risk so I don't have to tell you to be on your toes. Keep your helmets on at all times. If you find any Tangos, aim low. We want them down but we also want them alive if possible."

As Rui lowered them closer to the reactor, the mist cleared slightly to reveal a rocky terrain. The reactor was tall, reaching out into the sky. It spread out to the edge of the mountainside before dipping down along with the cliff formation. It was impossible to gauge how deep the reactor went into the mountain. The exterior metal surface was aged and rusted as if it hadn't been used or serviced in years - not just months.

'If the reactor was derelict, why did the General want to investigate?' Zack mused. None of this made any sense and the more they discovered, the more questions he had. He didn't like it and more than once, he wished he had the full team with him.

Zack shook his head. Fear wouldn't do any of them any good, especially now. The dust cleared as the Apache finally touched ground and Zack slipped his helmet on tight. "Lock and load people! It's show time!"

He was the first one off, jumping down hard with his assault rifle aimed. Sears and Kunsel dropped on either side of him followed by Kanos, Sebastian, Essai and Kyneugh picking up the rear.

Zack snapped his finger and fanned his arm in two different directions. The squad split off, Kunsel moving left with Sebastian, Kyneugh and Essai while Zack moved right with Sears and Kanos.

The two groups made a wide sweep of the outer structure. As Zack's boots crunched down over brittle permafrost and hard gravel, he could hear a shrill wind echoing across the mountain caps even through the insulation of his helmet. His H.U.D. monitor measured constant blips with a clean canvas. Besides his group, he could pick up no other signs of movement.

He moved slowly closer to the reactor and saw that the entrance sat above a wide stairwell. The metal-grated stairs were heavily rusted and he had his suspicions whether or not they'd hold anyone's weight anymore without collapsing. The outer walls were no better, especially at this proximity. He could see peeling tarps of metal folding out from a rusty brown undercoat. Occasionally, a few errant spurts of smog would push out from the top spoke of the reactor, surprising him that it still ran in such disrepair.

His squad fanned around the right side and as they circled the wall, they could hear the vibrations of the pistons within. He kept a slow pace, crunching his way along until he finally reached the gated end, where a fence separated their path from the back of the reactor where the metal structure dipped low, down the back of the mountain cliff.

Zack pressed the comm on his helmet. "This is Bravo Leader. All clear on the right."

"Copy that, Bravo leader," Kunsel replied. "Same story on the left."

Zack nodded his head, moving at a normal pace now. His team circled back around to the front of the reactor, meeting up with Kunsel's team at the entrance.

Zack gave the corporal a nod before heading towards the sitting apache, its propellers still spinning in the wind. "Rui, I need you to patch me through to base camp on your terminal."

Rui was already tapping away at a laptop terminal in the seat next to her. "You're gonna have some chop but you'll get a signal."

"Very good." Zack pulled himself inside the apache and moved over towards the monitor screen as it produced a fuzzy image on the other side. He removed his helmet and set his rifle down off to the side.

Jessie appeared on screen with a pensive expression. "Major."

"Jessie." Zack's voice rose higher over the noise of the propellers outside. "We just touched down outside the reactor. The parameter's secure on the landing at least but that doesn't tell us anything. Has Delta leader made it back to base camp yet?"

"Yes sir. I'll alert him that you're on ground right away."

Zack noticed her voice was clipped and he had a feeling it was from more than just nervousness. But he wouldn't press it for now. He'd wait until he could ask Cloud directly.

"I would have thought my sister'd be the one fielding transmissions." Rui asked from beside him. Zack almost smirked. Rui didn't miss anything. Even though she was Captain rank like Cloud and she'd seen her share of the violence in Wutai, she never spoke much or let on. Zack knew she was just as capable as the rest of the veteran soldiers in Spec. Ops. So he wasn't surprised when she gave voice to his own concerns.

"You noticed too, huh?"

"What do you think happened?"

Zack shrugged. "Don't know. But don't worry. I'm sure your sister's fine."

Rui narrowed her eyes in a rare display of over protectiveness. "She'd better be."

Zack was about to say more when a new voice spoke up.

"Major. Glad to hear your voice."

Zack turned back to the monitor and grinned. "Cloud! You still keepin the fires warm?"

"Everyone's still in one piece if that's what you're asking."

Zack frowned, noticing the same hesitation in Cloud's voice. But at least everyone was okay. And he could tell by the fall of Rui's shoulders, that she'd been put at ease as well. So what was wrong? Cloud wasn't one to keep secrets. If he needed to know, the blond would tell him.

The black haired man cleared his throat. "Good to hear. In any case, we're at the platform. The outer parameter is secure. We're about to check the interior but from the looks of it at a distance, it's hard to tell how deep it runs into the mountains Place looks pretty run down too."

Cloud frowned at this. "There may be structural damage to consider as well."

"Yeah, I thought about that." Zack nodded with a sigh. "We've got rope. But I've got no desire to look any deeper than I have to."

Cloud nodded.

"Listen. I want this line to stay open. We won't have a visual inside the reactor but our audio communication should be consistent."

"Understood. We'll keep the stream running on our end."

Zack nodded again, preparing to leave.

"Zack… we have a situation."

Zack paused and traded looks with Rui before looking back down at the laptop. "What's the problem?"

"Elfe and Luxiere caught something on one of the video cameras shortly before I got back."

That would explain Elfe's absence. Zack rubbed his chin in worry. "What was it?"

Cloud shook his head. "We don't know. They tracked it down to the first floor stairwell but it… disappeared. I have Elfe and Luxiere searching hotel blueprints as we speak. Wedge and Biggs are posted on the west and east stairwells, Tiercel's on the entrance, and Jessie's got the terminal."

Zack nodded. He was pleased to hear Cloud was right on top of the situation. "Keep digging. Find out what it was. And if you can, try to keep it alive. This objective takes top priority."

"Understood." Cloud nodded "I won't let base camp stay compromised."

"You're in charge Captain. Do whatever you have to do to find out."

"And the signal feed?"

"Keep Jessie on it. She can keep tabs with Rui and my team both on separate networks. We'll keep you posted."

"Copy that." The blond sighed. "None of this makes any sense…"

Zack shrugged. "Same story here. Don't worry. We'll find out. In the meantime, focus on the tango in base camp."

"I'll keep you posted."

Zack nodded and gave a crisp salute. "Sounds good. Stay sharp Cloud. Over and out."

With that, the transmission ended and Zack looked back over at Rui. The brown haired woman had a slightly worried look on her face.

"Don't worry. Cloud will take care of it."

"A disappearing intruder?"

"I don't know. But he'll take care of it! Trust him… And your sister. They'll figure it out."

Rui sighed slightly and nodded. "Some sister. The girl's 25 and I'm still treating her like a kid."

"Older sibling syndrome." Zack smirked. "It can't be helped. Just wait until she starts kissing boys!"

Rui laughed at that and Zack chuckled slightly.

"Okay." The black haired man sobered up. "Once we're inside, take off and find a secure location to land. We'll radio in when we need pick up."

"Zack! You be careful in there. I have a bad feeling."

Zack smirked as he turned to leave. "Who doesn't? Don't worry. We'll stay sharp. Now get out of here before the landing breaks off or something!" With that, the bravo leader slipped his helmet back on, clutched his assault rifle and jumped out of the Apache.

He took a few steps away as the Apache slowly began to ascend back into the sky. Zack didn't waste any more time. He quickly marched over to the head of his squad and stretched his arm forward.

"Okay boys. This isn't a picnic! Let's get to work!"

XXXX

Cloud sighed as soon as the transmission ended with Zack. "This objective takes top priority huh?" He muttered, echoing Zack's words. "Easier said than done."

Jessie watched him with sympathy. "There has to be a reason why he disappeared." She offered helpfully.

Cloud smiled in appreciation. "Yeah. Thanks."

Just then, Cloud's headset released a dull buzz. "Captain."

Cloud thumbed the headset. "Go ahead, Elfe."

"We've found something. I… think you better come take a look for yourself."

Cloud nodded and began moving towards the door. "Copy that. On my way."

He turned to look back at Jessie, as he continued for the door. "Stay on the transmission feed. Let me know if anything happens."

Jessie smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "Will do, sir. You'll be the first to know."

Cloud smiled and continued out the door. For a rookie, Jessie was pretty level headed. He had a feeling she'd be just fine in Spec Ops. He'd have to remind himself to write a letter of recommendation for her when they got out of here. 'If we get out of here…'

The blond shook his head. There was no time for dwelling on negative thoughts. Instead, he turned his thoughts back to the bigger issue. He easily jogged down the stairs and moved into the office behind the front desk. There he saw Luxiere standing beside Elfe, holding up one of the blueprints while she was pointing at the computer. The two of them looked up when he entered.

"Captain." Elfe waved him over. "Glad you're here."

"What's the news?" He asked, moving towards them.

"Have a look at this." Elfe scooted back in her chair so Cloud could get a better look at the computer monitor.

Cloud stood and looked over. It seemed Elfe had positioned the two variant level one blue prints close together but other than that, he couldn't see anything different.

"What am I supposed to be seeing?"

"You remember when we talked about these computer blueprints being the same as the paper one Luxiere is holding?"

"Yes. Aren't they?"

"I thought so at first. But look closer. See this?" She pointed towards the middle of the second blueprint. "That entrance there, should be on the paper right? But…"

She stood up and pressed her finger against the same spot on the blueprint that Luxiere was holding. "It's completely different. See? That's the stairwell there. But there's only wall until it gets to the front entrance, see?"

Cloud rubbed his chin, nodding in understanding. "So you think these two blueprints are an earlier model?"

"Not quite." Elfe pointed back to her computer monitor. "The date of completion is too close. Each of these blueprints and the paper blueprint are dated only a few days apart."

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "So you think there's something else?"

Elfe grinned with a slight smirk. "I know there's something else. I printed out copies of each blueprint on 8'½ by 11 paper."

"The printer works?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Miraculously. In any case, I want you to come see this. If my suspicions are correct, I think it's better everyone see it to believe it."

"Well you've got my curiosity piqued now. So let's see."

Elfe lead Cloud over towards the copier where the two sheets of paper had been printed. Luxiere followed behind, still holding the paper blueprint.

The corporal spread the blueprint down on the table while Elfe picked up the printed blueprints from the copier. She then pulled out a flashlight from one of her packs. Cloud watched in mild curiosity. Elfe set the flashlight on the table, face up, and held the first blueprint copy over the light, then rotated the second one sideways.

"At first glance, it just looks like a regular, unfinished blueprint." She explained while working.

Cloud nodded wordlessly.

"But there's just too much of a coincidence to think otherwise, especially when there are plans here that don't match the plans on the printed blueprint."

She continued to arrange the second sheet so that both blueprints were visible at the same time.

"Now, I'm willing to bet… if I overlap the two… aha!" a triumphant smile appeared on her face and Cloud raised an eyebrow.

She turned to the Delta leader with a wide grin. "Come see for yourself captain. I think I just solved our little mystery."

Luxiere walked over alongside Cloud and both men started at what they saw over the light.

The two blueprints, that were otherwise incomplete, when brought together, created an entire sub-level that stretched past a 'supposed' wall and stretched down into a lower level, designed in such a way that it carried a strong resemblance to the original first floor with various flaws.

"I'll be damned." Luxiere whistled.

Cloud merely shook his head with a rueful grin. "You really are a genius, Elfe. You make your sister proud."

The auburn haired woman brightened in appreciation. "I think we're right on track to finding our tango, sir."

Cloud nodded, still looking at the newly made map. "This plan shows a hidden door between the first and second floors on the eastern stairwell. You two didn't notice anything?"

"No." Luxiere shook his head. "And apparently neither did Biggs. He ran patrol up and down that stairwell after us."

"Well now we know what to look for." Cloud walked over to his helmet and refastened his headset to the side of it.

Elfe made for her own helmet on the computer table. "Orders sir?"

"You and Luxiere are with me. We'll take Biggs as well. Finding that tango takes top priority; orders directly from Bravo leader. So we're going to find out who was snooping around and we're going to get some answers."

"It's about time we got some action." Luxiere grinned, snapping his headset to his own helmet and pulling it over his head. "I was getting bored with the babysitting duty."

"Don't get overconfident." Cloud warned, pulling his helmet on. "We still don't know what to expect down there and with only four soldiers, we'll be playing a tight game of cat and mouse. I don't want any heroics, got it?"

"Aye aye, cap'n." Luxiere gave a casual salute.

Elfe rolled her eyes before pulling her helmet on.

Cloud checked the safety on his assault rifle and nodded to himself. "Right. Let's get to it then!"

Elfe grabbed the two-page blueprint and the three soldiers quickly made their way to the first floor stairwell. As soon as they opened the door, a red scope light flashed on Cloud before immediately turning off.

"Captain?"

Cloud and the others looked up while Biggs quickly made his way down from two flights up. "Did something come up?"

"In a matter of speaking." Cloud nodded as Biggs rounded the last set of stairs towards them.

"We think we may have found out the reason why we lost the tango from earlier. There's a secret entrance somewhere in this stairwell and you're going to help us find it."

"Yes, sir."

Cloud clapped his shoulder. "Nice reflexes by the way."

"Uh, Thanks…"

He could hear the man's unease and it made him grin behind his helmet. But the moment quickly faded as he stared up at the shoddy, stained walls and brick stairwell. "There's more to this picture than just a secret entrance." He started, taking the first steps up the stairwell. "Even if we find it, whoever built this place is either extremely smart or extremely lucky, because from what you tell me, Elfe, our motion trackers lost them too, right?"

"Yes sir, that's correct."

Cloud released a sigh and gripped his assault rifle with one hand. "Too many unknowns…" He walked up to the wall adjacent to the first set of stairs and rubbed his gloved hand against the surface. "Solid." He muttered. "And from what I know, you two didn't take your time running here. If there were a collapsible entryway, we'd know. Keep your eyes open. Look for anything out of the ordinary."

Luxiere and Biggs walked past him, searching more walls and surfaces. Elfe checked the main landing in case there was a dropdown hatch on the floor.

The four of them continued to mill about until Luxiere sighed in frustration at the second floor landing. Like the other landings, all he found was solid wall and an empty paint can set off to one corner. "This is ridiculous. There has to be something more than this stupid can!" He kicked the offending object with his boot and as soon as he did, a series of pops set off. Luxiere jumped immediately.

"What was that?" Cloud rushed up the stairs, closely followed by Elfe while Biggs rushed down from above.

"I… I don't know." The man shook his head. "I just kicked this can and the wall started making sounds."

"Sounds?" Elfe moved forward. "Step aside."

Luxiere backed away and the young woman knelt down to observe the now dented paint can. She tried to pick it up but it seemed stuck to the ground, as if glued there by some excess paint residue.

"What do you make of it, Lieutenant?" Cloud asked, moving beside her.

"Curious. I never would have noticed this but it's been sitting out in plain sight all this time. And it's glued to the ground with a lot more adhesive than any paint I've ever seen."

She tried twisting the can. Then pushing it. And pulling once again. No matter what, it wouldn't budge.

"This is pointless." Biggs sighed. "It's just a paint can, right?"

"Nothing in this place is as it seems." Cloud frowned, still watching Elfe.

The woman sighed, rising to her feet. Then another thought struck her. She lifted her foot and stepped down on the top of the can. With little resistance, the can immediately sank into the ground and an audible hum resonated from the adjacent wall.

All four of them started as a trail of blue lights flashed down the side of the wall in quick succession, and then nothing, as if it had never happened. The wall was still there.

Luxiere shrugged. "Okaaaaay. Now what?"

"Wait." Elfe watched as the paint can slowly began to rise up out of the floor again. She narrowed her eyes, took a guess and reached her hand out to the wall… and started as it passed through the solid surface.

"Whoa!" She quickly drew her hand back, and flexed her gloved fingers. "Did you se-"

"I saw." Cloud nodded. He reached his own hand out and suddenly felt solid resistance; not much but it was getting stronger. He looked down at the paint can that was almost completely sitting above the surface as it had been earlier.

"I get it."

Cloud thumbed his comm unit. "Jessie, do you copy."

"Here, sir."

"I think we've just made a breakthrough. I'm taking Luxiere, Elfe and Biggs with me to investigate. No matter what happens, stand by in the control room. You're in charge until I return."

"Copy that."

Cloud released his hand on the comm unit and repeated Elfe's move from earlier, stepping down on the paint can. The blue lights flashed down the side of the wall once again and he reached his arm forward, slipping it through the wall. "That explains it. A trigger mechanism. We have to pass through before the can rises otherwise there's some kind of… material that solidifies the entrance."

Without another word, Cloud took a step forward and sank through the wall. The last thing he heard was a loud gasp before plunging into darkness.

He hurried forward a few steps, looking down at the H.U.D. within his helmet. The canvas was a mess of static and haze. It all made sense to him now. Whatever made that artificial wall was scrambled their motion tracking device. That meant they'd be completely blind in this place.

He took several more steps and to his surprise the room light up as if he had just opened his eyes. It was a dull lighting though, revealing a narrow passage that ended several feet ahead with an oval pit at the other end. Cloud raised his rifle and took measured steps forward. He heard sounds from behind and soon, Elfe materialized as if out of thin air, followed closely by Luxiere and then Biggs.

"That was crazy!" Biggs gasped.

"Lock it down!" Cloud hissed. "I want complete silence. Whoever's behind this is very smart. But we just figured out their little magic trick, so my guess is we just caught them by surprise. Now our motion trackers don't work in here so we're moving blind. We're crippled enough as it is so our only advantage is the element of surprise. I want tight formation. Eyes and ears open and if you see anything, signal, don't speak. Got it?"

They all nodded and Cloud returned the nod, satisfied that everyone understood. He then slowly made his way towards the pit.

He crouched low at the entrance and the dull sounds of some sort of piping aqueduct could be heard in the distance.

The others crouched around him. Cloud pointed to Luxiere and the man nodded. He pressed his stomach to the ground before slipping into the pit with his rifle aimed. Elfe and Biggs secured his ankles as the man dipped lower into the opening.

After several tense moments, Luxiere clicked the tip of his boot to the ground twice; the all-clear signal. Biggs and Elfe promptly pulled him back up. Cloud pointed to himself and then Biggs, followed by Elfe and Luxiere. They all understood; the scouting order.

As silently as they could, they made their way down into the pit. To Cloud's mind, as he descended, the entire place looked like a stone tunnel. Again, the passage was narrow and led up to another manhole. They crept over and cautiously made their way down. This manhole dropped deeper than the first and they descended for several minutes at least in the narrow, oval cavity until the sidings opened up into a dank and wide tunnel.

Cloud frowned, dropping silently. The ground felt moist against his boots. The tunnel had an earthy formation with uneven grounding, moss strewn floors and rugged walls. Several of the walls dipped into darker recesses giving him the chilling sensation that they'd just entered some sort of catacomb.

The echoing sounds of piping and some far off mechanism could easily be heard, louder now than it had been before. He almost figured they could move at ease under the masking of the noise but he wasn't going to be that bold just yet. Instead he turned his head towards the others and spoke at a very low voice. "Whisper." He hissed. "I'm judging this is some type of fallout shelter of some sort."

"It looks that way." Elfe whispered back. "But there sounds like a good piping system somewhere in the distance. A lot better than in the hotel at least."

"Why would anyone want to go underground?" Biggs asked pensively. "You think maybe this is the terrorist hideout?"

"I don't know." Cloud whispered. "The general didn't mention anything about any terrorists in the video feed… and if they really had occupied the village, why hide?"

"Maybe to catch us by surprise?" Luxiere asked sarcastically. But there was a tone to his low voice that marked his own confusion about the affair as well.

"Keep it tight." Cloud returned. "It's time we found some answers."

The four-man team continued to move forward at a slow pace. Suddenly the air was broken by the loud patter of running feet.

Elfe gasped. "Did you hear that?"

"It came from the left!" Biggs pointed in a tight hiss.

Cloud nodded, and the four of them rushed silently towards the dark recess, several feet ahead and to the left. As they neared the portal, they could see that it ended with a wide, wooden door. Elfe crouched low and to the left side of the door. Luxiere shadowed her and stood for a higher angle. Biggs leaned on the right side. All rifles were aimed while Cloud rushed to the center.

He took a deep breath. They could all hear noises now, coming from the other side. Cloud wasn't sure what to expect, but enough was enough. It was time they got some answers. He took another breath and, with all his might, kicked his foot into the wood. The door immediately swung open and a loud scream tore out from the other end of the door causing all four soldiers to start in alarm. On the other side, was a scared little girl being clutched by and equally frightened young woman with rich, brown hair and shimmering green eyes.

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's note: Thanks for reading. Please Review. Chapter Four should be released in a week at the latest.