Even the calm demeanor of Cloud Strife was struck by the sight below. He'd just watched them drag Reno to another section of the lab, close to where he knew the tanks were– he shuddered involuntarily from his perch in the broken ceiling. He'd worked his way down through all the wreckage of the Shinra building, past leaking poison and inhaled a lot more toxins than he should have, but the sounds below had reverberated up to him through the broken shafts and he knew he had finally found their friend.

"Dammit." He swore under his breath. There was no way his cell phone would reach outside these walls but Reno needed him now. He didn't know what exactly they'd done to him, but by the way he'd broken down just now, and the uncontrolled puking, he did not look good. He gripped the hilt at his back reassuringly and made to jump, but stopped when he saw the blonde raise a hand to her ear.

"He is? Thank you, I will deal with it." She lowered her hand from her com and in a split second her gun was in her hand. Cloud didn't realize what happened until the bullet was in his shoulder and he was crashing through the hole in the ceiling to the floor below.

Before he could move she had his sword arm pinned beneath one heeled shoe and the gun just inches from his face. He was stunned until he saw the flash of mako blue in her eyes and then something hit his head and he was out.

Tiffa shoved her phone back into her pocket once more.

"Still not answering." She hissed in frustration, half to herself, half to the bald man behind her.

"Maybe he found something." Any hope he may have was held in check by the Turk inside him. He would carry out this mission uncompromised to the end. Tiffa however, was getting anxious.

"If he has, then why hasn't he called? What if he did find them, and they got him too?"

"Its Cloud."

"He's not invincible."

Rude gripped her arm and she felt a wave of guilt that he was comforting her when it was his partner who was missing, so she composed herself and looked up at his shaded eyes.

"He was headed for the centre of the city, why don't we go that way and see what we can find out?"

Rude nodded. "But this time, I'm calling back up."

"Good idea."

Cloud woke feeling heavy. His arms were chained painfully above his head, the only reason he was on his feet. He saw blood trail down unstoppered from the bullet wound in his shoulder. He tried to open his mouth but it was duct taped shut and his eyes wandered up until he saw Reno at the other side of the room. The red head was strapped into a chair, his back to Cloud, probably didn't even know he was there. Then someone blond stepped in his line of sight.

"Hello," she whispered, and he was sure now they hadn't let Reno see him. "We're going to get some more information out of the little Turk while we still can, but you have some answers I want too. You tell me where you found that element now and you can save yourself and Reno a lot of pain."

He strained against the chains in defiance but felt strong arms steady him from either side and saw two huge goons.

"Don't think you're the only rogue Soldier out there, Cloud. My friends and I have just been biding our time. Now, unless you have the answers I want, don't make a fuss and enjoy the show."

He narrowed his eyes to indicate he wouldn't give in and continued to struggle against the chains and the Soldiers but it was pointless. His strength was slowly bleeding out of him. His thoughts went back to Rude and Tiffa. If these people were ex-Soldier, then they were all in trouble. But watching Levi approach Reno, he knew who needed his help most right now.

Levi walked around in front of Reno. His head barely lifted to meet her. Something still drained into his veins through an IV line, but it did nothing in it to dull the pain in his body. He felt so weak and so tired and he just wanted to fade away, but her hand was under his chin, her face just inches from his, and he couldn't escape reality.

"Alright, no more mind games and no more round about questions. These are Mako tanks, right? Like the ones used on Cloud Strife?"

He just stared at her. A slap rang through the room. Water rose in his right eye but he stared back at her just as stone faced.

"It doesn't really matter though does it? What I want to know, is everything about the new Shinra corporation. And most of all, where you got the information on the element. Now, I know it was Cloud Strife, but where did he get his information?"

Reno shrugged, though it hurt. "He's a mysterious guy."

The other side of his face stung, but the blow to his stomach rocked his whole body and he bent forward and much as the restraints would allow. She pulled his head back up by the hair and he stared at her defiantly.

"Tell me about him."

"Sure thing." He smiled. And once again he fell back on his best survival tactic– humour. "He's hilarious, I mean, you should hear the jokes this guy tells. And talking– sheesh, you can never get him to shut up. And talk about a ladies man, he–"

She gripped his left hand and pulled out her knife. "You know, I kind of liked you Reno, and I gave you every opportunity to give me answers without resorting to such tactics, but enough is enough. No more jokes." He tried to jerk away but of course he was still tied down and so could do nothing but scream when the knife point drove through his palm and came out the other side.

Several metres behind him, Cloud screamed in rage underneath his duct tape. Someone struck him on the back of the head and his vision swam before refocusing. He watched Levi slowly twist the blade while Reno bowed his head, teeth bitting into his lower lip to keep from screaming further.

"Impressive." She said when she finally stopped and he couldn't help the dry sob that escaped him.

"Oh, you bitch." he breathed. "That wasn't impressive, that was Turk training at its finest."

"Turks? I'm not all that impressed with them, and you shouldn't be either when they gave up on you so quickly. Remember, no one know's you are alive. No one is coming for you. I have all the time in the world to extract the information I need from you." Her words were dark and bit deep.

For Cloud her words were just as painful as he realized what Reno had thought all along– though that he had been abandoned and no one was coming for him.

"Reno, save yourself the pain and tell me about the element." Her hand rested on the knife in his hand again and he began to shake, his body unable to handle much more suffering. But his nerves remained determinedly in place.

"Sister, you are gonna do what you are gonna do but I ain't talking."

He couldn't hold back the scream this time and in desperation to escape the pain he threw what little weight he had against the back of his chair.

It rocked, then tumbled and his head smacked against the floor. He almost wished for everything to go black but it didn't. However, a second later he was glad, because his eyes saw something wonderful and horrible at the other side of the room.

"Cloud?" He whispered first then more strongly, "CLOUD!" Levi cursed and someone was hauling his chair back up, but he saw the young blond struggling hard against his bonds– bloodied and weakened, but there, proof that he was not alone.

"HA!" He laughed at Levi. "So much for no one looking for me!"

"He's the only one."

"Bullshit!" Reno barked back.

"And he just watched you get tortured. He could end it, tell us what we want to know."

But her harsh words were met with another laugh. "Course he wouldn't say! Why the Hell would he? We're both professionals." He smiled, his mind racing to all the possibilities of who else might be out there, did Cloud have a plan? Would he break free now and kill everyone here? And were the Turks just waiting to bust in and save him?

"Don't get your hopes up Reno." She said seeing the new defiance in his face. "Even if the Turks did find us, they wouldn't be a match for us." She leaned close and allowed that eerie blue light of mako infusion to flash in her eyes. He gasped. "Yes, we are all ex-Shinra Soldiers. We may not know the secrets you do, but we have the strength to drag them out of you and take down all the other Turks. And with these two mako tanks, we can get stronger."

Reno's smile faded. So that's how they had caught Cloud. The boy was talented, but Soldiers were not a force to laugh at. He knew.

"Then nothin's changed. I'm still not talking."

She patted his head as if in sympathy. "Okay, if that's what you want." When she turned her back he saw someone present a tray of instruments to her and his heart raced. He resisted looking back over his shoulder at Cloud, knowing it would do no good.

"The others will be here in five." Rude whispered. They crouched in the centre of Midgar, watching the guards at the door.

"What are we going to do?" Tiffa asked. He looked at her and she understood, even if those serious eyes were hidden behind tinted glass.

"Okay, on three. One, two, three!"

She jumped high, landing a powerful kick on the guard to the right. Rude downed his with one punch next to her. He threw the door open. Meeting two more, but nothing was stopping him now and the guards tumbling down the stairs before Tiffa could even react.

"So much for surprise." she muttered.

Rude just grunted, following the falling bodies down the stairs.

When they burst into the room, all was silent and still for one moment. Tiffa screamed Cloud's name, seeing him chained up and bleeding. Rude stared at the blond woman who had pliers in Reno's mouth, frozen in surprise by their sudden entrance.

"Eh Padna" Reno managed around the pliers and then the room erupted in violence.

Reno gasped in relief when the pliers dropped and his mouth remained full of teeth but cringed at the loud gun fire all around him.

Rude and Tiffa dodged behind a turned over table. He'd already caught a bullet in the arm but ignored it and clutched his own weapon tightly. He looked at Tiffa, then to Cloud. "Go."

She nodded and he gave her covering fire. Several men dropped dead, Soldier or not, a well aimed bullet was still deadly.

But they were terribly outnumbered. Tiffa reached Cloud without getting hit but the men restraining him would not make it easy for her. She dodged and struck and took a blow but never stopped.

Cloud watched in fury, but now it was only chains that held him. They were looped over a hook high above, but he didn't hesitate before jumping up, grabbing the chains and climbing until he reached it, even with his wounded shoulder. He slipped the chain loop off the hook and dropped back to the ground.

Tiffa took a hard hit and rolled on the ground gasping. Rod in hand, one of the Soldiers made to finish her but his weapon suddenly became looped in chains and was yanked away. He looked up and both men realized their mistake.

By the time Tiffa got to her feet, the men were down and she ran to Cloud. He was peeling the tape of his mouth and breaching hard.

"My sword." He nodded to the corner where it had been discarded and she helped him over to it.

"Cloud, you're shot." But he ignored her, ramming his wrists into his blade and severing the chains. He leaned against the hilt to help him stand, but with the sword back in his hands, he seemed stronger.

"Go for Reno, okay." He said. She didn't argue.

He leapt into the air and hammered down, the force of his strike shaking the whole room.

Tiffa ran. Bullets still whizzed by, Rude never stopped firing but there were just so many of them. She made it to the chair but a hard blow sent he sprawling.

"Tiffa!" Reno cried and she rolled from the blond woman's second strike. She dodged Levi's incredibly powerful blows and she thought she felt a snap in her arm when she deflected a kick. A second kick to her abdomen knocked her flat.

"Tiffa run!" Reno urged but his scream died as Levi's descending fist was gripped from behind. "Rude..."

"Hey Reno. Sorry I'm late."

"Never late partner, just on time."

Levi turned on the large Turk and Tiffa didn't waste a second getting to Reno's chair. She ripped away the straps and tried to pull him to his feet but his knees buckled and he collapsed.

"Sorry." He wheezed against her. "Guess I'll just have to stay like this." she blushed, his head was resting against her chest, but some relief washed through her that he was still making jokes.

"Come here you." She slid her arms under his and hoisted him up, her heart sinking at how light he was. She managed to get him to the caved in section, backing in just enough to shield them from the bullets.

"Is there another way out from here?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Probably buried. 'Sides, I don't think I can move again." She gripped him tighter, sitting with him slouched against her, with her own back against the rough wall of the opening. She reached down to his left hand, the knife still in it.

"Wait." he hissed, recoiling. She felt his whole body shaking in weakness.

"I think I should take it out." He said nothing but didn't resist when she reached again and took his wrist. "Don't look." she whispered, pressing his face into her shoulder before getting a grip of the handle. In one fluid motion she pulled it out. He jerked and cried out but when he faced her he smiled.

"Wasn't so bad." His voice was faint.

"Hold on Reno." She wrapped the wound with the bandage from his wrist and then turned her attention back to the battle in the main room. Rude was bloodied but holding his own against the powerful woman. Cloud held back the others with unrelenting energy.

"Tell me you brought back up." Reno moaned but before she could even answer there was a bright white light, a flash bang stunned them all, and then it was all over.

When their vision cleared, they saw the whole room was dead silence. Rude was picking himself up, shaking his head. Men were restraining Levi and Tseung was helping Cloud to his feet.

Rude looked around until he spotted them.

"I heard you were in a coma." Reno said with a lopsided grin when his partner knelt next to him.

"I heard you were dead." Rude responded.

"Huh..." but too much had happene for Reno to keep smiling. To much pain and too much fear and when those strong arms closed around his all too thin body he couldn't hold it in.

Tiffa watched Rude's face as he stood with his young partner. One hand was lost in Reno's hair, holding his head against his chest, the other around his waist to keep him upright. He was feeling the ribs that were far too exposed, the tears that soaked his shirt, the tremors running through Reno's body. He was seeing the chair, the tools, the IV of drugs, and his face showed a hate and anger like Tiffa had never seen when he finally looked to the blonde woman now being hauled to her feet. She watched his muscles bunch and knew what he wanted to do, but suddenly he stopped, feeling Reno go limp, and knew that more than revenge, he needed to get his partner some help.

"Tseung." He called, reaching to pull Reno's legs up under his other arm. Their leader saw and nodded. "Take the helicopter." Rude shot a glance over his shoulder at Tiffa, she nodded and followed, grabbing Cloud's hand.

"Come on," she instructed. "This battle is done. Let's get you fixed up."