The sound of his phone ringing woke him with a start. Glaring at the innocent shadows on the ceiling did nothing to make the ringing stop, so he found the phone and answered it instead of flinging it across the room. More than one phone had been lost in that manner, something his walls could attest to.

"This had better be good." He did not quite growl into the phone, but it came very close.

"I'm sorry to wake you up, dear, but we need to get to my lab." Lucrecia sounded alarmed and rushed.

"Why?"

"Someone's broken in."

"What!?" Sephiroth sat up with a start, his body and mind fully awake in an instant. He was putting on boots before Lucrecia could respond. "How?"

"I don't know. Your father and I are on the way, meet us there."

"Did you notify security?" Coat, sword and keys were in hand as he made his way to the front door.

"Yes. They're waiting for us to get there."

"Good. See you there."

The drive to the Shinra building had never seemed so long before. Sephiroth broke every traffic law in Midgar on the way there, thankful for the lack of cars and pedestrians at this time of night. The police knew better than to pull over a military car that was in a hurry. Each minute that went by put him more on edge and made his temper deteriorate. He almost felt pity for the intruder.

As his car came to an abrupt halt in front of the Shinra building, his father's car made a similar stop. Sephiroth did not wait to greet either of his parents beyond a nod. Instead he headed up the stairs, three at a time, to reach the door. A wave of his security card unlocked it, and he was immediately set upon by a security guard. The man was momentarily taken aback by the appearance of Vincent Valentine. He was well dressed, as though he were going out to dinner and not investigating a break in at two-thirty in the morning. Vincent was a rare enough sight at the Shinra building that it would be talked about for days on end. The former Turk that rid the world of a deranged mad man to save the woman he loved and her unborn child was nearly legend.

The guard recovered quickly and focused on his duty to report to the General.

"Sir, disturbance was noted at oh-two-hundred. No security feed from Dr. Crescent's office or laboratory after emergency surveillance activated. No persons entered or exited the rooms or outside corridor. Full team awaits your orders in the Research Wing." All of this was stated at a near jog as he and his parents made their way to the elevator. "This elevator is the only one active, to facilitate your arrival, sir."

"Keep it active in case an emergency escape for Dr. Crescent is needed."

"Sir!" The guard saluted and returned to his post. Sephiroth was glad to note that the guard and the others were fully armed, weapons active and at the ready before the elevator doors shut.

"Sephiroth." Vincent's voice, quiet as always, held a gentle reproach. "You are frightening the guards."

"I don't particularly care who is frightened of me at this time of night, Father." The elevator was taking too long, just as the car ride had. He realized his hand was clenched into a first and forced himself to relax it. "When I catch whoever is in the lab, they had best hope all I do is 'frighten' them."

"Dear, why are you so angry? It's a break in." Lucrecia interjected. "I'm upset that it's in my lab, but that's no cause for such…fury."

"I'm angry because one of two situations is occurring." The elevator finally came to a stop and the 'ding' of the doors opening barely registered with anyone in the elevator car. They made their way to the group of guards that were outside the lab, all of whom made way for the party's arrival. "The security in your lab is the best there is. If it's a break in, that means an inside job."

Lucrecia immediately connected her tablet to the hand and retina scanner's panel, attempted to pull up the security feed from inside. She frowned, fingers flashing over the tablet.

"I can't get the camera feed. It's been cut off at the camera itself. No sound, either. The internal sensors are picking up movement, but they aren't able to be turned off unless the whole lab is shut down." If the lab were to be shut down, blast doors would fall into place at the entrance and all ventilation would be stopped to contain whatever triggered the emergency situation. "I can open the door, but it'll take a minute."

"Why?"

"Whoever is inside is clever. They completely rewrote the security codes. No need for retina scan or hand print or even a card. Just the correct series of numbers and letters. Amazing."

Sephiroth pulled out his gun, knowing full well that Vincent had done the same. A sword would be next to useless in the tight confines of the lab. They both took one side of the door, waiting for Lucrecia to finish with the controls so that they could enter.

"What's the second situation?" Lucrecia asked into the following silence.

"That the woman inside is awake."

"If she is?"

"Be cautious. If she woke from sedation, and is intelligent enough to rewrite classified security codes I will assume that she would be as eager for escape and as dangerous as I would be." This made his father frown. Sephiroth could not help but notice that the expression Vincent made in response to unhappy news was nearly the same as his own. Though not blood related, he had adopted many of his habits from watching Vincent as a child. The man had taught him from an early age to fight hand to hand and with guns of all kinds. He had even arranged for his adopted son to be tutored under the most prestigious swordsman alive. That had been where his talents truly came to light. "Mother, how much longer?"

"Done! Hit the red flashing button!" She quickly disconnected the tablet and set it aside, pulling her own gun from her purse, which joined the tablet on a nearby shelf. He knew better than to refuse her to enter. Vincent would protect her with his life just as he had done for the last thirty years. Lucrecia took a place behind Vincent, waiting for him to open the door.

One touch of the button and the door to the lab opened smoothly.