Disclaimer: Characters are (c) Square Enix, I merely use them for my own games

AN: Thank you again for all your support. hands out hugs to all my reviewers I have nearly finished my original plan for this story, but might carry it on. This was going to be my third-to-last chapter. I'm going to update again soon.

By the time the other two men had reached the building, Rude had managed to crack the majority of the security codes. He left to greet the others. Cloud looked frankly uncomfortable to be in the Shinra grounds, whilst Vincent was terrified for his friend. It had only been three days, but Vincent knew that three days within the Shinra laboratories was enough time to lose your humanity.

The two AVALANCHE members followed Rude into the building, sticking to the fire exists and empty corridors. Cloud kept his hand on the sword handle, whilst Vincent's hand stayed in his pocket, holding his gun tightly with his human hand. He was determined to ensure that both Cloud and Reno escaped the building alive and unharmed.

Rude led them through the maze of corridors, past the hundreds of heating and air conditioning pipes crossing the walls. They turned into a CCTV room, and Rude took his seat next to the computer again. Cloud stood by the door, keeping an eye out for any guards that could trigger the alarm and ruin everything. Vincent glared fixedly at the back of Rude's head, angry with him for everything. He had helped with Reno's capture, injured him. It wasn't just that though, everyone knew the two of them were best friends, and not only was Vincent angry with him for hurting Reno, he felt jealous of how close they were. Reno deserved better than that man.

Rude tried to ignore the furious gaze he was under, but knowing that this man was blaming him for what happened to Reno was distracting him from his work. After a minute of tense silence, he turned around and met Vincent's glare, his face as passive and unreadable as ever.
"I'm helping you."

Vincent shook his head.
"You're helping Reno. You feel guilty for torturing him." Cloud watched the other two men from the doorway. He knew that the Turk meant a lot more to them than he did to him. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen Vincent so relaxed before he met Reno, whilst Rude spent practically every waking moment by his side.

"If I hadn't followed Rufus' orders, he would have had us both killed." With that, the bald man turned back to the computer, his hands racing over the keyboard. Vincent opened his mouth to spit out another biting comment, when he realized that Rude was telling the truth. Despite the man's treatment of Reno, if he had done anything else, Reno could have lost his life on Rufus' whim. Reno could have died. That thought made Vincent feel physically sick. He had already lost so much, so many people he cared about, he wasn't going to lose Reno as well.

"Do you have any idea what has happened to him?" His voice shook, as he thought of the monstrosities and horrors that occurred in the labs. The tortures he himself had suffered, that still made him wake up screaming, reliving the pain again.

Rude shook his head, then flicked some of the switches on the CCTV panel in front of him.
"I only just found out where he was." The image on the top row of CCTV screens flickered, and the camera was swapped to show Reno.

Reno was strapped to one of he examination tables in the labs. Bandages were wrapped around his chest, and wires from his arms led to the machines around him. In the grainy image Cloud could see some poisonous liquid dripping through the tubing and into Reno's veins. His mouth was open in a silent scream. A scientist stood next to him making notes and comparing them to the file he held in his other hand. He reached over, ruffling Reno's hair and adjusting the dials. Reno flinched, mouth moving from desperate pleas that couldn't be heard in the CCTV room. Satisfied, the scientist went back to his notes.

Vincent snarled at the man's obvious lack of concern for his friend's safety and comfort. He couldn't face this. Watching Reno so totally helpless brought back memories of the horrors that had occurred to him, the cruelty he had faced in these labs.

Rude shivered slightly inside at the growl, realising he had brought two enemies, one of whom was possessed by a demon, into Shinra's building. Even if they got out safely and without a fight, he would probably lose his job. Turks who lost their job were shot or used as experiments. They knew too much. In Vincent's case it had been both, and he was left a monster. Rude looked as composed as ever, breathing a sigh of relief as the last firewall fell.

"We can get him now." He said as he typed in the final password, bypassing the security system and giving them access to the labs. He knew the security had to be complex to prevent the experiments escaping, but Rude was not going to just stand by and let Reno be hurt. He left the room and walked to the lift, not bothering to check the others were following him. He knew they would be. Reno meant a lot to Vincent, and Cloud was there to ensure Vincent didn't end up as a tortured experiment again.

The lift journey was one of the scariest moments of Vincent's life. He was choosing to go back into his own personal hell, in a desperate attempt to save a man that the most powerful person on the planet wanted to pollute into something like him. After a minute of eternity, the doors to the underground chamber opened.