CHAPTER 12

They drove into the ruins of Midgar, Reno carefully directed Zack around the debris. The collapsed building of Shinra loomed up but they passed it by. Only a few hundred metres down from Shinra, Reno ordered Zack to pull over outside of what appeared to be an ancient bunker. The SOLDIER obeyed.

Reno jumped out of the car and ran to the bunker. There was a small access pad and he typed the access code in before pulling the door open. He propped a rock against it to hold it there before returning to Zack.

"Careful." Zack as Reno moved to grasp Cloud's legs. The Turk nodded grimly and together, they lifted the mangled body out of the car and carried him into the bunker.

Lights automatically flickered on overhead as the walked quickly down the tunnel. A strange scent assaulted Zack's nostrils, drawing an involuntary shiver from him. This place smelled exactly the same as Hojo's lab. It was the smell of mako and antiseptic.

The tunnel sloped down. Zack felt unexpectedly claustrophobic as he walked in deeper, imagining the roof pressing down on him and the walls drawing closer. He fought back the bile he tasted in his mouth and struggled to focus on Cloud. Zack had secretly suffered from claustrophobia ever since he had woken up in Hojo's lab, trapped in that tiny mako pod. Zack bit down on his tongue, hoping to distract himself from those thoughts. They never comforted him.

"In here." Reno said, kicking a door open. They carried the body in and over to an examination table. Zack and Reno carefully laid Cloud down before stepping back. Zack looked around the room and froze. His blood ran cold and his palms were sweating fearfully.

This place looked exactly the same as Hojo's old lab.

There was a click then soft whirring. Zack turned to see Rufus rolling towards them in his wheelchair. Despite the prominent disability, that man still held all the intimidating authority and assumed power of his father. It was a family trademark.

"He's unconscious?" Rufus asked before going closer and actually looking at Cloud. He stared in disbelief before spinning on Zack and Reno. "I told you to bring me Cloud Strife and instead you bring me a corpse?"

"He's still alive!" Zack protested, "But barely. His bike crashed. We got him here as soon as we could. Now come on, do you thing. Save his life!"

Rufus Shinra peered up at Zack, his eyes cold and heartless.

"This is asking me to do more than we originally agreed. As such, I demand payment." he said.

"Whatever you want, no matter how much, I'll get it for you!" Zack said in exasperation. Couldn't the man see the blood that leaked through the bandages and onto the table? Cloud was dying!

"No, that's not the kind of payment I want, Zack. I want you to work for me. You still have all the strength and abilities of a SOLDIER. So you will work for me, in exchange for the life of your friend here. Agreed?"

"No way! I ran away from Shinra to be free from you and your manipulation! You think I'm gonna go back to that?"

"Yes, I do." Rufus said coolly, not breaking his gaze on Zack, "Because if you don't, your best friend is going to die. A slow and painful death. You know that."

Zack stared down at Cloud, suddenly torn. Freedom was what he had fought for all this time. It was what he had been willing to die for. Was he really willing to sacrifice his closest friend for his freedom? What was freedom worth if he could not spend it with those he cared about the most?

He had no choice.

"Alright. Fine. I'll work for you."

"Good." Rufus' voice was undeniably smug. Reno muttered a curse in the background.

"Now save his life!"

Rufus took another look at Cloud before rolling his wheelchair over to a strange looking machine. It had a computer terminal at a low height so Rufus could access it. Wires and cables connected up into the roof, going who-knows-where. Other cables connected to a tank that lay nearby. The tank reminded Zack of a glass sarcophagus. Zack's eyes widened as he realised what the liquid inside the tank was.

Mako.

Rufus began tapping on the keyboard of the computer terminal. An overhead gantry began moving. It hovered over the examination table before lowering. Reno understood what Rufus was doing and hooked the four claws of the gantry onto each corner of the examination table that Cloud lay on. Next he poked his head under the table and released the table from the gurney it lay on.

Tapping some more keys, Rufus retracted the gantry. The examination table was lifted into the air and carried to the tank, which slid open to allow Cloud to be lowered into it. Rufus did this before closing the tank again.

Zack's fists were clenched painfully at his sides. He knew this was the only way to save his friend. This was what Rufus had done to Zack to save his life. Still, it was not an easy thing to accept or watch. It felt like Zack was betraying his friend.

Footsteps sounded down the tunnel before the door to the lab opened and four people entered. Rude, Tifa, Denzel and Marlene. Zack immediately turned to speak to the children but stopped as he remembered the blood. He looked down at himself and saw he was thoroughly drenched in Cloud's blood. He needed to clean himself up.

"What's going on?" Tifa asked as she took in the equipment, machines and mako tank. The sight of Rufus Shinra alone was enough to make her start trembling. How she hated that man.

"I've just completed a scan of his body." Rufus said and motioned to the screen. Zack headed over to look while Tifa hung back with the kids.

"How bad is the damage?" Zack asked.

"Quite bad. Fifty percent of his ribcage is shattered and a few pieces of bone have been pushed into his spinal column."

"What? But, he was walking. He was fine! That can't be." Zack protested.

"Then these bone fragments were pushed into his spine after you found him. Most likely during transport. Don't worry. He'll be able to walk again."

Zack sighed and looked over at Cloud's unconscious form. So much had happened. It was hard to believe that any of it had been real. Everything felt so surreal. Zack could barely believe that he was even standing in this place right now. It felt like it belonged to another time and place, another world.

"His left collarbone is broken in two places. His skull is fractured along here. Most of the bones in his left hand are broken and his right leg... unbelieveable. I've never seen such complete destruction of a limb before. It looks as though his leg was crushed by the bike. Every bone in his leg is broken and this major artery has been crushed."

Rufus shook his head in disbelief. Cloud should not even be alive.

"That's all his injuries?" Zack asked.

"No. He has extensive internal injuries." The image on the screen changed, bringing up pictures of Cloud's organs. "His liver is bleeding profusely and these broken ribs have torn this part of his intestines open. His kidneys are shutting down and this lung has been punctured. Strange. That lung should have collapsed by now. I wonder why it hasn't. Anyway, he has blood in his lungs and will soon drown in that."

"Can you save him or not?" Zack demanded, resisting the urge to beat Rufus until the man agreed to get on with saving Cloud's life.

"I saved you, didn't I? And you were completely riddled with bullet holes. Didn't have as many external injuries. But your internal injuries were a lot worse."

The computer beeped and a new image flashed on the screen. Rufus frowned and his fingers flew across the keyboard.

"What is it?" Zack demanded.

"Cloud's brain is haemorrhaging. Alright, I need to start the procedure now."

Everyone watched in silence as Rufus' fingers flew at an amazing speed. A new program window opened and he typed away furiously. Zack frowned and peered closer. He gasped in disbelief.

"No way!"

Rufus Shinra was in a chat conversation window. The person he was talking to responded. Zack could not tear his eyes away from the name that belonged to the person who had spoken.

"Hojo? What? What the hell is this?"

"Shut up, Zack. You're distracting me." Rufus said in irritation.

"Yeah but-" Reno pulled Zack away before speaking quietly to him.

"Here's the deal, yo. Tifa told you about how Cloud and Avalanche or whoever fought Hojo and killed him, right? Well, as he was dying, he had enough time to imprint a copy of himself into the Worldwide Network. Then he died, yo. But his copy was still alive, in the network. Rufus figured that out by accident and decided to exploit it. He developed this program where Rufus essentially gives Hojo control over the person in that tank. So really, it was Hojo and not Rufus who saved your life, yo."

"Are you saying that Hojo is going to electronically take control of Cloud's body and heal him?" Zack hissed in anger.

"Pretty much, yo. I don't get how it works fully either. But I do know that Hojo uses the mako to fix everything. Some kind of previously undiscovered magic, I guess. Hey, don't worry! Rufus put in a fail-safe to ensure that Hojo can never permanently possess the body of the person he's healing. As much as Rufus dislikes Cloud, he despises Hojo even more. He's not gonna let that freak have a body to live in again, yo."

Zack shook his head, not fully understanding what was happening but knowing that it was too late now to back out.

"How long will this take?" he asked, walking back over to Rufus who was now simply sitting at the console and watching. Different diagnostic screens were opening and closing before Rufus who watched them closely.

"Hard to say." Rufus said, "The damage is so extensive and this is a temperamental program that I'm using." Zack snorted at that. "It took two weeks for you to be restored to full strength and health, Zack. I'd say a couple of days to heal Cloud's injuries. And then we can move on to fixing whatever mental problem you said he has."

"So about a week?"

"Yes. Easily about a week."

Zack sighed and looked back at Tifa and the kids. Denzel was tight-lipped and glaring somewhat fearfully at Cloud. Marlene was utterly confused and clinging to Tifa's hand tightly. Zack frowned pensively and turned back to Reno.

"You guys got a bathroom down here?"

"Sure. Through that door."

"Great. Thanks."

Zack used the bathroom to clean as much of the blood off himself as possible. He scrubbed his clothes until his hands were raw. Ignoring the dampness of the fabric, Zack pulled his clothes back on, ensured he had none of Cloud's blood left on his skin, then exited the bathroom and returned to the main room.

Tifa was talking to Reno, worry riddling her young face.

"What should we do for the next week? Should we stay here or should we go back?" she asked. Reno shrugged.

"Up to you, yo. There's nothing you can do to help here. And it's not exactly comfortable living conditions. If I were you, I'd be going home, yo." the red-head replied.

"I'll stay." Zack said, entering the conversation. His insides churned as he spoke and his irrational fears screamed at him, begging him not to remain in this underground prison. Zack ignored them all. "You take the kids back, Tifa. Besides, you need to run the bar. I know how good business has been lately. You need to keep it up. I'll stay to make sure nothing goes wrong. And I'll call you as soon as something happens. Alright?"

Tifa gave a weary sigh and stared over at Cloud's body once more. Thin streams of blood had permeated the mako and were hovering in the substance, around the blond's destroyed body. Horror came over her and Tifa forced herself to look away. She could not handle seeing the one she loved so dearly in such a decrepit state.

"Okay." Tifa said, her voice sounding very small. Zack stared at her for a moment before moving closer and wrapping his arms around her. Reno shifted and looked away uncomfortably. Tifa sniffed back tears.

"Everything will be alright. He's finally getting the help he needs." Zack murmured to her, trying to reassure her. Tifa nodded against him and pulled back.

"Y-yeah. Everything's gonna be fine."

Zack bent down to Marlene and looked her in the eye.

"You go home with Tifa, okay? I'll look after Cloud. I promise. But I need you to look after Tifa, Marlene. She's not very good at relaxing. You need to make sure she sleeps each night, okay? I know you can do it, Marlene."

Marlene nodded solemnly up at Zack before flinging her small arms around him and hugging him tight.

"When Cloud gets better, tell him he's getting a lecture. For making us worry." Marlene said, trying not to let her emotions show through. Zack gave a soft chuckle.

"You can count on it!" Releasing the young girl, Zack moved to Denzel's side. The boy was still staring at the mako tank and Cloud inside it. Hatred, love and confusion were all mixed into one. Denzel did not know what to make of the situation, nor how to react. He still had not forgiven Cloud.

"Denzel. Take care of Marlene and Tifa while we're gone. Alright?" Zack spoke. Denzel looked up at him before lowering his gaze.

"Yeah." he mumbled. Zack squatted down and turned Denzel to face him.

"Hey, Denzel! Listen to me. When I bring Cloud home, he'll be better. I promise! Denzel, I think I know now why you're so angry at Cloud. But believe me, he's not Sephiroth! He's Cloud. And when he comes back he'll still be Cloud. Exactly the way you remember him. He loves you Denzel. He wants to protect you and care for you. Do you understand? Cloud doesn't want to hurt you. Not ever!"

Denzel shrugged. Zack sighed softly but didn't press the young boy any further. It was a lot for Denzel to take in. Instead, Zack hugged him fiercely. The young boy bit his lip and hugged Zack back.

Zack straightened and looked over at Tifa, who was staring at Cloud once more. No matter how much it hurt her to see him like that, she couldn't seem to stop herself from looking back.

"Okay kids." Tifa said, tearing her gaze away again. "Let's head home. Everything will be alright. But we can't stay here. C'mon, time to go."

The three people slowly turned and left the old bunker. Zack watched them leave before turning his attention back to Rufus and the computer terminal in front of him. Different program windows were open and a lot of data scrolled constantly across the screen. Zack frowned, trying to understand what the data said. It was words mixed with numbers and letters. He only recognised a couple of words here and there. Kidney failure... haemorrhage... brain damage... inter-cranial pressure...

Zack shook his head and stepped back, looking over at Cloud. The mako seemed to have densified around Cloud's skull, glowing brighter than normal. Zack's mouth fell open and he stared. This was unbelieveable! The mako was essentially being used like a heal-materia!

"Uh, we'll get a bed set up for you, yo." Reno said, breaking the awkward silence. Zack looked over at him.

"No, it's okay. I'll do that. It'll give me something to do while I wait."

"Alright then. Through here, yo."

Reno led Zack off and Rude lingered behind, shadowing Rufus. He was ready to aid the man at a moment's notice.

As soon as Reno and Zack were out of the room, Rufus turned slightly to glance back at his bodyguard.

"Rude. I have an order for you." he said before looking back at the computer terminal.

"Sir?"

"Cloud Strife is too important a specimen for us to lose him now. Once he is physically healed, I will place a marker within his mind that will cause him to feel indebted to me. I will make him want to work for me. But Rude, you must make sure that no-one else finds out about this. Especially not Reno. Understood?"

Rude was silent for the merest moment. This was a morally questionable order that he was being given. Still, he knew he could not defy Rufus.

"Yes sir."

"Good." Rufus smirked to himself. Soon, he would have both Zack Fair and Cloud Strife in service to him once more. Piece by piece, the conniving young man would rebuild Shinra. No matter the cost.