"Uh, what exactly do you remember about the day we went to Nibelheim looking for Genesis?" Zack asked cautiously, bouncing ever-so-slightly as he sat on the edge of Cloud's make-shift bed in the office. Cloud frowned slightly and shrugged.

"Is that what you really think? I was just a burden that kept getting into trouble and you had to keep helping?"

"Tifa, I didn't mean-"

"Stop it! I finally understand, okay? You've never liked me. That's why you never wrote and you never took my calls. Maybe that's even why you left in the first place; just to get away from me."

Cloud pushed away his thoughts of the argument between himself and Tifa, concentrating on recalling the information of what else happened.

"Genesis and Sephiroth went up to the reactor. Uh, Sephiroth kept talking about 'mother' and... he fell of the platform." Cloud described sketchily.

"Okay." Zack nodded thoughtfully, biting his bottom lip as he sunk into his thoughts for a moment. He continued his bouncing, looking to Cloud like he was a little kid trying to suppress his excitement on Christmas Eve as his parents put him to bed.

"Zack, just tell me what's going on." Cloud said, desperate for Zack to hurry up and spill the beans. If he had to wait any longer, he just might explode from suspense.

"Yeah hang on, Spiky. Just thinking about how exactly to say it." Zack said, waving a hand at his friend and continuing to stare at the floor with glazed eyes. Cloud rolled his eyes but didn't say anything, knowing that, sadly, if he kept urging Zack on it would only take longer.

"Okay! Spike. So like Cissnei walks up to me and she's like 'hey can we talk'-" Zack stopped and frowned. "Yeah that's not what I meant to say first. Hmm."

Cloud almost reached over and choked the guy. What was he going on about? Cissnei? Who was that?

"Take two." Zack said, grinning stupidly. "So I'm taking Aerith shopping and she's all like 'who's the chick that keeps staring at you?' and I'm all like 'what chick where?'" Cloud almost face-palmed, but found that he had much more self-control than he had thought.

"And?" he asked.

"So then I see Cissnei 'cause Aerith points her out to me, right?" Zack frowned slightly again but continued. "Then Cissnei comes over and what I said before, she's like 'can we talk?'"

"Who's Cissnei?" Cloud asked quickly, knowing that if he didn't interrupt to ask questions throughout the explanation he'd reach the end and have so many questions he wouldn't remember them all.

"She's a turk. Like Reno." Zack said. Cloud tensed up, suddenly more aware of everything Zack was saying and willing to wait even longer than before in order to get the information out. Was Cissnei now working for Rufus too?

"So anyway, we go off and find a place to talk and Cissnei's looking all nervous and stuff, so I tell her to chill out and take it slow." Zack took a deep breath, a slight sweat breaking out on his forehead. "So then she explained to me why she'd come to find me."

"What is it Zack? You can tell me." Cloud said softly.

"Yeah, I know." Zack replied quietly. "I just, wish it wasn't true."

"Zack. Just say it."

"'Kay." Zack nodded. "Cissnei told me that after the fall of ShinRa everyone who escaped sort of turned against each other, not knowing who to trust any more or anything like that. She said a few more people were killed just because of fear, and that no one knew whether President Shinra had made it out or not.

"Then, she said that they all tried to lay low and get a normal job or something so they could live normal lives again. Apparently a lot of normal folk were talking about how a grunt stabbed Sephiroth." Zack grinned a little and Cloud shifted awkwardly. "Anyway, she told me that about a year after it happened, so a year ago, someone approached her and gave her a proposition.

"She didn't like what he was offering, so she tried to say no. He got really angry and threatened her a bit. She didn't go into detail about this part, but she escaped." Zack paused and rubbed his forehead.

"Who was it, Zack?" Cloud asked, slowly but urgently.

"Genesis. He wanted her to get all the remaining turks together so they could help him relocate Sephiroth." Zack said, spitting the major piece of information out in one go.

Cloud stared at him. And blinked.

"Genesis? To find Sephiroth?" he gasped. "Isn't Sephiroth dead?"

"That's what I thought." Zack frowned thoughtfully again. "I don't know what's going on, or where Genesis is right now... but I guess we'll find out soon enough."

"We're not just going to wait around for something to happen. There's something I have to tell you, too." Cloud quickly filled Zack in on what had happened to Renee and Ben and what Reno had told him.

"Well that complicates things." Zack said, scratching his chin.

"It means we have to move now." Cloud said. "I don't know what Rufus is planning on doing, but it can't be good. And if Sephiroth is out there somewhere we've got to find him before Genesis does."

"How are we going to find him?" Zack asked.

"No clue." Cloud shook his head. "But we've got to try."

*

"Cissnei, please, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. You did the right thing in coming to me, understand? And now that you've told me some important information I feel inclined to do the same. Listen. Cloud Strife, once a cadet from ShinRa, has turned evil. He is trying to destroy the planet and is searching for Sephiroth right now. He has brainwashed Reno and they are now working together.

"I'm not positive, but I think Cloud's friend Zack is working with him too, along with some others. You need to trust me. All I want is to protect the planet from everyone trying to hurt it. Cissnei, dear, I want to stop Genesis."

Cissnei nodded and squared her shoulders, going back to turk mode. Rufus smiled smugly and leant back in his chair, pleased that she wasn't questioning him.

Rude continued to stay motionless in the corner, not moving or talking unless he was asked to do something or spoken to. Rufus felt a little self-conscious about him; he wasn't sure who's side he was on but didn't want to question it because Rude was a very good fighter and he wanted to keep him. Voicing it out loud just might make the tall, silent man decide to leave.

Especially since his partner of quite some time had decided to leave.

Out the bathroom window.

The bathroom window. Of all places.

Rufus Shinra was, to say the least, peeved about Reno's little escape. He knew Reno's loyalty lay more with the girl Tifa than it did with him, but he didn't think that Reno would actually leave his partner behind.

"Sir? Is there anything I can do?" Cissnei asked politely. "I just... I can't stand around doing nothing."

"Of course. There should be things in the kitchen to do." Rufus said.

"Thank you, sir." Cissnei said, turning and walking to the kitchen.

Rufus sighed and leant his head on his hand, wondering how he was going to pull this off with only two people working for him. Perhaps he should ask Cissnei to get in contact with the other turks she knew about that had survived.

But once he found Sephiroth, he just knew he'd be able to do anything he wanted.