Chapter 34: Infiltration

Deliria's POV

Trevor caught Kadaj and I making out in the office the other day. Well, that was embarrassing to say the least. It didn't take me forever to convince and beg my best friend to keep it a secret. Trevor complied after my puppy eyes' act, and Kadaj's intense death glares. You can tell me I'm overreacting, but I feared for my best friend's life. A normal human being truly doesn't want to see those cat eyes glaring at them.

[Flashback]

"How long has this been going on?!" Trevor's voice echoed against the metal walls of the EBH office.

I found myself freaking out despite Kadaj's random voice screaming in my head to ignore. Really, I hate to say, but Trev really did destroy the romantic moment. I pulled away quickly, wiping my mouth, hoping to rid the taste of Kadaj's lips from my tongue.

"Hey Trev," I greeted almost too innocently.

Kadaj stood still, looking stern and uncaring. Meanwhile, I pity Trevor. I caught his eyes flying back and forth between us, probably trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Explain," Trevor's numb lips finally moved after staying frozen for three seconds.

I found myself taking deep breaths, and I walked closer to my really confused, really shocked best friend. He refused to budge from his post, and I caught Kadaj smirking from his place in the room.

"Before I do, can you promise me—us—that neither his brothers would know?" I asked hopefully.

"Oh-kay... Why not?" Trevor spoke slowly, still trying to decipher what I really meant. Really, for an experienced guy, Trev can get dense sometimes when he's in a state of shock.

"You really want Yazoo and Loz to freak out?" Kadaj spoke up from behind me. I had to turn and stop his advance.

"'Course not, but why not?"

I sighed heavily. I knew I was getting nowhere with this conversation, and I had to explain things or stuff could go to the worst.

"About last night... Kadaj and I were up late talking," I explained, long story short so Trev would quit bothering me about it but that only made things worse.

"About what? And what'd you do after? Are you sure you don't wanna tell those two?" Trev ranted in a barrage of endless questions that had Kadaj seething and growling and he freed his arm from my grasp.

"Is it really your annoying little habit to make other people's conversations, your business?" Kadaj shot back and I knew then and there that things were heating up and probably had gone on fire if I hadn't stopped it.

Trevor was about to snap, but I took control of the situation before the two most important guys in my life began killing each other. I stepped in between them and hurriedly turned to my best friend.

"Calm down... I'll explain everything clearer next time, but now's really not the time. For now, just please trust us and keep it a secret..." I begged, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes.

Lucky me, my best friend's soft side lies in that look and we won him to our side. Kadaj glared at Trevor, much to my disagreement, but I didn't stop him. Trevor agreed fully and eventually, and dinner time that night had been awkward since Yazoo kept pulling up places next to me, and poor Kadaj was trying his best to ignore it, but really wasn't.

[End of Flashback]

Today though, I'm preparing for our latest not so intriguing mission yet. We're going to Shin-Ra to find what we can about my parents. Fortunately, the Remnants agreed because after Yazoo had discovered a new project cooking, we all couldn't resist passing up the chance to know what Shin-Ra's up to. I don't trust that company. At all.

It's been days, and Kadaj and I are so close; we're closer than best friends. No duh? He's practically my boyfriend, but I still think it's weird to call him that. I won't settle calling him my lover either. I call him by name for those of you who love all the cheesy nicknames couples give to each other. Like hell, nobody cares about that.

So anyway, I'm getting off track. Right now, I'm tying my damp wet brown locks into a ponytail, and then sluggishly begin braiding it all the way down. I tie the end with the same black ribbon and brush my bangs to the side of my face. If I say so myself, I'm looking alright. We're leaving in three minutes according to Kadaj, and his old time limit obsessed guy image shows up right about now.

I'm half expecting a bang on the door just like before, but instead, soft knocking greets my ears. I walk to the door and open it, catching my feet against a floor board and stumbling into somebody's arms. I look up and I'm not surprised to see Kadaj looking down at me curiously.

"You ready? We're leaving..."

I blink, and pull away from him. I give the guy a generous nod of my head which means 'thank you', and right my clothes.

"I was just about to leave the room when you came in..."

"Hm... Seems right, but now's not the right time to admire my timing..."

He's been like this lately; cracking little puns here and there in almost every conversation we have. It's getting a bit on my nerves, but hey, we've got more important things to worry about. For one, we're going to have to get past all the security guards in daylight. Piece of cake for us, but I'm worrying more about what we might find. As shocking as the results could be, I promised Trevor I wouldn't freak out.

Saying nothing, Kadaj and I descend downstairs to join the others.

vVvVv

Normal POV

The group had arrived in Shin-Ra's new building that was still under construction, but the first two floors were decent enough to be called a lab. Ria guessed this was their new location and quietly wondered if Cloud and AVALANCHE knew about it. And speaking of Cloud, she hadn't seen him in ages. How were they?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Trevor lightly tapped her shoulder. She shifted her eyes to him. He gave her one slight nod and handed her a gadget the Agents used to use for communication. It really came in handy to get in touch with the past once in a while.

With regards to how they were going to carry it out, they had discussed it, and things would hopefully work out splendidly. Splendid being a minor description to the task. Ria sighed heavily, and pocketed the gadget. The Remnants were to take their positions right about now. They weren't supposed to talk inside the building because this new Shin-Ra standard was improved a lot. They had voice detectors now—devices that only recognize a Shin-Ra personnel's voice, and security cams, and even motion sensors. In her opinion, it was just far too much, but she also got the smug feeling that their trauma had been caused by the Healin massacre that had happened months ago.

Trevor went ahead to secure his perimeter, and she had stayed behind to await orders from their command system who was—not surprisingly—Kadaj. The stubborn mule had insisted, so they let him be. Her cellphone vibrated continuously and she fished it out of her pocket.

"Area no. 3 secured. All clear. Avoid the electrified fence you meet on your right."

"Have it in my sights Psycho #1. How high?"

Kadaj chuckled on the other line. "Sixty volts. Don't get fried... Yazoo will meet you on the south side entrance, by the way."

"Copied," she whispered hastily, swiftly trying to find a way around the electrified fence. "Wait... What's your position?"

"Sixty-five meters from your placement. I'm near the main entrance. What's your position?"

"Approximately three feet from the fence—an estimate. How do I get past it? I don't really think climbing it is an option..."

"No duh?" Kadaj 'hmphed' on the other line. "I just received a message from Trev. He's got the code for your security fence. Look for a small security device at the east wall of the little house thingy..." The Remnant instructed.

"By 'house thingy', you mean, the little warehouse I'm staring at in the back of the main building, right?"

"...Yeah. Go eastward and find the security machine I'm talking about. Punch in code 535... Get moving," he commanded calmly.

Ria walked swiftly towards the direction he was talking about and carefully sought out the device that was about the size of a small piece of bread. Her head whipped around to check for unwanted company, but found none, so she returned to her task at hand. Typing in the stolen code, she watched as the electricity on the fence sizzled and died down, indicating its deactivation.

Quickly, Ria opened the barbed fenced gate and stepped through. Just as she had though, the wires came to life once more, crackling with dangerous energy. She took a deep breath, glad that she had managed to sneak in. Luckily, there were no security cams present just yet. Was Shin-Ra this dumb? But it looked like the outside had motion sensors.

"Psycho #1, I'm in... Approaching south entrance..." She informed him.

"Good..." Came the monosyllabic reply.

"Warn me if voice detectors exist," she whispered into the mouth piece of the phone, and continued walking forward.

"Better I'd do it now, then... As soon as you meet Yazoo, you two will have to pass through some acid sprinklers occupying the ceiling that have voice detectors and motion sensors. As long as you don't talk, you won't be recognized. And don't make any sudden movements indicating you're in a hurry, or you'll set it off. I don't think Yaz would like the sound of his hair disintegrating and so would you. Act as casual as possible. Yazoo knows what to do in case you guys slip..." Kadaj instructed, hanging up on their conversation.

Ria huffed. So it was all up to Yazoo then. Well, she had made it to the door, and it swung open revealing Yazoo's pale face framed by veils of silver. He nodded once, and motioned for her to join him. Wordlessly, they walked the long empty halls lined with marble tiles for floors. Ria glanced up cautiously, and noticed the blinking red lights on the ceilings. She bit her lip, still continuing on her way. Meanwhile, she was jealous of how Yazoo was pulling off such a task so effortlessly. He would occasionally look to his right, or to his left out of curiosity. He made her feel like she had a stiff neck. Good thing there were no such things as fear detectors...yet.

Of course, the sound of boots thudding heavily on the tiled floor only made her heart pump faster, and she could feel it pounding heavily on her chest. Amethyst eyes locked with Mako ones, and Yazoo lifted a finger against his lips. She followed his lead as they rounded a corner where the footsteps seemed to be coming, and it was getting louder. Yazoo walked calmly, yet fast enough that they'd reach a gap in the wall. Yazoo waited as the man approached. He looked to be somewhat in his forties, with thinning brown hair, and from what the Remnant could see, a Shin-Ra standard taser gripped in one hand.

Ria watched as Yazoo pulled out a syringe filled with some strange transparent liquid from one of the many folds of his black leather outfit. Yazoo nodded once at her, and quick as lightning as the man approached, Ria stepped out of hiding, and wrestled with the man's arms and covered his mouth quickly. Before any of them could utter a sound, the man fell limp. She looked up to see Yazoo still holding the syringe upward, the contents of said object gone. He hurriedly grabbed her arm, and quickly ushered her out of the hall and through a door just as the acid sprinklers went off.

"That was certainly uncalled for," Yazoo remarked stoically.

Ria tilted her head, cautious not to utter a sound which made the male chuckle, knowing her thoughts.

"There aren't detectors here. We're free to talk as long as we keep it down," he nodded once.

"Great job back there, but where are we?" She inquired, Yazoo shrugged. Her phone began vibrating again, and she answered the call.

"That was close. You shouldn't have wrestled him," came the indignant comment from the other line.

"We got out anyway. And where are you?" She replied gruffly.

"Just invaded the control room on the second floor. Don't worry, I didn't cause trouble. Say... I need to talk to Yazoo," Kadaj affirmed, reclining back on the office chair as he held his phone to his ear.

Ria nodded at his instruction and held the phone out to the long-haired Remnant. "He wants to talk to you."

"What is it brother?" Yazoo inquired nonchalantly.

"Just called prior to tell you that there's a hidden cam in the room you're in..." Kadaj crooned mischievously.

"How would you know?" Yazoo asked curiously.

"How else would I see what you're doing down there? And tell Ria she has to stop fiddling with her bra strap." Kadaj added as an afterthought, staring into the monitor as Yazoo's face flashed annoyance.

"Hold it... You're in the control room?"

Kadaj rolled his eyes. "Would they have security cam monitors in the restroom?" He shot back sarcastically.

"Quit goofing around Kadaj. And what exactly are you doing up there?"

"Sitting back, relaxing, and enjoying the shows. I can see what Reno's doing... He's watching..." A pause on the other line. "Something indecent."

"Okay, so why'd you call? I know you didn't exactly ring us up just to tell me that Reno's being perverted while on duty." Yazoo droned, glancing at Ria who was looking around the room.

Kadaj snickered. "Loz and Trevor are on their way to Rufus' office. I suggest you do the same. I'll stay up here and be your Intel..." The Remnant grinned at Yazoo's reaction.

"Copied..." Yazoo hung up and turned to Ria. "We're going to Rufus' office... Oh and Kadaj wanted to tell you to stop fiddling with your bra strap."

Ria's cheeks turned a beet red. She'd definitely slug Kadaj later on.

vVvVv

"This is it?" Ria blinked upon seeing the white room covered in simple furniture.

"Building's under construction, so it's probably not done yet," Yazoo stated, carefully replacing his Velvet Nightmare on its holster.

"Where are Loz and Trev?" The brunette turned towards Yazoo who was now busying himself with Shin-Ra's desk.

"Around here somewhere..."

It was then that the intercom located in the far east wall buzzed and a very familiar voice was heard, ringing out distortedly through the room.

"Nobody's managed to find me up here...yet. Tell you what; Trev and Loz are in there somewhere. I lost my sight of'em when they entered Rufus's office." Kadaj crowed and Ria could just imagine the happy little lilt in his voice.

Yazoo pressed a button on Shin-Ra's desk, and spoke.

"Kadaj, you seriously need to leave out the surprise talks and calls... And Trevor and Loz aren't here," he complained slightly.

Ria was already ahead of him, looking for a hidden entrance. She hated to admit the fact that Trevor was better at finding secret places than she was. It was seriously wounding her ego and her pride. She didn't want to risk calling him for fear of certain obstructions against the signal.

"Like hell, I know!" Kadaj snapped, causing the speaker to vibrate. "I saw them get in there. Maybe there's a secret room or something..."

"Sure little brother. Ria and I will be looking..." Yazoo spoke, letting the button go but not effectively drowning Kadaj's complaints.

Meanwhile, Ria was hurriedly and harshly pushing against random spaces on the walls, hoping to uncover a hollow spot. There was no such luck. They could be anywhere around the room. She sighed heavily.

"Hey Yazoo? Could you try checking underneath his desk? See if there's hollow things that might lead to an entrance..."

So Ria and Yazoo looked and looked, and soon didn't notice the intercom's buzzing slowly fading out to static noises—sizzling and crackling like electrical wires. They continued searching and nearly took them forever to find it, but really, only ten minutes later. Still took them long enough. At long last, they managed to find it behind a suspicious supply closet pushed against a wall. Yazoo had slowly pushed it aside, revealing a slight wooden door that was their ticket to yet another confusing room. After much hustle and bustle along with trouble in prying that stupid thing open, the door had parted and Ria stepped through first followed quietly by Yazoo. And upon finding their fellow teammates, Ria had not been expecting Trevor's quiet reaction when he saw her.

vVvVv

"Trev... What's wrong? I don't like the look you're giving me," she whispered almost cautiously.

Trevor remained dumbfounded, and Ria and Yazoo found themselves looking at the eldest Remnant who was quietly rifling through some papers, and from what Yazoo could see, his brother was just as bothered as to whatever he was looking through.

Yazoo stepped over slowly, and took the hardcopy Trevor was holding out. And the more he read, the more he was seeing the worst. Shin-Ra was planning something after all, and it wasn't good.

"Ria... We... We were right all along. Kadaj was right." Trevor spoke through near frozen lips.

"Let me see that," Ria asked, reaching out for the paper the others were passing. Yazoo handed it to her.

"Oh Gaia," she mumbled under her breath.

Shin-Ra was working on a clone—another Sephiroth—that had the same capacity as the first; the same capacity to destroy a planet. Maybe Shin-Ra had plans for the better, but nothing good could ever come from their experiments. They had proved it themselves time and time again.

"They still need Jenova's head if they want to produce a recreation. Or..." she trailed off, thinking the worst. "Take a man with the same genetically enhanced genes and harbor his cells. They could be after you," Ria explained, turning to the Remnants as she spoke.

"It's hardly possible, but not impossible. Loz and I are remnants of Sephiroth, but they want Kadaj more. If they'll harbor his cells, there is no chance of surviving DNA coming with it." Yazoo explained, the cogs in his brain working to piece Shin-Ra's puzzle. "My guess is that they want him to procreate his own species directly from his lineage."

"Shin-Ra wants to revive SOLDIER..." Ria stated numbly.

"That's their main objective..." Trevor spoke amidst everyone's shared opinions.

"Does that mean they'll be after Kadaj more than us?" Loz asked innocently.

"Yeah Loz. We'll have to look after each other..." Yazoo explained, still in profound daze at the new information.

"Oh and Ria?" Trevor started. "Loz and I found some files about the Agents' backgrounds. I think you'd better check and see if yours is in there," he suggested, handing the brunette a bunch of fat brown envelopes.

Ria's cellphone started vibrating again, indicating a call. She fished it out of her pocket, scowling and rather annoyed at Kadaj for bothering them every second.

"Tell Yazoo you could kill me guys later. But you need to get out of there. Rufus just entered his office, and there's ninety-nine percent chances of him heading to wherever you guys are," Kadaj growled on the other line. "I hate being blind like this! Just get out of there now. We can't risk them finding us out. Just kill when it's necessary. And don't draw too much attention."

He hung up, just like that as the sound of the metal door creaked open. As much as Ria appreciated Kadaj's warning, it came a little late. She couldn't exactly blame him for anything, but still. Rufus had wandered into the room with two scientists in tow. Ria stuffed the envelope harshly in her knapsack. One look at her groups' eyes, they knew they had to high tail it out of there. Things were going to get bloody.