A/N: And my third quite important OC shall be introduced. I say 'quite' because he doesn't play a very important role at all. He's just Ria's previous lover.

Chapter 35: Discoveries

Normal POV

The group had managed to find a safer to place to exit. Another secret passage in Rufus' office was found and it was located near the back door. The elevator led to the main hallway which was a very terrible mistake. They had ended up in plain sight of every Shin-Ra personnel in the room. Good thing Reno was still in some private place viewing indecent things. Kadaj was still in the control room, agreeing he'd meet them back at the place where they'd park their bikes.

Ria sighed. Why didn't things go down easy? Guards started calling for backup. To put it simply, four strangers had sent the whole Shin-Ra Company in uproar. Yazoo immediately drew out Velvet Nightmare on instinct and began fighting his way through, keeping an eye on Ria at the same time. Loz apparently had decided to take down as many guards as possible. Trevor on the other hand, began shooting tranquilizer darts to knock out personnel one by one. In a matter of seconds, the lobby had turned into a bloody battlefield. Most of Shin-Ra's personnel were dead just as the Turks began arriving at the scene. Ria couldn't help but to try and resist the urge to puke. The smell of blood lingered heavily in the air as the fight raged on.

One guy attempted to knock Yazoo out senseless, but the Remnant was far quicker. Dodging swiftly to the side, Yazoo avoided the taser that was supposed to connect with his neck. Reaching out the arm where his gun was, the Remnant released the two bullets that lodged themselves in the man's eyes, spurting blood. Ria gagged from behind him, suddenly remembering what Kadaj had told her before. She was an Agent, so why wasn't she used to gore already? The turning of her stomach brought her to her senses again as a grenade went off in their far right.

"Let's go," Yazoo commanded, catching her wrist in a vice-like grip and dragging her forward.

"What about Loz, and Trevor?" She screamed over the chaos.

"Loz is already outside. Trevor will be okay."

She didn't get the chance to answer as Yazoo hauled her away from the gruesome—yet short—battle that took place.

vVvVv

The group met back at their rendezvous point only to realize that one person was still missing.

"Where's Kadaj?" Yazoo asked, keeping a firm hold on the handlebar of his motorbike.

"No… We have to go back for him!" Ria concluded, determinedly taking a step forward only to have Trevor hinder her.

"He can get out. If I managed to evade a battlefield in a closed space as a mere human, how much more can he?"

She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Loz. Ria on the other hand was on the verge of crying, worried sick if Kadaj would be able to make it out or not. Not that she doubted his supernatural abilities, she was just concerned. Nobody knew about their relationship except Trevor. Yazoo was getting suspicious, but that's beside the point. She bit her trembling lip and hoped to Gaia he'd come out alive.

So they waited quietly. Everyone was startled when a loud explosion came from downhill. The group looked only to see that the right side of Shin-Ra's building was on fire. Shin-Ra helicopters were in the air already. A rescue operation was going on. Loz just blinked. Trevor and Ria wore shocked expressions, though the latter's feelings were tangled between worrying for Kadaj's safety and guilt for the immense amount of trouble they'd caused. Yazoo appeared unfazed.

"Kadaj," Ria mumbled under her breath, amethyst eyes fixed at the raging flames licking the sky with black smoke rising.

"Well, that's the end of that problem," came a silky voice that was very familiar.

Everyone turned around and behind them stood a silver-haired teen in black leather with a cruel smirk on his face as he took pleasure at the sight of the burning building. His brothers acknowledged his presence with a nod.

"What did you do?" Trevor asked frantically with wide eyes.

"I took care of the mess, that's what…" The teen rolled his eyes at the older boy staring at him.

"Don't you ever think? That-" Trevor gestured towards the burning building. "-could've been you're most idiotic idea yet. So many people's lives are now in your hands. Who knows how many were killed?"

"Gaia knows. Shut up... We're alive aren't we?" Kadaj snapped, irritation staining his tone.

"This is stupid," Trevor muttered, breaking up the argument for the better.

Kadaj folded his arms across his chest and smirked. Trevor mounted his motorbike and so did Yazoo and Loz. Kadaj began making his way to his ride when he noticed Ria was staying rooted to her spot, staring at the burning building.

"You coming? You got what you needed," Kadaj spoke softly, standing next to her. "Damn..."

Ria passed out, the Remnant leader catching her before she even hit the ground.

vVvVv

The world was a blur, a mess of colors everywhere. Ria slowly came to her senses after passing out because of the harsh instances that happened earlier that day. The first thing she noticed was that she was in her room in the EBH, lying on her bed. The second thing coming to mind was that someone was stroking her hair. Slowly, her eyes began to focus and they landed on one particular being she had been longing to be alone with at the moment.

"Kadaj…" She rasped out, her throat feeling extremely dry.

He paused in stroking her hair to reach for the glass of water on the bed-side table. He held it up to her lips for her to drink. After quenching her thirst, she voiced the question lingering in the back of her head.

"What happened?" She pushed herself up so her back was against the headboard.

"You passed out," he replied with a slight frown, taking her hand and massaging her fingers carefully.

They were silent for a while, letting each other's presence warm them. Kadaj had crawled onto her bed, and settled her carefully on his lap, keeping a protective arm around her delicate form. His lips were pressed to the top of her head as she rested her head on his broad shoulder.

"What happened exactly? What's shaken you up so hard that you had to pass out at the end of a mission?" He asked quietly, threading his fingers through her hair that tumbled down past her shoulders, stopping at her waist.

"It's just... so much blood. Even though I'm used to the sight of it, I always get that funny feeling in my stomach whenever I see dead bodies everywhere," her bottom lip trembled slightly.

Kadaj closed his eyes as he began to pepper the side of her face with soft kisses, his fingers caressing her skin as he brushed hair strands from her face.

"You understand, don't you?" she asked hesitantly, turning so he could see her eyes bringing the sweet moment to a gentle pause.

"Of course I do. Everyone fears something," he stated simply before sealing their lips together.

Her arms wrapped around his neck as her fingers began playing with his silver locks. His arm tightened around her slim waist as he pulled her closer to him, if that was even possible. She parted her mouth slowly when his tongue asked for access. And as quick as it all started, light flashed through Kadaj's mind. He was suddenly seeing a battle, dead bodies everywhere; dark red blood covered the bleached tiled floors. He felt the sudden urge to puke and someone was tugging at his arm. He looked up to see Yazoo and his world went blank...

'Kadaj...' Ria's voice murmured.

He felt her grip around his neck tighten. The Remnant drew his tongue back and pulled away. Kadaj was very confused as he stared into her eyes wanting to know the scene he had just witnessed. Ria clung to him, tighter than before, in shock of what had happened while he was kissing her. There was a faint whisper at the back of her head, and it was the same icy voice that had haunted her once in a dream claiming her as its daughter but while she and Kadaj were kissing, it was whispering: 'my son' over and over again that it chilled her to the bone. It couldn't have been Jenova. She was dead.

vVvVv

Ria was alone in the office, carefully putting away some papers and reaching into her knapsack to find the fat brown envelopes Trevor had salvaged from Shin-Ra earlier that day. She took the topmost one and opened the flap slowly, and pulled out all the contents and set them gently on the desk. The boys were still eating dinner and she took the opportunity to search in advance. She carefully thumbed through them selecting a random folder to whom she knew the Agent since they weren't arranged in alphabetical order anyway. Cassie Grove. The picture was of a twelve-year old girl with cropped dark brown hair, a ghost of a smile flickering to her face, like she was unsure. Cassie was one of the girls in the program Ria really enjoyed going on missions with. Sadly, she had died during one. An assassin had killed her, which was all she knew since that's what they've been told. Who knew if it was a lie or not?

She carefully read through the file leading up to her friend's death. They weren't lying about her being murdered while on a mission. It was the killer that had her seething with rage. Apparently, Cassie had been found out to be involved with Reno in some manner. And the obnoxious redheaded Turk had been the one to take her life after a mandatory order. It was Rufus' order. Crumpling the sheet, she threw it in the general direction of the wastebasket, not caring if it had landed right or not.

She began searching through all of them, reading their deaths whether she knew them or not. Most of the Agents had died during Meteor, and the demolition that had occurred. Minority of the Agents had been assassinated or murdered or had died during a mission, and she felt sick to the core that Shin-Ra was the reason for their deaths.

Hours passed as she continued searching each file, not coming across hers or Trevor's. She found Lucio's and even Kent's. She came across a folder that had belonged to somebody she knew before. This somebody had turned out to be her ex-boyfriend who had cheated on her.

Name: Drake Daire

Age: 15

Origin: Junon

The rest of the file comprised of Drake's missions before he died. She cursed the fact that even in a printed photo, she still found him attractive. No kidding. Most of the female Agents were head over heels for him. He was considered a Casanova, and that was why Ria had never liked him in the first place. He had straight blonde hair, and emerald green eyes. His lips were full and rosy and he had a straight nose. He was tan too. Drake looked just like any other normal guy out there. During training encounters, she had witnessed him to be a black belt at martial arts. And the SOLDIER to whom he was assigned was Angeal Hewley. The thought of Drake had her mind reeling because she had been strangely attracted to his misbehavior around women. He loved pestering them to the limits of their patience. He drank alcohol and smoked whenever he got the chance, and once, when he and Ria were dating, he had invited her to try doing meth with him.

The bad habits mentioned are just a few. There were more. He loved picking fights to inject into everyone's thoughts that he was the tough guy who wasn't worth messing with. He used to be a rich kid, but his father—an entrepreneur, and Shin-Ra Company's partner—volunteered him as an Agent to 'bring honor to their family'. Yeah... She and Drake had gotten together when Ria was fourteen.

[Flashback]

Ria sat alone in her room. It was almost time for lights out and the brunette considered killing most of her time reading a very interesting book. The lead male's character, reminded her so much of Drake. She had encountered him several times over the past week now and he had been so keen into charming her out of her wits. Trevor had warned her about him, but promised he wouldn't get in her way, whatever her decision would be. Ria wasn't afraid to admit that she had a serious crush on him, but it was his character she detested. She just hoped that if theydid come together, he'd change for the better... all for her.

The fourteen-year old Agent was startled as three loud knocks came at her door. She dropped the leather bound book. Getting to her feet, she picked it up and placed it back on her bed-side table. She opened the door only to meet the one person who had been occupying her thoughts most of the day.

"Hey..." He greeted, flashing a brilliant smile that showed his teeth.

"Hi," she muttered, still holding the door a crack.

He frowned slightly. "Can I come in?"

"What do you need?" She interjected sharply pushing him back when he tried to get past her.

"Nothing really... I just want someone to talk to... Will you let me in if I promise to give you a hug when I leave?" He clucked his tongue and winked at her suggestively.

"The hug's not necessary..." She said as she let him in.

She closed the door, heaved a sigh, and turned back around only to catch him checking out her personal space at Shin-Ra's. Once he was done, he casually plopped down on her bed and looked at her.

"What do you want to talk about?" She inquired, still standing near the door.

Drake sighed and sat up. "Relax," he chided. "I'm not here to brawl. I wanna be frank with you, doll. Do you think I'm hot?"

His question had taken her aback, and Ria seriously considered grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and tossing him out into the hallway, making him feel like he was an abused cat. She didn't care what his reaction would be. But at the very moment, she stayed rooted to her spot, unable to move.

"W-What?" She stammered.

"Do you think I'm hot?" He repeated the question as he got up and stood right in her face.

"I...I'm not sure..." She remarked honestly, baffled by his closeness and finding herself unable to look away from those mesmerizing emerald eyes.

"Well, I think you're gorgeous..." he whispered against her skin, his hot breath rushed across her face, causing her to blush fiercely.

She was about to babble out some random words but he really wasn't listening. He just kissed her frankly, carelessly slipping his tongue into her mouth and pinning her harshly against the wall. She pushed him away all of a sudden, shocked and unsure about how she was supposed to feel. Drake stepped back over to her and caressed the side of her face, whispering comforting nonsense as he claimed her lips once more. This time, she kissed him back, realizing how wonderful it felt.

It was official. They were together.

[End of Flashback]

Three years later, Ria realized how stupid she was back then. How reckless and naïve to even trust that slithering snake that couldn't resist getting his hands on some random whore he meets at the bar. She was seething with fury when she found out, and she could've killed him to. The next few days, he had begged her to forgive him. But nothing he said or done would ever turn her back. She had seen and heard enough proof to stabilize the act. The night after, Drake was reported missing after a mission. A search was conducted for the missing Agent, but Drake had disappeared. Shin-Ra considered him dead since they hadn't heard from him a year later. Well, in Ria's opinion, it was good riddance.

She put his designated folder down and sighed. She continued her search and found her personal moment of truth. It intrigued and surprised her at the same time. She was getting half of her answers. Sighing, she picked it up, noticing how thick it was. Did she really work for Shin-Ra thatlong? She knew most of these were records. Opening her folder, she saw the same sheet as all the others. Picture, name, age when she was taken, and origin. Lists of her missions were there too, and stamped with succeeded, or failed. Rifling through the bunch of papers, she came across a bio data sheet she knew the others didn't have on their folders. It was comprised of three pages, all stapled together.

Subject no.: 005-022-582

Donor: Xander C. & Lex P.

Suddenly moving, Ria found herself blindly shuffling around the desk, trying to grab some paper and a pen. She needed to take that down. After several scuffles, she'd managed to grab both and began writing it down. Xander and Lex... Who arethey? She had the weirdest feeling that these two could be her parents. As she read over the first page, more and more of the words revealed the truth that the subject was a human being. Could she really be a lab baby? Ria felt the bile rising to her throat as she flipped to the second page. This one had two pictures in the corner. One on the top right, one at the bottom left with captions under them.

It said: 'Specimen no. 005-022-582 before cell plantation.' The baby must have been staring straight at the camera. It showed a chubby face with huge crystal blue eyes, small nose, and small lips that appeared moist. The face was pinkish and very fine hairs were at the head. She noted that the hair color was light, almost blonde. The baby was dressed in a little white hospital gown, its hands and feet gloved. Ria curiously compared it to the second picture that said it was after the cell plantation. What she was staring had unnerved her slightly. First of all, the baby's hair was darker—a little hard to distinguish between dark brown and black, its eyes were squinched shut, the mouth slightly open, and the face was pale. Such a change from the original. It didn't look like a normal baby anymore.

Scanning the page some more, it was said that this experiment had failed. The cells changed the baby's appearance—although it wasn't the appearance they were hoping for, but they didn't bond with the baby's cells as the expected result. In other words, cell compatibility failed. According to the research paper, it was concluded that said baby's blood was low in Mako. They had to expose it if they wanted to get results, but such an experiment could be dangerous for an infant. This one was extraordinary since findings have confirmed that the specimen had rejected the introduction of cells into its body resulting in a different physical change.

That was the end of the third page, and Ria stared at the picture occupying the free space at the bottom. The 'specimen' was still staring at the camera with wide amethyst eyes, with more dark hair on its head, pale face, but still chubby cheeked with the same nose and moist mouth. The brunette slowly placed the research paper on the desk, hand holding the pen frozen as she took in the quiet revelation. The baby in this picture had to be her. There was no other explanation as to what this research paper was doing in her folder. It couldn't have been coincidence. This baby had amethyst eyes just like her, and dark brown hair, and a pale face. It was her. Her parents' names were Xander and Lex, but where could they be? She couldn't believe the shocking truth. She was a lab baby and her parents had donated her. Her body had rejected whatever cell they were planning to introduce into her system. She was a failed experiment.

vVvVv

It was like that when the others had found her. She was spaced out, the pen held steadily in her numb fingers.

"Oh Gaia, what's happened to her?" Trevor ran to her side in an instant, shaking her shoulders slightly, hoping to snap her out of her daze. "Ria! What's wrong?" He asked with wide eyes.

Ria blinked a couple of times, and timidly pushed the research paper towards him. The Remnants stood near, regarding her curiously as Kadaj desperately hid his anxiousness. He wanted to make sure she was alright, but he couldn't do it with his brothers around. He sighed heavily.

"What is it?" He asked Trevor, itching to smack the urge of snatching the paper and read it to himself.

"I'm a lab baby," was all that came from Ria's lips.

Yazoo frowned. "A lab baby for what project?"

"I don't know... It just says I'm a lab baby. Even if they didn't mention any names. I'm the specimen they're handling." Ria explained, snapping out of her trance while Trev continued to read.

"Um... Congratulations?" Loz scratched the side of his face.

Kadaj smacked him upside the head. "You're an insensitive little jerk," he scolded his older brother.

"Is that supposed to be a bad thing?" Loz asked innocently causing Ria to actually smile.

"It's just shocking."

"Are you sure about this? Maybe it's been placed in your folder by accident..." Trevor remarked; the papers clutched tightly in his left hand.

Ria rolled her eyes. "If it wasn't mine, would Shin-Ra be stupid enough to place it in my folder as some kind of joke? I thought they were smarter than that. Take a closer look at the baby's picture on the last page," she advised sternly.

Before Trevor had the chance, Kadaj had snatched the junk from him and flipped to the last part. The Remnant tilted his head as he examined the picture.

"Is this how you look like when you were a baby?" He asked, an immature grin spreading across his face as he examined the photograph, bringing it closer to his face. Yazoo and Loz came over and peered at the photo.

"Not my original look," she sighed but her boyfriend wasn't really listening.

"You look fat," Kadaj commented and everyone else could've sweat dropped at the unnecessary comment.

"All babies tend to look fat, Kadaj," Yazoo pointed out, trying to smother a laugh.

"The comment really was unnecessary Psycho. Just wait until I get myhands on your baby picture, and we'll see who gets the last laugh," Ria cackled.

"That'd be me..." Kadaj winked at her and handed Trevor the research paper once more.

"We'll investigate in the morning. I know someone who can help us. Unfortunately though, I'll think we'll have to go undercover if we wanna talk to him..." Trevor suggested.