Hey all! I'm so sorry to make you wait a little longer for this chapter than the other recent ones. This one is a monster of a chapter in that it's quite long so be prepared lol. As it's holiday season for me and for many of you as well, I'm a little busier right now so I may not be able to update for the next week or two. I say "may not" because I don't know for sure. If that's the case and you don't hear from me for a while, I wish all of you very happy holidays (those who celebrate this time of year) and just general well wishes to everyone! Thank you for reading and for all your comments!

Take care!

Jaydee

Update to note: I forgot to mention, I was informed that notifications for my replies/messages to you may not be going out so if you haven't gotten a reply from me for your reviews that might be why and you might have to log in to the site and check for the messages in your inbox :S

~Fifty~

It wasn't common for Midgar to get more than a few centimeters of snow at most during the winter months but this year a brief storm a few days after Christmas had covered the streets on the plate and some of it had floated all the way down to the slums. It only added to what already felt like a strange alternate reality for Zack. He'd been trying his best to resettle into the world that he used to know, but it seemed even the skies were rejecting his attempts. Everything looked different than it should and nothing about the world he was in now felt the same as it did when he was nineteen years old. What would he have thought back then if someone had been able to tell him his future? Of all the possible options that could have been dreamt up, he wouldn't in a million years think that he'd feel like some kind of leftover. That's what he was. His identity had been stripped from him. He wasn't a SOLDIER, he wasn't a test subject or a specimen anymore, and Shinra had quashed his attempt to claim victim status. What he could see ahead of him existed in such a narrow space. His dreams had been so big once. Life had ripped from him those dreams, his security, his passion and optimism and what he was now was what was left over. Something just trying to get by the best he could day to day.

Two days after the Shinra Holiday Banquet, a story was published in the paper with a picture from the event. The picture had been taken at the moment President Shinra had been handing over a set of medals to Cloud, to honour both his past and his future with the company. Cloud had been quoted in the article saying that admittance into SOLDIER in their new specialized branch was a dream come true. How accurate a statement that was…if Cloud were still fifteen. He didn't know how much of what came out of Cloud's mouth these days was actually coming from him and not some line he was forced to memorize, but if it were true, Zack couldn't help thinking of how he was planning to ultimately take that dream from him, again. If he hadn't submitted those orders to have Cloud put on the mission to Nibelheim then his friend might have actually gone on to try out for SOLDIER again after his army contract expired, and perhaps he'd be a second—hell, maybe first class officer by now.

Shinra had been so good with their cover-up and so effectively presented Cloud as someone happy and excited to be where he was that Zack had to remind himself his friend did need saving and that he wasn't just obsessed with the idea of being the one to do it because he needed to feel like more than just that…leftover.

Even though Tseng had explained Cloud's change in behaviour and personality, it was hard to know just how he should feel about it. Granted, obviously he wouldn't feel good about it no matter what, he also felt like the range of his anxiety and fear he was capable of was extensive. He wanted to know for himself what Cloud's current state was so he knew how to feel about it. He knew that was going to be impossible. If he even went near Cloud, he was sure the company would treat it as a threat, but if they couldn't tell it was him, then maybe that would make a difference…

He'd talked to Kunsel the day after the Shinra Banquet and his friend had expressed to him how disturbing it had been seeing Cloud in person and the way he was being corralled around by Rand. He wanted to help in any way he could. Zack had already talked to Tifa about it and they both felt that if it were possible at all to have the chance to speak to Cloud in person they would take it no matter the risk. When he told Kunsel of what they were hoping for, his friend had come up with an unexpected solution. He'd seen the uniforms the serving staff were going to be wearing at the New Years Eve event. Black and white attire, not entirely original, but they included an intriguing feature. Simple black half masks. It had something to do with their opera or theatre-inspired décor for the evening. Kunsel was fairly certain he'd be able to obtain a few of the extra uniforms ahead of the gala. Zack agreed to the proposed plan and had something to either look forward to or worry himself sleepless over. He hadn't decided, but he wasn't really sleeping anyway. He let Tifa do the sleeping for both of them and took over manning the bar for her in the later hours of the evening into the mornings. One of those evenings, just a few days after Christmas, he had an encounter with someone he hadn't really expected to see again.

The lighting in the bar was pretty dim but he was sure he recognized a guy who came in a little after midnight. It was the way the guy paused when he first entered the building and looked immediately to the back of the room where he and Joey were tending at the same time that caught his attention and he realized pretty quickly who it was and that he probably wasn't there just by chance. It was Galen's brother. The last time he'd seen him was when he and Johnny were holding him captive along with Galen in Johnny's warehouse. Despite the circumstances, they'd parted on relatively decent terms. He waited until the guy had taken a seat toward the far left end of the bar counter before approaching him.

"Dove, right?" Zack said and the man nodded. "What can I get you?"

"Just a beer, I guess," Dove answered him a little nervously. He took a moment while Zack was filling a glass for him to look around the room, maybe to see if he knew anyone else there.

"Is it just by chance that you're here tonight or…" Zack started to question, setting the filled glass on the wooden surface in front of Dove.

"No, I wanted to talk to you," he confessed.

"How'd you know to come here?" Zack asked him.

"Someone I know. A bunch of people have heard rumours about where you've been hanging out but the guy I know was pretty sure," Dove explained. "The last few months have been interesting, huh?"

"That's a word for it," Zack muttered.

"That was pretty crazy what you did, going public," Dove told him. "Did you know they've been arresting people who've tried to argue Shinra's lying about what happened to you and Cloud?"

"What?" Zack said. "No."

"They've been charging them with disturbing the peace or something like that, something stupid," the man explained. Shinra's actions weren't surprising in the least but Zack was a bit surprised to hear that there had been people coming forward trying to push the truth of what really happened.

Zack leaned on the bar top, getting a little closer to him. "Do you still have access to any of that stuff your brother stole from Hojo from the mansion?" he inquired as quietly as he could while still trying to be heard over the music and noise of the other patrons.

"I don't," Dove told him, shaking his head. "Galen doesn't either. He gave whatever he still had back to Hojo. Even when he did, Shinra tore apart the school we used as a base and they even searched his apartment and I'm pretty sure they had someone following me around for about a week to make sure I wasn't hiding anything for him."

"You didn't get in trouble for what you guys did in the city?" Zack asked.

"Not me, no. Nothing could be traced to me specifically," the man said. "I wasn't all that involved anyway with the bombs and such…doesn't mean I'm guiltless or anything…"

"Do you know if Galen told anyone about what he gave to me from Hojo's lab?" Zack asked next, returning to the matter of the evidence he'd lost. The man just shrugged.

"That I really don't know about. I guess it's possible though. You know, if he weren't so important to the Science Department, I'm pretty sure he would be in jail or dead by now," Dove said. "From what he told me, I think he's basically in custody now. He's still employed but he's confined to Shinra Headquarters and the property it occupies, unless Hojo wants to take him somewhere with him. They've even got an ankle monitor on him."

It actually made Zack smile a little to think about. He tried not to be so obvious about how happy it made him out of respect for the guy in front of him who obvious did care about him. "Well, can't say I feel sorry for him in the least," he did finally conclude.

"I get it," Dove said to that. He smiled himself then. Just a brief knowing smile. "Thing is, I was able to visit him after he got back to the city. He seems really angry that he's not getting the recognition he thinks he deserves for their success with Cloud. He ranted a lot about how he was the reason for the project's success. I don't even understand half of what he was talking about. He said it was his mako and his, uh, strain, whatever that means, and his drug plan—he just went on and on. He said Hojo basically had nothing to do with the success they achieved and he didn't have a lot of great things to say about that guy Rand either."

Zack nodded slowly at the man's telling of his meeting with his brother. "So…you're telling me he's the one I need to strangle then?" he asked. He wasn't meaning it to be a joke. If it was true and Galen could take that much responsibility for what had happened to Cloud, he'd gladly end his life as slowly and painfully as he would end Hojo and Rand's if he got the chance again. He'd passed up the opportunity once before.

Dove exhaled deeply. "I'm just thinking, I don't know for sure but my whole life Galen's always been the same when it's come to his puzzles. Whether he was just hanging out with me when I was a kid and building things with me with blocks, or conducting his experiments in college later on, he wanted to be able to work forwards and back. He'd build something and then take it apart, or vice versa. He'd get a result and want to undo it again. It was like his mako experiments. He never did the experiment not having some idea or theory of how he was going to undo it."

Zack gave some thought to what the guy was telling him. "So you think, if it's true that the things he was responsible for helped make Cloud how he is now, that he must already know how to fix it as well?"

Dove shrugged again. He straightened himself on the barstool under him and took a drink out of the beer glass in front of him. "It's just a thought," he said finally. "I mean, I don't know what they did to Cloud. Galen said they went farther than he thought they'd go. Maybe they did things that even he can't really fix but like I've told you before, he's seriously the smartest person I've ever known in my life and I think that whatever he is personally responsible for, if it's science-based, then he could probably fix it, or have some theory to go on as to how to do it."

That declaration was definitely something for Zack to ponder over.

"You said he's like confined to the building?" he questioned the man on his earlier remark and Dove nodded.

"Yeah, unless he's working with Hojo he's basically just been hanging out in his suite," the man confirmed.

"Even during special events?" Zack continued in his line of questioning. Something was formulating in his head.

"Pretty sure, yeah," Dove told him. "He never really went to those things to begin with," he added.

It was exactly what Zack wanted to hear. What if instead of sneaking around the gala in the hopes of scoring a moment with Cloud, he took advantage of the opportunity the HQ building being a ghost town that night would provide him? What if he could pay Galen a visit instead and see what he had to say about potential repairs or fixes where Cloud was concerned? Giving up the chance to see his friend would feel like giving up a lottery win but he had to think long term and weigh the rewards for each option.

The next chance he had, he asked Kunsel if he thought he'd be able to get him access to headquarters and he said he'd look into it but not to get his hopes up. Whether Kunsel could get him access or not, there was another opinion he needed to consider as well.

"You really wanna know what I think about you breaking into Shinra and wandering the building looking for that lab assistant so you can have a confrontation with him?" Aerith asked him when he had let her in on his potential plan and asked what she thought of it. It was early in the afternoon the day after he'd spoken to Dove and not long after he'd discussed things with Kunsel. They were at home and Aerith was preparing some tea, pouring hot water from a kettle into a teapot.

"No, I want to know what you think of me entering the building and going directly to where I know he'll be so I can have a discussion with him," he corrected her.

She looked back at him skeptically. "How exactly are you planning on entering?" she asked.

"Uhhh…I don't really know yet," he admitted. "Kunsel's figuring it out," he told her then with a grin.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I miss when he was the one who stopped you from doing dumb things," she commented. "Not that the reason is dumb," she said then before he could respond. "Or that the plan really is," she spoke with an accepting sigh.

"Eh, it could be," Zack argued.

"To be honest," she spoke in a soft tone then. "I think I feel better about you doing this than I did about you wanting to go to the gala."

Zack couldn't help the look of shock that came over him. "Seriously?" he said back.

"I just feel like you've been given so much leeway with Shinra, and that they don't seem to really care what you're doing right now, but it also seems contingent upon you staying away from Cloud," she explained. "Just seems like the bigger risk would be going to the gala."

He breathed in deeply and exhaled before responding. "You know, no one has said that. I never signed anything that said I had to stay away from him."

"No, but they basically accused you of kidnapping him, taking him from the mansion against his will," she reminded him. "That may have been their way of making it clear."

"I know. I know you're right," he told her.

"Forgetting how I feel…" she spoke up after a moment of silence. "Are you sure you want to pass up this chance to see him in person?" she asked and he nodded.

"If I can get something out of Galen that can help us figure out how to help Cloud…yeah it'll be worth it," he told her. "I'm probably still going to miss being with you at midnight to bring in the New Year, though," he said.

She nodded and took his hand in her own. "Maybe…but maybe next year we could celebrate with everyone together. With Cloud," she spoke reassuringly. It was a hell of a motivating thought.

Kunsel was able to get his hands on three server uniforms for the gala. Only one was for a male server. With Zack giving up his place to go on his own separate mission for the evening, he asked Johnny if he'd go with Tifa and Rayna. He was worried about asking. It was a lot to ask. The Shinra Army wasn't aware that Johnny had survived capture in Wutai all those years back and if they knew they'd most certainly have some questions for him since not returning to a Shinra facility to announce he was alive basically meant he'd abandoned duty. Being killed in action was one thing, but you didn't get to just pretend you were dead and avoid the responsibilities you had.

There hadn't been any discernible hesitation from Johnny when he'd agreed to take Zack's place. The general plan was for the three of them to blend in with the other servers at the event until there was opportunity for one of them to get Cloud alone, even for a second, just to get some kind of idea of how he was doing and how severely he'd been affected by the implant procedure Tseng had spoke of. Tifa was the one who was going to attempt to talk to him if she could. When they went over the possible outcomes of that action, they could all agree that it was likely Rand wasn't going to appreciate it and would want to remove Cloud from the situation, which meant he'd probably want to get him isolated somewhere after. In the event it lead to the man bringing Cloud back to headquarters, Zack wanted to be finished with Galen and gone from the building to avoid the slim chance he'd run into them there.

Kunsel said that the best chance Zack had of getting into the building and moving around undetected was by disguising himself as a member of the maintenance crew. It was easy enough for his friend to get a hold of a set of coveralls worn by the crew members but getting a security card and key that would get him access was more difficult. The security cards differed by shift and would only allow access into and around the building during the designated shift. The only card Kunsel was able to obtain was a card for the night shift, which meant Zack wouldn't be able to access the building until 11 p.m. at the earliest. That would give him a lot of time to think through everything he wanted to ask Galen if things worked out the way he hoped but ultimately not a lot of time to ask.

000

Tseng had a busy morning ahead of him the day of the New Years Gala. He had meetings to attend with the teams of Turks who would be operating in shifts that night and assigned to keep watch over either the general event or over specific members of the company. He also had to meet with members of the militia as there would also be troopers providing security, mainly outside the building. In addition to that, he had physical security checks to do of the event space and the hotel rooms where the more high-ranking employees had planned on staying if not returning to their homes or the headquarters building. When all was said and done, he only really had a few hours for what would be something of a secret meeting between him and an employee in the Information Technology Department.

What he was looking for wasn't unusual, but why he wanted it was. He certainly hadn't gotten approval for it. Determined to learn as much as he could about the "treatments" Cloud had been subjected to in Gongaga, and uncover the details that he was sure hadn't been divulged by Hojo or Rand, he decided his best immediate option was to access and see what he could get from Rand's computer. The man worked from a laptop that he kept with him during the day, moving it back and forth from the office space he'd been given to work from in the building, and the apartment he was living in with Cloud. Although he would check to make sure later on, Tseng was sure the computer would be in the apartment while Cloud was being paraded around the gala later in the evening.

Instead of searching through the computer's files from inside the apartment, which could take many hours, if not days, he was going to mass download as much as he could from the hard drive onto an external drive. That's if he was able to get through whatever security he would encounter on the computer. He expected at the very least to encounter a password screen. That's where the IT employee came in. He'd received from him a flash drive that he was told could do the hacking through the security for him, but it could take time. Time he just had to hope he'd have.

Although he'd seen the event space earlier in the day, the ballroom where the gala was held really seemed to come alive in the evening and all the extravagant decorations and details seemed more apparent. The room was grand, with enough space for both dining tables and a large open area for mingling and dancing. The company had spared no expense that year. Everything was outfitted in colours of black, white and gold with glittering silvery accents. Huge crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling that itself was gilt in gold. Rich red velvety curtains hung in the doorways, pinned open.

Just like the night of the Christmas banquet, the president wanted to arrive at the event with Cloud by his side, so Tseng found himself again in the same vehicle as the two of them as well as Rand and Rufus. Hojo had decided not to attend the event. The president must have been in a particularly good mood because he wasn't ignoring his son as he usually did. He joked with him a little and attempted to do so with Cloud as well, who while not seeming to understand the president's teasing, did seem to be happy to be getting out for the evening.

Unlike the banquet, the gala would have many more attendees not directly employed by the company, including some important benefactors and investors, some of whom had been responsible for some very generous donations to the Science Department. Many people asked about Hojo, wanting to have the chance to speak with him but settled for speaking with Rand instead and having the chance to ogle at the prize pig next to him. Cloud probably had no idea, but he was meeting face-to-face some of the people who had paid for his treatment. They'd paid for his imprisonment by extension.

The event, while more extravagant, was less formal in the sense of dining and interaction. That meant less for people to be critical about. That didn't stop Tseng from being critical in his own observations. Knowing he was planning to enter their apartment in a matter of hours in order to steal files from Rand's computer, he couldn't help but be distracted by the man and his interactions with Cloud that seemed at times to be protective, and other times controlling, or even confining in some way. He so often had a hand on Cloud's back or shoulder, guiding him from one place to another and seemed to decide for him who he should spend more time talking to, what he should eat from trays of food servers carried around, and even stopped him from accepting a glass of champagne offered by a server at one point. Rand, on the other hand didn't hesitate to accept drinks for himself and perhaps it could explain some of his behaviour but a gesture Tseng caught at one point still had him questioning what he was seeing.

At one point, Rand and Cloud were seated at one of the tables and Rand leaned in closer to Cloud to say something. He was sitting to Cloud's right with his left arm resting on the back of Cloud's chair and as he leaned closer to him, he placed his right hand on Cloud's right knee. It was an action Cloud either didn't notice or wasn't bothered by. He paid it no particular notice and continued to speak, what seemed comfortably back to Rand. Whether it bothered him or not, Tseng felt personally a little bothered by it. He didn't say anything about it, however. He tried to refocus on his job and waited for Elena to come take over his duties for him.

It was nearing ten o'clock when she finally arrived to replace him. It was later than he'd been hoping, but she'd been busy dealing with the usual security concerns that came up during those events. People trying to enter the event who weren't supposed to be there, threats made against the company. Rarely, there was anything serious to worry about but there had been incidents in the past that had resulted in casualties. Elena was going to be accompanying the president back to headquarters when he'd decided to leave. As Tseng made his way back to headquarters he tried to tell himself he had plenty of time to get done what he'd planned but he wasn't so sure. The IT employee's words to him hadn't been comforting when he'd asked how long the process would take.

Hope for minutes, prepare for hours.

He likely had a few hours. He didn't imagine Rand would want to leave the party before midnight. Still, anything could happen. As he stood in the hallway outside of the apartment Cloud had been housed in, he looked back once to make sure no one else was in the proximity before using his master security key to enter. He stepped into the apartment then and shut the door behind him quietly.

For a moment he just looked around, not moving from where he stood. He was hoping the man's laptop would be sitting in the living room and it was. He spotted it on the coffee table in the living area a short distance away. He lifted the screen from the keyboard and automatically the computer came to life but at an expected password screen. He inserted the flash drive he'd brought with him into one of the ports and followed the steps he'd been shown earlier by the employee in IT. It took only a minute or so to bypass the password screen and access the hard drive on the laptop. He didn't want to spend a lot of time in the apartment so he chose folders that looked to contain the most useful information and which had been accessed recently. He connected the empty external drive he'd brought with him to begin copying over the files, many of which looked to be encrypted or to have additional password protection. The copying process would take a while and it had him feeling nervous with nothing to do but watch the progress bar on the screen. Instead he decided to walk around the apartment to get a sense for what Cloud's life was like while at 'home.'

There wasn't a lot to look at in the living and kitchen areas. He stepped into the one bedroom and found that it looked entirely unused. Either whoever was using the room was being very conscious about ensuring the bed was made perfectly every day or it wasn't being slept in. When he opened the drawers in the dresser he found them to be empty as well. There was nothing about the room that indicated someone used it. There were some items of clothing hanging in the closet but overall the impression the room gave was that it was just something of a spare space. Already his mind was reaching a conclusion that was most likely.

When he entered the other bedroom he was fairly certain, Rand and Cloud had probably been occupying the one room together. Rand had been convincing in his explanation about needing to be in close proximity to Cloud to ensure he was being properly monitored and that necessary medications were being administered but to have to do that from the same bedroom was excessive. Or obsessive. Cloud, whether in custody of the company or not, and whether having free will or not, had a right to his own space. With nothing but time on his hands, Tseng decided to dig a little deeper and see if there was anything else of interest hidden away in any drawers or cupboards.

Elsewhere in the building, after the clocks had finally struck eleven, Zack was making his way to the apartment supposedly containing Galen. So far everything had gone as planned. The security swipe card that Kunsel had given him had worked to get him into the building through maintenance and no one had stopped him to question whether he belonged there or not. It was very quiet in the building. It was the holidays so anyone not at the New Years party was likely away on vacation or at home. The few people that were around were likely holed up in their suites having a nice night in.

Kunsel had told him the floor and suite number he was looking for. When he got up there, he had to make a decision whether to knock or just try to enter with the master key copy he'd been given. He decided to try knocking, to see if Galen would answer. Dove had said the man was confined to the building, but that didn't mean he wouldn't answer the door like a normal person might.

When he knocked he kept his head down, so that the baseball cap he was wearing would help hide his identity should the man decide to look through the peep hole in the door. It took a moment but then he heard the sound of the door being unlocked. The moment it was opened, he was pushing his way inside, not giving Galen a chance to react. He didn't give thought to the possibility the guy might have visitors. He went with the assumption or hope that he didn't. He saw enough of the man's face to confirm it was him before forcing his way in. He shoved the door and the lab assistant with such force that it had the door hitting the man's face and sending him stumbling backward where he struggled to keep from falling to the floor. He managed to grab the wall in the short hallway entrance to keep himself standing. A hand went to his injured face and he looked back at Zack in shock.

"What the hell are you—" he started to question but stopped, familiarity setting in. "You've got to be kidding," he said then. He scoffed and didn't bother to watch as Zack locked the door. He turned instead and started to head toward the kitchen area. Zack followed after him, wondering where he thought he was going. He headed straight for his refrigerator and opened the freezer drawer. He retrieved some ice cubes and slammed them down onto a hand towel he pulled from a drawer. He pressed the bundled ice to his cheek then and faced Zack with an expectant expression. "You ever hear the expression about beating a dead horse?" he asked Zack.

"Are you the horse?" he asked back.

The man rolled his eyes. "What's with the get-up?" he said, noting the uniform Zack was wearing. "What are you doing? If you get caught here—"

"What?" Zack fired back at him. "If I get caught here what? What are they gonna do? Put me in jail? Kill me? Send me to Hojo?"

The lab assistant grinned. "You almost do a convincing act of someone who doesn't care," he commented.

"Speak for yourself," Zack said back. "I suppose you're just loving being locked up now that you're back in the city."

"Who told you that?" the man questioned.

"Your brother. He came to see me," Zack told him.

"How nice for you," Galen replied, not seeming interested in the least as he leaned against the counter behind him.

"Said you want to take full responsibility for Cloud's transformation," he announced to the man.

"He's a moron," Galen said as he shook his head.

"It's not true?" Zack asked.

The man lowered the ice bundle from his face. "I can tell you what I'm responsible for," he offered. "We can skip the part where you try to threaten me to get the information," he added.

"Yeah, let's do that," Zack agreed.

"I manufactured the successful Seraph strain," he began to explain. "The part biological, part synthetic drug you were given at the mansion," he detailed and Zack nodded in recognition. "The first generations of the strain were a failure. Once Hojo gave up trying to help, I managed to produce something for him that worked. I also developed the version of mako that was given to Cloud to prep him for the Seraph strain as well as the boosters he gets regularly. I'm responsible for developing the drug plan he follows daily. That's all."

"It's enough," Zack told him. He took a breath before moving on with his real motive for being there. "How do I fix him?" he asked as he took some slow pacing steps in front of an island counter that stood between him and Galen.

"What do you mean?" the lab assistant asked.

"I mean, how do I undo what you assholes did to him?" Zack spoke sharply, his voice rising.

Galen laughed at him then. "Like you mean, take him back pre-Seraph?"

"How about pre-anything?" was his response.

The lab assistant gave an expression that indicated he thought Zack was crazy and then he said as much. "You're insane if you think—"

"No. I'm not," he snapped fast, coming to a stop and facing him straight. "Not yet but I think I'm pretty close. In want the honest answer. What would it take? Even if it's just an idea."

The man exhaled heavily. He held onto the edge of the counter behind him as he leaned into it and lowered his head a moment.

"Theoretically," he began to say, surprising Zack a little. He'd obviously come there for answers but until that moment he wasn't positive he was going to get anything that would make the effort worth it. "The Seraph strain, being part biological, it needs to be maintained. It needs to be nourished through mako-infused proteins. Cut off the supply of that nourishment and technically it should start to die and decompose," he explained, looking back up at Zack as he spoke. It was good news so far but then he dropped a bomb. "To be, pre-Jenova...you can forget it, there is no pre-Jenova," he announced firmly. "His DNA is already mutated. He's already producing hybrid DNA on his own. However, there may be a way to destroy the pure Jenova cells that haven't been absorbed fully and are essentially free-floating, and a slim possibility it could have an effect on the hybrid DNA…but it's never been done before."

"But you know how do that?" Zack inquired.

"I have an idea of how. I've never had the financial support or permission to test it. No one wants to pay to destroy Jenova cells. Jenova is very much like a virus, structurally. My idea is that it may be possible to create something of an antiviral drug or an anti-Jenova drug that would target the specific cellular signature and stop reproduction and invasion into healthy unaffected cells."

Zack wasn't sure exactly what that meant but on a basic level he thought he did. "Doesn't sound like a quick solution," he noted dully.

"Not in the least," Galen agreed. "There are some other, possibly viable treatment options, all in the idea stage as well."

So. Some good news. Some not so good news but not terrible news. Perhaps the terrible news was about to come.

"What about the implants?" Zack questioned next, moving on to what felt like the most critical issue.

"That's Rand's business not mine," the lab assistant told him.

"He made them?"

"No, he did not manufacture them himself," Galen denied and corrected at the same time. "A company he works closely with did, and I don't know which one," he added, answering Zack's probable next question before he could ask. "He's very secretive about it. Not even Hojo knows, which if you ask me probably means they aren't allied with Shinra," he went on.

Zack took a deep breath as he absorbed the information. "You see the surgery?" he said after a moment.

"I was present," the man affirmed. "But, no one save a miracle worker is going to get that one in his brain out without damaging something in the process," he claimed and Zack was quick to ask why. "There's a process involved to get it in there. It's called tangling. If you have any imagination you might be able to guess what that could mean."

The man's response irritated Zack immediately. The message Galen was trying to deliver was that he should give up any hope of reversing the procedure but that wasn't really an option. At the very least, he needed to be sure it wasn't.

"So then someone can de-fucking-tangle things," he snapped at the man. "Cut it out of there."

"It's untangle," he said back, which didn't do anything to diffuse Zack. "You know what happens when you cut around into tissue? It causes these things called lesions. They tend to cause bleeding and you can't always stitch them closed."

"Can it be turned off then?" he asked of the implant and Galen shrugged.

"I have no idea," he said. "You're going to need to talk to the people who developed the hardware and the procedure."

Zack leaned forward on the small island that separated them and put his faced into his hands, groaning into them. "So basically," he said when he looked up again. "The best I could do would be to get him off the mako, to kill the whole Seraph deal, which would at least fix...something?"

Galen shook his head at that and crossed his arms. "That's actually probably more like a last step thing—" he began to argue but he stopped speaking suddenly. Zack wasn't sure why. The man appeared to be thinking or like he'd just realized or remembered something. "Actually..." he spoke quietly.

"What?" Zack asked when he didn't say anything else.

"I think I do know how to get him pre-implant," he concluded then and Zack was quick to ask how. "You won't like it," the man told him.

"It doesn't matter what I like," Zack retorted.

"One of the unanticipated side effects of Seraph is its ability to reanimate the subject. Or revive if you prefer. I hate the resurrection word," he explained.

Zack nodded. "I may have heard something about it already," he informed.

"Well, we noticed a surprising amount of tissue regeneration post-revival. In fact, we've noticed long ago previously damaged tissue being repaired as well, including previous damaged nerve cells. So, pull the implant out. It may not kill him, but it probably will. Let him expire. Assuming he can still revive then he should regenerate and the damaged tissue should repair itself. Then you can pull the mako and kill Seraph."

It wasn't what Zack would ever have guessed would be a suggestion offered. He couldn't imagine doing it. Kill Cloud on purpose? Still, he asked, "You really think that would work?"

"It should," Galen said simply. "I don't know that it will. He could just end up dead," he added, smirking.

"You think this is funny," Zack accused sharply. "All you see is some test subject, some puzzle to play with. You don't care that you helped destroy a human being, only that you didn't get enough credit for it," he stated angrily. The man looked away from him but his expression didn't really change. "Right?" Zack went on. "That's what you're upset about, right?"

"What is it you want me to say?" Galen asked, seemingly unaffected by his words. "Apologies? Condolences? All I can say is what I know. If you want to know about things that happened in the lab, that I can provide answers for. If you want messages of regret and sorrow then you can talk to my brother again."

If I want to know about things that happened in the lab…

Zack thought over his words. It sure sounded like an offer, and one which he wasn't about to pass up on.

000

It was getting late over at the gala, within the final hour before midnight and an eagarly anticipated fireworks display. Johnny had just finished delivering a tray full of drinks to guests in the heavily occupied ballroom. Holding the emptied tray in his one hand he fished his phone from his pocket as he turned in the direction of the kitchen and checked to see if any messages had come in from Zack. Message or no message, he knew he, Rayna and Tifa were going to have to make a move soon to do what they'd come to do. They'd just have to hope that Zack was out of Shinra HQ by the time people where making their way back over there or if he wasn't that he wouldn't be spotted and recognized by anyone.

"There's something wrong with your phone," a voice said from behind him and he knew he recognized it before he even turned around. It was the vice president and he knew he must have been recognized by him as well because the man was giving him the first part of a pick-up line he'd used to get his attention back at the Purple Club in Gold Saucer.

"So much for disguises," Johnny said as he slipped his phone back into his pocket and faced him near the doors leading back to the kitchen.

"Well it's not your face I was looking at," Rufus told him almost playfully. "Pretty bold move coming here tonight," he commented.

Johnny shrugged as he moved away from the kitchen doors to make way for one of the actual servers. "Not really, unless you're planning on pointing me out and telling them how we met in Gold Saucer," he said in return. Rufus tilted his head and gave an expression of agreement.

"You held me at gunpoint, so perhaps I should," the vice president replied.

"Something tells me it's not the first time you've had a gun on you," Johnny said in return and the man smirked at that. "I think your date's looking for you," Johnny pointed out then, looking past Rufus over to where the woman he'd caught sight of with the man a few times that night was standing, looking as though she were searching for someone in the crowd.

Rufus only glanced back over his shoulder briefly. "Just some girl. I didn't come with a date. Didn't feel like pretending tonight," he said before taking a drink from the champagne flute in his hand.

"Why pretend at all?" Johnny asked.

"It's complicated," was the man's answer. "How long have you been out?"

"Out?" Johnny echoed.

"Gay," Rufus said.

"I'm not gay," he told the man who immediately laughed in response.

"That's funny," Rufus stated. Met with Johnny's unchanged expression he said, "Well you fooled me. You are one hell of a hustler."

Johnny smiled then. "Kinda need to be to make a living in the industry," he stated and the man seemed a little surprised.

"So, you're—" he started to speak but Johnny was quick to correct him.

"Not anymore," he said. He took a moment then to look around the ballroom and see if he could still see where Rayna and Tifa were. He spotted them, as well as Cloud and Rand.

"You were good, were you?" the vice president asked him then and he brought his attention back to him.

"Never had an unsatisfied customer," he told him. He was trying to decide how to get away from him now that he'd been engaged in the conversation. He could tell Rufus was likely pretty drunk, even if he was doing a good job at hiding it. He'd had enough experience being around intoxicated people to know the difference.

"You're not even a little...?" the vice president spoke curiously, prodding some more into his preferences.

"Never can tell…" he told the man through a sigh. "My twin brother was gay," he added, looking over the crowd again. He spotted Paul, his old bunkmate from the Academy, for the second time that evening. He'd served him at one point and the guy had no idea. No one had any idea. He was supposed to be dead after all…

"A twin?" Rufus inquired and he nodded. "Identical?" He nodded again. "Where is he?" the man asked.

"Dead," he told him bluntly.

"Well, rest his soul," Rufus said, raising his glass slightly in a gesture of respect. "If you, you know, ever want to know for sure if you are…" he said then. He smiled in a devious kind of way when Johnny looked at him straight.

"I'd do it with someone who has an actual inheritance," he stated seriously.

The vice president faked offense to his words. "Ouch," he muttered before he drained the rest of the champagne he'd been sipping from his glass. "Well as it happens..." he started to say then, but stopped, clearly intending to incite curiosity.

It was definitely a response that had Johnny a little curious. Back in Gold Saucer while they'd had Rufus held hostage in his car the vice president had conveyed that he wasn't set to inherit anything from his father and if something happened to the president he'd see no part of the company under his control. So, it was interesting to have him suggest something different now.

"Go on," Johnny told him, his attention on him again.

Rufus shook his head. "That's a discussion for more private corners. I have a room upstairs," he said with a smile.

Johnny rolled his eyes at that. "I bet you do," he replied.

"I might have a proposition or two for you," Rufus told him. "Could be worth your time. It could help out Mr. Strife, boy wonder," he revealed. "Does that interest you?" he asked.

"You know it does," Johnny said. It was something he obviously couldn't disregard. It was possible the man was just messing with him but whether he had drank too much or not, he seemed serious.

Rufus smiled again and made a move to walk past him. Pausing and placing a hand on Johnny's left shoulder he said, "Room 608. Wait ten minutes before coming."

"I always do," Johnny told him dryly.

"Ha," was the vice president's quiet response before the man handed him his emptied glass and departed.

After getting rid of the glass and his serving tray he located Rayna.

"Is everything okay?" she asked. "Why was he talking to you so long?" she questioned of Rufus.

"It's fine," he told her. "I'm working something. I'm heading upstairs. Don't wait around for me," he instructed.

"What? Upstairs with Rufus?" she asked fast. "That's stupid, you don't have a gun, what if—"

"I don't need one," he cut her off. "Don't worry about it. You better make a move on the mark," he suggested, directing her attention to Rand. "He's been drinking more the last hour. He's not going to hang around long after midnight."

She sighed with annoyance. "What about Zack? Haven't heard from him yet," she pointed out.

"Just have to assume he knows what he's doing," Johnny said.

"You know there's never more than four feet of distance between that moron and Cloud," Rayna stated, looking at Rand. "It's like you can see the leash," she commented.

Johnny just nodded in acknowledgment. "Good luck," he said. "I've got my phone," he told her. "I'll check in later."

He left Rayna then and headed for the doors leading out of the ballroom. Rayna set her sights on Rand again and took a quick check of the time. Johnny was right. Time was winding down. The night would be a waste of time if she didn't make a move. When an announcement was made that if guests wanted to view the fireworks as they were set off at midnight they should begin ushering outside to the courtyard, she decided it was the right time and let Tifa know. The two of them followed the crowd. Rayna had her server tray with her that was loaded with champagne for the guests. When the moment seemed right, Rayna pushed her way through the people ahead of her and without stopping she walked directly into Rand, tray first. The multiple full flutes of liquid went sliding and careening into the man.

Tifa didn't stop to watch Rand's reaction to the collision with Rayna. Cloud had been walking just ahead of the man following the flow of foot traffic to the courtyard. It didn't appear he was aware of what had happened behind him. As he stepped outside, Tifa intercepted him, saying his name as she took hold of him and pulled him off to the side, away from the traffic, near to the side of the building.

"Cloud," she said again, bringing his attention to her as he looked from where she had taken hold of his arm to pull him aside up to her face. "It's me," she said as she pulled the mask from her face and before she could say another word she found herself in a sudden embrace as Cloud responded, saying Teef before hugging her.

"Oh my god," she found herself saying aloud as she hugged him back tightly. She hadn't been prepared for his reaction, not given what they'd been told about how he'd supposedly changed. He definitely had, but not in the way she'd been expecting. She'd prepared herself for very little reaction from him. The best she had been hoping for was that he would at least recognize her from before but even before he'd been taken to Gongaga he hadn't really remembered her from their childhood so their relationship had been at a very basic level.

"I didn't mean to leave you there," he spoke as he was holding onto her.

Somehow she just knew he was talking about Nibelheim, about the reactor, about how he'd found her there the night Sephiroth attacked the town. She hadn't known at the time he'd been one of the infantry soldiers from Midgar there to assist Zack and the general. He'd been disguised. It wasn't until after the disaster that she knew because she'd been found with his uniform jacket covering her to keep her warm outside. If he remembered that now, what else did he remember?

Rand had caught up to them then, pulling Cloud back, separating the two of them as though he were breaking up a brawl.

"What are you doing?" he asked Tifa, his tone sharp and accusatory. "Cloud?" he said, looking at him, demanding an answer.

"It's my very best friend from Nibelheim," Cloud told him straight. The declaration took both Rand and Tifa off guard. Tifa knew then that Cloud obviously remembered more now than he had previously. It was bizarre to regard him as he spoke though. He didn't seem to be upset, or to be affected emotionally by their surprise reunion. He had made his statement matter-of-factly.

Rand eyed him critically before looking Tifa's way once more. "Is that right?" he asked, a hint of a waver in his own tone, as if he were trying to maintain calm. "I wasn't aware Cloud had any surviving friends from Nibelheim," he spoke to Tifa then.

"There's probably a lot of things you aren't aware of," she shot back at him quickly.

The man smiled but didn't seem amused in the least. "I'm afraid if you want to catch up with him you're going to need to make an appointment," he told her.

"An appointment? To talk to my friend?" she challenged. "Why? He's not some kind of prisoner, is he?" she questioned.

"Of course not," the man denied smoothly. "But there's a level of security that must be maintained given he's something of a local celebrity. Besides, you have a job to do, don't you?" he pointed out, reminding her of her supposed position as a server at the event. He reached into an interior pocket of his suit jacket and retrieved a white card. He passed it to her. "You can contact me at this number and we can arrange for you to meet with him."

"Oh, I will," she promised.

"Say good evening, Cloud," Rand instructed.

"Good evening, Cloud," Cloud echoed and when Tifa looked at him he gave something of a small smile. Rand seemed obviously thrown off by Cloud's overtly cheeky response. He didn't say anything else as he took Cloud's arm firmly and started pulling him away.

"Who was that?" he asked Cloud as he was leading him back inside the building.

"Tifa Lockhart," he said. "My very best friend from Nibelheim," he added, repeating his previous statement.

"You met her there?" was the man's next question.

"Yes," Cloud confirmed.

"When?" the Keeper asked, stopping him inside the building to talk to him face-to-face.

Cloud thought about it a moment. "I don't know," he said at last. "She was small. I was small," he stated.

"You remember being a child there?" Rand asked him and he nodded. "You remember your mother?"

"Jenova?" Cloud asked back, not understanding.

"Your biological mother," Rand clarified and Cloud just looked back at him. He seemed confused. "Is Nibelheim your home?" the man asked after a moment of his silence.

"No," Cloud answered him promptly.

"Where is home?" Rand asked and Cloud's response to that question came just as quickly.

"Shinra."

Rand observed him carefully, trying to decide how concerned he should be about the encounter between Cloud and his old friend.

"Why did you hug her?" he asked finally and Cloud's answer was very simple.

"She's my very best friend from—"

Rand stopped him before he finished, already knowing what he was going to say. "How do you feel about her?" he asked and it was a question that clearly had Cloud lost trying to come up with a reply. It was just the test he needed.

"I don't know," Cloud told him, his shoulders sinking a little. A look came over him that was telling. Rand had observed it several times now since being back in the city. It was like his brain was actively trying to push something to a place he could reach it but there was a wall there and the best he could do was stand beside it. He hadn't been able to determine exactly how it was happening but Cloud had demonstrated physical indicators of mental stress a handful of times but he didn't seem to be aware or cognizant of why it had been happening. It wasn't overly concerning to him or Hojo but something that could be of concern was this now unexpected side-effect of the surgery that had found some of Cloud's earlier memories returning, ones that had been lost for quite some time.

"I think we should go back to the apartment," Rand told him then.

"Did I do something I wasn't supposed to?" Cloud asked him as he was being led through the building to the main entrance.

"I haven't decided yet," Rand said.

The clocks struck midnight as they were exiting the building and Cloud was able to see some of the fireworks while they were standing outside waiting for the car to pick them up.

000

Zack exited the elevator slowly on the floor Galen had directed him to. He'd asked the man before leaving his apartment where he could find Cloud's. No one had to tell him it was a bad idea. Galen could easily have called security the minute he left the man's living quarters. He didn't believe he would though. It was just a feeling he had. Even so, spending more time in the building than he needed to was stupid, but after the things he'd learned from Galen, an impulse he had was quickly turning to a plan in his desperate mind and when he was standing outside the closed apartment door he was almost sure he was going to do it. He was going to wait for Rand to come back with Cloud and he was going to ambush him and probably kill him, if he had the chance.

The master maintenance key actually worked to unlock the door. He was almost sure it wouldn't, but it did. Now he really felt like he had to go through with his plan. It was a sign. He stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind him quickly. It was dark in the apartment but he noticed a laptop sitting open on a coffee table. He walked toward it slowly and stopped in front of it, looking down at what was on the screen. It appeared the computer was undergoing a logging off process.

"Huh," he spoke aloud.

"What are you doing in here?" a voice asked from somewhere in the dark and he felt like his stomach jumped into his throat, or that his heart had combusted, one or the other. He spun around fast and upon seeing who it was, he let out his held breath.

"You scared the shit out of me," he said as he sat himself down on the arm of the couch to recover, grasping his chest lightly.

"Zack?" Tseng said his name.

"Yeah," he confirmed.

"What do you think you're doing?" the Turk asked him with clear irritation in his tone.

"Dying?" Zack offered as a possibility, feeling his pulse racing and pounding. "What are you doing?" he threw back at the man.

"Hacking," Tseng told him as he nodded his head toward the laptop on the table.

Zack glanced back at it and scoffed. "Yeah right," he said doubtfully. "You?"

"Not exactly. More downloading," Tseng admitted.

"Get anything good?" he asked the man.

"I don't know yet," he said in return. "Why are you dressed like that?" the Turk inquired. "How'd you get a key?"

"I've got contacts. I needed to talk to Galen," he said simply.

"You spoke with him?" Tseng asked and he nodded.

"He's got some ideas that don't suck. You should talk to him," he suggested.

"And he gave you this apartment number why?" Tseng questioned next.

"I asked for it," Zack replied.

"Why?" the man pressed him again and he exhaled deeply, averting his eyes. "What the hell are you thinking?" he said and Zack opened his mouth to respond but the man cut him off immediately. "It's a stupid idea, you know it is," he said. "I understand the temptation, trust me, but honestly?"

Zack nodded slowly after a moment. "Yeah," he spoke quietly. "It's a colossally moronic idea. What can I say?" He looked up at the Turk, his expression still readable despite the darkness in the room. There was enough light coming through the windows from the city outside to make it discernable. Acknowledgement, sympathy. "This I where he lives, huh?" he asked then as he stood himself up from the couch. Tseng just nodded.

"You need to leave," the man told him firmly. He knew Zack was going to want to look around the apartment now that he was in it. He certainly didn't blame him but he knew that he was going to easily make the same observations he had earlier when he'd taken his self-guided tour.

"I just want to see his stuff for a second," Zack told him. He was on a trajectory to the one bedroom.

Not knowing what else to do, Tseng intercepted him, blocking his way. He wasn't sure how he was going to convince Zack to abandon his sudden mission and leave. The simple act of trying to prevent him from doing it was going to make him want to do it more. The assistance he needed came from Zack's phone, buzzing loudly from his pocket. He checked it and announced Rand and Cloud must have left the party because Tifa couldn't see them anywhere.

"Do you need me to escort you out safely?" Tseng offered and Zack shook his head.

"I'm good," he said. "I know my way around," he added before heading for the door. "You coming," he asked when he was about to leave.

"Right behind you," Tseng replied.

"Tseng," Zack called back then from the open doorway. "You're keeping an eye on him right?" he asked.

The man gave a firm nod in return. "I'm doing my best," he promised. It was enough to earn a tight but grateful smile from Zack. He'd been lying. He hadn't been doing his best. Not yet. That was going to change. He was making a resolution of it.

The building never seemed so large as Zack was trying to leave it. Tifa hadn't been clear on when Rand and Cloud may have left the party because she wasn't sure. She'd only noticed they were no longer visible. So perhaps they actually hadn't left and she just couldn't find them but as he made his way out of one of the main elevators into the large open atrium of the first floor and headed toward one of two long staircases to the main entrance, he could see two heads coming up from the same stairs he was walking towards. It had to be some sort of divine joke, a curse or maybe a gift. It was Cloud's so-called Keeper and with him was Cloud, in the flesh.

He was far enough away from them that they probably couldn't immediately recognize him and Rand's head was down anyway as he was typing into his phone he held in his hands. Cloud seemed to be looking mostly at the floor as he was walking. For a moment Zack thought about turning around and walking back the way he came but he didn't. The surge of rushing adrenaline he felt had him fearlessly and perhaps recklessly pushing on toward them. He wasn't looking to start something right inside of Shinra HQ where security would easily intervene, however, so he still reached to adjust the cap on his head, pulling the bill a little lower towards his eyes and lowered his head as he walked towards them. He passed them on Cloud's side and it took everything in him not to grab his friend and try to bolt with him to the building entrance. He couldn't stop himself at least a brief glance at Cloud, so for one brief second he tilted his head and looked at the same time Cloud looked up and back at him and time seemed to slow. That one moment felt stretched out over several. His friend looked tired. Maybe it was the hour but it seemed like more than that. He looked mentally tired...and sad. Sad or just vacant. He couldn't be sure which one. Maybe he was just projecting what he felt into him. Either way Cloud didn't give any indication he was surprised they were passing one another. He didn't do anything to suggest there was even recognition there. He faced forward again and as he and Rand carried on toward the elevators Zack paused to turn and watch them.

It had taken more than that brief second for Cloud to realize who they were passing by on their way up to the apartment. But not much more. He looked back over his shoulder to be sure of what he thought he saw, and he found Zack standing in place not far behind them, raising his right arm into the air ahead of him. Using his hand he mimicked the shape of a gun that he aimed at Rand's back and with one eye closed he dropped his thumb to fire the pretend weapon. He smiled then and with that same hand he raised his index finger to his lips indicating to Cloud that he should keep quiet. He waved with two fingers before putting is hands into the pockets of the coveralls he was wearing and heading for the stairs.

"What are you looking at?" Rand asked as he started to turn back to see what had caught his attention.

"Nothing," Cloud told him, facing ahead again and looking toward the elevators rather than at Rand. Despite his answer, Rand did pause in place to look back the way they'd come. All he saw was the disappearing form of whoever they'd passed by as the person was descending the stairs quickly.

In transit once more, Rand sighed with relief when they were in the elevator. He was glad the public part of the evening was over.

"When will the appointment with Tifa be?" Cloud spoke up next to him suddenly. He looked back at Cloud and smiled but he shook his head.

"There isn't going to be one," he told him. "You think she's your friend, but she isn't," he explained.

"But you said—" Cloud began to argue.

"I know what I said," he cut him off quickly. "We can talk about it in the morning," he said, though he was certain he wasn't going to let Cloud have such a meeting with someone he knew when he was young. As he reached to place his right arm around Cloud's shoulders, Cloud stepped away from him. The elevator doors opened nearly at the same time and Cloud exited into the hall. It had him wondering if Cloud had simply known the doors were about to open and was moving toward them because of that, or if it was the other, more likely explanation…that he'd in fact just actively and consciously rejected his gesture.