A\N: Thank you to this chapter's sponsor, Wikipedia, without which my non-existent science knowledge would be even more non-existent.

THE STARS WE DREAMED OF

24

Killing a patrolling security guard proves easier than Cloud anticipated. Vincent's tip on the best location to infiltrate the Tower proved right; the Sector 5 area is secluded enough, with low security and near non-existent surveillance. Cloud drags the body out of sight before putting on the guard's outfit. He hides his hair as best as he can under the low-brim black cap with a white Shinra logo. At Vincent's recommendation, Cloud aimed for a guard rather than a soldier, as the former have free rein of most of the building because of their job. Cloud looks at the guard's keycard to check his clearance; Vincent said Cloud would require a Level 3 to get to Research, and he sighs in relief when he sees the Level 4 stamped on the card. Cloud adjusts the brim of the cap so his features aren't so visible, and with a deep breath, steps out of his hiding place.

He keeps his head down as he makes for the nearest entrance to the Tower. The gun at his waist feels heavy, unusual. The scanner next to the door beeps and flashes green when he swipes the keycard. The doors slide open to reveal an empty hallway that opens on a vast room bustling with people. Cloud does his best to appear casual and walks into the main room.

The high number of people is a blessing; everyone is too busy with their own tasks or lost in their conversations to notice Cloud, who keeps his head down and obscured by the hat. His heart squeezes in his chest until breathing evenly becomes a challenge—he has to remind himself that a loss of control means exposing himself, and then everything will crumble. He can't afford that—Tifa can't afford that. His hand shakes as he presses the up button for the elevator. Lucky for Cloud, no one gets on with him; once the door close, he exhales, the tension in his shoulders lessening a little.

Cloud swipes the keycard again, silently thanking Vincent for his instructions. A series of buttons light up, letting him know which floor he has access to. He chooses the 27th floor, where Vincent told him Research is located. The lift moves—3rd… 10th… 12th… Cloud seeks the camera, finding it in the upper corner to his left. Not looking at it, he raises his head, exposing his face.

He reaches the 25th before the elevator comes to a harsh stop. He's still regaining his balance when an automated voice rings from the speaker.

"Identification successful: 2961-TS85, Cloud Strife."

Cloud stills as the doors open to reveal three soldiers pointing their guns at him. As slowly as possible, he brings his hands up and away from his body.

"Step out of the elevator," one of them says. When Cloud complies, the soldier gestures at another one to come forward. "Handcuffs."

Staying calm proves easier than Cloud had expected. His state of mind shifts to the cold, calculating one he adopts on missions. He lets the soldier bring his hands in front of him to handcuff them; allows another one to strip him of all weapons; says nothing when they push him forward with more force than needed. As they walk towards an unknown destination, the barrel of a rifle digs into his back, a silent threat, but it doesn't worry Cloud. He has no intention of running away.

Before him, two of the soldiers talk in hushed tones, sending him glances once in a while. The one who gave the orders straightens and brings a hand to his ear, then nods and signals at the others to follow him. They switch paths, heading left; Cloud makes note of the empty corridors and of the stairwell they pass by. He still needs to go up to Research.

The soldiers stop before a large wooden door, and one knocks once, twice. A muffled 'enter' is heard through the thick door. Cloud steels himself as they enter the room.

Cloud comes to a sudden halt as he walks inside. He must be in a conference room; he notes the long table to his left, but it's the wall of windows that captures his attention. On the 25th floor of Shinra Tower, he stands above the constant smog of Midgard, and he sees the night sky for the first time since he was a child. The muted glittering of the stars is nothing compared to what he remembers outside of the city—but the darkness is the same. A true shadow enveloping the world, willing it to dream. It's not the darkness of Midgard, a murky gray that bears down on them at all hours.

"Nice view, isn't it?"

The voice startles Cloud out of his wonder. He peeks at his right to see a relaxed Rufus Shinra leaning against a desk and staring straight at him. The President smiles.

"It's not as good during the day, though. The sun is much too harsh during the afternoon."

A disbelieving laugh escapes Cloud against his will. Rufus Shinra's smile doesn't dim—if anything, it gets wider. He pushes away from the desk and comes to stand two meters across of Cloud.

"Your disguise isn't bad. You must have killed a guard for it," the President remarks offhandedly. "You might have fooled us a little longer if we hadn't already been looking for you."

It takes Cloud a few seconds to understand that the President is waiting for him to speak. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction, Cloud stays quiet—Rufus doesn't let this bother him.

"And you're here for… what exactly?" The way he speaks reminds Cloud of an animal playing with his prey; the President can say whatever he wants to humor himself, knowing he'll triumph in the end. "Where are the rest of your Avalanche friends, Cloud Strife?"

Rufus waits, but is only met with silence.

"You still won't talk? Such a shame." His tone changes, becoming sharp and wary. Rufus Shinra turns his head to look at the soldiers. "Did you search him?"

"Yes, Sir. He had on a knife and the gun he must have taken from our guard."

Rufus's eyes narrow, suspicion clear in his gaze. "Nothing else?"

"No, Sir."

"Did you hear from Captain Sephiroth about other intruders?"

Cloud hears the soldier shuffle behind him.

"Nothing so far, Sir."

"Tell him to stay alert—he might be a distraction for Avalanche."

Before a soldier can exit the room, Cloud says, "I'm not here with Avalanche."

A stillness falls upon the room, but not for long. President Shinra levels a glare at the soldiers. "What were his test results? Did you give him mako?"

"Sir…?"

The President's calm facade shatters as realization settles in. "Inject him!"

They don't get to. Cloud unleashes his ability on the three soldiers, setting their clothes aflame; the fire burns hotter and brighter as it consumes the soldiers in a flash. They scream and beg and moan and fall silent, but the flames won't surrender them. Cloud doesn't allow the smell of charred flesh and hair to bother him as he walks over to the soldier who handcuffed him—or at least Cloud thinks it's the one. The fire dances across his skin, sparing him, and he finds the key. The handcuffs clink as they drop to the hardwood floor. The telltale of a safety releasing has Cloud straighten up and confront the President.

Rufus Shinra stands next to the enormous table, a handgun leveled at Cloud's chest. His erratic breathing gives away his fear, but his hands don't shake. Cloud takes a second to compose himself as they face each other. The window catches his eyes again, for a different reason this time—it's an icy night and this high up, the temperature must be even lower. He directs his ability to heat the glass inside the room—hoping the rapid change in temperature will be enough. He's only taken two steps forward when Rufus speaks.

"Don't move."

At once, the situation strikes Cloud as funny; here he is, held at gunpoint by the President after having incinerated three soldiers—and the man tells him not to move.

"All right," Cloud says softly, holding in a laugh.

As if reading Cloud's thoughts, Rufus's hands waver, but he rebounds quickly enough. His voice is stable as he asks, "Where is the rest of Avalanche?"

"I didn't come here with them."

Rufus frowns but stays silent. He moves backward, coming closer to the window and the long table. Cloud's concentration flickers at the movement; if Rufus comes to close to the glass, he'll feel the heat radiating.

"Why are you so afraid?"

Cloud's taunt does its job; the President halts, his face twisted in a sneer.

"You burned alive three of my soldiers and you ask me why I'm afraid?"

"Why are you so afraid of us? Of Carriers? Why hunt us down?" Though he asks as a distraction, the questions are genuine, and Cloud holds his breath as he waits for the answers. He sends a burst of energy towards the glass so the temperature will rocket faster.

"Why?" President Shinra lets out a sardonic laugh. "People like you are weapons; the abilities you possess mark you all as dangerous. We are disposing of a problem, nothing else."

"Nothing else?" Cloud hisses. "You kill us as prevention?"

"If I could harness your abilities, I would." Rufus Shinra laughs again. "I have tried again and again with no results to show for it. If I can't control the variable, I get rid of it."

The anger that blasts through Cloud causes the glass to crack. Rufus doesn't notice, too lost in his own words.

"I've been looking for a way to suppress the gene granting you these powers. No luck so far, I'm afraid. All of our subjects die before progress can be made."

An image of Tifa flashes before Cloud's eyes, and he loses control of his ability, letting it explode. This time, Rufus hears the glass crack. He swivels to look at the window—right as it bursts apart from thermal shock. The President's frightened shout resonates, mixing with the sound of glass breaking and the sudden howling of the wind. His arms come up to protect his face and he hunches over as the broken glass rains over him.

Cloud crosses the distance between them as Rufus recovers and raises his arm to aim the gun. Cloud doesn't overthink; he grabs Rufus's wrist, pulling it taut towards him. Putting all of his bodyweight in the strike, he slams his forearm right into Rufus's extended elbow, ripping apart the joint. Rufus Shinra screams at the pain, the gun falling from his hand; he stumbles back into the conference table, loses his balance, and goes tumbling on the floor.

As he stands over an injured and shell-shocked President Shinra, a deep hatred whirls through Cloud—as well as an immense satisfaction at seeing the most powerful man in the State reduced to this at his feet. A part of him can't help but toy with the President; it's a twisted illusion of control, like finally—finally—he's not the one who is so fucking afraid.

Cloud crouches in front of Rufus and smiles. "I came here to kill you if you still want to know."

Before the President has the chance to react, Cloud grabs him by the collar and drags him to the ledge of the broken window, letting his head dangle above a razor-edged shard of glass still attached to the window frame.

"Don't," Rufus spits out through labored breaths.

"Don't what?" Cloud switches his grip to the President's neck. "If you want something, ask properly."

He tightens his hold on the man's neck, preventing him from speaking.

"So sorry, Sir, I couldn't hear you." Cloud lessens his grasp.

Rufus gasps as air rushes into his lungs. "Don't," he croaks.

"All right, all right. Up you go."

Cloud tugs Rufus backward until he is on his knees, and squats down next to him.

"Tell me about those experiments you mentioned. About suppressing our abilities."

"It's what I told you." Rufus hisses from the pain as Cloud rattles him to get him to talk faster. "We try to eliminate the gene. The repeated doses become too much for the Carriers, and so far none have made it out."

Without meaning to, Cloud channels heat through the hand holding on to the President's neck—but when Rufus yells out as his flesh burns, Cloud doesn't rein his ability in, not until he senses his mind quieting down. He hauls a groaning Rufus Shinra to his feet, bringing them to the edge of the window. Despite his weakened state, the President struggles to step back, almost tripping over his own feet; Cloud forces him to lean forward and have half of his body hanging out from the Tower. Rufus goes still.

"Nice view, isn't it?" Cloud says. "I hope you enjoy it on the way down."

With a push, Cloud lets go.

Rufus Shinra tries to regain his balance, tries to hold on to something to stop his fall—but there are only the sharp edges of broken glass and the emptiness of Midgard before him. He screams as he plummets down, the sound distorted by the wind and the blood beating in Cloud's head, a loud noise overtaking everything else.

Cloud watches President Shinra plummet through the sky and the clouds of pollution obscuring the city until it crashes to the ground. Only then does he step away from the window and turns to leave, grabbing his knife and the discarded gun on his way out.

He doesn't lose time and makes for the stairwell he saw earlier. The corridors are still empty, but he wagers it won't be the case for long; Rufus Shinra's death won't go unnoticed, and they will raise the alert soon enough. That he killed the President of Midgard settles in a heady realization. Cloud bits his bottom lip to keep laughter in, focusing instead of climbing the stairs as quickly as possible.

Before entering the 27th-floor corridor, Cloud peers through the door's small window to check if the coast is clear. When he spots no movement, he goes in. Cloud checks the floor map next to the stairwell; Vincent said the main lab's entrance is across the elevator. After two wrong turns, Cloud finds the door he was looking for—but as he goes to walk in, acute terror of what he'll find squeezes his heart in a death grip. He didn't—couldn't—let himself think about being too late, but now he faces the debilitating possibility. With a deep exhale, Cloud pushes the door open.

The lab is enormous, dotted with dozens of beds and benches along a wall, and with cabinets and equipment bordering two others. In the middle, examination chairs take the majority of the space, most of them holding someone. Cloud's fear swells as he takes in the inert state of the Carriers in the room; his feet won't cooperate and he stands frozen at the entrance. He can't think of what he might find, he just can't.

Distressed moans rise from his left; Cloud's head whips in that direction, drawn by the sign of life. He puts a foot forward, then another, and—fuck, fuck, it's her. Cloud runs to the chair Tifa is constrained to. His heart breaks as he catches sight of the dried blood along her mouth and chin; of her pale and clammy skin; of her pained expression and shivering body.

"Tifa?" He whispers, voice breaking. The tremor of his hands makes it hard to unclasp the restraints, and he stops to breathe in. "Can you hear me?"

No answer comes from her; her eyes stay closed, too, like she isn't aware of the world around her. Cloud steadies his hands and attacks the straps again.

"Tifa, hey, hey—I'm here, okay? It's me; I'll get you out of here, okay?"

Cloud jumps when the doors slam open behind him, and he whirls around. At the entrance is a sneering man in a lab coat clutching files to his chest.

"What are you doing?" The man calls out. "You're not allowed in my lab."

Cloud's vision becomes drenched with revenge and fury, and he steps up to the man, ramming him into the wall. The files sink to the floor in a mess.

"What's wrong with her?" Cloud's voice is deadly, quiet.

The man's eyes drift over Cloud's shoulder. His scowl warps from confusion. "What's your problem? Let me go! I'll tell the Captain of your transgressions."

Cloud flicks his knife open and places it under the man's eye. The tip of the blade digs into the delicate skin, drawing blood. "Tell me what's happening to her."

"You're not—" The man hisses at the awareness that Cloud is an intruder despite his uniform. "There's nothing you can do to help," he spits out.

It doesn't take more provocation for Cloud to stab the man into the neck, slashing out to worsen the injury. Blood spatters over Cloud's face; he releases the whimpering man to wipe it away with his sleeve. Fumbling and wheezing, the man collapses to the ground, gore dribbling from his mouth and blood gushing from his neck. Cloud doesn't stay to witness him die; he twists around to get back to Tifa, only taking care to clean the blood from the knife and putting it away.

"Come on," he mumbles as he works the restraints.

Tifa groans when he makes her sit straight; he throws her arm over her shoulder and drags her up. She slumps, unable to stand on her feet.

"Woah, I got you, I got you." Cloud swipes his arm under her legs and heaves her up, supporting her back; her head lolls against his shoulder.

Cloud spies another exit, across the doors he came in from, and strides for it. As soon as he crosses into the corridor, he hears the echo of shouts and orders. Cloud swears and takes off in the opposite direction, hoping to find a stairwell leading out. He rounds a corner too quickly and bumps into someone—Vincent.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Cloud bites out.

Vincent signals at him to follow, and they keep a quick pace. "I just got the news and was on my way. There's an emergency stairwell this way, come on."

They've only made it a few meters when the yells rise in volume, enough that Cloud can make out some of what the soldiers are saying—he got Dr. Hojo—this way—I saw them. Cloud speeds up.

"How far?"

Vincent's worried expression tells him everything. "It's on the other side of the building."

"Fuck," Cloud whispers, "fuck, fuck. We won't make it. We have to hide."

"They'll search—"

"Just find me a fucking place to hide!"

Vincent nods and shifts towards a hallway to their left; he throws open the door to an office, ushering Cloud inside and staying at the door to keep watch. Cloud places Tifa on the carpeted floor, having her rest against the desk. To his surprise, her eyes are half-open, drifting closed here and then.

"Hey, can you hear me?" He swipes stray hairs behind her ears and cups her cheeks so she looks at him. "Tifa?"

She lets out an unintelligible string of words, but it's her nod that alleviates Cloud's worry. "Okay, that's good. We're getting out of here, all right?"

"Cloud." Vincent's tone is sharp. "They're coming closer." As if to prove his point, shouts and pounding footsteps resonate from the hall.

Cloud inhales, exhales. "I'll come back, okay?"

The words seem to grab Tifa's attention, and a muffled cry escapes her. It almost shatters Cloud's resoluteness.

"Hey, hey, hey. I promise, okay?" His voice cracks. "I have to go."

Tifa's hand comes up to grasp his shirt, her grip weak but still there. She mutters something, but Cloud can't make sense of it. He tugs at her hand to force her to let go, but she tightens her hold. From the doorway, Vincent calls to Cloud again.

"Tifa, please, I promise, okay, I promise, I'll be back. Okay? You'll be fine." Cloud gulps as he wrenches his shirt out of her hand and jumps to his feet.

The noise of the searching soldiers grows close; it almost drowns Tifa's hoarse, "Don't go."

Cloud closes his eyes, swallows down his emotions, and moves forward. At the door, he stops before Vincent. "I did my part, you do yours."

Vincent doesn't hesitate to give him a nod.

Cloud walks out and runs towards the incoming noise; he passes in front of five soldiers. Their alerted shouts and following footsteps tell him he got spotted. He keeps on running through the corridors, turning left and right, backtracking when he comes face to face with more soldiers, until he hits a dead-end in a narrow hallway. Cloud takes out his knife and steadies his feet. Fire curls around his arm.

When the first soldier turns the corner, Cloud is ready.

"I can kill Rufus Shinra for you."

Cloud had expected different reactions from Vincent, but laughter hadn't been one. He stays silent as Vincent calms down.

"You're insane. You're really fucking insane."

"Tell me how to get in," Cloud keeps on, disregarding Vincent's comment. "We both know you can help me. I'll do the rest."

"How?" Vincent's mirth evaporates. "How do you think it's possible?"

"You said they have my face on record. Once I get inside, if the cameras recognize me, they'll alert the President, no?"

Understanding lights up in Vincent's eyes. "They will. He'll want to speak to you before anyone else."

Cloud nods, having anticipated that. "I have an advantage; they don't know I'm a Carrier."

Vincent tilts his head in contemplation. "No, they don't. Neither did I. What can you do?"

As an answer, Cloud manifests a small flame in his hand, extinguishing it after a few seconds.

"Ah. That would be useful."

"Yes. If I'm alone with Shinra and some soldiers, I can take them on. The problem will be escaping."

"That's why you want me to get Tifa out."

"If I can make it to her, good, but… We both know it might be impossible."

Vincent keeps quiet for a moment before saying, "You really think you can do it?"

"I'll do it if you swear to me you'll help Tifa," Cloud says instead.

They stare at each other; Cloud refuses to stand down.

"Do we have a deal?"

Vincent bites his bottom lip, frowns, then says, "We do."