A/N: Picking this one up again! Thanks to everyone who expressed interest.

The Second Tapes

On the next few tapes Hojo didn't talk about much that Reeve recognised, and it served mostly just to drive a deeper sense of guilt into Reeve's already burdened heart. There were so many experiments Hojo did 'off the books' the moment he'd become the senior scientist at the company, and it was nauseating to think that so many of these subjects might never be named.

Even still, he was making his own notes trying to identify how many different subjects Hojo was talking about, so they could match them up with his growing list from the WRO about people who had gone MIA while working for Shinra.

Then, mid-tape, Hojo's tone abruptly changed.

"The strangest thing happened today. I was taking an escort around the Nibelheim area to check on reports of the clones around the village when we ran into a strange creature. Normally I would think it was just like any other monster, except that there was a clear intelligence there in the way it ran and hid."

Reeve frowned, checking his notes. Date-wise, he'd put this tape as sometime after Aerith's tape had begun, but not before Hojo's ousting by Rufus.

"So I insisted that we go back and take another look – and sure enough, the creature was waiting until we had passed by! I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to study it, not when I saw the very tip of its tail was ablaze."

Reeve leant back in his chair, tiredly rubbing his temples again. Of course, Nanaki had been captured too – there were so few people in AVALANCHE who hadn't been affected by the scientist in some way, after all.

"The creature put up one hell of a fight, and its command of various combat techniques and battle strategies is truly impressive! It wouldn't surprise me if the creature could be taught to use materia, if we could provide a safe environment for the tests to be done." Hojo sighed, sounding almost aggrieved. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. We sedated and brought the creature in, luckily without too much damage to his hide, though it was difficult."

"And the creature is honestly one of the most incredible specimens I have ever seen! It's the strangest thing that no real name exists for his species in any literature I can find, but I'd place good money on it that he – the creature's a male, so our tests indicate – is of a species at least as old as the Ancients, if not older.

But I'm not a betting man...so the tests will continue."

The tape clicked off. Reeve labelled it and quickly put the next one in the slot.

"I'm either losing my mind like they all claim, or there is far more to this creature than I anticipated. I swear I heard it speak the other day, but then when I challenged him on it he became even more sullen than before."

Hojo let out an annoyed sigh, the tape actually crackling from his annoyance. "I even had them try shocking the creature, within limits. But the damn thing still isn't giving me anything. I don't understand how the creature doesn't realise at all that I could do a lot to help him!"

Reeve's fist curled up. These tapes were never easy to listen to, so he tried to space them out, but the thought that had been happening to Nanaki was galling when he thought of how dignified his feline friend was.

When Hojo spoke again, he sounded almost contemplative. "I did think I saw two of them out in the wilds, back when we were in the Cosmo Canyon area. Perhaps if I brought in the creature's mate, he would behave more politely when I request his co-operation…"

Reeve sighed. It said something that it was a silver-lining that Hojo was too distracted ruining everything for everyone else to go after Nanaki's mate. Reeve had never met her, but he understood that Nanaki and she were expecting cubs now, which Yuffie had been desperate to see as she was convinced they must be 'soooo cute!' (Tifa wanted to see them, too, but far away from the bar in case they too had flames on the tips of their tails).

"Well, never mind that for now," Hojo said, sighing. "It's a shame I don't have enough time to split between my new specimen and the Ancient. Shin-Ra aren't enthusiastic about the creature, since it won't make them money in the short term. Feh! Narrow minded fools."

"Another problem I'm having is the creature has no appetite. He's getting gaunt and that once radiant coat is turning dull. Well, there's nothing for it. I might not be able to devote the time the creature deserves to its study, but I'll force-feed it if needs be...and catalogue every inch of its corpse if it persists on being stubborn."

"And perhaps also...I can make him my thirteenth. I so would like to study how the creature would react to JENOVA and Sephiroth cells when I have the time."

The tape clicked over, and Reeve put the next in. It was a short one – Hojo was audibly pacing and agitated as he spoke.

"I don't understand this. The girl had friends to come rescue her, but the creature should have had no one outside of its mate. And yet they still let it out while they were escaping?

Damn it. Damn it all.

I was right the creature was intelligent, far more so than even I'd guessed observing its behaviour. But still...to lose two of the finest, rarest specimens in one day…"

His voice dropped, turned almost contemplative.

"At least she understands what I'm trying to do. I might have lost her, too, but that's a secondary concern. The President's death – the slaughter of all those people on the higher floors of headquarters…

The Reunion will be even more incredible than I could have imagined!"

Reeve reached over to click the tape off – he needed a break – but it had thankfully come to an end. He popped it out, labelled them NANAKI #1 & 2 and making a note in his personal calendar – he was going to get through every single one of the tapes tonight, and put all the ones concerning his friends to one side.

He could treat the ones concerning ShinRa workers who had gone MIA as investigative materials, but where they concerned still-living victims of ShinRa? He'd make sure the tapes were given to the people (or animals) concerned, making it their discretion to destroy them or not.