Lyra awoke to the smell of breakfast.

She stretched and yawned as she got out of bed, almost slipping on the sleeping bag laying on the floor. She frowned and felt down the bond. She knew he was nearby; she just wasn't awake and was still disoriented from sleep. Kadaj tugged back and a pleasant feeling seeped through from his end. She walked down the wooden hallway. Drew was singing along to a song on the radio as she made breakfast. She called Loz over to crack another egg and waved at Lyra. Loz launched himself from the couch like he was waiting forever for a chance to crack an egg and pat Lyra's head as he zoomed past her.

"Good morning, sleepyhead! I've got breakfast going." Drew wiped her hands and turned to grab plates as Loz cracked away. Lyra mumbled back and took the empty spot on the couch Loz had left. Yazoo ignored her but Kadaj smiled and scooted over a bit more. They were going over a map.

"We could go to Mideel?" Kadaj offered. Yazoo scoffed.

"And what would we do there?"

Kadaj shrugged. "I don't know. But it's far from Edge and the WRO."

Lyra yawned and leaned against Kadaj's shoulder. She wished she stayed in bed and gone back to sleep. Kadaj jerked still but didn't look away from the map. Drew and Loz continued making breakfast and Yazoo tapped on the map.

"I've always wanted to go to the Gold Saucer. That might be fun. What do you think?"

Kadaj didn't answer and Lyra felt a burst of panic from his end of the bond. She frowned and opened her eyes. He was staring at the map. Lyra squeezed his arm and his face turned red.

"What's wrong?"

He cleared his throat and shook his arm loose. "Nothing."

Yazoo folded up the map as Drew and Loz sat plates of toast and eggs on the coffee table. Kadaj took his plate and tried scooting as far from Lyra as possible, only for Yazoo to shove him back with a pointed glare. Loz sat in the reclining chair and tore into his breakfast. Drew sat cross-legged on the floor and studied the boys as they ate. The apartment was silent. Awkwardly silent.

"Stop staring at us." Kadaj glared at Drew. Drew smiled back and took a long drink from her coffee mug.

"Did you guys escape from some Shinra lab?" The boys shared a look that should have alarmed Drew, but she continued to smile as if they were old friends. Lyra shook her head and reached down the bond to tell Kadaj to stop planning the curious girl's murder. It's fine, she's just curious.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I don't trust her yet."

You're eating food she ma-

"Loz helped her make it."

"Not technically," Lyra answered for them. Kadaj elbowed her in the side and she elbowed him back. He turned his glare to her and she ignored the warnings he shot down the bond. She silently cursed Aerith for convincing him that she needed a bodyguard.

"I only ask because you three-" Drew waved her fork at the boys. "You three look like Sephiroth. And you've got a weird vibe." She waved her fork at Lyra and took another sip of coffee. "If you've escaped from a lab, I'll help you hide. I don't know how much help I can be. But I'm looking for information from Shinra."

Yazoo reclined on Drew's faded and threadbare couch. "What are you looking for?"

Drew shrugged. "Anything about Shinra labs in Wutai."

"Why?"

"I was born in one. I don't know who my bio mom was, but my adoptive mom was a lab assistant who saved me." Drew pulled out the bag from the night before and pulled out the notebook and fanned through it. "My mom, Kazumi… She died after Meteorfall and she never told me the full story. Wanted to protect me, I guess."

"We were born in a Woodlands Area lab," Yazoo began.

"Yaz," Kadaj warned. He sat up like he was ready to run at any minute. Lyra placed a hand on his shoulder and shushed him, sending a feeling of calm down the bond. She wanted to know more about the labs.

"It's alright. I promise I don't have any evil plans or whatever it is you're worried about." Drew opened her notebook to a blank page and began writing. "Go on, Yazoo. All four of you?"

Yazoo nodded. "All four of us. Lyra doesn't remember anything-"

"I've got a magic Shinra amnesia."

"She's got a mind block." Yazoo shot Lyra an annoyed look. She grinned back. "We're trying to break through it and help her remember."

"What were you in the labs for or don't you know?" Drew looked up from her notebook. "Most of the lab rats I've listened to don't know. Or they didn't want to know."

"No, we know." Kadaj was still as a statue. "My brothers and I were part of the Reunion Theory. We were kept separate from the other kids." Drew frowned as she wrote but she didn't interrupt. Lyra made a mental note to ask about the Reunion Theory later, preferably away from Drew and her prying. The way Kadaj talked about the theory made her uneasy.

"Well, not all of them," Loz spoke up. "Lyra and Vega were there. The others were kept away from us." Lyra's head started to throb at the mention of Vega. She could just barely see a face in her mind. Dark hair, dark skin, bright mako blue eyes… then the face faded. She rubbed her temples and leaned on Kadaj as the faint face came back. He turned to her and sent a question down the bond. She ignored it as the pain in her head mounted. She took a steady breath and closed her eyes.

"Ugh, I hated Vega," Yazoo exclaimed. "She was rude and mean and she never cooperated with the scientists and the nurses."

Drew giggled at that. "I wouldn't want to cooperate either!"

Yazoo crossed his arms and scowled as he spoke. "Well, if one of us didn't cooperate, we all were punished. And we were punished a lot because of her. She once knocked down the castle I made out of blocks. I was, I don't know, eleven? All because Dr. Azazel took Lyra and Kadaj out of the room." They were quiet while Drew scribbled in her notebook.

"Why was Vega throwing a fit?"

Yazoo shrugged. "Because Dr. Azazel took Lyra and Kadaj out of the room. It's not like I asked. She knocked down my castle and we weren't exactly told everything about the experiments we were part of."

The four of them jumped as Drew slammed her notebook shut. Drew jumped up and shoved her notebook back into her bag. She gathered their dishes and dumped them into her kitchen sink.

"Alright. I'm bored. And you guys sound like you are in desperate need of something normal." Drew twirled out of her kitchen. "We're going to the festival today!"

Kadaj shook his head. "Nope. Not happening. We'll be recognized. We've been here too long, anyway. The WRO might still be following us."

Loz made a disappointed whining sound.

Drew snorted. "Not at this festival, my friend! This is a mischief festival. Costumes and masks and wigs are encouraged. The gaudier the better."

Lyra rubbed her throbbing head again. The world sounded a little fuzzy and her ears were ringing. Her ice started to form at her feet. She tried her best to ignore her head and squeezed Kadaj's hand. "Having fun won't hurt us."

Kadaj frowned and almost said something but crossed his arms. He was thinking. She felt down the bond. He was going through every bad scenario possible. Lyra frowned and rolled her eyes. He was taking the bodyguard thing too seriously. She sent that thought down the bond and he turned his frown to her. She ignored him and turned to Drew.

"What kind of costumes are there?" Lyra asked Drew, who was rummaging through a drawer next to her front door.

"All kinds. Most people dress as a hero or a god. The most popular being an old mischief god, of course." Drew tugged a wad of gil out of her drawer. "Most of the costumes are free. There are even contests, but we don't have to join them. There are games and food and some carnival rides…."

Loz began bouncing in his chair. "We should go!"

Even Yazoo seemed excited. "A break would be nice."

"We haven't even started anything," Kadaj insisted. "We don't need a break."

"Quit being a grumpy ass. You've been outvoted." Lyra poked him hard in the side and stood. Her headache was already fading. Kadaj looked around the room. Loz and Yazoo had made up their minds. Kadaj grumbled and stood.

"Fine! We'll go to the stupid festival."

Saying goodbye to Cid and Barret before they left on the Shera was easier than saying goodbye to Marlene and Denzel. It had been Reeve's idea and Cloud would do anything to keep the kids safe, but it didn't make it any easier. He didn't even know where Marlene and Denzel were taken, only that it was safe and Jael wouldn't find them. Cloud didn't know how true that was, but he had to believe that it was safe. Cloud was barely a footstep into Shalua's lab before an alarm on her switchboard went off. She smacked at the switchboard with a loose computer keyboard and went back to studying the Gravity Materia.

"Can we have one nice day?" She grumbled to Cloud. Shalua looked awful like she hadn't slept all night. Cloud inched his way through the maze of desk chairs and office supplies that were scattered about the lab.

"Is there anywhere else you can study that thing?"

Shalua shot him an annoyed look.

"My lab, my shit. I'm not in the mood." She took the Materia out of the pile of paper clips it had attracted and placed it back in the foam Materia case. "We haven't made any progress decoding any Project Starchild files, especially nothing about Nibelheim yet, Lyra's trail has gone cold, and Jael sent yet another lovely video." She gestured to the giant screens behind her and the smaller laptop that was plugged into them. She slumped into an office chair and pushed the floor with her toe. She slowly spun in a circle.

"You didn't watch the video, did you?" Cloud cringed when Shalua nodded. "You should take a break. Go watch some cat videos or something." Shalua shook her head.

"No thanks. We've got a Shinra dick to find and people to save."

She pushed herself toward the laptop and opened a few tabs. Cloud didn't know how to read computer code and Shalua clearly didn't want to talk, so he left the room. He stopped Shelke on her way down the hall and asked her to talk to Shalua.

"Convince her to take a break. And to stop watching Jael's videos."

"I'll try my best." Shelke sighed. "Tifa sent me to find you. She wants to talk to Rosso but she doesn't want to go alone."

He found Rosso and Tifa in the common area of the medical wing. Rosso lounged in one of the bean bags dressed in a baggy shirt and a pair of sweatpants. She looked healthier every time he saw her. She had gained enough weight that she didn't look starved anymore and she talked less about blood and murder every day. Tifa was curled up on the long couch across from Rosso. She had wrapped herself in a weighted blanket and fidgeted with a pen. She smiled at Cloud as he sat next to her. Rosso sat up and beamed at them.

"Finally, the Chocobo Head is here!"

"Good morning to you too, Rosso."

Rosso snuggled back into the bean bag and yawned. "It's far too early. Today is my sleep-in day. Why did you ask for me?"

Tifa clicked the pen rapidly. "Lyra's gone."

Rosso's smile fell from her face. The little bit of color she had managed to gain during her stay with the WRO left her face. She looked like she was going to be sick. Cloud bounced his knee and hoped she wouldn't start punching.

"Dr. Jael got her?" Rosso's voice was small.

Tifa shook her head. "No, he's still looking for her. She ran away."

Rosso threw a throw pillow at Tifa. Tifa raised a hand to block it and Rosso stood.

"Well, I hate to say it, but I told you so." She crossed her arms and waved away a nurse who was watching. "I told you that the little mouse wouldn't react well."

"Is there anywhere she could have gone?" Tifa asked, still clicking the pen. Cloud resisted the urge to take the pen from her. Rosso scoffed.

"How should I know? I've never been to the surface above DeepGround, and the little mouse has no memory!" She paced a bit and then took the pen from Tifa. Cloud stood, ready to fight the pen away if Rosso tried anything. Rosso studied her arm- her real one- and circled a spot just below the inside of her elbow. "Look here."

Cloud leaned forward and took her arm. He shook his head.

"Nothing's there."

Rosso ground her teeth. "Look closer. It's an old scar."

He looked again and waved Tifa over. A faint vertical scar was inside the ink.

"We have trackers. Mine is broken, hopefully."

Cloud frowned and Tifa raised an eyebrow.

"Hopefully?" Tifa asked. Her voice was tight and she sounded like she had been crying. She had asked to be alone after they said goodbye to the kids. Rosso shrugged.

"Well, Dr. Jael knows where the WRO is, but he hasn't sent anyone to retrieve me or the little mouse since I've come here."

"Why do you think it's broken?" Cloud asked.

"They're fragile little things," Rosso said. "Those machines your doctors used to scan my injuries might have fried it. Lyra has one. It's how Dr. Jael knew she was here. He got one final transmission before her tracker went offline and the only way to fix that is to remove the old tracker and insert a new one." Rosso rubbed the scar. "It would be on her left arm, the same place as mine."

Tifa's eyes widened and tapped Cloud's arm.

"We saw that! On the images-"

"Yes, I saw them." He turned back to Rosso. "Is there any way we can track it still, even if it's broken?"

Rosso shrugged. "I don't know. But if you would excuse me, it's time for breakfast."

With that Rosso left and Cloud and Tifa raced each other to Shalua's lab. Shalua wasn't there, but Shelke was. She was going through the computer files on Project Starchild. She jumped and drew her sabers as Cloud and Tifa burst through the doors.

"What's wrong? Are we under attack again?" She asked. Her voice was as monotone as usual but there was a worried edge to it. Tifa shook her head and pushed chairs out of her way.

"No, but we talked to Rosso-"

"She's doing okay, I think," Cloud interjected.

"And she has a tracker in her arm-"

"So does Lyra-"

"But it's broken, possibly." Tifa rifled through the pile of paper files Shalua had made on Lyra. She found the MRI images of Lyra's body and showed Shelke the pale white incision on Lyra's left forearm. "Rosso says the machine might have broken it, but still…."

Shelke took the image and studied it. She looked at her own left arm and shook her head.

"Mine broke the same way. I'll try my best, but it's likely impossible." She walked to her VR station and booted it up. Cloud helped Tifa straighten the lab as Shelke did her work. He tried not to let his mind wander back to the kids. They would be okay. They would be safe. He didn't have to worry so much…. Tifa sighed and sat in a chair. She buried her face in her hands and took a deep breath. Cloud sat next to her.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded and gave him a small smile, but she looked as stressed and tired as he felt.

"Marlene and Denzel will be okay," Tifa said. "And we'll find Lyra before Dr. Jael can. And she won't be mad anymore and we can convince her we're the good guys."

Cloud nodded, even though he almost didn't believe her. "And she won't burn any more towns down."

"And we'll get her help. Like we did with Rosso." Tifa rubbed her face. "Hopefully she won't remember everything she's done. Or Nibelheim. Or Sephiroth. And we can tell her everything we found when she's in a safe place."

Cloud's mouth went dry but he continued nodding. Neither of them liked talking about Nibelheim, but the night before Tifa had remembered something. She told Cloud that she thought Lyra was familiar when they first met her and she finally realized why.

"You're sure she was there?"

Tifa nodded. "Yeah. I almost forgot about her. She was just an annoying kid. She went up the mountain with everyone the first time when they found the monsters. I thought it was weird that Sephiroth wanted the kid to follow him, but I was told not to ask. She was quiet." Tifa sighed again. "I always wondered how he started the fire anyway..."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: HOLY SHIT I'M ALIVE AND I'M BACK! Please enjoy this hastily written chapter. I will be back soon!