Chapter 2

The first thing that Zack became aware of when consciousness returned was that he was hungry.

The brunette fighter rolled slowly onto his side, wincing a bit at the soreness of his muscles. He wasn't that surprised to feel that his wrists were handcuffed behind his back, arms wrenched into an uncomfortable position. He squirmed slightly trying to relieve the pain.

Zack wondered vaguely where he was. Some kind of prison cell, that much was obvious. But he didn't know where; he didn't know how long he'd been out of it or what had happened to the other after they'd been attacked or…or anything that was happening in the outside world. He was isolated and unaware of what was going on, and he didn't like it. Not at all.

Zack rolled onto his knees and regarded the situation as calmly as he could. His cell was small, maybe four paces long and four paces wide with perfectly smooth white walls that reflected the harsh glare of burning fluorescent lights. He could hear the soft whirring of hidden cameras as they tracked his movements and tried to ignore the decidedly uncomfortable feeling that he was being examined by some sort of giant, critical eye. He leaned cautiously against the wall and jerked back immediately with a short cry of surprise, almost falling over as he lost his balance. He had felt a definite shock of electricity when he touched the wall, not enough to hurt, exactly, but strong enough to warn him against trying that again.

If only he knew where he was. He had to still be on Zhan; there was no way he would have been taken off-planet. But he was in one of the smaller rural bases or had he been taken to one of the cities…?

There was a sharp rush of air and Zack started as a section of the wall suddenly moved aside to reveal two figures staring at him with blank, expressionless eyes. One was dressed in the pristinely white lab coat and spectacles of a medical personnel; the other wore the uniform of the ShinRa military. Zack felt an icy shiver run down his spine as they moved toward him and fought the urge to back away.

"This will be much easier for all of us if you'll just cooperate." The medic's voice was calm and almost hypnotic as his fingers gently caressed the syringe he was holding, dark eyes staring intently at Zack. This time the brunette really did start to edge away from the pair, his eyes flicking back and forth from the medic to the soldier.

"We don't want to hurt you… We only want you tell us a few things."

"Fuck you, ShinRa!"

"We don't want to hurt you." They were moving forward, closing in on him. Zack's back made contact with the cell wall and he bit back a curse as he felt the electricity jolt through him. He began to slide down to the floor.

"We just want to talk to you."

"Stay away from me!" Zack drew his knees up to his chest and prepared to lash out. He wouldn't tell them anything, these ShinRa bastards; he wouldn't ever betray the resistance. He'd die first.

The first kick connected solidly with the medic's knee and he was up and rushing toward the doorway. But there was still that soldier blocking has path and the brunette couldn't use his hands…. He threw himself desperately against the other man trying to use his own body mass to knock the other off balance, but this was a soldier trained in the ShinRa military and he couldn't fight back when a fist came up to strike him solidly in the abdomen. Zack reeled as all of the air was forced out of his lungs and he sank down to his knees.

In the midst of a haze of disorientation he felt a needle prick his arm followed by the slight pressure of liquid being forced into his veins. He twitched feebly in protest but there was nothing he could do. He felt like his muscles were turning into liquid; he was so weak that he couldn't even resist when the soldier grabbed his arms and dragged him upright. He stumbled as he was dragged out of the cell and down a long corridor lit with more of the same harsh white lights, their footsteps echoing hollowly against the walls.

It took an effort to force his voice past his lips. "Where are we going?"

There was no response. They continued to pass through corridor after corridor, turning so many corners that it made Zack's head spin. It felt like hours until he was shoved roughly into what looked like some kind of briefing room. He staggered and fell to his knees, fighting back a wave of nausea. What had they injected him with…?

He blinked as a pair of black boots stopped just in front of his nose, lifted his gaze until he was staring directly into a pair of cold gray eyes. Thin lips twisted into a smirk as their eyes locked. Never looking away the man turned his head ever so slightly to address someone out of Zack's line of vision.

"This is the one?"

"That's him." Zack's head whipped around at the sound of that voice and felt a surge of confusion run through him as he saw the man it belonged to. He'd seen him so many times back in that secluded valley where the resistance had been hiding; he'd been one of the scouts who had done reconnaissance for them. He'd talked to him just a few days ago, when he had given them the report about ShinRa's location in the mountains….

Oh.

Zack understood everything in a second, understood that they had been betrayed by one of their own, that this man had willingly sold them to ShinRa and from the look on his face didn't regret it one bit. In that second Zack felt a powerful rush of hatred spread through his veins, stronger than any emotion he had felt before. He wanted to hurt this man, kill him even, have vengeance for the wrong he had done to Zack and so many others.

"Traitor!"

Struggling against whatever drug he had been injected with Zack lurched to his feet and faltered toward the other man, the traitor, his vision clouding over with red.

"Fucking traitor, I'll fucking kill you…."

Something crashed into the back of his head and Zack fell painfully onto his side, a wave of nausea crashing through him. He felt weak, so weak as his breath came in short, labored pants and he struggled against the urge to vomit. Someone grabbed him by the back of the neck and hauled him upright, shaking him roughly.

"Don't think of trying to pull anything like that again, you hear me?"

Zack could only force one word out of his throat; his voice rough and strained. "Why?"

The traitor – somewhere in the back of his mind Zack realized that he had never known the man's name – answered him after a long pause.

"Because the resistance is doomed to fail. It's a pointless struggle."

Zack's head jerked up, his eyes full of pain. Their gazes locked.

"It's pointless. No matter how hard you fight, you'll never be a match for ShinRa's power. Face it – Zhan is part of the Empire now, and there's nothing a group of rebels hiding out in the mountains can do to change that." He shrugged, dismissing everything that Zack had spent years believing in and fighting for with a single careless gesture. "It's better to accept that and get on with your life rather than get killed in something as pointless as what you people are doing."

Pointless….

Zack's voice was little more than an anguished whisper. "Doesn't the freedom of your world mean anything to you? Don't you care that we're being crushed, that our people are being enslaved and oppressed? And don't you care that you betrayed the only people left who are fighting against that?"

The man shrugged again, his lips twisting up in a humorless smile. "Not really, no." His voice was cold and careless. "I have my own life to think about."

"Which is very wise of him." Zack had almost forgotten about the other man, the man with the black boots. He had watched Zack's reaction to the traitor with an amused expression, clearly enjoying himself. He smiled at the captive brunette and Zack shivered at the sight.

"He's right, you know. Your pathetic group doesn't stand a chance against ShinRa. So why don't you make this easy on yourself." He began to pace, his boots clicking against the floor with every step.

"Just tell us what we want to know."

Zack smiled sadly and he could feel the beginning of tears prick at the back of his eyes. "You think I'm like him? I won't… I won't betray what I believe in. I won't betray my friends. And I won't betray Zhan."

Not ever. Do want you want with me, but I will never betray what I have devoted my life to fighting for.

Zack could hear the sneer in the man's voice when he spoke. "How… admirable. But also very foolish of you." He turned to address the medic and the soldier, almost forgotten by Zack. "You may begin."

They closed in on him and Zack wanted to fight back, get away, but he was so weak and his muscles wouldn't obey him. He could struggle feebly as they grabbed him and he felt another prick on his arm…

…And after that he didn't really know anything at all, only that it felt like liquid fire was running through his veins instead of blood. His nerves felt liked they were being scraped raw. It was a relief to start screaming, anything to alleviate the pain, but it only grew and grew until it was like nothing Zack had ever known before or even imagined…

The captain watched with a hint of a smile on his face.

Tiras, the governor of Zhan stood at rigid attention while he waited for the communication link to be patched through to Midgar. He could feel a thin trickle of sweat snaking down his back and swallowed nervously. No matter how many times he was required to appear before the most powerful man alive, the ruler of the ShinRa Empire, it was something he could never get used to and something he always dreaded. Every meeting left him sweating and full of sickening nervousness even though they took place through the filter of vidscreens. He supposed if he ever had to meet with the Emperor in person, face to face, he would be able to do nothing but cower, overawed by the presence of true power and feeling how pathetic he really was, stuck on this backwater planet where even the sun refused to shine.

The screen flicked to life, and Tiras fell to his knees with his head bowed, trying to appear outwardly composed. He could manage at least that much.

He still couldn't quite suppress a shudder when the Emperor spoke. The man whose visage showed on the screen was soft spoken, his voice so quiet that most men had to strain to hear his words. However, it carried an unmistakable note of command within its timber, demanding immediate unquestioning obedience from all who heard it.

"Stand up. When I want you to waste my time with pointless ceremonies I will be sure to notify you."

Tiras rose to his feet as quickly as he could without stumbling over his own feet although he couldn't bring himself to lift his eyes. He kept his gaze lowered, respectful and submissive as he hurried with his reply.

"Of course, of course, please accept my apologies…."

He was cut off when the Emperor spoke again. "Is the situation on Zhan under control? This group of resistance fighters, has it been taken care of?"

The governor swallowed convulsively and felt a wave of apprehension begin to flood his body. "We have… We have made significant progress. We were able to immobilize a significant number of their force and managed to take one of the higher ranking members of the organization into our custody…."

"But they're still in existence? Still capable of taking action against ShinRa's presence?"

Tiras bowed deeply in a desperate attempt to keep his composure, forcing his voice to form words that he hoped were somehow explanatory, conciliatory.

"Your Majesty, I assure you that we will be able to eliminate them in the very near future. We have taken prisoners and it is only a matter of time before they talk and tell us where the rest of the organization is located. Then the ShinRa forces will be able to intercept them and…"

He trailed off and chanced a glance at the screen. The Emperor was watching him with a faint smile twitching across his lips. It was as sinister an expression as anything the governor had ever seen and any words he might have said died on his lips.

"I am amazed at how skilled a group of rebel fighters are at evading the most powerful military force in existence."

The governor flinched.

"I am not going to tolerate this for much longer. Project Gethema must proceed on schedule and with no interferences. If I feel that you are not able to ensure that the Project will be implemented as planned you will have to be…removed."

Tiras's throat went dry and he could barely form a response. "I understand, Your Majesty."

"Then I expect to hear something more favorable when I am next in contact with you." And with those words the screen went dead, leaving Tiras alone with nothing but the cold feeling of dread lying heavily in his stomach.

Rufus ShinRa sneered in irritation as the communication ended, stalking out onto the wide balcony to stare down at the city of Midgar. The Plate glittered with the brilliant glow of electric lights shining through the velvet darkness of night but the lower level was hidden from his sight. It gave most of the members of society's upper echelons to feel removed from the struggles and suffering of the lower classes, but Rufus knew better than to let himself be lulled into a false sense of security. There was power in the people who lived beneath the Plate. If they ever mobilized, came together with the intention of taking what the rich and powerful had denied them for so long –

Not that that would ever happen. They would never have the chance to even begin to realize their potential. His father had told him that the key to remaining in power lay was in the ruler's ability to keep absolute control, and it was a lesson that Rufus had taken to heart. When he had ascended the throne of the Emperor five years ago he had sworn to himself that the power of House ShinRa would not be broken while he lived. The ShinRa bloodline had held dominance over most of the known inhabited worlds for centuries; Rufus was determined to expand their influence even further so that his family's name was spoken with awe and fear all across the galaxy.

He turned his head and spoke, just loudly enough to catch the attention of the figure lurking just out of his sight. "Well?"

Someone stirred in the deep shadows that could never quite be swept away from the vast room's corners and Rufus saw the flash of eyes glowing a preternatural blue. A moment later and their owner stood next to him on the balcony, a man who was slim and slight but whose effortlessly graceful movements and developed muscle structure hinted that he was a force to be reckoned with. And then there were those eyes, burning with a fire that was by no means normal, blazing with an intensity that outshone even those of the SOLDIERs. There were few who could meet that gaze without flinching, and Rufus had always taken a hidden pride in being one of them.

He met those eyes now, raising one of his own eyebrows in inquiry. Cloud uttered a short disdainful noise as he turned to stare out over Midgar as well, the wind gently ruffling blonde spikes of hair.

"The man is incompetent. You shouldn't wait to get rid of him."

Rufus smiled thinly. "Do you want to take care of it?"

"Why?" There was a note of thinly veiled scorn in the blonde's voice. "Why should the Guards waste their time on something as trivial as that? The Turks are more than capable of carrying out a simple assassination job for you."

Rufus shrugged. "The Turks have their hands full here on Gaia; I can't send them off-world. Since the situation on Arhem has stabilized there is really nothing urgent for you to attend to and," he smirked at the blonde, "it wouldn't do for you to become bored being trapped in Midgar."

Cloud stared at the Emperor impassively, waiting for Rufus to continue.

"And besides that…" Rufus hesitated for a moment before going on. "And besides that, Gethema is… important. More than anything else, Gethema is crucial to maintaining ShinRa's power. I need someone to go to Zhan, someone I know that I can trust to make sure that everything is in readiness. And there is no one I trust more than you."

The blonde was silent, his gaze turned inward as he thought over the Emperor's words.

Rufus looked back out over the glittering cityscape and let a faint smile play across his lips. He had little doubt that Cloud Strife would be willing to go to Zhan; the man hated being confined in Midgar. Strife would be able to ensure that Tiras's… removal… would be done discreetly and efficiently, and even more importantly….

There was something intriguing about this group of Zhan rebels. They shouldn't have been able to persist for this long; by all rights ShinRa forces should have crushed them years ago. And yet the fact was that there they were, hidden somewhere in the rough terrain of Zhan that had never been settled, striking whenever they could only to vanish. It bothered him. None of the other conquered worlds had been able to maintain any sort of resistance, no matter how small, for anywhere near as long as Zhan had. And why on Zhan, of all places? The planet was by all accounts little more than a wasteland where not even the light of some sun would shine. One would think that living in such a place would have deadened the spirit of those who called it home centuries ago rather than foster some kind of rebellion.

True, the major cities had fallen without too much protest and had since been quiet, but even so there was something about it that bothered him, and he couldn't quite figure out why.

It's just another conquered world. So what if there's some group of fighters hiding in the mountains. They haven't been able to inflict any real damage to ShinRa yet, and chances are they never will.

But still….

His musings were cut short when Cloud spoke, his voice low and expressionless.

"I want to visit the Temple."

Rufus raised one immaculate eyebrow, not bothering to hide his surprise. "You want to go there? Why?"

Cloud shrugged slightly and remained silent. Rufus uttered a soft exclamation under his breath and waved one hand in dismissal. The blonde had never felt the need to explain himself to Rufus, Emperor or no, and Rufus had enough respect for the commander of the Black Guards that he never pressed for explanations.

"You know perfectly well that you don't require my permission. Just whatever you do, give me your answer soon."

The blonde bowed briefly and moved gracefully away, leaving Rufus alone on the balcony. The Emperor of ShinRa tilted his head toward the sky and stared up at the night. The light pollution from Midgar made it impossible to see the stars, but Rufus could remember going to the ShinRa villas located far away from the industrial chaos of the capital when he was a child. His father had shown him the stars then, pointing up at the distant sparkles of light set against a velvet black sky.

That will be yours one day. This is your birthright as a son of the ShinRa bloodline: an empire that encompasses all the stars in the sky.

Now his father's words had come true and Rufus stood at the helm of the greatest Empire that had existed in thousands of years. But he did not rest easy in his power. The fear that it could be wrested from him, that had could be cast down from the heights to which he had been born was always lurking in the back of his mind, keeping him awake at night and haunting his steps by day.

But remember this, my son: once you acquire the power that comes with being Emperor you will never have true peace of mind again. You will be the most powerful man alive, but always remember that you are also the most feared and the most hated. You will have enemies, my son, and you will always have to be watching for them.

His father's prediction had come true almost immediately his coronation. The capital planet of Gaia was a bed of constant political maneuvering, intrigue, and backstabbing and once power shifted from Rufus's father to Rufus himself all of the higher ranking officials had immediately set out to ingratiate themselves. Rufus hadn't been taken in by their shows of loyalty and obedience, however – he knew that most of those flattering courtiers were only interested in gaining more power for their own families. He also knew that there were some who were even more ambitious, who wanted to remove House ShinRa from power and rule the Empire themselves.

I cannot, I will not let that happen.

But Rufus could not shake the feeling of unease in his chest as he stared out over Midgar.

The rising sun was just beginning to color the eastern horizon with streaks of soft rose and pale gold when Cloud arrived at the Temple. He paused for a moment to simply look at the massive structure, feeling the sharp surge of awe that always took him whenever he visited this place. The Temple was truly impressive, erected centuries ago just after the first of the ShinRa rulers had conquered Gaia and secured the position of Emperor for his bloodline. As such it was considered the holiest place on Gaia, and very few people were allowed the privilege of visiting it whenever they so desired.

As the most powerful member of the Black Guards Cloud was one of those few, but he rarely made the journey to the Temple. As far as he could tell not even Rufus ShinRa came here unless his presence was required for official ceremonies or rituals. For all that it was a beautiful place, carved entirely out of black marble, there was also something terrible about it, something sinister and dark….

Cloud had always been able to sense something lurking deep inside him ever since he was a child, some alien presence that lay dormant in his mind. Sometimes he could even hear it whispering, putting ideas into his head that he felt he wouldn't have come up with on his own, telling him how to defeat ShinRa's enemies, how to strike terror into their hearts and crush their spirits. There were moments when he didn't even really feel like himself, when he felt that he was just a vessel for some other awesome power of destruction that would rise up and take control, subvert his will so that he would do whatever it wanted to. It was terrifying to feel his control fall away like that, but the power that came with it was like nothing else and something in Cloud was always eager to feel that rush….

He shivered slightly and moved forward into the Temple proper.

The corridors were almost completely empty, the soft glow of muted mako lamps gleaming off the black marble walls and sending strange shadows scurrying ahead of Cloud. The only other people he saw were the priestesses who lived within the Temple's walls. They nodded only slightly to him as he passed by, their features hidden by the deep folds of their hidden cloaks. Cloud always felt the faintest shiver of unease run through him when he saw them. They were so silent, so withdrawn that they almost didn't seem human anymore. They were more like the living ghosts of the Temple who had always been there and would never leave, eternal wraiths that were neither alive nor dead.

He went deeper into the Temple.

The air became cold and clammy against his skin as he approached the entrance to the Inner Sanctuary, where Jenova was.

Jenova, ShinRa's goddess who had descended to Gaia at the beginning of their empire and who the imperial family claimed had given them the right to rule.

The blonde-haired man knelt and bowed his head deeply in respect before the carved bust that represented Jenova, closing his eyes and hardly breathing, forcing himself to remain perfectly still. He could feel the familiar brush against his mind as Jenova reached out to him and waited to hear what she would tell him.

Cloud remained there, motionless, for a long time before he stood up to leave.

Zack was gone.

That was the only thought echoing through Sephiroth's mind as he moved mechanically through the camp shouting orders, trying to bring the survivors into some semblance of order. They needed to push on toward Zhirak, and quickly – ShinRa was held at bay for the moment, but if they had tracked them this far more troops couldn't be far off.

ShinRa probably knew where they were heading as well, but there was really nothing they could do about that. They couldn't return to the valley anymore and they couldn't stay here; the only option was to continue pushing forward until they reached level ground. At least they'd be able to mount some kind of defense once they made it that far.

Sephiroth could hear Vincent's voice above the steady drizzling of the rain, but he wasn't really understanding the words; all he knew was that Zack was gone, taken prisoner, probably to be executed in some cold soulless cell and no one would ever know….

"Sephiroth."

The silver-haired man blinked and forced his mind back to the here and now. Vincent was looking at him coolly, his expression unreadable.

"Sephiroth, could I have a word."

Sephiroth nodded mechanically and followed his commander to a more secluded part of their makeshift camp. Their faces were barely visible in the darkness of Zhan's ever-present night as they faced each other. Vincent leaned in close so that they were almost touching, but even then his voice was barely loud to be heard over the sound of the wind.

"Zack's been captured by the ShinRa."

Sephiroth nodded silently, his eyes never moving away from Vincent's face, his stomach twisting in apprehension at the thought of what his father's next words would be.

"He possesses information about us that we cannot, under any circumstances, allow ShinRa to discover. It's too dangerous to simply let them take him."

The feeling in Sephiroth's stomach intensified.

"We are almost certain that he has been taken to Maruth to be interrogated there. We cannot, cannot let him tell them anything," Vincent's dark eyes narrowed as they stared into Sephiroth's green ones. "Do you understand?"

The silver-haired man hesitated for a long moment before bowing his head, long strands of white falling forward to hide his face. "Yes."

Vincent sighed and laid his hand on Sephiroth's arm. "If there's any way to get him out alive, do so, but if not…" He didn't need to finish the sentence.

"I understand. I understand perfectly."

Vincent nodded and moved silently away.

Sephiroth watched him go, then raised one hand to his cheeks and wondered if the wetness he found there was rain or his own angry tears.