The lab was less dusty then the others that he and Cait had investigated. And all the equipment was clean and functional, while it was the first time he has visited the room, the whole lab setting looked familiar. The way it was all setup and how the mako filled tank in the middle of the room glowed gave him a sickening feeling in his gut that he couldn't shake.

While Vincent was busy getting absorbed into the feeling, Cait hopped up the main computer and began hacking the system, but this time, he was very cautious of digital traps and malware files. He skimmed through the documents fast, downloading what he deemed valuable only and left the others as they were.

"Don't just stand there lad, try finding some clues on where the lass is."

Vincent nodded as a replay and began his search through the lab. He left no file from the shelves unchecked; none of them were exciting, nor did they tell of the whereabouts of the young ninja. All they ever mentioned were Gaian Myths, history, and lifestream facts, information that he learned and lived through in the past.

Moving away from them, he turned his attention to inspect the shelves and walls. He hoped there was some secret compartment or passage, but there were none. His eyes soon darted to the mako tank in the center, intensely looking at it with a mixture of sadness and anger. Through his eyes, all he could see was a memory of himself being trapped in it.

"Sweet Gaia, this is terrible!"

Cait's yelling snapped him back to his senses with a jolt, immediately making his way to the loud cat, his mind in a panic with wild thoughts.

"What is it?"

"You won't believe this lad, but those Deepground Yahoos are jump-starting the Omega project."

"That can't be possible. They have no access to Chaos. Besides, there haven't been any reports of kidnapping as of late."

"And you'd think the lads' learned their lesson from last time too."

"Does it mention how this new project will commence?" Vincent questioned his furry companion, He was curious as to how they were going to pull this off, but his robotic partner shook his head.

"Sorry, lad, I've got nothing."

Vincent sighed, straightening his posture. Of course, they weren't dumb enough to leave such an essential piece of information somewhere their enemy could easily access. It was frustrating, but there was Nothing they could do about that now. He fished out his cell phone from his pocket and was about to make a phone call to Revee, but stopped mid-dialing, sensing danger. He turned to face the door only to see that some of Deepground's soldiers were there blocking their exit.

"Intruders!"

"Shoot them down!"

Some of the soldiers yelled just before releasing a barrage of bullets At Vincent and Cait, but Vincent quickly snatched his robotic companion out of harm's way. At the same time, dodging the enemies' fire and ducking behind the mako tank. He then pulled out his gun and shot down the soldiers one after the other.

As the last soldier went down, Vincent immediately made a run for the door. But to his dismay, even more Deepground soldiers appeared behind them just as he exited and gave chase, shooting at them whenever they had the chance.

"They're hot on our tail Vincent!"

"I can SEE that!"

Vincent continued down the hallway, making turns whenever he found one in hopes to lose his pursuers.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Kalm, Elmyra's resident, midnight...

Zack slowly walked into the back door of the house, tired and exhausted he had to admit that he overused his muscles from doing some heavy lifting at the warehouse district. Still, the payout was worth it, and having some extra Gil at hand helps a lot in their current situation.

He was trying to be as quiet as he could, thou he didn't think anyone would still be up at this late of an hour. Yet he almost jerked back in surprise when he spotted Elmyra sitting at the kitchen dining table, staring right at him with an annoyed expression that reminded him of how his mother would look when she caught him sneaking out during his childhood.

"G-good evening Mrs. Gainsborough. What's gotten you up this late?" He stuttered although he wasn't trying to. Still, She did give off a slight threatening aura.

"Nothing special, I just craved a nice cup of warm milk. And you, young man? It's quite late to be up and about."

"I'm just trying to earn some extra Gil for Aerith's surgery."

"That... of course."

Zack noticed that she looked a bit saddened, maybe even spacey as they talked. Perhaps she remembered something? Or someone? Should he ask her? No, he didn't want to pry into her personal affairs. Plus, he still didn't know what side of the fence he was sitting on with her; he did not want to get her in a bad mood.

"You remind me of my late husband... charming, easy-going, but when it came to the safety of his loved ones, he was very diligent and focused."

Zack stayed quiet, listening to the woman's tales of her lost love. Aerith had told him the story, the older man she never personally met, had died at the start of the Wutai war. He was a part of Shinra too, just like he was.

"When Aerith told me you two were dating back then, I was quite against it, mostly because I didn't want her to feel the same pain I felt when my husband died. I couldn't tell her face to face, though; I didn't want to break her heart."

She got quite suddenly, and he can already guess what she was thinking.

"Anyways, that aside. Can you do me a favor, young man? Keep her safe; this old heart can't stand losing her again."

"Don't worry, ma'am; I won't let that happen to either of them."

"You better, Now get to bed. You'll need the energy."

"Yes ma'am, and thanks for the chat, Ms. Elmyra... and the chance."

"Don't make me regret it."

~.~.~.~.~.~

At the old Mako reactor 0 in Deepgroud...

Vincent had lost his pursuers and reached the large metallic door from before. Cait wasted no in hacking the doors open, allowing both to escape through it. Through the doors, a significantly sizeable circular lift was at their floor level. Their best guess was that it's a vehicle lift used to traverse to the different levels. Seeing that they were momentarily safe, he allowed Cait to climb down his shoulder, catching his breath.

"We finally lost them, lad."

"I know that, Cait."

Cait looked up at his gloomy friend with a worried expression painted across his face; there was no hiding it. They were getting nowhere with their search, and Deepground was on high alert for them. They can't continue at this point; it would end badly otherwise. But he also knew that Vincent wouldn't listen to him if he suggested aborting. While he did not want to abandon Yuffie for a second time, yet he was out of option at this point, logically, that is. His robotic throat felt rusted as he tried to speak.

"Lad, We have to abort the mission."

Vincent simply glared at him, which Cait expected. Not only was Yuffie his tall friend's partner, but she was also his girlfriend, although Vincent doesn't admit it publicly.

"Listen lad; I don't want to abandon the lass either. But we are outnumbered and cut off from the rest of the world. We can't continue. We have a better chance of getting out of here than finding the silly lassy."

He could see that Vincent was conflicted. The Ex-Turk already knew what he was getting at. But Cait also knew that his gloomy friend was a stubborn one when push came to shove. He would instead continue looking, knowing how risky it was, rather than abandoning the girl. He could get Shelke and Reeve to join him in convincing Vincent, but he did not want to resort to it. No matter how cold-hearted and emotionally withdrawn Vincent looked, he was still human; he will feel betrayed and hurt by such an intervention, even if he doesn't show it.

"Vincent? Lad?"

He waited, keeping his sights on Vincent as he thought it over. But then his head jerked upwards in surprise, eyes darting every which way as if looking for something. Though from how defensive Vincent was, he guessed it wasn't anything good.