Cloud shot up in bed fully awake and drenched in sweat. He looked over at the empty spot next to him. Tifa was gone causing a wave of fear to rush over him. He knew he had to go to Nibelheim right away to retrieve her. He dressed himself and ran to Vincent's room to tell him about Shelke and Tifa. Vincent offered to go with him, but Cloud refused, telling his friend it was more important that he go to Edge as soon as possible to help Shelke. Vincent called Reeve to let them know what was going on and to try to find reinforcements to send to Corel and Edge. He tried to call Barret, but his phone was off. They feared Corel was already under attack.
It was still dark when Cloud left Cosmo Canyon on fenrir. He went full speed into the night towards his hometown. The sun had still not risen by the time he arrived in Nibelheim. The sky to the east was turning a lighter blue signalling that sunrise was near. As Cloud walked into the town, he noticed that the houses looked deserted and unkempt with some front doors wide open like the inhabitants left in a hurry. The town well that once stood in the center of the small community was damaged and lying in pieces on the ground.
Cloud paused and gazed around the town not sure where he should start looking for Tifa. He was not expecting Nibelhiem to be a ghost town and he wondered what happened to all the people.
"Could this be Genesis' doing?" Cloud thought to himself. He wondered if he should check the houses for Tifa before heading to the Mt. Nibel reactor.
Before Cloud could decide on where to start looking, the door to the Inn opened. Cloud reached for his sword in response but stopped when he saw a familiar face. Stepping out into the morning darkness Cloud could see an injured Miles with bandages around his head and right hand. Being mako infused, Cloud had little trouble seeing in the darkness, but he could tell Miles was having difficulty making out the blond.
"Miles, it's me, Cloud," he called over to the scientist. "Are you alright?"
"Cloud?" Miles asked, peering into the darkness trying to make him out. He did not have his glasses on.
Realizing it was a friend, Miles began limping towards Cloud. Apart from the bandages, Miles' face and arms were covered in dirt and scratches. His hair was matted, and he walked with very little weight on his left foot.
"What happened to you?" Cloud asked. "We thought you were dead, where is Tseng and Elena?"
"I don't know," Miles replied, he looked down shamefully. "When our helicopter was attacked by Genesis copies one of them blew through the cockpit and I fell out. Another tried to attack me in mid-air, but I managed to grab on to him. I broke free closer to the ground and the fall knocked me unconscious. When I awoke, it was almost nightfall and there was nobody around. I lost my phone in the fall so I wondered around until I came across this deserted town. I found some medical supplies in the Inn, I was able to make a splint for my foot and fell asleep. I awoke when I heard your motorcycle." Miles paused and gave Cloud a questionable look. "Where are the others?"
A wave of fear rushed over Cloud's face.
"Genesis took Tifa, he has her somewhere around here," Cloud explained. "Did you check any of the houses?"
Miles shook his head. "Once I found the medical supplies in the Inn, I didn't bother to look anywhere else. By the time I found the town, it was dark, and I was exhausted. I checked the Inn because it was the closest building and I figured it would have a bed and supplies. But when I entered the town, I thought I saw a faint light coming from a basement window in that big house over there." Miles pointed towards the Shinra Mansion.
When Cloud looked over at the mansion, it looked dark and deserted but he figured he would check it out before travelling to the Mt. Nibel reactor. Cloud would not be surprised if the mansion was where Genesis took her, that house had always been a place of misfortune for him and he wondered why he didn't burn it down years ago.
Knowing what Cloud was thinking, Miles spoke up. "I'll come with you," he offered.
The two made their way towards the Shina Mansion. By the time they arrived at the gates the sunlight was just starting to break to the east and even in the dim light, the manor looked dingy and condemned, like always. As they entered the mansion, Cloud was hit with the smell of moldy air.
"Where do we start looking?" Miles asked, standing close to Cloud.
"Follow me," Cloud told Miles as he walked towards the staircase leading to the second floor. Previous experiences in this mansion have taught him that if he was going to find Tifa, it would be in the basement.
Miles followed Cloud to the staircase leading to the dungeon like basement below. "What's down there?" he asked, looking down into the darkness below.
"A Shinra laboratory," Cloud replied, leading the way down the stairs.
Cloud was a little surprised that they haven't come across any of the creatures that usually overrun the old building. It's as if someone cleared out the manor of all the monsters. When they reached the basement, the two of them slowly traveled towards the laboratory while keeping an eye out for monsters. He could hear Miles footsteps close behind him and could tell he was nervous being in the dark dingy dungeon. Cloud could see a faint light glow from under the door of the laboratory.
Cloud was about to open to door but stopped to look back at Miles. "Be careful," he warned. "Genesis or one of his copies could be inside."
"I will," Miles replied, standing directly behind Cloud.
Cloud slowly opened the door with one hand while reaching for his sword with the other. He looked around to make sure nobody was there before opening the door further. He scanned the room, but nobody was inside. Seeing no danger, Cloud released the grip of his sword. The lights were on and the two glass pods in the corner were full of mako and glowed a bright green. Cloud knew those pods all too well and was surprised to see the broken pod that Zack was once kept in was now fixed. Gazing at the pods, Cloud was surprised to find two figures floating inside the pools of mako. The pod that was once broken now held a male with long spiky hair. The blond looked over to the pod he was once a prisoner in and could make out a female figure. Taking a step forward he recognized who it was.
"Tifa!" Cloud called out, but before he could take another step, he a felt sharp stabbing pain in the back of his neck. Cloud looked back to see Miles grinning and holding an empty syringe. Before Cloud could reach for his sword, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. His legs became weak causing him to fall to the floor. Now on his hands and knees, Cloud was quickly losing strength. He looked up at Tifa floating lifeless in the tube of mako. He could feel the weakness overpowering his body, causing his arms and legs to collapse from under him. He rolled onto his back and looked up at Miles standing over him smiling. Before Cloud could ask the young scientist why, the darkness fell over him.
When Cloud awoke his head felt like someone was squeezing it in vice grips. He was severely dehydrated, and his eyes was throbbing before he even opened them. His body ached, and his limbs felt numb. When he attempted to open his eyes the light from the room made the pain worse. He tried to move his arms and realized his hands were chained above his head. The sound of his chains moving signalled that he was awake.
"It's about time you woke up," Cloud could hear Miles say from the other side of the room.
Cloud forced his eyes opened, ignoring the pain. Everything was blurry at first but cleared up after a few seconds. He was sitting on the floor of the laboratory with his hands chained to the brick wall between the entrance to the laboratory and a bookcase. He looked around and could see Miles half-sitting on the corner of the desk looking down at him. He could only partially see the two mako chambers behind the desk was blocking his view, but they appeared empty and were no longer glowing with mako.
"What did you do with Tifa?!" Cloud snapped furiously.
Cloud struggled trying to pull his chains out from the wall but was still too weak. His head felt like it was still swimming and his body continued to throb with pain. Even if he could get out of the chains, he wasn't even sure if he would be able to walk.
Watching Cloud trying to break free, Miles smiled. "I pumped enough tranquilizer into you to knock out three Midgar zoloms," he informed his captive. "It will be a while yet before you can even walk, let alone rip those chains out of the wall."
Realizing he was right, Cloud stopped struggling and glared up at Miles. "Why are you doing this?" he asked. "What do you want with Tifa? Where is she?"
Miles smiled again at Cloud. He sat up from the desk and took a step towards the hostage before folding his arms. "I must admit she was not part of my original plan," he explained. The scientist turned away from the captive and walked towards the empty pods. He placed one hand on the empty pod Tifa was in, looking at his reflection in the glass. Cloud noticed that he no longer walked with a limp.
"I really thought being back here would jog your memory," Miles sighed. "But then again you were severely poisoned. I was just promoted from the materia department to Hojo's assistant at the time and my first assignment was to oversee his project in this laboratory while he was attending a meeting in Midgar." Miles turned around to look back at Cloud. "You know it's funny," he said with a laugh. "At first I thought you two were failures left over from his reunion experiment. It wasn't until I read his notes, I realized that he had big plans for you two. My task was simple; make sure you two were fed and help him with the last stage of his experiment when he returned." Miles then frowned at Cloud, taking a step towards him. "But then your friend had to go and ruin everything. He was the reason I lost the position and lost my only chance to work with the great Hojo."
Although he couldn't remember the event, Cloud knew what Miles was referring to. Miles must have been the scientist Zack attacked when they escaped the mansion after being held captive for four years.
"What does this have to do with Tifa?" Cloud snapped at Miles.
Sensing Cloud's frustration, Miles smiled again. "My original plan was to capture you and kill you," he explained. Miles walked over to Cloud, kneeling in front of him so their faces were inches apart. "But once you hinted about Tifa's condition I had a better idea. Why should I simply kill you when I can force you to watch as I use Tifa to create my very own and more powerful SOLDIER?" Miles jumped up with excitement. "Not only will it be stronger than Sephiroth, unlike Sephiroth it will be completely under my control."
Hearing Miles talk about his plans for Tifa and his unborn child enraged Cloud. He started struggling with his chains trying to break free but was still too weak. He hadn't felt this kind of rage since Sephiroth killed Aerith.
Seeing Cloud's anger made Miles laugh. He reaches into his pants pocket and pulled out his PHS.
"Sorry I lied about losing my phone." Miles pressed the button on the side turning it on then flipped the device open examining the screen and smiled. "Those Turks always think they are smarter than everyone else," Miles commented, then looked back at Cloud before closing his phone. "Well, it looks like it's time for me to leave." He laid the phone down on the desk and walked towards the door. "I'll be sure to say hi to Tifa for you," he informed Cloud before exiting the room.
With Miles gone, Cloud continued to struggle with his chains. He tried pulling his hands through the cuffs, but they were too tight. He could feel blood dripping down his arms from all the struggling and rubbing around his wrists. He knew there was nothing he could do until his strength returned but continued to struggle anyways, hoping to find a defect in his restraints. He wondered how long he was unconscious for. He knew it must have been over a day for Miles to have enough time to clear out Tifa and the other person. He couldn't stop thinking about Tifa and what Miles was doing to her. He wondered where he could have taken her.
Cloud sat alone in the room waiting for his strength to return. He didn't know how much time had passed but it felt like hours. He stopped struggling when he heard a faint noise. He could hear footsteps slowly walking outside. The footsteps stop short of the door and there was a pause like the person on the other side was pausing to listen for anyone inside.
Not knowing who it was Cloud, didn't make a noise as to not draw attention to himself. Cloud heard a click and looked to his right to see the doorknob turn and the door slowly open. He immediately recognized the dark suit and red-haired figure that walked into the room.
"Reno," Cloud called out to the Turk.
Hearing Cloud's voice, Reno looked down at him. "Cloud!" he yelled, surprised to see the blond chained to the wall next to him.
The Turk took out his electro-mag rod and smashed Cloud's restrains setting him free. Stiff and sore, Cloud slowly lowered his arms in front of him with his hands still shackled. Seeing him struggle, Reno kneeled next to Cloud and pulled out two lock-pics from his inside jacket pock. Cloud held us his hands allowing Reno to pick the locks on his shackles. It didn't take long for Reno to unlock them, setting the blond free.
Cloud placed his hands on the floor and tried to push himself up using the wall he was leaning on as support. His legs were wobbly and almost collapsed from under him, still weak from the tranquilizers. Seeing Cloud was having trouble standing, Reno stood up and took hold of Cloud's arm.
"What happened to you man?" Reno asked. "Everyone was starting to think you were dead…"
"How long have I been gone?" Could asked.
"At least 4 days," Reno explained. "A lot has happened since you disappeared. Tseng and Elena managed to contact us after their helicopter crashed so we picked them up and took them to Junon."
Reno then proceeded to fill him in on everything that happened while he was imprisoned. After they rescued their fellow Turks, they received a call informing them that Edge and Corel were under attack. Reeve sent fighters to go help Corel while they went to Edge to help Vincent. Reno explained that by the time they arrived, Edge was damaged and there were many casualties. Genesis copies managed to capture Shelke and Yuffie. They were the only two taken because Nanakin took the children to safety while the two girls fought off the creatures. After the attack, Vincent filled them on Genesis' plan.
The Turks took Vincent and the others as far as Junon so they could gather supplies and looked for their comrades. By that time, Cloud and Tifa had been missing for a three days and Vincent told everyone about Genesis taking Tifa and Cloud going to the Mt. Nebil reactor to look for her. They went to the reactor and discovered that someone turned the power back on, but nobody was there.
"We were just leaving the reactor to come here when Miles' tracking devise was reactivated leading us to this dump." Reno informed Cloud while holding up the phone Miles left on the desk.
"Why were you tracking Miles?" Cloud asked. "He's the one who chained me up and he has Tifa."
Thinking about Miles and Tifa was starting to make him angry again but right now he was using all his strength to focus on standing.
Reno smirked. "It was Tseng's idea to put a tracking devise," he explained. "We have a saying in the Turks; never trust a Shinra Scientist. I guess Tseng was right, now Rude owes him ten gil."
"I think Miles knew you were coming," Cloud explained. "He moved Tifa somewhere, I need to find her."
"She might be with Shelke and Yuffie," Reno suggested. "The others looked everywhere but they don't know where the copies took them."
"Miles needs a laboratory," Cloud thought out loud. "Do you know any other Shinra laboratories that are still operational?"
Reno paused to think. "Well, the science department had a big budget. Almost all Shinra's properties have a laboratory or research facility in them. Let's get back to the helicopter, the director might know which laboratories are still functional."
Reno looked around the room and spotted Cloud's sword leaning against a bookcase. He walked over to retrieve it for his injured friend, but the weight of the sword stopped him in his tracks.
"Shit man, you carry this thing around with you?" he commented.
With a little extra effort, he swung the sword onto his shoulder and walked back over to Cloud. The two left the basement with Reno assisting the weakened Cloud. It was daylight when they exited the manor.
Reno stopped at the entrance and looked around. "Yo, Rude," he called out.
To the left they could hear something moving in the bushes. A few seconds later, Rude stepped out while brushing himself off. He looked a little surprised to see Cloud with Reno.
"The choppers out back," Reno advised Cloud and all three of them walked towards the back of the mansion.