A/N: I think I need to get a beta for this. I've gotten so lazy with corrections. I don't even remember if I did them for this chapter! Hehe well forgive me if I didn't.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention but this story doesn't really follow cannon. Angeal and Genesis are still alive and not degrading and Sephiroth isn't evil. I haven't decided yet if he's going to stay that way.

Chapter Four

The next morning a knock on the door woke Harry and Cloud. The two quickly untangled from each other and stumbled to open it. One of the instructors, Marvin, was standing there with a clipboard and scowling. He took in their rumbled state and noticed only one bed was slept in before scowling. Cloud started to explain but Harry nudged him in the side. They didn't owe this jackass anything. Marvin was one on the more cruel instructors and Harry disliked him a lot, to say the least.

"Cadets. I've been informed Potter is transferring to the Turks." Harry nodded, not saying a word. Marvin held out the clipboard. "You need to sign this and then you'll be moved to new rooms tomorrow."

"New rooms?" Cloud asked.

"Turks have their own private rooms in a different part of the building. They don't room with Soldiers. Sign that and get packed."

Harry looked at the paperwork. "I'll return it to you after I finish reading it."

"It's a standard agreement, just sign it so I can be done with you, slacker," Marvin snapped.

Harry glared at him. "I'm not signing anything I haven't read over. You'll get it back when I'm finished." Harry slammed the door in his face and Cloud sighed. He sent a mild glare at his brother.

"You know, I still have to go to his class."

"Sorry."

Cloud leaned over Harry's shoulder to glance at the document. "Do you understand any of it?" he asked.

"Not really. Hermione was –is— the smart one. But I figured I should at least try." He scowled. "I don't want to switch rooms."

Cloud shrugged. "I don't think there's anything you can do to stop it. I have to get ready for classes, what are you doing today?"

"Reno told me to meet him in his office. Maybe I'll ask Rude to help me with this."

Cloud nodded and the boys got ready for the day. Once they were done they each parted ways, Cloud off to his classes and Harry heading upstairs to Reno's office. Reno and Rude were already there when Harry knocked on the door and entered.

"'Sup kid," Reno greeted, pressing a few buttons on his keyboard. "Like my new keyboard? The last one got fucking ruined by some asshole who has a thing for dirt. Had to get a new suit too, yo."

Harry shrugged unapologetically. He held up the document Marvin had given him. "What's this all about?"

Rude glanced up. "Standard issue Shinra legal disclosure. All employees must sign it before starting work."

"What's it all mean? I don't understand any of this legal talk."

"Basically, think of every bad thing Shinra could possibly do to ya. It's all in that paper and when you sign it, you give them permission to do it, yo."

Harry scowled. "Then why should I sign it?"

"Cuz if ya don't, ya get fired."

Scowling unhappily, Harry grabbed a pen from Reno's desk and signed the document. There was nothing he could do about it now. He needed to stay in Shinra to find Hermione. Once that was done, Harry folded the paper into his pocket and crossed his arms.

"They told me I have to switch rooms."

"Turks do not room with Soldiers."

"I like where I'm at, I don't want to move."

"So? Why the fuck you telling us?" Reno grumbled. "We don't have nuthing to do with that."

"Then who do I talk to?"

Reno rolled his eyes. "For fucks sake will you stop whinin' already? You're a Turk now. Figure it out your goddamn self."

Harry was a little put out by the answer but didn't press the matter any further. Instead he took a seat in a chair in front of Rude's desk. "So what are we doing today?"

"Paperwork," Reno growled.

"We need to get you registered for a weapon and set up with a computer that will be for company use," Rude explained. "Do you have a weapons preference?"

"Er, I guess I like guns. Smaller ones though."

"To carry a gun you must pass a certification test. Reno has already set it up."

"How'd you know I was going to pick a gun?"

"Please, you're terrible with a sword and the only other weapon you've held is a gun," Reno drawled. He shut his computer down and stood. "Let's go, they're expecting ya at the range in a few minutes. You coming, partner?"

Rude nodded and stood, slipping a pair of sunglasses into his breast pocket, just in case something happened to his current pair. Harry shrugged and followed after them.

"So what do Turks do?" Harry asked as they climbed into the elevator.

"Whatever's needed."

"Yeah, but what does that mean?"

"What the fuck do you think it means, yo? You do what you're told and that's that."

Harry scowled at him. "What crawled up your butt today?"

Reno glared at him. "Dirt."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh get over it."

The two bickered the entire way to the shooting range and didn't stop until Rude cleared his throat. A Second Class Soldier was waiting for them and nodded in greeting.

"Yo Kunsel," Reno greeted. "This kid needs'ta get certified to carry a gun."

"No problem," Kunsel assured. "Just sign these and grab whichever gun you feel comfortable with. You have to hit the target seven times and only get ten shots."

"Actually, you have to hit the target ten times and you only get ten shots," Reno interrupted. Harry glanced at him. "Turks are a lot more demanding than Soldiers."

"Soldiers don't need the extra three shots," Kunsel said pleasantly.

Harry stepped up to a stand issue Shinra rifle and fingered it. He noticed a hand pistol a little ways down and walked over to that instead. It was slightly longer than most hand pistols and weighed the same as his wand. If felt comfortable in his hand and Harry decided he liked it.

"Which target?" he asked.

"The seventy-five."

Nodding, Harry lifted the gun and aimed. His had a habit of aiming his wand too far to the right so he adjusted accordingly, hoping the gun would be about the same. Once he was ready, Harry squeezed the trigger. The recoil was more intense than he expected and he nearly stumbled. The bullet hit the target and Harry retook his position, this time using two hands to compensate for the force of the gun. He shot again and checked his aim, pleased with where the bullet landed. After that, Harry shot the remaining eight bullets quickly before setting the gun down.

Kunsel hit a button and the target came forward. All the shots had hit their mark just slightly right of the center. Harry frowned, he had thought he compensated enough to hit the middle of the target but apparently not.

"Not bad," Kunsel complimented. "Okay, you pass. Take these papers to the weapons locker and they'll issue you a gun. If you already have one of your own you have to make sure to register it with them."

"Thank you," Harry said, taking the paperwork. He walked over to Rude and Reno. "So even though I've been a Turk for... a day, I get to carry around my own gun?"

"Turks are really picky with who we let in, yo," Reno explained. "If we didn't trust ya not ta shoot yourself, we wouldn't have picked ya in the first place."

Harry nodded and shrugged lightly. The three went to the weapons locker, Reno and Harry bickering away, and picked out a gun. Harry chose one that was lightweight and the same size as his wand, as that was what he was most comfortable with. After that they picked up a computer and a key card.

"This will let you travel the building," Rude explained. "You will not be allowed into restricted areas but you may use the elevator to go to all the floors."

Harry stared at the small piece of white plastic. He couldn't believe it. After all his time as a Soldier cadet he was simply handed a key card for the whole freaking building. He and Cloud could search wherever they wanted now and Cloud wouldn't have to get in trouble by stealing Zack's key card. Harry quickly reached out and snatched the card before anyone could change their mind and take it away.

Abruptly he asked, "What floor is the science department on?"

Rude quirked an eyebrow, the only outward sign that he was surprised by the question. "The science department is spread between floors sixty-seven and sixty-eight. I don't recommended trying to go up there."

"Why?"

"Because those creep-shots are fucking wacko, yo!" Reno exclaimed. "Some of the shit they get up to..." he shivered and made a face.

"You know?" Harry asked eagerly.

"It's a Turks job to know everything," Reno said. "Knowledge is power, yo."

Harry nodded and looked down at his new laptop and key card. In just one day he had gotten further in his mission to find Hermione than he had in his entire six months with Soldier. Becoming a Turk was definitely the right decision.

When Cloud returned from his classes he found Harry sitting on his bed. His shoes were thrown on the floor and a black suit was hanging on the wall. Cloud shut the door behind him and removed his worn uniform.

"You know, everyone thinks you were kidnapped by the Turks," Cloud said by way of greeting.

Harry smiled briefly, finding that amusing. He was poking at the keys on his computer, frowning at the screen. Cloud sat next to him.

"What's this?"

"So I get my own computer and gun for being a Turk," Harry explained. Cloud sat up in surprise. "And I've been messing around with the computer for a while now. Reno said computer skills are really important to a Turk, which sucks because I've barely touched these things. Rude put a typing program on the here and I'm supposed to learn how to type flawlessly by the end of the week."

"That's pretty demanding."

"Yeah, the Turks are just as demanding as Soldier but in different ways." Harry pressed enter and made a happy noise at the confirming beep. He smiled at Cloud. "I just fixed it so we can still share a room."

"How?"

"Well when I messing around with the computer I noticed something really weird." Harry held up his wand. "Watch." He moved the wand towards the screen and the picture became zig-zaged and turned blurry. He moved it away and the screen returned to normal.

"Your wand disrupts computers?"

"Yeah and it's really helpful," Harry said happily. "It lets me get past security. Watch. This page is restricted and only meant for instructors. See? If you try and look at any files it asks for a password. But if I hold my wand up..." Harry held his wand to the computer and the screen faded out. He pressed enter and the computer made a sound of complaint. When Harry moved his wand away, the password box was gone and they had access to the files.

"How?" Cloud asked, amazed.

"I don't know. My wand disrupts the computer enough so that it... forgets it wants a password and just opens the file or something. I don't get how it works but it's pretty wicked."

"What can you get into?" Cloud asked eagerly.

"I haven't tried a whole lot yet," Harry explained. "I wanted to test it out so I went into the system and changed our room assignments so we're still together. I figured that it was something small and if anyone was going to bust me, it wouldn't be a big deal."

Cloud nodded. "The security is probably basic so no one would really throw a fit about you hacking the room assignments."

"That's not all," Harry said, his voice getting excited. He pulled out a key card and handed it to Cloud. "I got this today. It gives me access to all the floors."

Cloud's eyes widened. "All of them?"

"Yeah, I just can't get into restricted areas. And I found out the science department is on floor sixty-seven and eight."

Cloud couldn't help but gawk at his brother. Harry giggled and nudged him.

"Yeah, I was shocked too. So I thought we could use the computer to research Hojo and find out exactly where and what he's working on. Once we know that, we can use my key card and go find Hermione."

"Then let's do it," Cloud gestured at the laptop. "How do you search on this thing?"

The brothers huddled over the computer, staring at the screen intensely.

Sephiroth sat straight in his chair as he barely restrained from rubbing his tired eyes. He had just gotten back from a particularly long and tiresome "mission" to Junon. His mission had been to stand next to the president while the fat man spat out Shinra propaganda. He had been roped into signing autographs and participating in mock fights for the people's entertainment. Over all it had been a tortures event that had tested his patience.

Now, back at Shinra, a weeks worth of paperwork had piled up in his absence. Sephiroth had asked why his other generals hadn't kept up with the annoying mound and Genesis had laughed and quoted the ridiculous play he loved so very much before saying something about having other matters to attend to. Angeal had been easier to guilt and apologized for not being more diligent before taking half the papers and getting to work on them. Sephiroth considered making Zack do some of the work too but decided against it. Zack wasn't known for attention to detail and Sephiroth didn't feel like going back and checking over his work.

As Sephiroth tiredly reached for the next set of papers, his computer beeped and a screen popped up. Curious, he turned and looked at the message. It stated someone was attempting to hack into classified material. A moment later the message disappeared and a new message flashed that the someone had succeed. Frowning, Sephiroth opened a program that allowed him to track potential threats to the system. The person was attempting to read files on... Professor Hojo? That was a new one. Very few people outside of the company knew who the man was and even fewer tried to get information on him.

Sephiroth punched his code into the computer and his program revealed the computer being used for the hacking was in the building, connected to Shinra's own system. Confused, Sephiroth noticed that the person had managed to bypass at least three levels of security so far. The person wasn't using passwords or any sort of virus. They were somehow bypassing the need for passwords and gaining access to classified files without one. How could someone be skilled enough to bypass security but dumb enough to use one of Shinra's own computers? Sephiroth activated the tracer and waited, but before the program could pinpoint the exact location of the hacker, the connection was lost.

Frowning, Sephiroth picked up the phone and pressed a button that would automatically dial Tseng. It was only a moment before the leader of the Turks answered.

"Yes?"

"Tseng, I just had a computer breach," Sephiroth explained without preamble. "Someone managed to hack into files concerning Hojo."

"Was anything stolen?"

"I am uncertain. The method used was very strange."

Sephiroth could hear typing on the line and waited patiently. "I don't see anything out of place," Tseng finally said. "I will look into this matter and get back to you."

"Thank you."

Sephiroth hung up the phone and linked his fingers, staring at his computer. That had been the strangest hacking attempt he had ever witnessed. He would be very interested in what Tseng had to say when he was finished investigating.

Over forty floors down, Harry slammed his laptop shut and shoved it away from him. Cloud was staring at the thing horrified. They hadn't found anything on Hojo other than he was in charge of the entire science department and had so many projects going on it would take forever to wade through them all. What had scared the two boys was that Harry's computer had alerted them to a tracking software that was being used to locate their computer. Harry had quickly shut the laptop and was now panicking about what to do.

"Can they still trace it if it's off?" Cloud demanded.

"I don't know!" Harry exclaimed. "I didn't know they could trace it at all!"

"What do we do?"

Harry reached out and grabbed Cloud's thick training boot. He threw the computer onto the floor and then used the boot to smash it. The computer smoked for a moment before dying. Harry hit it a couple more times, just to be sure.

"Well, they can't trace it if it's destroyed," Cloud shrugged.

Harry groaned. "Reno's going to kill me."

Cloud nodded and placed a sympathetic hand on his brother's shoulder.

Reno did, indeed, try and kill Harry when the teen showed him the remains of his laptop. Luckily, Rude was there at the time and stopped the redhead from getting violent. As punishment for breaking his laptop and providing some lame excuse that his brother stepped on it, Harry's pay was docked. Harry, who hadn't even known he got paid, was okay with that. He was issued another laptop and warned if this one got broke, the consequences would be very severe.

A week later Cloud was waiting for his sword training class to start. The instructor was late, something the cadets had never seen before. As they all waited in the room with their dull swords, the boys entertained themselves with possible reasons for the instructor's tardiness.

"Maybe class is canceled and they forgot to tell us."

"Maybe Instructor Marvin got ate by a monster."

"There aren't any monsters in the Shinra building."

"A guy can hope, you know."

"Yeah man, don't kill our dreams!"

Cloud smiled as the rest of the boys laughed. The door to the training room opened and everyone quickly stood to attention. Instructor Marvin glared at them all until his eyes fell on Cloud.

"Strife. Get out."

Cloud blinked in surprise. "Me? But um..."

"Don't stand there gawking like a buffoon! I said get out!"

Cloud dropped his sword before hurrying from the room, extremely confused. He shut the door behind him and wondered what could possibly have happened to get him kicked out of class. The answer came pretty quick as Zack appeared in front of him, smiling widely.

"Hey Spiky!"

"Za-Zack! What are you doing here? Are you the reason I just got kicked out?"

"Sure am!" Zack smiled, flinging his arm around Cloud. He started them walking down the hall. "I had so much fun teaching ya the other day I've decided to take you under my wing."

"What?"

"I'm going to mentor you. They let First Class operatives do that, so long as it doesn't interfere with our regular duties. I won't be able work with you everyday, but I can most of the time. Because of that, you don't have to take Marvin's course anymore. But don't get all excited about having one less class because I'm going work you harder than that guy ever did!"

Cloud smiled. "Sounds good to me!"

Zack wrapped an arm around his friend. "That's the spirit!"

They went up to the Soldier floor and used the training area up there. Working with Zack was like a dream for Cloud. The First was an excellent teacher, praising Cloud constantly to keep his confidence up but also never hesitating to correct him or point out what he was doing wrong. Zack loved how Cloud was such an eager and serious student. He was always focused and never once complained about the hard pace Zack set. After a couple hours of training, Zack called for a break.

"You wanna get some dinner?" he asked. "It's pretty late."

Cloud's stomach rumbled loudly at the mention of food and the blonde blushed while Zack laughed. Zack led them to the small cafeteria that was meant for Soldiers only. Cloud's eyes widened as he saw the sheer amount of food. There was more in this small room than he had seen in his life. Soldiers were sitting around tables with plates heaping and most were going back for seconds.

Zack laughed at Cloud's face. "Mako makes us burn a lot more calories than normal," he explained. "So we eat a lot. Don't tell anyone, but it's actually a big weakness for Soldiers."

Cloud blinked. "Weakness?"

"Yeah, we burn calories so fast that we have to eat more often and a lot more food than normal people. It kinda makes long missions a pain in the ass sometimes."

Zack grabbed a tray for each of them and they began piling food onto their plates. Cloud felt guilty for a second that he got to eat such wonderful, high quality food and Harry was stuck downstairs in the cadet cafeteria. Then he remembered how many times Reno had taken his brother out to eat the past week and didn't feel so bad.

The two sat at table, away from the other Soldiers. Zack began eating with such enthusiasm Cloud was worried his friend would eat his fork by accident while shoveling food into his mouth. The blonde ate his own dinner much slower, wanting to savor the delicious meal.

When the two were finally finished, Cloud stretched his arms, flexing his fingers. He was full and happy and felt good after his workout with Zack.

"So how's your brother doing?" Zack asked. He really wasn't all that interested in the other boy but felt it would be polite to inquire. "Likin' the Turks?"

"He seems too," Cloud shrugged. "I mean, he's always complaining about Reno and what an ass he is but it's not like real complaining, you know? Like he's whining but still enjoying himself."

"Yeah I get that. I'll whine about my job but I still love it."

"What do you do?" Cloud asked curiously. "You're a Lieutenant General, right? So you answer to General Sephiroth?"

"Yup, him and Angeal Hewley, I've mentioned him before, he's my mentor, and Genesis Rhapsodos. They're in charge of Soldier, with Sephiroth having the final say, and I answer to them. As for what I do, it varies. Usually when I'm here at Shinra I kinda act as a buffer for them."

"A buffer?"

"Yeah like, if there's a problem with the Soldiers, they come to me first, whether it's personal or professional. I handle everything unless it's something real big then I take it to the other three. That way they're free to do their jobs without having to worry about moral or people's issues." Zack played with his fork. "But when I'm not at Shinra, I'm usually in charge of missions. Mostly I go solo, since I'm strong enough to not need help or back up, but if they send me out with others I'm in charge."

"You go on missions with Turks, don't you?"

Zack nodded. "Sure do. Though Turks don't usually stick around. Most of the time they have their orders and I have mine, and we meet up after we've carried out our missions. See Cloud, a Soldier is a fighter. When we get sent somewhere it's too fight. When the Turks get sent somewhere it's to gather information. So a lot of the times a Soldier acts as a distraction by fighting so Turks can sneak around and do what they need to."

"How often do Turks fight?"

Zack shrugged. "They're trained to avoid confrontation if they can. But when they do fight it's usually pretty impressive. Reno is a fucking good shot with a gun. He's got nothing on Soldier of course, but he has some talent."

Cloud nodded and digested what Zack had told him. He rather liked the idea that Turks avoided fights when possible. That was something he always hoped Harry would learn. His brother had a temper and didn't always know when to back down or run away. Though in all fairness, Cloud didn't always know when to run either. He'd lost track of the number of times he and Harry had run head first into danger, whether it was while they were out hunting or fighting off the bully kids in town.

"I can't wait until I make Soldier," Cloud admitted quietly. "It's been my dream since I was little. All I ever wanted to do was become a Solider so I could protect my family."

Zack smiled softly. "My dream is to become a hero," he admitted quietly. "I grew up with stories of great heroes who were loved by all and always saved the day. That's what I want to be."

"Well I think you've managed it."

Zack laughed and reached over, ruffling Cloud's spikes. "Not quiet yet, Spiky. But you can bet I will be. And I'll bet on you becoming a Solider. Stick with me and I'll make sure you're in top shape come exam time."

Cloud beamed before ducking his head shyly. He was very happy, but also very humbled by Zack's faith in him. He swore to himself that he would work hard and not let Zack or anyone else down.

Their moment was interrupted when a Second Class Soldier walked up to their table, carrying a large package.

"Hey Kunsel!" Zack greeted. "What you got there?"

"Commander Tseng told me to bring it to you."

They shoved their plates out of the way and set the box on the table. "Oh!" Zack eagerly ripped the wrapping off. "Yeah, he got it!"

A high quality boy and arrows sat in the box. Cloud stared at it appreciatively. It was much more sophisticated than the wooden one he had home. This bow was black and made of a light plastic. It had a targeting scope and Cloud assumed it had a lot of power behind it. Zack pulled it from the box, looking it over curiously.

"I've never seen one of these in real life before," he admitted.

"This is a good one," Cloud said. "Mine was a basic wooden longbow."

The other Soldiers in the cafeteria started to come over, curious as to what Zack was looking at. The bow was passed around and a couple guys pulled back on the string.

"These things went out of style years ago," a Second Class, Tristan, said. "My dad owns a weapons shop and had some on the wall for display."

"What'd you get it for, Zack?" Matt, a Third Class, asked.

"Well my buddy Cloud here challenged me," Zack grinned, taking the bow back.

Cloud flushed when everyone stared at him. "I didn't challenge you..." he muttered.

"Awe, don't be shy, Spiky! You said you were a better shot than me with one of these things!"

The Soldiers laughed and Cloud blushed. Zack grabbed the bow and slung his arm around Cloud's shoulder. "Well let's go down to the shooting range and try this antique out!"

The other Soldiers quickly agreed and took care of their food trays. Zack led a suddenly panicked Cloud to the elevator. When Cloud had "challenged" Zack to a shooting contest, he had really been half joking. He knew he couldn't beat a Mako enhanced First Class Solider. Zack was just so easy to get along with that Cloud had issued his challenge without thinking. Now he was being led to the shooting grounds, surrounded by a group of seven or so Soldiers, to make an ass outta himself as he attempted to beat Zack in a shoot off.

The large group arrived at the grounds which were thankfully empty. The Soldiers stepped back and eagerly waited while Zack fiddled around with the bow. Cloud watched him for a moment and realized Zack had no idea how to string it.

"What's taking so long, Zack?" Kunsel called from the waiting group. "I thought you knew what you were doing?"

"I thought all you had to do was pull the string and shoot!" Zack whined. "Spiky! How do you get this thing to work?"

Cloud barely managed to not laugh. Maybe he wouldn't make a complete fool out of himself after all, if Zack couldn't even figure out how to shoot. He stepped forward and took the bow, stringing it easily. He plucked the string to make sure it was taught enough before grabbing an arrow and loading it.

"Here." Cloud attempted to give it back to Zack but the First just waved him off.

"Show us how it's done."

Nervous, and acutely aware that everyone's eyes were on him, Cloud drew the string back. He aimed at target that was fifty feet away and held for a second before releasing. The bow snapped his wrist painfully at the shot went wide. The group of Soldiers burst out laughing and Cloud turned a nice cheery red, mortified.

"Hey, you okay?" Zack asked hurriedly, looking at his wrist.

"I'm fine," Cloud snapped. He didn't mean to be rude but he was embarrassed. "This scope threw off my shot. I've never shot a bow with one on it before and didn't know you had to adjust for it."

"Calm down," Zack soothed. "We're out here having fun. Can you take it off?"

Cloud looked at it and saw where the scope detached. He set it aside and restrung the bow.

"What about your wrist?" Zack interrupted quickly.

"It should be fine without the scope messing up my shot."

Eager to redeem himself and stop the laughter behind him, Cloud retook his position and aimed. After a moment he released the string and this time the arrow sang through the air perfectly straight. It hit the target just left of the center and the Soldiers cheered.

"Nice!" Zack whooped. "Alright, alright! Show me!"

Happy, Cloud gave the bow to Zack and instructed him how to stand. He pushed Zack's feet apart slightly and helped him draw the bow. When he was confident Zack looked to be standing correctly and had good aim, he stepped back and told Zack to let go when he felt comfortable. Zack released the arrow immediately and then yelped as the string snapped his wrist. The arrow plunged into the dirt and the Soldiers laughed.

"That smarts!" Zack exclaimed.

"When you let go of the string, just let go," Cloud explained. "Don't try and push the arrow through, just open your fingers and let the bow do the rest."

"Oh man, what has Soldier come to?" Tristan called, his voice teasing. "Our best guy being taught by a cadet!"

"If the Turks hear about this we'll never live it down!" Kunsel yelled. The Soldiers roared with laughter again and Zack whined at them. "Don't worry guys, we've still got our Generals! We can still be redeemed!"

Zack scowled at his friends as they chuckled at his expense. Cloud was torn between wanting to laugh to but not wanting to hurt his friend's feelings. Zack noticed his confused face and winked, smiling widely.

"We're just having fun, Cloud," he assured.

Cloud smiled in relief, allowing himself to relax. Zack drew the bow again and this time shot the arrow perfectly. Everyone cheered, but it was over the top and slightly mocking. Zack just rolled his eyes at them and playfully stuck out his tongue.

The fun was interrupted by a loud rumble and the Soldiers looked around in confusion. They heard it again and everyone's eyes turned skyward.

"Is that thunder?"

"Yeah it looks like rain," Zack commented, squinting his eyes to look over the training grounds. The rain was starting to fall slowly, little drops landing all around them.

"It never rains in Midgar," Kunsel commented. "I've only seen it happen a couple times before."

"It rained all the time in Nibelheim," Cloud said. "We were at the base of the Nible Mountains."

"Gongaga got some pretty wicked rainstorms too," Zack added. "Well, guess we'll have to have our contest later. Everyone report back to the Soldier floor and get ready. I want a good stock of potions and cure materia available. Be ready to move on a moments notice!"

The men nodded and lightly jogged back to the elevator just as Zack's phone rang. He stepped away to answer it and Cloud looked at Kunsel in confusion.

"I thought it was just rain."

"It rains so infrequently in Midgar that people tend to go nuts when it does. There's a lot of accidents and everyone always gets sick afterward because they go out and play in it."

"But it's just rain!"

"For you maybe, but for people who only see rain once or twice a year it's a big deal. Shinra usually sends Soldiers out into the city to help with any accidents and keep things running smoothly."

Zack joined the two, hanging up his phone. "That was Sephiroth. He says Angeal is assigning sectors to everyone upstairs. We've all got a sector to monitor and help." Kunsel nodded and Zack turned to Cloud with a smile. "We'll see ya later, Spiky. Duty calls."

"Be careful."

Kunsel and Zack laughed. "Don't worry, aside from getting wet we'll be fine. Bye Cloud!" The two ran off to the elevators and Cloud took the time to retrieve the arrows from the targets. Rain began to fall harder and he shook his blonde hair, looking up. He could barely make out lightening flashing in the sky before he heard thunder.

Gathering up the bow and arrows, Cloud made his way back inside, suddenly feeling very homesick.

Reno was fuming. He was currently stomping around the halls with a scowl etched onto his face. He glared hatefully at anyone who happened to cross his path, feeling slightly better when they scurried away in fear. Being a Turk commanded a lot of respect but it also meant people feared what he could do to them. The rumors of the Turks exploits had become so outlandish and exaggerated over the years that the mere mention of the group had people pissing themselves in terror. Reno loved that about his job.

Though right now Reno's intent was not to scare the populace. He was currently on a mission to find his stupid, worthless, annoying, little apprentice Turk. With the sudden rain the city was experiencing all personal were to report to their offices and await instructions. Usually the Soldiers took care of everything but the Turks were expected to be ready to be deployed in case there was an emergency. Reno had appeared in his office like he was supposed to only to be sent out by Rude with orders to find Harry.

Apparently the damn hillbilly didn't have a PHS. Who the fuck didn't have a PHS in this day and age?

Reno stopped in his angry walking as he spotted Cloud leaving the training area, carrying some strange weapon. Reno was pretty sure it was called a "bow" but had never really seen one up close before. He didn't care and stomped over to Cloud, calling out to him. The blonde looked up in surprise.

"Where's your stupid brother, yo?" Reno demanded.

Cloud blinked before turning on his heel and walking away.

"Hey! I asked you a question!"

Cloud casually flicked him off and kept walking, pissing Reno off to no end. He made a fist and briefly considered punching the blonde in the head. He restrained himself though. Zack had made it clear he liked the little blonde and Reno didn't want to deal with an angry First Class Soldier if he didn't have to. Instead, the redhead jogged to catch up to Cloud and forced himself to speak nicer.

"Look, the Turks are supposed to be gathered in the office right now and he needs to be there, yo. The freaking idiot doesn't have a PHS so I've gotta waste my time looking for him. Do you know where he is?" Reno was pretty proud of how not-rude that was.

"..." Cloud glanced at a clock on the wall. "Curfew is in a few minutes, he's probably in our rooms."

"I don't know where... wait did you say your rooms? I thought he got moved out."

Cloud shrugged. "We didn't like that idea and convinced them to let us room together."

"How'd you manage that, yo?" Reno shook his head. "Never mind, I'll figure it out later. You guys are in the Soldier barracks, right?"

Reno left without another word, moving quickly. Cloud watched him go before turning to stare at a painting on the wall. He squinted and tilted his head before smiling.

"What are you doing?"

Harry seemed to melt out of the wall as he stepped forward and removed his charm. He was grinning, proud that Cloud had spotted him. They had practiced perfecting the disillusionment charm while they were growing up. It had been a favorite game of the three siblings. Harry would cast the charm and then Cloud and Hermione would try and find him. It was their private version of hide and seek.

"I didn't want Reno to find me," Harry explained. "Everyone's being sent into the city."

"Yeah I know," Cloud answered. "It's because of the rain. Zack said Midgar gets so little rain people freak out when it happens."

Harry frowned. "That's bizarre... but whatever, I thought we could use this time to explore." He pulled out his key card. "We know where the science department is."

"You don't want to try and get information from the computer?"

"Hacking the computer is going to be hard and we're going to have to think it through if someone can track us so easily. I'd figured we could search the science department and make up some excuse about being lost, since we're cadets, if we get caught."

"Now's the perfect time for it, since all the Soldiers are out in the city and the Turks are supposed to be in their offices," Cloud agreed. He quickly restrung the bow and looped it over his head, throwing the arrows over his shoulder. Harry eyed the weapon curiously.

"Where'd you get that?"

"It's Zack's, I'll explain later. Let's hurry before someone sees us."

The brothers hurried to the elevator and jumped in. Harry slid his key card and then pressed the button for floor sixty-seven. While the elevator traveled upwards Harry turned to Cloud and tapped him on the head with his wand. Cloud shivered as the spell traveled through his body. Harry then disillusioned himself and they each stood to the side of the door. When it opened, neither boy moved. No one was near the doors to get on so the two slipped into the hallway.

The first thing they saw were boxes. There were crates thrown against the wall and stairs leading to a walkway that wrapped around the entire room. Cautiously, Harry and Cloud moved into the room. The lights were dimmed and a large glass container was glowing on the left side of the room. Blood splattered the otherwise clear glass and the boys stared at it with wide eyes. They quickly turned away and a pinkish light caught their eye.

A huge iron container filled up the right side of the room. Cloud cautiously stepped forward and peered into the window, his eyes widening. A headless body floated in some sort of liquid, hooked up to wires and machines. Harry stood on his toes and peered inside, jerking away when he saw it. He looked up and read the name over the door.

"Jenova..."

"I think it's looking at me."

"How can it look at you? It doesn't have a head!"

Harry grabbed Cloud's shirt and pulled him down. "Come on, let's find Hermione."

Shakily, Cloud turned his back on the creature, feeling a shiver run down his spine. He was inexplicably terrified of the headless woman. All of his instincts screamed at him not to turn his back on the thing and Cloud kept glancing over his shoulder as they walked. The two rounded the corner and heard voices ahead of them. Harry grabbed Cloud and they hid behind some boxes just as two people dressed in white lab coats exited a room. They spoke quietly as they walked past, never seeing the two boys.

Once they were gone, Harry slowly walked over to the door they had existed. He slid his key card but the door didn't open. "It must be restricted," he whispered.

"Let's keep moving," Cloud suggested.

They continued walking until the hallway split in two directions.

"Let's split up," Harry whispered. "You go left, I'll go straight. If you find anything come get me."

Cloud nodded and slipped down the hall. Harry continued straight and hugged the wall as close as he could. Eventually he rounded a corner and found another door. He tried his key card but was once again denied. Continuing on, Harry found the stairwell. The door opened for his key card but when he tried to go to the next floor up he was denied access. Frustrated, Harry kicked the door. As expected it didn't do any good and Harry quickly walked back the way he'd come. He found Cloud at the hallway where they'd split up.

"Anything?" he whispered.

"No, just empty prison cells," Cloud answered. "You?"

Harry shook his head. "I can't get to the next floor, it's restricted."

"If Hermione's not here, she must be up there. We'll have to get our hands on a key card that has unrestricted access."

"Zack's?"

Cloud nodded slowly. "I think so. I mean, he's a First Class Lieutenant General, he's gotta be allowed everywhere, right?"

Harry shrugged. "Well there's nothing here and we can't get into any of the rooms. Let's get out of here before we get caught."

Reluctantly, Cloud nodded and the two made their way back to the elevator. They stopped when they heard voices and once again took refuge behind the boxes. The two scientists from earlier were standing in front of the glass container. The floor had dropped down and was now slowly moving upwards. A small red cat was crouched on the floor, it's fangs barred and growling loudly.

"Specimen Red XIII," the male scientist called. "The Professor has scheduled it to receive another injection."

"Well I'm not giving it to him!" the female scientist exclaimed. "They haven't even cleaned up the blood from the last person to try and inject it!"

"Relax, we'll knock it out first."

The man hit a button and green gas began to fill the chamber. The cat roared and flung itself against the glass. The scientists jumped back but the container held without a problem. After a moment the cat collapsed, it's breathing labored and eyes sliding closed. The scientist shut the gas off and stepped forward, pulling a needle from his coat. He opened the container and stepped inside, quickly jabbing the needle into the cat's leg. Without warning the cat's eyes snapped open and it roared in pain. It leapt to it's feet and pinned the scientist to the ground easily.

"Aaron!" the woman screamed.

Aaron never got the chance to answer as the cat used it's huge jaws to rip the man's throat out. The woman screamed again and barely managed to shut the door before Red XIII lunged for it. The cat hit the wall and roared again. The female scientist ran from the room, tears flowing down her face.

Harry and Cloud huddled together, shaking and fighting back vomit at what they had just witnessed. It wasn't long though before Harry forced himself to stand up. He grabbed Cloud's arm.

"Come on," he whispered urgently. "That woman will call for help and we need to go before it gets here!"

Cloud nodded, standing on shaky legs. He stopped and look at his hands, making sure Harry's charm hadn't worn off yet. Satisfied they were both still well covered, Cloud led the way past the container and the cat, that was now sitting off to the side, as far away from the scientist's body as it could get. They were halfway through the room when the cat looked up, it's ears twitched and nose sniffing the air. It jumped to its feet and, to the boys' horror, stared straight at them.

"Wizard!"

It took Harry and Cloud a moment to realize the cat had spoken. It's lips moved and a very human sounding voice left its mouth.

"Wizard, I know you are there! My eyes see through your spell and I can smell your magic."

Cloud grabbed Harry's arm but the boy didn't move. He took a cautious step forward but Cloud tightened his grip.

"You can... talk?"

"Yes Wizard. Please, I beg you, free me."

"Free you?" Harry nearly yelled. Cloud shushed him and looked around worriedly. "You just killed that man!"

"He has tortured me!" The cat roared and Harry and Cloud panicked. "They took me from my home months ago and have locked me in this cage, experimenting on my body and showing no signs of remorse!"

"Quite!" Cloud hissed. "Someone will hear you! Harry, we've got to go!"

Harry stared at the cat-creature who lowered his head and looked him in the eye. "Please Wizard, do not leave me here. Please help me."

Cloud yanked Harry's arm and dragged his brother to the elevator just as voices echoed from the far side of the room. They hurried into the elevator and Harry stared at Red XIII with wide eyes. The creature was watching them, his blue eyes filled with sadness.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered as the door closed. He and Cloud collapsed onto the floor, breathing as hard as if they had just finished a ten mile run. Both were shaking, scared and upset by what they had just witnessed.

"What was that?" Cloud whispered. "A talking cat? What does the science department do?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know... but I think it's a lot worse than we thought."

Cloud nodded in agreement.

A/N: So there's been very little crossover in this crossover. It's mainly been Harry thrown into the FF7 world. This chapter kinda started to hint at how I shall mix the two worlds. I've never written Red and have read few stories with him in it, so hopefully I'll do his character justice.

Well let me know what you think! Reviews get the ideas flowing!