Phew, well here's another chapter finished and ready to go. It was a lot easier to write than I thought, considering the heavy and drama-driven themes in this chapter. I know you guys want a light tone to the story (trust me it will have one), but I did say there will be some darker elemtents to this story and this chapter will have some of those moments. Sorry, but it has to happen. We're dealing with Hojo, the man has so many skeletons in his closet he needs a warehouse to put them all.

That being said there are also events here that need to happen in order for the plot to move forward. This chapter has been broken into three sections and each one has its own song to play. Well, the first and third share the same track.

The first track is "Signs" from the Advent Children soundtrack. (About 5 mins 10 seconds long on youtube)The second one for the middle section is "King" by Lauren Aquilina (official works well, but the one I listened to was a part of an amv called "you can be king again")

These tracks are optional, but they heavily inspired the feel of each scene so, totally up to you. :)

Anyways, I have to get ready for work, but I wanted to get this finished and ready before tomorrow so my mind was clear and free to enjoy the new Avengers Movie. I'm going with some friends to see it tomorrow since it was totally sold out locally over the weekend. I guess it must be good or something, lol! xD I promise, no spoilers from me. ;)

Enjoy guys! Things are going to start picking up from here.


The heavy metal door whined and moaned as it slid open under the strength of a SOLDIER as he made his way in with one hand grasped onto his sword. The room was pitch black and the air was still and old, as if the place had been sealed shut for many years. Through his helmet, Kunsel had his night vision turned on to illuminate the room without using a flashlight to alert any possible threat that he was there. The hallways looked more like giant sewer tunnels with the lack of care and maintenance over the years.

Kunsel had been working hard to track Hojo down and when he found nothing at the mansion in Nibelheim except for the damage left from the fire he assumed the man might have gone to another hidden lab. This one was one of the first Shinra had created, a few years before the war had started. Kunsel had a hunch this place was one of Hojo's because reports stated around the time the tension between Shinra and Wutai was escalating, local townspeople would turn up missing nearby.

The Second Class wasn't completely in the loop with what the general was up to, but he knew that Sephiroth had good intentions, and being the uncanny intelligent man that he was, Kunsel knew that Hojo was far from trustworthy. He had a few guesses of his own with the general's strange and sudden behavior, but he hadn't done anything truly worrisome since the months leading up to the mission he took in Nibelheim. The Second Class had heard of the reactor's explosion and he had kept tabs when the Turks had gone to investigate. He also noticed that Hojo was spending more and more time off-base after the Turks returned from that mission.

A small light caught Kunsel's attention, drawing him towards a control panel. Kunsel smirked under his helmet with this stroke of luck. If the base still had power then he could get more info on what the professor was up to, hopefully from the present, but he'd accept any useful information from the past that he could use later.

Taking out a usb drive that had belonged to Reno (which he had taken because of its amazing usefulness and the man was no longer around to use it), he plugged it into the computer's mainframe before booting up the system. Normally accessing a scientist's computer would trigger a trap or send out an alert if the user wasn't the owner, but Reno's usb had a program on it that would block all trap signals and prevent any alerts from going out. It also had another program that would hack any firewalls. Kunsel had to hand it to the man, he really did know how to dig up everyone's dirty laundry.

Using the device, Kunsel was able to access all of the files, but was left feeling despondent when all of the files were encoded. While he was good with computers, he knew he needed a expert to figure this out. He took out a blank usb drive and copied all of the files onto the portable drive before deleting the original files from the computer. Once that was taken care of he shut it down and removed the portable drives before heading deeper to explore more of the compound. He found a room where the written files were kept and scanned over some of the more important-looking documents, placing a few of them in his traveling pack and ignoring the rest. He figured he could always return if there was something he missed, and then he'd be better equipped.

Forty minutes later saw Kunsel walking down a long hallway that reminded him of a hospital, though, with no working lights and a combination of moss and mold growing along the walls. The air was also starting to feel a bit more damp, signaling that a water source was nearby, possibly an underground stream or spring. There was also another scent he picked up that was all too familiar; mako.

Seeing a door slightly open at the end of the hall, Kunsel's guard rose and his hand strayed near his sword's hilt. Sliding the door open he was hit with a strong scent of mako, but it was stale. Four tanks lined the wall to one side. Two of the tanks closer to the far wall were shattered. The shattered one closest to him had the decomposed body of a mutated creature laying on the floor, as if it had fallen dead when its tank broke.

Upon closer inspection, Kunsel realized with a sickened, heavy heart that the body had originally been human. It was hard to tell from the decay and mutation, but Kunsel was willing to bet that this poor soul had been one of the many Wutains who had gone missing before the war. He realized then that other damaged tank was also empty, but it seemed like the occupant who once resided in it had been in it when it shattered, judging from the long-dried blood stains on some of the shards still attached to the tank and on the floor. He found a blood trail and followed it. The trail led him into a larger room that looked like a room for surgeries, but Kunsel knew it wasn't the kind of surgery meant to save life. Instead it was used to examine, dissect and destroy it. The table in the middle of the room was made of thick heavy metal, with thick leather straps and a few metal ones as well. He found two bodies on the floor. Their torsos and faces were severely damaged, as if mauled by a savage animal, but he could tell they were scientists by their attire. Over in the dark corner he found the creature that had caused such devastation.

Kunsel was a seasoned warrior, having seen some pretty damn gruesome things during his time serving the military, but even he found his stomach turning at the sight before him. The creature had been shot several times in the head, chest and throat before it had finally succumbed to its injuries. It was clear it had once been human, but it had the horns, jaws, spine, claws, tail and body posture of a behemoth.

Averting his gaze, Kunsel noticed a camera mounted into the corner and decided to go back to the other room where the tanks were and look at the computer. He inserted the usb drive once again to be safe and this time the files weren't encoded. He pulled up the video footage of the next room and looked for the answer to his biggest question; what in Shiva's name happened in there?

He found what he was looking for and hit play.

The tanks of four monitored the specimens as a scientist worked nearby. He was suddenly alerted to an alarm coming from the computer and checked it before looking over at the tank. A few seconds later, the creature started thrashing, breaking its oxygen mask and roaring through the liquid. It started pounding at the glass with its feet and tail before striking at it with its front claws. It started to crack before the beast roared again and rammed its head forward, it horns punching right through the glass and shattering it. The creature lashed its tail and flailed as it fell forward, striking and shattering the tank next to it, causing the second specimen to fall and was impaled on a glass shard sticking up on the floor. It died before ever regaining consciousness.

The beast shook its head and tried to stand on two legs before wincing in pain and dropping to all fours. It looked itself over before giving out a whimpering growl. It then stopped trembling and turned its head towards the room where the scientist had fled. With a deep growl it charged.

Kunsel clicked on the other camera's file to see what occurred next.

The beast burst through the doors as the two scientists drew their guns and aimed. The creature bared its fangs and moved it lips around as if trying to form a word. "..G-g-go…go h-ho-home!" It could no longer form proper words, but used its new voice and growls to make a sound that resembled I and Want, but it was able to still say go home.

The scientists exchanged looks before the first one sneered and said, "You are home."

The creature's eyes narrowed as it roared and lunged. The two opened fire, but the creature still attacked. By the time the two were dead the poor beast had been shot over thirty-five times before it finally swayed over to the far corner and succumbed to its injuries.

Kunsel looked through the other footage until the gruesome scene was discovered by someone else. Kunsel glared and his eyes glowed brighter with anger when it was Hojo who appeared. He and his team looked at the damage, collected a few things and left everything as it was, without even disposing the bodies properly. Kunsel didn't really expect much of the man, but Hojo exuded the reaction one would have while not finding the right isle in the grocery store, not the horrific scene before him. Kunsel copied those files over too before leaving. He decided that he had found enough dirty secrets for one day and planned to head back to HQ to show the general his findings.

Once back outside, Kunsel closed the door and used his fire materia to weld the entrance shut. He didn't want anyone else to stumble upon this horrendous hell hole.

With that finished, he turned to leave and headed back down the path he had taken through the thick woods. That's when he was alerted to movement. Kunsel slowly adjusted his pack and grabbed the hilt of his sword and tried to see what it was and where it would strike. A flash of movement alerted him to the foliage above as a dark shape dropped down from the branches.


He was starting to regret his decision. Ever since he had left the scientist that had promised to help him he had been suffering severe pain without the treatments that at least made the pain manageable. That scientist couldn't be trusted and the ex-SOLDIER knew it. He was still a specimen to the man and his pride had finally had enough. He wasn't going to stand for it any longer.

The defining moment had been when he met the cetra girl face to face, well he had stayed in the shadows like a coward, too ashamed and afraid to show himself. He needed to find out who he could trust and in his desperate attempts sought out Sephiroth and if he couldn't convince him to help then he'd reveal the true monster that Shinra had made them to be. He had looked all over that reactor for the general and couldn't find him, and when he finally did the general was with the pup and a grunt. Genesis didn't have an opportunity to speak with him alone.

He had found a lonely grunt standing guard on the outskirts of the town and pried the information out of him before delivering him to Hollander. The scientist was becoming more and more unhinged as the clones started dying one by one; too weak and feeble to go on. Genesis himself was feeling extremely weak. So it didn't surprise him when his wing buckled and he fell from the sky. He managed to tuck and roll into a landing, but he landed hard on his shoulder and held it close as he limped towards a place suitable enough for shelter.

He came upon a waterfall and hoped to find enough space to camp behind it, preferably without getting soaked. He lucked out when he not had enough space to stay dry, but it was a very roomy cave. He rested a moment to regain the strength he lost during the fall when he could feel a pressure trying to call out to him coming from the next room. There was a very dim light coming from the cavern so summoning what strength he had recovered, he ventured deeper inside.

He found a narrow path lined from floor to ceiling with many light blue crystals ranging in many sizes big and small. His attention however paid no mind to the smaller gems, instead it was fully captivated by the biggest in the center of the room. There was something inside of the crystal and upon closer inspection he realized what it was and with widened eyes he rushed over to see if the occupant was still alive. However the moment he touched the crystal every cell in his body screamed in pain. A voice echoed in his mind, but he couldn't make it out through the intense pain.

"By the goddess, Minerva, please…have mercy…" he hissed through his pain. He tried to pull away, but he was paralyzed with the torment and even more worrying was he felt another force at work that wouldn't allow him to let go and was holding him still. The crystal began to glow brightly forcing the ex-commander to shut his eyes and scream in pure agony.


Reno grunted as he pushed against a pile of rubble blocking what looked like the entrance to the reactor. The metal was warped and bent and somehow wedged in just right that it was impossible to just pick up and move, and it was getting on the red head's last nerve.

"Stupid piece of shit pile of junk! Move damn it!"

A heavy slab of metal slid down from above and landed right next to Reno, startling him. "Hey! Watch it up there!"

Cloud looked over the edge and blinked innocently at him. "Sorry."

Reno actually growled in annoyance. "Would you quit playin' around up there and help me?"

"It'll be easier trying to find a way in up here," the blond countered. "The general knew what he was doing."

Reno rolled his eyes before looking back at the entrance he had been trying to get to for the past fifteen minutes and let out a sigh of defeat. "Alright fine, you win, just do me a favor and quit fanboy'n over the guy. Let's not forget he blasted a fire spell two inches from my face."

"You shouldn't have pissed him off then," Cloud replied flatly.

Reno was up in his face in a flash. "That is NOT what happened!"

Cloud was about to counter when the metal under them groaned and gave way, sending them falling inside.

The two saw nothing but glowing green beneath them and knew they were done for, until Reno spotted the gangplank and grabbed the rail with one hand and Cloud's arm with the other.

Reno gritted his teeth in pain from his shoulder wound under the strain. The injury itself had healed, but it was still weak. "I can't pull us up, can you make it?"

Without a word, Cloud carefully lifted himself up and climbed towards the rail, being careful of the other man's shoulder while doing so. Once he had a good grip on the rail he pulled himself up and turned to help Reno.

Once both of them were safely on the gangplank they let out a relieved sigh. "Next time we'll try it your way," Cloud admitted regarding the entrance.

Reno gave a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, at least then we'll know there's a good chance an actual path will be on the other side. We were lucky this was here otherwise we'd be dead."

They stood up and tried to get an idea of where in the reactor they were. It was clear that it was in shambles. The walkway was the other part left standing which only added to their luck, though Reno noticed the weakened structure further down and advised his companion that they had better find another spot to stand. The blond didn't have any arguments and they went deeper into the wrecked compound.

There wasn't much left of anything. Computer screens were left with fuzzy grey screens filled with static and snow, if they worked at all while any side rooms were in shambles and some were completely inaccessible. Cloud opened one only to shut it again as mako started to flow out. A small bit had gotten on his hand and he hissed in pain as he tried to wipe it off. His vision unfocused and a vision of being submerged in the green liquid with rising bubbles filled his senses.

Reno saw him freeze in what looked like shock and fear and shook him out of it. "Hey, stay with me man, this ain't the time to lose it. You gotta focus."

Cloud shook his head and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I just hate this stuff."

Reno nodded in understanding. "I'm not a fan of it either, but it's what gives cities power."

"That needs to change," the blond replied.

Reno shrugged before motioning for the other to follow. "Let's just get this over with. We gotta make sure Jenova's gone. Where was the room she was in?"

It wasn't easy trying to figure out where the special room had been, but the room just before it was unique so it was easy to tell where it wasn't. The room leading up to Jenova's was a treacherous mess to navigate through. Glass, dead mutated bodies and other debris littered the floor and the rails were warped and brittle from the force of the blast.

Once they reached the top they avoided a weak part of the structure before heading inside. Reno scanned the area, but Cloud was looking straight ahead. "She's gone…"

Reno sighed, "Well, that's one less thing for us to worry about."

But Cloud wasn't as confident. "No, there should have at least been a charred body. Zack blasted it with a fire spell. Not unless the Turks came and retrieved it?" The blond turned to Reno.

"Hey, don't look at me."

"You've always known all the dirty details behind closed doors. You're always picked for the worst missions, why shouldn't you know?"

"Because Tseng doesn't always trust me with sensitive information, he's unpredictable that way. Rude's a better choice for this kind of thing, because he's great at keeping his opinions to himself!"

Cloud glared at him, not believing the man for a moment. "Once a Turk always a Turk. I don't know why I even agreed to come with you. I should have gone back to the others."

"And then what, sit by the giant campfire and sing Kumbaya? Those guys weren't letting either of us contribute anything useful!"

"We were taking our time and trying to make sure we didn't make any mistakes."

Reno huffed at that. "We? You mean they! What were you doing right before we left Cloud? Playing babysitter? Getting yelled at for wanting to do something? They were treating you like an invalid child because of your stupid visions." He then stopped as if realizing something. "Ohhh I forgot, your visions are like the gift of the goddess, right? You say what the future holds and they treat it like gold? My apologies Mr. Messiah, I didn't realize only you have the power to save the world."

Cloud actually growled in anger before turning and shoving Reno against the wall, knocking over a weakened column in the process. "Shut Up! You think I wanted it to happen? I never asked for this! Every day it's getting harder and harder to tell which memories are real and which are altered! Of course I want to be more helpful, but I don't have the strength!"

Reno shoved him away and was about to reply when the room began to violently shake. They both turned to run when a large chunk of metal fell and blocked their exit.

"Shit," Reno shouted before he looked up and saw nothing but falling debris crashing down.

Suddenly he was roughly shoved clear of the doorway and sent flying outward. He landed hard at the base of the steps as pipes and other metal broke apart and crashed around him. Reno sat up, coughing and choking as he held his shoulder in pain. The fall certainly hadn't done it any favors.

"Damn it Cloud. You didn't need to send us flying to get out of that."

But his complaint was met with silence.

Reno looked around. "Cloud?"

His neck whirled around to look up at the top of the stairs only to see the doorway was completely blocked off. "Cloud!"

He stumbled around and climbed over the fresh debris to get to the room. "Hey, you alright? Answer me!"

Nothing.

Reno tried to see if he could get back inside but there was too much junk in the way to even attempt to get to him on his own. He saw blood on the floor, but he wasn't sure if it was Cloud's or his own as at the same moment he saw that his own leg was bleeding. Reno placed his ear against the metal to see if he could hear anything on the other side, but it was dead silent.

Reno took a few steps back and tried to figure out what to do before coming to the inevitable conclusion. "I'm gonna go get help, hang in there! I'll be back!"

With that the ex-Turk carefully slid down the easiest path he could find and hurried to find an exit.

Meanwhile, not too far away in his new secret base, a scientist was alerted to a signal that there was activity in one of his old locations of operation. His glasses reflected the computer screen's light with a heavy shade of eerie as the man smirked. It seemed it was time to see about getting some new specimens.