Disclaimer: I do not now or before and most likely not in the future, own Final Fantasy, Square Enix or any of the characters.

A/N: Um, nothing to report out of the ordinary. Just taking a little break from math homework to write an insignificant author's note that no one cares about, except me.

Reviews, critiques and flames are welcome. I absolutely love all reviews about the story as it gives me motivation, I use good constructive criticism to help my writing improve and I feed the flames to the fires of my imagination.

Thanks to my before posting beta Queen of Jokers and my after posting beta SubZeroChimera!

"There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something." –Henry Ford

Chapter 66

Reno shut down the engine just before Rude jumped out and were met half way to the door by Tseng, "I suppose you retrieved the information that was leaked?"

Reno lit a cigarette, "You got it boss."

Tseng began to walk toward the elevator door followed closely by Reno and Rude. As they stepped into the elevator, Tseng moved quickly and grabbed Reno's cigarette and threw it out the door before it closed, "No smoking inside Reno."

Reno's gasps were ignored so then he crossed his arms, "So what about the news of the president being killed?"

"Just as I said on the phone, however, there has been something else just this morning." Tseng got out of the elevator and spoke as he went to his office, "Hojo has disappeared. We think that it was the same person that killed the president. Rufus is on his way here and he expects a full report on the killer."

Reno mocked wiping a tear off of his cheek, "I sure am so broken up about Hojo missing. I think I need a vacation or maybe if I do that awesomely good lookin grief counselor chick again, that might cheer me up." He ended with a smile. Reno's antics were ignored again so he plopped down in the cushy chair in front of the large desk.

Rude put a hand on the cool wood of the desk, "We will go over all of the security tapes. Let's go Reno."

Tseng stood quickly, "What about your sighting? Was the sighting of the fugitives accurate?"

Reno smiled and winked, "As accurate as ever, but they got away before we could apprehend them. That's when you called us."

A sudden shout jerked all three to attention, "Tseng!" From where they stood, they could see a young blond man looking very impatient, "My office now!"

Reno smirked, "Looks like the presidential prodigy of ass monkeys is here." Tseng shot him a glare as he walked past him. Reno threw his hands up in surrender, "I'm just sayin."

As Tseng left to meet up with Rufus, Rude stared at the red-head, "That's funny coming from you."

"Hey, I swore off guys years ago, so he is way ahead of me by now!" Reno plopped back down on the cushy chair in front of Tseng's desk.

"Come on Reno. We gotta study that security footage." Rude stepped out of the office.

After lunch, Cloud and Tifa sat on the bed, Zack sat behind them on his knees, enthralled by pulling Cloud's spikes down and then watching as they bounced back to their previous position. Sephiroth sat on the other bed and Aerith sat at the table with Harding as he sat forward, "I don't know how this is going to work exactly, but we will be prepared for the worst."

Aerith looked at Cloud, "Vincent, Barret and Red are right outside the door in case they are needed." She couldn't look at Sephiroth, it hurt too much, but she knew she had to be here. Knowing why he broke up with her, she would just give him time to heal from his trauma from the day before.

Cloud began to sweat and his nervous hands twisted in his lap. Tifa placed her hand softly over his hands and he sighed quietly, "Let's just get this done. I can't watch Zack get any worse." At the mention of his name, Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud from behind and he pushed Cloud off the side of the bed. Zack landed on Cloud who grunted at the sudden loss of air in his lungs caused by the larger man.

Sephiroth picked Zack up by his arm and pointed at his face, "Stop, we are trying to help you." Zack snapped his teeth at him, targeting Sephiroth's finger with a growl. Putting his hand on Zack's chest he gently pushed him back to arm's length.

Cloud was up by then and sat Zack back on the bed. He pushed him down to lay back and put a pillow under his head.

Aerith stood and sat next to her dark haired former lover, "It is time to take a nap now. Close your eyes Zack." Obeying her request, he lay still and closed his eyes with a content smile.

Cloud started to get choked up, Zack had the same look on his face when he died on that cliff so long ago. He swallowed hard and then stood back up and looked at Sephiroth, "Ready?" Sephiroth nodded and they both lay down on the bed next to each other. They both took deep breaths and closed their eyes.

Cloud stood in the middle of a desert. He looked around and behind him he saw a single tree appear. The base of it would take ten men holding hands in a circle to reach all the way around. The top reached up above the thinning clouds. The leaves were an odd mixture of black, silver and red that just seemed out of place.

Walking toward and around it, he saw a pair of bare feet crossed at the ankles. The toes of the foot on top tapped in a rhythm that Cloud could not hear. Slowly he rounded the tree farther and Zack sat there dressed plainly in a pair of dark blue workout shorts and a grey T-shirt. He was holding a puzzle cube as he worked at solving it. The tip of his tongue stuck out between his lips in deep concentration.

Cloud called, "Zack?"

"Tssk," Zack's face twisted in a frustrated lip curl and he jerked his head but didn't look away from the cube.

"Cloud!" Cloud turned and saw Sephiroth walking toward him.

Cloud pointed at the dark haired man working the puzzle, "I found Zack."

Sephiroth and Cloud squatted down to him and touched his arm, "Zack?"

Zack jumped, "Oh, no. Not again. He shouted up to the sky. Listen you bitch, stop it already!" He stood in a hurry and started walking rapidly toward a small building that they hadn't seen before. Zack opened the door and tried to pull it closed before Sephiroth and Cloud got there, but they stopped the door from closing. Zack dropped the door handle causing Cloud and Sephiroth to stumble backward, "Hah! How do you like that?"

Zack turned and walked slowly down the plain concrete colored hallway while he still worked on the puzzle cube. Cloud and Sephiroth walked next to him and without looking at them Zack said, "Go away. I don't want to talk or play. I'm tired of playing you're stupid nauseating games."

Cloud said, "We're here to help you."

Zack sped up his pace as he scoffed, "I've heard that before."

Sephiroth grabbed Zack's arm and yanked him around to face him, "Zackary Fair! We are here to help you!"

Zack studied them closely, crossed his arms and asked, "How do I know it's really you this time? I've heard all this before."

Cloud touched his arm, "Look at us Zack. Really look."

Zack brought his hand up to his chin, thinking. He wanted to believe that these were his friends, but how were they here? Maybe he dreamed them up, he had been so lonely. Being stuck, he couldn't get out and he'd been trying for weeks now. He'd been able to hold Jenova from taking him completely over, but he didn't know how much longer he could hold out.

There was something different about these two this time. Studying their eyes, they held memories, wisdom, shared experiences and pain that Zack could relate to. Zack watched how they watched him and he still had a very small amount of hesitation, but he had to believe that they were who they said.

Looking at Cloud, Zack offered, "You want me to believe you, then answer a question that only you would know."

"Okay."

Contemplating a question, Zack couldn't think of anything so he asked the first question that came to mind, "What song was playing when you danced with Seph at the Rufus' birthday?"

Sephiroth crossed his arms and sighed while Cloud furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his jaw, "Zack, you're and idiot. I'd bet good money that YOU don't even know the answer to that."

A pause caught his breath and he felt the sting of fresh tears develop. He dropped the cube and jumped at them and hugged them both tightly, "I missed you!" He kissed Cloud on the cheek and then Sephiroth's cheek, "I can't believe it."

Sephiroth let a smile form, "Kiss me again and I will seriously hurt you."

Zack reinforced his smile and he jumped into another hug with them and held them tightly, he whispered, "It really is you." After a long extended hug, he released them from the second hug and took them by their hands, "Come on. Let's go talk." There were several doors that materialized and they lined the concrete hallway on both sides. Zack walked to one door and opened it, once inside it was their old cell from the labs. Zack pulled them in and pushed them to sit on the side of the bed. He squeezed himself between them and put his arms around their shoulders, "So, how are you here?"

Cloud started, "Well the last few months you have been a nut-case that we've had to take care of."

Zack nodded, "Yeah, I know that, but how are you both here?"

Cloud shockingly asked, "You know you're crazy?"

Zack laughed and stood, he rubbed the back of his head, "That's only part of me. When we went all mean back at the house, all those memories hit me and it was like it crushed me under all he weight. Jenova stepped in and posed as..." Zack paused, he didn't want to tell Cloud but he figured he should, "He posed as Davis and then you. Later, the whole time I've been crazy, the memories or thoughts came to me a little bit at a time. I'll tell you, all that shit it hurt like hell."

Zack looked at Sephiroth and simply said, "I'm so sorry about..." Zack paused and took a deep breath, he didn't need to say her name, Sephiroth knew. He moved on to other issues, "It's kind of like when you were comatose Cloud. Jenova was trying to take me over, but I resisted and then she trapped me here, the other part of me the simple and instinctual me is out there," He sat on the bed across from them and added, "I guess she thought it was divide and conquer."

Cloud couldn't help himself, so he calmly said with a straight matter-of-fact face, "Well Zack, you always were a little simple." The smile from Cloud and the shy grin from Sephiroth turned into laughs when Zack dropped his jaw.

Zack pointed to his chest, "That hurts Spike, right here man," Zack was unable to hide his smile though as they all shared a needed laugh.

After they regained control of themselves, Sephiroth stood and informed Zack of the reason they were there, "We got our hands on some of Hojo's notes and we have a way that might fix your current situation."

Cloud finished, "But we don't know exactly how to do that though. Would you happen to know?"

Zack put his hand on his head and paced back and forth, before he stopped and snapped his fingers, "I think I know. Follow me." Walking out the door, he started looking at the other doors while asking himself, "Now which one was it?" He walked to one at the very end of the hallway, slowly opening it, he peeked inside, "That's not it," He smiled at them as he raised his eyebrows up and down several times.

Cloud rolled his eyes, "Come on Zack. Be serious."

Zack straightened himself to full height and mischievously grinned, "Why should I? You two stiffs are serious enough for an army," He trotted across the hall and down two doors, "I think maybe this one." He opened it and peeked in, "Yip, here it is."

Tifa got a cloth and wiped the small amount of sweat from Sephiroth's forehead. All three of them appeared to just be asleep. They had been like that for a while now and Tifa looked at Harding, "Jacob, how much longer do you think?"

Harding looked up from his notes, "I really don't know, it could be anywhere from several hours to days for all I know."

Tifa looked at Aerith and she remained on her knees praying. Tifa thought about the small amount of what Aerith had told her. Tifa wondered why Sephiroth would break up with her now, besides the fact of finding out that Hojo was his father and the bastard scientist had Annabelle killed because of the distraction. Her best guess was that when he lost Annabelle, it almost killed him, it made sense and Aerith seemed to understand that.

Tifa looked at Aerith who had stopped praying for a moment and brought her a glass of water, "Are you doing alright?"

Aerith took a drink and nodded, "Yeah, I am not getting anything from the planet though. I don't know why, It's almost like I can't get through."

Tifa took the empty glass back and asked, "You mean kind of like radio interference?"

Aerith nodded, "Kind of, I was able to get through back at the house, but now-"

"Oh, gods. What have I done?" Tifa and Aerith turned to Harding as he made his quiet realization.

Tifa stood and loudly exclaimed, "What?! What happened?"

Harding looked up at Tifa, her irate stance and firm fists cemented his fear. He couldn't hold back the fear driven tears that threatened to expose themselves. Ever so quietly, afraid of the words himself, he hesitantly stated, "The three of them together, just like this, this is what Jenova and Hojo wanted all along."

Tifa whispered as she turned to look at the three men, "Oh, Gaia… What do we do now?"

Looking up from her prayers, Aerith said stoically, "We wait and pray."

A/N 2: Thanks to everyone who reads, favorites, subscribes and/or reviews, I appreciate your time and I dedicate all of this to you. To quote another author, "Getting reviews makes me feel all warm and squishy."

Please send me your reviews if you want. It is really easy. Just click your arrow in the little box, write what you thought or felt about the chapter and then click right down there, just below the box. A little lower… a little to the right… yeah, right there! Click it! *grinning*