To Moonlight Blizzard; I might not be a fairy godmother, but I managed to update within a week

I'm going to have some fun with this chapter…

Zack was dozing in the late afternoon sun; he had finished his chores for the day and had come back to Cloud's room in hopes of finding the blond not too long after midday. When he had found out that Cloud wasn't back yet he had decided that he would hang around and wait for the blond. So at first he had wandered around the lounge and sat down fiddling with all the settings on his PHS, but he constantly found himself looking towards the clock and wondering if Cloud would be back soon; after all he didn't recall his own testing taking a full day, it had been a relatively easy process and Zack had been back to terrorising Angeal in no time at all.

After that, Zack had raided the kitchen, finding only a small snack in the otherwise empty fridge and cupboards. He had then made his way back to the lounge grumbling about the lack of a decently stocked fridge and had settled back in to wait for a while longer. Well, a total of about five minutes later and Zack was up and moving again, eventually wandering into Cloud's room, where the pleasant memories from last night were still fresh in his mind. Laying on the now cold bed Zack had begun to wonder if perhaps he would be able to get away with sharing a room with Cloud officially. No one else had to know that they would be sharing the same bed if Zack had his way… Well, maybe a slightly bigger one than the small single that currently occupied the room.

It had been while he was laying there, with the soothing light of the early afternoon streaming through the window that Zack had fallen asleep, the smell and feel of Cloud still lingering on the sheets a relaxing lullaby.

The sounds of knocking on the door to the small apartment roused the raven-haired man from his fitting slumber and he had jumped up in hoped that Cloud was back, but it was only when he was just about to open the door that it occurred to him that Cloud would have no need to knock on the door to his own room. So it was with fallen hopes that Zack opened to door.

Angeal stood outside with a large bag that wafted the smells of delicious take-away food that so few in Shinra could get away with purchasing and bringing onto the complex. The tall man had expected to find both Zack and Cloud in Cloud's room and had decided that after all the issues that they had faced recently, a good meal that was anything but cafeteria food. However the moment he saw Zack's face he knew something was wrong, especially when he didn't get so much as a 'hello' from the usually notoriously energetic young man as he was let inside.

"What's wrong Pup?" Angeal asked, his eyes scanning the room for Cloud and his shadow. He had pondered the issue for a while, but had eventually decided to get Reno some food as well; after all the red-head had managed to not screw up.

"Cloud's not back yet." Zack whined, his voice only portraying a small amount of the sadness he was feeling. It was his eyes that conveyed that message at a glance.

"Not back?" Angeal asked confused, "From the Labs?"

Zack gave a sullen nod in answer.

"There is no way that they should still have him down there…" Angeal muttered as he placed the food on the table in the kitchenette. Pulling out his PHS, Angeal decided that he would give Tseng a call before trying to contact the labs directly. Reno had to send in reports every few hours or so, and if Tseng could answer his question then it would be very much preferable to dealing with the confusing systems and secretive ways of the lab departments. The Wutain Turk answered after two rings.

"Tseng here." As usual, the Turk's voice was blank of all emotion and nothing but formal.

"Tseng, it's Angeal. I'm just trying to locate Cloud, would Reno have mentioned their location in his last report?"

The was silence on the other end of the line for a long moment and Angeal was beginning to wonder if perhaps the connection had been cut before Tseng finally spoke again.

"Reno has failed to report for the last several hours." There was the slightest hint of concern in the Turk's voice now, and at those words Angeal felt a stab of concern run through his heart and drop into the bottom of his stomach where it began to coil into an anxious knot.

"When was the last report?" Angeal asked, his own voice changing to that of a First Class SOLDIER and less of the kind mentor that he portrayed around those who knew him. Zack in the background looked up sharply from where he had been looking out the window at the nearly completely set sun. He knew that voice better than nearly anyone, and he knew especially in that moment that it meant trouble.

"The last report was received at 06:45 this morning; the two of them were on the way to laboratory departments." Tseng recited, having been looking over the report only minutes before Angeal rang; he had been concerned about the lack of report, but Reno was still young and he had been giving it more time in case the red-head had fallen asleep or something. After all, it certainly wouldn't be the first time.

"Shit…" Angeal cursed, watching as Zack moved closer to him with wide eyes; the earlier sadness and concern slowly becoming panic.

"I will try and contact Reno personally. Failing that I will make a visit to their last known location."

"Don't worry about a visit to the labs," Angeal said firmly, already heading for the door, "I'm heading there now. I'll keep you updated."

"I'll be waiting." Tseng responded crisply before hanging up.

"Angeal?" Zack asked, his voice almost quiet in his attempt to keep the still rising panic out of his voice. If Cloud was missing then that meant that things had gone really bad. And if that was the case then Razor had likely had something to do with it, and for Zack that was something that had appeared more than once in his nightmares. Loosing Cloud was probably his worst fear, and seeing Angeal ready to rush out the door scared the shit out of him.

"I won't lie to you Zack, there may be something wrong," Angeal said honestly, turning to look at the wide-eyed young man, "Now, if you are coming with me then you will need to keep a clear head and not let your emotions get the best of you at all. OK?"

The fear in Zack's eyes was almost instantly replaced with a steeled determination; it was one of the traits that had originally drawn Angeal to the idea of training Zack personally, the sheer determination and unwillingness to give up had impressed him from the beginning, from there it hadn't taken long for Angeal to recognise the base talent for a broad sword user as well, and that had been it, within the next week Zack had been assigned to him.

"Let's go." Angeal said, heading out the door with Zack and making their way straight for the labs. If there was anything going on there, they would find out, and they would make sure that if any harm had come to Cloud, that the person responsible would dearly wish they had not gotten out of bed that day.

XxXxX

Zack was pretty sure that it would be safe to say that most people very much disliked Shinra's science department, and he was no exception. Most of the scientists were closed off and secretive; always fearing that some outsider was there to steal their research on whatever it was that they actually did; only Gaia herself would know that. The reception staff was known for being the only ones that could be considered even remotely 'nice', and even then it depended on the person.

When Angeal and Zack walked into the familiar area of the labs they had both visited over the years for their own mako tests and injections, they were greeted with one of the rare nice receptionists. She smiled at them as they walked up and gave them a warm "Hello."

"Good evening," Angeal responded politely, his voice and face giving away absolutely nothing as to what he was truly feeling. "We were wondering if you would be able to assist us?"

"Of course," She responded, keeping her smile. Zack saw that her name tag read Alyson, "What do you need?"

"I am looking for a young Third Class who often trains with my student," Angeal explained, deciding that it would be best to simply assume a teachers role in the matter and display no personal interest, "He was due to train with us this afternoon but never showed. He was due for his mako testing this morning, and this was the last place that we have heard he attended."

The woman frowned for a moment in though, mentally running through the lists of mako tests due for the day. There weren't many this time around; something about an attack that wiped most of them out. She remembered only one test in the end, all the rest having been mako injections or post-injection check-ups.

"What is his name?" The woman asked, now pretty sure that she knew who they were talking about.

"Cloud Strife." Angeal responded.

"Yes, he came in this morning. But that was just after dawn. He went through for his preliminary checks not long after that." She explained, running through her memory of meeting the soft-spoken, spiky-haired blond. It was one of the few times in her career that she had been asked to work a complete double shift, and while it meant boredom and tiredness for her she supposed that she was at least able to help these people.

"Can you tell me when he left then?" Angeal asked, careful now to keep his voice clear. He had a distinct feeling that the labs was where something had gone wrong.

"I don't remember seeing him leave…" Alyson said, "Hold on a moment, I'll check the registry, they should have signed his out once he was finished."

Zack watched with bated breath as the woman turned to the computer next to her and began scrolling through the days registry, looking for anything with the mention of the apparently missing blond.

"Odd…" She muttered, running a check for 'Strife' through the systems.

"What's odd?" Zack asked, speaking for the first time since he had arrived, he kept his voice light and seemingly cheerful, but Angeal could detect the underlying tension.

"The system must have crashed or something…" Alyson explained as she done a quick system-reboot, "For some reason, there is no mention of your friend…"

Zack felt a stab of fear go through his chest at those words. He seriously doubted that it would be any system crash.

"Perhaps we could speak to the receptionist that was on duty this morning?" Angeal asked, thinking that after so long there was sure to have been a shift change.

"I've been here all day." The receptionist answered. "I remember him coming in with that sloppy looking red head. Mr Strife looked quite apprehensive, but he would be one among many when it comes to the mako testing. I remember watching one of the aids take him through to the rooms."

"But you don't remember him leaving?" Angeal asked.

"No, but he may have left when I went on my break."

Angeal knew they had hit a brick wall. With all mentions of Cloud wiped off the system the science department would be able to deny every admitting him for the testing, and that would make it much harder for them to be able to look around for their missing friend.

"Thank you," Angeal said, "Would you mind contacting me if something comes up?"

"Not a problem." Alyson said, getting the SOLDIER to write down a contact number, "I'll see if I can find the aid from earlier, and ask if he knows when your friend left. I'm sure he's just been caught up with something and will find you two soon."

Angeal nodded his thanks before turning to leave, he knew that they had been lucky enough as it was when they found someone who was willing to help them, but if they stayed and attempted to look around, he had no delusions that the scientist's would have their hackles raised in moments.

Zack followed along silently, listening to soft grumbles from the receptionist about 'damn faulty computers' as she tapped furiously at her keyboard in a way that only a receptionist could.

The determination that he had held onto before was slowly but steadily slipping away. He knew that Cloud would never leave them waiting by getting 'caught up', not with how dangerous things have been. Cloud would always get word to them is he was able to, and the only way he wouldn't be able would be if something was very wrong.

"What can we do now 'Geal?" Zack asked once they were back in the many halls of the Shinra compound.

"I think it would be best if he try and contact Vincent somehow. I have a feeling that he may be able to infiltrate the labs and look around, but I have no idea on how to go about contacting him…" The tall First frowned at nothing in particular as he spoke, but a few personnel who had been walking down the hall further up made it a quick habit of turning down the next possible corridor.

"What about Tseng?" Zack asked, "Surely he would know of a way to find Reno, and if we can find him then we might be able to find Cloud as well."

"Yes, but we need to remember to be careful around Tseng; he is much smarter than he lets people realise, and I believe he is already suspicious of Cloud's stories. If we make the situation seem as bad as we know it is, then that will blow everything that we have previously worked to achieve."

"But finding Cloud is more important!" Zack argued, feeling frustrated with everything, "At least if we tell Tseng that the situation is bad, Cloud might be able to live another day to keep fighting… I-I don't want to lose him 'Geal…"

Zack's voice in that moment was heartbreaking; never had Angeal heard the young man sound so desperate and fearful.

"I know Pup," Angeal said, placing a hand on Zack's head and ruffling his hair, "But we just need to take it slowly; Cloud will be fighting to get back to us, I'm sure. But we need to make sure that if he gets back he won't be walking right into a Shinra cell. We will still be looking for him, but we just need to be smart with how we do this. OK?... We won't lose him Zack. I swear it."

Zack looked up at Angeal with wide eyes, but some of the panic had once more been curbed. He wouldn't admit it, but he felt the same fear; he was just better at hiding it and thinking through it. He meant what he said after all; he would find Cloud even if he had to eventually tear Shinra apart to do so. He just hoped that if Cloud was in the situation that they feared, that he would be able to persevere for long enough for them to find him…

XxXxX

Back in the labs the receptionist Alyson was still looking over the files before her; it seemed odd that seemingly everything that the Science Department had on Cloud Strife had gone missing throughout the day, something that she knew wasn't the case when she had put him in the system this morning.

With a sigh, Alyson got up and placed a small sign on the desk that informed anyone looking for her that she would be back soon. Heading down one of the halls near by, the young woman went looking for the aid that had taken Strife into his tests that morning, unlike the receptionists, aids were often asked to remain on duty for a full day, especially since they often had long breaks and rest periods, so it would be no surprise if the aid was still in.

Something wasn't sitting right with Alyson; she had never heard of someone going missing within the Science departments, so at first she had been fairly sure that Strife had simply gotten caught up somewhere else. However, when she found all the records missing it had seemed an odd coincidence; especially since none of the other records for anyone else had been lost.

With a small shrug the receptionist walked into one of the main rest lounges, pushing the odd thoughts out of her head as she scanned the room. Finding the aid she was looking for, she walked over and waited politely for there to be a break in the conversation that he was having with another young man.

While waiting, Alyson took the time to scan the man the aid was talking to. Something seemed off about his eyes; she hadn't ever encountered completely black eyes before and when they flicked to her for a moment she felt a cold shiver run down her back. She decided instantly that this was one man she did not like.

"Can we help you?" The black-eyed man asked, his voice pleasant, but with an underlying icy edge to it that sent warning bells chiming in her head.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt you," Alyson said, really not wanting to offend the strange man before her. She turned to direct her question to the aid she had come in looking for, "I was just wondering if you could give me some information about one of the young men that you looked after this morning. There has been a computer glitch and all his information has been lost."

The aid looked mildly surprised for a moment, casting a look at the obsidian-eyes man next to him who also looked a bit surprised, but soon an amused glint showed in dark eyes and he nodded ever so slightly at the aid.

"Yes, what was his name?" The aid asked, his voice calm and collected.

"Cloud Strife." Alyson answered, not noticing the narrowing eyes of the man next to them, or even the tense posture of the aid before her.

"Yeah, what about him?" The aid questioned.

"I just really need to know when he left." Alyson explained, "I was there when he was signed in, so to rectify the information loss, I just need to know when he was allowed to leave."

Again there was a glance between the two men, but the receptionist, who was trying to ignore the dark-eyes man to the best of her abilities, did not notice the look.

"Just out of curiosity; what would prompt you to check his records this late into the evening?" This time it was the other man that spoke, and once again his voice seemed kind, but there was an edge to it that she couldn't help but fear slightly.

"Um… There were two of his friends that came looking for him, he must have been caught up with something and hadn't shown up for a training session or… something." Alyson answered, her voice carefully measured to hide just how much she disliked the man.

The man seemed to think for a moment before turning to the aid and giving him a meaningful look.

"I believe the paperwork is on your desk. I can take the young lady to retrieve it for you."

The aid nodded his consent and all too soon Alyson found herself following the creepy guy out of the room and down a few hallways towards the personal rooms used by the aids and underlings that work under the scientists. It was an area of the building she rarely went, especially since many of the aids were just as untrusting and suspicious as the scientists they worked under.

"Just in here." The man said, opening a door and walking confidently into the dark room. Alyson hesitated for a second before following, after all the sooner she finished this the quicker she could leave.

The light was turned on abruptly, causing the young receptionist to blink rapidly for a moment to adjust her eyes after the relative gloom of the hallways. Confusion swept over her as she found herself in a plain white room with next to nothing in it, the only object was a gurney against the wall. But it wasn't the gurney that was the confusing part; it was the unconscious man that lay upon it, wrists and ankles bound.

"What…?" Alyson breathed, stepping back slowly.

"You should have minded your own business."

Alyson spun around to face the man that had brought her here with wide eyes, the feeling of unease she had felt before growing into full blown fear as her eyes landed on the blade that he now held. In a movement quicker than she could even follow, that blade was sunk deep into the young woman's stomach, and twisted harshly.

At first she felt nothing as she looked down at the handle of the weapon where it sat against her stomach, a steady patch of bright red moving outwards as he blood soaked her shirt. Looking up slowly she met the cold, black eyes of the man that had undoubtedly been the cause of whatever had been happening. The pain hit a moment later and she was left gasping as she attempted to clutch the blade and preserve her life.

But another moment later, and her eyes glazed over with the sheen of the lifeless and her heart stopped as he blood began to pool on the floor below her.

Razor chuckled as he yanked the blade free of the annoying woman, spraying more blood about the room. There was the same satisfaction that he had once had when he had ripped the still beating heart out of a cadet's chest. Only this time there was the added triumph of knowing that he was truly winning this time and not just killing to bait his target.

"Well, now that she is dealt with," Razor muttered, moving over to where he had left Cloud until it would be safer to move him unnoticed, "I think it is time to move now."

Throwing a blanket that he had prepared earlier over the prone blond, he disengaged the gurneys locks and wheeled the bed from the room, completely ignoring the dead woman, and going right through the spreading pool of blood, leaving twin tracks of startling red out of the room.

XxXxX

He could hear crying.

It was soft, sweet and extremely heart-breaking in its sadness. It also seemed vaguely familiar, but for the life of him Cloud couldn't completely recognise who it was, nor could he find them either. He was standing in a field of flowers that he would usually associate with Aerith, but looking around he could see nothing of the flower-girl.

There was an urgency in the air that left him jittery, and he was sure that there was something so very important that he should be remembering or doing, but his mind felt hazy and slow. That was probably why he couldn't recognise a familiar voice either… It almost felt like he had been drugged…

Walking cautiously through the flowers, careful to avoid crushing any, he made his way slowly towards the weeping he could hear. The closer he got, the more the voice seemed to indeed be Aerith's, and that raised the question as to why she would be crying. Finally he was able to make out the figure of the flower-girl kneeling in the flowers with her back to him.

"Aer?" He questioned softly, using a nickname for the girl that he hadn't used in a long time.

When he got no reply, Cloud moved so that he stood just behind the girl, while he couldn't see her face, he could see the small crystal tear drops that fell between her fingers.

"Aer…" Cloud spoke softly, his voice almost pleading to know what was wrong.

"Cloud." Her voice was shaky, but it was good to at least hear her talk.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked softly, moving to sit so that their backs were resting against one another's. It was a calming position and soon Aerith's breathing eased and her tears stopped falling.

"I'm scared." She finally answered, "I'm scared that the pain you will feel will be too much…"

"Pain? Too much?" Cloud questioned, the feeling that he needed to remember something intensified at the words. Small flashes of a white room and fighting Razor flashed, but things felt to slow and hazy.

"Yes Cloud," Aerith replied, feeling the blond tense behind her as he fought the effects of whatever drug Razor had used that was able to bypass the usual nulling effects of mako, "I don't know what to do, and I'm scared that you won't be able to escape…"

Cloud had gone completely quiet as he tried to think straight, but it was difficult. Bringing his hands up to clutch the sides of his head Cloud put all of his focus into clearing his mind. Painfully slowly, he was able to remember his situation and eventually he looked back up and out over the fields of flowers.

"Dammit…" Cloud eventually muttered.

"You need to find a way out Cloud, before they can break you." Aerith said, her voice once more quite wobbly.

"They won't." Cloud said, grinding his teeth together, "They won't be able to."

"Cloud…"

"No Aer ,they won't be able to. They can hurt me, and they can try to break me, but they just can't. Not this time…"

"Promise me you won't give up?" Aerith asked, laying a hand on Cloud's arm.

"I promise."

It was a solemn promise, but it was full of a conviction that Aerith hadn't heard from the blond in a long, long time. It was refreshing to know that Cloud had finally rested up from the years of war and that he was no longer so soul-weary. He had a fire now that was perhaps burning brighter than she had ever seen.

And she figured that it all had to do with the people that Cloud had surrounded himself with; people who had hadn't been able to save, or even meet previously. It had done him good to be able to come to terms with everything. Especially since he wasn't known as a hero to the general people; he was just another face with a big destiny.

Aerith just hoped that Cloud would be able to stick to his convictions in the coming days; they were bound to be the one of the hardest that he would ever have had to face…

Cloud woke up slowly, his head ponding and his vision swimming with the fading effects of whatever Razor had used to knock him out. The room he was in was filed with the buzzing and whirling of machines and the glint of surgical steel from both a range of equipment and trays.

Cloud didn't even need to try and move to know that he was strapped down; it was something that he expected when waking up in such a situation as this. After all; he had once lived through four years in a laboratory of similar set up to this one, even if he couldn't remember much of the later years. That knowledge didn't stop him from trying to pull at the restraints, or trying to break them or jerk free.

Of course; nothing worked.

Fighting down panic was no easy task, but Cloud managed to force himself to lay still. Cloud had to admit that being detained after the massacre had actually come in handy as it have enabled him to 'practice' getting his thoughts in order while being in what was probably the only real situation that would usually leave him disorientated and panicked.

Taking a deep breath, Cloud began to analyse his situation. It appeared that, for the time being at least, he was alone. Apparently they were certain that there was no way at all for him to escape. Cloud was strapped to a steel surgical table by several reinforced leather bands; something that earlier attempts had already proven to be strong enough to keep him detained. Next to where he was strapped was a small cart that held a range of different, and rather concerning, equipment that could only be used to inflict pain, both mentally and physically.

With a sigh Cloud decided to ignore the table and the equipment and instead settled in to wait. Someone was bound to come sooner or later, and Cloud figured that the only way he would find a way out would be if he got lucky and they stuffed up somehow. Either way, he would have to be ready to act in a moment's notice.

It felt like days later that the electronic door to the room hissed open. Cloud was instantly alert from where he had been staring blankly at the roof far above him. The blond wasn't able to see who had entered from his position, but he could hear footsteps slowly moving his way.

"Good to see you're awake." Razor's voice was full of contempt and smugness, speaking volumes about just how sure he was that he had won. Cloud didn't bother with an answer.

Razor laughed at the stubborn silence he received, and walked over to stand next to the blond, sneering down at the mask of indifference he was faced with.

"You know, your friends are looking for you." Razor taunted, his smile warning Cloud that something bad had happened. His heart skipped a beat in his chest at the thought of Zack or Angeal being harmed. "Sneaky bastards came straight to the science department when you didn't go back. Got a poor little receptionist girl involved in trying to find you. She had to die of course."

Cloud kept any emotion from showing on his face, but he did pale slightly at the implications of Razor's words. He had killed someone that had been completely innocent.

"You know, I led her to the room I had been keeping you." Razor said, a look of innocence coming over his face, while his eyes sparkled with an excited glee, "She was so surprised to see you laying there; she had been the one to speak to you in the morning apparently. Anyways, you should have seen her face when I ran her through. Beautiful."

Razor laughed as any remaining colour drained from the blond's face as he recalled the sweet receptionist. Surely Razor was lying… He had to be lying.

But Cloud knew that he wasn't, the look in Razor's eyes spoke every work that he himself did not say.

"Why kill her?" Cloud finally asked.

"Why? Well because she was nosing into something that she should have just ignored. And besides, she had seen you. Couldn't let her live after she had seen you."

Cloud cringed as Razor laughed, sounding like a child who had just received the best gift in the world.

"Where is Reno?" Cloud said, gritting his teeth and hoping to Shiva that the Turk had not been hurt.

"Reno?... Oh the red-head from before? He's just over there." Razor said, sounding like he couldn't care less to even remember the other man.

Cloud had to strain his neck to look around far enough, but he was just able to catch sight of Reno chained to the wall behind a glass wall. The Turk was awake, but a gag that had been tied roughly around his head prevented him from making a sound.

"Let him go." Cloud ground out.

"Nope." Razor replied, his voice cheerful and chipper. "Besides, you have another visitor."

At those words the mechanical hiss of the doors once more sounded and a second pair of footsteps sounded into the room.

Cloud didn't have to see to know who it was.

"Ah, good to see you have woken my boy." The sneering voice of Hojo reached Cloud's ears before the sight of the man reached Cloud's eyes.

A glare that had always been reserved for the scientist appeared on Cloud's face as he was finally able to get a look at the scientist that seemed destined to plague him no matter what.

"Razor here has told me quite a lot about you, so I hope you don't mind that I will be conducting a few… experiments." The man's face informed Cloud that he would have no say in the matter anyway.

"I think I'll watch." Razor said happily, leaning against the table near Cloud's legs as Hojo pulled on a pair of gloves and reached over to the tray that he had prepared earlier.

Cloud ground his teeth together and steeled himself against what was to come. There was no way that he would give them the satisfaction of a single noise of pain. When Hojo cut through the material of his shirt and exposed his chest to the cold air, Cloud simply closed his eyes and brought a picture of Zack and Angeal to mind. The image had once helped him to fight off the darkness, and it would be able to do so again…

There was no sound from the blond as the first line of blood was drawn.

There was no twitch from taught muscles as ripples of pain ran through a prone body.

There was only the amused eyes of two cruel men who enjoyed the sight of blood, and who looked forward to breaking the so far stubborn man.

And there was the muted rattle of chains as a young red-headed man fought desperately to free himself to help someone that he had come to view as a friend…

Far from the lower labs, sitting on a now seemingly impossibly cold bed, there was the strangled gasp of a man who felt pain that did not seem to be his, and a single tear fell from glowing mako eyes…

Well I tried a few different things with this chapter, so I would like to hear some input from everybody about whether or not it was good.

I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts!