Cloud stared at Zack, watching his chest rise up and down. After returning back to their room, Sephiroth had placed Zack on one of the beds, leaving Cloud to watch over him.

The dark wing still was stretched out from Zack's back, occasionally twitching with feathers ruffling.

"I still can't believe Hojo gave him a wing…" Cloud murmured.

"That man will go to impossible ends. It's horrid that he would do this."

Cloud nodded. "Zack didn't deserve this. He was only helping us escape."

"And yet in this society, Hojo has brainwashed people to think this is a justifiable punishment. Zack had no reason to be involved in this, yet he put himself into danger's path by helping us, and now he's paid the cost."

""It's still wrong."

"I never said it wasn't. But, regardless of what's happened, we must make sure Zack is comfortable,"

Cloud nodded. "We'll help him. Can't be easy for him to just suddenly have a wing. He doesn't have the years of experience that we do."

"And I'll leave that part to you."

Cloud turned around to pout at Sephiroth. "What? Come on… You're so good at flying, you'd be better at teaching him."

"I'll help keep an eye out for him, but I am not going to be responsible for another child."

Now, Cloud was glaring at Sephiroth. "Not a child."

Sephiroth grinned, stepping closer so he could pat Cloud on the head. "If that's what you think."

Behind them, the door opened and the two looked to see Angeal and Genesis walking in.

"Ah, so the rumors were true, Hojo lured you back on false promises," Genesis stated.

"I already knew we couldn't trust him, but to go that far…" Sephiroth sighed. "It was beyond what I thought he was capable of."

"He mutated a human to have a wing," Angeal muttered, staring at Zack.

"And Zack's trapped here like the rest of us now," Cloud replied.

Angeal folded his arms. "That doesn't change the fact that he still is human."

Cloud lowered his head, he could hear the frustration in Angeal's voice. In the facility, Cloud knew that most Winged Ones had grown a disdain for humans. It was understandable given the imprisonment for most of their lives.

But, they didn't know Zack. He was different from the rest, and Cloud wanted to find a way to prove it.

He breathed in before turning to face Angeal. "Zack saved us! He's not just any human!"

"And his capture led to the two of you returning."

"That's not his fault!" Cloud argued. "He helped us escape, but Hojo capturing him isn't something I'll blame him for."

"Then why bother returning? You two had done the impossible and escaped," Angeal replied.

Cloud pouted. "Our freedom shouldn't come at the cost of someone's life."

Turning around, Angeal moved towards the door. "I wouldn't have bothered, and stayed where I was free."

Before Cloud had a chance to argue again, he left the room. Genesis came over to his side, however, and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Forget Angeal. I feel he has been more wound up as of late, considering what happened."

Cloud gave a nod. "Yeah… But I hope he can learn to like Zack. Zack's really nice."

"And I believe it."

Sephiroth sighed. "We'll just have to watch out for anyone else who may have a skewed perception towards him. But, I doubt anyone would truly do anything harmful."

Zack groaned suddenly, and his eyes slowly started to open. "Ugh… I feel like crap…"

"Zack! Are you awake now?" Cloud asked, running back to his side.

"C-Cloud? Whoa what happened to your hair?!" he asked, turning his head to the side.

Cloud knelt down next to the bed. "I had it cut and dyed. Are you feeling better?"

"I think so… What happened? I remember last I was… That Hojo guy captured me and…" His wing twitched and he gritted his teeth. "Shit that hurts!"

Breathing deeply, he looked around the room before tilting his head back, noting the wing. "Wait, I remember… Hojo had his men capture me, and he tied me up in his lab and…"

"You don't have to tell us," Sephiroth interrupted. "If it causes you too much stress to remember, we won't force you."

"But, he experimented on me! He kept injecting me with stuff and it was… and now I have…"

As soon as Cloud saw Zack breathing faster, he quickly leaned forward to hug him. The motion was enough to catch Zack off guard, having him pause before clinging to Cloud as if there was no tomorrow.

"I was scared, Cloud. I thought he was going to kill me."

"You're alive," Cloud whispered.

"But, you guys are stuck here again. We're all stuck here."

Cloud sighed. "Better to be stuck here than have Hojo kill you."

Zack held him tightly. "I'm sorry.."

"Don't be sorry, Zack. It's okay."

He heard Zack start crying, and it made him only want to hold on longer. He waited for Zack to cry all that he needed, never letting go once. The two of them sat there, in each other's arms, until Zack was finally ready to pull away.

He sniffled, wiping away a few tears. "So… I have a wing now."

Cloud nodded. "You do."

"And it's kind of heavy."

"You'll get used to it, and with being able to hide it, that relieves most of the tension," Genesis interjected.

Zack looked up, finally taking note of Genesis and Sephiroth who were still in the room. "Oh, hi Sephiroth. And…?"

"Genesis. I'm an old friend of Seph."

Zack pouted. "Does everyone get to call you Seph except me?"

Genesis chuckled, nudging Sephiroth in the arm. "Were you being too boring and cold to the guy? You know you can be more friendly than that."

Sephiroth looked away. "At the time we had barely just met Zack. I was keeping my guard up."

Suddenly, Zack was grinning. "Does that mean I can call you Seph?"

Sephiroth sighed. "I suppose you can."

"Alright! So, um… what do we do now?"

"I would suggest learning to hide your wing, but honestly…" Sephiroth crossed his arms. "Even with genetically altering you to give you a wing, we don't know if it has the same magic capabilities natural born Winged Ones have."

Cloud turned around, frowning slightly. "You mean Zack might not be able to hide it?"

"It's hard to say."

"Well, doesn't mean I won't try! Just tell me how to do it and I'll give it a shot!"

Cloud nodded and began to explain everything he knew to Zack. As the two started to talk, chatting and branching off into random conversation, Genesis and Sephiroth slipped out of the room.

"Want to walk to the caverns?"

"I'm fine with that."

As they walked, Sephiroth looked at the walls… cold, white and full of a dread he never wanted to experience again. He was confined to an underground cage once more. He knew it was of his own choice, for the sake of not having an innocent person's blood on his hands, but being back still brought a huge weight down on him.

There would most likely never be another chance to escape again. He would live out the rest of his days confined to this place, and never again would he or Cloud see the light of day again. Even when he was upset for himself, he felt even worse for Cloud. His main goal was for Cloud, wanting to get him out of this place so he could live a life out in the world.

All of that was gone, and even though he knew Cloud didn't hold it against him in any way or form, he still felt like he had to blame himself.

"Tell me what it was like."

"Hm?"

"The outside world. Has it changed since we were young?"

Sephiroth looked at him. "Why would you think a lot has changed?"

Genesis shrugged. "Some say life is always changing. 14 years could prove to make a lot of changes."

"And you think I remember before we were taken?"

Genesis laughed. "Your memory isn't that bad! You remember how we all used to play together back then. Back… before our wings."

"That was a simpler time," Sephiroth sighed, trying to not let the memories come back to hurt. "But, I wasn't focusing on the world around me."

Genesis smirked. "Well, tell me this. Is the sky still as blue?"

"Yes, of course it is."

"And flying in the sky?"

"It…"

Closing his eyes, Sephiroth remembered the feeling flying through the open air. It was so fresh and freeing, far greater than any flying down in the caverns could give. Up there in the large vastness of the sky, he felt like he could go on flying forever.

'How am I to explain that feeling…? The feeling of freedom? That isn't… Genesis may think I know, but I can't do it. I can't find those words…'

Sephiroth ended up shaking his head. "Not important to talk about. It's flying after all. All of it's the same."

Genesis hummed, clearly not convinced, but thankfully he knew not to press Sephiroth further. "If you don't wish to fly, then we don't have to."

"It's fine. Anything else you want to know?"

"Everything of course," Genesis said, a small smile curling up on his lips. "Tell me your adventurous or heroic levels. You whisked yourself and Cloud out of here in an amazing feat."

"Very well, but don't expect much, Genesis. It isn't as grand as you'd think."

He got a shrug from his friend as a response. "Anything is more grand than being here everyday."

That was something Sephiroth could agree on with everything he felt. He glanced around the walls as they came closer to the caverns. It was still impossible to think about a second escape, he knew deep down there was always going to be that pestering thought. It was pointless to dwell on it, as it would only pull him down deeper, but it didn't stop him from thinking it. He wasn't going to stop thinking about that freedom.

"I'm telling the truth, those boys were nothing but lovely."

"You're in denial, Abigail. They're nothing of the sort!"

"Yeah! They must've done something to brainwash you too."

Abigail shook her head, keeping her gaze firm. "And they brainwashed me to make them meals that they ate shyly and quietly each night? What would be the point other than guaranteeing themselves food? They never did anything other than stay and be polite."

"When they saw that poor boy being tortured by Hojo, they left so he wouldn't be hurt any further. They left as quickly as they could, because they aren't monsters!"

The others murmured around her, all of them still wearing expressions of concern. Abigail huffed. This was going to take a lot more convincing than she would have liked, but she wasn't going to give up. Those boys deserved better, and if she could help rally behind her idea, maybe there could be a future for them and everyone else trapped in that facility.

Back at it again with a new chapter! Things will be happening eventually again, but for now back to the Facility we stay!