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Darkened Skies	By : Cynthia Category: Final Fantasy VII > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 949 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all characters are the property of Square Enix. I do not profit from this fanfiction, it’s for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
"Darkened Skies"
Chapter fourteen: Trust issues
A Final Fantasy 7 AU fanfiction
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Author's note: Just a reminder that some time skipping will be necessary for the plot of this story. This chapter is designed to tie up some loose ends before the next series of events takes place.
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*Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix. This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.
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            Zack didn't trust himself to speak to Cissnei right away, after what he saw. He was afraid he'd snicker or say something inappropriate, so he just avoided her for a week and tried to cope with his feelings. One day after sitting down to his lunch in the cafeteria, he spotted her and Elena coming from the buffet line and he decided it was time to try and put it behind him. He called out to the girls and motioned invitingly at the empty seats at his table. They spoke to each other before approaching.
            "Zack, why are you looking at us that way?" Cissnei watched her ex suspiciously as she and Elena took his invitation to come and sit down by him.
            Zack forked up another mouthful of meat and he shrugged, dropping his eyes to his dining tray. "Just looking, Ciss. Is there a rule against ex boyfriends doing that?"
            She gave him a slightly suspicious little smile and unrolled the napkin holding her eating utensils. "No, but you weren't just looking...you were leering."
            "I was not," he argued after chewing and swallowing his food. He looked at Elena. "Was I?"
            She glanced askew at Cissnei before answering. "Kind of, yeah."
            "So what's on your mind?" Cissnei prompted.
            "Nothing, I just thought we could eat lunch together." He winked at Elena impulsively.
            "Uh-huh." The look of suspicion didn't fade from Cissnei's face.
            Zack realized he was falling back into flirty habits, and he decided to steer the conversation in a different direction. "So, are they keeping you busy?"
            "As always," agreed Cissnei. Elena handed her the salt and she thanked her before sprinkling some over her greens. "We've got an assignment after lunch. What about you? Are you taking good care of yourself?" Her eyes swept over him, softening a bit with fondness she couldn't hide.
            "I try. Angeal helps keep me in line."
            She chuckled. "Good. I should thank him, the next time I see him."
            Zack grinned mischievously. "So you worry about me, huh?"
            "Of course I do." Cissnei met his eyes soberly. "You've been through a lot."
            "Well, everything's going back to normal again, so you don't have to keep worrying about me." He gave her a crooked, charming smile. "It makes me feel good knowing you still do, though."
            He was tempted to spill the beans and let them know he knew they were more than friends, but he didn't know how they'd react and he didn't want to damage his tentative return to friendship with Cissnei. He sighed and tried to put thoughts of the two of them together out of his mind. It probably wasn't good for his health to perv on a pair of Turk women too much.
~*************************************~

            Just when Zack thought he was adjusting to his discovery that Cissnei was gay, he discovered the truth about his mentor and Genesis. It was a complete accident that might have been avoided if Angeal hadn't given Zack a keycard to his quarters, or perhaps if Zack had thought to knock before entering one Saturday morning on his way to training. He was up and out earlier than usual and he intended to check in with Angeal regarding weekly inspections. He knew Angeal and Genesis were sharing the living quarters, but despite his past suspicions of the redhead's sexuality, it truly didn't dawn on him that they could be an item—until he walked through the door and saw the evidence.
            "Hey Ange, I'm on my way to morning training with my recruits and I thought I'd…uh…"
Zack trailed off and stared stupidly for a moment, trying to comprehend what he was seeing. Angeal and Genesis lay on the bed together, as naked as the day they were born. They were both on top of the sheets and Genesis was sprawled on top of the bigger man, with his cheek resting on his chest. One of Angeal's hands rested intimately on Gen's bare ass, and the other lay over his shoulder. Both of them stirred at the sound of Zack's voice, and Genesis lifted his auburn head from Angeal's chest and peered blearily up at the intruder through mussed bangs.
Bewildered, Zack blurted an apology. "Uh, sorry. I didn't know you guys would be…er…naked…and stuff. I'll just go now, okay?"
Angeal looked sleepily concerned and he rolled Genesis off of him as he made a grab for the discarded boxers lying on the corner of the bed. "Zack? Wait, we should talk about this."
"It's cool," Zack said hastily, nearly tripping over himself to retreat. "I think I get it. Uh, see you during rounds, guys."
"Do not go out that door, Zack," demanded Angeal. He finished tugging his boxers on and Genesis slipped into a robe. "We're going to talk about this before you go anywhere."
"You just had to give him a keycard," grumbled Genesis crossly. He went to the kitchenette and started the coffeemaker, hardly giving Zack a second glance.
Zack obeyed Angeal's order instinctively, shutting the door the rest of the way behind him despite his misgivings. He began to blush profusely, embarrassed as hell by the whole situation. "Hey, if you guys like to sleep naked, it's not my business."
Genesis paused in the action of getting a coffee cup from the cabinet and he stared at Zack, before looking at Angeal. "Your puppy does denial better than anyone I've met, Angeal."
Angeal sighed and motioned to the little couch in the room. "Zack, sit down. It's past time for us to talk about this. Genesis, don't tease him. He's been through enough."
The redhead rolled his eyes. "Far be it from me to damage a fragile young mind. I'll go and have a shower while this is brewing, and you can have your talk about the facts of gay life, and the wisdom of keeping it to himself."
Zack watched Genesis go into the little bathroom and he felt a little more secure when it was just he and Angeal in the main room. He looked up at his mentor and he felt like an idiot. Genesis was right; he was trying to deny what was right in front of him. He never would have picked Angeal as a gay man, though, even though he'd never shown any interest in the fairer sex.
"H-how long have you two been…you know?" Zack took a seat on the couch as Angeal sat on the edge of the bed. All things considered, he thought he was handling it pretty well.
Angeal sighed and glanced at the bathroom door. "It happened after we defected, while we were working on a cure for the deterioration and seeking answers. We've always had a special bond, Zack, but after coming so close to losing him, I came to terms with the truth of my feelings. We've been together ever since."
"Why didn't you tell me?" demanded Zack, losing some of his embarrassment in the face of indignity, "and why give me a keycard, when I could just come barging in on you two…doing stuff?"
"The keycard exchange was done for emergency purposes," reminded Angeal dryly, "not just dropping in on a whim, without knocking."
Zack grimaced. "Okay, maybe I abused the privilege a little. I sure didn't expect to walk in on that, though."
Angeal gave him a reserved, quiet smirk. "As I said; having access to each others' private quarters is no excuse to bust in on each other without knocking, except in emergencies. I'm sorry you had to find out that way, Zack. I planned to tell you when things settled down more." He sighed and combed his fingers through his dark, disheveled hair. "Is this going to be a problem, Zack? Can you keep this to yourself? Genesis and I don't necessarily mind other people knowing, but we'd rather not advertise the details of our relationship, understand?"
Knowing how it could complicate things if word got out, Zack nodded. "You don't have to worry about that. I understand. Well, I don't totally understand, but you guys are my friends and that's more important to me than my confusion. I swear I'll knock from now on…believe me."
Angeal chuckled. "I'll bet you will. You really never suspected before?"
Zack shook his head, grinning sheepishly and shrugging. "You guys are really subtle about it, or maybe I've just been ignoring the signs." In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he realized he'd seen hints here and there but never thought much of them.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" pressed Angeal with brotherly concern.
"What, you mean like do I think you're going to make a pass at me?" Zack chuckled and shook his head, remembering the time he thought Reeve was making a pass at him in the elevator. "I think you would have done that by now, if you were going to. You're still my mentor and friend, and after everything I've seen and done since coming to the city and joining SOLDIER, finding out you're gay is small potatoes. I'll get used to it."
The bigger man relaxed visibly. "I'm grateful for that."
"Don't sweat it." Zack checked his watch, trying not to look as uncomfortable as he felt. "Don't take this the wrong way Ange, but I'd better go before Genesis comes back out."
Angeal nodded in understanding. "I'll see you when we do inspections later, then."
~*********************************~

            Zack knew he promised not to tell anyone, but when he and Sephiroth were going over the recruitment records later that day, he couldn't resist saying something. He tried to be subtle about it, but subtlety had never been his forte.
            "Hey Seph, have you ever noticed anything unusual about Angeal and Genesis' relationship?"
            The general didn't pause in his typing, his cat's eyes going over the flickering monitor of his computer screen. "Define 'unusual'."
            Zack bit his lip. "You know…different from how they treat us."
            "They've always been close."
            Zack squirmed in his seat, trying to think of a way to discuss it without blurting it out. "I know, but sometimes I get the feeling there's a little more to it than that."
            "You mean because they're lovers." Sephiroth kept typing, and his voice remained pleasantly neutral.
            Zack's eyebrows shot up. "Uh, I didn't say that, but now that you mention it, I could see how—"
            "You can drop the coy act, Zackary. You're no good at it." A bare hint of a smirk curved Sephiroth's lips, illuminated by the glowing monitor. "I presume you've just made this discovery and you want someone to discuss it with."
            Zack wondered if he was wearing a sign or something. "Man, how do you do that? So, you already knew?"
            "Yes."
            "Well, how long have you known?" pressed the brunet.
            "Since they returned. We've known each other for a long time, after all."
            Zack sighed. "Right, you guys went through training together. I still can't believe I didn't figure it out before now, though. I've known Angeal long enough, at least."
            Sephiroth glanced at him. "That's because you still lack observation skills outside of combat, unless the subject of your interest has breasts. You're improving, little by little."
            Zack flushed. Leave it to Sephiroth to mix a smack-down with a compliment. "Gee, thanks."
            He knew he'd adjust to the knowledge with time, just as he'd come to accept the truth about Cissnei. In fact, it was probably going to be easier to cope with Angeal and Genesis' situation, seeing as neither of them was his ex and their relationship didn't personally affect him in any way. At least he could be around them without worrying about getting turned on by the thought of them making out together, too.
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            Several more months went by, and Reeve kept trying to hack the classified databases without getting caught. His project was moving along faster than his efforts to procure secret information, and he warned Lazard and Sephiroth that he might not succeed in his endeavor until he completed his project. When asked what exactly this project was, he said he'd show them when it was finished. Both of them knew it would do no good to press him for more information, so they left it at that. In the meantime, Lazard concentrated on keeping his department organized and Sephiroth continued his normal duties of overseeing the training of new recruits and leading any missions they gave him.
            After his encounter with Hojo, Genesis made sure to avoid being stuck with him as his doctor again. He never said anything aloud to his companions, but for a while a part of him wondered if Hojo had managed to do something to him in the brief time he had him on the examination table.   He didn't feel any different, but he knew too much about Hojo's endeavors to brush it off.
            With time, Genesis worried less about it. He reasoned that if Hojo had done anything significant to him, symptoms would have appeared by now. He and Angeal took their job as instructors seriously, glad to be caught up in their duties again. Genesis still suffered nightmares from time to time and Angeal was always right there by his side when he did, comforting him and soothing him back to sleep.
            It took over six months for Reeve to finish his project, and once he did, he disappeared for a while, taking unused paid leave to finish things up. He called up Lazard when he was finished and he invited him and the Soldier officers to come to his place and see his new invention. It wasn't what any of them were expecting.
~****************************~

            "Come in and have a drink," invited Reeve, stepping aside to allow his guests into his apartment. "The bar is over there, just pick your poison and help yourselves."
            Zack looked around with interest at the modern, loft-style interior. "Nice digs, Reeve. I still almost expected something bigger, though."
            Reeve joined Lazard behind the bar and he reached for a bottle of scotch with a black-gloved hand. "I could have afforded something bigger, but it would have been a waste. I spend most of my time at HQ anyways."
            "So where is this invention of yours that's going to allow you to break through Hojo's firewall?" Sephiroth asked, looking around with narrowed green eyes.
            "Patience," advised Reeve.
            "We've been trying to hack the system for more than a year," reminded Sephiroth, unsmiling. "How patient do you want me to be?"
            "Just show us the finished product," advised Lazard.
            Reeve spread his hands. "You're looking at it."
            Genesis raised a brow, pausing in the middle of pouring himself a Vodka. "Is that supposed to be some form of irony?"
            "No," assured Reeve with a smile, "It's not ironic, but it's pretty cool."
            "I don't understand," admitted Angeal. "Did you manage to hack the database without your project?"
            The older man shook his head. "No. Here, let me get my laptop and I'll give you a demonstration."
            Confused but curious to see where this was going, the SOLDIER operatives and Lazard waited as Reeve went into another room—presumably his workshop—and came back out with a laptop computer. It was already powered up and he set it down on the glass-top coffee table in the middle of the living room, motioning them to join him as he sat down before it on the crescent-shaped couch.
            "Do you remember the conversation we had last year, General, around the time when Lt. Rhapsodos came back injured from the Wutai mission?"
            Sephiroth nodded uncertainly. "Vaguely."
            "You were pushing me to work faster," reminded Reeve, "and I said short of plugging myself into the system to communicate directly with it, I couldn't work any faster than I already was."
            "I recall something of the sort. Are you going somewhere with this?"
            Reeve reached into the breast pocket of his navy colored, button-up shirt and he produced something that looked like a headphone jack, only there weren't any headphones on the other end of the wire. Instead, there was another data jack. While they watched, Reeve brushed aside some hair at his left temple to reveal a shaved patch. Sephiroth frowned and stared at the spot, noticing that it looked like something was embedded into the skin. Even his normally stoic visage cracked as he watched Reeve push one of the jacks into his temple.
            "Reeve," Lazard sputtered, "What have you done to yourself?"
            "I gave myself an upgrade."
            "Holy shit, you're like a cyborg or something," blurted Zack with widened eyes.
            Reeve gave him an amused look as he turned his laptop a little. "I'm still just as human as you are, Zack. You've been augmented with Mako, I've been augmented with circuits. This is just an advanced means of networking...one that works at the speed of thought and might be able to accomplish what I've been trying to do for all this time."
            "How in the hell did you graft that thing into your temple without giving yourself brain damage?" demanded Genesis.
            "I know some people outside the company that were able to refer me to a surgeon for the job."
            Genesis snorted. "And they say I'm crazy."
            "I made a judgment call and so far, it's worked in my favor. Now everyone be quiet while I plug in. I wanted you to all be here when I try to tap Hojo's network for the first time with this."
            They quieted down as advised and watched as he plugged the other end of the jack into his computer. His pupils dilated and contracted briefly as he began to silently communicate with the system, and windows began to pop up on the screen. A restricted access warning appeared after a few minutes, and dots began to form in the password window where the letters would go. The box flashed and refreshed, and the cycle started again. It was happening with astonishing speed, leaving little doubt that Reeve was in fact communicating directly with the database he was trying to crack.
            "I don't see how this will make it any more likely for you to break in," reasoned Genesis. "Okay, so you're communicating with the system faster, but it's still nothing you couldn't have done with a standard keyboard."
            "It isn't just the head jack," answered Reeve absently, hardly slowing his efforts. "The real magic is in my laptop. I've created a tunneling program for getting past the firewall. If I do this right, not even Hojo's security can stop me for long. This could still take a while, though. Feel free to refresh your drinks if you run out."
            The other men looked at one another dubiously.
~********************************~

            After an hour, Reeve still hadn't had any luck and Zack spoke softly to his companions at the bar while they refilled their drinks.

"I know Reeve is our best shot at this, but I'm starting to wonder if the guy's snapped." He looked over his shoulder at the man in question, who was cursing softly and staring at the screen of his laptop. "This is like some kind of sci-fi show. I'm afraid he's lost it, man."
            "I've seen enough strange things in my time as a Soldier to believe what he claims is possible," Sephiroth answered, "but if he doesn't have results within another hour, we'll intervene."
            "So you really think he could pull this off?" Zack pressed. "You're not even a little worried about the guy?"
            Angeal patted the younger Soldier's arm. "He seems okay, Zack...if frustrated. I promise, if it looks like he could need medical attention, we'll get him to a hospital right away."
            "It's his mind he's worried about," Genesis pointed out, "Not his body. Frankly, I think Zack may be right. Sane people tend not to drill holes in their temples."
            "He doesn't seem any more or less sane to me than he ever does," argued Lazard. "Wait and let the man try his idea. We don't have a good enough reason to assume he's lost his mind."
            "Did you not hear my comment about drill holes in the temples, Director?" Genesis made a gesture at his own head.
            "Yes, I heard and I agree that under normal circumstances, that would be a sign of insanity." Lazard spared a glance at Reeve. "But these circumstances are far from normal. I think he knows what he's doing."
            Reeve's shout distracted them from any further arguing they might have done.
            "Hot damn, I'm in!"
~**************************************~

            They gathered around Reeve and his computer, watching as he began to download files.
            "You did it," Lazard said, impressed.
            "Told you," answered Reeve smugly. "But I've only got a short window to do this before the security system starts countering me. I'm grabbing everything I can, as fast as possible. I'll have to decrypt it all later and hope it's something we can use."
            "Good work," Sephiroth approved.
            "I'll go straight for the President's database after this," announced Reeve, his eyes intent on the screen. "I hope you realize this may be a one time good deal. I don't expect the files to stay put for long, once they figure out someone managed to access some of them."
            "Just get as much as you can get," urged Lazard.
            Reeve nodded and compressed his lips in concentration. After a while, his expression changed and his dark eyes flicked over the screen with consternation. "Uh-oh."
            "What?" demanded Zack. "What's 'uh-oh'?"
            "Um...it's a tracer."
            Genesis raised his brows. "As in something that can track your connection back to you?"
            "That's how it works, yes." Reeve tensed and shook his head. "It came out of nowhere. Sorry Director, but I'm going to have to abort."
            "Do it," agreed Lazard.
            Reeve shut down the program hastily, cutting off his link to Hojo's database. He took a slow breath and looked around at the other men. "Five more seconds and they would have known where I am. I've never seen a tracer pop up that fast before. It's like that damned network is alive or something."
            "Maybe it was in one of the files and you triggered it when you started to download it," suggested Sephiroth, slightly more knowledgeable about computer systems than his fellow Soldiers.
            "It's possible," agreed Reeve, "Damn it!"
            "At least you managed to get something," comforted Angeal. "Maybe enough to confirm our suspicions or answer some questions."
            "One can hope," sighed Reeve. He detached the jack from the computer and his temple. "One thing's for sure, I won't be getting back in that way again. The system will adapt and be ready for me, if I try. I'll get started tomorrow on the decrypting. I'm too tired to do it now and I don't want to make any mistakes and lose anything by accident."
            Angeal frowned as he remembered something. "Look for anything with the name 'Deepground' in it."
            "What's Deepground?" asked Reeve.
            Genesis regarded Angeal thoughtfully. "It's the project Hollander said he briefly worked on, before Hojo replaced him. Correct?"
            Angeal nodded. "It was supposed to be a more advanced SOLDIER program, from what I understand. Supposedly they shut it down, but another project might have piggybacked on it."
            "And it's entirely plausible that Hojo used the research from that project to start another one," agreed Sephiroth. "Finding the information on one could lead to information on the other."
            Zack shuddered. "I remember those things we found in the capsules at the Nibelheim reactor. That's what happens with over-exposure to Mako, right? Maybe those creatures were part of whatever Hojo's been up to."
            Sephiroth shook his head. "No, those were rejects from older experiments. Hojo is past making mistakes like that now."
            "He'll just make all new ones," quipped Genesis dryly. "But I'm sure that won't deter him from playing with genetics."
            Zack raised an interesting question, then. "What are we supposed to do once we have the evidence we need? If the president is in on it, we can't exactly have Hojo arrested. If anything, we'll probably be the ones to get locked up, or even executed. We're talking government conspiracy here, guys."
            The others looked at one another, at a loss. "We've been concentrating so hard on getting information, we never discussed that," Reeve said. "The kid's got a good point. Without knowing which departments are in on it, we can't trust anyone with whatever information we manage to scrape up. For all we know, we could be the only ones that aren't in on it."
            "So what are we saying?" sighed Genesis. "Even if all of this effort pays off, we can't do anything with the information?"
            "Not with the president in charge of the company," answered Sephiroth. "Unless we're wrong about his involvement. Reporting Hojo to him would not only be useless, but it could backfire significantly on us. We need to know who's involved before we proceed with any reporting. If President ShinRa is in on it as I suspect, then nothing short of a change in leadership will make a difference."
            "Or an uprising," sighed Lazard, "which I was once prepared to ignite, but now feel we'd be left with nothing but ash in the end."
            Reeve nodded. "Like it or not, ShinRa inc. is in fact a government body, not just a big corporation. Bringing it down would result in anarchy, if it could even be done. I think we're best off doing more digging, before we make any big moves. We need to know what we're up against."
            "Well, there's nothing more to do here tonight," remarked Lazard with a glance at his watch. "I suggest we go home and get some rest. Reeve, let me know when you've decrypted the data you managed to collect. We'll arrange a meeting to discuss it and go from there."
~***************************************~

            Unfortunately, Reeve didn't get nearly as much data as he would have liked. Most of it was utterly useless for their purpose, being research data for projects that he knew were official. The only hint of illegal activity he found was tied to the "Deepground" project mentioned by Angeal, and the small snatches of information he found on that wasn't enough. He arranged the meeting with Lazard and Sephiroth and he showed them his findings.
            "I did find a reference to that department you've mentioned before, General. SOLDIER unit 14: Lost Force."
            Sephiroth's interest piqued. "And?"
            "They were a special forces unit charged with recovering injured Soldiers from the battlefields during the Wutai conflicts. They brought them to Deepground for treatment, supposedly. What's interesting is the Soldiers they took never seemed to have made it back out again."
            "Where is Deepground?" Lazard asked.
            Reeve shrugged. "I have no idea. Perhaps Hollander knows?"
            "Angeal reported that Hollander alleges he never saw the location. According to him, 'Deepground' was the name of the project. He was cut from it before he ever saw the facilities they were using."
            "So he says." Lazard looked at each of his companions in turn. "I know that Hollander wants to see Hojo fall more than anyone—except perhaps your friend Valentine, Reeve. I also know the man is crafty, and if he thinks he has more to gain by keeping some information to himself, I wouldn't put it past him."
            "You could always have someone smack him around a little," suggested Reeve. "I'm sure Hewley could be convinced, if you get a few drinks into him and make him forget about honor."
            "Hewley would kill him if he drank enough to forgo his sense of honor," Sephiroth said with certainty. "But he could talk to him again and try to persuade him with words. As we've witnessed before, Hollander seems more inclined to share information with his biological son than anyone else."
            Lazard nodded. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try. What else did you find, Reeve?"
            The executive grimaced and scratched the stubble growth on his chin. "I'm afraid that's all."
            The director stared at him. "That's it? That's all of the information you were able to find in all of that data?"
            "It's all the information pertinent to our goal that I was able to find, yes. The rest was all research and lab data for official projects. I guess Hojo kept them encrypted to protect them from other scientists in his department. He's always guarded his work jealously."
            Sephiroth got out of his chair and walked over to the window overlooking the city below. "Then we're really no closer than we were before."
            Reeve lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry. I'll keep trying. You know, there is a possibility that Hojo isn't heading some top secret project, after all. Maybe we haven't found anything because there's really nothing to find."
            Sephiroth shook his head, making the pale silk of his lustrous hair sway. "No. He's doing something. I can feel it. We're merely looking in the wrong place."
            "You don't think the information is in the database?" asked Lazard.
            Sephiroth turned partially to regard him. "It could be stored somewhere else. It could even be on physical files. If not, then he predicted someone might get through eventually and he moved the data before Reeve got to it."
            "Also a reasonable possibility," agreed Reeve. "So that leaves us with trying to keep an eye on him and monitor his comings and goings. My hacking attempts failed, but I'm reasonable sure I could plant some monitors and tracking devices, if I'm careful enough."
            Lazard and Sephiroth glanced at each other. "Back off for a while," suggested Sephiroth. "If you start behaving strangely after breaching his database, he'll start suspecting something."
            "That's sound advice," agreed the engineer. "He's already demonstrated some suspicion of me once before. I'll give it a few weeks before I start planting bugs. Oh, there was one other thing in that data that gave me pause, but only because it looked like a misplaced urban development file."
            "Oh?" Lazard asked. "What was it?"
            "Sector zero." Reeve looked at both of them and shrugged. "It was mentioned in a small document, but there were no extensive details."
            Lazard shook his head and furrowed his brows. "There is no sector zero."
            "I know, but it looks like they might have planned to build one, at some point. Maybe it even goes all the way back to the construction of Midgar, and they nixed it. I've certainly never heard of it before. General?"
            "Neither have I," confirmed Sephiroth.
            "Then it's probably just old data that got mixed up in there," sighed Reeve. "Sorry I couldn't give you more."
            "You tried," Lazard said graciously. "Though I wish you hadn't felt the need to graft that thing to your head."
            "It's painless," assured Reeve, "and it's part of a bigger project I'm working on. I think I would have done it regardless, eventually."
            "You aren't planning on further 'additions' are you?" Lazard's concern was sincere.
            Reeve chuckled. "Nothing extreme, I assure you. Any further modifications will be very subtle. I'm not turning myself into robot."
            "I trust you know what you're doing." Lazard shook his hand. "Thank you for your efforts, Tuesti. We'll keep at it, of course, but I think we've done all we can with this method."
            "For now," conceded Reeve.
            "Whatever happened with the investigation the president agreed to conduct in the slums?" Lazard asked. "Did you see any results from that?"
            Reeve shook his head. "Not a thing. My guess is the investigation was bogus, or else called off completely. He agreed to do it to shut me up. The number of disappearances seems to have dropped since then, though."
            "Interesting. If those numbers start to rise again, let me know."
~*******************************~

            Sephiroth explained everything to Angeal, Genesis and Zack and he warned them to keep a sharp eye out for any odd behavior within their ranks and the company itself. He also asked if any Soldiers under their command had gone missing, be they new recruits or higher ranking operatives. When he got negatives from all three of them, he reminded them to keep a close eye on their ranks and report any absences.
            "You think people might start defecting again?" Zack asked.
            "This isn't about defection," answered the general, "it's about abduction. The secret unit we learned of brought injured Soldiers to this 'Deepground' facility, wherever it was. If it's still in operation, they could very well start the abductions again."
            "How do we know the Soldiers taken in for treatment didn't just die there from their injuries?" Angeal asked.
            "We don't," answered Sephiroth, "but considering what Hollander told you about Deepground, I'm inclined to believe they ended up as research specimens. Speaking of Hollander, I need you to talk to him again. Ask him about Deepground again, and see if he can give you any further information at all."
            As unpleasant as Angeal found it to interact with his biological father, he didn't protest. "I'll see what I can get from him," he promised.
~*******************************~

            While the Soldiers plotted with their Director and Reeve to uncover a suspected conspiracy, others were working hard to keep it covered up. After discovering the latest breech in his network, Hojo arranged a meeting with President Shinra, Scarlet and Heidegger.
            "I do hope you took my advice," he told them, "and moved any data which could lead to discovery of our little project."
            "That was done the moment we realized someone was trying to hack the network," assured the President, "but I'm surprised you left data in your network for them to find, Professor."
            Hojo favored him with a sly smirk. "I purposely left data in there for our intruder to find. There was nothing useful in it; mere snatches of information and old documentation that I no longer have a use for."
            "Why leave anything for them to find at all?" Heidegger demanded.
            "As bait, of course. I wanted our 'friend' to think he was doing well, to give my subject time to locate him. Unfortunately, the culprit withdrew before the trace could be applied."
            "So we still have no idea who's been trying to infiltrate us," reasoned the President.
            "I have a suspicion," Scarlet said with a scowl. "It's a known fact that Tuesti thinks of himself as some sort of inventor, outside his usual line of work. I've been asking to have him investigated for months, now!"
            "He claimed someone tried to hack into his database too, though," reminded Heidegger.
            "So he says," snorted the blonde woman. "But I don't trust him. Don't forget the questions he was bringing up about the missing slum dwellers in our last board meeting."
            "Then we'll have him watched," said President Shinra. "But not too closely. I'm satisfied with his work and until I have evidence that he's responsible, I want him to stay right where he is. Whoever our culprit is, it's unclear exactly what they're after. All departments have reported hacking attempts, including the Turks. That's why I ordered a cut-back on recruitment, for a while."
            Scarlet nodded. "A wise decision, sir. Have you put anymore thought into bringing the VP into the project?"
            "Rufus still has some growing to do before I'm satisfied that he's ready for that, but he will be a part of it in due time."
            Scarlet compressed her lips briefly, before nodding. "I believe your son is ready for it, but the decision is yours, Mr. President."
            The president decided not to linger on the subject of Rufus, and he walked over to the big window overlooking the city below. When he spoke again, it was to address Hojo. "Speaking of the subject you mentioned before, have you discovered a way to harness or replicate her abilities to spread to other subjects, Professor?"
            "That will take more time, I'm afraid," answered Hojo. "As a specimen, she isn't nearly as impressive as our genetically engineered subjects; particularly those born of two enhanced parents. Her potential is impressive, however."
            "Then focus on bringing that potential to the surface," suggested President Shinra. "With recruitment down and the low survival rate of first-time subjects, we need to make everything count. The sooner we can finally replace the old SOLDIER program, the better."
            Heidegger cleared his throat. "While we're on the subject, some of the Tsviets have been giving the Restrictors some trouble."
            The president frowned. "Trouble? Their control chips should prevent disobedience."
            Scarlet gave Heidegger an annoyed look. "They do. Don't listen to him, Sir. He's exaggerating."
            "If our most powerful soldiers are becoming even slightly un-manageable, I want to know about it. Which Tsviets are causing trouble and how are they doing it?"
            "Weiss and his younger brother Nero, mostly," answered Heidegger before Scarlet could answer. "Rosso too…but that girl has always been a handful. They haven't been able to outright defy their orders, but they've started testing things. You can tell they're working things out, looking for loopholes."
            "When did this begin?" Demanded Hojo, "and why wasn't I told?"
            "Because defiant glares and a few well-earned shocks don't constitute an emergency," insisted Scarlet. "The Restrictors have everything handled. The subjects are quickly brought back to heel whenever they try to defy their orders. They've just become more stubborn, that's all. They are still completely manageable."
            "When did this new defiance start?" asked Hojo again, narrowing his eyes warningly on her.
            Scarlet and Heidegger looked at each other, both shrugging. "I guess some time after the latest round of treatments done on them," answered the latter. "What difference does it make?"
            "After we introduced the new G-cell formula?" pressed the scientist, his voice oddly intense.
            "Yes," answered Scarlet. "But I doubt Rhapsodos' cells have anything to do with—"
            "You're no scientist, my dear," Hojo interrupted impatiently. "Those samples we collected were different from the ones first used…taken from a subject whose cellular structure changed."
            "Because of Hollander curing the degeneration," reasoned the president, having gained some scientific knowledge in his involvement in the project.
            Hojo shrugged, grudgingly giving credit where it was due. "What matters to me is the possibility that the infusion of these cells has altered the behavior of the subjects. Are any of the other recipients of that formula showing similar changes?"
            Scarlet thought about it for a moment before shaking her head and beside her, Heidegger echoed her sentiments. "Only those three, so far. The others seem to follow their lead."
            Hojo wasn't surprised by this. "Weiss has always been the alpha of that pack. We may need to examine their chip programming and make some adjustments."
            Scarlet came up with a chilling possibility, then. "What if our hacker friend were to find his way into the Deepground mainframe and reprogram the chips, or disable them entirely?"
            The president didn't need Hojo to answer that question for him. "That would be a disaster. They would have to be put down, if they ever slipped control. Fortunately, the Professor and I have implemented a contingency plan in the event that something ever goes wrong with the programming. We don't need to worry about that network getting hacked, however. It's only accessible through the Deepground super computer. What we need to focus on right now is keeping the progress going strong, and if that means eventually making more spending cuts to other departments, so be it. Safeguard all pertinent data, keep your guard up and report any suspicious activity you find."
~*********************************~

            For a good long while, their efforts to keep the project covered up were a success. New "recruits" for the program were "collected" from various locations, to continue swelling the ranks of the secret army without depleting the population of Midgar sectors and raising more questions. Hojo found ways of procuring more cellular samples from members of the regular SOLDIER program, mainly through subterfuge. He knew Sephiroth was keeping an eye on him, even though he couldn't officially put him under investigation. Hojo knew how to get around such things, however, and he frequently did.
Reeve Tuesti was also well aware that he was being watched, though he couldn't pinpoint the source. Sometimes, he wondered if he was being paranoid. Much like the people he'd tried to spy on, Reeve took care to safeguard his work and he destroyed any data he didn't absolutely need a copy of. He eventually created a new form of artificial intelligence and grafted sensory circuits into his fingertips. The nanotechnology was a breakthrough, and he began to find ways to poke around the company database for short periods of time without being detected. He did not, however, find any further evidence to support the conspiracy theories and eventually, even Sephiroth began to accept the possibility that it really was just theory, rather than fact.
For a little over four years, life went on without any outstanding events—barring some disputes between departments that always managed to pop up. SOLDIER eventually ridded Wutai of rebel factions, the Turks protected company secrets and procured new recruits by order of the President. Rufus' seat of power in Junon grew stronger, and Scarlet commuted between there and Midgar as needed.
Satisfied by the progress Rufus had made, President Shinra decided that it was time to show him the true power he stood to inherit, some day. It was around that time that the first disaster struck.
~*********************************~

-To be continued
- 13
- 14
- 15
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Darkened Skies