Assassins in Gaia

Ace returned to Midgar as fast as he could on Solaris who was already pushing herself. He had received a message from Zack a week ago asking if he had taken Cloud along with him. He did do that before but that was only because his eagle sight was giving him trouble. But he would never take Cloud to an uncharted territory, that would be dangerous. Zack had become frantic after he was informed Cloud was not with him and he had started to return to Midgar.

Six months after Cloud disappeared:

Zack was frustrated, "There is still no news from Cloud or Lucien."

Aerith, "I'm sure, they are safe Zack. If Cloud died we would know."

Tifa, "Because Gaia would be mourning?"

Aerith, "Yes, I must say, I'm very worried though."

Reno, "There are things out there that are worse than death."

Tifa, "RENO!"

Reno, "Sorry man... Hey, don't worry though, yo. Vincent and Veld are on the case. Not to forget, I heard the three First are too."

Zack took a deep breath then released it, "Yeah, yeah, I have to believe he is okay."

Zack however was not okay, he had barely slept, especially after he realized Cloud had not returned from his mission. Both of them had received different missions, Cloud inside Midgar and Zack outside. It was not strange all things considered and neither of them suspected anything out of the ordinary that day. What was strange was Zack returning the next day and realizing Cloud had not returned home the night before. It had made him alarmed but he took a breath and had contacted Ace. Ace had told him he was leaving the continent to check on the new one. Ergo, he would not take Cloud somewhere unknown.

Zack then started to worry a little bit, though he was close to panicking. He called Cissnei who was on the same team as Cloud, she was already on another mission which was not weird, not at all, she had complained about it. She had later messaged back she had parted ways with Cloud and Lucien after the mission was successful. She mentioned, Cloud had felt like he was being watched so Lucien had offered to walk together. You never knew how crazy people could be after all. Cissnei was shocked to learn Lucien had been missing as well and offered to keep an eye out.

Rude, "Reno, mission."

Reno whined, "Oh come on! Another one? We just finished one in the afternoon."

Tifa snorted, "Here, the strongest coffee and the special Nibel lunch box."

Reno perked up, "Best bar owner ever, yo. Don't worry yo, we will keep an eye out for your man. We are Turks, we'll find him. Or rather Vincent and Veld will."

Zack nodded sullenly, "Thanks guys."

Aerith felt bad for her friend and honestly she was very worried about Cloud. He was the only other person like her, a different lineage but still. She looked at Tifa who nodded and the two agreed to meet up later on. Zack had a scowl when his PHS, rang and alerted him of another mission. It was a King level Zolom that was terrorizing people down in the lower plates. That was not suspicious at all! A Zolom in Midgar why not? Zack pocketed his PHS and left after waving farewell to the ladies.

Tifa became serious, "We should talk to Elfe. If anyone would know about hideouts, it'll be her."

Aerith, "Right, I will get in contact with them. She is very cunning like her father, if I say so myself."

To say Elfe and Shelke jumped at the idea to help them was an understatement, both of them adored Cloud. He was one of the few that actually bothered to help other orphans outside of the couple. Shelke used her modified computer bed to hack into one of the hard lines to try to see if she could catch anything. It was not an easy task but she knew she could do it. The scientists focused on her intellect more than her physical strength. It was thanks to Mako and some weird magic involved she could enter other computers.

Elfe growled, 'Just thinking about those days pisses me off.'

Tifa eyed the young girl sleeping in the pod, "I'm still not comfortable letting her go on like that."

Aerith, "I understand. If anything happens, it'll be hard for us to help. But... "

Elfe grunted, "She is the only one who can do this. Gaia! What did they do to her? To us? We were both children."

Tifa pulled the young teen into a hug, "Well, this is a good chance to teach them a lesson. That is if Cloud has not already done it, by the time we find him."

Aerith nodded while Elfe chuckled and turned to her friend who was going through many files. It would take a while to find out where Cloud was however, since not everything was online. Many were still using paper and transferring to an online alternative took time. The kids though had no problem using the latest gadgets compared to adults. Tifa and Aerith each had the latest PHS though they also carried a modified version courtesy of Ace for emergencies.

One year after Cloud disappeared:

Ace growled, "Another dead end."

Vincent, "We will find our eagle, don't fret."

Desmond nodded his eyes glowing with power, "When I get my hands on them. I will show them the true meaning of Assassins and why we are the most feared beings in the world."

Vincent felt Chaos purr, "I have no doubt."

Vincent, 'Down boy! Not right now.'

Chaos, 'Can you blame me?'

Galian Beast, 'Our mate is so enticing.'

Cerberus, 'I don't smell our chick, but I smell children.'

Vincent looked around sharply, "We are in the middle of nowhere."

Desmond, "Yeah, can't believe Shinra built a reactor here of all places. Don't think they'll mind if we shut it down permanently. Right?"

Ace nodded, "One less problem for us to deal with in the future. Lucretia says as long as the reactors are shut down with enough time between each other this planet will be healthy again."

Desmond muttered, "That's good right?"

Vincent, "She is worried about the ones in Midgar. She fears those nine reactors will trigger an Omega event that could kill Gaia."

Ace, "Omega event.. That doesn't sound too good."

Vincent grunted as he finally followed the directions that Cerberus was telling him. He was followed by Desmond who had a feeling the demons were guiding him. The two of them didn't find Cloud but they certainly found three pods with silver, dark and brown haired children inside. The two of them looked at each other before moving to get the children out and getting information on them. Vincent was not at all amused by what they had found about the three kids. They were labeled as subject two hundred thirty, subject three hundred ten and subject four hundred. They were to be left to rot there because they were failures according to the file.

Desmond, "This is fucked up."

Vincent, "Look at who the parents are supposed to be."

Ace, "The youngest has Sephiroth's DNA and his mother?"

Vincent growled, "A Turk who went missing, Shadow Claw."

Desmond, "Veld and Tseng are not gonna like that."

Ace, "The second oldest is between Genesis and a mage who was reported missing a few years ago from Costa Del Sol."

Ace then looked at the oldest file, "Oldest is between Angeal and a huntress who supposedly died during a hunt."

Vincent punched the wall in anger, "They never learn."

Desmond was barely controlling his own fury, "Let's get them out of here, love. Turn into your Galian Beast form. His multi appendages should be able to carry them out. I will shut down this place. Ace check the controls."

Ace eyed him, "Okay."

Desmond got to work as Galian Beast took over and gently picked the children up while Ace went to check the control room. They would have to name these children but they figured the three First will want to do that once they learned about their existence. The three of them had once mentioned about adopting children in the future to raise. Well, they'll be able to do that soon if Vincent had anything to say about it. Galiant Beast hugged Desmond from behind nuzzling him once before leaving.

Desmond murmured softly to Galiant Beast who rumbled as he left. Desmond got to work and started to break the reactor down. He was still frustrated however, there was no sign of Cloud anywhere. It was starting to make him feel fear for his youngest and he could feel his bleeding effect being triggered. The fear of losing your loved ones was still quite the huge personal trigger for him. It was a fear he shared with Altair, Ezio and Connor.

Vincent returned after making sure the kids were washed, tucked in and warm in their shared hotel bed. He hugged Desmond from behind sensing his fear and frustration. Desmond turned and buried his face in Vincent's shoulder trying to calm himself. He had almost gone through another bleeding effect which would have been very problematic. Vincent kissed Desmond's cheek while murmuring comforting words to calm him down. Ace joined them after destroying the main control, it was half gone anyway.

Desmond, "Vincent, I'm okay now."

Vincent, "Good, I put the kids to bed."

Ace, "We should take them to Cosmo Canyon. The hot springs there will help in sweating the Mako out."

Vincent nodded in agreement, the three kids were out of it completely. While Ace left for Midgar to inform others about the latest events, they decided to move to Cosmo Canyon and met with the Elders who were willing to help to help them. The fact that Desmond felt like Cetra and Vincent had Chaos inside of him might have helped a little. Desmond didn't bother to correct them because in a way he was a Cetra as the eagles vision holders did mix with them. They focused on helping the children out and sent messages to Genesis, Angeal and Sephiroth.

One year and six months after Cloud disappeared:

Zack was eyeing the children contemplatively, "I think we can take it as a given that the Turks and Desmond has checked every reactor in far away remote locations."

Sephiroth was holding his mini me, "Yes, I believe so, they have. They are very thorough."

Lucretia who was helping Sephiroth sighed feed her grandson, "I must say, I never expected Shinra to kidnap people or their kids. But I suppose, I should not be surprised they did."

Genesis was with Yazoo, "I think, it's a miracle they even remember their names."

Angeal was holding a sleeping Loz, "Perhaps their mothers were still alive and named them?"

Yazoo spoke up, "No mama. It was a blue eyed man who did."

They froze at that and Yazoo went back to playing with the unmastered materia. They looked at each other and Zack who looked hopeful instead of the fake smile. Elfe and Shelke had tried their best but unfortunately Shelke was not strong enough to get through some of the security walls. That had made them ecstatic and they had kept going finding reactors in remote places all over the continent. It was a very tiring yet unbelievable find and brought to the front how careless Shinra was.

Zack despite his innocent look was a cunning wolf and brought the existence of said reactors a few months after they were dismantled to Rufus. To say Rufus was surprised on learning about their presence was an understatement. The blond was more surprised to see his friend Ace bring Reeve along with him and tell them his suspicions money being spent recklessly on the reactors which had no purpose in nowhere lands. Rufus eyed Zack standing beside Ace and noticed the gleam in his eyes understanding he wanted to shake Shinra up a bit.

Rufus, "Alright, I will bring this to the broad."

Zack beamed, "Thanks Rufus."

Rufus called after him, "I hope you find Cloud and Lucien soon. They are one of the few tolerable people in this company."

Zack nodded, "I hope so too."

Ace, "We will find my baby brother. It is only a matter of time. I have a suspicion where to check next."

Rufus, "Be careful."

While Rufus brought the problem of wasted money and resources to his father's displeased knowledge, Zack finally had room to breath. He took a mission with Rufus's signature and went around snooping into Midgar's oldest reactor. It had been quite difficult to get that paper signed and everytime he was rejected, he was sure Cloud was there. Vincent and Desmond had proven Cloud and Lucien were nowhere outside Midgar so they had to be underground. Zack went through the tunnels and saw Ace who was waiting for him.

Zack, "So, you figured it out too?"

Ace, "They were nowhere in the outer labs so that means."

Zack, "He'll be here."

Ace, "Shall we team?"

Tifa appeared behind Ace, "Hell yes! Let's get Cloud back."

Aerith, "Shelke and Elfe are taking out one of the reactors as we speak. So no one will notice us."

Desmond, "Good!"

Vincent, "Let's bring him back."