By Kristen Gupton-Williams

Hojo got up from his seat in front of the monitors and made his way across the room. He came to a stop before a large blue glowing cylinder. Suspended within the clear aqua solution amongst several wires and tubes was a small mass that upon closer inspection was a fetus of approximately four months development.

The scientist smiled to himself and tapped on the glass of the acceleration chamber with a crooked finger. "Your mother is with them. I suppose she would like to get a look at her son before she dies. I will bring her to you."

As if in some sort of response to his words, the fetus twitched slightly, exciting the madman all the more for this was the first sign of activity he had witnessed from his developing child.

He ran back to his desk and quickly scrawled down the exact time and nature of the movement, needing to keep precise records of his experiment. Once that was done, he gave the accelerator one last hasty inspection and then fled from the room determined to his hands on Vincent and Tifa again.

***

Porter led them through a series of corridors until they reached the center of the old Reactor. Before them spanned numerous catwalks and stairways that wound their way up to the higher levels. Far below the naked steel of the suspended walkways was the neon green glow of the exposed Mako well.

Porter turned to the others. "The lab is all the way up there."

Everyone craned their necks to look where he was pointing, eventually spotting the upper levels of the Reactor nearly seven stories above. With the tangle of walkways and stairs leading to various points within the structure they all knew that it would be very difficult to know if anyone was coming toward them as they went up.

Reno put his hands on his hips. "You mean we got to climb all the fucking way up there?"

"Yes." Porter replied simply. "There are four ways up to there using the catwalks. I almost wonder if it would be better for us to split up. That way if one group gets stopped the others can keep going."

Vincent became thoughtful for a moment, but somehow knew that no matter what they did it wouldn’t turn out well. However he did know that the ex-Turk was right and it would increase the likely hood of at least someone getting to Hojo. "Okay, that’s what we will do."

"All of the ways up there eventually meet right before the lab doors. There is a combination lock up there and in case I don’t make it, I guess I should give all of you the code."

Reno and Vincent turned their attention to him. One thing that they had been taught as Turks was quick memorization and they were ready for the code.

"It’s eight, two, five, three, six, eight, four, six, three." Porter recited slowly.

Vincent’s face flushed in embarrassment for a moment but he hid it well from all the others except for Tifa. She looked at him perplexedly for a moment but decided not to call him on it until they were away from the others.

Porter glanced over those assembled and then looked to Vincent. "So who goes with who?"

"Well, you said there are four ways up, so if we paired off that would make enough groups to cover at least three routes." He thought for a moment. "And that will allow for one former Turk per each group."

"Good idea." Porter smiled. "So I guess it goes without saying that you will be taking Tifa with you, right?"

Vincent looked over at his wife and grinned. "Well of course."

"Okay." As Porter turned to look at Reno, he could see that the red head had already made his way to Morris’s side not wishing to get stuck with either Porter or Jaras.

Vincent also caught his son in law’s action and smiled. "So I guess that will be Reno and Morris, and that leaves Jaras and Porter together."

Jaras, in an odd moment of levity spoke under his breath. "I doubt I was the last one picked back in the old days."

No one was sure whether or not they should laugh at this as he walked to his assigned partner’s side.

"Okay." Porter cocked his gun. "Vincent, you guys can take that stairway to the left. Reno, you take the one about ten yards forward, and we will take the other to the right."

Everyone took note of where they were to head off. Once that was done, with a silent farewell to each other, they split up and started toward their goals.

***

Kimo and Rasta appeared at the top of the catwalks right outside the lab as ordered by Rude. Normally they wouldn’t have been here, but since the President was on a ‘secret trip’, meaning that he was off having a tryst with his mistress behind his wife’s back, they had been temporarily relieved of their duties. Knowing that Rude had been stuck up here in Reactor Six since Hojo had fled here, they had taken it upon themselves to take on a temporary job in the hidden lab. Rude was glad to have them around, but now that this situation had arisen he wasn’t so sure.

He knew that if worst came to worst, he could trust Kimo to help him be quite selective about who was and wasn’t hurt but Rasta was something else entirely. If Rasta knew that he had free orders to kill than kill he would.

They met Rude and looked at him with interest. They knew that from the tone of his voice before that something important was going down.

Kimo stood finishing off the remainder of a candy bar he had smuggled up. "What’s up, boss?"

Rude was wearing his sunglasses despite the darkness within the reactor and he pushed them up higher on his nose. "The lab is apparently being raided."

Rasta smirked and looked around. "By what army?"

"It’s just another load of those ASRIO agents." Rude shook his head slightly, not looking forward to facing both Reno and Porter.

"How the fuck they know about this place?" Rasta asked, a slightly puzzled look overcoming his face.

"Porter is apparently leading them." Rude had to work hard to temper his tone.

"That god damned bastard." Kimo said, almost jokingly. "So what, we have to kill him and all the others? Or does Hojo want to get his hands on the little traitor?"

Rude shook his head again. "Hojo didn’t say anything except that he wants Vincent Valentine alive."

"So we get to kill everyone else?" Rasta said, venomously hungry for blood.

"No." Rude cocked and eyebrow. "I want to personally take care of Reno and as for Porter, if we can get a hold of him I would like to have a word with him before he is harmed."

Kimo immediately knew that this was an order to not harm either of the two men named and nodded in agreement. "Got it."

Rasta on the other hand narrowed his eyes. "I’ll be back in just a sec, okay?"

"Okay." Rude watched with a sinking feeling in his stomach as the other Turk disappeared into the lab for a moment.

Rasta entered the code and then went through the lab doors practically running into Hojo. "Professor?"

Hojo looked up at the other man with sheer annoyance. "Yes, Turk?"

"So I hear that there’s ASRIO agents in the reactor." Rasta said, attempting to seem casual.

"Yes, Turk, that is correct, now if you will excuse me." Hojo tried to push past.

Rasta extended an arm blocking the scientist’s way. "What are our orders in regards to disposing of these intruders?"

Hojo’s eyes flashed in rage, disbelieving that anyone would dare take such an action with him. Then it sunk into him what was going on. "Do you doubt what your dearest Rude has instructed you to do?"

"Just want to make sure that I got it right, that’s all." Rasta smiled slightly.

The madman reciprocated the grin. "Yes, I suppose you do. I do believe that my exact orders were for you Turks to eradicate the ASRIO members, but I don’t want Mr. Valentine hurt whatsoever."

"I see." Rasta lowered his arm so that the scientist could go on his way. "That is all I needed to know."

"Yes." Hojo considered the man before him for a moment. "Rasta, isn’t it?"

"Yeah." The Turk started to turn away.

"Please let me know if you continue to perceive any more… discrepancies in Rude’s behavior." The scientist smirked.

"You got it." Rasta continued to make his way back out to the others.