Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in Final Fantasy VII, nor do I make any profit from the writing of this story.

I'm sorry for taking so long to update! But, look! I'm back at it!

What Little Boys Are Made Of

Chapter 11: Initiative

Days Until War: 4

By the time he had returned to Shin-Ra Headquarters, Zack was still cursing himself for his stupidity back at the diner. At least, after much angry brooding over the incident, he had determined the exact point at which his brain had switched off: the moment Reno had laid his hand on Cloud.

For whatever reason, that simple action had sent bitter jealousy coursing through his blood and spurred him into a pointless battle for domination, which he had subsequently lost, and then lost possession of his young friend in the process. Honestly, he was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. And the worst part was that he knew that if Cloud had been any of his other buddies, things wouldn't have degraded to such a point. His want to protect the boy had actually caused them trouble.

...Protect, or monopolize? Letting out a troubled sigh, Zack shook his head. He didn't have time to worry about the subtle nuances of his relationship with Cloud. The fact remained that his friend had been kidnapped by the Turks, which meant he would need to get in touch with another Turk to find out what the situation was.

It was already late afternoon, nearly five o'clock, and he prayed that Rude was still in his office. Jogging down the hallway toward the General Affairs Department, he rounded the corner into the "lobby", and then skidded to a halt so quickly, he was sure he had left marks on the carpet. He flung his arms into the air as a gesture of surrender, eyes wide, as he stared at the secretary before him. And the sharpened letter opener that was pointed at his throat.

"D-Delilah! What a pleasant surprise!" the black-haired Soldier greeted, trying to sound cheery and not at all intimidated. Honestly, though, with the look the woman was giving him, he could almost feel his testosterone, along with his courage, shrinking to nothing. "I thought you would have gone home by now."

"I do not go home until Mr. Tseng has returned safely," she dangerously intoned, inching the dagger-like object closer to Zack's throat. "You are causing trouble here and disturbing the peace. What do you want?"

Holy shit. Talk about devoted employee. Zack swallowed, then lowered his arms slowly, carefully placing one hand over the hand that was clutching the mail opener. "I swear, I'm not here to cause trouble. I met Reno, he took my friend, and I'm just trying to find out where they've gone. That's all. I'm not here to inconvenience Tseng at all. I swear. Soldier's honor!"

He was scrutinized for another moment before Delilah's eyes dropped to the hand that was resting upon her own. She glared at it silently before the Soldier suddenly got the hint and pulled his hand back so quickly, one might have thought that the Turks' secretary had burst into flames. Turning on her heel, which was impressive, given that she was practically wearing stilettos, Delilah stalked back to her desk and picked up a note that was sitting upon it, holding it out to Zack. "Take it, and go."

"Huh?" he asked intelligently, closing the distance between himself and the frightening secretary with a few insecure strides. Plucking the piece of paper from her grasp, he blinked at it. On it was a single address, quickly scratched on the paper with heavy strokes. "What's this?"

"I do not make a habit of reading documentation that is given to me, unless it is meant for my eyes," Delilah replied, sounding horribly offended at the implication that she might be a snoop. "Mr. Rude gave it to me, and I'm giving it to you, as instructed. Now get out. You don't have an appointment."

"But I need to speak with Rude and find out what is going on! What am I supposed to do with this address?" Zack protested, spreading his arms out wide in a hopeless gesture. Currently, the only ones that seemed to have any information about what was going on were the Turks, and obviously Rude had received communication of some sort from either Tseng or Reno or someone else in-the-know. Otherwise, why would the bald man have left this mysterious note for Zack and gone off somewhere else?

"An address? Then maybe you should use your brain. Obviously you have somewhere you need to be," she scolded, gesturing at the small clipping of paper that was still held carelessly in Zack's hand. "Mr. Rude wants you to go, so you should shut your mouth and get going. Maybe your friend is there."

The black-haired man paused in his whining and immediately brightened. "Delilah, you're a genius," he beamed, leaning forward abruptly and planting a juicy kiss on the secretary's cheek before spinning around and bolting for the exit. "I owe you!" he yelled back with a wave, running at full speed down the hallway towards the parkade.

Meanwhile, a very stunned and very livid Delilah was screaming in rage in her office at the injustice of being unable to kill certain annoying Shin-Ra employees.

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"This has gone on long enough." Obviously agitated, the wiry scientist paced back and forth in the President's office, one hand pushing a greasy strand of black hair out of his face, the other clenched tightly behind his back as he continued to wear ruts into the carpet in his typical, stooped fashion. "Rufus is no longer in the building, that much is clear. Cloud is no longer on the premises, either. Lucien is working on tracking them down, but why haven't you found them yet? Don't you know where your son would go to hide out?"

"Shut up, Hojo," the President growled, having grown tired of people questioning his authority and his competence. "Why doesn't Heron supply more people to activate the runt, hmm? Having Lucien simply isn't enough, it seems."

Hojo snorted at the mere suggestion, laughing at the incredulity of it. "Lucien volunteered for this. We're all scientists, not field agents. We have your resources for that sort of work."

Not really pleased about being so blatantly used, the President still managed to ignore that last statement in favour of something more curious. "Volunteered?" he asked, prying into the mystery that was Heron's representative in this experiment.

"Some trifling matter with his brother," the scientist explained, albeit rather vaguely, lifting his hand in a dismissive wave to indicate that the matter wasn't important. "Don't bother with it. Just make sure that Rufus isn't spreading information around. The last thing we need is to have our operations in Junon compromised because your boy can't keep his mouth shut."

Stepping towards the doorway, both hands clasped behind his back now, Hojo looked back over his shoulder at the maroon-clad man, a sneer on his lips. "Put a leash on him, Shin-Ra. Having such an unruly son reflects badly on the gene pool." With that, the scientist stepped out into the hallway, letting the door slide closed behind him.

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To say that Sephiroth's interest was piqued would have been an understatement. In just five minutes of espionage, he had learned more from President Shin-Ra and Hojo than he probably ever would have gotten by simply barging into the office and interrogating the two of them, even at swordpoint.

What was even more interesting was the mention of this "Heron", and the power it seemed to hold over Shin-Ra. Surely in most situations, if a subordinate had dared speak in such an irreverent and condescending manner to the President of Shin-Ra, he would be taken away and quietly executed. Hojo, however, seemed to get away with whatever he liked, and also seemed to be in league with Heron, judging by his use of the word "we".

A low sound rumbled from his throat as he mulled over this new information, and he crossed one leg over the other, setting his elbow on his kitchen table, where he currently had his surveillance equipment set up, and resting his chin in his palm. Bright green eyes were fixed on the small television, his free hand cupping the earpiece of the headphones he wore as he watched the President get up from his desk and exit the office.

Lucien… Lucien… The name sounded familiar, but he could not put his finger on it. It was like something from a distant memory that was too clouded by age to remember correctly. Likely, it would be one of those things where if it was just left alone, it would surface in its own time.

Pulling the headphones off and running his fingers through his hair to get rid of any tangles that would have been caused by the burdensome headgear, he pushed the metal chair back and stood. Long strides took him to the kitchen counter, where he filled the kettle with water and set it onto its base, flicking the switch to turn it on. Turning, Sephiroth put his hips against the counter and folded his arms across his broad chest as he thought about what facts he could deduce from the conversation.

First, that Hojo was working for Heron. He was likely high up the ladder, given that he had pretty much free-reign within Shin-Ra. Secondly, Cloud was one of their experiments. If the President was working in conjunction with Heron, then sending Cloud to war must actually be the wishes of Heron, and not Shin-Ra. Precisely what "activating" him meant, Sephiroth could not speculate, but he could assume that it was something that was supposed to help Shin-Ra win the war. Third, Rufus apparently already knew more about this than he should, and was therefore on the chopping block, which would explain his disappearance and his father's sudden want to find him.

In addition, it could also be assumed that if Heron had operations in Junon, they would also have operations in Midgar, in order to be closer to the main branch of Shin-Ra, and it was then also likely that those operations were either on or very close to the Shin-Ra grounds. Given all this, Heron was obviously a medical company of some sort, the most probable being genetic modification.

Furthermore, there was someone named Lucien on the hunt for Cloud, which meant that both he and Zack would be in trouble. Certainly, it was time to check up with his black-haired comrade.

Retrieving his cell phone from his right pants pocket, Sephiroth quickly dialled Zack's number from memory, waiting. One ring. Two. A third.

"Hi, this is Zack Fair!" the happy-go-lucky voice sprang up from the speaker. "I'm out and about right now, so you'll have to leave me a message. I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Just make sure you tell me your name and phone number, okay? Ciao!"

Sephiroth grimaced, wondering what could possibly cause Zack to not answer his call. Hopefully, the First-Class Soldier hadn't run into any trouble that he couldn't handle. Regardless of the situation, he had promised to help, so he dutifully left his message. "Zack. It's Sephiroth. There are a lot of things that we need to discuss, but not over the phone. Just know that there's a man named Lucien targeting Cloud with the intent to do something to him that might not be reversible. Keep your eye on him and get back here as soon as you can." There was a long pause as the silver-haired general contemplated his next words. "If you find Rufus along the way, ask him what Heron is."

He pulled the phone away from his ear and snapped it shut, effectively ending the call. Zack was quickly becoming a master at making Sephiroth worry, and the general did not like it one bit. There wasn't much more he could do other than simply wait for his friend to return. Leaving Shin-Ra headquarters to search for him was out of the question for various reasons, and he wasn't about to start stalking the President in the hopes of picking up more information. Having suspicion fall on his shoulders would likely warrant a search of his belongings, which would undoubtedly reveal his espionage.

Since such a thing was impermissible, the silver-haired warrior had little choice but to simply pour himself a cup of coffee and wait. His water has just finished boiling, anyway.

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"My decision is final," Rufus announced, stubbornly lifting his chin in the manner of a haughty prince demanding nothing but the finest.

Reno sighed, lifting his hands in a shrug. "Come on, yo. We can't do that properly in here. We'll wreck something, and I don't want stains all over my upholstery." The Turk shifted to lean against the wall, cheeks still flushed, his hand resting at the waistline of the towel wrapped around his hips.

"Find somewhere suitable, then," was the blonde's response, said in such a tone that it could not be contradicted. "My well-being is more important than your furniture."

"What is going on in here?" Tseng had appeared from their temporary office, his arms hung stiffly by his sides and a look of consternation was quickly spreading across his face as he observed the young blonde and the scantily-clad Turk. Surely there had to be some logical explanation for the scandalous conversation he had been unfortunate enough to overhear. If there wasn't, two people would be going in "time out".

Reno huffed, feeling indignant about the whole thing. "Rufus wants me to teach him how to use a shotgun in my house. I just got out of the shower and I don't want myself and my house to be covered in gunpowder and bullet holes." The Turk noted with confusion that Tseng seemed vaguely relieved to hear this, but he continued anyway. "He also happened to pick the one gun that I don't have stashed away somewhere in this house, yo. You talk some sense into him."

Shaking his head, the Wutanese Turk turned to the Vice President. "Sir, we currently do not have sufficient facilities to teach you how to use a firearm. We would need a practice range, targets, and most of all, a shotgun and ammunition. I appreciate your willingness to learn how to defend yourself, so please do not take this as rejection; however, should an opportunity present itself at a later date, I will oversee your training myself."

Seeing that Rufus seemed appeased by this solution, Tseng moved on to the next topic at hand. "Where is Cloud?"

"He's in the bathroom," Rufus explained. "Learning that you're wanted by a genetics engineering company because you're some scientific experiment is a lot to deal with."

"No shit. He's still young, too. Definitely would fuck up your day."

"Moving on, Reno, keep an eye on Cloud and make sure he doesn't try to run off until Zack gets here. Rufus, there's something you need to see." Tseng strode back into the office, obviously intending for the Vice President to follow him, and then gestured at the chair as soon as the blonde entered. "Please take a seat, sir."

Rufus' brow furrowed as he sat himself in the computer chair and faced the laptop. A document was up on the screen. He assumed that it was one of the many files that Tseng had managed to retrieve from the DVD he had partially burned. It looked like a legal document of some sort.

"This will be distressing news, sir, but please wait until I have finished summarizing before you comment." Rufus merely nodded, eyes fixed on the screen, and Tseng continued, "This is a will. It is your uncle's, to be precise. Dated twenty-three years ago. From what I have been able to discern from these documents, your uncle, Howard James Shin-Ra, was the original founder of the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company. He was also the founder of Heron.

"Five years before you were born, he switched his prioritization to Heron, and left your father to run Shin-Ra. I am not sure of his reasons for doing so, but herein lies the problem: this will states that, in the event of his death, the Shin-Ra Electric Power Corporation and all of its assets will go to Heron, which is run by a Board of Directors and a President, much like Shin-Ra. There is the stipulation that your father was to remain as President of Shin-Ra, but there is nothing written about what will happen to the company when your father dies."

"And my uncle died before I was born, which leaves me shit out of luck, so to speak," Rufus finished for him, his lips pulled into a thin line, his hands gripping the armrests of the chair until his knuckles turned white.

"I'm very sorry, sir." There wasn't much more to say. What more could be said? Rufus had just found out that his future had been taken away from him before he was even born, and everything he had worked for up until this point in his life was moot. "If it is any consolation, the Turks will continue to stand by your side."

Suddenly, a two-tone laugh escaped the ousted Shin-Ra heir, and a twisted smirk played upon his face. Turning his head to look up at the Wutanese Turk, Rufus' eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, and for a moment, Tseng thought that the young blonde had lost his sanity. "Don't give your condolences yet, Tseng. This fight is far from over. All this means is that I have to work a little harder to earn my inheritance."

"Sir?" The question was tentative.

"It's simple, Tseng. I'm going to bring down Heron."