Leaving the archives, the group traveled up to the 63rd floor—the Recreational Facility.

"Here's the 63rd floor, where loyal Shinra employees relax and recharge!" Barret exclaimed as they reached the top of the escalator.

"It's pretty late, but I bet people are still here dealing with the aftermath of Sector 7," Tifa said.

"It's their own damn fault."

"Stay focused," Cloud chided. "We need to find this guy."

"Yeah, yeah," the brute replied. "Guess I better get working on my conversation skills."

Lailah questioningly looked at her companions. "Did the mayor happen to tell you how we're supposed to find him?"

"All we have to do is say "the mayor" and the collaborator's supposed to say "the best" back," Tifa explained.

"So..." She started. "We're supposed to walk up to random employees and say "the mayor" in hopes one of them will be the collaborator?"

"Yep," Barret replied.

"Great..."

Using the newly updated keycard provided by the mayor, Cloud opened the door to the Urban Planning Administration hallway. They could hear the buzzing of the employees as they rushed around.

Tifa glanced through the windows at the employees. "They look busy."

"A plate did just fall," Cloud commented.

"Seeing them like this somehow makes me feel a little bit better."

"Let's find our contact."

Barret scanned the hallway. "Not seeing any security around. One less thing to worry about."

Walking to the end of the hall, they pass through a door and arrive at the food court. It was bustling with Shinra employees.

The brute's eyes narrowed as he searched the floor. "Where are you...mister collaborator..."

"I think we just need to start talking to people who look the part," Tifa said.

"That is the only way we have to go about finding him," Lailah added. Adjusting her grip on the journal, an idea came to mind. "Should we split up?"

Cloud shook his head. "No. We stick together."

Tifa grinned. "That's Cloud's way of saying he wants to keep an eye on you, Lailah. After what happened in the sewers, he's become quite the overprotective boyfriend. Then again, he's kinda been like that ever since we were kids."

Curious, Lailah glanced at the blonde. Seeing he refused to meet her gaze, she giggled and decided to change the subject for his sake. "Let's find our collaborator."

Barret was in agreement. "Yeah. Remember, say "mayor.""

"If they say "the best," then we have a winner," Tifa stated.

"I'm sure many of these employees will find us weird after this," Lailah said. "Should we start on this floor or the second one?"

"We'll start here," Cloud responded.

They began their mission and searched for the collaborator. They approached many employees, but so far all of them had no idea what they were talking about. They even spoke to the woman behind the cash register.

They curiously meandered over to a group of employees gathered around a screen. On it played an interview with Heidegger. Hearing the man blaming Avalanche for what happened to the Sector 7 plate didn't shock them. Annoyed by his rambling, they walked away.

"Guess we better head upstairs," Lailah said.

"Yeah," Cloud responded. Slowing his pace, he walked beside her. "Hey, um..."

She looked at him with a hum. "Hmm?"

He glanced at her before deciding to look away. He was clearly nervous as he attempted to ask the question that was on his mind. "Jewelry..."

"What about it?" she asked.

"Do you like it?"

She blinked in surprise. "I can't really say I like it or don't since I've never really worn any. What brought this up?"

"The necklace Leslie had. You seemed to really like it," he answered honestly.

"I thought it was a beautiful necklace, but something that expensive...I don't think I could wear it. I'd be afraid to lose it. But regardless of the value of a gift, I would cherish it. I think the price doesn't determine the value of a gift but the thoughtfulness that went into it."

Cloud stopped just as they were about to walk up the stairwell.

Lailah walked up two steps before noticing he stopped. She turned, wondering what was wrong. "Cloud?"

He lifted his head and stared into her golden eyes. "If we get time to ourselves after this, I want to take you somewhere."

Her expression shifted from surprise to a genuine smile. "I'd like that very much."

He smiled faintly in response.

She adored his smile before realizing Tifa and Barret were gone. "Where did...?" Looking around, she found the two not too far behind.

Tifa waved sweetly at her as she and Barret rejoined them. "Sorry, but you two kinda wandered into your own world. We didn't want to interrupt."

"O-Oh..." She blushed lightly before smiling apologetically. "Sorry about that."

The sable-haired girl giggled. "Don't worry about it. Let's keep looking for this collaborator."

On the second floor of the food court, they came across the Combat Simulator Lounge. By the entrance of the combat simulator, they found a Shinra employee. Wondering if he was the collaborator, they approached him.

The man's eyes narrow as he saw the group. "You work here? I don't recognize you. Can I help you with something?"

"The mayor," Cloud said, ignoring his questions.

The man's suspicion vanished and he smiled. "...Is the best! I was told to expect you. Need access to upper floors, right?"

Barret nodded. "That's right."

"Before I trust you with this keycard, I need to see what you can actually do."

The brute gaped in shock. "Say what?"

"Do you know what would happen if you got caught? We're putting our lives on the line here. Prove you're worth it. We have a state-of-the-art combat simulator. It can provide a real challenge, let me tell you. If you beat the sim, then the keycard is all yours," the collaborator explained.

Deciding to not argue, they would challenge the combat simulator.

Before they entered, Cloud stopped them. His attention was focused on Lailah. "You're still recovering. We'll handle this."

"Are you sure?" the shapeshifter asked.

Tifa was on Cloud's side. "Yeah. Leave it to us!"

Barret grinned and gave the snowy-haired girl a thumbs up.

Lailah nodded and respected their decision. "All right. I'll wait out here for you three."

Cloud, Tifa, and Barret entered the combat simulator.

To pass the time, the shapeshifter decided to read a little bit of the journal. Walking a little ways away from the combat simulator, she flipped through the pages and admired a few more of the shetches. When she finally was able to get a good look at what was written, her eyes wide when she recognized the scripture. It was the writing of her people.

However, there were notes along the sides of the pages that were in scripture she didn't recognize. This puzzled her. She tried to make sense of the writing, but she couldn't.

Lailah's attention was drawn away from the journal when she heard the sound of heavy boots coming up the stairs. Quietly, she drew closer to the guard railing and peered over to see the hunter that had captured her earlier. She quickly yet silently rushed over to a large concrete planter and hid out of sight.

She listened closely as Hayden approached one of the many employees currently enjoying their break. She eavesdropped on their conversation, only to learn they were friends meeting up to enjoy a coffee. What shocked her the most was hearing the hunter talk about how much he hated Shinra and being one of their lap dogs. From the way he was treating her earlier, she figured he enjoyed his job. She was wrong.

Hayden and his friend cut their rendezvous short when the office worker received a phone call.

Lailah listened to their retreating footsteps. She didn't move from her hiding spot until she could no longer hear their footsteps. Deciding to sit on the edge of the planter, she continued to look through the journal.

A few minutes ticked by before she heard the collaborator talking with her friends. Closing the journal, she made her way over and stood a couple of feet away to avoid interrupting them.

"All right, I've seen enough. I'm a man of my word. Here. This keycard will grant you access to the 64th floor." The collaborator handed Cloud a keycard. "You can use the elevator to get there. Once you're up there, just what is it you plan on doing?"

The ex-SOLDIER put the keycard in his pocket. "We came to get one of our friends. She's being held in a research lab somewhere."

"A lab? Then she must be with Professor Hojo. It won't be easy to get to her. Access to R&D is limited to authorized personnel only."

"We'll find a way in. Know where we can find Hojo?"

"A board meeting is scheduled to start soon. It's being held in the main conference room. President Shinra, Professor Hojo, and the other directors will be in attendance."

"Think they like surprises? We can even take the president as a hostage. Think of the leverage!" Barret excitedly cheered.

"Try it, and security will be on your asses in seconds," the collaborator replied.

"We need to find out what they're planning," Cloud said.

"So you want to spy on their meeting? Hmm, I have an idea. Head to the men's restroom. You can climb into the air ducts there. They go all the way to the conference room."

"Thanks for the tip."

When the man walked away, Lailah walked up to them while hugging the small journal against her chest. "Sounds like we've got a conference to attend."

"Let's not waste any time," Cloud said.

"Then let's go."

As they strolled in the direction of the stairwell, Tifa saw the journal in the shapeshifter's grasp. She went to ask what it was but stopped when she saw two security officers walking up the stairs. She quickly stepped in front of Lailah to hide her from the officers.

One officer was ready to fire his gun at them while the other stopped him. He recognized the blonde. "Cloud? You're Cloud, right? Holy shit! It's cool, bro. We went through training together. Damn! So you're still alive and kicking, huh? Some of the guys heard you got smoked, but I told 'em it was all bullshit!"

Overcome with a headache, Cloud grabbed the side of his head. The pain prevented him from comprehending what the officer was saying.

"Hey, sit tight man—I'mma go get Kunsel. I'll be right back!"

The two officers quickly left, rushing down the stairwell and disappearing.

Barret glanced at the blonde. "Old buddy?"

Feeling a warmth spread across his body and the pain subsiding, Cloud lowered his hand with a sigh of relief. The hand he felt on his upper arm drew his attention. Looking to his right, he saw a concerned Lailah peering up at him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."

It had been a while since his last headache, but she knew these weren't normal. She wanted to understand what was happening. Alas, now was not the time for chatting. "If you need any more healing, just ask."

He looked away. "I will."

As he trekked down the stairs, Lailah and Tifa exchanged worried glances before following him.

The group left the food court and returned to the escalator hall. However, they stopped the moment they saw President Shinra, Heidegger, and a few security officers waiting for the elevator. They could barely hear them due to how far away they were. The only part of the conversation they were able to hear was how Shinra was able to convince the populace that Avalanche was associated with Wutai.

The elevator arrived and the president and Heidegger stepped inside. The security officers followed suit and they rode the elevator up.

"Dammit!" Barret cursed in frustration.

"Barret," Tifa called out his name with a hint of warning.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. We came here to save Aerith. That's our first priority."

"That's right," Cloud remarked. "We only get one chance. Hojo should be at that board meeting, so that'll buy us some time. We need to plan this just right."

"Then our next stop is the 64th floor," Lailah said. "We better hurry before this meeting starts."

Using the escalators, they head to the 64th floor. Using the keycard, Cloud was able to open the doors and allow them access to the conference rooms. They saw the backs of the directors as they entered the central conference room.

With the meeting about to start, the group would need to hurry and find the men's restroom to locate the air duct.

Before proceeding down the left hallway past the central conference room, Tifa stopped everyone. "What's the plan?"

"Little bit of recon. Need to find a way to infiltrate that room," Cloud replied.

"You hear the words comin' out of your mouth?" Barret questioned. "We just gotta find that bathroom so we can get into the air duct. Ask anyone here. They can point us in the right direction."

"I don't think we should be asking people where the restroom is," Lailah spoke up. "We already stand out enough as is. If we start walking around and asking where the restroom is, people will realize much quicker we don't belong here."

Cloud was in complete agreement. "She's right. We can find it on our own."

"It's a restroom. How hard could it be to find it?"

Barret crossed his arms. "You've no idea how hard it can be to locate a bathroom sometimes."

Fortunately, they were able to locate the restroom with ease. They didn't have to ask anyone for help.

As the men's restroom door slid open, Tifa stopped before she could follow Cloud. "All right, Lailah and I will wait out here."

Lailah understood, but Barret didn't.

"Huh? You two can't hang out here," the brute told her.

"Tifa. It'd be better if you both waited inside," Cloud stated.

"You're worried someone's going to walk in and find two girls in the men's restroom, right?" Lailah wondered.

"Exactly!" Tifa replied.

"We could hide in the stalls."

"Maybe, but this is... Oh...never mind, you're right."

They enter the men's restroom. Checking the stalls, they realized it was empty.

Tifa sighed in relief. "Oh, thank god. No one's in here."

Barret saw how clean it was. "Love to show them what the ones down below look like."

"Come on, let's just find that duct."

Cloud checked the first few stalls while Lailah examined the last ones. In the very last stall, she found the air duct in the ceiling. She poked her head out of the stall. "I found the vent."

The others gathered around the last stall.

Lailah, being too short to reach the vent, stepped out of the stall to allow Cloud to remove the vent cover.

Barret saw how small the air duct was. There was no way he would be able to fit. "Look, I'm..."

"On guard duty," Cloud responded without needing to go into detail.

"Right."

"I'm going to scout ahead," Lailah said.

"Need a lift?" Cloud offered.

She smiled. "Only if you don't mind being my personal stepping stool."

"Go ahead."

In the blink of an eye, she transformed into a wolf pup and climbed up Cloud's body. She reached the top of his head and jumped into the vent. Her paws patted gently against the metal as she trotted through the air duct. She came across a couple of dead ends before coming to the final vent. Peering through the slats, she saw the directors and President Shinra. Her tail flicked in confirmation before she dashed back to the restroom.

Finding Cloud and Tifa, she yipped and jumped around a few times. It was her signal to them to follow. She acted as their guide through the vents until she led them to the final duct located above the central conference room.

"This it?" Cloud asked her just above a whisper.

She nodded.

He petted the top of her head. "Good job."

They had arrived just in time to hear Palmer's outburst. "I'm telling you, I saw him! With my own eyes! Sauntering down the corridor!"

Heidegger snapped back at the older man. "We don't have time for this nonsense!"

Palmer jumped from his seat. "He was as close to me as you are now! The shock of it made me spill my tea!"

This only angered Heidegger more. He slammed his fist down against the table. "Enough already!" He flew to his feet. "If there are intruders in the building, my men will deal with them."

Palmer was insistent. He walked past Heidegger and stood by his seat, his pleasing gaze falling onto the president. "But Mister President! Sir! I swear to you—"

President Shinra held up his hand to silence the man. He then gestured to Director Tuetsi. "Reeve."

"Sir. I have the damage assessment for Sector 7, and I'm afraid the figures are catastrophic—" Reeve began, but the president rudely interrupted.

"Spare us the doom and gloom. Was there anything else?"

The man was slightly taken aback at President Shinra's interruption. "Uh... Well sir, I've also drafted a reconstruction plan—"

Once again, the president cut him off. "That will not be needed. Not with the Ancient in our custody once more."

"Uh...with respect, sir, I don't see how—"

This time, Scarlet interrupted him. "Two words, Reeve: "Neo Midgar." Hm."

President Shinra took a puff of his cigar. "In their promised land...we will build a new mako-powered metropolis."

Reeve was angered. He slammed his hands on the desk and stood from his seat. "Mister President! We still don't know for sure that the promised land even—"

The president held up his hand to silent Director Tuetsi. The man sighed in defeat and fell back into his seat. He then nodded to the man sitting beside him. "Professor Hojo."

Hojo was more than ready to share his findings. "The test results were within expectations. The specimen is somewhat lacking compared to her pure-blood mother, but for our purposes she should more than suffice. However, I do believe we would greatly benefit from Gaia's daughter as well. After all, it was her people who made the promised land."

"Can she lead us to the promised land without the need of the goddess' daughter?"

"Well, Mister President, that remains to be seen. I would like your permission to secure her cooperation through more "forceful" means. Forceful yet gentle. She is a precious resource that must be handled with care. Regardless, I do believe it would be beneficial to capture the other girl just in case our guest isn't cooperative. Consider her a backup plan."

Scarlet joined the conversation. "Personally, I've never had a problem with torture or kidnapping."

Heidegger was more than pleased to offer his help. "My armory is at your disposal, should you require anything."

"I...had something more...psychological in mind," Hojo clarified. "Better to scar the psyche than mar the flesh."

Palmer ripped at the seams with laughter. He placed his hands over his mouth to muffle his cackling.

President Shinra took a second puff of his cigar. "Proceed as you see fit. We will see what we can do to get Gaia's daughter in your hands as soon as possible." He leaned forward in his chair and glared at the professor. "However. You will not make the same mistake twice. Is that clear?"

"If I may, Mister President, I have an idea how we might mitigate the risks. Simply put, we could have the Ancient reproduce. In the absence of a second specimen, we would need to identify an alternative mate. I would start with candidates from SOLDIER. These would of course include S and G types." Hojo leaned back in his chair and gazed excitedly at the ceiling. He then exuberantly looked around at his colleagues. "Quite frankly, there's no telling what kind of properties a crossbred specimen might possess. We could do the same for Gaia's daughter once she's been brought to me. Oh, the power we could possess with the birth of demi-gods that have mako flowing through their veins! So—What say you all?"

Hearing what Hojo was proposing made Lailah's stomach churn. She backed away from the vent and lowered her body to the ground. Her ears flattened against the top of her head. A faint, fearful whimper escaped her throat as she imaged being a lab rat for such a creepy, disturbing man.

Feeling a hand on her head, she lifted her gaze to see Cloud. He was no longer paying attention to the meeting. Instead, his full attention was on her. "Not gonna happen," he told her firmly.

Her ears perked up. She pushed herself onto all fours and snuggled into his touch as he petted her.

With the meeting adjourning, the three return to the restroom. Tifa climbed down first, followed by Cloud. Lailah jumped down and landed on top of his spiky locks. Unconsciously, she began kneading his hair gently.

He didn't mind, knowing it was a way for her to soothe herself. It was understandable after hearing what Hojo said during the meeting.

"Anything?" Barret asked.

"The man in the lab coat. Head of R&D. We follow him," Cloud answered.

The brute nodded. "Okay. And then we kill the son of a bitch."

"Not until he's led us to Aerith. That's the plan." As they were about to leave the restroom, the blonde felt Lailah stop kneading his hair. He lifted her off his head and held her up at eye level. He gazed into her golden eyes, noticing the turmoil of emotions swimming around. She was still worried about what Hojo said. "I know you're worried, but nothing's gonna happen to you as long as I'm here. I've already messed up once. It's not gonna happen again, I promise. Trust me."

The pup's gleaming golden eyes filled with comfort. She yipped and stretched out her paws toward his face, wiggling them.

He understood what she wanted and held her closer to his face. The moment she was close enough, she nuzzled her head against his cheek. Her soft fur against his cheek made him slightly ticklish. Slowly, he released her and allowed her to perch on his shoulder where she snuggled up against his neck.

Lailah felt Cloud's warmth as she took her place on his shoulder. She didn't budge from her spot even when they found Hojo pacing back and forth near the escalators outside the conference rooms. As he, Tifa, and Barret took cover behind the doors and watched the professor, Lailah poked her head around the corner and listened to the man as he talked to himself.

"Walking the halls of this very building. Who would have believed it. I wonder...were I to arrange a face-to-face..." Hojo cackles at the ideas brewing in his twisted mind. "How I should like to meet their offspring. Ahh, but that can wait."

He walked over to a scanner on the wall and used a keycard to reveal the hidden door. "First, we must have answers. A simple psychoactive agent should suffice. Nothing likely to cause any long-term damage." He started to cackle as he entered his lab.

The pup saw him leaving and tapped Cloud's cheek with her paw. Understanding the signal, he looked at Tifa and Barret. "Let's go."

"Right," Barret replied.

Quickly but quietly, they sneak behind Professor Hojo and slip into his lab just seconds before the door closed.

Barret, having been the last one, barely made it. He turned his body sideways just in time to avoid being crushed by the sliding door. He sighed in relief knowing he made it in one piece.

Lailah peered down the hallway when she heard Hojo's voice. He was still talking to himself like a madman. She lowered her body against Cloud's shoulder, hoping they would find Aerith soon.