Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

A/N: Hello everyone! I'm finally back! What has it been 3...4 months since I finished "Pitiful"? -_- I'm sorry this took me so long. I was busy, and I had writer's block. I certainly hope this will be worth the wait.

To first time readers, hello! :) This is a sequel to my stories "Pity" and "Pitiful". The dramatic conclusion, in fact. If you'd like to check out both those stories, I'd appreciate it, and this story might make more sense if you do.

So without further ado...

Chapter One

He watched the water's still surface as it reflected the soft light. Along with the light, it reflected his own image. He saw his face staring back at him, young, beautiful, reminiscent of terrible things that came before him. He stared into the emerald eyes that would never change - would never cease to harken to what he really was. He could change, he could devote his life to peace, but in the end, he could never escape his own creation.

If he were bitter, he might have cried in sorrow or rage. But he no longer cared.

Kadaj lifted his eyes from the reflection and decided to look upon something more settling. The crystal in the center of the alcove captured his attention, glowing with an ethereal light as it encased the beautiful woman inside. Once more, he studied her, looking for both similarities and a sense of who she was.

Vincent had never told him much. "She's your mother," he had once said. He also told him he loved her. And if Vincent loved her, she had to have been a beautiful person inside. Vincent wouldn't have loved a monster. Then again, he loved him...

The remnant absently tapped his sword against the cave floor, listening to the metal ring and echo throughout the alcove. He wondered if she could hear it. He wondered if she was aware that he was there at all.

He ran his fingers along the cool blade, feeling intimately close to the weapon. He had always enjoyed fighting. No matter what he did, he didn't think that would ever change. He only had to find who the real enemy to fight was.

He had fought too many of the wrong people in his previous life. And even in his current life, Sephiroth had driven him to nearly kill everyone he cared about. It pained him to think of all the people he had run through with his sword, and to think of how weak he had been in that situation. He hadn't be able to stop Sephiroth from controlling him. He had lost his life to him again, and it would have killed him, if not for Vincent.

He smiled as he thought of the man. He hoped he was alright. He hadn't seen him in weeks. He wished he were here with him, but he knew this was something he had to do alone. He couldn't risk someone convinced him to stop.

Kadaj had been aware of someone else in the room, but he wished to ignore him a bit longer. He wanted to be alone with this woman who had essentially birthed him. He wanted to find a connection to her. He wanted to feel connected to someone again.

"There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the Goddess," Genesis' familiar voice came from behind him. "Hero of the dawn...healer of worlds."

The world around him was almost too still.

He expected screams to fill the night, accompanied by the many shrieks, the shrill screams, or the enraged cries of the creatures that littered the city. He expected to see them on the ground many stories below his perch, or even in the air circling around him. But the space surrounding him was uncomfortably silent.

Weeks of chaos, then suddenly this dead calm. It had to mean something, but Vincent wasn't sure what.

He took in a deep breath of the cool air. The breeze whipped against him, sending his hair and cloak flapping. He kept his balance, crouched on his perch, ignoring the wind that was trying in vain to cast him from the top of the building. He kept a watchful eye out for anything dangerous, or for anything that might offer him a glimmer of hope.

Hope was something he had to hold onto. The long, hard years of his life had taught him that hope was sometimes the only thing he could be certain of. He had hope that he could atone for his sins, he had hope that maybe the world could be saved, hope that he could still do something meaningful with his life, hope that Sephiroth would be gone, hope that his acts of mercy wouldn't doom the whole planet over again...

It had been two months. As Vincent sat recalling the time between now and then, he couldn't figure out where the days had gone.

It felt like it was only yesterday that he had found Kadaj at the Forgotten City, only yesterday since he helped him with his struggle against Sephiroth, and only yesterday since he had lost him again.

Kadaj had run away. It was as simple as that. Even though there was a possibility that Genesis had kidnapped him, he much preferred to believe that wasn't the case. He had been told what Genesis supposedly had wanted Kadaj to help him do, but Vincent himself could never believe it was that simple. It was his nature to be cryptic. And he had a new-found tendency to excessively worry about Kadaj and his brothers.

He couldn't believe that Genesis had gone through all the trouble of abducting Kadaj, just to get his help. How Genesis had ever convinced Kadaj that was the truth, Vincent would never know. He knew Kadaj was dealing with a lot of things, and those things had no doubt forced him to leave.

Vincent had wanted to be there for Kadaj, to help him with his struggles, even though he wasn't sure he ever could. The things Kadaj dealt with were his own demons, and demons that Vincent had no power over. Kadaj obviously believed Genesis could help him, and that was why he left with him.

Vincent had searched for him for weeks. He had gone to all the places that seemed of significance for both Genesis and Kadaj, but never found a single sign of them. Yazoo and Loz weren't of any help, since the connection between the three of them was apparently severed by Genesis. That disturbed Vincent almost as much as it disturbed the two of them. He learned early on how powerful their bond was. It was almost telepathic.

After searching for so long, Vincent had no choice but to return home, and to bring Yazoo and Loz with him, despite their protests. Ever since that night in Healin, things weren't the same. Creatures that normally stayed away from the populated cities started appearing in the streets. They killed whomever was unlucky enough to be nearby, and put a constant state of fear and panic wherever they appeared. Midgar, Nibelheim, Junon, Wutai...all over the world, the population was falling into chaos.

Vincent had come back to Edge in an attempt to help the WRO clean up Midgar and keeps its citizens safe. It wasn't an easy task, and no matter how many creatures they eliminated, more came. The task was daunting, and after weeks of fighting, it was beginning to seem hopeless.

But Vincent refused to abandon his hope.

None of this was coincidence. It all began that night in Healin, after the attack, after they had kidnapped Genesis. Vincent was certain this had something to do with that SOLDIER in red. His desire to find Kadaj was now accompanied by his desire to get answers from that man.

A loud noise broke the silence, shattering the eerie calm that had surrounded him. Vincent tilted his head, his red eyes scanning the ground hundreds of feet below his perch. He spotted movement, and the source of the loud noise. He took in a deep breath in preparation, then leapt from the top of the building. He let gravity carry him down. The wind whipped at his face.

He turned his shoulders, angling his body as he leveled out several feet from the ground. Enveloped by the powers that made him, he soared through the air to his next target.

A/N: Yeah, not much going on there yet. Hope that wasn't too boring. :S

Don't worry, it'll pick up. lol

Thanks for reading. Please review. ^_^