Hey guys! So this is my first Final Fantasy fanfiction so if there is any mistakes in timeline and anything else like typos please tell me. Reviews keep me going! I would love it if you let me know how it is.
The main pairing in this story is Cloud/Kadaj. Reno/Yazoo and Rude/Loz is confirmed and hints of Genesis/Sephiroth will be shown later.
I will be crossing over Final Fantasy games such as VIII, X, and XIII. It will be VERY VERY subtle (except for X) so don't get butthurt. I am still thinking about Kingdom Hearts so.
This is following a theory by wordmage/kittenfair on tumblr where Sephiroth bases the remnants off of Angeal, Genesis and himself.
Oh and yes there will be sex. Because come on. You can't live without hardcore gay smut.
DISCLAIMER: FINAL FANTASY AND ITS COMPONENTS DO NOT BELONG TO ME THEY BELONG TO SQUARE ENIX.
Enjoy!
"I thought I would feel better afterwards. I don't."
The silver haired young man stared emptily past the dusty terrain where bugs and animals infested the place. The dry cracked earth was screaming for water to be fed, something from the planets to give it life again.
It was funny how a year could change him.
A year stuck inside an endless river where he could hear the souls whispering to one another.
A year where he lived in harmony with his brothers without a fight.
A year where the oh so merciful goddess was entertained with keeping them company.
It's been a year.
And nothing changed.
"Well at least you did something, huh? You showed 'em traitors who's in charge."
The man with fiery red hair spit out a cancer stick he held in his mouth. His cerulean blue eyes glanced up at him and he sighed.
"But I'm just guessin' you don't care about that, yo? Usually you don't."
Reno accepted Yazoo's silence for a brief second, his feet kicking against the sand. He cracked his back as he sat on his bike, the solemn stance of the remnant still staring at the terrain.
"What about that money, yo?"
The reminder he practically spat out finally made the still remnant move, his head cocking up to the side.
"Shinra can wait."
"He's not good at that."
The clone gave an exasperated sigh. He turned around and lightly brushed Reno off his bike, sitting perfectly on top. The redhead climbed in behind him.
"When are you getting your own bike anyway? You know how to fly, bleed, mend your own wounds, how come you don't drive?"
Yazoo cocked the engine to his motorbike, pleased by it coming to life. He heard the redhead chuckle lightly behind him.
"Cause whenever I get a car, usually they looks ugly as hell after two months. I like other people's ride, at least their's is shiny."
He fastened his hold around Yazoo's waist and gasped when he sped up down the sandy terrain.
"Never gonna get used to that, yo."
All he could feel was sand.
Pure, dusty, obnoxious sand everywhere.
He couldn't feel the soft embrace he'd come to love, the warm feeling of nurturing happiness. That was all he was accustomed to feeling, especially when there wasn't anyone around.
Kadaj sat up and spat on the ground, quickly irritated with the grains of sand on his face. He instinctively squeezed his eyes shut and scowled, shaking his head to get the remaining particles out. He stood up on his feet, falling back down but picked himself up quickly.
He was confused, his mind was fuzzy as the desert landscape practically shook underneath his feet. He wobbled, his feet sinking underneath the ground.
How his bike rode comfortably here before, he had no idea.
The ground broke as he fell through, nearly tripping. Besides the unpredictable ground he was walking on, the air was stale and dry, the sun practically smacking him with blistering rays.
It was one of those things where he wanted to look up but if he did, the menacing star would burn out his eyes.
It was one of those things where he could feel his lips drying rapidly, crackling under the harsh rays.
It was one of those things where despite hating being pushed in the water, it was something he craved more than ever.
But the question still revolved around his mind.
Where was Mother?
Kadaj grunted and he clenched his fists, frustrated tears pooling in his eyes.
Where's Mother?
He sniffed and immediately wiped his tears, scowling. He wasn't going to give up yet, he wasn't Loz.
There was only sand. Sand everywhere, sand in his eyes, sand in his shoes, sand in his pants, sand everywhere.
But wasn't he in heaven?
With Mother?
The last thing he remembered was a soft voice calling down from the heavens, a pale small hand caressing his cheeks. Cloud was over him, that was, and yet from his stance he could hear light gasps above. He could even feel a droplet of water tickle his cheeks.
Was he crying?
No, Big Brother doesn't cry.
The silver haired remnant couldn't take the lasers bashing down on him anymore, he wasn't used to things like this.
He was used to the stench of unwashed bodies roaming around in the streets, poor men begging on their knees for money, the slow people shuffling around trying to get through the day.
Not rays of light that wanted to crack his skin open, sand that invaded his body and a low hiss resounding in his ears.
"Mother?"
He called out, his dry throat cracking painfully.
"Mother?"
He hated being like this, he hated having to call out, he wasn't a damn child anymore.
"Mother!"
All of his strength fell through that one call, screaming past the arid air that seemed to clog his ears and nose.
His knees buckled under his feet, weak from the pressuring atmosphere. He could feel the air constricting him, wrapping its fingers around his damp neck and wringing his frail frame.
"Mother.."
The last piece of air from his lungs was stolen away, collapsing around the soft, searing sand.
Kadaj could care less if the sand opened up and ate him, it would be better than getting kicked out of the Lifestream, left to fend for himself.
Does Gaia love playing games…
About an hour passed before he was startled awake yet again by a little foot.
Kadaj wrinkled his nose and narrowed his mako green eyes at the black figure he spoke some language he couldn't understand - or maybe even hear - and clenched his fists.
"Leave me… Alone!"
He growled, trying to abruptly sit up but fell down due to loss of energy. Eventually he regained his footing and wobbled on his own two feet, mumbling. His death stare hadn't let up though.
The man seemed to understand and rose two hands, covered in gloves. Now that Kadaj could see him clearly, his whole body was covered up, save for his shoulders, which was exposed between torn gauze. His face was wrapped around in bandages, gray goggles placed where the eyes should be. The language he was speaking was something slang, curved with every word.
"What are you still doing here? Leave!"
Even though he tried to be menacing, his pale dry skin was threatening to crack and bleeding split lip was caked in sand. His leather outfit was torn and dried, tearing at the shoulders down.
He wasn't going far in this.
When the man spoke something in another language, something he couldn't understand, he scowled and reached down to his hips to try and get Souba.
Nothing there.
He looked down in a panic, his eyes wide with surprise before darting back up at the man, burning with anger.
"Did you just rob me?!"
The man seemed to jump back in surprise at the shout, even Kadaj was amazed that he could pull it out of himself.
"Well?!"
The man shook his head, bucking his hips forward and slightly spun as if saying he didn't have anything to give to him.
Still though, the teen snarled and hadn't let up his menacing posture despite being shorter.
"Get out of my sight. Now."
The bundled up man spoke up, again with the jumbled up nonsense as he took a step forward.
Big mistake.
The remnant suddenly rushed forward, his hand clamping around the man's neck tightly. With every word dripped in poison, his nails dug into the rags.
"You have only a few seconds before I twist my wrist and snap whatever bone you have in you. Understand?"
If the man didn't understand what he meant by leaving him alone before, now he knew.
He fell down, immediately tripping and ran away, sand flying around underneath his feet.
Now that Kadaj just had himself, he began to regret chasing him away.
What if he had food and water on him?
Well now that doesn't matter now, does it?
The remnant shakily began walking away again, running his fingers through his silver shoulder length hair so whatever sand got trapped in there, he brushed out.
He let his feet carry him on, footsteps slowly disappearing under sand as he wandered.
Wandered where exactly, he had no idea.
His mind wandered far off, his hair smacking him in the face.
"Yazoo?"
He called out, his voice weak again due to lack of water.
"Loz?"
Most importantly, where was Mother?
His brothers weren't anywhere at all, the bikes they rode in wasn't visible.
What year was it?
Did he even awaken at the right place as last time?
Obviously not, it was a rock hard crater he woke up from, not a damn desert.
"Yazoo?!"
Kadaj called out again, this time louder than before.
And this time he knew no one wasn't going to listen.
I'm cold…
Kadaj wrapped his arms around his legs, shivering in the bitter cold.
He still didn't come across anything, no water, no food, nothing.
The only chance of survival was with that strange man he woke up too.
Why didn't he follow him…
The remnant's teeth clattered, his skin practically freezing.
How could a harsh landscape outside produce freezing nights like these?
The worst was when the wind blew, it seemed to try and knock the life out of you.
"Mother…"
He muttered under his breath, the name stuck on his lips.
It wouldn't matter how long he'd still be left out in the cold, he knew Mother always protected her children.
But where was she?
Just now a name stumbled past his lips, one he hardly ever spoke of.
"Sephiroth…"
He hardly ever recalled saying that name before, except when he was overlooking Midgar with Shinra. That was the only time he ever spoke His name, the only time it ever mattered.
He crumbled up beside two sticks and a bunch of rags he tied together around him, enough to warm him up at night.
"M-Mo…"
He started to say but couldn't, his voice caught in his throat. His lip quivered as he suddenly remembered his fight with Cloud, the man hesitant to kill him. Even in his mind he wanted the pain to be over, he never landed the last blow.
Please…
He couldn't help it this time, his eyes filled with tears thinking about them, thinking about Loz and his stupid tough facade even though it never worked, Yazoo and his quiet, soothing voice and his long hair which he always wanted to braid.
Cloud, despite how much he hated the man and how he made his heart ache, he couldn't help but wish for his presence now.
It was better than being buried alive in this horrid sand.
He missed them all.
Somebody…
Tears fell down his cheeks, staining the ground underneath. He tried to push them back but that was worse. He coughed, his dry throat scratching itself, almost bleeding.
Mother...
He couldn't stop them from falling, the dam of his emotions let loose.
He kept them buried, he stuffed them all away in his head so he wouldn't think about them, wouldn't acknowledge them. He'd do anything to never face them all, the monsters he locked away in his head.
Mother usually kept them back. She bolted them shut with a lock and key.
Now she was gone.
He didn't know what to live for.
What was so important that he couldn't find Mother anymore?
What was so important that he was thrown out of the lifestream?
Didn't he bring back Sephiroth like Mother wanted?
Wasn't he done?
"Mother!"
He called again to no avail, his desperate cries to hear her voice again, just one more time…
"Mother!"
He didn't bother wiping his tears or cleaning the sand off his clothes, he just didn't care anymore.
All he wanted was to leave and never return.
Kadaj shut his eyes and could feel his muscles failing him, could feel the hunger subside and the thirst not matter anymore. He shut his eyes and hoped that woman would come down and reunite him with his brothers, with Cloud, with Mother…
What he didn't notice was two beady black eyes watching him from behind a cactus, whispering something incoherent and nothing important.
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