A loud bang, a flash of light... and then nothing. That was all Yazoo and Loz remembered.

XXX

Chapter one

The teen charged at the blond swordsman, his double bladed Katana, Souba, held high. The blond, known as Cloud, raised his own weapon awaiting the battle that was sure to come. To his great surprise the young teen, by the name of Kadaj, gave a weak gasp and fell, unable to support his own weight any longer. Cloud quickly dived forward and caught the youth before he hit the ground. Kadaj fell limply into Cloud's arms, not trying to resist the blond's supporting embrace.

"Niisan..." Kadaj murmured, his voice cracking slightly as he looked up into the blue eyes of the other. There was moment of silence, then Kadaj's eyes widened and he whispered, "Mother..." Cloud looked down at the broken youth in his arms. What was this feeling? So sudden and new. Was it regret? Did Cloud actually feel bad about the fact that this once so confident, strong and beautiful youth was going to die because he had believed the biggest illusion life could offer? Because he had believed that he could find love and freedom in the form someone who had, from the begging, planned to use him and then dispose of him? Cloud was suddenly full of a desire to help the young warrior, to show him that there was more to life than being someone's vessel.

There was a silence, then Cloud heard it. Her voice. Whispering sweetly in his head. Aerith.

"Do you think he deserves this" Cloud blinked, "He is very young. A child really. I think he could change... if he was shown a little kindness." Cloud looked down at the youth, his eyes were closed, but he was still alive, and Cloud felt that feeling again. He thought for a short moment. Aerith did have a point, for Kadaj was young, perhaps he could change. But what exactly was she suggesting? That Cloud adopt the youth? Take him home? Care for him? How could he do that, especially when his history with the boy was nothing but violence and loathing. No, not loathing. Cloud had never felt that he hated the youth, and it was clear that Kadaj did not hate Cloud. "Forgive, Cloud..." the voice said, gently. Cloud swallowed, thinking it over. Then after a moment, he nodded. "Good. Take good care of them, Cloud." And then her voice was gone before Cloud could even respond to her words.

Cloud glanced back down at the teen, to find that he had passed out. Then something occurred to him. Aerith had said "take good care of them" what did that mean? But Cloud was distracted from his thoughts by Cid's aircraft landing close by, and it wasn't long before Tifa and Yuffie were running towards him. However, they stopped short as soon as they got close enough to see who Cloud had in his arms. It was Tifa who approached first. She looked from Cloud to the youth he was holding in his arms.

"Cloud..." she knelt down in front of him, and looking at the unconscious teen.

"Tifa, I... I need your help," Cloud muttered, avoiding her gaze. Tifa looked up at him. It had been a very long time since Cloud had asked her a favor, it had been a long time since he had wanted something. Tifa decided then and there, that no matter what this favor was, she would do her best to help her old friend.

"What do you need, Cloud?" she asked, gently.

"Do you think I could bring him back to Seventh Heaven? Just for a while," Cloud asked, gesturing towards Kadaj with a small nod of his head. Tifa looked from her old friend to the youth in his arms, and she noticed how gently Cloud was cradling him, and how peaceful and innocent Kadaj looked. She thought for a moment, then smiled warmly.

"Yeah, of course." Cloud gave her the smallest of smiles, then gathered the teen in his arms, and stood up. He looked at Tifa and gestured for her to get Kadaj's sword, which was lying on the ground, he then began walking slowly over to Cid's aircraft. As he passed Yuffie she craned her neck to get a better look at the teen she had thought was their enemy. She didn't understand why Cloud didn't just kill him. Hadn't he caused enough disaster? Tifa walked swiftly behind Cloud, holding Kadaj's double bladed Katana, she gave Yuffie a '-I'll-explain-everything-later-' sort of look, then followed Cloud into the airship.

The moment they entered the ship they were greeted by loud cheers from everyone except Vincent and Red, who chose to stay silent. However, the cheers automatically died as soon as they saw who Cloud had carried in with him. There was a long shocked pause, then to Cloud's great relief Tifa stepped forward and said, "Cid, I need you to take us to my bar right away," Cid nodded, not looking at her but at the teen in Cloud's arms. "In the meantime," Tifa continued, "is there anywhere we could put him for the time being?" Cid nodded and pointed to a door in far corner of the large room they were standing in.

"Yeah, if you just go through that door, there's a hall, just walk down it a little ways and you'll find a room with a few bunks," Cid muttered, still staring at the remnant.

"Thanks," Tifa said, walking towards the door. Cloud followed her, avoiding eye contact with everyone else in the room.

They found a suitable room, and it wasn't long before Cloud lay the unconscious teen onto a small bunk bed. Tifa brushed her dark hair out of her eyes and looked up at Cloud, who was looking at the remnant with an unreadable expression. "You think we should just leave him to sleep?" she asked. Cloud looked up, shaking his head.

"No. He's hurt." Tifa looked back down at the teen; he looked fine to her.

"I don't see anything wrong with him." Cloud shook his head again, then bent down and carefully unzipped the youth's leather uniform. Tifa gasped. Under the leather were deep wounds that went across the teens stomach and lower chest. They were bleeding heavily and looked exceptionally painful. Cloud drew back as the blood escaped the case of leather and began soaking the mattress under the youth. "Oh my God," Tifa breathed, "how did this happen? How come there are no holes or cuts in his uniform?" She looked up at the blond, confused. Cloud was looking at all the blood with something like self-disgust in his eyes.

"When I attacked Sephiroth, he must have used Kadaj's body as a sort of... outlet to transfer the damage. That was the plan... to use Kadaj as a second life force so Sephiroth wouldn't weaken so quickly." Tifa watched him for a moment, until his eyes snapped up to meet hers and he said, in an urgent voice, "We have to help him. Go, get anything that will help clean this up." Tifa nodded and ran out of the room, determination in her dark eyes.

It didn't take long for Tifa to find the necessary items and she was back in hardly any time at all. She carried with her a few bottle's of potion, some form of antiseptic and bandages. A lot of bandages. "This was all I could find," she said, "but I think it will work." Cloud nodded. The door opened and they both looked around to see Vincent. Tifa stood up straight, eyeing the quiet man. Vincent stepped inside keeping his eyes on Kadaj, who now seemed to be struggling for breath. "Vincent, I'm glad you're here. You think you could help us with this? He's really badly hurt," said Tifa, gesturing towards Kadaj. Without even looking at her, Vincent nodded. "Thanks," she said, gratefully. "Now, let's get him cleaned up."

Ok! Here's the first chapter that I ACTUALLY got around to typing up. Mind you, it's pretty crappy because I did it late at night like RIGHT after homework, so it's not perfect. But Oh well! I don't care! At least I finally did something! Haha, well there are more chapters on the way so hope you enjoy! XD