Disclaimer: I don't own ff7 or anything else but the plot.

Chapter 3

Kadaj cracked his eyes open and yawned, what time was it? He glanced at the window and saw it was almost morning. He was supposed to go out last night after everyone had fallen asleep. It was probably to late now, Hojo and his dad were always up bright and early to leave, so he wouldn't be able to go out until later.

He sighed and sat up, he shouldn't have gone to bed in the first place. He should have just gone out, who knew how long he'd have to wait now.

"T-this is his room." he heard. He snapped his head to the direction of the voice. It was the blonde boy, he was sitting in the closet staring out at him. "He doesn't like people in his room." he mumbled.

"Then why are you in here?" Kadaj asked. The boy shrugged and stood up. Kadaj jumped out of bed and stood in front of the door. "Wait, who are you?" he asked.

"I'm me." he said.

Kadaj rolled his eyes, "Your name?" he said.

"Oh, um. N-not important." he said quietly, "I have t-to go. He doesn't like p-people in his room." The boy stood in front of him. Kadaj didn't move though, he had the boy right where he wanted him, he wasn't just going to let him go.

"Do you live here?" he asked, the boy just looked at him, "Well? Do you?" Kadaj asked angrily. The boy jumped and put his finger to his lips.

"N-no… he'll hear us. He'll know we're in here." the boy said.

"Uh huh, who's he?" he asked, "Is it the boy with the knife?"

The boy shook his head, "No…" he whispered. Kadaj waited for a few seconds then realized he wasn't going to say anymore.

"This boy told me your name is Sky. Is that true?" The boy chewed his lip and nodded, but Kadaj figured he was lying. "Okay then, why don't you tell me what you're doing here." The boy looked away from him, "I'm not letting you out until you do."

Sky looked at him and blinked, "I…I… I water plants in the mazes, near the dark tunnels where no one else will go." he said quickly. Kadaj raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"You're lying…" he said. He heard someone coming down the hall towards his room. Sky ran into the closet and shut the door. There was a knock on the door and Kadaj opened it. "Oh hey dad." he said.

"Kadaj, do you remember what I told you yesterday?" he asked.

"Yes, to go to the library instead of town." he mumbled.

"Good, I won't be back for a day or so."

"What? Why not?"

"Hojo, Zack, and I are going into the mountains, it won't take long." he said.

"Oh, okay." Kadaj made sure to look extra upset, Maybe it would make his dad stay with him, "But maybe one day we could play together?"

"Probably not, I'm busy. But we'll be going to Cosmo Canyon after all this, so let me do my work alright?" he said, although Kadaj was sure his dad didn't care about his opinion. Kadaj nodded and watched his dad walk away, Zack followed with a bag and Hojo walked after them slowly. Their eyes connected and Kadaj shivered. The man probably wanted his feet.

He shut the door and waited until he couldn't hear their footsteps on the floor before he locked the door and went to the closet. "Alright Sky, their gone." he said. Sky opened the door and stayed in there.

"I h-have to go." he said.

"Why'd you come in here anyway?" Kadaj asked. He looked to the door, "How'd you get in here?" he locked the door the night before. Sky pulled a silver key out of his pocket and held it out to him. "Oh, so um Hojo, my dad and his assistant are going into the mountains." he said, "I'm not allowed to play with town kids so maybe we could play."

"I don't know, He doesn't like that." Sky shuffled passed him, he slipped the key back into his pocket.

"You can't leave, or I'll tell my dad you were in here." he said. It wasn't much of a threat but Sky sure freaked out.

He fell to his knees, and looked up at him with wide eyes, "N-no, please… we can play but I have to go out to the maze. I'm not allowed in here while Sephiroth is here."

"My dad's been here before? How do you know him?" he asked.

"He comes here a lot. He doesn't like us." he mumbled.

"Us?" Kadaj said, he moved to stand in front of the door once he noticed Sky crawling towards it., "Stand up." he ordered.

Sky stood up shakily and looked at him, "I n-need to go." he said. There was a tap on the window and both boys looked over, it was the ghost boy. Kadaj moved to open the window, he needed to talk to this one too. But as soon as he moved, Sky booked it out of the room.

Kadaj gritted his teeth in anger and opened the window, "Who are you?" he asked. The boy didn't answer he just threw another materia orb into the room, this one was yellow. Kadaj bent down and picked it up, when he looked up the boy was gone. Kadaj looked out the window and saw the boy running into the maze after Sky.

He threw the materia down and grabbed his jacket, he could follow them, all he had to do was get passed Tifa. He slipped on his shoes and jacket. Then he searched his bags for a flashlight, he would go all the way in this time. He had to, if he wanted answers that is.

He picked up the yellow materia and examined it, there was a word scrawled out on this one too. This one was in black marker and said, "Me." Kadaj set it in his pocket with the other one. He opened his door and walked into the hall, so far so good. He walked past the kitchen and into the living room. He turned and looked for Tifa, he didn't see her outside or in the kitchen, so he had a little time. He slipped outside and ran into the maze. He kind of remembered the way the boys had run.

He tried to go the same way but he was sure he was lost. He'd reached several dead ends before he got angry. Tifa would realize he was gone eventually, she'd come looking for him and would most likely find him. She seemed to know her way around the maze. Maybe if he told her about the boys she'd show him the way. Although the day before she tried to pretend she had no idea what he was talking about.

Kadaj took a deep breath and started walking, Tifa probably wasn't even awake yet. It was really early and the sun was barely peeking over the horizon. He had time.

He walked quickly, peeking around corners and calling Sky. The boy probably wouldn't answer him, but it was worth a shot. And the other boy, he'd call him Ghost boy, he didn't talk at all so he couldn't get any answers from him. Although the materia he threw at him had words scrawled desperately on them, he couldn't understand what Ghost boy was trying to say.

He stopped as he reached the dark tunnels, "Sky!" he yelled down one of them. His voice echoed but no one answered. He took out his flashlight and shined it down one of the tunnels. There were only three, but which one could he choose?

He examined each one, one was a dead end, one went on and another had…a knife on the ground. That was the one he'd take. He walked down the tunnel and looked around, there were articles of clothing lying around everywhere. He bent down and looked at some, they were ripped and wet. He threw them down and continued into the maze. His heart was racing, the tunnel just got darker, and if he was correct, his flashlight was getting dimmer as well. "Sky?" he yelled.

His flashlight flickered as he got further into the maze. He slapped it and shook it. This was the worst time for it to go out, he was too far into the maze for this. He turned it off and kept walking, if he felt lost, he'd turn it back on.

Kadaj walked quickly and tried not to trip over the stuff that littered the ground. There was a lot too, he was probably getting closer to his destination. "I told him it was his room, that he didn't like people in there. He thinks my name is Sky." he heard Sky saying. There was no mistaking his shaky voice, he was close to where he needed to be. He walked into a wall and stopped, this was the end of the maze, yet he wasn't anywhere near the boys.

"He's going to look for you. You should've stayed out of there." someone else said, this one kind of sounded like him, just a little older.

"B-but I had to warn him…" Sky said.

"He wouldn't have gone in there, not until they left, you wanted to see him." the other one said, Kadaj assumed that was ghost boy.

"I'm s-sorry…" Sky said

"We have to find him, before he starts looking, there won't be much we can do if he goes into his tunnel." Ghost boy said.

"But Sephiroth will know… he'll get mad at us." Sky said, "We'll get in trouble."

"Then you better look before he goes into the wrong tunnel." Ghost boy said.

"Will you come too?" Sky asked.

There was silence and Kadaj felt they walked away, his heart almost blew out of his chest when he realized that he was probably in the wrong tunnel, He turned around and ran, he needed to get out of there. He could here it already, harsh breathing following him. Something brushed his shoulder and he dropped his flashlight. He wanted to get it but he didn't want to risk it. Something was following him, probably the monster that was always hidden in the mazes.

The monster tackled him to the ground just as he neared the opening of the tunnel, he let out a scream and squirmed under it. Claws dug unto his back and he felt the breath on his ear, "You stole my room." it whispered in his ear, his voice was raspy and angry. "Now you try to steal my tunnel."

"No I was looking for someone!" he cried out, the claws were drawing blood now, "Get off!" he cried. He squirmed and felt the blood pour down the sides off his back. The monster stopped and put it's claws on his face.

"Get out of my room." it shouted. It stood up and Kadaj ran. He bumped into someone else, Sky.

"Sky! There's a monster back there!" he said. Sky looked behind him and took his hand.

"D-don't come in here anymore." he whispered. He led him through another tunnel to the Ghost boy, "I f-found him." he let go of Kadaj's hand.

"Did he hurt you?" Ghost boy asked. Kadaj nodded, "Where?"

"My back." he said quietly. Sky bit his lip and looked down.

"We can heal it for you, but you can't tell anyone we talked to you." Ghost boy said. Kadaj nodded and let Ghost boy take off his jacket, revealing his blood-soaked shirt. He felt the boy lift up his shirt and put his hand on his back, "We'll take this shirt."

He felt something cold run over him and he shivered. The pain in his back started to melt away. "What are you doing?" he asked. Ghost boy didn't answer, he just took his shirt away and started to wipe away the blood. Kadaj waited until he handed him a new shirt before he started talking to him. "What's your real name?" he asked.

"I don't have one." Ghost boy said, "Now don't come back here."

"I have too, I want to know what you're doing here." he said.

Ghost boy sighed, "You'll get us in trouble." he said.

"If you tell me stuff you won't get in trouble. Why do you keep giving me materia?" he asked.

"To… you have to go. He'll come after you if you stay any longer. And Hojo will notice if you keep digging in his business." Ghost boy said, "Take him out of here c… Sky."

"You know his real name?" Kadaj asked, Ghost boy shook his head, "But you were calling him something with a C." Sky took his hand and started to lead him through the maze. "You'll tell me something right?" he asked.

"I c-can't… but in the library I left my journal. You c-can read it." he looked around, "B-but don't tell anyone. C-can you bring it back to me when you're done? Just leave it near the opening."

Kadaj nodded, "Yeah, I will." he said. They reached the opening and Tifa saw him. Sky ran back into the Maze.

"Kadaj? What are you doing out so early?" she asked, she motioned him into the house and closed the door, "And without a jacket too."

He'd left his jacket behind, he bit his lip, "I just wanted to play." he said, "Dad said I can't go into town."

"You have toys in your room right?" she asked, she pushed him up the stairs, "Just stay there, or go into the library." she said.

Kadaj nodded and went into his room and hurried into some new clothes. He should probably take a bath, but he had to get to Sky's journal. Plus, the monster didn't want him in this room, and he wasn't going to argue with it.

He ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, "Miss Tifa? Can you make me a snack?" he asked. She nodded and pointed to the table. Kadaj took a seat, "Um, you know I heard um…" he paused, she always pushed him away when he talked about it, maybe telling her wasn't good. "He told me to stay out of his room." he said.

"He?" Tifa asked curiously.

"A monster. He told me not to sleep there, he hurt my back." he said, "I don't want that room anymore."

"Oh… you know…" she bit her lip, "I'll get you a new room but you have to leave those boys alone." she said. Kadaj nodded, even though he wouldn't.

She handed him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, "I'm going to the library." he said. He took the sandwich and ran upstairs. The library wasn't far from Hojo's room, he just needed to find the journal. He took a bite and headed into the library. There were 7 long rows lined with books, some thicker then his head. It was going to take a lot of time to find Sky's journal. He should've asked where it was.

He stuffed the rest of his sandwich in his mouth and started to look for the journal. He started with the first shelf, books that were apparently written by Hojo himself. Kadaj hoped the entire library wasn't like this, it'd take forever. And he didn't have that kind of attention span. He walked down the rows of books, there were a few poetry books around, but no journal. He had no idea how it would look if he did see it.

After walking through 4 of the 7 selves, he sighed and leaned against a case. He'd never find it at this rate. Kadaj closed his eyes and thought, Sky probably didn't want anyone to see it so, it'd be hidden. On the bottom shelves probably. He bent down and started to look, it probably wouldn't have a fancy title on the side either. He smiled as he spotted a tattered book in between two thick ones. It was barely noticeable, but Kadaj was sure it was it.

He pulled it out and stuffed it into his shirt, then he got another book and went to one of the few chairs near the back. Hopefully Tifa didn't come and see him, she'd take it away from him. He opened up the big book he'd gotten and sat the journal inside of it.

'I decided I like this place, it's big and cozy, and there's a big maze out back. I'm not allowed into town anymore. Master Hojo says it's for my own good. But that's fine I guess, he says I can write my mommy letters. So I'll do that later. My room is really big, a lot bigger then at home. I wish she could come see it. This house is scary at night though, I get scared sometimes. Tifa came to work here, she gave me some crayons and paper. I'm going to write my mommy a colorful letter in her favorite color.'

There was a small picture at the bottom a drawing of Sky and Hojo. Kadaj turned the page and saw nothing but pictures. Some journal this was. He continued to flip through the book until he found another entry.

'I heard screaming last night and Master Hojo had a visitor, his name was Sephiroth, he came to see something in Master Hojo's room. I wasn't allowed to see what, but I heard noises. I think there's another kid here. Also there's a monster in the maze, his name is Loz, I'm not supposed to go out there anymore. It's not fair, I'm not allowed to do anything anymore. I can't go outside and I can't play in the gardens anymore. What am I supposed to do? every time I start writing mommy a letter Hojo comes and tells me to do something, he says it will be fun but it's not. I don't think that's fair. But I wrote a story for Tifa, she said I'm a good writer, and that most 9 year olds didn't write like this. I also drew all over the walls being loud so Master Hojo would pay attention, but he didn't. I want Sephiroth to leave.'

The next entry was in red crayon, 'I met this boy, he won't tell me his name, but he showed me where he sleeps and a way to get there without Master Hojo finding out. He lives down in Master Hojo's basement labs. And he has silver hair like Sephiroth, I think they might be related. I climbed through the vents and went to see him, before I got to him I saw Master Hojo down there with him. There was another person too, Master Hojo was calling him Loz. Just like the monster in the maze. He had silver hair too, but he was a monster, he had claws and pointy teeth. I think he saw me, he turned around and looked at the air vent and smiled, he showed all his pointy teeth. I'm scared.'

Kadaj closed the book and slid it under him just as Tifa came in, "I got your new room, why don't we go see it." she said.

"Okay." Kadaj got up and placed the large book over the journal, "Hojo writes a lot of books." he said ad Tifa led him to his new room.

"Yeah, he's writing one now." Tifa said, "That's why Sephiroth is here." His new room was next to Zack's, he didn't have much of a view of the garden like before. He was disappointed, but he didn't show it, "I'll start moving your stuff in later. Why don't you go back to the library?"

"Alright." Kadaj said, he walked slowly out of the room and back to the library. So his dad was helping him write books? That explained why he was here now and before. Kadaj sat down and picked up the journal. Sky and Tifa knew each other, Loz was the monster in the maze, and Ghost boy had silver hair. It was useful, but it didn't tell him why Hojo wanted them there and why they lived in the maze. He found the page he was on and started reading again.

'I tried to write a letter to mommy, but the monster came and took me. It scratched me and told Master Hojo I knew his secrets, even though I didn't. So Master Hojo locked me in my room. I don't know why, I can get around through the vents, but Master Hojo is always down in the labs. I went down one day and he was cutting the boy up. There was a lot of blood, I drew a picture of it. Tifa feeds me sometimes, but only when Master Hojo isn't around. She told me the bad people got mommy. I don't believe her, mommy promised she'd come back and get me. She wouldn't just die.'

'Master Hojo gave me a shot. It was green and he called it mako. It burns a lot and makes me feel sick, I can barely write anymore. He put me into the labs with the boy, he doesn't have a name, and he won't let me name him. I call him Mr. Frown because he never smiles, not that there's anything to smile about. Loz keeps scratching me and he laughs at me. I don't know why, Mr. Frown is the one who I heard screaming before. Master Hojo likes to hurt him, and so does Loz. But he doesn't cry, which I think is weird.'

Kadaj closed the journal and put it in his shirt, he wasn't done but he was tired. He wanted to go play outside with Marlene and Denzel. He could take a nap and go out anyway, Tifa wouldn't care. As long as he wasn't messing with Sky or Ghost boy.

He went into his new room and got into bed, he needed sleep, he would be doing a lot for the rest of the trip.

X. x. X. x. X.

Sky curled up in the tunnel, "I w-wish we had light." he stuttered.

"For what?" Ghost boy asked.

Sky shrugged, although he knew Ghost boy couldn't see it, "It's just really dark." he said. He didn't have a problem with the dark, it was what was in the dark. Loz lived on the other side of the walls. The only thing separating them from his wrath was 5 inches of vegetation. And he was mad, you could hear him growling. "Loz is angry at us." he whispered.

"Yeah, he is." Ghost boy shrugged and pulled a knife out of his pocket, "But he knows better then to come down this tunnel."

"But we'll have to go out." Sky said.

"No, we won't. We're supposed to stay here until they leave. If Hojo finds out that we keep leaving he'll… he'll… do you want me to get in trouble?" Ghost boy asked.

"No." Sky said quietly. That was the last thing he wanted to happen to his only friend. "But that boy, he looks like you… and he's here with Mr. Sephiroth."

"Sephiroth?" Ghost boy repeated. He glared at his friend through the dark, "Don't say his name again."

Sky broke out in laughter, he rolled on the floor and twitched, "Hehe, you angry!" he said loudly. Ghost boy walked over and kicked Sky, that was the only way to snap him out of his crazy stupor, "S-sorry, I couldn't help it." Sky said, he held his stomach and pushed himself up. "He'll want to see you eventually." Sky muttered. He twitched again and sighed.

"I know but…" Ghost boy didn't know what to say, he knew he hated Sephiroth with a passion. But he didn't know why he was afraid of hearing his name. What Sephiroth would do to him was nothing compared what Hojo did, so why was so scared. "Just drop it." he muttered.

Sky sat down and waited, "I wonder when Tifa is coming back." he said. Ghost boy sat down next to him. "That boy is going to get hurt, I think that's why he's here." he said.

Ghost boy nodded, "I know, he'll be one of us soon." he mumbled, a smile breaking out onto his face, "Very soon."

0.o.0.o.0

Next chapter is the longest I've ever written, 12,000 words. A lot will be revealed abot Sky and his craziness.