Chapter 4: Lies

Disclaimer: I OWN IT! Or at least I did in this dream I had last night… Square Enix gave it to me for my birthday and Kadaj did the hula! AND THERE WERE SPORKS! LOTS AND LOTS OF SPORKS! O.O

Recap: A jolt of power from Destiny caused Kadaj's heart to beat again. Yazoo and Loz took them both back to their base, where Destiny happened to pass out on top of Kadaj.

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Kadaj surfaced from slumber slowly and leisurely. He was warm, but not uncomfortably so, and there was a slight weight draped across his chest. Assuming the weight to be an unnecessary blanket, Kadaj shoved it off him.

The 'blanket' squealed as it hit the floor with a thump.

Instantly, Kadaj had his feet under him and was crouched tensely on the bed, ready for an attack. When nothing happened, he peered closer at the thing on the floor.

Definitely not a blanket.

A girl not much younger than Kadaj picked herself up off the floor, muttering obscenities under her breath. Fixing her furious glare on the silver-haired teen, she spat, "What's your problem? You could have woken me up without shoving me onto the floor!"

Kadaj was taken aback. This girl – whom he had never seen before in his life – was in his house without his permission. She had been on his bed, lying on top of him, for Mother's sake! And now she was lecturing as if she owned the place!

The instinctive response to an attack is called 'fight or flight'. Flight simply wasn't Kadaj's style. That left only one alternative.

"Just who do you think you are?" He snapped, stepping off the bed so that he could thrust his face into hers.

"I could ask you the same thing!" The girl shot back, not the slightest bit intimidated.

"For you information, I'm the owner of the house you're in!" Kadaj hissed.

"Oh really?" The girl began. "Well…" She broke off suddenly, staring intently at Kadaj's face. "Why do you look so familiar?" She asked, mostly to herself.

"How should I know?" Kadaj shot back. "I've never seen you before in my life!"

"But…" Realization suddenly flooded into the girl's blue eyes. Her face paled and she took a step backward. "Kadaj?" She breathed.

Kadaj was slightly pleased that this girl somehow knew his name. The fear his reputation inspired in her was amusing. "Who wants to know?" He drawled arrogantly. He had expected her to stammer her apologies or to back up even further, looking for an exit. Maybe even faint. But the one thing that he would never have expected her to do in a million years was race forward and throw her arms around him. You can probably understand Kadaj's shock when the girl did just that.

"You ARE alive!" She cried, hugging him enthusiastically. "I'm so happy, even if you are a jerk!"

What the hell? Kadaj wondered. This girl's insane.

None too gently, he detached himself from her and pushed her away. The girl caught herself easily and scowled, her temper racing back.

"I saved your life to be treated like this?" She hissed. "Whatever. Screw you." She flipped him off with a rude hand gesture, turned around, and promptly collided with Yazoo.

"And how long have you been standing there?" The girl asked him, her eyebrow raised.

"Long enough," he replied, before fixing his gaze on Kadaj. "How are you feeling, brother?"

By now, Kadaj was totally lost. How did this girl know his brother? And why, in Mother's name, did Yazoo actually look worried? Yazoo never looked worried. He never showed any emotions.

Ignoring Yazoo's question, Kadaj asked, "What's going on, Yazoo? Who is this girl?"

"I don't know who she is," Yazoo admitted. "All I know is that she is powerful; perhaps even powerful enough to help us in our quest."

Kadaj was quiet, thinking over his brother's response. "How do you know this?"

Yazoo's eyes were trained upon his face; calculating, unreadable. Not one to sugarcoat things, he answered honestly. "She saved your life."

Kadaj's brain froze and did a double take, wondering if it had heard things correctly. But hadn't the girl said something about saving his life, too?

"How?" He asked through numb lips.

"I Healed you," the girl explained before Yazoo could reply. "With my magic."

Again, Kadaj's mind reeled in shock. This annoying, loud-mouthed girl was a sorceress? How could that possibly be?

"Who are you?" He demanded.

Obviously taking offense at his tone, the girl's eyes narrowed. "How about 'thank you for saving my pathetic life' or 'how can I ever repay you'?"

Kadaj opened his mouth to retort, but restrained himself. If the girl was anywhere near as powerful as Yazoo seemed to think she was, then they definitely needed her on their side.

"I'm sorry," Kadaj apologized, feigning shame. "I'm just really confused right now. This has never happened to me before."

The girl's expression visibly softened into an almost-smile. "It's okay. Lots of people are really disoriented after a Healing."

Kadaj barely refrained from scoffing at the girl's gullibility. What a fool she was, to readily trust a complete stranger! "Please," he said innocently, "will you tell me what happened?"

The girl smiled quizzically. "I was hoping you could tell me that. I have no idea how you managed to get into such bad shape."

Kadaj was finding it harder and harder not to just take out his sword and force this annoying girl to explain everything. He beat back the urge, reminding himself that Mother was at stake. "I know what happened to me," he snapped, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice. "But I know nothing about you."

The girl blinked, still smiling, but said nothing. Kadaj seethed. As if sensing the physical danger she was in, the girl's smile faded. Still, she kept her silence.

Kadaj's resolve broke. Quick as lightning, he grabbed the girl and pinned her to the wall. "Who and what are you?" He barked.

Blue eyes wide with outrage, the girl yanked free. A well-aimed elbow smashed into Kadaj's jaw and sent him flying onto his back. He lay there for a moment, the wind knocked out of him. Damn, this girl was strong! He slowly rolled over and stood up, rubbing his sore jaw. Blinking away the fuzziness on the edge of his vision, he tried to concentrate.

It appeared that Yazoo had attacked the girl after Kadaj had gone down. Any doubts Kadaj had about her strength and abilities soon faded when Yazoo was sent tumbling by a perfectly executed spinning crescent kick. Yazoo regained his footing faster than Kadaj had, but remained where he was, waiting for Kadaj's orders.

Kadaj's mind raced. His body had not yet caught up to the Healing; he was in no condition to fight. Yazoo had just been bested by the girl in a sparring match – easily. But she had to have a weakness. Everyone had a weakness, physical or mental.

That was it! Though the girl seemed to have no physical weakness, Kadaj already knew that she was gullible! Now he just had to think up a lie…

One popped into his head before Kadaj even thought about it. There was no time to wonder where it came from, so he simply rolled with it. Relaxing his posture and smiling, he exclaimed, "Well done! You've passed the test!"

The girl blinked in surprise. "Test?" She asked uncertainly.

Yazoo caught on quickly, and came to Kadaj's aid. "Forgive us, miss, but we had to be sure you were the right one. This was the only way to know."

"I don't understand," she stated, but she relaxed her fighting stance a bit.

"It's a long story," Kadaj explained, stalling for time. "Would you like to sit down?"

"No," the girl said simply.

Kadaj shrugged and sat down on his bed. Yazoo mimicked him and sat down in a wooden chair near the foot of Kadaj's bed. As he had hoped, the girl relaxed further once he and his brother no longer appeared ready to attack.

"Our story is complicated," Kadaj began. Already a lie was forming in his head and taking shape. "Our mother was not human. We don't know where she came from or what she was. What we do know is that she came to Earth to make a difference, to help it. But the people here were afraid of her. They hunted her ruthlessly, and they eventually killed her."

At this point in the story, the girl gasped. Kadaj's head had been lowered, to give him the appearance of grief, but now he looked up. Her eyes were riveted on Kadaj's, and tears were welling up in her cerulean eyes. While part of Kadaj wanted to loathe the girl for her naïveté, he found that he could not. The story up to this point, though slightly manipulated, was the truth. Was it only her innocence that made her care about his story? Or was there something else?

Looking down again, he continued, "Scientists were fascinated by Mother. They took her cells and experimented with them, believing they could create 'the perfect being'. Eventually, they believed they had achieved their goal. Thus, the Soldiers were born. The point of their existence was to serve human beings in whatever way demanded of them. Mother's strength and power flowed in their veins, but they did not care for her. They were traitors to her cause and they helped the humans contaminate the earth, speeding up its eventual demise. However, there was one Soldier who still remembered Mother and her cause. Sephiroth, he was called. The scientists had increased his percentage of Mother's cells, hoping to make him even stronger. They succeeded, but they did not plan on Mother's identity becoming stronger within him as well. Sephiroth took it upon himself to carry out Mother's will alone. He killed a great many of his traitorous kin and very nearly succeeded with Mother's plan. He was killed, though, by the few remaining Soldiers, and Mother's hopes for the planet were never fulfilled."

Kadaj stopped, letting everything sink in. The room was quiet for several minutes as the girl thought it over. Finally, she asked, "Where do you come into play in all of this?"

"After Sephiroth was killed, my brothers and I were released as part of the reconstruction effort. We had received more of Mother's cells than most Soldiers, but not as many as Sephiroth. Luckily, we received enough cells for Mother's identity to take root within us. However, she knew that we were not strong enough to carry out her will. Instead, she charged us with the task of taking back her cells and creating a new Sephiroth. Together, we would be strong enough to fulfill Mother's wishes, so that she could finally rest in peace."

"You speak as if your mother… I don't know… converses with you through your shared cells," the girl stated. "How is that possible if she's dead?"

"I told you, we don't know what she was or where she came from. But all of us have experienced her speaking to us before. I don't know why it happens. It simply does," Kadaj explained truthfully.

The girl nodded, almost to herself, then asked, "So I assume you escaped from your creators and set out on this quest to take back your mother's cells?"

Kadaj nodded.

"And what does you and your brother attacking me have anything whatsoever to do with all you have told me?"

"Mother contacted all of us recently. She wasn't very clear, but she said that someone was coming who had the power to turn this fight in our favor. It goes without saying that whoever she was talking about had to be more powerful than us, because what could a weaker person do that we couldn't do?" Kadaj asked smoothly. A few compliments could appease any woman.

"So you attacked me to determine whether I really was stronger than you?" The girl asked critically, unaffected by Kadaj's charm. "Couldn't you have just challenged me to spar or something?"

"You might have decided to go easy on us, and that wouldn't have helped our cause, would it?" Yazoo answered.

That coaxed a smile from the girl. "I never go easy on anyone," she said. The smile on her face disappeared suddenly as she thought of something. Turning to Yazoo, she accused, "What about my Healing? It's thanks to me that Kadaj is still alive, when you were powerless to do anything to help him! Did you still need more proof that I was more powerful than you after that?"

"I didn't," Yazoo explained quickly. "But I knew Kadaj would never believe me without proof."

"It's true," Kadaj jumped in. "What I can't see, I don't believe."

The girl snorted. "Well, that's stupid of you."

Kadaj was speechless. "What do you mean?" He sputtered indignantly.

"You can't see air, can you? But if it weren't there, we wouldn't be here, because we'd have suffocated. And I'm pretty sure we're all here, so that proves that air is there, even though we can't see it," the girl said smugly.

Kadaj and Yazoo exchanged baffled looks. They had never thought of it that way, but it did make sense… sort of. "I guess so…" Kadaj said slowly. The girl smirked in victory.

"Okay, I believe you," she conceded. "Your story makes sense. I assume that I'm supposed to help you find your mother's cells, then?"

Kadaj, still reeling from the girl's 'logic', nodded dazedly. Shaking himself out of it, he explained, "The scientists still have them, but they know we're after them. They keep moving them around secretly. Mother's cells call to us, though, and lead us in the vague direction of their whereabouts. We haven't been lucky yet, though."

"And what, exactly," the girl demanded, "Do you expect me to do to help?"

Another lie leapt, unbidden, to Kadaj's lips and flowed out before he even acknowledged its presence. "You'll know when the time comes. It's your destiny."

An odd looked crossed the girl's face. "Why do you say that?"

Kadaj shook his head. "I don't know," he murmured, faking a look of amazement. "Perhaps Mother just spoke through me."

The girl looked from Kadaj to Yazoo and back. "You really don't know, do you?" She asked finally. "I'm Destiny. That's my name."

Kadaj blinked, truly amazed now. That was simply too lucky. Could Mother really have just spoken through him? Were his lies coming from her?

Destiny continued, "It's eerie how alike your story is with mine. I was sent here to make a difference, like your mother. It is my Purpose. My mother…"

At this point, Destiny was overcome and trailed off, a terrible grief shining in her eyes. Kadaj stared at her, shocked that she felt so strongly about her mother. Just like him.

"My mother," Destiny choked out, "died to save me. It's my fault she died. If it weren't for me, Mother would still be alive…" She sank onto her bed, head in her hands, and fell silent.

Yazoo moved suddenly, surprising Kadaj, who watched as his brother went to sit by Destiny. He took her hand gently and bowed his own silvery head beside hers.

This cute picture was the first thing Loz saw when he walked into the room. "Ha!" He crowed, shattering the mood. "And you tease me about being a baby?"

The air whistled as a whip of golden light sent Loz crashing into the wall. Kadaj was on his feet in an instant, hand already reaching for his sword. The whip disintegrated as quickly as it had appeared.

"Sorry," Destiny apologized, relaxing her tensed position. "I got carried away."

"Carried away?" Kadaj repeated in disbelief. "You almost pushed him through the wall!"

"I said I'm sorry!" Destiny insisted. "I can't stand people who don't think before they open their mouths."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Loz demanded, pushing himself up heavily.

"Oh, I dunno," she snapped, pretending to look thoughtful. "Maybe that you're an insensitive dumbass?"

Loz's reaction obviously wasn't what Destiny had expected. He burst into tears. "You meanie!" He whined. Destiny looked taken aback.

"Now you've done it," Kadaj sighed. "Quit crying, Loz, you big baby."

"I am not a baby!" He sobbed.

Yazoo nudged Destiny. "Apologize," he whispered. "It's the only way to shut him up."

Destiny was indignant. "He started it! And I already apologized for hitting him! What more does he want?"

Yazoo didn't reply, opting instead to go stand by Kadaj, who was speaking to Loz in hushed tones. Destiny scowled and crossed her arms. Fine. Take his side. See if I care, she thought defiantly.

By then, Loz had stopped crying. He scrubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and took several deep breaths. When Loz was under control again, Yazoo asked, "What did you find, Loz?"

"Good news!" Loz's voice was slightly deeper and rougher than before, but there was little other proof that he had been crying. For that, Destiny grudgingly admired him.

Kadaj and Yazoo were instantly alert. Very little could brighten Loz up so quickly after crying. "What?" Kadaj demanded.

"None of the cells lost in the chase could be recovered, but I got close enough to Shinra to overhear him ask one if his scientists if 'the rest are safe'. Kadaj, I think more of Mother's cells still exist!"

"Another chance," Kadaj breathed.

"But that's not the best part! I think I know where they are! Because after that, Shinra told the scientist to check on their progress and the scientist went into Shinra's house. Ten minutes later, he comes back and says everything's going fine! That means…"

"The lab is in Shinra's house!" Kadaj finished ecstatically. Then his face clouded over. "But we checked his place thoroughly just days ago. Besides, the lab would have to be huge, and Shinra's house is small."

Destiny snorted and the three brothers turned to look at her. She raised her eyebrows at them. "Haven't any of you ever read mystery novels?" She asked scathingly. When none of them answered, she shook her head in disgust. In an overly patient voice, as if she were speaking to five year olds, Destiny explained, "There are things called trap doors, where you press a hidden button and a door to a hidden room will be revealed. You can find out around where a hidden room is by knocking on walls. When you hear something hollow sounding, you should look around there for a button or hidden door or something. Etcetera, etcetera."

"How do you know this?" Kadaj asked suspiciously.

Destiny gave him an I-can't-believe-you're-so-stupid look. "Did I not already mention that these things are extremely common in mystery novels? Besides, my house is really old, so it has a bunch of hidden rooms and trap doors."

"So you would be able to identify a hidden room or door, then?" Kadaj asked, his thin lips curling upwards into a crafty smile.

"Duh." She said, rolling her eyes.

Not even needing to fake his excitement now, Kadaj lied, "This must be your purpose for being with us, then, Destiny! Come with us now. Help us find Mother, and you will have made all the difference needed in this world!"

Destiny stared at him, attention caught. "You mean," she breathed, "If I find your mother… I could go home?"

The pained homesickness in her eyes nearly caused Kadaj to drop his deception and confess. Nearly. "Yes," he lied heavily, almost hoping she wouldn't buy it.

She did.

Squaring her shoulders, she looked all three brothers in the eye. "I will help find your mother," she stated, determination radiating off of her. "I give you my word."

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Fluffy'sMate17

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