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

Chapter Ten

Yazoo slowly opened his eyes, allowing the bright white of the scenery to come into focus. He was staring at the gloomy afternoon sky and the canopy of the white ghost trees of the Forgotten City. For a moment, he didn't move. He could still feel the burning pain in his chest and the loss of blood as it affected every part of his body. When he finally did move, it was only his eyes.

He looked to his left at Lyra as she sat cross-legged beside him. "Morning, kitten," she teased, her gibe completely joyless and inappropriate for the situation.

He glared at her, long and hard. He didn't really want to know, but he found himself asking the obvious question anyway. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to investigate," she answered.

"We saw all the explosions all the way from the boat!" Jaika interjected enthusiastically. He sat hunched over a nearby fire, obviously cooking something.

"Explosions?" Yazoo inquired. He hadn't remembered any explosions, but it wasn't out of the realm of possibilities. If anything, it may have happened after he lost consciousness. His thoughts drifted back to the pain in his chest and he gingerly reached for the bandage that was wrapped around his torso.

"Don't play with that," Lyra instructed, "It wasn't easy patching you all up. Luckily for you, you heal exceptionally well."

He didn't reply. His eyes searched around the campsite. None of the other members or Yuffie were in sight. Lyra must have guessed his thoughts.

"Luke, Hail, and your friend went to search around. We're all still trying to figure out what happened. Care to tell us why we found you bleeding to death and half the landscape missing?"

"My brother," he said with a sigh.

"Which one?"

"Loz."

She chuckled dryly. "He did all that?"

"He's not exactly the same." They had briefed the Enfys on the situation they were in with Genesis, but he hadn't gone into too many details. Trying to explain to her now that Loz was taken over by Sephiroth would take more effort than he was willing to exert.

"Did he also cut open your chest?"

"Yes," he said regretfully. He realized that he was Sephiroth's first victim both times he emerged. "Do you know which direction they went?" He clenched his teeth and forced down the pain as he moved to sit up.

"Easy," Lyra said, taking his shoulder and trying to push him back down. "You're in no condition to be going anywhere."

"There's a good chance that one of my brothers is dead. And if not, they're still out there trying to kill each other. I'm not going to just lay here."

"Yazoo, they're long gone. And they were headed north over the mountains. Do you really think you can go trekking over mountains in your state?"

"I won't sit here and do nothing."

"Relax, alright? Wait till Hail and Luke get back. They might be able to tell us more about what happened, and where your brother might be going."

"I know where they're going," Yazoo said under his breath. It was obvious they were headed to the Northern Cave, where Jenova originated and where Sephiroth met his doom the first time around. He wondered who was pushing them in that direction though. Was it Sephiroth looking for Genesis so he could eliminate him? Or was it Kadaj, going to finish what he started?

It would all begin and end at the Northern Cave.

"Bone Village isn't far. I'll go get a vehicle from there," he said, trying to piece together a plan.

"If you need a vehicle, you can go there and get one...after you've healed a bit," she replied, speaking the words slowly as if she were explaining it to a child.

"Your concern is unwarranted and unappreciated."

"So is your stubbornness."

"Food?" Jaika interjected, running up to Lyra's side and holding two bowls with some unidentified food within.

"I'm not hungry," Yazoo lied.

Lyra took both bowls from the kid and deposited one onto Yazoo's lap. He was forced to take hold of it so it wouldn't spill over and injure him further.

"Just eat. You've lost a lot of blood and energy."

After glaring at her a second time, Yazoo brought the bowl up to his lips and carefully sipped some of the contents. It was soup, obviously. And surprisingly, it wasn't half bad. Though he wasn't about to admit that to Jaika, who took a seat beside Lyra with a bowl of his own.

The three of them ate their meager lunch in silence, while Yazoo's mind wandered back to his brothers. He couldn't help but be afraid. He was always watching over them, rational where they were not. Now here he was, separated while the two of them lost control of their lives.

"Just in time for lunch," Lyra commented, looking off into the distance. Yazoo followed her gaze and saw the rest of Enfys as they came walking toward the camp, Yuffie trailing behind him. Upon noticing he was awake, the ninja picked up her pace and ran up to his side.

"What happened?" the girl demanded, more confused than upset.

"It was Sephiroth," he answered her plainly, figuring there was no point in hiding the truth from her.

Her eyes went wide, like they were about to bug straight out of her head. "I knew that little weasel was planning this all along! I knew something wasn't right."

"It wasn't Kadaj," he interrupted her, knowing what she was thinking. "Sephiroth took control of Loz."

She fell silent, shocked once again. She almost looked like she didn't want to believe it. Yazoo knew she was growing fond of his brother...

Luke and Hail went to join the circle and took the food that Jaika offered them. Their attention was on Yazoo, though they refrained from asking questions for the moment.

"Well...what are we gonna do?" Yuffie asked, "We can't let him wander around, tearing up the place."

"We stopped him before, we'll stop him again," Yazoo replied, though he wasn't convinced it would be that easy.

He should have seen this coming. In fact, he had, he just hadn't wanted to accept it. He had felt Sephiroth gnawing at the back of his thoughts, tempting him with what he could accomplish. Yazoo knew that destroying Genesis would have solved the problems with the Shadow Creepers and with Kadaj. Sephiroth knew that too. He had offered several times, and each time Yazoo had been strong enough to resist him.

He guessed Loz hadn't been strong enough.

"I'm calling Vincent," Yuffie said, pulling out her phone and quickly dialing the said man's number. Yazoo made no move to stop her. After all, if there was a way to get his brothers back, Vincent would be the answer.

A/N: Thanks for reading, peeps. Please review. ^_^