Hello, good people! Welcome to chapter 12! I want to thank all of my readers and reviewers for making all of this hard work worth while. I have had a complaint that the characters are very OoC, so I have tried to go back and revise the story slightly, but had a hard time seeing where I should do so and it is also hard to help at this point, since I have already written this chapter, but I tried. Hopefully this will cause for a better experience and this story is not totally terrible. Please read, review, and enjoy chapter 12 of The Search for Avonej. The next chapter gets back to how the story was before Sephiroth destroyed Yazoo's life, so if you hate this 'Yazoo hurt his be-hind' stuff, this is the last chapter focused on it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or Parenting Magazine.

Chapter 12: Hope

Yazoo stares over at Cloud, worried about the news. He swallows as countless horrible thoughts race through his mind of what it could possibly say. "What . . . does it say?" he dares, slowly.

"It says . . . that they may know of a way to enable you to walk again," he says seriously, and then smiles.

Yazoo's face lights up and he gasps happily. "Oh, Big Brother! Please! Let's go right now! I can't wait to walk again!"

"Well, it's not exactly all happy, Yazoo," Cloud informs, serious again. "It's . . . surgery."

"S . . .surgery?" Yazoo asks, frightened. "O-oh . . ."

"But it'll be worth it. Once it's over, you'll probably be able to walk and move normally again."

"Well then, let's go."

"Um . . . how about in the morning? That way, you can get an early start on your surgery."

"Okay," Yazoo sighs.


Later that day, Tifa is washing the bar counter with a dish cloth when Cloud enters the room. She stops and faces him. "Oh, Cloud! Marlene told me the good news about Yazoo!" she smiles. "I'm really happy for him. He's so pitiful in that wheelchair . . ."

"Tifa, that surgery . . . it's pretty rough. Not deadly, but . . . rough. And the success isn't really guaranteed, either," he tells her as they sit down next to each other in a bar stool.

"But . . . you're still going to let him have it, right?"

"Of coarse. He'd do just about anything to be able to walk again."

Tifa stares silently down at the counter ponderously. "Cloud . . . what exactly do you mean by 'rough'?"

"It's extremely painful. He won't even be able to sit up to eat for a day or two afterwards. They'll have him hooked up to a big I.V. for nourishment," Cloud explains. "The worst part is that he'll be unbearably bruised inside and out, and the doctors will be working on him and stuff after the actual surgery."

Tifa's face fills with anxiety as she thinks about poor Yazoo going through all of that. Daringly, she asks him, "What if the surgery is unsuccessful?"

"Then he'll be in that kind of pain for the rest of his life and be in a wheelchair."

"Does he know all of this?"

"No. I didn't want to scare him."

"Cloud, you can't let him go through with this! He can't handle it!"

"Of coarse he can! He's stronger than you think! Besides, we have to take a chance! We can't let him go handicap for the rest of his life when there's a chance he can be fixed!"

"But he'll have to go through having to restrengthen and retrain his legs and everything!"

"It'll be okay, Tifa," Cloud says gently, his arm around her. "He'll be fine. He'll have a private room with the insurance I got for him and he'll have all of us. I'm sure he'll be fine."


The next day, Yazoo has just gone through surgery and everyone is waiting outside in the waiting room. As Yazoo regains consciousness, he feels some pain and moans. The doctors turn their attention back to him, hearing him.

"He's awake," a mustached doctor slurs.

"Already?" a female asks.

"I guess we'll just have to give him the shot anyway," a young man adds.

The mustached doctor takes a six-inch long syringe from his desk and walks over to Yazoo clumsily, as if slightly intoxicated or in need of sleep. He raises up the bottom of Yazoo's hospital gown and roughly sticks the syringe in him.

"Nnnnnnnn!! Aaaaaaaaah . . . !!" Yazoo cries in a moan as he squirms in pain. As this newly acquired pain stings, he also feels worse stings coming from nearby, so he desperately reaches his hands back in an attempt to remove it. His hands bump a couple of small syringes stuck in his posterior, so the young man approaches him quickly.

"Don't mess with those Yazoo," he warns softly, but urgently, forcing Yazoo to place his hands to their former location. "If you do, it'll mess you up."

Yazoo's lower lip trembles, even though the doctor cannot see it from being behind him. "But . . . it . . . h-hurts," he whimpers, and now begins to cry lightly.

"Aw, don't cry," the man tells him, coming up to him where they can see each other. "I know it must hurt. The worst is almost over though, okay? You've slept through most of it. And soon, you'll get to see you're family," he comforts. "Does that sound good?"

Yazoo sniffs and makes a squeaky noise from his crying, followed by a small nod. The man smiles and walks back over to the other two doctors in the room.


A couple of hours later, in the waiting room, Kadaj is flipping through an out-dated Parenting Magazinewhile Loz is sniffing about Yazoo next to him. Fed up with his whining, Kadaj smacks Loz over the head with the book. "Shut-up, Loz! This is hard enough!"

"But he must be in pain!" he cries, his left hand now covering his sore head.

"Well, you're giving me a headache!" Kadaj snaps.

"Kadaj, please calm down," Tifa calls to him, sitting across from him and Loz with Cloud. "This is hard on all of us, okay?"

Kadaj sets the magazine down and turns away from Loz with his arms crossed and his body sank down his seat, upset. Loz turns the opposite way and continues whining.

Footsteps are heard entering the room, so Cloud looks over at the direction from which they are coming. He sees that it is the main doctor, so he leaves his seat, as does Tifa, and they walk a few feet to him.

"We're done with him for today. If you want, you can see him, although you should be warned: my three assistants say he's taken it pretty hard. I've just seen him and he is very weak and is in a lot of pain," the doctor explains, his brown eyes looking at Cloud seriously through his glasses.

"Will he be able to walk?" Cloud asks sadly.

"I'm afraid we won't know for sure for about three days. He needs to heal for that long before he tries to move," he replies, scratching the front of his neck as if he is nervous. He clears his throat and carefully pushes a few strands of his messy brown hair out of his eyes.

"Is Yazoo okay?" Kadaj asks from behind with a very worried expression on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. You're brother's fine," the man says, his voice sounding differently from before. He quickly clears his throat and begins to sweat nervously, and now begins fixing his tie. Tifa starts staring at him, disturbed and not quite sure what to think.

Kadaj looks questioningly at how he knew Yazoo was his brother, but quickly shrugs it off, figuring someone must have told him, or perhaps he just guessed, since they looked a lot alike. Cloud turns to him sternly and tells him, "Every thing's fine, Kadaj. Now go back over there while I go see Yazoo."

"But . . . ," Kadaj says sadly. "Okay." He walks back over to his seat next to Loz, who is still whining, and sits.

Cloud follows the doctor all of the way to Yazoo's room and goes inside. He sees that Yazoo is lying weakly on the bed face-down with cover up to his shoulders. He walks over to him, causing Yazoo to look up.

"How are you feeling, Yazoo?" Cloud comforts, slightly patting him on the back.

"Mmm . . . ," Yazoo moans.

"The worst is over now. Soon, maybe you'll be walking again." Yazoo lies there quietly while Cloud comforts him. "Do you need anything?"

"N . . . . no," Yazoo mumbles. "I just . . . don't feel good."

"The doctors are taking good care of you. Just relax, alright? We'll see what happens in a few days." Cloud strokes his hair, and now remembers something important. "Oh, and don't be shy about asking for things. The doctors don't mind taking care of you. You're a patient and that's their job, so don't suffer for no reason, alright?"

"'kay," Yazoo slurs.


Three days later, Cloud, Loz, and Kadaj come into Yazoo's hospital room and are pleased to see that he is awake. Around his bed are flowers, a stuffed chocobo, and a get-well card Marlene made for him, making his space look happy and inviting.

"Good morning, Yazoo," Loz smiles as they approach him.

"Good morning," Yazoo returns, lying on his back under the covers, seeming somewhat cheerful, especially considering what he is going through.

"It's time to see if you can walk, Yazoo," the main doctor tells him from across the room, standing with his arms crossed over his chest. "But before that, I'll let you get dressed."

Cloud, Kadaj, and the doctor leave the room to let Loz help Yazoo dress. Loz puts him in some unfamiliar clothes, but they look like his style and Yazoo is still feeling rather weak, so he decides to not comment and instead cooperates. When they finish, Cloud, Kadaj, and the doctor return. Yazoo sits on the edge of the bed with his legs hanging over, waiting for the doctor's instructions before attempting to try to move anything.

"Okay, Yazoo," the doctor says as he walks up to him. "I want you to try to move your legs, okay?"

"Okay," Yazoo says worriedly. Cloud, Loz, and Kadaj stare, silently praying that he can. Yazoo's leg slowly moves upward so that his knee is beginning to reach his chest, and it drops suddenly.

"Good. It's just difficult at first. Now try the other," the doctor orders. Yazoo, a smile on his face, does so and succeeds, so smiles cross Cloud, Kadaj, and Loz's faces as well. "Now, if someone will help you to your feet . . . "

Loz comes over to his younger brother and carefully helps him onto the floor on his feet. Yazoo stands there wobbly, so Loz stays next to him in case he falls.

"Now, try to walk all the way over to your brother here, okay?" the doctor instructs, gesturing to Kadaj, who is standing about ten feet from Yazoo.

Yazoo slowly moves his leg to take a step, and now the other, but fall backwards. Loz catches him before he hits the floor and helps him get his balance back.

"Come on, Yazoo! You can do it!" Kadaj inspires.

Loz lets go of Yazoo and lets him step again, but he falls back and, just an inch from hitting the floor, Loz catches him and brings him back up.

"This feels . . . really awkward," Yazoo tells Loz, who is holding onto his arms protectively.

"You're just not used to it," Loz replies. "Now try again." Loz releases Yazoo, so Yazoo takes three more steps forward before Loz has to catch him again.

"Well, it looks like you'll be fine with a bit of practice," the doctor observes. "You can go home now if you'd like."

"Thank you," Yazoo tells the doctor, and now slowly, with Loz's help, walks over to him and hugs him, surprising the doctor. "Thank you so much! I was so miserable! And now . . . ! Now I can walk again! Thank you so much!" he says with deep affection in his voice.

"You're welcome, Yazoo. Anytime you're sick or anything, come see me, okay?"

"Okay."

Yazoo gets into his wheelchair, for hopefully the final time, and the group leaves the room. The doctor shuts the and locks the door behind them, and now takes off his wig, revealing long, black hair, and wipes his sweaty brow. "Heh, he'll be pleased to know I got the information he wanted. Heh heh heh . . . "


"There you go, Yazoo," Loz says as he puts Yazoo in bed. "Now take it easy while Tifa fixes lunch, okay?"

"Loz?" Yazoo asks.

"Hmm?"

"Why am I in new clothes?" he finally asks.

"Because you're too big for your old ones," Loz quickly explains, and now leaves the room in a hurry before Yazoo can ask anything more.

Because he is too big? Yazoo is frightened by Loz's words. Regardless, Yazoo rolls out of his bed and crawls over to the full-body mirror in front of the foot of it. He pulls himself up with the bed and looks at himself in his orange shirt with yellow circles on it and his new yellow leather pants with orange circles on the bottom of the legs. He immediately notices that his hips are much larger than before, so he traces them with his hands slowly with his mouth agape in horror. He now turns around and looks over his shoulder and sees that his bottom his also much larger. What had they done to him? His face turns crimson and he screams.

Kadaj walks into the room and laughs. "You've got quite a bon-bon, don't you?!"

"S-shut-up!" Yazoo cries, holding on to the bedposts, shaking and blushing horribly.

Tifa comes into the room and walks over to Yazoo. "Yazoo, why are you out of bed?" she asks in alarm.

"Because Loz said I was too big for my old clothes and I wanted to know what he meant," he sniffs. "H-how did this happen?! Why am I so big?!"

"The surgery required it. The doctor said with some work, it can go down and firmer to almost the way it was before," Tifa explains.

"It's so embarassing! It's enormous!" he whines.

"Well, at least you can walk now," Kadaj tells him.

"Kadaj's right. Don't worry about it. No one's perfect," Tifa comforts. "Now lay back down, okay?"

"But . . .," Yazoo whines again. "And it feels so heavy. Like I'm going to fall on it." As Yazoo says this, he realizes something. "That's why it was so hard for me to walk at the hospital earlier. . ."

"Well, I'm sorry, Yazoo. You'll just have to work and lose some weight if it bothers you that much," Tifa tells him unfeelingly. Just as coldly, she leaves the room.

"What?! Kadaj yells. "How could she?! She doesn't even care!" Kadaj walks over closer to Yazoo and tells him, "Well, I do! And I'll help you, Yazoo!"


Downstairs, Tifa stomps into the kitchen, alarming Cloud at the sink. "I can't believe him! All he does is whine and cry about something!" she complains while grabbing the broom. "I'm sick of it! He's making me crazy!"

"Who, Yazoo?" Cloud asks. "Well, he's had a hard time. Especially since . . . you know."

"I'm so tired of them being here! It's like we're rearing babies and we're not even married yet! I'd like to have some time away from them!"

"Tifa, you know they're not leaving to go with Aerith until they're whole," Cloud reminds.

"And why aren't they whole?!" she scolds accusingly. Loz listens through the door curiously. "You should have gotten them out of here a long time ago! They're bad influences on the children and everything!"

"Tifa, you know it's not that simple. We have to find Jenova's cells and then find that child . . ."

"You just don't get it, do you?!" Tifa screams, now crying. "You never spend any time with me! It's all about them!"

"You know I'm doing my best to get them out! It's important that I spend time with them before they leave and --!"

"Just forget it, Cloud! If you care more about some pieces of your enemy than you do me, fine!! I'm leaving!!" Tifa stomps out of the room, so Cloud follows.

"Tifa! Tifa!!" Tifa slams the front door in his face and hurries to her van. He opens the door and runs after her. She closes her van door and starts the engine as he stands outside of it. "Tifa, please --!" She backs up and drives away.


Well, what do you think? I wonder if anyone expected Tifa to get fed up and leave like she just did? Please review to give Cloud and Yazoo cookies!

Next chapter: Cloud goes through depression upon Tifa leaving. Yazoo feels guilty for Tifa leaving, so he leaves to bring her back. But is that Sephiroth on the streets? And without his sword?! And what is Kadaj up to? Stay tuned for chapter 13 of The Search for Avonej to find out!