Forgiveness…..
Midgar hangs below a sinister cloud, outreaching a simple dream perceived through glossy lies. A peace undeterred by time will soon shatter.
This is my wish….
A young man with a menacing air about him stared down below the cliff overhanging Midgar. Change falters and stumbles in the midst of so much death.
Despite this, the Shin-ra reactors still stood, blackened and burned now. The slums lived up to their name; a concentration of the lower class swelling in ranks. Cries of motherless children filled polluted smoke hanging in clouds overhead, passing loosely for air. Paved streets were darkened from the overflow of desolate buildings. A ghost town breathing the poison of death.
The very idea of this being the city where AVALANCHE breathed it's first was laughable.
Midgar's inhabitants knew not the fate awaiting them…..One more malignant than that of Sephiroth. Jenova's reawakening was almost so near enough, he could feel her breath, sending shots of ice down his spine, desires made crystal.
Though pain followed her, Jenova's prescence remained a comfort. Her soul, waiting impatiently to breath yet again, pushed him in his path.
Not only her soul. No, if that was the only endorsement for this fight, the urge to follow his own road would surpass her's, or so he believed.
One thought; her's, but the honesty was too compelling to ignore.
I will make everything right. And he believed those words, childishly.
Impatience had eaten away at him for two years, ever since Sephiroth breathed his last. Ever since Cloud had chosen fate's path, disrupting and ultimately banishing a dream unforgotten.
Thoughts of Cloud brought anger upon his features, mind shot full of the fading red hue of rage. Kadaj still sought the source of that ever-smouldering hatred for his 'brother', but it went against his personality to remain in the blind spot of anger. It was a weakness, a strength to his enemies that he would not indulge in.
They will soon learn….Mother cannot forgive so easily.
He turned his back on the city, eyes down, paying no mind towards its importance, for there was little. Such a small piece of the puzzle; the outcome made little discrepancy to the ultimate goal.
"Kadaj? Still deep in thought, as usual. You know, time is pointless when spent in the past..."
Yazoo resembled Kadaj, though his hair was longer, his eyes more…. sane, perhaps? There was little difference elsewhere, except height. He was standing not far from the cliff himself. The small spark of his surprise disappointed Kadaj. His watchful awareness had been breached.
Kadaj glanced up, meeting Yazoo's gaze sharply before starting toward the Shin-ra bike set in the clearing. The dust had settled since their arrival, but it looked as if Loz had not. His face still held the anger of a small child who had been denied by a stubborn parent; all Kadaj was waiting for was the inevitable tantrum. He didn't bother himself with why his brother acted so foolishly. It was easily dealt with. His anger was useful somewhere else, as was Loz's. So, for now, he was a necessary annoyance, to both of the brothers' chagrin.
Yazoo, followed close behind, this time under Kadaj's watchful nature. His footsteps made no sound on the sand, only rising up dust in his path.
It might have seemed crazy to his brothers who were waiting on him as he raised his silver head towards the sun, but there was an unquenchable desire to prove, to make himself worthy, of Mother's trust. Only then could he defeat her enemies. Dots of neon green and yellow danced before his eyes until he finally returned back to stare at his brothers. His gaze wasn't enough to defeat the sun, not even weaken it. One day, it would be. On that day, even the sun would bow down before him and Mother, shining upon a world on broken knees. This thought moved him forward once more.
They didn't say anything as they rode out. Not even Loz, surprisingly. The look of defeat had slowly settled along his features. There would be no killing this night. Not until Kadaj gave the order.
As Midgar grew closer, Kadaj's own mind grew fainter. Mother was in control now. Her will…..She was pleased. They were getting closing to their quarry.
It was all desert out here, though Kadaj imagined it must have once been full of all the life it was capable of holding; but not anymore. Now there wasn't a person in sight. They found safety in numbers and who wanted to live out in the middle of a bunch of sand? No one. At least, those who weren't in hiding at the moment.
Unfortunately, the three brothers were, so they settled themselves as comfortably as possible a sand dune, close enough for them to watch Midgar, but with enough distance not to be seen.
Kadaj moved over to stand facing the cliffs they had just departed from, his back to his constant companions.
The sun sank slowly behind the cliff, a pink haze soft on the horizon, made beautiful by the only thing that trashed every other aspect of this world. His mind remained focused on that one sense, his sight, letting the voices of his brothers' drift past his ears unconsciously. But in the end, the calm was too much for him. Sunsets provid the barest of stimulation.
Loz's ruff accent reached his senses first. "No fair! You cheated!" Only then did Kadaj notice the cards lined up in rows on a log that had seen much better days. From the looks of things, Yazoo had won; though this fact was hardly surprising. It didn't take much to beat Loz at anything except martial arts. Yazoo reached over and calmly, gracefully, snatched away Loz's hand.
"If you can't stand to lose, maybe you shouldn't play, hmm?" Loz didn't respond, but pushed himself off the log and stalked towards his bike, making a move to start the engine.
"Don't wander off, Loz." The order was clear, and even Loz was inclined to follow it. So instead of riding into the distance as he had hoped, he just sat side-straddle, a small pout playing across his tight-lipped mouth.
Kadaj looked pointedly at Yazoo, waiting for some sort of explanation. But his brother just shut his eyes and leaned back on the log, clearly avoiding eye-contact with Kadaj.
He, however, made such a maneuver impossible, walking briskly over and violently shoving Yazoo's legs from their comfortable position. He cringed. "Now, now, brother, dear. I meant no harm." It was clear to both him and Kadaj that this statement was a blatant lie, but all he said was 'sit up' and sat down on the spot next to him.
"You never let me have any fun," Yazoo stated slyly with his head tilted ever so slightly in Kadaj's direction. Their eyes didn't meet, however, because Kadaj was staring intently over at the cliffs of Midgar once more.
"There isn't time for fun...At least not yet."
A few moments passed before either spoke again. "Tomorrow." Kadaj said softly, a rare occurrence, and Yazoo listened, for he had little choice. Afterall, Kadaj was the only one of them capable of actually bringing back Mother. And venturing towards the distant dream of reunion.
Kadaj slept, though not soundly. Darkness glared angrily from his dreams, unpleasantly fighting for recognition.
Blood spattered all around, walking the rough road of righteousness. Himself, searching, seeking his own path amidst the crimson river. Bodies lying in heaps along the path set out before him. Chosen…by someone else. Where did one go, in this fragile world, free from all wayward hope?
A glitter of light struck something colorful, impossibly bright in this dim illusion. Heart pounding in his head with each step, Kadaj moved toward one of the bodies off the road he currently found himself. With each step, his eyes began to grow dimmer until he had almost reached a point of complete blindness. And yet, the dream continued on. He continued on, striving to quench his cursed curiosity. The direction was followed blindly, but there was very little doubt in Kadaj's senseless mind of where his legs would lead him.
It was a girl. Beautiful in her own, unique way, shining brightly by shimmering dust outlining her unconscious figure, her brown hair spread out around her face. Peaceful.
Now he could see, though nothing but her. The lifeless limbs clothed in pink seemed detached almost, as if in their death, they lied. She was not dead. Kadaj was certain.
He broke away a moment a moment enough to glance around, finding himself elsewhere. Surrounded by an unfamiliar forest, in the midst of a lake. The shimmering glitter remained, though the girl herself had somehow managed to disappear. Each sparkle drew his eye, subsurface on a still lake surrounded by the greenest of trees.
But suddenly, the lake was not quite so still anymore. A small shuffling reached his ears, having no effect on his clouded senses. And just like that, she was there again, looking as if she had never left at all.
Kadaj was growing tired of these mind games. "Who are you?" But naturally, the only answer was the movement of the lake as the girls body flowed gently on top. He had not really expected an answer. Afterall……
The thought ended with the simple opening of his eyes. Nor could he remember much of what had happened in the dream. Only a sick impression of blood.
He was lying on his bike next to Yazoo and Loz, both still slumbering in their respective vehicles. Yazoo was sprawled carelessly with an arm hanging off. Loz, a slight drop of drool shining off his chin, was curled into a loose ball.
A merciless sun strove for the high point in the sky, falling short. Continuous breezes pushed the harsh glare back down, ruffling Kadaj's silver hair till it covered one eye, though he made no move to return it to it's rightful spot. Vainly, he favored the diabolical.
It reminds Mother of Sephiroth.
Kadaj was proud of the fact that he and Jenova's favorite shared so much, both in personality and in appearance. There held the only reason he lived now.
But he would make a name for himself, one worthy of those identical green eyes he imagined in his mind. Even at his age ever remained the foolish indulgence of childish daydreams.
It was around these thoughts that Yazoo first awakened, eyes glaring into the bright morning daylight. To Kadaj's contemplative smile. And such a beautiful smile it was, a brief glimpse into a world only Yazoo could see.
He stood up, stretching his arms above silver hair glinting gold. When they once more rested at his sides, he returned to watching Kadaj, silent.
The youngest of the SHM looked over at Yazoo, meeting his eyes. It was apparent that their momentary glance had lasted longer for one member.
"We should start off soon."
Hojo was not there when the brothers arrived.
Instead they were greeted by the cold interior of an even colder exterior building, west of Midgar. The perfect hideout for the old man, one where he was free to torture all the little fools he pleased.
As long as he remembered his job, that is.
Kadaj walked between his companions, Loz on his left, glancing suspiciously around.
Where the hell is he?
Hojo was foolish, yes, but not enough to actually forget their monthly visits…..
Unless something went wrong….
His pace quickened, the laboratory just steps away.
What he found proved the dark fears lurking in the dusty shadows of his mind.
The heavily padded door was lying on the floor, torn completely from it's hinges, foreshadowing a vision soon to come.
Yazoo and Loz paused along with him, staring, shocked at the amount of disarray that lay before them.
Shelves were knocked and brokenover, spilling piles of textbooks across the floor and into the chemicals in a similar situation. Shattered windows allowed a slight breeze in.
No, no, no, no!
It was then that Kadaj spotted the dark hair gently pushed aside by the wind.
A girl dressed in pink.