Kadaj couldn't even hear Sephiroth taunt Cloud saucily, then Cloud throw himself at Sephiroth, sword missing the man's body by mere inches. Kadaj couldn't even feel the water still pooled around him. He didn't know what he was doing as he walked forward, away from the ensuing fight.

It was such an...unusual feeling. The pain in his heart. A pain in his heart. Kadaj continued to walk, seeming to be stuck in this trance. Who was he to listen to? Himself? Or that voice who spoke to him in his nightmares...He didn't understand, he couldn't understand.

The silver haired boy broke into a run, his legs carrying him towards the airship, towards his brothers. They had always cared for him, they could help him now...gunshots rang in his ears.

"Yazoo!" He cried out to his protector, but no one replied. He stopped for a moment to lean on one of the trees, breathing hard and his heart pounding in his chest.

"Where's Mr. Zoo?" Kadaj turned around, and behind him he found all of the children, headed by Elle. "Daj, where's Yazoo?"

Kadaj shook his head weakly. "I don't know..."

"He's okay, right?" One of the other little girls asked, tears in her eyes.

"I don't know." Kadaj muttered, lowering his eyes. He felt a little hand grasp his, and found Elle looking up at him, her big green eyes whispered of kindness.

"It's gonna be okay, Kadaj." She assured, for once using his full name. Kadaj tried to smile, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"But Yazoo-"

"I'm here, brother." Yazoo's deep voice said from behind the children. He looked worn and bloody, but was standing in front of them nonetheless. He walked to Kadaj, lowering his voice so only his brother could hear. "But Loz will not be. And I'm going too soon."

Kadaj stepped back from his brother, eyes wide. "No..not you too..."

Yazoo smiled sadly. "Yes. Me too. I just have this feeling...I know I'm not going to last long."

"Please, don't! Stay!" Kadaj cried, jumping forward and uncharacteristically wrapping his brother into a hug. "I don't want to do this! I'm just a kid!"

Yazoo looked at Kadaj's head buried in his shoulder, still smiling faintly. "It cannot be helped. Fate is against us, and always will be, won't it?"

"But what can I do? What do I do!" Kadaj shouted.

"I don't know." Yazoo said. "I'll watch the children for now. You have other things to do, right?

Kadaj pulled his head from Yazoo's shoulder, looking into his brother's serene eyes before nodding meekly. "I promise."

"Promise what?" Yazoo asked.

"I promise to redeem all of us...somehow..."

Yazoo chuckled. "That's going to take a lot to accomplish. We're quite the sinners." Then he seemed to fall into a trance. "I never got to take responsibility, myself."

"What?" Kadaj asked.

"I promised too..."

"What are you talking about, Yazoo?"

"Argh...nevermind. Just go kick some ass for me, brother. And you might want to let go of your girlfriend before you take off." Kadaj looked down and noticed Elle was still holding his hand tightly in hers. He bent down until he was eye level with her.

"I've got to go...can you please release my hand?"

Elle shook her head, clutching tighter to Kadaj's hand. "Uh-uh. Don't go. I won't ever see you again."

Kadaj sighed. She was probably right. But he forced a smile, for Elle's sake. "How do you know?"

Elle grinned too. "Fine. If you come back, you have to promise me one thing."

"Hm?"

"When I get older, will you marry me?"

Kadaj was taken aback by the request, and even Yazoo couldn't resist a few chuckles. Kadaj's smile grew a bit stronger, and didn't seem so forced anymore. "Sure. I promise."

Elle let go, pumping her fist in the air. "Yay! Thank you!" She wrapped her arms around Kadaj's waist, then quickly let go. "You can leave now." She said with an air of authority to her voice, as though she had been the only thing that could keep Kadaj from leaving.

Kadaj glanced at Yazoo, who nodded as a sign that it was time to get going. Then the jade eyed boy stood up and walked off slowly, continuing to smile despite what lie ahead.

"Sephiroth, come out!" Kadaj shouted, standing at the lake's edge. No reply met his ears, but still Kadaj wasn't ready to give up his fight against his nightmarish sibling. "I accept what you've done to me and what you feel for me, but I can't accept the things you have done to those around me!"

"So finally the boy grows a conscience...a little late now, don't you think?" Sephiroth's voice taunted. Kadaj couldn't see him, but he knew he was near. Actually, What you thinking doesn't matter right now."

"Then what does?"

"Our future. We'll find a new planet eventually, and imagine the sparkling future we will share on those grounds!" Sephiroth said.

Kadaj shook his head. "Sephiroth, you don't understand. I don't like you. And in the case that you haven't realized it yet, but none of us do."

"Mother does. And she shall be the one to decide everything in the end!" Sephiroth shouted, a joyous tone to his voice. Kadaj felt sick to his stomach at how Sephiroth was acting. He was ready to follow Jenova into death even, but Kadaj knew Jenova wasn't what she appeared.

"Sephiroth, she lies! Everything mother says is lies! I bet she isn't even our mother!" Kadaj cried, trying to bring Sephiroth back to earth.

"No, Kadaj. It's everyone else that lies, everyone else that is corrupted. You as well, my little brother."

"Will you forever be in the dark, Sephiroth? You're going to find out the truth someday, and it's going to hurt you. Please, just lis-" Kadaj's pleading voice was cut short with an agonized shout, a burning pain erupting in his midsection. He looked down, and saw the tip of Cloud's sword jutting out from his stomach. Then with another sharp pain, Cloud pulled his sword out, leaving Kadaj to crumple to the ground.

Cloud watched Kadaj fall, saying nothing to his opponent he had won over so easily. Kadaj tried to get up, grunting in pain with each move as he sat up. "I tried to help him."

"It's no use." Cloud stated. "It's too late for him."

Kadaj bowed his head. "Yeah. I figured that much." He felt two arms wrap around him from behind, as the pain continued to build up on him. Cloud stood quickly to attention as Kadaj felt himself pulled into the arms of Sephiroth, the man's silver hair falling into Kadaj's face as Kadaj rested his head on his older brother's shoulder.

"You failed me." Sephiroth simply said.

"I don't really care. You and everyone else can just burn in hell." Kadaj muttered back, his voice cracking a bit.

"You're lying.." Sephiroth said with a smile. "But don't worry. Soon you will die..."

"And what is so amazing about that, I wonder?" Kadaj whispered.

"Soon you will be reborn as a part of me..." Sephiroth replied. "And we can continue to do mother's bidding."

"Fuck mother."

Sephiroth laughed. "Ah. So resistant. Is this what teenage attitude and that whole thing about rebelling against your parents is? You're such an amusing person, little brother."

Kadaj began to cry again, for no apparent reason, his tears spilling over his face. Yazoo must have felt it to earlier, that feeling that was sinking into his soul right now. "I really am going to die..."

"Hush...it's okay..." Sephiroth gently told him, wrapping Kadaj in his arms and kissing him again, his tongue entering Kadaj's mouth one more time. Even though his eye's widened in surprise, the silver haired boy had no will to fight back, his energy and spirit spent completely. Then Kadaj closed his eyes, his breathing slowing and then coming to a gradual stop. Sephiroth held the kiss a few moments longer before finally letting go of Kadaj's body, dropping the boy gently to the ground and standing up.

Cloud had been watching the entire time once again, and his calm sky blue eyes were staring at Sephiroth. "You treat him just as you treated me."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Sephiroth chuckled. "Does it matter? Come, let us end this today." Smoothly Sephiroth drew his masamune blade and charged at Cloud; Cloud brought his sword forward, and their weapons locked together with the sharp sound of metal against metal.

Mhm. I didn't like this chapter. But my friend did. I'm going to try to take her word for it. Poor, poor Kadaj. ((sighs)) I'm depressed today, so it's a good time to write this chapter. Also, I'm preparing an Epilogue, so it's not over yet! And on the other hand, I have already written up some of the fanfiction where I was going to show this from Toyo's point of view. It's going to involve a lot of what happened in the weeks before the first chapter of this story, and I am seriously considering posting it. Maybe. Sorta. We'll see.