AN- No update just did a little touching up on this fic, it hasnt changed at all or anything though, just worked on the decriptions and character interplay a little.

Yazoo gasped as he regained consciousness and pain streaked through him. He forced his muscles to relax and breathe deep so he could think. He remembered fighting Cloud, then the explosion. It had all been happened so fast. Kadaj was dead. /Loz? Where was Loz? Yazoo tried to open his eyes. His left eye felt like it was stuck shut with something sticky. Blood? When he blinked open the other he saw he was in an alley. Not far from the building they had fought on. It was raining still but he had landed under an overhang of sorts.

The sounds of children's laughing voices were approaching. Yazoo cursed mentally. He was out in the open and defenseless not to mention injured. And it was probably a safe bet that the citizens of Midgar were not happy with him after the destruction he and his brothers had caused.

When he heard the voices of adults over the children's he tried to sit up but the world spun and he fell back into unconsciousness.

Cloud stood on the edge of the pool in Aeris's church with his friends. It didn't look like the playing children would run out of energy anytime soon and for once Cloud didn't mind. Many had been mostly bed ridden due to the Geostigma so this was a welcome change.

A young man had come running into the church and went right up to Cloud and whispered into his ear. The rare smile that Cloud had had faded. He nodded to the boy.

"What is it?" Tifa asked with a weary expression.

"One of them is still alive" Cloud didn't want to believe it. He was still worn out from the fight with the three brothers and Sephiroth and just wanted to rest. Pushing his pain aside he followed the messenger out of the church. Tifa asked Barrett to watch the kids and make sure they got back to 7th Heaven safely and then followed Cloud.

Vincent had brought Fenrir to the church knowing Cloud wouldn't want it sitting in the ruins. Cloud waited for Tifa to hop on and went roaring down the street.

A small crowd had gathered a safe distance from the body lying crumpled against a wall with a roof still partially standing. He was unconscious and blood had covered one side of his face and matted his hair. Cloud was somewhat surprised to see that it was the longer haired, smaller built brother. There was a gleam of metal and Cloud saw the gunblade that he had fought with lying a few yards away.

Cloud knelt by the mans side. His breathing was shallow and hitched making Cloud sure that he had serious injuries that were hidden by the dark leather he wore.

Cloud debated on what to do. He certainly couldn't kill the man while he lay helpless. But he couldn't just leave him here or to the local authorities or the crowd that had gathered. If he still wanted to cause havoc then he would definitely be able to after he recovered unless Cloud was there to stop him. Cloud sighed, it seemed like he didn't have a choice.

He moved to lift the man into his arms. He was surprisingly light. Tifa was at his side and had guessed his intentions and was searching the man for weapons. On the ground beside him lay the bladed gun he had shot Cloud with. Tifa picked it up carefully and found something that she hoped was the safety and clicked it on. "Barrett wont be happy you know." She said and fell into step with Cloud.

A small crowd had gathered but did nothing more than buzz with whispers as they moved away from them. The citizens of Midgar would not forget the damage this man and his brothers had caused but they trusted Cloud.

"None of them will be." he replied and climbed onto his motorcycle holding the smaller man in front of him. He felt Tifa jump on behind him and reach her hands around to help. It was an awkward setup but it did work. It was slow going on the rain slicked streets and Cloud breathed a sigh of relief when they neared 7th Heaven.

Cid was outside, leaning against the wall and smoking a cigarette when they pulled up.

"Oh man, why the hell did you bring that scum here?" he said with a loathing expression on his face.

Cloud said nothing and merely walked past Cid and into the bar with the man in his arms. The room fell silent at the sight.

AVALANCHE had gathered to toast the victory over Bahamut. The cheerful mood vanished and Cloud could feel everyone's eyes on him as he went to the stairs. Vincent followed him as he went to his makeshift office. Tifa had gone ahead of him and was laying out an old mat onto the floor with a few sheets and blankets. Cloud laid him down gratefully. Even though the man was light his injured arm had begun to shake with the strain.

Vincent was leaning over the unconscious man. He pushed the hair away from the blood that was matting it to his face. " He may have a concussion. Are you going to treat him as well or merely wait until he wakes up?"

Cloud hung his head and sighed. This man and his brothers had been tricked by Jenova just as Sephiroth had been. Would he see that when he awoke? His brothers were dead because of their mad quest. Would it be enough to make him see the reality of what this Mother was? Hadn't Cloud been caught in the same trap once?

"We may as well treat him as best we can. It doesn't look like he'll be healed for a few days either way anyway." Hopefully he would wake up before then and Cloud could determine whether he was still a threat.

Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs and Barrett's voice bellowed "What's this Cid's saying about you bringing that cat eyed freak here! Cloud!" Barrett was in the doorway looking downright pissed. He saw the man on the mat and almost spit. "You cant keep him here with the kids. Its crazy!"

Cloud regarded Barrett calmly "If he does cause trouble I can stop him. I wont let him harm anyone. Especially the kids. You know that."

Barrett shook his head. "We should just kill him now and be done with it" he growled.

"NO!"

Marlene stepped out from behind her father with a stubborn expression on her face that was becoming all too familiar to Cloud.

"Why would you say that Marlene?" asked Vincent who was leaning against a wall near their unconscious charge.

Marlene was looking at Yazoo with a kind of sad expression. "He was the one who let me go when they had taken all the kids to the place where Kadaj made Denzel and the others drink the black water. After you saved Cloud he took me from Denzel and told me to run into the woods heading the way you had gone. He made sure his brother didn't notice, and I wouldn't have found you!" Marlene's big eyes stared up at Vincent then at Barrett.

"You cant kill him. He isn't all bad" she said, hands on her hips.

Barrett sighed. "Alright we wont kill him but you better keep a good eye on him Cloud. I hear that he's even looked at the kids funny then I'll finish him myself. "

Cloud just nodded. Barrett and Marlene left and Vincent went to go and get the med kit.

Cloud studied the silver haired man for a moment. He looked much younger and fragile now than he had when they had fought. Although he was unconscious Cloud could see that whatever dreams he had were unpleasant.

Does he know he's the last one? They seemed to be so close, like real siblings….They fought as of they could read each others minds.

Vincent and Tifa came in with a bowl of water and various medical supplies. Tifa began cleaning the cut on the boys forehead. The silver strands of his hair turning dark under the water. He stirred but didn't wake. When it had been cleaned and salve applied they looked at one another.

They would have to take off the leather coat to check for injuries. Vincent and Cloud looked at Tifa.

Tifa simply rolled her eyes and began unzipping the long coat when the boy grabbed her wrist quickly. His eyes had flown open and Tifa could read the confusion and fear underneath the icy front. She took hold of the hand around her wrist gently. "It's alright, we're not going to hurt you. But you are injured and we need to see how badly." He merely stared at her for a minute then tried move away from her. Vincent grabbed his shoulders and pinned him down.

"Don't make this hard." he said into the boys face in that way that made it clear he didn't have a choice.

"Be careful Vincent!"

All four people looked at Marlene standing in the doorway again. Tifa gave the girl a disapproving glare. "Marlene! Go back-"

Marlene ignored her and came into the room walking right up to Vincent and his captive. "You're name is Yazoo right?" she planted herself next to the mat. Cloud motioned to Tifa to leave the child alone. He wanted to know how their charge would respond to her.

He turned his green cat eyes to her and nodded once. "Okay, well Yazoo, this is Vincent and Tifa and you know Cloud. They are gonna try and make you better okay?" Yazoo let his eyes close for a second then nodded again.

Vincent released his hold. Tifa herded Marlene out.

Vincent had unzipped the jacket to reveal the pale skin underneath mottled with bruises. He had tried to remove it completely but stopped when Yazoo tensed and winced at the movement. Cloud pulled the jacket away from his side. "Your ribs are broken" he said noting the black bruises and difficulty breathing. Yazoo said nothing, merely closed his eyes and nodded.

Cloud examined the broken bones carefully. It was two of the lower ribs and it seemed like a clean break. Had to hurt like hell though. He moved to get at a better angle to try and wrap them when he accidentally hit Yazoo's leg and the boy bit back a cry of pain.

"Sorry" he murmured. Looks like they found another injury. Between him and Vincent they got the ribs wrapped. When it came time to tend the injured leg there was a repeat performance of them all looking at Tifa and then at the leather pants.

Vincent looked down at Yazoo. "Are you wearing anything under the pants?" he asked. Yazoo looked at him like he was speaking a different language. A second later understanding came into the green eyes and Cloud could have sworn that he blushed.

"There's a zipper underneath the buckles on the lower leg that opens up sufficiently" he said slightly startling everyone. His voice was filled with pain but it was a smooth and clear. Cloud liked the sound of it. Vincent found the aforementioned zipper that ran along the inside of his leg. It was rather convenient as Cloud didn't think that Yazoo could handle taking the pants off at the moment. Yazoo's left knee was back and blue as his ribs and obviously dislocated. Without a word Tifa took Yazoo's shoulders while Cloud took his other leg and held them down.

"This will hurt but its necessary" said Vincent. Again Yazoo said nothing but Cloud saw him clench his jaw slightly. Vincent quickly cracked the limb into place. Yazoo made no sound except to speed up his breathing and close his eyes.

Vincent bandaged the knee firmly then rezipped the pants. "You don't have any other weapons on you?" Cloud asked Yazoo. Yazoo opened his eyes and seemed to think for a minute. He could lie but Cloud was really too exhausted to care at this point. If Yazoo did lie to him than it would show Cloud just where he stood.

Yazoo shook his head. "Alright then, get some sleep" he said and left the room. He returned a short time later with some sleeping gear and laid it down by the door. Tifa and Vincent had cleaned up the med supplies and passed him as they left. Tifa touched his arm. "Are you okay? We should take a look at your arm."

Cloud shook his head. "In the morning. Thanks Tifa." She just smiled at him. "Don't mention it. Let me know if you need anything"

Cloud rested back into his impromptu bed. He had chosen to put Yazoo in his office as it was farther from the children's rooms than his own. Sleeping on the floor didn't bother him. It didn't seem to bother Yazoo either who had seemingly either passed out or fallen asleep. I hope I'm not wrong about this Cloud closed his eyes and tried to follow.