Author's note: Wow. The reviews are just wonderful! Thanks to anyone who read the last chapter and who let me know what they thought. Some little insight for this story: It'll progress further and further into my evil little plot line and the chapters will be better. Once again, expect another update one week from now or sometime around that date.
Abstract Silver
Every wound will heal
By the time that Cloud had arrived, Kadaj in his arms, everyone had left the church to continue on with their lives. It was getting dark, the day finally coming to an end. The sun was slowly retreating, gracing the sky with astounding colors of red, purple, and a rare baby blue color that faded into hot pink clouds. The streets were empty and nothing moved, leaving Cloud and Kadaj to themselves, weaponless and tired.
Brown, double doors creaked open in the silence of the night, alerting Cloud's dulled senses. The smell of flowers, peaceful and calming and forever gone from being damaged, filled his nostrils and the distinct aroma of pure water combined with it. Cloud stepped forth, carefully shifting Kadaj's slumbering form so he wouldn't smash his head or his feet into the strong doors.
It was too early for the moon to be out, but it pooled down into the ruined church nonetheless, spreading over everything that was inside. The water where both Cloud and Denzel had been cured of the Geostigma, the illness that plagued so many innocent victims, sparkled in the moonlight, perfectly illuminated by it in a picture of pure serenity. Despite the darkness outside, it was completely light in here, something rare and never seen by Cloud before. And even though small waves of cool air brushed over their bodies, a surreal feeling of warmth seemed to blanket itself around them, keeping the cold away.
Cloud took a step forward, into the middle isle, wooden floorboards making a very audible creaking noise as his black boots crossed them. His pace was slowed, tired legs forcing him to continue and his mind as well. He was clueless as to where he was going to put Kadaj, somewhere away from the water, but the wooden benches lined in two perfectly straight rows were the only inviting objects within the building, broken or not.
The calming sound of the water pooled nearby lapping back and forth onto the broken floorboards began to lull Cloud into a state of drowsiness, eyelids fighting desperately to remain upwards. But the blond somehow managed, blocking out all distracting sounds and concentrating on a lone church bench ahead, intact and without a trace of dust as well.
Kadaj's breathing was labored, heart working hard to keep a steady beat. When Cloud walked under one of many small cracks in the church, the moonlight pooled down upon him, making his hair shine brightly under it. The rebel's features were pained however, and so far Kadaj had made no attempt at waking up; just another problem for Cloud. Even as his body was being lowered to the wooden bench that was a mere four inches away, the once arrogant and energetic rebel neither moved by himself nor showed any change in his facial expression.
Gripping as tightly as he could without hurting the younger man, Cloud placed Kadaj onto the wooden surface below him, resting his head down first, trying hard not to cause any disturbance in his sleep. Hardest part over, the blond then set the remaining half of his slumbering body down, lightly pushing him snug against the back of the church bench to make sure that he wouldn't roll off the side in his sleep.
Kadaj mumbled something incoherent, rolling his head so that it was facing the shimmering waters, silver hair spilling off the side of the bench. Cloud paused, stopping in mid-step when the quiet noise reached his half alert ears. When the rebel showed no more signs of movement or any attempts at getting up, which surprised Cloud since Kadaj had a mind of his own, the blond turned on the heel of his boot, going back to what he had originally planned on doing; scouting everything out and looking for anything of his that may have survived the wrath of Aeris' waters.
Moving farther and father away, Cloud couldn't help but glance back from time to time, checking to make sure that Kadaj hadn't woken up. Once he was somewhat convinced, Cloud went to the small spot where his sleeping bag, lamp, and other pointless items had been only the other day. Setting sight on them, the blond was slightly surprised to see that they were all there, save his box of materia which had been stolen by one of Kadaj's brothers.
The other brothers, where could they have gone? Cloud's mind hadn't even touched upon the thought of where they were and if they survived the explosion on the bridge or not. Somehow he wasn't convinced that Loz and Yazoo were dead, knowing fully how almost indestructible they seemingly were. But wouldn't they have at least made some attempt to contact Kadaj? Perhaps they were severely injured, thanks to Reno and Rude's explosion, and were hunting them down this very moment? Cloud was amazed that his mind was functioning this well, even if it wasn't the best, and forced his mind on other matters, such as what the hell was he going to do with Kadaj now that he was on the brink of passing into a further state of unconsciousness and maybe slipping away into the life stream.
Bending down, Cloud wrapped his hands around the edges of his sleeping bag and uncoiled it from the tight bundle he had placed it in. He could use this to keep Kadaj warm and then try to get some sleep of his own, even if he knew that it would be extremely hard. Nevertheless, Cloud took the now uncoiled brown sleeping bag and walked over to Kadaj, his footsteps giving him the impression that his feet were only hovering above the floorboards since he was trying so hard to keep quiet. A miracle, really, for the wooden boards creaked at the slightest amount of pressure applied to them.
Cloud stood over Kadaj, staring down at his painfully shut eyes and a frown that had formed on his pale lips. He quietly took the sleeping bag and tossed it over his now trembling body, having been exposed to many elements without much care, and made sure that it covered most of him, before turning back around, puzzled about the rebel's condition and what could be done to stop it from escalating.
The water made a splash noise, startling a very tired Cloud. He spun around, facing the water, prepared to fight even in his worn condition. But when he met nothing but the empty space, overflowing with moonlight, he stopped and his heart gradually returned to its normal pace. Figuring that it was only a piece of the broken roof that had fallen into the waters below, Cloud stepped forward, half lidded eyes scanning everything that stood before him. When nothing seemed to be out of of place, the blond went towards the water.
There was no denying it this time, something really was making the water splash. Cloud heard it once more, tilting his head upwards to look at the cloudless, star filled sky above. Then, out of nowhere, a small crystal clear drop of water, the same size and shape of a tear, fell and landed in the water at his feet, splashing into the healing waters and creating a ripple effect. Whatever reflection of the outside world that had been there was shattered, looking exactly like a encased picture in glass would once it fell roughly onto the ground, breaking its sparking, crystal protector all over the floor.
Cloud remembered vividly the reaction Kadaj had once the water rained upon him, and thought against the idea of treating the rebel with it when the idea surfaced. There was a chance that the water wouldn't harm him in any way now that he had nothing to be so cruel over, but there was still a possibility that if he decided to heal Kadaj with the water, the younger man may very well flip out and scream as pain entered his body once again. It was just that there was no other choice right now but to try, and Cloud could care less what damage was inflicted upon his own body by youth if his actions proved to be fatal. Better safe than sorry in this situation.
Deciding to test it first before he did anything, Cloud went to the area where his sleeping bag had been, now just a dustless mark on the floorboards, and dug around in his small, but neat pile of belongings, and withdrew a small cloth which he had packed away for reasons unknown even to him. Quietly, well as quiet as he could get, Cloud stepped around any loud floorboards that he had memorized from staying in the church for such a long time, two years to be exact, and made his way back to Kadaj.
His skin color had been pale to begin with, but Kadaj looked like a white sheet, even more so when a beam of moonlight shone through a crack in the stone ceiling. His breathing was so faint that it was nearly impossible for Cloud to pick up any traces of it as he came within a few feet of the slumbering rebel, quickening his pace once he saw the deathly pale color of his skin. It clearly must have drained over the span of ten minutes; no sign of its original color placeable in the natural light beaming down upon them.
Hand outstretched with a dripping cloth clutched tightly within his grasp, Cloud placed it on Kadaj's forehead, almost afraid that if he wasn't too careful that the rebel would be reduced to nothing but ashes in his weakened state. When Kadaj still showed no signs of improvement, not even a grunt of pain, Cloud reached over to him to take the cloth away, but Kadaj suddenly shot awake, jade eyes livid with hidden pain, though Cloud got the idea that it wasn't from the water, but from other things. So much had transpired in such a short amount of time, the blond couldn't help but feel pity towards the younger man.
Kadaj forced himself up, seeing nothing but darkness from the sudden drainage of blood to his head, but the glimmering waters in the moonlight stood out like a sore thumb. He felt helpless, being within ten feet of the water, and began to panic from past memories of the burning pain he had endured when the life stream mixed with the water and attacked him, protecting Cloud too. There was so much pain running through him right now that it did not matter anymore, just a small numbing sensation that crawled up his injuries every few seconds. Kadaj was weaponless, he was mildly bewildered, and could not concentrate on anything else except the pure water, pushing himself fully against the back of the church bench and hoping for some means of comfort and protection against his small insecurities.
The rebel gripped the top of the wooden bench he had once been laying on and applied just a little bit more pressure then needed. He felt it wobble for a split second before he crashed down with it, falling backwards. More pain was added, but Kadaj felt the burning go away and looked up, to where the cloth had once been, now laying in a dirty heap on the floor near by, and felt a cooling effect come over him, driving it away. It was like it was ridding him of his sins, though Kadaj knew he had too many to be rid of once and for all.
Cloud walked over to where Kadaj lay sprawled on the ground, dumbfounded at what happened since his mind could only take so much running on little rest. He went to retrieve the cloth, the sounds of Kadaj's ragged breathing in the background, and dipped it into the waters again. The small dirt particles washed away, leaving the cloth as white as it had once been.
Still as quiet as he had been moments ago, Cloud sauntered over to where Kadaj was, hidden behind the now ruined bench, cloth in hand. He couldn't see the younger man, but tiny, almost invisible, strands of hair shimmered in the moonlight. Once again the workings of Mother Nature had clued Cloud in on where Kadaj was.
Cloud peered over the wooden ruins, expecting Kadaj to be there, but found nothing. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but before he could do anything, a leather clad arm shot up from under the bench, breaking it in two. Cloud struggled to stay balanced when the death grip on his arm tightened further. When it became too much for even him to handle, Cloud released the grip on his cloth and let it fall on top of Kadaj's now exposed head.
"Why... am I still... alive?" Kadaj rasped, voice dry and pained. He looked around, searching for something, but Cloud already knew what. "... Where's mother?"
Cloud placed his gloved hand over Kadaj's and forcefully made him loosen his grip. He stared down at the younger man and remained silent, unwilling to answer. Kadaj only became panicked and flew upwards, using speed that Cloud thought the rebel could not possess at the moment.
"Mother!" He yelled, voice hitching in his throat when pain seized him. He stopped in front of the water, barely noticing it, and staggered backwards when the point of his boot became enveloped into it.
Watching from afar, Cloud folded his arms and leaned against a stone pillar, shuddering at how cold and lifeless it felt. Kadaj was still dazed, as if he was in some sort of trance, and finally fell down, dangerously fast, into the floorboards. Within a few short lived seconds, Cloud was at the scene of the crime, hovering over Kadaj.
Something stuck out painfully on the rebel's neck. Once hidden successfully by the collar of his leather armor, it was now exposed as bright moonlight revealed what Marlene had spotted before Kadaj had taken off. However, this looked much worse than what his had been, amazing Cloud that Kadaj managed to hide it so well and for so long too.
The blond sat down beside Kadaj, who now had his eyes open, jade, cat-like orbs staring blandly at the older man. He noticed immediately what Cloud was looking at and went to cover it up, but his body failed him and his arms remained uselessly at his sides.
"Geostigma," Cloud said in a quiet voice, coming close to a whisper. "... But this is different."
"That's because mother chose me," Kadaj sneered, despite his weakened state.
"Well your 'mother' is dead. Get used to it."
Kadaj rolled his head to the side, watching as the water seemed to hypnotize him as it lapped back and forth, never going over the splintered floorboards too much. As long as they stayed away from him Kadaj was fine. But right now he wasn't fine and his mind was so completely scrambled that his consciousness began to flicker again.
Changing the subject, Kadaj whispered, "I am not supposed to be alive." He closed his jade eyes, feeling the cold moonlight embrace him. "After all, I'm just a body of thoughts," he remarked, hearing the words Cloud had spoken earlier ring through his mind; a distasteful reminder of what he truly was. It didn't matter if he liked it or not, there was no changing it.
Cloud kept silent, eyes devoid of any emotions. He silently debated what he was going to do with Kadaj, especially when his arrogant flair returned, if it did. He could always look for his brothers, but Cloud was determined to keep them a secret and let the rebel believe that they were dead, even if it was a cruel thing to do. The world suffered enough from their recklessness and dangerous attitudes. Not to mention all the pain they inflicted.
"Body of thoughts," Kadaj repeated in a murmur, voice barely audible. He rolled his head back, so that he was facing Cloud and opened his eyes, small black slits adjusting to the light. "But aren't you a body of thoughts also, niisan?"
"I've found my place," the blond replied. "Jenova is nothing to me." He pushed himself up, off the ground, but one of Kadaj's gloved hands grabbed him, preventing Cloud from going anywhere.
"Why did you do it? Why did you let me live?"
Cloud shook Kadaj off, trying hard not to hurt him, and went in search of his sleeping bag. He was extremely tired and the rebel's questions were getting to him. Cloud found it, coated in a layer of dust, and pulled it out from underneath the ruined church bench. He raised it in the air, giving it a quick flick, driving all the dust away. There was a small rip on the one side, but Cloud paid no mind to it. He went back to where Kadaj was, sleep already attempting to overpower him.
The silver haired rebel was asleep when Cloud arrived back where he had fallen, breathing now at a normal pace and some color was already returning to his face. The blond looked from the church bench back to Kadaj, then back again. Walking over to the younger man, he spread the sleeping bag over him and made his way to the bench, one that was within a few feet of Kadaj's injured body.
Folding his arms tight against his chest, Cloud bowed his head and closed his eyes, moonlight making his hair a healthy chocobo yellow once again. Sleep finally got the best of him. As he drifted into another world, the blond whispered, "Because I don't want anyone else to die," then everything went black.
Bathed in moonlight, the two figures lay motionless under the rather damaged roof of the church, in a peaceful state of mind. A gentle breeze came from outside, brushing past one flower that had managed to survive everything that all the others were put through, glowing an iridescent yellow. Clouds formed and finally covered the moon, leaving Cloud and Kadaj in complete darkness and solitude.