Author note: I decided to add another little evil twist to the story, as you shall soon find out what that is. I contemplated whether I should use this or not but why wouldn't I? Big thanks to those that reviewed as well, keep them coming!

Abstract Silver

O brother where art thou?

The wind held a frigid essence to it as the unpredictable force of nature swept over the barren lands that were deprived of both luscious greens and life itself. Small pebbles were carried away on the strong breeze as if they weighed nothing and were forever forgotten to the earth below. The sun was trapped behind a mass of dark clouds, its iridescent glow tainted.

Nothing moved about, nothing chirped, nor sang a song filled with beautiful tones. Any clumps of grass that managed to grow in the earth that was sullied from the mako, were destined to lift off with the breeze and leave behind nothing. Nothing. There was nothing here anymore.

Years had passed since the use of mako had been put to a stop, but many feared that the earth was incapable of producing any life. But things looked as if they were gradually changing, a little, if nothing at all. They would just have to be patient.

Things were looking brighter for those who hoped for a better tomorrow. Shinra had ceased their reign of power and the mako had stopped. The fear of Sephiroth on the loose and angered with the world was no longer an issue and the latest problem of them all, the silver haired men, had vanished from the earth without a trace. But of course, things tended to twist the other way. It was how life liked to work.

As the clouds allowed the sun a momentary break, it's warm rays, overpowering the crisp feel of the wind, graced down upon two figures clad in all black. They remained upright, standing still, their feet near the edge of a cliff that overlooked Midgar and the land around it, one of many that surrounded the city.

Their bright colored eyes, shimmering with hatred and something deeper inside, watched like a hawk as Midgar slowly came to life. They could see many things from their location, but they couldn't see the one that they were looking for. And they knew, they knew that it was going to take a lot of effort and searching to find him.

The two figures, standing side by side, finally showed signs of movement. The more slender of the two, who stood with perfected posture, remained facing Midgar as the more strongly built one turned away. It was quite some time before they were looking in the same direction again.

It had taken many days to get to where they were. A hard task it was most likely not, but they had undergone some rather unfortunate injuries, thus making travel hard on their worn bodies. As soon as they were able to walk once more, the two had immediately went out on a search, but every one proved to be useless and a waste of time.

The chances of finding him were slim. Hell, they didn't even know if he was still alive for that matter. But they needed him.

They had to complete the reunion.

"Yazoo," the more built of the two spoke, his deep voice cracked and dry. "How much longer do you think?"

The silver haired man with piercing jade eyes turned to face the older of them both, his surprising silky hair covering his face for a seconds before it fell back into its rightful place above his shoulders. His pale skin was covered with scrapes and burn marks, which he preferred to keep hidden with his hair. A patch of singed skin was already beginning to scar along the side of his left cheek. There was a noticeable amount of silver locks missing, which caused the silver haired man to feel anger towards the world.

He went to talk, but his voice hitched in his throat, refusing to move due to a massive cut that crossed diagonally across his neck. He was sore from their last encounter with Cloud, which had to of been the worst yet, and wanted nothing more than to get revenge. But he had more important things to do.

Coughing lightly, Yazoo managed to force something out, though it sounded nothing like his original voice. "It is hard to say, but we need to find Kadaj first, that is our top priority."

They had spent all last night looking for their younger sibling. Yazoo didn't know what it was that made the connection between them all so strong, but he felt that they needed Kadaj in order to complete everything that had been planned for them.

He had stumbled upon Cloud while Loz searched the streets in the shadows of the night. He watched the blond, hoping that he would lead them to Kadaj, but when the blond had unexpectedly turned and looked to where he was standing upon a rooftop, he knew that they would have to call it a night yet again.

Shortly after, as Yazoo remembered clearly, they had returned back to the church in hopes that Kadaj would still be there, but they had found nothing but an abandoned building that carried the strong scent of flowers. They had stayed in the place, deciding that there was nowhere else to go, and remained there until the morning rays of the sun, before it had been clouded over, spilled onto their faces with a warm sensation.

Back to where Yazoo had finished talking, the silver haired man turned to the one who was obviously more built than him and cocked his head to the side, regretting it immediately as pain flushed his strength away, then gestured towards Midgar, a cold grin tugging on the corners of his mouth.

"Loz, we will start our search again, beginning with the old church. He can't be that far away, it would pain him too much."

Like Kadaj, both Yazoo and Loz suffered terribly from the Geostigma. Their bodies however, were more adapted to it and more developed than their younger sibling. Traces of the horrible disease snaked up the side of Yazoo's right leg, though it remained hidden under fading black leather pants. Loz on the other hand, had a growing spot for the disease on his left arm, which pained him when he tried to take part in anything that required lifting weight. It also prevented him from pushing large amounts of energy into the ground with a single punch and hoping that the force would strike his enemies in one shot.

"Let's go."

Yazoo turned around, silver hair whipping behind him where it moved in sync with his walking pace. Loz didn't spend any time hanging around and quickly matched his brother's speed, groaning inwardly when they came upon an annoying dilemma.

A cliff.

It took them several minutes to successfully climb down it, without injury but with extremely sore arm and leg muscles. They now faced the task of walking into Midgar unnoticed and completely blended in with those that inhabited it, for the moment being of course. Only until they found Kadaj and made away with him, leaving the city and concentrating on reuniting with their mother.

Once there, torn apart and collapsing buildings greeting them, Yazoo and Loz quickly made for the ancient church, constantly glancing around to see if they were being followed or watched by those wandering the streets. When the people began to become less and less common, the silver haired men were able to walk in the daylight, thankful for a break.

Finally, the cracked stone building which was still marveling in its own way, came into view among the debris of the ruined buildings surrounding it. The large wooden double doors greeted them within a few minutes of walking.

Yazoo pressed down upon the splintering surface of the left door, cringing at the noise of rusted hinges as they slowly moved to let the silver haired man in. Behind him, Loz followed, eying the church and remembering the first time he had been in here, which had started with a fight that had wounded his ego only slightly, but he had been the victor in the end.

The clouds outside pulled away from the sun once again, sending rays of warm sunlight pooling through the large hole in the roof of the church. Yazoo studied it, trying to come up with a logical explanation as to how the hole got there, but his mind was focused on other things, thus refusing to let him think about anything else.

Leaning against one of the stone pillars that held the roof up, Yazoo closed his eyes for a second while he crossed his arms over his chest and went into a world of deep thought. Loz settled for standing around, flexing his muscles and trying to think of what they would do next. A few moments later, Yazoo's piercing jade eyes flickered open and the coldness that he harbored within them returned once again.

"Loz," Yazoo's voice cut through the silence that had sprung up, "I want you to check the central part of Midgar, look everywhere and don't get caught. I'll search around here, then we should meet back up at this church when the sun is about to set."

The older man nodded his head, understanding everything and glad that they would finally get somewhere with their searching. However, he doubted that Kadaj would want to come back with them, especially since the events that had occurred before the white light enveloped them.

Yazoo pushed himself off the pillar, unfolding his arms and beginning to walk towards the large double doors. Loz brought forth his memory of how to get to the central part of Midgar and where it was best to stay hidden. He watched Yazoo leave, telling himself that his brother was probably thinking about what had happened last time and if Kadaj would come back.

But he wondered, was Kadaj even alive?

Warm sunlight made his pale skin dance as it refused to move, but it felt good and he didn't want it to leave. His mind was on the borderline of consciousness and sleep, though it refused to pick a side. He wanted to be awake again, to see the world and not the darkness that lingered in his mind. But if he were to slip into the light and be able to see people and eat and drink, he would have to face the pain again. He hated the pain.

As multiple thoughts swarmed inside of his mind, he wondered if he had been moved from his original position, since he could not recall a window being next to the mattress on which he slept. Then, suddenly, the sunlight was taken away from him when he heard someone close to the window. Whoever it was had deprived him of his warmth. Now sleep would be impossible.

Kadaj felt his muscles move, felt his hands flex, then felt the dreaded pain that the Geostigma carried as he drifted into consciousness. It was hard not to word how he felt, or scream for that matter, but he didn't want to show any weakness. At least his ego was returning.

The sound of footsteps on the floor beneath rang in his ears, but they quietened down as they reached his mattress. He heard the light shuffle of moving fabric as whoever it was crouched down beside him. Kadaj couldn't stand it anymore, not being able to see things and know things, so he slowly forced his eyes open, cringing at how bright the room was despite the curtains having been drawn across the window.

Kadaj squinted so that his eyes were nothing but slits on his face, surveying the room until he came upon a pair of pure mako eyes, startling him. He made to get up, but the pain denied him the luxury of doing so. The silver haired rebel only managed to make a grunting noise and pressed his head deeper into the pillow he was resting on, becoming sick to the stomach as he felt just how unclean his hair was.

"Niisan," Kadaj spoke, knowing that the person at the side of his bed was Cloud. "How many days have I been here for?"

"Too many to count."

Kadaj turned his head so that he got a full view of the room and suddenly realized that it wasn't the room he had been in before, but another. He was positioned in a bed fit for a child and one exactly identical to his was beside him. The room altogether held a happy feeling to it, lightening Kadaj's mood only slightly. But, as his eyes rested on the window with the curtains over it, the silver haired rebel remembered being in this room once before. Before all the pain had crippled him.

"Where's that woman?"

Cloud moved to the bed beside Kadaj and sat down upon it, the springs in the mattress making quiet creaking noises as pressure was applied on them. The blond looked at Kadaj, his expression confused as to what it should be. "Tifa is downstairs with the children, she should be up any second with some water and food."

"Oh."

Kadaj closed his jade eyes, feeling comforted as his mind was at ease. It was only him and his niisan now, but he had nothing to say, except, "Niisan, open the curtains."

Cloud scoffed, but sat up nonetheless, moving towards the window and pulled back on the light fabric. He felt the strong rays of the sun touch his arms and then knew why Kadaj wanted the curtains reopened. However, the blond was beginning to get irritated with the younger man.

"Kadaj, I'm not your brother." The silver haired rebel turned his head to face Cloud as the blond finished his statement, confused as to what exactly his niisan meant. "I'm Cloud, not 'niisan' or 'brother', just Cloud."

There was knock on the door before it opened, revealing Tifa, who carried a wooden tray with a glass of water on it and two bowls of soup. She walked over to the beds, placing the tray on a nightstand. Without a word, she passed a steaming bowl of soup and a spoon to Cloud, which the blond took politely and offered her his thanks.

"Just try and get better, I really don't like the concept of you traveling after so much injuries."

"I'll be fine."

Tifa didn't look convinced.

"Where exactly are you headed to anyways?"

Kadaj watched as they talked, his eyes now open and shifting from speaker to speaker. He let out a small sigh, one that nobody noticed, and bit back the pain as he listened to what Cloud planned on doing.

"A while ago," the blond began, "I heard that there was a plant growing near the Northern Crater, a plant that can cure anything. Any illness, any disease, any disability. But nobody has managed to reach it."

There was a moment of silence as Tifa thought hard on what was the right thing to say without upsetting anyone. Kadaj remained quiet, breathing softly so that he wouldn't interrupt anything, that and he was surprised by Cloud.

Did Cloud really intend on going on an expedition that could very well cost him his life? He knew the blond was daring for things like that, with no fear at all, but there was obviously a catch to it, right?

"Just," Tifa sighed, "Just try and be safe and don't get into anything that you won't be able to get out of. I know I can't stop you, but please, please be careful."

The bar owner left the room, leaving behind the tray and everything on it. Cloud felt a large amount of guilt for making his old friend disheartened, but Kadaj needed his help.

Grabbing the bowl of soup brought up for Kadaj, Cloud placed his own on the nightstand and moved off the bed, heading towards Kadaj. He dipped the stainless steel spoon in the thick liquid, then brought it out as he talked steadily to the younger man.

"Here, eat this, it'll make you better."

Kadaj allowed Cloud to feed him before he forced himself to sit upwards, forgetting that the Geostigma wasn't going to let him but he managed to anyways.

"You are an idiot," Kadaj said, making Cloud want to roll his eyes.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Don't play dumb." Kadaj grabbed the bowl of soup from Cloud's hands and began eating eagerly, his stomach making noises as its hunger streak was finally being put to an end. Kadaj had forgotten that food even existed over the days he was forced into deep sleep and nightmares.

"I'm going no matter what."

Cloud stood up, handing Kadaj the glass of water Tifa had brought up, but was refused by a wave from the silver haired rebel. He was glad that Kadaj was at least eating, and had regained some of his arrogance back, but he couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not. After watching the younger man eat his meal, Cloud made for the door, only to be stopped as Kadaj called out his name.

"Cloud! Wait!"

The blond turned slowly around, mako eyes momentarily blinded from the brightness of the room behind him. "What?"

"I'm... sorry. Don't go, stay here."

"That's something I just can't do." Cloud smirked and grabbed the doorknob, opening the door. "Try not to get into too much trouble, alright?"

Kadaj went to protest, but the door had already closed. He sighed loudly, allowing himself to sink back into the soft mattress. The sun danced on his face once again, but this time he could savor it.

Downstairs, Cloud was saying his last good-byes to the children and Tifa, a bag full of things he would need to survive the journey slung over his left shoulder. Tifa was upset that he would be leaving once again and unsure if Kadaj would try anything or if Sephiroth decided to return once more. Cloud assured her plenty of times while the children bounced up and down, saying good-byes of their own.

After much fuss, Cloud was able to leave. He felt bad for Tifa, and even more so for Kadaj. But he needed to do this.

He had to.

Somewhere along the line, he knew that he had lost track of where he was. He had never been to this area before, and everything looked completely different compared to the other places, minus the rundown buildings and homeless people.

Loz stepped away from a small back alley, eyes scanning the area around him. It was then that something caught his attention.

A blond haired man exited a building with a sign reading: "7th Heaven" on it. Loz immediately recognized that person to be the one he had fought several battles against, none of which had turned out how they had planned.

It was just his luck too. That meant that Kadaj must be kept away somewhere inside of that building and he was the one to find their missing brother. It looked like they were going to get their reunion after all.

Smirking coldly to himself, Loz neared the bar once Cloud was out of sight, determined to get his brother back, even if it meant that lives were going to be lost.