Koinu: Kay peoples, another chapter for you. I got another swarm of reviews, which is awsome! You guys are great, and I'm glad that you like this story.

Eclipse of Memories

Chapter Three

Kadaj instinctively reached back to grip Souba as soon as the rock had hit him. Even Yazoo and Loz were quick to react, readying themselves with their own weapons. It was an anomaly that they still had their weapons, but the youngest brother wasn't about to question it.

The boy would have been skewered in half-a-second under the right circumstances, but Kadaj froze as he turned, eyes locking on a familiar figure. His heart skipped a beat.

"Cloud…" His voice was shaky and tinted with something close to fear. The blonde was already in front of Denzel, sword drawn, an angered scowl on his face.

"What are you three doing here?" Cloud asked harshly, his voice purely accusing. "How are you here?"

"I… we…" Kadaj's confidence had fled him completely. The moments before his death and the fight before he became Sephiroth played over and over again in his head, haunting him, plaguing him, stealing all certainty from him.

But then Yazoo stood, moving with ease and fluidity. He stepped between Cloud and his younger brother, eyes trying to stare down his opposer. Cloud's grip on his sword tightened and he became tense and ready. Kadaj glanced between the two, his heart sinking.

There was a clatter of metal as Yazoo tossed Velvet Nightmare at Cloud's feet.

Kadaj's eyes widened. What the hell is he doing?

Yazoo took half a step back and raised his hands a little above his head in submission, turning his head to look to his right slightly instead of directly at Cloud. "We did not come here to fight you, Brother." He said evenly. "We mean you no harm," He glanced at his brothers over his shoulder, "right?"

Loz nodded and tossed Duel Hound to Cloud. "Yeah…"

Kadaj hesitated, unwilling to disarm himself in Cloud's presence. He sighed though, a defeated sigh. "We don't want a fight…" He muttered as he tossed Souba at Cloud's feet, mimicking his brothers.

"It's a trap." Denzel said quickly. "We can't trust them, Cloud. Remember what they did?" The boy wasn't about to get rid of his grudge towards them just because they were trying to look defenseless. They had to have something planned, they just had too.

"Denzel…" Cloud tried to hide the confusion he was feeling, but it leaked through into his voice. His eyes scanned the three silver haired men before him. They looked almost as confused as he felt.

"Aeris says hello." Yazoo said quickly. He had to do something to ease the tension, but he wasn't sure the indirect route he had just chosen would work.

"What?" Once again Cloud's voice was hard an accusing. "Are you trying to say that she-"

"Sent us back?" Kadaj stood as he finished Cloud's accusation. "Yeah… Liz… talked her into it…" He said slowly, uncertainly. Loz had stood as well, standing behind Kadaj to suport him, but his eldest brother's presence wasn't as comforting as it usually was.

Denzel growled but Cloud quieted him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked around quickly. Liz… she had taken a bullet for him; if she had talked Aeris into letting the other remnants live then that had to mean she thought there was some good in them. But there was one problem: She was missing.

"Well, where is she then?" Cloud asked as he sheathed his sword. Denzel gave him a look of disapproving, but the blonde ignored it.

"Yeah, where is she?" Cloud and Denzel both turned their heads to look at Marlene as she spoke. Tifa was behind the young girl, eyes hard, fists clenched. Marlene kept walking after passing Cloud, but Tifa stopped at his side. Denzel looked like he wanted to stop Marlene, but didn't dare get closer to the silver haired trio.

"How much did you two hear…?" Cloud asked Tifa in a hushed voice.

"Enough." Tifa answered simply.

Marlene sighed and looked up at Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz. She was nearest to Loz though. She trusted him more than either of his brothers. "Where's Liz?" Her voice wasn't accusing like Cloud's, but it also wasn't tight or frightened. She spoke to them like equals.

The sympathy made Kadaj's spirits rise just a little. Finally, someone who understood, and who would have thought it would be coming from the girl that they had kidnapped and traumatized? Certainly not him, or any of his brothers seeing from the surprise that was radiating from them.

He looked to Yazoo to reply, but his elder remained quiet. With a sigh he turned back to Marlene. "We… don't know…" He said slowly. "She was supposed to come back with us, but… she's not here…"

Marlene blinked in surprise but nodded understandingly. She half turned to look at the others, noting their looks of worry and concern. "Can these three stay with us?" She asked, directing her inquiry to both Tifa and Cloud. "Until they find their sister? When Liz and I were talking she said that she knew you Cloud, from a long time ago… you were old friends?"

Cloud blinked and Tifa spun around to face him quickly. "Liz?" She asked. "You mean the Liz? As in, follow-you-around-incessantly Liz?" Was that hope Cloud detected in Tifa's voice, hope that the little girl they thought died a fiery death long ago was alive?

Cloud nodded and answered both Tifa's and Marlene's questions with a single "Yeah…" He glanced at the three remnants before them, then at the weapons strewn at his feet, ignoring Denzel's grumbles of confused complaint. The silver haired trio had been absolutely silent as they waited for their fate to unfold.

"What do you think, Tifa?" He asked. "Think they can stay with us?"

"We won't blow anything up." Loz said suddenly.

"Loz!" Both his brothers hissed at him quickly. Fright was evident on Kadaj's voice.

"What…?" Loz mumbled quietly, shuffling his feet.

Marlene laughed, as did Tifa, surprisingly. "Well…" Tifa was slow to reply, but she was still smiling. "We're going to get hell from everyone, but… I guess they can stay… Until they find Liz, that is."

"Have you all lost your minds!" Denzel shouted suddenly. "Do you not remember what these guys did! They kidnapped me and Marlene, summoned the Behamut, and, within the time span of two minutes, destroyed two years worth of rebuilding!"

"Denzel… sometimes people change…" Cloud said quietly, glancing up at Kadaj as he spoke. The adolescent had cringed at every one of Denzel's accusations. "Sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse… And its not like they'll try anything with me around, right?"

Kadaj shook his head feverishly. "No way… Death isn't something I would like to experience again…"

Cloud chuckled mildly. "It's settled then."

Koinu: Yeah, it's a Liz-less chapter. They did talk about her quite a bit though. You all know the drill, review if you like it, don't read this if you don't. Until next time!