Summary: To put it in a nutshell... Yazoo and Kadaj are searching the old lab complex in the ruined ShinRa building because Kadaj has been told by Mother that there is something of great use to them hidden therein when they come across a woman hibernating in a drug-induced sleep, genetically modified with Jenova cells by Hojo himself in a private experiment. They download all the information on her to their minicomputer, wake her up, and take both her and the file back to their hideout in the Forgotten Capital. There they discover some very interesting information concerning this woman, Zhaira, and a possible way to bring about another Meteorfall. Can Zhaira actually create another Meteor and take them all on a trip to the heavens above as Sephiroth tried to do two years ago? And what is Kadaj's interest in her, an intrest that goes beyond a working relationship?

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII. All I have is a copy of Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus (desperately searching Ebay to remedy that problem, but the prices for Buy-it-Now are OUTRAGEOUS).

Awakening

Warmth...

The sensation of touch...

She was warm, and someone was touching her.

The knowledge snapped her out of her stupor. Always before, that combination had meant that she was about to experience terrible pain, the cruel professor's hands treating her as if she was a piece of meat fit for the carving knife rather than a conscious human being. Maybe if she pretended she was still in hibernation, he would leave her alone, put her back in the tank. Hojo never liked it when she didn't respond to his experiments.

The hand traced the length of her profile, the touch soft and gentle. Hojo was feeling especially cruel today. A soft whimper escaped her, despite her efforts at keeping silent.

"Zhaira?"

That wasn't Hojo's voice. Who did it belong to?

"Zhaira, don't be afraid. You're safe now. Hojo is long dead."

Hojo...dead?

Was it possible that her prayers had been answered after so long? Or was this a trick, a hallucination caused by the drugs he constantly pumped into her circulatory system to keep her sedated and maneagable? The only way to find out was to open her eyes, a notion that terrified her.

But still...

She opened her eyes.

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Kadaj felt a flash of shock as she opened her eyes, when he beheld the new appearance of her irises. The same midnight black, with tendrils of mako-green shot through to the whites from the pupils. Sure, it had been strange to see that there was indeed a long lock of silver hair bisecting the perfect black of her mane, but seeing those eyes...

It was all the confirmation he needed.

She did indeed have Jenova cells inside her. Not as many as he or Yazoo or Loz, and certainly not as many as Sephiroth must have had, but some. Whoever her parents had been before was now irrelavent. His mother was her mother too. She was his sister.

And at the same time, she was not.

"Who..." She frowned, confused. "I remember you... I think..."

"Zhaira, it's Kadaj. From the manor, remember?" He couldn't keep the hopeful note out of his voice. Why was he hoping that she remembered him?

"Kadaj...?" Her eyes widened, and she jack-knifed upwards, gazing around wildly. "Where are we?"

"Still in Hojo's secret lab. Don't worry; the building has been abandoned for some time now. You're safe."

Her eyes fell on Yazoo, still napping against the wall. "What are you doing here?"

"We were looking for something, and came across you. You've been in suspended animation for at least two years now."

She forced herself to her knees and leaned heavily against the wall as she got into a standing position, her legs shaking like leaves in the wind. "How long has it been since last I was allowed to walk or run?" she mused to herself.

Kadaj rose as well. "Do you need help?"

"I think so. The muscles can't really support my weight too well at the moment." She grabbed his arm, and looked up at him. "You've changed."

"As you have."

"Yeah, I know." She fingered the length of silver hair, her eyes glazed in memory, before shaking her head violently and casting her gaze to Yazoo. "Who's he? Is he your brother? He looks like you."

"He is my brother, Yazoo. His cell was the one one the other side of mine. Yazoo!" he called.

"Hmm?" The older Remanent awoke with a slight jerk. He stretched his arms above his head, strangely reminiscent of a cat, before catching sight of Zhaira, who was staring at him openly. Yazoo grinned. "I see that she finally woke up. That means we can finally get out of this hell-hole."

"The sooner the better." Kadaj had no love for ShinRa Manor either. He had more than a few agonizing memories that had originated in this place...

"Not until I get my weapons." The finality in Zhaira's voice surprised him, and he turned to look at him. Her strangely-colored eyes brooked no arguements, no disobedience. Before Kadaj even knew what he was doing, he had said it.

"Where are they?"

"In the old cell block. They threw them in there and never bothered to get rid of them when they brought me here." Zhaira tossed her head, flipping her hair back over her shoulder so he could see her eyes clearly. "Besides, I want to wear something other than this thing." She gestured at the white, off-shoulder tunic she was wearing. "I despise white."

"We can get you something once we get out of here." Yazoo got up and led the way back up to the main lab complex, helping Kadaj get the woman up the ladder.

"But not until we get my swords."

Kadaj scowled, trying to get angry at her impertinance, but he just couldn't get mad. That baffled him. His temper had never been this slow to rise before. "All right. Let's get your swords, and get the hell out of here. White isn't exactly one of my favorite colors either." White was the color of lab coats; he'd seen far, far too many of those in his life.

He and Yazoo took turns supporting her as they made their way through the depths of the manor, using her fragmentary memories and the computer's map to find their way back to the center of so many of their nightmares...

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The holding cell block.

It hadn't changed much since last they had seen it. Some of the cells had collapsed, but most of them were exactly the same as before, albeit with more scorch marks and a smokey scent. A few of the cells had skeletons in them, the final remains of their less-fortunate brothers and sisters, but the windows in the doors were so small that it was difficult to tell if the cells had been occupied or not unless Kadaj got his face as close to the bars as physically possible.

Four of the cells had their outer walls collapsed. Those had belonged to the three Remenants and one other, a sister named Vizata who had died of battle wounds before any of them found a Cure Materia. They had managed to get out, but...

It could have just as easily been someone else's cell.

The idea sent a shiver up Kadaj's spine. If he (or Loz or Yazoo, for that matter) had been placed in a different cell, his skeleton would be rotting in this god-forsaken hell-hole right now. He shook the thought away - he had survived, after all - and turned his attention back to Zhaira.

She looked almost at home here, striding along beside Yazoo (still wobbly, but gaining more control over her long-unused muscles as time passed) without a single glance at the cells around her. She looked like a leader...

His eyes narrowed. He would not allow any competition to his position as leader. He was the alpha in the pack, and it would stay that way.

No matter who the challenger was.

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Queen: Ooo! Looks like Kadaj isn't going to stand any power plays from Zhaira, regardless of what he thinks of her!

Kadaj: You got that right. I am the leader. Never forget that.

Queen (nervous because Souba is right against her throat): Don't worry, Kadaj. I'm certainly not going to try anything.

Yazoo: You worry over nothing, Kadaj. She accepts us, but she won't try to take your position in the group.

Kadaj (putting Souba away): I suppose you're right. Weak humans and all that.

Queen (offering sarcastic grin): You know it! Anyway, read and review, same drill as always. Three chapters and ZERO reviews?! Come on, people! There's gotta be something you want to say about this! Do I have to do something completely insane in order to get your attention, like spontaneously turning Yazoo's hair pink?

Yazoo (glaring at Queen): You wouldn't dare.

Queen: Of course I wouldn't. You'd kill me if I tried.

Kadaj: I just noticed something. You put skeletons in here. There are no skeletons in Final Fantasy VII.

Queen: I did that on purpose. Trying to make the scene that much darker.

Kadaj: How much darker could it possibly be

Queen: I could throw some of your memories in there...

(Souba's back at her throat again)

Kadaj: Try it, and I will kill you. Slowly.

Queen (pushes Souba away): I wouldn't do that to you, Kadaj. I know what it's like to go through painful shit. I won't tell them anything. Don't worry.

Kadaj: Good.

Yazoo: If that's the end of that, I'm going to go on ahead and end this transmission for the day.

Queen (still having a staring contest with Kadaj): I think we're done for the day. Shut it off if you wish.

(transmission ended)