Chapter 3
Kadaj's awakening had been slow, a fact that immediately worried him and made him claw frantically for full wakefulness. Opening his eyes felt sluggish, as if he had been sleeping for too long, sleep gluing his lids shut. He had never felt like this, not in a long, long time. Not since—
His eyes finally opened, blinking, taking in the off-white above him. The next thing that registered was the sounds. Someone was moving around, not Loz, who walked with a step that was far heavier than this one, his bulk making it virtually impossible to walk lightly. Not Yazoo either, whose tread always made Kadaj think of a dancer, moving to a beat no one but he could hear. He didn't dare turn his head to see who it was, better to remain unnoticed until he could determine exactly what was going on.
Closing his eyes again he sought out other sounds, hoping with all his heart that he was not alone. The person moved past him, and he felt himself relax enough to fully focus on the rest of the room.
Beeping… heart monitors.
Soft whine… flat line.
He had heard his fair share of those, had watched the steps that brought them about. Had made the sound himself. His hands gripping a pillow, feeling nothing as the struggles beneath it stilled. Terminations had been a learning tool for him, and those like him. He ruthlessly forced aside the fear that threatened to overwhelm him as he began to piece together what had happened, and realised where he was. He had to know if Loz and Yazoo where here.
Under the sounds of the heart monitors he picked out the quiet, long breaths of Loz, and from further away the shorter, mumbling breaths of Yazoo. The person came to a stop, and Kadaj knew exactly where he was, and let his eyes snap back open, turning his head. Controlling his desire to leap from the bed, and forcing himself to breath evenly. The beep of his monitor barely wavered, leaving the man by his brothers' bed with no knowledge of his wakeful state.
First things first he needed to get this man away from his brothers, after that threat was neutralised he could see about finding out where they were, and what had been done to them. He slipped silently from the bed, his bare feet hitting the cold floor, but he ignored the tingle that went through him and he moved, silent and intent.
As he neared he saw the man put his hand on his brothers' chest, and though he could see no syringe it didn't mean that there wasn't other ways to get drugs inside a body. He knew all about drug administration, he's been subjected to every known method under his scientist's hand.
It had taken him barely four seconds to get from his bed and position behind the man.
"Get away from him." He said softly, his tone giving voice to every threat he had, all of them deadly, and each one of them stark and honest. The man would be able to tell he was not bluffing. To better ensure his brother was safe from the man he reached up, and in a lightening fast motion had his arm around his throat. He was shorter than the man, but that only leant him the better grip, and he could feel his breath catch as his throat was slowly compressed.
Kadaj was a killer, and a good one, but he had learnt early to control the situation, and killing the man would lose him a hostage should the situation turn hostile.
His attention was diverted however when Yazoo's eyes opened, and his heart constricted as he read the terrible truth in his brothers eyes. He shut his eyes tightly, turning his head from Yazoo's unrecognising gaze, tightening his hold around the mans neck.
Labs.
Maybe not the one they were created in, but Labs nonetheless. He had not seen that blank look, the complete lack of emotion in Yazoo's eyes since they had left that place. It was back now, and it felt like everything they had worked for, all those years spent running had been for nothing.
The sound of a door banging open surprised him, and he opened his eyes, cursing himself for becoming distracted. His grip loosened just a fraction, not nearly enough to allow the man to get free, but enough to let some air into his lungs. Knowing he had left Loz somewhat undefended as the door was situated on the other side of the room, he easily manoeuvred his hostage out from between the beds, turning them both so that he could see whoever was coming in.
He was surprised for the second time when he saw who came in, unarmed, but obviously ready for a fight. "Big Brother?" he breathed, confused, and grimaced as everything came back to him. Mother, Sephiroth, the Reunion, his promise… Had he failed? Was that why they were here? There was a frantic second when he called to Mother in his head, where she had been a constant presence since the day of Meteor, but she did not answer him, before he ruthlessly shut the lid on that part of his thoughts. He could examine this later, after he had gotten them out of here.
He wished Loz was awake; this would be easier if he had more than Yazoo to back him up, not when his brother was so obviously not himself.
"Kadaj." Big Brother said, raising his hands in a peaceful manner.
Kadaj lifted his chin, ignoring the attempt at befriending him. "Where are we?" he asked.
Big Brother looked unsure for a moment before replying. "At the WRO headquarters, in the Infirmary."
Kadaj grit his teeth and gave a vicious jerk of his arm, pulling his hostage closer and tightening his grip. "I know we're in the Labs. I just need to know where. And I'm sure this gentleman here would appreciate the truth, because if I don't get it I will break his neck."
Big Brother's eyes flicked in a frantic manner to Kadaj's hostage, before returning to him. "I'm not lying Kadaj, this is an infirmary, you're not in any labs, and…" he hesitated, and Kadaj immediately filed it as an untruth. "You're free to leave at any time… but you need to let Reeve go."
Kadaj tilted his head just a fraction, wondering if Big Brother realised he was using standard Hostage Negotiator speak on him. Giving the man a name in an attempt to make him feel for the life he could easily take. Of course it had no affect on Kadaj, as his training had covered all of this, and he really cared for no one but his brothers.
He tutted and let what he knew was his most twisted smile. "Now, now, now. Why don't I believe you?"
"'Cause yer a paranoid little shit maybe?"
Kadaj's eyes flicked to the left of Big Brother to where a new person came to stand. Two against one now. He really wished Loz would wake up. Hiding his building nervousness, which he could already feel was doing the backwards slide into a Fit. He flashed his twisted smile again.
"Paranoid for good reason. Now, unless you really do want to see your friend here with a crushed throat and a broken neck I would suggest you start talking, and you can start with where we are and what you've done to my brothers."
Big Brother looked like he wanted to take a step forward, but he didn't, and Kadaj was glad that he and the other man had enough sense to know he was serious.
Big Brother took a deep breath. "You are in WRO Headquarters; we took you and… your brothers, here after the battle on the roof? Do you remember that? When you became Sephiroth?" Kadaj nodded, warily. "Well, after I beat him you collapsed, 569, and 929—"
"Loz and Yazoo!" Kadaj ground out, they would not be reduced to numbers, not again.
Big Brother nodded, and Kadaj was surprised to see a flicker of relief pass over his features before he continued. "You collapsed, and Loz and Yazoo found us. They were hurt from the explosion and collapsed with you. This was the safest place we could bring you."
"You mean the most secure." Kadaj said, and was pleased to see the guilt on Big Brother's face.
"Ya did a lotta bad things to a lotta people in Edge. If we'd taken ya to the local hospital to get checked out there probably woulda been riots. Now don't make things worse for yerself and let him go before you do any worse damage to him."
Kadaj flicked his eyes to the other man, and he swallowed, feeling an all too familiar desperation begin to build in the back of his mind. It was an impossible situation, and he knew it. To move Loz would require both him and Yazoo, and there were probably hundreds of soldiers out in the halls. What was the best course of action? They wouldn't attack as long as he had hold of this man, so maybe he could use that, get them out of the room and barricade himself and his brothers in.
But that would leave them trapped and give them time to gather reinforcements, probably too many for them to deal with. He inwardly cursed his scientist and his drug induced failsafe. He had seen other clones of his division driven to suicide by this very same situation, after all, what was the use of a clone that couldn't get themselves out of something like this?
Kadaj possessed just enough will to fight the urge to swallow his own tongue, he needed to stay alive; he needed to look after his brothers. He was sliding headlong into one of his worse Fits; he could feel it, the sort that left him completely incapable of defending himself.
He pushed it back, determined to hold onto all his functions until he had done something, anything that could protect him and his brothers. "What do you intend to do with us?" he found himself asking, a pleading edge; a far cry from the demanding he had intended.
Big Brother straightened, and looked him square in the eye, trying for earnest belief. "I actually came to offer you a place at my home. A chance to live a normal life. If you want." His eyes flicked for a second to Kadaj's hostage, bringing the clone's attention back to the man, and he realised he had been squeezing a little too hard and he loosened his grip.
"Why would you do that?" he asked. He didn't believe him; he couldn't afford to believe him not when there was so much at stake.
"Because everyone deserves a second chance." Big Brother told him, completely serious, and with such sincerity that Kadaj did, for a moment, believe him.
"A second chance? Don't make me laugh!" Kadaj said, hearing his desperation leak into his voice, and hating himself for it. As he felt the last vestiges of rational thought leave him, and the seizures began. Suddenly there seemed to be movement everywhere, too much to keep track of, and then there was a hand on his arm, gently prising it away from his hostages' neck.
"Kadaj."
The surprise of hearing that voice now and here made him release his hold and let Reeve drop to the ground. Nothing else mattered, not Big Brother, not the Labs, not truth or lies. All that mattered was turning around and seeing his brother. So he did, and at the warm recognition he saw in Yazoo's eyes he let himself go with a sob and collapsed to the ground, bringing Yazoo down with him, his arms wrapped around his taller brother, and though he didn't want to, there was nothing he could do but let the Fit wash over him.
*x*
Loz woke quickly and quietly, spurred into wakefulness by a strong sense of urgency. Taking stock of the situation was easy; Kadaj was in a stand off, and quickly reaching the end of his tether. It might not be obvious to anyone else, but Loz had learned over the years to pick up the hints, and he was so near that Loz was surprised he was still holding it together at all.
Pretending to still be asleep he opened his eyes a fraction to see what they were dealing with. A Medical room? A Lab? If that was the case then it was no wonder Kadaj was so wound up.
"What do you intend to do with us?" Kadaj's voice held such a fine tremor that it was barely noticeable, and Loz shifted his gaze towards his brother, careful to remain as motionless as he could. He was momentarily surprised to see Big Brother, but did not allow himself to react.
He could see what Kadaj was trying to do, and he could see it was a futile attempt, one that had been born out of his brother's desperation. Once again he found himself hating that Kadaj felt it was his duty to protect them. He tensed, ready to leap to Kadaj's aid should the need arise, he could take Big Brother and his companion, the only problem would be Kadaj, he wouldn't last too much longer.
He flicked his eyes to the side, away from Kadaj, Big Brother and the other man, relieved to see Yazoo there.
"I actually came to offer you a place at my home. A chance to live a normal life. If you want." Big Brother spoke, drawing Loz's attention back to him before he had the chance to truly begin to worry about the blank expression on Yazoo's face. Loz studied Big Brother's face for any hint of malice, knowing that Kadaj was growing too paranoid, the onset of the Fit's always made him like that, and wouldn't be able to see the truth even if he wanted too.
"Why would you do that?" Loz let his brother's voice wash over him, shocked into a complete stillness, knowing he had drawn the attention of Big Brother's companion, but he didn't care.
"Because everyone deserves a second chance."
Big Brother was telling the truth.
"A second chance? Don't make me laugh!" Loz sat up then, throwing caution to the wind. Kadaj was about to start seizing, and Loz knew that if he killed the man he held then Big Brothers offer would be withdrawn, and they really would be left in the labs, experimented on or more probably, terminated.
He shouldn't have worried though, Yazoo was there, as he always was when Kadaj's Fit's were bad, pulling him away from his hostage. Yazoo's eyes raised to meet his for an instant as he and Kadaj sank to the floor and the seizures began in earnest, confused and questioning. Loz put as much reassurance as he could in one small nod before he quickly got out of the bed and moved to stand in front of his brothers.
Big Brother looked torn, like he wanted to move forward and take the hostage, but wasn't sure if it would spark violence. Loz looked down at the man, who was just barely conscious, breathing with some degree of difficulty. Had Yazoo not stepped forward when he had this man would be dead.
"You should get him out of here." He said.
He frowned at the flicker of surprise on Big Brothers face, but he didn't hesitate in coming forward and lifting the man on the floor.
"Does this change anything?" Loz found himself asking, wary, but willing to let down just enough of his defence to find out the truth.
Big Brother froze and looked at him.
"I won't let you terminate us." He continued. "I know that… this," he gestured towards the gasping man, "looks bad… but he…" Loz tensed as he realised there was no way to explain about Kadaj without making it sound damming.
"A misunderstanding."
It was said so quietly Loz wasn't sure if he actually heard it, but to his credit he didn't look back to confirm that it had been Yazoo, spoken in that dreamy quality he had used before Mother had come to them, a voice Loz found that he had missed now that he realised how long it had been since he'd heard it.
"It's the Labs." He finally managed to say, hoping that would be enough of an explanation. "Does your offer stand?" he was wary of hoping, but he had heard the truth of Big Brothers words, and hope was something he so desperately wanted to have.
"Depends." Loz let his eyes leave Big Brother to look at his companion. "That was hardly the best of impressions."
Loz moved to fully block his brothers from sight. "It's the Fits. We know what the Labs mean. We know what waits for us here. The Fits make him paranoid, he was just trying to get us out the only way he knows how!" he curled one hand into a fist. "And if the offer isn't on the table anymore then you need to know that we won't stay here and be terminated."
Big Brother sighed lightly; carefully transferring the gasping man he held to his companion and turned to face him fully. His companion left the room carrying the injured man.
"No one is being terminated." He said with finality. "This is not a lab, there isn't going to be any tests, you're not going to be locked up and you are not going to be terminated." He took a deep breath as Loz released his own, reassured by the stark determined honesty in the words. "And the offer hasn't been withdrawn… but if this is going to be the reaction every time you wake up…"
Loz shook his head. How did he even begin to explain to someone who couldn't begin to understand what they had been through? How could he explain that waking up in a room like this… in fact, waking up in any room they could not remember entering themselves, sent fear coursing through them, made them instantly think that they had been captured, that the labs, the scientists and eventual termination were soon to follow.
How could he explain Kadaj's fits?
"One of th' doctor's looking at Reeve." Big Brothers companion said, re-entering the room. "Doesn't look too bad though, he's trying to talk already, th' idiot." He shook his head and looked across the room towards them. "How's things looking in here?"
Big Brother shrugged, and Loz could understand the sentiment, it felt like a frustrating lack of communication, and neither side knew what to say to smooth everything out. Big Brothers companion let out a sigh and stepped forward, shouldering Big Brother aside.
"Alright, here's the deal." He said, lighting a cigarette, and looking Loz squarely in the eye. "Cloud here is gonna give you three a place in his home, if you want it. If you don't that's fine an' we'll find ya somewhere else. The only problem we have is that you three caused a shitload o'trouble in Edge, so we can't go letting you just wander halfway across the world to pull this shit somewhere else. Wouldn't be responsible or some such. So you'll be staying somewhere close enough for us to keep an eye on ya."
He waved a hand and seemed so completely relaxed while he stood there, completely unafraid, that Loz found himself put very much at ease.
"Now, the problem with you coming to stay with Cloud an' Tifa, if that's what you wanna do, is that they got two kids living with them already, an' displays like that one with yer brother there aren't gonna make anyone trust ya any quicker, 'specially round the kids. Ya understand me?"
Loz nodded, because of course he understood. They might have lived outside of society since their escape, but he wasn't stupid, what little time they did spend in towns had taught them enough. "Unless he feels threatened he doesn't… He's not normally like that!" Loz tried to explain.
The man waved his hand again. "Don't matter none to me. Looks to me like so long as we don't startle ya there shouldn't be any problems. But that's something that can be worked on. What we need to know is that none of ya are gonna go off on a killing spree."
Loz grimaced, more because that single instant in that old church when he had been so close to killing that woman flashed in his memory, and he cringed from it. He wasn't a killer. Yazoo was definitely not a killer. Kadaj was another matter, but even he wasn't the type to kill for no reason at all. Only in defence of each other. That was a given, after all, they were all they had, and they couldn't let anything happen to that.
He told the man this, wondering as he did so, if the real meaning of his words came across. He was rewarded with a slightly crooked smirk. "You keep that attitude up boy." Loz blinked and was surprised by the warmth that spread inside him. Had that been approval?
The man turned his back to him, and Loz marvelled at this show of trust. Big Brother seemed just as surprised as he was. The man clapped Big Brother on the shoulder as he passed, leaving the room. Loz turned his attention to Big Brother once the man was gone again. Big Brother was giving him a searching look.
"Is Kadaj alright?"
The question was a surprise, and made Loz glance behind him reflexively to check on his brother's condition. His seizures had lessened to mere shivers, and Yazoo still held onto him tightly. "He'll be ok." He answered, he would be weak and far more prone to the less serious Fits for a few days, but he would be ok.
"Would you like me to send a doctor in to have a look at him?"
Loz tensed, and he could see Big Brother had seen that he had said the wrong thing, as he quickly went on to reassure. "I promise it would only be a check up, no blood tests, nothing you didn't want. But if you'd rather not that's ok."
Loz glanced back at Kadaj, and forced himself to relax. "It might be better if you… Do you need to have an answer now?"
Big Brother's face softened suddenly and Loz was dismayed to realise that his voice had come out sounding like a child's. At least he wasn't crying; that would have made the whole thing worse. "Take all the time you need." He turned suddenly to leave. "If you need anything just knock and ask, either me or Cid will be on the other side." He paused at the door and looked back, consideringly. "Can I trust you to stay here?"
"As long as nobody tries to take one of us or hurt us, we'll stay." Loz promised.
Big Brother nodded and smiled, leaving the room and shutting the door. There was no click of a lock, and Loz relaxed at that before turning his full attention to Kadaj and Yazoo. First things first was to make sure his brothers were ok, and then he would try and piece together the exact sequence of events that lead up to this, and figure out why he could no longer hear Mothers voice, and lastly, he would try and work out why he felt so relieved to have her gone.
