A/N: So, here is my dilema. I don't know if I want a sad ending or a happy ending. I guess we'll let the story decide. Oh, and we have a special guest appearance from one of my favorite men. See if you can guess who.

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Kuja was numb. Not only in his body, but in his heart and soul. He wanted to feel, desperately, more than anything, he wanted to feel; but he simply couldn't. The prayers of Rhianna and Gwendolyn were falling on deaf ears, it seemed. God had deemed that he would be punished for his past deeds by taking that which now mattered most to him. No amount of intercession from the Head Watcher and her daughter would change that.

Fiddling with the sleeve of the hoodie Gwendolyn had brought him, he waited. He was simply waiting for the doctor to come out and tell him that his lover and his child were gone. He hadn't sensed the baby since he and Kandi had parted for the evening and he had drifted off to sleep. Then, he woke from his vision and all was still. The distant hum he always heard when she was not far from him was gone and he hadn't heard it since; and he felt empty without it. Kuja closed his eyes in pain knowing that if Kandi made it through this, the emptiness she would feel without the child would be far worse than his own insignificant loss.

As bad as it sounded, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he could live without the baby. There could be other children; but the fact remained that there would never be another woman like Kandi. Not for him. Not ever. His infatuation with Rhianna had faded away, save for the occassional mutual flirtation. Her heart belonged to Darryl; just as Kuja's heart belonged to Kandi. He didn't want to think about life without her. He didn't want to live it. He wouldn't be able to now.

"Where the fuck have you been?!"

Kuja looked up, breaking from his daze as Akalara approached her fiance menacingly. "Don't you dare tell me you took care of it without me," she hissed.

"Just Phase I, Babe," Zack said, pulling her into his arms. "Seph put him in custody with a ton of SOLDIER's guarding him. He ain't going no where."

Kuja blinked. He did not understand what was going on. He glanced over at Squall in question and the SeeD captain made his way toward the wizard, sitting down beside him. "Guys," he interrupted. "Kuja don't know what went down. At all."

"Oh," Zack nodded in understanding, pulling Akalara over to sit near Kuja. He gestured to the Division 8 captain. "Go ahead, Squall."

Squall glared at the black haired man, but leaned foward in his seat and began talking anyway. "So, Kandi called me first," he said, glancing over at Kuja as he clutched his hands together. "I think it was because I was the last person she talked to on the phone and she just hit send when she was attacked." Kuja nodded in understanding, knowing that Kandi had been turning to Squall lately as a confidant of sorts. "Best I can tell, Rude was in her room when she got in. I don't know what happened, but she told me he attacked the baby and I rushed over there as soon as I could."

Kuja's eyes flashed in rage at this bit of information. "Rude...attacked her?" he asked quietly.

"He was unconscious on the floor when we were there, Kuja," Squall told him. "I didn't want you to see him because you needed to stay with Kandi."

Kuja looked over at Rhianna. "The nurse said her 'ex' hit her in the stomach," Kuja stated. "I was too concerned for her at the time to think anything of it. She meant Rude."

Rhianna nodded. "Yeah," she replied, clutching at her daughter's hand for comfort. "I still can't believe that he was capable of doing something so...vile."

"What did you guys do?" Gwendolyn asked harshly. "Tell me he is covered in gashes and burns all over his body and that various appendages are no longer attached to his person."

"We told him she and the baby died," Reno said quietly, speaking for the first time since coming in. "Then I told him I had orders from Tseng to kill him because Turks who kill other Turks can't be trusted. Played roulette with him to fuck with his mind. Last chamber was pointed to him. But there was nothing in it."

Kuja was breathing deeply, trying to control his rage. His eyes flashed with hatred and loathing. He wanted blood. He wanted to steal the life right out of Rude's body for the pain he had caused her and their family. Hatred pounded in his veins, his blooding rushing into a blazing inferno of anger. So easy it would be to crush the man with the power he had at his control; to watch as flames licked at his skin, melting the flesh from the bone. It was becoming too much, too quickly this hate. He covered his ears as they began humming with rage, so loud he couldn't hear himself think.

Humming.

He heard humming.

He heard humming!

Kuja lept from his seat, trying to calm his fury and ease the flow of blood rushing to his head. He closed his eyes, breathing steadily and listening. Waiting. Calmly. Patiently. There! There is was! He heard it, the same sound he heard everytime his child was near. It wasn't loud, but it was strong. And it was there.

"Kuja?" Rhianna asked in question, rising from her seat. "What is it?"

"I can sense the baby," he whispered, eyes still closed as he just basked in the sensation he had missed for several hours. Everyone was silent, watching the silver wizard intently.

Several minutes later, the doctor and the nurse from before came out into the waiting room, looking tired but relieved. "Kuja," the doctor said with a warm smile. The wizard opened his eyes and waited for the confirmation of what he already knew. "They made it."

Kuja's knees hit the ground as he wept in relief, vaguely aware of the cheers and tears of his friends surrounding him. He remained there for a few seconds befor he struggled back up to his feet. "Can I see her?" he asked. "Please."

The doctor nodded happily. "She's still in recovery, but she's not awake yet," he told him, placing a hand on the wizard's shoulder. "Perhaps your voice will bring her out of it quicker. I'll let you give her the good news, all right?"

Turning back to the rest of the group, the doctor gave an apologetic smile. "Just family for now," he explained. "I don't want her overwhelmed."

"Doctor," Kuja said with amusement. "They are family."

"Ah, I see," the doctor replied warmly. "Well, just one at a time for now then. Nothing more until she gets stronger."

"You better hurry your ass up then, Kuja," Akalara threw at him as he followed the doctor down the hall. Kuja simply smiled at her. If he had his way, he wouldn't leave her side until he was taking her home.

The doctor gestured toward her door and Kuja eased in. He simply stared at her for a moment, taking in the sight of her breathing peacefully in sleep. He pulled a chair up beside her bed, staring down at her, still so relieved and thrilled she and their child were fine. Her stomach was bandaged from the surgery and there was a monitoring device attached to her beneath the bandages, hooked up to a screen. Kuja peered at the monitor, his hand grasping hers as he leaned closer to examine it. A slow smile spred across his face as he looked at the image on the screen.

"Our baby," he said, bringing her hand to his lips. He stood up and bent over her face, kissing her lips gently and brushing her hair out of her face.

The nurse came in, carrying a pitcher of water and a cup. She smiled at the wizard as she sat it down on the rolling tray. "She'll be thirsty when she wakes up," she told him softly. "Just let her sip it though. We'll bring her some food after she's up for a while."

Kuja nodded and voiced his thanks to the nurse, turning back to his love. He threaded his fingers gently through her hair. "Kandi," he whispered softly, trailing his fingers down his face now. "Can you hear me, little canary?"

She scrunched her nose and turned away from his touch. "Tickles," she mumbled sleepily.

Smiling, he took a lock of her hair and brushed it down her face, over her eyes, along her nose and over her lips. She giggled and opened her eyes. "That's mean," she said softly.

He kissed her again and cupped her cheek in his hand. "I apologize," he told her gently. "But I needed to hear your voice. Do you remember what happened?"

She looked at him in confusion for a moment, then at her surroundings. Her eyes began filling with tears and he knew that she did remember. "Kuja," she choked out, her free hand grasping at her stomach. "The baby..."

"Is fine," he whispered reassuringly, stroking his thumb over her cheek to ease the tears away. "You both are."

Tears of relief slid down her cheeks. Kandi tried to shift in her bed, but winced a little. "Probably shouldn't move, huh?" she asked softly. Kuja shook his head and eased her forward gently, propping her up with another pillow.

"Comfortable?" he asked. She nodded, smiling at him. "Are you thirsty?"

"Yes," she said instantly. Kuja poured her a glass of water and handed it to her with instructions to sip it only. Kandi rolled her eyes but did as she was told.

The silver wizard couldn't take his eyes off of her. Sliding onto the bed beside her, he pulled her gently into his arms, cradling her protectively against his chest. He kissed the top of her head, just relishing in the feel of her warm and alive against him. "I love you," he murmured, stroking her skin soothingly. "I thought...I had lost you. That feeling of hopelessness was so unbearable. Thinking I would never hold you in my arms again; never be able to kiss you or touch you again."

"Kuja?" Kandi said softly, snuggling against his chest and breathing in deeply. "Shut up."

Kuja chuckled and pulled her tighter against him, planting kisses anywhere his lips could reach. She sighed contentedly and smiled. "Much better," she said, lacing their fingers together and setting them on her stomach. She tilted her head slightly and kissed his lips. "I love you, Kuja," she whispered. "Can I go back to my cage now?"

"My little canary," he replied with a smile. "There is no need to keep you caged anymore. I released you and you came back. You are mine forever."

Kandi's lips turned up into a smile and her eyes twinkled with that spark he had fallen in love with. "Cool."

"I expected more from you."

Rude winced at the cruel indifference directed toward him. He had only heard that tone of voice directed toward people whose lives were about to be taken. Fisting his hands together, he stifled a shudder as the Wutain's angular eyes peered down at him coldly.

"You were the last one I suspected capable of this."

Unnervingly calm was that voice. It was nearly soothing in it's lack of inflection. That characteristic was intentional, meant to lure the victim into a false sense of security before the inevitable struck. However, Rude had always been the one standing guard at the door behind the victim as Tseng interogated, waiting for the subtle indication that prompted him to move silently and snap their neck.

He had never been the one in the chair.

"I do not take kindly to any who hurt one of mine," Tseng stated calmly, adjusting his gloves and flicking a piece of lint off his immaculate suit. His eyes flashed dangerously, the only emotion displayed on porcelin features. "Especially not from someone within the organization."

"Sir-"

A quick, unseen backhand silenced Rude, blood filling his mouth from his busted lip. "You will not speak unless I grant you leave to do so," Tseng told him, still maintaining the calm, collected voice. He adjusted his tie and glanced at him. "You were well informed."

Rude spit the blood out of his mouth and quirked an eyebrow at his boss in question.

"Your self-assigned mission was an apparent success," Tseng continued. "And though I despise failure, I wish you would not have succeeded in this endeavor."

Rude remained silent, knowing Tseng would either proceed with his explaination or grant him permission to speak.

"My Turk is dead...as well as her unborn child."

Rude breathed out a ragged sigh. He was glad the baby was dead. But...he hadn't wanted Kandi harmed.

"You murdered a fetus and it's unarmed mother," Tseng said, unable to grasp the concept. He looked back at Rude, eyes narrowed. "Why in the hell would you do that? You have permission to speak."

Rude cleared his throat. "With all due respect, Sir," he hissed out. "You wouldn't understand."

Tseng glared at him, placing his hands on the table firmly. "Enlighten me," he snarled.

"The child...wasn't mine," Rude seethed, returning the glare. "It had no business in her body."

"So in order to remove it, you murdered it's mother as well," Tseng replied, cocking his head. "I suppose it must have been frustrating knowing another man's seed had created a life within the body of your current obsession."

"I'll fuck Elena and knock her up and you'll see how goddamn frustrating it is."

A right hook this time and a tooth bounced across the concrete floor. "You do and you will be praying to every god in every faith that your partner would have shot you," he promised with a low growl, his face inches from Rude's. Tseng straightened to his full height once again and smoothed his black hair into place. "As it is, your punishment will warrant a pleading session with at least the major dieties and their immediate subordinates." Tseng cast him a charming smile. "Though I doubt they will intervene."

"And what will my punishment be?" Rude asked quietly.

The charming smile turned into an evil smirk. "What indeed."

A clicking sound was heard and Rude turned slightly toward the door, watching as his former friends entered the room. He laughed bitterly. "So, I'm to be killed at the hands of my peers?" he asked harshly.

"Death is too good for you," Kuja stated as he moved to stand before the man who destroyed everything he loved, pain apparent on his features. "It would be too simple to let you die for your crimes. Besides," he said, waving his hand in the air and transforming the interogation room into a torture chamber, a wicked smile covering his face as Rude discovered he was now strapped to a table. "This will be much more enjoyable. Gwendolyn is quite the little sadist now."

Gwen smirked, unsheathing a dagger. Kuja stepped aside, bowing slightly and gesturing to the victim. "Ladies first, my dear" he said suavely.

Gwen inclined her head as she approached Rude. "I will make you bleed," she hissed, slowly carving patterns into his chest and arms. She wrote out 'Kandi' into his arm and 'murderer' over his heart. Rude winced with every slice of her blade, but refused to give her the satisfaction of hearing him cry out in pain. Gwen wiped her dagger clean on his pants and sheethed it, turning to her green-haired friend. "You're turn, Ak."

Pure hatred shone in Akalara's eyes as she withdrew a small linked chain with several hooks on it. "I despise you," she seethed. "You hurt one of my best friends. You stole her from us." She started connecting the hooks to every single one of his earrings and both of his nipple rings. Cranberry red eyes glared down at the button of his pants and her lips turned up into an evil smile. She unfastened his pants and removed his member, fastening a hook to each piercing on his penis.

"You just make this too easy, Rude," she laughed, making sure his straps had him fastened down firmly.

Rude's eyes widened as she gave the chain an experimental tug. "Oh God," he whispered. "No, please..."

"Fuck you," she snarled, taking off at a dead run and pulling the chain harshly, ripping each piercing out of his flesh. Rude couldn't hold back a scream this time as he felt all fifteen of his rings and studs yanked out of his body, flesh ripping and burning in agony. Akalara smirked, satisfied at the sight of the trembling man before her. "Next."

Sephiroth stepped forward, arm outstretched as Masamune materialized into his hand. His black wing came out and he suspended himself into the air above the victim. He slid the seven foot long katana into Rude's flesh, in between each rib, not enough to do any damage to his internal organs, but enough to send searing pain throughout the Turk's body as the razor sharp blade sliced his flesh. Rude's blood slid off the blade with ease, not even needing to be wiped off before the weapon faded away. Sephiroth lowered himself until he was suspended directly above Rude. Deeming him unfit for words, Sephiroth simply spat in his face before returning to his previous position as voyeur.

Squall stepped forward, sending two shots from his gunblade at Rude's knees. He then spun and brought the blade down across Rude's face, leaving a gash extending from where his hairline would have been diagonally down to the underside of his chin. He then reared back and hit him in the face. "Fucking bastard," he hissed.

Zack was next. "I never had a sister," he said softly as he began unfastening Rude's restraints. "Not in blood, anyway. Always wanted one. She was it. And you killed her."

Rude collapsed to the ground, his injuries making it unable for him to stand. Zack kicked him in the bleeding ribs, breaking them with the force of the blow. He then proceeded to beat him with his bare hands, bloodying and bruising skin that had yet been marred by the others. When Rude was reduced to nothing but a bloodied, sobbing mess on the ground, Zack stopped. He knelt down in front of the man that he once called friend. "You will suffer here until you die and then you'll burn in hell for what you've done," he snarled, throwing him back against a wall.

Zack stepped away, rubbing his bruised knuckles and turned to Reno. The red-head hadn't been able to watch much of the torture and was silently wiping away his tears. "Re," Zack said softly. "You don't have to..."

"I want to," he whispered hoarsely, slowly making his way toward his former partner. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a simple silver ring.

Rude looked up at him, broken and openly weeping. "Reno," he forced out. "Please, Buddy. No more. No more."

Reno took Rude's left hand and slipped the ring onto his ring finger. "You chose your fate when you did what you did," Reno told him, unable to bring himself to repeat the lie that he'd killed Kandi and the baby. "This ring represents your marriage to your fate." He activated a small button on the ring, causing ten spikes to enter his finger, securing the ring in place. Rude cried out in agony. "You can never take it off unless you take the finger with it. But it will remind you, always." Reno wiped his eyes, with the back of his sleeve. "Sorry it came to this, Buddy; but it's your own damn fault. I'll remember you the way you were before, all right? But you shouldn't have done it. You shouldn't have."

Reno leaned forward and kissed Rude's bald head. "See ya...Partner," he said standing to leave. "Time for you to clock out."

Tseng gestured toward Kuja. "Care to finish this so we can get on with our lives?" he asked coldly.

Kuja inclined his head toward the Wutain. "Indeed," he stated darkly. He turned to Rude. "You will never forget what you did. You will never escape it. It will forever haunt you and I will personally see to that."

The silver wizard approached the broken man, grasping his head in his hands. "Memor usquequaque, sino intemporaliter!"

Rude's mouth dropped as a rushing wind rushed over him, sending him spiralling into a dark vortex. He clutched his head as he fell, seeing nothing but the woman he claimed to love screaming in pain as her child was expelled from her body and her own life taken from her slowly. She wept and screamed, mourning the loss of her child and her own impending demise. Then he watched her heart monitor flat line and nurses and doctors rushing to her, trying to prolong the inevitable he had caused. Then she died.

And then it replayed, over and over and over again. It was the only thing he saw. The only thing he could see.

This was his fate, to relive the pain and death of the woman he loved, her suffering caused by his own jealousy and his own hand. He was to be forgotten by all who knew him, only now a nameless prisoner in the dungeon of the Castle That Never Was.

Saix looked up distastefully as the pained screams of the man the Organization was now in charge of guarding reached Xemnas' study. "He is quite loud, Superior," he observed.

"I suggest you accustom yourself, VII," Xemnas stated, scribbling something down on a document. "His stay here is permanent."

"Has he a name? A number even?"

Xemnas smirked, a small smile playing on his lips. "No name, no number," he replied, rising from his seat. He lay his hand on Saix's shoulder. "He is a true Nobody."

A/N: Epilogue next. Review please.