Chapter 22

"We don't know how it happened," Squall answered.

"What about your 'sources'?" Zell demanded. "You know, the ones that helped us escape?"

"I don't know…" Reeve began.

"You know more than you're telling us," Vincent interrupted, laying the bracelet he had found on the table. "You know that they aren't from these worlds."

Silence overtook the room as everyone tried to understand what had just been said. After a long pause, Reeve shook his head. "That's not entirely true, Vincent. I'd guessed it, but we didn't know for sure. I told you, we don't know anything about them."

"That's not entirely true," a new voice said.

Everyone was captivated by this new voice, whose body appeared at the end of the table. The person was covered entirely in an emerald green cloak, not allowing any feature to be seen. The person's hands were gloved in the same color. It was the voice that drew the attention, though. The voice was impossible to distinguish, purposely altered for the sake of disguise. Vincent distinguished subtleties in the tone and posture that made him assume the character was female, but he doubted anyone, except perhaps Red, had been so observant.

"Who are you?" Cloud demanded.

"My name is unimportant," the figure said. "I'm simply here to warn you."

"You're too late for that," Selphie spat bitterly, tears forming and threatening to spill over.

The figure stammered, as if taken aback by Selphie's straightforwardness. "We do truly regret your loss."

"The hell you do," Rakunya growled. "Where were you? You saved us from Sephiroth. Clearly you had the power to save Irvine from Genesis. Where the hell were you?" Selphie gripped his arm as he tugged at his katana, warning him not to get violent yet.

"Our magic may be potent, but there are only so many of us. We are not omniscient. We were occupied observing a terribly tragedy, one that I have come to warn you of.

"I'm sure that you are all familiar with Rufus' war against Esthar. At first, it seemed that his motive was the greatest threat. However, it has recently come to our attention that he has obtained a new weapon; I believe they are referred to as Eidolons."

There was a brief silence; some tried to remember what an Eidolon was, while others tried to grasp the horror of what this meant. "How?" Rakunya asked.

"We are not entirely sure. However, we were called back here in response to the crisis with Genesis. Unfortunately, we came too late."

"Who is Genesis?" Vincent asked before a silence could set. He was determined to have as many questions answered as he could before this figure made their escape again.

"A long forgotten project of the ShinRa, similar to the experiments of Sephiroth. Genesis was created using the G Substance and was named because he was to be the first. However, the G substance proved to be unstable. ShinRa had allegedly destroyed Genesis, but it would seem that those rumors are false. If he has any goals, they are impossible to determine."

"Is he Sephiroth's 'associate'?" Reeve asked.

"Unfortunately, no. We are still unsure of whom the associate is; however, Genesis seems to be a lieutenant, inferior to both Sephiroth and his associate."

There was a pause as everyone's mind flooded with questions. Quistis, however, asked the question on many minds. "You refer to Genesis as though he is still alive…is he?"

"We must assume so. Sephiroth retrieved him; this much we know. Where he was taken is a mystery."

"Where's the Ragnarok?" Squall asked.

"It would seem that it has been destroyed or otherwise taken by Sephiroth."

"Why didn't you let us fight Sephiroth?" Tifa asked. "Reeve told us that you saved us, but he never said why. Why didn't you let us try to stop him then?"

"It would have been a futile attempt. Even if you had managed to kill him, few of you would have survived, and his associate could have completed their goals…"

"You don't trust us," Rakunya put simply. "Don't dance around it; you didn't trust us to handle it."

The figure paused, turning the cloak towards Rakunya. He could almost feel the eyes staring into him. "We trust you, Rakunya. We just knew that you couldn't survive in that Crater."

Vincent went to ask a question, but Rakunya interrupted. "How do you know my name?"

There was a long silence as the realization of what had been said dawned on the whole of the group. "Answer me!" Rakunya demanded. "We already know that you aren't from this world. Who are you? How do you know me?"

The figure escaped silently from the table, darting out the door. Leaping over the table, Rakunya gave chase. The figure gave a good chase, but Rakunya stopped before catching up, clutching his arm in pain. He stared horrified at his good arm; Sephiroth had injured one arm, had Genesis taken the second? Seconds later, the arm glowed a bright red. Rakunya shook in horror, unsure of what was happening.

The figure had stopped mere feet in front of him. The cloak rested uneasily after the run, but the figure's features were still undistinguishable. The figure carefully walked back over to Rakunya and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It will be alright," she said, her voice no longer distorted. "I'm sorry I can't stay. You'll understand someday, I promise."

"Who are you?" he asked shakily. "What are you doing to me?"

She placed a gloved finger on his lips to stop his questions. "I'm not doing anything to you," she said soothingly. She pulled back his sleeve and revealed a glowing, red Materia. "Don't you remember?"

Rakunya stared at the Materia he had neglected in the heat of battle. How could he have forgotten it? Couldn't it have stopped Sephiroth and Genesis? Could it? What did it do? Had he had it then? Yes, he did. He remembered showing it to Yuffie…did he? What did it do? He couldn't remember. His mind raced with questions.

"Rakunya!" he heard Selphie say as she caught up with him. "Are you alright?"

She knelt down beside him and helped him to his feet. By the time he stood, the figure had vanished. "I'm fine," he lied. "I tripped, that's all."

"Wonderful," Amarant growled. "We're about to start a journey and Kuja decides to stop existing."

"The foul brigand has deserted us!" Steiner agreed. "Our trust in him was misplaced."

"Then forget him," Beatrix said quickly. "If we're going to find Eiko, we can't just sit around here wondering what happened to Kuja. We have to take action."

"Then where do we start?" Vivi asked.

Zidane thought for a moment. "That lion fellow said something that made Kuja think that Rufus took her…"

Freya closed a letter she had been reading. "According to Sir Fratley, there has been Eidolon activity around Esthar. Perhaps we should start there?"

Kadaj crouched, examining the ground. Was this the spot? He knew that he had seen a trace of them they day before. He cursed himself for not following this lead. His whole purpose was to find them for Sephiroth…

And then what? Would he simply cease to exist again? Would Sephiroth discard him when he was finished? Was he just supposed to be Sephiroth's dog, tracking down those who would harm Mother to save Sephiroth the trouble?

He shook his head. He shouldn't think these thoughts. He had his mission. But why? Why was Sephiroth more worried about them than he was Cloud? Wasn't his brother the true threat? Why wasn't he informed of any of this? Didn't he deserve to know?

No, he didn't. His existence was not permanent; he was to do as Sephiroth commanded. Such was the will of Mother…or was it? He only knew what Sephiroth had told him, and that was very little. He had been recreated, and Sephiroth had given him his target. He had been summoned to help destroy Cloud and his friends in the crater, and now his brothers searched for that party while he sought the new foe, the one he had been created to find…

Created…was he even truly alive? Was he truly nothing more than a puppet? He had not thought of it while he was a puppet to Mother, but…a puppet of Sephiroth? Who chose this life for him? If he was alive, did he not deserve to make his own decisions?

"Where are they, Kadaj?"

It was rare for Sephiroth to appear to him in person, but resentment would not allow Kadaj to turn around. "I'm sorry, sir," he said casually. "Apparently the lead I followed was not as solid as I had suspected."

"Then find a more solid lead, Kadaj. Time is running out. I cannot afford to have them running loose."

"If I may, sir?" Kadaj asked, keeping his timid tone despite the terror that overwhelmed him. Sephiroth would not take kind to his questioning, but he had to know. "Why are we searching for them? What threat could they possibly pose?"

"A pity my Remnants are not gifted with my knowledge," Sephiroth scoffed. "While you may know little outside my world, I have come to realize that these warriors possess the only threat to us."

"And Cloud?"

Sephiroth stiffened for a moment. "Cloud is a long standing nuisance that I shall handle at an appropriate time. First, we find these strangers."

"Sir, half their number has been felled by your sword already. What threat can they pose?" Kadaj grew annoyed at the way Sephiroth was avoiding his questioning.

"You shall see in time, Remnant. The battle ahead is the fiercest I have anticipated, yet I shall prevail. Find them for me."

Kadaj watched as Sephiroth left, angry that he had been predominantly ignored. "Oh, and Kadaj?" Sephiroth added before vanishing. "You had best tame your consciousness before we meet again. I will not stand for insubordination."

Kadaj stared after Sephiroth as he disappeared in the distance, cursing his will and his consciousness. He had to set them aside if he was to complete his mission. Everything would be too complicated otherwise.

Author's Note: Yes, yes, I know, it took me longer than I said it would to post this. My internet connection is just that good! sarcasm I'm holding out for comments before the next chapter; I write for me, but I post for you, so whether or not I post depends on whether or not its being read.

Next Time On Mad World: Where did Kuja disappear to? And who is Ultimecia's once before mentioned master?