Author's Note: Okay I stayed up a bit late last night, hoping to get this in by then, but my stupid password wouldn't log me on. So I'm sorry that I couldn't get chapter four in sooner. Anyway I need to go eat breakfast! Have a wonderful school day all of you... 'cause mine's going to suck. Oh, and sorry if there are any mistakes in this chapter... I tried my hardest to go over it and read and reread.

CHAPTER FOUR: THE VESSEL

Let's pretend she is their mother's vessel… pretend… pretend… pretend…

The way Loz tied Kitty up, and then plopped her down by a pile of rubble, was profane. Kitty closed her eyes in restrained anger— where are you Zack? Please… come… I need you. Kitty looked up into the darkening sky. After what Zack had said about Midgar's storms, Kitty was certain that she didn't want to be stuck in one.

The sound of the three brother's voices alerted Kitty to their uncanny presence, they were somewhere close by. But where, Kitty wasn't sure. The three of them were almost… not human. Their silvery hair, alike features, bizarre abilities, cold skin, cold breath, and eerie cat-like eyes made them something else entirely. Kitty felt dread building up in her stomach. What have I done?

"Mother, where are you?" came Kadaj's voice. He sounded as if he were calling out for a long lost pet that had run off, and still hadn't come back.

Mother…?

"She's gone, little brother. Face it, she left us. We failed her," came Yazoo's impassive voice.

There was a whimper, and then a low audible wail. "Mother…"

"Stop your crying, Loz," Kadaj's raised voice startled Kitty, she jumped. Her eyes were wide, as she listened in more avidly on what the brothers were saying.

"I'm sorry, little brother. But… what's a life without Mother? What is the point of living, now that she is gone?" Loz sniffled.

That was… dramatic… Kitty mused to herself.

There was silence on Kitty's end as the three brothers bowed their heads. There was no more pain; not a single presence of Mother lingered in the midst of their bodies; there was not a single word of anger or honey-sweet appraisal… everything was silent for the first time since their birth.

Suddenly, Kadaj let out an agonized scream. "Why, Mother?! After all that I did for you, and you still pick him over me!" There was a loud smash— Kitty's eyes widened even more at this, she shook with fear, the sound had been vociferous— then a shuffle of feet, and Kadaj's voice again, "Yazoo… she told me that I was… her favorite… now what?" Kadaj said this so quietly that Kitty couldn't believe she had heard it. Something's happening to my senses…

"Shhhhh… we'll find her again, I promise."

Was Yazoo soothing his brother? Kitty hissed, when an excruciating flash of pain seized her, and racked her head. A headache. But something told Kitty that it was much more than just one of her normal weekend headaches. Kitty moaned, and bent forward.

The three brothers came into sight. Kadaj's eyes narrowed as soon as he saw Kitty. He wondered why she was bending forward, as if about to throw up, but did not ask. Humans were a waist of precious time.

"Loz, take her with you. Make sure that she isn't able to talk, and make positively sure that she has no way of breaking out of those ropes."

Loz advanced towards, Kitty. She gave him a scowl, and hissed when another spasm of pain shot through her head.

At the hiss, Loz narrowed his eyes, "You ungrateful little human," Loz growled at her, "Why, if it weren't for Kadaj, I would kill you right now."

"Loz," Yazoo warned from where he stood next to Kadaj. "She's bait."

"Still, she's an ungrateful brat," Loz spat, as he towered above her.

Kitty averted her gaze so as she could gaze upon her feet. The ground underneath Kitty was wet, and Kitty shifted uncomfortably above it. She could feel the brother's gazes beating down upon her, from where each of them stood; she wondered what they were thinking. Perhaps they were wondering what Kitty would look like without a head… or what she would look like with deep puncture wounds from a particularly sharp double-bladed sword.

"Nothing to say?" Loz spoke up after a while, "well then good. Let's go."

Thunder rumbled over head. The clouds had finally caught up, and the wind was now howling in Kitty's ears. She whimpered when Loz picked her up— bridal style— and began to walk over to his brothers. Kitty stayed tense in his arms. She knew that if she rested her head against Loz's chest then she wouldn't be able to stay awake… and if she couldn't stay awake, then who knew what the brothers would do to her. Yet the headache she was currently experiencing was making her tired as heck. I cannot fall asleep…. I cannot fall asleep… she repeated over and over in her head; her mantra. But it was failing as the seconds ticked away.

"There's a village close by, if I recall," Kadaj looked towards the immense city walls, "there we can get some supplies, and maybe find a few useful vehicles."

Yazoo , who had been staring off into space only moments before, awoke from his reverie and murmured, "We'll have to be careful, though, we do not need to attract unwanted attention."

Kadaj nodded his head, and Loz only twitched slightly in acknowledgement. Kitty noticed that Loz couldn't even stay still for one second. They began to set forth.

The walk in between mountains of rubble, and through the thick walls of Midgar, left Kitty fast asleep against Loz's chest. She hadn't meant for it to happen, but the pain had been way too intense, and she had been atrociously fatigued.

Kadaj noticed this and smirked. "She's quite a weakling."

"Takes one to know one, little brother," Yazoo glanced sideways, and smirked at Kadaj's irate expression.

They were now walking amongst sand dunes and large sun-tanned rocks. In the distance to the east were lofty cliffs; to the west and north was nothing but miles and miles of arid desert. They headed west.

Sand slithered around them. Hiss… hiss… hiss…. The noon soon turned into late afternoon, and late afternoon soon evolved into early evening. The sun had set. Around seven at night they arrived at the entrance of a bustling village in the middle of nowhere, and immediately obscured themselves in the foliage of shadows.

Once sure that no one had seen them coming, Kadaj turned to his two brothers, "Yazoo go and find three pairs of cloaks. Loz and I will wait here with the girl. Be quick and don't let anyone see you long enough to recognize you." Kadaj turned slightly so as his back was facing his brothers. From this position he could see who came and went through the village entrance.

Yazoo smirked, his trademark smirk, "I'll be as fast as a cat," Yazoo's gaze fell on Kitty soon after he said this, and his expression changed from a smirk to something likened to surprise. He didn't say anything out loud about it to his brothers; he merely had to look at Loz and Kadaj. Almost immediately Kadaj and Loz knew what he was inquiring after.

"How could she be in relation to us, Yazoo? She's a human weakling," Kadaj drawled in a bored manner, as if they'd been down the same road before. Then, as if Yazoo had said something offending, Kadaj's eyes flashed and he turned on his brother— swift as a snake poised to bite— he hissed, "How can you insult Mother like that? How can you give this child here any credit?"

Yazoo's eyebrows rose, his eyes flashed dangerously. "I saw what I saw," he then glanced back over his shoulder at Loz. Loz, having most unceremoniously dropped the girl to the sand, was watching them uncertain whether or not he should interpose with their argument.

Kadaj looked over at Loz too, his eyes softened slightly, "Forget it, Yazoo."

Yazoo let it be, and slipped away only to disappear in the midst of a crowd of people entering the village. It took him only thirty minutes, until he returned with three dark hooded cloaks.

Kadaj smirked, and held out a hand for his cloak. Yazoo handed it to him frostily, turned and gave Loz his cloak, then donned his own.

"What about the girl?" Loz turned to her, once he was fully concealed from view, narrowing his eyes as if calculating her size.

"We'll have to untie her, and then wake her up. I think a hotel room would be the best thing for us tonight," Kadaj looked over at Yazoo.

As usual Yazoo was staring off into space, but once he felt his brother's intense gaze upon him, he came back to earth. "What?"

"It's your turn to take care of the girl. Like I said, you'll need to untie her and then wake her up," Kadaj repeated himself in tediousness.

Without a word, Yazoo made his way over to Kitty, and bent before her. He roughly began to untie her and then threw the rope at some bushes to the left. He then took to shaking her like a rag doll, "Wake up, human."

Kitty's eyes flew open. A spark of mako… a speck of silver strands…

Yazoo flew backwards, his eyes wide with rare emotion. He had thought that, after he and his brother's had failed Mother, there would be no more siblings… no more mako… no more geostigma. Nothing left of mother… but an empty box lying somewhere still in Midgar. Gone….

Both Kadaj and Loz had seen what had happened when Kitty had opened her eyes. They both reflexively placed their hands on their weapons and waited for her to make a move— anything that would alert them of a surprise attack.

"What?" Kitty asked in confusion. She had no earthly idea what was going on.

Oh but she will learn in time…

"Who are you?" Kadaj kept a safe distance away from her, a look identical to the expression his brother, Yazoo wore. Surprise.

"None of your business," Kitty had just awoken from an eloquent dream of walking through an everlasting field of white and yellow flowers. She'd seen someone in the distance… a slender figure… Clary? She had started to run in her dream. The sun beating down upon her voices whispering… all of these aspects had been a part of her dream.

No Katarina… no she is dangerous… Katarina!

As Kitty bounded towards the anonymous figure, there had come a lurch in the ground underneath Kitty's feet, and suddenly the ground had opened up. Kitty was sucked down; she'd fallen through an endless cyclone of roots until she was suddenly amongst… clouds.

Falling… falling… falling… always, falling. Everything is white.

Now, staring up at the three men, Kitty was filled with a profound feeling of hopelessness. She didn't belong here… she belonged on earth with her aunt.

I highly contradict that… time to take action. Forgive me Kitty…

"Who are you?!" Kadaj shot forward in a flash of speed, he had her by her neck and pinned against the surface of the village wall. Kitty could tell that he wasn't used to being disobeyed. Nevertheless, Kitty would rather keep her life, than lose it trying to keep her name from Kadaj.

"I'm—" Kitty's eyes widened, her heart missed a beat. Something was lurching inside of her, something sickening and not part of her. A shock of great pain erupted through Kitty's whole body, her mouth opened in a silent scream.

Immediately Yazoo set forward, "Let go of her, Kadaj!" Yazoo ordered in a panic. He recognized what was happening; it was the same thing that had happened the first time that Jenova had spoken through Kadaj. "I said let go of her!" Yazoo yanked Kadaj up by the shoulders, and Loz pulled Kadaj's hands from the Kitty's throat.

Kitty fell forward on her hands and knees, coughing up some blood. The pain increased tenfold and she let out a tormented scream. Something was fighting to take over her body… something terribly powerful.

Yazoo, watched in awe. Mother had found them in the form of a girl; she really had cared enough for them, to have transferred herself to the appearance of a pathetic girl. He glanced over at Kadaj who was watching with fear written plainly across his face. Yazoo remembered that blood had not been a part of Kadaj's whole ritual.

Kadaj walked forward and fell to his knees in front of the girl, he put a hand on Kitty's back, "Shhhh… don't fight her…," he whispered.

Kitty began to sob; it hurt so much. She had so many questions; she couldn't just let someone take her over without answers.

"Just let her through," Kadaj soothed. His voice wasn't deadly sweet, or smug, it wasn't sarcastic or apathetic… it was actually… reassuring. "Just let yourself go. It will all be over in a second. Trust me."

Another spasm of excruciating pain and Kitty was out cold.

"Mother…?" Kadaj's eyes took on a gleam of childish delight, he immediately forgot about Kitty, in the mirth of the moment.

"Mother?" Loz peered over Kadaj at Kitty's still body, Yazoo followed suit.

Kitty began to move… yet it wasn't exactly Kitty that was moving. Half of it was Kitty, but half of it was… not. Kitty stood up languidly and then turned in slow motion, revealing eerie topaz blue eyes— the pupils only cat-shaped slits— and shining strands of silver amongst the deep chocolate brown of Kitty's hair.

"Mother?"

"Who else?"Kitty's face took on a un-Kitty like smirk, and the girl spread her arms out wide. "Kadaj… Yazoo, Loz… my three favorite sons. My only sons… I've missed you three."

Kadaj's eyes filled with tears, and Loz was already sobbing. Yazoo only looked on in suspicion. There was something not right… since when did his mother ever think of them as her favorite three?

"What's wrong, Mother?" Yazoo spoke up, noticing the note in which Mother addressed them with.

Kitty took on a somber expression"Since you've been wasting away in the Lifestream, I was wandering the streets— a lost soul— all alone... oh so lonely," the girl began to break down due to Jenova's strong emotions, "I was hunted. Somebody saw me— something saw me… I fear that it will find me even though I am protected by the appearance of this girl I reside in. If it finds me, my sons, it will kill me. You'll have to protect my vessel that is the only way that will ensure my survival."

"We'll do whatever it takes," Kadaj whispered breathlessly, strands of hair fell in his face getting damp from the tears that fell from his starry eyes.

Now, Yazoo could see what Mother was playing at. Whenever she had wanted Kadaj to do something immense for her in the past, she'd always play a damsel in distress. Always… and Yazoo knew how much his little brother wanted to please Mother. Yazoo also knew how much Kadaj would sacrifice himself for her. His whole life for Mother's appraisal and love. Yazoo, in the past would have done anything for Mother too... but now... he wasn't too sure. Anything... for a mother...

Kitty watched them with involuntary tears still streaming down her pale face, "Ah, but you'll have to be careful. The thing that hunts me can be anywhere, and once it finds me it will stop at nothing to kill me. Remember, I'll be checking in," the mako in Kitty's eyes began to fade— then reappeared in full force, "Oh, and if anything happens to my vessel, nothing good will become of you three." Then Jenova's rich harmonious voice faded into the gloom.

With that, the mako completely washed from Kitty's eyes, leaving her staring blankly into space; brown as ever. It was almost as if Jenova hadn't even made an appearance, the only thing that showed that she had possessed the girl, was the silver strands left in Kitty's hair. Kitty began to fall forward.

Kadaj leapt forward, as soon as Kitty began to fall lifelessly to the ground, and caught her. "Mother…" Kadaj buried his face in Kitty's hair, and breathed in the scent of raspberries.

Yazoo and Loz came to stand next to Kadaj, and both placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder.

"Let's go, little brother," Yazoo said.

The three brothers, then, headed for the village entrance, the tallest of the three carrying a bundle that was in the shape of a small human girl; Kitty.

Very good… I think they believed you. Your next visit… you will tell them where to go.

I'll be happy too… but it will be a quick visit. I hate hurting her…

So you've said… so you've said…

There you all have it!