Author's Note: Hey guys! Here's chapter nine... sorry I took so long to update it, but you know-- writer's block and everything. Anyway... as always it's late when I submit this, so I don't have time for a huge author's note, so I just hope that you guys enjoy this. Just as a warning, I think that this chapter is sad. So yeah! Have a nice Martin Luther King., Jr. day tomorrow :).

CHAPTER NINE: BELONG

"Drink it, kid, don't waste my time," Zack ordered.

Kitty obliged, and allowed the soupy-broth from Zack's canteen to enter her mouth. Warmth, similar to the first time Kitty had ever drank from the canteen, sunk into the deepest crevices of her body, and demolished the burning sensation upon the surface of her skin.

Kitty closed her eyes, at the returning strength. Claws… honed teeth… wrinkly skin… crimson burning eyes.

Kitty sat up, and wiped the liquid mustache above her lip away. "Where am I?" she gazed around at her surroundings… "Where's Loz?" tears came to her eyes, but she fought them back with a blink.

Zack stood up, and gave a cursory glance up and down the hallway, "I dragged you away from him."

Kitty's brows furrowed, "Why? Loz was helping me," the darn tears returned.

Zack changed the subject, "We have to go, Kitty. I'm taking you to Seventh Heaven, where you'll be safest."

An involuntary tear slipped down Kitty's cheek, and she wiped it away furiously. Kitty remembered what Zack had told her about Seventh Heaven, about how it was the only safe haven on the planet for someone 'like her.' She slowly got up, testing her strength of balance and stability on her legs; all good.

"Can you run?"

Kitty started when she felt Zack's glove-clad hand upon her shoulder, it reminded her of Kadaj's glove-clad hand in a way. Another tear fell; she looked away and swiped her right hand across her cheek. Turning back to Zack, she nodded tentatively. He was smiling gingerly at her, almost in an affectionate way… She felt timid, but returned his smile slightly. He fell for her expression of openness and didn't even see the tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Follow my lead, kid," Zack began to take off at a brisk jog down the hallway, and Kitty followed as he had told her to.

A few minutes down the hall, and something occurred to Kitty. Kadaj and his brothers had taken her in… cared for her… and they had needed her. They hadn't abandoned her. She was their "mother." But what was she to Zack? Didn't he admit to being in acquaintance with Aerith, the lady who had left her all alone in the church to fend for herself? Hadn't he himself, left her alone, when Loz had attacked her?

Kitty stopped, and looked over her shoulder. She closed her eyes… if the brothers were dead then it was her fault. The creatures, would give her nightmares for weeks to come. Kitty began to tremble; she remembered the creature that had jumped on her. It's hand had burned her stomach, and it's skin had been wrinkly with scales and blisters… Kitty remembered feeling hot breath and slobber upon her collarbone and neck. She remembered how heavy it had been on top of her, and how it had knocked the breath out of her. She remembered how it had hissed and spluttered… cursing her in it's foreign language.

"Kitty! Shit, we have to go!" Zack had stopped a few yards away after noticing her absence a few feet behind him. "I swear to you that I won't harm you… trust me, kid."

Kitty stared at him, she took a step back. "Are they meeting us?"

"They? Who are you talking about, Kitty?" Zack was taken aback; he knew that the creatures were still out there.

"I'm talking about Kadaj and his brothers!" Kitty cried, her hands clenched at her sides.

Zack's visage was a medley of emotions, before he became self-conscious, and his face immediately took on an expression of indifference. "No."

Kitty backed away, and shook her head, "Then I'm not coming."

"Kitty!" Zack took a step forward, as soon as Kitty began to run back down the hall. "Kitty, don't!"

Kitty ignored Zack's calls for her to come back, and sprinted down the dark hall. "Loz!" she called out, "Loz, where are you?!" she ran harder. "Kadaj— Yazoo— anyone?!" she ran past many doors… and ran past intersections that led off to other wings of the hotel. But Kitty never turned; she continued on a straight path. Kitty began to let the tears that had been threatening to fall, cascade down her cheeks. After a few minutes she reached a panel of windows on the left side that portrayed the moon. Kitty halted, she remembered these windows… she remembered lying there by the potted plant, looking out at the moon while Loz cried above her. Kitty began to sob as she gazed around… there was blood on the floor…

"No…," Kitty cried. Had the creature eaten him? "Please… oh please no!

"Kitty!"

Kitty gasped, her head shot up, Zack was coming. She began to run again, her already dark surroundings, got even darker and blurry from the tears she produced— she needed to find them! It just couldn't be that the creatures had killed Loz… could it? Had she been out cold that whole time? Why hadn't Zack helped Loz?

Kitty racked her memory for how many turns she and Loz had made earlier. Surprisingly Kitty was able to find the left turn Loz had told her to make, and turned onto the hallway that led to the open door of the room. She yielded at the doorway, and walked into the room slowly… it was unrecognizable.

Kitty's whole posture shook as she gazed at it, she put a fist up to her mouth and bit down upon her knuckles; tears mingled with her drawn blood. Kitty crumpled to the ground, her body racked with sobs. She didn't understand why… but in the few hours with the brothers… she'd noticed how lost they had seemed. They thought she'd been their mother, and had become all protective and fatherly over her— well at least as fatherly as she thought a father could become. Kadaj had stitched her head wound up; Yazoo had played with her hair; Loz had been there for her when she had fallen down in the hallway. The three of them had been like lost puppies… seeking their master's appraisal and love. While they had needed a mother, she had needed someone to look after her— and had found that someone in three young men. They had offered her a place with them, whereas now Kitty belonged nowhere on this planet.

Looking around the room, Kitty had been able to tell that the brothers were gone. The room was empty. One bed had been split in half— wood, springs, mattress, and all— while the other bed had been turned over. Sheets and pillows lay torn all over the floor, while the lamps and other furniture had been disembodied or sliced into millions of pieces. Mingling with the remains of the white sheets and pillows… were vivid puddles of blood. Dark in contrast to the pureness of the clothe.

Kitty sobbed before it all… she didn't care that the creatures could come back… she didn't care that she was bleeding and her knuckles were hurting. All she cared about was that she had nowhere to go and no one to embrace her and tell her that everything was alright. Kitty didn't belong anywhere on this planet. She was an M&M placed amongst skittles.

"Why… why me..?" Kitty gazed up at the ceiling, "why do I have to be the recipient of all of this? Huh? Why…?" she couldn't stop crying, she chomped down on her knuckles again to smother her wails. It didn't help.

"Kitty..."

Kitty jumped, and whipped around. There, in the doorway, stood Zack… his face was twisted into an expression of sorrow and guilt. He could see that she was crying… he hadn't ever wanted to see her cry. The girl had dug deep inside of him the day she'd been born, it had been her laugh— he was sure of it— her first tiny baby laugh. He'd never wanted to leave her … but Sephiroth had gotten in the way… and that had changed everything.

Zack walked over to Kitty and kneeled down next to her. "Don't cry, my chic," he brought up a hand to wipe away her tears, but Kitty looked the other way. "Kitty?" he grabbed her bleeding knuckle and examined it.

Kitty gritted her teeth, "Why didn't you help him?"

Zack closed his eyes and inhaled, he let Kitty's bleeding hand drop, "Believe me, kid, I tried. But he told me that you were more important… so I took you away."

Kitty wiped away her tears, but they wouldn't stop coming. "Did he really say that?"

Zack flinched, "Yes." He'd never wanted to lie to Kitty either.

Without any warning, Kitty flung herself at Zack and ended up knocking him over. "I hate myself…" she whimpered, "I'm the reason. I'm the reason that they're de—"

"No," Zack interrupted passionately.

Kitty buried her head deeper into Zack's warm chest, "Yes," she sobbed choking on her tears.

Zack's face hardened, "No, you're not the reason why they are dead. It's— it's…," Zack looked away; he could not tell her. Not yet, anyway.

"So you admit… they're dead, aren't they?" Kitty looked up to watch Zack's expressions.

Zack kept his face stoic, "Yes," he looked away.

Kitty buried her face into Zack's chest once again. Zack could feel her shaking in his arms. He buried his face in her hair.

"Shhhhh…," he shushed her.

Kitty cried even harder. "Shhhh… shhhhh… Mother," it was Kadaj… Kadaj had pushed her to the floor. "Shhhhshhhh…" It was hard not to remember him, right now. Kitty knew that she would forever remember the brothers… from the candy bar incident… to her last image of Loz crying while holding her in his arms.

"Shhhhh…"

Kitty closed her eyes, she felt exhausted.

"Shhhhh…"

Kitty fell into a deep sleep saturated with a nightmarish dream.

She was running up dunes of sand. To the right of her were waves, getting taller and taller the higher she climbed the dunes.

You have to hurry, Kitty-Kat. I won't wait for long.

She stopped and gazed around, up above was nothing but an endless plain of black and gray clouds, to her left stretched a relentless field— soaked with the blood of dying black flowers. She looked away, sickened by the sight of death.

You have to bring yourself to me. Sacrifice yourself for me. Or else he dies…

"No… please…" she fell hopelessly to the sand and bowed her head, "don't hurt him—please— there has to be another way!"

There isn't Kitty-Kat. His soul is mine to eat. Come— or else.

"Please… I'll do anything for him… but, please," she was stumbling up to her feet. "Please… wait for me! I'm coming…," she began to sprint.

A few times she stumbled and rolled down hill of the dunes, but then she only had to get up and climb back up them. "I'm coming…" she kept on saying, "please… wait." His face kept on popping up in her mind… he had gorgeous blue eyes; golden emerald swirls.

Ten… nine… eight—

She cried out and fell, rolling down the hill, until she reached the bottom of the hill.

"Kitty!"

The young nimble man rushed to her. There was no one near him… just her; they were alone.

I wouldn't be so sure about that, Kitty-Kat. You were one second late, say goodbye to your love.

Kitty's eyes widened, she saw something through the corner of her eyes, "Kadaj, no!" Kitty got up, and lunged at him. She was too late, and fell hard upon the ground— watching… just watching.

A shocked expression painted itself across Kadaj'susual nonchalant face.

That's right Kitty-Kat… he's mine now. This is your future.

"No!"

Kitty awoke with a start, and almost fell off of the motorbike.

"Whoa… whoa, Kid, it's alright," Zack pushed her back against his chest, "hold still, I'm trying to drive this thing."

"W-where are we?" Kitty closed her eyes; she'd never been on a motorbike, therefore she felt nauseous already. But Kitty knew that only part of her felt sick because of that, whereas the other part felt sick because of what she had just dreamt. Kadaj… her love?

"We're almost to our destination," Zack answered softly.

"Seventh Heaven?" Kitty wondered out loud, depriving her eyes from sleep with a fist.

"No… Cloud. Cloud Strife."

Master , do you want me to interfere now?

No. I want to allow her some time to get connected… then we strike.

Very good, Master. But my brothers… did the creatures kill them?

…No, I'm leaving that job up to you.

Good… good.

R&R please. There's the button right down there, my friends! Don't be lazy... I know you want to...