Author's Note: Okay, here's chapter ten! It's a bit... boring... I guess... not much going on-- but I'm hoping that I'll be getting chapter eleven up and running within the course of a few more days. Anyway... I hope that this chapter is still good. Enjoy!

CHAPTER TEN: GHOST

Kadaj stared out over the village. The sun was rising in the east, and along with it were a few tentative people who were beginning to walk the streets. Across the road came a baby's waking cries. Kadaj wrinkled his nose; he loathed such pesky noises.

Groaning, Kadaj adjusted his slouched position upon the railing he was leaning upon. He winced when he moved a particularly sore muscle in his stomach. Through the late hours of the night Yazoo had worked arduously in wrapping the wounds Kadaj and Loz had received from the creatures that had been after Mother. Yazoo had only received minor injuries, therefore he'd been the one to drag his brothers into an unoccupied room, and lay them to rest on the two beds.

Mother… Kadaj's eyes narrowed. Someone had dragged the girl away from Loz… someone who was going to die once Kadaj figured out who he was. Yet something that Kadaj couldn't begin to fathom was: what man, on a night like the night before, goes around kidnapping vulnerable girls from dark hallways? I promise you, Mother that we won't ever let anything happen to you. I'll find you… I promise… we promise.

"Kadaj…"

Kadaj didn't have to turn around to figure out which brother was approaching; he knew that Yazoo was behind him.

"You shouldn't be out of bed…," Yazoo gazed over Kadaj's shoulder. His face was, as always, impassive; unmoving, marred by the shadows of the dark room in which Loz resided in.

"Mother's been taken," Kadaj murmured, "along with her went one of our motorbikes."

"Whoever has taken her," Yazoo replied, "will die."

There came some sniffles in the other room. Mother… Mother… I failed her. My brothers, please forgive me.

"I forgive you, Loz."

"Cloud?"

"Yeah… Cloud. He's a friend," Zack replied.

"Oh…," Kitty snuggled deeper up against Zack, "what's he look like?" Kitty needed something to distract her from thinking back on her dream or thinking back on the brothers.

"You'll see," Zack smiled.

Kitty furrowed her brows, but did not say anything anymore on the subject. "How much longer?"

"I'd say an hour more."

From what Kitty could tell Zack was driving through a never ending desert of sand and rocks. It was the very same desert that the brothers had carried her hostage through… well at least it looked like the very same desert. But Kitty couldn't be too sure.

Kitty sighed and closed her eyes; she tried to think of another conversation topic that would distract her. The wind stung her face, and made her eyes water… she wished that she could have a pair of sun glasses— or even a pair of swimming goggles… no matter how weird they'd make her look.

Yawning Kitty's eyes became heavy and, as much as she tried to fight it, she couldn't stop the sleep that came over her once again. She squirmed in a vain attempt to stay awake, but Zack shushed her and told her that she should go to sleep if she was tired. So she did, with an involuntary wave of darkness, she fell fast asleep.

Kitty-Kat! Kitty-Kat! Didn't your friend call you that? Didn't he? Hmmm… tut-tut…

She was standing in the middle of a vacant street, staring around at the buildings and clear blue sky that trapped her in a square of air.

Hmmmm… let's watch the parade— 'shall we? It'll be fun Kitty-Kat—

"Stop calling me that!"

A little feisty today, aren't we? Do we need to rewind, 'Kitty-Kat,' do we need to go back to the last dream?

Tears formed in her eyes, "No— please! I'll be good…"

There's my 'Kitty-Kat.'

She flinched, but kept quiet.

Ah… here they come! Watch, my dear Kitty.

A procession of hooded people came forward their arms outstretched to the heavens guiding a torrent of black and gray clouds of bristling lightening. They entered through the city's broken down walls, and In front of the ominous crowd was a bald man with golden eyes holding the chains that held a auburn haired woman captive beside him. Clary…

She rushed forward, "Clary!" She hit solid air that caused her to rebound against the hard brick ground of her small air cubicle.

Ooh, naughty, Kitty!

"Let her go!" she cried out.

Uh… let her go? I don't think so Kitty-Kat… not until you see what is needed to be done.

"Fine! Show me… but then— please just let her go!"

The procession was coming towards Kitty… they didn't even see her. She didn't even exist in her little air bubble of a cell.

"Clary!" she called out again, but to no avail.

Feel them inside you Kitty-Kat… feel their hatred for this planet… feel their complete power— absorb before you encounter them.

"W-what?" she gasped at his words— she didn't understand them… she didn't even see him coming.

The golden man walked right through her, making her arch up in pain; he burned like the creature's hand. She let out a long and blood curdling scream. But that wasn't the end of it— cloaked figure after cloaked figure walked through her leaving her helpless to whoever was doing this to her.

Chuckle. I've never seen such a dramatic scene before, my Kitty-Kat. Is this all the strength you have?

The cloaked figures filled the street; a crowd of never ending beings. Not one of them noticed a young girl's screams…

I'll let you go for now.

"Kitty! Kitty! Wake up, Kid! We're here…"

Kitty awoke with a start. She gazed up into Zack's periwinkle gaze in alarm, and then when Zack had moved away from her, she finally sat up. Kitty was sitting upon a small foundation of rock a few feet away from Zack's bike.

"Where is he?" she glanced around for any sign of Zack's could-be friend. Finding no one, her gaze at last landed upon Zack.

He sighed… and looked away. "He's up there, all you have to do is follow that path," he raised a finger and pointed to the left of Kitty.

Kitty looked towards where Zack pointed, and found that the path winded up like a staircase to the top of a cliff. "Are you coming?" she turned back to look at him.

Zack didn't meet her gaze, "No."

Kitty jumped off and walked over to him, she leaned to the side so as she could catch his eyes— he looked the other way.

"Why?" Kitty's brows furrowed in frustration, "How come do you keep on leaving me?"

Zack's eyes widened and then closed, "Kid… if your mother was in my place right now… she wouldn't have the guts to leave you. But I… I have to leave— there are some boundaries that I just cannot pass…"

"Mother…?" Kitty's eyes dropped in contemplation; she remembered the time when Zack had completely— like a light flickering to its death— disappeared. After a few minutes she looked up, "Are you a ghost or something?"

Zack smiled, and began to back away, "You were always a fast learner, Kitty. But now that I've gone as far as I can, I have to leave… take care now. Tell Cloud that 'Zack' sent you and tell him… your full name," he met Kitty's puzzled gaze and— with an informal wave— was devoured by a blinding white light, that swallowed him, buster sword and all, whole.

Kitty rushed forward to the place where he had been, "Zack?"

He was gone.

Tears formed in Kitty's eyes, but she blinked them away in anger. A thrumming noise alerted Kitty to the starting up of a motorbike above. Kitty looked up, and decided that this 'Cloud' couldn't be any worst off then Kadaj and his brothers had been when she first met them. Could he?

"The sun is setting," Kadaj hissed.

"I know," Yazoo had come over to check up on Kadaj, "and yet you still won't lay down and rest."

Kadaj growled, and— not considering his actions— whipped around only to fall.

Yazoo caught Kadaj with a raised eyebrow. "I told you— you need rest."

"I know! But how can I rest when Mother's out there with some man who could be raping her? Or worst…," Kadaj closed his eyes, "we need to find her— now."

Yazoo helped Kadaj back to the railing, "You're too weak, little brother. Do you really want to endanger yourself and Loz? Say it was one of those creatures… what if we found them— what would we do then?"

Kadaj gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, "I'm not weak, brother! I can handle myself just fine… Mother needs me— she needs us— and we need to get to her before the creatures beat us to her. Just give me materia, and I'll mend."

Yazoo cocked his head in boredom, "Kadaj, you can barely even lift a muscle. How are you to ride a motorbike? Besides, I've searched the room for materia a couple of times… there's none left. Loz told me that all of his materia was useless during the fight with the creature— he said that the creature was somehow able to use the material to it's own advantages, and in doing so sucked the life out of all material he had."

Kadaj bowed his head at this, and spat down upon a crowd of passing people below. "So I'm not the only one robbed from materia? That's great news!" Kadaj cried sarcastically, "did you think that I didn't know that?!"

Yazoo chuckled slightly, "Careful, dearest brother."

Kadaj snorted indignantly at Yazoo, "Go and get some more materia, brother, before I decide to throw Souba at you. I can't believe that we wasted so much time!" he spat once more at an unfortunate couple walking below him.

Hmmmm… your youngest brother is almost an unstable version of you, Sephiroth.

No. He is nowhere like me, Master. He isn't even my brother— he is only a remnant… a piece of Mother— if he were like me, he wouldn't even have made the mistake of allowing emotions past his façade. That was and is his downfall.

Hmmmm… I see. And it wasn't your downfall, once upon a time either?

That time is long past, I assure you Master; I have no emotions left.

Hmmmmm… interesting for you to say so…

Master…?

R&R, please!!