A/N: This chapter has been EDITED

Chapter Three

Mother had never spoken directly to him. No; she'd only ever speak directly to Kadaj. But whenever she did, he and Loz could hear whispers of what she told their youngest brother, especially whenever she said their names.

And now; this girl right here in front of him had spoken his name. He knew there was something familiar about the underlying pitch to her voice, and it wasn't until he heard his name on her lips that he realized why. She had said his name in the same, sweet way as her. Even if she had only said it because he had hurt her, it sounded nearly the same!

Jecsie was really freaked out now. 'Mother?' She thought. This man was practically crazy!

"M-Mother..?" He said, confusion clearly coloring his velvety voice, "It's you, isn't it?"

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about!" She yelled at him, taking a step back, "I am nobody's mother. Are you listening?"

A sense of confusion went through her, but not from her – from them. She looked around, searching for the second and third presence. She saw them, just a few meters away, the younger one taking in the scene and their words with a looked of anger. "Just what are you talking about, Yazoo?" Kadaj said, stalking over to them.

Yazoo focused on his younger brother, a desperate look in his eye. He just wanted to feel important too! It wasn't fair that his little brother got all the attention. "It's her, Kadaj," He said, still very confused, "It's Mother."

Kadaj looked at him like he was crazy – to which Jecsie agreed. "What?" He said, just as incredulous as she was.

Yazoo snatched her wrist again, as she tried making another break for it. She just wanted to get away from them! "Just look at her!" He said, "It has to be her!"

The younger remnant glanced from his brother to her. He grabbed a fist-full of her hair from the back of her head, pulling her closer. Jecsie grimaced, but didn't struggle like she usually would. She knew they were dangerous, and wouldn't risk another fight with them. She opened her eyes a bit and saw – much to her discomfort – that his face was close enough to hers to kiss her. She held as still as she could for the time he held her there, not daring to provoke him. Finally, he let go, shoving her away, only for Yazoo to catch her. "It's not her," He said flatly.

'Well duh!' She thought, letting out a breath she'd been holding.

Now, the only confusion she felt was coming from Yazoo – all Kadaj felt was anger now. "What do you mean?" Yazoo asked, "It was her!"

"No!" Kadaj said again, "It's only part of her. Probably another one of Shinra's guinea pigs, but that's it!"

'A guinea pig!' Jecsie's eyes widened and then narrowed. "What!" Both brothers jumped, seemingly forgetting that she could still speak, "You mean to tell me that I'm some sort of science toy for the ShinRa Company?" She was disgusted at the very thought of it.

But the way Kadaj glared at her now caused her to only feel fear. She wanted to recoil from his gaze when she felt a pair of hands rest on her shoulders, and comfort was brought from the gesture. She looked over her shoulder to see the long-haired remnant giving her a soothing glance, the desperate and helpless look gone from his eyes. "How about I just get her out of here?" Yazoo suggested.

Kadaj just answered with a 'humph' sound and walked away. Yazoo led her farther away from him, taking her by the wrist. Jecsie let herself be dragged, still stunned by Kadaj's cool looks and Yazoo's accusations. Why had he called her his mother? Was he talking about Jenova? But most importantly – and this always bugged her – what was she? So many questions, and not enough answers – if not any at all. She was so deep in her thoughts, that she didn't even notice Yazoo had stopped walking, and ran right into him. "Oof!" She would've fallen over, if he hadn't already been hanging on to her, "Sorry, Yazoo..." She muttered, but he could still hear her.

Yazoo pulled her to face him, and studied her face. He was as close to her as Kadaj had been, but she wasn't as uncomfortable. It still bothered her that he was in her personal space '...but I suppose he's not as bad as his brother...' She thought.

He pushed her away with such sudden force, that Jecsie fell back against the tree that was behind her. She just let herself slide down, not even bothering to complain, or make a sound. She was too tired – searching for Cloud, getting zapped and knocked out, waking up to a group of wackos, fighting Yazoo, getting her ass zapped again, and then being at the receiving end of that freak's glare – she'd had a long day.

He knelt down to her level, staring her right in the eye. She met his gaze with an empty one. "You are not Mother," He hissed, mostly trying to convince himself, but also as if commanding it to her. "And yet...Yet when you say it – when you speak my name – I can hear her voice..."

Jecsie had absolutely no freaking idea as to what he was talking about. 'Again with mother?' She thought. This was getting real old, real fast.

He grabbed the back of her head the same way Kadaj had, and she winced, expecting a pain that never came. She was surprised it didn't hurt; Yazoo was a lot gentler than his brothers, she noticed. 'When he wants to be,' she thought, thinking back to their little scuffle from earlier.

With his free hand, he started to stroke her right cheek. She didn't know why, but for whatever reasons the knot that had been in her stomach faded, and she felt…warm. She blushed. 'Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!' She cursed herself. 'Bad Jescie! Bad!'

She pulled away easily – thanks to his gentle grip – and shoved him away, then stood up. She pushed herself against the tree, finding no way to get around him. She tried glaring at him, but she was pretty sure that she looked more nervous than intimidating. He just stared at her, tilting his head. "What do you want with me?" She yelled, the knot returning once more.

"You seem tired," Yazoo said, ignoring her question and throwing her thought pattern off, "Maybe you should get some more rest."

Jecsie was surprised by the sincerity that came with his words. But she shook her head violently, not falling for any tricks. "Why would you care?" She muttered darkly.

"You are not Mother," She heard Kadaj's voice call as he approached them, apparently still unable to shake of the mistake his brother had made.

Yazoo stepped protectively in front of her, but his brother didn't seem to notice – unlike Jecsie. He was only confusing her even more, because she didn't know what to make of his kindness.

"But..." Kadaj continued, ignoring Yazoo, and stepping as close to her as he could with the human barrier between them, "She may still be able to help us find Mother!" He had turned to Yazoo when he said the last part, a crazed look in his eye that made the young woman shudder.

Empathetic or not; anyone would've been able to see and hear the hysteric way Kadaj had just spoke right then. If it weren't for the tree standing in her way, she'd have coward farther away from this madman. She felt herself begin to hyperventilate, which was unlike her, and only left her more panicked. Suddenly, she felt more concerned with what he was, instead of herself. 'These guys are the monsters!' She thought.

Yazoo noticed Jecsie's discomfort, and quickly grabbed her wrist...again. "Do you enjoy trying to dislocate my arm?" She retorted.

He ignored her. "Kadaj," He said to his brother, "If she will really be joining us in our search, I think it would be best for her to get some rest. I'll take her up to the tower to get some sleep." He pulled her towards him, removing his hand from her wrist and replacing it gently behind her neck.

Kadaj snorted, "Do what you want with her." He growled, turning away. "I don't care as long as you can get her to help." Yazoo said nothing as he led her away.

Yazoo held on tightly to Jecsie, pulling her up the staircase. She'd only struggled a few times, almost afraid of being alone with him after what had happened when she'd fallen against the tree. 'What would he have done...Was he really going to kiss me?' She shook her head, erasing those thoughts from her mind.

Once again, do to her lack of attention she ended up running into him again. She muttered another apology, and noticed that they were standing in front of a door. He didn't respond as he opened the door to reveal a room – his room – then pushed her in before him. The room was small – just a bed, and an empty dresser across from a large window, that was open to the lake.

She didn't look back at him as he walked around her, their breathing making the only sound as his footsteps were silent. He went to touch her shoulder, but she jerked away when she felt the contact, and crossed to the other side of the room across from him. "Is something wrong?" He asked innocently, tilting his head.

"The hell it is!" She yelled at him, wide-eyed, "Just what is it that you want from me?"

"All we want is to find Mother," He answered honestly, "And Kadaj thinks that you'll be able to help. So please," He gestured to the bed, "Get some rest. You will need all your strength."

Jecsie looked at the bed, then back to him. "No!" She shook her head, her answer final, and stomped her foot to punctuate its finalty.

Yazoo sighed at the childish gesture – he was starting to get tired of this. "Please, stop trying to resist and just-"

"I don't trust you!" She finally admitted.

He tilted his head again, thinking over what she'd said. "Why not?" He asked with a hint of hurt in his tone. He looked at her with an open expression, "I wouldn't hurt you." She glared at him while turning away, glancing down at the floor. Was he playing stupid, or did he just not understand that kidnapping and assault tended to cause mistrust. "But I am sorry about what I did...before," He said, "And again if I left the wrong impression."

"...What..?" she looked up and stared at him. "What the fuck are you playing a-" She began.

He was suddenly across the room, right in front of her. Thinking that he meant to attack, she lifted her hand, ready to strike him. But he caught her hand before she'd even had a chance to lift it, and then grabbed her other one when she launched that one on him. He shoved her back and watched her fall on the bed. She grunted when she landed, but didn't hesitate to attempt rising again. He held her down easily though, and straddled her. She panicked momentarily and threw her fists at him again, and again he caught them inches from his face.

He pressed her arms above her and lowered his head. His face was calm though he felt impatient as he waited for her to calm. She stopped struggling, her breath coming out harder now but still she tried to pull her head away when he moved his face closer to hers. He laid his lower body down on her own to keep her still, and gently placed his lips on hers.

She completely froze, but found that there was no displeasure from the intimate contact. Actually, her first thoughts were that his lips were soft on hers, and warmer than she expected; what with his skin so pale, she'd thought they'd be colder. She actually liked the feeling of his lips moving against hers. She felt a dreamy sensation take over and before she could register her own actions, started kissing him back.

But she was snapped out of that dreamy state when Yazoo pulled away. He sighed and kissed her forehead, and Jecsie stood absolutely still. She resisted the urge to push him away and run when he let go of her right hand. He stroked her cheek as he lead butterfly kisses down her neck, and when he gave her flesh an experimental nip, she couldn't do anything to conceal the shameless moan that escaped her throat. She heard him chuckle and he pecked her lips again before standing.

She sat up – her face lightly powdered a cherry red and her breathing uneven and deep – and looked up at him. He was just smiling at her – not a smug smile, or a smirk. Bliss was radiating of off him, she could see that and feel it mixing with her own. "See?" He said, offering a hand, "I wouldn't do anything to hurt you...Jecsie." He made her name sound like honey coming off his tongue, and if she wasn't in such a la-la state of mind she would have berated herself for thinking such things.

She took his hand and he pulled her up. "...Yazoo..?" She was still too out of breath.

He shook his head, stopping her. Stroking her cheek again, he said, "Just get some rest." He said before leaving the room.

My eyes snapped open...

I knew that this was neither a normal dream nor even a recollection from my past. It was one from my future.

I saw two men – a large man with a bald head and dark skin, and a shorter lankier redhead – walking into a bar. The sign above the building read '7th Heaven'. This was Tifa's bar. I walked up to the men; I could overhear them talking about something. "Do you want to be the one to tell Strife that we couldn't find them, yo?" The redhead was saying.

Reno? I recognized him from the Turks. He and his buddy Rude were usually the ones tailing after me, and and always failing. But...what were they doing here? I mean – what will they be doing?

"No. Way." Rude, the bald one replied, "I just hope we'll be able to find the kids soon."

The kids? What kids? Had something happened to Marlene? Or Denzel?

But before I could find anything else out, the premonition ended.