Final Fantasy VII 1. The Return

**A/N: Just to make sure everyone understands, this is NOT a slash fic! I don't write that stuff. Thank you, that is all. :-D**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Everything belongs to Square Enix.

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**Chapter One/The Return**

The rain fell steadily down from an overcast sky. Cloud sat on the edge of his bed, staring out of the window into the gloom of Edge below. The silence, broken only by the plinking of water against glass, was ominous. Cloud shifted in his seat. He could not sleep. Something was not right, he could feel it.

It had been two years since the death of Kadaj and his brothers. Tifa had welcomed him into the Seventh Heaven bar and he had gone willingly. Taking his things from Aerith's Church, he now lived next to Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel. Life had gone smoothly following the attack of Sephiroth, the rebuilding of Edge continued slowly but surely. Rufus Shinra donated money to help. Cloud was confident nothing else could go wrong. Even now he was confident of it. So why was he so restless?

Cloud stood and made his way to the window overlooking the entrance to the bar. His soul felt uneasy, as if it were trying to tell him something. He walked over to where he had last put his sword. Gripping it his hand, he made his way over to his door. Opening it slowly he stood in its shadow, breathing heavily. There! He heard it again! A sound was coming from the kitchen downstairs.

Cloud walked slowly down the hallway. He opened the door to Marlene and Denzel's room, they were sleeping soundly. Shutting the door silently, he placed his hand on Tifa's door but stopped as he heard another sound from the kitchen. Tightening his grip on his sword, he turned and followed the sound.

As he approached the kitchen he stopped. He listened. Whatever had been making the sounds stopped as well. Cloud turned the corner and flipped on the light. He breathed in sharply at the silver-haired youth that stood before him, sword in hand, smirking at him.

"Kadaj?" Cloud could not believe his eyes. "How?"

The teen's smile widened, his green reptilian-like eyes flashing dangerously.

"Hello, Big Brother. Did you miss me?"

Metal met metal with a ring that vibrated throughout the bar as Kadaj threw himself at Cloud and Cloud moved to block him. Kadaj spun away, knocking over barstools in the process. Cloud leapt after him.

"You're supposed to be dead!" The fighter cried, slashing at the elusive boy.

"Now isn't that interesting," Kadaj said, moving to attack Cloud's left. "I don't remember dying."

Cloud leaped away, kicking over a chair in Kadaj's path to slow him down. His opponent just jumped over it. Cloud gritted his teeth, his thoughts moving towards the little ones upstairs, what would happen to them if he lost? He ran at Kadaj, his sword coming down on the youth's head. Cloud's blade only met thin air. Diabolical laughter sounded from behind him. Cloud whirled and blades met. Kadaj's face was inches from his.

"You died in my arms," Cloud growled.

"Where is Mother?" The silver-haired young man hissed.

Cloud pressed hard against Kadaj's sword, trying to knock him over. Kadaj just pushed back.

"Where is Mother?" He screeched.

"Your 'mother' is dead! You absorbed the cells, you became Sephiroth, and then you died!"

Something strange flickered in Kadaj's eyes. Then they hardened and grew ice cold.

"You're lying!" The youth screamed.

He whirled away. He leaped into every corner of the bar. "Where is she? I know you have her!"

Cloud could see it was useless arguing with the boy. He ran after him, swinging his sword down onto the other's weapon. The fight continued. Cloud was tiring but could see that Kadaj was not. Kadaj leaped on top of the counter, Cloud followed. They blocked, attacked, parried, and spun. Cloud had to admit, the boy's footwork was excellent.

Finally, they came to a standstill. Again their swords were locked, neither giving in to the other.

"Give it up Kadaj!" Cloud tried to discourage him. "The thing you called 'mother' is gone."

Kadaj's jaw worked back and forth slowly. "I need her! Tell me where she is!"

Before Cloud could reply a soft sound was heard. Both fighters turned. There in the doorway stood little Marlene. In her arms she held a teddy-bear and she looked on at them with puzzled eyes.

"Cloud?" She whispered questioningly.

Kadaj jumped off the counter and grabbed the eight-year-old. Marlene's eyes widened with fear as she felt the cold blade of Kadaj's sword at her throat. Cloud froze.

"Give me Mother or I'll kill her." Kadaj's voice was dangerously low. "You know I will."

Cloud lowered his sword slowly. "Let her go, I don't have Mother."

"Liar!" Spat the youth.

Placing Marlene under his arm, Kadaj leaped across the room in a single bound and turned once he stood in the doorway.

"If you want to see your little girl again," he cried, "give me Mother. You have three days."

With that the boy and the girl disappeared into the rain, leaving Cloud alone in the empty bar. He noticed something shining faintly on the counter. He knelt and picked up the silvery object. It was a string of silver hair. Cloud figured it. Only it did not feel like hair. It felt metallic. Cloud stood and gazed at the door, opening and shutting in the fierce breeze. Kadaj was not made of metal. Cloud frowned. But if that had not been Kadaj, who had it been?

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_The darkness was like a void. It completely surrounded him, it choked him, it hurt him. Through the void he could hear someone calling his name._

"_Denzel! Denzel!"_

_It sounded like a friend of his. He spun around, peering into the darkness but, of course, seeing nothing. _

"_Marlene?"_

"_Denzel, help me! Get Cloud and help me!"_

_Denzel turned around and around in circles, nothing changed. It was as if he were not moving at all._

"_Marlene? Where are you?"_

"_Help me!"_

_Denzel flung out his arms. Nothing, he could feel nothing. He started to panic. Suddenly he was falling, falling through the blackness. He landed on something hard. Pain shot up his back. Standing up slowly he noticed a thin shaft of light coming from somewhere high above. A small figure was standing in the shaft. It was Marlene! Denzel raced towards her._

"_Marlene!" _

_She turned towards him, her eyes wide with fright. She held her arms out to him. He ran into them. But as soon as they touched, she seemed to grow. Denzel felt leather beneath his figures and found himself in the arms of a tall youth. He jumped back, mouth opening in shock and horror as a face so very familiar smirked at him._

"_What are you going to do Denzel?" The silver-haired young man asked. "Kill me?"_

"NO!"

Denzel awoke. He placed a hand over his forehead. What a dream! He turned to tell Marlene about it. Strange, Marlene was not in her bed, and the covers were in a heap near the end of it. Denzel stood. _She must be already downstairs,_ he thought. Getting dressed quickly, the boy bounded down the stairs. When he got to the bottom and turned into the kitchen, he stopped suddenly. Cloud was sitting at the table, both hands in front of him, holding something. He looked grave. Denzel crept forward.

"Cloud?" He asked.

The blonde head did not rise. Denzel began to feel frightened. Tifa Lockhart ran into the room.

"I can't find Marlene anywhere! She wasn't in her bed and then . . ." she trailed off when she saw Cloud. She approached him cautiously. "Cloud?"

Cloud stood. Tifa noticed he clutched something in his gloved hands. It shined in the dull light of the bar.

"Call Rufus," he said to her. "Tell him Marlene has been kidnapped . . . by Kadaj."

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"Dude, I thought Kadaj was like, dead." Reno stood behind his employer, arms crossed, head tilted in its cocky way. The president of Shin-Ra sat in his wheelchair, a blanket draped over his knees.

"This is indeed disturbing news." The man turned to look at Cloud who was leaning against the wall opposite him. "If Kadaj has returned, he is stronger than we thought."

Denzel whimpered slightly, remembering his dream. Tifa pulled him closer to her on the couch they were sitting on. Rude shifted on his feet where he stood next to Reno. An ominous silence shrouded the room. Cloud broke the stillness.

"I don't think it was Kadaj." The others turned to look at him. Cloud pushed off the wall and walked forward. He placed the silver strand of hair on Rufus Shinra's lap. "At least not the Kadaj we fought."

Shinra hesitated a moment then lifted the strand, rubbing it between his fingers. "Hmm. Strange. It does not feel like hair. It feels almost like—"

"Metal?"

"A thin piece of wire perhaps." Rufus Shinra turned to Rude. "Take this to the lab and have a look at it. Tell us what you find."

The black man took the strand gently in his large hand and left the room. Denzel shifted impatiently in his seat.

"Why don't we go after him now? Marlene is getting farther away by the minute!"

Tifa shushed the boy quickly. "We're doing our best to find out what we're up against. Then we'll know how to fight him. Understand?"

The eleven-year-old nodded, sighing. "I'm afraid for her Tifa."

The girl smiled sadly and wrapped her arm around the boy. Cloud stood still where he had stepped forward. He did not speak. Rufus Shinra tapped his fingers on his wheelchair arm. Reno crossed his arms.

"Well, this is awkward," he commented.

No one bothered to answer him. After a while Rude came back. He handed the strand of silver to Cloud.

"It is definitely some sort of metallic substance. An alloy of some kind."

Cloud held it gently. "He wants me to bring Jenova to him in three days. If this is just a robot or something, how could it act, talk, and fight just like Kadaj?"

Another oppressive silence filled the air. Cloud looked up at Shinra but the man had turned his face away. Cloud stepped forward.

"Rufus?"

"Correction," Reno put in. "_This_ is awkward." He smirked at Rufus. "Should you tell them or shall I?"

Rufus Shinra sighed. "Before Sephiroth grew in power, and Kadaj and his brothers were still in their various stages of development, Shin-Ra made a copy of each of them. The technology was designed so that if any of the three were killed, another could take his place. The makings of these robots, or cyborgs if you will, were incredible. They looked, felt, acted like real human beings, aside from their skin being a bit icy to the touch. Every memory, every thought, every motive that Kadaj or his brothers experienced were recorded and placed inside these experiments."

"Then one day, about four years ago, the robot of Kadaj escaped the lab." Reno jumped onto the story. "Killed several SOLDIERs and disappeared. Pretty freaky."

"We shut down the project and destroyed the two other robots. We figured it was too dangerous to keep it going." Rufus continued.

"So this _copy_ of Kadaj has been running loose for four years?" Tifa asked.

"Yes. Only . . ." the man trailed off.

"Only what?" Cloud prompted.

"The transmitter that transferred Kadaj's memories, thoughts and motives to the robot was still in Kadaj when he fought you, Cloud. When the Kadaj absorbed the Jenova cells and became Sephiroth, the transmitting stopped. Now that Kadaj is dead we must deal with this robot as if it was, in fact, Kadaj. For all the robot knows it _is_ Kadaj. And that is what we must remember."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Cloud asked, growing impatient with all this talk.

"You must find the robot and destroy it."

"Destroy . . ." Cloud turned away. "I don't think I can face Kadaj again."

"Oh come on," Reno urged. "You can do it. It's not like it's a person. It has no feelings or anything."

Cloud frowned, remembering the tortured look in Kadaj's gaze when he told the youth his mother was dead.

"Yes . . . he does."


	2. Confusion

**A/N:** Hello Redneck**: I changed the A/N at the beginning of this story. I don't want to seem like I'm flaunting my Christianity like a medal or a badge. I'm very sorry if it came out that way. Thank you for pointing out that not everyone thinks just saying you're a Christian is a sound excuse for not doing something. And yes, the Bible does seem like it is full of contridictions to someone who does not study it faithfully and have the Holy Spirit to guide them. Trust me, when I first became a Christian I had lots of questions about stuff like that. And about David and Jonathan, I guess you haven't heard of brotherly love among best friends. That's how I always interpeted it. And I believe that is the right way to interpet their relationship. Btw, if you want to continue this discussion, could you please leave an email address or something where we can talk without me having to make a A/N every chapter. Thanks :-P**

CelestialNomad **Thanks for the compliment. :-D although a lot of the credit goes to a good friend of mine, Marrim, for she was the one who answered my numerous questions about FFVII: AC.**

**You're awesome Marrim! W00t! W00t :-P**

**Thanks for all the reviews guys. :-D I'm glad you all like it. **

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**Chapter 2/Confusion**

Marlene clutched tightly to Kadaj as he sped through Edge on his motorcycle. The young man did not seem to notice her. Houses whizzed by so quickly, Marlene had to close her eyes to keep from getting dizzy. She considered crying out for help, but knew it was too late for anyone to hear her and she did not want to get Kadaj angry. A small whimper escaped her stiff lips as she thought of the family she might never see again. She was also confused as to how Kadaj could still be alive. Cloud had told her that the boy had died. Had Cloud lied to her?

Marlene pressed closer against Kadaj's chest to keep from falling off as he made a sharp turn. The wind was chilly as it swept by. She glanced up at his face. His expression was grim and full of concentration. In the soft light of the street lamps, Marlene noticed that his skin seemed to gleam faintly. Lifting a hand she hesitantly touched his cheek. She drew away quickly, cowering slightly under Kadaj's annoyed look. Once the youth faced forward again, the girl examined her fingers. They felt strangely cold, as if she had just touched icy metal. She breathed on them slowly and then started in surprise when the neck in front of her suddenly was covered with a thin frost.

Before Marlene could ask the question that had appeared on the tip of her tongue, Kadaj halted the bike. Looking both ways in a furtive manner, he roughly dragged the girl off the motorcycle and started pulling her towards a large warehouse. He punched in a code at the door and pushed her inside. Marlene cried out in fear as the door started to close.

"Wait!" she called in a small voice. "Don't leave me alone in the dark."

The door stopped closing. A gloved hand reached in and felt the wall in front of her. Finding a light switch, the hand flipped it and the warehouse flooded with light uncovering piles of wooden and metal crates scattered about the room.

"There," said a voice from the other side of the door. "Now you'll be alone in the light."

Marlene heard a snicker and then the door closed. She backed up slowly until her back hit a large crate. Crouching next to it, the young girl covered her face and started to cry.

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Denzel watched Cloud suit up in his armor with wide eyes. He was glad his hero would be going to save Marlene, but he also knew how dangerous Kadaj was. The boy could tell Tifa was worried for Cloud and that just made him all the more anxious. He gave Cloud a quick hug as a goodbye then ran to his room. He did not want Cloud to see him cry.

Cloud himself was not completely sure why he was going. He figured he would just go, get Marlene, and then get out. He would leave the fighting for another time, or leave it to Shinra all together. Cloud made his way towards the door of Seventh Heaven. Tifa placed a hand on his shoulder. When he turned around he saw she had placed her fighting gloves on. Cloud guessed instantly what was going on and hastened to stop her.

"Tifa—"

The girl did not let him finish. "I'm coming with you." She said in a voice that demanded no arguments.

Cloud did not speak for a moment. "What about Denzel?"

Tifa smiled. "Yuffie, of course."

"Of course," Cloud muttered. He could see there would be no persuading Tifa to stay so he just nodded and led the way to Fenrir. He leaped on and Tifa followed. Smiling slightly as her arms wrapped around his waist, Cloud gunned the engine and took off.

While Cloud was driving, Tifa unhooked her cell phone and called an old friend.

"Vincent? This is Tifa. Listen, I don't have time to explain but Cloud and I are looking for Marlene. She was kidnapped by Kadaj." She paused, listening. "Yes, I know Kadaj is supposed to be dead. Like I said, I don't have time to explain. Could you meet us at the monument? Thanks." She hung up and dialed another number. "Barret? Listen, this is Tifa. Now don't freak out, but Marlene has been kidnapped." Tifa held the phone away from her ear and Cloud could hear the man yelling over the noise of the engine. Tifa tentatively brought the phone back to answer Barret Wallace's shouts. "Barret! I can't explain right now. Get Cid and meet us at the monument."

"The monument?" Cloud yelled over his shoulder.

"Of course! We can't find Kadaj on our own. We don't even know where to look!"

Cloud saw the reason in this conclusion and turned towards the center of Edge. Rufus Shinra had rebuilt the large monument that had been destroyed by Bahamut SHIN and had dedicated it to the survivors of Geostigma in his effort to rebuild the city after Kadaj and his brothers had been defeated. When Cloud pulled up next to it he saw that Vincent was already there. Tifa jumped off Fenrir and greeted the tall, mysterious man. Cloud followed slowly.

Barret and Cid arrived soon after. After Cloud had explained the situation to them, Barret wanted to get moving right away and appeared to be in the mood to kill anyone in his way. Thankfully Tifa reminded him that if they just stormed in on Kadaj, the youth could very well kill Marlene instantly. That calmed the man down somewhat on the outside but anger and impatience emanated off of him in waves.

"Do you think we could bluff our way past him?" Cid asked. "Bring him fake Jenova cells or something?"

Cloud frowned. "It might work, but I don't want to underestimate him. He's dangerous."

The group exchanged grim glances. Cid spoke up again.

"So how are we going to find the ---- thing?"

Cloud looked thoughtful. "He wants me to give him the Jenova cells in three days. If we can wait that long I have a feeling Kadaj will find us."

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Marlene had been in the warehouse for a few hours when Kadaj returned. Scooping her up quickly in his arms he carried her to his motorcycle without a word. He started the engine and sped away from the warehouse and out into the outskirts of Midgar. Marlene did not know how long she spent on the bike. She felt herself falling asleep against her captor's chest. When she opened her eyes she was being lifted onto a hard surface. Looking around she noticed that Kadaj had placed her on an island in the middle of a lake that looked very familiar . . .

Kadaj smirked down at her. "Do you remember this place, little one? We formed some fond memories here, didn't we?"

Marlene shrunk against the large ruins of a once grand monument. She remembered this place very well. It was the place Kadaj's brother had brought here when they tricked the kids with Geostigma to drink the water that made them like the silver-haired brothers. She shivered beside the stone, hugging herself as Kadaj knelt to look in her eyes.

"Don't worry, small one," he said in a voice that could have been interpreted as either gentle or menacing. "Once Big Brother gives us Mother, everything will be alright. If he doesn't, well, I like playing don't you?"

Marlene could not answer. She cowered next to the monument, shaking as Kadaj's laughter echoed across the Forgotten Capital of the Ancients.


	3. Reflections

**A/N: This is the third chapter everyone! I replaced the Author's Note with the second chapter so go back and read it before you continue on. Okay? Okay. Thanks for the reviews :-D**

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**Chapter 3/Reflections**

Cloud stood in his room, once more staring out of the window. The rain had stopped falling that afternoon but the rest of the day remained overcast. Cloud felt disturbed. He knew what he had to do but was reluctant to do it. Seeing Kadaj again had brought up painful memories. The Geostigma, the shell he had kept himself in, the people he had pushed away, and the way he had almost left Denzel and Marlene to the brothers. Cloud sighed and rested his forehead against the window. Thinking about Kadaj reminded him of Sephiroth, Sephiroth reminded him of Aerith, and remembering Aerith was painful even now. What was Kadaj doing with Marlene? Would he callously kill her if Cloud did not give him Jenova cells just as Sephiroth had killed Aerith four years earlier? He knew he had to make a choice. His safety from a memory or Marlene. There was no doubt in his mind which one he must choose, but that did not make the painful reminders vanish like smoke.

A soft hand rested on his shoulder. Cloud looked up and saw Tifa's reflection smiling gently at him. He could not smile back. Hers faded.

"Oh Cloud," she sighed. She lifted her hand off his shoulder and fingered the pink bow tied around his upper arm. "I know this must be painful for you, but think about how Marlene must be feeling. You can't let her down, not now, not again."

Cloud shifted, stepping away from the window. "It's not that I don't want to . . ."

"It just reminds you of her."

Cloud nodded. "Yes . . ."

Tifa sighed again. "I thought we'd been through this already. I thought we agreed on moving on." She frowned at him. "I won't have you retreating into your little self-pity hole again. For one, it's not healthy, and two it drives me crazy!"

Cloud smiled half-heartedly. "Fine then, I'll do it."

Tifa smiled back encouragingly, resting her hand on his arm. He glanced at it, then at her face, his smile widening slightly. The semi-tender moment was broken by Cloud's cell phone ringing. He flipped it open and turned his face away from Tifa. She backed away understandingly.

"Hello?"

"_Cloud."_

"Vincent?"

"_I've located Kadaj and Marlene."_

"Where are they?"

"_The Forgotten City."_

Cloud let his head fall forward onto the window pane. "Why didn't we think of that before?"

"_Kadaj's memory bank in the robot must have guided him to a place of apparent familiarity. It does not realize that it is just following in Kadaj's footprints."_

"What should I do?"

"_Stake it out. Follow it. Watch its movements. Try to figure out whether it is an exact copy or if it has weaknesses."_

"Kadaj must have had a weakness."

There was a pause. _"Then find that out as well. Good luck, Cloud."_

Cloud lowered his arm and stayed facing the window. Tifa stepped up next to him.

"I'm going with you."

"You don't even know where I'm going."

"I don't care, I'm going with you."

Cloud nodded. She was good at reading people. Maybe she could help him.

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Kadaj knelt by the water and scooped up a handful in his gloved hand. Watching it trickle though his fingers, he did not notice Marlene approach. He felt someone watching him and turned. Marlene clutched her hands tightly behind her back, willing her body to not tremble.

"What do you want?" Kadaj asked in a tone that suggested boredom and annoyance.

"What are you?" Marlene's voice was steady as she looked the young man straight in the eye.

Kadaj frowned. "I am Kadaj, remnant of Sephiroth."

Marlene noticed his voice sounded slightly bitter as he spoke.

"Then why does your face feel cold? Are you sick?"

Kadaj did not speak. To him being sick meant having Geostigma. He knew he did not have that disease so he shook his head. "No, I am not sick." He glanced sideways at her. "What about your friend? The one with the Geostigma? Died yet has he?" Kadaj smiled unkindly.

Marlene shook her head. "No. He's all better now. Everyone is. There's no more Geostigma."

Kadaj looked surprised. Then he frowned. "Yes there is, and I need to find the children who have them."

"You already did that, and it didn't work. Cloud beat you, and I think he killed you." Marlene was becoming less afraid and more curious. How come Kadaj did not remember these things? He had been there.

"He did not kill me." Kadaj hissed angrily, standing. "Why does everyone keep saying I'm supposed to be dead? Can't they see I'm very much alive?"

Marlene gazed up at him. "Cloud said he watched you die. Tifa said she saw it too."

"Then I supposed you'll be glad when I get rid of those liars and all their friends too!" Kadaj flung his hands over his head dramatically.

Marlene blinked. "I wouldn't be glad. I would be very mad at you if you killed my friends."

Kadaj slowly lowered his arms. "All I want is to be with Mother."

"Then why don't you find a real mother?"

Kadaj froze. His jaw tightened. "I _do_ have a real mother."

Marlene crossed her arms. "A bunch of cells aren't a real mother."

"They are to me."

"That's pathetic."

"You probably don't even know what that means."

"So? I can tell that's what you are."

Kadaj turned away. "I don't want to talk to you any more."

"Fine, I don't want to talk to _you_ any more."

"Fine."

"Fine!"

Marlene marched off in a huff. Sitting down on some scattered pieces of marble stone, she placed her chin in her small palms and watched as Kadaj started pacing back and forth. He stopped took out his cell phone, glared at it, then resumed pacing. Finally, when Marlene had counted up to seventeen, he flipped open his phone and pressed a number.

"I've changed my mind. You don't have three days. I want Mother tomorrow. Give her to me or you'll never see your little girl again." He paused, listening. "You needn't worry. I'll come to you." A small smile crept up his lips. "You don't seriously think I'll believe that story again, brother. I've heard enough excuses. You _do_ have Mother, and you _will_ give her to me tomorrow." His smile disappeared. "I don't care how you get her, just do it!" He frowned and closed the phone. He turned to Marlene.

"Your Cloud doesn't know what's good for him. You'd better get a good night's sleep, little one. We have a big day tomorrow."

Marlene moved to the ground but kept her eyes on Kadaj. "Why do you need those cells so bad?"

Kadaj turned away. "Without Mother, we can't be whole again. We need the Reunion."

"We?"

"My brothers and I."

"You don't have any brothers. They died."

Kadaj jerked convulsively, but when he turned back to her his expression was unreadable. "My brothers . . . are not dead."

"Then where are they?"

"They . . . are looking for Mother . . . somewhere else."

Marlene suddenly felt something in her heart soften towards this young man who was really just a child. Children often have deeper intuitions than most adults. Marlene was no exception. She did not know how she knew what Kadaj was feeling in his heart, she only realized what he was searching for. Reaching up hesitantly, she touched his pant leg softly.

"You want someone to love you, don't you?"

Kadaj jerked away from her touch as if it burned. "What are you talking about?"

"You know," Marlene looked thoughtful. "I don't have a mother, yet I know I'm still loved because I have Papa and Tifa and Cloud and Denzel and all my other friends. You just need a family to love you. That's why you're so mean. You think everyone hates you. That's why you need those cells. To feel wanted and loved."

Kadaj looked down at Marlene in shock. Did the girl even know what she was saying? He glared at her. "I have a family. They're just misplaced at the moment. But I'll find them and once I do you'll regret taking Big Brother's side."'

He crossed his arms and turned his back on her, acting very much like a sulking child. Marlene just lay down and closed her eyes, suddenly tired. As she drifted off to sleep she could hear Kadaj resume his pacing.

Kadaj waited until Marlene seemed to be deep in sleep before sitting down on the stone she had been sitting on previously. Slowly lifting off his glove, he stared at his left hand, turning it around in the moonlight, studying it. It did look almost metallic in the silver light. He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling the end of a strand absently. It did feel like a piece of wire. Was he really just some experiment and not Kadaj at all? Was he really just a worthless robot made of metal? But no, he had to be Kadaj. He had Kadaj's thoughts, his emotions, his . . . feelings. He pulled his glove back over the gleaming hand. Resting his elbows on his knees, he hung his head and stared at the ground. Things were becoming complicated. He did not like complications. He needed Mother and soon.

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Cloud moved from his position on the forest floor and crept forward, watching through tangled shrubbery as Kadaj lay on the hard ground not far from Marlene and closed his eyes. Tifa followed close behind. He stopped when he was several feet from the edge of the water. Tifa settled down next to him.

"I know that look, what are you thinking of Cloud?"

"What if Marlene is right? What if all that Kadaj is looking for is love?"

Tifa looked at him. "What's your idea?"

"He calls me his big brother. Don't you think it's about time I started acting like one?"

"You mean, invite him into our family?"

Cloud nodded to the sleeping youth, shifting quietly in his dreams. "Look at him."

Tifa looked, and something in her expression changed. Kadaj looked almost like a small child, his face relaxed and void of troubles. She had overheard his conversation with Marlene and knew a battle must be going on inside the boy. She smiled slightly.

"I don't know what the others will say, but I'm willing to give it a shot. Should we worry about him killing us in our sleep?"

Cloud was silent. After a few seconds he spoke softly. "She gave me a second chance. He deserves one too. We'll try it. I'm sure the others will be on their guards. Let us just concentrate on reaching out to him."

Tifa's smile widened. "Wow Cloud, I never would have thought of you as a sentimentalist." She laid a hand on his arm. "But I trust you."

He turned to give her a small smile. "Let's just hope Kadaj can too."

00000

"I am worried Cloud might go soft during the fight. He has changed a lot these past two years. He has grown more emotional. He may try to convince it to join our side. This cannot happen. It is made to be like Kadaj in every way, shape, and form. Kadaj would not turn to us and neither will this copy of him. I want you to watch them fight. If he fails to complete his mission . . . destroy it yourself."

Reno and Rude nodded in submission to the man in the wheelchair.

"Yes, sir."

"You got it."

Rufus Shinra smiled grimly. "The final showdown is approaching. Sephiroth must not be allowed to continue his legacy."


End file.

Final Fantasy VII, Adventure, Drama