Crying for Mother

By generalquistis

Author's Note: This contains a little of CloudxAerith content somewhere. If you have something against that pairing or you simply have a closed mind or a narrow-mind OR you are simply here to insult me or this fic, then leave. I have no time to play with you.

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"Mother!"

Kadaj woke up screaming again. It was the seventh time it has happened ever since he got captured, confined and diagnosed.

Diagnosed with what?

He himself does not even know what illness has gotten into him, but he was confined in the most secured area of the Healin Lodge.

He was placed in a straight jacket not only to prevent him from hurting himself but also to protect the doctors treating him. But how can he harm people when most of the time he is being sedated?

Cold sweat.

His green eyes reflected the pain of a lost child as he looked up at the surveillance camera just situated on the ceiling above the bed where he remained seated. His lips were trembling. "Mother…" he said softly before bowing down his head and rocked back and forth, shaking violently. "Mother… mother… mother…" he was uttering repeatedly. He would stop once in a while to look at the clock hanging above the doorway. It seemed to him that it was not moving.

3 am.

"Mother… mother…mother…" he went on.

Even when the door burst open and a doctor entered with three nurses and two guards along with him.

Kadaj looked up at them and stopped, staring in horror at the needles and the syringes. "No!" he screamed as the guards and nurses pushed him down onto the bed, strapping him down so that he could not move too much while the doctor injected another sedative into him.

"No… no… Mother… mother!" Kadaj was screaming.

His cries slowly ceased as the seconds ticked, and soon, his eyes began to feel heavy. He stopped talking for a while, but before he completely gave in to sleep, he uttered one last time, "Mother…" and then closed his eyes.

He was sleeping again.

The doctor sighed heavily. "I pity this child." He admitted.

The nurses were just quiet.

With that, the doctor handed the used syringe and needle to one of the nurses. "Throw it away. And remove those straps from him. The President ordered not to treat him like an animal but like any other patient here." He instructed.

"But he's dangerous, Doctor." The nurse reasoned.

The Doctor shook his head. "Bring him to the EEG laboratory. I have to monitor his brainwaves again while he's sleeping." He said before stepping out of the room.

oOoOo

It has always been the same routine every single day and night: Kadaj will be brought to different laboratories within the Healin Lodge so that he could be monitored, and when he's back in his room again, they were still monitoring his behavior even while he is sedated.

He never ate anything for the last seven days but he does not even show any sign of weakness due to absence of food.

It was a big mistake for him to be there… especially since it was his own brothers who surrendered and let ShinRa take him.

"We're tired of taking orders from you, Kadaj," according to Yazoo for a reason that Kadaj himself could not understand. They took advantage of his weakness, caught him off-guard and the next thing he felt was excruciating pain on his head caused by the hilt of Cloud Strife's sword. The blow was unexpected, it rendered him unconscious for a few moments, and then when he woke up, he was strapped onto a bed and he was inside a very bright room with white walls and white floors. He started to scream. He felt so betrayed. From the window of one of the doors, he could sense Cloud watching him and talking to other people whom he assumed to be Barret Wallace, the two Turks Reno and Rude, and the President. He thought he heard one of them say, "We're just doing what we failed to do with Sephiroth years ago: to stop him. This is for his own good too."

Psychiatrists had tried talking to Kadaj. And with the constant visits to those psychiatrists, he began to think that everyone must have thought that he is insane. "I am not crazy…" was what he said to one of the psychiatrists. But he had been ignored. Once he said those words again, another psychiatrist replied, "We're not confining you here just because you are supposed to be diagnosed with neurosis, Kadaj. You're here for other reasons." And did not further elaborate.

oOoOo

Five months later, there was a new patient at the Healin Lodge.

It was Cloud Strife.

His body could not take the manifestation of Geostigma anymore and his health had begun to decline. He was found in the Church at Sector 6 where he had been staying by Tifa Lockheart who was visiting him with Marlene. Since Cloud had become good friends with Rufus ShinRa (who is also confined at the Healin Lodge), he was admitted into the sanctuary for Geostigma patients.

At that moment, Kadaj had stopped talking. He refused to answer questions and he refused to say anything. However, they could still hear his voice in the middle of the night, screaming the same thing: "Mother!"

Even Rufus ShinRa himself and Cloud Strife would get roused constantly from their sleep because of the screaming from the quarters where Kadaj has been isolated downstairs.

"Who is this Mother?" both Cloud and Rufus would think to themselves.

oOoOo

Reno of the Turks wheeled Rufus Shinra towards the television set as the doctor inserted the VHS tape inside the player and pressed PLAY.

"What is this you are going to show me?" Rufus asked.

"Kadaj's 'progress'." The Doctor replied before the static on the television turned into images.

It showed Kadaj seated on a chair, still in a straight jacket. He was staring into empty space on his right side.

Rufus frowned as he observed the Kadaj's facial expression. He looked too pale and there were dark circles around his eyes.

"So, Kadaj. Tell me something about your Mother." the voice of a psychiatrist said.

"This was taken just yesterday afternoon during his session with one of the psychiatrists, President Rufus." The Doctor told Rufus.

Rufus just kept silent and watched.

Kadaj did not even move. He just stared into empty space.

"Kadaj, you have to tell me something about your mother."

Kadaj just stared.

Rufus turned to the Doctor. "He has the 'stigma too, doesn't he?" he asked.

The Doctor nodded. "He's actually not responding to treatment." He replied.

"How come he has it and his brothers don't?" Reno asked with a frown on his face.

"We still have to find out sooner or later… but I have to get special passes from you to reach them in prison, President Rufus." The Doctor told Rufus.

Rufus just sat still. "JENOVA." He said softly.

"What's that, President Rufus?" the Doctor asked, unable to hear him clearly.

"Kadaj's mother is JENOVA…" Rufus lowered his gaze to the floor, "At least that's what I know." He said.

"But we've destroyed the head already." The Doctor explained.

"What about his biological mother?" Reno asked.

"Reno, please step out of the room." Rufus instructed sternly.

Reno just shrugged and walked out, leaving Rufus and the Doctor inside.

"Anyway, as I was saying…" the Doctor began.

Rufus shook his head. "Never mind. I would like to ask you about another matter…" he looked up at the Doctor. "…about my own condition." He said.

The Doctor just looked at him. "We're doing everything we can, President Rufus." He responded rather vaguely.

Rufus just looked away. "And Cloud?" he asked.

"Sir, we're doing everything we can." The Doctor told him.

"I knew it…" Rufus thought to himself in silence.

With that, the Doctor pressed the STOP button and bowed in courtesy. "I'll ask the nurse to bring your shots here." He said before walking out of the room.

Rufus bowed down his head. "…there is no cure." He was thinking.

Then there was a knock.

It took a while before Rufus called for the person to come in, and the door slowly opened. He wheeled himself back to his bed before turning his gaze to the person who just entered. "You must be mistaken. This isn't Cloud's room." He told the young lady.

Tifa Lockheart smiled sadly at him. "I know but… he's in isolation. No one is allowed to visit him." She said as she stepped inside. "I hope you don't mind, President Rufus." She said.

Rufus saw the red roses that she was holding and he frowned slightly. "Let me guess. Those are for him, but flowers are not allowed in his room?" he asked rather harshly.

She shook her head as she walked over to him. "No. These are really for you. Marlene picked these roses for you." She told him before putting the roses on the bedside table.

"Really? Where's the girl?" he asked, trying to sound casual. He seemed to be sheepish because of his behavior a while ago.

"She's playing with the Turks. We came here with Vincent." Tifa explained.

"And where is Vincent?" Rufus asked.

"He said he wanted to see Kadaj." She responded.

oOoOo

"Here you go Mister Valentine. Don't worry he's completely harmless." The nurse told Vincent as she opened the door for him to Kadaj's room.

The smell of Chlorox filled Vincent's nose as he got inside. The nurse closed the door behind him.

Kadaj was seated on the bed with a dazed look on his face.

Vincent looked up at the surveillance camera watching them. Turning back to Kadaj, he slowly approached, observing if Kadaj would react to him.

The young boy did not move.

Vincent knelt down before him and looked into his green eyes. Those eyes strangely reminded him of two people: Sephiroth and Lucrecia. Vincent lowered his gaze to Kadaj's lap, thinking of what to say to the boy.

Suddenly, he sensed the boy turning his gaze upon him. Vincent looked up at Kadaj's face, surprised upon the sudden movement of the boy. And much to his awe, Kadaj smiled at him.

Vincent shivered and moved away. Kadaj still followed him with his gaze, staring up at him with a look of innocence on his face and in his green eyes.

Shaking his head in confusion, Vincent rushed to the door and called for the nurse.

Once the nurse had arrived and opened the door, Vincent instantly stepped out of the room and went upstairs to look for Tifa.

oOoOo

Rufus has been used to hearing Kadaj screaming in the middle of the night that he would anticipate the scream before he would force himself to fall asleep so that he would not be roused anymore once the scream is heard.

That night, however, there was no scream.

Rufus wondered what happened.

He was not the only one who noticed. Cloud Strife also noticed it so he got up from his bed, dragged his I.V. with him and carefully made his way to Rufus's room, staggering as he did so because he was having difficulty walking.

Rufus heard the footsteps from outside his room and anticipated the person who was going to enter. He was surprised to find out that it was Cloud. "You could stand up?" he asked.

Cloud did not answer. He just shut the door and walked towards Rufus. "I'm sure you noticed it too?" was all he could ask.

Rufus frowned slightly as he sat up on bed. "Your friends were here this afternoon." He told him.

"I know. But I don't like having visitors, that's why I told Tifa to just go here." Cloud told him.

Rufus stared unbelievably at him.

"I want to know what Kadaj's condition is." Cloud told him before pulling off his I.V. from his hand. Rufus cringed upon seeing what Cloud had done. "What did just you do?" he demanded in shock.

"I removed the I.V. It's an obstruction." Cloud told him as he sat down on Rufus's bed and eyed him seriously, "Do you know what his condition is?" he asked.

"I don't even know what's happening to our bodies, you expect me to know what's happening to him? Not only is he infected with Geostigma but he's also insane!" Rufus pointed out.

"What about you, what did the doctor say?" Cloud asked.

"What did the doctor tell you about yours?" Rufus asked coolly, not wanting to answer Cloud's question. It would just make him feel bad about slow death.

Cloud was quiet for a while but he finally revealed, "They're not telling me anything but… I know I am going to die." He stated flatly.

Rufus looked at him with a stern look on his face. "Take me to Kadaj." He told him.

Cloud frowned at him, "What?" he asked.

"Take me to Kadaj." He repeated.

Cloud was hesitant for a while before getting Rufus's wheelchair and helped him sit on it. Rufus refused to take his blankets with him to cover his face, assuming that nobody else can see him but Cloud and Kadaj… and they will all die anyway before they could tell the outside world how horrible Rufus's face looked without the blankets because the explosion caused by Diamond Weapon had caused damage to it… at least that's what he had believed in: that his face is damaged. He never really had any mirror in his room at the Healin Lodge in refusal to look at himself, but his face looked normal already.

"There is a surveillance camera inside his room. If they find out that the two of us are there, they will sedate us." Cloud told him.

"They won't. I've been here long enough to figure out that security isn't as good as ShinRa's. They just put it there but they are not watching." Rufus pointed out as they headed for the elevator to go down to the basement where Kadaj's isolation chamber is located.

Upon reaching the basement area, they saw that the nurse on-duty and the guards were asleep on their respective posts. "Talk about sleeping on the job…" Cloud muttered as he wheeled Rufus towards the door to Kadaj's room. He did not really want to accompany Rufus there for fear of getting into trouble and getting sedated. Cloud hated falling asleep because his slumber had always been dreamless ever since he arrived at the Healin Lodge.

"Do you have the key?" Cloud asked Rufus.

"This door can only be opened from the outside." Rufus told him.

Cloud thought for a while before slowly opening the door. He was the one who stepped inside first before turning back to Rufus, pulling the wheelchair in between the door and the doorway so that the door would not close. With that, he carefully lifted Rufus up from the wheelchair and guided him towards Kadaj who was still seated on the bed and staring into empty space with a blank smile on his face.

Cloud let Rufus sit down on the bed beside Kadaj, knowing that the young boy is already harmless.

"I thought they sedated him?" Cloud asked.

"Looks like they're not doing it anymore since he stopped talking." Rufus figured out before examining the blank smile on Kadaj's face. "Kadaj," he began.

No answer.

Cloud frowned at the sorry state of Kadaj. He could remember the boy having too much fighting spirit and energy just like Sephiroth. And now he was like a statue… a white marble statue, because he looked too pale already. Cloud seated himself on a chair facing the bed where Kadaj and Rufus were seated.

"Kadaj," Rufus repeated.

Kadaj just sat still, an insanely gentle smile plastered on his face as he remained staring into the empty space on the floor.

"Kadaj, I know you can hear me." Rufus began sternly before taking a deep breath and proceeded, "You say you have the cure. What is it?" he asked.

Kadaj was quiet.

Cloud was beginning to get impatient so he instinctively grabbed Kadaj's wrist that was still bound in the straight jacket that he had been wearing ever since his first day at the Healin Lodge in hopes of catching his attention, "Answer the question, Kadaj," he said rather sternly.

To his surprise, Kadaj looked up at him and his smile faded away. Cloud stared into Kadaj's eyes which seemed to be telling him something… but he could not understand what it meant. "I want my mommy." Kadaj finally said with a tone that seemed to falter. He sounded like a hurt child.

Cloud's frown deepened as he continued to stare into Kadaj's eyes. Rufus was waiting from any other reaction from Cloud, but there was not any. Cloud slowly let go of Kadaj with a look of awe in his eyes. He clearly saw Kadaj's eyes filling up with tears until they began to fall. Kadaj bowed down his head. "I'm sorry mommy… I didn't mean to do it… I just want to see you again… I'm sorry mommy…" he said in between his sobs.

Rufus felt uneasy about the situation but he still wanted to know more. "Kadaj, who is your mother?" he asked.

Kadaj just kept quiet, staring into empty space.

"Who is your mother?" Cloud asked.

Kadaj smiled faintly. "She talks to me when I'm asleep." He replied. He turned to Rufus and Cloud. "She talks to your mommies too." he continued.

Upon hearing that, Rufus stiffened and Cloud's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"My mother?" Cloud thought to himself.

Rufus just kept quiet.

"My mother wants to meet you, Cloud." Kadaj turned to Cloud. He smiled rather calmly, which made Cloud think that he must really be insane. "But don't get me wrong. She is not my biological mother. You know, when I saw her in my dreams for the first time, she told me that she can be my mother." Kadaj continued.

Cloud just stared at him with a frown on his face, being too skeptical about the situation. He turned to Rufus with an inquiring look in his eyes, but Rufus did not seem to care.

"Is it JENOVA?" Rufus asked, wanting to clear things out.

Kadaj just smiled as he stared into empty space, "Oh she's way better than JENOVA! She's more caring and loving…" he looked at Rufus. "But you can't meet her just yet."

"And why not?" Rufus demanded in annoyance. Who is this mother Kadaj is talking about?

"Because you still have a lot more things to do." Kadaj told him before turning to Cloud. "Do you want to meet mother?" he asked.

"Meet?" Cloud thought in silence.

"What did you mean by that? What do I still have to do?" Rufus demanded, annoyed. Kadaj slowly turned his gaze to him. "Do you really wanna know?" he asked in teasing monotone.

Rufus frowned at him.

Kadaj's smile widened at him. It was innocent yet a bit sinister at the same time, for reasons that Rufus could not understand. "Do you?" he repeated.

Rufus did not answer, but his eyes revealed to Kadaj that his mind was saying "Yes" but part of him was screaming no. For all he knew, it could just be something that Kadaj had dreamed of. After all, he's insane.

…or maybe not?

"Yes." Cloud was the one who answered for Rufus.

Rufus turned to Cloud with a look of disbelief on his face. "What the bloody hell are you thinking of?" he was thinking to himself as he stared at Cloud. Cloud was not even looking at him; he was eyeing Kadaj.

Kadaj turned back to Cloud and leaned forward to him as if he was going to whisper something. Cloud braced himself for what he was going to hear… but instead, he felt excruciating pain once Kadaj's face was already an inch away from his ear. The pain was in his neck… at the area where his jugular vein is located. He then saw Rufus's mortified facial expression.

Cloud Strife fell to the ground, writhing in pain, his blue eyes giving off a strange look at Kadaj upon realizing that the boy's straight jacket had been loosened and that he was just pretending that it was still all securely strapped.

Mindlessly, Cloud's right hand moved up his own left arm, touching something underneath the sleeve of his shirt.

Kadaj was gazing down at him with a delighted look on his face, "Don't worry, Cloud, the pain is nothing compared to the pain of Geostigma." He said delightfully before he got up and turned to Rufus, smiling dementedly at him.

Rufus took a deep breath. "He's going to kill me too!" he was thinking to himself when he saw the boy holding a scalpel. He must've stolen it from the laboratory when he was being treated during the day.

Kadaj tilted his head to left as he stared blankly at Rufus. "Stay here and change the world as you have told him." And stabbed himself on the right side of his neck with the scalpel.

oOoOo

"President Rufus?" Reno knocked on the door of Rufus's room while Marlene and Tifa just stood still behind him.

They had just gone from Cloud's room and found that he was not there, so Reno supposed that he could be in Rufus's room.

"Why would he even be here?" Tifa asked.

"Maybe they are discussing something." Reno pointed out before deciding to just open the door without permission… and to his surprise, he saw no one inside. The wheelchair was not there and much to Reno's wonder, the blankets that Rufus uses to cover himself up to hide his current appearance which he deems "hideous". Reno rushed to the bed to further investigate the area, in hopes that he could find clues as to where Rufus and Cloud might have gone to.

Tifa stepped inside the room and stared at the I.V., the needle and the tape used to hold it still on the patient's hand… whoever the patient is. "Did Rufus have an I.V.?" she asked.

Reno turned to the floor and saw the used I.V. "No. That's Cloud's!" he told her before rushing outside to report to security.

Tifa ran after him. "Where are you going?" she called out.

Marlene wondered why there was a sudden look of panic in Reno's face as he began to call Rude and the head of security of the area.

"Just stay there, Miss Lockheart…" Reno instructed before telling the person on the other line, "Hey, Reno here. The President is missing with another patient, Cloud Strife."

Tifa's eyes widened before turning to Marlene with a troubled look on her face.

"What's going on, Tifa? What happened to Cloud and Rufus?" Marlene asked with a worried look as she tugged on Tifa's hand.

After giving further instructions, Reno hung up and turned to Tifa, "Wanna come with me? I'm checking on Kadaj. They said that the surveillance cameras are dead in that area." He told her.

Tifa shuddered. "…alright…" she said rather hesitantly before following after Reno. Marlene tagged along with them to the isolation rooms downstairs… and upon arriving there, they were stunned to see that the door to Kadaj's room was open… and Rufus's wheelchair was the thing preventing it to close.

"Shit!" Reno cussed out loud before turning to the emergency alarm on the wall and pushed it. A loud wailing siren-like sound began to fill the area. Marlene, frightened by the sound and the situation, hugged Tifa. Tifa wrapped her arms around the little girl in an effort to comfort her as she gently patted her back. "Shh… It's alright. I'm here…" Tifa told her.

Security began to arrive.

Reno slowly made his way to Kadaj's room… slowly peeking in… and gasped upon seeing the bloody floor, blankets and walls… and Rufus ShinRa seated on the bed.

Tifa rushed after Reno and pushed the door open to reveal more of the scenario to herself… and unintentionally, to Marlene too.

Marlene screamed.

Kadaj was lying on the floor in his own pool of blood with the scalpel still on his neck. His eyes were still open and they gave off this eerily blank stare at Rufus ShinRa, who, in turn, was staring blankly at him. Kadaj's lips seemed to have curled into this calm smile, but his eyes gave off the impression that he had a demented look on his face. Lying next to him was Cloud Strife, holding his own left arm.

Tifa swallowed hard, eyeing the scenario in utmost mortification as she held Marlene close to herself and made her look away. The little girl began to cry; so did she… but she smiled softly as she looked at Cloud. His eyes were closed and he looked peaceful… and his lips were curled into a faint smile.

Reno went to Rufus to check if he was still alive. "Sir?" he asked.

Rufus did not move.

Reno and Tifa noticed that Rufus's right hand was holding his left arm rather tightly.

Rufus looked up at Reno with a blank stare. Reno frowned slightly.

"He's alive?" Tifa asked.

Rufus slowly removed his hand from his left arm as he turned his blank gaze back to Cloud and Kadaj, revealing to them a pink ribbon tied around it over the bandages.

Tifa's eyes widened upon seeing the pink ribbon but she was not able to say anything about it.

"What happened here, President Rufus?" Reno asked rather sternly, breaking the silence.

To their surprise, Rufus slowly got up.

Everyone was quiet as they watched in awe. He can stand up on his own… and finally walk again?

"Clean this mess up." He said through clenched teeth before he stepped aside and walked past the others, as if he did not notice that stares he had received from everyone else who was alive in the area. But as he reached the stairs, he stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around to Tifa. "…Tifa, right?" he asked.

She turned to him curiously, nodding nervously. "…Yes…" she said softly.

"Would you and the rest of your AVALANCHE friends be interested to help me with my plans in rebuilding Midgar?" he asked rather casually… although there was this undeniably disturbed look in his blue eyes.

Tifa shivered as Reno went over to Rufus. She watched as the other nurses began to hold the President still as one of the doctors arrived with a syringe. Rufus just stared at Tifa with tears in his eyes. It surprised her and made her wonder what was going on in his head as she continued to ponder on the reason on why he was still alive while Cloud and Kadaj were dead. Did he kill them?

"This will calm you down, sir." The doctor told Rufus as the needle pierced through the skin of his right arm and injected the tranquilizer into his system.

Feeling sleep quickly taking over him, Rufus's eyes widened as he kept his eyes at someone standing past Tifa's shoulders… someone whom he could only see. He screamed, "MOTHER!"

She smiled at him…

oOoOo

Cloud slowly opened his eyes when he heard someone calling his name. It was the melodious voice he has once heard two years ago… and continuously in his dreams and in his mind.

The image of the person looking down at him was blurred, but he could make out the figure. It was a young lady with the gentlest facial expression he has ever seen and with the most peaceful look in the greenest eyes he has ever laid his gaze upon.

He blinked thrice, trying to clear his vision, and when he could see clearly again, she was gone.

He felt his heart jump for a second when he thought that he must have imagined everything. But the place was brightly-lit from somewhere ahead of him so he slowly sat up, looking straight ahead. His eyes narrowed because of the brightness before he turned away and looked at himself. He was not in his hospital garb anymore…

He was dressed in his usual black clothes. Clothes of mourning that he had decided to wear because he still could not get over the death of the dearest friend he has ever had.

But he realized something: the pain was gone. He slowly touched his left arm with his right hand. He could not feel any pain anymore. "Am I cured?" he thought to himself with a look of awe on his face. And he realized that something was missing from his arm.

The pink ribbon.

He rolled up his sleeve to check. It was missing. He stood up in panic as he scanned the ground, looking for it.

"Looking for something?" he heard a young boy's voice from a distance. He turned instantly towards the area where most of the light was coming from. It was slowly fading away until the lighting returned to normal and Cloud saw that he was in a vast flower field… the same flower field that he has been seeing in his dreams and imagining in the deepest darkest recesses of his mind that no one else has an idea of; the flower field where he could see his dearest friend.

But there was something wrong with this scenario. It was not her whom he was facing. It was Kadaj.

Kadaj was standing still, gazing at him with a nonchalant smile on his face.

Cloud eyed him suspiciously, thinking that the young boy was still dangerous. Cloud was about to step back but he stopped himself when he saw Kadaj lift up his right hand to him in a beckoning motion.

Cloud stared in wonder at him. "What does he want now?" he thought to himself, feeling ridiculous.

Kadaj continued to summon Cloud to come closer with his hand, although Cloud was not moving.

"Cloud," he heard someone say from behind Kadaj. It was the melodious female voice again.

Cloud froze as he stared at Kadaj.

"Come, Cloud. She's waiting for you." Kadaj told him.

And from a distance behind Kadaj, Cloud saw a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, her hands clasped together in prayer and smiling lovingly at him. He saw her holding a pink ribbon. He recognized it as the one tied around his left arm from before. "…Mother?" Cloud had managed to say in a hoarse whisper that sounded almost like a choke.

Cloud turned to another figure that had just appeared from behind his mother. It was her…

His mother turned to the young lady standing behind her and smiled gently at her before turning back to Cloud. "Come, Cloud. She's waiting for you." She told her.

Cloud instantly ran to his mother and to the young lady standing behind her, but he stopped before his mother and took a deep breath, staring in wonder at her.

The older woman gazed ridiculously at him. "Silly boy. It's me, your mother! Don't you recognize me anymore?" she asked teasingly as she reached for Cloud's hand and handed him the pink ribbon before stepping aside so that he could face the young lady standing behind her.

Cloud turned his gaze to the young lady in pink, smiling lovingly at him. "You're here." He told her with a look of awe on his face.

She stepped forward, welcoming him in open arms. "As promised." She told him.

Cloud did not say anything more and did not hesitate to surrender himself into her arms, not caring if his mother was there to see it or if Kadaj was there to witness it too and then probably tease him afterwards.

"Aerith…" he whispered softly against her ear.

Exultant tears slowly fell from her green eyes as her embrace tightened around him, while Cloud closed his eyes, inhaling slowly, relishing the moment while thinking silently to himself not to let her slip away from her again. Knowing that they can finally be together in this eternity excited him.

His mother turned to Kadaj and to another older woman with long mahogany hair in a ponytail standing behind him. There was another man beside the woman in the ponytail… a tall man in black with long silver hair. …and another tall man was standing by the silver-haired man, this time with spiky black hair.

They all smiled at her before turning to Cloud and Aerith.

"Is it over, Lucrecia?" Cloud heard his mother ask.

Cloud slowly pulled away from Aerith but he was still holding her hand. She held on to him with a pleased smile on his face.

Cloud instantly recognized Lucrecia, Sephiroth and Zack.

Zack did a thumbs-up at Cloud. Cloud smiled in return.

Sephiroth just smiled pleasantly at him and winked as he mouthed, "Score!"

Cloud smiled at his old friends solemnly before turning to Lucrecia who was eyeing him with a slight smile on his face. "Thank you for bringing Kadaj and Sephiroth back to me." She said softly.

Cloud suddenly remembered Yazoo and Loz… and Vincent. But Lucrecia shook her head as if she had read his mind. "In time, Cloud… in time." She said softly.

Cloud smiled kindly at her before turning back to Aerith.

"Run along now, Cloud. You and Aerith have a lot of catching up to do." He heard his mother say.

Aerith smiled at Mrs. Strife, and then turned back to Cloud. "Let's go, Cloud." She said gently.

He nodded before they walked hand in hand together away from the others.

Sephiroth patted Kadaj's head, "Good job, little brother." He said with a silly smile on his face.

Kadaj pouted. "Hey, I know I'm short for my age but…" he began to protest.

"Oh stop that, both of you!" Lucrecia told them.

oOoOo

The End.