Summary: To put it in a nutshell... Yazoo and Kadaj are searching the old lab complex in the ruined ShinRa building because Kadaj has been told by Mother that there is something of great use to them hidden therein when they come across a woman hibernating in a drug-induced sleep, genetically modified with Jenova cells by Hojo himself in a private experiment. They download all the information on her to their minicomputer, wake her up, and take both her and the file back to their hideout in the Forgotten City. There they discover some very interesting information concerning this woman, Zhaira, and a possible way to bring Cloud over to their side. Can Zhaira actually make Cloud betray his friends and the Planet with her Jenova-given abilities? What are Jenova's reasons for telling her puppets to track her down and aid in her Reunion rather than their own? And what is Kadaj's interest in her, an interest that goes beyond a working relationship?

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII. All I have is a copy of Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus (desperately searching Ebay to remedy that problem, but the prices for Buy-it-Now are OUTRAGEOUS).

Queen's Quornor: This fic is still partially on hiatus, but here's a new one for you anyway. I have several fics I really, really need to update, and this is the oldest non-finished one. I can't promise when the next chapter will be out, but I do know where I want this fic to go now. The plot has gotten yet another revamp, and this one is the final one. Read on!

Origins

True to Linjee's predictions, Zhaira had to deal with the increased attentions of various male passerby. Wolf-whistles, appraising once-overs, lewd comments, turning heads and pauses, even reaching hands came her way, much to the annoyance of both her and Kadaj.

The woman slapped another hand away from her naked side, almost breaking the man's wrist with the force of the light hit. "How long do we have to stay here?" she asked the silver-haired male beside her, green-streaked black eyes flashing irritation.

Kadaj felt his skin prickle; the force of her anger was palpable. Literally. He could feel little electrical currents dancing along his nerves, growing stronger by increments as her irritation rose.

"We'll leave as soon as we meet up with Loz and Yazoo," he assured her. Calming her down down was an absolute necessity; too much more electricity and he would look like he had stuck Souba in an electrical outlet!

"And where are they?" she demanded, planting her hands onto her waist, nails digging into her naked hips. Kadaj flinched as the shocks increased for a moment before fading, albeit slowly.

In answer, he whipped out his cell phone and punched in Yazoo's number, putting the phone to his ear and waiting for his brother to pick up.

At the same time, he kept an ear out for the distinctive ringtone. All three of them had downloaded songs off the InterWeb for their phones, unique ringtones they could use to identify each other if necessary. Loz had a triumphant, happy tune (Kadaj hated that song) on his phone. Kadaj had chosen a dark, sinister song with an ominous, ringing bell for his, and Yazoo and downloaded a repetitive, catchy tone. He didn't hear the rington in question; his brother was still some distance away.

After two rings, the phone clicked on. "Yes?" came his older brother's voice, drifting quietly through the earpiece.

"Where are you?"
"Near the bikes. I found Loz."
"Where was he this time?"

"A strip bar. Were else?"
Kadaj rolled his eyes heavenward. Loz could be so human sometimes! "Zhaira has new clothes. We'll be there in a few minutes." The phone was shut and put away, and the silver-haired male looked at his companion. "They're waiting for us at the bikes."

"Good. The sooner we get out of this hell-hole, the better." She started walking in the direction of the motorcycles, Kadaj catching up to her a moment later. Looking at the statuesque, willowy female, he felt the need to converse with her. Where had she come from, anyway?

"So... You said you were from Midgar?"

Zhaira nodded. "Sector 5 slums. My mom was from that area, and dad moved in from Sector 6 when they got married." Her face softened in memory. "I was the fourth of seven children. My oldest brother, Eaen, started working in the Market as soon as he got old enough, and Isis followed on her tenth birthday. Nashthera got a job as an errand girl up on the plate, and their gil helped pay off the bills when first I, then Zolthen, was born. Dad and Mom both worked at the Honey Bee Inn. Dad worked with drinks, and Mom was one of the girls. Neither of them liked it, but it paid well, and with my siblings' gil we were kept fed and clothed with a roof over our heads. We didn't have much, but we were happy.

"Then we got really lucky. Isis had always been the genius in the family, and when she finished slum-school she got a job with Shinra. She worked in the Science Department, and she brought in a lot of gil. Dad was able to quit his job and take care of us, but Mom kept working at the Inn. She wanted to send me and Zolthen to a school up on the plate, so we wouldn't have to spend our lives in the slums. But she had to stop for awhile when she got pregnant with the twins, Surya and Sileste. Once she was able, she went back to work.

"And everything went to hell."

Kadaj watched Zhaira heave a sigh and shove a hand through her inky hair, pulling at the silver streak unconsciously. "First Eaen got hit by a truck outside the Market on his way back home, completely run over. Then Nashthera had an affair with her employer's son and ran away with him; we never did find out what happened to her. Isis stopped coming home, eventually cutting off all contact with us, apart from sending the gil every month. Mom got beaten to death in her room at the Inn, and Dad started drinking to deal with losing her. Zolthen and I were left to take care of the twins while he went boozing, and we were just kids ourselves. We had no idea how to take care of a pair of three-year-old twins. But it turned out we didn't have to, in the end.

"Sileste caught a fever, and Surya got sick too. Sileste managed to survive, but her sister died. It was around this time that Shinra began calling for young, healthy children, especially girls. Dad needed money for his habit, and they were offering good gil for each child they took. So one day he came home, grabbed all three of us, and said we were going to see Isis. When we got up to the building, we wer examined by doctors. Sileste and I were approved and paid for. Zolthen was not."

She sighed again. "That was the last time I ever saw either one of them. Dad took Zolthen away, and Sileste got separated from me when we were taken inside."

Kadaj waited for her to continue, but it seemed her monologue was at an end.

"Zhaira," he finally ventured. "Do you have any idea what they were looking for? Why they chose you?"

She shrugged. "Something about me 'holding the key.' But I have no idea what they meant by that."

They turned the cornor, and his brothers came into view, leaning against their bikes. As they approached, Kadaj vowed to look over the research notes Yazoo had downloaded as soon as they got back to the base.

What did they mean by 'she holds the key'? More importantly, to what lock does that key belong?

And how does that apply to the Reunion?

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Queen: Please don't kill me! Yes, I know it's been awhile since this has been updated, but I've been busy, I haven't been able to figure out how to write what I wanted to say...

Kadaj: Stop multitasking!

Yazoo: She's female. That's bred into her sex, a habit as old as time that is impossible to break her of. Don't waste your time with that, Kadaj.

Sephiroth: I must admit, I like the songs you picked out for their cell phones. "The Turks' Theme" for Yazoo, "Those Chosen by the Planet" for Kadaj... Suits them perfectly, I believe.

Queen: Yeah, well... I tried. Wait a minute. What are you doing here, Seph? You aren't in this fic!

Kadaj: Why didn't you give me "Jenova Absolute?" That's the song I wanted!

Yazoo: When exactly are you planning on getting back to this fic full-time Queen?

Sephiroth: Questions, questions. There's a completely reasonable explaination for everything.

Queen: And that would be...?

Sephiroth: Well, it's -

(static crackle)

(transmission interrupted)