Author note: Alas, the final installment of Abstract Silver has arrived. It's been great, seriously, and I can't thank those of you who have reviewed like mad and boosted the hits for this story past ten thousand. You all rock. Now I shall leave with my final thanks and that this story is dedicated to everyone who has taken interest in this story! Farewell!
Abstract Silver
Crystalline tears
Cloud couldn't believe it.
The plant he had sought out and traveled for was right there in front of him. But most importantly it was real. His mind couldn't decide if it even existed or if it was just an old tale the people of Midgar whispered about from time to time. But now, now it existed more so than he ever thought possible and Cloud found himself breaking the plant away from the rubble before he even realized what he was doing.
Soft, yellow leaves brushed firmly against his fingers and there was no other sensation quite like it. Cloud could feel the pure power and imagined small blue sparks of electricity reflecting off his fingers when he studied it closely, hoping that this was the real thing.
Bright, arctic cold moonlight pooled down on him from above. Normally Cloud would have been stricken with shivers, but hope bloomed from inside of him and there was nothing that could deteriorate the flaming intensity that it brought. Nothing.
When Cloud finished reassuring himself of the rare yellow plant, he realized just how quiet it was without the storm raging dangerously above. There were no dark storm clouds hovering around and the constant flicker of lightning had vanished into oblivion. The blond was glad for the sudden change in the atmosphere and suddenly wished it would stay that way when the unmistakable hum of a helicopter motor became painfully loud as it neared.
If Shinra was really after him this time, Cloud couldn't afford to stay and fight. The plant needed to still have some life within it and Kadaj needed him back at the bar. The situation at hand left Cloud with only one option. He would have to run.
Quickly grabbing the discarded sword piece that had once pinned Loz to the ground, Cloud made a mad dash to the cliff that he had climbed up from below and stopped himself from going over the edge when a sleek, black helicopter with the Shinra logo on the side appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
Cloud couldn't see who was piloting the loud thing. He wasn't all too concerned about that though, just the fact that escaping from Northern Crater was about to get much, much worse. So, pivoting the heal of his left foot into the ground, Cloud spun himself around and began to run the other way, his hands wrapped protectively around the yellow plant.
Strong gusts of wind created by the helicopter threatened to knock the retreating man down, but Cloud maintained his balance and kept going. When he could feel it following him and the edge of another cliff nearly sending him flying, the blond was forced to stop.
If Shinra wanted a fight, he was going to give them a fight. Cloud only hoped that it wouldn't last long and that he'd survive long enough to make it back to the bar.
The helicopter slowly landed with practiced skill and the deafening noise the propellers created died out completely. Cloud watched with narrowed mako eyes as the pilot's door opened and out stepped someone the blond man was expecting the least to see.
It was Reno.
"Yo."
Reno, who was finishing off the last of a cigarette, walked towards Cloud in a laid back fashion, his eyes looking at the other Shinra helicopter that had been left behind.
"We've been looking everywhere for that." The red haired man pointed towards aerial machinery while tossing his now finished cigarette to the side. "Our tracking devices were damaged from the storm." Reno then looked suspiciously at Cloud. "Just what exactly are you doing here anyways?"
"Nothing that's of any importance now," Cloud lied, covering the plant within his hands even further.
"Well I can't imagine that you were the one who stole it. How exactly do you plan on getting down from here? I'm surprised you even managed to make it all this way without any help."
"I... don't know."
A buzzing noise came from within the helicopter that Reno had arrived in. The red haired man waved his hand as if to excuse himself and went to answer the call. Cloud could barely make out what exactly he was saying, but he didn't have time to care. He needed to get to Kadaj.
"Yeah, yeah, I hear you," came the pilot's voice from within the aerial machine.
Cloud turned to leave, intending to flee the barren place and make it to the bar as fast as he could and cure Kadaj of the Geostigma that plagued his body. However, as much as Cloud wished to do that, he was once again held back when Reno quickly finished off his call and came strolling over, completely oblivious to the urgent matter that Cloud was faced with.
"Another copter is going to pick that one up. Say Cloud, do you happen to know who was piloting that one?"
The blond glanced backwards, his pure mako eyes scanning over the transportation device that Yazoo and Loz had used to make it up here. He didn't know exactly if Reno would want to be informed of who had taken Shinra's helicopter, mainly because he assumed the pilot thought he and his partner had eliminated them earlier.
"Not a clue."
"Anyways, the Shachou wants me back there quickly, need a ride back?"
Cloud really didn't feel like having any help at the moment, but as he weighed out his options, the blond decided that it would cut the time he wasted in half and Reno might be able to get him to Seventh Heaven before it was too late.
But, was it already already too late for Kadaj?
His mind was stuck in the realm of unconsciousness and being aware of his surroundings. Sleep seemed like the perfect drug to his pain, but it could not simply make it disappear all together. Life wasn't that easy and he knew it never would be.
The humidity the storm had brewed up seemed to have left Midgar and the temperature of the room had cooled off drastically. It felt as gentle and as cold as a summer breeze in the night, and just as refreshing. This acted as a relaxing agent and Kadaj found that his pain seemed to be frozen in place for short periods of time.
Unconsciousness slowly drifted away and the silver haired rebel could feel his eyelashes brushing lightly against his cold, pale skin before he was able to look around the dark room. Crisp moonlight poured through the window like crystalline water and bathed Kadaj with a pure sensation, causing goose flesh to rise on his pale skin.
Kadaj stared blankly out the window, jade eyes glowing in the moonlight. But it was only the radiant light that gave his eyes the usual glow they once possessed. The silver haired rebel had lost even that and now he couldn't even move a fragment without the Geostigma hissing like a rampant fire and forcing him into submission.
From outside, Kadaj could hear the calming silence that had settled over Midgar and closed his eyes briefly, savoring the much needed break from the raging storm and let out a sigh, bitting his tongue when his lungs burned terribly.
There was something he felt, it was small but it was something, and Kadaj knew it had something to do with his brothers. He felt like something had been torn away from him and there was nothing else to suspect but the death of them.
Trying to move his head away from the ever growing itching that came from his neck, Kadaj was swept over with a wave of pain. He choked out for air, eyes opening in a split second as he felt the disease take a large grip over his body. It was to the point where it was unbearable and Kadaj feared that Cloud wouldn't make it in time. And he had never feared anything in his life like he feared the Geostigma now.
Suddenly, from outside, Kadaj heard the silence shattering into a million pieces as the low hum of an approaching machine of some sort came closer and closer to Midgar. His only thought was that it was Cloud and it was that thought alone that he used to hold onto the fading spark of life that he housed within his body.
Hurry.
In an effort to look out the window, knowing that the moonlight would allow him the luxury of being able to see outside, Kadaj inhaled sharply, clenched his teeth together tightly and slowly tried to raise his head off his plush pillow.
The silver haired rebel only had enough time to quickly glance through the clear glass, but it was also enough time to also see the disturbing mess his skin had left behind.
Darker than the night itself, Kadaj painfully noticed a smear of what had to be the skin from his neck resting on the pillow where his head had once resting and swallowed the bile that had risen in his throat. He was falling apart like a doll with broken seams.
He had tried to see the outside world for more than ten seconds and he had failed. Resting his head back down and paying dearly for moving, Kadaj tried to block out the pain by using his mind as a temporary barrier, but it failed just like his attempt had before.
It was truly useless to flee from the Geostigma now.
Click.
Kadaj moved his eyes quickly towards the door, hoping to find Cloud standing there with the plant that would cure his disease, but it wasn't coming from upstairs, it was coming from the floor below. Kadaj crossed his fingers inside his mind, wishing that it was Cloud, and found himself slowly drifting into a world of sleep.
He couldn't slip away now! He had to see his niisan again, to see Cloud again. But, no matter how hard he tried, Kadaj was unable to fight against the force of sleep and found himself giving into it within a few short lived seconds.
Then something pulled him awake.
Kadaj slowly fluttered his eyes open once again, mentally cursing himself for giving in to what the Geostigma wanted. He couldn't see anything except for the decorations of the room and the window that pooled out a great amount of moonlight. However, as Kadaj began to tell himself that whatever had woken him up didn't exist, he heard the unmistakable noise of floorboards creaking.
"C-Clou-Cloud?"
Kadaj felt his lungs shrivel in pain and was flung upwards, coughing violently. He felt a warm liquid spray from his lips, cringing when the taste of copper became dreadfully obvious and greatly unwanted.
The floorboards beside the bed he currently lay in creaked once more, but this time Kadaj could make out the form of a body and then he saw a pair of pure mako eyes looking down at him with what Kadaj assumed was concern.
"Try to stay still."
He couldn't believe it. His niisan was really there. And how was it possible for him to stay still when he had been so bored out of his mind and been tormented with nothing but pain for many long hours? Kadaj ignored what Cloud had said and tried to reach out to him, but the Geostigma picked the perfect time to act up again and the silver haired rebel was forced to let his arm fall painfully to the side of the bed where it remained.
"You were gone for too long, you know," Kadaj rasped out, ignoring the swelling in his lungs that was becoming quite uncomfortable, more so than it had before.
"Yeah." Cloud placed the plant in a bowl he had snatched from downstairs and began to grind it up carefully with his fingers, still hoping that it would cure the disease, and fast. "Are you able to eat or drink anything?"
"Niisan, I can't do anything anymore."
From the moonlight that pooled into the room from the window, Cloud was able to see the pained expression on Kadaj's face and it was something he had never seen before in all his life. When he should have corrected Kadaj on his misuse of words, Cloud stopped, knowing fully that the silver haired rebel was to the point of forgetting things. But it wasn't that he was concerned about, it was the dark stain of the Geostigma on the pillow and the painful glitter that danced around in the depths of Kadaj's jade eyes.
It was just so, so vivid.
And he hated seeing that.
"Try to swallow some of this."
"This is the-the cure?"
Cloud gave a quick nod and bent over Kadaj, tipping the bowl so that the warm, gooey mixture could easy slide into the mouth of the weakening man. He prepared for Kadaj to spit it up, but the silver haired rebel looked up at him and did his best to swallow it completely, no matter how great the pain was now.
They waited several minutes afterwards in silence. Kadaj had pressed his head further into the pillow and had closed his eyes, waiting to be cured like a child waiting for their birthday present. Cloud watched while twirling the stem of the plant noiselessly between his thumb and index finger, and winced as he fully took in the bad condition that Kadaj had been brought to.
More than an hour had passed and still they waited.
Kadaj remained completely still, listening to his slow heart beat and his own soft breathing. Then, before he knew it, something began to spread through his body. And it wasn't a good thing.
He felt his heart wretch, his lungs cease their constant job, his muscles turn to nothing but unresponsive pieces of skin tissue. Kadaj felt the reaction to the plant take its full form and threw himself upright, grabbing his throat and clawing at it despite the pain and the fact that the heart of the Geostigma was only a few millimeters from his nails.
"Kadaj?" Cloud dropped the stem and rushed forwards. "Kadaj?" He saw the scared look in Kadaj's jade eyes and didn't know what was wrong. "Kadaj!"
The blond sat down on the bed and grabbed for the pair of pale hands that threatened to rip Kadaj's throat out. He carefully placed them to the sides of Kadaj and began to ask quiet questions while he started to panic inside.
"Kadaj? Can you hear me Kadaj?"
The silver haired rebel slowly lowered himself backwards, laying across Cloud's legs and staring blankly up at the ceiling above. His breathing was beyond irregular and when Cloud tried to find his pulse, the blond barely managed to find it.
"Cloud?"
Letting out a long kept sigh, Cloud looked down towards Kadaj.
"Where are you Cloud?"
The blond moved his head back slightly, surprised. Why he was only staring right down at him, but then it hit him. Kadaj couldn't see anymore.
"I'm right here."
Kadaj raised a deathly pale hand and reached upwards, searching for Cloud. The older man reached out for it and clasped it within his own and shuddered at how cold Kadaj felt. It wasn't normal by any means and it was frightening as well.
"Have you found the cure yet?"
"Yes Kadaj," Cloud whispered, feeling bad that he had fed Kadaj what had seemed to be the cure, but had really been nothing but poison to Kadaj's weakened body. "And everything will be alright."
"But it won't, will it?"
"I-"
"I really do miss mother, she should be here soon though."
"Don't say that," Cloud tried to speak a little bit louder, but was afraid of startling Kadaj. He couldn't go with Jenova. He couldn't. "Stay here for a while, Kadaj."
"Hnn." Kadaj seemed to think about it, his eyes staring at nothing and vacant of any emotions. "But mother said that I'll be leaving soon."
"No." Cloud felt a burning sensation rise up in his face to the point that it was painful. He could feel his eyes begin to move slightly from side to side and then a rush of crystalline tears appeared at the edge of them, only being held back by his eyelashes. But he wasn't going to do this, he wasn't going to...
"Mother," Kadaj whispered, the crisp moonlight pooling onto his pale face and giving it the normal color it had once been. But nothing was going to be like it was before.
Slowly, glimmering in the natural light, a single tear slid down the side of Cloud's face and rolled off his chin, landing onto the pale face of Kadaj. It was followed by another, and another...
"I feel so much better now, Cloud." The hand that Cloud held within his own went limp and then Cloud realized what was happening. "Thanks."
Cloud tried to grab onto Kadaj, but the silver haired man was already glowing brilliantly within the dark room, even brighter than the moonlight itself. He slowly broke away into small glowing orbs and before his face broke away like the rest of his body had, the silver haired rebel ushered his last good-byes and before Cloud could do anything, he broke apart.
The orbs drifted towards the moonlight and disappeared within it altogether. The room was filled with a strong presence, warm and welcoming, but it had become empty.
Dead empty.
Cloud remained seated upon the bed where Kadaj had once lain and kept his head bowed downwards. His chocobo blond hair hung like a curtain before his eyes as he went completely still, not moving one bit.
He was gone. Kadaj was gone. Gone forever.
Placing a hand on his face, Cloud slowly looked upwards and out the window. He stared blankly at the moon and felt unaffected by the intensity of the moonlight, all emotions torn away from his whole being.
But, as his mako eyes, now slowly drying, looked into the glowing orb, Cloud knew that Kadaj was at peace. And the silver haired rebel had put a shade of peace over him as well for he felt complete and could feel the presence of Kadaj all around.
And as the moon slowly drifted from sight as sleep overruled his body, Cloud knew that Kadaj would be with him forever.