Hey! How are you? Neo here writting yet another sublime fanfic! This story takes place 3 days after the ending of AC, so spoilers and confusion to those of you not familiar with the movie. I had a dream of this story and just HAD to write and post it! I hope you enjoy it! It may start out somewhat boring, but I think if you can survive it, you will enjoy the rest of it. It is mostly about Yazoo, Cloud, Kadaj, Loz, and Tifa. This is more Yazoo and Cloud, but this chapter is not very Yazooic, so you guys who love him like I do, please hang in there! I PROMISE there is tones of Yazoo in this story coming up!

After the feedback I have received from my other stories, I have tried my best to grow as a writter and I hope I have shown it in this fanfic. Please read and review. Flames welcome, just relax on the cursing; I have sensitive ears. Also, all ideas and suggestions are welcome! If I use one of your ideas that you give to me, I will give you credit!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. If I did, I would be making billions off of a movie or game of this.

I am now editing this story to make it a bit better and to make it a bit more in-character. I hope you like it better now.

The Search for Avonej

Chapter 1: Remorse

As Kadaj opens his eyes, he sees that he is in a small field next to a cottage. Confused, he sits up and leans his head into his hand. In the corner of his vision, he sees Loz and Yazoo lying on the ground peacefully. He crawls up to Loz and shakes him gently.

"Loz. Loz!" he calls, trying to awaken him.

"Huh? Wha?" Loz groans. He sits up as well and joins Kadaj in ponderation. "Hey, um, where are we?"

"Like I know!" Kadaj yells in aggrivation. "The last thing I remember is . . . the rain and Mother's voice," he says, his voice becoming calm.

"Yeah, me too. Then Yazoo and I fought Big Brother and --," he begins, and then immediately pushes roughly on Yazoo's arm. "Yazoo!"

"Ah!" Yazoo yells, jumping up in fright. "Loz, what's the matter!"

"Are you alright! Are you hurt!" Loz yells in panic, instictively grabbing Yazoo by the arms and inspecting them.

"N-no. I feel just fine," Yazoo answers, looking down at himself.

"We've been healed?" Loz asks, examining himself now.

"Mother!" Kadaj exclaims, jumping up to his feet. He then looks down at his brothers happily. "The last thing we heard was Mother's voice, right? Well, she must be here, then!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Loz says, smiling as well as he rises to his feet. "Come on, you two! Let's go find Mother!"

"Do you really think she's here?" Yazoo asks groggily as Loz pulls him to his feet.

"Come on! Let's go!" orders Kadaj impatiently.

Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo hurry over to the front door, but spot a brunnet woman in pink standing in the flower garden nest to the house. Instead of knocking on the door, they slowly walk over to the woman.

"A-are you . . . Mother?" Kadaj asks, nervous like never before.

"If you want me to be," she replies happily, turning around toward them.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Loz demands, upset with that answer.

"Well, you're real mother was an alien being known as Jenova," a tall, muscular man with black spikey hair informs as he walks up from behind them. "She was evil and cruel. She only wanted to use you for her plans, os I doubt you really want to be with her."

"What! How dare you!" Kadaj screams. "Mother is none of those things!"

"Hmph! He obviously knows nothing of Mother!" Yazoo adds.

"And what do you know about her? She wanted to destroy the planet and move on, but what about you? You can't live in the same conditions she can. She used you," the man continues.

"What? But Mother would never --! I mean . . . !" Kadaj argues, but then realizes there is nothing about which to argue; he knows nothing about the one he calls 'Mother'.

"She would have disposed of you for failing," he continues. "If you mother had cared about you, you would be happy with her right now, but she just left you for death out there. You should thank Aerith."

"Who?"

"Me," the woman answers. "Zack and I brought you here to give you another chance at life. You can leave Jenova behind now and do what you wish."

"Do what we wish?' Kadaj asks, glancing back at his brothers. "But, all we've ever wished was to serve Mother."

"Well, I'd rather not serve someone who does not love us," Yazoo says sadly while twiddling with his fingers, fearing what Kadaj may have to say about his comment. "I want . . . to live my own life for once."

"But how can we? We're . . . part of her! And we're just remnants of her memetic legacy! We're not even whole!" Kadaj whines.

"But you can be," Aerith says. The brothers look at her questioningly. "There is a child somewhere in the world you must seek. He will make you whole again."

"A child?" Loz questions.

"Yeah. Go find 'im" Zack suggests. "If you asks around about a child from the Jenova Project, you should be able to find him."

"If you want me to be your mother, then you have to do this before you come back here, okay?" Aerith says mysteriously.

Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo huddle together. "What do you think?" Kadaj asks.

"They seem nice," Loz answers.

"I really want to be whole and have a mother," Yazoo adds.

"Can they be trusted? And another task?" Kadaj questions.

"Um," Loz hums.

"They seem to like us," Yazoo replies.

"I guess we will. It's our only chance," Kadaj decides. They unhuddle and Kadaj walks closer to Aerith. "How do we get to Edge?"

"Over there," Aerith says, pointing to a wooden sign nearby ath says Edge City and has an arrow pointing in the direction of it. "Be careful."

"Thanks," Kadaj says, and then turns to Loz. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, but . . . ," he answers, nodding to Yazoo, who is staring at a butterfly in a flower patch.

"Hey, Yazoo! Let's go already!" Kadaj calls. Yazoo runs over to them quickly. "There's no time to admire dasies! We have to find tha kid!"

"I'm sorry," Yazoo says quietly with his head down. The three of them leave the small field and head towards Edge.

"Tifa, can Denzel and I please go play in the club house now?" Marlene asks, sitting at the table with her legs swingging in excitement.

"Are you done with your breakfast already?" Tifa smiles.

"Uh-huh!" she answers, so excited that she can hardly stay in her seat.

"Alright, then. Go ahead."

Marlene and Denzel cheer as they run out of the door to meet with the other orphans. As Tifa walks over to the table to collect their dishes, she hears Cloud walk up behind her. "Where have you been?" she asks, turning toward him. "You missed breakfast!"

"I'm sorry," Cloud apologizes. "It's just . . . I have to talk to Vincent."

"Vincent? What for?" she asks in concern, and then in annoyance asks, "Why can't you talk to me?"

"I keep having these weird dreams. And I feel like this isn't over yet somehow. I want to know if he has any information."

There is a knock at teh door in an unusual pattern, so Cloud and Tifa exchange confused glances. Tifa stays put while Cloud answers the door, afterward seeing that it is Yazoo. Before Yazoo can get out a word, Cloud grabs him by the arm and slings him roughly into the house, not wanting the kids to see. The force knocks Yazoo to his knees, surprising Cloud. He pulls Yazoo up and grabs his shoulders, taking him over to an empty table. Once there, Cloud bends him over it at a ninety-degree angle and pushes his head against it roughly to prevent his escape.

"What do you want!" Cloud demands angrily.

Yazoo struggles to answer, feeling uncomfortable and vulnerable in his postition, and his face hurting from being squished against the table. "I want peace."

"Peace? Then why are you seeking Jenova?"

"I'm not! I'm --," Yazoo whimpers, but is cutt-off by Cloud's cell phone ringing. Cloud keeps one hand on Yazoo's head and answers the phone with the other.

"Hello?" Cloud asks.

"Cloud, this is Rufus," the person on the phone explains. "I hate to bother you, but you'll never guess who's in my office with me right now."

"Kadaj?" Cloud asks. Rufus falls silent, wondering how he guessed so easily. "One of his brothers is here with me."

"I see," Rufus replies. "Kadaj says he wants peace and is requesting my help," he continues, glancing over to Kadaj, who is across the room sitting in Rufus' old swivle chair with his feet propped up on his desk. He smirks at Rufus, seeming pleased.

While Cloud is distracted, Yazoo moves his head out from under Cloud's hand and stands up straight. Cloud quickly grabs Yazoo's hands from behind and ties them together with a training rope lying in a seat. Yazoo squirms and fights to get loose, so Cloud kicks him in the buttocks, throws him on the floor, and holds him down on his stomach. "What kind of help?" Cloud finally questions.

"He wants us to find a child from the Jenova Project."

"Why should we help them? Can he give us a reason?" Cloud says, thinking this to be a trap by Kadaj.

"He says he found out what his real mother wants and has decided to --."

"Give me that phone!" Kadaj yells, putting his feet down from off the desk and walking up to Rufus. He snatches the phone from him and says, "Hello?"

"What do you want us for?" Cloud asks him.

"Big Brother? Hmph! Where's Yazoo!"

"Yazoo?" Cloud asks, then looks down to see his brother in the floor. "You mean the one you sent here? I've already taken care of him." Yazoo winces and slightly squirms.

"Yazoo! That worthless weakling! I sent him there for one, simple little task to prove himself, and he can't even do that!"

"You're wasting my time. Now answer my question or I'm hanging up."

"Well, my brothers and I have decided to start over. A nice woman named Aerith told us the truth about Mother and we didn't like that idea for ourselves at all, so we want to be whole without her. Ourselves. No longer part of some memetic legacy that has nothing to offer us," Kadaj explains while quickly pacing around the office. "What we want is our own purpose."

"And why do you need us?" Cloud asks, glancing down at Yazoo, who is lying on the floor in cooperation.

"We need you to help us find a child. With us all teamed up together, we'll find him in no time."

"How can I trust you?"

"Well," Kadaj says, unsure. "What do you want us to do?"

"How about starting by handing over all of your weapons and materia to me?"

"Not a chance!"

"Well, we can do that and be friends, or I can punish your brother here for what he did!"

Kadaj growls in aggrivation and annoyance at Yazoo. "Fine! I'll be right over with Loz!" Kadaj hands the phone back to Rufus and angrily leaves the office.

Cloud hangs up his phone and looks down at Yazoo. "Your name's Yazoo, right?" he asks. "I'll let you up and free if you'll be good, but I'm going to take your weapons and materia first," he tells him, not seeing him as much of a threat.

"But, Cloud! He's dangerous!" Tifa reminds.

"It's alright, Tifa. I can handle him."

Yazoo allows him to search him for weapons and materia and take them, and then unlatch his hands and let him up. "I-is Kadaj coming?" he stutters, giving Cloud the impression that he is either shy or afraid.

"He's on his way right now," Cloud answers.

"But what about the kids?" Tifa asks.

"Would you mind going out and watching them?"

"Sure," she replies, and then exits the bar and goes to their play area.

"You might as well take a seat," Cloud tells Yazoo.

"N-no. I'm fine," Yazoo refuses, angry that hehas been defeated by Cloud. Heembraces himself and looks away while leaned against the wall.

"No, sit down or I'll tie you down," Cloud orders. "I wanna keep a close eye on you."

Yazo sits on a couch several feet from the kitchen and looks down sadly and angrily, looking anxious. Cloud sits in chair next to the couch and watches him curiously. "You don't seem very happy," he says observantly.

Yazoo looks up at him, surprised that he would bother to ask. "Kadaj is angry with me. He says I'm weak and . . . and he sent me here to test me. I failed so . . ."

"He'll be mad, right? What does he do to you when he gets mad?"

"Well, he usually yells at me and . . . sometimes he hits me," he replies sadly, his tension lessening.

"Just wondering. He's cruel to everyone, so I wondered how he treated his brothers."

"Big Brother, why did you untie me? Aren't I . . . dangerous?" he asks, changing the subject.

"I think I can handle you if you decide to pull another stunt. And . . . it's strange. I don't really feel . . . Jenova's presence either."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Cloud says. "And you didn't seem as strong when I attacked you. You seemed so . . . frail and fragile."

Hearing that upset Yazoo, since he hears it from his brothers so much already. "It's not fair," he whimpers quietly with his head down.

"What?" Cloud asks, unable to hear him.

"It's not fair!" Yazoo cries. "Why can't I be strong like everyone else! Why didn't Mother want me to be strong, too!"

Feeling guilty, Cloud walks over to Yazoo and sits next to him on the couch. He looks into Yazoo's hurt face and sees that he is nearly in tears. "You're not gonna cry, are you?" he asks, feeling both confused, annoyed,and guilty.

"Just leave me alone!" Yazoo yells, tears falling from his eyes, turning away from Cloud. "I'm so 'frail and fragile' that you might crush me!"

"What's wrong? Did I upset you that much?" Cloud asks, unbelieving. He sees that that only hurts Yazoo more, so he adds, "I'm sorry." As Cloud reaches his hand as if to touch Yazoo, he says, "Don't feel-"

"Don't touch me!" Yazoo screams, jerking away as if in fear.

"Are you . . . afraid of me?"

"Hey!" a deep voice yells from in front of them. They look and see that it is Loz with Kadaj next to him. "You made my little brother cry!"

"So you took his weapon and decided to hurt him, huh?" Kadaj says, unbelieving.

"Kadaj! I'm fine!" Yazoo sniffs, standing up. "He didn't hurt me!"

"Then why are you crying like a baby? Got diaper rash?" Kadaj says in a taunting tone, followed by an evil smile. Loz smiles as well and Cloud stands up.

"No!" Yazoo yells, embarassed.

"Then it must be because you failed at the simple assignment that you begged for and are going to pay for it!" Kadaj grabs Yazoo roughly and starts hitting him as hard as he can, causing Yazoo to cry out in pain with every hit. Cloud is stunned by the sight, but quickly shakes it off an shields Yazoo, causing him to get hit by Kadaj instead.

"Move it!" Kadaj screams, furious. As he throws a punch at Cloud, he catches the hit in the palm of his hand and tosses Kadaj on the floor nearly as easily as he had Yazoo. Cloud turns to Yazoo and looks up into his eyes.

"Are you alright?" Cloud asks.

"You . . . you saved me. But why?" Yazoo asks in shock, now longer crying.

"Hey, Kadaj, you okay?" Loz asks, since Kadaj has yet to move since he hit the floor.

Kadaj is lying on his stomach in the floor with his head turned away from everyone. He bits his lower lip, trying not to cry from shame of being so easily defeated by Cloud. As he thinks about how weak he just was, tears spill from his eyes and Loz pulls him up.

"I don't need you to pull me up! I'll get up myself when I want!" Kadaj scolds, hating that Loz revealed to everyone his tearful face.

"Kadaj? You're crying. But you hardly ever --"

"Shut-up!" Kadaj screams loudly while hitting Loz in the face. He sees that the punch hardly phased Loz, so he cries harder and stomps a few feet away.

"You're wasting my time. You obviously don't want my help," Cloud says, upset by the situation.

"Here!" Kadaj cries, throwing his Souba and materia down on the floor in front of Cloud. "Take it! I'm leaving!" Kadaj leaves the building in fury.

So, do you like it? Please leave a review! It really makes my day! Next chapter: Sephiroth appears! .