R e m i x

By Chaxra-san

--

Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking
When you fall everyone stands
Another day and you've had your fill of sinking

With the life held in your
Hands are shaking cold
These hands are meant to hold. - "Move Along", All American Rejects

--

A/N: Fear my extreme lack of ranting this time. While I was writing this chapter, you wouldn't believe how hard it was for me not to laugh out loud.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot. If only... -Thinking of the possibilities-

This chapter: Kadaj and Cloud fight, Kadaj discovers the evils in Aeris's church, and Cloud sneaks into the Seventh Heaven.

Chapter One - Beware spring-loaded mattresses

After checking that all the doors and windows were either locked or impossible to get through, Cloud left Kadaj to do whatever he had been doing and started cleaning out the back rooms, where his bedroom and the bathroom was. It was very messy; he had forgotten how long it been since he'd been there.

He remembered how he'd dragged a whole heap of furniture into the church and started living there after Aeris died.

The place was so peaceful, and no one ever went there, so he was alright.

Tifa had been worried about him though, but then again, she always was.

'Aw damn,' he thought suddenly. 'I'm gonna have to get somewhere for Kadaj to sleep...'

He walked out to where he'd left Kadaj.

The remnant glared up at him as he approached.

Cloud noticed that his eyes were red. 'Was he... crying?'

"It's your fault."

Kadaj's words interrupted Cloud's thoughts.

"What?" he asked.

"It's YOUR fault they're dead!" said Kadaj, and lunged at Cloud.

He hit him in the stomach, and the blonde retaliated by pushing him into the wall.

He stood up and tried to attack again, but Cloud grabbed his wrists and held him there.

Instead, Kadaj kicked him in the shin.

"STOP IT!" yelled Cloud. "IT'S NOT MY DAMN FAULT!"

"Shut u--"

Cloud cut him off. "YOU shut up, and sit down!"

He let go of Kadaj, who stayed standing.

"I said, sit down!" said Cloud furiously and shoved him over so hard that he slid across the floor.

The teen sat up, but didn't try to get up again. Instead he glared at the swordsman, rubbing his wrists.

Cloud sighed, massaged his temples and breathed out slowly, trying to calm himself down.

"Okay..." said Cloud and walked over to Kadaj. He sat in front of him. "This is what happened. You died, with the rain falling, just like it did when I chased you here, and..."

--

Cloud stood on top of the building, with the healing rain falling heavily around him.

His eyes were shut. 'It's finally over...' he thought in relief.

The peacefulness of the scene was quickly interrupted, as a bullet slammed through Cloud's back and passed straight through. He gasped and fell on one knee.

Behind him, two remnants stood, both panting.

The one with longer hair, Yazoo, looked like he was about to collapse, and was holding a still smoking gunblade in one hand.

"We'll go together..." he managed, before dropping the gunblade.

It made a clunking sound as it hit the ground on it's barrel before landing sideways.

"Together we'll play..." said Loz with difficulty.

Cloud stood up slowly and turned, picked up his sword and ran at the remnants.

Loz and Yazoo raised their arms, in which you could see glowing materia.

Then there was a flash of blinding white light, and an explosion.

On Cid's airship, everyone jumped as they heard the explosion.

"What the hell just happened?!" shouted Cid.

"CLOUD!" yelled out Tifa and Yuffie.

--

"...When I woke up, I was just over there," he pointed at the flowers behind him. "in the pool of water that came from the rain. It dried up a few weeks ago, though," he finished.

Kadaj's head was down.

"They were stupid... to have died like that..." he muttered in a strained voice.

Cloud watched him, alarmed as tears fell from the remnant's eyes.

Slowly he crawled forward and hugged Kadaj half-heartedly.

He was even more shocked when Kadaj returned the gesture, leaning his head on Cloud's shoulder.

"I wish you were dead," choked Kadaj.

"The feeling is mutual," answered Cloud dryly.

--

"I should go out, get some food," stated Cloud and stood up.

Kadaj, who was lying a few metres away in the flowers, replied, "Am I coming too?"

Cloud snorted.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid? You'd just run away," he said.

"True," agreed the remnant nonchalantly.

"Oh, I got a room for you."

Kadaj was trying not to look interested, Cloud noticed.

"Here, I'll take you to it," offered Cloud.

Kadaj followed Cloud into the back rooms, where Cloud pointed at a door at the end of the hall.

The pair looked into the room.

"Not very clean, is it?" said Kadaj.

"It's better than the one next to it... (shudder)"

'Now go in...' thought Cloud, waiting to make his move.

Kadaj stepped into the room.

Cloud quickly pushed him further into the room, slammed the door in the surprised remnant's face, and locked the door.

"HEY!" yelled Kadaj's muffled voice. "What the hell did you do that for?!"

Cloud smirked, and replied, "I don't trust you to not try and get out of the church. You can wait in there until I get back."

"This isn't fair!" the teen protested.

"Aeris told me to take care of you. She never said I couldn't stop you from running away."

"...Isn't this child-abuse?"

"Does it count for teenagers?"

"I dunno. Teenagers aren't really children, are they?"

"No, they're young-adults."

"Oh."

"I'll be leaving now. See you in a few hours, Kadaj!" yelled Cloud over his shoulder as he left, twirling the key ring around his finger.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

"NOT GONNA HAPPEN!" shouted Cloud in a singsong voice.

Kadaj growled. Seeing as Cloud was apparently quite gone, he started yelling random insults at the blonde, knowing that no one could hear him.

He kicked the door hard. And again. And again.

"Why (thud) the (thud) hell (thud) are (thud) you (thud) such (thud) a (thud) bastard?!"

He turned and glared at a chair in the corner.

There was a book on the table next to the bed. He picked it up and threw it at the chair, which collapsed as soon the book hit it.

"Either that's a really heavy book, or the furniture in here is VERY old..."

He picked up the book. It was pretty heavy, for a book. But generally not hard enough to break a chair.

Kadaj turned to where the bed was.

"Now that looks dangerous," he said, eying the rickety frame.

Cautiously he leaned forward and poked the mattress.

"HOLY SHIVA!!" he yelled as two rusted springs shot out from the mattress and past his head, embedding themselves in the wall behind him.

"This place is pretty damn evil for a church..." said Kadaj nervously. (Poor Kadaj. This place really doesn't like him very much.)

--

Cloud got on his bike, and put his hand in his pocket.

"Aw damn... My wallet's in my room at the bar..." he muttered. 'Operation Retrieve Forgotten Wallet Without Getting Caught By Bartender has begun...'

He sighed and started the bike up.

--

When Cloud arrived outside the Seventh Heaven, he noticed that the bar was now shut. Good, because that might mean that Tifa was out. Bad, because now she shouldn't be busy with customers, so it would be harder for him not to be seen.

Or he could just go straight through and get it.

He opted for the last choice after several minutes of thinking of the possibilities. After all, he was no Turk. Cloud wasn't exactly great at sneaking around, plus the chocobo-hair was a dead giveaway.

--

Kadaj leaned against the wall.

"At least there probably isn't anything left to nearly impale me with," he said mournfully.

"Might as well sleep until he gets back..."

He yawned and fell asleep not long after.

--

He was so close... 'Just reach out and turn the handle, Cloud...' he told himself, stretching an arm. 'Nearly there...'

"CLOUD STRIFE, WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!"

"Shit."

"SHIT'S RIGHT! IT'S WHAT YOU'RE IN NOW!"

Cloud sighed as an enraged Tifa dragged him downstairs.

"I was so close..." he said sadly.

"What was that, Strife?!"

"Nothing."

"Hmph!"

Tifa pulled him into the lounge. She let go of his arm and pointed at a chair.

"Sit! Now!" she ordered.

Vincent passed by the open door, and paused to throw a sympathetic glance at the blonde.

"Tifa... can't we do this later? I've got stuff to-"

"SHUT UP, STRIFE!" snarled Tifa, before turning to Vincent and giving him a sweet-as-sugar smile. "Vincent, could you please shut the door for me?"

Vincent silently closed the door and quickly walked down the hall. 'Good luck, Cloud...' he thought.

Tifa spun around to face Cloud, and glared at him.

"Do you know how upset those kids were when I told them you couldn't take them out?" she asked.

"Tifa, I-"

"No, you don't know, because you weren't there. I thought that after all that business with those remnants that you'd stop this... But I was wrong."

Unknown to Tifa, Cloud had already zoned out.

'That room was in pretty bad shape... And there's only one window... And it's locked shut... There's so much dust in there, wouldn't people suffocate in there? Shit, what if he dies?! Then Aeris'll come and kill me too! And I'd still be stuck with Kadaj!' he thought despairingly.

"Cloud, would you at least pretending that you're listening to me?!" asked Tifa crossly.

"Look, I'm really sorry, okay? It's just that..." he started. 'What, 'I have that crazy remnant that turned into Sephiroth, kidnapped Denzel and Marlene, summoned Bahumut and is also the one that you hate the most, living in Aeris's church with me'?'

"Dammit, I can't tell her that!"

Tifa put her hands on her hips. "Can't tell me what?"

Cloud slapped his hands over his mouth. Tifa raised her eyebrows.

"Um... nothing," he said in a muffled voice.

"That's it. If you're so desperate to live in that dump, then go ahead. I don't care," said Tifa and walked towards the door.

"Tifa, wait," said Cloud, got up and grabbed her arm.

Tifa spun around so fast that her mouth collided with Cloud's.

Both jumped backwards abruptly.

There was a long uncomfortable silence, with neither of them looking at each other, both blushing.

"You're forgiven," muttered Tifa, so quietly that Cloud nearly didn't hear it, and left the room.

Cloud stared after her in wonder, and touched his lips lightly.

"Whoa..." he whispered. 'Gah, I forgot about Kadaj!!'

He ran upstairs into his room, found his wallet after ten minutes of frenzied searching, then sprinted downstairs again.

'To the church!'

--

Cloud quickly unlocked the door, and after seeing Kadaj sitting against the wall, his mind automatically went, 'He's dead.'

"Shit, I killed him!" yelled Cloud.

Kadaj jerked upright and gazed blearily at the swordsman.

"What the hell are you doing making so much noise when I'm trying to sleep?! This room sucks, by the way. There is evidence of it up there," he said grumpily, gesturing at the springs that were still sticking out of the wall.

"You're not dead!!" said Cloud, half relieved and half annoyed that he had come all the way back for nothing.

"Of course I'm not dead, you ass!"

Cloud stared at the springs.

"How'd that happen?" he asked.

"I'd give you an example, but I need a sword, 'cos I doubt there's anything long and hard around here," Kadaj replied indifferently.

"What? I'm not letting you have a sword!" protested Cloud.

The remnant rolled his eyes.

"Even if I tried to run away or attack you, what would be the point? I have nowhere else to go anyway. And I only want to borrow a sword, idiot."

"Stop insulting me!"

"You were the one who locked me in this room. I could've suffocated. I think that's good enough reason for me to insult you," Kadaj pointed out.

Cloud sighed in defeat and pulled out one of his swords. He handed it to Kadaj, who stood up and stepped back.

"I advise you move behind the door," suggested the teen.

He then reached out with the sword and poked the mattress with it.

Cloud jumped as several more orange springs exploded out of the grey fabric and greeted the wall in the same fashion as the springs before it.

"...Crap."

"I said this room sucks."

Cloud looked down at Kadaj, and said, "Actually, this was a temporary room so you wouldn't destroy the good one. And give me my sword back."

Kadaj passed back the blade, and complained, "How can you hold that thing? It's ridiculously heavy."

"With ease."

Cloud pulled him out of the room and outside the church.

"Now we are going shopping," he announced.

"I thought you didn't trust me?" asked Kadaj suspiciously.

"You already proved that you're at least a little more trustworthy than you were before by not doing anything incredibly stupid when I was gone. Oh, and wasn't that chair standing when I left you?"

The remnant looked embarrassed.

"Yeah... it was..." he said uncertainly.

"So why was it in pieces?" questioned the blonde.

"I threw a book at it... and it broke," he explained.

"...Okay, so you did do one incredibly stupid thing while I was gone. Get on the bike."

Kadaj got on the bike and blushed as Cloud sat behind him.

It wasn't the first time that Kadaj had ridden with someone else; he'd been on with his brothers, mostly Yazoo, but it felt odd riding with Cloud.

"I pray that nobody I know sees us..." muttered Cloud under his breath.

--

Next chapter: Cloud and Kadaj go shopping, but encounter Yuffie, Marlene and Denzel while there, Kadaj gets new clothes and they attempt to clean the church.

Hmm, now for my author-showcase! (Yes, I will do this each chapter. Cross your fingers and hope you'll be picked lol)

KadajxCloudLover! She is a good friend, and a great author. Check out her stuff!

Her most recent story is More Than A Memory, which is a CloudxZack one-shot, from the end of Crisis Core, so if you haven't already seen or heard about the ending, don't look unless you want to know!!

Oh, and go look at the stories of Kigakari! Don't make the new people feel unloved!! Yes, I am the only reviewer thus far. It makes me feel bad that other good authors aren't being seen!! My first stories kinda sucked, and they still got reviews, so why don't the people who start off with good stories get any reviews?! This rant has officially ended. Have a nice day/evening.

R&R nicely please!